#two types of mafioso.

[ccnidar1a]

two types of mafioso

[popopretty]

[Translation] Asagiri Kafka's afterwords for The Day I Picked up Dazai novel

Normally, afterwords would be the last thing I read in a novel, but as there are not many changes to the published novel this time compared to the movie bonus version, I was able to skim through the text quickly and get to this. And to be honest, despite not being a writer myself, I was so moved by Asagiri's views about writing and his characters that he shared in the afterwords, that I had to sit down and translate it right away.

This is just my crappy translation, as usual, but I hope it gave you a short, interesting look into the author and the characters. And please do not forget to buy the novel if you have the chance.

The translation is under the cut, thank you!

It has been a while. This is Asagiri Kafka.

Have you been enjoying Bungou Stray Dogs?

This novel, “The Day I Picked up Dazai”, is a compilation of the first week’s bonus novel “The Day I Picked up Dazai – Side A” and the second week’s bonus novel “The Day I Picked up Dazai – Side B” for the screening of “Bungou Stray Dogs BEAST” movie (hereinafter referred to as “BEAST”).

Normally, it is difficult to publish a bonus like this, but since "BEAST” and “Fifteen” that were published earlier by BEANS Bunko were originally bonus novels too, "The Day I Picked up Dazai” was also published in the same way, thanks to the efforts of all parties involved in the Bungou Stray Dogs series.

It is the story of Dazai and Odasaku’s first meeting, where Dazai who wants to die, collapsed in front of Odasaku’s place, who is neither a mafioso nor a hit man.

Why are there two different stores, Side A and Sode B? Regarding this question, please read the novel and see for yourself. If you keep in mind that this is the bonus for the BEAST movie, I think you will be able to understand it better.

Let me reminisce a little bit here.

This story was actually suggested to me by Igarashi Takuya, Director of the Bungou Stray Dogs anime.

Shortly before BEAST movie premiered, I was struggling. It was because I was asked to write a bonus novel for movie-goers again. I said “again” because, as I mentioned earlier, BEAST itself was a bonus novel for the Bungou Stray Dogs DEAD APPLE movie. I remembered having a hard time writing it, because I let myself run wild and wrote a total of 190 pages instead of 50 pages as requested.

But I had learnt my lesson after the last rampage. I can’t just write whatever I want anymore. I have to wrap the story in a reasonable length, like a pro should do.

A proper, professional story.

Huh?

My pen stopped right there. I stopped, looked around, feeling lost.

What is a proper story?

The act of writing novel is quite different in character compared to other types of media such as writing manga, anime scripts, or game scenarios. You can say it is almost a different thing. Writing novels, rather than narrating an event, is more like putting the flow of emotions into specific sentences. You use the sequence of letters to create rhythms, create flows, and create emotions. If anything, it might be closer to composing a song than writing a story.

Therefore, you have to decide “what kind of emotion will be put in this novel” from the very beginning, or you can’t start writing. That is the only and absolute rule.

Now, however, that is where the condition of a “proper story” hung over me.

A proper novel, of a proper volume, with a proper content for a bonus.

In other words, a proper emotion.

I searched through the drawers inside my head. For a proper emotion that is waiting to be brought out.

There was nothing but emptiness there.

A professional story teller is one with the skill to move the readers’ emotions. When people find the chance to move their own emotions, they will happily be paying for it. Human-being is that kind of creature.

And writers are ones who create and sell those kinds of emotions: the fear, the excitement, the heart throb etc., those that make you think. It is that kind of job.

It is supposed to be that kind of job.

Yet I became unable to move forward.

A good story is a story that moves people. I know that. Then what kind of emotion I should put in the story to make it "proper"?

How do I find that emotion?

I mean, how did I even write novels until now?

I stood still. My legs stiffened, my knees froze, unable to take even a step forward.

I then tried to at least pretend that I was moving forward, by listening to music, by taking a walk around the neighborhood at night. But as good as the night breeze felt, I didn’t manage to reach a single story that I needed to write.

What if I stayed like this forever, what would I do?

I felt a chill plunging into my back.

Then I realized, that stories, or probably emotions too, are not things you can search for or come up with. You have no choice but to patiently wait for it to come your way. You have no choice but to humbly and earnestly sit and wait for the story’s visit.

I got that, but the "proper 50-page story” still refused to come.

It was not long before one week passed. Then two weeks.

I was doing other work, while keeping my heart’s door open, waiting for the story to come to me.

At that time, I had an online meeting with the anime staff. I casually asked Director Igarashi, “Do you have any story you want to see?”

The Director gave it a little thought then told me, "I want to see the story of Dazai and Oda’s encounter”.

At that very moment, the story rushed in through my door, like a bang. I could hear that sound very clearly.

Two stories. Odasaku, and the two Dazais. A story where they met, and a story where they couldn’t meet. A story of gain and a story of loss. If I can portray the gain and loss side by side, the amplitude of the heart will be doubled and rise up in front of us.

That was a momentary event. Rather than pushing my way forward, I felt as if something was pulling my hand. Before I noticed, I have already finished the stories.

I came to realize.

It is not the writer who searches for the story. It is the story that chooses its writer, and at some point it will come our way. A professional writer is no more than someone with the ability to catch that call.

Also, this is the most important thing: there is no such thing as a “proper emotion”. Because after all, the feelings of other people belong to them only. That is why there is no guarantee that a novel can move others “properly”. However, you can move your own emotions. You know what kind of novel can and how it will move you. If you do, you can write just that. That’s the only way. That is the truly professional attitude. That’s what I thought.

Well then.

It is a little bit off topic, but as we are talking about “stories that come our way”, let’s talk about Odasaku’s first-person narrative.

Odasaku is a special character. For me, he is exclusively a novel character, and I have never portrayed him in the manga.

He first appeared as the narrator in “Dazai Osamu and The Dark Era”, then “BEAST” and now this “The Day I Picked up Dazai”. All are novels. That’s why for me, Odasaku doesn’t live inside the pictures, he lives inside the first-person narrative passages.

He is an eccentric guy. Even if you prepare the place and tell him to speak, he won’t speak to you that easily. His way of thinking is rather unique, that if I write his narrative after writing other characters’ first-person narrative, I would stumble for sure. Odasaku doesn’t speak. He just sits there in silence, while I can do nothing but sitting in front of my blank manuscript paper, trying to talk to him, like “What’s up?”, “Here, here”. However, he is a guy who won’t speak when it is not necessary. Sometimes it goes days or even weeks without him saying a word. Why did such a character come to me...?

During such time, there is only one thing I can do. That is, of course, to stay with him, sit patiently, and simply wait.

Finally he will start speaking. In his unique rhythm, word by word. His words have the power to cut through the world from a certain angle. That special cross-section is full of things I have never seen before and it never fails to surprise me.

And then when he finishes telling his story, he will swiftly disappear. To a dark and quiet place somewhere – probably, I can only imagine, somewhere like a bar. He will sit there calmly and keep his own time to himself. After that, it will be hard to call him again. It is a backbreaking task to me, but in the end, that is the type of guy Odasaku is, and if I am allowed to sound self-conscious, that is Odasaku's charm.

This story was written in such a way. There is a chance that he will come back again. And when he does, I will patiently listen to his voice again.

This story was completed and published thanks to the help of many people: in the Bungou Stray Dogs BEAST movie’s Production Committee, the anime staff, Young Ace’s Editorial Department, BEANS Bunko’s Editorial Department, and the many people who were involved in the publication of the book. Thank you very much. It is all thanks to you that the book was published without any problem this time as well.

Well then, see you in the next story.

Asagiri Kafka.

[milky-aeons]

— HE’S MINE

౨��� . . . general CHUUYA NAKAHARA was a name that instilled terror into even the most seasoned underground criminals. but to you, he was simply your man.

warnings: swearing, criminal themes, pet-names, w.c 1.6k

♪ . . . ˗ˏˋ ꒰ he's mine — mahalia ꒱ ˎˊ-

𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐘𝐏𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍. . .

Chuuya Nakahara was not immune to the pleasures being one of the five Port Mafia Executives brought him. Oftentimes, he was in attendance at the lavish cabaret clubs downtown, if only to entertain a criminal boss the organisation sought business with. He appreciated beauty. He'd enjoy the heated looks, the coyness, as he flirted with many women — and, sometimes, booked a hotel room just for two.

But that was where they had ended; tristes, nights of pleasure, never to happen again. Chuuya was, at first, against the idea of getting involved in a permanent relationship. His life was drenched in danger, his hands bloodied, his friends few and far between. Any woman who affiliated themselves with him would share the target that was constantly nailed into his back. They would need to know that some nights, he wouldn't come home. That he couldn't answer every call. In his eyes, Chuuya Nakahara was confident he would be the absolute shitiest of the shit when it came to being a boyfriend, and refused to put any woman through that type of hell.

That was, of course, until he fell in love. With you.

It was a constant push and pull with his feelings for you, in the beginning. But the longer he decided to neglect them, the larger they became, ballooning into an avalanche until he was knee deep in it. In so many ways, you were beautiful. You had an infectious smile, you had strong morals you abided and lived by. You were kind and caring and loyal — but above everything else, you accepted him for who he was. You didn't try to change him. Instead, you stood by his side, you took that hand he always kept hidden by a leather glove, and said;

"You have me, Chuuya. I'm not going anywhere. Forever and always, I am yours, and you are mine."

𝐁𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐘. . .

: ̗̀➛ 𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐔𝐘𝐀, who threw his entire heart and soul into his job. Being a Port Mafia Executive on top of a militant General would wear down even a soul crafted from steel. You could always tell when your mafioso lover had been pushing himself too hard; his shoulders would sit high and tense, he'd have permanent stress lines on his forehead just above bunched eyebrows. In those moments, you would guide him to the nearest chair and instruct him to sit down. You would work your fingers into his tight muscles until they softened and released, only to let your fingers dance up to his temples, rubbing soothing circles.

"Got a meeting to get to in 10, princess." He'd drawl, yet his eyes would slip closed, he'd sigh in a way that deflated his entire body when you began to massage his forehead. You'd smile, whispering, "Then make it 20."

: ̗̀➛ 𝐘𝐎𝐔, who sometimes became cross with him whenever Chuuya took you shopping. He was forever spoiling you, would always insist on paying for the meal, the dress you were looking at for a little too long in the storefront window, the fourteen karat gold necklace sitting on some model in a glossy magazine. And when you went clothes shopping — you'd tease him, telling him that he never, ever helped in the dressing rooms, whatsoever.

"What about this one?" "Beautiful, sweetheart." "Okay — this one? I think it sits on me a little weird." "You look gorgeous." "And this one?" "The prettiest girl I've ever seen." "You are absolutely no help at all." "What do ya mean? It's not my fault you look damn good in everything."

: ̗̀➛ 𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐔𝐘𝐀, who had many long and trying missions, yet no matter the length of time he would be gone for, would always find a way to tell you he was thinking of you. Sometimes, it would be in the form of little letters delivered by his rookie underlings to your apartment door. Others; surprise text messages, a two minute phone call in the middle of a gunfight, an extravagant take-out meal brought to your doorstep when you've had a particularly bad day. But your favourite had always been the evening when he brought you flowers. Not just any flowers — but a luscious bouquet of roses he had lifted right to your bedroom window through the action of his ability.

"You're unbelievable!" You shouted down to him, barely able to hold the massive bundle when he released the gravitational hold on them. Chuuya smirked up at you. "And I missed ya, too."

: ̗̀➛ 𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐔𝐘𝐀, who oftentimes, booked entire days off just so he could spend them with you. He was a dignified workaholic, that was certain, but he would always make sure to clear the books for you. On those days, he was at your mercy — you were free to do anything your heart desired, and he would not protest. He would take you to see that awful romcom your friends had been raving about, he would curl up on your couch and let you pet his wildfire hair, he'd take you walking along the skyline if you so wished. For on those days, Chuuya was not a brutal mafia general so used to death and destruction. He was just a man, he was yours.

: ̗̀➛ 𝐘𝐎𝐔, who loved when Chuuya brought you with him on those long night-time motorcycle rides. The city of Yokohama never slept. It was always humming with life, just like the engine as it purred throughout the city. You would wrap your arms around his slim waist and bury into his back, relishing in the strength he housed. His comforting scent of cigarettes and leather and expensive fougere.

: ̗̀➛ 𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐔𝐘𝐀, who adored music. Who always had something playing whenever you would spend time in his mafia lodging. When he would unscrew a precious bottle of wine from his prized stash and pour you a glass, he'd murmur the words to whatever track it was. He knew them all. And oftentimes, after a drink or two, he'd drag you to your feet and waltz around the room, holding you impossibly close. Until your ears swam with dizziness and your chest hurt from laughing. Until the sun dipped low beyond the horizon of Yokohama and you both danced the night away.

: ̗̀➛ 𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐔𝐘𝐀, who took quite some time to unveil that vulnerable side to you. It was instinct really, for him to mask any of his insecurities and doubts — weaknesses for his dangerous enemies to exploit. His heart took time to learn that you were not one of those enemies. And like a hesitant flower, it opened for you, piece by piece. The feared General would bury into your chest and let you hold him when nightmares kept sleep at bay. He'd ask you to stay when he wasn't ready for you to go, yet. Word by word, he'd divulge some of the deepest fears he held in his heart concerning you — covering his face, spitting them out, like they left a vile taste in his mouth.

"I just — I can't stop thinking about it. The shit those motherfuckers would do to you if they knew — if they knew how much you mean to me. Fuck — Fuck, I don't know what I'd do. If I'd even be a human being after it, princess, I'd — I'd—!" In those moments, you came rushing forward, you clutched his head into your embrace to steady him. Let him breathe you in, feel the air moving in your lungs and blood pumping from your heart. "Shh, shh, Chuuya. It's okay. They'll never get me. I promise. I'll make sure of it."

: ̗̀➛ 𝐘𝐎𝐔, who made a pledge to accept your boyfriend for who he was. To know that within that stout build housed a terrifying god of destruction. And you, who was always there for him when he tapped into that power and used Corruption. In the days following those instances, you would never dare leave his side. You would watch his chest rise and fall, rise and fall, as he slept for hours at a time. Dabbed at his sweating face, brought bowls of nourishing broth and fed him one spoonful at a time until he gathered his strength back. Lucidity would drift back to him like that of a tidal wave. And in those moments, he'd focus his heart-breaking blue eyes on you. He'd quirk a tired grin and croak;

"You really... keep savin' my ass, ya know that? I'm such a fuckin' mess, baby, I'm sorry."

: ̗̀➛ 𝐘𝐎𝐔, who would smile, who would hold back the emotional rush behind your glassy eyes and say;

"You're not a mess, Chuuya. You're beautiful. You're the light of my life. Now, hush, get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

requested by lovely [ nonnie! ]

[himimosa]

how they hug

some headcannons on how dazai osamu, nakahara chuuya and edogawa ranpo hugs...

Dazai Osamu

-Dazai is exceptionally observing. Even though he can't empathize with all feelings people have, he knows what to do in social situations by mimicking others, it is just about if he cares or wants to do it...

-"polite hug": This is the hug you see most in social life when you greet someone you are not close with, where the lower bodies don't touch and only arms gently holding the other by shoulders. This hug is for his acquaintances or people he interacts with for work.

- "embracing hug": He wraps his arms very tightly around the other's back. If he hugs you like this, you feel safe and sound. You can hear his heartbeat, his slow breathing. He might give a few pats to your head or back. He usually use this hug for comforting people who he cares when they are crying or feeling down...or if he wants to give someone a false sense of trust and manipulate them...

- "clingy hug": Where he just jumps into the arms of you... He wraps his arms and whole body around you like an octopus. He buries his neck wherever he likes at that moment; your hair, your neck, your chest. He whines like a little child, says how much he missed you and says that he won't let you go now... (the thing is, sometimes he hugs Kunikida exactly like this because Dazai knows this level of clinginess drives the poor guy crazy: "Dazai put your fucking arms away from me and go back to work you waste of bandages!")

Nakahara Chuuya

- I don't think Chuuya does hug a lot of people. Or does he even hug?.. He doesn't look like someone who hugs to greet people in a mafioso meeting. I can't even imagine him hugging anyone to just greet them in the port mafia, he looks more like the type who gives a nod with his head or a firm handshake at most... But even not so frequently, this redhead mafia executive has times he hugs too:

- "drunk hugs": Where he loosely puts his hand around the shoulder of whoever he is drinking with that night. (might be Akutagawa or Tachihara) This is more like a side hug, where he hums and swings the song that is currently playing on the bar, even if there is no music he will sing and swing...

-"hug with only one arm": (This is sad, please don't hate me) His job is not the most chill one, he loses people who work under him. Sometimes he loses underlings and he prefers to give their death notifications to their families by himself. He is someone who takes care of people who are under his wing, it counts for their loved ones too... When they break down with the news -the dead one's friend or companion or child doesn't matter- chuuya will simply put his gloved hand on the back of their head, and let them cry into his shoulder or chest. This is a reassuring type of hug that says "I am still here and I will take care of you"

-"stir on the air hug": This is how this man hugs you. No matter your height or weight, he is the gravity manipulator. Whenever he hugs you, he can't help but slyly and abruptly pick you up from the ground by your waist and draw circles with you. You feel like a feather in this man's arms and can't help but laugh when he rotates around like a child. He loves to adore your giggly face from the downside. And if you give him a kiss from that angle? He is the happiest man ever...

Edogawa Ranpo

- I believe that Ranpo is the clingiest among them. It is only about if he feels comfortable enough... He won't hug any acquaintance for greeting like Dazai, (i don't think he handshakes too, he probably only waves his hand to greet) But with people who he feels closer with, like Ada members? Now that's a different story...

-"hugs with jumps": You know the hugs when two people who haven't seen each other for a long while that they run into each other's arms with a jump? Ranpo doesn't need a long separation for this hug, if he is overexcited about something, he will jump before hugging. Once he jumped over Kunikida just to prove that Kunikida will catch him even if it means to drop all documents in his hands, and Kunikida exactly did that (if you know the Terry-Jack scene from B99, you know this) (also poor Kunikida)

-"back hugs": Ranpo doesn't do much at the office, his job is mostly outdoors, at crime scenes... So whenever he is at the office if he is not eating snacks, he is probably on someone's shoulders. He loosely wraps his arms around their shoulders, his head sometimes rests on one shoulder. Sometimes he helps their case files with his great skills, sometimes he just wants to bother them because he is bored. If you are working at the ada, good luck because he is never leaving you. He is like a little mosquito (a loveable one) His head is always around your ears, he never shuts up. And sometimes he bites...

-"hide my face hugs": (Again, this is sad) There are only a few people in the world Ranpo hugs like that. One would be the president Fukuzawa on a very bad day, the other would be you... Unlike others, Ranpo hugs like that in only private. He wraps his shaky arms around your waist and buries his face near your shoulder or chest. He doesn't lift his head for a while, but you can feel his shivering and the wetness on you because of his tears. He may or may not cry aloud, but he will cry. He needs you to shield him from the world, maybe pat his head and whisper everything will be okay...

[coochellati]

How many kids do you think Bruno would ideally want to have? And what kind of father do you think he’d be?

Hi!!!! Oooh, this is a super fun question!!!

Before I get into it, I just wanted to say that Maggie (@cornerfortherats) and I had a great discussion over this question, and since some of these thoughts are hers, I wanted to tag her for credit !!

I believe Bruno would want one or two kids, probably leaning toward two. He’d want to ensure he could give equal time and attention to each child without stretching himself too thin. While I think he could handle more than two—okay, leading a team of mafiosos isn’t the same as raising kids, but the leadership skills he’s cultivated would certainly be useful in parenting—that doesn’t mean he *wants* more. And of course, he wouldn’t treat his kids the way he treats his teammates; he would give them much more love and care.

As a father, Bruno Bucciarati would be deeply involved in his children's lives. He wants to give them the kind of life he had before his parents' divorce—one filled with love and warmth.

Bruno would be the type of dad to hug his kids often because he didn’t receive much affection growing up. It can be awkward adjusting to normal levels of affection when you’re not used to it, and he wouldn’t want his kids to experience that. He wants them to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he loves them.

Every night, Bruno reads to his kids the way his mother read to him. Those memories are something Bruno is no doubt fond of, and he wants his children to feel that same warmth.

Bruno spends as much time with his children as he can because he feels the best part of his life is spent with his family. He wants to be there for every moment—his children’s first words, first steps, etc. I can totally see Bruno letting his kid dress him up (maybe as a fairy princess for a tea party or something). However, he would not allow anyone to take a photo of him while in costume.

You can bet his children are getting the best education possible. As someone who never had the chance to attend a good school, he wants to make sure his children are well set up in life, and thanks to Passione, he can afford to send them anywhere.

Bruno is the type of dad who would cry when his kids are born. However, it wouldn’t be at the hospital as you might imagine, but alone with his partner and baby. It’s a mix of the usual dad joy and the relief of finally getting to rebuild the family he lost. He feels an unspoken awe and eternal gratitude towards his partner for making their baby, like a "how did you create someone so amazing?" kind of feeling. (This last part only applies if his partner is AFAB.)

He would probably try to quit being a mafioso to focus on family when his first kid is on the way. This would be difficult, especially if he’s already deeply involved, but he’d be concerned about the danger his connections could pose to his new child.

Additionally, he wants to be a role model for his children, and the best way to keep them out of a shady life is to cut ties with Passione entirely. Bruno would never allow his children to join Passione or even come close to it. He would also be very secretive about his past life as a mafioso, shielding his kids from that part of his history. (He may eventually tell them about his experience in the organization when they’re much older.) He’s determined to make sure they grow up loved and safe, ensuring they steer clear of a dangerous path.

Due to his protective nature, he might come across as a stricter parent. In his mind, enforcing order ensures safety, something he didn’t have the luxury of growing up with. Bruno shows this strict side quite often in Vento Aureo, such as when he and his team arrived at San Giorgio Maggiore. Before stepping off the boat, while his team was happily imagining what kind of food they would eat later, Bruno snapped, impatiently reminding them that they were still on a mission. He would be significantly less stern with his children than he is with his team, but still firm.

Overall, Bruno would be an amazing parent. Sure, he may be strict at times, but he doesn’t want total control over his kids—as someone who has a deep understanding of life’s perils, he wants nothing more for them to grow up safe, happy, and most of all, loved.

thanks for the ask!! <3 ily!!

[sevs-corner]

More quick shot ideas on Tf 141: Mafia AU!

Don’t know much about the other charas in CoD like Horangi, Konig, Roach, etc.. (i’m still making progress in watching all the campaign vids- so far tho, finished MW1 and MW2, and in the middle of MW3 right nowww~ So, won’t be able to do much of them but ohohoho- Alejandro? Rudy? Alex? Graves? Nikolai? Oml LETS GET TO IT !!!

Links to other related works✨

(*Same PSA (Im really stuck to typing on my phone lol and also OOC esp teewayyyy✨*)

Of course there were other families in this quaint middle ground of a city. As the place of commodity and exchanges, bumping into one another was inevitable.

Although, more predictable for you at this point in your job

Like clockwork, every Wednesday afternoons, people would flock in after the usual 5pm check out hours

Those people being the mafiosos.

“Hey sweet cheeks, got anythin’ new f’me?” Graves asked with a raised brow, lips curved into a smirk as he sees the twinkle in your eyes

“You’re lucky I do actually,” you roll your eyes playfully, “you’re my first so take it easy on me!”

After leaving real quick to grab a slice of the new blueberry cheesecake you made, you plated it and slide it on the counter for him to grab

Leaning over the counter, he smiles and thanks you for your hard work, “I bet this will be your finest one yet!”

He winks while you playfully gagged, all the while pushing his shoulder to get him off the counter

You chuckle and wave him off, “nah, I still have much to learn from Nonna.”

He nods knowingly, grabbing a fork by the register, “she keepin’ you on your toes?”

You nod with a sigh, “when is she not really?”

Laughing, he decides to eat while chatting you up- so he could compliment you directly. He slides his fork in to eat a piece while, humming in the delight at the sour hint of the blueberries and the soft berry cream which complements into mix of flavors, he couldn’t help but savor it.

“Good?” You ask, swaying from side to side in anticipation for his comment. A wonky smile on your face, unable to hide the anxiety creeping beneath your skin

If there was one thing you could trust about these people, it was their comments when it came to food

From their instinctual body reactions to their initial facial expressions- you took all into consideration, which was quite cute of you to do of course

Graves knows this by how your forehead would scrunch lightly, your glasses falling down the bridge of your nose, lips pursed or bit (depending on how serious you were about the feedback), hands wringing, with small bits and pieces of baby hair framing your face.

He adores that part of you so much that he’ll take every opportunity to see it— just like this moment

He hums and pats your head, “very much so, sweet cheeks~.”

You cheered, immediately ran to the back, telling the two busy couple of what one of your customers said.

Family! They both shout at you back but all you can do is giggle, feeling all fuzzy being complimented for your hard work.

Graves could only stare from afar, seeing how you bounced with each step in happiness- all because he said it was really good.

The unintentional effect you had on each other was not to be underestimated…

But he wasn’t the only one-

"Mi hermosa! It smells especially good today!"

Hearing the chime of the doorbell out front made you quickly go back to your station

Only to snicker in amusement at how huffy Graves was being held closely to the ever friendly Alejandro.

"why thank the cooks at the back!" you proudly claimed with a thumb jutted towards the direction of the kitchen, where the couple waved at the two from their places.

"they're always cookin' up something good for the soul," you hummed, basically vibrating in your spot at how maybe you can ask for Alejandro's opinion on your newly made creation

"it's why we always come back," Graves agrees, finally able to get out Alejandro's grasp with a cheeky grin of his own

"Thanks again for the cake sweet cheeks," Graves waves to you while approaching his table, "be a dear and send me my tea when you're done?"

You nod at his follow-up, giving him two thumbs up before turning to Alejandro who couldn't help but feel a lil' jealous from how giddy you seemed with the dirty americano

With a silent huff, he places the pieces together and now begs for a slice of whatever Graves has on his plate

"Its still a work in progress," you admitted embarrassingly, "I hope you don't mind- and no need to pay either! Think of it as a free sample."

Alejandro clicked his tongue while shaking his head, still opening his wallet and sliding the usual amount to you.

"Paying hasn't and will ever be a problem with me, Mi hermosa."

He admitted seriously and you couldn't help but look away with a light tint to your cheeks.

Seeing this side of Alejandro always made your head feel light...

"Fine!" You shoved the plate in his hands (albeit still carefully), "just tell me how it taste then!"

"Call it even, eh?" He winks, a chuckle rumbling even through you as you practically get swooped into his aura alone.

Call it swooning or whatever but only this man has the chops to make you go dumb from his presence alone

"ye-yeah, but how is it though?" you quickly pivoted again in nervousness as you see him finally take a bite of your work

Deciding to play with you a little, he takes a while to comment- appreciating each chew even though he already swallowed a couple seconds ago

Still, he liked having your eyes so focused on him

"sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo?"

You begged, tugging on his sleeve desperately, the wait killing your soul so slowly that it makes you pout

Seeing this, Alejandro cackled and pinched your cheeks teasingly

"It was delicious mi hermosa," he finally admits, "good balance of sweet and sour too."

Cheering, you- in the heat of the moment and unable to hold back your inhibitions- pulled him closer by the sleeve, catching him by surprise by how strong your grip was and how soft your lips was on his cheek.

"You're the best Ale!"

You giddily leave him by the front, unknowingly leaving a dysfunctional alejandro.exe behind with a slightly panicky Rudy just right behind him.

"Boss!" Rudy shouts, finally snapping Alejandro out of his stupor

He was ready to glare at his friend until he saw the look on his face and the words that accompanied it

"Oi! Los Vaqueros!" Alejandro called out to his men hanging around the cafe, "let's go!"

"you're leaving already?" you asked sadly, coming right outside the kitchen with a take-out cups in hand.

"Yeah," Alejandro quickly walks up to you and kisses your temple before taking one of the cups from your hand. "Can't wait to try more of you-r sweets."

You grin and nod, "take care!"

"Gotta go too sweet cheeks," you turn in shock to Graves who surprisingly got to your behind, stealing the other cup from you just as quickly.

"Thanks again for the treats!"

He squeezes your hips in appreciation before leaving with his crew, making you grumble under your breath at how careless the man was being.

"Don't let the cat get you on your way out back!"

You warned, grabbing a broom to clean up the place once more.

"I won't- AAAAHHHH DAMMIT!"

you chuckled to yourself, proud at how you trained that cat to jump Graves- who for some reason loves exiting through the back side of the bakery every time.

"Alright,~" you stretch and fetch your earphones, "back to work..." ... .. .

"We're back lassie!"

"Oh for fucks sake..."

[cloudyyoimiya]

Hellooo!

So I usually don't do requests or anything BUT I literally love your work and couldn't resist. I was wondering if you'd be willing to do the hand measurement thingy but with Nikolai, sigma, and akutagawa? Anyways have a good day/night!

ofc i’d be willing to write this! i won’t lie though, i’m not all that familiar with writing akutagawa, so i do apologize if he seems out of character. anyways, thank you for requesting!!

Measuring Their Hands; Ryuunosuke Aktugawa, Sigma, and Nikolai Gogol

Format: Scenarios

Quick Note: Here’s a link to the first part :)

Ryuunosuke Akutagawa

“Hey, can I see your hand for a moment?” You asked.

The two of you were at your shared home, in bed together. Akutagawa was situated beside you begrudgingly, clearly trying to act like he’s unhappy with the close proximity you are in, but he’s miserably failing. You could see only the slightest bit of a smile on his face, though it would be hard to see it if you didn’t personally know him.

“And why would you want to do that?” He asked, his voice holding only the slightest bit of boredom.

“Just trust me,” you spoke with a smile. “It’s nothing bad, I promise.”

He only rolled his eyes in response. Akutagawa then lazily gave you his hand. “Here.”

“Thank you,” you said as you took his hand. “Now, can you flatten your palm please?”

Akutagawa groaned then flattened his palm rather quickly. You then took this as your chance to put your hand up to his and silently measure it.

His hand was only the slightest bit bigger than yours; your finger tips almost reaching his. They weren’t as soft as you thought that they would be, but that is to be expected. Your boyfriend was a mafioso after all, so it would be out of the question for his hands to be anything but rough. In a way it made you feel protected though. It reassured you that if push came to shove, he’d be there for you, though he’d never admit that out loud.

“Your hands are bigger than mine,” you simply stated.

“They are,” Akutagawa said back, disinterested. “What’s even the point of this? Is knowing how big your partners hands are something that you should keep in mind?”

“I mean, no not really. I was just curious how big your hands are compared to mine is all.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

You clicked your tongue then started to hold his hand. You interlaced your fingers together and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Once your boyfriend had offhandedly mentioned how he liked it when you squeezed his hand, so you’d often do it in moments like this when he was being difficult.

“It’s really not. You just don’t know how to appreciate the finer things in life,” you tried to joke. “Besides, now you have something to tease me with.”

“And why would I want to do that?” He asked as he subtly squeezed your hand back.

“I don’t know! Why not?”

“You’re weird.”

You softly chuckled. “And so are you.”

“Sure I am.” He rolled his eyes.

“Y’know you love me.”

Akutagawa sighed. “That I do, my dear.”

Sigma

You were currently lounging around in your boyfriends office with a book in hand. He was busy typing away, filling out a report of the expenses for the casino for the week. He seemed really concentrated on his work, and you didn’t want to bother him with your need for attention, so you decided that the next best thing was to spend time with him in silence. It wasn’t all that bad though. Just the presence of Sigma made you happy.

You eventually finished the chapter to your book, and it gave you an idea. The two lovers in the book measured each others hands, so now you wanted to do it with your lover. You knew that you shouldn’t interrupt Sigma, but you did it anyways.

“Hey love? Can you do something for me real quick?” You asked as you walked to his side.

He raised an eyebrow. “What is it? Are you alright? Is something wrong?”

“Oh no, nothing is wrong don’t worry,” you said as you smiled down at him.

“Then what do you need?”

“I just wanna see your hand real quick! Can I steal it from you for one moment? Please?”

He raised an eyebrow at you, then gave you his hand. “Alright, sure…”

You smiled as you quickly took his hand. You carefully flattened his palm against yours and looked at both of your hands for a moment. His hands were bigger than yours by an inch or two, and his nails were clearly taken care of. Sigma’s hands were also rather soft, courtesy to not handling weapons or anything of the sort all that often. Though, there were some very small callouses here and there due to dealing cards in the casino.

“What are you doing?” He asked as he stared at his hand on yours.

“Measuring our hands, you dummy,” you said with a giggle. “It would appear that yours are bigger than mine.”

Sigma slowly nodded. “Yes, it would appear so… What’s the point of this exactly?”

“I was just curious if your hands were bigger. That’s all.”

“Oh. I see,” he said as he interlaced your fingers. “Was that all?”

You nodded. “I suppose so. I’m sorry for bothering you.”

Sigma’s small smile grew just a little bit larger. He then brought your hand closer to his mouth and gave your knuckles a soft kiss.

“You don’t have to worry about that at all, my love. I don’t mind as long as it’s you,” Sigma spoke kindly. “What kind of lover would I be if I got mad at you for wanting to do something as small as measuring our hands?”

“Ah, that’s true. Thank you, my dear.”

You leaned down to give him a quick kiss on his cheek. You could see a faint blush slowly starting to develop onto his pale features.

“You should get back to work now. I love you.”

Sigma made eye contact with you. “I love you too.”

Nikolai Gogol

Currently, you and your boyfriend were relaxing in the living room. You were on your phone, scrolling through random videos you found interesting while Nikolai was practicing his card tricks. He picked up a few of these tricks rather quickly, but the one he was currently practicing he mildly struggled with. Though, he was starting to realize his mistakes and he started to improve his movements with ease.

You eventually looked up from your phone and looked over at your boyfriend practicing his card tricks. You then looked at his gloved hands, and an idea struck you.

“Hey, take off one of your gloves real quick,” you said as you shuffled towards his side.

Nikolai stopped his card tricks then looked down at you. “And why would I do that, my doll? Hm? Do you have something planned?”

“Maybe… Now c’mon! Take off one of your gloves,” you spoke quickly.

“Alright, alright,” Nikolai said as he put down his cards. He then took off one of his red gloves, revealing his bare hand. “Happy now?”

“Not yet.” You grabbed his hand and put it up to yours. “Now I am.”

Nikolai’s hand was bigger than yours by a lot—maybe by a few inches at most. His index finger had a few callouses from his use of revolvers while on the job, and his palm was rough because of the same reason as well. His hands also felt rather dry, most likely because he never really bothered to moisturize them. Maybe he didn’t like the feeling of lotion on his hands?

“Hehe my hands are bigger than yours!” Nikolai teased. “Yours are so cute and tiny!”

“Oh shut it!” You chuckled. “My hands would be bigger if you weren’t so damn tall.”

“My dear, my little dove, my doll, the love of my life, you’re mistaken! Even if you were taller than me—which you’re obviously not—my hands would still be bigger than yours! I don’t think this is a height issue here!” Nikolai teased. “Plus I think you like that my hands are bigger than yours! It makes for much comfier hand holding. I don’t think you can deny that.”

You playfully rolled your eyes. “Yeah, you’re right about the last part. It does feel nice…”

“I’m sure it does! Well anyways, you accidentally gave me something new to tease you about!” He says as he balls his other hand into a fist and puts it towards your face. He then acts like he’s holding a microphone so he can interview you. “Well? How does it feel?”

“Oh, just great,” you said, your voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I can tell you’re lying!”

“I was being sarcastic.”

“No really? I couldn’t tell!”

“I’m sure you couldn’t,” you spoke with a smile.

Nikolai smiled down at you and interlaced your fingers with one another. He then used this as an opportunity to pull you into a tight hug, making sure that you were unable to escape with how tight he was holding you. His tone then shifted to a slightly more serious one, but yet it still held a teasing undertone.

“I love you,” he said. He then paused for a moment. “…And your tiny hands.”

You chuckled then hugged him back. “They aren’t that tiny! Your hands are just huge! And yes, I love you too.”

Nikolai kissed the top of your head. “I’m glad! Now, I’m ninety percent sure I finally got down this new card trick. Do you wanna watch me perform it?”

[separatist-apologist]

The Sweetest Con

Summary: Nesta Archeron has been trapped in witness protection for the past five years, hiding a secret no one can ever learn. All she has to do is wait out the criminals back home determined to punish her and her sisters for a lie they told years before.

She can handle anything- even the new agent sent to keep her safe.

Read on AO3

Five years earlier:

She wasn’t used to Georgia’s humidity. 

Nesta never wanted to get used to it. Standing just outside the little white house that now belonged to her, Nesta wiped sweat from the back of her neck. The town was small—no more than a couple thousand people, if that. No big buildings, no major downtown, and worst of all, no Chinese food. Not unless she wanted to creep closer to Atlanta and given that Nesta’s car was a piece of rusting junk built a full decade before she was born, she doubted she’d make it.

So much for being a hot shot lawyer. 

Nesta dumped her bag just inside the white picket fence, ignoring the peeling paint and splintering wood. It was the kind of place Elain would have thrived in. With a sigh, Nesta turned her back entirely on the overgrown yard and began walking along the only road in the town to the center—aptly named Main Street. 

There was practically no one out. A few older woman walked with looped arms down the sidewalks while a harried mother pushing a stroller made her way toward the only grocery store. Nesta made her way toward the marble carved library, taking the steps one at a time despite the unrelenting sun overhead.

The air inside was ice cold and empty save of two women who were quietly talking to each other. One of them—the red head—clearly worked there given she was behind the desk. The other sat perched on the counter, a book in her lap. They had been clearly talking with some animation though now that Nesta had intruded, the pair stared with wary suspicion.

Nesta hadn’t come to make friends. Lifting her chin with all the haughtiness her mother had instilled in her, Nesta marched toward the shelves lined with fantasy and romance and began reading the jackets. 

She needed a distraction. All she could think about lately was what would happen if Rhysand ever found them. Surely he was irate…he’d be out for blood. They’d flat out lied, pointing the finger straight at the notorious mafioso and the feds, in their eagerness to put him away, had overlooked all the evidence suggesting otherwise.

But Rhysand would know.

And Nesta wanted to forget him. Mobsters lived short lives, besides—in a year, he might be dead and the whole thing over. She could keep herself busy for that long. So long as the library kept books on the shelves, Nesta could find something to do.

She brought them to the front desk where the red head and the dark haired woman waited. “Library card?” The woman’s name tag read Gwyn. 

“No,” Nesta said, fishing out her new drivers license. Agnes Smith. Sure. That sounded real. “Here.”

Gwyn eyed it for a moment. “You don’t look like an Agnes.”

“Tell that to my mom.”

Gwyn began typing on her computer, glancing at Nesta’s ID. “Emerie,” the dark skinned, dark haired woman said with a friendlier smile. “I think you look like an Agnes.” Gwyn rolled her eyes. 

“You should come by the general store,” Emerie added, glancing at the ID for Nesta’s address. “You moved into the old Brandon house.”

“Grizzly murder happened there,” Gwyn said seriously.

“Did not. He died of all old age,” Emerie said quickly. “It’s been run down for a while. I’d be happy to help you out.”

“Do you like women?” Gwyn asked suddenly and bluntly. 

Taken aback, Nesta said, “Um…not really—romantically, anyway.”

Emerie sighed. “It was worth a shot.”

Nesta almost blurted out that she’d still take friends before she thought better of it. No need to be defensive or obsessive. ���Where is everyone today?”

“It’s ten am,” Gwyn said.

“They’re at church,” Emerie replied when it was clear Nesta didn’t understand. 

“But not you?” Nesta questioned.

Gwyn handed her ID back, along with a white library card bearing her pretend name. “We aren’t welcome.”

“Why?”

Emerie grimaced while Gwyn scanned Nesta’s book. “They think I’m a homewrecker…and Emerie likes women. Openly.” 

“Fuck them,” Nesta said without thinking. It was the first smile she’d seen from Gwyn—a small, half formed thing, but a smile all the same. “We should start our own religion.”

“That sounds like blasphemy,” Emerie teased.

“It sounds like witchcraft,” Gwyn added, pushing Nesta’s stack of books toward her. “I’m in.”

Which was how Nesta found herself hosting brunch that Sunday with two strangers in a house that didn’t belong to her.

PRESENT:

“Who is that?” Emerie asked, sitting on Nesta’s front porch holding a sweating glass of iced tea. 

“He’s not local at all,” Gwyn agreed, lowering her sunglasses to take a look at the tall, muscular man making his way toward Nesta’s gate. Wearing mirrored shades and a suit that was bursting at the seams, he looked like he was playing dress up as a cop.

His dark, wavy hair half pulled in a bun didn’t seem regulation, for one. But something about him seemed off somehow. 

“He one of yours?” Gwyn questioned. Nesta had long since betrayed the secrecy she’d been sworn to, telling her friends everything but the most critical piece of truth in order to protect Feyre. 

Nesta scratched her ear. No, this man was definitely not one of hers. 

“Want us to stay?” Gwyn asked, likely thinking about the shotgun mounted in the back of her pick-up truck.

“I can handle him,” Nesta assured them. Gwyn and Emerie stood, leaving behind their cups to slip from the yard. Gwyn nodded at the man once, lips pressed into a thin line of disapproval. That left Nesta standing at the top of her porch steps wearing a butter yellow sundress, arms crossed over her chest.

“Ma’am,” he the man began as he approached, his expression unreadable. She waited, watching as he took off his sunglasses only for recognition to slam into her. Oh. She knew this man from pictures.  “My name is Cassian.”

Rhysands right hand man. Nesta didn’t move, unwilling to betray she knew who he was. “What can I do for you, Cassian?”

Not even a fake name? Was he that confident she’d never done one google search? He had a mugshot, had appeared in the papers just enough times for Nesta to recognize him. They called him The Lord of Bloodshed thanks to his rumored job of handling the things Rhysand didn’t want staining his hands or his conscience. 

And that man was standing at the bottom of her steps, armed just beneath his suit jacket. 

“I’m here on behalf of your case,” he said like a pretty liar. 

“Oh? Has something happened?”

“An indictment is coming. I’m to escort you back home once Rhysand has been charged.”

Liar.

Still, there was no reason to call him out on it. If Rhysand had found her, he must be still looking for her sisters. She didn’t believe for a minute he’d found Feyre—his bruiser would have pointed his gun at her by way of greeting had he. No, they were monitoring her.

And Nesta could watch them right back. 

So she smiled, hoping she seemed innocent and sweet. “What a relief,” she lied, stepping to the side so he could come up. “I was starting to think I’d be trapped here forever.”

“Can I come inside?” Cassian asked, looking around her immaculate yard with interest. “It’s hot out here.”

“Better get used to that,” Nesta said, pulling open the screen door so Cassian could get the lay of the land. “Are you staying here?”

“If you don’t mind. The hotel is…”

Roach filled, she knew. People still went, content to carry out their clandestine affairs in filth so long as no one ever found out. 

“I have a spare room,” Nesta told him. Cassian turned back for his own car—a brand new jeep  that was laughably out of place in her little neighborhood. He returned with two bags slung over his broad shoulders, eyes hidden behind his glasses. The sun hit the golden brown of his skin, making it seem as if he glowed and tragically, Nesta thought he was a good looking man.

He’d kill her if she wasn’t careful…but attractive, all the same. 

Nesta showed him to the smaller room she kept made up just in case Gwyn or Emerie wanted to stay the night, thinking the full sized bed didn’t seem big enough for this man. He had to duck beneath the doorway, putting him well over six foot three—maybe six six? He made Nesta, who stood tall at five nine, feel dainty by comparison.

“Should I call you Cassian, or…?”

“Cassian is fine,” he replied, sunglasses resting atop his head. “This is perfect, by the way. I promise you’ll barely know I exist.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Nesta said in a flirty voice as she eyed him. “I think it would be hard not to notice you.” He grinned, unaware that a real agent would have shut her down in seconds. “Well, Miss Agnes, I’ll do my best to keep out of your hair.”

Nesta offered him another smile, mind racing. If she survived tonight she assumed she’d survive as long as he wanted her to—and as long as she didn’t admit she knew what he was. That meant keeping it from Gwyn and Emerie, who wouldn’t be able to stop themselves from treating him like a criminal.

He thought she was prey, but Nesta Archeron was a survivor. A predator, just like this man. And she had lived in Georgia for five years—she had guns hidden all over the house. He didn’t need to know any of that, though. Nesta waited while he unpacked some of his things and peeked around her little house, mostly quiet as he cased her. Sitting on her sofa beneath a ceiling fan moving at top speed, Nesta heard him push open the back door and walk through the yard where she assumed he was testing the gate.

He messed with windows when he returned, pushing back curtains to peer out into the street. “You’re wide open out here,” he finally said with a frown on his pretty face. And he was pretty—sculpted and rough in a way that was hard to ignore. Nesta found herself noticing the green in his hazel eyes and the way stubble clung to his strong jaw. A slit cut through his eyebrow while faint scars littered his jaw and hands, betraying a man who knew his way around a fight. 

He was fooling no one but himself. 

“This is where you put me,” she reminded him, wondering if he understood what she was really saying. 

“Maybe we’ll keep the curtains closed,” Cassian said, as if Nesta didn’t do that anyway. The sun was unforgiving and the only way to survive swampy summers was to try and keep things shady and cool. 

“Do you want to take off your jacket?”

“I want to take everything off,” he admitted, shrugging out of what she had to assume was stolen. “Even my own skin.”

“That’s how I felt when I first got here,” she told him. He’d look back on all this and remember—he’d realize she knew the moment he stepped onto her lawn. “You get used to it.”

She was going to kill him, she realized. The knowledge slammed into Nesta’s chest violently, paralyzing her for a moment. She’d never killed anyone…but at some point she’d have to kill this man before he killed her. Cassian, for his part, was unaware of the slant of her thoughts. He must have already known when he came down that he planned to kill her just as soon as he was given the order. She doubted he intended to take her home…and if he did, it would be under duress. 

That was future Nesta’s problem, though. For now, all she had to do was stay one step ahead of him. And that meant pretending like she believed every word coming out of his mouth and ignored all the obvious signs that he was a liar. 

“Hungry?” she asked. 

“Starving,” Cassian agreed. He vanished into the room she’d given him, leaving Nesta enough time to try and steady her nervous hands. By the time Cassian returned, Nesta was slicing up meat for the grill outside. There was absolutely no way she was turning on her oven.

“Can I help you with that?”

Instinct demanded she say no. She didn’t want Cassian anywhere near lighter fluid, for one. He looked so earnest and she was pretending, so Nesta nodded. “I haven’t seasoned it yet.”

“Leave it to me,” Cassian said with an easy smile. And she did, watching him from the corner of her eye while he seasoned her meat and vegetables. He vanished out the back door and when he returned, sweat glistened over his face. Nesta found herself standing there for a moment, staring as he pulled the rest of his hair off his face, biceps straining against the cuff of his t-shirts. 

Cassian was heavily tattooed with black ink that crawled over his arms and up his neck, broken only by the sweaty shirt he wore. 

“Why do people live like this?” Cassian asked, wiping his brow on his sleeve. “It’s horrible.”

“I keep saying it,” she replied honestly. “I would have preferred a colder climate.”

“Next time,” Cassian grumbled. “What are you doing now?”

“Cutting up fruit. Want some?”

Cassian picked a blueberry out of the bowl and popped it into his mouth. “How do you spend your time, anyway?”

“I’m the town lawyer,” Nesta informed him. “I work in a little office down on Main Street.”

“And when you’re not working?”

She shrugged. “I have friends…but I mostly read.”

He glanced toward her shelves of books in the living room, visible from the hall connecting the two. “Anything interesting?”

“Take a look,” was all Nesta could think to respond. Cassian didn’t take her up on her offer, turning instead to go check on the grilling meat. Had she not known who he was, Nesta might have thought the awkward environment was just because a stranger had invaded her space.

It felt almost normal. 

Almost.

Because Nesta couldn’t forget a killer was sitting across from her, his hands soaked in blood. She kept coming back to it as they ate in relative silence. Why had Rhysand sent him here? What did he want with her? Nesta needed to figure it out.

And figure it out fast.

CASSIAN:

Nesta Archeron was beautiful.

Cassian hadn’t expected it. He’d seen a picture of Feyre only once and had kind of imposed her face on all three Archerons. Walking up to her house had been a surreal experience. For one, all Cassian could see was her tits pressed against the neckline of that sundress she wore. Holy fucking Christ, but Nesta’s body was something out of his most depraved fantasies.

But her eyes were something else. Icy blue and calculated, it was no surprise Nesta had survived five years out mostly on her own. Did she even know her sisters were guarded by federal agents while she was left to fend for herself? 

It irked Cassian. Sure, he was grateful he’d been able to gain access to her life so easily, but surely someone was keeping their eyes on this woman? So the likes of him couldn’t just stroll into her home and do whatever he liked with her? 

But after two days living with Nesta, Cassian learned that no one seemed to care if she lived or died. Which was just as well—because he was starting to care. Just a little, he told himself that second night as he laid in bed staring up at the ceiling fan.

His only job was to get her back to Rhysand in one piece once he’d tracked down Feyre and married her. Nesta wouldn’t even know until it was all too late and the feds would lose their pathetic case.

And then Cassian could go back to his regular life in a place that wasn’t drenched in humidity. How did anyone sleep? Even with Nesta’s air conditioner going at full blast, Cassian found himself shucking off his shirt and kicking the sheets to the floor in a desperate attempt at sleep. 

Thinking the living room might be cooler, Cassian dragged his blanket with him to the couch where he found Nesta, half hidden in the dark with a piece of toast in her hand.

Her little night dress was enough to empty out his mind. Why was she so hot? Cassian could see every curve of her perfect body beneath the silken blue fabric and her hair was loose around her shoulders rather than braided in a crown atop her head.

He wanted to lick the salt off her skin.

He wanted to lick a lot of things, actually.

Cassian was fairly certain federal agents weren’t supposed to have sex with their charges—even if Rhysand was certain Vanserra had something going on with the middle Archeron. Cassian wasn’t anything close to a cop and fucking was his favorite thing to do. 

“I ah..” Cassian rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly hyper aware that all he wore was a pair of loose shorts. Nesta was looking only at his face with a grim determination—as if she found it very difficult to do so.

You can look at any part of me you like.

Having sex with her would certainly pass the time. 

“It’s hot,” Nesta said, flipping on a lamp on the side table. “I keep meaning to get someone out here to look at my AC, but…”

“I’ll look at it,” Cassian promised. “Before the sun comes up.”

“You’re handy?”

He was, actually. “I grew up with a single mom,” he said, flashing her a smile before making his way to the sofa. “We didn’t have a lot of money, so I learned how to do repairs.” Nesta tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Unwilling to give her a reason to banish him, Cassian made a show of fluffing the couch cushions before stretching himself out. 

“My shower doesn’t have hot water,” she finally told him.

Cassian grinned in the dark. “I can take a look at that, too.”

“I would appreciate it,” Nesta replied. 

“Why don’t you make me a list? I’ve got nothing else to do all day and I feel like a freeloader sitting on your couch.”

That was true. Cassian was used to staying busy and suddenly he had nothing but downtime. It was tempting to go to the library and find his own books to read and treat the entire thing like a vacation. This would help build trust between them, he rationalized.

And Cassian liked having something to do. He liked being useful to people. 

“I could do that,” Nesta said, still standing in his line of sight. Even in the dark, Cassian could see her nipples pointed through the fabric. He wanted to touch them.

“I’m here to help,” Cassian reminded her.

“Of course,” she said, her tone unreadable to him. 

He nearly asked if she wanted to join him. It was on the tip of his tongue, but Nesta beat him to speaking, adding, “Well. Sleep well, Cassian.”

“You too,” he said, disappointment ribboning through him. It was absurd to think a woman like Nesta Archeron was going to crawl in his dirtbag lap.

Still, Cassian could dream. And he did, waking with a throbbing erection he had to discreetly handle in the freezing cold shower. Cassian hadn’t noticed it wasn’t hot given the air was miserable and he didn’t want to take a boiling shower for once. He could hear Nesta in her room listening to music, up with dawn just like he was. 

He found tools out in her garden shed, unused and rusty. They’d likely belonged to the previous tenant, whoever they’d been. Still, they worked well enough for Cassian’s purposes. What she needed was an entirely new unit. Cassian guessed the old one was over a decade long and judging from the rattling, it was on its final legs.

He had money. A lot of money. Would she believe him if he told her the agency had decided to replace it? Nesta didn’t strike him as particularly stupid—if they’d never helped her before, she might not believe they’d help her now. He couldn’t live the way they had been, though, which was how Cassian found himself on the phone with the local repairman giving out his credit card details over the phone.

Nesta was gone by the time Cassian came back into the house, drenched in sweat and slightly sunburned on the tops of his arms. It was a relief to get into the basement and work on the water heater, and by the time Cassian finished, the service guys were there to replace Nesta’s air conditioner. It required them to turn the air off which was actual hell, though once it was back up, Cassian felt instant relief. 

Nesta returned with a scowl on her face, dressed in a pencil skirt that made Cassian’s mouth dry out. How had Archeron managed to create her? Cassian had met him—he was nothing special. An unremarkable man in every way imaginable, including his appearance.

Nesta could have modeled. Could have had her face on billboards, her body in magazines. Had he met her back home, he knew he’d have dogged her steps hoping for just a look in his direction. 

“Any news?” Nesta asked, sliding her keys and purse onto a side table. Cassian watched her kick off her heels and turn her face upwards toward the vents blowing cold air.

“Nope,” he said. What would Rhys do if he kept her here for a year? Kick his ass, likely. “Rough day?”

Holding up a cloth shopping bag, Nesta nodded her head while Cassian rose to take it from her. Inside he found an assortment of peppers, onions, and a rather nice steak he assumed she wanted to grill. Cassian had never grilled before he met her and found that he rather liked it. In fact, he liked the whole little game he was playing. Pretending to be the sort of man who had a house and a wife and a barbeque suited him.

In another life, Cassian would have thrived.

“I’m working on another divorce and her soon to be ex stopped by to tell me what he thought about me.”

“I hope it was to tell you you’re beautiful,” Cassian replied without thinking as he peeled stickers from the vegetables.

“No it wasn’t,” Nesta replied, her tone uncertain. “It was to tell me what a bitch I am.”

Cassian arched a brow. “Did you tell him to get fucked?”

Nesta chuckled. “Not this time…but I wanted to. He thinks if he digs his heels in, he can avoid this divorce but it’s happening either way.”

“This is why I’m not married,” Cassian said, reaching for a knife.

“Oh?” Nesta asked, an amused smile on her perfect face. “Is that the only reason?”

Cassian couldn’t help his grin. “I’m off-putting to women, of course.”

“There it is,” she said with a pretty laugh. “Want any help?”

“Get out of my kitchen, Nes,” Cassian replied, swatting her away. “Water’s fixed, by the way.”

The whole thing was warm and domestic. Nesta thanked him before sauntering off, hips swaying with each step. The only thing to temper Cassian’s hot blood was the hotter grill outside and a reminder that Nesta was off limits to him.

He was merely a guard meant to get her back home before the feds scooped her and her sisters back up again. Collateral, he supposed, for the game Rhys was playing with Feyre. Cassian was grateful for that, at least—if Rhys called him and told him to kill her, he wasn’t certain he could do it. 

Cassian returned to find Nesta in a pair of tiny little shorts and a pink tank top. He wished she’d pull her hair down, still left in its braided crown, though in truth he could have stood at the backdoor and stared at her for an embarrassing length of time.

“What did I say about the kitchen?” he teased, setting his tray of meat and vegetables on the counter beside her.

“I wanted to make a little salad,” Nesta told him, showing him the bowl. “Do you even eat vegetables?”

“On occasion,” Cassian said with an easy grin. “I’ll eat whatever you put in front of me, though. I’m not picky.”

“Tell me about yourself, Cassian,” Nesta ordered once they were seated at her little wooden table. 

“There’s nothing interesting to tell,” he replied. “Why don’t you tell me about yourself? I’ll bet you’re a lot more interesting than I am.”

“Oh, I doubt that,” Nesta murmured.

“C’mon,” Cassian cajoled. Nesta sighed, eyes narrowed with that suspicious look he was growing so fond of. Was there such a thing as love at first sight, he wondered? Cassian was starting to suspect he was under its spell. Under hers, anyway. Nesta relented, telling him little stories he figured were probably half true. 

Cassian knew the right questions to ask, at any rate. Careful not to mention her family, Cassian asked her about everything else. Nesta spoke about going to law school and living in Georgia, mentioning two friends she’d made—Gwyn the librarian and Emerie the grocer. He’d seen them on his porch when he first arrived. 

He needed to do a little digging on them, but he figured they were likely fine. 

“What about you?” Nesta asked, their meal long concluded. Cassian began gathering up dishes.

“What about me?”

“Are you from Georgia?” she questioned.

Cassian chuckled. “No, I’m not from Georgia. Just got unlucky in my assignment, I guess.”

“Why did you want to do this work?”

Cassian considered that. “I’m good at it,” he replied, drumming his fingers along the edge of the sink. “I kind of fell into it, actually. I guess I succumb easily to peer pressure because when one of my friends suggested I apply, I did it without hesitation.”

That wasn’t entirely true. There had been no application process—he and Rhys had become friends as boys and Rhys’s mother had been like a second mother to Cassian. He’d always wanted to repay them for their kindness and when Rhys asked him to join him as his right hand man, the answer had been obvious.

He couldn’t tell Nesta that, though. She didn’t poke, either, seemingly satisfied with his answer. While Cassian cleaned up, Nesta made her way to the living room, picked up a book, and curled up on the couch. Cassian watched her pull a blanket from the back of the sofa and drape it over her tanned knees.

“Cold, huh?” he joked. 

“You fixed—”

A gunshot silenced both of them. Nesta jumped clean out of her skin, book falling from her trembling hands. Cassian frowned, his own heart racing with excitement. Finally, something interesting was happening.

His own gun was in his hand before Nesta ever stood. “Don’t move,” he whispered, motioning for her to get away from the window.

“Send the bitch outside!” a man’s voice yelled, filling Cassian with cold rage. He was at the door in a moment, flinging it open so it was his large body filling the space. On the lawn, a man stumbled forward, gun pointed at the sky. He pulled the trigger again, clearly trying to intimidate Cassian.

Cassian had been tied up before, a gun pressed against his lips while his cock was threatened with a knife. Some fucking rural drunk with a gun didn’t scare him. In truth, very little scared Cassian. He’d cheated death more times than he could count and he knew, as he stepped onto the lawn in the fading daylight, that he wasn’t going to die today.

This man, on the other hand…well. Cassian supposed it would depend on what he did next.

“Lower your weapon!” Cassian barked, his voice rough and menacing. The man jerked to look at him, eyes wide and watery. “Put your gun down or I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Send out your bitch—”

Cassian didn’t shoot him, but he did hit him in the face. Hard. Maybe too hard given the way the man crumpled at his feet as blood poured from his nose. Only the alcohol kept him from passing out which was lucky for Cassian.

Crouching in the grass, Cassian grabbed the man by his thinning hair and forced his head into an unnatural angle. “What did you say?”

“I called her a bitch,” the man spluttered through the blood. 

Cassian cocked his gun with his free hand and pressed it to the man's cheek. “Try again,” he whispered, fully intending on killing this man on the front lawn. Cassian’s finger pressed against the trigger just as Nesta barked, “Cassian!”

He twisted to look at her, arms crossed over her chest. She was fury incarnate right then, marching toward the pair of them without a care in the world. 

“Get out of her, Brent,” Nesta ordered, pointing her finger toward the gate. “This is embarrassing, even for you.”

“You ruined my life—”

“You ruined your own life by cheating on your wife!” Nesta spat without remorse. “And you’re ruining it by assaulting a federal officer.”

Cassian nearly choked. Did he look like a cop right then? 

“He assaulted me,” Brent protested, shoving out of Cassian’s grip.

“If I see you near her again, you’ll find yourself six feet under before you can utter one fucking word. Do we understand each other?” Cassian asked, rising to his full height. Brent glanced from the gun in Cassian’s hand to Cassian himself before offering a sullen nod. 

“Whatever,” he muttered, clearly trying to save face. Cassian watched him stumble off, forcing himself not to pull the trigger anyway at the man’s retreating back. Nesta came to stand beside Cassian, resting her soft, small hand on his forearm.

“That’s the guy getting the divorce,” she told him, as if Cassian cared who he was. Letting someone who threatened him walk away unscathed felt wrong and Cassian longed to rectify it. Where did he live, he wondered? 

“I can see why,” Cassian muttered, turning back for the house. “I’ll sleep on the couch tonight.”

“He’s not coming back—”

“He pointed a gun at you,” Cassian growled, the memory filling him with rage. 

Nesta only shrugged, proving that she was still part of the life whether she wanted to be or not. Did she know what a liar her younger sister was, he wondered? Did Nesta know it had been Feyre who killed her father? Looking at her in the warm light of the house, Cassian decided that a woman like Nesta wouldn’t allow herself to live this way if she hadn’t known. If she wasn’t protecting someone. 

Who was protecting her? 

“I’m fine,” Nesta reminded him. But Cassian knew all too well how differently things could have gone if he hadn’t been there. Cassian knew how quickly a bullet could end things. 

“I’ll feel better out here,” he said, setting his gun on the glass coffee table. “You won’t change my mind, Nes.”

She hesitated, eyes moving from him to the window. “Fine.”

Cassian had no intention of sleeping, though. He waited until he knew Nesta was asleep, slipping into her bedroom just to check. She was so lovely even in sleep and Cassian had to resist the urge to touch her face. Not tonight. Another night, perhaps—but not this night. 

The thing about small towns he found himself appreciating was how easy it was to find people. Slipping into a local bar, Cassian mentioned what had happened to the bartender, who helpfully told him where Brent lived. 

He didn’t bother to slip in quietly. If he wanted to be unnoticed, he would have called up Azriel. Cassian liked when his marks were scared, for whatever that said about him. Flexing his fingers, Cassian picked through the dirty, mostly empty house. He supposed Nesta was helping to clean him out.

Good for her.

Brent was waiting in a fraying brown chair, a bottle of Jack Daniels held loosely in one hand. “Knew you weren’t no cop,” he muttered. “You got the look of a felon.”

“Have you been talking to my third grade teacher?” Cassian asked, his tone light. “She used to say the same thing.”

“You ain’t foolin’ no one but that girl of yours,” Brent told him, eyeing the gun in Cassian’s hand. 

“She’s the only one I need to fool,” Cassain agreed, coming closer. “I swore an oath to protect her.”

“I didn’t hurt her.”

“But you scared her,” Cassian said in that same friendly tone. “You came to her house and threatened her and I can’t stand for that.”

“Well, I don’t really care if I scared her. Sometimes women ought to be a little afraid.”

Cassian clenched his fingers. “Is that so?”

“Make your threats and get the fuck out,” Brent ordered, taking another swig of whiskey. Cassian saw his gun on a chipped side table. 

“You don’t have much going for you, do you Brent? Wife left you, took all your money…is about to take your house. You’ve got no job, no friends…anyone would lose it.”

“Yeah,” Brent mumbled, eyes glassy. “You get it.”

“If I were you, I’d probably kill myself too,” Cassian added, holding Brent’s gun in his hand. Brent’s eyes found him, big and wide with shock. 

“What did you say?”

Cassian shrugged, making his way closer to the inebriated man. “I don’t think anyone will be surprised when they find you. I’ll bet it takes them days before someone comes checking.”

“Look, you don’t have to do this. I can…I can pay you—”

“No you can’t,” Cassian said with a chuckle. “And even if you could, I wouldn’t take your money. This is about honor, of which you have none because an honorable man wouldn’t try and threaten a woman for doing her job.”

“She fucked me over—”

“You fucked yourself,” Cassian interrupted, reaching for Brent’s hair a second time. “And you made a mistake coming after her.”

“I’m sorry—”

Cassian pressed the barrel of the gun beneath Brent’s jaw.

“I know you are,” he said, holding the man’s gaze. “It’s not enough.”

And then he pulled the trigger. The relief he felt was instantaneous, his blood lust slaked. It took another few seconds to arrange the gun in Brent’s hand, letting both his arm and the weapon fall lifelessly into his lap. The bottle of Jack hit the floor with a thud, spilling over stained wood floors.

The scene was practically a work of art. Textbook suicide—no one would look twice at him or Nesta. That didn’t stop him from wiping his prints on the way out, just in case. He found himself back on the couch, face washed of blood, before two am. 

Cassian had been right about one thing: it took them three days to find Brent.

“Suicide,” Nesta said crisply when she learned, eyes focused on Cassian’s face.

He only smiled. 

[mantis-dea]

Bruno Bucciarati's Type Headcanon

Bruno is someone with a deep-seated desire for a loving relationship and perhaps, a family of his own. As the years go by, his desire increasingly starts to surface.

However, the path he walks is fraught with danger and uncertainty. Serving as Giorno’s right-hand man in Passione, his life is intertwined with the complex world of Italy’s strongest mafias.

As Team Bucciarati works tirelessly to clean up Passione and protect their territory from rival factions attempting to seize power, Bruno finds himself constantly away on perilous missions, often with little respite between them. His absence can range from days to weeks, and sometimes even longer.

The weight of his responsibilities and the knowledge that his life is constantly on the line weigh heavily on Bruno's heart. He is aware of the dangers he faces, and it pains him to imagine someone he cares about worrying and waiting for his return, only for that day to never come. He has seen too many comrades who had family fall, and it's a fear that haunts him.

He believes that suppressing this desire is the responsible thing to do.

Bruno not dating means several less things to worried about.

What if someone kidnaps his s/o and uses them as leverage?

What if he promised a night out, but he could not make it?

What if a rival member decides to kill his s/o?

Because of these factors, luck would truly have to be on s/o’s side, especially if they are a civilian.

As a generality, Bruno’s type would be someone who is kind, gets his weird sense of humor, and exudes a calming presence that makes spending time together effortless. Whether he and his s/o are fishing, listening to Miles Davis, or simply relaxing, being near his s/o soothes him.

On the other hand, while I do think Bruno values calm and stability in a partner more, I can also see Bruno liking someone slightly chaotic. Someone who he enjoys sharing a laugh with. Someone who does stupid things to get him to laugh. However, he's not looking for an extremely chaotic personality, as his demanding work already saps his energy and exposes him to such individuals regularly.

Additionally, this person must accept his line of work.

If his s/o is not part of the mafia, he won’t disclose his involvement unless they begin to suspect, or the relationship is about to go to the next level.

Bruno would want them to see him as a person first before they make a decision. Afterall, he is in Passione to eradicate drugs amongst the youths.

Bruno is most likely to enter a romantic relationship with a fellow member of Passione. His future s/o would need to have some experience within the organization, preferably working alongside Bruno on numerous missions where they shared the same living quarters.

There are two reasons why Bruno would date a fellow Passione member:

1.) Bruno will be less apprehensive about dating knowing they are perfectly capable of defending themselves.

2.) They understand the mafioso lifestyle. Though the disappointment will still be present, they won’t be resentful or surprised when he’s away for extended periods of time. This shared perspective significantly reduces potential strains and misunderstandings. Moreover, Bruno can have open discussions with his significant about Passione's members and issues, providing a valuable source of insight and support.

If his s/o is a civilian, they must be the one of the luckiest people ever.

For this civilian to catch Bruno’s attention, they’d have to do something truly “significant” in his eyes. It will most likely be an act of kindness.

Helping an elderly lady with groceries.

Buying a kid who didn’t have money an ice cream.

S/o trying to skim board in a fountain, only to fall face first into the water, attempting to avoid crashing into a kid.

I also have a one-shot where civilian s/o exchanges a bag of apples that Bruno was gifted for a bag of oranges. She was watering plants on her balcony when she overheard the conversation about him not being fond of apples. She runs down and exchanges the bags with him.

After witnessing an act of kindness, there is a low chance that Bruno may strike up a conversation with you. If you are close by him after the incident occurred, he may comment about it out loud.

As time passes, If Bruno sees s/o consistently after the initial incident, he will begin to think about them more frequently, noting just how often they keep crossing paths. If he’s in a crowd, he finds himself doing a quick glance to see if you are there.

After a series of encounters – four or five to be exact–, with each one seemingly involving him or his future s/o running into one another, he becomes drawn to them. He eventually initiates a conversation, sharing a chuckle at the uncanny frequency of their meetings. With each interaction, Bruno finds himself falling deeper in love, and s/o becomes a constant presence in his thoughts.

He starts to believe fate is trying to bring you two together. Unexpectedly, after some pep talk from Mista of all people, he finally goes and asks them out for dinner.

[souurcitrus]

Batfamily Time-line

Decide to do a quick timeline for Batman's core family, since it seems like the Comics writers don't know how old the characters should be, and with the stories being due between New Earth and Prime Earth, things get even more confusing.

I don't really like the New 52 and most reboots irritate me, so I made this timeline based on old Batman stories. Anot all information are correct, and some is more speculation based on the Comics.

(Edit: Changed Jason's age.)

1939 -

• August 16th - Alfred Pennyworth was born.

• (His age is never specified in any type of media, but it seems like he was at least on his 30s when he became Bruce's guardian).

1962 -

• Bruce Wayne's birthday is officially February 19th (though I don't remember when the exactly year).

1970 -

• One night, while returning from the Monarch Theatre, the Wayne family was approached by the criminal, Joe Chill, who murdered Thomas and Martha and fled.

• Bruce (age 8) was left in Alfred Pennyworth's care (age 31).

1971 -

• January 26 - Kate Kane, Bruce Wayne's cousin, is born.

1975 -

• September 23 - Barbara Gordon is born.

1976 -

• At age 14, Bruce Wayne's eyes were opened to the level of crime in Gotham and he was determined to do something about it, swearing to rid the city of the evil that had taken his parents' lives.

• He left Gotham City and spent his youth traveling the world, training himself to intellectual and physical perfection and learning a variety of crime-fighting skills, including chemistry, criminology, forensics, martial arts, gymnastics, disguise and escape artistry.

1978 -

• March 20 - Richard "Dick" Grayson, son of John and Mary Grayson, two acrobats from The Haley Circus.

1984 -

• (Batman: Year One, Batman #404-407)

• Bruce Wayne (22) returned to Gotham and began acting as a vigilante, taking on the title of Batman.

• Bruce named Lucius Fox president of Wayne Enterprises and brought him, Alfred Pennyworth (45) and Leslie Tompkins their plans.

• Along with James Gordon, Sarah Essen and Harvey Bullock, Batman faces corruption and crime in Gotham.

• August 16 - Jason Todd was born.

• (Catwoman: Her Sister’s Keeper)

• Selina Kyle was inspired to become a costumed thief when she sees Batman in action and becomes Catwoman.

• (Batman: Shaman, Legends of the Dark Knight #1-5)

• That same year, other rogues appeared, before the Joker even existed: Man-Bat, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy and Riddler.

1985 -

• (Batman: Year Two, Detective Comics #575-578)

• Batman inspired the vigilante movement, leading to the arrival of the likes of Superman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Black Canary and his old friend Oliver Queen as Green Arrow.

• January 26 - Cassandra Cain, daughter of Lady Shiva and David Cain, is born.

• (Batman: The Man Who Laughs, Detective Comics #784-786)

• The first appearance of the Joker.

• (Batman: The Long Halloween #1-12)

• Batman, James Gordon and Harvey Dent worked together to bring down the organized crime syndicates led by Carmine Falcone and Sal Maroni.

• They also had to investigate a serial killer named Holiday that had been killing mafiosos. Gotham's new breed of criminals was replacing the traditional gangsters.

• This was the first time Batman met Selina Kyle dressed as Catwoman.

• After a long investigation, Maroni was brought to a trial, during which he threw it at Dent's face, leaving him scarred. Later, Harvey reappeared calling himself Two-Face and shot Falcone twice in the head.

• He was accused of betraying the things he believed in and arrested.

1986 -

• (Superman, vol 1 #76; Superman/Batman annual, #1)

• Superman and Batman meet for the first time, as Superman came to Gotham and they work together tracking the dangerous psychopath Magpie. They both gained respect for each other, although they doubted, they would ever work together again

• July 19 - Timothy Drake is born.

• (Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity)

• Clark later introduced Bruce to Wonder Woman while chasing "The Purge" led by Ra's al Ghul.

• Already a hero to Gotham, Batman (26) became a hero to the world when he and six other heroes fought Brainiac's invasion and formed the Justice League of America.

• August 11 - Stephanie Brown is born.

1987 -

• (Detective comics, vol 1 #37 / Robin Annual #4 1995)

• July 15 - Bruce (27) watched the Flying Graysons perform an acrobatic act and continued to watch as they plummeted to their deaths due to the act being sabotaged by Tony Zucco, leaving only his orphaned son, Richard "Dick" Grayson (9).

• Upon learning that Dick had no living relatives, Bruce saw himself in Dick and adopted him. Dick discovered the Batcave and convinced Bruce to train him to be a vigilante.

• (Alfred's age: 48)

1988 -

• (Robin Annual #4)

• Due to his acrobatic skills, Dick Grayson (10) already had a foundation to build on and so Gotham's Dynamic Duo was born with the first appearance of Batman and Robin, beginning the era of young heroes.

• Barbara Gordon (13) becomes an orphan after her parents tragically die in a car accident. Her uncle, Jim Gordon, adopted her and took her to live with him and his wife Sarah in Gotham City.

• November 18 - Harper Row is born.

• (Alfred's age: 49; Bruce's: 28)

1991 -

• (Detective Comics, vol 1 #359, 1967; Batgirl: Year One, 2003)

• Barbara Gordon (16) debuts in an improvised costume as 'Batgirl' and is nearly killed. Eventually she is accepted by Batman and joins the "Bat Family", being Bruce's new apprentice.

• Duke Thomas is born. (Couldn't find his birthday)

• (Alfred: 52; Bruce: 29; Dick: 13)

1994 -

• (The brave and the bold, vol 1 #54-60; Teen Titans vol 1 #53; Teen Titans: Year One)

• The formation of the Teen Titans happened mainly due to the kids' mentors making them feel inferior, which they quickly realized was not right about them.

• Dick Grayson (16), along with Wally West / Kid Flash and Garth / Aqualad teamed up; later, Donna Troy / Wonder Girl (13/14) joined the team along with Roy Harper / Speedy (14).

• Together, they cured the heroes of their mind control; later, their mentors (Batman, Flash, Aquaman and Wonder Woman) supported the idea of ​​the teenagers becoming a heroic group, the Teen Titans!.

• (Alfred: 55; Bruce: 32, Barbara: 19)

1996 -

• When Jason Todd was a child, he lived in a very poor neighborhood with his father Willis and his stepmother Catherine. As his wife was suffering from an illness, Willis became a criminal and started working for Two Faces to pay for her treatment.

• Willis was killed in a shootout after betraying his boss and Jason was left to care for his mother alone, resorting to also getting involved in crime to get money.

• (Teen Titans vol 1 #53)

• The Teen Titans split up and follow different paths in their careers

• Dick divides his time between working with the Titans in New York and working with Batman in Gotham.

• (Batman and the Outsiders, vol 1, 1983)

• Batman (37) leaves the Justice League and forms the Outsiders.

• (Batman and the outsider's, #32; Justice League, vol 1, 1987)

• Batman leaves the Outsiders and joins the New Justice League.

• (Alfred: 57; Bruce: 34; Barbara: 21)

1997 -

• Bruce Wayne (35) begins to notice that Dick is growing up and moving around, living between New York and Gotham. Afraid of being left alone, he fires Dick.

• (Detective Comics vol 1 #495)

• Dick Grayson (19) goes to Hudson University and leaves after the first semester in July.

• Meanwhile, Jason Todd (13) cared for his mother Catherine until her last breath.

• After his death, legally an orphan, Jason lived in his father's apartment in an abandoned building in Crime Alley, where he turned to crime out of necessity. Jason has become highly skilled at stealing tires from vehicles.

• (Batman #408-409, 1987)

• Jason tried to steal the Batmobile's tires, but was caught by Batman, who decided to take Jason in and began training him to be the new Robin.

• Six months after Dick left Gotham, Jason's training was complete and he stepped in as the new Boy Wonder.

• (New Titans, vol 1, 1980)

• Dick Grayson (19) then formed the new Teen Titans with Raven, Wally West/Kid Flash, Donna Troy/Wonder Girl, Koriand’r/Starfire, Victor Stone/Cyborg, and Garfied Logan/Beast Boy.

• (Nightwing: Year One, #101-106)

• However, his identity as Robin no longer suited him and he soon adopted a new identity: Nightwing.

• (Alfred: 58; Bruce: 35; Barbara: 22)

1998 -

• Bruce (36) leaves another Justice League.

• Barbara (23) starts working in a library and has much less time to be Batgirl.

• (Batman: The Cult #1-4)

• (Batman: The Caped Crusader Vol. 1, Batman #417-430 and Batman Annual #12)

• Some Batman stories with Jason (14) as Robin, this collection does not include "death in the family ".

• (Alfred: 59; Dick: 20)

1999 -

• (The killing joke; Batman Chronicles #5; Oracle: Year One)

• At some point, Barbara Gordon (24) is attacked by the Joker.

• The criminal broke into her apartment and shot her, leaving her paralyzed, in an attempt to drive her father, Jim Gordon, crazy and prove that anyone can be as crazy as him if they have just one bad day.

• As he grew older, Jason Todd proved to be a challenge for Bruce (37), despite being skilled crime fighter, he was very rebellious and often disobeyed Batman.

• (August)

• Jason turns fifteen years old.

• (Batman #425-429, A death in the family)

• Batman decided to remove Jason from his duties as Robin to allow him to grieve the death of his parents.

• Jason discovered that the woman he knew as his mother was his stepmother, so he decided to find his biological mother.

• He found her, Sheila Haywood, an aid worker in Ethiopia. She proved to be the right person and she and Jason had an emotional reunion.

• However, unbeknownst to Batman and Robin, Sheila used to run illegal operations in Gotham and was recently blackmailed by the Joker, to whom she handed over her own son (now in his Robin costume).

• The clown brutally beat him with a crowbar. Robin was soon unconscious in a pool of blood. The Joker then left him and Sheila in the warehouse with a time bomb.

• Batman arrived too late to save them as he was stopping the Joker's venom from reaching the city and they died from their injuries.

• Batman pulled Jason's body from the rubble and took him to Gotham City, before he called Wayne Manor to deliver the news.

• (New Titans vol 1 #55, 1989)

• Dick (21) received the news too and returned to Gotham to look after Alfred and Bruce.

• (Suicide Squad vol 1 #23-28, 1989-1990)

• A mysterious Hacker, called Oracle, starts working with the Suicide Squad.

• (Batman: A lonely place of dying, Batman #426-429, #440-442, and New Titans #60-61).

• Some time later, Timothy Drake (13) discovers the secret identities of the Wayne family and tries to join them. He uses Jason's old costume to save Dick (21) and Bruce (37).

• Orphaned by organized crime, Tim was placed in the care of Bruce Wayne. Tim asked his new caretaker to allow him to train as the third Robin, but Bruce refused due to the fact that he was still grieving the loss of Jason Todd.

• Discovering the breadth of Tim's intellect and deductive genius, Alfred opposed Bruce and began training Tim in secret.

• (Detective Comics #618-621; Batman #480-481)

• Tim's mother is murdered and his father is left in a coma, from which he eventually recovers.

• (Robin: A Hero Reborn, Batman #455-457 and Robin #1-5)

• Tim Drake's first missions as Robin, where he heads to France to study specialized fighting techniques under an old master.

2000 -

• Apparently, Jason was dead for six months, so he should be back to life somewhere in february.

• (Batman: Birth of the Demon)

• Bruce discovers the origin of Ra's Al Ghul.

• Helena Bertinelli became Huntress and also began fighting crime in Gotham.

• (Detective Comics vol 1 #647-649, 1992)

• Bruce hears about a young girl named Spoiler causing trouble around town.

• Stephanie Brown (14) wanted to anger her father and began following in Batman's footsteps.

• The mercenary Bane discovered that the effects of Venom increased his physical strength. He arrived in Gotham with the aim of defeating Batman, who he thought owned the city.

• (Batman: Sword of Azrael)

• Bruce met Jean-Paul Valley (18), a student who was being controlled to become the dangerous vigilante Azrael, and then took him in as his new protégé.

• (Robin III, 1992)

• Tim start dating Ariana Dzerchenko.

• (Batman: Knightfall)

• Bane invades the mansion when everyone is away and, being extremely tired, Bruce is unable to face him. Bane breaks his back with one blow and takes control of the city.

• Out of options, Bruce gives Jean-Paul Valley the mantle of Batman.

• (Robin vol 2 #3-5, 1994)

• Spoiler also joins them and gets closer to Tim.

• Bruce, still with a broken back, travels across Europe on a healing mission with Dr. Kinsolving. Alfred despairs at how little he is taking care of himself and resigns in protest.

• Meanwhile, Dick and Kory's relationship becomes worse. They almost get married, but decide to separate and the Teen Titans are disbanded.

• In the months that passed, however, Jean became an extremely cruel and aggressive Batman, distancing himself from Robin and going against Bruce's request.

• He even manages to defeat Bane and tries to break his back, but Robin stops him.

• (Batman: Knightfall) comes to an end. (According to the comics, this arc last at least 6 months)

• Before more damage was done, Bruce recovered and realizing the mistake he made, faced Jean and returned to being Batman in the conclusion KNIGHT ’END.

• (Batman: Prodigal)

• Bruce decides he wants to go on vacation and Dick becomes Batman, with Robin following him.

• (Nightwing: Alfred's return)

• Barbara Gordon (25) finally returns to work with her family, revealing herself to be the mysterious Hacker, Oracle.

• Dick (22) goes to London to try to convince Alfred to return to Gotham.

• (Batman: Contagion; Batman: Legacy)

• A plague spreads across the city and Batman, Azrael and Gordon try to find a cure. Robin meets Catwoman and reluctantly joins her to also find the cure on a super long journey.

• Nightwing and Huntress deal with rioters in Gotham, and Tim becomes infected when a sick looter spits in his face.

• (Alfred: 61; Dick: 22; Barbara: 25; Bruce: 38; Tim: 14; Stephanie: 14; Jean Paul: 18)

2001 -

• Batman (39) and Azrael (19) go out again in search of a cure.

• Gordon and Mayor Grange fight to keep the city from panicking.

• Batman is forced to leave the city and reluctantly puts Huntress in charge. Helena interrupts a Penguin's plot to cause chaos.

• Batman and Robin (14) travel with Nightwing (23) to the desert and discover that the person behind the virus was the "Immortal" who is revealed to be Ra's al Ghul, who plans to exterminate 90% of humanity so he can dominate the world. world.

• Batman eliminates the virus by blowing up the Aventine Casino.

• Vaccines are distributed and Gotham is saved. Despite Wayne Enterprises exhausting their resources in the relief effort, Bruce is shocked to see the large number of dead bodies.

• Batman, Nightwing, Huntress, and Robin feel guilty for the lives they couldn't save, but Alfred reminds them that every citizen of Gotham would be dead if it weren't for their efforts.

• (Nightwing vol 2)

• On March 20th, Dick turns 23 and moves to Blüdhaven.

• (Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey, 1996)

• Barbara (26) begins working with Black Canary, eventually forming the Birds of Prey.

• Dick and Helena form a romantic relationship in (Nightwing/Huntress).

• (Robin Plus Impulse; World's Finest Three (Superboy/Robin); Young Justice: The Secret)

• Tim meets Superboy and Bart Allen / Impulse and then saves a mysterious girl named Secret.

• (Justice League of America: World without growth; Young Justice vol 1)

• They form Young Justice.

• (Batman: Cataclysm)

• There is a huge earthquake that passes through Gotham City, destroying many buildings and tearing up the foundations. With the chaos caused by the earthquake, many criminals are released, the city is completely isolated from the rest of the world.

• (Robin vol 2 #57, 1998)

• At some point, Tim breaks up with his girlfriend Ariana to be with Stephanie, who realizes she is pregnant, so tosses the mantle of vigilante aside for a while.

• (Batman: Aftershocks)

• In the weeks that pass, Gotham tries to recover. However, Bruce's efforts to help the city are futile when the world decides to turn its back on Gotham.

• (JLA/Titans #1-3; Titans vol 1)

• Dick returns with the Teen Titans.

2002 -

• (Batman: No man’s land)

• After the US government's declaration, Gotham City became a No Man's Land, which effectively quarantined the island. Bridges were destroyed and any other means of entry or exit were guarded by the Army.

• Although the Justice League did not assist in the quarantine for ethical reasons, they were so busy preventing outside forces from conquering the city that the internal situation was left to Batman and his allies.

• According to Barbara Gordon (27), it has been 93 days since the quarantine began and "Gotham is still dead."

• Batman disappeared all this time, and when he returned to the city to reconquer it, he saw that the criminals had already taken over.

• During this arc, Bruce reclaims the city, meets Cassandra Cain (17), daughter of David Cain, a former mentor, Barbara hands over her Batgirl mantle to Cassandra, Lex Luther hires Bane to destroy Gotham's gallery, so he can take control of the city, and James Gordon's wife is killed by the Joker.

• (Alfred: 63; Dick: 24; Barbara: 27; Bruce: 40; Tim: 16; Stephanie: 16; Jean Paul: 20; Cassandra: 17)

2003 -

• Eventually, thanks in large part to the financial and political machinations of Lex Luthor, Gotham City was liberated and rebuilt, and became part of the United States again.

• (Batman: Evolution; Batman: Turning Points; Batman: Officer Down)

• Ten weeks after No Man's Land ended, Commissioner Gordon is shot and retires.

• Alfred (64) goes with Tim (17) when he starts studying and isn't talking to Bruce.

• (Batman & Huntress: A Cry For Blood)

• Helena Bertinelli is being accused of murder and, while avoiding the GCPD and the Bat-Family, she revisits her childhood with The Question in hopes of trying to uncover the true culprit.

• (JLA: Tower of Babel)

• Ra's Al Ghul steals Batman's plans to defeat the Justice League of America.

• Dick (25) goes to the police academy. He and Barbara (28) start dating.

• Tarantula debuts as a vigilante (ew)

• (Batgirl vol 1 #3-6, 2000)

• Cassandra (18) continued as Batgirl moved into Barbara's Clock Tower.

• (Robin vol 2 #87; Batgirl vol 1 #20)

• Bruce tells Stephanie (17) Tim's identity and begins to train her.

• Jean-Paul (21) has established a base of operations near Gotham.

• (Gotham Knights #17, #20-21)

• Bruce (41) finally adopts Dick (25) as his son.

• (Bruce Wayne: Murderer? / Bruce Wayne: Fugitive / Consequences)

• When Vesper Fairchild is found dead at Wayne Manor and Bruce is imprisoned at Blackgate with Sasha Bordeaux, the other members of the bat family try to help break the case.

• However, Bruce has had enough and escapes from prison announcing his intention to do away with Bruce Wayne's identity, and exist solely as Batman.

• Some members of the Family continue to doubt Bruce's innocence in Fairchild's murder, as it appears he has truly crossed the line this time.

• They undergo an extensive investigation as Bruce struggles with identity complications from fighting crime on the streets.

• Eventually, they discover that Vesper's real killer was the ever-devious David Cain, who was hired by then-President Lex Luthor to destroy Bruce.

• (Batman: Broken City, Batman #620-625)

• Batman embarks on a journey of self-discovery that forces him to reflect on the life he has led and the choices he has made while hunting the killer of a young boy's parents.

• (Azrael: Agent of the Bat, vol 1 #100)

• Azrael (21) ended up being killed in a fight with his two biggest enemies, Biis and Scratch, after an attempt to frame Azrael for various crimes. Azrael was hit in his armor and fell from a balcony.

• Although his costume was recovered, his corpse was not.

• (Batman: Hush)

• It's a hell of a mystery that lasts at least a whole week or more. Jason is not here, it's fucking Clayface.

• (Arkham Asylum: Living Hell)

• (Batman: Tabula Rasa / Veritas Liberat)

• Bane (41) discovers that Thomas Wayne was close to his mother before his death and goes to Gotham, demanding that he and Bruce take a DNA test. He stays at Wayne Manor for a while, and there he and Batman fight crime together, with Bruce trying to convince him to be less aggressive.

• When the DNA test arrives, it becomes clear that he and Bruce are not related, he is devastated and lost.

• Some time later, Bane meets his father, the King Cobra, Sir Dorrance, but they do not get along and Bane, who has developed a small respect for Batman, protects Bruce from being shot and almost dies, but Bruce throws him in the Lazarus Pit.

• Bruce lets him leave Gotham a free man.

• (Batman: Death and the Maidens, 2003-2004.)

• Ra's al Ghul dies

• (Titans/YoungJustice: Graduation Day; Teen Titans vol 3; Outsiders vol 3)

• A team-up between Young Justice and the Titans goes horribly, resulting in several deaths, and both teams breaking up. Tim ends up joining the latest version of the Teen Titans, and Dick is reluctantly convinced by Roy to join the new Outsiders.

• (Birds of Prey vol 160.)

• Huntress joins the Birds of Prey, and things are finally looking good for her.

• (Nightwing vol 2, #83 and #95)

• In Blüdhaven, Dick's life is terrible, including Barbara breaking up with him, his old circus being burned down, and his building being blown up, culminating in Blockbuster's death.

• It's a bad time.

• (Robin vol 2 #127-128)

• Soon after, Tim's father discovers that he is Robin and forces him to retire. Stephanie temporarily becomes Robin before Batman takes the mantle from her again.

• (Batman: War Games)

• Immediately afterwards, the War Games begin – Stephanie starts a gang war to prove herself to Bruce and is murdered.

• (Identity Crisis)

• A few days after Stephanie dies, Tim's father is murdered.

• Barbara's Clock Tower is destroyed.

• The police are against the vigilantes

• (Robin #132, Batgirl #58, Robin #133, Batgirl #59)

• Tim, mourning his father and girlfriend, and a little tense with Bruce after the Stephanie stuff; and Cass is mourning her best friend; they move to Bludhaven, where they begin a stronger friendship.

• During this period, Tim placed himself in the custody of a fake uncle, after rejecting Bruce's offer to adopt him.

• (Nightwing vol 2 #107-115)

• Dick left Bludhaven and Gotham, working briefly with the mob in Detroit, and then with Deathstroke.

• (Birds of Prey vol 1 #74)

• Barbara moves to Metropolis with the Birds of Prey.

• (Batgirl vol 1 #66-73)

• Cassandra goes on a personal quest to discover her mother's identity, is caught with the League of Assassins, is killed, thrown into a Lazarus Pit and comes back to life.

• (She doesn't seem to tell anyone about this.)

• (Batman: Under the red hood; Teen Titans #29)

• Jason Todd (19) goes back to Gotham, kills some guys, tries to kill Tim (17), does his whole sad thing and leaves.

• While Under The Red Hood is happening, Dick (28) leaves the name Nightwing and becomes Renegade.

• He chooses to work with Deathstroke of his own free will because he is in a bad place mentally and thinks that Deathstroke can help him with his goals.

• (Infinite Crisis)

• Tension between superheroes and villains increases. Bludhaven is blown up and Dick returns to Nightwing, but does not return to Blüdhaven.

• (Alfred: 64; Dick: 25; Barbara: 28; Bruce: 41; Tim: 17; Stephanie: 17; Jean Paul: 21; Cassandra: 18)

• (Jason is 19 now, he died when he was fifteen.)

2004-

• Bruce's last paranoid spy turns bad and almost kills everyone, Superboy dies, Dick almost dies and the universe semi-explodes again.

• Bruce decides to take Tim (18) and Dick (26) on a fun trip around the world.

• When Cassandra (19) returns from her spiritual quest, she takes over Gotham in their place.

• Also during the holidays this year, Kate Kane (33), Batwoman, appears for the first time, although she actually has a lot less connection to the main Bat-family than you might expect.

• (Alfred: 65; Dick: 26; Barbara: 29; Bruce: 42; Tim: 18; Stephanie: 18; Cassandra: 19; Jason: 20, Kate: 33)

• (I don't know if Kate's age is stated at any point. And I don't know if the writers know either.)

2005 -

2006-

• (The events of "One Year Later" begin)

• Jim Gordon comes out of retirement to be commissioner again, for reasons that will never be explained.

• (Nightwing #118)

• Dick returns to NYC, where he has an unpleasant - but brotherly - encounter with Jason, who is still an anti-villain.

• (Batman vol 1 #654, 2006)

• Bruce offers to adopt Tim again, and this time Tim accepts and moves into the mansion.

• (Outsiders: Five of a Kind, 2007)

• Dick (28) leaves the Outsiders, and Bruce takes over the new team.

• (Batman and son, Batman #655-658, #663-669, #672- #675, 2006)

• Bruce discovers that he has a biological son with Talia, Damian Al Ghul (10) and takes him in. But Damian wants to be the only Robin so he tries to kill Tim and no one likes that so he apparently dies along with Talia.

• (Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul)

• Ra's tries to steal the Damian's body to revive him. Things don't work well, he ends up in a different body and Talia and Damian disappear again.

• (Titans vol 2, 2008)

• Dick and company reform the Titans once again.

• (Robin #170-174; Robin/Spoiler Special, 2008.)

• Stephanie makes her return to Gotham.

• Tim is initially thrilled to see her, but this becomes an uncomfortable tension as her fake death takes hold.

• (Batgirl vol 2, 2008-2009; Batman and the Outsiders vol 2 #2)

• Cassandra returns to live in the mansion, Bruce adopts her and his daughter.

• At some point, Damian returns to Gotham and tries to reconnect with his father. He starts to live in the mansion with Bruce, Alfred and Tim.

• (Batman RIP)

• (Batman: The Heart of Hush)

• The Final Crisis happens and Bruce "dies" aka is lost in time.

• Dick returns to Gotham because someone has to keep this city and his family intact. And the Teen Titans split up again.

• (Batman: Battle for the Cowl, 2009)

• Tim convinces Dick to become Batman, with Damian as his new Robin.

• (Red Robin #1-4, 2009)

• Tim doesn't like Damian being Robin, and he also believes Bruce is alive so he becomes Red Robin and goes on his murder mystery tour.

• He also doesn't believe Bruce is dead and searches for him.

• (Batman and Robin vol 1)

• Dick, Damian and Alfred move into Wayne Tower, living in the penthouse and working in the underground bunker below.

• (Batman: Long Shadows, Batman #687-691)

• Dick becomes the new Batman. It doesn't take long for the city's criminals to put him to the test.

• (Batman and Robin, Vol. 2: Batman vs. Robin)

• (Batman: Streets of Gotham Vol. 1: Hush Money)

• Hush tries to pretend to be Bruce Wayne but Dick, Damian and the Outsiders put him under control.

• (Batman: Streets of Gotham – Vol. 2: Leviathan)

• (Batman: Life After Death)

• (Batgirl vol 3)

• On Bruce's posthumous orders, Cassandra gives the mantle of Batgirl to Stephanie. After she leaves the Outsiders and Gotham, she is later revealed to have gone to Hong Kong.

• (Red Robin vol 1 #10-12)

• Dick joins the Justice League as Batman.

• Stephanie returns as Batgirl. Dick tries to bring Jason back and he refuses, preferring to remain an anti-hero.

• Tim returns to Gotham now as Red Robin, now having proof that Bruce is alive, he also becomes president or something of Wayne Enterprises.

• (Alfred: 67; Dick: 28; Barbara: 31, Bruce: 44; Tim: 20; Stephanie: 20; Cassandra: 21; Jason: 22, Kate: 35; Damian: 10)

2007-

• (Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne / Bruce Wayne: Road Home; Batman: The Return)

• Bruce returns to life thanks to his allies and family. Dick returns Batman's mantle to him.

• (Batman and Robin, Vol. 3: Robin Must Die!)

• (Batman & Robin: Dark Knight vs White Knight)

• (Batman: Streets of Gotham Vol. 3: The House of Hush)

• Tommy Elliot cracks under the strain of living as Bruce Wayne and plots his ultimate revenge against Dick Grayson, Selina Kyle and other members of Bruce's friends and allies.

• Cassandra becomes Black Bat in Hong Kong.

• (Batman and Robin vol 1 #23-25)

• Jason (23) escapes from prison, works with Damian (11) and Dick (29) then disappears.

• (At this point Tim and Stephanie should already be in college, right? Let's pretend they are!!)

• (Batman: The Black Mirror)

• Dick, as Batman, has to deal with James Gordon Jr.

• (Batman: Eye of the Beholder)

• (Batman: The Night of the Owls)

• (Batman, Vol. 2: The City of Owls)

• Bruce meets Harper Row (19), who becomes the vigilante Blue Bird. She doesn't have as many appearances as she should and is soon left aside in the comics.

• (Batman and Robin: Born to Kill)

• The killer Nobody goes after Batman and Robin (Bruce and Damian). This is the first time we see Morgan Ducard and Titus, Damian's dog.

• (Batman and Robin: Pearl)

• Damian tries to prove to Bruce that he is worthy of being Robin just like his older brothers.

• (Alfred: 68; Dick: 29; Barbara: 32, Bruce: 45; Tim: 21; Stephanie: 21; Cassandra: 22; Jason: 23, Kate: 36; Damian: 11; Harper: 19)

• (I don't know if Harper's age is stated at any point.)

2008 -

• Jason (24) joins the Outlaws.

• Dick (30) sees that Damian (12) needs to make friends and develop compassion, to curb his harsh ways. He then takes Damian to Titans Tower, where Damian, despite not being a teenager, takes steps to become the leader of the Teen Titans.

• After dealing with his first mission, which at first was a disaster but ultimately went well, Damian leaves the Titans.

• Upon returning to Gotham, Dick notices that his brother has become more patient and less likely to use his weapons.

• Damian infiltrates Gotham Academy, where he meets Maps Mizoguchi (13), a big fan of Batman and Robin, who becomes his friend.

• (Supersons)

• Damian becomes friends with Jon Kent (10).

• (Gotham's Most Wanted; Batman and Robin: Requiem)

• This happens a little differently. Let's not make Talia the worst mother in the world, please, I hate what they did to her in these comics.

• Robin dies and Bruce is expelled from Gotham. One of the differences here is that Azrael is dead (since we ignore the New 52).

• (Robin: Son of Batman 2015—2016)

• Damian meets Maya Ducard (Nobody).

• (Batman: Urban Legends Vol 1 #1)

• Jason Todd (24) is reinstated into the Wayne family.

• (Joker: Endgame)

• The Robin war begins.

• (Batman Vol. 10: Epilogue; Batman #51-52, Batman: Futures End #1, Batman Annual #4)

• Bruce tries to recover from the events of Joker: Endgame. Duke Thomas (17) joins the Bat-Family as the vigilante Signal.

• Gotham and Gotham Girl debut.

• (Let's just ignore most of I am Suicide, I am Bane, I Am Gotham and all that shit. Alfred stays alive after this.)

• (Alfred: 69; Dick: 30; Barbara: 33, Bruce: 46; Tim: 22; Stephanie: 22; Cassandra: 23; Jason: 24, Kate: 37; Damian: 12; Harper: 20; Duke: 17)

2009 -

• (The Next Batman: Second Son)

• Jace Fox becomes Batman.

----

According to the comics, Damian is like 14 right now (and we ignore what the comics did to Jon), so Alfred should be 71 (since we pretend he doesn't die), Dick is 32, Barbara 35, Bruce 48, Tim and Stephanie are 24, Jason is 26, Cassandra is 25, Kate is 39, Harper is 22 and Duke is 19.

Bruce has been Batman for 20 years :)

[iamthemess]

Sskk brain rot

Atsushi and Akutagawa have, absolutely hands down, the best relationship dynamic and development of any characters.

They started out so hateful and full of resent and anger. They found any opportunity to be at each other's throats and had to be forced by hand to work together.

They are two people who did not understand anything about the other. Akutagawa loathed Atsushi for the way he was so easily approved by the one person whose approval he needs to live.

And Atsushi hated Akutagawa for the type of person he was. All they did was fight, and there was not a single thought given about the other.

The only reason Akutagawa interacted with him in the first place was as a part of a mission where the mafia was going to sell Atsushi to another organisation.

Their relationship progressed little by little into a point where they held concern for each other even if that concern at some moments were "I am the only person allowed to kill you' it is progress nonetheless.

They actually talked with one another, even if it was yelling. They learned more about each other and their situations and created a bond.

The biggest thing about their relationship is how they literally fixed each other. Atsushi gave Akutagawa a different reason to live than just Dazais approval and Aku obviously changed as a person by being with Atsushi.

Atsushi became a person whose opinion he valued do much that he promised to stop doing his literal job and not kill anyone.

Atsushi made him a more compassionate person. He made Aku into the mafioso who doesn't kill (Odasaku parallels anyone!)

Atsushi also grew as a person. He had a lot of emotional traumas and we see those flashbacks where he panics. Eventually he becomes calmer and Dazai is a person who appears to comfort him when he panics but most recently Akutagawa was the one who appeared to help and calm him when he was losing his mind.

Atsushi thinks a lot about what would Dazai do but when he thinks of Akutagawa it's not what he would do, just thinking of him being there for him gives him strength and his panic dissipates.

Atsushi learns that Aku is someone he can rely on and trust to a point where all his worries disappear when he thinks about Aku.

Their original anger and hatred for each other are now a feeling of safety and trust, any jabs or seemingly hateful actions or words are now on the same level as Dazai and Chuuya messing with each other.

They even got to a point where they didn't need to communicate their attack plan and put their full trust in each other that they were on the same page. They put each other's lives in their hands and they succeeded (at the time, the time swords fucked that up but that's not their fault. They did great)

They truly are the only ones deserving of the title Shin Soukoku.

[lavender-bundle-blithe]

Beast!BSD but what if Kyouka went through with her fleeing from mafia?

Some background first (and purely speculation and mainly headcanon): Kyouka lost her parents when she was 8 and she was found by the mafia a few days after that fated night. Kouyou grew attached to her as she usually does and takes her under her wing, raising her as if she was her own.

A year later, Kyouka meets "The White Reaper" by chance, whom she thought to be an cold-blooded individual only to find out to be a 14 year old teenager, slowly growing into the black coat with white striped fur. And even though he seemed as such at first glance, Kyouka realizes that he was just as kindhearted as to his loyalty to the mafia and especially their boss.

Since then, she and him got to know each other until they became practically inseparable. Kouyou, although wistful in wanting to train the girl, accepted her decision in wanting to be there for Atsushi through hell and back.

Now, at 10 years old, Kyouka flees from the mafia. She didn't want to go back, and she couldn't face Atsushi who she heard was tasked in hunting her down. She couldn't face him, she can't bring herself to.

She finds herself at the edge of the city, so close to freedom. But she doesn't take the other step. Instead, she turns around to the shadows of the city and asks out of the blue.

"Why?"

Seconds turns into a minute, and soon someone emerges from the shadows. It was Atsushi. Kyouka doesn't at which point when she sensed Atsushi following her but what confused her the most was that he had every opportunity to attack her. But instead he wordlessly followed her all the way until she made it to the edge.

Freedom was one of the few subjects Atsushi knows least, if not this being the very last of that list. The mafia has always been his home, all he ever known since his time in the orphanage. They helped him, so he's repaying that everlasting debt. He doesn't understand why Kyouka wants to leave. But one thing's for certain: he'd rather be consumed by the beast than lay a single claw on his sister, ordered to or not.

Kyouka, albeit confused, follows Atsushi as he takes her to someplace that could hopefully take care of her; a curry place. (At first, Kyouka was mighty confused, especially at the sound of some kids being rambunctious above). There, as they wait over some curry, Oda comes in and was equally shocked but apprehensive at the sight of two mafioso, no less the White Reaper. But given that neither have done anything but grab a meal to eat, he decides to hear them out.

There, the detective learns that Kyouka is also a mafioso, but even though she was under teachings of Kouyou and, coincidentally, by Atsushi's side, has never killed a person. Actually, the day she fled was the day she was supposedly dispatched on her first mission by the mafia. her record is clean.

"But you realize, Reaper, we cannot do the same to you." "I am aware of that. That's why I'm only asking for Kyouka."

After some thought, Oda agrees to take Kyouka in and bring her to the agency in hopes of helping her. And Kyouka... is confused. Why? Why is he helping her leave? Why go to such lengths knowing full well the punishments hanging over his head if he fails? This mission was handed to the boss himself. All so she can be free?

For a second, she wanted to backtrack on her plan, she couldn't comprehend why someone like Atsushi was there, regardless as his reputation as the White Reaper. He was kind, the genuine type. But Atsushi stops her before she could leave with him that night.

"I may not understand why you would want to leave after all the mafia has done for you. But I can see that you... you weren't meant to be in its shadows. As Kouyou sometimes says, you are a flower, and it is possible for flowers to bloom in shadows. But in your case, your flower needs light to bloom."

"But... what about you?" "I've been drowning in the dark for as long as I remember, I'm unable to discern what's light anymore. But that's okay; as long as you can feel what the light is." "...For the both of us."

It's been two years since then, since she last saw Atsushi, since she last stepped foot in Mafia territory and its headquarters. She's 12 years old now, enjoying Yosano and Ranpo's company, listening to Kenji's stories about his farm and animals, learning much from Oda and Kunikida, and when she was introduced to Ryuunosuke she understands his pain, although unsaid. She's enjoying life in the light.

When problems suddenly begin to rise regarding the Port Mafia, she volunteers to talk to them. That leads to a huge debate, one that she manages to win in the end:

"But why?! You're going to talk to the White Reaper, he could hurt you!" "He won't." "What makes you think so in the first place?" "Because I doubt he'll lay a single claw on me. I'm his sister after all." "Huh?!" "Wait you didn't realize I used to be in the Port Mafia?" "HUH?!"

(A/N: Basically the bit at the end is Beast!version of Kunikida realizing Dazai was in the PM. But since Dazai isn't in the PM and Kyouka is instead, it's the whole shenanigans all over again XDD)

[lucabyte]

Your gender thought type essays have made me curious about what your oc creation/development process is like! It seems to be something you put a lot of thought into and that’s very interesting (especially cause my circles don’t often go into detail in that area)

I'm delighted to hear you're curious!! I'll give as thorough an answer as I can manage, though it'll likely be a bit disorganised. Okay, so... I'm gonna use a couple examples for this, and since you specified gender stuff I'm gonna go for some where gender/sexuality are integral, even if in seemingly counterproducive ways (but that'll be the last few...)

So. The first character that comes to mind here for me in terms of like... A lot of thought going into their gender is Lavender.

So going all the way back... Lavender was made in 2015.

Spreadsheet puts her at the 13th character in the setting, creation-date ways! So she's Been around a while.

Part 1: A Core Idea

Now, why was Lavender made? This is the first step of character creation. Well, she was made to tick a bit of a box. I realised my only girls at the time were all tomboyish so I needed a cute girl. And this was 2015, so she arose in the form of a Waifu Joke. She was intended to be a side-character with no real plot ties, so I just designed a character as cute as possible, named her simply (Lavender Wafeu == literally Colour and Waifu) and was basically done? 7 months later I would make Mafioso to slightly further the joke, in that giving Lavender a girlfriend makes her unpursuable* as a waifu. This also gave me a stark butch/femme pair, and I recall around this era there was a joke going around on tumblr of 'Indestructable Lesbians' as opposed to buried gays. This kinda became their thing. Two lesbians the plot wouldn't touch and they wouldn't be endangered.

.... And then that was kinda it. She was a cute girl who was fun to draw, shy, and reserved in nature. An opposition to Mafioso's brash (but secretly a little nervous) demeanor. I would literally just liken this to flutterdash outright. I was basically just doing flutterdash in terms of their personalities.

SO: This is the first step to all my characters. Find a core concept, or more likely, a core joke. Lavender's core joke is a very rough and (frankly unfunny) "your waifu isn't going to fuck you" joke. But you can see how she was built out of it. And we'll get to how that building happened next.

(^ Weird 2015 era lavender with her total lack of emotive range and flat characterisation)

Part 2: Dormancy

Lavender stayed unchanged for quite a while, in this flat state. She picked up a few things, mostly little 'twists' to her character. ie. she could hold her own in a fight, is surprisingly quick to jump to (cartoonish) violence, and likes a good steak. All very basic little things, obvious "oh bet you didn't expect That" contradictions.

She didn't recieve much attention during this time despite me really liking her design still. Mafioso languished even worse in this era, with her mother Omerta picking up most of the development instead. Overall, these two were very, very boring. No amount of little superficial additions could save them from this.

But it... hints at something, right? It hints that maybe there's a facade somewhere, that maybe the perfect-cute-girl thing might actually take a little bit of effort to upkeep...? Hrm...

Part 3: A Fresh Perspective

So, sometime in 2020, I was finally remaking my 2016-era spreadsheet of all my characters from the ground up, since I needed to remove a lot of ms excel specific formatting it had in it.

And while going through, I was being helped by @samhainian, who I had befriended in the years between. And they remarked that I didn't have enough directly trans characters in the cast, to which I agreed. I had a handful of tokens at the time (Adder and Angel spring to mind?) but not many more, so we literally just went down the list with suggestions. And when Sam suggested Lavender, I reacted with confusion. Because... Wait. Is she not trans? But she's so feminine? All of my characters lean extremely gender-neutral in presentation unless they're trying to do gender on purpose...?

And this just, unlocked her whole character like a skeleton key.

I was making her do her gender on purpose. The reason she had those contradictions is because she's putting in the effort to appear like this perfect, girl-next-door, waifu type. Something that doesn't really work if she doesn't have girlhood to prove.

From here, her coy 'maybe she has more to her than cute girl' hints were instantly recontextualised as a thing She was Doing. And instead of being random superficial tidbits, they were Depth. And her cartoonish 'extremely mild-mannered and polite persona' suddenly became a very human facade.

So, she had a new core to build around. And her lack of anything going on before in terms of backstory suddenly felt contextual? She's clearly fresh new to this. She had already had the backstory of being a very young (about 19~21) person who had moved to a new town to live on her own-- Suddenly that makes sense. She's forging a whole new identity. Her polite 'never really talking about herself because she's an object for the audience to desire' quietness becomes intentional evasion. She doesn't have a backstory, because she doesn't want it to be any of your business.

And ironically, this immediately Gave Her the backstory she had been missing. Her wiles and hidden 'smarter than she looks' becomes so relevant as to be real character traits...

I already somewhat went over this (and a number of other gender thoughts, including my thoughts on my myriad 'cis but not' or 'nb in a specific direction') in a thing I wrote, woof, 2 years ago: (LINK) which was a ramble about a lot of my character's genders... In that I summarised Lavender's gender as such:

Part 4: In practice

Okay so it's all well and good that I realised Lavender is Trans Gemder. But that's not where it ends, because she finally became refined and polished to the point of um. Quadrupling her image count on toyhouse. because of Purrgatorio.

See, the other reason I was getting my spreadsheets in order was for Purrgatorio (the original flavour of it, the visual novel) and I needed to just do some general housekeeping.

Lavender, Mafioso and Ess shared a route in VN!Purrgatorio, being that I saw them as a triad of characters. While this characterisation of her basically did nothing interesting, aside from showing her fiery side, this would later become the basis for her being one of the first characters met in actual purrgatorio, where she, being polite and nice, and established back in 2016ish to be one of the few characters Chrome isn't a total asshole to--- She gets to meet Ali.

Now this is where I would say a lot of the real development happened. Right there, in action, in putting her to the test of real writing. All of her characterisation stops being hypothetical, and instead something I have to portray. And I found as I wrote, she grew more deep simply by giving her such an odd situation to be in. And of note, by having Ali be intimidated by talking to cute girls, it gave her the upper hand in the dynamic-- Really allowing me to show off her ability to lead a conversation, and her quiet confidence in herself-- as well as hinting at the thing she isn't quite so confident with.

It's also allowed me to start thinking about her sexuality, too. This is another thing that goes back to her flimsy core concept. The Waifu is generally a sexless being in their own right, having sexuality projected onto them by the narrative or audience. In fact, a lot of shounen girls don't get to be romantically forward-- both because it risks alienating the intended selfshipper-audience, and also because showing too much confidence and autonomy in their sexuality can be too threatening for the chuunibyo audience, who aren't yet comfortable with their own sexuality and-- wait! Look at that! Another part of the core concept I can toy with! Wouldn't it make sense, if she's meant to be a deconstruction of The Waifu Archetype, for her to have that confidence and autonomy? This is what 2015-me was clumsily trying to grasp with the whole lesbian thing... So why not just re-angle that into her being confident and forward. It fits with her new personality, so it works!

*oh hey there's that asterisk. I also realised she had chemistry with Ali! Given the way she is level-headed and rather logical deep down, her curiosity drives this. She's not going to pass up a chance to know a literal Alien... But it also further illustrates how badly Mafioso has been left in the dust by her. (She's been quietly tinkered with behind the scenes ready for her reintrodcution, but for a while, I was really struggling!! Like, considering overhauling her character levels of struggling!! But, we managed, I think. She's yet to be introduced and put into practice yet, but it's upcoming.) To the point where I've broken them up! At least for now. Mafioso needs to prove herself I think, since now she can't rely on Lavender being waifish and easily won over.

TO SUMMARISE THE MAJOR POINTS THERE:

Any joke/idea can be a suitable core, even if flimsy, you just need to find which parts are interesting to either double down on or deconstruct

It's okay for characters to take a long time to form! If you don't feel connected to a character they might need a shake up, but also YOU might need a shake up. Lavender needed a new perspective from someone with a different approach to gender as me, and for I myself to become more comfortable with Real Sexuality (ive literally just aged nearly 10 years itll happen) before she could really shine.

Following on from the above you basically never need to throw a character out completely. You should try and find what it is you like about them, or consider core, and perhaps try and reframe or refract those elements. A character might get demoted to non-main status sometimes, but why throw away that depth? They can hang out on the sidelines if that's better for them.

Sometimes a character won't feel done until you write them! You can do this with RP if you have the ability, but I wrote Purrgatorio instead, which is intentionally low-stakes and non-canon so I don't get too freaked out about writing it. It's a playground for testing characterisaton, and putting characters in weird pairings they otherwise wouldn't to see if something interesting arises.

SOME OTHER EXAMPLES FROM MY BACK CATALOGUE:

Lavender is a bit of a daunting pick, given that she's spent nearly 10 years slowly rotating in my brain, only to finally become realised in the last 3-4 or so. But I do have some more recent quick examples, as well as another giant thing you can read if you want to.

GIANT THING TO READ IF YOU WANT IT: I've posted abt this before way ages ago but I wrote up a whole gigantic thing on my probably 2 most in depth characters. It can be found here (LINK) and also has a longass diatribe about their genders, sexualities, and the core thing they were originally riffing on. (Which was like. a specific type of anime boy ship i was a sucker for, that I eventually realised I was making way more interesting than most anime i was into was bothered to do)

It's a very thorough look into my thought process, including ANOTHER diatribe on purrgatorio granting me some good boons of character.

OTHER EXAMPLE 1: ALI

Okay Ali is too complicated to get into thoroughly here, but they're another good example of a core idea spiralling out.

Core idea: Blank slate visual novel protagonist, so gender neutral and a bit of a flimsy everyman. No real name, only a default name if you left the entry blank. (Ali, a shortening of the canon surname). #FFFFFF skin to keep the jokey ambiguity and pink hair to reference Dante's silly red hat.

Twists: Canon assigned surname of Alighieri, implying them to be some descendent of The Real Dante. And they're in a VN so there's a spooky easter egg where you can roll a death screen that shows them as an ominous demonic Thing instead of a regular human.

The, VN!Purrgatorio got shelved, and because they were human instead of a furry they got shuffled into other projects. A furry version of them showed up in a different project riffing on the demon thing, making them a child-friendly antichrist with 2 siblings based on the tragicomedy masks. Then that furry version's stuff got shoved onto the human version who was just a half-demon kid in Creature Feature. THEN we decided they'd be half-succubus to keep the ability to shift between the sexes (referencing the blank slate gender ambiguity of the VN). THEN that became 'nerd who is freaked out by being a sex demon and doesn't like the ethical implications of their existance but is still kinda miffed that they arent Getting Any' who STILL HAD the antichrist stuff from the furry version....

(^ technically a completely seperate ali ive not done anything with in years lol)

Like you get it. It's a giant katamari of STUFF from all different settings. This is what I mean by 'you never really need to scrap a character'. Because after all this shoving them around into different projects and them accruing things (the 'guy who is really concerned with informed consent is a succubus/incubus' angle really informed them here, as well as deciding that they're apathetic about the magic sex characteristic changes.) we threw them right back into the original setting of Purrgatorio and it went WAY BETTER once they actually had some character traits!

But that core idea still stands a little. Not in them being an everyman, but in prompting them to become an altersex character when fleshed out, and in the way that they're distinctly still tied to that second-person-narration that VNs have, and the eventual 4th wall break they got in the VN informed their powerset as 'narrative manipulator'.

also as a note here: DON'T BE AFRAID TO PLAY WHILE YOUR SETTING ISN'T DONE!

VN!Purrgatorio got shelved because I redid a bunch of MYMK's setting when I was finishing it up. But It was worth it even unfinished.

Ali themselves when in Current!Purrgatorio has spent, up until very recently, their whole time with their home setting (Creature Feature) in a state of being deeply unfinished and in need of a reshake. It's finally getting that now, but it was still fine for me to reference what I knew likely wouldn't be changing! They were able to function just fine without their home setting being solid for upwards of 2-3 years. Obviously this shouldn't be done for *finished* works, but when you're just playing, like I am with Purrgatorio, it's okay to keep things fluid and effectively quietly retcon things later.

OTHER EXAMPLE 2: PEACH TRACY

Peach tracy is an actually recent character, and is under @samhainian's purview, as with the rest of Moraine. Now, she was made with a very distinct gender/sexuality in mind, unlike a lot of my characters who stumble ass-backwards into one.

Peach is the 'token girl' of her group (the other two being Red, a closeted and unaware transfem, and Toyon a he/him butch.) and well, her gender is basically "tik tok girlie", as is her core concept. She only works if she's a pampered cisgender straight girl from a rich background. She's nice! But she's privileged.

Her twist however, is that she is wracked by the guilt of her and her group letting a friend take the fall for an Illegal Youtube Prank to save their own skin, and as such her entire character unravels from there.

Because she has all this guilt, it stands that her Girliepop Persona must be somewhat constructed. She's leaning in to the femininity as a shield and a deflector. She's, y'know, a white girl.

So her gender ends up being overperformed, and she's petrified of expressing her sexuality due to it being tied up in this image of purity. She's the exact type of person to psyche herself out into believing those 'having a crush on your friend is problematic' tumblr posts.

But none of this would really work if she did not start as a (white) girl, able to use that shield. If she were a dude or nonwhite-coded she would not have the ability to react to her situation that way. Ergo, she is actually built out of her identity this way.

(As for her sexuality, she is unhealthily self-flagellating about it, so it ends up just being unpleasant. This was a genuine surprise to myself and @samhainian when we were discussing it. We hadn't thought about it prior to starting some lighthearted riffing about assigning characters kinks literally bc we were bored when we had the horrifying realisation that Peach would not be safe about this shit AT ALL due to a lack of self preservation and way more ambient suicidality than we realised she had until we dug here. We quickly resurfaced from the joke conversation into an actual deconstruction of how she's internalised a lot of blame and decided to go distinctly carceral with it for herself. so there's another tip: Even if you aren't making nsfw content, poking around a character's sexuality will sometimes reveal raw truths that come from sexuality being very vulnerable by default.)

Peach is overall an interesting contrast to Lavender, since they're both Girls Being Feminine On Purpose, but one is transfem and one is. Well god idk what peach will end up but she'll need to unpack it.

(I note that peach is white also, since while I rarely intentionally racially code my characters, sometimes i SUPER do.)

OTHER EXAMPLE 3: VIRGIL MALACODA

Okay because I've talked about a number of girls so far lets be brief about a fuckin Dude.

Virgil is like, some real toxic masculinity shit. He would probably be fucked up in some different way if he were born a girl, but he's distinctly falling into a lot of traps due to his upbringing as "A dude who was promised he'd get power when he grew up".

His dude-ness is a very flat fact to me in that way, and he's similar to Tabitha in that regard since it's one of the ways they're meant to reflect each other. Dudes who's place as patriarch-to-be saved them from being pawned off as a wife, but is still responsible for a lot of their misery. Certainly the better of the two options, but could still be better!

Virgil's themes of masculinity being a simultaneous shield and blinder is a simple one but I go back to it a lot because it can be true a lot of the time in antiquated social situations like, say, the upper class. So, being a villain, he does end up being a condemnation of the structures that disincentivise healthy masculinity. He's necessarily amab because he is the result of how particularly regressive views of masculinity can shape a child into a repressed and miserable adult.

Whether or not virgil stays a dude or not if he ever figures out his way of viewing power structures was Fucked Up and Bad is anybody's guess. It's not really Masculinity that was hurting him, so much as a rich asshole's narrow view of it. So there's no real reason for him to reject a healthier version of it outright, it's just whether he'll ever get there...

CLOSING REMARKS:

Okay writing in the tumblr post editor is starting to scare me with errors so I should probably close this out. But yeah this is a little bit of a run down of where my head is usually at when making characters. A lot of it is just batting jokes back and forth until they become something more solid, which I don't know that I really got across here.

Like, a lot a lot of my characters are built around a core joke. Usually what-ifs like.

"What if a shounen-type card game anime protagonist was just as brash and head-full-of-air as the rest of the, but a girl"

"What if Ed Sheeran had a cheating scandal with two tboys and it made the radio fucking horrible to listen to"

"What if a wrestler was really, really wide and also clearly into rubber"

"What if somebody took the 'blonde anime boy who barely shows emotion' trope seriously because that kind of repression can't be good"

"What if a guy was specifically interested in becoming a Soil Scientist from like, age 4, and never gave up that dream"

^ If you can figure out who's who then you win a prize (a kiss)

But yeah. Jokes upon jokes upon jokes. Assign them classpects and pokemon and put them into speed/power/fly formation and just joke for as long as you possibly can until you hit on something. And if a joke feels really right, or completely off the mark, try and dig in and find why.

Like. I joke about the sexuality thing but it does help since it's so disarming and immediately a bit childishly funny often. Sometimes you'll end up with say, something as serious as "Despite being friends with The Fence, Selene probably shouldn't be left unsupurvised in kink spaces because she ABSOLUTELY does not have the ability to restrain herself and not take her anger issues out on strangers" and sometimes its as silly as "even outside of being asexual, ess is never jackin that shit because if he got caught in any kind of mildly embarrasing scenario it'd ruin his whole year so the cost/benefit analysis of that really doesn't work out"

Because like. both tell you about the characters, and you can also read them more broadly now. Selene ruins relationships by letting anger at unrelated things get in the way, Ess keeps himself from doing even utterly harmless things out of deep social anxiety.

Like yeah, i got to them via goofing about sex but it's still character analysis at the end of the day so long as you put The Reading first*

*DISCLAIMER: im asexual im only ever doing stuff for the read lol . it might be more difficult if youre allosexual . or maybe itll be easier. i dont know just dont get too lost in the sauce. think with ur brain not ur other parts

ALSO gender and sexualty often end up linked so it makes sense to end up at one from the other a lot of the time. It happens.

And as an addendum if you wonder where i tend to literally Design characters? Like visually? It's usually at some point between the first few jokes and before naming them. Though sometimes names come first.

OVERALL: A character should have a core concept to them to start with. This core concept CAN SUCK and be flimsy, or a joke, or even a joke you no longer find funny. But you can always refer back to it when building a character up. If you want to capture the concept, work toward it, if you want to deconstruct or mock the concept, then do that instead. If you sour on a joke, maybe find a way to satirise or deconstruct what you're no longer finding funny.

Sometimes this core concept is steeped in a specific cultural thing, be it race, gender, sexuality, ect, and those necessitate thinking about. Sometimes it's not and those things can practically be an afterthought, but once you lock it in it's likely to begin informing the later choices as it becomes part of the scaffolding.

(To hop back to why you even asked this Q: I so thoroughly read Siffrin as amab BECAUSE they had so many themes about Not Having Changed and clinging to what they knew, and so working backwards from that it only made sense to me that they mustn't've done a big overhaul YET or made any big decisions about that YET by the time we see them in game, because that's what gels best with their themes of being Too Afraid To Change and being a contrast to Isa who has changed a bunch, and a comfort to Mira who hasn't changed at all in their gender. Then it was a case of looking through the game for more evidence either for or against this reading, and I found a lot of evidence for it, in my opinion. But I did so Because I noticed that the themes were Stronger if read this way, and because I conceptualise characters as themes and concepts FIRST it made sense to try and work back to those themes.)

But yeah. TL;DR:

Ground yourself with a Hook for the character, sometimes making it sillier makes it easier to think about.

Try and think about how they would be formed by the world around them, or what their behaviour says about how they must've been formed

Don't worry about things taking a long time. Sometimes a character needs someone else to make a suggestion, or for you to grow and change a little before they click

Putting it into action helps a lot, even if its just roleplay or short snippets. If you can't 'feel out' what a character would do in a situation, that's when it's time to think about their goals for how they want to be seen as a person (including, if they don't want to be seen at all...!) and what hard boundaries they have say, morally.

I am by no means a like. Expert on any of this. I'm fumbling through it all just as much as the next guy (AND... I'M ACTUALLY SOMEWHAT OF A HYPOCRITE. I THINK CHARACTERS ARE BEST SEEN AS 'NARRATIVE CONSTRUCTS' RATHER THAN 'PEOPLE', SO ALL THIS ADVICE BEING SO CHARACTER FOCUSED RATHER THAN NARRATIVE FOCUSED IS MISSING THE FOREST FOR THE TREES LOL....) but apparently people do Like my characters? So, what do I know i suppose LMAO

[mncxbe]

I suddenly thought of something really angsty.. imagine Aku with hanahaki disease..? He's definitely not the type who'll propose to their crush unless they know that their crush likes them back..

Yes omg. Sorry it took so long to write anon but it's finally done. Hope you like it♡♡

°☆○

Bloom for me

𝑨𝒌𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒘𝒂 𝒙 𝒇𝒆𝒎! 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: angst♤/ happy ending cuz he's been through enough already

The wind rustled the trees in the park; the new leaves stood out tender and yellow against grey clouds. With each day that passed, autumn crept deeper into the heart of the city. Days were shorter, nights grew longer and a tinge of putrid leaves lingered in the air, mixing with the smoky smell of exhaust fumes.

As he walked down the main alley of the park, which was lined with withering cherry trees, Akutagawa couldn't help but marvel at the irony of faith: as the trees in Yokohama slowly wilted, a flower bloomed inside his lungs.

Playing it off as a mere cold, he had managed to hide his disease for the last two months but the sharp pain in his chest grew stronger by the day. Sometimes he'd wake up in the middle of the night and cough up a bunch of rosy petals, cursing under his breath and hoping that Gin wouldn't wake up and come check up on him. He would then gather the petals in the palm of his shaky hand and throw them out of the window, watching them fade away in the night.

Akutagawa managed to keep the symptoms of his illness under control, to ignore the pain; but it all got worse once he started seeing you again.

You...

He never once blamed you for his disease. The fact that a flower was blooming inside his lungs was soley his fault, the result of his deluded hopes and dreams. Of his feelings. And he was going to live and die with it.

That's what he believed until he saw you sitting on a wooden bench beneath the cherry trees; legs crossed as you slowly turned the pages of a paper bound volume; Murakami's "Norwegian wood"

For a moment he was transfixed. His cold gaze watched as the wind gently combed through your hair. You bit your lip and narrowed your eyes- probably in attempt to make sense of a sentence in the book- and his heart sank. Beautiful, you were so beautiful...

Still, the mafioso planned to walk away before you had a chance to spot him. Turning on his heels, he took a few steps back in the direction he came from before a violent coughing fit took over him. The sheer amount of pain he was in caused him to lean forward, pressing a hand to his aching chest as he panted hard.

"Akutagawa?" sounded your voice from behind and he cursed himself for being so reckless. Of course he'd feel worse around you.

"Oh God are you ok?" you asked again, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. You were close, so, so close.

Akutagawa clasped a hand over his mouth in attempt to keep the blossoms from spilling out but to no avail; a few roseate buds rolled past his parted lips and onto the leaf covered pavement.

Without wasting a second you hooked a hand under his arm and guided him to the closest bench, lightly patting his back until the coughing stopped.

The two of you spent a few minutes in silence before you finally gathered the courage to speak up.

"Are you alright?" you asked softly and he nodded.

"Yea. I am now. Thanks." he replied, barely able to contain his embrassment. How could he be so stupid? He should've walked away the moment he spotted you. Now you had discovered his shameful secret.

"Hey Akutagawa" you spoke again in the same gentle voice as you undid the lid of a thermos and handed it to him. "Have some tea. It may help."

He obeyed, taking the flask from your hands and bringing it to his lips; the liquid was warm and sweet, aiding his burning throat. The man took another sip before returning your thermos and mumbling a "Thanks Y/N."

"You're welcome"

"Well... I should go now. I need to catch my train" he said eventually as he watched you from the corner of his eyes.

"Oh sure. Want me to walk you to the station?"

He shook his head dismissively and forced a smile "No, there's no need. You can go back to your book"

"Alright then. Have a great day"

Akutagawa slowly rose from the bench, trying his best to ignore the burning sensation in his chest as he bid you farewell.

"Oh by the way..." you added, causing him to stop dead in his tracks.

"Yes?"

"Your secret is safe with me"

You spoke the last words so gently, flashing him that smile he so adored and oh, he swore his heart was going to melt. Instead he simply nodded, returning the smile before making his way to the train station.

That night he slept better than he did in ages. Sleep was deep and for the first time in ages he wasn't haunted by dreams or symptoms of his disease.

When he woke up the next morning, golden rays dappling inside his bedroom like mist, there were no more petals, no more blossoms. And he could breathe freely again.

[boarcide]

There is something so good about Akutagawa--a very much feared, boogeyman like figure (even amongst his own men) in Yokohama because of his violence, bloodlust, and steadfast loyalty to a violent criminal organization such as the Port Mafia--given biblical angel symbolism

I don't know, something something about someone whose beauty is so incomprehensible and terrifying to most. He's not physically ugly, he's not--he's beautiful, the type of beautiful that almost feel as if he's not a real person, like he's a mirage, or a painting. But he's beautiful not like those renaissance cherubs and lovely looking maidens for angels, but more like the biblical angels with their beauty beyond mortal grasp, the beauty that brings fear and revulsion towards whoever sees them because they cannot comprehend it. Coming across him makes you understand why angels say, "Be not afraid" when they reveal themselves to mortals. An incomprehensible beauty that very few can keep looking at. A dangerous feat, literally and metaphorically.

(This isn't only with his physical appearance either--for someone who is constantly beaten down both by canon and by the fandom for being "simple", he is a terrifying bundle of different aspects that contradict each other. Like a super machine you open up and you see the intricate criss crossing of wires and bolts that hold it together. He's a mess of nerves and feelings and experiences so profound, so horrific, that you don't know where to start with him. To uncoil him and see him truly bare is almost impossible. Where does he end and the roots that connect him to the earth begin?)

Something about Akutagawa being an angel, a being created entirely to follow the will of "God", obey their every word. Unwavering loyalty to their master while singing praise. Acting entirely on the order of their master--wing always dipped in blood for his sake. A weapon of "heaven' that brings destruction to those who oppose "God" and be one of the many upon which "God" rests upon.

(Almost everything Akutagawa does is for the sake of the Port Mafia, taking orders from the "master" (boss) himself. Willingness and obedience and loyalty repeatedly exploited and used, everything he has done as one of the high ranking leaders handling most of the Mafia's dirty work playing a part so Mori's throne stays high.)

Something about comparing Akutagawa to a certain archangel, finding repulsion in "God"'s cherished creation, the inferiority that came with being "less" to "mankind", and the painful fall from grace to the deepest pits of despair when he confronts the being that created him, molded him, and then condemn him. And to his humiliation, mankind, for centuries, condemns him too.

(He can't be compared to Lucifer, God's most beloved angel. Maybe Dazai did value him, but it doesn't matter, does it? because the difference between the two is that one was cherished and one never was. However, you can compare the rage and humiliation Akutagawa felt towards Atsushi--for obtaining Dazai's approval and affection with no effort, no proper control over his skill or any seemingly differentiating quality-- to Lucifer's refusal to bow down to humanity--a creation inherently imperfect and lackluster, with not the qualities of angels. And as a result? Disgraced. Both by the creator and by ones that held their creator's favor. )

Something about Akutagawa being an angel--someone whose presence means nothing pleasant to those he appears before. A reaper of sorts, responsible for taking life and for souls to see the afterlife (killing both as an order and an act of mercy, for he despises torture and meaningless suffering). A guardian angel watching over "mankind" from afar, where he is not aware and saving him from certain death at his own expense.

There's just something so appealing about depicting Akutagawa--a fearsome, ruthless, and bloodthirsty mafioso, a boogeyman to his own men--as an angel, be it of death, of mercy, a destroying angel-- whatever anyone wants to see him as and use him for.

[yandere-romanticaa]

Whos the best daddy: oda, jingyuan or childe?

WELCOME TO THE DADDY OLYMPICS 🔥

I shall be your fine hostess for the evening so BUCKLE UP! We have a fine selection of men here, all amazing but do not be fooled by their charms, they are beyond deadly!! In the wise words of Mr Pedro Pascal "Daddy is a state of mind." and today, we shall find out which one of these three men has what it takes!

The first man we have is the 11th Harbinger, Tartaglia! Or Childe! Or Ajax! Or however the fuck you want to call him, he has too many names!! (One is enough my good Sir.)

Renowned as a family man, Mr Tartaglia writes letters to his whole family and loves all of his siblings very much, so much so that he is willing to lie in order to keep their dreams intact. While some people might argue what he is doing is wrong (and in a way they're right) but his intentions are always pure and just wants his family to have a good life.

What a gem of a man!

We are also aware that this man is LOADED, so his family or friends do not need to worry about any expenses whatsoever, regardless of how much they cost, Mr Tartaglia has you COVERED!

However.

As unfortunate as it may be, Mr Tartaglia simply lacks the certain finesse that your classic Daddy™ requires to have. His boyish charms are out of this world but they are indeed just that - boyish!

Besides, I personally believe that he'd be more of a "Sir" type of guy. "Sir" and "Daddy" are indeed powerful authority figures but there is a slight difference there.

The final ranking for Mr Tartaglia is 6/10. He is handsome and strong, but he's too much of a kind elder brother figure, or a "Sir" to ever truly quality as a Daddy. At least, that's what I think.

Oh boy, it's getting saucy now! 🥴🤤

This is general Jing Yuan, a man renowned for his lazy and carefree attitude but behind that smile is an incredible tactician who can strike like a lion at any given moment. Despite his attitude, be very, very afraid of him.

Isn't that just so sexy of him?

Tall, husky and sweet, Jing Yuan fits the mold of "Daddy" quite nicely. And to top it off, he has a young child under his care! Their interactions are heartwarming and precious, I can't stop staring at the screen whenever the two are on it and I know for a fact that I'm not alone there <333

His out of this world voice (I'm talking about the English dub) makes me melt - if he tells me to do something, I will do it.

No questions asked.

His authority as a general also gives him great power and leverage as well. A kind man who has the ability to crush anyone who gets in his way is always an amazing Daddy™!

I simply must give this beautiful general a perfect 10/10 score! 😍

And finally, the last man of the hour is the darling Oda Sakunosuke, or Odasaku for short! <33 :3

Where, oh where do I begin with this man? He has the blood of many people on his hands and yet, he managed to worm his way into the heart of the Port Mafia's youngest but most dangerous executive that has ever lived, which is nothing to scoff at I assure you.

While his status as a mafioso gives an air of uncertainty about his whereabouts and well being, it is safe to say that he, like Jing Yuan, is quite the Daddy™. Kind, caring but also incredibly humorous, he is the ideal package. Walks and coffee shop dates would be beyond interesting with this man and besides, I'm sure that his long and slender fingers will be good for other things besides writing! ;)

This man also takes care of an entire gaggle of orphans! Isn't he just amazing?!

Unfortunately, there is one glaring issue though -

His kids are dead!!

That's right you heard it here folks, his kids got blown up! Don't worry Odasaku, I'll be more than happy to give you as many kids as you want! Do you want a son? A daughter? Both??

My body is READY!

As much as I want to give this man a 10, his job and the fact that his kids are blown to bits knocks out a point. I'm sorry Odasaku, but your final ranking is a strong and massive 9/10.

Folks, this is where you step in! Yes that's right, YOU! YOU vote which one of these men is the ✨ ULTIMATE DADDY! ✨