#also they are canonically 15 despite being drawn the same as 25 year olds | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

duketectivecomics · 4 years

Note

You might've answered this already and I just didn't find it, but one thing that always perplexed me about Duke was how old he was in comparison to the other Batkids. It's obvious he's younger than Dick and Babs, and I pretty sure he's younger than Jason and Cass, and older than Damian, but I cannot tell if he's meant to be Tim and Steph's ages, younger, or older. Could you help me?

You’re all kinds of good here, anon!!! I answered a similar ask abt the Order of Adoption but didn’t dive into specific ages on that post BECAUSE well they didn’t ask lmaooo but ALSO:

Comic ages are very fluid usually! While Years™️ might pass in the canon proper, or while time seems to slow to a crawl, having a character’s age outright stated is something that occurs very rarely for most characters, if at all!

Because it’s always much easier to have a floating age range to work and play around in! It’s easier to keep a character Perpetually 12 or 16 or 25 or mid-40s or- you get the idea. SO, with that in mind. Let’s do our Best to Break Down What Age Duke Might Be Currently A N D how it might interact with the Other Batkids!

(Warning for a Very Long Post, lots of issue citations, and a LOT of comics terminology regarding specific runs/events/continunity. I’m gonna try to keep it as clear/concise as possible ofc but plz keep these things in mind! If you’re not at least marginally familiar with Bat-Comics, you might find yourself feeling a little lost here!)

So from the Zero Year arc we see a common Trend that plays out pretty consistently with Batfam comics: a Life-Changing Event Occuring while the protag is Young™️.

(Batman (2011) #30)

With how Duke is drawn in these particular issues, and given the trends of the past, I’d place him in the 8-12 range. The historic precedent being ofc that that is the same range that canon usually places both Bruce and Dick at for their Tragedies™; the more benign reason being that he... just very much Looks to be drawn in that Range. He’s very clearly an Older/Prepubescent child here.

Fast Forward to his Next Appearance in the Endgame arc and-

(Batman (2011) #37)

He’s definitely older! He’s wiser! And he’s giving Batman a fistbump lmao. Again, no strict age given here BUT, since they condensed each Robin to a Year or Two tops with Bruce (its n52 and its fucked up is what it is), we can assume it’s been at least 4-5 since Zero Year (which would mean if we go off the age range I proposed for that year, then theoretically he could be anywhere from 12-16 here, and I think that tracks pretty well. Not Perfectly and Certainly Not so well with Pre52 continuity ofc, but I’ll talk about that later!)

In We Are Robin, while its not stated Directly In The Text, it IS given as an Informational Tidbit that Duke is 16 (specifically this can be found at the end of issue #4)! (Sweet sweet canon confirmation FINALLY)

We know that WAR takes place Fairly Soon after Endgame (almost immediately, give or take a month or two given that Duke’s been placed in a few foster homes at this point and has racked up Quite A File) now, again id like to remind y’all that while this is a NICE starting point to have, keep in mind that comics are fluid and this may be retconned slightly/ignored in later stories bc Keeping Duke 16-ish is in DC’s Best Interest at the moment. (Having Relatable Teen Characters afterall is a Good Marketing strategy™️. And the longer they can Keep them Young, the Better)

With that in mind let’s take a moment to Highlight the fact that Duke and Damian have crossed paths at this point AND the storylines that have occurred during this year that were meant to be in conjunction with one another!

Because Prior to Endgame, Damian had Died! And just a year (in real, meat-space time) before We Are Robin, he was resurrected and had begun his “Year of Atonement” in the Robin: Son of Batman maxiseries. Midway through both this series and WAR (and, we can assume, midway thru this “Year” for Damian) the Robin War begins/ends and we see at least one major Moment between these two boys who will soon call one another brothers:

(Robin War #2)

Given that R:SoB is followed up VERY quickly by Teen Titans Rebirth (in which Damian celebrates his 13th birthday), we can conclude that Damian would be 12 during this time (well, 12 and 1/2 to play it safe lmao). That being said, this Confirms about a 4yr gap between Duke and Damian! (One Batkid down at least! but he’s the key to the others so put a pin in him!)

As We Are Robin draws to its conclusion, DC was releasing another arc that would eventually flow into the Rebirth Era, by the end of which, Bruce would approach Duke with an Idea (which involves Bruce becoming Dukes temporary guardian & as he states Many Times “Trying Something New” with Duke).

And thus the Rebirth Era begins, and Duke began his Year of training (most directly encapsulated by the Cursed Wheel arc in the All-Star Batman run:

(All-Star Batman #1 (back-up story))

Bruce introduces Duke to a training regimen that Alfred has named “the Cursed Wheel”. It encompasses all the training Bruce and the other bats have undergone and condenses it down into color-coordinated segments that will take Duke a Year to Complete.

It can be assumed that by the End of this Year Duke will somehow miraculously still be 16, despite, again, an entire ass year passing.

There’s one story that takes place mid-year in All-Star Batman, and the Cursed Wheel is meant to be capped off by Duke’s first Official Day as the Signal (in the titular Batman & the Signal ofc) BUT, near as I can tell after this story, Dukes age is not brought up again. So until they DO bring it up either in Batman & the Outsiders or whatever future run Duke becomes involved in, we can assume DC will be working with the idea that he’s meant to be in that 16-18 range from here on out (ie still a minor).

But, dear anon, you might be saying “okay, that’s cool, but how does that relate to my question abt how he falls in with the other Bats?” You’ll have to be a little patient with me here, but I think I may have cracked the code!

Keep in mind I’m gonna be addressing both the Post-Crisis to Flashpoint Continuity (ie mid-80s to 2010 in comics history) and the N52-slash-Rebirth Era (2010-Today). Its generally agreed by fandom and DC alike that these points of rebooting &/or Major Events constitute the era of “Modern” comics, and that everything from the 80s-on might more or less be canon on some level, even if not All of it is.

(Plus, most of fandom usually likes to borrow elements from both eras and much more rarely from stories before it, SO-)

Lets do a quick rundown of how everyone who’s Closer to Duke’s Age, Relates to each other first, age-wise:

Given that Jason was 15 when he died, in A Lonely Place of Dying its established that Bruce had become increasingly reckless since his death, and by the end of the story, Tim has stepped in to fill Robin’s shoes (he states that he’s 13 during this story btw). Pretty soon after, Stephanie Brown is introduced & established to be about a year older than Tim (wish I could pin-point a specific issue BUT, i unfortunately haven’t read any Tim OR Steph-involved comics that predate No Man’s Land... Besides the aforementioned Lonely Place and Young Justice technically, but im working on remedying that soon!)

NOW, during the No Man’s Land event, Cassandra is introduced, and pretty soon into her Batgirl run, its revealed that she’s around the same age as Jason (or at least how old he Would Have Been, had he not died.) Now, given that Jay has an August bday and Cass has a January one, fandom sometimes likes to play around with the idea of one being older than the other (OR even speculating/placing them in an AU as twins/siblings, given that Lady Shiva (Cass’ mom) was a Possible Candidate to be Jason’s biological mother but that’s a Whole Other Thing i wont get into here.)

The point being, Cass, in this era of comics, IS slightly older than Tim and Steph. At Tim’s start as Robin, their ages could either line up like: Tim-13, Steph-14, Cass-15 (being a few months ‘behind’ Jay), then Jason at 15/16 (depending on how soon Tim filled the role after Jay died in April) OR Jason-15/16, Cass-16/17 (in this case she’d be a few months ‘ahead’ now instead)

So brief detour to talk New 52, however! Because Tim, Steph & Cass all got switched around from where DC originally left them prior to the reboot! Now I haven’t read much of them in this era, other than Batman & Robin: Eternal, so my Understanding of their current ages is Spotty at Best. The general consensus seems to be that while before N52, Stephanie had been attending her first year of College (& doing VERY WELL i might add), with the reboot she was set back a few years alongside Tim to a vague Late-Teen state (so 16-18-ish, instead of a Very Clearly Established 18/19). Cass is probably the worst off for this reboot, given that B&R:E basically constitutes her new origin for the new continuity, and does nothing to confirm her age (all I really know is that she’s a Vague Late-Teen too... Probably? Maybe?), given how much they infantilize her, and subsequently how fandom in turn has taken to infantilizing her too, theres a semi-popular fanon that places her Younger that Tim and Steph. And I, for one, propose that we ignore that bc its Weak Sauce my dudes.

Some fans chose to ignore N52 continuity due to this vagueness, and will stick to the ages established before the N52/Rebirth reboots. But its something to keep in mind regardless bc we’re all obviously going to pull from what’s most familiar to us!

But WHERE could we place Duke with regards to them, then? Because them being “Late Teens” is certainly much too vague to work with!

This is Where Damian is the key!

Because Damian is one of those rare exceptions to the Reboot Rule. His story flowed almost seamlessly over from before to after. While he was made a Robin at the age of 10, he continued to grow and learn even after the universe was being rewritten to suit the whims of DC editorial.

If we choose to ignore how everyone else’s ages and origins were swapped around, and stick with the growth that was presented before the reboot, then we can draw some interesting conclusions!

Firstly, though Stephanie also had Died and subsequently Returned, she hadn’t lost much, if any time, from the Ordeal. At the start of her Batgirl run, she is enrolled at a Gotham university and making headway with a more firm foot in the Batfamily (even to the point that she and Damian spend a few issues bonding. At this point in time, Damian is definitely 11, and again, Steph can be assumed to be 18/19 during the course of her run. We’ll assume 18 for clarity’s sake.)

So, then when Damian is 11, now our line up is as Follows:

Dami - 11, Steph - 18, Tim - 17, Cass 19-21 (the range depending again, if you subscribe to Cass being either older/younger than Jason).

WHICH MEANS, If during Robin War Damian is 12 (and a half) THEN We’ve got an age line-up that Potentially looks Like This:

Dami -12(and 1/2), Duke - 16, Tim - 18, Steph - 19, Cass - 20-22 (And Obvsly Jason, Babs & Dick at their varying Older Ages than everyone here)

and im just now realizing i Didnt include Harper in this line-up, but thats bc she’d also throw a big wrench in all this. I’d personally throw her in with being Steph’s age, but I’m pretty sure she was supposed to be either that, or between Steph and Cass (again, since its N52, i believe Cass was/is assumed to be Younger than Steph, but that contradicts the assumed following of pre52 canon that we have for the above line-up, obvsly, and so we ignore that lmao)

All this to say, however, that canon and fandom is what you make of it, and if you want to wiggle these ages around a little, you’re more than allowed! God Knows i usually like to skew the Tim-Steph-Cass age group to be a tad older than this in my own fic writing, and I like to have Duke start as a Robin at 14/15 instead of 16, but that’s just bc I like the dynamic potential it could bring with them being Definitively Older that him, and thus in a more secure place to be Mentoring him right alongside Bruce & the others.

But you might see these age ranges and want to do something Different (say, making Tim, Steph, Cass, & Duke all the Same Age at 17 instead! And that very well tracks with how current comics kinda looks right now!) and you’re absolutely valid to do so! Because again, comic character’s ages are meant to be fluid, not fixed!

And at the end of the day, its all about wanting to see these teen heroes kick serious ass haha

#duke thomas #guest starring:#batfamily #damian wayne #tim drake #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #randywrites #randys meta #meta #asked and answered #anonymous asks #this was A LOT and i tried to throw some humor where i could #but uhhhh yeah!!! i hope this helps anon!!!#also just realizing its TWO AM WHERE DID THE TIME GO #ah well. Worth It

109 notes · View notes

makesitprecious · 5 years

Note

So in honor of the Fruits Basket reboot who would you say are your fave Furuba characters and ships (canon) and why? Least fave Furuba characters and canon ships and why?

thank you for sending this!

I first read FB when I was 16 so as a high schooler I related to different things, ships and characters vastly different than I did in my recent re-read last year when I was 26. There were characters and stories that hit a lot more close to home or I picked up on things I didn’t before. For instance, I thought Momiji’s story was sad, but this re-read I found it devastating. However some things remained the same — like my love of Tohru, Kyo and Yuki! I’m sorry this took a while to answer but I wanted to write everything out!

Fav ships:

when I 16 and reading for the first time ↴

1. Kyo/ Tohru

2. Yuki/Tohru

3. Katsuya/Mom

Recent re-read ↴

1. from chapter one I was reminded how Kyo is my favorite, problematic son, I love him SO MUCH and it was so heartwarming and beautiful to read Tohru/Kyo falling in love again. They truly care about each other so much even when people think they shouldn’t.

2. Ren/Haru— when I was younger I though Ren was kind of a tart (being that she’s drawn pretty sexually and you first meet her coming on to Shiro), but I liked her more as her story progressed. This read I was no longer a teenager from a small rural town and view/respect women a lot differently — their love story is beautiful. They find the soft, happy love they deserve despite the intense violence in their hearts and the curse. They risk everything to be together and would die for each other (which all couples would in this series but Ren comes the closest to actually doing it y’know?) I love that Haru makes all their jewelry!

3. Mr. and Mrs. Honda — as a sixteen year old I thought thier story was so romantic. I wondered what it would be like if a handsome intelligent man came and swept me off my feet like that (it didn’t happen). But as I aged and re-read the series I began to think isn’t this guy sort of a creeper? I became conflicted about my ship, wanting to stay loyal to loving them so much, but as an adult woman thinking what lolita syndrome is this? Kyoko even as much. That was until I read a really great piece on tumblr that pointed out: he never loved her romantically when she was young. He didn’t look at her and think “I want to sleep with her”, he merely loved her for whom she was and wanted her to be happy. When she did move in with him however, he asked her to marry him because he knew how it looked. I think this romance is purely for the books. If my friend entered it as a 15 year old (Kyoko’s age) dating a 25 year old I would put up WARNING SIGNS! and not trust them. That has happened! Seeing as I cried tears of loving them so much when I re-read the series I’m obvious still a shipper of them. I cried when she died and saw him again. Would I want this to happen to someone I know? No. Do I support them? Yes. I’m still conflicted about it. I think I always will be.

Least fav ships:

1. Kyo/Kagura — I don’t like this ship for all the reasons I’m not supposed to like it. Her “romantic” love for him was born out of pity and guilt. I believe she still loves Kyo, but as her childhood friend and longtime friend. He loves her for that to, but never romantically.

2. Akito/Kureno — it’s such an unhealthy relationship and we all know why. She literally stabs him!! I’m glad they didn’t end up together because of his manipulated loyalty. Usami is so good for him just as Shigure is for Akito.

3. Sensei / Arisa. — it’s a cute running gag and maybe Tohru says she’d make a great wife for him, but I just don’t like it as an actual relationship. They don’t match up to me.

Least fav characters:

1. Okami Sohma — (Ri-chan’s mother) She’s always freaking out and maybe with the right intentions, but seeing as I am someone with high anxiety she makes me SO STRESSED!!! I’m stressed just thinking about her.

2. Akito’s old women staff — they are stuck in their old, cruel ways. Even when Akito offers her hand to help them change, they refuse. Sad.

3. Ritsu Sohma —MAKES ME SO ANXIOUS/STRESSED TOO. Thankfully Natsuki felt that she had written Ritsu’s story enough and although there were more details there wasn’t really any reason to include him. Thank god.

4. Mitsuri /Shigure’s editor — I could give or take her. She’s there for humor, but to me she’s just annoying.

Fav characters:

1. Tohru —As someone who empathetic, cheerful and optimistic is it any surprise that I relate to Tohru the most? One of the great things about FB is that we can see a little bit of us in all of the characters, especially because they all relate to Tohru somehow. I also tend to hide my grief and sorrow that it doesn’t effect others. And I love Kyo the most! I haven’t lost my parents, I’m not exactly like Tohru, but I empathize with her so much. Reading Fruits Basket is reminding myself that everything will be alright. That kindness and forgiveness is not a weakness it is a strength.

2. Kyo — have you ever felt down? an outcast? outside the circle? well step right up folks the cat has seen it all. He proves that change is possible and while someone might help, ultimately it is up to us to enact it. He takes the entire series, but he faces his father and his biggest fears. I am so proud of him, he’s hilarious, and I love him. He’s so over dramatic and truly a dumb cat sometimes. I love his kids too. He also gets hella fine when he gets older.

3. Yuki! —Is it biased of me to like the three main characters? When I first read the series I was so flip flopped on who I wanted her to end up with. He does treat her like a princess! In the end I think his relationship was healthy and understandable. He treated her romantically since he didn’t know how else to, but once he realized what he needed and what he was looking for he wanted her to be with Kyo. His growth is astounding and inspirational. I’m so glad he comes into his own and finds someone who understands him. His goodbye to God is the saddest.

icons: livejournal

#Anonymous

2 notes · View notes

catherine-batty-author · 7 years

Text

If Destiel was a M/F pairing they would have been canon years ago... or maybe not. The slow burn TV couples.

Following on from my post The Show Made Me Do it (https://thechroniclesofjudas.tumblr.com/post/166439114361/the-show-made-me-do-it), I felt the need to speak again on a topic that seems to bounce around Tumblr all the time re Destiel – if they were a M/F pairing they would have been canon years ago.

All fandoms have ships and Destiel is not only one of the biggest but one of the most passionate. As I’ve said before and many meta writer’s have said (in far more detail) before me – it is there embedded in the show. Sometimes blatant, sometimes in subtext. But it is there.

I disagree with the notion that it is guaranteed that if they were a hetro paring they would have been canon by now. There have been many hetro (canon) screen couples who have had their relationships drawn out and explored over many years. All too often in TV hetro couples are thrown together within a series or two and then torn apart before coming back together again a few series later. It is a fairly standard trope - one used time and time again by SPN - but of course, it’s not romantic (whatever!).

But sometimes writers make interesting choices and there are canon couple/ships out there that have not taken the standard path…and the Destiel parallels are everywhere. Here are a few I love:-

The Doctor and River Song/Doctor Who

This is a brilliantly written relationship because it is known by dedicated fans and GA alike that they were a couple until her death. They loved each other deeply. She was one of the few beings in the universe who knew The Doctor’s real name. He spent 1 night (on a planet where that lasted 25 years in Earth time) with her because he knew the following day she would die based on their weird timeline, and he needed a way and time to say goodbye. Then, following her death he uploaded her memory into a computer so it was there for all eternity – it’s a beautiful love story told in reverse. Following her death he has kept her photograph with him. He finds it hard to talk about her and shuts people down when they try. But their relationship was not shown in a traditional light on screen. She is known as The Doctor’s wife, they even are shown getting married – however each time their relationship is shown, it is in the guise of something else. Although River was shown “marrying” The Doctor it wasn’t actually him. This was the same when she “killed” him. This follows a general theme of their on-screen relationship. What you see is not always what happened. The Doctor and River Song is basically all subtext but even if you don’t ship them you are not told you are delusional, it is accepted because it is canon.

Donna Moss and Joshua Lynam/The West Wing

There are soooo many parallels between Josh/Donna and Dean/Cas it’s unbelievable. Seriously, if you’ve never seen the West Wing (why not, it’s awesome and some of the best screen writing, ever) do it just for this.

So in a nutshell, Donna was introduced in the pilot as the personal assistant of Josh Lyman, the duty chief of staff of the White House. She was only meant to be a minor recurring character (like all the other assistants) but her on screen chemistry (mostly snark) with Josh meant her role was stepped up in S1 and then made a main cast member for subsequent seasons. They are also a big ship from S1 ep1.

Despite their snark and sass with each other, they care for each other deeply and are a great team. Their professional and personal relationships bleed over as time goes on as well. Over the course of 7 seasons they are on the same side, opposing sides, they fall out, they support each other, they are jealous when one is a relationship with someone else. They are not a canon couple until late in the final 7th season, but before they finally get together, it is common for their other love interests to ask the other party if they are “treading on any toes”. Third parties are always assuming there is more them because of they way they are with each other. Donna is directly asked in one ep if she loves Josh – we never see/hear her answer as the ep ends but her face says it all. When Josh is shot at the end of S1 she is broken. She doesn’t leave his side. When he survives, after a brief moment of longing looks they return to their old ways.

Interestingly enough; the writers (who had no plans to make Donna into the character she was, it was fan driven) deliberately kept them apart until the last season. Once the ship was known they slowly wrote two interesting characters who gradually came together with their endgame to become canon.

This is just a TINY insight in TWW writing of Josh/Donna but even so… the Destiel parallels are everywhere.

William Riker and Deana Troi/Star Trek: TNG

This really shows my age! (FYI I was 7 when this series started, my mum was sooo excited Start Trek was coming back and wanted me to watch it too. I also loved it from the start.) This one is a little different in that in the pilot it is canon that Riker and Troi were ex’s who still had feelings for each other. Over the course of 7 seasons they were never “together” but they had this sub-textual under current. There was a lot of pining and long looks at each other with occasional kissing. Again there was a lot of jealousy if one party was involve with someone else. When they comforted one another they refer as “Imzadi” meaning beloved. They continued in this fashion for the full 7 seasons and 2 films, only becoming canon again briefly in the 3rd film and following their marriage in the 4th film “Nemesis” -15 YEARS after the pilot.

Temperance “Bones” Brennan and Seeley Booth/Bones.

This is another couple that took 6 seasons to become canon – even then it was because the writer’s hand was forced. It was clear that the endgame was to make them a couple but their friendship was developed first. As such there were many of the traits mentioned above and shared with Dean and Cas. Their relationship was only made canon after Bones actress Emily Deschanel fell pregnant. They could have hidden it but the writer’s decided to bring their endgame forward. Writer’s are fluid like that – we can change the direction as and when required.

If in 4.01 Castiel had chosen a female vessel (and this was the ONLY) change to the narrative) no one would have an issue with believing this to be an epic love story. But because it’s two men, it’s dismissed. (Technically one man and one being of multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent without gender, but hey.)

As @tinkdw said in her post Cas and Dean could have been totally platonic, (https://tinkdw.tumblr.com/post/163833238972/cas-and-dean-could-have-been-totally-platonic) I would have loved this show even if Destiel was a “family don’t end with blood” story. The brother Dean chose. It would have been an epic love story of a platonic/familial kind and free will. But it has been MADE romantic. The actors, writers, directors, editors, set designers etc, they have MADE this a slow burn romance. It might not have initially been planned that way but that is how stories (and life) work – it’s all fluid.

Even if you take out the favourite argument for it never being canon which is “Dean is straight” (he’s not but I’m not here to dissect that, meta writers have done a much better job at that than I can ever do), you are basically saying “a person/character has no ability to change or have room for personal growth”. And let’s face it, even in canon Dean’s already subverted many of the character traits he’s known for – why not this one?

It’s not AS common to keep a couple from going canon for as long as Supernatural has Dean and Cas, but in the end, I believe they will make the wait worth it. There is precedence after all. This isn’t a long list of slow burn TV couples there are so many we all could list, but these are just some that strike me a good parallels and leaves me hopeful for the future of these two idiots.

34 notes · View notes

grcywardcn-archive · 7 years

Text

SLAMS HANDS ON THE TABLE LET’S TALK ABOUT DUNCAN’S YOUTH

in the calling by david gaider, there’s a couple of interesting hints to duncan’s age. now, first and foremost, nothing is ever explicitly stated, so all of this is just wild conjecture and reasoning. and, on top of that, like many other things in dragon age, there might be conflicting information out there that throws everyting i’m about to say down the crapshoot. even so, the calling is one of the primary sources i’m pulling from for my portrayal of duncan (aside from da:o, it’s one of the only sources). as such, it’s mostly treated as canon by me, so let’s just get started ya?

first off, everyone at some point in time seems to make a reference to how young duncan is. like literally, he is called “young man” so many times, and several characters make a point to mention that his youth is probably why he acts the way he does. granted, duncan’s life up to that point had been rather hard, since he had been taking care of himself for several years on the streets of val royeaux. but, he still has a playful energy about him that seems more given to his youth than to his personality.

there’s this lovely paragraph where fiona mentions that duncan is a handful of years younger than her: “He didn’t argue, just crumpled in his own misery in a way that almost made Fiona laugh. Duncan was only a handful of years younger than her, but there were times he seemed more like a boy than a man” (the calling, p 66). while “a handful” is a vague measurement, i would say that could be anywhere from 2-5 years–anything more and i think the difference would be pushed into a different category (also, side note: keep in mind that in the dragon age verse, being an “adult” or in this case, considered a “man,” would possibly be younger than today’s age. that is, with shorter lifespans, adulthood began younger than it would be considered in the real world). that, and despite their vastly different life experiences, they get along well and have similar… idk, youthish behavior?? young passion? point is, they’re both fairly young, especially compared to the rest of the people in their party, enough so that fiona feels more drawn to duncan than she does the other wardens or maric.

now, even while fiona’s older, duncan joined the wardens first. in a conversation to maric, he states that he’s only been a grey warden for six months. he also mentions that fiona comes from the circle of montsimmard and that he was there when she joined: “I’ve been to one of the Circle’s towers once,” Duncan explained. “It was the one outside of Montsimmard, but it was nothing like this one. More of a fortress. That’s where Fiona was recruited” (the calling, p. 58). i take this to mean that duncan was there when fiona was recruited–why else would he have been to a tower? (i know her wiki says she was there for his and ridoran’s joining, but i can’t find evidence for that??) EDIT: so thanks to@fuckthedivine i have the passage:

“I don’t see anything,” he announced nervously. “And I don’t hear anything either.” Fiona shrugged. “You were the last of us to take the Joining.” That wasn’t exactly reassuring. His Joining had only been months behind Fiona’s while hers had been many years behind Kell’s and Utha’s” (the calling, p 361).

it doesn’t really make sense for duncan to go to Montsimmard if not to recruit fiona–for simplicity’s sake, i’m just going to pretend that duncan was more or less forced to travel with the wardens for a while, but kept running away to delay his joining. and add to that he was probably just a little too young to take his joining and they wanted him to be just a smidge older--which would also explain why his happens “months” after fiona’s with a few other warden recruits. this still agrees with my timeline however–fiona had only joined “months” before duncan, so it’s still safe to assume that they’re relatively close in age, and both are fairly young

this is where things get a little tricky and some assumptions start to be made. remember in da:o during the mage origin story, the character goes through their harrowing? and then they’re recruited into the grey wardens? i’m assuming that’s the principle everywhere–apprentices would not be allowed to join the grey wardens until they have at least passed their harrowing and are recognized as mages by the circle–aka, responsible people capable of fending off demon possession and therefore allowed to learn the higher, more dangerous, more complicated tiers of magic. it would not make sense for wardens to recruit untested apprentices (not that common sense or lack thereof has stopped them before). so, it’s safe to assume fiona underwent her harrowing. but at what age are apprentices supposed to go to their harrowing? there’s never been a specific age-range mentioned, but i imagine it to be relatively young–the sooner an apprentice can be verified as being safe from possession, the better. now, if i remember correctly, from in-game dialogue from da:o, some ncps mention how young the character was when they did their harrowing. and from da2, if bethany is left at home and must join the circle, they mention that she was a little old for her harrowing. assuming that the HoF in da:o is about 18, and Bethany around 22-25 (a few years younger than hawke), then the age range for harrowings is probably 18-25, with more harrowings happening around 18 than 25. again, the sooner an apprentice can be declared safe from demon possession (or made tranquil), the safer the tower is on a whole. that means fiona is probably between 18-25–and again, i’m guessing–but probably closer to 18-20 because again, compared to her companions, she is relatively young, but an accomplished mage.

“why the fuck are you going on and on about fiona i thought this was about duncan??” yes, yes i’m getting to him. so, with fiona’s age in the calling a little easier to pin down, and duncan being “a handful” of years younger than her, you can imagine he’s somewhere between 15-18 years old. any younger, and he would probably be referred to as a child. much older, and people wouldn’t be calling him “young man” all the damn time, he’d just be a man. now, right around here is where i stop having evidence and just go, “man, this feels right” because i personally believe duncan to be around 16/17 in the calling. why?

two parts: one, he’s been a street urchin for years. he’d be getting on the older side of things, which, let’s face it, makes it not only harder, but less likely that he’s too old. street thieves don’t live until ripe old ages. duncan was probably going to have to start thinking of a “career path” soon (criminal or not), before he was conscripted into the wardens. not to mention his abilities of a thief most likely come from his youthfulness–a smaller, slighter frame, faster reflexes, unassuming appearance. and, on top of this, his maturity fluctuates–he sulks and whines often and is very open about his feelings–but, at the same time, because he grew up depending on himself, he does approach things with a fair amount of realism and maturity. however, because of his youth, he is still ignorant about many things in the world–why people fear mages, slavery, and politics, to name a few.

which brings me to point 2: puberty. that’s right, fucking puberty. he’s probably smack dab in the middle of it–in most boys, 12-14 is about the time hormones start kicking in. and we know, straight from duncan’s own mind, that he’s had a little bit of experience sexually:

“[on being propositioned by a mage in Kinloch Hold] Not that he didn’t like it, necessarily. For a mage, she was rather attractive in her way. And clean, too. That alone would be a step up from the few experiences he’d had, furtively groping girls in filthy back rooms at the flophouse, the act all sweat and desperation and over almost as soon as it’d begun. If this mage was looking for some kind of virtuoso performance on that front from a Grey Warden… well, he’d just have to give it his best shot, wouldn’t he?” (the calling, p 80).

so enough young, quick flings (emphasis on quick)–enough so he knows what sex is, but not enough to really have experience. and, since duncan had previously lived almost his whole life on the streets, i would again imagine this would cause him to mature faster–he would visit flophouses and sexual activity, possibly before he was truly ready to actually do so. which is again, why i place him around 16/17 years old–he has those feelings and desires, but hasn’t had the chance to “develop” them (i could also mention that he doesn’t seem particularly interested in sex, but i feel like that goes more into his own personality than it does his maturity. ie, i don’t think duncan’s a super sexual person, it’s more of a tool in his arsenal/he does it to do it, not really to enjoy it perse. but that’s something else for another time).

so, to recap: due to several comments made by various characters referring to duncan as “young man,” fiona saying that duncan is “a handful of years younger,” and probably being around 18-20 based on when she passes her harrowing, duncan is most likely between 15-20 during the calling. i personally see the calling as having taken place when he was 16/17 (leaning more towards 17), due to his own fluctuating maturity, as well as his prior sexual experiences. this is all taking into account that in dragon age, many people are probably considered to be adult men and women between the ages of 16-18. this is my headcanon, and it’s what i’ll be basing his age in various verses off of.

that also means that he was 16ish when he became a grey warden and he’s so young just a child how is this fair @ maker answer for this crime

#headcanons;

3 notes · View notes

steampoweredstrawberry · 7 years

Note

Is it too much to ask you all those questions?

*Rubs hands together*

1. Your first OC ever?

I probably had OCs as a kid. Probably a Sailor Moon one or a Harry Potter OC (Most likely had a Harry Potter OC. The only one I can name for certain though was a witch named Caroline with an affinity for fire magic.

2. Do you have a personal favourite among your OCs?

Right now? Claudia Hawke. I love talking about her and drawing her and writing her. Plus, she has a super cute boyfriend who I also love talking about and drawing.

3. Have you ever adopted a character or gotten a character from someone else?

Lol. Yeah. I have a few of @mikagesshoku‘s OCs now. The first was an ancient vampire named Mark (not his real name, but what he goes by in modern times). She liked how I wrote him and characterized him, so he became my son. Her Hawke, Quentin, is also now my Hawke (and Claudia’s big brother). She also prefers how I write her Mahariel.

4. A character you rarely talk about?

Of my DA OCs? Aeducan and Brosca. Nothing against dwarves, I just haven’t fleshed them out very well.

5. If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be?

Claudia Hawke. Her being popular and people wanting me to write/draw her would come with the ulterior motive of getting to write/draw Anders.

6. Two OCs of yours that look alike despite not being related?

Claudia Hawke and Elira Bassat. Elira’s a bit taller and her hair is straight, but they’re both sassy, dual-wielding red heads. My old RP buddy actually confused one of my first drawings of Claudia for Elira (Claudia’s since had some cosmetic changes to make them look more different).

7. Are your OCs part of any story or stories?

Yes! I write for Claudia a lot.

You can find her here, here, and here. (Note: All of these contain graphic depictions of sex, so read at your own risk)

8. Do you RP as any of your OCs? If you do, introduce one of your RP OCs here!

Elira Bassat was my OC that I RPed the longest as, but don’t anymore. She’s a sassy, dual-wielding red head, she’s nb, but generally prefers she/her or them/they pronouns (occasionally he/him). She’s also a big fan of vigilante justice.

9. Would you ever be willing to give any of your OCs to someone else?

Hypothetically, yes. I couldn’t name which one, but if their new parent was going to treat them well, I would.

10. Introduce an OC with a complicated design?

I generally try to keep them toned down or believable in appearance. But, there’s Rhyann Tabris, my tiny elf baby with snow-white hair (I say the quickening still effects elves and it made her hair go white as a child). She’s got a billion freckles and carries around a big sword.

11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a "sunshine"?

So, an optimist? I don’t know if I have any of those with my DA OCs. Probably Solona Amell. She’s the most likely to keep her chin up and try to cheer up the others.

12. Name an OC that isn't yours but who you like a lot

I absolutely love @kirkwallgirl‘s Jay Hawke and @misterwiggums‘s Mads Hawke. They’re both super cute and love the mage!

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs?

Claudia Hawke. She’s best friends with Isabela. They get into lots of trouble.

14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory

I think of my DA OCs, I think Rhyann Tabris has a very tragic backstory. I relate to it on a personal level, which was why I chose her (they’ve all got super sad backstories, hers just resonates with me).

15. Do you like to talk about your OCs with other people?

YES! Oh my God, if you guys want to ask me about my OCs, please do! I’d love to hear about all of yours, too!

16. Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)?

Solona Amell. She’s a healer.

17. Any OC OTPs?

With other OCs? I don’t know. Neria Surana and Solona Amell (as part of a polymance with Jowan, but he’s not my OC). With non OC characters, Claudia Hawke x Anders and Rhyann Tabris x Alistair Theirin.

18. Any OC crackships?

I don’t have any with just OCs. With OC x canon, I’m planning on writing a Claudia Hawke/Karl Thekla/Anders bi polymance in the future. Not really a crack ship (though I guess it is if you HC Karl as being gay; I’m in the he’s bi/pan camp), but I never thought I’d be pairing Claudia up with Karl before the idea struck me.

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)

Rhyann Tabris means a lot to me because she was my first OC in a Dragon Age game, my first playthrough, and her origin really resonated with me.

20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)?

Originally, Elira Bassat was a singer and she was supposed to sound a bit like Sara Taylor/Chibi from The Birthday Massacre, but I scrapped that.

Claudia Hawke enjoys singing, but she isn’t particularly good. I imagine she sings a little bit of everything, though I like the idea of her dramatically singing along to Helena by My Chemical Romance.

21. Your most artistic OC

Probably Elira Bassat. She isn’t an artist, but she’s pretty damn good at costume makeup.

22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how?

I don’t think anyone mischaracterizes them.

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?

Sophie Cousland. I was originally going to romance Alistair with her, but I was too attached to Rhyann x Alistair, so Sophie became Aro/Ace.

24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be and why?

Claudia Hawke, because she’d bring Anders with her.

25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?)

Elira Bassat shared my build, height, and hair color at the time (I’m no longer a red head). But, I’ve given Rhyann Tabris a lot of my facial features.

26. Have you ever had to change your OC's design or something else about them against your will?

I’ve renamed OCs in the past. Can’t think of any off the top of my head, though.

27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song?

Like, did I base them off a song? I don’t think I have any OCs like that.

28. Your most dangerous OC?

Claudia Hawke or Rhyann Tabris.

29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they're going?

Probably Solona Amell. She wouldn’t want to trouble anyone with her curiosity. Claudia would go too, but half of Kirkwall would know she was going.

30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection?

Rhyann Tabris. In a modern AU, she probably saves every stuffed animal Alistair has ever gave her or won her at a carnival and loves them all.

31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really)

Solona Amell’s would be a lot of quotes from book, pictures of pretty cups of tea/coffee, plants, and the occasional cute animal. Mostly aesthetic.

32. Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why?

In a survival/horror, Rhyann Tabris because she fits the personality archetype they use for those sorts of games (timid female protagonist).

33. Your shyest OC?

Rhyann Tabris. She’s extremely shy, and tends to avoid most human men until they earn her trust.

34. Do you have any twin characters?

Sophie Cousland has a twin brother named Jarak. He’s a bit flirty, but is overall a good person.

35. Any sibling characters?

Claudia Hawke has an older brother named Quentin. He’s a mage and she’s extremely protective over him.

36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)?

Rhyann Tabris is the cousin of @mikagesshoku‘s Lyna Mahariel and Misali Mahariel. Claudia Hawke is also friends with Lyna.

37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human

All of my elves/dwarves/qunari? I’m in the mood to mention Thaliah Lavellan, though, given she’s a Dalish elf. She also hooks up with a Qunari.

38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer?

I say Claudia Hawke is a former ballet dancer in a modern AU. Though, I imagine Sophie and Jarak are pretty light on their feet, given they’re nobles.

39. Introduce any character you want

I’m world building for an original story in some of my free time, and the main character is named Lilika, though she goes by Lily for most of the story. She’s a seer raised by a wlw couple since she was around 10 years old and she’s blind in her right eye.

40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share!

Whenever anyone leaves nice comments/tags on artwork I do of them! I’ve had a couple people comment that Claudia and Rhyann are very pretty, and it makes me so happy (especially with Rhyann because I gave her some of my features that I consider ugly).

41. Has anyone drawn fanart of your OCs? If yes, maybe show a picture or two here (remember sources & permissions!)

I sadly don’t have any pictures on my current phone of it, but my nephew drew Claudia Hawke and one of his characters from the comic books he likes to draw hanging out. It was really cute.

42. Which one of your OCs would be the most interested in Greek gods?

I’m really tempted to say all of them and leaving it at that, but I’d bet money that Neria Surana went through a very intense Greek mythology period of her life.

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It's time to confess

YES. I like tall girls with red hair and who are also the more dominant partner in a relationship. I’ve been getting better with it. But I do have at least five red heads, most of which are tall, and most of which are the more dominant partner in a relationship.

44. Something you like about your OCs in general

I love them all and how they all have various facets of me. I try to make them all a little bit like me.

45. A character you no longer use?

I used to RP as Nikolai (a vampire) quite regularly, but I haven’t in years.

46. Has anyone ever told you that you treat your OCs badly?

Yes. My old RP buddy used to tell me all the time that I was being mean to our OCs, but in a you’re being mean, but it makes the story so good way.

47. Has anyone ever (friendly) claimed any of your OCs as their child?

The same RP buddy from number 46 did. He’d call our OCs our “children”, so his were my children too.

48. OC who is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure

Solona Amell. She’s a precious child who deserves love.

49. Which one of your OCs would most likely enjoy memes

Claudia Hawke, Quentin Hawke, Neria Surana, Jarak Cousland, Elira Bassat. Most of them.

50. Give me the good ol' OC talk here. Talk about anything you want

Claudia Hawke and Sophie Cousland are named after characters from The Chipmunk Adventure. Claudia was the name of the villain and Sophie was the name of her dog. Quentin is named after a character from a book and his appearance is based somewhat off the same character.

#yetanotherOCmeme #ask meme #ladyofgreenkirtle

2 notes · View notes

clusterassets · 6 years

Text

New world news from Time: Female Sports Reporters Are Blowing the Whistle on Sexist Behavior at the World Cup

From late goals to major upsets, the World Cup in Russia this year has had more than its usual share of excitement. While more women have had high-profile sports commentary roles this year than ever before, a series of sexist incidents have provoked outcry.

During the tournament, several women working for international media outlets have been harassed and assaulted while doing their jobs. Male fans have coached women to chant sexually graphic phrases in languages they don’t understand. Even away from the crowds outside the stadium, women working from the relative calm of a studio have received online abuse just for daring to work in the male-dominated world of soccer.

The soccer world is no stranger to sexism. As is typical of many sports, the men’s version is thought of first—British pundit Gary Lineker was called out on Twitter for crediting Lionel Messi with a world soccer first, despite American soccer player Mia Hamm and China’s Sun Wen achieving the same in 2003. In Britain, thought of as the home of the sport, the women’s game was banned for 50 years until 1971, and was only officially brought under the British soccer governing body in 1993. It’s only in recent years that women have taken roles in FIFA, the sport’s global governing body, with the first board members being elected in 2013, and the first ever secretary general in 2016. Progress has been slow across the board, with top European leagues only getting their first ever female referee last September (in Germany); there are no female refereeing staff at this World Cup. Sports journalists in several countries marked milestones in Moscow, becoming the first to commentate live men’s matches on television. (In the U.S. Fox Sports and Telemundo both had the country’s first ever live commentary from women, while in the U.K., where women have commentated live soccer on the radio, the BBC’s Vicki Sparks made history as the first woman to commentate a live televised men’s match.)

Maddie Meyer—Getty ImagesVicki Sparks commentates for BBC during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group B match between Portugal and Morocco at Luzhniki Stadium on June 20, 2018 in Moscow, Russia.

What’s different about this year’s World Cup is the rise of call out culture. As Anna Kessel, sports journalist and chair of British campaign group Women in Football says, “For the first time, we’re having a global awakening about what women in the sport face.” In the wake of the #MeToo movement across other industries, more women in soccer are talking about their experiences—and the world is listening.

For those working in front of the camera, the grabs, gropes and kisses have taken place in full view of the world. On June 15, Colombian-born journalist Julieth Gonzalez Theran was delivering her lines for Deutsche Welle to camera when a soccer fan grabbed her chest and forcibly kissed her. Three days later, Malin Wahlberg was presenting, talking to a crowd of Swedish fans for the country’s Aftonbladet newspaper, when a rowdy fan draped an arm around her shoulder, another another vigorously ruffled her hair and a third grabbed her round the neck and went in for a kiss she tried to dodge. Mexican journalist Mariana Zacarias has told Paris Match about being groped, kissed and grabbed in the first two weeks of the tournament. On June 24, Julia Guimaraes, presenting for Brazil’s TV Globo and sporTV, dodged a man who tried to kiss her on the cheek, berating him afterward with a wave of her mic.

https://twitter.com/dw_espanol/status/1007240122138492928

It’s not just women on the job who have had to deal with sexist crowds. Fare Network, part of a global network of organizations tackling discrimination in soccer, has reported several instances of fans persuading women from different countries to chant crude and sexual phrases in a language they don’t understand. “There’s the very visible issue of TV reporters who are being assaulted on the streets while they’re working, and there’s another aggressive, sexualized misogyny that’s new. I’ve never seen that before,” says Fare’s executive director Piara Powar, describing the videos.

In one video Fare highlights, two Paraguayan journalists taught a woman an obscene phrase, telling her it meant “I like Paraguay,” and in another Colombian fans taught Japanese women to say obscene phrases. Paraguay—which is not playing at the World Cup—condemned the journalists through its Russian embassy, and Colombia’s government said the behavior was “degrading to women and insults our country” on Twitter. “All these things are highlighting old, sexist attitudes, and that most of the people who travel are men,” says Powar. “It’s something the culture of [soccer] hasn’t tried to address.”

Comportamiento de hinchas que hacen repetir mensajes groseros en español a dos mujeres japonesas no solo degrada a la mujer, insulta a otras culturas, nuestro idioma y a nuestro país. Inaudito maltratar a una mujer aprovechándose de las barreras idiomáticas.

— Cancillería Colombia (@CancilleriaCol) June 19, 2018

Several female pundits have also been trolled online—and action is being taken. German pundit Claudia Neumann, the first woman to commentate men’s matches on German public television, has been subject to online abuse, with her employer ZDF now pursuing criminal charges against two users who expressed “extremely derogatory comments,” according the German newspaper Allgemeine Zeitung. ZDF director Thomas Bellut said he hoped it would have a deterrent effect, and expressed surprise that “apparently some viewers still have a problem with a woman commentating.”

Elsewhere, others have been displeased that the playing field is becoming more equal. Jason Cundy, who played for British top-level soccer club Chelsea, came under fire last week for his assertion on breakfast TV that female commentators were a “tough listen,” saying “a high-pitched tone isn’t what I want to hear.”

Pable Porciunicula Brune—AFP/Getty ImagesA woman (C) reacts she watches the World Cup match between Uruguay and Russia at a square in the Russian-founded town of San Javier in Rio Negro Department, Uruguay, on June 25, 2018.

Powar of Fare Network says that the media—and soccer as a whole—has its own role to play in helping change sexist attitudes, by making the presence of women a regular feature across the board, rather than a one off at big tournaments. Female pundits Eni Aluko and Alex Scott, who work for the U.K.’s two major networks, have drawn praise for their insightful commentary—as well as what some have called patronizing applause from a fellow male pundit. “They clearly understood they had to prove themselves, they had to work harder than the men,” says Powar. “They’ve done their homework.”

The commercial argument for change is strong: Women’s soccer is among the fastest growing sports in the world—and in the U.S., women’s soccer has for years been more popular than men’s. Kessel points to two campaigns this World Cup that were disbanded after an outcry over sexism—Burger King’s offer to give prizes to any woman impregnated by a player, and Getty’s gallery of “hottest fans” featuring only young women. “It’s been standard for galleries and TV feeds to feature this narrow idea of women at the football. This is first time there’s been such a big platform for change,” Kessel says. Women are a significant audience at World Cups: FIFA’s own viewing figures show women were around 40% of the audience for the 2014 tournament. And where there are viewers, there are advertising dollars.

But for women on the ground right now, sharing their experiences and immediately condemning sexism has been essential to effecting change more quickly. As Julieth Gonzalez-Theran said in a post on her Instagram after she was groped, the women reporting are doing their jobs and they deserve respect: “Respect! We don’t deserve this. We are equally valuable and professional. I share the joy of soccer but we must identify the line between affection and harassment.”

July 04, 2018 at 12:03AM ClusterAssets Inc., https://ClusterAssets.wordpress.com

#Time #world #news #ClusterAssets #ClusterAsset #Cluster Asset Inc.#ClusterAssets Inc.

0 notes