#the interpersonal stuff and her relationships with the other bats and people outside of her circle are complicated and nuanced | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pyroreadscomics · 5 months

Text

Three Interesting & Oddball Catwoman Comics

So, I'm working on a full Post-Crisis Catwoman reading list (pray for me) but I've realized there are certain comics that, while they wouldn't make any but the most bloated (and / or obsessively complete) reading guides, I find fascinating in some way.

So, here's three issues that are completely optional Catwoman reading: (Below the cut to save your dashboards.)

GREEN ARROW (1988) #86

This comic on its own would be notable because Catwoman made shockingly few out of Gotham guest appearances during the New Earth era. Sure she’d pop up in Batfamily books every other month on average, but times when Selina broke out of the Bat-sphere are truly few and far between. In fact, in terms of guest appearances in other peoples solo titles there’s really only that one digital first Wonder Woman comic where Selina makes a very chibi appearance (it’s great) and… actually that’s the list. Even expanding out to the series of teams that don’t have Batman or Catwoman as members and aren’t Batman adjacent all you have is three pretty good issues of JSA: Classified and a debate about where or not the Birds of Prey being minimum half Gothamite at all times makes them bat-adjacent.

This is genuinely the only guest appearance outside of Gotham she makes that doesn’t come with a bunch of asterisks. As for the plot of the book, Oliver Queen, currently not in Star City, ends up tangling with some thieves who’ve smuggled Incan artifacts out of Peru. While looking to defeat them he ends up teaming up with early Balent Catwoman.

The interesting thing, for me at least, is that Catwoman’s above board here. She’s not just stealing the artifacts to sell herself, she's been contracted by the government of Peru to return their stolen artifacts. This is, quite possibly, the origin of the “Catwoman who steals artifacts to return them to their country of origin” trope that pops up in fan content from time to time.

To be clear, the comic firmly establishes that Selina’s not doing this out of the kindness of her heart but more that a paycheck’s a paycheck and it’s less hassle than fencing the stuff herself.

Still, it’s interesting to me that this trope both seems to originate in the comics, but also not be there a lot. I haven’t read the bronze age stuff. I haven’t read (all) the New 52 and Rebirth stuff. But I have read almost 600 issues of New Earth Selina Kyle appearances and I'm fairly certain that this is the only appearance of “Catwoman, Government Repo Agent” or “Catwoman, reverse British Museum” in the entirety of the New Earth timeline.

And ain’t that interesting?

BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE (2013) #6/4 "She Lies at Midnite"

Well first things first. Yes this issue was published after the New 52 reboot. However it’s very clearly set in the New Earth continuity. For those unaware, Selina’s personal history, interpersonal relationships, character depth and character development all got nuked by the reboot and this story has tied to several elements that a Non-Canon to the New 52. As such I, like the wiki, am counting this as “basically New Earth”

Secondly, while the other two stories are interesting to me for various meta reasons, this one is simply a compelling story (which also, makes me conscious of not wishing to dissect it like a frog to an audience that might enjoy a blind read.). Though being a Batman centric story, it explores the messier aspects of Bruce and Selina’s relationship in a way that adds a bit of nuance to their relationship while keeping everyone in character (well… there's some lines of dialogue I don't quite vibe with, but everyone's actions, motivations and dynamics are in character and those are the important bits)

Also because it's one story in an anthology it's really short, only 7 pages.

So tell y'all what, I'll talk about the last story first, and then I'll do the full spoiler breakdown of why I find this story fascinating.

CATWOMAN (1993) #89 (HARLEY QUINN EDITION)

This is, I believe, the only issue* of Catwoman where Selina never makes an appearance

Even when Eiko or Holly took over the role she at least made appearances in every issue even if they were minor. Here though? She's only referenced, though she's referenced alot.

(Note: yes Selina doesn't appear in either the first annual or Catwoman 1,000,000. But counterpoint, those are basically Sci-fi and Fantasy AUs and that’s a level of pedantry even I don't care for)

The plot itself goes like this: Doctor Harleen Quinzel goes to a TV company and pitches a show based on the adventures of Catwoman, as seen through Harley’s eyes. It’s a version of events where Harley Quinn is Catwoman’s best friend, and they commit crimes, team up with Poison Ivy, and fight Batman and Commissioner Gordon. The TV executives (who somehow seem oblivious to the fact that A) Catwoman’s a real person and b) the person they’re talking to is a supervillain) start reworking the pitch of the show to be more corporate and kid friendly, much to the anger of Harley who murders the executives with Joker Gas, ending the issue.

Now, talking about a story within a story is always going to get a bit meta, but I’m going to start small and then work my way up to the scene that inspired this whole post.

Firstly… Harley’s TV pitch is where we get specifics on Selina’s parents background. Sure in they’re last appearance Brian was a racist white guy and Maria was clearly a Latina immigrant, but this is I believe the first (and potentially only) time Maria is labeled Cuban and Brian is labeled as Irish. Which also means, unless I'm forgetting another instance of this information being brought up, we’re just taking Harley’s word on this.

Secondly, Harley casting herself as Selina’s best friend is, amazingly, not necessarily incorrect.

For context, this is a year and a half into Harley Quinn’s run as a canon character. Despite that she has interacted with Selina once before. It’s a bit of an involved story but the short version is, Selina get sent to prison. The person in the next cell ends up being Harley Quinn, who Selina ends up telling all about her childhood, then the pair escape, though Harley stabs Selina with a knife to pull it off and then, once they’re free, drugs and hypnotizes Selina into helping with a plan to kill Batman.

Now you’d reasonably think that that’s disqualifying behavior for best friend status but… counterpoint, who else is it? Her sister Maggie? They haven’t talked in a decade (both in universe and out). Holly? Same as Maggie. Arizona? She’s an amnesiac child and even if she remembers Catwoman, the writers have forgotten her. Zee and/or Clutterbuck? They were at best work colleges and ones who haven’t appeared in years at that (also if you remembered they existed at all i am genuinely impressed). One of the other rouges? She’s not great terms with any of them, even the ones who haven’t tried to kill her (which is most of them).

(also "Which orphanage were you in?" damn Selina) Harley meanwhile is actually the first person in canon that Selina told her backstory to. Harley knew before Bruce about how Selina’s parents died. Also, despite Harley’s mind control gambit, Harley is insistent she cares about Selina, and Selina clearly doesn’t hold that big a grudge as, the same month this issue came out, she was in Harley’s solo for a party.

90s Catwoman, with a few brief exceptions, was so against maintaining a consistent supporting cast for Selina that Harley is the clear winner for the best friend award, at least in this moment of time.

Third, minor point but I Harley’s little fanfic contains not merely the specific Catwoman/Harley/Ivy team up in comics, but also, the first time Ivy and Catwoman have teamed up outside of the Long Halloween (where all the rogues end up working together in the end). Indeed the last time Catwoman and Ivy were in the same comic it was Cataclysm and Selina ended up force feeding Ivy a seed that grew roots out of… everywhere. Needless to say, they weren’t friends at the time. Though, in Harley’s world, they were.

(In fact, for those unfamiliar, during the original Gotham City Sirens run, Selina and Ivy were somewhat antagonistic towards each other, but tried to get along for the sake of their mutual friend Harley Quinn.)

Lastly, and most metatextually interesting, is Harley’s exact words when her story got sanded down for boarder market appeal.

“This isn’t my Story! Catwoman is a grownup! Her Friends are grownups! That big,dumb lump of a Ratman that she flirts with is a grownup! She Steals stuff, she fights with people, she outsmarts the cops! You don’t need to make all those stupid changes— she’s fine just the way she is!”

This story has a cover date of February 2001. Within a year, Brubaker’s run of Catwoman resets the numbering and radically overhauls the character. Catwoman’s characterization pivots out of “selfish loner thief who’s a bit of a bastard with a heart of gold buried so deep it takes mass tragedy to get it to show just a little” to “a vigilante with a found family who’s deeply concerned about the welfare of her one specific run down corner of Gotham.” She becomes a hero.

Now, I personally really like Brubaker’s run, he’s easily one of the three best writers the character’s ever had, but there’s no denying that it’s a change.

And so, reading that line of Harley’s struck me as… shockingly prophetic. Sure Selina didn’t get aged down into a teenager who solved crimes for the government, but she was toned down into a more explicit robin hood and made less adversarial with Batman. Now I doubt the line was written with knowledge of where Brubaker’s reboot would take the character, or even that Brubaker had even agreed to helm Catwoman when the script was turned in but… I can’t help but wonder why this issue was written. Because stories about stories are always meta in some way.

BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE (2013) #6/4 "She Lies at Midnite" (For Real this Time)

Right spoilers ago: This story starts with Selina paralyzed.

Bruce takes a bit longer then me getting there but that is how we start. With a explainer that Catwoman got involved in a gang war that was targeting sex workers and got her spine broken for the trouble. And now the doctor is saying that she'll never walk again.

This deeply affects Bruce who has a flashback to Barbara’s paralyzation.

Bruce tracks the two gangs down to a standoff and... to quote Bruce:

I'll spare you the details. Skylight. Gunfire. Screams. The usual.

It's not until he's done breaking "every leg in the house" that he runs into a surprise appearance: Slam Bradley, who's taking care of the mooks outside. (for the Catwoman readers: firstly, thanks for reading this far, secondly, Slam’s… honestly an important character overall but the short version is his a bar brawling P.I. who was one of the few love interests Selina’s ever had that’s long term relevant)

Bruce is unsurprised to see him, given his connection to Selina, and tries to commiserate with him in his own Batman-y way, but that's all thrown for a loop when Slam reveals that he's here because Selina asked him to handle these gangs earlier that night (You know, when she should have been conscious in the hospital)

And… honestly I can’t put this next bit better than the comic itself.

Jesus fuck Selina that's cold

Anyway, Bruce immediately tracks Selina down (It's not hard, she's robbing the leaders of the gangs houses while Batman was putting the membership in a hospital) bringing Slam along just cause I guess.

Bruce is beyond pissed off and wants answers and after this... wonderful panel, Selina explains

When Bruce asks why Selina didn't just ask for help, Selina laughs and says "Slammy here, him I could just ask! You'd put it on your tp-do list, somewhere way down, past Joker's latest attempt to poison the water supply or Eddie's latest Head-Scratcher"

That wasn't fast enough for Selina, and given she wasn't up to the job she certainly didn't want it handed off to one of the Robins. Therefore, if it was a job that needed Batman, but it wasn't important enough, Selina had to make it important to Bruce.

Hence... faking being paralyzed and also deliberately invoking one Bruce's old traumas against him. Which I get but also damn Selina.

Bruce is actually so pissed off it looks like he's about to fight Selina, but Selina surrenders instead and the story ends with Selina in the batmobile, in cuffs, (though Bruce agrees to stop for ice cream on the way to the station, indicating he's... maybe cooling off a bit).

While it's not actually the worst thing Selina's ever done to Bruce technically, this incident didn't even draw any blood. It's.... It reads like a profound betrayal of trust. Selina took an insecurity of Bruce's she could only know about after being inducted into the Bat family and used it against him without remorse. (Which... post: Tower of Babel Bruce does not get to criticize this move but it's still cold).

And then, there's the fact that Selina did this because she, reasonably, couldn't actually trust Bruce to help her out without that manipulation. It's not even Selina acting selfishly for once, it's Selina trying to protect innocents.

And the weird thing is, outside of a few dialogue choices, everyone's perfectly in character here. This is a stunt canon Selina would easily pull if the circumstances lined up the same.

I will say, I totally get where Selina's coming from, even sympathize with it a little. Batman is someone who's constantly pulled in a thousand different directions and can't actually be relied on to help in a weird way. There's a reason the worst sections of Gotham keep getting dedicated superheroes (Onyx for the Hill, Catwoman for the East End) and that's because Batman doesn't have the time to help these areas as thoroughly as they need.

And of course, being a part of these communities in a way Batman just can't be, they end up seeing the problems much more up close and personal.

Like, take the original storyline where Selina commits to being a vigilante rather than a supervillain. In that storyline there's a serial killer going after sex workers and while Selina has reason to be invested (She used to be sex worker, she finds out because a friend who is a sex worker shows up at her safe house looking to hide,) the thing that tips her over the edge into action is those things PLUS the inaction of those who should be dealing with the situation. The police straight up do not care (there's a scene where they find a body and they instead of trying to record evidence go through her wallet for cash and crack jokes) and Batman, while he's... not malicious like that, it is called out by Selina that while they may be victims, to Batman they are still criminals in his eye and thus not high on his priority list, even if they are being murdered.

That's all canon.

So... what's Selina to do? There are two gangs tearing up the streets and killing sex workers (which, conversely to Bruce, is something that always sits at the top of her priority list). If she can't just rob them out of existence, doesn't have the skills to fight them on head and win, and Batman ain't doing shit... what opinion does she have but to manipulate Batman into action. (and, to be clear, if Selina had already decided the correct solution to this problem was manipulating Batman, and also had enough time to set up the whole deception, then Batman had time to respond to the situation on his own and didn't.)

To Selina, this whole operation, while a punch below the belt on Bruce and potentially permanently damaging their relationship, would save lives. Her motivations were pure.

It's just...

It's still betraying Bruce's trust, using knowledge of his private pains against him. Skipping right over the asking for help step because she didn't trust him to help. And yet, the only way any of this works is if Bruce trusted Selina enough to let her in, and Selina trusted Bruce to avenge her. (Also side note: very much the only reason Slam's here is as a counterpoint to Bruce as someone Selina trusted to help without manipulation. Which depending on when this is supposed to be timeline wise (are they dating, is this before or after Selina lost his granddaughter) potentially speaks volumes about Selina's trust in Slam.)

It's such an emotionally messy story for only 7 pages and it’s the sort of shit I live for.

#catwoman #selina kyle #catwoman comics #oh btw that convo about Bruce Selina and trust #Almost segued into their relationship in one of the Legends of the Dark Knight comics #the one where they team up to defeat Thomas Blake the first time he popped up #but I couldn't figure out the transition

4 notes · View notes

cornus27florida · 4 months

Note

Do you wonder if King Jack ever tried to bring Queen Lilyth out in public? Did she ever get judgey looks from other people besides Jack’s family?

Personally I never wonder about it before, maybe because I think Leelathae | Lilyth is totally like the typical housewife who never left her house to go to the public (that's actually pretty 'normal' occasion to some people in eastern, my country)

Before, I like to put this link right on! https://www.tumblr.com/screechingcheesecakecheesecake/737646419873300480/insane-to-me-that-the-pastel-kingdom-staffs-molly?source=share = in nutshell, all Pastel staffs that resides inside the palace consider Lilyth - Gwen looks as normal (contrast to most public view like CPC that thinks Gwen fellow cursed or Frederick that initially believes she's a witch + the actual witch thinks they are fellow witch)

I think it's depends on feelings, which famous for the example : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_test

A SAME picture could gives variations of view and interpretation, so for Gwen and Lilyth - CPC thoughts Gwen as fellow cursed princess because they are cursed, meanwhile Frederick as resident booknerd associating green skin etc with the witch appearance. That's natural

"Judgey looks" is related to association of the said person. We're trying to gonna totally focus on the pastel queen. The Pastel Kingdom imho so mysterious in term of their relationship with their own citizens (see the comparison of Plaid kingdom-royals and citizens has such tight relationship at least if we see Blaine and Lance, Blaine has fanclub made by citizens of his kingdom, and Lance military buddies definitely civilians. Civilians and Royalty meets each other frequently, in nutshell for the Plaid daily lives). That's different with the Pastel. The only social event that I see the ruler let citizens come in is "the wake" - we never see civilians making audience with the rulers (even at Helena and Jesse era), there's no interpersonal relationship between royalty of pastel with it's citizens - especially as Jack often away for his job doing expeditions for indefinite time

I see the events where Lilyth comes out to the public (be it to go outside, or still stays - at the pastel palace) is close to "never happen" so why worry over hypothetical judgey looks? Also I remember the story where Gwen mistaken as Maria - all of street vendors didn't bat an eye to see Gwen as 'green' skinned girl. So in nutshell for Pastel citizens maybe they're never thinks Gwen-Lilyth looks to be odd, OR they're keep their own opinion for themselves as Gwen that accompanied with a guard = she's a higher up from family that influential enough to could get a guard to "bodyguard"ing a girl. Or again, when Gwen and Abbi do shopping at Pastel Plaza, no one comments anything about her look - which I think could means that people at Pastel Plaza totally OK as desensitized with 'weird looks' especially as the plaza is the favorite hangout place for the CPC as cursed princesses - with green cursed hand that often do obscure poses. Just saying of my example is Saffron. So we could assume that Pastel folks aren't judgemental BUT others folks are, for example the Plaids (which with how overprotective Jack is, I don't see him lets Lilyth away for interkingdoms + they're have 4 kids on for 3 labors so most of Lilyth time supposedlu is spent in the castle anyway embracing motherhood (and she die early 13 years ago) - she's the queen that didn't need to do trivial stuffs of buying groceries like us commoners, that's servants like maids written job) in general not looking over Gwen-Lilyth looks kindly, is not only Frederick initially. Blaine show that he genuinely thinks Gwen the uggliest daughter, while 2 women in bd party totes jerks:

At the end of the day, I think Gwen-Lilyth looks which is non public standard of pretty, different kind of beautiful - is perfect judgement over the goodness and feelings of person that interacted with them. If the person is jerks/damaged as cursed/traumatized etc - they will see the green ladies looks as "ugly" variations BUT if the person has nice/ kind/goodheart etc - they will see Gwen and Lilyth as "normal, or even beautiful". And don't forget that feelings is changes constantly, with Frederick as perfect example - once he let go of his fear associate Gwen-Lilyth looks with the witch, all witchy attributes are gone 'magically' in his perspective

Since balcony serenade, Frederick see Gwen normally and without witch attributes

#CPC answer #personal opinion

1 note · View note

ocean-stuck · 3 years

Text

A very long ??? post (+ some Arthur stuff)

Thinking ‘bout the scant information we have on ???, and what that might tell us about what it is plotwise and thematically.

So. ??? has exactly 3 appearances in the entire series. The Ghost flashback, the opening of Freaking Out, and...

well, you know.

These are all pretty brief, and they don’t really give any insight into its motivation (if it’s even sapient enough to have one), but its mechanics are readily apparent and there is the faintest scrap of backstory implied in Future, more on that later.

For now, let’s talk possession.

??? seems to gravitate toward the emotionally distressed. Envy may or may not be a preferred one, given Arthur’s mental state in the Ghost flashback and the association of green with envy (with the release of nearly every video, I’d spot at least a few not-very-sharp-eyed casuals who dismissed the green of Arthur’s possession as symbolic and failed to realize ??? existed at all; Future is the only one where this hasn’t happened, since at this point it’s literally impossible to miss). More notably, it also appears drawn to interpersonal distress, to people whose relationships are deteriorating. Both of its (sapient) targets, Arthur and Mystery, are at points of social turmoil when it enters them, and both, for varying reasons, opted to bottle their issues rather than discuss them.

(Also, this bat no one cares about. Presumably non-sapient stuff is easier by nature. I mean, it commands that hand just fine.)

This also speaks to how ??? manages to overwhelm Mystery so easily, compared to Arthur who lasted long enough for Mystery to forcibly excise it and was aware throughout, despite the former being an ancient and powerful nine-tailed kitsune and the latter a normal human. Arthur is lonely from being the third wheel and not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings by talking about it. Mystery is bleeding out, has just watched his ex-partner possibly die (or so he believes) at the hands of his ward, who herself has just been seriously injured by said ex, and in trying and failing to prevent that same nightmare scenario has left the guys unattended, who last he saw one was trying to murder the other. Like not to invalidate Arthur but there’s a bit of a gap in severity here.

(image by artsy)

That still leaves some questions, though. How did it reach Mystery from such a long distance? Last we saw it, it was loitering outside the cavern. It could’ve followed Shiro, if not for the fact that it’d’ve had to keep pace with a high speed car chase while moving entirely on foot (hand?). Why is it still attached to the hand at all when it could surely find some random animal with less awkward means of locomotion? What was it doing at the cavern in the first place?

I’ve seen people speculate that remaining in the arm lets it remain connected to Arthur via his prosthesis, and while there’s definitely something fucky about that thing this seems strange to me as an explanation. The prosthesis consistently sparks yellow, Arthur’s own color, rather than green, with the only exception being while in direct contact with Lewis (pink). Speaking of, the prosthesis seems drawn to Lewis when active, which would be odd if ??? was trying to do harm through it since...what could it possibly do to a near-invulnerable ghost with power over fire and lifelike illusions using the body of a relatively fit but still normal human?

It could be that Mystery sealed it in the arm to prevent it from doing further harm, and this binding slipped as he became physically and emotionally vulnerable, while also giving ??? a magical line to Mystery for it to exploit. It’d answer the distance question as well.

I think there’s more, though.

I’ll save myself a paragraph or two and just plug this edit of a certain Future shot for the nth time.

Each stream seems to correspond to some form of harm done to a person significant to Mystery. We know or can intuit half of them (though this doesn’t seem to be the first time Vivi/Mushi or Shiro have been seriously harmed); the others, while not explained, match the rest of the cast’s secondary colors (which itself raises questions)...except green, which isn’t linked to any of the major characters except ???.

Has there been some deeper history between ??? and Mystery (haha rhyme) that we haven’t been let on until now?

Loved ones appear to be connected in essence as well as emotionally, at least when supernatural beings are involved. This essence can be drawn on and tracked.

Shiro uses this to locate people, though still has to physically travel in order to reach them. But ??? is a different sort of entity; it may be that it has more direct access to Mystery’s soul as an incorporeal being.

After all, one can affect someone at a distance with their essence on hand.

(??? being familiar with Mystery would also recontextualize this little surprised reaction it has to Shiro; it knows who she is, rather than just being wary of her as a stronger entity.)

This possibly points to a deliberateness to its actions in the Ghost flashback, to what happened being more than happenstance. But there’s still too little information to discern why, if so. Revenge for something? Power? Possessiveness? Was possessing Mystery the endgame the whole time? If so...now what? Why did it still linger around the cavern after the fact when everyone except Lewis had gtfo’d?

There’s not really anything to go on vis a vis motivations, so I’m not really gonna pursue this line further.

Some Funky Fresh Thematic Stuff

If Ghost can be said to be a cautionary tale about failing to communicate one’s emotional needs, ??? could be thought of as the interpersonal havoc that results from letting such issues stew too long.

Arthur keeps quiet about his loneliness and ends up vulnerable to ???. Mystery intervenes to prevent ??? from doing further harm, but by then the damage is done. What was once a typical relationship hurdle has become a full-blown traumatic event that creates a rift between the gang, particularly between Arthur and Mystery and between everyone and Lewis.

Furthermore, sealing ??? doesn’t stop things from collapsing, only prolongs it. Lewis is hurt and pissed and literally comes back with a vengeance. Shiro, one of Mystery’s failed pacts, is drawn into it trying to force him into whatever relationship they used to have. The mistakes of the past catch up, and Mystery’s loved ones nearly eat each other alive.

And at the end of it...??? is back.

I think if the gang wants to make it out of this one, it’ll take them confronting their pains and the ways they’ve failed each other in order to reconcile. By extension, I think saving Mystery is gonna be an everyone deal (including Shiro, who seems to be slowly waking up to her mistake when Vivi vibe checks her), though I think one in particular is likely to shine.

Arthur, the least assuming one of the main cast, the last person to have fallen under ???’s spell, who inadvertently enabled the plot through his insecurity, and also the one who’s bent backwards the hardest trying to fix what’s been broken since.

It’s like...poetic or something.

Also, I want an excuse for Arthur to do electric magic.

#mystery skulls #mystery skulls animated #msa spoilers #msa theory #msa ???#msa mystery #arthur kingsman

154 notes · View notes

incoherentbabblings · 3 years

Link

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Young Justice - All Media Types, Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake Characters: Stephanie Brown, Tim Drake, Cassie Sandsmark, Kon-El | Conner Kent Additional Tags: Missing Scene, Kissing, Romance, Established Relationship, Tim Drake is Drake (DCU), Stephanie Brown is Spoiler, Minor Canonical Character(s), Fluff and Humor, Light Angst Summary:

Expanded scene for Young Justice (2019) #15. Tim and Steph finally get to reunite after the team’s reality hopping adventure, and whilst Tim is keen for Stephanie to be (re)introduced to his friends, Stephanie isn’t sure she belongs.

Tim watched as people piled up the big green monsters into one giant pile of unconsciousness. He was standing on top of his pickup truck; the one Stephanie had apparently driven halfway across America without even a scratch to come meet up with him.

Tim watched as she very awkwardly extracted herself from a conversation with Jackson and Derek, not sure what to say or do, and made a beeline towards Tim. He tried to control his expression as she did so. He wasn’t disappointed in her, but he had hoped she would be able to feel comfortable enough around a bunch of strangers to strike up a friendly conversation or two. At the same time, he understood. Afterall, they hadn’t really gotten their reunion yet. At least, not the one that Steph had teased about wanting.

Tim could see her slight nervousness in the way she held her shoulders as she looked up at him, face hidden under her black mask and purple hood.

“We done? No more bad guys to punch?”

Two days they’d said. Two days and they would find each other.

They’d known it was a promise neither could keep, and things had very understandably gotten out of hand, but still, Tim felt like he had disappointed her.

“We’re done.”

He reached down, tugging her up onto the roof of the truck. She didn’t need the help, but he wanted to see how readily she took his arm.

She did so immediately, without hesitation, a light laugh bubbling out as she was heaved upwards. Stephanie was deceptively light, or maybe Tim was deceptively strong. Regardless, he tugged up until she was able to twist onto the roof on her butt. She then pulled herself up to standing to be level with Tim.

She was smiling under her face cover.

“Can I take off my mask, do you think? Do you trust them all?”

“Yes,” he replied immediately. “They’re our friends Steph.”

His heart broke a little that she didn’t quite understand it yet. It was a bit of a white lie, but Tim saw no reason why it could not be the truth. They had left Gotham for many reasons, altered timelines being one of many, but another was simply the desire to go new places, meet new people, and have a life outside of the damn Bat for two weeks.

Finding his friends again, finding that safe space... He wanted Steph to find her own place within it. He had mentioned it to Cassie, Kon and Bart on the rare quiet moment during their interdimensional travels. He didn’t want there to be a hard line between his life in Gotham and life with them. He didn’t see the need. Not anymore.

Needless to say that the three of them took his thoughts very well. Yes, the four of them were finally reunited. Enough with the melodrama; be grateful that they could spend time together once more and stretch it out and milk that time for all it was worth. Remember how easily it was taken away?

Besides, it couldn’t do Steph any harm to have friends too, right? Admittedly she was a bit rough around the edges, as socially awkward as she was genuinely kind, but then again it wasn’t like the team were exactly behaving at peak social norms either. Bart alone was surely testament to that, right?

Steph was ignorant to Tim’s musings and continued their conversation.

“Good. Because,” she sang, pulling down her hood and her full-face mask off. “I need to give you that proper greeting, remember? Can’t wait any longer.”

Tim exhaled at the sight of her smile and long blonde hair, but it collapsed when she leaned in, eyes half shut.

“Wait,” he said, jerking back a little.

“What?” Stephanie asked, voice quiet and sad. Worried at the rejection, she put her hands up to rest on his chest. He flinched as she did so, and she felt like crying. “Oh no… Something happened didn’t it? Is it those memories you got back? Was I horrible in them? Because I’m really sorry if I was. I’m a different person now. Literally or metaphorically I dunno but…Or is it something that happened whilst you were away?”

She spoke with such sincerity despite the farcical nature of the statements, that Tim felt the need to put her out of her misery. He grasped her wrists and then intertwined their fingers when she raised her palm from his chest. He squeezed tight, and he saw her tremble.

“It’s not you. I didn’t keep my promise.”

“What?” Her voice shifted from upset at herself to the situation.

“You needed me. We said two days. And I tried but-but…”

Stephanie pouted at being denied affection for such a trivial reason as – as far as she saw it – losing track of time. Tim was punishing himself in that silly head of his, and by extension, it also felt so to Stephanie. She took a deep breath and mellowed out her tone.

“Stuff happens,” she responded firmly. She was not interested in a debate or Tim’s proclivity for self-flagellation. “I know you didn’t deliberately leave me hanging, so why would I resent it? Impulse mentioned reality hopping…”

Her look became worried as she drew the wrong conclusion. The confidence fled her as quickly as it had come. “Was it bad? Trauma? Where did you go? Is that where you got this outfit from because ooft honey –”

“You gave it to me.”

Stephanie paused, then tugged Tim’s hands round to hold her waist.

“I did what?” she scrunched up her eyes and face cutely, shaking her head like she was trying really hard to remember giving Tim a brown superhero suit without a cape and a yellow bat on the belt buckle. “Is it another missing memory? Because it’s so unfair that you have yours and mine are still wibbly wobbly. I’m actually a little peeved about it to be honest.”

“This costume. It was… we were…”

Like she was speaking to a toddler, she squeezed tight and said, “Start at the start. What happened after you got to Metropolis?”

Tim told her.

It was an oddly long story, and yet simultaneously brief. It was chaotic and frantic, and yet the affection with which Tim relayed the adventure with his friends made her chest warm. When he reached the misdirection of Earth Three, Stephanie’s patient and attentive expression turned a little distraught. She didn’t mind having the title of Batwoman, she didn’t mind being a good guy in a world of not good guys, but there was just the fact that…

“But you said everyone on Earth Three was evil? A flip of this earth’s morality.”

“I thought so. But you weren’t. You were good there too.”

This only served to further confuse Stephanie.

“But… but…but!” she gulped in a large pocket of air. “But that would mean this me is evil! Right? Am I evil? All this time we’ve been worrying about crazy bat you –”

“Ouch.”

“—But what if it’s me? You could have stayed and helped her right? But you didn’t. And she gave you that costume as what? A present? Something to remember her by? Oh, that’s romantic and sad. But what if this means that I’m the ticking time bomb? You could have stayed and made a huge difference, right? You could have… turned that whole place upside down and made it better for everyone. From the sounds of it, I’m sure not evil me would have been down to clown... Which, great. Now I’m gonna spend my days thinking that me getting the wrong Starbucks order is going to be my start of darkness or something equally stupid. Your friends will think I’m a lunatic...”

Her eyes darted backwards, looking at the team, chatting and oblivious. Superboy was sitting off to the side, quietly watching as everyone wrapped up their work, Wondergirl and Arrowette were catching up, whilst Impulse spoke to Jinny and Naomi. Stephanie felt abruptly ashamed and as a result shifted, almost trying to hide herself behind Tim.

With a firmness and certainty that reflected Stephanie when she had rebuked his earlier guilt, Tim pressed her cheeks together to make her face scrunch up in a pout

“You… are not evil. You never will be if I have any say in the matter. Think you’re about the least capable of it in Gotham, if not in the world. You pulled me back last month from the brink of being a monster. I’d say I’d do the same for you, but I’ll never have to. You’re not stained by the dark.”

She blinked owlishly. Tim was not often that grand and romantic (though he could be histrionic), so it made her blush to be spoken of so highly. Still, her nagging concern, an uncomfortable tightness in the pit of her belly, remained.

“You could have stayed there,” she insisted. She was holding onto the fact that Tim had returned wearing a costume and a name which had been gifted to him on another earth. A name from his alternate self and a costume from an alternate her. There was something to be dissected there right? What would a psychologist make of that tangle of identity and interpersonal relationships?

He had returned from an earth where motives were selfish, and heroes were rare. He had returned wearing a name that was simultaneously his and yet not, wearing a costume that was not hers to grant. Tim wanted more than anything to make a difference. That world was ripe for his ambition.

Tim did not even seem concerned at such a concept. For once, it seemed he had not even given the matter much thought.

“Sure. Maybe I could have stayed. She would have been happy if I had. That Stephanie didn’t have anyone to help her. She…I think she was very lonely.”

Steph sighed shakily, and Tim held her closer. He knocked his forehead against hers, and her grip went up to cradle his face. They kissed, and Tim heard and felt Stephanie’s right foot pop up.

Finally granted the kiss she had been craving for hours, Tim swallowed the sound of her whimper. Not even remotely ashamed of who could be watching, Stephanie deepened the kiss and moved closer, curving her body against Tim as she tugged at his neck, encouraging him to make it harder.

It had been too long, and Stephanie was sure she was developing a complex regarding Tim, like if she took her eyes off him for three seconds he would – for the third time in a year – be zipped off to another dimension. It was almost funny how much the two of them could apparently not stay joint at the hip as they desired, and Stephanie suspected she may have started developing some bizarre attachment disorder as a result.

Although, it was worth it for moments when they kissed like this. When Tim allowed himself to feel like a seventeen-year-old. Kissing felt good. Kissing Stephanie felt great. She always tasted of cinnamon gum and liked to hold his cheek and tug his hair and she made cute squeaks when he –

No, he couldn’t get too carried away.

Tim ended the kiss with a most content sigh, like his worries had been laid to rest forever (which was false and a lie, but he indulged in it for now), and kept his eyes shut.

“I came back,” he whispered, keeping his forehead on hers and missing how Stephanie looked a little cross eyed from the kiss. “Because I had to get home to you. I promised, even if I couldn’t keep to two days. I had to come home.”

“To me,” Stephanie breathed. Looking at him reverently, she cradled his chin and kissed him again.

“To you,” Tim confirmed. “I missed you, Steph.”

She tugged him closer, making him rest his forehead against her shoulder as she buried a hand in his hair.

“Missed you too, boy wonder.”

They embraced for a moment too long, then Tim pulled back a little to speak into her ear.

“Come on. I’ll introduce you to everyone. Properly. I’m sure Bart did a rush job of it. They already know you, which isn’t fair. You should get to know them again.”

He very distinctly felt her tremble. Fighting monsters, fine. Facing her dad down, fine. Meeting her boyfriend’s friends? Terrifying.

Tim hopped down off the truck, but held out his arms, fully intent on catching her. Stephanie looked around once more. It seemed Wondergirl and Naomi were wandering over to the truck, so she swallowed her fear. She leapt off the car, straight into Tim’s arms. He caught her easily and spun her around twice, making her laugh sharply, until using the momentum he flung her up and off. She landed on her feet with a delighted shriek, and it was with that smile on her face that Cassie reached them.

To Stephanie’s surprise and delight, she was enveloped in a warm hug.

“It’s so nice to see you again. Both of you,” Cassie said. Chin resting on Stephanie’s caped shoulder, Cassie saw Tim’s look of relief and gratitude. “You guys will stick around a bit?” she insisted, raising her eyebrows in a gentle chide.

Stephanie choked on her reply, not sure how to react. Behind her, Tim grimaced. Why was she so reluctant around his friends? Was it because she didn’t want to know them, or because she didn’t feel she had the right too?

“I… I want to,” she said, Tim watching her struggle. “But-but my dad…”

Stephanie looked over her shoulder at Tim for guidance, and Cassie broke out the hug. Seeing Stephanie’s hand reach back, Tim took it tightly. He could see in her face no disdain or dislike, just insecurity and the realisation that she didn’t know how best to say her father was a pressing issue without seeming like a haughty holier than thou girlfriend.

Paradoxically, Tim relaxed. That angle was much easier to deal with. It simply was that Stephanie was nervous, and unsure of what her place was in the team. They had their memories of each other back. She held no such memories. She felt locked out, and undeserving.

How to make her understand…

“We have one loose end to tie up at our end,” Tim explained. Playing with Steph’s fingers, he had a sudden thought as a solution. “After though, how about the fact that we’re gonna need to see if the place in Rhode Island is still standing? The team should be able to use it again.”

“Huh?”

Cassie chuckled at Steph's confusion, and smiled broadly at the thought of returning to Mount Justice.

“You’ll love it Spoiler. Better than living out the back of a truck, believe me.”

Stephanie seemed bemused, like she had just suspected Cassie of mocking her but also not hearing any genuine insult in the dig at her current living circumstances.

Cassie wasn’t mocking her. She didn’t have a passive aggressive bone in her body and was not capable of being underhand. She was only trying to gently tease, as a friend would do.

Not that Stephanie knew that, but still, Tim’s heart stuttered for her.

Tim kissed Stephanie’s cheek and explained, “It was Young Justice’s home away from home. There’s a whole headquarters up there. An old Justice League site.”

“We appropriated it,” Cassie said. Her eyes were patient and encouraging. Stephanie, meanwhile, still did not understand.

“That’s cool,” she said politely. Tim sighed good naturedly, exasperated at her obtuseness.

“Stephie,” Tim moaned as she burned red from the pet name in front of his friends. He jerked his head at Conner, begging his direct nature to intercede.

“Whu—”

Endlessly patient, Tim stated, “It’s gonna be your home away from home too. If you want it to be. It can be all of ours again.”

She could not reply, as she was then embraced in a bear hug courtesy of Superboy. Cassie smirked, then called for the others to come gather. Tim held onto Stephanie’s fingers, and watched carefully what Conner did and spoke. Tim had seen that melancholy look from earlier as Conner had watched the team.

Tim knew Conner was feeling a little out of place, but he was grateful that he had put it aside to help Tim and welcome Stephanie. Hidden to Stephanie, he mouthed a thank you in Conner’s direction, who responded by wiggling his head in smug satisfaction.

Stephanie remained oblivious, her only thought as she endured the hug was at the blatant display of strength and control that the clone displayed. She grunted when he squeezed the bear hug tighter but found herself smiling all the same. There was only genuine joy and laughter in Conner’s voice as he teased.

“Hey, we finally got the lovebirds in the same room again, huh? It’s been a while, Spoiler, even if Tim says you don’t remember.”

When he set her down, she returned to Tim, holding his hand still. She didn’t understand why Superboy saying such a thing made the pit of nerves in her gut settle, but the warmth that bloomed in her chest made her smile until her cheeks hurt.

“I’m sorry I don’t. Remember, that is.”

Conner shrugged, “Hey, we’re still young. Gotta lifetime to fix that. Or make new memories. Or both.”

Tim’s hand snuck round her waist, and he pressed his cheek to her temple.

“We’ll deal with your dad. Then we’ll go home?”

“Home?” Stephanie asked.

“Second home,” he quantified.

Looking at the friendly faces surrounding the pair of them, Stephanie smiled awkwardly and nodded.

A home away from home sounded…nice.

#DC #tim drake #stephanie brown #timsteph #my fic tag #young justice

21 notes · View notes

ziracona · 4 years

Note

please bless me with all of your dbd headcanons even just a crumb would satisfy me,,,,, lmao. Fr tho ur hcs are godly pls give me all of them especially for og 4 and wraif

Thank you!! I’m glad you like my hot takes!

Let’s see, og4.

Jake grows facial hair pretty easy (that part is just canon). Usually he either lets it grow and ignores it till it gets long, or stays cleanshaven, but the in-between stage is physically painful for everyone else at the campfire bc you wake up and see rugged 2day scruffy woodsman stretch and he sees you staring and goes, “What?” Looking thoroughly unimpressed and Meg sheds a tear and Claudette pretends to not be looking and stares at her journal and Dwight gets heart palpitations it’s just bad for the whole group. When he shaves he’s an edgy dumbass and does it with a sharpened hunk of metal he made into a knife for himself and Dwight saw him shaving once and had to go sit down.

Jake has a soft spot for many of the survivors he’s known longer (honestly at this point, he’s pretty attached to the lot of them though), but especially the ones who work really hard at protecting other survivors. Double points if you’re younger than him. He would kill for Claudette, and take a bullet meant for Quentin, but would not convey this to them at all. Jake puts almost zero effort into making sure people knows he likes them. The people he has a soft spot for especially are also not always the ones he prefers to spend time with. While they’re survivors he spends less time with personally, Jake respects Feng Min for being the snarky little gremlin she is, and Tapp’s dedication to his job even here. Weirdly, while the people he likes often aren’t aware of affection, the ones he respects but isn’t as close to usually are aware of the respect. Jake also thinks he doesn’t like having friends and spending time not alone, but he does.

If asked point blank his thoughts on a survivor he likes, he’d probably just shrug or say, “They contribute to the team,” or “She works hard,” or “He’s fine,” because Jake just be like that. He had a hard time getting close to anyone initially because of how he grew up. Jake’s very guarded. He’s used to people manipulating and using each other, which makes keeping anything vulnerable close to his chest just necessary as he sees it. Boy doesn’t trust easy. Or open up. Ya need a can opener. Boy also does not like getting pushed around. Least favorite killers (aside from Nightmare) are probably Doctor and Ghostface, because he cannot stand being forced to do things or used. He’d rather take a chainsaw to the back than have someone lord power over him. He’s also got a looong memory, so if you fuck him over, he is not the kind to forget and forgive. He is the kind to resent and remember. Not that he never forgives people, but boy would have to really believe whatever happened was regretted and the person wasn’t like that anymore to let something that made him very angry go. He’s quiet angry though. Bide your time and get vengeance kinda angry. Would never let someone push him around. If a killer tried to fuck with him, he’d do everything in his power to kill them.

While Jake is tough and likes to hike just to be out and moving, and enjoys toughing it out, Meg enjoys being outside more as a fun thing than a wildnerness lifestyle thing. She has a lot of energy, and even in the realm, all that adhd can be a bitch. It would be easy to focus on the shitty stuff happening and drown in that, so she likes to keep moving, like she has since she was a kid and started running. Meg loves hard, and if she cares about you, she’ll make sure you know it. Not good at shutting up or realizing if she’s been going on for too long, girl has passion for everything.

Meg talks a big game, but does not have as much confidence as she pretends to have. She has abandonment issues, but they’re less, ‘my dad abandoned me’ and more ‘everyone but my mom, from him to grade school friends, hasn’t stuck around,’ so she does worry about that and coming on too strong, which she is aware she often does, but she can’t get herself to turn down the power settings on herself even when she tries. She’s never been good at making friends, so all of this in the realm is kinda new to her, since no one can leave. Meg would tell almost no one those things about herself. She cares hard though, and will try to distract other people from realm despair any way she can, because it’s what she needs and she assumes what they must need too. And to be fair, she ain’t wrong. Good at cultivating activities and drinks loving her friends juice.

Big goofball. BIG goofball. Also big gay. Well, bi af, but w a pretty strong preference for the ladies. She is simple of heart. Sees a girl, loses ability to think. Bonded with Nea over this problem. High int, low wisdom, big dumbass. Her weaknesses include girls’ eyes, voices, accents, freckles, scars, stomachs, legs, ass, titties, hair, hair dye, laughs, hands, eye contact, and cute accessories. Not great at expressing her feelings when she catches them, but tries hard. Actually pretty good at romancing once she gets into the groove. It’s just getting there she sucks at. Loyal as hell. Will go to bat for her friends and would rather die than betray them.

Meg has a real temper, especially when she feels like something being done to her or someone else is unjust/unfair, and will always try to fix those things even when it’s hopeless. Can and will weaponize her anger extremely effectively. Ridiculous memory for pop culture, shit memory for homework and things she was supposed to be doing. Memelord, but with some class.

Idk if this is because I identified with Claudette really strongly when I first started playing dbd or not, but I have always seen her as Asexual & Panromantic. Attracted to kindness.

She gets overwhelmed fairly easily, but has been improving that by necessity since arriving in the realm, and can tap into the mom-friend override to fix problems for people who aren’t her. Has a hard time telling when people are teasing her/joking, but everyone knows this so they take it easier on her than each other.

Like Meg, had no friends before this, so it’s exciting and new, and a little scary, but mostly really good. She worries about other people a lot, and doesn’t always know how to help, but she tries. Very relieved Dwight volunteered to be team leader.

Enjoys recording things and studying. Would be fascinated by the Entity’s world if she wasn’t always being killed. Seems small and weak and easy to take down, but she has the strength of will to kill God herself if backed into a corner, especially when fighting for someone she loves. Sweet does not mean she will not fight back, and since being in the realm, and getting over her initial freezing up at the sight of horrifying murderers, she has worked extremely hard to be brave and take an active roll protecting people whenever she can. She is still terrified a lot, but has learned to push through that to help her friends and herself.

Loves animals, including ones a lot of people don’t like (bugs, snakes, rats, etc) and would and has definitely tried to snag a scorpion and a cockroach from trials to study before, and tried to befriend the realm rats now that they exist. Tries to get Jake to show her how to get birds to like you but does know how to ask him right.

Nervous about interpersonal relationships and unsure of herself. Really likes everyone but horrible at telling how other people feel. Feels like she always comes off wrong and can’t put words to things well even when she understands them super well. Does her best 24/7. Incredibly smart and talented. Knowledgeable about her passions. Is always thinking 4th dimensionally and has saved the team many a time by pulling off wild bullshit that makes sense kind of just barely but no one else would have thought of.

Dwight was a loser and kind of a douche growing up, kind of selfish and entitled and weak, but is no longer that person after a few years in the realm. He works hard to make good on his promises to look out for everyone, and cares about them very genuinely. Great at thinking on his feet and sounding like he knows more than he does, wonderful at regulating tasks to people efficiently, and not a bad strategist.

Being the kind of person now who would not have liked the person he was a few years ago causes a little cognitive dissonance and self-doubt, but he’s trying. Genuinely enjoys hearing about people’s days and interests even when he’s completely lost.

Not a fan of heights. If the fear of heights was not vastly overpowered by fear of sharp object, he would actively avoid the old ironworks in trials, but alas.

Used to play video games a lot. Thought he was good at them. Was not. Was definitely not.

Self-improvement king. Works hard and is a really decent dude. A very good sport. Used to be an asshole, so now that he’s nice he’s pretty damn forgiving if other people put in the work to improve too (my boy’s no hypocrite). Has mellowed out a lot and is pretty chill and nice but the damn fool will break his own heart by taking things people say the wrong way, or things they mean as a joke literally, if it’s something he thinks is true about himself, and will totally miss context and vocal inflection and just be like, “I know but I’m trying TuT.”

Big gay but in denial and confused

Just at this point really does want people to get to go home and be ok. Loves hearing stories and listening to his friends talk at the campfire because it makes him feel like things might be okay. Get the same result just by being near his friends, especially the other og3 who have been with him forever. If they’re all still there, things have to turn out okay someday. :’ ) Has never really told them that, because he’s supposed to be the leader, and thinks they’d feel less secure if they knew he depends on being able to sleep close to them at night to feel like he’ll be okay himself. Not in a they’d judge me way, but in a I really don’t want to let them down way. He wants them to think he’s got a handle on things even when he really doesn’t.

I was gonna do Philip too but I got this this morning and this post is already ridiculously long TuT, so here you go. Plus one mini Philip one.

Philip feels responsible for the young man he saw his boss kill the day the Entity got him. He knows that he killed scores of people unknowingly for Azarov, and those weigh, but he thinks sometimes late at night that if he could have just saved that one, it might have been enough to make him feel absolved someday for all the other deaths on his head. He remembers his face very well, and how terrified he was, and the moment of confusion and relief, and almost gratefulness when Philip let him go. He thinks over and over that if he’d just talked to him–assumed something was up, and gotten him to be quiet. Seen Azarov in time and stopped him. So many little things, and the young man would have lived. Even if the others were things he was completely blind to, he feels like that one is especially his fault, and that he could have stopped it. That one really haunts him.

#long post #dead by daylight #dbd #Philip Ojomo #Dwight Fairfield #Jake Park #Claudette Morel #Meg Thomas #I love doing these but I have like 6000 headcanons and I'm not good at picking one TuT I'm happy to do more but please help me give me an #area to focus on I'm dyin' scoob I'm boo boo the fool #Too many thoughts head full #the wraith #ask #anonymous #In Living Memory #In Living Memory (fic)

106 notes · View notes

angryandereleon · 4 years

Note

Can you tell us some more about the d i l f ? Pls My love with Leon ended Dilf is my new lover now

((You really wanna know? I really wasn’t expecting such an interest in this stinky guy, but I’ll be happy to give some info. Just let me know what you wanna know!

To answer some general stuff though…))

Draco Valenti is a 42-year-old demon king (specifically a Baku, if you’re interested in that). When it comes to his job, he is a composed king that seems to hear the needs of his people. He throws parties and other events to try and close the gap between him and his people, and because of that he is pretty popular.

On the inside though, he is an unstable mess. His interpersonal relationships are rocky at best and downright chaotic at worst. He is fairly disinterested in other people, keeping things professional with even his family members. Maybe that’s why when he does finally find someone he is attracted to and cares for, he completely loses himself in them. Sure, it starts out pretty normal.. but the longer he is with someone the more attached he becomes. When he falls in love, he is absolutely delusional. His desires mix with reality and he can’t tell when he is right or wrong. He grows extremely anxious when they aren’t by his side, and does everything in his power to keep that person tied to his side.. even if they don’t feel the same way for him. He just doesn’t want the one person that he feels something for to disappear from his line of sight. Is that too much to ask?

Some fun facts:

1. Draco has only ever been in love once, many many years ago. But he drove away that love... then was the cause of her demise. Anyone he has been with since has been a replacement of her.. To the point if he is with them long enough enough, he starts to believe it *is* her.

2. Draco is Haphephobic, or afraid of touching/being touched. He has worked hard to get over it, and is fine as long as he is touched over his clothes. He wears gloves to avoid any accidental skin contact with anyone.

3. If Draco decides that you’re his next target, he will do everything in his power to seduce you.. But if normal methods won’t work, he wouldn’t bat an eye at using force. He might say he just wants to make you happy, but that’s really just a lie. He just can’t stand you having a life outside of his watch. You’re his, and he’ll make sure you can only think of him

5. Draco is a full villain of the story he is from, so he is pretty much entirely evil. I call him “non-romanceable” because even if he falls for someone else, it’ll only be because they remind him of his dead love. If you want more info on his backstory and the role he plays, check out his profile.

#Anonymous #mod talks #Draco #male yandere blog #male yandere roleplay #((i wrote down everything i could think of that one might want to know right off the bat))#((but you're more than welcome to ask more specific questions about him!))#((I didn't expect such a positive response #but it makes me happy))

10 notes · View notes

monkey-network · 5 years

Text

Good Stuff: I Talk About Shrek (and I Bet No One Will Read This)

WARNING: If anyone actually reads this, please grade this fairly. I’m hoping for a solid B or C+ average at best. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy.

Shrek was and is a popular animated film, dating back to 2001, about a green ogre that sets out to rescue a princess in exchange for getting his land back from an vindictive king after said king essentially banished a majority of fairy tale beings to his land. For the longest time, people have heralded it as an internet punchline since the movie itself is a punchline to Disney being the fairy tale movie to stand up to Disney’s more clean cut and whimsical ideals. It’s a subversive take on the prince charming getting the girl to then live happily ever after with her with our protagonist being a green, fat, gross monster that nobody wants around. Though considering this, why do so many like this movie? How did this have such a lasting impact when we’re praising a lot of animated movies after this that broke new ground in varied ways? Well, I say that while the movie gets its kudos from people for its meme-making legacy, there is some truth in the thought that this movie has pretty timeless writing. Many have talked excessively before about how it’s timeless, but I want to focus on one aspect that never left my mind as I started to think critically about this film: how it handles interpersonal relationships. Specifically, how the characters help the titular character not only have a better sense of self but also have the thought that being accepted and forming social bonds is achievable.

Initially, the movie is about Shrek being reminded repeatedly that he is unworthy of love or acceptance. Society hates and berates him for existing and he is generally content with it all. Image management comes into play here as Shrek has adjusted himself to be the being everyone has contempt over. It can be implied that he is grown up with this mindset, and he seems initially happy with being alone and hated. We can say this sense of misanthropic exclusion is deep down sad or downright depressing from the get go, but the character, the universe he’s in, and the movie itself makes it appear like this is okay scenario to be in, cause as long as he’s happy we have no reason to think otherwise. This all changes when he meets Donkey, the one character that, above all else, treats him more like a normal being. Even when Shrek tries a few times to scare him off, Donkey looks past this facade Shrek built in the efforts to befriend him since Shrek saved him from being captured. In addition, with Donkey’s presence, the movie offers a simple yet vital question: so Shrek is generally a lonely and antisocial being, how can he be lonely if he doesn’t want to be around people? Loneliness and misanthropy are inherently contradictory, and the movie shares explicitly that Shrek doesn’t like being alone because he hates people, but because society constantly judges him based on appearance and fear him before he can have a word in edgewise.

This is where the friendship between the two characters makes a third of this film work so well, Donkey is a genuine friend to Shrek, not out of obligation or to take advantage of him, but because he sees the ogre as a competent and reasonable person. Regardless of the ogre’s appearance, Donkey is the only character actually treats Shrek like a person and not just someone to be feared or berate. This in turn makes Shrek earnestly surprised that someone gave him a chance off the bat and for a good couple of scenes, the big guy lets his guard down and opens up to his insecurities about never being accepted to the one being that doesn’t see him for the beast he thinks he’ll always be. Heck, it is because of Donkey that snaps Shrek back to his senses when he doubles down on his reclusiveness in the third act. Donkey is a good example of Floyd’s general definition of a communicative friend, someone who is supportive, provides help and guidance voluntarily, and is generally approachable, even to aloof beings like Shrek.

Then when Princess Fiona is introduced, originally she is blown aback by Shrek’s presence. However, she doesn’t at first fear Shrek as she was annoyed at the thought that an ogre is the one that rescued her from imprisonment and not a dashing Prince Charming like the one she thought would come. While Shrek [the character] undergoes this somewhat, Fiona’s character is where the uncertainty reduction theory, the idea that the more we know about someone, the more we will like that person, comes heavily into play. After having been rescued and forcefully taken back to the villain Lord Faarquad, and overhearing Shrek’s conversation with Donkey about his insecurities, she lowers her contempt and shows some gratitude for the person for going through all the trouble to get her. Then after beating up some thugs, she hangs out with Shrek for a bit, getting to know him as a person to where they mutually develop feelings for each other. While having a rough start, this takes after Knapp’s model of relationship development. Shrek and Fiona build a slow bond over time when the latter’s egocentrism towards Shrek diminishes while the big guy gets to be around another person that actually likes him, lowering his misanthropic barrier ever further, all the while Donkey being the key voice of reason between the two. This bonding culminates in the two confessing their love for each other, with Shrek seeing Fiona’s real form as an ogre, and get married knowing they fell in love with each other in spite of appearance. Thanks to Shrek, Fiona is more comfortable with her true self after getting to know someone that already felt that way regardless of who said otherwise. They got the chance to validate each other’s conflicting existence in an organic way.

Taking all of this into account, what does this say about Shrek himself? Well, there’s an underlying sad truth that while Shrek has not only found somebody that treats him like a person, but one who actually loves him for him, the rest of society’s prejudice towards him hasn’t truly been erased. The sequel perfectly expands on this as society is not ready to face him and despite gaining someone’s affection, he is still not accepted and he believes he still doesn’t deserves acceptance. However, in the end of that movie, he finds content with which is because the ogre is the one that the princess has married. With that, the original movie gives people the thought that, regardless of how they appear among people, they are worthy of being loved. The thought that no one is incapable of belonging or having any kind of relationship just because not everyone thinks that’s achievable. I believe that’s why many may relate to Shrek personally, he’s somebody that wishes to be a welcomed member of society, that wants to be seen as more than what everyone perceives him to be, but doubts himself because he exists outside of an ideal mold. As such, the movie offers him the opportunity to dilute that self-doubt and be open with characters that actively gave him a chance to speak. His perspective was finally heard and appreciated, and that is something many people strive to achieve. This film may now be considered a joke by the masses, but underneath its comedic value lays a comforting ideal that no matter how you appear among people, there will be someone out who will listen to your story and provide you some sense of belonging.

#shrek #dreamworks #analysis #movies #animation #characterization

7 notes · View notes

sweettsubaki · 7 years

Text

toichi-koichi a réagi à votre billet “I’ve been thinking and I’ve figure out why I’m so against...”

I'm not sure to understand why they can't get along the way they are now....

N52/Rebirth’s version of Tim Drake doesn’t connect with people. No matter how much writers say he’s loved and what not, if you pay attention to how he’s written you’ll notice that he’s the leader. He commands. You Obey. Sometimes he lets others do whatever they want if they complain enough. But he’ll still keep a tight leash on them.

But whether on or off missions, he controls everything.

And Kon? Kon doesn’t like being controlled. He abhors it. He wants to stand on equal grounds with his friends (that why he has few of them, because rare are the people who treated him like a person worth being respected). And it doesn’t just applies to him. He hates the principle of someone controlling others. It’s been part of several of his stories. He needs honesty and trust.

And N52!Tim gives orders mostly based off what computers tell him (and he isn’t always right) and who considers that the world should belong to the bats (he says so in at least two issues of Detective Comics Rebirth) because others can’t be trusted. And the last one is one of Kon’s biggest pet peeves in the world.

You can argue that Pre-N52 Tim was the same...only he wasn’t. Because he valued trust and honesty as much as Kon did. He hated lying to his loved one and while it became a habit it’s also one he’s ready to break as soon as he can. Was N52!Tim does naturally preboot!Tim did when trying to emulate Batman and Nightwing and it created tension between Conner and him. In part because Conner and Tim had started bonding since they did share common interests (comic books, junk food, basically stuff N52/Rebirth Tim doesn’t like) so Conner knew there was something there (also Conner admired Tim and wanted his approval at first, but that’s because they had worked together as “relatively” equals, World’s Finest 3 would have gone *very* differently with N52 Tim because preboot Tim wants a minimum of control to make sure things can work while N52 Tim wants complete control over how things work). It’s only once Tim was allowed to give them his Identity that he and Kon truly became friends and back then Tim had wanted to tell them for a while. After that their friendship is in part about Kon reminding Tim that he can be as honest as he wants (and vice versa, Tim helped Conner with that). Which, when you look at one of N52!Tim’s only “relationship”, his relationship with Steph isn’t how things go. He is honest with her because he knows it’s only going to be about him (you’ll notice there’s nothing ever about her), he’s using her as a living diary. And Kon? Well he wouldn’t stand for it? He would demand equality and N52!Tim can’t give it.

Overall N52!Tim just isn’t the kind of person Kon would get along with because Kon’s type in people is “honest” if anything (Bart, Cassie, Tana, Roxy, Tim, Kyle,... They all share that one trait), and N52!Tim isn’t honest with people unless he has something to gain from it or if it’s about something that doesn’t matter to him.

It’s all part of my “N52/Rebith!Tim actually has APD” theory (sociopath under Lobdell, Psychopath afterward, especially under Tynion). Which would be a good thing if acknowledged (’cause we rarely have characters with APD outside of Bad Guys) but...yeah Tynion’s gonna keep on ruining it by pretending his Tim is able to have real interpersonal relationships yet not write them as such

#toichi-koichi #TimKon #Tim Drake #Kon El #Conner Kent #DC Comics #Kon El/Conner Kent #DC BrOTP or OTP: TimKon #Fake Tim Drake #DC Rebirth #DC New 52 #DC Post Crisis / Pre Flashpoint

17 notes · View notes