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sadspoookyboi · 6 months

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BATFAMILY AS FOLKLORE SONGS

i’m honestly shocked i’ve haven’t done this one. this one is a little different tbh, usually i just do characters and maybe lyrics but this time i did actually did explanations and i was watching the long pond sessions so i could get accurate notes on each song. DISCLAIMER there’s a lot of run on sentences and i hope it all makes sense, peace and love-ssb✌️🫶

the 1: steph and tim, i see this as being from both of their povs. i think a relationship between them wouldn’t work long term it would’ve been fun if you would’ve been the one

cardigan: dick/babs, i know that all writers have their own opinions on who is the “other woman” but timeline wise it’s kori so i see this as being from babs pov bc she goes back to him no matter what

the last great american dynasty: The Wayne’s, i feel that after Bruce adopts his kids and starts collecting others he starts kinda shifting what the wayne’s are where as when he grew up it was about image, poise and galas he starts to change and all he cares abt is if his kids are comfortable i had a marvelous time ruining everything

exile: jason and bruce, even though this song is like two lovers fighting i think it can be interpreted as jason being upset after tim becomes robin and it took you five whole minutes to pack us up and leave me with it and i can see bruce’s pov of being fed up with giving jason the chance to do the right thing but him not doing it like you’d get your knuckles bloody for me second, third and hundredth chances balancing on breaking bridges, i couldn’t turn things around you never turned things around

my tears ricochet: damian and talia, “it’s a song about greed. it’s a song about how somebody could be your best friend and your companion and your most trusted person in your life and then they could go and become your worst enemy who knows how to hurt you because they were once your most trusted person.” Taylor Swift long pond sessions you had to kill me but it killed you just the same this whole song and specifically this part and the quote reminds me of when talia made and had a clone of damian kill him i didn’t have it in me to go with grace and you’re the hero flying around saving face you hear my stolen lullabies

mirrorball: Stephanie, i’ve never been a natural all i do is try i know everyone is like this is dicks songs it’s not he’s the natural however i feel stephanie is put on this pedestal for being independent but she’s not and i feel like she morphs herself into a different version of herself depending on who she’s with “we have mirror balls in the middle of a dance floor because they reflect light they are broken a million times and that’s what makes them so shiny. we have people like that in society. they hang there and everytime they break it entertains us” Taylor Swift long pond sessions

seven: damian and jon, it’s a song abt besties idk 🤷🏻‍♀️ past down like folk songs the love lasts so long

august: kori/dick, IM SORRY DICKORI/ KORI STANS! to me when writers write this love triangle they write babs as the one, she’s smart and sensible and someone to settle down with while kori is written as a fling and something that is just someone who’s there in the moment and that’s what august is about it’s about this girl who was seen by this guy as a fling while she is truly falling for him and from everybody’s pov she’s this bad girl and temptress while all she wants is to love and to be loved

this is me trying: tim, they told me all my cages were mental so i got wasted like all my potential, tim is often now written as this happy go lucky character and i think that in red robin he’s fighting some real demons but in the newer runs he’s fighting to make it through the day or insecurities about his position in the family or as a superhero or even as bernard’s boyfriend and i feel like it’s just so real like no other character is going to compare to me when it comes to that and when it comes to his position in everyday life he is the definition as wasted potential he is crazy smart and charismatic but he just hates school and hates studying i was so ahead the curve that the curve became a sphere

illicit affairs: bruce/ talia, bruce and talias relationship is not healthy but i do believe that they both or at least bruce loved the other person and i feel like it shouldn’t even be described as an relationship because it seems like a means to an end

invisible string: the entire batfamily, definition of right place at the right time

mad woman: cass, in the comics and fics cass is often written to be a crazy, feral woman and i think that it’s a narrative constantly written about women and i feel like men are written as traumatized while women are not written or perceived with that tone they are written as vindictive or crazy

epiphany: babs and jim gordon, epiphany is written paralleling WWII to the pandemic and i think the perfect parallel in comic book history is babs and commissioner gordon fighting the same fight but taking different paths or routes and aaron dessner describes the song as comparing taylor’s family history and hero’s of today and i feel like that’s the perfect way to describe it

betty: babs/dick/kori, i already described my thoughts twice but i feel like dick would maybe take more accountability

peace: bruce/selina, imma be honest i don’t know if it’s canon that bruce doesn’t do relationships bc of batman but it’s fitting and i feel like it’s probably that even in relationships with other heroes is a conversation to be had bruce truly can’t give selina peace, he cannot promise stability or a promise of staying alive or not being over tabloids as he’s the richest man alive all these people think loves for show but i would die for you in secret

hoax: duke, duke is the one character that i can’t really get a read on but as the newest member of the batfamily i feel like there’s still this feeling in him that’s like i have this new family and i love them but at the end of the day i want my parents my parents that raised me at the end of the day he’s a boy who wants his parents. i also feel like he’s still trusting of people and he reaps what he sowed everytime

the lakes: tim/bernard: tim always has an exit plan and it’s always escaping by himself to be by himself and i feel like it’s the same no matter who he’s with but when he met and started dating bernard he finally found someone to escape with and exit the hero world for im setting off, but not without my muse

batfam (taylor’s version) is coming so lmk what albums you guys want next🤭🤭

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luanna801 · 2 years

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i dont know a lot about comics to name someone but still wanted to send something so uhh whatever character you have conflicting feelings on?? thats usually fun lol

Hahaha omg, you are SO right, those are always a ton of fun. <3 (But it doesn't need to be a comic character, btw! You could totally send me a character from Dracula, for example. I’d keep my answers spoiler-free for you.)

But a comic character I have conflicting feelings on... gotta go with Jason Todd here, and this should get INTERESTING:

"everyone but me is wrong about them" - Every time I see a "Jason is right actually and the Batfam are mean for not liking it when he murders people" post I lose YEARS off my lifespan, AND I SEE THOSE POSTS A LOT, GOSHDANGIT.

"wasted potential" - I mean look, I'm not up on the current Batfam comics, so maybe he's living up to his potential beautifully! But in my experience, DC's writing of him swung around wildly from full-on villain to Cool Fun Edgy Boy for YEARS before finally settling on the latter, and in the meantime the comics that actually explored his trauma and moral ambiguity in depth were few and far between.

"if they were real I would be afraid of them" - boy stuffed a duffle bag full of heads. Enough said.

"they got done DIRTY by the fans" - partly refers to his death (and the frickin’ loaf of bread) getting made into a meme, but I actually think he also gets done dirty by stans who defend everything he does and ignore (or worse, justify) the darker parts of his character.

"didn't get enough screen time" really means didn't get the QUALITY of screentime and development that I think his character needed. He's been in tons of comics, but so often his character is used in a very shallow way so he might as well not be.

"wow! they are a horrible person" I SAID WHAT I SAID, OKAY.

I'm not saying he's IRREDEEMABLY horrible, but he's definitely done some awful things that I think get brushed under the rug far too often. Obviously he's traumatized and not thinking clearly in some of those instances (like, uh, that one time he nearly blew Bruce up with a car bomb), but that doesn't excuse everything he's done.

#replies #renfieldmrenfield #character bingo meme

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frostise · 2 months

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5 + 6+ 17!

𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐄 ┇ accepting ♡

5. What’s the best thing about the fandom?

dc introducing killer frost to me when i was younger. not the comic version because that sucked major ass but the adaptations of her character in batman: assault on arkham, injustice: gods among us and justice league unlimited. they were my favourite the moment she came on screen. but even before i knew her? my first favorite dc character was batman and still is. then the og teen titans show and justice league unlimited came later. yeah...that's all i can say about dc really.

6. What’s the worst thing about the fandom?

the dc writers mistreating louise's character so frequently that i had to make a rp account just to give her character some much needed justice from the bad writing she's suffered for decades. it's almost funny how often they do it to every character in the dc universe. oh and the over sexualised depictions of her were the absolute worst to discover but not too shocking unfortunately. the dc treatment is...something.

i also hate coming across any toxic dc or marvel fans colliding with each other just because one person prefers another fandom. like...what? why's that still happening? it's 2024. reminds me of the "console is better than pc" debate or whatever. it's like a twitter argument to me.

17. Are there any ships you can’t stand, why?

long answer: anything to do with firestorm/killer frost i absolutely despise because for one; firestorm's character has always been depicted as a college/highschool student (jason rusch and ronnie raymond). louise and crystal were presumably in their 20s/30s/40s depending on the time period. it makes me want to hurl everytime i read the comics again and find out they had weird sexual tension/dialogue because dc clearly doesn't give a fuck about problematic age differences or making good writing for that matter. plus it was the 70's-80's and it was normalized back then?? it was wasted potential to me because their dynamics could've been tragic or even vicious! in my book, firestorm and killer frost will always be arch enemies no matter what!

short answer: firestorm/killer frost makes me hurl. outside of that god awful ship, i also hate seeing any problematic ships involving incest, pedophila, self-cest, race fetish or whatever fits that hellish category can go straight to the depths of satan's ass fr fr 💅🏼💅🏼

#red-hemlock #˗ˏˋ ༄ ──── 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 〳 ❪ don't let the cold put you off ❫#vent tw #drama tw #*insert skeleton screaming when being electrocuted meme*

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seventeengoingunder-archive · 2 years

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Thoughts on Stranger Things Vol. 2

Not a review or anything - mostly talking about things that annoyed me as is typical for me. Split into just general thoughts on storytelling that are still spoiler-y and also straight up complaining.

GENERAL

I think that introducing side characters and killing them off, while keeping the main characters alive, in the same installment they first appear in isn’t necessarily lazy but you need to have a reason for introducing them in the first place. Especially in speculative fiction - a character can’t be introduced this far along the story to just be there. They’re either instrumental to the plot, or the worldbuilding. Otherwise you’re wasting time that could’ve been spent on expanding any other aspect of the story you’ve set up and disregarded throughout the years, while simultaneously removing any tension and fear regarding the safety of the main characters. And no, main characters don’t have to die for the story to have stakes but if you’re constantly writing in scenes that are meant to give off the impression that a character is about to die and they never do, it starts to feel cheap. And it drags the story down. The audience isn’t concerned, the outcome of the story isn’t affected and we’ve just spent a considerable chunk cutting back and forth between multiple “life or death” situations instead of spending time with the main characters that we’ve thrown to the side for lack of time, which inevitabely happens with big ensemble casts.

SPECIFIC

(also slight Expanse spoilers… but like who cares you’ve either read it or you don’t want to, also I don’t even remember if what I am saying is correct so fake spoilers potentially)

Killing off basically just side characters can be done effectively. The Expanse is one of my favorite Sci-Fi series and for most of the books a new main POV character is introduced and they often are done by that book. But they’re characters that are in the eye of the storm. They’re the inciting incident. They die because the circumstances they’re introduced in aren’t ones you can get out of.

It’s why Chrissy’s storyline was great. We established the villain of this season through it, and she’s a character we sympathise with. There’s a reason it’s a part of the show, it was done well and didn’t completely take over the storyline. On the other hand, so much of this season was spent on Jason and Eddie, and in the end we’re left with both of them dead, seemingly only Dustin having any feelings over it. Which brings up the question of why were most of Lucas’ scene with Jason and why did Lucas feel like an after-thought in them? I assume Jason was meant to be his foil, but Jason ended up being the focus as well.

I don’t appreciate how no thought was spared on how Lucas would feel about his friends abandoning him and villyfying him for wanting to play a sport. Obviously, 80s jock stereotypes and all but depth could’ve been added. We had time to rehash the Nancy - Jonathan - Steve love triangle so there’s no reason why there wouldn’t be time for Lucas to feel an emotion.

I think that spending so much time on those two [Eddie and Jason] for it to have no consequences, and probably not be brought up in the next season is an actual problem with the writing. Now we get into my nitpicking.

I genuinely hate the cop-out of Vecna letting Nancy go for the sake of telling Eleven what he plans to do. Why wouldn’t he do that with Max, since she’s far closer with her than Nancy. He didn’t even have to let her go completely - the first time he got into her head he could’ve showed her the outcome and said something along the lines of “Go on, try and warn them”. We get the villain monologue, and we give our characters more motivation throughout the season. There’d be more stakes because they knew what they fighting for specifically. Warning them of it when it was basically about to happen did nothing. We just watched it twice.

We waste so much time on things that don’t matter that we just speedrun Vecna’s motivations and actual powers, and limitations. While not every SFF element has to be deeply explained, and it is common for the Big Bad to be unkowable then why are we running through his backstory multiple times. Why can’t Eleven beat him more easily with her new powers? She can bring Max from the dead. How powerful is Vecna? How powerful is Eleven? I am bothered.

Also Steve and Nancy letting Max sacrifice herself with no reservations felt very out of character. I understand why they went forward with that plan, but a moment of “No, we’re not doing that” would go a long way.

#stranger things spoilers #it's probably the epic fantasy reader in me that is just very annoyed when things aren'tproperly explored and i know that stranger things #was never going for in-depth worldbuilding and that it's meant to be a fun little story. i know that intellectually #still annoyed though

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seattlesea · 3 years

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The Wasted Potential of Piper McLean’s Backstory

I think it’s safe to say that Piper’s backstory was easily the weakest, most boring, and worst-written one of all the characters in Heroes of Olympus, but it didn’t have to be. Riordan wasted a lot of potential for her backstory that could’ve added much more to her character just for ‘My dad doesn’t pay attention to me!!11!!!11!’ and then showing multiple flashbacks of Piper and Tristan spending quality father-daughter time alone together and completely invalidating all of Piper’s annoying complaining. Not only that, but Piper’s backstory is just a boring copy of Rachel’s.

So, this is what Riordan did with Piper’s backstory:

1. ‘Neglectful’ dad. Piper spends 50% of The Lost Hero complaining about how little time her dad spends with her (and 49% thinking about Jason) instead of focusing on actually helping him. And while neglectful parenting can be very dangerous to a child’s happiness and social skills, Piper clearly wasn’t neglected or ‘ignored’. How do I know? Well for one, there are multiple flashbacks in The Mark of Athena of Piper and her dad hanging out- surfing, researching Greek mythology stories, watching Tristan’s movies and laughing over them, Tristan telling Piper Cherokee stories, etc.- and two, Piper isn’t unhappy nor unsocial and doesn’t show any symptoms of child neglect besides being clingy and possessive (but remember that the McLeans weren’t always rich, and were actually quite poor before, so Piper didn’t learn that behavior from her father). Besides, for someone who is claimed to be ‘smarter than all her other siblings’, Piper clearly doesn’t know that it’s her father’s agent that controls his schedule, not Tristan.

2. Rich and pretty= bad. In a lot of different circumstances, being rich and pretty has its cons, but Piper’s complaints about it are completely offbeat. Why? Cause we don’t know why she’s complaining about it. She complains about being rich, but why? She complains about being ‘too pretty’ (as if that’s something people legitimately complain about), but why? There’s no backstory or reasoning given to this. If there was, Piper’s constant complaining might have been valid, but Riordan just threw it into her story to give the readers a reason to take pity on and feel sympathy for her, and because he didn’t give Piper an actual reason for her complaining, it made it unbearable. If he had written it in smaller doses (much smaller) and wrote it realistically, it could’ve been really awesome. Because if you’re going to complain about something, make sure you’re complaining for a reason. Why does Piper hate being rich? Why does Piper hate having a bunch of awesome things most people would kill for? Why does Piper hate being attractive? And how Riordan tried to validate her complaining with ‘She wants to be normal’- NO ONE WANTS TO BE NORMAL. What teenager wouldn’t want a private airplane and giant mansion after living in a shitty wood house most of their life? Cause yes, Riordan, write your character complaining about her private chef making her a gold-wrapped sandwich while most of the other characters were worrying about where their next meal was going to come from and have her complain about having things while most people didn’t have 5% of what she had. That’ll totally make her a likable character. There’s a difference between being modest and being ungrateful.

3. Bullies. Being bullied sucks, and Piper has every right to complain about it. But...she didn’t. She didn’t complain at all. She didn’t even care about it. So she’s perfectly fine with being bullied and pushed around for her ethnicity, but her dad working a little overtime is the end of the world? How??? Besides that, Riordan didn’t write in bullies to shine a light on racism towards First Nations people, but for one reason only- to degrade femininity. Piper is described as a ‘tomboy’ (even though she doesn’t actually dress tomboyish, but that’s for another mini-rant) and the only bullies towards her we have been introduced to are girly-girls- Isabel and her group of friends who wore ‘matching pink tops and enough makeup for a Halloween party’, Drew Tanaka, Khione, etc. That’s not progressive, it’s sexist. ‘Femininity’ and ‘weakness’ are not synonymous, and nor are ‘masculinity’ and ‘strength’. Also, how did Isabel and her friends not know who Piper’s dad was? I’m pretty sure Tristan didn’t hide her from the entire world (though that would’ve been a way cooler backstory).

4. Stealing. Anyone else out there who also knows that Piper isn’t actually a rebellious trouble-maker? Cause she isn’t. She got kicked out of four schools for being accused of stealing, but she never actually canonically broke any rules. As for the stealing part of her backstory, it was really, really lame. It was just a bad, invalid excuse to make Piper look like the badass and cool trouble-maker when in reality, all she did was politely ask for things. Not exactly ‘badass and rebellious’, and it was completely unnecessary. Piper wanted attention from her dad, but she got it multiple times and could’ve gotten it in many other different ways that didn’t enforce the racist ‘kleptomaniac First Nation’ stereotype.

And this is what he should’ve done with her backstory:

1. Rich and pretty= distrust. Piper was reluctant to tell Annabeth about her famous father in The Lost Hero, but for the wrong reason. She didn’t want Annabeth to know about her movie-star dad because she didn’t want the ‘attention’, but she should’ve not wanted Annabeth to know out of distrust. And by ‘distrust’, I mean ‘not knowing if they want to know you for you or for your money’. This is a common con for rich and famous people, and they often turn paranoid and distrusting because they can never be certain if someone wants to be their friend because they think that they’re a cool person or if they want to be their friend because they’re rich and famous. That would’ve been a perfect reason for Piper to be reluctant to make new friends (especially after announcing to her whole cabin that her father was Tristan McLean), but she didn’t care. She even said that she ‘hated using the famous dad card’ but never showed signs of being dubious of new people who knew who she was. As for being pretty, a lot of attractive people are also distrustful because they never know if someone wants to date them for their personality or for their looks (and in Jason’s case, it was definitely the latter. No one wants to kiss someone a few minutes after knowing them and never actually talking to them one-on-one and it be anything but sexual attraction). Piper should’ve been very reluctant to get into a relationship (especially after Jason embarrassed and sexualized her in front of the entire camp calling her a ‘knock-out’) and it would’ve added a valid reason for her to complain about her looks. Cause again- why does she hate being attractive? Cause she’s tired of being stereotyped? No, cause she stereotypes other people. Cause she doesn’t want to be attractive? No, cause she never said anything about that. There was no reason for it, so it was a huge waste of many chapters and made for a horrible character arc.

2. Alone in a big house. Piper complained about her dad being ‘too busy’ despite him being a very loving, caring, and inclusive father, but why didn’t she even mention the other part of it- being alone? Sure she had personal chefs, assistants, etc. with her, but no one related to her and no one who wasn’t being paid to be around her. Being alone sucks, but being alone in a giant house with a bunch of games and other stuff you’d love to share with another person but can’t? Damn. Speaking of which, what about Piper’s past schools? Five schools and no confirmed friends? It’s not like Piper has a hard time making friends since she was able to become friends with Leo (and only after being at the Wilderness School for a few months versus full school years at the others). Riordan could’ve written a very interesting backstory that didn’t have to relate to monsters (like Leo’s) but focused on the wrong parts.

3. Impossible (and toxic) beauty standards and pressure. While being unattractive (or thinking you’re unattractive, cause you’re not ugly, you’re just not your type) sucks, being attractive (and extremely attractive) has multiple cons. Not only is there- racism in the beauty industry, society’s toxic and even deadly standards of beauty, not being open to relationships out of fear of only being liked for your looks, fear of not being taken seriously and being stereotyped, being cat-called and even the fear of rape, being compared to others, etc., but there’s the constant pressure (especially from family members, friends, and peers) of showing off your looks even if you don’t want to or are not comfortable doing so. I have an ‘hour-glass’ shaped body, and at first I loved my body and was very confident about it, but after the constant urging from my family members to wear tight (almost revealing) clothes to show off my body starting at only twelve years old despite me not being comfortable wearing those types of clothes, I hated my body and wore exclusively baggy and layered clothes for nearly 3+ years. This would’ve been perfect for Piper’s backstory, especially since her mother literally sexualized her by putting her in an ‘embarrassingly low v-neck dress’ in front of tons of campers. She wore basic, simple clothes, but she only wore them to avoid being labelled a ‘girly-girl’. It’s not even canon if she actually likes those clothes or are actually comfortable wearing them or not, she only wore them to avoid being something else she didn’t like. It could’ve led to an awesome character arc- going from insecure about your looks because people keep pressuring you into showing them off to only wearing and doing what you like. Piper tried to hide her looks, but for what reason? To avoid being stereotyped as ‘girly’? Yes, Piper, because girly-girls are the only type of girls that are pretty. Obviously.

4. Charity. Rachel rocked this one. If Piper wanted to be kind and modest, why didn’t she give any of the things she had to people who actually needed it? Instead of moping about how rich you are, give the things you don’t want to those who need it. It’s a lot more effective and moral than spending all your days complaining and sulking, and it’s much more likely to gain readers’ favor than constant whining.

5. Stereotypes. Riordan tried so hard to avoid the ‘snobby rich girl’ stereotype, but in my opinion- he should’ve utilized it. Piper went from ‘I don’t care about what I have’...to the exact same thing. She didn’t grow at all regarding her fortune and riches. Even in The Trials of Apollo, she lost everything and didn’t even care. Who wouldn’t care if they lost everything they had? Piper could’ve been grateful that she still had her dad and humanity while still being upset she lost everything. Back on topic- Piper could’ve gone from spoiled, obnoxious, and money-obsessed to ‘It doesn’t matter what I have or what I am but who I am’. She should’ve started off as the basic, stereotypical rich girl- a greedy, selfish, idealistic, spoiled, rude, dramatic, and overly ambitious primadonna diva who tried to buy her happiness and relationships but realized she couldn’t fill the hole in her heart with money and lipstick. Or how about the reckless homewrecker who broke hearts just for fun before realizing she actually wanted a real relationship, so started letting people in? Riordan avoiding the rich girl stereotype to make Piper more likable is what helped make her dislikable, because it ruined the chances of a good character arc. Besides, while not showing it on the surface, Riordan did actually sink into the rich girl stereotype by making Piper a selfish, ungrateful, and attention-seeking whiny brat, but she never grew from that or even realized she was doing it.

6. Looks don’t matter. The fandom thinks that Piper is the one who stands for ‘looks don’t matter/it’s what’s on the inside that matters’, but she’s the opposite. She: -dismissed Percy and stereotyped him based off how he looked -hated her entire cabin and mother just because they were girly -hated and stereotyped Drew just cause she was wearing jewelry and makeup -constantly fussed over her looks and looked at herself more times in one chapter than all the other characters did combined -commented on Jason’s appearance multiple times, etc. So no, she isn’t the one who stands for that. The character who doesn’t think about their appearance at all is the one who stands for that, not the character who thinks about their looks 24/7. She should’ve been the character to stand for that, cause who better than the daughter of beauty and a famous, attractive movie-star? She should’ve been the one to scream to the mortal world that ‘Hey, I’m attractive but I’m not my attractiveness’.

7. Racism. If Riordan wanted to expand on Piper’s character, why not write about the number one thing she should’ve been struggling with before being introduced to the mythological world- racism? She’s Cherokee, and there are multiple things against First Nations people nowadays like horrible living in reservations, living in the land she knows was stolen from her people and watching her father pay taxes to the very people who stole it, etc. Bullies suck, but bullies are common. The struggles of First Nations people is not, and it should’ve been added to Piper’s backstory not only to make her more realistic and better-written, but to shine a light on the racism and oppression against First Nation tribes.

8. Monster attacks. So Piper is the daughter of a rich and famous movie star, most likely used multiple different pieces of technology, was out in the open only a few hours away from Camp Jupiter, and was out in the mortal world her whole life, but didn’t experience any monster attacks whatsoever, even at fifteen years old? That’s extremely unrealistic and dumb. Monster attacks should’ve been used to make her backstory more interesting and realistic.

9. ADHD and dyslexia. Was I the only one bothered that Piper didn’t show any signs of ADHD or dyslexia? Every demigod has them and Frank is the only one confirmed not to, but Piper had no trouble focusing, staying still, reading, concentrating, forgetfulness, short attention spans, etc. She was even able to read the directory at Medea’s Department Store, the writing on the wall at the Cyclops-infiltrated warehouse, Greek stories with her dad, etc. In canon, she doesn’t even have ADHD or dyslexia, but showing her struggling with it (especially as the daughter of a famous movie star who’s pressured into being perfect and poised at all times) would’ve added so much to her backstory and character.

10. Abandonment issues. So Piper’s mother literally leaves her before she was even born...and she didn’t care? It’s understandable that she would accept her mother’s choice after finding out that her mother was a goddess who couldn’t stay with her, but what about before? She didn’t even comment on it. She showed signs of abandonment issues (insecurity over her relationships, the inability to trust her partner’s intentions, constant jealousy, difficulty with feeling actual intimacy, possessive and controlling behavior, clinginess, constant need for attention, etc.) but they were never expanded on or even called out. She was portrayed as the perfect one without any faults or need for help cause she was (in Riordan’s eyes) supposed to be the ‘strong one’ who didn’t need others to help or save her, but that just led to a dull character and flat arc.

11. Standards of perfection. Piper is the daughter of a rich and famous movie star, is extremely attractive, etc., so writing her backstory as being constantly pressured, raised, and even demanded into always being poised, presentable, and perfect her whole life would’ve been way better than whatever the hell Riordan was doing. Piper should’ve rebelled against society, not her dad who didn’t even do anything wrong. Basically- What Piper did: My dad wants to bring me to a nice salon cause he loves and cares about me? NO! I’m going to cut my own hair even though cutting your hair in First Nations culture is literally taboo without even bothering to tell my dad that I don’t want to get a haircut to see if he’ll agree! What Piper should’ve done: Society wants me to always be perfect and presentable? NO! I’ll show them that I’ll be whatever I want to be without their input!

12. Rich and famous ≠ a perfect life. People are often mistaken that rich and famous people have the best, perfect life, but they don’t. With society’s impossible standards, controversy in the fame department, tons of hate for a bunch of different reasons, and more, Piper could’ve been the one to show that more money doesn’t equal more happiness, cause who in the world would constantly want flashing cameras in their faces, the inability to go out without being followed and/or harassed, fake friends, constant judging, the inability to have any privacy or being able to do anything normal people can, etc.?

So, yeah. Piper’s backstory was just a steaming-hot mess, a pile of wasted potential, and flat-out bad writing. Riordan could’ve written an awesome character with a great character development, but it was trashed only because he couldn’t focus on the right aspects of her backstory.

#heroes of olympus #percy jackson #piper mclean #backstory #tell me im wrong #am I wrong tho #demigods

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jackdawyt · 3 years

Video

youtube

With no time to waste, we have a tremendous news update on Dragon Age 4’s current iteration known as “Morrison”, as many development secrets were revealed in BioWare’s brand-new hardcover book of “Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development.”

A lot of the questions that we’ve all been asking over the past few years, finally have an answer, all thanks to this book. I will be delving into all of the Dragon Age 4-related content in this book; however, I wholeheartedly advise you pick up the book for yourself because it is filled to the brim with insights, information and behind-the-scenes reveals on every BioWare game to this date.

It’s full of so many captivating, inspiring and amazing stories that showcase BioWare’s incredible journey over the past 25 years.

In any regard, we’ve got a lot to get into, so leaving no stone unturned, we’ve got some updates regarding Dragon Age: Morrison, the current-rebooted project code name of the next Dragon Age game.

Morrison:

Along with this amazing retro-styled font of Morrison’s code name - that I’m totally going to use in future videos and thumbnails - we actually have a small plot synopsis on this working title.

It reads as followed: “Tevinter Bound – a sneak peek at the follow-up to Inquisition.”

“As BioWare entered its twenty-fifth year, the Dragon Age team was hard at work on Morrison, the code name of the long-awaited follow-up to Dragon Age: Inquisition. The game, helmed by executive producer Mark Darrah, will take players to Tevinter as events of Inquisition and Trespasser threaten to forever change Thedas.”

We’re going to Tevinter! Of course, we already knew that based on Trespasser’s ending, Tevinter Nights, and the developers already hinting that, but it is still very nice to see hear that in a plot outline.

In addition, the most interesting factor about this synopsis, is that for the first time BioWare have confirmed that “Morrison” is indeed the code name for the current Dragon Age project, which outrightly confirms that Jason Scheirer’s Kotaku article on “The Past & Present of Dragon Age 4” carries merit and truth to it, meaning that we can indeed trust the entire contents of Jason’s article.

Regardless, sticking with the 80’s retro theme, BioWare staff have themed shirts for the project, and they look absolutely amazing. Please, BioWare Gear Store release these one day, if at all possible, these designs are so good!

The book then goes on to show very familiar concept art that was showcased within the Gamescom behind-the-scenes trailer, however, this time, we have actual descriptions on each of the art pieces, and what they’re portraying. So, we don’t need to spend another 40 minutes speculating about what the pieces could show.

The underwater shot which we assumed to be Isabela accompanied by what looks like Dorian with a sword, an undead and a female dwarf, appears to showcase the Lords of Fortune, a newly-introduced faction within Tevinter Nights.

The synopsis says:

“Where there’s treasure, there’s adventurers braving death to get it. The Lords of Fortune are always on the hunt for treasure-wherever it may be.”

The next shot, which I speculated it as Tevinter’s capital city Minrathous, has a synopsis that says:

“The glittering hubs of Thedas are beacons of civilization and bulwarks against the night.”

Following that, we have the mysterious Antivan Crow lady concept art with the synopsis:

“The Antivan Crows have perfected theatrical assassinations. The Antivan Crows are celebrated for their mastery of stylish slaying.”

And then we have a most recognisable mural, one that many of us have spent way too long staring at, tinfoiling over its endless possibilities. The synopsis of The Dread Wolf Rises concept piece says:

“One of Nick Thornborrow’s beautiful paintings showing an old friend with a shadowy threat!”

Following that, we have Nevarra’s undead operating on a dragon, with the synopsis saying:

“From their Necropolis, the Mourn Watch guard Thedas from occult threats”

And then we have – hold on, what’s this, a new piece of concept art? Roll on the tinfoil, I’ll read the synopsis first and then we can go from there, as it states:

“The Deep Roads teem with evils both new and old, known and unknowable.”

I won’t spend ages delving into a single piece of concept art, but we can see the Deep Roads with plenty of light coming from the surface. It’s a beautiful shot, that I’m sure is building a mood for potential locations in the next game.

The final concept art piece shown is one from the trailer, however, it’s not cut-off anymore. When it once looked like an evil Cetus, it now reveals something even more wicked than a sea dragon... A figure with multiple arms, red eyes, a curved headpiece, holding a spear. Is this an ancient God? Could it be Ghilan’nain? A Lovecraftian sea-hybrid-monster? Or is it just a crazy idea thrown together by a concept artist, because why not?

The synopsis is the most intriguing and provides a further context for the next Dragon Age game:

“The Evil Gods have Thedas in their sights and only heroes can stop them. The shadows of the past stir, and new heroes must rise to fight them.”

There are many “gods” in Dragon Age, the Old Gods, the Elven Gods, the Maker, the Titans, etc. You could certainly consider each of them to be evil too, but on a whim, with the whole “shadows of the past stir.” I’m sure this synopsis is referring to the Elven Gods, given Solas’s scheme that will return the Evanuris to Thedas once more.

Taking my tinfoil hat off for a moment, this book expertly describes concept art stages relating to BioWare, and I need to touch on what exactly these pieces could mean going forward, because they most certainly could just be conceptual drawings without much context for the next game.

The book quotes Dragon Age 2’s development regarding concept art, saying:

“In the early stages of any project, before the concept artists are aware of any writing, they like to just draw what they think cool story moments could be. It’s not unusual for the team to then be inspired by those drawings and fold them into the game as the project progresses.”

And, even further than that, Matt Rhodes, who is the Art Director of the next Dragon Age spoke a few words regarding Dragon Age: Inquisition’s conceptual art stages:

“As multiple teams worked on their corners of Inquisition, lead concept artist Matt Rhodes spent weeks creating images to help solidify and drive a vision of what the game could be.”

“It was partly to encourage and remind myself of what the potential of this project could be,” Matt says. “We all imagine the finished game. I wanted to get that on paper, to remind everyone we are making something that could be pretty cool.”

So, while we’re all so excited to see these amazing concept designs and imagery, and we love to correlate it all to the next game, remember that these designs are very early work building a vision for the next game, they’re just being used to represent what idealistically the developers would like the game to end up like, or what insane ideas the concept artists have for the game.

Many of these ideas won’t turn out in the final product, but it’s still so nice to see this work already.

Wolf Rook Book:

Moving on, we can put an end to a five-year mystery, we finally have answers on that enigmatic red “Wolf-Rook" book that Mark Darrah has teased for half a decade.

One of my first ever videos on this channel was delving into the early pages of this book, back then I had a hunch that this book was the next Dragon Age game’s early concepts and designs, like a shiny development doc for the team.

And I was on the right tracks, as followed:

“The book was an internal guide for developer and publisher eyes only that summarized the vision for Dragon Age: Inquisition’s follow-up, a project code-named Joplin. The Joplin project has since been revised to such an extent that its code name changed to Morrison, but the red book still contains plenty of ideas likely to appear in the next Dragon Age. While most pages remain highly classified, here are a few Mark said we can publish.”

There’s a small description of The Qunari with some other concept shots, the paragraph reads as followed:

“The Qunari are followers of a religious text of principles known as the Qun. Though Qunari may be of any race, most are part of a race of large humanoids with horns.”

“For ages the Qunari have proven a formidable opponent to the rest of Thedas, almost conquering the continent until a united force of every Chantry nation pushed them back into a tense stalemate. Recent events have reignited the Qunari offensive, however, and their forces are in open conflict with the Tevinter Imperium, while their spies and agents are active in every nation.”

And at the bottom we have a Creatures double-spread page with different concepts very similar to those seen in Inquisition, the paragraph reads as followed:

“Animals, monsters and misplaced magical experiments: creatures stir apart from the conflicts and machinations flowing across the continent. Creatures range from the lowly nug up to the ultimate apex predator, the dragon. The next Dragon Age will feature our widest and most varied set of creatures to date. While often quite simple in implementation, creatures provide variety through differentiated animation and appearance.”

So, “Wolf-Rook” is still relevant, somewhat confirming that the work that went into Joplin, may cross over into Morrison, which is very exciting because Joplin’s vision for a Dragon Age title sounded amazing, so to hear aspects of that work pouring into this new project is absolutely fabulous. I had a hunch that the red book was still valuable to the current project, because we’ve seen a lot of “Wolf-Rook” teased this year, Mark Darrah has not stopped showing off his stash of red books. So, I’m very glad it’s here to stay for the current iteration.

Dragon Age Week:

Next up, we have an update to a story I talked about in March of this year, Mark Darrah teased a picture of his laptop with the BioWare Slack server shown at the bottom of his screen.

One of the channel-titles within the server was one by the name of “DA Week”, and thanks to this book, we know what “Dragon Age Week” actually is:

“Dragon Age Week is a five-day period during which members of the Dragon Age team can pursue creative projects that in some way benefit Dragon Age. The work done during DA Week, and its erstwhile cousin DA Fridays, sometimes found its way into releases.”

“The giants in Inquisition came out of a Dragon Age Week,” executive producer Mark Darrah says. “We also had a board game made that we were going to put into Inquisition, but we just didn’t have time to. It’s referenced. It’s a dwarven chess.”

So, I do wonder what kind of ideas have come out of Dragon Age Week recently that has then ended up in the next Dragon Age. Hopefully, one day we’ll have a new book that tells us Dragon Age 4’s secrets and we can visit this topic.

New BioWare Vision:

Moving on to the final major update, thanks to this book, we have a greater understanding about the vision BioWare have going forward. According to General Manager, Casey Hudson and Dragon Age, Narrative Director, John Epler.

Casey Hudson spoke on the “old” BioWare and how their changing paths to a “newer” BioWare:

“We can’t go back to where we’ve been,” Casey Hudson says, now the studio’s general manager. “The way that we worked, all of those stories and the crunch and eating pizza for six weeks straight and all that kind of stuff, as fun and memorable as it was at the time, those things won’t work for where we’re going.”

As BioWare grows, Casey says it must learn better ways to work while still embodying the values laid out by Drs. Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk.

“It starts with the ones that were there at the very beginning with Greg and Ray of humility and integrity,” he says, “Those are super important.”

Other pillars include a passion for excellence and courageous creativity.

“We used to exemplify this not because we were courageous, but because we didn’t know better. We would try things and fail and try something else until we got it right, and it was very experimental. But what can happen is, once you do know the consequences of failure, you can very easily start retreating. And at that point, it actually does take courage to put yourself out there and try something new.”

Casey says. “We’re not super young and inexperienced anymore. We do know better, but we still have to try and do some crazy stuff anyway.”

John Epler shared on the change going on within BioWare:

“I am excited for what the future holds. I think BioWare is changing. I think we’re at a crossroads where we can either accept that and move into the new BioWare, or we can try to cling to the past. We have to be respectful of our origins without being constrained by them. It’s an exciting time and I’m really looking forward to what the next five years brings.”

“’I’m one of those people who is probably going to be here until they have to literally wheel my desiccated corpse out of the building, because I love working here and I love the people I work with and I love getting to come into work every day to have long, detailed conversations about how eluvians work.”

All in all, I’m incredibly excited and optimistic for BioWare’s future, they’re aware of their flaws, while knowing what makes them great. They seek to humble themselves, while changing direction, they want to avoid crunch while being experimental. I think we’re going to see the company bloom when they inevitably release the next Dragon Age, and I am totally here for that.

Dragon Age Day

Before I leave you, Dragon Age Day is quickly approaching, and it seems BioWare have plans this year. EA Community Manager, Jay Ingram tweeted about fans asking questions for the Dragon Age team, in prep for plans on Dragon Age Day. I’ll link the tweet down below, so you can ask as many questions as you’d like! It seems that BioWare may stream on Dragon Age Day, so do watch out for that, and give them a follow on their Twitch, also linked down below:

https://twitter.com/JayKingIngram/status/1325197450907275264

https://www.twitch.tv/bioware

Regardless, this is where we part ways. There was so much that this book uncovered, I highly recommended picking It up for yourself, it’s truly worth it to any BioWare fan. There was also some future Mass Effect stuff, but I’m saving that for a future video that I’ll do at the start of the new year. And I most likely will do future videos on other topics revealed in this book.

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thefandomlesbian · 4 years

Note

okay I DEFINITELY want to see you rank your favorite BAU characters

oh boy oh boy oh boy i’m TOAST--

1.) Emily Prentiss: This woman was my gay awakening and I’m still madly in love with her. All of my original works when I was in middle school featured a character who was basically Emily Prentiss under a different name, and she still is easily in my second favorite fictional character of all time.

2.) Spencer Reid: Spencer was the first character I ever saw on screen who loved learning as much as I did and made me realize there’s no shame in being intelligent or in craving knowledge. I’ve been compared to Spencer since my family first started watching the show when I was a kid, and we share a name, so that’s that.

3.) Aaron Hotchner: I projected all of my insecurities onto Hotch when I was a kid. When I watched his relationship with Haley fall apart on screen, I felt that in my very bones. I cried with him upon her death and raised Jack with him and even though I was long out of the fandom when TG was fired, I was still devastated to hear that he was being forced to leave. His ship with Reid was the first gay ship I ever connected to, and together, they were the first characters to ever teach me that people are gay and it’s okay. The one thing I do dislike about Hotch is how he’s implied to be wickedly intelligent, but it never gets, like, followed through with? The implication that he graduated law school at nineteen or twenty asserts that this man graduated high school when he was sixteen or younger, that he sped through undergrad and was able to get accepted into one of the most prestigious law schools in the country and graduated early and was an incredibly successful lawyer and prosecutor. He worked personal security, SWAT, he did a stent in Seattle, before he became leader of the BAU at twenty-seven years old. Hotch is, in all likelihood, a child prodigy of his own right, and it never gets mentioned because Spencer’s academic accomplishments are more impressive (and I could take this space to do a whole character study on why I think Hotch stopped his pursuit of academia, but I won’t waste my own time, lol).

4.) Elle Greenaway/Alex Blake: I love both of these ladies so I had to include them. Elle was done dirty by the canon and I adored her work in season one and the unique sensitivity she brought to the field when the BAU was still, as one unsub described it, “a boy’s club.” Alex took a little longer to grow on me (mostly because I was super bitter about Emily being gone that I didn’t want to like her), but the relationship she nurtured with Spencer was like no other, and her submitting her resignation to him instead of her direct superior gets me in the feels every time I watch it.

5.) Erin Strauss: Strauss is another character done wrong by the canon, and I’m so furious and bitter for her still. I loved watching her grow from a stern politician into someone who genuinely cared about the BAU as part of her family and would do anything to protect them. It was true character development that she went from trying to come for Hotch’s job in season two to deliberately fabricating paperwork to try to catch the Replicator in season eight, the latter which she did without informing anyone because she knew it could put them in danger. Watching her grow close to the team, watching Alex forgive her for her transgressions and become bonded with Rossi and Hotch, I really thought we were going to have an awesome thing going in later seasons, and I was devastated when I saw that it was all poorly written build up just so the writers could snatch the rug out from under us when they killed her off. She gave her life to protect the BAU and I’m going to work to redeem her character in my pieces. (This is an Erin Strauss AND Haley Hotchner defense blog, leave my ladies alone.)

6.) Dave Rossi: I sometimes take issue with Rossi’s character because he can be so damn arrogant and in early seasons seems to think he’s God’s gift to profiling, but I’m so fond of him for his nurturing relationship with the other characters. He doesn’t believe himself to have any family (of course we find out later he has a daughter, but besides that) so he takes it upon himself to make himself the father of the team. We see this dynamic with Emily and Spencer the most, with Morgan to some degree, with Ashley Seaver a lot (one of the only things I loved about Seaver’s presence in S6), and even with Jack’s little league team. Rossi who will do anything and everything for his team because those are his kids, dammit.

7.) Penelope Garcia: Penelope is my little ray of sunshine! I love sweet and special headcanons about her and how she keeps up with the team and brings joy to their lives. We share a love for cats, and her origin story always makes me chuckle, especially the opening scene where she says, “I am a psychopath,” and Hotch says, “No, you’re not.” Her relationship with Morgan brings me joy, though I’m still frustrated with the canon for not following through on that and making it “just talk.” I also disliked how canon handled her relationship with Kevin. I love Penelope as a character, but there were some moments that I thought were not written very well for her which is why she isn’t higher up on the list.

8.) Jason Gideon: I know it’s popular to drag Gideon in this fandom, but I like him a lot, and I think his downfall played into the team very well in the end when it led to Rossi’s joining the team. He had some of my favorite moments, especially when he chose to save the school children rather than apprehend Frank (I like to imagine what the other characters would have done in his shoes if Frank had fixated on them instead) and when he saved Billie Copeland while everyone else was prepared to throw in the towel. I like his dynamic with the team and how they (other than Spencer) lose faith in him from the pilot and then gain it back slowly. I enjoy how he interacts with Spencer and teaches him things on screen. I do take issue with his allowing Spencer to view him as a father figure when he knows that that is what Spencer desperately needs and I think Gideon, as compassionate as he is, can be unintentionally manipulative and quite harmful. Still, I think he’s a very intriguing character and I regret we didn’t get more of him.

9.) JJ: It’s not that I dislike JJ actively (though if you had asked me ten years ago, I probably would’ve said I did). I find JJ’s character incredibly difficult to relate to because, much like I mentioned with Penelope above, she is a victim of bad writing. Unlike Penelope, JJ’s bad writing is damn near ubiquitous from the time Henry is born until the end of the show. She can’t be in a scene with a victim or a family member without bringing up her family, and every time she shows her actual personality, it gets followed up with, “I’m also a mom!” I don’t relate to women whose entire lives revolve around their children, so finding any common ground with me and JJ is extraordinarily difficult. More than that, I abhor her relationship with Will and how Will was allowed to treat her so incredibly poorly and not only does the fandom worship him and never call him out--the writers acted like JJ was in the wrong. It drives me absolutely insane that Will and Haley treated their partners in the exact same way, their character arcs line up almost perfectly, but Will winds up happily married to JJ with two kids and Haley gets to bleed out on the floor of her own home while her husband clutches her dead body and weeps. This storyline is just part of the misogyny in the Criminal Minds canon, and though I like JJ, I have a hard time seeing past all of it to form a good bond with her. Fanon JJ > Canon JJ.

10.) Derek Morgan: Derek is a character who I think had a lot of wasted potential. He’s the expert on obsessional crimes--never mentioned again. He’s the expert on explosives--mentioned two or three times. Chicago PD? We never get any information as to how he went from PD to FBI. Derek is such a wildly intelligent man, we know that, but much like Hotch, his intelligent gets forgotten in exchange for Spencer to exposit at random, except his is even more pronounced than Hotch’s. After the first few seasons, the writers just treated him like the brawn of the BAU with no other expertise or presence, and I hate that for him--it was such a criminal injustice against his character. Unlike JJ, I do love Derek (my feelings for JJ are generally neutral leaning toward positive--I adore Derek Morgan) but the writers did him so dirty. I don’t like his relationship with Savannah at all. As a CSA survivor, his whole CSA storyline generally bugs the hell out of me because it only gets mentioned when the writers want to go boohoo Derek has trust issues or have an excuse to say “hurrdurr buff guy hates pedophiles” and he’s never shown having any meaningful struggle with his trauma (can be said of most of the trauma in the show) or having any character development (he’s often criticized for not trusting the team as much as he should but he never grows from it). Derek is a character I’m very protective of, but as much as I love his relationships with Spencer, Penelope, and Emily, I just can’t defend the ways the writers let him down so grievously.

#emily prentiss #aaron hotchner #spencer reid #derek morgan #dave rossi #penelope garcia #jennifer jareau #alex blake #erin strauss #elle greenaway #jason gideon #criminal Minds

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years

Text

Survey #402

“there’s a space kept in hell with your name on the seat / with a spike in the chair just to make it complete”

Have you ever had any really infected injuries? Not an injury, per se, but I've had at least one ear piercing get infected during the healing process. Shit sucks ass. Are you popular on any websites? No. What was the last song you listened to? "Savior" by SWARM. Are you considered popular at school? I wasn't. If you could host your own talk show, would you do it? No. I've got nothing interesting to talk about. If you were starving would you eat food out of a garbage can? I honestly don't know if I could with how squeamish I am about sharing food, even with family. And we're talking about sharing food that's been in the TRASH. Do you know anyone who has changed their first name? I do. Which one of your senses would you be the most devastated to lose? I THINK hearing. I hate silence, so that would just be... haunting. I want to be able to hear people's voices and other sounds. Do you know anyone who has been on life support, and survived? I have no idea. Do your parents have a strong relationship together? God no. They're divorced for a reason. Have you ever read any of Charles Darwin’s works? No. If there was such a thing as a mental health first aid kit, what would you want to be in it? Some ice cream and a Mountain Dew bc I'm an emotional eater, my "graduation" pebble from my partial hospitalization program to remember how far I've come, some cold water to run over my face (or drink), my iPod for music and phone to watch YouTube, a nice, big blanket to turn into a burrito in... that kind of stuff. If you’re in a relationship, are you happy? And if you’re single, are you looking for someone? I'm not actively searching for anyone, no. What is something that people make fun of you for? Always being on the computer. It makes me EXTREMELY self-conscious, and I really wish people would keep their mouths shut about it. Which supermarket do you like to shop at? Wal-Mart. Have you ever been told that your boyfriend/girlfriend wasn’t good enough for you? In the past. Do you think it’s okay to flirt with someone that’s already taken, as long as it goes no further? Fuck no. Do you struggle to say ‘no’ to things you don’t want to do? YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP. Someone attractive is staring at you. What do you do? Probably just kinda smile and blush and look down/away. Are you friends with someone a lot of people dislike? *shrug* Favorite photo search engine? Tumblr for gifs, Google or Pinterest for still images, depending on what I'm looking for. Do you doggie paddle or actually swim in a pool? I'll do both, I think? It's been too long since I've swum. Ever made a snow angel? Ye-ep. Would you ever take up smoking? No. I like having operational lungs. Do you laugh at racial jokes? No. Hate to break it to ya, but they're not funny. Book series you enjoyed reading recently? I've been loving Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland, even if I'm reading very slowly. My psychiatrist has given me a new way to approach my hobbies I have difficulty engaging in, so I'm hoping if I keep it up, my rate of reading will speed up! Are there any keys on your keyboard that have letters fading away? Ahaha, yeah... "a," "s," and "d." A true gamer. How "w" is still alive, I couldn't tell ya. Favorite non-chocolate candy? Sour Punch Straws, probably. The red ones, in specific. Last person you texted? My mom. What did you learn from your first job? That I can't work with people. Favorite website from your childhood? I was a Webkinz A D D I C T. Least favorite flavor of food or drink? Cranberry came to mind very quickly. Least favorite pattern? uhhhhhhh Favorite potato food? Either French fries or Lays wavy potato chips. PC or console gaming? I grew up as a console gamer, so I'm kinda biased. Writing or drawing? Don't make me choose!! I get more satisfaction out of drawing something I'm proud of, but I do way more writing. Who would you put before everyone else? My mom, probably. Lamps, overhead lights, fairy lights, or sunlight? Fairy lights are so cute. How many phone numbers do you have memorized? I shit you not, none. What is your third favourite colour? Hm. Maybe rose gold, or lilac. Can you remember your first phone? If so, what kind was it? I'm really not sure, but I WANT to say it was one of those slide-y, compact Blueberry ones? Who is your favourite character from Alice in Wonderland? The Cheshire Cat has always been very alluring to me. What is the last thing you looked up online? The definition to a word just to ensure I was using it correctly. Have you ever had your fortune read? No. I ain't wasting time or money on that shit. Can you read tarot cards? If you couldn't guess from above, I have zero faith in this kinda stuff, so I don't care to learn. Do you prefer lemons or limes? Lemons. I like lime flavoring in some stuff, though. Are your expecting anything in the mail? No. What would you like to see out of your window everyday instead of what you see now? The forest. Do you own a camera? I do, a Canon EOS Rebel T6. Have you ever written a special note in a book? Yes. Early into our relationship, Jason lent me a book to read, and I wrote a lil love letter in it for him. Do you have any artistic talents? I mean I like to think I'm a good writer and a decent artist. Do you remember the last movie you saw while on a date? Yeah, IT with Girt. It was fun because he's a horror pansy, haha. He did fine, though. What would you do if you found out you were pregnant? Freak the fuck out because I haven't had sex in many years, so that thing's coming the fuck out 'cuz it obviously ain't natural. Favorite thing to get at McDonalds? Look man, I'm shameless, I love me a Quarter Pounder w/ cheese. Plus some fries. :x Do you know anyone named Alex? I know multiple people named Alex, actually. Whose house did you last sleep over at? Sara's. In other words, it's been a loooong time.Would you ever record yourself having sex? God no. Like zero judgment to the people that do, but I get NOTHING out of watching others "do it." I've never actually tried watching porn, but I couldn't have less interest. I know I'd hate it, and a lot. Did the vacuum scare you as a child? I don't think it did, anyway. Have you or would you ever use a dating app? One of my most embarrassing secrets is that I was briefly on Christian Mingle. It makes me want to cringe into fucking oblivion. Who are you most nervous about introducing potential significant others to? My dad. He's... a character. What was the most important non-academic thing you learned in high school? That time fucking flies, so cherish every millisecond. Do you and your friends ever talk about your sex lives? Not really. Even when I was sexually active, I was private about that stuff. I don't care if others talk to me about theirs, but odds are I'm not saying much about myself. What were the best and worst interviews you’ve ever had? What made them so good/bad? I've never had a bad interview, but I mean, I've only had I wanna say four in my whole life. None were anything special either, though. Ever put someone else in the hospital? No. Have you ever sold anything on eBay? If so, what? No. What is the best surprise you have ever had? Finding a container of puppy chow underneath the Christmas tree one year. It was my parents' way of telling me we were getting a dog (which I had been nagging them about FOREVER), and next came Teddy. <3 I miss my boy. Is someone in love with you? I wouldn't know. Ever kiss someone on the first date? No. Ever sleep with someone on the first date? That's a hard no. Do you wear cologne/perfume/aftershave regularly? No. Do you snore? No, actually. Pretty astonishing for someone with such severe sleep apnea. When is the last time someone else slept in your bed? When Sara last visited. How often do you dust? Not... nearly enough as I'm supposed to. Mom gets on me about it all the time. What is the most ‘extreme’ activity you have ever done? Ha, nothing wild, I assure you. I guess riding a four-wheeler through the woods once with our former neighbors, who were good friends of ours.. Have you ever rode on a mobility scooter/wheelchair just for fun? Um, no? That's a jackass thing to do. Some people actually need those. Who’s the most controlling person you know? OH MY FUCKING GOD. OUR FAMILY FRIEND TOBEY. EASILY. She seizes control of EVERY situation, even if she has no right to be involved in it. Does anyone keep a photo of you in their purse/wallet, and if so, who? Not to my knowledge. Do you own a microphone? No. Do you enjoy trailers at the cinema? I do! I like arriving in time to see them. Have you ever been burgled? No, thankfully. Have you ever entered anything into Urban Dictionary? If so, what? No. What’s the last live performance you watched on TV? No idea. Have you ever been embarrassed to buy something from a shop? Not to my recollection. It helps that I'm not the one buying things, like ever. What’s the name of one of your friends’ dogs? Buster! :') He's a precious lil bean. Name a pet you definitely wouldn’t want. A GIANT CENTIPEDE. That's one pet in the invert community that I have ZERO interest in EVER owning. Those bitches are scary. Have you ever needed to wear a tie? If so, when/why? Nope.

#survey #surveys #random questions #lyrics: ''fuck u'' by archive

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enigmainvestigations · 4 years

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Character list

This is going to be a brief breakdown of Ed’s relationships with the other characters in Gotham mostly from his Riddler days. This is from his perspective, theirs are mostly still open (besides the ones that I explain here). Also, these relations can change over time which many of them will. Please note- This list is for those who are curious, and for writers who might need some inspiration in the case a character comes up in their writing and they get stuck. You don’t have to reference this, these are just my current ideas on these character relations.

Heroes:

Batman- HATE. I’ve gone over this already in his bio, but I’ll use this to explain some things from Batman’s perspective. At first Batman saw Ed as someone unable to control their compulsive behavior, and thought Eddie just needed some intervention. However, as the years went by and he began to be the focus of Ed’s schemes he started to see him as a cunning, intelligent, and very dangerous criminal. Especially when it became clear to him that Ed had no regard for others, and Ed’s plans regularly put other’s lives and well being at risk. He knows that Ed’s intelligence and his ability to process and retain knowledge is extremely high, and he worries that Ed’s intellect might surpass his at some point. Ed’s motives were always rather simplistic even if his methods weren’t, but Batman saw his potential and believed if Ed truly applied himself he could become much too dangerous. Because of this he handled Eddie very specifically. He would normally take on the Riddler on his own in hopes of controlling their interactions, and keep himself as the main focus of Ed’s ire. Nightwing- Greatly dislikes. From his time as Robin being a bratty teen with a smart mouth, Ed sees him as an annoyance despite only having brief encounters with him through the years. Oracle- Ed has no idea Oracle is the previous Batgirl, but he REALLY dislikes her. Since Batman doesn’t really control Batgirl he’s had more interactions with her than the Robins. He’s been on the receiving end of too many of her beastmode attacks to have anything but negative feelings toward her. Jason Todd- **I haven’t decided if this is post, pre, or if the Red Hood arc is going to play out like the canon* Robin (Tim)- Ed doesn’t like any of the Robins, but he does have a very slight respect for Tim. He’s had much more interactions with him than the previous two, and he knows that he’s smart and capable. He certainly keeps his guard up around him, and chooses his words wisely so not to divulge too information. Batgirl (Steph)- Dislikes, but doesn’t take her too seriously.

Batgirl (Cass)- Dislikes. Only in his brief interactions with her, he really doesn’t like her. The reasons should be obvious.

Alfred Pennyworth- None

Jim Gordon- This one is a bit complicated. When Ed worked for the GCPD he had very few interactions with Jim, but the two were cordial. When Ed became The Riddler Jim felt betrayed since he used a lot of information he’d complied while working at the department. Over the years though Jim began to see Ed as someone who couldn’t control himself and was suffering with mental issues. He took the stance of treating Ed the way he treated him, but tries not to get him too riled up. He figured out that if he treated Ed with respect then Ed tended to behave and not get too excitable. On the other hand, Eddie actually likes interacting with Jim. He finds him quite entertaining, and likes watching Jim try to hold his tongue in his presence.

Renee Montoya- Complicated as well. When Ed worked for the GCPD Renee found him to be very odd, and he gave her the creeps though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. When Ed became The Riddler she also felt betrayed, but she was much more confrontational with her anger toward him than Jim. Through time she also began to see Eddie the same way as Gordon, but she finds it hard to control her distaste toward him. The fact that he can escape handcuffs, and any cell they put him in makes her very nervous around him whenever he’s in custody. Eddie tends to find her outbursts rather funny, and usually would try to get on her nerves whenever he was bored when around her. Renee was rarely the main focus of his attention, but when she was he would be quite rude to her in hopes of getting her riled up. Harvey Bullock- Also complicated. Same situation as the other two, but Harvey actually liked Ed a bit when he worked at the department. He found his snide comments to be very humorous, as long as they were directed toward someone else. He also felt betrayed, but Harvey personally suffered more from Ed’s betrayal. Since then he has a deep disdain toward Ed, and feels zero sympathy or understanding for him. He’s very open about his anger with Eddie, and would often berate him whenever he was in custody. Eddie however loves interacting with Bullock. He finds Harvey’s anger very entertaining, and typically focuses on baiting him into an outburst. He’s used these situations multiple times as a distraction to escape custody.

Villains:

Bane- They haven’t had much interaction, but anyone who breaks the Bat Ed is going to like at least a little bit. Black Mask- Good. Ignoring Roman’s trigger happy temper, Ed tends to find him easy to work with since Roman’s motives are relatively simple. Clayface- Good. He’s hired Basil on a few occasions and found him pretty easy to work with. Catwoman- Dislikes, despite the two not having any real confrontations. The two are respectful to each other, but Selina thinks outside the box too much for Ed’s liking. She’s also better at certain skills than he is, which really messes with his ego since he doesn’t trust her. Long and short of it is- Selina makes Ed feel inadequate so he avoids her, but he’s not stupid so he doesn’t piss her off. Harley Quinn- As The Riddler Ed found Harley to be an annoyance, and couldn’t understand why Joker wouldn’t just kill her. He viewed her as unintelligent, and a waste of time. He generally treated her like he would a child, which sometimes worked and other times Harley found patronizing. *By the time Ed quits his criminal career however, him and Harley have an odd relationship. They’ve survived some very close calls, and even though he still finds her annoying he seems to accept her presence around him even though he tends to ignore most of what she says. Their chumminess is odd, and quite suspicious to everyone else in the city. Hush-**I haven’t decided if this is post Hush, pre Hush, or if Hush plays out like the canon or not**

The Joker- Ed is one of the few people who can be around Joker repeatedly without getting killed. He made the mistake of teaming up with Joker once, and quickly learned his lesson never to do it again. After that he figured out how to deal with Joker, and kept him at arms length. He has The Joker mostly figured out, and doesn’t find interactions with him to be as unpredictable as others do. He also likes that whenever Joker comes to him needing something silly for one of his plans, he can charge him ridiculously high prices and Joker will pay without a second thought. His reputation of dealing with Joker is a bit of an ego boost for him, thinking he’s learned how to manipulate him. The reality is though, Joker doesn’t kill him simply because he finds Ed’s sensitive ego and his self destructive behavior hilarious. Killer Croc- Eddie thinks they’re alright, but they’re really not.

Mad Hatter- They’re alright. Ed can’t be around Jervis for too long because his fantastical ramblings get on his nerves, but he tends to play along with Jervis’ delusions enough that Jervis thinks he understands. Because of this Ed finds him easy to influence. He has little interest in Jervis, but his mind control tech is something Ed’s always been trying to get his hands on. Unfortunately for him, currently Jervis is unwilling to fully share it.

Mr. Freeze- Its really 50/50 with these two. Even though Ed sees Victor as an easy way to make some money, or someone to have do some dirty work for him if need be, he also finds Victor’s anger to be exhausting to deal with. He knows Victor doesn’t like him and only really uses him for his own objectives, but Victor also makes their interactions quiet rocky. Ed will work with him if the opportunity arises, but he’ll keep their business brief. The Penguin- Good. The two of them have very similar skills at persuasion, manipulation, and deception. They practically do a constant dance of give and take with each other, to the point that now they both see the other as a valuable resource. Since they both dabble in similar assets the two have found its easier to work together than to be competition, which has really made them both more successful in the long run. From Ed’s perspective this is a battle of intelligence, but he has recognized that Os is aware of it and surprisingly isn’t put off by it like others are. He respects Os’s boundaries, and finds business with him to be smooth sailing. Os has a good level of respect for Ed. Not only because of his intelligence, and reliability, but also that Ed is smart enough to never fully trust Os. He’s used to being underestimated by people, and Ed’s unwillingness to divulge too much is a level of cunning he admires. *Os is not happy about Ed’s “career” change. He doesn’t believe Ed has turned over a new leaf, but his sudden switch makes him very uneasy. He has people watching Eddie very closely. Poison Ivy- Not at all good. Ed made the mistake of underestimating Ivy early on, giving her the opportunity to see him as the manipulative jerk he really was. She hasn’t trusted him since, and he usually has to avoid her in order to not get crushed by her plants. Ra’s al Ghul- None. **I currently really want to keep the Gotham criminals in the dark about the League** Scarecrow- Dislike. Considering that Crane is an actual intellectual and a genius, Ed does not like interacting with him. He isn’t outwardly hostile toward Crane, but he definitely avoids him whenever he can. Crane’s intelligence really messes with Ed’s ego. Mix that with Crane’s creepy nature, and his constant psychological analyzing, he usually makes Ed feel like an inferior child. He’s also a bit scared of him and that fear toxin. Two-Face- Also 50/50 with them (I didn’t do that on purpose). Having to interact with two people in one body with two separate motivations can be quite stressful for Ed, but at the same time he enjoys the game. Harvey isn’t as easy for him to manipulate as he can with others, and he’s had a few close calls with Harvey where he pushed things too far. This seems to have fueled his interest in the game more, rather than deter him.

#text post #Eddie post #Edward Nigma #character post #character list

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bigskydreaming · 4 years

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I honestly think Infinite Crisis was supposes to make Dick a Christ figure. His morality literally saves the world. Your thoughts?

Eh, to be honest, I wouldn’t have been a fan of that (and I hiiiiighly doubt that’s where Didio was going with that because he likes people being LESS focused on Dick’s impact, not more).

I’ve expanded on this a LOT in the past, too often to really want to go into it all that much again, but hopefully this will bring up a lot of those older posts as “more like this” options.....

But I really really REALLY dislike the emphasis canon and fanon tends to put on Dick at times as being so much more moral and pure and just GOOD than other characters, especially when its framed as something that’s innate to him, like its fundamentally just who he is.....

Because to me, that devalues it and him so much.

Doing the right thing, being good, its a choice one makes with every single choice they make. And our tendency in society to try and sort people into “good people” and “bad people” just glosses over that and ends up excusing so many of the bad CHOICES people make as they just go “oh I guess I’m just an asshole” and like....hiding behind that as though they never really had a choice in the matter, doing the right thing instead of the wrong thing was never really an option, because they are who they are and who they are is just an asshole, y’know?

And at the same time, it actually takes away from the triumph that is Dick Grayson consciously, willfully making the choice to do good with so many of his actions when there’s so much temptation and justification for him caving to making a less moral choice most of the time. I think this is a huge contributor to people hyping up the one good deed various villains or antiheroes make at times in the comics, while paying no real attention to the ten heroic things Dick does for every one of those....because there’s nothing really impressive about making the right choice, the hard choice, when its because you’re just innately a good person, a ‘better’ person than everyone around you. There’s nothing to celebrate or honor about someone making the decision to be helpful and healing and positive with their actions and contributions to stories if there was never any doubt that they would go that route, and they never really had the option to make a bad choice there and then instead.

Which then culminates in so much of the nit-picking we see in fandom (and with characters in canon) as people attack and condemn every single little thing Dick does wrong even at the exact same time they gloss over other characters in the same stories going around committing murder, betraying and backstabbing other friends or family, and a hundred other things. Because Dick is SUPPOSED to just be ‘better’ than everyone else, and innately just a good person while everyone around him has to STRUGGLE with their morality, any time Dick does anything that’s less than 100% noble or that prioritizes himself in a selfish way or even just is him expressing bitterness or resentment at his own mistreatment.....this is framed and contextualized as a FAILING of his. He’s failing to live up to the standard of “the best, most moral person in the DC universe, the multiversal constant” instead of accepting that he’s just a man like any other character, and every choice he makes is the end result of his own internal struggle against right or wrong. The fact that he so often makes the right choice or the more positive or helpful choice, even at his own expense a lot of the time....THAT is what makes him Dick Grayson....and that IS to his credit.....but the problem is, he never gets that credit when he’s just cited as being so good and pure and noble, because people are like “well duh, what else was he going to do? The wrong thing? The selfish thing? LOL, that would be OOC.”

And so he’s put up on a pedestal he has no reason to be on any more than anyone else does, and condemned every time he fails to live up to the impossible expectations that come with being placed up there......which means, he either never slips up and does anything that would go against the idea he belongs on that pedestal....in which case he’s rendered two-dimensional and cast as ‘impossible to relate to’ given that nobody is just so innately good that they make the right choice all the time, no matter what......

Or else he does slip up and does things that go against the idea he’s supposed to be on that pedestal and STAY on that pedestal....in which case people call him OOC or write essays about how what he did was so fucked up when what he did was like....have one fight with someone where he said mean things to the person saying mean things back, and somehow this ends up magnified to being on an equivalent level to actual murder, torture, cheating, betrayal and other things that are associated with other characters as their ‘flaws’....

Because this is what people point to as his flaws, and thus when talking about characters and flaws in general.....these things end up on the same level as those other things and thus get blown entirely out of proportion, when those same choices or flaws on display with any other character would barely warrant a second glance with fans.

So I just really really really dislike any association with Dick and Christ-like imagery or symbolism or implications, and extend that to pretty much any and all talk of him being so much ‘better’ as a person than even other DC heroes, or just innately good or kind-hearted or virtuous....

Because Dick Grayson is all of those things, I think, yes....but he’s all of those things by CHOICE, because he makes the choice to do things and act in ways that lead to him having that reputation, even when he has every reason in the world to lower himself into the muck and roll around in it like every other character gets free rein to do when they’re recovering from trauma or facing someone who’s hurt them or taken a lot from them.

And that’s not easy, but the difference between him and so many other characters isn’t that its any easier for him to make those choices.....its that he does it any way, despite the difficulty.

And that’s why I always spend so much time focusing on the fact that Dick killed the Joker, and that he was originally intending to kill Zucco before he decided he had more to lose and nothing to gain from it. And why I talk so much about the fact that killing didn’t break him, and likely wouldn’t break him if he felt he had to do so in the future in defense of his own life or to save someone else, or even to avenge another family member like with the Joker and Jason, or if he did so under someone else’s control or while brainwashed by the Court of Owls, etc....like, he’s not ‘too good’ to kill someone without it destroying who and what he is, the way that’s often framed with him.

And its why I’m so defensive about Dick’s infamous temper, and never because I think its OOC for Dick to be angry, but because I think the problem is he’s never ALLOWED to be angry, never considered justified, with his anger portrayed as something readers and other characters understand and support him expressing, and instead is pretty much only ever just labeled a character flaw, with it coming up in the context of him being TOO angry, TOO hot-tempered, TOO hair-trigger. Unreasonable, irrational anger, the kind that makes him hard to deal with instead of someone you root for when they get angry because they SHOULD be mad, the situation calls for it.

Because Dick has the same spectrum of emotions as any other character, and to deny him the same access to all of those emotions, not just the good or happy or positive ones, is to cut him off from a full half of his potential portrayals or depictions.....which y’know, pretty inevitably leads to a less realistic, less fully rendered or three dimensional character....which is what people often cite as why they don’t like him as much as other Batfamily characters, why he’s harder to relate to. Well no duh, when you restrict him from displaying or acting on half the emotions that make up the human experience! He’s going to seem less human, more ‘pure/noble/above it all’ - and nobody’s going to find someone’s struggles as compelling when the likely outcome of those struggles is expected to be Dick making a choice that’s so good, so honorable, so PURE, the mindset required to make that choice would be virtually unattainable for any of us - thus there’s no incentive, or even the possibility, of placing ourselves in his shoes, trying to view a situation through his eyes.

And Dick has the same option to make the negative choices, the harmful choices, the toxic or vindictive or vengeful or selfish or self-centered or callous choices that are available to every other character and every reader when following his stories and picturing themselves in that situation.....but when Dick never ever makes any of THOSE choices, and indeed, is never given even the option by the narrator, of making those choices - and has no chance at the forgiveness or understanding of readers, SHOULD he make those choices.....then again, of course you’re going to wind up with a character people find harder to relate to, and see little reason in putting in the extra effort to do so.

Because who wants to follow the stories of a character who makes them feel bad or dirty or ‘lesser’ than him by virtue of the fact that he never acts on a situation in any of the more negative ways people feel they might act if they WERE in his shoes....who wants to actually project themselves into those shoes if the end result is just going to be them feeling UNHEROIC simply BECAUSE they tried to relate to the hero and came away with the impression that this was a wasted effort, because they could never be as pure and good-hearted as that, they’d be too tempted to make the more selfish choice at times, the more vengeful choice, the more HUMAN choice....

And all of the above stems from just one simple thing, one sole mindset....

The idea that there are some people who are just innately good, and who don’t have to struggle to MAKE the good choice, the noble choice, the heroic choice....because they’re just so pure, so down-to-the-bone honorable by virtue just of who and what they are......and thus, if we’re not that way ourselves, if another character isn’t similarly regarded....there’s not even any point in trying to relate to that first character or be more like them....because its impossible.

You’re either that good by nature, or you’re not. You’re either Dick Grayson, or you’re no Dick Grayson and by extension there’s no point in even TRYING to be. No point in aspiring to be more like the example he sets in-universe or out, no point in trying to view him as an ideal to strive for instead of a benchmark for how far from a good person you are by nature and should just make your peace with being less ‘good/pure/noble’ than.

And so I’m always going to be knee-jerk UMM NO and also BUT HOW ABOUT NOT any time any discussion of Dick’s pure-of-heart status, too-good-too-noble-to-kill-and-not-be-just-shattered-by-it status, or any allusions to Christ-like symbolism or messianic narratives come up. I’m just always gonna be like, NOPE, no and also thank you but I like my Dick Grayson the same as any other hero, anti-hero, villain or just casual lookie-loo watching the superhero brawl happening downtown on their lunch break.....just a person, no innately better or worse than anyone else, with the same temptation to do wrong, be selfish, inflict retribution as the next person, and occasionally falling prey to his worse inclinations or instincts or behavior....

Because THAT’S what makes all the times he DOES rise above that behavior and set a standard in-universe for what a hero should be like, COULD be like, an example that actually CAN be followed, and met by others striving to make similar choices to him because they’re inspired by the fact that he makes those choices rather than resentful because they can’t imagine ever even being capable of making those choices....

THAT’S what makes all of that actually mean something, IMO.

Not his status as the DC universe’s multiversal constant and just all around best, most virtuous or good-hearted guy, an unreal gift that no mere mortal could ever actually hope to match or live up to.

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animalpetcel · 5 years

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Ideal RHATO

Okay, so I’ve done some thinking. While Red Hood and the Outlaws was an interesting concept; give Jason friends and a team of his own, get him out of the Batfam Shadow, it’s been bogged down by L*bdell spotty writing and questionable Editorial decisions. So I’ve taken the time to think of what I would personally want the Outlaws to be.

First of all, I don’t believe that Jason would be better of if he remained solo. While he does deserve a good solo run other than UtH, the idea of permanently sequestering from creating meaningful, recurring relationships with other heroes is just repulsive to me. He should be allowed to have friends and people to talk to outside of the Batfamily guys, there’s only so many adventures he can have by himself before they all start sounding the same. You could even have him gaining friends as part of his character development.

Okay! So let’s begin

In my version, the Outlaws would be a more obvious antihero team. They take cases by those who feel that regular heroes can’t help them, that they won’t go far enough to achieve justice. The Outlaws won’t kill often, but it would usually be awful criminals like drug dealers, traffickers or those in charge, but if they don’t kill, they won’t be above dissing out harsh, lasting punishments to those who cross them. There could be the possibility of them being a team looking for redemption, but I’ve never really thought about them going in that direction.

Btw: This will be a hard reboot, everything from New52 to Rebirth regarding RHATO will be completely retconned, because Lobdell wrote almost all of them and despite what people want to believe most of it is bad save for some barely passable moments

Outlaw Members

Jason Todd

Can’t have the Outlaws without their infamous leader. Like I said above, I believe that having his own team can be a good thing for Jason, he can establish a history disconnected from his history with Bruce and actually start to move on. I’d imagine him being a reluctant leader, preferring to work alone but admitting that having people to rely on has made his mission a lot easier. He’s a very driven and calculated person, and after reading Arkham Knight Genesis, I have no doubt in his leadership skills and his ability to turn a ragtag group of antiheroes into a team to be reckoned with.

Idk if I’d keep his All-Caste stuff. I know that it was probably created to give his backstory something that stands out, since he’s the third Batfam member to have the League of Assassins in his backstory and isn’t the only one that’s died before, but he barely uses the All-blades or brings up the All-Caste to the point were you can omit it and don’t really have to do that much to replace it. At this point, I’d accept Talia making him train with Brother Blood over the All-Caste.

I’d probably say that the Lazurus pit Talia used to bring him back was kinda special, giving him a minor healing factor and increasing his strength, idk, something small.

Eddie Bloomberg

(I hate Tom King and this dialogue too but I wanted a recent image of him)

Did you know that unlike Roy Harper, Eddie was actually Jason’s best friend pre-reboot? Most people don’t because DC doesn’t care about using pre-established canon or developing its less popular heroes! 🙃

Okay, I used to be a huge fan of Jason and Roy’s friendship in New52 RHATO, but then I learned that Roy was originally Dick’s friends, that his personality was dumbed down for New52, Roy actually hates mercenaries and would never become one, they only used Roy because he was more popular and that most Titan/Roy friends actually hate his New52 counterpart and friendship with Jason. While I believe that Roy and be both friendship with Dick AND Jason (but in different ways. Dick is more of a close friend while he and Jason should have a more big brother kind of relationship), I have to admit that DC dropped the ball here, and it would be easier to just scrap everything instead of trying to make it work.

Eddie’s personality is actually quite similar to New52 Roy’s, and he and Jason already have unexplored history, so switching Roy with him won’t mess anything too much.

And now, I hear you ask “Ani, what about the Outlaw’s being an antihero group? Wouldn’t that make Eddie stand out?”, and I will reply “Don’t worry, I have a plan!”

Back when Eddie first got his powers, Neron, the king of hell at the time (?) wanted Eddie to be his protege, but Eddie refuses. But what if Neron was more forceful? Eddie could be offered, now powerless again because of the events of TT (but his death is retconned to just getting badly injured), to become Neron’s protege once again. With nothing left to lose (his relationship with Blue Devil is still in the fritz, Teen Titans no longer seem to give a damn and Rose & Jaime is still off doing their own things), he takes it. I guess he’s probably look different with more of Neron’s power coursing through his veins, but the point is that Outlaws become a “Fall from grace” for him. He’s trying to still be a hero, but as Neron’s influence continues to grow, his ability to tell right from wrong gets more and more clouded.

He’s the one to approach Jason with the idea of being a team, wanting to relive the “Good Ol’ Days” when they were younger and less bogged down with personal trauma. While Jason is reluctant, he admits that since being self-exiled from the Batfamily that it’s been kinda lonely, so he agrees, but only short-term. Eddie then segways into the next member of their burgeoning group–

Rose Wilson

While pre-reboot, Rose and Jason did not have the friendliest interactions, with her holding a blade to her throat while his brothers threatened him with a crime he never committed. Post-reboot, he and Rose seem to have a more “friendlier” relationship, but the Wilson family have been rebooted at least theee times in both New52 and Rebirth, so who knows if they even still know each other now,

Rose and Eddie were very close friends in Teen Titans, and I think that getting Rose away from the madness of her family and father could be good for her character.

Eddie manages to convince her to join the “Outlaws”, but like Jason, she goes into it thinking that it’ll be a one-time thing. She cares a lot about Eddie, and sticks with the team to make sure that he’s doing alright. She probably could have an arc were Nightwing confronts her on her work in the Outlaws (since the other heroes see them as white-hat mercenaries) since he mentored her in being a hero, so it could be about dealing with what other people expect of her.

Essence

While L*bdell might be basically a shit writer, he does create interesting concepts. With a better writer, Essence could be a very interesting character, watching from the shadows and judging whether or not the Outlaws are actually “good” people, before she eventually starts taking a more active role in helping them punish criminals.

While she would at first interact solely with Jason, asking him questions about his deeds and ordering him in what direction she feels is best, she would eventually introduce herself to the rest of the group. I think she’d get along best with Komand’r, while the others might test her absolutism, Black-And-White morality a bit.

Rankorr (Jack Moore)

I know that there’s some people who want Guy Gardner to be Jason’s lantern, but what about a lantern who is close to Jason in age and actually fits the Outlaw theme?

Jack Moore is a Red Lantern, not only a Red Lantern, but the first human lantern who is also the first Red Lantern to be capable of creating constructs. He struggles with his rage, and deep down, he wants to enjoy a normal life on earth.

Maybe after Red Lantern (retconning Lobo or if not, he’s brought back using Red Lantern Blood Magic), he decides that the RL’s are a bit too cult-like for him and tries to lay low on Earth, finishing his literature degree and opening up a small bookstore somewhere in London. He’s close with Guy, but still can’t/refuses to let go of his rage, so Jack is still a RL

Of course, keeping his rage at bay is hard work, and after witnessing police brutality one more time, he loses control.

The Outlaws were hired by the family of the victim to make the officers see justice, but after seeing Jack work, they realize that this might be their easiest case yet.

Afterwards, Jack tries to downplay the entire thing (before resorting to threats when the Outlaws won’t listen), but Jason eventually convinced him that his talents would be wasted just being a civilian (and that his rage will only get worse if he continues to just let it boil without an “outlet”) so he joins the team

Blackfire

I’ve read Komand’r’s backstory, I know how bad it looks. However, in a medium where retcons and reimaginings are features instead of bugs (and can benefit a character’s story if done right), I really think it could be possible to make her work.

After reading New52 RHATO, I began thinking that it could be so much better if not only Eddie took Roy’s spot, but also if Komand’r took Starfire’s, since I feel like she had more potential beyond “Kori’s evil disabled sister”, “War Criminal” and “Struggling queen of Tamaran”

First, I’d change her pre-reboot backstory so instead of taking over the Gordanians, she is instead captured by them after Starfire frees her from the Psions (Komand’r still hates her sister and refuses to follow her). Through her clever mind and manipulations, she manages to earn favor with Lord Damyn, feigning romantic interest. Of course, given Komand’r’s nature, she ends up killing and replacing him, but her rule doesn’t go over well and she is again recaptured, but this time she’s brought to Earth.

Realizing that she’s now trapped on the planet whete her sister has become a successful and popular hero, Komand’r is at first angry, and then conspires to free herself and take revenge on her sister (who she still blames for everything despite that not being the case).

The Outlaws bust the alien trafficking ring, and Komand’r, seeing her chance, decides to show off and make nice with them to eventually use them for her revenge.

She finds Eddie and Rankorr easy to manipulate, but she bumps Heads with Jason whenever she tries to take his role as leader away from him and finds Rose’s mind to be “weak”. Overtime however, she bonds with Jason over feeling inferior to their siblings, realizes that her anger shares Rankorr’s intensity, and grows a genuine friendship with Rose and Eddie

Oh yeah, and maybe she tries to make things right with Kori

Artemis Grace

What would the Outlaws be without the greatest Amazon to have ever lived? Nothing, that’s for sure.

While I don’t agree with Jaytemis (at least not yet), I have to admit that Jason would be a fool not to like her. She’s a cool, confident character with a lot of interesting lore behind her.

Her joining will probably be pretty close to canon. The Outlaws are tasked with going after Black Mask, and Jason decides to go undercover, as the Red Hood still has his fingers in various criminal pies. While investigating, he runs into Artemis, who is looking for the Bow of Ra, and rest is history.

I feel like she’ll get along really well with Rose and Komand’r and maybe she’ll date one. She’ll definitely view Eddie a bit dismissively, and she isn’t a huge fan of demons. Rankorr would probably come off as stuck up to her.

Bizarro

Anyone who knows me will know that I’m am not a huge fan of Bizarro clones. I consider them to be an overused concept (that sometimes feels as if it relies on gene superiority, but idk if I’ll ever fully process my dislike for them), and the fact that as the time I’m writing this, there are at least four currently in continuity does not enamor me with the concept more.

However, after re-reading RHATO a few times, I’ll admit that the Outlaws’ Bizarro has grown on me. Since he already kinda has a unique name (Bizz), all I think he needs is a more visually distinct costume (doesn’t even have to directly reference Superman, but I can go 50/50 on the backwards “S”)

The Outlaws getting Bizz is exactly the same as canon. I’d imagine that he and Eddie would be as close as brothers. While Rankorr might find Bizz’s way of thinking and speaking to be annoying, I’d think that Rankorr will eventually warm up to him and probably teach him how to read and help Artemis teach him. Komand’r and Rose will probably be less receptive to him, but who knows

August Heart

I’m a Godspeed fan first and human second, we’ve been knew.

In all seriousness, Godspeed is the perfect Rebirth era character for RHATO and the fact that he and Jason still haven’t met is why DC doesn’t have any rights.

Okay okay, but he’s honestly a perfect fit. Like Jason, he also kills when dealing with crimes, but he isn’t so good and knowing who’s guilty and who isn’t just yet.

This will probably be after Death of the Speedforce, with August finally making things right with Barry, but still not forgiving himself for everything that happened. Deciding to self-exile himself rather than go back to Iron Heights, August travels, trying to figure out what do to do next, trying to follow Barry’s rules (which he finds to be very wishy-washy) to the best of his ability.

Eventually, he learns that Black Hole is still running, and against his better instincts, he goes after them.

His trail of lightning destruction catches the eye of the Outlaws.

Barry, realizing that his best-friend might need someone who can actually be there all the time to help reign him in, Barry goes to the Outlaws and asks them if they can help him once they catch up to him

They do in the form of offering a spot on the team.

August is very self-assured (even if it is hiding a softer, more emotional center), but has proven to be able to work with others, so I can see the other Outlaws coming to like him. They might find him a little cocky/early to jump the gun, but still a trusted and valued member of the team.

Since every Robin has their own flash, it only makes sense to finally give Jason (and have them date) a speedster of his own, and it should be someone who fits his morals, and who else could Then the speedster fans literally call “The Red Hood of the Flashfam”?

Final Thoughts

Other possible members I would consider/accept are

Eradicator Superman

Koryak

Vanessa Kapatelis/Silver Swan lll

Simon Amal (Crux)

Danny Chase

Clone!Roy Harper

Connor Hawke

Orm Marvius

Man O’ War

Lagoon Boy

Scarlet

Zachary Zatara

Thomas Merlyn

Ragman

Bleez

Walter West

Even with a cast as sizable as the one I just listed, with a good enough writer, there could still a few minor side characters. I would personally want the them to be

Scarlet: Jason’s former sidekick. She could be either a civilian who he talks to get experience some normalcy or the leader of her own version of the Outlaws made of up the Generation Outlaws we meet in RHATO #37-40. Either way, it could contrast with Bruce and the way he (mis)treats his own sidekicks and family

Zachary Zatara: Eddie’s old friend who helped him get his devil powers. Zachary would definitely be worried over Eddie once again accepting Neron’s power and will want to try to help. Whether he suceeds or not will depend if the writers want to go in that direction

Isabel Ardila: She’s a nothing character, but there’s a small chance that with a better writer, she might gain an interesting personality or an actual purpose in RHATO

Talia Al Ghul: before the reboot, Talia was Jason’s mentor figure and even gave him a cool dagger. It would be so cool if we can bring that back and erase Morrison’s problematic charactization of her. Maybe the dagger she gives Jason could be an All-Blade or smth. They’d definitely take a few cases from her however

Batfam, Titans and respective groups: it would have to happen eventually. It could lead to some interesting, angst filled conversations. And who knows, maybe they’ll actually make progress with their issues

But this post has gone on long enough. I just really wanted to talk a bit about my ideal Outlaws team that I will never see anywhere except for my dreams because mass media hates me and DC still thinks that Lobdell deserves to write Jason 😔😭

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unnwin · 3 years

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HOW I RUN MY BLOG. RULES / BIO .

SPEED : i’m well slow . soz about that . I feel like my writing speed is sporadic ———- i’ll either reply five seconds after you , or five years after you . I also answer whatever i’m feeling , regardless of chronological order , ie . the amount of time it’s been sitting in my drafts . my job involves a lot of writing , so there will be days where I don’t want to write in my spare time too !

REPLIES : I try my best to match my partner’s length , and give them enough to go by . Eggsy is very vivacious + outspoken , so dialogue is almost inevitable khfksjfh . shorter threads get quicker responses , but I prefer longer , well - established , pre - plotted threads .

STARTERS : I post starter calls often . starters are best as one - liners that can grow into lengthier , more detailed threads . sometimes I will repurpose old , forgotten starters from my archived blog . I don’t like writing longer starters because if they get ignored , that’s a waste of my time ————– and yes , I am petty enough to redirect you to an ignored starter instead of writing you another one lmao .

INBOX : also known as – the way to my heart . the best way to write with me is to send me memes that can develop organically into something with greater potential .

SELECTIVITY : i’m not mutuals only , so anyone can send me anything , write me a starter , and just interact with me whenever . I do , however , reserve the right to answer selectively . I don’t want to get overwhelmed and I sometimes only have muse for certain dynamics / storylines , etc . I do have a few mains + exclusives which you can see HERE .

there are a few FCs and fandoms I won’t interact with or in , under any circumstances . others , while I feel iffy about them , I will play by ear . for faceclaims : Scarjo , either of the whitewashed Maximoff twins , Tom Holland as Spiderman , Jason Momoa , Gal Gadot , Priyanka Chopra , Benedict Cumerbatch , Johnny Depp , RDJ , Mark Wahlberg ... to be fair , there are a lot of people .

for fandoms : Harry Potter , Star Wars ( unless we good mates ) , 13RW , Twilight .

having said all this , I try to always be as approachable as I can , and I hope that comes across , even when I can’t write with everyone ! and of course , cursed content is available for everyone to be traumatised by .

OTHER BLOGS : my main blog right now is Thor @odisn .

#ooc. banana.#long post #coloured text #colored text

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unnwin-a · 4 years

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HOW I RUN MY BLOG. RULES / BIO .

SPEED : i’m well slow . soz about that . I feel like my writing speed is sporadic ---------- i’ll either reply five seconds after you , or five years after you . I also answer whatever i’m feeling , regardless of chronological order , ie . the amount of time it’s been sitting in my drafts . my job involves a lot of writing , so there will be days where I don’t want to write in my spare time too !

STARTERS : I post starter calls often . starters are best as one - liners that can grow into lengthier , more detailed threads . sometimes I will repurpose old , forgotten starters from my archived blog . I don’t like writing longer starters because if they get ignored , that’s a waste of my time -------------- and yes , I am petty enough to redirect you to an ignored starter instead of writing you another one lmao .

INBOX : also known as -- the way to my heart . the best way to write with me is to send me memes that can develop organically into something with greater potential .

there are a few FCs and fandoms I won’t interact with or in , under any circumstances . others , while I feel iffy about them , I will play by ear . for faceclaims : Scarjo , either of the whitewashed Maximoff twins , Tom Holland as Spiderman , Jason Momoa , Gal Gadot , Priyanka Chopra , Benedict Cumerbatch , Johnny Depp , Mark Wahlberg . for fandoms : Harry Potter , Star Wars ( unless we good mates ) , 13RW , Twilight .

HONEST NOTE : I try and be nice to everyone but I also do not take anyone’s shit uwu also find me on my thor blog @odinsn

#《 ᴀɪɴ·ᴛ ɢᴏᴛ ᴡᴏʀᴅꜱ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜱʜɪᴛ 》 ― misc.#psa !

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coolgirl · 5 years

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☕️ Duke Thomas

It really makes my blood boil everytime ppl don't include him on content (fanart, fics, headcanons) and put stupid as fuck excuses on why they did it like.

"he's new I don't know him" he's been around for six years. If you wanna get technical we are robin first got released on 2015, which still means there's FOUR WHOLE YEARS he's been around. (Tan voice) make an effort.

"I don't know where to start" his main comics couldn't be any fucking easier to read. Just pick up we are robin and then the tpb of batman & signal which includes the mini and asserted stories where he's the main character. And like come the fuck on are you telling me the other batkids are any easier to read!? Pick a reading guide I can assure you it won't take you more than a weekend to get caught up on what you missed.

"he isn't part of the batfam" WELL MAYBE IF YOU READ HIS COMICS U WOULD KNOW HOW WRONG YOU ARE

Look! He even made it to the portrait! In fucking DEATHSTROKE a comic not even about the batfam

"he isn't important" UH he was the main character of a whole book, he had a mini, he was in batman, all star batman, detective comics, hell he even had a counterpart in the white knight. He's currently part of the batman and the outsiders reboot which I'll tell u is (chef kiss) and is exploring his character even more, Not to mention he's been namedropped in future worlds such as batman beyond and had relevancy to be mentioned by "future/au" dick on jl, where yes! You guessed it! Puts him by the other robins

WHICH brings me to

"this is a robin piece and he wasn't robin" okay this one annoys the fuck out of me. He had a whole book called we are robin. He was. Robin. He's not anymore, and respecting he said he doesn't want to be Bruce's robin and that he's different/more gives u exactly one (1) brownie point, but damn. He was robin. If you don't add him because he's not robin anymore or was never Bruce's robin then I hope you aren't adding.. literally any of the other robins either, as they also left that legacy behind and hell for years Tim was canonically not robin, and yet he has always been added to it. AND I'm about to blow your fucking mind. A few years ago the official DC website made a post for robins anniversary

And guess! Who! Made it! To the list!

Wow!!! Who would've thought!!!

"he just isnt interesting" well I would've hoped you gave me that excuse right off the bat so I knew I was wasting my time talking to a wall. Like. HOW is he not interesting?? He WAS TRAINING HIMSELF AS A KID TO TRY TO ONE DO THE RIDDLERRR!! HE WAS HANDPICKED BY ALFRED TO BE A ROBIN WHEN THE REST OF THE BATFAM WAS DOING GOD KNOWS WHAT!!! And he has an angsty~ backstory and is funny as hell and empathetic and reckless and smart and A META for crying out loud, whose powers and backstory have been barely touched upon, with SO MUCH POTENTIAL. HE PATROLS GOTHAM DURING THE DAY!!! and he has such a fun dynamic with Bruce, Cass and Jason and Damian, and Dick saw himself on him (and you could make a really good essay on why he could be a great mentor for Duke and their similarities) like PLEASE I can assure you that if you read his comics you will fall in love with him and wish DC didn't pay him dust.

OKAH IM SORRY I WROTE TOO MUCH THERE BUT ALSO it's insane how people write him so much as like. The one who's always like WTF this family is insane like it's so obvious people who wrote him like that have made zero attempt to read his comics and are just playing it by ear like.. he's. A goddamn vigilante. Right off the bat. There's no way he doesn't go as crazy stupid as the others. Yes he lacks the experience the others do which could potentially mean he gets caught off guard more often but it doesn't mean he's like uuuh this family is crazy I'm out of there kshsod. And honestly everytime people say that kind of shit this panel comes to mind

Like uh yes there we have it.

Not to make everything negative I'll also say I very much enjoy his friendship with Cass, they're adorable when written by Hill, and I'm so happy we're seeing more of them in canon. I also love his dynamic with Jason as they're funny as fuck when they're in the same panel. AND sadly DC totally dropped the ball with them but I still think he has a lot of potential with Damian, as they were living in the manor together for some time so that would've been fun to see, not to mention their interactions were also funny and they would've made a terrific duo considering their personalities.

OH also so far batman & the outsiders seems to be focusing more on like. Him dealing with the trauma he suffered (which I'm really digging!!) And his dynamic with the team rather than his solo work, but I would enjoy very much if we were given more about him being a daytime vigilante as it was not only a really interesting concept for a character belonging to the batfam, but also was really unique?? And it was even more interesting when playing it with his meta powers & the side characters he was given on his mini were lovely like :( on going signal book when :( and I'm honestly dying to see him work with more teen heroes that aren't exclusively batfam members. It would be rlly interesting to see him in that type of scenario.. like ahgh

OKAY IM DONE sorry

Send me a ☕️ and a topic and I’ll talk about how I feel about it lol

#sorry if the format gets fucked up im posting from mobile

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catastrofriend · 4 years

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OTP playlist || Chargestep (Leigh Bennett + Ricardo Ortega)

@auroriane tagged me to make an OTP playlist--luckily I already had the music sorted, just needed to write out a little reasoning with lyrics.

I’m tagging @cheion-writes , @suddenly-the-consequences and @themidnighttiger --idk why but it won’t let me find you to tag you, thanks tumblr--and anyone else who wants to do it!

(Link to the playlist I made for it is here, and yes, that’s a buffy reference, you’re goddamn right)

Bruises - Lewis Capaldi

"Every breath that I've been taking since you left feels like a waste on me"

A bitter yet sober reflection of a relationship lost. The desperate yearning on Ortega's part to have Leigh back. Because yes, it was far from all good, but simply feeling the pain of it being real again would be a relief. Wishing for that pain to stay, if only as a reminder of what he lost.

Salt and the Sea - The Lumineers

"From the destruction, out of the flames, you need a villain, give me your name"

I don’t know why but I’m getting “it’s better to still see each other as enemies than not to see each other at all” vibes. But also. No matter how shitty things get, they will come out of it and they’ll be there for each other. Inseparable, like the salt and the sea.

I'm Losing Friends -Tanner Swift

“I’m afraid if I care too much, you’ll leave. Everyone does”

After Heartbreak, Ortega doesn’t know how to cope. He lost half his team and the person he loved and he blames himself for it. He doesn’t know how to move on, maybe can’t. When Leigh’s back, he tells them that there was no one else, not like them. It’s hard to know if this was because Leigh made such an impact or if it was because Ortega was too afraid to give any more of himself that the least possible, afraid to have it ripped out of his hands again. And that still hangs around them even after they’re reunited, because Leigh can’t honestly commit with all the secrets between them, and Ortega also has a lot he’s been hiding, but he already lost them once, will he really be capable of letting himself feel everything again with all the risks involved?

You’re Somebody Else - flora cash

“You were the better part of every bit of beating heart that I had”

Meeting again in rebirth, there's a lot of stress on how they've both changed. Leigh is Tragedy now, they don't want to be Sidestep anymore, it's like an ill-fitting suit inherited from a relative, not their own. And Ortega spent the better part of a decade going through the motions until things started to feel real again, only to have what he thought was the truth ripped out from under him. He doesn't know how to live in a world where Leigh is still alive, never died, in fact, he mourned them for seven years.

They're the same, and they like to pretend they fit together just as they used to, but they've become different people.

Two - Sleeping at Last

“You know I'll take my heart clean apart if it helps yours beat ”

Both Ortega and Leigh have been through so much, have had to carry so much shit on their shoulders, disregarding their own well-being along the way. It's not very surprising, really, when they find each other again, that's the foundation of how they interact. Always putting the other first, even if it hurts them, even if it's a lot.

Hopefully they'll find a balance.

Ribcage - Plested

“Make sure my heart never escapes, I’ll never be the same if it does”

The only way Leigh knows how to deal with their feelings when they come back to Los Diablos is to keep them close to themselves, shove them in their chest and lock it up. They want to open it up, but they can’t, afraid it’ll all come bursting out and it’ll be too much. So whether they allow themselves to feel or not, the end result, they think, is the same. They’ll end up alone.

Ortega, then, regrets. So much. He never told them before, back when they knew how to do feelings, how he really felt, and he does now but it’s too late, they’ve built too many walls around themselves, it’ll never fully reach them. And he’s afraid of pushing it, he has to hold back, because overwhelming them will backfire. There’s no good way to get through to them.

4 AM - Olivver the Kid

“How often do these nightmares come now? Should let the past stay dead”

Both Leigh and Ortega are being haunted by their past. Literally, seeing each other again, but also in their nightmares, and maybe they can ease it for one another a little bit simply by being there to wake the other up from their nightmares.

If we were vampires - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

“Maybe time running out is a gift, I’ll work hard till the end of my shift, to give you every second I can find, and hope it isn’t me who’s left behind”

The sheer if-only potential of their relationship is mind-boggling. All the secrets they won’t share, the ones they’re hiding in and on their body. Put all that aside, give them a minute to breathe, and there would be nothing stopping them from being so fucking happy together. But all those secrets and dangers are there and they’ve already had to face losing each other, so doesn’t that make whatever they have just that much more precious and special and worth protecting?

#pix writes #fallen hero: rebirth #oc: leigh bennett #sidestep #ortega #ricardo ortega #chargestep #audio

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