#also did that bowlcut kid actually like come out or did they give him a girlfriend or something

[cats2019forthenintendoswitch]

who the fuck even likes stranger things. what is it even about now, sucking Reagan's cock?

#my own posts #dont tell me what its about i tuned out when they scrubbed off any potential subbersive edge in s2 #by replacing the American government doing fucked up shit with THE most basic stereotypical red scare bullshit #like at that point i was like OH I get it there was never any hope #this show was always just about nutting to Ghostbusters and Stephen King and I was fooled into thinking it had something to say! cool! #also did that bowlcut kid actually like come out or did they give him a girlfriend or something #cus to be fair thah would be very on brand with the 80s for several reasons

[rosyerim]

bad boy au | na jaemin

na jaemin, the notorious playboy of his school

literally flirts his way out of trouble

his english teacher caught his cheating during his test and what did jaemin do? wink and slide the paper up his sleeves

“ah you must be mistaken i would never cheat on a test! esp w a teacher as pretty as you ♥ ~(◠‿◕✿)”

cue the teacher blushin and letting him off and jeno laughing at him getting caught

part of the dreamie squad obviously 

the whole group of them are absolute hearthrobs

but jaemin is like the leader ever since mark graduated ot7(╥﹏╥)o

whenever he walks down the hall or into class, guaranteed the students are squealing and highkey blushing

i mean who isn’t, jaemin is a god???

he’s also known for playing around w girls and boys

its never too serious as jaemin always cuts it off when if they say i love you

homeboy isn’t about that committed life

which sucks for the ppl he has a thing with

because he treats them so good

always taking them out on the cutest dates, to the newest cafe, the aquarium, the ice cream shop even simple dates in the park!!

 pulling out their chair for them, holding the door open for them all that gentleman ish!!

but they always want more from jaemin

jaemin is known to be affectionate w his own friends but he’s never done any pda with his flings

which confuses them bc??does jaemin like me?? 

the answer is; no

despite what he says while flirting he rarely means any of it, he just likes the reactions he gets like,

when he compliments them and they turn red

or he holds their hand and they get all shy

but he loses interest in them as quickly as he gets it and is quick to cut it off

which does make him a bit of an asshole in that sense

but he does it in such a nice way they can’t get mad

he also dyes his hair so!!much!! 

how hasn’t it fallen out yet!!!

also kind of a stoner

psa; dont do drugs kids if ur underage!! this is just an au!!!

he likes to get faded behind the abandoned carnival the dreamies have dubbed as their hangout

its rlly just a closed down amusement park thats rlly old and they just spray painted DREAM on everything they could find but the dreamies love the eerie feeling they get in ther and like to pretend they own it

AND theirs no cops around so they can do what they like

which usually means getting crossfaded or having the occasional bonfire/party but most of the time they just get a truckload of candy and challenge each other on pokemon w their nintendos lol

he also likes the feeling of his surroundings being numb and always ends up falling asleep after he finishes a blunt

which leaves a sleepy and clingy jaemin stuck w the rest of the dreamies

jaemin doesn’t let himself smoke around his flings as he doesn’t trust them nearly as much as his boys

lowkey has trust issues

but once he gets his daily dose of coffee, like 3000 shots of espresso he is A W A K E

the dreamies are the worst for almost getting in trouble

when it gets dark they usually hop on their bikes, grab two bottles of spray paint each, and go on into their neighbourhood, whilst playing obnixous dubstep from their speakers

and cause total chaos 

they always leave dogs barking and house lights turning on in their wake as they cycle like mad men down the empty streets, streaking the road with luminous pinks and greens

they get the biggest thrill out of being chased by the local police

whenever the hear the telltale siren they all whoop and laugh in unison, shouting out bets on who will get caught first chenle and who’ll get back to the hangout first renjun

it’s dangerous but they get a real kick out of it and always make sure to tweet about and post it on ig

overall jaemin is jus your average bad boy who likes causing havoc

but who doesn’t like havoc?? 

you, my dear reader :))

you had just moved house and into a completely new neighborhood

 it was your fifth day in your new home and you missed your old area a lottt

and you were highkey bitter bc you didn’t want to move but your parents made you >:((

so sunday night rolls around and you were chilling in bed, watching some dumb yt video when all of sudden in the distance you heard,,,thumping,,,

like really ugly but rhythmic thumping,,,

and it was getting louder and closer to your house

so you being all investigative, throw on your hoodie and waddle on downstairs and open your front door, the porch light turning on automatically

and what you saw was a sight

there were a group of boys cycling up and down your street, attempting to do tricks like wheelies???and shit

but as they did their tricks they were spraying the ground so they left a lot of squiggly lines as they turned and jumped

you didn’t mind that, you thought it was actually kind of pretty

but what wasn’t pretty was that hideous music

you were pretty sure they were playing that im blue dabdeeda song but a dubstepped remix version 

and god it was awful

but you kinda assumed they must have gona tone deaf bc they were screeching the lyrics to the tops of the voices and one tall kid was trying to freestyle to it

yeah, they were a sight

 you noticed none of the neighours had come outside which meant this was a normal occurrence??

oh no, you were not having this

without a second thought you shoved your feet into your uggs by the door and stomped your little butt over to the group of screaming boys

one of the boys who was on his phone on his bike, noticed you storming towards them and quickly hit another guy next to him and so on

until all their attention was on you

all six of them 

if it were your old neighbourhood you would have been flustered at their attention on you and they were good looking and you were wearing an,,,odd attire

but you didn’t care

once you reached them you just crossed your arms

“whose playing the music?”

they kinda looked at you as if you spoke another language

until you arched an eyebrow and the tall kid from earlier raised his hand, holding his phone 

“uh,,, i am,,, i’m jisung,,,”

you marched over to him and swiped his phone, ignoring the laughing from one of the boys, scrolling thru his horrible choice of songs

then one of them tapped you on ur shoulder

“so like,,who are you? whats your deal sis?”

you noted he had quite an ugly bowlcut that was also bright red and you just rolled your eyes, before typing in a decent song in jisungs phone

another kid stepped forward and tried to look menacing as he stood up slightly taller in front of you

“like haechan asked,,what’s your deal? do you know who we are?”

you scoffed and clicked on the song, feeling satisfied as frank oceans song ivy played through the speaker

“frankly i don’t care who you guys are but your taste in music is shit and you all sound obnoxious”

homeboy who tried to seem tough was lowkey shook

and haechan just laughed really sarcastically 

“our music taste is shit? your outfit is a mess” 

your outfit was literally a large hoodie and uggs but like??your mom bought them and u liked them!!

“my mess of an outfit is worth more than that tragic cheap dye job you got ontop of your scalp smh”

haechan just gaped at you while the boys tried to hide their snickers 

you were about to leave before another one of them stepped forward, stretching out his hand

“yo you’re kinda funny, i’m renjun!” 

u just stared at his hand 

“yeah cool i dont care, bye”

ohhhh cold

you had stalked off from them ignroing their oooo savages behind you, ready to slip back into bed highkey proud of yourself 

BUT

not so fast

suddenly your met with a really smiley face with pink hair

he grabs your hand and kisses the back of it giving you his usual, heart stopping smile

“i don’t think i’ve seen you before...i’m jaemin and its very nice to meet you (◕‿-)“

but you are not liking his large ass smile

you rip your hand back and just arch your eyebrow again at him

“are you all actually deaf? I am y/n, and I do not care! goodnight!” 

and off you storm, this time actually making it to your door

you spare one more glance at them as you’re closing it 

and the group are almost crying bc they’re laughing so hard at jaemin whose looking over at you 

and he just winks at as u slam the door shut 

damn reader, ur wildt

once you’re back in your room you hear the group disappearing down the street, smiling as you hear frank ocean’s voice float away slowly

you peak out your window to see if they’re all gone but what you see leaves your mouth gaping

there in a mix of luminous pink and greens, spelled out in capitals is

TILL NEXT TIME Y/N ♥

there was gona b a next time??? oh no poor you ;)

#nct dream #nct dream imagines #nct imagines #nct au #jaemin imagines #jaemin scenarios #nct headcanons #jaemin headcanons

[tsuzuruchipalace]

rating mankai company based on character design

Note: I will take into account hair, color scheme, sprite poses, mostly outfits that are not from plays or scouts, and memorability. This is half an objective view and half my personal opinion.

Disclaimer: I curse a lot for comedic effort. I am mean because I am funny. No, you cannot disagree.

Spring 🌸

sakuya: you get what you see. a literal spring babey. his hair and color scheme’s a little generic, but he’s mankai’s poster boy, so that’s understandable. speaking of generic, his main pose is just this emoji 🧍‍♂️ his outfits tend to be kinda basic, but any outfit with a mostly pink top gets him bonus points. 6/10

masumi: okay his hair is elite. probably one of the most memorable character design aspects among the cast. his mole and eyes also make him very pretty. love my boy’s dark color scheme. unfortunately, points must be docked for baiting us with the emo fit, then as the story progresses, he starts dressing like the trust fund kid he is smh. 9/10

tsuzuru: i love you tsuzu but. my mans is so basic. if he didn’t have such a great personality, he’d be as bland as untoasted white bread. the saya of a3. his best design aspect is the fact that he doesn’t dye his roots. his outfits look comfy, but not necessarily eye-catching. 4/10

itaru: everyone who starts a3! with no knowledge of these characters has one (1) thought about itaru. sec sea man. so obviously there’s something appealing/good about his character design. i think part of the appeal is his fuck-all demeanor. obviously, his eyes and hairstyle are attractive, but the way the artists draw him gives him an air of not caring, which is also attractive in a way. his dyed tips are also nice. he looks kinda lame when he dresses professionally, but his casual outfits hit. especially the ones with light pink. 8/10

citron: although i’m not a big fan of the “character is foreign and therefore must talk and dress different and be funny” trope in these types of media, his fashion does make him stand out from the other characters who tend to have more basic clothes. citron’s summer, travel, and autumn outfits SLAP and anyone who says otherwise has bad taste. his hair and eyes are interesting, but his overall color scheme can be a bit repetitive. 7/10

chikage: i hate this guy’s fucking bowlcut. fucking salad bowl lookin ass. every outfit is the same turtleneck and sneakers in two alternate colors. his outfits are so plain. only thing i like is his casual outfit glasses. HOWEVER. that’s the point. he’s supposed to look boring and blend in because he’s a spy. it’s a smart design, i just don’t like it so im docking points. stay mad about it. 5/10

Summer ☀️

tenma: im yawning. you think tsuzu was boring? this guy has orange hair and i still find his design boring. that’s how you know he’s basic. he’s got generic messy shounen protag hair. he could be from any property. if i drew fanart of him, people would ask where he’s from. he either dresses like your slightly homophobic frat boy classmate or a grandfather who gets his shit stolen by the asshole kids next door. 2/10

yuki: he has the r a n g e. all of yuki’s casual outfits hit. they’re all different, but cute in their own way. to no one’s surprise, one of the best styled characters. though i like his general color scheme, i’m personally not the biggest fan of his hairstyle. it’s okay, but a little plain at times. but i think it suits him well. 7/10

muku: i love him. muku’s design is what i love about this game. you see him, and you immediately know what his character archtype is supposed to be. he’s the soft, cute boy. and if this was a mediocre series, that’d be all muku is. but since this is a3, he’s so much more than that. he’s smart, passionate, sensitive to others’ feelings, and protective. a3 does a great job designing characters that look exactly like their archtype, but having a much more developed personality than that. getting back to the actual subject at hand, i love his hairstyle and color, as well as his outfits. you can never go wrong with light pink hair. i may be biased but fuck you. 10/10

misumi: another great memorable design. his eye shape and hair style are really unique. his outfits also elevate his design. street fashion is always a plus for me. though sumi’s design is special in the world of a3! where most of the characters are just. guys. regular lookin dudes. i think that outside of the game, his design would not be as unique. 8/10

kazunari: personally, im a fan. maybe it’s cause i have an affinity for blonde anime boys. but his hairstyle is pretty unique and his trendy looks set him apart from most characters, even outside this game. and he has a pretty lovable expression in his sprites. his fatal flaw is that his fits are either a hit or miss. they’re either really cute or wtf. at least he’s memorable. 8/10

kumon: i love that he reminds me of an owl. his hair and eyes are very cute and his color scheme is great. and i think they did a great job making him look related to juza, but still very much his own character. but he dresses like your classmate from middle school that looks like a nike-sponsored highlighter. yeah, he’s the sporty one, and i like the windbreakers but... i cannot excuse his summer fit. also, i find his design a little tame compared to some of the other characters in the game. 6/10

Autumn 🍂

banri: i hate his hair. i hate it so much. i know in canon it’s nice and he takes good care of it, but it looks so fucking greasy. the style makes him look so greasy and it makes me mad. he looks like an asshole. i mean, he is, so it fits. if this dumb bitch changed his hair more often, i’d like his design so much more. you saw this coming; his love for cheetah print is fucking repulsive. BUT, maybe unpopular opinion, minus the animal print, his sense of fashion is not bad. why do yall clown on it. if the fit is fresh, the fit is fresh. anyway, he looks like an ass, but objectively his design is kinda eh. 5/10

juza: im sorry im DEADLY fucking biased when it comes to juza, but he’s so handsome. his hair is a such a rich, pretty shade of purple and his eyes are so mesmerizing. his hairstyle is so attractive. his face is so pretty. yeah his design isn’t crazy unique, but the simplicity just works. im so sorry im this man’s whore i didn’t choose this life... but i can stop being a simp for one second to say that he has a boring fashion sense. i mean it’s kinda hot how simple his outfits are but his travel fit is good-- wait a minute i just remembered the fucking sandals. docking one point. 9/10

taichi: okay shut the fuck up i LOVE taichi’s design. so eye-catching and fun. as i’ve said i love street fashion, and taichi’s lil e-boy fits are right up my alley. that shade of bright red goes so well with his fashion sense, making a really cohesive design. with his main outfit, you can tell he purposely dresses like that to be trendy and it’s so smart. 10/10

omi: im sorry omi stans but his design is kinda,, boring. i legit had such a hard time identifying him when i first got into this game. the scar saves it a bit. but... only a bit. he’s just got. hair. and a dad outfit. i mean his tits are huge, but i don’t think i can call that a character design aspect. kinda forgettable design. i don’t dislike it though, so he ranks higher than tenma did. 3/10

sakyo: im not sure why but i really like sakyo’s design?? the contrast of his light hair and his dark clothes is nice. also, megane rights. even when i thought he was an npc during my first playthrough, i really dug his design and thought he was memorable. i actually cannot pinpoint a reason why. i wish i had more constructive things to say... but upon thinking about it, he has a karen haircut, which kinda dampers my thoughts on his design. i like his moles, but i honestly did not notice them until the game pointed them out. 7/10

azami: azami has a damn good design. i don’t think anyone can deny that. the long hair, the contrast of black hair and bright blue eyes, his eye shape. all very eye-catching design aspects. and the street fashion style strikes again. the color scheme matches well with everything. this review is lame, but there’s really only good things i can say about his design so. 10/10

Winter ❄️

tsumugi: it’s so late and im so tired of looking at these sprites. anyway, tsumugi’s design is okay. i think his color scheme’s a bit limited and his outfits are a bit meh. he has a more respectable bowlcut than chikage, but it’s still a bowlcut and it’s still boring. i think the best part of his design is his eyes, they’re very soft and kind. but other than that, tsumugi looks pretty basic. 5/10

tasuku: tbh, i didn’t even realize that the godza member tasuku was the same character as the winter troupe guy in the game’s opening until the middle of episode 3... yeah. im slow. ooooooor... tasuku has the worst fucking design in the game. yeah i said it. come at me, but tasuku’s design fucking sucks. i literally thought he was a minor character until they forced me to realize he wasn’t. his fashion sense is... questionable at best. i look at that man’s hair and think he doesn’t shampoo. he looks so bland i could dry up from looking at him. im sorry but his tits do not make up for the sheer fucking snorefest of his character design. he’s so boring i won’t elaborate anymore. 1/10

hisoka: ya get what ya see part 2. i like that i can tell he’s the sleepy and mysterious character just by his design, but honestly, that’s a character trope im generally not a big fan of. so i wasn’t thrilled by hisoka’s design at first. but it’s effective. i like the hairstyle with the white hair, but i’m not too fond of his color scheme. his outfits look comfy and soft though. it makes sense, but it’s nothing too memorable if you compare him to characters outside the game. 5/10.

homare: ah, now this is a memorable character design. his hairstyle annoyed me in the beginning, but now i love it. it’s so unique and fun. and i like the purple. i also like his outfits. very classy. but honestly, most of his charisma lies in his face. i think that the pure eccentricity of the hairstyle is enough to put him in the top tier without considering any other element. you really could not find this design in any other media. fuck it. i don’t need to consider anything else. 9/10

azuma: i’ll be honest. im not a fan of long-haired anime men. especially the pretty, flirty types. i don’t know, i just don’t vibe with them. originally, i didn’t like azuma’s design, but now i do. i don’t know how, but i think it’s because azuma is just that powerful. his ponytail makes it more bearable for me and i like the way his bangs frame his face. he just has pretty eyes and face. unfortunately his color scheme is a little too repetitive for me and his casual outfits are a little boring. 6/10

guy: maybe it’s because he looks dead inside, but i love him. i don’t even know this character that well yet, but i think his deadass expression is great. the darker under-eyeline sets him apart from the other characters and i love how he dresses. i think his hair is kinda eh. i personally like it, but objectively, it’s meh. it’s a solid design, but ngl it’s nothing special when i really think about it. 6/10

#for legal reasons this is a joke #this entire post should be underlined with a /lh #i love them all very much im sorry for being mean #except for chikage he deserves it #long post #a3! #a3! act! addict! actors! #A3! Actor Training Game #mod tsuzu talks

[thattimdrakeguy]

ROBIN 80TH ANNIVERSARY - REVIEW!! - The GREAT, the okay, the meh, the wait what, and the freaking awful

None of the stories I’d consider bad in this besides the Super Sons one.

They have flaws, some don’t have any but aren’t that great, and just weird choices, with some disappointments.

I’m just gonna be honest about each story because that’s all I can do.

--

DICK GRAYSON’S FIRST STORY: Really freaking good.

My favorite story is probably the first one:

Like the art is the best in the whole issue, and the only real flaw is how mean they made Bruce through-out it.

It’s yet again another story of how and why Dick quit (I guess he didn’t get fired this time) being Robin, but it’s just nice. Nice pacing, timing, dialogue, good art, and because the people working on it are 80s writers and artists, it keeps it feeling classic.

Which is great for a little showing of the 80s world, and I’m no big 80s DC guy at all, but it’s a really nice flashback for that.

One thing that was disappointing but I won’t count as a flaw (since it’s really not, just a wasted opportunity) is that this kid didn’t end up being Tim:

It looks like a young Tim, it’s drawn by the first artist on Tim’s Robin ongoing, written by his creator, it’s about the history of Robin, and he’s an overeager Robin fanboy-- like why wasn’t this kid Tim? He even has that dorky bowlcut Tim had when he was little, just less 80s styled.

A missed opportunity honestly.

The story though shows Dick’s compassion, talent, frustrations as he became his own man, his views on Robin, some of his sense of humor even. So his characterization is pretty great, but it is written by the man that grew Dick his own unique character to begin with, and it’s great to see this story keeps it up. (Prolly gonna find out this is an old script, but hey, it’s a good one.)

A weird retcon story, but it’s a nice callback to the 80s, and I think it’s really well-done beyond Bruce being a controlling grumpy prick to the point it feels like parody.

--

DICK GRAYSON’S SECOND STORY: It’s just alright.

Where the first story is a flashback to the 80s, this is a direct flashback to he 90s, with the writer and artist that started his ongoing solo.

And it’s good. Like I had a lot of fun reading it, good heroics, feels of it’s era, but like the last story that’s the fun.

There’s nothing really to say about it besides it’s good. There isn’t anything too standout about it.

--

DICK GRAYSON’S THIRD STORY: It’s forgettable.

I forgot this was a thing in this, and it just feels like a waste of page.

It’s in no way bad that I seen, but it’s so very bland and one note. Titans fight and Dick acts as leader. Very generic.

The art’s really good though.

--

DICK GRAYSON’S FOURTH STORY: It’s better than that last one at least.

Unlike the last one, this feels like it at least has a point to be here, and it actually feels like it makes sense to be in he 80th anniversary as well.

I’m not a personal fan of the “Grayson” series, it just sexualized Dick too much honestly, made him cheesier again a bit, and the writing was a little on the off-side in a way that just made it all feel empty besides a few moments, but I never read the whole series to be a great judge on it.

But also because of that, I have no idea who these people are for this story to be grand. What makes it feel like it’s worthy of being here though is trying it back to the history of Robin like the first story with these little bits.

Without these moments though, you wouldn’t have a clue why this is there.

Also Dick just suddenly wears this:

Which is super duper off-putting. But Oh-ho gotta have sexy Dick in there somewhere I guess. Just-- wow, was that super sudden.

--

JASON TODD’S STORY: It’s good but this kid doesn’t look right.

The story is very simple and sweet, and I think it works a lot given Jason and Bruce’s complicated relationship.

It’s even written by Judd Winnick who did Under the Red Hood, which is awesome.

But who is this kid they keep calling Jason exactly? It irrationally bugs me, because all the art has been super spot on till this story. They even write him well, but it just genuinely doesn’t look like post-crisis Robin Jason.

Like to show what I mean--

You read it and this is how the kid speaks.

Super snarky,

a bit of a rude edge to it,

practical sounding but rough teen-ish still

yet still mature enough to feel like he can handle himself.

So you might place this around when Jason was 15 given he’s Robin, and when he was 15 and when they gave him a unique design finally away from a generic silver age Robin, he looked like a young body builder--

Like this is what Jason Todd looked like when they settled his look away from a Dick clone:

A young body builder type, strong jaw, working out, mature features for his age

So who the heck is this?

Like this isn’t what Jason looked like besides pre-crisis, but this is post-crisis Jason. They already settled what he looked like during that 80s run, and this isn’t it. He’s not supposed to look like a generic silver age Robin anymore.

Even beyond it not looking like what Jason’s supposed to, it doesn’t fit the dialogue. He’s written as a practical, snarky, yet in his own way still mature teen. Soooooo why’s he look 5?

It’s so off-putting and it bugs me.

However, beyond that, I really like the story, and at least the artist was good at drawing adult Jason.

Them representing Bruce’s and Jason’s complicate relationship of distant but still caring is something I really enjoy. It’s so much more true to character rather than acting like Jason is just a part of the family like nothing ever happened.

More of that dynamic for them, please.

--

TIM DRAKE’S FIRST STORY: It’s pretty good, but it’s missing something.

Not the highest praise ever, but I do like this story. I enjoy it’s setting at Tim’s school. High school was a constant setting for Tim’s comics in Robin, and they rarely ever treat it like that so I enjoy this story bringing it back.

I really enjoyed the connection  between extracurricular activities and what he does as Robin. It’s that blend of relatability and heroics that really made Tim work as a character. So that’s also great they brought back.

One of my favorite things that they bring up is Tim being into eSports, cuz it reminds me of how much Tim was into video games. It’s a very modern version of him being into the arcades in the 90s. Which is great.

However a downside is that it doesn’t really focus on Tim as a character like the other stories did with the other Robins.

Nothing about his never give up attitude, his insecurities, his underdog likability, how hard he is on himself, or things like that.

In-general this story says nothing about his personality besides a mention that he’s geeky. Which is a pretty big let-down because it keeps it from being any better, despite it already being good.

Freddie William’s art is also very hit or miss. It’s so crude sometimes, and Tim seems so buff compared to before in his actual Robin run. It’s very displeasing given that his early Tim work was top 5 Tim art material. However I still enjoyed that they brought him back even if he can’t draw Tim as well anymore. Tim’s still good in the babyface in most panels at least.

BUT-- this is still a pretty good Tim story. It’s just lacking.

Like it just should’ve been more about Tim as a character since it’s a Tim Drake story.

--

TIM DRAKE’S SECOND STORY: It’s honestly just pretentious.

Tim doesn’t talk like this. Tynion has a melodramatic tone to his characters that works great for characters like Batman, I’ve actually quite liked his Batman run so far partially because of that, but it doesn’t work for Tim.

This is not what Tim talks like. It’s so very unnatural sounding for a kid. Yet Tim talks in this incredibly dramatic tone except for a few light hearted spots, when I feel like it should be the opposite.

It’s also trying hard to be a character study, but again it’s so unnatural. It sounds like a fan describing their view of the characters, not the characters themselves. Like since have these guys became each others therapists?

And then he has Dick say these things that makes Tim seem like a Gary Stu and the greatest most talented guy ever.

Also having Tim hang out with Jason when Jason’s using guns even though Tim’s insanely against that sort of thing.

They even have Damian talk like a typical fan person who dislikes Tim based off of superficial things for a bit.

The fact it treats that Detective Comics Rebirth part of Tim’s character history as uber important is also a bit pretentious of the writer given he wrote that too. Despite Tim only being in that run for like three arcs and wasn’t even in-character for most of it.

Best part of it, is the vague acknowledgement that Tim didn’t want to be anything else but Robin to me.

Otherwise it just reeks of awkwardly written fan fiction.

Honorable mentions of quality though, is Dick and Tim being brothers train riding, and Damian’s mini-adult coming out. I’m so sick of them making Damian a generic kid sometimes that I actually liked this part even if it’s through a snarky filter.

--

STEPHANIE BROWN’S STORY: Better than expected, it’s actually pretty good.

I actually really liked this story. Overall I think Steph’s actual Robin run sucked, this is still a good story if I can get past the era it’s set in.

Unlike Tim’s stories, this actually uses her character.

How reckless she can be without it being super exaggerated, her attitude, love that they brought back the diary format for her inner-monologue too. 

There’s not much to say besides I’d actually consider this one of the best stories in the thing, except for the fact Steph clearly disobeys Batman and she was said to get fired for that. That’s a decent plot holes for me.

I super love the detail of Tim being so small that Steph can’t fit in his uniform. That cheered me up.

Them bringing back her Robin era artist was also great. Unlike Freddie Williams, their art actually really improved.

DAMIAN WAYNE’S FIRST STORY: The genuine worst story in it.

It’s so-- baaad.

Fan service can work if it’s in good quality. Like being in-character, or a nice homage. The train riding in Tynion’s story was that.

This isn’t that.

Damian and Jon didn’t get along right away, not even soon enough for this “mostly” part to feel right as a joke, because they obviously didn’t get along mostly right away. They fought a lot. They even show it on the full page them fighting, but they downplay how long they did fight just for fanservice. It took a long time, and even when they did it was still contrived.

Then they have Damian and Jon in the same class, when they aren’t the same age for that to make sense..

They even have Jon help Damian on his tests when it’s constantly shown that Damian is a brainiac who wouldn’t need that.

It’s literally even in the history summary at the end that he’s highly intelligent. So he probably wouldn’t even ever need a study partner considering he’s even said to have actual PHDs anyway. Which makes the study partner thing just plain out of character.

There’s also panels that straight up feels like oddly specific deviantart fetish art, which is so nasty. Especially considering that I know damn well that’s there’s pedophiles who make this same kind of oddly specific fetish art on there. So much so I had to stop using the site cuz of the anxiety it gave me.

And they downplay how mean Damian can be too Jon so much that it irks me.

This is the worst story in the whole comic, genuinely. Nothing good is in it, besides some decent enough art.

It’s certainly pandering to it’s fandom, but to certain parts it really shouldn’t be.

(This sort of stuff was still happening in their miniseries. Jon really shouldn’t want this as a brother. That’s stockholm syndrome.

--

DAMIAN WAYNE’S SECOND STORY: It’s better than the last one, but somethings missing still.

Unlike the last one avoiding talking about Damian’s actual character besides to play it down. This one actually uses it.

It’s just so quick, and empty feeling at the same time that it’s missing something. A bit like an inverse of Tim’s first story. Tim’s story had the setting and interesting story format, but no real character, while this has a lot of usage of the character but no interesting setting or story.

A lot of Damian’s character is that he’s not a natural Robin as far as attitude goes. He isn’t a typical Robin, and I enjoy how they play into that rather than be afraid of that. It’s what makes this actually work for me.

Although it makes you question why he’s still Robin, I consider that a good thing, because YOU SHOULD. You want the character’s to actually acknowledge things as if they’re real and not just ignoring things.

He’s not typical, he’s unique for better or worse. That’s Damian, and that’s what you should show of him.

This goes into why Damian’s the exact opposite of what a Robin normally is. That’s great.

But it’s missing anything memorable about it. However I think that’s cuz it leads into a future issue of Teen Titans which gives it a reasonable excuse.

I’m really hoping it leads into something.

Although i have a feeling they sadly might do the same thing as typical and ignore Damian’s actions more. Avoiding any genuine feelings.

--

OVERALL

It’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Only two stories I’d actually call bad, which is a lot less than I thought With just occasionally sloppy art, not even what I’d call back, but just crude or not drawing the character accurately which will annoy some more than others.

When I heard of this book I got so worried, but only two stories is actually almost relieving how little that is given the potential ego-driven things they could’ve done, which only those two stories then.

To me, I say it’s worth a pick-up, just rip out a story or two to keep it friendlier to revisit

Mostly was just really missing that extra heart in a lot of the stories.

#Tim Drake #Robin #Dick Grayson #Nightwing #Jason Todd #Red Hood #Stephanie Brown #The Spoiler #Bruce Wayne #Batman #DC Comics #Bat-Family #Batfamily #Bat-fam #Batfam #Teen Titans #Young Justice #Young Just Us

[english-history-trip]

Those posthumous 16th century portraits of pre-Tudor English kings: ranked!

You know the ones: Dark backgrounds, generic outfits, unnecessarily pointy crown. Usually, they’re the only pictures you can find of some of the kings, but usually they’re as accurate as something you drew on a cocktail napkin.

Richard III

I lovvve this one. Such striking contrasts of that epic red background against his dark hair and clothing, sumptuous detail (check out those hand veins!) and an overall outfit that Seems Accurate. This one really doesn’t count as one of those generic portraits because it was probably at least copied from a painting from life. Also we get the added history of later Tudor artists painting in a bit more of a hunchback and Angry Face lines. 10/10 gold swirlies

Edward IV

This one has a lot of what made the Richard portrait great (slappin outfit, sweet detail) but it’s a bit flatter and has less going on. On the plus side, that pearl chest thing shows up in other portraits, so it’s probably something he actually had, which gives Accuracy Points. 10/10 proto-Hawaiian shirts

Henry VI

We’re still working within living memory here, so it’s possible this one was a copy of something from life. But the detail is receding, and the most specific thing in the painting is the golden collar, which they might have actually had to look at. Nice hands tho. 7/10 red shadowboxes for trapping kings

Friggin’ iconic. This one HAD to be copied from a contemporary original. If nothing else, the nasty-ass era-appropriate bowlcut, which I thought for years had to be a hat until I saw other guys with the same hair, dates it soundly. Also, Henry has a massive scar on one side of his face, so if he actually sat for a portrait, he would have made sure they didn’t show it. 10/10 baby thumbs

Henry IV

We are now no longer painting from life for sure. This is clearly one of a commissioned series of kings no one had pictures for, and this one is the most detailed because they at least remembered how people dressed back then. So hard points for the bitchin headgear and the snazzy sleeves, which at least distinguishes him very clearly from the other portraits. 7/10 fancy moustaches

Edward V

Annnnd here’s where we see the abrupt cutoff in quality. I’ve been going in roughly chronological order here, but this one doesn’t get to sit with the others because it has Not Earned It. I mean, to be fair, no one ever really saw Edward in his 12 years of life, and he was never crowned. So this is just clearly some kid, which is like fine okay whatever, but they could have at least made him three-dimensional. 5/10 paper orb cutouts

Richard II

Oh no, baby, what is you doin. You got no excuses here; there’s a perfectly nice contemporary portrait to work from. But you had to go put his chin way the heck over there, and then give it the saddest pubey beard ever. The collar is nice, and the crown is okay, but nothing else is working here. 4/10 places on this painting that are shaded

Edward III

Whoever painted these was just not a good painter, there’s no way around that. Either that or he was way ahead of his time and was a forerunner of Picasso. You ever draw one eye and it’s okay but then you draw the other eye and it’s no longer okay? Yeah. They did at least have a fairly detailed effigy in Westminster Abbey to work from, so they could confirm that he did Have A Beard. 5/10 surprisingly well done pearl buttons

Edward II

Here we come to the era of the Spiky Crown. It seems to be cut straight from sheet metal and wrapped into a vague circle. Do not touch the presumably razor-sharp edges of the Spiky Crown. Again, they had a nice effigy to work from, so we get a chiseled nose, smoochable lips, and a truly spectacular lumberjack beard. 6/10 fuzzy little hat-hair fringes

John

We skip a bit because there doesn’t seem to be one for Edward I or Henry III (please enlighten me if I’m wrong) and we come to John. The effigies are more generic now, so there’s only imagination to work with. So we know that John was a nasty bastard, so we paint a nasty bastard. Grrr, look at those frowny lines, he looks ready to strangle a nephew or two for sure. Again with the eyes, though. Pick a direction to look, and look in that direction. 5/10 puny sceptres 

Henry II

What do we know about Henry II to put in a portrait? He might have had red hair. He was definitely a king at some point. Get out the Spiky Crown, because that’s all we’ve got. Throw some more spikes in there for attitude. Sure. Henry II. 4/10 jewels that also go on the spikes now because we had a lot of time left over on this one

Henry I

See Henry II. There are fewer spikes and pearls on the end of the spikes now, though, so clearly there was an accident. 4/10 safety pearls

William I

One last burst of trying here, since we’re almost done. Let’s splurge and get fancy; here’s some shiny anachronistic armour, and a pointy anachronistic beard, and a very strange sword that has clearly gotten a lot of use because it’s getting banged right off its hilt there. Boom, done, at least the eyes are okay. 5/10 armour pearls because that’s definitely a thing

Stephen

He’s out of order again, but I had to save the best for last. I love you, Portrait of Stephen. I love you forever. I love your crossed eyes and your mom hair and your stepped-on face and your disco cape. I love that a jewel somehow fell out of your crown even though you’re a painting. Come live with me and be my love, O confused Portrait of Stephen, and we will outlive the stars. 150/10 safety pearls to protect that befuddled lil head

#I went into this so ready to hand out zeros like candy but now they are my children #portraiture #plantagenets #normans #angevins #the definitive list

[nuts-cracker-pn]

I’m calling this thing a ficleton

Well.....eh...I’m sorry. This chapter was no pleasant to write, But it happened. 

part 1    part 2   part 3  part 4a    part 4b  

BLURRED TENDERNESS   -PART  5

Armie comes back to the table after finishing his cig with the other guest at the porch of the restaurant. Thankfully he didn’t take too long there or else…

oh wait, there’s a long face. He still doesn’t know who among his family and friends is capable to detect it but he does, he knows those brows so well. Even if she’s smiling he knows when Elizabeth is upset. He will get to that later, cause now his mind is occupied with the fact that he needs to set a plan of steps to follow on friday and saturday in Toronto. Having more freedom of movement since he goes alone is the perfect opportunity to gain the lost ground, talk nice and slow, put feelings on clear, even if that does not mean he can do whatever the fuck he wants. ‘No, you can’t Armie’

He’s very aware of the especulations, the expectations, Tiff’s early insistence on his attendance. He can’t care less. This is his new and only chance.

Is the dinner downfall now, everybody having their own little one on one chat ,Liz went to the toilet, so he idly scrolls on his phone and gets to his hidden file. There’s a snapchat. He closes it startled when the guest seated by his side puts his phone in front of his face for him to see what’s in the screen. ‘Oh shit’  It’s a loop video.  It’s Timmy’s appearance at the theater, more exactly his funny exit and interaction with him. And the internet is going crazy. Not that he didn’t suspect it would be a possible effect , but he looks at it for more than it should be razonable. He looks then at the guy  -the same who were smoking with him outside, and the husband of one of Liz’s friends. They are not that close but the guy gives him a sympathetic glance. Armie does not know how to respond to that, but what he does know now is that the night will not end well.

When Liz comes back is Armie’s father who starts the goodbyes.

On the car ride back to the apartment their friends kept the charade pretty well.

The babysitter was asleep with the kids in the big chaise lounge and Armie carries them to their beds while Liz talk to the woman. When Armie comes back Liz is already in their bedroom taking off his clothes and organizing things.

“Look I bought this white shirt.”

“Nice”

Armie didn’t pays too much attention to the item.

“Armand.”

He looks at her.

“It’s for your suit. Thursday night.”

He frowns.

“Cartier.”  She puts both hands on her waist.

“Ah ok"

“It doesn’t match with the grey one, better with the blue one ok? grey is too casual. You can wear it in Toronto too.”

“ Oh… I thought you didn’t like I repeat outfits at events in a week…”

“ As if you ever consent with my outfits”

“Deciding there then." He is already in his briefs to take a shower. He has the caution to grab his phone and hurries to open the snap. He also has the caution to always have a Google page opened -with any of those random themes he likes- for a cover.

He almost has a heart attack after reading Timmy’s snaps. This thrilling danger coming back again is giving him all kinds of mixing feelings. He’s not sure about anything anymore. The first time could be a confusion. Not a second.

He almost wants to take a screenshot but that would get notified and now he’s thinking of  giving him as good as he got right? His butt hurt pride is showing again but this time is for a good cause. Will the boy anticipates? He needs to know.

ProfessorO: Really?  I don’t know...Let’s see… 😏

He closes the thing as he gets up from the toilet seat and enters the shower plate.

Couple of minutes later Liz is all over him. Well it’s not as if he wasn’t already a little horny thinking about possibilities.

“I thought you were upset"

“Why should I babe?”

He’s observing her face while wrapping his arms around her.

“Fandom”

“We know how fandoms work right?” She plants a kiss on his lips.

“Anyways, did he tell you before going?”

“Nope"

“Well that’s strange. I mean all this latest isolation. Perhaps he’s heartbroken?”

‘Not now please’   “Don’t know, he didn’t say anything.”

“Poor kid" and she proceeds to spread the luxurious bath mousse in her hands to rub on his husband’s body.

He needs to concentrate on this

“Is this new?”

“Yes , I bought it today. It has japanese oils.“ She puts a hand’s  palm on his nose so he can smell. He lets the smell invade his senses and erase everything.

“So…...Where do you want to try it?”

--------WatchThisAuthorWhistling 🌬 ------

Wednesday , September 5  11am

Timmy is staring absentmindedly at the screenshot he did took from Armie’s last night snapchat. He’s having a delicious breakfast,consisting in a chestnut milkshake with some increíbles croissants filled with  selected pâtés, in a fancy deli, waiting for a meeting with some producer.

‘What the fuck did he means?’

Ok, he admits he’s been away for a while -he has a good reason but telling Armie now is not a good idea. First he needs to fathom this feeling he has for the man and still doesn’t know how to do it.

They could be friends -still not the kind that know each other very well and trust each other completely as to tell each other their deepest secrets.  

They could be lovers -very hidden ones, for now, that is if that status could be changed at all someday.

Or they could be nothing.

Is that even possible now? There’s a sequel to film in a future that seems to be closer than he thought. What nobody knows is he made a visit to Italy before his return to New York, and Luca invited him to his new home in Milan right before going to Venice. Of course he cooked some holly dish of his personal recipe book for his caro bambino. They talked a lot, about the sequel too, and after returning home he gained some advice : “You both need time, Timo. For differents reasons. I really want you to take that time.”

For some reason he already knew this but the moment he learned at that dinner that Elizabeth won’t go to Toronto he started to stumble over his own resolution.

The truth is he won’t be ‘hanging out with the cast’. The cast will arrive Thursday night at different hours. He wanted to have a day alone there so he can readapt all the places in his last mémoires to the new scenario without Armie, Luca and everything “cmbyn”.

He planned this afternoon flight so he can do some shopping and walking around after landing at the Pearson airport . And so he does.

He heads to the Eaton Center after arranging with the staff his accomodation in the hotel room. He’s kind of changing his look, or the way he sees himself… Definitely tired of being seen as a “boy”, that is. This lil mustache & goatee will remain for the time being. ‘This hair has grown a little too.’  Looking at his head in the mirror of a store, he thinks about how he hated that bowlcut at first but now he’s finding new ways of ‘wearing it’.

Thursday morning he’s sorting out some casual outfits from the shopping bags in his room. He actually have some free stuff from brands. He loves this lilac t-shirt and he bought a similar design in white, but with an add touch of ‘risque’... ‘This is too much Timothée’ He smirks at himself. Where is he going with that thing he doesn’t know. He goes down for breakfast before heading to the atelier where his suit is going to be fitted.

-----Later in New York---

Armie doesn’t want to go to this Cartier event, but Liz is acting strange since that Tuesday night. Today she was all the time on her phone, making calls by the window-balcony. She surprisingly cheers him up before he went to the play… He finally dress himself in the car, yeah , with the blue suit, the white shit, and the mustard shoes. Later he finds out she looks quite stunning with that red dress,and cheerful, and funny, and flirty….’What the fuck is going on.’  He tries to engage in conversations with some fellows actors so the night will pass lightly. When they are returning home in the car Liz is quite tipsy, and smoochy, and touchy with his thigh. “Hon, I’m pretty horny.” She says in his ear.

Ok, he should have drunk a little more too. Thankfully he has plenty of vodka at home. After all his flight is at 2:30pm.

Friday morning Armie wakes up by the noise of suitcases, phone calls, kids yelling. He gets off the bed and looks at the clock in his phone. 11:am.

Entering the living room he sees all the suitcases there prepared, Liz is already dressed, and the nanny is preparing something in the kitchen.

“ Come on, get dressed. I need to get there to confirm my flight.”

“ Wait, what time was your flight?”

“Is. Same as yours. We are going together, hon” She kisses his cheeks.

Armie turns his head from the fridge and ends, at last, to open his sleepy eyes.

“What..?”

        ------------------I’M SORRY---------

P.D. next will be better I promise. 😞

@isitandwonder @larawashere @maraskolnikova @ohana @seconddayofsummer @babyboytimmy @pucomano @ladyblakeney25   @whatitis-inside @lovetheawesomeness @xiavttini @mjquintas    @ellibellybutton @debmont8686 @imapplemint @peachlovercmbyn @lemmefangirl  @morna-1 @buddhaoffice @lovingyou4ever2018 @lenore1126

Thanks for reading, liking, rebloguing, commenting.( sorry for the tags that don't work

#charmie reunion #ficlet #blurry tenderness #armie x timmy #this was hard to write #the mood is gloom lately #hopefully i will cheer up with next chapter #charmie

[katrinawritesthings]

Jinki/Taemin; Easy mac; PG

u kno when the kid you used to babysit just shows up on your doorstep one day like six years later

tw for mentions of trans and homophobia

“Taemin,” he says. Taemin winces, gripping his bag tightly to his chest. He doesn’t take his eyes from the coffee table. “Did you run away?” Jinki asks quietly.

ao3

Jinki’s easy mac rotates slowly in the microwave, the little container wiggling every few seconds as the base catches in the usual spots. Jinki leans sleepily against the opposite counter, tensing and untensing his knees as he waits. The movement makes the rest of him wiggle and his hip bump against the drawer handle next to him, but whatever. It doesn’t hurt yet. He’ll stop before it does to take out his little dinner and–

His doorbell rings suddenly, stopping him early as he winces and then frowns, confused. It’s almost nine. Who the heckie. Leaving his fork on the counter and the microwave still counting down four minutes, he heads out of his kitchen and to his front door. It’s as he’s twisting the doorknob to open it that he takes a moment to really hope that whoever is on the other side isn’t a murderer or something.

It’s not; what it is is something arguably more troubling.

It’s a kid.

Or, well, a teenager, thin and lanky with a longish red hair and a backpack pulled over their shoulder. They look at Jinki with big, dark brown eyes and a thick lip bitten between their teeth. Jinki looks back, extremely confused by the lack of a chocolate catalogue or anything likewise that would make this make at least some sort of sense.

“Hi Jinki,” they say.

Uh.

Oh.

What the fuck.

“Uh, hi,” he says for lack of anything better to say. Who the fuck. He frowns, lifting his hand to rub the back of his neck, but before he can ask, the kid starts talking again.

“Sorry, um, for just showing up like this, I know it’s late and we haven’t seen each other in, like, years, but, I didn’t know who else to come to, and–God, this is weird, I know, but–I just–can I like–stay here, maybe, for–even like, an hour, just–maybe?” They say all of that very quickly with one hand gripping the strap of their bag so tightly their knuckles have turned pale. They’ve also blinked, like, fifty-seven times, and Jinki feels an incredulous realization creeping up on him. What the fuck. No way.

“I–what’s your name?” he asks slowly. The kid’s shaky, hopeful smile falters; their free hand opens and closes at their side and they swallow thickly.

“You,” they say, and shake their head. “You don’t–you don’t remember me.” They take a step back, a step down from Jinki’s tiny porch. Their hand comes up to rub their nose as their cheeks flare up red. Jinki recognizes that look immediately in a rush of memories, but–“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have–I’l just–I’ll go, I’m sorry, sorry.” They turn to leave and Jinki finds himself automatically stepping halfway out of his door and reaching for them.

“No no no, Taemin, Taem, wait,” he says quickly. Taemin stops and looks back at him with those eyes, and fuck, those eyes are so familiar now. Jinki doesn’t know how he didn’t notice immediately. “I remember you,” he says. “I was your babysitter for like. A year and a half when you were young. Er. Younger.” He remembers. Tiny ten year old Taemin with a bowlcut, every weekday during the school year for a few hours each day before Jinki moved away. Teenager Taemin’s face now breaks into a weak smile of relief as he turns fully back around.

“Oh, thank fuck,” he breathes, lifting his hand to run his fingers through his hair. “Hi,” he says again.

“Hi,” Jinki repeats slowly. Even with his memories, he’s still confused. He looks Taemin up and down again in the dim light of his porch lamp; he’s a bundle of nerves, trembling hands and lips bitten puffy with worry. “Are you okay?” he asks quietly. “How–why are you–here?”

“Um,” Taemin says. His deep breath is shaky as he rubs his nose again. “It’s. Complicated, kind of,” he mumbles. “Can I–come in?” he asks again. He gestures weakly at Jinki’s living room behind him. Jinki glances in there, looks back, sucks the insides of his cheeks for thought.

“I mean,” he says. He doesn’t know what’s going on, and letting kids into his home alone isn’t really something a responsible adult should do, he thinks, but. Leaving a kid out on his own in the dark definitely isn’t something he’s going to do. “Sure, yeah,” he says, stepping aside and holding the door open wider. “Take a seat,” he says. Taemin slips inside, twisting slightly as he passes Jinki so as to not brush against him, and shuffles further into the room.

“Thanks,” he breathes as he goes. Jinki closes his front door gently and turns a lamp on as Taemin sinks onto his couch. He shrugs his backpack off of his shoulder and just holds it in his lap instead, little fingers gripping the material as he takes deep breaths. Jinki leans on the arm of the couch further away from him, worriedly watching him worry. He doesn’t know what to say.

“You dyed your hair,” he tries. “It looks nice.” The chestnut red is a good look for him, Jinki thinks, even if the strands are mussed and messy. He got taller, too, but Jinki feels like that would be too cliché of an obvious change to mention. He can’t help but notice Taemin’s long legs sprawled awkwardly out in his skinnies, though, or the new angles and lines of his face. He’s still young, definitely, but no longer a squishy bub made up of baby fat and chubby cheeks. Taemin glances at him, lifts his hand to again push through his hair.

“Um,” he says. “Yeah.” He looks down to his bag again, feet tapping nervously against Jinki’s carpet. Jinki watches him for a moment before he sighs slowly.

“Taemin,” he starts gently. He notes how Taemin winces, but before he can say anything more, there’s a long beep from behind him. He hesitates and turns around, confused for a second, before he remembers. “My easy mac,” he whispers. Shit. “Uh, give me a minute,” he tells Taemin, holding a finger up even as he scuttles to the kitchen. Heck.

As he pops open the door and looks around for the cheese packets, he bites the insides of his cheeks. He hasn’t seen Taemin in… fuck, in he doesn’t know how long. Not since he moved, which was seven ish years ago, he thinks. He didn’t go far; just two cities over, but too far for him to keep his job of looking after Taemin every day. He thought he’d never see the kid again, and to have him return to Jinki’s life like this is far more than surprising. It’s downright unsettling. He doesn’t even know how Taemin knew where to find him.

Instead of just going back to Taemin with one bowl of food just for himself, he separates it into two bowls to share. Then he hovers for a moment looking for something to go with it before he just shrugs and roughly chops an apple into slices. Whatever. Good enough. He gathers up the three bowls and shuffles back to the living room, where Taemin is still hugging his bag to his chest on the couch. He’s tapping out a text on his phone, but looks up when Jinki approaches.

“Here, Taem,” he says quietly, holding out a bowl. Taemin hesitates, but takes it, poking at the food anxiously with the fork.

“You’re a grown ass adult and you’re having easy mac for dinner?” he asks skeptically. His voice is deeper than it used to be. Jinki blinks, then shrugs. Yeah. Pretty much.

“Being an adult means there’s no one around to stop me from eating nothing but easy mac for every meal,” he mumbles. Honestly it’s not working out that great for him. He should really get onto the whole veggie train thing. One day. Maybe. “How old are you again?” he asks to cover his embarrassment. “Sixteen? Seventeen?” Those seem about right.

“Sixteen,” Taemin says quietly. Jinki nods. Yeah, okay. “What about you?” Taemin asks. Jinki coughs into his shoulder. Too old to be living off of easy mac, for one.

“Not forty yet,” is what he says. Taemin snorts at his answer but doesn’t say anything in reply. He just eats, slowly, nibbling one little macaroni at a time. It’s a little awkward to just sit in silence and eat, but Jinki feels like it would be more awkward to try to talk and eat at the same time, so he follows suit.

The more he glances at Taemin out of the corner of his eye, the more fucked up this seems. He’s almost an hour away from his old home and he knows Taemin can’t have driven here. Every few minutes Taemin looks at his phone but Jinki strongly suspects that it’s not his parents that he’s checking in with. He’s too anxious, too quiet, too twitchy in everything he does.

By the time he finishes Taemin is only a little bit through his own bowl and is looking mildly queasy. When he puts his bowl down on the coffee table, Taemin glances at him, back to his own, and copies him. He looks the exact same kind of guilty for not finishing as he used to when he was younger and Jinki doesn’t say anything about it. Taemin grips his hands together, puts them on his knees, taps his fingers nervously against his jeans. After another long, silent, tense moment, he reaches forward and pokes an apple slice in the bowl. He picks it up for a second, grimaces, and puts it back down. Jinki rubs his chin and leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees. There are a few things that Jinki thinks could have happened so he goes with the best case one to start with.

“Taemin,” he says. Taemin winces, gripping his bag tightly to his chest. He doesn’t take his eyes from the coffee table. “Did you run away?” Jinki asks quietly.

Taemin’s eyes scrunch shut tight. That’s enough of a confirmation for Jinki and he sighs, leaning back against the couch. He stays quiet and just waits for Taemin to actually say something. It takes a moment, but eventually, he takes a deep, shaky breath and opens his eyes again. This time, he actually looks at Jinki, fear and guilt and regret written all over his face.

“I almost accidentally came out to them, Jinki,” he says. His voice cracks, almost croaks out of him, and while he takes a moment to swallow and rub his throat Jinki takes a moment to rub his hand over his face. Ahh, shit. “I almost–fucking did it,” Taemin continues. “They were saying some really transphobic just–garbage, and I was trying to explain to them why it was bad, and somehow that led to me almost accidentally telling them I’m–not trans, or, I don’t. Know if I’m–but I almost told them I was–that I’m–I almost said I was–”

He can’t even bring himself to say the word, Jinki realizes. Even to Jinki, he can’t make it come out of his mouth.

“But I–they were pushing about it and I was denying it and I was so fucking–scared so I just picked a fight about something else instead, something stup–no, something ridiculous, and then I just–I packed some shit? And snuck out? Like–just–just to run away for a day, or for the weekend, so maybe–maybe, like, they’d forget about–about me, being–and they’d only be mad about me running away and not–or they’d be so happy that I came back that they don’t, like. But, God, I’m just–” He shakes his head and puts his face into his hands, fingers gripping tightly into his hair.

“Just fucking saying it out loud I realize how fucking fucked up this plan was, God–I fucked up, Jinki, I’m so fucking–fucked, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have–come to you like this, God, it’s just. You’re the only one I know that’s–” He looks up again, to meet Jinki’s eyes. His lips are bitten wet and swollen again already. Jinki can’t think of anything to say, but Taemin hasn’t stopped yet, so he doesn’t have to worry about that yet.

“You’re the only one I know that’s. That’s–that’s–not straight,” Taemin whispers. “Besides–that’s not a school. Friend. Because my parents know my friends and if I’d gone to them then they would–but they’d never think of you, and–this is fucked up, I know, you don’t need me here like this, but.” He swallows thickly. “You were the first person I ever knew, ever, that was–was–like me, and I knew you would–understand, but just. God, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, sorry, sor–fuck, hold on, sorry.” He closes his eyes again, lifting a shaky hand to press against his forehead. His other hand presses lightly against his throat, thumb rubbing up and down as he tries to swallow. “I get–I get dizzy when I’m nervous,” he stammers.

Jinki still doesn’t know what to say, but he does know what to do. Sliding closer to Taemin on the couch, with one hand he rubs the heel of his palm up Taemin’s back, between his shoulderblades, in slow strokes. With his other he gently scratches the back of his head where his neck meets it. When he opens his mouth to sing softly, he finds that he doesn’t remember the words to Frère Jacques at all. He just hums it instead, low and soothing, as Taemin shakes next to him.

It takes three and a half loops of the little song for Taemin to take a deep breath and sit up straight again. Jinki scoots a little bit away to give him space as he fans his face and rubs his eyes.

“Sorry if it wasn’t okay for me to, like, touch you,” he says quietly. He frowns at his hands, only just realizing now that he probably should have asked permission. “It’s just. That’s how I always used to calm you down from panic attacks, so.” He shrugs. At least it still works.

“Panic attacks?” Taemin asks. He looks at Jinki with a confused little frown. Jinki blinks back at him.

“Yeah,” he says. “When you get all hot and your vision goes blurry and your mouth gets all dry and you can’t understand words for a little bit?” He lists all of the things that he remembers tiny Taemin telling him about years ago. He also leaves out the part about suddenly needing to pee because he figures Taemin will ask to use his bathroom if he needs to. “You’ve had them since you were a kid,” he says, lifting his hand to rub where his shoulder meets his neck. Something seems off about the way Taemin only looks eve more confused at this information. “I told your parents about–did they never? Take you to a doctor? For meds or a diagnosis or anything?” he asks. “You had, like, textbook anxiety.”

Taemin continues to just look at him after he says that. Jinki frowns back, and eventually, Taemin sighs, shakes his head, and slouches back against the couch.

“Listen, my dude, if you think gay shit is the only shit my parents are garbage about you would be extremely mistaken,” he mumbles. Jinki snorts. That makes sense, honestly. He considers pressing gently for more about the anxiety, but decides against it. If Taemin never knew about it because his parents dismissed it or whatever then at least he does now. He draws one leg up onto the couch to cross it under himself.

“So it is gay stuff?” he asks curiously. “Or is there a more specific thing you accidentally came out as? If you want to tell me, I mean,” he adds quickly when Taemin glances at him. “You don’t have to,” he says. Asking Taemin for those personal details when they’re half the reason he ran away in the first place probably isn’t the best of ideas. Taemin shrugs, though, and wiggles his shoes off before he brings both feet up on the couch to hug his knees.

“Pan,” he says quietly. “Sexual,” he adds. “And I think. A little bit… aro. Maybe.” He shrugs again, avoiding eye contact. Jinki smiles encouragingly anyway.

“Neat,” he says. “My boyfriend is a little bit aro,” he says. Taemin gasps softly.

“You have a boyfriend?” he asks. He squishes his cheeks with his hands, eyes big and round, lips finally quirked up into the tiniest of smiles. Jinki smiles wide back and nods.

“Mmhmm,” he says. He pulls out his phone and slides open the lock to open up his pictures. “This is him. Jonghyun,” he says, showing Taemin a shot of him and Jonghyun out at the park together, smiling in the sun. Taemin smiles a little more at the picture, looking between the two of them with a fond warmth that Jinki knows he’s feeling in his soul. “He hates the sun, honestly,” Jinki says, taking his phone back. “Sensitive skin and seasonal depression. But he only complained a little bit that day.” He looks at the pictures himself for a few moments, just taking in how gorgeous his babe is, before he slots his phone back into his pocket. “It was fun,” he tells Taemin. “We’re actually in the process of moving him into this house so we can live together finally.”

“That’s so nice,” Taemin sighs wistfully. “I’d always think of you having a cute babe,” he says. He rests his cheek on his knee so it smushes up a little, making his smile a little lopsided. “Whenever I remembered you,” he says. “You were the only, you know, adult that I ever really knew that wasn’t one of the straights. And the first one. So, you know. Representation or whatever.” He shrugs, tightens his arms around his legs. “I always wanted to imagine you just… happily gay. And loving yourself. And everything. I’m glad I was right.” As he speaks his hand drifts towards his phone again. Jinki stays silent while he checks it, first to give him privacy and second to really process the things he just said.

He’s never really seen himself in that way before. As representation. He knew he was super chill and casual about his gayness to Taemin when he was little, but that was just him being an open and honest caretaker for a little nugget child. He never once thought that he was the first–or only–influence in Taemin’s life. All these years, apparently he’s been Taemin’s shining gay of hope and he never even knew it. Honestly, his depressed ass still does have problems loving himself a lot, but if he’d known that he was so important to Taemin he might be a bit better at it.

As it is, he’s pretty sure that they still have a problem here. Taemin bites his lip as he frowns at his phone, thumbs typing out a quick message. Jinki hopes he’s telling a friend where he is just in case. He’s not a murderer or anything but Taemin doesn’t know that. He brings his thumb to his mouth to chew on his nail as he thinks.

“What…,” he says slowly after he sees Taemin close his messages. Taemin looks back to him with questioning eyes and he points a questioning finger at him. “What was your plan?”he asks. “After coming here? Like, what did you want me to do?” he really doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do here at all. He’s not going to call Taemin’s parents; he won’t break Taemin’s trust like that and he doesn’t think he even kept their number in the first place. Taemin’s definitely not going to give it to him.

“Um,” Taemin says. He rubs his phone screen on his thigh and focuses his attention on that instead of on Jinki. “Plan A,” he says, “was to spend the night here, grab a bus back home tomorrow, deal with… everything then,” he says. Jinki frowns. Spend the night here. Some missing kid that isn’t his just. Sleeping on his couch. That’s not dangerously incriminating at all.

“Plan B,” Taemin says, “was to grab another bus to a kind of old friend that moved to this city a few years ago, and see if I can crash with them instead.” He shrugs at that with a little grimace. “Plan C was to find a 24-hour something to spend the night in.”

“You really didn’t think this all through that well, did you?” Jinki hums. He props his chin in his hand and cocks a brow. He’s amused, a little, at the mess of Taemin’s ideas, but mostly he’s stalling for time to think. He can’t just… let Taemin go out on his own again. It’s way too late.

“I was… panicking, I guess,” Taemin mumbles. He sighs and shakes his head. “If I really can’t stay that’s fine, really, you don’t have to be responsible for me just because I showed up unannounced and had a panic attack on your couch,” he says. Jinki snorts. That’s one way of putting it. “You were only plan A because I knew they wouldn’t think of you or know where to find you,” Taemin shrugs.

“Yeah, about that,” Jinki says. He frowns in confusion, tilting his head. “How did you know where to find me?” he asks. Taemin rubs his nose a little embarrassedly.

“When you moved all those years ago you sent me a letter once,” he says. “To say goodbye. And I, uh. Kept it. This whole time.”

“Oh,” Jinki says. “Aw.” He smiles fondly. That’s sweet. Taemin blushes a faint pink, though, embarrassed by his sentiment, and looks away for a quick moment.

“A-anyway,” he says when he looks back.”So, um. Can I? Stay? Please?” His expression is hopeful and his little hands grip nervously in his bag. Jinki sucks the inside of his cheeks, looking back at him searchingly.

“I mean,” he says, and leans back with a sigh. He can’t and won’t call Taemin’s parents, and he can’t let him go out on his own in the dark, and he can't just take him to the police station, and driving a runaway kid somewhere else and leaving him there feels much worse than just letting one crash on his couch for the night. He doesn’t really have a choice. Taemin is lucky that it’s Saturday and he doesn’t have to be at work tomorrow, honestly.

“Yeah, I guess,” he sighs, shrugging and running his hand through his hair. “Just… I’ll see you to the bus stop in the morning,”

“Okay,” Taemin says quickly. “Sure, yeah, fine.” He nods up and down very fast, hands clenched tightly together. “Thank you, Jinki,” he says. It’s a heavy breath of relief out of his mouth and Jinki can’t find himself to be anything but fond.

“No problem,” he says. He’s a good kid. He shouldn’t have to have any more anxiety and stress than he’s already had this night. Jinki just hopes that sending back home tomorrow isn’t going to be worse than letting him stay. 

#ontae #onew #jinki #taemin #pg #brotp #oneshot #listen this au started as just... babysitter jinki showing ten year old taem buffy.... #and that was supposed to be it #and then i didnt write that or make any mention of it whatsoever lmao #but babysitter jinki showing tiny taemin buffy and taem being so uwu about willow and tara #and jinki stopping it before tara died and taem being grumpy and jinki being like trust me its for ur own good #anyway present day jinki gets taem a blankie and goes to bed bc hes a tired human that needs his rest #and taem curls up on his couch and does some homework and watches some tv and falls asleep #and in the morning jinki gives him some cereal and makes some bacon and they just sit and talk for a lil bit about just stuff #gay things and school things and life things and how taem went and watched the rest of buffy later and felt regret #taem tells jinki that hes not ready to handle the pressure of college at all but hes looking into community colleges anyway #just to get away from the parentals and one of them is a college in jinkis city #and he wiggles like um if i do actually go to that one can i mayb visit u??? sometimes??? maybe??? #and jinkis like : ) ye bc he wouldnt mind buying the lil nugget a coffee or something sometime and listening to his problems more #and he drives taem to the bus stop and makes sure he gets on the one going home and gets his email #and taem emails him later to tell him that hes safe at home nd his parents havent even mentioned the gay stuff which is good #and its still weird but its nice

[gingerly-writing]

Hello? I'm currently trying to write a superhero novel and I'm extremely bad at it. Can you help me, like just give a few tips? I'm really excited about this project so your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hello dear Anon! You have definitely come to the write (hehe) place. I have so much advice (and hard lessons learnt) to share that I almost burst with information when I saw this ask in my inbox. I’ve tried to trim it down a bit so I don’t clog up people’s dashes, but this is still gonna be pretty long. (Also, this is my 4,500 post on this blog, quite coincidentally, and I also just passed 700 followers. Consider this advice post my celebration!)

This is a novel, not a comic book series.

You won’t be able to convey every awesome aspect of your characters’ looks without boring the reader to death.

Some tropes don’t translate well. At all.

Nothing is wholly original, not anymore. But you can still come up with something you can comfortably call your own.

Action scenes will either become your trusty sidekick or your archnemesis (and each one can turn out to be either).

LESS. IS. MORE.

1) This is a novel, not a comic book series. Even if you write a whole series of novels, you don’t have the page space to waste on the tens or hundreds of smaller villains you might find littered across a Batman series. First of all, everyone your hero encounters has to be fleshed out at least somewhat, and that takes up both space on the page and in your reader’s mind as they try to keep track of everyone you’ve introduced. If you need to make your hero seem as though they’ve been around for a while and save a lot of lives on the regular, have them namedrop villains they’ve defeated or muse about just how many civilians they must have saved over the years and how that makes it all worth it.

What I’m saying is, you need a coherent plot. Obviously the journey from A to B needs ups and downs, but those probably shouldn’t consist of 18 minor villains with the Big Bad at the end unless all the attacks turn out to be related. Keep your plot tidy, and remember, this is a novel. For the first book at least, you might be better off sticking with one supervillain/group as your major antagonist, with subplots constructed from other, less major conflicts (tension with law enforcement, other heroes, collapsing marriage, love interest, high school issues etc. etc.). In my first attempt at a superhero novel, I had my hero (Ace) fighting gangs and cleaning up the streets, saving kids from their own stupidity, dealing with a new addictive and highly highly dangerous drug pouring into his city, trying to uncover who or what the Crime Syndicate was, fending off the police who were trying to arrest him, and a bunch of civilian life problems too, including his mother and best friend trying to work out what he was hiding, passing university and finding a job, all on top of tracking down and fighting his newfound nemesis. This is a slightly exaggerated list, but you can see what I’m talking about. Too much going on can kill your coherency, even if it’s the kind of winding plot you’re used to seeing on comics.

My tip here: pick one main villain, or gang, or anti-hero etc. –pick only one major villainous entity. Stack in one to three sideplots. Make sure everything is coherent and leads your hero from A to B, whether they know it or not. It might be a superhero novel, but it’s a novel above all. Stick to your basic plotting rules, and you’ll be a-okay.

2) You won’t be able to get down every aspect of your character’s awesome outfit. This is another rule applicable to everything, but it’s especially hard to resists in a genre where a hero’s public image is often built from their outfit and powers as much as what they stand for. But imagine if you had to read a block paragraph description of Batman’s outfit? He wears all-black, with a cowl covering the top half of his face that has pointy bat ears which electrocutes you if you try to take it off. He also wears eyeliner to cover the skin around his eyes. He never smiles, and his voice is a deep growl. His chest plate is black and decorated with false abs and a bat-symbol, which is yellow or black depending on whether he’s in camouflage- YAWN! I’m bored just typing all that out.

Pick defining characteristics for all of them. My villainess has candyfloss pink hair, a slow smile and a dappled black outfit fit for a thief. My hero is half-Japanese, wielding a glowing blue sword (which might become a shield in the edits) and donning his heirloom hero suit of black and matching glowing blue. It’s not a lot, and I drop in other details here and there (she carries smoke bombs and knives in her boots, he can’t wink), but sticking to core, important details when describing their outfits in particular can give a pretty clear idea without choking the reader.

3) Some tropes don’t translate well. At all. Put aside the rampant racism, the homophobia, the general mistreatment of many minorities in the comic industry. Put aside the America-centrism and the fridging of ‘pure’ girlfriends and the slutty villainess alike. These are all problems, but they also exist outside of the superhero genre.

Here, I’m talking space radiation giving people powers, killing their loved ones, serving the plot in any which way. I’m talking Superman’s 800 superpowers and Luthor’s inability to figure out his secret ID despite being the smartest man on the planet. I’m talking fallacies of logic, stretching the suspension of disbelief far past breaking point, Gary Stus galore. I’m talking Guy Gardener’s bowlcut. Y’know, just generally bad writing.

You’re going to have to come up with more original power-origins and better haircuts than they did in the Golden Age, I’m afraid. While I genuinely wish I could get in the invisible brainwave-controlled escape boomerangs from Captain Boomerang in the Silver Age, it doesn’t work so well in a pseudo-serious novel. But work a little harder at your worldbuilding than the golden oldies had to, and you’ll have everything down pat.

4) Nothing is wholly original, not anymore. But you can still come up with something you can comfortably call your own. This is linked to point three. Everything has been done. Every superpower, every storyline, every outfit, magic item, warping of genes. You name it, someone, somewhere, whether inside or outside the big comic houses, has done it. This is common with all ideas, but with superheroes you know some all-knowing jackass will pop out of the woodwork like ‘actually this was the plot of Assman #236 in 1987 and your just a hack’ if you ever publish your work.

Fuck ‘em. You might not be able to create something wholly original, but you can create something with a twist. From your superpowers and gadgets, to your plotlines and your worldbuilding, to your hero leagues and villain cadres and your mob squads –you can create something fresh, something we’ve never seen before, something that will open mouths and eyes and hearts. Everything can be original if you take it and play.

5) Action scenes will either become your trusty sidekick or your archnemesis (and each one can turn out to be either). Some will flow from your pen (or keyboard) as though the Muses themselves are scribing your words with golden ink. Other times, you will want to strangle every one of your characters, and throw their weapons, your writing implements and yourself out of the window. The real problem is that action scenes tend to be crucial to this genre, and you never know which fight scene is going to bite you in the ass.

It’s okay if you’re terrible at them (like me). Sketch what you need out of the scene in terms of plot, and then research to your heart’s content (while remembering this is a genre built on ridiculousness and you can stretch reality as far as you need). Then, as with wit, remember you don’t have to be an expert fighter. Unlike your characters, you can write and rewrite and play and mess with until everything is exactly how you want it.

LESS. IS. MORE. I think this is the sum total of my advice, though bear in mind that I’m a massive overwriter: if you underwrite, you might need to flip some of this advice on its head. In my experience, keep your original plot tight, because it will expand with heroic shenanigans and villainous sideplots. Keep your initial character description to key characteristics, and build in the cool, extraneous details over time. Watch out for some of the good old tropes (and not just the bigoted ones) that simply don’t translate well into a modern novel. Play with your assumptions, your tropes and anything else you can get your hands on, but don’t be too afraid to hang onto some of the old classics: this is a genre known for its fun tropes, after all.

If you need any more general writing advice, feel free to come back! You are talking to someone who wrote 60,000+ words of my core superhero novel and scrapped every single one of them, who’s plotted out seven superhero novels and counting, and who may or may not be far too in love with this genre.

But over everything else, remember to take all advice -including and especially mine- with a large pinch of salt. Come talk to me off anon if you just want to chat about superheroes, I don’t bite (and I really, really love superheroes).

Thanks for the ask!xx

#advice #my advice #heroes and villains #superhero novels #amwriting #writing advice #mine #superheroes #supervillains

[coquuin]

u bet ur fuckin ass im sending myself an ask meme bc fuck you no one else will so shit SOMEONE gotta. all the questions for Ezekiel bay bee

the amount of fucks that i do not give is unreal

1. How does your character think of their father? What do they hate and love about him? What influence - literal or imagined - did the father have?

well shit both of Ezekiel’s parents died when he was 3 so obviously he hardly has any memories of them, but! Ezekiel’s father was.. fucking hilarious! the dude had an amazing sense of humor–mightve been a stand up comedian, although not a huge known one?? he was always smiling and just trying to make people laugh! especially loved to make his son laugh the most.

so as you can easily imagine, 3-year-old Ezekiel obviously loved his father. i mean, why wouldnt he. although now that his father is long dead and ezekiel has pretty much forgotten him by this point, his opinion towards what very little he DOES remember of his dad is just like.. “why were you so fucking happy all the time? what was there to be happy about?” but, like i said, seeing as Ezekiel has completely forgotten him, he’s pretty neutral on him and doesnt really have much of an opinion.

2. Their mother? How do they think of her? What do they hate? Love? What influence - literal or imagined - did the mother have?

opinion wise, it’s the exact same deal as his father–seeing as both parents died at the same time. so he neither dislikes or likes her! hes just neutral.

however, as for her personality, she was honestly like the polar opposite of the dad. she was calm and collected, and a little intense. a very blunt woman who would not be afraid to call you out on your bullshit! sort of like Ezekiel now actually :) a lot of her mannerisms and personality traits literally resemble Ezekiel to a T, which he obviously doesnt even realize seeing as his mom has been, yknow, dead for all his life. but underneath that tough exterior, she was a very sweet woman! she was probably a doctor tbh.

4. What type of discipline was your character subjected to at home? Strict? Lenient?

IN THE CULT.. it was like a literal living hell and EXTREMELY strict. which is exactly what this cult wanted! seeing as it was a Satanic cult especially. BUT UHHH.. i cant go too in depth on how everything was like in that orphanage, but if you REALLY wanna know all the gross details literally just do some research on Satanism or Satanic Cults and youll be sure to find some pretty gross stuff. all of that is what happened to Ezekiel there!

the things i can mention though!! every child had to wear the same uniform every day, they all had the same exact hairstyle (boys had a short bowlcut, girls had long hair which they were absolutely not allowed to style or put up). they were, of course, beaten severely if the orphanage staff saw fit to do so. medieval torture methods were used on them, especially for sacrifices. they were bluntly told, “if you try to leave, the Devil will kill every single one you love and come for you last”–which is honestly why Ezekiel always talks about how “the devil is out to get him” or why Ezekiel feels that he cant get close to anyone, bc he just expects the devil to kill anyone he gets close to! bc, yknow, he ran away. the kids were also often forced to eat or drink bodily fluids which Yeah is fucking disgusting. they only had one meal a day, and said meal was very small–so a lot of the kids starved, and thats why Ezekiel is such a picky eater and refuses to eat a lot of the time! bc hes just so used to having only one tiny meal a day, just enough for him to survive on, and any more than one small meal he always feels like he’s wasted too much money or something. a lot of sexual abuse went on too. YOU GET THE IDEA BY NOW IM SURE SO.. YEAH, IT WAS… BAD BAD BAD.

5. Were they overprotected as a child? Sheltered?

EXTREMELY SHELTERED. he and the other kids in the orphanage were absolutely not allowed to go outside whatsoever. this was because the caretakers told them “THE OUTSIDE WORLD WANTS TO CORRUPT YOU, SO YOU MUST ABSOLUTELY NOT INTERACT WITH ANYTHING THAT IS OUTSIDE OF THESE DOORS!!!” and were EXTREMELY strict on that rule. one time, Ezekiel had snuck out when he was about 7, and brought in stray kittens, which he hid in his room! it wasnt long until his roommates snitched on him and the caretakers straight up just fucking cut off every kitten’s head right in front of lil Ezekiel and then proceeded to beat him afterward. so that kinda fucked him up!!! this is what led to Ezekiel’s reclusive behavior now and his generally being totally silent when he’s around anyone he doesn’t know (although he has gotten a lot better about the talking thing! albeit the fact when he does talk chances are he is saying something very mean. BUT STILL!). even now, he completely secludes himself in his small apartment, even going so far as boarding up all his windows to block the sunlight altogether. well ok he also boarded them up bc he has an extremely bad habit of trying to break the glass but. the sunlight thing too!

6. Did they feel rejection or affection as a child?

REJECTION OFC. the orphanage caretakers never even referred to him by his name–instead, they called every child by numbers. in Ezekiel’s case, it was #34. even now, that is his least favorite number.

8. How does your character feel about religion?

he may not seem like it, but Ezekiel is VERY VERY VERY religious!!! after he ran away from the orphanage and later moved to L.A., he actually did convert to Christianity! he always wears a golden cross necklace around his neck and he feels like it protects him from evil spirits–obviously thats all in his head as no evil spirits are really out to get him, but it’s a big big BIG comfort item to him. he can easily recite a shit ton of Bible verses bc he reads that damn thing all the fucking time man. in general, his faith in god is a huge fucking comfort for him, as he always fears the devil is out to get him and whatnot–its nice to think that he may actually have god on his side to protect him.

10. Is your character street-smart, book-smart, intelligent, intellectual, slow-witted?

honestly??? hes all over the fuckin place. he surprisingly does have some street smarts to him (from having been literally fucking homeless for a while).

although the only thing he’s really book-smart with is languages–he’s a big linguist! but otherwise, he kinda sucks at smart stuff like math or science or stuff like that–bc he never went to school! he did learn how to read while in the orphanage, but that was really about it.

not too intelligent either??? thats mostly bc he’s literally been secluded from interacting with people like all his life, so he’s just not really good at like.. reading people? and has little to no life skills bc no one ever taught him??

12. How does their education and intelligence – or lack thereof - reflect in their speech pattern, vocabulary, and pronunciations?

ok so despite the fact that Ezekiel never went to school, his vocabulary is actually pretty big! although like i said, he did learn to read in the cult so. that really isnt too much of an issue. but he’s very very interested in literature and language as a whole, and always was even as a child! so even now, he devotes a lot of his time to studying that kind of stuff, and his way of speaking definitely shows it–well, if you can get behind the constant swearing, anyway.

16. What does your character do for a living? How do they see their profession? What do they like about it? Dislike?

he’s the guitarist of the rock band Rogue! his feelings on playing in a band in general is kinda.. conflicting, really. he isnt sure if he enjoys it or hates it. for one, he actually has HUGE stage fright–though he has gotten a bit better about it after playing on stage so many times by now, but it’s still a recurring issue with him and can sometimes cause complications within the band. it certainly is very anxiety-inducing for him, but at the same time… he cant bring himself to just quit, either. not even he himself is sure why he still puts up with the band, but he finds himself drawn to it quite often. he is very very very proud of being able to write music and have it be shown to millions of people though–hearing the band’s singer, Augustine, sing his lyrics to crowds, and the crowd loving it, is probably one of the biggest things that can make Ezekiel happy.

17. Did they travel? Where? Why? When?

well, his first travel was from London, England to Los Angeles, California! and thats where he eventually joined the band! and, yknow, being in a band that tours quite often, now he definitely has to travel a lot. which he absolutely hates. he would much rather just stay home in his stupid secluded cheap ass apartment, but hey, u gotta do what u gotta do

23. What do they want from a partner? What do they think and feel of sex?

when it comes to partners, ezekiel honestly doesnt expect too much from them–just a mutual understanding of each other is all he truly asks for, which should really go without saying in a relationship anyway.

hes not really one for sex! not to say he never wants to do it, though. he does have a lower sex drive than most people though–and the moments he does do it with his partner, it’s gonna have to be very gentle. he couldnt handle anything too rough tbh. also hes a total bottom so jot that down-

26. What does your character’s home look like? Personal taste? Clothing? Hair? Appearance?

his home is a fucking MESS. he has a tendency to destroy the entire room whenever he’s having one of his temper tantrums, and this is pretty evident all over Ezekiel’s apartment, bc he doesnt even bother to clean up afterwards. the only time he really cleans up his own mess at home is if its like, food or a drink or something bc he isnt that bad about it but. every room at his apartment looks like a fucking tornado hit him or something. and he couldnt care less what his home looks like! like as long as Ezekiel has a bed, he’ll be alright. he doesnt even like big homes all that much, and prefers to live in something simple and relatively small.

as for clothing, Ezekiel usually just goes for simple stuff. Especially wears a lot of jackets, hoodies, the like. a lot of baggy-ish clothing going on, but he actually is pretty fashionable believe it or not!

hair wise, Ezekiel just has.. no fucks to give. he hardly puts much care to his hair at all tbh. its just naturally curly and a little messy, but at least he keeps it fairly short so it doesnt get too bad. its probably a lil greasy tho.. someone make this boy take a gotdamn SHOWER

29. What is your character’s weaknesses? Hubris? Pride? Controlling?

theres probably several tbh IJOISJERIJ

but most of all, probably both his paranoia and his stubbornness? like he can hardly even function in every day life bc he cANT EVEN COME OUT OF HIS HOUSE BC HES SO PARANOID OVER EVERYTHING. and oh my GOD Ezekiel is so goddamn infuriatingly stubborn like GODDAMN. sometimes its just practically impossible to get through to this guy whatsoever. ezekiel can honestly be a pain in the ass

30. Are they holding on to something in the past? Can he or she forgive?

HE REMEMBERS PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING SINGLE FUCKING THING FROM THE CULT.. AND OH GOD DOES IT PLAGUE HIS MIND EVERY SINGLE DAY. like his entire childhood in that orphanage still is so fresh and prevalent in his head that he quite often has hallucinations of the events that happened there, especially when he sees certain things. like cats, for example! seeing a cat will literally send Ezekiel into immediate panic and he genuinely thinks he’s back at the orphanage where he watched those stray kittens i mentioned earlier get their lil heads cut off and he’ll repeat over and over, “their heads are gone, their heads are gone, their heads are gone-” bECAUSE. ITS LIKE HES THERE ALL OVER AGAIN! which is, of course.. yet another reason he hardly ever comes out of his home! bc he thinks “well if i just dont go out then that means i cant see anything triggering that will make me have another panic attack.”

as for forgiving his abusers? OH HAHA ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT. HE HOPES THEY ALL DIE OR HAVE ALREADY DIED IN THE MOST BRUTAL WAYS POSSIBLE.

32. How does your character react to stress situations? Defensively? Aggressively? Evasively?

Ezekiel either:A) GETS REALLY FUCKING PISSED AND START DESTROYING EVERYTHING IN THE ROOMB) HAVE A WHOLE ASS MENTAL BREAKDOWN AND PANIC

33. Do they drink? Take drugs? What about their health?

unfortunately, Ezekiel is very much an addict :( he’s a big alcoholic, and also does cocaine, ecstasy, pain killers, xanax, and maybe some other shit i cant think of off the top of my head. but! hes.. a mess…. save him

35. Do they always rationalize errors? How do they accept disasters and failures?

it depends on the person/people around him! because with anyone that he hardly knows? then he doesnt really give a shit and easily brushes it off, because he honestly doesnt care what strangers think of him anyway. but around people that hes actually close to and he cares about? THEN OOF. HE CAN POSSIBLY HAVE A WHOLE PANIC ATTACK BC HE REALLY DOESNT WANT TO LET HIS LOVED ONES DOWN..

36. Do they like to suffer? Like to see other people suffering?

of course not!!! although its.. not impossible for him to enjoy someone elses suffering. you would just have to like, REAAALLY fucking do him wrong for him to be like that, which is pretty hard even for him. like the orphanage caretakers! i assure u if they suffered Ezekiel would LOVE that. 

37. How is your character’s imagination? Daydreaming a lot? Worried most of the time? Living in memories?

most of the time hes living in memories, for sure. either that, or he’s just kinda stressed or anxious! but not always necessarily a bad anxious tho! like if hes around someone that he actually likes, he’ll be VERY anxious, but like in a good way! just kinda excited yknow. BUT MOST OF THE TIME, ITS BAD OFC.

38. Are they basically negative when facing new things? Suspicious? Hostile? Scared? Enthusiastic?

VERY SCARED AND DISTRUSTFUL, PRETTY HOSTILE!!! remember hes fucking paranoid about every little thing rip.

40. How is their sense of humor? Do they have one?

well, most of ezekiel’s jokes involve swearing and yelling, so probably that! Angery……

42. What does your character want most? What do they need really badly, compulsively? What are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain?

i think probably like.. parents tbh. or at least a parental figure. he’s only had one person who was like a father to him, but that guy is all the way back in London so Ezekiel hasnt seen him since :( and tbh for like most of his life, he’d always assumed that not having parents was like.. just whatever, yknow? bc you cant really miss something that was never there. but, after he ran away from the cult and he saw like.. people, he saw a lot of happy families and whatnot and just!! hes really jealous of anyone who has a functional, happy family now. it isnt so much that he misses his birth parents, just that he wants to have some kind of parental figure in general. someone that he feels he can actually call family.

44. How badly do they want to obtain their life objectives? How do they pursue them?

what’s sad? the fact that ezekiel… doesnt really have any life objectives! the only objective he really has is to survive. thats literally it. he just doesnt want “the devil” to take him–and to escape the devil’s wrath, ezekiel immerses himself in his religion and staying inside all day and night so that he doesnt have to talk to anyone! thats basically about it

46. Is your character tall? Short? What about size? Weight? Posture? How do they feel about their physical body?

he’s pretty tall! 6′3″! although for his weight, i swear to god hes like.. a fucking twig. i mean theres that whole “he only eats one small meal a day” thing, so ofc you can imagine that probably has an effect on his weight. BUT! that isnt the only reason hes so skinny! it’s also bc he has Klinefelter Syndrome, which is when a male is born with an extra X chromosome. so as a result of that, he is a little taller than most people, is very skinny, has weak bones, and breasts! and some other symptoms but i dont feel like listing every single thing so fuck y

as for posture, Ezekiel is usually a liiiittle slouched, but not terribly so! when hes stressed, however, he always stands up completely straight!

ezekiel absolutely fucking hates his body, though. he knows full well that hes not.. the most attractive–ugly, even. you know that “your toes, hand em over” meme? yeah, he looks like that a little bit. his body honestly looks pretty fucking freaky. ALSO HE HAS A LITERAL MICROPENIS SO THATS A THING! all in all, Ezekiel just… is very very very scared of showing off his body to anyone honestly. extremely insecure!

47. Do they want to project an image of a younger, older, more important person? Does they want to be visible or invisible?

Ezekiel actually puts on this whole temperamental asshole front specifically to MAKE people hate him! thats why hes so quick to be like “FUCK YOU YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT TWAT YOU GODDAMN WANKER FUCK YOU”! because, yknow, most people are usually gonna hate anyone who says that kind of stuff to them and as a result they hopefully wont wanna talk to him! which is exactly what Ezekiel wants. yep, Ezekiel wants everyone to hate him! because if everyone hates him, then they wont talk to him, and if they dont talk to him, then he doesnt risk of getting close to anyone and getting his heart broken all over again! hes a mess……

49. What about voice? Pitch? Strength? Tempo and rhythm of speech? Pronunciation? Accent?

TBH FOR REFERENCE YOU CAN JUST LIKE.. LISTEN TO MURDOC NICCALS’ VOICE BC THATS HIS VC BUT. his voice can switch between either somewhat slow or extremely fast! it all depends on his mood. in his normal speaking voice, when hes neither upset or happy or anything, his words come out a little slow, but not terribly so. pretty normal, mostly. but if hes excited, whether bad or good, he speeds up when he talks a LOT. so much so that he doesnt even let himself breathe when hes talking! just like “FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUIHATEYOUYOUGODDAMNSTUPIDTWATAAAAAA”

his voice in general is a little hoarse! although he has gotten much better about talking to people (even if he is mean when he talks), he did go through practically his whole childhood just.. not talking to people very much at all. so that kinda shows in his voice now? but its not too bad. he has a pretty low-ish voice too.

as for pronounciation and accent, again literally just listen to Murdoc’s voice bc its p much exactly the same as him but. he has a very thick london-cockney accent?? i sure hope thats accurate anyway, im not British so im not 100% sure on British accents but.

50. What are the prevailing facial expressions? Sour? Cheerful? Dominating?

THIS MOTHERFUCKER HAS THE WORST RESTING BITCH FACE IN THE HISTORY OF RESTING BITCH FACE.

ok ill just draw this one

his resting face!

AMGERY!!!!!

talking to his friends!!!

PANICKING

theres probably more i could draw, but in general, Ezekiel is VERY expressive tho! its pretty easy to read all of his expressions and emotions.

#shut up erica; ooc #ezekiel facts #EZEKIEL IS JUST.. A SCARED BOYE 24/7

[pete-and-pete]

The Walking Dead Spoilers: Season 9 Premiere Recap & Review

Season 9 Episode 1 of The Walking Dead has premiered, and thanks to AMC Premiere, fans were able to watch the episode 24 hours early. Heavy took advantage of this and can report back that the premiere was absolutely phenomenal. Although the episode didn’t have any truly earth-shattering moments, it was deep in character development, had a few scenes that left you at the edge of your seat, and had some moments that really touched viewers’ hearts. Below is a recap and review of the Season 9 premiere of The Walking Dead. So of course, this article will have major spoilers from here on. 

The episode had a natural feel that the show has been missing for awhile. The dialogue feels greatly improved, and scenes flow much better. Although there were still some moments when I wondered why the characters were putting themselves in certain positions, the episode was overall a solid 4 out 5 stars. The plot moved along at a good pace, while also taking time to really flesh out the characters’ struggles. Even Daryl had more lines than he’s had in a long time.

The episode begins with an obvious time jump. The best clue we have regarding how much time has passed is Judith’s age. But we actually don’t have to guess, because the time jump was revealed in The Walking Dead Season 9 preview special. About 18 months have passed since Season 8 concluded. (Tom Payne, who plays Jesus, revealed the exact length of time for fans.)

One of the first people we see is Ronan from The 100, who is now Justin on The Walking Dead. This actor has actually had a number of significant roles (Agents of Shield, Black Sails), so don’t expect this to be a bit role. More is coming from him. There’s a montage of different scenes, and then we’re in Washington, D.C., where it appears a walker fell asleep against a car and suddenly woke up. (Do walkers sleep?)

And that’s when we see the beautiful new intro/opening credits. For the first time, the show has changed its opening credits dramatically. Rewatch the new opening credits below.

  At one point, the intro pans out more to show us that mysterious helicopter that Jadis was connected to. That’s likely from the Commonwealth, I’d guess.

AMC

And we pan away from the horses to crosses and a sword in the ground and Carl’s hat. :(

AMC

And now it’s time to continue with the show.

Our main characters are making a supply run to Washington, D.C., where they visit the Smithsonian in a pretty intense scene. Everyone is putting their lives at risk to drag a wagon over a glass floor while a bunch of walkers loom beneath, very hungry. I wondered from time to time if this was worth it. Couldn’t they make their own wagon, worst case scenario, rather than go through all this for one? The seeds are certainly worthwhile, but you wouldn’t have to risk breaking through a glass floor in the process.

YES, the woman you see talking to Gabriel during this scene is Jadis, now going by Anne. She looks completely different and acts completely different. Those bowlcut bangs are gone, and so is her weird accent. But she’s still hiding secrets.

Does anyone else think Jadis isn't the sole survivor of her group? I think she has a lot more going on than we know.. Just an example: maybe she has other groups in locations we don't yet know about. Thoughts #TWDFamily? #TheWalkingDead #TWD pic.twitter.com/c2PmjAjats

— Stephen Sweet (@sweetstephen55) September 11, 2018

For that matter, Gabriel is different now too, but he’s embraced his new self.

AMCGabriel

In the process of trying to rescue the wagon, Ezekiel falls through the floor and is just barely saved from the walkers beneath. That’s when we officially learn that he and Carol are a couple now. :) They are absolutely adorable. Their back-and-forth banter later when he proposes is adorable too. I’m definitely on team Carzekiel. After waht

AMC

A bridge is out for unknown reasons, and as a result, a guy in a blue shirt dies when he tries to help free a horse before the walkers attack. Despite knowing nothing about him, Maggie’s brokenhearted response to his death really hit me. And no, she wasn’t calling him “kid” over and over. His name is Ken.

We soon learn that Tammy and Earl are Ken’s parents, and they’re heartbroken. They feel this was all worthless because so much of what they worked for is just going to the Saviors anyway. :( And they’re mad at Maggie. Maggie understands their grief and isn’t offended.

Later, Alden sings at the funeral. Alden was the member of the Saviors who was held hostage by Hilltop, but ended up siding with Maggie. So he got to stick around. He was singing the lyrics to The Last Rose of Summer, a poem by Irish poet Thomas Moore. The end of the poem reads: “So soon may I follow, When friendships decay, And from Love’s shining circle The gems drop away. When true hearts lie withered, And fond ones are flown, Oh! who would inhabit This bleak world alone?”

The poem has been set to music numerous times, most recently in the movie Three Billboards, which begins with a version performed by Renee Fleming.

We also learn that somehow, Gregory is still alive, which is weird to me.

Meanwhile, we see that at the Sanctuary, a lot of people practically worship Rick (and Daryl has been leading the group here.) Neither of them are too comfortable with the hero worship, however. But there’s still a group of secret folks who want Negan back.

AMC

We soon learn that Daryl really just wants to be with his friends again and not lead the Sanctuary anymore. He wants to see Maggie and her baby Hershel, and he just wants to check out for awhile. He’s kind of lonely. Carol picks up on it and offers to lead the Sanctuary for him so he can take a break. He offers to stay with her, but she says that she doesn’t need him to. They talk about Ezekiel’s proposal, and he’s happy for her. I honestly think this may be the most Daryl’s talked since his scenes with Beth. They have a pretty sweet moment that might give #Caryl fans some hope still, but I think Carol just sees Daryl as her younger brother, but has a real love for him in that sense.

AMC

This episode was great at delving into character relationships. The interactions between Michonne and Rick were natural and authentic too. I love how she made fun of him for being the Great Rick Grimes.

AMC

Gregory, meanwhile, is up to his old tricks. He’s claiming that Maggie rigged the election with Jesus’ help. He convinces Maggie (in a very Dr. Smith from Lost in Space kind of way) that Glenn’s tomb was defaced. When she goes, she’s attacked by Earl. Then she confronts Gregory, who attacks her too. And Enid is knocked out in the melee.

Maggie goes to Rick and demands that the Sanctuary doesn’t take such a big cut. She’s ready to take the lead now, like Rick promised he would let her. When she returns to Hilltop, she’s ready to make the tough decisions.

Yes, she’s going to hang Gregory. (I’m surprised he lives this long.) Daryl is the one who carries out her orders, slapping a horse so it will run away and Gregory will hang. Michonne is there and tries to stop the whole thing when she sees two kids watching, but Rick holds her back. This is Maggie’s decision, and rightly so. Maggie tells the crowd: “This is not the beginning of something. I don’t want to go through this again.”

And then the episode ends.

The premiere for Season 9 was well done, authentic, and intense. It set off on a higher quality tone in many ways than Season 8, and pulled the viewers right back in. I care about the characters again. And yes, Maggie’s death sentence on Gregory might have reminded people a bit of Negan, but it was necessary. Maggie is ready to take the reins and do what has to be done. But unlike Negan (or Rick for that matter), she will know where the line should be drawn.

What did you think of the episode? Let us know in the comments below.

source https://heavy.com/entertainment/2018/10/the-walking-dead-season-9-premiere-recap-review-spoilers/