#King is the character ever i love him

[toh-tagteam-au]

You know with the context of TOH ending it's really funny having the headcanon that King is Bill Cipher reincarnated. Like diversity win: the eye-of-province gaslight gatekeep girlboss dream demon that wanted to end the world and almost succeeded was reborn as a baby god who was adopted by a chronically ill queer witch and craves tummy scratches. His sister is the Chosen One™. His dad is bigender. The axolotl knew what it was doing.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

It's the 6 month anniversary of this blog! Check out these cool bugs I found.

Part 2 - Part 3

[adelrambles]

Tips on Writing Bishop

I've been asked a couple times for advice on how to write a good (03-style) Bishop, and I'm well-aware he can be a bit tough to get a grasp on. As someone who's studied him specifically to learn how to write him as accurately as possible, I figured I'd compile some thoughts in case it'd be helpful to anyone else. I know a lot of Rise takes on him are basing off the 03 version, so maybe this could help generate ideas, too. SO!

Big Overall Points!

At the core of EVERYTHING Bishop does are two primary motivations. The first: the protection of the earth. What this means to him can get tricky, because it doesn't necessarily mean protecting the people, at least not all of them. But it will be better understood alongside the other:

The second: The protection of his sense of safety. Bishop has been deeply traumatized, and everything he does is born of a want to avoid that pain ever again. In his mind, earth is a safe area, a controllable factor, and anything outside it is a danger that must be eliminated. This is why he will still be willing to put himself and other people on the line in service of this; any sacrifice is worth the greater goal. (It's worth noting, Bishop will claim the first as his motivation freely, but is likely not consciously aware of the second.)

Bishop deals in Big Picture ONLY. Another reason Bishop will willingly throw away anything, including the lives of the people he claims to protect, is that he seems incapable of understanding things on a small, individual basis.

Bishop is a cold personality. He does not have strong displays of emotion. He does emote, but for the most part it's muted, so I recommend using emotional bursts very sparingly. (In my own writing, as an example, I try to limit my use of exclamation marks in his dialogue as much as possible.)

At his core, Bishop is afraid, and his response to fear is aggression. This also makes it particularly difficult to talk him down, if he's put in an emotional state. His response to not being in control is often violent retaliation.

With those basic tenants understood, let's move next to some major personality traits:

Bishop is a controlling personality. This is a direct result of his trauma response. Things that can be controlled are safe, therefore he must control everything. If something cannot be controlled, it's a threat that must be eliminated. If he doesn't know why something happened, he becomes angry (including even when it benefits him.)

Bishop is very low-empathy. When writing him, I try to keep in mind that he cannot put himself in the perspective of others. (Or if he can, he doesn't care to.)

Bishop is a sadist. He gets personal enjoyment from hurting others.

Bishop likes fighting, but only when he's winning. He will quickly leave if he can't see a guaranteed victory.

Bishop is paranoid. This is probably self-evident, but it's the reason he's often so well-prepared even when things don't go to plan.

Bishop genuinely seems to enjoy science. He's shown to be far more lenient with scientist characters than anyone else, and he seems to involve himself in his scientists' projects to a degree. Enough to, at the very least, understand their work. (Given he was the one set to dissect the turtles, it might also be argued he has some medical or biology background, himself.)

Bishop is an opportunist and scavenger. He can roll with failures as long as he can find something to get out of it. If he's presented with an opportunity to stab someone in the back, and he has something to gain? He'll take it without a second thought.

Bishop is deeply self-blind. For all his perceptiveness and strategic prowess, Bishop is not very self-aware in the slightest. He is completely blind to his own hypocrisies, and thoroughly confident in his own righteousness.

Bishop adapts fast. He accepts situations for what they are and acts (Though he may still be angry about them, or what have you.) This is likely a skill developed via longevity; the world around him has changed rapidly, but he doesn't feel out of place at all.

Bishop will take extreme risks and thinks wildly outside the box. Also self-evident, if you're familiar with the plans he enacts throughout the show. He'll put a lot on the line if he thinks the reward is worth enough, and he's willing to go to extreme lengths to get what he wants, even if his plans would be considered crazy by normal standards.

Bishop is persistent. If he wants something, he won't stop until he gets it. If he fails, he'll retreat, make a new plan, and try again. It is very difficult to convince him to back down (and certainly not on moral grounds.)

Habits and triggers I've noted:

Being restrained of any sort puts Bishop in a panic. He is more likely to have an emotional response in these scenarios, and seems to have (an albeit muted) desperation to escape. (See: Leatherhead restraining him in the first encounter; His reaction to being trapped on the surgical table in Head of State.)

When being duplicitous or suppressing a reaction, Bishop will go to adjust his tie. This could possibly be considered his tell.

Bishop seems to have a particular fear of aliens blending in as humans. His slayer project was built around the assumption that this is a common threat. (Worth noting: This makes The Shredder the model of the exact threat Bishop is afraid of. Technically, Bishop himself may also fit the description of a threat shaped like a human.)

Writing considerations:

In 03's narrative, Bishop is EPF and EPF is Bishop. Narratively speaking, any organization Bishop is head of acts as if it is an extension of his will and character.

Bishop is shown to strike fear and/or discomfort into most characters he interacts with. Anything beyond this is an outlier, and will draw a reader's attention.

Dialogue-wise, Bishop is generally succinct and blunt. He does dabble in gloating, though, and especially likes to upset others. If he's given a chance to be mean, he'll usually take it. It can help to consider he has a Mission Mode and a Normal Mode. When it comes to Mission Mode, he gets straight to the point and hates unnecessary talking. Otherwise, he's still not very talkative, but will take the time to make pointed jabs or talk through a plan. A lot of his sense of humor seems to be rooted in how He's Better Than You (And You're Going To Die Painfully.)

It's a common pitfall that Bishop is depicted as seeking out the turtles. In 03, once he gets their DNA, he's done with them. Any encounters after that are incidental. Bishop does not care about anything that won't effect his greater goal. If he's targeting another character, it should have to do with a greater plan.

Bishop is an extremely competent combatant, shown to be able to handle up to 7 opponents at once. For a breakdown on his fighting style check out my other post on that!

Bishop is hard to kill, and oftentimes he accidentally contributes to his own defeat. (The hook from Bishop's Gambit is an example I get a LOT of mileage out of, as a perfect symbol of his self-defeating prophecies.)

We almost only ever see Bishop in the context of his work. While it could be construed that he depersonalizes himself, it's much more clear that the narrative depersonalizes him. As far as we, the audience know, Bishop's work is all that he is.

It's unclear if Bishop was released from his abduction or escaped. Depending on which you ascribe to, this can have ramifications for his mindset on how to deal with the alien threat. (Personally, because so much of his inability to cope hinges on a feeling of helplessness, I believe he was released. If he escaped on his own power, that undercuts it, somewhat.)

Thematically-speaking, Bishop parallels both his own torturers and his own victims at the same time. He has perpetuated the cycle that traumatized him in the first place by trying to fight fire with fire. (In that vein, I don't think he's capable of understanding that, not seeing aliens as people in the first place, just dangers. Considering how deeply ingrained his trauma is in his worldview and actions, it would probably ruin him, if he were ever able to actually grasp it.)

Bishop and EPF are likely a commentary on the military of the time 03 was coming out. This can be something worth keeping in mind, when figuring out his greater themes in your story, though it can just as well be discarded if it doesn't fit.

Adding to that, Bishop has an extensive american military background. His skills and knowledge will reflect that.

Bishop also plays on and references a number of real-life alien conspiracies. It can be worth digging through conspiracy history to drum up ideas and themes, too.

The ethical and philosophical quandaries of Bishop's body-hopping and humanity tend to not hold too much weight, because Bishop, himself, doesn't seem to care.

If I think of more I'll certainly be adding on to the reblogs of this post! Or, if you have more thoughts, please feel free to add! If you're in the mood for more Bishop ramblings, that's practically most of this blog atm, but this post is a particular favorite. If you're interested in Fast Forward!Bishop, specifically, consider this post! (also read Taking Pawns. slipped in that self-promo, nice.)

[sketchypeppers]

extra ordinary

[rmbunnie]

Red Hood Characterization

This is really long so I'm putting a cut here, I've been thinking about Jason Todd's character motivations and the question of whether or not his actions are based in a Moral Code (I don't think so, not to say he's without any morality) and I talk about that in more depth here.

I saw someone say on here that Titans: Beast World: Gotham City was some of the best Jason Todd internal writing they'd seen in a while, and I've been a Red Hood fan for 8 years or so now? pretty much since I read comics for the first time, so I went and checked out and I thought it was good! The way the person I saw talking about it as if it was rare and unusual made me wonder though, because as well-written as i thought his stances on crime were, there wasn't really anything in it that went against the way I conceptualize Jason?

This kinda plays into a larger question I've been thinking about for a while with Jason though, which is that, do people think that the killing is part of a fundamental worldview that motivates him a la batman, and that worldview is the reason he does the things he does?? Because 8 years ago i was a middle schooler engaging with fiction on the level that a middle schooler does, so I simply did not put much thought into it beyond "poor guy :(" but ever since I actually started trying to understand consistent characterization, I don't really see Jason as someone who's motivated by a moral code in his actions the way batman or superman is!

tbh my personal read is that he's a very socially-motivated guy, his actions from resurrection to his Joker-Batman ultimatum in utrh always seemed to me like every choice made leading up to his identity reveal was either a. to give him the leverage and skill necessary to pull off his identity reveal successfully, or b. to twist the knife that little bit more when he does let Bruce find out who he is. Like iirc there's a Judd Winick tweet like "yeah tldr he chose Red Hood as his identity because it's the lowest blow he could think of." And I think that's awesome, I think character motivations rooted so deeply in character's relationships and emotions are really fun to read! I also think it's where the stagnation/flatness of his character comes from in certain comics, because if his main motivation is one event in one relationship that passes, and he is not particularly attached to anything in his life or the world by the time that comes to pass, it's a little harder to come up with a direction to go with the character after that, because there isn't much of a direction that aligns with something the character would reasonably want? But I do think solving this by saying "all of the morally-off emotionally driven cruelty he did on his way to spite Batman was actually reflective of his own version of Batman's stance that's exactly the same except he thinks it's GOOD to kill people" isn't ideal. To be fully honest, it seems to me like he never particularly cared one way or the other about killing people to "clean Gotham of crime," he just did everything he could to get the power necessary to pull off his personal plans, and took out any particularly heinous people he encountered along the way (like in Lost Days.) Not to say I think the fact he killed people keeps him up at night anymore than everything else in his life events, I just never really thought he was out there wholeheartedly kneecapping some dude selling weed or random guy robbing a tv store for justice.

Looping wayyy back to my question, Is this (^) contradictory to the way he's written/the overall average perception of the character? Because like I enjoyed his writing in Beast World i have zero significant issue with anything there, I just didn't believe it would be a hot take, like yeah, that is Jason. It's been a while since I've read utrh and lost days, but I don't think my takeaway directly contradicts either of those too bad iirc. Idk all this to say I think Jason killing and being alright with killing is an obvious and objective fact, but i guess i've always seen it as more of a practical tactic than a moral belief, and I think taking the actions made during the lowest points of a character's life where he is obsessively focused on this ONEEEE thing and trying to apply it as a Motivating Stance to everything he's done after that, doesn't really follow logically for me.

[vvienne]

I literally woke up in the middle of the night like God will dark rise is so fucking screwed. The line that’s like. “Everyone wanted to kill the Dark King.” What’s the part where he looks at Violet helplessly, haunted, almost pleading for mercy? But of course he reveals nothing of substance to anyone. Elizabeth is too young to understand but the reader knows what “Her relationship with that boy was…unnatural” can mean. Tying him to bedposts? Failing to strangle him? What else? Never not even once seeing beyond a mythological identity Will himself didn’t know he had? What did he think was the reason? That he was just intrinsically hateful? Of course he says nothing. Of course Violet can’t trust him- he’s given her nothing as painfully real as what she’s given him. So he gives her the sword hoping at least he can die at the hands of someone he loved, but even that doesn’t work out - she gives the sword to a Visander still furious at SARCEAN. The pattern continues; no one looks at Will, who vomits when he realizes what’s happened to James, Will who is much of a liar and killer and sneak as Elizabeth accuses but nonetheless wants to be different. Even when he doesn’t remember his own past. There’s no way out for him that doesn’t hurt. Hope this obsession passes soon given the one and a half years of waiting required for book 3

[lavenderjewels]

the duality of Sukuna

[sunny-days-and-warm-mournings]

I just— I just love him okay????

[radiantmists]

call me an idiot but i do not get what grand purpose the corinthian serves as a nightmare like. what deep fear does he illustrate? does humanity need reminding that hot men may carve out your eyes and eat them?

[fungh0u1]

chazz day. ✌️.

[rubys-forest]

Hehehehe vince doodles

[adhd-merlin]

I think this is a mega unpopular opinion among arwen enjoyers but I love the banishment scene in 4x09 actually. yes it's tragic, yes it's painful, but it's precisely because of how much they loved each other. its greatly written and bradley and angel are both incredible in it. I haven't managed to find a proper gif set of that scene yet which is a crime

[soullessjack]

need to know your jack autism headcanons (:

OOOOHHHHH IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS IVE BEEN WAIITYJNNGGG OKAY!!!!! I will preface this by saying a lot of it is 100% projection from myself and how my personal machinery operated

︎✩ his sensory issues have just as much an effect on his powers as his emotional state, if not more since they’re constant and subconscious and practically elevated by his archangelic DNA. if something is the wrong temperature or the wrong level of severity or he touches something with a bad texture he either makes the bunker’s wiring fritz or causes cracks to go up glass objects. and since there aren’t many noise cancelling headphones that can tune out the celestial frequency of angel radio (the one thats canonically said to make his brain feel “like it’s been set on fire”), he’s decided to study celestial frequencies with Cas’ help to make one himself :)

︎✩ despite being very strongly emotional to an overwhelming unbearable extent, Jack also has a tendency to have bouts of severe low empathy/alexythimia, probably made worse by his soulless state and the “newness” of his current soul. whenever he gets like this he boards up in the room and hangs a “DONT DEAD OPEN INSIDE” TWD poster outside his room door just to be safe. while he’s isolating he mostly reads or listens to music to take his mind off of it

︎✩ this isn’t really a headcanon more so than an observation of canon, but he has one of the worst cases of rejection sensitive dysphoria I’ve ever seen. viewing every mistake and screwup as a reflection of some inherent evil within him, refusing comfort or acceptance of his own flaws, going into total shutdowns and meltdowns when he’s upset and overloaded with a sense of guilt and perceived disappointment. also, this particular scene in JITB —

— tracks right after he feels both betrayed and rejected by the Winchesters. a literal warping of his appearance rooted in the pain of rejection and internal guilt for why we [think we] might be rejected.

︎✩ this is another observation of canon but Jack stims!!!!!!!! mostly when he’s anxious, but he’ll pace around, clasp his hands, pick at his palm (13x23/14x18) and fidget with/adjust his clothes (14x14/14x17). I actually think these are natural habits of Alex that he decided to put into Jack on purpose and I adore it so much.

︎✩ he’s hypo-sensitive to certain things, like physical pain or loud sounds (all canon traits attributed to being half archangel but the coding is still there), and has a weak sense of danger that often comes across as courage and leads to making impulsive decisions.

︎✩ one of his most specific oral fixations is jamming his fingernails and toothpicks between his tooth gap (self projection), and he loves crunchy textured foods the most (also self projection)

︎✩ claire tried to paint his fingernails once at Jody’s house but the cold was too initially shocking and he accidentally blew a lamp up, so Dean doesn’t allow makeup nights unless they’re in the bunker

I think that’s all I have for now but TYSM!!!!!!

[slverblood]

Every time I see Gale called rizzless or some variant thereof I have to do a little introspection because I genuinely find him the most charming of the companions

[lyrker]

Okay. Okay no wait okay so yknow how when episodes end it’s with a sort of click and fizzle, as if it’s a recording ?

You know how, in the first episode, it begins with You Call It Madness playing on a radio, and we know it’s some sort of radio because someone physically turns up the volume louder ?

Kayne.

It’s Kayne.

Kayne is the resident eye bastard of the show. He’s been here since the beginning, he’s listening along like a recording.

Maybe it is a recording, to him. Maybe this has all already happened and Kayne is reliving his favorite show.

But whatever it is, I think it has to do with Kayne.

[that-was-anticlimactic]

no listen. king seven deadly sins is. he is SUCH a good character. he's sensitive and can't really tell if teasing is lighthearted or malicious. he's protective but feels like he can never protect anyone. he's strong but sees himself as weak because the people around him are stronger and he couldn't protect anyone. he's serious and struggles to let loose. he has an inferiority complex. he just wants to be loved. no, just wants to be worthy. he feels like he needs to constantly prove himself to be worth anything. he's the fairy king, but he doesn't think he is. he lost his memories for 100+ years thus causing him to "abandon" the fairy king's forest which led to its ultimate destruction. he took the brunt of helbram's crimes and was labelled the sin of sloth because he "let it all happen". he believes he's guilty of his sin. he believes it with his whole entire heart. he doesn't Really know how to blame other people and instead pins the blame on himself. “i’ve got to atone for this; for making my friend suffer so much longer than anybody should ever have to endure, for not realizing what he was going through, and for not keeping that important promise that i made to diane. but, i’m never gonna forget". "if you really knew the grief of losing someone precious to you, you wouldn't be so willing to die". "the fairy king falls from the sky to his death - what unfortunate irony that tale would be". "i am a selfish king". he's shy. he overreacts. he loves his sister. he loves the forest. he's willing to die for everything he loves. he has trouble trusting people. he makes his own clothes. he used to hate humans. he talks to himself. he talks to oslo. he loves diane. he gets jealous easily. he is silly. he is the fairy king. his name is harlequin.