I was feeling like a bit of slightly-angsty isolation this thursday, so...
AU where, instead of a double transmigration happening, RokSoo transmigrated to ogCale's body, but ogCale was put into a newly made double of his body and confined into a dimension pocket.
And just, no one knows about it and he can't get out until certain conditions are reached. For example: that someone finally gets rid of WS.
Luckily for him, RokSoo and company are rather fast to kill the white star. It only took them two years, way better than in his previous timeline.
Although, those are still two years in which og!Cale, the 40-year-old war soldier turned an 18-year-old time-traveler, had to spend trapped in that place. Completely alone except for the occasional god checking on him, and a few animals a god had the kindness to let for him. (It was Loki, but no one is going to call him out).
Og!Cale is a person who loves easily and deeply but, contrary to his true nature, someone who lived through decades without deep boundaries to gave him feedback. Whether it was during the war that took everyone he knew from him, or before that, with the family he choose to stay at distance and love them from the side-lines. He lived so long without feeling genuine care, making any emotional bond that isn't one-sided, that he's hungry for them.
Being in the past, where everyone he loves hadn't died yet, where they will live, and being so close— just a dimensional door away, really— but not being able to see them, hear them, nor even talk to them... It hurts.
He's happy and so, so glad. They're alive. They can laugh and eat and breath again— and, someday, he will see them again. Even if they don't know how to act with him and is uncomfortable. Even if, most probably, they don't know he's not there and don't miss him, he will see them again.
So, yeah, he's fine with this situation. He accepted this.
That doesn't mean that the waiting doesn't suck. He, a freedom loving person, trapped in the godly version of a safehouse. Most of the days it's only he, his thoughts and the ridiculous massive library Athena managed to fit in here. And his friends, the animals, of course.
Inside of that lonely place, of course, Cale gets attached to the animals that are by his side everyday. He was already an animal lover, to begin with. The little guys who just go through their lives being absolutely adorable and are more loyal than most people around... How can he not love them?
Besides, Athanasia, the griffin, gives the best cuddles he has ever had.
He gets used, eventually. It's not like he never had lived in a big house where the only beings around wouldn't speak more than three words to him. (Well, at least the animals try to talk with him. He just needed to learn what they mean.)
And Cale can do whatever he wants here. If he wants to play the violin or paint, do acrobatics or keep his training, he can just do it. There's no need to hide. No need to restrain himself.
There's no one here to get sad at her memories. No one to spread rumors about 'skills' or 'talents'. No one to turn his interests into weapons against his own family by comparing Bassen to him.
Eventually, it feels like a different kind of freedom here.
—And then he gets out.
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Alon the Stray Hound
I redesigned my Touchstarved Hound!MC to have more of a showman-y vibe, since they’re a magician. Do you believe in the heart of the cards?
Pronouns: Usually uses She/They, but they’re honestly fine with any pronouns
Birthday: March 20
Height: 4’11 / 150cm
Personality: So a bleeding heart, unwarranted hero complex, and astounding immaturity walk into the Wick and see that their good friends, dignity and self-preservation couldn’t make it…
Likes: Street food, dancing, rowdy taverns, making friends, pranks, adventure
Dislikes: Rules, rich people, rainy days, boredom, bullies
Fatal flaw: Would turn her self-destruction into a joke, but hey, at least it’d make for a decent stand-up routine in hell
Other: She has a terrible singing voice that was once mistakenly reported as a Soulless attack — by the end of the song, the neighbours probably preferred a Soulless attack.
Quote: “Look, buddy, I’m no stranger to failure — ideally, you don’t, but if you do, best to have fun with it, yeah?”
More about them below:
Alon is cheerful, mischievous, and outgoing. They love to make new friends wherever they are.
She’s restless, never stays in one place, and fidgets a lot, so she practised sleight of hand from a young age. It came in handy haha for thieving, but they’ve also become quite good at street magic. It’s not the real thing, of course, but it opens up busking as an option to earn coin (and get close enough to unsuspecting rich folks’ pockets in the process)
They specialize in street magic, which combines close-up, stage, and platform magic. They also do escapology (good at picking locks and getting out of sticky situations) and comedy magic (they don't shut up).
She has a lucky deck of cards that she usually shuffles and fidgets with.
As a trickster and magician, she tends to use tricks, jokes, and the unexpected in confrontations. They’re hard to catch, easy to miss—
Her fighting style is summarized by that one clip with RDJ as Sherlock where he keeps discombobulating his opponent (give or take ten hours).
Unlike my other MCs, Alon has no specific reservations about Monsters. It’s kind of hard to when you’ve been threatened, abused, and betrayed by humans your entire life. Like, at that point, what worse could a Monster do to you? Anything they try, you guarantee a non-Monster already attempted.
100% the kind of person to, at someone pointing a knife at them, go, “Well. This night just took a sharp turn.” or “What’re you gonna do, stab me? …Damn, they actually stabbed me.” *surprised pikachu face*
They have a knack for breaking into places they shouldn’t be, like a persistent raccoon that keeps finding its way into your trash or attic. Back with their old crew, she was usually the one who could squeeze into the tight spaces as the smallest thief. So yeah, the Senobium being locked to outsiders is a bit of a hiccup in her plans, but they’re not deterred.
You’d think Alon would be more reserved and distant because of their curse, but they’re actually a very physically affectionate person
Not to say they’re not cautious about it — she always keeps their hands bandaged or covered — she’s just found ways to give people physical affection without the use of her hands. They’d jokingly bump shoulders with someone. They’d lean on someone to physically comfort them. They nuzzle their head against their loved ones.
She doesn’t usually let strangers initiate physical contact, not necessarily because she’s uncomfortable with it, it’s usually for their own safety. Strangers don’t know them well enough to know her hands are off-limits. But if she’s known you for a while, she welcomes the physical exchanges.
They distance themself in their own ways. She hides pain or discomfort with jokes and charm. Good luck getting them to be serious about something she absolutely does not want to address.
Like their old crew’s betrayal. Some of them, they’ve known since they were a kid. They grew up together. And yet, when it came down to it, she wasn’t worth more to them than a fat purse of coin. “At least it was a fat purse of coin. Anything less and damn, they’d have really hurt my feelings!”
Direct questions about their cursed hands usually lead to jokes and misdirection, I wonder if you caught that, by the way:
“Want to tell me what’s up with the bandages?” “What bandages?” “Okay.”
“Pffft, you believe hands are real?”
“You’re looking at the aftermath of a super embarrassing tattoo I got one night while drunk as shit. Highly recommend the artist, though. Y'heard of Rahim?”
“Important piece of cooking advice, don’t put out grease fires with water! …Oh, that has nothing to do with my bandages, it’s just a good tip to remember.”
“I’m saving them for marriage.”
“Bad case of halitosis.” “That’s an oral condition.” “…Real bad case.”
Aside from that, she’s rather open and wears their heart on their sleeve for any potential new friend.
Eridia is a new beginning, a new world far away from the walls she's always known. It's supposed to be all she's ever wanted, but beyond the excitement of a new adventure, she feels so alone it's almost paralyzing.
They go back to the dream they've had since childhood, they go back to focusing on finding a cure, and they keep moving forward because if they stop for even a second for the grief and loneliness to catch up to them, they don't know if they'll survive it.
Her zodiac sign is Pisces
MBTI is ENFP
Enneagram is 7w6
I also updated their character playlist. I associate her with more energetic music, like electro swing, songs that you could hear someone running away from the guards to:
“Monsoon Nights” by Sekai no Owari
“One Jump Ahead” by Brad Kane
“All Star” by Smashmouth
“The Hand that Feeds” by The Crave Wives
“To Noise Making (Sing)” by Hozier
“Curses” by The Crane Wives
“Tears of a Clown” by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
“Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen
“Good Life” by OneRepublic
“Lost Boy” by Ruth B
“On Top of the World” by Greek Fire
“Good Riddance” Cover by Annapantsu ft. IdrysLTS
"Tavern Crawl" by Runesmith, JoCat, Annapantsu and friends
Okay, I have, like, a vision. Alon is giving a tour through Eridia’s best spots. The first tavern is the Senobium’s gates. The second is Elyon's brothel (mostly because of the singer being unable to pay and how fitting “Rail-Away” is for a brothel). The third is the Seaspring (“Don’t be surprised by what lurks on inside and really, don’t fight it. Believe me, I tried.” to describe our pal Ocudeus). The last one is the Wet Wick and it’s their favourite because it’s got the Bloodhounds, always ready for a show (“This tavern’s my favourite, it’s got its own band, and they’re always more than happy to lend me a hand!”)
Here’s their new full character design!
I changed it from the original, which had a more swashbuckling pirate feel, since I wanted to incorporate more of the magician and performer aspects of Alon into their design. …It’s giving Wonka, lowkey. I did consider giving them a top hat but…yeah. XD Edit: I added a diamond pattern to the inside of her vest! I like the new addition.
As with my other MCs, I incorporated their backstory symbol into their design. In Luneth, the Unnamed symbol is in her bodice. In Jin, the Alchemist symbol is in his medallion and spellbook. In Alon, the Hound symbol is in their cards.
I also tried to include the specific shapes of each backstory symbol in each MC so Jin’s design has a bunch of circles, Luneth’s has diamonds, and Alon has several triangles.
Here are the bios of my other Touchstarved MCs:
Luneth the Reluctant Unnamed
Jin the Abandoned Alchemist
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Hello, sorry to bother you. I saw your post about 80s Batman comics compared to today's and i wanted to ask you if you know if there's a good starting point to begin reading Batman and Detective Comics from that era. My mind inmediately goes to post crisis but I felt i needed to ask, thanks and sorry if im bothering.
you're not a bother, no worries!
i don't think there's one good answer to it. post-crisis is a good starting point if you want to get background on the contemporary lore as a whole, but my commentary regarding it was not limited to it. there's at least a couple of pre-crisis stories that are very much worth checking out, for example:
detective comics #457 which is the first appearance of leslie (i'm cheating here because it's a story from 1978 but leslie becomes relevant again only in the 80s),
detective comics 501 - 502 which is an intro of julia remarque,
batman special #1 (1984): a storyline about wrath which was specifically mentioned by me in the post you're talking about.
i am also tempted to be a bit cheeky and to say to just read through the silver age, because while not my favourite, there is plenty that conway has to offer. and i definitely do recommend moench's run who has written both dc and batman since 1983 to 1986, wherein the first incarnation of jason appears. and don't listen to anyone who says that he's just a copy of dick – it's a fantastic and ironic story wherein all similarities are purposeful. moench's writing might lack the political and social depth that for instance that of barr does, but i think this is the era that really gets into the meaning of legacy and family in batman, and if you want to get an idea of what bruce realistically could be like as a father also to post-crisis jason (given we don't actually get to see that much), this is perfect background to post-crisis. and speaking of pre-crisis, batman and the outsiders (1983) is also quite good!
when reading post-crisis, keep in mind the office politics of the time, but first of all do not forget to read the absolutely riveting barr's detective comics run starting with dc #569. detective comics #574 (this story actually starts with #573) is a reference to dc #457 and batman special #1, both mentioned above. it's also probably my favourite batman story ever. and while for whatever reason a lot of people don't like it, batman year 2 is phenomenal too. since we're already covering barr, batman: son of the demon is one of the best batman books as well.
don't forget about annuals during that read-through either (starting with #11 for post-crisis). there are also some other series (and mini-series) that you might want to read, like legends or the cult. (<- although neither of these two are my top picks. but they do exist) oh, and the batgirl special from 1988.
in case you don't know, dick does not belong to the batman office at the time, so he sparsely appears in these comics. but the titans titles of the era are pretty straightforward so i don't think you need guidance in this matter (also, jason for example actually does get borrowed by them too.)
catwoman (1989) is another must-read and a scene from it was mentioned in the post of mine as well.
i'm probably forgetting about something...? i'm not big on strict reading guides (i think the fun of it is to just dive into it by yourself), but these are a couple of my recs. i'd say you can just start with post-crisis batman (#401!)/dc (#569, already mentioned) and later 'read around' with these titles as further points of reference.
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Get out of here you heathen!
light began to filter through the trees, the rising sun growing brighter and brighter each passing moment. the world was mostly still asleep, except for those few early birds including this lovely little bakery.
"kiki honey, could you check on the sourdough loaves, they should be done now" sayaka calls out across their small establishment.
"in a minute natto, im trying to get these croissants rolled perfectly!" toge yells back, tongue sticking out in concentration as he meticulously rolls up the dough.
"i don't know why you're always so determined to make the perfect croissant, people enjoy the homemade look you know" sayaka can't help but sigh fondly and roll her eyes at the other.
"you'll never understand my pursuit of perfection, just admit it already, you're content being an amateur!" he boasts, tone light with amusement.
"yeah yeah whatever you say you croissant visionary" sayaka crosses the kitchen to take out the sourdough herself, not wanting it to burn. in a blur of baking and bickering, they are soon ready to open up shop. after a small argument over who gets to flip the sign, which toge won much to sayaka's chagrin, they are open for business!
"goooooood morning wonderful people! ive come to get my usual spicy noodle doughnut!" bursting though the door, same time as always, is one of their usual customers.
"we don't have those you numbskull, stop asking for them!" sayaka automatically shoots him down, used to his incessant insistence for one.
"why are your combos always so gross yuuji?" toge's disgusted face says it all as he joins them from the kitchen.
"well you guys are just lame that you never have them" he pouts, crossing his arms dramatically.
"get the man his fruit tart and sandwich would you kiki" sayaka, unrelenting in the face of his doe eyes, continues to stock the display case. in no time yuuji is settled at a table with his food, watching the couple bustle around setting up last minute things for the day. "so yuu, what are you doing after work today?" sayaka askes joining him at the table with a cup of steaming coffee.
"im going to visit megs down at florist to grab a late lunch but after that i'm wide open!" yuuji explains, a happy glint in his eyes.
"well would you like to catch a moive with me? i heard they're showing a sequel of that one movie we watched last week" she offers, a mischievous look in her eyes.
"you mean that one star shit movie we randomly found? there's a sequel?? im totally in, i need to see how this is gonna end" he immediately agrees, nodding sagely as he does.
"sweet! i'll pick you up at 6:30 then, be ready!" standing up she points at him knowingly before retreating back behind the counter as another customer walks in.
"you got it boss, see you then!" yuuji sends her a salute, which she rolls her eyes at, before he's slipping out the door to go to his own job.
the movie was terrible by the way, just the way they like it. and they might have made fun of it the whole way home.
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