#grapecase

Thank you, and so sorry for taking so long to get to this! Ah, Ace. My difficult little shit lmao. He’s got the smallest playlist out of everybody because I’m so picky about finding ones that fit his vibes/energy. And I’ve remade his playlist…a lot. This song is ALWAYS there though:

I'm gunning for the deep end

There's demons

I'm ready for em

I know you're feening for uncertainty

But I'm not scared

At break-neck speed

Therе's things you just can't see with such precautious eyes

Ace is my daring Sidestep, the one willing to throw it all on the table and risk everything to get ahead. As far as he’s concerned, life’s already tried killing him more than once, and he’s still here, so what’s the point in playing it safe? Especially when he’s finally free, chasing a life HE wants.

It's really not a competition

I just got an affinity for winning

And a penchant for grinning

In my liabilities, envision beginnings

I don't second-guess a vision

Set it, abet it, and go

There was also his flirting in fantasy wte land. I think since he might be getting a LI and she is the only person he’s been making eyes at, the thought is she will be his TL

There are two fanfictions with the fake dating trope that I really like:

1. In A Hypothetical Sense by Dubiousculturalartifact (http://archiveofourown.org/works/8957035/chapters/20499637)

2. Jumping To Conclusions by TheNameIsBritney (https://archiveofourown.org/works/8716471)

Also the James/Winn Ao3 tag isn’t as populated as I would prefer but there are a few fics in there so you should take a look there too. Those other fics may not have the same “fake dating” trope but the fics are still pretty good.

Fandom #1 is detective comics comics, predictably. For fandom #2 I picked Killjoys, because I recently read N.K. Jemisin's Far Sector and it made me think of the show.

In DC there's no shortage of ships that I don't want to touch with a ten-foot poll. Especially if you take fandom into account, because a lot of the time it's not just that I don't care for a given ship, it's that the way it gets written and talked about gets on my nerves (see: Jason/Roman Sionis shippers taking Black Mask seriously lol).

But at the end of the day it's canon that has an uncanny ability to really grate my cheese. And here, the current, post-reboot version of Dickbabs is king. I can't fucking stand them. What have they done to you, guys. What have they done to you, Barbara.

As for ot3, Jaytimia beats all others. It's a case where I enjoy all three relationships, where I love making up scenarios of how they'd work, and where I think the three of them together would work really, really well and come together in fascinating ways. And, why not say it, very romantic and uplifting ones. Sometimes I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff.

For Killjoys, I'd say my notp is Dutch/Johnny. Not because I dislike the relationship, at all, but because the way I see it, making it cross into romance would've ruined things in ways we can't even fathom now that the bullet was dodged xDD.

I wanted only dc characters, but since the post got reblogged twice and one of them didn't say that, I'll allow it this once :P

CASS

First impression: what an interesting character.

Impression now: what an interesting character, and how tragically underused she's been ever since Batgirl00.

Favorite moment: so, so many, in that very run. But especially this one. "I can be mediocre. For a lifetime. Or perfect. For a year." CASS BBY!!!!

Idea for a story: what if I took the ideas of Batgirl00 after Puckett left (exploring her sexuality, her increasily less easy relationship with Bruce and Barbara as she evolves, her disillusionment/possible corruption arc, etc.) and actually made them like. Good añsldfjasf. I kind of touch on it on one WIP but it's more of an ensemble/Cass&Jason chapter. Maybe I could use my Outsiders idea for it... or the Jason Survives Series, where she's a main character... we'll see.

Unpopular opinion: that I do like those post-Puckett ideas in concept, if not in execution lol. Yes, even the idea that she'd stumble on her values. That she'd have to claw her way back to them. It could've been good!! But it was not. Because DC comics and Asian women are often a TERRIBLE combination.

Favorite relationship: BARBARABARBARABARBARA. Other people too ig. The Cass and Jason dynamic in my head and all that. The new earth version of Duke that lives in my head and eventually becomes HER Robin. Shiva in the way it COULD have been. BUT BARBARA!!!!!!!!!!!

Favorite headcanon: she becomes (on a volunteer/informal basis) a dance instructor for kids (this is how she meets Duke lol).

JASON

First impression: I found out about his existence reading Batman: Hush (not a good comic), and I immediately looked him up and tracked down his comics, so.

Impression now: he'll always be the one.

Favorite moment: one!? ONE? One! Pfft. But if I had to pick... the UtH confrontation. Of fucking course.

Idea for a story: is my entire WIP folder not enough for u xD. But, okay. I plan on ~peppering in my headcanons about this group of his in various fics but maybe I'll do a 5+1 (6+1?) fic about it that's basically office-comedy satire lol.

Unpopular opinion: so fucking many lol. But ig that drawing such a strong differentiation between new earth and prime earth Jason WITHOUT raving about how he's A Bad Guy and actually wanting him to evolve (in a way that does NOT match reboot canon!!) is unpopular outside like. Some of my mutuals and the discord chat xD

Favorite relationship: SO SO MANY. Talia. Bruce, obviously. Mia. Dick. Steph. Tim. Damian. Cass. Roy (new earth). Donna. SO SO MANY. HE'S SUCH A GOOD FOIL.

Favorite headcanon: I always add some artistic hobby or interest for him. In some WIP I have him acting in a theatre group. In others he plays the cello. In others he's a playwright. Etc. etc. AND he's also a STEM guy! Anything medical-related especially.

DUKE

First impression: really cool concept.

Impression now: still the same! I need to complete his comics though, and I'm not sure I like the Robin -> Signal change, not the way they did it at least...

Favorite moment: his cheek in We Are Robin/the Robin War arc is A+. ALSO THIS MOMENT.

Idea for a story: I already have two Duke-POV (+ Duke&Jason but Duke-centric ideas): the "whodunit" one (Duke causes someone's death. Jason takes the blame. Duke doesn't let him. The Bats are all scrambling to make sense of this), and one where Duke's powers go rogue and they end up time travelling to the Wild West (same "continuity", this is after the whodunit).

Unpopular opinion: my headcanon of him having a lil' crush on Jason that he gets over as he's firmly brother-zoned is unpopular enough xD

Favorite relationship: it's obviously Duke & Jason lmao. I'm also very interested in Duke & Cass, I know they interact more later.

Favorite headcanon: well there's the crush. Also the other day I saw the phrase "trans duke thomas" and immediately incorporated it into my belief system. Also he does ballet! (Meets Cass this way in the Cassbats AU).

CLARKE

I don't know non-Batman villains as much as I'd like (in part because with few exceptions, my preferences are heavily slanted towards the heroes), but these are the ones that stand out the most to me, for now. Again, in no particular order.

Komand'r/Blackfire. I naturally gravitate towards villains and antagonists with personal ties to their heroes, so she had to be there. Sister rivalry taken to the ultimate nevel, as their royal status would mandate!! Of course I'm all over that.

Jade Nguyen/Cheshire. I just like her vibes. And her dynamic with Roy. That is all xD

Thaal Sinestro. Mentor turned archnemesis?? C'mon. I need to read more Lantern comics for many, many reasons (Parallax!Hal among them, actually xD), but Sinestro is high among them.

Tsaritsa/The Queen of Fables. I recently red that arc in JLA (#47-49) and I really dig how destructive she is añsldkfaf. And the meta-narrative surrounding her. I liked in the Harley Quinn show, too.

Amanda Waller. I don't really consider her a villain (no matter what dc has been trying to pull for aeons); she's definitely someone who antagonises the superheroes, but hardly The Villain. But she is my favourite antagonist in all of DC, so I will add her.

I understood this as top 5 from the (batman's) rogues gallery and only later thought that it might refer to top five rogue gallerIES, I guess? But I can answer the first one much better lol (my knowledge of the other villain assortments is far more sparse), so ^-^. In no particular order:

Harvey Dent/Two-Face. I love a villain with a tragic bent and personal ties with the hero before a fall from grace. A lot of his adaptations are... lacking, IMO, but when written well, I enjoy him, a lot.

Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy. She can be such a force when utilised properly.

Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow. This is just about vibes and horror potential to me.

Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Yeah, yeah, at this point calling her a rogue is not particularly accurate but. I do prefer her as a rogue, and no a straightforward heroine. And the belligerant sexual tension is always fun. Where did the belligerant sexual tension go??

I never really call him a rogue, but Jason Todd/Red Hood remains my favourite of Bruce's antagonists, and Under the Hood the best Batman book in my eyes, so he goes in the list :P

There are a few candidates, and there might be some among them that are more impressive on a technical level... but I will always, always go back to Shirley Mason's "Samson and Delilah".

A+ lyrics centred on biblical mythology, a vocalist I really connect with, a rhythm I love, AND a kickass cinematic sequence that introduced me to it all.

Finding out that Bear McCreary (also known for the credits in Black Sails, among other things!) was the composer behind it? Not a surprise.