^{Crucial Stats:}

• ^{Name: Alexander Stirling Scarlet}
• ^{Age: Late thirties, born April 17th}
• ^{Height: Five feet nine inches}
• ^{Weight: One hundred and forty pounds}
• ^{Hair: Dirty blonde}
• ^{Eyes: Blue}
• ^{Ethnicity: Caucasian}
• ^{Sexuality: Demisexual, grey-aromantic}
• ^{Religion: Agnostic}

^{Relevant biographical information:}

• ^{Born in Herne Hill, London, England}
• ^{Orphaned after his parents, Paul and Claudia Scarlet, were killed in a car accident.  Raised by his neglectful high society aunt, Isolde Blackburne.}
• ^{Graduated from Oxford with a degree in literature and spent years afterward trying unsuccesfully to get his own novels and short stories published. Constantly rejected for “unoriginality.”}
• ^{Immigrated to America and started his criminal career at the age of twenty-five.  Lasted two and a half years as a prominent Gotham rogue before having a glass display case dropped on his head during an altercation with Batgirl (Barbara Gordon).}
• ^{Spent a year in Arkham Asylum after his hospital stay, where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  Was the victim of medical malpractice at the hands of Dr. Penelope Young, who would repeatedly verbally abuse him during psychiatric sessions and deliberately give him wrong medication doses.  Also bullied cruelly by Jonathan Crane, who took pleasure in “breaking him by talking.”}
• ^{Burned the palms of his hands in a self-harm attempt to the point of permanent nerve damage during his criminal days.  Now wears leather gloves to cover them.}
• ^{Found work at Gotham Academy a year and a half after his release with a clean bill of health and rehabilitation funding.  Now works there as a professor of English and drama.}
• ^{Married Lydia Scarlet nee Limpet after five years of living with her. Now has four children with her—Isabella, Catherine, Amelia, and Jeremy.}
• ^{Also considers Hayden Ayala and Samuel Robonico as part of the family, as well as Lydia’s extended family on her adopted father’s side.}
• ^{Good friends with Kira Drake, Elsie Khalii, and Jervis Tetch. Frenemies-leaning-toward-friends with Edward Nygma.  Sitcom nemesis of Edgar Heed.  Sworn enemy of Jonathan Crane, Batman, and Gotham’s police force.}
• ^{Still keeps his Men of Letters (his henchpeople from his crime days) as backup if he needs it.  Printer’s Devil is the sniper, Typesetter is the medic, Pressman is the muscle and electrician, and Footnote is the gopher and undercover agent.}
• ^{Does not get along at all well with Headmaster Hammer and will go out of his way to disboey him behind his back.  Still very protective of the Academy’s students and trusts the members of Team Detective implicitly—he’s basically the Giles to their Scooby Gang.}

^{Personal trivia:}

• ^{Can whistle and read music, but not sing.}
• ^{Always makes a little tutting or “oh!” sound when he’s annoyed, usually accompanied by rolling his eyes.  Also makes a lot of “thinking noises” when he speaks and talks with his hands.  Almost never uses slang.}
• ^{Impeccable posture and a cat-like sense of cleanliness.}
• ^{A very skilled gadgeteer as well as his eidetic memory and speedreading skills.  Incredibly well-read and inventive.}
• ^{Has terrible eyesight, but refuses to wear thick bulky glasses as a professor.}
• ^{Never loses an opportunity to whip out a pithy literary quote, but gets very frustrated when people misquote things and will instantly correct them.}
• ^{Has an abysmal sleep schedule and will normally stay awake into the wee hours of the morning.  Very restless sleeper who tosses and turns a lot.}
• ^{Owns three cats–two long-haired tuxedo cats named Ernest and Hercule and one ginger tabby named Lloyd.  Also gets along surprisingly well with birds.}
• ^{Is liable to consume himself with work or fly into a screaming rage over the smallest slight during manic episodes, but usually sits at his desk without moving from it or speaking during depressive ones.  Extremely dilligent about taking his medications because he despises losing control.}
• ^{Has post-traumatic stress reponses to prolonged discussion of Arkham Asylum or anything that reminds him of his time there.}
• ^{Is the absolute living embodiment of the Superiority/Inferiority Complex and delights in being cheerfully passive-aggressive.}
• ^{Favorite drink is English breakfast tea or Arabian coffee.  Favorite food is roast chicken.  Also snacks on peanuts when he’s anxious.  Favorite sweet is cherry Danishes.}
• ^{Has a specfic cafe in the academic district he and Lydia like to order from.}
• ^{Often underweight as a child because of his aunt’s ill treatment.}
• ^{Favorite books are Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, and The Time Machine.}
• ^{Favorite movies are the original Universal Horror canon.}
• ^{Favorite singer is Nat King Cole.}
• ^{Disdains a lot of modern rogues and bemoans the needless violence and lack of “class”.}
• ^{Can be a bit classist and elitist, especially in academic settings.}
• ^{Walks everywhere if he can help it, only drives if he’s heading out of Gotham altogether.}
• ^{Scrimped and saved to rent a small cabin for himself, Lydia, and the children whenever they need to get out of the city’s hustle and bustle.}
• ^{A fairly strict, but still patient and fair teacher as well as parent.}
• ^{First met Lydia in Blackgate Penitentiary after he was arrested the first time–she kicked his ass in a game of chess.}
• ^{Once tried to discover Dream of the Endless’s secrets and ended up getting knocked out for a week of nightmares for his trouble.  Is very cautious about magic ever since.}
• ^{Very overly protective of the things and people he loves, tends to be distrustful on their behalf.}
• ^{Owns basically no casual clothes, always dresses in his Academy attire (the tweed jackets and dress slacks, not the pleather Bookworm suit).}
• ^{Very self-conscious about his thinning hair and thus will not take off his hat unless it’s for someone he trusts.}
• ^{Likewise doesn’t like to be touched unless it’s by someone he trusts, will swat your hand away otherwise.}
• ^{Usually shows verbal affection more often than physical affection.  Can be extremely emotionally constipated, especially when he’s just starting to forge a relationship with someone.}
• ^{Greatest fear is alienating his loved ones or making them afraid of him.}

fatherdamned:

                     BUT YOUR WORLD ISN’T REAL , YOUR WORLD’S AN IDEAL !
                           indie canon divergent / headcanon based Edward Nigma.
            triggering themes present / please read rules + about for more information !

“Oh, my dear child, if I were to talk about my children freely and in detail, we would be here for hours, and doubtless I would end up repeating myself… let me give you an introduction, at least.  Brevity being the soul of wit, after all…

“Isabella is the eldest, and I suppose it’s only natural she would develop a sort of wild streak.  Of the four, she’s probably the closest to myself in personality–fiercely intelligent, rebellious, completely incapable of suffering fools… and with a fair amount of anger at the world.  As sweet as she is, I wonder if sometimes she’s still looking for a satisfying way to channel that anger.  I only hope she will let me help her.

“Catherine is the middle girl and the inventor of the family–she was already putting together her own computer, central hard drive and all, just a few years ago during her spare time.  She even taught Isabella how to code herself.  She’s a very studious, rather quiet girl, but so very giving with her time.  Never letting on when she might be struggling herself… I do hope she knows how much we love and appreciate her and her talents.

“And at last we have the twins, Amelia and Jem.  Complete opposites in personality, naturally–Amelia is the outspoken one and even more of an opinionated noncomformist than Isabella who wants to be a psychologist one day, while Jem has Catherine’s quieter and more gentle nature and a gifted musician besides.  It’s rather fascinating–I’m not sure which side of the family he gets it from, but Jem also has a form of synesthesia, and he’s produced such beautiful art as well from it.  Such a talented lot, our children… they’ll be leaving their own marks on the world, you can mark my words.”

Their fridge is always well-stocked, especially since Lydia is the superior cook and the children are always coming and going–there’s fresh meat and fruit, half-gallons of milk and juice, condiment bottles, and a special drawer designated for whatever snacks the children want.  There are also tins of spices and whatever else doesn’t need refrigerated on a shelf above the stove.

Given that Alexander usually calls on the Men of Letters for help if he’s in dire need, his own toolbox is pretty sparse–a couple of trick pens, some basic First Aid equipment, a burner phone he can safely throw away, and a hollow book case and smoke canisters he can jerry-rig into a knockout device in a hurry.

Alexander doesn’t really keep a diary–he writes himself memos on a small legal pad in his bedroom desk.  He keeps a small daily tearaway calendar in his study, but there’s a larger montly calendar hanging in the kitchen.  And while Lydia keeps a digital alarm clock for them on her nightstand, there’s an analogue clock with a wooden face also in the kitchen.

When Lydia learned about the old Velveteen Rabbit he had as a child, she bought an antique rabbit toy that looked very similar and sat it on the top shelf in their closet.  She did a lot of the decorating around the house, and they were also mostly antiques and ways of nicely displaying their books and collectibles without having the cats knock things over.  Especially old and fragile items are stored in a small glass curio cabinet in the living room.  And along the shelf of their old record player, she and Alexander keep photos of their wedding and their children in small frames.  Lydia also has pictures of herself with her new extended family and friends right next to them.

The desk in the master bedroom is strictly reserved for paperwork and school assignments.  It’s always a mess, with piles of papers, labelled manila envelopes, and cheap different-colored grading pens stacked across it.  But the desk in the study Alexander uses for his own personal projects, and he keeps it much neater.  Some of his favorite books are lined across the back, the pens are much nicer, and the drawers are full of spare engineering components, old notebooks, and the occasional blueprint.

Alexander’s nightstand has a small lamp with a pull-string, a few small paperback books, an empty bottle of whatever prescription he needs refilled, and usually a small plate (because he parked himself at his desk as soon as he got home and forgot to eat until he was reminded of it) at any given time.

His and Lydia’s bedroom is actually one of the smaller rooms in the house–all of the children’s rooms are a bit bigger (Isabella and Catherine have their own whie the twins share one).  The walls are a warm burgundy color, and the bed sits close to a window with Alexander sleeping on the side nearest the window–if he gets up in the middle of the night and doesn’t want to turn on a lamp, the streetlamps outside are right there.  On the opposite wall is a small closet and a chest of drawers, next to the window is a small desk, and both he and Lydia have a small nightstand on their respective side of the bed.

The Scarlet house has two bathrooms, one upstairs and one downstairs.  Alexander mainly uses the downstairs one since it’s right around the corner from the master bedroom.  There are no white walls in the house since they remind him too much of Arkham, so this room is mostly a powder blue with the occasional splash of chrome in the knobs and vanity.  He keeps it relatively clean, with all the towels folded up in a small cabinet and his pill bottles in the medicine cabinet behind the mirror (he used to keep them in a small box next to the sink, but when little Catherine started trying to get the caps off he figured he’d better hide them).

Alexander drives a black 1974 Plymouth Barracuda–he doesn’t drive it very often since he prefers to walk, so it’s in pretty decent condition.  And given that it has so few seats, they have to take both it and Lydia’s own car for bigger family outings.