#And Oswald has more motivation

[wishfulsketching]

I will be pretty sad after I finish Gotham s5. It goes by so fast, being half a season and all. What a rewatch it has been (and still is)

[marvelmaniac715]

I probably shouldn’t write for Doctor Who, because this is an overplayed trope, but here’s what I want for a potential multi-season companion. Her name is Callie (short for Calypso, which means ‘she who conceals’ but that’s just a coincidence…) and, personality-wise, she’s practically a stereotypical companion at first. Smart, witty, cheerful, reacts to the TARDIS with a typical “it’s bigger on the inside” but when she says it it’s almost like she’s making fun of the past companions. Her eyes are similar to Clara Oswald’s, she has blonde curls like River Song, which she keeps in two plaits like Yasmin Khan, she smiles like Rose Tyler, and the Doctor has an overwhelming sense of deja vu. She’s not much of a hugger, which the Doctor respects, but the one time she does hug him after a particularly emotional moment, he swears he can hear two heartbeats. That’s not the only thing - her eyes seem kind, but if you really look into them, there’s an iciness there. She’ll often smile to herself, like she’s laughing at a private in joke. She’ll often make herself a soup which smells just like a soup that can only be made with ingredients native to Gallifrey, and during her adventures with the Doctor things go wrong more often. She’ll push the Doctor to be more selfish because “you can’t save everyone”, and she won’t tell him much about her childhood. But then, one day, Callie starts acting even more odd. She responds to a question with “I’ve mastered it”, and the Doctor discovers that her ringtone is Saxon’s theme from when he was Prime Minister (“I was just a kid when Saxon became Prime Minister, that tune’s really nostalgic for me…”), then the truth comes out - Callie never existed; she is in fact the Doctor’s best enemy the Master (but you probably already knew that 😅). Her motivations are quite similar to Missy’s - she wanted her friend back, so she managed to make her newest regeneration a combination of every woman that the Doctor’s loved, and has drawn upon her knowledge of what the Doctor finds most appealing in a friend/romantic partner. When he tries to push her away, she gives him a look of mock-confusion and asks:

“What’s wrong, Doctor? I thought you were going to show me the universe?…”

[zahri-melitor]

I want to go on more about The Boy Wonder #3, because it’s just really on top of aspects of the Tim and Damian problem without taking sides or getting aggressive.

Damian’s failing in it is that he is so ready to misread Tim’s intentions that he doesn’t stop to think that Tim is equally undercover like he is and overlooks what he knows about Tim’s skillset. (Someone here is jamming your signal, Damian? What a mystery who that could be)

Tim’s failing in it is that he doesn’t bother to explain the plan to Damian, doesn’t expect Damian to listen to him and follow his lead, and he doesn’t trust that Damian won’t betray him, so he plans around him.

BOTH of their plans don’t consider the other as active participants, but Tim’s is able to adapt on the fly to take into account Damian’s actions, while Damian with a lot less experience in team environments cannot.

I can tell you feel bad about killing that guy. But do you feel bad because you hurt someone...or because you were punished for it? Do you only feel bad because you got found out?

And yeah, that’s the thing with early Damian.

Tim’s mistrust is completely understandable. Even as he grants Damian grace - “I know you feel guilty about it” - he points out he doesn’t know the reason for the guilt and that also has meaning to Tim, because he doesn’t know if the growth associated with the regret has happened.

Damian's actions that Tim sees do fall into this valley of 'why are you guilty'. Whereas Dick and Bruce both see Damian's growth and attempts to make amends, Damian's prickly enough that Tim largely does NOT see that and instead gets Damian who doesn't trust him, who reads the worst intentions into Tim's actions...and so Tim does the same.

They even out! You can see it on page in places! But 'doing the right thing because someone else wants you to' and 'doing the right thing because YOU want to' are two different steps, and we watch Damian go through both, and early on he is definitely not yet at appreciable self motivation.

And when Damian does demonstrate this growth for Tim in the story:

You stuck with doing what was right, even when it was hard. I appreciate it.

He acknowledges it and takes it into account!

And look part of the misunderstanding here is definitely that Tim doesn't slow down and explain his plans to Damian. He's used to working with Bruce or Dick where he wouldn't need to, he's also had bad responses when he's explained to Damian before, so he treats him as an obstacle or a spoiler in the mix that he plans around and uses as a distraction but doesn't bother to explain his actions to.

(Also Damian is just. so young. in this. He can't tell that Tim's playing along to let people tell him the information he wants)

Just an hour ago, the prince had seen this same brother abuse his gifts for personal gain...hadn't he? And yet here he was, setting that aside to join the prince in doing what was right. A reminder you could indeed start wrong and course-correct. It's never too late to act better.

If he had inspired his brother toward such a change, maybe he could live up to his father's expectations after all.

Ahahahahaha Damian. Baby. Tim was schmoozing Oswald Cobblepot and Lex Luthor and Veronica Cale for a purpose! Tim does not think they are good people to work with! He was trying to get information out of them! He needs to know what they're up to for the family company! Tim is not going to trust Luthor or Cale!!!

And yet baby Damian here is still telling himself a parable that he saw growth in Tim so he can also live up to that growth. He 'inspired' Tim.

Character centred storytelling at its most hilarious. But also quite sweet - because it's just another level of 'the problem between Tim and Damian is they misread each other and exist in the other's blindspots', so the resolution STILL having Damian with that giant blindspot but working it through in his head to put Tim into a slightly better light is actually a creative and interesting way to approach the growth.

Also funny. SO funny.

[cartoon-buffoon]

Today marks the 97th birthday of Oswald The Lucky Rabbit with his first short that was released being "trolly troubles" releasing on today all the way back during 1927. Because I'm too lazy to do some art (I do have something planned for today though) I'm gonna do what I do best: talk! Talk specifically about why I absolutely love this silly rabbit and what he personally means to me.

Now although fictional (sadly) and just a mere character, Oswald The Lucky Rabbit has grown a large following for a variety of different reasons with several different types of Oswald fans popping up over the years. There's the fans of Ozzie who love his modern counterpart in Epic Mickey who is a genuine character with complexities, there's the history/animation nerds like I who love his short cartoons produced by Disney and later made Walter Lantz. There's even people who love Ozzie and were introduced to him from that one webcomic made by an awful individual (I can't think for the life of me what the comic is called RN, you know what I'm talking about right? The one where they drew him as a skinny twink and absolutely butchered Osix as a crackship). Whoever or whatever version they like at the end of the day it still boils down to the love of one little rabbit who started it all and was the catalyst for the mouse coming into existence and that giant domino effect of events leading after. I think it's sweet an entire community has been built up over the years with tons of talented people creating art, games, stories, and whatever else utilizing Ozzie solely because they love him. Oswald as character has even had a profound impact on me with my fanfiction hobby all stemming from one day me going "hmmm... I wish to write story about funy buny", and because of that it's lead to me writing more which in turned earned me a good few mutuals who like my "talent" (I would not call what I do talent lmao). I even bonded with someone I met from my school purely because we both love Oswald and that individual is now my best friend who I talk to daily and is my current beta reader (love you Quartz!!!).

Oswald has absolutely changed my life for the better and what the rabbit has done for me is nothing I could express with words. I legit regularly get motivated by listening to his theme song in order to "be lucky too!". The second I dug into his origins I fell in love with him (in two different ways), and I only hope more people find out about this Lucky rabbit and become just as if not moreso invested than I. Happy 97th ya old toon.

[cowchickenbeefpork]

look I’m not going to argue that Edward truly loved Kristen for who she was genuinely ( he didn’t ) but seeing him as someone who got over her death and it barely affected him is kinda a reading I can’t agree with at all

I know what scene started this reading it was the whole “actually I do enjoy hurting people this is my true self and I greatly thank Kristen for making me reach my potential” but that realization came from when he cut her up, no? When you go back to THAT SCENE he describes how the light vanishing from her eyes was beautiful. This means two things, one, he had to first known he was hurting her, and two he was enjoying that fact

WHEN YOU GO BACK TO THE SCENE WHERE HE KILLED HER THERES NO TRACE OF THIS IN THE ACTING THERE!!!!! He’s not even angry he’s more so desperate to explain himself, he even smiles as he tells her he loves her and would NEVER HURT HER! And when he realized he killed her he sobbed himself to the point of blacking out. Even if you brush off the fact riddler is very poorly written and just make it be ed the fact he blacked out and went out fucking around with her corpse while not remembering any of it and only hours later regained consciousness and now having to search around the gcpd to find her. Genuinely why should I believe a man, who consistently convinces himself he’s actually super smart and has no emotions is telling ME the truth here about his own feelings when I as the viewer have just witnessed things that contradict this!!!!

Also the show contradicts that whole motive like two episodes later!!!!!!!!!! When Oswald tried to kill Ed for saying his mother made him weak Edward discusses Kristen’s death and says love wasn’t meant for men like them and that it will always weaken them. Notice how different of a explaination that is to the one in the woods? The one in the woods basically says it was his true self leaking out and he actually had some awareness of what he was doing and he enjoyed every second of it and he feels no remorse. The one during this scene says that it was unavoidable, an accident, but actually him brushing over his feelings and forcing himself to not think about it or ever attempt to love again is the correct awnser. Doesn’t the second answer flow better with the actual death? It aligns exactly with both his narcissism making him unable to admit he was in the wrong and also unable to let him grieve since it would go against the idea he has of himself in his head and aligns with the fact it was a ACCIDENT WHERE HE DIDNT EVEN INTEND TO HURT HER AT ALL!!!

I can’t blame people for taking the whole actually I enjoyed it reasoning as the true one since Gotham is very very badly written but the reasoning he gave to Oswald works better for his character and for the event itself! The whole point of that death was you can hurt people without even trying to and not be able to see that ur acting like the people who have hurt them before it’s too late and that’s!!!! Powerful but Gotham just had to make Edward secretly evil and sadicist this whole time which takes away from that message. The first time he finally realizes Kristen was a person who existed outside of what he thought of and was capable of thinking and acting outside of his image of her was when she died, and he pushed her back into a fucking box, a fucking role she played to further him in his life because the mere horror of his actions were too hard to bare, he had to convince himself this would always happen and it was either of their flaunts to keep his ego intact.

not to mention how the whole denying he needs love in his life kinda relates heavily back to his npd too. Since he couldn’t get what he wants he feels terrible and then convinces himself that actually WHAT HE WANTED was the inadequate thing instead of him, so he doesn’t have to mourn the fact that he couldn’t have it. It’s projection in a way, he projects his inner wants and desires that he hates to others so he can mock them and feel better. He is telling himself he doesn’t need connection to others, that he can provide for himself and will never need or depend on anyone ever in his life again which is contradicted again and again in the show. He can’t stop needing people to like him, affirm him or to depend on them. That is the ultimate paradox with npd, narcissism in itself locks someone into a state of both being completely independent and not needing or caring for others while completely needing and depending on their praise so you can keep your self esteem intact

i think why I’m kinda quite against this reading of Edward as someone who intensely enjoys hurting others in his nature and is completely logical and almost unemotional in his action is because it kinda just falls into his lie he folds himself and others, it’s believing in the narcissist fantasy he has convinced himself and others around him to be true, he will never be that, no matter how hard he tries he will never be smart enough and unemotional enough for himself, he will chase proving that fantasy until he dies if he keeps doing this, taking anyone who comes in his way down with him

you can read Gotham Ed however you want idc I’m not ur mom and I’m not mad I just really wanted to explain myself since last time I tried to it was horrid and nonsensical I should’ve been executed on the spot. You can read Edward however you like I’m not thought police I just really needed to say my peace here

[riddle-me-ri]

Hi, could you write hcs for how your penguin colony would be with a reader who (almost) constantly flirts with them? Like, no matter the time and place, they always have something veeery flattering to say, and yet its always sincere. And its not just for anybody - their love is reserved for mr oswald cobblepot only!

Thanks in advance!

A/N: oohh some will absolutely love it and some...won't quite know what to do lol. also also I do have more like...proper fic stuff in the works and not just headcanons lol. These have just been easier to get done so I have something to post for you guys lmao.

The Penguins with a Flirty Reader

Arkhamverse Penguin: 

Oh, Oswald absolutely relishes in this attention. 

He absolutely flirts back 100% of the time. 

Oz sometimes wonders if you mean it. 

He wasn’t born yesterday and knows some people like to butter him up, get on his good side and then turn on him. 

Oswald never felt that with you though. 

All the ups and downs of being by his side proved that to him. 

Knowing he fully believes the value of what you say, he’s actually been able to feel better about himself. 

Better than he has in a long, long time. 

Reevesverse/Farrell Penguin: 

Another Oswald that savors the attention. 

He also flirts with you tenfold. 

It’s practically a game at this point. 

To see who can get the other to crack a smile or laugh before going in for a kiss or two

He wins most of the time, you blame it on him having a lot of experience being a smooth talker. 

Every now and then you beat him though.

You learn a trick or two when your lover is an expert in his own right. 

Gotham Penguin: 

Oswald isn’t quite sure what to do..

Or how to react.

He thinks you’re trying to distract him, try to build him up just to tear him down like everyone else. 

He almost hurts your feelings at a certain point. 

When he realizes he hurt you, all of a sudden all the things you’ve said held value. 

You genuinely liked him, you thought those things…

 It takes some getting used to, but now your words empower him…make him feel like a king. 

BTAS Penguin: 

Oswald isn’t entirely dense. 

He knows you’re just trying to take advantage of him. 

You’re just another Veronica Vreeland

What is it you want? Notoriety, money, jewels? Just be upfront with him for Heaven’s-

However, you have lasted longer than Veronica…surely whatever your motive…is or was would have come to fruition by now. Right?

He hates to admit it, but he’s enjoying your company. Your warm flirty behavior has him enamored. 

Perhaps…this could be true companionship for once. 

TNBA Penguin: 

Oswald is flattered.

He finds it extremely amusing and entertains it.

Takes it in stride much like Arkham and Farrell Penguin

Contemplates you possibly having some kind of end game. 

But will enjoy the attention nonetheless…

When he finds you actually have feelings for him however

That makes this relationship a lot more interesting. 

Telltale Penguin: 

He won’t ever admit it out loud. 

But your flirtations do make him feel more confident in himself. 

Oz will try to wave you off, not condescending by any means, just in a “oh, stop it..” kind of way. 

You grin, knowing that he only does that when you’re about to make him blush. 

Oz adores the fact that you’re only this way with him and no one else. 

It makes everything you say that much more meaningful.

Despite all the people that have come and gone in his life. 

He’ll always have you. 

One Bad Day Penguin: 

Oz loves it. 

Whenever he feels kind of low or he's getting too old…

You always have something sweet and sincere to say. 

You’ll whisper something flirty in his ear and it makes him chuckle. 

He can always count on you to lift his spirits.

He adores that about you; you make him feel young at heart. 

He does his best to keep up, make you feel as loved as he does. 

The Batman (2004) Penguin: 

Ooohh you’re flirtatious too?

Well, you’re in luck so is Ozzie boy. 

It makes things that much more fiery and passionate. 

He definitely savors the attention everytime you dish it out. 

Ozzie feels excited and giddy for once…without causing the utmost chaos. 

He finally feels appreciated and loved for once in his life. 

And he appreciates you all that much more for it. 

Batman Unlimited Penguin: 

Oswald is frozen in place, unsure how to respond. 

Your words make him a blushing timid mess, hiding behind his hat. 

You shouldn’t be saying those kinds of things…not to an old decrepit thing like him. 

Constantly tugging on his collars, and gulping down a lump in his throat. 

The attention makes him nervous, but not unappreciated. 

He’s just not used to this kind of attention, especially not consistently and genuinely. 

Just give him some time and ease him into it, and maybe just maybe he’ll be confident to flirt back.

[jesncin]

I know you said at some point that you had zero idea on how to put your own stamp on the Bat Rouges, and that does sound super difficult I feel like I have a few suggestions for the big 4 (Joker, Riddler, Selina, and Penguin) at least.

Joker - Follow B:TAS, bits of the 1989 film. In addition to actually being funny yet scary (especially B:TAS) those takes on the man were ex-mafiosi. Do what you will with the concept of Joker once being in the mob.

Riddler - He's an actual genius, but he's also an attention seeking narcissist, and the Arkham games the man has a case of megalomania, so maybe have him at some point move some operations to metropolis. Basically make the man an honorary Superman villain. He HAS worked alongside Lex in the silver age and in SOME comics, so like a Riddler-Lex team up could be in the air.

Catwoman/Selina - This is a free box so long as she remains a thief within the grey area of morality.

Penguin - Another free box honestly because Oswald has been redone a LOT, though I recommend going back to some earlier comics and some modern stuff to distill his essence.

While I appreciate the suggestions, I feel like I'm not clear enough with communicating why I struggle doing a reimagining of the bat rogues. So to put it plainly, when I do a re-mix: I need a thesis (a story to tell). I usually form a thesis if I find a narrative opportunity or I'm dissatisfied with how the character is handled in canon. That thesis will then fuel the story and design interpretation of that character.

Lately I've been reimagining Conner Kent/Superboy because I feel in canon after his initial debut in Reign of Supermen, Conner struggles being overshadowed by Jon Kent Superboy or Superman's legacy. DC doesn't know where to place him or what to do with him after his Lex Luthor-Superman-clone origin as a solo. Much of the later additions to Superfam don't feel as politically motivated as Clark would later be interpreted as (with the exception of Kong). So I wanted to create an origin that helps Conner stand on his own, be a uniquely different experience to Clark, and place him somewhere new after his origin is revealed- that adds longevity to his narrative. That's how my Paul Westfield/Conner Luthor version is created, from that thesis.

And that's my approach with all the characters I've done so far too. I wanted to tackle Martian Manhunter's ableist lore, or I wanted to reinforce the immigrant allegory in the Clois dynamic, or revitalize Superman rogues because they're underappreciated (Livewire), or I wanted the evil robot to be more gender (Brainiac). When I get suggestions to just follow what works, that's not creatively fulfilling for me.

Stuff that gets the gears in my brain turning are when I see fans passionately talking about but also being critical of characters they love. Like this Scarecrow video! It opened my eyes to how underutilized and undeveloped a character Scarecrow is (who I previously thought was popular). That's the kind of thing that gets me excited to pitch an interpretation on a character!

And lastly! I really don't want to crossover Batrogues into other hero's worlds where I can. I've done it sometimes sure, but only when there's a story to tell. Rogues are created to tackle a specific superhero's abilities and themes. A superhero crossing over rogues too often (especially with the Bat rogues, I get it they're the best rogues gallery in the business) feels like the creator lacks confidence in that hero's own rogues gallery. I'd rather revitalize a hero's rogues gallery than have My Adventures With Other People's Rogues Gallery. Amirite, MAWS.

[ladymisteria]

I'LL BE HONEST:

As much as I literally LOVED the last episode, I find Ruby's mom's true identity to be the most simplistic and lazy that a showrunner could come up with - especially given Ruby's many (too many!) unanswerable features...

She makes (did make?) it snow in places where they almost don't know what snow is (spaceships, alien planets, a hermetically sealed room with no windows...)!

She clearly remembers - without knowing how - what happened in "73 Yards" (still waiting for some answers, about that episode...).

The music hidden in her heart, which protected her from Maestro...

Her reaction to the discovery of the DNA match, in the future - which in hindsight seems overly exaggerated and meaningless. Seriously, she seemed to have discovered that she was the daughter of the biblical Eve, by much that she was shocked!

Do you know the impression I got? That RTD spent weeks at a time building up this great mystery - prompting us fans to speculate - that ultimately "backfired" on him, leading him to have no truly satisfying conclusion and to fall back accordingly on the easy choice; on the classic: "Ahahah, I fooled you, it was so trivial from the beginning" (which on the scale of obnoxious choices is second only to: "It was all a dream/simulation").

Besides, let's be honest: doesn't it seem a bit too "fairy tale-like" that - after a lifetime without a shred of news/information - within just a couple of hours/days, Ruby finds her biological mother, her biological father, her biological grandparents...?

UPDATE:

I find absolutely nothing wrong with giving people a way to speculate - neither do I get bothered by the extraordinary ordinariness of people. What I mean is that RTD deliberately gave supernatural characteristics to Ruby (I am referring to snow, to be clear), without then being able to give (yet) a plausible reason for it.

I give two examples of ordinary girls to demonstrate what I mean, because I realize that I have not clearly explained myself well:

AMY POND

Extraordinary/supernatural characteristic: she could easily remember events from more than one reality.

Plausible motivation (at least within the Doctor Who universe): she grew up next to a multidimensional crack.

CLARA OSWALD

Extraordinary/supernatural characteristic: she existed (and more importantly died) in multiple eras, yet she did not remember it.

Plausible motivation (at least within the Doctor Who universe): she entered the Doctor's timeline to save him.

WHERE, INSTEAD, RUBY SUNDAY...

Extraordinary/supernatural characteristic: she has the ability to make it snow everywhere, has a hidden song that protects her from a god, and has the ability to remember - without knowing how - things that happened in another reality.

Plausible motivation (at least within the Doctor Who universe): None.

Now, if somehow this were to find its own motivation - maybe already in the next season, since (if I am not mistaken) her character will still be present, that would be perfect, and my "annoyance" would be put to rest. Because at the moment, I'm not going to lie, it really seems like a throwaway thing to me.

[bunorous]

Amnesia: Rebirth and Misogyny

Hi! I’m rereading old Reddit threads and getting worked up over men males Annoying Amnesia Fans™️ deliberately misunderstanding the roles men and women play in video games. Here’s the fruits of my labor:

First and foremost: let’s debunk the obvious, frankly asinine counter-arguments.

“I don’t particularly, consciously hate female protagonists, so that’s not why I disliked rebirth/tasi” — if misogyny was only what you believed at the forefront of your mind, then we would not have misogyny. If misogyny was not a subtle plague that is hammered into you the moment you’re born, we would not have patriarchy. Just because you don’t know you hate female protagonists, doesn’t mean you don’t hate female protagonists.

Additionally: pregnancy is, if not inherently, a largely feminine thing. You cannot separate pregnancy from a uterus, and uteruses threaten men. The mere concept of pregnancy easily offsets a man and makes them denounce a game entirely, whereas women have dealt with all sorts of uncomfortable male topics (sexual abuse and violence against women, misogyny, fetishization etc) and dealt with it.

(Do you see where I’m going with this? The obvious double standard? That’s important later.)

Next: Tasi did not ramble any more than Daniel did, any more than Mandus did, either in general or about their children. The only time she really did was when she was narrating something that happened (common occurrence in horror games including amnesia) or the mechanic which is LITERALLY centered around dialogue, and changes based on your environment. That said, it’s also largely optional, and more often than not DOES serve a larger narrative purpose.

(Also— and this is my personal opinion- I think Daniel is poorly acted. God be damned if I don’t love him and his VA, but he is poorly acted. Hur dur are there dead people in the morgue Alexander).

On the same topic: Amnesia is not a fucking RPG. If you feel like you’re in the role of the character, great. That’s easy when they’re fucking silent as the grave the entire time except for letters and flashbacks. Amnesia has always been driven by two things; Characters and their motivations, and the fear of the unknown. (Rebirth checks one of those boxes).

Furthermore, when we look at the general consensus on rebirth, most of the reviews will be from men, because amnesia arguably has a predominately male audience. The reviews I’ve seen from women, though, all say they felt plenty immersed with Tasi as a character, that the game reflected their own fears.

Men (I am not going to specify not all men for the millionth time, fuck, if it isn’t about you then it isn’t about you) refuse to empathize with women the way women are forced to empathize with men because in gaming, and in the world, men are represented in all sorts of ways, where— at least for a very very long time— women had very slim pickings and, in recent years, there’s only been a handful of gems.

(No, don’t say Bayonetta or Peach. Do not fucking say Bayonetta or Peach. If those two roles were all women could ever be in video games, forever…)

You could argue you tired of Tasi talking about her child the way you grew tired of Mandus doing it, but Mandus very, very seldom verbally laments about his children the way Tasi does. You cannot reasonably draw that conclusion.

(I don’t see Oswald being condemned for, fuck, for what? For having children? The way Tasi is, either. Surely there is a systemic reason for that.)

Also: Tasi is held to a FAR higher standard than any male protagonist. When we see a male character we automatically take their actions and don’t view them at face value, we consider the shades of gray which is the very same theme the original game hoped to convey. Did Tasi truly do anything worse than Daniel? Then why do you shun her so deliberately while excusing him?

(Truth is they’re fictional and you shouldn’t act like either of them should be put before a court or something or other. But come on. Are they truly comparable?)

Female characters are slightly annoying once and are raked over the coals. Male characters can genocide an entire fucking country and people will still forgive that.

All in all: Misogyny is literally baked into our society. A game with a female protagonist will 100% of the time be subject to more criticism no matter what and Tasi is no exception especially because she experiences something directly correlated with women.

We could relate to Henri, I doubt many amnesia fans served in world war 1. We could relate to Daniel, I doubt many amnesia fans were manipulated into murder. You cannot relate to one fucking pregnant woman and her baby?

(I will say ONE thing to credit these people: the birth scene was uncomfortable not because it was childbirth but because Jesus fucking Christ doctor can you stop staring into the depths of my soul.)

[susandsnell]

@forthegothicheroine​ - the ask got deleted in a wild mishap, but here are the Which books I’d recommend to various Batman Villains! (thank you so much for this btw -- absolutely juicy question and I had a thrill imagining any scenario where I’d be in such a position as to be recommending them things! 

Harley Quinn - Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, naturally! Things not appearing what they seem, the plot twists, the self-reclamation, the romance, overcoming abuse - I think she’d really enjoy it! Conversely, I think Zola’s Thérèse Raquin would speak to her and maybe help her process some things regarding her bad patterns in criminal relationships. 

Poison Ivy - Gotta keep with the plants theme and give her The Weeds by Katy Simpson Smith, the tale of two women botanists from two different time periods whose entries framed around each type of plant and its uses explores a different theme/moment in their lives, usually relating to gendered violence and resilience to such. It’s even got a sapphic subplot, so really it’s made for her. Rumour has it that the Matt Reeves Batverse for her is planned to be inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Rappacini’s Daughter, which has me insanely excited -- so I’d throw that on the list as well. To switch gears from just the plants, I think that she’d really enjoy the sheer depth of devotion between women on display in My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix. 

Riddler - I feel like any mystery novel you give the guy is going to end in “I simply would have _____, RIP to [protagonist’s/antagonist’s name] But I, Edward Nygma/Nigma/Nashton Am Different”. Guy probably went into a full rage about how stupidly Franklin Clarke from The ABC Murders got caught after all the trouble he took with the puzzle-clues. after so I think I’d give him Walter Tevis’ The Queen’s Gambit since a lot of iterations show him having a fondness for chess (and the genuine skill in the writing), and Beth’s arc with difficult beginnings, addiction struggles, resilience and alienation would resonate with him if he ever would admit to it. I also think Gogol would suit him well; I see him enjoying the humour in short works like The Nose, but Dead Souls’ protagonist really suits him as a trickster conman who entertains the possibility of doing better.

Scarecrow - Oh, this is the big one. Hardest one on the list, because Crane’s probably the best-read on the list considering his original motive of wanting to heist money to fund getting books, and his Year One backstory working this into his horrific childhood probably cemented this, so odds are he’s read most of them already, especially the classics! But I did like the suggestion in your fic The Most Poetical Topic he hasn’t read Stephen King’s Carrie, since that’s the shoo-in. I do think he’d also get a kick out of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s works for modern gothics - Mexican Gothic and the use of the spores is up his alley in particular! Lindqvist‘s Let the Right One In with the cute little murder couple of vampire kids who absolutely obliterate bullies and find connection in being outsiders is probably his wish fulfilment jam, let’s be real. And because I’m me, I’d also insist on him reading The Moth Diaries by Rachel Klein because it’s essential reading imo and the psychological horror “is there a vampire or is it untreated grief and mental illness” plotline would tickle him. 

Two-Face - Handing him a copy of Phantom of the Opera is probably a great way to get him to flip the coin on whether he’s shooting you or drowning you, so I’d say I’d get Harvey some more legal-related literature. He’s probably a fan of Atticus Finch, so hand him a better John Grisham, a good Perry Mason tale, or Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities especially. And of course, Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo. We’re counting on you, Harv!!! 

Penguin - Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind was all but made for Oswald, especially the more grotesque iterations. It practically feels like proto-Burton!Oswald, although most iterations could probably get a lot out of the themes of abandonment and difficulty, the grotesque, and the ebb and flow of affections and power depending on one’s usefulness. The protagonist is even named after an animal to signify unwantedness!! But privately, I think Oswald likes his cozy mysteries too. 

Mr. Freeze - The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery -- really, hear me out, because while the book is only directly about grief and a new lease on life at the end, there’s the grief throughout for a life not lived, and I think he’d enjoy its little quotidian charms and the way it speaks of finding appreciation while you’re here. Otherwise, I’d say Terry Pratchett’s Nation, which is one of the other most immensely powerful explorations of grief. It also involves quite a few scientists for his bias!! 

Mad Hatter - Lewis Carroll’s works are his bread and butter, but I’d be very curious to see his thoughts on The Screwtape Letters. Otherwise I think I’d have to hand him a copy of The Stepford Wives with a sticky-note foreword of: “THIS IS A CAUTIONARY TALE, NOT AN INSTRUCTION MANUAL”. 

[wondergirl2007]

These five artists have inspired me to do art myself and I really admire their art ~ So I’m going to tell you about them and why they inspired me and they will even be tagged. If any of the artists that are in the list see this, then I just want to thank you for inspiring me.

5. Kika-ila

This artist is known for doing Total Drama art, and I was obsessed when I first saw her art! Her style is so freaking cute and I actually think her Total Drama Kids stories are better than Total DramaRama itself. I actually used to love Total DramaRama, but now not as much. I don’t hate it thought. I love Total Drama, but most YouTubers I watch that do TD content are leaving the fandom, like TotalDramaRicky and Noahh, which really does suck, but I can see why and they want to move on to other stuff. I really like the timeline drawings she did, and she even did it for FNAF (Five Nights At Freddy’s) too! FNAF is one of my favourite horror video game franchises, my favourite is the second one, which is actually a prequel! I didn’t even know that until a few weeks ago! But overall, Kika does awesome art and she deserves more attention!

4. thegreatrouge

I love this girl’s art. She’s known for doing art with rubber hose characters, like Felix The Cat, Oswald The Lucky Rabbit, Mickey Mouse and even Cuphead and Bendy! She has made a whole series called “Bendy And Boris And The Quest For The Ink Machine” and it’s amazing so far! The project is currently on hiatus right now, I’m not sure if she’s discontinued the comic and I really hope she hasn’t. I hate stories that are left on cliffhangers, along with “Two Sides Of The Story” which is a HTF comic by one of my good friends Emmy, she discontinued the story because she believed it was cringe. The art? It was cringey at first, but the art got better at around chapter 4. The actual storyline? Yeah, it was quite cringey actually. Can’t really blame her, but I actually did enjoy the story, I’m even doing a redraw of it and might even do a non canon continuation of it! I won’t do it for BABQFTIM, since there is already some continuations of that story. Rouge has also done a Cuphead In Wonderland project too which is pretty good too! Unfortunately, she’s been losing motivation to do art recently, which really upsets me. She’s an awesome artist, and I’d love to help her feel motivated again. Most of her art is sketched, or digital but without colour, but I can understand that colouring in art can take time. This girl is pretty good at art and she definitely deserves more motivation to continue doing what she loves.

3. The-Wallop-Cat-12

This artist mainly does Cuphead art, but she also does Sailor Moon, Splatoon and Mario art! Which is awesome, since I love all of those video games and Sailor Moon is my favourite anime. I don’t watch anime a lot, but my personal favourites are Sailor Moon, One Piece, Naruto, PPG Z, Yo-Kai Watch, Demon Slayer and Dragonball Z. Cuphead is definitely one of my favourite video games, despite how hard it can be. I got it for Christmas last year at it has been fun playing it. I also love VOAdam’s comic dubs of Cuphead Comics and he even did dubs for Wallop’s Cup Bros In Wonderland comics! I was working on a comic about it, but I discontinued it since I lost interest. I still love the idea of it though. Cuphead X Alice In Wonderland. I love Alice In Wonderland. There’s even some heartwarming comics she’s done with the the Cup Bros comforting each other that are real tearjerkers. I also really liked the Size Shifting Cup Bros comic she did. I like how Drama Days (a YouTuber I like) coloured in the comic too. I don’t know why, but I love a cartoon episode where someone becomes a giant. Don’t ask me why I love it, I just do. Probably because of Alice In Wonderland. Wallop is my favourite Cuphead artist, and she is very good at what she does!

2. ChaoChao0071

Oh my god, this girl… SHE IS AMAZING!!! I’m actually kinda jealous! Her art and animations are so damn good! She mainly does HTF content, but she also likes Invader Zim and My Little Pony. I love her crossover series with HTF and MLP “Everything Is Broken” and I like her Invader Zim series, “Not Your Enemy”. Looking back at when she started compared to now, she has been improving over the years! I really like her fanmade MLP character, Creepybloom. She’s such an amazing and interesting character. Chao’s voice acting for her is just splendid. (No pun intended cos there is an HTF character named Splendid and he’s my favourite character). I love villains that eventually turn good and realise their mistakes, like Sunset Shimmer in MLP: Equestria Girls and Vomitdid in Drama Days’ Splendid series. I also really love him. Definitely an interesting fanmade character. I also love her HTF OC’s Whiskers, Smokey and Holes. They are awesome concepts to EIB. Fun Fact, I actually didn’t like them at first when I first saw them in Part 12, but I eventually grew interest to them in Part 14, since we didn’t really see them in Part 13. Overall, this girl is AMAZING and I hope I’ll be able to animate like her one day. Her animation is so smooth and she is so skilful!

1. EmmyJeanBean

Emmy, if you are reading this, then I just wanna say… Thank you. Thank you so much. You are my best friend. You were the one to inspire me to do the art I do today. You have improved so much throughout the years, and I love every single art piece you have done. I follow you on DeviantArt, Instagram and Amino. I’ll make sure to follow you when or if I get Twitter. You are the reason why I do the art I do today. Everything about you AU makes me so curious and I love the way you made the characters and you OC characters are amazing too. It makes me wish they where in HTF too, like Angus, (Lammy’s ancestor) Samantha, (Splendid’s sister), Tammy, (Cuddles and Toothy’s kid), all of Cuddles siblings, everyone’s moms just all of your OC’s definitely deserve to make it into the show if it ever comes back. I’d love to to anything to bring HTF back. We can bring HTF back together. With all the fanmade stuff people are making, like Amensia, Nemao’s fanmade episodes, Drama Days’ Splendid series, EIB, etc, we can definitely make it possible since that shows that people still care about the show. Happy Tree Friends is my favourite cartoon and programme and I’d love to give it a revival. Let’s all bring HTF back to life, together. Emmy, you have actually inspired me to do some projects and art pieces, like your ‘Cannibal’ comic. It has inspired me to do a comic that I’ll be working on for the whole summer, but I won’t spoil it yet! I’ll keep it a surprise until the cover is out. I love so many of your projects like TSOTSS, Cannibal, Tammy’s Arc, Understanding Nolan, I’m Not Leaving and my favourite is A Stolen Heart, your Lifty X Splendid fanfic and my favourite HTF ship. Emmy, you are the best artist I’ve ever seen and nothing will change that. You art is so inspiring to me. You are the best.

And that’s them all! These 5 artists have inspired me to do the art I do today!

Kika-ila

thegreatrouge

TheWallop-Cat12

Pupster0071

EmmyJeanBean

NONE OF THE ART BELOW IS MINE! ALL CREDITS GO TO THE ARTISTS ABOVE.

[sl-newsie]

Behind Masks (Dr. Jonathon Crane x OC) Ch. 13: Damsel Not Distressed

Some independent hero I must be. Abducted by two idiots and tied to a chair. What an icon.

How long have I been out? The sack’s still over my head.

“Where the Hell am I?” I try to give authority but my croaking voice wouldn’t startle a kitten.

“She’s awake!” One of the voices from earlier whispers nearby and heavy footsteps approach.

The sack is ripped off and sunlight blinds my eyes. On top of that my hair piles over my face and gives me no clue to where I might be. All I can see through the strands of hair is the chair I’m bound to.

“Whoever you are, I have nothing to give. Go ahead and kill me.”

“I’m afraid that’s out of the question,” a familiar voice calls from overhead.

A hand folds back my hair and a better view of my captive environment is allowed. It’s an abandoned skateboarding rink. A concrete arena. The goons who abducted me are still standing behind me. Up above is the one giving the orders. Edward Nigma.

“I’m truly sorry it’s come to this, Callie.”

Through the blazing sun I make out his new appearance. Instead of the prison suit I last saw him in, Nigma has donned black trousers, a green blazer, and green bowler hat with a giant question mark painted on it.

“Nigma, this is ridiculous. Why keep me hostage?”

“Because I need Crane to cooperate.”

“With what?”

“I need him to stop terrorizing the workers at the bank. That’s where my next scheme is. As much as he hates to admit it, he does care about you. When he sees you like this he’ll budge.”

If it weren’t so saddening I might actually laugh. From how Crane acted when he ushered me out of his lab I don’t think he holds any amount of affection for me.

“Sorry to disappoint you but he doesn’t care, Nigma. He’ll probably encourage my death. The only reason he keeps in touch is because he’s obsessed with my psychosis.”

Bang!

A gunshot rings out and I look around for the source. It’s- An umbrella? There’s a strange-looking portly man in a black suit holding an umbrella with smoke coming out. Is that umbrella a gun?

“This foolish game is taking too long, Nigma. I want assurance that my own business will remain untouched as well.”

Just how many people are using me as bait?

I look up, annoyed at the riddling villain. “Nigma, who the Hell is this guy?” 

“Oh! Where are my manners? I am Oswald Cobblepot, at your service. Or should I say, your untimely death.” The man does a dramatic bow and tips his hat. The Penguin.

“Et tu, Cobblepot? Do I need to spell it out? I’m not a suitable bargaining chip!”

A shuffled noise alerts me to the edge of the rink and a flash of green catches my eye.

“Really, boys? You can do better than this. Leave Callie alone.”

I smile gratefully at the familiar botanist. “Thanks, Ivy.”

Ouch. The sun’s beginning to burn. I can feel my reddening skin rubbing against the ropes I’m tied up in. At this point being shot might be a decent way out of this. No more Gotham, no more sunburn.

“Did anyone tell him?” Ivy drones in a bored tone as she leans against the stone wall.

Nigma chuckles. “I sent a riddle-” 

“Never mind,” Ivy cuts him off. “Do not need any elaboration.”

Penguin shuffles around impatiently. “I’m starting to agree with Ms. Prentiss. I don’t take Crane for the affectionate type-”

“What are you doing?” Another familiar voice asks from the shadows.

“Or perhaps I spoke too soon,” Penguin says. “It appears he figured out your riddle.”

I can’t see! Where is he-? Oh. He did come after all. Although I don’t doubt his motive is to watch the show of me being cooked. Dr. Crane strides into the arena. He’s wearing the same clothes except for one accessory: the Scarecrow mask. Is this a rumble or what?

Nigma cackles with glee and hops down from his pedestal. “Delightful! Now that you’re here, let us establish our terms. You stop gassing the bank tellers, and we don’t hurt Callie.”

“Callie?” Crane whips his head to where Ivy’s pointing at me and his face darkens. “What’s she doing here?”

“Just a little insurance that you’ll cooperate,” Penguin explains smugly.

Dr. Crane’s eyes don’t look away from me. “You’re hurting her.”

“We haven't cut a hair off of her-”

“It’s the sun. She’s burning.”

He noticed. How attentive. Whether or not he cares if I’m being burned is shielded by his plain tone. Who does start to show concern is Ivy.

“He’s right. Get on with it, Nigma. Don’t worry, Callie. I’ve got the best aloe for you.”

Nigma tilts his head, still watching Crane’s alertness towards me. Cobblepot, however, is growing impatient.

“I’ll do it myself,” he mutters. He waddles closer and points his umbrella straight at my head. “You’d better be right, Nigma. Close the deal, now. Or else I will take my associations elsewhere.”

Crane’s body stiffens. Behind his mask I see his vibrant eyes flash. He can’t be serious-

“How about a compromise?” The fear doctor suggests.

Penguin lowers his umbrella by a fraction. “I’m listening.”

“You can do your little bank scheme, but also steal an adrenaline compound for me. You get your petty cash and I get a new ingredient for my experiments.”

He’s actually going along with this? Nigma struts up wearing a devious smirk and holds out a hand. The two men shake and he leans in to whisper something to Crane. Can we please get this done? My back feels like it’s about to char. 

“Pleasure doing business, Ms. Prentiss. Perhaps next time it will be on more friendlier terms.”

Penguin tips his hat to me and disappears into the shadows. While Nigma and Crane continue their whispering Ivy comes over and sets down a white bottle.

“Aloe. Apply twice daily. This should clear that burn up right away. It was good to see you, Callie. Stay safe, stay in touch.”

She too walks off and I’m left to wait for the squabbling geeks to stop arguing about… whatever. I don’t care.

“Remember: I’m not a flower, but I bloom in the heart,

In many stories, I play a part.

I can make you cry, or make you smile,

Through hate or sadness I reconcile,” Nigma chants tauntingly.

What the Hell kind of Riddle is that?

“Now let her go!” Crane orders.

Nigma shrugs. “Very well. There’s no need to hold onto her anymore.” He pulls out a knife and slices the ropes behind my back. “Sorry again, Callie. See you later.”

“Try to use me as bait again, and you will regret it,” I hiss as the ropes rub against my skin.

The chair pulls away and I fall onto my hands and knees. The pavement is hot enough to cook an egg. I don’t even want to know how red my back is.

“You owe me.” A hand grabs my arm and I’m tugged up to stand.

“Ow! In case you forgot, I am here because of you." I sneer at Crane. "Somehow I’m a valuable bargaining chip. Care to explain why?”

Dr. Crane doesn’t answer. He finishes untying the ropes around my legs. When he’s finished I bent over to pick up Ivy’s aloe. Every inch I move causes my skin to yell at me.

“Is it safe?” Crane asks in a lazy voice.

“I trust Ivy. Plus my skin can’t get any worse now anyway.” I practically limp into the shade and lean against the cold concrete. “I was just held hostage in broad daylight. What do you expect?”

“I expect it hurts.”

No shit, genius!

“Yes. Yes it does. Now please get your gloating over with so I can be miserable in peace.”

A small dose is all it takes. I pour a small drop of the green goo onto my hand and smear it across my arm. Thank you, Ivy! It feels like liquid relief-!

“Here.” Crane takes the bottle and suddenly more aloe is being rubbed gently on my back. “This should help.”

Oh- God, he’s good at this. Of course he is. He studied anatomy the same as I. But why does he have to be so frustrating?

“You’re helping? Are you high?”

“Hardly. These actions are based on pity, Dr. Prentiss. You look like a cracker dipped in ketchup.”

Surprising. He still has a sense of humor. Probably because it’s directed at me. 

I fight the urge to moan and pull away before I let my trust slip. I pivot and walk through the alley towards the main street. Where do I go? What direction is-?

“Your apartment is that way, Dr. Prentiss.” Crane points north.

I pull my face into a tight smile. “Thank you,” I reply stiffly.

Continuing onward. And he’s still following me.

“Did you know that- Oh come on, take it off!” I yank Crane’s mask away and shove it into his hands. “We’ll get caught! Anyways, did you know that New York built the first electric chair in 1888 because they were seeking a more humane method of execution than hanging?” 

He takes a minute to adjust to the bright sunlight. “That seems rather dark and random for you.”

“I find it interesting. We still kill, but look for more humane methods. In my line of work I’ve seen many criminals design their methods of death. Including you.”

We get to the intersection across from my apartment. Good. A hot shower- Scratch that. A freezing cold shower for my skin and some fresh clothes. My poor black dress from last night is wrinkled and dusty. With a little luck it can be saved. Some hero. Dressed the part for damsel in distress like a pro. 

“Would you like me to escort you?”

Escort? God, he’s right. I am poisoning him with thoughts of chivalry. This does not sound like the Dr. Crane from five months ago. First he lets me live from a Nigma’s crazy scheme and now he’s offering to escort me.

My tone turns gentle. “No, thank you. I’ll be fine.”

Crane nods. “Take care of those burns. Good day, Dr. Prentiss.”

He walks straight past me towards the docks. Back to his lab. So that’s it, then? Him popping in and out of my life when it concerns him. I shouldn’t care… But then why does my heart drop the further he gets down the sidewalk? Maybe Nigma’s right. Maybe he does care. Why else would he have acted to preserve my life today? Or it’s to earn a favor from me. I ‘owe’ him. Well, favor or not I’m still going ahead with my plan.

I strike first tonight.

[bigfrozenfan-fanfics]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

When I think back to the beginnings of my novel, which was initially just a little ficlet about four years ago, around Anna's birthday, I realise that it was all born out of the single idea that for some reason Elsa no longer had any magical powers. It's also a fact that I was terrified of writing it at the time, so I asked on Tumblr who of the experienced writers there wanted to take my idea and write a multi-chapter fanfic. But no one was willing to do it and so I had to make the decision to try it myself - without any experience for a project of this size. At the time, I didn't even realise how big it would be!

To cut a long story short, I am glad that I dared to take this step!

But it was a long road - with many setbacks at the beginning. First i had to learn how to write and motivate myself repeatedly. There were so many days when I was just a finger's breadth away from simply giving up. If it wasn't for some fans and writers who encouraged me, gave me lots of tips and convinced me that my expectations for reactions from the Frozen fandom were a bit too high. Fortunately, I had also found a first beta reader from these ranks who helped me with the production of the first two chapters.

Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to thank @fericita-s and @the-spaztic-fantastic once again. Also a big thank you to @the-sky-is-awake for the encouraging words during my very first attempt to write a fanfic (which I did not finish after the release of Frozen II, by the way).

Also, at that time, an anonymous reader who — to this day — doesn't have a Tumblr account, wanted to help me and who later turned out to be my most loyal fan and beta reader and became a real long-time friend. Our chats and planning — first on Twitter, later on Discord — are so extensive that it would fill more than an entire book. But we also talked about many private things. By the way, the idea of including music in my chapters came solely from him. The music later helped me a lot with my writing and thinking and it was not uncommon for me to have tears in my eyes when reading the finished chapters.

Thank you, HeinrichVSA, for the many years we worked together, for your friendship and, above all, for always believing in me. Until today! You've always cheered me up in bad times and motivated me to keep going and never give up. Thank you also for your advice on historical matters and for contributing some scenes in some chapters yourself and for creating the OC character Oswald Monrad and his daughter Stella for me. THANK YOU for everything!

Without the motivation provided by the comments from my loyal readers, I would probably have given up long ago, but the consistently positive feedback from them — even I always asked for criticism at the end of each chapter — has really given me immense pleasure and encouragement. With your comments, you all confirmed time and again that I must have done something "right" with 'The Broken Bridge'.

So many thanks to: @true--north @dronning-formynder05 @annaofthenorthernlights @karma26 (up to the beginning of part four, where the adult content began). You have made my many days sweeter and thank you for staying loyal to me all these years. The novel would not have been possible without you! Outside Tumblr I have to thank especially to lolita @_lola_lola on Twitter aka X, chainzsw on Discord (alias Winterdust--76 on Tumblr) and Kongelig_Historian on reddit. Many thanks also to HARU @xlayers for the commissioned wonderful fanart to many of my chapters.

Thanks also to all the Disney book and comic authors who have been a source of many of my ideas and have enriched the story. Especially when it comes to certain characters, such as Thord from "Lur Thief" by Georgia Ball, who unfortunately never received any recognition from Disney for her extraordinary comic book story, nor permission to write a planned sequel. Unfortunately! In my novel, I have tried to do my best to realise this and give Thord a well-deserved comeback as a villain.

But none of this would have been possible without the magic of the Frozen films, and all Frozen fans and fanfic writers would agree with me. We all love this magical world and would love to live in it. But at least in our stories we can bring this dreamland to life.

Let's all hope that the two planned Frozen sequels open up as big a world and as many new possibilities for new stories as the first two films did.

[lemontartyellow]

Uhhhh I feel like talking about Kristen Kringle so I’m gonna do it now.

This isn’t going to be very cohesive, I just felt like talking about my thoughts on her.

First of all, I want to say that she is nowhere near my favorite character. I felt completely neutral on her for all of Season 1, and started to like her in Season 2 before they killed her off. I can’t even say I understand why some people like her so much. But I will still defend her to my death because I firmly believe that woman did nothing wrong.

“But she was ableist to Ed!” I honestly think she didn’t like him not because of his autistic traits but because of how he acted around her. I say this as someone who heavily sympathizes towards S1 Ed, he was being incredibly creepy to her. He fucking sniffed her. Really, I think you could make stronger case for Harvey being ableist toward him (he literally told him that he needed help because he asked a riddle)

Plus, she literally apologized for how she thought of him even though she, in my very humble opinion, didn’t need to.

“But she gets in the way of Nygmobblepot!” Ignoring the fact that hating a female character because she “gets in the way” of a ship is misogynistic, how? Ed and Oswald are literally in the same room twice before she dies. I honestly didn’t think she would get this treatment from the fandom simply because she is such a non-factor in their relationship. If you wanna talk about Isabella, that’s a different story, but they’re two different characters.

I just genuinely don’t think there’s a valid reason to hate her, yknowwhatimsaying? Other then that, I don’t care about her that much. I liked her for the 3 episodes before she died, and her and Lee would’ve made a cute couple, but that’s about it. But I’m still side eying you very hard if you don’t like her.

Now I want to talk about her writing. It’s not a secret that Gotham does not write its women well, and Kristen Kringle is not an exception to the rule. She joins Isabella and Lee (strange how all the women Ed dated have the sake writing problems) in the “most of their character revolves around a man/men” category of misogynistic writing (well, Lee could hypothetically get better in Season 4 and maybe 5 since I haven’t watched them, but I don’t have faith).

Kristen doesn’t have much of a character outside of him. She has no existing plotlines, motivations, or goals. The closest thing she gets outside of him is her tendency to date jerks (Flass, Dougherty, Ed even counts technically).

Kristen does not have any scenes where Ed is not also in them. The closest she gets is a scene is Season 2 where she is talking to Lee and Ed isn’t in the same room as them. He is still in the scene though, he’s just overhearing them.

And then there’s her dying for Ed’s character development. Which is, for obvious reasons, not something you do to your female characters.

Now, I’m obviously not a professional writer, but I’ve thought about how they could’ve done her better. I’ve heard people throw out the idea of her becoming a villain herself, but that doesn’t really seem to make sense to me (interesting idea though). The best I can come up with is Ed almost killing her instead of actually killing her, have her help out Jim and Harvey sometimes, having her have a reaction to Isabella/Oswald/Lee, exploring her attraction to toxic men, and give her relationship with Lee more screen time (I’d say make them girlfriends but I’m trying to be a little realistic here). I think a weird and complex relationship between her and Ed could be cool,

I’ve never been good at conclusions, so just take the thing.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

what's up kids it's that time again already

because I am extremely ready to be done with season 4 !!!

Gotham 4x17

something wild I've just realized is that at this point there are only 18 episodes left of the entire show, since season 5 was retooled into a half season that only got 12 eps and had to cut several ideas and characters including, among other things, the presence of Man-Bat. that's odd partly because I've spent something like nine months chipping away at Gotham at this point, and it's very strange to imagine my life now without any more Gotham to liveblog. it's also strange because this is no way feels like a story that's nearing any kind of conclusion, and I have to assume that when it inevitably comes the end will be as abrupt, brutal, and messy as every other aspect of Gotham up until that point.

anyway let's see what fresh hell is in store for us this time

god we've really abandoned all pretenses here Bruce is Batmanning on every level except for actually wearing a bat cowl

Oswald looking UNBELIEVABLY cunty atm I'm OBSESSED

bitch!!!

it would have been so cool if Bridgit had literally any kind of consistent personality or motivation but alas it is not that kind of show

a cool thing about the show never technically letting Cameron Monaghan's character be referred to as the Joker is that I don't technically have to like the Joker! and that's a huge relief because I do in fact like Jerome very much

oh my god they stumbled into an interesting Riddler moment again. this rules. like realistically this is about as good as guy whose whole gimmick is riddles could probably do for himself.

Lee got rid of her shitty bangs AND has acquired some sparkly fingerless fishnet gloves I love this for her

oh boy Jerome in a dog cage better not be a writer's poorly disguised fetish

I am once again asking what the point of making him Solomon Grundy was it lasted like ??? six episodes ??? people come back from the dead on this show all the time it didn't have to be a Thing

the thing is that if I didn't already know what the reveal is going to be (there's a second Valeska and Cameron Monaghan is going to play his own twin) I would simply have to assume they were going an incredibly bold gay Joker route and having Jerome hunt down his ex boyfriend

hey this is unhinged. like there have been a Lot of stupid storylines in this show but this genuinely so dumb and SO unnecessary

they want me to believe he stapled a live barracuda to someone's face as if the Riddler could possibly control a noble barracuda

there are just so many men in this city that Lee should be permitted to dismember with her bare hands

oooh baby Orphan Black this is not they are STRAINING to keep from having to show two Cameron Monaghan's at the same time. this is so disjointed

Hatter and Scarecrow getting sent to kill Jim and Harvey but immediately giving up because Harvey uuuuh screamed and ran right at them is ??? lmao??? you are so bad at your jobs hit him with some fear toxin or something?

also exactly no one on this show seems willing to actually run like their life is on the line which is really creating a very weird ambience. Mad Hatter and Scarecrow are doing the white person half-jog across the intersection while being chased with a gun

anyway Jerome just gave his brother a little smooch on the head but I don't think I'm insane for saying it seems like he wants to put his entire tongue in his twin's mouth. and that is hands down like the most normal thing going on in this episode.

RESPECT FOR LEE THOMPKINS: LOST !!!!!!!!!

[primroseprime2019]

If Your Story was a Show, how many episodes would it have?

This is gonna be a tag game. (I don’t really know what to call it) The rules are: Put down the current story you’re working on, along with how many episodes your Story would have. I’ll be doing this for my Transcendants books.

Supposed Allies- The Heroes make their way to Earth where they encounter a bunch of Earthian dragons who aren’t exactly welcoming to the bunch.

Evie’s Delivery- Matthew asks Evie about making a trip to London where the Transcendant will receive a shocking surprise.

Hop, Skip and Jump- Penelope sings a song, Felicity befriends a dragon and Oswald gets an ultimatum.

Darkness as a Friend- Jared questions Phineas’ motives while Alan tries to find a few Beasts on his planet and Paige gets more than she bargained for when she runs into an old friend.

Maximum Pride- Abraham has a problem with his sexuality and Draven thinks he won’t be of any help. Someone’s gonna prove him wrong.

(This is just the beginning of what I put down so… *shrugs*)

Tagging: @manuscriptsatmidnight @talesofsorrowandofruin @toribookworm22 @arijensineink @minutiaewriter @movieexpert1978 @wingsy-keeper-of-songs @jinxneedssleep @spuddlespud @kaiusvnoir @junypr-camus