#Edward Gist

[izzysillyhandsy]

My predictions for the S2 finale (also, 100% wish fulfillment)

I'm so intrigued by this quote from David Jenkins regarding the dream sequence in S2E1:

"Stede, Blackbeard, and Izzy are on an arc together. Whether they're in stories together or not, their ultimate arc is together. I think, by the end of this season, the last episode, that first scene will be gratifying. I won't say why, but their fates are tied together."

(Just to get this out of the way, because I have seen posts worrying about it (and for my own peace of mind): if the last episode mirrors the first one and that "scene will be gratifying", in no way can I see Izzy dying - gratifying would be a really weird way to describe Izzy's death, although some antis might see it that way ;).)

But let's look at the dream again.

Stede looking all piratey-tough, beard, earring and all. Izzy standing between Stede's and Ed's happiness, and Stede knifing and stabbing him without the slightest bit of remorse. Stede and Ed running towards each other on a sunset beach. Izzy dead, forgotten and out of sight.

Combined with this quote (referencing "A Star is born") from the same article:

"... to watch Stede — spoiler, but he becomes a real boy, and he becomes a notorious pirate. To see Ed try to process that, Ed's more like Jackson Maine, and then Stede's doing a Gaga, and he's blowing up."

and the scenes from the trailer and teaser where Stede and Ed are running/fighting towards each other on (I think) the same beach...

My prediction for the show's finale is:

While Ed's still on probation, Stede, with Izzy's help, gains respect in the pirate community. "The Gentleman Pirate" becomes a thing, and Ed finds this difficult to deal with. Yes, he wanted to give up pirating and run away with Stede to China, but being overshadowed by him in his own field of expertise? His life's work? By an amateur?? (and Stede not only has his crew, but he has his Izzy too now?)

Maybe there is another separation, maybe Ed goes away to chill somewhere, maybe there is a fight between Stede and Ed.

Then Price Ricky comes back, and he wants Stede (and piracy in general) dead. Izzy has some undercover part where he's talking to Ricky over a candlelight dinner and is seen wearing a Navy jacket later. At one point, he gets severely injured (as seen in BTS photos).

The showdown is happening on the beach. But instead of Stede killing Izzy and then running towards Ed, Ed is coming back to help Stede and his crew out when the battle seems lost and Izzy is hurt/dying.

It could be framed like the scene in episode one - Ed coming from one side, Stede seeing him and running towards him from the other, both fighting Navy guys left and right. With their combined effort, the battle is won.

But instead of Ed and Stede having only eyes for each other, this time around there's also Izzy, and they won't let him die (maybe with help from a certain bird? Or is this to out there).

I can even see a bit of jealousy going on with Ed regarding Izzy and Stede.

In reversal of the dream though, Izzy will be the one bringing Ed and Stede together (through giving Stede a sense of self-worth, through talking to Ed about his feelings of envy/fear about his unloveableness because Izzy knows him and I think Ed really cares about his opinion, etc.)

In the end, the conclusion could be that they're all in it together. Ed and Stede co-captain, and Iz is their shared first mate.

(and then the three of them ride off into the sunset)

[unitedstates0fdakota]

✨Pinned post✨

Heyo I’m Dakota :3 I talk and talk and write and talk and sometimes draw but mostly talk. I have a lot of interests that I post about (obviously some more than others but alas) that’s all on here, along with a link to my Twitter, AO3, and a dumb YouTube playlist.

I’ve written a play, a lot of poetry, and of course some good ol fan fiction (not all of it is finished but…one day…) the play isn’t published or anything but If you’re ever curious you can DM me for a link to it or something lol

I’m not very good at consistently responding to messages/messaging consistently in general but that’s just a personal issue there is no friendship decay over here ever just message me if you wanna chat and I’ll chat back as best as I can o7

Uhhh that’s about it I guess. I have a lot of knowledge, experience, and stories about things that aren’t interesting to a majority of people. My parents are theater kids. I have a copy of fight club that I have annotated for pastoral imagery. I can’t think unless I imagine, like, 6 different people in my head discussing things. One time a cowboy tried to kill me in a different state cuz he didn’t like my vibes. I used to eat fertilizer as a child. I have a stuffed rabbit named Edward that I carry around with me a lot. I pick up worms from the sidewalk on sunny days right after it rains. I met Jerma one time. Despite some good efforts from a few different people, I’m alive and I think that’s pretty neat. Maybe I won’t be later, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Here’s a photo of Edward. He is well loved. I am also well loved. That’s all :)

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

i kno you see the Gord as autistic, i think Duck and Percy are too, Duck is low support and Percy is high support (Ducks need is emotional regulation, Percys is instructions and tasks), Thomas is adhd

My dear Sir/Ma'am —

Every Single One of These Engines Is Neurodivergent™

[angelsinluv]

angel’s fulfillment challenge

welcome to the unofficial official challenge of angel’s vault ☆

i’m going to say this now, this isn’t going to be some crazy, different thing. this is literally how the law works lol but i say challenge because it's for those who see them as fun, want to be disciplined and set the tone for the new year! (or whenever you’re reading this)

𝐈. the point of this challenge is to…

fall in love with imagination

enjoy fulfilling yourself

get your desires duh

stop over consuming and apply no matter if you think you need to know more.

𝐈𝐈. important guidelines!

read this post to get a gist of states because this is what this challenge is about. fulfilling yourself in imagination. you don’t need to read it every time to know you’re doing it right, this challenge will do it all for you.

affirmations and visualizations are techniques so what is your way of thinking that feels comfortable to you? sometimes you don’t even need it. for me, i mostly need to feel that i already have it. have fun, experiment with daydreams/scenes, affirming and/or feeling. it doesn't have to be the same every single time.

𝐈𝐈𝐈. steps

choose what you want. go crazy. do not condition your desires. you are limitless. if you can see it in your mind, you can have it. famous? nepo baby? money? db, df? better self concept? gender revision? time change?

decide right now you are the person who already has what the want. so guess what? there is nothing to get because you already have your desire. manifesting money? you already have it. manifesting an sp? you already have them. manifesting your dream life? you already have it. that is your state.

fulfill yourself every chance you get in the day. no you don’t have to lock yourself in the room to affirm/visualize/feel all day. no you don’t have to be in the state all day, you are always passing through states but remember, the state you constantly make your dwelling place MANIFESTS. so make an effort to return to it as much as you can and want to.

ideas: do it in the morning when you wake up, in the afternoon, whenever you have free time like on your bed, going home, walking, during class and before you go to sleep.

bonus: do this meditation by edward art daily, it's not mandatory. it's not like all the other meditations, give it a shot. get off tumblr, stop over consuming

make it fun, it’s not a chore! have fun daydreaming/visualizing you shopping with all the money you got, getting compliments from people on how they’re so amazed at how successful you are, have fun complimenting yourself in the mirror while you repeat affirmations, have fun looking around and going “yeah, i literally have ____” sounds nice and fun? because it is. manifesting is simple.

4. get your desires. there is no deadline. i hate that shit 😭 srrynotsrry, that would be contradicting the law and this challenge. you already have it, you’re not getting anything on a time crunch. not no 3 days, not a week, not two, not a month. THERE IS NOTHING TO GET WHEN YOU HAVE IT NOW. ONLY NOW.

challenge summary:

YOU ALREADY HAVE IT!

𝐈. why should you fulfill yourself?

because when you fulfill yourself in imagination, you are changing self. and what is a reflection of self? the 3D.

it’s not your job to make things physical. your job is to change your mind.

focus on yourself. there is nothing to change or to get in the 3D because it’s nothing but a mirror that shows/proves you right in what state you identify and dwell in.

“Stop trying to change the world since it is only the mirror. Man’s attempt to change the world by force is as fruitless as breaking a mirror in the hope of changing his face. Leave the mirror and change your face. Leave the world alone and change your conceptions of yourself. The reflection then will be satisfactory.”

“I AM wealthy, poor, healthy, sick, free, confined were first of all impressions or conditions felt before they became visible expressions. Your world is your consciousness objectified. Waste no time trying to change the outside; change the within or the impression; and the without or expression will take care of itself. When the truth of this statement dawns upon you, you will know that you have found the lost word or the key to every door. I AM (your consciousness) is the magical lost word which was made flesh in the likeness of that which you are conscious of being.”

𝐈𝐈. additional tips

doubting? let it pass. don't give it power. why are you doubtful if it's going to come or if the law works when you have what you want right now? if you're dwelling in doubts then you're not being the person who has it.

worried about when it's going to come? that doesn't make sense because you literally have it right now lol

want to ask a question? why? you literally have it. what's there to ask? try asking yourself first.

simple.

have fun, angels. remember that YOU ALREADY HAVE IT. send me your successes in the inbox!

signed, angel ☆

[msallurea]

Your desires were never bigger than you, you created them..so why fear?

This post is actually inspired by a small thought I had while getting ready to take a bath 😭

So anyways back to my point, I will based this entirely on my experience just now, so boom, I was randomly thinking OF my desires wondering "hmm I already know every drop of loa info I need to know so why am I not applying?" That's when another thought of mine appeared and asked "is it because I wanna manifest a lot of things at once that I'm not applying or maybe I'm doing something wrong?" Then it was followed by "I've already affirmed before that I had all my desires/my dream life what was the issue? I know that the 3d doesn't matter, wavering doesn't slow down my manifestation, I've been WANTING my desires since forever, I've manifested things before what was so different about this?" And then that is when a very distinct voice said in my head

"Why would I be worried about not being able to have a desire that I created? How can my desire be bigger than me when I AM the one who created the desire in the first place?"

This has me sitting for a few moments rethinking EVERYTHING. That's when I began to change my perspective on this whole desiring thing entirely, if I am the creator of my reality and I created the desire in the first place and I also created the confusion AND ocercomplications around even having my desire, why am I questioning about something that I can just decide to have..BECAUSE I AM THE CREATOR OF MY REALITY. This honestly made Mr chuckle a bit. Especially because if had me thinking about people with epiphanies of loa, they aren't epiphanies at all, i already knew exactly what everything meant BUT I created all these overcomplications and rules and such that i literally forgot that I create all the time so therefore why would me creating fulfillment in having my desires be any different.

Then my mind started wandering to different methods because my mind already got the gist NOW that I literally do create the lack, the desire AND the fulfillment. But then it had me wondering how can I lack or desire something that I've already created? This is when one of Edward art's vids kicked in and I hear his voice in my head telling me:

"lack is an illusion and desire is an illusion, there is only just fulfillment and acceptance of that fulfillment"

So that's when my mind sat for a few seconds then went back to the whole methods thing and I thought about well hm..since I'm the creator of my reality what method should I do? That's when my mind began to go back again and it then says:

"Imagine someone anyone (for me this was higher self, my mom, and my lover at the moment) and they gave you a gift it had everything you could've ever desired and they told you yes it is all yours, you can have it its yours"

So though it wasn't vivid I didn't concern myself with that I just kept hearing the voice say yes it is yours yes you can have it yes you have it. Now it wasn't very long but it definitely made me wonder, a lot of times many of us don't "want to manifest" simply because they feel they don't deserve the things they want. In my case I knew I voild have the things I wanted and even in a way deserved it but my issue was that it was so much I wanted I didn't want to be judged for making my life the way I wanted it to be. This is when another thought comes up and says

"How could I be scared of something I created?"

This really had me thinking especially with times I've doubted and second guessed etc not only was I choosing the opposite of what I created but I was saying no to something I created that I constantly searched to get a yes to, it didnt matter what anyone else answer was the only yes I ever really needed was my own because it was my own creation.

This is all I have right now but I just thought this thought was really funny to me

[rosewaterandivy]

stop making plans / start making sense

Summary: eddie finds himself smack dab in the middle of an ap english iv class, all because some do-gooders at Hawkins High happen to “believe in him” or whatever. the catch? it just so happens to be your ap english class.

A continuation of this blurb and the result of an ongoing eddie munson hc convo with @powderblueblood 💚

Warnings: eddie’s senior year 2.0, no Upside Down, scary smart debate team captain reader, NHS president and tutor nancy wheeler, ap music theory nerd and general nuisance robin buckley, pretentiousness alert - you have been warned!

W.C.: 1771

It’s his second time around as a senior, not even the first week of school under his belt when Mrs. Meloy calls him into her office. The counseling center, which he is unfortunately far too familiar with, is busy as it usually is at the beginning of the year— schedule changes, registration, students complaining about not getting late arrival or early dismissal. Before he can settle in one of the worn chairs by the door, a woman pops her outside of an office door. She glances around, blue eyes searching for someone or something, before landing on Eddie.

“Think the wall can hold itself up just fine Edward,” She calls as she opens the door to her office and waves him in.

He grouses at the use of his full name and rolls his eyes, languidly strolling into the smaller room that smells overwhelmingly of cinnamon.

“Go ahead and make yourself comfortable.”

She’s turned around, fingers flicking through thick manilla files in the cabinet in front of her. A cup of coffee sits on her cluttered desk, cold, from the looks of it. Mrs. Meloy mutters under her breath before turning from the filing cabinet in annoyance.

“It’s only the first week of school,” Eddie points out, “I haven’t done anything.”

The yet between them goes unspoken.

The older woman merely raises a knowing brow and takes her seat opposite him. She sorts through a few loose papers on her desk before letting out a surprised huff, “Gotcha!” Flipping through the file, his file, Eddie supposes, her eyes scan over what is undoubtedly his lack of academic achievement.

Satisfied with her perusal, she sets the papers down on her desk and addresses him.

“Round two.” Mrs. Meloy begins, resignedly. “Hopefully the NHS tutoring placement will be to your benefit Mr. Munson. Miss Wheeler is an exemplary student and I have high hopes for you under her tutelage.”

She then runs through his current schedule, emphasizing the classes he needs to perform well in (mostly all of them, save for English and a few others).

“Which brings me to the reason for our meeting today,” she says with a smile. “It has not escaped my notice, nor that of Mrs. Seguin, that you are quite adept in English class. At least,” she qualifies with a pull of her lips, “When properly motivated.”

And yeah, okay, he was decidedly not trying all that hard in Mrs. S.’s senior English class last year and he breezed through with a respectable A minus.

Wayne even got a little choked up when he read that particular report card.

“I guess so,” he says with a cross of his arms.

“Rather than having you repeat the same content and curriculum this year, Mrs. Seguin and I have petitioned the principal for permission to move you into a more challenging and appropriate English class.”

Well, that perks him right up.

“Principal Higgins has agreed to the change, with a few stipulations.”

Of fucking course.

The gist of it is, Eddie’s admittance to the AP English IV class will be probationary for the first quarter, given his past exploits and record. If he can keep his grades at a respectable B across the board, Eddie will be permanently placed in Mrs. Seguin’s advanced class. If he can’t, it’s back to regular Senior English with that crone, Mrs. Cotter.

Easy peasy.

And he’s almost out the door when Meloy stops him with a furitive, “Eddie,” and pauses to look him in the eye. “We believe in you and we went to the mat with Higgins on this.” She says emphatically, standing up to escort him through the office, “You can do this, Eddie, we know you can.”

She smiles and sends him off with his newly revised schedule, the summer reading assignment, and information for Wayne to peruse about Advanced Placement courses.

The rest of that day unfolded as expected despite his new schedule. Slight differences were made, such as: Eddie sitting in the middle of the class instead of the back, hopefully next to Buckley or Wheeler if he could swing it.

With Nancy’s help, he was able to narrow the summer reading options down to books that would hold his interest. The librarian, Ms. Berkowitz, was more than happy to oblige him with checking out a copy of Notes from the Underground by some Russian dude whose name Eddie couldn’t possibly pronounce.

The bell for the final class of the day rang just as he slipped through Mrs. Seguin’s door.

“Timely as ever,” she teased and kicked the door stop into the classroom.

Her room was the same as last year, but the mood within was markedly different— more relaxed and at ease. Students sat where they pleased and chatted amongst themselves while Mrs. S. checked off the roll and fielded a few questions from the group.

Eddie settled in the only open seat right in between Nancy and yourself. He tried not to be offended that you didn’t even glance up from your furious scribbling on the page, seemingly writing a mile a minute, as if you couldn’t get the words out fast enough.

Ink smeared on the college ruled paper underneath your hand.

Eddie found it endearing.

“Okay, okay, let’s get this show on the road.” Mrs. S. set her clipboard on the desk and leaned against it with a casual grace.

She was one of the newer teachers to Hawkins High, from some big name school out west with not one, but two degrees framed on the wall behind her desk. She was young and quick to laugh; the older teachers were a bit weary of her and those “new agey” teaching philosophies, but the results produced were proof enough for her to granted the AP English III and IV courses for this year. According to Nancy, she’d only had AP juniors and regular seniors last year.

Eddie, being one of those regular students, would know.

“Alright, hopefully we’ve brought in our summer reading novels today. The goal is to break you all into thematic groups based on your selected text. From there, you will collaborate with your peers to create a presentation on your findings.”

With this, she steps away from her desk and begins writing on the chalkboard.

“Consider such things as character archetype, thematic resonance, literary merit, of course. But more importantly,” she says, turning to the class with a smile, “How did the story affect you? What new perspective or insights were gained? What concepts were reinforced? Did you despise the protagonist, or did you identify too closely with them?”

The class has fallen to a hush, you’ve stopped writing and are rapt with attention. Eddie, used to overworked teachers and coaches who could care less, is shocked.

“I remind you, as always, that there are no right or wrong answers in here. As long as you can support your interpretation—” She begins.

“With evidence from the text,” The class choruses in reply.

“Good, exactly.”

At that, students break away into smaller groups and begin talking in hushed tones about the project.

“Whatcha got there?”

This, from Robin, who unceremoniously plucks Eddie’s book from his grasp. She flips through it, eyes lighting in interest, just as Mrs. Seguin makes her way over.

“Eddie, always good to see you.”

“Right back at ya, Mrs. S.”

She smirks, eyeing Robin scanning through Dostoevsky. “Had a feeling you’d gravitate toward the nihilists. Got a chance to start reading yet?”

He swipes the book back from Robin and ignores her petulant pout.

“Uh, kinda. Started it during lunch today.”

She nods knowingly, “Well, I’m sure you’ll be caught up in no time.” Surveying the classroom she nods to herself, “And now that I think of it,” She turns back to Eddie, “Looks like you’re in the right group over here.”

He almost says there is no group over here, but then he notices Nancy and Robin chatting with you. Feeling his stare, you turn back from where you’ve set up shop on Robin’s desk and jerk your head, an invitation by any other name.

“C’mon Munson, we don’t have all day.” You say this softly, chidingly, with no real heat behind it. Your eyes narrow as a group gets particularly loud across the way, “Because I’m certainly not about to let Phillips show us up.”

“Oh, bite me!” Phillips crows from his desk.

“You wish, you cretin!”

Eddie does his best to hide the curl of his lips and stifle a laugh while Phillips sulks at his desk.

Robin thumbs through a worn copy of Nausea while Nancy talks Eddie through the plan thus far. She’s read The Death of Ivan Ilyich and come to the conclusion that the novels in the group are both deeply depressing and deal with themes of existentialism, and in some cases, nihilism.

“I dunno. Philosophy is all well and good, but,” you pipe up, “Mine had elements of magical realism and a satirical critique of Soviet Russia.”

Eddie attempts to process what you and Wheeler have just said. Sensing a lull in the conversation, you slyly pass your novel over to Eddie and start to take notes over whatever it is Nancy is rambling on about.

The Master and Margartia.

Huh, weird title.

He reads the blurb on the back cover and kind of regrets not choosing this one to read. Maybe you’ll let him borrow it after the project is over. Setting it back on your desk, Eddie peruses the syllabus Mrs. S. must’ve slipped him.

“So, will that work for you Eddie?”

Lost in a daze of genres and titles, he looks up. “Sorry, what was that?”

Nancy sighs, “We’re going to meet at my house on Thursday for a study group. I know you and Mike have that thing on Fridays, so.”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks Wheeler; that’ll work.”

With a smile, she goes back to chatting with Robin.

“Psst.”

A neatly folded paper lands on his desk. Eddie glances at you, curious, taking in your arched brow and smirk.

Scary smart, he reminds himself as he unfurls the page.

I know Nance is your NHS tutor, but if you feel like you need to catch-up for this class, give me a call.

Your deft hand and neatly printed letters dance across the page, an errant smear of ink where the heel of your hand drug across the paper. The digits of your phone number underneath your missive make his heart race.

Annotating your copy of Dune without permission was one thing. And at that you didn’t even bat an eye, but this…

Well, this had potential.

He tries not to let the possibility of what if turn to ash in his mouth.

[gerryrigged]

wait wdym dc didn't stick with Red Robin for Tim [and the de-aging thing?] what are they calling him if not RR?

He's been Robin again since 2019 😬 it's a bit more complicated but that's the gist of it.

Okay so Tim became Red Robin in the 2009-2011 series of the same name, back in the post-Crisis timeline. He was supposedly 17 at the time, by official records, and I believe he was still supposed to be 17 when the universe was rebooted with Flashpoint in 2011? (Although this doesn't really make any sense with respect to jamming the huge number of events that happened while he was Robin into like four years, if he was supposed to have become Robin at 13; he should probably at least be 18 if not 19-20).

The Flashpoint reboot took us into the New 52 (much beloathed), where nearly everyone was de-aged to some extent to keep Bruce Wayne and his generation from getting ~too old~, and also Tim Drake was mangled into a completely different character who had never been "Robin"; he'd been "Red Robin" right from the start of his vigilante career. He was de-aged to 16 for the New 52 Teen Titans series.

Teen Titans (2011) #0; as you can see, this version of Red Robin kept a version of the bandoliers and gave Tim a fancy new functional wing cape that he could fly around with.

Next, Rebirth in 2016 was a partial reboot that brought back some aspects of the post-Crisis timeline; tbh I'm not an expert on this period. What I do know is that Tim mainly appears in James Tynion IV's run of Detective Comics that ran from 2016 to 2018. During this period Tim was still called Red Robin, but he'd basically reverted to a Robin costume, with only the silly doubled "RR" symbol identifying him as not ~actually~ Robin winkwink nudgenudge, and as I understand it he was mostly back to functioning as Bruce's partner.

Tynion's run ends in Detective Comics #981 with Tim telling Bruce that he's going off to Ivy University. (He's totally lying, as Tim Drake does; Alfred notices that his tracker is going off in the opposite direction of the university, but Bruce is like "I trust him" and turns the tracker off. Yay, I guess?)

Anyway the important bit is this revealing that Tim is 'going-off-to-college' age. Which could still reasonably be anywhere from 17-19, and DC being DC, they ~refuse to confirm~

Tim as Red Robin on the cover of Detective Comics #934 (2016); as you can see, he's pretty much Robin again lol

Detective Comics #968 (2018); another shot of his "basically Robin" Red Robin costume

In 2019 we got the actual return of Tim as Robin (no "Red") in Brian Michael Bendis's Young Justice run, re-uniting the Core Four from YJ 1998.

Young Justice (2019) #1

As you can see, he no longer has the doubled 'RR', and he confirms that he's Robin - "Well, one of them!" I think he's supposed to be filling in as the Gotham Robin while Damian is running around the world having adventures and presumably getting into trouble, as Robins do? idk.

Tim also chases down his erased post-Crisis past at the beginning of this arc, having Zatanna magically restore (most of) his memories of the previous timeline, and, crucially, his forgotten best friend Kon, kickstarting some plot.

Tim, and all of the Young Justice crew, are notably young-looking for almost the entirety of this run. It varies based on the artist, but uh, yeah for the most part they are really damn baby-faced. This is a trend that continues with Tim and his generation of friends from this point onward, so fans have basically thrown up their hands like "is he 17 forever???? is he Edward Cullen from Twilight???? is he aging backward????"

We Just Don't Know

In any case, Bendis makes DC's next attempt to give Tim his own identity in short order, giving us the hilarious, ill-fated, and rightfully short-lived "Drake" identity.

Young Justice (2019) #10

He's back to being Robin by issue #18, hilariously switching costumes from one page to the next, although some time has apparently passed during the scene transition.

Young Justice (2019) #18; Jinny: "Is Drake back to being Robin?" Kon: "I think Batman and Spoiler made him go back to Robin. Don't bring it up. And say thank you because we didn't have to have the Drake intervention we were planning."

And as of the current date (July 13, 2023), Tim is still in the Robin identity, sharing it with Damian ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ God knows how old he's supposed to be right now. I certainly don't.

Batman (2016) #136; the most recent issue out to date, with Tim suiting up as Robin while filling Bruce in after diving into a bunch of parallel dimensions to bring Bruce home.

As you can see, it's a Mess. The Tim Drake's Vigilante Identity question is of course a hotbed of wank and infighting, as people are torn between (a) wanting him to continue as Robin and (b) wanting him to move on and "grow up" into his own identity again (and, importantly, leave Damian as the sole Robin again, lol).

It feels like most people are for option (b), but then nobody can agree on what his next identity and costume should be. Red Robin again?? Some other bird-based identity that doesn't share a name with a major restaurant chain?? Something else entirely??

God only knows what DC is going to come up with, especially after the Drake fiasco.

And there you have it, Anon! Hope that was helpful.

[panlight]

I've been binge-watching the BBC Ghosts series and it reminds me a lot of what I liked about the concept of the Cullens (not necessarily the execution because they are side characters in a romance so didn't really get to the chance to shine). The gist of it is that there are all these ghosts who died in or around the same old manor house from different time periods who are sort of stuck together and form a kind of found family. Some of the ghosts even have specific 'powers.' They can't normally be seen by humans or interact with objects, but one can affect electricity, another can move things a little, etc.

That's . . . that's not totally dissimilar to the Cullens. They're not ghosts, but they are "dead/undead" and from different enough time periods that without them being immortal/frozen in time they wouldn't have ended up all together in this way. The younger ones are close in age chronologically, but the vampirism angle and life experience made them different. They're obviously less 'stuck' than the ghosts because they can leave (as Edward did, and Rosalie and Emmett sometimes do to live as a married couple), and travel, and humans can see and communicate with them. But that basic idea of people from different time periods--and in the Cullens' case, different geographical areas, too, although somewhat US-centric--coming together, bringing all that baggage and somehow forming a family anyway? That's the Good Stuff.

I love this trope. Whether it's a group of people in a work place, or the crew of a spaceship, or a coven of vampires, survivors of some apocalypse, or a house full of ghosts, people thrown together from different backgrounds and forming bonds of friendship and even family despite their wildly different perspectives is just the best.

Just wish we got more of it in canon. And, again, I get it. It's a Romance. It's Bella's story. But it has so many more side characters than a romance needs and I think that's part of why it's so ripe for fanfic and headcanons.

[sp0o0kylights]

Like the Wolf Steve/Eddie Werewolf AU

I  have so much of this stupid thing written and it’s stuck on ch. 2 so imma just throw all the pieces up here now. 

This is a werewolf AU, not an A/B/O fic. My version of Alphas and Omegas runs like a mixmash of Patricia Brigg’s, Ilonia Andrew’s, and Carrie Vaughn’s. There is no second gender, werewolves establish a hierarchy within a pack by who is most dominant/submissive, with two Alpha’s to a pack and Omegas being an extremely rare gift.  Direct eye contact is considered a challenge and society has evolved to accept multiple types of Packs, including ones that include others beyond werewolves. All is explained in fic.

Warnings: Period typical homophobia, Eddie having trauma responses/being bullied/being hunted, mentions of Chrissy’s bones going snappy snappy,  and a general mention of the delightfully dumb social/moral/ethical issues that paranormal creatures raise.

Eddie Munson was not anyone's idea of a proper pack Alpha. 

Nor was he the kind of guy people wanted in a Pack, (capitol P intended, because “Titles are important, Edward.” and fuck did he hate when adults called him that. He went by Eddie for a reason.) or anywhere near them, period. 

Experience taught him that even in a traditional Shifter town like Hawkins, filled to the brim with werewolves and not much else, people would pick literally anyone over him when it came time to pair up.

Witches, the Fae, hell, even humans were better than him in the eyes of his peers. They wouldn’t pick him to be their PE tennis partner if he was the last guy left, let alone allow such deep and familiar actions like “treating him nicely” or “waving hello.” 

Letting him in their Pack? Any Pack, from a “true” one with the whole bond thing and fancy magic, down to the stupid social ones that did nothing more than let you know who your friends or coworkers were? 

Perish the thought!

“My mom says you’re a total freak.” One of the old-blooded, rich brats had said in third grade, and the nickname had stuck like glue ever since. 

It followed him throughout the years like it was branded on his forehead, accompanied by a steadily growing list of insults.

Weird. Faggot. Failure. Lone Wolf. 

Other.

Different.

He'd tried long ago to stop letting it hurt him. The way they made him aware that he fell so outside the realm of what others considered normal that they actively shunned him. 

It took until his sophomore year to get good at pretending it wasn’t painful, and at least by his third attempt at graduating, he had it down to where others believed it. 

Had even carved out a place for himself, starting with the Hellfire club. 

Gone about, rounding up all the other undesirables, the outcasted freaks who just didn’t fit into the stupid little social circles or dumb hierarchies of small towns the world over. 

Took in Grant the human, and Jeff the half vampire and Gareth, who was sick all the time even though he was a werewolf. 

Then the small group of incoming Freshman who’d been too loud, too proud, and far too nerdy to walk the halls without some kind of protection. 

It wasn’t much, but for someone like Eddie?

It had been everything. 

Too bad he was in Hawkins, Indiana, where people like him didn’t get to enjoy things.

Not without bad things happening.

Really bad things. 

Chrissy Cunningham pulling an exorcist level of demonic possession, dying on his ceiling, and crashing down like a broken porcelain doll to the floor of his trailer level of bad things. 

Suddenly Eddie wasn’t just the guy who couldn’t follow the same societal norms as every other bland teenage werewolf. 

He was dangerous. 

Satanic. 

His freak status elevated from “guy with long hair and weird clothes who wouldn’t stop acting like he was an Alpha” to “wolf willing to exchange his very soul in order to bring about the end of the world”-or something. 

Eddie hadn’t really listened much to Jason Carver’s rabid ranting, but he got the gist well enough. 

It didn’t even matter that for all the magic in the world, demons and satan were more of a human concept than anything that had proven, hard hitting magic sitting behind it. Satanic panic was just in, and Chrissy-

He couldn't think about Chrissy. 

Not that the  truth mattered anyway. 

No, the only thing that did was that one of their golden children had died in their town. A town they built, full of old werewolf families and a handful of powerful allies, that catered to them. 

They needed reparation for the insult that had been brought upon their power. 

Eddie was just the convenient lamb they had chosen to slaughter. 

So here he was, outcasted by the whole town. Watching as the people who hated him collectively lost their minds, regressing back to the days of one singular Pack hierarchy controlling everything. Two Alpha’s to rule them all, with Jason fucking Carver was taking on the role as one of them. 

Screw all the centuries of the world that had built past that. The way society was no longer “letting the inner beast win” but was instead getting along, moving forward. 

Eddie hadn’t needed whatever had actually happened with Chrissy to know how much of a lie it was, but then he hadn’t planed on pulling back the facade either. 

To bad for you, you idiot. 

Not that there was anything he could do. Not with his van, stupid idiotic, easy to spot van out of commission, blown up transmission leaving him stranded not even two miles from his house. He’d exhausted himself just to get to the boathouse, knowing damn well that it wouldn’t make one ounce of difference if he’d bolted or called the cops. 

They were gonna lay Chrissy’s death on his head, and now his chance to escape their wrath had all but dropped to zero. 

Best he could do was hide. Wait it out. 

Hope whatever the fuck had gotten Chrissy wasn’t going to come after him too. 

The reminder didn’t help, that he had no idea what the hell had even happened. His  mind ran in circles with his terror, trying to make sense of it, but all he could think about was how he could leave this damn boathouse. 

How he could get out.

Out of Hawkins, out of Indiana, just fucking out. 

It was that terror, the surge of adrenaline and the pure knowledge that if anyone caught him, his chances of survival dropped to damn near zero that he blamed for not recognizing Henderson’s voice. 

Hadn’t even picked up on the younger wolf’s scent, he’d been so freaked out. 

Wired with the intensity of a cornered animal, Eddie’s wolf staring out of his eyes and firmly in control the second he realized he wasn’t alone and whoever was here was calling his name, and all rational thoughts went right out the door. 

Add in Steve fucking Harrington, former King of Hawkins High and total asshole violently poking around, and well. 

There wasn’t a thought to be had at all. 

Not in Eddie’s head, anyway. 

He’d attacked when hiding no longer remained an option, proud of himself for pinning the larger wolf to the wall, snarling like the devil they thought he was. 

And Harrington-Harrington let him. 

Put his hands up as he crashed back against the wall. Kept his eyes off of Eddie’s, kept his throat exposed until Dustin could talk Eddie down. 

Explain some things.

Explain all the fucking things, which didn’t help his situation, at all, but did at least help his overall mental state. 

“We’ll work this out.” Henderson had said, voice confident, and Eddie, exhausted, starving, haunted by Chrissy’s bones snapping every time he closed his eyes-believed him.

Even if it was the stupidest thing to do. 

Because for all his bravado, all his jumping on tables and loud speeches, the Throne he DM’d from and the Hellfire Club he ran-Eddie Munson had a secret. 

He desperately, desperately, needed someone on his side.  

Anybody. 

Especially now, when he could feel himself seconds away from falling apart, life ripped out from under him a second time. 

Pity this time round he didn’t have yet another Uncle to run to. 

(It took Eddie a long time, in that same boathouse, to realize that Harrington had never retaliated against him for Eddie’s attack. For pinning him to the wall in front of his Packmate’s and making him look weak with a broken glass bottle, of all things.  

 Had in fact, backed down. 

Which was a hell of a thing, when Eddie had discovered that the damn freshman hadn’t been fibbing for fun.

They really did have a little established Pack, bonds and all, and Steve Harrington really was the Alpha in control of it. 

A born werewolf from one of Hawkins oldest families, with all their rules, fancy parties and refusal to be anything other than the best and he’d let Eddie, trailer park trash and son of two bitten, made, werewolves, pin him down like a puppy. 

If Eddie hadn’t been wrestling with the existence of a hell dimension, hand made superpowers, and the reality of a world where humans were experimenting on species of various kinds, the long held treaty laws be damned while they raced the Russians to do fuck knew what, he might have caught on that Steve was just as different as he was, a whole lot sooner. 

As it was, he just remained exhausted, hungry, and very, very grateful for the stupid freshmen.) 

                                                         xXx

Shit hadn’t really gone sideways in the boathouse until the third time Henderson's little crew had dropped off food. 

Dustin took in the look on Eddie’s face when Steve had unloaded the honeycomb cereal box, like the man had just seen water in a desert, and outright cackled. 

Eddie reached out automatically, hooking his arm around the freshman’s neck and pulling him taught to his side. Dustin shrieked as he was put into a nuggie, Eddie spinning them as the younger wolf pushed ineffectively at his arms. 

“Say uncle!” Eddie taunted with a grin.  

“Ow, ow, Eddie!” Dustin whined, before finally going limp and shouting; “Fine! Uncle!” 

Eddie dropped him with one last hair ruffle, grinning widely at him. 

Dustin grinned back, even as he pretended to fuss at his hair and clothes. “God, it’s not my fault you just realize Steve adopted you.” He said, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Why you gotta take it out on me?” 

Eddie went to automatically deny that he was taking anything out on Dustin. He was just the youngest wolf in the Hellfire Club which meant by all the rules in the universe, he was the automatic target for all teasing. 

The the kids words sunk in. 

Sunk in the same way fucking teeth went into a steak, all sharp and deep and pointed. 

Eddie froze so fast he almost nailed his face on one of the overhanging oars. 

“What?” He said, positive he misheard. 

“Those are your favorites right?” Dustin said, pointing at the offending cereal box on the ground. “He’s always been like, weirdly good at knowing what his packmates eat. I’d say it’s an Alpha thing but it’s totally not.” 

“What.” Eddie said again, his voice coming out as more of a surprised croak. 

“Max insists he pays super close attention but come on, it’s Steve. I once watched him trip trying to do the dance from the Breakfast Club. It’s absolutely just like, his weird little superpower.” Dustin hummed for a moment, face scrunched up in thought. “Like, snack-sense. Stevie Snack Sense!” 

Eddie stared, the words “Steve adopted you” and “weirdly good at knowing what his packmates eat” ping-ponging around his head. 

Henderson’s grin grew impossibly wider. “Get it? Like Scooby snacks?”  

Then he laughed his weird little cackle again, ignoring the way Eddie had crashed like one of the shitty computers their school was so proud of owning. 

‘Danger alert, the Freak is overheating. Danger alert, the Freak is-’ 

“Henderson are you coming or what!?” Steve yelled, causing Eddie to jump and Dustin to spin around, shouting something rude back.

“Keep your walkie on, okay?” Dustin said, turning back with a worried look that would have been touching if Eddie had been paying any attention at all, before scampering off to have an argument with his Pack Alpha. 

The same one who apparently, allowed such things from whiny, teenage puppies, and also, was trying to adopt Eddie. 

Into his Pack. 

Eddie just stared after them, feeling vaguely like the world no longer made sense.

Probably because it didn’t.

[peridot-tears]

Mind sharing some Ezio, Ziio, Shay and Edward Hcs?

Sofia and Claudia got along like sisters (idk I think this might actually be canon).

Ezio encouraged Flavia to be spirited and curious, and sees himself in her and the way she takes care of Marcello. If Ezio had lived to see her to adulthood, he would have been protective but let her choose her own husband.

Ezio wanted to keep his Assassin activities a secret from his children. After he died, Claudia took them in and trained them herself the way their Uncle Mario did for them.

Ziio and Oiá:ner's interactions became stilted after the birth of Ratohnhaké:ton. There was no doubt that the love was there, but Oiá:ner could not quite look at her the same again, and she had to busy herself with finding someone else to groom as successor. They were finally warming up to each other again just a year or so before Ziio died.

Oiá:ner put full trust into Ratohnhaké:ton and his decision-making going forward because she didn't want to drive a wedge between herself and her grandson the way she did with Ziio. And it was the hardest thing she ever had to do.

Modern-day Ziio would have been a leader in the stand-offs against the Canadian government and localities like the Kanehsatà:ke Resistance, which her voice actor Tiio Horn was actually in. My headcanon Ziio has a lot of Tiio Horn's traits, mostly because Tiio Horn's sass that I see in her social media comes through a lot in her voice acting for Ziio.

Ratohnhaké:ton's a BEAST at lacrosse. Man moves like WATER.

Shay died peacefully in a manner similar to Ezio's -- in a garden, watching his family.

Shay most definitely was the black sheep amongst the Templars -- not just because a traitor gets no trust from any side, but because he's Irish and many other Templars were Englishmen who were racist against him. Adéwalé called him Haytham's hunting dog, but the Templars thought the same of him.

Because of this, Shay was that high-achieving Templar the others resented, because they hated the idea of being outdone by someone they felt was lesser. They kept their distance from each other, and his friends in the Order were kept in a tight circle -- Jack Weeks, Gist, and Haytham.

That's also why Cudgel was so fiercely proud of his grandfather later on too -- despite the racism, he was more Templar than any of them.

Also, Lil Cudge seems to me like that kind of guy who in modern day would insist that the Irish were slaves. He seems to me like someone who's very loyal, but but blindly so, and someone who doesn't question tradition.

Edward wanted to raise Haytham as English as possible, but he'd occasionally slip up and curse in Welsh at times. Haytham would grow up with only vague memories of the Welsh part of his heritage.

Edward was a rambunctious lil youngster who didn't need any dogs to herd the sheep. The wolves were scared of HIM lol.

Edward's relationship with Jenny haunts my dreams. What happened in the years between her and Haytham's birth. The people need to know.

I wrote a whole other word vomit post expressing my guess that he didn't want her to get involved in the Assassin world because he wanted to protect his last memory of Caroline. He believed in being honest with your child, so she knew everything about his activities. But given that Caroline had already been disowned because of him and even now that he was a new money gentleman, he was a social pariah because of his pirate past, he wanted Jenny to live a noblewoman's life -- marry a man of good social standing and be a good wife. And although she protested, he always thought he knew what was best for her.

If Jenny knew about her brother's child and ever met him, she honestly would've adored him. Such a polite, well-loved young man. She would've been relieved that he was raised right by his mother's side, away from the Kenway drama. Thank God all he had in common with her side of the family was blood, but if she could have chosen to be blood with any remaining relative of hers, it would have been him.

[edutainer2022]

Forgotten, Ch 1

Forgotten, Ch 2

Co-written with @janetm74 (really, my contribution is humblest!)

"Please, take your medicine, Mr. Edwards."

Cobalt eyes shifted to look up at the nurse - hesitancy and a hint of defiance there. He was having vicious nightmares again, but couldn't remember the gist when he woke up. So he refused to take daily medication. Which, in turn, upped the somewhat reined in melancholy all the way back to bottomless depression. He was lonely, confused and now, thanks to the nightmares, also scared of things he couldn't remember. The man was admitted to their hospital by an anonymous Good Samaritan whom nobody could remember, it being a busy shift. Young, tall, extremely fit, dressed simply, but the way that telegraphed wealth, and completely amnesiac. He couldn't produce a name or identify the day of the week.

No ID or cards on his person, but there was a tattered photograph in his shirt pocket, over the heart, of a young woman with a mane of auburn curls and a brilliant dimpled smile. The back of the pic was inscribed "Love, Lucy Edwards". The picture was old enough to rule out a wife, a sister, or a girlfriend, and there was an unmistakable familiar resemblance of the blue eyes and the dimples, so they infirred it was, likely, a mother. Their patient couldn't confirm one way or another. His file then changed the reference from "John Doe" to "John Edwards". The chief of psychiatry suggested the name might trigger a memory or a response. But so far - nothing. Only the nightmares and a sea of sadness in the wakeful hours.

[hold-him-down]

For the most recent ask game: 4, 11, 24?

4. Is there a kind of whump you wish you could write better?

answered here , but the gist of it is i wish i could write everything better, but most specifically i wish i could write trauma-conversations better (or at all frankly).

11. Share one of your favorite whumpy scenes that you have written.

Here's part of one I really like! (from this thing)

Leo nods, his lips tight as tears flood his eyes, dropping down his jaw, onto his shoulders, some even rolling down his stomach and disappearing in to the water. He does let go, though, and brings his hands back into the tub. His arms are limp in the water, and his eyes go distant. 

“You’re fine, my Leo,” Ivan says. He presses his lips into the top of Leo’s head, then whispers, “Hold your breath.”

Leo gulps down air, nodding again, but he’s far away. It doesn’t stop Ivan.

Again and again, he pushes him under, watching hungrily as his body weakens and weakens and weakens. Every time he comes up, it’s less and less intense, until finally he comes up silently, sucking in soft breaths with a near lifelessness. Ivan holds his head above the water with one hand, more gentle now. Is the lesson learned, he wonders idly?

The tears don’t stop, but Ivan has a certain appreciation for them. He feels the muscles constrict under his hand. Tonight, Leo will curl up against him and sleep, the first time in days. And he’ll be fucking thankful for the relief. It’ll be bliss.

“You’ve had enough?” he asks, when Leo’s caught his breath the best he can. 

His boy hesitates. He’s shaking so hard, and has been, for so long. He doesn’t curl himself up anymore, he just waits. Terrified eyes meet Ivan’s, all blue and red, with fresh tears gathering even now, even when Ivan was sure he’d run out. “I don’t know,” he whispers. “I don’t– I don’t know.”

24. Do you have any whump pet peeves? Meaning things that just bug you when you see them in a fanfic.

I am generally unbothered by anything that takes place in the for-free fanfic/tumblr OC world. I'm MUCH more bothered by things in pieces that I pay for, but here are a couple things I am prone to side-eying:

whumpee forgiving whumper and/or ESPECIALLY entering some type of romantic relationship with whumper without the whumper 'earning' the forgiveness/apologizing/accepting blame/etc. Got there was this fanfic in the twilight fandom where Edward was part of a big-time conditioning/noncon ring kind of like BBU honestly, and 'bought' Bella to be his wife and we were supposed to like... eventually forgive him/ship this and it was SO tricky. Stuff like that.

I actually think that type of thing is the only thing I would consider a 'pet peeve', usually if something isn't working for me I just don't read it in fandom/tumblr/online reading.

[rainbowmewz]

edward nygma (gotham) and OSDD-1a

hi! welcome to my hellhole!! i’ve been thinking about the topic of this post for a while and i just needed to yell about it here bc yelling about it on twitter under a meme post wasn’t enough for me xD

SO! let’s talk about this. i was highly generalizing in the tweet above because i personally don’t think edward nygma suffers from dissociative identity disorder. instead, i believe he suffers from other specified dissociative disorder, specifically subtype 1a.

below the “keep reading”, i will discuss a general overview of DID and OSDD, why i think this is the case for edward nygma, and a review of the representation of it in gotham. be warned that this post has a general trigger warning for discussions of abuse, self-harm, suicide, and drug abuse. this discussion is not in depth at all, but just as a warning if you wanna avoid this post! this post also has a trigger warning for discussions of negative portrayals of DID/OSDD (such as in films like m. night shyamalan’s split and discussions of tropes such as “evil alters”).

OSDD-1 is a subtype of OSDD that is very similar to DID. to get a general gist of what OSDD is, we first have to define DID. DID (dissociative identity disorder), which used to be referred to as MPD (multiple personality disorder), is a dissociative disorder that forms in early childhood as a reaction to prolonged and/or severe trauma (abuse, for example). this causes a child’s brain to split into multiple parts, called alters, and experience amnesia/dissociation between these parts. in OSDD-1 (other specified dissociative disorder), there’s two subtypes, 1a and 1b. in 1a, there’s dissociation between parts, but their parts aren’t as distinct as someone who has DID. on the other end of the spectrum, in 1b, alters are highly distinct but experience little to no amnesia between them. as stated previously, i believe gotham’s portrayal of edward nygma/the riddler has OSDD-1a.

to avoid confusion, in this post, i’ll be referring to the two as a whole as “edward nygma”, “edward”, or “nygma”; i’ll refer to the alter we’re first introduced to as “ed”; and the alter we’re introduced to next as “the riddler” or “riddler”.

while we don’t know anything about edward’s childhood in gotham, many other portrayals of the character (arkhamverse, general comic lore, etc.) mention an abusive past, specifically at the hands of his father. in general comic lore, this abuse explains where his compulsions for showing his intelligence comes from. if this backstory is true for gotham’s portrayal of nygma, which we will assume for this analysis, this is the trauma element of OSDD.

our first introduction to the idea of edward having a dissociative disorder is in season 2 episode 1. while this is our first introduction to the difference between ed and the riddler, the two seem to have a history of co-existing before this scene (ed tells riddler stuff such as: “i get nervous when you talk to me with other people around like that” and “i know where this is going. i told you, leave ms. kringle alone”).

now that we have those basics down (trauma and evidence of a long-standing dissociative disorder), i’ll be referring to an article written by DID-Research.org titled “DID Versus OSDD-1″. this will hopefully help my thoughts be more concise, since i tend to.. go all over the place with this stuff. i tried to write my thoughts on this topic in a discord server before and it went in 50 different directions x3

DID-Research’s article discusses how the parts in OSDD-1a are different from disorders such as borderline personality disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and complex posttraumatic stress disorder. while OSDD-1a’s parts are way less differentiated as ones in DID or OSDD-1b, since individuals “are more likely to present as the same individual”, these parts can have “different skills, emotional reactivity, or ways of interacting with the world”. to me, this sounds exactly like what riddler and ed go through throughout gotham. as early as season 2, riddler is shown as more confident, brash, and witty than his counterpart. ed is more focused on living a normal life, he wants to live out this fantasy with kristen, then isabella, then lee. this is all he craves, to be seen as normal and not a freak. riddler on the other hand, isn’t as concerned. sure, he originally wants to pursue kristen, but in a way to introduce a sense of excitement and power in him and ed’s life.

this mention of ed’s craving for a normal life is something.. very interesting as well. according to the theory of structural dissociation, there’s two types of parts a person with OSDD/DID could have. these are referred to as Apparently Normal Parts (ANPs, these alters take care of daily life, often are avoidant (or unaware) of trauma, and have a need to appear high-functioning (sound like anyone we know?)) and Emotional Parts (EPs, these alters represent dissociation and trauma through memories, internalized beliefs, and learned responses). ed seems much like an ANP, while riddler seems more like an EP. an article discussing the differences of ANPs and EPs states that an ANP “might engage in self harm or use psychogenic substances in attempts to forcefully tether themselves to the present and prevent EP from intruding”. this sounds very familiar, does it not? his abuse of hallucinogens in season 3 to see oswald again, using pills again in season 4 to try and get rid of the riddler, and if i remember correctly, plotting to kill himself in season 4 as well.

as i stated, the article talks about how OSDD-1a is different from an identity disturbance in disorders such as BPD, PTSD, and C-PTSD. the article specifically says that people with these disorders might feel a loss of control, but never “feel that different parts of them are capable of acting independently or that different parts of them have and express their own views or goals”. this exact quote proves that what nygma might be experiencing is OSDD-1a. our introduction to the two psyches of edward nygma show their differing goals and views. as another example, in season 5, riddler is completely unaware of ed’s plan to destroy haven and is shown as extremely distraught when he appears in different places without knowledge of what happened beforehand.

so.. it seems obvious that edward nygma has OSDD-1a, right? so... how would i, as a psychology major, someone who possibly has DID/OSDD, and someone who’s known multiple people with DID/OSDD, review this representation?

i’d say... it’s pretty good for what it’s worth!! gotham as a tv show has always dealt with terrible writing and a lot of things could have been written better, but this topic is surprisingly one they handled pretty okay. there was... a lot of room for more and it’s quite strange to see the dissociative disorder representation go to edward nygma instead of a character such as harvey dent (who’s a whole other can of worms and has been stated to have “MPD” in the past).

it’s really refreshing to see representation of DID/OSDD that doesn’t rely on played out and disgusting tropes such as “evil alters”. while it seems like riddler might play out as an evil alter, both ed and riddler are both messed up in their own ways. there’s no evil alter to stop, they’re both.. villains in their own ways (blowing up a place w/ the most vulnerable members of the city vs hiding your dead gf’s body parts over a police precinct, pick your poison). i also enjoy how cory michael smith portrays the two psyches of edward nygma and portrays the way the two switch in and out!

you’re free to disagree with my opinion as well. i’d love to have a discussion in the comments or reblogs :DD!! i just... really enjoyed writing this up. if i missed anything, just tell me :33

[fromashesweriseuphiddenones]

Day Sixteen

                Haytham Kenway would forever come to hate the day before his son Desmond’s birthday. He had been in the area, attempting to perhaps work with William Miles, to give the modern assassins an edge over the modern templars. It is why Haytham did not come alone. His father Edward Kenway was present along with Charles Henry Lee, Jeremiah Scudder, Nicholas Biddle, Christopher Gist, Jack Weeks, Shay Cormac, Matthew Davenport, and Victor Wolcott. The nine had their orders to remain civil with the assassins despite the tension. Everyone of the nine, except Lee, liked Desmond who was very respectful to them despite them being Templars. It seemed as if the boy realized peace between their factions would be better than no peace. However, as much as they tried, William’s actions would prove to them that he was unworthy of their aid and cooperation.

                Adéwalé had been the first to alert them that evening that William had gone nuts over the fact that Desmond simply held a different view than him. Haytham, despite his growing anger, calmly asked.

“Come again?”

“Mentor Miles was telling Desmond that he should always be wry of his enemies and those he calls allies. There is always someone looking to stab you in the back. Desmond retorted ‘what we even can’t trust your friends?’ Mentor Miles replied ‘Assassins can not have friends. It is a weakness. Family is a weakness.’ He then procced to trash Altair in front of Desmond, who did not take it well and called him a conspiracy freak.”

                Haytham’s eye twitched. He knew William was very temperamental. Without another word the ten templars, along with Adéwalé dashed off to the barren dirt ring the assassins used as their training arena. Adéwalé grew up a slave, so he’d seen worse than poor when it came to conditions, and this was somehow worse than that even. Never mind the fact that the sight that had met them was degusting. William Miles was atop Desmond, who was bleeding from a deep gash on his face, pulling his non-dominant arm behind his back as a means of control, looking for an apology to the sleight of being called a conspiracy freak, and that Desmond dared to have any opinion. Let alone suggest that Assassins should have friends and family. He’d tare the arm from it’s socket if he had to. Yet he did not see a very angry Haytham charge at him.

                That fight had been decidedly one sided. However, Desmond was in severe pain. Half his body felt numb while the other half screamed in agony. The sharp, burning sensation was all he could focus on. Panic slowly took over as, for a moment, a way out of this pain began to seem more and more unrealistic. The road ahead was a tough one and right now he wasn’t sure whether he were willing to walk it, let alone whether he was able. He was shocked the moment when Edward Kenway picked him up and rallied the other eight around him saying.

“Jeremiah Scudder, Nicholas Biddle, Matthew Davenport, and Victor Wolcott with me. The rest of you assist Haytham.”

“Yes sir.”

                They had all said. Jeremiah Scudder was pretty much the order’s equivalent to a Rafiq or Dai in the assassin brotherhood. A spy master who used his business as a merchant as a front that often funded money into the order. He was German and proud of it, often getting along with Edward with their parchment for strong drink. He however detests infamous Germans like Adolf Hitler and their narrow views on the world. Nicholas Biddle, is a competent sailor who recently earned the honor to captain the restored Jackdaw. Something he takes very seriously because he knows from his own experience what it is like to own a formidable ship. American he also gets along with Edward, since the man entrusted his first baby to him. Matthew Davenport is cold and calculating, he serves in his role fiercely, and is extremely loyal to his men, fighting with equal skill to that of his fine strategizing. He stands firm and strong eyeing the son of the Grandmaster in the arms of his grandfather, twitching in pain, struggling to keep from crying out in pain. Matthew with a bit of fatherly instinct leaking in encouraged.

“Let it out lad. Pain is natural, so is the reaction and want to scream and cry. It feels good sometimes too.”

                Desmond looked at him and only whimpered. Adewale looked from the boy to Matthew and said.

“That maybe the best you get out of him. He’s broken spiritually.”

“Understood.”

Matthew said. That left Victor Wolcott, a man after Garnier de Naplouse’s own heart who like the mad French Crusader was infamous for his experiments. That being said though he did not do those things on his fellow templars. And he was gentle in quickly getting an idea of what needed to be done to help Desmond recover. They got to their vehicle, a van, and got in and drove off with Desmond being tended to in the back. It took them roughly three days to reach the Chateau that Haytham Kenway owned and used as both a home and the base of their Templar activities. Once they had arrived, Edward carried Desmond inside, where Tessa was waiting with medical supplies. She and Victor worked together to clean up and bandage any wounds on the poor now sixteen year old boy’s body. Edward sat up with his sleeping grandson to ensure someone was there should the boy wake. He’d done it when Haytham had been sick in the past and now he would again. He turned his head only when Haytham, accompanied by Connor, surprisingly, walked in. Haytham smiled softly, a bruise clear on his face from a lucky shot from William that, from the bruising on Connor’s nucleus, sent Connor into a fury that the goal mentor dared lay a hand on his father. Haytham spoke softly.

“Thank you, father, for staying with Desmond.”

“You are welcome son. He was in shock most of the way here. When he was stabilized, he passed out and has been out since.”

“For the best, I suppose. It will allow his body time to heal.”

                There was silent agreement as Haytham took over, Edward went to bed, but not before acknowledging his older grandson. Connor walked with Edward to ensure his grandfather didn’t hurt himself on the way to bed. Connor then set to stalk the halls to ensure no one dared bother these men whom he’d come to view as part of his strange family.

[dwreader]

I think it'll definitely be super interesting to see how the literary references change in s2 + beyond !!!! are there any books or films or other media that's more modern that you're hoping they'll reference to in future seasons, as the time periods continue to change ? ofc totally get it if there aren't, I'd just love to hear ab them if you do have any in mind ❤️❤️❤️

Kissing you anon <3

I feel like its almost a certainty james baldwin will be referenced like its just soo obvious, he was a black gay man who lived in france and his work is heavily influenced by the time he spent in europe vs. america. I'm very interested in other books in the "americans abroad" genre like hemingway whom I personally dislike but whose work often took place during war/conflict and featured a tragic heroine (who often doesn't have much agency). Camus will probably feature since we saw a poster for his play on set and the absurdism of his work will likely be a major reference point for the outrageous theatre de vampires plays. I also wonder if the trial at the theatre will make reference to Franz Kafta's the trial where the gist is you're not really sure what the protagonist is on trial for and it's like a bizarre kangaroo court.

I personally would love to see some Grahame Greene references cause he was VERY much a writer in conflict with his catholicism which is soooo ldpdl. (he also wrote the screenplay for the film the third man which is already referenced in the trailer so i know the writers are aware of him!) Like the quiet american is about a romantic love triangle set during the breakdown of french colonialism in vietnam and its sooo interesting w/ the diverse cast of vampires we see at the theatre (including kp who is se asian). Many of his works deal with the new post-wwii world order, colonialism and intertwine the personal with the political. Simone de Beauvoir's the second sex was published in 1949 and i really want to see louis reading it!!! its almost like a sequel to Edward Carpenter's works.

[enteringdullsville]

Aaron, the Maroon Drewman

Statistics

Aesthetic: Awesome

Age: 25 (Season One)

Alignment: Enactor

Badge: Explosion

Color Type: Red

Debut: Don’t Ask

Effects: Bada Boom (Aaron throws an explosive punch); Chaos Dunk (Aaron knocks the opponent out of the sky with a burning upper arm); Red Card (Aaron body checks the opponent); Heat Stamp (Aaron hops several feet in the air and crashes down)

Extra Forms: Hardboiled (Aaron exerts himself, turning a superheated bright red)

Family: Rosalinda Chesterson (Grandmother); Edward Chesterson (Brother)

Standout Features: Bald, oblong eyes, vest.

Rank: A- (Main Character)

Character Inspirations

Aaron’s facial structure is inspired by Tyler of Total Drama, but I don’t have that kind of space.

Development

Aaron’s initial design was a completely different beast. He was a cerise/burgundy color and looked far more intimidating, his concept being a huge, menacing looking guy who was actually fairly chill and introspective. The general gist of his character was reused for Brick, who still looks completely different from him.

By the time he actually appeared in Rough Sketch, Barry/Aaron had a drastically different execution as a guy who looked physically imposing but was actually kind of a doofus. He’d gone far from his original idea, but I liked the character so much I turned him to a more recognizable maroon shade and initially renamed him Rooney. Despite now being a literal maroon, he’s far smarter and more adept than his bumbling RS incarnation.

Be Brave