@deadteddybear requested: Ed + 54. The moment when reality starts to make sense again
(From this list)
a.k.a. Ed behind the scenes near the end of Season 3
The Riddler.
He says it to himself in the mirror over and over again until his tongue trips over it, until the sounds lose their meaning.
It won’t stick.
“I am the Riddler,” he says, and it should be true. It is. Or, at least it has been. Hasn’t it? He looks the same as he did before, but then he looked largely the same in Arkham too, and at the GCPD. How is he supposed to tell?
He rests his forehead against the cool glass of the mirror, wishing he was still taking the pills. Wishing there were some excuse for the way his head is spinning.
Damn Oswald for this. Damn him for not having the decency to die. It doesn’t make sense, nothing ever does with him. He plucks needles from haystacks like fruit from a tree, then breaks down sobbing over spilled milk. There is no pattern to him, nothing to predict, and Ed doesn’t know why he ever thought he understood.
…The Riddler, rather. The Riddler doesn’t know.
Barbara Kean is drumming her nails against the bathroom door, complaining that it’s time to get going already, and does he want his boyfriend dead or not?
She can snap her pretty manicure right off for all he cares.
Oswald is alive, and that is antithetical to his existence. He became the Riddler with Oswald’s death. Nature abhors a vacuum, and logic a contradiction: there is a gaping tear in the fabric of reality that Oswald is intent upon unraveling. The only way to resolve it is to set things right.
Dead, he’s meant to be dead.
Oswald with his sharp-eyed smiles. The Penguin and his irresistible triumphs. Gentle hands and mocking secrets and pathetic inglorious tears.
The man is a walking contradiction, an unpredictable inconsistency undermining the very laws of nature itself, spreading his volatile sorcery like ripples through a world of otherwise familiar patterns.
It’s right that Oswald should die. There is no other choice. There is nobody but the Riddler to do it, because there is nobody but the Riddler who so acutely understands the paradox.
He throws up in the toilet.
He rinses his mouth out in the sink and shoves the bowler hat back on.
“I am the Riddler,” he tells his reflection, and if it isn’t true, he’ll set things right soon enough.
When people talk about traveling to the past, they worry about radically changing the present by doing something small, but barely anyone in the present really thinks that they can radically change the future by doing something small.
Nygmobblepot: 18. Red wine stained lips (from this list)
(a.k.a. if Ed had bothered to SHOW UP FOR DINNER)
Ed’s knowledge of Oswald’s dining habits had proven accurate; the quite excellent bottle of Syrah he’d brought was a perfect complement to the veritable feast laid out between them. It was a dusky, complex pairing, offset by delightful twists in flavor and an enticing peppery tingle that made the dark meats and sweet syrups sing.
Perhaps it wouldn’t have been what Oswald would have thought to choose, but nonetheless, he was on his second large glass. Ed was swirling what remained of his first.
The silence was full-bodied. It weighed heavy in the home they shared, in the comfort of their decadence. It would have felt ungrateful to disturb the thick, velvet blanket of safety draped around them, but Ed could feel the wine’s magic pricking at his fingertips, warm at the base of his neck, soft and bright in his face, and the silence wasn’t enough.
Ed raised his glass to his lips and tried to chase away the restlessness. Oswald’s eyes followed him. The attention went straight to his cheeks before the wine had its chance.
“Did you remember?”
Oswald frowned slightly, the firelight playing across his face. “Remember what?”
“What you wanted to tell me this morning. I assume that’s why you asked me here.”
As though they didn’t take every meal together. As though Oswald couldn’t tell him anything, at any time. As though Ed hadn’t paid for the wine they were sharing with his own savings instead of with the funds Oswald provided for him, in some absurd attempt at a gesture.
Oswald drank too much too quickly, eyes shut tight as he swallowed from his glass without the chance to taste or enjoy. He shivered in the aftermath. He breathed out, bright eyes opening. Red lips parted.
Ed breathed in sharply and stood, fumbling with the wine bottle and slightly unsteady on his feet. “Here,” he offered, bridging the distance, “let me-“
Oswald caught his arm before he could refill the glass. “Ed,” he said.
Ed focused on breathing. He set the wine bottle down and lowered his eyes. When Oswald made to stand, he caught his hands without thinking, kept still and steady and helped him to his feet.
“I have something to tell you,” Oswald said, smoothing his thumbs across the backs of Ed’s fingers. “I can’t wait any longer.”
Ed swallowed, nodded. “Tell me.”
“I’ve been planning this all day. I wanted to make it perfect. But…” Oswald squeezed his hands. “I love you.”
Ed hadn’t had nearly enough to be drunk, but he would happily lean on it as an excuse. The giddy disorientation, the dizzy way he clung to Oswald’s hands, afraid Oswald might pull away or take it back.
“Oh.”
Nothing happened. Not a breath, not a sound.
Ed finally came back to himself. The only thing he could see was Oswald’s perfect mouth, open and anxious and tinged with the blood red of Ed’s offering.
He disentangled their hands, moving his palms to cup Oswald’s face in slow motion, tracing his thumbs over the corners of his dark lips.
“Ed?” Oswald whispered.
“Yes,” Ed answered, intoxicated, instinctive.
The kiss was smooth and heady, strange and familiar, a front-heavy punch of emotion tapering off into a lingering shiver, a breathy desire not to be apart. Ed could taste the wine on Oswald’s tongue. He clutched him closer.
It all depended, that had been what Ed had always believed. A million variables to account for, just like matching region and vintage to course and setting. Somehow, with Oswald, it was all so easy.
When they finally steadied themselves, taking up more of each other’s space than their own, Oswald was beaming with tears in his eyes. Ed touched at his cheeks with his fingertips, careful not to ruin his eyeliner. Oswald laughed and straightened Ed’s glasses, brushing his hair fondly back into place.
Maybe it wasn’t all about forcing things into alignment.
Maybe there were some pairings that were truly perfect.
Your story is 50% reader. It’s that mixture of reader and writer that makes the magic.
Which means your story needs to have holes for the reader to fill in. You need that negative space for the puzzle pieces to fit.
I’m not talking about plot holes, I’m talking about giving one sentence the power of two. A book that means what it says is a mediocre book. A book that means more than what it says is a great book.
Don’t over-develop your characters, having them analyze every feeling, or spelling out what every character in a scene is thinking. Don’t follow up a powerful line with an explanation with what makes that line powerful.
And it can be hard to know WHICH holes to leave. You don’t want to leave any ‘this doesn’t make sense’ holes, but you do want to leave ‘insert your interpretation here’ holes.
Sorry, feel free to disagree, but that Robin's interview is a mess. He's not gay because he is a sociopath? His age? Lol at people quoting " He’s not gay... He’s somewhere on the queer spectrum " making it about Sofia when it is about Robin not wanting to associate the gay label with a negative stereotype.
Ahhh was kind of hoping to stay out of this discussion but since you asked …
I knew not to put much stock in the quote without seeing something more detailed. When you watch the video, Robin doesn’t just straight up say that Oswald isn’t gay. Instead he talks about not wanting to conflate Oswald being gay with him being a villain.
There’s a long history of comics (and other media) mainly portraying gay characters as villains. In the 1950s, a homophobic psychologist published a book about how Batman comics were corrupting young boys and turning them gay. Then for a long time, DC & Marvel would only have LGBT characters in their comics if they were very clearly shown as being the bad guys.
So you can kind of understand why Robin, an out and proud gay man, would be hesitant to label his character as gay. Not because Oswald isn’t attracted to men, but because he doesn’t want to play into those stereotypes. That being said, it’s also important to point out that a lot of LGBT viewers are allowed to see it in a slightly different way. We know that Oswald is a complex character, defined by more than the attributes that make him a villain. We can interpret Oswald as being gay without thinking that his sexuality is linked to the fact that he’s a villain. Oswald has done some horrible things but that doesn’t invalidate his love for Ed or his parents.
But even if Robin doesn’t want to use the word gay to describe Oswald, that’s a different thing than saying Oswald is attracted to women. in the history of the show, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a scene where Oswald was shown as being attracted to a woman.
Like remember his reaction when Sasha tried to seduce him in season 2:
He got the hell out of there like NOPE.
Then compare that to the way he is when he’s around male characters that he likes such as Jim and Ed.
And even when it comes to this storyline with Sofia, I think at this point it’s really clear that it was never meant to be romantic. We’re two episodes away from the winter finale and Oswald has already discovered that she betrayed him. From the promo pics we got, it’s pretty obvious that this is when they’ll go from being friends (or pretending) to being enemies. Even when they were friends, neither of them made a romantic move on the other. It was always just Oswald thinking he’d made a new friend. So don’t let yourself get stressed over this interview or the current plot.
@mymycorrhizae Thanks for this! I’ve never understood anyone putting any stock in what the actors/producers’ etc say about the characters, the plot, etc. (As in remember when they said we were going to have Harley Quinn on the show? Uh, yeah. Or when Ben had to admit that they changed their mind about the plot where he was supposed to become an assassin for the Court of Owls?)
Anyone, including an actor, can have headcanons about a character. The only thing that constitutes canon, however, is what’s seen or said on the show. Oswald’s never been shown to have any romantic interest in a woman; or sexual interest in anybody. All we’ve ever seen is romantic interest in a man. How many times did he tell Ed he loved him? I lost count.
The other thing that’s hilarious to me is, that none of the het characters get questioned in this way. You could say that Butch is as much a sociopath as Oswald; or Don Falcone; or any number of others, but no one says, well, they aren’t actually straight. They can’t be, because they’re not capable of healthy relationships, so we have to see them on a spectrum of some sort.
I would say characters are what you experience them to be and for me Oswald is a pansexual gray ace or demi..I kind of agree with what Robin said in that interview, Oswald for me doesnt really have sexual feelings, but could. And when he gets romantic feelings he doesnt care what gender the other person is, its just the personality, the person he loves ♡
I also want to say why I dont think Penguin is gay is bc in other batman shows and games Penguin often has girls around him (i mean ofc it could be a cover up) but it somtimes looks like hes into them. The scene im always thinking of is from the episode Birds of a Feather from the Batman Animated Series and it shows Penguin very much into the woman in that episode. One thing I also wanna say that kind of annoyes me, Robin’s Penguin gets real up and close to Liza to threaten her in s1 and looks like a total perv and no one talks about that scene but always talk about how he freaks out seeing his sister trying to get with him and say that is the reason hes gay…He was instantly in love with his family and saw Sasha as his sister and ofc he freaked out and i think anyone would do that if someone you see as your family would do that to you. He even says “Im practically your brother, what are you thinking?”. Also I feel like Oz could have had a little crush on Sofia but he got over that pretty quickly (im sorry Farah im not dissing you, i still love you♡)
Anon ask aside, THIS is how you have a conversation about canon characterizations WITHOUT attacking other fans! All the people in this discussion may have different interpretations of Oswald’s characterization and yet, they aren’t attacking each other trying to prove their interpretation is the only rightful one.
That being said, it’s also important to point out that a lot of LGBT viewers are allowed to see it in a slightly different way. - (via mymycorrhizae)
Anyone, including an actor, can have headcanons about a character. - (via millicentsopeculiar)
I would say characters are what you experience them to be(…) - (via ravenwald)
@mymycorrhizae @millicentsopeculiar @ravenwald THANK YOU ALL for showing the rest of the fandom how it is done.
I don’t necessarily agree with all the interpretations put forth and that’s okay! It is possible to have varying opinions about the characteristics of a fictional character and still have a nuanced and enjoyable discussion about it! You can have allowances for other people’s interpretations, even when they completely conflict with your own.
Art is subjective! It’s worth and value are completely dependent on the audience that consumes and interprets it. Of course every individual will interpret that art’s context from within the lens of their own experience. Whatever that may be. And yes, sometimes we won’t understand or agree with it, but that doesn’t make them automatically “bad/creepy/gross” people for seeing it in a different way.
Art is supposed to challenge us. Make us see and experience things we otherwise might not be able to and sometimes that might make us uncomfortable. Which is a good thing! It means we are questioning, growing, and evolving. Art gives us the freedom to step out of ourselves and explore things we never could, or would, in our real lives.
And we are passionate about it! Something about this show and these characters touches us on a deep and very personal level. Otherwise we wouldn’t be spending our time on this site discussing meta, sharing art and fic, and coming together to cry and laugh at all of the craziness Gotham gives us every week.
And that’s an amazing, awesome gift that we share together! Please remember that we are all here together for our shared love of these characters and this show.
Let’s try to be good to each other. After tomorrow, we may all really need it.
Can we romanticize video games the way we do books?
Like you hear all these things about how you can curl up with a book on a rainy day and drink tea and smother yourself in blankets but anytime you hear things about video games it’s always about how you’re wasting your life away yelling into a headset as you play Call of Duty in a basement?
Imagine bundling yourself up on the couch, the sound of rain hitting the roof, and putting on Fable for a few hours. Or getting home after a long day of work. You make yourself a cup of cocoa, put on fuzzy pjs, and play Viva Piñata for hours not giving a second thought to the outside world. Semester just got out? Throw on some Fallout and just take a night to breathe and enjoy.
You aren’t wasting your life away, you’re enjoying it. Games can be just as much an escape as books, except you get to be part of the story.
#this is FANTASTIC #the whole Kristabella thing could have been SO COOL #I would have loved her to have been Kristen brought back to life #(courtesy of Hugo Strange and the Court) #and then for her to come back a third time somehow #(killed twice in Ed’s name and reviving every time in spite of him) #I would have loved for there to have been a STORY here #for her to get her own back somehow ( @sure-as-eggs )
I know I just sent you this Sure, but in case anyone else would love to read a fic based arond this premise check out Leave My Death Alone (You Cannot Make It Yours) Seriously do it!
@glistenandglitter has started a masterpiece here. From the very first line you feel for Kristen. She wakes up strapped to a table in Indian Hill, afraid, in pain, confused, and unable to recall a single thing…and that’s all the spoilers anyone reading this gets.
Click the link. Read the Fic. You won’t regret it. The second chapter is being revised, so it should be posted any day now.
One of the most common pieces of writing advice is to read. Important, but vague. An easy way to analyze novels to become a better writer is to sort what you read into what you don’t like and what you do like. Spend some time thinking–whether alone, in writing, or through conversation–about what makes you like or dislike the writing, and brainstorm ways that the writing could have been improved or changed.
Here are some possible dislikes and likes that you might notice when reading:
What You Don’t Like:
Boring spots that you skim through
Unnecessary scenes that don’t advance the plot
Confusing sub-plots
Chunky dialogue
Characters acting outside their character
Poorly done tropes
Too much telling, not enough showing
Too much showing, not enough telling
Overly flowery prose
Big words for the sake of big words
One-dimensional villains
Lack of distinctive voices
What You Do Like:
Twists on tropes
Scenes where you felt like you were a part of that world
Characters you think about after the book ends
Clever plot twists
Good information reveal
Villains and antagonists that keep you on your toes
Characters that know what they want
Characters forced to make sacrifices
Side-characters that have personalities of their own
Scenes so intense that you find yourself peeking at the next page
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