#makes more sense with the solitaire timeline

[neos-schlond-poofa]

rl donna beneviento hcs

because @scuba-gragas (your acc is NOT linking for some reason) freaked out over one of my edit captions and im like. why not share more sad stuff about donna! and also silly stuff in here too.

AND NO IM NOT PUTTING "ATTEMPTED BEFORE" IN HERE THIS IS NOT SOME SAD SOME RANDOM

repeating this from the edit but due to her tendency to remember numerous timelines, donna has even more of a SEVERE fear of being abandoned by mc and lacks a lot of self confidence in the relationship. she remembers mc being happy with the others, what if they did a better job than her? what if mc goes to them? or perhaps, what if the loop occurs and mc goes to someone else, and donna sees them just act happier? was she easily replacable?

however, sometimes donna DOES express her relationship anxieties and mc always does help out; its not all torment for donna, dont worry. as time goes on she always tries to be more open with mc about her feelings

okay back to sad. i imagine this happens to everyone but in their own way, but donna is a sleep hugger. so when she wakes up the day after the loop, shes hugging a pillow instead of mc and she just sits there for a bit. sometimes, she doesnt really get it, other times, she instantly knows what happened. she hates the feeling of waking up that morning and thinking she has someone in her arms, only to have an empty spot in her bed.

really good at claw machines. when angie was younger, she loved going to the arcade, and so donna mastered the art of claw machines to get angie a bunch of prizes (and sometimes herself).

invested in noise cancelling headphones / earbuds once she got with mc. she wears them a lot everywhere and even went to her first concert with them, it helps her not be overstimulated.

she hates herself for this, but part of her prays that mc stays with miranda after she has to wipe belas memories. she cant stand the thought of hurting her niece again in another loop.

would probably get a sims addiction, but specifically making sims.

plays relaxing video game soundtracks in the store (dani, angie, and mc often update the playlists)

she sells those fake flowers on april fools that shoot water at peoples faces.

loves to watch operas and ballets.

im struggling with wording this but like. when donna realizes the loop has occured she always just takes a bunch of time to prepare herself for whatever is going to happen, but ESPECIALLY knowing she has to murder someone for angie again. shes basically doomed to do this forever until mc gets with miranda; and i KNOW angie sometimes isnt a doll but. lets forget about that!! i just imagine shes always a doll anyways, it makes more sense that way, and either way, a loop where angie is fully human is just a temporary break for one of donna's many problems.

ethel cain stan

hates hospital shows for MANY reasons. she doesnt like seeing the hospitals first of all, she doesnt like seeing when the people die, and she hates the medical inconsistencies.

in loops where bela and mc have a family (sigh), she can't help but literally try to keep her distance. they won't have their family for long, and she cant bear to tell them that (although bela is most definitely aware) or even get attached to their baby, she doesn't want to lose someone close again (although bela does not catch onto this; she tries to get donna involved as opposed to alcina)

owns a typewriter

constantly has a tab of solitaire open on her laptop.

theres a picture of markiplier hidden in her room and she doesnt know it. angie hid it there and has been waiting for donna to find it. thing is? she hid it before the loop started. so it is permanently there for every loop.

always has really cutesy and simplistic halloween costumes she wears in her flower shop for the holiday. her favorite costume is a bee.

loves build-a-bear. it obviously takes her some time to get ready to go there (she often plans out their least busy times), but she loves to make her own plushes for her collection and buy them new clothes. eventually takes mc there for a date and they adopt a bear together.

but outside of that? she really hates getting new ones there during the loops. she gets really attached to them and she hates knowing they're only there for a short time.

kanoodle master.

hates the smell of nail polish

great hugger, even if she doesn't give them out that often.

owns a bunch of retro game consoles and likes to collect them, although she doesn't get much time to play them.

hates the bee movie; angie loves it

while mc obviously does open her eyes, donna still struggles with the concept of even trying to get better because she knows its all just going to loop. yes, she will work on things and they will improve, but certain things will revert back to normal after the loop anyways.

once tried to dance in the rain for fun and ended up getting a cold instead.

alright i think thats it... i might share more in the future but i tried to balance this with silly and sad.

#resident lover #donna beneviento

[bullet-prooflove]

Doing Time: Jeff Clarke x Reader

Tagging: @kmc1989 @witches-unruly-heart @telepathay @iworldlywriter @caffeinatedwoman @winchesterszvonecek @whateversomethingbruh @burningpeachpuppy @upsteadlogic @skyesthebomb @neapolitantoebeans @olymosity @stxrryswvrld @courtney-elizabeth93 @switchbladeclub

Companion piece to

Bail

Not Now, Not Ever

Conjugal

It’s four in the morning during his second month of incarceration that Jeff realises where the gun is. That weapon had been the crux of his whole trial, his gun, his bullets, his crime.

They’d never found it but the ballistics were enough to put the nail in his coffin.

You had done everything you could to find it, to prove his innocence. You’d hired a PI to follow Lisa, trying to track down the location, and Jeff had wracked his brain trying to figure it out. The two of you had created a timeline, Haye’s death up until when his body was found and the police had turned up at Lisa’s place and then subsequently Jeff’s. There were only a limited amount of places that Lisa could have stashed it in that short space of time.

Now that he doesn’t have your visits to look forward, he has lot more time on his hands. The guys still take it in turns to visit. Severide had reamed him out over ending things with you, but he knew the other man understood. Hermann had promised to keep an eye on you, you were part of the family after all and so was Jeff, it doesn’t matter that he’s locked up. Capp regales him with firehouse antics whilst Casey assures him they’re doing everything in their power to work on his appeal.

After each visit he lies in his bunk and he thinks about you, the snippets of news he’s received from his visitors. You’re working more shifts, burying yourself in your work. You’d almost gotten yourself arrested for harassing Lisa, but Antonio had let you off with a warning. It had been the day after Jeff had terminated his visits with you. He wishes you’d just let it go, that you’d forget about him and move on but he knows it isn’t that easy. If your roles were reversed, he would be doing exactly the same thing.

He had never told you that Lisa had come to visit him a few dayss before Hayes was killed. She’d drove past the old house and found herself sitting in the garden underneath the tree they used to have picnics under in the summer. It had been sold almost six months before but the family had decided to renovate it before moving in, leaving it vacant.

“Do you remember carving our initials into that tree before you were deployed the last time?” She had asked him as they’d sat on his porch. He didn’t want her in the house, that was your place, the home you had created together, he hadn’t wanted this ex-wife to taint it. “They’re still there Jeff.”

There had been a nook in that tree, a vacant space. He used to hide Easter eggs in there for Lisa’s nieces and nephews so they could hunt for them over the holiday.

“I want to try again,” She’d told him, reaching for his hand. “I know we can be happy.”

He’d withdrawn then, crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the railing. If it had been a couple of years before, he would have jumped at the chance to rekindle their marriage but now he has a home, a family and he wouldn’t give that up for the world.

“I am happy.” He’d told her. “I’m building a life with someone else, I’m in love with someone else.”

She’d been furious after that, angry, tearful. He’d tried to pacify her but she’d climbed back into her car and he couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief.

He has to wait to make his phone call to Antonio Dawson, it’s a tedious process but he’d gotten used to it back in the military. He plays solitaire to pass the time because he can’t focus on the book he’s been trying to read. He doesn’t dare allow himself to hope that he’s right.

It’s the next day that Antonio comes to see him, the two of them sit across from each other. The convict and his arresting officer.

“We found the gun, along with her bloody shirt in the tree, just like you said. Her fingerprints where on both the weapon and the bullets.” Antonio tells him, his hands clasped together on the surface of the table. “The family moved into the house a few days after Haye’s death, she couldn’t risk going back to retrieve them.”

“When she came over that day, she wanted to get back together…” Jeff says, shaking his head. “I wonder if she had this in mind all along.”

“When she found out Hayes was cheating on her, it looks like she came to you for comfort and when she couldn’t get that she decided to take out two birds with one stone by killing him and framing you.” Antonio tells him, his jaw clenching as he looks around at the other tables. “You don’t deserve to be here Jeff, and I’m sorry for my part in that.”

“You were doing your job.” Jeff tells him, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his seat. “I don’t love how it turned out but I couldn’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing if I was in your position. I just need to know what happens now.”

“Your lawyer will be getting in contact later today to go through the process with you, it may take a few days but you’ll be released, your record expunged, then I’m guessing they’ll be a conversation about compensation.” Antonio explains before meeting the other man’s gaze. “I’ve spoken to Boden about getting you reinstated, he’s working on and Noelle…”

Jeff’s body tenses at the mention of your name because he can’t allow himself to entertain the possibility of you stepping back into his life, not after all of this.

“She said she’ll be waiting for you when you step outside those gates. Both her and Rocco can’t wait for you to come home.”

Love Jeff? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

#jeff clarke x reader #jeff clarke #jeff clarke x you #chicago fire

[scraregenrecs]

Rare & Gen Rec Round-Up - July & August 2022

We're back! Sorry for the delay while we sorted out a few IRL things. Check out some of our favorite rare & gen SC works from July and August 2022. We know you'll enjoy them! 

–

Dedicated to the One I Love by @wearpersistencewell, Alexis/Ted, Patrick & Ted, rated T, 1081 words

Summary: Patrick helps Ted navigate his breakup with Alexis and decision to stay in the Galapagos for three years.

Rec [written by doingthemost]: I love fics that look at the friendships behind the scenes, and this is no exception. I'm glad to see Ted and Patrick fleshed out more here. It makes perfect sense that Patrick could provide stability and support to Ted in Season 6.  

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Farming podcast by Amanita_Fierce, David & Johnny, rated M, 600 words

Summary: David gives Johnny a lift and accidentally plays a little bit of his smutty audiobook farming podcast. Johnny is very helpful.

Rec [written by samwhambam]: This one made me LOL and cringe with extreme second hand embarrassment. I could just feel David’s humiliation and like, Johnny never makes situations like this better. It really feels like them. It’s a fun, quick read that will definitely have you laughing.  

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Fluff and Fold by @brrose-apothecary, Davie & Stevie, rated T, 1785 words

Summary: Stevie has a secret she’s never shared with anyone: she’s not always playing solitaire behind that desk. David finds out and Stevie submits to the mortifying ordeal of being known.

Rec [written by doingthemost]: This is such an inspired secret for Stevie (of course she writes sexy fic, and of course she writes it at work) and the banter between Stevie and David after he finds out is an absolute blast to read!

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Happy Hour is Here by @weathereyehorizon, Stevie & Patrick, rated G, 1190 words

Summary: Stevie is still figuring out David’s new business partner but she’s learned a few things: how much he loves baseball, that Ronnie is going to be his enemy for life, and what his preferences are. The only question is whether some other guy is going to catch Patrick’s eye before David does.

Rec [written by samwhambam]: i LOVE a good friendship fic, and will gobble up everything and anything that has Stevie and Patrick becoming besties. I loved this little look into them becoming friends. Stevie is observant and the perfect BFF to David, and teases Patrick just enough, even though they don’t know each other well yet. I loved it and highly recommend. 

–

if only i could have a puppy by @hullomoon, David & Stevie, rated T, 1626 words

Summary: After adopting a dog David notices an error on the adoption papers. Of course, everyone in town has an opinion about that.

Rec [written by doingthemost]: This is so funny and adorable. I love the idea of David getting a puppy pal early on in the SC timeline, and everyone's opinions on his new dog (and the dog's name!) are so spot-on. 

–

[Art] kindred spirits by angelandfaith, Stevie, Twyla, April Ludgate, rated G

Summary: April's pretty sure there are vegetables in her smoothie. Gross.

Rec [written by doingthemost]: This is such a cute piece of fanart—and an inspired crossover to boot! I love the idea of April hanging out with Stevie and Twyla… I'm sure they'd have some wild conversations 😁

–

Ranked, Filed by steviesflannel, David/Stevie, rated E, 1328 words

Summary: David is cataloguing Stevie. On a slow night in the Honeymoon Suite, he discovers something new.

Rec [written by petalwrites]: Did you hear that? It’s my incoherent squealing upon reading this fic. It’s such a soft, funny, sexy look into one of David and Stevie’s relationship in S1. It’s so sweet and kept me smiling the whole way through. I love these emotionally stunted, ticklish idiots so very much!

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Sunrise in our eyes by @hullomoon, Rachel/Stevie, rated T, 471

Summary: Rachel has a little morning treat for Stevie.

Rec [written by petalwrites]: This piece is short & sweet… in more than one way! It’s two of my favorite ladies, love confessions, and no-bake cookies. What’s not to love?

–

[Podfic] The Guestbook of David and Patrick Rose-Brewer by Amanita_Fierce, B13-maybethistime, cottagepodfics, Djapchan, @godoflaundrybaskets, HowOldAreWe, @n0connections, @petalwritesx, poddingthemost, roseszain, @schittposting, @thesleepyskipper, @landofsonlali, @sunlightsymphony, @sweatersinthesummer, @whetherwoman, wi22iou, DevilWithABirdDress, everyone!, rated T, 9:02

Summary: “A home isn't always the house we live in. It's also the people we choose to surround ourselves with.” — The House in the Cerulean Sea

A look through the entries in David and Patrick's wedding guestbook

Rec [written by doingthemost]: I loved the original fic by @landofsonlali, and this is such a fun reimagining of it! Everyone's voices are a delight to listen to. Both the fic and the pod are a great way to honor all of the Schitt's Creek characters we love so much.

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This is the miracle that I've been dreaming of by @hippolotamus, Alexis/Twyla, rated G, 830 words

Summary: “Oh,” she says softly, wondering if she’s making a mistake. Standing in the middle of the café, among the cracked vinyl booths and oversized menus, the romantic notion she had in her mind is replaced with anxiety and doubt. She’s spinning on her heel to leave when she hears it.

“Alexis!” comes the sunny voice she would know anywhere by now, followed by a warm hand circling her wrist.

She turns to see Twyla, still looking sleepy, with traces of yesterday's makeup on her face. “Twyla,” Alexis swallows, nervous. “Hi.”

Twyla scrunches her nose, never losing her rosy smile. “Is… everything okay?”

“Yeah! Yes!” Alexis sucks in a breath. “I… last night was real. Right?”

Rec [written by doingthemost]: This is such a soft, tender little moment between these two! I love reading about all the different ways that these two could get together after the show's end, and this is one perfect imagining of how it could happen.

–

Happy reading, friends!

#alexis rose #ted mullens #alexis x ted #ted x alexis #tedlexis #david rose #johnny rose #stevie budd #david x stevie #stevie x david #rachel #stevie x rachel #rachel x stevie #twyla sands #alexis x twyla #twyla x alexis #twylexis #rec list #schitt's creek

[noster-tempus]

The excellent boost in executive functioning I experienced earlier this week is starting to wear off. Not terribly surprising. I still feel a lot better than last week.

Here's an approximate timeline of events:

3/10: my psychiatrist prescribes me sertraline. I go home for spring break.

3/11-3/17: I do not get my sertraline because my local CVS is a mess. Nevertheless, I remember how much energy I have when I get enough to eat, and hope that I will be able to maintain this when I am back at school.

3/18: My prescription comes through.

3/19: I take my first dose of sertraline, a miniscule 12.5 mg, in the morning. (50mg is generally considered the lowest therapeutic dose.) I return to school.

3/20-3/23: I have one of the worst weeks I've had in a long time, productivity-wise. I can't focus on anything because my brain is constantly screaming at me that I need food, but I can't convince myself to actually eat any of the available options. I spend a lot of time playing Minesweeper and Mahjong solitaire because it's the only thing that distracts me from the constantly-on-edge feeling. My teeth are also oddly sore, and I conclude that the sertraline must be making me clench my teeth more than usual. This is the only adverse effect I notice.

3/24-3/26: After buying a bunch of snacks, my concentration improves a bit but not much.

3/27, 9am: I take my first 25mg dose of sertraline.

3pm: I meet with someone from disability services at my college. Earlier in the semester I met with a more general academic coach, and he advised me to meet with someone from disability services, so I was hoping I would get more specialized advice. Instead, she basically gives me the same advice I've heard a million times, with an extra dose of sounding judgy ("You don't have class until 1:40 on Mondays and you're still late for it?") I leave the meeting in tears and generally feeling bad about myself.

4:30pm: I meet with a classmate in my Network Security class to work on a presentation. After the meeting, I am momentarily tempted to play a mindless computer game, but the leftover guilt from the earlier meeting means I can't bring myself to do so. Since I don't have anything else to do, I order a pizza and keep working on the presentation.

7pm: I go to a rehearsal for the play I'm assistant stage managing. It's tablework, so I only need to be half paying attention. The director and an actor are discussing a monologue about death, and one of them brings up panpsychism, the idea that everything has a consciousness. This causes me to have an experience I can only describe as "like death of the ego, but less so." Working on my network security presentation might not be the most exciting activity, but so what? Whether I'm having the most interesting possible moment this exact moment is so insignificant in the grand scheme of things. So I spend the rehearsal listening to two people talking about religion and philosophy and physics and feeling a deep sense of wholeness and connection to the universe, while working on a PowerPoint about internet security.

3/28-3/30: Although the quasi-spiritual feeling wears off pretty quickly, I make the best of my newfound ability to decide what to focus on. I eat three meals per day and arrive on time for all my classes. My presentation goes very well. My social anxiety is significantly reduced, and I feel like I could strike up a conversation with anyone. I do a lot of homework, and mostly catch up. I spend my spare time reading about the pharmacology of SSRIs in an effort to figure out why this is happening. I continue to experience a bit of bruxism.

3/31: I'm a little bit tired, and starting to slip back into old habits, but I'm not too discouraged.

I'll go into the specifics of exactly what the sertraline and/or placebo effect seems to be doing in another post. It raises a lot of interesting questions about the boundaries between diagnoses.

#medication diaries #i need an adhd tag #slow tigers are chasing me #orig

[forevercloudnine]

new 52 riddler origin/timeline

I noticed an older 2017 post by @batriddler​ about Edward’s possible New 52 origin story was going around again, so I thought I’d make a timeline adding what we’ve learned about his origins since then through The Riddler: Year of the Villain (2019).

Childhood

So Year of the Villain brings back several elements of Edward’s original backstory. The first was that, as a child, he won a puzzle contest and became fixated on that moment of victory for the rest of his life.

Unlike previous iterations of the character, however, there’s no obvious indication that Edward cheated in order to win it (other than the looming shadow of his future careers). Whether he won it fairly or not, winning the trophy was a turning point for him because it was the first time he was given undiluted positive attention, something he wasn’t getting at home.

Edward’s mother is heavily, HEAVILY implied to be an alcoholic (like there are even more bottles lying around in this panel, I cut them out for the screenshot), and he himself implies in the narration that she was neglectful to the point that he pretty much had to raise himself. Interestingly, there’s no mention of an abusive father, which is the bog standard for Riddler backstories in previous continuities. There’s nothing contradicting the existence of an abusive father in addition, so obviously there’s room for headcanons here (though I’m enjoying that Jonathan’s New 52 daddy issues replacing his retconned Post-Crisis mommy issues was finally mirrored by Edward’s Post-Crisis daddy issues being retconned and replaced with New 52 mommy issues. It’s equality).

[Side note: apparently his actual birth name in the New 52 IS Edward “Nygma,” which is also a return to form to his first origin. Personally I’m much fonder of him being born “Nashton” and changing his name as an adult, but that’s just me.]

He says that winning the trophy was the first time he “felt like [he] meant something,” which would seem to indicate that before this he’d internalized his mother’s neglect into a low sense of self worth. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the high of winning it lasted very long, since his classmates weren’t very appreciative of his victory (which is also very in line with Edward’s previous origins, especially Chuck Dixon’s take in Questions Multiple the Mystery).

There’s not much other information about his childhood available, though Batman Annual #4 does seem to indicate that unlike many of Batman’s other villains, he did grow up in Gotham.

This is just based on him telling Bruce that “all of Gotham City” watched him grow up, and that Edward in particular read and watched a lot of tabloid news about Bruce when they were adolescents (is this a Batman Forever reference??? It’s probably not a Batman Forever reference).

Teenage Years

Assuming we’re supposed to take Bruce’s heat-of-the-moment psychoanalysis in Zero Year seriously (Edward is clearly irritated by it, so... confirmation?), Edward’s desire for attention in childhood results in him breaking into corporate data banks and government safe-blocks as a teenager.

Given what Edward is capable of in Zero Year, this definitely doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility, but it’s deeply hilarious in the context of what Year of the Villain confirmed he was (also?) doing as a teenager, which is working as a carnie.

I cannot tell you how hilarious I would find it if THIS is the “questionable past” that Bruce’s Uncle Phillip was talking about during Zero Year, but presumably he’s referring to the same kind of high profile crimes that Bruce was.

But seriously, how funny would it be if he was just talking about how Edward literally ran away from home to join the circus as a teenager...

Adulthood

The 2017 post theorizes that Edward started working for Phillip at Wayne Enterprises in his early twenties, and started earning the various degrees you can see stacked up in a corner in the image above during his employment there. That would seem to fit with this timeline, since I’m not willing to add “earned six different university degrees” to teenage years that are apparently already packed full of ripping off carnival goers AND corporate espionage.

In Batman Annual #4 there is the BAREST indication that Edward might have started working at Wayne Enterprises early into Bruce’s sabbatical abroad, since he talked about how “for months” there were nightly vigils at Wayne Tower where there were so many flowers people would have to cross the street not to step on them. Presumably this would have only been in the first year of Bruce’s disappearance, when Bruce was 18; at the very least this indicates that Edward still lived in Gotham when Bruce left, though it would make more sense for him to be visiting Wayne Tower as Phillip’s strategist than as a hacker/carnie.

In general though, Edward’s Zero Year plan is so ridiculously complex that I think it’s reasonable to assume that he took as long to prepare for his debut as Riddler as it took Bruce to train to be Batman.

[Another side note: Not to accuse Edward of projecting or anything (God forbid), but I think it’s interesting that Edward puts so much emphasis on criticizing Bruce for “disappearing for years” and “making everyone think he’s dead” in combination with the COMPLETE absence of his father from his origin story as presented in Year of the Villain.]

I do think it’s fascinating that Edward’s New 52 origin veers away from the whole “cheating” thing that’s so central to his character in previous continuities - not that he DOESN’T cheat when he feels like it (the whole carnie thing), but it’s not presented as an insecurity of his, and here he’s genuinely intelligent enough to mastermind crimes without needing to move the goalposts at the last second (cough Arkhamverse Riddler COUGH).

One final thing from Edward’s adult life that I think could relate back to his origin comes from Batman #23.2, “Solitaire.”

The issue starts with a flashback of Edward having a deck of playing cards confiscated from him in Arkham because he was playing Solitaire (like, genuinely playing Solitaire; he actually wasn’t plotting anything, it was just for stress relief). The comic is his quest for violent revenge against the Arkham guard who took his cards, which initially seems like a pretty average example of Riddler Brand Pettiness, but the story goes out of its way to highlight how much this really bothered him.

The Arkham Guard has moved on to become the head of security at Wayne Enterprises, so to get revenge Edward has to break into his old place of employment. An unexpected altercation with one of the executives leads Edward to totally freak out over her “touching” him, and afterwards he goes to meditate in her old office in order to calm down. His attempt to relax is interrupted by his old Arkham tormentor, who gets in a couple shots at him before Edward takes his revenge...

...which is BLOWING UP THE ARM that the guard used to take away the “small comfort” Edward had in Arkham. Afterwards, he goes up to the roof to play Solitaire, seeming to finally relax from his agitation earlier.

Given Edward’s isolation and neglect in childhood, it would make sense for him to have ended up playing Solitaire a lot: it’s a game that doesn’t require involvement from friends or family, but still requires a player to use strategy and skill despite the lack of an opponent.

[Yet another side note related to the previous side note: Batman is ACTUALLY dead during Solitaire, which takes place after Joker’s Endgame arc. Bruce and Joker are of course later resurrected through shenanigans, so Edward is right to think he’ll be seeing Batman again. But Riddler sitting on the Wayne Enterprises rooftop, indulging in a self-described “small comfort,” waiting for a man who’s disappeared to miraculously show up again is really interesting. Again, not to accuse him of projecting or anything, but... where’s your dad, Edward...]

His affection for Solitaire is also interesting, in the sense that one could argue that’s what he’s doing in Zero Year: playing a game with himself. He’s challenging other people to play with him through his “riddle” game, and he’s clearly prepared for the possibility of having an opponent (given that he has a whole rainbow disco death trap room set up at the end of Zero Year, which he seems DELIGHTED to have a chance to use), but he’s not expecting to have one. Whether this is a perspective rooted in his childhood or not, it seems to have changed after Zero Year, based on his riddle for Batman in “Alone.”

#riddler #edward nygma #zero year riddler #meta #if i missed something PLEASE let me know #i am by no means an expert on comics #i was considering titling this post 'here's how edward nygma can still have daddy issues in the new 52' #but ultimately i decided that was both not funny and not comprehensible #there are new bernie memes now #BUT i stand by it as a thesis statement

[hypnoticwinter]

Gamifying the Story Outline: A Simple Tool to Revamp Your Writing Process

0. What the heck is this? Ever had trouble figuring out what kind of story you want to tell in the first place? Not a fan of outlines, but end up with meandering, pointless stories that don’t do what you want them to? Do you mainly write pulp fantasy or sci fi? 

This is a tool that will guide you through outlining a story using some of the same concepts as a solitaire roleplaying game. All you need is a few ideas, a pen and paper, and a six-sided die.

You also need to understand some basic concepts: This tool isn’t a substitute for creativity, and if you think you have a better idea, run with it. This tool assumes that you’re going to be writing a fairly grounded story in the vein of a Dragonlance novel or similar - hero’s journey stuff. It’s not very good for more cerebral stuff, or anything more abstract.

With that being said, let’s get started. First, we need to ask some questions and define some notions.

1. Who is the Hero? This section assumes that there’s just a singular protagonist, but there’s no reason you can’t make it work for a small group of characters. 

The story is about a Hero, someone the story will focus on as they go on a journey. They’ll grow, change, face challenges, deal with setbacks, and so on. To that end, we need to know a few things about them. Aside from basic characteristics like name, appearance, etc., we also need to know:

1a. What makes them special? You could be writing the story about anyone - why them? What about them is special enough to write a story about? 1b. What are their strengths? Don’t get too cerebral here. Just list off three or four things they’re good at, and come up with a small backstory or notion for why they’re good at them.

1c. What are their weaknesses? Same thing here. Some weaknesses - real weaknesses, ones that can cause issues, and why they’re there. Remember, the more work you do at this stage, the better you’ll be equipped to move on later. 2. Who/what is the Villain? If there’s a Hero there has to be a Villain. Now, I’m using Villain as shorthand - this doesn’t necessarily mean a literal villain who’s a force for evil, it means whatever overarching force wants to prevent the Hero from accomplishing their goal, whatever that might be. Sometimes the Hero might not know who or what the Villain is, sometimes there might not even be a concrete Villain. But there has to be some kind of conflict or opposition - otherwise the Hero doesn’t have anything to overcome.

Just like the Hero, we need to know some information about the Villain.

2a. Who/what are they? 2b. What are their strengths? 2c. What are their weaknesses?

Remember, this is all the ground work. Put in the effort here and you’ll appreciate it later on. 3. What is the Hero's goal? The Hero always needs to have a goal. It's the reason that they keep going through the story. Their resolve can falter, of course, they can have doubts and misgivings and so on, but the goal has to always be present. This can be concrete or abstract, nebulous or poorly defined, but it has to be there to keep the story moving. If the kind of story you want to write doesn’t really have a goal, this tool probably isn’t going to do much for you.

3a. What is the Spark? The Spark is what some other story outlines might call the 'inciting incident.' The Hero's Spark is what gets them off their asses and starts them actually pursuing their goal for real. This is going to depend on what the goal is, what the setting is, who the Hero is, a lot of different factors, but there has to be some kind of tipping point that makes the Hero realize ‘okay, there has to be a change and I have to be the one to do it.’ 4. Creating the Timeline. The Timeline is a track of major events that will occur during the course of the story. The Timeline begins with the Spark and ends with the Confrontation. Prior to the Spark, of course, you can have as much set up as you want, and a lot of the time you’re going to not want to launch right into the story with the Spark, but that’s something you can figure out later. For our purposes, we’re starting with the Spark. In the space between the Spark and the Confrontation, the Hero will encounter Complications, both Minor and Major. Minor Complications are small incidents that stand in the way of resolving Major Complications. Major Complications are large incidents that stand in the way of the Hero's victory entirely.

You can use any number of Minor or Major Complications that you like, but I recommend 2 Major Complications between the Spark and the Confrontation, and 2 Minor Complications between each Major Complication, give or take. This can change on the fly depending on how the story goes, so remember to be flexible. Between each Complication obviously there will be time to lick wounds, make friends, develop plot, and so on, but that's something you can figure out yourself. We want to get the plot points down, knitting them together coherently is a job for later.

4a. Complications. To determine what kind of Complication you’re dealing with, roll the die. 1-3: A Complication of Circumstance Complications of Circumstance are difficulties that arise for the Hero without malice or intention behind them. Maybe the weather turns at the worst possible moment, or something is rescheduled, or sweeping changes of some other kind affect them.

4-6: A Complication of Intent Complications of Intent are difficulties that arise specifically because the Villain is targeting the Hero and trying to hinder them. They can take forms similar to a Complication of Circumstance but the cause is specifically because of the Villain. They can also take more precise forms than might be appropriate for a Complication of Circumstance, like an assassin, a battle, a conflict, etc. You can also roll the die again to refine Complication type: 1-3: General A General Complication is one that affects many people or a wide area. Blackouts, flooding, famine, wildfires, are all examples of General Complications. The Hero might be the root cause of the Complication, if it is a Complication of Intent, but it will affect many more people than just the Hero. 4-6: Specific A Specific Complication is one that affects just the Hero, or the Hero's immediate allies. An assassin, a theft, a parking ticket, and so on, are all examples of Specific Complications. Even if a Complication is Specific the Hero might not be the cause of it - it may just be random chance without interference from the Villain. 4a1. Minor Complications Minor Complications fill the space between Major Complications. A Minor Complication is an opportunity to learn more about the Hero and the other characters, to explore the world of the story, or to develop the plot in other ways. Minor Complications only have, as the name suggests, minor implications on the story as a whole and don't affect it much, BUT they do still need to affect it in some way.  4a2. Major Complications Major Complications are serious events that have the potential to change the direction entire story. Major Complications are plot points that require several chapters at least to resolve, and will change the Hero for better or for worse once completed. 4a3. Resolving a Complication At a base level, all you have to do is ask the question, "does the Hero win?" and then roll a die. Look on the below table for the answer. 1: No, and... 2: No. 3: No, but... 4: Yes, but... 5: Yes. 6: Yes, and... Now stop. Think about the answer you rolled and interpret it. Apply it to the Complication you came up with. Does it make sense? You always have the authority to roll again, or just say screw rolling and choose what happens. But sometimes it can be fun to just see what happens. You do want a healthy amount of variation, of course - the story will probably be pretty boring if the Hero manages to just effortlessly cruise through every Complication, or if the Hero is getting curbstomped repeatedly by bad rolls, but given how many Complications there are to resolve, most likely there’ll be a healthy spread of wins and losses across the course of the Timeline. Now, moving on - what exactly does ‘no, but...’ or ‘yes, and...’ mean? First, yes or no always answers the question ‘does the Hero win?’ That’s the outcome for the Complication. The story still has to move forward but depending on whether it’s a yes or a no and whether it’s a Minor or Major Complication, you might want to do some brainstorming as to the direction the story will go next. If the result you rolled has ‘but’ in it, that means the result is tempered. A ‘yes, but...’ isn’t a perfect victory, something bad happened as well, and a ‘no, but...’ isn’t a total defeat, there’s some kind of silver lining.

Likewise, an ‘and’ means that the result occurs in the superlative. A ‘no, and...’ means the Hero lost hard, just like a ‘yes, and...’ means the Hero wins hard. Whenever the Hero wins a Complication (i.e., rolls a yes), they get a Minor Boon. Whenever the Hero loses a Complication (i.e., rolls a no) they get a Minor Bane. If the roll includes a ‘but,’ they get both a Minor Boon and a Minor Bane. And if the result includes an ‘and,’ the Boon or Bane they get is Major instead of Minor. Mark down what they got and read on to see what exactly that means.

4a3a. Boons and Banes. Boons and Banes are assets the Hero gains through the course of the story that have the opportunity to render aid or cause harm when the Hero is involved in a Complication. There are three types of Boons and Banes, Minor, Major, and Superlative. Minor Boons or Banes are lost after being used in a Complication, while Major Boons or Banes remain in play but become Minor after being used in a Complication. Superlative Boons or Banes are never lost after Complications - if these are ever changed or lost, it’ll be because you the writer stepped in and changed them. The Hero begins the story with one Superior Boon and one Superior Bane, each based on the Hero's greatest strength and weakness respectively. The Villain also imposes a Superior Bane based on its greatest strength, and a Superior Boon based on its greatest weakness. Banes and Boons can only be used in Complications where they would be relevant. A Hero who has a Boon for fighting, for example, can't use that Boon if the Complication is about socializing. A Boon can be used in a Complication, if applicable, to grant a +1 bonus to the roll to resolve the Complication. Likewise, a Bane can be used in a Complication, to impose a -1 penalty to the roll. The minimum roll is still 1, and the maximum is still 6. 

When you’re resolving a Complication, you can choose not to add a Minor or Major Boon or Bane and instead choose to hang on to a Boon or Bane the Hero already has that would be lost due to being used in the Complication. You can roll the die to refine the type of Boon or Bane a Hero has: 1-2: A Boon of Knowledge / A Secret Bane This Boon/Bane reflects knowledge kept secret from others. As a Boon, it reflects something the Hero knows but the Villain does not. As a Bane, it reflects the opposite. 3-4: A Boon of Improvement / a Bane of Entropy This Boon/Bane represents tangible improvement in the Hero's or the Villain's equipment, assets, skills, or talents. It can also represent the opposite - a Boon of Improvement could represent a new weakness the Villain develops, for instance. 5-6: A Boon of Allegiance / A Bane of Servitude This Boon/Bane represents an ally to either the Hero or the Villain. They may be temporary or they may become a recurring character in their own right. It can also be an organization or group rather than one person. It could also be used to mean a betrayal - a Boon of Allegiance could mean one of the Villain’s servants switching sides, or vice versa. When completing a Complication, you need to keep several things in mind: 1. How exactly did the Hero complete the Complication? 2. What did the Hero use to complete the Complication? What Boons and Banes were involved? How did they affect each other? 3. What's the explanation for Minor Boons and Banes being lost after the Complication? What's the explanation for any gained Boons or Banes? 4. How does this affect the Hero moving forward? Will they have to change their objective, or rethink things? Are they on the offensive or the defensive? Are they confident?

5. The Confrontation. When you've dealt with all the Complications in the way, you get to the Confrontation, which is the final standoff between the Hero and the Villain. Every remaining Boon and Bane should factor into this one - this is the big moment, probably the climax depending on how you structure your story, so all the stops should come out. But don't roll. Whether the Hero wins is something you have to decide, based on the story so far. This one can't be randomly generated.

And after the Confrontation the rest of the story should be pretty easy for you to wrap up on your own. The Hero either accomplishes their goal, or they don’t, and the consequences of each have to be dealt with.

6. Example. Let's work through an example. Let's call our Hero Veronica, and the Villain Louise. Veronica is good at swordfighting and archery, so she gets a Superior Boon for that, but she's shy and standoffish, and can't swim, so she gets a Superior Bane for that.

Louise is an Evil Knight. Louise is good at burning, pillaging, and fighting, so she imposes a Superior Bane on Veronica for her expertise in that, but she constantly underestimates her opponents and doesn't treat her underlings well, giving Veronica a Superior Boon for that kind of thing.

For Veronica's Spark, we decide that her Goal is to rescue her boyfriend Sylvester from Louise's evil clutches, and that the Spark, therefore, is Louise kidnapping Sylvester.

The first step for Veronica is to travel to Louise's fortress, which is a long ways away, through the Windy Woods and over the Moldy Mountains. We're going to go with the standard template, with two Minor Complications between each Major Complication and two Major Complications in total before the Confrontation.

So, to recap, Veronica is a shy, standoffish warrior woman who's excellent with a sword and a bow but who can't swim or handle social situations, who is setting forth on her trusty mount Roanoke towards Louise's Frosty Fortress to rescue her boyfriend Sylvester.

The first Minor Complication is a Specific Complication of Intent. This means that this is an action by Louise specifically targeting Veronica with the intent of preventing her from rescuing Syvester. Let's say that Louise gets word that Veronica is coming and sends an underling to go and push a boulder onto Veronica as she passes under a cliff. Now let's think about our Boons and Banes. Veronica has a Boon for fighting, but that isn't really going to help here. Similarly, her Bane for social situations isn't going to hurt her either. Louise imposes a Bane for her aptitude at pillaging, but I don't think it applies because she didn't come herself, she sent an underling. So it's going to just be a flat roll with no modifiers. Does Louise succeed and avoid the boulder? We roll a 5, which is just a flat yes, with no positives or negatives, but she'll still get a Minor Boon out of it. So, the boulder misses. For the Minor Boon we roll a Boon of Allegiance - let's say that she manages to catch the underling and convince him to join her by promising that she'll get rid of Louise. Let's call Veronica's new ally Bruce. Veronica and Bruce keep going, and there'll be plenty of opportunities to worldbuild, to expand on their character, and so on.

The second Minor Complication is a General Complication of Intent. Let's say that Louise found out what happened through her network of spies. She orders her raiding party to head in Veronica's direction and search through each village looking for her. Their paths intersect in one village when Veronica, riding through, gets stopped by the leader of the raiding party, who thinks she looks an awful lot like Veronica. There are too many of them to fight, and Veronica thinks she'll have to try and bluff her way through it, but Bruce can pretend to have captured her and be taking her to Louise himself. This is a social situation so Veronica's Bane comes into play, giving her a -1, but with Bruce as a Boon that negates the -1.

Now, here I rolled a 6, but we already had a success for the previous Complication, so I'm going to reroll it. This time we roll an appropriately abysmal 2, which is a no. Let's say that the raiding party leader wants all the glory for himself, kills Bruce, and takes Veronica hostage for real, and throws her into Louise's prison nearby. This means Veronica ends up with a Minor Bane - according to our die roll it's a Bane of Entropy. Let's say that Veronica gets hurt when she's tossed into prison, and can't fight as effectively.

Now we come to the first Major Complication, and with Veronica being trapped, there are plenty of opportunities for what it might be. We roll a General Complication of Circumstance, so this isn't anything that Louise is behind, it's just a twist of fate. Let's say that a few days after Veronica is captured, there's a raid on the prison by a group of elves who are trying to free their imprisoned friends, and they end up setting everybody free, but in the chaos the prison also catches on fire. Veronica needs to get out of the prison before she's burned to a crisp, but there's a catch - some of Louise's elite guards have been dispatched to make sure nobody gets out of the prison alive. There's no reasoning with them and there's no time to disguise herself - Veronica will have to fight. She's got a Boon for fighting, so that's a +1 bonus, but she also is hurt, which is a Minor Bane for -1, evening out.

We roll a 6, which is a 'yes, and...' Veronica manages to fight her way through the elite guards, which will be a spectacular action scene when you get around to writing it, and gets free of the prison before it burns down. The Major Boon we roll is a Boon of Knowledge. Let's say that Veronica finds a map of Louise's Frosty Fortress on one of the guards and is able to study it and determine a few sneaky ways in, as well as the likely spot Sylvester will be held in. In addition, the Minor Bane of Veronica being injured and therefore not being able to fight well goes away. It doesn't make very much sense for her to already be healed, so let's say instead that she's able to take some gear off of the elite guards and it makes up for her injury. She returns to her path through the Windy Woods and leaves the burning prison behind her with a renewed sense of determination.

At this point, we can proceed with the story as we see fit, either proceeding onwards with rolling for Complications and Boons and Banes or taking over and coming up with things on our own. This tool is meant to inspire the creative process, not replace it completely. Obviously there are limitations; if you want to write something more cerebral or abstract, while the same base system of Complications is still applicable, it'll be a little more difficult to wrap your head around. What does a Bane of Treachery mean if the Villain is Society or Nature, for instance?

#writing #writeblr #story outline #writing process #writing tips #writing tools #writing advice #literature

[gothic-safari-clown]

The Mind’s Power Over the Body

Part Eleven: Exacting Revenge

Story summary: They only ever had each other. It had been that way since high school, ever since Elianna transferred to dreary Arlen and took Jonathan under her wing. They go separate ways for college, and when they're reunited at Arkham Asylum professionally, Elianna comes to find that they've both changed during their time separated. Can she look past the promise of danger and stay by Jonathan's side as they slide further and further into the darkness while she grapples to come to terms with the truth about herself? Can she accept what needs to be done in order to hold onto the only person who holds any meaning in her life? This is a very self-indulgent AU that draws from several different canons of the DCU and ignoring others, starting in the Batman Begins Nolanverse. This will follow the plot of the movie, although the timeline has been very slightly tweaked.

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five / Part Six / Part Seven / Part Eight / Part Nine / Part Ten

Word count: 2606

Trigger warnings: Needles, drowning

I know that I've written Arkham in this story is very different from the movie; it's part of the AU. It's mostly for atmosphere and aesthetic. Sorry if it's confusing, I like the thought of them sneaking around; it's kinda cute, isn't it? Sneaky little monsters? Plus, like, in the movie, they just go through a door, and the whole setup is just...there???? Where anyone with a key could just stroll in? That makes no sense to me; I had to change it for my own edification.

The trick to staving off impatience is to make yourself forget about whatever you're waiting for. Or at least, that was what got Elianna through the week. She had pushed the plan so far to the corners of her mind that the day of, she had forgotten that it had finally arrived.

Of course, once it did resurface on her radar, she couldn't stop thinking about it.

Paperwork finished, and nothing left to do but wait, Elianna found herself bored, playing the pre-programmed solitaire on her desktop office computer. No one else was left in the facility besides the night orderlies, security, and the inmates, so when Jonathan knocked on the door, she buzzed him in without question, eyes still focused on the screen in front of her.

He came in, closing the door behind him, and when she didn't greet him straight away, he walked around to her side of the desk to see what she was looking at. She just needed a place for the three of spades, and everything else would fall into place, but she was about to give up on it when Jonathan reached over and took the mouse from her, finishing the board in a few clicks.

"I hate you." El put her face in her hands, annoyed at having missed the clear space for the card.

"Thank you. Are you ready?" She nodded and shut off the dinosaur of a computer and gathered her things.

"Is there anything I should know before we do this? Anything you need from me?"

"No, all you need to do is watch, but you can administer the serum if you'd like." He pushed his glasses up his nose as they stepped into the hallway.

"I think I'd rather watch you do it the first time, just to get an idea of what to expect. Where are we going?"

"Service elevator goes to the basement. And that's fine, just don't report me."

"I'm afraid you're stuck with me." El pushed on the door to ensure that it was locked, a habit she had developed to make sure that Zsasz couldn't be waiting in her office for her when she returned.

"Damn," Jonathan replied with dry sarcasm before, "ow," when she smacked him on the arm as they started walking for the service elevator. "If you're going to hit me, can't you at least pretend that you don't want to hurt me?"

"Yeah, yeah. Maybe I'll be your bodyguard when people show up outside your apartment with pitchforks and torches."

"I'll hold you to that." He pressed the 'down' button to call the elevator and, once inside, produced a key to allow them access to the basement. "That woman from the DA's office, Rachel Dawes, seems to think I'm up to something; maybe you should track her down."

"You are up to something." El reminded him as the elevator began its descent.

"She doesn't know that. She just happens to be right." Elianna laughed softly and followed him into the dingy hallway when the doors reopened. He led her into the third closet on the left and shut the door behind them.

"Hey, this reminds me." She chimed up, and Jonathan squinted at her through the darkness. "If we don't start having sex, Harley is going to be really disappointed in us."

"Oh my God," he muttered, and she laughed as she followed him to the back of the closet.

"Yeah, that's basically what I said. I just thought it was funny. What are you doing?" Jonathan was pushing aside a stack of mattresses leaned against the wall, revealing a loose panel, which he removed and gestured for her to step in first. "Seriously?" He gave her a confused look, to which she sighed in conceit and walked through to the other side of the wall, muttering something about cliches. "Why is this even here?"

Well," Jonathan cleared his throat and stepped through after her, replacing the panel. "This place has been around for a couple of hundred years, and as you know, asylums used to be a place to shove people that society didn't want to deal with. They renovated a few decades ago but never actually got rid of these old chambers, just walled them off. In fact, they even had it soundproofed. I haven't been able to figure out why, but it's convenient. Believe it or not, I'm not the first doctor with cause to mistreat patients; I think whoever was in charge during that renovation probably wasn't the best person either." El nodded in understanding, and they went down a short flight of iron stairs, which took them around one last corner.

Elianna slowed at the tableau before her. Zsasz was strapped to an old transport dolly by the neck, abdomen, wrists, and ankles, clearly agitated by how he squirmed.

"How...how did you get him down here?"

"Well, those guards that were in the room with you that day felt bad about what happened and took the opportunity to make it up to you."

"The stairs?" She turned around and looked at them, then back at Zsasz.

"He was moved here on the dolly. It's my understanding that he didn't particularly enjoy being wheeled down the stairs." Jonathan put his hand on El's back and guided her all the way into the spacious...What would you even call this? A torture chamber?

When they came all the way into view, Zsasz finally noticed them. The way his voice washed over Elianna was all too familiar and reminiscent of something cold and scaley, like a dead fish, but this time she was able to brush off the sensation. She held the power here.

"Doctor Montgomery! Have you come to conduct our next session? I think we're really starting to make progress." The deranged man laughed as he struggled harder against the leather cuffs; as they approached, El could see that they were reinforced.

"Mister Zsasz, you'll be helping me with an experiment tonight. Doctor Montgomery is here as a witness, and I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from speaking to her." Jonathan interjected before El could say anything.

***

For the first time, Zsasz seemed uneasy, and his eyes followed Jonathan's briefcase as he set it on a nearby table, unlatched it, and then revealed a false bottom. "I do hope that you aren't uncomfortable with needles," he continued as he produced a syringe and a vial of stale-looking, yellowish liquid. "Usually, I would prefer to use a gaseous form of this compound, but I'm afraid I only have one gas mask with me, and Doctor Montgomery and I are both very interested in seeing the results of this experiment." Jonathan monologued as he prepared the syringe.

El moved to sit on the table next to the briefcase setup, and Zsasz made sharp eye contact with her, and she felt a chill run down her spine for the first time in days. She found that she had almost missed the feeling as she held his glassy stare with one of her own. A vision of him in a few minutes writhing against his restraints, screaming until his lungs filled with blood suddenly appeared in her mind, and the thought made her smile involuntarily.

Zsasz, on the other hand, hadn't been expecting for her to smile and frowned uneasily, making a more desperate attempt to wriggle out of the restraints as he returned his attention to what Jonathan was doing, which was to take a voice recorder out of his case, switch it on and begin speaking into it.

"Serum fifteen, experiment one. Subject name: Victor Zsasz," he spoke into the receiver before setting on the table and advancing on Zsasz, not bothering to sterilize the injection site. El leaned forward to watch the injection, fascinated to see what would happen next.  

Jonathan stepped away from the dolly, and already Zsasz was visibly shuddering and straining against the cuffs holding him in place. El got to her feet and slowly moved closer to examine the effects.

"How does it work?" She asked, observing the way Zsasz's eyes flitted about the room as his breathing intensified. Behind her, Jonathan smiled at her curiosity before explaining.

"The serum introduces higher glucose levels in the bloodstream. Once it reaches the brain,  the compound amps up the output of cortisol, glutamate, and adrenaline to the amygdala. In addition to that, the flower I told you about naturally produces a high concentration of a powerful hallucinogenic compound. Altogether, it causes the brain to go into a state of terror and hallucinate things they fear. The aerosolized version works faster, but you don't have a mask, so it should kick in any time now."

Just as Jonathan finished his explanation, Zsasz began screaming. Closer to howling actually, a haunting, inhuman sound that made Elianna furrow her brow as Jonathan spoke quietly into his voice recorder. El leaned closer to Zsasz's face to further assess his experience. His eyes shifted to her face with dilated pupils, and a look of horror overtook his face, all the while screaming and pulling at his cuffs so hard that she was surprised that he hadn't dislocated anything yet.

"What is he seeing?" El inquired, pulling away from the screaming, terrified maniac before her. Jonathan brought the voice recorder closer, now standing next to her.

"Mr. Zsasz, would you mind telling us what you see?" The howling and thrashing gave way to paranoid muttering and sudden, jerking movements as if he could catch the restraints off guard and trick them into releasing him.

"Get it out, get it out of here," Zsasz demanded in a desperate voice through gritted teeth, repeating it over and over. Jonathan frowned slightly, retreating to his briefcase and removing a burlap mask, at which Elianna couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Was that Scarecrow, or do you still have a fixation on the one that was out on your property?"

"Where do you think Scarecrow came from, El?" He retorted distractedly as he removed his glasses and put on the mask, crossing back over to Zsasz. "Tell me what you see, Victor." He ordered again, looming over the scarred man.

"Get it out!" Zsasz screamed again in response.

"I can't take it away unless you tell me what it is," Jonathan's voice had become low and impatient; he must be trying really hard to keep Scarecrow back since I'm here. Zsasz looked Jonathan, or rather the mask, in the eyes—eyeholes?—and his breathing grew even louder as he ground his teeth.

"Don't you see it? The water! It's rising so quickly; you have to get it out if here, or we'll all drown!" The thought of drowning causes Zsasz to begin hyperventilating.

"Aquaphobia," El mused, leaning back in. "Does that stem from your parents' accident, Victor? They died on a boat if I'm not mistaken." The desperate screaming resumed, and El observed as it was interrupted by a coughing sputter, as though he were trying not to drown. That's interesting. Zsasz's mind had produced such a life-like delusion of rising water that his body was reacting as though it were really there, and all the while, Jonathan had taken the mask off and was speaking quickly and quietly into his recording device.

After only a few more minutes, Zsasz's gasping breaths and twitching slowed and eventually stopped as his head lolled to the side. Jonathan checked his pulse to assess whether or not he was dead.

***

"Subject has fallen unconscious at," Jonathan took a moment from his notes to check his watch, "twenty-five minutes." He switched off the device and turned to replace all of his equipment into his case, returning his glasses to his face.

"Twenty-five? Really?" Elianna took one last look at Zsasz's unconscious, vulnerable face. "Didn't feel that long."

"No, because you enjoyed it, you should have seen your face," Jonathan informed in a light voice as he relatched his case and tilted his head for her to walk with him back up the stairs. "Eyes all lit up-"

"Look who's talking. What's with that mask?"

"Some subjects react more strongly to it. It makes them more likely to cooperate."

"I guess that makes sense...hey, are we just leaving him down here?"

"The guards will take him back up when they see us leave; no one else will ever know." He reassured her and went first through the panel, pushing the spare mattresses back over it once they were both out. "Are you hungry? We can pick up something to eat on the way home." El hummed in response.

They emerged from the bowels of Arkham and were approaching the car when a sudden thought struck her. "Are you afraid of anything?" Jonathan looked down at her, face impassive, and opened the passenger door for her, moving to the driver's side once she was in.

"Just Granny," he finally replied after closing and locking the door.

"That's it?" She got a nod in response.

"In the early stages of the project, I hadn't figured out the system for test subjects yet, so I had to test it on myself. I had to learn to push down many things to record the results reliably, and eventually, I had done it so much that none of the other things even made an appearance anymore. I still get hallucinations of things that are traditionally 'scary,' but I get none of the accompanying physical symptoms."

"So, controlled, repeated exposure to the toxin can slowly start to eliminate your fear response?"

"It's either that, or it's possible to build up somewhat of an immunity to the toxin, which I think is more likely," Jonathan commented and finally started the car. They drove in silence for a few minutes, and Elianna found herself once again trying to make a life-changing decision.

"Do you think it would work on me?" The question catches Jonathan off-guard enough to tear his eyes away from the road for a moment to give her a look of surprise.

"Are you asking me to dose you?"

"I think I am, as long as you think it's safe." He sucked in a deep breath, his face stern, and Elianna fell silent to let him think.

"It could work, but we'll use the original formula just in case. It's the one I've tested the most, so there's less of a risk."

"Then let's do it." She said without hesitation. If there was one thing she had learned over the last week, it was that there was no use in resisting her impulses. Jonathan nodded slowly. Every day was becoming more interesting than the last with her around again, and he had the feeling that that wouldn't change any time soon.

#the mind's power over the body #jonathan crane #scarecrow #batman begins #nolanverse #elianna montgomery #jonathan crane x ofc #slight au #fanfiction #multi chapter fic #attraction to the insane #cillian murphy #cillian murphy scarecrow #tmpotb chapter 11

[letstalkaboutwebcomics]

Let’s Talk About Heartstopper!

Please be sure you’ve read Ye Olde Disclaimer so you know what exactly is going on here. Beware… SPOILERS AHEAD!

Oh, Heartstopper, the feel-good comic of my heart. Dramatics aside, Heartstopper is a precious romance comic following the technical footsteps of slice-of-life. It’s written and drawn by Alice Oseman, who is the author of a number of novels. The Heartstopper storyline takes place in the greater universe of Alice’s novel Solitaire, so if you read it you’ll find the same characters on different adventures. Heartstopper is more of an episodic look into the backstory of Nick and Charlie’s relationship- two boys at an all-boys grammar school who find each other and work their way through what life throws at them. In Alice’s own words: “It doesn’t work as a novel because there’s no overarching drama - because it’s just real life. Just one normal, loving relationship between two people.”

So, onto the things about Heartstopper that I love! The first thing I look at when reading a comic is how exposition is handled right off the bat. Heavy-handed exposition is all good when it makes sense in the context of the story and avoids random info-dumping, especially within the first few pages. And thankfully, Heartstopper managed exposition delivery wonderfully! We are able to learn about Nick and Charlie’s personalities and backstories incrementally, and understand them as people solidly within a few interactions with them. It feels like getting to know a person naturally rather than being lectured about them, which sets up reader attachment. Right away, unforced, we have reasons to care about Nick and Charlie, which makes it easier to empathize with them and what they do.

Speaking of Nick, I can’t gush enough about how wonderful he is. Nick is just a downright lovable character, between his powerful love for other people, his big huggable design, and the fact that he simply does not half-ass anything. He runs with his emotions, never hesitating to come to the defense of someone who needs it, regardless of what it means for his own social standing. The way his bisexuality is handled is great, especially because his process of learning about what it means for him is an important and well considered part of the story. Charlie, having intimate personal knowledge on the struggles of balancing your identity with the rest of the world, is completely supportive of his journey. Which brings me to my next point…

Nick and Charlie support and uplift each other in so many vital ways. And in these ways, the story manages to subvert a number of huge tropes it could easily have fallen victim to. I’m so, so, glad it doesn’t. For one, the miscommunication trope. There are a number of times where the story seems like it might be going in this direction, but every time without fail, it pivots back to Nick and Charlie openly communicating with each other about their feelings, current events, and their concerns. This is the basis for a healthy relationship, so seeing that openness and fortification is so refreshing (Note I’m only talking briefly about this trope, and there are many nuances to it that differ between stories, so it really is situational). Because of this, these instances enhance the plot, rather than bogging it down.

Another facet of the story that was well managed amidst the danger of potential issues is Charlie’s backstory. Charlie being bullied is an important and realistic facet of his character; It informs who he is and how he engages with others, believably. But seeing as this is a story in [mostly] the aftermath of it, I’m happy that it focuses more on his healing and finding happiness rather than dwelling too much. The balance here is good. We need to engage with Charlie’s past because it’s what led to the current events, but we are still able to look toward the future. The elements that follow him into the current timeline, such as his interactions with Ben, are huge driving forces where I think the framing was handled nicely. Seeing Ben get his ass beat by Nick was incredibly cathartic even though we had only seen a few developmental points of him by that point, which is points to it being well executed. In addition, it’s important in a story like this to see Charlie find power within himself that is not completely hinged on a protector. The last time (in-story) that he has a tense encounter with Ben, he finds that power, which… as cathartic as it was watching Nick intervene, it was even more so this time watching Charlie deal the final blow himself. I actually whooped out loud.

Side note, a trope I love: the classic Accidentally-Falling-On-Each-Other-And-Getting-Flustered trope :^)

Now onto the technical stuff. Alice’s creativity when it comes to panel layout and formation is absolutely fantastic. It breaks the monotony of a vertical scroll format and makes the actual act of reading and scrolling part of the movement of the story. The parts where story elements like leaves and flowers escape the frame are such a joy, and the instances where a moment is huge and emotional and the frame dissolves into flying objects… It takes my breath away! Using these objects to effectively space out the panels also helps with the flow of the story, so it can slow the reader down and force things to sink in better. Pacing is definitely one of the hardest things to work with in webcomics, so, well done!

Lastly, I want to look at the implications for the future, especially in regards to Charlie’s mental illness. This was definitely a given based on all the info we’ve been provided thus far. Seeing as Heartstopper is a backstory comic, there’s likely a lot of info out there outside of it and it’s obviously no secret that Nick and Charlie end up together- and very happy, at that. I haven’t read Solitaire yet so I’d like to revisit this when I’ve read it and when the comic has delved into this territory. I’m eager to see how these subjects will be handled, and I can’t wait to read every update along the way!

Now, go read Heartstopper and leave lots of comments, favs, and reblogs!

You can support Alice by:

Checking out her Portfolio

Buying Alice’s Books

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Buying something from her Shop

Following her on Tumblr

And, as always, tell your friends!!!

#heartstopper #webcomic #essays #comic reviews #LGBT Webcomic #essay #review

[bethadastra]

A Thing

Thanks @commander-hot-pants for the tag! ❤️ Always happy to overshare!

1. You’re trapped in a room with your 3 favorite characters. What is happening? Are they getting along? 

Um I would hope so, though it’d probably be more awkward than I’m imagining… Lisbeth Salander would be ignoring everyone, Seven of Nine would be disapproving of everything in the room, and Garrus Vakarian would be making terrible dad jokes a la ME1 elevator scenes. I think they’d bond over how messed up they think humans are though :) And I’d be in the corner fangirling soooo bad.

2. Which would you rather have, a holodeck that exists outside of time, or a replicator that can create anything already in existence? 

Definitely the holodeck outside of time. I’m a kinetic learner and would use that holodeck so that I know how to do everything from speak more languages to skiing well. I’d also use the holodeck to catch up on commissions and take secret naps.

3. You’ve been transported to 2182. (your) Shepard is walking towards you, and you have half an hour to change the timeline. What do you do? 

I TELL SHEPARD NOT TO LET NIHLUS GO AHEAD OF HER. But I’d say it in a super cryptic riddle-y way so that it only makes sense when she finally meets Nihlus. Because I’m an asshole like that.

4. What is your best memory? Say as much or as little as you want. 

Um I honestly have too many to choose from??? But a current fave is last week when I set my partner’s toy drone on the ground where my dog could see it, and he. Totally. Flipped. He hates drones and wants to catch them but also has a healthy fear of the props, so as soon as it was on the ground he was making these hilarious whimper-growls and was pawing at the props so much it looked like he was doing the hokey-pokey. It’s a delightful memory.

5. Would you rather fight a horse sized duck or a dozen duck sized horses? 

To the death?? The duck, because I don’t want to live in a world with ducks that big.

6. What is your favorite texture? 

I have a poly-blend sweater that is the most perfect fabric texture ever; I loved it so much that I got a second sweater (and I never buy duplicate clothing items).

7. Do you have a secret/obscure talent or skill you wanna tell us about? 

I’m scary fast at solitaire. But I’m terrible at every other card game.

8. What is your dump stat? 

Lets just ignore the fact that I had to google what a dump stat is. Dexterity. Grace and coordination is for the birds.

9. For the rest of your life water tastes like another liquid. You can pour it straight from the tap, it has all the benefits of water, but to you it tastes like the liquid. What liquid? 

DR PEPPER. It’s the only soda I like, and 99% of the time I ask for it when I go out. Not sure how that’ll affect my ability to cook things or go swimming, but that’s a battle for another day.

10. How would 15 year old you think about where you are right now? 

She would be intimidated AF around me. I don’t think she’d have the guts to say it, but she has a lot of respect for people who try new things on their own (something I do a lot now). She’d be really impressed that I’m living in a big city, got a good education, and that I’m working at a dream job with a great social network and a plethora of once-in-a-lifetime experiences. She’d also probably be very distraught over the fact that her-in-the-future still gets acne and cramps.

Here’s my Super Original Questions™ for... @sunshine-ita @theravenofwynter @wafflesrock16 @springonpalaven @skylo-ben @nitrostreak @rogue-spectre @kestrelsansjesses @vorchagirl @scientistsalarian and anyone I might have forgotten who would like to overshare :)))

1.     Last book you read?

2.     If you were a nonhuman species from Mass Effect, which would you be?

3.     What’s your favorite #hashtag to use?

4.     Do you have any superstitions or things that make you lucky/unlucky?

5.     Baking or cooking?

6.     Where’s a place in the world that you haven’t been to yet, but would love to visit?

7.     Does your main Shepard have a face claim? Who is it?

8.     What is your remedy for recovering from a cold?

9.     What is your favorite time of day?

10.  Somebody gives you $1000, and the only rule is that it has to be spent today for yourself only. What do you spend it on?

#Beth does a thing