#what is the watsonian explanation...

[amarriageoftrueminds]

Hot take but the more I think about it the more I reckon they should've left the Russian aspect out of the Winter Soldier in the MCU. 

I know it's a part of the comics, and the name is meant to evoke the Cold War (Russian, Winter), but IMO it better suits the ‘Gitmo Army brat’ Bucky of the comics than the ‘Arnie Roth’ Bucky of the MCU; it doesn't fit with the MCU's specific backstory parameters. (Plus conflating Russian/KGB with SHIELD/Hydra just muddies the waters, for no particular purpose.)

Examples:

If Bucky was tortured by Nazi doctors in Russia it would've been under Operation Osoaviakhim, not Paperclip.

It doesn't make sense that Russians would name him after an American's quote about America. That's the exact opposite of what Russians would do.

Whereas it’s exactly what Americans would do if he was in American hands when the WS was created (ie. from early on). If comics!Steve can quote Mark Twain it doesn’t make sense that people don’t recognise a Thomas Paine reference in-universe. 

It doesn't make any sense, logistically, that the WS is tortured and operated on by Zola, who is in America (and stays there until he dies), unless the WS is also in America from early on.

(Per Agent Carter) It also doesn’t make any sense that the man who created the WS mind-control techniques -- Doctor Fennhoff/Faustus -- is working for the SSR in America, with Zola, if the WS himself is not also in America when those techniques are implemented. 

(And we know that that tech stayed in America, not Russia, because in the Black Widow movie the Red Room had to go undercover in Ohio just to steal it, and this was in 1995!)

It seems significant that we only see the WS in Siberia a mere 10 days before the Dissolution of the Soviet Union (and Howard Stark knew about him / recognised him instantly, and called him Sergeant Barnes, like Zola did.) 

It doesn't make sense that the WS is shown being conveniently stored in a local urban bank vault in Washington, DC... but was previously shoved hundreds of miles out of the way, in the Siberian wilderness, where it would've been a massive pain in the ass for any American Hydra to get hold of him. (And if they did, for some reason, want to massively inconvenience themselves just for a cold-name’s sake, why not Canada or Alaska?) 

It doesn't make sense that MCU WS is shown exclusively speaking English to the American Hydra agents who have control of him in the present day... but then all his control-words were in Russian and suddenly he speaks only Russian to handlers before this... And yet, he’s back to speaking English again in the flashbacks from TFATWS?? 🤦‍♀️

IMO it would've just been simpler and more straight-forward if it was just Nazis who found Bucky at the bottom of the ravine, not Russians (might even explain why he didn't escape, post-fall but pre-brain damage; he would've been thinking he'd get repatriated pretty soon, when the war's over... and he's kinda right 😭). 

And it would ram home the 'we were the ones doing wrong' horror of CATWS, if Bucky had just been on US soil the entire time and nobody good knew.

Possible scenario: 

The Russians who found Bucky wounded in WWII handed him over to the Americans, since the war wasn’t over yet and the two sides were ‘officially’ still allies. (And/or because they didn’t realise what they had, and/or he was part of some POW exchange deal.)

By the time Stark, Carter & Phillips found out, they had already hired Zola and Fennhoff. 

They intended to use Bucky to reboot the eugenicist supersoldier program and also experiment in the field of mind control (a la Project Artichoke, MK/Ultra etc.) Which they knew people would object to, so they kept Bucky’s recovery quiet from the other Commandos, his family, etc. 

SHIELDra had Bucky in America all along, and the whole Russian Boogeyman / Russian weapons thing was just a cover so that Hydra Demagogues could blame every WS hit on the USSR, and thereby drum up convenient anti-Communist hysteria during the Cold War. 

(After scientists were sent there to work under Operation Osoaviakhim, Hydra grew slowly in Russia -- with the rise of (anti-Communist) capitalism, and with Fascism being typically the resort of anti-authority criminal classes. Hydra ideology flourished much more quickly in the US (where it would be conformist-authoritarian, not anti-authoritarian), because the US was already capitalist, and had already been doing Hydra eugenic science like Project Rebirth, back in WWII.)

Being a greedy liar and a thief, Howard Stark decided to take advantage of the end of the Cold War by selling the WS to the Soviet branch of Hydra, just days before the Dissolution of the Soviet Union made it moot, and stealing the WS from the Pentagon to patent it himself. 

He sold Bucky complete with the Red Book, which the Russians either translated while reading aloud, re-wrote in Russian for their own purposes (explaining why an American organisation’s supersoldier appears to have Russian trigger words; perhaps he doesn’t, they would work in any language?) and why Zemo read them aloud in Russian.

(And/or, maybe the Americans really did use Russian trigger words on Bucky, to perpetuate the ‘definitely-not-American’ Boogeyman mythos?) 

The Russians realised they had been double-crossed by Stark, and sent the WS after him and his wife in retribution, and to steal the WS serum back (which Stark may or may not have also promised but failed to deliver.) 

The other US intelligence agencies failed to look into it more closely because, once they discovered the sale of the WS, and the theft of the serum, they considered Stark and his wife traitors / double-agents, and thought it was best for PR if the whole thing was hushed up.

Despite now having a mind-controlled super soldier of their own, the Russians didn’t have the secret of creating new mind-control. This explains why they couldn’t control the other Winter Soldiers (despite them being Hydra ideologues before serum), and why the Red Room had to go undercover in America, to steal the secret of mind-control from SHIELD in 1995. 

Why would they have to go to America to get that intel, if it was already in Russia?

#dat's me #bucky barnes #bucky meta #meta #mcu #mcu meta #POSSBLE SCENARIO UNDER THE CUT #bout to post a hot take while spaced out and sleep-deprived #always a wise decision! #of course it doesn't follow that a thing is good just because it is in the comics #it could be a comic written by mark millar after all #what is the watsonian explanation... #for this preposterous east coast american / siberian wilderness set up?? #what does the russian aspect add to it? why was it necessary for the plot? #at first it looked like the russian stuff was just a cover up by americans to conceal bucky's true identity #but then in CACW they went full blown russian with it and that.... doesn't actually make sense for this MCU #time for a catnap

[eudaemon-m]

why is fu hua just walking around in garuda form in the event.....

#ik the meta explanation is that they gotta sell the battlesuit #but whats the watsonian one? #honkai impact #herrscher of sentience #fu hua

[sneez]

more of my oc tervis (any pronouns), the creepiest most miserable little weirdo in town. which is saying something [id under cut]

/ ID: four digital drawings.

The first image is a series of drawings of Tervis on a paper-textured background. A heading at the top reads 'Tervis (Humble)'. One is a coloured headshot of Tervis looking to the left; they have a gaunt face, short receding hair, a scar bisecting their lip and right eyebrow, greyish skin, and are wearing a red shawl around their neck. An arrow pointing at their right eye reads 'one blue eye (mostly blind)'; another arrow pointing at their left eye reads 'one brown eye'. They have a serious, hostile expression. The second drawing is an uncoloured full-body sketch of Tervis. Next to this is the same drawing but coloured and with more polished lineart. Tervis is a thin, hunched figure wearing a long, dark brown robe, a greyish bag on their back, and a red shawl around their head and neck. They are barefoot, and are leaning on a walking staff with both hands. An arrow pointing to the walking staff reads 'needed for walking, useful for hitting'. Tied to the belt around their waist are several long scrolls of paper with writing on them. An arrow pointing to the scrolls reads ''blessings' they paste on infected houses'. Tervis is looking warily out at the viewer from beneath their eyebrows. An arrow pointing to their head reads 'scar from getting hit in the face with a brick (also knocked out a tooth)'. Alongside these drawings are a series of bullet points giving information about Tervis. These read:

   indeterminate age, indeterminate gender

   religious fanatic (unclear which religion)

   lives alone somewhere in the steppe

   dislikes everyone but is nicer to children than anyone else

   has every disease

The second image is a fake screenshot from the video game Pathologic. Tervis is looking out at the viewer; the background shows scenery from the steppe. The text on screen reads:

CHANGELING: I still don’t see what you could have done that would make you personally responsible for this plague. TERVIS: Responsible… no, not merely responsible! This is my plague, cast upon my head alone. I am the originator; my sin is at the root of all. I have ventured into the town. I have seen the canker there. No matter how many houses I bless, my sickness sinks deeper. The rotted limb is the death of the body… Surely you understand me. You are a healer, are you not? CHANGELING: What is it that you are asking me to do? TERVIS: Let me be the lamb, worker of miracles! My blood shall wet the earth, and bright flowers shall grow… My putrefaction will provide the soil within which new life will burgeon, pure and free of sin and decay. Let it be done. I am ready. My failing flesh is but little sacrifice; in death my weakness will be my strength. Soon these torments will be at an end.

Below are two dialogue options:

You’re insane!

What makes you so sure your death would solve anything?

The third image is a fake screenshot from the video game Pathologic 2. Tervis is looking out at the viewer, and has been painted in semi-realistic style. The text on screen reads:

Tervis: Why do you force me to live? Damn you! Your cure is poison to me. Now I shall never be blessed. You should have left me to bleed.

Below are three dialogue options:

Don’t be absurd. I wasn’t going to watch you die.

What makes you think you deserve suffering?

I wish I had.

At the bottom of the image is a line of dialogue which Tervis has just spoken:

The air is foul. There is rot in this place. The stench of corruption shall be – what was it? What was it? The stench of corruption shall be… swept aside…

The fourth image is a coloured scene depicting Tervis and Clara. They are central in the composition; around them is the steppe, which has been rendered in a loose, painterly style. Tervis is kneeling, their walking staff cast aside, and are reaching out their hands to Clara in a desperate, pleading gesture. They are crying, their face contorted in an expression of agonised ecstasy. Clara stands beside them, one hand reaching out, the other held above Tervis’s head as though about to touch their brow. She has a solemn, pained expression. Behind her head, a break in the dark clouds gives the impression that she is haloed by sunlight; rays of the same light fall onto Tervis, illuminating their face and red robe. End ID. /

#artwork #pathologic #tervis!!!!!!!!!!!! :-D #sorry i know ive already posted that fake p2 screenshot i just wanted to keep all my tervis images in one place. please forgive me #i am having. So Much Fun. i would explode and die for tervis shes the worst i adore her #making fake screenshots is so enjoyable i love trying to match the fonts and copying all the little ui details it's so fun highly recommend #i have a lot of tervis lore which i am still developing but hopefully these drawings give you some idea of his character #hes just a mess really. hes got every imaginable problem #that last drawing is her getting sacrificed in the humble ending. she is SO happy about it #also if you didnt see my last post tervis was originally a warhammer 40k oc (which he still is ive just made a bonus pathologic tervis now) #but ive tried to keep a lot of 40k stuff in her design like the blessing scrolls and the uh. Posture #that's also my reasoning for why nobody knows what his religion is. the watsonian explanation is they are just spouting incomprehensible #disjointed passages from some obscure scripture which nobody can identify (and who would want to try really. tervis is not good company) #but the doylist explanation is that it's literally just the cult mechanicus. just ignore all the references to the weakness of the flesh and #the glory of the machine it will all be fine nothing weird here at all #anyway :-) i could talk about tervis forever but i will stop now #i hope you are all well my dear friends! i am on holiday now wahoo #i am also aware that i have several messages to answer which i will do very soon i am so sorry for being so slow as usual #i love you all i am giving you individual kisses on your individual heads. mwah

[pocketramblr]

I cannot stop thinking about how freakishly prepared vigs-era Tensei is, like, "let me bring multiple sets of backup communicators that are EMP resistant and link to my agency office to this fun party I'm going to, you know, just in case someone attacks and communications are cut and I need to be able to reach not just my team but other heroes there and call for outside aid, like getting a metric ton of steel cables delivered in minutes".

Does he do that at every party? Is he constantly carrying around a big bag or two of spare coms, support tech, first aid kits, and other emergency gear? What led him to decide to do that? And he's got to be networking like crazy to be getting some of these things, no wonder he's constantly getting new and varied people on his team to expand what plans they can throw together at any given moment.

But this also makes him splitting off from his group that he specifically organized to best combat Stain when he hears something weird truly stupid of him, like really just picked up the idiot ball there

#Tensei ten years ago: i wanna be a hero who helps kids :) that's cool :) #Tensei five years ago: i have the tools and plans for anything and if i don't? i have a guy who does. #Tensei now: oh huh wonder what made that weird sound in that alley in the city where the guy who kills people in alleys is #what is going on with this man #(i know the doylist explanation shush. I'm trying to figure out the watsonian one)

[lord-squiggletits]

Okay another instance of "fuck canon" that's not just Pharma-related, but Ambulon related. I keep thinking of Luna-1 where Ambulon called Pharma "Doctor DJD" and I feel like that's such a total "he would not fucking say that" moment. Obv JRO controls the characterization so what's in the comics is canon/right, I just think that it doesn't make sense for someone in Ambulon's position with his backstory to be that petty towards Pharma?

Ambulon's a Decepticon traitor, he's on the DJD's List. Moreover, he's stationed on Messatine which is the DJD's home planet and is (was?) still an active battle front until very recently.

Proof that Messatine being the DJD's territory is common knowledge: not only First Aid, who's stationed at Delphi, but also at least three Autobots on the Lost Light, know that the DJD make Messatine their home. And this is long before Pharma does his monologue to Ratchet about his t-cog blackmail with Tarn.

Proof that Delphi/the nucleon mines were in an active warzone at least until Pharma started his plague: Pharma wouldn't have had any t-cogs to harvest if there wasn't a continuous stream of soldiers/war-dead coming in to use as his supply.

So then, Ambulon knew fully well that he and all of the rest of them were right next to the DJD's home base, and as an ex-Decepticon he knows he would be on the list. Probably not very high on the list, since Ambulon was a mere MTO who got turned into a failed combiner experiment, but he IS on the list; just because the DJD only proceed through the list in order of importance, doesn't mean that Ambulon wouldn't know that they'd come for him eventually.

And this is a really fucking neat idea to play around with! We don't ever get a canon/explicit explanation for why Prowl decided to station those three medics on Delphi, especially one who's an ex-Con on an execution list. Did Ambulon have a choice? Or was he told to go there with no argument? Either way, I think Ambulon deserves some major kudos, because he must have ball (bearings) of steel to be an ex-Con in DJD territory without constantly being on the verge of a mental breakdown or panic attack. I could honestly write a whole post on the question of "why were these three stationed on Messatine" in itself, but that's for another time.

The point I'm trying to make here is basically that Ambulon of all people should've been sympathetic to the circumstances that drove Pharma to do what he did: they were ALL stationed in the DJD's territory and they knew it, they ALL knew that the DJD's playbook is horrific torturous murder, they ALL knew that Ambulon was a former Decepticon. It wouldn't take a genius for everyone at Delphi to piece together the fact that the DJD would come for Ambulon eventually if either he wasn't evacuated or Delphi as a whole wasn't evacuated. But I mean, this is wartime, right? Every soldier is risking their life, everyone could die at any moment. They can't close down Delphi or evacuate all of the personnel in an active war front battling over a mine just because a medic or three might feel unsafe. Nowhere in war is safe. If High Command let everyone abandon their posts who was afraid of being killed, nothing would ever get done because war comes with inherent risk of death that all soldiers accept by participating, as well as accepting the obligation to follow orders on threat of punishment. (Almost as if Pharma couldn't have just evacuated or run away like Ratchet suggested, but JRO clearly isn't a military expert so I'll digress/chalk it up to "wasn't plot relevant to bring up".)

We got all of like, two pages that showed Pharma and Ambulon's working relationship, and the best we have besides that is JRO's word of god that Pharma and Ambulon had 'mutual reluctant respect' for each other. It's highly unlikely that the two were best buddies regardless, but I don't think you need to be friends with someone like Pharma, while sharing the same situation as him, to be a little more sympathetic to him? Like I get that Ambulon would be offended by the idea of his boss trying to frame him for murder to cover up his own murders, but the "Doctor DJD" line always seemed weirdly callous and petty to me. "Doctor DJD" implies that Pharma was some sort of willing collaborator or servant to the DJD which clearly wasn't the case. And I find it hard to believe that Ambulon, who knows exactly what kind of people the DJD are, would have an opinion of Pharma that was just "oh he should've tried harder/been less of a coward and resisted." Hell, Ambulon's reaction to Sonic and Boom showing up at Delphi asking for refuge was to instantly take pity on them and offer them shelter immediately; if he feels protective/sympathetic towards literal random nobody Decepticon soldiers, shouldn't he have at least as much feeling (if not more) for another Autobot who he worked with and supposedly had respect for?

Assuming that Ambulon got the full details of Pharma's blackmail deal. I mean, there's no reason to assume that Ratchet would've lied to First Aid and Ambulon about what Pharma told him (unless??? conspiracy theory!!!!) , so Ambulon should've heard about the t-cog deal and how it was the only reason the DJD didn't raze Delphi to the ground so long ago. Then again, maybe Pharma's story got explained to him and First Aid via Ratchet's extremely judgemental take on events, so who knows how much of Pharma's side of the story Ambulon would've actually known.

But wouldn't it be so much more interesting if, instead of sneering at Pharma as "Doctor DJD", Ambulon had a more conflicted perspective of Pharma's face-heel turn? Would he wonder how it is that someone who he had such respect for could've been so despicable? Or, more sympathetically, would Ambulon ever wonder if Tarn threatening Delphi was his fault for being there? Would Ambulon wonder what he would've done in Pharma's position, being forced to bargain to postpone his own horrific execution? Would he be angry at Prowl or the higher-ups for stationing them all in such a dangerous post to begin with?

I mean, the answer is that Ambulon was a tertiary cast member at best, to the point that half of his appearances on the Lost Light literally are shown in retrospect after he died, so there would've been no room to explore this in the plot, and Ambulon and Pharma were way lower priority compared to other, more important protagonists. I just think it would be interesting to explore these questions in other metas and fan works.

And yes, I do think Ambulon would not fucking say that ("Doctor DJD") regardless of what canon actually says lmao.

#squiggposting #pharma apologism #i mean it's not really pharma apologism. only a little. but this is mostly about ambulon #g1 idw #meta #long post #come on JRO you can't tell me that pharma and ambulon had mutual respect for each other #and then expect that to mesh with ambulon calling pharma doctor djd so callously later #SURE ambulon could just be that disgusted by pharma's actions but. given the context delphi was in? #it would be weird if ambulon's own fear of the DJD/sympathy for its victims didn't inform his perspective #i just think that like. the watsonian explanation of 'ambulon just hates pharma for what he did' is way less satisfying #than the obvious doylist explanation of 'JRO didn't plan for all of the implications and wasn't gonna flesh out these rando side characters #so in this case i feel like it's better to diverge from canon and explore the implications that it didn't address #than to just accept canon's overly simplified depiction of ambulon just unilaterally hating pharma #however i do think it's IC of first aid to hate pharma and not care about the circumstances. he seems like that kind of hotheaded person

[verygoodbeastarsfaces]

LITERALLYYYYYYYY DONT PISS ME OFFFFFFF rokume is a fucking ADULT being PAID to PROTECT STUDENTS and FIND THE KILLER as her JOB and she enlists A MINOR to DO IT FOR HER what the fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkk

#beastars #legoshi #beastars legoshi #canine #wolf #rokume #snake #volume 7 #ok look i KNOW the reason legoshi is finding the killer is bc hes the protag but like thats the doylist explanation #WHATS THE WATSONIAN JUSTIFICATION FOR THIS SHIT DONT PISS ME OFFFFFFFF #when i was 17 i was reading homestuck and dreaming about kissing eridan ampora like i could not have found a killer dont piss me OFF

[thepineapplering]

What was the reason for Aziraphale to go to the cemetery in the modern days? Besides having him say Grindr, which is reason enough

#grindr is the doylist explanation #what is the watsonian one? #to just look at the statue? #to reminisce? #he doesn't gather any new info there #so why does he go #good omens

[fellhellion]

idk something about miguel and dana and the perpetuity of forever impending marriage neither of them literally ever speak about bringing to fruition beyond the title of fiance

#the watsonian explanations you can make of this are just so interesting to me idk fdskjhfjkds #the formal contract of marriage and the function dana performed emotionally for miguel through their relationship #you are a perpetual bride/groom and one of you approaches the social contract as though it need change nothing about what you desire from #other people. and the other person is like committed in the sense of not stepping out like them but also never speaking on this impending #social contract ever beyond the title of fiance #WHAT #tunes talks 2099

[tortoisesshells]

409.

#doylist explanation: the writers aren't even watching their own show; they simply do not care enough for continuity in the collins history; #watsonian: history - like all narratives - is constructed; and what's about to happen in Collinsport is so unspeakable that the Collinses; #took a sharpie and a butcher knife to their own history rather than face up to it. #1795 arc: both are true. at all times. continuity is a fuck and the Collinses are liars. #the news from collinsport #josette dupres collins #natalie dupres

[airenyah]

with some of these pictures from the high school reunion slide show it's like

who even took these photos??????

#like!! for some of the photos it makes sense like #all the ones from the cristmas concert or the soccer game #those could have easily been taken by a teacher or a fellow student or even a parent #arguably some of the photos as well where the kids are messing around in class #there's one kid who even has their phone out in the picture #so like yeah these could have been taken by a classmate #but the ones above?? where they're actually sitting in a lesson #or from in some other context where it makes no sense to have someone else around who could take a picture?? #pat being punished and pran watching?? their bandmates asking pat where pran went?? #who took those photos??? who else was there?? WHY did they take a photo in that moment?? i don't understand #what's the watsonian explanation for this #bbs #airenyah plappert #bbs ep12 #adrm

[roxasboxas]

Me: hm I think I would like to do a ML AU My already existing KH/ML AU: That's great! Because it's been a while and you haven't really-- Me: No, no. Hear me out.

#twewy #shiki misaki #shiki twewy #neku sakuraba #neku twewy #yoshiya kiryu #joshua twewy #daisukenojo bito #beat twewy #the world ends with you #miraculous ladybug #i literally forgot my twewy tag so ig this is it now #oh whats that? the floating bits in joshua's transformed design? his little doodle being colored differently from everyone elses? #dont worry about them they dont mean anything hes a normal guy ⬅lying #also YES shiki's hero design draws off eri's appearance. it would be weirder for it not to honestly #but i do also have a watsonian explanation for it dw ⬅ telling the truth this time

[fortune-maiden]

I doubt the series will go in this direction but I really hope a future novel has the other Sakuta from Vol 9 turn out to be our Sakuta space/time traveling and we get to see both the broadcasting room event and the thought process behind his note. And why the first event leads to Ikumi Akagi’s appearance at Minegahara

#rascal does not dream of bunny girl senpai #rascal does not dream #bunny girl senpai #this feels more like a haruhi plot #but I like haruhi and I like the haruhi vibes this series has sometimes #also this would be a good way to see what other Sakuta was up to in book 9 because it feels important #we never learn exactly what happened in the broadcasting room #what role Ikumi has in the other world #and why other Sakuta would mention Kirishima #(doylist explanation says buildup and foreshadowing) #(but watsonian senses demand some kind of logic behind it!) #seriously book you can’t give alt timeline shenanigans and not follow up on them! #if the series doesn’t go in this direction I will write my own! xD #I just feel like that note is very important!!!

[amarriageoftrueminds]

https://www.tumblr.com/amarriageoftrueminds/713790828806619137/c-evans-captain-america-civil-war-2016-dir

Re: tags

I always assumed he was ordered not to fight back at full potential in order to not harm the new super soldiers in case their serum wasn’t as good as the one he was given.

Or theory two, he is programmed to ignore pain when he’s protecting his handler.

Probably it’s a bit of both.

(linklink)

I agree!

Especially when you consider that, if this was 'Hydra's elite death squad', then these were the guys probably deployed alongside TWS, just like Rumlow and the Strike team in CATWS.

Meaning, these are the people around him when TWS is being loaded down with knives and handed guns.

So given that he's liable to choke out Hydra mooks when he's having a rough day, the WS probably had a standing order not to target members of the strike team, while he happens to be heavily armed. Cuz that would surely lead to problems.

(Hurhur... chunky prosthetic... heavily armed. geddit?? 🤣)

And also his diffidence seemed to vanish once he was given a secondary (superior?) order by the handler Karpov, whereupon suddenly he could kick ass in his usual style.

#cacw #toAyourQ #dat's me #hey nonny #bucky meta #meta #mcu #mcu meta #bucky barnes #but nonny what I think we've really got here... #is your typical Watsonian/Doylist dichotomy #where fans come up with sensible Watsonian explanations #to plug the gaping holes in Marvel movies #when the Doylist explanation is 'the writers are just dumb.' #yet each man queues the thing he loves

[napneeders]

the funny thing about rhyming landed gentry/granted entry is that it rhymes in American but not the proper way Rhys actually pronounces it

#watsonian explanation Stede forgot what accent he has #ofmd #stede bonnet

[forevercloudnine]

wait a second I just realized Scarecrow in that one panel you posted claims that estrogen is a hormone 'only found in females' which isn't even true since estrogen and testosterone can be found in all humans regardless of gender. how did this man get a doctorate

I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and attribute this faux pas to the amount of traumatic brain injuries Batman villains probably get from being concussed on a regular basis.

#scarecrow #jonathan crane #we joke about edward getting brain damage all the time. and he does! canonically. #but really every criminal that bruce is fighting regularly is going to face the medical consequences right #what's that one batman 2004 comic #where he poaches all of black mask's goons as bruce wayne by pointing out that they don't have health insurance #and the amount of physical trauma batman will put their bodies through will bankrupt them for life #(and then the moral of the comic was that bruce is a good billionaire who gives his employees health care) #ANYWAY. this is the watsonian explanation #the doylist explanation is that batman writers are so blessedly dumb #like in jonathan's 'master of fear' origin story. it's basically stated that he can become a professor after 4 years of undergrad? #which is. NOT how that works

[wolves-in-the-world]

(the gifs in question, for exceedingly weird ep1 eliot vibes)

#because they aren't on my blog and I had to go digging #like i THINK this is what he looks like when he's a specific kind of defensive and irritated and tbh kinda sulking but. goodness knows. #because we don't see this again so IF there's a watsonian explanation it's something about not trusting the team yet #anyway I didn't actually mean to talk about it more here #as per usual I'm blaming how warm it is here. #falderal speaks