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fantastic-nonsense · 1 year

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If you’re comfortable sharing, I’d love to hear more about your thoughts/ideas about religion/the afterlife, and how that’s influencing your Batman religion fic!

the tl;dr is that I'm a cradle Episcopalian whose mother is an Episcopal priest and that's deeply influenced my view on both the afterlife and religion in general. Personally? My view on the afterlife is...probably closest to the "heaven and hell aren't any kind of physical place or specific experience, it's eternal communion/separation from God's grace and your loved ones" interpretation.

Generally, I think that organized religion should be a way for people to come together under a general agreement of doctrine and behavior, discuss/argue about any deep difficult questions they have about the universe together, and experience the divine as a collective. I'm happy with the Episcopal Church and I've never felt a reason to deeply question my commitment to their particular understanding of the Christian tradition; I like the beliefs, rituals, and practice I grew up with and even though I've explored other denominations and other religions altogether, I've always landed right back where I started. They're a progressive denomination that, as a collective body, is genuinely committed to living out what I see as God's mission for humanity: caring for the world as it has been given to us and loving and helping our neighbors as ourselves. So I stay here.

As far as those beliefs affect the 'Bruce Wayne Religion Discourse Fic' (as I've lovingly termed it):

DC has decided on multiple occasions that Bruce is an atheist, to which I say: that's dumb DC, you have multiple pantheons running around and one of his best friends was literally the Goddess of Truth for a bit. The Abrahamic god canonically exists in-universe and the Spectre is his wrath embodied. The afterlife is a place people can physically go to and come back from (otherwise resurrection couldn't happen). This is the hill I die on when it comes to comics and it's that absolutely no character who lives in that universe should be an atheist (I've talked a little bit about this before here in regards to Tim Drake). They can be a non-worshipper, and frankly that's a completely understandable place to be in the DCU, but being a non-believer makes them look unbelievably dumb and illogical.

Anyway: Bruce is canonically Jewish due to the Accidental Jewish Retcon, which happened when DC created Kate Kane, an explicitly Jewish character, in 2005 and then made her Bruce's maternal cousin. This makes Martha Wayne (and thus Bruce) ethnically Jewish. However, it is ALSO canonically true that Thomas and Martha were buried as Christians, and the Waynes have been heavily coded as Episcopalian for decades. And yet he's supposedly atheist despite growing up in two religious institutions that have long-standing and exceptionally forgiving traditions around questioning/challenging divine authority, exploring doubt, and doing deep dives into theological doctrine.

So we're in an interesting place where Bruce canonically grew up in an interfaith household until his parents were murdered and also explicitly explored the tenets of multiple religions and spiritual practices during his training years abroad. And yet no writer wants to touch it! We get oblique references to his Jewish heritage occasionally, but other than that we largely do not see religion happen in Batman stories unless the central character is Helena Bertinelli/Huntress (a devout Catholic) or Jean-Paul Valley/Azrael (a cult survivor who basically acts devoutly Catholic). So I went 'well okay, I'll do it.' So the fic is focused on Bruce’s childhood growing up in an interfaith household and his incredibly complicated relationship with organized religion as he grows up, becomes Batman, and starts acquiring kids.

While I have not written anything except a tentative outline for it, I think my own beliefs are probably affecting how I approach the fic even conceptually, as I'm both Episcoplian (influencing how I'll approach that part of Bruce's exploration) and more than happy to explore my personal headcanon that Bruce ends up with a frankenstein set of beliefs that mix-and-match Episcopalian Christianity, Reform Judaism, Buddhism, and a few other things. It would be difficult not to, given all that he's seen, done, and experienced. Bruce is a very skeptical person who deeply believes 'seeing is believing', and I'll be trying my best to balance Bruce's canonical approach to such matters with how the DCU has portrayed religion and how the varying religions deal with massive soul-searching questions IRL.

......also I simply think that if Ollie Queen ever tells him that he met Jason in heaven/the afterlife while he was dead, Bruce would go home and cry for an hour, and I kind of want to write that scene.

#long post #personal #about me #bruce wayne #the bruce wayne religion discourse fic #my writing #bruce wayne meta

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permease23 · 1 year

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@involuntaryataraxia

Pietro Lorenzetti (Sienese, c. 1280-1348)

Detail: Descent from the Cross (c. 1320)

Fresco detail

Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi

Essay on The Cult of the Virgin Mary in the Middle Ages

The Virgin Mary and the Church

A mother figure is a central object of worship in several religions (for example, images of the Virgin and Child call to mind Egyptian representations of Isis nursing her son Horus). The history of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, depends on the texts of the Gospels. Embellishments to her legend seem to have taken form in the fifth century in Syria. The life of the mother of Christ was exceptional: she was born free of original sin, through the Immaculate Conception; she was taken to heaven after her death; and, just as Saint Thomas doubted Christ's Resurrection, so he doubted Mary's Assumption. Theologians established a parallel between Christ's Passion and the Virgin's compassion: while he suffered physically on the cross, she was crucified in spirit. The Council of Ephesus in 431 sanctioned the cult of the Virgin as Mother of God; the dissemination of images of the Virgin and Child, which came to embody church doctrine, soon followed.

The Virgin Mary in Byzantine Representations

The Virgin Mary, known as the Theotokos in Greek terminology, was central to Byzantine spirituality as one of its most important religious figures. As the mediator between suffering mankind and Christ and the protectress of Constantinople, she was widely venerated. The Virgin is the subject of important liturgical hymns, such as the Akathistos Hymn, sung at the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) and during Lent. Narrative artistic representations of Christ's mother focus on her conception and childhood or her Koimesis (her Dormition, or eternal sleep). Most images of the Virgin stress her role as Christ's Mother, showing her standing and holding her son. The manner in which the Virgin holds Christ is very particular. Certain poses developed into "types" that became names of sanctuaries or poetic epithets. Hence, an icon of the Virgin was meant to represent her image and, at the same time, the replica of a famous icon original. For example, the Virgin Hodegetria is a popular representation of the Virgin in which she holds Christ on her left arm and gestures toward him with her right hand, showing that he is the way to salvation. The name Hodegetria comes from the Hodegon Monastery in Constantinople, in which the icon showing the Virgin in this particular stance resided from at least the twelfth century onward, acting to protect the city. A later type is that of the Virgin Eleousa, imagined to have derived from the Virgin Hodegetria. This type represents the compassionate side of the Virgin. She is shown bending to touch her cheek to the cheek of her child, who reciprocates this affection by placing his arm around her neck. Byzantine images of the Virgin were adopted in the West. For example, Early Netherlandish paintings such as the Virgin and Child by the Master of the Saint Ursula Legend and the Virgin and Child by Dieric Bouts reveal an interest in Byzantine representations of the Theotokos.

The Virgin Mary in Western Representations

Most Western types of the Virgin's image, such as the twelfth-century "Throne of Wisdom" from central France, in which the Christ Child is presented frontally as the sum of divine wisdom, seem to have originated in Byzantium. Byzantine models became widely distributed in western Europe by the seventh century. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries saw an extraordinary growth of the cult of the Virgin in western Europe, in part inspired by the writings of theologians such as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153), who identified her as the bride of the Song of Songs in the Old Testament. The Virgin was worshipped as the Bride of Christ, Personification of the Church, Queen of Heaven, and Intercessor for the salvation of humankind. This movement found its grandest expression in the French cathedrals, which are often dedicated to "Our Lady," and many cities, such as Siena, placed themselves under her protection.

The Virgin Mary in the Later Middle Ages

The hieratic images of the Romanesque period, which emphasize Mary's regal aspect, gave way in the Gothic age to more tender representations emphasizing the relationship between mother and child. The early fourteenth-century Vierge Ouvrante from Cologne articulates her role in Christian salvation. When closed, the hinged sculpture represents the Virgin nursing the Christ Child, who holds the dove of the Holy Spirit. Her garment opens up, like the wings of a triptych, to reveal in her body the figure of God the Father. He holds the cross, made of two tree trunks, from which the now-missing figure of Christ hung. The flanking wings are painted with scenes from Christ's infancy or Incarnation, that is to say, the embodiment of God the Son in human flesh.

(from the Heilbrunn Timeline website)

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lockoutkey · 1 year

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I meant the city within the world of the comics. I don’t have a list for everything wrong with the trash fire that is that show.

I will still give you the list I do have, though

The Gotham Lazarus Pit leaks constantly into the groundwater of the city. Courtesy of Bane, the drug venom is also permeating most of it, along with Joker Venom and the same shape shifting cosmetic that turned the various Clayfaces into, well. Thomas Wayne may or may not have dumped psychoactive chemicals into the water as well.

The air is worse as on top of the lead, something that can actually also be said of the water, there is also joker gas, fear toxin, and bio-engineered plant pheromones and pollens designed to melt people in Gotham’s permanent smog lair, so if you breathe it you’ll have the worst high ever and then die as your lungs liquidate.

Both the water and air can have further problems depending on what Dr. Death and Ra’s al-Ghul have decided to use in their respective attacks recently, as well as those previously mentioned toxins increasing in concentration in the aftermath of an attack by any of the relevant villains

There are psychotropic attacks by Mad Hatter and Dr. Hugo Strange

There are psionic attacks by Dracula and the Court of Owls

The Court of Owls similarly are economically crippling the city, which only worsens the corruption problems and leaves Wayne Enterprises as the only reason people in the city can stay afloat.

Cultists among the Arkham staff sacrificed patients in order to open a hellmouth beneath the asylum. It was sealed by Jason Blood but still whispers to the patients and staff. There is also a madness hypersygil engraved into its architecture by its architect and founder, Amadeus Arkham.

The city is mystically influenced by the tomb of the malevolent warlock Doctor Gotham at the center of the city, blood curse on the land caused by the genocide of the tribe originally living there by the first colonizers, the starheart, the court of Owls again, and the separate demon cult founded by Dr. Simon Hurt, theoretically worshiping the dark god Barbatos as the Court of the Owls do, but in actuality communing with a fragment of Darkseid.

That blood curse is so potent it almost made The Spectre call down his full power as The Wrath of God on the city to destroy it and turn the survivors into salt

The Waynes are separately cursed by a witch named Annie, who was made scapegoat to the at-the-time town’s poor crop one year and avenged herself on the line of witch hunter Nathaniel Wayne who had ordered her burned and, while being correct about her being a witch, was wrong about her having any connection to the harvest.

A separate witch, Amity Arkham, also burned, cast a curse that only affects her descendants in the Silverlock family, allowing her to possess them in order to continuously burn the city generation by generation as the villain Calamity, until the last two generations was defeated by Batman and the first Robin and managed to take back control of her body with the help of her friend Mia Mizoguchi respectively.

Slaughter Swamp also resurrects corpses but is not a Lazarus Pit or Lazarus Pit adjacent.

Further confirmation New York City is irl Gotham

#key asks #wildcardjoey

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phantom-le6 · 2 months

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Film Review - Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham

Our look into films released in 2023 now moves from DC’s live-action theatrical releases to those created for the home-release animation market, as we check out the Elseworlds-based Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham…

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

In the 1920s, Bruce Wayne travels abroad for twenty years following the murder of his parents Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne, searching for answers behind the criminal mind. While investigating the disappearance of Oswald Cobblepot's expedition crew, Bruce subdues an undead crewman, Grendon, who was freeing an otherworldly creature encased in ice. Bruce, his protégés Kai Li Cain, Dick Grayson, Sanjay "Jay" Tawde, and butler Alfred Pennyworth retrieve Grendon and return to Gotham City, unaware that Grendon was infected with one of the entity's parasites, with Jay staying on the ship to watch over him.

Arriving at Wayne Manor, Bruce and his group are shocked to find the corpse of professor Kirk Langstrom in the library, as Bruce hallucinates a demon speaking through it with Langstrom's voice. After he disposes of Langstrom's corpse, Bruce is visited by Jason Blood, the host of the demon Etrigan, who informs Bruce of a ritual which must be performed with his death, and the destruction of Gotham.

Bruce, Kai Li, and Dick are later invited for dinner at hunter Oliver Queen's mansion. They also meet Harvey Dent, who tells them about Langstrom's obsession with the bats he had been studying. Donning a bat-themed suit of his making, Bruce (under the alias of Batman) investigates Langstrom's work at Robin's Row, which is related to the Cult of Ghul, a group who worship an ancient demonic deity, with the Testament of Ghul being the tool required for the ritual. Seeking the Testament, he stumbles upon cult member Talia, who steals it to resurrect her father Ra's al Ghul.

Meanwhile, Grendon manifests ice abilities and escapes, killing Jay, while Dick is killed by a crocodilian mutant. While searching for Talia, Bruce discovers a book detailing Ra's's connection with Iog-Sotha, an inter-dimensional demon with power over darkness.

Grendon then meets with Talia and it is revealed that the key to Iog-Sotha is the seed that he was infected with. The seed emerges from his body, killing him in the process, to become Poison Ivy, who scratches Dent and mutates half of his body into a portal. Ivy and Oliver fight and kill each other, with the latter giving his holy weapons to Bruce and Kai Li.

Bruce is met by Jim Gordon who tells him that his daughter Barbara wants to meet with him. Batman goes to Arkham Asylum to see her and meets Thomas Wayne's spirit, who reveals his past. Centuries ago, he, Cobblepot, Henry Queen and Langstrom’s father established Gotham City, discovered the Testament in a cave, and used its magic to bring health and prosperity to the previously barren land, gaining long life and wealth in the process. However, this also awoke Iog-Sotha and brought him to the threshold of their reality.

Bruce takes Oliver's weapons and the bottle housing Etrigan, bids farewell to Alfred, and leaves Kai Lai in charge of the Batcave, before leaving to fight Talia. He kills her but is unable to stop Ra's, who transforms into a demon. Bruce accepts his prophesized role as the Bat, transforms into a bat-like monster, and kills Ra's, but Iog-Sotha has begun to enter.

Seeing the bottle housing Etrigan, Bruce releases him and escapes the caverns as they explode, killing Dent, and Etrigan traps Iog-Sotha within them. Kai Li delivers a speech in Bruce's memory as he watches over Gotham from the bell tower.

Review:

My initial draw to this film was that the Blu-Ray extras for Batman: Gotham by Gaslight suggested the story was a kind of sequel to the Gotham by Gaslight narrative. Sadly, that’s not really the case; both are Elseworld productions set in eras that pre-date Batman’s debut as a comic-book character, each of which combines him with some other concept as well, but each is a separate story rather than being a shared continuity. Where Gotham by Gaslight gave us a Victorian-era Batman combatting Jack the Ripper, this story centres on an inter-war Batman of the late 1920’s trying to combat some kind of doom cult. The story combines Lovecraftian horror with the world of Batman in this 1920’s setting, which is fine if you enjoy horror as much as you do superhero lore.

Alas, I’m someone who only enjoys horror when it’s a sub-genre within superhero/science fiction stories, so when I see the two combined, I’m counting on the superhero element to remain more prominent. With this film, that element is relatively prominent in the early and middle areas of the film, but it goes too far into the realm of mysticism and Lovercraftian madness for me towards the end, or at least farther than I feel a character like Batman should go. In most iterations, including the initial parts of this film, Batman is staunchly anti-mysticism, always knowing that all things have rational explanations and never trusting anything even remotely mystic. Because of this, I’m not a fan of the idea that as the film progresses, we see this Batman abandoning that stance and actually embracing the mysticism he’s facing.

If this was an element inherent to the source material, then this is one of the few times where I could have done with an adaptation straying a bit. For me, this would have been better if had turned out the “outer god” was just Starro, the weird monsters were all just scientific mutations and only the Ghuls and Etrigan were in defiance of Batman’s analytical mind. As it is, it’s interesting to see this world to retain the idea of Batman’s apprentices but in a new way that only alternate universe storytelling allows for. We saw this in Gotham by Gaslight, where the first three Robins were all street thieves ultimately taken in by Bruce and Selina. In this film, we see Dick Grayson picked up in another part of the US, an Indian variant of Jason Todd and an English-sounding version of Cassandra Cain, one of Barbara Gordon’s successors as Batgirl in DC lore.

The film is well-cast and said cast performs well; some notable mentions among the voice actors include Trek alumni like Tim Russ, Jeffrey Combs and Brian George (Tuvok on Voyager is Russ’ main Trek credit, while Combs has played several key DS9 and Enterprise roles, while George once appeared as Dr Bashir’s father), as well as film actors like David Dastmalchian (appears in the Ant-Man trilogy for the MCU, James Gunn’s Suicide Squad film and Oppenheimer) and Navid Negahban (the Sultan in the 2019 live-action remake of Aladdin). Fans of Disney Channel sit-com Jessie may also find some familiarity in hearing the voice of Sanjay, the Indian variant of Jason Todd in this film, as Karan Brar who played Ravi on that show provides this particular voice. It’s also interesting to see how many Batman villains have apparently been combined with existing Lovecraftian monsters, suggesting some fans of HP Lovecraft may be among the various writers who have shaped the Batman rogues’ gallery down the years.

Overall, I think the film is interesting and well done for the most part, but for me the superhero element needed to gain the upper hand more towards the end and bring about a different conclusion. As such, I’m only inclined to hand down a 7 out of 10 for the film we got, and hope that any future Elseworld-based animated films do better at favouring the superhero over anything they’re being combined with.

#film review #dc comics #dc elseworlds

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stirlingmoss · 10 months

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And thus We awakened them so they could question each other. One speaker among them said, “How long have you been here?” They said, “We’ve been here a day,

or part of a day.” They said, “Your Lord knows best how long you’ve been here. Now send one of you to the city with this money of yours and let him see which is the most decent food, and let him bring some of it to provide for you; and let him act with caution and not let anyone know of you.

{Note Number : 2352 This is the point of the story. Their own human impressions were to be compared, each with the other. They were to be made to see that with the best goodwill and the most honest enquiry they might reach different conclusions; that they were not to waste their time in vain controversies, but to get on to the main business of life; and that Allah alone had full knowledge of the things that seem to us so strange, or inconsistent, or inexplicable, or that produce different impressions on different minds. If they entered the Cave in the morning and woke up in the afternoon, one of them might well think they had been there only a few hours-only part of a day. This relative or fallacious impression of Time also gives us an inkling of the state when there will be no Time, of the Resurrection when all our little impressions of this life will be corrected by the final Reality. This mystery of time has puzzled many contemplative minds. Cf. "Dark time that haunts us with the briefness of our days" (Thomas Wolfe in "Of Time and the River").

Note Number : 2353 They now give up barren controversy and come to the practical business of life. But their thoughts are conditioned by the state of things that existed when they entered the Cave. The money they carried was the money coined in the reign of the monarch who persecuted the Religion of Unity and favoured the false cults of Paganism.

Note Number : 2354 Best food:, i.e., purest, most wholesome, perhaps also most suitable for those who rejected idol worship, i.e., not dedicated to idols. For they still imagined the world in the same state in which they had known it before they entered the Cave.}

#18:19 #The Cave #(Al-Kahf)#Meccan

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ao3feed-brucewayne · 1 year

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london calling (to the underworld)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/yJs68dY

by marriedwithchildren

“Do you know what a bat’s main predator is?” Jason leans forward, and her eyes glow something wicked. “A hawk.” "Only if they are alone, of course," she continues. "But that's exactly what you are, isn't it?" Bat and hawk sit there; alone and alone; and finally Jason remembers the sickly feeling of being caught in death's trap.

After Jason Todd kills Joker, he thinks his problems in life are gone for good - that he can finally heal that jagged scar of death across his soul. That is until mysterious murders begin to happen in Gotham, all with a puzzling pattern, and Joker is apparently spotted again, leading him to realise that souls like his are just not meant to rest.

or; jason learns how to reconnect with himself and his family through the surprising familiarity of some mysterious murders. (and im very tired of the same old plots dc use so have decided to take it upon myself to make my own plot for the comics)

Words: 2383, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Other

Characters: Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon, Duke Thomas, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Alfred Pennyworth, John Constantine, Roy Harper, Original Characters

Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)

Additional Tags: Murder, Murder Mystery, Necromancy, Dark Magic, Occult, Resurrection, Talking To Dead People, Attempt at Humor, Batbrothers Bonding (DCU), Batfamily Dynamics (DCU), Batfamily Angst (DCU), Batfamily-centric (DCU), Jason Todd-centric, POV Jason Todd, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Childhood Trauma, Mental Health Issues, Psychoanalysis, Character Study, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, eventually, Literary References & Allusions, literary foils, Symbolism, Major Original Character(s), original villain characters, Female Friendship, except theyre all murderers, Female rage, Enemies to Friends, Mystery, Plot Twists, Jason Todd Heals, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cults, Death, Character Growth

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/yJs68dY

#IFTTT #bruce wayne #batman #the dark knight #the cape crusader #gotham #dc universe #ao3 #ao3feed

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lahoguhopo · 2 years

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Geisler norman pdf

GEISLER NORMAN PDF >>Download (Herunterladen) vk.cc/c7jKeU

GEISLER NORMAN PDF >> Online Lesen bit.do/fSmfG

The Battle for the Resurrection (eBook, PDF) - Geisler, Norman L. countering the rise and growth of cults would benefit greatly from reading this book. Geisler, Norman L. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, 9th ed. EQ 46 (1974) 81– 102. biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/eq/1974–2_081.pdf. ———. Read & Download PDF Greek Government Gazette: Part 10, 2015 no. 115 by The Government of the Hellenic From God To Us Revised And Expa Norman L. Geisler. Frage ist nicht, ob wir Christen sind, sondern warum wir es sind. Und genau um diese Frage geht es in diesem Buch. Norman Geisler & Frank Turek. Januar 2004 The Big Book of Bible Difficulties: Clear and Concise Answers from Genesis to Revelation | Geisler, Norman L., Howe, Thomas | ISBN: 9780801071584 Nu Am Destula Credinta CA Sa Fiu Ateu Norman Geisler Frank Turek Compress - Free download as PDF File (.pdf) or read online for free.PDF. Auflage: 1. Auflage 2017. Seiten: 160. ISBN: 978-3-86739-885-5 E-Book (EPUB) Dr. Fay Geisler ist psychologische Psychotherapeutin, David Geisler / Norman L. Geisler. Evangelisation im Dialog. Menschen zu Jesus führen. Conversational Evangelism. Copyright © 2009, 2014 by David Geisler

https://www.tumblr.com/lahoguhopo/697835697168596992/autonomismo-y-separatismo-en-espana-pdf-writer, https://www.tumblr.com/lahoguhopo/697836546708094976/rough-guide-india-pdf, https://www.tumblr.com/lahoguhopo/697835826695012352/samantha-wayland-destiny-calls-pdf995, https://www.tumblr.com/lahoguhopo/697835550052433920/chemistry-for-biologists-david-reed-pdf, https://www.tumblr.com/lahoguhopo/697836874879959040/bc-945-datasheet-pdf-storage.

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balillee · 3 years

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why 'there's no lore going on' right now in the dream smp - The Misfits Analogy

Fans of television, especially British television, will probably be familiar with an early 2010's show called Misfits. The show ran for five seasons spanning 2009 to 2013 - while the first two seasons (the first moreso than the second) are regarded more as cult classics, the latter half of the show completely falls in writing and production quality due to one significant change - the cast.

Seasons one and two of Misfits was centred around the original misfits gang - Nathan Young (portrayed by Robert Sheehan), Kelly Bailey (portrayed by Lauren Socha), Simon Bellamy (portrayed by Iwan Rheon), Alisha Daniels (portrayed by Antonia Thomas) and Curtis Donovan (portrayed by Nathan Stewart-Jarrett).

The show was good for two different factors from my perspective -

The intersection of superpowered television and interpersonal conflicts that broke the norm for stereotypes.

How the cast reflected modern British society.

In summary, the show followed a group of five young offenders at a community service centre. Not too interesting - but give them relatability, realism and explore their character development and their existing stereotypes/tropes through the use of superpowers? Genius.

Nathan was most definitely the fan favourite character of the show - he was outgoing, annoying, larger than life in a lot of ways and in all senses, he was a skeevy asshole who would insult characters at every turn. He was very much the class clown of the show and any British viewer could probably see someone they remember from school in Nathan, except Nathan was lovable and you could sympathise with him because you could see him struggling primarily at home and with his family.

Spoilers for the show - Nathan's power was immortality and the ability to resurrect himself from death. This power wasn't explicit immediately either to Nathan or to the audience unlike all of the other young offenders, and it reflected his 'nothing can hurt me ' attitude. Nathan was a character who could take any comment and brush it off like it was nothing, and he in the physical sense could take being thrown off a roof, impaled and practically buried alive and be sitting in his own coffin with his iPod all fine and dandy.

Kelly was also another standout example - her character reflected the stereotype of a chavvy girl, 'council house and violent' - loudmouthed, not very smart, questionable fashion choices and a bit abrasive. The only difference is that the show knew they had to subvert that stereotype - instead, Kelly was smart in her own way and she was empathic -> her superpower was the ability to hear other people's thoughts, and later, she became superintelligent and when her character left the show she decided to move to Uganda use her newfound rocket-scientist level intelligence for good. She was still loudmouthed and definitely chavvy, but she was also a whole human person who cared about other people and who was definitely intelligent.

If I kept going, I'd be lamenting about how season one's cast well reflected and subverted stereotypes and expectations using their superpowers, but I'd be here all day and that's really not the point I'm trying to make.

By the end of season 2, Robert Sheehan, as the standout performance from the show, decides to move on to greener pastures (which,, I don't blame him, being stuck on E4 would have been a nightmare for his career and look where he is now? He's a fan favourite as Klaus in TUA now!) - thus, Nathan is written out of the show in a post- season 2 special in which he gets locked up in prison in America.

This was the first character to get written out of the show.

In season 3, we lose Kelly who moves to Uganda with Seth to defuse landmines, and Simon and Alisha are both killed, and the only remaining member of the original ASBO five is Curtis.

Season 4 rolls around, and we pretty much have an entirely new Misfits cast - Curtis, and then we have Rudy (who had been present since season 3), and then we have new additions Jess, Finn and Abbey.

Let me tell you that by this point in the show, all of the fans had lost interest.

Not only had the two biggest fan favourites, Nathan and Kelly, left the show, but you now have to replace four out of the five original cast members with new ones that don't function the same way the originals did. What type of person is someone with X-ray vision trying to represent? You could argue that maybe Jess is good at figuring people out, but I don't really remember this being explored that much in the show. And the difference between this reflecting a minor personality trait is that the original cast didn't do that - in dumbed down terms, Alisha was a 'sket' who had the power to make people horny for her, oftentimes against her wishes, through skin-to-skin contact. That's much more impactful and there's a lot more to explore there.

Episode 7 of Season 4 of Misfits is the clearest indicator of the departure of the original show's intentions and explains perfectly why it didn't work the way it used to.

For the entirety of the season, Jess had been crushing on a guy called Alex from a bar she frequented (who later went on to replace Curtis as the fifth Misfits member in season 5, go figures) who, as far as we had seen, not at all reciprocated those feelings nor was there any indication of him wanting to.

In episode 7, we figure out why.

Jess, using her x-ray vision, finds out that Alex's penis was stolen by a trans man.

I'll be honest, when I first heard it, I thought it was a joke.

The show went from having a diverse cast, not only in terms of having two black characters in it's main cast, but also in it's diversity of character tropes that they aimed to subvert - to then having a mainly white cast in a show that actively perpetuates harmful stereotypes about trans people being dangerous.

Now, and I want to preface this, I don't think that the Dream SMP is malicious in the same way that the writing of that episode of Misfits is. I don't think the SMP is malicious at all. What I want to highlight is how the change in cast directly mirrored when the audience dropoff was and when the show itself started to go south in terms of quality, production and what they wanted to achieve.

For the sake of my argument, there is currently three seasons of the dream smp. The start of the server up until the end of the initial disc war is the prologue, season one encompasses Wilbur's L'Manberg and the Pogtopia arc, ending on November 16th, season 2 starts November 17th and ends January 20th (the disc war finale) and season 3 spans from January 21st to the present day.

Most of the fans of the Dream SMP can tell you that the primary story of the server is centred around quite a few certain characters who viewers started watching to see more of. I'm guilty of this myself - I primarily watch the SMP for Tommy's story, and I also stick around for Wilbur, Tubbo, Ranboo and a little bit for Phil, Techno and Jack Manifold. Those were the people I was invested in and those are the stories I like to follow. Not to discredit or to downplay the work or the stories of other characters, but I can imagine that there are a few people who watch the SMP primarily for a close few perspectives/storylines, and following some storylines over others just because you're not interested in them is completely fine and there's nothing wrong with that at all.

In season one, there was always things going on with my favourite characters. Tommy was always getting himself into spots of trouble and making up different schemes to get people to come visit L'Manberg as a tourist attraction, or getting people to support the rebellion, and this was interspersed with the heavier, plot-driven moments such as Wilbur's mental breakdown, the festival, the pit fight and the season 1 finale. This got me invested in him as a character because he had been there for quite a while and we'd seen him develop and grow into the character we now see in season 3.

In the back half of season 1 came Techno, who really shook things up and threw a spanner in the works and provided a totally different perspective - unlike Dream he didn't hate L'Manberg because he couldn't control it, and unlike Wilbur he didn't have a personal connection to it and he didn't know it's history. Techno initially hated L'Manberg because it was a government he knew nothing about (and still knows nothing about even today), and because violence and destruction is kind of his thing.

We had a well balanced cast of characters - not too many - that we could follow and who all had varying perspectives, experiences and personalities. We had clearly defined groups of individuals with different morals: you had the people on the side of Manberg, the people in Pogtopia who wanted Manberg blown up, the people in Pogtopia who didn't want Manberg blown up, and on the side to compliment it all you also had the Badlands, comprised of three longstanding members of the server,,,, and then Antfrost who was kidnapped by Tommy that one time. It was all wrapped up nicely in a neat little bow and there was structure to it all. There was one plot that went in one direction, and despite the many perspectives, it all ended up in the same spot and the story ended. There was a conclusion.

In season 2, the two primary additions to the 'cast' were Phil and Ranboo, whose characters complimented the existing story well. Phil functioned mostly as a successor to Wilbur alongside Ghostbur by exploring well the departure of Wilbur as a character in that moment, and he also functioned well as a companion to Techno's character. Ranboo, on the other hand, had a pretty good complimentary solo story that could be followed alongside the main plot, however his story wasn't too distant from the main story to the point where he was completely removed from it - he had direct involvement in different events such as the exile conflict, his connection to Dream as the main antagonist of the season and his involvement in blowing up the community house.

Season 2 starts with a focus on two different spaces - it breaks up a longstanding duo and the storyline diverges into two halves: Logstedshire and New L'Manberg, and you have Techno's short 'retirement' arc working decently to compliment it and also to set the tone for his character going forward in that season. In Logstedshire we see the aftermath of Tommy being exiled from L'Manberg by Dream - we see him endure what is (in canon) at least a month of isolation and physical and psychological abuse and it culminates on December 15th when Tommy rescues himself, jumps from the tower and goes to hide in Techno's house (which acts as a good precursor to his involvement in Techno's storyline in that season). On the other side, we follow Tubbo in L'Manberg dealing with Presidency - he talks a lot and gets 'friendly' with Dream, he prepares to run against Ranboo in the coming election cycle (primarily because he doesn't want to be President) and we see his interactions with the power-hungrier Quackity who all too often takes the reigns and this culminates in the creation of the Butcher Army, and following the Butcher Army's attack on December 16th, once again, we have two clearly defined sides:

One one side, we have Tubbo, Quackity and Fundy who represent L'Manberg, and on the other we have Tommy (who is unaware of the Butcher Army's attack), Phil and Techno, and more in the middle we have Ghostbur and Ranboo.

Season 2's finale format is a clear departure for the format of November 16th, but it's not a poor choice - I think, especially considering the story that they were telling, it worked perfectly. On November 16th, pretty much everyone was streaming their perspective of the event; at the time, there were even compilations of everyone's reactions to Wilbur blowing up L'Manberg. On January 20th, however, we only had two perspectives - Tubbo and Tommy.

I'll say it now, while Season 2 was definitely Clingyduo's season, it didn't focus solely on them. There was also a big focus on Techno as a character, whose arc came to an end a little earlier on Doomsday, and there was also a focus on Ranboo a lot as a solo character, and he streamed a little later on January 20th with what I refer to as the 'epilogue', where there was also a shift in his character to expect moving forward.

Why season 2's finale worked is because it was centralised around only three characters, only two of which we ever see the perspectives of, and it was the finale of the longest running storyline of the entire narrative - the disc war. Two boys who were on their last life, making their last stand at the one man who pulled the strings to make their lives miserable - those two perspectives only, and it worked. We didn't have compilations of everyone reacting to the things happening around them which worked for season 1, instead, we focused on these two characters whose turn it was to get the focus, and we had iconic and moving moments. We had the two boys walking down the prime path saying what they could only assume might have been their last goodbyes to the people that still had a shred of care for them, we had the two sailing to where they would face off against Dream for their final stand and finally talking about their feelings a little and dreading the implication that if they were both to die, nobody would live to tell their stories, we had Tommy choosing his best friend over his discs time and time again, and we had Punz - Dream's last confidant - standing against Dream and bringing everyone with him and sending him to prison, now on his last life too.

Everything about it was perfect. The more focused ending worked for the ending of season 2 because it was their time to have their climax moment - and it wasn't some spectacular display of explosions or violence like in Wilbur's finale on November 16th, where the ramifications hit everyone and we got to see it, nor was it a show of violence and almost oppressive dominance like Techno's finale was on Doomsday, where we saw everyone's breakdown and how the people contributing to the destruction of L'Manberg, no matter how righteous they thought they were, did not care to understand how much they were hurting and destroying the lives of the country's citizens. On January 20th, Tommy and Tubbo went into it thinking they were going to die, they got their asses handed to them despite how hard they tried, and they had their behinds saved by Tommy's preparative thinking by people who weren't there to save them more than they were there to get rid of Dream.

Season 3 suffers a lot from a lack of focus, awful pacing and really poor timing.

Seasons 1 and 2 occurred during the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, where everyone was stuck at home and had more time to stream because it was their primary form of content and because it was the best way to communicate with their friends. Thus, the pacing of those seasons was extremely steady and things were always happening.

Now, lockdown restrictions have eased quite a bit, and creators can branch out a lot more and can meet with each other in real life and can do vlog-style content. Therefore, they don't stream as much, and the focus of the Dream SMP story has shifted more towards newer or sideplot characters. If you enjoy those characters, that's fine, but when they take the focus away from the characters and the storylines the majority are expecting, a lot of people won't try to keep up with it and from their perspective there'll be a massive lull in narrative content.

What I'm saying, is that Tommy streaming for thirteen days in a row in July 2021 is a fucking pipe dream. It happened in December because the story was consistent and the pacing was steady and he had the time and the want to be there. Now, Tommy's off making his vlogs and hanging out with his friends and thus he can't stream as much as he used to. He's sort of suffering from the Robert Sheehan problem, isn't he? Tommy is still involved with the Dream SMP and his story is definitely continuing, and his narrative in season 3 is really starting to pick up with the newer developments, it's just that he doesn't have as much time to play the role anymore because he isn't streaming as much.

I'm not saying this is a bad thing - it's obviously making him happy that his content is changing and I'm fully supportive of that.

So when all of these meetups are happening and we don't have as much content from the main characters that we follow anymore, what happens?

Well, the fans get a little itchy. This fandom, especially. They might throw out a comment or a tweet asking when they're going to stream on the SMP, or if they really don't understand why the Dream SMP is good, they'll ask when the next 'lore stream' is, and they'll lament a little about how the content and the story has slowed, especially in contrast to the fast pacing of season 2 which only lasted a little over two months with much more story going on than in season 3 despite it having been going on for triple the time. What they'll get in response is that the Dream SMP is still going on and that lore is still happening.

On all accounts, these statements aren't incorrect. Lore still is happening.

But when you've been following lovable characters for two seasons, setting up their struggles and then switching the focus onto newer or 'sideplot' characters that you haven't really followed before, there's going to be a bit of moaning about it on twitter dot com.

The SMP now suffers from having too many characters, too many unfocused narratives, and poor pacing/ditched or unfinished storylines from the characters we used to follow and love while we're being told to love other characters instead.

I never really cared too much about the egg subplot, I'll be honest. I was a little interested in the involvement of Sam, Puffy and Ponk, but other than that, I wasn't really too invested. It very much tried to replicate the 'you should have paid me more' moment from January 20th at the Red Banquet, and it really didn't hit as hard because most of the characters there were either ones that didn't belong there at all (like Niki, Fundy, HBomb, and Purpled), weren't that involved with the plotline and felt out of place with the established characters in that storyline (Techno, Quackity and Ranboo), or were new characters that were difficult to get on board with because they hadn't really had too much of a story beforehand (Hannah and Foolish), or in the case of Antfrost, characters with no known motivation to be there other than that being the storyline they're currently in. Not to discredit those involved or their characters, but the Red Banquet really tried to replicate what the disc finale did with it's focused perspectives and it's Punz moment, and it failed.

Now, following the egg subplot's finale, I'm meant to focus on Las Nevadas, Snowchester and the Syndicate.

Las Nevadas is the most consistent storyline, however it's biggest problem is that it is filled with new characters or ones that are barely there. Despite how long he's been on the server, Purpled really is a new character if only because he's only really become a character recently - Foolish is still considered new, Slimecicle is new, Fundy rarely streams on the SMP. The only consistent longstanding and heavily involved characters that are a part of Las Nevadas are Quackity and Sam, and even their streams are infrequent, with a lot of Sam's perspective not even focusing on Las Nevadas but instead the prison.

Snowchester's plot is very much dying, dead and in the water. She's suffering. We haven't seen Michael in over a month, a nuke is still missing, Jack Manifold is dubiously a citizen and Tubbo doesn't even think he has a character on the SMP. It breaks my heart.

The Syndicate suffer from a lack of existence. The four characters really aren't a friend group in canon - all of the stuff about them hanging out all the time and them basically being a book club is all fanon. They've hung out as a four all of twice, the first time they ever got together they celebrated someone's death and then basically invaded Snowchester to give themselves a reason not to destroy it, terrifying Tubbo in the process. The second time was because it was Techno's birthday.

Now, Techno is in prison, and the only reason Phil hasn't read the will to progress the story is likely because of difficult scheduling with other server members, which is written off in canon as Phil not wanting to accept the possibility of Techno potentially dying.

Literally reading the will and having the Syndicate figure out that Techno's in prison with Dream will solve all of season 3's formatting issues and have the story back on track.

Currently, we don't really have two clearly defined sides the way we always had. We were meant to root for L'Manberg against the Dream Team, we were meant to root for Pogtopia against Manberg, and in season 2 we had a lot more moral ambiguity and room for side switching between the forces of Dream, Techno and Phil against L'Manberg, and then we rooted for Clingyduo against Dream.

I can predict that if the will is read, here's how a good conflict can arise.

Two clearly defined different sides - Las Nevadas on the side of Pandora's Vault, and the Syndicate (currently consisting of Phil, Ranboo and Niki), and you have compromises to make. If the side of the Prison wins, Techno and Dream stay in Pandora's Vault without a proper trial and being treated inhumanely, and there's also the threat of the rest of the Syndicate also being imprisoned. If the side of the Syndicate wins, the prison is taken out and Techno and Dream are no longer being treated inhumanely - problem is that Dream's out, and he's very much dangerous because despite what c!Dream apologists will tell you, he's not docile and he's not going to have a healing arc with Techno because he doesn't think he's done anything wrong and Techno can't tell him that he's done anything wrong (because Techno is the most wilfully ignorant character who gets to be political it's INSANE) - he'll go right back to the evil, abusive bastard he was, obsessed with Tommy, probably worse now that he can easily get Wilbur to do anything he wants and more vindictive against Quackity. Plus, if the Syndicate take down Las Nevadas they'll hold the most power on the server systematically and the so-called anarchists will ironically be the top dogs of the server.

Then towards the middle you'll probably end up having Wilbur, Benchtrio and Jack Manifold - Tubbo and Jack would prefer Techno and Dream staying in prison, except Tubbo's really not on the greatest terms with Q at the minute (because Q's paranoid and making conflict with parties that would have otherwise helped him out and thought they were friends), whereas Tommy would be stuck between wanting Techno out but needing to either keep Dream in or kill him, and Wilbur will be having to pick between aiding Dream's escape from prison or staying with Tommy, because he can't have both. Ranboo will probably be having the same problem as Tommy, except he's on the side of the Syndicate and will have to pick between the Syndicate or keeping Dream imprisoned.

Season 3 is salvageable, it really is. You can fix the poor pacing and you can fix the lack of focus with literally one revelation from fucking Philza M|necraft. But as it stands now, season 3 suffers from a similar situation as Misfits - almost replacing the cast of characters we've followed for the longest time with a new one in a format completely different to the original seasons.

#dream smp #dsmp #dream smp analysis #dsmp analysis #dsmp meta #dream smp meta #long post #esclapoanalysis

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themattress · 3 years

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My Top 15 Favorite Gotham Characters

Plus one Honorable Mention.

Honorable Mention: Silver St. Cloud - She's an honorable mention because of how tragically the show wasted her. Silver was a standout character in 2A's “Rise of the Villains” arc, as we see all the layers peeled back from whimsical, kind-hearted, well-mannered young socialite to cruel, manipulative, cold-blooded agent of an evil religious cult to vulnerable, scared and remorseful girl in way over her head who forges a real emotional connection with Bruce. However, despite all the rich potential for her to develop even further as a character, she was never seen again after the 2A finale.

15. Tabitha Galavan - While as a character she's the very definition of a second-stringer, Tabitha is an interesting case study in what happens when a single ember of innocence is still left burning within the darkest of souls. Raised in the evil Order of St. Dumas and kept firmly under her older brother's thumb, Tabitha is certainly no angel, being the sort of person who will fatally stab an innocent old woman in the back and feel no remorse. But the desire to care and be cared for is still very strong in her, and we see it manifest many times: with Silver, and with Selina, and with Barbara, and of course with Butch. Unfortunately for Tabitha, she is also a case study in how this doesn't guarantee that such a person will receive a happy ending, as she is unable to avoid karmic justice.

14. Butch Gilzean - I didn't really care about Butch initially, since he didn't seem like anything more than Fish Mooney's affably evil muscle. After he became brainwashed into obeying the Penguin's every command, he gradually became more interesting and sympathetic, and by the time he got romantically involved with Tabitha I had become so accustomed to him and his perversely likable sort of villainy that I couldn't imagine the show without him. But maybe the show would have been better off without him after his death in the Season 3 finale, as the immediate retcon afterward of his real name being Cyrus Gold and his resurrection as Solomon Grundy in Season 4 was just nonsense, especially when he ends up just as dead in the Season 4 finale as he was in the Season 3 finale, so what was even the point? Sometimes, dead is better, and I’m sure Butch would agree.

13. Harvey Bullock - For much of Season 1 it felt like the writers were trying to play Harvey Bullock too seriously, and I think that was a mistake because the character always benefits from being played more broadly, and lord knows that Donal Logue can do that very well. Thankfully, that's exactly how he started to be played more often from Season 2 and onward, with whatever serious arcs he did receive such as in Season 4 benefiting from him being so much more likable as a result. I'd rather watch him on screen than Jim Gordon any day.

12. Leslie Thompkins - While initially kind of bland, Leslie "Lee" Thompkins is a character that grew on me overtime. I felt really sorry for her throughout Seasons 2 and 3 as Jim Gordon proved to be the worst love interest ever, bringing her no end of pain, and then in Seasons 4 and 5 she used that pain and anger to shape herself into a total badass anti-heroine who was still all about helping those in need but now was open to using less than moral means to accomplish this. She's a character who finished the show stronger than she'd ever been, and her and Barbara becoming bros is everything I never knew I needed.

11. Sofia Falcone - Sometimes, a sharp and devious mind is all it takes for someone to be a great villain, and damn did Sofia ever put hers to good use. In the comics, this was a forgettable character who was just an obvious thug in design and demeanor, but Gotham's version is terrifying in how petite and pretty and kind and charitable and all around attractive in every way she is...the perfect way to manipulate others and conceal that on the inside she's beyond just a thug; she's a raging, ruthless, vindictive, amoral sociopath who only cares about herself. And kudos to Crystal Reed, whose performance sold the character perfectly. The only real downside to Sofia is that the writers clearly were forced to write her out earlier than anticipated, and her abrupt exit from the show is nowhere close to being as satisfying as the build-up to her gaining power within the city would lead you to believe.

10. Ra's Al Ghul - As wonderful as Sofia was, there was never any question as to whom Season 4's most formidable villain was: the same villain who is the series' ultimate Big Bad, Ra's Al Ghul. Beyond the phenomenally perfect casting of Alexander Siddig, who is hands down the most comics-accurate portrayal of the character in live-action to date, Ra's benefits from the series positioning him as the final answer to the long-running "who killed Thomas and Martha Wayne?" mystery and totally being able to convince viewers that most of this series' events were according to his plans due to the self-assured, in-control and borderline omnipotent way the Demon's Head carries himself. No-one in Gotham City is left unchanged by his machinations, least of all his chosen "heir" Bruce Wayne.

9. Hugo Strange - The Big Bad of 2B's "Wrath of the Villains" arc is in the running for the show's most despicable villain. Professor Hugo Strange is a brilliant psychologist and scientist, but he is utterly devoid of a conscience and will do anything to achieve his twisted aspirations, from ruining peoples' lives with his experiments to bringing people back from the dead to personally ordering the death of those he considers to be friends. What makes Strange enjoyable in spite of his depravity is B.D Wong's performance: he looks absolutely perfect as a younger version of Hugo Strange and his voice seems to be channeling Corey Burton's Christopher Lee-inspired take from Batman: Arkham City. He's a much stronger villain than 2A's Theo Galavan, and tellingly got to return in every following season.

8. Edward Nygma - I really wish I could place Ed higher on this list, since the Riddler is one of my favorite Batman villains and Cory Michael Smith is perfect in the role. But sadly, he's the subject of some really weak writing throughout the show that holds him back from breaching my personal Top 5. Whether it be the constant Nice Guy(TM) hounding of Kristen Kringle, the bizarre Two Face-esque split personality angle, the ungodly stupid Isabella plot device and subsequent clashing with the Penguin because of it, his needless romance with Lee that didn't make sense for either of their characters (which wasn't helped by the fact that it happened at a time where he kept on getting made a fool of in a way that undermined how menacing he was just a season ago), and being used as an obvious red herring in the Haven explosion mystery...he really deserved better material, and it's lucky that Smith makes him so enjoyable to watch since it would otherwise drag him down much further.

7. Jerome Valeska - Cameron Monaghan's performance as Jerome single-handedly forced the Gotham producers' hands when it came to their original plans (or lack thereof) for the Joker in their series, as right off the bat he managed to perfectly capture the same maniacal energy that the likes of Mark Hamill and Heath Ledger did, meaning fans would accept no-one else in the role. While Jerome ends up being more of a test run for the actual Joker - the Beta Joker, so to speak - he still is one of the most frightening and malevolent characters in the show's entire run, spreading chaos for chaos' sake and causing pain to others just because he finds it hilarious, and doing it all in the most theatrical way possible.

6. Jeremiah Valeska - Yes, I agree that this character's whole basis - Jerome's secret twin brother who actually becomes the Joker - and how he was introduced is unbelievably stupid writing; in hindsight it would have made more sense to just find a way to transition Jerome into this kind of characterization as part of a continued evolution toward becoming the Joker. But we're stuck with Jeremiah, and as it stands he is a much worthier Joker than Jerome was. I don't really like the Joker whenever he's written to have no motivation beyond "random crime and chaos because LOL crazy!!!" - the best Jokers always have a reason for doing what they do, it's just that it's always a twisted reason that holds no basis in reality and just serves as an excuse for the Joker to spread pain and chaos across Gotham City and match wits with Batman. (Ex: Heath Ledger's Joker may say he has no plans and just "does things" as a manipulation tactic, but in reality he does make plans and does have the tangible objective of proving his nihilistic, anarchistic worldview to everyone; Batman in particular.)

Jeremiah's penchant for intricate planning combined with the psychotic objectives that lie behind his plans is what makes him more believable as the Joker compared to Jerome, and it really felt like the show's stakes rose to an entirely new, darker than ever before level when he stepped up to the plate at the end of Season 4. I also love his development: being in denial about his own insanity and likeness to his brother until his personal obsession with Bruce overpowers that and causes him to willingly give into the madness so that he can be a worthy enough foil for Bruce as Gotham's Dark Knight, since that gives his miserable life a sense of purpose. Add to this Cameron Monaghan still pulling off that Joker energy flawlessly and you have a Joker that can stand beside Nicholson, Ledger and Phoenix's portrayals.

5. Barbara Kean - This one really took me by surprise. I knew going into the show that Barbara was considered a poorly written, irritating obstructive love interest to Gordon in Season 1, but that she got Rescued From the Scrappy Heap in the following seasons. What I didn't know was the way that rescuing happened - she goes crazy and becomes a surprise villain in the Season 1 finale, and from then on out she is freaking nuts in the most hilariously over-the-top way, with Erin Richards chewing the scenery for all it's worth. Barbara is so entertaining throughout the various guises and positions she goes through across the series, not to mention a complete badass who you just can't help but respect for being true to herself even if she's an awful human being. Her redemption arc in Season 5 was a beautiful way to bring her journey full-circle, and I don't begrudge her the happy ending she got at all.

4. Alfred Pennyworth - We're all used to Alfred the butler, but Gotham got me accustomed to Alfred the soldier. Sean Pertwee is thoroughly convincing in the role of the hard-assed, frequently grumpy or moody yet caring, loyal and dependable Alfred, whose relationship with young Bruce Wayne is perfectly depicted. The only time I didn't care for him was during 2A, where he was cruel and unfair toward Selina because she killed his treacherous war-time buddy who almost murdered him and was planning on doing harm to Bruce. Thankfully, from the midseason finale and onward he managed to redeem himself, regaining his status as one of the show's best-depicted characters and maintaining it all the way to the end.

3. Bruce Wayne - This character was always going to live or die based on what child actor was playing him, and by God did David Mazouz nail it in his performance. Even putting the dead parents and destiny as Batman aside, Bruce Wayne is clearly not a "normal" kid, being raised in the lap of luxury and privileged to the point of extreme naïveté, with an overly formal way of speaking hammering in his distance from the rest of Gotham City. Watching him grow stronger and smarter and more worldly and responsible as the series progressed was always a pleasure, and he naturally made a far more compelling protagonist than Jim Gordon did, with the show ending on the shot that it does making it even more clear that this was primarily his story all along; just one elongated origin story for the goddamn Batman.

2. Selina Kyle - For quite a while in Season 1, the teenage girl who would be Catwoman spent a lot of time just slinking around the fringes of the story and accomplishing little of value. But once she finally met Bruce, Selina's character really took off, and she ended up becoming my second all-time favorite character in the show. Aside from the strong writing and character development, much is also owed to Camren Bicondova, who is utterly charming in her depiction of the cynical, sharp-tongued, street-smart thief with a heart of gold, and she is even able to make her rushed final transition into Catwoman in Season 5 believable. And kudos to Lili Simmons who plays her in the final episode, she is perfectly convincing as an adult version of Selina, looking and sounding just as I expect Bicondova to in a few years.

1. Oswald Cobblepot - OK, this is probably an unoriginal choice, but I can't help it - Oswald Cobblepot, aka the Penguin, is the one character on this show who just did no wrong as far as I'm concerned (as a character, I mean, he obviously did a lot wrong morally!) In addition to being the role Robin Lord Taylor was born to play, there is a consistency in the writing of his character and in the quality of his development that I think is unmatched by anyone else in the cast. Aside from that one blip in the Isabella plotline of Season 3 that I credit as more of a blemish on Ed than I do Oswald, he was always a fully three-dimensional character who acted and reacted believably, and he always stayed firmly on the line between being a heinous, ruthless, murderous criminal chiefly seeking power and a tragic, sympathetic, even funny and likable person chiefly seeking love. And he always remained the "noble villain" when compared to the other villains around him; always the one you could count on to join the heroes and do the right thing when it counted because he's a pragmatist with moral lines he will not cross....and because he loves and believe in Gotham City too, in his own way.

#Gotham #Opinion #Analysis

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schmope-is-dead · 3 years

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ohoho you thought i was dead

6/27/53 - Digory and Steven had gone on a walk, Tom had decided not to go with them. Digory tried to admit his crush on Steven, but found his crush was possessed, and about to be sacrificed to the cult known as The Unknowns. Digory took his place, sort of dying.

6/30/53 - Steven was found by Tom

7/5/53 - The day Tom went looking for Digory, but instead found a knife in his own stomach, placed there by one of the members of the cult known as "Memento Mori." They left him there however, as they had heard footsteps. The footsteps were a distressed Steven, looking for his friends. Steven died, he literally just tripped on a rock and died. Their bodies were soon found later that night.

7/7/53 - Tom's body was stolen by the cult "Memento Mori", of which Tom's mother, Mary, was wrongly accused of doing and put in custody. Tom later woke up in the hive, finding he had been abandoned by the cult there. He had been sacrificed wrong, and was resurrected and had his soul claimed by the voices instead of becoming a sacrifice. He found a bunch of notebooks in the pockets of other bodies in the hive, using them to make his first entry, which was later found by the reporters.

7/12/53 - The local newspaper got a hold of the story. They wrongly assumed Tom had committed suicide, based on the stabs to the abdomen. Tom corrupted for the first time, leaving his body to be marked by Memento Mori with several sigils carved into him, which was later found by reporters. Tom's mother was brought out of custody from this development.

7/13/53 - The article got temporarily moved to the front page, as many readers loved the story. The reporters finally got the okay from the police to show Tom’s diary entry. Digory's body had been moving quite a bit. Digory had little to no control of his body at times, as The Unknowns had gained control.

7/14/53 - The article was brought back to its original page, as parents complained about kids seeing its content. The article didn't have too much, just reporting on what it was able to say.

7/17/53 - Steven's funeral. Later that night, Digory's body went missing. His corpse was found laying by Steven's grave, though locals said he had earlier been sitting at the edge with his eyes glowing. Though the sitting part was true, the glowing eyes part wasn't. Tom found one of the papers and sent a letter to the paper, stating that they should stop immediately, as Tom thought it was inhumane to take pictures of corpses and use them for simple entertainment. He also made a few entries of why he thought the reporters should stop, some never found.

7/19/53 - Tom's funeral. Tom watched this from the forest, he gave up hope of being found. He made a few entries. He also started growing his first set of horns, which came with fairly painful headaches. He thought he was dying and made a goodbye entry, which he later made a follow up one saying "The world hasn't seen the last of Thomas Jones, I can promise you that."

7/20/53 - The article has a sponsor, as the police are starting to monitor what they show, and need some support to still be able to run. Tom burnt down the morgue, taking Digory's body with him. He thought Digory was still alive, and he had hope of everything being normal again. Unfortunately, that led to Digory's body finally dying from smoke inhalation, leaving The Unknowns unable to use it. He woke up in the middle of the night, he felt like he had to go to the hive. He found Digory, dead, and burns on the both of them. Tom assumed this meant he had murdered him and didn't remember, leaving him distraught. He didn't remember committing arson. Tom sent a letter to Digory's family, he was going to send something meaningful, but he could only find himself writing the simple phrase, "Diggy could've lived."

7/21/53 - Tom stole some bandages from the local corner store for his burns, nothing much.

7/23/53 - The reporters turned to radio, as the police were monitoring what they put in the newspaper. They found some of Tom's entries. The reporters were starting to be less down to earth and think of supernatural possibilities of Tom being alive. Tom found a rat, he thought he should keep it, since Digory always liked rats. Of course, the rat was Digory, but Tom didn't know that. Memento Mori found Tom, they thought they should try to befriend him, as they had seen corrupt Tom, and thought they should take responsibility for what they had done. Tom has started leaving his entries in places hard for the reporters to find them, as he quite despised them.

7/25/53 - The news station could only evade the police for so long. This was their last story on the situation, as their audience had been losing interest. Tom was now part of Memento Mori, and he had accepted that as his life from now on.

1985-1989 - Tom tried to rejoin society, with the help of a girl named Roxy. He got a job at a diner, it was nice to be normal for a bit. He went under the alias "Timothy Johnson". He learned how to act like he was from this time, and soon adjusted. With Roxy’s unfortunate death, Tom was so distraught that he resigned from his “normal” life.

2005 - The system starts breaking because Madison is now busy with her children and can't get too many sacrifices, leaving Tom to take care of the sacrifices for her and help the younger members get their sacrifices. This angers the voices, they used to get far more sacrifices. So, they decided to do something about it. They have a member of themselves who's still separate enough to possess someone on their own. The member is Steven, and he possesses Damien. At this point, Steven is aware that he's been tasked with possibly hurting Tom, but since he's only so separate from the voices, when he's not part of them, he starts almost combining with Damien, and grows hatred for Tom. Steven brings Damien back to the Conglour (the Memento Mori house) and pretends everything is normal. Of course, everyone is suspicious, but Steven is just close enough to acting like Damien that people only talk about them between themselves, and don't confront Damien. Madison, being Damien's wife, *was* able to tell however. Steven had been reporting back to the voices every night, how everything was going, how Memento Mori was just weak enough that the voices might be able to escape the hive safely. The only person in the way was Madison. Steven was tasked with murdering her, Damien pleaded with him not to hurt her. Steven ignored Damien's pleads, this was his job, even if it was to murder an innocent girl. Steven took Madison out for a walk into the forest, he brought her to the river. He drowned her. Now, Steven had only been tasked with keeping Tom at bay, to keep him from getting into trouble. After all, he was the voice's lab rat, he was special. But, with Steven's hatred for Tom, he took it too far. He took Tom to the hive and explained himself. Sure, it was a bit of a cartoon villain thing to do, but Steven wanted Tom to know exactly who was killing him. During this, Damien had been trying to separate himself from Steven, and had just enough control to stab himself in the chest. His last words were him telling Tom to tell his children he loved them.

2020 - There were reports of people going missing in the forest. When they were found, their bodies would be mangled in horrible ways, or unconscious. Tom was now the primary caretaker of Ava and David, though he would also help take care of the other kids. Tom was wary of the missing people cases, were the people he cared about in danger? Tom investigated, all of the missing people cases lead to the same clearing in the forest. Tom got possessed. It was a strange kind of peaceful for a moment, it was Digory, he was able to see his best friend again. Digory was.. Confused. The other looked familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He looked over the boy for a few seconds more. Green eyes, a bit more bright than he remembered, but still.. Freckles.. Red hair.. That same smile.. Digory knew who this person was supposed to be, it was his old friend Tom, but they seemed so different. His friend always wore the same sweater, his friend’s hair was always neatly brushed, his friend would always wear brown slacks, Digory didn’t know this person. It must’ve been a weird thing to see a person talking with themselves as if they were two people in the same body, so you must understand when Ava snuck out of the Conglour to find Tom, she was very confused. After that, Digory let go of possessing Tom and instead possessed a rat. Tom brought Ava and Digory back to the Conglour. About a week later, Tom got the idea to bring Digory to the hive to get him his own body so that he wouldn’t have to possess a rat. The voices hate the unknowns, including Digory, so Digory’s body has scars on him and burn marks on his back. The scars were just to remind Digory what they thought of him, but the burn marks were to punish Tom for being friends with one of the unknowns, to remind him what led to all of this.

2021 - Just a break from all the depressing shit, just Tom and Digory being gay

and more to come, please kill me i have severe brainrot

#death tw #suicide tw #please kill me I have 0 brain cells #this is so illiterate please don't read it

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