#have I mention lately that I really love jervis tetch?

[writers-wrongs]

Could you do either BTAS Mad Hatter or Riddler as platonic yanderes? Perhaps with a nerdy non-binary reader?

im in a hattery mood tonight, so we'll start with him and maybe ill do riddler at a later date. also, didnt know what specifically you wanted when you said nerdy, so i went in terms of hobbies

platonic!yandere!btas!jervis tetch x nerdy!nonbinary!reader

-im gonna start this after hes already established as the mad hatter and has already moved on from alice (side note- its weird that he only had one episode where he was after her, right?)

-he doesnt know what came over him, he just saw the most interesting person walking by his hideout and simply had to follow them home! hes used to flights of fancy regarding random people, but most of his fixations fade after only a few days. the only people who have held his attention for longer have been alice and now you. he loved alice, and if you captivate him like she did, he must love you too, right...? but then, why does his interest in you feel so different?

-he cant exactly bump into you in public, hes a wanted criminal, but he has to meet you somehow. he feels like if he just spoke to you, he could make sense of his feelings. so he dons a disguise and follows you to the library. hes seen all the little pins and patches on your clothing, he knows what sort of books you like, so he stations himself in that aisle, hoping he'll be able to chat with you

-and lucky him, you reach for a book right next to him! he takes note of the title- its no alice in wonderland, but it seems interesting enough. he asks you if its any good, and that leads to a wonderful conversation about literature! oh, hes so delighted to be speaking to you, especially when you mention your schedule for library visits. he already knew, of course, but now he can freely pop up there without seeming like a stalker. you part ways for the day, but you cant help but notice how he watches you as you leave...

-you become good friends soon, meeting at the library and discussing what youve read lately. youve never spoken to someone who listens so intently when you ramble about your interests, and its refreshing when he apologizes after incorrectly assuming your pronouns. and hes so respectful, promising to never give you a reason to correct him again. its a bit strange how much he cares, seeing that youve only known each other for a month or so, but nobodys really tried to be your friend before, so maybe youre just overthinking it

-you call him a good friend to his face, and he... sort of freezes. with alice, it always stung when she called him a friend, but with you? it feels like everything finally makes sense. of course he wasnt romantically attracted to you, youre nothing like alice! his mind had never wandered to thoughts of kissing or marriage like it had when he was pining for her, it had always been thoughts of a nice tea party and the like! he loved you, yes, but just as friends! friends... what a wonderful, positively frabjous word!

-after his little epiphany, he seems much brighter and eager than he did when you first met. that just makes it all the scarier when youre late to your library hangout after an unfortunate mugging. despite assuring jervis that youre fine and the only thing you really cared about losing was one of your pins, you can hear him muttering under his breath about how he wont let this stand. the mood is off for the rest of the day, but theres nothing to be done about it

-you wake up the next morning to a knock at the door. its jervis, in full hatter attire, presenting your stolen pin to you. while you question how you didnt notice that your library friend was a notorious criminal, he locks the door behind him and makes himself comfortable. he sits you down and explains how he was drawn to you from the moment he saw you, and he simply had to know you better. he regrets having to lie about his identity, but it was necessary, dont you see? if he was recognized, he never wouldve gotten the chance to become such good friends with you! but of course, he cant let his dearest friend get hurt! he had always worried for your safety, but your mugging was the last straw. he simply cant allow you to go out into gotham anymore, its far too dangerous!

-before you can protest, he slips a card behind your ear and you black out. when you wake up, youre in his hideout, in a room specifically tailored to you. your favorite books are on the shelves, theres posters of your favorite movies and shows on the walls, the tv has a few consoles plugged into it, he even got records of all your favorite music! here, he explains, youll be kept safe and happy. your own personal wonderland

-if youre alright with this new arrangement, expect jervis to hover over everything you do. not because hes suspicious, he just wants to understand your interests. he'll get you unbirthday gifts every day (except your birthday, of course), and youll have tea parties at least once a week. oh, what a wonderful time youll have together!

-if you still want to leave... oh, dear. he doesnt take rejection well, he never has. its almost worse this time, because you considered him a friend before! whats changed? hes still the same man you met all those weeks ago, why wouldnt you want to be friends with him now? hes learned from alice, a card on your head isnt the solution to his problem, but boy is he tempted. he supposes youll just have to spend some time alone before youll see reason. despite all the entertainment in your room, you still need human interaction, so youll probably go a bit mad before you see him again. but at least you want to spend time with him now! he doesnt care about your sanity, just that youre with him. after all, we're all mad here

[riddle-me-ri]

A/N: No real explanation for this, it’s just a super, super self-indulgent piece for me to do a character deep dive into Jervis Tetch. Don’t mind me! Lol. I was stuck between doing this with either Arkhamverse or BTAS Jervis(pls request btas jervis i only have one idea for him and its meh to me rip), but decided to just do a general overall version of him. I bring up a lot of familiar character beats and woes so this can really fit most Jervi anyway. There’s a hint of smut but nothing crazy, cause it’s not entirely what it’s about. 

and I guess a wee late b-day gift for @mischievous-marchie they’re mostly to blame for this anyway given the few deep discussions we’ve had in general lmao. 

Trigger Warnings: depressive and anxious thoughts, venting, explicit sexual content (handjobs all about Jervis here sorry not sorry), mentions of violence and criminal acts, and strong language

Word Count: 3.4 k

General Mad Hatter x Reader - Love and Suds

One of the most dangerous places for anyone to go is the deep recesses of their own brain. 

People often spend many years trying to repress their horrid anxious inducing memories of their shortcomings. 

Jervis found himself lamenting his very life, in the cold solitude of his tiny living room in his tiny apartment. 

On his lucid days, he's aware…he's there in reality, painfully aware of everything; past and present.  

Jervis sees what he's done, and it shudders his whole body in shame. He doesn't mean to hurt anyone. He doesn't mean to take away their free will…well most of them anyhow. 

It's just how else can he be noticed? Be respected and be shown an iota of love? That's all anyone really needs right? That's all everyone wants. 

Suffice it to say, people want things from Jervis…they want them all the time. But never the man himself.

Fellow rogues and evil masterminds constantly come to steal or bargain for a smidgen of his technology. 

He hates to admit the times he agreed to such dealings, whether it was for the money or just a shot at actually developing some kind of alliance.

Only for it all to be spit back in his face. Nobody wanted Jervis the person…just the genius and what he could provide. 

No, Jervis was always too freakish, too awkward, too…creepy to some. 

Jervis could feel the walls slowly caving in on himself. 

All his atrocities from his raging escapades to find companionship only to find someone wasn't the one or only to be taken for a fool and used all this time. 

Which caused him to lash out in the most violent ways…

All the times he was used, chewed on and spit back out, no longer of use to them or anyone really. 

His fingers raked through his hair. Nails scratching at his scalp, fingertips pulling at his hair strands. 

He just wanted to make his Wonderland a reality. He wanted to find happiness in reality but it just wasn't possible so he had to resort to desperate…horrible…measures. 

"Didn't want to…I didn't want to…wanted company, wanted to feel loved, respected…h-h-heard…" 

Heard…heard..what's that noise?

Someone was knocking at his door.

Jervis blinked rapidly. Trying to come back into the external after spiraling into his internal conflicts. 

Who could it be? He debated just staying quiet and staying put and continuing his downward spiral. 

Yet, much like Alice of old, he was curious. 

Jervis slowly, almost reluctantly approached the door. He looked through the peephole. 

Oh, it was you. What're you doing here?

"Jervis? Are you there? I haven't heard from you…" 

Guilt welled up in his gut like bile in his throat he wanted to puke. In all his damning thoughts, you were completely void of them. Probably because you're one of the only few people in the whole world that seemed genuine. 

You…actually seemed to like him for him. Something so rare there were many days Jervis found it hard to believe you existed. 

Yet, he knew he didn't have any chips on you. Jervis has looked you over a time or two to ensure he didn’t plant one on your during any of his stupors. 

There you were though. You were a free roaming person…that willingly came to see him. 

Jervis slowly unlocked the door and was greeted by your bright relieved smile. 

"Oh my god, Jervis you're okay! I-I haven't heard from you. You haven't invited me over in awhile…umm, can I come in?" 

Back in Jervis' days before his Mad Hatter escapades, you were the only one that showed him any friendly camaraderie. 

You, of course, being the only one wasn't enough to prevent Jervis from succumbing to his last resort for more connections and more semblance of respect he lacked. 

Many times, Batman and the psychiatrists at Arkham called upon you to help him, but it was like talking to a bunch of brick walls when they asked for your opinion. 

Jervis nodded and stepped to the side and let you in. 

You looked around at the clear disarray of his living room. Blankets and comforters were scattered on the couch and floor. Lamp shades torn off. Cups and saucers littered and stacked on the table and floor. 

You hung your bag up by the door and took off your shoes, before looking back over to Jervis. 

He had definitely seen better days as well. 

His hair was coated in grease, his face sweaty and paler than usual. He looked like he had been wearing the same forest green bathrobe for days if not weeks. 

Jervis was rocking on the heels of his feet as he let you take in the outer representation of his inner turmoil and depression. 

"I…um…" Jervis tried to speak up. His heart cracked as you waited on him to continue with sincere ears. 

"Wasn't planning on having company…" He scratched behind his ear, nervously. 

"It's okay, I did pop in unannounced but…I was worried–" You began to explain your motive but was cut off. 

"Why? W-why bother…" 

You quirk your eyebrow at him for a moment. "Because I care about you…I know I haven't been around much and I feel guilty for it but I just wanted-"

"Don't waste your time or breath on me…I'm far from forgiveness and beyond help…"

You walked over and attempted to grab his hands in yours. "Jervis, that's not true, who told you that?" 

Jervis looked down at his feet, as his hands rested in yours but didn't return your endearing grip. 

You had a tight smile as Jervis decided to stop responding to you. He tended to shut down when words became too much, swirling in his head between the rhymes, his thoughts, and what he wishes to say. 

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything. But I'm not going anywhere. I'm sorry it took me so long to come back." 

You started running some water into the bathtub. Occasionally putting your hand through the water until it was warm enough to start filling the tub.

Jervis was still in the living room. Too exhausted to really argue with you to leave him be. Plus deep down he supposes he was glad to see you, before things got too dark again. 

"Hey, Jervy!" 

His heart skipped a beat, you hadn't called him that in…years. 

He turned his head down the corridor and saw your head sticking out of the bathroom. 

"I ran you a warm bath, you don't have to wash or anything, just relax, yeah? I'll pick up a little in the living room in the meantime…" You offered. 

You, you did what? You're going to do that? 

Panic softly set in, he knows this feeling. 

Something he's always felt for you, but reserved it. Pushed it down. Not wanting to hurt you after so long…or worse, like he did to most…

He hopped off the couch and made his way to the bathroom. Your smile almost made him smile back in return. 

"Just take it easy, I'll be back in a bit with a change of clothes. Just yell for me if you need anything." You pat him on the shoulder, before closing the door and you start cleaning up the living room. 

Jervis had to admit, it did feel nice being in here. The water felt like an engulfing warm hug, slowly rinsing off the grime, sweat, and dirt off his skin. The warm water caused his skin to redden a soft pink. 

His swarming thoughts from before still lingered but they were much fuzzier. Hidden behind some weird mental fog. 

The weight remained however as he fought on how to conduct himself with you. He could hear you moving around just outside the door. The clinking of dishes, the roaring of a vacuum. 

A knocking sound broke him once again from his reverie. 

"Are you doing okay, Jervy?" 

No response. Jervis tried to move his mouth and conduct words but nothing came out. 

"I'm coming in, okay? So…hide yourself." You chuckled softly. 

You entered the bathroom and were happy to see he at least got into the tub. You wanted to ask how he was, but felt it would fall on deaf ears. You set his change of clothes by the bathroom door. 

"Here, you don't need to do anything, but…" You walked over to the side of the tub, making Jervis slightly jump. 

"Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you, but, we gotta do something with this hair, okay? Will you let me wash it?" 

Jervis hated to admit it but that sounded splendid right now. He was sick of his hair sticking to his face and being everywhere. He nodded. 

You smiled brightly, excited for the positive response. "Thank you, I promise I'll be gentle."

"N-no…uh…thank you…" Jervis mumbled. 

"Don't mention it. I just wish I got here sooner. Looks like you had tea parties without me." You joked, giggling softly. 

He softly mustered an amused scoff in return. You were always one to entertain his Wonderland fixation. You didn't question it or ridicule it. You understood and encouraged it. Even made a claim to being The March Hare (or The Dormouse on days when you were particularly sleepy and longed for a nap.)

You got behind Jervis' head with the bottle of shampoo and conditioner by your side and a couple of rags. You put a generous amount of shampoo in your hand and began scrubbing his strands. 

The contact was really nice and felt amazing. Better than all the beatings from Batman or the Arkham Asylum wards he was used too. 

He almost whined when you stopped. "Jervis…I'm gonna need you to breathe for me, okay?"

Jervis didn't even realize he was holding in his breath as you scrubbed his scalp. After a moment he slowly exhaled and began breathing in and out. You continued washing and rinsing his hair before repeating the process with conditioner. 

You two sat in comfortable silence with the occasional sloshing of water whenever you had to rinse Jervis' hair. 

The swelling panic deep in Jervis' gut was throbbing at this point…along with something else. 

You weren't under his mind control. 

You were still your own being. How were you so nice? You know better than anyone what he's capable of, but you choose to come anyway and you chose to stay. No matter how much distance he tried to keep from you so he didn't result in his usual…antics. 

There was no denying his feelings for you anymore, in this vulnerable and intimate state. He loves and adores you. His only friend, his March Hare…he just didn't know how to respond or react…how they say…appropriately. 

"Y-you don't have to stay here any longer. You're free to leave." Jervis came back up from rinsing the rest of the conditioner out of his hair. 

"Jervis…if you want me to go. I can, but I don't want to. I've missed you and I wanna help you." Your hands were still on either side of him in the water. 

"Why? Why do you wanna stay? Knowing very well what I can do…what I do to…what I've done." 

You took your hand out of the water and cupped his chin in the palm of your hand so he could look at you.

"Jervis, I've known you for a decade…and you've never not once offered or tricked me with any mind control whatsoever. And you want to know why?" 

Jervis nodded, but you still answered anyway. 

"Because you don't need to. You know you don't need to. And you never will need too. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to explain that to that dark dingus." You rolled your eyes at the mention of Batman. 

You could count on both hands and then some the nights that Batman was literally breaking and entering into your home to ask about Jervis and what made you special. 

It's because you were fucking kind to him. You liked Jervis. He's quirky, intelligent, and can be kind but you could only be so kind anymore after the world kicked you down so many times. 

You wondered just how small Batman's so-called "rogues gallery" would be if people were kinder to others and didn't seek to take advantage of other human beings. 

It saddened you immensely to see him go down the path he did when there was no way for you to interfere but you couldn't say it surprised you either. 

You looked back into his eyes, your hands moving from his chin to his cheek. "I'm aware of your past…transgressions. Your m/o but I'm not scared or worried. I do mean it, and you can quote that it's actually me…" 

You turned and rotated your head around to show the lack of headgear, microchips, and any other cranium influences. 

"...I care…no…I do love you Jervis Tetch. I'm not going anywhere…not anytime soon." 

There was a beat of silence as Jervis took in what you said.

You saw his lower lip start quivering as they fought to speak or keep in the growing pressure in his eyes and throat to cry. 

You smiled softly, and with zero care for getting wet; you wrapped your arms around him and embraced him. 

It took a minute but he slowly returned the gesture. You could feel him press his fingers down into your lower back and his arms tighten around you. 

"T-thank you…" He whispered softly in between sniffles. 

"Don't mention it." You let him go and sink back into the tub only to realize you're just as soaked as well.

You couldn't help but laugh as Jervis looked at you nervously when he realized he had gotten you wet. 

"It's okay. It'll dry, I figured it was a good idea to pack an overnight bag." You chuckled. 

Jervis felt guilty now, not for any reasons before, but for the way he kept stealing glances at your skin that was see through the wet white shirt. 

"Do you think you can clean yourself while I go change?" 

He could, he absolutely could. He wasn't a child. But damn it if he wasn't just the tiniest bit selfish for your touch and attention now. He didn't want you to get away. 

As if you possessed mind powers of your own, you jokingly rolled your eyes. "Okay, okay, I'll just finish what I started and then change, how is that?" 

You laughed in disbelief as for the first time that night Jervis actually gave you one of his signature giddy grins and an encouraging nod. 

You got back down on your knees beside the tub and grabbed one of the rags and lathered it with soap. 

Before you began washing his body, you playfully plopped the rag onto his face, causing you both to laugh. You did take the chance to clean his face and head but being mindful of his eyes. 

You were relieved to see Jervis start feeling better but it was even more satisfying to feel the tension in his neck and shoulders finally disappear. He was actually relaxed and loose. 

When you got lower under the water however, something stood at attention that you didn't think about and Jervis forgot to mention. 

Jervis gasped as you got closer to his groin and grabbed your wrist. "I-I can take it from here-I…I'm sorry." He ruined it. His one chance of true companionship was dashed because of stupid primal responses and desires.

"It's fine, Jervy, really." It really was fine, you didn't mind one bit. You were kind of flattered more than anything. 

"Y-You mean you don't mind?" 

You shook your head, "not at all, in fact if you allow me too…" 

Jervis gulped. He would love it if you did, actually. You caused it after all. 

"Y-yes, please." 

You leaned in and kissed his temple as your hands dove back into the water. You let your hand trail up his leg, occasionally groping his thigh as you got closer to his cock. 

Jervis gasped when your hand finally gripped the base of his cock. You slowly began stroking and tugging at the base, just to start the pace slow. With every pump you went higher and higher up until you finally got to the head. 

Jervis was a flushed red panting mess as you continued your gentle but steady strokes, occasionally squeezing his head in a way that made him whimper louder. 

Above the water's surface, you continued to peck sweet, endearing kisses along his face. His forehead, temple, cheek, nose. Everywhere he was comfortable with for now. 

You were still somewhat shaky from your confession and Jervis' lack of reciprocating or response of one, but you knew he would say it when he’s ready in due time. The fact he’s letting you stay, treat him, and “help” him…that was enough. 

You began picking up the pace, with faster and tighter strokes from his base to the tip. You saw Jervis slightly convulsing and his breathing became more raggedy and heavy. You were so focused on getting him to the precipice of pleasure that you almost didn’t feel his hand come up to your cheek. 

“C-can I…can we…k-kiss?” He managed through his groans and whimpers. 

The elation you felt as you happily leaned in and pressed your lips gently with Jervis’. You felt the quick intake of air through his nostrils. Your lips vibrated slightly as he groaned into your lips, before sighing contently. When you pulled back and broke the kiss, you smiled at the look of pure bliss on his face. 

A complete opposite of the stern, tensed forlorn expression he had when you first walked into the door. 

You removed your hand from the tub and got up and began actually drying off your hands and arms.

Jervis was about to finally get out of the water that has already gone cold a long time ago, but was taken aback by your next actions.  

Without so much as a second thought you removed your top and bottoms right there in front of him and changed into the light blue puffy shirt that he was supposed to change into. 

You didn’t notice how you absolutely stunted the neuroscientist as you quickly made your way out of the bathroom. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back with a change of clothes for you!” 

When the door shut and you left. Jervis was left alone again, to really let it all sink in what just transpired. 

The way his heart was skipping beats but with love and elation more so than anxiety and guilt. The smile on his face wasn’t turned up, crooked and mad. It was natural and it felt nice for once. 

Jervis quickly got out before you could shock him again and began drying himself off. His back was towards the door as you opened it with a fresh shirt, pants, and underwear. You slowly crept behind him and put your hands over his eyes. 

Jervis gasped slightly from the shock, before chuckling at your playfulness. 

“Guess who?” You whispered sing-songy in his ear. 

“Hmm…oh is it the Cheshire Cat? The Carpenter? Or-or the Walrus?”

You laughed softly. “Nope, I’m actually invited to the Tea Party.” 

“Dormy?” 

You shrugged. “On my more sleepy days, absolutely.”

“Oh, I know.” Jervis reached up and grabbed your hands and removed them from his eyes. He turns around and smiles at you. “It’s my darling March Hare.”

“But of course.” You smiled as you pulled him into your arms. You gave him a kiss on his nose and reluctantly let him go. 

“I’ll let you get dressed, its not too late and I doubt you’ve eaten anything. I’ll make something quick and then we can head to bed, how does that sound?” You opened the door, about to head to the kitchen. 

Jervis smiled widely, beaming with happiness and love he hasn’t felt in such a long time. “That sounds splendid, my dear.” 

“Perfect! See you soon!” With that you left the bathroom again and began whipping some stuff up in the kitchen. 

As he changed, Jervis couldn’t help but smile in pure delight. All his memories and thoughts that were weighing on him and suffocating him finally dissipated like steam from a tea pot. He had someone that cared for him, not just for what he could do but for who he is. 

The notorious Mad Hatter of Rogue Gallery infamy. The lonely wretch that is Jervis Tetch. 

When he is with you. He felt he actually had a chance.

[starleska]

heyyy. when will you ever add some pictures of your other f/os in your f/o tracker, i’m actually so invested about it and i must say that you have LOTS of good taste in fictional peeps 🙈😏

hahaha aww, thank you very much sweet anon!!! really makes me giggle that you're invested in this, like a really bad sport 🙈🙈 i did just add Jervis Tetch the other day!!!! the only problem is that carrd is super limited with how many elements you can have...and i have so many fictional loves!! it feels like having loads of plushies, and deciding which ones get to be in the bed 😂💖 not to mention, it's more time-consuming than you think to add pictures for them all;;; i've just been very busy lately!! but now i know it's smth you like, i'll definitely have a look again when i have a spare moment :3c

[march-harrigan]

Feel like talkin' about my top 3 Jervi now. I don't mean top 3 like a ranking list but rather, these three Hatters are tied for first place in my heart. I love damn near every Jervis I've come across but these. THESE are the ones I'm thinking about constantly. Since they're all equal, I'll just post them in the order that I 'met' them. Spoilers ahead.

BTAS

Baby's first Hatter. I make it no secret on here that I'm an old fogey. Batman: The Animated Series got it's start when I was just a little thing. A couple of years later, I was watching reruns whenever I could catch them, and one of those was Perchance to Dream. So imagine a little hare, sat in front of the TV. I don't remember how old I was exactly but it was single digits and I could READ. I remember this because I was pissed when Bruce pulled the whole "can't read in dreams" line because I had absolutely read things in dreams. But anyway, probably about 7-8 years old. Now obviously Jervis wasn't revealed until near the end of the episode and we didn't get a whole lot of time with him but I was little, okay? So when I saw a character design I liked or enjoyed a character's voice, that stuck with me. Jervis had both of these things going for him in SPADES. I was very confused by "the Mad Hatter" being in a Batman cartoon but I was THERE for it. Not much later, I managed to catch a rerun of Mad as a Hatter and that cleared a few things up for me. By that point, I was smitten. His pretty blue eyes in the first half of the episode(god I wish they'd kept that), those big teeth, his SMILE, Roddy McDowall's voicework. And in some ways, even though I knew he was doing bad things, I kind of felt for him. Even as a kid, I could kind of recognize when a character was tragic. I just didn't really have the words for it at the time. I'd go through phases, in and out of BTAS throughout my childhood. But any time I could catch one of his episodes was an absolute joy for me. I fully admit that part of this one is the nostalgia goggles. But I truly do love him as well, especially as I've gotten older and better at analyzing why I like him, even coming to relate to him in some ways(mainly the hyperfixation on and tendency to withdraw into fictional worlds. I know this applies to all versions, but this is the one I grew up with and where the comfort of someone who was 'like me' in that way began). I also relate to the meek persona he shows early on, and the eventual temper more than I probably should. I've gotten better at managing it. But it's safe to say I've been the quiet guy with the eventual hare trigger temper. If there's one positive thing I can take away from my shared experience with him, it's that I've learned to drop the facade and be as cring-I mean WHIMSICAL as I want to be.

Arkham Games

You have NO idea how excited I was when I heard that Arkham City had a Mad Hatter side mission. My main goal when I started the game, even after doing the research and finding out how many I would have to play, was to get to him. I was definitely in it for the Riddler challenges as well, but Jervis was my top priority and bonus points for the audio logs(have I mentioned I hate every iteration of Hugo Strange I have seen to date?). I was... Disappointed? But not by Jervis himself. No, Jervis was absolutely delightful. From his dialogue, to the way he moved, and right down to his disheveled appearance. And lord knows Peter MacNicol's voice has an effect on me. This man does 'crazy little bastard' SO fucking well. Not just the voice but the mannerisms were absolutely flawless. I listen to Arkham Hatter voice lines at bedtime just so I can go to sleep in a good mood. He makes me giddy and giggly and I don't even know what else to say on the matter! No, the reason I was disappointed was that the side mission was so short! The cutscene leading into it was enough to have me instantly smitten with the man, only for it to be a short beat 'em up section. My heart hurt for him when I unlocked the audio logs. Just listening to Strange actively and purposely making Jervis' mental issues worse(Did I mention... I hate Hugo Strange?). After that I played Origins. I think it did better in giving us more Hatter content(uncomfortable ending aside). When I climbed out of that sewer and those rabbit mask goons started singing, I was CACKLING. I was SO excited to get into another Hatter mission, just hoping this time I'd get more and it delivered! Finally getting to go into the hat shop I saw in Arkham City, the 'sir' dialogue, taking screenshots because I wanted to capture how fuckin' SHORT he was. All leading into a fun and beautiful Wonderland platforming section. My first time through, it took me a damn while because I had to stop and admire every little detail. It might have bee a different dev team, but they went all out to make this section scream 'Jervis'. From the cards replacing the experience bats, to the stone faces and stained glass images of Jervis, right down to the tea river with sugar cubes floating down it. GOD, it was an experience. Also. "No one ever wanted to hear what Jervis had to say, he might as well have been INVISIBLE." That. Should not have given me childhood flashbacks, but MORE RELATABILITY I GUESS. And finally Arkham Knight. This game cemented his place as one of my favorite Hatters in any Batman media. He's gone from a sometimes rhymer to an always rhymer and as much as I hate it, knowing it's indicative of his mental state, I also find it kind of endearing? The interrogation recording with him and Cash never fails to make me laugh and, OOOOH speaking of laughs, his makes my heart flutter. By this point, Peter MacNicol had been cemented as my favorite Hatter voice(not an easy feat when you have Roddy McDowall to compete with). I liked this one because we get to talk with him a lot. SO much good dialogue. And the pop-up book setting of the finale was just... Masterfully done. I spent so much time taking screenshots, admiring all the little details in his face and hands during this section. The sweat and grime and stubble on his face, that little smirk as he turns the page the first time, the painful-looking cracks in his fingernails. Even the fuzz on his fingerless gloves looked good. I usually don't make a big deal about graphics in games, but this? I loved. PS - Diversity win, Jervis is bisexual.

Secret Six

Where do I begin with this one? At first, I read it because I wanted to see him fight Doctor Psycho. But by the end, I was madly in love with this Hatter. So how about the fact that he's introduced fully nude and looking like absolute shit, high off his ass and wrapped around a skull hookah? Or the nonsensical speech patterns that are introduced with that scene? How he manages to simultaneously be a horrid little bastard and the cutest man I have ever seen in my life? And the wide range of expressions that accentuate how awful or cute he is in those moments? The bizarre but honestly funny writing choice that is him being, to quote Deadshot, a 'hat junkie'? And when I say hat junkie, I mean he built a setting into his hat that allows him to hypnotize himself into a state of euphoria. Also, he likes to get naked when he gets high. Sensory thing, maybe? Hell if I know, but here we are. High, naked Jervis. Honestly, they went into such detail with all of his weird little quirks. From the hilarious shit that comes out of his mouth to the fact he was making little hats for his fruit before he ate it. But then in his moments of lucidity, he's easily the smartest fucker on the team. And dangerous too. The fact that he was their secret weapon to block Doctor Psycho's mind control(and keep in mind that Psycho is one of the most powerful telepaths in the DC universe) is enough to attest to that. But then they go and up the ante by showing just what he's capable of when he singlehandedly defeats the Doom Patrol. After all the fun we'd had with him up to that point, it was incredible to see. I like scary men, and in that moment, Jervis was terrifying. But THE big moment that had me in awe of this Jervis was in the final battle. Stabbed with Cheshire's poison knife, finding himself in a hallucination of Wonderland. He's happy there, he's ready to accept his fate until his teammates explain what's happening to him. And what does this little son of a bitch do? He takes the knife out, walks it off, and hunts down Doctor Psycho by himself. And why does he do this? Why, because he thinks Psycho's a little bitch, of course! "When the real fighting starts, you always run. Why is that, do you suppose?" he asks. "See, that's why you'll never make the grade, doctor. Always hiding from the eye of madness." He proceeds to comment on Psycho eating tuna and not flossing afterwards and cuts him with that same poison knife. This Jervis is a genuine fucking badass! But as many Hatter stories do, this one ends in heartbreak and I'm left feeling for him. Man feels like he's finally made some real, genuine friends and gets pushed off a building. I'm not about to join the Ragdoll hate club for that moment(a lot of my faves in various media hurt a lot of my other faves so I'm used to that). But damn it hurt.

[peterxwade24]

Safety Found in Red Sleeves

Chapter 9

I know it's been nearly four months (just five days shy of four months) and I apologize for that.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

Thana watched as all of the patrons of the Iceberg Lounge turned to look as they entered. She knew they weren’t the usual crowd, seeing as how Adrien had on a fanny pack, but since they all had red, or some shade of pink, sleeves Uncle Ozzy would let them in.

“I’m sorry. Do I-” Oswald Cobblepott was, fundamentally, a good man. He would never turn away a child in need and he remembered the children he gave shelter to, so imagine his surprise when the person standing in his place of business was none other than the girl who’d managed to burrow under his skin and earn a special nickname. “Chick? Is that- are you- you’re really here?”

Thana let out a laugh and rushed at the man, throwing her arms around his neck before letting out a louder laugh. “I’m taller than you Uncle Ozzy!”

Oswald laughed before his gaze drifted back to the rest of the teens gathered just inside his place of business. “Chick, as much as I love seeing you, who’re they?”

“Oh!” Thana pulled away from Oswald before turning to her friends. “Well, the tall boy with black hair and frosted tips is Kim, the blonde girl is Chloé, the guy with short brown hair is Nino, the other blond is Adrien, and the short sporty girl is Alix. They’re friends I made in Paris, with my mother’s cousin.”

Oswald smiled and waved. “I see my niece has given you a heads up on the dress code around here.”

Kim nodded, a smile on his face. “Mèo con’s always reminding us that we have to wear red when we’re in Gotham, says she’ll ditch us if we don’t.”

Nino snorted before his eyes drifted over to the turntables. “Do you mind if I?”

Oswald smiled and nodded. “Go ahead, you can’t be any worse than my usual guy.”

Nino drifted over to the turntables and began playing some music.

Chloé strode over to the duo, a smile on her face. “It’s so nice to finally meet Fragolina’s Uncle Ozzy.”

“You must be the one my Chick won’t stop saying reminds her of the second Robin.” There was a twinkle in his eye as he pulled Thana close.

Adrien and Alix followed Kim over to the trio, where Kim draped an arm around Chloé’s shoulders. “That’s a possibility.”

---

Thana and her friends, accompanied by Thana’s Uncles Ed and Jon, toured Gotham. Thana made sure to show her friends around, showing them shortcuts to use to get around if they ever get separated from Madame Bustier. Eventually, the group came to an overgrown looking park.

“Uncle Ed, Uncle Jon. I’m going to show them around, and if we run into her introduce them. If we don’t, could one of you text her to let her know where they’re staying so we can do the introductions there?”

“Of course Mini Todd.” Her Uncle Jon nodded and wrapped an arm around Ed, who smiled softly at the act before nodding as well.

“And we’ll keep an eye out for You-Know-Who. He seems to think that you will come crawling back any day now.” Her Uncle Ed rolled his eyes.

“Thank you both so much.” Thana pressed kisses to their cheeks and smiled. “If we ever come across him, I’ll send an SOS to the group chat and then beat his ass.”

Jon and Ed pressed kisses to her cheeks and smiled. “Be safe.”

“With Aunt Pam? Always.” Thana turned towards the park and took a breath, smelling the local flowers and feeling better than she had since she’d been removed from the streets.

---

Thana led her friends around the park, pointing out all of the Poison Ivy original plants and warning her friends to stay away from them since they hadn’t built up an immunity to the toxin within the plants, with a smile on her face. “Aunt Pam always has a new plant that she’s making, and she’s been sorta kinda courting my Aunt Harley since she first saw her, although Aunt Harley used to be with this abusive asshole. I do wonder what happened to Aunt Harley’s daughter, I know she said she was with her sister but still.”

“Who?” Adrien asked, his hand hovering dangerously over a hybrid Venus Flytrap and Trumpet Pitcher plant, as he looked back at the group.

Adrien’s hand was saved by a wall of Boston ivy that shot up out of the ground. A loud scoff could be heard just beyond the plants before a beautiful head of red hair appeared through the leaves. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to touch wild plants?”

Thana smiled and allowed Kim to pull her into his side. “Are all of your relatives ridiculously attractive people?”

“You’ve met my Ma’s cousin,” Thana shrugged and settled more firmly against his side, “and Jervis Tetch is a rotten man, he’s rotten to the core.” Thana’s head rested against Kim’s chest, her ear close to his heart, as she forced thoughts about her birth father out of her head. “My Uncles and Aunts have this friend, Harvey Dent, who’s a little disfigured. He was in this really bad accident a while back and his face is a little hard to look at. He’s kind of nice, never really been mean to me specifically. I think he’s kinda cool though, he’s got a whole schtick about truth and luck.”

Kim nodded, his eyes flitting over the rest of their friends. Kim had never really had a big friend group, not until Thana joined their class, and then suddenly Kim was always around other people, had a shadow who was nearly as protective of him as his Mẹ was, and suddenly his fledgling crush was one of his best friends. Kim would probably always be thankful that Thana showed up when she did. Without Thana, Kim probably would have always been just a dumb jock who fell for some perfect princess. Kim knew his Mè was as thankful as he was that Thana had shown up in their lives, that Thana had stayed after she learned about the skeletons in their closets.

Kim looked at Thana, and he could see how much lighter she was here in what was the darkest city Kim had ever stepped foot in compared to back home. He could only hope that no matter where she went after Lycee, she would keep in contact with him and his Mè.

---

Thana and her friends left Robinson Park just before dinner that evening, her Uncles Jon and Ed escorting them back to the hotel when Thana’s friends went in for the night. Thana, however, followed her friends in and ate a meal with the class before ducking out of the hotel to go spend the night on the streets.

Thana refused to spend any more time in that building than absolutely necessary. She could still feel the cold lead encased in steel as it pierced her abdomen.

Thana hunkered down in an old spot, one she knew like the back of her hand, and could only hope that she would be safe here. She could only hope that she wouldn’t catch a cold while she slept on the streets.

Thana’s friends, however, slept fitfully that night in their comfortable beds in the hotel. Their thoughts filled with worry about Thana on the streets.

-*-*-*

Jason puttered around the kitchen, his feet encased in his slippers, and let out a yawn. He looked at the counter and noticed the already full coffee pot. He glanced around the room and frowned when he didn’t see anything before the sound of the TV reached him a moment later. “Duke?”

Duke’s head popped up over the back of the couch and he gave Jason a sheepish smile. “Yeah?”

Jason let out a breath and his whole body sagged for a moment. “Just had to make sure. Little twitchy after our late night visitor last night.”

“Who stopped by last night?” Duke stood up off of the floor and walked into the kitchen, sitting down on one of the counters like Tim, Steph and Cass had started doing.

Jason set his coffee mug (which read “World’s Greatest Dad” in a similar red to his helmet) down on the counter with a little more force than necessary. “The Bat.” Jason turned to the fridge to pull out the coffee creamer, but frowned when the only creamer left was the Southern Butter Pecan Pie flavour. He simply reached past and grabbed the milk to add to his coffee instead of creamer. “He wanted to know why I’d ‘taken you as well’. Because he sees you all as things to be taken and not children to be taken care of.”

---

Jason pressed a kiss to Steph and Cass’ foreheads before hitching Damian further up on his hip. “I’ll be back later. I just need to take Damian to finish introducing him to his aunt’s aunts and uncles. Unless of course, you two wish to join us.”

Steph looked at Cass and shrugged. “Timmy’s got work. I think Bart is out running around.”

Cass nodded before mussing up her hair and frowning at her sister in question.

“Kon might be in Kansas, I think he mentioned going to visit Clark’s parents. Cassie is hanging out with Donna, getting advice most likely. Cissie is spending the day with Oliver.” Steph slung an arm around Cass’ shoulders and smiled. “Give us a few minutes to get dressed and then we’ll join you.”

Jason nodded, a small smile on his face. “Of course. Take all the time you need.”

Steph and Cass disappeared into the room they had officially claimed, coming out a few minutes later in coordinated outfits.

Steph walked out wearing a dark purple crop top with black shorts and a black sweater tied around her waist. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and a pair of black sunglasses, easily recognized as Kon’s, sat atop her head.

Cass, who walked out just a step behind Steph, wore a black t-shirt under a black and yellow flannel paired with black high-waisted jeans. Her hair was freely flowing around her shoulders while her wrists sported scrunchies she’d pilfered from Cassie and Cissie.

Jason shook his head at his sisters, Cass who was just a scant six months older than he was but acted so much younger and Steph who was just a few months older than Tim, and smiled. “Any particular reason for the attire today?”

“Just felt like coordinating.” Steph smiled at Jason and slung an arm around Cass. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

---

Jason led the way into the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, his sisters just behind him and Damian clinging to him like he was the only thing keeping him attached to the planet.

“So, not to question your sanity or anything but, why are we here?” Stephanie’s voice was filled with trepidation and Cass’ arm was wrapped around Steph’s in an act of comfort for both girls.

“One of Thana’s uncles is here right now. He’ll be out soon. Do not compare him to the guy who killed me.” Jason smiled at the guards on duty and continued into the building.

The person at the front desk, a young individual of indeterminate gender with short brown hair and brown eyes, looked up from the clipboard in front of them and deadpanned. “Name of the patient you’re here to see?”

“Jerome Valeska. He should be expecting me, Jason Todd.” Jason smiled and shifted slightly so Damian’s face was more comfortably buried in his neck. “My son and sisters will also be joining us today.”

The receptionist nodded and jotted down the details relayed to them. “Identification?”

Jason handed over his identification card while Steph and Cass pulled out their driver’s licenses. “My son is only nine and only has a passport, will that work?”

The receptionist nodded and smiled. “A passport will work.”

Jason pulled Damian’s passport out of his pocket and handed it over. “We’ll come back to collect those when we’re finished visiting.”

“Have a good visit.”

“Thank you.” Jason smiled and led the way back into the rehabilitation center, his sisters sticking close to his back with their free hands clinging to the back of his shirt just over where Damian’s leg rested, passing the cells filled with the more humane residents of the asylum. Jason paid them no mind, having grown used to their hooting and hollering as he passed on his previous visits.

The little four person group of the family finally reached the rehabilitation center and were let in by one of the orderlies, a bulkier individual dressed in teal scrubs. They all gave the orderly a smile and a nod as they passed into the room.

Jerome was sitting at a table with blank sheets of paper mixed in with sheets of paper filled with writing, and as soon as Jason could read what was on the paper he could see that the pages were filled with apologies and plans to become a better person if for no one other than his favourite niece and her wellbeing. Jerome looked up when Jason started to cast a shadow across his paper. “Hey buddy. You’re standing in my- Jason! What a surprise!”

Jason’s face grew soft, a smile on his face and pulled out the chair next to Jerome to sit down in. Damian was settled into Jason’s lap while Steph and Cass sat down in the chairs next to Jason’s. “How are you today Jerome?”

“I’ve been better.” Jerome had been better, before his parents and his uncle died, before his twin fell apart and brought him down with him. Jerome had been happy in the circus, performing with his family for crowds of people who adored their act, and then everything changed.

“Jerome, I’d like you to meet my son. Damian al Ghul-Todd, nephew of your niece Thana Todd, as well as my sisters, Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown.”

“Oh come on Jace. Why’d you have to use last names?” Steph pouted and punched Jason’s upper arm.

“Because now that Uncle Jerome knows of your parentage he’ll be less likely to toss anything you say aside.” Jason smiled as Jerome spoke about himself in the third person.

“What he said.” Jason let out a chuckle. Damian frowned at the lack of attention he was receiving and simply headbutted Jason in the chin. “Yes, yes, we know you’re here Kutlat Saghira. I’m sorry that we’re not paying attention to you.”

Damian pouted and puffed out his cheeks. “Baba, not here.”

Jason smiled at his son, knowing that he was safe in his arms. “I love you my Little Nugget.”

“Baba!” Damian frowned and looked towards the table, effectively ignoring the four other people at the table.

Steph and Cass watched the moment between father and son, sharing only a look before looking back at the duo.

Jerome watched as his niece’s brother smiled at his child, glad that he got to see it but all he really wanted was to see Thana.

“She’s in the city.” Jason’s voice was quiet, barely heard over the lull of the rest of the patients in the center. “She’s in the city and she, she got so big Jerome. She has a really good group of friends. You’d be proud of her.”

Taglist:

@amigotasbien @maribat-is-lifeblood @mystery-5-5 @our-preciousss @mochegato @chocolatecatstheron @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @2confused-2doanything @wannajointhecrabcult @dreamykitty25 @tomanyfandomsonmymind @moonlightstar64 @justafanwarrior @mialuvscats @pheony1882 @pepelachanel @moongoddesskiana @abrx2002 @ladybug-182 @greatcatblaze @thatonecroc @vixen-uchiha @superbwhispersconnoisseur @sauseyyy @susiej1118 @bluesimani @thatonecroc

[partyinthemysterymachine]

🌻🌻🌻🌻 🚜 it's like a little garden!

hello lil garden <3 im gonna pick all the floweurs :3

there are like two dreams i remember pretty vividly: one, i had stigmata. (fun fact: i’m a jew) i woke up and i could feel the pain in my palms and feet. i was like. maybe in fifth or sixth grade. everything happens when i’m 13 or 14 because i have exactly zero memory and Bad Brain Disorder Origin Years just makes everything a sad mockery of mashed potatoes

the second dream i remember vividly was essentially that i discovered a door to Wonderland (and listen here u lil shits: i’m not a big Wonderland person, not even a Mad Hatter kinda gal despite whatever my past has said about me, and also my Jervis Tetch is super valid and prob one of the best out there you’re welcome) in this honestly gorgeous old mansion. the kind that’s just. tons of dark wood, narrow halls, winding and yet there’s a lot of natural light, like gorgeous. and i found a door to Wonderland and holy fucking shit

what i would give to actually find a door to that Wonderland, bye y’all peace it’s been a gas but i gotta run

so after i left i wanted to go back, and i had a rough time finding the portal and ok long story short it turned out i had to go deal with a unicorn cult (it was more intense than that but hey, cults amirite) in order to get the reagents to go back to Wonderland and i suddenly found myself falling in a huge cave and the spirit healer from WoW was there so that says a lot about where i was in my life at the time

still tryna go back to Wonderland

i made this guy in Sims4 and he’s really fuckin cute and i named him Lane Morgans. i’m gonna put his tag on this post so maybe you’ll go take a look at him and see how amazing he is but i’m just gonna jerk myself off here too

(also sidenote, Salutations (my farmer in sdv, also top notch) is his uncle and when i wrote up his first char sheet i fucked up his last name bc his last name can’t be Morgans, but i’ll give him another one Soon(tm) (no i won’t))

Lane is a retired rollercoaster engineer who is now writing romance novels. he’s doing absolutely amazingly and his twitter a mess in a good way. he wishes he was Chuck Tingle’s bff. his novels aren’t modeled after Tingle’s (hehe), he writes very well rounded, interesting, and diverse romance that doesn’t take itself seriously. because i do what i want, he’s pretty well known and on several bestsellers.

he’s like in his 40s by now i think and he’s a late transitioner. he’s a divorcee (he and his ex wife are really good friends it’s all good) and he had his son Ellis awhile back (who is just a whole dutch cookie tin of crayons and then some). at a singles mixer he met a gardener who would be his future husband and everything is amazing now

also side braids and ponytails run in the family i guess

(actually Salutations has been side ponytail like all his life and Lane was enchanted by it so he side braids. Salutations is very proud)

i still think about it honestly i was really into keeping up to date with junk food news and food product for a while there but the popular sites were starting to piss me off with their rating systems and reviews like holy entitlement and superiority complex, batman! so i dropped out of it, like the only one that is still super valid is onsecondscoop.com tho it’s been a real hot minute since

i have a lot of my parents’ vinyls and that includes The Beatles white album with some water damage bc i guess my dad knocked something over at some point but also the good stuff like Fleetwood Mac, Linda Ronstadt, America, Seals and Crofts, a lot of musicals, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, Cat Stevens (now Yusuf), Earth, Wind, and Fire, Marvin Gaye and more!!! (and i left a whole shitload in chicago too) and it’s very telling about my musical tastes. 

i had ordered Arctic Monkeys’s AM album and it skipped on No. 1 Party Anthem and some other song and so i was like :\ and ordered another and you’ll never guess,

a few songs stand out to me:

Gordon Lightfoot’s Approaching Lavender 

Seals and Crofts’s Hummingbird

Fleetwood Mac’s Silver Springs

James Taylor’s Never Die Young, Line ‘Em Up, Shower The People

(the Fleetwood Mac and James Taylor songs are specifically the ones i was introduced to with, as in the Live versions of Silver Springs and Shower The People)

for those who don’t know i’m also a huge Enya fan (LOTR was good to me) and Dark Sky Island was sick af btw, and also Donna Lewis’s entire Now In A Minute album is pretty fuckin close to my soul

however probably my favorite song, most sacred to me, hard to explain it but just the. whew the memories attached is I Love You Always Forever

furthermore a song that still really creeps me out (that also has an origin story attached to it) is 98 Degrees a cappella cover of She’s Out Of My Life (yep! still no thanks)

i grew up around a cappella since my mom is like a lifetime member of the Sweet Adelines womens a cappella organization or w/e so yeah and i’m not ognna link this on bc it’s a bitch to find just by itself, but Lida Rose from The Music Man is also a fist clench...

now on a more depressing note but one i have mention, Spice Girls’s Viva Forever is uuuhhh hhhhhhhhh hhhhhhnnnnmmmmmmmmmmm 

anyway my dad used to travel overseas for work and when i was younger he went to Germany (and he’d go back there several times after) and he brought me back my first jar of Nutella. naturally i lost my entire shit, and imagine my surprise when Nutella got really big in America lmao he’d brought that jar home like. uh. 7, 9 years prior?? idk guys, ages and math, but it was funny to me

best fucking gingerbread recipe is by Nigella Lawson and i found it in her book How To Be A Domestic Goddess and it’s right fucking here ur welcome 

i’m definitely one of those people who picks a book with a cool cover, reads a couple pages and then decides if i’m taking it or not and that’s how i found like so many good books

ask me about The Passage series and how i am both in love with it and kinda mad (also lmao @ the failed TV show y’all fuckin dumb as hell)

[dragon-kazansky]

The hypnotist - Jervis Tetch x reader

Summary: Jervis has lost his sister and is bitter towards Jim, blaming him for her death. He comes to you. You’re the only one left he can trust, but you don’t know how to feel about that.

This chapter is a long one, strap in folks. 

I also apologise that’s it’s so linear to the episode again, but I’m building up the connection between you and Jervis.

Chapter 3 - Choices

Several days passed since the tragic event of Alice's death. Her scream as she fell haunted you ever so slightly, but you can't imagine the pain Jervis is going through. His whole reason for coming to Gotham was gone and there was nothing anyone could do to change it.

You put Jervis to the back of your mind. You assumed he would have skipped out of town and have gone far away. He had no reason to be in the city any more.

You busied yourself with work from Barbara, who scolded you slightly for the not getting her errand done the other day. You made it up to her by being on top of your game from now on. Barbara didn't have all that many jobs for you and at one point pointed you towards Cobblepot, saying the Mayor would most definitely have more work for you.

It kept you busy at least.

On the tenth day after her death, you were home alone, taking some time to rest and not over work yourself. You needed some time to yourself for once. Things were starting to go back to normal, well, as normal as Gotham was.

The knocking on your door startled you. You weren't expecting anyone and you didn't know anyone who made house visits to you, you had very connections in the city.

You got up cautiously, inching your way over to the door. You pondered not answering for a moment, maybe they would think no one was home and they would leave.

That didn't seem to be the case. The second round of knocking sounded a little more urgent than the first, so you swung open the door.

You were not expecting Tetch to be standing there.

"Jervis?"

"Y/N, my dear!" He looked so pleased to see you, almost as of he hadn't seen you in quite some time. It was almost enough to make your heart race, but everything that happened came rushing back.

"What are you doing here? I thought you would have left the city." You let Jervis into your apartment.

"I cannot leave with serving James Gordon his punishment for what he did to my dear Alice." Jervis removed his top hat and turned to look at you with big brown eyes. It made your heart ache to see him like that.

"You're going to get revenge?"

"Quite, but first I had to see you. You're all I have left here in Gotham. You're the only one I can trust." He spoke softly, as if he was treading on dangerous ground. He didn't sound so convinced by his words, and frankly you weren't either.

"I see."

"Please, my dear, I hope you don't think bad of me. I can see it in your eyes that you were not, and still not, pleased with what I did to Gordon. I cannot let him get away with taking Alice from me." His gaze shifted to the ground.

You licked your lips nervously and stepped a little closer, not wanting the distance to give him the idea you didn't want him here.

Mentioning the possibility that Alice would have preferred death over leaving with him was a bad idea, so you remained far away from that thought.

"I understand you're hurt about what happened. I can't even pretend to imagine what you are going through, but must you retaliate? Jim won't let you get away with it." You returned his sorrowful gaze, though his expression did seem to light up with your words.

The idea that you were worried for him lit up something within him.

"I won't let Jim know you dropped by, but I need time to think. I've become quite fond of you after the time I spent with you, but I'm not sure I'm OK with the hypnotising yet. Give me time to think?" You stood there awkwardly, hoping he would grant you your request.

Jervis gave a small smile as he placed his hat back onto his head.

"Very well, I don't want Jim to take you from me too. Take all the time you need, I'll be only a phone call away." He held out a small piece of paper with a number on it.

"Thank you, Jervis."

You walked with back towards the door, both of stopping just as you reached it. He turned to you and with a smile, lifted your hand to his lips pressing a gentle kiss there.

"Please don't let James Gordon turn you against me too." He said, just loud enough for you to hear. There was so much emotion in those words.

You didn't say anything to that and opened the door for him, watching him leave.

Once he was gone you turned around and let out a long drawn out sigh. Your mind was once again conflicted with him. You felt awful about what happened to Alice and you could see it in his gaze that he was suffering from her loss. There was something sinister about him that night, the way he was using his sister's blood as leverage over her. The way he almost had Jim shoot himself. He was evil, but you couldn't hate him.

You had no idea what it was he had in store for Jim, but something told you it was for the better that you didn't know.

You decided it was probably best to busy yourself, so you began to tidy your apartment while you thought about what Jervis had said.

Jervis left your apartment feeling like a slight weight had been lifted from his shoulders, but he wasn't quite in the clear yet. He couldn't forgive Jim for what happened to Alice, but the rage he would feel I'd you were turned against him too, that was something he didn't want to even think about.

Pulling out his watch, he checked the time.

“I must change.”

Jervis was going to put his plan into action and the time was now.

A newly wedded couple leave the chapel holding hands. The bride is smiling as she approached her father. She thanks him for her special day as they hug, she returns to the groom’s side and they wave at their family and friends. The chauffeur opens the door to the car and waits till they have climbed in before closing the door and turning around. 

Jervis Tetch smiles as he tips his cap to the father and makes his ways to the drivers seat. This was step two. Step one was the young boy sitting in the passengers seat.

Despite the fear in the couple, Jervis told them their fate was on James Gordon’s hands. He did what he does best and drove off, hypnotising them along the way.

Jim had just left the diner where he had met Valerie, a reporter seeking answers to Gotham’s secrets, one such secret being Alice Tetch’s blood. He was following an odd fellow dressed all in white. The odd man had come to Gordon with a riddle from Tetch, so naturally Jim had to go with him.

He was to an underpass, a public phone on dull display. It wasn’t until he reached the street corner that the phone began to ring.

Gordon walked over and answered it.

“This is Gordon.”

“Hello James.”

“Jervis. Never should have left that hole you were hiding in.”

“Oh, I wasn’t just hiding, I put the time to good use. Made a thorough study of you.” Jervis listed what he had learned of Gotham’s James Gordon. Jim looked around trying to see if Tetch was near by. There was no sign of him.

“And here I didn’t think about you once.” Jim refrained from rolling his eyes as Jervis droned on.

“Oh James,” Jervis chuckled as he let the couple out of the car, “I’ve been inside that head of yours. I’ve seen the web of lies you tell yourself,” The couple began to walk away from the car, “strung together to keep that fragile psyche of yours in tact.”

“Well, it’s been nice catching up with you.” Jim made a move to put the phone back, but Jervis’ voice could still be heard, so Gordon put the phone back to his ear as he listened to the mad man drone on.

“I’m going to force you to confront who you really are and I’m going to drive you mad doing it.”

Jim furrowed his brow.

“Now, please, direct your eyes to the overpass.” Jim looked up. “Meet Dave and Amy Walters. Married just this morning, lovely ceremony. In thirty seconds they are going to jump to their deaths. Take the stairs and you can save them. However, down the street is a little boy. His name is Shane and he’s going to be hit by a truck driven by my highly esteemed associate.”

A truck pulled up further down the street.

Jim knew what was happening right away.

“The choice is yours James. You can’t save both. So, who’s it going to be?”

Jervis hung up and climbed back into the car, leaving the choice to James Gordon. This was his punishment for what happened to Alice. Jim would have to live with the fact he let someone day today to save the other.

As Jervis drove away his mind went back to you.

He wondered for a moment what you would have thought of him if you had known what he was doing. It’s not as if you and James Gordon were friends anyway, you had a mutual friend in Barbara. Though it would be the fact he was using Gordon the way he was that might upset you. He wouldn’t forgive himself he caused your hate.

If Jim thought this choice was bad, wait till he saw what else Tetch had planned.

Jim ran for the boy, pulling him right out of the way of the truck. The couple fell with a splat, Gordon could only watch. He had made his choice.

Gordon moved the boy from the street and looked down at the couple. Tetch’s words lingered in his head, ‘You can’t save both,’ over and over in his mind.

The phone began to ring again. Jim ran over and answered it.

“You son of a bitch!”

“Good.” Of course it was Jervis again. “Now I have your attention.”

“They were innocent Jervis, you didn’t have to kill them.” Jim was angry.

“It was your choice, James. You practically pushed them off the ledge. Stay with me, James.” Gordon wasn’t answering. “James!”

“What?” Gordon spat the word out, grinding his teeth.

Jervis gave him an address and time, telling him not to be late. Any police and more people would die.

The GCPD received word of the dead couple and were on the scene quickly. Harvey questioned the little boy, Shane when he arrived. The boy couldn’t remember much, but Harvey thanked him for what he did remember and let another officer take him away from the scene. He joined Barnes’ side.

“You’re not going to believe this, he said Jim Gordon saved his life, pulled him out of the way of a truck.”

“Get him on the phone. Now.”

“I already tried him. No answer.” Harvey took note of Barnes without his cane, but his only answer was that the captain didn’t need it any more. That’s when he saw the odd man in white.

“Hey, does that guy look strange to you? I mean more strange than the usual wack job.”

Both men approached him, the captain calling out to him. The man turned in their direction slowly as if he was acknowledging them, but he wasn’t really. He was repeating the same line over and over again.

“James Gordon, I have a message for you.”

“James Gordon I have a message for you.”

“James Gordon I have a message for you.”

He said nothing else. Just stood there on repeat. It was clear they weren’t going to get any answers from him, verbally anyway. Harvey knew exactly what was up.

“He’s hypnotised.”

“Tetch.” Barnes caught on.

It was now clear what was happening. In slight worry, Harvey pulled away from the two men and pulled out his phone. He had been so focused on Jim, he forgot about you. If this really is Tetch then there was a possibility he would go to you. After all, you did say you were friends with him.

The phone rang three times before you picked up.

“Hello?”

“Y/N, thank God you’re there.” Harvey let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m fine, why? Something happen? How did you even get this number?” You were stood in the middle of your apartment having just finished cleaning it. “Dis Barbara tell you I’d do you a favour? I’m already on the Mayor’s list.”

“No, that’s not it and don’t worry about it. Have you seen Tetch?”

“Jervis Tetch?” You felt your heart drop, but you were a pretty decent liar when  you needed to be.

“Yeah, have you seen him?”

“Not since that night. I figured he would have left town.” You sat down on your sofa. “Why? What happened?” You were more than a little concerned about what Harvey was going to say next.

“I think Tetch is messing with Jim again. A couple have fallen to their death and there’s this hypnotises dude here saying his has a message for Gordon. I figured he would come to you since you two seem to be friends.” Harvey hated thinking you might be involved in all of this some how. He didn’t really know you, but seemed like a decent enough person.

“I haven’t seen him. Like I said, I thought he had left town.”

Silence fell over the phone and you found yourself silently praying that Harvey bought the lie.

“Good, if he calls you, let me know.”

“Sure.”

“At least let me send some police protection.”

“No thanks Harvey, I don’t need police hanging around my place.”

“Right, well, stay safe.”

You hung up.

You sat there in silence wondering what was going on. Had Jervis used Jim to kill someone? Why weren’t you more surprised? Perhaps you have just grown used to the ways of Gotham and the crazy people who lived there. You bit your lip anxiously.

Then the phone rang again.

You picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Y/N, my dear!”

“Jervis! Are you alright? What’s happening? Harvey Bullock just called me. I didn’t tell him you came by earlier.”

“I’m fine, dear. James Gordon and I are having a little chat. Everything that happens is on his shoulders.” He sounded so calm. “I hope you’re not worrying too much about me. I’d hate to cause you distress.”

“I’m fine, I just... what’s going on? I’m not here to lynch on you, I just want to know what you’re doing to those people?” He could hear the worry in your voice and it made his frown.

“Don’t worry, please don’t worry. Everything is Jim’s choice. He is the one to blame. I can’t talk for much longer, I must make another call, I want you to come and see what Jim will do.” Jervis gave you an address and a time. “I want you to see the real James Gordon.”

“Alright. I’ll be there.”

Jervis smiled, of course you couldn’t see it, but he hoped you could tell from his words.

“See you soon, my dear.”

He hung up.

Jervis was standing in the middle of the street, dressed in usual attire. He was looking up at the building in front of him with his phone in hand.

Jim Gordon was inside, he picked up the ringing phone after looking at the information Jervis had collected on him.

“Jervis.”

“Cutting it close, James.”

“Like what you did with the place.”

“Everyone needs a hobby.” Jervis sounded rather cheerful. “Take a peak though the lens, let’s chat face to face.”

Gordon moved over  to the telescope.

Jervis smiled and waved.

“I wonder, what is you have against married couples? Bad memories perhaps. Understandable, given the last time you saw a woman in a wedding dress, she had a shotgun pointed at you.”

Jim was caught off guard with just how much Jervis knew about him.

“Hey Jervis?”

“Yes, James?”

Jim hung up.

Jervis glared up at the window and instantly dialled the number again, angry with Jim’s behaviour.

“Don’t you ever do that again!”

James hung up again.

Jervis called him straight back.

“This is about your sister isn’t it? In your adult brain you blame me for what happened to her.” 

“Don’t you talk about her!” Jervis was fuming.

“I got to know her Jervis, she was a good person, that’s why she hated you,” Jim was also seething with anger, “why she died trying to get away from you. You want revenge? Kill yourself.”

“Dismissive. Rude. I don’t like your attitude!”

“I also have to wonder what you did to make Y/N so fond of you. You’re sick, Tetch. She called you her friend when I saw her last.”

“Don’t talk about her either.”

“She’s not involved in any of this is she?”

“I know Y/N wouldn’t be too happy to know the details, but she’s the only friend I have here in Gotham. I won’t pretend with her. I’m going to show her who you really are, then maybe she’ll understand. Now, are you quite finished?” Jervis didn’t want to talk about you any further to Jim.

“Tell you what, I’ll come down and we can talk in person.” Jim offered.

“Hang up again and she dies.”

“What are you talking about?” Jim pondered for a moment if he was referring to you, but he had spoken so fondly of you. Who else could he be talking about?

Jervis looked smug. “Surprising really, given that every relationship you’ve been ended with such misery, and yet, you make the choice to date again. Poor girl, she had no idea who she was getting into bed with. She will soon. See for yourself!”

Jim angled the telescope further up the street. Valerie, the girl he was seeing, was being dragged away by one of the brothers who were still under Tetch’s influence.

“Great thing about reporters, tell them you have a story and they’ll meet you anywhere.” Jervis grinned.

Jim hung up and ran out of the building.

The van had driven off already.

While Jim followed Tetch’s instructions, you were at home making yourself look presentable for whatever it was Jervis had planned. You found yourself rolling your eyes at the idea of trying to look nice for someone you didn’t know all that well. Yet, his impression of you mattered to you.

You kept yourself occupied until the time you had been given, and set off to the address, unaware the afternoon Gordon was having. Jervis had given him another choice, but it didn’t quite work out in Jim’s favour. 

The house wasn’t familiar to you, but it was very nice. Clearly whoever lived here had plenty of money. The door was unlocked, a note left behind telling you to come in.

You entered.

Music could be heard from the dining room. You walked in slowly, not sure what to expect. What you did see, however, was far from what you had thought.

A tea party.

Valerie Vale and Lee Thompkins were  facing each other on either side of the table. Jim Gordon sat at one end, Jervis Tetch as the other.

Jervis stood from the table with a bright smile on his face, he was so pleased to see you. You couldn’t help smiling back at him as you walked over to him, ignoring the looming figures behind him with guns in their hands.

“Jervis, what is this?”

“This, my dear, is Jim’s final choice of the day. Please, sit.” Jervis pulled out a chair next to his, leaving space between you and Lee. You sat down and watched him take his seat again.

“I don’t understand.” You turned to him confused.

“Jim took away someone I loved, so I will take away someone he loves.” You turned slowly to Jim.

“So, this is what you’ve been doing. I see.”

“Y/N, don’t listen to him! Tetch is insane.” Jim called out, but Jervis glared at him and hit the table once with his fist.

“Don’t tell her such things!”

You sat there quietly unsure what else to do. Jervis relaxed his hand and turned to smile at you again. He was trying to comfort you, not that you needed it much. You couldn’t deny that you weren’t scared of him. Honestly, you weren’t shocked at all with what was happening.

“Ah yes, your gun. Place it on the platter.” Jervis had been so caught up in waiting for you to join them, he needed to focus back on the main guest.

“Really?”

“Now you have to think about it? Not everyone here has to die, James.”

You cast your gaze between to the other two women at the table. He was going to make Jim pick one. You really weren’t sure what to feel now. Was he going to make you watch?

He did say he was going to show you who Gordon really was...

Jervis began to pour tea for everyone.

Jim looked between the two ladies. “It’s going to be OK.”

Jervis looked up and gave James a disappointed look, just as he was about to fill your tea cup. “Don’t lie to them James.” He turned back to you and smiled as he filled your cup. You gave a small smile and picked the cup up, watching as he filled the next cup and asked Lee to pass it down the table.

She did as she was told.

“I must apologise for the hideous china.” Jervis chuckled softly. “Frankly, I expected more from Don Falcone’s son.” Tetch filled his own cup last. “Guess I know what I’m getting you for your wedding.” He gave Lee a smile.

You sipped your tea quietly.

This would have been lovely if not for the eerie atmosphere and the fact Jervis was going to have someone in the room killed. His hospitality was otherwise quite sweet.

“To good health!” He lifted his cup.

Lee and Valerie opted out, causing the hatter to frown. So far you were the only own being considerate enough to drink what he had prepared. With how he had been with you so far, there was no reason to think he had done anything. Why poison the tea if he was going to force Jim’s hand anyway?

“You know what,” Jim lifted his cup, “I’ll have some.”

“Bravo James.”

The two men simultaneously drank from their cups, you took a slow sip of yours right after. Everything was still too weird right now.

“Now, I’d like to begin by telling a story of a brother and a sister, separated for years, but whose love never waned. Fair warning though, it has a sad ending.” Jervis glanced down.

Here we go. You knew your heart would yearn to comfort him. The events didn’t happen so long ago and everything was still fresh. You wondered how long it would take for his heart to heal.

“But I couldn’t find my sister alone, so I turned to this man, James Gordon. Whom everyone said was a good man, an honourable man, and what did this good man do? Why, he found my sister,” Jervis banged the table with his fist again. “and he turned her against me! Poisoning her mind and then he killed her!” He hit the table again, only with more force this time. You jumped slightly in your seat.

Jervis lowered his voice as he eyed James across the table. “Does that sound about right, James?”

You looked to Gordon, wondering what he would say or do.

“Sure, why not.” He said nonchalantly.

“Now James, i get the sense you’re not being honest.” Jervis pointed at him. “Though that’s not surprising, considering you’ve run from your true self every day of your life, but you can’t run from this choice. The woman you love, is going to die.”

You knew it.

“I just need to figure out which one it is. So, let’s review our options! shall we?”

Jervis looked between the two ladies.

You really weren’t sure how comfortable you were anymore. You sat with your hands in your lap and you bottom lip between your teeth, your eyes flickering between each of their faces.

You weren’t even sure why you were there. Not really. You didn’t have any personal connection to Jim, or the other two. Perhaps Jervis wanted to show you exactly what he was capable of.

“On the one hand, we have Lee Thompkins.” Jervis moved to stand beside her, giving your shoulder a light squeeze as he passed behind you. Intelligent. Kind. She thought she could save you from your darkness, drag you into the light. What did she get for her efforts? Hm? Pain and sadness.”

“Don’t listen to him Lee.”

“Look in her eyes. She still has love for you James.”

The silence was awkward.

“And then there’s Valerie Vale.” Jervis moved over to Valerie. “The entrapped reporter from a blur collar family. She still has hope for you. What will happen when she learns who you really are?”

Jervis returns to the end of table, standing beside you. He gazes at you as he explains that those are the choices Jim has. Tetch reaches for Gordon’s gun and holds it out.

“Now it’s up to you.”

You looked at Jim wondering what is going on inside his head.

“Which,” Jervis points the gun at Valerie, “lady,” then at Lee, “has your heart? Who do you love?”

“You want me to choose? Tell these idiots to lower their guns. I don’t trust them not to shoot me by accident.”

“You’re right. They are stupid.” He chuckles. “Down boys.”

The two goons lowers their guns.

“Now you drop your gun.” He looks Jervis in the eye.

“Jim.” You sigh. “Really?”

“No, no, it’s alright, my dear.” Jervis chuckles. “Though she is right, why would I do that?”

“Because I’ll shoot you.” Mario Calvi comes into the room from behind you all, you only knew of him because he’s a Falcone, plus his engagement to Lee was in the paper.

“Brilliant.” You mutter to yourself.

“Well well,” Jervis gazes over his shoulder, the gun still pointed at Jim, “this was your grand plan, James? Play along until the doctor could sneak in and shoot me dead?”

You glanced back at Mario.

“But there’s only one small problem.” Jervis wasn’t the least bit concerned about the extra person in the room. “Before you arrived I went down to the basement and switched the magazine in that gun with an empty one.”

You couldn’t you were impressed. Tetch really thought this out apparently.

Mario tried to fire the gun, but Jervis spoke the truth as the gun only made a small clicking sound. You let out a small chuckle, instantly covering you mouth. This really wasn't funny, you were just impressed.

Jervis glanced down at you having heard you and smiled at you. He made you laugh! Oh how happy he was. He turned his gaze back to Mario.

“My apologises, I only set the table for five. Dumfree, will you please escort doctor Calvi to the bathroom?” They left. “Now, I’m out of patience!” He was raising his voice again and waving the gun around slightly. “Who do you love?” He pointed the gun back at Jim.

Your attention was back on the ex-cop.

“You want to talk about love, fine. Let’s talk about who you love.” Jim glanced your way and you furrowed your brows at him. No way! You’ve known Jervis a number of days. “Or loved.” Jim looked back at Tetch.

That was more like it.

“Don’t.”

“Your sister knew you were crazy.”

“Just stop it!”

Jervis hated Jim talking bad about him when you were in the room. He wanted to show you who Jim really was and perhaps impress you, but right now it was looking bad for him. He didn’t want to look at you and see your disappointment in him.

You were more confused than anything. You couldn’t say you were disappointed in Jervis because from the beginning you knew there was more to him than he let on.

“She was terrified of you.” Jim continued. “She hated you.”

“Enough!”

“She told me. What you did to her, when you were kids.”

You glanced up at Jervis, you remember what she said. 

“The thought of you disgusted her.”

“Lies! Deceit! The sorry you tell is incomplete!”

“Jervis...” You want to reach out, but he’s still holding that gun. The last thing you want is to accidentally shoot someone. “She loved me!”

“She loved you? She killed herself rather than be with you.”

“She didn’t... no.” Jervis didn’t believe those words for a second.

“She impaled herself on a spike and died in agony because even that was better than having you touch her.” Jim didn’t stop. 

“No, no, no, no ,no, no.” Jervis shook his head, he couldn’t even look at Jim. You were sure Jim was somewhat telling the truth, whether or not the fall was on purpose or accident, Alice didn’t want anything to do with her brother, but you didn’t like this sight. Jervis was becoming confused, sidetracked. Jim was spewing words at him and it was hurting him.

“I saw her when she was dying, her face when she knew she was finally safe from you, she was smiling.”

“Jim!” You hissed.

“Because despite the pain, she was happy.” He ignored you.

“LIAR! She was the only thing I ever loved!” Jervis stomped over to where Jim was sitting and pointing the gun right at his face. You stood from your chair concerned about what was going to happen. “And you! YOU, sent her soul to heaven above!”

Jim grabbed Tetch’s wrist.

“That’s right.  Me. I’m the one you want, so let Lee and Vale go, keep me, but let them go.”

Jervis was so close to shooting him, but he took a deep sigh and lowered the gun. You let out a sigh of your own.

“Oh James, you’re trying to confuse me, but I won’t let you. No, I’m determined that you’ll live on and suffer without your love as I have. Choose.”

“No, I won’t choose.”

“You will. You will!”

Jervis returned to where you where standing at the end of the table, you looked awfully nervous. Tetch sighed as he gathered himself once again.

“I’ll make it easy for you, one the count of three, instead of telling me who you love, tell me who to kill.” The gun was being pointed again between the ladies. 

You began to shift in the spot. At this point you just wanted this whole thing to be over. You didn’t think your heart could take much more of this.

“Or I shoot both of them which would be such a thrill.”

“One.”

You could feel your heart racing in your chest.

“Two.”

Jim kept looking between them both.

“Three.”

“Kill Lee.” Jim replied instantly.

Lee gasped.

Jervis pointed his gun at her. “Oh, finally!”

You took a step back as he looked at her.

“The truth is revealed. You chose Lee because you love Vale. Very well!” Jervis turned to gun to Valerie and shot her in the stomach. You covered your mouth in shock as you stared wide eyed at her.

You should have guessed Jim would play this game.

“I knew you had it in you, James. All this time, you made everyone believe you were the hero, but deep down you always knew the truth. You’re a villain!” Jervis opened up his arm with a smile.

Jervis turned to you, his business was done here.

“Come, my dear. Let’s go.” He held out his hand to you. You looked at Jim and the girls once more before taking his hand and leaving with him. You just wanted out of that room. Jim had made his choice.

You weren’t sure what was going to happen now.

Jim Gordon would never let Tetch get away with that. Tetch still won in the end and it was defiantly going to eat away at Gordon.

Now you wondered what was going to happen to you.

Jervis held you hand do gently as you both climbed into the car and drove off, far away from that house. You knew now what this man was capable of, yet here you were, willingly going with him.

Perhaps a part of you was mad too.

Tags:

@mistressoftorture @fandombeehive @awyr

[wander-over-the-words]

Your scriddler fic was fantastic! I was wondering if we could see something with more interaction between them? Maybe the first time they find a moment alone after their separation, or maybe the fallout from the incident with Ed and Scarecrow? Or anything else really, I just would love to see how your versions treat each other when they're alone. Thanks~!

Aww, thank you so much, anon! I’m so glad you liked it!

Rest assured, I’m working on writing another fic which will depict the incident where Scarecrow tried to kill Edward as well as another fic showing you all a slice of Jon and Ed’s domestic life (namely, Edward’s cleanliness vs. Jonathan’s messiness). 

But, for now, I can certainly write you a drabble about their first moment alone after the events of All By His Lonesome - and that’s exactly what I did! Hope you enjoy this one as much as the last ;3

Characters: Edward Nygma, Jonathan Crane, Harley Quinn, Harvey Dent; mentions of Bane and Jervis Tetch.

Pairing: Jonathan Crane/Edward Nygma.

Warnings: Mentions of bodily harm and blood, implied homophobia.

All material belongs to DC Comics (although, my interpretations of the characters are used).

Link to fic on AO3

…

“The hell is everybody?”

Edward didn’t look up from his book, but he couldn’t help the slight jolt he gave at the sudden speech; when he’d heard footsteps, he’d assumed they were a guard and that they’d walk straight passed the relaxation room’s door. But no, it was just Jonathan, standing there with a frown of confusion upon his face as he looked around the near-empty room. Edward was the only inmate in there, which was very peculiar indeed.

Sure, the asylum had seen a drop in inmates lately, but…still.

Edward pushed his glasses up his nose and carried on reading, but granted his partner a reply, “Haven’t you heard all the yelling?”

“No?”

“Really? Huh. Well, there’s an…incident going on outside, in the yard. Apparently, the prospect of Bane finding a new victim to whale on and turn into hamburger meat was just too tempting for the vast majority of us in here.” He flipped a page. “I wasn’t interested, however.”

“Huh,” Jonathan muttered, walking leisurely into the room and giving it another wary once-over. His gaze fell upon the television in the corner, which had long-since become Jervis’s favourite entertainment source in there, even though it only played static nowadays. An eyebrow raised at the Mad Hatter’s absence. “Not even Jervis stayed?”

“He’s the victim.”

“Ah.”

Another page was flipped as Jonathan took the short walk to the sofa, sitting down on the farthest cushion on the left, leaving a space between he and Edward once more. He looked down on the floor to find whatever object of ‘entertainment’ had been left behind, found the pack of cards and grumbled as he picked it up and slid the cards from their battered old box. He shuffled them over and over in calloused hands, brown eyes trained upon them as he did so.

Edward couldn’t quite help the smile on his face as Jonathan carried out his task, not only amused by his lover’s disgruntled attitude toward having to play with cards like this, but delighted at realising that this was their first moment alone since their separation. They’d been able to have time together, sure, but that was surrounded by the other inmates, so they could never be too affectionate or intimate, lest they receive any ill treatment. Even if the other inmates weren’t a problem, Harley had taken to following them around in order to get close to Jonathan again and, while Edward considered her a friend all fine and well, he wished she’d leave them alone so they themselves could be close again.

He hadn’t found it in himself to tell her to piss off, though.

Jonathan tipped his head back and yawned, mouth opening widely to release the air, and Edward flipped another page and didn’t look up from his reading, yet frowned tightly at how Jonathan hadn’t covered his mouth. “Tired?”

“Hm,” Jonathan hummed his reply, slipping fingers and thumb beneath his glasses to rub his eyes. “I dunno how you manage ta sleep through Harvey’s late night yammerin’ ta himself.”

Edward’s smile widened; Jonathan’s Southern accent always got thicker when he was tired. There was a time where he’d sought to rid himself of it entirely, but he realised his wish not to be judged for his accent meant he was bowing to a type of fear, and Jonathan Crane feared nothing, so he had let his lessons in accent-altering slip and had kept the Georgian accent ever since.

“I don’t,” Edward replied, then covered his mouth delicately with the pads of his fingers as he let out his own yawn. “I’m just as tired as you are, dear.”

“Hm,” Jonathan repeated, and went back to his cards. “Don’t help that ‘m bored outta my goddamn mind…”

With a puff of a chuckle, Edward relented, shut his book and held it out to Jonathan. “Here.”

Jonathan looked up from his cards, currently sorting them into red and black on his thighs out of lack of interesting things to do.

“I’ve already read it twice. Grimms’ Fairy Tales. You might find some inspiration.”

Jonathan chuckled lowly and collected up the cards on his thighs, messily pushing them together until they were all aligned, then he slid them back into their packaging and took the book with his free hand. “Thank ya,” he said, frowned lightly at his own speech, then offered the pack of cards. “You want these?”

Edward plucked the pack from Jonathan’s palm and opened the package to slide out the cards. He began arranging them in order, ace to king, red and black, and Jonathan snorted and smiled as he watched for a few seconds.

Growing bored with the display, Jonathan sat back on the couch, got comfortable and opened the book up to begin reading.

The couple settled into a comfortable silence, punctuated only by rustling paper as Jonathan turned a page or the smooth sliding of card on card as Edward shuffled the pack’s components. It took no time at all for Edward to sort the cards into the order he wished for them to be in and he gave a satisfied nod as he dropped them back into their cardboard packaging.

With his hands free and now with nothing to do, Edward rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms above his head, trying to work that crick out of his neck. As he did so, a pair of legs was suddenly laid out across his thighs and Edward froze, eyes flying open and gaze flicking down to the white trainers on the edge of his right thigh, the soles caked with soil and dirt from solitary confinement.

Nose wrinkling, Edward shook his head and shoved at Jonathan’s legs. “Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, you get those shoes away from me, Jonathan Crane.”

Jonathan grunted as his feet hit the floor, raising an eyebrow but not looking up from his text. “Ya let me rest my legs on ya when we’re at home.”

“Yes. But you’re not usually wearing shoes in our house.”

“Ya won’t let me.”

“Damn right I won’t.”

Jonathan snorted and flipped a page. Edward’s first words to him whenever Jonathan entered their house were always a command to remove his shoes. Admittedly, Jonathan did often forget to remove his boots and thus tracked in mud; it was probably a good thing Edward was so particular about dirt, otherwise he could’ve recreated his childhood farm from the amount of soil he brought in.

“C’mon, Ed. I wanna stretch out my legs.” Jonathan gave an uncomfortable shuffle.

“Do you, now?” Edward asked sarcastically, a teasing smile growing upon his lips as he remembered the key detail here: he and Jonathan were finally alone together. They could do whatever they wanted, as even the guards had rushed off to see to Bane and Jervis’s spat, and that meant Edward could indulge himself in one of the more favourable things to do with Jonathan.

“I do.”

“Then I suppose you’d like to lay down.”

“That’d be the idea, yeah. But you don’t want my shoes anywhere near ya.”

“Well,” Edward said, eyeing the aforementioned white trainers distastefully. “I don’t want them near my hands, in the very least. So,” he straightened up and smiled mischievously. “I suppose we’re to compromise, seeing as I don’t want to remove myself from this couch and you apparently don’t want to remove your shoes -”

“Get in trouble fer that,” Jonathan reminded him, flipping a page. “They’ll think ‘m hidin’ somethin’ in ‘em. An’ I‘ve been in enough trouble lately.”

“Hm.” Edward nodded. He closed his eyes, heart hammering against his ribs in excitement. “Well. I think the compromise we’re to make is pretty simple. Don’t you, Dr. Crane?”

Jonathan knew exactly what he was talking about; he was smirking, but still wasn’t looking at him. There was something about that that bothered Edward, not receiving the most attention from Jonathan, even after all the time they’d spent apart.

Edward ducked his head, smile growing wider, before he gave an exaggerated yawn, threw his arms up over his head in a faux stretch, then flopped down sideways.

As he did so, Jonathan picked his feet up from the floor and rested them on the sofa’s arm and lifted up his own arms simultaneously, just as Edward’s head dropped down and landed upon his chest. Jonathan lowered his arms again, hands hovering over Edward’s back as he clutched the book still, and Edward’s smile turned peaceful as he clutched a handful of Jonathan’s overalls in one fist, head tucked under the ex-professor’s. He was squeezed between the sofa and his partner’s side and so gave a shuffle to slot himself between the other man’s legs, now laying atop of Jonathan properly, feet propped up on the sofa’s arm, between both of Jonathan’s.

Heart thumping madly at being able to cuddle with Jonathan again, Edward raised his head to speak, “Oops. Sorry, professor, I seem to have fallen.”

“S’alright, Mr. Nygma. Guess you can say ya’ve fallen fer me.”

Edward faltered, then frowned tightly. “How dare you make a pun I didn’t think of first.”

Jonathan snorted and grinned cheekily, but he still wasn’t looking at Edward, still reading that stupid book, and that made Edward frown even more.

Rolling onto his back, Edward glanced with critical eyes at the storybook, then raised a hand and pushed until the book was pressed down to his own stomach, forcing it away from Jonathan’s eyes. Taking a peek at Jonathan, he found him staring at the ceiling instead.

Edward huffed. “You’re teasing me now.”

“Me? I would never.”

“Jonathan,” Edward said, tone warning as he rolled back onto his belly. With one finger, he pressed Jonathan’s chin, as if his on switch would be there. “Look at me.”

Finally, brown eyes flicked to him. “Need somethin’, Ed?”

“Yes. I need you to look at me.”

“Whatever for?”

“I just want you to look at me.”

“Want? So…not need? As in, it isn’t important if I do or don’t?”

“Jonathan.”

Jonathan chuckled and finally released his book, settling his hands on Edward’s shoulder blades instead. “Alrigh’, alright. ‘m lookin’ at ya. What do ya need, besides my utmost attention, apparently?”

“I need you,” Edward began seriously. “To kiss me.”

“That all?”

Edward scoffed. “‘That all’, he says. Well -”

“Edward.”

Edward felt irritation at being interrupted, as he was at the beginning of a rant, but paused as he saw the smile on Jonathan’s face and the soft look in his eyes. Understood; this was no time for any ranting or lectures.

Shuffling slightly to get closer, Edward leaned up and pressed his lips to Jonathan’s, feeling Jonathan’s chapped lips pucker slightly as he returned the kiss. The kiss was gentle and sweet, relief spreading through both men at finally being able to kiss each other again, but it also had a certain firm pressure behind it as a silent way of expressing their grief at having been apart at all. Jonathan’s left hand was on the back of Edward’s head, Edward’s fists were bunched up in the front of Jonathan’s overalls, and neither man moved for a good ten seconds before the kiss was broken and both pairs of eyes opened, green staring into brown and brown staring right back into green.

“…I really did miss you, y’know,” Edward admitted softly. “I…didn’t know where you were…”

Jonathan nodded, understanding, and gently stroked his hand down the back of Edward’s head, through his dark hair. “I missed you too, Ed. Ya demanding little thing.”

“Little?” Edward frowned deeply. “You’re not that much taller than me.”

Jonathan scoffed and chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

“You aren’t! Besides, it isn’t my fault you’re so lanky.”

Jonathan snorted once more. “No, it isn’t. Bad genes, I guess.”

Edward smiled gently, despite himself, and chuckled lightly. “I hear that,” he muttered, lowering himself back down to rest his head on Jonathan’s chest again, cheek pressed against his top set of ribs. He yawned, felt Jonathan pick his book up from where he’d left it on Edward’s lower back, and wiggled slightly to get more comfortable as he slipped his eyes closed. Softly, he requested of him, “Wake me up if someone comes in…”

“Sure,” Jonathan said, flipping another page.

It didn’t take long at all for Edward to slip into a comfortable slumber, the first proper rest he’d gotten in ages, and not long afterwards did Jonathan’s book fall free from his grasp as he too fell asleep, head tilted back against the sofa’s arm and snoring softly into the air; Edward proved to be a much cosier and much warmer blanket than the one provided by the guards.

Jonathan was later awoken by a finger tapping at his cheek and he grunted and flinched against the touch, turning his head sharply away from it, and one hand came up to rub at his face as a high-pitched voice broke through the last layers of sleep, “Wake up, ya lovebirds! No time ta be restin’, the brawl’s over.”

Jonathan shifted slightly to bring himself into a sitting position, Edward still fast asleep and being dragged along with him as he pulled himself up, then brown eyes looked to the face of Harley Quinn, who was leaning over the back of the sofa and still yammering away, “Bane won, o’ course, but now he’s in confinement, like you were, Jonny! Oooof, Jervis is gonna be nursin’ them bones o’ his for a while, ya shoulda seen it, Jonny! His nose was like a geyser!” She made an explosion noise with her lips and the corresponding action with her hands.

Jonathan snorted, more at her rendition of the fight rather than Jervis’s injuries, and poked at Edward’s shoulder. “Edward. Time ta get up.”

Edward groaned irritably, shifting against him, and hugged Jonathan’s waist, nestling his nose into his belly. “Five more minutes, Jon…”

“We haven’t got five minutes. C’mon. People are comin’ in now.”

Edward groaned again, but his eyes flicked up and he sat up, peeling himself from his boyfriend and sliding a hand under his glasses to rub at his eyes.

Footsteps sounded from outside the door and in stalked Harvey, who took one look at the two men on the sofa and snorted, nose wrinkling at them both as he bypassed the couch and moved over to the pool table that was missing more than half its balls. “Please. Don’t break up the love fest on our account.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Harvey,” Edward said curtly, straightening his glasses. “We’re not.”

Harvey grunted, then gave a groan of tired disgust as Edward leaned over, tilted Jonathan’s chin with the pads of his fingers and kissed him sweetly.

Harley gave an over-exaggerated giggle at the display, clapping her hands like it was a show, and the kiss was broken and the two men readjusted themselves on the sofa.

Jonathan picked up his book and opened it back up to his page, pushing his glasses up his nose with one hand, and Edward hugged his arm and laced his fingers with those on Jonathan’s right hand as it fell back to his lap. They remained like this until more people arrived, then Edward released him and slid to the far end of the sofa, and Harley leapt over the sofa’s back into the spot between them, taking over in leaning against Jonathan’s arm as she excitedly asked the ex-professor what he was reading.

Edward picked the deck of cards up from the floor, then gave Jonathan a glance out of the corner of his eye and smirked slyly; over Harley’s head, Jonathan did the same.

Until next time, then.

[optimisticcritique]

Gotham 4x17 - Review

The season is getting close to the end, things are about to get crazy(er). Let’s see what crazy stuff happens this week. Tagging characters that I mainly focus on in the review. Sorry if it is kind of long.

Getting right into the action! Go get him Bruce!

How did Jerome have time to get dressed, meet back up with Scarecrow, release Tetch, and send Tetch to hypnotize the guy before Bruce got there? He wasn’t that far behind Jerome. No GPS? Was he stuck in traffic? Maybe Tetch hypnotized his way through the traffic to get there first. I mean, that’s what I would do if I could hypnotize people.

Xander…yeah, seeing spoilers, I predict this is Jerome’s twin brother, right? This is the one time I wish I hadn’t seen spoilers, no big reveal.  

Oh boy, he has a bomb. Duck and cover!

See, now Jim and Harvey aren’t that far behind Bruce. Did they take the short cut?

Bruce trying to help the guy. I love it but I don’t know if it’ll work.

Question: Why did Tetch hypnotize the guy to trigger the bomb by a clock? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have him press it on like a key phrase (like “if someone asks you about Jerome/Xander, press it”) so that Bruce couldn’t have time to jump away? Or was killing Bruce (or anyone else) not the intention?

Shooting the clock! Quick thinking. Learning tricks from being a Tetch survivor.

Aaand he has a watch. Of course he does. Well, at least you tried.

Wait, it’s the dinner already? That happened fast. How did Jerome get them all together? How did he contact Oswald and Oswald just agreed? Did it take some time or was he reluctant at first? Were they all agreeable at first? Did he threaten them? Bribe them with free food?

This is the villain dinner I always wished for…if you had told me we would have all these villains together in one place seasons ago, I would have been floored. I probably would have freaked out, running down the street while yelling “Yessss! Bring me all the villains! A few years can’t come fast enough!!!!” as all the neighborhoods stare at me.

I love villains interacting. I also love seeing characters that have been previously introduced, having scenes with one another that they have never shared scenes with before. It’s the individual character build up and mixture of personalities.  

The only thing missing from this wonderful dinner is Ed :( I guess The Riddler isn’t considered “freak” enough for them…

“Put all questions on ice until the end” Awe the ice puns. Well great, now I want to know what Victor’s question was going to be. I do love how he just raises his hand, like he’s in school and trying not to interrupt the teacher.

“Mr. Oswald” lol well, that’s an interesting choice. I would have thought he would call Oswald by his Penguin name. Really gives me Ed flashbacks to “Mr. Penguin”, which is fun.

Oh Oswald looks just…I have no words. What a fashion icon. I love his fur coat and hair. Real perfection. Fish would be so proud!  One of these days, I really want to see him doing his hair in an actual scene, instead of being off screen. I’m curious how long he spends on it.  

This is Sofia’s old place that Oswald took over XD Wait, Oswald hosted? Option A: Jerome barged into the house and just told Oswald that they are having it there or Option B: Oswald wants to seem supportive, just so he can be involved and know what is coming for his city. Me: Probably both.  

“Anything for a friend” pfft uh huh. I bet. He is probably planning a back stab or just waiting for Jerome to fail.

Got to say, I wasn’t sure about the new scarecrow actor but he’s pretty good. His facial expressions are dead on.

Yeah, Oz doesn’t seem very keen on these plans. His facial reactions say it all.

He’s probably thinking either “What I have I gotten myself into” or “I should have made more food”  

Alfred!!! Where have you been? Been partying? Taking a spa day for a couple of episodes?

Jim, no! Let Bruce do his thing! Sure, he could potentially die horribly but be reasonable here…

Yeah, Bruce will not take no for an answer. Will Jim change his mind or will Bruce take on a mask again?  

“Maybe he wants him to build him something” You can’t fool us! We all know what he is really after!

Yeah, that woman is probably regretting not calling in sick to work today.

Jerome trying to whistle… it wouldn’t surprise me if that is the only thing he hates about his new stitched up face. Who cares that his face is different…he can’t whistle anymore!!!

“Don’t bother going to security! They are all…headless” Wait, you have a gun. You could shoot them in the heads but not cut off their heads. How are they headless?  

“Drop the gun!” “Oh you are such a stick in mud” Would you have preferred a western style shoot out or for him to just be like “Oh hey Jerome. Go on ahead and do what you do with the gun. Have fun” as he casually walks past you?

Xander knowing Bruce’s father…hmm…

“What time is it?!” Tool-no-Mail-no-Extra time!!! “Riddle time!!!” …that was my next guess.

Wow, everyone is so loving this. I guess this has been going on for quite awhile.

Speaking of which, what did happen between that pier scene and now? Did Oswald and Ed become friends again? Make a deal? Just go their own ways? I feel like there is something missing here.  

Oh, you know Ed is just loving this. This reminds me of that episode back in season one (1x09?), where he is listening to a game show on the radio and answering the questions as he is working. You know that was one of his inspirations for this!

Bet you that brief case has no money even in it. The Riddler is just that cocky.

“The street demons!” Lol the way that he says that! I just love it when he does voices or accents. Pulling out all the stops to make things extra.  

The Riddler totally doesn’t even seem like he cares about what is going on in this guy’s life.

How happy he gets when he hears “Riddler”. Not many people have called him that in the show yet, have they?

“I’ve fallen on hard times but happy to be here with you Riddler” I relate to this on a spiritual level. Ed making my week better <3

Ooh this Lila has the best get up. Please tell me Ed made it himself.

Lars, you are over thinking! Don’t ever over think it!

I would half expect the crowd to give out answers but you just know they want to see people getting tortured.

“Rabid sack of rats” Awe man, I was hoping for the barracuda stapled to the forehead….you know, for curiosity purposes…

“Enough!” Nooooo! Never! Don’t ruin this Lee!

I actually saw an interview right before this episode, with Cory saying the episode will end “hot” and “romantic”. It won’t surprise me if Lee/Ed kiss by the end of this.

Wow Lee, you look stunning. Love the new hair.  Also love Ed’s too.

What’s up with the new hair styles lately though? First we mourn see Jervis and Harvey getting their longer hair cut. Now we see Ed and Lee both have hair cuts, with Oswald serving up a new hairstyle. Did we miss a national “change your hair day” in Gotham or something? Or did one person do it and the rest got jealous so they changed their hair too? Or did the actors all decide to get new hair styles at the same time?

“We put Oswald on ice” you make it sound like you both attempted to kill him or something. The vagueness.

So I guess Ed knows about Sofia. Is he impressed with her doing that or not so because she didn’t finish the job?

“Whatever the hell this is, it’s over” “I don’t think so” I’m just waiting for this to be turned into a reaction gif. Like, people upset about something to Gotham writers and Gotham writers going “I don’t think so” or vice versa.

“And my name…is The Riddler” Awe so we are on this again. So, he still isn’t whole. Funny how he is still saying this to people a season later. Also, Oswald called him Ed…but maybe it is because he called him The Riddler first? Or “because we have history” thing? …Even though he and Lee technically have history too, with working together at the GCPD.

*challenges Ed* First: Lee that is bold and I am impressed with you. Second: Noooo! I knew this was going to happen but I didn’t want it to happen so quickly. We only got to see him have one contestant, who we didn’t even see get tortured. Let Ed/Cory have more fun! Let us have our showman Riddler!

Who is this woman? Just a random character that’ll die this episode or the next?

Umm are you implying Jerome is a dog? ;) Also, isn’t that cage a little bit small to fit Jerome in? I just picture her trying to push and squeeze him into that cage, just barely closing it.

Oswald and Butch reunited again! I kind of missed their…complicated relationship to be honest. They also have a long history, probably knowing each other as long as Oswald knew Fish so I can only imagine what Oswald will think of this new Butch.

Oswald’s eyes when he sees Butch. Yeah, totally unprepared for that.

“I will be honest, I like it…” It’s like when a friend pretends to like your bad hair cut, even when they know it looks bad.

“Just came from brunch with Jerome Valeska…” Oh yeah, that’s a great way to start this. He says it so casually, like it was just an everyday civil affair with food and great conversation. Bet he thought he would never utter those words though XD  

“Seemed to involve a great deal of paint” lol that was totally not the point of that, you forgot to mention the mass crazy Ozzie.

Oswald wearing green gloves with that outfit.

“You must be all out of allies” “Don’t be modest” Yeah, he still has Ed as an ally so he isn’t COMPLETELY out of allies. He has…one….

Again, what happened with Ed and why Butch? Option A: He asked Ed, Ed refused, saying he wanted to do his own thing. Option B: He started to ask Ed, Ed talked about a Riddle factory and he immediately went “yeah, nope. Never mind” Option C: He knows Jerome will want someone who is a “freak” to add to the group. Oswald also wants someone strong (let’s face it, Ed is not) and not easily killed. Butch fits that mark, not Ed. He doesn’t want Ed to get involved with this mess either. Which I think is the most likely. Option Q: Forgetting own writing.

Oh, you just totally made him angry. You won’t like him when he’s angry! …Wait, totally wrong universe and different comics.

Okay, I know you look bad now Butch. But look at the bright side, you’re strong, you’re practically immortal, and-with a good hair dye and spray tan-you could look fairly the same. Think positively!

*pushes Oswald on the floor* Nooo! Don’t ruin the majestic hair and coat! They must be protected at all costs!

I don’t know why but, even though I already love Oswald, this episode has made me love him a million times more… *stares at his hair and coat* Not sure why…

“like a flower” well, that choice of words is threatening but also not.

Oh sure, you only want them involved when you want something. It’s a two way street, Jim. Now you have to let him risk his life and you can’t say a thing.

“I love you” In your own twisted way, I bet.

*does a heart with his hands* Jerome fans: Awe that’s what we do when we see you on screen… :’D

He’s freely letting Harvey and Jim in? No booby traps? It kind of looks like a place that would have traps like that.

Ecco! In the same episode as the riddle factory…Some say this woman would be Harley Quinn because she is devoted to this guy…I kind of doubt it. There is also an Echo who worked with the Riddler (although I think Query was the blonde, not like it matters) The name is spelled wrong so she is most likely a throw away character but…why Ecco? Why use a similar name to tease fans?! Why?!    

“Oh my god, there’s two of them!” Oh Harvey…seriously, this is a Cameron/Jerome fan’s dream right there. Not one but two? Alittle over a season ago one didn’t exist and the other was “dead”.

“Please don’t touch that! That is very sensitive equipment” Yeah, sure looks sensitive to me. Especially the couple of buttons that turns it on.

Jerome doing yoga because why not?

Him waving right when Jim sees… o_o It’s like he knew…  

How much you want to bet that someone followed Jerome? If Firefly followed to the office, you can bet he didn’t go see Ecco on his own. It’s the only way I can see him getting out of there.

“She thinks stapling a live barracuda to someone’s head isn’t damn good entertainment” The nerve! Wait…did he just say “damn good”? Has he ever said that word before? :O But your fake swearing was so pure, what has the world done to you?!

I think it is interesting that he only puts his hat on when he speaks a riddle.

I’m not going to even attempt these riddles. I suck at logic.

Scenes like this make me wonder if we will ever get a “whole” Ed or just get this Riddler from now on.

Wow. Who knew the Riddler was so upset about all this?

Lee’s face…yup, she got what she wanted. Smart cookie right there.

The Riddler totally played himself.

Haha! Called it! Knew he would be followed. Don’t underestimate him.

“If I knew this thing was a 100 acres, I would have stopped and had a sandwich before we came” Harvey, you are so relatable. I don’t blame you. My ship of Harvey + food continues to sail. The ship I can always count on <3

“The End” Wait, is the episode over? Is this where the story ends?

Wow, the acting right here is so good. I keep forgetting both Jerome and Jeremiah are both Cameron.

“His bearded sidekick” Hey! He has a name and thy name is Harvey!

“Born bad” that’s lousy reasoning.

Ooh so he lied? Well, this intrigues me. I am so skeptical of this guy. I just know there is more to him than meets the eye. I don’t believe this facade!

“You killed our mother” “She did deserve it though” Lol no care whatsoever. Again with the lousy reasoning.

“Listen to what I have to say” “Oh hell no! You are not hypnotizing me again!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!” *Jervis and Jonathan run for their dear lives as Harvey charges towards them* ….LOL Oh my god. Harvey, you are a blessing to this world. Most iconic moment. He is so done with Jervis. The way he just let out a war cry, causing the duo to flee is just…it’s beautiful. I’m dying. I will never be over this. Favorite part of the episode. Batman should take notes.

Jim being like “Welp, okay then” as he follows Harvey.

Just imagine Harvey chasing them all around the maze, with the video sped up and silly music playing. Or slowed down with suspenseful music playing. 

“Must go! Must go! They’re after me and the Scarecrow!” Oh my god I love this so much. I am going to put this on a loop forever.

I love how Jonathan doesn’t even try spraying or anything. He just follows Jervis wherever he goes. I am loving this duo.  

Jerome watching them run off like “whatever”.

*can still hear Harvey screaming* Me: *is dead*

*kisses Jeremiah’s head as he flees* Awe brother love…nothing like wanting your sibling dead and in misery one minute and kissing him in the next.

Whoa. That disappearance happened fast. Did he find a prototype invisible jet or something? Or did Jervis just have the car right outside the door, Jerome leapt in, and they drove away as fast as possible? Scratch that, they are totally hiding on the side of that building, shushing and tip toeing away.

The Riddler being all cocky and smug. Yeah, you probably won’t be feeling this way in a few minutes…

Hey, even I know this riddle! Oh, I see what you are doing there Lee.

It’s simple Ed. Just look at the audience as you say “I love you”. There you go!

Wow, he is pushing Ed back so much that he risks losing in front of an entire crowd.

Lee outsmarting him, good on Lee but sucks for the riddle factory :( I feel robbed.

A little bit late but I’d like to imagine Ed making all of these props himself. Cutting out a giant wheel, painting it, sticking two giant beakers together…

Wait, Oswald knows how to reverse it? Will it actually work though? I kind of feel like it would be a bummer to get rid of Grundy after all this…

Hugo Strange! Of course it’s Hugo. If it is monster related, it’s always Hugo lol

Yay! Oswald and Butch team up once more!

Poor Ed losing his riddle factory. A loss for us all :’(

“they didn’t come here because they love you, Ed” Wow, that’s harsh.  

“Because I know what you really want…” Validation? Wait, no… Lee:  *pulls out the glitter suit from thin air* The Riddler: :’D You found it! I thought I lost it!

Knife to the neck! Always going for the neck.

Oh, they are totally going to go on a robbing spree. Does Lee really need the money? Or is this also a way to appeal to The Riddler to get him back on her side?

….

I am reserving any specific opinion/judgement on this situation until I see more of it. But I definitely see some manipulation at play here. The question is, is it just one or both manipulating? I am actually a bit surprised Lee would play this card.

Oh, I can just imagine reactions from others. Jim, Harvey, Oswald, Butch, Barbara…they all have a decent history with both of them.

The music is the same music that played when Ed killed Kristen. Hmm…This does not bode well. It never does for Ed and anyone he is involved with.

“I don’t know. I thought it already was” Oh, you have no idea how mad this city can get Harvey…you don’t even technically have the Joker yet.

No! Not Carl! We hardly knew thee. Justice for Carl!!! 

*Jerome punches Grundy’s shoulder, shakes hand* Parallel to when Ed high fived him and did the same thing. Probably like hitting a brick wall.

Joker toxin!!!

The Jervis reaction XD Like, he knew the plan right? He looks so shocked.

Everyone’s reactions emoticon style: Jervis: 😮Jonathan: 😬  Jerome: 😆  Bridgit: 🙂 Victor: 😏 Butch: 😕Oswald: 🐧  

Oh god that looks painful. Looks like the “fun” is about to begin.

Man, if Jerome does end up dying, I won’t know how to feel. Jeremiah intrigues me and I think he will eventually grow on me but...he doesn’t have the same history that Jerome has with the characters. Why even have the twin twist? ...I guess I’ll just have to wait to see how it all plays out before deciding what I think. I will say, at least Cameron will still be playing him so it isn’t gypping him from the role.

Over all: Good episode. I felt like some of it was a bit fast paced. I was a bit surprised by how quickly the dinner began, Jerome got his info, the riddle factory ended…that being said, some good villain interaction and Harvey being amazing. The legion of horribles succeed in finding Jerome’s twin brother Jeremiah, the GCPD to put Jeremiah in protective custody, the Joker toxin has been created, Ed/Lee kiss while deciding to go rob banks, and Oswald recruits Butch in promising he could reverse his condition by finding Hugo Strange.

Previous Review: 4x16  Next: 4x18

[eurusholmmes]

Complete|| jim gordon

Guys I know I told you I wasn’t going to write any more requests until June, but Gotham came back on tonight and my Jim Gordon feels went SKYROCKETING. And there’s next to no fic on here for him, so here you go!

After a particularly rough day having to deal with Jervis Tetch, Jim comes home to the only person who makes him feel complete, who makes him feel as if he is still a man. 

Warnings: Tetch is a douche, mentions of attempted suicide, hypnosis, just general angst with added fluff

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  “You’re so tired of life, aren’t you? Even with y/n to come home to every night, you still don’t feel like you’re a good enough man for the woman you love. Quite sad.. when you have it all and feel more empty then you ever have in your life.” 

It had been a hellish day, to say the least. Jim Gordon aimlessly swayed outside the door to the apartment he shared with you, his devoted wife of a year and a half. His hand trembled as he struggled to fit the key into the lock, screwing his eyes tightly shut to try and block out the lulling voice of Jervis Tetch and everything he’d said earlier that afternoon. 

  “Now you can rest, Jim.”

He ambled inside the apartment as quietly as he could, silently hoping that you’d already be asleep and he could completely skirt around a conversation. Much to his displeasure, you were sitting cross legged on the bed wearing his favorite sky blue button up, your hair unkempt and your fingers wrapped around a cup of coffee. 

 “Y/n sweetheart, it’s half past one in the morning. What on Earth are you doing up so late?” Jim chided. You’d been on the phone with Harvey from ten to twelve, listening to his thorough explanation of the man the GCPD deemed The Mad Hatter and all of the things he’d been whispering to Jim since he’d made himself known. Case in point, using his mistakes in hopes to make him claim his own life. 

  “Hoping my husband hasn’t killed himself yet.” 

Your blunt answer was so abrupt it completely drew Jim back towards you, his attention now piqued. “Great. I assume Harvey told you everything?” Jim growled, his chest deflating in defeat as you sat your cup on the bedside table and moved to close the gap between you. “He’s dangerous and I don’t ever want you going near him. Do you hear me?” 

  “Loud and clear Officer.” You teased, resting your hand against his cheek. Your heart sank as warmth radiated from the skin you’d come to memorize in the time you’d been together, Jim instinctively leaning into your touch and drawing you closer. “He wants you to think you have nothing left to live for, honey.” 

  “But besides you - what is there? My job?” He snorted indignantly and splayed his hands across the small of your back beneath your shirt, resting his forehead against your shoulder as you played with the hair at the nape of his neck. You slowly exhaled as you registered the warmth on your shoulder and the silent sobs causing your husbands body to tremble violently against yours. “Y/n.. you’re the only good thing left in this fire and brim stone city. Every morning when I walk out that door, I am literally walking into hell itself. It terrifies me to think that I make one wrong move and it leaves you alone. There’s nothing left for you here in Gotham. Fish took that from you.” 

  “But through Fish taking my family from me, I got Bruce and Alfred. And let me tell you, I love those two.” You said firmly, peeling yourself away from Jim and cupping his face in your hands. Such delicate, warm hands.. Hands that mapped his body like art and held him as if he was the most precious jewel to dig out of this city. That was what you’d done - dug him out of the shell of himself and brought him back to life. 

And oh.. you loved that man. The man with the stupidly gorgeous smile, the crystal irises that regarded you with such majesty that it made your heart melt; the man who cracked the most stupid jokes at 2 AM and made you his priority over a job he loved so much. 

Jim Gordon was yours. And you were his. 

You completed each other. 

A warm, content smile spread across your weary features as you extended your arms - only for Jim to laugh quietly under his breath and link his fingers with yours. “Y/n.” You turned around in the darkness and let out a gasp as Jim pulled you back in his direction, his fingers tightly threading through your hair as he captured your lips in his own. 

The ferocity in his kiss stunned you so quickly that you felt your knees weaken and had to wrap your arms around his neck to keep yourself from falling. He was the first one to pull away, his breathing heavy as you tilted your head to the side and motioned back towards the bed. “C’mere honey.” You whispered softly against his bicep. Jim reluctantly released you and followed you back to the bed to lay down on his side, the mattress dipping beneath his weight as the tension slowly seeped from his body. “Your fears don’t make you any less of a man. You are still and will always be the best man I have ever known, Jim. I adore you.” 

He inhaled sharply as a wave of tears pricked his eyes. “I’m sorry.” He confessed. You rolled over onto his waist and straddled him, your knees locking at his hips as you bent over to wipe his tears with the pads of your thumbs. “It’s ridiculous because we’ve been married for a year and a half... but it feels like it’s been so long since I’ve really known that there was someone out there who loved me for me.” 

  “Honey, I need you to do something for me.” You whispered. Your voice carried on the silence as you slowly began to leave open mouthed kisses on his jawline. “I need you to breathe, Jim. Feel the love behind my words and my touch.. and just breathe.” 

So for the next ten minutes you found yourself whispering words of affirmation to a man who had never needed them more than in that moment; high on the gentle touches on his cheeks, his chest, his arms and the words whispered in his ear. 

There was never a moment where I’d felt more love,

than in the way your lips whispered,

and your fingers danced across my skin,

like the gasoline to ignite the fire.

Just as you were moving to place a final kiss on his lips, Jim completely caught you off guard and flipped the position so you were on the bottom pinned to the bed by his weight. “And now it’s time for me to show you,” He murmured lowly in your ear, his hand sliding down the side of your body to your bare leg and hooking it over his hip. “Just how much you complete me.” 

But may the gods rejoice

Because this lonely heart has found a home

To complete the hole that was left in it.

[lovefortvmoviekillersandpsychos]

Red Queen ( Jervis x OC )

Against my better judgment, I have decided to post this imagine. To clear the air, it is clear the Jervis did *cough* does *cough* have romantic feelings for his baby sister, Alice. So, I thought, why not introduce another sister into the scenario and see how it plays out. So, without further ado……

Warning : mentions of incest, implied incest, cursing, depression

Her eyes were glued to the stage as she watched her brother perform his hypnotic magic. She had seen it hundreds of times a million different ways, but he never ceased to fascinate her. His hat that she designed for him. The suit she picked for him. The act she helped him decide on. She wore a red and black Victorian style dress with a corset and lace red gloves. She loves the color red.

They were on their way back to Gotham to follow a lead on their little sister. Jervis and Sylvia Tetch had been moving from city to city for years. Sometimes she took part in his show as a guest from the audience, other times she simply watched. Before Alice was born, the two were inseparable as twins, Jervis being only two minutes older. They would have been born sooner had Sylvia been born first but her was I’m the was and they were three days late. They were too close in their parents eyes. Their obsession with magic and constant need to be in each others company worried their parents. Their worry was justified the night the died. The night they found their two eldest children doing more than brother and sisterly things. Alice never knew. She never knew that her two siblings were once together or that they caused their parents death.

Sylvia loved her baby sister once. When she was little and needed guidance. But when Jervis pushed her aside and became infatuated with Alice, Sylvia became vexed. She even helped Alice escape their brother so that she could have him to herself. He never found out because she doesn’t even remember it, a serious bump on the head made sure of it. While Jervis cared for Sylvia and loved her company, he believed that he and Alice were meant to be together.

Jervis has his hypnotic power and Sylvia has her own. It can be called hypnotism, but she prefers to call it seduction. When Jervis stopped showing interest in her romantically, she went off the rails. She does not take rejection well. Sylvia took on lovers, many of which Jervis didn’t approve or care to keep around. Still possessive of her even though he no longer wanted her. While he drove a few of her lovers to kill themselves. Sylvia had a liking for decapitation.  

Her favorite phrase: Off with your head.

While he denied her romantically, Jervis did welcome her affections. She held him a lot and often lay next to him while they slept. She kissed his temple and had herself wrapped around him at nights when they were alone. He welcomed this but always denied her of going further. Embarrassed and feeling rejected, Sylvia would often leave him and go out to a bar where a man or two would hit on her, commenting that the tears on her cheeks were being wasted on a man not worth her time. That’s how her nights of killing usually began. They usually would end with Jervis finding her chopping off a man’s head while in lingère.

Sylvia had a feeling that tonight would be one of those nights because Jervis looked particularly handsome under the lighting. Why did her brother have to be so alluring? He was simply so naturally charming and it made any woman want to have his attention. Sylvia loved every moment he looked at her, even if it wasn’t the same way he used to. His obsession with their sister and her blood was driving him mad even though he claimed that Alice kept him sane. Jervis claimed that Sylvia kept him grounded. Grounded to what he never said. But he did tell her that she made him feel secure.

After the show, Jervis was approached by many women as usual and Sylvia but the inside of her cheek to keep from frowning. Jervis paid them little mind but charmed them still. A few were the women he hypnotized that night. He discussed with Sylvia earlier that he was to con some people out of their money and he was collecting. When the crowd of women thinned, Jervis excused himself and held his arm to Sylvia. She accepted as usual and they made their way to the home of a wealthy patron they had gotten to house them. The patron was in their other home while the two vacated this one. It was large and Jervis had the staff under his control. They shared a room even though there were over five they could have occupied separately. Sylvia helped undress Jervis and he undid her corset he had helped her put on for the night.  

“You do know that these things are not necessary dear sister.”

“But they make me look beautiful brother and it attracts the right attention.”

Jervis tensed,

“No men should look at you like that. You are too good for any man.”

Sylvia’s temper flared,

“Every man is never good enough in your eyes. I have my own needs Jervis, ones that haven’t been met by any man for a long time because you always scare them off and you would just give me some independence, maybe I’d stop being in love with you.”

Jervis stopped undoing the corset and turned Sylvia towards him,

“You keep me grounded Red. But to ground you would cause you pain and I only want the best for you.”

Kissing her forehead, Jervis began to pull out his pocket watch. He could not lose another sister. Sylvia spoke, not seeing his pocket watch at hand,

“Or, if you would have me as yours again, I’d never leave you. Jervis, you know I have never stopped loving you the way you used to love me. You know all that I have done for you and us. I killed our own mother to keep our secret from our sister. I killed so many people just to keep them from taking you away from me. But you didn’t do the same when they threw me into that asylum. I was in there for months. You never came. I got broken out and I found you hundreds of miles away. Did you even look for me?”

Jervis put the watch in his pocket and caressed Sylvia’s face,

“Of course I did. I just looked in all the wrong places. I went through all of your past lovers and nothing connected you to Gotham. Dear sister, I was lost without you. You ground me, keep me from exceeding my limits. You are important to me, just as Alice is too. Our past relationship was beautiful and pure, but it was not meant to be.”

And just like that, her brother broke her heart completely. Sylvia stepped away from her brother and ripped off her corset as she stormed out of the house with tears streaming down her cheeks as she has a hundred times before. Instead of finding a nearby bar where Jervis could easily find her, she hitched a ride with a handsome stranger to Gotham. Unfortunately for Sylvia, the man knew who she was and took her to a facility that conducted human experiments.

Jervis made his way to Gotham six months later. When Sylvia did not return the day after they spoke, he started looking for her. When he couldn’t find her after two days, he went into a frantic panic. Jervis did not understand what he said to make her upset. He stayed in the house waiting for her return but she never did. He repeated in his mind: She always comes back. Jervis was lost. He left the town and searched for Sylvia in all the places once more.

When he arrived in Gotham, he kept his act going. Performing shows and getting information about the city. Who to know and who to avoid. He asked if anyone had seen Sylvia, showed a picture of her and Alice. He missed both of his sisters. When he was in Gotham for nearly two weeks, he grew twitchy. That’s when he met Jim Gordon and he hired him to find his sisters. Showing the man a picture of both of his sisters, he recognized only one, Sylvia.

“This one, with all the red one. That’s the Red Queen.”

Jervis was confused at this revelation,

“Red Queen?”

Jim looked at Jervis questionably,

“Yeah, she used to hang around one of my exes for a while. But she got into some deep stuff when she became a crime boss for a bit. Guess she decided it wasn’t her style and she became a gun for hire. Works under some other crime boss now I presume. Haven’t seen her in months but I have seen bodies with her mark.”

Jervis cocked his head to the side and asked,

“What is her mark?”

Jim rubbed his face,

“Decapitation and using the victims blood to write "Off With Your Head!” on a nearby wall. Some criminals tried to copy her, but she’s stealthy. Knows the city like she was born here…I know that she was admitted to Arkham Asylum about two years ago, but she’s a ghost. I’m sure she was really sweet when you last saw her, but this city changes people. And she might not want to be found, both of them.“

Jim started to give the money back and Jervis sputtered out,

"I need my family back. My baby sister has been missing for years. My twin sister has been gone for months. Without them…I’m lost. Please, at least look. If you find anything I’ll double what I’ll giving you.”

Alice was found first, more like she found Jervis. He was about to have the man who was helping him walk off the ledge of a rooftop.  

“Let him go Jervis!”

Jervis looked elated to see his sister,

“Oh, Alice. Where have you been? I’ve missed you very dearly.”

Alice held a still and relentless gaze,

“I’ve been running from you. And apparently so has Sylvia now.”

Jervis’ eyes lit up,

“Sylvia? Have you seen her? I only lost her recently.”

A figure then dropped seemingly out of the sky and next to Alice. Wearing black leather with red embroidery, her outfit was like a onesie catsuit. Bright red highlighted her midnight black hair and her eyes bright red as well and blazing with fury. She looked even more beautiful than before. Jervis’ eyes bulged in shock and delight,

“Sylvia.”

He called her name so sweetly and he meant it, but she didn’t move. Neither of the sisters did. Jim Gordon was struggling to keep himself from walking over the ledge. Alice repeated herself,

“Let him go!”

Jervis smiled sweetly at Alice,

“You won’t hurt me-”

BANG BANG BANG

Three shots went off and only one grazed Jerivs. Gordon was broken from his trace and Jervis made a run for it. Alice handed Sylvia the gun and went to the ex-cops side. Sylvia sighed and checked how many bullets were left in the gun, she planned to use it later tonight. Her and he sister made eye contact and she smiled,

“Some family reunion huh?”

Alice started to smile back but abruptly stopped when the man handcuffed her to him. By time Alice’s eyes went back to where her sister was, Sylvia was gone. Jervis got Alice and that’s when Sylvia jumped into action. She found them easily, knowing her brothers mind so well. He was drawing blood from their sister, blood her valued very much. She had knocked out the two large oafs before making herself known,

“Let her go Jervis. You’re scaring her. This is no way to treat your sister.”

Jervis only smiled,

“Here we are. Finally! Our family, all together again.”

Sylvia laughed,

“Not for long. I’m not tied up and personally, I don’t want to come back to you and that endless cycle of: I cater to your every need and wish, you tell me you love me; I think I have a chance of things returning to how they were before you fell in love with your even younger sister, you tell me no; I get drunk and kill a few men, you find me, I cater to your every need. It’s a tiring and endless cycle. I realize now that things will never be how they were before. I’ll never feel you inside me again or feel you wrapped around me while I-”

Jervis snapped,

“Enough Sylvia. It was a long time ago.”

“Yes, eight years. Then you wanted Alice. But she is the sister that doesn’t want you. I did and now I’m done. So, I’m here to get my sister away from you. Either give her to me or we’ll do this the fun way, my way.”

Alice’s eyes were bulging. She hadn’t know that her siblings had been together. She knew that were always close and protective of each other but never would have guessed. Looking back, Alice could see it now, in her memories before Jerivs messed with her mind.

“I can’t give her to you Sylvia, but you are more than welcome to join us.”

Sylvia hissed and growled sharply and her eyes flashed red,

“I do not submit or bend the knee to any man. Our sister does not want to be with or with you. GIVE HER TO ME NOW OR I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD! I WANT MY SISTER!”

Sylvia had snapped. Jervis saw the Red Queen before him now. Her eyes stayed bright red and she began stepping towards him with the look of murder on her face when a gun shot ran out and Jervis ducked in front of Alice. The shot was not aimed at Sylvia thankfully. Harvey and Jim came into view. Sylvia stayed were she was,

“Hey Har, pleasant seeing you here. Business or pleasure?”

Sylvia giggled and twirled twirled piece of hair around her fingers. Harvey looked slightly nervous, he and the Red Queen had become quite acquainted a few months back. The relationship was only trouble seeing as she left him for a guy actually close to her age and started killing people regularly. A gun fight ensued and Jim broke out of the trace Jervis had him under and the two men Sylvia knocked out now stood on either side of her as bullets went flying. Her eyes never blinked, but when she saw Jervis untying Alice, she dropped to the ground and made her way to them. Alice struggled against Jervis who told her he loves her and didn’t understand why she was resisting him. As Sylvia saw Alice loosing her balance on the ledge, she lunged for her but missed and was starting to fall with Alice as well. Sylvia screamed while trying to catch her sister but it was no use. Jervis caught Sylvia on the other hand who passed out at the sight of her now dead sister, impaled by a metal pole. Jervis was frantic and blamed Jim Gordon for Alice.

“You killed her!”

He noticed blood dripping from Sylvia’s side and panicked. Him and his goons fled the scene an Jervis reluctantly dropped Sylvia off at a hospital. As soon as he had both of his sisters with him, they were gone and the madness took over his mind.

Sylvia was treated and glad to awaken to a familiar face. Not Jervis but a fellow assassin, Viktor Zsas. He was her friend, taught her what she needed to know and they may have spent a few nights in a bed together but we’re too drunk to remember. Viktor had her checked out that day and under his protection. Sylvia didn’t mind staying in his hideout, so long as she was away from her brother. Her boyfriend Jerome was dead and Viktor truly cared for her. She felt actually safe with him, but dreaded the day she ran into her brother again.