* GOTHAMS / KING

“Looking to intern for some of the most prolific inventors and scientists in this city is so hard when you don’t even have your credentials thanks to falling into another world all together butt naked,” @reshieldedstart​

“do you always tend to narrate exactly what is going on in your life at all times??” he questioned, sarcasm dripping with every single word uttered. “though i suppose i shouldn’t be surprised you’re from the same world i came from as well. there seems to be a level of dramatics we lot tend to pull of splendidly.” 

        (  @reshieldedstart​  !  )    “  honey  ,   trust me  ,   there  is  no  right  way  .  ”  

“Don’t forget who got you back on track. Without me, you’d be dead in a cabin in the middle of the woods.” Edward replied, his voice flat and sharp. “You may have helped me along, but I killed without your influence. You pushed me to be a villain, but my greatest strides were made when I thought you were dead.” Edward said, glaring as best as he could. Most of those strides were made in a drug-fueled frenzy, but Oswald didn’t need to know that. The point remained that even if Oswald broke him out of Arkham and gave him a job, it could be argued that without Oswald’s intervention, he wouldn’t have ended up there in the first place. He killed Officer Dougherty and Kristin before becoming close to Oswald, but closely examining his rise to villain-y fame seemed to inspire something in Edward. A profane, perverse idol.

Edward almost replied with i’m always right when he realized that antagonizing Oswald wouldn’t help the situation in the slightest. “Great. How do we suggest we leave the building after that? Try to talk to another guard?” Edward said, voiced laced with sarcasm. He stepped around Oswald, squatting down to look at the locking mechanism on the ground. It seemed electronic from his seat in the back of he cell, and now that he was up close, it looked like some sort of advanced trip wire, which probably alerted a system of sorts when a cell door opened or closed. Standard in a jail, and even better that Edward had programmed similar ones before. “If you can get a key, I can set off another alarm away from us, on the other end of the cell block, to serve as a distraction.” It looked simple enough, and if all the doors were attached to the same system, then it should be possible to access one door through another.

“And they’ll be a truce, after we escape. No trying to hurt each other for a 3 hours after. Then, the game is back on.” 3 hours would give Edward enough time to get back to his hidey hole, figure out where Oswald was living (probably the most pretentious and outlandish penthouse in the city), and make his next move. No doubt Oswald had swarms of people looking for him during his year-long absence (Echo and Query excelled in information collection), so hiding for another few hours would be nothing. 

so it seemed this little back and forth was never going to be officially finished. oswald preferred to have the last word parley just because he could, but he damn well knew that ed was dramatic enough to keep fighting him for it. at the end of the way, he knew full well there had been some hand in creating the riddler as much as ed may want to deny it. but, for now, the penguin would allow it to slide. besides, they had far more important matters to attend to. there were business meetings he would be missing now that he was stuck in this hell hole with the last person he had wanted to see in this world. 

“i could do without the sarcasm,” he grumbled. what was it about ed that always made him like this?? oswald tended to be the smartest person in the room at all times, yet whenever it came to the other, he always foundered and felt unsure of himself. it was beyond frustrating. debating the plan, he was rather reluctant to admit that it was one that would most likely work. given how these cops were already acting, they seemed to be more of the dim witted sort just as they were both used to back home in gotham. aside from gordon, of course. “fine. we can go along with your little plan, and keep the truce for that amount of time. afterwards, there will be no place in this world that you’ll be able to hide from me.” and oswald would make certain of that. 

glowering at the other, he turned, limping his way towards the bars once more. from there it was simple, really. he was rather good at getting people’s attention with his loudness, excelled at keeping it on him. when that poor guard came over to deal with it, he was far too busy trying to get oswald to quiet down and behave once more that it was a simple matter to relinquish the key from the man. after all, he’d started on the lower levels with pick pocketing when he’d been younger -- it was a rather useful skill to posses in gotham. once the guard had left, eyes rolled before he was turned back towards ed, holding out the key. “see, it comes in handy when you need a good distraction. you’re welcome.”

             @reshieldedstart​   !

“    you’re  repeating  yourself.    ”    it’s  a  touch  brusque  on  the  delivery,    and  helena  winced  internally  when  she  heard  her  own  tone  of  indifference.    but,    she  doesn’t  like  wasting  time,    and  company  was  starting  to  talk  in  circles.    “    sorry,    force  of  habit.    continue.    ”

“just a lot of rats,” he says with a smile, shaking his head, “you get used to the rats.” he supposes that’s how it is with every major city but new york had a different kind of brand. “not an optimist,” he would never think of himself to be an optimist but he did try and look for the good, the world was already so bleak. “i’m trying to be though, takes a lot to try and break old habits.” he gives the man a shrug now. he raises an eyebrow at the word gotham, he had obviously never heard of it but at this point he was no longer surprised by much these days. “i’m sorry you were misplaced,” scott offers, “have you been able to find some balance here?”

     THIS  WHOLE  NEW  WORLD  THING  WAS  GOING  UNDER  harder  than  one  of  falcone’s  guys  with  a  brick  tied  around  his  ankle  in  the  gotham  river  .  harley  surveys  the  bright  city  lights  ,  the  air  that  somehow  seems  cleaner  and  decides  that  maybe  it  ain’t  all  too  bad  .  she’s  got  a  cute  apartment  ,  her  bat  made  the  trip  with  her  (  not  that  one  -  although  ,  she  swears  she’d  seen  the  scowling  cowl  lurking  about  )  and  she’s  …  adjusting  .  also  ,  panicking  a  bit  .  the  blonde  tugs  on  the  edge  of  one  of  her  pigtails  ,  waving  her  hand  to  catch  their  attention  .  “  hey  ,  you  !  “  she  calls  ,  jogging  over  before  they  can  make  a  run  for  it  .  “  have  ya  seen  a  cat  about  yay  high  ?  “  she  pauses  to  gesticulate  around  her  hip  .  “  i’ll  give  ya  a  hint  ,  she  has  a  lot  of  teeth  and  she  ain’t  very  friendly  so  i’d  appreciate  any  tips  .  “  @reshieldedstart​​

“Well, now that I don’t have dead weight to drag alongside me, I think i’ll be better than ever.” Edward said, watching Oswald make his way to the cell door. Despite his best efforts to remind himself that Oswald was a horrible person, and would sell out Edward in an instant to get what he wanted, he couldn’t help but feel bad for him. Underneath all that bravado and carefully applied makeup and quaffed hair, Edward knew who he was.  Or did, at one point. But it was getting harder for Edward not to revert to how he acted all those years ago. Fawning, moonstruck over the very idea that Oswald paid him any attention. Now, he knew Penguin for who he was. A selfish, ruthless toddler, who threw a hissy fit every time something so happened as to mildly displease him.

Edward thought that he saw another side of Oswald, a softer side that made him tea, and told him to wear green more often since it really brought out his eyes, and lent Edward his expensive shirt cuffs when Edward couldn’t find his. This side was, more likely than not, a ploy to get Edward to trust him. And Edward, despite all his peacocking about how smart he is, fell for it so quickly, that the reality was a slap to the face. It wasn’t that Oswald cared about no one in the world besides Edward. He just didn’t care about anyone besides himself.

“My plan involves waiting. Something you taught me long ago. ‘Waiting for the right moment to strike’. I believe was your actual phrasing.” Edward watched as Oswald stood by the door, the one part of the cell he hadn’t gotten a chance to look at yet. “What has two heads, a single purpose in life, and nothing to show for it?“ Edward asked conversationally, as if this was a completely normal thing to ask of someone. “Us. We’re stuck here, and I don’t think squabbling will get us anywhere.” Edward hated where this was going. Hated the inevitability that was looming before him. “Perhaps…a temporary armistice. With my brains and your-” Edward paused as he gestured to Oswald, “you know. Talking. Bullshitting. We can manage a way to get out. And then- we never see each other again. You leave me to my devices as I leave you to yours. Deal?”

“you didn’t seem to consider me dead weight whenever i was helping you -- giving you a job and a better purpose than you had before. don’t pretend you weren’t a lost little lamb unsure of anything in your life.” oswald had still been the first person ed had told about killing someone. the first person he had truly revealed that side of himself to. despite how things had ended between the two of them, there was still that. he still had that along with everything else the two of them had shared in their time together. even if the memories came with a bitter taste these days every single time oswald remembered the gun shot into his stomach. they were still his.

he didn’t make a comment on the statement. patience had always been something penguin had excelled out. always waiting for the right moment to strike. always patient, waiting on the sidelines until it was his time to take control. gotham had always been waiting to fall into his hands. the eye roll was obvious, expression showing just how annoyed he was by the riddle. “as loathed as i am to admit it, you’re correct in that evaluation. we’re both stuck in here and arguing isn’t going to do a thing.” settling back, oswald pondered the thought. obviously the situation was familiar even if they were in the same cage this time rather than two separate ones. 

“not seeing your face again couldn’t come any sooner, so deal. while i may not know everything about this world, i do for a fact know that generally all of these officers are complete imbeciles. if i can distract the one with the keys to our cell with my, as you say, bullshitting, i can pocket them off of him and we can go on our merry way once things settle down a bit more around here. unless you have a better idea with that big brain of yours.” 

          𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐀  𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐍’𝐓  𝐀  𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍,  nor  was  she  the  kind  to  be  trusted.  slinking  through  the  night,  it  was  easy  to  be  so  young  and  keep  everyone  at  an  arm’s  length.  but  over  the  years  and  the  nasty  cat  fights,  selina  found  something  of  a  friend  in  oswald.  ❛  oz  and  his  army  of  cats,  that’ll  definitely  strike  fear  into  people’s  hearts.  ”  the  femme  mused  with  a  soft  chuckle.  it  was  good  to  see  another  familiar  face,  one  that  she  didn’t  have  to  feel  so  tense  around.  ❛  it  seems  like  that  portal  swallowed  the  whole  city  up  and  spat  us  out  to  this  new  shit hole.  ❜  eyes  narrow  as  she  spoke.  this  new  city  was  strange,  but  she  was  adjusting  herself  to  it.  a  life  adaption  would  give  you  that  ability.  “  but  c’mon,  my  apartment  is  just  up  here  ⸻  i’ve  got  some  cheap  wine  and  all  night  to  hear  about  what  you’ve  been  up  to.  ❜

“i am nothing but a man to be feared, especially with an army of just about anything.” even if said army were cats. a ridiculous notion that oswald was more than happy to play along with whenever it came to selina. their life styles tended to be rather dangerous, always unsure where to turn or who one could trust. he had learned long ago even trusting the one who held your heart would ultimately backfire, yet somehow along the way he had slowly learned to trust selina. she was a dear friend to him, one that he did care for a great deal. gaze sweeping around the area, penguin made a face. “who knew somewhere could be worse than gotham.” their home, perhaps, but still a shithole at the end of the day. turning back to selina, oswald grinned, delighted at the offer. “by all means, i’d be happy to accept. i could go for some wine right about now, and i know you always have exquisite taste. besides, i’d like to catch up on your adventures as well.” 

“it’s new york, i don’t know why i’m so surprised,” he eventually concedes, shaking his head either way at the thought of people just trying to get to their destination with little to lack of others. but then again, scott had always looked for that everywhere he had went. he shakes his head now, “people are selfish, but then again, they might not even really realize it. just trying their best to get to point b.” he gives them the benefit of the doubt, it’s hard not to when you haven’t existed for so long, just seeing people again was amazing enough for him. “are you lost as well?”

Edward tried to keep his face neutral as Oswald maneuvered over to him, getting a finger jabbed in his chest for his efforts. In his year-long hiatus from villainy, he had almost forgotten how dramatic Oswald was at all times. How every event, no matter how small, was the end of the world. How the simple appearence of an old friend in an jail cell was catastrophic in nature. Edward had always been ruled by his brain, but Oswald was a tidal wave of emotions, and it was wonderful to feel something again, even it was mild annoyance. Edward grasped Oswald’s finger with his gloved thumb and pointer finger, pushing it back towards Oswald.

“And you assume I don’t already have a plan formulated in my head?“ Edward replied, a hint of a smile returning to his face. It was nice to return to this old back and forth with someone who came close to (not very close, but somewhat) meeting his intellectual prowess. Every conversation with Oswald was a fight, a haughty back and forth to constantly one up each other. Kept Edward on his toes. Even when Oswald was mayor of Gotham, or even before, when their relationship was much less strained, it was more of a…dance. When they could complete each other’s thoughts and actions. They distance between them, brought on by both Oswald’s actions, and Edward’s absence. Now it felt… jilting. Jarring. Like they were stepping on each other’s feet more than dancing. Edward used to be able to say with certainty what Oswald was about to say or do. Now, this man standing before him felt like a stranger in a new land.

“I would love to hear your plan to escape, since a I recall, many of our past endeavors have relied solely on me to do any thinking, while you just rode on my coattails to the finish line!” Edward said, standing to his full height, Oswald’s head now around Edward’s clavicle. “Then again, you never did do well with not getting what you want.”

he has the audacity to look extremely appalled when his finger is pushed away even if he was the one to have initiated the contact to start with. pulling his arm back in a huff, and a rather dramatic flourish at that, instead oswald sets to smoothing out the ruffles in his suit those officers were responsible for. maybe once he was freed from this cell he would be sure to get the names of the bastards and ensure they paid for his dry cleaning. “oh, i’m sure you have a plan but knowing you, they don’t always go according to your wishes, now do they??” 

even if the insults and, frankly, annoyed behavior tended to come rather easily to oswald whenever he was around ed these days it hardly meant that he enjoyed it. even still, there was an ache that blossomed in his heart, a painful reminder of the rocky history that was laid in their past. he missed the days the two of them had worked together like a well oiled machine. the way they had been inseparable, partners in crime. no one in oswald’s life had ever come close to completing him in the way that ed had been capable of doing. now there were just  jagged edges between them, drawing blood every time they got even remotely close. 

bristling at the words, head tilted back as he glared daggers up at the other, hands balling into tight fists. he may not have the specific intellect ed possessed, but it hardly made oswald any less of a genius. their minds were different, yes, and when put together it had always been such a dangerous thing. as quickly as that heat of rage washed over the penguin, that cold splash of reality was slamming into him, mouth opening to retort with nothing coming out. hand raised, finger pointed, wanting nothing more than to lash out in some way but all that consumed him was hurt. “bah !!” turning on his heel, oswald limped away from ed, putting as much distance between the two of them he possibly could in the cell. 

“if you’re so brilliant, why are you still in here with me??” 

    *     ⅋        —        @reshieldedstart​          ❪         open     starter  

   the  night  doesn’t  scare  her.  street  lamps  that  illuminated  her  way  home,  flickering  out  of  time  while  the  moon  acted  an  illusive  guide.  this  new  city  was  strange,  but  full  of  opportunities.  for  someone  like  selina,  you  had  to  make - do  with  what  you  got;  reliance  is  a  risky  business,  and  in  times  like  these,  the  only  person  she  could  trust  was  herself  ⸻  but  even  then,  selina  struggled  to  stay  consistent.  tiny  shards  of  smudged  glitter  rested  underneath  tired  eyes,  her  make-shift  mask  and  a  midnight  bag  caught  up  in  one  hand.  she  was  doing  her  best  to  survive,  sometimes  to  keep  above  board,  it  called  for  illegal  measures.

❛  she  seems  to  like  you.  ❜  the  femme  called  out,  head  tilted  to  the  side  as  she  watched  one  of  her  newly  adopted  strays  rub  the  entire  length  of  her  body  against  the  stranger’s  leg  ⸻  a  spark  of  quiet  jealousy  burned  in  selina’s  chest  at  the  sound  of  the  cat  purring,  it  took  a  good  week  for  the  stray  to  like  her.  dark  hues  flicker  to  face  the  stranger,  a  suspicious  sparkle  in  selina’s  eye.  ❛  did  you  stuff  your  pockets  with  cat-nip  or  somethin’  ?  ❜

@reshieldedstart​​

he’s standing in front of the apartment that he had lived in before he had got blipped, it had been a steal when he had gotten it, right near every little coffee shop and restaurant that he had loved, all within an easy walking distance and right near the subway. he supposed that with half the population gone, including himself, the city would have changed and it had. the places that he had once loved had been closed down and something new had taken it’s place and that apartment building that he had once made home was now someone else’s and scott didn’t know what to do with himself now, his second instinct is the xavier’s mansion, but he doesn’t move, he stays there until he can’t anymore, and when he starts moving again he doesn’t really know where he’s going to just that he needs to go somewhere. it’s rush hour now and he’s pushing against the crowd before he absolutely collides with someone else. “shit! sorry, decided to run against the current at a bad time.”

@reshieldedstart​  jessica jones open starter !

“WATCH   IT!”   the   woman   hisses   unamused   as   someone   had   the   audacity   to   bump   into   her   on   the   busy   street.   people   these   days   didn’t   seem   to   have   a   sense   of   decency   did   they?   annoyed   jessica   practically   snarls   at   the   person   in   front   of   her,   “   do   me   a   favor   and   pay   attention   to   where   the   fuck   you’re   walking!”   she   was   definitely   coming   off   as   far   too   aggressive   and   rather   blunt,   but   jessica   never   really   had   the   patience   to   deal   with   people’s   bullshit.   “   i   can’t   deal   with   this   right   now,   so   how   about   you   apologize   for   ramming   into   me,   and   i’ll   agree   not   to   punch   you   in   the   face?”   seemed   like   a   very   good   deal   to   her,   “   deal?”

@ofpenguins​

“You can’t keep me in here for long! You have nothing on me!” Edward said, kicking the bars loudly after a beat of silence. Of course he got ratted out to the police, no doubt by one of those do-gooder passer-bys that saw his attempted breaking at the NYPD station. Now he was being held on a mere suspicion, and though Edward was a frequent occupier of jails and prisons, he wasn’t sure how the legal system worked here. For now, he was just in a holding cell, much like the ones that were in the main GCPD area, with a bench going around the cell, only this was in a different area then where the cops worked, which, as someone who’s been on both sides of the bars, was a wonderful idea. Clearly not suited for long term use, but that was fine, since Edward had no plans to stay here for long. He sat down on the bench with a huff, already hearing the door to the main part of the station buzz, much like it did when he entered the holding cell area a few minutes prior. Edward instantly had a suspicion about who was coming in, from several factors. One, they were squawking loud enough to wake the dead. Two, a characteristic footstep pattern. Three, Edward had a sudden, murderous rage. But, there were other cells in this area. And Edward was the only prisoner here. Statistically, Oswald would be placed in another cell, far away from Edward, and Edward could escape on his own, maybe flip off Oswald as he walked by his cell. His daydream was interrupted by the creak of his cell door opening, and Oswald being shoved inside.

“Can’t seem to keep your beak clean, can you Mr. Penguin?” Edward asked, trying to look the definition of calm, cool, and collected, when he was internally fighting the urge to not strangle Oswald where he stood.

“you have absolutely no idea who you are dealing with here !! unhand me this instant !!” while oswald did indeed get his wish to be unhanded, it was rather roughly as he was shoved into the cell, fury and frustration boiling over as it slammed shut before his eyes. limping to the bars, hands slipping around the cold metal, giving a useless shake before giving up on the matter entirely. they may have him locked up at the moment, but it hardly mattered when oswald would be freed before the day ended. this may be a new world to navigate, difficult as it had been in the beginning, though he wasn’t the penguin without reason. 

stilling at the all too familiar voice, teeth grit before he was whirling in ed’s direction, throwing his hands up all too dramatically. this would just be his luck, wouldn’t it?? try as oswald had to seek out the other when he’d first arrived in this world, his goons had found absolutely nothing that pointed to where the riddler may have been holding up, or if he were even in this world. the irony was not lost on him. “really, out of every cell in this building they just had to put me with you.”

making his way towards ed, the limp a bit more pronounced with all the struggling he’d endured while being brought into the station, oswald very pointedly jabbed his finger against ed’s chest, expression a mix of haughty and annoyed. “you’re in here as well, you idiot. obviously you’re not staying as clean as you’d like to think as well. besides, i have no plans to be kept here but for a few hours. they have nothing on me no matter what they may believe. i’ll quite enjoy walking out of here free and leaving you to rot away.” 

( robin lord taylor. 36. he/him. cis male. ) are you a VILLAIN? something tells me that being the smartest person in the room, carefully tailored suits, and an umbrella full of various surprises make you who you are, OSWALD COBBLEPOT. with the powers of GENIUS LEVEL INTELLIGENCE & AN INDOMNITABLE WILL, you’re sure to have a ambitious, malicious personality — and you definitely belong to UNAFFILIATED. were you listening to DON’T MESS WITH ME by TEMPOSHARK on your way to the subway? it suits you. we can’t wait to see what you do next!