#no !!

by the time he is twelve, he has developed pretty severe OCD, exaggerated by the abuse. this, primarily, appears in the form of circle-speak. he cannot be accused of lying, or cheating, if interpretation is left to the audience (RIGHT??). his mother buys him a riddle-book. this quickly becomes his primary form of communication.

16. and he has better control over his riddles, though he finds the compulsion strongest when he feels his validity is being questioned, or he is the subject of ridicule. his lower social class, even by gotham's standards, means this happens often.

he graduates a year early, & attends gotham university. he studies bio-chem, and excels at it. gets awarded a big-time scholarship. by the time he has his diploma, commissioner gordon has already hired him on as a part-time evidence technician. his intellect is not in doubt here, but doesn't do him much good. the other technicians are brutes, & half of them tamper with evidence ( missing drugs, obscene gestures with women's clothing ). he gets into an argument with one, and swings first. maybe it's his wiry frame, or his genuine commitment to the force, but he's allowed to keep his job. for now, nygma.

he gets a master's in forensic biology online. luckily, the required in-person lab lines up with his brief suspension from GCPD. he's 26 when he is offered a full-time job as a forensic scientist. his own lab, and a team of scientists & detectives, all a good five-to-ten years his senior. the police jacket swallows him. even gordon seems to have grown tired of his antics, & he often has to find his own ride to the crime scene.

at 30, officers around the GCPD have a new man to mock: some guy with too much money & a bat-mask. ed tries to get in on the joke, but they still lift the yellow tape for this masked man, not nygma. it's the little things. soon, they start saying things like ' man, you gotta give it to him. the bat knows what he's doing '. he never heard anyone say that about nygma, who definitely knows what he's doing !

at 32, he sets his first trap for the bat. nothing crazy. a note, that reads "STOLEN GOODS : poor people have me, rich people need me, and if you eat me you will die. WHAT AM I?". nothing. he hasn't stolen a thing. harmless cat & mouse! maybe the bat will think it's funny; start holding the tape up for nygma.

instead, nygma is asked to sit in gordon's office. ' what is this I hear about you STEALING ? ' he's ten years old. didn't steal a thing ! didn't cheat ! on thin ice, nygma !

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