#He loves his kids but boy does murder seem legal sometimes
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synthshenanigans · 1 year ago
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I love how childish Heart and Mind can be even when trying to be serious. Like the beginning of TSE is literally just Soul trying to introduce himself and talk but can only get like one verse in before they start pointing fingers
Literally went "ITS HIS FAULT" "NO HE DID IT" "MOM HE'S BULLYING ME"
Like thats exactly what TSE is
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tomwambsmilk · 2 years ago
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before i stumbled upon your blog just now, i had seen zero (0) imagery of succession.
i did not care about succession. i thought it seemed like not my type of show, boring even (i apologize, my mistake).
i still have no idea what it's about.
i know not anything about your scrimblos more than the first 5 mins of looking at your blog has told me.
but you've intrigued me. I still won't probably see this show (no offense - i haven't even watched through good omens and i Loved that show and follow fanfics of it)
but damn it if i won't follow this blog.
keep up the good fight. milk your men. you keep a high supply of fresh juicy content; and i am a patron of the arts.
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You have NO idea how absolutely delightful this ask was to get. We here at Tommy Milk Inc ALWAYS welcome additional patrons, regardless of existing knowledge of succession, affection for Tom, or position on the undefined but definitely very real Succession Political Compass. And I am personally deeply flattered by your enjoyment of my fresh juicy content, which I work so hard (with the help of my compatriots) to keep flowing from the tits of a certain Thomas Wambsgans day and night.
In fact, your ask has inspired me to attempt a bit of a Tommy milk renaissance (or milkaissance, if you will), so if milkposting is a topic which interests you, I'll be reblogging some key posts in the history of this phenomenon in short order.
All that said, while I don't think you need any prior knowledge of succession to appreciate the magical milk flowing from his substantial tits, I thought it might be helpful, for the sake of better enjoying the content, to get a Crash Course in the various Scrimblos of Succession:
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Logan Roy - literally the worst. Rolling with lgbt but also deeply homophobic, but also might be falling in love with his son-in-law (source: asked for his help peeing). Obsessed with milk and piss. Got a UTI and almost destroyed his own company over it. Once made several of his execs wrestle each other for sausages on a corporate retreat. Will hopefully die in season 4
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Kendall Roy - defender of women. Wants to be Oedipus but is bad at it. Used to do coke off his kids iPads but is now interested in becoming a meth-head (character growth!). Clinically depressed, probably. Technically killed a guy once. Wants to be Jesus sooo bad he almost strapped himself to a cross at his birthday party while performing Billy Joel's "Honesty". Definitely invested in crypto off-screen
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Roman Roy - meow meow supreme. Big proponent of sexual harassment. "Scared of pussy" but does like ejaculating onto windows. Thinks "fascism is cool, but also, not really". Tried to send a picture of his dick to the company's general legal counsel and sent it to his father instead. Major daddy's boy but does not know how much milk costs (sad!). Only person on this entire show who's ever been to management training
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Shiv Fucking Roy - 1/2 of the show's resident failmarriage. Used to work for Bernie Sanders (succession edition). Asked for an open marriage on her wedding night. Tries to be a #girlboss but is ultimately more of cringefail loser (affectionate). Called her husband manipulative because he tried to talk about his feelings. Representation for women who are their father's daughters (derogatory). Was almost suspiciously excited about the prospect of having sex with another woman in a threesome before Tom had to go and ruin it. Will likely murder him in season 4 (for unrelated reasons)
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Connor Roy - running for president and polling VERY close to 1%. Sugar daddy, patron of the arts, and big Napoleon fan. Man of the people (the people who work on his ranch). Occupations: "safeguarding" thousands of acres of New Mexico wilderness, and being on the verge of setting up a podcast about Napoleonic history with significant investment interest. A lack of real-world experience has sometimes been levelled at him. Owns Napoleon's penis. Everyone else keeps forgetting he exists
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Tom Wambsgans - babygirl!!!! Other half of the resident failmarriage. Lactates (they haven't addressed this in canon but that doesn't mean it isn't true). Has a Nero kink. Spends a lot of time saying suspiciously sexual things about his father-in-law. Sent his wife's cousin Greg 67 emails with the subject line "You can't make a Tomlette without breaking some Greggs" on the first night of his honeymoon. White collar criminal but bad at it. Once started secretly tracking his wife's menstrual cycle so he could pretend to be horny when she was ovulating in the hopes this would convince her to have a baby. Official boar on the floor loser (Karl stole his sausage). Pushed Shiv down the stairs and castrated and married Cousin Greg in the season 3 finale. Has a dick the size of a red sequoia and fucks like a bullet train
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Cousin Greg - slick little fuck (affectionate). Tom's executive assistant and corporate sugar baby. Also a white collar criminal but even worse at it. Suing Greenpeace for his inheritance. Has a gay homewrecking dad. Absolutely should go to HR about Tom but won't. Not here for a long time, but also not really having a good time. Generally doesn't know what's going on. Probably entering his villain era in Season 4 (what is he going to do with a soul anyways??). Once asked Tom to prove that he has a dick the size of a red sequoia and fucks like a bullet train
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castle-dominion · 1 year ago
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c1x1 flowers for your grave
Apparently the petals were silk. Frame rate could use some help. Sexy murder tho.
I didn't realize Gina was introduced so early!
I feel bad for the normal detective from the initial pilot that they replaced in the series/extended pilot with ryan, probs be he looks cuter. Unless my man lived in NY whereas SD (KR) lived in LA.
I've watched the commentary version of this & wowie there is a lot that makes sense the second time around
Wow what a sexy pilot episode. HOLY CRAP WHERE IS RYAN'S CLOTHING I CAN SEE HIS ENTIRE TORSO /hyp.
LP: Even bought her flowers. Who says romance is dead? KB: I do. Every Saturday night.
Espt in the first episode talking abt just doing his work, getting paid, & going home. The first episode really is trying to set characters right off the bat even tho I feel like they didn't get their groove until e4 (which is why I'm watching these backwards).
Don't you guys read? Doesn't mean they specifically read Castle books.
Castle puppydog face uwu, also wow stubble man. Must be a huge rebound for NF after his last show. Martha & Alexis getting their characters set XD. lmao Gray-dar! She sounds so young! I love alexis! (But at least where I live it is legal for a guardian or a guardian's partner to give their kid alcohol in the safety of their own home.)
New york, LA, NY, LA
RC: When I was your age... (he stops himself) I can’t tell that story. It's wildly inappropriate. Which, oddly, is my point. Don’t you want to have wildly inappropriate stories that you can’t tell your children?
CASTLE Just once, I’d like someone to come up to me and say something new. BECKETT (O.S.) Mr. Castle? [Castle turns around and pulls out a pen.] CASTLE Where would you like it? [Beckett approaches and holds up her badge.] BECKETT Detective Kate Beckett. NYPD. We need to ask you a few questions about a murder that took place earlier tonight. [Alexis takes the pen while she hangs around his shoulder.] ALEXIS That’s new. (https://scriptline.livejournal.com/16926.html)
Again, the intro is so much bigger than it is in the future.
Says here that you stole a police horse? And you were nude at the time?
Castle is kinda gross sometimes. I am glad I saw him in later seasons bc now seeing the start I know I would Hate Him. I kind of do. Beckett is so strong & castle is such a boy.
Ooh music. I noticed good music earlier too.
RC: C’est apres minuit dans un school night. Don’t you turn into a pumpkin or something? Wow language alexis!
the physicality is so cute & sweet.
[Beckett comes in carrying a box full of Richard Castle books.] RYAN o.o ... What are those? BECKETT Castle's greatest hits. You're going to familiarize yourselves with all of his murder scenes so we don't miss any. ESPOSITO Got any on tape? (laughs) A point for the espt adhd hc, not as strong as my adhd ryan hc. But hey castle does readings, I'm sure he could record one of those... he's a famous author he surely has audiobooks, tho I always like it when the author narrates their own book.
KR: "From the library of Katherine Beckett." KB: Do you have a problem with reading Ryan? didn't u already use this like JE: Yo, check it, girl. You're totally a fan! KB: Right. Of the genre. Girl u'r a homicide detective u rly want to read more crime after work? KR: Right. The-the genre. That's why you're blushing. KB: What are you, twelve? & then actually she gets ryan into these books which I think was a great touch even tho it is never explicitly spoken about. Ryan looks somewhat normal today, not like a weird college student. It def seems like ryan is not just the new guy on the show but espt also looks closer to beckett & ryan seems like the new guy here, even tho as confirmed somewhere in s2 they had already been partners for three years or smth.
Rly weird to see the two precinct sets. Are they canonically considered the same location & we are supposed to suspend our disbelief?
Nope : )
Castle sherlock holmsing here & then gets too close to home. & beckett's face just falling ever so slowly, I love it. That was good.
Maybe the guy was just a fanartist.
Man the livejournal transcript has some info but sadly the captions have more & I just can't hear it that well. Castle is chatting with espt at his desk & I can't tell who is saying what, esp when that fellow walks across the screen, covering their lips. I think it went smth like this: (conversation happening before the scene switches) (RC probably asks smth like: so have you ever shot anybody?) (JE: ...) Shot anybody? RC: Did you ever shoot anyone? JE: Yeah KB: *interrupts with stuff abt the case* Like bro idk how that convo actually went but typically u don't ask someone if they ever shot anyone. idk if it was cop talk or if castle just learned this man is ex-military or what. I also just enjoy learning abt the characters & I wouldn't mind having seen more convo.
Big cheese...? Also ew there are like.. protocols. JE: Man’s got the Mayor on speed dial. The rich really are different. KB: You want him? He’s yours. (that's gay) JE: A control freak like you with something you can’t control? No, no. That’s going to be more fun than Shark Week. These two with their banter. Love it.
Bro you DO come to a complete stop & do proper taxes. you might do a rolling stop at a stop sign or pay for parsley instead of cilantro.
Lanie is a fan <3 *extending hand* Lanie Parish. Medical Examiner. I love your books. Y’know, you have a real gift with the details of death.
Then u don't know me very well.
Why is she wearing a vest but not rysposito?
NY, LA, NY, LA, I def recommend watching the commentary version. Man got a shrine.
Ew ableism. You are really frightening the fellow there. My brother had to (verbally) kick a nurse's ass when she kept touching a patient without consent. He's a "lowly porter" tho so yk how things go. Nurse was too obsessed with doing what SHE thought was right (soothingly touching the patient) instead of respecting the patient's boundaries & explaining what was going on.
KB: This isn’t one of your books, Castle. Out here, we find a guy standing over a body with a gun, he’s usually the guy who did it. Not foreshadowing...
Love the writer poker. Presents it like he's writing a story.
She just runs after him all angry. He becomes sweet. He WAS sweet. Even though he used the opportunity. The music <3
I like how apples is a reoccuring word.
Martha <3 "I've had LOTS of father figures" lmao
Still, espt is the one talking with beckett.
I love how rick & alexis are chatting & then Martha is just there. MR: That makes about as much sense as Mouse Trap. I did that play eight times a week for a year. I still have no idea what it's about.
I love how the show still managed to have beckett & castle finishing each other's sentences even tho they r not even in the same room.
AC: by a lot MR: Mine too
I love seeing the scenes that they used in the intro for s1. I don't think s4 has an intro tho & I kind of miss it.
RC: This is not what it looks like. This-- I-- Okay, this is exactly what it looks like. But I can explain.
I suddenly remember how this ends. Oof poor guy, children was such a habit & now he has to say child.
Want a hot dog? I want a hot dog. (Beckett grabs his nose) Ow apples apples apples! He couldn't have lost weight to look sick thin becks. Maybe he WAS workout thin & then he's all depressed bc his daughter was just murdered & now he LOOKS sick thin, but that's a stretch.
Good on her for this lie/train of thought. Does he KNOW when all three were murdered? I mean they were probs in the paper, that's how he "found out" her case kid "killed" her.
Why did he specifically fly out on those days? I think being out of town /specifically/ those days is sus.
RC: Oh Markway! Tell him I say hello.
I love the way that castle talks versus beckett. Lol writing on castle's back
Boy just puts it in the shredder like that?
Yay the non-ryan cop & the scaffolding, now it looks like a city. Beckett talking to him like a toddler. She just cuffed him XD. You know, I'm glad I have a cuff key. You're actually more likely to be accidentally cuffed in some sort of sex cult than accidentally cuffed by a cop. I also have an elevator key which is useful. Too bad I actually lost my keyring. Rick is so cool & sexy & valid. Why would he take off his shoe tho? The audio commentary: "I have never seen toes that small on a man over six foot." The poor filming, they had to clean up the paper every time. & make sure they were no rocks or needles for poor NF (RC).
tbh I understand this guy. Sibling is the pretty one, the loved one, the smart one. That WAS cool castle! Even the weird little sound effect.
I forgot that castle know guns, at least a bit. Probs research for his prev books. I'm remembering that episode, probably 5-8 somewhere, when beckett taught him to shoot a gun but he already knew & then won a bet. Ye. He knew the safety was on too.
Hoowee she is so self confident & hot.
nice skull lamp
tough BUT savvy?
Little eyebrow cock at the end. The start of everything!
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jypbae7 · 4 years ago
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Im Changkyun - Natal Chart
- requested by @jookyunz
Can’t remember if you wanted the 18+ section so I included it at the bottom and marked it incase you wanna skip it ❤️
(Not claiming to be an expert this is just for fun please don’t take anything too seriously!) Hope this is helpful and that you enjoy it 🥰❤️
Personality: Aquarius Sun, Aries Moon, Capricorn Mercury, Aquarius Mars
Aquarius Sun comes with lots of intrigue and lots of complexity - like the other air signs Aquarius is very adaptable and tends to prefer an “exciting life” (though earth signs tend to see this lifestyle as pure chaos lmao)
Aquarians tend to be intrigued by mystical things due to their very logical view of the world, this logical side can often lend to them coming off as cold or aloof but it’s less about that and more about their need to rule with the head and not the heart in order to avoid being thrown off the balance that they like (Aqua is a fixed sign) also they do NOT want to be hurt by people so the guard they have up towards the world is basically an iron curtain till they develop enough trust with you
Aries Moon is equally as spontaneous and adaptable but for a different motivation - Aries is bold and wants the most out of life and you can bet your bottom dollars they’ll do WHATEVER necessary to gain the lifestyle and goals they set for themselves.
But since they are naturally social butterflies and genuinely just want to have fun and encourage the people they love to reach for their dreams and have fun doing it, they tend to succeed rather easily since people are drawn to them. - All about confidence, bold styles, working hard because they NEED to be the best at whatever they do, but they definitely play hard too (as does every fire sign lmao)
As much as Aries and Aquarius like change and excitement - Capricorn Mercury does NOT. This adds a LOT of grounding and “tradition” to quick moving Aries and unconventional Asquarius.
Capricorn Mercurys are known to speak slow, quite monotonous and precise which I definitely have always felt about Changkyun. You’re not getting too much fluff or extra words from them because Capricorn finds it a waste of energy. They say what they mean when they mean it and not much else more. But this means they are good listeners and are very comfortable and unreliant on “attention” or “being in the spotlight” giving them added levels of independence. I also feel that this is why they are sooooo unbothered by other people’s opinions and friendship.
Aquarians straight up rather be alone than around fake people. They don’t care if they “fit in” with general norms because they don’t want to be like anyone else anyway lmao and they are interesting enough to keep themselves entertained. While Capricorn and Aries have places to go, people to see, and goals to crush so why the hell be worried about others???
Mixed with the other 2 placements it’s likely that his home is a serious sanctuary for him that he takes seriously. When he’s out in the world doing his busy schedules and chaotic traveling and work he’s happy and really feeding into the air and fire energy. But when he gets home it’s his Capricorn Mercury that is being nurtured and stimulated. He’s going to wanna hibernate there for a while without leaving especially if he’s been gone a long time. Could be either unbelievably messy or unbelievably neat but likely no inbetween with these placements lmao.
Aquarius Mars.... reminder that Aquarius is a fixed sign so this in Mars could mean one HELL of a temper or at least rage once he’s set off. But thankfully the Airy nature of Aqua means you’d really have to mess with him to get that kind of reaction because they generally really dislike being upset. They prefer staying content and neutral rather than having extreme feelings of any kind or it makes them veryyyyy edgy. If you can disagree with respect and if you provide logic instead of ego as your argument you’re likely to get a much better reaction from Aquarius
Relationships:
Non-Romantic Relationships & overall communication style: Aquarius Sun, Aries Moon, Capricorn Mercury, Aquarius Mars
Boy oh boyyyyyy he takes a LONG time to open up to people - 2 Aquarius placements and a Capricorn placement screamssssss trust issues and vulnerability issues
Capricorn doesn’t wanna sulk and talk about their problems so IF they trust you enough to come to you with an issue they want solutions and practical help and support
Is really cheered up by acts of service and quality time - watching a great movie even in complete silence just near each other on the couch in sweats tucked under cozy blankets or getting surprised with their favorite dinner can boost their mood instantly
Aries Moon as I said before is a natural in social situations and tends to draw attention even when they aren’t trying so he’s bound to come off a lot more open and friendly than he actually is. The deep stuff won’t come out till he REALLY knows and trusts you and even then… in SMALL increments
That said he’s a super fun friend to have - down for adventures, actually thinks about and puts effort into doing cool stuff with friends and loved ones
When it comes to friendships he shows care through quality time and acts of service
When he buys gifts for people he cares about they are BOMB - cool as fuck and either one or a combination of the following: one of a kind, meaningful as fuck, and/ or super expensive - most likely fashion, jewelry, something music related, or super cool stuff from his travels
Romantic relationships and preferences : Pisces Venus, Aquarius Mars, Aquarius Juno, Aries Eros
Lmao even MORE Aquarius and Aries energy
Ok into the main meat - these four placements are particularly interesting combo: 2 fixed air (Aqua), 1 mutable water (Pisces) and 1 Cardinal Fire (Aries)
Aqua Juno - generally hints at a pretty unconventional relationship and this can come in manyyyyy forms for the very unique and varied Aquarians (partnership without legal marriage, mixed race/culture couple, could even mean choosing a bachelor lifestyle over any normal type of relationship, etc.) - given that Changkyun seems quite close with his parents and his interest in kids I’d say he’s unlikely to choose the bachelor route.
For a lot of Aquarians unconventional can also come in the form of a very stimulating partner, they enjoy learning and expanding their minds and experiences which is why they tend to run towards challenges that others would run from. I think someone who shares similar passions but varied skills and/or background would fulfil that for him. Aquarius, Pisces and Aries like to be stimulated A LOT.
Pisces in Venus is a tricky placement - can be pretty hot and cold, lots of mixed signals, you should be ready to be stood up or flaked on atleast once in the beginning🙄) BUT if you actually manage to earn their trust and dedication they make very caring partners.
Pisces in Venus is art gallery and museum dates, binge watching documentaries especially murder mystery, and spending most of the summer near the closest body of water.
Aries Eros fantasizes about being in a partnership that others look at as a power couple but they’ll never admit it - they dream of a partner who is in awe of them and their accomplishments but has their own big goals and successes to cater to as well. They like people they can grow with as individuals and as a couple. Push and pull works really well with Aries (and the other two fire signs too honestly) they like the cat and mouse thing and they like to have time to miss & yearn for their partner especially the men - absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Love languages in order from most to least: quality time, physical touch, acts of service, gift giving
Aries is a strong sign and they want and need a real partner who respects and supports their independence and boss energy but also can nurture their softer more vulnerable side and be the strong one for them when they need it
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***** 18+ Preferences ****
Ooof this should honestly come as a surprise to NO ONE but damn placements do NOT lie...Im Changkyun is one freaky ass boy
I mean ARIES EROS???? Let me spell that out for y’all: fucks you like he absolutely fucking hates you or ties you up like a present and edges you for hours till you’re crying
LOVES, let me repeat LOVES jealousy sex - whether it’s you being jealous of all the screaming thirsting fans he has or him being jealous of guys getting too close too you for his comfort - he is allllllllll about taking that energy directly into the bedroom ASAP (or a bathroom or even closet if it locks 🤐)
Could and WOULD makeout for hours on end - especially if he’s been drinking
The more you switch it up the more excited he is - with all them Aquarius placements it should be pretttyyyyyy often
Different positions, lingerie, role play - any and all of it excite him
With a partner he actually trusts and has feelings for I can see him being extremely open minded to trying things (though obviously EVERYONE has limits and boundaries)
Toys, blindfolds, handcuffs, whip cream, hot wax, spanking - all a STRONG yes
Get the strong feeling he has strong preference to use his mouth often - lots of kissing (passionate, needy, messy - sometimes more aggressive) , likes to give and receive hickeys, wants to kiss all over his partner’s body and LOVES oral both receiving and giving (and I get the feeling he’s TOO good at that 👀)
More willing to let his partner take control than you might think - he’s not a switch but he just doesn’t think you initiating or “being in control” makes him any less dominant. In fact it’s probably the opposite; you showing your desire to that point actually makes him feel MORE dominant and masculine
Literally could find anyone and everyone beautiful - is more attracted to people’s minds, spirit and energy than physical looks (BIG Pisces and Aquarian thing)
Gets turned on every single time he sees you in the crowd at one of his shows - makes him feel like you are the only two people in the world (drives his Aries Eros INSANE - gets a kick out of the slight power play of being on stage in front of so many people, as well as the secrecy and raw passionate energy of it all)
Tattoos, piercings, colorful wigs, or even just interesting jewelry paired with the right lingerie or outfit will have him 🤯- think short black see-through lace robe with nothing on underneath except a sparkling body chain dripping from your body....yep he’ll eat you like a main dish in .00000000023 seconds
Hope you enjoyed! 💕
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cc-tinslebee · 3 years ago
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Okay, so, about a month ago, my brain just conjured up probably the most random au possible: Legally Blonde Adam Banks/banksway au.
Believe me, it's as chaotic as it sounds, but lowkey, I'm kind of in love with it.
Adam never joins the Ducks because there aren't any Ducks to join. Bombay never had to do community service with District Five so there was no one to realise that Adam was on the wrong team all along. He continues to play for the Hawks and, eventually, the Eden Hall Warriors, never getting the chance to become the well-rounded individual we know him as because he's never known anything other than his rich privilege and the "win at all costs" mentality. He ends up going to college on a hockey scholarship and not straight to the NHL or the AHL (shocking, I know). While he's unsure of his major and where his life is heading, he finds solace in the fraternity he joins, which, by some sheer twist of fate, Jesse and Guy have also miraculously joined.
And his life is perfect for a while. He's the star player on yet another school's hockey team, all of his fraternity brothers adore him (though, it took a bit for Jesse to warm up to him), and his secret, not-really-official thing with his former teammate is going swimmingly. (Not to slander my boy, but I was picturing Larson for the role of Warner, purely because the alternative seems to be Rick Riley and that's kind of an unsettling image-- though, maybe that's the point?)
But then his secret boyfriend breaks up with him because, with his high aspirations in life, he needs to be "more serious." And dating Adam Banks, a guy in a stereotypical fraternity who only really knows hockey, in 2001 isn't exactly the white-picket-fence life he's looking for if he's going to be a politician.
And since this non-Duck Adam clearly doesn't have the braincells that canon Adam does, in his devastation, he decides it's a brilliant idea to prove that he is serious by applying to Harvard Law. His parents try to talk him out of it, since they want him to pursue his dreams of hockey, but being a lawyer is a respectable career so they can't exactly argue with him.
He gets accepted thanks to Jesse, Guy, and the rest of his fraternity helping him study for the LSAT and keeping him on track. He's trying his darndest when he gets to Harvard, but (despite his struggle not being as significant as Elle Woods'), not a lot of people take him seriously as an aspiring lawyer, considering him a meathead jock who only got in because of daddy's money.
And that's about the time he meets Linda, who he vaguely remembers from his time at Eden Hall. What he doesn't remember is her being so competitive, because she's deliberately beating him at every turn, just trying (and kind of succeeding) at making him look like a fool. To make matters worse, all of the sudden, she's engaged to his ex-boyfriend, who is very adamant about never telling anyone that he and Adam were more than friends (because, you know, early 2000s homophobia and such).
But things get a little brighter for Adam when he meets Charlie, an undergrad teacher's assistant who gives him all sorts of advice about surviving the school. He introduces him to Professor Bombay, who Charlie claims is the only reason he survived his first year and quickly becomes Adam's favourite teacher, and Charlie's childhood friend Connie, who aspires to be a state senator one day. Charlie's charismatic and even if he's not the most well-liked person at Harvard, Adam feels a weight lifted off his shoulders once he becomes friends with him and Connie. Things become a little easier.
Just before he and Charlie start getting really close, Adam meets Casey at a local diner on a day he's feeling particularly upset and alone, and the two start bonding almost immediately. (He bullshits his way into scaring an ex-husband of hers with legal repercussions he has no idea about and she basically adopts him in return.) It takes him an embarrassing amount of time to realise that it's not just a coincidence that Casey and Charlie share the same last name, which results in poor Adam feeling extremely embarrassed for not connecting the dots sooner while Charlie's having the time of his life teasing him for it. Eventually, when the dust of that settles, Charlie and Adam join forces to set Casey and Bombay up, their schemes borderline ridiculous at times, but they'rere not exactly failing.
And after realising he isn't the Warriors moron she thought he was for going on five years, Linda starts warming up to Adam, which is surprisingly nice? She figures out on her own that there used to be something between him and her fiancé, and is more understanding of Adam than she is mad. Linda actually spills to him the lengths Adam's ex had to go through to actually get into Harvard, aligning more with the rumours about Adam's acceptance being bought than having the aptitude for the law that Linda and Adam share. (This may be me saying Linda and Adam friendship rights, what of it-- /lh)
To make things all the better, Bombay chooses Adam, Linda, Connie, Charlie, and Adam's ex to be on his legal team for a murder case he's responsible for (and while he knows about Adam and Charlie's ploys to hook him up with Charlie's mom, they're his favourites, so he doesn't say anything).
And this is just so much better than anything he had before. After all the initial unpleasantness, Linda and Connie become some of the most genuine friends he's ever had. He misses Guy and Jesse, of course, and he'd never take them for granted, but back when he was with them at the fraternity, a part of him was still being as superficial as he had been in middle and high school. Being authentic for once in his life is liberating.
And Charlie's just about the most considerate person Adam's ever met. Adam doesn't even mind when Charlie teases him over his absurd and juvenile insults because he's just this source of light for Adam, supporting him and always pushing him to be the best version of himself. His ex hardly even exists when Charlie's around because his energy is just so contagious that Adam starts falling for him long before he even realises it. (And when Jesse and Guy come to visit, there's a moment where it all clicks and the four of them realise their history together, however brief. I strongly maintain that they'd be that Starkid meme: "Fucking Hawks? We hated you guys!" "We hated ourselves!" But it does make Adam realise how much better off he would've been if he had Charlie and his team when he was little instead of the Hawks, and it just further makes him understand that people like Larson and Rick Riley just aren't worth it.)
But there's also another revelation Adam goes through. Between helping Casey, his rigorous studies, and his position working with/for Bombay, something just clicks for Adam. He likes being able to help people, fighting for the good guys who may not have the resources they need to be properly defended. Practicing law calls to him in the same way hockey did; it's the feeling of knowing this is what he's meant to do. He still loves hockey, he always will, but it helps him finally grasp that there's a world for him outside of it; when hockey ends for him, there's something equally as rewarding that he can pursue, which was something he never thought he would have.
I haven't a single coherent thought about this au past that point except for these little inklings of an ending--
There's absolutely no SA scene like the movie had; Bombay's just Adam and Charlie's favourite teacher and those are his boys, so he's going to make sure they succeed as if his life depends on it.
With that said, Bombay believes in them both enough to let them finish the case because with their joined determination/stubbornness (and Adam's in with the defendant), Adam and Charlie are a force to be reckoned with and he knows it.
After a handful of comedic failures, they do end up succeeding at their attempts to set Casey and Bombay up, and they start living together sometime during the kids' Junior year :) (All I'm asking is for one (1) story with a Casey/Gordon endgame-- I just think they're neat--)
Linda dumps her fiancé (as she should) and goes on to live her best wlw life as a successful lawyer. (If I'm not mistaken, Linda's actress actually is a lawyer, which is a pretty cool fun fact!!)
Adam and Linda's ex gets the Warner ending because, man, screw that guy /lh (rip to Larson if this is him, I'm sure you'll get a nice endgame in some other universe, king)
Honorary mention for Connie, who was going long distance with Guy this entire time to everyone but Jesse's shock, and they get their Game Changers endgame of State Senator Connie Moreau and stay-at-home dad Guy Germaine with their seven -- sorry, three -- children :)
Adam's an absolute bundle of nerves after graduation, which definitely concerns Charlie. So, when he asks if he's okay, Adam starts nervously monologuing about their time together until he runs out of breath. He ends it by proposing to him, and Charlie smiles so surely at him when he says yes. They both become damn good public defenders and stay engaged until the point they can legally get married, but they're practically husbands long before that happens.
Also, if I did my math right (which I should’ve, it’s my entire basis for my Share Your Address series), the Ducks’ would have the same graduating class year as Elle Woods anyway (2004), which is pretty neat!
Thank you once again for listening to me ramble :)
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blossom-hwa · 3 years ago
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inspired by 'rush hour’ (gaho).
wc: 2.6k ~ changmin x gender neutral!reader ~ slice of life!au ~ triggers: none ~ the boyz masterlist ~ 4 year anniversary drabble game (requests closed!)
for chair anon :)
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[ 6:00 pm : rush hour ] I try going forward to you But I lose you at this dead end
.
The traffic light is still green. Changmin sighs, tapping the board flipped up by his side. It’s been green for what feels like forever - is it ever going to turn red so that he and the growing group of pedestrians around him can move across this short stretch of the street?
If he wasn’t going to meet someone, he might just take a chance in the lulls of traffic and race the cars, letting them honk angrily as he jaywalks - jay-skates? jay-boards? There probably isn’t proper terminology for that, but jay-boards sounds okay - past, flashing them a quick smile to infuriate them a little more. It’s okay. This street isn’t too crowded. The only cars that pass through are usually old businessmen making their way back home to penthouse apartments, so Changmin feels less than guilty for screwing around with their evening.
But he is meeting someone. A very special someone, in fact. Someone who told him on no account was he going to jaywalk or jay-board (he’ll have to tell you about the new word he invented when he gets to you) if it meant risking his safety. So Changmin sighs, taps his board some more, and waits at this seeming dead end of a street corner where the green light never turns red.
.
It’s alright alright alright It’s alright alright alright
.
It’s alright. Changmin smiles as the flow of traffic begins to cease, lights on the streets ahead turning red. He can wait a little longer to cross the street legally.
Anything for you, after all.
.
I’m talking in circles around you But you always pass right by
.
Changmin still can’t quite believe his luck, even months later. He doesn’t know how he managed to catch your attention, the small skater he was who stayed quiet around others, really only raising his voice in the presence of his friends.
You were the noticeable one. You were the one with the guitar slung on your back and a friendly smile always on your face. You were the one everyone had a crush on, platonic or romantic. You were the one everyone flocked around at the park on weekends, sitting on a bench, strumming the strings of your instrument with the softest grin on your lips. If it wasn’t for Younghoon accidentally tripping over your guitar and subsequently you, sending you flying into Changmin as he rolled past trying to escape the monitor chasing after him, it might never have happened. Changmin might never have had the chance to do anything more than admire you from afar.
And what would’ve happened then?
.
It’s alright alright alright Who cares? I’m alright
.
But who cares? Changmin grins. It’s alright, yeah? Because you noticed him anyway, and even if he got a detention for skating indoors, it was worth it when you offered to buy him a coffee in apology for inadvertently getting him caught by the hall monitor.
It was the coffee that turned him into even more of a stuttering mess than he would’ve been. It was also the coffee that gave him the bit of energy and courage he needed to keep talking anyway.
It was the coffee, ultimately, that got that blinding smile turned in his direction. And it was the coffee that got him your number for future conversations, future meetups at the park, and eventually, a date.
The light turns green. Changmin nimbly leaps on his skateboard and rolls across the street, grinning.
Who cares about how it happened, in the end? As long as it did.
.
Everyone tries to get your attention One by one, honking at you
.
Honking sounds follow Changmin down the sidewalk as he weaves around office workers rushing home, people ducking in and out of small restaurants and cafes, either alone or holding someone else’s hand. His grin widens at the sight of a laughing couple that just manages to dodge around his board, giggles undeterred by the sudden interruption.
What will it be like when he gets to you? Will the crowds at the park be as large as the ones cluttering the streets? Will he even be able to see you on your bench, surrounded as you might be with children and parents and teenagers trying to get a peek at your guitar?
.
But I hope my voice can reach you Turn that music on
.
Does it matter, though? Changmin pauses at another intersection, watching the cars go honking past. Just the same way he can pick out your voice singing above the sound of the guitar, you can pick out his eyes, smiling at you from within the crowd.
You’ve always noticed him. He’s always noticed you.
There’s no reason that should stop now.
.
I got stuck on you My heart is in chaos right now
.
God, it feels like nothing’s changed since the day he realized he had a crush on you. His heart still flutters at the sound of your voice, his lips widening in a smile at the thought of your eyes.
.
I got stuck on you As if I’m stuck in traffic
.
The traffic light turns red again. Changmin skates across the street, ignoring the impatient honking of cars that follows him down the sidewalk. It’s kind of like the traffic clogging the streets, his adoration for you - stuck in one place, going with the flow but never really seeming to move.
Though if traffic meant he could stay with you forever, he wouldn’t mind it so much, really.
.
I want drama between you and me Trying to escape this trauma
.
It’s kind of like a drama, isn’t it? Unnoticeable boy, very noticeable love interest. Though maybe the roles are flipped - very noticeable main character, unnoticeable boy - because it doesn’t feel like Changmin has ever been the protagonist of this story. You’re the main character, and he’s the love interest who will support you in everything that you do.
.
Drama with you Feeling like it’s rush hour
.
Changmin grins, feeling wind rush past his face as a car speeds past.
If this is his part in the drama, it isn’t such a bad role to play.
.
I try to jump right into you But the conversation keeps cutting off
.
His phone buzzes. Not bothering to stop - you’d yell at him for that, but it isn’t as life-threatening as jay-boarding across the street and you’re not here to scold him for it - Changmin pulls it out, deftly navigating his way around a group of office workers as he accepts the call. “Y/N?”
“Hey, Changmin.” He can hear your smile through the phone. “You on your way?”
“Of course,” he replies, almost affronted. You agreed to meet at six - why would he be late? “Why aren't you playing? Is your little concert over?” You don’t usually end early.
“No, just a lull in traffic.” Your laugh sounds like music. “I’m taking a pause and thought I’d call. Almost here?”
“Almost,” he promises, rolling to a stop at the next intersection with a sigh. “The actual traffic here is murder.”
“Okay, sounds good.” When you pause, Changmin can hear the babbling of a little kid faintly over the phone - something about guitar and please? “I’ve got to go back in a minute. See you soon?”
“Go please your audience,” he replies, smiling. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Get here safe.” You pause again. “You weren’t talking to me while on your board, right?”
Changmin stays silent. His silence is much more telling than anything he’d say, anyway.
“Changmin.”
“Y/N,” he mimics in your tone of voice. Serotonin floods his brain when you snort a laugh into the phone. “I’ll be safe, I promise.”
“You better be,” you warn. “Bye, Changmin.”
.
It’s alright alright alright Turn that music on
.
He grins, already looking forward to hearing the strumming of your guitar in person, not over the phone. “Bye, Y/N.”
.
Everyone tries to get your attention One by one, honking at you
.
Two intersections later, Changmin finally finds himself at the entrance of the park. Children and their parents still abound despite evening quickly approaching, so he keeps to the sidewalk, carefully avoiding any paths full of shouting kids. It’s okay. Changmin knows the ways to your bench better than the back of his hand. A few honking cars and yelling toddlers can’t keep him from you.
All roads lead to you in Changmin’s world, after all.
.
I got stuck on you My heart is in chaos right now
.
The expected crowd surrounds your bench when Changmin finally steps off of his board. Fridays are always the busiest days, after all - people celebrating the end of the work week with a walk in the park and, by chance, some music as well.
He hears you before he sees you, crowds obscuring your face but not your voice that carries sweetly through the air, accompanied by the strumming of your guitar. Changmin didn’t think the smile on his face could get any wider, but when the first chords reach his ears, it somehow does.
Your voice is music, even more so than the instrument in your hands.
.
I got stuck on you As if I’m stuck in traffic
.
Then your face appears in a crack between the crowd as Changmin edges his way through, eyes closed in peace as your fingers pluck easily at the guitar strings. And nothing really has changed, nothing at all, just like the traffic stuck in rush hour -
Because as he watches you sing, Changmin feels himself falling in love with you all over again.
.
I don’t wanna lose you, never I just wanna hold you all day
.
Sometimes, when Changmin sees you like this, body framed in the pink and gold and orange of the descending sun, he panics. A part of him seems to think that when the sun finally dips below the horizon to be replaced by the moon overhead, it’ll take you with it, sparkling eyes and musical voice and all. Even your guitar. Because in moments like these, it feels a little like you’re an illusion, something too perfect to be true.
But then -
Your eyes open. They search the crowd like they’ve done it a million times (perhaps they have). They meet his, and immediately the sparkle brightens until it’s even brighter than the sun overhead, and it’s then that the panic fades because Changmin knows you’re real. Knows you’re not an illusion.
What illusion would become even more beautiful, after all, just because he happened to be there?
.
Even if the numbers on the calendar switch up I’m only thinking about you
.
Day by day, week by week. The routine is the same - you two get home from school, Changmin goes to work while you go home, and if it’s a Friday or a surprisingly free weekday, he’ll meet you at the park at six, like clockwork. You’ve been doing this for months now, almost a year - if it were anything else, Changmin is sure he would’ve gotten bored at this point.
But when you smile at him again before turning to the crowd and announcing your last song, Changmin knows he could never find it in himself to be bored with this. It’s you, after all, always you.
Day by day, week by week, it’s always been you.
.
You’re swimming in my ocean The waves keep growing larger
.
You sing a last song with a lilting voice, something about oceans and sunlight and waves whirling around you like the warmest hug. Changmin’s smile softens as you sing, fingers tapping his board not out of ennui this time, but to keep the beat of the music flowing from your guitar and from your lips. The waves of your voice wrap their arms around him, growing, growing, settling soft on his skin.
.
You’re swimming in my ocean You’re on my mind
.
Waves, crashing waves that mix with laughter and warm sunlight beaming down on the water. The beach is a couple of hours away - Changmin wonders if you might like to go when summer comes and you have a little more time to spare - but it doesn’t matter, not when he’s already swimming, laughing in the ocean of your voice.
.
I got stuck on you My heart is in chaos right now
.
You finish the song with a last chord and a smile, bowing in reply to the childish shouts and claps from the audience. Changmin lifts up his board to join the applause, eyes fixed on you and you only as you turn around to finally meet his eyes.
“Hey,” he says, and he knows you hear his voice even over the applause still carrying all around you.
Your smile widens as you step forward to give him a kiss. “Hey, yourself.”
.
I got stuck on you As if I’m stuck in traffic
.
Changmin helps you pack up your guitar, helps you organize the loose change and bills that some kind people left in the case. You get excited when you realize it’s enough to treat him to a meal that you make him swear not to pay for - he’ll try to, you both know, it’s just a matter of being faster than the other - and then Changmin lifts up his board with one hand and takes yours in the other. His fingers tangle with yours automatically, a promise to never let go. “Should we go?”
You nod, smiling. “Come on.”
.
I want drama between you and me Trying to escape this trauma Drama with you
.
It really is like a drama, Changmin thinks as you two walk out of the park, hands still locked together as you enter the busy streets once more. It’s cheesy, definitely, but does it matter? It’s the only way he can describe this perfection of the moment, holding hands with you as you argue over where to eat for dinner.
Changmin leans down to kiss your nose. You laugh at the touch of his lips to your skin, fingers involuntarily squeezing his.
He swears he hears music in his ears.
.
I want drama between you and me Trying to escape this trauma
.
Definitely cheesy. Definitely a drama.
You smile at him, and his heart flutters.
But when you make him feel this way, does it really matter?
.
Drama with you feeling like it’s rush hour
.
Another light turns green before you can make it across the intersection, so Changmin pulls you to a stop before you can accidentally take the next step into the street. “Now do you know why I’m always so impatient?” he asks, casting a pointed glance at the board under his arm.
“Yeah, kind of.” You roll your eyes. “Maybe we should stop agreeing to meet at rush hour.”
Six o’clock. Peak traffic. Rush hour. Just like Changmin’s mind, forever stuck on you, waiting at a traffic light that never seems to change.
But when he’s stuck on you, it really isn’t so bad.
“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “I like it.”
Your eyes sparkle into his. Changmin squeezes your hand and smiles.
“I think we can keep it as is.”
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If you enjoyed, please don’t forget to reblog and leave a comment to tell me what you thought! Thank you for reading and have a lovely day <3
(1 reblog = 1 heart for the couple, they were so wonderful to write :D)
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katytheinspiredworkaholic · 4 years ago
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Correspondence, Chapter 03
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Pairing: HotchReid
Summary:  An AU where Reid never joined the FBI, but got roped into consulting for the LA field office while working and teaching at Caltech. Hotch gets his email referred from a fellow agent, and they start to work on cases together -- until they start talking on a regular basis. Regular becomes frequent, frequent becomes constant. They know nothing about each other, but they don't really mind.
Rating: Mature/Explicit (eventually)
Chapter CW/notes: Mentions of alcohol, a very long conversation happens where Hotch is a little buzzed. Big, BIG focus on their age difference, and unintentional misinformation. Spencer has no idea Hotch thinks he’s older, or at least not OLD older, and gets a little panicky/clams up -- and yes I realize Hotch could just background check him and find it out but he respects the man enough to not do that. The chapter is linear, it just encompasses a lot of time passing so hopefully that’s not too confusing. Set in season 6, self beta’d.
Word Count: 5025
Masterpost Link
Ao3 Link
--
Chapter 03
--
Early September 2010
--
And so, it begins.
The dynamic shift, the vast change in how Hotch and Dr. Reid had been corresponding for the past few months. Evolving from something so professional and academic to something… looser. More freeing. More room for error, of course, but the risk turns out to be more than worth it for what they gain.
The texts are sporadic, at first. Short interactions, here and there, all stemming from that first, longer conversation about Jack. Hotch follows up the very next day, after he gets to talk to his son in the morning over pancakes. Jessica hovering nearby the whole time. She had apologized for her harsh words, and commended him after the fact how he’d approached Jack on the subject and led the little boy into a conversation rather than a lecture like his teachers had done. Because, as Spencer had mentioned -- there was no need for one. Jack already had the situation handled.
[]6/4, 12:39[] You were right. 
[]6/4, 12:39[] He invited the kid that was bullying him over for a playdate. Trying to win him over by killing him with kindness.
[]6/4, 12:43[] My kind of kid. 
[]6/4, 12:44[] You’ve taught him well, Hotch.
And that was it. That was all it took to kick off what turns into a frequent occurrence. Slowly, as time passes, their quick texts turn to conversations that naturally revert to work. It’s where they spend most of their time, after all, and what they had bonded over in the first place. But unlike in their emails, it isn’t just about the cases or profiles or statistics required to crack them. It’s much more opinionated than that, erratic in it’s content and frequency. Commentary on Hotch’s team, ideas on the cases they work, case studies and research projects and sometimes even just office gossip that somehow always makes its way to Hotch’s attention despite everyone trying to keep it from doing so.
Or just Dr. Reid observing their antics. This is the beginning of the tonal shift, and Hotch can’t help but think… it just might be a welcome one.
[]6/12, 10:03[] Your tech analyst always sends me rainbow font emails.
[]6/12, 10:07[] Yes, she’s doing that with everyone on the team. It’s Pride month and she’s being supportive.
[]6/12, 10:11[] She considers me a part of the team? How sweet of her.
[]6/12, 10:12[] You are, and as far as the bureau goes you might as well be.
[]6/12, 10:13[] I doubt I could sneak you into payroll, though.
[]6/12, 10:21[] I bet Ms. Garcia could.
[]6/12, 10:28[] Don’t. Say. Anything.
[]6/12, 10:29[] But yes, she could. 
It turns into a small reprieve, for Hotch, in the constant deluge of bureaucracy and violence that fills his work day. The single moment he allows a sliver of himself to appear through the cracks of his armor he has to wear to guard himself from it all. To be the stoic leader the team needs, the unmovable tree in the storm.
Only in his quick, typed under the table conversations he has with Spencer does he allow himself the slips of humor. Barely there traces of a smile. Finding the smallest spots of light in his dark days, in his work that can surround and consume to the point of suffocation. Hotch thrives in it, he always has -- while others have drowned. But he doesn’t mind finding this small self-indulgence. Making the decision for himself that he can joke and poke fun at his work and not feel guilty about it. That, for once, he can allow himself this.
Until one day, Spencer returns the favor -- and starts talking about his own work.
[]7/21, 16:17[] If I leave all of my Ph.D. applicants in a ditch in the desert, is that still murder?
[]7/21, 16:30[] Technically or hypothetically?
[]7/21, 16:34[] Different question, would you be my legal council if I snap and it happens anyway?
[]7/21, 16:37[] Of course.
[]7/21, 16:38[] But as your attorney, I have to advise you that we never had this conversation, and murder is wrong.
[]7/21, 16:40[] Hypothetically. 
Spencer takes a little longer to open up, but when he does it is through this window into an academic world Hotch had never planned or thought he would ever be privy to. He begins to reveal pieces of it, bit by bit, until Hotch starts to form a picture in his mind of what shape this professor’s life really takes. Making deductions based on his speech patterns, what goes on throughout his day, his word choices, and profiling the man through text message without even meaning to. 
He tries to put a stop to it as soon as he realizes this. Dr. Reid isn’t just a consultant anymore, he is his friend -- and Hotch will always do his utmost to not profile his friends. But it’s a little too late for some aspects that can’t help but stand out as time goes on. Such as the inkling that the other man probably isn’t senile with a cane and a stooped back, like Hotch had first thought. Certain parts of his day allude to someone who is a bit fresher to the academic scene -- instead of spending decades on a college campus. 
But Hotch sets that aside, to be scrutinized at a later date, and instead turns his focus into enjoying what Spencer has to offer him. As his friend. The stories he shares freely, now that they’ve spent all this time breaking down the barriers. He regales Hotch with his own daily problems, grievances, as well as the little bright spots that he just wants to share with Hotch so that it can lighten up his own days. Which were much more bleak, and crowded with danger and horrid things. 
Hotch lives for those messages.
[]7/28, 20:42[] So I have a godson.
[]7/28, 20:44[] He’s four, and he just came to visit last week with his mother. Have you and Jack ever done science experiments at home? 
[]7/28, 20:46[] Because I have some that are definite crowd pleasers. Do them right, you can call them ‘physics magic’. I can send you the instructions, it’s well worth it.
[]7/28, 20:47[] I’m not sure how helpful I would be in a scientific area, but I’m always willing to try.
[]7/28, 20:49[] I’d require video evidence of it, then. 
[]7/28, 20:50[] But they are so fun, I’d forgotten how much.
[]7/28, 20:51[] No children of your own?
[]7/28, 20:54[] Never found the right person, but I always spent so much time on my degrees that I hadn’t really thought about being a parent. 
[]7/28, 20:55[] My Godson really brought it to light, though. I love having him here.
[]7/28, 20:56[] I bet he loves when you come around, or when they get to visit you, too.
[]7/28, 20:59[] I work in a science lab, with lasers and telescopes bigger than my first apartment. My approval rating is pretty high when it comes to my godson. 
Although Hotch finds that he doesn’t always start these interactions, the ones that lead to topics outside of work, he also isn’t against them in the slightest. They begin to start messaging at all hours, because of this; first thing in the morning, during their lunch break, whenever something pops up -- what used to be jokes that would just be kept to themselves, turn to conversation starters. And that development shifts the dynamic even more.
[]8/11, 10:31[] Coffee shops always make me feel old, and like I’m a grad student all over again.
[]8/11, 10:38[] You don’t have a T.A. to run and get you coffee?
[]8/11, 10:41[] Of course you would send out for coffee.
[]8/11, 10:42[] Well my order is two steps, not sixteen.
[]8/11, 10:43[] Tyrant.
[]8/11, 10:43[] Pretentious.
They start to tease, banter, and poke fun at each other. Comradery, friendship, and the more it goes on the more it seems to spiral towards something else. Something new.
But it’s these small moments, messages, conversations that can last a minute or an hour, that make Hotch’s chest feel so much lighter as the weeks go by. Hints of a smile easing onto his face, smoothing out and softening the edges in a way they haven’t in a long time. Garnering some attention from the rest of the team, or whoever is in the vicinity that felt brave enough to mention it.
“Who are you talking to?”
“Who’s the lucky lady?”
“No one,” Hotch would answer, schooling himself and pocketing his phone. “Just a consultant on a case.”
-
This is how it goes… for months. 
They never speak on the phone. Never even hint at video calls. Never send pictures. (Although Spencer does make a mention once or twice about that promised video when Hotch finally gets around to attempting the ‘physics magic’ experiment he’d emailed him. Hotch secretly hopes that maybe, one day, Spencer will just get to show them in person. Instead of Hotch having to record it for anyone to witness.)
But they talk like clockwork. Play chess on the regular, allowing them to talk more fluently with a laptop to aid the flow of conversation. It starts with once a week, then twice a week, standing dates after hours that meld so seamlessly with their messages every workday. They keep it to the weekdays, at first, since Hotch is busy with Jack on the weekends. But that doesn’t last long. Suddenly, without warning -- it becomes every night as well. That shift is such an organic, natural progression, that it slips in without either of them making comment on it. A silent agreement, because mentioning it would mean admitting why they were pushing this in such a new direction. 
They just… missed talking to each other. Two days was too long. 
Now, it’s every day.
They text for hours; check in on each other at random throughout the day even when Hotch is on cases or Spencer is busy with his duties as the leading doctoral expert of Caltech. Times when they should be swamped, unavailable to anything other than their primary focus and work load, still littered with short messages. Before and after each flight, when Hotch gets back to his hotel at night, when Spencer has to lecture out of town and they just so happen to be passing each other during travel -- mere states away. So close, yet so far. It’s all the time, it’s constant, and it’s wonderful.
Spencer still helps with cases. Often, even more often than he ever helped the L.A. field office. But it’s not always through email, anymore. Sometimes it’s just easier for Hotch to shoot him a quick text. A detailed message in the middle of their everyday banter and dribble but no less out of place, knowing the good Doctor will answer him quickly. Time is of the essence when they are on a case, but they are always on retainer for each other. Waiting in the wings, ready to jump in with quick, snappy wit and bitten-back smiles, and Hotch feels so good. So light. Better than he has in years. 
Happy. 
Hotch is happy, finding a friend in Dr. Spencer Reid, even if sometimes that friendship seems to transcend layers he didn’t know were there. Developing into something else, something he hadn’t touched in a long, long time. 
Months pass. Months. Like a blur. Like they’ve only just started this thing that’s anticipatory and comfortable and flexible in its medium and that is so easy -- everything Hotch needs in his life -- that he can barely imagine what his days and nights were like before this. Before Spencer. 
But it’s months into this correspondence, this charged and bright thing, that he’s home late one night with a Scotch in one hand and a losing game of online chess long forgotten on his laptop screen. Lost in messaging Spencer, back to his phone instead of the chat feature of the chess game. Because texting is their comfort zone, now. He never thought it would be, had seen teenagers and adults attached to their phones like a lifeline and used to scoff about it, but he finally has begun to understand. 
Because here he is -- not even looking up when he takes a drink -- lost in his conversation with Spencer. Making each other laugh, in a way he hasn’t in so long. Loud and high and afraid he might wake Jack down the hall so he stifles it with another sip of his Scotch.
[]9/8, 21:12[] If Jack wakes up, you know that’s it for us. He’ll never go back to sleep.
[]9/8, 21:13[] Then stop laughing so loud. I honestly can’t imagine you laughing enough to wake him.
[]9/8, 21:14[] Usually I don’t. I never laugh like this, but I used to.
[]9/8, 21:16[] Mr. FBI isn’t allowed to laugh, I thought. Didn’t they beat that out of you at the academy?
[]9/8, 21:19[] I was able to retain a smidgen of humor, it’s well hidden. You just seem to bring it out more than others.
[]9/8, 21:20[] I’m flattered. 
[]9/8, 21:20[] You should be. 
[]9/8, 21:21[] If my team saw me crack a smile I’d probably be forced to get a CAT scan.
[]9/8, 21:23[] Do you need one? I have an M.A. in Cognitive Sciences, I’ll be your second opinion.
[]9/8, 21:24[] Probably, but I’ll live.
[]9/8, 21:25[] Very stiff upper lip of you. They teach you that at the academy, too?
[]9/8, 21:26[] No, that would be Scotland Yard. I liaised there for a while.
[]9/8, 21:28[] Wow, you get around. Have you been anywhere else on your global exploration?
[]9/8, 21:31[] Hardly that, I just go where the bureau tells me. I’ve already been bounced all over the country before landing at the BAU. All you can do is keep the ‘stiff upper lip’ and adapt.
[]9/8, 21:31[] “Keep Calm & Carry On”?
[]9/8, 21:33[] Garcia gave me that on a mug last Christmas. I still don’t know what it’s from.
[]9/8, 21:34[] Your age is showing. Get with the times, old man.
[]9/8, 21:35[] You’re one to talk.
[]9/8, 21:35[] What?
Hotch bites back a smile, thinking about how for months he had been so sure Spencer was this elderly professor in his 60’s or 70’s that just happened to find their conversations interesting. That was… very apparently wrong, Hotch can see that now, but he hadn’t had any evidence to the contrary for the entire time they corresponded those first few months. 
He could have done a background check on the professor at any time, is sure Garcia already has one saved in a file ready to send him at his first request, but it’s more fun this way. The not knowing, the learning about each other piece by careful piece. Even the smallest bits of information, such as age. 
He bet Spencer would get a kick out of his first impression of the man, though.
[]9/8, 21:37[] Oh come on, you know.
[]9/8, 21:39[] No, I actually don’t. Congratulations, you’ve stumped the super genius.
[]9/8, 21:39[] But really, what do you mean?
[]9/8, 21:42[] I always just assumed you are at least ten years my senior, maybe even fifteen. How are you more with the times than I am?
[]9/8, 21:43[] I work at a University. I am surrounded by hormones and the dribble of youth.
There’s a slightly lengthy pause after that exchange, enough Hotch starts to pay closer attention through the buzz of liquor settled over his skin pleasantly.
[]9/8, 21:49[] How old do you think I am?
[]9/8, 21:50[] I don’t know, is it rude if I answer?
Hotch is not laughing to himself, he promises. 
[]9/8, 21:52[] Why do you think I’m older?
[]9/8, 21:53[] This feels like a trap.
[]9/8, 21:53[] It’s not.
[]9/8, 21:56[] Well, honestly just from your academic achievements. Not everyone has that kind of time. And all your departments you run, you have to have a pretty level head and knack for maturity to keep that all in order. Especially doctorate students. 
[]9/8, 21:58[] Thank you, I think.
[]9/8, 22:00[] I bet you’re the coolest old man on campus, though, don’t get me wrong.
Hotch does outright laugh after he sends that, manages to keep it a little bit quieter, and commends himself on having the upperhand in the conversation for once as he stares at his phone for a few minutes, awaiting an answer. 
If he had to guess, Hotch supposes he’s held on to that stubborn image of Spencer being a stooped old professor out of habit. But the more the two have talked, after he'd gotten to know the man and his written verbal expressions and just the way his life runs day to day, it’s pretty easy to see that that is not correct. Spencer could be someone around Dave or Jason’s age, but more likely even younger than that -- closer to his own. 
And that… is an intriguing thought that sparks something in his chest. He smothers it with another sip of Scotch and realizes that it has been a solid five minutes of silence. With Spencer not even typing out a response.
[]9/8, 22:06[] Was it something I said?
[]9/8, 22:07[] No, I’m just… contemplating my answer.
[]9/8, 22:07[] Answer to what?
Hotch hasn’t drank that much, but he doesn’t believe he asked a question at all. He scrolls back through their conversation and doesn’t see one. Spencer has asked a good handful, though, all about Hotch’s perception of his age. 
Interesting.
[]9/8, 22:09[] Respond, not answer.
[]9/8, 22:10[] I’m all turned around now.
[]9/8, 22:12[] Flustered in your old age? Now I’m flattered. 
This is almost like flirting. Skirts the edges of it, and Hotch feels more emboldened to try the more Spencer tap-dances around what is obviously Hotch’s incorrect assumption of his age. He had had no idea Hotch thought he was older, that is apparent, and it’s throwing the other man for a loop for some reason Hotch can’t ascertain. 
[]9/8, 22:15[] I’m not old.
[]9/8, 22:15[] I’m not even older than you.
[]9/8, 22:16[] And how do you know that?
[]9/8, 22:17[] Just trust me on this.
[]9/8, 22:17[] Well, how old are you?
Another long, lengthy pause that Hotch waits for with baited breath. He knows that Spencer is there, that he’s staring at his phone and trying to decide the best way to answer without really answering anything. It’s only a matter of minutes, but that is a long time for them. When they are deep in a conversation like this.
Hotch isn’t laughing to himself anymore, but he’s more pleasantly confused than worried. He really has no idea what is making Spencer so hesitant.
[]9/8, 22:22[] Spencer?
[]9/8, 22:25[] I’m not going to tell you.
[]9/8, 22:26[] What, you want me to guess?
[]9/8, 22:28[] You’ll never guess.
[]9/8, 22:29[] That sounds like a challenge. How many guesses do I have?
[]9/8, 22:31[] None. Listen, I don’t want you to know. I shouldn’t have said anything.
[]9/8, 22:33[] I’m afraid it’s going to change your perception of me, and we’ll stop talking like this.
[]9/8, 22:34[] Just keep imagining me with wrinkles and a cane, I’m okay with that.
That drops the small smile right off his face.
Hotch is… surprised by this turn of events. What could be so shocking about this that Spencer thinks they would stop talking to each other? They’re corresponding every night. How could he possibly stop on a dime like that?
It doesn’t make any sense. And that’s not the alcohol talking.
[]9/8, 22:37[] I honestly don’t see how that would be possible.
[]9/8, 22:39[] I’m not going to stop talking to you just because you aren’t the senior professor I imagined running Caltech with an Iron Fist.
[]9/8, 22:40[] Now you’re projecting. 
[]9/8, 22:40[] You saying I’m too strict?
[]9/8, 22:41[] Tyrant, I think was the term I chose. 
[]9/8, 22:42[] Pretentious.
[]9/8, 22:44[] But Spencer, unless you are somehow underage with five Ph.D.’s, there’s no reason for us to stop talking. 
[]9/8, 22:47[] You would not believe how many people treat me like I'm underage, to this day. So that doesn’t inspire confidence.
Hotch pauses with his glass halfway back to his lips, only a few sips left in the glass. Staring at his phone and struggling to make sense of what Spencer is saying. Hotch had been trying to joke and tease with him, but now the word ‘underage’ feels like a glaring beacon of a word on his screen. 
He’s very suddenly more than a little nervous, even through the haze of alcohol. He is 45 years old, no matter what he keeps telling Spencer -- there is a limit to this being appropriate or not. What that limit is, he’d have to consider when he’s more sober, and it makes him feel like he should be reigning in the flirtatious notes that keep worming their way into the conversation. 
But it’s not actually possible for him to be that young, and everything he’s learned about the man indicates he’s closer to his own age. Was he in his 30’s? Even that felt too young for what Hotch had (subconsciously) profiled -- no, it has to be something else. 
No matter what, he didn’t want to keep getting Spencer worked up like this about it. His age hadn’t bothered Hotch before that night, so maybe if he drops it they can revert back to how they’d been spending their late evening hours before this turn in the conversation. 
[]9/8, 22:50[] But I’m NOT underage.
[]9/8, 22:51[] If that needed to be said.
[]9/8, 22:53[] Can you buy alcohol by yourself?
[]9/8, 22:54[] Yes.
[]9/8, 22:54[] See this is what I was afraid of.
[]9/8, 22:55[] Relax, I was trying to tease you. 
[]9/8, 22:57[] You don’t have to tell me, Spencer. I’ll just keep picturing Sean Connery, or John Steinbeck in the later years.
[]9/8, 22:59[] I see you have a type. 
[]9/8, 23:00[] Well, who do you picture when you think of me?
[]9/8, 23:01[] Hugo Weaving, Matrix era. Or Richard Feynman.
[]9/8, 23:02[] Well now I feel typecasted. Who’s Feynman?
[]9/8, 23:02[] An American Theoretical Physicist from the 40’s-60’s.
[]9/8, 23:03[] Ouch. How old do you think *I* am?
[]9/8, 23:04[] I’m afraid to answer that.
[]9/8, 23:04[] O.u.c.h.
[]9/8, 23:06[] You’ve been borderline flirting with me, and you just said you thought I was in my 60’s! What was I supposed to think?
[]9/8, 23:07[] If you’re looking in that age bracket, I’m sure I can get you the Biology Department Head’s number.
[]9/8, 23:07[] He’s 72 with rheumatoid arthritis. 
[]9/8, 23:08[] You are hysterical. So funny.
Hotch is smiling wide down at his phone again, feeling lighter and glad he got them back on track. 
But… 
He can’t help but think back to what he just tried to drop entirely. Blame the Scotch, or whatever drive to know that makes him dig down and root out information in cold cases in his spare time, Hotch doesn’t think he can let it go. Not when it was something Spencer hadn’t meant to be a secret in the first place. Not when, knowing that it has created misinformation between them unintentionally, results in Spencer shying away and hesitant to tell Hotch anything more about himself. 
Not when he’d said ‘flirting’, because that had been what Hotch was doing, and he can’t even describe how disappointing it would be to quit while he was ahead. When the build up has been so gradual and easy and everything he’d been looking for and could never seem to find.
Now, this slight disruption is sticking in his mind, sharp like a thorn in his side. Always there, making itself known, and he wonders if he is lucid enough to try and draw the information out of Spencer via interview tactics -- or if the brilliant man would see right through any of his attempts.
Probably. Who was he kidding? Spencer had more degrees and college hours under his belt than Hotch could manage in a lifetime. Best to do this the old fashioned way, then.
[]9/8, 23:10[] 38.
[]9/8, 23:11[] Oh. Really? That’s kind of young to be Unit Chief, congratulations.
[]9/8, 23:11[] No, not me. You. I’m guessing 38.
[]9/8, 23:12[] Oh.
[]9/8, 23:12[] Incorrect.
[]9/8, 23:13[] I don’t even get a hint?
[]9/8, 23:13[] Nope.
[]9/8, 23:15[] We’re not playing a game. I’m not telling you.
[]9/8, 23:15[] So you won’t guess my age, either?
[]9/18, 23:17[] Chicken.
[]9/8, 23:17[] 45.
Hotch near throws his phone across the room. Almost makes a quip about how reading his file is cheating -- but he knows Spencer just made a stupidly accurate ‘educated guess’ because he knows fucking everything. 
They really should just put him on the payroll. Hotch is being selfish keeping the man all to himself.
But God, is he enjoying it, too.
[]9/8, 23:19[] There’s no way you profiled that with that kind of accuracy. 
[]9/8, 23:20[] How do you do that?
[]9/8, 23:21[] Black magic.
[]9/8, 23:22[] I’ll get it out of you one day, I swear.
[]9/8, 23:23[] And as a man of your word, I believe that you truly believe that.
[]9/8, 23:23[] Full of jokes tonight, aren’t you?
[]9/8, 23:25[] I live to amuse. 
[]9/8, 23:25[] And make you smile.
[]9/8, 23:27[] You are one of the few that do.
With a careful pause, nothing left in his glass, a thought perched on the edges of his mind that is already watery with cognitive dissonance, Hotch starts typing before he’s even fully made the decision.
[]9/8, 23:30[] You really think my flirting is borderline? I was going for subtlety, but I must be rusty.
[]9/8, 23:32[] Actually, I just thought I was projecting.
[]9/8, 23:23[] You were married, I didn’t want to presume.
Oh. 
The consideration is touching, and sobering even in the dimness of his home office, but it draws the softest of smiles back to Hotch’s face when he begins to type out his answer.
[]9/8, 23:35[] Thank you, for thinking of me first.
[]9/8, 23:37[] But Haley and I separated a long time before she died. We were actually divorced before she went into WICSEC. I miss her every day. But I did try to date for a while, before that. 
[]9/8, 23:39[] No luck? I would have thought the FBI badge would at least garner some interest.
[]9/8, 23:40[] I’ve been told I’m intimidating.
[]9/8, 23:41[] I don’t think you are.
[]9/8, 23:42[] You will if you ever meet me. I’ve made underlings cry before without speaking a word.
[]9/8, 23:44[] The Hotchner stare. Have you coined that?
[]9/8, 23:45[] I should. It’s got a ring to it.
They banter and causally slip a few more… flirtatious comments in, and Hotch realizes it really isn’t that much different than before. That he had indeed been flirting with the man long before he knew his age. Which was odd, he didn’t typically go for older men and women. But now that he’s aware Spencer is younger than he thought, possibly even his own age (he swears he is, would put money on it if he could), somehow there’s more of a charge in their correspondence, a warmth and buzzing elation that has nothing to do with his Scotch. Especially now that it’s long gone.
It’s all Spencer, and how they compliment each other, and Hotch finds himself near giddy with that information.
He tries, towards the end of the night where it tips over into the early hours of the morning, to imagine an image of Spencer again -- and finds that he doesn’t even care to. He’s enamored with the man and his wit and the way he makes Hotch laugh without trying. How he looks, his age, it doesn’t matter. Not really. Not to Hotch.
But he is still curious why Spencer won’t reveal it. He can’t be that young.
[]9/9, 00:43[] You really won’t tell me?
[]9/9, 00:45[] Maybe one day. When I’m feeling brave.
[]9/9, 00:46[] Well, I’ll be there. Waiting. 
[]9/9, 00:46[] 32.
[]9/9, 00:47[] You’ll never guess.
[]9/9, 00:48[] There’s only so many numbers.
[]9/9, 00:50[] Goodnight, Hotch.
[9/9, 00:51] Goodnight, Spencer.
-
(tbc...)
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Tagged List:  @spencehotchner @ssa-sarahsunshine @gothamapologist @reidology @marsjareau @dragon-snaps-fandom​ @emmyraebird @just-an-emo-rat​​​ @aaron-hotchner187 @dk18077 @more-heid-pls @fakin-it-til-i-make-it @merpancake
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anonymouslyangsty · 3 years ago
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I would love to hear about Taka secretly being the murderer instead of Toko!!
HEHEHEH I now have an excuse to talk about the Brainrot. Also gosh. This is real long. And kinda just a string of thoughts, though no more so than usual I guess. I got into this one
First and foremost, we got to establish how close to the Toko/Syo situation Taka would be in this case. For the sake of simplicity, we'll say it's another situation of Taka and Ishida being separate personalities, just like with Toko and Syo. I think there's definitely merit to them being the same person, but I'd have to think that over since...well I've never thought of this concept from that mindset before. 
Let's consider Taka not knowing. I like that it's kinda a metaphor to some degree? Because as kids, we all have a very black and white, pure idea of morality and justice. Don't steal from others, don't lie, don't hurt people, ect. And that clear cut morality is very much in line with Taka as a character. He follows the rules! All the time! Even in a death game he'll yell at you for running in the halls. And this morality of his is so pure and simple, to the point of being childish.
But morality is not black and white in the real word. It's complicated, with tons of different factors to consider more often than not. Is it already to steal if you'll starve otherwise? Is it alright to lie if the person you're lying to has bad intentions, even if they are a authority figure? Is it okay to hurt someone if doing so saves others? Morality isn't clear cut and sometimes rules need to be broken. But when we're immature, it's easy not to realize this. 
So having Taka not know about Ishida would be representative of this concept of immature vs mature morality. The immature morality, the black and white view, is unaware of the need for complexity. This would be Taka, because Taka seems unable to accept grey morally. His interactions with Mondo reflect that. When he thought Mondo was bad, he was totally bad. He was violent, lazy, and a criminal. When he decided Mondo was good, he was totally good. He was the perfect man, unable to do any harm, let alone kill someone. 
So Ishida would be the mature morality, the one who realizes that the idealistic views of the immature morality are just that, an ideal, not reality. Ishida would understand that Taka's belief that, if he can just bring his ideas and morals into politics everything can be solved, is wrong. Corruption runs deeper than Taka's willing or ready to confront. And even with all the hard work in the world, Kiyotaka isn't going to be able to solve everything. 
How do you solve society's issues when the avenues to legally solve it are corrupt? Who do you call when the cops abuse the people? When the billionaire has all the judges paid off? How can you uproot corruption when so many politicians benefit from it and strive to perpetuate it? 
You can't. And that's what Ishida's there for. Ishi is more of the revolutionary that Taka is, the one who's willing to break the rules to ultimately create a better world to live in. 
So yeah. Ishida is a murderer. He kills corrupt authority figures, those who'd would lie and bribe their way out of trouble if he didn't kill them. Because for far too long justice has only affected those who couldn't pay their way out of it. I guess he's kinda a Sparkling Justice kinda situation, motivation wise. 
His calling card would definitely be different from Syo's. He'd probably leave a file of all the crimes the politician was executed for. Nobody knows how he gets the info, since so much of it was covered up, but he has it. Along with this, his victims are always decapitated. This is in reference to the French Revolution, where the people rose up and used a guillotine on the ruling class. (I’m sure there’s a more Japanese appropriate revolution I could make reference of, but I don’t know what it is.)
Now actually, how does Ishida get all that info on his victims? Not sure fully myself, but he probably uses Takaaki's position as an officer to his benifit. I'm sure he can get a lot of confidential information by breaking into police files. He has his ways.
Also, it should be noted that someone like Mondo wouldn't become a target for Ishida. Ishida doesn't deal with petty criminals, or even serial killers. He deals with criminals that'll powerful enough to manipulate the justice system to their advantage. Ishida only kills those the law refuses to deal with. 
Unlike Toko and Syo, I think that Kiyotaka would be totally unaware of Ishida. I like the idea of Ishida attempting to protect Taka from what he does. Because Taka is everything Ishida fights for; to protect innocence by destroying corruption. So Ishida wouldn't want Taka to know about what he does. 
Perhaps fittingly, this isn't exactly a good thing. How can Taka grow as a person, learn to be a leader himself, if he isn't aware of the corrupt world he's getting into? Taka does need to evolve into mature morality, but Ishida won't let him in his desire to protect Taka. Ishida keeps Taka innocent and naive, which isn't always a good thing. 
Moving on, I want to talk about backstory for this AU. It's basically the same. Toranosuke's corrupt in his actions as Prime Minister, probably cheating many out of their livelihoods and ruining lives in the process. He's eventually found out, leaving him and his family in dept. As far as I know, Toranosuke never serves a prison sentence. I don't know why he didn't in canon, but I'm going to say he bribed his way out of it in this AU.
And all of this is...upsetting to Taka to say the least (I'm going to say Taka's like 8-10 at this point) . Because even if his father tries to hide it from him, Taka's aware of the fallout of what his grandfather did. The thousands who were cheated, the workers left jobless, the safety violations that were ignored. He knows what his grandfather did was wrong. And everybody, from the news reporters, to the people on the street, to even his own teachers, say Toranosuke should be imprisoned for what he did. 
The situation is terribly unfair. Why should everyone hate him because of what his grandfather did? Why should his dad have to work all day just because of Toranosuke? Why isn't his grandfather in jail if he did so many bad things?
Kiyotaka is a passionate boy, and while he's well behaved, that level of passion wouldn't be easy for a 10 year old's willpower to contain. I think that eventually the stress of everything becomes too much. The constant bullying at school, the fact that he never sees his father anymore, the fact that his mother left them after grandfather got in trouble. It's all a lot for a child. And Toranosuke, the man behind all that heartache, is still there. An old, withered man, just laying in bed while everyone else suffers for his mistakes.
It's not fair. It's not fair that the bad guy gets away with it, and Taka hates his grandfather so much for it. Perhaps if Toranosuke had spoken to him, had said anything in explanation for what he'd done, Taka could've dealt with it better. But he didn't, so Taka didn't.
I think Taka eventually does something drastic. It's not planned or calculated in any way, more like a child having the worst possible meltdown. Perhaps he pulls out his grandfather's life support, or he smothers the man with a pillow. Either way, Toranosuke Ishimaru dies at the hands of his grandson, a young boy who couldn't handle the stress the world put on him. 
And Taka's horrified when he realizes what he's done. Because he just killed someone, someone who had hurt so many people, but someone nonetheless. And regardless of how angry Taka was with his grandfather, he honestly didn't mean to kill the man. 
So Taka does what any terrified child would do. He runs as far away as possible, with absolutely no plan. And it's days later before anyone finds him and brings him home. He's completely catonic when Takaaki finally finds him. 
 Taka's fingerprints being on the crime scene wouldn't be suspicious, since he lives there and is in charge of taking care of Toranosuke while Takaaki's out. So it wouldn't be hard to assume someone came in, killed Toranosuke, then cleaned up any evidence before leaving. After all, Toronosuke was dead for hours before Takaaki returned home. 
It's possible that Takaaki knows what actually happened. I mean, Taka's still Taka. He'd probably confess what'd happened once he's less catonic. But, regardless of if Takaaki believes the confession, he sure as hell isn't going to accept it. 
It’s the only time Takaaki ever yelled at his son. Not out of anger, but a panicked terror of not knowing if his son was deeply traumatized and blaming himself. or if he was truly guilty of murdering Toranosuke. He makes Taka swear to never say he killed his grandfather again. 
And somewhere in the midst of all that issue, Ishida starts being a thing. Perhaps it comes from Taka’s immaturity; his childish views on morality are completely incompatible with what he’d done. And how he’s promised to never bring it up again, but that means that he can’t do the right thing and confess. It’s a horrific contradiction and a horrific situation. 
Perhaps Ishida is Taka’s means of coping with that. Taka doesn’t remember what happened on that day, but Ishida does. Ishida carries the burden of that day and, as Taka gets older, all the other deaths.
Does Takaaki know about his son’s vigilantism? Who knows. 
Anyway, as for in the death game. I would still say the murderer gets revealed in ch2, but I’m not quite sure how. There’s no way that Taka could tell anyone he’s Ishida (or whatever the media calls this ‘mysterious killer’), since he himself honestly doesn’t know. 
I feel like it would be possible for Togami to catch him however, assuming there’s info on his case in the library. When the secrets are passed out, Taka would probably be pretty vocal about his being a “total false accusation”. After all, there’s no way he killed his own grandfather! These so called secrets are clearly just slander, right?
Given how honest Taka’s shown himself to be, Togami might think that’s suspicious that he likely honestly doesn’t remember his secret happening. Which might be enough for him to connect Taka to the string of murders. After all, Toranosuke would fit the bill of the killer’s usual victims.
I guess to get Ishida to front, Togami would have to convince both the class and Taka that he’s the aformentioned murderer. It would be...A very bad time for Taka. Bringing up a lot of repressed memories. 
Also, gotta talk about Ishida a tad more! With Toko and Syo, the fact that they have such different personalities is part of the charm. So, it seems kinda lame to keep Ishida as “just Taka but loud and rude” like in canon. Not to mention that Ishida wasn’t made with Mondo in mind, so it wouldn’t make sense. 
My first thought is that Ishida is almost the total opposite of Taka. He’s still just as militant as Taka, but he’s far more serious, less expressive. He probably very openly consiters making Togami his next target for the whole mutilating a corpse thing, but decides not to on the grounds that he’s a minor (and also because they’re in a death game and Ishida doesn’t want to risk Taka dying)
Also I’m realizing that, if Togami sets up the killer like he does in canon...That means he cuts off Chihiro’s head….Ew
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thenixkat · 3 years ago
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HCs for a fic
Big brother Tomura au
–> Legally he is Tenko Midoriya, a student studying abroad and working part-time for his salesman father.
–> Has firebreathing as a secondary quirk thanks to dad.
–> His decay is ALWAYS on. He’s learned to control how quickly and far something decays and how to stop it once it starts if he desires to do so. But it is highly reflective of his emotional state and he does tend to get upset quickly and throw tantrums (something his dad’s very terrified therapist is trying to help with). 
–> Tomura Shigaraki is his villain name. Does he have suits to wear for villainy like dad and Nine? Yes. Will he wear them? Only if he has to, he hasn’t really found a decent fabric that doesn’t make him itch on some level. Calls dad Sensei when on the clock.
–> The nomu at USJ was his personal pet he was allowed to design. The nomu’s name is Mr. Beaky. Mr. Beaky is a good boy who doesn’t get called by his real name when everyone is trying to be serious.
–> Usually contacts Izuku via video games and plays with him sometimes. Is technically a youtuber but uploads just whenever. His channel consists of him streaming horror games, especially vintage pre-quirk era games, and discussions on anarchist literature.
–> If Inko needs a babysitter Tomura is there. Does it matter that he himself is being babysat by Kurogiri at all times? No, just means two babysitters for the price of one. Babysitter Tomura likes to watch vintage banned children’s tv with Izuku. (Its banned for promoting vigilantism and illegal quirk use). They like to watch Digimon in particular b/c both of them love the idea of having a fate-assigned monster bff who loves and protects you no matter what.
–> Approves of Izuku’s quirkless friends. Especially the twiggy one that just beats the shit out of that Bakugo asshole. Tomura is a good big brother so if Izuku asks him not to murder someone outside of work he will not commit murder. He will however scare the shit out of fuckers.
–> Prefers to wear safety gloves when interacting with his family b/c he’d rather not accidentally lose his second one.
–> As a bonding experience, he teaches Izuku things like hotwiring vehicles, lockpicking, and forms of minor crime.
–> Every now and then takes Izuku to the local HeroCon. Has become a minor cryptid who always wins at the Dance Dance Revolution contests and sings villain songs at karaoke. 
–> Is pretty reserved when around people he likes but wants to financially support the people he loves and spoil them.
–> Met a few of the future permanent League of Villains members on various online forums and became internet friends with them b4 meeting them in person.
–> On one hand yes, he believes that people should be free to be who they are and that everyone rejected by society are his comrades. On the other hand, he can’t just let some shit slide like, you gotta have some limits and rules.
–> Very much does not want his little brother to be a hero. Is trying to get through to Izuku that he’s on the wrong side of the conflict. Is willing to go tough love on him.
–> Does not like people who abuse children. It’s one thing to kill a kid it’s entirely different to abuse them.
–> Calls out Stain for being a fucking serial killer who is too full of himself to just fucking murder people without making it a fucking moral crusade. Also, Stain wants just fucking martyr ‘cops’ and fuck that.
–> Has a hand collection that he adds to if he kills someone particularly memorable. He can’t wear all of his emotional support hands but it’s nice to mix up his layout ever now and then. Is smart enough to not wear/bring any of his hands when he hangs out with the Midoriyas. 
–> Inko made him a very nice weighted blanket that he loves very much and Izuku makes him Tsumemon plushies every other year for his birthday. These are cherished items.
–> All people shunned or disrespected by society are comrades (with some exceptions) so Tomura is down with quirkless people too. And mutants. Don’t start some bigoted shit on his watch.
–> Izuku and Tomura recognize eachother at USJ and both go ‘WTF!!’. Izuku has the dawning realization that if his brother is a villain so is his dad.
–> Tomura doesn’t try to kill the kids at USJ nor does he want his assembled villains to do so. It’d be simpler to brutally slaughter the teachers and demoralize the kids to get them to quit trying to be heroes and he is trying to work on a cause. He’s not against maiming kids tho.
–> Has absolutely no issues with Toga trying to stab his little brother and drink his blood. Girls are weird and he’s pretty sure Izuku won’t die. And it helps that it doesn’t seem to be an act of malice on her part, that’s just who she shows affection.
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perhapsitmaybedragons · 4 years ago
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A Little Nudge
The world is garbage and I’m writing fluff so I don’t have to think about it. Good Omens one shot. Fluff. Very dialogue heavy, because I like writing Dialogue.
AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26556994
Or you can keep reading below:
Crowley drummed his nails against the kitchen table as he watched Adam do his homework, periodically wondering which one of them was more bored and whether homework was an invention of Heaven or Hell. Crowley hadn't had a hand in it, that was all he was certain of. Seemed like something Aziraphale would approve of, though.
This had been a new Arrangement, and one Crowley had no designs in. But both he and the angel were certain Adam had retained some, if not all, of his powers. And both were convinced their sides were still up to something, so it made sense to keep an eye on the boy. But it hadn't been intended to be so closely. Just a little while after Crowley had started watching him, he started getting phone calls to come baby sit. Aziraphale, on the other hand, just came by every once in a while pretending to need to talk to the Youngs about mundane things like the weather.
Which just further proved Adam's powers were still there. How else had Mr. Young gotten Crowley's phone number? And how else could anyone explain that both Mr. and Mrs. Young always looked wary around Crowley, but still allowed him to watch their kid? Or that they both got a glazed over, bored look whenever they so much as caught sight of Aziraphale, but still always answered the door when they saw it was him?
Crowley could be patient when he needed to be, and he was wondering when the kid would break and admit why exactly he wanted Crowley to look after him. Especially when his parents had previously left him to his own devices. Adding in an authority figure didn't seem like the kind of thing Adam would decide to do.
But today he kept glancing up from his homework, apparently stealing himself for the favor he was about to ask. Crowley made a point of leaning back in his chair, trying to look relaxed. He was curious and also wanted to get it over with. His mind had gone over all the possibilities for why Crowley had been the one selected for babysitting duty, and none of the options seemed good.
It was unlikely, for example, that Adam wanted to know about his father – he made it very clear that Mr. Young was his father, and the biological one could go back right to where he came from, thank you very much. Possibly he wanted to know what hell was like. Or what the limits of his power were. Or how much trouble he could get into with his powers plus the help of a demon.
But what Crowley wasn't expecting was for Adam to put down his pencil, sit up straight, look Crowley in the eye and ask “Why aren't you and Mr. Aziraphale married yet?”
He folded his hands like he was a business man giving a performance review. Crowley crossed his arms. “And why would we be?”
“It isn't proper,” Adam insisted, “Mum says people in love get married. That's you two, and you've been in love for a while. Is it cause you're both blokes?” before Crowley could respond “I mean, you both look like guys but that's legal, and my dad says,” And here he adopted a gruffer voice, trying to mimic his dad, “'well, it's uh...it's not for me and I don't understand it but there's uh...there's nothing wrong with it'. And Pepper's mum says it's perfectly natural and ok for two guys to get married if that's what they want,” He paused for a moment and added, almost like an afterthought “Or two ladies. That's alright, too.”
“We're not technically male,” Crowley pointed out. “We're not human. Marriage is a human thing.”
Adam brushed it off, “But you're looking like us and acting like us. Wouldn't it help you blend in more?”
“I don't care if I blend in or not,” as though to make the point, Crowley whipped off his sunglasses so Adam could see his eyes. Adam had seen it before, but he always reacted the same way every time.
“Man, I wish my eyes looked like that,” he grumbled. And just like the last few times, his eyes would take on a snake like pupil for just a moment before flicking back to normal. “But you're trying to 'vade the question.”
“Evade?” Crowley suggested helpfully.
“Yeah, that. It's not right to be in love and not do anything about it when you can.”
“Why does a young boy like you care so much about what an old demon and angel are getting up to? Why do you want us to get married so badly?”
“Weddings can be all right. Wensleydale got to be a groomsmen in his cousin's wedding and he said he got a really big slice of a nice cake afterward.”
“You want us to get married so you can have cake?”
“No,” Adam said, pouting now, “I want you to get married because you love each other. And I want you to let me pick out the cake.”
Crowley chuckled in spite of himself. “That angel would probably never let you pick, he cares a lot about food. Probably already knows who the best caterer is in town for this sort of thing.”
“If you're not going to do it just say so.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you love him or not? Cause I thought when two people love each other they get married. And you're talking about everything else except whether you love him or not. And when Mr. Aziraphale came to trade gardening tips with mum he looked worried and I think he thinks your side's going to attack soon.”
“You want us to get married to take his mind off of Apocalypse 2.0?”
“Ugh, no,” Adam was getting frustrated. To him, it was the most obvious thing in the world – if you're an adult and you love another adult, you get married. Unless you were married to other people, like in that show his mum watched sometimes. Apparently, then you murdered one of the spouses together and then ran off to Mexico.
But Aziraphale and Crowley weren't married to anyone, and Adam had thought it was obvious that they were in love. At first, he thought maybe it was that part of him that just knew things – the part that had lead to that scary day not that long ago where the world had almost ended. But then Pepper had asked him about them, and Brian and Wensleydale had backed her up. It seemed ludicrous that with everything that had happened, they would all end up focusing on the love lives of the demon and angel involved but well, here they were.
“And have you talked about this with the ang-- with Mr. Aziraphale?”
“No,” Adam said simply, “I think he wants you to make the first move.”
Crowley arched an eyebrow. Here some part of him thought he'd been doing nothing but making moves on that angel for the last few centuries. “You are aware we're not a couple, right? Even for humans, you usually don't go from being associates straight to getting married.”
“I think you are a couple.”
“Those weren't the terms of our Arrangement,” Crowley muttered.
“Doesn't matter. Everyone already can see it.”
“You do know that just because people want other people to be together doesn't make it so, right?” Crowley thought for a moment of calling Aziraphale and making him deal with this, but at the same time he wanted to see where this conversation would go. “And that even if we are in love, the way you seem to think we are, we wouldn't have to get married? Even if we were human, humans don't always get married.”
“Not always, but the tax benefits alone usually make it the better choice than just living together,” Adam said with the authority of a child who had overheard that exact argument said by an adult once and was now repeating it with only the slightest glimmer of understanding. “He does know you're in love with him, right?”
“I thought you said we both loved each other,” Crowley was annoyed by how irritated his voice sounded – there was a twinge of longing there that he would like to have been better at hiding.
“Yeah, but I think he needs you to spell it out for him. He knows, but he doesn't know that he knows.”
“I think your parents let you watch too much tv, you know that? I think I should tell them not to let you watch so much of it, and to keep an eye on what you're watching.”
Adam shrugged. “You can try. But I'll still ask you about when you're going to ask Mr. Aziraphale to marry you. I bet you could propose to him with a book – I don't think he'd like a ring. But maybe he would, cause it could match his halo.”
“So you want me to tell him I'm in love with him and then immediately propose to him? That's the long and short of it there, right?”
Adam nodded. “Dog can be your ring bearer. I think I saw that in a movie once. But the dog ran away with the ring and everyone got upset-”
“You just told me not to get him a ring, why would we need a ring bearer if we haven't got a ring?”
Adam thought it over for a moment, cocking his head to the side as he thought. “Ok. So he could be one of the groomsmen with me. And it's not fair to let Wensleydale be one, 'cause he got to be one this year already. But he can be one of those guys who shows people to their seats. And if you ask Pepper to be a flower girl she's going to think I told you to do it and then she's going to punch me, so maybe ask her to be a groomsperson, too?”
“Have you planned out my entire wedding?”
Adam gave a guilty smile that told Crowley everything. “I will take your concerns under advisement,” Crowley had invented so called 'office speak' and this, along with 'per my last e-mail' was one of his favorite responses. It didn't really promise any action, but people responded as though it did.
“You should probably do it now, cause he's on his way over.”
“For what? Your parents won't be back from the movies this soon and he always checked in with them.”
“I told him she'd need help today at 4 o'clock,” he jerked a thumb in the direction of the clock on the wall. It was almost 4 and Aziraphale would either be a little early or exactly on time.
“You lied to an angel. You realize that, right? Literal being from heaven and you lied right to his face.”
“Did not,” Adam shook his head, “I lied to him on the telephone. It's not as bad.”
While Crowley was pretty curious about that particular leap in logic, he didn't have time to get into it with Adam. Aziraphale was knocking at the front door and Adam had jumped up to answer it.
“Hello, Mr. Aziraphale! Crowley's here, too.” Crowley couldn't help notice that Aziraphale always got a “Mr” in front of his name from Adam, but he was always just “Crowley”. He wasn't sure which way he preferred it, to be honest.
“Oh, hello,” Aziraphale greeted him, but then immediately began to look about for the Youngs. “Adam, where are your parents? I thought your mother needed help with something in the house?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“But that's why you called me,” Aziraphale frowned. “Did you lie to me?”
“Yep!” Adam nodded enthusiastically. “I'm sorry.”
“Doesn't look sorry to me,” Crowley muttered.
“Well, dear boy, you're forgiven, but can I ask why you lied?”
“Needed you to come over so you could talk to Crowley!” Adam admitted, ushering Aziraphale in and practically throwing him into a chair at the kitchen table. The one right next to Crowley. Adam shut the front door.
“Crowley and I talk to each other all the time,” Aziraphale only looked more puzzled now. He gave a small wave of his hand and his coat moved from being on him to being hung up neatly on a coat rack (that hadn't been there when he came in).
“Adam has gotten it into his head that,” And here Crowley stopped. He wasn't embarrassed by the thought that he and Aziraphale were in love. Crowley knew exactly how he felt about that angel. But the idea he had been so obvious that a child had picked up on it was making him uncomfortable. And despite Adam's insistence, he wasn't completely certain where Aziraphale stood on the topic.
“Yes?” Aziraphale prompted Crowley to continue.
“I could leave?” Adam suggested. “Give you two alone time?”
“In your parents' house?” Crowley didn't say it, but he wanted to point out that it wasn't the most romantic of locales.
“I could go up to my room or something.”
“No, no,” Aziraphale shook his head, “It's your house and if it's so important to you that we both be here, we should discuss it. Is this, perhaps, about your uh...non-earthly father?”
Adam pulled a face. “That guy's not my dad.”
“True, very true,” The angel nodded his approval. “But then what did you want us both here for?” He shifted his attention back to Crowley. “I'm sure we'd both try to help, whatever it is. We're both in that unique predicament of no longer being on the side of who sent us, so the three of us are ..ship mates, if you will.”
“Mating's got something to do with it,” Crowley muttered so low that neither of them heard him.
“You're an angel, right?” Adam demanded.
“Well, yes, but-”
“So you're supposed to tell the truth, right?”
“I don't know what you're-”
“And you're in love with Crowley,” Adam finished, his eyes boring straight into Aziraphale's.
“I'm not certain this is an appropriate conversation for us to be having,” Aziraphale sat up, ram rod straight and started dusting at his already spotless pants. “Is there something else I could help with?”
“No,” Adam said stubbornly. “If you're an angel then you should do it right. You have to be honest – do you love him?”
Crowley's breath caught in his throat. It had never occurred to him to press Aziraphale in this manner, though he was pretty certain he wouldn't have, even if he had thought of it. Aziraphale was resolutely looking away from both of them, staring at the floor. He looked like he was having an internal debate with himself. After what felt like an eternity of silence, he finally spoke up.
“Yes,” he said softly.
“Wait,” Crowley jumped out of his seat and flung his glasses off so that he could look Aziraphale in the eye. “You're in love with me?”
“Well, yes...” he admitted. “But aren't you in love with me, too? I had thought you were. Did I misunderstand?”
“Did you misunderstand?! Did you misunderstand?” Crowley paced back and forth in the kitchen. Adam and Aziraphale exchanged glances, both confused about what was going through the demon's mind now. “I didn't bloody think you felt the same! This whole time! How long, angel?” he demanded.
“At least since Germany...possibly further back. I don't know.”
“And this isn't one of those things where you mean like a friend, right?”
“No. I mean, at first, yes, I loved you like a friend and then it ...it became more.”
“And you knew how I felt and you didn't say anything?!”
“I didn't think I needed to,” he shifted. “I thought you knew and that we didn't do anything because of ...well, you come from there and I come from the other side so I didn't see how it could possibly work.”
“And now?”
“Now what?”
“Now what, he says!” Crowley threw up his hands and looked at Adam, giving a 'do you see what I've been dealing with all this time' look. “Now neither of us is with our original sides – heaven tried to kill you, hell tried to kill me and we were both tossed back here. Aziraphale,” Crowley put his hands on the other man's shoulders, “There is nothing holding us back anymore.”
“There's nothing holding us back,” Aziraphale repeated in wonder. “We could ...I could...”
Crowley pulled him up from his seat and immediately went in for the kiss. Adam looked away, trying not to intrude on their moment.
Aziraphale pulled away first. “There's a child present.”
“It's just a kiss,” Crowley muttered, “That kid's seen way worse on tv.”
“That's true, I have,” Adam admitted. “Neither of you has any secret spouse you're going to have to kill, right? I like you two, I don't want you to have to go off to Mexico.”
“What is he talking about?”
“No idea, angel,” Crowley had his arm around Aziraphale's shoulder and seemed intent not to move it.
“So are you going to get married now?” Adam persisted. “Now that you know he feels the same?”
“But we aren't human-”
“Don't even start with him, it's a lost cause, trust me. Look, Adam, we are not getting married. ….at least not yet.”
“Do you think we should?” Aziraphale looked thoughtful. “If we end up moving in together it would seem more proper, don't you think?”
“And it will save you money on taxes,” Adam offered helpfully.
“We'll revisit the question,” Crowley insisted. “You and I have a lot of catching up to do. You'll be all right then, Adam?”
“Yeah, my homework's done. Will you still come sit with me sometimes?”
“Do I even have a choice in the matter?” Crowley pointed out. Adam gave a crooked half grin in response.
“We all have a choice. You just needed a little nudge this time.”
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clean-bands-dirty-stories · 5 years ago
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The Best Things ~ J.V. (Part 1)
A/n: I'm so sorry but I DESPERATELY needed to get this off my chest before I exploded because I have absolutely NO self control.
I made a playlist
Word Count: 5000+
MASTERLIST
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Come in sets of two...
Y/n was an oddball.
At least that's what his parents said- a lot.
"You're such an oddball."
It seemed that they meant it endearingly, but the words stuck with Y/n much more than they probably should have. And maybe that was less because of his parents or even his brother and more because of the media and the other kids that treated him very differently than they usually treated other people.
It probably didn't help that he was a Wayne.
Bruce Wayne was an absolute golden boy. He was responsible, driven, intelligent. He was a staple for Boys Going Somewhere. A face to an idea that everyone absolutely adored. It was known very well that Bruce was going to be the successor to Wayne Enterprises- even though Y/n was two years older. Bruce was good to the core, with a wide smile but a certain professionalism that most adults didn't ever master.He was level headed and figured things out very easily. His parents were incredibly proud of him and held him very dearly, and it showed.
Y/n wasn't anything like him. He preferred staying up late and watching the stars or the sun set and then rise again, compared to understanding anything about business. He was somewhat of an artist. He had notebooks full of drawings and his room was covered with thumbtacked paintings he'd put on his wall with pride, even though most of them were what he was known for: people, animals, or objects that he'd fixated on long enough to paint them... except that they were often multiple things in one painting, and they were all mashed together in a rather alarming sight. He walked around with paint in his hair and on his clothes, his eyes bright and shining and his energy completely uncontained. He had no sense of self control or when to be quiet or calm. Most often he wasn't even found at home, as he went to school and then hung out with friends he'd made on the streets.
It was instantly incredibly obvious the drastic difference between the two boys, and people had been bidding on which one would succeed and which one would flop the very first second Bruce had been born. Every bet was on Bruce making it.
Despite everything, Y/n and Bruce got along very well. Y/n was rather emotional and got upset very quickly when he was ignored, which worked quite nicely with Bruce's curiosity. Y/n could go on for hours about the same thing and Bruce would listen. Bruce could ask questions about one painting for just as long and Y/n would eagerly answer each one, going into as much detail as possible. Y/n pulled Bruce out of his comfort zone and gave him a little fun outside of the expectations that were constantly pressing down on him. Likewise, Bruce took up the mantle and allowed Y/n the complete freedom to be himself and be appreciated for it.
Even the boys' parents had a pretty steady relationship with Y/n. They found him to be a little much, but with Bruce leaving them reassured that their company would be in a pair of capable hands, they were perfectly fine with letting Y/n go absolutely wild. As log as he was safe and everything he did was legal. They might live in Gotham, but the Waynes were good people and that wasn't changing anytime soon.
Overall, they were a very happy family.
Everything changed the night Thomas and Martha Wayne were shot dead on a way home from a movie they'd taken Bruce to.
It had been a night out like any other. Y/n stayed home as usual- it was the only time he could turn his music all the way up and completely lose himself in whatever he wanted to. The others didn't mind. It let Y/n blow off steam and made him much calmer for a while; in addition, they had a night out together and got to bond with Bruce. Sometimes they'd take just Y/n, and sometimes Y/n and Bruce would go out together without their parents, but most of the time it was Thomas and Martha and Bruce, and each Wayne was okay with that.
Y/n was staring at a half painted canvas, eyes wide and fingers trailing the path of his lips. He was loving the loudness and the thumping of the beat under his feet. Like it was in his blood. He smiled, raising the paintbrush.
The door busted open. "Y/N!"
Y/n spun around, startled. In the sharp movement, he knocked over a tiny bowl full of paint. Alfred reached over, turning the music off. "Your parents were shot and killed. Bruce is home early." Red paint dripped down the easel and over Y/n's shoes as the words tried to sink in but failed.It was like looking at something see through or invisible. Like feeling the breeze and wishing to catch it, but never able to close your fingers around empty air. Y/n just couldn't comprehend what Alfred was saying. Sensing his shock, Alfred moved closer. His voice was softer when he repeated, "Y/n. Bruce needs you. He won't admit it, but I can't help him lone.He won;t even admit he needs help. He might open up to you."
"No," Y/n choked out. Martha Wayne was far too kind and gentle. She was warmth and safety incarnate. Something so good and bright wasn't allowed to fade. Like yellow paint,or the sun. She always came back in the morning Always. And Thomas Wayne was... unbreakable. Unshakable. Impossible to even faze, let alone kill. He was unbeatable. Nothing could kill him. He'd live forever. Or, at the very least, go out at his own time when he was completely sure he was ready to. "No."
"Yes," Alfred insisted, shaking Y/n's shoulders violently. Y/n flinched. "Please-"
Without another word, Y/n pushed away from Alfred and sped to Bruce's room. He didn't even knock. Bruce was sitting on his bed, his eyes haunted and his lips resting in a soft frown. His hands were in his lap as he perched on the edge of the bed like he was planning to run any second, but he also seemed cemented in place as if he couldn't go anywhere even if he wanted to. He was scary still, and as his eyes slowly moved from the floor to meet Y/n's gaze, the older Wayne shivered at the darkness in his gaze. "Bruce?"
Bruce nodded stiffly in forced greeting. "Y/n."
Y/n bit his lip. Bruce's gaze fell to Y/n's feet and widened, his hands tightening on his knees. Y/n looked down to see the red paint still on his shoe, beginning to dry, and immediately felt sick. "So-" he cut off, his throat burning like he'd swallowed acid."So they're really-"
"Yeah," Bruce interrupted.
"You were there."
"Yeah."
Silence fell like a piano from a fifth story building. Even when the silence left, the feeling didn't. Both boys were suddenly being crushed under the weight of a ginormous object neither of them could see let alone explain or find the strength to remove. It stayed through the funeral, and onward. It manifested differently for each boy.
Bruce began to dig into his parents' murder, sifting through file after file, night after night. He got little sleep and ate even less often. At least he wasn't hurting himself anymore. That he had done a lot right before Alfred, Y/n, and Jim Gordon had all teamed up to knock him out of it.
Y/n was thrown into the world of business. He was torn away from everything he cared about. His freedom and dreams were stolen ad he was forced to clean up and get into a suit and start taking care of the family company- at least until Bruce was ready. In a few months he lost not only the things he enjoyed and his parents, but also his friends and the easy going way of life. He was beaten down and forced to be calm and collected. He was taught how to not deal with emotions like real men do and handle business that needed to get taken care of. He wasn't a person anymore. He was a tool.
It was unbearable for Bruce. He was losing all of his family in one go and as he tried to fight to make sense of it or keep anything of his old life, people kept trying to knock him down a peg and remind him that he was a child. Even though Y/n, barely 14, was apparently old enough to have the world on his shoulders when he was completely and totally not able to handle it in any way. It was supposed to be Bruce's job.
Finally he managed to prove his capabilities, but not in time to save Y/n. He had been rung out by the press and pushed to the brink and then over by the people at Wayne Enterprises. When he got his free time back, he didn't spend it watching the stars or the sun rise and fall. He didn't spend it painting dogs and lamps. He didn't spend it doodling and ranting to Bruce about all the things he found wonderful about the world. He spent each and every second he had locked in his room, painting.
The colors of each work began to get darker, the themes more twisted. They got better as he fixated on one thing only... unfortunately, that thing was death.
Y/n was spiraling. He didn't take care of himself and sometimes didn't come out of his room for days. Bruce tried to get through to him, but it seemed that something really bad had happened while everyone had expected him to be in charge. The thing was, there were no hints about it and of course no one at the company would fess up about anything. Y/n wouldn't talk about it. Anytime anyone even mentioned Wayne Enterprises, he would pull away and become unresponsive.
Then the Maniax began wreaking havoc.
Y/n's focus suddenly changed. He wasn't fascinated per say by the horrible things going wrong, but more the people that were committing the heinous acts. One day Bruce finally got him to talk about it, and all Y/n had to say was, "I mean, who does that? Who goes around just killing people like it doesn't mean anything? For no reason? Look at the redhead- he shoots one of his own guys for no reason- Look, right there. What kind of mental state would someone have to be in to be so flippant about taking a life?"
The obsession with the Maniax was soon followed by an obsession of killers in general. He was found constantly reading history books about some of the world's worst killers. Then, about Gotham's worst killers specifically.
That was why Bruce went to him when he began to get involved with that same redhead that had set Y/n down this path in the very beginning. "What do you think drives him? I mean, why do what he does?" Bruce asked his brother one day. It had been quite a while since they'd sat down and talked like this. When Bruce would ask questions about something Y/n fixated on and Y/n answered with pure eagerness. This had been the first time the information had been useful or had a realistic application, and it was upsetting.
"Probably some mental disorders. Perhaps some childhood trauma. He's probably immensely desensitized..." He paused. "Jerome Velaska is actually quite odd. He's probably just psychotic, with some serious abandonment issues and a sort of god complex. He wants to be seen and known and craves endless adoration and attention. He'll do anything to get what he wants, and doesn't have the patience or tolerance for anything else. That's why he acts out- it's like he has the mind of a child. He didn't get his way and now he's going to pitch a fit and chuck his toys. His toys being people and the fit being murder."
Bruce swallowed. "That's demented."
"Hm?" Y/n hummed. He blinked then forced himself to nod. He had zoned out and not blinked to bring himself back to the present. "Yeah. He's totally messed up."
Bruce tried not to ask Y/n about Jerome again after that. There had been a strange light in his eyes. A dangerous interest that made Bruce... nervous.
Everything came to a climatic bang when Alfred took the two brothers out to a charity banquet held in honor of a children's hospital. He'd only managed to get Y/n out because he'd been more energetic recently. More in a good mood. A little more like himself. In favor of seeing Y/n be so much like he used to, neither Alfred nor Bruce questioned it.
Boy did they wish they had though.
The night was seeming to pan out rather dull until the Magician came out. Y/n loved Magicians. He always had. He found their skill to pull off even the most obvious tricks was rather impressive. So when the Magician on stage asked for a volunteer and Bruce was chosen, Y/n was a little disheartened.
Bruce, however, seemed that he would rather do anything else. He had been nagging to leave anyway. Y/n stepped forward. "I can go up for you if you want," he offered.
The woman smiled and on stage, the Magician announced, "Ah yes! Just as well, just as well. Please, join us." The woman held out her hand for Y/n and he took it immediately.
Gotham hadn't seen Y/n in a very long time. People tittered and clapped and Y/n felt nervous. He hadn't been in front of a crowd since-
No, he wouldn't think about that. Tonight it was just some good fun and he'd be okay with that. Wasn't he allowed to have fun every once in a while?
The Magician greeted Y/n then opened a box, motioning for him to get in. He did, with a bounce in his step and excitement in his eyes. The box lid closed over top Y/n and the slats were put in place. It was the classic "sawed in half" trick. Y/n was immediately put off though. It would ruin the magic if an audience member did the trick. The assistant always did this trick, because it required a lot of trick of the eye to work. This way, he'd just get cut in-
Y/n's eyes went wide. The Magician above him smiled deviously.
"Does this handsome gentleman have a name?" Suddenly Y/n's body went cold. He knew that voice. Had heard it again and again and again on tv. He had seen that exact smile accompanying it. He was torn between the horror of the very real possibility of death at any second, and awe at finally meeting the man he'd been unable to get out of his head for the last significant amount of time. Since the whole bus full of high schoolers had almost been set on fire and that soon-to-be familiar face was all over the screen during the news broadcast about it. That face that had been and would be on every news broadcast for quite sometime. The Magician hummed, raising his eyebrows, and Y/n swallowed.
"Y/n," he said. There was no point now. He was trapped and at this man's mercy. What could he do? Cry for help? The most anyone would do is laugh it off, even if he could manage to get the lump out of his throat and get any coherent message across. Plus, something far more demanding kept him silent.
An extremely dangerous sense of curiosity.
If he was going to die tonight anyway, he might as well take his last moments to see what Jerome Valeska was like up close.
"Y/n," the not-magician repeated, musing over the name. "Well, Y/n, this won't hurt a bit." He clanged the two large saws together and Y/n felt breathless. What was he doing?! This was absolute madness! "Is there a doctor in the house?" The crowd laughed. The crowd LAUGHED. Of course they laughed. They always laughed. No one cared about Y/n Wayne.
Suddenly Alfred's voice sounded out, rather panicked. Y/n looked over, surprised. Of all people, Y/n didn't think it would have been Alfred who would have intervened. Alfred had been much too wrapped up in taking care of Bruce. Such as everyone was. Despite that, it was him to stumbled out, "Just- wait- excuse--" He held up a hand, everything going quiet and still as he tripped forward. "Just wait, wait, wait one second."
Jerome didn't wait.
The saw came down.
To his own shock, Y/n was fine.
The assistant rolled away his lower half and then returned it just in time for Jerome to lean close and whisper, "Give em a wave." Y/n looked directly into his eyes and his smile wavered. They were a pretty color. Brown, littered with slight blues and green that came alive under the stage lighting.
"I know who you are." The words wouldn't have been heard by anyone else other than Jerome- even if it wasn't for the clapping. Jerome froze, but Y/n didn't wait. He stood, waved to the audience to show he was alright, and then allowed the assistant to take him back to his place next to Bruce and Alfred.
When Jerome spoke gain, his words seemed to be a little different. Y/n placed the emotion when he turned back around again and saw Jerome's eyes glued intently to Y/n. He wasn't blinking. "Some say Y/n here has a split personality." The audience laughed at the pun and then his voice lightened again as he moved onto his next trick. As he called up the mayor an the set up began, the assistant's mask fell off.
Y/n gasped. He knew that face too. Unmistakable. Barbara Keene. Of course. How did Y/n not see that far sooner?
"I should warn you," Jerome teased lightly. "No one is getting out of here tonight alive." The audience laughed and Y/n thought he would feel terror at the words. What was stopping him now? He could whisper to Bruce or Alfred. To that nice lady from before-
It was then that Y/n realized Lee Thompkins was gone.
Jerome flung a knife straight into the Mayor's gut and Bruce stepped forward, gasping in time with the crowd. Y/n was torn. Why was he torn?! This was simple! Stop this! Right? Surely he could do something.
And yet... he found he didn't want to. God what the hell was wrong with him?
The Mayor fell and people began panicking. The gun shot started and Y/n moved without thinking, slipping behind a curtain and out of sight. He began to move through the curtains until he was far enough fromAlfred not to be stopped, then he was ducking to make sure he didn't get shot- and he waited.
He saw Jerome and Barbara tie up Lee and then make a call. He spoke loudly- it wasn't hard to make out at least one side of the conversation. His demands didn't make sense. They didn't line up at all with his character. Why...?
His maniacal laughter suddenly cut off as he turned to face his newly terrified audience. The moment was interrupted, though, by a new voice. "Enough!" Y/n stepped out from hiding to get a better view, only to see a man he didn't know. That was a new experience on this night where Y/n seemed to be able to put a name to ever face in this room that mattered. "It's time for you to pack up your little sideshow and leave," the man continued. Jerome was still grinning. That didn't make sense either. Why didn't he seemed bummed that his fun was getting interrupted, or a little tentative around the new player he hadn't planned his game around? How had this guy even gotten in, with all the guards outside? It felt off. Y/n could sense it immediately. Even the man spoke like he was... reading lines.
And Jerome responded in the exact same way. Like he was in a show. Like he was acting.
The movements of the two men and the way they formed words seemed so out of place. Even the shot of the gun Barbara used... none of it seemed natural.
Without thinking, Y/n stepped forward. The small noise his steps made immediately caught Jerome's attention. His eyes light up, his smile relaxing to a much more natural place. This was Jerome. The change was impossible to miss for Y/n, who had been carefully studying him so long.
"You," Jerome called, pointing directly at Y/n for the first time tonight. This felt even more thrilling than when Bruce had been picked. Now there was no charade or manipulation. It was just Jerome and Y/n. "Come here." He held up a gun, obviously ready to threaten someone's life to get Y/n to obey, but he was already moving before the words could leave Jerome's mouth. "What a nice boy." Y/n should have been at least pretending to be phased, but he was far too caught up in analyzing Jerome that he didn't think about how his step was confident and unfaltering, taking him to Jerome without any hesitation. He didn't think about the expression on his face, but how it made Jerome specifically respond. By simply having an emotion other than fear, Y/n had caught Jerome's attention and was reveling in it. Jerome could see that too, and it seemed to entertain him even more.
"You just gonna stare at me all day?" Y/n whispered softly, trying not to let his lips twitch into a smirk. Was he... flirting? It felt like he was suddenly outside of his body, watching this train wreck happen, unsure of who was in control or why he was doing anything he was.
Jerome seemed to be absolutely loving it. "Stand here with me." His voice was soft as silk, near purring. Y/n moved to where he motioned and stayed silent. The problem with his new placement: everyone could see his reactions now, not just Jerome. It was time to start acting at the very least.
Turns out he didn't much need to.
Jerome was easily terrifying as he was charismatic.
Every time Y/n thought he had caught on to Jerome schtick, he did something that threw Y/n off completely again. It was all fun and games, playing at murder but then pulling out some joke shot that didn't really make any sense. Did he actually want to keep all of us hostage? Wasn't it enough to have a few? Bruce, me and Alfred because Bruce was Gotham's golden boy, and he wouldn't let anything happen to me or Alfred. Lee Thompkins because she was his bargaining chip. The four of us would be plenty enough of a bargaining chip, maybe a handful more just in case. Why spare everyone, if he really did like killing so much?
There was something to Jerome that really intrigued Y/n. He wondered what the maniac was really thinking. What really drove him to act this way. To take control of a whole room full of Gotham's richest of the most well meaning... only to ask for ridiculous, nonsensical demands and not kill a single one of us.
Again Y/n got that sense, like something else major was actually happening here.
Y/n was zoning out. Missing things. He couldn't focus on the act going. The show that had more layers than what was originally apparent. He missed the whole throw down with Barbara and Lee as well, but caught the gist: Barbara was apparently in love with JimGordon and fancied that they'd end up together. Lee was apparently getting in the way of that. Blah, blah, blah. Girl drama and psychopaths and romance and delusion. Barbara almost killed Lee. Jerome stopped her. So on and so forth.
Then, Jerome attention was on Y/n again all of a sudden, even though he'd been carefully ignoring the boy he'd called up on stage until that point. He grinned at Y/n, the knife he'd taken fromBarbara manifesting in Jerome's hand. The redhead used it more like a finger than a weapon. He ran the dull side of the back of the blade under Y/n's chin, the flipped it so the blade was pressed gently to Y/n's skin. "My favorite volunteer," he said slowly, stepping far too close for what should have been comfortable. "You know, I've seen you on TV."
"And I, you." He hadn't meant to respond, but it had slipped out before he could stop it.
Jerome's head tilted as he popped his chin in pride. "Well, of course. I was meant to be on the big screen. I made my own way. It was my choice to end up where everyone could see me." He took a deep breath in. "You, however... what a scandal." Suddenly Y/n couldn't breath. Jerome roared in giddy, insane laughter. "There he is!" He turned to the audience, motioning to the slight shake of Y/n's body and the sickly pale tint to his skin. "There's that fear! That fear or hate or disgust or whatever it is you all feel for me... except for you." He looked back at Y/n. "We're so similar, Y/n," he sighed. "I'm an orphan too, you know. I don't fear death either."
"You killed your parents," Y/n managed to get out through gritted teeth.
Jerome tilted his head back and forth. "Details, details." The knife was at Y/n's throat again. "You're no fun anymore, you know. Everyone stops being fun at some point. I will give you one thing: you lasted longer than most." The knife pressed further into Y/n's throat and he sucked in a sharp breath as it broke skin, a single drop of blood making a vibrant path down his pale skin.
Gun shots. Suddenly Jerome spun, pressing Y/n's back to his chest, moving the blade so Y/n's was a hostage instead of the focused on target. There was a bit of chaos in the crowd, and Y/n's eyes widened to see Alfred and Jim Gordon of all people mowing through Jerome's lackies. Jim turned his barrel toward Y/n and Jerome. "Let him go!" He shouted. Jerome's giggle rang right next to Y/n's ear. Whatever weird spell from before that had Y/n controlled and calm and still broke and he flinched back away from the blade. Unfortunately, that only brought him closer to Jerome. After a second Jim defeatedly announced, "I don't have a clean shot. Jerome shifted, obviously eager in his moment of victory.
"Stay calm, Y/n," Alfred eased. Bruce was shuffling, knowing it wouldn't help to rush in but having to use every bit of his self control to stop himself from doing just that. He couldn't lose Y/n too. His brother was part of the quickly dwindling family he still had left.
Jerome's breath sounded in Y/n's ear as he gritted his teeth, switching from plying a game to planning an escape. Of course he wanted to get out of here alive. "It seems like we've got ourselves in a bit of a pickle. "What do you say Sweetheart?" Jerome mumbled in his ear. He was twitching, rocking a little from foot to foot. "Why don't we boost our ratings, hm?" The knife moved from one side of Y/n's throat to the other, drawing the smallest line of blood. Y/n gasped, his body shaking in suddenly very real fear. He wondered if this is how his parents had felt, or if they'd died too fast to really be afraid of dying at all. "Smile." Jerome began his wild, broken chittering of a laugh again.
This was familiar. Jerome had been waiting all night to kill someone, and for whatever reason he hadn't. Unfortunately, that meant he was definitely not going to hesitate to now. Y/n closed his eyes, and echoing, "NO!" Coming from his younger brother before he was sure he was about to be enveloped by darkness.
"I said, enough." Jerome let go of Y/n in surprise and both boys turned, unsure where to move from here. Not knowing how to switch gears. There stood the man from earlier. Theo Galavant. Theo grabbed Jerome by the color and drove a knife into the side of his neck. Y/n made a weird, half-choking, half-squeaking sound as the blade made impact into flesh, the audience gasping behind him.
Y/n couldn't move. He fell backwards, tripping over his own feet and barely catching himself as he made his way off the stage and to the ground. Theo must have thought he was further, but he heard it. He heard what the man said next. "I know, I know, I know," he cooed as Jerome choked, dying. Y/n blinked, trying to clear his head. So many thoughts were swimming through it and his chest had begun to tighten and twist. He couldn't breathe. He could still hear though. "This isn't what we rehearsed. I'm so sorry Jerome. You have real talent! But no, you see, the plot thickens. Enter: the hero."
Something horrible settled into Y/n's stomach as Jerome spoke again, his voice weak and raspy. "You... said... I was... gonna be..." He died before the sentence could finish, and Y/n was running. Ramming into Bruce, the boys holding each other tightly as Alfred enveloped them both with his arms.
"It's over," Alfred reassured. "You're safe now, Y/n, it's okay."
The words sounded sincere and full of relief, but Y/n couldn't shake that things were far from over. In fact, he was sure they'd only just begun.
-
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ad1thi · 4 years ago
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bro. do y. do you have some good good angsty shit?
anon did you mean: all my writing?? (just kidding would be happy to help!!)
cycle through: @ambivalentmarvel (i am legally obligated to routinely rec this)
Twenty-five years ago, Tony Stark disappeared from his family home a month after the tragic deaths of his parents, Howard and Maria Stark, leaving a billion-dollar tech conglomerate without an heir and the world wondering what happened.
Twenty-three years ago, HYDRA gained another super soldier.
Ten years ago, Peter Parker’s parents died in what is ruled as a home invasion gone wrong but he knows was murder, plain and simple, because he spoke to the killer.
And in the present, Project Insight fails, and the Iron Soldier pays the price.
Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Boy: @baffledkingcomposinghallelujah
The first time Jarvis holds little Anthony in his arms, he is overwhelmed by emotion that is surprising in its intensity. When little Anthony's palm curves around his finger, Jarvis ducks his head to keep the others from seeing the wetness in his eyes.
"Hello Master Anthony," he whispers into the little ear, tugging the bundle of blankets closer to his heart.
The Long Way Round: @potrix-the-queerschlaeger (funfact this was one of the first ever buckytony fics i read) 
“Maybe we shouldn’t see each other anymore,” Tony blurts out in a rush. “It’s—I think it’s for the best. If we stop.”
It takes a moment for the meaning of the words to register, but when it does, Bucky turns cold, stomach sinking. “Are—are you breakin’ up with me? Tony—”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Tony hurries to reassure, reading Bucky’s mind. “You were perfect, Bucky, I swear you were. Are. This. It’s not. It’s really not you,” he says with a small, humourless chuckle, “it’s me.”
Bucky looks at the tense line of Tony’s shoulders, at the sad set of his mouth, the defeat in his eyes, and he knows it’s the truth. Or, at least, what Tony believes to be true.
Or; sometimes, people mean well, but that doesn't always mean they know best. Bucky and Tony, unfortunately, have to learn that the hard way.
In Deep Water: @itsallavengers (part of a series)
The Avengers want a pool. Tony can arrange that for them. He can. The thought doesn't fill him with horrible, daunting dread and crippling fear. Not at all.
(Or maybe denial does more harm than good)
three words that became hard to say (i and love and you)  @madasthesea (part of a series, and i recommend reading them all)
Tony likes giving gifts to prove his love, but they don't usually have four paws and a tail.
AKA: Tony, Peter, and a dog named Maggie learn how to be a family.
The Evidence: @striving-artist (part of a series)
Didn’t notice. Right. Sure. Two brilliant minds, two super spies, and a god didn’t notice when the chattiest man they knew stopped making sound. They just seemed happier than before. Brighter and more cheerful than before. They just seemed like they were more comfortable with him around when he was stone silent.
Fuck it.
He knew they noticed.
And he knew they liked him better this way.
Losing You (Is My Supervillian Origin Story): @amethystinawrites
There are a lot of things that Bucky regrets. The list is, quite frankly, longer than he can handle on most days and, right at the very top, is lying to Tony about who killed his parents. Bucky has known even from before they started dating, but he simply can't bring himself to say anything — to ruin one of the few good things he has in his life. It's selfish and wrong, but Bucky just doesn't know how to tell Tony that he is the one responsible for Howard and Maria Stark's deaths.
So when he starts receiving anonymous emails, threatening to expose the truth to Tony and the rest of the world, Bucky is desperate enough to agree to the blackmailer's terms, even if it means breaking up with Tony. Bucky cannot, under any circumstances, let Tony find out about his parents from anyone but Bucky himself.
Too late Bucky realizes that there is much more to the blackmailer's scheme than just having Bucky break Tony's heart. Too late Bucky realizes that despite his best intentions, he will still end up losing everything — in a much more permanent way than he could ever have imagined.
Selfish: @fanfictiongreenirises
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it to me.” Because Steve didn’t get it. He’d finally gotten up the courage, after years of watching and waiting and questioning and second-guessing, to ask Tony on a date, and instead of a definitive response, instead of a ‘yes’ or an ‘I’m sorry, I don’t feel that way’, Tony had said, you can’t seriously want that.
Don’t Say It:  @/bibliomaniac
Tony Stark is autistic and nonverbal. Which is fine, obviously, except for it means that Steve and Bucky don't have his words, and it only takes him a few minutes to decide they don't need to know he has theirs.
That's also totally and definitely fine, until he goes and falls in love with them.
Leave the Light On: @notfknapplicable (part of a series)
He was never doing this for fun. He'd just wanted to stay awake. And whatever you do, please don't tell that guy he's been fucking. He kinda likes him.
Something Borrowed: @notfknapplicable (funfact, this fic is what started my love affair with a rhodeytonysteve love triangle)
“Then why do you do it?” Rhodey asked, and Tony glared at him soberly, his eyes stating the obvious. “Oh I know I'm culpable, too, I'm an adult and I can say no, but I'm not the one who's juggling two dudes around.”
Tony looked away, out across the Manhattan skyline. Everything sparkled below them and the car horns were too far away to reach them. It was quiet all the way up there. It would have been beautiful. “Because I love you, dummy,” Tony said quietly. “I can't say no to you.”
“And you love him, too?” Rhodey asked. Inside, Steve was hovering beneath the four perfectly balanced Martinis on Clint's foot, ready to catch them if need be. “Wanna, you know, spend the rest of your life with him?” Because that's what marriage was. Not a dare.
(i can’t) escape myself:  @redcap64
The happiest day of your life is when you realize that your soulmate is still alive.
The worst day of your life is when he speaks to you.
“Big man in a suit of armour? Take that off, and what are you?”
“Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.”
Murderer
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fishfingersandjellybabies · 4 years ago
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Abandoned - fic
Characters: Jason Todd, Ric Grayson, bits of Tim, Cass and Damian Summary: Ric was an only child. A man named Jay decided to remind him that, in another life, he wasn’t. A/N: Reminder Ric Grayson is one of the worst things to ever exist and the fact that they completely ignored what would happen with those really close relationships he had with his siblings is a bunch of bullshit. So here’s Jason word-vomiting for me. I wrote this in one go in the middle of the night. Sorry it’s garbage. The batkids were driving back to Gotham from some top secret mission and shit probably.
~~
Ric frowned as he stepped out of the bar. There was a car blocking his cab in the alleyway.
And that in itself wasn’t a problem, not really. Had happened before. What made it worse was that there was a man in a leather jacket standing nearby, leaning on a light pole, puffing away at a cigarette. Ric didn’t know why, but he had an intense feeling the man was the car’s owner, and that this little blockade was on purpose.
Ric huffed, shoving his hands in his pocket as he began to stomp closer. He didn’t really want to fight one of the fine folks of Bludhaven today, but would if he had to. He had fares to find and bills to pay, and this guy looked like one of those smarmy assholes who would drag out a stupid argument just out of spite.
As he got closer, the man glanced over, a sharp grin flashing onto his face in recognition. He popped the cigarette into his mouth and pushed off the streetlamp, fixing in his jacket. While he did so, Ric caught a glimpse of scars, violent looking ones, and even a few wounds still in the process of healing.
Ric blinked, and his stomach dropped in frustration.
One of them.
“Bruce Wayne sent another one of you, huh?” He snapped before thinking too much about it. The man snorted a laugh, running his fingers through his hair. Ric took note of the white streak near his bangs.
“Nah. If he knew I was here, he’d kill me actually.” A drag of the cigarette. “Again.”
Ric stopped in front of him, waiting.
“Ah, yeah. Sorry. Amnesia.” The man exhaled smoke right into Ric’s face. “You wouldn’t get the joke.”
“Doesn’t sound like it’d be funny even if I did.” Ric countered easily. “Mind telling me why you blocked my cab?”
The man shrugged. “Wanted to talk.”
Ric groaned, glancing to the skies. “Look, I’ll tell you the same thing I told that Barbara woman. I’m sorry I don’t remember whatever relationships we had before, but I don’t want to come back to Goth-”
“I don’t give a shit about all that. Don’t come back, I don’t care. It’s your life.” The man cut off. “That’s not what I wanted to talk about.”
“…Oh.” Ric pursed his lips, looking around. “Then what do you want?”
“I want to talk about…” The man seemed to think over his words. “What you else left behind.” Suddenly he gestured his arm towards his own car, directing Ric to look for himself. “I want to talk about them.”
Ric glanced over and realized that the man’s car wasn’t empty. There were three people inside, three kids by the look of it. Two in the back and one in the front.
The teenagers in the back could have been twins from where he was standing. Both with black hair and pale skin. Petite. The girl’s hair was longer, almost to her shoulders, but the boy could have used a haircut himself too. The girl smiled and pointed to something on the phone the boy was holding between them. The boy laughed too.
In the front passenger seat was a younger boy. He was also consumed by the phone in his hands, headphones shoved into his ears and sweatshirt hood over his head. His knees were curled up to his chest, and he looked like he was hugging himself.
He looked…sad.
Not that the two in the back looked any better. They looked tired. More tired than a couple of teenagers should. Concerningly tired.
Ric looked back to the man. “Who are they?” And almost an after thought: “Who are you?”
“…You used to call me Jay sometimes. So let’s go with that.” Jay said absently. “And they…are your siblings.”
Ric was already shaking his head as he looked back. The three in the car didn’t seem to notice them. “I don’t have any brothers and sisters. I’m an only child.”
“By blood, yeah. By found family…you’re the oldest of five. Legally too, technically.”
Ric looked back. “Five? There’s only three kids in that car.”
Jay pointed to himself. “You were also kiddo’s legal guardian for a few years, too. But that’s less important in the long run I guess. Kind of.”
Ric’s stomach was churning now. “Okay, so Bruce Wayne had a bunch of kids besides me. So what?”
“So…that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Jay took another sharp inhale of his cigarette, seemingly steeling himself. Thinking. “Because Bruce is one thing. The secret cave and what we did down there is one thing. Don’t want to come back to that? Fine. Be as big an asshole as you want about it. I don’t care. No one does. Nightwing was a beloved hero around the world, but if it came down to the world having Nightwing or having Dick…Richard Grayson safe, not a single person would pick the former. Besides, heroes retire. Heroes quit. Heroes become bad guys. No big thing. It was wrong of Bruce and Barbara and whoever else to try to force you back into a role you didn’t remember.”
Ric waited.
“That’s one thing.” Jay repeated, and suddenly his voice was angry behind the cigarette. “But abandoning those kids is another.”
A moment to let that sink in.
“And sure, at first I thought I’d come here and say abandoning the people who love you was really shitty, but you know? A lot of people fucking love you and I don’t care about a single one of them.”
He pointed towards the car.
“But them? They adored you. Still do frankly. Especially kiddo.” Jay emphasized his point by jabbing his finger forward again. “You saved his life. You saved all their lives in one way or another. And even more than that – you loved them when it kinda seemed like no one else would. You gave a shit when not even Bruce did.”
Jay dropped his cigarette back between his fingers. Exhaled, and it was shaky. Upset.
“And I get it, I do. Leaving Batman? Easy. Leaving Bruce? Honestly, even easier. It’s not a life any of us should have or want and…you got out. Yeah, it was through getting shot in the head and forgetting everything, but. You got out.” Jay waved it off. “But what I have a problem with is that you left them and you don’t even care.”
“Because I don’t know them.” Ric countered, feeling his own emotions bubbling up. “How can I care about someone I don’t know?”
“Literally, you did all the fucking time!” Jay hissed. It seemed like he wanted to shout, but instantly turned it to a whisper. He glanced nervously at the car, and Ric realized – the kids didn’t notice them because Jason didn’t want them to. He didn’t want them to see Ric, or hear this conversation. “It was what made you…you. What made you special. Because it didn’t matter who it was or what they’d done. Even if you didn’t know someone’s name, you cared.”
Ric just stared. “I’m not that person anymore.”
“And I’m suspicious about that, because I’m pretty sure amnesia doesn’t change who you are as a core person, and Dick Grayson was no fake when it came to his heart, but that’s not what’s important here.” Jason snapped. The cigarette was close to burning his hand and he dropped his, squishing it under his heel. Immediately he pulled another pack from his pocket, along with a lighter. He shoved the stick into his mouth and lit it. “Because, okay, I can even forgive you not caring about some of the people around you when you woke up. Bruce, Barbara, even Alfred, maybe. Me.”
He paused, to inhale. Then exhaled the smoke, but into the sky this time.
“But they’re just kids.” Jay whispered, looking at Dick with some of the most pained eyes he’d ever seen. “What happened wasn’t their fault, wasn’t their choice. Trust me, if it was, that asshole in the front seat would have taken that bullet for you in a heartbeat, a goddamn thirteen year old.”
Ric let his hands in his pocket roll into fists.
“But this wasn’t their fault, and they’re the ones suffering the most here. Because, yeah, you’re not Dick Grayson, and you’ve made that clear. You’ve made it very clear you want no association with how the old you was, or anything he did. But they’re a bunch of fucking kids who have to convince themselves that their older brother is dead and gone and never coming back, but watch you be alive and well down here in fucking Bludhaven anyway.”
Ric found his gaze slowly drifting back to the car. The girl in the backseat had taken the phone now, the boy next to her leaning on her shoulder with his eyes closed. The little boy in the front hadn’t moved.
“And I take back what I said earlier. You being his legal guardian is important. Because you were like his dad, then. His motherfucking dad. You remember losing your dad. Imagine how it is for him to be forgotten and abandoned by his, while he’s still around out there enjoying his life?” Jay spit. “And Tim – you were there when his dad was murdered. When his best friend was. His girlfriend. One of the only ones there for him. You were there for Cass when she didn’t even know how to fucking speak. When she had no one but some parents who wanted to kill her. It was years ago, but how do you think they both feel now? How do you think they’re coping?”
“So what, are you saying this whole mess is my fault?” Ric snapped back. “It’s my fault I got shot and lost my whole life?”
“No. It’s not your fault what happened to you. But it is your fault how you reacted to it.” Jay answered coldly. “Avoid your old job. Avoid the people harassing you and trying to force you to remember something you can’t. But those three did nothing to you. They’re children. And you abandoned them without even giving them a damn chance. Without even attempting to start over with them or let them try.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Ric demanded. “What do you want me to do about it?”
“Nothing. I don’t want you to do a damn thing.” Jay shrugged. “I just wanted you to know.”
“Why?”
“So you know what you’re missing out on, being a stubborn piece of garbage who refuses to even acknowledge the people of his past, let alone interact with them.” Jay took a long inhale, and Ric watched the cigarette slowly turn to ash. “They’re good kids, Ric. Good kids you helped make. And now you’re mocking them with your mere existence and man. It just sucks.”
“And what am I supposed to do about it?”
“Like I said – nothing. Just wanted you to know. Barbara came down here and said her peace, so I figured I should be allowed to say mine.” He dropped the remainder of his cigarette and snuffed it out. “You mind going to your car first? I’m sure you’ve picked up on it right now, but I don’t want the babies to see you if I can help it. You’re still a bit of a raw wound for them, if you didn’t catch that.”
Ric stared at him for a moment. “…Tell the kids I’m sorry, if the conversation ever comes up.”
Jay shrugged. “I would if I thought you meant it, Ric. After all, Dick made it a point to not lie to them, if he could help it.”
Ric grit his teeth and turned towards his car without another word, making sure to keep his face in the shadows as he passed the windows of Jay’s car. None of the occupants even glanced up.
“Good luck with those memories and shit.” Jay called after him. Ric didn’t respond, and slammed his door a little harder than he meant to after he dropped into the car. He started his engine and rolled down his window, listening.
Jay was whistling as he walked back to the car, and jerked open his own driver side door.
“What took so long?” A young voice whined. Ric glanced into his rearview mirror to see it was the boy in the front seat. He hadn’t looked up from his phone. “I didn’t think destroying your lungs with cigarettes was an extended affair.”
“Was watching some old men down the street fight over a chess match.” Jay seemed to say nonchalantly. “Also had more than one cig. Excuse me if I don’t want to waste my supply, and enjoy the moment.”
The boy’s answer was cut off as Jay got into the car and shut the door. Ric listened as his engine started, and watched as they pulled away, freeing him from his temporary prison.
He threw his cab in reverse, dropping out of the alley and onto the road. He shifted to drive, and took off, ironically, the same way Jay and his crew went. In fact, they were at a light just down the block, waiting for it to turn green.
And Ric found himself frozen, blocking both lanes with his car, because the girl – Cass, he’d called her – was staring out her back window, directly at him.
When she’d caught his eye, she simply smiled, though it was clearly sad, and gave him a single wave.
Then the light turned, and Dick Grayson’s siblings disappeared around the corner.
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dykeceit · 5 years ago
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janus' playlist not-really-analysis just me screaming
so first of all this whole playlist absolutely SLAPS, its the first side playlist that's just my taste and it doesnt surprise me that it's janus' bc of course it is i am absolutely 100% more attracted to him now somehow,
im absolutely not okay and this isn't gonna be articulate in any way but i. have to.
1. black hole sun
???hes sad?? apparently its about depression with some sexy snake metaphors....maybe hes just sad in general or he misses virgil. also postmodern jukebox hell yeah
2. it seemed the better way
this feels like it could be about patton or like thinking one thing and then realizing its not true ig could be that w society in general or people...him developing his trust issues possibly "i better hold my tongue, i better take my place" or like oh the other sides hate me ig ill be a villain then...
3. anywhere
janus sanders says fuck capitalism!
4. talking at the same time
eat the rich,,,virgil left me:(
5. all the good girls go to hell
he's needed and the others are starting to realize it. hes quite smug abt it "my turn to ignore ya, don't say i didn't warn ya" damn right boy
6. denial
he blasted this song after svs while crying "please don't turn the light out, i don't think the conversation's over" he had to wait almost a year but he finally got to continue that conversation,, "i know where you'd wanna go, oh i do, but do you?"
7. trust in me
i mean yeah sexxy snake moment right here
8. razzle dazzle
so obviously its just his aesthetic tm but the lyrics...are the jabs at roman or himself, perhaps both? i never took him to be very insecure but that's a possibility
9. when the chips are down
basically his speech about society in svs and how he doesn't want thomas to be disadvantaged in it
10. mandy goes to med school
uhhh yeah who knows there's a bit of a i know what im doing jk vibe going on and Doing Harm but the thing itself is necessary to Have yknow right to abortions its just theyre not legal so hes doing them illegally and apparently two ppl died from them so not great,,"my partner brian" at the end made me think of remus tbh "hes a nice man, thoroughly reliable, he's in a rock band" kinda gives off the vibe of eh yeah hes totally reliable lmao dw tho, so basically what im taking from this is dukeceit is canon thanks for coming to my ted talk
11. i put a spell on you
i mean its definetely his Vibes but idk if its @ anyone specifically...could be virgil, could be roman, maybe thomas himself...its a vengeful kinda song, hes like fuck you you're listening to me now im done you treating me like shit
12. evil night together
so aside from this being an extremely hot song its def dukeceit vibes as in they'd both like it but the hero part as others have pointed out is giving out major roceit vibes and thomas and co know this those bastards
13. cabaret: don't tell mama
im assuming this is more of a..this is what he likes to listen to plus its about secrecy which is his thing but i guess "mama" could be someone in particular as well, and/or he could be singing it to someone in particular...
14. you're a cad
bruh. first of i loved this song already secondly iM SORRY THOMAS WHAT ARE YOY IMPLYING HERE like first i was like this isn't abt Him right that wouldn't make sense so is it about...virgil...well ofc it is bruh what the fuck bro....im loving this bc its casting virgil in an unsympathetic light and i love that shit but also its revealing janus still Feels quite a lot for him and idk how to feel abt this i. the part of me that still loves anxceit is screaming and the part of me that hates virgil is also screaming they haven't stopped for a minute-
15. as far as i can see
so dukeceit vibes possibly virgil reference since he "went down the staircase" to his spot,,so basically he and remus maybe virgil and orange too like pushing ppl down the stairs bc they feel unheard
16. criminal
this is where the angst train rly starts choo choo....so. who is he singing about here. my god i want it to be roman so bad but it Could be virgil...which would imply he thinks he's wronged him somehow which would mean virgil has a more valid reason to dislike him and I Don't Like That. but whoever hes singing about is clearly important to him... "he's all i knew of love" bro....that's just screaming virgil right i dont like it op...basically he feels guilty for smth and to be "redeemed". he clearly doesn't need redemption from his canon actions so far, and he hasn't acted like he regrets any of them, which is making me think its abt smth in his past buut maybe he does feel bad for manipulating roman now bc he realized how hurt roman was and thats what i wanna believe it's about ok roceit rights except roman youre a bitch apologise
17. change
this made me fucking lose it bro im still losing it ive lost it. he's not okay and neither am i....bro i didnt think he'd be so....insecure but....i mean all of them seem to be so...but yeah this song is very,,,i have trust issues and im learning to love again vibes and i am crying while my wig is being ripped cruelly from my head....i choose to interpret this as less like ive been bad uwu i can change and be good now and more as ive been too afraid to care bc im so aware of the harm it can do to me but i realized its worth it so im trying now....and i think that's beautiful
18. devil in the details
hes telling thomas to Just Do It. he "made amends in the general sense" but "the devil's in the details" and he "knows the cause" and "wants to stop" but he "just can't do it". this seems kinda like more virgil angsty times for me or maybe the cause is just him being...him and just being well i cant stop being my function so...but he sees it as The Reason theres still animosity even if hes "made amends".
19. come little children
first i was like bruh its a bop but y is it here. but the lyrics are basically repeating how horrible the world is, "murdering beauty and passion", and the singer doesnt have to be killing or kidnapping the kids maybe its just a friendly fae helping some abused kids yknow you never know...basically fae!janus confirmed i know you have connections with them thomas i know you do
20. into the unknown
i like that this is short it kinda feels like hes coming to say okay im done bye after this whole musical that is his playlist. i am ashamed to say im not familiar w the plot of over the garden wall but someone said smth abt killing kids. well yknow how it is sometimes...but yeah very sexy, very fae, i will stan forever etc.
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emptynarration · 4 years ago
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Y’know what?
I’ma make a list of all Iplier and Septic egos (that I would attempt writing) and put down some general headcanon points.
Be aware some might be different from “fanon” and some might be similar to “fanon”. These are just my general thoughts.
Also cus it’s a lot of egos, it’s under a read-more.
Dark
- Has a notable aura. Usually keeps it pulled to only himself, even though that’s tiring. - Generally very exhausted. - He works on keeping all the crimes the egos commit undercover and unnoticed, keeping the manor up and running without decaying, handling their money resources and public appearances, such things. - Cares about all the egos like family, but would never admit it. - Will manipulate you to reach his goal. Don’t trust him.
Wilford
- Not human. He’s a being made entirely out of energy. Is “human” for fun. - Due to that he doesn’t understand a lot of human things. Such as an actual need for food/water, bathroom needs, need to sleep, death. - Can alter reality in his vicinity however he pleases pretty much. - Can teleport himself to places he’s been to before. - Can teleport objects to himself and way, as long as he knows where they are and where they go.
Host
- Doesn’t smile a lot. Never seems to swear. - Is the (second) tallest ego. Cryptid vibes. - Narrates constantly, but doesn’t need to to be able to “see”. - Can be a softie when he wants to be. - Tortures people for fun. Murders for fun. Has no remorse. - Can be a petty asshole quite a lot.
(I tend to also write him as a nice, gentle baby, because self-projecting)
Dr Iplier
- Chubby and somft. - Extremely done with everyone’s bs. - Swears to himself more than you’d think. - Has slight healing powers (but can also cause pain if he wants to). - Works in a hospital in the city.
Google
- Doesn’t understand emotions at all. - Has a weird way of speaking sometimes. - What is slang? - Doesn’t understand humans well. He sees the bad the most so he hates them a lot. No reason to like humans. - Makes beeping sounds.
Oliver (Google Yellow)
- Very cheerful, bright, happy. - Loves children and teens, struggles with adults. - Very kind and caring to everyone. - Will murder with a smile on his face.
Reed (Google Red)
- he’s a mystery to myself I’m sorry
Greg (Google Green)
- Fascinated by humans, how they work like and such. - Has an interest in medicine. - Helps Iplier with taking care of the egos’ injuries and illnesses. - Very calm individual, very gentle.
Yandere
- Nonbinary. Uses They/Them or She/Her. - Will stab you if you ask about their sex. - Obsessed with their senpai, but never tries to interact with them. - Dresses both feminine and masculine. - Pretty cheerful and bright usually. - Easily makes friends.
King
- Loves nature and animals more than anything. - Understands animals and can communicate with them to some degree. - Is pretty muscular and athletic actually. - Very very kind and gentle. - Naive and oblivious.
Jims Twins
- Refer to everyone as Jim. - They are both Jim. No CJ or RJ (that just makes no sense). - They love to confuse people. - Are almost always recording what’s happening. - Run a news show, obviously. - Very very curious people. Ask a lot of questions.
Eric
- Very very shy and anxious. - Has no clue how to talk with people. - Stutters when nervous. - Handkerchief is a comfort item. - Loves animals a lot. - Very soft and very afraid.
Bim
- Very dramatic. - Loves glitter. Always glittering. - Cannibal, but like, casual. - Pretty nice fellow usually. - A huge flirt. Charismatic. - Has powers which he can use to make people pay attention to him, fall in love with him, and just generally want him.
Author
- Likes to be alone and isolated. - No idea how to handle people. - Needs chewing stim necklace. - Gets overwhelmed by a lot of noise and crowds. - Loud noises are Bad™ - Wilford’s best friend. Gets up to a lot of mischief with him. - Uses his writing for every little thing possible.
Bing
- Loves slang and uses it a lot. No matter from which decade. - Loves skateboarding and is pretty good with it. - Has a TikTok 100%. - Very chill. You will not get him angry.
Yancy
- Loves singing and making his own musical numbers. - Can choreograph simple things by himself. - Can dance pretty well. Especially tap-dance. - Loves reading old classics. - He will never let go of his accent.
Captn Magnum
- Gentle giant. - Always out on the sea. - The tallest ego around. - Father figure for absolutely everyone. - Eats lemons like oranges.
Illinois
- Cocky. - Loves to flirt. - Loves himself first and foremost. - Cares about people. - Doesn’t want to get attached. - Loves history, doesn’t care about money.
Mark Bop
- Loves singing, but is bad at it. - Has his own made-up language. (The Jims understand him). - Loves music. Has mix-tables. - Muscular man. Rips his shirts when he flexes. - Enjoys roller-skating. - Bad at talking. Very bad.
Arti
- Very nervous. Very shy. - Paranoid. - Loves art in every form. - Paints a lot. Loves painting. Good at painting. - Likes to be left alone. - Likes silent company. - Very nice actually.
Leon (Resident Enis)
- Doesn’t trust easily. - Dirty. Stinky. - A little kleptomaniac. - Nice and relaxed around friends. - Very protective.
Mike (FNAF guard)
- Paranoid. - Afraid of everyone. - Always has a knife on him. - Very protective once he trusts someone. - Insomniac.
Bill
- Werewolf. - Is deathly afraid of technology. - Doesn’t understand technology. - Loves to farm. - Good cook. - Very very nice and gentle.
Kink
- Very open-minded. - Connects emotionally with others very easily. - Extremely accepting of everyone and everything. - Loves to learn about new things. - Very kind and nice. - Has a death glare that’ll make you shudder.
Hiro (Cooliplier)
- The cool kid. - Not the smartest. - Doesn’t know a whole lot. - Likes to play tough and strong. - A huge softie. Loves cuddles.
Dr. Warren Plier
- Will psychoanalyze you the moment you meet. - Very quiet individual. - A great listener, not so good at talking. - Tends to be blunt. - Interested in whatever is being talked about.
Norman (Paranormal Investigator)
- Has a weird obsession with blood. - Collects haunted dolls. - A bit arrogant. - Very confident and sure of himself. - Not the kindest, but not rude intentionally. - Loves all paranormal. - No respect for anyone or anything.
Marcus (E-boy)
- Loves the aesthetic. - Eats the peel of fruits no matter what. - Screwed taste buds. - Pescatarian (vegetarian + fish). - Also has a TikTok. - Creative. - Talks a lot.
Annus
- A wild card. - One moment he’s serious and all about life and death. - The next he fucks around and does something with pee. - Has an accurate sense of when catastrophic events happen. - Is terrified of dying, but not death itself. - Is afraid of being forgotten.
Anti
- Is a glitch, like a hologram. - If water touches him, he gets hurt. Can glitch out completely. - He’s weightless. Can’t be physically hurt unless he wants to be. - Has his own digital space where he “lives”. - Loves fucking with people. - Gets off of gutting people. - Collects knives. - Loves making music with a launchpad.
Schneeple
- Barely has an accent anymore. - Typical bilingual problems. - Weird mix of words he uses due to how he learned English. - A good surgeon. - Works in the same hospital as Iplier.
Chase
- Absolute asshole. - Drunk 90% of the time (Sad when tipsy, angry when drunk). - Violent. Will quickly get physical with people. - There’s legal reasons he’s not allowed to see his kids.
Robbie
- Undead zombie. - Mental age of a child. Very slow. - Looks rotting but doesn’t smell like rotting. - Can’t see well. Can’t read. - Very kind. Very curious. - Bad at talking.
Jackie
- A true hero. - Kind, gentle, caring. - Has powers of flight, strength, and a bit of speed. - A big amount of stamina. - Muscular and athletic. - Is outside 90% of the time. - Hates being stuck inside.
JJ
- Mute. Uses sign language. - Confused by modern things. - Uses old words and ways of speaking. - Technology is fascinating. - Very kind and gentle. - Immaculate fashion.
Marvin
- Introvert. - Hates being around people. Loathes crowds. - Loves exploring magic and potions. - May use people to test out spells and potions. - Very arrogant and self-obsessed.
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sheblog876 · 3 years ago
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Shazam Cyberpunk
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For all those people who find it more convenient to bother you with their question rather than to Google it for themselves. A poster on /v/ called out cyberpunk 2077 for being likely to turn out to be garbage weeks in advance using shazam as a avatar of sorts. Meme usually goes: it doesn't (needed or promised part of a game here) over and over, showing how retarded the cyberchuds were for clammering for a game that wasn't even out. May not be the first movie to jump to mind during Christmas, but it's actually perfect for the holiday season. Cyberpunk 2077 PC Users Reporting Worse Performance After 1.2 Update. For all those people who find it more convenient to bother you with their question rather than to Google it for themselves. Listen to Hole In The Sun From Cyberpunk 2077 by Point Break Candy & Raney Shockne Feat. COS & Conway, 21,769 Shazams. Discovered using Shazam, the music discovery app.
It's the time of year when people like to reach for some of their favorite Christmas movies. Maybe they like to go old-school and revisit sentimental stories like It's A Wonderful Life or the original Miracle on 34th Street. Perhaps they prefer something more comedic like Christmas Vacation or A Christmas Story. Then again, maybe they like to buck tradition and choose something that's not seen as a traditional Christmas movie like Die Hard or Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. However, there's one recent movie that hits all three beats perfectly. As it turns out, Shazam! may just be the perfect movie to watch during the holiday season.
Released in early 2019, Shazam! just managed to miss a 2018 holiday release (that honor went, instead, to Aquaman). Like Wonder Woman before it, the film appeared to buck the trend of DC movies being dark and almost nihilistic to a fault. Instead, it offered a bright, comedic, and touching story about a boy who is granted power beyond his wildest dreams and must learn how to properly wield it. It also happens to take place during the Christmas season, lending everything an extra-cheerful feeling, which can sometimes juxtapose its more sinister imagery.
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That brings to mind another unconventional Christmas movie: Gremlins. The fun and frightening holiday movie utilizes Christmas lights, snow, carols, and Santa to perfectly contrast the terror that the Gremlins bring to Kingston Falls. In Shazam!, this same idea is present in the final battle, which pits Billy and the rest of the Shazam family against the seven deadly sins. These frightening creatures are lent an extra-menacing and haunting appearance by director David F. Sandberg, whose eye for horror is apparent in movies like Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation.
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The Christmastime setting also lends a bit of extra flavor throughout the movie, giving moments that might be flat in other superhero films just a bit of a seasonal touch. Another unconventional Christmas movie did this as well: Die Hard. While that film is ostensibly about a lone cop taking down a group of criminals, the fact that it takes place during Christmas lends everything more character. Would the 'now I have a machine gun ho ho ho' scene be the same if it wasn't taking place during December? The same can be said of the shopping mall encounter with Dr. Sivana in Shazam!. Having the hero and villain face off in a crowded mall would be fine enough, but the fact that the chaos is happening around Christmas decorations and holiday shoppers just helps it stand out a bit more.
Shazam! is also not a film that skimps on sentimentality. While it may appear to be a typical superhero tale, at its heart, Shazam! is a movie about family, a theme that can be found in countless Christmas movies (as well as Christmas episodes of popular TV shows). Specifically, it's about the idea that the people who are considered to be 'family' don't necessarily have to be related by blood. This theme is front and center, as young Billy Batson, who spends his time running from foster homes and attempting to find his birth mother, is taken in by Victor and Rosa Vasquez, who seem to have nothing but good intentions for him.
When Billy finally locates his actual mother, her admission that she intentionally abandoned him is totally crushing. It also supports the idea that sometimes family is something to be found, not be born into. It's a heartwarming lesson, one that is made more effective by the fact that Billy's foster siblings are great kids who really care about him (plus, has there ever been a more adorable character in a superhero film than Darla?). Dr. Sivana serves as a smart contrast to this, with the film's opening showing how both his father and brother belittle him. Later in the story, Sivana returns to kill both of them.
Cyberpunk Neon
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Max Brhon Cyberpunk Lyrics
Despite the unconventional feel and the story that tugs at the heartstrings, Shazam! also delivers on one element that makes any Christmas movie a million times better: humor. The movie never falls short on playing up how bizarre the situation is, or how a kid would actually act if they were given superpowers. Billy Batson's early days playing around with his various abilities are kind of like Peter Parker discovering his spider-powers, only without the tragedy of a loved one being murdered.
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Zachary Levi does an incredible job embodying the enthusiasm and attitude of a 14-year-old kid, but he wouldn't be nearly as good if he didn't have someone as funny as Jack Dylan Grazer to play off of. The comedic chemistry these two have together make many of the early scenes (which are usually a drag in an origin movie) so much more enjoyable to watch.
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At this time of year, there's no shortage of Christmas movies to choose from, and while there are so many classics that still make an impression, it's never too late to add a new favorite to the holiday playlist. Shazam! could be just that movie, one that hits every beat that a good Christmas flick should.
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Shazam Cyberpunk Movie
Alien: Isolation Will Be Free on Epic Games Store This Week
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