#i really love it though. the reflection on the forehead being starburst shaped. the bright geometric background to highlight the figure

[throwaway-settings]

The Actor Hezekiah Washington As Julian Carlton, Taliesin Murder Of Frank Lloyd Wright Family - Kerry James Marshall (2009)

"Kerry James Marshall is known for his arresting paintings featuring Black men and women done in an unapologetic, dark hue, calling to attention to ubiquity of White People depicted throughout Art History (and subsequent rarity of Black representation). Menacing in its gaze, He paints us a portrait of an angry, troubled man. The man is Julian Carlton, a hired hand for architect Frank Lloyd Wright who ended up murdering 7 people (including Wright's lover and her two children) and burned the house down. Yet, Marshall keeps us at a distance by not portraying Carlton himself but instead showing actor Hezekiah Washington (an imaginary character). Though Carlton readily admitted responsibility for the murders, he kept his motives secret. By having an actor portray Carlton, an imaginary actor no less, Marshall plays with the concept of concealment, obscurity, and invisibility in a subtle way. The Actor Hezekiah Washington as Julian Carlton, Taliesen Murderer Of Frank Lloyd Wright Family confronts the public often obsessive interest in morbid tragedy while also keeping the viewer at arms length, the subject's hardened gaze betraying no secrets." - u/AMartyrsSympathy

"Washington's jacket buttons resembles medicine capsules. They point to the traffic colored lights. The hand cuffs also bare semi circles resembling the bright ones. His shape repetition is simplified and strong for me. The cuffs and collar feel slavery like in pronounced scale and position." - u/aurora_amphorea

[dreamsofpilots]

Ride or Die

Josh Dun, Blurryface + Spooky Jim fic. 

AN: So this one is different than anything I’ve posted before in that, instead of a reader, it’s my own female character. It’s sort of a mafia type of AU. This is the first part of a series. I really enjoyed writing it, so please give it a chance!

Warnings: Gun and gang violence, cursing, sexual content (no smut though)

The sun had already risen high enough to breach over the tall buildings of the city. It glinted off the metal and glass like bright starbursts. The light crept in through the floor to ceiling windows, falling onto their bed, and yet, the two still slept. 

The man stirred first, the light finally pushing through his eyelids. He scowled at the sun, how dare it wake him from his dream? It had been about her, the woman next to him, as if everything in their lives were normal. They were happy. He let out a long sigh as he gazed at her, feeling a weight in his chest. The dream wasn’t real. 

The woman woke with a groan as the man got up from the bed. She stretched out her limbs to where he once laid, trying desperately to sap whatever warmth remained. Rubbing her eyes of sleep, she watched as he sauntered over to the windows, his skin completely bare and creamy, not a tattoo or scar in sight. So different from what she was used to. She admired the shape of him, his strong legs and bum, his broad shoulders and muscular arms. The sunlight  lit up his soft brown curls, making them look almost orange. 

She sighed, loving the view, and he turned at the noise, glancing away from the penthouse windows. 

“Morning kitten.” he smiled, his voice deep and gravelly from sleep. She blushed at the name, reminded of it’s use last night, before silently cursing herself for getting so flustered. She was stronger than that. He was her toy, not the other way around. 

Donning her mask of confidence once again, she slipped from the sheets, letting her hips sway more than usual as he admired her naked from. “Good morning Josh,” she said with a toss of her long brunette hair. His lips quivered, clearly amused by her sudden change of character. He cleared his throat and held his arms open, silently asking her to come to him. She tilted her head considering, her expression bored. 

“Come on, Veronica.” he urged. Her hazel eyes flicked to his, stubbornly refusing. 

“V?” he offered again, taking a step forward. She clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes, but eventually complied, allowing him to encircle her in his arms. Josh kissed her forehead gently as she reluctantly basked in his warmth. He gave her more kisses across her face, trying to tempt her to relax into his touch.

Giving in, she ran her hands along his back relishing the softness, and admired the way his freckles dotted his shoulders. She kissed one of the little constellations, pulling a chuckle from Josh. He leant down to kiss Veronica’s lips, but she slipped away before he could, toying with him. 

He laughed again, “This is why I call you kitten.” She snorted, refusing to allow the blush to creep into her cheeks again at the name. “I’m going to take a shower,” she said, glancing over her shoulder, her voice as smooth as honey, “you in?” 

Josh bit his lip and she smirked, crooking a finger to beckon him to her. He came without the stubbornness that she had shown him. The two giggled, sprinting into the shower, before continuing the escapades from last night. 

As Veronica dressed in her clothes from the night before, Josh studied her from where he sat on the bed. He watched as her black dress slid over her skin, caressing every curve. Veronica glanced up from slipping her knife into her boot, and Josh shook his head, trying to clear it of the thoughts of what he wanted to do to her. 

When he looked at her again, his brow furrowed, noticing her sliding into her shoulder holster, checking her weapon before tucking it into it. “I wish you didn’t do that kind of work.” Josh mumbled, turning his gaze away to focus on knotting his tie. 

Veronica threw on her jacket, hiding her heat before slinking over to him. “We can’t all be big corporate execs Joshie.” she said, placing her hands on his thighs, leaning into him, and nipping at his nose ring. 

“Some would argue that being the leader of the largest gang in the city is similar.” Josh stood, but Veronica didn’t step back, her breath ghosting against his lips. “Perhaps you could consider a career change?”

She scoffed and stepped away. “At my age? Don’t be silly Josh.”

“You’re 25.” 

“And I’m still fighting every day to keep my place,” her voice rose as she rounded on him. “I can’t start over Josh. People won’t take me seriously because of my age. I can’t go back to being less than what I’ve made myself. And certainly not for some cushy job with benefits.” 

Josh stood his ground, used to her outbursts, sticking his hands into his pockets. “I just don’t want you to do something that you might regret.” His voice was low and even, trying to get his meaning across without riling up Veronica again. 

She sighed, taking him in as he stood there all tall and elegant in his suit. His dark hair styled neatly, his jaw freshly shaved, his nose ring and gages the only thing giving away his little rebellious streak. “Oh, Joshie,” she huffed stepping forward as she placed a hand against his cheek. “I’m afraid I already have a red right hand.” 

With that, she stepped away, gathering her things in silence. Josh watched her for a moment before crossing to her and gently placing a hand on hers, stopping her frantic movements. “You can keep some of those things here,” he offered, trying to add a comforting tone to his voice. 

“Josh, I’ve told you not to get attached. You know that whatever it is that we are, it isn’t serious. I have others.” Veronica looked up at him, daring him to say otherwise. 

He cupped her face in his hands and she stiffened, but he didn’t let go. “I know, and I’m not, I just figured that I would offer.” For a moment, he thought that he saw her hard gaze soften, but it was gone in an instant and he assumed that he imagined it. Veronica always kept her real thoughts hidden, especially from him. 

“I need to go,” she shook herself free, and placed the remaining things in her bag before throwing it over her shoulder. 

“Will I see you tonight?” Josh asked. 

Her hand hovered over the elevator button, “No. I have a big job tonight.”

“Oh?”

Veronica gave Josh her most dazzling smile before stepping into the elevator. “There’s going to be a robbery.” She blew him a kiss and the doors closed, leaving Josh to stare at them, a part of him missing her already. 

When she reached her matte black Maserati in the parking garage, she synced her phone and called Mark. He answered right away. 

“How are the plans for tonight?” she asked, pulling out of the garage. 

“Everything is all set, the shipment should be arriving on time and our men have been given their orders.” 

“And the police?”

Mark chuckled, “Paid off, like usual. Most of them will be away from the docks when the shipment arrives, and the ones that are on duty will be turning the other cheek.” 

“Good. I want everything to go off without a hitch tonight.” 

“I don’t foresee any problems.” Mark said, his tone almost as cocky as hers. 

“Wonderful. I’ll check in later.” She hung up on him then, her car continuing to fly through the streets. She had other business to attend to.

A cop that Veronica sped past threw on his lights for a moment, before realizing who she was and turned them off again, not moving from his position. She laughed, looking at him through her rear view. It was almost too easy. Veronica smirked, she loved having this city in her pocket.

“Please don’t do this.” the man pleaded on his knees. Veronica wrinkled her nose at the sight. Didn’t anyone have pride anymore? 

“You knew what the consequences would be if you couldn’t deliver.” She checked her eyeliner in her compact mirror, smiling at her reflection. The wings of her eyeliner were almost as sharp as her attitude. Just the way she liked it.

“I can get more, it’s just because of the storm, some of the supply was lost.” the man groveled. 

She sighed, pulling her gun on him. The man recoiled as if he had already been shot. “I don’t want your excuses, I want my goods. I pay you good money, so I expect you to deliver. Is that so unreasonable?” He shook his head, tears forming in his eyes. 

Veronica stared him down over the barrel of her gun, watching as he sweat and squirmed under her gaze. She didn’t want to kill him. Killing was so messy. Besides, she hated the way it made her feel, as if a bit of her humanity was taken away with each bullet. “When can you get the rest here by?” 

“T-two days. I can get it here in two days.” the man stuttered, eyes wide with shock.

After a few more seconds of tense silence, Veronica returned her gun to it’s holster, the shoulders of everyone in the room visibly relaxing. “Two days then.” She swept from the room, her goons following her. The man sobbed with relief as she left him behind.

When she made it out of the shop, her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket. “What.” she answered, her tone harsh. Her mood had soured. 

Mark’s voice shook a little as he answered. “We have a problem…”

“Why the fuck am I just finding out about this now?!” Veronica shouted. She had arrived back at her gang’s headquarters, a mansion on the outskirts of the city. The home that she had built for herself.

Mark hurried along beside her, Michael and Brad not far behind. “The shipment arrived early. None of us knew it was happening until it was almost over. By then it was too late to retaliate.” he said. 

“What the hell was surveillance doing?” Her heels clicked on the marble, each step punctuating her words. 

Brad spoke up as head of surveillance, “Our men at the scene were restrained, and our cameras went down.” 

Veronica let out a frustrated growl, throwing open the doors of the A/V room. Brad rushed over to one of the computers in the room, quickly tapping away. Veronica glared at her other men and women in the room. This was their fault. They shrunk away from her gaze and tried to continue their jobs. 

“We did manage to get some cameras back up as the perpetrators made their escape. I was able to capture some footage.” Brad went on.

“Show me.” she demanded, stepping behind him at his computer. 

Brad pulled up a clip, the quality was bad and it was hard to make out anything. Whoever had messed with their gear had done a magnificent job. Veronica furrowed her brow in annoyance. 

As she watched, she saw men dressed in black, at the docks, loading crates onto an unmarked truck. Her annoyance grew when she noticed their black ski masks, unable to make out any faces. Some of her own men rushed out to the thieves, pulling their guns. There was a struggle and some gunshots before her men were beaten out. Veronica clenched her fists as she watched, anger rushing through her veins. 

Then, from behind the vehicle, emerged two men, clearly the leaders of the group. The first one was dressed completely in white, the sleeves of his shirt cut off. He donned a neon green alien mask, completely obscuring his face from view. A colorful tattoo crawled up his right arm, but the video was too blurry for Veronica to make out what it was. 

The second figure was dressed in a black tank top, exposing the thick black lines that were tattooed on his left arm. He had some sort of black paint on his hands and throat, his face exposed but unclear. Veronica thought she saw a flash of red in his eyes, but quickly dismissed it, assuming she was mistaken. 

The men in the video finished loading the crates on the truck and began to pile into it. The figure in white joined them, but the one wearing the paint hung back, approaching one of Veronica’s downed men. He tucked something into the man’s jacket, then turned and looked directly at the camera. Veronica’s men standing beside her jumped upon seeing that, but she stood firm. 

As the man continued to stare down the camera, he slowly lifted an arm, pointing an object at it. Suddenly the image blurred completely before going to black. The last thing Veronica saw was a flash of red again in the man’s eyes. 

They stood quietly, eyes still glued to the black screen. No one dared to move or speak before Veronica did, all collectively holding their breath. “What did he tuck into our man’s jacket?” she asked quietly. 

Michael handed her a yellow folded up piece of paper, which she quickly unfolded and read. 

                               What’s yours is mine.

                                                   -Blurryface

“What is this, Gotham?” Veronica scoffed, handing the paper back to Michael. “Masks, makeup, villain names, this has to be some sort of joke.” 

No one around her dared to move or speak. “Breathe.” she told them, and they visibly relaxed, now knowing that she wasn’t going to blow up in anger. 

“Did we see where they went?” she asked. 

Mark stepped forward, “Unfortunately, we lost track of them. He seems to have some sort of instrument that messes up our cameras.”  

That explained his actions at the end of the video. 

“Do we know anything about this, Blurryface?” 

Brad tapped away at his computer, pulling up some intel before scratching at his beard in thought. “He’s done some small crime here and there, but nothing in our territory before, and nothing big enough to warrant him to be on our radar.” 

“What about his partner, the alien one?” 

Michael stepped forward this time. “One of my men that returned from the docks said that this Blurryface character kept referring to him as Spooky Jim.” 

Veronica scoffed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She felt a headache coming on. “See if you can get any prints off of that note. Have our insiders at the police department run it against their records. I want men out looking for these two, for any information we can gather.” She began walking away, leaving her men to do their work. 

She stopped in the doorway, turning on her heel to face the room. Everyone froze, eyes wide. “And Mark?” she asked sweetly. He looked up at her, his face more composed than the others. “Find those crates. I want my guns.”

When Veronica exited the room, she headed towards the garage, pulling out her phone. It was late, but she didn’t care, she needed a distraction. Veronica sifted through her contacts before her eyes fell on Josh’s name. After a moment of contemplation, she pressed his name and brought the phone to her ear. 

“V?” he answered almost immediately. Butterflies fluttered briefly in her stomach upon hearing his voice, but she forced herself to digest them. Emotions were a waste of time. 

“I’m coming over.” 

Part 2  Part 3