a-cold-mess

[a-cold-mess]

[a-cold-mess]

he's so clingy

(comm info/ kofi support)

[a-cold-mess]

Plot armor but it’s Bruce Wayne’s wealth.

Bruce is one of the richest men in the world. Bruce does not want to be one of the richest men in world.

He starts by implementing high starting salaries and full health care coverages for all levels at Wayne Enterprises. This in vastly improves retention and worker productivity, and WE profits soar. He increases PTO, grants generous parental and family leave, funds diversity initiatives, boosts salaries again. WE is ranked “#1 worker-friendly corporation”, and productively and profits soar again.

Ok, so clearly investing his workers isn’t the profit-destroying doomed strategy his peers claim it is. Bruce is going to keep doing it obviously (his next initiative is to ensure all part-time and contractors get the same benefits and pay as full time employees), but he is going to have to find a different way to dump his money.

But you know what else is supposed to be prohibitively expensive? Green and ethical initiatives. Yes, Bruce can do that. He creates and fund a 10 year plan to covert all Wayne facilities to renewable energy. He overhauls all factories to employ the best environmentally friendly practices and technologies. He cuts contracts with all suppliers that engage in unethical employment practices and pays for other to upgrade their equipment and facilities to meet WE’s new environmental and safety requirements. He spares no expense.

Yeah, Wayne Enterprises is so successful that they spin off an entire new business arm focused on helping other companies convert to environmentally friendly and safe practices like they did in an efficient, cost effective, successful way.

Admittedly, investing in his own company was probably never going to be the best way to get rid of his wealth. He slashes his own salary to a pittance (god knows he has more money than he could possibly know what to do with already) and keeps investing the profits back into the workers, and WE keeps responding with nearly terrifying success.

So WE is a no-go, and Bruce now has numerous angry billionaires on his back because they’ve been claiming all these measures he’s implementing are too expensive to justify for decades and they’re finding it a little hard to keep the wool over everyone’s eyes when Idiot Softheart Bruice Wayne has money spilling out his ears. BUT Bruce can invest in Gotham. That’ll go well, right?

Gotham’s infrastructure is the OSHA anti-Christ and even what little is up to code is constantly getting destroyed by Rogue attacks. Surely THAT will be a money sink.

Except the only non-corrupt employer in Gotham city is….Wayne Enterprises. Or contractors or companies or businesses that somehow, in some way or other, feed back to WE. Paying wholesale for improvement to Gotham’s infrastructure somehow increases WE’s profits.

Bruce funds a full system overhaul of Gotham hospital (it’s not his fault the best administrative system software is WE—he looked), he sets up foundations and trusts for shelters, free clinics, schools, meal plans, day care, literally anything he can think of.

Gotham continues to be a shithole. Bruce Wayne continues to be richer than god against his Batman-ingrained will.

Oh, and Bruice Wayne is no longer viewed as solely a spoiled idiot nepo baby. The public responds by investing in WE and anything else he owns, and stop doing this, please.

Bruce sets up a foundation to pay the college tuition of every Gotham citizen who applies. It’s so successful that within 10 years, donations from previous recipients more than cover incoming need, and Bruce can’t even donate to his own charity.

But by this time, Bruce has children. If he can’t get rid of his wealth, he can at least distribute it, right?

Except Dick Grayson absolutely refuses to receive any of his money, won’t touch his trust fund, and in fact has never been so successful and creative with his hacking skills as he is in dumping the money BACK on Bruce. Jason died and won’t legally resurrect to take his trust fund. Tim has his own inherited wealth, refuses to inherit more, and in fact happily joins forces with Dick to hack accounts and return whatever money he tries to give them. Cass has no concept of monetary wealth and gives him panicked, overwhelmed eyes whenever he so much as implies offering more than $100 at once. Damian is showing worrying signs of following in his precious Richard’s footsteps, and Babs barely allows him to fund tech for the Clocktower. At least Steph lets him pay for her tuition and uses his credit card to buy unholy amounts of Batburger. But that is hardly a drop in the ocean of Bruce’s wealth. And she won’t even accept a trust fund of only one million.

Jason wins for best-worst child though because he currently runs a very lucrative crime empire. And although he pours the vast, vast majority of his profits back into Crime Alley, whenever he gets a little too rich for his tastes, he dumps the money on Bruce. At this point, Bruce almost wishes he was being used for money laundering because then he’s at least not have the money.

So children—generous, kindhearted, stubborn till the day they die the little shits, children—are also out.

Bruce was funding the Justice League. But then finances were leaked, and the public had an outcry over one man holding so much sway over the world’s superheroes (nevermind Bruce is one of those superheroes—but the public can’t know that). So Bruce had to do some fancy PR trickery, concede to a policy of not receiving a majority of funds from one individual, and significantly decrease his contributions because no one could match his donations.

At his wits end, Bruce hires a team of accounts to search through every crinkle and crevice of tax law to find what loopholes or shortcuts can be avoided in order to pay his damn taxes to the MAX.

The results are horrifying. According to the strictest definition of the law, the government owes him money.

Bruce burns the report, buries any evidence as deeply as he can, and organizes a foundation to lobby for FAR higher taxation of the upper class.

All this, and Wayne Enterprises is happily chugging along, churning profit, expanding into new markets, growing in the stock market, and trying to force the credit and proportionate compensation on their increasingly horrified CEO.

Bruce Wayne is one of the richest men in the world. Bruce Wayne will never not be one of the richest men in the world.

But by GOD is he trying.

[a-cold-mess]

Rereading the scene where Engen chokes out Jintae and thinking, "It should have been me."

[a-cold-mess]

I wouldn’t forget either

That moment will live forever in Penelope's memory:

I'm not joking, in episode 116 it was not explained, but the main reason Penelope blushed was because she remembered Callisto's wonderful pecs!

Σ>―(〃♡∀♡〃)♥️→

[a-cold-mess]

[a-cold-mess]

If my phone dies for good and I have to re-screenshot every single hot panel of Hero Killer on a different device, I may commit war crimes.

[a-cold-mess]

Kaiju No. 10 being Soshiro's lil therapy suit is soup for my soul

[a-cold-mess]

[a-cold-mess]

I wrote better for a character I hate than one I love. Only solutions is to hyperfixate and put my whole authussy into a new better fic for my bbg

[a-cold-mess]

Can we talk about the amazing characterization of Engen in chapter 86??

Cause I feel like that was slept on by a LOT of people. Maybe I'm just a feral little bitch about this series but hear me out.

First of all, Engen went through the trouble of seeking out Nugal. He had to track him down (or at least use information networks) to find his old ally in hopes of getting him to rejoin his cause.

Second of all, even after saying that Nugal had gotten weak (that's not very nice my morally atrocious bbg), Engen still wanted him to join him despite the decrease in power. Is that sentimentality I see?

Third of all, he speaks respectfully to Nugal. "I really need your help." Like damn. Engen mouths off to Elders (still calls Yushin sir) but will tell this dude that he needs help. That's so cute of him.

Fourth of all comes from Nugal himself. Engen got his ass beat by the Steel Witch. This is indisputable. He and the rest of Nera got beat so hard it prob crippled Nera. Like she slaughtered them without breaking a sweat. Most people were demoralized, but according to Nugal, Engen's resolve is still strong. That's badass. It's also why Nugal and Roxanne admired him so much.

Last but not least, THE THING THAT MAKES ME FERAL. After Nugal sets himself on fire and turns to ash, Engen kneels on the ground and grabs a handful of his ashes. He's clenching his fist and remembering how Nugal was in the past. HE IS MOURNING. THE SMILING MAN WHO SHEDS NO BLOOD OR TEARS IS MOURNING. He looked at those ashes with the stoic sadness of someone who lost a loyal friend, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED. Engen clearly values loyalty and had a soft spot in his heart for Nugal who has always had absolute faith in him, even as he died.

TELL ME THIS ISN'T A SAD BOI

HE WAS GRIEVING SO MUCH

So yeah, it was a bomb ass chapter for the Engen fans (read: me) and I feel like it was overshadowed by badass kid Ihwa.

[a-cold-mess]

Reminder to get tested for rabies if you get bitten by Ryusei Shidou.

[a-cold-mess]

I am completely normal about Hero Killer.

I don’t have a rotating lock screen of my favs.

I most certainly don’t have color coded collages that I made as the background for my computer.

I do not, in fact, take my 15 minute break to read the latest chapter every Monday.

I definitely didn’t spend money to fast-pass all the available chapters.

I would never rekindle my interest in writing just to enjoy content about my favs.

And I fr haven’t been spending my time making google docs/sheets TO TRY AND FIGURE OUT THE MFING TIMELINE IN THIS MANHWA.

I AM NORMAL ABOUT THIS.

Anyways here’s a pic of my crazy bbg.

[a-cold-mess]

THATS MY MORALLY ATROCIOUS BBG

engen's becoming so much cooler by the day i tell you HE'S LITERALLY SO COOL

[a-cold-mess]

I was scrolling slowly and went through three phases

1. “aww look at the wholesome homies”

2. 69… nice

3. Homiesexuals

[a-cold-mess]

This GIF brought to you by the Ministry of Silly Walks

[a-cold-mess]

I've had this in my drafts for a while, but I just saw an amazing piece by @caelivir and I got inspired to finish it.

Rayne Ames (Mashle: Magic and Muscles):

Rayne didn’t think happiness was meant for him. Not in this life. But you took his heart like it had always been yours - like he'd loved you in every lifetime, like he'd always fallen first, and always fallen hard. Maybe your souls just belonged together.

When he met you, it was like the world whispered, "They're here now; everything will be okay."

You understand each other. He's a loyal and devoted boyfriend, whose love can't be bound to the realm of linguistics, but he can speak the language of your heart, and you know his every weakness.

When you hold his hand, when his head is in your lap and you're stroking his hair, when you fall asleep against him…that's happiness.

He loves you like there's no-one else in the world - because for him, there isn't. His heart could know no better; it never wants for love or for warmth. You give him everything.

He doesn't know who made the first move, or when. It's so natural, like you're loving his past, his present and his future, all at once. And for him, you feel like home - a home that's been there all his life.

Maybe time just isn't a boundary in love.

You do whatever is asked of each other. "I need you to look after Finn for me." "What am I, the Ames Family pet?"

He melts every time you touch him, whether it's to brush his hair behind his ear, or to hug him. And he loves to pick you up. Piggy-back or bridal-style - as long as he can feel you close, he loves it.

He protects you as though losing you could kill him, or as though your love is the panacea for even death itself. He wants to be the person you rely on; he wants to be your hero. Even if your strength surpasses his.

He gets downright homicidal if anyone hurts you.

You have matching bunny pjs, for the nights you spend together.

And he loves to watch you. Your smile, your laugh - they're like little samples of Heaven, and he can't get enough.

I guess you make him greedy.