#gav goes to law school

[altschmerzes]

i sent thirteen extremely terrifying and adrenaline inducing emails to professors asking for help finding an articling position please clap

[aydaptic]

Do you have any headcanons for Gavin and Tina’s friendship ex. How they met, what they do in their spare time etc

Most of my headcanons are probably in my written works, but I sure don't mind sharing them here as well :)

1. Gav and Ti's Friendship

I like to think that they met in Law School and that Ti is a couple years younger. After all, she's a patrol officer, while Gav is of a higher rank. Either she's taking it slow or she's "fresh from the academy" like Chris.

There's something pure about someone having been in Gav's life for a longer time than most and still being on friendly terms. He's canonically described as having "garnered the hatred of his colleagues in record time," and yet, Ti hangs out with him... so maybe since she already knew him, she knows how much fun he is. Enough to gladly put up with his BS.

I imagine that Gav was somewhat of a wildcard back in the day bc of his extroverted nature. One that would shotgun beers and jump into pools. Meanwhile, Ti was the sensible one. She was his designated driver and stuff like that. Hell, I refer to her as Gav's "impulse control" in Adapt & Endure. Neil Newbon headcanons that he's the nicest guy at a party, so funnily enough, it adds up.

I like the idea of them reminiscing about those days as he's very career-driven now.

2. What Gav and Ti Do in Their Spare Time

Frankly, I don't think Gav does much outside of work. Aside from canonically starting fights at bars bc he "can't keep his mouth shut." I imagine he goes to a shooting range and works on his physique. No hobbies. Bc of his fit shape, I'm convinced he cooks his own food instead of grabbing a lot of takeaway. I think he participates in one-night stands on occasion bc he feels he doesn't have time for a relationship. Gives me the vibe that he takes good care of his car and has skills in the mechanic department, too. Just the idea of him fixing up a damaged Niner makes me happy.

As for Ti? Idk why, but I always headcanoned her as very tech-savvy. That she took a bachelor's degree in Computer Science or something before becoming an officer/during initiation. Probably bc she's a tomboy.

I imagine they go out for drinks together when they have spare time. I've never been a fan of celebrations like Christmas, so I'm biased... but I like to think they only really celebrate New Year's Eve in the simplest way possible: grabbing drinks.

[just-a-plain-old-bitch]

On the day-to-day Amis story you’re planning, what’s everyone’s day job (if they have one outside of school- in which case, what’s their dream job?)

Ahhh okok

Valjean - Gardener

Javert - Ex-Officer, now just helps out

Fantine - Dead (used to be a dress-maker)

Gavroche - In first school. doesn't know what he wants to be, if asked he will probably say "away from you" or something (year 4, age 9)

Thenardier - the inn

Madam Thenardier - the inn

Eponine - Works in a bar at night and cafe in the day

Azelma - High School, wants to be a conservationist working with marine animals (year 10, age 15)

Cosette - Works in the first school Gav goes to (teaching assistant), helps he dad Gardening

Marius - Uni, studying French and German

Enjolras - Law school (duh)

Grantaire - works in the same bar Eponine does, they only have one shift together, on a Friday and does art on the side

Combeferre - Nurse

Courfeyrac - Teaches Theater workshops, like going round to different schools and does actual theater on the side

Joly - doctor

Bossuet - volunteers at charity shops

Musichetta - Works in the cafe Eponine works at

Bahorel - Boxes and teaches boxing

Feuilly - Mechanic

Jehan - works in a garden centre and helps out at a local wildlife center

Montparnasse - totally legal stuff

[embeanwrites]

Finding Home Gavin Reed x Reader

Ch 27

Masterlist

I was sitting at the front of the lecture hall with my laptop grading the end of the semester presentations. Part of me regretted not doing a one and done scantron to make my life easier, but the students brought a lot of interesting topics that made it all feel worth it. One student went into detail about the Jericho raid and talked about the legality of it, which I had been toying with mentioning in my book. It was interesting to see another side of the conversation. 

Most of the students had decided on doing a presentation rather than a paper and a few students even went with ideas that are way outside of the box. One student had made a short comic book depicting different events that had happened in Detroit with the sociological theory and explanation of the theory. It was easily one of the coolest projects in the bunch and luckily the student is letting me keep it. I plan to scan it and use it next semester, giving the student credit of course. It was clear some students half-assed their projects, but way less did than I expected which I consider a plus since this was my first real course and I knew from experience students tended to take advantage of first-year teachers’ inexperience.  

After the final presentation was done I noticed we still had ten minutes left, perfect to say goodbye to my class. It was hard to believe how fast time had gone by, but with one semester done I couldn’t wait to teach this class again with what I’ve learned this first time. Hopefully, with time the school would assign me some different courses. 

“Well, everyone, it's been amazing being your professor. This class was so fun to teach and I enjoy everyone’s questions and participation. I truly hope you’ve learned something about android and human relationships and the complexity that goes with it, even moving forward. This class has a lot of information I hope you can apply to your everyday life.

“I appreciate all the feedback I got and I’m sorry that we didn’t have a guest speaker this semester, things just got too crazy in the middle, but hopefully that will be different next semester and I will see what I can do about giving you all the opportunity to sit in on the class that day. 

“All of your projects were truly amazing. I was blown away by not only the creativity but the quality of them. I wish you all the best of luck on the remainder of your finals and I hope to see you all around campus. Please feel free to stop by my office anytime you need someone to talk to or have a question.” 

I smiled and waved to the students as they left. Some stopped to say goodbye, but many just went ahead and left. Which was fine, I remember finals week in undergrad. What a nightmare of a time. It felt good being done and now I had four weeks to prepare and relax for next semester. Four weeks to also settle into Gavin’s house. I was also almost fully done packing and Gavin, Connor, and Tina were helping me move my stuff over in three days. I was excited to say goodbye to that sad apartment. I just assumed I would live there until my contract expired and move on with my life. Now I was happy I had barely unpacked, less to pack now. 

As everyone filed out I gathered my stuff and put on my coat. I was meeting Gavin at the precinct, he was taking the afternoon off so we could go shopping for some new furniture and decor for the house. 

I decided to walk to the precinct since it wasn’t that long of a walk and for early December it wasn’t too bad out. I knew if I got sick I would never hear the end of it from Gavin and Nines about the importance of staying out of the cold. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, but it was sunny out, and not a lot of wind. It was relaxing to see the city so peaceful. It was almost the first anniversary of the android revolution, I needed to talk to dad and Gavin to see if we could do something special for Connor and Nines. To think one year ago many people were fleeing Detroit and the streets were on complete lockdown due to peaceful protesting. I looked over to see an abandoned Cyberlife store, I thought about asking Elijah about their plans for the remaining stores. With no clear laws, Cyberlife was in a major gray area, currently, they were only allowed to give spare parts directly to androids for free. 

Sighing, I walked into the precinct and gave a small wave to the receptionist. At this point, they all knew who I was and I didn’t have to check-in. Walking into the bullpen the first thing I noticed was that Gavin was in Fowler’s office, so I walked over to dad’s and Connor’s desks. I gave my dad a pat on the shoulder as I moved to jump up on Connor’s desk since my dad’s was too messy to sit on. 

“How was your last day of class?” Connor asked, leaning back in his chair. His LED was a calm blue. I smiled at him and noted the calm feeling around the two of them. Desk duty was clearly doing dad some good, even though both of them were eager to get back in the field. Connor had made that very apparent when he took Sumo out for a walk, that turned more into a run.

“It was really good. I’ll have to show you some of the projects I got. I think you’ll find them interesting. Maybe you could even pass them on to Markus, there’s one in particular that I think he’ll like. The student included a lot of artwork.” I hummed and looked up at Fowler’s office. From where I was sitting I could tell Gavin was frustrated, his fist were clenched and his body language was stiff. 

“Markus would definitely enjoy that. I’ll contact him to see when he’s free. I know he’s been busy with negotiations still.” 

“It’s been almost a year. I wish the government would work with them instead of stalling. Warren is just trying to stay neutral to keep her approval ratings decent.” Connor nodded in agreement. Androids were still not allowed to vote, so Warren didn’t have to worry about their votes. Hopefully, Markus would be able to change that soon. Androids should be able to vote in their own representatives. Snapping out of my thoughts that were meant more for a paper and less for small talk I shook my head and looked over to Fowler’s office. “What’s Gavin doing in Fowler’s office?” 

“End of the year evaluations.” My dad answered. I nodded and glanced over to where Nines was sitting. He was facing Fowler’s office and watching the two men talk, from his expression and Gavin’s it didn’t seem to be going well. I wondered for a moment if Nines was able to hear them and if he could, could Connor? “Are you two going furniture shopping?” 

“Furniture and just house stuff.” I pulled my legs up and moved to face my dad, sitting criss-cross applesauce. 

“You two are pretty serious, huh?” He asked, I couldn’t help but smile and nod. “It’s nice seeing you both happy.” 

“Thank you. I know it’s been hard to get used to us being together, but I appreciate it.” I looked back towards the office and saw Gavin shaking Fowler’s hand and heading out. We made eye contact and he grimaced. “Alright, I’ll see you two later!” I said my goodbyes to dad and Connor and walked over to Gavin’s desk. He was quickly packing up his stuff and avoiding eye contact with me and Nines. “Hey, you okay?” I whispered. He shook his head as he swung a backpack over his shoulder. 

“Let’s just get out of here.” I nodded and grabbed his hand. Gavin led me out of the precinct and towards his car in silence. Occasionally I squeezed his hand, hoping to offer some reassurance. 

We both got into the car, but Gavin made no move to start his car, instead he leaned forward and laid his head on the steering wheel. I watched him take a few deep breaths and I moved to rub his back. 

“Do you-”

“I didn’t get the promotion.” Gavin interrupted me, keeping his head down. I could feel him tense up under my hand. 

“Gav, it’s ok-”

“It’s not okay!” He shouted, his head shot up as he smacked the steering wheel with both hands, the loudness stunning me for a moment. I moved my hand from his back to his shoulder, attempting to keep him grounded in the moment. “I worked so fucking hard for this. I work my ass off. I’m constantly working on cases even outside of work and the thanks I get is ‘be better!’ What the fuck am I supposed to do with that?” Gavin was seething but keeping his eyes forward. He hit the steering wheel again, hitting the horn on accident. “Fuck.” He whispered hoarsely, looking over to me. He looked exhausted and his eyes were glassy. 

“Hey,” I whispered, cupping his face with both of my hands. I gently pulled him closer and kissed his forehead. “I don’t care what Fowler says. You are a kick-ass detective, you’re smart, you’re dedicated to your job, and I love you. Just because you didn't get the promotion today doesn’t mean you won’t ever get it. Go in tomorrow and prove him wrong every day until he understands that you are the right man for the job.” Gavin sighed and closed his eyes, leaning into my touch. 

“I-I know we’re supposed to go shopping-” He stuttered. 

“Let’s head home, we can shop another day. Nothing we had planned today is urgent.” I kissed him gently and I felt him release a sigh of relief. He gently pulled back to start the car. I buckled my seat belt as we headed back to the house. 

The drive was quiet, neither of us made a move to turn on the radio. I closed my eyes and laid my head against the window, listening to Gavin drum his fingers to a beat inside his head on the dashboard. Gavin really deserved that promotion. There were more times I could count where I would wake up around 3 am and find Gavin still working on a case. He was dedicated to his job and he dedicated himself to every case he had. 

Pulling into the driveway, we both made our way into the house and immediately plopped down on the couch. Gavin put his head in my lap and closed his eyes. I started running my hands gently through his hair, feeling the tension leave his body. He made no attempt to move or talk, so I started humming softly. 

“Thank you.” He murmured. 

“Of course, Gav.” I gently moved one of my hands to sit on top of one of his which was on his chest. He intertwined our fingers almost immediately. 

“You’re so good for me.” He said, his eyes were still closed so he didn’t see my smile. 

“You deserve good, Gav,” I whispered, quickly resuming my humming and attempting to comfort him. “Hey, have you thought about asking my dad for a letter of recommendation or for him to talk to Fowler?” Gavin let out a sigh. 

“I feel like that’s wrong.” He whispered.

“Why?” 

“Because we’re dating, he’d feel like he’d have to.” He opened his eyes and looked up at me. He looked so exhausted, the bags under his eyes were purple. I gently ran my thumb across his eyebrow. 

“My dad would say no if he didn’t think you were right for the job, Gavin. Maybe just ask him what more you could do? He’s not putting in a good word for you, he’s just giving you advice. You shouldn’t feel bad about that.” I said softly, he closed his eyes and sighed. 

“Maybe.” He mumbled. “I’m sorry we didn’t go to the store.” 

“Don’t be. We can go some other time. There’s nothing on our list that’s urgent and even if there was you are more important than anything on that list.” I leaned down and kissed his forehead. 

“Thank you.” 

“Of course.” 

After about half an hour of Gavin laying in my lap, he left to take a shower while I made something low effort for us to eat. We spent the rest of the day just lounging about and cuddling. Even the cats ended up snuggling into both of us. Nines would be very disappointed in our food choices and lack of doing anything productive, but it really seemed to help Gavin. Which at the end of the day, was all that mattered to me.

[mars-ipan]

school me in a l l o f t h e m I dare you

homie that would be. far too many. so i’ll give you the two i currently really wanna talk about, starting with the one i’d get less hate over probably

Narumitsu/Wrightworth- Ace Attorney series

i mean. this one. this one’s easy as hell. let’s start from the beginning. pheonix wright, 3rd grader, is accused of stealing the lunch money of miles edgeworth, aspiring lawyer and fellow 3rd grader. the class is awful to pheonix, saying that he stole the money without proving it in a mock trial. it gets to the point where even the teacher is telling him to apologize. this poor child is sobbing, trying to explain that he didn’t do it. suddenly, an objection. surprise bitches it’s the victim, miles edgeworth. “blah blah you can’t say he did it without any proof blah blah he shouldn’t have to apologize”. the class apologizes and pheonix is acquitted. this marks the start of their friendship. not too long after (a couple of years, at most?) miles’ dad and role model is murdered in a horrible incident (this is responsible for edgeworth’s fear of earthquakes which sucks since he lives in japanifornia). miles is now under the care of manfred von karma, abusive german asshole prosecutor who can die in a hole. this is where miles stops talking to pheonix (moving away to germany can do that) and decides to be a prosecutor with his newfound hatred of crime. skip to college. pheonix is in a horrible abusive relationship, the poor baby barely avoided death and was immediately accused of murder. guess who’s prosecuting this trial? miles mcfrickin edgeworth. and pheonix thinks “hold on. i know him!!! oh my god what happened????” after he is, once again, acquitted, pheonix makes the stupidest desicion in his life: to become a defense attorney. he stops going to art school and starts going to law school, just so he can meet this dude again and ask him what the hell happened to him. because if the stubborn asshole wouldn’t respond to his letters, he’d have to meet him in court eventually anyways. so pheonix becomes a lawyer. he’s... surprisingly good at it. then a case with edgeworth. and he wins!! super well!!! once again!! edgeworth is likely just “oh my god what the fuck???” idk tho since we play as pheonix, dumbass extroardinaire. anyways, in either this case or a later one (i do not remember) edgeworth comes up to pheonix after losing and essentially tells him “you’re making me feel things and i don’t like feeling things so get out of my court” (i mean literally. “saddled with unnecessary feelings, like unease and uncertainty” like bITCH??? YOU LOVE HIM D U H). and then edgeworth is accused of murder. pheonix immediately is at the detention center going “bitch let me defend you or so help me god.” miles, ever the confusing fuck, is just “no. not happening, absolutely not.” (there’s also a line where edgeworth goes “i... didn’t want you to see me like this” and in the remastered version pheonix deadass thinks “trust me, i didn’t want to see you like this, either” like b IT CH.) anyways a quick earthquake happens and once everyone’s settled, pheonix realizes he can’t see miles through the glass anymore. he stands up to look through the room and bam there’s edgeworth, on the floor trembling. this poor man. anyways pheonix is just “well i’m gonna defend u even if u don’t want me to so i’m gonna start investigating” and he does that and talks to edgeworth’s lovely detective pal, gumshoe, who explains edgeworth’s fear of earthquakes and also that after he lost his first trial against pheonix edgeworth was literally just saying “wright, wright, wright” and pacing u h m?? anyways eventually pheonix finds out that the case is related to the dl-6 incident, which is the one where edgeworth’s father dies. he goes back to the detention center and edgeworth’s all “well that’s what i didn’t want you to find out but now you know so sure defend me what the hell but you’re gonna lose” bc guess who’s prosecuting??? v o n k ar m a. anyways pheonix wins the trial, gets von karma convicted for murdering edgeworth’s father also bc dl6 was never actually solved and it’s funky fresh. edgeworth is all “i don’t know what to say,,,,” so maya, pheonix’s lovely assistant in the original trilogy, is all “try t h a n k yo u”

other moments where they are Not Heterosexual include:

all of oldbag. edgey i am so fucking sorry you had to deal with her ass. i mean yeah everyone would have that reaction but edgeworth IS a snacc, he likely goes through this all the time. no girlfriend though. rampant homosexual

i mean seriously who wears a cravat all the time other than a gay and/or a vampire

“they’re rivals!” “maybe for now we are..”

“that man” “that defense attorney” “him”- miles edgeworth, all the time

5 red knights surrounding 1 blue pawn on edgeworth’s custom chessboard

there was a jewelry line made for the game. pheonix and edgeworth both have rings. they are the only ones with rings.

and that’s only the original trilogy babey!!! there’s plenty more in the future games but i unfortunately don’t know anything past apollo justice so ah well

2. Mavin/Team Nice Dynamite- Achievement Hunter

okay first of all this is a real people fandom so i’m gonna start with a disclaimer. A. i ship them casually, B. they (and their partners) are perfectly okay with it and joke about it all the time, C. they are in a committed bromance and i will not pester them in any way. thank you. this will also be in list form as there is less of a narritive to follow :>

okay so. these fucking nerds. met on valentine’s day. they tweet @ each other on valentine’s day saying shit like “happy anniversary” i can not make this up.

they refer to each other as “boi” and “my boi” all the time. michael’s twitter bio deadass says “[wife] is my girl, gavin is my boi”

just. just watch play pals

they got married in minecraft once. it was domestic and cute afterwards.

angry boy (michael) is simultaneously Soft with and Angrier with stupid brit (gavin)

“i will,,,, have sex with you,,, consensually.” -michael jones, drunk off his ass

*gavin appears on tv in a bar* “everyone look!! it’s my boy!!! that’s my boy!!!” *applause from the entire bar*-michael jones, once again drunk off his ass

almost the entire office lowkey ships it

michael gets jealous. all the time. he has mentioned a time when gavin referred to his other best friend as “his boi” and while recalling the anecdote, michael basically said “and i was like *growl*” like. damn ok

matching necklaces

michael is the best at translating gav’s britishisms and gavinisms

“my wife is dead,,,, my husband is dead”- michael jones, in a hardcore minecraft server where he is the sole survivor

they casually lay all over each other and invade each others’ personal space all the time

they joke about gavin being the bottom in literally every fic with them. gav’s only complaints with the fic are that he’s the bottom.

i think the reason they don’t have gavin do an episode of red dragon inn is because michael would be far too powerful. maybe one day tho. hopefully

michael’s own wife is just out here all “hell yeah dude fuckin go with it” (we love lindsay jones in this household)

“just kiss and get it over with”

“micool,,”- gavin free, Squeaky Brit

“sucked michael’s dick last night: gavin free”- credit on the podcast

the “are you wearing my jacket” “yeah, i guess i am” “stop! ,,,take my clothes off,,” line comes from them

just. look in the tag for mavin. you’ll see what i’m talking about.

their dynamic is very similar to @an-ok-dude and i’s actually. except. ours is less angry and squeaky. kinda

alright kids that’s it for now. this post is getting long and being on mobile means i can’t put it under a read more so i’m gonna stop here :>

bls tho check these tags there’s so much good content

[redvsvblue]

Two Halves Of My Rainbow (3/?)

This got out of control. More of that Jerevinwood FBI agent soulmate AU. 

Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, AO3 

Ryan’s startled awake when a crash floods his headphones – it’s two days after his discovery and too much coffee and not enough sleep and god, he hasn’t fallen asleep at his desk since grade school, get your shit together, Haywood. The backseat of his car’s been treating him pretty decently, though, and his back doesn’t ache as much as he expected.

He wipes the drool from his mouth and hurriedly clicks over to the webcam screen again to see Gavin and Jeremy hastily opening drawers and bags and – and packing, it looks like, stuffing clothes into duffles and oh that’s definitely a gun.

“What about T?” Gavin asks.

“We’ll have to tell him later,” Jeremy says, panic high in his voice. “Fuck, fuck, we’re not gonna make it out of here, god - ”

“Hey, hey,” Gavin says sharply, pausing to grab Jeremy’s shoulders. “We’ll get out, okay? You know the plan, right?”

Jeremy nods and pulls Gavin in for a quick hug, their panting loud in Ryan’s ears.

“We fucked up, though, Gav, the cops – ”

“It happens, we made a mistake, let’s just bloody go,” Gavin replies, turning to continue packing.

Ryan’s fingers fly over the keyboard as he brings up Austin news – nothing. Jack shit nothing and he turns to the police database, slips in through the metaphorical backdoor in that technically-illegal way he’s not supposed to do, and through that and scraps of Gavin’s and Jeremy’s conversation, he figures out they’ve been caught. The police know their address, know their faces, there’s already a warrant in play and they are fucked unless they get out of there.

Which is what they’re doing.

Ryan’s torn between staying quiet like he’s technically supposed to and reporting this like he really really should, should storm into Kelly’s office right now – no, no, it’s ten p.m., most of the office is gone already, he remembers – should storm into Kelly’s house and call the Austin PD and give them all the information he has, including –

“Car’s got enough gas, right?”

“Should do.”

“Should?”

“It’s a thousand mile journey, Jeremy, I planned it as best I could!”

“Did you? Or did you fuck it up like last time - ”

“Oh shut up, Jeremy, you know that wasn’t my fault.”  

A pause.

“Shit. Shit. ‘M sorry, Gav, I didn’t mean it, I’m just – I’m sorry - ”

“It’s okay,” Gavin sighs. He sounds tired. “It’s okay, I understand, let’s just – let’s just go, okay?”

There’s a crack in his voice that makes Ryan’s heart ache.

“...how long’s the trip?”

“Just over a day if we take shifts.”

“Are we stopping on the way?” Jeremy asks. There’s a silence.

“We can rest once we’re in Los Santos,” Gavin says quietly. “I don’t want to chance it before - ”

“Okay. Okay, Gav, that’s fine, I just wanted to know.”

“...thanks.”

“I love you, yeah? I understand.”

Including the fact that Ryan knows they’re headed to Los Santos. To him. Fuck.

Ryan should definitely report this. Should compile the recording and write it up and email it to all his higher-ups. Make the necessary phone calls. Alert the PD to this. Get a tracker on Gavin and Jeremy, get tails on them. Find their trail and hunt them down. Arrest them. Or worse, if they resist.

And they would resist, that Ryan can safely guess. Jeremy’s not the type to go in silently, Gavin’s not the type to let Jeremy go in by himself.

Ryan tells himself it’s because he doesn’t want to lose the newfound colour in his life if they – if they. If they don’t make it. He doesn’t want to go back to monochrome mornings and greyscale evenings.

That’s what he tells himself.

That’s his weak, weak excuse as he sits there. And watches. And does nothing. Pretends it’s because he wants to know when his tie matches his suit and when his phone’s flashing red.

The laptop is the last thing to get shut and packed away, and the last frame Ryan sees is of Jeremy’s panicked face.

Deleting the footage almost hurts.

-- 

The next 24 hours are the most nerve-wracking of Ryan’s life, tracking Jeremy’s invisible route to Los Santos and trying to figure out where they would be at any point after X hours of driving, after X number of possible rest stops, and he imagines them bickering about the radio and laughing about the other drivers.

He misses their voices.

It’s stupid, he knows, to miss the one-way voices of people he was merely assigned to watch, a permanent outsider to their bright, colourful lives, looking in on a vibrant fishbowl filled with all the shades of blueredpurplegreen that Ryan had been missing his whole life.

No one bothers him except for the worried glance Geoff casts his way.

Ryan just ducks his head and listens to the static.

-- 

Jeremy and Gavin are in Los Santos. They have to be, it’s been far more than a day, but when Ryan tracks the laptop again he find its coordinates in the Pacific Ocean.

So they’ve dumped the laptop. Unsurprising, really, but Ryan was holding onto a shred of hope that they wouldn’t.

Ryan’s damn near vibrating out of his skin where he is, just trapped at his desk and pretending he’s working when in reality he’s panicking. They’re here. They’re here and they’ll be another crime statistic added to the mile-long list and Ryan’ll probably be on the team to catch them if they’re bad enough – it’s been a while since Ryan’s been in the field, but he’ll still medically fit enough to be sent out.

Gavin and Jeremy are going to get themselves killed in Los Santos.

Ryan knows this with every fibre of his fucking being. It’s nothing like Austin, Los Santos. It’s skyscrapers and scenic sunsets and beaches and villas – and gritty alleyways and souped-up street races and cocaine deals in backstreet cafés and violent gang attacks in abandoned car parks. It’s nothing like the two-bit petty crime Gavin and Jeremy have been pulling in Austin.

Auto theft? Old news, barely even chased up anymore unless someone complains. Your fault for parking in the wrong spot.

Manslaughter? Just don’t piss off the wrong people.

And knowing Gavin and Jeremy, they’re going to piss off the wrong people.

Ryan doesn’t want to forget the colour of his eyes.

Ryan doesn’t want to unlearn the rainbow.

-- 

It feels strange, not driving to work at six-thirty on a Friday morning, feels stranger to still be in bed.

Not that Ryan’s slept much - overactive imagination, overthinking everything, but he pictures his empty desk and thinks determinedly that it’s going to stay empty.

He hasn’t formally resigned, but he’ll do something damn well close to it.

This time he kicks the covers off and doesn’t make the bed. Forgoes his boring array of suits and goes for the jeans and old T-shirt knocking around in the drawers, an old leather jacket an ex bought him. He frowns as he tugs at the shirt hem – he’s gotten softer around the middle in recent months, too much time at a desk and not enough in the field. Pushing those thoughts aside, he rakes a hand through his hair and looks at himself in the mirror. He’s imposing enough, he decides. And for once, the all-black isn’t from necessity, from not being able to match colours, it’s from choice.

It feels good. Freeing in a way that scares him a little.

Ryan tugs off the fake wedding ring and leaves it on the bedside table on his way out.

-- 

Ryan knows enough from being on the other side of the law to know the basics.  

1. Leave no evidence.

2. Leave no evidence.

He pays for the mask with unmarked bills, gets himself a new pair of leather gloves while he’s at it. Fits the mask over his head and the gloves on his hands and feel something settle inside him, a sense of relief that at least he’s not as easily recognisable now.

It’s still too early to go poking around – barely even dusk, and after he’s spent all day securing burner phones and quietly erasing himself from the FIB database, he figures he deserves to grab a meal first.

He’s never had lunch at the pier, he thinks. It sounds like a good memory to make.

-- 

After dark is when Ryan starts the real work.

He should probably feel worse for just up and quitting his good, steady job, but all he feels is glad. Free of the government, free of Kelly, that itch in his palms and on the back of his neck finally allowed to break into action, into the aggression he can use to get his way.

He knows who to go to.

Ryan damn near kicks the door in on Diaz’s shitty little office, lodged between a laundromat and a Chinese takeaway place, to find it completely empty. He growls and glances around – no sign of any unusual disturbance, just as shabby as it’s always looked, simply no sign of Diaz anywhere.

Well. Ryan didn’t come all this way for nothing. He backs into into a corner and brandishes his gun, ready for whenever Diaz does return.

-- 

Only half an hour later, the door creaks open, and the moment it shuts behind Diaz, Ryan’s on him, yanking his arms behind his back and pressing him face-first into the wall, nudging his pistol against Diaz’s ribs in a threat as he kicks his legs open unsteadily wide.

“Jesus,” Diaz breathes, his cheek smushed into the door. Ryan growls and clamps his fingers tighter around Diaz’s wrists, grinding the bones together.

“Don’t scream,” Ryan warns. Diaz’s breath hitches and his head turns ever-so-slightly and -

“Ryan?” He asks. Ryan’s heart kicks up in his chest and when he doesn’t answer, Diaz’s head twists more.

“How did you know?” Ryan asks, knows that’s just giving himself away, but he has to know. Diaz laughs pleasantly.

“Oh dude, I remember you!” He says. “Shit man, why you cornerin’ me like this?”

A surge of guilt rises in Ryan and he lets Diaz’s wrists slip out of his grip, stepping back with a sheepish apology.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, tucking the gun away again as Alfredo turns around, slumping against the door. “I – I didn’t know you’d remember me.”

Alfredo studies him for a moment and shrugs, patting him on the shoulder on his way to his desk.

“It’s okay,” he says easily, leaning against the desk and crossing his arms. He frowns at Ryan and Ryan shoves his hands into his jacket pockets to hide his nerves. Fuck, he should’ve gotten body armour.

“You look different,” Alfredo notes. He winks. “I like it. Leather suits you.”

Ryan scoffs and Alfredo laughs, cocking his head a touch as he studies Ryan.

“So, what brings you here, Agent Haywood?” He asks. “I know it wasn’t just for my fashion opinion.”

“I need help,” Ryan says.

“Start from the beginning.”

Ryan swallows and looks off to the side, at the small pile of rifles nestled in the corner of Alfredo’s office.

“There isn’t one,” he says. “I just need a jumpstart.”

“A jumpstart? For what?”

“Let’s just say I’m not on the right side of the law anymore,” Ryan says carefully. “That’s all you need to know.”

“You want a reputation.”

“I want another life.”

Alfredo gives him a once-over, his eyes glittering with mischief.

“I think I know where to start.”

[theboysfromaustin]

So, Ian is VERY wealthy, and retires at 75. His only real major purchases were his house and his car in the 60s, and it was just him living alone until 2004, with annual parties on July 4th and Thanksgiving for the court workers and his lawyer friends.

A lot of his money goes to charity, and to pay Gav for his paralegal work, and to Kazuo for "moral support", the rest he lavishes on his loved ones, but he still leaves A LOT for them after his death, enough for them to live very well, with Gav working as a writer. He also leaves enough for young Ian to pay for his entire time at UT Law School, as young Ian decided young that he was going to be an attorney.

Maureen retired the same year he did, and he paid for everything to keep her in her home where she was happy. He also paid all her funeral expenses.

So, yeah, Ian's a rich guy, but he also was a very well-respected attorney from 1963 through 2014 when he retired.

[altschmerzes]

so in zoom class tonight bc we had to pivot from in person at the last moment for Complicated Reasons my evidence prof was STRUGGLING. first things first he had a little baby bulldog puppy with him that he had to let out bc buddy woke up as soon as he started lecturing and was Having Him Some Feelings. so that's how it started out. and then we very quickly learned that he accidentally turned on some accessibility setting on his zoom account that would uh. verbally read out any text-based alert he received from the app. this included 'CLASSMATE has entered the room' 'someone has enabled subtitles' '[message in the chat about the slides not being up]'

this got more and more vexing for this poor man as class went on. the first time someone used the hand raise function this automated voice interrupted him and went 'CLASSMATE FIRSTNAME LASTNAME HAND HAS BEEN RAISED' and then when she put it down out of embarrassment it went 'CLASSMATE FIRSTNAME LASTNAME HAND HAS BEEN LOWERED'. he was shocked and baffled. this only increased when his zoom account announced mid-explanation of the. fiftieth fucking hearsay exception we have covered that his "network connection is unstable" to which he muttered, in a tone of exasperated despair "no it is noooot"

this continued. "what is it just gonna start reading everything i have open on my computer next. i would never teach again…." my poor professor says.

class finally ends. as he is delivering some wrap-up comments, he makes a face, suddenly stops, and tells us, "oh god i don't know if you can hear her but my daughter is. uh. screaming there so, sorry about that. it's her bedtime, right, and we just got that puppy on uh, sunday? sunday. and if you try to remove her. from the vicinity of the puppy. she has a. big problem with that."

rip sir i hope your night got better after that.

[altschmerzes]

FIRM INVITED ME FOR A SECOND INTERVIEW LETS FUCKIN GOOOO

[altschmerzes]

oh i need everyone to know that the other day in my collective bargaining class my professor proposes a question and then says to us "to answer this question i have resurrected for you this archaeological meme" which he pronounced mee-mee. [extremely thick italian accent] "archaeological mee-mee"

and then he clicks to the next slide and it's this

fucking incredible. no notes.

[altschmerzes]

valiantly battling the ghosts that live in my brain to convince them that asking my rabbi if he knows of anyone who’s looking for an articling student (mandatory supervision period for canadian lawyers) is a normal kind of community networking to do and not a horrible presumptuous and demanding interpersonal crime for which i should be put to death.

[altschmerzes]

here’s a question. if you had a law school. yknow. a type of school infamous for long hours and insane levels of studying and reading out your ears. what time would your library close every weekday? five pm? would it be FIVE PM?

[altschmerzes]

SHRIEKS INTO MY HANDS

im not getting my hopes up i am MANAGING my expectations bc ive had really good interviews before that resulted in Nothing. several in fact. but oh my gd that went so fucking well, i liked them a lot and i feel like they liked ME a lot too. at a couple points i gave an answer that one of them literally said in the moment ‘that’s a good answer’ or ‘oh i like that answer’ to and that feels like. a good sign.

and holy shit. gang. guys. my friends. im NOT getting invested im NOT counting chickens. but i want to work for this firm REALLY bad. it seems like kind of my dream scenario. AUGH.

[altschmerzes]

got a suit today bc i have an interview at a firm tomorrow, everyone vibe for me i'm super anxious and moderating my expectations but !!!!!

[altschmerzes]

also shouts out to my law school buddy who i didnt even think liked me that much who is currently lobbying his firm to hire me to article with him there, saying when i thanked him profusely that he’s always happy to help good people and to let him know if i land an interview and he’ll brief me on what they’re really keyed into rn. like. i don’t think it’s gonna pan out for me, they’re a VERY good firm and it’s clear im not a very compelling candidate on paper lmao but the one upside of my anxiety inducing and humiliating situation vis a vis articling is that im experiencing the particularly humbling and painful loveliness that is My School Friends Care Me. this guy and another friend have like. made it their personal mission to find me a placement and im like. a little in pieces about it.

[altschmerzes]

it’s done. i finished out at 18 application packages turned in before the bell, after crossing out a couple i planned on doing because it just didn’t look as appealing in the light of day, and i feel like i ran a marathon. now i get to kick back...... until Call Day, The Day When Everyone Calls You If You Got An Interview Offer.