#i love him but his hat is a crime to draw

[crowned-ladybug]

With weathered wings and broken bones A flight for the fallen flies the crow

@riftwalker-limbro's fashionable math problem Vince here to kick some ass and love his fiancée and unfortunately one of those is maybe currently not available

[karamazovanon]

"Let's see Pyotr Petrovich's card."

(another american psycho raskolnikov to go with the first one!!)

[stressfulsloth]

I've seen a couple of takes about Disco Elysium being copaganda going around recently, and beyond the fact that DE is relentlessly critical of the police force in general and makes explicit reference to the failures of the system that allow the officers in game to abuse their power, I also think it's important to note that there very literally is an in-world version of copaganda that the writers of the game use to parody that romanticised view of the brutality of policing. The RCM at their inception were structurally inspired by in-world copaganda- their culture, their "fashions, even weapon preferences, borrow heavily from classic Vespertine cop shows." Every investigation is it's own little drama, every officer imagining themselves to be the bad-ass hero of their own crime serial. Detectives name their cases like they're naming episodes of a TV series in a "robust but literary system"; a title that "draws inspiration from snoop fiction and Vespertine cop show staples". They give themselves nicknames to sound like cool, suave fictional officers- Ace, Dick Mullen, etc.- from the cool, suave world of copaganda.

The legend of the RCM's inception, the "point of contention" over its uncertain origins, is even an extention of that; the whole organisation is shrouded in this self-fictionalising mythos that allows for distance that in turn obfuscates much of its violence to the officers that participate in it. They get to convince themselves that they're not abusing their power; they're the hero of the story! The dichotomy of "good guy" taking out the "baddies," a manifestation of the libertarian fantasy of the "good guy with a gun" who does what it takes, just like in Annette's detective novels, and at the same time who rails against oversight bodies like Internal Affairs/'the rat squad' because due process slows down the immediate satisfaction of Swift Justice, despite Internal Affairs existing to protect the citizens from overreach on behalf of the police. "Wanton brutality" from police in their real world is a cold bitter reality but Dick Mullen was "made to crack skulls," "bend the rules and solve cases no one else can," and which version of that story is more comforting to the overworked, underfunded officers of the RCM?

The level of fantasy and detachment required for the cops to still see themselves as the good guys after everything that they do in the line of duty mimics The Pigs and her breakdown too; she parallels Harry so clearly. Both "did right by the kids" in the past, hoping for a better future- Marianne (The Pigs) by looking out for Titus and the Hardy boys when they were young, Harry in his role as a gym teacher. Both abandoned and left behind by the system that the RCM uphold- a brutal capitalist landscape with no safety nets. Both turning the source of their trauma into a costume, a performance, a shield, shaped by "radio waves and cop shows." The Pigs uses RCM items scavenged from the Esperance where they'd been thrown away, while Harry uses the Dick Mullen hat that Annette gives him but both are essentially in costume.

Harry identifies himself with the fictional detective as a kind of wish fulfilment; Dick Mullen is "wicked smart." He doesn't fuck up his cases and when he's sad it's not pathetic; it's effortlessly cool brooding and everyone sympathises. Everyone loves him. His violence- "skull crack[ing]"- is justified because he's a "good guy" enacting that violence against the victims of police brutality sorry "bad guys". He doesn't ever face repercussions; "Dick Mullen won't be sent to the clink for the sake of some legal niceties!" So if Harry is Dick Mullen then his failures, his breakdown, they're all just a part of being a "bad-ass, on-the-edge disco cop." He's not wrong, he's a hero! This idealised fictionalised idea of the police force, this "new, sadly better, reality" that both Harry and The Pigs cling to is "escapist stuff," "receed[ing] into a ludicrous fantasy world," so far removed from the brutal material reality that they're in.

My point is, idk. Disco Elysium is so far from being copaganda. It is a multi-million word long dissection of it, of the purpose of policing, of state sanctioned violence and its interaction with capital and the fallout experienced within the wider community as well as the trauma cycle created for individual officers. A dissection of how copaganda interacts with RCM culture and perception, and by extension how we interact with irl perceptions of police through that lens.

[vintagecandy]

I saw your American McGee’s Alice Jarvis and was reminded of the 3rd game that EA canned and all the dresses from that. In particular the “Denial” dress.

Ooooooohhh.... the Denial Dress....

Or should we say, Denial Suit. Saw this ask and knew I just had to draw it for him, but it took me a few tries to translate accents on her dress to a men's coat lol-- but it was fun!

There's a puffiness about the suit that seems padded, insulated. The flowers on the hat are yellow carnations and daisies-- symbolizing regret with love and innocence, respectively. He wears his heart(cufflink) on his sleeve, but wears his usual mercury symbol backwards. His insides are a paper mache of crime reports and missing posters of past victims, and his hat peels back like chipping paint to reveal raw skin and a frantically moving eye. Once seeing the desperate stitching in the back of the suit, one realizes that the stitching on the front of the leg is likely not harmless decoration, but a sign of decay.

[my-insanity-is-an-artform]

Woe, Crack Baby Shitten au be upon thee.

(@bamsara 's little doodle of Nari being dubbed Cult Babysitter and holding a little lamb irrevocably changed my brain chemistry. So of course, I'm now making it everyone else's problem with the headcanon that Narinder is good with children of all ages.)

A couple of months before Lamb gets captured, they meet another lamb or a very small flock that have to split up very quickly after meeting since there's more chance of the lamb species surviving if they aren't all together. In the meeting, Lamb agrees to try continue the lamb species and gets pregnant via *magic* or afab.

Of course, all of the lambs are captured and killed with Lamb being the last, still a few months away from giving birth.

But then they are chosen and resurrected by The One Who Waits.

Fun fact: a fetus can survive for a few minutes after the death of the carrier. (Also this is a world with magic and gods in it. Logic means nothing to me.)

Lamb starts their cult, crusades across the lands and meets all sorts of allies and enemies. All while quietly mourning their entire species and the child that never would be.

Right up until they go into labour.

The baby is lamb through and through with soft wool, wide eyes, tiny cloven hooves and floppy ears.

But the influence of the crown is blazingly obvious since the baby's wool is jet black and they have three red eyes.

I can't tell which would be funnier. Lamb giving birth in The Lonely Shack or while they are physically in The Gateway just post-beating Leshy. Like they were in active labour right throughout fighting Leshy and had no idea. Either way, it's Shocked Pikachu .jpeg all around. (My fucking KINGDOM for a doodle of this.)

Various dot point shenanigans under the cut

There are two ways to go about this. But either way, Baby is not staying in the Cult. Too dangerous, especially if word gets to the Bishops about there being another lamb. So Lamb can and will speed-run this shit. So it takes them about 4-6 years to fully defeat the Bishops.

Baby stays with Ratau:

Lamb goes and yells at TOWW. They are panicking because they have no idea how to raise a probably-half-god baby.

Narinder has no idea what happened right up until Lamb comes in screaming about him being a Baby Daddy and child support.

Ratau is Grandpa now. This is his fate. He embraces the Grandpa life.

Baby learns how to play knucklebones before they can speak.

Shrumy tries to wager with Lamb/Ratau for the whole Baby. Once and only Once.

Baby's first word is dice. Or die.

Baby worships TOWW, but they are a Baby and don't really comprehend worship so the small shrine gets a lot of flowers, neat rocks and some drawings. Narinder always gives a lot of gold for them. And No, it's not favouritism. Shut up.

Baby knows curses. This is concerning for everyone except Baby.

Baby gets a little TOWW doll. It's their favourite, it goes everywhere with them and washing it is a nightmare for everyone involved.

Baby is jokingly referred to as TOWW's most Devoted Follower because of the doll.

↑ this action will have consequences.

When Baby is not so baby, they make stuff out of their wool for TOWW and for his disciples. Or asks their parent to help them make stuff.

Cue Lamb awkwardly giving the three some very wonky scarves or hats.

Baal loves it.

Aym refuses to take his off. Ever.

Narinder is actually upset cause his doesn't fit. He's too big. He had to wear it like a little ring.

Or Baby stays/is brought to the Gateway ala Aym and Baal situation:

If Lamb gives birth in the Gateway, everyone is getting a free midwifery education and free trauma. The cats want a refund.

Ya know when a baby instinctively clasps their little hand around a finger and it's like a crime to pull away? That but with Narinder's big ass claw that Baby can only barely cling to.

Aym cries the first time he holds Baby.

Baal straight-up refuses to give Baby back for a good hour.

Lamb visits at least once a day.

Lamb also brings baby things since a baby will do what a baby will do.

Depending on how old Aym and Baal were when they were gifted, Narinder is either learning all of this for the first time or is reminded of how challenging baby care can be.

Narinder purrs = a zonked Baby.

Baby's first word is Vessel.

Baby is taught to fight. Lamb doesn't like it but accepts it.

Baby has a little lamb doll. It is only due to the fact the afterlife doesn't have dirt that they avoid the nightmare of trying to wash it.

Baby is jokingly referred to as TOWW's most Devoted Follower since they refuse to be parted with him for long.

↑ this action will have consequences.

Lamb teaches Baby about being a lamb and if Aym and Baal join in, well who are they to deny their child's only friends/guardians this?

Narinder and Lamb figure out how to get Baby to teleport to the Living World and Baby gets to visit Grandpa Ratau.

Post-game shenanigans.

Narinder: Give me back my crown. Lamb: Ok. Sure. Narinder: I will now sacrifice my most devoted follower (the Lamb) for my freedom. Lamb: *Kill Bill sirens*

Lamb somehow doesn't kill Aym and Baal and instead kidnaps them via Indoctrination Circle out of spite/ reluctance to hurt them.

Narinder feels betrayed that the Lamb would refuse like this and kidnap his acolytes. He was going to resurrect them! He can't fully commit to raising a child while being the God of Death.

Lamb feels betrayed that Narinder would want to kill their child. After all they've been through together! After the way they saw him treat Baby with such gentleness and now he wants to kill them?!

This comes out in the very final moments right before Lamb goes to give the final blow.

Narinder: You are a vengeful false idol and a traitor! Lamb: At least I'm not a monster who wanted to kill my own child! Narinder: Wait. What.

This devolves into a massive argument with divorced-couple vibes.

Narinder is insulted and a bit hurt they thought he would kill his own child.

Lamb is hurt that Narinder would just demand their sacrifice without even talking to them about the whole situation.

Either way the lesson learned is Narinder needs to be more blunt and Lamb needs to not jump to conclusions.

So they are left with a newly usurped Narinder and a newly crowned Lamb. Oops.

Baby is with Ratau when all of this is going down.

Baby is happy their family is all together properly. Baby is Not Happy about this whole cult thing demanding attention from Their Baba.

The Cult is baffled by the sight of their leader with both a baby and a Spouse? Bitterly Divorced Ex? Estranged Co-parent?! What ever it is, most of them have elected not to touch the whole situation with a 10ft barge pole.

Baby learns what the word Father is and how that word refers to Narinder.

Baby calls Narinder Father/Papa/Daddy. Instant KO.

Narinder somehow gains a small hoard of children that like to follow him. Baby Does Not Approve.

Baby also Does Not Approve of this newly formed rift between their parents.

Cue Parent Trap level of Shenanigans.

Aym and Baal are recruited.

The Hoard of Children are recruited. Baby now Slightly Approves.

Narinder and Lamb have an Actual Conversation after the 18th time they get locked in the confessional together.

This of course evolves into Narilamb.

Bishops are saved from purgatory.

Despite all attempts otherwise, Baby is introduced to them.

Shocked Pikachu .jpeg x4

Maybe after a few more years, not-so-baby Baby wants a sibling.

This got so much longer than I thought but yes. Shitten Shenanigans: Accidental Child Acquisition flavoured.

[iliketangerines]

I know it’ll be a while before you see this😭but your Erron Black fic (working relationship) inspired me to think of a cool (and kinky) idea:

There’s a part in the fic you wrote where Erron and the reader had fought off the vicious Outworlders from assassinating Kotal Kahn, but what if the reader WAS an outworlder trying to assassinate the Kahn. The attempt failed and she was imprisoned. Where am I going with this? I know some Mkx Outworld men aren’t that popular in the fic world, but what if Kotal sent his closest 3 adversaries to “punish” her efforts? Yes, I’m talking about the cowboy, soul boy, and lizard man.

Love your writing so much❤️❤️❤️

pay for your crimes

a/n: mm mm MM. also, i do NOT condone this behavior in real life

pairing: erron black x afab!reader x syzoth x ermac

warnings: nsfw (MDNI), noncon, slight pet play, orgasm denail, chest play, anal, double penetration, face fucking, gun play

you had been so close to killing the Kahn, blade just mere millimeters from his throat, your plan working perfectly to distract his guards

and then, a bullet had rang into your shoulder, giving the Kahn just enough time to pin you and cuff you, throwing you into the cells to draw some information out of you

Mileena had hired you, trusting in you to kill the Kahn, and you had failed, ending with a collar on your neck chained to the floor and your arms tied behind you

they had also taken the measure in chaining both of your ankles to the floor, every restraint drawn tight to make sure you had no leeway to even move a single centimeter

you had long lost feeling in your arms and your feet, and you can’t even hang your head to rest, the collar choking you if you even dared to move

it left you exhausted, muscles trembling with the effort to keep your legs straight as to not choke yourself by relaxing yourself

but it was only light torture, you could deal with this for a few more days, but still, the hours dragged on as your mouth became parched and your muscles burned with effort

the sound of the cell door creaking open catches your attention, and you don’t make a single sound as you watch three men walk in

it’s a strange group, one man dressed in a hat not of Outworld, a Zaterran, and the collection of souls that often sat at Kotal’s side

you can’t seem to care as you focus on keeping your neck straight so that you can breathe properly, but an irritated grunt leaves your mouth as they encircle you

there’s a look in the gunslinger’s eyes, a look you don’t quite like, and you bare your teeth at him, growling despite the little energy that you have left

he grins at you from underneath the mask, and he gets comfortable on the dirty prison floor, drawing his pistol out of its holder and using it to fix the tilt of his hat before pointing it lazily at you

you remain silent as he asks you questions about Mileena, where her camp was, what her next operations were, any information in general about the former Kahn

the other two simply wait patiently, boring holes into your back as they observe your figure, but you ignore them

she had only hired you as a contract killer, but you knew her personally when you had worked under Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung

your lips would remain sealed about her, and the gunslinger seems to realize it as well, sighing and bringing the pistol closer to you

he cocks it, the click echoing in the prison cell, and then he shoves it into your mouth, the taste of gunpowder and smoke laying flat on your tongue

it makes you grunt in surprise, and he cocks his head at the other two and the sound of shuffling and clinking fills the room as the chains on your ankle and collar loosen

your body sags slightly in relief as your legs relax, but the gun stays firmly in your mouth as the gunslinger says if you try anything funny, he’ll pull the trigger

you believe him, you’ve seen him in action before when you were studying the layout of the palace and the guard rotations and Kotal’s usual walking spots

it doesn’t stop you from huffing angrily, glaring at him the best you could muster while still kneeling on the ground before him, and he seems to smirk underneath the mask

Erron Black, he introduces himself, and then your hear the other two introduce their names, Syzoth and Ermac

two strong hands clasp onto your shoulders as the chains on your ankles fall away and the chain on your collar is unlocked from the wall

Syzoth hands the chain connected the collar to Erron, and he grins as he tugs at it slightly, making your mouth sink further on the gun and you to slightly choke on it

your hands flex, still restrained behind your back, and your legs don’t have enough blood in them to try and fight with only them

a scaly hand trails down your back, ripping at the cloth with its claws, and an icy hand of fear trails down along with him

the gunslinger moves to stand to your side, making your head crane along with him, and says to get to know their names well, you’ll be screaming them soon enough, and with a loud rip your shirt is ripped away from you

before you can even try and retaliate, an invisible force grabs onto your body and pulls your legs apart further than you thought they could stretch

it’s a sort of green energy surrounding your legs, and a faint green energy pulsates from Ermac’s hands as your eyes dart around to try and find the source of the control

Syzoth gets onto his knees first in front of you, his tongue flicking out and tasting the air, tasting the scent of your fear as the reality of the situation settles in

he lets out an airy laugh at the smell of it and coos at you, promising that it wouldn’t hurt too much, and his clawed hands twitch at his sides

his voice makes you shiver as he says that he’s had nowhere to release his pent-up energy, can’t go back to a home too far away, can’t touch the maids or the warriors

but you, a simple hostage who refuses to give up information, well, it gives them all a reason to release some energy and break you enough to force some information out of you

you want to scream and thrash, but the barrel of the gun sits heavy in your mouth and the green energy immobilizing your only means of escape left you complacent

Syzoth’s hand cups your chest, thumbs rubbing over your nipples, and the scales only add to the roughness and the stimulation

he sticks his tongue out into the air again, eyes transfixed on the way your nipples harden underneath his fingers, and his hands then roughy squeeze your chest

the claws dig into your skin, and you breathe out through your nose, closing your eyes to concentrate on anything else but this situation

Erron lets out a hum of disapproval and tells you to open your eye, to watch it all happen, to just give in and give them information on Mileena’s whereabouts

you open your eyes, mustering as much anger and vitriol in your gaze that you could as you stare up at him, and he only chuckles at the small show of defiance

a hand touches your back, tracing the muscle, dry and bandaged, and you know it’s Ermac tracing the skin on your back

his hands glow just a bit brighter, and your bottoms fall to the floor, leaving you with nothing to cover up your modesty

a slight growl leaves your throat, as a slow panic rushes through your body, and Erron simply tugs on the collar to get you to shut up, telling you that good little pets don’t growl

you don’t move, letting Ermac’s hands travel along your body, one hand groping at your ass and squeezing it roughly while the other snakes around to your front

his hand trails further and further down, cupping your sex but doing nothing else, simply enjoying the warmth emanating from your heat

then his fingers press into your skin, finding your clit and rubbing lithe fingers in practiced circles, and a small strangled sound leaves you throat

it had been a long time since you had ever done something anything even remotely similar to this, and it left you sensitive and unused to touch

Syzoth hums at the way your breath hitches, and he squeezes even tighter at your chest, licking his lips and then pinching at your nipples

a small yelp leaves your throat, and you try to focus on anything else, to not let your mind get pulled and pushed apart by pleasure as Ermac continues to rub at your clit and Syzoth tease your chest

but you’re quickly jolted out of your thoughts as the collar pulls at your neck and brings you back into the moment and staring up at Erron

out of the four of you, he seemed the least affected, but the bulge in his pants indicates otherwise, straining at the zipper and begging to be release

you’re pulled from that thought to the next as Ermac pinches at your clit, making your body jump in pleasure and pain, and your pussy clenches down on nothing

in spite of everything, you can feel yourself getting wet the longer Syzoth and Ermac tease and play with your body

Syzoth moves one hand away from your chest to wrap around to your back, gliding his fingers between your wet folds and humming at the slickness coating his fingers

his fingers move up and circle the rim of your asshole, and your eyes widen in surprise and fear as goosebumps erupt over your body

your breathing quickens for just a moment, enough for Erron to laugh again and tell you that they’ll make sure you’re nice and loose for Ermac’s cock

the gun presses against the back of your throat, and you try to calm yourself down, you don’t want to get shot in the head

Ermac hums at the mention of his name and moves his fingers down, sinking two fingers into your warmth without warning, and it makes your breath catch at the thickness of him

his fingers expertly curl in your warmth, pressing into your sweet spot and massaging it, and it sends pleasure blazing through you

your eyes slip close at the pleasure, and you thank the elder gods when Erron doesn’t tell you open them again as you try and take in everything

they’re tearing your mind apart with the stimulation on all sides, and it’s ripping your mind into a useless puddle that can’t think for itself

Syzoth hisses and sinks a slick finger into your asshole, and you finally let out a small whine at the pressure, gasping around the gun to try and struggle away

the gunslinger simply keeps a firm hold on the chain to your collar to make sure you couldn’t squirm away, and the glowing green energy around your legs only squeeze and keep you still

you can’t help but moan as Ermac fucks his fingers into your drooling pussy, palm grinding into your sensitive clit and how Syzoth pushes another fingers into your ass

breath heaves in your chest as pleasure blazes through you, sensitive and much too overstimulated, and you’re quickly hurtling toward the edge of pleasure

Erron grunts something out and suddenly they’re not touching you anymore, and you open your eyes as your orgasm slips away from you

he has a grin on his face, one that says he knows exactly what he’s doing, and you want to kill him, wipe that smug smirk off of his face

the gunslinger tuts at you as you struggle, pulling at the collar once more and making you gag on the loaded gun, and you breathe and calm down

you’re giving him a reaction, exactly what he wanted, and you breathe out through your nose to calm down, still mustering your best glare at him

Erron says something and suddenly the collar is being pulled at by the green magic, and Erron unbuckles his pants and pulls out his cock

it’s thick, flushed and leaking pre-cum, and he removes the gun from your mouth, covered in a new layer of shiny spit

you don’t speak as he taps the tip of his cock against your lips, pressing the end of the gun against the side of your head

the gunslinger takes a hold of the collar again, and then lightly taps the gun against your head, forcing you to open up your lips and take his cock into your mouth

it’s thick and heavy in your mouth, pressing down along your tongue and choking you, and your eyes water as he pushes in further and further, giving no remorse to how you start to choke and gag and struggle in your bindings

rather, the other two start touching you again, teasing you, fucking you slowly on their fingers, and laughing when you whine and whimper when they pull away

your pussy clenches desperately on their fingers, drooling and dripping onto the floor with the need to cum, but they deny you all the same

it’s a cruel agony, the lack of air causing your head to spin and the pleasure to intensify and curl and assault you from all sides

your mind is being pulled apart and put back together with each denied orgasm and with how Erron is just content to let his cock rest in your warm mouth

you’re not sure how much time has passed as they continue to tease you, fuck you on their fingers and bring you to the brink of insanity

the gunslinger finally pulls his cock out of your mouth, and you cough and wheeze as you breathe in lungfuls of precious air

he asks if you’re ready to talk, that if you give them information they’ll let you cum on their cocks, and you hiss at them and tell them to stick it

despite their efforts, you still had a bit of fight left in you

Erron sighs and shoves his cock back into your mouth, letting go of the chain to grip onto your hair and fuck into your face roughly

you gag and choke, squirming in your binds as it overtakes your senses, and you can barely process the fact the Ermac and Syzoth have undressed themselves

their cocks press against your entrances, and you can’t even scream as they start fucking into you with reckless abandon, ignoring your clit and avoiding your sweet spots to make you break

Ermac groans loudly as he fucks into your asshole, tight around him and not nearly enough lube, and with the added pressure of Syzoth fucking into your abused pussy, it’s too much for you to handle, blinding white pleasure snaking within you

their hands are all over you, grabbing and pulling and clawing, and your mind is being torn a million different ways, trying to recollect only to have its thoughts scattered with each thrust and scratch

you can’t handle it, it’s all too much, and all the energy leaves your body as you finally grow limp in their hold and they fuck into you like a toy

Erron pulls away from your mouth, letting you breathe as the other two fuck senselessly into you, and he asks if you have any information

you’re not quite aware of what comes out of your mouth, something spilling from your lips, and Erron smiles and pats your cheek, calling you a good pet before placing his cock against your lips

he pushes in, fucking your face just as brutally as before, and then Ermac’s fingers touch your clit, rubbing it back and forth and pushing you right over the edge

you sob as you cum, tears streaming down their cheeks, and Erron groans, pressing your nose into his pubic hair and cumming down your throat

there’s a lack of air, but you can’t even twitch to fight and slowly let the black dots take over your vision until the gunslinger finally pulls off

you breathe rapidly and feel the barrel of the gun be removed from your head, but Syzoth and Ermac still fuck into you with reckless abandon

he chuckles and says that they’re much harder to please, being of Outworld of course, you’ll be in here for a while with them

but they’ll make sure you cum, over and over and over again on their cocks, and with that Erron, buckles up his pants to give away the information you parlayed to him to Kotal

Syzoth lets out a low hiss, smiling at your fucked out expression, and Ermac keeps rubbing your clit roughly, leaving low grunts in the air

you were going to be there until they satisfied themselves, and they were hard men to please

[lurkingshan]

On Boston and Brian Kinney

I’ve seen a lot of folks in the Only Friends tag recently making connections between the show and Queer as Folk, both US and UK versions, which makes sense because QaF is a clear reference for the show, both visually and thematically, and we know Jojo likes to reference western media in his work. One parallel folks are drawing is not tracking for me, however, so I am jumping in the wayback machine and putting on my old QaF stan hat to talk to y’all about Brian Kinney, and why Boston is actually nothing like him. Tagging @bengiyo and @neuroticbookworm who talked this through with me and also @slayerkitty because I saw you were contemplating this connection between the two characters.

So, first, why are people making this comparison? It really boils down to one thing: Brian and Boston are both sluts. That’s… pretty much it. They both like sex and prefer to have it with many different partners, and neither has much use for monogamy. But this is pretty much where their similarities end. 

So let’s remind ourselves who Brian Kinney is: a kind of fantasy of a hot, rich, self-actualized gay man with unmatched sexual prowess and a surface level flippancy masking a heart of gold. Brian is an adult man with a thriving career and money that he earned for himself after leaving his abusive and homophobic family (who would eventually explicitly reject him because of his sexuality). As a result, he is defiant in his commitment to live his life as loudly and queerly as possible—which includes a dedication to fucking and sucking, public sex, and a rejection of heteronormative constructs like monogamy.

Brian has a very clear moral code he lives by, even if it’s not one most can relate to. He decides to have a son with his (lesbian) best friend because part of him wants to believe in a better future and build a family of his own. He is extremely loyal to his found family even as he’s a jerk to their face most of the time, and he is always working behind the scenes to protect them even as he often hurts their feelings with his glib remarks and shitty behavior. Despite his disdain for monogamy, he never actually tries to destroy any of his friends’ happy relationships (in fact, he tries to sacrifice his own friendship with Michael to ensure he stays with his boyfriend).

Brian has a sense of responsibility to others and often takes on the blame for things he didn’t even do, which is why he takes baby gay Justin to Debbie and ensures he is cared for even as he tries to dissuade Justin from getting attached to him, and why he cares for Justin in the aftermath of his bashing. He cares deeply about his community, to the point where he pours his money into protecting the local gay scene, literally bankrupts himself to stop an anti-gay politician from winning an election, and gives up a dream job to stay put in Pittsburgh and help rebuild the community after a hate crime.

Brian is unflinchingly honest and he avoids making promises because once he does, he knows he will absolutely keep them—he takes his commitments seriously and he always does what he says he will. When he falls in love, he does not abandon his core values but he is willing to make some compromises. And he hides his better self and often wallows in self-destructive behavior because he feels deeply unworthy of love, which goes back to the intergenerational trauma he experienced as a child in an abusive home and the parental rejection he felt due to his sexuality. 

Boston, by contrast, is a character who feels more rooted in reality. He’s a pampered rich kid who is indulged in his hobbies and who already has a life plan laid out for him and paid for by his daddy. He likes to sleep around mostly because it’s fun, and because he knows his life here is temporary so he doesn’t see any point in getting attached to people. In stark contrast to Brian’s out and proud and fuck you if you have a problem with it brand of politics, he is still trying to hide who he is in service of his father’s political career, even if he’s pretty sloppy about it (see him fucking Top in a car with giant windows parked in the driveway at a house party).

Boston’s moral code is fungible and ever-changing to fit his circumstances—boy is a hypocrite (see his opinions about people filming and photographing him even as he does the same to others constantly). He has no loyalty and no qualms about hurting and betraying his friends, and actively tries to destroy their relationships for sport or as a means to get what he wants. He does not feel responsible for anyone and often lies and ducks accountability for the things he does. He does not care about his community at all, and in fact already has a NYC escape hatch in his back pocket for when he inevitably burns his bridges. He is not as honest as Brian and sends a lot of mixed messages to keep people guessing and on the hook.

Rather than hurting people by being brutally honest as Brian does, Boston plays psychological games and manipulates his friends and lovers, and he seems to take twisted pleasure in blowing up their happiness. We haven’t seen him make a promise or fall in love, and while there are some signs that he may have some sort of inferiority complex at play (with Mew in particular), his motives are not tied to any past trauma. Boston is just a messy bitch who loves chaos and doesn’t really care who gets hurt as long as he gets what he wants and stays entertained. Where Brian is literally a superhero to his loved ones, Boston is just a very flawed human being. 

But Shan, I hear you saying, I thought you liked Boston! I do, besties, I do. He’s a fantastic character and a very real kind of person many of us encounter in our 20s. Because that’s the thing: Boston is so young. He hasn’t developed any sense of responsibility to others or any understanding of the importance of queer community, and he has never had to take care of himself, which is perhaps the biggest difference between him and Brian. Brian has lived independently for more than a decade when we meet him in QaF, whereas Boston is a spoiled rich kid who has barely lived. Brian is a fully realized adult and his more nuanced characterization is a reflection of that; Boston is actually a pretty basic chaotic drama queen who will grow up eventually. 

TL;DR: Aside from being promiscuous, Boston has very little in common with Brian Kinney. He is more a reflection of a very real kind of person you will meet on the scene in queer communities than an homage to a larger than life fictional QaF character. And while OF is absolutely referencing some of the themes and values and stylistic flourishes of QaF, it is not making direct parallels to its characters. 

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

Shadows Entwined: Part 2

BatmanVsTmnt!Leonardo x sidekick!reader

Part 1 / Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Bonus (18+)

In which both Leo and reader get grilled by their families, because of the "pretty eyes".

Warnings: Spelling, loong.

The reader and the turtles are 19.

—--------------------------------------

“They call him… The Batman”, Donnie said, reading from his computer screen, causing Leo to break from his starting contest with the wall. He didn’t even remember how he got to staring at the wall. He remembers returning to the abandoned cafe with his brothers, after their meeting with this, Batman and… her. She had said his eyes were pretty. No way she actually meant it. Not with eyes like hers. They were… Leo did not know how to describe them… deep? Colorful? Lively? Filled with emotion-, oh this is how he ended up zoning out in the first place.

Leo was once again pulled out of his thoughts, as Raph started yelling about how stupid it was to use half an hour to google something he could have guessed in seconds.

“I’ve read rumors about a supernatural bat creature in Gotham, but I assumed that he was an urban legend, or that he was a mutant like us”, Donnie said deeply fascinated.

“That guy was definitely human”, Leo finally spoke. “And I think his super natural powers are just his gadgets. Anything about the girl?” Leo could see Raph facepalm out of the corner of his eye.

“Nothing”, Donnie said. “Only stuff about this Batman, or whatever he is”. Why did that pull down on Leo’s mood? No information about her at all?

“We already know what he is!” Mikey was practically dancing at the whiteboard. “He’s awesome!... Unless he’s a bad guy… That would make him… 40% less awesome”. Leo could already tell by the look on Raph’s face that he wanted to punch their little brother all the way back to New York.

“No one knows his motives, but it does appear that he only attacks criminals”, Donnie continued. “Especially this clown guy”.

“So he wears a Dracula costume and punches clowns. Who cares?!”, yelled Raph. “The dirtbag stole my sai!”

“Dracula costume? What kind of Dracula movies have you been watching?”, Donnie muttered.

“Is that why that girl hang around him?!”, Mikey yelled from his whiteboard, jumping with the same enthusiasm he had shown ever since they arrived in Gotham. “He has bitten her and now she is under his control? This city just gets better and better!”

“I don’t think so Mikey. She did say Leo had pretty eyes”, Donnie said. “Hypothetically, I don’t think a human under vampire control would say that. I actually don’t even think vampires in fiction can control people like that…”

Leo already hated this conversation.

“Look all I’m saying is Shredder stole the ooz from TCRI and came to Gotham, we know he’s been working with a new partner, right? It’s gotta be this bat creep and that Leo loving sidekick he has around”, Raph said, exasperated.

Leo remained unmoving with his arms crossed, but the mentioning of the girl made something move in his stomach.

“I’m not so sure”, Leo said. “The way they fought, avoiding lethal blows. They wanted to figure us out. Like a detective".

“She wanted to figure you out”, Raph mumbled, just loud enough for Leo to hear it. Leo would have spoken up, and Mikey not done it first.

“Okay bros. I broke it down”, he said, pointing to his drawings on the whiteboard. “Awesome: Little bat throwing things, cool car, sweet hat, Leo’s first girlfriend. Not awesome: Kicked our butts, may be evil, mean voice, Leo’s first heartbreak”.

“Either way”, Leo broke in, before giving his brothers any chance to add on to Mikey’s whiteboard Batman and sidekick breakdown. “After Wayne Enterprises, we have no idea where the Foot will be next. The Batman is our only lead”.

Donnie nodded. “Whether friend or foe, he and his sidekick was at the scene of the crime. And if you give me a minute, I think I’ve gotten an idea”.

---

“I was right outside!” you yelled like a spoiled child, waving your arms in the air, while Batman carefully looked at the magnifying glass in front of him, a sample he had taken from the sai laying in the little glass tray. “I did nothing but watch those metahumans kick Penguin’s butt! I could have helped you!”

“I did not need help”, Batman said, stoic as he always was when wearing that mask. “I had it under control”.

“That blood in your mouth said otherwise”, you sighed leaning against the deck next to you. This man was stubborn and you knew it. It was no use fighting him on his opinions, as it would be a losing battle for anyone except him.

You heard the familiar sound of a grappling against metal, and saw as Batgirl made her way out of the air vent.

“Heard on the scanner that the police took in some of Penguin’s men. Said they were jumped by four crazy frogs. I assume those were my lizard guys”, she said.

“Your lizard guys are strange”, you told Batgirl.

“They are turtles”, Batman said, pressing keys on the computer keyboard. “And the DNA on this weapon suggests they were mutated by an outside agent”.

“Mutant ninja turtles”. You raised a brow. “And me who thought Gotham couldn’t get any stranger”.

“The technology the ninjas have already stolen could be used to refine a mutagen like that”, Batgirl noted. “But why?”

“The cloud-seeder is the last piece of the puzzle. Which is why I had to move it to a secure location outside of Gotham”.

“I really wished you guys brought me in on this!”, Batgirl said. “I mean I saw the monsters first. It’s my case”.

“And pass up the opportunity to watch them swordfight Penguin later in the future? No way! I had front seat tickets!”

“There were too many unknowns. You could have gotten hurt. Both of you”. Batman turned his attention towards you. “You have to be more careful, (Y/N)”.

“What do you mean? I was beating that blue one pretty good”.

“Yet you didn’t notice the red one almost tapped you from the back”.

You felt a movement in your stomach and cold run down your back, yet your face started to feel hot. You did not notice at all. When would that have happened?... How long did you look into those blue eyes? Did the red one see an opening, only for Batman to save you, while you were being engulfed in a mutant turtle’s eyes, not noticing the world around you?

“N- no, I didn’t”.

“No, and you’ll have to work on that before I start calling you for backup”. Feedback from Batman always sounded harsh. And it did make you feel self conscious. But when it came to fighting alongside Batman, it was a matter of life and death. “In the meantime”, Batman continued, before you could dig too deep into your own feelings. “I’ll need to start working on a way to counteract the mutagen”. Batman stood for a moment. “And for that I could use both of your help”.

You could feel a big smile form on your face as Batgirl thanked the man you saw as your father figure. It wasn’t often that he actually asked for your help, or any help at all, making this a rare occasion, forever saved in your memory.

“All though”, Batgirl said as Batman looked closer at the sai he had gotten from the red turtle. “If those creatures left the Penguin's men tied up for the police, maybe I was wrong about them”.

“Maybe”, was all Batman had to say about that.

The drive back to the Batcave from Wayne Enterprise was silent. With you and Batgirl squished together in one seat, while Batman was driving the Batmobile. The silence that was so common when it came to Batman. It was a far cry from the Bruce Wayne that had taken you in as his own daughter. I was as if the moment he took the mask on, he became a different person. Not less loving than the Bruce Wayne you had given the title father, but less expressive and harder to read.

“Pretty eyes?”, Batman said, finally breaking the silence. Batgirl looked at you in confusion.

“It caught him off guard didn’t it? I’ll say it worked”, you said, playing with a smile on your lips. The bat stayed silent. You knew that silence. It was not an approving silence. You tried playing it off, talking about something else. “Did you notice how easily excited the orange one got? And how mad that red one was? They kind of remind me of Robin-”.

“Your brother is not comparable to a bunch of ninja turtles”.

“Well you might think that”, you mumbled, thinking of your pestilence of an adopted brother, that often caused chaos in your daily life, by sneaking around Wayne Manor. “He does look a little like them”.

Batgirl turned to Batman. “Care to explain?”

Batman sighed. “(H/N) and the blue mutant had a moment where she told him he had pretty eyes”.

“A moment?”, Batgirl asked, slightly shocked.

“A stare down”, you said, feeling your cheeks getting hot.

“A moment”, Batman corrected. “Even his attacks became softer after she told him”.

“No they didn’t!”

“They did. And so did yours”.

With your cheeks on fire, you crossed your arms and leaned back into the seat you shared with Batgirl. The amused smile she was trying to hide, made you wish the Batmobile would swallow you on the spot.

Why did that damn turtle have to have such pretty eyes?

[laura1633]

I do have lots of lovely asks to respond to which I will respond to tomorrow 💕. For now I thought I would post this. It is something I wrote a while ago, it was part of a longer one shot but never worked out quite how I wanted but I thought I would post this random bit here as I think it works as a stand alone scene.

Doodles

Max feels like he's back at school as he sits in the latest driver's briefing with his FIA branded notepad and pen. He's not entirely sure whose idea it was to make everyone takes notes but if he had to bet on it he would be placing all of his money on George. The Brit is sat in the front row of the meeting with his notepad open and pen already pressed down on the page because god forbid he misses jotting anything down.

There's a few other seemingly willing participants, Esteban and Logan have at least got the notepad open, but for the most part everyone seems a little unimpressed. The Dutchman gazes down the line of chairs, smirking to himself as he sees Fernando and Valtteri ripping pages out and making paper airplanes. 

The meeting starts a little later than planned, the delay and the fact the room is so warm is enough to almost send Max off to sleep, the Dutchman just catches himself a few times before nodding off entirely. It's not that he's not interested in safety measures or discussing the ins and outs of penalties but sometimes the topic of conversation can be a little uninspiring. Todays hot topic seems to be something about underwear or he supposes they could be talking about tyre blankets, Max isn't entirely sure because he zoned out at the start and now nothing makes sense.

The Red Bull driver sits up a little straighter in his seat and finally opens his notepad and starts doodling, laughing quietly to himself as he sketches out a picture of a cat in a top hat. It's a useful way of staying awake, his gaze fixed down on the paper as he mindlessly scrawls anything that comes to his head.

He's pretty absorbed in what he is doing when Daniel suddenly nudges him in the side and taps down on his own pad to show Max his own drawing. It’s a huge cock complete with little beads of what is presumably pre-cum dripping from the tip. Max chuckles childishly and loudly. A few other drivers turn around to see what the fuss is about and Max just about manages to hold on and not let himself descend into uncontrollably laughter.

The meeting ends about an hour after its scheduled end time and there is an audible sigh of relief as the drivers start getting to their feet. Max jumps up purposefully and starts bolting for the door hoping to get some nice fresh air and maybe a can of Red Bull to wake him up.

"Hey" George coughs loudly trying to gather everyone's attention, there's a few groans as everyone stops making their escape, "Someone dropped their notepad”

Fuck.

Max rolls his eyes, he's pretty sure he's going to be scolded for dropping his pad down on the floor. He's just about to own up to his mistake when he sees George open the book and the Dutchman's heart almost punches its way clean out of his chest.

"Is this yours Charles?" George waves the book in the Monegasque's direction.

"No" Charles huffs, clearly a little put out at being blamed. Not that this is the crime of the century, it's a notepad in a multi billion pound industry.

"It has your name in it ...oh wait no..." George frowns at the book again "Max Leclerc”

A strange gargled sound forms in the back of Max's throat as his face burns up into a nice bright red colour. He's pretty sure this is how he is going to die. It's not going to be some heroic death or some nice peaceful passing around love ones, it's going to be right here in the driver's briefing room surrounded by colleagues as he succumbs to embarrassment.

"Max Leclerc, actually Max Verstappen-Leclerc, it's written in a heart" George mumbles again and if Max could form any words right now he would tell the Brit to stop talking because he's already received the fatal blow and any further embarrassment is purely overkill. Instead he just stands there and lets his whole body glow red and his palms turn sweaty.

If he didn't feel like he was in high school before then he certainly does now. The page of his notebook is full of signatures, his signature, his signature if he married Charles and took his surname to be precise. It's like something he watched girls do in class all those years ago. It's surrounded by hearts with different variations of their name smashed together, Max Leclerc, Charles Verstappen, Max Leclerc-Verstappen, Max Verstappen-Leclerc.

"Max is this yours then?" George murmurs a little more quietly. Max honestly preferred it when the Brit was being brash and to the point because it somehow seems even more humiliating now that the Mercedes driver seems to understand what he is looking at and has shifted into using a more sympathetic tone.

"No" Max snaps, although he guesses the fact he is blushing and almost on the verge of tears is enough to highlight the fact he is in fact lying.

"Okay Okay" Daniel laughs, "I think he's embarrassed enough" The Aussie ruffles his hand playfully through Max's hair, "Sorry Maxie, it's my awful sense of humour, I thought it would be funny”

"It's yours" George scrunches his face up looking a little confused.

"Yeah" Daniel snatches the notepad out of George's hand, "I was just fucking around to wind him up.”

Max isn't sure whether anyone is convinced or not but he's never been so grateful to anyone in his whole life when Daniel links arms with him and strides out of the room confidently.

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Gay wrongs tournament, round 1 of the major bracket

Propaganda:

For Arsene Lupin III and Jigen Daisuke :

The start of be gay do crime! Jigen literally buys Lupin flowers while Lupin calls him "Jigen-chan" but they also shoot and kill and steal!!!

Lupin and Jigen have been Partners in Crime (and more) for over 50 years of media history. From the very beginning, when Jigen thinks Lupin has died in Part 1 episode 13 he openly weeps, tears streaming down his face and everything. Earlier that same episode Lupin tells Jigen he looked sexy in the maid costume he wore for the heist. In Part 5, they pretend to be two old men living together in an apartment above a cafe. They bicker like an old married couple. People are tying to track Lupin in the first half of the season and this: ‘As Lupin’s Lover where ever he is Lupin must be too’ is said about Jigen. In Part 6, Lupin keeps giving Jigen flowers. (He’s buying the flowers to keep an eye on someone and doesn’t want to look suspicious but he gives them to Jigen, after telling the store owner their for his wife) he calls Jigen either a ‘Fuzzy Angel’ (sub) or Hairy Hunk (dub). Jigen also tries to break Lupin from mindcontrol by bringing up their partnership. Like Sub line is ‘I’ve always been your partner man’ and the Dub line is ‘is that any way to treat your partner?’. The biggest thing though is in Lupin Zero, where Lupin declares he’s going to make his first official heist as Lupin III. He walks up to Jigen, places his hand on his chest, closes his hand and draws it back to himself then asks Jigen ‘So Jigen…was I able to steal it?’ To which Jigen replies ‘I’d say so’ while pulling his hat down over his face. Lupin’s ‘first real heist’ was STEALING JIGEN’S HEART! Also in Lupin III vs Cats eye Lupin pats Jigen on the ass (sound effect and everything) and Jigen doesn’t even react. There’s way more stuff from various movies and specials, this is just some of what jumps to mind right now. They may not be CANON but they’re pretty close :)

They are in fact husbands and they do be murderin’ (since 1960)

For Heavy and Medic:

Unhinged mercenaries waging unending war

They're so deeply in gay love that gameplay-wise they're one of the most formidable threats in the game when together. This is because gay love is the most powerful force in the world, which allows them to do so much murder. In the comic, Heavy goes berserk and kills the heavy weapons expert of the Team Fortress Classic team after he kills Medic, and Medic escapes death by swindling the devil. He stole the Team Fortress Classic team's souls by surgically extracting them and sewing them into himself, so even though he already sold his soul, the devil doesn't have the majority of his soul because he has 8 more.

[zankydraws]

You got any Wekiddy headcannons? Especially for MJ?

idk if these count as hcs or not but I might have some!

MJ 182: - he's a shapeshifting alien. idk what his true form would be yet but I want to draw it someday, I'd go with some sort of anthro reptile/shark mix probably - a bit of an asshole, likes to cause problems on purpose (his main goal is pissing off El Cool P) - loves pop-punk (bruh MJ makes me wish there was an actual pop-punk version of Incredibox where he's the main character..) - he thinks Xenomorph is a hottie.. (dfkgjhdfks) - I like to think he's a good artist, specifically good at spray painting (and he uses his talent to destroy public property or El Cool P's belongings) - definitely the most rebellious guy in the group - hates to dress up - can and will bite people (mostly Cool P)

El Cool P: - huge ego. absolutely massive - probably commits crimes (loves arson) - idk there's something wrong with him - would do good stuff for people (like giving money to charity) just to make himself feel better and make people love him more - uses his good looks and charm to his advantage - if he wants something, he WILL get it - probably has tons of merch with his own stupid face on it (he owns an El Cool Shirt and an El Cool Plushie for sure) - owns like millions of suits (and matching bucket hats) - argues with MJ all the time - a terrible driver (don't get into a car with him) (how did he even get a driving license?)

KC Glow: - precious baby boy, an absolute angel - looooong sleeves - does the excited flappy hand thing a lot - can actually glow in the dark, somehow - has freckles! - you could probably pick him up and carry him around and he would be chill about it

ASAP Bee: - looks like a cinnamon roll but could kill you - loves bees, they are his best buddies - probably stores bees in his fanny pack - if you hurt/kill a bee, he will beat the shit out of you - seriously don't mess with him and his bee friends - loves bee memes, puns and everything bee related - owns a machine gun (this one is ridiclous but some people call him a machine gun guy and it made me think that it would be funny if he actually owned a gun. so don't mess with his bees unless you want a bullet in your butt) - absolutely loves honey, he's obsessed with it, always carries a bottle/jar of honey around

Big Duke: - looks like a cinnamon roll and is a cinnamon roll - a very chill and nice guy - always ready to help! - I like to think he's a little chubby - short king

Swingy: - works out a lot, he's very fit and pretty strong - I talked about this some time ago but he gives me the 80's fitness instructor vibes so he can probably teach people how to work out properly and dance - kinda stupid but he's very nice! :D - loves food and eats all the time - likes his hair a lot and doesn't want anyone touching it - generally likes to look pretty

Blue GT: - kind of a bitch - has heterochromia (I drew him with different eye colors once and loved the idea a lot lol) - he's sooo tired of hearing MJ and Cool P argue ("just kill each other already") - he just wants to be left alone - wears turtlenecks and rings - has to look fabulous at all times - loves coffee

Memphis: - doesn't want to get in trouble but somehow always ends up getting in trouble because of MJ or Cool P (because they are assholes) (Mephis still likes to spend time with his buddies tho, even if it doesn't always end up being good for him) - his hair is extremely floofy and soft, it's unbelievable - he seems a little shy to me..

and that's all I guess.. I don't really have any headcanons for the other dudes, but I might come up with something someday

[stevesaxetogrind]

Truly those calling it “bad writing” that Robin and Vickie share similarities doesn’t make sense. She’s not been given enough time to be more than just a love interest, but we do have some info about her:

1. Molly Ringwald inspo, giving us shorthand about being kind of a quirky gal. Hat! Visually, she’s similar to Robin, but that’s not a bad thing because literally similar interests draw people together. She is also skirts vs Robin’s trousers. Femme/Soft Butch! You’re telling me Vickie would wear a tie? Lies.

2. Likes goofy jokes, namely Steve’s joke about Muppet Tammy. Which, Robin doesn’t laugh at Steve’s jokes that much- she dismisses them, but it means Vickie has a bit of a jocular sense of humour.

3. Vickie also likes Steve’s brand of movies, not Robin’s- which is pretty fucking funny. Again, this is not making Vickie similar to Robin, but to things shared with Robin’s Platonic Soulmate. Like, bro movies? Stupid lil jokes? I predict Steve and Vickie having a dad joke competition next season & torturing Robin with how corny they are. People like to talk about the similarities to Robin, but not the similarities to Steve! That’s kind of clever drawing Vickie closer to one of Robin’s favourite people, at least superficially.

4. Talks a lot when one on one, but Vickie wasn’t nervous/flustered in the band scene, so we can infer in more crowded spaces she acts differently/subdued - as like she was in the War Zone. This is unlike Robin who does actually ramble in group scenes, like freaking out over the thing in El’s leg, the rabies bit, or generally a lot of Season 4 where she looses her “cool girl” archetype from Season 3 in favour of chaos. Vickie seems more like she would quietly panic, as opposed to Eddie, Argyle, and Steve who all loudly go WHAT THE FUCK. Which is going to be interesting to see as the whole town is now thrown into an open gate downtown Hawkins probably releasing demogorgons every other hour like it’s Pacific Rim up in this bitch.

5. Meaningful look with Robin in the War Zone- not “oh hi band friend!” A scared/caught/dismayed look that she was there. So there is a connection, and she broke up with her boyfriend after that connection. Anything more is speculation, but the way she wasn’t looking at Robin when she gave the “he doesn’t like Fast Times” reason lets the audience draw points and maybe she felt trapped? Like it was just an excuse to pursue a different interest? Obviously because music is playing indicating a romantic relationship. We don’t have much to compare Robin with on this one, but around Keith she still had more confidence and bullshittery trying to convince him to hire Steve when Keith assumed they were a thing.

6. Vickie also doesn’t seem jealous. Robin is jealous. She was livid at Steve for being the object of Tammy’s affections, but Vickie hasn’t seemed to even look twice at Steve- even as Robin looked over at him while she and Vickie had her last scene.

For such a short amount of time in the season, I think that we have a good foundation for similarities and differences to Robin. Also, once again, it’s not a crime to avoid “opposites attract” tropes. Having similarities is good! Like, the amount of couples I know that are essentially the same archetype of queer person is not even close to zero. Especially when it comes to older queer couples who got together in the 80s/90s, they kind of morph into being one granola bar of a human being. Kind of similar with straight people when they genuinely like one another.

I hope they flesh Vickie out, but like, we’ve gotten a similar amount of screen time for Mr Clarke but no one is mad he is “one dimensional” when he is just, some exposition science guy. He’s a stock and standard teacher, has a girlfriend, and kind of goes along with explaining shit without questioning why a lot. But folks love Mr Clarke. Is it because Mr Clarke isn’t getting in the way of your ship?

I never thought I would see the day there were some true blue f/f ship wars, but bruh, Robin’s love life isn’t an A Plot so give the writers some slack. They’re human, not the devil. None of you were gleeks and it shows so fucking much. None of you lived through “angry lesbians on the internet don’t want me dating you”.

Personally I’m looking forward to Robin and Vickie getting together and maybe hopefully kicking monster butt together- or at least, Robin getting a nice little badass moment defending her gal.

[ducktoonsfanart]

John D. Rockerduck and Jeeves (Lusky) with Rockerduck's family plus Donald and Scrooge - Duckverse - Gift for my friends

Once again I wish you a belated Valentine's Day, and on this occasion I drew a drawing of one of my beloved fictional couples from Donald Duck comics. It is about the love relationship between Rockerduck and Jeeves (Lusky) and that they are gay but the best partners in which they help each other. John Davison Rockerduck is the third richest duck in Duckburg and one of Scrooge's biggest rivals, but who knows how to use modern technology and spend money on everything just to beat Scrooge in the competition, and if he doesn't win, he eats his hat. He is often assisted by his butler, secretary and partner Jeeves (Lusky) and Rockerduck depends on him. Something similar to Albert Quackmore and Duckworth for Scrooge. Nevertheless, as a loyalist, he does not betray his boss and participates in the "crime" together. He often appears in Italian comics, but sometimes appears in other European comics as well. However, the two of them, even though they are not a couple in the comics, there are still many indications that they are in a romantic relationship and thanks to the fans of these characters, here I am to do my drawing related to the two of them.

Apart from them, there are Rockerduck's nephews, Ricky Rockerduck (who is Donald's age and likes to hang out with Donald, and is also clumsy), Simeon Rockerduck (Rockerduck's special nephew, similar to Donald's nephews) and Arsène, George and Patrick Rockerduck ( Rockerduck's nephews who are a pure copy of Donald's nephews, appeared a couple of times in Italian comics) who support their uncle Rockerduck, and there are also Donald Duck (who hangs out with Ricky) and Scrooge McDuck, Rockerduck's rival and best frenemy. I used mostly redraws from Topolino scenes and other European comics and combined some of my own in my own way (especially in the case of Rockerduck's nephews).

I hope you like this drawing and this Rockerduck/Jeeves pairing. And this is a gift for my friends, who told me that Rockerduck and Jeeves are great characters, especially for @salemaru (which was her birthday recently so this is also a birthday present), @rednevalbones and @bitterlynsposts. And thanks a lot for pointing me to these comics as well as new inspirations and this is my gift to you.

Feel free to like and reblog this if you like it! Just don't use these same ideas without mentioning me! Thank you!

[randomfoggytiger]

randomfoggytiger's Fictober Wrap Up, 2023

My first Fictober has concluded; and I decided to throw together my entries, thoughts, and acknowledgements into one post for posterity.

*****

Fictober Fics

"The Dead Are Everywhere, Scully"

Mulder and Scully reunite in the afterlife, two skeletons dancing in the rain and the mud.

"Regardless of His Actions Last Night"

Queequeg, alive and savage, joins Scully on her Chinga vacation.

"As Agent Mulder Says, There Are Many Different Kinds of Vampires" Part I

Mulder and Scully are attacked and turned into vampires by Ronnie Strickland. Scully's crisis begins when her faith seemingly rejects her.

"Time Passing in Moments"

Post Fight the Future Scully brings Halloween to Mulder, determined to give him a break while they wait and wait and wait for OPR.

"As Agent Mulder Says, There Are Many Different Kinds of Vampires" Part II

Mulder encourages Scully not to give up on her faith, both of them choosing to face potential death by holy fireball rather than letting her live in fearful limbo.

"There's Something Up There Mulder"

Scully realizes that Tooms is likely a distant relation of the Gender Bender Brethren (Amish hats are mentioned.)

"I Wonder If You Think It's Safe Enough to Indulge Yourself"

Metaphorical similarities between Mulder's supposed red-green colorblindness (which he does not have) and red-hot Phoebe Green.

"How Much You're Like Ahab"-- Mulder parallels his and Scully's crime scene eating habits to those of their cannibalistic pets.

"The Truth Is Out There-- But So Are Lies"-- Scully ruminates on her partner's ease with lying; and her ability to save him from Them and himself.

"Something Approaching a Normal Life"-- Mulder realizes Scully had invited him to (a disastrous) Thanksgiving to distract himself from the anniversary of his sister's abduction. He plans to return the favor.

"Preying on the Weak and Vainglorious"-- Post Sanguinarium Mulder ruminates on bad luck and bad ends; and Scully insists he's beautiful.

"Kids Today, Huh?"-- 2023 Mulder sinks into a slump after listening to a mopey song all day. Scully reasons him out of it.

"Is Being Made a Fool Of a Crime, Agent Mulder?"-- Mulder and Scully celebrate life, the dead, and all the Roadrunners and Wile E. Coyotes of the world. (My "happy birthday in a way, Mulder" fic.)

"We Need to Get Help"-- Mulder contemplates the glaring similarities between Gender Bender and Never Again and the new differences in his partner.

"We'll Think of Something"-- The Unnatural Scully grumbles over Mulder's tendency to run off into trouble. She goes, anyway.

"End of the Road"-- Mulder's peace after Closure.

"He Had Parents Who Loved Him"-- The Mulder family and baseball.

"I Think She Was Just Trying To Get Away"-- Scully reminisces on Mulder's distance and need for distraction post Monday.

"You Don't Know the First Thing About Me"-- Krycek has fixed opinions about the Syndicate, Mulder, Marita, and morals.

"My Religious Convictions Are Hardly the Issue Here"-- Scully and Mulder try to tackle her fears post All Souls.

"I'm Tired"-- Scully draws parallels between her Tithonus experience and Mulder's Sleepless and Demons one.

"Life’s Just a Path”-- If Melissa were alive post Fight the Future and Millennium, she'd never let her sister live it down.

"I Think He’s a Hard Kid to Love”-- Post Schizogeny Scully is sent on a case with Mulder to unofficially help Skinner's friends, one of which is a bear. (Prompts and artwork contributed by my two sisters.)

"Mulder Will Be Back”-- Jeffrey Spender sneers at Mulder's "hubris."

"Easy for You to Say”-- Post First Person Shooter Mulder is enamored with his little battle girlfriend.

"No More Paranormal than a Change of Wardrobe”-- Freshly-dating Mulder and Scully's lifestyles don't quite match yet; but the effort is worth it.

"What Must a Mother Go Through”-- Post Emily Mulder reasons Scully out of her Mrs. Peacock comparisons.

"Watch Over You Wherever You Go”-- One Breath Maggie remembers the many reinterpretations of her daughter's necklace.

"Your Ideas Are Weirder than Ours”-- The Lone Gunmen are woken by two very grumpy-with-each-other special agents.

"Doesn’t Make Him Less of a Miracle”-- AU Mulder tries to fight colonization and wrangle his "sea monster" child at the local ball pit.

"Sooner or Later a Man’s Gotta Face His Demons”-- Post Amor Fati Scully prods Mulder on a stakeout about his lack of Samhain hunting.

*****

My Thoughts

It's been a few years since I've committed to a daily creative project, but this month flew by. It was a joy to prove myself, in a way; and an even greater privilege to take other people's prompts and turn them into stories. I'm proud of the work I put in, proud of how they turned out, and proud that they entertained anyone who read them.

I did discover a personal writing flaw: grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Which, given that I write and "edit" everything in under an hour and that my brain autocorrects and rewrites while I'm actively writing, is understandable. There are multiple reblogged versions of my finalized fics because I would spot an error and edit after publication but not before the readers hit. And that's okay! (When my Ao3 submission goes through, I'll upload each fic "in its final form", so no sweat there.)

*****

Trivia

Each fic was named with a quote from The X-Files, mostly from Mulder and Scully but also by various side characters (Phoebe Green, Krycek, and Maggie, namely.)

I tackled Scully's religion a lot this month as a way to work out my frustrations with her episodes: her belief in the series has always been chocked up as "yes man" syndrome; and I believe it did a disservice to Scully, multi-layered character that she is. I hope it did her a little more justice.

In a way, I dedicate "The Dead Are Everywhere, Scully" to @enigmaticdrblockhead-- whose writing not only influenced that piece but also sticks with me to this day-- and @perpetually-weirdening-- whose interest in an immortal Scully breathed life into this idea.

In a way, I dedicate "The Truth is out There, But So Are Lies" to @suitablyaggrieved: the discussion we had (concerning Mulder's ability to lie quite well) rattled around in my head until I put it down "on paper."

In a way, I dedicate "Something Approaching a Normal Life" to Baroness Blixen, who is the master of weaving angst and fluff into her holiday fics.

In a way, I dedicate "I Wonder If You Think It's Safe Enough to Indulge Yourself" to @settle-down-frohike because it reads more meta than fic (while also reading as fic.)

In a way, I dedicate "He Had Parents Who Loved Him" to @television-overload, whose baseball fic inspired by Field of Dreams still takes up space in my noggin.

And I think that's all my thoughts for now~.

*****

Acknowledgements and Thanks

@baronessblixen for encouraging me to write this month-- another boost on the long list of encouragements you've given me~.

@agent-troi and @welsharcher (my Fox Mulder Singleton Club members) for their generous prompts. Truly touched by both of you: your loooooooong list, agent-troi; and your vibey suggestions, welsharcher.

@wexleresque for your vampire prompt (that was a fun fic challenge), and your "looking up at the sky" prompt (which challenged me to tackle older years Mulder and Scully.)

@stephy-gold for her Nessa Barrett song prompt (which I plugged into older years Mulder and Scully)-- I learned something new and tackled a genre that is not my favorite (songfic.)

@tossingmyglossymane for the post Monday prompt, which was more challenging to write than expected (and turned out great.)

@xxsksxxx for the prompt about Scully's cross necklace-- that was an initial struggle to nail down until I tied it back to Maggie; then it flowed~.

Anon for the prompt wanting Mulder to mull over Scully's words in Gender Bender (which tied, I thought, perfectly into his confusion in Never Again.)

Thank you to my sisters for the fall prompts that lead to Bernie the Bear (and another thank you to my younger sister who let me include her doodle for that day's Fictober entry.)

And thank you to everyone who engaged, liked, reblogged, and anything else! (I always like to dip in and out of the Notes section to see how each person responded differently to each fic-- a bonus game: make guesses and see if they're correct.) There are too many to count, so I'll just include a few off the top of my head: @dd-is-my-guiltypleasure, @amplifyme, @pianogirlxf, @scullys-scalpel, @teenie-xf, @agertiegirl, @improlificinsarcasm, @borogirl, @tofuttim, @mysteryness, @rosedyl, @spidey-is-tired, and others~!

*****

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

Tagging @today-in-fic and @xffictober2023 and @fictober-event

[robsterskellington]

Sorry this took so long! We struggled to remember what we had originally written, then I caught the flu on top of it. Anyway!

Context: as stated, Chuuya is accused of a crime. Vanitas still doesn't have his memories at this point in time, but he's managed to cure the Port Mafia of Vampirism since Bram was unable to. Bit of a soukoku snippet again, so enjoy!

Days turned to weeks, then soon, Vanitas had been in Yokohama, with the Agency, for just over three months. He still had no memories, only feelings and images, and he had his grimoire that he could use with his Ability. He felt at home, despite everything- Yosano insisted on giving him regular checkups and verified the following: he had started gaining a healthy weight ever since he found out he *loved* Japanese food, his sleep pattern was normal thanks to Kunikida helping him fall into a routine, and his mind was staying active with the amount of paperwork and the drawing he did with Kyouka.

He still felt useless. Sure, he'd joined the Agency, but no Entrance Exam had been arranged for him yet, and he was still under observation. He had managed to settle certain things by curing the Vampires in Yokohama, it was just taking a while for the rest of the world's militaries to gather the remaining Vampires, and it would take a lot out of him to reverse the affects of Bram's Ability.

Thoughts faded once Kunikida started the meeting; Fukuzawa had called everyone, and for once, everyone was able to be in attendance, though Dazai had his feet on the table, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. Kunikida dimmed the lights and began a slideshow presentation.

Photos of corpses on the ground, looking like their bones had been crushed in their bodies, buildings with chunks taken out of them, and a blurry image of a man in a hat, glowing red, jumping across buildings. The corpses belonged to a group that were causing the Port Mafia a lot of issues, stealing money, weaponry and even killing some of their thugs. So naturally, they needed to be taught a lesson, which meant having them slaughtered.

Usually, the person responsible for revenge killings was Akutagawa, however he was very true to his promises, and so he was still holding back on killing people. Kouyou was a Higher Executive, so she wouldn't filthy her own hands unless it was absolutely necessary, and the same logic went for Mori, as he was the Boss. Hirotsu was skilled, and could certainly cause this kind of damage, however his parkor skills weren't *that* good, and his Ability was a purple colour. Tachihara wouldn't make this much of a mess, neither would Gin.

Just looking at the photos, it was fairly obvious that the culprit was Nakahara Chuuya. The culprit could walk on air, had a red aura, and though the hat obscured the face, the style of hat he wore was the same as Chuuya's.

The problem with that was, not everyone in the Agency believed what their eyes were showing- Chuuya wouldn't leave evidence of his crimes, if he committed this. He'd never allow himself to be seen on camera, he was always oddly discreet for someone with that amount of chaotic energy. As for the buildings, since civilians may have been inside, he definitely wouldn't have used them. Even during the Dead Apple Incident, he used empty buildings and skyscrapers against Shibuzawa's Dragon, though whether that was because the Fog made people vanish or not was a factor to consider.

Dazai gave a half hearted shrug and looked up at his work partner, "You believe that slug would do all this? Please."

"I know you want to defend him, you have a history, but this can't just be ignored." Kunikida crossed his arms, "This is obvious to anyone that Nakahara Chuuya did this, so-"

"*Wrong.*" Everyone looked at Dazai, who sat up properly and glared at Kunikida, "Even under Mori's orders, Chuuya wouldn't slaughter this many people, regardless of what they've done to the Mafia. At most, he would capture them and have them sent to the torture experts. If you think this is Chuuya's doing, you need new glasses."

Fukuzawa cleared his throat and they both quietened, then Ranpo yawned loudly, "It shouldn't be any surprise that Dazai's right. Mr. Fancy Hat, while capable, didn't do this. Though something tells me that even with *my* deductions, not all of you seem to believe me. So, raise your hands: who believes Chuuya is innocent?"

Dazai's hand was the first to shoot up- usually he'd hide his feelings behind that mask of his, but since joining what was essentially the *good side*, Dazai had learned so much, and knew that things were always more complicated than they seemed. He trusted Chuuya, nothing would change that. Obviously he'd still keep their relationship a secret, but even if they weren't in love... Dazai wouldn't accuse Chuuya of this without seeing physical evidence, not photographs that could easily be forged.

Ranpo's hand rose as well, then Vanitas', Atsushi's and Kyouka's. After thinking about it, Kenji also raised his hand. Fukuzawa trusted Ranpo, and he also had the benefit of knowing Mori almost as well as Dazai, so his hand went up as well.

Kunikida crossed his arms, he still believed that Chuuya was likely an off the rails killer, and Dazai was likely covering for him. Plus, he wouldn't admit it, but after seeing Mushitaro's Ability, and how easily both Dazai and Fyodor could trick even a skilled person such as Ranpo, but he'd lost a lot of faith in his *Ultra Deduction*. Yosano's hand also remained on the table, since she'd seen first hand how arrogant and ready to kill Chuuya had been when they faced each other during the Three Way War.

The Tanizaki's also stayed out of the vote- Naomi did think that this was all incredibly suspicious, but there was no evidence pointing to someone other than Chuuya. She thought that maybe it would be better to investigate the matter first. The only reason she didn't raise her hand was because she simply didn't trust anyone in the Mafia, for the same reason as Yosano: Chuuya had been the one to help use Naomi and Haruno as bait for Steinbeck and Lovecraft. As for Jun'ichiro, he acknowledged that Chuuya had saved him against the Hunting Dogs, but also knew that he only did so on Mori's orders, not because he was a good person.

Even though the majority vote was that Chuuya was innocent, those thinking he was guilty were unwilling to change their stance and Kunikida nodded, "I'll notify Special Operations, see if they can have some sway over the Mafia."

"You can't do that." Dazai stood up and faced Kunikida, staring into his azure eyes, "Chuuya-"

"Whatever your history with him, forget it." He snapped, "Honestly, how do we know you aren't working with him as well? It's not like you're trustworthy, Mr. Port Mafia Executive." That stung. Yeah, Dazai hid his past, but Ranpo and Fukuzawa did the same thing. He saw red when Kunikida spoke, "He's a mindless killer for the Mafia, able to decimate his rivals. He's no better than the Former Port Mafia Boss. Even when you both worked together, he was the one who destroyed, you simply became his *off switch*, but you were the strategist."

"Kunikida." Ranpo spoke with a warning tone, but was ignored.

"How am I supposed to trust you when you never trusted us?!" He was shaking now, staring daggers at Dazai who had zero expression on his face, "Port Mafia Executive, kill count exceeding 800," that part made Kyouka flinch, "and how many of those were innocent?! Would you kill *us* if it suited your goals?!"

*No*, Dazai wanted to answer. He cared about the Agency, it wasn't even just about his promise to Odasaku anymore. Joining the Agency was the best choice he'd ever made, but perhaps his past could never escape him. He was always going to be just a former enemy, wasn't he? So, he decided to ask: "What exactly do you think of me?"

"After seeing everything you're capable of, I'm convinced that you pretend to have emotions. You're manipulative, cruel, and-" Everyone glared at him, trying to get him to stop, but before Ranpo could interject again, Kunikida blurted: "You're *less than human*, for God's sake!"

Dazai didn't respond to that, at least, not verbally. He just stood up and walked away, grabbing his coat and being silent the entire time.

Kunikida seemed to realise exactly what he just said, and before he could take a step forward, he got knocked to the ground, his vision going white as his cheek burned with pain. Vanitas panted slightly, his fist shaking as he glared at Kunikida, "What the actual *fuck* is wrong with you, Doppo Kunikida?!"

"I-..."

But when he looked up, he couldn't talk. Vanitas looked down, ashamed that he didn't speak up sooner, then took a breath, "Chuuya's innocent. I have proof. The only reason I didn't speak up was out of respect for Dazai." That was when he explained:

****

"Aaaand done." Vanitas looked up at the ceiling of his apartment, having hung up the final paper crane. When Jouno gave him the task of folding one thousand origami cranes, he wasn't exactly sure he could do it, but here he was, proving himself wrong. A thousand paper cranes hung from his ceiling, showing his progress, from when he first arrived here. After getting down from his chair, he caught something out of the corner of his eye- since he was on the top floor, he could see the streets below him from his window, and noticed Dazai, a hand in his pocket and the other on his phone.

Vanitas was naturally a little nosey, and hanging around the Agency only made that worse, so he couldn't help but open his window and leap onto the roof, deciding to follow. Dazai obviously had his own life and business, but something told Vanitas to look into this. Like an instinct that made no sense. He walked along the rooftops, thankful that the clouds in the sky made it impossible for Dazai to see his shadow- then again, he wouldn't be surprised if Dazai already knew he was following.

Dazai waited in an alley, leaning against the wall before grinning, "You came."

"...you called." Vanitas saw that the one responding to Dazai was none other than Chuuya, who wasn't wearing his signature hat... actually, he looked exhausted. His suit was a little crumpled, his hair was limp, and his eyes had dark bags underneath, "So you heard about those attacks?"

"Judging by your appearance, you're not the one responsible. No surprises there." Dazai stood up properly and looked at his partner, "What happened?"

Vanitas listened in as Chuuya explained that someone had been murdering enemies of the Port Mafia, and causing general chaos while disguised as Chuuya, which meant the real Chuuya had to work overtime to stop this asshole. Unfortunately, Chuuya was always a little too late, and ended up having to sort out paperwork, run around to examine clues, all mess that an Executive *shouldn't* be doing. He was burnt out and exhausted, he just wanted to sleep.

Knowing that, Dazai took the proper initiative; he scooped Chuuya up in his arms and ran like Hell. Vanitas followed after hearing the situation, knowing that if Chuuya was going to be accused, he might as well make sure Chuuya had an alibi. He watched as Dazai took him for ramen, then a walk on the beach, then grocery shopping. If Chuuya was under suspicion, it was best to lay low for a while, so after a quick drink at Bar Lupin, they went back to Chuuya's apartment for the night.

Vanitas took photos and even filmed some of their interactions, silently vowing to apologise to Chuuya and Dazai later, feeling gross for stalking them. Before they went into the apartment, Vanitas recorded one last thing that Chuuya said: "If the Agency do think I'm the asshole killing those guys, I don't mind turning myself in. I already know you'll fight to prove my innocence."

"That's not necessary, slug. But thanks for the offer. I'll stay with you for a few days, see if my presence alone is enough of an alibi." He tilted his head when Chuuya started shaking, "...what's funny?"

"Oh, please! You'd ever have the balls to tell the Agency we're together!" He laughed hard and grinned at him, "Even if you did, I doubt they'd believe you're in a committed relationship with a Port Mafia Executive."

"Maybe they won't, but we could get them to listen. The Agency aren't foolish. Sure, they've been tricked before, but so have the Port Mafia, the Guild, even the Decay of Angels." He kissed Chuuya's forehead and spoke softly, "I can at least try, okay?"

They both went inside and Vanitas stopped his recording, smiling to himself. He'd heard that they were a team in the Mafia, and if their love had bloomed from that, then no wonder they were so good together.

****

Once Vanitas had presented his evidence, Kunikida looked away, feeling like a moron. He'd been out of sorts for a while now, Jouno's words from before the attack at the airport still had him shaken to his core. The world wasn't black and white, and of course they wouldn't have believed Dazai if he'd come out as being in a relationship with a man, never mind an Executive of the Port Mafia!

They watched the videos and saw the photos, Ranpo looking at one in particular- it was the pair of them walking out of the grocery store. The time stamp on a photo of "Chuuya" leaping across the roof of a building matched. Dazai was his alibi and Vanitas had provided the proof. Ranpo simply nodded, "I'll talk to Poe and Fitzgerald, see if Eyes of God can help us determine who this Gifted is and why he's purposely pissing off the Mafia. In the meantime, nobody contacts Dazai or Chuuya, got it?"

Of course they all agreed, and those who voted on Chuuya being the culprit all left without a word, leaving the others to discuss how to help. Though Kyouka seemed curious: "Atsushi, Kenji... how come you both believed in his innocence?"

"Chuuya's really nice!" Kenji said with a grin, "He actually buys his veggies from my stall in town whenever he gets the chance, and sometimes we hang out over beef bowls. He respects strength of all kind, especially strength of heart."

"Yeah, I only ever ran into him outside of work once, when we went to go see the same movie. But I saw how he protected the people of Yokohama when the Guild initially attacked; he was the reason I wanted the Agency and the Port Mafia to work together." It was actually hard *not* to like Chuuya once you got to know him. Plus, Atsushi's senses were higher than most, so he could see a lot of the real Chuuya- he cared for his friends and family, had a lot of love for Yokohama and its people. He was terrified of losing himself and losing others, so he fought like Hell to protect what he could.

Chuuya was easier to read than Dazai, but that was okay. Dazai knew Chuuya better than anyone, and Atsushi trusted Dazai- even if Ranpo hadn't confirmed his innocence and Vanitas hadn't proved it, Atsushi absolutely would have believed in him anyway. Kenji obviously felt the same way. Kyouka smiled and glanced at Vanitas, who just shrugged, "I hang out with people outside of the Agency, and I could see more of Chuuya than most ever will when I cured his Vampirism. He'd never do anything blatantly stupid, even if he was pissed off. He'll be fine with Dazai."

Yeah, that was right. Dazai would have gone straight back to Chuuya. *Right?*

******

It was cold, and dusty. There hadn't been a need to come back here, not after Oda's death, not after he left the Mafia and got his own place. Even when he hid underground, it wasn't as miserable as this place. Verlaine had joked that Dazai was saving a lot of money by living in a sparsely furnished shipping container, but the fact of the matter was that it was barely suitable for the purpose Dazai originally got it for.

It was meant to be his own safe space, away from the Mafia, where nobody would find him. And if he got carried away on a ship by accident, then all the better, he could leave everything behind. But that never happened, clearly. He had this container bought since before he met Chuuya, and it was still cold, empty and depressing. But Dazai didn't know where to go with his mind and emotions fragmented. His hands curled in his hair, anger bubbling inside his chest, the pain *burned*- it itched and clawed at his sanity.

"...I always get pushed down, don't I, Odasaku?" He muttered to himself, trying to ignore the ringing in his head, "I don't want to get back up anymore."

He did end up on his knees, trying to breathe. It wasn't a cold day, but the container may as well have been below freezing, the icy temperature bleeding into his chest and making it so damn hard to inhale and exhale. His brain was slow to react, he didn't expect it, but Mori crouched down beside him, wrapping his arms around Dazai.

*When the fuck did he get here?!* He wanted to scream, he wanted to pull away, he wanted to yell for his to get off, to not touch him! But all he said was: "*How?*"

"I have eyes everywhere, Dazai. You should know that better than anyone..." cooed Mori, a smirk forming in the darkness, sending shivers down Dazai's spine. He hated it, he absolutely fucking hated it. "I know everything. About you, and your relationship with Chuuya." He continued, tilting Dazai's face and running his thumb across Dazai's lips.

That made his breath hitch, a lot. He began to panic, how could he not? He felt like a child again in the Mafia's infirmary, feeling like Mori had just told him that he knows he took a drug he shouldn't have.

*Oh, no. Nononononono!!*

"Living in such a disgusting and shameful way..." whispered Mori, as he cupped both of Dazai's cheeks, "You do know that you're a selfish psychopath, causing such issues for the pair of you, and the Agency who claim to care for you?"

Dazai shook his head, which was a mistake considering how much it was already spinning, caught up in the middle of a thought. He can't respond, the heaviness in his chest restricting everything he had. He wasn't sure if anyone ever cared or loved him, or if it was all out of fear, knowing what Dazai was capable of. "Don't touch me..."

If only he kept his mouth shut. But he's scared, he's still broken, fighting back the only way he knows how to. He felt Mori shift and wrap his scarf around him instead, and listened as Mori spoke quietly, "Remember when you were young? What did I teach you?" Dazai found himself slowing his breathing, then covering up his now closed right eye with his hand, like a terrible instinct, "That's right. Calm yourself. Then fight, if that's what you want, *Little Demon*."

Mori, despite his fears, had a soft spot for Dazai. His cold apartment was like this shipping container, which stored nothing but a few belongings, nothing more than a roof and a place to sleep. No matter how much Dazai hated Mori, he leaned into him, his muscles begging to relax, and he wasn't actively crying anymore. But that still didn't stop the tears.

"I want to know who the person behind this is," there was no hesitation in his next words, "and I want them *dead*."

"I can help with that. I'm already having my men looking into it." His manipulative grin couldn't help but make an appearance, "If you agree to do something for the Mafia at a time that I choose, then I'm sure I can keep the bastard alive until you get there. Then, he's all yours."

"Yeah. *He's all mine*." It was a foolish choice, but Dazai was angry. He couldn't help it, especially when as twisted as he was, Mori always kept his word. So, he agreed.

Mori nodded his approval before helping Dazai to stand up, "Even if you don't want to come back, you're certainly not staying *here*." He sneered, even he would never allow Dazai to suffer, regardless of what he personally wanted, "...I'll take you *home*."

Dazai knew what that meant from Mori's voice- he was going to take him to Chuuya's place. For a split second, Dazai actually looked alarmed when Mori caught his arm, then tugged him a bit to let him know that if he chose to pull away, Mori would understand, that it's *his choice*. "No. We shouldn't be spotted together. If... if the Agency found out..." he trailed off, unable to finish his train of thought.

Mori chuckled, "You *can* tell me that you hate me and don't want to be caught dead with me, you know." He tilted his head, "My offer stands if you ever want to rejoin, but it will be your own choice. In the meantime, all I ask is that you do your best to be safe."

"Yeah... you, too." Dazai had thought about it many times, however... he loves the Agency. He loves solving mysteries with Ranpo, drinking tea and playing sudoku with Fukuzawa, but he knew that he never truly fit in, and Kunikida was a decent partner, but he wasn't close to Chuuya's level. That was when his eyes darkened, deadening, to the point of no return all of a sudden. He'd never asked for much or anything, especially from Mori, but: "Don't push him so hard. Stop putting so much pressure on him. *Please* keep him safe."

Mori looked away, "You know I can't promise that, and you know why. However, I give you my word that I'll try to. And if I fail, well." He looked back at him, "Then everything in the past no longer matters. You can kill me." Mori simply left after that.

Dazai laughed a harsh, hollow and bitter sort of laugh. He didn't expect a response, let alone something that sincere, as he watched as Mori left. He felt mortified, to actually find comfort in that. To *lean* into it. It made him feel nauseous, he lost count of how many breaths he'd been taking. The room around him was an utterly mess, and for an ugly moment, Dazai had forgotten why he was mad at Mori to begin with. He jerked backwards, breaking away, out of his poisonous thoughts.

Unfortunately, the stress made Dazai lose the contents of his stomach. It was horrible, Mori was the true monster in this world- manipulating, calculating and simply fucked in the head. And yet... there was a dark part of Dazai's past that had looked up to Mori, as a sort of parental figure. Even now, he technically gave Dazai good advice: he needed somewhere to rest that wasn't this shithole. No wonder he'd desperately sought out comfort in whoever was closest to him, basically. It was disgusting.

"...I hate that man, and how *right* he is." He needed Chuuya, even if it was just being at his apartment until he got home. *Chuuya would be happy to see him. He's right, he's always fucking right.*

He stood and looked at the reflection of himself in the mirror he had over his makeshift sink, hating his jittery appearance, especially with Mori's red scarf still wrapped around his neck. He'd never heard the whispering in his mind that bad before- but what do people expect from someone so inhuman? A little frantically, he ripped off the scarf and threw it to the floor, before punching the mirror, shattering it completely- obliterating it.

*shutupshutupshutupshutupshutup*

He didn't feel better for it, he actually felt far worse. He could have thrown up again when he fell to his knees and gripped that stupid scarf for comfort. He wanted to slit his wrists, or hang from the ceiling for even thinking of being grateful to *Mori*. If he ever went back, then what was the point of leaving in the first place? What was the point of Oda's last wish? Why did he leave Chuuya?

Enough was enough. He ran, he sprinted far away from the container and the memories it stored there. His legs knew where he was going before his brain did, as he headed across town, to Chuuya's apartment. After picking the lock, he entered, then shut the door behind him and fell back against it, letting his head tap the back of it with a slight thump. He dropped down without thinking, catching his breath. It was starting to get a little dark inside, due to the sunset outside the window, but there were no stars out just yet. Dazai was aware that he'd lost the concept of time a while ago, but he didn't care, at least it wasn't so bright he needed to cover his eyes.

He swallowed, looking at the clock to attempt to get his bearings, and noted that Chuuya wouldn't be home for another few hours. He couldn't help but whisper to himself, "I hope your day was better than mine, Chibi."

In case it wasn't, Dazai decided that he'd make sure that Chuuya could relax immediately upon coming home. It'll take his mind off things, but he won't do anything extravagant, he couldn't take it if he fucked anything up. It *was* actually pretty cold this evening, so Dazai would make Chuuya something to eat that would be warm and comforting. He silently thanked Vanitas for teaching him how to cook a decent meal, since nobody else had the patience to teach him.

As he prepared everything, he put little sticky notes around the apartment, with stupid words of affirmation, though after how tense he'd been earlier in the day, his movements were less fluid and so he had to be extra cautious of not screwing anything up. He'd settled on making a nice warm taro soup, toran-guk, as he knew he could make it without it going gross, and the hearty broth and vegetables would do Chuuya the world of good. The vegetables were likely from the stall in town that Kenji set up to sell his crops from his farm, which explained their excellent quality. He placed it on the kitchen table, covering it with a plate to keep it warm.

Once the food was done, and he'd cleaned up after himself in the kitchen, he decided to run Chuuya a bath. He only used hot water so it would stay warmer for longer, giving Chuuya more time to come home and get it while it was fresh, before throwing in some strawberry scented bubbles. He debated pouring Chuuya a glass of wine, but thought it best to leave that for Chuuya, since sometimes after work he was too stressed to *drink*, because that's a thing apparently!

Once that was done, Dazai began to stumble, feeling his body sway as he finally made it to Chuuya's bed, having to lean against the wall for support. His vision started pulsating, his head thumping. He'd already taken off his shoes and coat at the front door, so Dazai just slipped into the bed and curled up, falling asleep immediately.

It had been a shock to Chuuya to come home and see everything that happened! He had a warm bowl of soup that helped him feel better about life, then saw a bath had been run for him! Dazai used to slip into his place and do things like that to cheer him up when things were rough in the Mafia, and Chuuya suspected he continued to do so on occasion after he'd left, but once they reunited, Dazai stopped being discreet again.

Good food, a hot bubble bath and some heartfelt complimentary notes later, and Chuuya headed into his bedroom wearing surprisingly sloppy pyjamas. Everyone assumed that he'd wear silk pyjamas or maybe ones from an expensive brand, but Chuuya just liked wearing short pyjama shorts and an overly baggy t-shirt for pyjamas, because that was simply what made him comfortable.

Chuuya gasped softly when he saw Dazai asleep in his bed. He looked... rough. He'd cried himself to sleep from the looks of it, and had clearly been running on empty. Sighing, Chuuya slipped in beside him, pulling Dazai so his head rested over Chuuya's heart; because of the height difference, Chuuya never got to be the big spoon, so he took advantage whenever he could. He ran his fingers through Dazai's hair and kissed his forehead, smiling softly, "G'night, 'samu. I hope you're still here when I wake up."

Dazai shifted a bit in his sleep. He'd always been a light sleeper, even in the Mafia. For him to not wake up to the door opening or closing... Dazai murmured Chuuya's name in his sleep, and he noticed that he didn't even take his bandages off this time, seemingly too exhausted. Chuuya just continued to stroke his hair before dropping off into sleep as well.

Dazai didn't sleep the full night, the uncomfortable sensation in his body woke him up, his hand and arms were aching with a dull, cold tingling feeling. He shifted a bit, relaxing when he felt Chuuya's breath rise and fall- Chuuya wasn't snoring this time, and his arms were wrapped around Dazai loosely. He had a smile on his face, looking relaxed, and Dazai could tell that Chuuya took advantage of everything Dazai had done for him: he smelt nice from having a bath, and his stomach was quiet.

Dazai curled into himself a bit, as if to appear smaller. He did something right, just one thing. He closed his eyes again, still feeling heavy and exhausted, but he felt warm and safe, listening to Chuuya's breath and his rhythmic heartbeat.

****

"Ah, Snow White finally awakens." Dazai woke up, feeling Chuuya kissing his forehead and smiling, looking like he was in a great mood. Dazai hummed then leaned up to join their lips together properly, and Chuuya smiled against Dazai's lips before stroking his face with a sad look, "Your eyes sore?"

They *were*. Dazai had almost forgotten how much crying could hurt- though, he did also feel less stressed. He nodded to answer Chuuya, his eyes had burned from the scalding tears, but it felt irrelevant when he was here. It was strange, how time seemed to move a little slower when he was with Chuuya. Not in a bad way, either.

Chuuya nuzzled Dazai and sighed, "I'm guessing your colleagues still think I did it, then?" Chuuya wasn't one for subtlety, but knew when it was necessary- instead of calling them his friends or simply the Agency, he called them Dazai's colleagues; stating that at this moment, it's just business. Again, Dazai nodded, briefly explaining just how rocky things had gotten, but he kept Kunikida’s comments to himself. Chuuya just stroked his hair again, "They must've really pissed you off, huh? Well then, you're staying with me until you feel better, then. Boyfriend's orders."

Dazai felt a small smile tug at his lips, as he studied Chuuya's face. He liked Chuuya's warm hands against his own face, even if they stung his sore cheeks slightly, its still pleasant, "Ordering me around, huh?" He whispered lightly, though it was obvious that he didn't mind. While Kunikida’s comments weren't going to be repeated, he still felt hurt- no matter who he was partnered with, they always had a habit of insulting each other, but they never joke about each other's humanity. The question of whether he was human or not burned Dazai's skull, and he asked weakly, "Does Chuuya think I'm... just a monster? Less than human?"

Ah, that was something that used to come up in the past, though never asked so sincerely. Chuuya knew that even though he hated Dazai being upset, he couldn't lie. So he didn’t:

"You can be monstrous, but then again, who isn't capable of that? Listen to me, Osamu Dazai. You're a strong, and good man. And I love you. Even though you're a jackass for insulting my exquisite taste in closed and blowing up my car," He laughed, "...but you never abandoned me, even when you left. You're nothing less than a good man with a kind heart. A true human."

Dazai knew that Chuuya was being honest, he was always honest with his feelings and thoughts. But Dazai couldn't deny feeling like some sort of beast, eager to kill and lose himself, then wanting to die afterwards. He sacrificed so much, for his promises, for the love he felt towards those around him, but he'd always revert to his old ways if it had to be done. "I just... I don't know anymore..."

He always feels guilty. If he can't convince himself or the Agency that he's human, how can they ever trust him? How is Chuuya supposed to feel safe around him?

Chuuya thought about everything for a moment then took a breath, "Y'know, I think that while this is all happening, Yokohama isn't good for you right now. So, let's bail." Dazai looked at Chuuya in shock! He'd never suggested *running away* before, but... maybe a vacation wouldn't be such a bad idea? And that would certainly give Chuuya an alibi if any more attacks happened before Mori or Fukuzawa caught the prick. "How about somewhere like England? I didn't take you to London last time I went. Ooh, or maybe Paris? Somewhere we won't be bothered for a while."

"Paris?" Dazai echoed, smiling softly, "The City of Love. It's an appropriate choice, for such a hopeless romantic such as yourself." His words were teasing, but his heart was racing at the prospect.

"Paris it is, then." Chuuya cupped Dazai's face, and they shared a quick kiss before making some quick arrangements and doing some packing.

They really needed to get out of Yokohama for a while, they were exhausted and needed each other. Thankfully the Port Mafia always had some private jets that could be borrowed.

[valleyfthdolls]

Movie!Cassidy is an Afton - an entirely speculative theory

(CW FOR DISCUSSION OF CANON TYPICAL HARM AGAINST CHILDREN)

A starting note

I do believe our little boy in Golden Freddy is named Cassidy, because Cassidy in the game universe is not confirmed female. Again I remind you all that Scott does not confirm fuck about these games. Fans have a tendency to claim their headcanons or whatever new fanon theories get popular have been confirmed to be canon. This is basically never true. Look at the semi-recent "Gregory is Scott's favorite" ordeal for an idea of how this information is shared in good faith and gets twisted nonetheless. Look at the comments under a fnaf au gacha life video for an idea of how people just straight up lie about that.

Cassidy in the games refers to himself as "he" and "him", we never see his physical appearance enough to make any judgment calls on his gender- any idea of his appearance is totally speculative, just like this theory- and most importantly, Cassidy is not exclusively a girls' name- it's actually a unisex name that started as a masculine one! It derives from the Irish surname Caiside, then became a masculine forename, then as it became anglicized as Cassidy it became unisex. In both modern day and the 80s, it is and was applicable as a boys' name.

Now, with that in mind, on to actual discussion of the Afton theory, and why I think movie Cassidy is one.

They look strikingly similar

Compare, for a moment, the appearances of Vanessa, William, and Cassidy. I'm using pictures of their actors because the pictures of them I could find online SUCKED.

William: Light skin, straight(?) brown hair, blue eyes. Vanessa: Light skin, straight blonde hair (though it's wavy in this picture, it's definitely straight for Vanessa), blue/maybe green eyes. Cassidy: Light skin, straight blonde hair, blue eyes.

The movie does suggest that Vanessa colors her hair blonde from brown (see: the brown roots), however, when she shows the photo of her childhood self and her father off to Mike, young Vanessa clearly has blonde hair as well.

And notably, her roots are just as blonde, suggesting that blonde was her natural hair color, but that it darkened as she got older, only for her to begin bleaching it back to its original color.

Now, blonde hair and blue/green eyes are both quite rare, but not rare enough that it's a dead ringer for a genetic connection. Hell, the Chica girl has blonde hair and blue eyes. However, Susie in the games has blonde hair and blue eyes, and Cassidy in the games very clearly has brown, and likely dark hair as well.

This makes the change to blonde with blue eyes very noticeable, and very noteworthy. And it’s a set of traits that he shares with Vanessa, as well as the notable blue eyes with William, as well as appearing to have a similar face shape.

Cassidy is inexplicably special

Cassidy is the first person who shares the image of Afton as Spring Bonnie with Mike when asked about who took Garrett. He seems more aware than anyone else of William, Garrett, William’s crimes, and what they’re doing.

When Mike asks who took Garrett, Cassidy responds by drawing a rabbit in the dirt- Spring Bonnie. (I will come back to this momentarily.) While the other kids believe Spring Bonnie is their friend, Cassidy seems to know the truth. He knows Garrett is dead, and offers Mike the chance to essentially see his ghost in exchange for Abby.

Furthermore, Cassidy doesn’t ever attack Abby, he doesn’t respond when William tells the children to wake up and go after her, and most interestingly-

Look at this image.

When Abby shows the missing kids what happened to them (in a scene I actually loved, btw, and I will take absolutely no criticism), you can see Jeremy in blue, Gabriel in the top hat, Fritz with the hook hand, Susie with long blonde hair, and… what I believe might actually be Garrett with dark hair and a red shirt. Because one thing is clear- that is not Cassidy.

Cassidy is not being controlled. He is fully aware, and he is angry. Hell, if you listen to his tone when he says “we want Abby,” it’s angry. Forceful. “We. Want. Abby.”

Again, Cassidy knows what is happening. He is angry and vengeful, and he’s the only one. So… why?

Well, honestly, this was my big qualm with the movie. Why was Cassidy special? In my eyes, there are four answers to this. He has a direct connection to William, a direct connection to Fazbear, a direct connection to every missing child that is unique to him, or he was the first or last of the missing kids. These would all set him apart. But we have no reason to believe he has a connection to FE, he was the fourth of the five missing kids as seen in the opening, and it seemed like the five of them were a group of friends. So what makes him special? He obviously knows or has something that sets him apart.

The imagery

Let me rewind now to when Mike first gets his answer about who took Garrett. He finds Cassidy in the woods and asks him for help remembering Garrett’s kidnapper. Cassidy responds by showing Mike a drawing of Spring Bonnie. Again, he knows that Spring Bonnie is evil, but more importantly here, he knows that Spring Bonnie took Garrett. Now, there are three ways he could know. One, process of elimination- the rabbit took him, so it took Garrett too. Two, assuming a relation to Afton, he saw or knew when this happened. Three, it was a matter of association.

Well, I actually doubt it was either of the first two. (You will see why this is not self contradictory in a second.) One, if it was because Spring Bonnie took Cassidy, well, Mike asked about Garrett, not Cassidy. For someone as obviously aware as Cassidy is, this is an obvious logical gap I doubt he’d make.

Two, Vanessa- Afton’s known daughter- didn’t know what happened to Garrett. When Mike asked- "asked"- if she knew, she said "not about Garrett." And while we don't have a clear timeline here (thanks Vanessa for your very ambiguous "in the 80s, kids went missing", we. we know), this was likely Afton's first kill. Meaning Cassidy was even younger then than he was when he died.

So, what do I mean by "it was a matter of association"? And how is this not self contradictory?

Well, assuming Cassidy didn't just. know Afton did it, what might have happened instead actually works even better with the idea that he knew Afton.

Compare the imagery here to that of the photo Vanessa shows Mike.

Spring Bonnie and the toy plane. If he saw Spring Bonnie and Vanessa with Garrett’s toy, seeing Garrett with that toy, he could assume that Spring Bonnie got it from him. Therefore, Garrett was taken by Spring Bonnie- Vanessa and Cassidy’s dad in the costume.

Their relationship

This one I’ll keep short. We only see Cassidy and William interact once. And it’s a very bizarre scene.

William is struggling, clinging to life, and Cassidy is standing, watching. Someone else said he was crying here, but I didn’t see it. Maybe, maybe not. I’m leaving that there. Either way, William reaches out to Cassidy, seemingly for help, and Cassidy shuts the door on him.

Watching the movie back and realizing Cassidy was never under William’s influence, this scene is… confusing, to say the least. Why would William reach for the help of the one child who was never under his thumb? What is he trying to appeal to? And why does Cassidy get the moment of being the one to shut the door on him?

Well, it’s obvious to see through Vanessa and the four missing children under his control that he is very clearly abusive to his children. Which isn’t a surprise to most, but anyway. Through the few minutes he and Vanessa are together, he berates her, strangles her, stabs her in the stomach and leaves her for dead, and Mike remarks that William “really messed [her] up”. He similarly berates and insults the missing kids, calling them pathetic and small. At the same time, however, he relies on his children to back him up. Vanessa is supposed to keep Mike from knowing anything and kill him if he gets too close. The animatronics are supposed to kill children and adults alike on his command. He leans on them. They are supposed to back him up.

And this would extend even to the one who he never controlled entirely if Cassidy was his son. His daughter let him down. His victims turned on him. But he still has one child left who hasn’t let him down. One who wasn’t there for him, but should be. Because that is the job of William’s children.

He reaches for Cassidy, the boy shuts the door on his murderer. The man who abused, betrayed, and slaughtered him all while he was meant to be his dad. William’s son is not going to clean up his messes now. He’s going to make him pay for them.

(ENDING DISCLAIMER THAT THIS IS ALL SPECULATION! I know there are many other explanations. This is just the one I like and I wanted to share it!)