#mike is the real criminal here

[hoperays-song]

Sing 1 Commentary and Review Pt. 1

Like I said yesterday, I will be giving commentary through out the run of the movie here! Is this an elaborate plan to distract me from my fic being with my beta reader? Yes! Am I using it for content? Also yes! I will try to remember to include timestamps and screenshots. But probably will just end up doing screenshots most of the time, sorry. Welcome to the madness!

(There will be multiple parts because these take a while and also there's a limit of thirty photos per post so yeah. I got 9 minutes in? I talk a lot during movies ok? It's an AuDHD thing.)

----------------------------

I feel like now is as good of a time as any to mention that I despise minions (aka was forced to watch Despicable Me in art class way too much as a child). So yes, we're not even past the opening credits and I'm already complaining, welcome to watching a movie with me everyone.

Ok just noticed this for the first time, but Old Moon Theatre had lyres (a symbol of Apollo, the Greek god of music) and grape vines (a symbol of Dionysus, the Greek god of theatre) on it, which is just super cool!

I love the fact that Buster canonically talks to himself and narrates his own life. Like same bestie. Love this for you. You're in your delusion era rn but go for it mate.

Lesbians!!

(No I will not be taking criticism here. That pose is one of the gayest things I have ever seen and I just looked in a mirror.)

HE HAS APPEARED!!!!!

Ok three things. One, these cops appeared out of literally no where. Like we just did a circle around the boy and we did not see them. Can they teleport or something???

Also, two, what the hell is in that box? I'm typically not one to judge what random stuff you leave in an alley (yes, yes I am, but to be fair this is the cleanest alley I've ever seen), but is that just a box of cut up springs??

And for number three, you thought you heard someone singing??? You thought you heard someone singing and only spare one glance down the alley behind the bank during a spree of bank robberies??? Ok no, these cops are terrible. The bank being robbed is absolutely their fault, what the hell?!

Ooooo, eight ball keychain!!!

I mean... Johnny did warn them, ten seconds too late, but he did warn them. He's still absolutely grounded but you know, he tried. Also, I just realized they took the license plate off the truck for the robbery. Insanely smart. The best boys. I love them.

✨ 🎶He's a runner, he's a track star! 🎶✨

Also, apparently Johnny can catch up with a accelerating truck... ok then.

Glad to see this skill that I'm absolutely sure will be used again in the multiple other applicable scenarios. What was that? It never comes up again? Yeah, that seems about right.

Ok, how the hell have the not found these guys yet??? Like the rest of the gang are in disguises, horrible ones but still disguises, but Johnny wears the exact same clothes throughout the movie and is not hiding his face in the slightest. You're telling me no one, not a single person, recognized him???

Also, just how many vintage trucks are in this town? Like just look up the truck model and go down the list of all the one's owned in Calatonia. Boom, done. The police in this place suck at their jobs.

ROSITA!!!!

Ok, so the piglets are definitely around first grade judging by the alphabet and number chart on the wall. Also, a learning chart on the wall is so cute and sweet, I love it!

(Theory) So... we can all agree it's summer right? Because not only are Johnny and Meena home (ok Meena's home, Johnny's being a felon, but that's not important) at lunch time but so are the piglets. They for sure aren't in school yet. And yeah, I know they leave with backpacks later on but that could just be daycare (it's likely daycare). So, since a lot of daycares aren't open on weekends (or at least ones near me), Sing 1 starts in the summer on a weekend! That's cool!

Awwww Rosita. I'm so sorry honey. I love you, we all love you, and I wish I could say you have a normal, relaxing life after this movie but... I'm sorry. Not even close to one.

Ok wow, forgot how vertigo inducing this movie was. Wow.

Ash has arrived!!!!

Also, super interesting how Ash's guitar looks a lot more worn that Lance's. It has scratches and faded stickers while Lance's looks shiny and new here.

And Lance... ewww.

Fair man, fair.

And before people get on to my man Harry for kicking them out without pay by the looks of it, most restaurant gigs I know of are not paid, the musicians get tips and exposure, and I'm pretty sure there is not one single person in that restaurant soo... yeah. They weren't getting paid either way.

One of the best expressions all movie.

I'm gonna punt him. I don't care that he's been on screen for 10 seconds, I'm gonna punt him.

(Moments where Lance is puntable counter: 4)

And now we have everyone!!! Meena, welcome aboard!

Also that cake looks amazing. ...Hold up, I'm getting lunch.

Ok, I'm back! Let's dive back in to my lovely ramblings that are hopefully semi entertaining.

Oh boy, let's talk about the happy birthday scene. For one, Meena is a kid. Stop being mean to a kid.

For another, the rest of her family just stops singing??? Like excuse me, that's not how the happy birthday song works. I don't care if one of the singers is a grammy winner, you don't stop singing just to listen to them. It is a group effort. Either everyone sings or no one does. It's the birthday song rules people. They really put her on the spot here and I do not appreciate it, the poor baby.

So, Meena has tried out for choirs and bands before but it never worked out. That makes me think her social anxiety is not new and I am very much disappointed with her grandfather's perspective on it.

Oh great. He's here.

(Mike puntable moments counter: 1)

Their money must be different than ours since that is the design of a penny.

Also: (Mike puntable moments counter: 2)

OK. This is a straight up mugging. Why is no one doing anything?! Like excuse me?!?!?

Oh and now he gave the guy an asthma attack. Sod off Mike.

Why is everyone siding with the mouse man?????? He sucks??? Hello????

(Mike puntable moments counter: 5)

Ok, ignore the monkey man for a minute. The restaurant is legit named 'The Squids'. So do they own it? Do they work there? Was the founder a squid? What's the situation because I'm guessing the don't eat them since they are sentient.

For such a fancy restaurant, they have terrible taste in lighting decor. I'm pretty sure those are the same ones at my doctor's office.

Oh Eddie, my favourite trust fund baby of the series. It's so good to see you.

Ok, let's talk about the implications of what Eddie is saying here. He says that his dad has been paying for the shows. And Buster's theatre has been struggling for way more than one or two shows.

And I don't know about you guys but I personally wouldn't pay for my adult kid's friend's failing theatre more than once if it turned out to be a bust. It's a waste of money and have you seen today's economy. Now if that was my kid's partner? Different story. I would probably be more willing to pay for a few more for both of their sakes.

What am I saying here? Noodlemoon. They're dating. End of story. ----------------------------

I'll be right back with part 2!

(And 30 more screenshot taking up memory on my dying laptop.)

#sing #sing johnny #sing buster #sing marcus #sing ash #sing big daddy #sing eddie #sing noodlemoon #noodlemoon #sing mike #sing meena #sing rosita #mike is the real criminal here #also is johnny the flash? please discuss in the comments #the lance and mike counters will continue until they are both on neptune #i have the attention span of a goldfish #sing stan #sing barry #sing the gang #sing meena's family #i've mentioned the summer theory before but i'm sticking with it because i have already written it into everything #I also once forgot to change the date on my calendar for six months so I do not trust calendars at any point in time. like ever

[sanguinedipity]

Off The Hook.

mike x vandal reader

smut (16+ only)

wc: 2.3k

mike catches you in the act and you have to spend the night with him in the security office while he tries to contact vanessa

tw: age gap, smut, language, dub-con, blowjobs, cock worship

“Hey!”

Mike shouts down the hallway, torch light bouncing off the linoleum tiles. You freeze and your spray paint can hits the floor with a guilty thud. Instinctively, your hands shoot into the air in defence one shielding your eyes from the blinding flashlight. He lowers it with a sigh, when the owner had mentioned break-ins he’d imagined someone a little bigger and meaner than the cowering girl in front of him.

“Come on man, what do you think you’re doing?” he calls out to you, trying to sound intimidating but failing to hide the lack of concern in his voice. Taking a few steps towards you with his torch now pointed towards the floor to prevent any further blinding and one hand on his radio. Without thinking you begin to back up, slowly and delicately like a startled baby deer, until your foot rolls over your deserted paint can sending you hurtling towards the checkerboard tiles. Your skull hits the ground with a sickening crack.

“Oh my god, Vanessa is gonna kill me!” are the words that rouse you from your unconscious, taking a few moments to fully open your eyes and be aware of your surroundings you realise you’re in a rundown office, six monitors stand on the desk in front of you - their light threatening to seal your eyes again for good.

“Please can you turn those things off…" you manage to whimper despite the seismic waves of pain radiating from the crown of your head. A ginormous sigh of relief escapes Mike’s lips as he makes his way to where you’re propped up against the far wall of his office.

He’d panicked when you’d hit the floor earlier and hauled you to his office, drenched in sweat and pulsing with fear he’d ran around the pizzeria in a frenzy searching for anything remotely soft or comforting. Unfortunately Freddie’s was more of rotting carcass of a place than a cosy place you’d want to nap at. Eventually he’d settled on an old burlap sack from the kitchen, rolled up neatly and tucked behind your head and his zip-up hoodie over your bare legs. Desperate to talk to someone with some kind of first aid experience he’d been whisper shouting into his radio for Vanessa’s attention without success for the better part of half an hour.

“Oh, um sorry!” he scrambles over to his desk to shut off the obnoxiously bright monitors, always eager to please. How likely are 2 vandal break-ins in one night anyway?

“Is that better? I’m sorry I don’t have any water for you to drink, I have 1 tylenol in my pocket but it’s been there for a while,” the words shoot out of his mouth before he has the chance to think them over. If he was smart he’d have zip tied you to a pipe and played the mean cop like they do in the movies. No that’s weird. Maybe he should’ve just let you do what you came here to do and leave, then he would’ve had a chance to clean the paint up before it dried, the thought of scraping the dried neon green off the wallpaper made him a little annoyed.

Mike’s now sour attitude made him want to mess with you, just a bit, before he let you go to luckily face no real consequences.

“Don’t think i’ve forgotten about what I caught you doing.” His brows furrow with pretend irritation which causes your eyes to widen like a deer in headlights. Long eyelashes batting against your flushed cheeks make him reconsider what he was doing for a second before going right back to glaring holes through your flesh.

“I’m so sorry sir, I didn’t know anybody was in here I swear!” You squeak out your defence. Sir? Something stirred in Mike’s pants that he tried his best to ignore. God why did you have to be the worst criminal ever. Your tiny skirt and your doe eyes and stupidly soft skin. Nothing in Mike’s life is fair.

“Please don’t call the cops- I’ll do anything, please-“

“Why shouldn’t I? You not only trespassed but vandalised the property that I’m supposed to protect from delinquents like you.” He decided not to reveal that not even his personal law enforcement connection could be bothered to drive up here and arrest some dumb college student. Not only that but he’d be in deeper trouble than you for sleeping on the job and letting said college student get in.

“I’m not a delinquent! If anything I was doing this place a favour, at least it smells like paint now instead of rot-“

“You’re not helping your case little miss. No one in your position would be that mouthy.” Mike surprises himself with this unexpected bout of confidence and tries not to let it show on his face. Honestly, you could’ve bolted down the hall the minute you woke up and gotten off the hook so why were you still looking up at him from the floor?

“Like I said, I’d do anything to get out of this position.” Your words hang in the air like cigarette smoke, swirling around his head and intoxicating him more with each breath. Your eyes are crawling down his body now, taking in every inch of him from his perfectly messy hair and charming face to his spread legs which gives you an idea. Without a word you’re stalking towards him on all fours, stopping just in front of him to sit on your knees and stare up at him again.

It takes a lot of strength for Mike not to let his jaw hit the floor, lips pressed into a tight line seems to keep him from slobbering, never in a million years would he have expected this to happen to him at this job. You must be joking right? Just some silly practical joke, all of your friends are gonna come running in with their cameras out any minute now… right? Or was there really a pretty girl begging at his feet right now? Deciding to trust that you weren’t about to disappear into a cloud of smoke when he touched you, he caresses the side of your face so gently like you’re made of glass. His rough calloused hands hold your cheek while his thumb strokes your cheekbone tenderly.

This completely catches you off guard and you can’t help but just stare at him in a daze until he pulls your head up to lock eyes. His are chocolate brown and covered by a glossy lust-filled haze that makes your heart skip a beat. Without thinking you cover his hand on your face with your own and guide his thumb to your open mouth. Your lips wrap around the digit and your tongue circles it slowly making sure to close your eyes in performative ecstasy before releasing his thumb with a loud pop.

Mike can’t help the groan that rips its way out of his throat. Maybe it was his severe lack of intimate experience but he’d never seen something so pornographic. His dick twitches and aches inside his pants once again and this time he gives in to its demands, unzipping his mid-blue jeans and pulling them down to relieve some pressure.

Your eyes widen watching him remove his jeans, now there’s only one layer of clothing between you and where you so desperately want to taste. His cock strains against the thin grey cotton of his briefs when your palm slides up his thigh, so slow he has to stop himself from whining. Finally, your hand grasps his throbbing cock, palming it lightly to elicit a strained groan from the man standing over you. Mike’s mouth is hanging open in ecstasy while his eyes are screwed shut as if he’s trying desperately not to wake up from a dream. The desperate noises coming from Mike were all the encouragement you needed to continue, so you decided the boxers needed to go. Moving your hands from his hard cock to the waistband of his underwear made him let out a tiny whimper that he hoped you didn’t hear, but as the tight cotton and elastic were pulled down he couldn’t help but sigh with relief when his shaft felt the cool air of the security office. It was incredibly hard, embarrassingly so for the small amount of foreplay that had transpired so far which made his cheeks flush, but even in the low light of his office he could see that he wasn’t the only one.

From where you were sitting, knees tucked neatly beneath you and his cock looming just in front of your face the reality of what you were doing finally set in. Were you really about to get this guy off in a dingy, dimly lit security office inside an abandoned kid’s restaurant? Just to get yourself out of trouble? Okay maybe not just to get yourself out of trouble, you steal a glance at his face again his big brown eyes and embarrassed smile and are reminded of the arousal pooling in your underwear. Rubbing your thighs together you look up into his eyes again through your lashes and take the tip of his thick cock into your mouth. The noises that escape Mike are unintelligible at this point and feeling your soft, plump lips wrapped around him has him seeing stars. He grasps your hair gently to keep steady while you suck him slowly, taking every inch of him deep into your mouth and tracing his veins with your tongue playfully. Hearing the sweet whimpers of the man above you had you desperately rubbing your thighs together for any kind of friction and taking him as deep down your throat as you could.

“ ‘feels so good, please don’t stop.” Mike manages to groan out in between his hushed moans. You let out a moan yourself at the praise lips stretched around the thickness of his cock before taking him deep again, his tip hitting the back of your throat. The pleasure makes him jolt and he can’t help but want to hear more of your beautiful sounds.

“ ‘look so pretty with my cock in your mouth” he says, louder than last time, and grips your hair tighter guiding it up and down his shaft. The sudden change in Mike makes pleasure shoot through your core and your eyes close in bliss as he takes control of your mouth around him. You hollow out your cheeks as he begins to fuck your mouth, his hips thrust wildly and obscenities fall from his lips at the sight of you taking his thick cock so well.

“Fuck," he drawls out, your eyes never leave his as he uses your mouth and he's never felt anything so good before. Tears build in the corners of your eyes but you still bat your eyelashes at him so sweetly making his shaft twitch with arousal, he pulls out of your mouth so quickly, so close to shooting his cum straight down your throat. Before he even gets a chance to ask you where he should cum you take him into your hands once more, pumping it desperately in your first before rubbing the tip of his twitching cock against your swollen lips and your soft, flushed cheeks stained with running mascara. Mike can’t believe what he’s seeing and tries to commit your dazed, cock-drunk face to memory before his orgasm spills all over your face. Thick ropes of cum paint your cheeks and mouth and eyelids until all of the pent up arousal is drained from his cock.

“W-woah,” Mike stutters out bashfully looking over your pretty face covered in his cum, it’s possibly the hottest thing he’s ever seen and he tries not to imagine his cum covering other parts of you or his cock will be painfully hard again. Your heart races taking him in fully now, his soft brown hair is completely messed up sticking out in every direction, his eyes are blissed out and heavy-lidded and a faint red blush covers his cheekbones and freckled nose and your staring must be noticeable because he stiffens when his eyes meet yours. He’s suddenly hit with a wave of embarrassment as he hurriedly pulls up his pants and helps you to your feet, then tries to find anything to clean your face.

“I’m so sorry, I’m such an idiot sometimes I didn’t even ask if that was okay, and now you’re all messy and-“ Mike trails off desperately searching for a rag and avoiding making eye contact with you at all costs.

“I think it was pretty worth it, actually.” You cut him off thoughtfully, watching him run around frantically searching even though you’d already cleaned yourself up with some tissues from his desk. Taking the time to scan over the clutter he kept there you saw a name sticker with ‘Mike’ scrawled clumsily on it, and a calming nature sounds cassette tape inside a worn-looking walkman. A small smile crept onto your face at your discoveries and your eyes fell back onto Mike who was now calmer after seeing you cleaned up.

“So, Mike, am I off the hook?” you ask with a sly smirk. Inching closer to him so you could look up into his big brown eyes again. He tries not to show his surprise at your question and clears his throat to answer.

“Well I think you’ve, er, learned your lesson and received a fair punishment.” he states awkwardly, blood threatening to rush to his face once again because of how much of an idiot he was being.

“Just, uh, try to stay out of trouble.” he finishes looking directly at the floor in shame, any prior confidence completely evaporating and his heart pounding in his ears just as it usually would when speaking to a girl.

“Yes, sir.” She replied with a grin before giving him a quick parting kiss and running down the hallway and out of the fire exit.

#mike schmidt smut #mike schmidt x reader #mike schmidt #fnaf movie #josh hutcherson #josh hutchinson smut #mike schmidt x reader smut

[mbslost]

Another yapping session with MB yipeee!

nah in all seriousness i would like to talk about some things, now that my temper is gone.

we still remember the post on twt made by @/renhanasgf about Gato not being more inclusive, oorrrr that her poc character are ignored. (i wont talk about the real stuff from discord in this post since proofs are still gathered.)

well here i am! (sadly)

1.How many poc characters?

7 well known (or maybe more). who are those? well we'll start with Raven(tinr) or known as Selin as well, Chet Ichpujani(tinr/tpof), Strade(btd/tpof), Thomas(tpof), Jaqueline(tpof), Machete(tpof) and fucking Derek(tpof)

some of them dont have a full name (besides an alias) either because story wise it didnt mattered or because of their lore (Strade and Machete are criminals, doubt they would want a victim that escaped to expose their identity, no?) Also another detail, even some white characters do not have a last name,such as Sid(tinr), Dragon/Jace(tpof), Komodo/Mike(tpof), Chamomile(tpof), Richard(tpof) and probably some from 'Facility'.

their ethnicities are indeed unknown, either because it wouldnt really affect their story or it was avoided in case it could cause a conflict. dunno. about this i cant really talk a lot since her blogs are gone, thus i cannot dig into this matter anymore. although i believe having a hc on them is fine. ''- It is 100% okay to have ANY headcanons about my character!''-her website)

Raven was one of the well know character from Gato that is poc. her nationality is unknown due to the story (which i would recommend you to read tinr, pretty cool tbh). since her story goes deeper i would suggest you to also read her wiki (fanmade). sadly lots of stuff are now gone about her. still a lover character.

Strade. Strade is Strade. (kind of forgot what she said in the answer about his name but the wiki says ''Strade is not his actual birth name. It's similar to a placeholder name like John Doe. His birth name is unknown." still you can check out more here)

Chet Ichpujani is another character involved in tinr, a manager (i believe) at a semi-restaurant thing? in the end he offers to help Farz with his problem. pretty cool guy since he and Anthony Shore re-appeared in tpof. (picture below)

Machete, ''Machete is the newest member of the desert group. He had to prove himself worthy by performing various criminal tasks to be allowed in. Despite his recent acceptance, the rest of the group remain wary of him. His quiet demeanor and decisive actions tend to unsettle the other members. He regrets everything he's done to be admitted into the group, but he chose to stop at nothing to get revenge for his sister. He feels as though he's completely lost his identity and humanity to his "purpose"." -wiki (also a small detail, he did everything to revenge his sister)

Tom/Thomas, ''Tom is a college student, taking a media development course centered around sound design. He took a few years off high school, kind of meandering through life without an aim for a while. However, he eventually found a passion for making music. Despite tons of research and hard work, he was never really able to get his brand off the ground, so he decided to head to college to get some formal education on the subject. Late one night, as he was about to head home, he was abducted by Komodo and Dragon.'' -wiki

Jaqueline, "Jaqueline is a young trades worker learning to paint houses. She takes pride in her work and also frequently goes to the gym. Her mother pesters her to get a higher education, but she loves her current career path. Due to the friction with her family over her job, she tends to choose to spend time with friends instead. She was violently abducted by Jack in broad daylight, unlucky to have no witnesses." -wiki

therefore, there's plenty of information, plus that lost from her blogs.

2.Model minority

must agree, her work from 2016 looked alike yet, in the last years she actually showed more bodies (like types)

here are some examples:

also Strade's new model as well:

quite diverse, is it not? i am aware i didnt show others as well but if you wish to (and i actually encourage to) you can view the rest here! Lawrence, Ren, Celia (or on pinterest!)

3. Conclusion

i still believe everyone can create whatever they wish, whatever character. the details are on their part. now i could understand Gato for being upset when someone doesnt draw their character as they are (such as changing the body type, skin colour, etc) but also cant blame those who feel like being ignored (trust me, had to survive the genshin fandom).

so the characters exist, thus i dont see the problem of not being inclusive (also, as she often said, you can hc her characters, thus i believe their ethnicities are free to chose for yourself)

that's it. as for the real deal (the discord stuff) i believe it's the best more proofs come. rn i dont see her as a racist artist, but that comment in spanish does sound in fact xenophobic... well, until more context is posted, we'll see

stay safe!

#gatobob #btd #btd2 #tpof #boyfriend to death #tinr #augh kinda getting tired of this all of this tbh might draw Law tho my pretty princess

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Mike Hixenbaugh at NBC News:

METROPOLIS, Ill. — The pastor began his sermon with a warning. Satan was winning territory across America, and now he was coming for their small town on the banks of the Ohio River in southern Illinois. “Evil is moving and motivated,” Brian Anderson told his congregation at Eastland Life Church on the evening of Jan. 13. “And the church is asleep.” But there was still time to fight back, Anderson said. He called on the God-fearing people of Metropolis to meet the enemy where Satan was planning his assault: at their town’s library. A public meeting was scheduled there that Tuesday, and Christians needed to make their voices heard. Otherwise, Anderson said, the library would soon resemble a scene “straight out of Sodom and Gomorrah.” The pastor’s call to action three months ago helped ignite a bitter fight that some locals have described as “a battle for the soul” of Metropolis.

The dispute has pitted the city’s mayor, a member of Eastland Life Church, against his own library board of trustees. It led to the abrupt dismissal of the library director, who accused the board of punishing her for her faith. And last month, it drew scrutiny from the state’s Democratic secretary of state, who said the events in Metropolis “should frighten and insult all Americans who believe in the freedom of speech and in our democracy.” Similar conflicts have rocked towns and suburbs across the country, as some conservatives — convinced that Democrats want to "sexualize" and indoctrinate children — have sought to purge libraries of books featuring LGBTQ characters and storylines. Republican state legislatures have taken up a wave of bills making it easier to remove books and threatening librarians with criminal charges if they allow minors to access titles that include depictions of sex.

To counter this movement, Illinois Democrats last year adopted the first state law in the nation aimed at preventing book bans— which ended up feeding the unrest in Metropolis. Under the law, public libraries can receive state grant funding only if they adhere to the Library Bill of Rights, a set of policies long promoted by the American Library Association to prevent censorship.

Many longtime residents were stunned when these national fissures erupted in Metropolis, a quirky, conservative city of about 6,000 people that has a reputation for welcoming outsiders. Because of its shared name with the fictional city from DC Comics, Metropolis has for the past half century marketed itself as “Superman's hometown.” Tens of thousands of tourists stop off Interstate 24 each year to pose beneath a 15-foot Superman statue at the center of town, to attend the summertime Superman Celebration, or to browse one of the world’s largest collections of Superman paraphernalia at the Super Museum.

“Where heroes and history meet on the shores of the majestic Ohio River,” the visitor’s bureau beckons, “Metropolis offers the best small-town America has to offer.” But lately, the pages of the Metropolis Planet — yes, even the masthead of the local newspaper pays homage to Clark Kent — have been filled with strife. Unlike in comic books and the Bible, the fight in Metropolis doesn’t break along simple ideological lines. Virtually everyone on either side of the conflict identifies as a Christian, and most folks here vote Republican. The real divide is between residents who believe the public library should adhere to their personal religious convictions, and those who argue that it should instead reflect a wide range of ideas and identities.

During his sermon in January and in the months since, Anderson has cast his congregation and their God as righteous defenders of Metropolis — and the Library Bill of Rights and its supporters as forces of evil. If Christians didn’t take a stand, Anderson warned, there would soon be an entire children’s section at the library “dedicated to sexual immorality and perversion.” And before long, he said, the town would be hosting “story hour with some guy that thinks he’s a girl.”

[...] A week later, the board went into a closed session and presented Baxter with an ultimatum: If she wanted to keep her job, she needed to sign a performance improvement plan. It stipulated that she would abide by the Library Bill of Rights, seek state grant funding and discontinue praying aloud with children and other religious activities at the library. Baxter refused to sign and began to criticize the board. Voices were raised, according to three members. After a few minutes, James, the board president, slammed her fist on the table. “This is not up for debate, Rosemary,” she said. “Either sign it, or don’t.” Baxter stood up and left. Minutes later, the board came out of closed session. By a vote of 5-3, they terminated Baxter’s employment. Baxter’s departure left the library in turmoil. Four employees resigned soon after, and the board got to work picking up the pieces.  They brought on a former library employee to serve as interim director and embarked on top-to-bottom reviews of the library’s catalog and finances. “Our focus,” James said, “is making sure our library is strong and healthy and there to serve everyone.” Then, on March 19, the story of Baxter’s firing was picked up by Blaze Media, a national conservative outlet. In a column titled, “A librarian’s faithful service is silenced by a secularist takeover,” conservative talk radio host Steve Deace interviewed Baxter and Anderson and reported that both had come under fire for their Christian beliefs.

Deace presented the local saga as a warning that evil forces were now coming for small-town America and blamed the problems in Metropolis, in part, on “a California transplant who is living with another man,” referring to Loverin, the library board member. Three days later, Metropolis Mayor Don Canada — who in 2021 had appointed Anderson, his pastor, to an open seat on the City Council — took a stand of his own. In letters addressed to James and two other board members, Canada announced that he’d “lost faith in the Board in its current state.” As a result, he was removing James and two others who’d voted to terminate Baxter. 

In Superman's alleged hometown of Metropolis, Illinois, the town has been engulfed with strife over conflicts on the direction of the town's public library, with Eastland Life Church Pastor Brian Anderson leading a war against the library as part of the faux moral panic about LGBTQ+ books that right-wingers falsely claim such books "sexualize" children.

#Metropolis Illinois #Illinois #Libraries #Book Bans #Book Banning #Public Libraries #Anti LGBTQ+ Extremism #Eastland Life Church #Brian Anderson #Alexi Giannoulias #Illinois HB2789 #American Library Association #Metropolis Public Library #Rhonda James #Rosemary Baxter #Library Bill of Rights #Culture Wars #Steve Deace #Don Canada #Library Boards

[maxwell-grant]

This feels like the kind of ask someone should've gotten around to a million years ago, but it seems it falls to me: The Shadow vs. The Penguin. Is there anything there?

Anonymous asked: How would pulp heroes like the Shadow or Green Hornet respond to The Penguin. Characters like Joker or Ra’s I can see them gunning down but that feels weird to do with Oswald “Pengy For President” Cobblepot

(Penguin by Mike Mignola. The Shadow by Lela Dowling)

It's amazing, really, what you've built here. You had a vision and made it real. Every Batman in existence respects you for it, Oswald. In fact, I'll tell you a secret…people assume that Batman's last enemy on most worlds out there is Joker. Maybe Riddler, or Ra's…but it's you.

See, you grow this crime empire until he has to deal with you. - The Batman Who Laughs #3

What there is here is a bit of an impasse, because yes obviously this is brutally, comically one-sided against The Penguin. Pitting most if not all Batman villains against The Shadow is going to be already one-sided in The Shadow's favor. Pick a Batman villain, even the big ones that make Batman the underdog like Ra's and Bane, and you can name a similar threat that The Shadow already defeated. Even if you don't count superpowered cheating with whatever abilities The Shadow has this moment, he's already dealt with most of everything they can do, he's beaten these strategies and puzzles and countless death traps at their own game, and yeah there's the fact that he's known for the fact his villains don't tend to come back for round two even when they don't die facing him. Villains that he faces tend to die specifically because they try to kill him and he returns their fire (it's important to establish here that, unless his enemies have guns drawn on innocent people, The Shadow rarely shoots first - they always have a chance to lay down their arms and walk away, a chance that most obviously never take), and Penguin's known for his unwillingness to go down without a fight and for his signature move being a concealed sneak attack, which means his odds of dying are near dead certain.

In fact, The Shadow already fought a Penguin-esque guy as one of his few reocurring villains, via The Wasp, Gibson's latter day attempt to make another Voodoo Master/Shiwan Khan. The Wasp is a "Napoleon of crime" whose body and strange buzz voice and antics and operations are themed after his namesake animal/insects, who uses a concealed weapon part of said theme (an electric "sting" on his hand powered by batteries on his belt), who connects Cranston to The Shadow and was also the only villain to figure out that Kent Allard is The Shadow. He was cleverer and more resourceful and harder to defeat than most of the typical Shadow villains, and to his credit he did achieve a thing nobody else really achieved in the run, and it didn't really do him that much (learning the secret identity tends to be a death sentence for vigilantes, but for The Shadow it's really not that big a deal, given how easily he can make new ones) and he still went out like a chump, and he's only really remembered as the less impressive of the reocurring supervillains, lacking the outright superpowers of the others. It seems like a fairly closed case.

Problem is, the more comically one-sided the odds are against Oswald, the more likely he is to actually win or at least survive because of that. Going up against people who should have his goose cooked, getting away with things he absolutely shouldn't, slipping away to survive and put one over Johnny Law, that's his thing, it's been his thing from day one. He is no stranger to dealing with vigilantes or people much bigger and stronger and scarier than him, it wasn't that long ago he was walking off getting shot at point blank and later faking his death. Penguin is no common criminal, and he isn't just a guy who's unusually smart and competent at it enough to waddle among supervillains either. In his narrative domain, The Shadow is unbeatable, but in his narrative home, The Penguin is unkillable, and not just because he's a comic book villain who survives by editorial demand. He has protagonist survival clause now.

In his ups and downs over the years, he survived in large part by becoming a fixture of Gotham, someone impossible to uproot from the setting, with his ignanimous transformation into stool-pigeon and banal crimelord in part a consequence of said survival. After more or less retiring from villainy, the next step was to very gradually join the likes of Catwoman, Azrael, Harley Quinn and Renee Montoya in their careers as independent Gotham-adjacent protagonists, which is why he now gets to have his own tv series (the second one at that, because Gotham exists and if it achieved anything, it was proving that there's an audience for The Penguin Show - and yes it still is very much shitty, but also not remotely surprising, that the instant they made a version of Oswald thin, that guy became a critical and fandom darling overnight). The Penguin wormed his way into becoming irreplaceable and they tried, they tried very hard over the years to replace this guy, and he's taken some brutal lumps and fell off very hard from the Bat-villain totem pole, but even that just enabled him to ascend to a different pole and one that makes it he can't really be just another gangster or supervillain to be knocked around, and one that's almost specifically built to ensure his narrative survival. Someone who serves the story better by being alive.

Has The Shadow ever dealt with a guy like this? Yes, yes he has. The Shadow is no stranger to criminal protagonists, or the concept of nuance, or redemption. He is certainly no stranger to the gentleman of crime who is more than what he seems.

The man who entered was tall and well built. He had the manner of a gentleman. He was attired in a perfectly fitting dress suit, which he wore with the easy air of a man of the world - Kings of Crime

The gentleman of crime arose, picked up his hat and coat and reached for his cane. There, his form obscured, The Shadow stood close enough to overhear what Graham Wellerton was saying. The gentleman of crime was talking to members of his mob.

What was Graham Wellerton's purpose? How and why had the gentleman of crime parted from his men? Why was he no longer engaged in robbery? - Road of Crime

To all appearance, George Ellerby was a gentleman; and he was actually qualified to prove such a claim. But tonight, he was to be a gentleman of crime - Battle of Greed

"I wonder," said Sandersham, slowly, "just how much The Shadow can do, or intends to do. Who is he, Krengle? How powerful is he?"

"No one knows who The Shadow is," replied the lawyer. "But he is death on crooks, they say, and he considers crime to be much broader than its legal implications." - Battle of Greed

There's about 5 Shadow novels that specifically touch on the topic of redemption. There are others where it comes up, plenty of others where The Shadow goes the extra mile in giving criminals a chance, and stories that highlight the lines that The Shadow draws in deciding how to deal with criminals (“To murderers, The Shadow dealt death: to such schemes (robbery, fraud, etc), he dealt ridicule.” - The Third Shadow), but those 5 make a focus of it. In all of those 5, we meet characters that can be called a "gentleman of crime". They are cunning, respectable-looking young men who use their smarts for crime, largely because of social circumstances that force them into using criminal tactics for dealing with life-consuming problems that the law has failed them in, and The Shadow assists them in addressing and rectifying said problems and turning their lives around.

In Kings of Crime, blackmailer and swindler Hubert Carpenter. In Road of Crime, the protagonist Graham Wellerton, "bank robber deluxe". In The Broken Napoleons, engineer Curt Sturley. Battle of Greed opens with George Ellerby, although he's not really the protagonist and is stopped before he commits his first robbery, and that story has two other redemptions that pull more focus. And in House of Shadows, Kid Pell, whose tragic demise opens the story. With the exception of Carpenter, all of these young men are given understandable and even sympathetic reasons for having become criminals, as all of them became criminals specifically because the law failed them profoundly and allowed them to suffer horrible injustice and ruin upon their lives and families, while shielding those that inflicted it upon them and provided no other recourse for them, and The Shadow goes out of his way to directly or indirectly steer them away from the paths they're walking.

Out of these, only Hubert Carpenter had a body count: he is not a murderer outright, but his past deeds had pushed victims to suicide, and The Shadow fully intended to let him serve his sentence in full. It is through the involvement of innocent parties (he took a dive to get the money to his family, he was betrayed, and his wife fell ill, making him break out of jail and desperately try to get the money for her treatment by robbing an old man who turned out to be The Shadow in disguise) and Carpenter’s own serious efforts to reform himself and assist in the downfall of his far crueler former partners that he’s able to redeem himself and face a new life (The Shadow delivers a government pardon so that he serves a month instead of 10 years).

“Somehow, he knew that The Shadow would not see the innocent suffer for the guilty.” - Kings of Crime

Kid Pell, who had already shot at least 6 people and killed 2 before the story began, wasn't quite so lucky. Dying of blood loss after trying to shoot The Shadow, his last words are a plead for him to get the guy who pushed him into this path, and keep an eye on his brother Denry to stop him from going down his path (which ends up happening, but The Shadow is able to save Denry in time).

"They called me a public enemy," declared Pell. "What else could I be, after my first kill? You know what it is to be quick on the trigger. That's the way I am" - he hesitated, his smile dwindling - "or was."

"I tried crime," said the Kid. "It didn't pay. But I was in it - deep. So I stayed. I've got no excuses. I'm not even blaming the fellow that started me in it. What I did was on my own. Understand?"

"Do me a favor," muttered the dying man. "Let me be forgotten - as Kid Pell. I rigged this hideout, so I could close accounts. Let me go through with it the way I want."

The Shadow's whispered tone gave agreement. Pell's face relaxed. In the glow of the lantern, his features lost their forced hardness. It was easy to see why he had been nicknamed the Kid. His age couldn't have been more than twenty-two.

Even his surroundings spoke a pathetic story. The shelves of the trailer were provisioned for a long stay; and among the canned goods were a few jars of homemade jam; probably the very sort that he had swiped from his mother's pantry only a few years ago.

There were books, too, that dated back to boyhood. Even when he had embarked on his career as a public enemy, Kid Pell had taken these along. He was looking at them, eyes open, the jam jars and the books, and he was smiling again, Kid Pell was. But the dampness from his dying eyes was forming into little beads, like raindrops. Suddenly, the Kid's lips stiffened.

A hand was resting on the Kid's shoulder. He could feel the power of its grip: the hand of The Shadow, merciless to men of crime. To this dying youth, murderer though he was, the pressure of that hand had the warmth of friendship.

"Maybe, Shadow" - The Kid was choking the words - "I ought to have met you before. Maybe… if I had-"

The grip tightened. It brought an end to regrets that could not be remedied. It steeled the Kid for what lay ahead - House of Shadows

-the words that The Shadow delivered held Sandersham rigid. Never in his life had the millionaire listened to such pointed accusations; such words that jogged his memory, nor such tokens of prophecy. "Rupert Sandersham," came the voice, "you are a man condemned by your own avarice! You are a master, not of finance, but of greed!"

"While your wealth grows greater," resumed The Shadow's voice, "your life grows shorter. As your schemes expand, your soul shrivels. You have physical comforts, yes"—the tone was mocking—"but who knows how long you shall retain them?"

"Your power, Sandersham, is not equal to the strength of the law. There have been loopholes in your schemes, that certain eyes may discover before your attorneys plug them". - Battle of Greed

Is The Penguin sympathetic? In some ways, yes. Is The Penguin redeemable? Not a question I'm remotely interested in handing a firm "Yes/No" to, because it's kinda both and neither, redemption tends to be conditional and fickle like that, and also irrelevant to the matter here: We've established that The Shadow (again, speaking for the pulp version here, it's what I tend to do) does not go out of his way to execute criminals, but doesn't hesitate to kill them when they try to gun him or others down. Would The Shadow extend The Penguin an olive branch and spare his life in the hopes that he'd come around and use his impressive intellect and resources and drive for the better? No. It would be useless. The Shadow doesn't deal with that kind of "hope", and The Penguin would not be interested in doing so either.

There have been occasions where The Shadow was caught in a bad enough situation that he had to momentarily pause the pursuit of a criminal, but The Shadow does not compromise, nor does he ever really need to, and he knows a true villain when he sees it. He is not keeping Oswald around as a informant, because he doesn't play by Gotham City rules where that seems like a reasonable thing to do. The true villain of most Shadow stories is always the person who stands to profit the most from said calamity, and most of the time they operate beneath suspicion. There is 0% chance of him underestimating Oswald the way Oswald prefers to be underestimated.

There are two ways Oswald Cobblepot would walk away from meeting a quick death at the hands of The Shadow. The first would be if he never killed anyone, or did anything that led to anyone's death ever again. He'd have to commit to undoing the ruin he brought onto people's lives and give back as much to the city and his victims as he possibly could. Such was what The Shadow did in Battle of Greed to Rupert Sandersham, a millionaire who got a kick out of ruining others financially. He is not the villain, nor is he a murderer, but The Shadow manipulated and terrorized him into making amends and repaying all the people he destroyed. These would be the best, most impossibly nice terms The Shadow could offer Oswald, along with him serving time and spend his whole life looking over his shoulder when, and if, he gets out.

"Look at yourself, Sandersham! You are wearing stripes! In front of you are bars! Beyond you, the outside world. Regard it as an omen, and make your choice. Amend the past; rectify the wrongs that you have done—or face the future consequences that your present methods will bring you!"

Rupert Sandersham was staring downward. His startled eyes saw the stripes that The Shadow had mentioned: those alternate ribbons of dark and light, that came from the setting sun. They had turned his gray suit into a convict's garb! Could it be that he, Rupert Sandersham, might find himself within a prison cell?- Battle of Greed

And that is not happening. There is not a single version of The Penguin who would accept these terms or accept this as a thing he's going to do. Short of the most kid-friendly media and even then, much as I argue that he should have rules of conduct, I don't think there is a single version of the Penguin who'd balk at murder or who hasn't committed it with little to no remorse. Oswald Cobblepot may carry much bitterness and heartbreak, but The Penguin loves what he is too much to accept being anything else. He isn't scared of any of these terms and would find them deeply absurd, because who is this, trying to tell The Penguin he isn't allowed to rob this thing, or kill that guy getting on his nerves, or ruin that rich asshole over there. The audacity of this laughing clown! As if he didn't have one too many to deal with!

The other way he lives, at least for a while, is if he turns out to be right about the way Gotham City works, and it turns out that he really cannot be removed from his position without far worse things growing as a result. I don't think The Shadow would have issues with the Batman villains individually, but neither do Batman or most superheroes. It's Gotham City that's the real problem here, and it's a problem that Batman hasn't solved in nearly a hundred years, and neither has Superman or any of the billion superheroes in that universe, a problem that will never be solved so long as there's a profit to be made on Batman. The Shadow can and has cleaned cities of organized crime before, usually by manipulating it's players into destroying each other, but even he has limits and Gotham City is no mere gangster-ridden town, much like how the man who claimed it is no mere crimelord either.

So the final matter at play here is whether The Penguin is right, and if so, whether The Shadow can afford to kill The Penguin, when there are other more pressing matters. Because the biggest reason Penguin's able to position himself where he is, as a necessary evil in-universe and a reocurring side character/even protagonist out of it, is by never being the nastiest or most urgently threatening villain in the room, and therefore always being the one that the heroes have to compromise with or have to defeat quickly to get moving. He has weaponized a Kingpin-esque idea that he is a necessary deterrent, because Gotham can always get worse, and everyone else who can take power in Gotham from him is much worse than him, and therefore you save the most innocent lives by allowing him to do his thing under a leash. Refer that line above, about how The Shadow will not suffer the innocent for the guilty.

There has been at least one Shadow story where he's dealt with this dillemma, in Face of Doom, as I elaborate here. The Shadow defeated the Face through taking the long way around, disarming his individual lieutenants, luring them into traps and disguising himself as The Face and all kinds of strategies necessary to checkmate the guy, but in the process also giving The Face enough time to regroup and strategize and target his agent(s). A similar thing happened when he had to take down Benedict Stark, and had to considerably slow down the operations to rescue Rutledge Mann from kidnapping. Issuing any kind of harm or death to The Shadow's agents guarantees him unleashing carnage on you personally, refer to Gangdom's Doom where he obliterates organized crime in Chicago in response to the death of Claude Fellows, but The Penguin can play smart. He can refrain from doing that, and buy himself more time, as The Shadow goes after those that think they have what it takes.

I think The Shadow vs The Penguin would probably pull elements from all of these stories I'd mentioned. If The Penguin is right, The Shadow would have to defeat, or at minimum stall, crime in Gotham City in a way that could then remove The Penguin from the picture, which means The Shadow would have to go through the rest of Batman's Rogues Gallery. Difference being, he's not going to fight those guys forever, he might not even fight them at all.

For The Shadow, he's up against a particularly smart, resourceful and powerful "gentleman of crime". One with personal tragedies and codes of conduct, one who might have even been like the ones he'd been able to reform if life hadn't twisted him, but who at present poses an active danger to the lives of people of the city, and stopping that is the bigger concern. He's taking down not just one crime king, but an empire that the crime king holds at bay, and god knows how many crime kings in the way, and possibly others who would see the innocent suffer for the guilty and keep this stalemate forever. The Shadow doesn't do stalemates, and Oswald Cobblepot is going to repent for all he's done or die, and nothing in between.

For The Penguin? He might very well be in heaven. He's dealing with death itself arriving from nowhere to give him the greatest challenge of all: surviving. Which just so happens to be the thing he does best and takes the most pride in doing. It might even be the kind of thing that makes him feel alive again. Facing down someone every bit the implacable wall of terror the Bat is, but who is less about the martial arts brute showdowns and more about god knows how many other subtler espionage chessplay and psychological mind tricks, and zero hesitation in putting a bullet in his head.

And possibly taking it's sweet time wiping out all of the competition, going through the long list of wiping out all of Oswald's hated rivals and competitors for him, and possibly a few unfortunate friends. Years, decades of playing the long game, gathering his assets, putting pieces in place, keeping his head low, letting the Bats and the others walk over him and forget he's there, and he's rewarded with the game of a lifetime! To be the arch-criminal who took on The Shadow and won! You'd almost think he'd have planned for The Shadow to come after him, and getting very angry if Batman shows up to get on the case to stop this because huur I'm a big selfish brute who wants to hog all the fun, duuuh Oswald you can do better, we don't kill around these parts Shadow huurgh, god, Batman, *waugh* can you BE any more of a self-important killjoy?

Sure, if no divine intervention comes, he's absolutely going to die, he is not walking out of this confrontation alive even if The Shadow has to go through Gotham ten times to get to him. But, you know, the real problem with Icarus was that idiot drowned when he fell, because he forgot to pack a bathing suit.

And you know what penguins do best, right?

*WAUGH WAUGH WAUGH*

#replies tag #the shadow #superheroes #dc comics #batman #the penguin #oswald cobblepot #shadow magazine #pulp heroes

[cosmicjoke]

The thing that gets me about this asshole @66honeybadgers and people like them is the frankly breathtaking and appalling levels of meanness they display, and the total lack of empathy they expose in themselves.

They don't care at all about the circumstances surrounding Levi's criminal activities in "No Regrets". All they care about is that he committed any crime at all. In their minds, that means he should be flatly condemned, regardless of mitigating factors or circumstance and, apparently, it also justifies Erwin's torture of him and his family.

Because that's what they were really saying, at the core of their argument. They were saying that it was okay for Erwin to order Mike to hold Levi's face down in a puddle of sewage, literal shit, for long enough to obstruct his breathing, and to threaten Furlan's and Isabel's lives and to threaten them with torture, all for the crime of theft. That's right. Because Levi had stolen ODM gear and food from some merchants, that, to this freakshow, justifies torture.

Because lets remember, Levi hadn't tried to kill anybody up to that point in the story except when he's actively fighting Erwin, after being attacked by him, which was self-defense, (and afterward there's no actual point in which Levi actively attempts to take anyone's life). So there was no way that Erwin could have known what Levi's actual intentions were, even if he knew he'd accepted the job from Lovof. He had no way of knowing what Levi's commitment to the job was (which was tenuous at best), no way of knowing how far Levi was actually willing to go, no way of knowing if Levi would even accept his offer, which Levi hesitated on doing at all until he looked at Furlan. Killing Erwin wasn't even a requirement of Lovof's offer, but a request if the opportunity arose. So Erwin couldn't have known with any amount of certainty that Levi was planning on killing him. And Levi up to that point had shown no, real desire or commitment toward the idea of killing Erwin anyway. That didn't manifest until after Erwin tortured him and threatened Furlan and Isabel's lives. He only began to hate Erwin after that, and actively thought about killing him. Yes, it still would have been wrong, and we can argue all day about just how committed Levi actually was to the plan, considering he had ample opportunity throughout the story to kill Erwin, including the end when he had nothing left to lose, and just... didn't. But I digress. My point is, there was no justification for Erwin's treatment of Levi and his family in their first encounter. Levi hadn't done anything to any of the scouts, he hadn't targeted them or gone after them. He'd only committed crimes like theft out of desperate circumstances. Because he was poor, disenfranchised and living in extreme poverty, all while having two people he was responsible for taking care of.

All of this without even taking into account that Levi only became involved in the plan to steal the documents and assassinate Erwin because Erwin himself manufactured it and the circumstances leading up to it, literally baiting Levi into accepting Lovof's offer so Erwin could entrap them both and force Levi into recruitment with the most dangerous branch of the military.

But tell me again how Erwin wasn't inhumane in his treatment of Levi, because Levi was a criminal, and all criminals are "bad" and should be flatly condemned and tortured for their crimes, regardless of circumstance.

Get the fuck outta' here.

#Levi Ackerman #Erwin Smith #attack on titan #shingkei no kyojin #No Regrets

[itsvaleriesucka]

the day of your luck - chapter one

pairing: criminal!joel miller x fem!reader chapter one summary: after your release from dade-county prison, you've implemented some changes into your life. you finally meet your new "friendly" neighbor.

chapter one warnings: language, indications of argument

word count: 4k

a/n: the reader does speak spanish by the way. i provided an english translation in case anyone needs it. to those reading, i hope you all enjoy! (: feel free to let me know if there are any mistakes or warnings i missed out on.

spanish to english translation: ⋆ "Quieres algo más?" → "Do you want something else?" ⋆ "El cheque, por favor." → "The check, please." ⋆ "Quiero pedir algo para llevar." → "I want to order something to go."

prelude ⋆ chapter two ⋆ series masterlist

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

It was a typical sunny day here in Miami. The blazing heat shimmered the pavement, the grandeur of art deco buildings shined by sun rays. The refreshing scent of sand and sun tan lotion combined fills the air as you skate along the sidewalks of South Beach. The cool wind, a gentle breeze coming off the waters blows through your luscious hair as well as causing the palm trees to sway. 

Your ears were too occupied to listen to the surrounding of people and cars passing by. A perfect mute from the real world. Your Walkman clipped against the side of your hips while your ears filled with Bill Withers’ Lovely Day. 

You held two leashes that wrapped against your wrists, one on your right and the other on your left. They kept up with your quick pace from your favorite pair of quads. And by they— the dogs. 

Dog walking.

A side gig you managed to hustle to make some extra cash for your pocket.

What better way to spend some time outside and see the real life around you. Literally. You tend to stick at home in your own solitude the majority of the time binge watching old films, eating Chinese take out, reading Vogue magazines of the latest fashion trends, and keeping track of your CD collections.

It’s been six months since your release from Dade-County prison and you barely know anybody. You’ve always been a lone gal just wandering around on a day to day basis. You weren’t the type to win a popularity contest either. You would prefer to keep a low profile anyways. 

After what had happened that led you behind bars, you can’t fathom into trusting anyone. You’ve learned from your mistakes and learning from your mistakes will take you far. At least that’s what you remembered your correctional social worker telling you. 

Alright fine. 

You only know certain locals. Around three or four but that’s about it. 

Ever since your release, you've implemented changes in your life that have made you become a better version of yourself. Sure, you still got some kleptomania urgencies but you learned to walk away. If you want it, just save the money and come back for it. If it’s still there, it was meant to be. 

Pushing your left foot backwards, the toe stopper from your skate quads scraps along the pavement, slowing you down until you come to a full complete stop. The dogs got the memo and stood beside you. All you can hear them is pant for breath. 

There was an empty bench nearby a shaded area for you to sit and rest for a moment. You removed your backpack and placed it upon your lap to dig inside for your water bottle. You took a couple of sips before pouring the rest near the dog's muzzles.

They’re both Golden Retrievers. Mike and Basil. Brother and sister who are always side by side with each other. Hence why you’re walking them both together because the owner said they cannot walk alone, they refuse to. 

That’s very cute. You scratched them both behind their ears and boy, did their tail wagged. 

“Are you two hungry?” 

Ears perked up with slight head tilts. 

“Yeah?” You smiled. “Let’s go eat.” 

You began to remove your quads, tying both the shoelaces together into a perfect knot. You reached into your backpack and pulled out your comfortable white chucks and slipped them on. White chucks compliments every single outfit. 

You wore nothing but high-waisted blue denim shorts with cute patches that adorned right on your rear. You managed to find the patches during your thrifting adventures. A white cropped tank with your favorite band displayed. 

There was a group of male runners heading your way. All of them were shirtless. The lotion smeared on them enhances their robust chests. Their muscular definition was a sight to witness. The moment you got yourself up, you began to tie your shoelaces together. Right foot on the bench while the other foot on the ground. Soon switching. 

Your purple plastic hoop earrings swayed against every moment you made. Your skin, sun kissed by the sun itself, radiates with the glow of your sunscreen lotion with a hint of sweat. Each man laid eyes upon you. Upon every exposed skin shown. Upon your thighs down to your legs that goes on forever.

Nothing but flirtatious whistles and sweet nicknames came out from them. Your expression kept stern, you glanced the other way to distract yourself through your Ray-Bans.

Anyone who was anyone could be seen in these iconic pair of sunglasses. You loved them, they were your favorite staple piece you own. 

You weren’t going to lie, those men were fine as hell. But it was a major turn off that they only cat called and whistled out to you. If at least one of them came up to tell you how stunning you are, you maybe would’ve given in and tell him your thanks. 

Maybe.

Like you’ve remembered, trust issues. 

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ 

You sat down in a corner Cuban bakery café. One of your favorite places to go and grab a quick bite. Those homemade croquetas and pastelitos were to die for. If this is something you had to eat for the rest of your life, it’s this. 

When you were first released from prison, the first thing you had asked your correctional social worker to do was take you to this bakery. Just by being here and eating always brings back a lot of memories from your past.

Mike and Basil drank and ate in their complimentary food and water bowl provided by the lovely staff. You always ate inside but since they aren’t allowed, only outside seating is provided. It’s a gorgeous day so you might as well take advantage and enjoy what’s around you. 

While dipping your pastelitos into your coffee, your eyes scanned a couple of advertisements displayed on a newspaper you managed to get on your way over here. Beautiful apartment complexes displayed right before you. You envisioned yourself in a luxury living lifestyle, way up high in those condos, sitting down on your balcony looking out into the seaside view every single morning. 

Your mind began to wander off into a setting you aren’t allowed to even think about. Already thinking of ways to obtain easy money to picture yourself amongst the rich. You glanced away and folded the newspaper, sliding it away, releasing a defeated sigh. 

Stop. You absolutely cannot go back. 

“Quieres algo más?” The kind waitress came by to check up on you. 

“El cheque, por favor.” 

Growing up as a little girl around the Latin culture and community of Miami, you’ve learned to speak, write, and understand Spanish. I mean, if you’re going to live here, you at least have to understand the basics to get by. 

The waitress smiles and picks the empty plates from the table to go get your check. 

An idea came across your mind. You suddenly call out to your waitress and she halts before stepping inside.

“Quiero pedir algo para llevar.” You smiled as did your waitress. 

⋆ ��� ⋆

You already dropped off the dogs at the time their owner wanted to be back, earning yourself ten bucks. Not bad. Sundays are typically the slowest day since everybody is out having fun on their day off or staying at home to spend some time with family. 

Starting tomorrow, things should pick up. 

Aside from dog walking, you managed to find a job working for a gentleman who runs the town’s music shop on Lincoln Road. Only Fridays and Saturdays. The pay was surprisingly well. 

The apartment complex you lived in wasn’t bad nor one of a kind. It was a place to sleep, eat, and shower. A place where you’re able to destress and listen to your favorite music playing from a small silver boom box you owned. You’re thankful your correctional social worker helped you find a place to stay. Rent was affordable with what you’re able to make weekly so you can’t really complain. 

You pulled out a set of keys, one key was to open the main gate of your apartment complex. You can see a few of your neighbors out on their balcony. Some were talking, drinking, or smoking. There was a kid playing ball with another kid on the grass. 

Opening the door, you wanted to check your mailbox. You always did on Sunday’s just to see what arrived. The second key was specifically your mailbox door, shared with four others that lived on the same floor as you. 

You grabbed each letter and newspaper and searched through each and every one of them to find your name but to no avail. 

Although there seems to be a new name that appeared. Looks like there’s a new neighbor. You tossed all the letters and slips back inside the tiny slot and locked the door.

This apartment building only has four floors. The elevator on your right still isn’t working since the same signage has been displayed for over a month now. It depends on your mood, you often take the elevator if you’re out grocery shopping or if you were too lazy to take the stairs to the third floor. 

Having the elevator unavailable meant good exercise for you anyways. Your quads hung over your right shoulder, you held them tightly while walking up the steps. You can listen to certain neighbors having a conversation, some in Spanish, some in English. There was a pesky dog on the second floor that always barks whenever he or she seems to hear someone or probably wants to bark just because. 

As you reach the third floor you can hear commotion going on, an argument. You hear a familiar voice. 

It’s your neighbor, Delaney, who so happens to be caught fighting her boyfriend, as always. 

“I didn’t fuckin’ had the dinner ready on time because I was out workin’ all night!” Yep. That’s her alright. Her typical Jersey accent all spiced up. Where she’s from, it’s obvious. She wanted to get away from the cold weather. She was sick and tired of snowy days and having to shovel away ice from her driveway so she moved all the way from New Jersey and landed here in Miami. Nothing but hot and sunny weather all day, everyday. 

She worked late nights at a place called Club Pink Pussycat, Miami’s first and finest strip club that offered nudity since day one. 

“When I get back, that goddamn casserole better be done! I work my ass off all day and I come home and there’s nothing?!” Her boyfriend stormed out through the door and slammed it shut behind him. He slips a cigarette in between his lips to have a smoke. Your eyes met with his. 

“Fuck outta my way.” He grumbled and walked down the stairs past you. He’s lucky to have been gone before you said anything. God. You despised that man. 

Delaney opened the door, she’s covered in nothing but her fancy satin pink robe. Her hair was voluminous and styled. Teased and permed to perfection. Her large golden hoops shined with the rest of her jewelry worn. Red lips stained the tipping paper of her cigarette that’s being held in between her index and middle finger. Her pink press on flicks at her cigarette tip, allowing the ashes to fall onto the ground. 

Her expression softens from the familiarity of your face the moment her eyes laid upon you. 

“Oh, hi sweetie. I’m sorry ‘bout that...” Her voice is soft.

“Why do you let that asshole treat you the way he does?”

It’s true. You always wondered why and there has to be a reason. No man should ever downgrade a woman the way he does, ever. If it were you, he would’ve left a long time ago. In the end, it is not your relationship to get yourself involved like that. 

“Oh ya know…he’s the baby daddy of my little boy. It’s hard sometimes.” Delaney pinches the end of her cigarette in between her plump lips to inhale some smoke. Hands gesturing towards you to come inside before she exhaled. 

“Come in, come! I’ve baked some sugar cookies. I saved some for you since I thought you might want a bite.” 

You stepped inside her place as she shut the door behind you. The layout of her place was the complete opposite of yours. Especially her decor. This woman sure loves the color pink since everything displayed, from her kitchen to her living room, was decorated in pink. She’s like the modern day Barbie. 

“Sorry ‘bout the place bein’ a mess. Had to work one of those late nights. My regular surprised me and it was a whole party in there. You should come and visit sometime!” She rubs the tip of her cigarette against an ashtray. 

“Sure.” You nodded but only because you were being polite. Those places weren’t your forte anyways. There’s absolutely nothing for you to find in there. It’s a place where sugar daddies come and spend their endless cash by just a shake of your ass. Drugs were the main hot spot. It was a safe haven to do anything illegal, really.

Her baby was in his crib playing with toys. He happily squealed the moment he saw you. Oh, he definitely recognized you. You believed that babies can sense your aura within you. At least that’s what your mother has told you.

Walking over to the crib, you leaned over to tickle the side of his neck and he giggled. Your smile was foolishly wide at his playful gesture. Delaney was busy grabbing her cookie jar and noticed you playing with her son. She smiled. 

“He’s such an angel. I love him to pieces!” She waves at her son and made funny faces. He giggles again. 

“He is adorable.” You mentioned and leaned away as you walked over to sit in a chair Delaney pulls for you at the kitchen counter. 

“You want somethin’ to drink? I got water, Cherry Coke, juice, milk, you name it all.”

“A Cherry Coke sounds perfect, please.” 

Milk and cookies are actually the perfect combination. But a Cherry Coke? You can’t refuse an offer like that. You aren’t much of a soda type of gal, but when it comes to Cherry Coke, you simply cannot resist. 

“The casserole is almost done if you wanna take some with you.” Delaney hands you a plate of her homemade sugar cookies and a cold can of Cherry Coke.

“That’s real kind of you. I appreciate it.” The click of the can opening surrounds the place. The moment the metal pops, that’s where the sizzling sounds of the bubbles begin to fizz. You didn’t hesitate to take a drink, tilting your head back. The carbonation from the sweet drink coats and burns your throat. Your eyes watered when taking your last sip. A small gasp escaping from you.

So refreshing. So satisfying. 

“Have you met the new neighbor yet?” Delaney asks. She’s definitely talking about the name you have seen from a letter when you opened the mailbox not too long ago. 

“You know I don’t talk to anyone besides you and the landlord.” You swapped a smile into a smirk, chewing on a cookie. 

It’s crazy how you know so much about Delaney yet, she knows very little about you. I mean, she can practically tell her entire life story to strangers. She just loves engaging in conversations to the nicest folks she’d meet. But you? You’re insanely private. She doesn’t even know you’ve been released from prison. She doesn’t know about your past indulgence of robberies. 

Thankfully, she has her limits. 

“He’s such a handsome fella. Very quiet too. He lives just down at the end of the hallway.”

Such emphasis on the word handsome. That explains much. It’s no wonder you haven’t seen any movement, he’s quiet. You weren’t as phased or excited to learn more about him. You rarely try to meet new people, specifically neighbors. Delaney was the only exception since she’s been the first to actually introduce herself unlike the others.

Ding! “Oh!” Delaney squeals with such excitement. “The casserole is finished. Lemme put that in a paper plate for you before this moron gets here.”  

Delaney. She’s such a handful and honestly, you appreciate how real she can be. 

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

You and Delaney exchanged hugs and farewells. You walked down from her door, stopping right in front of yours, using your third key to open the lock and turning the knob to open and enter your own place. Shutting the door behind you, you tossed your keys into a ceramic bowl that’s on a table next to you. 

You untied your shoelaces and kicked your white chucks off, setting them right besides the door along with your quads. You removed your backpack and tossed it right on the couch as you walked towards your kitchen holding your plastic plate.

As mentioned, the place is the total opposite of Delaney’s. You tend to stick with a chic yet quaint style. Cool tones were your favorite choice of color palettes, especially purple. Any shade of purple draws your attention. 

You placed the casserole and the plastic bag with pastelitos inside your fridge. You wanted to keep it there for later since right now, you needed to take a shower and attend some chores. It’s only half past five so you have plenty of time before the sun disappears completely. 

You entered your room, your safe haven. Everything was just the perfect mix of purple. Just the way you like it.

You have a massive CD collection you adored. Some you have stolen and others were given to you by the owner of the music shop you worked for. Hell, you even purchased some from time to time since he gives you a good discount. It’s a win-win for all.

At the corner of your room, besides your dresser, were dirty clothes piled up in the corner of your room, inside a plastic ivory basket. 

It’s definitely laundry day and you needed everything to be washed and cleaned for the new week tomorrow. 

But first, shower time. It’s what you absolutely need.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Having your comfortable loungewear is possibly the best feeling in the entire world. Your hair was picked up with a vibrant scrunchie. You wore your favorite pair of fuzzy slippers that matched your outfit. 

Locking the door behind you, you carried the basket with one hand while the other hand tucked inside your pocket, holding onto your keys and a couple of quarters.

It’s already nine and the night came out and played. If it wasn’t for your dog walking gig, you would’ve just stayed home all day playing your Atari. Just a typical lazy Sunday for you.

The fourth and final key was the door to open the laundry room that was located on the first floor. You take a peek through the window on the door and to your disadvantage, there was already someone inside. 

Shit. 

He already noticed so you couldn’t turn around and disappear like you wanted to so it’s too late. He paid you no attention as you walked inside. 

You gathered your dirty clothes on top of an empty washer machine. You wished there was music playing or something because the awkward silence between you and the man was mad. At least there’s the sound of his dryer starting. 

Thank god. He’s just beginning to dry his clothes because that means he was leaving. And he did. He left you all alone. 

You usually come around this time to wash and dry your clothes because everybody’s inside their homes all locked up and in bed. Oh, you know the tactics. 

You inserted three quarters into the slot tray of the washer machine to then proceed and dump all of your dirty clothes inside. You poured some of the liquid detergent into another slot where it’s supposed to be poured into.

Once you had everything settled, you closed the lid and pushed the tray to dump the quarters into a metal box. There was a green light, ready to be used. You pushed the button and heard the click of the lid and the water starting to pour. 

It’s going to be around thirty minutes before everything finishes so you can dry. In the meantime, you start heading back to eat Delaney’s casserole. 

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Boy, you were stuffed with that casserole. You aren’t one to ever eat casserole but you hoped there’s nothing better than the one you just devoured. 

Thirty minutes already passed and it's time for you to head downstairs again to place your damp clothes into the dryer.

As you opened the door to your apartment and shut it right behind you while locking it, you heard footsteps approaching. Your immediate reaction was to turn and look at the source of the sound. You swore if it was Delaney’s boyfriend you were going to have a word with him but no. It wasn’t. 

It was the same man from the laundry room. Your eyes instantly looked away from his stare and towards the laundry basket he held his clean clothes in. 

Your eyes bounced back and he was still staring at you. Why does he look good in this lighting? It’s just the hallway lights illuminating the passageway. That well put stoic expression deemed his appearance unapproachable. 

That unkempt tousled salt and pepper hair definitely gives away his age group. Along with white patches that run down his jawline. You’re probably guessing early fifties. Definitely old enough to be your uncle. 

Those denim jeans compliments his physique along with his baby blue polo t-shirt neatly tucked inside all pressed against his chest, holding everything together with a black belt. 

You perhaps needed to check your vitals because there’s no way you’re now just thinking about all sorts of compliments to this complete random stranger you’ve never—

Wait a minute. It clicks inside of you. 

It’s him. 

Your new neighbor. 

Standing in front of your door, being a quiet weirdo, isn’t going to make him disappear. You slip your keys inside your pocket with your empty laundry basket in the other hand. You stared down to the ground as you walked. Nothing but sounds of footsteps, keys, and quarters jangle altogether.

Stop. 

Be confident. 

Your eyes adverts from the ground as you look forward, paying no attention to the stranger. Another thought came rushing in your mind. You softly inhaled and exhaled at the idea. 

You can’t always hide and be a grouch all the time. Quoting on what your correctional social worker had explained to you, the past doesn’t define who you are. We are all bound to make mistakes and those mistakes can lead us to the right path. 

The moment you passed your new neighbor, you decided to open your mouth.

“Have a goodnight!” You smiled at the stranger.

Biggest fucking mistake you could have possibly made. Your smile flipped itself completely upside, transforming into a frown from the way he ignored you.

His brows furrowed as he took one last look at you and your silly little gesture without saying anything in return. His eyes scan your figure completely unamused. He walked towards the end of the hallway to the door on his left and disappeared. 

The moment he disappeared you can hear him slam his door shut. You turned around with brows still trying to pierce together. Oh you were livid. You were livid because you were trying to actually be kind when someone just decides to ignore your entire existence. 

You were ashamed of yourself because you’ve always been quiet and for once you decided to open your pretty mouth to actually say something nice. 

“Fuck you too then.” You scoffed and looked away, still shocked trying to process exactly what happened. You knew damn well he heard you. If he dared return to the laundry room, you’re more than happy to slam your empty basket right across his stupid face. 

What was his stupid name on that letter again? 

Joel Miller.

A name that was going to stick with you for the remainder of your night.

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x fem!reader #joel miller fanfic #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller smut #joel miller series #joel miller au #the last of us fanfic #pedro pascal x reader #tlou fanfic #joel miller #the last of us

[ronnieafterdark]

Starting this side blog off with a bang, here's some previews of some fics I'm working on. Who knows if they'll ever be published! I certainly don't.

Fic one:

Mike narrows his eyes as continues to watch the camera footage, his chin nestled in the crook of his hand. He watches as the trespasser fidgets with a book, as if they're trying to read but they can't take in any of the words. Like when you read an entire page and realize you were zoned out for most of it so you have to go back and read it again. This person broke into a building to read a book? That's really fucking ballsy. He wants to confront this person (because that's, you know, one of his number one job duties) but he can't help but think about the last time he ‘confronted a criminal’ at a security gig. His eyes drift over to the dust-covered intercom to the side of the monitors which has gone unused for the entirety of his tenure at Freddy's (and probably for the past few decades, too). He would say that there's absolutely no shot that it still works, but, then again, the owner of this place tends to place a weird amount of care in keeping things functional. He knows how to use a modern intercom (he used to be in charge of announcements over the intercom at an aquarium he worked at once—his boss thought he had a great radio voice, or something. That was until he flubbed one of this lines, accidentally saying ‘testicles’ instead of ‘tentacles’... Yeah, he wasn't on announcement duty anymore from then on), but he has no idea how an intercom from the eighties would work. It should be pretty intuitive, he figures.

Fic two:

"You act like you think I care about you," you say, rolling your eyes. "I don't think that. In fact, I want nothing less than for you to care about me," he mutters, voice suddenly growing colder, his previous playfulness dissipating. "And why is that?" You ask, eyes meeting his. "Because I don't care about you. I don't want my apathy to be unreciprocated." You nod, a quick breath leaving your nose. "Gotcha." "You know," he shrugs, leaning back in his chair and kicking his feet up on his desk, "you should probably stop worrying about me as much as you do. Between the two of us, do you really think I'm the one who's most likely to have a bounty on their head? You're the one who does all the killing." You glare at him. "Well that's a real fucking comforting thought, but I assure you that I don't have to worry about myself. Nobody stands a chance against me." He sighs, resigning to your stubbornness. "Fine. Just remember that you can never be too careful."

Fic three:

I'm the one who first notices it— no, wait, I think he notices first. He can be a bit of a baby at times and he gets all dramatic over the turbulence. He's the first to say ‘something seems wrong’, but because Derek is Derek, it sounds something more like: "What the fuck is up with this damn thing? It's shaking like a goddamn druggie going through withdrawal. Hold on... Look at that. Look at the fuckin'... System... Thing." Error: server maintenance. "The hell does that mean?" "It's like when you can't play a video game because they have to do something with the server," I respond, taking a closer look. "That's a lot of error signs. How do we fix whatever's going on?" "Fuck if I know. I'm not an engineer." "I don't want to touch anything and make it worse." He gets up, standing next to me and gazing at the ever-increasing amount of error messages on the screen. Error: unable to connect to server. "What, so we can't use Bluetooth anymore? 'Least I don't have to hear your damn music anymore," I mutter. Error: piloting system down. "Oh, that sounds bad—" Error: controls disabled. "Controls disabled? Wait, does that mean—" Error: engine disabled. "Engine disabled? Holy shit— Derek! We're crashing!" Derek's head whips around, immediately locking eyes with me. Pure panic. He lurches forward, grabbing hold of my shoulders and—

#josh hutcherson #josh hutcherson fanfic #josh hutcherson x reader #josh hutcherson x you #fnaf mike #mike fnaf #mike schimdt x reader #mike schmidt #mike schmidt fnaf #mike schmidt imagine #mike schmidt smut #mike schmidt x reader #mike schmidt x you #derek danforth #derek danforth smut #derek danforth x reader #derek danforth x you

[emeraldstorms]

Hi! I'm pretty new to the DD fandom. I saw your post about Matt making up Mike. But people talk about him like he is real? Is this fanon? Is Mike made up or not? I feel kind of stupid to ask because everyone else seems to know what's going on lmao

Please, don’t feel stupid for not knowing 6 decades of comic books by heart.

I’ll try my best to summarize the “Tale of Mike Murdock” as far as my recollection of things allows. I’m sorry I can’t keep it super short because sometimes I need to point out how silly Matt is. Like, I love him, but what a dumbass. 

(DD fans feel free to correct me if I misremember something).

Okay, here it comes(dialogue paraphrased lol)

Not to sound like J. Jonah Jameson, but… this is all Spiderman’s fault. 

In the beginning, Spidey and DD had a rivalry going on. While both acknowledged that they were on the same side, they weren’t exactly fans of one another.

Spidey finds out Matt is DD. Of course, he isn’t gonna out him, but he also apparently can’t just do nothing, but has to let Matt know he knows. So he writes Matt a letter, basically saying “I know you’re DD, but your secret is safe with me” and sends said letter not to Matt’s house or something. No, he mails it to the law firm “Nelson and Murdock”.

In a not so surprising turn of events, Karen Page opens the letter. You know, managing her bosses’ mail as secretaries do. She reads it and tells Foggy about it. Foggy and Karen confront Matt.

Matt is then like “haha, stupid Spiderman! Confused me with my… um… twin brother Mike!”. He says this not only to Karen. No, he also says it to Foggy, who is his best friend since law school, has been to Matt’s childhood home and to his Dad's funeral without seeing hide or hair of a twin brother. 

So Foggy says, “You don’t have a twin brother.” 

Matt says, “Do too! He’s just a loner and also Daredevil.”

Karen and Foggy remain skeptical. But Matt has the advantage that his friends don’t know about his super senses yet. So when a man, looking like Matt but interacting with the world like a sighted person, appears, they do buy it. (It’s a 1960s comic book after all).

For a while Matt juggles his three identities, but at one point it becomes too much (especially the Matt-Karen-Mike triangle getting out of hand). So he fakes DD’s and thus Mike’s death. Then he’s like “Very sad. But my brother trained a successor to be DD in case of his death.” So he can go on being Daredevil, but no longer having to play Mike as well. And that was that for a while.

Anyway, since Matt is not only a dumbass but also a dork, he had a dossier about Mike. For reasons, the dossier got in the hands of Reader, a blind inhuman who has an ability called “Literary Manifestation” aka what he reads (in braille) becomes real. This works three times between two resting phases (with kind regards to DnD xD). So he reads the dossier about Mike and Mike manifests. For emergency cases, Reader has a braille note on his belt, spelling “erase”, but Mike senses the danger and flees before Reader can use the note.

Mike then kidnaps Foggy to get Matt to meet and talk to him. Afterwards, Matt feels it would be wrong to “kill” Mike and lets him go. 

Mike becomes a criminal - I’m not sure if because Matt created him as a “roguelike character” or because he has no other choice with not having any papers. So he joins a group of burglars at one point whose leader has a Norn stone. The burglars use it to open doors, make walls disappear etc, but Mike steals it and uses it to change reality.

So far he is real only for himself, but he changes the world so people remember him, his mother, his brother, childhood friends etc.

TLDR: Mike was just a fake identity of Matt, but now he is real because of inhuman power and a norn stone 

I hope this helps and you’re a bit less confused. <3

#ask #anon ask #daredevil #mike murdock #matt murdock #foggy nelson #karen page

[dyns33]

Bullet Train

I'm in my Brad Pitt's moment, so here's a Ladybug x female reader story.

He was the unluckiest man in the world.

Maria could give him all the nicknames she wanted to ward off fate, matched with lucky charms and incantations, Ladybug knew he was unlucky.

All the work with Gary was not intended to change that.

The sessions only helped him accept this reality.

Part of him considered that maybe it was karma. He had done a lot of harm, in his work, and sometimes outside of his work. He had chosen to do evil, because he could have decided to be a dentist or a hot dog seller instead of an assassin.

Even if Gary wasn't there to give him hope, Ladybug still wanted change. This was why he now only accepted simple contracts, without violence, or almost none.

That way, maybe he would end up being a little less unlucky.

Stealing a suitcase from a train should have been easy. No need for a gun. No need for violence. Almost no need for luck, the suitcase waiting for him quietly in the suitcase compartment.

Ladybug just had to take it, wait for the next stop, and get off the train.

Super easy.

The easiest job of his entire career.

And it had absolutely nothing to do with the stupid nickname Maria and the others had decided to give him for his return to the field.

It didn't take long for him to realize that it wouldn't be that easy.

There were other people on the train, a lot of people, who also wanted the suitcase. Getting it was the easy part. Now he had to survive and escape.

Since no one yet knew who had the suitcase, he decided to play the normal passage, who had nothing to do with this mess. If he tried anything more complicated, his bad luck might play tricks on him.

He then approached another passenger who was returning from the bar car with an iced tea, pretending to crash into her by accident.

"Oh ! Sorry, so sorry ! Are you okay ? I'm really sorry, I can go get you another one."

"No, it will be fine. Thank you."

"I insist. I wasn't looking where I was going, I'm really stupid. My therapist says that I need to pay more attention to what's around me, focus on the present moment. He's very gifted, he has a lot of very intelligent sentences."

"I have no doubt about it."

"Please let me make it up to you. Your sweater is soaked. I'm confused, really. Let's sit down, I must have some tissues in my jacket."

This was how Ladybug met Y/N.

He didn't really like involving civilians in his missions, but sometimes it was necessary. He would make sure nothing happened to her. She wouldn't even know that she had spoken with a dangerous criminal, to help him escape from several dangerous criminals.

No, they were just going to have a good time talking, until the next stop.

"This Maria shouldn't make fun of you, it's good to see a specialist when you need one, and there's no reason to be ashamed of it."

"Exactly !" Ladybug exclaimed with joy. "My boss doesn't understand this at all. It's very nice of her to say that my old self was great, but I didn't like it. I wanted to change, and Gary helps me a lot."

"I don't know what you were like before, but you look calm and happy. You still need to look ahead, but I think you're on the right track."

"Sorry again about the iced tea. I can definitely buy you another one if you want."

“No, thank you, that’s nice Mike.”

Ladybug didn't know why he said that his name was Mike. Maybe because it was classy, and he needed to give a credible name, and it was quite close to his real name, which he wasn't allowed to give.

They had only been talking for fifteen minutes, and he felt a real connection with Y/N. He couldn't explain it, but she listened to him, and what she said was clever, and he really wanted to know her better.

It had been a real chance to meet her.

The bad luck was that it happened during a mission.

The agents had every right to have a life. They could even be honest about their work with their family, if they signed certain documents. But under the current circumstances, there was little chance that he would be tolerated for him to keep in touch with Y/N.

Too risky.

The job was to get in and out of the train, taking the suitcase, without being spotted.

"You travel a lot ?" Y/N asked him with her soft voice and sparkling eyes, showing that she was really interested in what he was going to say.

“I think I’ve been everywhere.”

“It’s impossible, I don’t believe you !”

"Oh, but it's true. My job requires me to go everywhere. It's beautiful and tiring. A little depressing too, you end up getting bored and no longer impressed at all. Gary always told me take the time to admire the place where I am, as well as the people around me."

“That’s good advice.”

“I'm applying it right now, and I think yeah, it's really good advice.”

Y/N smiled, biting her lip slightly. How long had it been since he last flirted ? Outside of work anyway, not to get out of a complicated situation, even if he spoke with Y/N to get out of a complicated situation.

Now that he thought about it, it must have been several months, and the last attempts had been disasters, like all the relationships he had tried to have. He was also unlucky in love. Ladybug never stood a chance.

He was about to ask Y/N a question to show her that he was also interested in what she had to say, when his phone rang. Maria, of course.

"My boss." he sighed, waving his phone. "I have to answer."

“You don’t have to get up.”

"Unfortunately, I have to. Confidential informations."

“I can watch your place and your things if you want.”

It wasn't a good idea to leave the suitcase. Someone might take it, hurting Y/N. But he also couldn't walk around on the train with the suitcase, while he was answering the phone. It was difficult to defend yourself with a phone in one hand and a suitcase in the other.

"… Okay, but could you put my suitcase between your leg and the wall ? It's very important, I don't want anyone trying to take it."

“Sure, no worries.”

No one could see the suitcase there, so Ladybug was reassured and he went to answer Maria with a calm and satisfied mind. It only took two minutes, he calculated. The time to tell his boss that everything was fine, he had the suitcase, and he would soon get off the train.

She was calling to tell him he would have to get off the train soon.

Ladybug wanted to thank her for wasting two precious minutes with Y/N, who he would never see again, but he restrained himself. That would have wasted even more time, and he shouldn't have to go through the hassle of solving a problem. Gary would have been proud of him.

When he came back to sit down, Y/N asked him if everything was okay, handing him back the suitcase.

"I have to get off at the next stop, which makes me very desperate. I wish I could have spent more time… on the train…"

With you.

Well, he hadn't flirted in a long time, but Ladybug had enough experience to know that this sentence was way too quick and ridiculous.

"I understand. I'll stay there, but it won't be the same."

Maybe not. But too late, the train was already starting to brake, and they entered the station.

He asked her if she really didn't want an iced tea. Y/N gave him a beautiful smile, wishing him a good end to his trip to Tokyo.

They left each other like this, without exchanging numbers. She had seemed like she wanted it, but probably she was waiting for him to propose it. Unfortunately he didn't have the right to do so.

Ladybug then went to the meeting point where he had to give the suitcase to his contact. Super easy mission, no problem, no need for a gun at all.

This was what he said as he gave the package to the man waiting for it. That didn't make him smile. He smiled even less as he opened the suitcase. Ladybug didn't even know what was supposed to be in it, he hadn't asked.

Later, Maria would tell him that there should have been a lot of money, and a USB stick had very important information regarding a mafia gang.

"… It's for you." the man said in a monotone voice, handing him a piece of paper which he took out of the suitcase.

"What's this ? A secret code ?"

"No," the man said, and it sounded a lot like a way of saying 'idiot'.

It wasn't easy to tell if he was an idiot or not from reading the paper. Maybe a little bit. Like it was not easy to tell if he was as unlucky as he claimed.

The message was short and simple.

'Thanks "Mike". Call me for an iced tea' with a number next to it.

Out of all the passengers he could have chosen to hide with, Ladybug had chosen one who wanted to take the suitcase, and he had literally given it to her for two minutes, which was enough for Y/N to empty it.

He wondered if Y/N was her real name. They had to have the same rules when they were on a mission.

Really, Ladybug didn't have much luck. But he got Y/N's number without even having to ask, so maybe he wasn't the unluckiest man in the world, but just a little.

He would talk to Gary about it at their next session to see what he thought about all that.

#bullet train #ladybug #ladybug x reader #ladybug bullet train

[loathemetc]

DELTARUNE THEORY: Who’s Mike 2: Cathode Boogaloo

Our pal Spamton G. Spamton has been answering a lot of questions on twitter, and this one raises some eyebrows:

At first me and the party rockers were quick to jump on the obvious TV connection of Cathode Ray Tubes to confirm Mike as, in fact, being the TV guy. Like Mike the TV from ReBoot. You guys should all go watch ReBoot. Not The Guardian Code though.

But if we look at the wording, it kind of paints a different picture. Spamton asks our pal Ornstein here if they’re with the Cathode’s crew, and then accuses “you guys”, IE including the crew, of not knowing nothing about Mike. He then acts defensive of Mike, painting a very different picture of him than he gave in Chapter 2, but definitely drawing a clear line between Mike and the Cathode Ray Tube Television Set. They’re different characters.

Let’s look at Spamton’s dialogue in Chapter 2 again, after he says he doesn’t need Mike.

With the angle that Mike and the TV are different people, and that Spamton isn’t completely sour on Mike, this line becomes a lot harder to make sense of. Is Spamton saying that the TV is a criminal, not Mike? If not, why would the TV be saying Mike isn’t a criminal if Mike isn’t the TV? I was about to throw out this idea, that this line is exclusively talking about the TV and not Mike at all, but...

You saw how Spamton got when he brought up Mike, presumably by accident. This look of reminiscing doesn’t line up with the perceived anger of the next line.

And who does Spamton call for when he’s on the verge of death?

Mike.

Maybe Mike and Spamton were friends, and Mike did him dirty. Maybe Mike and Spamton were friends, and Mike got did dirty by something or someone. But it seems like Mike might not be the antagonistic force we assumed him to be after all. 

He might have been Spamton’s first real friend. Someone he doesn’t want being found for their own safety.

Again, I’m spitballing off literally a single image on twitter dot com but hey, It’s like 4AM what else am I supposed to be doing. Sleeping? I mean yeah but. Post’s over.

#deltarune theory #deltarune #spamton #mike #spamton g spamton #mike deltarune

[fungalittleweirdo]

Villain Rise Mikey Thoughts: Part One

i have already written so much for this one, this is part one of my storyline for a villain mikey au !! i genuinely just spewed thoughts out here, i will continue with a part two eventually <3

i'm making up my own villain mikey as i go because i am craving.

the abandoned at birth trope is a little overdone imo, i love it when i read it for the other turtles but mikey deserves something unique

he felt a little different compared to his brothers, not because he was the youngest... he just felt different.

three year old mikey genuinely didn't want to hurt his brothers, not after he practically launched raph at high speeds toward a wall trying to get a jupiter jim toy out of his hand.

he ran away after that, guilt eating at him for some time until he forgot, then he found the hidden city.

he finds baron draxum and realises he's his other dad, which made the screws already loose in his head rattle a little bit.

draxum trains mikey in the mystic arts safely so that he doesn't hurt himself, which was very loving and tender on his part.

mikey deserved an attentive father, that was something draxum realised when mikey told him what he could remember about splinter.

even though mikey was raised in a decent environment, draxum still wanted to destroy the human race and that warped mikey's thoughts and actions a little bit.

this especially affected his views on getting what he wanted whenever he did, he definitely is a youngest child at heart.

he would start being a delinquent in the hidden city, running away from the police if they caught him loitering or tagging places.

then he moved on to stealing.

coins, unicorns, jewellery, mystic trinkets, you name it.

he used his mystic portals to steal and hoard like a dragon.

while draxum was proud, he created mikey for something bigger than petty thievery, mikey was destined for something greater.

draxum told eleven year old mikey about going back topside, and he did just that, enduring homelessness for a brief period of time before getting a small apartment from all the money he pickpocketed in the financial district of manhattan.

he hated being among humans, seeing their lives as minuscule and pointless– but he never let it show, he always had the mask of a sweetheart.

he witnessed his first murder and for the first time in a while, he wasn't bored.

mikey wondered about upping the ante to his criminal lifestyle, he was growing bored of stealing and he completed his father's training, what kind of human could defend against him ?

he only started with nobodies, people who would be forgotten within a week.

it got his blood pumping, adrenaline coursing through his veins. he liked it.

but killing "undesirables" meant little to no money, and mikey has to pay rent. he lives in the bronx after all.

villain mikey likes the thrill of the hunt, he started hunting down drunk people after they leave the bar, sometimes even sober ones just getting off a late shift at work.

it was when he crossed paths with yokai capturing humans that he found interest in keeping one as a pet.

he moves to brooklyn at thirteen to go back to tagging graffiti, sometimes in the oddest of places.

that was around the time his brothers interrupted draxum's experiment and released the oozequitos to new york.

he captured a large sum of oozequitos to give back to his dad, but there were still others that decided to breed and persist.

mikey has no real motive for what he's doing, he's doing what his father asked of him and he wants to appease him, but he regularly has his doubts.

then when draxum teams up with the foot clan, that's when he really questions his dad, if the dark armour is worth all the risks he's taking.

mikey meets big mama and realises she's behind the human trafficking, then asks her if he could have a pet human of his own.

she scoffs and tells him to capture one himself, no kin of draxum should get meddled with her business (after all that happened with the other turtles, if mikey's the one with draxum she's not taking any chances for a temper tantrum)

even though villain mikey's a spoiled brat, he also recognises that if he wants a job done right, he has to do it himself.

mikey moves back to the hidden city to nurse draxum back to health after the dark armour drained his life force.

he finally comes across his brothers again and thinks they're amateur idiots.

he's a bit of a bastard, ignoring his brothers and continuing to do what he does for fun (graffiti, stealing, offing innocents).

a couple years pass and the krang invasion happens.

he put aside his differences with his brothers just for this, he still cares because these are the turtles he was created with, even though their dad is kind of whack compared to draxum (mikey really does love his dad).

mikey suddenly unlocks his ninpo and he's the greatest mystic warrior of his timeline, junior finds it weird he's not with his brothers.

leo explains to junior mikey's not one of them despite his assistance, he's not family.

even though mikey physically turned out fine post-krang, it sickened him seeing his brothers losing to some pesky alien creatures.

the way the krang biomatter clung onto raph, leo, and donnie pissed him off.

it unlocked something wrathful and hideous within him, wiping out the krang and sending their tech back to the prison dimension.

it was a miracle when his three brothers snapped out of their krang possession and they snapped him out of the mystic altered state he was in, golden-eyed and chains lifting the technodrome back into the prison dimension.

even though villain mikey is a lot more skilled in his mystic abilities from years of training under draxum, it took a lot out of him to make a portal that big.

he passed out and his brothers, casey, april, and splinter were beside him when he woke up, but he was so annoyed.

he didn't want to wake up to these assholes.

mikey could barely walk, but floating out meant overexerting himself, so pushing everyone out of the way to get back to draxum it is.

post-krang, he suffers a lot of paranoia and anxiety, almost too much to the point where he chains up draxum when accidentally going into the mystic state.

draxum tells him to go to the market, get some herbs to calm down.

he accidentally comes across a dispensary in the market, getting a few strains and asking if he could have it in the form of tea, since he sees a few yokai smoking the herbs.

he's told he could bake them, that's when he gets interested in baking.

#rottmnt writing #rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rise mikey #rise michelangelo #villain rise mikey au #ramble #jules' thoughts

[castlebyersafterdark]

Wow, thanks so much for that beautiful take on Will’s attraction to Mike! I love the passion and personal experience you included. 

its definitely true about will being into unconventional beauty, I hadn’t seen that viewpoint articulated before. All the music in the show, and indeed the themes of the show itself - that Jonathan sets in motion through talking about music and outsiders - are reflected in will’s attraction to mike. I think the creators chose Finn as an actor partly for this reason, whether or not the mike and will romance was planned from the off. Mike was meant to be the leader, but he’s still an outcast, and needed outcast traits.

It’s also quite amusing that Finn has ended up being the kind of musician/band guy that Will would have really been into (which is also why I wouldn’t be unhappy if they tried to include these skills in Mike’s character/the s5 story somehow, especially considering music is such a huge part of the show narratively. So far the only hint we’ve seen is the guitar in his bedroom). His appearance is not American Conventional Hot, but he certainly fits the alt camp, which is far from niche (see basically any band musician from the 60s onwards and the legions of people who find them hot). Like you said - Will is into Bowie. He’s into alt. It makes so much sense that he would be into Mike physically. 

You spoke beautifully about how Mike’s height is a physicalisation of his protective instincts too, which I do think would have been a major catalyst in Will’s falling in love. We don’t get to see much of Will’s developing crush in s2, because of his possession, but arguably that is a sort of narrative metaphor for what’s happening (as well as a commentary on his homosexuality overall), and there are plenty of intense moments of Will looking at Mike in s2. It’s there, it’s just not presented as people might expect - but then again Will is quiet, so his attraction is expressed quietly, unless you know what to look for.

And then s4 - I think Will having painted so meticulously really does show that on some level he is very comfortable with his attraction to Mike, and it's just expressing that safely + risking their friendship that is the issue. To me, Will's internalised homophobia isn't a persistent distaste with the male body despite also being attracted to it; it's a frustration with how society views him, and therefore a wish to be 'normal' for an easier life. I think s5 will be feature him coming to revel in being gay - he is already on the way there by acknowledging that loving Mike feels so natural to him and he wouldn't give it up, not even when he's in pain.

Some of my fav moments in s4 are the way he looks at Mike in the van as he unfurls the painting - it’s all in the eyes and hesitance, and it’s just gorgeous and so real for someone like Will. Perhaps the real problem with people not picking up on byler is that realistic shy/introverted romance is so criminally under-portrayed in modern media. And of course what you said about Mike arriving in Lenora - it’s brilliant and hilarious because we have this mix of in love/pissed off + wtf is Mike wearing/Will still can’t take his eyes off him, and I think it speaks so well of how physical attraction often follows emotional. Will might not like Mike’s unconventional features out of context (though I think he does - as said above) but even if he didn’t, the fact that they are MIKE’s makes them desirable. 

A wonderful detail is when Mike comes into Will’s room and sits on his bed - it’s an apology scene, but underneath is this idea that Will would have fantasised for so long about Mike being in his room, on his bed - and now he is, and Will doesn’t quite know what to do with it. 

Thanks for such an insightful take, and for acknowledging the actors in such a mature way. The byler Tumblr police seem to think that isn’t possible, and it’s certainly not common! You express yourself so well. 

I don't have much to add here without repeating myself or parts of your lovely message but yesssssss to everything ❤️❤️❤️ thank you for the kind words and insightful thoughts

[four-white-trees]

Early Sunday Six since I'll be pretty busy today. More Sugi! I'm finding progress slow but very rewarding on this fic. Spoilers for Judgment in this one.

Tagging: @overdevelopedglasses @jichanxo @passthroughtime @fragilitease @danketsuround and also @mike----wazowski and @skysquid22 for posterity's sake but i know they may not read this :P

Looking at the two of us, the average person would be quick to label Tsukumo as an idle layabout. Even I thought as much when I first met him. If Yagami hadn’t impressed on me how crucial Tsukumo was to his work, I’d have assumed the guy spent his days watching cartoons and stalking auction sites for figurines all day. And while that was a good portion of Tsukumo’s leisure time, he was also a skilled programmer, and he made a good living.

Meanwhile, I’m a criminal. I haven’t even had a steady job since, well…I’ve never had a steady job. Not one that could make a living, anyway. I subsided off stealing and couch surfing for years. Of the two of us, I’m the real loser.

Which was why I had thought up the idea to start a detective agency. A crazy idea for someone like me. I’d seen just the lengths Yagami’s work had taken him, and any sane person would have decided that sort of thing isn’t for them. But in all fairness, it wasn’t like private detectives usually got caught up in conspiracies with the Health Ministry. From what I’d seen, most of Yagami’s work involved boots-on-the-ground hard work helping the people of Kamurocho.

If I could do something like that, if I could be just a little bit like Yagami, then maybe I could make something of my life. Be a bit less of a loser. And maybe I could become someone Emi would be proud of.

My foot catches on the corrugation of an aluminum roof I land on, and my ankle rolls. I follow the momentum, relaxing my body so I don’t sprain my ankle, but I land hard and noisily on the roof. With a groan, I roll onto my back and test my ankle. No pain, no soreness. At least not there. I’ll have a bruise develop on my hip, I think, but then that’s nothing new for me.

Catching my breath, I pull myself into a sitting position. The roof sits low between two taller buildings on my right and left. The street is not far below, maybe twenty feet. I’m sitting on a single unit built over a small parking garage. Hopefully, if the unit is occupied, its owner is not home.

Usually I don’t fall like that, but any time I think of Emi while running I tend to get distracted. Still, it’s hard not to think of her. She’s been my constant companion in my mind since her death. It’s a little easier to bear her loss now, having shared it with others. I want to make her proud. I want to do right by her and Okubo.

That’s why I’m here, in Yokohama

#fanfiction #writing #sugiura fumiya

[murdockmeta]

welcome back to watchmojo where we are counting down ren's top 5 mike murdock moments

5. Killing Bullseye that one time

so, technically this didnt ACTUALLY happen (or itd be my number one lmfao), it was in a dream Matt was having while he was dying. but listen, okay, mike was still so real for this. bullseye was this close to killing Matt and Mike comes outta nowhere, declares his love for Karen Page, and boom shoots the guy right off a fuckin skyscraper how could i NOT talk about this, okay?

4. Being thrown to the ground

listen, he looks good a little roughed up, alright? what are you, a fuckin cop or somethin? aint it my right as a living, breathing, human being to enjoy pretty boys being thrown around a lil sometimes? damn

for reference: the first photo was when he was pretending to be Matt, trying to deal with some mob bosses. one of them got angry and pushed him down. the second was when mike was first introduced in the soule/noto run. bad guys bust into the bar hes at and matt throws him behind cover lmfao

3. this EXCELLENT reintroduction in the 2020 annual

the 2020 annual is when we get mike's whole backstory and THIS is the first panel we see him in. this is genuinely poetic. mike murdock wouldnt exist without first being made-up by matt (and matt pretending to be mike). we all know the story of matt losing his eye sight, he pushed a person out of the way of a van that was carrying toxic chemicals, blah blah

well. here we are yet again. except everythings flipped on its head. mike is pretending to be matt. he's jumping in front of this van to make the guys think theyve hit him so he can help rob them. he isnt saving anyone but he sure as hell is putting himself in danger. it sets the tone for his whole character. its just. yeah. this was fantastic, honestly.

2. his reaction to butch assualting hammerhead

okay so this was the moment in vol 6 that genuinely caught my complete attention. this was the moment i realized just how different and special mike was.

murdocks are known for, well, violence. jack was a boxer, he wanted matt to grow up and be nothing like him. he didnt want matt to fight only for matt to become daredevil later in life. we are led to believe there's almost this inherent violent streak to being "a murdock"

this is after a mob boss meeting, mike is watching hammerhead (a boss) from the shadows, helping butch keep track of him. he lets butch know where hammerhead is. butch proceeds to threaten hammerhead, bash his head into a car, yell at him, then gouge one of his eyes out.

and, well. this was mike's reaction.

this is the first time we are given a glimpse of mike's morals, his values. besides how much he cares for the people close to him, we find out he has an aversion to violence. he's a career criminal, i'm not saying he doesnt know how to throw a punch, but he goes out of his way to avoid it.

he's repeatedly shown to be a voice of reason, a mediator, and every time a violent solution is brought up, he immediately protests and wants to figure out a different way. that's fascinating to me.

he's breaking the mold of being "a murdock" in the most unexpected way. we think he must be so much like jack to so easily get involved in crime (with even jack saying so himself), but here we are shown that's wrong.

i wish we could've gotten his and butch's convo directly after this. also, another thing, mike's reaction to people he cares about doing something he doesnt approve of isn't to get angry, it's to worry. which, again. fascinating. admirable, even.

when he finds out matt's "in rehab" he's worried, and yeah a little angry, but mostly concerned for his brother. even after this incident, we are seen mike being very worried later. he's concerned for butch's mental state and wants to stop him from making any rash decisions (ie killing someone)

but, yeah. sorry for the damn essay (and heres another) anyways

trying to save wilson fisk from being assassinated

christs sake hes so fucking gorgeous. also ignore matt being an asshole here because that's all he ever did when mike was around.

this was another very interesting moment in which we see mike's strong morals on full display. we are repeatedly told mike isn't the kind of person to be trusted, he doesnt take things seriously, he's morally ambiguous yada yada. and yet.

as soon as he finds out butch is planning to maybe (which he later find out he's correct about) put a hit on wilson fisk, wilson fuckin fisk, he wants to stop it. mike is under the impression that killing someone is not a line you can cross and come back from. he's deeply concerned about the path his friend is headed down.

In this scene, he's coming to visit foggy in the hospital to talk to him about maybe getting butch out of jail while also hoping to catch daredevil there. he does, obviously.

his full intention is to team up with daredevil to try and take fisk down. mike thinks if he can take fisk down it'll stop butch from trying to kill him.

him going to daredevil also shows his ability to extend his compassion to others. he has no fuckin reason to trust daredevil. daredevil has done nothing but insult mike, yell and argue with him, and even rough him up a couple of times. and still, mike decides to reach out because he knows daredevil is supposed to be a good guy. he also knows daredevil is supposed to be matt's close friend.

he brings it up more than once that the reason he trusts daredevil is because of matt being his friend (despite mike and matt supposedly not being close).

so, yeah, i got a little off-topic, but that's why i love this scene so much. it shows not only how deeply mike cares for people, but also his compassion and aversion to violence. he's trying to take care of his best friend and trust daredevil despite their differences. he's showing how good of a person he is and how dedicated he is to his cause of a "bloodless" coup.

-----

if you made it this far fuckin THANKS, mike is my favoritest most specialist boy lmao and this turned into a character study high key but im not mad about it

#mike murdock #mike meta #ren rambles #daredevil comics #mike murdock meta #ren writes #here queues... daredevil!

[lemonisntreal]

heyo! Just found your blog and I was scrolling through your stuff and noticed your AU tone deaf. And I haven't found anything about what it is or what your idea is behind it. So I wanted to ask if you could give me an introduction to your AU!

Oh! And I absolutely love your artstyle and how you draw Buster! Anyway, hope you drink enough water and have a good day/night! ;)

Dear god this has been in my drafts for a while-

Hiya! Sorry for that lack of info lol, I'd been inactive for a long time, and the time that I actually WAS posting consistently was back when things were still being sorta fleshed out. But I've got a pretty good idea of how every single part moves at this point, so sure :D I'll give a not-so-brief summary lol [under a cut because I couldn't not dump multiple paragraphs teehee ~_~]

--------------

Tone Deaf is like a dystopian version of Sing, if I were to put it super duper simply. One where Buster's issues get more emotional focus, and we get actual bonds with the cast because the movie forgot to do that.

Buster is, also, a lot more unhinged, fair warning. This fic's gonna contain violence and tackle some darker subjects [adjacent to grief and denial more specifically] so if it feels like I jumped a lot of sharks, it's because I 100% did.

It kinda started with me noticing how, in the actual movies btw, smaller characters like Buster and Mike had more difficulty getting around places. This led me to ask myself about how species differences could lead to struggles for certain animals since the city just isn't built for everyone [this is NOT Zootopia]. Ash's quills, and Meena's towering size were things I noticed too that would be massive problems, realistically. So after a lot of pondering, now we're here.

The world of Tone Deaf in present day is in a post-war period that's lasted about 50 years now [Crawly is actually a veteran from this war- which was more like complete and total anarchy if I'm being real, since there weren't really any sides until near the end...]

Long story short, the wealthy capitalized off of the war and taking people prisoner- so they purposefully kept it going. A resistance ended up forming to stand against this [Miss Crawly being one of the generals, with that classic missing eye] and after their army stormed the unsuspecting stronghold, the war finally began to conclude. It still took around a year after that to release all of the prisoners of war, and by the end of it all, the damage that had been done to some races was permanent. Even extinction-level in some cases- some animals just straight up don't exist anymore because of it.

Back to Calatonia. Laws that are in place to protect animals from tearing eachother apart are still relatively new, and the criminal underbelly of Calatonia is kinda out of control. Animals get kidnapped/poached, smaller animals are at a huge disadvantage and have basically no power [politically or otherwise], endangered species are a very real thing, poverty is a huge issue for most of the population- and in the middle of all this is Buster Moon.

He's gonna be the main perspective. And the story will also serve as a slight character study on him, mixed with my own grittier and batshit insane changes/headcanons/alternate universe ideas on his backstory. He's a ray of sunshine with a lot of bottled-up feelings that will kinda really take control of the story.

Buster has been arrested multiple times. He's been put in unsuccessful therapy. He's still grieving his dad. He's committing crime and compulsively lying about those illegal actions too. He has emotional difficulties that he hasn't dared try touching on in years, and he has issues with letting go- which, is kinda how all of his new problems come to be.

The threat of his theater being repossessed if his show isn't a success gets a LOT more emphasis too.

But on top of that is the added threat of Buster getting sent out of the city if he can't get his business up and running. Remember how I mentioned endangered animals?? Well Koalas are one of them. One of the big ones, actually. He's the only Koala in a city of almost five hundred thousand, and it's been that way for almost half a decade now. It's been causing issues for the people in charge for half a decade now. Koalas have government-protected settlements far away from here due to their numbers being so few, so if Buster loses the theater? That's the next step for him.

But, to help this poor dude through all the stress of life is the found-family he develops with the cast he hired. He helps them for a lot of the first act, and then they give back his kindness in the second. They connect through their similar experiences, as well as their shared passion for music and performance. And by the end, maybe Buster's okay. Or maybe he's had a complete downward spiral [not gonna speak of act three 🥰]

Other characters have also had a shift in their dynamics. Things in the story have changed. Like for instance- Gunter already knew Buster and was a close friend of him and Eddie before the show, Judith is now the mayor and a main character, Pete has been put in place of the banker in charge of Buster's accounts, Buster unfortunately gets involved in politics, Mike actually gets to bond with the cast- actually the cast gets to bond with the cast point blank period [idc what you say, this just straight up doesn't happen in the canon movies], and to top it all of is a generous helping of angst with a few acts of violence sprinkled in 🤭

The actual Act I summary is this right now:

Buster had been in tight situations before-- suffocating situations, even. He’d been in every kind of trouble imaginable, he thought. With family, friends, local businesses, the law. But he'd always wormed his way out, either through loopholes or by charm. Or usually just by stacking another lie on top of his already crumbling facade. But this time it's gonna take more than a cover-up to fix this. ‏‏‎ Buster’s dishonesty takes him too far once again, a simple typo causing him to unintentionally land himself in a wager that could cost his very life. He has two months to fix this- to ACTUALLY fix this. And the worst part is that he hadn't even meant to lie this time. ‏‏‎ The First Act of Tone Deaf.

TLDR; Buster learns to love again after experiencing the horrors of animalkind firsthand and being healed by theater kids LMFAO

#thanks for the ask <3 #sorry for the late response #sing movie #Buster Moon #Tone Deaf #my asks #Tone Deaf is Sing cranked up to 100 point blank period #I have NOT been drinking enough water lmao #thank you for the compliments too :D #I'm actually really proud of how my art has evolved #my old Buster sketches 💀💀💀 #I hope the last few months since you asked this have been awesome for you ;-; #I could not fit everything in a single post believe it or not- but I tried giving the key details #alternate universe #call it “Sing-but-pg13” I guess #edit- after reviewing the guide this thing would probably be rated-R