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succcession · 2 months

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Which Roy Brother is the Cutest? Part 1

Description: When you started your new job as Roman Roy's new assistant, you expected coffee runs and sending fax. This expectation is quickly thrown out the window as you find yourself falling in love with your boss and his older brother.

Pairing: Kendall Roy x Reader, Roman Roy x Reader

“Roman, you’ve got to be fucking joking? What is this about?” You grumbled to yourself, looking back down at your phone displaying the 2am texts you had received from your boss.

Two months ago when you had first applied to be the assistant to the son of Media Mogul Logan Roy, it was simply a passing thought. You were broke and needed some kind of real job to support yourself as you tried transforming this whole ‘starving artist’ gig, into an actual career as a painter. Now it seemed you had fully dove into his traumatic but extravagantly packaged world. You rarely went a day without him giving you something absurd to do, tasks that definitely were not in your job description. Just last week he made you fly to California so you could bring him back dessert from his favorite restaurant. Then complained that “it didn’t taste fresh” and “could be compared to what they’re served in Guantanamo”.

Although Roman was difficult and had zero filter when it came to expressing himself, you two had an understanding. Despite only working for the youngest Roy for about 2 months, since the beginning he always felt more like an older brother telling you what to do then your boss.

The boss/employee relationship quickly turned into a real friendship after only a month of working for him. He had invited you to your first charity gala. Bringing you along to gain experience with helping him win over new investors. However, you two quickly turned the night into a drinking game of ‘you must take a drink of champagne every racist or sexist comment you hear’. You both stumbled out of the gala that night as a new pair of drunk best friends.

While waiting for Roman to answer your questions about the Elon situation, your mind began to drift back to the first time you met Roman Roy.

“What the fuck am I doing?” You asked yourself harshly, your hands shaking as you cautiously walked through the spinning doors of the glistening Waystar Co. skyscraper.

“I’m here for an interview with Roman Roy” you say to the front desk receptionist, giving a light smile you hoped covered the fear you know is seeping from your eyes. “God, do you think she can tell how nervous I am?” You questioned anxiously in your head, already beginning to fidget with the seam of your pencil skirt. Your paranoid thinking quickly interrupted by the receptionist.

“Mr. Roy’s office is located on the top floor. Please head up and someone will be waiting for you there.”

You had always thought of yourself as outgoing, adventurous, maybe even a little fearless. However, as you walked into the office of the son of one of the richest men in the world, all of the courage slipped from your body.

“Hello!”

A voice yelled as the grandiose office chair in front of you spun around slowly to reveal a least intimidating looking small man.

“I’m Roman Roy.”

“Did you like that introduction? I was going for kinda like an evil villain vibe” He said dramatically, letting out a chuckle at his own joke

You were at a loss for words. 15 seconds into the interview and it was already weird, but in the opposite way from what you had expected. Shouldn't he be wearing a tie? Why is he making jokes? Is now a good time to shake his hand? Were all questions you asked yourself before responding.

“Uhh yeah, it was great. I mean… I was intimidated” you stumbled letting out a light giggle. Hoping he would respond positively to your attempt at joking back.

“Ahh and that brings me to my first point, possible future assistant” he stated loudly. “I don’t just want someone here to follow me around and suck my dick. I need an assistant just as driven and blood thirsty as me. Someone with opinions and fucking I don’t know good ideas!”

“Blood thirsty?”

You thought to yourself. You were under the assumption being an assistant meant getting coffee, making copies, sending faxes. You know, office stuff!

You watched as Roman paced the room, loudly rambling about “becoming CEO” and “burning alive anyone who fucks with him” As you listened you realized your nerves had disappeared. Something about his brashness, the constant swearing, or maybe the endless sexual comments made him feel… human. Despite being well worth over a billion dollars.

“Well” you stated, finally finding a brief pause to interrupt his cadence.

“Although I don’t exactly come from this high executive world, maybe that could be of benefit to you.”

You weren’t exactly sure where you were going with this, but you knew he had likely been interviewing highly qualified Yale graduates all day and you had to stand out. You let your poised interview personality fall away and began to speak honestly.

“All these Ivy League guys that have walked in here will say anything to make you happy. Do anything to increase their position in the company, and honestly, Mr. Roy…I have no interest in climbing the corporate ladder.”

This was true. You honestly didn’t care enough about money to try and use the Roy family. You just needed a job to pay for rent, buy weed, and go out every once and awhile.

“However” you continued “I am the only one who will be honest with you even if it’s not what you want to hear. And I understand the average person. I can provide you with real insight into how to gain leverage with the public.” You said confidently attempting to convince Roman but also yourself.

Roman finally stopped his pacing and sat back down in his large office chair. Saying nothing, hands in front of his face with his fingertips touching. The stern look he had on his face made you begin to panic again. Maybe the overly honest approach was too passé, not “blood thirsty” enough.

Roman breathed in deeply and began listing your flaws. “Well you’re highly under qualified, clearly lacking in professionalism and have zero genuine interest in the company”

You looked down at your hands ashamed. Fuck, he was right. Why did you even walk into this building? Why did you try to play it cool?

“But” Roman drew the word out longly while spinning childishly in his office chair. “I think that’s…exactly what I’m looking for!” turning his frown into a devilish grin and jumping up. “You’re hired!” He stated placing his hand out

“What?” You gasped leaving your mouth hanging open slightly.

“Yes! You! You’re hired! I am hiring you.” He said sarcastically annoyed “Now shake my hand before I change my mind or something”

You shook Romans hand more aggressively than you had intended as your excitement grew, while expressing repeatedly “Thank you, thank you Mr. Roy”

“Ew, no. Don't do that. Just call me Roman.”

#succession season 4 #kendall roy #kendall roy smut #kendall roy x reader #succession #roman roy smut #roman roy x reader #roman roy #roman roy headcanon

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egg2k16 · 10 months

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I feel like!!! Shiv was set up to be like her father, but then was relegated to becoming her mother

I think she intentionally set out to be like Logan, ambitious, power-hungry, a good businessman. That's why she was so hellbent on becoming president of the company, or at least holding some viable power as a co-CEO. This also explains some habits of hers, very easily abandoning n backstabbing her siblings bcus that's what Logan did to his children – he never really loved them, only caring in a duty-honoring facility, that made it easy for him to essentially leave them behind himself (Connor didn't see him for 3 yrs, he stopped Ken from becoming CEO during the gala, Shiv's politics getting in his way, always insulting Roman, etc)

Monkey see, monkey do, especially in the way that Shiv's always trying to prove herself to her family that she's capable. She's...not. She knows politics bcus that's what she decided to specialize in, but bcus of that, doesn't know how to maintain a poker face or a bluff, which is why every time she's tried to backstab her family for her own gain, it always backfires on her

I think one of her most important saving graces growing up, not being relegated totally to the shadows, being allowed to pursue politics (esp those contrarian to Logan's own personal political views), stems from the fact that she is Logan's only daughter. Daddy's little girl

She has so much tension w her mom I think bcus of it. Logan preferred Shiv over Caroline, n Caroline – we know she was always a bad mother, never really had it in her – but her specific jabs at Shiv were always so direct n open compared to her treatment of her sons, the sons she preferred (really, she preferred Roman). They always bite at each other over Shiv's childhood, n when Caroline notices she's pregnant, she makes snide remarks about Shiv being a mother. Tom wants a child w Shiv, but even he called her out on not being...the best option

Even pregnant, Shiv didn't stop chasing power, bcus she thinks she's deserving of that power, that it should all be hers hers hers. Daddy's special girl as the only thing she could've become in life, n she's trying so hard to prove herself as Siobhan Roy, as much Roy (n therefore, w as much capacity) as Kendall. Kendall, whose middle name is Logan. The presumed heir

Logan had at least five women in his life: 1st wife (Connor's mom), Caroline (2nd wife), Sally-Anne (secretary during Caroline's tenure), Marcia (3rd wife), Rhea (PGM CEO), Kerry (secretary during Marcia's tenure)

Shiv has had at least two affairs during her marriage w Tom: Nate (up to her wedding date) and Angel (one of Willa's actor friends)

She doesn't realize that Tom is solid, n would never actually go behind her back w someone else, even w a never fully defined hall pass of an open relationship. Lukas says he thinks, if things were different, he n Shiv would hook up. To Tom

Shiv uses her pregnancy as leverage against Tom, initially to get him to do what she wants during the election night/get him back on a shorter leash. (She later tries using it as leverage to keep him married to her, "finally falling in love with me"). She does everything she can to gain power, at least as Lukas' puppet leader in his proposed North American branch. But Lukas knows she doesn't have the knowledge necessary to act as a puppet, n trusts the role to Tom, known puppet doll

Bcus of Tom gaining power over Shiv, for the first time in his life, Shiv is relegated to the backseat. It's not the first time this has happened to her, but it's the first time that she understands it's a bit more permanent now. She's seemingly going to take the pregnancy to term. (And she's stated multiple times that she's gonna leave the baby alone, much like her own mother did). She's also apparently accepting her new role in life, as Tom's wife. She doesn't fully enjoy it, seeing as how she doesn't hold his hand, only lightly touching it

Shiv was set up to be the new Logan of the family, but Ken beat her to the punch. Unfortunately for Ken, n more or less thankfully for the family, Ken will never be allowed to be the new Logan of the family, bcus they are all destined to be losers, so long as they continue w the family n its ways

#Connor is hilariously the only sibling safe from most of the family's evils #post #onion watches #succession #siobhan roy #shiv roy #meta #these are So Many Words #it's not that I like her. but I also don't...dislike her #she's just so fascinating to watch #it's like! a car crash!#u just can't help craning ur neck to catch a glimpse of the gore #anyways. I think her having a baby girl w fasd would be thematic #for us at least! for the family it'll be Very Very difficult #edit: remembered a 2nd detail of her preg that I've now included!

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kingofthewilderwest · 5 years

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Some Incomplete Ramblings on “Liza / Riza Hawkeye”

One thing I’ve always found fascinating about FMA character / location names is that it’s like a game of telephone from European languages --> Japanese --> (in my case) English. As is such, with telephone, information has the potential to get distorted.

I own lots of FMA guidebooks in English and Japanese, and frequently entertain myself with the name variations. Liore / Leole / Reole / etc. is one of the most entertaining spelling conundrums, official sources constantly varying the name, and never honing in on a consensus over the many years’ passings. But while I could yab on about Martel and Ling and Dolcetto and Kimblee and many other names, I’m here to smile about Riza Hawkeye.

Official sources in English and Japanese almost exclusively spell her name as “Riza Hawkeye.” Over and over, it’s Riza Hawkeye. Compared to many characters, her name’s very consistent. But in some of the earliest materials from the franchise, she’s sometimes labeled as “Liza Hawkeye.” For instance, there’s an early Bandai figure with that name - a figure that would have been developed (and its label created) through Japan.

The English version of the Fullmetal Alchemist Trading Card game sometimes calls her Liza, too. Because I’m a linguist who (as my career probably implies) loves Little Language Things... I had to nab a few FMA trading cards with that variant name! I don’t collect cards, but these were irresistible! These cards came in my mail yesterday!!! Tadaaaa!

It’s hard to see in the photograph, but these cards are copyright 2005. I’ve tried to find more information on when in 2005 they were printed (no success yet), but the date 2005 is interesting. This isn’t long after the first anime’s English dub began premiering in the USA starting November 2004.

These cards may also have preceded the first official English manga publications. The manga received two official printings in English, one by Viz Media in the USA and one by Chuang Yi in Singapore. Viz Media published Vol. 1′s First Edition in May 2005; Chuang Yi was November 2005. I doubt there’d be any coordination between different companies in different parts of the world creating cards and manga and anime. Different name interpretations were far more likely to happen with FMA being turned into English for the first times. There was no established precedent for how-to-spell-what. As everyone in 2005 was working through their stuff independently or semi-independently, they were giving our girl a different first name.

Now, Riza’s name had been published in the Roman alphabet as “Riza Hawkeye” earlier than when my cards came out. The Japanese company Bandai (that gave us the Liza Hawkeye figure)... also gave us a 2003 card calling her “Riza Hawkeye.” That is, within the same company within a short amount of time, they printed two different spellings of a character’s name. There’s another card set, from 2004, that lists her as “Riza Hawkeye” as well.

After FMA’s nascent years, Hawkeye’s Roman-spelled name quickly became solidified as “Riza.” Almost all “Liza” materials I’ve seen are 2005 or earlier. The latest material I’ve seen listed as “Liza” is a card with a copyright of 2007.

The English release of the two most important FMA franchise materials - the manga and the anime - would have solidified Hawkeye’s first name as “Riza.” On September 17, 2005, Riza’s full name was stated on screen for the first time in the English airdate... as “First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye.” This was in Ep. 27 “Teacher.”

Viz Media worked alongside all this. Viz Media published both the English anime book materials (like Fullmetal Alchemist Anime Profiles, printed in English in 2006) and the manga itself. I believe the first time Riza’s first name was given in the manga was Chapter 24, when Riza introduced herself to Winry. Viz Media printed Vol. 6 (which contains Ch. 24) in February 2006. By this point, for English-speaking fans (especially in the Western Hemisphere), all major FMA materials would have called her “Riza.”

I imagine that by then, that now-iconic name would have been foolish to change. One of the most popular characters was branded firmly as “Riza” by the start of 2006. Couldn’t change that now. Unlike the earliest merchandise, now everything about Riza - both English and Japanese materials - called her Riza. All my Japanese guidebooks that never got English translations call her “Riza.” (And these are guidebooks that continue to have Roman alphabet spelling variations between other characters - even when all published in the same year). None variation left beef for Riza. I want to buy the Perfect Guidebooks, which are older than all the guidebooks I currently own, and see what they say for her name... but for now... everything I’m holding that’s in Japanese is post-2006 and all say “Riza” when they print her name in Roman letters.

I don’t know what Arakawa intended, especially as the earliest Japanese merchandise gives us both Riza and Liza. If the earliest merchandise all said one name, we could have guessed that Arakawa gave the approval. But that’s not the case. The names vary in early Japanese Bandai merch. Nor can we trust major English translated sources as hints of Arakawa’s intentions. It doesn’t seem like they asked Arakawa for explanation on everyone’s intended names. Viz doesn’t provide a good representation on what Arakawa wanted, given as they messed up majorly on other names and are only correcting them NOW, in 2018 and 2019, in their Fullmetal Edition of the manga (in the trade paperbacks, they called Kyle Halling “Khayal,” spelled Kimblee’s name two different ways, wrote “Isvharlan” in Vol. 2, gave the country’s name as “Ishbal” above drawings from the manga that wrote “Ishval,” misinterpreted Xerxes as “Cselkcess,” and lots of other fun oddities...).

And while some names get written in English in the manga artwork proper, I’ve only seen Hawkeye’s last name.

I know far from everything. There’s still lots I have to check. Don’t take my word as law.

THAT SAID.

From the information I know... I find it fascinating it’s VERY possible Arakawa’s initial inspiration was “Liza Hawkeye.” NOT Riza. There’s in fact good linguistic reason to suppose this.

For people who aren’t familiar with Japanese typography / orthography, the Japanese writing system is composed of kanji and kana. Kanji are characters with semantic complexity to them; the kanji are usually included in a word for meaning-related reasons, but the pronunciation of the kanji can vary depending upon whether the word it contextually represents is a native Japanese word, a Chinese loan word, the first or second kanji in a compound, etc. Kana, unlike kanji, are basically read the same way every time. Instead of being symbols depicting semantic content, kana depict pronunciation content. Kana are written in a syllabary system. A syllabary is like an alphabet except that every symbol represents a syllable you pronounce (or, in Japanese, a mora). Japanese kana are two sets of syllabaries, the hiragana and katakana. Katakana is used to spell recently adopted loan words.

Because FMA characters’ names are (almost) all taken from European names, their names are written in katakana. But because Japanese is a different language than European languages, it has different sounds in it. This means that, when European loan words get imported into Japanese, pronunciation changes happen. The pronunciations allowed in European languages are altered into acceptable sound structures Japanese allows - its phonetics and phonology and phonotactics.

Now, Arakawa doesn’t always spell European words “typically” for katakana. Japanese has over the last few decades adopted many English loanwords. For instance, there’s a loan word for “mustang,” which is 「ムスタング」. Roughly, ム = mu, ス = su, タ = ta, ン = n, and グ = gu. So, the Japanese word for “mustang” is musutangu. Arakawa actually gives Colonel Mustang a different spelling than that - he’s masutangu 「マスタング」.

Perhaps this was because Arakawa saw the name “Mustang” in Roman letters and did her own import into kana. In the process of her changing “Mustang” from Roman letters to katakana, she might have chosen “ma” instead of “mu”. Perhaps this was because she thought this would make his name sound cooler, look unique, or make her metaphoric name more subtle. Or, perhaps this arose in foresight with the eventual “Madame Christmas” wordplay (“Christmas” in Japanese is 「クリスマス」kurisumasu, which makes her full name kurisu masutangu - get how that works perfectly?). Whatever the reason(s), we know that Arakawa’s katakana spelling of imported European words isn’t always what Japanese’s loan word katakana spelling officially does.

Riza’s name in the Japanese could be another instance of this.

To explain what I mean, let’s take a look at my graphic:

Each line is a name in Roman letters (acceptable in English) with its corresponding Japanese spelling. In parentheses is a rough pronunciation of how that katakana’s pronounced.

First: There are indications that Riza’s full given name is Elizabeth. Some fans say it’s just her code name, akin to how “Jaqueline” is Havoc’s code name. It’s true we hear Roy call her “Elizabeth” in that code name setting. However, it’s also interesting that he calls her “Elizabeth” when he’s visiting Madame Christmas. In his home environment, where he’s dropping his walls and being far more honest and open to family, where he’s even blabbing about being romantically interested in Hawkeye OUT LOUD, he calls her “Elizabeth.” You could argue that it might be another instance of intentional code naming to protect her identity, but it’s still very interesting that this is a second, different, emotionally open, trusting context in which Roy names her “Elizabeth.”

Linguistically, her name seems derived from “Elizabeth,” too. Again: while spellings and pronunciations are slightly altered when Arakawa imports European names into Japanese, she’s still taking those names from a European source. But I don’t know of a common Western European name that’s essentially Riza. Go to baby names websites. You don’t get a long list of female names that are Riza, especially not in Western Europe, where Arakawa took most names. Where’d she get this?

A shortening of “Elizabeth” is likely.

Look at Line #1 of my graphic. I have the word “Elizabeth” in Roman letters alongside the katakana spelling of “Elizabeth.”

That first line is how “Elizabeth” is usually spelled in Japanese writing. It’s 「エリザベス」. エ = e, リ = ri, ザ = za, ベ = be, and ス = su. So the Japanese version of “Elizabeth” is more or less erizabesu. Note that the same symbol 「リ」is used for both r+i and l+i. This could be a long linguistics explanation in itself, but more or less: Japanese doesn’t have separate “r” and “l” sounds. They have one sound that’s like an “r.” But, it has pronunciation variation based upon dialect, and, within a single dialect, where said “r” is placed in relation to other sounds surrounding it. The “r” can make lots of sounds (allophones), including what English speakers would call an “l.” So when imported words from European languages which have separate r and l sounds (phonemes), these r’s and l’s get reduced in Japanese into one thing, interpreted as that single “r” sound their language has.

Now, let’s go to Line #2. A common nickname for “Elizabeth” is “Liza.” Notice the spelling. Elizabeth contains the actual, unaltered spelling of Liza. However, pronunciation changes occur. The “i” in “Elizabeth” is a different sound than the “i” in “Liza.” The spelling’s the same between full name and nickname; the first vowel just sounds different.

The Japanese katakana spelling of “Liza” is based upon the pronunciation. NOT the spelling! See my visual. The way “Liza” is spelled in Japanese is 「ライザ」- that is, raiza. ラ = ra, イ = i, and ザ = za. As a result, the name “Elizabeth” in katakana does not contain the unaltered spelling of “Liza” inside it.

Note, however, that the name **RIZA** is DIRECTLY spelled inside the Japanese spelling of “Elizabeth.” 「エリザベス」 contains 「リザ」. That is, erizabesu can be truncated to riza without any spelling changes!

That’s what we see in Line #3. Note that, in red, I have highlighted where the spellings stay the same within full name and nickname.

Ergo, “Riza” is directly derived from “Elizabeth” in the katakana spelling of “Elizabeth.” That’s indirect indication that, when Arakawa was giving Riza her name, she was looking at “Elizabeth.”

In which case, “Liza” WOULD be a correct reading for Hawkeye’s first name.

Similar to the Chris Mustang thing I mentioned, making a spelling change for an “Elizabeth” nickname makes sense in Japanese. Japanese readers might not be familiar that “Liza” is a nickname for “Elizabeth.” The fact that raiza for “Liza” is spelled very different in Japanese kana compared to erizabesu for “Elizabeth” ...would make it hard to connect the dots between the two names. But giving the spelling riza makes the connection easier-to-see: for them, in katakana, they can see riza spelled inside erizabesu. Just like, in English, we can see “Liza” directly inside “Elizabeth.”

So, from what I know, I postulate that Arakawa initially envisioned “Liza Hawkeye.” It all makes linguistic sense, and the fact that early FMA merchandise from Japan sometimes uses “Liza” only helps my case. That they sometimes also called her “Riza” is a common phenomenon of Japanese publications not knowing when to make something an R and when to make something an L. I mean, in the Death Note anime, you see someone’s name listed as “Rally” instead of “Larry.” The L/R confusion is common and appears commonly in officially released Japanese materials.

I mentioned at the start of this ramble that translating names multiple times is like a game of telephone. Thus far, it seems like we went from Liza --> リザ. Then, when North American native English speakers got the Japanese 「リザ」, they had to figure out what to do with it. Because the character’s name was spelled 「リザ」 - NOT the standard「ライザ」 Japanese use to spell “Liza” - then translators wouldn’t have thought this was an intended “Elizabeth” nickname. It doesn’t help that Roy doesn’t call Riza “Elizabeth” as code until several volumes after we’re given riza (Ch. 37 Vol. 9, I believe). So, translators were left with a really oddly spelled, indeterminate name... something that could have been spelled “Leeza” or “Reeza” or “Riza” or “Leaza” or who-knows-what. But “Liza” would have, to them, seemed like a phonetically poor choice - English readers would see “Liza” and pronounce it very differently from how the Japanese would pronounce 「リザ」. If Arakawa had intended “Liza,” she would have spelled it markedly differently, right? So “Liza” would have been an unintuitive translation option for Japanese --> English translators. On the other hand, English readers would see “Riza” and pronounce it close to how the character’s name was spelled in Japanese. So even though “Riza” isn’t a normal Western European name, that’s what seemed to make sense. Ergo, “Riza” became the “intuitive” choice for translators, and that’s what they put.

It’s not unfeasible that this “Riza” choice was made independently with several groups of people - the manga translators and the English dub script workers, namely. “Riza” seems the most default “sensible” choice. And once both Viz Media and Funimation Entertainment gave English consumers, consistently, “Riza” - well that was that! It probably influenced Japanese publishers with their next materials. It would have influenced all other English products. Thus, henceforth, Japanese or English origin, we’d only see her name as “Riza”.

Don’t take this as a flawless or conclusive analysis. Opening the Perfect Guidebooks, after I buy them, might tweak or solidify some of my thoughts. There’s many materials, other merchandise, I haven’t seen the packaging to, or seen inside of, or know what year it was made. I might not have accurately remembered / researched the first instances in which names were given across the animes, manga, etc. I don’t know hoards about the Trading Card game. I’m not fluent in Japanese, just a beginner. I’m a linguist but academically I spent little time with Japanese in my studies and research. I definitely can’t mind read Arakawa. Other fans may know more(?). This is meant as a happy ramble of thoughts, not a conclusion. And I wrote this overnight instead of getting sleep. Because this is a wise use of time, right?

I will always call her “Riza.” The name fits her. It’s a unique name. It’s a cool name. I think it sounds better than “Liza Hawkeye.” I grew up with “Riza.” I’m attached to Riza.

But I find it so fascinating to acknowledge and study the background of when she was labeled “Liza.”

I’m quite happy to be hold cards from 2005 - in my hand - that label her such.

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mermaidsirennikita · 5 years

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after that succession episode I need to hear your thoughts on the standouts: everything Kendall and roman/gerri.

OKAY

WELL

If anything, Kendall is even MORE my Number One Boy (Number One Boi?) than he was before he dropped that sick track. What was worse about that rap--the fact that it was actually somewhat decent in moments? The fact that he had to point out that the sick beat was created by his boy, Squiggle? Roman laughing but also clearly wanting to take that mic away from Kendall? Connor’s somewhat uncomfortable laughter? (Connor is a fucking loon, but this ep confirmed to me that he has far more big brother instincts deep within him, they’re just overshadowed by how INCREDIBLY broken he is. “That’s great, Kenny!” wasn’t even ironic lol, he genuinely hoped that Kendallw was drowning in pussy. As a fellow first pancake, I relate.) Shiv’s pure glee? The fact that when he approached Logan I was genuinely afraid that he’d end up with a butter knife in the throat?

The sad thing about the rap is that it was clearly like... Kendall getting THISCLOSE to completely unraveling. I’ve seen some people complain about how inconsistent Kendall’s behavior in this ep seemed compared to how depressed he was at the end of the last but... No, man. We thought we’d seen how broken Kendall could get, but Logan pushed him to another level last week and he transitioned into a manic state. Like, I’ve seen some takes about Kendall being bipolar... But you can have a manic episode without actually having bipolar disorder, so I’m not sure that’s it. I also think he was HIGH AS FUCK for a lot of this episode, definitely during the rap. Like, I just assume that Kendall is at least somewhat high for any scene that he’s upbeat in, but this??? Was another level. This is when “so fucked up that you can’t hug your own kids” is TURNED TO ELEVEN. And it was glorious. Throw the Emmys at Jeremy’s feet in 2020, that Best Actor race is over now.

Re: Jennifer... First off, I know that Naomi is gonna come back for the finale, so I’m not sure where all that stands. Doesn’t surprise me one bit that Jennifer looks vaguely like Rava. Secondly, GodIWishThatWasMe but we know this. Thirdly, the way he dropped her was awful but it was also just like, the tail end of that manic episode, as he sank back down to Earth. (And do I think that Rhea would have necessarily been able to manipulate him quite as easily if he hadn’t been manic as fuck? Idk, I feel like Kendall’s intense depression would have at least kept him from biting at the temptation of being The One again.)

I know that the Roy siblings are always at each other’s throats, but ugh we got So Much from them this week and I’d kinda like them to fight against Rhea even more? Though I also get why they can’t, because Roman and Kendall both would rather Rhea be The One than Shiv for plenty of reasons. However, if Roman’s highly amused and kinda sad reaction to the rap fed my Kendall/Roman feels, Shiv basically pimping out Kendall to Rhea (after offering up Tom lmao, which is something my beloved @beavesaintmarie called with weird accuracy?) and him feeding Rhea shitty intel re: Rose fed my Shiv/Kendall feels.

I can’t wait to find out how he’ll crash and burn next. The rules of storytelling indicate that eventually, Kendall’s gotta make some measure of an improvement, even if it’s only to eventually crash and burn again.... But who knows?

Roman/Gerri!!!! He’s IN LOVE, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. I’m not gonna say it’s a traditional love. I’m not gonna say it’s like, straightforward. But as soon as Roman started messing with that flower I was like oh fuck. He’s gonna pop the question. And he fucking DID.

I’m pretty sure that Roman was referencing a famous case of murder/cannibalism in Germany too? Which is funny (?) because in that case, the victim actually offered himself up to his killer willingly because his kink was the idea of being eaten? Like, they both got off on the killer cutting the victim’s penis off, and then they ate it? (Or tried to.) So... I can only assume that Roman reads about that kind of shit online and calls Gerri for phone sex.

Also, you can BET that Roman proposed in part because he realized that Gerri might’ve fucked his dad. That just... was very *chef’s kiss* for him. I also love that when Rhea tried to cozy up to him he was like “I’M TAKEN THANKS, ALREADY HAVE A ZOMMY”.

I’ve now read, like, four different actor interviews that indicate that Roman is probably gonna be making some kind of move towards the end of this season and is gonna get his play at the throne, probably in s3. A couple were from Kieran and J. Smith-Cameron (Gerri) but Brian Cox and Alan Ruck have both alluded to similar things. So I can only assume that this is what we’re gearing up for. Buying the wrong football team aside, I actually think that Roman has potentially better business prospects than Shiv or Kendall... though that could change week to week.

UGH. SO MUCH.

#succession #Anonymous

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chaotic-neutral-logic-sass · 4 years

Text

?? I'm crazy??

So I've been playing around with a old writing and thought 'why not post it' and I might try to continue writing if I get a good response? Opinions are very welcome, so is criticism. (There are a ton of references in this)

"ARE YOU INSANE" He shouted over the comlink to which his accomplice responded "My codename is not Death Wish for nothing". Upon hearing that he pinched the bridge of his nose closing his eyes to recompose himself. He then muttered into the comlink "I swear to God Payton if you get caught, with your butt in the vents of the enemy headquarters, That you're suppose to be analyzing from AFAR.-" she cut him off with "You will need a Xanax and then resume assisting me. Am I not far from the truth?" He responded with "I can feel you roll your eyes from here, and maybe if you do it hard enough you'll find a brain back there" Payton huffed and said "out of the two of us. Which one of us can take a gun apart and reassemble it with their eyes closed, hmm?" Too which Roman said quite pleased with himself "can you hack into the Pentagon?" She facepalmed.

He laughed that she didn't have a come back at last, although it didn't last long cause her face lit up even though he couldn't see and she said "can you bleed for 7 days and not die?" He huffed and said "How about we get back to the task at hand?" "Touche" as she crawled threw the vents she saw an exit to the main room of the Warehouse. She put a finger to her comlink and asked Roman "are there any heat signatures in the room below me?" Right after he heard her he hurriedly put away his Pringles and took a big gulp of his black coffee before typing away at his screen to answer her question. Wile she waited she chewed on her lip in anticipation. It had been nasty habit of hers since she was a kid. "Yep" at that she skillfully and silently jumped through the vent landing in a crouch.

Then scanning the room before she came to the realization that she had screwed up. when she made eye contact with a security camera her hand immediately shot up to her earpiece. As she started running for the exit she spoke into her comlink. Realizing he was right "Ummmmm.... You may or may not need that Xanax I was talking about. Can you send me the best route out of here?" afterwards he instantly shot out of his seat leaning over his desk staring at his screen. With a slightly annoyed voice he asked as he pulled up the blueprints for the building she was running through. "what did you do now?!" "I made eye contact with a security camera" she huffed out as she ran."ok, I sent you the way out" she smirked, "thanks" at that he leaned back in his chair and let out a sarcastic, self pitying laugh. With that he said "after this job can I get my sanity back?" As she exited the building jogging to her Harley Davidson she cherished, she asked "is that a rhetorical question or.......?" She let her sentence trall off.

He ran a hand through his dark curly hair, as a small smile rested on his face he responded "rhetorical, I highly doubt boss man will give it back." She smirked and inquired "what? Isnt this fun?" He shook his head and quickly replied with "Nah, I'm just getting bored of watching you get thrown off buildings" she scoffed. "I take personal offense too that comment, I only fall off a building when i need too". He rolled his grey eyes for what felt to be the hundredth time. He replied, "How about we skip too the part where you save the day and I get too; Oh, I don't know swoon?" He smirked. She rolled her green eyes, and with a shake of her head she said "thought we already did that, and it's team work". He wore a shocked expression. Then he smiled and said "Thanks. Meet you at headquarters, Daredevil out."

She smiled then shook her head, and started heading that direction. Now there boss happened to be her little brother, although not so little being 6'3, but he earned his place in the hierarchy he was the second most skilled agent in the force, first being Payton. His code name was Demon, but in the public he by Damian Batson.

As Payton pulled up in the parking garage and saw a familiar neon orange Jeep with Roman leaning against the tailgate on his phone. He looked fairly casual in Black jeans and a red t-shirt compared to her skin tight catsuit she only wore for missions and with a utility belt and a leather jacket. The moment he looked up his eyes widened significantly, it was quite a comical sight.

After she parked next to his neon ride she turned around to be met with him standing there gawking at her. His mouth was wide open. She commented "Are you just going to stand there and gawk?" He replied with a simple "Yes" she said "Well stop it, you look stupid" and with that the short brunette started walking towards the elevator. He Quickly caught up considering he towed over her with his 6'2 compared too her 5'4.

The elevator ride was quite till she piped up with some interesting news "I heard that little bro hasn't slept since they brought the kid home" after a moment of silence they both burst out laughing. The reason for this is because their boss was NOT a people person, infact when people learned he had a wifey they were astonished.

After Roman remembered how to breathe he chuckled out "I was dreading this staff meeting, now I'm actually looking forward to this. It's going to be so amusing" they both shared a mischievous grin as the elevator door opened. "DAREDEVIL!" Upon hearing his codename Roman called out a uncertain "Yes?" And turned around followed by Payton to see a agent who's codename happen to be Sherlock A.k.a. Tim Redder a blue eyed ravenette that stood at 5'6,behind them only to see him trip and all of his papers too go airborn.

Tim just looked at the ceiling with a defeated look and closed his sleep deprived eyes that had dark circles under them for a second. While he was doing that Payton grabbed all his papers, when he opened his eyes they instantly widened. Nobody help him or gave him credit. Heck he was one of the most underappreciated agents, so to say that he was surprised was a under statement. As Roman opened his mouth to ask the poor guy if he's ok, Tim cut him off with "I'm so,so very much sorry. I was going to-" this time Payton cut him off while handing him his papers "- it's fine, we don't mind. What got you in such a hurry?" Tim looked at them like they were on the brink of insanity and said "The staff meeting -" he checked his watch "- started five minutes ago" as he checked the time so did they, Payton quirked a perfectly plucked eyebrow. Roman held up a finger signaling them to wait a minute and checked his phone, a half second later he turned his phone toward Tim and as his eyes glanced at the screen his expression slowly morphed into one of embarrassment. With his cherry dusted cheeks he let out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head looking at the floor. At this Payton and Roman shared a look, hesitantly he asked the embarrassed man "Do you know what day it is?" See Timmy man had a history of not sleeping, and too add on top he's 90% caffeine. Back to the point, Tim thought for a second and unsurely replied back with "Friday?" at this they shared another glance as Payton barked out a laugh. While Roman tried to hold some giggles back. Tim's confusion was very visible, he scrunched up his eyebrows and tilted his head where he looked like on of those adorable confused puppies. Payton sputtered out "it's Tuesday" at this her partner finally bust out laughing. Tim let out a very long drawn out "CCCCCCRRRRRRAAAAAAPPPPP" as Payton finished chuckling she said "you're fine, in fact we should get going to the meeting if we want to be early" as they walked Roman opened his mouth only to be cut off by one voice"AYE BATSON!!!-" well two voices "-THINK FAST!!" At this Payton whipped around to catch a katana mid air and see three of her best friends; Clint Hawk, Roy Arrow and Jason Hoods. They where the most knowledgeable Weapons experts in the Shadows. Clint was about 5'8 and had brown eyes and brown hair, his codename was Falcon. Roy had fire truck red hair, light blue eyes and was about 6'1 his codename was Arsenal. Jason was about 6'3 with black hair that had a white highlight and teal eyes. With a nose that had been broken so many times it was crooked, his codename was Arkham Knight. As she caught the katana, Tim let out a squeaking noise and jumped.

While Roman just turned around and sighed. After knowing them for about four years he was used to this kind of shit. As she marveled at the katana, she was in awe of its earie elegance. It was roughly 3 feet long and solid black, the handle was wrapped in blood red satin ribbon with a small scythe charm on the end. She then flipped the sword in the air catching it by the handle. By this time Tim had went ahead to the meeting, Roman was still standing there at her side watching her. Roy was holding the sword seath. Clint had went ahead with Tim. Jason crossed his arms and smirked, surprisingly not hot in his neon red hoodie. When Payton looked up at them and grinned evily, Roman smirked knowing her, while Jason gained a confused expression and Roy turned to the color of a sheet looking completely horrified.

She lowly said "So boys, love the katana" then Burst out laughing with Roman at their expressions, and grabbed the cover and adding it to her belt putting the Katana in its sheath. Her comrade laughed out "What? Ya scared?" At this point Roy was glaring at them, while Hoods just rolled his eyes and said "No, we had this horrified expression on our faces for fun?!" The glaring red head just huffed and said "let's go ahead and get too this meeting" as they entered the board room they were met with a funny sight of their boss. He was sitting at the head of the table with his arms folded under his head snoring loudly. All you could see of his head was his signature black messy hair. While Tim was going through his papers and Clint was playing on his phone like that was a normal every day thing. Roy and Jason shared a shrug and took their seats, meanwhile Roman and Payton nodded too each other and also took their seats. Payton's chair was to the left of her sibling's, and Roman's was to the right. While she YouTubed her master plan, Roman got his phone in video mode to record this. As she found the right video before she hit play she made sure the volume was max and right next to Damian's ear. With that she hit play on the audio recording of one of the most annoying sounds know to man: a babies screaming.

At this his Bright Green eyes shot open, he jumped out of his chair landing on the floor not so gracefully. Groggily looking for the thing making the scouce of announce and Awakening. As Damian saw his surroundings he instantly scowled and debated on revenge options. But decided against it, she turned off the sound and smiled innocently while saying " Morn'in lil bro, enjoy your nap?-"putting her phone in her pocket and turning to Roman she continued "- thanks for the assistance" Roman also grinned and replied "no probs, I'll send it to you" turning too the groggy man glaring at Payton and nodding "sup". She turned back to her sibling and ask "Why ya glaring Dami?" The grumpy man replied with "hoping for spontaneous combustion" she now held a very fake hurt expression with a hand on her heart, over dramatically sticking out her bottom lip and asked with a horrible British accent "honestly dear brother you wound me" said sibling responded with "I hate you" "why darling? I'm lovely" Tim rolled his eyes and piped up "alright, alright let's start with the meeting. You too can finish your glaring contest later"

}~(SpongeBob voice) 3 hours later~{

Now it was just Roman, Payton and Damian in the board room. Payton felt the need to enlarge the meaning BORED. Maybe adding a smidge of annoyance, Roman was drumming his fingers on the table and Damian was grinding his teeth. She had her boots up on the table and her arms crossed. While her incompliance had his head propped up on his hand on the desk also bored out of his mind.

After going through the last of the files Tim gave him. Damian let out a sigh and said "I've got another mission for you, the packet is at your apartment. Report back tomorrow". With that he was gone. As they walked to the elevator and waited Payton said " Ya'know what Vader's wife's name is?-" while pointing to the elevator "- ELLA-VADER" smirking at his face, she turned too the said object waiting for their trun. He shook his head, his face held a lazy smile. "so what do ya think of the sword?" He inquired "It's perfect. I mean the handle is so soft, and it's so so pretty. Plu-" She went on, only to be cut off "Can you please not talk about a sword like most females talk about dresses?" To that she crossed she arms angrily and scoffed " first of all, since when do I talk about dresses like that, and it is a katana." By now they were in the elevator heading back to the parking garage and he simply shrugged and nonchalantly asked "What's the difference?" At this her hazel eyes widened significantly and stared at him in shock then said "how about I put this in simpleton terms, you know how you call vehicles automobiles and there are different types like trucks, cars and SUVs same with swords" she explained with a good bit of hand gestures and flailing of the arms. As the elevator door opened they exited both heading towards their vehicles she added on "and since I came here on my bike you're going to have to let it ride with you" and with that she was gone.

×|}~ At a random Cafe somewhere~{|×

As her deep beautiful blue orbs concentrated on the daily paper, she blinked. Reconcentrating back on the previous words before the spot was lost.

Her companion let out a loud overdramatic groan while rubing the back of his neck. At this she set her paper down and leaned forward putting her chin on her palm, resting her elbow on the table top. A amused eye brow raised, she inquired her British accent being quiet thick "Darling Peter, what's got your nickers in a twist little brother?" his response was too lay his head on the table then he said with an equally thick accent "I'M BORED, you've been nose deep in that bloody paper for an hour" at this exclaimed with a very fake gasp while giggling and hitting his arm in a playful manner. "Peter Francis Grace watch your language" all he did in response was lift his head and roll his eyes at his elder sibling.

}~• A few blocks away from Payton's apartment •~{

As she sped through the streets nearing her desired location, home.

The black Tahoe in the lane to her right suddenly swerved into her throwing her to the left.

#???? idk #??????? tumblr #???? maybe #my writing #help #lord help me

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artificialqueens · 7 years

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Life and Death {Biadore} Chapter 2 -C*NT

A/N: Hi all! It’s been a little since I’ve wrote, this is chapter 2 of Life and Death since people really wanted me to continue it! Again, this does not necessarily reflect upon my personal beliefs as far as religion goes, so please dont bite my head off for naming “the big guy” God. Enjoy this somewhat beefy chapter. No tws so thats always a plus. ❤️

They left the room, which Danny was relieved about because honestly he felt a little creeped out. Basically, the grim reaper was his soulmate, according to the device. Maybe he wont be so bad, he thought. But his nerves weren’t put at bay just yet, because Death led Danny into an equally as dreary hallway.

“Where are we?” Danny asked as he tried to study his surroundings. There was a sleek looking elevator at the end of the hall, which looked very out of place compared to the out of date decor on the walls. There were no windows to give any hint to where they were at either, Danny thought glumly. There was an old maroon paisley printed rug lining the length of the passageway, adorned with lamps decorated with red velvet lampshades at each end. They cast an ugly yellow light throughout the room, as if the lightbulbs were obnoxiously yellow on purpose. It even smelled old and musty, similar to the room they were just sitting in. He felt like he was back in the 1970’s.

“Limbo.” Death muttered as they made their way to the elevator. They pressed the button and the doors immediately opened, exposing a very plain but high tech elevator. Danny was rattled by how quickly the doors opened, and they stepped inside.

“So Limbo is real?” Danny asked. He had imagined Limbo would be similar to Earth, but instead it reminded him of a vintage motel. He felt like he was in a completely different era, and maybe that was the point. You weren’t supposed to feel clear abouf where you were in Limbo, all you were supposed to know was that you are somewhere in between Heaven and Hell.

“Yep.” Death pressed a large gold button that was clearly labeled ‘Heaven’, ultimately shutting the doors.

Danny’s heart raced as the elevator started shooting up towards Heaven. He was going to see Heaven, he realized with a surge of excitement. He wondered what it was going to be like, as he studied the large gold button curiously. He noticed there was also one for Earth. Then he realized the elevator had buttons for all sorts of different places, times, and dimensions. The last one in the long row of buttons was the biggest and most ominous looking of all, it was black and said ‘Hell’ in bright red letters. He shuddered at the thought of having to go down there. He hoped that wasn’t his final destination after all of this was said and done.

Death snorted to themself and Danny glared at them. He had about enough of Death’s antics. He was a know it all, literally and was not being sympathetic to how he was feeling and frankly it was pissing him off.

“You know, not everyone knows everything there is to know about the universe.” Danny snapped.

“Fair.” Death shrugged. “But Satan is literally just a big jokester. Even if you did end up in Hell, it wouldn’t be as terrible as you thought.”

“So would the same be said about Heaven?”

“You’re about to find out now, aren’t you?”

The doors opened, greeting them with a blinding white light. When Danny’s eyes adjusted, the first thing he noticed that he was rather underdressed. It was just as he pictured, almost everyone was dressed in long grecian looking gowns. Except no one had huge angel wings like he was always told about on Earth. His eyes were wide as he took in all of the sights. Everyone was drop dead gorgeous and looked incredibly happy. There were dogs, cats, small children, teenagers, people of every age group and color. Everyone smiled at them, he noticed they were directed more at Danny then Death.

The second thing he noticed was how beautiful Heaven really was. The sky was bright blue with small puffy white clouds decorating it, and a small brisk breeze, but nothing too chilly or too disturbing to be considered uncomfortable. There was a courtyard with the biggest fountain he had ever seen, made of big slabs of white marble with bright gold flakes decorating each tier. The water spurting out of it was a brilliant teal, the kind of crystal clear water you’d see in the caribbean. Brick paths weaved in and out of what appeared to be a town square, where there were shops and buildings of all shapes and sizes. There was every restaurant you could think of, and beyond that were houses that were all of different shapes and sizes. Some people’s version of their dream house was small and cozy, while others were grand with huge gardens and trees. It was incredible.

None of those houses compared to the big white mansion that was situated at the end of what appeared to be Main Street though. The word mansion was an understatement for what it was, but Danny didn’t know a bigger word to describe the building. Castle? Palace? Palace was probably more accurate, seeing as the building was so tall you couldn’t see the top of it. There were huge roman columns supporting it, rose gardens on either side of the yard, and the pathway near it seemed to sparkle - it was all solid gold bricks lining the road the closer they got to the palace.

Death smiled at Danny, who looked like a little kid in a candy store for the first time. Heaven was truly a beautiful place, especially for someone who had never seen it before. But they were here for answers, not to gawk. Death wanted to know once and for all whether or not this young man was truly his soulmate.

“Come on.” Death urged Danny and grabbed his hand. To Danny’s surprise, Death was incredibly warm and had very soft hands.

They made their way towards the palace at the end of the block and Death knocked lightly on the door. It was the biggest door Danny had ever seen, reaching so high up he couldn’t see the top of it.

“Don’t be nervous.” Death warned.

Danny nodded. This would be the first time he would be meeting “the big guy”. He hoped he wouldn’t damn him to hell.

The large doors finally opened slowly, and the big guy finally appeared; only he was not big at all. In fact, he just looked like an average guy to Danny as far as height went. However, it was very hard to look at him because he was so striking. He was how he had always pictured him, tan muscular and blonde with bright blue eyes. He had a glow of light around him, it was faint but it still hurt his eyes if he stared for too long. Danny fixated his eyes on the decorations around him to ensure he wouldnt harm his vision.

“Roy! I see you brought Daniel with you.” He smiled widely. His teeth were so white it was blinding.

Danny burst out laughing and if he could see Roy underneath his hood, he would’ve saw the literal death glare he was shooting him.

“Your real name is Roy? Why didn’t you tell me?” Danny grinned.

“That’s actually classified information, Daniel. No one knew his real name but me.” God stated.

“So wait, you’re a guy?” Danny asked Roy confused.

He looked at Roy and tried to determine if he could see some sort of manly shape, but the cloak hid his body well. It was useless, he wouldn’t know until he took it off.

“It’s complicated.” God admitted and stepped aside to let them in.

“So it’s true then.” Roy murmured.

“Roy, yes it’s true.” God rolled his eyes and Danny fought back a snicker.

“I wouldn’t be laughing if I were you, Danny.” He shot him a serious look. His piercing blue eyes made his face go cold as he nodded his head in understanding.

“I’m sorry sir.” Danny stammered. When he was nervous, his natural reaction was to laugh things off. The fact that Roy being his soulmate was now confirmed, just made it even more nerve wracking. He knew Roy probably thought he was just an inexperienced fucktard for lack of a better word, so he didn’t know how well things were about to play out. His anxiety was through the roof, and being yelled at by God was not how he wanted to start the day out.

Roy chuckled, sticking his tongue out at the young man. God glared at him, and he cleared his throat loudly trying to ease the tense energy in the room.

“He can’t see you, idiot.” God grinned.

Danny looked between the two men confused and saw Roy visibly sigh.

“Roy, can you just take off your dang hood already? Danny already knows you’re his. Show him who he’ll be spending eternity with.”

Danny stared at Roy with suspense, realizing that he literally had no idea who his soulmate really was. He couldn’t even put a face to a name, just a black abyss underneath a dark cloak.

“Hang on. Why him? After all of this time being alone, why now?” Roy asked.

“Come.” God motioned.

They made their way over to the sofa in the corner of the living room, which was a small word for how grand the room really was. There was a large couch that was upholstered with a beautiful soft ivory suede, and a giant crystal chandelier hung above the fragile looking glass coffee table. A marble fireplace sat against the wall, the flames crackling loudly. Danny’s shoes squeaked against the marble floors as the three of them sat down.

It was the most comfortable couch Danny had ever sat on. He sank into it, resting his head against it as he listened to the two of them talk.

“Roy, you’ve been miserable and frankly, a pain in my rear if I do say so myself. Especially over the last millennium. I’ve been waiting for the right person for you to be ready, and finally he’s here. I think it’s time you retire.”

“He’s 24 years old. He’s a baby!”

“He’s also right here.” Danny waved his hand annoyed.

“I can’t retire, what am I supposed to do with my free time?”Roy said, ignoring Danny.

“Make out with me.” Danny winked.

“In your dreams, queen.” Roy scoffed.

Danny glared at him and crossed his arms, sliding even further away from Roy. At least he was trying to find something to like about him. Roy wasn’t even trying to be his friend, let alone accept that he was his soulmate.

“He’s also the complete opposite of you.” God interrupted the tense exchange. “You’re death; grim, sarcastic, and cold hearted - or so you claim. He’s your life: positive, upbeat, but you share similar qualities as well. You’ll see Roy.”

Roy rolled his eyes underneath his cloak and sighed. He looked over at Danny, who was actually pretty attractive for his age. His dark hair and light eyes really complemented his fair skin, however he still had a hispanic background like him. He supposed that was their only thing in common, despite so many years separating them.

Danny grew up in a time where it was okay to be a drag queen, and to dress as a woman, and be whoever it was that you wanted to be. Roy didn’t have that same experience. How were they supposed to find any common ground other then being physically attracted to each other?

Who was even to say that Danny would find him attractive to begin with?

“So it’s okay to be gay?” Danny blurted out.

God’s face changed from pure confusion to amusement before he bursted out into laughter. Roy laughed along, it was pretty sweet that he was asking all of these innocent questions.

“Yes, it’s fine.”

Roy facepalmed and Danny smiled excitedly.

“So I’m not going to hell?”

“No of course not. You lived a very nice life, and now you’ll live here with Roy and hopefully make him not as bitter.” God smirked.

“So who’s taking my job?” Roy asked annoyed, choosing to ignore the bitter comment.

“That is something for me to worry about, and me only. So, am I going to have to forcibly remove your hood, or are you going to take it off already?”

Roy hesitated. It looked as if he was shaking as he grabbed the edges of the dark fabric.

What if Danny found him unattractive? He didn’t know what his type was, and he would be crushed if his soulmate was disgusted by his appearance. Even if they hadn’t hit it off yet.

“Trust me, you don’t look like Death anymore. Especially to him.” God encouraged, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s just- I’ve worn this garment for such a long time and have never taken it completely off. It’s throwing me for a loop here.” Roy hesitated.

God raised an eyebrow at him with a knowing look and Roy sighed.

Please don’t tell him, Roy thought.

God smiled sadly at him and nodded in understanding.

“Take your time. It doesn’t have to happen today.” Danny encouraged, breaking the silence.

Roy smiled at him sincerely, but then realized Danny couldn’t see him yet so it was useless. He sighed as his hands shook at the edge of the cloak, finally removing them from the hood and placing them by his sides again.

“You have to realize Daniel, that it has been many many many millennia since Roy has not worn a hood. This is a big deal for him.” God explained sternly.

Thank you, Roy thought. He was thankful he hadn’t given anything away about his insecurities. It may have seemed stupid to Danny for all he knew.

Danny nodded in understanding, and then pondered over whether or not he should ask what he had been wondering about. He had a lot of questions.

“What is it Danny?” God asked curiously.

Danny bit his lip nervously and clasped his hands together.

“So since Roy is my soulmate, and that was my last wish to find out who exactly that was; what happens now?”

“Well, you were actually supposed to be reincarnated again-”

“Again?” Danny asked dumbfounded.

“Yes again. You see, you had been reincarnated over many, many, many millenniums in order for me to make Roy the perfect soulmate. I had to have you go through many different lives to shape who you died as this time.” God beamed and then shot a look at Roy. “So even though you are 24 in your final stage Daniel, you are actually only a few years younger than Roy. Not that age matters, and anyway time is something created by humans; but that’s a completely different discussion that you will have plenty of time to engage in.”

This was a lot for Danny to wrap his head around. Reincarnation, soulmates, being gay was okay, the fact that he was many millenniums old and not just 24. He had so much on his mind, and didn’t even know where to begin asking anymore questions. He was utterly overwhelmed.

“Now, I’m sensing Roy would like to remove his cloak in private, and I need to get back to work so I’m afraid I’m going to have to dismiss you two. I have a feeling you’ll like what you see underneath it Danny. I’ve set up your dream house near the edge of town, by a river for Roy and big and eccentric for Daniel.” God snapped his fingers and two shiny gold skeleton keys appeared in their hands. “Those are your keys. It is literally impossible to lose them, as they will always find a way into your pockets when you change or what not. So enjoy. I’ll walk you out.”

God walked them to the front steps, and Danny noticed he heard a clicking sound as they walked across the marble floor. He looked down at God’s feet and realized it wasn’t his shoes, as he was barefoot. Danny was decked out in his black converse so it definitely wasn’t him. The sound was distinctive, and oddly familiar.

It was the final click before they hit the outdoors that made him realize it could only be one thing.

“Are you wearing heels?” Danny asked Roy incredulously. How had he not noticed that before?

God chuckled as he opened the large billowing doors for them.

“Like I said, you have more in common then you realize. Enjoy your time together. And for the last time Roy, this is not a prank!” God groaned.

“Thank you sir.” Danny said, and then hesitating. “Um, can I hug you?”

God snickered and brought Danny in for a squeeze.

“You are such a delight! Oh Roy you are in for a treat. Daniel, if you have any questions about anything please know that my doors are always open.” God said. “By the way Roy, since you are no longer the reaper, you won’t be able to read minds. You’ll have to learn about Daniel the old fashioned way. Anyway, I must go now, so farewell!”

Danny heard the doors close behind them and both men sighed in unison. Now Danny had to walk to his new home, where he would be spending eternity with someone who didn’t even want to be his soulmate.

They walked in silence back through the town square, lost in their thoughts and started towards the edge of town. Danny was admiring all of the scenery and people, some in regular clothes he noticed, others in the grecian gowns that he had seen when they first arrived. That was a good sign, he could wear whatever he desired.

“Which one do you think is ours?” Danny asked, as Roy’s heels clicked on the brick road. He never realized it, but Roy walked very elegantly; almost in a regal manner.

“I don’t know, I haven’t lived in a house in a very long time so I have no idea what we’re even looking for.” Roy shrugged.

“Where did you live as the reaper?”

“Remember Limbo?” Roy asked dryly.

“Ew you lived in that musty ass apartment?” Danny asked. He then clasped his hands over his mouth and looked around frantically. “Oh no, I wasn’t supposed to say that, I’m so sorry please don’t deport me!”

Roy cackled with laughter, his laugh so high pitched that Danny jumped; but then he laughed along with him in amusement. Roys laugh was very melodic, in a way that he hadn’t noticed before. It was actually pretty cute.

“You’re not going to get deported! Just don’t curse in front of God.”

Danny sighed in relief and realized they had reached the end of the road. He got a warm feeling in his stomach, as if he was close to home.

“There.” Roy breathed.

Nestled at the top of a small hill, was their house. It was an off white color, victorian style with a wrap around porch. There was bright pink trim around the roof, a porch swing and a blue mandala tapestry on one side of to shield the bright sun from reaching the patio. The door was painted a bright mustard yellow color, and the windows were all brand new, but still looked vintage enough to match the style of the house. Wildflowers surrounded it, in splashes of purple, orange, blue and red, and there was a field of sunflowers on one side of the house of all different colors. A river sparkled a few feet in front of it, with crystal clear water and what appeared to be a brand new wooden dock.

They were speechless, and didn’t even realize they had grabbed each other’s hands as they stared at their forever home.

“You know I don’t hate you right?” Roy finally said, rubbing his fingers over Danny’s hand. He was so warm, it was comforting. Very different than what Roy was used to.

“I know I’m not what you envisioned but at least give me a chance.” Danny snapped.

“Oh, no it’s not that. You are very attractive.” Roy stammered. “It’s just - I’ve been alone for so long, I don’t know how to do this whole soulmate thing yet. Just give me time please?”

Danny felt his cheeks warming up at the tender words. He hadn’t known him very long, but he could tell he wasn’t a very emotional person so it probably took a lot for him to say that.

“We have all the time in the world.” Danny murmured.

He knew Danny couldn’t see him, but he was losing himself in his green eyes. They were so bright and happy, he could stare into them for all eternity.

On the other hand, Danny felt himself drawing closer to Roy as he stared into the dark abyss underneath his hood trying to find the hint of his face. He didn’t know what it was, but he just wanted to be close to him in this moment. He put one arm around his shoulder and sort of side hugged him, throwing the other arm across his stomach.

Roy sighed into the touch and felt himself squeezing back. This felt like home, something he hadn’t known in a very long time.

They held each other for a few minutes as they gazed at the house, taking in the experience, and enjoying each other’s warmth.

What broke them out of their trance was a small meow and a shy bark.

The two men looked down, and Danny squealed in delight. A small golden chihuahua and an orange cat with black stripes had greeted them. The cat rubbed against Danny and meowed again, and the dog woofed at Roy as they stared incredulously at the ground.

“We have pets!” Danny exclaimed, picking up the cat with delight and holding it close.

“Hi Angel, aren’t you just the cutest.” Roy cooed to the small dog. Dogs were his weakness, and Danny giggled at the invulnerability that he was showing for the first time.

“That should be his name. Angel!” Danny grinned.

“How do you know it’s a boy?” Roy challenged.

Danny shrugged. “Dunno. Because you act macho, so I’d assume you’d end up with an equally as macho pet, so obviously it’d have to be a boy.”

Roy scoffed and picked up the dog flipping it over to see if it was a girl or a boy.

“Ugh, you’re right.” Roy groaned. Danny squealed and picked up his new cat.

“I’m gonna name you Halloween, Weenie for short.” Danny cuddled Weenie close to him and set the cat down on the ground. He untied his black converse and held them by the laces in one hand, as he felt the soft grass inbetween his toes for the first time. The air was fragrant with the scent of wildflowers, and he sighed as he looked at his new home from the top of the knoll one last time.

“Let’s go!” Danny exclaimed as he started running down the hill.

Roy watched the young man run and jump down the hill as the sun illuminated his pale skin. He had to admit, he was pretty cute in an innocent sort of way. He could feel himself start to grow fond of Danny, and how happy and positive of a person he was. He could tell that Danny was a hippie, enjoying every moment in nature that he could as he ran through the grass barefoot.

He sighed in relief as he realized he would no longer be escorting sick and confused humans and animals from earth to either heaven, hell, or limbo. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do with all of this free time that he now had. He didn’t know anything other than what he had been doing for the last part of the millenia.

How did God expect him to just fall in love with Danny like it was nothing? He was the complete opposite of everything he thought he’d have in a soulmate. Danny was rambunkshus, ditzy, and completely over the top. He had named his cat Weenie, for fucks sake.

Roy had been under the impression that he would be paired off with a man of sophistication.

But that would just be too easy, he thought.

He gazed down at his soulmate, who was stomping around the porch of their house, grinning and pointing at the front door excitedly to Halloween.

Roy had decided he refused to call the cat Weenie. Why name the cat a badass name like Halloween, and then ruin it with something as stupid as Weenie?

“Oh my god I love this!” Danny exclaimed, as he sat back on the porch swing, kicking his bare feet up excitedly.

“Maybe this won’t be so bad Angel.” Roy smiled and picked up his new dog, following after Danny

#c*nt #life and death #biadore #bianca del rio #adore delano #au #rpdr fanfiction #submission #m/m au

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filmcave · 6 years

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HBO’s Succession: TV or not TV

(Yes, there are spoilers in this)

This is a deviation vrom my stated purpose of this blog but without conventions there would only be a riot of non-conventional styles - which would in turn then be the convention.

I’ve already broken a maxim of my blog (no reviews) and now will be doubly at fault in reviewing a TV episode. Sacré bleu

Succession, season one episode seven - otherwise known as - Austerlitz was a virtuoso presentation. It was greek tragedy and Shakespearean drama all wrapped into one. It was a hologram of the history of a family, a Haiku and a stand alone “slice of life” movie at once. I haven’t seen this kind of high quality work on TV, behind and in front of the camera collaboration, since the early days of The Sopranos and the better days of Six Feet Under. SS1E7 might even surpass those.

Its not TV, its HBO in this instance is more than a catchy marketing line.

In SS1E7 we learn more about the characters, their relationships and dreams and fears than at any previous time. It was entirely captivating nearly start to finish. The characters really came to life because gone were the veils, deceptions, proxies and covers for the sublimated emotions that were hinted at in prior episodes.

We also have the pleasure to see the actors talents and the production skills, restrained and nuanced. At work is an incredible stylistic dynamic both the bold and raw set against a pastoral setting. A smoldering kindling on which a splash of psycho-therapy gasoline hogwash sets off a wild ride.

Logan, Marcia, Connor, Roman, Shiv and Kendall all have a new stage and unknown surroundings here in the middle of New Mexico - at Austerlitz, Connor’s newly renamed ranch. The familiar physical environment is no longer the polished steel city or lustrous posh of the Hamptons and we see how this new environs affects them. The environment is all highly symbolic but at the same time part of the natural aesthetic.

The dialogue is sparse but precise. The direction moves the story forward but doesn’t get in the way (There seemed to be far fewer annoying zoom jump cuts, for example). The dialogue was snappy, emotion filled, poetic and well balanced. The family joking and jostling ranging from mean and cutting to tender and toying.

What is most compelling and what elevates this simple TV episode to a higher level - nay a filmic level - is the extraordinary way it exists as a stand alone artistic entity while it fits in perfectly with the series narrative, arc and history. It advances the prior story lines yet could easily and satisfyingly be enjoyed as its own single entity,

What also helps this stand in stark relief are the fullness of the performances. We learn so much about each character and how they relate to each other. We see Logan railing, fuming, frustrated, patriarchal. Shiv - confused, frustrated, ambitious, Roman as lost, dismissed, sardonic, mean and desperate. Connor seeking solace and connection, peace and harmony, family unity and relationship building. Kendall as jilted, angry, posturing - and resentful. Deeply resentful.

This stew of these personalities are seasoned with the orbit of “satellite significant others” who play out their own personal turf battles. Tom Wamsgans, Marcia Roy and Willa

To this all we add in the “well known, highly respected, Harvard educated corporate therapist” Alon Parfit who does a fabulously good job of doing a fabulously terrible job. This performance by Griffin Dunne is understated, completely serious and comically perfect. He starts the session off with a ditty/limerick that is more stand up than kickstarter for insightful therapy.

While there are lots of rich and interesting moments in the “family unity event” but the one that really helps the wheels come off are when Logan, un-ironically states: Everything I have ever done, I’ve done in the best interest of my children.

It is one of the most stultifying and astonishing statements which no one but Logan believes is truthful. From here the kids start to figure out there is an alternative agenda. Pictures of everyone becomes pictures and interview (“its optional” says Logan) and as a fraudulent and deceptive connivance.

This whole vignette becomes a kind of “who’s afraid of Virginia Wolfe” for the whole family.

And then...things really start to unravel. Dr. Parfait (how symbolically perfect of a name) suggest they get into their “good bodies” and go for a swim and then everyone follows their genetic code. Shiv runs off to Santa Fe for a job interview as a political consultant,

Connor tries to corner Willa to kind of, sort of, maybe being together with him..in New Mexico, but no not maybe all the time - so she could be in New York, uh..and have an allowance,,,and uh, uh, uh...”we’d be together but in a different way”.

Roman hangs around for the photo op with Daddy (“sure, I give good cheek”) and Kendall (which just sounds so much to me like “Ken doll”) well, in addition to his aspiration of becoming a meth head decides he’s no wheres close to done with his failed palace coup in the boardroom.

But the pieces that really powers and accelerates this super charged race car of a family are the exceptional direction/cinematography/editing and Lucy Prebble’s script. Miguel Arteta‘s direction shows us what we need to see, how to see it and tells the visual story. Even simple moments like Kendall’s car rental and subsequent slide from sobriety at the bar tells us a lot about the character. There’s the aloof, voyeuristic distant camera shot and angle as he finishes up with the rental guy underscored with equally aloof and sarcastic throwaway lines:

Rental agent: “Its gassed up and ready to go. Big plans while you’re here?”

Kendall: “ Maybe. Patricide? Fratricide?”

In addition there is an incredible soundtrack that adds to the mood. Haunting, foreboding, lyrical, sad. The score too really adds to the flavor of this episode in a clear but subtle fashion.

The music and scoring is really complimentary to the entire aesthetic of Succession. Brilliantly done by Nicholas Britell (of Moonlight fame) it sets the mood for the soundtracks of the show episodes and the Roys family. As it should it adds to the storyline.

Its unfortunate that thus far the combo of Prebble and Arteta only collaborated in this one episode because their efforts truly reveal the inner lives of the story and characters versus the intriguing but more mundane soap opera like quality of most the other episodes. Prior to this episode the primary quality was a kind of prolonged exposition with the foreplay teaser of things to come. From SS1E1 through episode 6 each one ends with a kind of cliffhanger.

As I’ve already suggested even the non characters have meaning here. Austerlitz for example (Connor’s renamed house).

I had to look it up but was surprised and amused to learn it was the site of Napoleon’s greatest battle victory. According to Wikipedia:

also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. In what is widely regarded as the greatest victory achieved by Napoleon, the Grande Armée of France defeated a larger Russian and Austrian army led by Tsar Alexander I and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II

How perfect the symbol of a battle as foreshadowing for a family battle. That’s the historical part, even with echos of King Lear. The hysterical part is as Marcia and Willa explain:

Marcia: Austerlitz? Was this the name when you bought it?

Willa: Oh, it was racially insensitive, so he picked a new one.

Ha! How perfect, how prescient. They’re dropping hints before anyone’s even walked into the house (called a ranch but which is really an estate)

Its all brown, as Shiv puts it, but if you look a bit closer the accoutrements, nick-knacks and decorations are anything but vintage old world west. The furnishings, art work, ersatz homage to the history of the land, all “put together”. Very Pottery Barn meets Restoration hardware, meets Sam Shepard.

Connor, at this point the most self deluded of the bunch, even welcomes them by saying “Welcome to the real America”. How innocent and ignorant.

But Connor is an aspiring maven and bon vivant so he delights in his cursory knowledge of history.

So he doubles down as he proudly introduces everyone to his “humble” Abode and that the chapel next door dates to 1878. While he gives no context for the importance of 1878 (or his reason for mentioning it).

A bit of research seems to suggest this was an important period for New Mexico, commerce and local history. According to the National Park service and other online sources, this was the timeframe when the Santa Fe trail (the primary commercial route between Independence, MO and New Mexico) was being developed (possibly through hostile means) from “highway” to railroad way. The war with Mexico (over territory) had ended just thirty years earlier and the Republic of Texas had seceded from Mexico about a decade before (1836 Texas revolution). Again, signs of war, conflict, antagonism..could this be an over interpretation of a line of dialogue. Sure, but who goes to the length to not only name a house for Napoleon’s greatest victory but the entire episode and stop with the clues there?

Theres so much layering of elements in this episode, its hard to pick what to highlight.

However I am also drawn to another unique interplay of moments. There are two occasions when Shiv, beginning to sow her seeds, compares her father to the earthly elements of Fire and Water. At one point exclaiming in reference to the chapel: “do you think he can cross the threshold or will he spontaneously combust? And later explains why her father won’t take a dip in the pool, “he doesn’t even trust water..its too wishy washy”. But in the end we see the ramifications and scars from the encounters...

Shiv is brought to tears

Kendall climbs a mountain to gain perspective and snort some drugs

Connor realizes his illusion of family unity was never to be and

Logan, Logan goes into the pool (a very high end infinity pool) amidst the mountains, and cactus, tumbleweeds, dirt with steam rising to wash away the stress and as he emerges crawling out of the depths we see what appears to be lashes or scars in his upper back with Marcia there, his protector and defender to wrap him in a towel as an acoustic guitar melody plays under the scene.

Succession Austerlitz Haiku

Roys go West together

seeking salvation in sand

No one’s left unhurt

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