#ending 1 of 2: succession

[wisteriasymphony]

“I- I don’t understand! Adrien, there’s a wedding dress in there! A wedding dress, and it’s not mine!”

“Darling, please—“

“Please just tell me you bought it for me! I- I’ll overlook the cigarette burns on it and the way it got stained, just please tell me it wasn’t meant for someone else! Tell me the truth!”

Adrien thought for a second, chewing his lower lip.

“I’ve always been meant to love you, Marinette,” he said, his guilt only compounding with how much he had to force that name out of his mouth. “…But I didn’t choose to.”

Marinette was dizzy from weeping, and she was not the person who knew how to sift through his riddles and ways of obfuscating truth. “…What do you mean..?”

He couldn’t look at her as he said it. He wouldn’t want to look at Marinette ever again. Had he ever wanted to?

“Please don’t say you’re cheating on me,” she whispered.

“…No. If anything,” he paused, feeling compelled to look her in the eyes but refusing to, “I’ve always felt like I’ve been cheating on her, with you. And I never even wanted it.”

Forgetting who the dress belonged to, Marinette clutched it to her chest like a child. “Never wanted what? Me? We’ve been married, we’ve been in love for all this time and you never even meant it?”

“No, I have, you just weren’t my first choice—“

She was going through the rest of the box now, scattering the contents across his closet. “What else am I going to find in here, Adrien? Love letters? Lockets? Wedding rings? Did I ever mean anything to you?”

“We didn’t even have the chance to do such a thing, Marinette!”

“The chance?! —Adrien, we have children together now! You expected to hide this from all of us for the rest of our miserable lives?!” Her tears only grew louder and more fervent upon finding the jackets—each neatly folded, with the smell of his lost love still lingering. “You’re not the man I feel in love with! Or— Or maybe you are! And I just fell in love with a sick, miserable man! How dare you, Adrien Agresté.”

Related to this fake AITA post

#decided to make this its own post after all #she's kind of Eliza Hamilton coded I fear #rotten love square #ending 1 of 2: succession #succession ending #thewarmembraceofshadow #miraculous fanfic #miraculous fandom #miraculous lb #mlb adrien #adrien agreste #adrinette #miraculous adrien #adrien x marinette #marinette x adrien #marinette dupain cheng #mlb angst #me when i make adrinette the most toxic thing ever

[ultramarine-spirit]

Why Athy's coronation is a bigger deal than it seems

Or me overthinking WMMAP's worldbuilding

The narrative of Athy's coronation is so interesting to me. Perhaps it wasn't completely intended by Spoon, but its implications for the world of WMMAP are more than impressive.

What got me thinking about this is that, in real life, the heir to the throne is not "crowned" as crown prince, they are the person expected to succeed since birth. That would be Athy as Claude's only child, so why would she need a coronation? Apart from securing the position that people have been trying to steal from her since she was born. Well, if we look at how royal succession works in real life, until the 20th century crown princesses weren't considered heirs. Being the rulers of their nation by their own right was just not allowed.

They were more often than not the spouse of a crown prince, but even crown princesses by birth wouldn't inherit the throne in a male dominated succession. Which seems to be exactly Obelia's case, despite how its first ruler was a queen, Queen Ambrose, as stated in the novel by Athy. Some interesting events must have happened between Obelia's foundation and the present day for that to change.

We see some subtle signs of this in the manhwa. All the royal portraits only depict male rulers, and Athy mentions how immortal names were only granted by the emperor to his heir, the empress' son, that's why Claude received such a name (meaning "limping"). We aren't told that giving immortal names to the emperor's daughter was outright forbidden, but it's certainly unusual, as -apart from Ambrose- Athy is the only member of Obelia's royal family that we know has a name evocative of immortality. The named emperors, Anastasius, Aevum, Aeternitas, Caelum, were all males.

This makes Diana naming her daughter "Athanasia" incredibly daring. She wasn't the emperor, who has the right to choose an heir, she wasn't even Claude's wife, and yet Diana was the one who gave Athy her name.

So, following Obelia's succession and history, it looks like Athy was never expected to actually rule the empire or exert authority. Sure, she would be the empress, but she wouldn't be looked as an equal to her male predecessors. In the novel, both local and foreign nobles were very invested in who Athy was going to marry, saying that she needed to have a strong and capable husband, like Arlanta's prince Dice, since as a princess she was delicate and weak. Others (Roger) argued that she must marry an obelian nobleman, to maintain the power within the country. This was followed by a hilarious scene of Athy breaking the cutlery and shutting their mouths.

This kind of worldbuilding also explains why Roger was so focused on Ijekiel marrying Jennette, he wanted him or their future son to be emperor. As we see in the novel's LP side story, they never wanted Jennette to seize the throne, and she never got a coronation or the title of heir. The same could be said for the manhwa, Anastasius and Aeternitas wanted to use her as a puppet, not make her an empress, and in that way legitimize their accession to the throne.

Athy actually being considered the heir to the throne by her own merits and later crowned as such is pretty extraordinary for a world like Obelia's. Other series have coronation ceremonies for princes and princesses, so maybe Spoon thought it was a real thing, but both analyzed from a real life point of view and from within the narrative, it's an amazing achievement. Claude is obviously not someone that cares for Obelia's traditions, the nobles rescenting him for his origins, so it's even possible that the ceremony was the first of its kind.

Since Athy is Claude's only child, the reader would expect her to be the next ruler by default, but Obelia doesn't seem like a particularly equal society when it comes to both class and gender. This is even more apparent with the misogynistic treatment she received in the novel, or how a noble tried to belittle her in the manhwa. Even more polite nobles mentioned they thought of Athy as little more than "a cute little princess" before she became the emperor's proxy. So it was natural that, with Anastasius suddenly coming back to life, a good portion of the traditional noble faction would back him, despite being an overthrown tyrant.

In summary, Athy being crowned as heir is an extraordinary accomplishment in itself, breaking Obelia's tradition of perhaps centuries. I would dare to say, maybe an unprecedented event since Queen Ambrose's rule. And as the final chapter states, she would become an empress adored by the people and who would live on in history.

#this was inspired by an old ask where i ranted about Diana naming Athy and by a convo with Lithi #tbh i think Spoon just didn't know coronation ceremonies for princesses (and princes) aren't a thing so #1. Athy didn't 'need' one because she was Claude's heir already or 2. She couldn't get one because (they aren't a thing and) she is a girl #number 2 seems to be Obelia's tradition and how succession works but obviously Claude wouldn't care lol #either way i think adding a coronation to her narrative ends it really well. though it would have been nice to see her reach 18 yo #tl;dr: Athy girlboss #who made me a princess #i suddenly became a princess #suddenly became a princess one day #wmmap #sbap #sbapod #athanasia #athanasia de alger obelia #athy #wmmap meta

[clowndensation]

do think it's funny that the current roman theories all have to do with him literally fucking people. like i'm not saying it's not possible, the show can do whatever it wants and i trust it'll make sense. but. while there is something oedipally intriguing about the idea of roman replacing his father with another man and then literally fucking him, that doesn't... sound all that likely?

in the wake of "smart people know what they are" it makes significantly more sense to me that he's going to fuck over matsson (who's attempting to buy his father's legacy, and so, his corpse (the company + atn)) and get in deep with mencken as an ally (because the last good conversation he had with his dad was him telling roman that atn and mencken are where roman belongs), and the show is going to continue on it's very consistent path of making all relationships psychologically entangled to a fucked up degree, with no true physical release for anybody.

like. in a show where fucking someone has almost never been literal, i genuinely don't see why they'd stray from the metaphorical now.

#like a lot of people DO seem to be talking about metaphorical romencken fucking but good god #some of you very much are team 'but i don't WANT to watch roman suck mencken's literal actual dick in a real gay way' #which like. i mean 1. some people suck off fascists to cope so. um. that's ableist or whatever. #2. you won't have to? when has fucking someone ever meant Actually Fucking Them to roman roy. #like. i guess his dad dying could make him spiral in a 'start acting on all his repressed impulses' way #but. i will be honest. seems significantly more likely he's going to do his best to be The Best Son He's Ever Been out of reverence #and his dad very much did not want a f****t for a son. so. i think his impulse is going to be NOT to bend for people #literally or figuratively #like i'm kinda classifying some of you in the same category as the 'what if roman dies in the end' people like. i mean he could i guess #but why is that at the forefront of your mind as a Likely Possibility ajlafkjal? #this isn't spn. death isn't really on the table for most people. although it IS like spn in that gay sex is probably not going to happen #it's also like spn in the way that logan is in superhell now. btw. #succession

[cakebatteronabrickwall]

My opinion on the hug kinda kept changing until recently, but I might have reached a definitive reading.

So, first of all: season 4 boils down the finale to be Shiv vs Ken and that is a good thing (!) it makes the most sense, mainly because Roman tends to go along with things. He can't win his father's favor anymore, so he tries with his siblings and, by extension, he tries holding on to Logan as long as possible by doing that. That's his objective. Shiv's thing is proving herself as the most viable candidate. She can't prove it to Logan, so she will do it for anyone else. But Kendall's thing used to be positioning himself against Logan, and since that can't happen anymore, he becomes Logan. Or tries to, bear with me.

Roman brings up Kendall "big brothering" him in ep. 8, but it's very prevalent throughout season 4. But it is also very reminiscent of what their father used to do; keeping them very close and making them feel trusted only to become violent (in some form) when questioned in his authority. Clearest example is Ken feeling the tides turn against him and attacking his brother.

But the hug comes before that, and there are two very important aspects to this--

1) It is cruel and I don't think it matters if you think Roman wanted/needed it because, crucially, Kendall's endgoal with the violence isn't within that line of thinking. He is asserting his dominance (as seen by the second physical attack later).

2) BUT much more importantly: imo, the hug starts with the intention of comfort (!!!) and only ends in violence. This is Ken at his most Logan; a last goodbye to his brother from his father by combining violence and a loving embrace. He learned from the best.

Though in the end, what it comes down to, is this: Does Roman push his wound into the shoulder? Does Kendall press him against it? Both. You don't get Roman's "i hate you" without Kendall's "i love you". It's both. It will always be both, but I will say this-- hate can't come without love, but love can very much stand on its own. So, even if it's both, one of the two weighs heavier. 4 seasons of story have shown how one weighs heavier, even if it's unintentional.

#i've written a lot about shiv and roman's relationship because a) it makes me hopeful and b) their falling out (if you can call it that) #feels very minor and like a non-event #but the more i thought about ken and rome in the last few months the more i feel like their falling out might be more of a shock to us #and therefore feels much worse than it really is #like kendall is never indicated to be quite that violent and calculating in his violence BUT that might be the point #does it feel shocking and are you tempted to say out of character? good! it's kendall doing logan! it IS weird! #consider this my service to the kendallgirls i guess #because kendall and roman at the birthday party was also really fucking bad and two episodes later they are comforting each other #roman “betrayed” ken at the vote in season 1 and then picked him up from the drug den no bad blood #they are really at odds in the beginning of season 2 as well and look at how they end it! #succession #succession season 4 #kendall roy #roman roy #shiv roy #logan roy

[devilsskettle]

i feel like i’ve been WAITING for the other shoe to drop wrt people’s opinions about watcher for this very reason. not that i think the reaction is completely not understandable but the greater the parasocial relationship, the greater the fallout as soon as public opinion shifts. you don’t have a relationship with these people they’re just content creators, chill

#ready to see all the people coming out of the woodwork to say how they’ve never liked watcher/unsolved/etc #and act like it’s ‘cringe’ now that their fanbase feels ‘betrayed’ #it’s great to have a fanbase but parasocial relationships will bite you in the ass every single time #it’s interesting too though because i’ve seen watcher have a LOT of support as they’ve tried to build something separate from buzzfeed #so this is the first time they’re getting real pushback about a decision they’ve made wrt shifting their platform/expanding their brand #so ig we’ll have to see how they react moving forward #but it’s soooo interesting to see how enthusiastically people dump on buzzfeed #AND how many people dump on youtube and how over the years so much of its functionality has been stripped away #how many ads you have to sit through. how much sponsored content there is now. etc #but when they try to do the same thing with youtube that they did with buzzfeed it’s like how dare you not lick their boots #because if you lick their boots and we lick their boots we can watch stuff for free #anyway. #even if you don’t any to say it’s a bad business decision. it’s not like there’s not precedent for it #1) the move away from buzzfeed was successful and 2) what about the dnd shows or whatever #don’t you guys watch those dnd shows that are ‘behind a paywall’ #don’t you guys have netflix hulu disney hbo amazon etc ad nauseum that are actually owned by billion dollar corporations #don’t you guys get on your high horses about supporting independent artists all the time #it’s interesting that people will profess to be such big fans!!! and feel like they’re friends!!!! #but how dare they think their work might be worth paying for #idk. idk. it’s entitlement though #sorry for the rant i’m ALSO not trying to blindly defend a bunch of people i don’t know #but you guys are being soooo fucking annoying about it lol #anyway i’m still waiting to see what their response is going to be from here before jumping to conclusions #also to be fair i am biased to be lenient about decisions made by independent filmmakers vs big studios etc #like everybody freaking out about the ai art used in late night with the devil. who cares honestly #‘they should’ve paid a real artist!!’ idk maybe their budget didn’t cover that #i don’t want it to become the industry norm but at the end of the day i would rather see indie shit getting made then only seeing #the big studios (who don’t have equitable practices anyway!!) making shit #but that’s another conversation. just to be transparent about my viewpoint on this kind of thing #maybe controversial but also can’t we have nuance. for once.

[henrysglock]

S4 Victims: Story by Proxy?

Okay so. In spitballing with Em...something stuck in my head.

So we all know how serial killers leave crumbs because deep down they want to be caught/want the truth to be revealed? Well what if the Duffers, or even current Henry, are doing the same thing. That is, leaving breadcrumbs.

This mainly has to do with the S4 victims, their stories, and the order in which they're chosen.

So, it goes like this:

Chrissy: Abusive mother who resembles Virginia

Fred: Eaten alive by the guilt of being responsible for the accidental death of an innocent.

Max: Suicidal over guilt about Billy's death and her response to it. Billy, who died saving her/while she was saving herself from the Fleshflayer, a regenerated form of the Mindflayer.

Patrick: Abusive father, not much else told.

Max (again): Suicidal Ideation, dies, soul taken, but was revived by El. She's now in some limbo-state, where her body lives but her identity/mind is elsewhere. She will likely be brought back entirely by El in S5.

It almost feels like a story by proxy if we piece it together.

So, let's piece it together:

Person with an abusive mother...feels responsible for the death of an innocent...a sibling who was killed while this person was trying to save themselves from a monster which came from Hawkins lab, which leaves them suicidal...and this person lives in a situation with an abusive father figure. This person becomes suicidal, and their suicide attempt was not entirely successful. They were revived by El, and end up in a limbo state. They may or may not be brought back by El later.

Now, let's collect details about our serial killer:

Abusive mother? Check. (No matter how we frame it, Virginia was not a good mother.)

Innocent died? Check. (Henry has nothing bad to say about Alice, which we know he would if she were not innocent, since he does this with every other victim.)

Sibling died as a result of saving oneself? Check. (The Creel massacre was a situation where Henry was, with whatever intentions we may assign for the other family members' deaths, trying to save himself from Virginia and by extension the lab.)

Ended up with an abusive father figure? Check. (Well...an abusive Papa, one might say.)

Brought back by El multiple times? Check. (El was the one who took Soteria out and brought Henry back from being powerless. El was the one who put Henry in the UD/limbo state. El was the one who opened the gate for his return to the RSU.)

IT ALL ALIGNS. So let's put it together with all the feelings involved:

Citations (I guess? Explanations?) are in the tags listed by number!

Henry had an abusive mother who was at least trying to have him shipped off to the lab, if not actually trying to kill him outright. This situation builds and builds, him wanting to be left alone (1), putting out subconscious and conscious cries for help (2), and her targeting him about it, until March 25th, 1959.

Virginia starts it, attacks, and this time she's out for blood (3). Henry defends himself (4). Virginia, being the parent with powers (5), doesn't actually die (6). Victor, Alice, and Henry go for the door (7). Virginia's on the stairs (8). She's got to finish what she started, since her original plan was botched (9). Henry puts his energy into trancing Victor (10), protecting him from Virginia, since logically two people can't occupy one person's mind.

This leaves good, innocent Alice to fend for herself, standing directly in front of the staircase. She's a loose end (11). Virginia kills her, but can't kill Henry or Victor while the trance is occurring. She figures Henry's going to run himself into the ground (12). She figures she can call Brenner in to collect Henry, like they planned (13). If she disappears, she figures it'll go into the news something like this:

"World War II veteran kills entire family in deranged fit of insanity. Wife missing, presumed dead. Son dies in hospital."

And on both counts, she's essentially right. It does basically go into the papers that way. Victor is taken in for murder, and Henry is taken by Brenner, but not before he sees that Alice was caught in the crossfire (14).

Henry ends up with Brenner, the abusive Papa. He's got the guilt about Alice's death, something that makes him sad and angry. Brenner, maybe, decides to push this in order to increase Henry's powers, but it backfires. Henry's powers increase, but he does...something. He lashes out, he snaps, maybe he even tries to kill himself. He's Brenner's prized pet, though, so Brenner can't let that happen. He seals Henry's powers away with Soteria. It's a death for Henry's entire identity, so far as to have him under the name Peter Ballard. Then comes along 011. She removes Soteria from Peter Ballard...and revives Henry Creel. She then exiles him to the Upside Down in 1979, only to eventually bring him back in 1983 when she opens the Mothergate.

All this to say: It could be his own story, told through the stories of his victims.

Breadcrumbs, or maybe...obvious things, which nobody by any chance ever observes.

Below the cut is where I speculate into motivations for his actions after Soteria's removal, so...not required reading for this particular analysis.

Years of MKUltra torture warp Henry's guilt about the situation into a bastardized, violent, brutal, unethical savior complex based in the notion that he's a predator by nature, but a predator for good. He "saves" the lab kids from a future like his own, filled with nothing but torture. He "saves" El from her ignorance about the lab and intended to have her join him, thereby attempting to "save" her, technically his little sister, from the lab entirely.

He "saves" his s4 victims from their guilt and suffering, which so closely mirror his own, which no one saved him from. I could even go so far as to say he was "saving" Will, who is set up to be so much like him, from a world of horrible people who (from Henry's viewpoint based on his lived experiences) would only serve to abuse and betray him.

This of course isn't to say any of it is right. None of it is right or good...but it makes sense. It follows a pattern. It coheres. The math...maths.

#Citations! #1: Henry often hides alone in the attic. #2: Victor's burning cradle vison (a child in need of help). The drawing of the Shadow Monster. Possibly Alice's nightmares. #2 (cont.): Can all be interpreted as calls for help. Children in distress act out and make disturbing art in hope of conveying that need. #3: Virginia may or may not have been trying to kill Henry but based on the Fleshflayer parallel re: sibling death...it's probable. #4: Henry himself describes that night as self defense/being forced to act. #5: Virginia likely had powers given that Henry has powers #6: Her powers are likely similar to Henry's and Henry has regenerative powers. There are also fishy scenes of her death which imply #6 (cont.): that she may have still been alive. These include: shots from her POV. The fact that her eyes are bloody-- #6 (cont.): but still intact in some shots. The unexplained POV from the top of the stairs. #7: Henry looks very nervous and fidgety at the door like he's antsy to leave with Alice and Victor #8: Again the unexplained POV on the stairs...stairs she earlier runs down after Henry gives her her mirror moment in the bathroom. #9: Henry was successful in disabling her initially which exposed her culpability. #10: Henry puts *so* much time into Victor in canon with basically no explanation why. #11: Alice seems to be a smart and upstanding girl. She might not be controllable re: Virginia being alive/the whole scheme with Brenner. #11 (cont.): The only way to eliminate that risk is to kill her...and we've already seen that Virginia is not good to at least one child. #12: If Virginia has powers like Henry's she likely has a sense of how long someone can be tranced before the trancer runs out of energy. #13: Who called Brenner to come get Henry during his coma? How did Henry end up in Brenner's hands specifically? #14: amerion-main's recent post re: Henry's position change in the foyer shots #End Citations! #This is all very much speculation when it comes to the actual path of events re: the Creel Massacre #but we can all agree that we don't have the full story about the Creels yet...so who knows. #henry/vecna/001 #henry creel analysis #henry creel #virginia creel #creel family #stranger things #stranger things analysis

[brookheimer]

I sooo feel that it’s going to be the abuse revelations that will be the turning point in romans arc. So far he’s been painted as quite emotionally intelligent and business minded this season. I feel the press exposure of his abuse will lead him to the darker things we see coming this season such jumping into protests, being angry and a little unstable with matsson etc

yeah like lowkey that’s what i’ve been thinking too… like what if he becomes so desperate to prove his worth and be seen as his own person not the little boy beat by his father that he throws himself headfirst into atn/mencken/etc because if there’s anything that could drown out the abuse press it’s becoming a vocal fascist LOLL

like idk. i’m curious when it’s gonna come out too. maybe end of next ep? doesn’t seem like it’s present for a lot of the matsson interactions but again that could always be a bait and switch like the wedding ep trailer

i’m not entirely sure that that’s the route they’ll take (feels kind of like Sensational and Larger Than Life and more bojack horseman ish than succession kinda? while also being v similar to shiv’s open letter ab ken last season too) but it’s the clearest path we can see rn for the Roman Breakdown and it could happen for sure which is…. terrifying <3 will be watching through my fingers and weeping

#succession isn’t really a show that ~predictions~ work super well on unless they’re more general thematic or emotional things bc it’s all so #human and unpredictable in the way that real life tends to be ya know. but. this is certainly very plausible it just seems almost TOO tragi #like usually succession characters hit their rock bottoms bc of things They do/the consequences of those things #but it feels almost too cruel to have it be like kendall leaks these stories and ruins roman’s life so roman becomes an unstable fascist #like idk. feels too one-sided as in roman clearly didn’t do anything wrong there he’s JUST the victim which isn’t rly succession’s M.O. #the only rzn it’d be that clear cut is if they decided to make roman like EVIL evil and needed us to still feel bad for him #and idk just feels a bit like a different show the more i think about it #all that being said……. if the abuse leaks do indeed end up leaking roman is going to break #just unsure 1) if they’ll leak/what will be leaked 2) what that Breaking wld look like. no matter what tho it will be viscerally painful #abuse revelations being the turning point just feels almost TOO tragic :( like fuuuuuckknkkkkjjj #but hey. kendall left that door wide fuckibg open so…. eek #succession #succession spoilers #roman roy #asks #anon #succession speculation

[twinge-of-cosmicangst]

#Kendall roy #Roman roy #tom wambsgans #Greg hirsh #Connor roy #this is kind of crack but also not I think it’s a possibility one of them dies tho probably not con or Greg tho #shiv can’t die won’t allow it but srly they wouldn’t kill off their only main female character #even tho succs writing is good I genuinely don’t think they’re above a shock final season death #Logan doesn’t count as dramtic death cause his ass was 82 and it was clear he was going to die before the show ended #hence the name succession #anyways toms death forshadows as promised: #1. when shiv asks Gerri for marital advice she says her husband died don’t let him (Tom) die #2. big red exit signs in his dramtic ass walking through corridor scene #3. Tom telling shiv he would want her to have his babies if he died (then her literally getting pregnant around the same time he said that!) #tw: sui mention #tw: death

[anewbeginningagain]

I just finished watching the final episode of Succession, likely the show I love more than any other (a show I legit fell in love with from the very first episode and the sounds of Nicholas Britell’s fantastic opening music) and now I need a hug. And a drink. And one more season. But most of all I truly can’t think of any other show that made me cry so hard for characters that are despicable in every sense of the word, yet so clearly the result of their abusive upbringing which they could never escape. A perfect combination of outstanding writing, directing, and phenomenal acting by everyone involved (I honestly want to give all 4 siblings an Emmy award) and with a soundtrack that is PERFECT. My god what a show.

#succession #this show legit consumed my soul this season #4 seasons of top quality #and while I know the first half of season 1 is considered as growing pains #I truly loved it from the start knowing there's just something about it that strikes differently #and when I traveled for 2 months at the end of 2019 #this is the only show I bothered watching every week #because that how good season 2 was #god I miss it already

[coffincoitus]

help this is just like when walt died and everyone was celebrating and I was like hahah yass girl werk hah while going thru 666 complex stages of grief

#succession spoilers #like dont get me wrong im 100% genuine about the narrative beauty of him dying alone in a hole bc #1) he thought he was so immortal and 2) he chose to hurt his children till the end #but im also empty inside girls.... he was so larger than life...... crazy stuff.....

[ghostcradle]

with every day that passes the chances of stewy and kendall fucking raw in s4 increase

#i have so many predictions but thays number 1 #number 2 is tragic ending. if succession ends happily i’ll be UNhappy #and by tragic i mean deathly tragic #NONE of the characters can get what they want #except stewy when he gets to fuck kendall raw but he’s already losing just for wanting that. stand up king #taqrir #succession

[wisteriasymphony]

It was Adrien Agresté’s wedding day... Not like he particularly gave a shit.

It was late at night, in the interim between the hideous ordeal that was the ceremony and the reception that was to occur the next day. Of course, anyone in their right mind would balk at the idea of extending the entire wedding across two days, whether for ego or to demonstrate a particular level of wealth or influence, but the media had eaten the idea up like nuts. Marinette especially had been insisted that this was the most romantic thing to do, to give each part of the wedding its own day to shine. 

…But that wasn’t the reason Adrien had insisted upon it. And it especially wasn’t the reason he had put off consummation of the marriage.

Giddy as any newlywed should usually be, Adrien exchanged his tuxedo for a casual green sweater and chinos; He donned reading glasses he had left alone for years; He slipped off his Miraculous and set it on his nightstand. And, taking one last look at his old room before it would inevitably be overrun by a second person…. Adrien slipped out the window and down a ladder, just like old times.

He had done it! After two years of agony, he had done it! His contract to happiness had been fulfilled, his debt to destiny paid in full. Adrien couldn’t help but shout with an inappropriate joy as he ran through the streets like some sort of madman, barreling over stopped cars and through groups of passerby, across street corner after street corner after street corner until he reached Place de Bastille. He knew how to get to the café from there; He’d etched the memory deep into his heart.

And at 23:00 in the evening, Claudia Perreault got an unexpected costumer at the Cafe L’Automne. 

“Adrien—“

He dashed over to give her the kiss he’d been saving for her since the very day they parted. Even as he had to cut it off to let himself catch his breath, Adrien still kept himself within a kiss’s reach, just so he’d be ready for another.

“I- I missed you so much, Claudia,” he panted, marveling at the sight of her once more. Her hair had been dyed this wonderful fuchsia, and in an instant Adrien wished his wedding had been filled with nothing but. Fuchsia bouquets, a fuchsia pocket square, fuchsia bowtie and fuchsia altar. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this.”

Claudia checked her watch. “I’d say it was probably, like… two years, give or take. Maybe less.”

Adrien pushed the counter door open, taking Claudia by the hand and pulling her out into the dining area of the café, twirling her past cleaned tables and stacked chairs. “God, Claudia, you’re as perfect as the day I lost you! If only-“

Adrien stopped for a moment, then remembered the other ring still on his hand. He pulled their hands together and leaned in to give Claudia another kiss, but his first love was not as easily fooled as Marinette was... And Claudia had taken the ring long before Adrien could remove it himself.

“If only what?” She asked, eyeing the ring distrustfully. Adrien hoped she hadn’t been paying attention to the local news lately, though perhaps it was a bit too late to hope such a thing.

Adrien sighed, before pulling her in and trying again, this time with words and not actions: “If only you were the woman I exchanged rings with today,” he spoke, caressing Claudia’s cheek. “I’ll forever wish that was the case.”

“Uhm- I’m sorry— Today?!” Claudia extended an arm to force her ex-lover further apart from her, eyebrows knit together in exasperation. “Oh, god, Adrien,” she muttered, pinching the bridge with her nose, “How many hours ago did you get married?”

“Well, maybe like, eight or nine.” Adrien took his wedding band back from Claudia, only to slip it into his pocket. “-But it was a necessary sacrifice! You remember, don’t you?”

“Yes, I know, but within the same 24 hours?” Even when she was annoyed at him, she was still so beautiful. “That’s really the most damning part, Adrien. You couldn’t bear to wait a day?”

“God, no. -Hell, I’m disappointed you don’t offer catering, I would’ve had you be there with me if you did.”

“Yeah, ‘cause it’s every woman’s dream to be catering for her ex’s wedding. Right.” Claudia tried to walk back to the cafe’s counter, only for Adrien to grab her by the hand.

“They wouldn’t have to know…” he smiled, spinning her around again with just as much passion in that single move as he’d probably give for the entire of his first dance with his wife the day after. 

Claudia just rolled her eyes at him, her lips pursed together. “Until they found you cornering me in the bathroom, that is.”

“Oh, baby, I would never~”

“Corner me in the bathroom, or cheat on your fiancée during your own wedding?”

Adrien paused for a moment. “The former,” he sighed. “Just the former. …It would be to one of the bedrooms that I’d try to whisk you away.”

Claudia just shook her head at the notion, exasperated. As romantic as this man was, it was apparently in all the wrong places. “I don’t know what I’ll do with you, Eddí…”

“You could always ma—“ Nope! Can’t say that anymore! You already are! “…You could hear me out. Let me visit every once in a while, let me stay the night, perhaps…”

“Is there such a thing as aiding and abetting in an adultery?” She muttered to herself. “Or would I not count if I’m the mistress?”

“She’s the mistress, sweetheart, not you,” he lied. “The rings don’t really mean anything,” he lied again. “I want to make it work with you even despite these circumstances.”

“…Right.” Claudia rolled her eyes again. “You can start by going back home, Eddí. Give it at least a month, okay?”

A month. Yeah, he could wait a month.

#ending 1 of 2: succession #succession ending #might not even be canon to the path itself #still considering it #thewarmembraceofshadow #miraculous fandom #miraculous lb #miraculous fanfic #miraculous adrien #mlb adrien #adrien agreste #cw cheating #adrinette #claudrien #rotten love square

[ourlordapollo]

Making myself a lil fic writing challenge based on music theory concepts and I'm having fun w it! However it did not occur to me that the first half of the challenge would be coming up with 7 prompts dshhjfdg-

#so far i have #1. ice cream progression #2. subverting the leading tone #3. backdoor progression #4. locrian diminished tonic #i picked these bc i thought they would translate well to fic #like the ice cream progression for extremely low stakes fluff #subverting etc for defying common tropes #backdoor progression for reaching the expected conclusion in an unexpected way #diminished tonic for an unhappy/ambiguous ending #im trying to set myself up for success here lmao #delphi washington

[sololosabelaluna]

i really can’t believe succession is ending this week. like, what i am gonna do with myself?

#succession #also im so mad that i missed watching live the past 2 weeks #but i went on a trip and then i moved out of my parents house #so the past few weeks had been crazy #and now im sick #(which was expected tbh) #but anyway i missed sharing the insanity online #and processing the eps here #i also was watching with a coworker and we used to have this weekly really long talks about the eps D: #and now THERES ONLY 1 ONE EP LEFT #im already mourning #ok this got lon and kinda dramatic at the end #but this is my show D: T.T

[startrekandstarcrises]

don't think i realized how much of a sucker i am for the Found Family trope until a one-off character i barely had an opinion of said "can i come home now?" to the main character he was staying with meaning, obviously, "can i ditch this weird dinner you've sent me to and come back to your house, which i am spending a few days at" but my whole brain went "HOME??? adopt him? new son/nephew/precocious younger sibling/protege? 11/10 yes please. i love him i want to protect him etc."

#found family #murder she wrote #michael digby #unfortunately fan wiki says he's in exactly one episode #aND nobody else has yet posted a convoluted au fanfic in which he does stay in cabot cove #but consider #1. travel writer who is successful by Travel Writer standards #2. BUT not as name/face-famous as J. B. Fletcher best-selling mystery author #3. down to do whatever weirdass bullshit mrs fletcher points him at #4. One Weird Trick To Prevent Drunkenness is already 10/10 but elliot spencer this man and give him a ton of weird tricks #tldr he is the perfect partner in crime-solving #i want five seasons and a movie of him calling her up from wherever he's writing about to tell her about Suspicious Events #sometimes she drops everything immediately sometimes he has to talk her into it #always holds back the weirdest detail in case she REALLY needs persuading and then he's like *sigh* ''okay #i guess i'll just never know how the victim's shoelaces ended up in the garbage disposal #but if you're too busy on your FAKE murder to help with a REAL one i guess--'' ''stop complaining michael i'm already packing.'' #she's still quite capable of getting information herself tyvm but sometimes people are like ''THE jb fletcher???'' #''i've read some of your books and ALSO read about your real-life detective skills in the paper!'' #jb: ''…okay michael they're on to me #you're gonna have to ~coincidentally~ befriend these people'' #he's very ''dammit jess i'm a TRAVEL writer not a MYSTERY writer'' but he always gets something useful #one ep she can't come to his murder because there's one in cabot cove #they consult via phone on their respective murders #he does some top-notch sleuthing she pulls one of his One Weird Tricks they both catch murderers #he ends up living in cabot cove when he's not travelling to 'relax' #*episode in which he buys a house there: three people in cabot cove are murdered*

[cutemeat]

when Dennis and Dee’s maid from the early 80′s Josefina comes into the bar to find Frank n its revealed that ‘Franquito’ IS actually Frank’s biological son... what then??

#nooo Paddys Succession Plan TWO like come onn #again im tellin ya... Frank falls ill n so the gang are splitting up dealing w this #like again Charlie/Dee are back n forth abt WHO is gonna get Frank's shares when he dies (cuz they automatically assume it'll be them ofc.. #two entitled ppl whats new) #n uh.. they both get Fake Married despite absolutely hating each other (n dee being a fuckin lesbian) in the midst of their scheme #(feat. Waitress but thats a whole other thing ok-) #cuz yknow when the gang is just going all in no ones thinking no ones on the brakes #MEANWHILE to the total Opposite tone.. Dennis n Mac are both genuinely torn up abt Frank. n like. its weirdly emotional/tender #n does result in macden get together #but ALL THIS TIME it turns out Franquito has been the only person actually going to visit Frank in the hospital #bc that is where he and his mother work #n FRANK ENDS UP GIVING ALL HIS MONEY TO FRANQUITO N HIS MOTHER #this is it. this is the Paddys Succession plan allright #we kno rcg love Succession so this is it this is the tme #i can see it #i lov when 1 AM hits n im just like. time to throw out random Sunny pitches #this still fits in w my whole Misses the Boat 2 as well..