#there is no world outside of waystar

[vaguelyprophetic]

I am very much thinking about “He made you a playground, and you think it’s a whole world.”

#there is no world outside of waystar #their actions have no consequences #no real people involved. #just the roys and their business and their father’s legacy #succession #succession hbo #mine

[romulusfuckingroy]

no because imagine being roman roy, spending your whole life hearing how useless and fucked up and broken you are from both your dad and your siblings, growing up knowing you’ll never amount to anything.

and then the unthinkable happens. your brother fucks up. loses his claim to the throne. you’re suddenly in pole position to take over… you think, until your sister who’s not even in the fucking company reveals that it’s her.

okay, fine, it’s not like you don’t know your sister is smarter than you are, it’s fine. except… then she loses it, and your dad gives it to some outsider, some random woman from a completely different company. it starts to feel like he’s sort of desperate to give it to anyone but you.

the woman quits after some events that you get the sparknotes of while flying home from being held fucking hostage. someone has to go to prison, and it’s your brother for some fucking reason. you’re alone again. so maybe…?

but no, your dad’s just calling you to tell you to go find your sister. he asks you if she’s solid, he trusts you to make that determination, and you say yes because you love her. so it’s suddenly her again.

and then the unthinkable happens again. your siblings decide to rebel. this is your one fucking shot. but suddenly they’re goading you into joining them, and you… agree, because you fucking love them, fuck, you really do. no matter how many times it fucks you over, you love them like a dog loves the child that keeps pulling its tail.

(when you get to your dad’s hideout he tells you that the heir will be you if you abandon them right now. you have no evidence for or against this. you’re starting to feel like he’s just dangling it in front of you to get you to do what he wants. (you’re right, but you’re not quite aware enough to fully realize it.))

so… it’s none of you, and that’s… fine. the world doesn’t end. time goes on. you decide that teaming up is kind of… nice. you have plans, real fucking solid plans. except… your siblings swerve sideways and start specifically trying to fuck over your dad instead of just… working together to build something.

they goad you into it, obviously. they’ve always had the ability to make you do things you don’t want to do. except for one factor that’s out of their control…

dad says he needs you. you. roman.

so you’re back on team dad. he was right the whole time anyway. and he respects your opinions (you believe), like with mencken. you’re ideologically allied (he’s indoctrinated you).

he dies when you send him one fucking lousy voicemail about how shitty it felt firing your… your… gerri.

your dad is dead. your dad is dead and the last thing he ever told you to do was fire gerri. which… which you did, so at least you can rest easy knowing it was you, you were the best child after all, he finally saw you deserved the company.

except kendall’s name has a line through/under it, and you’re not fucking mentioned. fucking greg is mentioned, but not you.

you tell yourself shiv’s right. it’s crossed out. you tell yourself that for a different reason than she does. you were so sure it was gonna be you. after everything he fucking put you through. it had to be you, right?

deep down you’re sure it’s an underline. and you’ve never felt more useless. more like a manmade mistake.

you can fucking be like dad, though. you fucking fire two senior women- one of them gerri, again. you let kendall do whatever the fuck his manic ass is up to- dad seemingly trusted him, so fuck it. you try to tank the deal with matsson, because you can do this. you can run waystar. you always fucking could. fuck anyone who says different.

you put your reputation and waystar’s prestige on the line for a fascist presidential candidate, because that’s something you and dad agreed on. that’s when you felt like he was actually fucking proud of you. shiv throws a hissy fit, but fuck her, okay, she’ll never fucking understand the bond you had with dad. no one can.

you… make a bad call. well- you don’t make a bad call, everyone thinks you made a bad call. mencken deserves to win! why is it such a big fucking deal?! you’re on top of the world, about to deliver a banging eulogy and swoop in and take the company from matsson’s grubby little hands.

and then your uncle speaks. and then you get up to speak. and then you cry. and fucking kendall logan roy gets up there and delivers a better speech than you ever could. and then so does siobhan.

you find out mencken betrayed you. your brother tells you you fucked everything up, and he’s not joking around like usual. you think about that fucking piece of paper, that fucking line. well, fuck this. you get beat up a bit for old times sake and then fuck off to barbados.

but they find you there. they beg and plead for you to come back, to vote with them, they need you. you’re with your mom in barbados, finally having time to just… breathe and think, and your siblings come back and try to goad you into coming back, into putting everything you are on the line once again, for fucking kendall’s benefit alone, pretty much.

…

you go with them. they’ve always had the ability to make you do things you don’t want to do. especially when you try to back out- come on, gerri’s there for god’s sake- and your brother pulls you close like a boa constrictor and hurts you the way you like it until you yield.

you get why his name was (you believe) underlined. it was never you. never.

because you’re roman roy, and there’s something really fucking wrong with you, and there always will be.

#succession #writeup #can I have the number one roman understander award now pls #roman roy #kendall roy #shiv roy #logan roy #long post #finn.txt #sorry I was Feeling things

[eastgaysian]

the american/european conflict in the episode is so fun truthfully. i forgive the writers for being british 🙏

the roys/waystar do, i think, embody particular kinds of usamerican characteristics that are being critiqued here. logan is from scotland, came to canada at a young age, then became logan in the us, and made his attempt at becoming old world aristocracy by marrying caroline - he's placeless in a way that matsson clearly isn't. the roys are the outsiders while their hosts can talk about them, in front of them, in a language they don't understand. but matsson and co know everything they're saying.

logan's insistence on his own exceptionalism and lack of/deliberate blindness to history while pulling from disjointed sources to make him seem cultured or grounded is also i would argue very american lol. like what relation does he actually have to romans? the old guard can't make up their mind on whether the swedes are vikings (ruthless, barbaric, historic) or if they've been made too soft by their social safety net compared to the rough-n-tough usa. tom doesn't give a shit about anything outside the us and i still think it's very funny of her to describe the us as "late imperial" as a distinguishing feature that justifies not giving a shit.

the thing is that matsson is better than the roys at being ruthless and at being modern because he actually knows who he is, and none of them know who they are without logan. roman accuses him of killing logan and in a way he is right - matsson kills logan by succeeding him and by consuming and conquering his company in a way the kids never could. like, both by the logic of succession through conquest and by the logic of modern capitalism - having more money and being shrewd enough to make the deal happen - he wins. he's not fundamentally different from logan, but he does it in a way that looks better. fascism is the same etc

#chalkboard #babbling

[cavennmalore]

I would not normally post about this but I’ve seen so many people tonight talk about how Roman walking into the crowd at the end of the episode is a form of self harm but. I could not disagree with that more. 

Kendall dominates Roman in such a brutal, and frankly, efficient way right before then, in a way that establishes not only how far crying at the funeral has thrown Roman down the totem pole for CEO (which in and of itself is a truly horrifying and disgusting thing) but has set their agenda so far back its not even funny. By the end of that scene, Roman is looking for a way to reassert dominance. He wants to feel confident in himself -- assured in himself the same way he was faux-practicing Logan’s eulogy in his apartment. Of course, in the world of Succession, the only way to do that is to dominate others. To make them feel less than you. To prove you’re better, the best, by telling someone everything wrong with them. 

So, Roman goes out into the crowd. First, he mocks them. Jeers at all the idiots who have no idea how little what they’re doing actually means. When that’s not enough, he goes into the crowd. He yells at the protestors the same way and with the same vicious words Logan did to him. It’s supposed to put them down. It’s supposed to make them feel awful to make him feel better. He’s a big, important man. He’s the CEO of Waystar Royco. He’s friends with the president! His words should have weight. But they don’t. Roman’s insults mean nothing to the protestors because to them, he’s nobody. He’s just another guy in a sea of them. That’s real life, the one that Logan (and Gerri and manager training and the price of milk and comments about being unserious) warned him about. Name isn’t enough. Being a Roy isn’t enough; the words of a stranger aren’t enough to make anybody stop on the street and care, especially in New York City.

 And the fuck of it all is, somebody does stop and care. Somebody, when Roman is trampled by the sheer insignificance of himself, stops to help him up. And what does Roman do? He lashes out. Spits on the good samaritan who does the decent thing. Because to Roman, who operates in a bubble so far outside the everyday world that crying at his father’s funeral is practically suicide, cannot comprehend that offering a helping hand is just that. It’s crazy. It’s brilliant. It is the perfect example of how out-of-touch the Roy’s are, not just financially but mentally, emotionally, socially. It makes the eulogies hit that much harder. Logan was a tough fucking guy, but man, did he feel comfortable enough in the world to shove his kids out of it. 

#i just cant #this scene was so fucking brilliant and reducing it to 'roman wanted to hurt himself the way his dad did!' removes the absolute LAYERS of it #succession #roman roy #logan roy #long post #me #literally nobody is seeing this #which makes that i wrote it that much funnier

[toastytrusty]

thinking endlessly about how romans main relationships outside of the family in later seasons are lukas and mencken, and how their dynamics with rome foil each other both narratively and in-universe. lukas represents them selling waystar, represents emotional vulnerability, represents freedom. mencken, on the other hand, represents them keeping the company, represents the toxic façade of who you Need to be, represents remaining trapped. the way romes emotions fuel the contrasting dynamics between them is endlessly fascinating

lukas, upon his second time meeting rome, immediately continuously attempts to talk abt deep kinda personal/emotional stuff, which rome shut down because he's afraid of self expression, even though deep down he craves connection. this probably scares him, so, especially after logan's death and lukas' reaction to it (on one hand being a dick and not pushing back the meeting, on the other hand trying in his own autistic way to connect and empathize with their loss, as well as being real about how awful logan was), roman distances himself. he feels pushed to the edge of his sanity and reverts to what comes most naturally to him, you guessed it, eeeemotion. he freaks out at lukas on the cliff, in his head burning any bridge built between them, which tbf he pretty much does. but to lukas, this is almost like a win for him. he's been trying to encourage roman to open up to him since they met, and he finally did! so the $5 price bump is almost like a congratualtions or a reward, as well as a spiteful fuck you. narratively it takes them one step closer to selling the company, roman's emotion being what puts him there, and in this case it's being appreciated. really, rome wants out of the company; he wants to sell and he wants to be free of it and all the pressure and expectation that comes with it.

whereas mencken was always very business-focused with roman; joking and laughing in a detached, not very real way. his focus was always succeeding and going far and not really caring how he got there, and i think that's part of why roman liked him. there was no expectation to be genuine or actually connect; he could just put on his brave face and do what they felt needed to be done. when he pushed lukas away because things got too real, he continued seeking out mencken because mencken was easy to appeal to in that way he so often does; changing himself to suit there needs. he puts mencken over everything else that mattered in his life (relationships with his family members mainly he doesn't gaf about The Economy) because he didn't have to be real with mencken. it was all just the blind pursuit for power he didn't really want and a security he felt more threatened by than anything, because he got too far in and set his sights on something (or more accurately kendall set his sights on something, and who was rome to protest?) and had to acheive it. so when the façade breaks, and mencken sees him for the first time not as the charming, witty, businessman, but as the damaged person who just wasn't built for the world, he walks away, no longer looking to protect waystar, or roman. love and sensitivity and emotion are all weaknesses to mencken, weakness he had previously not seen in roman, but now that he had it was too late. rome couldn't pretend forever and mencken bailed, handing waystar (and roman!! becase their ties to waystar are through roman!!) back to lukas and the gojo deal on a silver platter.

this inadvertantly pushes roman back towards freedom, and, in a way, back towards lukas. he told mr emotions to fuck off and ran away to be his self absorbed emotionless husk with someone who wanted nothing more from him, but that didn't work out too well. he can't stay in the cage that is waystar, he can't spend all of his time being someone he's not; it's exhausting. lukas represents his ability to acheive freedom from the toxic environment of waystar, as well as the fact that he will eventually have to confront reality, and mencken represents his unhealthy, and ultimately doomed to fail, coping mechanisms and avoidance behavior. when he tries to twist his perspective of the people around him to make them seem like good people (logan, MENCKEN), lukas shuts it down (at least with logan; i don't think the two of them ever talk abt mencken) and makes rome confront the fact that they aren't, and when rome is so deep into being someone he isn't, lukas encourages him to be himself, whereas mencken condemns him for it

#succession #hbo succession #succession hbo #roman roy #lukas matsson #jeryd mencken #romelukas #romencken #the ping pong game he plays between them as his mental state wavers is endlessly fascinating to me #lukas' last line to him being “i love you” showing his ability to reconcile with his sensitivity and freedom.. #showing he isn't so badly damaged he can't heal.. #him always liking mencken more/choosing mencken over most other people representing how badly repressed his emotions are #he's always revolving his life around other people hoping that one day someone will treat him with a fraction of the same care #changing his manneurisms and opinions depending on who he's in front of to try and appeal to them #but mencken is proof and the living embodiment that that will never work #he will never survive in the corporate landscape no one will ever respect him or show him any care or love #anyways #sorry if this is entirely incoherent i just needed to ramble

[ineffabells]

Roman is free but it won't fix him. As a child he asked to be put in that cage, because he's so irrevocably damaged that he doesn't know how to exist outside of it. Pain is love, degradation is intimacy and confinement is comfort. The door's open now but there's no security or meaning to be found for him out there.

Shiv is never getting out. Relegated to the sidelines again and again, never afforded her own authority and always fighting for whatever scraps of leverage she can get from proximity to the powerful men in her life. There is no place for her in the world her father created.

and Kendall? Kendall's maybe the least free of any of them. Because even as he moves on and creates a life for himself outside of Waystar, he's always going to be trapped, reliving these last couple of years and mourning what could have been. Agonising over the times he'd almost secured the twisted facsimile of his father's love in the form of Waystar Royco and fumbled it at the crucial moment.

They're free but they're trapped. The poison drips through.

#succession hbo #succ #shiv roy #roman roy #kendall roy #stewy hosseini #siobhan roy #succession spoilers

[scarletttries]

Stewy x Roy!Reader Headcanons (Succession Request):

Pairing: Stewy (Succession) x Roy! Reader

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: Nothing smutty but quite a lot of drug related content. The story doesn't reflect any judgement of mine on drugs but was more what I thought would make most sense for a reader who was close with Kendall and Stewy :)

Author’s Note: Thank you to the lovely anon that sent me this request, I am always up for dipping into the Succession brain rot again! Fellow succession fans please send me your Roy family thoughts any time 😊 Succession Masterlist here!

Stewy x Roy Reader Headcanons:

- Everyone thinks they had a unique childhood, and maybe that's true, but growing up a Roy created more than its fair share of doubts and bizarre experiences that shaped you into the person you are now.

- Much to Logan's distain you chose to work outside of Waystar, preferring to spend you time focused on much more ethical endeavours. That was until he fell ill on his birthday.

- No family event was ever without drama, but having to rush Logan to hospital was a new level of intense even for you. Suddenly everything was a flurry of decisions; medical, family, business, all the things you had tried so hard to escape, firmly taking you back in their grasp.

- Kendall had always fancied himself a leader, your brother immediately stepping into the limelight and offering to take over as chairman of Waystar. No sooner than Gerri asked the question of succession Ken was dragging you into the nearest empty room, trying to form an alliance, knowing you would at least be there for him. No matter how many times you had to pull him of tourble or drive him to rehab, you always did it with a smile, not judgement, a rare, safe dynamic amongst the Roy toxicity. He knew you'd tried to keep away from all the pressure of Waystar, but your brother needed you yet again and you knew if you didn't stick by his side he'd fly so close to the sun you'd barely recognise the charred figure that remained when he came crashing down to earth.

- By the time Connor found you in the waiting room you'd officially been announced 'Executive Advisor' to Kendal's 'CEO', a little disappointed and concerned that you'd been dragged back into the organisation you had bonded over escaping, and finding your own place in the world.

- Roman would make jokes about you being a sell-out, Shiv insisting this had been your plan all along and that you were just as ruthless as the rest of them, sibling rivalry stoked for decades by Logan until there was barely an ounce of trust to share amongst the five of you.

- It was almost disheartening how quickly you found your feet back in corporate life, firmly planted at Kendall's side to ensure he stayed true to himself and didn't crumble under the enormous weight of his own name. You knew he could do something special with his work if he stayed true to himself, watching him find his feet, only to have the ground beneath him crack open at Gerri's reveal of the loan set against the value of Waystar and the plummeting stock threatening to bring those payments into reality. You sat quietly at his desk as Gerri left you with the news, watching the hopeful vision Kendall had for his time as CEO slip away in record time, only one viable solution seeming possible.

- That's how you found yourself sat in an unusually casual coffee shop waiting to meet Stewy. You could feel your heart flutter as you thought about the last few times you had seen him, usually picking Kendall up from a bender at Stewy's request and watching his lingering gaze follow you as you'd take your brother away. Even though you'd only met a dozen times, and it had been years since your paths last crossed, as you watched him step through the glass door you couldn't help but match his slight smile. The one he'd always given you as you sat on the little balcony of his first shitty apartment after you'd put Kendall to bed, and stayed just long enough to exchange a few abstract words over a hastily brewed pot of coffee. Stewy had been friends with Kendall long enough to begin to understand what it was like to be a Roy, to have the expectations that brought, along with the uncertainty, and talking to him on those late nights had always felt like one of the few times you could honour both parts of yourself, the Roy and the person you chose to be. As he waved you over to the counter you couldn't help but think how much he still looked like the warm, excitable twenty something you'd seen all those years ago.

"(Y/n)! I should have known Ken would send the most charming Roy to ask me for a favour, he always knew my weaknesses!" He joked, pulling you into a soft hug as you attempted a handshake. "You gotta try these before we talk business." He grinned, hopping over the counter to reach a few pastries, throwing down an unnecessary amount of bills for the bemused barista.

"You haven't changed a bit." You said with a smile, giving an apologetic wave to the girl behind the counter and leading Stewy to a table in the quietest corner of the shop.

"You look good too (y/n)! I can't believe it's been years! And now look at you, top of the office at Waystar, just like you said you'd never do." He mocked, sitting across from you and pulling the chair as close as he could manage.

"Yeah about that.." you explained the situation; Logan's illness, the debt, the stock price, Kendall's solution. He listening intently, the wide black expanse of his eyes reminding you all too well of Kendall's darker moments.

"Fuck it, yeah I'll help Ken out. For old times sake, and because he sent you." He gave you his most charming smile, all effects thoroughly counteracted by the familiar bloodshot lines in his eyes.

"We really appreciate it Stewy, you're really saving Kendall, both of us, here." You said sincerely, hoping some of it would breakthrough his facade, but he just smirked in response,

"I'll be seeing you round the office then."

- That wasn't an empty threat. From theo moment the equity agreement was announced, much to Logan's distain, Stewy was a regular fixture by yours and Kendall's side. He seemed to be enjoying the chance to reconnect with you, without the usual interruption of a drunk Kendall to which you had previously been accustomed. You found yourself feeling that familiar smile creep across your lips when he'd hold open the conference room door, his assistant readily holding a coffee for you. It was easy to get swept up in his charm, the nights of years past still casting a beautiful glow over all your interactions, but like so much that this job offered you; it was empty bullshit. He was just a charming guy, disappearing to the bathroom for his next white line and coming back with a compliment or memory or line to keep you onside. You had been through enough of that with Kendall when he was younger, seeing how hard he was fighting his addiction with Stewy back in his life. And so when Stewy would get a little more obvious, you made sure to politely decline his advances, making it clear that he wasn't what you were looking for right now.

- "What are they even looking for? I'm rich now, and I'm smart and we've got history. And i'm good looking!" Stewy ranted to Kendall as they sat in his office late one night, the sting of each of your rejections starting to make him feel like that scared kid again, too nervous to ask out his best friend's sibling but excited at every tiny opportunity to see them.

"You're a beautiful man Stewy, but they're looking for someone who can make it through the day without running to the bathroom to do a line." Kendall replied darkly, confident your experiences caring from him wouldn't have left you in a hurry to fall back into that role.

"Are you shitting me? Does anyone actually do their job sober now?" Stewy spat back in disbelief,

"(Y/n) does." Kendall retorted, raising an eyebrow as his friends exasperated expression. "I'll tell you what Stewy, even though I think it's disgusting you want to date a Roy, if you try cutting back, even if just for little while, I'll talk you up next chance I get." The gauntlet laid out by Kendall was quickly accepted, Stewy extending his hand to his friend's surprise

"Easy, fine, no problem!" Kendall recognised the determined look in his eye, the one he'd seen in the mirror the first time he actually managed to stay sober for more than a week.

"Is this just about the challenge, or do you actually like (y/n)? Don't fuck with me." Kendall said seriously, not yet accepting Stewy's outstretched hand. He saw the glimmer of sincerity in Stewy's eyes as he nodded solemnly,

"It's not like that, man, you know how long I've felt like this. They're special."

- It was fucking hard. And it didn't happen that first week, but after a little while and with new found respect for Kendall's sobriety, Stewy stopped with the coke and pills and focused on showing you and Kendall how serious he is about making this work.

- So true to his word, one day Kendall would find a chance to corner you and ask if you'd noticed anything different about Stewy. And of course you had. He's gone from cheesy flirting to being sincerely kind. Less frantic in his energy, calmer, and while you'd always enjoyed spending time with him, there was something about this version of him that was even nicer to be around.

"He's doing it for you, you know." Kendall clarified, putting the words to a suspicion you couldn't help yourself having over the reassuring weeks. It was hard to miss the longing looks across meeting rooms that seemed to have shifted from flirty eye contact, to heartfelt wanting. Finally it started to feel like this was something that might really work.

- "Stewy!" You called out, chasing him into an elevator at the end of another long day in the office. He lit up a little at the sound of his name leaving your lips, the way he always did when you were younger, like your presence was enough to give him more hope than he started with. "Do you have dinner plans?" You asked warmly, the understanding of what that meant flickering across his face as he nodded happily, a grin spreading across his cheeks so wide they threatened to ache.

"I do now."

- Dating Stewy would be the easiest thing in the world. Even though you'd spent a lot of time living in completely different worlds, deep down you know each other to such a fundamental level that it felt natural to anticipate each other's needs, wants, and moments of weakness. Stewy had spent a lot of time bouncing from fling to fling, never really settling down and telling himself he was happiest that way. But having a person that really got him, that saw beneath his showy exterior to the sensitive soul beneath would be a comfort that he never wanted to stop feeling. Years of playing games with women would be replaced by total transparency with you, never thinking twice about telling you exactly what we wanted.

- Conversation with Stewy would flow with no effort from that first dinner until your first Waystar event as a real couple. You tried to brace yourself for the catty remarks from your family, Roman and Shiv scoffing and seeming to seeing it as just another ruthless ploy for company power. But nothing could have softened the outburst from Logan at the implication Stewy had taken another thing from him. The party crowd seemed to fall silent as he bellowed at you,

"You're in bed with the fucking enemy!"

"Dad, Stewy's not the enemy." Kendall tried to mediate, selflessly stepping into the line of fire for you both,

"I don't want to hear another fucking word from you! It's not enough to sell my company to this guy, but you threw in one of your siblings!" Hearing yourself be referred to like a business asset reminded you of exactly why you'd steered clear of working for Waystar in the first place, your name always trading for more than your humanity. You excused yourself from the party, dashing onto the nearest balcony, desperate for air and the feeling of no longer being inside that insidious office. As the door slowly closed behind you Stewy followed you out in the cold night, wordlessly letting the jacket drop from his shoulders and trying to wrap it around you. You shrugged it off, taking a step further away from him, not raising your gaze from your shoes as you spoke.

"Don't." He faltered, wanting to take a step towards you but desperate not to push you further away in doing so.

"I'm sorry your old man reacted like that, but you know he just doesn't like to feel like he's losing. Like he's losing you." He was thoughtful as he spoke, timidly taking another step towards you, trying to get your eyes to meet his.

" He's right though," You said, trying to suppress the sniffle breaking through your words, "This'll never work between us Stewy." Before you could turn away from him again, he placed his hands on your shoulders, tone confident and resolute.

"This will work. Because I know you, and I know Ken, and I know how you Roy's think. And this is real (y/n)! This isn't a business strategy, or a chess move, or an investment I'm waiting to cash in. I have loved you since I was a twenty year old moron desperately hoping my friend wouldn't be able to hold his liquor so I could call you, and get to the part of the night where I got to feel like a real person for once. The rest of it never mattered. For me it's always been about you. And I want to do this for real, and I'm giving this my all because I know we'd be great together. But only if you want that too."

The intensity in Stewy's stare was clear, the sincerity in his tone cutting through decades of Roy mistrust and uncertainty. You could see all of him in that moment, the sweet young man that made you coffee at midnight, the hard worker who'd made a name for himself against all odds, and now the thoughtful, kind person he'd grown to become. The person that cared for you because of and despite your last name. Your slowly spreading smile told him his words had made it past your defenses, his hands moving to cup your face as his lips pressed softly to yours, full of hope and promise for a happy future together.

- With renewed belief in the possibility of something real with Stewy, it felt easy to start actually making plans together. Leaving the office no longer meant heading back to your apartment alone, with Stewy firmly fixed to your side, eagerly figuring out where your evening should take you. You can expect Stewy to know about every new restaurant opening, every hot new bar, your names on every list on opening night with a handshake greeting at the door from the owner.

- Knowing how difficult it can be at Roy family events, Stewy insists on being by your side for all of them, a friendly face in both yours and Ken's corner no matter how the inevitable drama plays out. More often than not he also has an excuse in his back pocket for when he realises you 'need to get called away for work' leading you to a car waiting outside to take you on an actual vacation with no family involved.

- Even though you and Stewy both have all the resources a person could ever hope for at your disposal, the nights that mean the most to you are when you just stay in, sitting on a now much more elegant balcony, but still sharing coffee and a cheap blanket as you reminisce about your youth and talk about the world you want to make happen for you both.

- Now that Stewy finally has you, he'll do anything to protect you and keep you close, knowing that the life you can make together is so much greater than the ones you could try and live apart.

#writing #fanfiction #one shot #requests #succession imagines #succession imagine #succession headcanons #succession hbo #succession #kendall roy headcanon #stewy succession #stewy x reader #stewy hosseini #kendall stewy

[elbiotipo]

[INT. WAYSTAR'S OFFICES]

[LOGAN and KENDALL are standing looking at each other, the skyline of New York behind covered in an orange tint. The scene is eerie, dreamlike.]

KENDALL

W-Why couldn't just... step aside! You fucking old bastard! Why couldn't you just fucking...

[LOGAN remains unmoving, no reaction on his face.]

KENDALL

Dad, I was good enough. I was a KILLER! I was a fucking badass, Dad! I was like... fucking Eminem on a suit. I was like... I was... (catching his breath) I did everything you wanted. Everything.

[LOGAN remains ummoving. KENDALL pauses.]

KENDALL

(yelling, broken) WHY COULDN'T YOU LOVE ME!

[KENDALL begins to strangle LOGAN. KOMM, SUSSER TODD begins to play in the background as the camera distorts]

...

[INT. WAYSTAR'S BOARDROOM]

[FRANK, GERRI, KARL and HUGO are sitting on a table, on a darkened room]

FRANK

The beginning and the end are one and the same.

GERRI

(looking at the roof) We tried. At least, I like to think we did.

FRANK

It's all up to the kids now.

KARL

I wish I was in my fucking private island.

[KARL explodes into orange LCL fluid. The others soon follow.]

...

[INT. LOGAN'S APARTMENT]

[CONNOR and WILLA are huddled under a desk, the marbled floor covered in orange liquid. The orange glow outside grows stronger, and the scene is dreamlike]

CONNOR

Willa. Nobody will know now. If you want to say you're with me for the money, you can tell me.

WILLA

Connor. I would never be with you for something as superficial as that. (pauses, with an enigmatic smile) I'm with you for the power, Mr. President.

[They laugh. CONNOR knows it's a lie. WILLA knows it's a lie. They hug and they explode into LCL.]

...

[INT. A LONELY ATN CUBICLE]

[GREG is typing maniacally at a laptop]

GREG

(unhinged)

I-I d-don't understand. No. I... I DO understand. Sorry, sorry Mom. Sorry gramps... sorry, I shouldn't have done that... I... I... I...

[a ghostly TOM materializes, hugging GREG from behind. GREG begings to cry, out of joy, perhaps.]

GREG

Tom-senpai!... senpai, senpai, senpai, senpai, senpai!

[Both GREG and TOM explode into LCL. The laptop screen reads "you can't make a Tomelette without breaking some Greggs" repeated over and over.]

...

[INT. SHIV'S AND TOM'S APARTMENT]

[SHIV is crying, apparently talking alone. The camera pans, and it's a ghostly version of herself, YOUNG SHIV, standing in front of her]

YOUNG SHIV

But Dad's still proud of us, right?

SHIV

Y-Yes, he fuck- (corrects herself, and wipes out a tear), he is.

YOUNG SHIV

And... you're happy, right?

SHIV

(crying)

I am.

YOUNG SHIV

Don't cry, then. We are happy.

[A ghosty hand takes SHIV'S hand. She looks up, and smiles, but the camera doesn't show who they are. SHIV explodes into LCL]

...

[EXT. ROMAN'S BALCONY]

[ROMAN is drinking whisky while looking at the New York skyline. THE PORTAL is growing bigger. It will soon engulf the city and then the world. ROMAN knows there's nothing he can do about it.]

[GERRI is standing next to him, leaning back on the balcony, with a little distance. They seem to have been talking for a while]

GERRI

You were afraid, Roman.

ROMAN

(scoffs). Of course I was fucking afraid! I was fucking afraid of pissing all over Dad's fucking pharaonic legacy, like his fucking pyramids. I was afraid to get fucked, I mean, I was fucking literally afraid of it. I was afraid of dying like a useless fuckboy who was born into fucking Mount Olympus and couldn't command a fucking hot-dogs and blowjobs stand!

[a long pause]

ROMAN

(sentimental)

I was always afraid.

GERRI

Not with me.

[They both stare at each other for a minute]

ROMAN

Would you have said yes?

[Gerri stares at him, her face enigmatic. Then she explodes into LCL]

ROMAN

This fucking blows. (looking up at THE PORTAL) Thank you, bro.

[ROMAN explodes into LCL]

...

[EXT. TIMES SQUARE]

[The orange glow covers the whole city. The notes of KOMM SUSSER TODD keep playing. There is a general scene of chaos as people scream and run and explode into LCL]

[THE PORTAL is glowing and growing bigger. KENDALL looks at it, with a smile, his eyes unhinged, his mind lost.]

[He reaches his arm towards it, as if trying to grasp it. He cannot close it.]

FADE OUT, CREDITS.

#succession #nge #neon genesis evangelion #I honestly believe this is either the best or the worst thing I ever posted #evangelion #cosas mias

[brookheimer]

honestly, if the shiv pregnancy plotline is done well, i feel like it would end up being kind of, like, revolutionary for female characters in prestige television? 'revolutionary' is a strong word, but even so! just... prestige television is obsessed with the whole Strong Femininity-Rejecting Career Woman archetype and it's a trope that's often been lauded as empowering, as allowing women to be complex like male characters. except... often they're not complex like male characters, they're complex as male characters in that they're treated basically like a 'complex male character' stuck into a female body. the explanation is a legitimate one: the female character rejects classical femininity. sure. the better shows will depict the lengths these women will go to be perceived as 'masculine' in order to survive, to thrive in their patriarchal world. but regardless of the show, the vast majority of Strong Female Characters are never allowed a lot of things that their male equivalents would: namely, love and sometimes family. it's like we think that if a Strong Complex Female Character falls in love or wants a relationship/a family, she's no longer a Strong Complex Female Character, she's just a Female Character. that is so incredibly detrimental! it reifies the belief that love/family/etc are inherently 'feminine' things and that inherently 'feminine' things are inherently weak, and any woman who displays 'femininity' is no more Strong or Complex than a 1950s housewife.

so for shiv, a Strong Complex Female Character who admittedly has spent the majority of the series surrounded solely by men (she's had maybe three conversations without a man present?), ensconced in the 'masculine' defense she's created for herself... for that shiv, girlboss shiv, Strong Complex Femininity-Rejecting Career Woman shiv, to get pregnant and have to reconcile the version of herself she needs to present to the world with whatever she actually is or actually wants (because frankly, we as an audience have no fucking clue what shiv wants in life outside of logan and waystar royco) and her own fear of anything remotely approximating 'femininity'... well, assuming shiv remains shiv, remains manipulative and calculating and angry and machiavellian and 'masculine' and everything else she's inherited from her last name -- everything else that makes men on the internet call her a sociopath -- while also being allowed to explore her relationship with femininity, to maybe want kids or a family because that isn't just a Woman Trope that's also just a natural human desire for connection that many people experience, to be not just the woman or the anti-woman but a fully fleshed out person... i mean. that would kind of be huge, i think.

[more under the cut! like, a lot more. be fucking warned]

really, Strong Career Women were created as the antithesis of the television housewife. the housewife displays every emotion except for anger and deeply desires love and family. therefore, the Strong Woman will display no emotion but anger or pride (because those are the only masculine emotions) and have no interest whatsoever in love and family (because men don't have interest in love and family). and that, obviously, is horseshit -- men experience the entire human spectrum of emotions and desire love and family and all of that, because that's literally just part of being a fucking human. but while prestige television frequently explores the interiority, humanity, desires and dreams, etc etc etc of their complex male characters, they very rarely do the same for their women, at least not outside of the bounds of career and/or other areas where the woman in question demonstrates her power and masculinity (such as relationship power plays). we can't explore the humanity of Strong Female Characters because then they'd show emotion and desire love and connection, which would out them as women, as housewives, not Strong Female Characters.

we think emotion and yearning deepens male characters and lessens female characters, because we 'expect' that from women but not from men. when a woman cries on television, we think 'here they go again.' when a man cries, we think it's a shocking and meaningful display of vulnerability. both in-universe of the shows and in real life, in the writer's room and beyond, Strong Complex Women are only taken seriously so long as they reject 'femininity' as much as humanly possible. Strong Complex Female Characters have to be one-note, because if they show any other notes, they stop being seen as strong or complex. their lives begin and end in the office, in the presence of men, in the persona they've created for themselves. if there is a self beyond those boundaries, we never see it. we're not allowed to. Strong Women are uniquely forbidden from those basic aspects of human life, even more so than men, i'd argue, because to display any of those qualities would be to out yourself as A Woman and prove everyone right, to lose any and all credibility you've ever gained in your entire career because now they now you've been A Woman all along. but that's not realistic, that's not human. yet because they are still women and on some level do still want to be seen as women, but that's impossible to balance with the need to be seen as a man. there are almost no female characters that are allowed to simultaneously embrace 'femininity' and desire 'feminine' things such as love and family while still prioritizing their careers, being cold and manipulative and calculating, and presenting 'masculine' in the way they handle themselves.

i'm not saying shiv has been poorly written so far, or that succession has been, like, enormously sexist by keeping a lot of her interior life private. i think in large part this has been purposeful and makes a lot of sense -- after all, shiv is notoriously most resistant when it comes to self-reflection, possibly more than anyone else; kendall obsessively introspects, roman hates it and deflects but that's largely because he already knows what he is and can't bear to be reminded of it, but shiv is... well, a little delusional at times. forcibly delusional. she has to delude not only herself but everyone else around her in order to survive as a woman in a man's world, a liberal in a conservative company, a hardcore capitalist in a bernie sanders campaign. kendall wants to be a good person but knows he isn't, roman doesn't believe it's possible for him to be a normal person let alone a good one, but shiv clings onto these label of Good Person and, i don't know, Essentially A Man, with such intensity and desperation that any actual self-reflection would literally be suicide. it would burst that bubble entirely and then what's left?

well. what IS left? because, i mean, something would be. she's still a person. she's not a robot programmed to imitate men and show no emotion or desire (god knows she's not even good at pretending). but shiv would never take that step of her own volition. she'd never just sit down and think "hm, let's actually dig into what i really want from life and from myself" -- and even if she did, she wouldn't be honest about it.

then boom. pregnancy. "oh fuck i am a woman. oh fuck what if i do want a kid and this is my only chance. oh fuck" etc etc etc. it's not reducing shiv to being a womb (crazy take, by the way) but it's actually expanding her from being the lack of one. rather than simply being a Woman with a distinct set of qualities and no contradicting ones or an Anti-Woman with the opposite set of qualities and not a hint of anything that could be construed as a former, she'd become a person. obviously, you can be a person and a woman without being pregnant or wanting kids or a family, but we don't even know what shiv wants! she hasn't allowed herself to consider it seriously, because that would be betraying her Anti-Woman Survival Method! it's not saying that pregnancy/family/etc are necessary for a full and happy life, but rather, spending your entire life terrified of showing interest in anything perceived as 'feminine' and thus weak, of showing emotion or desire or love because you know how the men in the room will receive it -- that isn't satisfying! that isn't a happy life! that's a life lived in fear, denial, and repression masked as Masculine Self-Sufficiency to such an extreme extent that men don't even do that. the only thing worse than a man displaying 'feminine' characteristics is a woman displaying 'feminine' characteristics -- the feeling men talk about when displaying emotion is the disgust, judgment, and dismissal women (particularly those trying to perform masculinity/live in masculine spheres) experience on a day-to-day basis. while a man displaying emotion is met with shame in the moment, a woman displaying emotion is seen as a confirmation of what the men around her have been thinking all along: she's weak, she's not up to it, she's a 'woman.' men can shake it off. women can't. the reason displaying emotion feels uniquely hard for men is because it's their first time being treated like a woman.

anyways. i digress. succession has been hinting at things all along -- moments that show she genuinely loves tom, the conversations with her mother, etc -- and now that throughline can actually, y'know, follow through, and it might be fucking great, guys. that's what i'm hoping for with the shiv arc -- her trying to reconcile with the fact that she's a woman, and the show using it as a way to explore the bizarre and arbitrary way we assign 'femininity' to natural aspects of human life and desire, making those things impossible for women to ever even consider wanting or earnestly caring about if they want to be seen as people rather than as capital-w Women (and what is a capital-w Woman anyways?), and just, like, idk. i think it's idiotic to act like women like shiv aren't allowed to want kids and families -- and that narrative is so deeply ingrained in society that the presumably largely female/feminist/progressive online succession fanbase has been constantly reiterating that same trope as a genuine criticism levied against the writers' decision to make shiv pregnancy!

i said in another post that this plotline feels to me like... high risk, high reward. yeah, it's high risk, it could go terribly in so many ways, but to me personally as someone who has been endlessly endlessly fascinated with the internalized misogyny within so many 'feminist' narratives and the apparent belief that strong women aren't allowed to 'act like women' if they want to continue being seen as strong, as someone who has unironically written a multitude of papers and articles on this topic for college and for journals, the reward is just SO fucking high. like, this could be a fucking GAME CHANGER. if they pull this off it might genuinely alter the way prestige media writes 'strong female characters' which is something that has been needed for years. there will always be risk in storylines as historically ridden with misogyny as pregnancy/abortion/etc narratives are, but if there's any show right now i trust to approach this with care and deftness and real thought, it's succession. if it flops, it flops, and that will genuinely suck. a lot. but even if there's only 1% chance for success, that's still, like, 0.9% more than any other show i can think of. so fuck it. full speed ahead, baby. do this shit right

#jesus motherfucking christ this was a doozy #my blog is so funny bc it's like: 1min succession shitpost (5000 notes) 234298498k word essay about a character (12 notes) #perpetually in awe of people who can be concise. that is not me but godbless #if even a single person reads this entire thing i'll eat my hat. christ #hopefullyyyyy this makes sense and has value for some people. lolol yall must think im insane huh #look i'm in bed with a fever what else am i gonna do? my work? no #whatever. might reblog later if like Really really nobody sees it bc it's 4 pm on a tuesday but meh #succession #succession spoilers #shiv roy #succession meta #i guess. honestly more like prestige television meta LOL #casey shut the fuck up about shiv roy #< new tag. have one for roman but clearly need one for shiv too #long post

[secondhand-snow]

I saw this prompt list on twitter which goes like 'reverse fake dating - everyone is convinced that you aren't actually dating' and i think this trope would go perfectly with stewy x waystar executive reader :)

no cause ur so right...

They've known each other for years and years, meeting first at her job. At the time, she'd only been an intern for Kendall, handling his meetings and proposals and whatever other bullshit he needed an extra hand with. Stewy came into the office guns blazing, immediately throwing a playful insult her way, "I didn't know Waystar was hiring college students now?" Surprisingly, she'd been able to match him without skipping a beat "Oh no, they have very high standards here. Ergo, you not having a position at the company."

The interaction begins their years of banter and faux hatred. As she moves through the ranks and begins working with shareholders more directly, Stewy doesn't hesitate to make his 'dislike' for her known. He says she's "All beauty, no brains," and "She's practically a child! Yesterday she learned her ABCs and now she's negotiating with high stakes clients. Great idea, Kendall." To the rest of the world, the pair were complete enemies. Not a day passed by when an argument didn't ensue between the two of them.

Which is why nobody believed it when Roman said he'd seen them together outside of work. The Roy swore they were at a bar that weekend, acting all buddy buddy and even holding hands. But when he couldn't provide any proof, everyone waved it off as another one of Rome's messy jokes. That is, until Kendall brought it up at a board meeting. It's an offhand comment towards her, something like "... about as real as Stewy and you dating-" trying to explain the disreputable behavior of another company. But then she responds, "What do you mean? We are."

Everything is quiet for a second after that, interrupted with Roman's "I told you so!" It takes a while to convince people, everyone believing it's some kind of practical joke you were playing together. It gets to the point where Stewy has to pull out his phone to share old photos of them, saying "Wait you didn't know? Yeah, it's been, what, five years now?" It's mind boggling for the executive team. How do two people who so publicly hate each other actually be deeply in love? She tells everyone it's just their sense of humor, says she can't believe they didn't pick up on the comedy in their teasing.

Kendall says "You- you literally called him a dick during the meeting yesterday!" But she only responds "Mhm. I called him a dick last night too."

#stewy hosseini #snow's drabbles #requests #succession

[akajustmerry]

curious what you think the finale might hold for Roman after this week's episode. Love your Roman thoughts <3

thanks ❤️ I truly reckon roman might be headed for some sort of hospitalisation? he's definitely filled the spot of kendall this season since kendall has taken on the roll of logan. I think (hope!!) these shots are of roman getting the help he needs somewhere.

like all the roys, I think he will get what he deserves but not what he wants, and what roman has always wanted is for his family to be together. but that's not going to happen when kendall ousts him and shiv one way or another.

something I've always felt very strongly about with roman is that he absolutely hates the ceo work and waystar. he likes winning at it, he likes it when he's good at it, occasionally he even likes the people, but the work itself he absolutely hates. but he's never got to really do anything else, partly because Logan probably never really let him and partly because roman loves his family and the family is the business. gilded cage shit, etc.

so with all that in mind, what I think will happen is that, however it's sliced between the board and kendall, roman will be outed from waystar. even if he isn't directly, the betrayal and division kendall is expecting roman to do to shiv is not something he's ever been capable of. but regardless of whether roman goes through with betraying shiv, Kendall will throw roman under the bus if it means getting the crown. either way, roman loses both his siblings which is the ultimate loss for him because they are his life. BUT what he wins is freedom from waystar, freedom from the cage he's been in his whole life.

now in the darkest version of this theory, I think it's possible roman tries to kill himself at the end. I've always said he has nothing without the world his father built and he's not exactly a person with a strong sense of self. maybe the last we see of Roman is him considering suicide or attempting it. I don't like this theory much honestly I think it's me projecting if I'm honest, but I can't fully rule it out given Roman's history of self-sabotage and what we saw him like last week.

in the lighter version of my projected ending, he just leaves waystar behind and we don't get to know who roman is after that. this kinda makes more sense to me because 1) kieran said he was really shocked to learn it was the last season which tells me he expected roman to continue beyond the episode so ie he's not dead and 2) the show is called succession and we've never been privvy to any of these people's lives outside of that central question. so it certainly won't start to show us at the end. he will leave, gain that freedom, but it will cost the togetherness he always wanted and then we cut to black. that's the ending I ultimately expect. the only other expectation I have is that I will miss him very much 🥺

tldr: Roman will win, but lose as all the sibs will. He will be freed from Waystar (the cage), made to walk away, but that freedom will cost roman his siblings, and the hope he's always held they could be together.

#roman roy #kieran culkin #succession #succession spoilers #i hope this makes sense!

[gemsofthegalaxy]

Also From Eden is SUCH a tomgreg loving corruption song like....

"Babe, there's something tragic about you something so magic about you" feels like Tom first seeing Greg in that hospital when he was trying to get that job. Both tragic, sad, and full of potential.

"Something so lonesome about you Something so wholesome about you get closer to me" they both noticed this about each other, that they were outsiders, lonely guys. As well, Tom could see all Greg's hesitation about really dipping his feet into Waystar- the conversation about "principles" was entirely this, Tom telling him he couldn't stay wholesome if he wanted to become rich. Get closer to him.

"Honey, you're familiar like my mirror years ago Idealism sits in prison Chivalry fell on his sword Innocence died screaming Honey, ask me, I should know" In my opinion, Tom clearly sees that Greg is a lot like him. Ambitious, lonely, strange, hungry for something, but he lacks direction and finesse. And Tom is insinuated to have a stronger moral compass than he lets on as well, but he knows it has no place in their work and he gets rid of it. Special extra shout-out, "Idealism sits in prison", if he had went the idealistic way, they indeed might have landed in prison. Sure, he also could have gone public, and maybe become a whistle-blower and lost all his progress in the business world.

Finally: "I slithered here from Eden, just to sit outside your door" In 3x09 they frame Greg agreeing to follow Tom's lead and rise to the bottom of the top with him as a "deal with the devil" and the "selling of his soul".

Tom is the snake, and Greg is Eve willingly, eagerly taking a bite out of his apple.

#fucking love snake imagery with tg #tomgreg #also tom creating greg like god created adam. on the flipside.

[stewykablooey]

do you think stewy and kendall would've been as good of friends or as close as they are if they met later in life?

ooh a part of me wants to vehemently say no because definitely the strongest aspect of their relationship is their shared history/how long they’ve known each other, but also. i dont even mean to be a sap about this i mean this pragmatically but. i think the intrinsic thing that drew them to each other in the first place would draw them to each other again.

waystar is still one of the biggest companies in the world so there’s no way their paths wouldn’t have crossed anyway; i can imagine stewy would have heard of kendall or met him a few times and honestly genuinely been intrigued and into the shitshow awkward false charm that kendall puts out. i dont think he would be invested into fighting tooth and nail to save him from his doomed pursuit of his fathers’ empire, but i think they’d genuinely get along. also, they’re friends outside of the shared history because they genuinely like each other, its set up in the show to show us that they have a lot of the same interests (cocaine, being cringey at rap concerts, etc) so, no it wouldn’t the childhood friend gay tragic romance that it is, and maybe they wouldn’t be close in that same way, but i’d imagine they’d still become good friends.

#don’t underestimate stewy’s complete lack of rational thought when it comes to kendall #in a show about being doomed by the narrative stewy is doomed unfortunately to love kendall #thats the underlying current here. i dont think much could get in the way of it lol #kenstewy #ask #anon #m

[lyinginthesnow]

the way the story concluded for the roy siblings is interesting to me in terms of .. the tragedy of it all.

like, to the viewer, kendall’s ending seems like freedom! We’re used to talking about waystar like it’s a cage, and the CEO position like it’s a curse that turns you into a carbon copy of logan, and “getting out” like the best outcome. But kendall doesn’t see it that way. He WANTS to be in the cage. He doesn’t know how to live outside it. to understand the devastation that has descended over him, we have to contradict ourselves: we have to want him to stay in that cage too. we don’t agree with that goal, but on some level we have to root for him achieving it, so we can be crushed along with him when he fails. and to the viewer, roman’s ending is also a form of freedom! he never really wanted CEO, he just wanted to want it, and now he’s released from that expectation! he has escaped that world of bullshit! but he doesn’t see it that way. all he knows is proof of his own weakness and the emptiness of everything that was supposed to matter. to understand roman’s tragedy, we have to contradict ourselves: we have to see his inability to model himself after his father as a FAILURE, just like he does, so we can feel the shame and alienation along with him. and to the viewer, shiv’s ending is: she’s stuck in the cycle! attached to the company forever! she’s been reduced to a wife and womb of the male CEO! but shiv doesn’t see it that way (or at least, not exactly). while we’re upset that she stayed in the cage, she’s upset that she can’t get FURTHER INSIDE IT. to her, the tragedy is that she failed to achieve the top job, and she must submit to those who have wronged her, going through someone else (a man, her husband) to retain even a sliver of power, a sliver of access. so to understand shiv’s suffering, we have to contradict ourselves: we must mourn the loss of that coveted place in the centre of the cage where she desires to be, but where tom is now sitting. the tragedy is not just what happened to these characters. it’s how they view what happened to them, too.

the situations of the roy siblings are not very relatable to the average viewer. we generally disagree with a lot of their beliefs and values. so i dunno i think it’s like… a study in empathy, almost, to require the viewer to put aside their own perspective in order to understand the tragedy of these characters. and maybe what im saying is ridiculous, idk man, and maybe you could say the same about many tragic stories, but i think it’s especially true here. it’s not simple. these characters didn’t die. they didn’t lose all their money. but they lost things that, in their incredibly warped worldview, mean the whole world. the show spent four seasons teaching us to understand that.

#this post is inspired by my dad lol because i watched the finale with him — and he said ‘it’s not THAT sad. kendall has more money than #most people could ever dream of. and now he isn’t obligated to run a dying media conglomerate. he can do whatever he wants.’ #.. and i was like .. well. that’s technically not wrong. except that it IS that sad. kendall’s probably suicidal because TO HIM this is the #worst thing that could possibly happen. #kendall roy #roman roy #shiv roy #succession #ruby (unfortunately) watches succession

[eternally-smitten]

Drabblecember - A Walk Outside

pairing: Natalie x Roman Roy

summary: The couple take a walk outside and run into some friends (featuring a cameo from @kylars-princess)

word count: 825

author's note: two Roman pieces in a week...guess I'm trying to make up for almost forgetting about him!

“Ugh, this sucks!” Roman complained, rubbing his gloved hands together, “Why did you convince me to do this again?”

“What, spend time with me?” Natalie’s glasses were starting to fog up from her hot breath and the cold air, “I didn’t realize you hated me that much, Rome.”

He dramatically sighed, “That is not what I am saying and you know it, you fucking piss pot.”

When it finally stopped snowing out, Natalie had the grand idea to take a walk outside. She mentioned how she used to love walking around in the winter weather as a kid and she wanted to relive that. Roman begrudgingly agreed, not wanting to have her walking around by herself. As soon as the freezing wind hit his face, though, he immediately regretted it.

“I’m freezing my tits off out here.” He continued to whine, “I feel like my nose has fuckin’ fallen off at this point.”

“Fine!” She stopped in her place and glared at him, “We can go back! Jeez, didn’t think you’d hate it this much!”

Roman felt a little bad after she said that. To make up for it, he snuck his hand in her pocket to pull out her hand, locking his fingers with hers, “Maybe we don’t have to turn around just yet. I mean, there has to be a cafe somewhere with hot coffee.”

“We have coffee at home.”

“Yeah, and?”

“You were just griping about how miserable you were out here!”

His face scrunched up in a sneer, “Do you want me to be nice and enjoy this with you or not?”

Even though he was acting incensed by his girlfriend, Roman still held on to her hand tightly. Almost as if he was worried he would lose her with the wind. They eventually continued their walk, still hand in hand, desperately looking for a warm cafe so that he could warm up.

“Roman! Nat!”

The pair whipped their heads around to see who was calling out to them and were surprised to find Greg and Lenore. Lenore was waving frantically at them while Greg awkwardly smiled. Against his will, Natalie tugged Roman towards them to visit and say hi.

Lenore squealed and let go of Greg to envelope Natalie in a great big hug, “I didn’t expect to see you guys today!”

“How’s it uh, going, Roman?” Greg rubbed the back of his neck.

Roman gave an unamused hum, “Cold. You?”

Cousin Greg uncomfortably giggled, “Ye-Yeah, me too.”

Lenore and Natalie were too busy chatting to notice how unnatural the men acted around each other. They were so invested in their conversation that the world around them basically melted. The pair of friends talked about anything that could pop into their heads, not even paying attention to the cold. The latest book Natalie read, a new video game that they were both interested in playing, plans for the winter, the worst movie they just watched recently, anything.

“They’re uh, you know.” Greg tried to initiate a conversation so that he didn’t have to stand in silence, “They’re cute. Especially when they’re all ex-excited like that.”

“Mm hmm,” He didn’t listen to him. He was captured with how excited Natalie was when talking with Lenore.

She has always been a passionate individual. It was one of the first things that drew Roman to her. The way her eyes lit up when one of them mentioned something she was interested in made him feel warm for the first time since they stepped outside. 

“Did-Did you hear me?” Greg asked, wanting an actual answer from Roman, “I said they’re-”

“Yeah, I heard you, fucknuts.” He spat, irritated that Greg pulled him from his thoughts. He then cleared his throat and responded, “They are, aren’t they? Who knew Waystar was a match maker’s paradise?”

He relaxed his shoulders a bit, happy that Roman finally seemed to kind of warm up to him today, “Yeah! Kinda crazy.”

Despite how much she was enjoying herself, Roman could see Natalie visibly shivering in the chilly weather. He stepped forward to wrap his arm around her shoulder and pull him to her for warmth before saying, “Well, looks like we need to get you warm, hmm? How lovely it was to see you two.”

“Rome!” She pressed herself against him to feel closer, “Don’t be a dick.”

“What? I’m being sincere!”

“Oh, sorry. I’m not used to that.”

Lenore and Greg snickered at that.

“Okay, asshole. Freeze! See if I care.” He joked, pulling away slightly.

Natalie grabbed his arm to make him stay put, “I’m joking, I’m joking!”

The two couples said their goodbyes and went their separate ways to seek some warmth. Roman walked with his arm around her shoulders the whole way home, which was surprising for the both of them. He started to regret all the complaining he did before because now, he was almost sad their walk outside together was about to end.

#my stuff ♡ #⸝⸝⊂➜ corporate flirt ⊃⸝⸝ #self ship fanfiction #ok to rb! #drabblecember #drabblecember2023

[ezlebe]

Very specific, but golfer tom x golf caddy greg

Tom peeks his head into the rental office, raising a brow and immediately finding Greg perturbed at the counter. He purses his lips and shoulders his own bag, approaching in long strides to attempt to head off what looks to be a building snit.

"I-I don’t understand,” Greg says, putting his hand out on the counter with a slight tilt to his head. “You don’t… None? But I - I’m like with the company?”

“I apologize, sir,” the attendant says, steadily and to their credit keeping eye contact with Greg about a foot and a half above them. “But, yes, all of our gear for anyone of… your height has been already rented.  We usually have at least six bags for anyone over six and a half feet, but… a few players from a local basketball team have – ”

Greg looks over to Tom, as the diatribe continues, eyes big and mouth set in that pouting face like he thinks Tom can somehow stop a starting line of the Miami Heat occupying the same golf course. It’s really fixing up to be a long day.

“We’ll make do,” Tom says, leaning forward past Greg’s shoulder and waving off the concern of the attendant. He pastes on a bright smile, forcibly turning Greg away from the counter with a shove at his elbow. “Thanks for looking – can’t be easy outfitting gaggles of slendermen, hah!”

“But – ” Greg protests, looking over his shoulder.

“Come on,” Tom says, between gritted teeth, feeling a bit less delicate and curving his hand to yank. “Let’s just go outside.”

Greg drags his feet all the way out the door, out onto the green, until they’re standing with the rest of the little Waystar cabal next to a row of carts. He exhales a quiet huff through his nose that’s really his version of snorting like a bull. “I am being discriminated against, Tom.”

“…I know, bud,” Tom says, quiet and a bit patronizing, as he pats Greg lightly between the shoulders. “But this is perhaps the most first world problem version you can get of that.”

“Hah!” Roman says, when his shaded eyes glance over, sneering and ever unhelpful, leaning forward while waving a finger. “They don’t even make clubs for you, do they?”

“They do, but they – ” Greg leans back into a cart, as he reaches up to scratch tetchy under his chin. “They’re out.”

“Oh, ‘they’re out’,” Roman mocks, widely rolling his eyes, as he settles back on his heels. “Sure, yeah, that’s a thing. They have like forty of everything in there.”

“A group from the Heat are playing today,” Tom interjects, as chirpy as he can, and watches Roman visibly attempt to determine what the Heat even are in bewildered glances at Greg, and then around them. “If we’re lucky, we might catch up.”

“Sounds fun,” Kendall interjects, very quietly, very ineffectually trying to help diffuse the argument.

A staff member approaches in a jaunty yellow polo, with a similarly donned teenager just behind them. A hand points toward Tom, then his bag, “Maurice, you’ll be – ”

“No, that’s alright,” Tom interrupts, waving off the caddy, then turning his palm toward his side where Greg is looking ridiculously large next to the cart he’s using to prop up his sulk. “Thanks, but Greg here is my caddy.”

Roman cackles like a cartoon character, thudding into Kendall’s side and near totally upending him.

“What?” Greg says, eyes darting over and growing wide, mouth flattening with a deepening sullen mood. “Tom, I can’t – ”

Tom turns into the cart and leans in closer, lifting a hand to count out his argument  out on his fingers. “We get our own cart, we don’t deal with the fucking idiots, we can go at our pace, and we don’t have to put up with the unwanted company.”

Greg glances at the cart next to him, then once again sighs hard and petulant through his nose. “Fine.”

“You’re just going to be modeling Ralph Lauren on the green, anyway,” Tom says, sharply, then he glances toward the others settling in with their caddies and carts ahead of them. “I’ll let you drive.”

“Um, obviously,” Greg says, rolling his head against his shoulder with a sweeping, sullen glance to the side. “…The caddy is supposed to drive.”

“Caddy is supposed to drive.” Tom leans forward with a cartoonish lilt at the tip of his tongue, “You don’t know what that means, Gregory.”

Greg drops his head with a curl of his lips around his teeth, badly hiding a reluctant smile.

The carts wind down the path at a sedate pace to the first hole overlooking a piece of sandy beach on one side. It overlooks most of the course on the other, copses of trees and boggy marshes interspersed, and Tom steps out of the cart to watch as Matsson steps up to go first. He’s dressed a bit like Scrooge McDuck, like this is all a joke about the Roy family, and… Tom has honestly got to respect him a bit for it.

Greg leans into the roof of the cart, quietly observing, then harshly clears his throat when Kendall steps up to choose what unlucky corner of the green to fling his ball.  “Could you, like… at least tell me how to play?”

“Sure,” Tom says, reaching back and pulling out a club, sliding his hand along the length of it, as Greg looks on with eager, honest interest. “First thing you need to know: it’s not a sport, no matter what your whisky-slogging, ginger-tight-and-curlied ancestors want you to think, and that anything eighty-year-olds still in corporate offices consider exercise is nothing more than a joke.”

Greg looks startled for a beat then covers his mouth with his whole palm to cover an evident choke of laughter.

“Second thing is that the bigger the numbers are, the more you suck,” Tom says, swinging over the iron and pointing at Frank, who’s badly acting as some human wall between the Roys and Matsson’s new team, but keeping his eyes on Greg while he clicks his tongue. “It’s like bowling, but shittier.”

“Okay?” Greg says, tightly, through the space of his fingers.

“Third thing, now this is the most important one: we’re in Miami, so maybe we’ll find an alligator.”

Greg raises his brows, hand pausing it’s constant knock at the edge of the cart. “That would be kind of cool.”

“It would be,” Tom says, as he swings the putter back and forth at the green around them. “So be on the lookout – I think we can feed Rome to it.”

Greg drops his hand, fingers tapping up and down the low dash of the cart. “So… I didn’t know you hated golf?”

“It’s a waste of space in a place that’s already a theme park,” Tom says, sliding the putter back into the back with a wide eye roll toward the very nice beach that does not deserve this sort of clientele. “We could be in a damned dark ride, right now, or a roller coaster, or a fucking zoo – imagine how much better of an experience that would be, Greg.”

“That’s true, I guess,” Greg agrees, nodding a few times, the tipping his head with a sweeping kind of blink. “The, um… The Doderick boat ride in Buffalo is where I had my first like actual kiss with a guy.”

Tom raises his brows high up his forehead, looking over while feeling a grin stretch across his mouth. “You’re fucking adorable,” he says, rolling his head against his shoulder with a low chuckle. “Smuggling someone over the border to make out in front of cartoon dogs – did you tell him one day you’d own the place.”

Greg visibly bites his tongue and ducks his head. “No.”

“Liar, you totally did,” Tom says, turning to better face Greg and crossing his arms over the roof of the cart. “I know you.”

“I like maybe implied –”

Tom breaks into a crowing laugh.

“Shut up!” Roman shrieks from his place at the tee.

“Pick one,” Tom says, as it becomes clear he is up next and can hang back no longer.

Greg looks wide-eyed down at the bag, “Um.”

“I literally do not care,” Tom says, keeping his voice low and a bit patronizing, nodding down at the bag while pretending to point between all the clubs with a finger. “Eenie-meenie.”

“Uh,” Greg pulls out the 3-hybrid, offering it with a hesitant wag.

Tom quirks a brow, staring at it, then tuts lowly while snatching it from his hand. “Thank you, oh, wise caddy-daddy.”

Greg rolls his eyes with a tight sigh and a peek toward their huddled, bickering company.

“I see you’ve been watching your cousins, rather than listening to my wisdom,” Tom says, turning the club around in his hand, which is the same the others had used and probably the best choice, though he’s tried his best over the years to learn only enough to hustle he can play. “Absolutely unbelievable.”

He walks up to put a tee on the green and ignores the jeers about his posture, and a low voiced and sneering correction from Kendall, as he swings the club. It flies and plops to roughly the same positions as the others, he thinks, and it’s confirmed to be perhaps better by a thoughtful look from Matsson, a clap on the shoulder from Frank, and the snide mutter and slump by Roman. He’s a little annoyed by it, honestly.

The next hour or so continues the same way, winding their way through the waste of a field, catching zero alligators in the boggy areas, and Greg frustratingly refusing to give him a bad club. He scowls, as he officially comes up on a respectable par to the fifth hole, and turns on Greg while putting his hands on his hips.

“You’re fucking frustrating, Sporus,” he says, marching to the side of the cart, as Greg hooks the bag in the back.

Greg blinks widely in that wolf cub-eyes under sheep’s wool way. “Why?”

“You know exactly why,” Tom says, slumping into the cart with a swap out against Greg’s arm with the back of his hand. “I gave you this to fuck it up, and you know that, so you’re perfectly caddying for me. You’re chronically fucking contrary.”

“It’d be sort of cool if you won?” Greg says, steering the cart around behind the others, as they whir along the path. “Yeah?”

Tom stares with a slow narrowing of his eyes, then waits until the cart slows its roll before throwing up a hand. “Winning golf.”

Greg is quiet for a pair of beats. “It’s still winning?”

“I’m not going to win,” Tom says, breaking into a scoffing sort of laugh, feeling his face twist up with a flat, condescending gesture over the cart, after he stands up from it. “I’m letting you down now. I am not available for a proxy victory at this time.”

Greg sighs hard through his nose with a slump.

Tom watches the others putt their balls closer and closer to five, sneaking peeks sideways out the corner of his eye. He clears his throat, looking totally away from Greg before he can find a reason to swallow his next question. “Have you heard of Fantasia, Greg?”

“…Like, yeah? The Disney movie,” Greg says, bemused, with a thunk on top of the cart that is probably his other hand. “Why?”

“Well,” Tom says, drawing out his voice, peeking sideways for a beat and seeing with some satisfaction that he has got Greg’s full, undivided attention. “The benefit of having to do commercial instead of private flights… is we can take a little quick detour downstate to a real park.”

“What, um – ?” Greg wets his lips, glancing toward his family with a quick blink, lowering his voice, “Could we?”

“Mmhm,” Tom says, leaning into the cart with his knee against the approximation of a hood. “Where I could be tempted to spare some interest in overengineered fucking mini-golf, which seems way more up your particular novelty-hoarding alley than this waste of space actual fairway, if you just would stop pouting.”

Greg drums his fingers loudly, eagerly against the cart. “Oh?”

“Does that sound acceptable?” Tom asks, looking away from Greg and raising his brows with a shallow nod across the grass where Matsson gestures for him to go up next.

“Yeah, yes,” Greg says, nodding, shifting his weight foot to foot, all but dancing at the suggestion. “Could we do Epcot?”

“Trying to snag a little nookie beneath the dulcet tones of Figment?” Tom makes a half-hearted swipe toward the bag, curling his fingers to gesture for Greg to hand him a club. “Just don’t tell your cousins, or they’ll fucking crash it like a frat conference in the same resort as a fifty thousand dollar wedding reception.”

Greg peers into the bag and yanks out a putter, which is a little disappointing; he’s still refusing to play into sabotaging Tom’s game for him. “I’m like really excited now.”

Tom snatches away the putter, as Greg hands it to him, then points with it as he walks backward toward his ball. “I have great ideas.”

#tomgreg #short and not the prompt #also im a total dick about golf