Blind Strickler AU

Ok I am totally expanding this au because I have not been able to get it out of my head so here you have much more material from the blind Walter Strickler

strickler lost his sight in 1917 since then he has an album with photos of him throughout the years in the hope that if he ever manages to regain his sight he can see how he looked

he met barbara because they both collided once on the street she apologized and offered to buy him a coffee it was not until a week later that strickler discovered that she was the mother of his favorite student

He has very good aim, he is still quite good at throwing knives although nobody knows how he manages to hit the target and he will take the secret to the grave

Somehow I manage to have a good friendship with blinky

I had no idea what Jim and Barbara looked like until they mentioned it themselves

Thanks to his improved senses, having lost his sight did not affect him as much.

Otto and nomura helped him when bular blinded him otto helps him learn to use a cane and nomura to train

Otto, nomura and strickler are friends in this and they are that trio of quite chaotic friends

Strickler is the oldest, Otto is the middle one and Nomura is the youngest

Once in the 1950s Otto and Strickler were arrested because of Nomura

Strickler hates getting drunk because his senses are affected

After the eternal night he convinced merlin to give him a potion similar to the one he gave to jim to become human

Because of this, his senses were no longer so good, and Barbara convinced him to get a guide dog which she named Hermes.

Parallels and contrasts between Stan and Bill in the new book and website

Aka miscellaneous thoughts that I'm too lazy to condense into something comprehensible– what you see is what you get folks! (Book stuff, DVD commentaries! The website that came out when I was trying to write this out and is now making me pull my hair out! But in like a good way? That god damn poem!)

not necessarily same coin stuff but I sure am thinking about it.

It’s been said that a large part of Ford’s relationships with Bill, Fiddleford and Dipper was him trying to fill a hole that his estrangement with Stan had left, with none of them clicking in that same way. Dipper was directly compared to Fiddleford as someone who was completely charmed by Ford but is ultimately too anxious of a person to properly deal with the life he's offering nor pull him back when he starts going too far. Meanwhile, Bill is more analogous to Stan but to the extreme with all the doubts that Ford had been fed about Stan (that he was using him, he never grew up, he betrayed him, sabotaged the machine on purpose) turning out to be exactly true with Bill.

The book has Bill saying flat out that Ford wanted the charisma Bill had and then shows that at the peak of Ford's loneliness he was being envious of Stan's charisma, social skills and hands.

Parallels And Contrasts Between Stan And Bill In The New Book And Website

[STANLEY COULD HAVE MADE HER LAUGH]

(There’s an irony that Stan always thought that Ford was the popular twin even after doing embarrassing stuff like the kissing machine – if you haven’t seen the Swine Before Time Stan commentary get going, it’s great)

Then Bill swoops in with jokes and endless encouragement and the nickname only Stan used for him, all this in a way tailored for Ford to immediately like him while also reminding him of Stan but "better."

(The show rarely used it but Bill’s use of Sixer is extremely frequent in Journal 3 alone but the comics solidify it as being a pretty personal childhood nickname that kid!Stan used as his default way to call Ford.)

And then you see all of this working because Ford straight up writes Bill’s words using Stan's handwriting (and it turns out that Ford’s capital letter ‘for emphasis/angry’ font in general is the same as Stan’s handwriting too)

(It’s important to note that this is different from all the fonts that Bill uses for himself!)

All of this leads to the deja vu of Ford getting stabbed in the back by someone he was codependent on over a machine he thought was going to change his life for the better

Other things in the book that I’ve seen others point out and noticed myself:

Bill trying to reinforce that Ford would be alone without him, and threatening to tell Stan that Ford never loved him but the first thing Stan does in his letter is tell Ford that he loves him with their childhood code

Stan also only uses ‘Sixer’ in his letter when he normally tends to use a mix of nicknames post-Weirdmaggedon (sure it’s only twice but idk I find it noticeable)

Stan ripped a dollar in half when Bill taunted the reader earlier about how they wouldn’t do that

The promo photo vs the one in the book, Ford’s face being untouched vs Stan’s. While I initially interpreted this as “Bill’s book being a way to torment Ford” and then “him ending up having a meltdown at the thought of Stan”, the new poem kinda gives off an ominous vibe of "him moving on to focus on Stan instead whether he wants to or not"

Ford writing “miss you” in the bro code soon after arriving at Backupsmore which is shown in the Fiddleford photo, then Bill taunting Ford that he misses him

Bill and Stan now have another parallel of losing everything because of a genuine mistake but only Stan was willing to work to make up for it while Bill doubled down and became far far worse

The utter hatred Bill has for Stan being able to win in the end and get back his family

Both of them being institutionalized, with Stan’s mentioned in Guide to Mystery and Nonstop Fun (which has references to Bill liking Mabel for her chaos, silly straws, etc. Also Dipper basically came up with the Author theory but slightly wrong from theorising about the ink blot like a year before the Ford reveal)

(saturn devouring his son perfectly depicts my emotions when reaching this part of the book)

(EDIT: I was thinking about how Bill giving Ford three days to open the portal striked me as odd for some reason... and then I remembered;

Stan gave Mabel 3 days for their bet as well. Both of them specifically say 72 hours too.)

And now for the stuff we know from the website:

Bill having severe family issues with daddy issues implied since only his mum is mentioned directly with her trying to comfort him as a kid vs Stan having severe family issues with a definite focus on his dad while his mum was the only one to ask about Stan during that meeting with the principal and her being the only one to show up to his funeral

Both of them wear their dad’s hat despite of all of this

Bill starting a billion cults and has a lawyer called Multilevel Mark, Stan having his Scientology-esque cult being shot down by irl Disney and as a kid having his “technically a pyramid scheme” comic being shot down by a publisher

(I doubt that Stanentology would’ve gotten far but also you can see that a trend that the main way Bill gathers followers is by reading minds and revealing secrets only the victim would know, so let's hope that Disney-let-him-start-a-cult AU Stan never gets mind reading abilities)

Despite how we know how Stan is traumatised as hell from losing Ford, it’s noticeably isn’t referred directly in the Wheel of Shame (like you can’t tell me that the time between pushing Ford into the portal and starting the Shack isn’t as rock bottom as it gets, Bill literally recognises Stan in the first place by thinking about his brand). This probably is because Bill knows that they managed to repair their relationship and he’s fucking pissed about it.

There's further parallels between Stanley and Bill in poem; with lies and redemption and home, and further association with fire for the both of them

“Saw his own dimension burn.

Misses home and can't return.”

“Always dragged his family down.

One mistake, disowned, denied,

Only thing to do was hide.”

“One way out: the open road.

Reinvent, retry, reload.

A girdle, eyepatch, fathers fez,

"I'm a new man!" so he says”

“One way to absolve his crime.

A different form, a different time”

“His big break, it finally came,

Redemption from a life of shame.”

“Says he's happy. He's a liar.”

“Truth is just whatever sells.

When you've lost track of your lies,”

“Lie until you aren’t lying anymore”

Bill in a rotting corpse of a snake oil salesman

This triangle can fit so much self-loathing projection while being a hater

(Also it's funny that Bill is so insistent that Ford had to be the one who came up with the plan

Like look at this

See ‘em cogs turning in Stan’s head while Ford has clearly given up hope)

“How dare he dress up fancy when his jokes suck!!”

There's a parallel of Ford projecting onto Dipper in a way that makes him feel like kindred spirits with his nephew but Stan projects on Dipper in a way that causes him to be more harsh even if he has good intentions. Meanwhile Bill projects onto Ford in a more positive light in comparison to Stan, who in this case Bill wants to rip him and himself into shreds whenever he thinks of the guy. Bill’s shared love for fun/chaos with Mabel (despite them being so different at their core) is why he likes her the most out of all the Pines but that doesn’t stop him from trying to murder her (although I think most folks don’t know about that interview where Alex was like “yeah, I think Bill would’ve burnt Ford alive the moment he got the equation, he’s done playing with his toys at that point”)

Other tidbits:

I find it interesting that the full version of the Wheel of Shame has blue sparks and fades to grey scale (which automatically reminded me of his mindscape)

Stan signing off as Stanley in the book – this ain’t anything huge to chew on I'm just very over emotional about this… but also there’s Bill being called Billy by his family/in the codes

Ford thinking of Stan as childish/someone who never grew up and then we get hit by “yeah Ford always had some part of himself stuck at 18” oof

Ford underestimating Stan’s control over the mindscape, not knowing that he’s able to hide memories in Dreamscaperers, manipulate the layout of his mindscape enough to trick Bill and memory!Stan telling Dipper how to use the mindscape which Bill was genuinely surprised by

I'm headcanoning that Stan doing so bad at that history test is due to some latent bs from what Bill knows which is all crazy conspiracy level stuff

I think it's also intensely funny that all of the Pines promise that they'll murder Bill if they ever see him again and then they immediately turn to Stan and go “now it's your turn to write a letter! :D!!”

(I feel like the main requirement that the Theraprism has for Bill before he can reincarnate is mainly acknowledging his family idk which honestly would fit even better if his soul becomes Stan’s)

EDIT: I FORGOT TO MENTION THE OUROBOROS PASSWORD (or... uh oroborous which is a typo when theres a suspicious amount on the site which may mean somethng but i digress) anyway that leads to the Shack Axolotl lore where it bluntly states that Ford released it despite it showing up 30 years later anyway

and theres....

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pashfoxx

3 years ago

Elements AU

Pre-hotchreid

Before reading, I want to say that this is the first work that I publish, and that it has more than a thousand words, also that my first language is not English and that I am sorry for any misspelling

you can know some more things about this au here

Fire and ice have always been considered polar opposites.

But people are wrong are not polar opposites. In fact they are quite close.

Aaron hotchner was born into an upper middle class family, his father was a renowned lawyer, and although his element was air, the man was cold as ice, with hurtful and icy words. And an even worse right hook. Aaron always believed that man should never have been a father.

Finally when Aaron was fourteen years old, the fury and helplessness that he felt towards his father for every blow and kick he received from him. He turned too much, a blast of fire breaking through from his forearms, with which he had been trying to cover himself from the blows. The flames burned his father's hand, Aaron opened his eyes, and saw his father grab his right hand, which was red and with what Aaron believed could be second and third degree burns, Aaron heard his father murmur a "bloody monster" Before leaving the room, at a hurried pace. Aaron got up feeling strangely good, the pain that he felt in his body did not matter to him, in return a sick feeling of satisfaction lodged in his chest, when he saw how his father had fled.

It was not until the next morning that Aaron finally understood how much things had changed after that night, The fire was not good, it was destructive, dangerous and unreliable, a week after what happened, Aaron was on his way to boarding school far from Virginia.

Over time, Aaron learned to never use or say the element of him, because then, people would walk away, just like all the people who had known.

The years passed and finally there are only ashes of that teenager fearful of his father, in return this Hotch is serious and stoic, who made his way through the court and the FBI as if he were a bullet, Hotch who only needed to snap his fingers to be able to create magnificent flames, but also very dangerous. Although Hotch has never used them. Because at the end of the day Hotch is just a forest fire, a forest that burns itself.

He hates it.

Spencer Reíd is the son of a literature teacher, who is also a paranoid schizophrenic. When Spencer was ten years old his father abandoned them, after that Spencer barely managed to earn enough money to keep him and his mother alive, and to buy some of his mother's expensive medications.

That coupled with the fact that Spencer was a Genius in a las vegas public school, just complicates everything.

Things got worse when the soccer team tried to strip him naked, and tie him to the goalpost. Spencer only remembered closing his eyes tightly and thinking that he wanted that to end no matter how, when he opened his eyes again, everything was covered in ice the football team with frost all over his body the rope in the captain's hand completely frozen. Spencer didn't think twice, she grabbed his shirt and bag and then ran out of the place.

Spencer had read all about the elements, he knew that the people who controlled the ice, along with the people who controlled the fire, were the minority in society. Spencer had learned the hard way, that people hated people with the element of ice. Ever since he awakened the element of him he had been accused of having no feelings, having little empathy and occasionally being a psychopath. Did people know that he misused the term?

Things really got better for Spencer, when he met Jason Gideon, and later he joined the FBI. In the FBI they were not obliged to tell the element of him, of course this was in the file of each agent, but you were not obliged to tell your element to another agent if you did not want to. Spencer really appreciated it, because the people of the water element avoided him like the plague when he found out that he controlled ice.

This was how he ended up creating a three-step plan so that no one would find out, number one, avoid physical contact, his body temperature could become below zero, it was practically a miracle that no frost formed on his body, number two, be careful with liquids, you still have problems so that they do not freeze when you touch them, and number three, never use your element.

And everything was going well he had friends, for the first time since college, of course he still missed Elle but he still has Gideon. But then the Hankel case happens.

Nothing is good anymore. Gideon left, he only left him a letter, but that does not prevent it from hurting less, the man abandoned him just like his father.

This in the bathroom he just injected dilaudid, he probably missed the dose because he does not feel his legs and everything is blurry.

He can't go on like this anymore. This will kill him, he doesn't want to die, not even at least. With shaky legs he got up off the ground. A single thought in his head.

He must get rid of the dilaudid.

The next seven days are like hell on earth.

When the worst of the withdrawal is over, Spencer forces herself to go back to work, she still had a few days off, but staying in his apartment hasn't helped her stop thinking about the dilaudid. His hands have a slight tremor, and his control over his element has diminished, causing him to freeze the odd thing in his path.

Spencer has probably been trying to complete this file for a little more than half an hour, she knows that Morgan and Prentiss have already noticed, but Spencer prefers to ignore the worried looks that they both give her, her eyes wander to the pencil in her hand, Note how the frost has completely spread over it, and is starting to do the same with the file.

Spencer quickly gets up from his desk, he can't allow that to continue happening, no matter how he just wants it to stop, he's fed up with not even being able to complete his paperwork, enters the bathrooms, and goes to the sink that you always use it, just touch it, it starts to fill with frost, you want it to stop, it doesn't matter how, you just want it to stop.

Reid had always intrigued Hotch. Since he met him, the young man had attracted him, there was something about Spencer, that caught Hotch's attention. At first Aaron worried that someone as young as Reid would see such bloody scenes, like the ones Aaron had seen over the years, soon Reid showed them that this was not a problem for him, and Aaron learned that while Reid could be extremely young, he was also extremely mature and contrary to many of the young agents if he respected orders.

The team had a no-profiling rule, Hotch knew that. Hell, he had been one of those who proposed her, but he couldn't help it he knew Reid was hiding something from them, he wanted to believe that he would tell them when he felt comfortable. Gideon wouldn't have pulled all those strings, if it was something dangerous.

It only took a hug for Hotch to notice. Reid had held him when they found him with Hankel, the way he felt the cold creep across his normally warm skin, a sensation he hadn't felt since he was a teenager.

It all fell into place slowly, how Reid looked nervous when someone tried to touch him, how Reid would look confused when Morgan tasted his coffee and complained that it was too sweet and icy.

After that he couldn't help but notice the details, every single thing Reid would do differently, to keep it a secret from him.

Then when he saw the young man get up from his desk and practically run to the bathrooms. Hotch worried, thought for a moment before getting up and heading to the bathrooms in search of Spencer.

When he opened the bathroom door, Aaron saw Spencer looking at himself in the mirror, firmly grasping the hand wash, the young man did not notice his presence at the moment, more concerned about how, the frost was expanding through the mirror and the hand wash, When Spencer finally noticed Aaron's presence, she was quick to hide her hands behind her back.

- I - I can explain it - the panic was noticeable in Reid.

- Spenc ...

- I know it's not normal, that's why I hide it, people don't usually trust people like me, I'll understand if you want me to transfer ...

- Spencer! - Hotch exclaimed again, to get the young man's attention.

Spencer finally forced himself to look at Hotch, he saw how his boss did not seem angry, the man extended his palm and from one moment to another small flames appeared in the lines of his fingers,

Spencer looked at him with surprise written on his face, he always believed that Hotch's element was earth or air, in addition to the fact that the chances, that two people, with some of the rarest elements, would work in the same place were extremely low. .

- I would never ask you to transfer, Spencer you are a fundamental part of this team, besides we would all miss you - Hotch said looking at the young man who was hugging himself - you don't know? He - he added belatedly, although he only received a small nod from Spencer.

Hotch made the flames disappear from his hand and took a step toward Spencer, bringing his hand closer to Spencer before quickly pulling it away.

- can I touch you? - Hotch asked, receiving another nod from Spencer, Hotch approached to wrap him in a hug.

"Maybe you don't think so right now, but you're important to all of us Spencer," Aaron said.

Spencer's arms wrapped Hotch in a soft hug. The fire hurt Spencer, and the ice made Hotch feel weak.

But it was worth it.

Hotch observed, as a slight smile, made its way across Spencer's face, who seemed to be much calmer.

Yes, it was definitely worth it.