#redscapeheroau

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hihihihihihihihihi i am rotating your mumscar superhero au in my head like The Micowave and consider:

grian is both cuteguy AND a hero-critical reporter and does not consider it hypocritical in the Slightest

also consider that he immediately clocks what's going on w/ mumbo and scar before they even really admit mutual feelings and he is just Revelling in the chaos of knowing everything as there's tabloids surrounding hotguy's new secret partner and mumbo comes home late a lot more with orange lipstick in his moustache (idk I'm spitballing here) and grain is just like >:3 he sees ALL

i think it would be funny hehe

also i just GAH the idea you have of their cheesy meetcute is SO ADORABLE IM GHJDFKSLSFJKGHDFJLS;FGH THATS SO SWEET i love this au so much we need more silly mumscar aus

Oh, he IMMEDIATELY clocks Mumbo because he's not nearly as subtle as he thinks he is and tends to get a bit too in his head after he comes home. Sometimes he'll stumble in at 3am and Grian is fulling sitting in the kitchen and Mumbo doesn't even notice. It's like he's fully cartoon floating through the apartment covered in kissy marks. Sickening, frankly! Grian just wants to enjoy his cereal.

I am...deeply amused by the concept that Grian is both Cuteguy AND a sort of journalist. I suppose there is truly no better way to control your public image than to become the foremost influencer about Hotguy and Cuteguy yourself. It's genius. There's no possible way this could blow up in his face.

I think he would print a bunch of teeny tiny details about Scar that would just absolutely drive him mad. Like nothing private or sensitive or something that only Grian would know, but just a little something. Like, "Hotguy talks, walks, and looks like a man who has seen Topgun more times than he's got bitches." <- this is a bad example actually but i think its funny and I'm not deleting it. Probably more something like what Scar's favorite candy bar is or something. Scar usually assumes that he must have said it at some point, but he totally hadn't.

Hotguy and Cuteguy's relationship is like, VERY silly. They work well together and undeniably compliment each other in the field but the moment they don't have a shared goal they get at each other a little bit. Not in a sincere, aggressive kind of way. You know the vibe. Just a lot of ribbing and shoving each other around.

Scar has joked multiple times that Cuteguy and That One Reporter would REALLY get along without ANY clue of how close he is to the reality. Mumbo would be the first one to get to the bottom of that mystery. It'd be promptly followed by a chewing out session for Grian because like, what the fuck, man?

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envisioning the world's most cheesy redscape superhero au. Like mass market paper back romance levels where mumbo is your average grad student doing research or something but he gets saved by the hero he has a crush on and it just develops from there. I'm talking the kinda thing where scar steals him out from his apartment and takes him to a rooftop JUST to drink wine and kiss him so sweetly. And when anyone talks shit about hot guy in Mumbo's vicinity he is transparently quick to speak up for him like he is NOT gaudy and annoying he's actually so sweet and hot and nice to m I mean people.

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hooked on ur redscape superhero au would love to hear any other ideas u had for them. they are so silly <3 everyones sideeyeing mumbo like uh huh. hm. thats so weird anyway...

HI yes I've been thinking about it on and off all day LOL

It starts so fanfiction meet-cute. Poor overworked Mumbo who would never have any time for romance in his life has everything turned on its head when one day when walking back from work he's caught in the middle of a horrible villain attack. Not just that -- he's captured! Briefly, of course, before Hotguy rescues him.

Mumbo just about dies, right then and there. How pathetic would that have been? Has it really been that long since someone held him? (Yes. It has.)

When Hotguy sets him down he does his typical pull down of his glasses to give Mumbo a little wink and Mumbo almost faints, missing the look of genuine intrigue and affection on Hotguy's face.

Naturally, Mumbo becomes immediately and deeply infatuated with him. Hotguy symbolizes a fantastical escape from Mumbo's kinda shit life. His hours are long, his work isn't that fulfilling, and his roommate is LOUD and back at weird hours of the night, always bumping into things and waking him up. In his head, he lets Hotguy steal him away from that all....

Mumbo obviously thinks he's delusional for this. Hotguy does NOT think about him, because he's just some frazzled student who could hardly say thank you to the guy! But he gets to be a bit parasocial, as a treat. At least until his lease is up.

But Scar does think of him -- a lot. A cringe amount, for a superhero. It's inevitable they run into each other again and Hotguy offers to walk him home. From that moment forward it's over for both of them.

The decision to keep their eventual relationship private is a mutual one -- Scar doesn't want to subject Mumbo to that kind of press, nor does Mumbo really want to deal with it. Of course -- Mumbo emphasizes -- Scar would be worth it, but he would rather not.

A bit torn on where Grian is in this. He's either Cuteguy/another hero, or an extremely hero-critical reporter. Either way, he's definitely Mumbo's roommate who Mumbo is desperate to keep his fantasies/relationship private from.

There's a Mumscarian path here, too. If Grian is Cuteguy, he starts bothering Mumbo as Cuteguy to try and scare him off of Hotguy in an effort to keep Scar somewhat focused on his job. If he is a reporter, he wants to use his roommate's apparent relationship with a superhero to get some kind of dirt on the guy, because there's no way someone like that is all good. He's probably an asshole, Grian thinks.

ALSO a potential socmed angle which is sooo self indulgent for me specifically. I love you outsider pov social media fics. Would involve Mumbo and Scar's relationship leaking and ruining Mumbo's whole entire time because now he can't leave the house without someone stopping him on the street and asking about how Hotguy Really is. Plus sooo many unsolicited opinions about Scar's taste in men. Somewhat warranted.

oopsie. lots of thoughts. thank you for the ask anon :]

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Naw Grian is actually so smart

Like literally, when ur a super hero it’s good for the public to like u, and the media basically controls (at least to some amount) what people think of heroes, so if UR a super hero AND a person who works in the media, u can make sure it always safe

Why has no one ever done this before

What

TRUE! Grian thinks he's a fucking genius for this. The only downside is that he can't tell anyone about the fact that he's this brilliant. Tragic.

However, ah. It's not without its risks... I am imagining this is in a setting where superheroes have to deal with agencies of some kind, half because I struggle to imagine how Scar and Grian would end up teammates otherwise. But -- Grian's little writing hobby would be seen as a massive conflict of interest and a completely extraneous action anyway, since every agency probably has several journalists in their pockets.

(This is not the reassurance they think it is to Grian. He knows how this kind of thing works: if Grian ends up critically unpopular they won't waste time trying to set the record straight. He'll become a fall guy, because that's the cheaper and more practical option for the agency. He gets it, really, and that's why he's circumventing the issue by guaranteeing that someone is always in his corner in the media.)

There would be harsh consequences for failing to maintain this dance of three identities (Cuteguy, his pen name, and his civilian identity). Of course, there would be punishment from the agency. Exactly what that would entail would depend on the manner in which his connection to his pen name is revealed, ie whether the public is already aware. At minimum, it would be a rather harsh slap on the wrist and potential suspension; at worst, he's out of both of his jobs.

This would also put Scar in a weird spot, not that I think Grian's too worried about that. Not because he doesn't care, but because he knows Scar is suave AND silly enough to navigate any concerns the media might have about the situation. Plus, very considerately, Grian has not told Scar anything. He has deniability, because he doesn't know!