#anyway for those with similar solidarity: enjoy! :)

[kishibe-kisser]

can I request Todo aoi with a very cute and affectionate gf? just like him shed do anything for him and loves him with all her heart. since shes so affectionate, maybe one day she was hanging out with yuuji and megumi while Todo was doing something else, then he saw her giving megumi hugs and stuff...maybe leading to some jealous smut??

Ask 2: could you please do jealous Todo aoi smut? he maybe got jealous cuz u were talking with megumi, but you didn't know why he was so mad...

A/N: I decided to combine these 2 request because they are quite similar! I hope you both enjoy it! Some things I had to change to fit the story but I still hope you enjoy it.

Tags: Aoi Todo x Afab! reader, p in v sex, face fucking, praise, jealousy, established relationship, cumming inside, fingering, doggy position, ass slapping (but not really spanking)

Word count: 2609

Anyone who looked at you could simply see how in love you were with Todo. It was as clear as day, the way your eyes softened the moment you looked at him, the way you would do absolutely anything for him. You were everything he could have wanted in a girlfriend and he was greatful for you everyday. He had never received care and affection from anyone in this way before.

"That tickles." He mumbled, his arm wrapped around your shoulders as you played with his hands. "You want me to stop?" You asked, looking up at him with doe eyes as a silent plea to let you keep going. Letting out an exhale, he looked away and bit back a smile. You could get him to do anything with those eyes of yours. "Keep going." He exhaled, looking at you as you smiled at him.

Music was playing softly in the background as the students of both locations of Jujutsu tech mingled. Gojo thought it would be a good idea for the students to get together in a relaxed way rather than a competition or training. The students needed something positive, all of the teachers agreed.

Which left you cuddled up on the couch with Todo, as he held a drink in his hand and you under his arm. He was perfectly content and so were you, even as Megumi joined you on the couch.

"Sorry, I just need a people break and you two seem the calmest here right now." He said and you nodded, reaching over and patting his arm. Todo wasn't the fondest of Megumi and well vice versa, you knew this. However, you didn't have any gripes with the kid. Afterall, he was exactly that, a kid.

"How have you been, Megumi?" You asked and the boy shrugged. His mere presence was bothering Todo, you could tell in the way he stiffened next to you. However he couldn't help but find the boy irritating. "Im going to grab another drink." Todo mumbled, releasing you from your embrace and giving you a quick kiss to the forehead. You watched him walking away before turning back to Megumi. "Don't mind him. You know how he is." You smiled and Megumi nodded in solidarity. "Anyways, how have you been?" You asked again, waiting for his response.

"Your face looks sour." Mai told Todo causing her to receive a scowl. "Ah, I see why." She added on, looking at you laugh with Megumi. Todo knew he couldn't be mad, you were sweet and tended to love everyone unless they gave you a reason not to. He couldn't be mad at you for that, he just was a little jealous. "Shut up Mai." He remarked and the woman rolled her eyes. "She's laughing an awful lot." She added and Todo looked over to you again. You were laughing, nothing Megumi could say could possibly be that funny... at least to him.

"I don't mean to laugh but that must have been scary. I'm glad everyone made it out okay." You said and Megumi laughed too, you were so sweet it was hard for Megumi to even try and dislike you. He only had questions about why you were with Todo. The man must have been different when he was alone with you, that's all Megumi could conjure up.

"Yeah things have been hard lately." Megumi confessed once your laughter subsided. "Well you know, it's hard for a sorcerer. I see what Todo comes home with and well, he does laugh it off a lot but I can see it's hard. You need someone to vent to." You said and he nodded in agreement. "Todo won't like this but I'll talk to him about it. If it ever gets to be too much you should reach out to him and to me. I'll be glad to help and glad to make him help." Megumi grimaced at your suggestion but realised it came from a good heart. "Yeah, thanks Y/N." He said and couldn't help but blush as you extended your arms, gesturing him to give you a hug.

A set of big hands grabbed your waist, lifting you off the couch and tickling you in the process. "Todo!" You squealed, watching as Megumi rolled his eyes. "Couldn't help myself." Todo mumbled, turning you around so he could hug you tight. He knew he shouldn't be but he was jealous. Seeing you giggle and laugh at Megumi and then hug him, it made him feel protective of you. You were sweet of nature, Megumi didn't need to get the wrong idea.

"You ready to go princess?" Todo asked, hugging you close and side-eyeing Megumi. Megumi wasn't dumb, he knew he had made the older man jealous and that partially filled him with pride. "I guess so." You smiled, turning to say goodbye to Megumi only to be thrown over Todo's shoulder instead.

"What's gotten into you?" You asked, laughing as the rest of the students watched you walk away hanging over his shoulder. "Just want some alone time with you." He remarked, patting your butt gently as it was in a prime position for him. Todo wasn't lying, however it might have been a bit deeper than that. In his mind, he needed to prove himself, prove that he was better than Megumi.

When he reached his room, he put you down and pressed your back into the door. You looked up at him as he caged you in, his muscular arms on either side of your head as you smiled. "You're jealous, aren't you?" You asked, getting a hunch at his sudden change in attitude. He shook his head, shrugging even though it was entirely obvious. "No, what makes you say that?" He was lying through his teeth and he knew that you knew.

"Ohhhh you totally are!" You teased, reaching up and hugging him around his neck. He instantly welcomed the embrace, his arms hugging you closer to him as you placed your lips just under his ear. "You know I only have eyes for you." Your voice was low, making goosebumps coat his skin. You pressed a light kiss to the side of his neck and he hummed. "Is that so?" He asked, feeling you smile against his skin. "How could I even look at anyone else when I have you?" You asked, very slowly kissing down his neck.

You could feel his bulge starting to press against you as he pulled you into him even tighter. "I'll only believe it when you prove it." He remarked, holding you with one arm as the other opened the door. You could see he had a small smile on his face as you grabbed his hand, pulling him into his bedroom. You would tell him the context of the situation later, that could wait. For now though, this was more fun.

Todo wasted no time kicking his door shut behind him and grabbing your hips to pull you into him again. In situations like this, he hated leaving your body for too long. He tilted your chin up and kissed you deeply, tongue snaking into your mouth as his hand grabbed your ass. You hummed, your hands gripping his shirt as you continued to kiss. As you were going to rid him of his shirt, he stopped you and pulled away to take a breath.

"Maybe you should get on your knees and show me how much you love me first." He said, gesturing to the bulge in his pants. You grinned, kissing his lips quickly before sinking down. Your fingers worked fast, undoing his pants and allowing your fingers to brush over the prominent v-line disappearing into his pants. You made sure to keep looking at him, keeping a sweet expression on your face as you tugged the material down and making sure to lightly scratch your nails down his thighs.

You kissed his boxer covered cock before rubbing over it with your hand, the fabric causing friction and making him suck in breath through his teeth. Finally you pulled the fabric down and let out a hum at the sight of his hard cock. "Go on." He urged, one hand holding the back of your head as the other held his shirt up just enough to see his abs.

Todo let his head fall back as your lips and hand wrapped around his cock. "There we go." He mumbled, your tongue swirling over the head of his cock before taking him in deeper into your mouth. The hand on the back of your head pushed you down further and you gagged before pulling off of him. "Fuck." You moaned, while the feeling was uncomfortable it still turned you on. "Can I fuck your face?" He asked, breathing heavier than before. Sitting back on your heels, you nodded at him as he cracked a smile. "I love the way you look at me, only at me." He remarked before pulling his shirt off fully and gently grabbing your head.

You opened your mouth and he sank his cock into you, gripping his thighs for something to hold as he started thrusting his hips. You took as much as you could, trying to regulate your breathing. Spit dribbled down your chin and you did your best to keep your eyes open, looking at him as he took advantage of your mouth. Tears brimmed your eyes and Todo could feel himself getting close to cumming. As much as he wanted to cum down your throat, he'd much rather have this last longer.

He pulled you off of his cock, taking note of the precum and drool on your lips. "You look so pretty like this. You're so good for letting me fuck your mouth." He said, leaning down to wipe your mouth and help you onto your feet. "You less mad at me now?" You asked, hiding your giggle as he spun you around to press his chest into your back. "Hmm I'm not convinced yet." He mumbled, kissing the side of your neck before pulling your clothes off.

He bent you over his bed, pushing your ass into the air and exposing your wet pussy to him. He couldn't help himself, giving a harsh slap to your ass, watching the flesh jiggle slightly as you let out a moan. "Couldn't help myself." He remarked and you giggled, gripping his sheets as his hands moved from your soft skin to your wet slit. "So wet, all for me. Maybe you do only have eyes for me." Todo remarked, dragging his fingers over you slit and spreading your arousal around.

"Todo, please-" You begged, feeling his other hand gently rubbing up your back as slipped one finger in. Your back arched as his finger curled in you, needing more to stretch you out. He smacked your ass again, hard enough to leave a mark as he added another finger. "Have to stretch you out, don't want you hurting tomorrow." He grumbled, watching you fuck back on his fingers. You hadn't realised how needy you were until his fingers curled against that sweet spot inside of you, making you cry out, getting closer and closer to cumming. "Todo-" You moaned as you gripped his sheets, arching your back even more.

"Goddamn, the only reason I'm so jealous is because I'm so damn lucky." He remarked, placing a hand on the small of your back to make you arch even more. This was without a doubt his favorite sight. "I'm gonna-" You stopped, feeling his fingers leave you and making you whine in objection. Todo leaned over your back, kissing your shoulder as he guided the head of his cock to your core.

"Cumming with me or not at all." He remarked and pushed himself into you. Slowly pushing into you fully and watching the way you gripped the sheets. "Come on princess, let me stretch you out." He grumbled, fingers digging into your hips. You were so tight around him and so wet, he had to take a breathe when he bottomed out. You could practically feel him in your stomach, making you clench around him uncontrollably. Every time he fucked you like this you felt like he was splitting you open and you just wanted him to move.

Todo knew he wasn't going to last long, reaching around to rub circles on your clit as he started thrusting into you. You were sure if anyone walked into the hallway they would be able to hear your moans and cries, they'd know exactly that you belonged to Todo. "God you feel so good." You moaned, your arms giving out under you and your cheek being pressed into the sheets. You glanced back at him, watching the way his eyes screwed shut before his free hand slapped your ass again.

If Todo loved one thing it was the recoil of your ass as he fucked you from behind, it was partially one of the reasons this was his favorite position. Though he never lasted long, you were just so fucking hot to him.

"Todo please, I want to cum." You whined as his thrusts got eratic. The fingers rubbing your clit sped up and he was starting to get louder. "Todo please baby, cum with me." You pleaded, needing your sweet release. He groaned at your pleas, slamming himself into you fully as he continued to rub your clit. Your name left his lips like a prayer as he emptied himself into you and you weren't far behind, burrying your face into his sheets to muffle your scream.

He made sure to stay inside of you for a moment, leaning over your back once more to kiss your shoulders and spine. "God, don't ever leave me." He whispered against your skin, making you chuckle into the sheets. "Oh my sweet Todo." You mumbled, letting out a slight gasp as he pulled out of you and watched his cum drip out of your pussy and down your thighs. It was his own way of marking you, that and the handprints on your ass from his slaps. He just loved knowing you had that on your body.

"You don't have to worry about anything." You told him as you settled into his sheets. Your arms open for him to join you, despite your bare and sweaty state. He laid his head on your chest and wrapped his large arms around your body. "I have a lot to worry about. You included, your safety and fearing you'll find someone better." He admitted and you felt your chest ache. Your fingers gently raked through his hair, undoing the hair tie and letting it flow free before kissing the scar on his face. "Like I said. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Trust me." You said and he looked up at you. "I love you and only you. I worry about you every day and I need you in my life." You added on, watching him slowly start to smile.

"Besides, I was only offering help to Megumi. He seemed to be going through some stuff, I said you'd be willing to listen to him and be a friend. I know the stuff you come home with sometimes and I know he doesn't have anyone to vent to. That's why I hugged him." You clarified and Todo burried his face into your chest. "I feel like an idiot." He mumbled and you started to laugh. "Yes you are, but you're my idiot if it makes you feel any better." You shook your head, continuing to stroke his hair. "Maybe tell me I'm yours one more time, then you'll have made it up to me fully."

[tubbytarchia]

want to hear your thoughts on jimmy and joel. all your thoughts. all of them. across universes.

You ask you shall receive. I love them a lot

I can see them as a ship (and no Joel white knight can come at me when those two frequently engage in questionable exchanges) but mostly I see them as best friends with a brotherly bond. Joel is kinda similar to Martyn to me when thinking of Jimmy, where he's always been there and taken him for who he is and just fucked around, carefree. He's a mean bean but his banter doesn't give off maliciousness, to me he hasn't ever seemed as overstepping and making Jimmy genuinely upset

Unfortunately ESMP2 happened and it really pains me how much Joel drove the "toy Jimmy" bit into the ground, resulting in all the seriousness that Jimmy wasn't ever offered. Maybe Jimmy wouldn't have become as much of a joke as he was were it not for Joel. Maybe it would have all hurt a bit less if Joel hadn't built massive walls around Tumble Town. This does pain me always, but you know what, at least "bullying Jimmy" is not his shtick that he needs to rely on throughout various SMPs as much as it feels like certain other people do. He decided to lean into it this once wirh some thought that wasn't just "haha Jimmy sux!!" but unfortunately it devolved and absolutely everyone went along with his bit. But as far as Joel goes, from a brotherly sort of friendship perspective especially, this kind of teasing and banter is more excusable than it would be within a romantic ship etc, but regardless it still pains me lol

Aside from that though, they're buds... Joel I don't think could ever comfort Jimmy in any decent way just because of being the rabid creature that he is, even if he were to know of and understand Jimmy's horrors (to the best of his ability). But what matters is that he cares... He doesn't ever express this outwardly but he cares and that makes me happy and enjoy them as a duo. Things like how in Limited Life he really wanted to help Jimmy get some time to stay in the game longer and his downward red life spiral pretty much beginning with Jimmy's death. How in Secret Life he expresses confidence in Jimmy having his back, and how in spite of his anguish after Lizzie's death, he doesn't say anything to ruin Jimmy's fun upon him not being the first one out. Even when Jimmy's not there, all he says is "Jimmy's gloating about it, which is a weird thing to gloat about? But we have to give him every little win, don't we"

Also in 3rd Life, Jimmy kind of jokingly (I guess??) left a sign on Joel's property that just said "I miss you - Love from Solidarity" and I never stop thinking about it. It pains me a lot, especially when that came before the FH ordeal kicked into proper gear. It honestly reads like one last effort to get away from something awful that he's anticipating, for someone to help? Something something canary, he's sensing the danger. But Joel is stupid lol and I can't blame him for not paying that sign any mind. Anyway this is a stretch I just. I never stop thinking about it.........this reads like a cry for help..........

It genuinely surprises me when I think back to the traffic series' and realize how little Joel has made fun of Jimmy. Sure he laughs, with him it's more excusable because of their friendship, and yet somehow he doesn't make a fool of or comment on Jimmy's reputation as much as some others do. He doesn't seem to think Jimmy to be notably incompetent like some of the others do. Can't say too much on other SMPs because I've seen very little of them but the vibes seem to be more or less same. I love them a lot anon, I love them a lot... Joel, for a change, is someone Jimmy deserves (because he deserves someone who cares) and is fortunate to have, if only it weren't for all the unrelenting horrors that Joel can't really help with in any case. Pensive

[anartificialsatellite]

Here's a spicy opinion for you, sort of related to that previous reblog:

That thing where something is super popular and then eventually becomes cringe and the Most Hated thing and everyone is deeply morally opposed to it for [reasons]? That is actually where I think most people's problem with Hetalia stems from, rather than from an actual good faith objection to any of the content within the canon.

I've talked a little bit before about how a lot of the objections I see to Hetalia and its fandom are kind of weirdly nonspecific or really outdated or just factually incorrect in a way that suggests that the critic's only real familiarity with it is from their memories of other people's complaints, but I was thinking a little bit about the heyday of the fandom and what the atmosphere was like at that time and how that relates --

It's easy to forget (or to not have been old enough to be present within fandom spaces then, as the case may be), but Hetalia was wildly fucking popular in its time, rivaled in many places at that specific time only by Homestuck... And people in general hated Homestuck to just about the same degree they hated Hetalia, and in fact did so to the point that the fandoms went from "rivals" to building a weird little bond of solidarity over being The Worst.

I'm not saying there aren't or weren't valid reasons to dislike Homestuck canon or the fandom, but what I am saying is that I'm incredibly fucking skeptical of the idea that the general backlash against Hetalia comes or came from a sincerely held belief that it is an irredeemable pile of nazi fujoshit, when I saw a very similar level of venom for people who wore gray body paint at cons at about the same time.

I know I just said a few days ago I hated that people feel the need to constantly qualify their comments to preempt arguments but I'm gonna do it now anyway: This is not to say that I don't think there are valid objections to be raised about Hetalia canon or the fandom and that people can't take real issue with it. I absolutely do, and if you'd like to know more I invite you to come chat with some of us here, because nobody tears up the shit parts of a canon and fandom like people who are really really into it. (So f you come in here to tell me all the totally reasonable reasons you hate it i will bite you because I already fucking said.)

But I am saying that I think a certain amount of people who have to loudly tell everyone how gross they think it is every time it comes up (or who do so totally unprompted) are not doing it out of a real deep sense of moral concern but either out of a need to justify their cringe reaction to it and to be seen doing so, or because they've seen other people doing it and also want to be seen doing so so that people know they don't enjoy the Bad thing and feel an appropriate level of scorn for those who do.

[pico-digital-studios]

👋 ^_^

So, since I can ask you any questions, here’s mine! ^^

Who is your favourite & least favourite character from:

Cartoon

Anime

Video Game

Comic/Manga

Etc

And why? ^^

OMT!Mina: Looks like we got our first question! Considering how obscure our stories seem to be compared to most, I'm honestly quite surprised.

CU!Sonic: Okay, let's see... @btnfstudios asks "Who is your favourite & least favourite character from cartoons, anime, video games, comics, etc., and why?"

OMT!Tails: Since there weren't any tags, I thought we'd take the question first to start things off. Sorry in advance that Antho, Brian and Devy couldn't be here for the question. They had some errands to attend to.

Nitro: That's fine. At least Smol Devy managed to get here!

Smol Devy: Hewwo! ^v^

OMT!Tails: Well, as it happens, aside from me idolising Benjamin, my favourite video game character's gotta be Alex Kidd. I really admire the effort he goes to to ensure his dad's safe from harm.

Nitro: Man, I really admire him for being able to do that, even when I couldn't...

OMT!Tails: (comfortingly) Solidarity, buddy.

Nitro: Anyway, if I was to pick between cartoon characters, I'd say I really admire Fluttershy's gentle and all-loving nature, even in the midst of danger. Trust me, you don't wanna be on the wrong end of her bad temper if she gets into one.

D-Sides Mighty: You know, I really dig Spider-Punk and his refusal to abide by society's perceptions and ideals. Reminds me of how my dimension's refusing to stick to a consistent "canon".

BK!Amy: If it's from my favourite anime, I've gotta go with Tohru Honda. I really enjoyed seeing her know that all bad things have to come to an end someday as well.

CR!Sonia: I don't really see much appeal in the cartoon characters that are solely girly and not much else.

CU!Sonia: Ditto. It's why I admire tomboy female characters from cartoons like Lana Loud, who's less enamoured with dresses and prefers activities the guys get up to like skateboarding.

Nitro: Heh, I remember she looks up to Ronnie-Anne a lot back home.

CU!Sonia: Wait, you used to live in the same town she did?

Nitro: Long story. I'll tell you later, if you'd like.

CU!Sonia: Of course!

CU!Sonic: You know, if a character in any of those media is in a healthy relationship with their loved ones, that's all I need to like for them. That, and good character development, of course.

Mr. Needlemouse: Favourite cartoon character? I am a cartoon character! (smug) What more needs to be said about me?

CR!Sonic: To be fair, you did end up on the list of "Top Worst-Behaved Cartoon Characters" recently.

Mr. NM: That again?! Remind me what I did again?

CR!Sonic: Well, blowing stuff up for the heck of it, you and Beeman being as bad as each other, hello?

EX!Alice: You know, I've really found an admiration for Blue Beetle, in a way. Seeing Batman go out of his way to see if he has what it takes to be a hero is such an honour not a lot of people get to experience.

OMT!Mina: I'd say Sam Sharp's my favourite. Rock and roll!

CR!Sonic: My personal favourite game character to this day? It's gotta be Mario! Dude's just saving the day just outta the goodness of his heart, you know?

Mini Sonic: Hmm, let's see... I'll opt for Green Lantern. I mean, come on! He can build anything just with that ring of his!

Wacky: You know, I've found Tintin to be quite the intrepid adventurer in his comics and film, especially when alongside his dog, Snowy.

Hog: What about Cuphead? Does he count?

Wacky: Well, he started as a video game, not a cartoon, though the similarities are there. Plus, he got his own TV show!

Hog: Cool! Where can I see it?

Wacky: Let's see... Ah, bummer. It's behind a Netflix subscription.

Hog: Hmph! If only there was a way to pirate that so I could watch it.

Nitro: I'm sure Lucia will figure out a way later.

Nine: My favourite in anime's definitely that guy from Fist of the North Star. I mean, he's almost unstoppable with those rapid-fire punches and hitting weak points. Omae wa mou shindeiru!

CR!Manik: I'm... gonna pretend I don't know what that means. Dad has really been getting me and Sonia into Wind in the Willows, one of those older British stop-motion cartoons. I particularly find Mr. Toad really hilarious to watch, haha! Poop-poop! The poetry of motion! What about you, Smol Devy?

Smol Devy: Me really likes Ana and Kat! They awesome ninja fwiends!

Trip: Hehe! Glad you're getting on well with them, little guy. I haven't seen a lot of that media before meeting my Team Sonic, but there's something I found appealing about Gromit, Wallace's dog; he's often the one to save the day when all those inventions Wallace makes either go awry or are vandalised by villains.

OMT!Tails: He really is an admirable character, even if he doesn't talk. And there you have it! Thanks for the question, Brendan!

Footnote

Nitro: Pst! I just wanted to throw in my part for the second half of that question for you, Brendan. For the "least favourite character" concerning cartoons for me, under the Looney Tunes lot, that title's absolutely going to Pepé Le Pew. His whole schtick is absolutely inappropriate by today's standards, and I'm glad I haven't seen him around Toontopia. As Vincent Alexander once put it, "If there's any moral to the cartoons, it's that if you act like Pepé, you stink." Well, thanks for the question, dude!

[luridce]

my dummy headcanons for the yee yee ass haircut man, that I want to get off my chest:

✩ his real name is Ido - created this from his hero name pronunciation "Nīdorusutā".

✩ before joining and getting kicked out of the Blizzard Group, and becoming a professional hero on his own, he definitely was involved in some gang (the delinquent vibes?). Inevitably did a 180 and became a hero... because our man is good deep down inside🖤

✩ maybe worked in security? or like a chauffeur for a gang boss at some point? Anyways, any job he did was cut short because of "disciplinary issues" a.k.a. him not being able to take orders and listen to his superiors if he thinks it's not the right thing.

✩ chews bubblegum when he feels like smoking (wants to quit smoking). Get's lowkey annoyed when working with other heroes who smoke right in front of him (lmao Zombieman pls it's not healthy for you, sweetheart!).

✩ kept the suit he got from the Blizzard Group. Had to return it after being kicked out, but didn't because he's a little shit lol.

✩ wears safety pins as earrings to show solidarity with those who are marginalized, believes in "all lives are equally valuable". So I think most of his attitude/arguments with others stem from seeing people treated badly (e.g. probably wasn't a fan of newbie-crushing that the Blizzard Group did).

✩ thinks he's a smartass, but probably barely finished school lol. Maybe has street smarts? A little bit of physics knowledge, because he has to estimate the trajectory of his mace?

✩ idk but I think he has like... a million tattoos under that suit. Overall, he's very into the punk look, looking alternative and having a "no rules" style. Wears a lot of dark clothing, ripped clothing, boots, maybe has a few t-shirts in 'weirder' colors (e.g. hot pink? lol). Likes studded and spiked jewelry, has a few killer leather jackets. But only wears everything casually, tones it down for hero work.

✩ I think that his good guy side stems from either: 1) growing up on the streets and witnessing poor, weaker people being treated badly (maybe similar mindset to Garou, reacting to the injustice of the world, but choosing to be better); 2) not growing up on the streets, having a good support system and family that helped him form his values (maybe a good, but strict mom? a younger sibling he kinda wants to be a role models for?); 3) no big reasoning behind that, just him being a decent human being.

✩ pierced his own ears with safety pins when he was a teen to impress his delinquent friends. Pierced his ears unevenly though lmao.

✩ is a total tsundere about it, but secretly enjoys working in/belonging to a team. I wanna believe that him and the others (Mizuki, One Shotter, Gearsper) form some sort of a friendship after the MA raid, maybe go out for drinks or something. I love them all so much... I just want them to interact again in the manga 🖤

✩ maybe has some resentment towards the Blizzard Group, but is mainly focused on his own path as a hero. Not the one to badmouth the group or Fubuki behind their backs.

✩ is a regular in one barber shop and goes like once a week lmao like a lot. Keeping his zig zag haircut looking fresh is his top priority. Probably dyed his hair at some point too. Wishing we got a colored version of him in the manga.

✩ keeps his mace and chain next to his bed when sleeping. Curses a lot (says "damn" and "holy crap" in the manga), will call you a dumbass.

✩ and a super dumb last one: sings while driving. Like he's a decent driver, but a horrible singer (thinks he's good though lmao). Telling him to stop will just make him sing louder. Maybe that's the reason he lost his chauffeuring job lmao.

THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY LONG ASS TED TALK OF DUMB HEADCANONS. I AM SORRY I AM OBSESSED WITH A MINOR CHARACTER AND YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS. MAYBE SOME GOOD OPM ART WILL COME OUT OF THIS OBSESSION.

[expressionbean]

an anonymous ask that got eaten when i posted a few minutes ago but was in my google docs as a backup (thank god):

"Please please forgive me if this is too forward, but your Carrd mentions that you have DID. I have OSDD myself, and I used to love roleplaying but ever since getting the diagnosis I feel like I have to choose one or the other because a lot of people think that CDDs are "roleplay" in and of themselves. Do you have any advice on how to get over that? Has the Tumblr roleplay scene been accepting? Do you often get fakeclaimed?

Thank you so so much for being here! I love your blogs and your writing. 💛"

hi anon! this is super super late, but i wanted to be thorough and i wanted to think carefully about what i say. i hope you're still around to see this and also, welcome to the RPC!

often, people do tend to think a lot of people with CDDs are "roleplaying". really, we're not, but that isn't what you came to ask.

and the stigma sucks, like it REALLY sucks. people with CDDs really aren't allowed to enjoy anything without a bunch of guys on reddit accusing us of literally whatever they can reach for. (usually faking or violence, but i digress)

i'm really still getting over a similar issue myself. it's so so so difficult to openly even enjoy a piece of media (including with other fans of a media), much less create anything and post it. i was formerly almost exclusively a discord and amino PM roleplayer - it's a small bit easier if i am not as open about what i'm doing.

i don't know how recent your diagnosis is (and it's none of my business), but i received mine years ago (2019 if i recall correctly) and it took until this summer for me to dip my toes into the water with the tumblr RPC. i can't remember exactly what compelled me to, but i ended up stumbling across my now-friend kira's blog. he seemed very friendly, so i sent an ask to go over what the heck i needed to do to get acclimated to the community.

i didn't really expect as kind of an answer as i got. i expected maybe some polite, generic thing but it was more than that. it was welcoming.

i was still scared though - i had a lot of things that were making me intimidated. i didn't have pretty formatting or stunning icons or banners or any of that stuff. i just had my writing, my amnesia, and my visual impairment.

and boy, did i not want my friends who know about my DID to know a damn thing about me having interests in media and, even more terrifying, my acquaintences in the RPC to know i have DID. i felt like i had to keep those two things almost totally separate, even though they're both pretty significant.

roleplay is an important creative outlet for me, but DID affects almost every facet of my life (as trauma disorders tend to do). it simply isn't sustainable to keep dividing myself up and hiding parts of myself from one group or the other out of fear of being judged.

i'm still working through that, in all honesty. my whole point in rambling is to show i relate hardcore to this ask, and i'm standing with you in solidarity.

anyway, i eventually (recently) decided enough is enough with being scared of a loud, shitty minority. it's not fair to let people who hate me just for existing dictate what i do for fun. identity politics and cringe culture should die.

i wouldn't tell people they're to be excluded from roleplay for being autistic or bipolar.

just the same, i don't really think it's a normal thing (even on reddit hate groups) for people to say i can't enjoy cooking because i have DID, or that i can't be a musician because i have DID.

roleplay is a hobby just the same as cooking or music, and DID is a mental illness just the same as bipolar. why shouldn't people be allowed to partake in their interests? just because strangers on the internet say not to for whatever ridiculous reason they've come up with on this fine saturday?

ultimately, they should! they should be able to appreciate and express all facets of themselves as freely or as privately as they want to.

obviously, i don't advise blasting your entire identity, location, etc. on tungle dot hellsite or anything unsafe like that, but you get my point.

your diagnosis is just words on paper - nothing's changed fundamentally except having a name for what's been going on. if you need permission, though, here it is: you are allowed to pursue things that bring you joy. you can make a blog and start roleplaying here. it's okay to do that. you are just the same as every other person here and just as worthy of writing with them.

as for more advice, here's some:

• the block button is to be used freely. liberally. you're the curator of your online space - it's fine to make it safe for yourself.

• the tumblr RPC, at least from what i myself have experienced from june 2022 until now, won't bite you. obviously, YMMV, but many people here are very kind and accepting. (staring lovingly at my "amestris no more" pals and all my other mutuals)

• i have not been fakeclaimed by the tumblr RPC from what i can remember. and personally, if it happens, i'd go to my favorite piece of advice: fuck 'em. no one behind a screen is going to know you better than you do! if someone's putting forth time and effort to hurt others, are their words really worth taking to heart?

• remember that it's your hobby, your writing, your space. you deserve that. do what you need to in order to make peace with those facts in yourself.

• remember that a hobby cannot invalidate you or take away what you've been through. hobbies are for your enjoyment.

• you can block triggering topics from appearing! i advise it.

• remember that there are people who will love you just for being yourself! i am one of them! i have so so so much love to hand out to people - please, come and write with me if things are compatible. i would love to see what you have. i'm sure my friends would too. you deserve a space here if you want one.

[oxboykev]

"What kind of Asian are you?"

"What kind of Asian are you?" 

This impolite query flashed from the muzzle of a young woman's mouth who sallied up to the little group of self-confined strangers in which I found myself and who were shyly mingling amongst each other in relative peace before her arrival. The circumstances and the purpose of me attending this social event elude me, but I clearly remember it was for people of Asian descent. (This incident might even have taken place at the party in the Westin hotel in downtown Seattle hours before Barack Obama was projected to win the presidency in 2008.) Anyway, given that I enjoy my anonymity and am normally an awkward conversationalist in public settings, the curious stares that were suddenly leveled at me probably made me blush and force my hand to grip my glass of wine a little tighter.

The question was undeniably directed at me because this woman turned her head and looked at me while posing it. What didn’t immediately register in my brain at the time was that this young woman was of mixed race, and she likely recognized my mixed-race countenance and believed, for whatever reason, that engaging me in an impromptu conversation due to our similar outward phenotypical traits would be a revelatory bonding experience. However, no conversation was to be had since I was not inclined to entertain such an abrupt interrogation seemingly at my expense. My interrogator, as it were, was acting like someone who is clearly trying to conceal their social anxiety by appearing jovial in a cocky manner and daring the rest of us to all play along. This woman's bleating question to me admittedly startled me at first and I felt compelled to eke out some kind of lame answer in order to cover for my and everyone else's embarrassment. My response might’ve been, “The good kind, I guess.” 

However impertinent that question was, it still has stayed with me for all these years. It pushed all my contrarian buttons and heightened my general unease at society’s insistence that I settle on an identity that will satisfy its criteria of what a model citizen is supposed to be. The pressure to be a kind of “minority” so that certain groups can claim me as a member, with or without my consent, tests my exercise of freewill and persistently confuses my perception of neither fitting in with a “majority”, nor a “minority” as conceived of by the socio-political authorities of the day. 

The question - “What kind of Asian are you?” - ironically wasn’t the inquisitive kind, but was in actuality the demanding kind (“Papers, please!”). The question was made to provoke a socially acceptable response, rather than invoke a thoughtful conversation. (But that only serves me right for thinking parties are for allowing enlightening introspection to flourish.) For me, the question also served as one more corrosive crack in the facade of upholding solidarity in the name of some race or ethnicity, or any other marginalized identity, in order to confront and hopefully eliminate the hegemony of White supremacy. Another pet peeve of mine is the overuse of the word “community”. I’ve come to view it as a gratuitous misnomer meant to paper over someone else’s hidden agenda which hoodwinked members are meant to carry out. Call me a nut, but I’m not in favor of carrying around some kind of collective responsibility that corners me into compliance.

This is not to say that I’m completely unaware of the terms “Asian American” and “Asian American Pacific Islander” which do indeed exist in our unique American English lexicon. The concepts, theories, and history behind these labels have developed a long-held and wide-ranging consensus among generations of people. There’s no getting around that fact. I would be a total hypocrite if I didn’t concede that I once proudly took my place under the umbrella of Asian America or was attracted to the origins of Asian-American activism and social movements. Regardless of those past inclinations, as lived experiences like the one above have accumulated, I’ve begun removing any lingering emotional attachments I had with the so-called communities I used to feel the need to be attached to in order to feel real. I’ve gathered enough self-confidence to conclude that I’m not any kind of “Asian”. Perhaps because of my innate bull-headedness, I am choosing not to be a part of a community nor a group, especially when those entities only count me as a number so that they can include me in their tallies on their spreadsheets. When the cost of belonging gradually shaves off layer after layer of your self-worth, the absence of any integrity will only throw you off balance and into a gaggle of strangers who are all waiting for your answer.

[the-nysh]

Whats your opinon of kiri//baku and todo//deku?

!!!!! 👀 Oooh, *takes deep breath* so I’ve finally been askedthe big question. (Thank you for courteously using the /s to block the ship names out of the tags) Because I DO have opinionsabout them. I’ve mostly kept them to myself, but since I’ve been prompted, Iwill try to be as honest and thorough as I can. :’)

Disclaimer: If you high-key shipeither of the two, please proceed with caution! 

To preface:

If it wasn’t already obvious from the content I reblog (and rave about in thetags), my decisive fav character of the series is Kacchan, and similarly, my otp of the series is with him and Deku(as bakudeku, aka bkdk for short – which is how it’scommonly called on twitter). So going in, that’s my given stance already.

But it wasn’t always this way! :O When I first started theseries I went in pretty cautious, wary, and undecided; I actually never plannedto fall so hard for either the character or the ship (and I rarely ship things tobegin with). That is, until Hori repeatedly bludgeoned me in the face and heartwith all the reoccurring and carefully consistent character development, to thepoint ch120 became the final, decisive nail in the coffin - the point of noreturn for me. :’3 So now, I’m fully invested in seeing how their story pulls through to the end, nomatter what it might become (it doesn’t even need to be shippy). With them thematically established as two sidesof the same coin – on opposite ends of the same spectrum of heroism – the twohalves of All Might who both win and rescue:I want to see how they push each other towards greatness and mature into a pairof the best heroes. It’s a long-term investment of hope and a case of slowburn positive development, in direct (and on purpose!) contrast to its rockyand strained foundations (they ARE immature and emotionally constipated teensafter all), but it’s all been carefully laid out through a steady path ofnarrative foreshadowing. Where the prospects at the end of that path – of mutualsupport, understanding, reconciliation, cooperation, teamwork, trust – arebeautiful and rewarding things that make their ongoing journey of growth worthit. So…for Hori to smash any original expectations I might have had, and makeme fall hard for something I never intended to happen, are examples of whatI consider GOOD writing.

After I realized this, I went and did my research. Which inmy case, is reading up on countless character/relationship meta and fanfics togauge how the fandom sees their potential too. So I am very aware of the multiple sides of existing arguments and the dramathat’s already happened in the fandom (from across both tumblr and twitter). Iknow the western fandom considerably favors kr/bk and td/dk (at least for now), BUT in the eastern fandom,it’s actually bkdk that’s more popular. Hmm, curious why that is?

One of the reasons is partly thanks to the widespread availabilityof fan mistranslations (FA group) that have greatly exaggerated certain characterizations(ie Kacchan), leading to fandom fearmongering and the perpetuation of stigmasagainst the canon development of certain relationships (ie bkdk), which in theoriginal text, were never nearly thatflanderized or as offensive in context to begin with. Include also, adifference in cultural expectations/values, and we get a prickly concoction ofmisunderstandings ready to brew. It’s a poor and unfortunate case of important subtleties/complexitiesgetting lost in translation, while the bad things are blown way out ofproportion, to the point the story’s original intent is sidelined, or worse, canonis deliberately obstructed by translators who already dislike seeing suchcontent (because it’s ‘not their ship’) – so they prevent and hurt othersfrom fully enjoying the progression of the series as the author intended. Peoplecan like what they like (that’s perfectly fine), but in all of my lurking, Ihave SEEN examples of these things (andworse) actively happen, and quite frankly, the spread of this blatant toxicityand compulsive collective ignorance sickens me. So, I choose not to getinvolved with it, and instead focus on the positive.

Because of my preference for meta and faithfulinterpretations of the text (making sure available translations are reliablefor analyzing, for instance), I’ve gathered enough information (andacknowledged enough counterarguments) to make an educated decision for myself onwhat I value most and want to see from the series. Unless Hori veers offotherwise, I’ll stick by that conclusion and enjoy following the series throughto fruition (regardless of what the rest of the opposing fandom might say).

For example, one of the first dedicated and respectful metawriters – back when only the FA scans were available, but who ALSO providedcorrections from the Japanese text where necessary, came to this conclusionabout Deku and Kacchan’s characterizations:  

From ryokure:

“Deku is such a super special case that if a fanfichas him and Kacchan in it - no matter the parings - and they don’t have somecase of mutual obsession, I actually consider that OOC.”

Which, after everything I’ve seen of the characters, I can fully concur withthat statement.

MEANING, if the fandom portrays them off alone, together, or involvedin relationships with other characters and they lack this intrinsic magnetism that binds them together (for betteror worse) – if they can somehowfunction completely normal without being influenced by the presence of anotherand magically not even care about each other anymore, then my suspension of disbeliefbreaks. They’re too OOC. (Unless it’s a fic au where they never met or grew uptogether.) These two are TOO canonically wrapped up in their mutual complexesto simply cut ties, wrap up all their unresolved issues with a band-aid,and essentially ignore a core issue of the series for the sake of ‘shipconvenience’ with others. Their canon relationship is too complex to make such simplifiedportrayals of them believable, or even such flimsy ‘solutions’ for their issuesfeasible. Thankfully, we have Hori actively doing all the hard work for us sowe don’t have to worry about such transgressions like that happening in canon. (InHori’s consistent characterizations we trust!)  

Now then, with all of THISestablished, I can finally answer your main question: my opinion on kiri/bakuand todo/deku.

Let’s start with todo/deku:

Because believe it or not, when I was still new to the fandom and in my earlyresearch stages, I actually lowkey shipped them and read plenty of fics aboutthem too! I was open to them as a pair, but still undecided and wary because I didn’t know who to ship withDeku: either Todoroki or Bakugou. I saw all the widespread (western) fandomcontent for td/dk, with the apparent foundations for the ship based on eventsfrom the Sports Festival, where Deku ‘saves’ Todoroki and acts as the catalystto allow him to defrost his issues with his father and realize his true power.I thought, ‘ooh there’s something interesting in there worth looking forwardto; I’ll keep an eye on how canon develops their relationship from here.’

Unfortunately…canon didn’t give me anything else substantial to build on. Andin my case, those are foundations I NEED to be fully on board and convinced fora ship. It was the equivalent of fandom hyping me up for something to lookforward to, with me sitting there with a huge smile and my arms raised inanticipation…only for the rest of the manga to leave me dry. It was a hugedisappointment. Because except for a few scattered incidents, like from theStain arc and maybe the recent ‘it’s ok for heroes to cry sometimes too’moment, canon progress for their relationship has been severely underwhelmingand virtually nonexistent. Todoroki has chilled into becoming a supportive (yetstill socially awkward) friend for Deku yes, but even Iida has had more canon incidents of concern for Deku’s wellbeing,and challenges Deku into becoming a better person/hero with their interactions.(And yet, fandom support for Deku and Iida is virtually nonexistent incomparison, because their friendship resembles the camaraderie between bros, Iguess??)    

So then I was like, ‘wait, am I missing something here? WHY does the fandomlove td/dk so much, when their canon interactions are so limited, and the onlybig thing that’s happened between them was all the way back in the SportsFestival??’ So, I went and investigated the potential of their relationshipfurther in fanfics (which are quite numerous and popular on a03 I might add).

After taking a look, I began to see trends. Most td/dk fics are heavily skewed in Todoroki’s favor, tothe point of being practically one-sided in character development. The mainconflict in almost all their ficnarratives revolves around solving Todoroki’s issues with his father and comingto terms with HIS powers, leaving Deku as a passive, supporting participant inhelping Todoroki out with his problems. Which, while the two of them could bondtogether over their missing/difficult father issues, after a while this same familyconflict gets old and stale. What else is there? What about Deku’s problems for equality’s sake?He’s the main protagonist! How abouthis difficulties in learning how to make One for All his own too? Ah nope, hecan’t canonically confide in Todorokiabout the secrets of his quirk, now can he. ;) Oh wait. What about his problems with Bakugou? Is the biggest elephant in the room going to be ignored for the sakeof typical couple melodrama, or is my fav character going to be demonized so that Todoroki, the ‘prince’on a white horse, can ‘save’ Deku, the ‘damsel’ in distress, from him?! No way. And THAT is another hugeproblem I have with the ship.

Because in all the fics I’ve read of them, I never once was convinced ofDeku’s feelings for Todoroki. I can understand Todoroki gaining a passing crushon Deku thanks to their fight in the Sports Festival. But Deku? How does heeven fall for him? Just becauseTodoroki is nice and considerate and listens to him? Like a friend? (Deku has Uraraka and Iida forthat too, what makes Todoroki any more special than them in Deku’s life?) Thisties in to my previously mentioned suspension of disbelief and ooc territorynow. Because Deku is not some haplessdamsel in distress ready to be swept off his feet and easily charmed by somepotential suitor; he’s a BAMF with a heroic spirt that’s even feared byBakugou. And these traits are so rarely utilized to their full potential intd/dk fics - Todoroki’s influence rarely even challenges or inspires Deku toBECOME the best he can be to draw out his latent potential. (Iida’s canonicallydone more in that regard thanTodoroki’s ever done.) Again, it feels too one-sided in Todoroki’s favor toimprove as a better person/hero.

Oh yeah, and since Deku became one of Todoroki’s first ‘true friends,’ forTodoroki to fall for him feels like putting too many eggs in one basket,without giving Todoroki the chance tobranch out and make normal/healthy relationships with OTHERS first beforesettling down. He’s a socially awkward kid emotionally repressed by domesticabuse; for him to latch onto Deku, the ‘first’ person he’s finally (andliterally) warmed up to, feels like the budding symptoms of unhealthy copingmechanisms and compensating for Todoroki’s deeper emotional issues. Where it thenbecomes Deku’s ‘responsibility’ to care for the turnout of his wellbeing, whenNO - Deku’s got plenty of his OWN issues to become burdened with someone else’s on top of those. Plus in canon,Todoroki’s doing just fine and is perfectly capable of handling his personal problems onhis own without having to depend on Deku.

Again, it’s all touchy territory that feels like it sidelines the mainintent of the series itself – by branching off into the deep end of Todoroki’sangst at the expense of Deku’s, or worse: simply wrapping everything up with afluffy bow called ‘the power of love.’ Nuh-uh, not only is that immenselyidealistic and unrealistic, but it’s totally not the kind of content I signedup for when I started the series. I’m frankly not interested in delving into thoseoff-tangent topics in opposition to canon, where Deku’s problems are oftensidelined, his characterization compromised, and my fav character (Kacchan) eitherbecomes an exaggerated, antagonizing impediment to their ship or is simplytreated like he doesn’t even exist. (My patience and willing suspension of disbeliefonly go so far.)

In the end, Todoroki’s a supportingcharacter. In a tertiary tier after the protagonist (Deku) and the deuteragonist(Bakugou). Yet in td/dk fics he’s almost always turned into a main protagonistsomehow. I can understand his appeal and why he’s so popular in the fandom, yes(and I like him too!), but there’s a point where this exposure becomes TOO much,the limit to his available canon issues becomes saturated and repetitive, and itultimately becomes so tiring to keepcoming back and addressing the same topics in fanon when canon has alreadymarched on to focus on more pressing issues. I’m more interested in exploring those other things.

So nowadays, whenever I see td/dk content, I go ‘ayy that’s nice (or cute),’and keep on scrolling. It doesn’t bother me, but it doesn’t interest meanymore either. I probably won’t touch anymore fics of them together either;I’ve seen and had enough. I’m actually more receptive to seeing Todorokiinteract and develop friendships with other characters, like Inasa (the wind guy from the rival school)or even Momo for instance. Either of those ships I see around, I’m cool withtoo.

The final line: I don’t ship them (anymore), because canon swayed me over with the more pressing and compelling developments of bkdk.   

NOW, it’s time to talk about kiri/baku:      

To start, I actually LOVE Kirishima as a character. And I’ve alreadyestablished upfront that my fav character in the series is Kacchan. So whatgives? It turns out their ship has neverbeen on my radar.

Kirishima is a great character, but I’ve only ever seen him as a supportive bro. To EVERYONE in their class. Whichis precisely how Hori designed him: to be a compassionate/empathetic nice guywho bridges the gaps between the class with his vigorous enthusiasm and support(same role that Denki shares, by the way). And he fulfils this role splendidly.But he ALSO has his own insecurities and developing friendships with manyothers in the class – Denki, Mina, and Deku included. All of those people areimportant to him (and I’m cool with all their ships with him too). Kirishimadoes not solely revolve aroundBakugou.  

It’s true that near the beginning of the series, Bakugou was an angry loner,Kirishima trailed after him on his own accord, and after seeing his version of‘manliness’, decided to stick by him and support him, because Kiri saw thepositives of his character that ‘no one’ else bothered to see. (NOT true; Dekuhas always seen and admired Kacchan’spositive traits since they were children.)And so what’s canonically established is a budding friendship where Kirishimafulfils his given role to bridge gaps (whenever Bakugou strays away from theclass), essentially working as a rubber band plot device, and as a secondperspective – aka a fresh lens, for the audience to view Bakugou’s positivequalities.

All of this I’m cool with. I actually enjoyseeing their canon interactions and the kind of fun, slapstick way they bounceoff each other. (I even like the concept of Dragon!Kiri too!) BUT, it’s whenfanon starts twisting their canon relationship into shippy territory, that’swhere things start getting…ugly, at least for me.  

Remember, I’ve always only seen Kirishima as a supportive bro, and I MEAN that. They have the samered eyes. The same style of spikey hair. The same pumped up mannerisms whenthey get going. Too many similarities that rub me the wrong way when put in aromantic context. (The only difference is that one of them is the soft-hearted ‘niceguy,’ and the other is the outwardly prickly ‘asshole.’) To me, to ship them feels like the equivalentof taking the parallel ends of two polarized magnets: you can manually forcethem close together, but in the end, they cannot touch because the same ends ofmagnets naturally repel. Now, flip one of those magnets around (aka turn it intoDeku), and boom, the opposite ends attract with explosive force. And THAT ishow bkdk feels to me in comparison.

However, the kr/bk fandom doesn’t stop there. I know there exists plenty of fics about them, but I’ve never read any, and frankly, I never will, not even for curiosity’ssake. Because from the overabundance of otherfandom content, I already know what their ship dynamic is about. And it doesnot appeal to me at all.

Remember how I said Kacchan is my favorite. I do not appreciate when thefandom warps him into either a demonized or castrated caricature of himself –aka when they turn him into someone he most definitely is NOT, all for the sakeof a ship. Or worse: when they use Kiri’s relationship as a means of changingBakugou into a character they findmore appealing. NO. Even more worse: when they treat Kiri’s whole character as awalking plot device for ALL of Bakugou’s positive character development. Fuckno! Kirishima doesn’t deserve this dehumanizing treatment by the fans, andneither does my fav, getting subjected to this…betrayal to his whole character.

What am I talking about? When fans insist that Kiri is the ONLY personBakugou can be ‘nice’ to, outright forsaking or ignoring the canon developmentseither of them have with other characters – what about Denki, the rest of the‘Bakusquad’? Or Deku? Remember my dislike for ignoring the elephant in the room back in my spiel about td/dk?Well here, it’s infinitely times worse.

Because Kiri does not become aconvenient narrative replacement to ‘solve’ all of Bakugou’s problems or themeans to correct his bad behavior. It’s not even Kiri’s business orresponsibility to do so! (Same deal if Uraraka is shipped in Kiri’s place.) Hispresence doesn’t challenge Bakugou’s current conduct or world views to improvehimself as a better person, OR actively affect his drive to become the best hero.At most, Kiri endures the brunt of Bakugou’s outbursts when they happen(because he can harden with his quirk, he can ‘take’ it, and their banterbecomes ‘humorous’ and ‘harmless’…no, it absolutely does not) and amicably slides off any further implications with a ‘heyman, that’s not cool’, or excuses/accepts it with a ‘it’s fine because he’s justbeing himself.’ Now we have a situation where Kiri becomes a passive ‘butt-monkey’to Bakugou’s whims and actually enableshis unacceptable behavior to persist. And Bakugou somehow becomes fully invested in a single confidant who babies andpicks up after him (how the heck? no way would he allow himself to get ropedinto a relationship like that, if any at all. He’s strong and independent enoughto handle himself fine.). Even when it’s portrayed where Kiri is the ‘only’ oneBakugou’s nice to, they’d exist in a vacuum tunnel, sealed off from the influenceof others, and become a spiraling fester-hole of static development. None ofthese prospects are the ‘healthy’ long-term results that fandom seems to claimthey are. Tell me, if Bakugou was reallyan abusive character, would his behavior magically ‘fix’ itself simply thanksto Kiri’s passive influence or ‘the power of his understanding kindness and love’?The answer is a resounding and definite NO. The only person who can canonically stand up to Bakugou’s behavior (andnot brush it off), fundamentally challengehis world views and complexes, match him in equal and opposite intensity with themutual drive to be the best, and receivethe full extent of his turbulent feelings, is Deku.

This is what I’m referring to when I say fandom often ‘ignores the elephantin the room,’ because THIS (Deku and Kacchan’s relationship) is an established,ongoing and important core issue of the series itself, that many shippers wouldrather sideline for the priority, current gratification, and fluffy convenienceof an opposing ship. Aka, simply slap them together with the first nice friend theymeet (in both Todo and Baku’s cases, it’s the ‘too many eggs in one basket’problem again…), who will solve all their problems and work to ‘change’ theminto better people…somehow? No, that’s the case of unrealistic, wishful thinking bad writing andtaking the easy way out when something -the elephant in the room- is too challengingand complex to tackle head on. Thankfully, Hori IS tackling their story head onas purposely intended, so I don’t have to worry about canon jumping the sharkon the progress of their relationship.  

So, instead of Kiri being shipped with Bakugou, I much prefer him as a supportingcharacter (a supportive bro!!) who helps ease Bakugou into social/emotionalsituations that he’d normally avoid (which is how Hori originally designedhim??? to bridge those gaps -aka Bakugou’s loner distance - in the class) I’veread plenty of bkdk fics where Kiri becomes the mvp BECAUSE of his natural abilityto do this! With him as a much-needed wingman, voice of empathetic reason, and trustedsecond opinion who Bakugou can confide in to help confront his chronicemotional constipation over Deku. Shipperscan claim that Kiri helps Baku come to terms and become receptive to ‘softer,’ affectionatefeelings when they’re together, when it’s actually the opposite: Kiri becomes astepping stone for Bakugou to learn how to ‘make friends’ with other people whenthey’re apart. ‘Other people’ meaning: Denki, the ‘squad’, Todoroki, the restof the class…and most importantly, Deku.Let my son -Kacchan- learn how to form healthy, genuine relationships withpeople again, so he can gain the necessary experience and maturity to reproach hislifelong treatment of Deku and decide to patch up their relationship on his own terms. This, I feel, is a much more satisfyingoutcome and effective use of Kiri’s character, both in his involvement withBakugou and for the long-run benefit of the series itself.

But instead of seeing it this way, much of the (western) fandom overexaggerates the importance of Kiri and Baku’s relationship, to the point it notonly overshadows the content of other ships, but obfuscates the actual translated GEN contentof canon itself. (WHY!?!) I’m not even going to touch the propensity, hypocrisy, and irony of their shippers to harassand bully others for their opposing shipping preferences (that’s a whole other can of worms). Overall,it’s gotten so bad and obnoxiously rampant that I’ve been forced to block the ship tag for my own sanity and enjoyment of theseries. The ONLY time it’s ever beenrequired for me to use the blacklist function here, and that’s saying something.

Therefore: I support their friendship as supportive bros, but kr/bk as a ship was never on myradar. I’ve never shipped it, and I will notbecome interested in their potential as a pair. I used to be ok with seeing fan content of them around…until thefandom essentially and unfortunately soured it into a notp for me. Welp!   

And there we have it, my full opinion on both ships. I hope that satiatesanyone’s curiosity on the matter, as so far I’ve had plenty of personal reasonsto stay in my own lane and only show my avid support for bkdk. This I’ve confidently decided and I will continue todo so, for as long as I’m invested in the series.  

For some further reading and similar informed opinions:  

http://explodo-smash.tumblr.com/post/165154054112/not-to-pit-ships-against-one-another-but-i

http://explodo-smash.tumblr.com/post/163895267877/why-do-you-ship-bakugou-and-deku-if-its-abusive

http://tinyshinysylveon.tumblr.com/post/168731953134

https://punkbakugo.tumblr.com/post/170514358890/do-you-think-that-the-fandom-over-exaggerates

Also related: my opinions about Kac/chako. And Izu/Ocha.

Edit: now cross-posted on a03

[doriana-gray-games]

Collection of asks !

Hi! Don't want to clog up your dashboards so I am answering some asks that have piled up while I was a bit absent <3

(Game update status: both going good and bad. Stuck on this one scene, but I am starting to see the end in the tunnel lol. Have been trying a new approach where I don't edit while writing :0 it's hard but does increase productivity! I just hope the quality isn't too bad after it lol. You can tell me once the update is out haha!)

Bahaha Love that! W deserves all the love <3

😏😏😏 Watson likes all of Sherlock, tho I'm sure they are partial to some... parts hehe

But the reaction is not new!! Tho I know a lot of people miss it (there's a few easily missed things tbh haha, maybe not optimal, but I find it fun to hide little things). There's one reaction with small waist too !

lolol I see it. I have a scene in my notes where MC basically has to teach H to sit on (and touch) grass...

@jumpyhamster Maybe? Not sure yet, sorry!

Ah--was it so obvious i'm not english haha! Yeah, I might as well tell you all too (despite my best efforts of internet anonymity, I talk too much on discord lol) I am Swedish. So if I make some weird English mistake or miss some quintessential British thing the MC or NPCs would know plz let me know! <3

Aww I think I know who this is!!! 💛💛💛 hearts right back!!!!

@4332 <3<3<3 I'm so glad you liked it!! (I don't recommend it to 12 years old tho! might be too adult for that haha)

<3 <3 <3

I am for sandwich solidarity in all forms haha! XD

Hopefully MC will be able to get them a not-chewed on sandwich soon <3

It seems I can't paste more images sorry-- One similar question I got was what the elegant body type looks like:

Currently the body types won't assume a lot much more than the word and possibly synonyms to the word. That's because it's so subjective. So--if I were to make further content about it I probably will have to ask further questions about that setting <3 I do think it would be fun and interesting to do!

Elegant, is again, what you want it to mean. But generally I've heard it to mean semi-long limbs with "ideal" like proportions. And in mass perhaps somewhere between tall-athletic and lean. I personally think of grace kelly I think

Love this game and the new details you added <3 this is definitely a spoilery question but man, i gotta ask... what happened in Lestrade's life that to made him so... unhappy? Careless with his own wellbeing? :(

<3

A previous answer I have given: "Just a spiral of things. Life turning the wrong way, things looking bad on the horizon, failing to take care of themselves so they have poor chances of climbing out or realising they even can." In addition to this. This had not started when MC and L first met. And there was a catalyst event, that set it off, and in a way MC is involved in this.

💖💝💕💯💐

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

you deserve to go to jail for making me choose between two cute love interests... that aside, your game has helped me a lot while struggling with mental health problems. which sounds a little silly but genuinely it warms my heart when i don't feel well. so thank you for creating something so wonderful. + i know most asks here are RO-related but im also very excited to see how the story goes!

Gosh Anon, you gave me a heart-attack with those first few words haha-- but to the rest, thank you so much <3<3<3 That's very sweet. I'm really glad and honoured to help in anyway I can. There's a lot of plot coming anon! Don't you worry! :D

harrypotternerd934 asked:

I need to say that I'm absolutely amoured by your story. I really enjoy playing as Sherlock and I think you did a really great job at capturing the vibe of the setting.

Much love and further luck with your story 🤗

@harrypotternerd934 <3

Aww, thank you so much! <3<3<3

approxtwelveangrybees asked:

I need you to know that I had so much fun with the Victorian gazing in the first two chapters

@approxtwelveangrybees <3<3<3

Congratulations on the anniversary <3 the update was so good.. all the little reworked scenes... the love kernels... But wait, will there actually be a love triangle route!!!!?

Yeees <3 Lot's of them <3

phaedraismyusername asked:

My favourite line of the update - just a top tier IQ drop right there 😍 lol

The whole thing was so good! An absolute joy to read as always ❤️❤️❤️

@phaedraismyusername <3<3<3 You're a joy!!! <3<3<3 (I love how people are discovering the thigh line haha)

and to "The trio Lestrade/hungry tumblr anon" Thank you for your story <3

[foilfreak]

Beauty and Her Beast: Chapter 4

Warning: This fic is rated NSFW and contains graphic depictions of things some people may find disturbing or alarming, including, but not limited to: violence, gore, unhealthy family relationships, Oedipus complexes, gratuitous amount of pornographic literature, ableist language, physical, mental, and emotional abuse, etc. If you are someone who does not enjoy fiction with these elements in them, then I suggest you refrain from reading this, because this fic will have all that, and probably a lot more. So, this is your first and final warning to turn around and go somewhere else if stuff like this just isn't your vibe, because from this point forward, your emotional wellbeing is in your own hands, and I will not be accepting blame if you disregarded my warnings and ended up reading something you didn't like. Idk why I feel compelled to write one of these despite this being Resident Evil fanfic, but I figured I'd cover my ass just in case.

(Link to ao3 version in comments below)

Upon returning to the surface again, Mother Miranda seems confused, but mostly relieved, that Salvatore did not show interest in lingering in the village any longer than necessary. Though Salvatore did end up needing to stay for one last brief conversation, in which he and Mother Miranda discussed various parts of Nadine’s file, as well as finalized the date and approximate time in which Salvatore could expect the villagers to arrive at the reservoir gate with his gift in tow.

2 days from now, was the final agreement, as it would ensure that Salvatore would be the first of the Lords to receive his gift, making up for the fact that he was the last of them to pick. It also permitted him the luxury of some spare time to prepare a new permanent living environment of some kind for his gift. Whatever the hell that was supposed to mean.

Regardless, Once their conversation finally concluded, Salvatore bid his beloved Mother a quick, but appropriately appreciative thank you and goodbye, before closing the large wooden door to the meeting room and trudging back out into the cold, harsh winter snow. Despite a lack of improvement in the weather since Salvatore’s initial journey into the village, the mutant man maintained a solid pace through the snowy paths, seemingly uninhibited by the forceful winds attempting to throw him from his course.

With little time remaining, Salvatore wanted to return to his reservoir as quickly as possible to begin making preparations; though, what exactly it was he was supposed to do in order to prepare for a tiny, beautiful, and apparently violent cadou-mutant woman to begin living in his reservoir with him, once again, Salvatore still had no idea.

Grimacing in frustration, the hooded man wracked his brain for something to do, some way for him to make a good “first” impression with his new gift when she finally arrives. Something that would catch her fancy and hopefully convince her that, despite his terrifying appearance, he wouldn’t harm her and merely wanted to be friends.

Well… technically speaking Salvatore wanted a great deal more than just friendship from the young woman, however given how low his chances are of ever achieving the former, the mutant man decided that he’d happily squash his vile and disgusting desires down deep within himself if it meant he’d gain at least something similar to a friendship with Nadine.

He’d been doing the same with Mother for all these years, so it wasn’t like it was going to be difficult… hopefully.

Upon returning to his reservoir finally, Salvatore retreated from the harsh weather, deciding that he’d likely have a much easier time cleaning if he waited the snowstorm out and got started in the morning, instead. Once the skies had cleared and the sun had just begun to peak over the mountaintop horizon however, Salvatore immediately set to work cleaning up the areas surrounding the reservoir.

It wasn’t until after several hours of diligent gathering and disposing of the numerous unsightly piles of rotting wood and garbage lying around, that the unusually bright and hopeful atmosphere surrounding the reservoir was rudely disrupted by a surprise visitor Salvatore would have never seen coming in a million years.

“HEY, FISHFACE, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU? I gotta talk to you about something, so hurry up and crawl out of your sewer system so we can get this over with, already” Karl’s rough and booming voice echoed out from somewhere within the reservoir.

Salvatore flinches in fearful surprise at the demanding voice, wondering what on earth could possibly have brought Karl, the notorious recluse of the family who never left his factory unless bribed or threatened, all the way out here to the reservoir. And to speak to HIM, on top of all that too.

Despite not feeling like subjecting himself to Karl’s recent tendency toward physical abuse disguised as “brotherly affection”, Salvatore sighs and swims his way toward his younger brother’s voice anyways, knowing that ignoring Karl would only prompt the younger man to actually enter the reservoir in search of him, which was the absolute last thing Salvatore needed right now.

“Mornin’, brother! It’s about fuckin’ time you answered the door. You were taking so long I was beginning to wonder if you’d finally decided to run away and live out the rest of your life as an actual fish, like I suggested to you at the last “family” meeting” Karl says bluntly, clad his characteristic attire of green sunglasses, a brown hat atop his head, a long tan trench coat covering his day clothes, various items strung around his neck, and large titanium hammer.

“H-hello, Karl... W-why is it th-that you’re h-here for?” Salvatore asks slowly, peering at the younger, but taller man from behind the only partially opened gate.

“Hey, hey, come on now, Sal, what’s with the cold welcome? Am I not allowed to visit my favorite older brother without a specific rhyme or reason. I think you’ll be surprised to know that I was actually already in the area, and wanted to stop by and see if you were in the mood for a chat. You know, like old times?” Karl says defensively, placing both his hands up as Salvatore narrows his eyes at the younger man.

Salvatore was a lot of things, but stupid most certainly wasn’t one of them, regardless of what other people thought. While it might be true that, when Karl was first introduced to the family as a child following his successful cadou mutation, they had something of a positive older-younger brother relationship that lasted a good many years into Karl’s adulthood, that relationship has been growing progressively shakier and unstable over the past few years, at least it has during the times Karl has acted like Salvatore wasn’t the only one to reach out and attempt to connect with the emotionally volatile, but secretly terrified young boy, when he first arrived.

Deep down, Salvatore still had something of a soft spot for Karl, a soft spot that he occasionally allowed himself to indulge in whenever Karl wasn’t acting like a royal asshole, but those moments of peace and solidarity between oldest and youngest brother had been few and far in between recently. Not to mention that Salvatore would be lying if he said he wasn’t growing increasingly more suspicious and distrustful of Karl and whatever secrets the younger man was hiding in that factory of his. He hadn’t the slightest idea what he could be up to, but something told Salvatore that Karl had more reason to be here than just pure coincidence.

“P-perhaps… what i-is it that you w-want to t-talk about?” Salvatore replies curtly, not wanting to just go along with whatever Karl wanted, but for some reason still willing to give the younger man a chance to prove himself.

Taking a brief moment to look over both his shoulders, Karl places the heavy end of his hammer on the ground and leans inward toward Salvatore, lowering his voice as he whispers, “You see your gift from Mother yet?”

This question took Salvatore by surprise, not expecting the gifts Mother Miranda had given them to be the reason why Karl was here.

“I… I h-have… why?” The disfigured man asks curiously, pushing the gate open a little further so that Karl, despite Salvatore’s earlier reservations toward the younger man, could squeeze his way inside.

Upon entering through the gate, Karl immediately takes 2 cigars out of his back pocket and lights the first one. “Curiosity mostly… but also cuz I think there’s more to this whole “gift” thing than Miranda wants us to believe,” the bespeckled man says, blowing a lungful of smoke out his nose as he offers Salvatore the second cigar. “You still smoke, old man?”

“I-I… I r-really shouldn’t” Salvatore says, turning his back toward Karl’s outstretched hand, even as the wonderfully woody scent fills his nose and his mouth begins to water.

“Oooooh, but something tells me you want to” Karl teases, sauntering over to the older man so that he could wave the fresh cigar in Salvatore’s face, chuckling in amusement when the fish mutant’s gaze locked onto and followed the unlit stick like a dog would a slab of meat.

“B-but it… M-Mother has s-said… m-many times… th-that she d-doesn’t like… doesn’t like when we s-smoke… because… uh, b-because...” Salvatore trails off, trying to remain strong for Mother Miranda, even as his self-control slowly continues to crack.

“Come on, lighten up a little bit, old man. It’s just one cigar. You smoked a pack of these things a day, like they were the only things keeping you going, both throughout my whole adolescence and, if what Duke says is to be trusted which we both know it is, well after I left for my factory, too. When the hell did you start being such a stick in the mud? No wonder I stopped hanging out with you, you’re like a fuckin’ parrot that repeats everything than goddamn woman says, it’s like I can’t escape her no matter where I fuckin’ go” Karl groans in a slightly childish tone of voice as he trudges forward to sit on one of the docks overlooking the calm water below.

Salvatore slowly moves to join him as he says, “S-she’s right th-though… it r-really isn’t good… f-for you… I smoked e-everyday for m-many years... an-and now I’m p-paying for my i-ignorance… Mother o-only nags at you… b-because she c-cares… and s-she’s always r-right… in the e-end...”

“Oh, fuck what Miranda says, I’m tired of that woman. Always telling us what to do and then thinking that pushing a couple of failed experiments onto us as “gifts” will make up for the fact that she’s disappearing off the face of the planet without a single trace and not telling us when she’ll be back. As far as I’m concerned, when Miranda’s not here, she’s not the boss of me. And the same goes for you, too” Karl says, roughly punching Salvatore in the shoulder.

“I-I don’t… I don’t think th-that’s how this w-works, Karl” Salvatore counters. “Even w-with Mother l-leaving us… f-for a t-time... we still h-have to make s-sure that th-things c-continue on… continue on as p-planned… or e-else we’ll really b-be in trouble… w-when she g-gets back.”

“Maybe,” Karl says thoughtfully, before taking another drag of his cigar. “I don’t know… I just have a sinking feeling that there’s something weird going on behind the scenes and these “gifts”, that she’s giving us, are nothing more than distractions to keep us entertained while she goes and does… whatever the fuck it is she plans on doing while she’s gone.”

Salvatore pauses for a moment, briefly remembering back to when Mother first told him that she’d be leaving the village to go “visit someone”, who she believed could be very important to their mission of reviving Mother’s long lost baby, Eva. Although he hadn’t thought very much of it at the time, the mutant man also remembers Mother saying something about how well Nadine would do at “keeping him occupied” until she finally returned, and maybe even after that, too. But why would Mother Miranda want or need him to be “occupied” when she got back? Wouldn’t she want to share her findings with him so they could work toward creating a vessel to revive Eva in? Wouldn’t she want to see and speak to him again after being away for so long?

Or maybe… could… could Karl actually be onto something here? Salvatore felt terrible doubting Mother Miranda, but he’d be lying if he said that Karl didn’t have a point about Mother’s behavior seeming odd, now that he was in the proper headspace to go back and analyze the memory properly, at least.

“B-but… if Mother h-has gone o-out of her w-way… to make sure that w-we won’t be l-lonely... w-while she’s away… isn’t th-that a… a good th-thing… doesn’t that m-mean she c-cares a-bout us... enough to… e-enough to do something l-like this?” Salvatore asks nervously, watching the younger man intently as he contemplates his response.

“I guess so, at least when you word it like that, it does. But something tells me there’s more to this than she’s led us to believe. She’s got something planned, and she’s definitely after something, and once she gets her hands on it, who the hell knows what’ll happen… whatever it is though, I doubt it’ll be very good, for any of us.”

“D-don’t say th-things l-like that… I-I’m sure M-Mother has a-a reason… a reason w-why she’s leaving… an-and if she d-doesn’t tell us w-what it is… b-before she leaves… th-then Im sure… I’m sure sh-she’ll tell u-us when she g-gets back… she’ll l-let us in o-on her p-plan… wh-when she’s ready… an-and then… once e-everything is… said a-and done… we c-can revive… r-revive Eva… and b-be a real f-family… a-at long l-last… isn’t th-that what w-we a-all want, after a-all… a f-family?” Salvatore asks, hoping this was doing something to ease the younger man’s clearly agitated mind.

What on earth it was that was causing so much turmoil as it flew around inside Karl’s head, Salvatore had no idea. But something about the bespectacled man’s unusually contemplative and concerned mood, coupled with the fact that he’d only punched Salvatore once since his arrival, was beginning to leave an acidic taste in the deformed man’s mouth.

Karl really and truly thought something was wrong, and the younger man’s continued insistence upon this fact was beginning to make Salvatore very very anxious.

Perhaps it was the unusually good and excited mood that Salvatore was in due to the near arrival of his gift, or maybe it was that soft spot for Karl I mentioned earlier, but regardless of the reason, Salvatore felt the odd need to help alleviate the younger man’s bad mood, just like he used to do for him back when Karl was still barely taller than his shoulder.

Mother Miranda certainly wouldn’t be pleased if she found out that Salvatore had broken his mandatory sobriety despite her explicit orders to avoid smoking so his experiment results wouldn't be hindered. That being said however, Miranda always seemed to want her 4 children to get along and be close, like real siblings, so Salvatore supposed that he could allow himself a break from his smoking break so long as, if Miranda did manage to find out somehow, he could get himself out of trouble by spinning it as a rare moment of sibling bonding between the oldest and youngest siblings, rather than the reality of the situation.

“I… I’ll t-take that cigar… if you’re n-not gonna smoke it… th-that is” Salvatore says, a small chuckle escaping him when Karl cheers in delight, practically throwing both the lighter and the cigar into the deformed man’s hands.

Salvatore’s first breath of the cigar is nothing short of heavenly once he finally lights it and takes a drag, and its moments like these when the mutant man finds himself secretly grateful that Karl hasn’t listened to a goddamn word Mother Miranda has said in nearly 4 decades.

A long period of silence passes as both brothers merely sit beside one another and secretly enjoy each other’s company.

“Miranda let me pick my gift first, so I didn’t get to see where the others went. Who did you end up with?” Karl asks, finally breaking the silence.

“T-the… the sh-short one,” Salvatore replies, “with b-blue skin, black h-hair, a-and, uh… oh, an-and white d-dots… all o-over her… l-like freckles… fins t-too”

“Oh ya, I remember that one. Gorgeous little thing, she was” Karl says, nodding his head in appreciation as a devilish smile spreads across his unshaven lips. “With quite the… voluptuous figure too, if I remember correctly.”

“I… well… I-I don’t know i-if… I d-didn’t... shut up...” Salvatore mumbles under his breath, taking a long drag from his cigar as Karl throws his head back laughing like a hyena at his older brother’s sudden bashfulness.

“Ah, come on, Sal, don’t be such a downer all the fuckin’ time, I’m just teasing. I know you still think about shit like that, too, even if you’ve managed to convince Alcina and everybody else that you’re just an innocent little follower who hasn’t had an independent, or dirty thought of his own since the cadou took hold. You used to be a fuckin’ doctor for crying out loud, and you’re still annoyingly the person Miranda goes to first whenever she has a new experiment in mind, cuz you’re smart AND she can trust you. You might look like you fell off the truck that was taking you and your fishy friends to market, but I’ve known you too long for that bullshit act of yours to work on me.”

“Act?” Salvatore asks, genuinely confused by what Karl means.

“You know, that stupid fuckin’ “moronic freak” act you do whenever Miranda’s around. The one where you act like you don’t know what the fuck is going on or what something is so that she’ll take pity on how stupid and childish you’re acting and give you more attention. It’s pathetic to watch and I’m gettin’ sick of seeing you do it all the time. Knock it off, you’re better than that.”

“I’ll… um… b-be sure not to… to m-make it s-seem as… uh… I’ll k-keep that in m-mind” Salvatore finally says, casting his gaze down to his pants for a moment, unsure how to feel about how… friendly and kind Karl was being all of a sudden. Salvatore knew Karl secretly cared about him, the brat does far too many conveniently nice things for him throughout the year for him not to, but hearing the younger man voice his surprisingly high opinion of him was definitely shocking, though still quite touching, all the while.

“W-which gift… d-did you end u-up… getting, Karl? I d-didn’t get t-the chance to… to s-see the others… M-Mother only showed me Nadi-er… my g-gift” Salvatore asks, deciding, at the last second, against using his gift’s real name lest Karl be given even more artillery to tease and riddle him with.

“Eh, just some tall dark haired broad. I think Miranda said something about her being Indian, or something along those lines.”

“O-oh… d-did Mother say a-anything about… whether she’s actually f-from here… o-or did she immigrate… f-from India?” Salvatore asks, tilting his head curiously as this new information about Karl’s gift piques his interest.

Karl stares at Salvatore with a look of confusion for a moment, his mouth opening and closing silently like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words for it. Until, “Aren’t Indians from America?”

The sound of Salvatore’s right palm making firm and painful contact with the back of Karl’s head echoes across the reservoir almost as loudly as the following cry of pain from the man himself.

“OW! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?” Karl roars angrily, pushing himself to his feet while he rubs at the back of his head, hat lopsided and barely hanging on to his head and green glasses no longer perched upon his nose, likely sinking to the murky lake floor just below the docks they were sitting on.

“I d-didn’t spend… th-the better part o-of 15 years… p-pounding an education... i-into y-your th-thick head... for you t-to say… f-for you to b-be spouting dumb shit… l-like that” Salvatore growls in annoyance, eying the taller man with a look that even he wouldn’t dare argue against, at least not with Sal he wouldn’t.

It’s moments like these when Salvatore is very happy that Karl, for as strong and fearless as he is now as a fully grown adult, is still just a little bit afraid of him after all these years. Not because of anything bad or horrifically traumatic of course, especially considering how often Salvatore had gone out of his way to ensure Karl had the least traumatic upbringing he could possibly provide the young boy, given both their situations. As much as he hated to admit it, even Karl would agree that Salvatore had done a pretty decent job of not fucking him up anymore than he already was, which the younger man would secretly always be thankful for. However, even a person as naively patient and serving toward others as Salvatore had his breaking point, and all it took was one especially bad day, resulting in the one and only time Salvatore has ever left a mark upon the younger man’s skin, for Karl to realize that Salvatore was the last person in this godforsaken village he wanted to purposefully make an enemy out of.

Thankfully, their relationship never suffered negatively from that one-off event, but it did force the two to come to a mostly unspoken agreement that has remained present and active, if slightly ignored at certain times, from that point forward. Agreement or not however, Salvatore could never bring himself to harm Karl like that again, even if he wanted to, which was probably the main reason why Karl was still the most comfortable around him, even after all these years. It was a secret they shared between them, and them alone, and it would be one that he would cherish for the rest of his life, as Karl would secretly cherish the kindness and brotherly love Salvatore had treated him with for all these years. They were brothers, regardless of whether they got along or not, and nothing in the would world would be able to change that.

That being said however, Karl was about to be in for a very rude awakening if he thought he could just do and say whatever the hell he wanted around Salvatore without there being any consequences.

“‘A-aren’t Indians f-from A-America?’ G-good grief... I o-oughta throttle y-you for th-that one” Salvatore grumbles through another drag of his cigar, shaking his head in utter disbelief and disappointment. Karl was so intelligent, and yet he could be so stupid sometimes that it physically hurt Salvatore to think about.

“But there ARE Indians in America, aren’t there? I know I’m not wrong here” Karl defends aggressively, his anger quickly giving way to embarrassment when Salvatore raises his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration and annoyance.

“Th-they’re called N-Native Americans... f-first of all... they w-were only c-called I-Indians... b-because the g-guy... the moron who f-first sailed t-to the A-Americas... w-was actually... looking for I-India... the r-real India... b-but back th-then... you h-had to go all th-the way... a-around Africa... to g-get there... but he th-thought h-he could do... d-do it a d-different w-way... he thought h-he could f-find India... by s-sailing straight f-from S-Spain... and g-going around the whole w-world... until h-he came b-back around... an-and hit Asia” Salvatore explained slowly, hoping to maintain his delusion that Karl had, in fact, paid attention to at least some of the lessons he gave the boy throughout their time together, even if it wasn’t actually true.

“But he didn’t. He hit the Americas and started calling the locals Indians cuz the guy, what’s-his-face... Columbine... Columbus... whatever, was dumb enough to think he was in India and not a totally different landmass” Karl finishes, looking like he at least remembered hearing about his information before, which was good enough for Salvatore.

Despite the grimace still etched onto his face, Karl groans in annoyed defeat and slinks back down to sit next to Salvatore, still cradling the back of his head.

“Anyways, as i was saying before I was so rudely interrupted with a goddamn history lesson-”

“You w-want another s-smack?” Salvatore threatens, mildly amused when Karl pauses his dramatic retelling, before sliding just a few inches to the right, away from Salvatore’s preferred disciplining hand.

Coughing slightly, Karl continues. “Anyways… going back to my “finding the silver lining” idea, or whatever the fuck its called. This whole “gift” thing might actually work out kinda nice for me in the long run, especially since the one I got looked like she was strong and could handle herself in a rough and tumble environment. If she proves herself, I’m planning on turning her into my assistant” Karl explains casually. “As much as I hate working with other people, normally, I’ve got some projects that would really benefit from a second pair of hands, so I’m attempting to make a “silver lining” moment out of this bullshit “gift” thing Miranda’s tryin to do and just hope and pray that things work out in my favor. Though, to be fair, if things with this girl don’t go well, I could always use her body for a cool idea I’ve had cooked up for a while now. What about you? What are you planning on doing with your new little toy once it finally arrives?”

Salvatore merely shrugs his shoulders. “It w-would be nice… i-if we c-could be f-friends… somehow… but…”

“Ya… you’re not exactly working with the latest and greatest set up, huh? Even a mutant girl might need a little bit to get adjusted to a face like that” Karl says.

“That’s c-certainly one way o-of p-putting it” Salvatore replies dejectedly.

Karl flinches slightly, which surprises Salvatore, since the younger man has a habit of caring very little for how his words affect those around him. Why on earth was he being so considerate, all of a sudden?

“Look, uh… what I meant to say was that… ok, so maybe you’re not like, the best looking guy ever, but like…” Karl stammers and stutters, trying desperately to figure out what he wants to say but seemingly coming up short every time.

Salvatore narrows his eyes again, suspicion returning. “You’re h-hiding something f-from me… w-what are you a-after, Karl?” Salvatore asks seriously, fixing the younger man with a stern look that he knows Karl recognizes.

“Hey, don’t you give me that fuckin’ look. I am too fuckin’ old for you to be looking at me like that, what am I, 12?” Karl asks.

“You c-certainly act l-like it… most of th-the time” Salvatore grumbles under his breath.

Karl clearly heard him, but knew better than to argue with the water not even a foot below where the two were currently sitting, his sunglasses having already taken a nice little dive as punishment for his big mouth. Salvatore might have only agreed to speak with Karl because the latter had demanded it, but they were still very much in Salvatore’s territory, and it wasn’t even a question of who had the topographical advantage should an “argument” actually break out between them.

Karl is strong, nobody can deny that. But Salvatore has the home advantage, and they both know it.

After a moment of tense staring, Karl finally breaks first, sighing heavily before tossing his finished cigar cap into the water below them, a crime Salvatore briefly contemplates knocking the younger man in for, before deciding against it, knowing, with his luck, that it would only come back to bite him in the ass later.

“Alright look,” Karl finally says, a look of frustrated determination on his face, “I don’t know what Miranda really has planned past her whole “get a suitable vessel for Eva” obsession, or what she’s really after on this mission of hers… but something about this whole situation going on recently just doesn’t feel right to me, and I think we need to do something about it before something bad happens and we all somehow end up dead. Now, I'm not 100% sure why I’m talking about this with the head of Miranda’s fuckin’ fanclub, but considering what my other 2 options were it wasn’t like I had much of a damn choice. My only saving grace right now is the fact that you’ll at least occasionally listen to fuckin’ reason, given your gaping maw can be yanked from Miranda’s tit long enough to hear me out, that is. It’s certainly better than my chances with Lady Super-sized Bitch and Crazy Psycho Doll, over there.”

“Are you s-sure you’re n-not just being p-paranoid?” Salvatore asks slowly, not wanting to offend Karl by outright stating he didn’t believe the younger man’s hunch, but also trying to figure out if Karl actually has something to be concerned about, or if he’s just looking for an excuse to badmouth Miranda.

“No, no no no, don’t you do this to me too, Sal” Karl begs in frustration. “You can go about the rest of your life loving the absolute shit out of that crazy woman if you want to and I won’t say a goddamn thing about it, but I need you to promise me, and I mean promise me, that if you see or hear something weird regarding Miranda and this little “trip” she’s about to go on, you come tell me so that we can at least make sure our own asses are covered when shit hits the fan.”

“Well… I-I uh…”

“Come on, Sal. None of these psychotic assholes have ever had my back like you, and that’s exactly the reason why I’m telling you all this” Karl says honestly, catching Salvatore off guard with the oddly familiar wording.

“I know I can be a royal fucking pain in the ass most of the time and that I’m not always the… nicest to you… even though you did kinda do... a bit for me here and there when I was a little tyke... But none of that matters now, because even if Miranda isn’t trying to hide something from us, with the two of us banded together, we could do whatever the hell we wanted while she’s gone, and neither of the other shitheads would be able to tell us otherwise. What do you say, Sal? Come on, you and me, together, just like when I was a kid, remember?” Karl asked excitedly, his eyes shimmering in boyish glee as he spouts off all the things they’d be able to get away with when Miranda finally left, the torment they’d be able to unleash upon Alcina being a particular favorite of Karl’s, it would seem.

Salvatore remained silent for a moment, contemplating the deal he’d just been given.

It’s… not a terrible deal, at least compared to some of the previous deals Salvatore has been offered in the past. It wasn’t like him agreeing to “ally” himself with Karl was a direct declaration of war against Mother Miranda or anything like that, merely a mutual effort that would guarantee safety for both him and Karl should Mother’s plan not go exactly as she wanted, which scientific experiments were known to do. Not to mention that giving Alcina a good messing with did sound like quite a bit of fun.

Maybe… maybe Karl was right. Maybe Salvatore was being a bit too much of a stick in the mud. It was just Karl after all, who Salvatore had practically raised, starting from the boy’s arrival into the family at 6 years old and more or less up until his factory was completed just after his 22nd birthday. Karl could certainly be a handful for even the most powerful individuals, but even on his worst days, he always found some backwards, convoluted way to apologize for his behavior.

“W-well… I-I’m not s-sure… I d-don’t know how I f-feel about… about d-doing things th-that Mother… wouldn’t a-approve of… just b-because sh-she’s gone...”

“But...” Karl continued for him.

“B-but I suppose… k-keeping each other u-updated… when we f-find… or h-hear s-something weird is… wouldn’t be… wouldn’t be th-the worst idea… in th-the world… e-even if it just t-turns out that… we w-were just being p-paranoid.”

“Excellent! That’s just what I was hoping to hear” Karl says triumphantly, standing up.

“A-are you l-leaving, already?”

“Ya” Karl affirms, “I’ve got work to do at the factory, and based on the look of things here, you were busy with a project of your own it looks like.”

Salvatore nods, pocketing his freshly finished cigar cap for later, proper, disposal. “I c-can’t even remember… the l-last time I… p-properly cleaned this p-place… it l-looks so m-much nicer… even w-without being f-fully finished…”

“Good for you. My own property could probably do with a good cleaning of its own now that you mention it. If nothing else though, I’m sure your new little lady friend will appreciate that you picked up the place for her arrival.”

“Y-you think s-so?” Salvatore asks.

Karl shrugs his shoulders. “Who knows with chicks, they’re unpredictable, but I suppose it’s possible. Then again, maybe not considering who you ended up with. I don’t know the full story or anything like that, but based on what I heard from Miranda, that blue bitch you went with was the craziest one of them all. Practically tore her pod apart the first time Miranda tried to put her in it, and caused all sorts of other damage throughout her mutation phase too, not that I blame the poor girl. I’d tear that whole lab right out from under the surface and set it ablaze if I could. Going back down there after so many years… I was puking like you for the rest of the fuckin’ day when I finally got out of that hellhole. Stomach still feels a little nauseous if I’m being honest...”

“I-I’m sorry… to h-hear that” Salvatore says, though Karl is quick to brush him off.

“Eh, don’t worry about it. I’m a big boy and I can handle myself. But do we have a deal? Keep each other in the loop whenever we hear anything… strange or abnormal about Mother Miranda or her special little mission?”

Salvatore pauses for a moment, thinking one last time about whether this was a good idea, before finally shrugging his shoulders and nodding. “Y-yes, we h-have a deal… b-but just remember something, Karl… 40 years d-didnt do… nearly as m-much for your p-poker face as i-it did for your s-smart mouth. If I c-catch you lying to m-me-”

“Ya, ya, ya, you’ll chop up my body and toss my remains in the lake to feed the fishes, I’ve heard that one a million times before” Karl interrupts. “Don’t worry, Sal, if I was planning on lying to you at any point throughout this process, you’d have already caught me by now. Even I know better than to try pulling a fast one over the walking fuckin’ lie detector.”

“I’m h-holding you to th-that, Karl” Salvatore calls over his shoulder as the younger man stands and begins heading toward the gate to return to his factory, chuckling lightly when Karl returns his warning with a middle finger.

“Take it easy, old man. And let me know how that crazy fish bitch you ended up with turns out. If all else fails I’ll turn her into a nice stuffed pillow for you” the bespeckled man says, throwing his head back in laughter as though he’d told a funny joke, before adding, “And I’d better get my sunglasses back within the week, or else I’m draining the whole fucking reservoir so I can find them myself. Don’t think I won’t do it, old man.”

Salvatore merely returns the middle finger, a response that Karl seems to appreciate, if the wolfish howl of laughter the younger man let's out says anything, at least.

‘Cheeky brat. Always plotting something’ Salvatore thinks fondly to himself as he slips back into the water to continue cleaning the reservoir, quickly grabbing the green sunglasses that had sunk to the bottom and pocketing them to return to Karl later. He pauses for a moment when a thought crosses his mind.

Within the past 24 hours, both Mother Miranda and Karl had been… unusually kind and affectionate toward Salvatore, which pleased but also confused the twisted man.

Karl was easy enough to explain away, the younger man has been flip flopping between periods where he likes and spends time with Salvatore, and periods where he’d sooner set himself on fire than be in the same room as his older brother, since the day they met, so as far as Salvatore was concerned, Karl’s behavior was hardly breaking news, though perhaps a bit surprising given everything going on with Mother’s gifts. Mother Miranda, however, was a different story.

Usually more distant and hands-off in her parenting ways, Miranda had been uncharacteristically affectionate toward the disfigured man the night before, going as far as to openly praise Salvatore for all his hard work and even hold him without being asked to. It had been such a wonderful experience at the time and yet, the more Salvatore thought about it, the stranger and stranger the behavior seemed, especially now that Karl had confronted him.

Speaking of Karl… Mother seemed quite upset with him when she spoke of him the night before. Going as far as to badmouth him specifically, calling him a ‘conniving little snake’, despite the younger man usually being her favorite by a country mile. Had Karl done something to incur Mother’s wrath? Is that why Karl came all the way over here to make that deal with him? Is he trying to rally the 4 lords to rebel against Mother Miranda?

No... No, no no no, that couldn’t be true, there’s no way.

Even Karl, for all his incredible intellect and hunger for power, was too afraid of Mother Miranda to ever try anything as drastic as that. That being said however, even though Salvatore doubted that Karl would ever try to rebel against Mother Miranda, it did seem like the younger man was trying very hard to get Salvatore onto his side for some reason. In fact, both Karl AND Mother Miranda appeared to be trying to sway the eldest Lord in their favor, though for what reason, he still had no idea.

It was definitely something that made Salvatore slightly wary of the both of them, though.

There’s nothing in this world that Salvatore hates more than doubting his beloved Mother, but even he couldn’t write this oddity of a situation off as a mere one-off incident or sudden change of Miranda’s tune. Mother has been acting very strangely recently, doing things she wouldn’t normally do and acting overly affectionate as if to try and throw everyone off her tracks, and the longer Salvatore thought about it, the more he couldn’t help but wonder, as painful as it was to admit, if maybe Karl was actually onto something.

Logically, he knows that Karl is just being Karl, looking to stir up some trouble for his own, and supposedly Salvatore’s, amusement, and that Mother Miranda is likely just trying to enjoy the time she has left with her children before she leaves on her mission. However, something in the back of Salvatore’s mind can’t help but wonder if maybe there’s more going on than he’s been led to believe by either of them. And as if this situation couldn’t get any more confusing for the deformed man, now his overly anxious and analytical mind was beginning to understand what Karl meant when he said there was something strange going on, no matter how much the rest of him practically screamed to just listen to Miranda like he always has.

Shaking his head of his scrambled thoughts and turning his focus back to his work, Salvatore decides that the best thing he can do right now is keep an ear to the ground on both Mother Miranda AND Karl, just to be fair. He still isn't sure if he plans on being 100% honest with Karl regarding their deal, but he supposes that maintaining a good relationship with the younger man wouldn’t hurt in the event he turned out to be right and Mother’s plan backfired on all of them.

Besides, if Karl did turn out to be right, and Salvatore was ready for if things took a bad turn, he could still be there to rescue Mother Miranda and ensure she’s brought to safety along with them. He’ll have successfully fulfilled his family duties to both Karl and Mother Miranda, without ever having to actually choose which side he was definitively on. A perfect plan if the mutant man says so himself. Now the only thing left to do between now and whenever things started getting interesting was work on the reservoir and wait for his gift to finally arrive, his mood regarding this whole situation greatly improved thanks to Karl’s visit.

Hopefully, if things went well, he’d have some exciting news to tell the younger man the next time they met up.

Maybe he’d even have a new friend to introduce.

[rusty-k]

A Theory About the Saint of Duty

[HTN/TLT SPOILERS]

Hey TLT people--

There was a reddit thread about the Saint of Duty the other day (link), and I commented some G1deon thoughts of mine that’ve been brewing in my head for a while. I figured I’d bring them to the tumblr tag to open up some discussion and see if anyone else buys this theory, or honestly just to spread some G1deon love. (I imprint on minor characters; it’s a curse.)

This is more or less copied from my reddit comment word-for-word, but here’s some general thought on Gideon the First’s personality, and why I have a theory that he might’ve lobotomized himself like Harrow:

G1deon character thoughts

G1deon as we know him in HtN is likely very different from the man he must've been 10,000 years ago. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he changed significantly between the start of the Wake affair and the events of book 2.

More so than any of the other Lyctors, Gideon and Pyrrha seemed to have had this strong synergy going on. Unlike most necros, Gideon is a buff beef jerky man, and we see two rapiers in G&P's room. The winnowing/construct trial is also referred to as "Pyrrha's trial," which has always struck me as a curious detail and suggests to me that Pyrrha knew more about necromancy than cavs generally do. We know that the saintly epithets refer to the cavs, in general, but I don't think that was exactly the case for G&P; based on the previously stated, I believe they were both equally dutiful people, willing to throw themselves into each other's studies and share each other's skills.

Aug and Mercy were forced to rush their Lyctorization process because of their reckless cavs, and G1deon was next, but the fact that Pyrrha compartmentalized suggests they were closer to figuring it out than Aug and Mercy were--which I think is greatly due to the harmony of their relationship.

We know from what the other Lyctors & John have said that Gid loved and respected Pyrrha deeply. I wouldn't be surprised if the ferocity with which he threw himself into his saintly work over the 10,000 years emerged--at least partially, if not primarily--from his devotion to her. There's Pyrrha, the most spectacular cav and an all-around badass, and Gideon--having taken her to fuel his ascension--acting as John's attack dog with an intensity that would make her sacrifice worthwhile.

It's difficult to gauge how much Gideon actually enjoyed any of this; John seems to think he did, but I wouldn’t trust John for shit, and I'm sure John's understanding of G1d is heavily skewed in his own favor.

I think it's also important to consider Pyrrha's side of this story as it relates to G1deon’s current state, as well as the Wake affair. Her actions raise several questions. First of all, how long did it take for her to realize that she could take control of his body? How exactly did it happen, the first time? And how aware is Gideon? Does he have any inkling at all? Is there something more to his forgetfulness, something purposeful?

I have to imagine that in any case, Pyrrha must have gone through a lot over those 10,000 years. 10,000 years of odd sensory deprivation, which was probably hell for a fiery badass like P. 10,000 years of watching Gideon put up with John's bullshit, of watching the other Lyctors die off one-by-one and accumulate a host of mental, physical, and emotional scars. I'm convinced that Pyrrha's relationship with "duty" changed over the course of the years as she watched from this disembodied perspective, and that her "treachery" against John (her affair with Wake & possibly feeding intel to the BoE) was just a natural progression of that change.

When Wake factors in, I'd bet good money that the driving factor in both Pyrrha and Gideon's attraction to her is that she reminds them both of Pyrrha. Hell, Pyrrha even says this outright: "She was the most dangerous woman I'd ever met who wasn't me." I imagine that P's attraction to Wake, beyond this cool display of cockiness, also emerged from a sort of nostalgia--maybe Wake reminds her of what life used to be when she had a body, when she could fight and command, when she had a cause to occupy her energy. On G1d's side, he sees a woman who's dedicated and dutiful, even if it's for an enemy faction, and a woman who would undeniably make one hell of a cavalier (I think someone says this in HtN, although I'm forgetting who, so correct me if I’m wrong). I'm sure there's nostalgia in it for him, too.

Then, there's elephant in the room: Wake's fiery red hair and Pyrrha's name, meaning "flame-colored." I'm convinced that at least some of the similarities were physical. And at the bottom of it all is the inherent sexiness of finding a worthy opponent who's also hot. Lol.

Gideon Prime Lobotomy Time(?)

Here's where things get squirrelly for me, and the main reason why I have a theory that G1d's current state might be partially self-inflicted.

G&P were having discrete affairs with Wake, which inherently brings up logistical questions. First of all, how? And how exactly did Wake come to "kiss" Gideon "before she realized what they were?" How long were the durations of time in which Pyrrha kept his body under her control? In any case, after Wake & Gideon initiated their leg of the affair, it continued throughout the two years up until Gideon Jr.'s birth, which implies that Gideon Prime had some agency and willfulness in all of it. It's difficult to imagine the permanently-spaced-out-thousand-yard-stare man we know in HtN actively participating in such an entanglement.

Of course, I’ll acknowledge that it's entirely possible that I'm wrong, and that Wake just jumps his bones when she feels like it, and he's like "ok I guess," so take this as you will; but I'd like to put forth the suggestion that G1d's memory loss and overall lack of lucidity might be self-inflicted, to the tune of Harrow's lobotomy. We don't know how aware Gideon is of Pyrrha's presence, but it does seem to be the case that Lyctors having an awareness of the cav is dangerous for the cav. Being an accomplished necromancer, I'm sure Gideon was/is a smart man. Pyrrha mentions that she was "able to go underground" from him, but what if Gideon started to catch on to Pyrrha's presence through the double-affair? What if Wake let something slip? What if the thing that Wake didn't realize about them was the fact that Pyrrha's survival depends on Gideon's lack of awareness?

What if he lobotomized himself at some point, after catching onto Pyrrha's presence, at the expense of his sanity?

What really strikes me is the post-incinerator scene (HtN ch.31, pg. 292 in the hardcover):

The Saint of Duty turned his body toward you. He was clutching his rapier; but it was idle ... His eyebrows were very slightly drawn together, a sort of exhausted crinkle. He looked at you, and he said in a voice you had known since you were eight years old: "I sometimes--forget."

It was the tone--clinical, enamelled, half-defensive, half-endangered--the tone of someone admitting a final fraily. It was familiar because you had used it yourself. Understand I am insane.

It's his quiet resolution that does it for me; he knows something's missing, and he's accepted it. He's being set up as a parallel to Harrow in this particular moment, and it just makes me wonder if the parallel goes beyond his understanding of his own “insanity” and extends to the means by which he has become "insane." 

Pyrrha's already being set up as a parallel to Gideon Jr., both in terms of her formerly-skewed sense of duty and her compartmentalization, so I think this sort of dual-parallel between G1d and Harrow would work nicely, if only from a meta perspective.

In short, I think Gideon the First's feelings on everything that happened are complex, fraught. I think "duty" is what defined much of his personality, and I think what we see of him now is the result of split senses of duty having torn him apart:

he's torn between his devotion to Pyrrha (and by extension, ironically, his devotion to John) and his interest in (and perhaps love for) Wake;

torn between John's command to kill Harrow and whatever it is that caused him to pull punches (I'm guessing a combination of basic decency and solidarity); and

at the end of it all, he's quietly accepting of his own "frailty," understanding that the current situation is the shitty result of everything that's happened over the past myriad, and that there's likely no way to set himself straight, even though his shortcomings put him in direct conflict with the man he's "supposed to be," according to this awful religion, and according to what others think of him.

Anyway, for those who’ve stuck around, that’s all I have to say for now! I’m just so fascinated by the Saint of Duty/the Pyrwakeon story that’s going on behind the scenes; there’s such an understated intensity to it, and honestly, it didn’t even hit me until months after my first read-through. 

I’m curious to hear what other people are thinking, too!

[beauvibaby]

staff - r.hintz

requested [x] yes [] no

request- in summary: reader is part of the medical/training staff and has a flirty relationship with Roope that becomes more.

warnings: not proof read lol

You saw the hit, you saw every hit, everytime. Not only was it part of your job, but it was a personal mission of yours to never miss a game that he played in. You chewed your lip as you could tell this was the hit that would put him out of the game.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite girl.” Roope smiled from his spot on the table, hiding the pain he was currently feeling, “Mhm, I wish it was under better circumstances.” You retorted. You raised a brow at him when he went to sit up and say he was fine but the bruise forming on his shoulder said otherwise. He stayed silent as you helped him sit up gently, careful not to put too much pressure on his shoulder. “I think you’d take any chance to see me.” He quipped, earning an eye roll from you. “Getting daring today, Hintz.” You smiled, snapping the latex gloves on, he groaned and tensed up as you went to feel around the shoulder. “Son of a-“ “language.” You cut him off, he glared at you, despite the playfulness dancing in his eyes. “Well the good news is it’s not out of place.” You paused, gently smiling at him, “bad news is I think you might have fractured your arm.” He threw his head back, using his good hand to rub over his face as he groaned. “I’ll tell them to send you for an x-ray.” You sighed, “sorry, Roope.”

Watching the rest of the games from outside of the bubble killed you, not only because you couldn’t be there to help the team, but even more so because you couldn’t see Roope. You knew it was highly frowned upon, any relationship between staff and team members was, especially when it came down to evaluating injuries, they worried about personal bias. You just couldn’t help yourself, he started the flirting, and before you knew it, you were flirting right back, and he’d found your Instagram, occasionally replying to your stories with cheeky responses. Always making your heart skip a beat, thinking there was a chance that he felt the same and wasn’t just being a flirt for no reason. You chewed your lip in thought, debating on what you were about to do, this would either be really smart or really dumb, and you hoped Roope would think it was the first option.

“Roope, you just about gave me a heart attack tonight! Be careful.”

You sent the message, instantly locking your phone and tossing it to the other side of the couch, you couldn’t bear to look at it. You changed the channel as they began going over the game you had just watched, of course replaying his hit into the boards, over and over, you couldn’t look any longer. You put some stupid reality show on for background noise as you began picking up your apartment, you saw your phone light up from its spot on the couch, you shook your head and decided to leave it for now, focusing your anxiety into cleaning, something you’ve been meaning to do anyways. But then your phone lit up not once, but twice more and you caved, breathing hitched in your throat as you saw the responses from Roope.

“Oh my, is THE y/n worried about me?”

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me… besides now I’ve got a reason to come see you when I get back, you know, to make sure I’m not really injured.”

“Goodnight, Y/N ❤️”

You opened the messages and stared at them, ultimately deciding on liking his response and sending a goodnight of your own, a nervous but hopeful smile etched into your face until you slipped into sleep that night.

***

You couldn’t get in to work quick enough today, not only were you finally able to get back to work, but you had a sneak suspicion that you’d be seeing Roope today. You were practically beaming under your mask, but luckily no one could tell, because of, well—the mask. “Y/N, I need you to help with the beginning of therapy, Roope needs to start rehabbing that shoulder.” You tuned out the rest as your boss raddled off jobs to your coworkers, now you were really glad you had a mask on, because it also hid the pink tint that covered your cheeks. You shook your head as you made your way down the hall, doing your best to knock any thoughts out of your head. You can’t do anything about them, so why even humor them. That’s what you told yourself, but it all went out the window when you stepped into the room and saw Roope sitting there on his phone. You hadn’t realized how worried you were about seeing him until now, you blinked a couple of times, pushing your emotions back, you cleared your throat to make your presence known. “Y/N.” He mumbled, shooting to his feet, his eyes looking even bluer in contrast of the black mask adorning his face. “You’re ok?” You breathed out, the statement coming out as a question rather than you confirming it.

“I told you not to worry about me.” He chuckled softly as you approached him, you shook your head, sighing into your mask, you pulled the sleeve of his shirt up to see a bruise similar to the last time you’d seen him. “It’s easier said than done, the way you hit those boards, it scared me..” you trailed off, mentally cursing yourself for being so vulnerable. Roope stayed silent for a moment, but you could feel his eyes scanning the side of your face. You were biting down hard on your lip, but he couldn’t see that. “I’m ok, Y/N, see.” He mumbled, raising his arm as high as he could before he winced. You let out a choked laugh, “don’t overdo it.” You mumbled, meeting his eyes. “Go on a date with me.” He spoke quickly, you took a step back, “what?” You gasped, widening your eyes as he remained calm, like he hadn’t just said what he just said. “Go on a date with me.” He said again, “please?” He added, watching as you warily eyed him. “Roope, we can’t, my job.” You stuttered out, hating every word falling from your lips. “One date, just so we know.” He stood, stepping closer, his eyes showing his smile when you didn’t step back. “If it doesn’t work, we can pretend it never happened.” He assured you, “and if it does work?” You all but whimpered, his hand resting on your waist. “We’ll figure it out.” Roope sighed, eyes pleading with you. “Ok.” “Really?” He gasped, groaning when he went to throw his arms up, you laughed at him, gently running a hand over the injured spot. “Let’s work on this first, yeah?”

***

Four dates later, it was safe to say you really enjoyed spending time with Roope, and him with you. Although, you did worry about people finding out, you hadn’t yet figured that out, it wasn’t that easy, you were possibly putting your job at risk, for him. He was worth it, but that didn’t make you any less terrified. “Hi, babe.” Roope mumbled appearing behind you, nearly sending you flying to the ceiling. “You can’t scare me like that!” You whined slowly turning to face him and shooting away from him when you saw Miro and Esa in the doorway. “They know.” Roope admitted, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, “they what?!” You shrieked, glaring at the trio of Finnish boys in front of you. “He didn’t tell us, I swear I just figured it out!” Miro rushed, coming to his friend's aid as you shot daggers at him. This sent you into a frenzy, if they figured it out, who else figured it out, who else could figure it out? You looked up at Roope with wide, completely worried eyes, “Y/N?” He questioned, eyebrows pulling together as you looked at him. “What’s wrong?” He asked, the two other boys stepping out into the hallway, you paid no mind to them as you shrunk away from Roope. “What if other people find out? What if it affects my job? What if-“ “Stop, breathe.” He cut you off, placing his hands on your shoulders. “Everything will work out, I have faith.” Normally you appreciated his optimism, but right now you felt like you were the only one being realistic. “Roope.” You sighed, stepping away from him again, hearing commotion out in the hallway, Esa shot his head in with a nervous smile, “Mr. Porter is here to see you.” He spoke, your boss appearing behind him, eyebrows raised high at the way Roope was reaching for you, and the fact that the two guys had been standing outside the door like guards.

“Y/N, Roope.” Mr. Porter nodded, eyeing the two of you as the fellow hockey players ran off like they’d be grounded if they didn’t. “Mr. Porter, what can I do for you?” You questioned, Roope awkwardly shifted away, knowing that if this didn’t go well you’d be furious at him for being so reckless. Your boss looked between the two of you, sighing as he shut the door, you sank down in your seat, cringing at whatever was coming. “Well, coincidentally I was looking for the two of you, to see how his rehab was coming, but it seems we have something else to talk about as well…” he trailed off, taking a seat beside your desk, motioning for Roope to sit as well, of course, being the way he is, he pulled the chair right up beside yours.

A sign of solidarity, if you will.

“Shoulders great, sir.” Roope piped up, and had you been alone you would’ve whacked his arm in annoyance, you settled for tapping him with your foot, glancing at him for a split second. “I’m sure it is.” Mr. Porter laughed, the both of you blushing softly, “Y/N, you can relax, you’re not going to lose your job.” He added and you didn’t realize how much breath you were holding in, you let out an exhale of relief, Roope having a small one of his own as well. “You can’t treat him anymore, that’s all.” You gasped at the words, “that’s it?” The two guys chuckled at you, and this time you did shoot Roope a soft glare. “Yes, I’ll switch you and Joey, you’ll have Tyler now.” Roope rolled his eyes, earning a chuckle from your boss as he stood. “Don’t be late, Y/N.” He called walking out the door, you turned to Roope and finally gave him the whack he deserved, he laughed at how lightly you hit him. “Ouch.” He faked hurt, whining dramatically. “You’re insane, and lucky.” You sighed, wrapping your arms around his waist in a hug. “Aw.” He teased, you pinched his back and he yelped, “hey, that really hurts!” He complained, leaning down to peck your lips. “Does that mean we can stop sneaking around now?” He asked hopefully. “The guys have been chirping me for not bringing my girl around, they’re saying I don’t really have one.” He pouted childishly.

“Well then bring me around, you guys are going out tonight right? Bring me.” You grinned, watching as he opened and closed his mouth trying to find the words, he settled on pulling you in for a kiss. “You better not get handsy with Seguin.” He mumbled as he pulled away, “that’s literally my job, babe.”

“You guys and your freaking shoulder injuries.” You chastised with a smile as Tyler was in rough shape considering how long he’s been working on it. “Rude.” He scoffed, you got along with all the guys really, but the flirting only ever happened with Roope, you were just sarcastic with the others, something they could appreciate, considering they didn’t want to be stuck doing these appointments anyways. “Have you heard?” He asked after a while, you lifted your eyebrows as you showed him how to stretch out the muscle, “heard what?” You mumbled, adjusting his position, softly apologizing as he winced. “Hintz has a girl.” He gave you a side eyed look as you played it off too calmly, “are you jealous?” He gasped, nearly whacking you as he turned with his arm still extended. You ducked and glared at him, “I’m not jealous.” You shrugged, only fueling him on. “That’s what you would say if you were jealous.” He pointed out, “it’s also what I would say if I wasn’t jealous,” you threw it right back at him, “get back to work Seguin.”

***

You were walking up to the bar, approaching the guys, but paused as you faintly overheard them talking. “I’m telling you man, she’s got the hots for you.” Tyler spoke, nudging Roope, you had to hold back a giggle when Roope rolled his eyes and looked away, his gaze falling on you for a moment. “Too bad, I’m spoken for.” Roope responded, leaning against the bar, Tyler followed suit, you walked in between them, Jamie on the other side of Tyler. “Y/N, what are you doing here?” He asked with a smile, you shrugged, “meeting up with my boyfriend.” You answered, casually leaning into Roope’s side, Tyler glanced up from his drink, doing a double take as Jamie started repeatedly hitting his arm with an open hand. “I told you!” Jamie snapped at his friend. “But you, you’re-I’m an idiot.” Tyler stuttered out as Roope easily pulled you closer to him. “Hi, baby.” Roope mumbled, kissing the top of your head as Tyler shook his. “Finally!” Esa cheered, “it was getting hard not to slip up.” He added, and both Tyler and Jamie whipped around, “you knew?!” They gasped, Miro appeared beside them, “yeah.” He nodded and they shot daggers at him too. “Geez, did anyone else know?” Jamie asked, you shook your head from your place in Roope’s arms. “No, they figured it out.” You answered, smiling when Roope squeezed you a little tighter. “You’re getting slow in your old age, boys.” You added teasingly, laughing when they rolled their eyes angrily. “Your girlfriend is rude.” Tyler grumbled to Roope, picking his beer up and trudging off to the rest of the guys, “I happen to think she’s pretty nice!” Roope called, earning a middle finger from Tyler. “I’m glad you came.” Roope whispered to you, kissing you softly when you turned to meet his gaze, “Mhm, me too.”

taglist: @starkeysdunn​ @kempe​ @vincecdunn​ @literarycharleton​ @wtfkie​

[hchollym]

Aerion x Viserys - We Finally Got Our Dragons

I couldn’t help myself. I will go down with this crack ship  🤣

Warnings: Afterlife, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Sexual Content, Explicit Language, Age Difference

Read it on AO3. 

____________

Most people think that a person finds peace after they die. Aerion would tell you differently.

The Targaryens have their own “exclusive” afterlife, stuck for eternity with only one another for company. While he's glad that they all appear as they were right before they died and not as they died (for then he would have a hole in his throat and be unable to talk), it still does not change the fact that he’s stuck with these shits forever. Most of his relatives find enjoyment (or at least contentment) here (seeing as half of them are married to each other), but for others – like Aerion – this place is a special kind of hell.

He died drinking wildfire. It certainly wasn’t his finest moment, nor was it something that he wants to remember, given the resulting pain. And yet, his family will never let him forget it. They torment him about it daily, as if he hadn’t already suffered enough.

“Oh look, it’s the Prince Who Thought He Was A Dragon,” they sneer at him whenever he walks by. It’s not as if he’s the first Targaryen to think of himself as a dragon and die because of it. What about all the other fools who got themselves killed trying to hatch a dragon egg? Why aren’t they mocked as he is?

Even his own father sighs disapprovingly when he sees him, as if Aerion brought him embarrassment. It makes Aerion scoff. His older brother was literally known as “Daeron the Drunken” and yet Aerion is somehow the stain on their family name? It’s absolutely ridiculous. His brothers ignore him (he hears their comments about Aerion the Monstrous, and really, when are they going to get over it?).

His own son, Maegor – who joined them when he got into a fight with the wrong person at a tavern – won’t talk to Aerion, because he blames Aerion’s “madness” as the reason he never got the throne. How ungrateful can you be? Maegor wouldn’t even be alive without Aerion.

His bitch of a wife isn’t much better. She refuses to allow him into her bed, and her brother and father are more than happy to guard her chamber door. To be honest, it’s not a huge loss though; she was annoying anyway, always crying and whimpering and screaming while he was trying to enjoy himself. Still, it’s the audacity that angers him.

You would think that the ancestors would grow tired of insulting him after so many years, but it appears that there is not nearly enough exciting news to go around here, so the taunts and insults go on year after year. Even the “Mad King” doesn’t get scorned as much, because people seem to either fear him or feel pity for his insanity.

Aerion tries to ignore most of the ridicule by keeping to himself, which is thankfully easy to do in this endless hallway with infinite corridors and chambers, but that doesn’t completely stop the talk from reaching his ears. He’d been humiliated, angry, and defensive for the first decade or so of these disrespectful comments, but after more than 60 years, he’s just sick and tired of it.

So when the others stop talking about him and begin insulting another, one they mockingly call "the last dragon" and "the beggar king,” Aerion is initially relieved, and then intrigued. He questions his father, who will at least answer him (albeit grudgingly). When he hears the tale of this Viserys, he feels an instant kinship that takes him by surprise.

He’s never felt like he could relate to someone else before, but the fact is, Viserys thought himself a dragon and he too died for it in an excruciating way. The other man was treated like shit in life and now again in death by his own family (Aerion knows the feeling), and his own sister had him killed in a cruel twist of irony.

Aerion’s glad that the attention on him has finally stopped, but he finds himself unexpectedly feeling sympathy for Viserys – an emotion so foreign to him that it took him a while to identify what it was. Perhaps it's because they share similar deaths (though by vastly different means), or that Aerion knows what it's like to be humiliated by the hypocritical ancestors, or because he knows what it’s like for your own family to turn on you.

He hears that Viserys' mother won't even give him sympathy because of how he treated his sister, but so what? The bitch killed him. Why are mothers always so quick to defend the weak? Aerion’s own mother is still angry at him for his treatment of Aegon, but he doesn’t think he has anything to apologize for. Why should he be “nice” to pathetic people? Daenerys should have been grateful that Viserys raised her after they fled King's Landing. Aerion would have sold her immediately to the highest buyer and bought himself a nice house until he raised his army to take back the throne.

He hears through the gossip that Viserys locks himself inside his chambers to avoid the others, which Aerion also understands. He's not entirely sure why he decides to go see him, but perhaps it's because he’s sick of being judged and looked down on, and Viserys seems like the one person who won’t do that.

He makes his way to Viserys’ chambers, holding his head high and ignoring the looks he gets along the way, only to find that the others have painted slurs on the door, and Aerion feels disgust at their tackiness. How old are they? Five? He opens the doors without knocking and sees a man sitting on the bed, his elbows rested on his knees and his head in his hands. When the figure looks up, his expression one of annoyance, anger, and pure exhaustion (a combination which Aerion knows well), and Aerion is struck by just how young he is.

For some reason, he pictured Viserys as close to his age, but he couldn't have been more than 25, though Aerion guesses it’s actually closer to 20. He's practically still a boy, and Aerion feels a hot wave of rage rush through him. This is who they are tormenting for making mistakes when he was exiled in Essos (by no fault of his own), trying to care for an ungrateful sister who eventually murdered him? Honestly, and they thought he was monstrous!

"I'm Aerion Brightflame," he starts before Viserys can get upset at his intrusion. He refuses to give up using that name; the ancestors can go fuck themselves. Viserys' expression clears, and he blinks in confusion before frowning warily.

"What do you want?" He asks suspiciously, and Aerion shrugs nonchalantly.

"I know how these shits can be when they decide to harass someone. Fuck them. You don’t need any of these bumbling fools. You and I, we're still dragons," he assures Viserys, not entirely understanding why he feels compelled to do so, but Aerion knows that he still is a dragon, regardless of how everything ended, and he’s willing to say that Viserys is as well out of solidarity for the mutual enemies/family. Viserys looks shocked before scowling.

"Clearly not, seeing as melted gold killed me, and fire cannot kill a dragon," he points out bitterly, not even mentioning Aerion's own failures, for which Aerion feels unexpectedly grateful for. He sits down next to Viserys, and he finds it hilarious how the other man looks alarmed and ready to flee.

"And how many others have been killed by fire when trying and failing to hatch dragon eggs? We're still Targaryens. We’re still dragons, no matter what those stupid sea cows have to say.” Viserys' expression changes from one of shock to hesitant gratitude. It's a look that Aerion is not used to having directed at him; fear, anger, and even lust are common emotions he’s used to seeing when people look at him, but never gratitude. It makes his stomach churn oddly.

After that, they form a strange bond of companionship. They spend most of their time in one of their chambers (it’s easier to avoid the others that way), but occasionally they venture out to the other rooms with alcohol or food. They don't need either, but it provides them with a distraction to the never-ending boredom. They even throw knives sometimes, though Aerion had to teach Viserys because he never learned.

Their conversations start by talking about all the people they hate and are angry at (of which there are many). Then it changes to their time in Essos (the good, the bad, and the ugly). And finally, they talk of their own failures; the feel of the gold burning through Viserys' skin and hair; the way the wildfire scorched Aerion’s throat and blinded him in pain. They talk of how humiliating it was (and still is), and of their disappointment in the way their lives turned out.

It's odd, because Aerion has never felt the urge to share his thoughts with anyone - no one was ever good enough or would truly understand (until now) - but he finds that it's actually rather nice. He quickly decides that he hates Viserys’ brother Rhaegar – he started this whole mess and yet he still looks at Viserys with disappointment, and it makes Aerion want to burn him. And Viserys quickly decides that Maegor is being selfish by hating his own father. Aerion’s found an unexpected ally in Viserys, and it’s the first time he’s felt anything other than miserable since his death.

...

Maybe it happens because of their surprisingly easy companionship, or maybe it’s because they are so isolated from everyone else (no one else seems capable of getting along with them), or maybe it's even simply because it's been years since Aerion slept with someone. Regardless of the reasons, they somehow end up in bed together. Aerion doesn’t know exactly how it happened, but he’s not complaining.

Viserys accepted being the bottom quickly enough, and Aerion found out later that it's because it wasn’t his first time; he’d been forced to sell his body in order to survive at his lowest points in exile, and Aerion’s never felt protective of anyone before, but he feels it now for Viserys. He also feels irrationally jealous that someone else dared to touch what is his, and yes, he has come to think of Viserys as his.

Viserys is wonderfully responsive, biting his shoulder, scratching his back until he bleeds, moaning and cursing loudly, urging him to go faster and harder. It makes Aerion’s blood sing, his thoughts fuzzy, and the heat envelop him all over until he’s nearly drowning in it.

But it's Viserys’ eyes that really send Aerion over the edge. The pale, lilac orbs dilate in lust, but there's also anger, determination, and hurt in them. Viserys has a vulnerability in his eyes that Aerion would have thought had been destroyed years ago, but somehow it remains, and it's both intoxicating and addicting to see.

When Aerion finally decides to try bottoming (because why the hell not? they're dead, and he’s bored and ready to do something new), he finishes embarrassingly quick. It's better than he ever imagined; fire seems to completely consume him, so hot and bright that Aerion feels like he might pass out. Viserys' cock rubs against a place inside of him that causes sparks to shoot throughout his entire body, and all he can do is pant and gasp as he clings to Viserys for dear life, thinking that if he weren't already dead, then this would definitely kill him because it's too much, but he wants it more than anything.

Viserys never mentions his premature response, and they don’t talk about the fact that Aerion starts to roll them over more and more so he can wrap his legs around Viserys' waist, urging the other man to fuck him. He's relieved by Viserys' lack of acknowledgement, because even in death, he still has his pride, and it's embarrassing how much he loves to fall apart underneath the younger man.

And when Viserys guides Aerion to ride him like a stallion for the first time, Aerion screams himself hoarse, and it suddenly reminds him too much of the wildfire burning his throat, and he starts to panic, so Viserys holds him until he calms, but they don't talk about that either.

...

When Daenerys does finally show up, Aerion becomes insanely angry. She's cold and distant, though she does try to talk to Viserys, and Aerion wants to kill her. How dare she?! He refuses to let her see Viserys until the younger man finally tells him to leave them so they can speak.

Aerion feels something hot and ugly churn in his stomach at that, and he waits by the door until Daenerys leaves, looking only barely fazed. He instantly goes inside to see Viserys' eyes shining with angry tears. He still hasn't gotten good at hiding his emotions yet, and truthfully, Aerion kind of hopes that he never does.

"She hatched the dragons. The fire didn't kill her," Viserys says angrily, but there's also jealously and pure despair there, and Aerion doesn't like it. He pulls Viserys into his arms and kisses him soundly until Viserys pulls back and leans his head on Aerion's chest, sighing heavily.

"Why her?" He asks, though the unspoken why not me? is obvious.

"Because the gods are cruel," he answers honestly, because she didn’t deserve it more than either of them.

"But it doesn't change things. She's here now, just like us, with no dragons. Fuck her, and fuck all of them. We are still dragons," Aerion continues vehemently. He feels Viserys swallow and nod, as if trying to convince himself.

"We are dragons," Viserys says shakily before gaining confidence.

"We are dragons. And while she's here alone, I have you now; my own dragon," he finishes stubbornly, and Aerion feels a rush of something that he chooses not to examine further at those words. He tightens his grip on Viserys and kisses the top of his head.

"And I have you. Looks like we both finally got our dragons."

[fayeimara]

Meant To Be || One For Every Billion

9. Stranger

You put your phone away just in time to hear the melodic tone announce the train's arrival at Tokyo Station. Collecting your duffel and swinging it over your shoulder, you stand to exit, sad to be leaving but excited to head home and see all your familiar devils again.

The terminal is pretty busy so you're glad to have some sense of familiarity, certain you're headed the right way to the exit where Shin is supposed to meet you. You've only just entered the vast circular dome when you hear your cousin's voice call out your name, turning in pleasant surprise to see him making his way towards you.

"I thought you were going to wait outside?" You ask him as he reaches you, reaching out to take your bag from your shoulder.

He shrugs with a glance behind him, "Yeah, yeah, just didn't want you getting lost. It'd be a pain."

"Uh huh... Ren sent you in, didn't he?" You ask and his sheepish smile is answer enough.

His phone is beeping pretty incessantly, probably his brother, but it forces him him to walk in a crowded area without looking where he's going. This could end up in a pretty hilarious disaster for your album but you're pretty exhausted even though you've been sitting for the past few hours. Maybe you can let it go just this once, since you'd like to avoid time doing damage control when you could be enjoying a nice warm meal and a long soak in a tub instead.

You're about to link your arms with him to guide him through the stream of people when a sudden force knocks into you from behind, literally throwing you off your feet. You only just manage to catch yourself before you completely face plant on the floor, an indignant, "Hey!" slipping from your mouth before you even look up.

When you do however, it's to meet the wide, golden eyes of a boy that's apologizing profusely, now sprawled on the floor as well, you're guessing from running right into, and subsequently tripping over, you. You're about to give him a piece of your mind for not watching where he's going, especially while running as fast as he had to have been, but he's up in a flash, dragging you to stand upright with him without even an offer of help first or another word from you. Then he's off again, rushing away while still throwing useless, fading apologies over his shoulder.

Is this karma for wanting something similar to happen to Shin? And just when you were about to do the right thing too. Great. You watch the strange boy's form get further for a moment, white-grey hair streaked black at the roots the last thing you see before he's swallowed up by the crowd. Well, here's to hoping he doesn't bowl over another unsuspecting victim, but that's their problem now. You turn back to Shin as you brush off the knees of your leggings only to notice his phone is up and aimed squarely on you even as he's doubled over with laughter.

You're considering if there's a word for killing one's cousin - parricide? - when a light tap on your shoulder pulls you away from your creatively dark thoughts. This time the gaze you meet is filled with mirth, at least as much as you can tell, since the girl's eyes are mostly unreadable behind a pair of top-rimmed glasses and the elegant fall of her blonde locks shading part of her face, effectively hiding her full expression.

"Hey! I saw what happened and felt like I should apologize for Bo."

"Bo?" You ask in confusion.

She smirks and now you're definitely sure she's amused as she tilts her head to study you, "Yeah the adorable dumbass that just ran you over. I swear he's never usually that rude, just an unfortunate combination of enthusiastic and slightly oblivious."

"Oh, okay.. I mean, thank you but you shouldn't have to be the one to apologize for him. He kind of did anyways, I guess." You say the last with an unhappy twist to your lips.

"Sure but really, he's not usually rude like that, he just panicked when he realized he forgot his bag."

Before you have a chance to reply further, Shin cuts in with a smirk, "Please, no need for a beautiful girl like you to apologize. Why don't we just exchange digits so if there's any lasting damage, we know who to reach out to."

You're already throwing a dirty look his way before he's finished his lame attempt at flirting but almost laugh instead because the girl's expression changes so fast from the kind, conciliatory one aimed your way to a cold look of disgust that he's got to feel down to his bones.

Even her tone is effortlessly chilling with hard reproach, "Dude, you don't even know my name."

You grimace in solidarity, taking your turn to apologize, "I'm sorry about my cousin. He's apparently never spoken to a pretty girl outside the family before."

"Nah, it's all good, we probably all have one of those." Her response is laidback again, body angling back to you while subtly cutting Shin out of the conversation.

"Those?"

You both ignore his overly exaggerated wounded tone and she continues, "Anyways, just thought I'd do the right thing and check if you were okay?"

You give her a bright, reassuring smile, "I was quite literally thrown off, I guess, but I'm physically okay. Just give your friend a piece of your mind for me?"

"Oh, you can bet I will. But seriously, he's not at all like he came off, I promise."

You shrug because it's not like it matters - what are the odds you'll ever run into her or her friend again? You're about to say something to that effect when Shin's phone rings and he rushes to step away to take the call. Probably rushing a little too fast but such a swift and clear rejection will do that to a guy.

Speaking of, "By the way, I promise I'll make him pay for being such a douchebag later too."

Her mouth curves into an amused smirk once again, "Make him pay, huh? I almost wish I could see that. But I seriously couldn't care less, I'm used to people being little shits. And what are the odds I ever run into him again?"

She's rolling her eyes with her words, an eerie echo your own thoughts on her friend, when a smooth, soft-spoken voice cuts into your conversation, "Run into whom again?"

The two of you turn to see startling blue-green eyes trained intently on her, as if her answer is the only thing that matters, but you realize she also knows this dark-haired stranger when she narrows her eyes on him before responding, "No one important. What took you so long?"

"I stopped to get something for you. The least you can do is tell me what I missed."

"Aw, Akaashi," Her eyes turn soft with a happy tone and you're the one that feels like the intruder to their conversation now, "What'd you get me?"

"Nothing important." He throws her own brush off back at her in a careless manner as he gently tugs a strand of her hair. "Who's this?"

"Just an unsuspecting stranger Bo ran over." She gives you another apologetic smile but it drops when the guy continues.

"Uh-huh. And the guy that was just here?"

Her lips turn down in displeasure as a little snark enters her tone, "Were you just watching from somewhere like a creeper?"

"No, brat." He gives her deadpan look but his actions again contradict his expression as he swats her forehead before she can even react to dodge, "I saw you talking to him while walking up."

"He's just her cousin, please chill."

The guy gives you a look as if you're somehow to blame for something, asking her, "Did he say anything weird to you?"

"Define weird? Can you please back off? Thanks." Turning back to you while shaking her head in exasperation, "Sorry I feel like we're just here trading apologies for the guys in our life."

You were a little stunned at the odd interaction at first but her comment prompts sudden laughter to spill out. How true.

"Maybe we should get shirts made? Like those 'I'm with stupid' ones but 'Sorry for this guy' instead." Even as you speak, only her eyes are looking your way as she laughs at your words.

The guy, Akaashi, continues to watch her with a mostly blank look masking his thoughts. But if you're reading it right, you're sure there's a bit of his own displeasure and.. something else. Then, as if he feels you watching, his eyes slide over and, suddenly, you see the politeness that was first missing emerge. His posture straightens from where he was slightly leaning in towards her and his hand drops from where he'd reached out to mess with the ends of her hair behind her.

You're pretty sure you shouldn't ask if they're a couple, just a gut feeling, and you've long since learned to trust those. Is it just pretty obvious to everyone but them?

"Hey, sweetheart! You're still here." You cringe at the renewed hope in Shin's tone as he returns to round out your strange little gathering.

He definitely doesn't notice the sudden stiffness of the other guy's demeanor at his words, even after he answers for the girl sharply, "She hates being called sweetheart."

Does she? Or does he just hate hearing someone else give her a term of endearment?

Shin blinks in surprise as if only just noticing the addition of this guy, "Huh? Who are you?"

"What's it to you? Excuse us," The guy looks at you with considerably less hostility than was aimed at your cousin just now, "We have to be on our way."

Then he grabs the girl's hand and literally drags her away as she throws one last half amused, half exasperated look over her shoulder. You're about to turn away but you catch one last moment that holds your attention a little longer as he pulls a small item from his bag.  It looks like a small box of soy milk and she glances at it before turning her face away, pulling her hand from his and speeding up to walk ahead of him instead.

You can't see if they exchange any words but you have to smile as, after another moment, she holds an arm behind her and he gently places the drink in her open palm. That's when you also notice the guy that ran you over earlier re-enter, a bag now slung over his shoulders as he calls out while racing to catch up with his friends who look back but continue walking to their terminal. What an interesting bunch, one that makes you miss your friends all the more.

Turning back to Shin, you ask, "Ready to go?"

"Do you think they were dating?"

"Oh my god, please let it go, weirdo."

Prev | Next

Masterlist

Behind The Scenes!

-Suna and Y/n got close real fast, but that's the power of bonding over games

-Mystery girl is inspired by & based on my incredible, beautiful, talented moot, Suvi <3

-Shin was really in top form today, huh?

-Also, there isn't a specific word for killing a cousin but there are a lot of words for various kinds of murder... like, too many

-Akaashi is usually nicer, he'd actually typically have been the one apologizing for Bokuto but.. he was off buying soy milk (:

A/N: Thank you all for your patience <3 Bokuto is the last of the seven main characters to make a (brief) appearance! Now it's back to America and school for Y/n but she'll be back for more... I can't wait to see it unfold from here :D Can you?

Taglist: @delusivist, @prettyinblack231, @kac-chowsballs, @sakusasimpbot, @hawkthekinnie, @poppi144, @oikawasbuttcheeks, @tanakasimpcorner

[mira--mira]

hi, just saw your post on the hashimada AU yakuza-househusband, and damn that was the first thing I thought when I saw it on Netflix too! (hashimada brainrot solidarity lol)

but ahhh, this might be delicate and feel free to ignore this, but hum, could the character chosen to be the spouse of the ex-yakuza not be feminized (as in the manga, it's a woman) ? Obviously i'm no position to have a say in what you write, and that is not the goal (i dont really know how to formulate the question, sorry if that's what came across) but like, isn't it annoying when one member of the male homosexual pair is feminized, like some kind of "you're the woman of the relationship"? often paired with that one being exclusively a bottom, good with children, good with cooking, more emotionally mature, less (real, so not tsundere type "i punch you but im so weak it's for comedic relief") aggressive, more "leaderly" (that is not a word), smaller in height/bulk, paler, more delicate, tsundere attitude, *insert vague or not vague feminine attribute here*

Idk, maybe that's just my opinion, again feel free to ignore this! Some people like those stereotypes, and who am I to tell them what to enjoy, what you like in fiction isn't a mirror of your ideals in reality and all that, but still. In any case, you get one interesting (I hope) opinion?

anyway, have a good day, and i hope u won't get upset by this haha, i really love ur writing and all of ur stories and i wouldn't want to you to feel artistically stifled or smthg.

eyyy hashimada brain-rot solidarity!

And yeah, anon, I get what you're saying and I'm not upset by this ask lol. If I really wanted to write a feminized version I would regardless, but honestly trying to force one half of a male homosexual relationship into a (usually forced, sexist, and unrealistically stereotyped even for heterosexual women) kind of "woman's role" personally makes my skin crawl. I do think Madara and Hashirama have "feminine" traits (I usually write Madara as being good with kids and Hashirama as being extremely prone to emotions/tears as well as having traditionally feminine-coded hobbies) but that's because human beings are complex and characters, imo, should be modeled off that complexity instead of being one-note and static, esp if they're the main characters we follow. I have a similar attitude towards the sex aspect of it. I've only written one E rated fic and that one's kind of awkward because uh, merman anatomy limitations, but I don't like art/fics that make one (usually Madara) always the bottom and always submissive and shy/timid at that. It's just not how I see either character and gets too OOC for my taste.

I type all this to say, I agree with you and to explain some of my reasoning/thought process behind it. I try very hard not to write male characters so "feminized" they become stereotypes and don't match their initial characterization but I am only human so please tell me if you think any scene/fic/characterization moment fails and I'll go back and review it with a critical eye.

As for this au specifically, one thing I love about Way of the Househusband is the character of Miku (the wife) herself. She's such a delight, I love her so much, so her role will def be handled with respect! It'll take me a bit to actually write this au, I will get at least a majority of the anniversary fics done first, but I'm thinking about making it a two-shot, one with Madara as the ex-yakuza and then one with Hashirama as the ex-yakuza just because I like the fun possibilities of comparing them side by side lol

I hope you have a good day too anon! And thank you, I'm glad you like my fics! 💖

[poisonedapples]

The sides except they go to a tech school

This is extremely self indulgent but I apologize for nothing

Roman’s Program: Digital Media

Roman’s big dream is to be an actor, but he also has a very intense need to know a whole bunch of stuff about the production field and be a jack of all trades, basically

He’s also autistic and has a huge special interest in movies, so he’s just on cloud nine

He had a really hard time making friends at his home school, which is also another reason why he most to go to the tech school instead. He wanted a second chance and to meet new people who loved the same stuff he could never seem to shut up about, but he’s also very nervous and just really wants to make some friends this year

He’s also extremely salty that Remus followed him to his new school. Remus was always the talk of the school and Roman was always in his shadow, so this time, his strategy is to pretend that Remus doesn’t even exist

Remus will not take this as an a solution, but Roman’s not giving up anyway

He also met Patton, Logan, and Virgil in his College English class. Their seats were assigned next to each other, but it was Patton that actually started getting all of them to talk to each other

Speaking of Patton, him and Patton went together like a moth to a flame. They hit it off day one and have acted like the best of friends since, and it makes Roman extremely happy

Roman and the others also became closer friends because of a Digital Media project Roman did about the different programs around the school. Since all his friends are from different programs, he interviewed them all, and it was the most fun project ever because of everything they did behind the scenes

They mostly just goofed off when not on camera. It was lovely

He refused to let Remus take part in that project though. RIP to Remus

Patton’s program: Cosmotology

Patton’s biggest dream is to mostly help people feel better about themselves. He wants to make people feel happy and learn a little more self love, because nothing makes Patton happier than seeing other people enjoying themselves

He’s also an extremely sociable person, so a need to help people like who they are mixed with lots of talking? Without getting a master’s in psychology? A perfect mix to become a hair stylist!

He loves all the different styles you can do and how different everyone’s hair can be from another person’s. The program also has you learn stuff about makeup, and he loves putting makeup on people as well. He practices on the girls in the program a lot, and they always get so excited when they see the finished product. It fills him with happy butterflies

He doesn’t tend to wear makeup on himself, though. Not because he thinks boys can’t wear makeup, he just hates the feeling of it on his skin. Hence why he will take any willing participant to be his canvas

His extroverted energy also shows a lot in his academic classes. The first day of English, he immediately turned around and started talking to the kid with a camera

It took him a little longer to get the boy sitting next to him to talk to him though. Apparently “We have the same glasses!” Isn’t an acceptable conversation starter

He did, however, get the kid named Virgil to agree to let Patton to put makeup on him. Patton started that conversation by asking about his eyeshadow, but nope, apparently those were just eyebags

Though Virgil still liked makeup anyway, so score, Patton still got what he wanted

Now if only he could get Logan to laugh out loud and cut the serious act. Then he’d be a winner for sure

Logan: Mechatronics

Logan’s a nerd. A huge nerd. Hence why he fits in with the mechatronics program so well

Logan has always loved robots and tinkering with technology. More than anything, he wants to work on space aircrafts as a mechanical engineer, hence why he’s in the mechatronics program

He also has ADHD and his biggest hyperfixations are in robots and space, so he’s completely in his element. It’s nice to spend most of his day in a class where he can talk about spacecrafts and how they worked, and not only will people listen, but they’ll also care about it almost as much as he does

Though, he’d prefer to keep his closet full of robotic kids toys he keeps breaking apart and fixing again to himself. At least for now

Though because he’s in mechatronics, he’s required to be in all advanced classes for his academics to get college credit. Which he doesn’t mind at all, but in his college English class, he definitely sits next to quite...the eclectic bunch

He acts like they inconvenience him, but he actually enjoys their company. Even if Roman can be a little loud, but him and Roman actually hit it off quite well with their debates and frequent conversation jumping

(It’s the ADHD-autism solidarity)

Logan also has quite the liking to Virgil, mostly because they’re both looking into the engineering business and have similar interests with space

Logan pretends like Patton annoys him, but he’s not very good at it. He hates that Patton knows he has a secret love for puns and keeps using it against him to try and make him laugh. How dare he

(Patton just keeps trying because he knows Logan likes it and he’s also a bit of a little shit)

Logan hopes that all three of them consider him one of their closest friends as well. Because actually, now he has more to look forward to in his English class than just the poetry and seeking for alternate meanings for things in text

Now, most of his entertainment comes from saying “Romeo and Juliet is an awful love story” and seeing Roman go off an a rant about how it’s not even a lOVE STORY it’s about THE GENERATION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PARENTS AND KIDS and it’s STRUGGLES, CALCULATOR WATCH-

...It’s quite amusing

Virgil’s Program: Aviation

Anxiety is fight or flight. Well...Virgil literally just wants to take flight

His dad used to take Virgil out on vacations quite often when he was younger and his dad’s job was more focused on traveling, so Virgil has flown in planes a lot. He’s always been an anxious kid, always afraid of so many things, but for some reason...flying was one of the things to calm him the most

Except for going through security, fuck airport security

But still, there was never anything more satisfying than looking through the window on a plane. He’s always loved it, and he’s known since a very young age that he wants to learn to fly things, even if he decides not to become a pilot

He’s seventeen now and still wants to be a pilot, even if his shyness has turned into an anxiety disorder. It’s been a while since he’s been on a plane since his dad is now a psychologist, but he still loves it and misses it almost. So when he heard his district’s tech school had an aviation program, he signed up so fast

His teacher has to practically pry him away from messing with the drones and planes when they need to do other stuff, it’s kinda funny

It’s also great that he met Logan in his English class, because Logan loves engineering and aircrafts like Virgil does. One of Virgil’s backup plans is to be an aerospace engineer, so their conversations are always fun

He also has no idea how Patton figured out his secret love of makeup but now he’s being used as a canvas, apparently

Plus, Roman asked if Virgil could fly a drone for him to get an aerial shot for some digital media projects, so holy shit Virgil made three friends in one day when he’s been trying to make one friend for YEARS

He just bursts into his house like “DAD GUESS WHAT I MADE F R I E N D S”

His Dad is very proud but also very concerned

Virgil just ignores that though and sends memes to the new group chat with all four of them in it

Remus’ Program: Auto Collision Technology

Remus loves broken stuff. Especially big broken things, like cars

Of course, there’s no job for purposely wrecking stuff, but looking at damage in cars and how to repair it is exciting enough for him. His parents are just happy he found something to put more...positive energy into, instead of always causing trouble and getting popular for being “the bad boy”

He had lots of friends at his home school, lots of which he still talks to, mostly because his chaotic energy entertains a lot of people willing to deal with it. He has that same effect at the tech school, but the one person he’s never been able to get more on his side is his own brother

Remus has always been a bit too chaotic for Roman’s liking, and he knows that Roman wanted to go to the tech school for a fresh start. But Remus won’t stop himself just to make his brother happy, so it Roman’s salty about Remus doing something good for himself, then so be it

(Remus is a little salty about Roman being salty, but they’re brothers, what do you expect)

But Remus doesn’t need him anyway! Twin brothers are overrated! He’s got plenty of other people in his programs!

But his closest friend he’s gotten since coming to the tech school? Janus. Him and Janus go together like two chaotic peas in a pod, even if Janus has a whole lot more braincells than Remus ever will

Though, Remus has never had more fun with a friend than with Janus. He’s had lots of friends that come and go once they’re bored of him, but Janus feels real. He feels genuine, and Remus...really doesn’t wanna get rid of that

He likes Janus a lot, hence why he invites Janus over and lets Janus into his super secret eating spot he goes when he doesn’t wanna act like a crackhead at lunch. It’s actually quite nice

Roman just has to deal with the fact that, if he’s gonna be a salty bastard, then Janus is his new ride or die

(Please someone help these twins they’re saltier than the Dead Sea)

Janus’ Program: Firefighting Technology

When Janus was a young teen, he got trapped in a house fire that scarred the left half of his body. Firefighters were the ones that saved him, and since then, he’s always had a huge respect for them. Enough so to really want to become a firefighter

He’s always been very focused on self care and secretly very empathetic, so that mixed with past experience from being saved from such a dangerous event actually makes him a great candidate for a firefighter. He’s not one giant on talking, but he’s still good with teamwork when others want him to work with them

He has a good set of friends in his program, but his best friend was someone he met during lunch when trying to get away from the noise of the actual cafeteria. He also noticed that same kid was also in his anatomy class, so...destiny, I guess?

Remus can definitely be an eclectic person, but Janus secretly thrives on a good set of chaos. It makes life interesting, and Remus can definitely be described as interesting

He’s also the only person Janus has met that thinks Janus’ scars are cool as hell, so double win

It’s also immensely entertaining to join Remus on his quests to constantly annoy his brother. If he had a brother he’d probably do the same, honestly

Mostly, he’s just here for the chaotic ride. He gets to be a sarcastic bastard with a secret love for the dramatic flair and somehow make friends at the same time

He still needs to find a way to get under Patton’s skin, though. Patton never gets bothered by Janus, but that’s probably because Patton has known Janus as his neighbor for literal years

Damn him. Janus will get him some time

Though for right now, Remus gets most of the wins of weirding out Patton. That is, until Roman shrieks and chases them both off

Yup. Janus chose a good best friend. Even if he’s a chaotic, salty bastard