#gay rivalry

[magicbutsevenofit]

Chapter 9: Atonement

So, the clergy exam question...Teito says he wants to avenge Mikage and Castor icily responds if he's in such a hurry to die. Teito counters that Mikage died for his sake so he has to avenge him, adding that if Mikage died, he himself no longer has the right to live.

Frau responds appropriately:

Frau asks if the life Mikage saved is so worthless to Teito. He clarifies that Teito doesn't want to die for Mikage's sake; he seeks peace of mind and to get rid of his negative emotions. He tells him not to run away from living and to live even if it hurts. Protecting the life that Mikage saved is the best way to atone for his death.

Teito cries how is he supposed to atone by just living. Frau says he needs to figure that out for himself. He then says if Teito goes outside the church now, the military will be waiting to take him back. If he wants to make it to the 1st District, he has to be able to leave the 7th District. Then Castor tells Teito the bishops will help him get his revenge.

When he passes the clergy examination, he'll get a full pass to all lodging establishments and transportation facilities around the world. That means he'll be able to go through all the district borders of the Barsburg Empire, meaning he can duck the strict inspections from the Imperial Guards. Passing the exam means that he can avenge Mikage by preparing his own assault. The exam is in 45 days. What does Teito say?

The first exam covers a total of 77 volumes and 7700 chapters of the Barsburg Scriptures. It's a written exam.

He has to learn all that by heart in half a month. Frau justifiably screams that there's no way he can do it. It took him three goddamn years to do that. Castor says that's because he's an idiot.

Teito then picks up a books and says he feels like he's read it before. Castor then says he should check how much he remembers. Castor then reads off chapter names from different books and Teito recites the passages perfectly. Apparently, those were lullabies from children's songs that Father always sung for him. Not just through lullabies but through prayers and sleep-talking. He still doesn't know if he can pass though and Frau warns him that the examinators can be bullies.

The second exam is a practical one that uses Zaiphon. They first need to test the strength of his Zaiphon so Castor bitch-blasts him a yard away. As Teito shakes it off, Castor explains that there are plenty of people in the world that you can't protect merely by thinking of them or praying for them. That's why the bishops learn to fight. The clergy, due to being weaker on the whole, need a special staff to channel their Zaiphon better. Zaiphon is the origin of life and it uses life energy. That means that it comes from all living beings of the world. Unfortunately, it can't be used to attack dwellers of the dark. However, if Zaiphon is channeled through the staff, it can catch and nullify Kor. Basically, the staff converts dark beings. Teito tries to use it but if spiffs out; he needs practice. Teito says it was easy to use his Zaiphon through the Imperial Army's weapons because they were mass-produced but the staff is different. He asks who made it and Castor answers a craftsman that comes to the church once a year. Teito points out that the bishops don't use staffs and Castor answers they have their own methods. Anyway, they have to leave to prepare for the celebration for the forgiveness of souls. Castor gives Teito a badge to show proof that he's admitted to the exam. Frau then says that someday, no matter what, people will look to him so he needs to remember to conduct himself properly.

The next day at 4 AM, Teito's duties include: cleaning the hallways, carrying the caustic limeto to each floor (they have 35 floors) and...that's it. After that, the students have free time. Teito uses that time to practice with the staff, Castor helping him practice on a doll (helpfully formed to resemble Frau, you know...for inspiration).

Labrador takes him aside for a break and gives him flower water which is apparently sweet. Labrador says it tastes good to kids who have injured hearts. Teito admits he feels guilty because Mikage risked his family to make sure Teito could stay free but he also explicitly told him not to take revenge so, from Teito's perspective, he can never atone. Labrador explains that Mikage forgave him from the start but Teito cries that he still has to be punished (it's like a priest brought him up or something). Labrador elaborates that Mikage knew if he took Teito back and handed over to the Imperial Army, the bishops would be screwed. Because he loved Teito.

Teito then says he's always lived a lie and he has to show Mikage who he really his, his real treasure. Then the Eye pops out in the back of his hand and Frau (who just showed up out of fucking nowhere) says that his escort is here and that's his starting point.

Later on, Teito gets a book from Frau who tells him to return it to the library. On his way, he stops a boy who looks like Mikage only to apologize for mistaking him. The boy sighs, saying beauty is a sin.

Going on, the boy ends the chapter by saying he is Teito's new rival.

[whoswearingthetrousers]

Honestly surprised I haven’t seen this done yet. Maybe I’m just late to the party whatever

[the-gay-cousin-666]

I made a thing again

I saw this pic of Christiane Endler just effortlessly carrying her teammate and my mind instantly went to andreil

[thedaythatwas]

something I appreciate about akechi as a character is that he never seems to think hmm, maybe I should emotionally distance myself from joker, because being invested in him could end up being bad for me when I need to kill him. the vengeance-oriented character goro is made out to be at first glance ought to think like this, but NO! goro akechi is NOT (just) that guy!

from the beginning, akechi goes above and beyond the minimum requirements of getting intel on joker and gaining his trust. he says, I’ll go the extra mile! I’m going to follow him around, inside and outside the metaverse. we’re going to talk about my dead mom. I’m going to insist that we’re RIVALS! I’ll spend so long thinking about all the reasons I hate him that it’ll become obvious to everyone around me— even joker’s (not a) cat— that what I feel isn’t really hate but something much more complex. obviously, this will make killing him that much more gratifying, because our lives are now intertwined! HA! take that joker! I WIN!

I believe this… interesting… thought process has something to do with akechi’s central motivation being more than just a desire for vengeance. he also desperately craves approval and recognition. akechi is not actually all that pragmatic. he’s highly driven by emotion, sometimes at the cost of logic (I mean… his revenge plot isn’t all that mature or well-thought through. it’s basically suicidal).

this considered, it seems that becoming akiren’s rival would be second nature to goro. it gives him a veritable cornucopia of things he craves. winning their “game” allows him to feel recognized for his worth. just playing it gives him opportunities to feel seen and known. being a rival is addictive. he gets the chance to embrace the anger he cultivates towards akiren and the rush of putting him at the center of his thoughts. their rivalry is by far the most intimate relationship akechi has. and so, he gets more and more tangled up with joker— and in his feelings about joker— regardless of any risk that poses to his plans. distancing himself would go against goro’s every instinct.

being akiren’s rival is tied to akechi’s vengeance, but somewhere along the line, “besting joker” evolves to be about more than plotting against shido. this is probably for similar reasons as to why akechi’s desire for vengeance against his father was never purely about “vengeance” at all.

of course, this comes with the pesky, entirely predictable side effect of akechi getting a bit obsessed. oh well! it doesn’t end up stopping him from trying to carry out his order to kill akiren.

regardless of how events actually unfold, akechi’s feelings are a clean-cut liability to his revenge plot. a rational character would probably want to avoid such an obvious crack in his armor. this to say, as intelligent as akechi is, he’s not really all that rational. there’s a difference! he’s not who he appears to be at first glance, or even second or third glance. he’s not the detective prince, or an assassin with tunnel vision for vengeance, or even just plain angry. akechi wants to be needed, and he’ll do anything to chase that feeling.

so yeah, it would’ve been nice if he had found a homoerotic rival before the shido revenge plot debacle happened! alas.

[mnyd]

blue and red. bluets — maggie nelson / @/scuderiafemboy / leclerc and verstappen say they share mutual respect despite having 'hated' each other during karting days / abu dhabi grand prix 2023 — @/makeagif / verstappen wins abu dhabi grand prix 2023 — @/visualvocabulary33 / this is how you lose the time war — amal el-mohtar & max gladstone / yves olade — slaughterhouse / max verstappen: my guide to the grid - in a unique interview the reigning world champion gives his verdicts on the pretenders to his crown ahead of the F1 season opener at bahrain this weekend / verstppen denies leclerc first win in dramatic austrian gp climax

[carebeardean]

gay on gay violence ☹️

[total-drama-brainrot]

some sketches based on the personality swap au

[obihoeee]

spinn spin tumblr didnt let me upload highe quality gif 🤬 ill post it on tiktok or something

[lgbtlunaverse]

Melnem

[spibder]

reigniting my art motive wit cringe ass gay robots

[chasing-posts]

Thinking back on a discussion my friend and I had once. About how Kakashi got so so strong in the 3 year time skip between Naruto and Naruto Shippuden.

Now Kakashi was always a genius and amazing shinobi, but for a couple of years- to a decade, he was actually stunted due to his depression/ mental decline. A good way to track it is through the Gai/Kakashi rivalry. Where at the start of Naruto in the chuunin exams, Gai confirms that he is stronger than Kakashi. And as we see in the Itachi/ Kisame fight, it is NOT lip service. Itachi almost ran away on sight.

But let's go back to theirbeginning: Despite Kakashi being pretty far above Gai when they were 5-6, Gai slowly and steadily closes the distance, until their preteen/ teen years. Where Gai starts skyrocketing, and Kakashi starts stagnating. And then they become almost completely equal shortly after Rin's death (this is mostly anime only). This is also around the time when Kakashi hits his absolute lowest mentally, and it takes a VERY long time for him to recover. During this time, Gai is only getting stronger and starts over taking him in some areas.

It's not until after Kakashi gets his first batch of genins, that he starts recovering and training harder. Part of me likes to think that he's also accepting a lit more challenges from Gai while his students are away (though that's head canon.). Once we hit the start of Shippuden, it's clear he is doing a lot better mentally, and it shows with a HUGE increase in chakra, which only gets better as the series goes on.

And this makes sense as Chakra levels is a mix of physical and mental energy. Even if Kakashi got better physically/ kept up his strength training (if only to compete with Gai- BECAUSE HE IS JUST AS COMPETITIVE AS HIS ETERNAL RIVAL HE'S JUST MUCH BETTER AT HIDING IT!) His mental health really held him back until the start of Naruto.

So in conclusion, Kakashi's kids really helped him get out of his slump/ depression.

[nottodayjustin]

February 24th 2024 best hockey tweet(s) of the day

[the-mabel-gleeful]

i’m back! and also i’m gayer!!

[myoonmii]

Cried like 3 times drawing this. I love decades old, friends to lovers to enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers old man yaoi

[sinnbaddie]

Kakashi and Gai’s rivalry isn’t just a breath of fresh air because they aren’t pushed apart thus never genuinely connecting and being vulnerable with each other, but because it’s not made to be a joke either.

Their rivalry clearly could’ve been written one sided entirely, where Gai tries to engage Kakashi and he doesn’t entertain him, but he doesn’t. He participates and enjoys it. Kakashi is as odd and perhaps at times even odder than Gai and that’s why they work so well together imo

[bakudekublogblog]

i am a bit like rrrrrrrrr about izuku not acknowledging kacchan at all, but also kacchan literally just told him not to slip up, so if izuku had a moment where he was like “omg kacchan” he would have REALLY been ignoring kacchan in that moment