#I just draw Gauche because I love him too much | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

meircury · 2 months

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Hello everyone! I hope everyone have a nice today! I very much rarely engage in fandom directly but there's has been something nagging me for a while, and this has something to do with SOME of Grey and Gauche shippers, alongside SOME of Gauche 'fans', treated him. I'm mostly talking about English speaking side of the fandom. I feel like the need of talk about this because I really hate the way they treated canon Gauche:

(Fair warning: LONG)

I absolutely hate seeing fans turning Grey into another Marie for Gauche or a replacement of his sister and makes him simp for her just like how he acts around Marie. In the story Gauche‘s simping for Marie is called “complex” because he simps out of unhealthy familial love and attachment because of what happened to them in the past and as a result of Gauche’s trust issues. His simping is NOT normal. It’s an ISSUE. FLAW. That needs to be FIXED. Not deflected to someone else. I see a lot of shippers make Gauche shoves his problems into Grey and repeats all his complex action with her. Example, a lot of memes show Gauche being weird about Grey’s photo. Whyy? One of the charms this ship has is how it brings out a unique caring side of Gauche we rarely see, like when he told Grey to work on her magic in the seabed temple, or when she saved him with the bulls after the elf fight. Yeah. That… that side of Gauche acting tsun and shy because he’s not used to be nice or open to others. Yet a lot of fans choose to use his unhealthy simping and shove it to Grey rather than builds upon his established development.

Nosebleeding over Grey. I saw this troupe is used TONS of time by the shippers artists, specifically English/West ones, and it's bothering me A LOT. Like. This troupe is used a lot in western Grey and Gauche shippers community and it's so fucking weird because aren't the same community despise the way anime over exaggerating this troupe at the point it's destroyed gauche's characterization? (For the record, after his arc Gauche only nosebleed for 5 times in manga, while in anime? Idk 50 or smth 😂😂😂) Then why they act the same way with anime with over-using this troupe when he found Grey's cute or adorable or anything sexual? Like, I'm so sorry but this such a huge hypocrisy. Hate the way anime treated him but do the same. Do you know what's ironic? I've seen less of this troupe used in the Japanese bc ship community, where most of them didn't mind the troupe. There's more irony. Most of the nice fanarts and actually depicted their relationship right it's also from JP artists who's not even have Grey and Gauche as their main ship. They're drawing them once in awhile and that's it. It's sad because why ppl who doesn't have them as their main ship understand the ship's dynamic better more than the actual shippers?

Grey Fix Gauche. Grey will Fix Gauche. Oh my God. This is the most cringiest shit ive ever heard when it came to a ship. This is also the biggest reason why I lost all of my love I had for this ship and ended up disliking it. Like. No. Grey ain't fixing Gauche. Gauche is the one who's fixing his own problem. And if you really want to insist of using 'fixing' troupe, then Asta fixing Gauche is way more valid than her. Because, he's the one who changed Gauche's mind. If Asta didn't do this then Gauche will still not giving any shit about Grey. But yeah, I hate the fixing troupe as I'm firm believer one can and SHOULD fix their problem by their own self, not by others. This troupe is problematic and I'll stand by it. That aside, saying her fixing Gauche is literally disrespecting Gauche's own development and the others characters that help him grow up (henry, gordon, Theresa, YAMI). Like, stop. Stop thinking Grey took all of those efforts that's she's not even done. Stop being delusional. Please. Why y'all not trusting him to became a better version of himself by his own efforts? Damn.

Gauche has sister complex and I hope people especially his fans will accept that as one of his character flaws instead of being denial x') he's not some poor guy who show his love differently. I know the anime explained it like that but in my honest opinion he reads to me as a man in need of therapy help because his traumatic past of having his family killed is left untreated and resulting in him developing attachment issues to his sister, the only family he has left. (Manga - Context) Did Gauche get better at not being a full siscon? Yes. Did he enterly get over it? No. Because he will always show sister complex gags and it's the same with any other bulls with their gags (ex. Noelle's royalty tsun, Luck's fight obsessed, Vanessa's alcoholic). These are flaws that make them more humans and will need more time to smooth over. As his fan, I want Gauche to fully love Marie in the healthy way of course, and I'm happy he's not as bad as before. Some bulls already helped him with that by showing him there's others he can protect beside his sister. I'm sure Grey is also gonna help him because she's his love interest but fixing him? Nah. He’s already getting better by his and the bulls’ efforts not just Grey.

(I'm saying this again just to make sure: NOT ALL Grey and Gauche shippers act like this, there's only SOME of them (the rest are good) but the way they treated Gauche is just too much I need to make a post about it lol)

Alright that's it. I had more complains like how people keep drawing gauche with muscles (he's a twink omg y'all following anime way of drawing him 😭/hj), ignoring Gauche's canonly beautiful blue greenish eye, etc but that's my personal preferences and I believe everyone deserved to draw him in their own way x) with this vent is clear enough that I do not like and vibes with Grey and Gauche as the ship because of the shippers (also the way tabata treated them but that's a different topic lol) I know this two will eventually be canon but I don't care and I still want to give more loves for him and drawing him with others characters because he deserved to have more fanarts thats not tied to his canon ship x')

Lastly. I just wish the Grey and Gauche shippers can see more from Gauche's point of view instead of being huge biased towards Grey. Because at this point I'm convinced that the shippers is Grey fans who only cares about Gauche because he's her love interest. Please respect and adore Gauche's character as y'all do with Grey 😞

Thankyou and have a nice weekend everyone!

#black clover #gauche adlai #my English isn’t good so my friend who's I've been having discussion about this helped me with the wording #kudos for them!#too add more I know most of Gauche fans are also Grey and Gauche shippers #so if theres any of you follows me I'll make this clear again that I don't ship them #I just draw Gauche because I love him too much #vent post #personal vent

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angelswing236 · 7 months

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"I don’t know if they will accept this. "

Fictober 2023

Category: Fanfiction

Fandom: Downton Abbey

‘You rang, Granny?’ Mary said, entering her grandmother's drawing room.

‘Yes, my dear. I wanted your opinion on something,’ the Dowager said, raising her face for a kiss.

‘Really? Well, fire away,’ Mary said, settling on the sofa.

‘It’s about a wedding gift for Sybil and… Branson.’

‘Tom,’ Mary corrected. ‘We have to call him Tom now. Well, we will after they marry. So, what have you gone for?’

‘Well, I did have it in mind to pass on a clock I received on the occasion of my own marriage. However, it is rather large and it might not be to their tastes or – more pertinently – it may be a tad too grandiose for their new living accommodation.’

‘Not that big ormolu clock in the hallway?’ Mary said, astounded. ‘Granny, they will be living in a small flat in Dublin, not a mansion! From what Sybil says, I doubt they’ll be able to swing a cat in their new accommodation, never mind house a huge thing like that.’

‘Oh, really? How distressing,’ the Dowager said, her nose wrinkling in disappointment that one of her granddaughters should be living in such reduced circumstances, especially voluntarily. ‘Hmm, yes, that is a concern. So, we think that is not a wise idea, then? I had thought it might remind Sybil of me.’

‘I think perhaps send her a photograph of you instead. That would be much more manageable.’

‘I did have another thought. A gift of an entirely different nature. There is a slight problem though as it could be construed as being of a monetary nature. I don’t know if they will accept this. Well, Sybil might, but Branson can be somewhat sniffy about these things.’

'Are you thinking of sending them money? Because I’m fairly sure the chauffeur will take offence at that.’

‘No, not money. I am not that gauche, Mary,’ the Dowager chastised. ‘I had thought to gift them a honeymoon.’

‘A honeymoon?’ Mary echoed, taken aback. ‘Where?’

‘At The Shelbourne in Dublin. A few nights there, that’s all. Do you think that would be acceptable?’

‘Oh, Granny, I think that is a lovely idea,’ Mary said, pleasantly surprised.

‘Excellent! That’s settled then. Although I think I shall also send them a photograph of me.’

‘I’m sure that’s what they have always wanted,’ Mary said, cheekily.

‘Just for that, I will gift you a copy too,’ the Dowager sniffed.

#fictober23 #downton abbey #mary crawley #violet crawley #the dowager countess #fanfiction #writing prompt #writing challenge

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starghost-fics · 7 months

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It is extremely strange to get to the end of this fic…again. But wonderful! I write fanfic for myself first and foremost, so it has been an utter delight to revisit this and all my other Octopath fic on this tumblr. I have some more wrap-up thoughts under the cut, but for now:

Chapter 13—if he caught me: The gang faces Darius. The gang patches themselves up and finds an inn. In the morning, Therion and Cyrus make plans.

commentary:

I had not been in any fandom, at all, for something like twelve years before I played OT1 and idly thought "what if the thief learned from the scholar like that banter alludes to. and what if they kissed."

History was made. I have been unstoppable since. Well, kind of stoppable. I've written a few things. But I did write a novel's worth of fic for Octopath in the same year I wrote an actual novel, and mostly during a global pandemic. What happened to that person, eh?

I re-read all the comments as I read each chapter, and going over the comments here, the little collection of people finishing or re-reading... it warms my cold black heart, truly. I will never get over how enthusiastic and thoughtful AO3 commenters are, even/especially in a tiny fandom.

I'm still stupidly fond of all of these characters, and I'm mystified why none of the characters really hit the same in OT2. (It came close with Partitio and Alrond! But some key element is missing. I think Partitio is too much of a straight-shooter, no true opportunity for him to not say how he feels, which is a basic requirement for me, apparently.) So I'm terribly glad that I was able to write another chunky fic, albeit at an excruciating pace. (Coming soon to an internet near you.)

Anyway, specific to this chapter:

Darius is so fun to write. What an asshole.

Writing staging for fight scenes is awful. My go-to move is to just get past actual movement as quickly as possible, and get to a moment when I can dive into how a character feels. I think this works pretty well with Cyrus because he's analyzing the battle anyway, not diving into physical fights.

EXCEPT

when he draws a knife on his boyfriend's betrayer

(but tbh his mind is still churning)

Ohhh the verbose one being unable to find the words for feelings. Classic.

Another beloved dynamic is the person who opens your world up, sparks things in you that you never knew you were capable of.

When I started thinking about the sequel, I knew it needed to be about their continuing relationship, and contain some conflict that would come up after I wrote a vague happy ending for them. I thought, is it going to be about Therion being a bad boyfriend? Still shying away? And then I remembered all my actual feelings about Therion and this scene of him massaging Cyrus's hand—again—and him desperately wanting to follow Cyrus home but playing it cool, and I thought, no, that, at least, is not the sequel.

"the gate that had been flung open in that moment, and he without a map...He is wonderfully unmoored, at sea in a new world." — hell yes, babe

"He hurt you" / "You, too" — aggh god

"Because he had woken up warm in a frozen waste, and how could that be?" ajklsdjflaksd

i'm sure it's gauche to keysmash over my own writing but idc, I was so pleased with those lines at the time and still love them.

lol oh man, I'm also a sucker for this sort of joke:

"How did you get such wonderfully talented hands?"

"Stole 'em," Therion says.

after darius, after sleeping, after a lazy morning, the boys are saying the things at last, the feelings. love is terrifying and love is wonderful, love is putting a piece of your heart in a fragile container outside of your control

therion. what is home to you now. be honest.

When Alfyn joins them and sees them holding hands, he thinks nothing of it because he holds hands all the time! With everyone! He used to hold hands with Zeph! Wait, what do you mean everyone doesn't hold hands like that, Primrose?

Yes, it appears I ended with a group hug. GROUP HUG.

okay thank you for reading! <3

#octopath traveler #fanfic commentary #cyrus albright #octopath therion #cyrus/therion #therion #fanfic #ao3 #primrose azelhart #alfyn greengrass #fic: if the gods should touch you

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acacia-may · 1 year

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Black Clover Romance Stories Masterlist

All Stories Are SFW and Organized by Relationship!

Links are to Tumblr posts unless otherwise specified.

Asta x Noelle Silva

A Family Where There Once Was None-- In the future, the Black Bulls gather together at the beach with their families causing Asta to reflect on his life's journey and the family he found along the way. Rated G.

Broken Angel (AO3) -- Noelle Silva was used to being told what she couldn’t do. As a magicless child born inexplicably to the Royal House of Silva, her family had taken great care to hide her and her lack of mana from the rest of the world. However, despite being told over and over again that she would never amount to anything more than her family’s shameful secret, Noelle never gave up her dream to become a magic knight. When she joins the Black Bulls and meets Asta, an orphan from Hage who dreams of being the Wizard King despite his mana-draining magic having left him a social outcast, she begins to develop a new dream: a dream to fight by his side and to protect him just as he has always rushed to her defense and always watched over her like a guardian angel. But all dreams come at a price… Rated T for action sequences and thematic elements.

First Christmas -- This year the Black Bulls are going all out for the holidays because it's their nephew's first Christmas! Charlotte may still be getting used to her chaotic new family, but she and Yami agree that it's very sweet the new "aunts and uncles" are going out of their way to make the holiday season truly special for their son. (Charlotte/Yami, Charmy/Rill, Vanessa/Finral, Asta/Noelle, and Gauche/Grey). Rated G.

Happy Accidents (AO3) -- The Black Bulls adopt a "Squad Baby" (in the best scenario I could come up with)! Black Bulls Family Fluff (Vanessa's familial relationships with Noelle, Luck, Charmy, Asta & especially Yami are the major focus. Secre is important in the end & Finral is trying his best, bless his heart) Minor ships since Noelle is so fun to tease & Asta loves babies (Noelle/Asta) and it's unbelievably actually their kid (Vanessa/Finral). Rated T for some language & thematic elements.

Finral Roulacase x Finesse Calmreich

I’ll Be Waiting (AO3) -- Finral shouldn't have been surprised--he had known it all along that it would be Langris who would one day be the heir to House Vaude. He had expected it, but that didn't mean it hurt any less. He had no choice now but to leave home. There was no place for him here. He knew he should just slip out quietly without drawing too much attention to himself, but there was one other person he wanted to say goodbye to...even though she was now officially engaged to his brother. Or a take on why Finral apologizes to Lady Finesse for “making her wait again.” Rated G

Treasures -- When Finesse falls ill, Finral wants to send her a gift to show her that he's thinking of her and wishing her well. Of course, this is easier said than done... Rated G

Mentioned In:

Portals and Potatoes -- The Black Bulls' potato pie eating contest is well underway, and Finral is trying his best to figure out how to make his pile of potato pies disappear. Luckily, some surprise guests arrive just in time to help him out with that... [Fluff and time travel shenanigans for (even more) self-indulgent kicks and giggles]. Rated G (Future Problems Series Story #3).

Spite -- "Did you just kiss me out of spite?" Never in a million years would Langris have ever believed there was anything in the world that could have possibly led him to a moment in which that drunk witch would be saying those words to him. But somewhere between too many drinks making him honest and revelations from Finral regarding his relationship with Finesse drudging up something he had long kept buried, Langris lost his grip on his tightly guarded emotions and began to live the impossible. And Vanessa was not going to let him off so easy for it [OR There are a lot of very good reasons that Langris Vaude doesn't drink. This is the story of one of them]. Rated T for Language (including some crude insults), Drunkenness, and Descriptive Depiction of Kissing.

Wine Therapy (AO3) -- Backstory for how Langris and Vanessa became friends (post-series). Rated T for some language

Note: This pairing is also mentioned and briefly discussed as a past-relationship that didn’t work out in Pancakes for Dinner and Sweet Like Cherries

Finral Roulacase x Vanessa Enoteca

Let Them See -- While guests at the Heart Kingdom's royal wedding, Finral (drunkenly) takes a big step in his relationship with Vanessa. Rated T for drinking & descriptive kissing

Pancakes for Dinner -- Is it some “serious pining,” lingering heartbreak, or something else entirely that is preventing Finral from showing Charmy's delicious noms the proper attention they deserve? Charmy, Rill, & Vanessa are teaming up to find out! (Charmy/Rill pairing & maybe(?) Vanessa/Finral if you want to see it...) Rated G

Sweet Like Cherries -- Domestic and Family Fluff in a future where Finesse is married to Langris and Finral is married to Vanessa. Rated T for one bad word but otherwise just fluffy

Thunderstorm (AO3) -- Time heals all wounds, but there are some scars that never completely disappear. In those difficult moments when her painful past comes back to haunt her, Vanessa finds solace and a renewed sense of purpose in the family she has built for herself. The storm is over now. Vanessa/Finral. Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, and Babies. Rated T for nightmares & trauma.

We Make Our Own Destiny -- Finral Roulacase wanted a soulmate tattoo more than anyone…until the day it appeared and said his own name, however. Confused and heartbroken by the fact that supposedly even the universe couldn’t find someone to love him, he tries to resign himself to the bitter truth that he will be alone forever, but Vanessa isn’t about to let him throw his life away moping.

Gauche Adlai x Grey

Our Corner of the World -- When pre-wedding jitters and nervousness start to get the better of Grey, her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Marie, knows just what to do, and though it may be bad luck for the groom to meet with the bride before the wedding, Gauche is willing to take that risk if that's what it takes make sure that their wedding day is one of the happiest days of Grey's life.

Langris Vaude x Finesse Calmreich

A Night at the Opera -- Though Finesse has longed dreamed of going to the opera, Langris' invitation to accompany him there catches her entirely off guard. She is sure his reasons for inviting her are not so personal as a fulfillment of her wish--he probably just enjoys opera and wants some company, feeling obligated to bring her since they had been promised in marriage to one another. But a tender, private moment in their dimly lit opera box leaves her questioning if there is, perhaps, a little bit more to it than that... Rated G

Sweet Like Cherries -- Domestic and Family Fluff in a future where Finesse is married to Langris and Finral is married to Vanessa. Rated T for one bad word but otherwise just fluffy.

[Briefly] Mentioned In:

Pancakes for Dinner

Portals and Potatoes (Future Problems Series Story #3).

Note: Through A Rainy Window (AO3) focuses on Langris and Finesse’s friendship, but it could be taken in a romantic way if the reader wanted to see it (They’re also engaged in that story, but it’s an arranged marriage so it doesn’t really have a romantic connotation)

Langris Vaude x Vanessa Enoteca (It's Complicated)

Nozel Silva x Vanessa Enoteca

A Birthday Surprise -- Nozel can't wait to surprise his daughters with their birthday presents, but little does he know that his wife, Vanessa, has a surprise for him as well.

Rill Boismortier x Charmy Pappitson

Special Sauce and Stork Paintings -- To Charmy, all meals are important, but this may be one of the most important meals of her life. Or it would be...if her husband Rill wasn't so oblivious and bad at guessing games that is...

Mentioned In:

Yami Sukehiro x Charlotte Roselei

Maybe My Soulmate Died -- From the time her supposed “soulmate tattoo” had inexplicably appeared on her wrist over a decade ago, Charlotte Roselei had never given it much attention–-until she began to wonder why the name etched into her skin was “Morgen Faust” rather than “Yami Sukehiro,” that is. Yami, himself, has always been a soulmate skeptic–-insisting he knows better than fate the kind of person he’d choose to share his life with, and though Charlotte isn’t sure what to believe, a late-night conversation with him leaves her wondering if, perhaps, she has been looking at her so-called “soulmate tattoo” in entirely the wrong way. Perhaps fate has other plans after all… (Yami/Charlotte) Rated T for some language.

Mentioned In:

#black clover fanfiction masterlist #black clover masterlist #black clover romance stories masterlist

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dreamylyfe-x · 2 years

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I’ve been re-reading my favorite Gallavich fics and last night it was ‘Risk’ followed by ‘Reward’. I love both of these stories so much! For some reason, the coconut water/Gatorade part of ‘Reward’ has stuck with me since the first time I read it. I think it’s Mickey’s protectiveness of Ian and this thing that would make him just a little more comfortable. Sorry for rambling at you but I just wanted to send you some love and appreciation for your excellent writing. ‘Bound’ is next on my list of re-reads! I hope you’re well!

First of all, this is really, really sweet. Thank you so much for letting me know. The last comment I got on Reward (which is not actually on the story) specifically called out Mickey for doing "the bare minimum" and you know what? I don't think he does. I think texting Lip about Gatorade shows some real care.

Secondly, one of my favourite comments ever accused Reward of being anti-coconut water propaganda, which I still think is the absolute height of comedy.

Thirdly... Is it gauche to say you like something in your own story? I really like that bit, too. Like it might be my favourite thing in it. I think it's partly because I discovered how much I liked writing Lip and Mickey during that exchange. They both care about Ian and it creates this connection they might not even want, but it's there. But I also like it because Mickey does have this red lines where the Gallaghers are like "it's fine" and Mickey just isn't having it. And most of those red lines are around Ian being taken care of. We didn't get a ton of that in season 11, but I think it's an important part of how Mickey does marriage. The best example is that cut scene from 11x04. Mickey doesn't draw a lot of attention to it, but he pays attention.

Anyway! Thank you so, so much. I can't tell you how much this brightened by day 💕☺️💕

#asks #my fic #reward #thanks for asking

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dani474 · 9 months

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"When it comes to deep desire...it is all too simple to convince oneself that a 'want' is hardly a 'need.' It's far easier to give up before getting hurt. [Ryuusui] does not deceive himself in this way. He proclaims his desires loudly and perseveres. Debauchery is the last word I would use to describe such fortitude. Because desire is noble." (Chapter 98, Francois. Dr. STONE)

I love Francois saying this, especially in the manga. The way the panel is laid out (two vertical panels) and the drawing itself (with a bold text box in the first half, and the stark way they stand out from the background. They're literally backlit.) I can hear the conviction just reading it. They have absolutely no doubt about what they're saying. And they understand what Ryuusui is doing even if others do not or find it gauche. It's a philosophy that you can tell Francois admires and it's one they'd grown to embody just as loudly, even if you might not see it when you first get a look at the butler.

In the page right after this, they speak to Ryuusui about why he builds model ships, and you see how deeply Francois admires him.

Their eyes are shining and they look at peace. (Looking back: I think they're moved by it.)

Ryuusui is a man full of desire – and such unrestrained desire is greedy but he embraces this – and it's seen as selfish at first glance, but he never demands anyone do what he wants (as we realize with Sai), but he does open a space for other people to have their desires fulfilled. I imagine it's comforting. That's why he ends up being so lovable despite his (slightly ugly) introduction.

I think this aspect of Ryuusui's character is actually why he fits so well in the kingdom of science. What is the kingdom of Science if not (old) Humanity's endless desire to learn, to create, to explore? What is it if not Senku's desire to save that humanity?

It's been a whole lot of desire since the beginning, and yet not once is any of it selfish.

Senku builds and builds, he teaches and he carries his people unwaveringly, but no matter how much of that is because of his own love of science and desire to continue it, he gives it freely and he does so under the guise of an uncaring science maniac. Ryuusui does the same, under the guise of an obnoxious rich boy, who underneath it, claims agriculture so that he wouldn't have to see an old and beautiful woman cry anymore. There is nothing selfish about that.

They are both people who lead seriously but they bring a lot of fun and adventure with them, and they both use their own desires to fulfill others – and this aspect especially seems to resonate with Francois.

These two couldn't have been a better fit for the Kingdom of Science.

#dr. stone #dcst manga spoilers #dr stone new world #manga caps #nanami ryuusui #ishigami senku #dr stone francois #meta #I genuinely love each of them so much #it's no wonder that ryuusui ends up a wise general #or why he ends up well liked by the rest of the kingdom of science/junior science brigade #I love so many little details about his character #but this is something that really stood out to me #my screencaps #my post #mine.txt

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vs-redemption · 3 years

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for the character ask game: Luck, Magna, Finral, Gauche and Vanessa

From Cindy: Hey anon! I’m sorry this took so long to post! I just had to really think about some of these! It was super fun to write though, so thank you so much!

*Sorry this is so long!*

Luck Voltia

First impression

I had a tough time getting over the fact that his English VA was the same as Midoriya from BNHA at first, but thankfully that went away pretty fast. I pretty much loved Luck immediately though. I heard him trying to fight people with that crazy look on his face and was sold. I also lost my mind a bit when they started calling him the “cheery berserker.” Like, please give me a nickname like this please.

Impression now

I still love Luck a lot! My initial reasoning still stands, but I’ve also enjoyed that we’ve had a few peeks into his past and inner workings of his mind to understand not only WHY he acts the way he does but also gain an understanding that he has complex emotions and isn’t just a crazy fighting machine.

Favorite moment

All Luck moments are great, but I always laugh when I think about the time Mereoleona blasted into the Black Bulls hideout to kidnap people for training. Everyone else looked horrified to be dragged away by her fire claw arms, but Luck just has this super happy excited look on his face! He’s so cute.

Idea for a story

What about Luck discovering he loves a hobby other than fighting? Like singing or drawing? Or an AU where he’s in a boy band or something ahaha

Unpopular opinion

I do love his friendship with Magna, but I do feel like it’s a bit unbalanced at times and maybe toxic for Magna. I’ve said this before, but Magna is pretty sensitive and seems to get genuinely upset when Luck manages to outperform him, especially when Luck managed to get into the magic knights and he didn’t. Luck is also kinda blunt about things sometimes, and even if he doesn’t really mean any harm by it, it makes me feel bad for Magna.

Favorite relationship

Despite what I just said, of course I enjoy Luck and Magna’s relationship. Luck inspires Magna to get stronger, and Magna is patient enough to endure Luck’s antics while also serving as an example of what human relationships should look like since poor Luck has such a weird, unhealthy relationship/attachment to his mom.

Favorite headcanon

It’s hard to imagine Luck in a romantic relationship since he’s just a small ball of crazy energy, but I’d like to think he’d be super warm and cuddly with someone he loves.

Magna Swing

First impression

I had a hard time knowing how I felt about Magna at first. I never disliked him but I went back and forth about him a lot and I’m not sure why. I’m naturally drawn to characters associated with fire, so I liked his magic right away. I suppose it took me a while to get used to his personality though. I think his appearance threw me off a bit too.

Impression now

I’m cool with Magna! He acts loud and tough all the time, but inside he’s actually really sweet. He’s a hard worker, which I respect, and he deeply cares about his friends and teammates in the black bulls.

Favorite moment

I like when he introduced that new vanishing fireball attack (I think against Asta in the royal knight exam). That was so cool that he adapted his power and learned from the mistakes from previous fights. I also just love any time he freaks out and starts batting fireballs at Luck. It’s funny. Or any time he screams about his crazy cyclone.

Idea for a story

What if someone wrote a fic where Magna joins the Crimson Lions instead of the Black Bulls? He could train his fire magic with the Vermillion family. That might be neat.

Unpopular opinion

Magna isn’t really my type, looks wise, but I definitely did a double take during the elf fights when his sunglasses were off and his hair was all disheveled.

Favorite relationship

I really like Magna’s relationship with Yami. Magna really respects the captain, and it’s nice to see them go out and do their gambling together even though it usually ends up with them returning empty handed and naked. haha

Favorite headcanon

Magna seems pretty shy about relationship stuff. He looks and acts like a punk, but I bet he’d be a perfect gentleman to his significant other. I can imagine him defending their honor or just taking care of any assholes who try to bully them.

Finral Roulacase

First impression

Oh Finral! It’s hard to remember clearly, but I think I felt disappointed with him at first. He was just kind of this guy that was obsessed with getting a date and used by Yami for making portals. I didn’t like how lazy and unmotivated he seemed.

Impression now

I am a firm believer that Finral is a precious bean and I love him so much! Now that I know where his insecurities come from, I can understand and sympathize with his nervousness and low self-confidence. I absolutely love how he’s been working harder and learning to use his magic in more useful ways to become a more valuable member of the team though. He’s starting to stand up for himself and become not only a better magic knight, but a better person in general too. (Although his flirting never bugged me that much)

Favorite moment

I don’t like that Finral got hurt so badly, but the moment where Langris was attacking him and every member of the black bulls rushed to stop him was really powerful. It showed that he was a loved member of the squad, plus the whole fact that he was finally making a stand against his brother was a big deal for him.

Idea for a story

I’d like to read anything about Finral with someone, either a friend or partner, who gives him lots of affection and verbal praise so the poor guy can build up his confidence a little. He deserves that. Smother him with love and affection! Do it!

Unpopular opinion

I don’t really care for the whole “competing to marry Lady Finesse” thing. I want Finral to find happiness and be able to have a comfortable and respected role within his family, but I’m not too concerned about if he ends up with her.

Favorite relationship

I’ve been thinking about this for a few minutes and I honestly can’t come up with one, which is sad. Maybe I’m forgetting someone but it doesn’t seem like Finral has any close relationships/friendships. I know he’s friends with everyone in the Black Bulls but nobody stands out as being especially close to him.

Favorite headcanon

Finral probably has a lot of guilty pleasure hobbies that help him manage his anxiety. For example baking, knitting, reading romance novels, or listening to cheesy love songs.

Vanessa Enoteca

First impression

I feel like I was just curious and confused about most of the Black Bulls when they were first introduced because they all seemed like… lazy or unmotivated, so I didn’t understand why they were even in the magic knights or how they passed the exam. Turns out Yami just hands out Black Bull robes like Halloween candy. lolol

Impression now

I like the growth her character has gone through during the series. She seemed like a lazy drunk at first, but when she is motivated she is REALLY motivated. Her loyalty to the Black Bulls is so absolute that it seems like she’d sacrifice ANYTHING or pay any price for her friends.

Favorite moment

When she goes back to the witch queen and offers to give up her freedom to try and save Asta’s arms. It is such a selfless thing to do and it just shows how much Vanessa loves her teammates.

Idea for a story

Uh… a soulmate AU that involves her red thread magic?

Unpopular opinion

I thought it was kind of random that she apparently has a crush on Yami. Like, its fine… I also have a crush on Yami, but I didn’t think it was necessary. Her admiration for him could just be platonic and that would be just as meaningful.

Favorite relationship

Either her relationship with Finral or her relationship with Yami probably. Even though I’m not a huge fan of the green in Finral’s hair, I think it’s cute that he came to Vanessa for advice and that she wants to help him reinvent himself.

Favorite headcanon

Why did I just think of Vanessa and Gordon running an apothecary together? They can just brew potions and poisons together and it would be great. I don’t know.

Gauche Adlai

First impression

Was I supposed to have any other impression than that he was a super creepy sister lover? haha

Impression now

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get over the sister thing. That actually upsets me because everything else about Gauche is so cool to me. His magic is really awesome, and I love how unique and creative it is. And honestly, I don’t even care that he’s obsessed with his sister. I get that she’s the only family he really had and that he’s protective, but it doesn’t have to be that weird. It really doesn’t.

Favorite moment

I really liked when he used his magic to make a bunch of doubles of Asta, and every other time he caved and actually worked together with other members of the Black bulls. I also like whenever he blasts Asta with a mirror out of nowhere because Marie said something about liking him. Poor Asta has no idea why he’s getting attacked.

Idea for a story

Oh! How about Gauche taking over the church where his sister lives and becoming the protector of all the children? Or he could run a “scared straight” program where he intimidates delinquents into becoming better citizens.

Unpopular opinion

I’m not sure but I think most of his lines about Marie are actually hilarious. Like when he wouldn’t attack Sally’s monster thing because it looked like Marie. That was amusing. It’s just that when his nose starts bleeding and stuff, that makes it go from funny to awkward and creepy.

Favorite relationship

I’ll go with his relationship with the nun. He is such an asshole to her, but she throws it back without hesitation.

Favorite headcanon

I have no idea, but can we start shipping him with that scales dude (Damnatio Kira). I just thought of that and it’s making me happy to imagine it.

#Chat with cindy #black clover #luck voltia #finral roulacase #magna swing #vanessa enoteca #Gauche Adlai

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sserpente · 4 years

Text

24 little kinks | Door 1 🎄

“You remember that chocolate advent calendar I got you for December?”

“I do,” he chuckled and pressed a tender kiss to your temple. “You made me display it in the kitchen so I would not eat it all at once.”

Your smile widened. “How about we get another one?”

Loki raised an eyebrow, only now paying proper attention to the sex toy ad. Then, he frowned. It was an odd mixture of disgust, genuine curiosity and even a hint of arousal flashing in his blue eyes.

A/N: It’s that wonderful time of the year again! Oh, I’m looking forward to mulled wine, biscuits, Christmas songs and decorations... I received all of your requests and my lovelies, I think you’ll be in for a treat. Here’s to the first “door” of my Christmas special. Enjoy, everyone! ♥

“Loki?”

You were leaning against him on the sofa, in midst of your dimly lit living room. A blanket was draped over the both of you, keeping you from freezing. Winter had knocked on the doors sooner than you would have liked, still, when you looked out of the window and lost yourself in the countless white snowflakes fluttering to the ground, you felt yourself slipping into a cheerful Christmas mood.

It was the first time you would be spending the holidays not only with a boyfriend but also none other than Loki himself. Up to this day, after so many months of spending time together, saving each other’s life on missions and giving up sleep night after night to talk for hours on end, you wondered just what you had done to catch the God of Mischief’s attention—how he, out of all people within the nine realms, had fallen for a young mortal woman such as yourself.

You smiled at remembering how gauche and downright timid he had acted around you as soon as he had realised he was developing romantic feelings for you. Loki had been torn between his dominance and superiority and gentle and respectful courting. And while you had been wondering how a powerful and intelligent god such as him could possibly take an interest in you, he had been worried you would reject him because of his past actions in New York.

Here you were now, cuddling on the sofa and watching Christmas films together. There were a lot of things you wanted to introduce the Norse God to. From taking him sledding and ice skating (both at which he was exceptionally good and skilful) all the way to baking biscuits and mince pies and the infamous mistletoe, your heart warmed at the thought of taking his mind off things.

The Avengers had accepted him as part of the team solely because they had not wished to draw Thor’s wrath upon them but even the God of Thunder did not treat Loki like the brother he should. Too many things had changed and Loki was lonely, haunted by his own demons and ghosts of the past.

You were lucky, beyond lucky to have been blessed with this wonderful man. Loki was so much more than he let on. It had taken him months to open up to you but when he did, you got to see his vulnerable heart. He was good. Loki was good, deeply misunderstood and alone. Christmas was the perfect time to show him you were with him and that all hell would have to break loose to separate you two.

The bright light of a Christmassy ad interrupting the film reflected on your faces, making Loki even paler than he normally was. It was an ad for an advent calendar. You had explained to him the concept and even bought him a chocolate calendar all to himself. Loki was confused at first he couldn’t simply open all of the little doors at once but then begun to like the idea.

Only the advent calendar in the ad was a little different; very different, in fact. The mischievous smile spreading on your lips spoke volumes. This advent calendar… contained sex toys—one for each day all the way until Christmas. It was expensive. Two hundred dollars would make your wallet cry but if you simply considered it an early Christmas present for the both of you, surely it could live with that.

Eventually, Loki hummed in response. He had grown so fond of those Christmas movies with a happy ending guarantee the ads made him a little grumpy. He usually never paid any attention to them but you would make sure that today he would.

“You remember that chocolate advent calendar I got you for December?”

“I do,” he chuckled and pressed a tender kiss to your temple. “You made me display it in the kitchen so I would not eat it all at once.”

Your smile widened. “How about we get another one?”

Loki raised an eyebrow, only now paying proper attention to the sex toy ad. Then, he frowned. It was an odd mixture of disgust, genuine curiosity and even a hint of arousal flashing in his blue eyes.

“I hardly need… toys to satisfy your needs, neither do you need any to satisfy mine. You are not… unchallenged when we are in bed together, are you, sweet one? Because I can ensure you, I can change that in a heartbeat…” His cool lips brushed against your neck, leaving behind a trail of goose bumps on your sensitive skin.

“No… of course not… but experimenting with sex toys can be a lot of fun?”

You almost giggled to yourself despite your growing excitement. You had never actually taken Loki to a sex shop. That should be really interesting; and besides, you had been imagining him tying you up and blindfolding you countless times already. The God of Mischief made no secret out of his dominance, hunger and godly stamina in bed and he had not just once forced you into so many orgasms you had nearly passed out from all the breath-taking pleasure. So why not take it up a notch?

“You intend to buy an advent calendar full of… sex toys for us?” He repeated with raised eyebrows. You could tell he was beginning to like the idea—and what he could do to you, how he could tease you with all the things in this… naughty advent calendar.

You could practically feel him slowly changing his mind, arousal radiating off of him and making you squirm a little in joyful anticipation.

Finally, he sighed, an amused but cheeky smirk playing on his lips. “Very well. Where do we acquire this calendar?”

Loki's expression was unreadable when you entered the sex shop. From the outside, it looked like a regular store. No toy advertising or obscene pictures whatsoever. When you stepped inside, however, the both of you were greeted by an almost naked harlequin wearing a leather harness and crotchless black panties. The smallest of frowns formed on his forehead, yet you did not fail to notice how his blue eyes widened a little upon seeing the naughty excuse for underwear. You knew without asking he was imagining you wearing those pieces of fabric instead of the lifeless doll before you.

“So? Where do we get the calendar?”

“They should be close by, I'll ask a clerk. You can have a look around in the meantime, if you like. Perhaps you'll find something you like.” You winked at him, excitement flooding your veins. Those were going to be twenty-four really interesting days. You honestly couldn't wait.

“Excuse me...” Loki sighed when you turned away from him, instead directing his attention to the shelf before him. He found the same kind of underwear the harlequin was wearing, along with other naughty lingerie in various colours and accessories... a package titled “nipple stickers” among them. Tilting his head intrigued, he reached for them. They were round and green, glittering, and he quickly figured out what they were for. He grinned to himself, then at you once you returned to him.

“Your grin looks promising. What have you... oh. Oh, I like those. Should we get them?”

“I might be on the verge of changing my mind about this advent calendar idea of yours.” He grabbed another package--two green pairs of crotchless panties.

“I expect you to wear those for me on Christmas Eve.”

“Do you now?” You bit your lower lip. You knew very well about the impact you made on Loki’s loins and you loved teasing him until he pounced on you like a predator. Still, most of the time, Loki was in charge. You trusted him unconditionally—and you believed that turned him on more than anything else. Besides, your trust was always rewarded—with countless orgasms and so much pleasure you had forgotten your own name before, Loki’s on your lips as you came again and again and again...

Loki glanced down at you with both amusement and lust sparkling in his blue eyes, making you blink. He knew where your thoughts had trailed off to.

“T-the calendars are over there.” Swallowing thickly, you led him there, knowing that if you weren’t out in public, he would have ripped your clothes off of your body already.

“That is a lot of money, is it not?” He said when you picked one up. It was rather heavy, about have as big as you.

“I have got the feeling it's gonna be worth it.”

Once again, Loki tilted his head, his gaze focusing on the shelf above the calendars. He frowned yet again.

“What is a... cock ring?”

You giggled to yourself. He'd find out soon enough for sure.

The 1st of December couldn’t come fast enough. Your purchases lay hidden in a plain black plastic bag behind the door and they remained there until you had decorated your flat for the festive season. On Saturday night, you finally unpacked it, the mere thought of it already wetting your knickers. You displayed it on the desk, grateful for the fact you were no longer living in the compound with the other Avengers who could accidentally bump into your room unannounced and thus spotting your naughty purchase. It wasn’t a secret you were dating Loki after all. They weren’t exactly fond of it but you couldn’t care less. Loki was amazing.

The God of Mischief was up before you on Sunday morning. He woke you with chaste kisses all over your face, making you giggle when your eyes fluttered open to lock with his. He could be so gentle and vulnerable and sweet all at the same time your heart regularly skipped a beat in the mornings.

“Good morning, my sweet…” His sleepy, velvety and a little rough voice sent pleasant shivers up and down your spine… and tingles right between your legs. His tone was suggestive. He could barely wait but neither could you. You had not read which toys the calendar contained. All you knew was that it was intended for sexy times for couples.

You giggled at him, burying your face in your pillow. “Go on then, open the first door.” He heaved himself out of bed all the while you tried your best to wake up properly before he returned with the first box. There were twenty-four in total, some of them a lot bigger than others. You couldn’t wait to find out what was inside all of them.

“Admit it. You’re about as excited about this as me.”

“I admit it,” he said with a mischievous wink. “I am.” And with that, he gently opened the box in his hands. It was rather small but the content did not disappoint. It was condoms. Three condoms wrapped in festive red paper with green stripes. The black letters on it read Gingerbread. Those were gingerbread flavoured condoms. A wicked grin spread on your lips. It was time for breakfast anyway.

“What are those?” Loki asked with genuine interest, wondering what naughty things you could do with them as he returned to you and laid back down.

“You remember when I told you about how we prevent pregnancy here on Earth?”

“Condoms and pills, mainly.” He concluded. You nodded.

“Those aren’t normal condoms though…” One of your hands wandered under the covers, reaching for Loki’s already semi-hard cock and giving it a few teasing strokes, eliciting a stifled moan from him. “They’re gingerbread flavoured.”

He smirked when realisation hit him. “You mean to ravish me for breakfast then, I presume? Oh, I do like the idea of opening one of these… naughty boxes every day now.”

Hungrily, you ripped one of the festively packaged condoms open with your teeth. The smell wasn’t the most enticing, the taste, however, indeed promising.

And even though Loki was a little suspicious of you rolling a thin piece of latex over his erect member, he quickly grew fond of the idea as he watched you freeing him from his trousers as if you were slowly unwrapping a present and then made him lean back to ‘enjoy the show’. You would show him now spending more than two-hundred dollars on an advent calendar was paying off—it was paying off in this very moment.

The God of Mischief hissed when your fingertips came in contact with his hard length. You licked your lips in joyful anticipation, ready to devour and pamper him. Taking your time, you wrapped your lips around his tip, your tongue darting out to taste his slit. Instantly, the flavour of gingerbread sent your taste buds to heaven. It felt like digging into a particularly delicious meal.

Inch by inch, you slid him into your mouth, taking as much as you could without gagging and causing Loki to throw his head back in pure bliss. He soon grabbed a fistful of your hair to control your movements along with your own hungry licking, your innocent eyes meeting his in such a depraved manner he gnashed his teeth not to spurt his cum into that questionable condom instantly.

Moaning with relish and by that, teasing him with gentle vibrations, you suckled on the tip and circled him slowly. You could tell he was getting close. Again and again, Loki would buck his hips up to thrust into your mouth, deeper each time until he started guiding your head to get to the pace he wanted. His breathing quickened—he came undone the moment your eyes met again, your pupils wide from arousal and desire.

Twitching and jerking inside your mouth, he released himself into the gingerbread flavoured condom with an animalistic groan, his fingers buried in your hair. Surely, his seed would taste even better than your first advent calendar surprise… but with Loki, there was always an encore anyway.

Panting a little, you pulled away from him, removing the condom before he softened and tossing it out of bed carelessly. There would be enough time to clean up later. Then, you crawled back up to him, practically lying down on his chest and sighing when he wrapped an arm around your naked waist. For a few peaceful seconds, you simply listened to each other’s heartbeat, bathing in the afterglow.

“Don’t forget to open your chocolate advent calendar too.” You mused after a while, your voice all high-pitched because his hand sneaked between your legs in just that moment.

Loki smirked. “Oh, I will not. But I believe at first, it is your turn. You are positively dripping for me, my sweet (Y/N).”

A/N: Door 2 will be opened tomorrow, on December 2nd!

Check out my blog to find more Imagines and take a glimpse at my first (to be) published novel! Also, if you enjoyed this story, I would appreciate so much if you supported me on Kofi! ko-fi.com/sserpente ♥

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autodiscothings · 4 years

Note

What does Kolyat really think of Ori’s shopping habit?

Interesting question, because this opens up further questions on how both view money- they’re both oddly on the same page, and on the opposite sides of it.

Kolyat is practical now, though he had a year of reckless teen spending (once Thane’s first care package came in.) It’s thanks to his father he’s never had to taste poverty at any stage of his life; when Thane worked construction, Kolyat remembers there was still food on the table, and he was kept warm and dry- even if it was in a one bedroom apartment in the city. Thane’s wetwork eventually brought in the big money; it paid for Kolyat’s school education when he walked away him, and after the Illuminated Primarcy took their taxes on the (above board) schemes, the inheritance he would receive at 21 was still sizeable. When money gets that big, it comes with its own accountancy firm and three ring circus. Kolyat knows enough to have some investments of his own and regular contact with his accountant, a volus who dealt with his father and understood the blood in the ledger. Even if the credits are leftovers from Thane’s accounts, Kolyat has to understand how to manage them. His father left him with oddities -legal and not so legal- he is still dealing with years after his death, like a shipping crate of elcor modern art he has to have valued and auctioned off, even if the money goes to charity.

He is weary with dealing with it all, almost a constant job if he lets it be one. Kolyat doesn’t view the investments and inheritance as his, but a leftover he has to sort out for his father- weird elcor art and all. He donated a lot to the Kepral’s Fund, but a part of it Kol did keep- the apartment on the Citadel, for one. It’s in perpetuity, but to a point; he only has the place for his lifespan. Kolyat is thankful for the nice volus that deals with most of it, so he can concentrate on his life in C-Sec; to a point, obviously- he still has to make decisions.

Oriana, on the flip side- she might have been born into Lawson’s wealth, but never got to experience it as a child. Despite how I draw her, despite the assumption she was born privileged, Ori was brought up in the immigrant quarters of Nos Astra. Her adoptive family were shabbily middle class: her father composed a jingle once a year for the CNN radio or the occasional ad soundtrack, sometimes worked as a tutor for ‘Human Music & Culture Studies’ classes for bored rich Maidens; her mother worked in software engineer for a pharmaceutical company, the main breadwinner.

Ori grew up knowing that every credit was very much earned, and that times got tough. It’s why the gifts from her ‘guardian angel’ stand out; Miranda Lawson paid for her violin, her private lessons. A little bit here and there, to help out her sister.

Ori knows money opens doors, and that clothing ‘maketh the man.’ Her childhood in Illium was a place that judged you on what you wore and what (asari) family you came from; she then went to university in a human colony that did the same. Bekenstein might have had an excellent school for engineering and innovation, but it was also full of pompous nouveau riche who thought their money shined brighter.

Ori has been schooled in knowing that money doesn’t exactly bring happiness, but it brings a certain muffled blanket of carelessness, a shield from the shit of life. She hates wearing obvious branding, like the rich of Bekenstein did- awful shows of gauche spending and terrible taste. Even her college crush was flippant, in the way trust fund babies are.

Ori’s parents left her with a little, but taxes consumed a fair amount. Henry Lawson’s gift of inheritance gave Ori a very large amount of money, even after the Alliance seized his assets. She refused to touch it; Miranda persuaded her into keeping some, but Ori was sickened at the thought of owning blood money. Instead she talked Miranda into creating a fund for the victims of Sanctuary, for the families left behind. Ori still struggles with the paper work for it; the thought of handling anything relating to Lawson makes her sick.

The Upper Ward apartment she mostly uses as a storage room belongs to Miranda; Ori’s wage at Kellams pays enough to keep her on the Citadel, just enough for her spending habit. She does eat into her savings, though- far more recklessly than Kolyat does. Somewhat ironic the man who lives in three pack t-shirts and workout gear is the richest out of them; Kolyat dislikes spending on anything, actually- eating out, bar crawls, skycar taxi rides. His C-Sec wage is enough for him- his biggest expense is the damn cat.

Ori genuinely loves well designed clothes, and buying them. To her, it’s structural engineering for bodies, an artform in itself. She experiments with colours and silhouettes, evident in her make up too- Henry Lawson found it very distasteful, as if purple lipstick ruined his creation. Wipe that grease off you face, you’re not a dockside whore.

Because Kolyat knows money -even through observation- he sometimes knows when Ori lies about her spending. She can be flippant- I got this on sale, oh I know the designer, it’s loaned- but not too heavily, not Bekenstein levels of pretence. Once she climbs the ranks at Kellams and networks more, the clothing she wants comes easily, even if she has to give it back to the stylist the morning after. (Gala clothes/jewels are often on loan from the archives!)

The stickler comes when they get older and want to buy an apartment together. Kolyat is okay with a joint account, but only for expenses/bills- it won’t pay for her shopping habit. Ori’s spending and her carelessness regarding her possessions (his perception, not reality- she’s messy, not reckless) becomes an issue for him, one that she rolls her eyes at and deals with. In turn, she asks him to live a little more- they can afford the restaurant, the holiday, the extension to the kitchen. What’s the problem? Let’s do it.

This is quite an essay I know, but I think money and the attitude you had during your upbringing shapes how you deal with it as an adult. Ori’s spending habits is a reaction to it; She says it’s part of her work, that she has to fit in or use fashion as a weapon, but a part of her loves clothing. Not in the gaudy Bekenstein way, but in that she sees it as a form of expression. It’s important to her, too- a slick of purple lipstick, as an act of defiance.

Kolyat does know this of course, despite his grumblings. He gives her something extra special in their first apartment together- the spare room meant for their office is now a walk in closet.

It becomes the cat’s favourite place to hide.

#this is a literal essay #asks and prompts #kolyat krios #oriana lawson

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starline148 · 4 years

Photo

I’m so sorry I don’t have computer to scan it properly! I’ll do as soon as I get my computer back ;v; It lost lot of quality and it’s really annoying. I’m very happy with it, because I’m not so much into Futuristic Worlds and it took me a lot to design and to colour. But I loved how the sky and the lake turned out. And I also love having this excuse to draw Teikoku Team for seven drawings. I used the Prompt “Future”, but like... literally. A Future World :D Iridiscent watercolors, watercolors, gauche and colour pencils.

Teikoku Week. Day 01: Future The stars shone in a firmament of green and purple, spread over their heads like a dome of infinity. A huge moon was seen from the hill that gleamed with the neon glow of the local flora.

In the distance the lights of the city of New Inazuma over the lake that reflected the universe above it like a mirror gave faith of the life of the place, still.

The communicator alerted of an incoming hologram and the boy in black was quick to accept it, a penguin in a robe and glasses semi-materialized in front of them.

"Professor K" the two boys greeted.

"You have finally arrived" his voice sounded relieved "I will immediately notify the Teikoku Squad."

"Is it so dangerous?" asked the one in white with a gaze as intense as the dawn sun.

The hologram figure nodded and they both felt inside the unequivocal sign of adrenaline running through his veins, a mixture of emotion and fear unavoidable when faced with one of them, the result of a failed genetic experiment or perhaps a new victim of radiation.

"Be careful, I don't want to lose you in this operation too."

The two boys exchanged a look and as if reading their minds they giggled in unison.

"Professor, we are the elite."

The Professor opened his beak somewhat annoyed.

"Easy, Professor K, when we work together no one can beat us."

"I hope it's like that, just don't overestimate it. That thing has swept away several very good squads in New Inazuma."

The boy in black looked at his partner, anything that wanted to hurt him first should pass over his corpse. An expectant smile crossed his ocean-colored eyes.

"We should put on the uniform, Captain, the Teikoku Squad will be here soon."

#teikokuweek #teikoku week #teikoku #teikoku team #inazuma eleven #in11 #inazuma eleven ares #inazuma eleven orion #gensaku #kdfd #genda koujirou #sakuma jirou #kidou yuuto #fudou akio #henmi wataru #sakiyama shuuji #narukami kenya

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somekindoftuber · 5 years

Text

vld youtuber AU (klance, part 5)

(I apologize if the tense changes all over the place, I’m writing this as a sort of stream-of-consciousness thing because I care more about getting the idea out than writing something that’s grammatically perfect. I’ll probably clean this up and make it an actual fic once it’s all done. Thanks for reading!! :D)

part one | part two | part three | part four

There is a definite shift in Keith’s demeanor after Lance’s last visit.

They play Overwatch a few times a week, and while Keith goes into stern-leader-battle-mode when the game is going, between matches he’s loose, candid. He laughs at Lance’s jokes and makes casual conversation about his job, the garage, tells funny stories about Kosmo. Lance tells Keith stories about the customers he has at the cafe. It’s nice to hear a softness in Keith’s voice that Lance hadn’t heard before.

Keith shows up in nearly all of Lance’s Overwatch videos, even if his mic isn’t recorded. They sort of fall into a rhythm, meeting online every Tuesday and Thursday night to search for servers.

“Y’know,” Keith says one night while they’re in queue. “I wouldn’t have figured you for a sniper type.”

“Eh?” Lance is in his Widowmaker menu at that moment, flipping between two skins to see which one he likes more. “What d’you mean?”

“I don’t mean it in a bad way,” Keith clarifies, and it sounds like he’s smiling. “You just seem like more of a Mercy or a support or something. You’re really…” he pauses. “Generous. Always helping people. Then you get in here and you turn into a cold blooded assassin.”

Lance laughs. “I’ve always played a sniper, though. Gotta have balance somewhere, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

They text a lot. It’s all small stuff, like pet photos or memes (which Keith doesn’t understand 90% of the time and Lance finds that kind of adorable). But it’s nice. Occasionally they’ll both have an early shift, and Lance will text Keith photos of the ancient espresso grinder, captioned “this thing wants me dead” surrounded with skull emojis. Keith’s sense of humor, Lance learns, is dry as cracker juice. He gets a photo of a broken rubber floor mat with the question, “what sound does a floor mat make when it splits right before a fitness class?” Before Lance can answer, he gets another photo of the same mat, this time with Keith’s middle finger pointing soundly at it. “That sound,” says the caption. Lance laughs so hard that his boss yells at him for being on his phone during a shift.

August comes to an end, and Pidge prepares for her final term. Lance helps by assisting in an apartment clean out, getting rid of literal clutter to ease Pidge’s impending mental clutter. Lance tries not to think about how this might be their last few months in this apartment together. He’s really enjoyed living with Pidge - he wasn’t exaggerating when he said she was like a sister. Pidge is an extension of his family, ever since they met at space camp all those years ago. She’d been a tiny, fluffy, indomitable ball of pure snark and Lance loved her immediately. Since then, they’d stuck together, seeing each other through some of the hardest times. Lance had cheered his lungs out when Pidge was handed her high school diploma, and in a few months, he’d see her walk across another stage in a cap and gown to receive her bachelor’s degree in Robotic Engineering.

It made him a little misty-eyed to think about it.

Pidge is playing Stardew Valley one afternoon (how the hell did she manage to make such an insanely profitable farm before the end of year one?) when she casually brings up one of Lance’s favorite fall events.

“You gonna go to the Founder’s Fair this year?”

Lance doesn’t even look up from his phone. “Uh, is the Pope catholic?”

“Good.” On the screen, Pidge’s character gives a bouquet to Penny. Dating everyone but marrying no one: the Pidge method. “Hunk is coming in for it.”

“Sweet.”

The Harborville Founder’s Fair was the highlight of every autumn. Right as the summer was fading away and the air was showing a hint of a chill, Oceanside Park would explode into three days of carnival rides, food trucks, fireworks, and everything in between. It was also the best time of year to surf - they didn’t get much in the way of waves here, but there would always be just enough in late September to rent a board. Lance had put in his time off request a month ago, buttering up his boss with the ‘this might be my last September in Harborville’ sob story. Which was sort of true, even if he wasn’t quite ready to face that reality yet.

Lance felt like he was getting closer to Keith. He wasn’t entirely sure if that was the case, but if nothing else, Keith seemed to finally be relaxing around him. There were one or two times when Lance could almost swear Keith was flirting, but he quickly shoved the thought aside. Nope, don’t go there. That’s assuming things. Assuming is dangerous.

The fair is in a week and to make up for missing work on what will be one of the busiest weekends of the year, Lance is working at the cafe nearly every day. He has more steam burns on his hands and wrists from making lattes than ever, and he thinks if he hears the word “pumpkin spice” one more time he might lose it. He hasn’t played Overwatch all week, too tired from extra shifts to do anything other than zone out to Netflix when he gets home.

He’s got two hours left in his Thursday morning shift, then he’s free for the whole weekend. He can practically taste the funnel cakes now - and the Rancho Alegre food truck, the only decent source of Cuban food in the entire state, will be there. God, he’s going to eat until he can’t move.

The morning rush has come and gone and the afternoon crowd isn’t here yet, so Lance is cleaning up the mess of coffee grounds and cinnamon around his work station when the bell on the cafe door sounds. He doesn’t look up as his coworker/supervisor Romelle greets whoever walks through, too preoccupied with wondering how the hell almond milk ended up underneath the grinder.

“Hello,” says the customer and Lance totally knows that voice. He stops wiping sour milk and looks up.

It’s Shiro. And right behind him is Allura and - oh shit. It’s Keith. He’s here, he’s here in the cafe and Lance had no idea he was coming and he probably looks like shit, overworked with bags under his eyes and his face breaking out from stress and he didn’t even shampoo his hair this morning because he was running late --

But then Keith smiles at him and wow. His hair is down and he’s wearing this black and red leather jacket and it should be illegal to look that good. Especially when Lance is such a mess.

“Hi,” Lance says, hating how his voice cracks. “What are you guys doing in town?”

Shiro is pulling out his wallet with his left hand. “We came for the fair. It was always one of my favorite things about going to school here.”

“Oh,” Lance squeaks.

They’re here for the fair. Lance might get to spend time at the fair with Keith. He forces himself to focus on the present before a dozen fantasies of ferris wheel rides and sharing cotton candy can take over his brain.

They all order drinks and Lance claims them before Romelle can even finish ringing them up. Shiro gets a hazelnut americano, Allura orders a tuxedo mocha, and Keith shyly asks for a latte. Lance can tell he doesn’t go to coffee shops often and makes the drinks carefully. He can’t embellish Shiro’s americano, but he uses chocolate sauce and extra foam to draw a bow tie in Allura’s mug. For Keith’s latte, he sends a prayer to the coffee gods to grant him latte art prowess. It works, and Lance is rounding out rings of coffee and foam, pulling through to form a perfect heart.

He slides the mug across the counter to Keith, who’s eyebrow shoot into his hair. He breaths a little “wow” and blushes, taking the mug and smiling. He’s wearing fingerless leather gloves. Lance’s heart flip-flops in his chest.

The three of them find a table near the window and sit, chatting and drinking their coffee. They’re too far away for Lance to hear what they’re saying, and even if he could, he’s on the clock, and the lunchtime regulars are starting to trickle in.

Would it be gauche to text his evening shift coworker and bribe him to come in early so Lance can leave?

Lance thinks Romelle can tell he’s pouting by the way she sides up to him.

“Hey,” she whispers. “Is that the guy?”

He follows her gaze and sees that it lands firmly on the table where Keith is sitting with Shiro and Allura. Keith looks up at Lance, and smiles a little before turning back to his brother.

“Yeah,” Lance whispers back, feeling his face heat up. “The one with the long hair.”

Romelle lets out a low whistle. “Quite the catch,” she says, waggling her eyebrows. “What about the girl they’re with?”

“Allura?” Lance thinks. “I don’t know her very well, but she’s nice.”

“She single?”

Lance rolls his eyes and starts on the next drink. “No idea, you should ask her.”

It’s slower today and Lance is thankful for it. With Keith in the room, he can’t focus on anything - it’s a miracle he doesn’t catastrophically screw up the drinks he’s making. There’s a break in customers and Romelle comes over to Lance where he loading a portafilter with espresso and waves her phone.

“I’ll make you a deal,” she says, and he does not like that voice. That’s her Supervisor Voice. “I’ll call Ryan in an hour early if you get me Cute Girl’s number.”

Lance puts the tamp down. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

He looks over at the table where Keith is sitting. They’ve all finished their drinks and will probably be leaving soon.

“Romelle,” Lance states. “You are an evil super villain and I love you. Consider that number yours.”

Fifteen minutes later, Ryan Kinkade is walking in and he doesn’t look particularly thrilled about it. Lance takes off his apron and motions at the jar of cash by the register.

“Ryan, you’re a lifesaver and my tips are yours. Thank you!” Lance clocks out before anyone can argue and walks over to where Keith and Co are sitting. He’s very much aware of how he probably reeks of coffee and looks like garbage but does his best to smile anyway.

“My shift is over, did you guys have any plans?”

Shiro smiles and stands. “I think we were going to head to our Air B&B and check in, actually. We could use a breather after that drive. We can meet up for dinner later, if you want.”

Inwardly, Lance lets out a sigh of relief because this means he’ll have time to take a shower and make himself presentable. “That sounds good! Any place you want to go?”

Shiro shrugs. “Is Vinnie’s still open?”

Lance lights up. “Oh yeah, still as good as ever, too! Want to meet there at, uh - “ He checks his phone, it’s barely 3pm. “Around five? We should beat most of the dinner rush that way.”

They all nod and the plans are made. They walk outside together and Lance watches the three of them get into a very nice Chrysler sedan - maybe Allura’s, given how she goes for the driver’s seat. Once they’re gone, Lance heads for his car and books it home. He immediately washes and exfoliates his face, then applies an anti-inflammatory mask and works at cleaning up the apartment. It was already fairly clean since Hunk will be crashing on the pull-out sofa bed for the weekend, and he has no idea of Keith will ever even see this place, but Lance doesn’t want to take any risks.

He shoots Pidge a text to tell her about their plans in case she wants to join. Hunk isn’t due until tomorrow morning.

Apartment clean(er) and his face mask dry and itchy, Lance hops in the shower and scrubs himself sore. Keith is here and will be spending the weekend here and Lance is equal parts ecstatic and terrified. He meticulously goes through his whole grooming routine, moisturizes, swabs, trims his eyebrows, even files his nails. He checks his reflection once he’s done and thankfully his face is less red, the stress acne barely noticeable.

There’s still about 45 minutes until he needs to be at Vinnie’s so Lance takes his time picking out clothes. He settles for a low cut tank top that shows off his collarbones and a beige button down over it with the sleeves rolled up, finishing it off with a pendant necklace and grey skinny jeans. He examines himself in the mirror and frowns a little. Does it look too much like date clothes?

He doesn’t have time to change because then his phone pings and it’s Shiro, saying they’re heading to Vinnie’s a little early. Lance all but throws himself out the door.

Vinnie’s is starting to get crowded, Lance can already see the line forming when he parks. He spots Shiro and Allura easily, their white hair making them stand out. They’d managed to claim a patio table - no small feat - and were chatting happily.

Lance joins them and it’s amazing how welcome he feels in this group, the way Shiro half-pulls a chair out for Lance. Keith is sitting to his right, his jacket draped over the back of his chair, the black t-shirt he wore stretching nicely over his chest. And if he didn’t know any better, Lance could swear he saw Keith’s eyes sweep down his neck and linger.

They ate and laughed and ate more, drinking fancy gourmet sodas. They make loose plans for the weekend - beach tomorrow, then the fair on Saturday, and maybe brunch before they leave on Sunday. Lance educates Keith in the ways of the garlic knot, the most sacred food item on earth. And when Keith shrugs and says they’re “alright,” Lance feigns offense, gasping and clutching his chest.

Pidge joins them later, looking utterly spent from a long day of classes. Lance gives up his seat so she can collapse into it. He kneels beside the table instead, passing Pidge the last of their pizza and appetizers. Keith gives him a look, then scoots over to one side of his chair, patting the other with his hand.

Lance short circuits, looking from the empty side of the chair to Keith’s face several times.

Keith rolls his eyes. “Get up here. That,” he points to where Lance is kneeling, “Is super bad for your knees.”

“Oh?” Lance slides into place, and it’s sort of uncomfortable with half of his ass hanging off the chair, but he can feel heat pouring off Keith’s body with how close he is. “You care much about my knees?”

Keith goes super red. “I’m a physical trainer,” He said, suddenly very interested in his soda. “It’s my job to care. Doing stuff like that will ruin them.”

“Right.”

Lance glances over at Pidge, who had a garlic knot halfway to her mouth and giving Lance the most predatory grin. He glares at her to shut down whatever evil plans she might be formulating.

They finally finish the food and decide to stop taking up a table, bussing it themselves to save the staff some work. Instead of a bar, they decide to head over to Lance and Pidge’s apartment to chill - half because Pidge isn’t 21 yet and wouldn’t be able to join them at most of the bars in town, and half because Vinnie’s was so loud that they’re all craving some quiet.

Lance is so thankful that his past self had the sense to clean a little more. They all sprawl out over the living room, Lance going to pull a chair from the kitchen to sit on so the guests can have the nice couch and Pidge can curl up in the easy chair. Lance offers up the ice cream sandwiches from the freezer and everyone takes one; Allura seems to be examining hers with great interest, like she’s never had one before.

Shiro talks a lot, mostly about what Harborville was like when he and Matt were in college. About their first apartment that should probably have been condemned, the dogs he’d walk between classes for extra cash. Eventually Lance’s cats come out of hiding to investigate, and Keith goes starry-eyed at Batou’s big green eyes and plush grey coat.

Pidge falls asleep in her chair just after nine. Everyone takes a second to coo at how cute she is before Lance bends down to scoop her up.

“Lemme put sleeping beauty here to bed. If she stays there she’ll be sore and cranky when she wakes up.”

He takes Pidge to her room and sets her on her bed, then wrestles her sneakers off her feet, setting her glasses on the bedside table and draping a sheet over her. When he goes back into the living room and sits in the chair he’d removed Pidge from, Allura gives him a fond look.

“You’re very sweet to her.”

Lance shrugs. “She’s pretty much family. Also, I have to do that all the time. I’ve found her face down on her homework out here more times than I want to count.”

They talk for another two hours. Lance feels a little lonely with Keith sitting on the side of the couch furthest from him, but then again, if he was closer, Lance isn’t sure his brain would work. Allura yawns wide.

“I think it’s time we turned in,” she states. “I’d like to get some rest before the weekend starts.”

Shiro agrees. Lance ends up seeing them off in the parking lot, waving as they drive away.

Hunk arrives just after 10am the next morning, armed with bags of groceries to pack a picnic for the beach. He puts Lance and Pidge on an assembly line in the kitchen, making pork sandwiches, vegetable rolls, hummus wraps, crab and radish tartines, potato salad, and chocolate-dipped clementine slices. He’d picked up a package of Lance’s favorite lemon cream cookies and Lance could almost kiss him for it.

With their precious picnic food carefully packed in an ice chest along with plenty of drinks, Lance shot a group text to Keith, Shiro, and Allura to ask if they were ready for the beach. He got confirmation quickly, and they agreed to hit the north shore near the lighthouse, where the sand was rougher but the tourists tended to be a little thinner.

Parking is a bitch but they find a spot, then wait by the trunk for Keith and Co to arrive. About ten minutes later Lance sees Allura’s Chrysler pull in to a spot. They walk over to meet them and Lance is practically bouncing, because 1) he gets to go to the beach, 2) he gets to go surfing with Hunk, 3) he gets to spend time with new friends, and 4) Keith is here. Everyone is in shorts and light shirts, Allura has this big floppy sun hat that is absolutely precious on her, and Keith’s face is shiny with sunscreen. Lance bets that fair skin of his will still be red by the end of the day.

They find a spot that’s decently clear and set up. Hunk, Keith, and Lance tackle the portable canopy that will hopefully keep them all from becoming completely sunburned while Allura and Pidge set out the sand blanket and arrange their stuff to keep the wind from blowing it away. Once they’re settled, the ice chest is opened and sodas and juice are passed around. The wind is strong today but not enough to be a problem for their canopy, and the waves are large and plentiful. Lance eyes the surfboard rental shack a quarter mile down the beach.

Once they’ve had enough of snacking and chatting, Lance gives Hunk fingerguns and they almost take off down the beach together, making a beeline for the surfboards. Rolo is working it as usual and after some searching they find the perfect boards and duck into the changing tent to get into their springsuits. Lance has the white and blue suit up over his hips and was about to pull it the rest of the way on when he remembers that Keith is sitting out there. Ever since Lance learned he was a Crossfit trainer, he’d started running and working out again. He wasn’t in as good a shape as he was when he’d been swimming competitively, but thanks to months of regular exercise, he at least sort of looked the part again. And maybe he wanted to show off a little. So Lance left the top of his springsuit open and hanging from his hips as they went back to the group with their boards.

“Showoff,” Hunk accused while they were still out of earshot of everyone else.

Lance subtly flexed his chest. “So? I worked hard for this.”

When they got back to the canopy, Lance did his best to act nonchalant as he set his board aside and started pulling his springsuit up over his chest. Keith was definitely looking at him. Mission accomplished.

His flirty nature satisfied, it was time to surf. Lance missed this so much, the first step into the ocean water was like heaven. He and Hunk paddled out until the water was smooth, then sat on their boards and waited. They didn’t have to wait long, Hunk caught the first good wave that came their way, riding it out and away. Lance caught the next one, and it was a crazy high. It just felt so good, cutting through the water with his board, turning, riding through tunnels of blue-green. The waves tossed him, wrecked him, dragged his body against the sand below. But every time, Lance would surface, shake it off, and paddle out for another go.

His legs finally started to shake, so Lance hauled his board back to the shore. Hunk was already sitting under the canopy again, changed out of his springsuit and sipping on a juice box.

“I was gonna give you ten more minutes before I dragged you out of the water,” Hunk said.

Lance didn’t reply, chest heaving as he caught his breath. His board hits the sand and he all but collapses onto the sand sheet, his ears ringing.

A water bottle appeared in his periphery. Lance looked up enough to trace the hand that held it back to Keith, who was wearing this cute little smile. Lance smiled back and took the bottle, downing half of it in one gulp.

Pidge starts pulling out food and Lance blindly eats whatever is handed to him, too exhausted to care what it is. It’s all delicious but with how many calories he burned surfing, he could probably be eating stale saltines and they’d taste like a delicacy. He leans back on the sand sheet and basks in the post-surf euphoria.

Lance notices everyone starting to get up. Allura is holding several frisbees with a gleam in her eye, and most of the group is rising to join her. Keith stands and, after fiddling with the collar of his shirt for a second, reaches back and pulls it over his head, letting it drop to the ground.

Lance is instantly awake because holy shit. Keith is ripped. He’s all tight skin and perfect muscles and - oh.

He’d been wrong when he’d assumed Keith’s tattoo was a wolf. It’s actually a lion, roaring fiercely, emblazoned in dark red ink over his left hip.

Keith takes a hair tie off his wrist and uses it to pull his hair up high on the back of his head. He shoots Lance a loaded glance before walking out into the sun to join everyone else for a game of frisbee tag. Lance memorizes the muscles of his back as he goes.

“Good god, you’re so loud.”

Lance sits up and turns to see Pidge, sitting in the center of the sand sheet in her shorts and green rash guard, with her phone in one hand and a cookie in the other.

“I didn’t say anything!” Lance protests. Pidge just cocks an eyebrow at him.

“Not with words, anyway.”

Lance frowns, then dares to look back out at his friends, finding Keith and tracking his movements across the beach.

They empty the ice chest of food and drink and, after several more hours of beach fun, they decide to pack it in and head out. Lance is going to remember this day for the rest of his life - the image of Keith glistening wet as he walked out of the ocean had finally taught Lance the meaning of the phrase “looks good enough to eat.”

Lance is so, so tired. Surfing wore him out but he still played a round of beach volleyball after that, and then swam some more. He’s going to be so sore tomorrow. He drives himself, Hunk, and Pidge back to their apartments to shower and change before they head over to the Air B&B where Shiro, Keith, and Allura are staying. Lance decides on a regular shirt and his favorite jeans, only bothering to put a single layer of moisturizer on his face.

The Air B&B turns out to be a whole house, with a yard and a little deck where they all gather around faded patio furniture as Shiro hands out beers. He gives Pidge a look as she takes one for herself.

“What?” She says as she twists off the top of the bottle. “I’m gonna be 21 in a few months, I’m in safe company, and I’m not driving.”

Shiro just sighs and sits down.

They talk and laugh for hours. Pidge only has one beer before switching to sweet tea, and Lance is a little relieved. He has no idea what drunk Pidge would be like and he’d rather not find out this weekend - he would be cash money that she’d be ornery as hell. Hunk orders some delivery from their favorite noodle place when Lance isn’t paying attention. Keith looks happy as a kid on Christmas with a giant bowl of pho in front of him, and Lance learns that Vietnamese food is his favorite.

They move inside once the sun goes down to keep from bothering the neighbors. Lance settles into a corner of the faded couch, and is too tired to panic when Keith sits next to him. Hunk launches into a story about his last term at school when he almost blew the breaker for the entire engineering building and Lance tries to pay attention, but he’s worn out and Keith is radiating heat like a furnace. Combine that with his full stomach and a couple of beers and he’s so, so sleepy.

Someone is calling his name and Lance inhales sharply, eyes fluttering open. It was Hunk, who’s smiling at him from across the coffee table. Lance is leaning on something warm and solid. He rubs his eyes and looks up.

He was leaning on Keith.

Lance’s eyes bug out but Keith just looks down at him with this tiny smile and a blush on his cheeks. Lance suddenly feels like the room is a million degrees as he carefully sits up.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to pass out.”

Keith laughs softly. “It’s fine.”

They all start to wrap up their stories and conversations. Lance doesn’t know what time it is but it feels late, and since they want to hit the fair tomorrow, they should all get some sleep. Hunk offers to drive home and Lance hands him the keys as Keith, Shiro, and Allura wave goodbye from the front porch.

He almost falls asleep again in the ten minutes it takes Hunk to drive them back to their apartment. Lance helps set up the pull-out sofa, then goes to brush his teeth. He’s practically nodding off at the bathroom sink when Pidge comes up to him and pulls out her phone.

“Thought you should see this,” she says, holding it up.

On the screen is a photo of Keith, and, with his head resting on Keith’s shoulder dead asleep, Lance. Keith is looking down at him and definitely blushing.

The toothbrush stills in Lance’s mouth as he swipes the phone from Pidge’s hand, using his thumbs to pull and zoom. Keith was smiling.

“Please send this to me immediately,” Lance tells her, words muffled from the toothbrush still hanging from between his teeth.

He’s in bed setting his alarm when he gets the text from Pidge with the photo attached. And if Lance hugs a pillow and kicks his feet a little at the sight, who could blame him?

Continued in part 6!

#youtuber au #text #klance

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blackswaneuroparedux · 4 years

Text

Anonymous asked: Like many from across the pond in the USA I have been astonished at the amazing story of Captain Tom Moore who at the age of 99 years old walked back and forth across his garden to raise a fantastic amount of money for your national health service (NHS) and into the hearts of your nation. It’s the kind of eccentricity we love about the British. The British media referred to him as Captain Tom Moore so as a former army veteran yourself I wanted to know do you get to use your officer rank after you retire from the British Army? Did you keep your rank after you did your time?

For those who don’t know who Captain Tom Moore is let me briefly recap. On 6 April 2020, at the age of 99, Captain Tom Moore - an army veteran of the Second World War - began to walk around his garden in aid of NHS Charities Together during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal of raising £1,000 by his 100th birthday. By 26 April he had raised over £29 million. He quickly became a popular household name in the United Kingdom generating much interest in his life story, and earned a number of accolades. After the his amazing feat, he featured in a cover version of the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with proceeds going to the same charity. The song topped the UK music charts and made him the oldest person to ever achieve a UK number one. At present there are plans to celebrate his 100th birthday with the honour of a RAF flypast and a postmark. There is also public pressure for the Queen to knight him - a worthy honour indeed.

I would use many superlatives to describe what Captain Tom Moore’s did - heroic, marvellous, and bloody brilliant comes to mind - but one thing I would never call what he did is eccentric. There is nothing eccentric in his outstanding example. Rather I think it typifies the British character to a tee. I think the way the British people have responded to Captain Tom Moore’s heroic example is partly indicative of how the British still like to see themselves in a time of acute crisis. His example rightly inspires many and reminds us of who we are too. Forgive me but my intent is not to sound too jingoistic because I’m also broadly impressed with how the French have responded to this crisis (since I live in Paris) with being good and helpful neighbours and showing grace and easy humour; indeed every night at 8pm sharp we residents all over France faithfully clap from our open windows and balconies in support of front line workers. The French, like the wonderful singing Italians and the other Europeans, have their own strength of character to get through this awful pandemic.

Perhaps it may sound corny to some but to me it gives me faith that even as Britain has gone through a bitter fight over Brexit and our uncertain place in the world I know that when disaster strikes us all with our backs are against the wall we come together. We don’t panic. We just get on with it with little fuss. Keep calm and carry on is more than a meme. If you don’t believe me Captain Tom Moore’s example is one of many people from all walks of life doing what they can to raise money for charity. There are so many people who have taken the creative initiative to do what they can to raise money for the work of our amazing front line workers (doctors and nurses and support staff). Some are doing online challenges - push ups or squats for charity. I know of many veterans who have responded to the call to come back and support the NHS. My eldest brother, a veteran, has been a volunteering with Team Rubicon UK, a military veteran charity, who are now helping to co-ordinate other veteran volunteers to use their skills to support hospitals in the logistics of delivery of medical and food supplies. There are so many mini-Captain Tom Moore’s out there. It’s heart warming.

And so to your question.

Do British military veterans keep their rank after they leave or retire? It’s complicated. There’s no legal reason why they can’t, but the more junior the officer rank, the more gauche and pretentious doing so it is perceived as.

In the old days - according to my grandfather who was a very senior officer in the army - customs were dictated by social class. A commissioned officer such as Lieutenant was considered to be a Gentleman and therefore allowed to use two titles: either ‘Mister’ or ‘Lieutenant’. The rank of Gentleman is considered to be socially superior and so Subalterns (2nd and 1st Lieutenants) were generally referred to as Mr Smith, rather than Lt Smith, even when they are still serving. Once they left the Army these junior officers would drop their socially inferior rank and go with being addressed as ‘Mister’. If an officer became a Captain then he was considered equal in rank to an Esquire and so a Captain was never addressed as ‘Mister’. But using the title Captain after leaving the army was also seen as gauche and so many didn’t - unless others showed them that due deference rather than they insisting upon it.

When we get to the more senior ranks the customs change. Senior field officers like a Major or Colonel were allowed to use their rank after they retired. You quite often found a Maj (Ret’d) Smith, for example, working for a military charity or writing angry letters to the Daily Telegraph or the Times or even more popularly turning up in a Agatha Christie drawing room murder mystery.

When an officer becomes a General officer - from Brigadier (one star general) onwards to Field Marshal - they retain their rank in retirement from the army because they really have earned it.

So all this old school but I think the the rule of thumb used today is that anyone using their rank below the rank of Major is considered bad form.

These days almost no ex-officer retires from the world of work. No one really gives up work and becomes a pensioner, pottering about in the garden or playing golf. Many of course move into a second career, where it simply is not the custom to be addressed by your rank in your new civilian place of work. I suppose an exception might be the private security and defence industry where rank is a signifier of experience and professional competence.

I know I have never used my officer rank in my civilian life as I don’t think it’s socially appropriate nor advantageous to do so in my line of work (no one would frankly care). Of course it comes up in social settings or when I’m entertaining corporate clients but I swat it aside as quickly as it’s raised by downplaying it. I feel genuine embarrassment because even if they are ignorant of this military etiquette faux pas, I am not - and that bothers my conscience.

In the village my parents live there is a retired brigadier and retired general and everyone, including myself, have gone out of our way to address them as such out of respect.

In the building I live here in Paris one of my French neighbours who lives below me is a retired highly decorated army general. I always address him as ‘mon Général’ out of deference.

He has crusty aristocratic manners and can come across as a fussy old fart. He’s a widower and a proud old soldier seasoned in the bloodiest of wars. He’s not easy to warm to but the effort is worthwhile.

I volunteered to get him his food shopping during this pandemic and at first he was too proud to ask but I persisted. And he’s very particular about his food and so I have to trek to particular boutique shops to satisfy his gourmand palate.

He scowled in polite disapproval when I told him I was in the army and saw action as he’s old school and doesn’t believe women should serve on the front line. But gradually I have been winning him over. I sometimes cook for him or he cooks for me and we chat about military history and politics and we play chess regularly (whilst respecting social distance). We have big disagreements about certain battles or military campaigns for instance but he respects that I can hold my ground….until he pulls rank on me when he’s clearly backed into a corner (!) but again out of deference I let him have the last say as I bow down to ‘mon Général’.

It’s interesting to note that Princess Anne’s former husband Captain Mark Phillips was often derided for choosing to use his military rank in civilian life. But I’ve been told by Donkey Walloper** officer friends that cavalry etiquette is unique to their horsemen heritage and so it was common for Cavalry officers to keep their rank into retirement.

Now to get back to Captain Tom Moore. He has never served in the Cavalry regiments because as I understand it he served with the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment and later with the Royal Armoured Corps. So I suspect the newspaper media were ignorant of the existing etiquette and basically mainstreamed his veteran status and labelled him as Captain Tom Moore. No harm no foul as they say. Because in my book after his walking heroics he can call himself whatever he likes. Truth be told I hope he does get knighted because he is deserving of it.

Thanks for your question.

**Donkey Wallopers is the nickname of cavalry regiments.

#ask #question #army rank #title #rank #british army #army #cavalry #personal

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acflare · 4 years

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Who are your favorite top ten black clover characters & ships? Talk about them!

Oh boy let’s see (guess I gotta draw pics too to justify rambling on my sketchbook blog, lol)

Wow picking favorites is hard

Probably the best way to find out would be to write why I love every character and see who ends up with the longest rant but that’d take way too long, lol

1. Zora

Oh boy, Zora is just… 100% my aesthetic. Sharp teeth, edgy, snarky, his magic is awesome As a character he’s just so fun because he looks the ‘doesn’t care about anything’ type, but he had to train SO hard to get his magic to be that way, and he cares a ton about justice and people not being garbage.

2. Finral

My favorite until Zora showed up, lol His character development over the course of the story just… makes me live. No confidence in his fighting ability, literally a coward who develops into one of my favorite fighters. All the moves he pulls in fights are so much fun and well thought out. (Not to mention I totally relate to the inferior older sibling complex 😩)

3. Asta

Frikn He probably makes it into my favorite anime protags of all time Asta is just a ball of love and joy that co-habitates his body with a demon??? (Speaking of the demon, the more lines it gets the closer it gets to being one of my faves) Asta is just so relatable. Also the fact that he has breaking points??? He isn’t always screaming, or happy, he has been terrified, hopeless, full of rage, shocked – the faces he made during the hecking trial chapter made me cry

4. Patri

Such a good villain. Like, he’s a kid who got shoved into the body of the one he idolized in his previous life and forms a cult? When his ‘Licht’ facade wears away and you get to see how petty and angry he is it’s just sooo gooood. And when he just takes a moment to cry in Licht’s arms? Problematic fav.

5. Gauche

Okay hear me out here I firckn hate the whole ‘sisc*n’ gag – but if you take it as just that, a gag, then he becomes a super fun character. Literally alone in the world with only his baby sister whom he loves more than anything, and slooooowly adopting the Black Bulls into his family !!

6. Magna

I almost left him out bc he hasn’t been in any chapters in a while and I forgot how amazing he is Magna feels so deeply and I love it. Nobody is left without hugs due to any attempt to sustain an image – if you need a hug, Magna is there for you. A fantastic senpai and friend. I really hope he’s being left out as a setup to burst in and be a whole new tier of awesome…

7. Yami

Team dad, does not care what anyone thinks and has full faith in his whole team. Like, he recruits all these weirdos, some who don’t even show off combat capabilities, and he only sees their potential. Just… when they live up to his expectations and lights up I just love that. He’s such a perfect captain

8. Marx

He’s very much a side character but he makes me happy every time I see him He’s just got such a hard job (and the Wizard Kind does NOT make it any easier for him 😂) There’s just something fun about a character always 100% stress (someone give him a vacation, please)

9. Gordon

Yo Gordon is so wholesome? He appears creepy by being nonexpressive and ridiculously quiet while wearin heckin Marilyn Manson makeup but he just… wants to be friends. Also, his family is amazing, and with how his father has managed to repurpose his own magic, I have high hopes for Gordon’s in the future

10. Noelle

My precious daughter I love her. Her ojousama/tsundere combination is fun, but her backstory really makes her being adopted by the Bulls that much better, and just makes me root for her that much harder every time she succeeds ❤

Okay, now for fav ships

Oh boy, let’s see

1.Noelle x Asta

Asta’s just full affection toward his friends is such a good combo with Noelle being a tsundere. Not only that, but Noelle has p much been starved of affection her whole life, so pairing her with Asta just feels so hecking wholesome 😭

2.Luck x Magna

Their friendship is already amazingly wholesome, it just makes it that much more fun if Luck has a crush on Magna, haha. Luck has already displayed tsundere-like behavior, and wit Magna being genuine and affectionate when it matters, it makes for a fun (and possibly painful ⚡) combination

3.Charlotte x Yami

It’s a fairytale with a 100% oblivious prince! How much better can it get? 😂 Plus they’re a heckin rad power couple. Plus dat social status gap yo

4.Grey x Gauche

Frikn… I shipped this since the water temple arc for funsies and the CInderella Grey chapter fed me. Any Grey ship is cute, but anxious fluffy Grey clinging to Gauche, who hates literally everyone is just an aesthetic to me.

5.Patri x William

Sort of a ‘you’re the only one in the world who understands me’ feel to it – also Patri is in dire need of affection. Prolly William too.

6.Mars x Fana

Theyre childhood sweethearts that went through wayyyy too much. It’s cute and I want them to be happy

7.Vetto x Fana (Elf)

Give me soft Vetto! We’ve seen how sweet he was before the devil magic made him all angy, and not-psycho Fana looks like she’s on the spunkier side – give me pushover Vetto!

….im a failure of a shipper I think I’m out of romantic ships

I’m not really a multishipper n the show’s done a good job of giving lots of characters cute crushes

I guess I’ll just list fav platonic ships for the last three

8.Finral & Noelle

Finral deserves to have a younger sibling to fawn over and Noelle deserves an affectionate older sibling also seeing all of Finral’s flirting with Noelle as fawning instead makes it cute rather than problematic

9.Secre & Asta

SECRE IS SUCH A GOOD BIG SISTER!!! Gosh she really turned out to love Asta (I mean, so did everyone else, but) also Noelle’s love of her is super cute, I want her to be a big sister to both of them 💕

10.Rhya & Patri

Yo, I love their relationship. Rhya’s always teasing and looking out for Patri, it just feels like he cares about him so much – originally it looked like Rhya was disrespectful, or lazy, but rewatching everything it just feels like he’s looking out for Patri.

#black clover #Anonymous #long post

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baddyzarc · 4 years

Text

2/7 Ruins: Legend of the Gladiator

1 x 3 4a 4b 5 6 7

The next Barian ruins I wanna discuss is that of Alito. I was supposed to group Gilag and Alito since my contract says I’m legally not allowed to separate these two. But I went absolutely ham on Alito’s ruins so, uhhh, im splitting them up.

Alito is a fascinating, fantastic character. Not only is he outwardly bisexual and genuinely a non-evil character, he’s one of the most interesting due to how the writers use him to progress the narrative of the Barian Emperors. This could be attributed to his close relationship with Yuma, and thus he’s allowed ample screen time to play his role in the story.

Alito’s ruins are located under an artificial lake in the fictional city of Spartan City located somewhere in Italy. The ruins are revealed when Alito blows up the dam and drains the water away. Judging by the presence of a colosseum and the fact that Alito was a gladiator in his past life, I’m sure this is supposed to be based on Rome’s Colosseum. Not a big shocker, but this sets up the basis for the discussion.

The Guardian for this Mythyrian Number found in the ruins (Number 54: Rebellious Fighter - Lion Heart) is a gladiator. This Guardian is the hardest one to decipher out of all of the Guardians. You have Mach, Ponta, Abyss, Minotaurus, Jinlon, and then a random gladiator. Each of the Guardians I listed have something to say about the Emperor it corresponds to, and I believe that the gladiator also falls into this category because of this line.

The gladiator recognizes Alito. This confused line is also spoken by Jinlon when he first encounters Mizael, so it can be said that some of the Guardians may not immediately recognize their Emperor, but they do feel their “aura”.

Like Jinlon, the gladiator takes a moment before realizing its attacker is Alito. After that, Alito breaks through its power and gains him to get control of the Mythyrian Number.

The most common theory, and the one I personally believe, is that the gladiator is the prince of the legend.

My evidence is slim, but I think his likeness to the Mythyrian Number "Number 54: Rebellious Fighter - Lion Heart", his usage of a sword during his fight with Alito, and strong familiarity with Alito (”we’re like brothers!”) provides enough evidence. Not the best or decisive, but from what we have, I like this one the most.

Not only that, and I may be reading into this scene a little too deeply, but it looks as though the gladiator recognizes that this angry blob of hate is Alito, and under some choice of its own, it allows itself to be taken by a Barian. Rather, the Mythyrian Number yields to a Barian. (For reference, only Nasch and Gilag came into direct contact with their Numbers; each has their own situation with Nasch’s being more complex and Gilag’s being similar to Alito). But why would something like a Mythyrian Number give itself to a Barian? I’ll get into that when I talk about the Ruins Duel later on.

Back onto the ruins itself, when I first started this, I was truly struggling to see how the past and present are the same place.

Obviously they have to be the same place because that’s how the plot works, but looking at the placement of the mountains, this image of the ruins in modern Spartan City does not match the geography of the past (unless there’s a glacial retreat or something, mountains do not wear away that quickly). I assumed that the animators didn’t consider this until I found a single second that shows that these locations are the same place. The image of Yuma is a poor angle of the ruins.

And luckily for this shot, it gives me not only a confirmation that the geography is consistent, it also allows me to use this as an accurate frame of reference for the layout of the city.

Hold onto this information for a minute, because it is absolutely tasty.

Now that I confirm that everything is consistent, I can move onto Alito’s legend. His legend is straightforward if you discount the false memories embedded in him. Alito was a popular gladiator who was also friends with the prince. They frequently fought head-to-head and were on equal footing with each other. According to the legend, Alito and the prince were going to have a final showdown to see who comes out on top. However, the prince’s advisors were afraid that the prince would lose and damage the reputation of the country. The advisors framed Alito for murder, and despite the prince’s plead that Alito was innocent, he was executed under charges of murder. But according to Alito’s memories (or the ones altered by Don Thousand), the prince declared him guilty and was the one to call his death. Alito, being a hero adorned by many, was betrayed by his best friend and scorned by the people of the city, and this was what pushed him to Barian World.

(Side track: But this is one of my favorite scene of his legend. The casket-shaped shadow, the crystalline, Barian-like shape, is a prelude to his fate after being framed for murder through the works of Don Thousand. At this point, no matter what happens, only death waits for him. The bright crimson coloration not only alludes to his bloody demise but also his descension into Barian World.)

Now, the past lives of the Barians are often mucky because it’s hard to distinguish the truth from the lie, especially since Don Thousand altered the lives of the Emperors in many different ways (memory change, influencing outsiders, personality alterations, ect. It gets disgustingly messy). But in the case of Alito, it appears to be influencing the advisors to frame Alito, and then a memory alteration to where Alito believes that the prince was against him rather than for him. Because of this, I assume the legend recounted by Gauche (aka the advisors framed Alito + the prince was for Alito’s innocence) is the truth. I believe that if Alito knew the prince thought highly of him and trusted him during the entire trial, this would’ve been enough to allow his soul to pass onto Astral World regardless of the truth.

Therefore, Alito’s resentment exists as a product of Don Thousand going into his mind and changing his perception of reality.

And this statement is what ties his character together during this arc.

Now, if you know anything about this blog, you oughta know that I do not believe the Barian Emperors are evil. Except Vector. Vector is evil. He is evil because he feels like it and that’s it; it makes him happy hes a freak. The rest of them act like that because they are living-beings and have some self preservation. If they do not retaliate, Astral World will literally erase them from history. Each of the Barians (vector DNI) exemplifies this concept throughout the show. They are not antagonizing Yuma because he’s the hero. They are antagonizing him because he sides with Astral, and thus he supports the side that wants them dead. (and ngl, aside from Vector, they are incredibly inept at being evil villains, just look at their accomplishments if you take Vector away, gilag ate a live racoon whoop-de-doo these guys are going extinct)

But this isn’t what this essay is about. This is about the legend and ruins of Alito, who is the most prominent in his lack of evilness. At the beginning of Zexal Second, Durbe ordered Gilag, Alito, and Mizael to defeat Yuma and Astral. From here, these characters acted first on orders, and then on self-motivation (or not at all). Mizael followed this order before getting side-tracked with surpassing Kaito. Gilag followed this order before kinda just joining a bunch of random clubs at school and watching *looks at script* Love Live.

Alito did not followed that order and was immediately infatuated with Kotori. And by chance BY CHANCE did he run into Yuma, before being infatuated with him too. Alito has zero drive to be evil or follow any orders. He doesn’t hate humans nor does he act on anything malicious. Even with Yuma, his drive wasn’t to defeat Astral but to duke it out with Yuma with as much passion as possible.

This is a stark contrast to what happens to him (and Gilag) when Vector injects their comatosed bodies with Don Thousand juice. This happens Twice. And each time, he loses his passion and becomes a genuinely evil person. He hypnotizes Gauche and makes him use the adverse effects of “Lion Heart”, he puts Kotori in danger, he wants to kill Yuma, he is filled with so much hate and rage that all the characters point out that “this isn’t the same person” they originally met.

In essence, he became cruel by coming into recontact with Don Thousand.

But we all know this. Don Thousand is evil while Alito is not.

So how does this prologue connect to the ruins and the Legend of the Gladiator? It has everything to do with Gauche.

Consider the geography of this again.

Even though it doesn’t appear like it, these images reveal some information about Alito and his proxy, Gauche. Compare the geography of the mountains and the placement of ruins, look at the current location of where Gauche and Droite live in the present and Alito’s home in the past.

It’s the exact same place.

Neat, yes, but also consider that Alito was a hero to the children of his time and Gauche wants to be a hero to the children of his time. (“A Messenger From The Stars For The Kids”) Not only that, these two have an interesting relationship with Yuma. At first, Gauche dismissed Yuma before seeing that his unbreakable spirit makes him a worthy opponent. Same with Alito. They also get possessed by Barian powers in order to fight without their iconic fiery passion. These two characters are thoroughly similar if you can look past the surface level (also they were opponents during the Barian Onslaught arc if that counts for anything).

From here, we can draw direct parallels between the fate of Gauche and Alito.

On a historical note, I assume that Alito is not from Spartan City. Most gladiators in real life consisted of slaves, prisoners of war, or criminals, and if you consider the “Alito’s Theme” soundtrack and his “Farewell, My Friend” soundtrack (which I believe only plays after he frees Gilag from Don’s curse, but correct me if I’m wrong, also these are two of my favorite soundtracks), it sounds like it has vaguely Spanish origins to it. (again, correct me if im wrong, im not good at cultural interpretation of music)

The theory I accept is that Alito was a prisoner of war for some other country, say modern-day Spain. Gladiators in real life, if popular enough, can win back their freedom, and I assume Alito’s charisma, passion, and strength won him the favor of the public and the prince along with his freedom. He still fought, of course, but this may be due to his drive to keep fighting.

Unlike Alito, Gauche is a native to Spartan City, but he started in the similar wrungs as Alito, although not like, slavery. He was an orphan living in the streets with Droite, and he also used his charisma, passion, and strength to rise as the Dueling Champion of Spartan City.

Both of these characters are champions of their respective times, but Alito got decapitated while Gauche did not (so far). If Don did not interfere, Alito might’ve received a happy ending like Gauche.

This connection doesn’t go much further until we get into the Ruins Duel with Alito/Gauche vs. Yuma/Droite. And this duel is what I think storytelling through duels should be like.

Earlier, I talked about how the Guardian allows Alito to gain control of the Number. I do not think this is a fluke on the Numbers part. Mythyrian Numbers are the antithesis to Over-Hundred Numbers, and the only way to break the spell of Don Thousand is to use a Mythyrian Number. I believe that the Guardian saw that Alito was under Donny’s influence, and thus gave him the Mythyrian Number in hopes of snapping him out of it.

This happens with Gilag too, where Ponta hands him the Mythyrian Number before swapping into his body (as well as Ryouga but this was before he was declared an Emperor, and i will get to this when i cover him). The only other Emperor who got close to his Mythyrian card but didn’t touch it was Vector, who made Black Mist deal with it; that said, I wonder what would’ve happened if Vector reconnected with his Mythyrian?

Back to duel, will you believe me when I say that the actions of this duel tells the story of the Barian Emperors? Maybe, maybe not.

But I do not think it’s a coincidence that Alito is the only Barian that participates in the Mythyrian Numbers duels (mr. Ryouga and ms. Rio do not count for obvious reasons) nor is it that he fights under the full influence of Don Thousand.

There is a lot that happens in the duel under the text, but the overall message of the duel is the rekindling of the original self. This is in opposition to Gauche and Alito, who lost their true spirits after being possessed. In contrast, Yuma and Droite duel with as much, if not more, passion than ever before.

The duel, although not spectacular in terms on the plays made, has a lot of interesting imaginary that I appreciate so much.

I think this scene is the most lovely of this entire duel: a fearsome lion and a tender butterfly facing off against one another. The butterfly is able to move the heart of the lion, and Gache returns to his original soul with Droite’s unyielding passion alone. He isn’t freed, but this action opens the door to his heart.

Droite’s actions mimics the flow of Yuma returning Alito to his original soul. Instead of responding to his hate-filled dueling with a similar stance, Yuma duels with relentless passion, summoning out “Heroic Champion - Excalibur” and letting in face off against “Number 54: Rebellious Fighter - Lion Heart”. This is enough to save Alito from Don Thousand’s spell.

Furthermore, I feel as though this entire duel is closure for Alito’s past life whether he realizes it or not. As you know, Alito and the prince never had their final match due to Don Thousand’s interference. This duel concludes their fight and put the souls of both parties to rest (figuratively speaking).

As the duel picks up, the stadium comes to life with the spirits of the spectators. They cheer for the duelists as the fight gets more and more intense. It’s as though the characters are thrown into the past.

The final move of the duel is what gives this “Legend of the Gladiator” the closure it deserves while presenting an amazing end to the narrative of Alito and Gauche.

As Gauche and Yuma duke it out with “Lion Heart” and “Excalibur”, two monsters that are passionately battling one another, Alito interferes with “Cheat Commissioner”. This is no different than when the advisors cheated in order to murder Alito, thus preventing the final match from commencing. The strength of “Number 54: Rebellious Fighter - Lion Heart” and “Heroic Champion - Excalibur” was able to overcome “Cheat Commissioner” and as a result, Alito is instantly knocked out rather than Yuma or Gauche.

Alito’s Mythyrian Number and Gauche’s former ace—their passionate souls working together to defeat a common foe, freeing their masters and returning them to their original self.

The presence of “Lion Heart” and the knockout of Alito’s “Cheat Commissioner” (or Don Thousand’s interference with Alito and the prince in the past) was enough for Alito to shake off Don Thousand’s control and revert back to his original personality. He’s confused and baffled as his memories as a human flood into him, but he quickly retreats back to Barian World.

A similar outcome happened when Yuma faced off against the gladiator version of Michael, who is a character who shares many similar traits with Alito. I talked about this before and I rather post this here than rewrite a decent explanation of my thoughts.

Yuma was able to free Michael of his hateful and rage-filled state like how he did it during this duel with Alito and their final encounter.

But from the contents of this duel alone, it is revealed that Don Thousand has the ability to alter the Emperors’ minds; he can also influence even the kindest Barian to act cruel and sadistic. It demonstrates that enough passion and force from their Mythyrian Number is enough for them to shake off the control—if only a little bit—and return them to their true nature. It also cements that the true memories of the Barian Emperors are suppressed and hidden from them, and they are the heroes we suspect they are, but unknown (but probably Don Thousand-based) circumstances sent them to Barian World without their consent.

You can take all of this was a grain of salt or say im looking too deep into it but,

This is what I mean when I said “story-telling through duels” should be something like this. There shouldn’t be a character in the background recounting what’s happening below the subsurface. Seeing a battle between a lion and butterfly, or the knockout of “Cheat Commissioner” through Alito’s Mythyrian Monster and Gauche’s original ace monster, or the awakening of the spectators to cheer for Alito—this should be left for the audience to dissect. I’m not gonna say this is my favorite duel or the plays are amazing, but I truly appreciate the story it shows without the characters looking at the camera and expositioning what this means.

This analysis is long enough as it is, but I want to end it by talking about “Number 54: Rebellious Fighter - Lion Heart” and and “Number 105: Burning Knuckler - Cestus the Meteor”. They’re both based on fighting, which fits Alito’s personality. These monsters (as well as Vector’s) are unique in that they are the only ones that swap attributes between the Mythyrian and Over-Hundred Numbers. “Lion Heart'' is an Earth Monster while Cestus is a Fire Monster. I’m actually quite stumped on this decision. Lion Heart looks like it should be a Fire Monster based on the colors of its design, the fiery background, and fiery spirit it uses to keep fighting even after death.

However, despite this, I think it’s a cool idea that the Over-Hundred is a Fire Monster. According to the legend, the gladiator is said to “still wander the ruins of the Colosseum” because he “... regrets… not being able to finish his fight with his rival”.

To “seal the wandering spirit of the unappeased gladiator” the Colosseum was submerged underwater.

Water suppresses the flames that Don Thousand forced into Alito, and as the water drains away, revealing the earth beneath it, after a thousand years, the lost gladiator wanders through the ancient ruins of the Colosseum once more. And through the cheers and hollers of the spirits that transcends time, the champion and lion partake in their final showdown. With the conclusion of the intense battle, the bantering of the spirits fade away in the glow of rising sun, and gladiator of the legend is liberated.

#i legit said ''ill group gil and alit together since their ruins dont have much to them''#boy #zexal #alit #alito #dyzarc writes #barian biology #long post

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uozlulu · 4 years

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Who are your favorite top ten black clover characters and ships? Talk about them.

This is both easy and hard. Like I have so many faves and ships, can I really make a top ten? Let’s find out

Ten top faves in order they came to my brain:

Asta - It was favorite character at first bellow really. I like that he’s got his own political philosophy which is more than some other Jump heroes in similar positions have sometimes. He reads very nephew I never had to me. I just really love loud, kind characters really.

Noelle - I like that her powers improve and grow with her desire to protect others. She’s also set up for such a great character arc when all is said and done. It’ll be fun to see her continue to loosen up more and more as we go now that she’s with a family who loves her openly and unconditionally.

Yuno - He reminds me of my little brother so a lot of his interactions with Asta bring on a lot of nostalgia. I also like how there are layers to him even if they’re subtle. He’s clearly got some depression issues to work through. I’m looking forward to how he handles a manga spoiler as he deals with more and more with such things.

Charmy - I like that she can be both funny but also srsbsns when needed. She’s always entertaining and there’s so much more we can learn about her as we go along.

Mereoleona - She’s very loud and very interesting. Like does sense use her grimoire when she makes those fire paws? I think we’ve only seen evidence of her grimoire open once but maybe that was actually Fuego’s. I also like how she’s in a position in which she can reject the nonsense of nobility without us having to sit through some family estrangement drama.

Magna - I want to see more of him. He’s an interesting dad friend to Klaus’ mom friend and he’s also constantly struggling to make things work. He’s very, very relatable. Reminds me of my struggle with learning to spell and learning math post-pre-algebra.

Charlotte - I love her. A constant contradiction. Confined by the etiquette of nobility and her own nerves while deep down having her teen crush phase ten years later than most. Really hoping the filler arc allows her to sort some stuff out not only for shipping reasons but I think that she’s kind of not quite done with her identity crisis so if she could get more of a harness on some of her contradictions or find a way to blend them together more smoothly that would be good for her overall. Would also love to see her and Luck figure out they’re actually (half?) siblings

Vangeance - Very relatable back story, and I am looking forward to seeing how he grows as a character now separated from Patri. Looking forward to what the filler arc is going to do with him.

Yami - He reminds me of my older sister in how he and Asta interact with each other, though my sister and I don’t you know how so much bathroom conversation >____>;;; (but that’s Jump for you). I’m hoping we get to learn more about him as we go along here. Also curious how many people in Clover Kingdom realize Yami is actually his surname considering Julius calls him Yami and calls Vangeance William.

Father Orsi - I’ve always rather liked him. In many ways he’s Asta and Yuno’s dad. I’m kind of hoping the current backstory subplot ends with that being acknowledged in some way kind of like how during the elf arc we had a lot of familial talk like Licht and Tetia getting married, Yuno being the reincarnation of their child, Tetia and Lumiere being siblings, etc...and had a plot point of Asta saving Orsi’s life while Yuno kept the threat at bay. Yuno especially is at a critical point that his part of the subplot could go in that kind of direction, which would be nice since Asta had the bigger father son moment with Orsi last time, but it won’t surprise me if by the time we get there it will be both Asta and Yuno who affirm that Hage is their home and the church and their squads are their families.

Ten ships I enjoy in no particular order:

Asta/Noelle - Asta’s still hopelessly devoted to Sister Lily and Noelle has only just discovered her heart can doki doki but I think they have the potential to grow and change together and become a really strong couple as that progresses.

Yami/Charlotte - These two are very relatable. Does Yami know? I think he does, but I also think he can’t be 100% certain, which is very relatable especially since I too grow up as an “other” around my peers. Charlotte is also relatable because a lot of what she says out loud is some of my own internal monologue from back when I used to get crushes on people. It’s such a stupid mutual crush that could really become something fun if they would both just communicate and be themselves.

Luck/Magna - They have a deep friendship and understanding of each other which could totally translate into something more if they wanted, which is always my jam. They also seem to know how far is too far when you factor out that they’re a hyper violent comedy routine at times, and that’s also nice.

Yami/Vangeance - Makes me sad how little content there is for this ship especially after I filter out what I don’t want to see on AO3. Again you’ve got that friendship that could evolve aspect and they’re also two people Clover Kingdom sees as an “other” and had to prove themselves to get where they are. They both seem to have a love style that isn’t controlling given the love they show for their squads, which I think is what both of them need.

Finral/Klaus - I know. I know. Everyone’s going “Where did that even come from?” and the answer is there is so little Black Clover fic when I saw a fic for this ship a while back I was like “Okay. Tell me more,” and it sold me on the ship. Both of them are kind of in a support position for their squads, they were both raised as nobles, and they both are kind of learning to let go of that nobility, though Finral has already let go of a lot of it now and Klaus is only starting to loosen up. It’s an interesting dynamic I’d like to see more of.

Noelle/Kahono - Might have been me projecting a bit but when Kahono set up a double date designed to get Noelle and Asta together it reminded me of when I was in the closet back in middle and high school and fixed this girl I had a crush on up with the boys she liked alsfjldskfjaldkj. Also Kahono seems to have a lot of warmth and affinity for Noelle, and I think if they were able to interact more something could develop. They’d be very cute together, though I think Noelle likes her crushes weirder than Kahono but maybe Kahono has a secret weirdo side we just haven’t seen yet.

Grey/Gauche - Do you ever like look at Gauche and feel that one gifset of Nick Furry burst forth? Yeah, so in a world in which he finally calms down a bit about Marie, he can be part of a ship as a treat. I like that they both can bring out sides of each other others can’t and I think they both have a lot of room to grow together as people. It would also be nice to see Gauche unwind a bit (though I think he’ll always be stuffy) and Grey open up more (though she’ll always be shy). They also seem like characters that wouldn’t overwhelm each other either, which is good because I think both of them wouldn’t respond well to more aggressive personality types.

Charmy/Rill - We need to talk about how everyone Rill loves has handed him his ass. We really do. His butler did, Asta did, and now wolf!Charmy has. Just wait until sheep!Charmy hands him his ass, he’ll never look back. That said, that’s not why I like them. I like them because I think Charmy needs someone who will appreciate her and I think Rill definitely will as he gets used to her. I also think Rill needs someone who won’t put up with nonsense unless it’s the fun kind of nonsense and Charmy definitely would fit the right kind of chaotic energy. I also like ships in which the girl is just as capable of saving the boy (a la Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask) so again, like Asta/Noelle and Yami/Charlotte, I’m here for this ship.

Leopold/Yuno - This stemmed from me thinking about how they would interact since strangely enough we’ve not seen them in the same place as the same time yet since Leopold didn’t participate in the Royal Knight Selection Exam. I would love to read some fics with this pairing but there aren’t a lot out there. In some ways it’s that anxiety/depression ship dynamic that I gravitate towards so it’s no surprise I’m curious how it would go. Maybe they’ll get to work together in the next major battle arc.

Noelle/Nero - But like when Nero is in human form, you know? Again, it’s that anxiety/depression dynamic. I also think that while Noelle can draw on strength from Nero in battle, Nero can draw on strength from Noelle outside of battle because Noelle has that side of her that likes to care for people and has a lot of compassion for others even though she tries to cover it up by being tsundere. It’ll be fun to watch them fight alongside each other since they’re both going to be training in Heart Kingdom during the filler arc at some point.

#anonymous #ask box replies #long post #ymmv #shipping talk #not really manga spoilers #but hinted at #black clover

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cringeyvanillamilk · 4 years

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Yoo~! Your modern au series is pretty entertaining. Please do one for Gordon (and Grey and Gauche too if you don't mind; I love this trio) in the future! 😊❣❣

I finally finished your request!! I’m happy to finally draw these three, especially Gordon! I hope you enjoy~! <3

Gordon Agrippa

Loves reading various types of books, specifically ones about the power of friendship

Has a lot of knowledge on pharmaceutical drugs and medicine due to family background

Current Career: Freelance Writer, but currently works at Black Bull’s cafe

Was part of the book club and knitting club at Clover academy

Performs poetry every night at the Black Bull’s cafe

Fashion: Gordon has a love for gothic victorian inspired fashion. He finds this type of fashion to be aesthetically pleasing, which is greatly inspired by his family who also loves this particular clothing style. Any clothes with chains, belts, and studs will most likely catch his eyes. He also loves wearing his signature cap with his outfit. The colors that he usually wears are mostly black, grey, and red. He likes to wear gothic jewelry where he sees fits and completes the look with dark eyeshadow, black lipstick, and black nail polish. Despite this dark image, Gordon loves to decorate himself with cute and bright buttons to make himself more approachable. The buttons include a happy face, a pansexual flag, and a strawberry. Overall, Gordon’s fashion is goth with a sprinkle of cute accessories.

The Agrippa family had an infamous reputation of owning a pharmacy store that was rumored to secretly provide immoral people with drugs that could potentially poison those they want dead. While this rumor was true generations ago, Gordon’s father, Nathan, wanted to turn their family’s reputation around and become a pharmacist that helps people with their health. But due to the lack of proper communication between Nathan and Gordon, Gordon assumes that his father wants to continue their family’s sick tradition and left to live on his own near the capital. While Gordon successfully attended Clover academy through achievements and awards in writing, he spent the majority of his life in isolation. Even though he joined a lot of clubs in the academy, people still didn’t want to befriend him. And despite getting his English degree, Gordon has trouble getting jobs due to his intimidating appearance. After being rejected by a lot of jobs, Gordon decided to stop by the Black Bull’s cafe to rest and find more jobs to apply. This is where he met Yami who noticed that Gordon was looking for a job and offered him a spot at the Black Bull’s cafe since they are short of staff. Yami also commented that his creepy appearance would be perfect to bring in more customers. This was the first time Gordon experienced someone wanting him to be a part of something and was overwhelmed with happiness. He now works happily at the Black Bull’s cafe while also looking for a job that fits his passion.

Random Fact: Gordon is an amazing cook. He is part of the cooking team at Black Bull’s cafe along with Charmy and Gauche. He specializes in desserts and can make any types of sweets (e.g., cake, cookies, etc.). Gordon usually makes cookies for the staff to eat with each cookie representing each one of them. Gordon isn’t good at designing people in his baking and so they look very creepy. He’s really good at making Halloween themed desserts, even when he isn’t trying. Since strawberry shortcake is his favorite food, you’ll always see him make it every day. His love for strawberry shortcake is the reason behind his strawberry button.

Gauche Adlai

Owns a mirror that was previously owned by his deceased parents

Had a bad reputation from stealing from stores and getting into street fights when he lived in the streets

Possible major: Photography

Has a room full of photos of just Marie, but he has a secret stash where the photos are of the Black Bull’s cafe employees being happy (don’t tell anyone)

Has won many photography competitions with each photo being related to Marie in some way

Fashion: Gauche doesn’t pay too much attention to his daily clothes, but he does know how to dress himself for any occasion. He prefers tasteful and simple clothes, nothing too fancy. You’ll usually see him with a collar shirt, jacket, and slacks. He also likes wearing vintage shoes because he finds it aesthetically pleasing to his eyes. He generally shops at any thrift store nearby, unless it’s Marie then he’ll shop at an expensive clothing store. Gauche’s fashion may lean more towards hipster if he spends a lot of money on himself. Overall, simple but somewhat stylish.

When Gauche and Marie were young, they had a healthy relationship with their parents who loved and cared for them with all their heart. Their father was a respected and rich businessman and their mother was a famous war photographer. Each time their mother would come back home from her trips, she would usually share the happy photos she took to Gauche and Marie. Seeing these happy pictures inspired Gauche to follow in her footsteps in becoming a photographer. Gauche specifically wanted to take pictures of people who are happy because seeing people smile makes him feel good. But one goal he hopes to complete is creating a photo album of his family being happy together. After receiving his first camera from his father, Gauche was ready to start his photo album once his mother came back home from her trip. When Gauche’s father went to pick up their mother from the airport, Gauche and Marie received terrible news that they both died in a ‘car accident’ on their way back home. This accident was actually orchestrated by his uncle who wanted to inherit their wealth and kicked Gauche and Marie out of their mansion. After being left on the streets, Gauche decided to take it upon himself and take care of Marie like how his parents would’ve wanted him to. Acting as a reliable older brother and the only family Marie has, they frequently moved to different locations to look for food and shelter. They were later taken in by an orphanage led by sister Theresa. Gauche had a talent in photography and was pushed by sister Theresa to compete in various contests where he won 1st place in each one. These great achievements led him to be chosen by Clover academy, but quickly rejected the offer since that would mean he’ll have to dorm at the academy away from Marie. During their walks, Marie found out about Gauche’s rejection to the academy and was upset that Gauche would decline such a great offer. Gauche argues that he doesn’t want to leave her alone which made Marie feel even more frustrated and ran inside a nearby cafe. This is where he met Yami, who happened to eavesdrop on their conversation. Yami reasoned that if Gauche really cared for Marie, he’d bring in more money to support her if he managed to graduate from the academy and go to college. Then when he’s financially secured, he and Marie can live on their own with no need for outside assistance. Yami’s words were able to convince Gauche to proceed in attending Clover academy which made Marie happy. As a way to show thanks, Marie said if the cafe needed any help, Gauche would be happy to work for him. Gauche was about to disagree but Yami was quick to accept Gauche into the cafe and promise Marie that he’ll keep Gauche busy. Gauche had no say in the matter since Marie already sealed the deal with Yami.

Random Fact: Gauche has a talent in art. Whether it’s sculpting, drawing, painting, or knitting, Gauche can replicate anything he sees. Even in baking, he can replicate any object or person as a cake. In fact, Gauche’s extraordinary skills would’ve been perfect for the recent cake cutting trend. However, Gauche mainly uses his younger sister, Marie, as a model for all of his artistic creations. If you go inside his room, you’ll see a shrine of sculptures, drawings, paintings, and dolls of Marie.

Grey

Likes to cosplay and attend conventions

Finds comfort in watching Cinderella

Possible major: Acting

Was an exceptional actress back in high school and would get chosen for lead roles but always decline these roles because of her sisters bullying

Has a great singing voice and likes to hum whenever she cleans

Fashion: Grey is incredibly shy and so her fashion reflects this. Grey’s casual attire is very modest and rarely shows a lot of skin. She likes to wear sweaters, long pants or skirts, and blue flats that her father got her as a birthday present. However, whenever she imitates a character for a cosplay or theater play, she becomes a completely different person and could wear very revealing clothes if it fits the character she’s impersonating. Grey likes showing off a lot of skin when she’s in character because this gives her an excuse to be confident in herself. Outside of her cosplays, Grey rarely wears jewelry since she thinks she doesn’t deserve to decorate herself with pretty things. Grey does value her belt since it was another gift from her father. Overall, Grey’s fashion is modest and warm.

Grey came from a middle class family where she used to live with her father, stepmother, and two elder stepsisters. Her father owns a small boutique store and her stepmother co-owns the store with her father. While her father showered Grey with love, her stepmother and stepsisters mistreated her and forced her to do all the chores in the house. They frequently lied to her father saying that she always wanted to do all the chores and didn't like going out with them since she prefers to stay at home. Because Grey’s father was oblivious of his daughter’s struggles, he never questioned it whenever they would go out without her. Grey was too meek to speak out and so she would go along with what they said in silence. During her time alone, she would always watch anime or DVDs of musical plays whenever she was done cleaning the place and making food. Grey always dreamed of being an actress in a play or show, but would get ridiculed for wanting to pursue such a career. Grey still tries to participate in various plays or get into cosplay where she gets to act like a completely different person. Grey finds herself comfortable as another character and still yearns to be an actress and so she auditioned for her school’s plays. She would get chosen for major roles in the plays, but when her stepsisters found out, they bullied her into going for a minor role instead. After graduating high school, Grey was ordered to stay home and not go to college to continuously be a servant for the family. Despite wanting to go to college to be an actress, Grey obeyed and continued to take care of the house for many years. It wasn’t until one day when Grey wanted to find a way to get closer to her stepsisters where she decided to dress up and perfectly transformed herself into looking like one of her stepsisters. Her stepsisters were outraged by her impersonation and threatened her which made Grey run away in fear. While on the streets, Grey was jumped by three muggers, but was saved by Gauche by Marie’s request. Gauche said if she’s running away, she should try and live for herself which inspired Grey to follow Gauche into the Black Bull’s cafe. With no courage to go back home, she was told by Vanessa that she could live at her place in the meantime while she gets back on her feet. Gauche commented that she should also start working at the cafe if she wanted to make enough money to support herself now that she’s starting fresh. Grey gratefully took Vanessa and Gauche’s offer and so now lives with Vanessa at her apartment, attends the same college as Gauche, and works at the Black Bull’s cafe.

Random Fact: Grey is great at doing makeup when she wants to replicate another character or person for her cosplay or costume. Whenever she attends anime conventions, she is complimented a lot for perfectly imitating the characters she cosplayed as. Even during cosplay contests, she would always place 1st place for her high quality clothes, wigs, and makeup. Grey thanks her father for teaching her these skills when she was young.

#black clover #Gordon Agrippa #gauche adlai #grey #modern au #my art #answered #I feel like I wrote a lot for their backstories in comparison to the other ones I've done-#I think I got too excited that's why-#Thank you for the request~!#I HOPE THEIR BACKSTORIES MAKE SENSE?

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