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eightantseatingapples · 3 months

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Aizawa X TeachingAssistant!Reader

Summary: Aizawa helps you feel less insecure about your role in protecting 1-A

Content: hurt/comfort, fluff, him being the best boyfriend

AN: this was actually supposed to be smut but I got carried away and it turned into this lol

Stacks of mismatched papers fell slowly from your desk as you desperately searched for the one paper you needed, Kaminari had finally submitted the ethics essay you assigned and you had lost it. After weeks of telling him how important it was, how you needed it otherwise it would be a fail, he finally and sheepishly handed it to you just before the day's end. You put it somewhere on the desk, you’re sure about that.

In the vague panic of trying to find the damn essay, you didn’t hear the door to your classroom open, and you certainly didn’t notice the silent figure making its way towards you.

A paper appeared in front of your face, being held by familiar, calloused hands. Moving your eyes upwards, you noticed who the hand was attached to — raven hair and scarred skin, soothing grey eyes with heavy bags, Shouta. His brows were furrowed ever so slightly and there was a tenseness in his jawline, but he wasn’t angry.

You took the paper with trembling hands and read the words, the handwritten letters with smudged ink — Denki Kaminari. With a disbelieving huff of air, you looked back up to Shouta and smiled.

“Thank you, I’ve been looking for that.” You mumbled, not bothering to seem put together in front of him, he’s seen you at your worst, this doesn’t even come close to that.

“You need to start putting things in their proper places.” Shouta’s low voice grumbled, tilting his head in the direction of the basket of essays on your desk — something he had added to avoid this specific situation. He wasn’t being rude, it had taken a long time to figure that one out, he was simply trying to help you. He just struggled to verbalise things in a kinder way. Your mouth opened to defend yourself before you just sighed and shook your head.

The hero let out a small huff of air through his nose before he crouched down and started to pick up all of the discarded papers and trinkets that had managed to end up on the floor.

“It’s, it won’t happen again, promise.” You swore, both of you knowing just how forgetful you were and that this would happen again within the next few days. It wasn’t your fault, everything was just so much, you were the only staff member who wasn’t a hero, and you were barely a teacher. Shouta recommended you to Nedzu to be a teaching assistant for the hero course given your natural charm and qualifications. Unfortunately, that came with the side effect that you just didn't have experience dealing with stressful situations, your biggest issue for years had simply been not making enough money. Now you had a class of mismatched children, all traumatised and aged well beyond their years, all training to fight and lay their lives on the line. Their biggest fear was death, yours was not marking the papers correctly.

It rubbed you the wrong way, the way these children — your children — could defend you better than you could defend them. Sure, with legal issues and the press, you were like a fish in water. But actually defending them? Fighting for their safety and security? Making sure they didn't die? You couldn't do that.

“I can hear you thinking, love, talk to me.” Shouta whispered, looking up at you from his crouched position on the floor, a stupid little octopus trinket in his hand, engulfing it. Midoriya had gifted you that one, after noticing your love for silly little decorations like that, he was a sweet boy. Too much on his plate. Your eyes didn't leave the small, green octopus as you spoke up in a shaky voice.

“It's… It's really stupid — nothing. It's nothing. I'm fine.” Your voice was shakier than intended, and the burning in your throat from unshed tears was annoying you. Shouta glanced down at the octopus, before handing it to you and raising a brow. He still hadn't gotten up from his crouch, sometimes he really reminded you of an overgrown cat. Inhaling a calming breath, you continued. “These kids, Sho, they don't… I dunno. It's too much for them, every moment they’re alive and breathing fighting for their lives, and I'm here demanding essays from them! I'm writing words on some paper, correcting mistakes and watching as they stare down at their papers with that look. Like they know that they've done shit even though they haven’t. They're doing so well.”

A pregnant pause.

“It's so unfair,” your fingers traced the seam lines of the octopus as you continued, “I just… I feel like I should be doing more, you know? I can't throw a punch, or use a flashy quirk to protect them. All I do is grade papers and—”

“They love you.” Shouta cut in with a soft voice, placing a hand on your bouncing leg. He glanced to the side, eyeing your desk and the various trinkets and silly photos. After a silent moment, he locked eyes with you, an unspoken command to listen. His free hand waved in the direction of your messy desk. “And you love them. I've just seen you panic for 5 minutes because you couldn't find an essay that Kaminari did. Any other teacher would just demand he rewrite it, but you know better. You know how much he struggles, so you extend his deadlines, don't give me that look, it's very obvious. And you know what? This class is the only one where he submits good essays, or any at all. Todoroki likes to nap in your class, he doesn't do that in any others because only this one feels safe. Midoriya never hesitates to ask questions like he does in most other classes. Hagakure always mentions how you ask her opinion every lesson, she likes feeling seen and you know that.”

Shouta let out a small laugh, seeing your bewildered expression.

“You may not be able to punch bad guys, or save them from burning buildings, but you are their safe space. You can grade their essays and leave little doodles with reassuring messages, you can give them gold stars when they exceed your expectations, and you can hug them and tell them that everything will be okay. They feel safe with you.”

Hot tears trickled down your cheeks as he spoke, his voice was so sincere and genuine that you couldn't even question it. Standing up, he shuffled your papers to be neater, grabbed the octopus, placed it down, and turned off your laptop. Wordlessly, he pulled you up from your seat and wrapped his arms around you, letting you lean your head on his shoulder. Your hands wrapped around him, grasping his shirt desperately as your face scrunched up.

It was hard not to compare yourself to those around you, considering the school was filled with people who had years of experience and knowledge about what was going on. Your kids even had more experience than you put in the field, and on multiple occasions, you had to ask them to explain certain things to you as they rambled on about their day. It got worse when the dorms were introduced, hearing them scream or whimper in their sleep, watching as they refused to stay alone for too long and would opt to do a sleepover in the common room (something that you would always pretend to not notice), or even just seeing the scars that were produced because of you. Because you couldn’t protect them.

“The kids, they don’t really talk to me,” Shouta murmured into your hair, kissing the top of your head before continuing, “it hurts a bit. I don’t mean to be so… me, I’m always worried they’ll keep it bottled up and explode one day. But you know what I heard Iida telling everyone the other night?” Shouta asked, specifically waiting for your response. You furrowed your brows and hummed, prompting him to continue. The raven-haired man rubbed his thumb against the small of your back.

“He said that if anyone was struggling, that you would listen and help. We have a literal guidance counsellor, and Iida, who is a stickler for rules and procedures, didn’t mention Hound Dog. His first thought was you. In times of crisis, his first instinct was to go to you for help. That’s important. It’s no use being able to take down bad guys if the students don’t trust you.

“The kids like your inexperience, they like that they can feel smart and brag about silly things while you spur them on and get them to explain. They like that you are there and that you will always be there.”

You choked on a sob, and Shouta shushed you with a small smile.

“Your kids love you, baby.” He whispered, and just like that, the dam broke. Your breath hitched and your whole body shuddered as you sobbed into his shoulder. Your mind was a giant concoction of shame and despair and pride, that the kids loved you. Because that’s all you could really ask for.

None of the kids commented on how doting you were the next day, they just smiled and preened under the endless compliments. Kaminari got his essay back, with a personal note so long it belonged on a separate sheet of paper. Iida was given your personal phone number for ‘emergencies’, saying the rest of the class would need it. Todoroki was given a small pillow to rest on in class.

And you? You were given an A3 card filled with kind messages and personal anecdotes about how you helped 1-A.

Shouta watched from his sleeping bag, a small smile on his face. He definitely didn’t tell the kids you were feeling sad, definitely not. He was confident everyone would be okay as long as you and he continued working as a team, protecting your children in all the ways they needed.

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the-cat-and-the-birdie · 6 months

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My favorite Hobie photos (also me being extremely sentimental about Him):

I'm feeling Hobie deficient. Enjoy.

He looks so calm and relaxed on the left, it makes me very happy. It's like I can hear him softly breathing and if you can't idk what to tell you. And right is like my ALL TIME favorite. Nose and lips and relaxed shoulders - the headtilt

He looks pretty on the left. Also I know the one on the right looks almost identical to the one above it but it's not identical I promise this one is slightly different look at the hair also this one is red

FULL BODY PIC also head spikes. I love photos that make him look smol cause it's funny

Smirk. He smirk. I pretend my OC Diane is telling him a long lengthy story and he's just humming along as she works herself up over something meaningless that happened two hours ago.

The one on the right is my all-time favorite photo of him. I didn't know anything about Spider-Punk or even that he existed (I don't watch trailers) so this character was entirely new to me. And that's the first time he took off his mask and we see the real Hobie so that moment means a lot to me my brain literally restructured itself at the sight of him. I'd never seen a character like him ever. Like of course there's black characters but Hobie has such striking explicit black features and hair that it genuinely took me VERY by surprise.

Like Miles and Gwen look very... Vague. In a good way. But they look like characters, there's lots of people who could look like Gwen or Miles. Hell, I could look like Miles if went for the cosplay but

Hobie looks so entirely specific. There's not many people that genuinely LOOK like Hobie. But I can imagine someone who does - he's realistic but so specific in design.

He's the most beautiful character I've ever seen. Not an exaggeration.

The dark lips, raised brow bone, his broad nose, defined neck, the lines they use to shade and shape his face

He's so distinct. Like not just in fashion and art style but like in genuine design of him as a person but he's not a person he's a character but he's giving person he's serving personhood and he's living in my head rent free telling me rent is theft anyway

Anywaysss I'm gonna go cry :))))))) I can't handle Him even saying his name brings me joy HOBIE

Here's my favorite gif of Hobie :)

Bye.

#this was supposed to be short #ahem #I'm feeling uhhhhhhhh the autism today like I'm not okay with not existing in the same space as him #I gotta breathe him #spiderman #atsv #spider man #marvel #across the spiderverse #hobie brown #spider punk #spiderpunk

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crowned-aeris · 2 months

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A Reverse-Robin Wingfic / To Brace Upon Benign Feathers

It starts kinda crack-ish, but then gets kinda emotional-y towards the end ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

===

"TIM!"

He jerked awake, blinking at the ceiling in confusion as his brain slowly registered where he was.

"Tim!" the voice came again, followed by a body slamming into his chest.

"Oomf!" Tim grunted as the air was violently knocked out of his chest. With a tight expression, he reached up and carded a hand through his brother's hair, "Morning, Dick."

"Hi!" the newest addition to the family chirped brightly, his sapphire eyes glowing as bright as a 200,000 lumens flashlight. Brighter than the sun, even. The blue reminds him of Kon and the alien's blue eyes that looked like a wolf-rayet star.

"What time is it?" Tim mumbled, wincing as the five-year-old crawled over him, digging his knee into Tim's kidney and accidentally stepping on his wing.

"It's time for you to get your a- butt in gear and move," Jason called from the door. “Damian’s making breakfast, so Duke asked us to come and wake you.”

Tim groaned, dropping his head back until it banged loudly against the headboard. Maybe if he hit his head hard enough, he could go back to sleep.

Dick cheered when he spotted Jason, the Ficher's Lovebird's bright red-yellow-green wings flaring out as he launched himself at the teen.

Jason grunted as Dick slammed into him but managed to keep his grip steady.

"Hurry up and get ready," Jason said. The cardinal shifted, folding his bright crimson wings against his back as Dick tucked his face into Jason's neck, "B said he's gonna take up to the zoo."

"Zoo! I wanna go to the zoo!" Dick's head shot up as he clutched Jason's shirt.

"I know, Dickie," Jason rolled his eyes fondly, "that's why we're going."

"Okay!" the fledgling chirped, "Tim!"

"Yes?" He lifted his head from the pillow with a slow and tired blink. What he'd give to have Kon here right now.

"Get! Up!" Dick demanded. Jason, the traitor, just laughed. "Or else I'll tell Dami to come get you!"

The falcon hummed, waiting until his brothers disappeared from the doorframe before flipping over and shoving his face back into the pillow.

Everything ached, his back especially, and it wasn't because of Kon, okay, Jason? Tim had been fighting Killer Croc last night, and that bastard got lucky and slammed Tim against a brick wall. His right arm was a huge-ass bruise, and he was not excited to get up.

Maybe if he pretended to be dead, Damian would leave him be...

Who is he kidding? If the harpy eagle was willing to drag a pit-crazed Tim from the brink of suicide, then he was more than willing to dunk Tim in the pits.

Just as he was about to doze off, there was a knock on the doorframe.

"What?" Tim -whined- groaned, not bothering to lift his head from the pillow.

"Hey, Ducky," an amused voice called.

He pouted, turning his head to glare balefully at Duke. The mourning dove smiles, lifting a brow in amusement. Traitor.

"Leave me alone, Duke," Tim grumbled, thankful that Alfred had all the pillows and sheets in Tim's room reinforced since the last time he had a Pit-episode... It had been a whole thing...

Duke raised another eyebrow, mimicking Alfred's patented Disappointed Stare™ quite successfully. Tim doesn't doubt that, at this point, Duke could get even Damian to bend to his will.

And just like Alfred's own stares, Tim, frustratingly, folded under pressure.

For fuck's sake- he was supposed to Wraith, the dead spirit of the Bat's second Shadow revived and out to hunt ne'er do wells as well as the Bats themselves- his goddamn reputation!

"What reputation, Tim?" Duke laughed before strolling over and yanking the covers off of him.

God, Tim hates it when he says things out loud. A side effect of being locked away by Ra's in an attempt to break his spirit or whatever.

He grumbled as Duke hauled him up and out of bed. Annoyingly, the Lazarus pits healed his shitty eyes, that one scar he got from following Shadow around, and the gash in his throat, but not his fucking height. Instead, Tim has to be stuck in this measly five-foot-seven-inch body, while Duke, Bruce, and Damian all got to be fucking six-foot-plus behemoths.

A shake snapped Tim out of his misery.

"Did you even hear what I said?" Duke asked incredulously.

"No," Tim huffed, "I was distracted and decided not to listen to your stupid voice saying stupid stuff."

"Says that one in air jail," Duke replied smugly. Shit, he's right. That fucker. "Tim, I can practically hear you cussing me out. Keep doing this, and I'll have Bruce and Damian hide your coffees and Red Bulls."

"W-"

"And your monsters."

Tim gasped, "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me. Now go get ready. We leave in an hour, and you don't even have a shirt on, Tim."

"It's a fashion choice," he hissed, "you wouldn't understand because you're stupid!"

Duke sighed, plopping Tim onto the floor. He wasn't even surprised when the falcon went boneless, turning into a limp pile of loose limbs and angry hissing, "You're such a child, Ducky."

"This is because I'm gay, isn't it!" Tim demanded, snapping to his feet and flaring out his wings, "This is homophobia!"

"Of course, it is," Duke drily responded before he turned and made for the door, "I'll send Damian up in ten minutes. If you haven't gotten ready by then, I'm allowing him to dress you however he likes."

Duke closed the door gently, but he might as well have slammed it from how ruffled it left him.

Honestly, the gall! How has he, Wraith, Ra's desired heir to the fucking Damon's Fang, fallen so far from his formidable glory?

Nevertheless, Tim forced himself to get ready. He brushed his teeth and washed his face- even "Serial Killers" need clear skin, but was killing fifteen of Black Mask's and the Joker's most trusted really considered killing? Bruce was just overreacting!- and then threw on a short-sleeved shirt, hoodie over that, washed-out ripped jeans, and called it a day.

Tim groaned, desperately craving coffee, caffeine, or something to stave off the complete and utter exhaustion pooling in his head. This was terrible, horrible, and a vile thing to do.

"Timothy," Damian said from where he stood at the table, a plate held in the eagle's hands. He was wearing a bright pink apron covered with flour, and Jason was behind him, wearing a matching pink apron and holding a plate, too. "You finally decided to show your face and detach yourself from that hovel."

"If you want, I could always go back to my so-called Hovel," Tim tilted his head in a challenge.

"Tt," Damian scoffed before sliding a plate to Tim's spot, "Seeing as you have already decided to show your face, and Richard somehow tolerates you, it would be more efficient if you remain here."

Dick was already seated with a glass of strawberry milk, and his pancakes were half-finished and absolutely drowning in maple syrup. Bruce was directly across from Dick, and his pancakes were far more respectable with butter, syrup, bacon, and a cup of coffee. Duke was beside Dick, and he had a plate with fresh fruit, powdered sugar, and a glass of orange juice. Alfred sat at the head of the table with his English breakfast, tea, and a proud smile. Cass was next to Bruce with a bowl of fruit, orange juice, toast, and multiple slices of stolen bacon.

Hesitantly, Tim sat down at the end of the table as Jason rushed over to fill the empty chair between Tim and Duke. Damian, the bull-headed son of a bitch -that bitch being Bruce, because Tim would never call Talia a bitch- decided the best seat wasn't going to be next to Cass, but instead the seat directly in front of Tim. Not in front of Jason, but in front of Tim.

Instead of confronting his feelings like a well-adjusted member of society should, Tim decided the best course of action was to examine his plate of pancakes.

It had fudge drizzled over the top, dusted lightly with powdered sugar, and freshly diced strawberries were placed like a crown with their leaves carefully removed and tossed in a barely noticeable syrup. There was a small bowl of strawberry-lemon zest jam on the edge of Tim's plate, and he could tell that whoever positioned it was diligent. Not a single speck of powdered sugar got onto the outside of the tiny bowl...

Every part of this plate looked like it had been prepared in a five-star restaurant. What more was that this was exactly the same kind of pancakes Damian would make for him as an apology back when Tim was Shadow...

Suddenly, his eyes were beginning to sting, and Tim could feel Damian's stare carve holes into the top of his head. And then, Damian slid over a cup of steaming coffee, and just by looking at it, he knew Damian had made it the way Tim loved.

It was a declaration, an apology, and a promise all wrapped in a simple breakfast…

He took a deep breath and cut into his pancakes, forcing himself to hold back tears as his family chattered around him.

Even after everything that has happened, his flock still accepted him.

Even after everything, Tim was still loved.

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emeritus-fuckers · 6 months

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A (relatively long) headcanon post about Ghouls as species

Since we've already theorized birth dates, dick sizes and the way the Ministry works, it's time to focus on the Ghouls. So let's try to come up with some stuff, shall we?

PS: I was gonna include human-ghoul hybrids, but that's a whole another post bc this one is already long af.

Ghouls and Ghoulettes

Ghouls view gender very differently than humans do. Their biology does not correlate to their gender. Most ghouls are intersex, but it's no uncommon for them to be male or female (purely in the amab/afab way) and their sex is not really important when it comes to their roles in the packs. It is, however, worth noting that more biologically feminine ghouls are physically stronger and more dominant. It's worth noting that there's no such thing as a "Ghoulette" in their understanding. They all refer to each other as "Ghoul". The term "Ghoulette" was introduced to them by the Clergy.

Kits

As mentioned above, most ghouls are intersex. Unlike humans, they can have both functional male and female genitalia, which means in majority of cases, a ghoul of any presentation can get pregnant. They get pregnant for about a year and usually give birth to 2-3 kits. Kits are notably smaller than human baby. They're much closer to a chihuahua or a big rat, but they grow very quickly for the first few weeks and within 6 months they're already at the level of a human two-year-old.

Aging

Ghouls do not have a distinct age when they reach adulthood. They reach adulthood "officially" when they go in their first heat, which is when they're around 500 years. However, they function as an adult within a pack after reaching a different milestone - losing their first horns.

Baby ghouls are born without horns. They gain their first horns when they're around 50 years old (a Ghoul equivalent of a pre-teen). They are much more fragile and are a bit like baby teeth for humans. They do, however, show that a young ghoul can now start to learn how to function in a pack. They learn how to hunt, how to fight, all things like this.

Speaking of teeth, ghouls regularly lose some of their teeth and grow new ones. It's not exactly age-related, exactly, but it is worth mentioning.

Heats

Heat period is different for all the kinds of Ghouls. It is the only time period when they are fully capable of impregnating/getting another ghoul (and/or human) pregnant. It's also the only time when ghouls with cocks knot. What's also interesting is that it is possible for multiple ghouls to impregnate the same ghoul/human at the same time, since their reproductive system works differently. They don't exactly ovulate, and instead during heat their womb fills up with a thick, sticky liquid (which gradually spills out as they cum) and the sperm of another ghoul can then swim in it until it finds the ghoul equivalent of egg cells, which they have multiple of just sorta built into little "holes" inside the walls of their wombs (this is a terrible example, but it's a bit like the seeds on a strawberry). And so, if multiple ghouls cum inside a ghoul with a womb, there's a chance for more than one of them to impregnate said ghoul at the same time. This can also happen if (although it's rare) ghoul semen mixes together well enough to become a mix of genetics. Very often, due to how ghoul genetics work, a kit can have multiple biological parents. An example of that is Swiss, who has two biological fathers and a mother.

For Water Ghouls, it's around Spring.

For Fire Ghouls, it's around Summer.

For Air Ghouls, it's around Fall.

For Earth Ghouls, it's around Winter.

For Quintessence Ghouls, there is no specific period, as it all depends on energy flows in Hell.

For Multighouls, heat also varies and it can circulate between the elements they "consist of". For example, a Fire-Water multighoul can have their heat either around summer or around spring. Curiously, Quintessence-multighoul seem to only "inherit" the heat periods from the other elements.

Mates

Ghouls are almost exclusively polyamorous. They usually have a main partner (mate), but it's not uncommon for a pack (not to be confused with tribe) to be a large polycule. They do, however, mate for life, once they have chosen someone to be their mate. A mating bond is the closest to a marriage, but it is a much more spiritual bond than an "official" one. A ghoul can have multiple mates, but there's always one primary mate that they cherish above anyone else. It should, however, be noted, that if a ghoul's mate gets pregnant, they get almost obsessively protective and possessive.

Elements

Speaking of elements, I am a big hater on the ideas of ghouls having "superpowers" such as pyrokinesis or hydrokinesis because it's just stupid, boring and overdone. This is Ghost, not ATLA.

Instead, I believe the elements of ghouls correlate mostly with where they live and their biology. While there is a special, spiritual bond with their element, they have no control over it.

Water ghouls separate into hot and cold water. They have gills and fins on their forearms, calves and on their backs, running down their spines. Their ears are also fin-shaped. Hot water ghouls live closer to the Fire ghouls, near the surface. Cold water ghouls live closer to the bottom of the "ocean" in Hell, closer to the caves Earth Ghouls live in. Cold water ghouls also have slightly bigger eyes that faintly glow in the dark, helping them see in the darkness.

As mentioned already, Earth ghouls live mostly in caves, either underground or in the mountains. They live mostly in the dark, which leads to them being sensitive to light to having relatively poor eyesight in general, especially compared to other ghouls. They have incredibly well developed sense of smell, though. They tend to be rather big. There is also a rather rare subspecies of Earth ghouls, casually referred to as "Surface Earth ghouls" because, as you can probably guess, they live on the surface. They still sleep in caves, but they spend most of their days in the mountains. To prepare for this sort of life, they have evolved goat-like hooves.

In the mountains, you can also find the Air ghouls. They tend to live in whatever high places they can find so they can feel the wind properly. Similarly to Earth ghouls, they have pretty good sense of smell. They also have the best hearing among all the ghouls and are incredibly good at sensing the weather. What's incredibly interesting, however, is that some of them have very serious issues adapting to not being in the mountains of Hell and end up requiring crutches or wheelchairs within a few months after being summoned.

Quintessence ghouls are the most interesting in this regard, since they don't live in one specific area. They are nomads, travelling Hell in search of connection to the Essence/Elements. They're the most spiritual, able to sense energy and very slightly manipulate it to help someone heal faster, which, added to their knowledge of botany and ability to create medicine and them being rather mysterious and mostly keeping to themselves, has lead the other ghouls to assume they have magical abilities while in reality, they're simply in touch with their spirituality. Since they travel almost constantly, they only make nests while in heat.

Can a Ghoul switch elements?

Absolutely! It is a common and fully accepted concept. It's also the closest a ghoul can get to being trans from the human perspective, since they don't really understand gender the way humans do, as mentioned above.

Similarly to how some people don't feel comfortable with the gender they were assigned at birth, some ghouls don't feel in touch with the Element they're born into and that's completely fine! Other Elements very eagerly welcome new ghouls, there's absolutely nothing stopping them.

It does take a few centuries to actually go through the metamorphosis (and it does require a ritual), but the ghouls welcome them as their own the very moment they are told about this. They obviously have certain accommodations until their bodies are prepared to live fully like other ghouls of their chosen element. They will still have bodily characteristics of their original element (like Sodo still has his Water traits), but they'll be useless unless they're a multi-ghoul. For example, a Water-to-Fire ghoul like Sodo can still look like a Water Ghoul, but they will have all the abilities of a Fire Ghoul.

Tribes and packs

Aside from elements (and in case of Water and Earth ghouls, subspecies), ghouls separate into tribes and then smaller packs (families) within the tribes.

Packs are usually lead by one of the oldest ghouls in it (usually grandparents or great grandparents). Said pack leaders form a tribe council, which discusses any issues that might arise. It is important to note that unless there is a need for the council to meet, all packs within a tribe are left to do as they please. A pack can consist of ghouls of different elements and even if they live incredibly far apart, unlike tribes, who live in one specific area. Ghouls from different tribes can very much be a part of the same pack. A ghoul can be a part of multiple packs, but only one tribe.

Similarly to a human family, a pack is primarily a ghoul's biological relatives. It's not uncommon, however, for younger ghouls to find other ghouls to form their own pack with. A pack can be family or just really close friends. At the end of the day, each pack is unique and goes by its own rules.

Laws

Ghouls have only three universal laws. Each tribe and pack can add their own, of course, but there are only three that have to be followed by absolutely every ghoul.

1. Respect consent

While ghouls are creatures who cannibalize each other for fun (it's one of the most common games for kits to nibble on each other and bites little pieces of each other for fun), no ghoul is allowed to touch another without permission, unless it's to defend themselves or those close to them. Ghouls take "no means no" very seriously and are prepared to tear apart anyone who doesn't. This also includes not touching anyone who's not in the right mindset to consent (for example, someone who's drunk/high).

2. No harming kits

While fights between packs, tribes or individual ghouls are to be expected, none of them are allowed to harm a kit. It's as simple as that. And while ghouls believe in eye for an eye, they wouldn't harm children even as revenge.

3. No incest

Goes back to rule one. Incest can never be fully consensual and it's bad for genetics, therefore logically, it has been banned.

Punishment

Of course, with breaking the law comes a punishment. While breaking an individual law is a matter of pack or tribe, breaking the three main laws results in being eaten alive. If a ghoul survives this punishment, they are left in their mangled state for lesser demons to finish them or to simply bleed out.

Religion/Spirituality

While ghouls acknowledge Lucifer as king of Hell, he is not a religious figure for them. Ghouls don't have religious figures in general. They do, however, have a system of beliefs.

Ghouls believe in Essence. Simply put, it's a spiritual elemental energy and their equivalent of a soul. While Water, Fire, Earth and Air ghouls connect to their elements rather easily and don't really seek a deeper connection, Quintessence ghouls are the most spiritual ones and some spend their entire lives connecting to their element to actually transform their Essence into Quintessence, the perfect element. Thanks to this, they are more in touch with their Essence and can help others resonate with theirs more easily.

Pets

Just like humans, ghouls keep pets. It's usually a hell hound (for Quintessence and Fire ghouls), a demonic mole-like creature (Earth ghouls), a hippogryph (Air and Surface Earth ghouls) or any sort of fucked up sea monster (Water ghouls). Usually one ghoul has one pet that they form a very strong bond with until the pet dies.

If, somehow, a pet outlives a ghoul, they are never seen with a new ghoulish companion. Other ghouls respect it and let the animal grieve. They are welcome among the pack and/or tribe, but none of the ghouls try to claim the pet as theirs.

Speech

Ghouls do not have a "humanoid" language. They communicate in what can be described as noises, both animalistic and some rather unique (for example, water ghouls can imitate a "drowning gurgle", fire ghouls can imitate the sound of cracking burning wood and other things like this).

Summoning a ghoul

Despite what some people seem to think, ghouls don't just get pulled out of Hell randomly, shocked and unprepared. In reality, being summoned is also a ghoul's choice, as they go through their own rituals to prepare for that.

Summoning a ghoul is, in reality, merely creating a one-way opening to Hell. It is up to a ghoul to answer it. However, due to the language barrier and how painful the "travel" is, they can act somewhat rabid when first summoned.

After being summoned, a ghoul usually spends a few weeks learning the language of the humans that summoned them (ghouls are incredibly good at copying noises and noticing sound patterns, which is why they're good musicians) as well as human habits. They usually take from one to three months to adapt fully.

During their time adapting, they might speak in weird ways, putting words in the wrong order or speaking with odd, experimental tones (such as Phantom's "where am I going?").

Ghouls Den in the Ministry

Just like living in different regions in Hell, Ghoul's have different places to live depending on their Element, they also have a slightly similar arrangement in the Ministry. The Ghoul's Den is always a separate section of the building (in the LA Ministry, they have a whole wing to themselves). Usually it's the area where boiler room is, seeing as both Fire and Water ghouls seem to find it comforting. And since it's almost always in the basement, Earth ghouls also feel rather happy there. Quintessence ghouls usually take the surface level, sharing it with Surface Earth ghouls, and then Air ghouls take the top floor.

Ghouls and their roles in the Ministry

Aside from playing in the band, ghouls have plenty of potential jobs they can do. Most of the time it's something physical, like carrying stuff around, being a body guard or just assisting the most important people in the Clergy with whatever they need, but they also do other jobs!

Ghouls are natural tinkerers and are very good at repetitive tasks, so they often take over maintenance of different things. And as natural gatherers, they enjoy organizing and counting things, which is why librarians and finance-related jobs are often dominated by ghouls, only a few humans working there to make sure everything's okay (to just oversee them work, mostly).

Some ghouls (mostly Quintessence) also work in Ministry healthcare, using their knowledge of different plants and other forms of medicine they know to help Siblings with their pains and issues.

Many ghouls, especially those more fem alligned (aka ghoulettes), like to work with little ones in the nursery, as well.

Written by Jez.

Taglist: @charlie-is-a-menace @copias-fluffy-asscheeks @lunarsromantichomicide @tuttifuckinfruttifriday @calliedion-dungeon @randominstake @nuntia @dio-niisio @mybotanicaldemise @igodownjustlikeholymary @natoncesaid

#this was supposed to be short #haha no #i want to stab myself #ghost band #ghost bc #ghost #nameless ghoul #nameless ghouls #nameless ghoulette #nameless ghoulettes #headcanon #headcanons

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itzrafee · 4 months

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A thing on Uran and Helena in Pluto

Okay a short little thing on Pluto. Uran and Helena are my absolute favourite characters in Pluto. Urasawa has always had amazing side characters, from Mr. Rosso in Monster to Lee Harvey Oswald and Jackie in Billy Bat to God in 20th Century Boys, but very few have tied off the emotional ends of the story like Uran and Helena.

Maybe I'm projecting here but much like myself I feel like Urasawa is absolutely obsessed with Frankenstein. And he recognizes the influence Frankenstein has on Dr. Umataro Tenma. Or at the very least, the similarities between the two. And so when he made the protagonist of one of his most popular works Monster, Dr Kenzo Tenma, he solidified that connection. Kenzo Tenma calls back to Victor Frankenstein needing to end his creation while also calling back to Japan's other famous Tenma, thus making the connection explicit. Another throughline between the three of them is that all three are father figures to their creations and have obligations to their children, though all three have varying levels of success with them.

I've only read what I like to call Urasawa's "Core Four", conspiracy minded thrillers that are essentially road trips featuring usually two main protagonists that we see the world through, Monster, 20th Century Boys, Pluto and Billy Bat. Though I still haven't caught up to Asadora and that could still possibly fit this mold, Urasawa's Core Four share a lot of themes and ideas. One of the most important being the responsibility for one's creations, whether it was Kenji Endo and the Book of Prophecy or Kevin Yamagata and Billy Bat or Dr. Kenzo Tenma and Johan, all of his protagonists could arguably be seen as someone with the need to take up the responsibility of their creations. So where do the protagonists of Pluto fit in there? That's where Uran and Helena come in.

But first, we should take a look at Pluto's themes. While I could be wrong, at a cursory glance, I feel like the general consensus towards it's themes is that it's about hatred. I don't really think that's what it is as I feel like Urasawa is more trying to show us what it is to be human and what it is to be alive. And in that, he has a hidden protagonist in Pluto. Someone who's influence snakes through the plot and isn't seen much, but without who the story's themes would remain incomplete. Pluto tackles what it is to be alive through many things, such as memory, sadness, grief, hatred, love and parenthood. But none of that works without the realization by Tenma of his own mistakes. And Uran and Helena bookend these revelations and are absolutley key to understanding that.

In my favourite chapter of the series, Chapter 37, Uran goes from person to person as she finds a way to deal with her grief and eventually comes across Tobio's grave, Tenma having left recently. It's an absolutely beautiful chapter that shows Uran's humanity and Urasawa's love for sharing these kind and soft moments. But it also sheds a light on Tenma as Uran realizes someone who was grieving has just left. Without saying much at all we realize that Tenma has finally realized his mistakes. In the process of grieving one son, he lost the other. While remembering Tobio, he let Atom go. His grief towards Tobio is clear in the following chapter, Chapter 38. All of the things he wanted Atom to be; Tobio come back to life, Tobio's ghost punishing him, Atom rejected. And Tenma could only see that rejection, and not what he had, another son.

Uran shows us very clearly what Pluto, the story, is. It's a chapter in their lives. And we've come into a story nearing the end for Tenma. And it's through the humanity of two absolutely amazing characters in their own right, Uran and Helena, that we are able to so fully understand Tenma. Despite being robots, these two characters are the most alive of everyone. They love fully and freely and are catalysts of change. Uran's vibrant and full of life in a way that really sticks out. And Helena has such depth that it's evident in every scene she's in. She's not pointed out to be made by any famous scientist so all the life she has is her own. These two represent the life of robot's more than any other characters in the series.

So it's that much more poignant when Helena finally breaks down after putting on such a strong front of everybody. Grief intersects and she brings out Tenma's sadness as well. They've both been putting up such strong fronts that it's heartbreaking to see them collapse. It completes Tenma's growth and strikes a heartbreaking contrast between the two. Tenma became the way he is through the loss of his son whereas Helena doesn't even get to remember her own loss. It makes you wonder if the grief for her and Geischt's child compounds her sorrow too.

Without these two and their grief, a large part of Pluto becomes inaccessible. Pluto is largely about death so when two characters come in who've never had a hand in the grim work of taking life, you see the world through a lens that's absolutely crucial in order to fully connect with all of the character's and their situations. Death and Grief has scarred the characters in Pluto. Time and time again they've chosen the worst path. They've chosen revenge and hatred. But Uran and Helena are different. Without them, the story is incomplete. They provide an alternative. They provide the path towards healing.

im sorry for this one:

#naoki urasawa's pluto #helena #uran #pluto #pluto anime #umataro tenma #astro boy #this was supposed to be short #also its largely unreasearched #i would need to read the original atom and read all of urasawa's other works and read up on the gulf war before tackling a proper piece #random thoughts I didn't put in:#something i love about Pluto is how each robot is a reflection of their creators in some way or another with Uran being Ochanamizu's love #the combination of jackie and lee harvey oswald will probably throw off so many people who don't know(totally not why I did it)#also God #honestly though no side characters feel insignificant in Pluto #Some more shared ideas between the Core Four are the burdens we carry and share and the importance of stories in our lives

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diangelosarmy · 1 year

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Nico was the most nervous to come out to Hazel. Hazel meant a lot to him, but she was from the same time period he was. She’d even lived in it longer, and a time period that wasn’t at all permissive of people like Nico. Would she be able to accept that one of those people was her brother? Or would it drive a wedge between them that could never be removed. But Jason knew, and Percy and Annabeth and even Piper. She was bound to find out eventually. Nico owed it to her to at least tell her himself.

The night he told Hazel was sitting on the roof of the Pluto cabin at camp Jupiter. Nico couldn’t remember the exact words he used, he couldn’t hear himself over the ringing in his ears. Hazel was quiet. She barely looked at him. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from her, silently begging for some hint of the softness he’d come to associate his sister with.

“Okay” that was all Hazel had left him with. Just, Okay. He wanted to press, ask what she meant by that. Okay that’s fine? Okay so I have a gay brother? Okay we’re never talking again?

But maybe he was being unfair. She needed time. Eventually he wishes her goodnight and slid inside. She sat out there for a while longer. When she returned they both laid in the silence until they fell asleep. Nico left for camp half blood the next morning.

About a week later Hazel was due to visit camp half blood and Nico’s chest had been winding into a ball of anxiety all week. He kept writing and rewriting what he would say to Hazel. Maybe they could just ignore this whole thing? It’s not like Nico had a boyfriend or anything. And he wasn’t holding his breath on getting one, that would still require someone to want to date him. But she knew now. She couldn’t un-know.

Hazel had a notebook in her hands as she approached Nico at the Hades table. Will Solace caught Nicos attention for a moment with a sympathetic smile and a thumbs up. He knew how nervous Nico was about this. The irony of his crush trying to be supportive in this wasn’t lost on Nico, but he couldn’t dwell on it at the moment. “Listen Hazel-“ he started as she sat at the table and opened her book. She cut him off “Malcom Pace?” She asked, looking at her notebook. Nico blinked in confusion. “The Athena kid? What about him?” He asked “do you like him?” Hazel asked so matter of factly it nearly made Nico choke. “No I- Hazel what are you talking about?” He managed “I’m gonna find you a boyfriend.” She crossed off a name from her list, presumably Malcom Pace. Nico was too stunned for a moment to say anything. “Nathan Calish? He’s a son of Mercury. He’s good with strategy games” Nico shook himself from his state of shock “Hazel I really don’t need you to-“ Hazel continued to scribble “Maybe a Hephaestus kid? Jake Mason is pretty good looking without the casts”

Nico couldn’t help the laugh that bubbles to the surface. Maybe it was relief that Hazel didn’t hate him. That in fact she’d taken it upon herself to find him a boyfriend. Maybe it was the ridiculous list of male campers, both Roman and Greek, that she’d collected to run past him. She kept running through names and Nico kept trying to tell her it wasn’t necessary and he wasn’t looking to date right now that he appreciated all the work she’d done but- “Will Solace?” Nico’s face flushed a little “What? No. No I don’t like Will” Hazel paused and grinned. “Will Solace.” Nico started to blush against his best effort to remain neutral. “Hazel no I’m not-“ she circled Wills name in her notebook and shut it. To Nicos horror she got up from the table and made her way over to the Apollo table.

Nico tried to look busy with his food instead of the raw embarrassment he felt as he strained to narrow in on Hazels voice. “Hey Will, the Apollo cabin leads the campfire sing along right?” Will seemed a little confused, at least from what Nico could pick out of his voice “uh yea, why do you ask?” “I’m just not really familiar with how it goes and I was a little nervous, do you think Nico and I could join the Apollo cabin tonight?” Oh gods. What was Hazel doing? Nico face was burning as he stared intently at his barely touched dinner. “Oh yea of coarse” Will replied in his signature happy to help tone.

Nico was truly grateful that Hazel had accepted him, but what in hades had he gotten himself into?

#this was supposed to be short #oops <3 #nico di angelo headcanon #hazel levesque headcanon #death siblings #will solace #solangelo #heroes of olympus #pjo #nico di angelo #toa #percy jackson #diangelosarmy

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rubyroses222 · 5 days

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My take on the Jude slander after RMA vs ManCity

8th April 2024

I have seen so many people straight up hating Jude for yesterday’s game, and I just can’t stay silent anymore, so enjoy my little rant.

Playing football, especially on the level of Real Madrid is (apart from skill and mindset) also a lot about building and keeping rhythm. This applies to any team but also to each and every player - Toni Kroos has mentioned this a couple of times already but I’m sure you can find a lot more players talking about this.

So let’s take a look at Judes appearances in 2024:

started the year strong with 5 games (Copa del Rey (1), Supercopa (2) and LaLiga (2))

missed the away game vs UD Las Palmas (27th January) due to a yellow suspension

played three games in LaLiga again

missed three more games due to his ankle injury (LaLiga (2), UCL (1))

played the away game vs Valencia and got THAT red card

missed two more LaLiga games due to the suspension

his first (and last) game before the one vs City was the game against Bilbao last week

-> all in all he played 12 (5 of which were in January) out of 19 games total (not counting international games)

Compared to that the games he missed this season in 2023:

the home game benched against UD Las Palmas (27th Sept)

one game benched vs Braga in the UCL (8th Nov)

one game due to shoulder injury against Valencia (11th Nov)

-> in 2023 he played 21 out of 24 games total (not counting international games)

Yes I expected a better performance from him (and Vini!).

Yes we are Real Madrid and no player stands above the club (if you don’t show up we will hold you accountable for your mistakes).

Yes a player like Jude should be able to compensate a missing rhythm with his talent and skill but he is still very young. Older players like Lukita can rely on 10+ years of playing in the white shirt on the highest level possible, he only needs seconds even when he spends more time on the bench than the pitch. Jude is still learning and has shouldered an unusually huge responsibility in his first season.

Normally our young transfers are give time to adjust at Real, they were/are not guaranteed starters, for example:

Camavinga was mostly used as a sub in 21/22

Rodrygo wasn’t even a regular part of the first squad in 19/20, and was still used as a super sub in 21/22

Vini rarely was part of the starting XI in 19/20

Tchouameni had his fair share of being subbed on/off last season (although less than one would expect)

Brahim was sent away on loan

Arda sadly rarly gets playtime as well etc etc

Jude however has started almost every game, he scored more goals than our two wingers and is carrying Zidanes legendary “5” on the back (while Vini only got Ronaldos Hazards “7” this season, even though Hazard never really played in these last years and Real could’ve reasonably taken the number away from him)

So to all those that are hating on him, that are saying he’s loosing form, he’s overhyped and overrated and I have even heard he apparently “partyed too much”. To the ones that were only praying for his downfall waiting for a bad game - please kindly shut up!

Criticism is good and healthy, but there is no need to slander him like this. It was ONE very bad game and unfortunately it was against ManCity, as long as he shows up next week everythings gonna be fine. Regardless of this he has saved our asses way more than he’s let them down this season. Give him a some time and he’ll come back and be the Judey starboy we all know and love.

#football is a fast paced world and in moments like these i hate it so much #this was supposed to be short #and fun #but here we are #my inability to get to the point is showing #but i don’t care #enjoy the chaos that this post has become #judey starboy #jude bellingham #real madrid

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ghostlynimbus · 2 years

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Thinking about Billy with food allergies/intolerances today.

Neil refuses to accommodate Billy's issues in any way. Susan makes whatever she makes for meals, maybe she knows about Billy's issues and is just forgetful about it, maybe she just doesn't care, maybe she doesn't even know about them in the first place. Whatever susans reasoning or justification the stuff that Billy shouldn't eat shows up in meals at the Hargrove-Mayfield house pretty regularly.

Billy isn't allowed to not finish his meals, that would be rude and wasteful. So he just does what he has to do and accepts that he'll suffer the consequences later.

He avoids meals at home whenever possible. But he also doesn't exactly have a lot of spending money to go out and get things he can eat (and lbr, depending on what specifically he's allergic to/intolerant of, it may be difficult or even impossible to find stuff he can eat that is cheap and doesn't require a kitchen to prep).

So he has a lot of times when he has to choose between not eating or going home and potentially having to eat stuff he isn't supposed to.

Steve at some point ends up making a meal for Billy and it includes the thing(s) Billy isn't supposed to eat bc he doesn't know. Billy doesn't tell him, just cleans his plate like he's expected to at home. He doesn't really care, it's what he's used to only better bc this was something that Steve made for him which in Billy's opinion makes it automatically better than anything Susan has ever made.

Only it's not like Billy can just leave after the meal is over, they still have plans to hang out for a while longer after that.

And Billy's good at hiding this sort of thing, Neil didn't like when Billy kept getting sent home from school because lunch kept making him sick. So Billy got good at hiding the reaction he has to this sort of thing. But Steve, Steve notices anyway.

And at first Steve is freaking out bc he thinks he gave Billy food poisoning, but then (because he can't stand Steve looking all anxious and upset with himself) Billy says that it's fine he's just not supposed to eat [xyz].

At which point Steve asks some variety of "then why did you eat it?/why didn't you tell me?"

And Billy just shrugs and tries to act like it's no big deal and mentions that he eats it all the time it's not like it's going to kill him.

Nothing gets resolved completely that night, but Steve makes Billy write him a list of all the things he shouldn't eat and a list of all the things he doesn't like to eat and Steve studies that list.

He starts making Billy food he can actually enjoy whenever he comes over, and when he notices that Billy either doesn't have lunch or has a lunch that has stuff on the lists he starts making him lunches too.

Billy can't even remember the last time he felt so well fed and taken care of, and he experiences a significant and overall improvement to his health. His new better diet even clears up issues he didn't even realize we're because of the food thing.

#billy hargrove #steve harrington #harringrove #stranger things #not a neil hargrove friendly post #not a susan hargrove friendly post #child abuse cw #fic idea #headcanon #hc #my hcs #this was supposed to be short #xD #it got away from me #projection always does

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keesdarlin · 4 months

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☆// the night market

info! cayde-6 / fluff, ambiguous relationship + gender neutral reader

cw! no CWs

notes! first draft on this account - kinda nerve-wracking! also my first time ever writing for cayde -- just a lot of firsts going on. i hope that this is a good way to get this account started. feel free to drop any requests into my inbox! (listen i'm also writing this like cayde never died just for my own peace of mind. i just can't really do that right now just pretend along with me. lil vaguely christmas-themed piece)

it's chilly. the cold bites right through the thinnest layers of your clothes - the ends of your sleeves that cover your knuckles. no armor tonight. it's nice, if you're being honest.

the atmosphere is bright, more festive than you're used to. old string lights hang overhead, swaying as people move about the tents, looking through wares for sale. people chatter away at stalls, haggling without too much seriousness. music plays from somewhere -- wherever it's coming from, you can't see it, but it sounds nice and calm and live. you can't remember the song exactly, but it's familiar. it puts you at ease in the crowd. you just stand in the middle of the hustle and bustle, watching. it's nice to disappear into the crowd every once in a while, to be an observer rather than a protector for just a moment. a reminder of what you're fighting for.

you hum to yourself, your ghost hovering over your shoulder as you watch the motion of the crowd. then you yelp, feeling a purposeful yet awkward nudge against your shoulder. you turn to confront whoever it is with one hand over your chest, the other flying to the carefully concealed holster at your hip, to be met with none other than cayde-6. you force your eyes shut for a second and focus on the exhale that follows, hand falling away from your holster. "you scared the light out of us, cayde!" your ghost cries, shell spinning anxiously.

when you open your eyes, your expression is fairly deadpan, unamused at the slight smile he cracks. "since when are you so jumpy?" he teases, holding a mug in each hand. "i got us some, uh, hot chocolates. isn't that what you do at these things?"

he hands you one awkwardly, twisting his wrist so that you would be able to grab it from the handle. the mugs are metal, well-worn and dented, but just the right temperature to warm your reddening fingertips. "since i'm not wearing any gear," you mutter, holding your mug close to your chest. "and you might wanna be a little more careful with scaring me. i could've shot you." you really did scare us, you know.

cayde scoffs, stuffing one of his hands in his pocket. "seriously? you're packing heat at this little christmas fair?"

silently, you lean into him with your hip leading, just enough for him to feel the pressure of your holster against his leg.

his eyebrows raise in realization. "oh. i stand corrected."

you shake your head, hiding a grin by sipping at your drink. you nod in approval, humming your thanks.

then it's quiet for a beat. your ghost dissipates back to wherever they go when they're not hovering over your shoulder (you try not to think about it too much; the rationalizations can get kind of freaky), and you and cayde are left people watching in the center of the hustle and bustle.

"what are you doing here anyways?" you ask over the edge of your cup, opting to watch a group of friends flit from stall to stall instead of looking over at him. "i thought you weren't coming."

"well, i wouldn't be a very good, uhm..." it's a strong start, but when he turns to look at you as he speaks it's like the wheels in his head start to struggle a little bit. he clears his throat, trying to get himself back on track. "i wouldn't be a very good friend if i let you come by yourself, would i?"

you laugh softly, and the sound is bright, cutting through the buzzing noise of the crowd. "so he does have honor," you tease, finally smiling at him. for a second it doesn't feel quite so cold outside. then your gaze aims straight again and the rest of the atmosphere comes back into focus. "no, you wouldn't be. i would have taken it very personally."

"that so?" cayde looks down at you, amused. his voice rumbles deep and hearty in his chest, like the crackling of a campfire. it feels safe, has you wondering why you thought to bring your sidearm in the first place. but then you remember that he's looking at you, waiting for your response.

"oh, absolutely," you chuckle, and it comes out just a touch too fast, but if he notices he doesn't say anything. just laughs along with you.

the air settles again, both of you sighing into your mugs. "would you like to walk a little bit?" he asks, pulling his free hand out of his pocket and gesturing down the aisle.

you smile, fully this time with teeth and all, and take a step forward. "sure, i'd love to."

so you go, weaving through people and looking through trinkets and laughing at little lighthearted incidents occurring on the periphery of the market, humming along to the music, one of you always close behind the other. and the part of you that thought this would probably be awkward falls silent.

"you know what would go great with this hot chocolate?" you ask over your shoulder, and the brush of his cape against yours tells you that he's coming around the corner of the tent after you.

"what would?"

"some cookies," you say, smiling even though he can't see you. "on me, of course, since you bought the hot chocolate." you turn back into the aisle, deciding that the tent's wares no longer interest you.

cayde scoffs, sounding almost shocked. "listen, kid, you don't have to-"

you glare playfully over your shoulder, following your nose down the aisle to a vendor selling sweet treats. "if it makes you feel better, we can say that i'm only getting you one so that i don't feel bad about getting two for myself. deal?"

and cayde laughs again, breath coming out in wispy puffs. "okay, sure. deal."

the line goes fairly quickly and in no time you hold three chocolate chip cookies, carefully handing one off to the exo man. "thanks," he says awkwardly.

you shake your head. "no problem."

both of you munch on your cookies for a moment before you abruptly look up at him again. "we've never hung out outside of work before," you say as though you're just realizing it.

cayde straightens up at the though. "oh... i guess we haven't really, huh?"

you shake your head.

"guess that makes sense seeing as we're both... always working..." he says shoulders slumping. gosh, how boring.

"do you want to do something?" you ask. "like do something, not just hang out at the market?"

"i, uhm. sure. yeah," he stammers.

you nod to yourself, starting off into the crowd. he scrambles to follow after you.

soon enough he finds the both of you in a bustling field a tiny bit away from the market. it's much more calm out here than in the market even in spite of the number of people around.

"you do this often?" he asks uncertainly, watching over your shoulder as you sit hunched over on the ground, decorating a paper lamp.

"do what often?" you reply, not looking up from whatever it is that you're drawing.

cayde gestures vaguely, floundering for a moment. "this whole night market thing."

"oh." you look up from what you're drawing for a just a moment, staring at the sky. "not really. mostly just for the dawning."

cayde smiles. "so are you a dawning fanatic? do you do the outfits and the presents and the themed parties and all that?"

you wrinkle your nose, laughing lightly. "no, not really. i just like the market. don't have much to decorate with at home."

he nods. "fair enough."

then you turn to him, holding out your pencil. "you draw something on there too."

"oh, i'm not much of an artist."

you roll your eyes. "who cares? just put something on there, anything. it'll make things more fun."

cayde hums a disagreement but starts drawing anyways. once he's done he hands the pencil back to you. you hold the paper lantern up to the light, playfully analyzing it. "it's beautiful," you coo teasingly. he only bumps you with his shoulder in response.

"okay, so now what?" he asks, hands clasped together.

"now," you start, fluffing the lantern open, "we send it off."

cayde nods his head. "and how do we do that?"

you smile and pull a tea candle and a lighter out of your pocket. "with these. see you light it and you put it in the little holder in there, and then it floats. you wanna see?"

cayde smiles down at you and something about how bright the expression is makes you forget that you're out in a field, away from all of the light and holiday chaos of the night market. "sure," he says like it's simple. and you guess it is as you flight your lighter and light the little candle.

he watches as you place the candle in it's little structure. then he helps you lift it above your head, both of you giving it the tiniest boost as it goes on its journey in the sky. you sit in silence together as you watch it float off into space, into the smattering of stars across the sky.

"thanks for coming." you let yourself lean into the warmth of his side. he doesn't protest. it's comfortable there, in this moment, in the air trapped between the both of you. "i normally do this by myself, but it was nice to have company this year."

finally, he peels his eyes off of your little lantern in the sky to look down at you. "i had a great time. 'd love to do it again."

your expression melts into a cozy smile as your brain processes the words. i'd love to do it again sometime. you grin up at him. "deal."

#this was supposed to be SHORT #why am i incapable of being a normal person #i sat down to write this at 11pm #now it's 2am and this fic is 1.6k words long #what happened. where did they come from #cayde 6 x reader #cayde-6 x reader #cayde-6 #cayde 6 #destiny x reader #destiny 2 x reader

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letapollojusticesayfuck · 6 months

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@buried-stars oops

Crossing That Bridge When We Come To It (or, there must have been worse dates)

Apollo Justice doesn't go on dates, not really. For one, he hasn't really had the time. Pushing yourself through law school and working various minimum-wage jobs on the side so you have the money to push yourself through law school doesn't exactly lead to much time for leisure. He also just can't imagine what you're supposed to do on a date. Sure, there's all the movie staples of going to a restaurant, going to the movies, getting coffee...but Apollo can't quite piece together how any of that is supposed to lead to a definitive decision to be in a relationship.

This is why, when Klavier Gavin had asked, quite offhandedly, if he'd like to go on a stroll around People Park and get some food afterwards, "as a date, ja?", Apollo had been startled enough to automatically agree. It was only around ten minutes later, once he'd finished packing up his briefcase and organizing his post-trial paperwork, that he'd realized exactly what he'd agreed to.

Trucy had, of course, utilized her impeccable sense of comedic timing to get a photo of his oh shit I said I'd do what? face.

Now, five minutes before he's supposed to head out the door, Apollo steels his nerve and takes several deep breaths and prepares to reassure himself in the customary way---

Knock, knock

Thrown off-balance, Apollo lets out a startled yelp and grasps at whatever's closest that he might theoretically be able to use as a weapon against whoever's decided to show up on his doorstep. He's gotten a little more paranoid since law school--especially with everything his first few real cases entailed.

He cautiously opens the door, cursing once again the lack of any sort of peephole. Apollo's prepared for a sales pitch, for a pair of missionaries, for anything, almost.

He's not prepared for the person outside his door to be Klavier Gavin, looking cool and casual but dressed just noticeably nicer than usual.

Apollo curses under his breath. He'd thought he would have more time before he'd have to contend with a date-ready celebrity prosecutor!

"Hallo, Apollo! I know we agreed to meet at the park, but as I was driving over I remembered that your apartment is right on the way, and thought I would offer a ride!" Klavier grins, all perfect teeth and camera-ready enthusiasm. Apollo bets he's been on plenty of dates.

"Uhhh..." he manages. Come on, get it together! "Sure. That would be...cool."

Wow, great job, idiot.

"Fantastich! Then let's be off, into the sunset!" Klavier wraps his hand around Apollo's wrist and pulls him out of his apartment. He's just about able to grab his wallet and keys from his side table, but leaves his phone behind completely.

"So, you said you drove here?" he asks, to make conversation. Klavier busies himself with extracting a set of keys from his pocket as they descend Apollo's apartment building steps.

"I did--I live slightly too far from the center of town to be able to walk. Fortunately, that means you'll be able to experience the wind in your hair the way I do every day!"

Apollo's still processing that statement when his eyes land on the motorcycle.

"Oh--your bike? I'm not sure...maybe I'd better walk." Backpedaling this quickly into a date probably wasn't the done thing, but Apollo's trying hard to ignore the fear bubbling in his stomach at the idea of something that goes at highway speeds but offers about as much protection as his own bicycle.

"We all have to face our fears eventually, Herr Forehead. And I was exaggerating about the wind in your hair. It'll all be under my spare helmet." Klavier's reached the bike now, rummaging around in a storage compartment Apollo hadn't even noticed. He tosses a sturdy helmet to Apollo, who catches it on instinct.

"If I thought you would be in any way unsafe, I would not offer," Klavier says gently, meeting Apollo's eyes. "But if you're truly uncomfortable, we can walk from here."

Apollo bites at the inside of his cheeks, then takes a deep breath. He looks at the bike. He looks at Klavier.

"No, I'll...I want to try it. I know the bike's important to you."

Klavier's true smile lights up his face in the way that his rehearsed, stage-face smile doesn't.

"Then climb on, and we'll be away!"

---

The ride isn't as bad as Apollo had expected it to be. Klavier sticks studiously to the speed limit all the way to People Park, and he's an almost frustratingly careful driver. By the time they're climbing off the bike at the familiar gateway to the park, Apollo's almost complaining about the ride not being exciting enough.

Furthermore, he's discovered that Klavier's opinions on pizza toppings are just entirely wrong, and that's given them something to talk about, falling back into familiar patterns as they wander through the location of their first crime scene together.

"You can't seriously be advocating for pineapple on pizza. That's more of a crime than anything we've seen in court."

"Ach, and here I thought you were a man of taste! It's senseless to rehash this debate, it's been had for as long as people have had access to pineapples and pizza at the same time."

"Okay, but consider: you're wrong about that and about sweetcorn as a pizza topping."

"It's a classic!"

Apollo scowls. "Where?"

"Germany, of course." Klavier's boots scuff the gravel path, and he turns towards the small stream that divides the park in two. There's an ornamental bridge linking the sides, and they step onto the red-painted wood together.

"I don't believe you. As a matter of fact, I don't believe you're even German! I think it's all just a publicity stunt!" Apollo knows he's being inflammatory, but he can't help it. Something about being with Klavier brings out a need to debate everything he says.

"Objection!" Klavier shouts, on instinct, flinging his arm out--and everything goes downhill from there.

Specifically, everything goes down--Klavier's arm collides with Apollo, who's mid-step, halfway across the bridge. Already off-balance, Klavier's accidental shove is all that Apollo needs to go tumbling over the low bridge railing and to land, ass-first, in the water.

There's a few seconds where they just look at each other, frozen in various states of shock. Klavier's mouth is hanging open in comical surprise, and Apollo's hair drips into his vision. He's not hurt, the drop was far too small for that--but he's soaking up the decorative river and attracting attention from the koi who call the water home.

Then, as though a switch has been flipped, they spring into motion. Klavier jumps down into the water, too, his boots causing a secondary splash that just soaks Apollo more. Apollo starts to laugh, incredulously, unable to believe that this is actually happening. Even as Klavier helps him up and steers him back to dry land, Apollo feels like he's in a dream.

It takes a little while before he notices that Klavier's spewing a stream of apologies and asking after his wellbeing. Apollo's been preoccupied with wringing out his hoodie and lamenting the state of his second-best pair of jeans, but he grabs Klavier's arm as he tries to fuss over him, and tries to reassure him the best he can.

"Klavier! It's fine. Yeah, I'm kind of annoyed, but honestly, seeing how guilty you looked right after I fell in pretty much made up for it."

Klavier frowns deeply. "So you're saying that you're glad I feel bad about pushing you in?"

"No!" Apollo sighs. "I've just...never seen you not be completely put together and composed. It was kind of reassuring that you can be caught off-guard by something too."

"Oh," says Klavier. "But, Apollo...surely you knew I was worried that I'd do something to screw this up spectacularly from the start?"

"You were what?" Apollo thinks back on the past couple hours. Yeah, maybe he'd noticed that Klavier's smiles were a little strained, that he'd had a spare second helmet ready to take Apollo on his bike despite supposedly being 'on the way' to the park...but Apollo himself had been too preoccupied with trying to anticipate what the date would be like to notice.

"I was nervous! Practically trembling! Ja, I've been on a few dates before, but I didn't want to do something to scare you, specifically, away."

"...huh," Apollo remarks. Then he takes the scene in again: him, soaking wet up past his waist; Klavier, his custom black boots mud-splattered and his ripped black jeans sodden, the audience of koifish and bemused park patrons wandering by.

"Guess that ship's sailed, then. I don't know of anything worse that could happen besides being accidentally pushed off of a bridge."

Klavier winces. "I didn't mean it! I was simply a little too caught up in our debate."

"Let's cut our losses and skip the 'going out for food' part of this date, if you don't mind? I can't imagine anyone would let us in their restaurant looking like this."

"Ja..." Klavier says, wincing. He sounds as dejected as he'll let himself be. "Let me at least drive you home, schatz. To make up for the...pushing."

Apollo's mind is still whirring, though, because this isn't how he'd wanted this to end either. He'd been having a good time up until this point--surely there must be something he could do to fix this.

Unless...

"Sure, I'll let you drive me home. But...do you want to stay and have dinner with me? I can't promise anything fancy, but there's a good handful of takeout places around."

The difference in Klavier's expression is staggering--and for the second time today, Apollo sees his genuine smile come through, and realizes why so many people want to kiss this man.

He just hopes that Klavier will let him get the opportunity to do so before he pushes him in any more rivers.

#lucy's thoughts #OOPS #my writing #klapollo #ace attorney #klapollo fanfic #how long is this. i didn't check. i wrote it all in tumblr #guess this'll be coming to ao3 at some point #this was supposed to be short #shorter than this

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watermelonsloth · 5 months

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Why the Hell Do I Ship Royai???

(TW: brief mention of suicide and allusions to unhealthy relationships)

I know nobody asked but I find the fact that I ship Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye so interesting because, on paper, I shouldn’t ship them.

First of all, I don’t like straight ships with dynamics like the right hand man or ships that have the male character as the woman’s superior. It’s not the dynamic itself that bothers me, it’s the predictability of it. When it’s hetero, I immediately think “of course those two are gonna get together.” It feels like low hanging shipping fruit.

I also don’t like stoic badass x absolute clown (competent or otherwise) ships. I almost always end up wondering why either side likes/puts up with each other. Especially since the badass tends to be an asshole and/or emotionally unavailable while the clown (forcibly) takes on their baggage.

Lastly, I don’t like relationships where one or both sides are codependent on the other. “I’ll die without you”, “You can’t leave me”, “I refuse to go on without you”, “You’re mine/I’m yours”, “You’re my other half (seriously)”, etc. ships have never been appealing to me. I understand why people like them, but I just can’t get over how gross it makes me feel. Like, I promise the planet will continue spinning after they’re gone, get some self confidence, I’m begging you. Maybe it’s because I’m not a romantic, maybe I’m overthinking it, maybe I’ve heard too many stories of codependent relationships going south, who knows?

By all means, I should look at Royai and think that it’s an incredibly unbalanced and unlikeable relationship (at least in a romantic sense). But I don’t. And I think I know why: Royai took what should’ve been an incredibly one-sided/unbalanced relationship and balanced it.

First, it avoids coming across as predictable (because it technically isn’t canon) because the series goes out of its way to expand upon their relationship's. It doesn’t absolve the predictability, but it counters it. It avoids being forced by being taken seriously and being given serious time to develop.

Secondly, both characters are developed in ways that avoid their relationship coming across as overly cliche. Namely, they’re given reason to like each other and both are charismatic/likeable enough that they aren’t annoying (I know this isn’t much, but the bar is in hell for shounen romance. Especially background character romance). Hawkeye has her lighter and nicer moments and Mustang knows when to be serious. The problem of the stoic character having exponentially more baggage or the clown forcing that baggage onto themselves is also avoided by both of them having a lot of baggage and (something FMA nailed as a series) boundaries.

My last problem is avoided by both of them staying their own characters. They can both function without the other, the other doesn’t fill their every waking thought, they’re capable of and willing to call the other out on their screwups, and whatever pedestal they put the other on doesn’t impede their judgement (for the most part) or make them ignore others to a concerning/upsetting extent. Even after Hawkeye says she’ll take her own life if Mustang dies, it somehow avoids being ship-ruining/frustrating/ disturbing. It’s tragic, but it doesn’t make me want them to not get together (it makes me want them to work through that shit and then get together). I’m gonna add that this is probably helped by the fact that Mustang never takes advantage of her vulnerability and he doesn’t come across as the type who ever would. It would’ve been so easy to make Mustang the stoic badass in charge with enough baggage to fill an airport with Hawkeye as his softer/more lighthearted right hand woman with a concerning level of dependency on him, but the author didn’t go that route and I will be forever grateful.

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falling-star-cygnus · 3 months

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im delaying watching the last two episodes Link Click because i accidentally spoiled it for myself and im not prepared for the anguish

"Hey- Lu," Cheng Xiaoshi starts, out of the blue as he lays draped over their shared couch, legs stretched languidly over his best friend's lap, "What's your favorite flower?"

Lu Guang glances up from his book, a would be annoyed expression on his face; that is- if it had been anyone but Cheng Xiaoshi interrupting him. Not that he'd ever outwardly tell him that.

Sometimes Lu Guang suspects he already knows anyway.

"Why?"

His partner huffs, the sound nothing more than a fond exhale at the expected question. Cheng Xiaoshi lowers his phone and kicks lightly at Lu Guang's chest in retaliation. He earns a pinch to his knee for his effort.

"Just answer the question."

The obvious affection Cheng Xiaoshi holds for him makes Lu Guang's chest ache, sometimes; something fragile and timid beating it's wings in his throat before he can swallow it away. This isn't something he's allowed to have, he reminds himself.

But god, Lu Guang wishes it was.

"...if you must know, you idiot," he finally answers, "it's freesias."

As expected, Cheng Xiaoshi jumps to his own defense. Eh... starts to anyway.

"Hey-! Who are you callin- ...wait, freesias?"

Lu Guang nods in response, expecting the conversation to end now that he's answered his friend's burning question. He turns back to his book.

"Why freesias?"

Ah... he should've known his partner's curiosity was insatiable. Regardless, Lu Guang answers this question without preamble. He always likes the opportunity to share with Cheng Xiaoshi.

He suspects Cheng Xiaoshi knows this too.

"Aside from their appearance, the way they got their name is nice too."

His dark-haired friend leans closer, taking the warmth of his legs off Lu Guang's lap to sit up and shift into his space.

"Oh? Come on, Lu, you can't leave me hanging! Spill," As if to accentuate his words, Cheng Xiaoshi pokes repeatedly at his light-haired friend's soft cheek.

He manages to brush his knuckle against it, for a barely a second as impulse takes over, before Lu Guang is batting his hand away with an eyeroll. Cheng Xiaoshi knows gleefully that he doesn't actually mind.

"I was getting to it. Be patient," Lu Guang scolds. After taking a moment to piece together his response, his friend starts;

"A little bit before the 19th century, a German botanist's pupil brought medicinal plants from Europe. The botanist was a plant collector and, to honor the close friendship between them, he named the flower after the pupil. Since then, they've symbolized long lasting friendship and trust... as well as unconditional love. um- and a few other things."

Cheng Xiaoshi is barely listening to the words themselves; his heart thrumming at the unburdened look Lu Guang only displays every once in blue moon. He should look like this more often, all the time even, if it were up to Cheng Xiaoshi and his fingers itch, like they always do, to take a photo of this moment. It'd be so easy to lift his phone and do it. Lu Guang would never know.

He doesn't, like always. These moments are precious because they happen so few and far between.

"Would you name a flower after me?" Cheng Xiaoshi asks, already reaching up to pinch his light-haired friend's cheek as Lu Guang inevitably turns his face away. To give him a reason to hide his blush, of course.

Cheng Xiaoshi knows the answer to this too, after all.

#this was supposed to be short #and it decidedly chose not to be #they're so in love #ugh #link clink #shiguang daili ren #lu guang #cheng xiaoshi #lu guang x cheng xiaoshi #cheng xiaoshi x lu guang

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gaywiththesauce · 9 months

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Understood Me (SabiGiyuu, KNY)

Giyuu and Sabito were two stupid kids in an unforgiving world. One of monsters that tormented them and their families.

Monsters didn't understand bonds. When it came to them, it seemed no one did.

Days passed with training and nights with training, too. It was only in those brief break periods did things seem... different.

Tree branches supported their weights as they sat above the ground. Their feet dangled in the air freely, much like their clean laundry did after hitting the washboard.

Blue met purple as they stared at each other, boyish behaviors made them too hesitant to make another move further. Pinkies wrapped around each other from where they sat on the bark.

Words didn't need to be shared to express their feelings. Feelings no other man or woman would dare to share with someone of the same gender.

For young boys, their emotional maturity was beyond their own comprehension. However, their bodies never caught up; the words never left their parted lips.

Giyuu didn't know what it was that left that soft smile on Sabito's lips. He only knew it as one of the prettiest things he's ever seen.

For words never shared, they knew what the other wanted. Emotions expressed through the touch of fingertips and the chuckles that came with anticipating smiles.

Giyuu didn't understand himself, but he knew Sabito. Sabito was his to follow and to stand beside.

Now, at 21 years old, he understood what they had back then as young teenagers. Romance.

Romance between men was judged, ridiculed, and downright disgusting in society's eyes. Perhaps Giyuu should be lucky that Sabito never had to witness social isolation that punished same-sex couples.

Sabito's death brought a lot of unanswered questions, ones that made Giyuu struggle with connecting with anyone else. There was one thing that was never a question, however: the unnamed bond that he and Sabito shared.

He knew, without a doubt, that he was fully understood. Sabito understood him in a way that could never be replicated, not even in a way that his dates or even his adoptive father could fathom.

He understood how hesitant Giyuu was with doing something as simple as touching shoulders together. He knew how important the loose hug meant just before they entered Final Selection.

When training, they confidently connected fists to stomachs and flipped each other on the ground without hesitation. Outside of combat, Giyuu was inexplicably nervous to accidentally bump their feet together.

They never kissed. They never said a word to each other when dangling their feet off of the branch.

Giyuu realized that their feelings for each other were imbued with romantic passion, even though they never acted on them. Giyuu was in love with Sabito, and still is.

No woman has ever loved him like Sabito did. Nothing felt romantic; they didn't understand him.

Others failed to comprehend him like Sabito did. Sabito understood the poorly-hidden anxiety and offered comforting silence in the moments where others crowded his space and chased him away.

While countless women rushed to hold his hand and kiss his cheek, Sabito understood the true intimacy of inching their fingers closer and barely grazing each other's knuckles. Damn, the simple thought sent purple and pink butterflies gracefully gliding in his stomach.

It wasn't until Giyuu watched a couple communicate without speaking did he understand what it was. He knew why everything felt so romantic when nothing more happened other than gazes that held a million affections.

WHAT'S MORE ROMANTIC THAN BEING UNDERSTOOD?

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