#but for the sake of explaining the in world logic there has to be a differentiation made on “intelligent” and “stupid” candy people

[spicedfink]

Break down of Lemongrab (or something):

Lemongrab has similarities to PB the way her made up family members (Uncle Gumbald, Aunt Lolly and Cousin Chicle) did but he struggles unlike them. I think PB was trying to make an intelligent candy person and used part of Neddy to make him and when Lemongrab didn't act the way she had hoped she assumed his needs matched up with Neddy's

PB thought Lemongrab needed space, she felt she had failed him because he didn't find comfort in things she thought should be comforting and she couldn't understand him.

PB gave up on making intelligent candy people after Lemongrab because it seemed any candy person who wasn't dumb downed was going to be miserable no matter what

Also parallels can be drawn to Goliad - where Goliad was just doing what she was taught, when she was reprimanded and told she misunderstood/was wrong Goliad decided her way is best and that she must be right (driven by the mixed messages and contradicting information she received). PB deals with her by putting her into a standstill against her new brother

PB, Uncle Gumbald and Lemongrab all have a need for control, it takes different forms and reaches different degrees but the key difference is their motivations: PB wants love, Gumbald wants power and Lemongrab wants order. Though unlike Gumblad the other two have further motivations: PB feels she wants to protect people and Lemongrab wants to understand/be understood by people (there isn't enough time with Goliad to understand her motivations/desires even though she's also shown to be controlling)

Lemongrab was hurt when PB sent him away to live in a castle away from the rest of the Candy Kingdom, she saw him as a failure so he made a point to strictly follow rules - but no matter what he did he was told he was doing it wrong. He bent himself as much as he could just to still be called inflexible and unreasonable. Others couldn't see how much effort he put forward and thus he was treated as if he wasn't trying when he put himself into physical distress just trying to play along with PB's candy ways. So he became resentful

Since Lemongrab 1 was seeking connection with someone who wasn't even there (PB) the joy he felt towards the lemon people was short lived as apposed to Lemongrab 2 who was happy with being connected to the lemon people

The reason the lemon people are different from the Lemongrabs is because they don't have access to the exact ingredients

PB does care for Lemongrab on some level but she has no idea how to express it (and perhaps even fears that if she does he'll see her as weak and try to take her out like Uncle Gumbald did)

While Lemongrab sees PB as a mother figure I don't think PB sees herself as his mother, she created him sure but she assigns roles to her creations that don't always reflect that status

PB disliked whenever Lemongrab acted like her because of her own trauma with Gumbald which leads to some of Lemongrab's confusion (such as when she criticized him for watching her people sleep despite having cameras not just in her citizens homes but also cross boundaries by spying on other kingdoms)

Lemongrab 3 being a mix of the first two felt a struggle against himself, he ignored his conflict by focusing on order because order makes sense. He makes his kingdom into somewhat of a factory as he used rules, order and logic as a distraction from the overwhelming thoughts and feelings he had - similarly to how Lemongrab 1 did before him

When Lemongrab 3 is shown himself via Mathew's vision he is able to finally understand how he is himself, not just PB's creation. It's the first time he really saw himself and that allowed him to accept it (reading him as neurodivergent this could be aligned with getting a diagnoses)

After seeing himself and finding nothing wrong with him Lemongrab 3 starts to feel comfortable exploring more aspects of life instead of just being static and self contained the way Lg1 and Lg2 were (this also reflects how he's no longer letting PB dictate his life)

That exploring new things and actually living his life is what leads to him making a dating profile and meeting LSP (I'm honestly so confused on what the Adventure Time version of dating apps/online dating is since they don't explain if it was via tech or paper or magic or what but LSP does say "on your profile")

Either way Lemongrab is more calm about exploring new things but he also needs order so he is extremally put off by something seemingly small: food on a blanket. (As someone who's cried about a cup being in the "wrong place" I can relate to this intense feeling from something not being done "correctly")

Despite the discomfort and the fact they seemingly only started the date he still tells LSP that it had been nice

LSP thinks he's running away because he can't face his own feelings because she doesn't actually know him yet, they continue going on dates and LSP finds that Lemongrab says what he means. He would have told her if he disliked her without hesitation. LSP is so used to people ignoring her, placating her or lecturing her that she didn't expect someone to communicate in a way she could understand/wasn't condescending towards her

LSP is also pretty straight forward, she isn't great at hiding intention and she clearly states what she's thinking so after she realized she doesn't have to guess what Lemongrab is thinking they actually are able to communicate better then most couples in Ooo

Though LSP and Lemongrab wouldn't have worked out if they met before, they both needed to grow as people - neither of them were actually ready for a relationship before that point. Lemongrab needed to accept and become comfortable being himself/his own person while LSP needed to find out she didn't need to choose weather she wanted to love herself or others, that those things aren't mutually exclusive (if they interacted before it would have turned into the nastiest fight in all of the history of Ooo)

To summarize the 3 versions: Lemongrab 1 longs for PB's approval, he's aggressive and overwhelmed easily and is unable to handle the world being unfair. He is unwilling to take responsibility for himself/his actions and sees himself only as Princess Bubblegum's creation Lemongrab 2 doesn't care about PB's approval, he was made to make Lemongrab happy and he is Lemongrab. After making the lemon people and later Lemongrab 1's abuse he takes on the world view of people need to sacrifice themselves for the survival/greater good of others Lemongrab 3 is able to acknowledge being wrong easier then the other Lemongrabs since he has their residual (if not fully intact) memories. When he sees himself as not just the two before him he's able to start healing. He is now living for himself while realizing the impact he has on others, allowing him to not just be the calmest Lemongrab but the happiest. Unlike the other two he doesn't feel he has to fulfil a purpose

[lmnrrtt]

explaining why hashirama killing himself makes perfect sense to me, using all the plot holes to my advantage. let's start with the fact that no one talks about how hashirama died.

neither about a happy death in old age, nor about a heroic tragic tearful death for the sake of the village like they all love in konoha. there are no legends about someone who was able to kill that same legendary Hashirama or a mystery that everyone has been racking their brains over for many generations, no one just mentions his death. for me personally, there is only one conclusion here - his death is too shameful for someone who was deified and elevated to some unattainable god-like being. of course smth like disease can be considered shameful as well in the shinobi world, so let's move on to the reasons that could push hashirama to the decision to kill himself. the incessant war, the loss of loved ones, misunderstanding from those around him, as if it were normal for everyone to endlessly slay each other. with the only person who understands his desire to change the established system in which constant murders and war are considered the norm, they try to kill each other, despite their shared dream. but in the end, the dream came true and immediately ended with a nuclear bomb on hashirama’s mental health. defending the village, he killed his closest friend, the very person who understood him like no one else. dying, madara said that hashirama has changed and it's true, he is no longer the person he was in childhood. the dream of creating a village was so mixed up with the idea of ​​peace that konoha seemed to have become a guarantor of the absence of war, as if its very existence could protect from the horrors that the children of the founders generation went through. thus, the idea of ​​protecting the village rose above the idea of ​​protecting the loved ones, which hashirama clearly confirms both by killing madara and by saying that if someone else were in madara's place, he would have killed them too. he wanted to change the system, but became part of it. Here we can only imagine the backlash of the realization. deceased loved ones, constant wars, guilt, attempts to convince himself that he made the right decision, a feeling of helplessness from the impossibility of changing the world around him, because no matter how hard he try, cruelty will not go away. not to mention his habit of "suddenly falling into depression", which is presented as a joke and the fact that he already tried to stab himself, of course for the sake of peace and well madara, but not everyone will agree to this anyway. together with zero mention of the cause of Hashirama's death, despite the fact that the body is in the village and literally everyone has already dug it up for cells, the whole picture is sad. despite the idealization and deification by others, the unattainable half-god could not protect himself from the consequences of his own actions, thoughts and the influence of reality. as if it is even logical that the only one who can kill the god of shinobi is himself.

[dragonsoulage]

What a drag...going shopping with his pretty girl

feat. Shikamaru Nara

Poor Guy, for some occasion you need a new dress, even when his lazy ass wouldn't move, but seeing his girlfriend in a stunning dress could be worth it..

warnings: fluff

Wordcount: 1,4k

Hello world, so since I do my little stuff, here a short glimpse of what it would be like to go shopping with our genius Shikamaru 🤌

English is not my first language and I suck in proof reading lol 👁️👄👁️

Oh he already groaned in frustration when he heard you wanted to go shopping because you was invited to the wedding of your sister.

Shikamaru was already aware that he not only needed to attend the wedding but also going shopping with you. He sat there looking at you with tired dark eyes while he had a toothpick between his lips, watching how you paced around the room while talking to your mom.

With his oh so smart thoughts he tried to get ready like morally to go shopping with you. Not that he disliked it per se but alone the fact that it was a store full of clothes, hours would go byfor you to look for the "perfect" dress, and he just wanted to chill under the clouds.

But as your boyfriend he knew his duties, aware he needed to do it with you  after all why should he pass the option to "decide" what dress suits you the best. When you then hung up on the phone you looked at him, your gaze loving and excited because of the news.

"Not even a little glimpse of motivation huh." You mused out loud when your eyes locked with his. He took out the toothpick from his lips before he stretched his back.

"We both know I won't even stand a chance against the shopping thing or the whole wedding thing." Shikamaru yawned before you stepped closer to him. He sat on the edge of the bed and you placed yourself between his manspread legs. Laying your hands on top of his shoulders gazing down at him.

"You know when it's really thaaaat bad for you I can-" you wanted to tell him when je really would dislike the idea of going to a wedding ceremony or even shopping, he wouldn't have to, after all you was indeed really understanding. One of the things je loved about you. But the clever shinobi interupted you placing his hands on your waist, pulling you just a little closer and looking up into your pretty face, what showed him how concerned you was. You was could smell the faint scent of cigarettes. He wasn't uncomfortable to go, he was just an lazy ass and he knew that. So Shikamaru would do it, for your sake.

"Nah, even I am aware that this is one of those boyfriend duties I need to attend. And I love you even more than my holy sleep or watching clouds. I will get over it." Shika spoke maybe a little grumbly but that was his decision to accompany you in this. You chuckled then and laid a hand on his cheek marvleing at his skin and you found it endearing how knee he just an lazy ass. A handsome and smart lazy ass to be honest.

"Boyfriend duties hm? But fine I won't complain so get ready, baby. We go shopping this weekend. After all I need a new dress." You Said with that little wicked smile and your sarcastic tone. Why you was just an evil but so pretty temptress? Why does he sacraficed his sleep and lazy afternoons just for you? A mircale he probably would never solve.

And the minute you two stepped into a store he straight wanted to go to the dress section, although you seemed to have other plans, you wanted to browse a little through the store, not just to look at what you need but to see what you might want.

"Babe, you look at this clothes, eyeing saying 'this is cute' just to not even take it to the changing room. So where is the point in that?" Shikamaru asked with that irritaed voice, watching you browse through the section. A small smile tugged at your lips before you turned your head around.

"Not everything has to be logical right? I just want to see what I probably would like but mostly can't afford or don't really need. But I still want to look." You tried to explain that, although it was just typical behaviour for you. He shurgged his shoulders continued to walk behind you.

After you was done and took a few dresses to the changing room, Shikamaru sat down on this armchair in front of it, like the typical boyfriend should do. Just waiting for you to present him the dress you tried on. After all it should be fitting for a wedding.

You took some minutes as you stepped out of the cabin. This dress was indeed really good but you kinda looked not really convinced. His eyes ranked you up and down before they settled on your unsatisfyed face. "Whats wrong, babe?" He asked then, before he would give his opinion. The shinobi was a smart man, not saying something wrong before he would clearly knew what was disturbing you.

"Don't know kinda looks...cheap on me like with those rhinestones...I thought it would be cute but it isn't at all." You sighted and then he cocked his head to the side, his eyebrows pulled together before he rested his chin on his oalm. Yeah he wasn't the one for shopping but he would give you feedback when you really wanted it.

"Well cheap is the wrong word, it's not cheap. It just not bringing out the best. You have better dresses at home." His voice collective as he eyed you. Even when this dress wasn't ideal you still was a sight to behold.

After some more dresses were he always looked up and said something to it. Shikamaru sat there looking down to his fingers that fidget with the hem of his vest. Before you stepped out again. And this time it was the perfect dress. Black and long, flattering your figure and curves. Your waist snatched with a slit in the right thigh. Gorgeous. It was just absolutly gorgeous. When he looked at you he runned a hand through his hair, cleared his throat. Just observing you before he made a move with his finger, what means that you should turn around for him.

Even your backside, he indeed liked it really much in general was breathtaking. The usually so composed and lazy shinobi gluped hard, so his adam apple bobbed in his throat.

"What you say? It's a little bold maybe, usually I don't wear this but-" you wanted to start your explanation but before this could get iut of hand he stopped you. Besides the fact that this was indeed stunning on you this was the opportunity to go out of this shop, you found the dress you would need.

"Take it. You Look good, actually more than good. Flattering even." He replied, still his eyes roamed over you. Such a pretty girlfirend, the young man thought to himself.

After you paid for the dress you and Shikamaru walked out. Indeed it had been a while but it was not so long, as what he thought it would be. A small smile tugged at his lips, a smirk perhaps, a smart smirk. As soon as you two were outside again he lit on a cigarette took a drag before looking at you. "You know probably this wedding we need to attend won't be too bad, then I can oggle you the entire time." Hlhe Snickers at his own words. Before you have him, quiet a playful nudge. "Oggle me huh? I will oggle you too, after all we still need to get something you can wear too, Shika." You spoke and he could swear for a moment he saw a devilish grin. But then the realization kicked in he took the cigarette with two fingers out of his mouth.

"What do you mean with for me?" Poor hoy thinking shopping was over, you still needed fitting shoes and besides that he would need a suit. And Shika probably would look so good in it.

"Like how I said it, clever boy. We need a suit or something like that for you. Oh don't give me that look." You teased, patted his cheek.

"For someone who always knows every move I could make and has like battle strategy plans...you should have known that we are not done yet." You said to him with a small giggle. Then you leaned forward placed a cheeky kiss on his lips before you walked further.

"You will be the death of me." Shikamaru meant before he literally didn't have a choice and continued the shopping spree

[sleepymarimo]

𝕨𝕖𝕕𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕤

summary: after becoming the greatest swordsman and learning of his bloodline, the next logical step for zoro would be to return to wano and marry into the kozuki family, right? if only you didn't look so good as a bridesmaid... pairing: zoro x afab!reader cw: mdni, vaginal sex, drunk sex, infidelity, cursing, mutual pining an: this idea has been in my head for a while, so... enjoy!

It's the day of the wedding.

Well, his wedding.

After being the world's greatest swordsman for a few years, Zoro had decided that he had wanted to return to Wano. He never explained why, barking at whoever asked him that it was none of their damn business. The crumpled up paper you'd found in the corner of the training room, which contained details about his lineage, gave you an idea of why he was adamant on returning.

The swordsman was someone you admired very much, from his sometimes frustrating temper to his unshakable will. After sailing together for so long, it was difficult to not develop feelings for him. You liked to think that the two of you were relatively close or at the very least that he tolerated your presence more than others. He never strayed too far from you and even shared his sake with you on occasion, his annoyed grumbles doing little to hide how much he enjoyed providing for you- even if it was just a sip from his bottle.

Your outlooks on life might have been different, but there was a lot to learn from one another. This learning was often done on warm nights aboard the Sunny after a few bottles of sake and a playful spar. Even when there were no conversations happening, you'd enjoy the comfortable silence and the sense of security he brought to you.

Yet, ever since he had achieved his goal of becoming the greatest swordsman, you had to admit that he seemed… different. He of course was as brash as ever, always ready to stand by the crew and act as a protector when necessary, but he seemed to be itching for something. He was lost, plain and simple.

Your mind, ever tumbling with thoughts, wonders what the green haired samurai's goal was in returning to Wano. To reconnect with his roots? To stay? You doubted he would, but the thought still made your stomach drop.

Now, a few weeks later, here you are at the wedding celebration of Zoro and soon-to-be-wife, Hiyori.

Celebration is an understatement, as the whole thing could be confused for a festival. An entire courtyard full of seats, all open to the people of Wano. Its extravagant and lavish, with vendors and performers ensuring that the party would last well into the night. The tables are piled high with a plethora of food and sake. Hiyori had wanted a grand ceremony and it was definitely something, though the large crowd and the unavoidable spotlight didn't seem like something Zoro would enjoy. After the bachelor party, which involved the guys drinking until they couldn't stand, Brook spilled to you and the girls that Zoro hadn't even been the one to propose. Allegedly, he was just going with whatever his teal-haired partner wanted, and she was happy to take over as long as she had the samurai by her side.

The whole thing didn't quite sit right with you, something gnawing at your chest. Jealousy? Worry? You weren't exactly comfortable bringing it up with anyone else, but judging by the knowing looks that Robin sent your way or how Luffy would gaze off to the side and pucker his lips at the mention of the wedding, you could tell that you weren't alone in your thoughts. While you would ask Zoro yourself, the way he responded to Luffy's meddling a couple of days ago has you hesitant to do so.

"But Zoro!" Luffy had whined, wrapping his limbs around the swordsman with a pout. "What about-" Zoro's words were spoken through clenched teeth, one of his calloused hands tightening into the fabric of Luffy's red kimono. "I dare you to keep talking."

Currently, you're chatting it up with Nami and Robin in the bride's quarters. The three of you are in the bridal party, getting ready for the celebration that is soon to be underway. As per Hiyori's request, the bridesmaids are fitted into navy blue kimonos that are woven from the softest material you've ever felt. Your hair is neatly styled and your makeup light as you help the other girls get ready for the wedding. Your chest tightens every time your eyes glance over at Hiyori, her radiant beauty and cheerful demeanor causing your confidence to waver.

The whole thing has you craving some alone time before you go out there and watch your vice captain be wed, so you stand from your mat and give Nami and Robin a small, slightly forced smile. "Hey, I'm gonna take a quick walk. D'you guys remember where that nice koi pond was at?"

Something flashes in Robin's eyes and she sits up a little straighter, giving you one of those smiles that you've come associate with trouble. She gives you directions, but they're a little all over the place and have you questioning every turn. You'd been wandering around the halls for a while now, sure that you were lost as you murmured some curses to yourself.

You're about to turn back altogether when you pick up on a familiar energy. It's Zoro's, of course it is, but there's something different about it. The closer you get to the groom's quarters, the more you pick up on the underlying currents of unease than emanate from his aura. Worry grows in your chest, as such levels of doubt and anxiety weren't usually present in the swordsman. The fact that he isn't even bothering to conceal these emotions is even more concerning, since you knew he had a very good grip on his haki.

One of your hands comes up to lightly knock on the sliding wooden door. You give a small greeting, telling him that it's you.

Zoro, who had been staring blankly at the wall with a bottle of sake in his hand, snapped out of his daze when he heard your voice. He quickly straightened up, his usual irritation returning to his face as he roped in the tendrils of unease that he had unintentionally let slip loose.

"What the hell do you want?" He grumbled, his voice a bit hoarse from the tension. He didn't bother to open the door, expecting you to understand that he wanted to be alone.

“Zoro…” You sigh, your tone laced with caution as you stand behind the door and make it clear that you won't budge until he confirms that he is alright.

"Seriously, I'm fine.” He replied, his voice strained. "Just leave me alone. I'll be out in a minute." His tone was defensive. Though he tried to hide it, he couldn't deny that the weight of the wedding and everything that came with it was overwhelming him. The anxiety and doubts were gnawing at him more than he cared to admit.

Before he could ask you to go away again, he felt a knot forming in his chest. He sighed, realizing that shutting you out wouldn't solve anything. You of all people could ground him, could be there for him when he was feeling things he had no idea how to process. It was a trait of yours he envied, your ability to show people warmth and empathy without a second thought. He needed that, needed you, needed every bit of you.

He finally slid open the door and revealed himself, looking disheveled and restless. His bandana on his arm was slightly askew, and the collar of his ceremonial kimono was tugged open, the belt loose. His green hair seemed even messier than usual, disheveled.

"What the fu-" Your eyes widen and you quickly enter the room, sliding the door closed behind you. The sight of him makes you raise your hands up to help, but they remain suspended in the air as you ponder where to even begin with him. The smell of sake is strong, his posture tense and his eyes slightly blown from the copious amounts of alcohol that's in his system.

“I don’t- Zoro, what’s going on?” You ask, your head tilting.

A light sigh tumbles past your lips as you tug his kimono closed, scrambling to soothe out any wrinkles and make him slightly more presentable. Where were the rest of the groomsmen? Grumbles are all you hear from him and it doesn’t make the process any easier. After you attempt to smoothen out his hair, he scowls and ruffles it up again.

“This whole damn ceremony.” He growls, shaking off your hands and turning on his heel as he walks to the table to open up another bottle. “It’s not-“

A long sigh is heard from him, the sound rumbling in his chest. He takes a long swig from the bottle, wiping away the excess sake from his lips using the back of his hand. He shakes his head and turns back to meet your gaze, taking a few steps forward until he’s in front of you. When he speaks, his tone is stern but forced, like he’s putting in effort to remain calm. “I’m not sure this is what I want.”

His admission leaves you momentarily stunned as you try to make sense of his words. Your hands fidget at your sides, your voice laced with concern. “The wedding? Hiyori?” His state ignites something within you, an overwhelming urge to comfort him in any way you can. "I thought you wanted to come back to Wano."

“Both.” He confesses, spitting out the word like it was made of poison. “And I did. I’m just, damn it, I don’t know! I'm already the greatest swordsman, so I should be out here and doing all this domestic shit, right? Coming back to Wano like my ancestors would've wanted? Marrying into the damn Kozuki family?"

The pieces slowly come together. A swordsman who has accomplished his dream and is unsure of what goal to chase next. On paper, it sounded ideal, like a fantasy that only one in a million could achieve. Yet, Zoro is restless and unable to feel at ease. He's taken to following expectations in a bid to fill the small gap of emptiness that came with establishing himself as the strongest swordsman, a title he fought for almost his whole life. Now that he had completed it, he struggled to find purpose, to find a use for himself other than being a fighter.

His frustration is clear, from the way his jaw tenses to the rigidity of his stance. He’s itching to release his emotional tension, his body twitching in anticipation. It's like watching a caged animal. You’re silent for a moment and sense that he has more to say. He huffs and stares down at you with an almost unreadable expression, the distant sounds of the celebration barely audible through the wooden door.

His mouth opens, before he quickly closes it and clenches his teeth together, looking away. Red tinges his cheeks, from the alcohol or something else, you cannot tell.

“Can I try something?” He asks with only a slight slur, stepping closer. His voice is low and gravelly, his eye shining with a drunken determination that hides something you can't pinpoint just yet. “To see if I’m doing the right thing? With the right person?”

You release a breath that you don’t even know you’re holding, nodding slightly. You’re unsure of what to expect, but there was nothing you wouldn’t do for your crew, especially Zoro.

“Yeah.” You affirm, your voice a bit more timid than you would’ve wanted as you feel the heat radiating from his body into yours.

He grunts in acknowledgment, his eye assessing each and every one of your movements. For a few seconds, he doesn’t do anything. As you’re about to open your mouth, he brings a hand up and places it at the nape of your neck.

You don’t even have time to ask him what he is doing before he brings his lips to yours. Your eyes flutter closed, nails digging into your palms as they tighten in response to the sensation.

It was wrong, wasn’t it? Here he was in his groom’s attire, his own wedding ceremony about to be underway. You should be pulling away, stopping him from betraying the woman he was set to marry within the hour.

Yet, when his tongue swipes across your lower lip, you part them without question. He groans. His other hand finds purchase on your hip, rubbing circles on the sensitive flesh there using his thumb. The sake from his tongue fills your tastebuds as he eagerly explores your mouth, drinking in the taste of you as if it were his own brand of liquor.

You couldn't resist him even if you tried, your hands sliding under the collar of his kimono and gliding along the skin of his shoulders and chest. He melts under your touch and takes this as a sign to bring you closer to him, eliciting a gasp from your lips when you feel his already half-hard cock rutting against your tummy.

A string of saliva tethers you two together when you finally pull away, your face hot as he stares down at you with a possessive affection. His gaze shifts from your eyes to the rest of your form, your figure accentuated by the kimono that hugs you.

The effort he puts in is minimal as he wraps his arms around you and raises you off the ground, your hands tightening on his shoulders, though he wouldn't dare drop you. He lays you on one of the soft mats which adorn the groom's quarters, kneeling between your legs and lazily grinding his hips against yours. The sensation has your back arching and your panties dampening.

"Least Hiyori can do one thing right." He drunkenly groans as he continues to grind his dick against your clothed slit, his hands firmly gripping your thighs as he looks down at you. His words are slightly slurred, the lust in them more than apparent. "Gettin' you all nice n' pretty for me, wrapped up like a fuckin' gift."

You hiss and buck your hips to meet his thrusts against your core, your hands tugging at the collars of your kimono in a bid to find some reprieve from the heat that's coursing through your veins. He gets the idea and doesn't waste another second before sliding the fabric off of your shoulders.

His steel colored eye drinks in every inch of you, his hips jolting forward when his calloused hands cup your breasts and knead the soft flesh. Your whines only increase when his thumbs tease your hardened nipples, sending waves of pleasure right to your core. You catch sight of his tongue swiping across his lip before he leans forward and captures one of the pebbled buds into his mouth.

Your hands tangle into his green hair as you hold him there, his fingers lightly tugging and rolling at one nipple while his tongue swirls greedily around the other. The groan he lets out against your breast is desperate and hungry, his hips continuing to grind against yours. He's completely hard by now, and what you feel against your clothes has you thinking about how full you're going to be.

Its already too much and you swear that you're seeing stars.

Through pants, you manage to grab his free hand in one of yours and guide it towards your aching cunt. As soon as his hand slips past the waistband of your underwear, his fingers become coated in your arousal. They swirl just outside your entrance before coming up and messily rubbing at your clit, making you gasp and clench around nothing. When he finally slides a finger inside, your walls pulse around the sudden intrusion. He shudders, wondering just how good it'll feel around his cock.

He adds another finger, then another, every thrust and curl bringing you closer and closer to the edge. When he hits a particularly sensitive spot, you choke out a low moan. "There, there, there!" You cry, feeling your thighs starting to tense.

A low, guttural noise erupts from his throat at the way your pussy is starting to tighten around his fingers. He tugs on your nipple a little harder, his teeth grazing along the other. The sound of wet slaps echo throughout the room and its downright dirty, only increasing your desire for him. Your pupils are blown when you look down at him, his ceremonial kimono making him look unbearably handsome. He makes for one hell of a groom.

When you gasp, he gives your nipple one last lick before gazing up at your face, eager to see you come undone. "C'mon dollface, give it to me." He gruffly orders, curling his fingers just a little more.

You only babble his name before everything gets hazy. Your walls clamp around him and your hips buck desperately into his fingers. The waves of pleasure cascade down your whole body and in the midst of it all, Zoro leans forward and captures your mouth in his. He eagerly swallows all of your moans and cries, continuing to thrust his fingers into you until he deemed it necessary to stop.

Satisfied by the blissed out look on your face, he tugs off his hakama and frees his cock from its confines. He gives it a stroke or two to relieve some of the tension, before he aids you in shedding the rest of your kimono.

He settles once more between your thighs. His eye is fixed on the wetness pooling in your core, his hand lazily guiding the head of his cock up and down your slit.

“Been thinkin’ about this pussy for way too long.” He growls, positioning himself in front of your entrance.

His tone has you whining, your hips gyrating in a way that has his tip slipping into your cunt. The action has him groaning, his patience finally snapping as he buries himself inside of you to the hilt.

The stretch is mind blowing, your hands coming up to his biceps and squeezing the taut muscles in an attempt to ground yourself. Your body reacts to the sudden fullness by clenching tightly around him, the spasms only serving to heighten his pleasure. The grip he has on your hips strengthens and you’re sure it’ll bruise.

In his drunken state he wastes no time, his hips hammering into yours with utter desire. His breaths are heavy as he stares down at you, enamored by how your mouth hangs open and how you cling to him so desperately.

Your back arches, hips angling in a way that has jolts of pleasure running up your spine.

“H-hah! Zoro!” You babble, your whole body hot with delight. His biceps feel like steel under your palms, the sensation making your head feel even lighter.

Your pleas spur him further and he tugs your body closer until your thighs rest snugly atop of his. He releases his grip on your hips, placing his forearms on either side of your head as his thrusts become short and forceful. The muscles in your legs tense at the new angle and you mewl.

The tip of his cock pounds into your cervix, making you let out a choked moan as the pain and pleasure mingle into one glorious sensation. Your arms wrap around his shoulders and you bury your head into his neck. With a light head, you plant sloppy, open mouthed kisses onto the sensitive flesh there in an attempt to return a fraction of the pleasure he’s giving you.

“Fuck!” A groan tears out of his throat and you can feel the vibration from his chest. “Takin’ me so well.”

A particularly sharp thrust has your breath hitching and your eyelids fluttering, your head falling back slightly. His cheek is pressed against yours, his skin cool and clammy from the thin layer of sweat that has formed on his body.

Your eyes lose focus and you pant helplessly. His earrings dangle in front of your face, the metal pieces clinking together in a rhythmic melody that rings louder than the wedding bells banging in the distance. “S-S’good!” You stammer, your grip on him tightening.

Another curse or two spills from his lips, his words grunted through clenched teeth. “Yeah? That right?” He smirks, absolutely reveling in your pleasured state, his core tightening as your body clamps around him in the most delicious way. You have him close, too close, and he doesn’t want this to be over just yet.

His cheeks are colored red when he sits up and pulls out of you. A whine falls from your mouth, pleading with him as you buck your hips for any sort of touch. Your thighs hang over his, while his frame towers over you. “M’not done with you, yet.” He roughly reassures while he brings a hand up to your thigh and rubs gentle circles.

He starts to run his other hand up and down his length, positioning the head of his cock right up against your puffy clit as he jerks himself off to the sight of you. Every stroke of his hand has your hips bucking in pleasure as his tip hits and swirls against you, the clitoral stimulation sending you spiraling. There’s not much to do other than writhe and babble praises at him as you feel your climax inching closer, his tip leaking precum right onto your wet clit. You feel another orgasm creeping up on you, the coil in your tummy ready to burst.

"C'mon!" You whine, your hips bucking as you look up at him with desire-glazed eyes. "Zoro, please! Wanna cum!"

He doesn't deny you, he never would, so he makes sure to keep hitting that spot until you're arching and mewling for him. The way your eyes screw shut and your mouth falls open has his chest swirling with pride. Just as you get pushed over the edge, he makes his move.

Without much warning other than a low growl, he folds you in half until your thighs hug your chest and your ankles rest on his shoulders. His hands are secured under your knees, ensuring that you won't wriggle out of his hold. In this position, your pussy is presented to him beautifully and he sinks into you as you cum.

Your walls are still spasming, clenching when he pries you open with his cock. The gasp that leaves your mouth is akin to a sob as he brutally hammers into you, chasing his own high. The overstimulation is too much and you try desperately to wriggle from his hold, but its useless.

Yet, when your eyes catch a glimpse at his expression, his lustful gaze and reddened cheeks, you can't help but let him crack your knees open a little wider.

"Atta girl." He praises with a half smirk, his thrusts becoming short and erratic.

His grip on your knees tightens and he throws his head back, utterly consumed by how your plush walls are squeezing him. When his breath hitches and he grunts out you name, its not long after that you feel a hotness in your core. His cum coats your insides in bursts, the thick, white ropes pooling all around. Everything sounds more wet, more raw, as he continues to shallowly thrust into you, riding out his orgasm.

He finally lets your legs go and they tremble as they settle back down around his hips. When he collapses onto you, his skin is hot against yours. He rasps out some breaths, his back slowly falling and rising. You can feel his heart beating strongly against your chest, the sensation grounding you.

His body atop of yours serves as a sort of anchor, your thighs twitching as his hips continue to gently rock against yours. He takes a few deep breaths, his head turning to the side to catch a glimpse at you. Lazily, his nose nuzzles your temple.

“Fuckin’ marry me, woman.” He grumbles, his tone stern as his eyelids flutter closed. "You're the one I want.”

Of course, you can't say no.

In your post-coital haze, you can't help but wonder what mess is going to come from this, but Zoro has always had a way of calming your ever-racing mind. So instead, you sigh, running a hand through his slightly dampened hair as a corner of your lips quirk up into a half smile. "Can we still have cake?"

He snorts in an attempt to hide his laugh, saying nothing as he flips you onto him and gives your ass a slap.

[uyuforu]

Astrology Observations VI

All pictures were found on Pinterest

Other posts you could like:

જ⁀➴ Boda Persona Chart Analysis I

જ⁀➴ Astrology Observation: Synastry & Composite with In-Laws pt.1

જ⁀➴ How to know when you will get married?

Book a private reading: menus ; Q&A ; rules ; instagram

Buy me a Kofi •ᴗ•

❀˖° Having a 12H Sun in Solar Return Chart is not for the weak. Your life could "fall apart" during this time, you can have a spiritual awakening, a very hard time in fact. I also noticed it can also mean (doesn’t need to be that, it CAN mean) one of your loved one can pass away unfortunately. It happened to me and a lot of people who also had their sun in their 12h, but not all of them! Usually, you have a hard time in general. But you’ll be fine, it is meant to happen for a reason.

❀˖° Synastry aspects are good to look at but the houses where the aspects fall is very important!! Sun conjunct Moon will have a different meaning where it falls.

❀˖° 7H synastry can mean a wonderful connection and desires to marry. BUT! The 7H can also be the house of enemies, so not everyone’s sun falling in your 7H means you have a good connection with them! I found myself not enjoying most of the people who’s sun fell in my 7H…

❀˖° Underrated Houses in Synastry: 2H, 4H, 6H, 10H.

❀˖° When looking at your Solar Return Chart, check the Synastry it has with your Natal Chart. It will tell you where those placements are felt within you. For example, my SRC’s Sun is in 12H and fall in my 10H this year. I’m having a lot of mental breakdown when it comes to my career, and since it conjuncts a big stellium of mine in my Natal, I just feel like my whole world is falling apart 🥲

❀˖° Please remember: North Node PC will tell you about your Soul purpose WHILE your MC will tell you about your career that is best suit for you. Your NN will never tell you about your career!!

❀˖° Union in your SRC could be the person you will meet this year that will have the strongest influence for you this year.

❀˖° 10H will tell you where your FS was born... ☺️

❀˖° 4H Sun people love to stay at home! Even if they are on a date, they will try to continue the date at home, because this is where they feel the most comfortable.

❀˖° Sun conjunct Mercury in a MC PC is a huge indicator of using communication daily to work, your tool n°1 is your voice!

❀˖° Aquarius Sun 4H are so private!! Aquarius usually are quite private people because they enjoy being mysterious and controlling what people think of them, they like that people don't understand them. But in 4H??? they will lie for the sake of their privacy.

❀˖° Opposite signs aren't that different in the end, they are very similar in fact. Capricorn & Cancer are both very family oriented for example. One is logical minded while the other is more feeling driven.

❀˖° Scorpio Rising have something so intense in their gaze, it's truly something you can't put words on. But once you see this gaze, you know.

❀˖° Chiron in 9H Synastry could be that you think you are too different because of the culture, the language, the beliefs, etc. BUT! If you are from the same place, it can just mean you don't understand each other, you are just basically too different.

❀˖° My step mother and I hated each other, and she had her Moon and Mercury in my 7H. Yep, she hated me. She was often insulting me or even trying to manipulate me with words.

❀˖° Saturn 7H Synastry can mean Saturn person feel like it will never work out between you two. But it could also mean they see you long term, depending of other placements.

❀˖° Sun in 5H Synastry usually means the person really enjoy your presence and think you are fun!

❀˖° Venus 6H Synastry means the Venus Person feels safe around you.

❀˖° You can tell by doing a Synastry with a Celebrity if you can hope to meet them one day. Usually Saturn in 9H or 1H is a sign you will never meet them. Of course, this is just an observation.

❀˖° I checked my Synastry with my first love, and it explained a lot. I have a stellium in his 7H, and of course, he was my first love.

❀˖° But I never expected to got his Venus in my 5H! I never knew if he had a crush on me too or if I was delusional lol.

❀˖° His Sun conjuncted my Neptune, he misunderstood me most of the time. He was seeing me in a way that was so untrue lol.

❀˖° He also had his Sun 1H, he was soooo popular among girls! Any girls from middle school had a huge crush on him at some point.

❀˖° He also had a stellium in my 4H and we were childhood friends.

❀˖° My sun conjuncted his Moon. Now, I had nothing against him, I thought he was funny. But he was indeed seeing me in a light that wasn't me.

❀˖° My Venus conjuncted his Vertex, I suddenly fell for him, and it must have been fated in a way?

❀˖° Though, his Mars fell in my 1H... man thought I was very good looking (he told lmao).

❀˖° Sagittarius Rising in Composite could indicate a mixed couple, but it can also mean you are so different no one expected you two to be together.

❀˖° Union 9H in Composite could mean you met in a foreign country, but also in school!

❀˖° Sun in 11H Composite means you are friends originally. Or just friends lol.

❀˖° Ceres 7H Composite could mean you care a lot about each other.

❀˖° Venus in 7H or conjuncting DSC Composite means one of you or both of you desire to marry each other.

❀˖° Pluto 12H to me is not that good usually. Anytime I saw this placement in Composite, the couple or the people never stayed together. It always ends. There can be exceptions of course.

❀˖° Saturn 5H in a romantic Composite means you will most likely never date, there could be obstacles in this union.

❀˖° Mercury conjunct Saturn Composite means misunderstandings and miscommunication.

❀˖° The year I had this first love, I had a 5H stellium in my SRC, and this stellium fell in my Natal 9H! It was indeed a school love lol.

❀˖° I also had Venus conjunct Vertex, it was my first time falling for anyone.

❀˖° The year I told him my feeling and got rejected I had Venus conjunct Mercury in 12H!

❀˖° Juno 12H in SRC could mean you have a secret crush!

❀˖° Sun conjunct Juno Solar Return Synastry is a big indicator of having a crush on the Sun person.

❀˖° Juno/ Mars/ Neptune in 1H Synastry Solar Return is an indicators of finding 1H person veryyyy attractive, it can be love at first sight, but it is def a crush!

❀˖° Transits Moon conjunct your Natal Mars will make your emotions boil lol. You could complain a lot or have a lot of negative emotions such as anger, jealousy, etc.

❀˖° Union asteroid conjunct Part of Fortune Synastry is a sign you were meant to meet in order to bless each other. It's a lucky meeting. It is very good and shows that you will do well in each other's life.

❀˖° My FS is a Pisces Venus 4H and he is the softest!! Just very cute and very soft person... I love him very much lol.

❀˖° He also has Neptune 3H, he tends to lie to protect himself (Sun 4H makes this effect too), but he is also a very good poet writer. He wrote me poems before and I believe he would do well for poetry writing in general.

❀˖° Pluto 1H could be a sign you will experience a drastic change in your appearance some day. If Jupiter is also there, it could indicate a big and major glow up.

❀˖° Juno 12H could mean your FS is a soul connection, someone who could be spiritual and awaken. If it is very close to the Rising, or conjunct 1H, OR in 1H, it could mean you'll probably have love at first sight for them.

❀˖° Chiron Virgo/ 6H/ Capricorn/ 10H could indicate a burn out at some point in your life.

❀˖° North Node conjunct Pluto could mean your purpose in your life will transform you deeply, mostly if it is in the 1H. You will live a drastic change in your life.

❀˖° Sun conjunct Mercury 1H in Solar Return Chart means you could think a lot about you this year, and think about your choices, and how it will play out for you. You will do more "selfish" choices because you want to make the best for you.

❀˖° Do I love stalking people I love or do I just have some heavy Scorpio/ 8H placements?

❀˖° Yeah indeed, Scorpio love stalking, but Gemini love that too!

❀˖° I have Gemini Moon 8H... u get it? lol

❀˖° It is a known thing, but in SRC, 4H's ruler in 9H means moving abroad! Another indication could be a stellium in 9H. But the stellium could also mean coming back to school, so it depends.

❀˖° SRC 4H Ruler in 12H could mean the same thing. It could simply be moving out.

❀˖° Speaking of the 12H in SRC, Pluto & Venus there could be end of a relationship BUT it could also be a spiritual love and you will learn lessons because of it.

❀˖° SRC 7H ruler in 1H could mean being in a relationships and it being part of who you are this year. Or you could appear as very romantic, very loyal too. Could also attract more contracts.

❀˖° Mars 7H in SRC could be an indicator you have a fight with the one you love, more if Venus squares/ quincunx/ opposite it. If you are single, it could show also more motivation towards long term connections.

❀˖° SRC 5H ruler being in the 7H could mean being in a long term relationship but also finding the one you want to marry.

❀˖° Once again, SRC Juno conjunct Chiron could mean you will suffer in love but it is indeed for healing.

Thank you for reading!

back to index ; ask ; request ; rules ; instagram

[irritatedirishfrog]

"𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄"

𝘮𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘮𝘪 𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘰

In which, Megumi is certain he could never match your boldness. From the very moment you crossed paths, you had the sheer audacity to ask him out, as if fate had already decided for the both of you. By some twist of luck—or misfortune, as he first thought—he eventually relented after finding himself stranded in a mall with you and his classmates. Now, as he's stuck with his decision lingering in the air, he isn't quite sure what to do with himself.

Surely, he hasn't gone and fallen for some random, starry-eyed girl... Has he?

────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────────

"What?"

"Can you take me out?"

"..."

"..."

"Like... take you out... with a gun?" Megumi squinted at the girl, deliberately playing dumb for the sake of his own sanity.

In the thirty seconds he’d known you, he still couldn’t decide if this was some kind of elaborate prank or an unforeseen psychological endurance test.

You were just some random girl, balancing a volleyball in one hand and a drink in the other, looking as if you had all the time in the world. He had bumped into you, apologized, and somehow, in the span of a heartbeat, you had turned this into a flirtation.

And the way you stood there—completely unshaken, your expression unwavering—only deepened his confusion. Did you even realize how reckless your words sounded? Were you joking, or was this an actual death wish?

Logic told him to walk away. Instead, he indulged you.

"You’re funny, but the answer’s no." you chuckled, an effortless, unbothered smile spreading across your face. "I meant, take me out on a date."

It was a nice smile, Megumi noted absently, but it threw him off. He had seen confessions before—people fumbling over words, faces flushed with embarrassment—yet here you were, standing before him, calm and composed as if asking for a date was as routine as ordering food off of a menu.

"...You... I don’t even know your name." His voice was slower this time, laced with uncertainty.

"Y/N L/N. That’s my name."

A faint twitch formed beneath his eye, frustration—or something like it—surfacing. You were too casual, too self-assured, and it was messing with his composure.

He had no idea how to react. Who even were you? And why was this happening in the middle of a dimly lit subway station?

The air was thick with the scent of iron and concrete, the distant hum of an approaching train filling the silence between you and he can't help but feel trapped.

"...So... would you take me on a date? Or would you rather I take you on one? Both seem like pretty good options." You tilted your head slightly when he averted his gaze.

"...I—I don’t get it. What... Why would you even want to date me? We just met." Megumi stuttered.

The headache was inevitable now. Normally, turning people down wasn’t an issue for him—he was blunt by nature. But you? For some reason, he hesitated. It frustrated him how easily you disarmed him with nothing but sheer confidence.

And yet, there was something oddly considerate in the way you carried yourself, like you already understood that this wasn’t the appropriate time or place for such a question but didn’t mind either way.

"...Well... huh, how do I explain this..." You mused aloud, tossing your volleyball into the air before catching it again. "Hypothetically speaking, would me saying that I find you attractive not be a good enough response?"

Megumi tensed.

"...Well... it’s certainly a response." He grumbled, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, gaze darting away as heat crept up his neck.

What kind of courage did you have to say something like that with a straight face? Were you even real?

"...Not a good one, I assume?"

"Not really."

A brief silence stretched between you, punctuated only by the distant screech of an incoming train.

"...So would you take me out on a date?"

Was this girl serious?

"I mean... I just met you... so no."

"...Alright."

Megumi studied your expression. You looked... slightly embarrassed now, like the reality of your own words had finally sunk in. With a quiet sigh, he ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply before muttering:

"Maybe... if we meet again."

What was he even saying?

You blinked, then grinned. "Well... that sounds like a plan."

Finally, a bit of color dusted your cheeks as you took a sip of your drink. Megumi almost regretted wanting to see you flustered. He had only been curious—to confirm you were, in fact, human—but now that he had, it was making him blush too.

How annoying... Did he just become a sucker for a total stranger?

"You don’t really seem disappointed." Megumi noted, voice measured as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I know it’s a weird question to ask someone you just met, and I can’t force you to take me out on a date." You laughed, barely acknowledging the train doors sliding open behind him.

"Why did you want to talk to me anyway?"

"I just thought you were a really romantic-looking kind of person and that I should talk to you. I figured you’d say no anyway."

Megumi huffed at that, the warmth in his face only deepening. Romantic-looking? What did that even mean?

"Sure."

He wasn’t convinced you weren’t messing with him.

The station was busier now—commuters moving around him, boarding the train, their chatter filling the space. He should’ve left already. Instead, he lingered, looking at you for just a moment longer than necessary.

"Well, is it okay if you tell me your name?" You asked, tilting your head.

He hesitated. Why was he hesitating?

"It’s Fushiguro." The words left him reluctantly as he finally took a step forward.

"No full name?" You teased, even though you weren’t sure you’d ever see him again. All you knew was that you liked this guy—a lot—and you wanted to keep talking to him.

Megumi exhaled, almost groaning. You were persistent. It was something he could respect, at least.

"...Megumi. Megumi Fushiguro."

Your expression softened. "That’s a pretty name. Alright, I won’t hold you up any longer. Bye, handsome."

Megumi turned away entirely, stepping into the train without so much as a backward glance. You had thoroughly embarrassed him.

You sighed, watching as the train doors slid shut. Then, with a small, amused shake of your head, you made your way up the station stairs, heading toward where your friend was waiting.

Megumi Fushiguro probably thought you were insane.

But if you ever saw him again, you’d definitely take another shot.

Something about him was just too cool to let go.

────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────────

Fushiguro, right?"

"Yeah, that's my name." He sighed, weariness laced in his tone.

"Can I call you Megumi?"

Megumi looked at you, another invisible tick mark forming on his forehead. Normally, he’d say no without hesitation, but something about the way you asked—your voice soft, your smile unguarded—made him hesitate. This was humiliating.

"Uh... sure, I guess."

"Well... this is kind of like a date, no?" You almost laughed, trying not to agitate the increasingly exasperated boy beside you.

It had been about two weeks—give or take—since your first encounter at the subway station. Now, fate (or misfortune, in Megumi’s case) had led to another meeting, this time involving an almost-spilled coffee. He had turned to apologize, only to recognize you, and in his moment of shock, actually dropped the drink.

You had offered to replace it, and despite every fiber of his being telling him not to indulge you, he had agreed... only because he still wanted coffee. And so, here you were, strolling alongside him as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He held his coffee, you clutched a small box of cake for later, and the city hummed around you in the late afternoon light.

"Uh... this isn’t a date." Megumi corrected, desperate to shut down whatever delusions you might have.

"Are you sure? This seems like it would make for a pretty romantic walk."

Megumi’s grip on his cup tightened. Why would you use the word romantic? Now he was actively avoiding looking at you.

"Yeah, I’m sure." He sighed, eyes locked on the pavement.

"Well, how about we call it just hanging out then?" You grinned, stepping a little closer.

He took another slow sip of his coffee, waging an internal war. He didn’t like you—definitely not. He didn’t even want to be here. He was antisocial, and he sure as hell shouldn’t be entertaining you.

Love at first sight wasn’t real. He knew that. And yet... there was something about you that made him doubt his own reasoning. Maybe it was the way you so fearlessly inserted yourself into his life, as if fate had long decided you belonged there.

He could indulge you just a little longer... right?

"Sure. This can just be a hangout."

The moment he said it, he was rewarded with one of the most radiant smiles he’d ever seen.

"That’s good. Then maybe I can get you to date me after."

"That’s not going to happen."

"Why not? We know each other a little better now, don’t you think?"

"Yeah? I still barely know you." He tried not to let his smirk show, keeping his guard up even as he found you... oddly fun to be around.

"Well, you drink black coffee, and I like cake—"

"Most people like cake."

"And barely anyone likes black coffee. That makes you unique."

"But liking cake isn’t."

"Jeez, you’re missing the point." You huffed, crossing your arms, only for him to let out a small, unexpected chuckle.

"That’s fine. I’m making my own point," Megumi replied, entirely unfazed by your frustration. "We’re still technically strangers. At best, we’re acquaintances."

"Then tell me something about yourself. If that’s the problem, we can fix it."

"Absolutely not." He took another deliberate sip of his coffee.

"Can I talk about myself then?"

"Knock yourself out."

"Cool! So, I just switched schools, and I play volleyball there. At my old school, I used to be one of those people in the mascot suits—you know, the big fluffy animals? Yep, that was me. And recently, I got a job at a skating rink—"

You rambled on, jumping between topics as if your thoughts were spilling out faster than you could catch them. At first, Megumi thought it would be exhausting. But somehow, despite himself, he found that he was listening.

Maybe it was the way you spoke—so animated, so full of life—or the way your words painted pictures of your experiences in broad, reckless strokes. Even if it drained his social battery, he couldn’t help but keep up.

Then came the voice that made his head throb instantly.

"Megumi!"

He tensed. You turned, tilting your head at the tall man with white hair and a black blindfold. Why was he wearing a blindfold?

"Oh? Who’s that?"

"...That’s my teacher." Megumi groaned, already regretting this entire day.

"Hey! Who’s your friend?" Gojo grinned at you, his energy almost overwhelming.

"This is L/N—"

"Don’t call me that. Just Y/N, since I’m calling you Megumi." You interrupted, flashing a playful smile. Gojo raised an eyebrow, while Megumi flushed and glanced away, suddenly interested in the cracks in the pavement.

"Okay." Gojo smirked before turning back to you. "Nice to meet you, little lady. Name’s Gojo."

"Nice to meet you too, sir."

"Right... what were we talking about again?" You turned to Megumi, who simply sipped his coffee as if he hadn’t just been embarrassed.

"Someone named Yoko."

"Oh, right! Then there’s Yoko—he kind of hates me, so I don’t mess with him much even though I have to see him for advanced math almost every day. And then there’s my teacher, Mr. Touya—"

Gojo observed quietly, his grin deepening. You just kept talking, completely at ease, filling the space with an effortless energy most people lacked. But what amused him most was the way Megumi listened—really listened.

With a knowing smirk, he elbowed his student, earning an immediate, half-hearted swat in return.

Then, out of nowhere, you gasped dramatically. "Oh my gosh, do you want to know something?!"

Megumi nearly jumped, almost spilling his coffee again. "What!? What happened to your mother!?"

"Huh?"

"...Huh!?" Megumi stared, utterly baffled. You had been talking about your mom just a second ago—so why did you suddenly jump topics?

"What happened to your mother?" He repeated, exasperated but lowering his voice so it didn’t seem like he was yelling at you. Meanwhile, Gojo was practically shaking with silent laughter.

"Oh! Nothing happened to my mother," you said cheerfully, "but I just remembered my dad’s taking me to Paris in three weeks since he’s working overseas!"

Megumi’s brain short-circuited. How did you function like this? The sheer unpredictability of your conversations should have been annoying. Instead, it made him want to know more.

"Yep... so that’s my life. What’s yours?"

"You think just because you dumped your life story on me, you’ll get to know mine?"

"Why not?"

"It’s because he’s antisocial. But don’t worry, I’m sure he liked it—"

"Shut up." Megumi shot a glare at Gojo, only to hear you laugh.

"Well, I’ll see you later then, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess—"

"Oh, wait! Can I ask you again?"

Megumi hesitated. "Ask me what?"

"If you’ll take me out."

"Oh! That’d be sweet, but now that I think about it, he’s getting some of his teeth removed in a few days, so maybe not!" Gojo interrupted, earning an attempted slap on the back.

"No, I’m not taking you out... at least not yet." Megumi muttered, avoiding eye contact.

You grinned. "Alright then. See you soon, Megumi."

And with that, you walked away, waving as you left.

Silence stretched for about twenty seconds before Gojo grinned. "So... who was that lovely girl?"

"She's L/N. I met her like two weeks ago… and don’t start making stuff up about me, especially in front of her."

"Oh my gosh! Are you two dating? Is she your girlfriend? Wait—don’t tell me—have you two already—!? Megumi, you're too young for that!"

"What the hell!? No! We're just acquaintances, dammit! Now drop it!"

────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────────

Megumi didn’t ask for this. He didn’t want to be here. If given the choice, he’d much rather be cooking with Maki than wandering aimlessly through a crowded mall.

Nobara and Yuji had insisted on a shopping trip, dragging Megumi along for the ride—not that he had a say in the matter. Gojo made sure of that. But somehow, against all odds, he found himself bumping into you again. And again. At this point, it felt less like coincidence and more like the universe playing some kind of twisted joke on him.

Unfortunately, this time, he wasn’t alone. His ever-annoying teacher and equally troublesome classmates were with him, making the situation infinitely worse. He already knew what was coming.

Gojo, in all his meddling glory, had ratted him out to Nobara and Yuji, claiming—loudly—that you were his girlfriend. No amount of frantic yelling on Megumi’s part could convince them otherwise. If they saw you now, he’d never hear the end of it.

"Hey, Megumi! How are—"

"Don’t be so loud," he muttered, grabbing your forearm and steering you toward another section of the store as fast as humanly possible.

"I wasn’t being loud. What’s wrong?"

"Nothing. I just don’t want to be here."

Truthfully, he just didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire. You were bold, he was reserved, and the contrast was enough to set his classmates off. He could already hear the teasing.

"You’re being kind of pushy, you know that? Are you taking me on that date now?" You grinned, following him without hesitation.

"Don’t ask me that anymore. You’re the most persistent person I’ve ever met."

"Aw, c’mon. It’s not like I’d be a bad date. I’d be fun—"

"You know what? Fine," Megumi hissed. "I’ll take you out. Just shush!"

Finally, he let you go, exhaling sharply—only to freeze as soon as he turned around.

Yuji.

Not him.

Megumi knew exactly what was coming next. Yuji had a habit of reporting every little interaction Megumi had with a girl.

So, without hesitation, Megumi dropped to all fours and crawled under a clothing rack, opting for the most ridiculous but effective method of escape. He didn’t even bother pulling you along—he just peeked out from under the rack, looking up at you like some desperate fugitive.

"Where are you going?" you whispered, baffled.

"Don’t mention me. At all. They don’t need to know—"

"Who?"

"Nobody. Just… annoying people who dragged me here."

"Well, I guess I should thank them, since I get to see your handsome face again. And now you’re taking me on a date." You smiled, unbothered, while Megumi’s face heated up yet again.

He groaned when he spotted Yuji approaching from behind you.

Yuji, for his part, had not expected to find Megumi crouched under a clothing rack, talking to a cute girl about dating.

"Uh… hey. What’s your name?"

You turned to face the boy with pink hair, dressed in the same uniform as Megumi.

"Y/N L/N. What’s yours?"

"Oh! I’m Yuji Itadori. I’ve heard a lot about you!"

"Really? That’s nice."

"Hey, Kugisaki! Gojo-sensei! Guess who Fushiguro found?!" Yuji shouted, drawing the attention of everyone in the store.

Megumi sighed in defeat. There was no running from this.

"Who?" Nobara strolled over, yawning, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"The girl Megumi’s into!"

Megumi cringed as Yuji’s words rang out, immediately smacking him upside the head while you were distracted.

"Oh really?!" Nobara perked up, smirking as she placed a hand on her hip. "I’m Nobara Kugisaki. Best girl here—besides you, of course."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Y/N!" You smiled, taking note of what Yuji had said. If you really were the girl Megumi was interested in, than that would mean he'd want to date you.

"Well, little lady, we were about to grab some food. Want to join us?" Gojo offered with a grin.

"I'd like that, if it's okay with you, Megumi." You nodded, and Megumi sighed before muttering a small, reluctant "Sure." Yuji and Nobara almost squealed at the way you so casually used his first name.

With that settled, everyone finished their purchases. Nobara immediately decided you needed some cute dresses and dragged you along, while Yuji chatted with you nonstop.

You seemed interesting enough, and you must have been pretty impressive to catch Megumi’s attention.

"Yeah, that's how we found out that not only is Megumi dyslexic, but he also has like twenty different types of gel for his hair. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the romance novels he has—"

"I do not have romance novels in my dorm room," Megumi growled, shooting a sharp glare at Nobara, who just laughed and kept talking. He had to correct her every ten seconds as she spun wild tales, much to your amusement.

He shouldn’t have cared. It shouldn’t have mattered whether they teased him or tried to pair him up with you. After all, it’s not like he actually liked you… He couldn’t like you… Right? He had only met you three weeks ago.

"Yeah, Kugisaki, don’t make stuff up when they’d be so cute together. Just like Gojo would say, ‘Get off of him, you damn homewreckers!’" Yuji teased, grinning. "Though the gel thing is totally true."

"I’m going to kill all of you," Megumi grumbled under his breath. You just laughed, nearly doubling over at how flustered he was.

"You shouldn’t kill us," Gojo chimed in, smirking. "Especially when we’re going to be the ones at your wedding—"

"Stop it!" Megumi snapped, his face burning as laughter erupted around him.

────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────────

"So, where would you take me?"

"I don't know... Probably a cafe or something." Megumi replied, almost forgetting that, by some miracle, he had actually agreed to this.

Though, he was starting to realize he had been lying to himself. It wasn’t that he outwardly liked you the way you did him…

But he was lying about not falling for you. Because at the very least, he wanted to be around you. And for someone like him—someone who rarely wanted to be around anyone—that meant something.

"Well, it's a good thing you gave me your number, so now I can text you about it later." You smiled, looking up at the sky, streaked in soft hues of sunset.

"I guess."

Meanwhile, Yuji, Nobara, and Gojo were doing an absolutely horrible job at being inconspicuous as they spied from the food court. The two of you had stepped outside to talk, and, like a group of nosy children, they couldn’t help themselves.

"What that boy Itadori said—was it true?" you asked suddenly.

"What did he say?"

"That you're into me?"

Megumi had to physically restrain himself from scowling. He was definitely going to smack the hell out of Yuji when they got back to campus.

Then again… he might as well tell the truth. Was he into you? Hypothetically, he shouldn’t be—not when the two of you barely knew each other. But in reality… yes. Yes, he was into you.

And he blamed you for it. It was your fault he felt this way.

"Yeah." He finally admitted.

You blinked, momentarily caught off guard. You had only brought it up to tease him—you hadn't actually expected him to admit it.

"... Really? I'm into you too."

"I know that. You made that pretty clear when we first met." Megumi chuckled, looking at you with an ease that was rare for him.

For once, he wasn’t annoyed or stressed. He didn’t look like he wanted to strangle someone. He just looked… calm. And that made you even more excited.

"Right."

"..."

"..."

"I can't actually believe you're going to take me on a date!" you beamed, barely able to contain your excitement.

"Yeah, well, I can't believe it either. I can’t even really believe I like you, so imagine how I feel."

Nobara sighed dramatically from her hiding spot. "This is getting boring. How long do we have to wait for something interesting to happen?"

"Shh!" Yuji whisper-yelled, elbowing her—only to get elbowed back.

"Ow! Quit it!"

"Shut up! I don't—"

"They're gonna notice us," Gojo warned, lifting his blindfold slightly. It was enough to immediately silence them.

Back outside, you checked the time and sighed. "Welp, I gotta go. But it was nice seeing you again—and meeting your friends." You smiled, completely unaware of the spying trio.

"I'll see you later."

"Alright. Bye—oh, wait!"

You quickly turned back and, before Megumi could react, leaned in and pressed a light kiss to his cheek. Then, just as easily, you waved him goodbye and strolled off like you hadn’t just sent his entire system into shock.

Megumi felt it—his face heating up, his chest doing that stupid thing where it beats too fast. At this rate, you were going to give him heart failure.

"Woah!" a voice exclaimed.

Megumi turned sharply, only to find the three idiots huddled behind a bush. They weren’t even trying to be subtle anymore.

"Did you see that?! That was so cute!" Gojo gushed, peeking at the picture Yuji had taken.

"Hell yeah, it was! The picture turned out great!"

"It did?! Let me see! Oh my gosh, that’s so sweet! And now they’re going on their first date?" Nobara smirked.

"This is amazing! They have so much chemistry! I’ll bet you ten thousand yen they’ll end up in the same bed in two months—"

"I’m giving you all five seconds." Megumi’s voice was eerily calm as he loomed over the bush.

That was all the warning they needed before they bolted back into the mall, leaving Megumi standing there, still red-faced, cursing the fact that he had ever left his dorm today.

[dioslesbianwife]

Hello, hope you are doing well. I recently read your Jojo’s with a rival reader, and I was wondering if you could write something based on that prompt? Maybe the Jojo’s reaction to reader retiring in a sense? Like, they’ve been the Jojo’s rival for awhile but after some sort of personal loss or change in priorities they decide to take a step back from an active life and choose instead to just settle down somewhere and let the ‘next generation’ so to speak surpass them. Which Jojo’s would be happy that reader has found peace in a more chill life and which ones would want to goad reader into continuing to fight?

This idea was inspired by your aforementioned headcannons but it was also inspired by me rewatching part 3 and think about the role of Hamon. So when I was thinking about this kind of scenario I was in particular imagining it with Joseph and a Hamon user who didn’t develop a stand or if they did it’s a stand with no offensive abilities (Hermit Purple if Joseph could even use the vibes (?) to attack) and they accepted it as a sign that their fighting days are over.

Thank you ❤️

hii, yeah i'm doing good, enjoying being off from school lol, i hope ur doing well too! and sure, thank you for requesting and i hope u enjoy ^^

Jojos x retired rival reader

Jonathan Joestar

He’s happy for you. Truly.

Jonathan has never craved battle for battle’s sake. He respects strength, but values peace far more.

When you tell him you’re stepping back- citing a loss, grief, or just the toll of fighting- he listens quietly, then offers a solemn nod.

“You’ve fought long and well,” he says, placing a hand on your shoulder. “You’ve more than earned a gentler life.”

He visits sometimes. Brings you books, tea, letters from Speedwagon. There's a quiet fondness in the way he lingers a little too long before leaving.

He’ll always consider you a worthy opponent. But even more, he now sees you as a kindred spirit- someone who understands the price of bloodshed.

Joseph Joestar

Your retirement devastates him, but he doesn’t show it immediately.

He jokes, teases- “C’mon, are you really throwing in the towel just ‘cause your Stand’s lame?”

But it’s not out of cruelty. It’s his way of processing the grief of losing his rival.

Especially if you’re a Hamon user who never got an offensive Stand- he sees you as a living link to a fading era.

“You’re the only one who ever gave me a real run for my money,” he mutters one night, nursing a drink. “And now you’re done?”

If you’re happy, he tries to respect that. But deep down… he keeps hoping for one last match.

Jotaro Kujo

He’s… conflicted.

Outwardly, he says nothing. Maybe a quiet “I see” when you explain your decision.

But you notice him staring at you more. Notice how he lingers in the silence, like he's waiting for you to change your mind.

“You don’t owe the world your life,” he finally says one night. “But I always thought… if anyone could keep going, it was you.”

If you were a real challenge to him, your absence leaves a void. Not just in battle- but in purpose.

You were one of the few who could keep up. He misses you. But he’ll never ask you to stay.

Josuke Higashikata

At first, he doesn’t understand why you’d give it all up.

“But… you’re, like, awesome,” he blurts. “You’re one of the strongest people I know!”

It takes a while for him to realize the emotional toll behind your choice.

Once he gets it, he softens. “I guess… it’s kinda cool. Y’know? Settling down. Having peace.”

Still, he totally tries to goad you into sparring again every time he visits. “Just for fun! C’mon, don’t make me beg!”

You’re one of his role models, even if he won’t admit it. He misses having you around- especially because he always thought he’d finally surpass you one day.

Giorno Giovanna

Unshaken, but quietly affected.

He understands your decision logically. He respects it. But there’s a part of him that mourns the loss of your presence.

You were a rival that made him think. That tested him in ways others couldn’t.

When you explain you’ve retired, he nods with elegance and solemnity.

“I hope your new path brings you peace,” he says. “But if you ever feel the desire to walk beside me again, know that I will always welcome your return.”

You find out later he’s kept a detailed record of every time you fought, like you were a particularly elegant chess match he never stopped studying.

Jolyne Cujoh

She's furious at first. Not because she’s mad at you, but because it hurts.

“You’re just gonna leave? Like that?” she snaps. “After everything we’ve been through?”

But after her initial outburst, the anger fades into a resigned ache.

She doesn’t want you to suffer anymore. Especially if something broke inside you to make you stop.

“If this is what you need… fine,” she mutters. “But I’m not gonna stop writing you. So don’t ignore my letters.”

She still quotes your old fights and strategies in battle. Still calls you “my annoying rival” like you never left.

Johnny Joestar

Deeply moved, but tries to keep it casual.

You tell him about your decision, and he just leans back and nods like it’s no big deal. But later, you catch him looking at you like he’s memorizing your face.

“I get it,” he says finally. “This life… it eats people.”

He envies your ability to walk away. He’s still in the thick of it, still bleeding. And you- you escaped.

“Hope you find peace,” he murmurs. “If anyone deserves it… it’s you.”

But in his heart, he keeps a little hope that you’ll come back. He needs people like you in his corner- even if just in spirit.

Josuke Higashikata (Gappy)

He doesn’t really grasp the gravity of your retirement at first, but he notices your whole vibe is different.

You used to challenge him. Used to be one of the few people who didn’t make him question his place in the world.

Now, you're… softer. Settled.

“Doesn’t it feel weird?” he asks. “To just stop?”

You tell him it feels… like breathing again.

He nods. Later, you find he’s planted flowers around your house. You never asked him to.

“You gave me a lot,” he says. “I wanted to give you something back.”

Jodio Joestar

He can’t believe you’d quit.

“Are you serious?! You were, like, a legend!” he exclaims.

He practically begs you to stick around, or at least train the new generation (i.e. him).

But over time, he gets it. Sees the weight you carry. Starts to realize how tired you must be.

“…If it makes you happy, I guess I’m cool with it,” he mutters. “But don’t be surprised if I still drop by. I’ve got stuff to prove.”

He respects you more than he lets on. Even if you're done fighting, you'll always be his benchmark for greatness.

[daisukoth]

How Jevil is a mirror of Susie - A character analysis

(NOTE: I was originally going to start explaining how Spamton mirrors Berdly, to explain the logic of this theory, but it has been done already, this reddit post explains it best)

Why would the Darkners mirror the Lightners?

This is because Deltarune is probably using the concept in occultism of "As Above, so Below": "That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above." There are better explanations out there, but a short one would be: “What you do on the material plane will be replicated on the spiritual plane; what happens In the cosmos will be reflected in our mundane lives. What happened at a micro scale happens at a macro scale.” The Dark World being the microcosm, and Light World being the macrocosm. This is why the Darkners are representations of objects and people in the Light world.

Why Susie and not Kris?

I have seen some say that Jevil is a mirror of Kris, and while I do think there is some truth there, Kris actually relates to Jevil in the meta sense, and so does the rest of the Fun Gang, with how they’re all puppets in a game. But Susie is the one that relates to Jevil in a personal level.

Some analysis of chapter 1 say the King may be a parallel of Susie- what she’s gonna end up like if she keeps going in the wrong path. By this logic; Lancer is a younger Susie- mischievous, still a child, but growing their meaner side. So couldn't Jevil be a more present facet of Susie?

The Joker 

The joker card is seen as the wild card, not bound by the rules that govern the other cards. This is why Jevil speaks of freedom, and chaos. How he “can do anything”. Not bound by any rules, he’s the freest of all cards. Susie is also a wild card, she’s unpredictable, chaotic, and ruled by no one.

But Jevil’s freedom is limited to his game. Much like Susie; she's free to do as she wants, and is not bound by rules. But she is also limited by her world. Jevil believe's he's the free one, despite being inside his cell. Susie's freedom is a cell without bars;

How Jevil relates to Susie

Jevil understands that nobody in this world is truly free, by having this knowledge, Jevil considers himself free, even despite his cage. But despite his freedom, Jevil is lonely. he shut himself from the world, and became all alone, with nobody to play with. Much like Susie. Who shut herself off from the world, and is now alone, telling cruel jokes that only she thinks are funny.

Jevil is what perfectly describes the kind of person Susie was before her change of ways in chapter 1. He is a jester whose jokes stopped being funny long ago. he no longer entertains people, only himself, and what he considers ‘entertainment’ is inflicting violence and cruelty on people. Now he’s just a sad and violent clown, locked away from everyone else because they got tired of dealing with him. And as soon as someone does approach him, unlocking his cage, he only sees it as an opportunity to "play" with them.

Like Jevil, maybe in the past Susie was funny. But Susie’s ‘jokes’ aren’t funny anymore. They’re cruel, violent… And maybe even criminal, seeing as how Undyne is looking for her for “comic mischief”.

This is why after Susie’s change of heart in chapter 1, she mellows out and becomes truly funny and charismatic. she’s learning to not drive others away with her cruelty, learning how good and fun friendship can be. Her jokes aren’t just cruelty any longer, she’s trying to make others laugh for the sake of their happiness.

Susie & Lancer duo fight

Just like with how Berdly and Spamton's fight are very similar- so is Susie and Jevil's:

For their attacks; Susie throws spinning axes at you, and Jevil throws spinning scythes.

Jevil is able to use the attacks of all card suits- Susie having Lancer by her side is playing at how she’s able to “use” the power of other cards.

The pacifist way to defeat Jevil is by exhausting him, making him tired and putting him to sleep. Susie is defeated the same way in the fight with her and Lancer, putting her to sleep is the only way to get to Lancer and defeat them peacefully.

I dont think this is a coincidence, as Toby went out of his way to make Jevil and Susie's weakness the same Whats interesting is that, for the Genocide route, you cannot kill Jevil. Unlike Spamton, who you can snowgrave like Berdly.

Jevil and Susie interaction

A lesser point, but you can feel by their interactions how Susie and Jevil match each other’s energy. Its like they’re trying to outmatch each other.

Noelle and Jevil's items

Noelle has a pretty good insight of the dark world, her dialogue to the secret boss items are very interesting, and may be a hint at their nature:

When given the Devilsknife, she will comment how It smiled at her:

..? It smiled at me? [When attempting to equip it to Noelle]

And when given the Jevilstail, Noelle will whisper to herself that she likes it:

... (I like it...) [When equipping it to Noelle]

Both of these are characteristics that Noelle takes notice of in Susie: her scary teeth, and her tail

Jevil and Susie have the same fanged teeth, and odd tails (Susie having a small tail, and Jevil a J shaped tail, rather than a normally pointed imp tail)

TLDR; Jevil and Susie share a similar story; a similar boss battle; match each other's energy; and have similar physical characteristics (according to Noelle)

So what does this parallel mean?

I dont think beating the secret bosses are meant to be the turning point for the characters, like they're "defeating their dark side". Thats what the main story is doing already So what is their purpose then? I believe their purpose is more for the sake of the player, to give further understanding of the characters, giving an extra layer to their character arcs. With Spamton, you learn about a man who was driven to despair due to his greed and ambition, much like Berdly may have ended up if he didn’t have a turn around. With Jevil, you learn about the despair of a clown, who became trapped and isolated due to his freedom and ego, much like Susie.

[yes-these-obsessions-are-healthy]

It’s been discussed before yes yes yes but the fact that in Trespasser Solas declines your Lavellan from joining him because he doesn’t her want to see what he will become.

a) All Lavellan knows is the moral, ethical, and principled Solas, the Solas who acts defensively and practically. Solas has and will act/order others to act in such a way that would break many Geneva conventions if it means succeeding, and he doesn’t want to test Lavellan’s love for him by making her bear witness to that, to choose him when she has no idea the true cost of what she is demanding, not only of herself, but of the world that will be ravaged by all of the terrorism and political maneuverings meant to destabilize and destroy the only world she has ever known. There is nothing more heart-breaking than someone you love forsaking you, to reach that limit one has for another. But equally so, Solas does not want to be in the position where he may be left with the choice between choosing Lavellan or his mission. What he will become may just be a man that would sacrifice her for his plans. He will not let her potentially put her heart on the line like that.

b) He doesn’t want to make her a monster that participates or allows such things, because part of the reason he fell in love with her was because of her goodness. It wouldn’t be difficult to groom her into evil if love was added to the mix. Love can compel you to do terrible things for the sake of a loved one, and Solas does not want to take advantage of her in that way, does not even want to have that temptation or that possibility involved. He is distancing himself to avoid accidentally corrupting the nature of what he believes to be a good, pure spirit. Evil inevitably poisons goodness. The Evil he wields is utilitarian and remorseful and necessary but evil all the same because it will do harm to thousands via the removal of the Veil. The man is planning what is potential omnicide. You cannot participate in that and not have something about you change irrevocably to allow it to happen. Solas, again, thinks of Lavellan as a good spirit. He wants to keep as many “good-spirited people” (kind, good people) intact as possible before he executes his plan. Why, I do not know, but I suppose because he believes that possessing a good spirit means your life will be happier. To be good is to exist well, and as Solas explains, to be good of heart means you will attract good spirits in the Fade and thus your experience in the Fade will be more pleasant, so by this logic he believes that, ideally (strictly ideally, he knows how much reality does not reflect ideals), goodness begets goodness begets peace.

Solas needs to be a monster because truly effective warfare is conducted when principles and ethics are thrown out the window. He does not want Lavellan to witness that and be confirmed in how much of a monster he was, is, and is willing to be. He wants her to remember him as a civilian, as Solas the humble apostate, not Fen’Harel the shadowed and conniving guerrilla war general. Selfishly, he wants her to only love a part of him, the best parts of him, because he is afraid of the whole of him being rejected, because who he is in totality is so storied and convoluted and repugnant that it would require the most extreme cognitive dissonance to be able to love him, and if there is anything Solas hates, it’s people who ignore reality in favor of their own self-serving fantasies. Lavellan would be right to disavow him, and by the same token it would be so terribly selfish of them both if she forgave him of his crimes and he accepted that forgiveness, because his sins cannot be absolved with a single individual’s love. That is the tragedy of their love, because love cannot overcome all that has happened. It cannot redeem or wipe away what he has done, not unless he kills a significant part of who he is, the Ancient Elf, the Rebel, the Failure, the Veil Maker, the Doomer of the World.

[audliminal]

It's Just a Game, Right? Pt 11

Masterpost

Patrol that night is relatively boring; Tim stops a handful of petty criminals and makes some progress on a couple of his cases, but none of the work is particularly hard and despite his earlier exhaustion, Tim finds himself wide awake the second his head hits the pillow.

It's annoying, but also unsurprising, and after a few minutes of laying in the dark, he sits back up with a grumble. He turns the light on and walks the few steps over to his desk, and the notes that he'd left there before patrol, and he stares at the names of the... people? They're not exactly victims, so to speak. Unless this arg is trying to imply that their causes of death are a cover-up.

If that were true, it'd be something well worth looking into, but the whole point of this game is that it's supposed to be fictional. Of course, there's always the possibility that this whole thing is some fucked up rogue plot. It doesn't necessarily fit with any of the known players' usual MOs, but if the Riddler were working with someone...

Of course, the two deaths in Gotham were before any of the current rogues really started operating, so the probability of them being killed for the sake of this fucked up game is low. The possibility of a serial killer is also still there; someone who might have orchestrated these deaths and was never caught, now taunting the world and wanting credit for their crimes.

Probably, he should seek someone else's opinion. But Bernard doesn't have the training of a vigilante, and frankly, which of the Bats could he take this to? He has no concrete evidence, just a weird collection of facts and a horrible gut feeling. Nobody had been interested in humoring him after Bruce disappeared, so why would they think any different now?

He knows it's not their fault, really. Tim knows he's prone to making logical jumps that other people can't follow. But it sucks, seeing details and patterns, things that are definitely concerning, and not knowing how to explain it to anyone. And he'll, he could be wrong. One doesn't become a vigilante without gaining serious trauma, and everyone knows that the Bats are some of the worst off in those regards. Gotham rogues are known for their fucked up mind games above all else.

And yet, whoever is creating these videos clearly isn't limiting themselves to just Gotham. That, above all else, makes it unlikely that this is the work of a Gotham rogue. People of Gotham are typically loathe to leave for long, and even when the rogues are sourcing details outside of the city, they still tend to stay close by, and their actual operations almost always remain within the city. It's an odd fact, and it tends to baffle the other heroes, but that makes it no less true.

So, really, the most likely possibility is serial killer, and the wild variance between the two modes of death he already knows, makes that also questionable. And as far as he knows, there's nothing connecting these people, other than the fact they're dead.

Tim catches himself yawning, and glances back towards his bed. Realistically, there's not much he can do about this now, and he does have work in the morning, so he really ought to make a good effort to get good sleep. Besides, he's pretty sure he's read that even just closing your eyes can help, so he forces himself away from the puzzling mess, and drops back into bed, and waits for sleep to finally come.

[vani-is-typing]

okay, wait a sec. there's clearly a lot to be discussed about the umbrella academy final season. lots of messed up stuff, things just left hanging, events that occurred which were only given to us as one liners, without any further elaboration about what happened. but right now my biggest query is, how did the durango reach the earth?

the marigold reached it obviously because of reggie and his whole reset plan to bring back his wife, which i just have no way of logically explaining how that is possible, so i won't get into that. but from what abigail explained of founding marigold and durango, i can only assume that these were elements found solely on their planet, or world, or whatever. that world ended, and before it did, reggie sent some marigold flying over to the earth.

but why in the ever loving fuck, would he also send over some durango, which arrived in the most bizzare of places and forms by the way, when he was perfectly aware of the reaction the presence of marigold and durango near each other caused? it literally does not make any sense for him to send over such a volatile material to earth, where he's attempting to create a new life with the assistance of some sweet, glowing marigold.

and let's say he did this purely for the sake of scientific investigation, wanting to know why this element was so deadly. perhaps he wondered if the reactions it caused with marigold could somehow be weaponized. but that also doesn't make sense, because there was no active research taking place on or around jennifer. she was just the random girl found inside a massive squid, around whom reginald would later go on to form an entire town of brainwashed soldiers in order to prevent her from coming into contact with the marigold.

jennifer's presence is in no way helping reggie achieve anything. she is no public figure he would have trouble getting out of the way, though i'm sure no trouble would bother him in the least. she has no family, no big contacts as far as we know. her entire existence, as far as reggie and his goal is concerned, is redundant.

so why, in this timeline, does he just not get fucking rid of her? why, even if ultimately the presence of marigold is the reason everything keeps getting messed up again and again, does he keep that chunk of durango around?

and i swear to god, if the reason for this turns out to be abigail, because she went all like, "oh, she's just a poor, oblivious girl. let's let her be", i will literally reach inside 'the cleanse' to get that pasty ass couple out and unalive them all over again.

[hcgossips]

Qué será, será.

Whatever will be, will be.

The future's not ours to see.

Qué será, será.

What will be, will be.

All we have to do is wait a few more years or even, months. Pretenders always end up revealed and exposed. And, Natalie can't hide her baby forever nor stay hostage. I'm sure she's being well paid, but really missing her party friends. She won't stand to disappear and she's probably missing her promiscuous life.

And, when she shows the baby, we will see who he/she looks like. If he looks like an European or a Latin, for example. Dad will, proudly, want to post pics of his child for algorithms, especially being so happy in love and in life. It might take a while, but we will know. She will have to go out and take her baby out to get some light and people are everywhere with cel phones. Natalie and her baby can't hide forever.

But, let's play with our imagination and suppose, for a while, that Henry and Natalie are, in fact, married for over four years, husband and wife for more than four years and that this ridiculous circus was their brilliant, pathetic idea to introduce his m*stress to the world. If so, this guy is an idiotic. But, it's really hard to make this exercise when there are so many red flags of his misery during the last four years, while this woman seemed to give a f*ck.

If so pleased and happy with his romantic situation and so "proud of being her man", he wouldn't give a damn about what his fans thought about his PR (?) "wife", who is still a girlfriend on social media, and they would actually look like a real couple, not colleagues who get together for promotional pics and lousy romantic performances of a fake happiness, staging a circus, while she promotes her breasts.

But, the same way this shenanigan started, it ended. Abruptly, without a clue. No one has a clue on how, where and when these two met and now, Mr. Perfect went back to performing his old single bachelor persona, not the father figure, despite promising we would "have more of it". He should win an Oscar. And he has lived as if these four years had never happened, switching characters as if switching a key. Like a movie that took four years to be produced, launched, exhibited and promoted.

Maybe, he had regretted exhibiting his promiscuous "wife" (?) as a sl*t, as a good misogynist would do, and now, had decided to stop with the circus. But, I thought they were having fun. And his algorithms were increasing by exposing his promiscuous to public execration. So, why stop now? I don't believe a child would stop both. They love the attention and even pay paps to follow them around. They wouldn't blink for a second to use "their child" to increase their algorithm even more.

They used a sick dying dog, for Christ sake! Why not a child? Henry is a money maker gulable for attention. That's all he thinks of: Money and spotlight. That's why he became an escort in many PR stunts, because those are way more lucrative for his pocket and image, allowing him to always perform a new show for a new PR contract.

Someone here suggested a PR marriage would be more logical if he wanted to hide his sexuality. OK. But, it turns out that marriage (fake or real) would publicly turn him into a boring and steady guy, he wouldn't increase his algorithm that much with the marriage narrative and it wouldn't call much of attention after a while nor produce that amount of gossip on the internet.

But, escorting in fake-dates with many... Well, that certainly causes a fuss and allows him to make money as an escort and always be in evidence, each year or so, with a different chick every now and then. But, back to our exercise, can somebody explain to me how a single bachelor, who enjoys parties, smoozing and boozing with a bunch of drunk and gay friends and a loner life, all of a sudden, from one day to another, becomes a father of a promiscuous' baby?

Oh! Yes! He enjoys the smoozing and boozing in nightclub parties and she apparently, came out of one of those nightclub promiscuous' parties from Mayhem and that's how they met. Or maybe, she was never promiscuous, but, a very religious, pure, respected, steady woman, who was a victim for having a promiscuous porn actress as a double. One way or another, no doubt they were made for each other. Funny, if not tragic.

So, if you wanna know the true story of this plot, just wait and see what the future may bring. Qué sera, será.

[thehypnone]

The Ashes Call My Name

WC: 5k

Relationship: Rain/Everyone (Rain/Dewdrop, Rain/Mountain)

Tags: Ehlers-Danlos Rain, POTS Rain, Mobility Aids, Anxiety, Self-Esteem Issues, References to Depression, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Implied Anger Issues

He has been ignoring things for far too long and he can’t do that anymore. Or. Rain gets mobility aids and has a lot of thoughts and feelings about that.

Notes: Commission for @everybodyshusband :3

Read under the cut or on AO3.

The box is ridiculously huge.

Couldn’t they have…folded them? Or get a box that is not going to be more than half empty? It’s a whole business, is it not? Can’t they get custom size boxes for their products?

Rain is stalling; thinking about everything and anything except what actually is inside said box. Besides the air and foil. He does not want to think about it, he just wants to ignore it all.

But he can not.

He has been ignoring things for far too long and he can’t do that anymore.

He can do it—he tries to tell himself—but these simple things seem so big and so scary to him right now; and he’s not even regressed.

Rain’s pack knew this was not going to be easy for him and they all offered their support—whatever he might need. The water ghoul shut the door, though, wanting space, and now he is all alone with the monster that his new mobility aids are.

Two pairs of crutches—one full size in classic black and one small version for when he’s small; these are a glittery purple. Apart from that there is also a simple foldable cane in there—also black. Aether, Swiss and Dewdrop decided he needed to have options; they were the ones to place the order. Zephyr and Omega have also been consulted so that Rain would get what is best.

And now the best is here and Rain is a fucking cunt.

After a while he growls at himself in his mind and with his jaw clenched pulls the mobility aids out of the box. One by one he unwraps all the foil from around them and removes the additional protection before finally being able to take a look at them. 

They are not ugly, his pack did good in case of picking the style—they know Rain better than he knows himself. But it’s not about that.

It’s about what they mean, how they are going to become a big part of his everyday life. Well, how they are supposed to become a big part of his everyday life.

Rain is scared—he has been since his initial diagnosis; just a few months after he has been summoned. He thought it was normal to be in pain Topside, but after a heart-to-heart with Aether he found out it is very much not. The other quintessence ghoul—Omega—examined him and explained that sometimes summonings go wrong and the ghoul comes out…well, wrong. In Rain’s case his body is a little loose where it’s not supposed to be and that leads to him having a plethora of issues.

He thought he had accepted his fate long ago—after a lot of mental breakdowns—but now when it has become so bad he is all but being forced to use mobility aids, he realizes he has not truly accepted anything about it.

He's a ghoul, for Satan's sake—an immortal demon. How and why is he broken?

Logically he knows the…science behind it, but he has never managed to find an answer to ‘why’? Why him?

Of course, if Rain was presented with a choice of transferring his pain to someone else he would never do so. Being essentially stuck in one's own body—something that is supposed to be theirs only to have control over—and being forced to have one's life restricted just for that reason is…well, awful.

Rain is mean quite often, but he would never even joke about that.

He doesn't even have the energy to be mean now. Not to himself, not to the mobility aids, not his to his pack and not to the entire fucking world. The water ghoul is just tired and it is hard for him to see a point in trying harder.

Even if…try harder to do what? Omega told him there is nothing to be done for him. He is only going to be getting worse year by year. The pain is never going to go away.

Rain does not remember what it means to be pain-free, anymore.

What did it come to?

Maybe Rain should just go back to the Pit—beg to be sent back. It would fix him, issues like his do not exist down there. It’s not like he is very useful Topside, and he will only be becoming more of a burden.

The water ghoul wonders if his pack would understand if he made that choice. If his wish would even have a chance of being granted, or if he would have to take the matters into his own hands.

Traumatizing his family is not his goal, though, so he would rather not have to.

It's hours after the water ghoul has opened the package when he finally decides to try his new mobility aids out.

He gets up and kicks some thrash under his bed and desk to make a path to walk through. He goes for the cane first and it's not long before Rain can’t hold back his tears. He can’t even walk with it properly—at least he thinks so—it doesn’t feel right. It feels wrong.

His eyes sting to a point of pain, but he realizes he doesn’t care. No one is there to witness the pathetic image of him like this, anyway. The water ghoul lets the tears flow as he clumsily walks around his room, trying to think positively, trying to look for some benefits of this situation.

Rain finds none, there is no relief as he uses the cane. His cane.

But he carries on for a while longer—until the tears dry on his cheeks and more does not follow, until his entire body is sore from walking and crying and all the stress.

He tries the crutches, too, for a short moment, but they are even more overwhelming.

Rain goes to bed early, after throwing the damned things under his bed with as much force as he could muster up—hoping they would break. He knows it wouldn’t change much; the pack would get him another pair, not minding the money. Rain can’t do that to them, though, they do not get paid enough for that. 

He grabs his phone for his usual pre-sleep doom scrolling. He finds a few messages from the pack, but doesn’t cheer much when he sees that it is even more motivational TikTok videos about how mobility aids are exactly that—aids—and they should not be seen as a burden, but rather a tool to help one live their life more fully. Logically, Rain knows that is true and he is all in for people using mobility aids of all kind, but…well, people. Humans.

Not a ghoul.

Not him.

He turns his phone off after a few minutes and wraps himself up in his comforter—he has to change the position after a moment, though, because his bent elbows start to hurt. He closes his eyes and wishes to wake up in a better world, where all this is nothing more than a cruel dream.

Rain wakes up in pain. Of course he does—that is not new.

What is new is the pain in his hands, though. When he wakes up enough to think clearly, he realizes the cause and gets even more angry about the whole thing.

Weren’t mobility aids supposed to be helpful? How is trading the pain in his legs for the pain in his arms fair? As a bassist he needs his arms painless even more than his legs, does he not?

He makes his way down to the common room just for a second—to grab a quick snack that could count for breakfast and then return to his room to wallow in his misery. 

The next time Rain leaves it it is for dinner that he spends half-dissociated. He does not remember moving to the couch, but he finds himself curled up in its corner, wrapped in a big crocheted blanket made by Cumulus.

„What’s got you so lost in thought, fish boy?” Dewdrop’s voice snaps Rain out of it. He didn’t even notice him coming over and the fire ghoul is already sitting comfortably on the couch next to him.

“Huh? Oh–uh, nothing important,” Rain replies, shrugging and starting to worry his bottom lip between his fangs. “What’s up with you?”

Dewdrop does not answer him, not right away; he stares deep into the other’s eyes without blinking for a few moments. His own amber ones are piercing and Rain finds himself desperate for an escape, but there is none—not from Dewdrop.

“Are you alright?” the fire ghoul finally asks.

And despite wanting to say ‘yes’ so badly, Rain can not lie so outwardly. Not to him. “Yes? No? I don’t know?”

The fire ghoul hums in acknowledgement and without a word stands up. Rain watches with furrowed brows as Dewdrop disappears into the kitchen. He comes out a moment later with a literal armful of snacks and drinks—despite having eaten dinner less than half an hour ago—making Rain chuckle at how comical the image is.

“Droplet, what are you doing?” he asks.

“We are watching a movie,” Dewdrop informs him before dropping his cargo onto the couch next to Rain. He grabs the TV remote next and one more fluffy blanket out of their blanket basket before flopping down by his mate himself.

The water ghoul, of course, does not protest when Dewdrop shuffles in as close to him as possible and curls up against his chest—all warm and purring. It’s extremely cozy and Rain is so grateful for Dewdrop’s method of comforting his mates. He is not great when it comes to talking about one’s feelings, but he sure does know how to distract and cheer someone up.

“What do you want to watch?” he asks and Rain could just about melt over his voice vibrating as he does not pause his purring.

“Uhm…something funny. Like–I want my stomach to hurt from laughing, you know?”

“I’ve got just the thing.” Dewdrop grins and pokes out his tongue as he looks for the movie and then puts it on. For a while Rain stares only at him, ignoring the TV, and all the thoughts from earlier come back, nagging at him.

Dewdrop is so good to him, always taking care of him so well, but it’s just…unfair. Rain should take care of him, too, but he does not and he is only going to become more needy and less able to return the favor.

Surely, the fire ghoul will grow tired of him and turn to someone else, to someone who can give him what he needs whenever he needs it, not only when they are feeling good.

He can’t even–how would he even carry his own bass if he has to walk with the crutches? They will make him even more useless than he is now, he can endure the pain if it makes him less of a burden.

Rain is sick of himself.

Dewdrop shaking against him makes the water ghoul’s head snap in his direction; afraid that he has unknowingly—somehow—made his mate cry. Thankfully he’s only laughing and Rain fakes his own so it’s not so obvious he was zoned out again.

He takes a few deep breaths and focuses on Dewdrop’s warmth, the vibration of his purr, and the movie. It actually is hilarious, the fire ghoul made a great choice. He grabs Rain hand at some point and does not let it go until the movie ends, rubbing his thumb back and forth over the water ghoul’s pale skin.

When the first movie ends and more than a half of their snacks are devoured, Dewdrop puts on another one before Rain could protest. He wasn’t going to, either way, though.

The fire ghoul does not speak much as they watch, but when the second movie ends and he is about to put on the third, he turns to Rain. He gets real close and kisses him between the horns, then on the tip of his nose, and then on the lips, before whispering straight into his mouth, “You know I would go around the whole world carrying you on my back if that would be your wish?”

It punches the air out of Rain’s lungs a little and he feels the need to say it would never happen, that he would not ever demand anything as insane of his mate, that Dewdrop can not actually mean it, but—but the fire burning in his eyes is so bright and pure, Rain can do nothing else but nod in acknowledgement.

“I love you, too, but–" Rain sighs, “what if it’s going to get so much worse and–and I’ll become fully dependent on you, I–I couldn’t ever put that on you…”

“Hey, you’re not ‘putting anything on me’,” Dewdrop says, making air quotes as he does. “You’re my mate and I love you and you can’t get rid of me now even if you tried. I’m not going anywhere, whatever happens. I thought I made that clear years ago.”

“You did,” Rain chuckles sadly. The reassurance is nice, but…the fear of making his mate end up miserable and unfulfilled because of some stupid promise he made a long time ago will not go away anytime soon. “Thank you.”

“I enjoy taking care of you, Rainy,” Dewdrop kisses him once again, holding the water ghoul’s face between his hands like the most precious thing. “I don’t mind  if that’s the only thing I get to do for the rest of my life. No matter what, the only thing I need to be the happiest ghoul ever is you by my side, alright? No matter if you can or can’t walk.”

Rain is the one to pull his mate into another kiss, closing his eyes and the distance between them before Dewdrop can see the tears in his eyes. He knows, though—of course he does—and he understands. When they pull away the fire ghoul immediately turns away to snuggle back into Rain’s chest and starts their third movie of the evening. Rain sniffles for a while over his head and is grateful to be ignored. The stupid comedy Dewdrop picked makes him genuinely laugh soon enough.

He does not know at which point he fell asleep, but he wakes up still on the common room couch with their last movie paused at the end. Dewdrop is glued to him, half purring, half snoring.

Rain smiles as his chest warms at the adorable sight of his mate. He adjusts his position before taking one of Dewdrop’s hands into his own and closing his eyes to go back to sleep.

The next time Rain wakes up he is alone, but there is a note next to him. The fire ghoul left to start his chores early—he always does that to have the second half of the day to himself and his pack.

The water ghoul gets himself up and into the kitchen first. He grabs a light breakfast and only then goes back to his room to get ready for his own chores—which are not very urgent or even important.

As he is about to leave his mood sours. His mobility aids are set by the door and all but mocking him.

Rain decides to take half a step towards him winning.

He takes the crutches with him, but only into his hand. He can carry them around most of the day and maybe try to actually use them when his legs get tired.

It’s not a bad plan and he is not even overthinking for the first few hours; it starts only when Rain’s hips start acting up.

An hour more and the water ghoul decides he is done for the day and—and to walk back to the den on the crutches. It’s not going terribly—he is walking with his jaw clenched, trying to focus—but it is not going great, either. He keeps stumbling and tripping and losing the rhythm. His arms start to hurt, too.

The stairs turn out to be his demise, though.

It’s just a few steps—barely a staircase, but it wins that fight.

Rain stumbles on the second step and one of the crutches slips off the edge of it and before he even realizes what is happening he is on the floor with one of his legs bent all weird. It doesn’t hurt that much, but all the frustration and embarrassment and everything about this damn situation makes him want to just cry.

So that is exactly what he does, he starts to cry right there on the bottom of the stairs like a child throwing a tantrum for attention. There is no one there, though, and that makes the water ghoul feel even worse.

He feels his mind slipping and there is nothing he can—or wants—to do about it.

...

(the next part is about rain age regressing. if you want to read this fic properly and are okay with reading agere, head over here and then come back here to continue)

Swiss followed through on his promise of asking Zephyr to help Rain. The water ghoul is really anxious about the confrontation, for some reason—but also he has been anxious all the time for the last few days, so he should not be surprised. Zephyr told him to come down to the older ghoul’s den; when he does, they are already waiting for him. They eye Rain when they notice he is just carrying his crutches instead of using them to get there.

“Let’s see what you’ve got first,” the air ghoul tells Rain after brief greetings. They are not using their wheelchair now, as they do most of the time—they have their crutches, too.

Rain grits his teeth and takes a few steps forward with the crutches, randomly picking a gait. Not that he knows much about them. Zephyr tuts right away, though, and the water ghoul turns to them with a questioning look.

“They’re too high for you, first of all,” they explain, “your arms and shoulders are going to give you hell later.”

“Well, that makes sense,” Rain mumbles under his breath; not for the other to hear. He returns to the air ghoul and they take the crutches from him to adjust them.

“The handle should be at your wrist when you’re standing relaxed,” Zephyr says and the water ghoul takes a mental note to adjust his cane and the small pair later, too. He takes the crutches back and tests the new height out and—surely—they do feel more comfortable already. “Alright, now, try to walk with them as if you have two canes.”

Rain obliges, putting one foot and the opposite crutch in front of the other and going forward. It still does not feel right, but he definitely has more control over them now. It’s closer to having just…super long arms now.

“Good,” Zephyr praises with a nod. “Yeah, like that.”

A grunt slips from Rain’s mouth before he can stop it. He feels stupid—he is not a fucking child, he can walk, it doesn’t–

“Put some more weight on them,” the air ghoul adds and Rain tries to focus on his breathing and walking instead of the irrational rage building inside him. “Slower with the crutches, I know it’s an instinct to wave your arms faster but you’ll lose the pace like that.”

“Uh-huh,” the water ghoul replies and hates the fact that Zephyr’s tips work. Maybe he should not have come. If he can’t walk on crutches properly they will cause more harm than good and then he can’t be made to use them daily.

But alas, he came. He even knows why, too.

Rain came because deep down he knows it is the right choice.

He only wishes the rest of his brain would get the memo because it is, frankly, annoying to be so conflicted over something so basic all the time.

Zephyr gives the water ghoul so many tips as their lesson goes on that Rain’s afraid that he has already forgotten half of them. If he was not so prideful he would ask the other to write them down for him, but, well…he is prideful.

At some point the air ghoul tells Rain it’s enough for one day and that both his upper body and mind have to get used to the mobility aids. The water ghoul is grateful for the understanding coming from someone who can relate quite literally. 

Zephyr notices the wet glint in Rain’s eyes and the tension in his expression. They know it too well themself. They come up to the water ghoul to offer a half-hug.

“Sorry, I–nevermind,” Rain mutters.

“It’s alright, I know it’s a lot to handle,” Zephyr says. “Especially at first and especially being a ghoul and everything. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?”

“How do you…deal with it?” the other asks in a quiet voice.

“Well, uh, it didn’t come to me easy,” Zephyr chuckles. “I’d even say I was more stubborn about using mobility aids than you, but without them I was miserable most of the time. Now I only see them as something helpful, you know?”

The water ghoul nods in acknowledgment. He wishes his brain weren't so stubborn.

“It would be great just being alright and not having to rely on things like these,” Zephyr sighs, waving one crutch in the air, “but believe me that the sooner your mindset about mobility aids changes the sooner you’ll find peace.”

Rain finds no answer to that. He nods before turning away and he hopes the other understands. The water ghoul squeezes his eyes against the sting of tears and tries to drill Zephyr’s words into his mind, tries to worm them in between the folds of his brain and make it just listen. It does not—not really, not right away—and so Rain lets the tears of overwhelm flow down his cheeks.

He doesn’t notice Mountain standing by their den’s door and watching him with furrowed brows. Rain gets startled when he speaks, “Are you alright, petal?”

“Oh, shit, Mounty, you scared me,” he huffs, faking a laugh to cover up the wetness in his voice. “Yeah, I’m good. Just getting back from…a lesson with Zephyr.

Mountain does not budge, though—standing strong in Rain’s way, with his arms folded across his chest. “Are you sure?”

Rain nods, but if the earth ghoul will not let him go soon, he will break.

“You don’t have to tell me anything, but just…” Mountain sighs. “Rain, do you want a hug?”

And his tone makes the water ghoul break.

He nods as his bottom lip starts to wobble and Mountain wastes no more time before embracing his packmate. Rain just flops face first into the other’s chest and he chuckles sadly, patting him on the back. They stand like that for a little while, neither saying a word until Rain asks to spend the night with Mountain.

He agrees, of course, and picks the exhausted and overwhelmed ghoul up bridal style to carry him to bed. 

“Do you want someone to join us?” the earth ghoul asks and Rain shakes his head.

“Just you,” he mutters. A few more tears fall before he is snuggled all cozy in Mountain’s huge nest. He joins the water ghoul after a quick shower and Rain melts against his warm chest. He’s asleep in a flash.

A few weeks after Dewdrop’s proclamations and Rain and Zephyr’s heart-to-heart the water ghoul is already quite handy with the crutches. He is using them more than his cane because most of the time both his legs need support, not only one. The cane is now reserved for short outings when he’s feeling confident in his legs. 

There are still bumps in the road—Rain feeling awful mentally and refusing to touch his mobility aids, insisting that he is fine and does not need them. There are moments he falls back into his old mindset of  ‘this is good, but not for me’—his pack always supports him, then, in whatever way he might need it.

So what it took the water ghoul months to get used to mobility aids, to accept needing them, to start seeing them as helpful? Everything is a process and he is lucky to have had his pack’s support all the way, and still have it whenever he is feeling down.

Living with a chronic condition that influences every aspect of Rain’s life is not something he ever dreamed of—obviously—and he would not wish it upon anyone. He is never going to be happy about being disabled, but—in hindsight—he is happy he was pressured into getting mobility aids when he did.

While he thought his life would become limited once he starts relying on aids, it’s the opposite—it has become fuller, because he does not waste as much energy on things as simple as walking anymore; his crutches take that on. His hands might hurt after longer use, but his arms and shoulders have only gotten stronger, and his posture has improved—a side effect Rain had not expected.

Most of all, he is still treated like normal.

That was one of Rain’s biggest fears—that once he grabs a mobility aid he will become less in the eyes of his pack, the Clergy, the Siblings. He could not have been more wrong.

He still is, and always will be just their water ghoul, just their bassist.

He is just Rain.

[twilightofthesandwiches]

Okay, so here’s the thing about Zim and GIR…

When talking about the idea that Zim might have some affection towards GIR - a lot of people bring up the fact that, like, GIR is even still functioning in the first place. After all, why would the Famously Sadistic and Callous Invader Zim keep around an evil minion who messes up as often as GIR does? Rather than scrap him for parts or just throw him in the trash? ….Unless he had some sort of emotional attachment to that minion in the first place?

But that’s… I’m actually not sure that argument 100% works. Because there’s one important variable that argument discards. GIR isn’t just a regular ol’ robotic minion - he is a special top-secret model SIR Unit personally gifted to Zim by the Almighty Tallests.

Zim cannot fully discard GIR as a worthless garbage robot that’s nothing but a hindrance to his mission the same way that he can’t discard Earth as a worthless garbage planet with no value to the Irken Empire - because that would be confronting and admitting that he is not actually a great and respected Invader in the eyes of his Tallests.

But I still think there are some other evidence to the idea that Zim likes GIR. Because, I mean, Zim is incredibly lenient towards him.

Zim… feels bad for yelling at GIR and making him cry. 

Zim. Feels. Bad. For. Yelling. 

This alone is incredible evidence for Zim’s affection towards GIR.

And that is absolutely not something Zim will do for just any minion. Just look at how he treats his Computer, and not to mention all those poor saps from Hobo 13. 

The fact that in his deluded world, GIR is supposed to be a top-of-the-line personal gift from the Tallests certainly plays a part. But I also think that while these delusions might explain why he doesn’t throw GIR in the trash… Zim is very good at twisting reality and logic and his own ideology for the sake of justifying his own selfish desires. 

If he actually wanted to hurt GIR, he could’ve very easily rationalized it as ‘you are supposed to be the bestest most prided minion in my army of doom and a personal gift from the Almighty Tallest themselves therefore I will hold you to a higher standard and punish you accordingly’. But instead he is incredibly lenient with GIR and his constant screw-ups and obnoxious whims.

So my read of why Zim is actually fond of GIR in his own weird way is very much tied to, like, a Big Thing about how I read Zim’s character in general. Which is, Zim’s delusion, like Ogres, has layers. Like, there are some aspects of reality that just genuinely never penetrated his thick Irken skull - and there are some things he does realize on some level even as he tries as hard as he can to convince himself otherwise. 

So I think on some level, as much as he outwardly denies it, Zim is aware of how much he messed up things for the Irken Empire in ‘Impending Doom 1’ and how the Almighty Tallests really view him. This is basically how his thought process is described in the Pilot -

And it’s also supported with how Vasquez describes Zim’s similarities to Dib in some of the ‘Florpus’ interviews.

Dib is obviously painfully aware of the ways his father does not respect him - but for Zim to similarly want to prove his own amazingness to the Tallest, he has to be aware on some level that the Tallest don’t acknowledge that he’s amazing. And I think it also matches with his interactions with the various Tallests in the ‘The Trial’ Flashbacks. Because he wasn’t originally that feverishly devoted, eager to prove himself and deluded about being beloved by the Tallests as he is right now.

That’s a trait he has developed either in response to his spectacular failure in ‘Operation Impending Doom 1’ or just to Red and Purple - who already knew him beforehand and decided they can’t stand him - rising to power. He is aware on some level of how the Tallests perceive him, and while he cannot consciously acknowledge it, his behavior is him overcompensating for it.

And I think… Zim projects this aspect of himself on GIR. He sees himself in GIR. Not the self he wants to see, the hypercompetent and beloved Invader. But the self he keeps denying - a devoted and loyal minion who despite messing up sometimes (or rather, all the goddamn time), is always eager to please and driven to prove himself.

Which… is also not a fully accurate view of himself, but like I said, it’s Layers of self-delusion. But that’s subconsciously how he perceives his own relationship with the Tallests and how he perceives GIR’s relationship to himself. 

So Zim being so tolerant of GIR’s constant screw ups, never really seriously punishing him, always putting him in important positions in his schemes, always acquiesce to his stupid and annoying whims… that’s because he sees himself in GIR, and that’s how he would like the Tallests to treat him, that’s how he pretends the Tallests already treat him, and so that’s the treatment he gives GIR. He believes he deserves these infinite second chances and high-ranking roles in all of the Empire’s universe-conquering plans despite his constant failures and that’s what he keeps doing with GIR despite being just as frustrated with him as the Tallests are with Zim.

And the thing is, because of Zim’s Extreme Projection to the Max - he kinda got the entirely wrong idea about GIR. Zim is not exactly that eager-to-please loyal drone of the empire - but GIR is not that at all, not even remotely. While GIR might have some affection towards Zim, he doesn’t care at all about the mission - much less being ‘allowed’ to do Important Things Vital for the fate of the Zim’s latest scheme. He would much rather goof off and watch TV then be given any sort of responsibility.

Again, the cupcake scene is very illustrative. Zim thinks GIR is upset because he feels very bad about screwing up their mission and thus is immediately forgiving - but GIR was only sad because he ran out of Cupcake to eat.

With how distractible and chaotic and generally detached from reality GIR is, it’s… kinda hard to determine when he’s trying to obey Zim’s orders but failing and when he just never really gave much of a shit about them in the first place.

But he’s usually not even a little bit bothered or upset about the idea that his inaction has put his ‘master’ in mortal danger.

I guess the funny thing is, like, there are times where Zim needs an extra pair of arms or eyes on board - times where he needs the skills of… maybe not GIR but at least a hypothetical fully-functional SIR Unit. But there are many other occasions where GIR is nothing but a burden and annoyance to him and the thing is that they both would’ve been happier if GIR was just allowed to stay home to watch TV and eat babies but Zim keeps putting him in important positions because Zim likes GIR but he’s unable to understand what GIR is actually like beyond an image of all the projected insecurities he can't admit about himself.

And of course, as we all know, if GIR was actually driven to fulfill their mission - that turns out very bad for Zim very very quickly. 

[aizawashuichi]

I want L to be fundamentally altered by a pure connection that leaves him devastated for the rest of his life. He needs to find someone that can reach that part inside of him that he constantly hides away from the world, from other people, for his own sake, and take that, and bring it out of him, put it on the table in front of both of them, cherish it, make sure it grows and it’s healthy and it’s beautiful, so that he can truly love them and feel safe around them. And then I want that person to grab a knife out of thin air, and start chopping it, and destroying it, and making a complete mess, and at this point, L trusts this person so much and so there must be a reason for it, even if he can’t immediately see it, because he has learnt to withstand uncertainty by letting them in so he just accepts it. It’s just a momentary phase, those stabs to his heart, they’ll go away, and eventually, they are going to cherish everything again, because that’s how he came to know them, but that’s not true, because as soon as they are done, they are satisfied by the mess they have made out of him, they just leave him, with no possibility to reach out to them again. And he now can’t understand why. This is the only thing his mind can’t comprehend or explain, because there were no signs, no evidence, no logical reasoning behind it or if there was, he can't see it, and now he must carry this question mark with him forever. That’s what he deserves.

[asher-agere]

Caregiver Dazai w/ little chuuya while trying to help chuuya quit his alcoholic tendacies maybe?? Idk- just Chuuya being very fussy and kinda hurt and wanting his special juice to make it better, while Dazai is trying to help Chuuya and making sure he doesn't have any while feeling bad at denying him because he knows it *does* help chuuya feel better or deal with pain or etc???

I honestly love this request for so many reasons I’m not going to even get into. Just know that I love it. Disclaimer! Yes I’m aware Chuuya isn’t an alcoholic, he just has a low alcohol tolerance, but for the sake of the request! And of course content warning for a lot of alcohol talk and issues relating to that, plus some suicide mentions, specifically overdosing. Be safe with what you’re reading kiddos!

Caregiver Dazai + Little Alcoholic Chuuya

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

₊ ⊹ Starting off with an age range! Chuuya regresses to the 3-6 range! Young enough that he can definitely be categorized as tiny, but old enough that’s he’s decided he should be allowed to do adult things. Like having his alcohol of course. He’ll whine and complain when Dazai refuses, claiming that he’s a big kid! He can have the big kid juice! He needs to look down at his hand and count real carefully, but he can even hold up so many fingers to show how big he is! Usually he lies about the age he’s feeling as if an additional year would make him deserving of his alcohol

⛦ Dazai as a caregiver is very strong on enforcing healthy behaviors, not wanting to see his little one turning out like he did. This includes bath time, bedtime, and of course, snack time. Chuuya acts completely innocent as he points out the foods he wants, the plates, where he wants to sit, then of course for his juice he picks wine. It is juice after all! He’s more than happy to explain that to Dazai. It’s just juice! Kids get juice all the time! In fact if he didn’t pick wine Dazai would just give him another juice! So why can’t he have this juice? Dazai never seems to agree with him though

₊ ⊹ Most of the time the first thing Dazai does when he goes to Chuuya’s house is move any and all alcohol up high, somewhere a little midget like Chuuya can’t reach. Chuuya, being the cocky little toddler he is, obviously just tries floating up to it. Dazai, who already knew this would happen, just boops little Chuuya on the nose, deactivating his power ands sending him back down. Obviously Dazai catches him so he doesn’t end up hurt. This cycle can go on for awhile before Chuuya eventually gives up

⛦ Grape juice is a good alternative! Chuuya will go on a ramble about how wine is really just grape juice, so he should just have the wine. Dazai counters by saying Chuuya shouldn’t mind the literal grape juice then, right? Chuuya does not like this logic, but honestly it’s his own fault for entering a battle of logic with Dazai thinking he’d be able to win, he didn’t stand a chance from the beginning. Chuuya tries explaining he wants the wine because it’s fancier, Dazai puts normal grape juice in a wine bottle so it looks fancy. There’s all the compromise in the world and Chuuya doesn’t want any of it

₊ ⊹ Chuuya and Dazai have to compromise while Chuuya is out of headspace because, usually Dazai isn’t allowed into the medical cabinet. However he wants to be able to get Chuuya painkillers. So it requires Chuuya putting a lot of trust into Dazai to not just down the pills himself, even if he only gives Dazai access to the painkillers. It honestly helps Dazai though! It gives him genuine encouragement to fight his own thoughts about downing far to many pills, he needs to stay focused on helping Chuuya, hurting himself hinders his ability to do that therefore he won’t allow himself to

⛦ A lot of people aren’t accepting of adult things in headspace, but honestly, if it’s being done responsibly and under supervision, it isn’t the end of the world for Chuuya to have a little bit of alcohol. Drinking responsibly is perfectly ok, it’s just about taking care of your body and knowing your limits. If Chuuya gets past the addiction stage, sees how bad he was, and still wants to drink on occasion? That’s perfectly fine. He’s allowed to every now and then have like half a sippy cup of wine. However it’s also perfectly ok to recover from addiction and never want to touch it again

₊ ⊹ Dazai has struggled to learn to fight Chuuya’s puppy dog eyes. Usually he’s the type of caregiver to give in pretty easily, and Chuuya tries to abuse that for sure. Dazai usually compromises by doing something else nice for Chuuya! Chuuya doesn’t really like this because most of the time Dazai is using the redheads money, and he can do that himself! But Dazai makes it fun and silly! Always offering to buy himself embarrassing things and allowing Chuuya to take pictures of him! He’ll also offer things up like “No dog jokes for a day” or “No short comments for a day”

⛦ Almost forgot nicknames again… My brain isn’t braining right. So many nicknames with these two… Dazai uses the usual “Slug”, height slander like “Tiny” or “Chibi”, and dog taunts like “Puppy” or “Mutt” Chuuya mainly uses pet names like “Bully” or “Dummy” for Dazai, and he calls him “Fish” instead of “Mackerel” because one time when he was regressed extra tiny he couldn’t properly pronounce “Mackerel” and Dazai ended up teasing him insisting that Chuuya was trying to call him “Mama” and Chuuya vowed to never let that happen again

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

Guys I successfully ranked top 5000 in Knowing the Unseen on PJSK… How did I do that? What

[DNI ID: A box with a brown border, paw prints in the top left corner and Chuuya on the right side. Brown text reads “DNI if your blog isn’t child safe. I will block NSFW accounts” End ID]