#chance he just kinda accepts it though like this helps a kid and stops the WG from getting to show off eliminating their enemy’s bloodline

[deadpoolsmom]

one piece au where Garp just out the gate claims that Ace is Dragon’s son

Like what are the marines/Sengoku gonna do - ask Dragon to verify? Track down the world’s most wanted man for a paternity test?

“Wouldn’t Dragon care / contradict this?�� Dragon is intentionally not associated with his actual son, so 50/50 he’d even know. And what is he gonna care the government think he has 2 kids by 2 moms? He’s not gonna tell them anything. He’d probably let them believe that to fuck w them + so the son of another of their enemies lives free / isn’t targeted for his blood

“Portgas D Rouge was an associate of Roger and they were specifically looking for a baby” Well maybe she had questionable taste after his death. Dragon was already a Revolutionary at that point, so it’s not like the WG know what he is doing.

“Why does Ace use his mother’s family name?” He loves his mom and thinks his “dad’s” a deadbeat

“Why doesn’t Luffy then?” Same as canon. Garp still doesn’t know it and Luffy doesn’t care about dads

I don’t think it would necessarily solve Marineford or make it so that Ace survives, but I do think it would be extremely funny

[winterarmyy]

Welcome home... Soldat? | Part I

That time when Bucky accidentally relapsed into the Winter Soldier.

Summary: Y/N had make a habit of greeting Bucky a warm 'welcome home' everytime he came back from his missions, but there was one particular day when she unknowingly greeted someone else.

Navigation: Part I || Part II* || Part III (end) || Extra

Words: 2.9k++

Pairing: winter soldier!bucky x female!reader

Warnings: implied 18+ content, implied smut, dubious con on groping reader's body, dark(?) possessive behaviour, google translated russian, our soldat is kinda cute(?) in his own twisted way, and well, basically fluffy times with the soldat.

P/S: Guys, I never planned this at all. I mean, who am I kidding? All of my fics are not planned and I clearly write things out of impulse. Therefore, this one don't have much of a story building/plot because it was born out of one scene that flashed in my head and has been replayed way to many times that I need to let it out. Anyway, I still hope you enjoy it, somehow.

Read my other works here: Masterlist

Y/N didn't know when exactly she started this habit but she swore to herself to never grow out of it.

It's been nearly 2 years since the fall of Hydra and the avenger has accepted the winter soldier under their wing. Begrudgingly by Tony, but the rest of them seemed like they're not against it.

Y/N used to be an agent from SHIELD but since the fall, she had been recruited under the avenger's programme and had been living in the tower since.

She remembered the day when Bucky first came in, he was quiet and weary all the time. Like an abandoned cat, picked up by a stranger to come to their home. And it took the whole team months before he slowly adapted.

Who knew he would morphed into a sassy, grumpy little shit, right?

Since the first day, Y/N had been making an effort to make him feel welcomed. Helped him to adjust to modern times. Though it was not regular but she's glad he came to her from time to time to ask about things.

Y/N only meant it to be casual when she greeted him back from his missions. Usually, it'll be something like,

"Oh you're back?"

"How's the team?"

"Good to see you well put together from such horrendous mission."

"God, you look like you fell from 5 flight of stairs."

"Are you even trying to fight back, Bucky?"

But one time, Bucky came back in the morning around breakfast, she wasn't feeling sassy or clever. So, instead of greeting him with playful remarks, in the glory of her messy bed hair and iron man pyjamas, she greeted him with a sleepy smile, "Welcome home, Bucky."

And that surely made the 6 foot, bulky hunk of a soldier paralysed in his spot. His ocean blues slightly widen, and his cheeks deepen in blush.

For a moment, he wondered if this is how he would feel if he had a wife waiting for him to come back from war back in the 40's. But, then again nothing can be compared to the sight he was seeing as he is now.

And Y/N didn't want to ever lose that memory of him.

Cute and flustered Bucky is a very rare sight to see. Perhaps, this was the only time she could witness it and she want to cherish it for the rest of her life.

Though Bucky never replied to Y/N's greeting, it didn't stop them from starting a whole new routine.

Y/N always knew that she had a thing for the sargent, but about 2 months from that moment, Y/N realized she was in love.

And she waited for him, every single chance she had for arrival of the team to come back. Just like she is now, at 03:45 in the morning, while scavenging for something sweet she can eat as she waits for Bucky's return.

When, she turned around she was not expecting to have her face into clashed into something, "Oww!" Y/N shuts her eyes close as she rubbed her aching nose to ease the sharp strike of pain.

For a moment there, she seriously thought she might have just bumped into some kind of a solid air that appeared out of nowhere, but when she opened her eyes, it was just Bucky who was standing rather ominously still.

"My god, you scared the shit out of me. I know you used to be an assassin but, you gotta announce yourself sometimes, man." She joked. Although she did find it impressive that he managed to silently sneak up on her with those thick, heavy combat boots he was wearing.

"Woah, someone's been having a field day kicking your ass, huh?" Y/N's eyes lingered a little longer on the wounds at the side of his temple that she didn't notice the void in his eyes.

"Anyway..." she continued as she shook of the thoughts of caressing the cut on the corner of Bucky's lip, before greeting him with a gentle smile, "Welcome home."

Bucky's unresponsiveness was nothing new to her. With the amount of silent glares and gruff eye-rolls that he had shot at her these past few months, she's used to it by now.

But, when she finally had the guts to look him in the eye, only then she noticed the underlying shift. Albeit, his signature frown was still as present as ever but, those eyes had made her questioned of the slight difference from what she recognized.

Bucky wordlessly step forward and cornered her until her back meets the side of the kitchen isle. He took his time assessing her, almost admiring the way her iris wavered in confusion.

Something is wrong.

Her guts were screaming at her to notice it but her body wasn't reacting accordingly. That's when the voice of the AI, Jarvis echoed through the walls.

"Emergency alert: Code Winter. Initiated by Captain Steve Rogers. All agent is advised..." The announcement went on based on protocol while the cogs in Y/N's brain finally moved, "Code Winter? That means..."

 "...to be cautious of Sargent James Barnes; reprimand on sight however try not to engage alone. Agents is..." Jarvis voice in the background interwoven with Y/N's internal deduction, "...This is not Bucky?"

As she tried to put her own mind into perspective, trying to make herself believe that this man in front of her is not Bucky Barnes who she had been adoring over for these past few months, the soldat's hands reached the side of her neck, squeezing the softness of her flesh while his thumbs grazed the shape of her jawline.

His heavy gaze remained on hers, willing her to stay as still possible.

"Bucky...?" She called his name in hopes of triggering something, anything for within his controlled mind.

At end of the corridor leading towards the kitchen, Steve could see how the soldat had already gotten his hands on Y/N and panic strike him like lightning, he sprinted towards her as he despretely shouted, "Y/N! Stay away from--"

But Y/N was not able to render anything she heard from Steve, especially after a long silence, the soldat finally spoke, "Yes, I'm home..."

He carefully pulled her face closer to his as his lips planted on her soft cheek, "...мое cолнышко (my sunshine)" he lifted for a second just to kiss her again on her temple as he whispered lowly, "...мое Родная (my darling)"

Y/N's heart was beating madly for several different reasons. Parts of her was terrified that the soldat might break her neck within an instance, but it gradually changes into something much more confusing, a conflicted joy, when he keep on trailing his lips all over her face.

What is happening?

Both her and Steve was practically frozen in pure confusion.

Steve's mouth hanged open as words failed to form, while Y/N was unable to comprehend any sort of thoughts, let alone counter movements; when the soldat continue to whisper Russian endearments against her skin, littering sweet kisses on every part of her face, except for her lips as if he wanted to tease her.

His hands slowly travel down her back and stopped on the side of her waist, pulling her body closer until there was no space in between them anymore, before he wrapped his arms around her.

The drag of his stubble on her skin burned but it felt so good when he kissed it after.

Seconds later, Sam managed to catch up with Steve and his cautious approach fell as he witnessed the soldat's rather domestic actions towards Y/N.

Sam foolishly let his guard down as he approached with a question directed to Steve, "Is the tin man back?" That was when a bullet barely grazed the tip of his ear that then buried through the wall behind him.

Both Steve and Sam forced to stop any sort of movement as the soldat's aim was still locked towards their direction; his cold blue eyes pierced with a menacing warning, all the while posessively holding Y/N in his arms as his kisses trailed the side of her neck.

"Nope, not yet." Sam answered his own question as he waited for Steve's order.

Y/N felt like she have to do something to de-escalate the situation. After a quick deduction, and based on the soldat attitude towards her, she took the risk of believing that he would not do anything to hurt her, so she decided to play along.

Will it work though?

Well, she got to have to try for it work.

She gulped nervously before softly calls for him, "Soldat?" she looked up towards him.

When the soldat gave her his attention, she watched the loose strand of his hair fall down to his face. Her hand went up and reached for it, "How about we go back to your room and let me tend these wounds, hmm?" She cooed while tucking his behind his ear and briefly caressing his cheek with the back of her fingers.

The soldat didn't reply but instead silently process her proposition.

However, the hesitation only worried her more, so she continued to persuade, as she cautiously slide her hand, following his arm that was holding her teammates at gun point, "It'll be just the two of us. How's that sound?" She smiled warmly at him as she managed to lower it enough to grab the gun away from his grasp.

There was a glint of indecipherable emotion in his eyes when she mentioned that, which then he nodded in agreement.

"Okay then, let's go." She put the gun on the kitchen isle behind her and replaced her hand in his, pulling him towards his bedroom. The soldat did not protest to her lead, in fact her followed her obediently.

But before Y/N makes an exit, she looked back towards Steve and mouthed a reassuring message, "I got this."

The captain had all the rights to be weary but at this point, he just had to believe in Y/N's action plan. He nodded and replied, "Be safe. We'll be outside."

Along the walk towards Bucky's room, all she could think was that she can handle it and she got this under control.

But, does she?

Well, Y/N did have it under control, in terms of keeping the soldat from going on a berserk rampage but what she didn't think through was how the fuck she should handle his behaviour towards her.

After they arrived to Bucky's room, she had instructed him to strip off his tactical suit and leave him sitting at the edge of the bed, only in his short to avoid him reaching for any hidden weapons he had, all the while she went to grab the first aid from his bathroom.

Now that she almost done tending the small injuries on his face, it finally dawned to her that the soldat had her immobilized in between his legs as his hands rubbed the back of her thighs, occasionally squeezing the softness of her body in his tender grip.

His intent gaze waited patiently for her to finish and as soon as she did, he pulled her on his lap, making her to straddle on top him as he smushed his face on her chest, "Oh, Родная (darling)... I have missed you."

Her hands found her balance on his shoulders while the soldat roaming hands held her body still by the back of her waist.

It will be a lie if she said her heart didn't skipped when he confessed; even if it was still the soldat's thoughts and words but it was Bucky's voice.

The soldat pulled his other hand to play with the buttons of her pyjamas shirt, specifically around her chest area.

Part of him wanted to just rip her clothes off from her body but another part of him didn't want to. He didn't want scare her; and his precious little darling deserved to be pampered.

He had her buttons popped off; one by one, slow and almost sensual while Y/N was still in a heated debate with herself on what she should to next. She wanted the soldat to stop but god the temptation of wanting more was beyond her will power.

This is not Bucky.

She knew that. But, she had been bewitched by the look in those familiar blue eyes. So enthralled and so keen to unwrap her.

Y/N let out a low yet sharp gasp as her chest was finally revealed, "Soldat, what..." The soldat take a quick glance into her eyes, "...are you doing?" before trailing back down to the curve of her breasts, cupped so beautifully with a simple black bra.

His hands went back to grabbed her thighs as he replied, "Just wanna hold you." He leaned closer and left a lingering kiss in between her breasts, mumbling deep, " Wanna feel you, мое Родная (my darling)"

Fuck, it feels so good.

"Wanna feel you..." Y/N's grip on his bare shoulder tightened as he lips warmed the top of her right breast, "...here." An unexpected moan slipped out of her lips as the soldat latched his wet mouth on her skin, bruising it with his mark.

He groaned to the taste of her, so sweet and soft, he wanted to pull the bra off her and suckle on her nipple. He bet that they're perky and so sensitive. Bet he could make her cum just by playing with them.

He wanted to leave his bite mark around them, make them look much more prettier. But, he needed to be patient.

He brought his left hand up to hold the other side of her chest; pulling another pretty noise as the cold metal of his thumb gently stroked the exposed skin of her breast.

"Wanna feel you..." His flesh hand made its way lower and cupped her clothed sex, unexpectedly making her grind down to his hold, "...here."

She couldn't help to find shelter in the crook of his neck when he began to stroke her sensually.

This is getting out of hand.

Y/N doesn't mind to entertain him if the soldat only asked for him to hold her but it was clear that he wanted so much more than just innocent touches. Especially when he languidly rubbed his middle finger in between the slit of her pussy.

She hates how easy it was for Bucky's touch turned her on, his hands and his lips; regardless if his actions was someone else's.

This is wrong.

This has to stop.

"No... soldat." She whimpered in his ears as his finger drew slow circles on her clit, his mouth latched on her shoulder.

"I can't touch you here?" He murmured softly as he pressed harder. Even with the barrier of the cotton panties, she was so sensitive to his touch; he loves that about her.

"N-no. You can't." She choked back a moan as she replied.

God, what if he doesn't care?

What if he'll get mad and force it on her?

She can't imagine the guilt Bucky had to experience if the soldat take her right now. And all because her stupid little brain cannot comprehend a plan to stop him, all because she let the soldat touch her as freely, as willingly.

Salty tears started to blur her vision when she sniffled them back.

Much to his deperateness, the soldat pulled her away and watched as her tears spilled out, "Oh darling, don't cry." He leaned in and kiss the corners of her eyes, murmuring his words of comfort, "I hate to see you cry, мое cолнышко (my sunshine)." His metal hand slithered to her back and his palm stroked her lovingly.

"Okay, okay. I won't touch your sweet princess part, okay?" He patted her pussy one last time before reaching to swipe her tears away. "I promise." He whispered.

As much as he wanted to fuck her stupid, fill her hole full with his load; however the soldat does hold her very dear to his heart and hates to see her sad.

"Just let me hold you close, darling?" He cooed as he kissed the edge of her lips.

Y/N didn't know why but she trusted his words. Maybe it was because he was so gentle with her, that she was tricked into believing him.

She watched the soldat waited patiently for her response and when she nodded softly, he swiftly lifted her in his arms and lay her down on the bed.

He tucked himself in under the sheets with her and naturally rested his face on her chest. His fleshed arms wrapped securely around her waist and his metal one around her thighs, as he pulled her closer; almost suffocating himself in between her warm breasts.

It was like an instinct for Y/N to encircle her arms around his neck while her hands run through the thick of his hair, absentmindedly playing with the softness of it.

She almost giggle when the soldat let out a deep-throated sound of relieved sighs as she continued to massage his scalp.

As the soldat started to sail deeper into dreamland, Y/N thought that maybe this will be the only and the last time she had the chance to hold Bucky like this and she knew it was wrong to feel grateful to the soldat because had done nothing but terrible, despicable things in the past.

But when she thought about it, none of those sins was his choice to make. He was created to kill and nothing else.

But what if he had something to hold on to?

A hope to look forward to?

A person to protect?

Or a home to go back to?

Would he still be the same monster he had been before?

She have not a slightest clue.

But, what she does know that this soldat who's clinging in her arms, deserves something kind.

And she hoped that she managed to give him a sense of peace for once in his life.

Y/N nuzzled to the side of his tired-looking face and placed a sweet kiss on his temple as she whispered ever-so-softly, "Welcome home, soldat."

Part II >>

Read my other works here: Masterlist

A/N: This is possibly part 1? I'm not sure either. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments! And reblogs is much appreciated!

[moonydustx]

A not so funny story

requests | mastelist

Summary: With Uta controlling everyone and the marine attacking, you needed to contain an unconscious Law who was looking to join the fight. Now, you need to deal with the consequences of him finding out about this.

Pairing: Trafalgar Law x F!Reader

Warnings: blood, Law hurts Reader (not on purpose), they both love each other, but they are idiots who don't know how to talk. Law doesn't know how to express his feelings in this one. Angst, kinda fluff/happy ending.

W/C: 3.6k

A/N: I just saw the movie Red and the idea came to my mind. I need to shake off the rust and get back to writing, I thought it would be a good solution. Despite being linked to the film OP Red, there may be some things that differ from the canon.

For those who haven't seen the film, a spoiler-free context: in the film, we see a singer called Uta, who Bepo is a fan of and, together with Law, go to the show. Problems happen, she puts everyone to sleep and with her power, she manipulates these sleeping people to fight with other people who want to stop her.

italics apply to flashbacks and thoughts

Part 2 | Part 3 (NSFW)

The cold stone beneath you contrasted with your hot, sweaty body. You could feel the wounds burning on your body and if you reached out your hand, you could find the cause of them, your captain.

In the distance, you could hear someone calling your name and it didn't take long for Penguin to appear in your field of vision.

"Are you okay?"

"He gave me a hard time, but I'm fine. And you?" You grumbled, sitting up and taking in your surroundings. Apparently everyone had gone back to sleep.

"We're tired but fine. You're bleeding, do you need any help?"

"Everything is fine." You stood, with his help. "We need to get them out of here, I doubt the marines will miss the chance to catch so many pirates gathered in one place. At the very least, this will end in a fight."

You chose to help carry Bepo back to Polar Tang. Even though he was big, sharing the weight would be much easier than carrying Law alone. As soon as you entered the submarine, you disappeared from sight, leaving all of Uta's fight behind.

"Do you guys need help? I can see some pretty bad injuries from here." Ikkaku approached, already stopping the blood on your forehead. "Are they both okay?"

"We should take them to the infirmary and keep them under observation." you warned, seeing two other crew members carry them out of sight. "Can we get away from the fight?"

"Yeah, off their radar." someone answered you in the background.

"Perfect, keep us at this depth, keep an eye on the radios, any sign of change, if Law hasn't woken up, you look for me." You leaned against one of the tables, trying to ignore some of the pain in your body.

It was supposed to be just a quick show, at least that's what Bepo had said. Unfortunately for Law, he ended up being the polar bear's requested companion.

"Sure you don't want to change places with me?" Law appeared next to you, while you finished cleaning the kitchen.

"No captain, I'll be right here, with my duties." You smiled at him and, despite being frustrated, he let out a sideways smile.

"You know that I'm the captain right? That I can give the order and you have to go and I don't."

"You wouldn't be so mean, would you?" you asked indignantly and on one of the few occasions, you heard him laugh, even if it was low tone. "Captain!"

"I'm kidding. Just keep an eye on everything, okay? Don't let Shachi and Penguin cause any trouble."

"Yes, sir. And you, enjoy the show."

You were almost regretting not accepting the proposal. Law would certainly be much better at containing you and preventing you from getting into a big fight than you would be doing the opposite. But you liked the idea of ​​him trusting you.

"Everything is alright?" Ikkaku took you out of your reverie, noticing your body slightly bent and the blood falling on your forehead.

"Try holding back a furious Trafalgar Law from wanting to get into a fight and tell me if that's okay." You laughed, even though it took some of the air out of you. "Just a few bruises, nothing major."

"Come on, I'll help you take care of this." Ikkaku gently pulled you by the hand.

"Boys, do you deal with them?" you asked and they both nodded. "If Law wakes up, don't say anything to him about our little fight."

"You mean, about the big fucking beating he gave you?" Shachi teased you, earning a push.

"Exactly. He has bigger problems to worry about than dealing with this."

You and Ikkaku headed towards the dorm you shared. Your friend made a point of supporting you at every step, even if you insisted it wasn't necessary. She sat you down on the bed and grabbed a small first aid kit hidden on one of the shelves.

"Why not tell the captain?"

"Outch" you mumbled with one of the stitches she had on your face. "I have a feeling he's not going to like that we got into this fight without his presence."

"I think he'll be more resentful that you were the one who held him back." You laughed at her silly observation, then grumbled with another needle. Damn fight. "Don't act stupid."

"What you mean?"

"I'll let you choose. Between you being the only one who can steal books from him without him complaining or about every time we disembark, you having to be on his side. Should I mention that time he freaked out because Kid wanted to take you to the crew from him?" she laughed to herself, at her own memory. "What do you need to see that he likes you too?"

"And who said I like him?"

"Okay, you still want to keep hiding your feelings for him, just hide it better." she laughed again. It was clear to her - and anyone else who saw - that there was something between the two of you. You just prefer not to feed this illusion. "Still, I agree that he won't like all this one bit. Let's try to keep out of his sight."

Law was still trying to assimilate everything that happened. Uta's show had turned into a war scene and in the end, even he had become a puppet. That idea would haunt him for a long time.

Despite recent events, Polar Tang was quiet, too quiet. He could hear some buzzing, nothing he could identify. Another thing he couldn't place was you. The last time he saw you, he had tried to bargain for your presence at the show, even though he had asked to change places with you, he didn't think the idea of ​​going with you was bad. You'd probably hate the song, but he'd enjoy your sarcastic comments about any awkward situation. A small laugh crossed his lips when he thought about what you would say to see little Bepo.

At dinner, he observed Shachi, Penguin and Bepo, talking to each other. The concerned expressions denoted the seriousness of the matter, but that could come later. Even though he slept through it all, he still felt tired.

At lunch the next day, again, nothing from you. Ikkaku was also missing. It was impossible for the two of them to have disappeared together and without any justification. He tried not to think about the worst-case scenarios, but no matter how much he denied it, he wasn't such an optimistic person.

It only took a few seconds of your three companions stalling for him to know that you and Ikkaku were up to something or had already been up to something. He left them behind, following with firm steps to your room.

"I didn't see you two at lunch or yesterday at dinner, I wanted to know..." you two found Law leaning against the door of your room. His relaxed position disappeared in seconds when he looked at where Ikkaku's hand joined your forehead. "What happened?"

"Just a few scratches, nothing major." your colleague replied before you could open your mouth. She knew - actually, you weren't that good at hiding it - about your feelings and how easily you could wrap your head around your own words.

"Yeah, they're from yesterday, some scratches." you tried to complement, the captain's serious expression made it clear that that hadn't helped at all.

"Nothing much and that's why you haven't shown up since yesterday?" he grumbled and before he could continue his lecture, he felt his body being pushed forward, with Bepo, Shachi and Penguin falling beside him. "What the fuck?"

"We just wanted to know if you already know that she was the one..." before the bear finished speaking, the other two covered his mouth.

The grey eyes trailed from you to Ikkaku, to the group lying next to him, and back to you again. The small stress that was forming inside Law turned into concern when he saw the small trickle of blood dripping from your eyebrow.

It only took a few moments away for you to appear like that and he would never tolerate that, you didn't need to know about his feelings or how he was already thinking about taking revenge on whoever had done that, he would deal with it after taking care of your wound .

"Everyone out." you made to follow Ikkaku, stopping a few meters away. "Not you, I need to see this."

The door to the small room knocked subtly behind Law, who waited for a few seconds to approach you. The two of you already had a considerable height difference, but when you felt Law's cold, tattooed fingers on your chin, you felt even smaller. He turned both sides of your face, despite the cold touch, you could feel your skin burn beneath his fingers.

"You're warm, but I don't see any trace of infection." Not this one, you thought. "Give me the name?"

"Name?"

"Which idiot did this?" he replied without much patience, his fingers leaving your face behind.

"This is going to be a funny story." you laughed, stopping immediately when you saw him look deep into your eyes, his expression serious in an almost irritating way.

"Someone decided to hurt one of my crew. I don't think it's such a funny story. Who did it?"

"Captain of the Heart Pirates, Trafalgar Law." your answer didn't seem to catch him instantly, with each word that left your mouth, you could see him getting paler and paler. "I believe you already know, but Uta managed to control everyone who was asleep to attack the pirates and the marines and with that, you and Bepo were also controlled. The boys held Bepo and I had to deal with you, but everything is fine. "

"They told me about Bepo..." he seemed lost for words, taking a certain distance from you and leaning on the small table in your room. "So you restrained me, alone?"

"You, actually Uta, didn't have access to your Devil Fruit powers, it ended up being easier. After all, our mission was just to keep you two away from the navy." you explained, leaning on the opposite side to where he was, seeing his crestfallen expression. "Like I said, it's okay captain."

"Where else did I hurt you?" the question took you by surprise, making it difficult to hide your reaction. "I know my strength, I have a feeling it wasn't just that. I could see it myself, but I trust you, so please."

With your fists clenched and your gaze following your every step, Law could see your hand go to your ribs, along with a grumble, as you bent down to pick up a small cloth and fill it with something that smelled similar to alcohol. As much as he noticed you trying hard, he could see you limping. He watched you smear the contents on one of your cheeks and your arm, revealing some bruises.

You stopped in front of him, letting him analyze. Despite the pain throughout your body, Law's proximity was almost like an anesthetic. If he stayed there, you wouldn't mind spending the day under his gaze. Law took your arm, gently sliding his fingers under the bruise, watching you flinch in discomfort. His hands practically put your arm back in place and placed themselves on the zipper of your jumpsuit.

Your hands placed themselves next to his, pulling the device and opening the entire piece. Of all the times he had dreamed of touching your skin, none had felt like this. He liked to imagine how soft it would be, to think about how your body would shiver, to feel with his own lips every piece of exposed skin, while he heard you ask for more. All the purple spots he had dreamed of leaving on your skin were nothing like the one he saw. Thoughts would need to be put aside at that moment.

His hand knocked down one side of your jumpsuit, showing the large bruise on your rib, which made him hold his breath for a few seconds.

"What else?" his voice was barely audible. He knew there was more to it, but he didn't want to be invasive.

"Just this cut." you took off the other strap of your jumpsuit and let it fall below your waist, showing the wound on your thigh. It wasn't that big, but when you both looked at the place, you understood where all the warmth in your body was coming from. "Shit. It wasn't like this last time I looked." actually it was, you just wanted to spare him the worry.

You adjusted your jumpsuit, leaving the top hanging around your waist. Your eyes searched for Law's, but he seemed to be far away, even just a few centimeters away. For some time, he didn't say anything. His eyes followed one point you had shown and others, looking for other signs. His hands prostrated in front of his body, why had he done that? Why hurt you?

"Law?"

"I...I..." the words seemed stuck somewhere inside him. His hands placed themselves next to your face, a gesture you hadn't received from him yet. "I don't know how to apologize. Forgive me, I didn't want any of this to happen."

"No need, Law, really. I was doing what any of us would do, taking care of our crew, taking care of our captain."

Again the words seemed to have escaped him. He just wished he could hold you and apologize a thousand times, hold you there and heal every little part of you and never allow anything to hurt you again. Some conscious side of him screamed in the background that this wasn't anyone's fault, but the sound seemed so far away to hear, while the picture of what he had done was so close to him.

A few seconds passed, his hands were still on your face, while you just enjoyed the awkward affection you received. He didn't know how to deal with that feeling, it was a guilt like he had never felt. Along with a fear, a need to see you well. There were too many things to deal with and at that moment, he chose to be the most rational one.

"It's infected and may have broken something." Law let his medical side take control of the situation. "Room. Shambles."

Before you even noticed the blue dome surrounding you, the two of you had already been transported to the infirmary. You remained standing in your place as you watched the captain hurriedly walk around the room, collecting some materials and before you could try to get on the stretcher, the two of you were already being taken to another place.

The table full of books, the small window of the Polar Tang showing some little orange fish passing by outside, a cozy bed, even with the sheets spread out. That definitely wasn't your room. You watched Law leave the materials on the table and reach Kikoku. You saw the blue dome again, this time, you knew that he was using his powers to confirm that you had indeed presented all your injuries to him.

"I was worried about your rib, but apparently it was just the bruise. Now about your leg, I may need to redo those stitches and medicate you. I can't let the infection spread."

You knew he was nervous, bordering on anxious, but you had known him long enough to know that stopping him from treating you would be even worse. You had chosen to hide your injuries so that Law wouldn't feel guilty, now that he knew, you didn't have much else to do.

"Law." you called out to him carefully, as he prepared the medication. "Do you mind if I bathe first?"

"Sure, I mean, no problem. Just wait a second." He walked away from the table and piled up some things, which he handed into your hand. "Here's my towel, I also left some clothes in case you want to use them, if you don't want to, that's okay. I can ask Ikkaku..."

"This is perfect, thank you Law." you hugged the small bundle of clothes close to your body.

"Room." again, in a matter of seconds, you were at the bathroom door. "I'm sorry, but your leg is really hurt, you shouldn't force it while walking."

"Okay" unlike the time he had taken you to the infirmary, now he had transported you close to each other, which made the air disappear from your lungs. "Can you wait for me? I mean, you said I wouldn't I should force my leg and..."

"I'll be outside, just call me and I'll be here." Please call me, Law's inner voice practically screamed.

Your shower was much quicker than you expected. Just knowing that he was waiting for you outside made butterflies fight in your stomach. You gently dried your body and took the clothes he had given you. Something that looked like shorts - it might have been underwear, but you didn't worry about that right now - and a black button-down shirt. As soon as you button the last button, you can pay attention to the smell of the fabric. Something soft, woody, you wondered if that was his scent.

"Law?" All it took was a small call and he soon entered the bathroom. Not as discreetly as he expected, his eyes roamed your body. "Can you help me?"

"Of course" your feet left the floor, giving you a few seconds to assimilate that he had picked you up and carried you back to the room. He hadn't done this before, but you preferred to just enjoy the sensation, locking your arms around his neck.

With a few steps inside the room, he placed you lying on the bed, pulling a rod further to the side, only then did you notice the hanging IV.

Law bent down, reaching your arm level, cleaning it with a small piece of cotton. He looked at the wound on your leg. In silence, he cleaned the area and took some bandages, placing them across the entire length of the wound. The contrast between your warm skin and his cold hands was strangely comfortable. You wished they would last a little longer there.

"I think we can leave these stitches for another day, but I need you to take this medicine. It's an antibiotic, the infection is small, but I'd rather take care of it soon." He pulled the small needle, seeing your face pale. "I'm sorry darling, but it's the best option we have."

Darling.

That word would echo in your mind for a long time. The fear of the needle that was about to come into contact with your skin eased when you saw the care he took with each gesture.

"Just don't look, okay?" He waited for you to close your eyes. "Just a few seconds and that's it. You'll feel sleepy, but that's normal. As soon as you wake up, I'll bring you something to eat."

He got up and started to adjust the pillows on the bed, the ones that were around and under you. His hands rested around your body, his body was on top of yours, even without any immediate contact. It was inevitable not to get lost in his eyes, or see him do the same with yours. You would like to engrave that in your memory, forever.

"Are you comfortable?" his face still had the same tense expression from the first moment he found you in the room.

"I am, I promise." you replied, in a burst of courage, you brought your hand to his face, touching his cheek. "Law, what worries you so much?"

He walked away, sitting at the foot of the bed. You just straightened up so you could look at him. His tattooed hands took off his hat, fingers tangling against the dark strands.

"I can't deal with the fact that I did this. I did this to you. Of all the people that could have been there, I hurt you." he grumbled, turning so he could look at you. "You do not understand."

"Actually, I understand." your answer left him stunned for a few seconds. "But don't blame yourself, you didn't choose this, captain"

"I know, but at the same time..." he huffed, trying to find the right words, which scratched his insides every time he looked at your scourged face. "You understand me, huh? I mean, I don't just see you as a crew member and something tells me you don't just see me as your captain. And knowing that of all the things that could have happened, I hurt you. I promise compensate you for everything."

"About what you said, about what we see in each other." your thought was interrupted by a long yawn. "What should we do about this?" You made to get up, but the IV attached seemed to transmit drowsiness straight to your body. Your eyes were already starting to get heavy.

"That we can deal with this later. You took care of me, now it's my duty to take care of you. For that, you need to rest." His hands reached yours, giving a slight laugh when he saw you fighting with your own eyes, wanting to leave them open. "I promise not to hurt you again or let anyone else hurt you."

Before you fall asleep for good, you can feel his lips on your hand.

[lycheeloving]

I now have a writing brain worm because of you.

Reading the shared darling au, with Captain Marvel viewing us as a parent or sibling made my heart just squeal from wanting to pinch his cheeks. (Auto correct used punch instead of pinch.)

Reading yandere Bat Fam, especially non-platonic yandere Bruce, made me think of how goopy this man is for his kids and how he'd probably be feral for a partner who also loves adopted children the same. (As evident from Selina, but with cats.)

So imagine with me if you will, we're a civilian in Fawcett. (don't know if I wrote that right.) You see a 12 year old boy around the city who's obviously homeless, but he tries to help as many people as possible.

You make food that's good cold, will last awhile without a fridge, or is so fresh it's still steaming for this kid. You give him blankets and clothes that are too big because it's better for him to grow into them. You don't know where he disappears to during a crisis and it's eating you up inside. So you offer your place in case of emergencies, or if he just wants to come by.

Eventually, he trusts us and slowly starts appearing every now and again. You already turned a guest room in your apartment into his room. It's like having an outdoor cat, but it's a kid. You offer getting him enrolled in school again, through the Internet so it's easier for his lifestyle and cause you want him to succeed even if it's not in your home. He gets so emotional that he asks if you could be his parent. You say that you'll try your best and work to get a foster license. Billy lays low so CPS won't try to take him again since this is a home he found and wants to stay.

Meanwhile, Batman found out that Captain Marvel was a 12 year old named Billy Batson. An orphan with no shelter, food, or clean clothes. Who runs from every foster home he's been in. He debates how he's going to either adopt the kid or is going to find a way to make him stop being a Hero until he's older.

Bruce is deep in thought when new information on Billy surfaces. He's registered as a student for online classes. Bruce sees this as the opportunity to get the kid in Gotham. By offering these online students and their parents the ability to tour Gotham Academy campus, all fairs paid as well as accomodations, on the chance they will win a full ride for the Academy of three of them. Room and board for said winning students and their parents offered jobs at Wayne Enterprises, as well. Not as anything major, unless you have the skills for it, but still a good job with amazing benefits.

Billy is mildly excited at the prospect of going to an actual school. And the possibility of you also getting a better job with better benefits. There's also the fact that, in the city of crime, it'd be easier for you to legally become a foster parent and/or adopt him!

You two decide to take the offer. Billy feels guilty for leaving Fawcett, even though there's no guarantee he'll win. He also made sure to ask others to check in on his city in case anything happens.

While on the tour, the group gets held hostage by a gang who's leader wants to become an official Rogue. One thing leads to another and you get shot through the right side of your chest while trying to shield Billy.

This leads Bruce to having his own trauma brought back up and the guilt of orchestrating all of this, even if it was to try to give a kid a better life. All the other parents back out of the 'contest' but you have to go to the hospital in Gotham. Bruce pays for all treatments and opens his home to Billy while the kid waits for us to recover, visiting every single day. Billy gets the scholarship on the basis he accepted it and was the only one willing to.

Bat Fam grow to think of Billy as a brother and, other than Bruce, kinda hope the kid's guardian doesn't make it or stays in a coma. Bruce on the other hand is wracked with guilt. He made Billy go through the same trauma he did.

He also becomes obsessive over you, given the fact that you acted as such a good parent. And that you were like him, trying to adopt a feral child that trusted no one. The more he looked into your background and your actions, the more he wanted to get to know you as a person.

When you finally wake up, it's to Billy tapping away at some school work. Chocking out, "Bil-ly?" Gets the tiny boy to launch at you.

You find out about everything and feel guilty that the billionaire paid your medical bills and that you don't know how to repay him back. Bruce uses this to his advantage and asks you to be a secretary. Obviously, while we're learning to walk again and have physical therapy, the best way to move around is a wheelchair. Thank goodness Bruce is already prepared for that.

It was so kind to let you and Billy into his home after the injury. Even the rest of Bruce's Brood have come to like you after a while. From corralling business men, making coffee, volunteering at animal a homeless shelters, trying pilates or aerobics, and learning a bit of ballet as you regain control of your body.

You're walking again! You have money from your nice job. You're looking into getting an apartment for you and Billy.

That last part most definitely doesn't fit anyone else's narrative of how it should be.

...did i write anything about Captain Marvel? 🤔 Or did you just mean my fics made you think of him? lol

EITHER WAY this was really good & cute, thanks! I'm glad I inspired you <3

[lightlycareless]

How do you think Naoya would be as a teacher at Jujutsu Tech? This idea came to me when I was about to fall asleep and I have not been able to stop thinking about it, especially with your portrayal of Naoya.

It’d probably be more auish. Tbh I could see Y/N being a teacher their first(maybe like a year or two) before Naoya(probably against the wishes of his family) decides to teach their too in hopes of getting closer to Y/N 🤭

I feel like Naoya would be like kinda a good teacher but also bad at it is as well. Especially since he’s not there because he has some ‘passion for educating the youth’. I feel like he’d be good in the sense that his students are gonna have the skills they need fight these curses and stuff just…he’s not nice in his teaching. Part of it is probably because he also initially wouldn’t feel a desire to bond or connect with his students.

That is until Y/N steps in. Maybe she thinks that he’s not used to teaching and just needs some pointers on how to get his point across without being harsh to his students. Maybe Y/N decides to give him like after hours teaching lessons. I can see Naoya being slightly peeved having something about him being criticized but if he’s head over heels still, I could see him swallowing his pride and accepting just so he can have one on one time with Y/N(A win is a win am I right lol).

I can then see Y/N suggest they do joint training or something so she can be there to help if he finds himself struggling or whatever(idk) and like maybe his students are noticing that Naoya isn’t that bad and maybe they even notice the painfully obvious pining he has for Y/N. And seeing that kinda humanizes him for them. I can see his students growing less intimidated, maybe even being able to try to start cracking jokes with him and just genuinely act like goofy, relaxed kids around him. Maybe they’re like ‘We gotta help Naoya-Sensei get with Y/N-Sensei’.

Idk this just gave me such cute and fluffy vibes for Naoya gradually caring for his students and the cute moments him and Y/N would have as teachers

Hello!!

Thank you so much for sending me this ask!! I love me some highschool au... but I never thought of it from a teacher's perspective!!! I might write more of it in the future, probably after I tire myself out from the student POV.

Until then, I hope you like this little drabble I wrote :> Naoya is, in all universes, a jerk. But a dork at the same time.

warnings: fluff. naoya is a tiny bit of a jerk, nothing too crazy tho. as expected of him.

Happy reading!!!

Naoya lost track of you after graduating. Whether because he got too busy with his missions, or because deep inside him, he thought that his chances with you were effectively gone the moment he left school.

Still, he hoped that one day your paths would cross once again, providing him another chance to do what he couldn’t do back then and make you his.

Fortunately, that moment would come the moment he learned of your whereabouts by unwittingly eavesdropping on an insignificant conversation between his assistant and another equally mundanesorcerer he was assigned to work with on that occasion.

“Did you hear? Jujutsu High has a new teacher.”

“New teacher? That’s weird. Didn’t know they were hiring—who is it?”

“You’d never guess—Y/N!”

“Y/N? Hinata’s sister? Wasn’t she like… working out of the country, or something?”

“I think so. She must’ve gotten bored of it, there’s not much work outside of Japan, you know. Though I’m surprised she’d settle for a teaching job; isn’t that…”

“Tedious? Yeah. She must be really passionate about it.”

As Naoya recalled, having heard directly from you how you’d always desired to be a teacher, for the responsibility of molding the future of the community appeared to be highly fulfilling to you, and such, a duty you wished to help develop if ever given the opportunity.

It wasn’t his dream, he genuinely couldn’t care less about anyone else but you, that’s for sure…

But if this is what he needed to do to get close to you, then he knows what he must.

Safe to say, the school was pleasantly surprised to receive Naoya’s demand application for whatever teaching position was open, ready to work as soon as possible.

Because of his prestige, the rutinary interview was promptly skipped, they’d still give him the basic training to give him a basic idea of what was required of him, but outside of that, a few days after he showed interest in the job, he got it.

And so, he begins, working as the type of teacher many only expected of him: unapproachable, hard to understand, impatient, and most of all, genuinely indifferent to his students.

Some gave him the benefit of the doubt, hoped that Naoya’s unpredictability would work on their favor…

But they were proven wrong when all these issues began to arise, problems that were dealt with by the students either skipping class, opting to fail it and going to summer school, hopefully with an entirely different teacher.

Transferring schools, if not dropping out altogether…

Or venting their frustrations out. Those that weren’t too keen on sacrificing their grades (that much) would resort to the only other sensei they felt most comfortable with to do so—you.

“Naoya-sensei is horrible, he spends all day sulking about us not being good, frequently calling out all the mistakes we make, but then, he doesn’t help us!”

“Why was he even hired?! Weren’t there any other better candidates?!”

“I wouldn’t say that…” you murmur, an attempt to stop them from saying anything else that might get them into trouble if heard by the wrong person… as well as from spreading lies, for a job like this one, especially amongst the sorcery community, isn’t one many would consider highly sought after. Genuinely there might’ve not been another candidate. Less a better one.

Not everyone liked the idea of a selfless career, one that often went unrecognized, after all. So, for the arrogant, overconfident heir of the Zen’in known to not care about anything beyond his interests…

Well, a surprise could only be an understatement.

Though as unexpected as it was, you wouldn’t deny that seeing this new side of him was kind of nice. Like it humanized him—or whatever little you knew of him anyways, since he often kept to himself, even when working alongside as teacher, he just… didn’t approach you.

But, well, it’s not like he did otherwise back then either. He wasn’t much of a social person. Yet, he always managed to amuse you; maybe through the fact that he seemed particularly… calmer with you.

Either way, you were probably the only other person that thought he was deserving of having friends, people that were always willing to help when struggling, just as he was doing right now with his students.

So, after brief consideration, and ignoring the warnings from fellow teachers and friends alike, you take the first step.

“Hey, Naoya!” You greet, walking over to his table, the same one where he’d always eat lunch—alone. Thankfully, if you were lucky enough, that would change today. “Do you mind if I sit with you?”

“Why?” Naoya asks back immediately after, the nature of his question making you blink, slightly upsetting you.

While his response came out as an indirect rejection, which you would’ve taken as such if you didn’t have other motives… his words were actually meant as a kind of a personal demand, desperate to know why you decided to approach him right then and there, of all places, when there were much better options?!

Certainly, having his first official conversation with you in the teacher’s lounge wasn’t on the top of his list; even worse for a date…

But if this is where it’ll happen, he’ll take it.

“I mean—sure, take a seat. It’s not like anybody else is going to.” Responds, as nonchalantly as he could to appear calm and collected, cool. The type of guy he thinks you’d like, only to have the contrary effect.

«Well, nobody said this was going to be easy.» you think to yourself.

“How is school treating you?” You begin after taking a seat next to him, though you don’t really begin to eat; appetite effectively replaced with anxiety. What if Naoya chews you out just for asking? Again?? “You’ve been here a few weeks now, is everything up to your liking?”

“No. It’s horrible. I hate it.” He assesses, with an unforeseen speed that surprised him as well. But that only helps to show how comfortable he is with you, even when the last time he saw you had been years by that point. To be near you always puts him on a good mood.

Naoya always felt like you were the only one that truly understood him, after all. And that’s something that not even time could replace. 

“Oh. That’s… awful.” You murmur, surprised by his honesty. You suspected he was having it bad... but not like this! “Why, if I may ask?”

“The students are stupid.”

“Don’t—Don’t say that Naoya!” you gasp, he chuckles at your reaction. «How cute.» he thinks.

“Ah, so there’s not a single student that has made you lose your cool, Y/N-sensei?” he takes this opportunity to tease you, you frown.

“Even if there was, it’s unprofessional for me to say so.” You respond. “A teacher must not show any kind of preference, or disregard for their students.”

Naoya remains quiet, getting the feeling that his teasing actually ended up irritating you even further, instead of smoothing things out. But ignorant on how to bridge that gap, he simply goes back to his food, hoping for a miracle: for the earth to swallow him whole, or for you to prove you weren’t that upset. Whatever happened first.

It’ll be neither.

“I can help you, if you’d like.” You quietly offer. “With getting along with your students, and all that…”

“…What do you mean?” Naoya asks, returning his gaze to you.

“Don’t tell anyone this, but… the other day my students told me they were struggling a bit to understand your lessons.” You confess. “They said they were afraid of asking you things because you tend to lash out, and so…”

“Ah, did they?” Naoya scowls. “It’s not my fault they can’t seem to understand basic things!”

“They’re trying their best. They’re just kids, after all, lacking the experience we have.” You explain. “Especially yours, which I already know is quite impressive!”

His heart skips a beat, and that little compliment was enough to put him in a good mood all over again! If only he could spend the rest of his life hearing you refer to him so adorably…

“It’s just a matter of knowing how to transform your skills into lessons. Not everybody has the talent to be a good teacher, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of.” You go on, with such passion Naoya couldn’t dismiss—you really liked this job, didn’t you? “Let me help you so you don’t go through the same struggles as me.”

A part of him wanted to feel offended by your words, angry that you’d call him incompetent in the job he clearly never showed interest in, simply taking it with the hopes of getting close to you (which he failed in for various… excuses)—a sentiment that only grew bigger when also acknowledging that his students had spoken badly of him behind his back.

What, were they too afraid of confronting him? They weren’t babies, pathetic…

But another part of him wanted him to forget all this in favor of taking this for what it was, what he wanted: an opportunity to get closer to you.

It’s easy to guess which one he took. Or more like, which one he accepted with utmost importance. Naoya is still Naoya, and his anger wasn’t to disappear so easily… but he was willing to compromise.

Thus, your mission to make Naoya into a better teacher begins! With tutoring classes taking part either after school, or the weekend, depending on the necessity of your intervention—values judged by the feedback from your students.

And Naoya was willing to play along too, (much to your relief) although he did so by thinking this was the closest thing he could get as a date with you, hoping to get the real deal further down the road…

But of course, he’d underestimated your dedication to helping him, soon realizing that the only things happening during those moments were either going over and over again your notes, trying to figure out what teaching method would better suit Naoya, as well as preparing his classes for the week and the activities to accompany them—and nothing more.

He was disappointed, yet, but not enough to give up. Such determination led him to agree that the best way to keep this arrangement going on as long as possible (until he was able to properly ask you out, or for you to fall in love) was by continuing to fail as a teacher, dump any help/information you’ve given him to start from 0 once again.

Which, surprisingly, worked. But at the expense of your frustrations for his seeming lack of advancement.

You’d never disclose your emotions to him, wanting to avoid making him feel this was some kind of burden (especially when you were the one to suggest it) but… he was not making it any easy.

It was well known that he was a difficult person; everyone always made sure to remind you of that. And yet, you still gave him the benefit of the doubt, you really did!

But like all things, it wouldn’t take long before you end up circling back to the notion that perhaps you misunderstood his real purpose with the job. Or even worse, maybe he did like the job, he just preferred tormenting you far better.

If so… then there was nothing else to do. If Naoya didn’t want to improve, then you wouldn’t waste your time anymore.

“Hey, Y/N, where are you going?” He asks upon noticing you cleaning up after your things, instead of setting them for his class, just like you’ve done almost every day up to that point. “We’re not doing it today?”

“Oh, um… No. I just—I just remembered I had something else already planned for today, sorry.” And for the next day, and the day after…

A whole week in fact, just enough time for Naoya to realize that you indeed had given up on him.

And who wouldn’t? He was being an absolute prick towards all the efforts you made to help him! Regardless of whose idea it was, the fact that he just discarded them like they didn’t mean anything, without the decency to tell you he wasn’t interested in them anymore, all for a selfish, personal reason…!

That wasn’t to be the worst part, however; what hurt the most was that Naoya still claimed to care for you, even when he went on to do all these dismissivethings, in his mind, he truly, still believed he was doing the right thing! That somehow this would lead to you developing feelings for him and getting together!

Yet, your departure would serve as a much-needed critical wake-up call; the perfect detonator for him to finally open his eyes and realize that he was doing was not only stupid, but highly disrespectful to you, the woman he proclaimed to have feelings for.

He hated seeing you upset with him, the light of your eyes dimmed out for something he knew you were highly passionate about.

But what he hated the most was admitting he was the cause of it.

Thus, having his work cut out for him, he begins to do what he should’ve done: apply your knowledge to improving his classes, and taking everyone by surprise when it actually begins to work!

Naoya simply becomes that less impatient teacher, yet willing to call out mistakes with the purpose of helping students, not just demeaning them. And not only that, but his classes are also met with astonishing grades, proof that they’re actually learning!

An advancement that naturally leads the students to grow eager to see what other cool thing Naoya-sensei will teach them this time around, or if lucky enough, help them create a technique no one else has ever thought of before! His creative talents for such things is not one they could pass!!

But most importantly, beyond the improvement of his teaching abilities, he also got your acknowledgment. The unexpected surprise that Naoya not only managed to commit to what you taught him, but that he was actually listening all along…

Though feeling recognized by your efforts, you were mostly elated to see his relationship advance with his students at the end of the day, as seen in the somewhat fond way they’d speak of him whenever in conversation with you.

“Naoya-sensei is much nicer this time around.” One would say.

“He actually offered to help me if I was struggling with my training, can you believe it?!”

“I wonder what happened to make him change? Do you think it was Y/N-sensei? They were seen together quite a lot…”

“Oh my god, maybe he likes her.”

“Don’t be silly, I don’t think Naoya-sen—oh my god he does.”

At their silence and wide eyes when the classroom door opens, you quickly turn around to see the culprit behind their reaction, both curious and worried; was it an angry parent? Wouldn’t be the first time something like that happens…

No. It was much worse, actually. Or perhaps better? Either way, you’d end up reacting the same way when realizing it was Naoya standing by the frame; and not only that, but he was accompanied with a bouquet of colorful flowers that with just a simple glance you managed to understand were for you.

And, well, him walking straight to you might’ve been a dead giveaway as well.

“Nao—Naoya, what are you—”

“I wanted to thank you.” He says, handing the flowers to you. “For… all the help you’ve given me.”

“What—what are you even talking about??” you laugh nervously, flustered by his gesture, embarrassed by the endless pairs of eyes on you.

“For helping me with my students.” Naoya goes on. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.”

“O—oh, it was nothing!” you gasp. “Really, you don’t need to do—”

“Come on, Y/N-sensei!!” one would cry.

“Naoya-sensei went through the trouble of getting them for you!! The least you could do is accept them!”

“Isn’t he your type, anyways?? Accept the flowers, sensei!”

“Oh, that’s so dreamy… I wish I had a boyfriend that got me flowers!”

“No way, how come sensei gets a girlfriend before me???”

“Wait a minute.” You breathe, your student’s words making something in your mind click. “Were you—were you guys behind this?!”

The group lets out a chuckle, giving you enough of an answer.

“What?! Since when?!”

Easily, after noticing how his gaze lingered on you a bit longer than usual whenever you were around.

Of course, ever since you essentially stopped talking to him, he’s been nothing but a miserable puppy trying to gain your attention once again. Naoya hoped that by becoming a better teacher would do the trick, and you did approach him from time to time, but alas, it wasn’t as much as he wanted it to be.

He was ready to give up too, planning on quitting as soon as the school year was over… until his students stepped in to help.

“Naoya-sensei, you need to be more assertive in your approach!”

“Excuse me?” He frowns. “I’m the teacher here, you know?”

“We’re not talking about that!”

“What are you talking about, then?”

“You like Y/N-sensei, don’t you?” one declares, making Naoya’s cheeks burn up.

“That’s not for you to discuss!”

“Your reaction was real convincing, sensei.”

“…What are you even planning to get out of this?”

“Nothing! We just think it’s sweet that someone is interested in Y/N-sensei, she deserves that much after being so nice to us!” They grin. “And while we wouldn’t normally consider you to be the best candidate for her, something tells us she likes you too!”

“Huh? What? Why? Did she tell you??”

“No, but you just confirmed our suspicions!” They laugh, Naoya rolls his eyes. “As we were saying, we normally would’ve chosen someone else to matchmake our sensei with, like Nanami-san, though he’s rarely around. Or Gojo-sensei, but he’s too weird for her…”

“I don’t—I don’t want to hear about other men.” Naoya warns.

“Oh, so you’re the jealous type? Makes sense though, you’re always very… explosive.”

“Say that again and you’re going to spend the weekend here” He scowls.

“Alright, alright, sensei!! We were just joking. Anyways, it’s clear that you reformed, and with that, we’ve officially declared you adequate to date Y/N-sensei!!”

“The issue here is making her like you…”

“You’re making me sound unlikable.” Naoya frowns.

“I mean, wasn’t she upset for days after she was last seen with you?”

Naoya’s heart sinks to his stomach upon hearing that. He has no way to deny he wasn’t responsible for that—in fact, he was well aware it was him.

“You gotta make her like you. See you as a potential partner and not a fellow coworker.”

“…And how can I do that?” Naoya never thought he’d be receiving love advice from one of his students, in fact, a part of him tells him he probably shouldn’t… but after running out of ideas, he guesses why the hell not? Besides, they’re willing, he might as well.

“By being attentive and thoughtful. Take into consideration what Y/N-sensei is always boasting about!! We can already name a few off the top of our head! Surely you can do so too, Naoya-sensei; you two have been much closer than us, after all…”

«Like the flowers on the main garden» Which you never failed to bring to his attention whenever walking to class, admiring how colorful and pretty they were, silently hoping that one day you’d be gifted ones, if ever lucky enough.

“But how do I even approach her? Nothing ever seems to be the right time, she’s always busy.” «Either with work, or avoiding me…»

“Now that just sounds like an excuse” they shake their head crossing their arms. “Just do it when she’s in class! She’s not going to be able to leave there! Besides, that would be 100% romantic, I’m sure of it!! But don’t try to get out of this one by having someone else do it for you, though. It has to be you. That’s the only way for this to work.”

“Huh?? Why not??” Naoya was sure considering it, he hated the thought of being public about something so intimate. Besides, isn’t a secret admirer the type of thing women like…?

“Do you want her to think it was Kusakabe-sensei, perhaps? He was flirting with her the other day…”

That was more than enough for Naoya to swallow the embarrassment of doing such gesture before the students, fast forward to the moment where he walked into your classroom, standing a mere few feet away from you and your flustered face, evidence of your acceptance for his gift—welcoming his efforts.

“Th—thank you, Naoya.” You murmur, finally taking the bouquet in your hands and leaning down to take in their sweet scent—freshly cut, making you smile. “These flowers… they’re beautiful!”

Naoya’s chest tightens at the sight of your happy face, proud that he was responsible of said reaction, and such, making him smile as well.

“Does that mean you two are dating now?!” One of your students claims.

“No!” you gasp, looking up to Naoya. “I mean…”

“Not without a date, we aren’t.” Naoya adds. “Dinner? Please let me make it up to you for the horrible way I treated you.”

“…Yes.”

Naturally, your students never let go of the opportunity to pester the two after that. Whether to know where you went to as a date, if Naoya-sensei got you more gifts (insisting that you’d demand for greater things! He was the heir of the Zen’in, surely, he could afford more!! — you declined their suggestions)

But most importantly, if the two were finally together, because after seeing what the two did: from secretly meeting after class, face red whenever he got too close to you to whisper something seemingly innocent, to accompany you to your room… It was nothing but obvious—they just needed confirmation.

Or for you to stop acting like he wasn’t you boyfriend already!

“Shut up, everyone! Can’t you see sensei’s boyfriend is coming?”

“He’s not— he’s not my boyfriend.” You fretted one too many times, a response everyone could see through, a blatant lie considering the heat on your cheeks, or the excitement in your face, eager to see him again after being apart for soooo long (just a few hours. He’s literally next door to you.)

“Aaaaah, as if!! You’re all red!”

“Stop it, already! Or you’ll all have extra homework!”

And that seemed to be enough to quiet them for the following days, at least until you and Naoya had the misfortune of being caught kissing each other at the teacher’s lounge by an innocent student that simply wished to discuss some matters regarding their last exam.

While they promised to keep what they saw a secret, it really wouldn’t take long before everyone heard of your new status with Naoya, and as expected of the students, they’d begin to tease and cheer for their favorite couple whenever walking by.

No amount of naivety, feigning ignorance could help you out of this situation anymore, though Naoya no longer planned on doing so.

“Well, they already know the truth.” He smiles, intertwining his hand with yours. “Might as well commit to it.”

“Oh, Naoya—Do you think they’ll ever stop? I don’t mind them doing that, I just worry they might get in trouble with the school…”

Naoya laughs, kissing your cheek; no matter the situation, his gestures always make you feel adored, safe.

“I don’t think so—but if they do, I’ll show them to not mess with my students.” He assures you. “Come on now, love. We’re running late to class.”

Never in a million years would you have expected for the follow to happen:

First, Naoya to have feelings for you. Though you always liked him, he often appeared… distant, giving you the impression he solely wanted to pursue his career as a sorcerer. Or perhaps he already had someone else to be his partner, considering his role amongst the Zen’in, so he didn’t need to look beyond that—a thought that greatly hurt you, enough to let those feelings slowly die out eventually.

Secondly, for his feelings to motivate him into joining Jujutsu High as a teacher just to get close to you—yes, he eventually told you. Were you surprised? Very. But mostly impressed by his determination, flustered to understand he liked you that much he was willing to do one of the things he didn’t like!

Which leads to the third point. After hearing his initial purpose on becoming a teacher, you genuinely expected him to leave the job after the first year, but turns out, he’s actually quite fond of being one now!

And while there were still moments where his impatience got the best of him, it was still visible that he truly learned to enjoy spending time with his students, mostly teasing them, but outside of that, he’s found satisfaction in being recognized as someone reliable with their knowledge, talented, worthy of admiration! And helping them become that same person too.

Things were slowly beginning to fall in place for you and Naoya, a moment of absolute bliss that promised to last a lifetime.

Guess all both had to worry about now was the reaction the students would inevitably have when learning you’re planning to get married—if the titles of boyfriend and girlfriend were enough to evoke such havoc… you could only imagine what would happen with husband and wife.

Or when learning you were to have a baby.

But all in due time.

Imagine if they take Naomi to class that would be WILD. I like to think Naoya eventually works as something else (with better pay I mean) so Y/N can keep doing what she likes but more comfortably.

Also the students matchmaking YN lmao and NAOYA BEING THE RIGHT CANDIDATE it's like DAMN were the other really that bad??? I'm sure one of them even thought of setting her up with the director 💀 she would be like "ew no, he was my teacher!!!" she's just so nice to them, they want to see her happy!!

Naoya's puppy eyes whenever observing Y/N from a distance were the true MVP, if it weren't for his unavoidable sadness, I don't think anything would've happened. They really saw him mope around and were like "damn, he must really like Y/N if he's like that..."

Anyways, this was really cute to write. I actually wanted to put Naoya as a teacher first and then Y/N joined, but it kind of flipped your request around, so this is what I went with :>

I hope you liked it!! And thank you so much for sending in this adorable request ❤️ Now, take care, and hope to see you soon!!

[yes-i-write-fanfiction]

Imagine this: After Prowl's sacrifice in Endgame. The AllSpark/Primus or whatever rewards him or something along the lines of that with being reborn as a techno organic human. (Infant, small child, or teen is your choice) He doesn't fully remember Sari and the crew, but he can't help but feel some kind of love and trust in them. How do the Autobots and Sari react?

Sari's reaction is going to be way longer than the rest, just a heads up.

-Optimus will never stop feeling guilty about what happened to Prowl. He shouldn't have had to sacrifice himself, Optimus should have been able to prevent it, it was his duty as the team leader after all. For the rest of his life, it will weigh heavy on his consciousness. But this? It helps. Because the Prowl he once knew and cared for is gone, he's still here in a way. Reborn in the shape he so desperately wanted to experience. A human, a being capable of experiencing life in a way a cybertronian can not. He's young now, defenseless, but Optimus promises to protect him. To be there for him. This is a new chance for Prowl and as his friend (because not even death can sever that connection) Optimus will be there for him every step of the way.

-Ratchet used to dislike humans. Sari was an exception, even before the reveal that she was originally fully cybertronian. He can't say he dislikes them anymore though. Because when Prowl looks up at him, eyes wide with awe and trust, he can't help but see the beauty of their existence. Prowl always wanted to be like them and Ratchet can finally see why. They are constantly growing, changing, becoming their own person and that's all he could ever want for Prowl. To just be who he wants to be. While saddened by the death of his friend, he's relieved to know that death was just the start of another chapter of his life, not the end of it.

-It takes a while for Bumblebee to actually grasp the situation. When Prowl died, he grieved together with his friends. But then Prowl returned! Yeah, small and squishy but it's still him! So everything should be back to normal now, yeah? Except it isn't. Prowl is not the person he used to be, so young and not molded by the experiences that defined the old him. It's frustrating at the start, when he doesn't act the way he should be, when he doesn't understand what Bumblebee is talking about. But eventually, Bee comes to understand that while yes, Prowl is back, he's also different now. He's going to grow up to be a different person and while that kinda stings, it doesn't change the fact that he's still him. That's why, if he doesn't remember anything, then that means that Bumblebee just have to befriend him all over again! If he could do it once then he can do it again.

-Bulkhead accepts the situation immediately. He's always been in tune with his emotions, always rolled with the punches. When Prowl died, he mourned. He grieved together with his team and allowed himself to experience the full extent of his sorrow simply because he knew he needed to let it happen. So when Prowl is reborn, he goes with it. Feels the disbelief, the relief and joy. Prowl still died, this didn't erase the fact that it had happened, but thing change. He was back now, even if different, and he was still Bulkhead's friend. And Bulkhead doesn't abandon his friends.

-Out of everyone, it's for Sari that the situation is the hardest to come to terms with. She's still a kid herself, she's never had someone she cared for die. The grieving process was unfamiliar to her and at times the sadness felt overwhelming. She mourned. She cried. But most of all, she blamed herself because if she hadn't used the key to upgrade herself then maybe it could have been used to prevent Prowl's death. The guilt was all consuming and made her feel like a terrible person. And now Prowl is back?

Don't get her wrong, Sari is happy. Overjoyed. Because Prowl was more than just a friend to her, he was family. To have him back is a dream come true. But that's just it. It was a dream to have him back, not something she dared to consider could even happen. Because if he came back, then what happened to all her grief and feelings of guilt? They didn't just disappear. Prowl had died, it had happened, nothing could change that. But now that he was reborn, was her grief for nothing? Had her mourning and guilt been useless? Was she still a bad person for letting it happen in the first place?

Sari has a really hard time moving on from what happened. She tries to ignore those feelings, especially when she's with Prowl who she now calls her 'big little brother', because those are not his fault. She keeps him close but pushes him away at the same time, afraid that if she's to close then those feelings will force themselves to the surface and overwhelm her.

It will take a long time for her to come to terms with what happened and even longer to accept her feelings. Sari will never abandon Prowl though. Cybertronian or human, it doesn't matter, that's her family. And she wants to provide the same guidance and support that he once offered her.

[account-name]

Five headcannons you have about Phone Guy ?

[EDIT: all of this was written months before the week before came out. some of my hcs have been adjusted slightly since then although most of this still applies]

yayyyyy thank you so much for the ask this is the first time i've been asked about him !!! this ended up a bit long because i wanted to fit in all my important phone guy lore because i've never gotten the opportunity to talk about him

i apologize if this is a bit all over the place and hard to read i'm not good at putting my thoughts into words

also i might reblog with more if i think of anything big i missed

he drinks way too much coffee. he needs to stay awake and alert all the time so he can continue to be productive despite his inconsistent sleep schedule (he gets nightmares which get more and more frequent over time) (and he is also being overworked which is not a good combo) (he doesn't remember the last time he's had a day off) so he uses the caffeine as a way to make up for that. plus he also just genuinely likes how coffee tastes. he also used to smoke but he stopped when his ex wife (marilyn) was pregnant with fritz, so he at least got over that one (if i didn't mention it yet he is fritz's dad btw). caffeine is the only addiction that he still actively struggles with by the time he dies.

he has a confusing relationship with his gender. i think in the normal fnaf timeline he unfortunately dies an egg and never gets the chance to think about it fully but in any au where he lives past that and learns that being trans is a thing he would proceed to have a gender crisis. (fun fact in the au i made specifically for selfshipping daydream lore he is working that out in real time) (i am supporting him every step of the way :) ) he is questioning and he has no idea how he identifies at the moment but that guy is not a man. he does still have a trans pin in the normal fnaf timeline but he doesn't actually know what it means. he found it while cleaning the ballpit one day and decided to keep it because it was kinda neat. he IS trans but he doesn't know it yet. i generally still refer to him with he/him since those are the only pronouns he ever used but depending on the au i think eventually he might experiment with other pronouns in the future. change is scary though so it would definitely take him awhile to get to that point. especially since he's been repressing his emotions for so long. (EDIT: she is now using he/she pronouns :3)

i've touched on this one before but he was working the day his son was murdered. he brought fritz to work with him thinking he could multitask but phone got caught up with work and wasn't paying enough attention to notice fritz getting lured to the back room. he didn't notice his son was missing until it was too late. he absolutely blames himself for it and it eats him up inside. he goes through a messy divorce shortly after since marilyn blames him too. poor phone guy has no one left except his bosses. at least they always cared about him right? they saw his potential when no one else did and he was their best employee. except no they didn't. william was actively manipulating him to do his bidding and henry just didn't care about him at all. poor phone guy. but he still puts on a happy face and pretends everything is fine until he can't anymore. he also blames himself for the other missing children because he was too far in denial and desperately wanted to believe that it wasn't what it looked like so he didn't do anything to stop it when other kids started disappearing. he knew what was happening he just couldn't bring himself to accept it. and then it was too late. he hates himself for that.

he's helped william hide bodies. not the missing children obviously, but whenever other employees happen to know a little too much and they turn up dead in the morning, someone's gotta clean it up. he's had to sweep so much under the rug. it's horrible but phone guy can't say anything or else it will all get pinned on him. phone guy getting framed for murder wouldn't help the situation much either. maybe it was the cowards way out to give in to the blackmail but he was put in a horrible situation and made the choice he had to to get out of it. he helped dispose bodies of his coworkers. it doesn't help that he trusted william and looked up to him for so long. he was one of the only people to ever say he was proud of him. and look where he ended up.

i can't decide on another singular hc to write an entire paragraph on so here's a bunch of small ones instead:

he dabbled in theatre in highschool. he wasn't a dedicated theatre kid or anything and definitely didn't continue after graduating but he did good

he has a beautiful singing voice. he'll get embarrassed if you overhear him though

he witnessed both bites, and sees 87 as his own fault since jeremy was following the instructions phone gave him

he's a breakfast enjoyer :)

he was born in 1957 and died at the age of 36 . fritz was conceived when he was 21

similar to his gender, his sexuality is also a mystery. he's probably ace but as for romantic orientation who knows

he likes to read. it's one of the only hobbies he has time for

he likes sci-fi and is a fan of star trek

he idly hums while he works

when he was a kid his parents had very high expectations for him and expected him to do something big with his life. they weren't bad parents but they weren't the best either. they were very strict with him especially when it came to school. (gifted kid burnout weeeoo)

he has a little sister (phone dude's mom) however he doesn't really have any contact with her or anyone else in his family at the time of fnaf as they moved away from utah and he did not follow them.

i love all the phone biology hcs mentioned in @ask-the-phone (sorry if you didn't want to be tagged lmk i can remove it) so those apply to my phone guy as well. (he molts periodically, his mouth is on the receiver, esophagus cord, ect.)

gives the best hugs

touch starved and very easily flattered

//⚠️cw attempted suicide for the next couple //

this is a dark one but he went into fnaf one knowing full well he was going die, and to an extent hoping for it. this is when he was at his absolute lowest. he was never going to get through that week. i think if for whatever reason the animatronics didn't kill him he would've finished the job himself. he's scared of death but he couldn't imagine a future for himself and didn't think he even deserved one. fnaf 1 was an act of suicide. despite this he still tries to leave helpful reassuring messages for mike to help him survive the week, even up until his last moments.

he tried to take his own life after the bite of 87. maybe also after the divorce too. it didn't work and he just had to go back to work afterward and pretend he was okay. he was not.

[ok back to the other hcs]

fritz always used to put stickers on phone's face. he continues to wear the stickers to remember him

while his head is phone shaped it's entirely biological. it's essentially like a bug exoskeleton. he was born like that and it's not questioned because that's a completely normal way for people to look. sometimes people are just phones

his head is also functional as a phone though. don't ask me how

he purrs when he's comfy.

in the movie universe he is alive and well and living a life outside of freddy's. he worked there briefly and recorded some tapes and then left before it all went wrong. i guess in this au his bosses never really saw him as anything special this time. his son still dies and he probably still gets divorced but phone is able to move on and heal and live his own life. good for him.

i think if phone guy didn't work at freddy's he would've made a good teacher

he is so full of autism

very much a perfectionist unfortunately

not easily angered, but he can get frustrated at times. he bottles it up though so he seems fine until he finally snaps

and that's the list i came up with so far :) i might add more if i think of anything important i forgot but thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to finally talk about my phone guy !!! :)

edit:

-in honor of the news, his middle name is ralph, making his full legal name phone ralph guy (because that is just so funny to me)

edit edit: eventually she changes her name to phone kim guy

[eggplantwaffles]

i think a big problem with modern batfam comics is that they have so many characters that kinda just overlap- here’s my ideas for how to give each of them their own “niche” to make them unique. Some of this is canon or alluded to is some way- but a lot is just what i think makes sense for each character.

Bruce Wayne

Bruce retires, it’s the only way to give all his kids / kid adjacents their own chance to shine. i’m sure he grumbles about it and watches from the bat cave obsessively, but i’m the end he’s learned to trust the batfam and lets them take care of things.

Dick Grayson

I actually really like where Dick is at in comics right now, i mean it’s not perfect- but I like the idea of Nightwing being a “better” version of Batman for Blüdhaven. He leads the Titans, which are now on par pedigree wise with the Justice League, and as Dick Grayson he is an active member of the community in Blüdhaven, trying to use all his resources to help people. So basically not much changes here.

Barbara Gordon

This one’s easy, just make her Oracle all the time- in the most bad dads way possible. Give me paralyzed Barbara Gordon who has eyes and ears all over the world and is the center of ALL super hero activity. She leads the Birds of Prey, she’s in the ears of all the bats, she’s IT for the Justice League- she does all of it.

Jason Todd

I liked Jason’s character best when he serves as an antagonist. Jason goes back to being a crime lord, and we bring back his ideals of trying to control the crime as opposed to trying to stop it. Jason has good intentions, but he lacks the idealism of the other bats who are constantly trying to save the city without compromising any morals. I think that Jason often butts heads with Tim and Cass (mostly Cass due to her very strict no killing rule) but is mostly left alone by Steph and Damian, who are more willing to accept his methods even if they don’t love them.

Tim Drake

Tim should travel the world “conspiracy hunting,” kind of like how he took down the League of Assassins, except he probably chills out on the blowing up bases all around the world that might (definitely) have people inside. Tim is supposed to be the best detective of the Robins, so lean into that- I want globe trotting - mentally unwell - detective stories where Tim fights big secret organizations or takes down corrupt governments. He is also still apart of Young Justice, though they are all a bit older and are a less official group, the core four are still close and work together- they help keep Tim grounded and remember that he doesn’t have to do everything alone.

Stephanie Brown

I think Stephanie kind of separates herself from the batfamily after her time as Batgirl. I don’t mean that she give up fighting crime, or even gives up wearing the bat symbol, I just mean that she becomes a mostly solo act. Steph becomes Gothams main hero, she does normal vigilante stuff, patrolling the streets, saving the city, detective work, the typical bat stuff. But she’s far more connected to the people of Gotham than Batman ever was, stopping and talking to kids, handing out blankets to the homeless, doing cool flips and batarang trick shots for civilians passing by. Eventually she is the hero most Gothamites associate with their city, and she represents the good parts of Gotham- giving the people hope that they aren’t doomed to be consumed by the city, but that they will be stronger because of it. I also think that things are kinda awkward between her and the bats (except for Dick, Damian, and Barbara) and she tries to keep her distance a bit, considering she was kinda treated like shit as Spoiler and i think Steph deserves to be bitter about that, for a little bit at least.

Cass

Cass becomes Batman, but she operates globally. She’s not like early-Bruce batman who stayed in Gotham, she’s more similar to later batman. She’s in the league, she goes on funky missions to space or other dimensions sometimes, she fights the world ending threats that someone with no powers really should have no business fighting. She also works frequently with Tim and they do some fun little espionage stuff. And while she does return to Gotham, she’s mostly content to leave the city to Steph now- except for all the times she gets into fights with Jason, it bothers her that Steph rarely messes with his operation.

Damian

I really love the idea of Damian getting more into the magical part of DC, I think he should absolutely end up with a Justice League Dark team and learn to do cool magic shit. He goes on a training montage quest like Bruce did, except he’s learning all about magic and demons and cool stuff like that. He has cool magic swords and is sort of the connection between the more grounded part of the universe and the magic parts. He also does a fair bit of globe trotting, looking for ancient mystical artifacts or magical worlds and stuff like that.

Duke Thomas

Duke also mostly stays in Gotham, he’s kinda doing his own thing as The Signal- he still operates during the daytime meaning he doesn’t cross paths with Steph or Jason too often on patrol. There’s not much to change here because Duke is already unique in that he 1- operates during the day and 2- is the only meta-bat, so I don’t need to make a niche for him, DC just needs to use him more.

Random Stuff

- Duke is starting college and takes night classes at Gotham U, Steph is also still in college and is graduating soon

- Tim is either Red Robin, or operating under a new name (I think the Vulture or Condor would be kinda cool but idk)

- The Batfam does not get along like a real family, they are dramatic bitches who fight all the time and have cannot all be in the same room

- Damian and Steph are super close, she was the first person to insist on treating him like a child, which he hated but now that he’s older is grateful for (but he’ll never admit it)

- Damian also sees Dick as his father figure, Bruce is just kinda also there

- Bruce, Alfred, Damian, and Cass all live at the manor- but Damian and Cass are rarely there as they travel a lot and got shit to do

- Barbara lives in the clock tower, she technically lives alone but usually one of Cass, Dick, Dinah, or Helena will be crashing there

- Steph lives alone in the same house she grew up in, her Mom has moved to California or something for a fresh start as she is finally sober, but at this point Steph doesn’t need her. It’s very sad as Steph never truly had a mother, but she’s happy that Crystal is getting another chance away from Gotham.

- Duke swears he’s seen Jason at night classes at Gotham U, but Jason won’t admit it

- The only ones Jason talks to semi-frequently are Dick and Tim, the relationships are super rocky though. Dick sees Jason as his brother first, and since he’s in Blüdhaven he tries not to concern himself with Jason’s business. Tim and Jason do fight a bit but Tim is more lenient than Cass so he can tolerate Jason’s shit if he feels like it’s for the best.

[thesharktanksdriver]

Academic Achievements (romantic)

Requested by - can i request an academic rivals to lovers w/ damian? :) maybe a dash of angst >:)

Angst heh? Ha ahhahahhahahahhahahhahahahhahahha yes~

Btw some topics of bullying, class division and Damien kinda being a little shit at the beginning (but we all expected that)

Damien Wayne was a stuck up snooty brat who didn’t work for anything that came his way

Controversial opinion but it was one held by you and the handful of other kids of Gotham academy that came from blue collar or lower class families

Everything came to him with a flick of a finger whether that be his lunch on a silver platter or the attention of others. It was effortless, truly and utterly effortless

He never truly had to work for what he’s gotten in your eyes

Just another rich kid at this academy that’s populated by them

What makes him different though is that he’s a Wayne, a breed of rich all on its own

Practically royalty to Gotham society

He and them get in on money and name alone while you and a handful of others have to work their asses off to get in

It isn’t fair but you’ve accepted that at this point

It’s why you dedicated yourself to studying, to be better than them, than him for once

All students at this school were given a somewhat level playing ground when it came to actual grades

Sure, some had tutors and private fancy teaches at home to help but unless they actually cared they could not buy their way to victory

This in itself gave you enough edge to be head of class academic wise

Well not before the Wayne whom was your age had to stick his nose where it doesn’t belong and had decided he’d try to outsmart you

It started off small at first, projects in which he’d try to constantly one up you

Sending you snide smirks from across the class

You never acknowledged them but perhaps that’s what made him more determined. More pissed off that it didn’t aggravate you like he had intended

So he moves into trying to answer questions faster than you

Raising his hand up high as to be picked first

And so on and so fourth with his attempts

It was getting annoying but you’d put up with worse, much worse at this school

But he just didn’t seem to get any hints

Especially not when he one day tracked you down at lunch while you were in the art room

It was one of your only sanctuaries here. You are in peace without the threat of getting food or a drink dumped on you by some prissy girl again for not agreeing to give her the answers she wanted for homework

You just want to be left in peace but he doesn’t get that

No, he had to stick his nose where he shouldn’t have

He tells you to give up, that he’ll win and it’ll just be easier for you accept that

You almost punch him but hold back knowing you’d be fucked if you did that

You tell him to fuck off

And that leads to the two of you arguing loudly though fortunately no one was around

Rose white statues are the only ones that see and hear the carnage

Words are thrown back and forth, like a rocking ship before it crashes bow first into the waves

Sinking deep into ice cold murky waters as neither of you back down

For him it was his pride that kept him going, for you it was your stubbornness and determination that pushed you

Two opposing forces, an unstoppable force meeting an unmovable object

A fiery red rage vs seething cold fury

“You just can’t let anyone be better at you than anything huh?. That’s the problem here, you just won’t let anyone else win. You already have everything, for once stop being selfish and just give others that chance at victory, you get it enough as it is for just waving a hand in a certain direction”

“Why do you even care so much!?, does your self esteem really hang so much on your position as the top of class?”

“Damien, I’ve had to work MY ass off to get into this school along with my friends. We fucking cried when the acceptance letters came in, and it’s a miracle that the school was merciful enough to pay for me!. You don’t have to worry about that!, you probably didn’t even bat an fucking eye when that letter came because it didn’t matter to you but it does for ME!. It matters to me cause it’s the only thing I can do that everyone else can’t just pay to win”

You leave after that, grabbing your book bag and slinging it over your shoulder as you storm past him to go to your next class. Tears lining your eyes that you hold back and push away

You wouldn’t cry, not in this jungle where the moment you show weakness they’ll descend upon you like vultures to pick away at your self esteem even more

He doesn’t move oddly enough but you don’t pay attention to it much

That night when you barely catch the bus home and then have to walk for at least another 15 minutes with your hands gripping a small pocket knife as you get home.

It’s late, dinner is cold but you don’t have the effort to place it in the microwave

You go to study for the missed time at lunch from your altercation

Your tired and cold from the walk, cheeks still red and nose stuffy but you don’t care

You pull out your notebook and begin to answer equations as best you can

The words from before playing in your mind before you drowned it out with the soundtrack of howls moving castle

As Damien returns home though he’s…shaken so to say

He kinda realizes he may have gone a step too far, a line crossed in the sand that he bounded over in pursuit of something

It also makes him realize how in some ways you were right, which he didn’t want to admit aloud

He didn’t think much about that initial letter, he tossed it away noting giving it the time of day

He knew he was smart and would’ve passed the test to get in but his fathers money had paid for him not to go through that effort

And you were right, he didn’t let others win

He always thought that was a good trait, but perhaps in cases like this it wasn’t as good as initially perceived to be

He would usually go to Dick or his father for advice but instead he goes to Todd for it

Knowing how he had a better grip on what it was like to not live rich in Gotham

And well…

“Wow ok…yeah kinda dick thing to do. You came at them unprovoked and then tried to take a crack at self esteem…good going”

And that’s when the guilt begins to set in the longer he talks to his older adoptive brother

And it hits bad especially when he knows a simple apology won’t likely cut it

It’s during the next couple of days that he watches you in a new light

Compared to him and everyone else who had large social groups your relatively alone

Only one or two friends who come to your side

It’s also here he now notices the divide that he for some reason never caught onto while at the school

Damien is a loner yes, but if he wanted friends he had people who would flock to him at a heartbeat. People who seemed to adore his every breath, a single wave getting a few cheering at getting his attention

But for you and your friends there is disdain and disgust. Like seeing a bug crawled it’s way on your table before swatting it away

But you can’t be swatted, no matter how many times someone pours water or attempts to trip you it ends up with you walking it off

Giving a glare that sends them running off with giggles as they hide a smirk behind a small “oh I’m sorry! I didn’t see you there”

You never say anything about it though, you never go to a teacher or report it at all

You just take it and it makes him confused as to why you stood up to him and not them

It’s why he returns to you after a week or so of observations

Once again interrupting your lunch as you worked on a new painting

“Oh…your back.”

“I’ve…” he pauses for a moment trying to find the right words, pride be damned “I’ve come to say I’m sorry”

You stop your painting at that, mid-stroke as you put down your brush and turn back to look at him. “I don’t believe that” it comes out your mouth and he’s left to stare

“And how would I make you do so?”

“If you really want that then show me change. Show me that you work for what you get just like I do, then I’ll respect you, then I’ll accept your apology”

That seems to hit something in him since he pauses whatever response he had

And surprisingly enough he nods

It’s from that point on you notice that there’s a shift in the young Wayne

One that others also begin to catch onto

It’s a slow process but you begin having lunch with him…well more like he joins you for lunch as you either study or continue your paintings

He shows his notebooks when your stuck and how a truck into solving a question

When others are jeering at you or your friends he steps in, glaring them down

At some point he even reported on a few students after one had poured a drink on your friend purposely

For once the report wasn’t brushed aside

There are definitely jealous glared from others about how he seemed keen on spending time with you but you don’t pay it any mind

Especially not when your working on a history project about the Ottoman Empire which he had extensive knowledge about

You…begin to enjoy his presence

At first you tolerated it but now you genuinely enjoy when he meets up at lunch and integrates himself into your small group of friends

He seems happier, more content and not scowling all the time

In class the two of you start a playful competition, not like before which was motivated by bitterness and pride

Now it’s just for the hell of it as mrs.smith can only watch as the two of you fling your hands up to answer

Afterwards depending who answered the most you’d both do a dare

He begins to actually seem like a kid and not a self-centered robot

You both begin to partner up for projects

He ends up at your small house since you don’t feel quite comfortable yet going to his place, partially in fear of being out of place

He doesn’t seem to mind but tells you that his family would love you

You wave the comment off but it does help ease your nerves slightly

In your home he finds a certain sense of normalcy he’d never really experienced

This feels like what a normal home should be like, small and cozy

Fruit left out by your mom with a note saying to have a snack

He enjoys it wholeheartedly and can’t help but smile when he keeps returning to work with you on the project

Perhaps with a bit more eagerness than he’d like to admit which makes Alfred smile knowingly

Eventually you end up at the manor with him

Your nervous and clutching your bag as your fingers fidgeted

He sees this and takes your hand

Squeezing it in a silent gesture of “it’s alright” and “your gonna be ok”

You swear your heart skips a beat yet you ignore the feeling as you step out a the car with him

The large building and its gates seeming to look over you before your attention is taken away at the sight of a dog

He smiles as the dog comes bounding forwards, stopping for a moment to sniff you before he seemingly gave you permission to pet him

“What’s his name?”

“This is Titus. He’s my dog, and resident best friend”

You giggle a bit at that as Titus pushed his snout into your hand

Tail wagging back and forth before he followed the two of you into the large home

It feels grandiose and elegant

You’d only ever see bits and pieces from magazines or on tv but seeing it in person felt like something else

Almost like walking into a book or painting

Damien guides you through the old halls and into their private library

There are a few stacked books left on a table, all of which are related to your shared project

Honestly this placed seemed like heaven

The two of you work on the project but it’s intercepted by moments of the two of you just passionately talking about the subject

Neither of you had seen it before but both of you are overwhelmingly passionate and headstrong

A reason why you’d both clashed heads before but now seemingly brung you both together

At some point he asks about your art and you somewhat shyly tell him of your hobby

How you sell your pieces on the side to make some extra money since your parents only make enough to get by

Surprisingly he compliments your skill, the techniques you’d learned over years of trial and error

And it’s…nice

You feel warm and fuzzy on the inside just as he does when you ask him to tell you more about his pets or about his roots

Eventually you have to leave but you come back soon after to confine the project

The two of you making a schedule where you sometimes go to your house or his

It’s through this you meet his kind butler who is nothing but kind and caring as he delivers cookies

Along with brief instances of Damien’s older brothers who are seemingly shocked

Especially the slightly (in your eyes) infamous Dick Grayson who peaks in as you both study

Well…before Damien hucks a book at his head yelling for him to leave

The king of Gotham himself, Bruce Wayne even stops by when your about to leave to talk to you

He thanks you for having such a positive change on Damien and your left a bit flustered by it

Especially since the man says your always welcome in their home and that your always welcome if you need help

Things seem better for both you and Damien

You’d been selling more paintings as he actually gained a group of tight knit friends who were just as nerdy as he was

Things are good

So good in-fact that Damien ends up inviting you to a gala him and his family were invited too as his plus one

Aomehow he ends up convincing you to join, even helping you find something appropriate for the occasion at a new exhibit at the Gotham art museum

A place you’d visited before for a couple feudal trips yet never saw in its actual capacity

As the celebrations start the tow of you quickly end up wandering the empty halls, admiring the art

You were both the only kids there so it was only natural to do so, besides, the adults were all mingling with one another

There are countless classics and styles of all kinds ranging from paintings to sculptures

All of which lead to the two of you talking of your interpretations of the meaning

Before you both end up at a painting with a black dot in the middle

Nothing else, just a blank white canvas with a dot

The sight of which makes you giggle

the sound makes his eyes widen and heart race, it sounds like the chimes that would happen from a light summer’s breeze or the fluttering of petals in the wind

And then he joins along in your giggles as the two of you stare at the hoity toity painting of a plane black dot on a white canvas

“I think I make better works than that” you joke

“Think?, no you definitely make better stuff than this. I don’t buy bad art”

Wait what?

You turn to him and he seems to catch what he had said

You notice that his avoids eye contact and how turns to face slightly away from you

“You…your the person who bought my art?. Why?”

“Like I said, I don’t buy bad art. Yours is much better than some of the stuff here, father even thought so”

Now it’s your turn to be flustered as you feel butterflies in your stomach

Off in the distance the two of you can hear the sound of classical music

It’s muffled and too slow for your taste so you pull out your phone and AirPods

“Wanna dance to some real tunes?”

He smiles and takes the AirPod as you press shuffle on your playlist

The sound of “lovesong” by the cure playing conveniently in both your ears

Damien takes your hand and you both take turns leading the dance

He can’t help but grin happily

Neither of you notice his family pealing into the room watching with happy smiles

Nor how Tim had kinds maybe hacked your phone to play that song

[bunbeeplays]

Today's episode of The Lemon Legacy is Lemon-less!

Trent has taken the last day of spring break to tour Foxbury Institute with Paisley, and the recruitment team must have heard two Espositos are touring campus and pull out all the stops! Look at those fireworks!

Paisley: Sheesh, kinda overkill. There's not even any games going on today.

Trent: You're not really used to being an Esposito yet, huh? We're kinda famous.

Paisley: We're no better than anyone else here.

Trent: Try telling Dad that.

Their tour has gone great so far! The professors they've met seem amazing, and the campus is impressive.

Trent and Paisley have decided Foxbury's the place for them! These unconventional besties are ready to take over campus, but they still need to check out Larry's Lagoon.

Paisley: We can commute together! And I know you're going to make a lot of friends and also date a lot of boys but maybe we could have lunch sometimes and-

Trent: Paisley, calm yourself. You're not a regular stepmom, you're a cool stepmom. We can definitely get lunch.

Paisley: Now I can use schoolwork as an excuse not to go to those boring business dinners with your dad. His collegues act like I can't count to 7 without using both hands, now he'll have to tell them I'm in school to be a surgeon!

That'll show 'em! Trent hates those snobs too.

Trent: Good for you, Pais. I'm just excited I'll know someone on campus.

Most of Trent's friends are taking a gap year or getting right to work, so having a familiar face on campus will be nice. Explaining to people this 20-something is his dad's wife might be awkward, though.

Paisley drags Trent into the student union and immediately challenges him to some ping pong. Trent's played at a bunch of parties, so he figures he'll have the advantage over Paisley.

He does get her out the first round, but Paisley gets him right back next time around!

Looks like Trent had beginner's luck. Paisley smokes him two more times.

Paisley: Ha! You need work, kid!

Trent: Kid? You're like 5 years older than me!

Paisley: Respect your elders!

Trent: Good game. Where'd you learn to pong like that?

Paisley: The break room at the Stargazer Lounge had a ping pong table. It was a good way to blow off steam when rich plumholes would yell at you for their juice not being "juicy" enough. I'll give you some tips!

Paisley's got all kinds of stories from her time working as a cocktail waitress at the Stargazer. As they kick the soccer ball around, she tells Trent that she was going to try out for Foxbury's soccer team to get a full ride when she was 18.

Trent: Why didn't you?

Paisley: My boss scheduled me for a shift the night of tryouts. He said he'd fire me if I called out, and I couldn't risk losing my job if the scholarship wasn't a sure thing…

Sounds like she had it rough before marrying his dad. Trent's never had to worry about money.

Time for a coffee break! Look at these two, already getting into the swing of campus life.

Trent musters up the courage to tell Paisley something he's wanted to tell her for a while.

Trent: Look, when you and Dad first got married, I was a total plumhole to you. I shouldn't have been so mean. I'm sorry.

Paisley: Oh, Trent, thank you for saying that. You love your dad, and you didn't want anyone to take advantage of him and his money, but I promise, I do really care about your father. And I'd never try to replace your mom, but I care about you and the girls too.

Trent: I should have given you more of a chance… But for what it's worth, I'm glad I finally did. You're really cool, Pais.

Juan has his faults, but everything she loves about him, Paisley sees in Trent. He's grown into a fine young man, and she's proud he's accepted her.

Paisley: Well, I think you're pretty cool too. Oh, I meant to tell you, the guy who does my nails, his husband runs the LGBTQ Center on campus. He said he'd be more than happy to talk to you today, help you meet some people. That way you'll know people on campus other than me!

Trent: Look at you, Miss Queer Ally. I should get you one of those "I Love My Gay Stepson" shirts for Pride Month.

Paisley: I'd wear it all month long!

Trent: Well, your gay stepson loves you too.

Look how far these two have come! 🥹

That matcha tea went right through her, so while Paisley goes to the bathroom, Trent scrolls through Social Bunny when a call from his dad pops up. He doesn't usually call.

Trent: Hey Dad, what's-

All Trent hears is muffled talking. Must be a butt dial.

Before Trent hangs up, he hears the sound of a woman laughing. He doesn't really recognize the woman's voice, but he hears his dad laughing.

Weird. Dad isn't a fan of jokes. Or fun.

He's not… No. Juan Esposito is a lot of things, but an adulterer isn't one of those things.

When Paisley comes back, the two try out some of the cafeteria food. Not the greatest, but it's not like these two are slumming it in the dorms. They can pack better food from home.

Paisley goes on about how excited she is, but Trent keeps thinking about the butt dial.

His dad has plenty of female employees, he was probably just talking to one of them. He really likes Paisley now, and things seem to be better between her and Dad. His dad is a piece of work, but Trent knows he would never do that to Paisley.

…Right?

[do-it-for-the-fandom]

Fic prompt: 5x06 “what if firing that blaster made me infertile?” “You want more kids?” “Well I’d like the option” I thought they were so nonchalant about this when it was kind of a *big* deal so the fic request is Beckett kinda panicking in a good way even though she didn’t show it ☺️

"I've been stressing," she blurted from the doorway.

He startled, having assumed she would be fast asleep by now. She had gone to bed over an hour ago while he had stayed up to finish off the latest Heat chapter.

He looked over to where she stood dressed in sweats, an oversized shirt, fluffy slippers and a concerning half-scowl on her face. He couldn't help but smile - he really did love this less put-together side of her.

"Why are you stressing?" he asked, reminding himself to focus.

He pushed back from the desk, rolling his chair just far enough back to twist his knees in her direction. She walked toward him and lowered herself onto his lap.

"What's bothering you?" he encouraged, wrapping his arm around her waist to hold her securely against himself.

She focused her attention on the plastic button of his shirt and began toying with it as she mulled over the thoughts wreaking havoc in her mind.

"Most of my friends are having babies," she told him.

His brow creased, confused.

"The ones that aren't are gushing about how much they can't wait until their day comes," she continued.

"And you're feeling... pressured?"

She shook her head. "I wasn't."

Realisation dawned on him. "Is this about what I said earlier? About the blaster making me infertile?"

He covered her hand with his, stopping her fidgeting fingers so that she would focus on him.

She looked up to meet his gaze. "I just- I'd like the option isn't really an answer."

"Kate, I want whatever you want."

"Well, that isn't really an answer, either," she complained. "I don't know what I want, Castle."

Her eyes flitted back and forth, trying to read his expression.

"What if I don't want kids?" she asked hesitantly.

This question was... big. A make-or-break kind of question, a discussion she wasn't sure if they were ready for. But thanks to this case, thanks to an off-hand comment that had been carelessly thrown out there on a whim, it was something she couldn't stop thinking about.

But he smiled; a genuine, reassurance. "Then we won't have kids."

"But you want more kids."

"Not if you don't."

She sighed. "Castle-"

"Right: not an answer. Look, I've done the kid thing. Did I love it? Yes. Would I do it again? With you, yes. But I accepted a long time ago that there was a good chance I wouldn't have any more children and I am fine with that. When I say I'd like the option, it's for you. If you decide you do want children I want to be able to provide you with as many as your heart desires."

She deliberated his words carefully, the silence stretching out for several long seconds. "So... you don't care?"

"I wouldn't say I don't care. I mean, if you're going to have children you should care. Very much," he explained. "I would say... I'm happy either way."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head down on his shoulder.

"Does that ease your mind at all?" he asked.

"It does."

They stayed, still and silent just basking in each other's embrace for several minutes before she spoke again.

"I think I'd do it with you, too."

"Hmm?" he hummed, bringing his fingers up to brush through her hair.

"The kid thing," she clarified. "If I was going to do it... I'd like to do it with you."

He tilted his head to press a kiss to her forehead.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

[aroacemisha]

Listen I'm trying to be supportive of RL Belos here, but if I was Evelyn and he tried to kill me I wouldn't be ten feet near that guy and I sure as hell wouldn't allow my children near him even if he was my BIL.

Did he try to kill her while she was pregnant? Did Caleb have to stop him? Did he ever apologise/make up for it? Because even though he's better in this au he still majorly annoys me like he does in canon and I cannot find it within myself to pity him much at all.

(Was gonna say this at the end, but I think it's kinda silly to follow an AU where a character you find annoying is one of the main characters and is thus heavily focused on. It's also a little rude to come and tell someone how much you dislike a character they really enjoy, it's better to keep that on your own blog. But I digress)

Anyways, I'd like to clarify some things here/give a more detailed timeline of the dynamic.

Evelyn has met Philip before. During her initial visits to the Human Realm, she (~18 years old) pretended to be human, and she befriended Caleb (17-18 years old) - and she was on friendly terms with Philip (13-14 years old) as well, although they weren't close. The relationship went on that way for a couple years, and over that time she started to visit more frequently (originally she started at once every few weeks).

When she finally revealed she was a witch, it was only to Caleb, and both were unaware that Philip was spying on them. Upon seeing her perform real magic, Philip didn't hate her at first, he was just scared. He didn't report either of them, and didn't tell either of them that he knew Evelyn's secret, but was becoming worried that she was dangerous to Caleb.

At one point Evelyn (~22) and Caleb (21-22) were found out and Caleb was about to go on trial, but Evelyn rescued him and they ran away to the Demon Realm. Philip (~18) later followed and found them a few months later, being convinced during his search that Caleb is in danger.

He tried to attack Evelyn in that initial encounter, and she was startled for a bit, before realizing that she can handle him if she just uses magic, since he's human and doesn't have magic of his own. That was also the only time he tried to attack her in that way.

After being calmed down by Caleb and, after a very long conversation, begrudgingly agreeing to give the Demon Realm a chance (for Caleb's sake), Philip remained hostile to Evelyn for a while, but that hostility was mostly bratty child behavior, feral cat behavior (growling, etc) and passive-aggressive prayers. She found some of it funny and once wondered if her beast keeping magic would work on him.

He'd get into some arguments with her, but wouldn't try to physically fight her, in part because he knew she'd just trap him in abomination slime, vines and/or stone if he tried. Caleb's presence was an additional mitigating/soothing factor.

She also figured that if Caleb could change his beliefs after coming from the same place, Philip likely could too, and if he isn't trying to murder or attack anyone, why not give him a chance.

She knew he was only hostile due to being indoctrinated as a child to believe that witches were evil, and only attacked her due to being convinced she was a danger to Caleb, so if that belief was to be dismantled, he would probably become friendly. And it did happen, and he gradually came to accept witchkind as a whole. Realizing his own queerness also contributed to his old beliefs falling apart.

The birth of Caleb and Evelyn's child also helped soften him. By the time the child started to say their first words and learned to call him uncle, it was really pulling on his heartstrings. At that point he was already on generally friendly terms with Evelyn and was allowed to hold the kid sometimes. He was already showing hints of his protective parental traits back then with how he treated the kid, although he would only become a parent himself many decades later.

And yeah, Philip apologized for everything at multiple points during his deradicalization. As for what he did to make up for it, given Evelyn's playful personality, she probably asked him to do something silly to entertain her as an apology. He'd also help her and Caleb fix stuff that broke in their house, and he was showing early signs of his interest in engineering, as he really liked fixing mechanical things.

They ultimately ended up becoming besties, and their personalities meshed well. They only drifted apart and eventually lost touch after Caleb's death, mainly through Philip drifting away, since he blamed himself for the accident in the mines and was particularly ashamed to be around the child.

Also the reason he continued trying to build the portal door even after he accepted the Isles wasn't because he wanted to go back (he felt safer and more accepted among witches), but because he wanted to spread the truth to other humans, and hoped he could change their minds too and end witch hunting, so no witch or human is harmed by them again (this later fed into his developing belief that the realms should be united). So he wanted to fix the systemic problem as well, although his expectations for how it would go and whether it would even work were too idealized.

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 153

Chapter 153: "Coward"

I dunno why but I'm kinda bummed Norman's kill happened off-panel. Yeah it wouldn't feel right to see one one of the sweetest boys to take a life but that's exactly why it would work so well under his WM persona. And I just wanted to see Yverk perish, honestly. I don't like him. At least we got to see Norman attack Vylk in the second season, which is better than nothing, I suppose.

Norman would know that eradication is certainly not the only way to achieve peace if he would stop sounding like a broken record and listen to Emma's idea about the new promise and using the evil blood to save the demons. Also, I love how surprised the Lambda boys are upon hearing Emma rejecting Norman's orders/suggestion so easily. Her short & quick response is a nice callback to when she refused Ray's idea to leave all the GF kids behind back during ch4.

The WM facade that Norman is so confident with means nothing when our girl knows him so darn well, even to the point where he's lying to himself about his true feelings.

Gotta say that I prefer the anime's take on this panel much better as well. Definitely makes me feel sorry for this sad, terrified child more than a chessmaster with a god complex.

The manga does toss a whole bunch of flashbacks our way though so that does help pull some heartstrings here. I can also never remember that Norman & Vincent had the chance to meet casually while at Lambda. For a while I thought they only communicated via the rubix cube their entire time there. The Lambda staff should've never let these boys socialize.

They're both pretty stubborn when it comes to their own ideas but Norman has gotta know to yield once Emma has her heart set on something. You can't go against our leading lady. And how convenient that there's now a clear path between all the dead demons so she can march her way right up to him.

I love her so much for calling him out like this.

This trio is so darn precious with how much they care for each other and see each other as equals aaahh! Ray's words kinda remind me of ch178 when Norman said they would refuse to cross over to the human world if it means that Emma would have to sacrifice herself. And ch27 with Emma's famous speech about how they'll all live together and won't accept a future unless everyone is part of it. Look at that, all three of 'em having their own moments.

I don't even care if the anime switched up Ray's lines, it feels more personal to him when he draws on his own experiences and their relationship to remind Norman who he really is. I also love that someone is shown to be frustrated with Norman's actions. Emma is too, deep down somewhere I'm sure, but her voice is a lot more calming and hopeful during this scene, as usual.

Can't praise the anime for too long though since it doesn't include Ray offering his hand out to Norman like the manga does. (though perhaps it took inspiration from the following chapter since we don't see his hand there either when this moment is shown again.)

Anime also leaves Ray out of the hug for whatever reason. Maybe to match this chapter's extra page of Emma comforting a small, crying Norman, but c'mon, trio hugs are the best kind of hugs! (even though I personally prefer the hug shown next chapter a little bit more.) I can appreciate how the anime had Norman's hood fall down once Emma caught him as he fell to his knees, kinda like how his entire cape flew off here.

Favorite panel/moment:

Yeesss sweetie! Put that boy in his place!! I imagine she would've been just as angry if she had learned any sooner that Ray was sacrificing their siblings back at GF, so he's lucky all he got was a death glare in ch15.

Their faces are SO ADORABLE HERE!! HELP! I LOVE THEM!

[saga-project]

“April?”

“Hey, Don!”

“Why am I….in the pool. Why are you awake. Ugh. Why does my head feel like it’s full of cotton.”

“Uh, well, the power was off in the lair. Might still be? And I think you kinda freaked out over it and—“

“…..I went feral mode again, didn’t I." "Yeah. Only for like. Two hours this time, though!” “

"I don’t want to go into it at all, April! I don’t….I don’t remember what happens during it! And I can’t control myself! And I don’t even know what triggers it most of the time! It’s things that I don’t even realize are triggers! And you shouldn’t have to help me with it.”

“You asked me to.”

“But you shouldn’t—I—it just. I don’t even know what set it off.”

“I have a theory. You kinda act a lot more like a kid when you’re like that. I think it’s a lot of the trauma coming through. Maybe Mikey would explain it better-“

“So, what, it’s my child self coming through to try and protect me or something?”

“….kind of, yeah."

“Oh.”

“You told me…..they used to make you fight in the Nexus. That the thunder reminded you of the crowds. Of being in the dark and the cold. And how you’d pretend Atomic Lass and Jupiter Jim were around to protect you.”

"I....I did?"

“Yeah. Don. How old were you when they made you fight?”

“…..I….not much. Older than I am now, I. It doesn’t matter. I’m not with them anymore. It shouldn’t matter."

“But it hurt you. It scared you. And THAT matters.”

"I—“

“And then your mind remembers that, and it tries to protect you. Or something.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It kinda does. You wanna be kept safe during it. Near someone. Like a scared kid.”

“Shut up. I’m not….I’m not scared. You’re jumping to conclusions.”

“So you didn’t get panicked over the lights going off?”

“I….that doesn’t mean my feral side is…..just stop it, okay? Stop.”

“Why is it so hard for you to accept?”

“Because I couldn’t protect myself when I was a kid. Why would it happen now? What about when I actually needed that protection?”

“They made you think you had to be strong, okay? But you were just a kid. You should have been allowed to be scared. You should have had someone to protect you. And I’m sorry you didn’t. And I think the reason you’re showing that side now is to try and heal from all that. Mikey would explain it better, but….you never really got a chance to be a kid. Maybe it’s some weird mixture of all that.”

“I don’t want to be afraid anymore. I’m not a child. I should….I should handle it myself.”

“Just because you should doesn’t mean you have to. You can talk about it. You can feel things. You don’t have to hide it from your family or feel ashamed over it. If you wanna talk about it, I'm here. But I'm not gonna force you."

“They made me fight in the first match…..a month after I was taken.”

“….when you were ten?”

“…..yes.”

"Don."

"They put me up against a deliberately weaker opponent. It's fine! I didn't get hurt, I--"

“…..what happened.”

“I remembered the moves Spli—Dad. Taught me. I pinned them. And then Rakshan….he came over the loudspeakers. He told me to finish the fight. It….it didn’t make sense to me. Not at first. The match was over. I’d won. I didn’t understand what he wanted me to do. But I….I figured it out. I refused. I said he couldn’t make me. But then he….he said he’d find my brothers. And bring them there too. And I couldn’t….I couldn’t let them do that. Not to Mikey, especially. S-so I….I tried to make it quick. Painless. But I’d never done it before. And there was…..god. There was s-so much blood.”

“Oh, Don. I….I’m so sorry.”

"You're....not horrified?"

"No. I mean, it's horrifying, but I'm not....of you.

“I haven’t told them. But I’m sure they guess. I….I lost track. Of how many they made me….I don’t know. I can still feel the blood sometimes. I swear to god I can. Or I hear it dripping. Sometimes it feels like it’s still there. Like I’ll never get it off. And I….what would they think of me, if they knew….I…..I got used to it. I….I just accepted that it was them or me. What….what kind of a person does that make me? When I heard the rain, and the….I can’t remember. It was like I was back there. That’s the last thing I—“

“Don. I really think this whole feral mode situation is because of the trauma you’re not dealing with.”

“I can’t tell them about it. I….they’ll throw me out.”

“You know they won’t.”

“I don’t KNOW anything ABOUT them, April! I spent so long away from them! What if they changed? What if I changed? I still barely even recognize myself in all the old pictures and....I...I still can’t believe they just forgave me. After I was so awful. I haven’t had brothers before. Not for a long time. I don’t….I don’t want to mess this up. I don’t want to lose this. And I know that I won’t. Probably. But I….I look at how they treat other people who did the same thing as me, and….I don’t know. I’m afraid, April. I can’t lose this when I’m just starting to learn how to actually be a brother again.”

"Hey, hey. Breathe. It's gonna be okay, Don."

“Don’t tell them. Please? Don’t tell them.”

“Okay. Then you have to tell them.”

“Not yet. I’m not….I’m not ready.”

"Don. The longer you wait, the more worried you're gonna get."

"I know. I know. I just.....I just don't know what to do."

"You'll figure it out. You're smart."

".....right."

[notasocialismjoke]

i hit chapter 100 of one piece a few nights ago and some thoughts on the story so far (not cohesive just what's been on my mind)

so one very good thing and then one very frustrating thing.

so one thing that oda's done very well so far is breaking the story's tempo. by the time of usopp's arc the story was starting to feel kinda repetitive; luffy (and the crew) finds new crew member, then defeats an associated villain to convince the new crew member to join, just getting longer each time it happened. the baratie arc messed this up; while it still largely followed the same format vis-a-vis sanji, the mihawk fight. the mihawk fight. mihawk and his fight with sanji - and the fact that he won and then left - went really far to making the world feel bigger. even though mihawk was only introduced in this arc he doesn't feel like he exists for this arc, unlike every other antagonist thus far.

i'm only partway into the, uh, idk what to call it but they went to and then left the island that roger was executed on arc and it does the same by bringing back tumblr clown the best character in one piece and alvida (and also in the process confirming that the insets at the start of most chapters are actually relevant and not just fun side pieces). thus far there's been a strong sense that the places that the straw hats, once left behind, mostly stop existing, but the mixture of new and old characters here suddenly brings a relavancy to the world that most of it didn't have before. I'm left wondering much more now who and were all is actually going to continue to affect/show up in the story down the line.

(besides gaimon it was obvious that he's going to be important later)

the frustrating thing is nami's characterization. i'm deeply upset at the way that she's been written differently from the rest of the straw hats so far, and particularly that her difference has been identified in story as being related to her being a woman. particularly her continued lack of fighting. the arlong park arc not only missed a chance to remedy this by putting her in the position of getting to fight and defeat arlong herself, but i feel made things worse by making luffy (and sanji and zoro and i guess usopp) the ones to do it instead. nami's big problem, the thing that has been driving her decisions so far, is solved not by her own actions but by her asking a man to come and solve it for her.

which really sucks because the scene where she breaks down and finally asks luffy for help is fantastic! i was crying reading it. seeing the shell that she'd put up, that i know understood her as having put up for years, that desire not to get close to anyone because the last person she was close to got killed for it, finally come down and accept someone into her life, was phenomenal. and then she spent the next ten chapters blankly staring with barely any dialogue while luffy swung the shark man around a bunch.

and belle-mere is also frustrating, because the story presents her as a pretty unambiguously good character; ie nami and nojiko both think of her as such, and she hit her daughter. she abused her kid. every other thing that she did in the story sits next to that in my head. it's contradiction. it is a blindingly bright contradiction with everything else she does and the story does not portray it as such and, that upsets me.

i wish at least she'd been portrayed as gray. it's the sort of thing that makes her pretty fucking awful in my eyes but i'm more upset that the story doesn't perceive her abuse as relevant to how nami and nojiko perceive her.

anyways one piece is really fucking good i'm gonna go read it some more

[heylinfanclub]

Topic In therapy I may be contemplating for a couple years; I crave community mutual aid but from the words of my equestrian therapist ‘we just don’t really do that here’. And I told her we do though. Plenty of people toss out usable furniture by the road. Plenty of people hire ‘taskers’ (an app I just learned about) to do chores for them. People ONLINE have financially supported me just cause they knew me, they could and they cared. Strangers come sort recycling out of our trash because they care, it’s not even their job.

During the session I was rly upset at the idea that I am doing. So much work (counting the pressures of working harder to do basic shit on average due to having a mental illness) to take care of myself. And so much more work on top of that to educate others. And keep people in my life. And try to survive capitalism. And that I can’t do it all alone! I am going to die on fire! I am the blood-sweeping robot that sweeps its lifeblood until it dies of bloodloss. And SO MANY OF US are being forced into that position, even without a mental illness that exacerbates the severity of the reality (some people LIVE LIKE THIS, DOING MORE THAN ME EVEN AND ACCEPT IT AS NORMAL INDEPENDENCE WHEN ITS LIKE. ONE DAY. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CARE FOR YOURSELF. AND YOU WILL DIE ALONE. ARE YOU NOT AFRAID?!!?!!?!) this is why it’s called COMPHET (or compallo at this point). THE ONLY WAY TO SURVIVE WHEN YOU CANT KEEP UP W THIS ALONE IS TO RELY ON A SIGNIFICANT OTHER. OR FAMILY. OR ‘THE SYSTEM’. neither of which are guaranteed for ANYONE. hell. I told someone I was goin home for the day and they said ‘lucky you’ and I’m internally like ‘YOU DONT KNOW WHAT GOING HOME IS. HOME IS NOT A GUARANTEED BREAK. HOME IS MORE WORK. HOME COULDVE BEEN RETURNING TO MY DYING PARENTS FOUR YEARS AGO. HOME IS NOT SYNONYMOUS WITH REST FOR EVERYONE. Is that. Is this a hangover of Breadwinner Perspectives? They don’t fucking count housework as work, nor caring for oneself (selfcare IS work). I cannot hire someone else or rely on someone else to do the endless work. UNLESS—-‘

THE POINT IS. The idea that is. I’d like to start a mutual aid group. For my apartment complex. Because there was a guy who went by Popeye who moved out, and he always seemed to know what was going on around the complex. He always had little barbecues and even personally acted as security around the complex when the cul de sac people tried to fuck with apartment folks stuff. He moved out and I got a bunch of his furniture and art and I’ve seen him around. But idk. New managers don’t do any community events like the managers who were here when I moved in (I genuinely don’t think the new managers wouldn’t have let me move in). Nobody quite kept people in touch like he did.

Currently all the apartment kids come to my door during the spring and summer asking for water and snacks because the managers office stopped letting them use their fridge. There are queer pride flags in windows. There are stickers of the school I went to. There are overworked and tired parents and disabled elders. I just want us to all get along and help each other. I can’t control anyone but I could help build an opening for communicating with each other. Idk. Maybe one day. When I’m confident. I want to use the quote ‘dob’t assume people have different values, they’re just working off different information. everyone wants to be Good, they just got different ideas of what that is’ as a sort of quote for that kinda thing cause I know political divisiveness in this world lately could make connection hard. Maybe. Maybe it’s just this bad on the internet. (But a lot of internet bleeds out into the real world now)

I like helping out the kids and watching kids and playing with animals and providing art supplies and helping solve problems. I know we all like to feel needed or having a chance to share our skills. There used to be an art fair here! Run by the old managers! New managers boring as shit! Maybe I’ll run the art fair! Fuck!

But it’s somethin I know will take time. Thought. Energy. The occasional stable moments. Research into real mutual aid groups! I guess I’d need a mission. And my main mission would be to spread the appreciation for Mutual Aid, to Do Mutual Aid, and maybe bolster kids confidence to do stuff like this themselves. I’ve got these kids thinking I’m cool as shit for a weirdo, I can’t waste it.