#either this or the very first time we meet with him

[hoovesandfloorpaws]

[since everything under a Read More cut gets deleted in case a blog deletes/gets deleted and the WayBackMachine isn’t good with pictures, for Archive Purposes Only, I will add the most important bits of the/rest of the full post and have also checked/updated/added the source links to the best of my abilities]

"July - August 2010

I’ll give a brief overview of the July - August timeline to set the stage. Some of these are ballpark estimates.

July 18: Day 1 of Boot Camp

July 22: Boot Camp Judgement Day/1D Is formed

Late July: First band meeting they talked about in the movie

Mid August: 2 weeks at Harry’s dad’s bungalow

End of August: Judge’s Houses

28: Liam tweets “Things are getting very interesting.” (tweet) 

28: Liam tweets “I’m leaving on a jet plane! Nice choice of song. X” (tweet) 

31: Stan posts to facebook “OH GOD TENSE TIMES!!!!!!!” [link not working, Stan has set the post to private] 

Harry created his twitter on August 22 but did not tweet much until September. Louis was tweeting a lot, but not to Harry or any of the guys until September. Part of this was probably due to NDA’s (nondisclosure agreements)they had to sign promising not to disclose any results from episodes that had not aired yet. So a lot of group chatter about rehearsals and getting together was likely prohibited.

Original 1D Twitter Account

Before the first live show, all articles and twitter accounts created by fans called the guys “1 Direction” and not “One Direction.” On September 27th, Louis tweeted one of the first fan accounts: "@1DirectionXF is not the official twitter , we do have an official twitter but havent started promoting it yet .“ That got me curious about whether @onedirection was the first Twitter account.

It was not as that account was created on October 29, 2010. 

So I started playing around with user names, seeing if I could guess what it was. I combined "1direction” and onedirectionmusic from the original Youtube account and voila. 

Let’s all follow it and see if anyone notices.

(Hilariously, Jay tweeted “I love ‘One Directin!’” on the night of the 26th, while Hannah confirmed to fans on the night of the 27th that it was “1Direction.”)

Liam: Liam was an interesting character before the live shows started. Most know that he had already tried out for X Factor in previous years, including even making it as far as Judge’s Houses, before he was ultimately rejected. He had a small fanbase built in from that and communicated with them via Twitter, Facebook and a website.

Liam spent most of the time leading up to Boot Camp talking to fans and all of his time after boot camp talking to fans via Twitter, especially encouraging people to buy his wrist bands which he sold via his website. He did not tweet much about the show itself or any of the guys, despite the fact that they tweeted him on several occasions. Liam either took the NDA much more seriously than the others or he just wanted to appear solo as long as possible. 

Because he had tried out before and was so obviously loved by the judge’s in his tryout in 2010, Liam was dubbed the X Factor favorite in 2010 before the live shows began airing. This included numerous articles about his odds (link 1 | [link 2 source no longer available] and he was even linked publicly to Cher Lloyd as early as September 8th [link source no longer available]. This is interesting and telling because as the dynamics shifted and Harry became the clear favorite, the PR narrative involving Cher was dumped in his lap (which he, Anne and Gemma all denied). 

In the movie, Louis and Liam talked about how, in the beginning, they didn’t get along because Liam took things too seriously and Louis was too care free. And based on Liam’s Twitter alone it is pretty apparent how intensely focused Liam was on winning the X Factor from the beginning. It doesn’t surprise me at all that these two personalities clashed like they did. But it’s neat to see how close they are now. 

Niall Not much to say here other than Niall is awesome and hasn’t changed at all and I love him. He tweeted Harry and Louis (and Zayn once) in September. He seemed to be completely ignoring the NDA while the others carefully danced around it. 

Zayn Zayn spent a lot of his time inviting fans to come chat to him via his Facebook page. He talked a little about his religion and the fact that he is mixed race. But he tended to keep stuff off Twitter (surprise lol). 

Harry and Louis Yes, they are a unit so they are grouped together. They actually didn’t tweet each other at all until September 27th, 2010. But we know they were talking via phone because it’s been mentioned they were the two who planned the bungalow and also, Niall’s infamous tweet to Louis from September 13: [tweet]

We all know Harry tweeted the lyrics to “Hannah” by Ray LaMontagne on September 13th around 5:30 PM [UK time], which is pretty awesome. [tweet]

And of course, the tweet from Niall (above) was a little less than 4 hours later.

But the night before that, he also tweeted song lyrics. To “For the First Time” by the Script. BY THE SCRIPT. “FOR THE FIRST TIME” BY THE SCRIPT. I just think that’s really cute and The Script makes me emotional, ok? [tweet]

On the 18th around 3:30 PM [UK time], Harry also posted some song lyrics: “Dancing in the Moonlight" by Thin Lizzy. [tweet]

And just 3 hours later, Louis tweeted "I love Hannah.” [tweet] These two aren’t necessarily related, but interesting to note.

X Factor House From what I can tell, it is most likely that they moved into the X Factor house on Monday the 20th. Liam and Stan both mentioned going to London that day (here [Stan has set the post to private] and here) and everyone stopped tweeting so much, probably busy filming promo for the show and getting settled and rehearsals. 

Jay took this picture and tweeted it to one of the first fan accounts on the 24th, which appears to be the boys in London:

Move in day probably being the 20th makes the tweets on the 27th interesting. The boot camp results show was aired the night of the 26th, meaning the world knew Louis, Harry, Niall, Zayn and Liam were in a group together and going to Judge’s Houses. So 12 hours after the cat is out of the bag, Louis and Harry tweet each other and talk about how happy they are to be together and how happy they make each other. DO YOU SEE WHY THIS MAKES ME EMOTIONAL? None of the other boys did this. 

[tweet]

[tweet]

[tweet]

[tweet]

[tweet]

[tweet]

September 2010:

5: Stan posts on Facebook “Free hot pizza cos Louis is famous!!!” [link not working, Stan has set the post to private]

5: Metro posts article “Liam Payne Second Favorite” to win the X Factor [no link was inserted, replacement source could not be found]

8: MTV UK posts an article saying Liam and Cher Lloyd hooked up at boot camp (lolololol) and Liam denies via twitter [link to source no longer available]

9: Harry posts song lyrics: "When I see your face, there’s not a thing that I would change, cause you’re amazing…just the way you are :)“ [tweet]

11: Express and Star posts article saying Liam is 6:1 favorite to win the X Factor (source)

12: Niall tweets Louis "ari buddie..giv me a ring..” (tweet)

12: [Harry tweets:]"Ooh These times are hard,and they’re making us crazy..Don’t give up on me Baby .xx" (tweet) 

13: Louis tweets Niall “@niallofficial iPhone!!!!” - He was trying to sell his Android at the time, so I think this means he bought an iPhone. (tweet)

13: Harry tweets at 5:30 PM “I lost all my Vanity, When I peered into the Pool..I lost all my Innocence,when I feel lin love with you .xx” This is a song called “Hannah” by Ray LaMontagne. (tweet)

13: Niall tweets Louis about 3 hours later at 9 PM "@louis_tomlinson louis ring me.. Harry told me something tday that u told him.. TALK T ME" (tweet)

18: Harry tweets at 3:30 PM [UK time] “Well I passed you in the doorway,and you took me with a glance..i should have got the last bus home, but I asked you for a dance ;) .xx”. This is a song called “Dancing in the Moonlight by Thin Lizzy. (tweet)

18: At 6:30 PM [UK time], Louis tweets "I love Hannah.” (tweet)

19: Stan posts on Facebook “London tomorrow to meet some celebs.” [link not working, Stan has set the post to private]

20: Liam tweets “Down in London. Can’t tweet too much but thanks for your ongoing support. X” (tweet) 

24: Jay tweets one of the first fan accounts at about 7:45 PM [UK time] a picture of the boys together in London (twitpic)

26: Jay tweets “Go 'One Direction!’” (tweet)

27: Louis tweets at 11:30 AM [UK time]  “@1DirectionXF is not the official twitter , we do have an official twitter but havent started promoting it yet .” (tweet)

27: Louis tweets at noon  “@_whytheface I’m sat next to him right now ! X” responding to a fan asking Louis how to get Harry to follow her…Louis doesn’t answer the question. Just announces he’s with Harry. (tweet)

27: Louis immediately tweets again  “Is sat with @harry_styles happy days :)” – LOUIS’ FIRST TWEET TO HARRY (tweet) 

27: Louis starts answering tweets in terms of “we.” “@SophiexNicholls We are both great thanks :) how are you ?x” (tweet) 

27: Louis announces again he’s with Harry at 12:10 PM.  “I’m bacckk :) with @Harry_styles again :)” (tweet) 

27: At 12:30 PM, Louis tweets.  “@xPeaceLoveJonas Me and @Harry_Styles loves your support ! ” (tweet) 

27: At 12:43 PM, Louis tweets.  “@meeeshell_x we’re great thank you how are you ? X” (tweet) 

27: Stan tweets Louis jokingly asking  “@louis_tomlinson so are you pleased to have Simon as your mentor? Bet judge’s houses is gonna be great.. When do you go?” (tweet) 

27: At 12:49 PM, Harry tweets.  “Is laughing so bad with @ Louis_Tomlinson :) .xx” HARRY’S FIRST TWEET TO LOUIS (tweet) 

27: At 1:06 PM, Louis tweets their first twitcam.  "http://twitcam.com/26a4v - Enjoy guys me and harry :)“ (tweet) 

27: At 1:16 PM, Jay tweets Louis about the twitcam.  "You guys are good x” (tweet) 

27: Fittingly, Harry tweets around 1:30 PM in response to whether he has a girlfriend “@SBKavanagh erm..no I don’t :P .x” (tweet) 

27: At 6PM, Hannah tweets a fan and says the group name is “1Direction” [Hannah's twitter account is gone, so the tweet is unavailable]

Harry and Louis Recap:

July 18: They notice each other in the stairwell.

July 21: They meet in the bathroom at X-Factor.

[Louis is also wearing a t-shirt with a BUTTERFLY and a BEE AAAA]

July 22: They get put into a group together.

Late August (5 weeks after boot camp): Judge’s Houses

September 13 (about 7 weeks since boot camp): Harry tells Niall Louis told him something and it sounds like a big deal. [tweet]

Late September (About 8 - 10 weeks after boot camp): If we take Harry’s comment a year later literally:

So there you have it. Fairy tale rom-com levels of teenage love affair."

September 2010: Let's talk about it.

September 2010 is a lovely, ambiguous time. The boys had all met at boot camp, been put into a group, spent 2 weeks at the bungalow and then went to judge’s houses where they were put through to the live shows.

Fame was knocking at the front door.

But Harry was still working shifts at the bakery. And they were still tweeting their plans to each other and trying to sell cell phones via Twitter (Louis, what even). 

They were asked about this time period (sort of) in a radio interview they did in New Zealand recently and it made me a little more curious about what we can learn about that time period from tweets. 

This is a little more incomplete than my bigger timelines (linked in the sidebar on my blog). There obviously wasn’t as much press, tweets and fan tweets and pictures to go on. But I think I dug up some moderately cool stuff.

Before we begin, all my love and gratitude to genderblinditem who has painstakingly been cataloging old tweets and has been awesome enough to share with me. Go follow her. She’s great and has smart things to say, so it’s a win-win.

(With my theme, the read more isn’t showing up. So if you are viewing this on my blog, please click the date stamp at the top of the post to view it in it’s entirety).

Onward!

Keep reading

[diangelodork]

DBDA nightly analysis #21!

tonight’s topic: edwin payne and touch/charles is most of the reason he can touch people

edwin payne struggles with touch. this is not something that affects him much with charles, likely because of the exposure therapy that over thirty years of being best mates and business partners with someone who’s love language is touch and you are quite LITERALLY the only person/thing he can really touch creates, but i still think it is an indisputable fact about his character.

though i, as an autistic person, 100% head cannon edwin to be autistic, i acknowledge that steve yockey has stated that he was not WRITTEN to be this way. this being said, i recognize a lot of my own characteristics in edwin, most of which relate to my autism. though he is not canonically autistic, i will be writing about him as if he is (because i truly believe that he is, in my own interpretation and that of many others within the fandom). take that with you in this analysis.

i don’t think edwin was ever excessively touchy. we see one scene of him pre-hell and i simply cannot imagine that he was one to show much physical affection, not to mention that it would have been uncommon to do so in this time and region. on top of this, lots of autistic people are sensitive to sensory stimulation, touch commonly being portrayed when looking at media surrounding autistic characters. even if he had been in any way touchy, he was certainly turned off of touch after hell. this is not only because trauma and the constant feeling of being hunted for close to a century has trained him to be on edge and to jump at every contact or noise, but because the last bit of touch he got before being sacrificed to a literal demon was when he was wrestled from his bed and tied down to a table. that, alongside the watching-himself-get-murdered-a-million-times thing would’ve made it monstrously hard to find comfort in touch, or rather, to not be afraid of it.

i think this affects him in many other ways, as well. we don’t see him being as perceptive once he’s with charles because that is decidedly something charles is very good at, but maybe it’s also the same reason he’s not a fighter. he could be, if he needed to be, but he doesn’t. not anymore. regardless, his posture is very stiff and his head always held high, rigid in his movement. maybe this is just because he was a high class edwardian citizen in his life, but it’s likely to be a mix of both that and the fact that he had to take in so much information in hell. he had to be perceptive. though standing tall increases visibility (clearly bad for hiding), it also makes it easier to notice things. to see more. to hear more.

there is decidedly not a moment where charles touches him in the montage of their first meeting, interestingly enough for such a touchy character seeking comfort in this moment. either way, edwin’s posture remains far more rigid than we see of him later, bc he’s straight outta hell.

in E1, it is evident that he and charles are close, even if we discuss only contact. charles pushes him through the mirror, they have a moment where they play fight when trying to get him to box (he seems a bit uncomfortable here, but only when charles really gets in his face and it is not nearly to the extent that we see later and with other people), they exchange causal touches (nearly if not all initiated by charles, but not uncomfortable in nature for edwin), etc.

one could even make the argument that his ability to warm up to niko so quickly that she is touching and hugging him in a matter of episodes, but you must keep in mind how much of a sudden kinship he feels with her. he loves charles and he is his other half, but here is a girl that is so intriguing in nature and so kind and fucking strange and her brain seems to work similarly to his (cause she’s autistic too, literally fight me) and that’s not even mentioning that charles has made touch easier for him through the slow ramping up of it of over decades.

though it might seem that crystal is sort of the “exception” to his general okay-ness with touch, i think it is the opposite. it isn’t about crystal in specific, it’s about the connection he has already cultivated with charles as well as the immediate bond that overtakes him and niko. granted, he doesn’t super like her very much because of his own jealousy, but i think that’s how he would be generally with anyone but niko and charles for the reasons i have already listed. it is rather unfortunate that the exceptions happen to be more common in their sphere of friendship.

this may feel, in the fandom and in the show, like it’s still that jealousy or anger or hatred or frustration or something else towards crystal, but i’ve mentioned before that he is much more comfortable with her from Eps 5 and on. the reason he stiffens when she hugs him and wishes only to shake her hand no longer has much to do at all with the contempt he once felt, and all to do with his own relationship with touch that doesn’t come from his best mate or the only person who’s ever matched his freak like this.

now, does touch simon when in hell, but i fear that this is, again, another exception. he is just now realising that his murderer is not only in hell, but that he is there because of him and his punishment is fucking bullshit. he is angry. he is seeking revenge. he is seeking to make him hurt just like he did over a century ago. being faced with it when he meets despair forces him to realise that he does not want to be that person. he must treat him in kind. he holds his face and comforts him when he confesses fears and shame and guilt so similar to his own all that time ago. he has only just made the strides to understand that he needn’t hate himself and he must relay this information to someone who felt that same way, not only in hell, but in life. they were there, together, in st. hillarion’s. in the 1910s. forced to hate themselves and anything that reminded them of themselves. edwin has gotten to see the modern world and see that life does not need to be pain.

it’s so, so important to me that he holds simon’s face here.

why?

because if this show does nothing else well (which is not true), the thing it undoubtedly excels in is parallels.

because this

to THIS???

it kills me every time.

he learns to be as okay with touch as he is because of charles. he learns to use it to comfort others just as charles does it to comfort him. he still doesn’t like touch outside of charles and niko, but this is a moment of great emotion and he needs to make a sacrifice.

he is comforted in the same way he comforted simon, by the boy who taught him how.

he was probably never touched much and never viewed it as a comfort, but charles taught him what it could be.

this is the same reason, imo, that it stings so bad when charles refuses to let edwin touch him after fighting off tnn in E4. it took so long to warm up to it and now he sees the benefits, he sees why people do this, he finally takes comfort in it. here is his person in need of comfort and edwin tries to reach out and provide it in the way he taught him works best for him and he acts like he was burned.

anyway i’m sensitive to both touch AND rejection (+ i project onto edwin an UNHEALTHY amount), can ya tell???

[cyb-by-lang]

Cascade (part 4)

And here we have the internship beginning.

(Kei notes some divergences from what happened in Shell Game in her narration as we go. For the most part, these can be attributed to having way less time to meet up with her teammates and get them acclimated to Japan.)

Sorry, Ingenium.

After saying goodbye to the other students at the Musutafu train station, neither Kei or Iida talked during the trip to Hosu City. 

While it wasn’t that uncommon for Kei to zone out completely on public transit, Iida would’ve said something out of politeness at the very least. There wasn’t that much of a crowd on the late morning train compared to either rush hour. They’d even both managed to find seats rather than clutching the overhead handles or the various vertical handholds. 

Instead, Kei dug a book out of her non-regulation backpack and read with her forearms leaning on her costume’s carry case. Every once in a while, she’d either shoot a deadly glare at someone trying to approach the more-recognizable Iida or look at her classmate in concern. The former scared off interlopers, while the latter had no apparent effect. 

Iida just sat there, like a super-tense robot. 

Kei wasn’t even as close to him as Midoriya and Uraraka were, so directly asking how Iida felt…didn’t quite work, in her head. She didn’t have the kind of rapport where she could just say what was on her mind. Or punch it out of him and remain friends after. That was a Gai thing. 

And we would not want that. 

Though guess being genuinely me could still go worse. With a sigh, Kei turned her attention back to her light novel. Hopefully, some fictional violence would take her mind off some of the impending actual violence for a while. 

Before she knew it, they were walking out into bright sunshine in a city Kei had patrolled once. Just not as herself.

Manual, the Normal Hero, turned out to be a plain-faced man with a generic ocean theme to his costume. His visored helmet even had a fin top, though nothing functional. Practical white boots, yellow gloves, and a skintight shirt divided evenly between blue and white rounded out the look. He greeted his case-toting interns with a smile and a wave and didn’t seem at all awkward about it. Manual didn’t seem to mind that Iida’s behavior and countenance was a little terse or that Kei tried to stay in Iida’s shadow all the way from the train station to his pro agency. 

While Kei’s counterfeit Quirk was stronger than his by orders of magnitude, Manual was really no weaker than the average Kiri-nin. Like most shinobi, he relied on water already present in his environment to do his work, but in a city, he was never that far from a fire hydrant. More importantly, operating in an urban environment usually gave him a lot of pro hero allies within shouting distance. 

For all intents and purposes, he was an ordinary pro hero with ordinary responsibilities in a city with a serious serial killer infestation. 

Kei felt kind of bad for him, because both of his interns brought ulterior motives along with their literal baggage. Not bad enough to confess to anything, of course, but the thought lingered.

“Well, now that you’ve both arrived safely, let’s get you situated.” Manual didn’t have the same kind of winning smile as, say, All Might, but he didn’t really need it. He beckoned them to follow him into the building. “To cut down on the commute somewhat, my agency will provide room and board for the week. We also have locker rooms so you can get changed quickly for our first patrol. Meal breaks may vary a little depending on what’s happening in the field, but we’ll take good care of you.” 

“Thank you, Manual-sensei,” Iida managed with a third of his usual bombast.  Still, he bowed. 

Kei clasped both hands over her costume case and mirrored him. “We’ll be sure to learn a lot from you this week, Manual-sensei.” 

“I have no doubt!” 

Kei’s borrowed room was smaller than her apartment’s bedroom, but it didn’t need to really be more than a cot and bathroom access to make her happy. Manual’s agency even had on-site laundry service, so the backpack she’d brought along would suffice for the entire week. Locking the door behind her, she quickly stripped out of her UA uniform and made the change to her “hero” costume. 

Unlike some hero students who a) thought out their requests and b) chose a company that could take criticism, Kei dreaded looking at what she’d be wearing for most of this week.  Even now, the design was a short, sleeveless kimono in dark blue wave patterns, long (unarmored) gloves that reached her biceps and only covered one finger apiece. It’d taken a round of angry revision notes to even get ultra-lightweight armor incorporated into the torso keep her vital organs covered. 

Maybe they’d only given ground because Kei destroyed the first iteration “by accident” during the USJ incident. She’d probably never know. It fell on the cot with a faint rattle, though, so at least the nano-whatever weave chainmail component was still there. 

Might as well get it over with. Kei took a deep breath and checked on the rest of the costume. 

While the boots included shinguards, the designers went with a tabi look for the actual shoe component. The pants appeared to be basically skintight swimming trunks, probably because her listed Quirk incorporated so much water manipulation. And for some fucking reason, there was an obi with a massive bow on the back, trailing behind her as she walked. Kei was going to trip and eat pavement because of that thing someday. 

Overall, what Kei pulled out of the case had barely been changed. She just got an extra belt with some pockets for stowing things like utility knives and little adhesive bandages for civilian boo-boos. 

When Kei inevitably did an about-face and started her career of villainy as Cascade, the City Drowner, she’d start with the support company and knock their building down brick by brick. Yes, a safer bet would be to go to UA’s Support Department and demand revisions from people who weren’t so obstinate, but it would be so satisfying. Vindictively. 

Still, she put it on. Including the hitai-ate that wasn’t Konoha’s. And the makeup to downplay her scar. The goal here was to appear as normal as possible—as a hero hopeful—to anyone observing her and not rock any boats. Certainly not literal ones, either. No matter how much looking at her reflection in the provided mirror felt wrong. 

“All right.” Kei clapped her hands together to shock herself awake. She closed her costume case and took a deep breath. “I can do this.” 

Kei emerged from her temporary quarters feeling as awkward as she had during the Sports Festival, but no longer concealed by her official gym uniform and a whole crowd of similarly-dressed kids. There was no more camouflage to be had. 

“Ah, Gekkō-san, right on time.” Manual got up from his desk and waved. “Once Iida-kun is ready to go, we can take on your first patrol as young hero-hopefuls.” 

“Thanks, Manual-sensei.” Kei crossed her arms as they settled in to wait for Iida in the agency’s lobby. It didn’t really help cover her discomfort, but it did make her feel slightly better. 

“Hm, that reminds me—what’s your hero name? I don’t remember seeing it on your paperwork.” 

“Oh. It’s, um, Cascade. The Mist Hero.” Ugh, I sound like such a fake. Kei managed to mutter a rather lackluster explanation involving deadlines, not really enunciating any of it. 

Manual gave her a thumbs-up likely meant to inspire confidence in the downtrodden.  “That’s all right, Gekkō-san. I’ll just be sure to use it so you can get used to how it feels. I’m sure you’ll live up to the aspirations embodied by that name!” 

More like live down to them. Heroes like Manual were so painfully earnest it made Kei’s hair want to stand on end. What did she do with that? “That’s…nice of you to say…”

“Well, here’s one more nice thing then: I think your hero costume looks good.” 

Kei winced. She felt her whole body lean into that scrap of honesty and hated it just a little. 

“I take it you don’t?” 

“…No, Manual-sensei. It doesn’t feel like me.” Because it wasn’t. Not really. 

“Maybe one of the goals you can work on for this internship can involve that, then.” Manual suggested it like it wasn’t a big deal. “Feeling comfortable with yourself.” 

To be fair, it probably wouldn’t be an important issue once Kei got into an actual fight. Most of the distractions faded away once her blood was up and there was someone who needed a beatdown. 

But in the meantime? Uuuuuugh. 

Thankfully, there was a shiny and chrome option right there. Manual also noticed, then waved, “Oh, Iida-kun! Over here.” 

Iida’s full-on Ingenium look was so much more complicated—visually and emotionally—and storied than Kei’s ongoing fight with support companies. He got to look like either a sentai villain or a turbo mecha, and his armor theoretically deflected attacks before he had to see if they’d bounce of his bones. It was one of the reasons that Iida was completely jacked, apparently. Besides, well, the whole running lifestyle. His hero outfit also came with a helmet that almost entirely concealed his face—except for his eyes—and made his voice echo in a simultaneously cool and kinda creepy way. 

Iida really should’ve taken a better internship somewhere else. Anywhere else. 

“Manual-sensei, I’m ready for duty,” Iida said firmly, despite Kei’s doubts. He was so serious about this that he didn’t even swing his arms for emphasis. “Please lead the way.” 

“Of course. Come along, you two.” 

Patrol as a concept was…fine. 

Mostly boring. 

Kei didn’t exactly mind walking all over cities. A lot of what Hosu citizens wanted out of their local heroes was a token showing. If that meant they also got help taking in their laundry or rescuing cats from trees, so much the better. She did a lot of the same things in Konoha when just starting out as an adorable little genin. There was little expectation of violence in broad daylight. Even petty criminals—those stubborn or uncreative enough to strike without any stealth consideration—were lying low for the moment. 

Basically, the point was deterrence. Though the Hero Killer had earned that title, he didn���t attack groups of heroes. No, he hunted solo operators. Or maybe just whoever separated from the pack, regardless of specifics. Now the city was crawling with potential fights and potential victims. 

Kei mostly hoped Iida didn’t plan to shove his way into the ring. When Ingenium was attacked, he’d been running ahead of his sidekicks and fought a guy specialized in close combat in a blind alleyway. Obito barely managed to get him to the hospital afterward, and if not for Kakashi’s tracking abilities, they might never have found him at all. From what Kei’s teammates said about it, there was a real chance Iida Senior would never get the full use of his left arm back. And the engine in it was probably beyond repair. 

“We’ll mostly be patrolling the local area so you can get a feel for how this works,” Manual said, living up to his name. “Later, we’ll branch out.” 

“Yes, Manual-sensei!” 

Still, Kei did miss running across rooftops with her friends. Her job today, though, was to stay firmly bound by gravity and societal expectations. And not hunt down Stain like the slippery bastard he was. 

So, Kei patrolled. Mostly, this entailed following Manual like a duckling while making sure Iida didn’t stray. Though that last part wasn’t said aloud. 

Broken up by meals, breaks, and gentle encouragement from their pro mentor, the first day passed peacefully. Almost too peacefully for Kei to sleep soundly that night. 

But the next day was similar, despite her worries. The absolute highlight of the entire eight-hour stretch was when Manual asked her to create water for him to manipulate and put out a car that had hit a light pole and caught fire. Iida managed to keep the victims calm while alerting emergency services, who then had to cut the driver out of the vehicle. Overall, it was a good deed and only ruined progress during rush hour for twenty minutes more than usual. 

And then, the third day. Honestly, Kei would’ve called it superstition if trouble had waited one more day into their internship, but it wasn’t to be.

On the third day, the patrol shift split between a morning and afternoon set. While Manual did lead Kei and Iida around until lunch, the next few hours after that involved a little bit of training and a lot of paperwork. According to Manual, almost everything pro heroes were responsible for involved forms in triplicate, and they’d be lucky if computers got involved at all. A lot of the smaller agencies loved their carbon paper. Even snagging the time for a nap amid the flurry of bureaucracy didn’t really improve Kei’s opinion of the whole thing. 

Suffice to say that when it was time to head out just before sunset, Kei was happy to see the sky again.

“We’ll be patrolling Kyoto a little later tonight,” Manual explained as they went. “Sorry this is so monotonous.” 

“No, it’s better this way,” Iida replied. 

Kei nodded along, taking a moment to yawn and stretch before a potential third night of nothing much. 

Instead of just continuing to walk until their feet all fell off, Manual drew up short and turned toward Iida. An unusually serious look was on his face. “Hey, Iida-kun. This is kind of hard to ask, but you’re after the Hero Killer, aren’t you?”

Iida startled. “How did you…?”

Manual’s expression went sheepish and self-deprecating laugh popped out of him. “I couldn’t think of any other reason you’d come to my agency.” Then his brain seemed to catch up with his mouth. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you did, but…you shouldn’t be pursuing personal grudges.” 

Good thing someone wants to talk about that. 

“We heroes don’t have the authority to arrest people or punish them. The only reason we’re allowed to use our Quirks is because of the regulations put on them,” Manual pointed out. 

…Though that part’s still bullshit. 

“That’s why, no matter what their reason might be, a hero must not use their Quirk for themselves.” Manual actually glared at Iida. “If a pro hero used their powers solely for their own ends, it would be a very serious crime.” 

Iida lowered his head just the slightest bit, as though shamed. Just a bit. 

Conscious of the awkward atmosphere, Kei coughed to remind them both that she was still present. 

With that tiny reminder, Manual’s seriousness cracked. Using the kind of choppy hand gestures that Iida normally did, he stumbled his way through his attempt to downplay how serious he’d been. “I’m not saying the Hero Killer isn’t incredibly guilty! You just seem like the really earnest type, you know? I’d hate for you to focus on one goal and ignore everything else.” 

Like Iida doesn’t have tunnel vision fit for a train. 

“Thank you,” Iida said, giving nothing away. “I appreciate your concern.” 

Yeah, that wasn’t an actual concession. That was a very careful sidestep. 

“Oh, it’s fine as long as you get what I’m saying.” Manual turned to lead them onward. “So, we good?” 

He totally missed the way Iida’s fists clenched at his sides, the tension in his shoulders, or the weight still dragging him down. Or, if he did notice, Manual didn’t have the tools necessary to deal with Iida’s bellyful of vengeance before the Hero Killer finally put in an appearance. 

Kei tapped Iida’s armor with her knuckles as she passed, since he was falling a little bit behind. 

“Gekkō-san, what is it?” 

“Let me know before you do something reckless,” Kei told him, pitching her voice carefully enough that Manual’s helmet wouldn’t let him catch it. “Don’t just run off.” 

Iida didn’t say anything in reply. It was like he couldn’t acknowledge her concern without exploding, and thus needed to keep his focus entirely on putting one foot in front of the other. If it made him rude, maybe he’d be able to apologize for it later. When he felt better. 

But Iida also didn’t notice the tracking seal she'd just pasted to his black bodysuit, which Kei figured made up for that. 

[shewolf-sinclair]

no i love this. i’m taking ap research and for a while was looking into doing a media analysis project on jason todd and how he exists as social commentary. an essay i plan to write later anyways but without the college board guidelines.

when you think about he exists to critique everything batman stands for.

he comes from NOTHING. he has had to work for everything he has.

bruce is as old money as it gets. he was raised with the world at his fingertips.

jason fights for the general wellbeing of gotham. but deep down he fights for the kids like them. to show them they too can be something. to protect them. the unprotected, often situationally the weakest, the young, the innocent, and the poor. He fights so they don’t have to grow up with crime as their only possibility of a living. so they have options.

it’s not that bruce inherently doesn’t care. but. he has subconscious bias. he fights in crime alley because he hates crime. but he’s not thinking about what his presence might mean to the residents besides taking down bad guys. And he’s more concerned with bigger things like mobs and gangs and big bads than the small things. At least he is by the time he takes Jason in. He’s not just batman either. he’s bruce. he holds immense power as a citizen. he has the ability to improve the conditions in crime alley that pushes those people towards crime in the first place.

jason as RH goes into being a crimelord strictly to dismantle that system (from the inside). Because who cares if petty theft continues he’s keeping the drugs and predators away from the kids. because this generation may be fucked but he can keep the next one from making the same mistakes. and he’ll help this one where he can, too. he’s anti batman because he’s mad at batman, but also because of where his priorities as a vigilante and political figure lie.

batman works with the police. he comes when they call him. if you don’t think that provides bias as to who he helps you’re insane. the police in canon are corrupt, in such a way they mirror the real systemic problems we have in real life, although DC doesn’t always get as graphic within it’s PD and often tries to show them as accessories to heroism (again racist in many ways) this automatically puts batman fighting to save the middle and upper class more often than those in crime alley. and the white residents of gotham more often than the poc.

I know a lot of people don’t like the live action titans show. and while I love it dearly I’m not here to argue about what it did or didn’t get right or do well. I just want to mention l a specific scene in Jason’s s3 arc that ties back to the point of this thread; specifically 3x05 “Lazurus” which stands as one of my favorite episodes of television to this day.

In looking for the exact scene I want to reference I came across Molly’s (jason’s childhood friend) character wiki:

In said scene Jason and Molly meet and discover the whereabouts of a missing kid, to which Molly remarks “He’s poor and brown so the cops don’t give a shit” and while Jason at first says batman will handle it, he very quickly — and after Molly comments on batman’s classism — rushes into trying to take action. The following scene is them confronting the suspected kidnapper and Jason kicking his ass. Maybe even better Jason’s FIRST act as red-hood was saving the kid.

Later in the season he goes on several times to separate himself from scarecrow, reasoning that he didn’t agree to be redhood for senseless violence but because he wanted a better gotham, and wanted the opportunity to take down crime from the inside.

the last thing want to discuss is the kill/no kill rule.

in general redhood doesn’t go on random killing sprees. It is almost always killing predators and abusers, as a way of keeping them away from their victims and saving potential future victims. Because Jason knows locking them up in Arkham or other similar solutions tends not to work. Jason doesn’t kill because he likes it, or is okay with it. It’s a means of necessity. Him having a high kill count is direct commentary on the vigilante/anti-hero trope and on morality and what makes a mean to an end, on what draws the line. His very existence as Red Hood is the same thing as asking “What if you cut a rapists dick off? Or otherwise maim them? What if you commit murder in an act of self defense or one of immediate defense of another?” It’s like when cops shoot a suspect because it’s the only foreseeable way to prevent them from harming people in the immediate future. It’s not arguing that murder is moral. It’s arguing which is less moral; killing them, or allowing them to continue causing harm; knowing you had a chance to stop it. Mind you we are discussing ethics, not legality, as 90% of the vigilante work is illegal.

Batman however refuses to kill, even in the case if the Joker — who murders countless people for fun, including Jason. Batman continues unreliable ways of keeping them off them the streets, with no effort to make them any more reliable. and again is has nothing to do with worrying about the law- he breaks the law constantly.

And this has always been there stark difference, why Jason fights so hard against crime AND a against Batman, and while even after reconciliation they still have a strained relationship.

My opinion on the Latino Jason Todd headcanon

While I do understand ppl's criticism of the latino Jason todd headcanon and how its kind of racist to make the kid with parents with drug problems as the latino one, to me its more of a reclamation BECAUSE of DC's racism.

Read any 80s/90s batman issue that covers gang violence and drugs, most if not ALL of the criminals are poc; black people and latinos visibly make up the majority in the poorer neighbourhoods in Gotham. Aside from the caricaturist way they r drawn/speak, its not THAT weird cause its a reflection of irl big cities where immigrants and marginalised ppl are often forced to live in such situations, (like most of my dominican family lives in the bronx... it aint racist to say dominicans tend to flock there), BUT...the weird part is when the second a sympathetic character comes from that area, he's white and has a name thats "too fancy for the streets".

Obviously, Jason was created to look like the old robin, so I can't say that the whole "diamond in the rough" situation was purposely a tad bit racist, but its still a lil weird (especially with bruce's comment).

If Jason were a part of the overwhelming demographic in his area, the good-kid-in-a-bad-area trope has less connotations. DC is currently trying to fix this trope is by making crime alley whiter, which isn't bad but they could've just yk... humanised the non-white residents.

I also feel like the messed up way Jason was treated post-death is what makes him so relatable to latino readers. His tragic story of dying while trying to save his only living relative is turned into a lesson for newer vigilantes. Jason's particular disdain for abusers on a few occasions was twisted (by both writers and characters) into him always being dumb, reckless, cocky, angry and disobedient, always violent, never having been able to get over his upbringing. None of those things were true (he was a normal level of reckless and cocky like every other robin, not more), but its an easier narrative to digest compared to how it was in reality; a kid who worked so hard and loved even harder, died to save a woman who couldn't care less about his existence. He was an emotional AND smart kid who wanted so bad to help others get better but was remembered as too emotional (in a bad way).

THIS is the reality for many latino diasporas in day to day life; Theres no question that Latino culture is passionate and emotive, but people from other cultures assume that it is followed by instead of logical. both can coexist. emotion does not mean u have no logic. Emotions can be irrational but they aren't inherently that way, and I wouldn't say that the moments where Jason lashed out as a teenager were irrational (in og runs, not rewrites post red hood), they were mostly done to protect someone (going crazy on abusers, disobeying batman to save sheila, that time he got into a fight at school to defend his friend).

A lot of euro-centric culture is OBSESSED with the idea that rationality is separate from feelings and emotions, but not crying at a funeral doesn't mean you're better than those who do. Emotions are the basis of human ethics and morals, they define the way we interact as a collective and ignoring them does not mean they are not there. Theres no winner to a contest of who can feel the less. And the way Jason's emotions are treated (pre-rh, hes definitely unhinged afterwards lol) is so in line with how white culture tends to punish those who aren't ashamed to feel.

I TOTES UNDERSTAND that some ppl who headcanon Jason as latino are doing it for the complete opposite of reasons, like "oh here some angry emotional guy with druggie parents, haha must be latino". Its weird. I dont like it. And its only brought up so he can swear in spanish in some rlly bad text post where his emotions are getting out. But to me there's so much potential for metanarrative and commentary on how latinos are treated in media that can be exemplified through the way his character is treated. Being latino would add SO MUCH DEPTH to his character and his dynamic with the others.

[writingtraumaforever]

Courtship: Chapter 2

Notes: Here we go! Chapter 2! And ohhh boy, this is gonna be fun.

Summary: Shadow has been researching the courting rituals of the hedgehog. Sonic unknowingly initiates said rituals.

Chapter Select: Chapter 1, Chapter 3

Link to my AO3!

Start:

They’ve been meeting up for months now. 

Since the night Shadow and Sonic planned to meet at the Green Hills sign, they haven’t stopped scheduling rendezvouses. At the end of each of their races, the person deemed the winner— which is often argued over for far too long— chooses the next meeting spot and time.

Sonic picks the police department rooftop once, Shadow picks the rooftop of the ‘Bean Hill Zone’–previously known as Mean Bean, Sonic picks the back alley of the arcade, Shadow picks the mountaintop right past the town limits. Every spot had to be out of sight and discreet, Shadow having obvious anxiety over being seen or recognized. It kind of hurt Sonic’s heart seeing Shadow feel so… hated. 

Typically, their races would end with them arguing the winner and then picking their next spot before leaving. But they recently began to grow into more of a hangout afterwards. Shadow would stick around rather than rushing off or disappearing. He never seemed thrilled about being around Sonic, but he didn’t seem disgusted by the fact, either. So Sonic sees it as progress.

Honestly, Shadow isn’t half bad when he’s not trying to destroy the planet.

He’s kind of quiet. Very quiet, actually. But when he does talk, he has a lot of interesting things to say. Like stuff about the stars and constellations and patterns in the solar system and how they varied from others. He always seemed attentive when Sonic spoke about earth, too. He’d listen when Sonic would go on and on about his favorite locations around the world, about how chili dogs are man’s greatest creation, and how the Olympics had turned him down three times now to being a competitor–which he thought was discriminatory. 

He was also kind of funny! Which shocked Sonic, honestly. He didn’t really laugh. Ever. But he’d drop the most deadpan, dry humor jokes that always threw Sonic off and had him cackling which usually resulted in Shadow giving a tiny smirk and hum of humor, seeming proud of his joke. He got better with time, too. Seeming to pick up on pop culture references Sonic would teach him and use those to his advantage.

One time he told Sonic to check ebay for a life, and Sonic didn’t know what to do with that.

Speaking of pop culture, Sonic let Shadow borrow his old MP3 player! It was loaded with all sorts of good beats and genres. Shadow didn’t seem to like it at first, finding the headphones overwhelming in his ears. But Sonic told him he could play them through the speaker instead, and ever since, Sonic catches him humming tunes he recognizes now and then..

Once he swears he heard him humming ‘Shake It Off’ by Taylor Swift, but he’ll never dare to ask or judge.

They take walks when they hangout, mostly. Slowing down to just trot through the woods or hike along the mountains and end somewhere that seems like a good enough view to chill. They don’t do this on purpose. It just sort of flows that way.

And while Shadow’s personality is a bit difficult to navigate at times.. Sonic enjoys his company. A lot. Maybe a little too much.

For a long while, he kept this a secret from his family under the guise that he was simply going out for a run. But when he stayed out a little too late one night and didn’t get home until 3 AM, Maddie and Tom were absolutely rampant with worry and demanded he be truthful with them. So he told them. Maddie seemed a bit shocked but open. Tom?? Tom seemed.. reluctant is a weak word for it..

‘I forbid you from seeing him anymore!’

‘Forbid me?? Like a disney villain??’

‘What he means is that we expect you to be more honest with us about who you’re hanging out with, but we trust your judgment.’

‘No. No, I mean forbid. It’s forbidden. It’s a rule. I just made it. Forbid.’

‘Thomas..’

‘Ow! Stop pinching my arm!’

‘This is so unfair! You haven’t even given him a chance, yet!’

‘I don’t need to give him a chance! Last I saw that little psycho, he had me pinned to the floor with a gun to my head declaring it justice!’

‘He was confused! He had been brainwashed into believing that revenge is what his sister wanted as her dying wish!’

‘Oh that poor baby..’

‘Baby!? Maddie– did you not hear what I just said???’

‘I know, Tom. I was there. And while it was traumatizing, I think Sonic is right. He deserves a chance. Knuckles had been manipulated and nearly annihilated Sonic when we first met him, too. And look at him now.’

‘..Okay, fine. A chance is one thing, but why does does that chance have to be one we give??’

‘Because he doesn’t have anyone else!... He’s lonely. And he doesn’t say it, but I think he’s scared a lot. He lost his family.. I think he just needs a friend. You can’t take me away from him.. I’m all he has.’

‘....Okay. Okay, I’m crazy for this, but okay. You can.. keep seeing Shadow.’

‘Ugh. Stop saying it like that. You make it sound like we’re dating–’

‘But I want to meet him, first. Man-to-hedgehog. He has to earn my trust and approval. Prove he’s changed.’

‘...Sure! Yeah, he’ll totally be down for that!’

“I am totally not down for that.”

“Whaaaat?? Come on, Shads–”

“Don’t call me that.” “--You gotta meet my folks, or they’ll like- forever be up my case.”

“I fail to see how that’s my problem.” “It’s your problem because that’ll make us hanging out wayyy more difficult. And you can act like that doesn’t bother you all you want, but I so know it does.”

Sonic is waltzing along the railing of a bridge in the woods, Shadow walking alongside him close enough to grab him if Sonic falls–not that Shadow cares.

He doesn’t.

Wobbling in his steps, Sonic continues when Shadow’s only response is a grunt, “What’ll it hurt?? It’s just my parents, they’re not gonna bite.”

“I don’t fear them..,” Shadow scoffs, arms crossed tight as he glares at Sonic, “I simply don’t need their approval.”

“Don’t think of it as approval. Think of it as.. Just getting to know new people! Mom definitely just wants to talk to you. Dad may have.. other intentions, but he’s harmless. Promise.”

“Anyone deemed the Lord of Donuts has to be harmless.” “Exactly! So what do ya say??”

Shadow doesn’t answer, just stops when Sonic hops down to land in front of him with that stupid grin. Shadow huffs a bit, looking off to the side rather than at Sonic. He can see how much this means to him in those big, bright emerald eyes, and it’s tiresome.

He’s never questioned why Sonic cares for these people when they aren’t his real family. He’s never questioned why Sonic stays with them despite not needing to to survive..

He knows for a fact he’d still be with Maria if given the chance..

No, this isn’t a matter of why Sonic cares so much about his family’s opinion. He’s been intrigued and honestly a bit refreshed seeing another hedgehog with a human family..

No, it’s why Sonic cares about their opinion of him that gets Shadow bothered.

Why does he need to be involved??

Though, he has his suspicions..

He’s been reading up on the courting rituals of hedgehogs. He was raised with humans, so he isn’t quite familiar with this part of his DNA’s customs. But from what the earth books have told him, and while Sonic isn’t the same as an earth hedgehog, it’s all he’s got to go off of.

And hedgehog’s pursue their potential mate. Challenge them. Chase them. Then they circle them to feel out their mate.. See if there’s a chance for matching with them..

All things Sonic seems to have done with Shadow.

Then there’s snorting. Where the pursuer will snort at their mate and see if they’ll snort back. Sonic often snorts when he’s joking with Shadow.. And Shadow has joked back in return..

And as far as human customs go when pursuing a mate… meeting one’s parents is definitely part of it. It’s often thought of as a more serious step, in fact.

Shadow has had his suspicions all along of what Sonic’s intentions were in searching him out and very persistently sticking around. This just confirms it.

And Shadow… Shadow has been enabling such courting rituals. He’s been participating. He’s agreed to numerous meetings with this hedgehog. He’s enjoyed their conversations and time together, and he’s not looking for them to end. He’s, in all aspects of the word, reciprocated Sonic’s advances.

So to turn Sonic down now?? It would be cruel, wouldn’t it?? And Shadow isn’t even sure he wants to turn Sonic down. He isn’t ready for any sort of relationship, absolutely not. He still has a lot of trauma he needs to work through, but having Sonic as a companion through it.. doesn’t sound horrible. He’d prefer it, actually. He thinks.

He can’t lose Sonic. He does know that.

And if meeting Sonic’s family formerly will allow them to continue this courting dance they’ve been partaking in to see where it goes, then so be it.

“Very well.”

Sonic blinks, “Wait- what?”

“I accept your invitation to meet your family.”

Sonic immediately grins, his tail wagging practically as fast as the hedgehog runs, “You mean it?” “Why would I say something I didn’t mean??” “Oh, thank you, Shadow!” Sonic jumps up and down excitedly, and Shadow can’t help but smile a tiny smile at the sight of his excitement, “You won’t regret it.” “We’ll see..”

And so Sonic went home to let his family know they’d be having a guest for dinner the upcoming Friday. Maddie seemed nervous-excited, immediately going on about how she’s going to cook up this fantastic dinner for him. Tom seems a on guard about this, but he’s also agreed to go into it with an open mind.

It’s his brothers Sonic really has to worry about.

“So.. why is Shadow coming over again??” Tails asks, spinning around in his chair with a tiny gadget and screwdriver in hand. Sonic has no idea what he’s working on, and he’s learned not to ask since he won’t understand ha;f the explanation anyway.

“Because he needs friends. And we can be those friends,” Sonic assures with a thumbs up.

“But.. he tried to destroy the world,” Tails argues with a knit in his brow, tilting his head at Sonic.

“And he broke my hand! My glorious hand..,” Knuckles adds, holding his fist up dramatically. 

Sonic sighs at this, rolling his eyes, “Yes, I know. And he’s sorry for those things.”

“I have not heard an apology from him,” the echidna huffs, arms crossed disapprovingly.

“That’s because you haven’t seen him since it happened,” Sonic replies, looking between this two misfit brothers, “Look. I know we all have history with him–” “Bad history.” “He scares me.” “Anyway, I also know we all can relate to him, huh??” Tails and Knuckles exchange unsure glances before Sonic is quickly moving to Tails, “Tails, buddy, you’ve felt out of place and alone in the world before! You know how awful it is.. How it can be hard to navigate the right direction without someone to guide you..” “That’s.. true..,” Tails agrees before giggling when Sonic ruffles the fur on his head. 

Sonic then dashes to Knuckles, throwing an arm around him and shaking him roughly, “And you, Knucklehead–”

Knuckles punches Sonic in the chest, making Sonic stumble back with a chuckle.

“I am nothing like that fiend–” “Know what it’s like to have something horrible rip you from your family and be manipulated into hurting others as a way to seek justice for them..”

Knuckles goes silent at that, opening his mouth only to close it again with a thoughtful hum.

“...I suppose that’s true,” Knuckles nods, seeming won over by Sonic’s point.

“Exactly! You too have fallen victim to a Robotnik before– we all have in some way. Everyone makes mistakes, right?? We just gotta recognize those mistakes and grow from them.. So what makes Shadow any different??”

Knuckles and Tails are both quiet a long moment, looking at Sonic, then down, then each other..

Both slowly smile, Knuckles speaking as he looks back to Sonic,

“Very well. We shall allow our rival one trial. But if he fails, I will not hesitate to destroy him before he has a chance to destroy our tribe again..” “Fair enough,” Sonic nods with a grin, looking to Tails who nods in agreement.

“I trust you, Sonic. If you say Shadow has changed, then he’s changed,” the kit beams confidently, full loyalty in his big brother. Though, his smile grows a bit nervous, “But just.. Maybe he can prove he’s changed from a distance?” “Sure thing, buddy! I’ll be between you two at all times if it’ll make you feel better.” “Much, thanks,” Tails breathes in relief.

Sonic grins at this, “Good. Glad we’ve all come to an agreement then. Wachowski bros gotta stick together, right??” “Yeah! Team Heroes!” Tails grins, putting his fist out only for Sonic to fist bump him with a, “Red, Blue and Yellow!?” to which Knuckles then joins the group fist bump with a unanimous, “Hello!”

They all laugh amongst each other for a moment.. Only for Sonic get dead serious once they get quiet again and add,

“Okay. Now we gotta talk about you guys not embarrassing me.”

[astro-hunny]

What if I just wrote Persona 6? Like. I could do it. I totally could. And I have ideas for it. Idk, maybe I'll do it maybe I won't. Vote time idk.

Ideas under the cut.

Did I hear a demand for FemC? Did I? Well even if I'm hallucinating, we have FemC in this P6! "Official" name for now is Minori Koto. Might change it later.

I'm sad to say... I can't set it in University/College without screwing with the timeline. I also have to set it in 2018 I'M SORRY IT'S FOR SOCIAL LINKS I PROMISE.

FemC moves to Tokyo from another-but-not-as-big city in Japan for her parent's work. As for where she's from, does it really matter? nahhhhh (i'm lazy/clueless rn)

Persona MC with present parents??? What??? That's a thing??? (might kill one tbh I'm bored)

We're going with a mix of P4 and P5 for how the other world works. Early on, our main character finds an odd book while looking for study material on classics. When she opens it, there's a portal instead of pages, and she gets sucked in along with her partner on the project/best friend character.

All of the other worlds are different books and follow the plot of said book, repeating over and over. The owner's shadow plays the main character, cognitions play all other named characters, and regular shadows play unnamed roles. The way to save the shadow is to either give them a happier ending or break them out of the monotony of the story. Burning the book would kill the owner.

Persona's are also book based. I haven't decided on if I want to name the Persona's after the characters or the authors, but it's one of those two. As for summoning, characters will get a massive tome that they rip pages out of, symbolic of tearing pages out to write their own story as well as a visual representation for SP/HP. (recovery items are things that would help repair the books, like adhesives of actual book binding materials.)

Social links. The bane of my existence. The two I actually have planned somewhat out are connected to 4 and 5 respectively. The next couple points are about them.

The first Social link you'd meet would be a first-year girl who recently moved to Tokyo from a very small town out in the country, also for her father's work. You also find out through her social link that she has a "big bro" in Tokyo who she goes to visit a lot, as well as his roommate and a lot of their friends. Her social link would generally be the two of you bonding over moving to Tokyo and our MC helping her study. If you've yet to realize, this social link would be Nanako Dojima from Persona 4. No, we can not see P4 MC. I'm sorry, that's for spin-off games. She would not join your party.

The second would be the owner of a small cafe you can find nearby the MC's house, who speaks of his kids and how much trouble they used to get into when they were the MC's age. He mentions his daughter getting into places she shouldn't and his son getting into too much trouble, but it's all said in a fond tone that tells you that he knows they were just kids. Eventually, he mentions a boy who used to come in and sit in the same spot you always do: the counter seat closest to the door. At your rank 10 with him, he'll ask you after the rank-up to look into it for him. He wants to know how to help his kids, but he doesn't have the means to figure it out anymore. You cannot tell him before the end of the game, but you can find a missing-persons case for one Goro Akechi that was never really resolved. This social link would be Sojiro Sakura from Persona 5, P5 MC being his 'son' and Futaba being his daughter.

As for velvet room, I desperately want to make it a library, but instead I shall make it an observatory. Personas are created through selecting two stars and crashing them into each other. Your attendant would be a gentle woman, maybe early twenties by the looks of it, named Agatha. She wouldn't be unwise to the world, but she would clearly be one of the less experienced attendants. Igor is Igor, he isn't possessed. for now. Also you could hypothetically walk around the velvet room if this was playable but idk how to make mods.

The team's outfits change in every storybook to match the theme. If you couldn't tell, I've been playing too much Love Nikki recently.

Yes, there would be a god as the final boss.

No, I am not making P6 Fes-Portable-Golden-Royal-Reload or whatever the fuck it would be named. It's in the original release like it should be.

I know we're tumblr, so I'll keep this last one brief. The best perk of all:

FemC gets to be gay. We are free.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk, now please go vote.

[setmeatopthepyre]

Hey so I'm either delusional or onto something or both but the three calls in 08x06 kind of work perfectly as references to bucktommy's storyline as a past/present/future.

Past: Misdirects (07x04 throwback) Call 1: The mom in the urn. This scene was actually originally shot for 07x04 from what I can gather, and it fits perfectly in that episode's theme of misdirection. First, the audience (and the first responders) assume the actual live mother of the caller is being kidnapped. Misdirect: it's the dead mom's ashes in an urn. We then assume the husband is worried about losing his mom's ashes. Misdirect: it's actually the urn that's worth a ton of money.

This call fits right in with the other storylines that episode, most importantly the one that leads to Buck's bi awakening and Bucktommy's first kiss: Buck & the audience think Buck is jealous of Eddie spending more time with someone else, but it turns out to be Tommy's attention he's actually after. This is how they meet, this is their past.

Present: Spilling guts and breaking up (08x06) Call 2: The messy messy divorce. A married couple are fighting out a divorce in a lawyer's office. The husband keeps sneezing whenever he lies, causing him to pop his stitches and literally and figuratively spill his guts. The messy truth comes out, and despite this there's a touching moment where he lies that he never loved her. The wife and Buck have a one-on-one talk in which she tells Buck "He lied, he really did love me." and Buck says "I'm sure he did. Does." To which she replies, "Saying he didn't love me is the most beautiful lie he's ever told." It still ends in a messy split with hurt feelings.

Here we have a pretty clear reference to what's happening and is about to happen in this very episode between Buck and Tommy. The messy guts of both of their pasts pertaining to Abby have or will be spilled. The breakup takes both of them by surprise. To quote the lawyer(?) the husband in this scene was having an affair with: "One minute he was fine and the next was like a bomb went off." The audience goes through quite a similar journey. Where the scene opens with one lawyer saying that the process "doesn't have to be painful", we leave feeling absolutely eviscerated.

Future: Pushing away & lifting up (??x??) Call 3: The boy in the pipe. We have an older brother being annoyed by the fact that his younger brother constantly wants him to read to him. When the younger brother asks again, the older brother lashes out and tells him to go away. When he realizes his mistake, the younger brother has wedged himself into an exposed pipe in the yard, underground and in the muck where no one can reach him. When the 118 show up, it's determined that the only one who can pull the younger brother out, is the one who pushed him away and inadvertently caused him to be down there in the first place: the older brother.

So yes, this call is clearly set up to make Chimney realize how having another kid would mean Jee-yun has another person looking out for her and vice versa. However, the specific backstory/build-up of the older brother pushing the younger one away doesn't relate to Chim's situation at all. It does sound a lot like Buck & Tommy's break up, where both parties clearly love and care for each other (though in a different way than familial, clearly) but one still ended up pushing the other away - and, I assume, regretting it. This could be foreshadowing a future in which Buck is down in a dark place (heartbreak), with only one person who is exactly the right fit to save him: the very guy who put him there in the first place.

[tigerincahoots]

WAS HENRY… POUTING? That was a first for Kevin. His head turned to the side as he gave the Detective a good, long look – truly admiring the other man for the very first time. Not that he didn’t know that Henry was attractive. Heck, he wanted to fuck that man’s brains out since the first moment he laid eyes on him. But the concern? The not wanting for him to go alone because he could get hurt? Maybe he was reading too much into the whole scenario. That was what cops did, right? Looked after one another. Had each other’s backs. It was the same back in the military but to Kevin…? It had been a very long time since he had to work with someone and have that very same someone concerned about his well-being.

IT WAS ANNOYING BUT ALSO CUTE.

”I WON’T BE GONE LONG.” Shaking his head, Kevin took a deep breath and after a moment of hesitation, he reached out to lift Henry’s chin so that their eyes could meet. Just the two of them out there. In the middle of a Halloween night and hunting a fucking werewolf who had just murdered an innocent kid. “Chances are he’s long gone but I want to have a sense of the general direction he went.” Maybe search for clues like torn clothes or blood or anything really. That was his job. He tracked shit down to either capture or kill them. “You won’t even have time to miss me.” Not that Henry would miss him but he couldn’t help but to add that little jab to the other man.

”DON’T WORRY.” He truly did not want Henry to worry about him. He was not worth the effort and he didn’t need the concern. Even if that was probably the kindest thing anyone had ever said or done for him in years. “I’m not planning on dying before I have you in my bed, Detective.” Make Henry blush. If he was blushing and thinking the lewdest of thoughts – he shouldn’t be worried about his safety. “So – how about you think about all the things we could do once we have some privacy while I’m gone?” Think about anything else but a murderer being on the loose and his partner going after him solo. Think about anything else but the passage of time as he waited SHIT. When did he become so concerned about someone else’s fucking mental health? “Also – you look very cute when you pout. Makes me want to spank you.” Not that he would – but Kevin tossed a rather obvious wink at Henry before patting the man on the shoulder. “I’ll be back soon, Quinn. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Which was not… a lot.

Kevin was saying a lot of things, and Henry was listening, absorbing it all. He was hearing annoyance, which made him raise a brow; weren't all cops supposed to worry about their partners? But he also heard concern in Kevin's voice. It was a mixed message.

"So, you're allowed to worry about me, but I can't worry about you?" In an ideal situation, neither of them would be hurt, but that wasn't always the case in this line of work.

Then came the demonstration. Henry watched as Kevin began to cut his hand, and his mouth opened to protest, but no sound left his lips. He watched the slice, and the blood, and how the wound almost instantly recovered. The slit closed like a mouth while Henry's was left agape.

"Well, I guess I'll just shut the fuck up then." Henry said with an air of amazement, confusion, and the slight twist of how impressed he was. "That's a handy talent to have as a cop, does it work the same with bullets?"

It would take a while for what he'd just seen to sink in, but Kevin had proven his point. He'd have to ask later about what more there was to the story, because right now he had ten million questions bumping around in his head like a windows screensaver.

"Fine. Go. But you didn't say please." He folded his arms, was he pouting? After all, he wanted to have fun too, but if he got a chunk taken out of his ass it wouldn't grow back. "If you catch fleas you're walking home." He supposed he'd park in his car and wait like a good little pretty boy.

[moeblob]

Karen: LMAO every guy I meet reminds me of my big brothers that's so funny except if Paul is already my brother and you're also a brother that's a bit awkward, huh Hot bartender: THATS MOVING REALLY FAST AND I LIKE YOU AS A PERSON BUT - Karen: having my brothers date would be SO WEIRD Hot bartender: Well on the bright side I literally cannot speak more than five words to him so we aren't dating because he's so cute

(Everyone else: that is somehow the most depressing bright side we never want to hear)

[fantasy-costco]

Can not stress enough the value of having physical copies of photos in your home. First thing we did at our apartment was put up a gallary wall and we've been adding a few more pictures over time and it's so nice. Really lovely reminder of the people we love and who love us.

[doctorwhoisadhd]

who in the torchwood team would hate nardole the most.

[smorkulon]

honestly ur valid for yukio brainworms like hes such a well written character,, i get hes not to everyones taste but those who like,, actively hate him i swear just havent developed reading comprehension beyond face value, they only ever repeat the same moralistic high horse stuff istead of looking at ALL the ways kato sensei gradually, MASTERFULLY built up his breakdown and arc. u can tell kato sensei literally loves ALL her own characters (jsut look at her twtter) and writes and draws them with love and compassion and thought and they dont even recognize that 🙄(sorry for rant. I jsut big agree lol)

It's alright anon! I love seeing other people give Yukio some love.

He's such a well written character and I get how some people my not like his actions, especially because he's written to be esoteric (little people will understand him, thanks to that one person saying that in the tags of a reblog). But like, there are characters who've done WAYYYY worse than Yukio and I know those same people who hate him just love those characters.

Just look at him, he's such a silly little guy!

[exopelagic]

okay I severely misjudged spaghetti guy he’s actually just really cool

[lunarubra]

@justrainandcoffee Flor 🤣🤣🤣🤣 that GIF 🤣🤣 I can't believe it was one of the first options without typing anything—sometimes the universe really gives us signs 🤭

I wanted to celebrate them in the first chapter; I promise there's more plot coming in the next ones. But with all the drama in my own life, writing these two is a bit of a safe haven for me, so I often end up writing fluff and comfort. Venice, too, has always been one of my safe places; it's such a magical city.

I watched that movie years ago—it’s exactly the kind my mum loves, so we all ended up watching it as kids. I laughed when I read that scene, and yes, Italy can be humbling for many actors. Unless you're on Italian TV or a famous football player, recognition is rare. I doubt Cill would be very noticeable here; it’s almost a running joke in Italy that only tourists recognize celebrities because locals either don’t notice or just don’t care. I imagine her mum wouldn’t know who he is at all, and her brother might vaguely remember him from Batman Begins. After the initial "my sister is dating an actor" surprise, I’m sure he’d meet Cillian and be pretty chill about it.

As for the nonna—she’s the nonna. She’s already scheming and planning, probably knitting hats, socks, and tiny blankets for potential future great-grandchildren lol

Thank you so much for reading this, Flor. I know you're in the midst of leading your GoT revolution, so it truly means the world that you took the time to read my little fic <3

Hi :) This is the first chapter of the second part! I’ll be publishing more regularly this time since everything is already written.

Pairing: Cillian x OC (Jiyan)

Summary: In this AU set during the summer of 2010, Cillian has just wrapped up the final Inception premieres. Now, he and Jiyan are traveling through Italy, seeking some peaceful downtime together.

Warning: Fluff and Smut.

Words: 2985

Next | Masterlist

Chapter 1

Waking up beside Jiyan had quickly become one of Cillian's favourite moments in recent months, mainly because it was a rare treat. While he loved sleeping in and savouring the peace of lying in bed, Jiyan’s internal clock seemed to be synced with the sun. She would always wake up without an alarm at what, in his opinion, were ungodly early hours. So when he would wake up, she would already have been awake for a couple of hours, being around the house and or heading out for a morning walk enjoying the fresh early hours. 

So a smile naturally spread across his face, when he woke up and felt the comforting warmth of her still nestled against him. He glanced lovingly at the woman still sound asleep in his arms, enjoying the rare chance to share this quiet moment with her.

They were staying at her grandmother’s house in Venice, which felt like a little escape into magic. Her grandmother, almost 80 but still fiercely independent, had gone to visit a friend in the mountains for nearly a month. Jiyan had asked if they could house-sit, and her grandmother had happily agreed. The apartment spanned two floors—a rarity in Venice—and was tucked along one of the smaller canals in the older part of the city. It was the perfect, peaceful way to experience the beauty ofVenice, and Cillian found it all the more enchanting with Jiyan showing him around.

They fell into a gentle rhythm together, taking things slow and easy. In the mornings, Cillian would make coffee, and Jiyan showed him how to use a Moka pot to make it the Italian way, though she still preferred her tea. Wandering through Venice with her, especially steering clear of the busy tourist spots, brought him a deep sense of calm. He loved just walking, hearing nothing but the gentle splash of waves against the canals, breathing in the salty air, and catching bits of the locals’ quiet conversations.

Exploring the city with a local opened up a whole new side of Venice. There were no cars, only boats sliding by in the canals. Whole shops of fruits and vegetables floated along the waterways, and even the mail came by boat. The absence of city noise and smog felt like a relief, making it easy to let go of the usual bustle of city life. He laughed at how easily he got lost without Jiyan to guide him—the narrow streets and winding alleys were beautiful, a maze he’d never figure out alone. Venice was vibrant and peaceful all at once, and it felt like a little world all to themselves.

They had arrived in Venice after the Inception premiere in Paris, choosing to take the train. “How do you expect to drive through canals, Cill?” Jiyan had teased him. Since then, their days had been a blur of relaxation, art exhibitions, and long evening walks. For such a small city, Venice was rich in artistic culture, and they explored live music events and galleries whenever they could.

Their favourite activity was exploring the city’s second-hand markets, where it felt like time had stopped. These markets held books, vinyl records, and treasures from decades—sometimes even centuries—past. Jiyan loved telling him how, for centuries, Venice had been one of the world’s most important trade hubs, and that if something could be found anywhere, a copy was almost certainly in Venice too. Cillian treasured this time with her, where it was just about them, getting lost in the moment—whether they were discussing a novel or debating the significance of a book they’d found.

They also often went to open-air cinemas around the city, a tradition Cillian found as magical as it was unbelievable. In Venice, theatres and cinemas weren’t just on land but also on the water. Open-air theatres would have audiences seated in boats, floating along in small gondolas or flatboats as they watched the performance. The open-air cinema worked the same way. They would take Jiyan’s family boat, pack snacks and drinks, and head to where the movie was projected, watching it from their boat. It felt like a Venetian version of an American drive-in, but far more enchanting, with the shimmering water beneath them and the timeless beauty of Venice all around.

One night, as they settled into the boat, the lanterns strung along the canals cast a soft glow on the water, making everything feel dreamlike. Cillian leaned back, gazing at Jiyan as she carefully poured wine into two glasses, her face illuminated in the soft light.

“What are we watching tonight?” he asked, but in truth, it didn’t matter. He was just as captivated by the moment as he would be by any film.

“A classic,” she said with a smile, handing him a glass. “One of those films that feels like a lullaby. But tonight, it’s more about being here, isn’t it?”

He nodded, taking a sip and feeling the warmth spread through him. “I could sit here and do nothing but look at the lights reflected on the water, and I’d still think it was perfect.” He reached for her hand, feeling the gentle sway of the boat beneath them, their little world floating in the heart of Venice.

As the movie began to flicker on the large screen ahead of them, they settled back, surrounded by other boats and quiet whispers. Occasionally, a ripple would pass through the water as a gondola drifted by, casting gentle waves that rocked their boat. Every so often, he’d glance at her, catching her in deep concentration or with a slight smile playing on her lips, absorbed in the story. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of gratitude—for her, for this moment, for the small rituals they’d made their own in this extraordinary city.

Halfway through the film, she leaned over and whispered, “You know, my grandfather used to do this with my grandmother. He’d take her out in this very boat to see these films.”

He felt a rush of tenderness, picturing them here, decades before, floating together under the stars just as he and Jiyan were now. This connection to her family—past and present—felt like an unspoken bond, linking him to their stories, traditions, and memories.

In just a few days, he’d meet Jiyan’s grandmother when she returned from her trip, and soon after, they’d spend their last days in Trieste, at her mother’s home. Her brother, Mikael, and her mother, Solin, had already come by a few times, though their visits were brief. They were eager to catch up with Jiyan after months apart—and, of course, to meet him.

Staying with her family was a mix of beauty, comfort, and a bit of strangeness for him. It was beautiful because he could feel how deeply they loved each other. He saw it in Solin’s proud eyes when she watched her children teasing one another, or when Jiyan spoke passionately about her research at the university. Jiyan and her mother shared an intellectual connection that left him in awe. Most of the time, when she talked to him about her work, he would sit there looking like a baffled fish, fully aware of how important her research was but not quite able to grasp half of it.

It was also comfortable because, even though they were mostly there for Jiyan, they were genuinely curious about him too. They didn’t know him as an actor, which he found refreshing. In fact, he was fairly certain it had been over 20 years since Solin had watched TV or seen a movie. They didn’t care much about his film projects, but they were fascinated by his work in theatre and his travels. Solin, a passionate reader, spent many afternoons with him, sipping tea and discussing their favourite novels, a pastime that led to endless teasing from Jiyan and Mika.

Still, it was a bit strange. He had never felt more out of his depth, more aware of his own ignorance and narrow perspective. It wasn’t just that Jiyan and Solin were both academics who worked at universities; it was the effortless way they—and Mika, too—would slip between multiple languages during conversation. They would start in English to include him, then switch to Italian or Kurdish without even noticing. It was so natural for them, but it made him feel oddly basic, limited to just English and Irish. He almost wanted to call his mum and apologise for all the times she’d tried to teach him French without success.

They weren’t intentionally excluding him, and they always apologise when they realised they’d switched languages, quickly translating whatever had been said. Still, if he were honest, he felt incredibly lucky to experience such a rich blend of languages and cultures firsthand.

His thoughts were interrupted when Jiyan stirred beside him, mumbling something in her sleep. Smiling, he turned slightly and began to leave gentle butterfly kisses along the side of her neck, slowly making his way to that spot that always made her squirm. Her hand moved instinctively toward him, and he couldn’t help but smile at the simple sweetness of the moment.

She still had on his shirt from the previous night, the buttons mismatched. They had returned home late after an exhilarating time at the concert, both drenched in sweat from their dancing and filled with the buzzing energy that only a live music session could provide. It didn't take them long to undress - his clothes falling off and her summer dress being discarded quickly - before he showed her just how deeply he loved her. She had teased him throughout the entire night, her carefree dancing in that dress driving him wild. Later, after they were both exhausted and satisfied, she slipped on his shirt and they cuddled up together, drifting off into sleep almost instantly.

Her skin seemed to tan almost immediately under the radiant Italian sun, while he had to protect himself from turning into a ripe tomato if he didn't want to be burned. She basked in the sunlight, allowing her already olive complexion to deepen and glow. It was as if the summer season itself made her radiate with beauty and intensified any allure she already possessed. He found it nearly impossible to leave her alone or not touching her for even a moment.

As he continued to kiss her neck, Jiyan began to stir more, her eyes fluttering open. She turned to face him, a sleepy smile spreading across her face. "Good morning," she murmured, her voice still thick with sleep.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," he replied, brushing a strand of hair from her face. The sunlight streaming through the window highlighted the golden flecks in her eyes, making them shine like amber.

Jiyan stretched languidly, the shirt riding up to reveal a tantalising glimpse of her thigh. He couldn't resist running his hand along the smooth skin, marvelling at how soft it felt beneath his touch.

“S’fuckin’ sexy,” he murmurs, meeting her eyes again. “You in my clothes.” His hands span her waist, thumbs tracing lazy circles against the soft fabric, warming her skin beneath.

She giggled and playfully swatted his hand away. "What time is it?" she asked, propping herself up on one elbow.

“I don’t know, but there is enough time for this,” he said, stealing a kiss, distracting her completely. 

The kiss was hard and deep and messy, waking her up and getting rid of the last traces of sleep. And god, he was so good at this. They were so good together. She thought she could probably spend hours just kissing him and be totally content.

Jiyan melted into him, her body instinctively pressing closer to his. The world outside their little bubble ceased to exist as they lost themselves in each other once again. His hand traced the curve of her waist, fingers slipping beneath the hem of the shirt of his that she was wearing. She shivered at his touch, a soft moan escaping her lips.

The kiss deepened, becoming more urgent, more passionate. Jiyan's fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer as if she couldn't get enough. He revelled in the taste of her, the softness of her lips, the warmth of her body against his. It was intoxicating, addictive.

He broke away from the kiss and hurriedly took off that last layer tha was still covering her, letting out a breath as she layed naked in front of him, nipples high up in the air. 

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, throat bobbing as he crawled down, bowing his head and kissing the inside of her thigh, licking a tortuously slow line up her centre with the flat of his tongue. 

“Fuck, Cill!” Jiyan screeched, her hips involuntarily moved, bringing her pussy further against his hungry mouth. 

Cillian sucked her clit into his mouth, humming against her and the vibration sent a jolt of pleasure up her spine. Another groan escaped her lips and her fingers tangled in his hair. Her vision started to blur while he worked her with his tongue, alternately swirling and flicking against her folds and nerves. She watched him beneath lowered lashes, the pupils of his eyes dark and trained on her face; then he smirked against her before going back to work. 

He rolled his tongue around Jiyan’s clit, eliciting a long, drawn out moan from her. She was so wet, and he easily slid in one, two fingers inside her tight passage. He added a third, which made her whole body shake with another moan, and he pumped into her, feeling her warm, slippery walls contract around his digits. 

He could not wait to feel once again her tightness around his dick, and he had to hold himself back from thrusting in her before she could orgasm. It didn’t take long for her to reach that peak, and she screamed as she convulsed around his fingers, her slick running down slowly into the mattress. 

Licking the wetness left off his lips, he crawled up on top of her and rubbed his cock over pussy to gather more before brushing the underside of his dick over her clit as he did, his cock nudging at her slippery entrance. 

“I’m going to…” he started, but was cut off by a voice from downstairs that made him freeze instantly, forgetting for a moment that he was about to have sex with his gorgeous girlfriend.

“Jiyan siè tu? Sito casa?” the new voice called from the floor below.

(“Jiyan is it you? Are you home?”)

“Cazzo! Fuck!” Jiyan swore, her face turning pale as she froze, still trying to catch her breath from the orgasm she’d just had.

“What? Who?” he asked frantically, propping himself up on one arm, while Jiyan pushed him aside and tossed him his shirt.

“It’s my grandma,” she whispered urgently.

“What?” he almost shouted. “How? Wasn’t she supposed to be here in three days?”

“Jiyan, benon?” her grandmother called again, footsteps now audible on the stairs.

(“Jiyan, is everything alright?”)

“Si, nonna, venemo sùvito! Cinque minuti!” Jiyan called out, trying to buy them some time.

("Yes, Grandma, we’re coming right away! Five minutes!")

“You have to get dressed,” she whispered, frantically searching the room for clothes. She turned around to see Cillian still completely naked, his shirt draped half over him, barely covering his still half-hard cock.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” he muttered.

“Cill, come on!”

“Your grandma just interrupted us… mid-sex.”

“Cillian! Focus!” she hissed, trying to suppress her own panic.

“I can’t…” he replied petulantly, glancing down at himself. “What did you say to her?”

“I told her we were coming downstairs in five minutes,” she said, realising he still understood little Italian.

“What? No way. I can’t go down like this,” he said, sitting up and gesturing toward his lap. “Literally.”

“Very funny, Murphy,” she shot back, rolling her eyes. “Best joke ever. I’ll just tell her you’re in the shower.” She still hadn’t found anything to wear, so in desperation, she yanked his shirt back off him, leaving him fully exposed, and pulled on a pair of jogging shorts from the floor.

She paused for a moment, realising just how absurd the whole situation was. A slow smile crept across her face before she suddenly burst into laughter, sitting down on the bed beside him, hiding her face into his neck while Cillian that was also trying to catch his breath. He smiled and hold her closer, holding back a chuckle.

“My grandma interrupted us while we were having sex,” she said, looking back at him and laughing so hard that tears formed in her eyes.

“It’s not funny, Aji,” Cillian said, though a grin tugged at his lips despite himself. “Jesus, I can't believe that just happened.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, gently brushing his hair back. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just… a bit shell-shocked. Talk about terrible timing.” He took her hand and kissed it lightly. “I’m going to take that shower now—try to distract her,” he added, giving her a quick kiss before standing up and heading toward the ensuite bathroom.

“You know they’re never going to let this go, right? She’s probably already on the phone with half the family. We’ll be teased about this forever,” Jiyan called out as he closed the bathroom door.

“At least I won’t understand the teasing,” he shouted back, laughing as he stepped into the shower.

Jiyan shook her head with a sigh, slipping on her sandals before heading downstairs.

As she entered the kitchen, she found her grandmother sitting at the table, calmly stirring sugar into her coffee, a sly smile on her face like the cat that got the cream.

“Quindi, posso spetarme dei neodin présto, Aji?” her grandmother asked, barely suppressing a grin.

("So, can I expect great-grandchildren soon, Aji?")

Jiyan groaned inwardly. Nope, they definitely weren’t going to let this go anytime soon.

Next | Masterlist

Thank you so much for taking the time to read. Your feedback, in any form, makes me happy. See you at the next one :)

amazing dividers from cafekitsune

[aroaceofthesea]

Yesterday was so weird we met with some friends to play board games but like we're a very big group where no one knows everyone and there was this guy coming that i had no idea who he was and like when i saw him i was like oooh ok its that person idrk who he is but i recognize him. and he was like hiiiiii helenaaaaa and i was like what lol anyways its still a mystery to me how he knows me so much and why he cares so much about me i thought yesterday was the first time we properly hung out lol

[kentopedia]

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ LOOK, MOM! — nanami kento

yuuji accidentally calls you mom

contents: nanami x fem!reader, husband nanami hehe, this is very silly and random and stupid, fluff, nanami & reader are yuuji's adoptive parents fr, words: 1059

“nanamin!” yuuji waves at the figure approaching from behind you, a flashy grin appearing on his face as he glances at the blonde man over your shoulder. “i didn’t know you were coming by today!”

kento's hair sweeps over his forehead in the wind, a few strands coming free as he heads towards you. it's a brisk day, and he has two hot coffees in his hands that he'd picked up after his mission.

a bead of sweat drips down yuuji's temple, and he wipes it with his sleeve, still breathing heavily. you'd spent the last hour training together, pushing his physical capabilities. gojo had been busy recently, between all the missions and his conversations with the higher ups.

so, of course, you'd volunteered to teach the newest student when he couldn't. quickly, he became your favorite of the three first years.

“i’m in between assignments.” kento hands you the coffee, places a gentle hand on your lower back with a smile that is hardly there. “mind if i steal my wife away for a bit?”

yuuji shrugs, his face still bright as he glances between the two of you. ever since he’d found out two of his favorite sorcerers were together, he’d hardly shut up about it.

“no problem. i’m going to meet up with fushiguro anyway.” he brushes the dirt off his pants, waving to the two of you.

“good job today, yuuji!” grateful for something to warm you up in the chilly air, you take a sip of the coffee. it’s perfect, as always, just what you needed. “you’re improving a lot!”

he grins, proud of his accomplishments. “thanks, mom! see you later!”

there's an elongated moment of silence.

you choke on your coffee as kento stiffens beside you, watching while yuuji comes to a skittering halt.

all three of you freeze. you cough, clearing your throat, and kento's hand, steady on your back, has stilled. “yuuji—“

“oh,” the teenager says, his face turning bright red as he realizes what he’s called you. he glances between the two of you, embarrassment evident. “i’m so sorry. i didn’t mean to—“

though, you don’t give yuuji enough time to protest. within seconds, you’ve gathered him up in your arms, squeezing the younger boy to your chest. “kento, we have a son!”

you feel yuuji tense, before he relaxes, and throws his arms around you in an even tighter hug. there’s some sort of thanks resting there. he laughs, carefree, a sound you never want to be taken away from the boy who manages to shine so brightly in such a dark world.

kento stares at you, folds his glasses up in his pocket, as if to show you both how unimpressed he is. “do we?” he asks, lips flat, though, you see through the facade to the amusement hidden in his irises. “i'm certain i would’ve remembered something like that.”

you make a face at him, covering yuuji’s ears dramatically. “oh, don’t listen to your dad, yuuji. he’s old, he doesn’t know what he’s saying.”

kento blinks, and then sighs, wrinkling his nose. though, when he sees yuuji’s wide grin, his eager expression, he decides to play along.

“well, then... there must be a lapse in my memory." kento crosses his arms over his chest as he regards the two of your extensively, searching for something. "that would certainly explain the striking resemblance between us.” he says drily.

yuuji laughs, a loud snort. he looks nothing like either of you, but you’re not sure he’s ever gotten to witness kento's sarcastic sense of humor, the one that not everyone really gets.

“exactly!” yuuji quips back to kento’s blank expression. "everyone tells me i have the same smile as my dad!

kento’s trying hard not to let yuuji win that one, but you can see the slight wrinkle around his eye, the tiny quirk of his lips. beside the pink haired boy, you choke out a few giggles, covering your mouth.

“yes," kento nods, solemn. "i’ve heard that as well.”

"so you do know how to make jokes, nanamin!" yuuji shouts, nearly jumping in the air as he cheers. "i can't wait to tell fushiguro this."

kento rolls his eyes, but yuuji’s so pleased, and he releases you, his eyes soft and bright as he pulls away.

though he doesn’t say it, doesn't thank you for anything, you can tell he’s grateful. itadori yuuji may be happy with his life as it is now, may have found a home within the friends he’s made at the high school, but you know he misses his grandfather. sometimes, perhaps, he even longs for the conventional family he never really got to have.

you ruffle his hair, the pink strands catching between the cracks of your fingers. “tell him i said hello too.”

yuuji nods, stuffing his hands in his pocket as he steps away. “i will!” his cheerful gaze is pinned on your husband, a secretive smile making a home on his lips. “bye, dad.”

kento shakes his head, and sighs again, though you can tell, a part of him is touched to have won so much of yuuji's admiration. “have a good evening, itadori.”

you watch the young boy scurry away, hands in his pockets as he braces himself against the cold.

"you should be nicer to your son, kento."

kento snorts, throwing an arm over your shoulder as he brings you closer to him. "i am nice to him," he says, kissing your temple softly. "a little hard on him, maybe, but i just don't want anything bad to happen to him."

you soften, look up at him with warm eyes, and you squeeze the hand that is resting on your shoulder. "i know," you say, your heart clenching. you've thought about it before, thought of kento with a tiny child that looks just like him, cradled against his chest. thought of him with a little girl whose hair he can braid, a little boy he can raise to be a gentleman.

but you hadn't talked about it; you'd always thought your life was too busy, too dangerous for children.

"you'd make a good dad, ken," you say, your cheeks flushed as you grin at him.

kento's eyes flash. "really?" an array of emotions scurries across his features before he leans down, kissing you softly. "is this your way of telling me you want a baby, sweetheart?" his voice deepens as he whispers against your lips, smiling. "because i'm more than happy to give you one."