Certified Skull Vibes

[lixenn]

Writing prompt

So I had a conversation with a classmate about tigers and he said “What if tigers were born without stripes and every time they actually kill something they get one stripe.”

I loved the idea and it inspired all kind of plot bunnies. Like not with tigers but with humans instead. I know the concept that some killers mark themselves with something every time they kill but what if it’s not something you do out of your own will but something that just happens. You kill someone and a mark appears randomly on your body. 

But not just any mark - no that would be boring. What if you get a scar that looks the same as the one that decides the death of the person. Like you stab somebody in the heart you get a scar where the knife hit. You cut off the head you have a scar ring around your neck.

Of course that means you can’t just kill people willy nilly anymore because if you are a murder suspect the police can just demand to check your body for the scar and BAM prison time for you.

So people get more careful with killing stuff. I mean there are plenty of ways to end someones life without leaving a trace on the body. Poison for example. I just imagine an assassin who only uses poison to kill and therefore never gets caught but someday he accidently killed somebody by stabbing them because - I dunno they caught him in the act and he didn’t have any poison left and ‘I can’t just leave a witness alive this would be totally unprofessional dammit!’. So he has a scar and gets kind of desperate because ‘what if the police catches me, what if somebody stalks me and sees me without a shirt AHHHH my cover is blown!!!’

Another character who is just… extremely clumsy. Like can’t walk without tripping over their feet every few seconds clumsy. So naturally they get a lot of scars because they fall down stairs, cut themself with a kitchen knife and other ridiculous stuff. So… this person is covered in scars from head to toe but not because they are a serial killer but because they just have really shitty luck. Problem is that person is extremely introvert, shy and doesn’t really talking all that much because being around humans gives them anxiety. So others just assume this tiny slip of a person who is just such a adorable cinnamon roll actually killed dozens of people. This means that others treat this awkward sweetheart like they are a mafia boss because ‘did you see how small they are?? And fluffy and nice?? But all those scars man… they probably are the type to rip you to shreds when they are angry. just don’t piss them off steve I don’t want to scratch off your remains from the floor.’ So this clumsy persons has a lot of minions who admire their guts and they just don’t know what to do about this. They just want to be left alone but are constantly doted on by tough gangster dudes because they realize that their ‘boss’ is an actual hopeless human being who can’t take care of themselves.

Of course there are others who see the scars on them and just go ‘oh my god!! they killed so many people better call the police’. So Clumsy needs to go to the police station on a nearly daily basis and is just so tired of it. Like they know every police officer by name, the secretary has a biscuit tin just for them and the police officers don’t even bother to interrogate them after the 15th time so they just talk about cats most of the time. It gets to the point where they don’t need to go the station anymore because everyone there knows they are innocent and simply clumsy as hell. But it’s kinda nice, they made some friends and the biscuits are reallllly good.

[lixenn]

Idea recycle

Now, it’s been like nearly 4 years since I’ve posted this but I randomly remembered this idea on my train ride and came to the conclusion that this concept could actually work pretty well in the KHR world.

————

Let’s just blame the cause of the Scars appearing on weird Flame shenanigans, like every living thing capable of manifesting Dying Will Flames is connected via a Flame Network *imagine some technical babble about soul frequnecy and energy output here please*. It’s not a deep connection like the bond between an Element and their Sky. It’s more superficial, less severe. This universal connection could form the basis of a Sky/Element bond, but if you leave it alone it’s just running unnoticable in the background. I kind of want the Network to be connected to the Tri-ni-Sette, like it helps with keeping the balance of the world and stuff, but honestly it’s quite a difficult concept to work my head around so I’m just going to leave it at taht for now.

The gist is: People are subconsciously connected via their Flames (active or inactive doesn’t matter, you just have a lower energy output when you’re inactive but you still provide something to the Network). If you have a normal civilian lifestyle this connection doesn’t really matter much. However each time you kill someone you get hit by blacklash, because you permenantly remove someone form the Network, so it marks you in return. You could imagine the connection as a rubberband that is streched between two people. If you remove the other person from the equation by killing them the tension on the rubberband causes the blacklash aka the band will be smacked into your face (hope this helps visualize what I mean).

Now, civilians don’t know about Flames, therefore they have no clue what the real origin of the Scars are but the Mafia World has an completely different starting point for their research, which means they figured out the reason behind the Scars quite early on. One of the main reasons why they discovered the source of the Scars is the bonds a Sky can establish. If you’re an Element bonded to a Sky and you hurt your Sky or vice versa then you get a Scar signifying the harm even if the other person is still alive. As already mentioned above, the connection between an Element and their Sky is deeper than the superficial connection of the Network, meaning that the backlash is also easier to trigger. If we look at the rubberband example it would probably mean that the tension on the band is higher which means the band is easier to break (still hoping you can follow me on this). We could spice it up some more and make Scars caused by Bound Backlash will be the colour of your flame type. Naturally this would have an impact on Mafia Society since possessing a Coloured Scar would imply you hurt someone your Sky/Element, therefore ostracising these scarred people. I mean, who would trust someone who hurt the person closest to their soul, right?

————

I think this is a good point to cut it off. I’ll need to have a bit of a think for some other ideas like possible Mafia traditions based on the scars and some character stuff (Clumsy = Tsuna, might be fun to play around with).

Feel free to bombard me with questions for this plot bunny btw, it’s always fun to discuss worldbuilding and lore with people 🥰

[cloudspark]

In this AU the arcobaleno start off w a grudging respect for Skull because despite his.. Skull-ness he has some insane scars, and he can't possibly be a civilian after having decapitated someone (spoiler: it's himself. He's a dumb immortal thrill seeker)

[reborn-wakeup]

I love the "character's wardrobe" series!! You should definitely do Skull!! Canon doesnt give his obvious punk influences justice

a/n: hiii! thanks for sending this request, i hope that you’ll like this one! also sorry for taking a lot of time to post this😭

☠️Skull’s wardrobe☠️

-another fashionista that spends a lot of time on his outfits

-i’m sure that he would have an insane amount of extraordinary tops like crop tops with sleeves, tops with pins, patchwork tops, cutout tops - name them, he has them all

-low rise baggy jeans!

-also he makes sure that his underwear peeks out from pants🤭

-lots of metallic and leather accessories and also mesh mittens

-has a thing for leather jackets, like he has a collection of them (but they all look the same)

[greedysadistdad]

Respectfully, I want to love you in front of people who didn't. I want them to see how much you glow when you're treated right.

[cloudspark]

6996

[hopeswriting]

tsuna is the patron saint of the mundane, of the normal and common place, of the average and unimpressive. he's the unshakable believer of that being enough in and of itself, of that being fulfilling and fundamental to achieve happiness. and he's the unyielding protector and defender of the beauty and love and kindness within the ordinary, of the holy and divine and sacred within it, and of them being worth fighting for.

tsuna's the guy who makes the ordinary extraordinary from the sheer way he holds it so very close to his heart like it's the most precious thing in the world, and it's the thing about him i, for one, love him most for

[the-troll-of-the-bridge]

so i know he's a war criminal but he's so babygirl shaped i had to draw him

[social-muffin]

@rawrxxxdd your mans!

[hopeswriting]

i love you characters who know exactly who they are, monstrous parts and all. monstrous parts and nothing else. i love you characters who embrace it fully and wholly, who are happy and at peace with who they are and have no intention to ever change their ways or interest in becoming a better version of themselves. i love you characters who've painstakingly perfected being monsters, and so they'd know they're already the best version of themselves. characters who've weaponized their monstrous parts to get every single thing they want out of life, and who are unashamed and unapologetic and proud and bold about it.

i love you characters perfectly self-aware of their monstrous parts who gleefully look straight back at the rightfully deserved and earned scorn, judgment and condemnation thrown their ways with wide grins that's all teeth. characters who say "you're right, i am a monster. and you should try to stop me. but can you?" and it's a threat. i love you characters who won't stand for anyone telling them they don't get to have love and happiness because of their monstrous parts. characters who'll stop at nothing to take hold of love and happiness of their own in spite of the world telling them they don't get to have those things, and who don't care to become even more irredeemable than they already are along the way. i love you monstrous characters who hold tightly onto the broken and bleeding forms of the love and happiness they took for themselves with no intention to ever let go of them even if it means they shatter in their hands. characters who'd rather they shatter in their hands before ever letting go of them, and who made sure to first break them and make them bleed so they could fit within their hands to begin with. i love you characters who don't think it makes it any less meaningful or worthy, and who would do it all over again and even worse if need be because how else can a monster even love anyway but with sharp teeth and claws and your blood and tears warm on their lips and tongue?

i love you characters whose monstrous parts are their oldest and most loyal and trustworthy companions. characters who find comfort in their monstrous parts and are ruthlessly and mercilessly protective of them. i love you characters who can't even fathom who they could possibly be other than monsters, and yet have this gaping, bottomless pit of loneliness and yearning for something they couldn't possibly know the name of. i love you characters who've been monsters for as long as they've had that gaping and bottomless pit inside them as far as they can remember.

i love you monstrous characters who've never imagined they could ever be loved back for the monsters they are, but then they are. monstrous characters who've never imagined the broken and bleeding forms of the love and happiness within their hands could choose and want to stay right there anyway, but then they do. i love you characters who suddenly have to confront and grapple with the idea that maybe they can be something else other than monsters once they're loved. i love you monstrous characters who're loved anyway, monstrous parts and all. monstrous parts and nothing else. i love you monstrous characters loved for being monsters first and foremost, monstrous characters loved because they're monsters, and not in spite of it.

i love you characters who know no amount of love given to them will ever change the fact they're monsters. i love you characters being loved anyway with a love that doesn't ask or want or expect them to become any less monstrous for it, but they want to try to change for it anyway. i love you monstrous characters who are loved and whose nature won't change for it, but maybe their ways can. i love you characters who try to make their monstrous parts a little less sharp and jagged and deadly, a little less often bloody and a little more merciful and kind out of being loved as they are anyway. i love you monstrous characters learning to let go of the broken and bleeding forms of the love and happiness within their hands, and having their whole world turned upside down when they choose to stay anyway. i love you monstrous characters being made completely undone not by the forgiveness for the broken and bleeding parts, but by the acceptance of them.

i love you characters who are monsters and loved anyway and who don't become any less of monsters for it, but so what of it? after all when is a monster not a monster? when there's no changing of their nature, and yet they try to not give in to it anyway just because they were born with sharp teeth and claws and a craving for blood that'd make it so easy to.

i love you monstrous characters who are loved and don't become any less of monsters for it, but who still keep being loved anyway.

i love you monstrous characters resolving to try to become more human even knowing they'll never really succeed at it because they still keep being loved anyway.

[robasarel]

[fallingyams]

A little thing I wrote a while back when I was revisiting KHR... basically my very self-indulgent thoughts on a BAMF!Skull who decides the best strategy to survive the underworld is by letting everyone else underestimate him.

I've never really been fond of the way he's treated by others in canon, and it completely baffles me why they'd choose to characterise him like this if he's supposed to be one of the strongest seven.

There are ways of making supposedly OP characters weaker - inner fears, disagreements, conflicting loyalties, a person who is their achilles heel, a lack of motivation - you DON'T need to make someone into a bullied lackey.

----

As far as navigating the wild seas of the mafia goes, Skull believes that being underestimated is the best strategy.

Skull is a method actor.

And that means embodying clumsiness and hysteria.

He makes mistakes. He plays up his confusion. Joins the weakest family that he could find (With some sense of ethics that he could stomach, obviously. He'd be speeding down the highway in the opposite direction if he so much as caught a whiff of the Estraneo. Ugh, hurting children.)  He botches his jobs. He falls and screams and cries and shrieks. He lets himself get hit and made fun of.

He picks himself up and dusts himself off at the end of every day.

It's a fine balance, this game of being just competent enough to affirm his status as the Cloud Arcobaleno, and yet leaving others completely baffled at his continued survival.

It's a risky game to play, stringing some of the world's most powerful along and playing them for fools.

He is Skull, the world's greatest stuntman. Taking big risks is just another day to him.

You see, those who are born and raised in the mafia have a complacency to them. They look at civilians and think weak.

They look at Skull and see nothing but civilian. Weak. Coward.

These mafia men forget that stuntmen like Skull actively run into death with their eyes wide open. 

They forget that being born a civilian means that they have actively chosen this life of danger. They have seen it all and decided to stay.

So Skull lets the other Arcobaleno have their fun at his expense. He takes on the role of useless lackey and screams into all their ears at the first sign of danger. Makes them forget that he's the first one to spot any danger at all. Lets them gloss over the fact that appearances aside, he was also chosen to stand beside them as one of the strongest, in spite of his civilian background.

It feels like a huge prank he's playing on them, one that may never see an end and it tickles Skull deep inside that these mafioso who pride themselves in their strength and intelligence and spy networks have never quite figured out that Skull is simply performing a role in front of them.

He's content to let life continue on this way. He has no qualms allowing their arrogance to one day cause their demise. After all, the fall of many great men has been caused by their very own hubris.

That is, until, he catches wind of something very interesting.

Reborn has been assigned to tutor the up and coming candidate for Vongola 10th.

A civilian candidate.

And Skull has never quite been interested in involving himself in mafia affairs, but just perhaps…

He could impart some teachings to help a kindred soul navigate this world.

And really honestly, it seems like it'd be fun to fuck around with Reborn. Just a little.

-fin-

Like I REALLY don't get canon. He's a STUNTMAN. Danger is pretty much his job??? He actively chooses to jump through rings of fire and taunt death and the mafia decides he's weak?????

[hopeswriting]

[ID: A screenshot of Skull in his adult form, from the anime Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

He's shown from his shoulders up, facing us. He grins, holding his helmet in front of him, the blue sky behind him. /End ID]

oh i like it!! usually in bamf!skull fics like this, his canon self is erased entirely, but here i feel you found a nice middle ground between acknowledging the way he is in canon while still making him bamf. also a skull-tutored tsuna?? hell yes, someone should definitely write that!

now to answer your question, the way i see it that whole "bullied lackey" characterization skull's given is pretty much almost entirely fanon. and i know you refer to canon here, but even if we're talking canon, imo canonically it's less of a "bullied lackey" thing and more of a "prone to be underestimated and lacking the skills to make people respect his boundaries" thing. except even in-universe it translates to the other characters confining skull in that "bullied lackey" box, which of course doesn't help the fact it's also how the readers read him as.

but here's the thing tho: it's skull's personality that makes people look down on him at first glance and never his skills. and of course in turn it makes them doubt whatever skills he boasts to have, but once they see them for themselves, that's that. (see the way adel totally dismisses him and everything he says until she sees him protect enma from the varia and walk off their attack entirely unscathed. which, talking about that scene, makes the varia call him a monster, which he is. and they don't even necessarily have to see his skills for themselves too, because the people at mafia land were rightfully wary and intimidated by knowing he was the one leading the attack from just what they heard about him and the reputation he built for himself.) and for all reborn treats him like he's no big deal, it's always clear he means it only when compared to him and the other arco, and that as long as he is there, skull's no threat or danger to anyone he's willing to step up for. but otherwise he never even hints that everyone else but the arco shouldn't treat him as the threat he is as one of the arco.

also i do mean it's only reborn who treats him like he's no big deal and like an errand boy, because it is said in the manga he's the only one to do that, and by skull himself at that. tho the way skull reacts when learning colonnello's also at mafia land hints at the fact colonnello might treat him the same way reborn does to some extent, but that's it, reborn and colonnello and no one else. because skull is an arco through and through in his own right, which the other arco know best, and which everyone else with working eyes and brain acknowledge right away too. it's just that when it comes to the arco, skull's weaker than the rest of them in a way that's noticeable enough reborn (and colonnello) feel in their right to tease him about it, but even then they never put in question his place among them.

and that was all without taking the anime fillers into account seeing as they aren't canon, but even if we take them into account, what i said is still true. in the anime it seems all the arco do "take advantage" of him being the weakest of them to various degrees, or at least treat him as "lesser" than the rest of them to various extent, reborn and colonnello especially, and their teasing is more on the bullying side when in the manga it stays more on the simple teasing side, but it's still clear in the way they treat him that they still consider skull one of them in his own right and never question that fact.

oh yeah, the carcassa thing too! as far as i know, the way they're written to be weak and a joke of a mafia family is also entirely fanon. if anything, the way reborn says they aren't allowed at mafia land because they deal in drugs and presumably in the other most unsavory parts of the mafia... well, to be fair it wouldn't necessarily make them a strong or feared or even competent family lol, but they'd be treated with caution and would spell trouble in the sense of "oh no, what kind of ugly business should we expect this time?". i mean, right? wouldn't they?

and sure reborn and colonnello dealt easily with their attack on mafia land, but it's reborn and colonnello. for all we know and most likely, if it weren't for them skull and carcassa would have taken over the island.

so i think... well, funnily and ironically enough, skull's personality also works against him when it comes to the way the readers perceive him. he appears to be a simple and simplistic character at first glance on top of not appearing much in the manga in meaningful ways to begin with, so it's easy to take his scenes at face value and miss the little hints and crumbs we're given of a more complex bigger picture. and i suspect that's actually why (secretly) bamf!skull fics are so popular, because once you reduce him to just the "bullied lackey" character, there's just something off with that because like you said, isn't he supposed to be one of the strongest too? so surely there's something more going on with him?

and i find it funny because canonically there isn't, and yet skull is still a nuanced character, and so are the dynamics he has with other characters and the way they perceive him. and imo that those two facts co-exist is the whole point of skull's character. like i have no idea either why amano decided to go "okay i'm gonna make a group of the strongest in the world, but this one will be much weaker than the rest, which will make them treat him as a weakling altogether, which will make everyone else look down on him too because of the way they treat him, and also i'm gonna make him loud and boastful and cocky and arrogant and with no consistent backbone which'll only work against him further, and i'll imply he was a civilian before suddenly finding himself at the top of the mafia, but he'll be a civilian stuntman and the greatest in the world at that, and also pretty much immortal, and also he'll suck at making friends and making people respect his boundaries BUT. i'll still leave no doubt about the fact he's still one of the strongest through and through and has the skills to back that up BUT. at the same time outside battlefields, and maybe even then, he's still gonna be looked down upon because of his obnoxious personality", but i personally love it.

especially the way she then went "okay now you do with that what you will because this is a you problem now" both in-universe when it comes to the other characters and the way they act towards and with skull, but also when it comes to the readers because she does leave all of that at a surface level, and we're left to put the more layered and nuanced and complex picture together all on our own. and actually even when it comes to skull himself too now i think about it? because it puts him in this super unique and fun position in khr where he has to constantly prove himself and it never quite working, but meanwhile he's already and literally one of the strongest in the world. he's already at the top of the world so how the hell is he supposed to prove himself worthy and deserving of it when he also, literally, can't do more than everything he's already done?? which is why he's at the top of the world to begin with?? but apparently it's still not enough and no one's willing to let it be enough no matter how hard he tries to make them??? skull doesn't know the answer either but he sure as hell isn't about to stop keeping trying anyway, and i COULD go on lol, but i think this is already long enough as it is zertgfd.

but yeah, this is basically what i personally make of "bullied lackey" skull. i.e. it's the most accessible and easy reading of skull, especially when it's not wrong to say it is the way he's treated (and written) in canon (tho absolutely not as widespread or hurtful and abusive as fanon makes it out to be), but if you look closer skull has his place among the arco and it does make sense he's one of them*, and the times and ways he's treated otherwise is never actually about how anyone disagrees with that, but about how they don't vibe with skull's personality lol.

*(i mean look, he's the world's greatest stuntman and strongest cloud independently of whether or not he knew how to use them by the time he becomes an arco and as immortal as one can be if not straight-up immortal. and yes presumably a former civilian too--tho as far as i know canon never confirms it, and i don't see why skull couldn't have been mafia and the world's greatest stuntman when we have no problem making fon part of the triads--which is also never confirmed in canon afaik--as well as the world's greatest martial artist--, and sure mafia-wise it doesn't necessarily give him the skills to be up to it, but even if we say he knew nothing about the mafia when he showed up at the chosen seven meeting, how does him being the world's greatest stuntman and strongest cloud and immortal alone not qualify him to be chosen as an arco and be one of the most feared and threatening mafiosi in the world?)

[stormsthatrage]

Have an angsty KHR AU (Playing fast and loose with flame lore and characterization. Also, I haven't figured out what the 10th Gen Guardians are doing during all this, but whatever it is, it involves So Many miscommunications.)

The AU:

Tsuna doesn't want to be a mafia boss. He hates the violence, he hates the danger, he hates knowing that if he messes up, it can get people killed.

But no one really listens to him. Not even Reborn, who just sees Tsuna's whole "I don't want to be a mafia boss" thing as a sort of juvenile rebellion phase.

(But it's not. Every time one of Tsuna's people comes home hurt, every time Tsuna has to inflict harm on the battlefield, every time Tsuna is exposed to the casual cruelty of the underworld, it damages something inside of him. It scars his soul. He hates it. He does not want to be a mafia boss.)

And then Timoteo's health declines. (These next two paragraphs were heavily inspired by Break These Chains on Me by Luki on AO3.) Tsuna, knowing his time is running out and absolutely desperate, tries to make plans to get tf out. Maybe he signs up for civilian university. Maybe he makes plans to travel. Maybe he tries to create a fake identity to just run. And Tsuna, who has learned to rely on and trust Reborn -- after everything, how could he not -- confides in him about these plans.

And Reborn -- who has never really understood why Tsuna hates the mafia -- thinks this is one last (highly irritating) attempt at a teenage rebellion. It's not entirely unexpected, what with the weight of being Don Vongola looming over Tsuna's shoulders. And so, in a true Disappointed Reborn fashion, he responds with a harsh but effective lesson. He plays along with Tsuna's escape plans for a bit, and then. And then. It's the day Tsuna plans to vanish, and Reborn sits Tsuna down at the table, with Xanxus and Timoteo, and tells Tsuna if he doesn't fall in line Bad Things are gonna happen to his people.

(Reborn does not intend this to be an actual threat. It's supposed to be a slap on the wrist. A sort of, "Yeah, you're a teenager, but you need to start conducting yourself more seriously, knock it off before I actually get mad." Sure, Vongola is threatening to kidnap Tsuna's mom, but the kidnappers are just going to take her out for tea and cake and a spa night, and when Tsuna shows up to rescue her she'll be fine. The real punishment will be the physical path to go get her -- Reborn has an Embarrassing Obstacle Course TM planned.

And so on, for all of Tsuna's precious ones.

Reborn does not consider that Tsuna might actually believe the severity of the threats. After all they've been through, after all they've done for each other, Reborn knows Tsuna would never believe that Reborn could actually hurt Tsuna's people.)

But Tsuna. Well, Tsuna's on a different page. This life is killing him, slowly, and when Reborn tells him that he never intended to help Tsuna escape, it hits Tsuna like a full-on betrayal. And while mere minutes before, Tsuna knew that Reborn would never even dream of harming Tsuna's people, Tsuna no longer can trust this. Tsuna fully and absolutely believes that Reborn's threats are real, and that there will be permanent consequences if he doesn't comply.

It gets worse.

Tsuna thought Reborn actually cared about him. Reborn had, slowly but inevitably, become something like a father to Tsuna. But in that moment, Tsuna realizes that he actually was just a job all along.

And Xanxus. Tsuna also thought Xanxus cared about him. He thought they had come to an understanding. He thought they were starting to become brothers, of a sort -- bonded by battle and trauma and shared responsibilities, by nights complaining to each other over dinner or over the phone. And as Tsuna sits across from them, hearing his people threatened and knowing he is, in fact, going to be forced to Italy, he comes to believe that none of that new brotherhood was real.

And Tsuna realizes he has no choice. He never had a choice. He will end up in Italy, as Don Vongola, no matter how much it is going to kill him inside.

And worse: the people he has come to love clearly do not love him back. If they did, they would not be doing this to him. And sitting at that kitchen table, seeing the disappointment in Reborn and Xanxus' eyes, he knows that he is never going to be enough.

But he knows, he knows, that he isn't going to survive Italy without having them in his life supporting him. Because even if they don't love him, he does, truly, love them.

And he comes to the conclusion that if he remains as he is -- weak, useless Tsuna -- not only will he inevitably lose them, but he just flat out won't survive the life stretching out (long, so long, and so so desolate) before him.

So he uses his flames.

He images the mafia boss that they want him to be (as he perceives it). He thinks about all the characteristics they must want him to have, all the things they expect him to want, and he conjures an image of this better Tsuna in his mind. And then he harmonizes with it, becomes one with this false image of himself.

But it doesn't work, not all the way. There are still bits of him, the original, weak, disappointing Tsuna left. He can feel it, in the dread at the thought of the life before him. In the shocked-hurt he feels at this betrayal. In the agony of knowing that they don't care about him, they never cared about him, they only care about his title.

So he puts those bits of himself in ice.

And suddenly, the years ahead don't seem so bad. Suddenly, the betrayal seems reasonable -- after all, wasn't he acting so silly, so juvenile, trying to escape like that. Suddenly, it doesn't matter that they don't love him back -- of course they don't, why would they love him? -- all that matters is he loves them. As long as he keeps himself in check, and matches their expectations, nothing is wrong.

Tsuna looks at them, sitting across the table, and complies with their demands.

Reborn does, for a moment, think that it happens a bit too easily. There's none of the usual screeching, no dragging of the heels, no protests. Right then, Reborn fully expects it to boil over at some point in the future. (He thinks, maybe, that Tsuna is playing along now, but will have a teenagery-protest again as it gets closer to the time they leave for Italy.)

(It never happens.)

Reborn thinks, merely, that Tsuna has put on the mantle of maturity. It's a little ahead of schedule of what he was expecting, but then again, Tsuna has always exceeded expectations.

Time passes. Timoteo's health declines. He dies. Tsuna goes to Italy, and becomes a mafia boss.

(It's a golden age. Tsuna is just as compassionate and selfless and determined as Reborn always knew he would be. There is a peace, unlike anything the underworld has ever seen, because of his rule.

This peace is a result of the core of Tsuna peeking out. It always would have happened.)

It's five years into Tsuna's reign before people begin to realize that something is really, really wrong with Tsuna.

They do figure it out, eventually. And when they do, when they realize what happened and what caused it, it breaks them, just as much as they broke Tsuna all those years ago.

[zoroara]

Arcobaleno(You are here) || Varia(x)

Don't think I forgot to do these~ I just needed some time to get ready to draw~ Also If you're looking for Mammon they're in the Varia Version of how I draw these characters. I really had fun with these guys! As before it's not a perfect ref but it's a good jumping off point for myself. Also why do so many arcobalenos have a form of hat or headgear. What's that about.

[il0v3fanfic]

[hopeswriting]

concept: spiderverse arcobaleno

(vague spoilers if you haven't seen the movies!!)

LOVE it hello??? omg yesss. but also, what are we actually going for here? spiderverse au as in a crossover fusion with the arco all being spider-man from different universes? because design-wise alone i think it'd be fun to play with if nothing else! i just know reborn would still go for his suit, and i'm not saying there's no way to make it work and cool but what if we DIDNT make it work or cool because where's the fun otherwise. and it cracks me up to think about it because it's like, my dude. nO zerdtfhd. 😭😂😂

OR are we talking a spiderverse au within the khr universe where we tweak the arco curse to make it, like. to make the arcobaleno title a single concept/entity embodied by seven different people each in their own ways, instead of it referencing the seven strongest each in their respective field. if you get what i mean?? so like there'd be AN arcobaleno, but what the title entails would necessitate seven different people who'd be the same but in different ways to fully embody it. do you get it???

and what would the canon events be about then? well, being cursed would just have to be one of them, right? also walking on the path of the strongest/greatest and suffering losses along the way could be another one. and i feel like saying the sky arco would play miles' role here, as a treat. they deserve to flip fate/destiny off whenever they can. <3

oH WAIT what about colonnello as miles?? who's canonically the one who tries to interfere with the curse and--OHHHH okay, okay, consider this please. what if... trying to save a loved one from the curse/to interfere with the curse altogether and failing was another canon event of being an arco? and--hear me out--what if this particular canon event started with bermuda?

it makes sense, right??? especially if we say someone tried to save him from the curse, resulting in him being only half cursed like lal, which we could make as a reason why he survived long enough after kawahira removed the pacifier from him to become a vindice. and maybe he even ends up as a vindice because of the specificities of his half-curse.

talking about kawahira, i guess he'd be miguel in this scenario, right? but what if... he was peter b instead? OKAY HEAR ME OUT VAN. kawahira going out of his way to pick someone with enough potential to become an arco, to nurture them, mentor them, to make sure they do end up the strongest all so he can curse them with the certainty that at least this one will be strong enough to bear the curse........ you get it, right?? the ANGST, the BETRAYAL, the LOSS OF AGENCY AND FREE WILL, the BROKEN SENSE OF SELF!!!!!!

OH WAIT!!! if kawahira is either miguel or peter b, then.... what about making bermuda as either one of the two too? i mean, you know those vibes they had in the movie? 👀 do with that what you will because this is just for you to rotate in your mind. <3

oh i almost forgot, but i think we should just throw tsuna in the mix here. i actually first thought of him to play miles' role, and i know we're talking about the arco here and he isn't an honorary arco or anything (THEN AGAIN--), but his bond with reborn shapes reborn so much, i just like to have him there too when i can to keep reborn the same as we know him to be in canon. and like, it IS just as fun to think about a reborn who never met tsuna and was never influenced by him, but i love tsuna and their bond so he gets to be there too. <3

*GASPS* WAIT BECAUSE WHAT IF HAVING A TSUNA WAS ALSO A CANON EVENT?? and... Something happening to him i guess? like, remember my post about how all the arco have a teacher side to them? the manga basically already paired them up too! reborn/tsuna, skull/enma (the shimon), fon/i-pin, viper/chrome, verde/mukuro (the kokuyo gang) and... i'm sure we can come up with something for the rest easily enough!

and that's all i have off the top of my head i think? sorry for the excited spitballing haha, i'm just really vibing with this au!! so by all means DO tell more if you have more, i'm all ears! 👀👀👀

[cloudspark]

I am not going to lie. This AU is mostly an excuse to design a spider-skull.... Thank you to @social-muffin for hanging out with me while I drew and encouraging me to draw dummy thick skull helping with the design process. (Colour under cut; not super happy with the final).

I

Imagine 7 spider arcos tho: all with a unique design and a uniqe way to be a vigilante, meeting in one universe and having to cooperate. And you're right, Colonello would make a great Miles!

[cloudspark]

Adding to this; since every spider-person is animated in a different style I propose Skull is drawn in a sharp, sketchy style which looks very cool but not very polished/finished (kinda like this I guess lol).

Also I think that all the seven arco have in common being spider-persons, yea, but also they they all took such fundamentally different paths and styles and fighting styles and that they are so convinced their method is the absolutely best one that they hate each other for just not being spider-man in the "right way".

Also yes!!! Bermuda and/or Kawahira involvement is always a yes from me. I love your visions Hope!!

[hopeswriting]

concept: spiderverse arcobaleno

(vague spoilers if you haven't seen the movies!!)

LOVE it hello??? omg yesss. but also, what are we actually going for here? spiderverse au as in a crossover fusion with the arco all being spider-man from different universes? because design-wise alone i think it'd be fun to play with if nothing else! i just know reborn would still go for his suit, and i'm not saying there's no way to make it work and cool but what if we DIDNT make it work or cool because where's the fun otherwise. and it cracks me up to think about it because it's like, my dude. nO zerdtfhd. 😭😂😂

OR are we talking a spiderverse au within the khr universe where we tweak the arco curse to make it, like. to make the arcobaleno title a single concept/entity embodied by seven different people each in their own ways, instead of it referencing the seven strongest each in their respective field. if you get what i mean?? so like there'd be AN arcobaleno, but what the title entails would necessitate seven different people who'd be the same but in different ways to fully embody it. do you get it???

and what would the canon events be about then? well, being cursed would just have to be one of them, right? also walking on the path of the strongest/greatest and suffering losses along the way could be another one. and i feel like saying the sky arco would play miles' role here, as a treat. they deserve to flip fate/destiny off whenever they can. <3

oH WAIT what about colonnello as miles?? who's canonically the one who tries to interfere with the curse and--OHHHH okay, okay, consider this please. what if... trying to save a loved one from the curse/to interfere with the curse altogether and failing was another canon event of being an arco? and--hear me out--what if this particular canon event started with bermuda?

it makes sense, right??? especially if we say someone tried to save him from the curse, resulting in him being only half cursed like lal, which we could make as a reason why he survived long enough after kawahira removed the pacifier from him to become a vindice. and maybe he even ends up as a vindice because of the specificities of his half-curse.

talking about kawahira, i guess he'd be miguel in this scenario, right? but what if... he was peter b instead? OKAY HEAR ME OUT VAN. kawahira going out of his way to pick someone with enough potential to become an arco, to nurture them, mentor them, to make sure they do end up the strongest all so he can curse them with the certainty that at least this one will be strong enough to bear the curse........ you get it, right?? the ANGST, the BETRAYAL, the LOSS OF AGENCY AND FREE WILL, the BROKEN SENSE OF SELF!!!!!!

OH WAIT!!! if kawahira is either miguel or peter b, then.... what about making bermuda as either one of the two too? i mean, you know those vibes they had in the movie? 👀 do with that what you will because this is just for you to rotate in your mind. <3

oh i almost forgot, but i think we should just throw tsuna in the mix here. i actually first thought of him to play miles' role, and i know we're talking about the arco here and he isn't an honorary arco or anything (THEN AGAIN--), but his bond with reborn shapes reborn so much, i just like to have him there too when i can to keep reborn the same as we know him to be in canon. and like, it IS just as fun to think about a reborn who never met tsuna and was never influenced by him, but i love tsuna and their bond so he gets to be there too. <3

*GASPS* WAIT BECAUSE WHAT IF HAVING A TSUNA WAS ALSO A CANON EVENT?? and... Something happening to him i guess? like, remember my post about how all the arco have a teacher side to them? the manga basically already paired them up too! reborn/tsuna, skull/enma (the shimon), fon/i-pin, viper/chrome, verde/mukuro (the kokuyo gang) and... i'm sure we can come up with something for the rest easily enough!

and that's all i have off the top of my head i think? sorry for the excited spitballing haha, i'm just really vibing with this au!! so by all means DO tell more if you have more, i'm all ears! 👀👀👀

[cloudspark]

I am not going to lie. This AU is mostly an excuse to design a spider-skull.... Thank you to @social-muffin for hanging out with me while I drew and encouraging me to draw dummy thick skull helping with the design process. (Colour under cut; not super happy with the final).

I

Imagine 7 spider arcos tho: all with a unique design and a uniqe way to be a vigilante, meeting in one universe and having to cooperate. And you're right, Colonello would make a great Miles!

[chierry]

For rarepair week day 3 - body swap, Hibari & Kyoko!

friends who transition together stay together.

[eyelessfog]

rarepairs r so funny because you'll be part of the rarepair group n you'll be like. okay but look at all this stuff that makes them make sense and from the outside you look like youre holding a conspiracy board with dots and string n everyone is like ohh wow.. okay.... umm.. if u say so.... but when youre IN the rarepair group youre like no listen look. its obvious. look at this. look. there are famous ships with less substance than this

[neon-junkie]

*kicks my feet playfully whilst lying on my front and lining up my sniper rifle*