Ghost Boy

That little gesture alone made Neo stop in her tracks a bit. Usually whenever she signed, people would either respond to her normally or just stare back at Neo like she had five heads. Despite this, Neo’s smile only stretched further as she ‘responded’ back to the young adult. “Aw, it’s okay! Do you have a name? I’m-” Neo paused and stopped signing for a second, realizing that maybe telling your infamous name to someone who may or may not realize you’re actually a dangerous criminal. Then again, she was laying low for quite a while. Some people might have thought she died once she fled from her strange boss and separated from Torchwick. As far as some people knew, Neo never existed. “-Neo! Nice to meet you!”

it was the small things that norman did to make others happy. he wasn’t one for showing off, but it was nice to use asl, something people used every day to communicate.seeing her bright smile, norman looked at her again with a soft smile on his own features. “nice to meet you neo, i’m norman.” he grinned, his fingers moving as he spelled out his name for her. 

looking around again, norman grumbled to himself. “do you know where the nearest cafe is? i’ve been here for months and I manage to get lost still.” he chuckled, shaking his head a little. 

Stitch didn’t mind taking up space. That took them a long time to learn - that they didn’t have to hide in the background of the picture, no one was going to get mad at them here for just existing. The concept itself was something that was a constant overwhelming factor, but they weren’t going to let that stop them from living the life that they had worked so hard to give themself. When they were then approached by a frail looking young man, they couldn’t help the way that their heart lurched uncomfortably. If it hadn’t have been for the way that he asked, so softly and so kind, then Stitch would have turned him away with no problem. 

But when he laced his words together, embroidered each syllable with an apology like he shouldn’t exist so close to others, Stitch couldn’t help but to see a part of themself that they tried so hard to ignore. So, they looked this boy straight in the face and answered the only way they knew how. “Doesn’t look like anyone is sitting there, does it?”

the difference between these two was staggering, with the person in front of norman taking up as much space as possible and norman being taught to keep to himself or get pushed to the side. it wasn’t thought about with any kind of annoyance, it was just the way things were, and norman had learned that it was just easier not fighting. smiling softly at the other boys words, norman could only shrug a little. “i uh- no? sorry, i’ll be quiet, I just wanted a place to read.” the other probably didn’t give the slightest shit, but norman always felt the need to explain himself to others. 

Blossom had arrived bright and early that morning — three minutes after doors opened, to be precise. At this point, she was at least seven espresso shots and two sandwiches deep, her notes carefully spread out across the entire surface of the table. Law school wasn’t necessarily hard for her, but there certainly was a lot of material to memorize. Being so engrossed in the material, she hadn’t even noticed how busy the cafe had become until a voice forced her out of her textbook. Her eyes made a quick sweep over the cafe, taking in the bustling crowds around her, and she gave her new companion an apologetic smile. “Yes, of course,” she gathered some papers, making room on the opposite end of the table. “Sorry, I didn’t realize how busy it’d gotten. Little selfish of me to take up the whole table, right?”

norman really should have remembered that most students come here to study, but as soon as he was out of high school he’d forgotten how stressful it could all be. he had stopped thinking about it all and now he was paying the price. at the soft sound of her voice, norman smiled weakly. “oh no you- you don’t have to move your stuff, I can just take the seat. you look busy, I- i was just thinking about sitting and reading, if that’s alright.”

to the untrained eye, it would appear as though persephone was having a staring contest with a blank piece of paper. a contest that she was clearly losing, mostly because paper doesn’t have eyes. she released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and looked up.

“of course,” she grinned, gesturing to the options, before focusing back on the paper, giving it the stink eye.

it was amazing, seeing someone that he actually recognized around here. as he took the spare seat, norman sat diagonally from the girl. “hey.. persephone, right? are you uh, alright with that? you look like you’re staring at the end of the world.”

The illusionist huffed through her nose, wondering why some small child was freaking out once he bumped into her. Oh well, she might as well try and humor him. “No need to apologize!” she signed, giving him a big smile.

“Oh, it’s alright, things happen,” she signed. “You seemed pretty lost there, stranger. Are you looking for something in particular?”

it wasn’t common that people signed, but norman had learned a while ago to appease some ghosts. with a soft smile on his features, his hands raised to sign back. “i should have paid better attention.” he explained, looking at her. “i was looking for a cafe, but I think I stop paying attention to my surrounding and got lost.”

Hades relationship with his abilities as a Medium were… complicated. His connection to the spirit world was something that had manifested at a young age, but he had kept it a secret for years. When Kronos had found out his oldest son could see and speak to ghosts he had forbade the child from telling anyone about his ability. Mystiques were held in higher regard in Greece than they were in many other parts of the world, but anything involving the dead or the Underworld still left people shivering. Zeus could summon storms and Poseidon could create earthquakes where he walked, but Hades being able to contact the souls of those who had passed was the weird thing no one understood. Or rather, didn’t want to understand.

For a little while in his childhood ghosts had been his only friends. “Friends” was a loose term - they were more of just company for him when he had no one else. Then, in his angsty preteen years, they had flocked to him like moths to a flame. His deep-seeded sadness and emerging anger attracted them and they fed off his hurricane of emotions. There was a reason happy people weren’t haunted. 

“Fair enough,” It was pretty basic advice, but Hades wasn’t about to downplay the kid’s fatherly wisdom. All of the ‘advice’ he had been given by his own father had just been harsh criticisms in disguise. “Well I thank you for coming then, Norman.”

The conversation was quickly derailing from the subject of their employment, but Hades didn’t entirely mind. It wasn’t often that he got the chance to discuss his Mediumship - let alone someone who shared the same ability. More often than not when people found out he could communicate with ghosts they either quickly grew uncomfortable or wanted him to contact a deceased family member for them. “See, hear, talk to, summon - the whole works,” Hades gave them an amused half smile. “Though it was something I was born with, not cursed.”

Hades crossed one leg over the other, “How… noble of you.” Maybe once he had thought about using his abilities to help spirits more, but as he grew older it just became less of a possibility. He wasn’t a kid with a ton of free time on his hands. It didn’t help that most of the ghosts that surrounded him weren’t exactly nice spirits. It was better for his own mental health to just block them out. “But I suppose someone’s got to do it, good on you and your uncle.”

seeing another medium was a total shock to norman. he always thought that he was one of the only mediums in the world; but another one in porthaven, so close to them? it was amazing. hearing hades’ words, it pulled him back into the real world with a soft smile. “oh i mean, it more thanks for having me... i just- i haven’t actually had a job before, not outside of working for my uncle. i wanted to look good since I don’t exactly have a resume...” he mumbled, smiling weakly. 

at hades’ confirmation, the grin on norman’s features grew. “i’m not like cursed, i’ve had it my whole life too! but uh, my parents see it as a bad curse, rather than another way to help people...” he explained, looking at the other. “did you uh... there’s one sitting in the waiting room, he looks rather patient, but he’s trying to read the paper and can only read the first page.” norman explained, fairly certain that the ghost would still be there. 

task three: home sweet home

the second shego saw them scribbling on the napkin, she regretted her act of kindness. she read the note out of the corner of her eye when he pushed it toward her. then she crumbled it up and threw it at his head. “the next one will be on fire,” she whispered before turning back to her magazine.

the napkin wasn’t hard or anything, but the shock of the act caught norman off guard. there was a ghost yelling for him to be mad, to yell at the girl that had absolutely no regard for anyone around her- but norman wasn’t the type. rather, he just lifted the book a little higher, covering his lips from the other’s view, and whispered; ‘asshole.’ it was quiet enough that no one else would have heard it, and if she did, she really had no witnesses to it. 

“i only wear them at all because apparently it’s not socially acceptable to walk around public places without shoes.” she looked down, touched her feet and grass began to wrap itself around them. “does that look convincing or do you think that still counts as being barefoot?” 

“i mean, there is a difference between socially acceptable and any real kind of law... just because other people say you should, doesn’t mean you have to.” norman shrugged, hands in his pockets as he spoke. watching the plants move, norman’s eyes widened, but he tried not to make a deal of it. “uh... it- uh... i’m really not sure... if you just, watch where you walk, barefoot isn’t that much fo an issue.”

“ ooo, leafy greens. i didn’t even think about that. those would be good too,” emily nodded, tossing many of vegetables they’d talked about into her basket. it was nice talking to someone who understood her food choices this way. she picked up a leek and held it up, squinting one eye. “i never remember how to cut these. i’ll have to look it up.” she tossed one into her cart and then stopped to ponder. “mushrooms and cheese. not sure if i love that or hate that…”

watching the girl move mad norman smile, she was getting really excited about this, which made norman happy. there wasn’t much acceptance at home, his father loved having the same meal all the time, meat and potatoes, which makes norman ill at the thought. “oh they’re like onions so you cut them in medallions... honestly, it’s just more things in the meal.” norman laughed, shaking his head. “you have to give it a chance, I swear it’s amazing!”

pokemon au: norman as a ghost-type pokemon trainer