#And Hero's here too I guess

[herohikara-wol]

FFXIV Write 2k23 - Day 17 (Late)

Pick Your Own (Rumor Mill) - Modern Day College AU

“I need to move out of the dorms by tomorrow, what am I supposed to do?” Hero’s clothes were half packed and mostly on his bed, but Zenos still found amusement in watching his roommate pace about the room, weaving around their suitcases and boxes as he did. “What do you mean figure it out? Why can’t I just go to Thavnair with you?” Another pause as he clearly listened to his mother’s reply- of course it was his mother. Tetsu wouldn’t have been nearly as blunt about things. Zenos had heard from both of them over the course of the semester. “Did you have to sell my apartment then, the deadline for requesting to stay on campus was last week! Why couldn’t this have waited until next moon?”

Hero only knew that because of Asahi. Zenos resumed packing now that Hero was in the bargaining stages of his fight with his parents’ choices. Asahi had permission to remain in the dorms until next semester due to trouble in his family. The trouble being his parents attempting to force him into an arranged marriage to keep him from dating another man. They couldn’t marry him off if he wasn’t there to sign the contracts, it had worked for his elder sister. She was going on five years of burning any mail she got from their parents and had been the one to advise him to remain away from home as long as possible.

“Yes, okay, I’ll figure it out. Fine. Goodbye.” Hero hung up only to fling himself onto the pile of freshly laundered clothes and poorly folded sheets on his bed. “I’m fucked.”

“You just need a place to stay during winter break, yes?” Zenos looked carefully over at his roommate, weighing the options in his mind.

“Yes, and apparently their current employer doesn’t have space for an extra person. They sold my apartment because they’re planning to put down roots in Thavnair for at least three years and the apartment lease says they can’t sublet it and someone needs to be occupying it at all times to minimize risk of things like pipes freezing and whatnot.” He grabbed his pillow and put it over his face to scream into it for a few moments before throwing it back at the wall. “I’m fucking homeless. Fantastic.”

“My family has room.” That wasn’t exactly a lie, just not the whole truth. The Garlean Royal family palace most certainly could accommodate Hero. Hell, it could accommodate their entire dorm floor without too much trouble. However, in the time Zenos had known Hero he’d been pleasant. Friendly, willing to allow the prince his privacy, and hadn’t asked about his parents, his position as crown prince, or even indicated he cared about any of it. He made Zenos feel normal to be around, the closest thing he’d had to a friend all his life. Friends helped their friends when they were in need, right?

“Shouldn’t you ask your dads first or something? I don’t want to impose and basically take up your family’s guest room without them having some kind of warning. That’d be pretty rude, right? Like, I know you’re rich but still, there’s a limit.” Of course, it helped that Hero regularly forgot he was royalty.

“Would you do the same for me if you had the means?” The viera pouted a little, like he’d been backed into a corner. “Exactly. Hero, I insist. Finish packing, I’m calling my travel agent to get you booked for my flight back to Garlemald tonight.”

“Fine, but only because I can’t afford to stay in a hotel for a whole month.” He grumbled but he couldn’t exactly turn Zenos down.

===============================================

“Announcing crown prince Zenos yae Galvus, and his guest, one Magpie Hikara.” Hero flinched when they announced his childhood name instead of the one he’d chosen for himself as an adult. Technically it was still his legal name, but Hero Shadeseer was his chosen name and it meant far more to him.

Zenos noticed the flinch and frowned at the steward, “Hero Shadeseer. Viera pick their own names upon reaching adulthood, he just hasn’t had the time to fill out the paperwork for it yet.”

“My apologies, my prince. Would you like me to have someone bring the paperwork to him?”

“I haven’t settled on it yet. I’m only twenty-four summers, many viera wait until they’ve finished college and started to get established in their careers to finalize their adult names.” He didn’t want Zenos to spend the whole month speaking for him, even if he appreciated someone advocating for him.

“Very well then, I will at least make sure the preference is noted to avoid the staff making cultural faux pas from here on.” The elezen left, making notes on a clipboard as he walked, leaving Zenos and Hero standing in the hall before the Emperor and his husband.

His ears drooped on instinct as the Emperor’s stern face and gold eyes seemed to look right through him, but his husband gave a warm smile and reached out to take his hand. “We’d heard Zenos made friends in college through the grapevine, but didn’t expect to meet one so soon! How was your flight, the servants took your bags already, yes? Come on, the dining room is this way. I know damn well you two didn’t get a proper meal in and you’re probably both tired from the trip. It’s, what, almost ten at night? A good meal and some sleep will do you both good.”

“Thank you sir? Your highness?” He looked up to Zenos for any indication of what to say or how to act, but Zenos was just boredly walking past him and following Varis to the dining room.

“Regula is fine, I promise. You know, for the son of a pair of high profile bodyguards, you’re rather awkward around royalty.” Hero inhaled sharply and let it out in a soft groan. Of course they already did a background check. Probably did it the moment he and Zenos were assigned to the same room.

“My parents did try to raise me with continuing the family business in mind, but I wasn’t cut out for the level of paranoia that comes with being a proper bodyguard. I was little more than a playmate for hire for some of the children of their clients. It got me a decent education, but I moved so much as a kid I didn’t really latch on to any one specific culture. I spent the longest in Ishgard but it isn’t exactly home either.”

“That’s why we chose you out of all the other potentials, we were hoping you’d give him the normalcy he craved. Zenos could have gone to school here and been treated like a proper prince the whole time, or at least gotten a private room off campus. He chose to live in the dorms like any other student.”

Hero wondered if they knew Zenos and him had spent the first two weeks bickering, fighting, and almost at each other’s throats until they realized they shared several hobbies and interests. Zenos had been a stuck up prick the first few weeks of the semester and Hero liked causing problems on purpose. Eventually he introduced Zenos to one of his old childhood playmates, Asahi, who was also going to school to get the fuck away from his high profile ambassador parents. The two hit it off and things started to fall into a comfortable pattern for the three of them.

“It was an adjustment, but Zenos is a pretty quiet person. I had to prod him into joining a club or two that weren’t sports clubs, but all in all I’ve grown kinda fond of him? He’s a good guy.” When he’s not being stand-offish because he’s run out of social battery, or when he’s not your opponent in anything where he’s suddenly a bloodthirsty competitive asshole. Hero had regrets about introducing Zenos to handheld console gaming, and more regrets about introducing him to fighting games.

“All the same, thank you for helping him. He’ll likely never say it, but that’s probably why he invited you to stay with us.” Hero hadn’t considered that he’d done anything Zenos would want to thank him for. He spent the whole night realizing that the invitation was Zenos feeling grateful for Hero’s friendship and company. The problem was figuring out how to keep it from coloring their current relationship, because the idea of having a friend so thankful for Hero just being himself that he’d go out of his way like this to help him in need was- he didn’t have a word for it.

So he rolled over in his plush comfy two sizes too big for a single person bed with ten times the pillows any normal person would need, and tried to fall asleep. Zenos was royalty here so they couldn’t just walk around the city like they could wander campus, so tomorrow he’d find a way to pull Zenos aside after breakfast and maybe plan something they could do to make the month pass by quicker. If only to keep him from being buried under royal duties and obligations, to give him a taste of normalcy in his own home.

================================================

 It felt strange being woken by a servant, to be guided to the bath and see it drawn and already warm for him. Stranger still to have someone bring him his clothes freshly pressed, to do his hair for him, and guide him down the winding stairs to the dining room for breakfast with the family. He felt out of place before the massive regal Varis and the mildly detached Regula. Varis was reading the paper, every so often glancing up at the Viera before him and frowning. Regula was tapping away at his tomephone, humming softly to himself between asking Varis questions about the day’s plans. It felt cold and awkward and uncomfortable.

 Zenos’ absence didn’t help.

When the prince finally joined them and pulled up his chair, Varis flipped through the paper again, folded it in half, and slid it over the table to his son. “You may want to plan around the paparazzi for the rest of your break. I don’t doubt you’re used to the way news spreads in the Empire, but I doubt your guest is prepared.”

Zenos frowned and looked at the paper before scoffing and sliding it to Hero wordlessly.

In brilliant color were three separate photos. One of Zenos taking off his coat, one of his draping the coat over Hero’s shoulders, and one of Zenos holding open the door of the royal car while Hero got into the back seat. “Fuck.” The headline was about the prince bringing home a girlfriend from college. Fair enough, it was dark out and snowing when they got out of the airport and Hero was notably androgynous. Still, it invoked a primal fear response in him. “We aren’t- I’m not- How do I correct them?”

Regula paused and gave Hero a sympathetic look, “you don’t, sadly. It’s gossip right now, are you two sure you’re not dating? Obviously we wouldn’t judge, Zenos is allowed to see whoever makes him happy.”

Zenos shook his head slightly before reaching for the jam to coat his toast in it. “We are roommates, as I told you. Hero’s helped me out of my comfort zone and dragged me into a few more social situations than I would have gotten into on my own, but we aren’t courting.”

Hero’s eyes darted between Zenos and Regula, then Zenos and Varis, and it didn’t go unnoticed. “Hero?”

Zenos wasn’t fast enough to silence him, “I’d never flirt with him behind Asahi’s back.” He heard Zenos inhale sharply beside him, but continued anyway. “Asahi’s room is attached to ours by the half-bath. They’ve been seeing each other since around midterms. I’m just his roommate I swear.”

“Useless.” Hero knew that tone of suffering in Zenos’ voice, “yes I am courting the son of the Doman Ambassadors. I didn’t think he’d be my type, but he surprised me, and we started out studying together. He helps me with my humanities courses, and I’ve been helping him with calculus. He listens to me in a way I’m not used to, it isn’t about my station with him. If he just wanted upwards mobility he wouldn’t be half as- I suppose- open with me about things.”

Hero hummed a bit, “I promise you, he’s being honest. I’m a bad liar but I’m really good at sniffing out lies. Asahi is head over heels for Zenos and they make such a cute couple. I’d never dream of breaking them up. Twelve fuck me, if he sees this article he’s going to be so upset…”

Varis finally relaxed his shoulders and sighed, “I see. Thank you both for being honest with us, Hero, I’ll make sure I assign someone to help you navigate how to handle the news and media crews that might try to bully things out of you since you clearly have no training for dealing with it. Zenos, if you’d like to give your boyfriend a warning that the rumor mill is spinning around you bringing a friend home from college? I suggest you do it before the news cycle starts spinning things out of control. Don’t worry too much boys, we’ll handle it. Just lay low for a few days until it peters out, alright?”

“Of course, Father. I suppose I’ll take Hero on a tour of the Palace Grounds today then, and we’ll plan to tour the city when you’ve handled the paparazzi.” Zenos’ plate was full of meats, breads and sweets. Compared to Hero’s own plate of mostly fruits, cheeses, and some meat and bread. Breakfast was a rather large affair for the family, or maybe this was just how royalty lived?

Either way he carefully handed the paper back over to Regula so the older man could hand it off to his husband. All he could do now was pray the rest of his trip went smoothly after this small hiccup.

[cassidysinferno]

Prompt #3

bartender supervillain that has a hero regular. and for some reason supervillain just thinks "yeah I'm adopting them"

[luck-of-the-drawings]

smth smth about 'the thing that the character did that you thought was rly rly funny in the moment is actually linked to a terrible trauma that lies within said character.' or wahtever.

[teddybearty]

Could you draw inko for mha? I'd love to see her in your style!

Miss Midoriya~! 💕

[decarbry]

Yabureme 1-1

[slurpyboii]

That ended exactly how I expected it to and, as expected, I am entirely neutral on it. Wasn't a satisfying ending or a super hype ending or anything like that, literally just the ending that may as well have happened. Not a single thing surprised me that whole conclusion, it felt unfortunately predictable. You can tell he's excited for it's end though so I'm happy for Horikoshi regardless, hope he can get proper rest now.

[angy-grrr]

thoughts:

Himiko Toga never chose a villain name because she has always been the monster and demon for others, internalizing it. But also because she isnt trying to be someone else, but proudly show herself and her love -AFO exploited this to reaffirm the previous, so she never even realized she could give her blood for others.

Ochako Uraraka's goal and arc isn't finished until we see a few main points: "who will save heroes?" A discussion about heroism and saving, and I wouldnt be too surprised if saving villains also come up here as a developed version of the first. They are all people, and that's what matters over their assigned roles. "Himiko Toga". Where is she? Ochako's arc can't be finished until we see or hear what ended up happening. "What does she feel about it all?" She needs a resolution and express her feelings, and with the hiding she has done recently I cant help but wonder even more about Himiko's state, as she is the person who makes Ochako feel safe enough to talk about her thoughts. And lastly"You like him, dont you?" What will happen with her love for Izuku? Is she going to hide it, confess, talk about it more with Himiko? I still think about "the reveal" during her fight with her, and her hair covering her whole face... It could be because she "needs" to tell and show her whole face to Izuku*. I would prefer it another way tho

*She said she admires Himiko for being able to say her feelings and love who she does with her whole face, if I remember correctly, while remembering an Izuku who is looking somewhere (someone?) else smiling. I believe its important that she doesnt have her face shown there, but we still dont have a clear reason why. Is she just not able to show that love to Himiko because she hasn't shown Izuku first? Is it because she no longer feels it? In the next panel she says shes now going to stop her, we can see her face, and her mouth is covered in blood. Is it because their battle was never about him? Because she is ashamed of those feelings? Because she doesn't want to engage in them?

With chapter 425 taking us by surprise because of her first interaction with Midoriya after the war, I prefer to think she has her hair covering her face because she still can't be honestly herself with him. Partially? Yes completely, but she can't tell him her feelings like with Himiko.

I hope she expresses her feelings to the class, to her parents, her friends, the civilians... but I really don't think a confession to him and him only would solve anything.

She doesn't want or can't chase him and his feelings like with Himiko; Izuku is acting weird, upset about many things, and she doesn't see that, im sure she would have tried to help if she actually knew. Even tho she looks around to find a crying Himiko, she doesn't try to do the same now, and in fact rejects it; she decided her feelings are not for him or others to see, at least at the moment.

So how does Hori plan to change this in such little time? Is Izuku going to chase after her, when thats what he has always done with everything he wants? Doesn't he deserve to be chased back? Doesnt she deserve the right to decide how much of herself she wants to reveal to him? Or mourn the loss in her own terms, in case Toga's dead or she thinks she is?

With her feelings for both Midoriya and Toga she has tried to put heroism first, focus only on that; with the first one because she fails at her goals and just blindly imitates him without finding herself, and the second one because she shouldn't feel that way and questions herself over those quite frequently.

I have no idea if Horikoshi plans to make her put her feelings first for him over heroism like she did with her -risking it and acting against what a hero "should" do so they can both just be Himiko Toga and Ochako Uraraka.

I have no idea, but it would make me so sad if he did.

EDIT:

In chapter 424 we see Shoto first in the hospital, when the narration explains things cant be as simple as Deku thought as a kid. Then Ochako appears, with her arm over her stomach probably thinking about her fight. It can't end so easily, and I wouldnt be surprised if chapter 427 or 428 was about them.

Fun thought: what if Himiko is the one about to see Spinner? jkjkjk. It could be cute tho.

[mishy-mashy]

Theory: All For One gave Tomura the Decay Quirk

I was thinking this for a while. Midoriya learned that Tenko was originally Quirkless, already being five, so there was no way for him to have the Decay Quirk; All For One gave it to him

Isn't it awfully convenient that right as Midoriya wonders "Who is this guy?", that All For One showed up?

All For One knew Tenko was a blank slate without a Quirk (yet, or at all).

Going back to ch. 235, we see that after Tenko was playing heroes with other kids, he got walked home by a man in a suit

Suit, shadowed face, hat, tall, and Tenko still has black hair? This matches this memory, and we can see there's a lot of shading in the palms

All For One walked home Tenko. He could've given him a Quirk during that time. Right after he brought him home, Kotaro got mad that Tenko was playing and talking about heroes. Already, while Kotaro is upset at him, we see Tenko scratching. According to Nao, his allergies got worse, and if he was just given a Quirk, his allergies could've been fueled by the new Quirk as his body adjusts

Even if it's just a mutation, we do know that his itchiness was related to Decay, since the itching went away after he destroyed what he didn't like (his Quirk revolves around de-constructing and destroying, so natural leanings toward those urges, etc)

Yes, Tenko's Decay may very well just be a mutation like Eri, but I just want to bring one more thing to attention about the theory (All For One gave Decay when walking Tenko home):

When Tomura used Decay and was fighting Re-Destro, back when he only had Decay, Machia was in shock, because it reminds him of All For One long ago. Not only his figure as a ruler that Machia remembers, but All For One could've done the same thing as Tomura (Decay), long ago

[vaugarde]

imagine if instead of having vic mignogna keldeo, we got an iris movie about her relationship with kyurem

[moe-broey]

I have. So much power. Esp w the ability to use any portrait I want for any class. Which maybe was always the case? But the funniest example here is Bruno. The Medic. That armor in his portrait? Just for show. He's only allowed to wear extremely tearable fabric. As the gods intended. It's part of his curse, you see,

Also Moe voice "Yo who the fuck invited your undead dad to the function??????"

[abysskeeper]

Wyll: I want to do this right, like the tales of old!

Fiona, local bard who has been performing these tales since she was a teen and dreaming of starring in one herself for even longer: Oh?! Okay~ <3

[witchhazelevesque]

the side missing from the circle (pt 1)

He was fine playing along with the punch line. It reminds him of his abusive foster mother Teresa, and the one psychology class he took where they talked about what love bombing is, because many of the campers have been pairing punches with hugs and cheek kisses.

He was fine to smile through it, because obviously, this wasn't a situation where he could reason his way out. They aren't in the mood to listen to his explanations, and the quickest way out, the cleanest way out is to pretend that he finds it funny too.

And he was fine with that. He was fine with helping Apollo figure out his next steps and getting out of camp, because most of the people he wanted to see weren't even here. It was good to see Percy and Buford and his siblings, but he has to find the rest of his family, Jason and Piper, Hazel and Frank. So, he was perfectly content to just smile and then leave.

But then one of the kids takes his turn hitting him and then… goes to get back in line. Leo jokingly complains about this, because he's good at turning grievances into jokes. He thinks maybe Nico and all his organizational skills and take no bullshit attitude that's kept the line running so smoothly this far would do something about this breach of conduct, but no, he doesn't.

Across the picnic table from him, Apollo asks, "Do you even know Damien?"

Leo shakes his head with an exaggerated expression of 'can you believe this guy?’

Apollo, ever polite, says, "Damien White, son of Nemesis. I think he showed up this fall."

Oh, he showed up at camp after the Argo II had sailed.

Leo jumps up from the table and catches Damien before he can reach the end of the line. He lightly places a hand on Damien's shoulder to get his attention and when he turns around Leo stands on his toes to whisper something in his ear. Leo's hands cup Damien's ear, so no one can see what he's saying, but the expression on Damien's face speaks volumes. His smile stiffens then drops and he turns pale, his eyes wide and unfocused.

When Leo's finished with whatever it is he had to say, he rests back on his heels, looking up at the other boy with a smile that looks completely benign, playful and lighthearted. Damien just turns his head to look at him with those wide eyes then pushes through the crowd to leave the central green.

Everyone has been watching, the humorous, edgy mood bleeding into discomfort and unease. It only gets worse when Leo just watches Damien go without a change of expression. Then turns back to the rest of the assembled campers and seeing that most have stepped out of line, he asks, "So, who was next?"

His smile looks more like the kind he used to have when doing something wild, the kind that unnerves people and prickles at their latent danger instinct.

The rest of the campers exchange looks with each other, the mood completely gone, and kind of mutter about how they're glad he's okay and that he's a real jerk for doing that to them, but they all disperse.

Leo turns his smile to Nico then, still standing there holding the number dispenser. He doesn't look cowed, just annoyed and suspicious.

"What did you say to Damien?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Leo says, as he passes by on his way back to the picnic table.

Nico's not going to admit it, but yeah, Leo's right.

Pt 2

[luck-of-the-drawings]

two wrongs WILL make a right! ive got another lease on life, and im using it well, who cares if this is all fucked up cause we're all GOING TO HELL! IM JUST WILLIAM WHO SHOULD BE DEAD, HAD TO FOLLOW THE THREAD, thought he was just chillin! now he is a villain! HES ALWAYS SUCH A BUMMER, HE WANTS TO TRUST HIS BROTHER WILLIAM IN A HALLWAY BY HIMSEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

[deviousdiesel]

.

[shadow-and-purgatory]

The worst part abt being in a really small fandom is that if you dislike or disagree with the widespread interpretation of a character, it’s impossible to make a post about it because

1) nobody knows what you are talking about except for the people in the fandom, of which there are few

2) “widespread” means 5 very dedicated fic writers and a lot of discussion of headcanons in a discord server

3) everyone in the fandom knows one another. There’s no way that people you know won’t see the post because there are so few posts, everyone will know it is you, and it is difficult to phrase it in a way that doesn’t sound targeted or accusatory because there are so few people

[nm-mattuz]