#In order get recognized as an actual hero

[thyfggfy]

Me after creating a mental list of my favourite characters from certain medias :.... I may have a type

Female characters that constantly have to prove themselves cuz no one believes in them and there is always someone who surpasses them get behind me.

[maple-the-awesome]

The Chain Meets Your Baby || 1/2

Part 2 ||

Pairing: Hyrule, Time, Wild, Four x Reader

Requested by @kieradumpzz081927: I hope your request are open(or if ur free for requests), so i saw ur LU oneshots about the one that is called ' He becames a dad ' or smth. So, why not that he would introduce his kid(s) to the chain? That ones going to be interesting Interesting indeed 😈Now, I have my own set of headcannons for what order the Chain becomes dads in, but regardless of their own experience, I'm sure the Links would all subject the new dad to lots of support and teasing. Here you go 💜 Warning: Some mature jokes here and there. Nothing major, but gotta give the new dad a little hell, right? ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Zelda Masterlist 🤍Fandom Masterlist

The last thing Hyrule was expecting to encounter during his village visit was his old traveling companions, the other heroes of courage. Then again, life has been full of surprises lately and it wasn't like he didn't already know that the portals between their worlds are still active. It was only a matter of time before their paths crossed again and honestly, it couldn't have aligned more perfectly.

Happy to see the rest of the Chain again, Hyrule takes the liberty of inviting them back to his home so that they can properly catch up and not be the subject of so many judgment stares from villagers. Throughout the short trip there, the group’s laughter is vibrant as they detail accounts from their recent adventures, soon turning it into a friendly competition of who has the craziest stories. 

This conversation stays well alive all the way from their first steps outside of the village gates to the second Hyrule opens the door to his house, at which point the spirited teasing immediately dies off into a stunned silence.

“Oh! Hello again!” You’re just as pleasantly surprised to see the boys as your boyfriend had been, your smile more than welcoming as you turn around to greet them, yet they’re less focused on you and more so on the small infant you cradle in your arms.

“...I think the Traveler wins,” Wild mumbles, his disbelief shared amongst the rest of the group who merely nod distractedly. 

“Right! I forgot to mention -” Hyrule excitedly hurries to your side before turning to his friends with a thrilled smile, “- This is our daughter, Hope.”

“You just casually forgot to mention you have a kid now…?” Legend narrows his eyes while pointing to the kid in question. He should probably be more annoyed with Hyrule’s tendency of always skipping over important details, but honestly he’s just too shocked to process it right this second.

“Well, she’s only about a month old. Being a dad now takes some getting used to,” Hyrule defends, rubbing the back of his neck timidly, but when you pass your daughter over to him, he shows practice in the way he gently holds her securely to himself before approaching the boys to properly show her off.

Despite their surprise, they’re eager to crowd around him, each wanting to get a good look to ensure this isn’t some clever joke you’re both pulling on them. Fluffy head of dark wavy hair…A little button nose…Sharp pointed ears…Yep, this baby must be yours. She looks exactly as one would imagine the product of Hyrule’s sex life to look like…

“...Geeze. She’s adorable,” Warrior awes, practically leaning over Legend who elbows him back with a glare.

“Isn’t she?” You preen.

“She’s strong, too,” The Vet acknowledges with an unamused pout. He had made the mistake of holding a finger out to the baby only for her to grasp it in an unwavering grip. His attempts at pulling away are fruitless, not that he’s actually trying that hard. Maybe he even likes the feeling of his heart melting just a bit.

“Congratulations. You two must be very proud,” Time praises kindly, having already felt the joy that comes with being a parent himself. He can recognize it in the way Hyrule and you affectionately watch your giggling baby with a pleasant glow surrounding you both.

“We very much are…”

Muffled commotion outside alerts you to the fact that you have visitors long before they stumble into your home, not even bothering to knock as their excitement gets the better of them. Now, any other day, your husband would be quick to scold such ill-mannered behavior, but fortunately for your guests, he's in far too good of a mood to let it be soured.

So, instead of acknowledging the Chain’s less than graceful entrance, Time immediately rises to his feet with a proud hand left upon your shoulder, "Everyone, we'd like you to meet Saria and Mallory."

The young heroes are in awe as they crowd around the bed just to get a look at the small bundles held within your arms. Sure, they've seen babies before, but these are Time's babies. For many of them, the complicated concept of love alone had once seemed out of reach for any hero of courage, yet here the Old Man is, hitched to a lovely wife and now the lucky father of two adorable daughters. It's an amazing accomplishment, really; one that has the entire Chain feeling happy for him.

"They're so little," Hyrule whispers, scared to speak any louder out of fear he'll accidently wake them.

"They inherited their dad's nose, poor things," Warrior jests, throwing a smirk Time's way.

"They'll grow into them," Rather than take it personally, he chuckles while carefully taking one of the girls from you. Despite having only become a father a few hours ago, he's already a natural at handling them. Ever so gently - as if handling the thinnest of glass - he cradles his daughter to his chest and fixes the tiny hand-sewn blanket around her; a gift from her godmother, Malon, of course.

"You'll have your hands full with twins," Four remarks prudently.

You sigh at the thought, your head thrown back against your pillow, "Ugh, we know…”

Although you’re visibly tired after having undergone hours of stressful labor, you still look upon the baby in your arms with nothing short of pure admiration, clearly having no actual regrets towards having either of them. In your eyes, twins just mean all the more love to give.

"Nothing we can't handle," Time promises before getting a mischievous glimmer in his eye while casually extending his sleeping baby out to Twilight, "This one is Mallory, by the way -"

"- W-Wait -!" The Rancher is immediately caught off guard by it, yet his objections are ignored. Time drops the baby into his arms anyway, practically forcing Twilight to take her, not that he truly minds. A natural around children himself, it takes him only a few seconds to adjust the baby comfortably in his hold.

Blind to the other boys who hover around his shoulders, Twilight's eyes are locked in amazement upon the tiny bean who scrunches her nose and whimpers quietly before soon settling down…To think, this small infant no more than a few hours old is a relative of his. He can't help but wonder how closely related they are. How many generations between them? Three? Two? Maybe even just one? It's a strange thought to consider...but also a very comforting one, too.

"...She's a real beauty, isn't she?" Time asks softly with a strong pat to Twilight's back. The only reply he gets is a wordless nod and whimper as the teary eyed Rancher sniffles.

What kind of horrors do they need to prepare themselves for? That's the question that rings through every hero's head as they approach Wild's home. They're concern only grows when - as if sensing them - the Champion suddenly appears in his open doorway with an ear-to-ear grin greeting them...Not the most comforting sight seeing as they've come all this way under his vague request.

A letter had been sent to each of them only giving the minor hint that there’s a certain 'surprise' he can't wait to show them, and with someone as chaotic as their accident prone centenarian, the Chain has every right to be anxious about it.

Even as they all crowd outside of his home, Wild refuses to add any context, instead maintaining his mysteriously upbeat aura before finally stepping aside to allow them in. It's only then that the heroes realize what his 'surprise' is, welcomed by the sight of you as you stand there matching Wild's grin while holding an unfamiliar baby in your arms. She can't be much older than a few weeks, judging on both her tiny features and the obvious bags under both of her parents’ eyes...

"You have a baby?!" Wind screeches with delight, not wasting a second to race to your side.

"Her name is Mikan," Chuckling, you kneel down to let him better see your pride and joy. It isn't long before you're surrounded by most of the heroes who are immediately taken by your daughter's cuteness.

"When did this happen?" Time inquires through a raised eyebrow, one of the few Links who had remained by the door with Wild.

"Uh, she'll be three weeks old tomorrow," Wild answers, his hand darting up to rub the side of his neck. He knows that isn’t exactly what Time meant, but it’s the easiest answer.

"I didn't think you -..." Begins Twilight quietly. Although he ultimately cuts himself short, the curious look he gives his successor wordless finishes what he might've said.

Nodding slowly with some hesitation, Wild bows his head while looking back over to you. There's a fondness in his eyes as he watches you carefully pass your daughter over for Wind to hold, "I know what I said before. I...I didn't think this was something I could have - something I could want this badly, but...Well…I probably don’t need to tell you how it is…”

Twilight pats Wild’s back with a knowing smirk, indeed understanding. He’s happy to see his friend finally accept the peaceful life he deserves instead of continuing to run away from it, after all, Twilight has never been blind to the curiosity and faint jealousy that would shine in Wild’s eyes whenever listening to the other heroes talk about their families. He’s been long overdue to have one of his own.

"Hey, just one question," While Wind is busy cooing and rocking your daughter, Four turns around to address Wild once they finally join everyone else, "Did you really name your daughter after a fruit?"

Wild's cheeks flare in embarrassment, "I - It can be a pretty name, too!"

"I'm actually the one who chose it," You confess sheepishly, taking the attention away from your partner, "I was really craving tangerines throughout the whole pregnancy."

"At least it's a somewhat normal name. I was half expecting you to name your future kids something like 'Biscuit' or 'Curry'," Legend snorts.

"...We did consider picking 'Sage'.”

Warrior laughs heartily before throwing a hand over Wild shoulder with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows, "Can we expect that to be the second child's name then?"

"Woah, woah, woah - Let's settle down now, gentleman,” You immediately scold while also taking the chance to save your poor partner by pulling him away from the onslaught of teasing he was about to endure, “One baby at a time. It’s not easy carrying those things, just ask your wives!”

Four has been off into his own little world - That is to say, he’s been both distracted and extremely tired; a terrible mix, but hey, it’s nothing he hasn’t dealt with before. Despite his eyelids feeling like bricks, he remains awake and alert, arms folded across his chest as he sits in the bedside chair keeping watch over your sleeping form. 

You need the rest more than him anyway. Your husband has been through some pretty fearsome and ravenous beasts in his time, yet your work last night easily trumpeted every hell he’s undergone himself. Best to let you sleep unless he wants to change that statement.

A series of echoed knocks send Four bolting through the house, hissing a curse under his breath before tossing the front door open with plans to scold whoever’s on the other side, yet he’s stunned into silence when he realizes it’s no poorly timed mailman, rather the very friends he had invited over…although, they did come a lot sooner than he thought they would…

“WE’VE COME TO SEE -!”

“- SHHH!!!” Four nearly smacks a hand over Wild’s face. 

“- …The baby…” Wild finishes with a whisper and a grimace.

Four quickly ushers the Chain inside, allowing them to make themselves comfortable with STRICT orders to keep the noise level down. Yes, their early visit may not have been exactly anticipated, but Four holds no ill feelings towards it, in fact, he’s rather smiley while leading them to the nursery.

“Here they are,” He practically sings, eagerly looking inside the large crib as if he, himself, still can’t get enough of its contents. He has every right to be infatuated, “These are my girls~”

Although Four is bubbling with joy as he admires his little creations, the rest of the Chain stands by with wide eyes. Some even take the time to count each baby just to confirm that they are, indeed, seeing triple. Inside lies three little newborns, each fast asleep after having about as stressful of a day as their parents.

“We’re thinking of naming them Marigold, Amber, and Camelia. You know, keep to the color theme and all…”

“Damn, three of them, huh? You didn’t hold back at all, did you, Smithy?” Warrior observes aloud, much to Four’s instant lack of amusement.

“They’re so cute~” Wind coos, Twilight having to pull him back before he accidentally falls into a crib again.

“I suppose it’s a good thing I brought some of the twins’ old stuff then,” Time hums, his smirk holding a hint of sympathy. Needless to say, he doesn’t miss those early days of juggling babies himself, as much as he loves them dearly.

Four preens at the attention his daughters get, however his smile falters when he notices Sky sticking to the very back of the group, awkwardly rubbing his arm and chewing down on his lip. Four frowns.

“...I’m sorry. We should’ve waited until we told -” He keeps his voice down as he joins the older hero who is quick to shake his head and muster his best smile.

“- No, no. We’re happy for you both. Really…” Despite the sorrow stuck in his voice, Four can tell Sky means every word of it, even the sighed: “...You’re a very lucky guy.”

“...I am,” While there could be more said, he realizes now might not be the time to discuss it. Not with so many new babies in the room.

“No wonder you wanted us to be quiet. I can barely handle one newborn at a time, let alone three at once?” Legend mumbles half to himself, his finger gently cresting one of the baby’s chubby cheeks.

“You know, if you ever find your house getting a little too quiet, you can always babysit -”

“- No way in hell. We already have our hands full as it is.”

[avelera]

Ok, I feel like there's three writing concepts that Tumblr needs to get reacquainted with when it comes to understanding fiction:

Catharsis - Sometimes, fiction engages with horrifying, disgusting, painful, or scary concepts in order to bring about a positive experience for the reader. This can be through the hero defeating a disgusting evil, like defeating an abuser for example. One might also get catharsis not out of the defeat of something bad or uncomfortable, but simply from the experience of living it vicariously, such as joy at successfully hiding the body of a murder victim. There are literally countless examples of catharsis in fiction, but most importantly it must be understood, it is completely harmless to real people whether you're experiencing catharsis at something good happening or something bad happening that you get to live vicariously because it is literally fiction. Indeed, there's a lot of evidence that getting to experience catharsis through fiction at evil things, say, living vicariously through a fictional character committing adultery, even if you would never want to cheat on your own partner, actually helps purge the desire to do evil things oneself.

Pleasures of the genre - some genres have expectations that go with them. If you, as a writer, don't include those pleasures, you might turn off the audience. For example, the Western genre has a certain expectation of being set in the 19th c American West. There's usually cowboys and horses involved. If you write a story that's advertised as a "Western" that takes place entirely in a New York City apartment, it might be novel for the genre, but it might also piss off a bunch of readers who were expecting horses. You can do it, obviously, but don't be surprised if readers are confused and perhaps disinterested in the work. More salient to Tumblr perhaps - Marvel believes it is creating action/adventure superhero stories. If a Marvel movie suddenly became a psychological exploration of the internality of a character's relationships, without a single laser beam or fight scene in sight, Marvel expects its audience to be confused and unhappy. We, as fanfic writers and readers might be dying for that story, but that is not the pleasure of the genre that Marvel thinks its audience wants when it walks specifically into a superhero film.

Power Fantasy - this might be one of the most misunderstood or perhaps narrowly applied terms. Yes, sometimes a power fantasy is a 16 year old boy watching a superhero dude with 8 pack abs destroy the bad guy, get the girl, and save the day. Living vicariously through that character is definitely a power fantasy. BUT, a power fantasy can also be fantastical things that the audience wishes would happen in a way that would empower an audience member or make them happy. For example, a billionaire industrialist merchant of death like Tony Stark getting hit by his own weapons and deciding to become a crusader for justice in a way that actually helps normal people is, in fact, an audience power fantasy. We want to believe that if the right bad guy like a billionaire got the right comeuppance like a near-death experience at the hands of their own evils, they'd learn their lesson and become a better person. This is a power fantasy. This is not a thing that actually happens. It's honestly not that different from the power fantasy many gun owners have that if they own a gun, they're more likely to stop a crime in progress with their perfect marksmanship, rather than that they're more likely to kill or be killed by a member of their own family. Understanding the application of power fantasies in terms of good things you hope would happen happening in fiction is not only important for dissecting fiction as an intelligent viewer, it's also important in terms of recognizing when you're being influenced by certain stories and choosing what lesson you take away from it and what lesson (if any) you want to take away from it.

I just feel like these 3 terms are what I see most lacking in a lot of "discourse". Fiction is trying to engender emotion in the audience. Great fiction engenders a wide range of emotions in the viewer, not simply good emotions. Thoughtful fiction might (but not always!) try to impart a lesson. But great fiction can also just want to give you great emotions and make you think outside the usual box of your usual experiences. It's also completely fine for great fiction to just want to give you a great emotion experience like catharsis, or the thrill of a power fantasy. And I really wish these three separate but interrelated concepts were discussed more when it comes to dissecting fiction here on this site.

[picaroroboto]

one of my favorite WoL Moments is still this dialogue choice in Heavensward:

Context is that during the HW roadtrip, the party gets caught in this Catch-22 where the dragons won't let us pass through unless we get the Gnath to stop bugging (lol) them, but the Gnath have summoned Ravana. It seems obvious that the WoL needs to kill Ravana in order for anything to progress, but Alphinaud asks to make sure they're willing first.

There's a lot you can dig up in this seemingly simple interaction - first, Alphinaud's side of things: during late-ARR and it's post-patches, there's a lot of evidence to be found that shows he treats the WoL like a bodyguard, like a weapon, taking their strength for granted for his political ends while giving little, if any, thought to their own thoughts and feelings. It's not outright malicious manipulation, just a sort of blindness. Since the betrayal at the banquet he's been humbled, and grown closer to the WoL thanks to their continued support of him despite the fact that his vanity caused the disaster. Him asking the WoL is they're okay with fighting Ravana, even though it's a given that they have to, can be seen as him not wanting to repeat the same pattern of using them.

For the WoL, the "choice" seems obvious - kill the Primal. Their first Primal battle, Ifrit, was a fight for survival brought on by a twist of fate. Every one since then has been an active pursuit by choice - if you can even call it a choice when they're the only one who can do it and many people would die if they didn't. By HW they're already firmly locked in to their role of being the guy who kills Primals, and whether they like it or not they continue to choose to fight. By choosing the upper line here they confirm that, while also giving some cool and heroic bravado to reassure Alphinaud. But notably it's just to say that they don't fear their duty. They may hate it, regret the choices that lead them here, all manner of things, but they are not afraid of fighting Primals.

Or they could simply say nothing. Giving silence also recognizes that their choice doesn't really matter and they're going to have to fight anyways. When it comes to silent protagonist-type characters who have few dialogue options, every option they're given has all the more weight. There are cases where choosing to say three ellipses "..." says a thousand things more than not being given a dialogue choice at all, and this is one of them. It's as if the two choices here are actually "Be the Hero" or "Be the Hero (not happy about it)".

[autumnsxxangel]

SandRay are an homage to Wong Kar-Wai's Happy Together and in this essay I will..

...actually explain it because I see people catching his homage's to Western queer media, but not really his shout outs to Eastern queer media.

I assumed there would be allusions to Happy Together when I first saw the trailer, but this last episode centered around Ray really cemented it for me. After all, why would P'Jojo reference all these Western queer shows and not talk about what is probably the most iconic piece of Eastern queer media ever?

Wong Kar-Wai & Happy Together

For some background information, Wong Kar-Wai is a famous and insanely influential Hong Kong filmmaker. If you're a film nerd, you probably know who he is and recognize his style. If you like film and metas, I would recommend watching some of his stuff because afterwards, you'll realize just how much influence he still has on modern media, especially in Asia. Stylistically, he's known for rich color grading; thematic usage of music; an unending sense of nostalgia, heartbreak, and missed opportunities; and dialogue that mean nothing on the surface because everything meaningful is boiling just under, left unsaid (If you've watched Everything Everywhere, All At Once, the entire actress universe sequence was an homage to Wong Kar-Wai). His actors always do a phenomenal job because so much of what they need to portray can't be communicated through words. It makes sense why SandRay, aka FirstKhao, were chosen to represent Happy Together as they are the strongest actors out of the group.

Happy Together, simply summarized, is about two men, Ho Po-Wing and Lai Yiu-Fai, who are in a very tumultuous relationship. They end up in Argentina because they wanted to visit the waterfall that's on a lamp that they own. They get lost, end up using all their money, and have to figure out a way to get back to Hong Kong. While there, they break up, get back together, and break up again.

The movie was released in 1997 and is still ranked as one of the best queer movies of all time. The two main characters are played by Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung. You might recognize Tony Leung as Simu Liu's dad in Shang-Chi. Leslie Cheung was in Farewell, My Concubine, and was famously a bisexual man with a long term male partner. This is significant because it was virtually unheard of to be out and open at that time (he made his relationship public in 1997 though he had mentioned bisexuality in earlier years), especially in Hong Kong which was, and still is, very homophobic. Leslie received a lot of hate for his sexuality and androgyny. (If you're interested in learning more about Leslie as a queer Asian figure, this is a good video essay that goes over his work and his life).

Sand as Lai Yiu-Fai

Fai's, and in turn Sand's, character can be summed up by one line, "One thing I never told Ho Po-Wing was that I didn't want him to recover so fast. Those were our happiest days."

Both Fai and Sand are very static, straightforward characters. They stay above board for the most part and work a variety of jobs to survive. They have their morals about what is right and wrong, which unfortunately is both of their downfalls.

In Happy Together, Wing breaks up with Fai because he is bored with the relationship. He basically says, "I'm bored being with you. Let's break up. If we happen to meet again, we can try again." Then he leaves Fai stranded on the side of a highway.

Later, he reappears in Fai's life. The first encounter is a fight, much like Sand and Ray's first meeting in the bathroom. The second encounter is because Wing gets beaten up. He goes to Fai because he knows Fai will feel obligated to take care of him and he does. It becomes the beginning of their rekindled relationship.

Similarly, Sand has a strong sense of obligation. There are already metas out there about how Sand has a bit of a hero complex. He sees Ray too drunk to drive and he had to step in. He doesn't just take the keys and order a taxi. No, he takes the keys and drives Ray. Sand sees Ray being all sad and pathetic and he can't stop himself from helping. It makes him feel useful. It makes him feel needed.

Both of these men are caretakers. They show affection by providing care. Sand ends up cooking for Ray just as Fai cooks for Wing even when he's sick. As an added bonus, they both make fried rice.

Both Sand and Fai are characters that stand completely still. Ray and Wing always know where to find them. Sand can always be found at YOLO and Fai is at his apartment. Because of this, Ray and Wing come and go as they please. They know that Sand and Fai will take them back...until they finally don't.

Ray as Ho Po-Wing

Starting on a base level, both characters are bratty, needy, promiscuous, spoiled, and selfish. But most importantly, they both share a love of fluffy cardigans.

(I also have a theory they keep putting Ray in wife beaters as an homage to the 90's HK cinema style because otherwise...I just don't understand why, as a rich asshole, he's always in wife beaters. By Thai BL logic, he should be in shirts with too many buttons unbuttoned.)

Wing and Ray are both the ones controlling the pace and direction of the relationship. They come when they need someone to nurture their wounds, both physically and metaphorically. They leave when they're bored or have things they deem more important. They both initiate intimacy and won't take no for an answer.

Wing does this by first trying to join Fai on the couch and then chasing after him to the bed and begging him to let them sleep together.

Ray does it by continuously getting Sand to get in the car with him and then using his puppy dog eyes.

They are both also very, very pouty.

Wing's line is "We could start over". He says it every time he comes back after he's the one that ends the relationship. Fai always fights taking him back, but he always does it anyway.

Ray doesn't really have a line yet (unless you count his "na na naa~"s) but he bats his eyelashes and so far Sand has given into him every time. Sand keeps trying to set boundaries, but the moment Ray begs a little bit, Sand crumbles like a house of cards and lets Ray have whatever he wants.

Relationship Parallels

Wong Kar-Wai is known for making movies about star crossed lovers who are meant for each other, but aren't meant to be together.

Like Wing and Fai, Sand and Ray fill in each other's cracks in a way that complements each other. However, because of the nature of the cracks themselves, them complementing each other is exactly what makes the relationship so toxic. One stays and one goes. One takes and one gives. One is steady and one is flighty.

Most of what I wanted to say about the parallels between their relationships is in the character comparison. What I'm more interested in is the future of SandRay's relationship, especially if they continue to parallel Wing and Fai's in Happy Together.

Obviously, Wing and Fai don't end up together at the end. It wouldn't be a Wong Kar-Wai movie if they did. What is interesting is that Fai's relationship with Wing eventually pushes him into becoming something angry and spiteful. Once Wing heals, Fai knows that he'll become bored and want to leave. In an attempt to get him to stay, he steals and hides Wing's passport which is insane because they are both gay men stuck in a foreign country where they don't speak the language.

Wing, of course, leaves anyway.

There is also a third character, Chang, whom Fai ended up liking. These new feelings are what eventually pushes Fai to leave Argentina and move on from Wing and move on with his life.

The question is, if SandRay follows that same path as Happy Together, what will be the passport that Sand tries to hold over Ray and who will be Sand's Chang?

Stylistic Parallels

Smoking

Making Ray and Sand smoke is definitely an homage to Happy Together with the added bonus of being a metaphor. For the most part, we rarely see characters, especially main characters, smoke in Asian media because smoking is reserved for 'bad' characters.

Cigarettes in Happy Together represent boredom. Fai and Wing smoke at the beginning before they rekindle their relationship because they are just moving through life. Once Fai and Wing get back together, cigarettes stop making an appearance. It isn't until their relationship started deteriorating that we see the men smoking again.

This can also be said about Sand Ray's relationship. They started their 'involvement' with cigarettes. However, the last time we actually see them smoking is in ep 2 right before they hook-up. Since then, we have not seen either of them smoking. This probably means that we'll see one or both of them smoking again when their relationship starts to break down.

(In the preview for ep 5, there is an ashtray in the background on the balcony so let's see if Boston finding out about them is a catalyst for them to start breaking down.)

And of course, there is the added homoeroticism of asking for a light.

Ray's Opening and Closing Scenes

Ray's episode is really what made me go "I see you P'Jojo".

Ray's episode starts with a shot of him isolated and in emotional pain. The camera is claustrophobically close and it keeps moving around. He has a little voiceover opening. It's calm, it's contemplative, it's a little existential, and it is irrevocably sad. If that is not a Wong Kar-Wai staple, then idk what is. Even the song that starts playing gives me 80s, 90s Cantopop vibes.

Ray talks about how Mew being his emergency contact and the one he goes to. Fai talks about how Wing always comes back to him and says "Let's start over".

The movie and the episode ends with both of them once again isolated, alone. They've been through an emotional journey and they've technically moved on. But there's always the idea of not being able to fully let go in Wong Kar-Wai's movie. So just like how Fai has physically removed himself from Wing, but not emotionally, has Ray actually fully removed himself from Mew?

Cinematography

Then there's just a collection of scenes that reminded me very heavily of Happy Together and Wong Kar-Wai's style. I would have added pictures from his other movies for comparison, but Tumblr only lets me put 30 images in a post and I don't want to make a 2nd post.

This scene is specifically from the 1st trailer so I hope they keep it in the show.

This one I call the inevitability of falling. Both Sand and Fai realize they're fully committed to their decision to take care of Ray and Wing here.

The end title card

Actually, all of the end title cards give very Wong Kar-Wai vibes. Look at that saturated, neon color grading. Look at the elongated shots. The intense feeling of isolation.

I'm assuming we'll get all the characters at one point, but so far it looks like the end credit cards indicate who the narrator of each episode is.

Anyway, that's it for me! Sorry it was so long and rambling. I tried to organize my thoughts but as I was thinking, more thoughts would pop up and I'd get distracted. If you made it this far, thanks for reading!

[slayfics]

Explosive tendencies a slow burn fan fiction about the readers developing relationship with Katsuki Bakugo.

Chapter thirteen: You go to rescue Katsuki.

Chapter links

You arrived back at the hospital at the same time as Eijiro and Shoto. You all three looked expectingly at each other as you waited outside.

Shoto glanced at your anxious expression, "I uh- I'm not surprised by Kirishima being eager to save his friend but I'm a little surprised you came," he spoke.

"Hu?" You jumped a little startled by his comment.

"All that matters is all three of us want to try and get Bakugo back," Eijiro spoke.

"Right, well it doesn't matter how much any of us want to go if. This is all up to Yaoyorozu." Shoto reminded the two of you. Without Momo agreeing to make another tracking device to follow all this would have been for nothing.

Just then Izuku came out of the hospital to patiently join you guys. It seemed as if everyone held their breath as Momo made her way out of the hospital over to the group.

Just as Momo was about to give everyone her answer Tenya showed up as well.

You, Eijiro, and Momo stood confused as Tenya yelled at Izuku and Shoto. The fight escalated until Tenya punched Izuku, leaving the rest of you shocked at his uncharacteristic behavior.

Shoto broke up the argument by ensuring Tenya your intentions weren't to fight the villains. Momo then followed along agreeing with the plana ensuring she would prevent any combat with villains.

With that, you all boarded a train heading to Kamino Ward where Momo's tracker had indicated the Nomu was located. Hopefully, some clues of Katsuki's whereabouts would be there too.

On the train tensions were high and the idea of turning around came up again when Shoto and Eijiro informed Izuku of what Ochaco had to say back at the hospital. Ochaco was sure Katsuki would just feel degraded having a bunch of his classmates go to rescue him.

"In any case, listen. No matter how you look at it, what we're trying to do is driven by our own egos. If you want to turn back, it's not too late," Shoto suggested.

"Speak for yourself. Maybe your ego is driving you but I'm here because I'm actually concerned about my friend being hurt! Not because I have something to prove," You barked at Shoto.

The others on the train seemed surprised by your sharp tongue.

"If I wasn't sure about this, I wouldn't have suggested it in the first place," Eijiro said.

"There's no way I can turn back now," Izuku agreed.

You all exited the train and entered Kamino Ward. Shortly after, Momo suggested your group disguise yourselves in order not to be recognized by the villains.

Momo attempted to put you in the most hideous outfit you had ever seen, then declared the one you picked out was not feasible for the mission.

"Whatever, I'm not arguing with you. This is what I'm wearing, get your ugly outfit away from me. We're wasting time arguing over this," You said angrily changing and walking out of the store. "Kirishima you look ridiculous," You laughed seeing his disguise. "Wait," You looked around the group. "You all look ridiculous," You said unable to contain your laughter.

"HEY IS THAT U.A.?!" Someone yelled from the crowd. You all froze in place before realizing the bystander was talking about the press conference on the TV.

You all watched the press conference before moving on, and you couldn't help but smile when Aziawa stood up for Bakugo. One interviewer asked about Katsuki’s potential to become a villain due to his explosive anger. Aizawa shot down this idea immediately claiming that Bakugo was working harder than anyone to become the top hero.

"Come on we better get moving," Momo suggested. The six of you left following Momo's tracker to what seemed to be an abandoned building.

Moving to the back of the building Tenya lifted Eijiro up to allow him to look inside with some night vision goggles he picked up for the trip.

Upon looking inside Eijiro exclaimed loudly then appeared frozen with fear. Inside, were several stored Nomu.

After Tenya lowered Eijiro, you all heard a giant crash coming from the front of the building followed by the sight of Mt. Lady grabbing the Nomu out of the building.

Best Jeanist, Gang Orca, and Mr. Tiger were on the scene as well.

"If the pros are here that means there's nothing for us to do here. Let's go!" Tenya exclaimed.

Just as you all agreed and were about to leave another villain appeared on the scene that left you all frozen with fear. Shortly after he appeared he had whipped out all the pros on the scene.

That was when you all heard-

"What the hell is this?!" Katsuki yelled coughing up some sludge from his mouth that seemed to have transported him to this location.

Momo grabbed on to you and Eijiro preventing you from making a move. You understood that the situation was too dangerous. You could feel this villain's aura was no joke and obviously above anything your classmates could handle. But even still, how were you supposed to stand behind this wall doing nothing while Katsuki was just a few meters away from you all? Isn't that why you had all come in the first place?

Just then you heard All Might appear and begin fighting with the villain. All Might greeted the villain as All For One. The way they spoke you understood they had fought before.

Izuku called to everyone and Tenya quickly shut him down.

"Don't even think about it!" he yelled at Izuku. However, Izuku devised a plan that allowed him, Tenya, and Eijiro to fly over the battlefield and give Katsuki an opening to escape.

Following the plan Tenya, Izuku, and Eijiro prepared to take off just as Shoto let out a towering ice wall for them to propel themselves off of.

The villains watched stunned as your classmates flew through the sky, Katsuki let out an explosion to shoot himself up and grabbed Eijiro's hand.

"They got him!" You yelled excitingly watching as the plan unfolded perfectly.

"Ok good, hurry while there distracted we have to run!" Shoto said waving for you and Momo to follow him.

You three ran until you were back in the main part of the city. A huge crowd had stopped to watch the fight between All Might and All For One being broadcast on the TV.

The conclusion of the fight left everyone stunned. All Might had taken down All For One but was then reduced to what looked like a bag of bones.

"I don't understand it either, but we should try to find the others," Shoto spoke. You and Mom agreed and shuffled through the chaotic crowd trying to meet up with the rest of your classmates. You frantically scanned the faces passing by trying to look for Katsuki.

"There they are!" Momo exclaimed pointing out your classmates in the crowd.

Before you could register what your feet were doing, you found yourself running to Katsuki and warping your arms around him bringing him to a tight hug.

Your classmates watched stunned.

"I'm fine extra, get off," He spoke but made no effort to push you off. You let go and looked away feeling a light blush tint on your cheeks.

"Uh- let's get moving back home yeah" Eijiro spoke breaking the awkwardness.

Everyone agreed and you all made your way onto the train.

The train ride home was met with stunned silence as everyone seemed to process the fight they had just witnessed between All Might and All For One.

Tags: @anon-mouse223 @unofficialmuilover @maddietries @sikuthealien @queenpiranhadon @melrs21 @poemzcheng @kazuumii @bakunianadecorazon @ur-crusty-uncle @chixkadee @perfectsukii

[shirozora-draws]

I am so late but I am finally done with the first round of merch that I am satisfied with. I am satisfied and we are rolling forward with this set. Now to send off all of my final sample orders so that I know these are absolutely working and are worth posting to a shop site as pre-orders.

Clan of Three lanyards. I recognize that I could easily turn these into washi tapes if I wanted to. We'll see.

Grogu Baby Crimes. Sticker & acrylic shaker charm. Completely revamped after carrying around the old version as an acrylic shaker charm and deciding it was too unwieldy and, more importantly, not cute enough. This will be a sticker option and an acrylic shaker charm option.

Keldabe kiss - Interstellar version. Matte & holographic sticker.

Keldabe kiss - Tatooine version. Matte & holographic sticker.

Live Cheen Reaction. Sticker. For all the fans of Cheen Yofree, the unluckiest third-wheeling Rodian OC.

Need A Hero. Sticker & acrylic charm. The only thing I'm putting forward with Din's face for now. I wanted something cute.

Clan of Two. Sticker. A straightforward general sticker.

The Battle Couple. Sticker (for now). This was actually designed to be an embroidered patch, but I'm not really there yet. The sticker shape is odd so I might present this as a kiss cut sticker.

Luke on Ossus - no scars. Sticker. For people who don't want scars?

Luke on Ossus - scars. Sticker. I just wanted to doodle a thirst trap, thassit.

The Storm. Sticker (for now). I wanted to make more merch for my fics and might use this template for the other fics in the Dangerous Dreams series.

The Clan of Three. Sticker. This motherfucker held me up for MONTHS. I didn't like the previous full-body version especially after getting several sample stickers so I started over... and then got stuck. For months. But here we are. The final piece of the puzzle.

Limited - Tron. Sticker & acrylic charm. I wanted to make a little Tron merch. The acrylic charm will be double-sided with Tron on one side and Rinzler on the other. Thank god this guy is more or less symmetrical.

Limited - Rinzler. Sticker & acrylic charm. For people who like Rinzler. This will be double-sided with Rinzler on one side and Tron on the other side.

I'm sending off a final round of sample sticker and charm orders so that I can get a feel for the revamped and new designs, and once I'm happy I'll get the pop-up shop up and running.

Round 2, I'm looking at small prints, possibly the embroidered patch, and maybe a Tron|Rinzler standee. Also a sticker for The Suns maybe, possibly also The Stars. What if I did a WarGreymon|BlackWarGreymon charm?????

And now.... we write.

[radioactive-earthshine]

Legionnaires #77 & #61

Random Jenni Ognats facts to give her more depth in your fics.

Every Flash fan loves Jenni, but regrettably I have found very few people have actually read the comics which she is from and spends most of her development in, and as such most of her characterization and character fundamentals comes from her appearances in Impulse, Young Justice (1998) or The Flash (1987). While people do get her 'cinnamon roll' personality correct, as she is lover above everything, there is a lot people miss out on that is important to her character and your creativity/understanding of her. She is much more than just Bart Allen's favorite cousin.

So here are some "lesser known" facts about Jenni that may assist you in how you approach her in transformative works, or just on your perception of her as The Lonely Speedster.

The Basics

1.) She is older than Bart - According to the The Flash: Secret Files & Origins #1 published in 1997 she is supposed to be 2 years older than Bart. Other sources are rather ambiguous when it comes to her age in relation to Bart, and some lead you to believe that she may be the same age (or younger) but in reading her comics and order of events her being 2 years older fits the narrative more.

The Flash: Secret Files & Origins #1 (1997)

2.) She was born without speed, and only got her powers through a trauma response and (possible) experimentation** at the hands of The Dominators. This is generally known and is not a lesser known fact per-se, but the situation surrounding her powerlessness is generally not understood fully.

Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) Annual 5

The Dominators at this time for Jenni really are the biggest boogeyman to Speedsters as they were (to her knowledge) the reason why her mother and uncle died, they had kidnapped Bart when he was an infant and experimented on him which may have been why he was rapidly aging in the first place, and now they have come back for her again. Jeven fled Earth to Arrok specifically to flee Earthgov, President Thawne, the U.P. and the Dominators who had an express interest in speedsters - so when they caught up to her this situation had to have been nothing short of terrifying.

In the end, after resigning herself that she was going to die there, she gains access to her speed in order to save her father who is the only known blood family she even connects with 30th century.

From then on she spent time with scientists on Arrok to control her speed until she was drafted to serve in the Legionnaires.

** we don't know if whatever tests the Dominators performed on her contributed to her eventual gaining speed powers.

3.) We're not sure how Jeven found out about Bart and Iris evacuated to the past, but she knew they were there. All her knowledge of the Flash Family comes directly from her father as it is unlikely she spent any time with her great-grandparents who were alive at least when she was 4.

4.) Likely because of Jeven fleeing governments to keep Jenni safe, Jenni has an acute understanding of interstellar political boundaries.

Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) Annual #6

5.) She is a great pilot and has knowledge of interstellar communication - how she learned how to fly or to recognize various means of communication is unknown.

Legionnaires #39

Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) #106

6.) She almost draft-dodged being a Legionnaire because she was too afraid of what may happen - death is her family legacy and she knows, possibly better than all of them, how perilous they all are and how dangerous doing the types of things they are doing are. As a result of this, she very nearly fled which likely would have resulted in her being on the run - which is ironic considering Jeven was on the run with her when she was a small child. She likely knew very well what running would entail and it was worth it to her at the time.

Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) #62

Legionnaires #19

7.) Scaredy Cat to Guerrilla Solider. When Jenni first begins her journey as XS she is absolutely terrified of what may happen and is easily frightened even by innocuous things- but as the story progresses she becomes a fierce Legionnaire that fights against tyranny over and over again - most notably spending nearly a whole year on Xanthu undertaking guerrilla war tactics against assailing Robotica.

Legion Worlds #4

8.) Lori Morning, the little sister figure. When Jenni travels to the 1990s she meets 10 year old Lori Morning who is slingshot through time to the 30th century as a long-term character. Jenni feels extremely close to Lori as a big sister and is frequently protective of her.

Legionnaires #62

9.) Many crushes. Jenni has had many crushes during her run, the most notable one being Rokk (which the writers were considering making a canon couple but dropped).

Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) ##75 Rokk was her first known major crush and love interest and he was her biggest inspiration to stay as a Legionnaire when she considered leaving (see point #6). Because she believed in him, because he believed in her, she was able to use him as inspiration and a weapon against her anxiety. As the series progressed her affection for him deepened and thanks to The Emerald Eye she got her wish for a kiss from him, but because it was all fake it was the starting point for her to let him go and move on.

Legionnaires #44

Mon El "M'onel" was her second biggest crush which she admired from a distance. Mon El was always friendly with her and enjoyed her company, but nothing ever developed beyond them just being friends.

Legionnaires #43

Dyrk Magz was her third and final main crush, but at first it was one-sided from Dyrk to her. Dyrk was a Legionnaire with the code name Magno, however he lost his powers and instead of being retired from duty he instead took up a position as the Monitor Officer in the Outpost. At first, Jenni does not even notice that Dyrk is into her as she rants to him about other boys and awkwardly pushes him away inadvertently. Despite this, and we don't see the development, they do grow closer as Jenni and Dyrk are seen embracing every now and then and even go on a small date. Unfortunately, after the Time Rift incident which closes the main series' titles we can assume they 'broke up' as Dyrk is written out of the story entirely to live on his home planet Braal as a Science Police Officer.

Legionnaires #77

Honorable Mention: Kyle Rayner. This is more of an infatuation stemming from stories she was told about Barry and Hal being close, and Jay and Alan being close. Because she was a speedster, and he was a Green Lantern she let herself become enthralled with him due to tradition and 'destiny'. Naturally, it didn't last and Kyle was not about it.

Green Lantern (1990) #98

10.) Fast rides and thrills don't do it for her. She prefers slower rides and attractions mostly because going fast is her 'job' and she has the added history of spending most of her life as a normal girl who grew to appreciate slower things.

Legionnaires #77

11.) Time Trapper's meddling. It is never revealed but a Time Trapper (this character changes and morphs) once had a hidden plot that involved her and a cosmic destiny she was to fulfill.

Legionnaires Annual #3

12.) Legion is her family. Despite multiple invites to live in the M2 era with Bart and company - she has rejected this in favor of staying with her team and her father. The only exception to this is at the end of Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds when she decides to break from her team "The Wanderers" to live in Earth Prime because Geoff, king of Retcons, decided to change everything about Jenni's place of birth and powers origin.

Legionnaires #37

13.) She learned how to play the saxophone in the 20th century with Bart, and she continued to play it even in the 31st century.

Impulse (1995) #12

14.) Red lips - makeup or permanent stain? We're not sure but there are very few instances after she becomes a Legionnaire where she is not without those iconic red red lips.

Now you know her a little better. Go forth.

Legionnaires #39

[findafight]

I need. NEED. Y'all to understand that in a MCU captain america au Bucky and Steve would be Steve and Robin. Like. The unhinged amount of devotion? Yes. Soviet torture? Yes.

But it also MUST be understood that Steve is Bucky, and Robin is Steve. DO YOU SEE MY VISION.

Steve, charming and charasmatic, looks out for his awkward but good hearted and mildly unhinged (he's no better) bestie until he goes off to war. Robin, a bit of a weirdo, wants to do something to help fight. She ends up in an experimental program, and getting super strength etc.

She gets shipped around as propoganda. She ends up in Italy. She finds out Steve's unit has been captured. Her best friend, the only one who really knows her, the guy she's probably going to end up bearded by. Her sweet cheese.

She goes to save him.

Against all odds she does. He's strapped to a table and muttering to himself and thinks he's hallucinating when he sees her. But she saves him.

They form a strike team, blow up bases, punch Nazis etc. The war in Europe is almost over. Then Steve falls from a train. Then Robin crashes a plane. They both die heroes.

Except.

Robin wakes up. She wakes up in a world not her own and she's scared and frightened and told she has to fight again except this time she's alone.

And she does. She follows orders and fights and tries to figure out how to live when anyone who would understand her is in their eighties at the youngest or dead. How to exist in a world where the only person, even in their own time, who actually knew her, was dead. Dead for a long time. Deified alongside her by America.

So she follows orders. Until she doesn't. Until fury dies and someone with a metal arm and long brown hair shoots at her but holds their own against her enhanced strength. Pushes her, actually, being broader than her.

And she has allies, yes, but when it comes down to it, it's just her and the Soldier. Fighting under the overpass, and there's something about the Soldiers brow, the possible cowlick on his hairline where his long hair should be parted, that pings something in the back of her mind.

The mask slips off. And Robin thinks she's died again.

He doesn't recognize her, but his eyebrows scruntch together in a way she's known for what feels like eons. She's missed him.

A long time ago, longer for some than for her, he had been strapped to a table. She saved him then. She is going to save him now.

On a helicarrier, she can't bring herself to fight him. She knows him, how many hits he's taken, and even after whatever's been done to him, she knows him. Knows he's confused and scared and fighting it. Whatever's taken him away from her.

He knows her too. She can tell by the way he hesitated, pulls back. He's in there. She just has to find him.

She falls.

A strong hand pulls her out of the river.

[zylasweetbean]

All Might is a First Year Teacher

All Might gets a LOT of flack for being a bad teacher.

Ignoring the fact that the whole school is a lawsuit waiting to happen, and ALL the teachers (yes, including Aizawa) do things that range from illegal to highly questionable, I'd argue that All Might isn't a bad teacher.

He's a first-year teacher.

And honestly, a good first-year teacher at that.

If you look at his very first lesson, the "Battle Trials," you will see several things he does that first-year teachers struggle with but works to overcome them.

When he gives instructions, the class gets a little out of hand, and he has to try to calm them down.

This happens ALL THE TIME! And not even to just new teachers. Learning how to manage a class is a process even veteran teachers can struggle with. Students are easily distracted and will yell out answers or talk to friends, and you see the same happen with All Might. However, he actually manages to get the class back under control, which isn't easy.

2. He needs to use flashcards to remember the scenario.

It's really tricky to always remember everything that needs to be said for an activity or lesson to work. And if you haven't taught the lesson before, it's even trickier. It's common for first-year teachers to use things like sticky notes to keep track of key information. Sometimes you can even use PowerPoint. All Might didn't have that, so he used flashcards. Now, while it might not look great, it's arguably more important that he remembers everything that needs to be said for the battle trial to work rather than forgetting and trying to explain it later. (Which happens and is messy).

3. He gets a little flustered when Yaoyorozu answers a question really well.

Students constantly surprise their teachers. Sometimes, you ask a question, and they know nothing. And sometimes, they give you a perfect, insightful answer. All Might gets a bit tongue-tied when Yaoyorozu gives a great answer, but what I love about him is that he recognizes she did a great job! He doesn't try to add something to prove that he knows best, but he recognizes and acknowledges her input.

4. He recognizes the needs of his students (even if he doesn't address it perfectly)

During the battle trial, All Might recognizes that Midoriya desperately needed to continue the fight with Bakugou in order to work through some things. Should he have? Probably not, but new teachers regularly try and struggle to know how to best support their students. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Then after the battle trial, he notices that Bakugou is upset over how it went and tries to offer words of encouragement. In this instance it doesn't work, and Bakugou storms off angry. However, the point remains that he saw the need and tried to address it.

5. He let the fight between Midoriya and Bakugou last too long and get dangerous.

First off, UA let a bunch of teenagers try to attack massive robots as their entrance exams! The battle trial was far from the most dangerous thing UA had already thrown at them, so All Might deserves some slack.

Also, as a first-year teacher, it's difficult to know when to step into a situation and when to back off. All Might tried to give multiple warnings, which Bakugou ignored. Usually, that's enough, but in this case, it wasn't. However, he was still aware of the situation and tried to mediate it, even if, in retrospect, it should have been handled differently.

AND ALL OF THIS WAS HIS FIRST LESSON!

In conclusion, All Might isn't a bad teacher. He is a first-year teacher who is clearly learning but who cares deeply. You can tell by how he supports and interacts with his students; he wants to be there for them and help them become heroes, even if he struggles along the way.

As someone who recently finished their first year of teaching, All Might remind me how challenging teaching can be, but that you don't have to be perfect at it. You just have to keep trying to improve every day, plus ultra style.

[roxy-writes]

this fic is copied directly from my ao3

warnings: noncon, date rape drugs/roofies, kidnapping, bondage

i do not condone any of this behavior irl.

You'd never have guessed that your friendship with Katsuki Bakugo would've turned out to be the worst thing that ever happened to you. Actually, yeah you could've. He'd held the title of the most brash, aggressive person you knew from the moment you met him. But...you didn't think he had the capacity to actually ruin your fucking life the way he did. You took him as someone who took every emotion he had and channeled it out into anger, whether it be during his hero work or in daily life. And, despite your best efforts, you managed to find his behavior endearing. You don't know how you put up with him, maybe it was those ever so rare moments where he actually showed affection normally, or maybe it was..you don't really know.

You remember how it all started, when you worked as a barista in a small, local coffee shop Bakugo frequented. He'd come in, clad in his hero suit, his very presence commanding. He'd mutter his order to the cashier and lean against the wall, waiting for someone to shout out "Dynamight", signaling that his order was ready. You'd only glance at him, never paying much mind to the hero. Until one day, your close friend told you they'd become friends with a very popular hero they'd like you to meet. You didn't know who to expect, but it certainly wasn't...him. He recognized you and you recognized him, but neither of you acknowledged it. You couldn't help but enjoy his company once you warmed up to each other. He definitely had charisma. So you and your friend hung out with him more often, and eventually you and him started hanging out alone.

Further into your friendship with Bakugo, you really got a glimpse into who he really was. He wasn't your closest friend, but you had him around often. He liked cooking dinner for you a lot, and he'd always complain if you ordered food instead of just letting him make you something. You'd never admit it, but he was a great cook. He came over to your place one night, and it progressed like every other. He'd get mad at you for trying to order something, scold you, and dig through all your food looking for something to make. So, once he was done, you sat down at the table as he served the food he made. Your favorite food. How'd he know you liked this? You were too hungry to question anything, so you ate with him. You remember taking a sip of the drink he'd poured you, going to sit on your couch with him, and that's where your memories come to a halt.

You'd always figured he might've had a thing for you, but you didn't think he'd go this far.

You woke up somewhere you didn't recognize, in a bed that wasn't yours, with a man you thought was your friend. The fear that rushed through you was like no other, especially during the moment you saw his sick fucking smile as he stared at you from the end of the bed. You don't remember what he said then, but you remember what he did. Remember how horrid you felt when he pinned you down and tied you up so you couldn't fight, slipped his hands into your pants and started touching you. He rubbed your clit and stuck his thick fingers in you, preparing you for what you knew he'd been waiting for. You didn't want it to feel as good as it did. You wished he was hurting you instead, because who was he to be pleasuring you? He shouldn't be the one making you feel like this. But he wasn't gonna listen to your pleas for him to stop. You suspected that the more you begged for this to be over, the more it turned him on, and eventually your cries devolved into high-pitched moans, cries and hiccups. He pulled his soaked fingers out of you, licked them clean, and lined his cock up with your hole.

You instantly became distraught, squirming uselessly. You weren't getting out of this, and you knew it. But that wasn't gonna stop you from begging him to let you go, your words quickly becoming drowned out by his groans and the sounds of his balls smacking against your ass. The stretch felt like you were being torn in half, and he didn't give you much time to adjust before he started moving. Your eyes stayed wide as you tried your best to shut them closed so you wouldn't have to watch what was happening to you. His hair stuck to his face, and his muscles flexed with every thrust. He looked euphoric, like this was all he'd ever wanted. You also remembered he kept talking about how this was just him getting his revenge for all the times you flirted with him and led him on, and how he'd been anticipating the day he'd finally do this. You wondered if this was the only reason he kept up being friends for so long, if this was his goal from the very start. But soon, your train of thought was cut off abruptly by your orgasm. You wished this would all be over already. After a few minutes of him continuing his assault on your cunt, you felt warm cum flood your pussy. Oh fuck. This was only getting worse for you. He pulled out after he was done and cleaned you up. You don't think you ever fully grasped the reality of what had just happened to you.

You went quickly from hanging out with him maybe once a week to seeing him daily. Locked up in this fucking room, with only yourself for company while he was at work. There were a few items to help entertain you, books and things like that. Still, you spent most of your time sitting around, thinking. Thinking about how you'll just have to wait until someone finds you. You lost your sense of time after a while, so you had almost no idea of how long you'd been there. Until he got home from work and came to visit you, you'd just be stuck waiting. And waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

[mytheoristavenue]

MHA Mashirao Ojrio x Support Student!Reader - Magnum Opus

Summary: Ojiro drops by the support lab to check on the new suit he ordered, only to get much more than he requested in the order form.

Warnings: Fluff, pining, long, not proofread, afab!reader, slight innuendo

Ojiro paused at the door to the support class lab. The last time he was here to get his gi mended, he had to deal with Hatsume in all her spastic glory which, admittedly kept him from getting his costume updated much longer than he should have. Finally, he was told that if he didn't get something new, he'd be benched from his work-study, leading him to fill out a request form.

Knocking lightly on the door, he held his breath, releasing it when he heard a soft "Come in!" from within. Slipping inside, he looked around, taking in the mess. "Uh, good afternoon..." He called, unnerved when he couldn't immediately find the owner of the voice in the cluttered lab.

"Hiya, what can I do for you?" You chirped from a desk in the back corner, eyes not leaving the fabric you were feeding through a large sewing machine.

Finally finding you, he stepped closer, smiling at the way your tongue stuck out of the corner of your mouth and your magnifying goggles enarged your eye. "I'm not sure actually." He admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, waiting to be noticed.

"You need a mend, equipment, or a costume request form?" You asked, a hint of annoyance in your voice. "We're currently back up on new orders so if you're wanting something new it'll be a few weeks 'til it's done."

"None of the above?" He answered with a nervous laugh. "I put in an order last month and I was hoping to check on it, if that's fine?"

The mention of having already ordered something prompted your eyes to flicker to the client. You paled, immediately recognizing it as your longtime crush. "Oh my gosh!" You gasped, standing and hitting your head on the arm of your oversized desk lamp. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude!"

Ojiro hissed, wincing at your bump to the head, stepping forward to reach out. "No, no, I'm the one who should apologize for disturbing you! Is your head alright?"

"I'm fine!" You insisted, rubbing the crown of your head. "I was actually hoping you'd stop by! I thought about ringing for you, but I know you hero track students are pretty busy, so I didn't want to be a bug!"

He simply chuckled lightly, watching you bustle about the studio in a rolling chair. "I'm glad I came by when I did, then. But for the record, you could have called for me anytime."

"I'll keep that in mind!" You chirped, rolling back and forth. "Have a seat, I'll pull your file." As he sat at the empty table you pointed to, you rolled up to it, pushing your goggles up onto your head, giving you an even more adorably disheveled look. Setting the file down, you began to sift through it, pulling out various photos, forms, and sketches.

"So," you began, turning a few pages toward him. "I noticed you pretty much just reordered your original gi with an added pair of light blue gloves, are you married to that idea?"

The question took him by surprise, making his heart drop. He liked the simplicity of his original suit and the thought of changing it made him nervous. Not just that, but the question hinted at the notion that his order hadn't even been started yet after almost a month. "Why do you ask?" He questioned cautiously.

"Well, I've been studying some photos taken by field reporters and I noticed a few things," I say, pointing to a few candid photos of him in battle. "It seems like your gi always tears in the same places when you stretch. Do you know what that means?"

Ojiro blinked at you, confusion scribbled all over his face. "No?"

"It means wearing a gi does nothing for you." You explained, shuffling through the pages to find a diagram of his current suit. "It's purely cosmetic. The only advantage it gives you is that it's lightweight but, again there are much lighter materials out there that are twice as durable. Besides, you requested weighted accessories, so that defeats the entire purpose."

"So, what are you suggesting?" He asked, brows furrowed and shiny black eyes darting up to meet yours.

"I took the liberty of redesigning your suit to better fit your quirk and fighting style." You smirked confidently, laying a few sketches down in front of him. "The biggest change would be this body suit." You said, tapping a finger against the throat of the drawing. "It's total coverage from your neck to your feet incase of wardobe malfuntions, which seem to be an often occourance in your case." You giggle, not missing the way his cheeks flush. "It's made from a spandex and carbon fiber blend, so it's going to be pretty druable, and it'll stretch with you and still retain it's shape."

The young hero sat silent, looking over the new design, admittedly flattered by the way the sleek black material looked on him in the drawing. "Why black, though?"

"It doesn't have to be black," You answered, shrugging. "Stylistic choice. The white of the gi washes you out and this tan fur on the shoulder gets lost in your hair and tail, see?" You explain, showing him pictures that make him look much paler that he actually was. "A pop of black would break up the light colors and make you look overall more harmonious."

"I see..." He trailed, having never thought of how he looked in certain colors.

"I also in corporated this light blue you requested on the gloves and used it as an accent on the collar and a few other places." You finished, desperate for his feedback, practically rocking in your seat. "So, what do you think?"

"I-I don't know what to say, honestly..." He admitted sheepishly. "But can I be frank?"

"Of course!" You bit your cheek, thinking he'd tell you he hated the idea. "It's your suit, afterall. Your comfort and satisfaction is my absolute top priority!"

"Well..." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "This is great and all, but it all looks awefully expensive, and as long as I'm out of a suit, I'm out of a job. The agency only gave me so much of a budget, so the rest of the cose would be out of pocket." He explained, heart stings tugged by the disappointment on your face. "I-I like it, don't get me wrong!" He soothed, holding his hands up defensively. "I just really don't think I can afford something so high-tech, and I don't really have time to wait for something so intricate."

"I'm not charging you for it," You blinked, a bit confused as to why he'd assume he'd have to pay for it.

"W-What?" He asked, taken back, tail sticking straight up like a spooked cat. "But why?"

"Equipment made by sudents is always free to other students and staff." You explain with a kind smile, fond of the excited grin on his face.

"That's awesome! So wait-" He paused. "How long is this gonna take?" He asked, stilling himself. He didn't want to get his hopes up.

"I should have it done by the end of tomorrow if all goes right." You answer, matter of factly, pulling all the pappers toward you and organizing them.

"You can do it in a day?" He nearly gasped, tail wagging lightly, despite his best efforts to keep it still. "That's increadible!"

Your interest piqued at his exclainmation and the wonder in his eyes almost made you feel guitly for laughing. "In a day? No!" You snorted. "I've been working on this since the day you turned your forms in."

He wasn't sure why, but the thought of you working tirelessly on something nice for him warmed his cheeks. He didn't even know your name off the top of his head, let alone that he'd been so heavily on your mind for so long. "Wait, you said you weren't going to charge me, does that mean a student is making it?" You nodded, pointing to yourself.

"This is the first big project I'm handling on my own. It's going to be a benchmark to see if I'm ready to become a fully fledged member of the support team." You admitted with a bashful smile, closing the file and holding it to your chest. "I wanted to do my very best on it."

Ojiro smiled down at you, clearly seeing how much the redeisgn meant to you. In all honesty, he hadn't been crazy for it at first. It was so complex and busy, definately not what he was used to. But he couldn't possibly tell you no after all the work you'd put into it.

"Of course, I've already remade your original gi as requested, so if you don't like it..." You offered, a tinge of saddness in your voice.

Looking over the design again, his shoulders slumpedas it began to grow on him. "Don't be silly, I love it."

"Really?" You gasped, beaming and leaning in a bit too close.

"Really..." He sighed, backing up with a nervous chuckle. "Can I try it on when it's ready?" He asked, hoping to steer the conversation in another direction.

"You can try it on now!" You chirped enthusiastically before realizing you were becoming too hyper and calming yourself down a tad. "If you want, that is."

"I'd love to," Ojiro laughed airily at your antics, watching you jump out of your seat and scurry over to a back room. When you reemerged, you luged a large trunk in your arms that resembled a high-tech instrument case. You set it on the table with a victorious grin, undoing the latches and opening it very carefully.

"Oh wow..." He breathed, eyes widening was the light his costume which was presented on a clear mannequin. He could see the hexagonal stitching of the black body suit up close now, and the sky blue oriental details scattered throuout. The gi stayed largely the same, save for appearing to have looser sleeves and legs. The tuft of tan fur the kep on his shoulder now wrapped around his neck to the other lapel, giving off the appearance of a lion's mane. The look was tied together with a belt sililar to his old one, boots, and fingerless gloves, all black with that blue accent.

You stood behind the case waiting to be showered with praise for your hard work, his amazement stroking your ego tremendously. "I'm sorry, I'm just at a loss for words." He confessed, dark eyes shining brighter by the second. He couldn't believe someone he barely knew when to all this trouble over him. "T-This is increadible, thank you."

"No need to thank me, just doing my job!" You bluffed, your hunger for praise satiated as you shut the case and locked it, handing it to him by the handle. "Now go try it on so I know it fits!"

Gently, you budged him toward the other side of the room where the fitting room was. In reality, it was an open cubical with a thin curtain to protect the modesty of the occupant. Ojiro couldn't have the chance to resist, his face flushing when he realized what you wanted. He was already nearly inside the cubical, shoved by you, jittering with excitment. "Whoa, alright, alright!" He relented, flashing you an uneasy look before drawing the curtain behind him.

"Just call me if you need anything!" You chirped, giving him space and returning to your desk to work on your earlier project.

"Will do," He called back, not actually intending to ask for help, even if he did find himself needing some. Setting the case down on the floor and leaning it against the wall, he sighed, looking over himself critically in the full body mirror. He kicked himself to a greeing to wear something so skin tight, dreading having to see himself in that damned body suit.

However weary he was, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to speak up, imagining the face you might pull if rejected. It could even have the potential to make you cry, and he couldn't think of anything worse rthan having to live with knowing he made someone who worked this hard for him shed a tear- not even wearing a suit he didn't like. With another heavy sigh, he sat on the bench, kicking out of his shoes, and shedding the blazer of his school uniform. Hanging it on the hook, he began to undo his tie, and then the buttons of his shirt.

Outside, you ran your sewing machine without a care in the world, the loud buzzing of the mecahnical workings music to your ears. You hummed happily, feeling the bright red fabric through the machine, finally starting on another young hero's order. It was due to this noise, you didn't hear Ojiro's nearly silent plea for help.

This was just fantastic, he thought. Here he was, in nothing but a body suit and blushed cheeks, fighting the zipper that rested between his sacral dimples. Initially, he was solid in his resolve to not ask for help, but the tiniest hint of a rip made him freeze and think better of himself. "H-Hey, um, miss?" He asked, poking his head out of the curtain.

"(Y/N)," You giggled, looking up, a bit saddened that he didn't walready know your name. "Whatcha need?" You asked, suprised at the flustered state he was in. "Need some help?" His shoulders slumped from behind the curtain and he nodded with a relieved smile.

"The zipper's stuck and I can't reach it..." He mumbled, slipping back into the cubical when he was sure you were headed his way. You chuckled to yourself, making your way over, pressing a palm to the doorframe.

"I'm coming in, are you decent?" You asked with a sympathetic sweetness in your voice.

"Not as much as I'd like to be but go ahead," He accepted sheepishly, stepping closer to the mirror, facing it with his hands balled infront of him. It wasn't that he pegged you for a pervert, but this body suit really didn't leave anythign to the imagination.

Drawing back the curtain a bit, you went to step inside, stopping short when you caught a glimpse of him. Ojiro stood before you barefoot in that skin tight suit you'd spent weeks designing and bringing to life, glancing so shyly over his shoulder. The junction of the suit stopped underneath his tail and started again with a zipper above. The rest of his back up to his nape was bare tense under your gaze. You'd known from the photos you studied that he was muscular but none of those pictures did him justice. It was obvious he took his phisique increadibly seriously, considering her was built like a greek god.

"M-My hands might be a bit cold..." You whispered, stepping closer, shaking yourself out of your trance. He winced, jumping a bit when your fingertips grazed his burning skin, just between his dimples of Apollo. "S-Sorry..." You stammered, trying hard to focus on the task at hand and not how his muscles flexed at your touch. You quickly identified the problem. The two sides came together like a jacket to accomadate his tail, which meant they had to be lined up exactly so, and in his haste, Ojiro had misalligned the pieces. You simply unjammed the zipper before whispering. "It's fixed, do you want me to zip it for you?"

He nodded timidly, worried if he tried it he'd get it stuck again. To his relief, he began to feel tghe garmet closing as your icy fingers trailed up his spine, resting at his nap as you tucked the zipper away. You then ran a fingertip back down, pressing the closure, ensuring that the void of black that was his back was seamless.

"You're all good," you mumbled, stepping out of the cubical. "Just suit of as normal and let me know if you need anymore help." You were so relieved to be out of there and away from him. You could feel the heat radiating off your face as youy scurried over to the refuge of your sewing desk.

Just as you had begun to calm down, you heard the distinct sound of the curtain hooks sliding on the rod, and Ojiro stepped out, fully dress and looking even more handsome in your deisngn than you ever intneded him to be. Frantically, you jumped up from the desk, red faced all over again, pepering him with questions.

"How does it feel? Too tight, too loose?' You interrogated himm, circling him with a pad and pencil, taking notes on every detail you could find. "Anything itchy? Any sensory issues? Any complaints?"

"No," He laughed contentedly, stretching a bit and pulling a few stances that were typical of his fighting style. "It feels great actually. I thought I'd hate the feeling of the body suit against the gi, but I can hardly feel it at all! It's so lightweight!"

Speaking of weight, a heavy one fell off your shoulders at his affirmations. "How's the fit?" You ask, a relieved smile cracking across your face.

"It's perfect, how'd you get the measurements so close?" He asked, shifting the sleeve of the gi to pinch the body suit form his forearm, as if to demonstrate how flawless it was.

You dismissed his praise bashfully, scribbing in your notes. "I-It was easy," you insisted, knowing well it took nearly a week to calculate his growth ratio from the last measurements he'd taken. "Not even worth explaining."

"Well, you nailed it," He gushed, rushing his gloved fingers through the fur on his shoulders. "Thank you, this is all perfect."

"I'm so glad you like it." You beamed, heart swelling with pride. "Would you like any alterations to be made before I put on the finishing touches?"

"Actually, there is one thing," He admitted sheepishly, feeling ungrateful for even mentioning it. "I requested a weighted belt, this one feels pretty light."

"Oh, how could I forget!" You gasped playfully, stepping closer to him, grabbing him by the knot in his belt. Nibble fingers undid the knot and you slipped the ribbon off him, thgrowing it over your shoulder like it was nothing. Meanwhile, for the nth time today, Ojiro was reduced to a wide eyed, blushing mess.

Taking the belt with you, you pretending not to notice the top to his gi falling open, hanging at his sides, or the way his flustered stare followed you over to a nearby shelf. Digging into a box labeled 'M. Ojiro', you pulled out a small device before stepping over to your desk, laying the sash out flat.

Your client waited with baited breath as you ripped a seam abnd slipped a small disk into each end before sewing them back up. You then took the device and pried it in half, and then again into fourths. He paled, thinking you migght have broken it, but it all began to make sense when you began to attach the pieces to the sash. "There we go," You smiled, standing up and walking back over.

You pink cheeks, you wrapped your arms around his waist to position the belt, fingertips brushing his toned abdomen when you held his shirt in place. Finally, you tied the belt off, knoting it exactly like he had. Immediately, Ojiro could feel the weight shift in his center of gravity, putting a smile on his face. "Better?"

"Much better," He smiled, jagged canines gleaming in the energy efficient lighting.

"The weights on your belt are magnetic for easy removal," You begin to explain, lifting one of the ends and demonstrating how to detatch them. "They're made of steel and vaulcanized rubber," You say, reattaching them, before holding out your hand, wanting his. You continue explaining when he sets his hand in yours. "Your golves are made of that same spandex-carbon fiber blend and padded with rubber and steel on the palms, wrists, and knuckles. This adds weight to them like you requested, and it packs a punch."

"Damn..." He mouthes, balling his other fist, marveling at the small shiny circles on his nuckles.

"Your boots are also fitted with vaulcanized rubber soles and steel toes." You finish, pleased with the astonished expression on his face.

"Well, I can't thank you enough, (Y/N)," He grins, admiring himself. "Really, is there anyway I coluld repay you?"

You pause for a moment, weighing your options. You could ask for payment in the form of a date, but ultimately, if he didn't have feelings for you, that wouldn't go anywhere positive. "No, you don't have to do anything for me, you're appreciation is enough."

He gives you a sympathetic smile. "Are you sure there's nothing I could give you?"

"It was a labor of love," You sighed still cradling his hand, thumb brushuing over his steel knuckles. Qucikly you realized how your words could be mistaken and drop his hand. "L-Love for my job, that is!" He huffed out a laugh at your reaction. "S-So, was there anything else you needed or...?"

"Nope, I think that just about settles me," He replied with a kind smile, one you'd adored for so long now.

"Well, go ahead and change then," You suggested sadly. "I'll finish the alterations and have it read by tomorrow evening."

"Sounds great, I'll be by tomorrow." He nodded, turning back to the dressing room, leaving you alone with your jumbled thoughts. Before you have the chance to sort them, he's reemerging in his uniform, tie hung aroun his shoulders, undone, carrying his blazer and the garment case in his arms. "Thanks again, seriously."

You simply nodded, taking the case from him. "Anytime..." An awkward silence settled between the two of you and you knew the interaction was drawing to a close. "W-Well, I've got a lot of work to do, and I'm sure you're very busy, so..."

"I won't take up too much more of your time," He smiled sweetly, raising a hand up to brush a strand of hair from your eyes. "Forgive me for saying so but, your kindness and dedication to your craft is inspiring. It's so refreshing to see someone with the best interest of others at heart."

"Y-You think so?" You swooned, falling completely for his newfound charm.

"Mhm," He hummed fondly, the corners of his eyes crinkling with delight. "I think it makes you special." He addmitted happily. "Now, did you have something you wanted to ask me?"

How could he have possibly known? You hadn't exactly been subtle about your feelings, but surely you hadn't be that obvious, right? "I did but," You stammered, looking away timidly. "If you had something to ask me, you can go first..."

"Ladies first," Ojiro smirked, not a hint of condisention anywhere on him. "Then I'll go."

You silently cursed him, taking a shaky breath to ground yourself before shly peeking up at him. "If I'm so special, could someone like me ever have a chance with someone like you?"

His kind smile seemed to grow at your question as he inched closer. "I think any kind of person would count their lucky stars to have a chance with someone like you."

His words put honeyglow in your cheeks and you couldn't contain the joy that seemed out through the grin that cracked across your face. "That's probably the sweetest thing I've ever heard..." You gushed gleefully. "What were you going to ask?" You wondered with a knowing expression, praying you hadn't misread his intentions.

"Well..." He trailed, suddenly shy again after having upheld this charming facade for too long. "I-I was wondering if, since you went to such lengths for me..." He swallowed, trying to force the words that were stuck in his throat out. "I-If you'd let me take you out...?"

"Like on a date?!" You gasped, lunging forward, collecting his hands in yours and holding them to your chest.

"M-Mhm..." He nodded sheepishly, cheeks ears blushed. "I just think you're really sweet and I'd like to get to know you better..."

"I'd love to!" You joyously accept, throwing your arms around his neck, unable to contain your enthusiams any longer. To your delight, you could feel his arms snake around your middle. "But it'll have to wait a few days,"

"Why's that?" Ojiro asked, quirking a brow as he pulled away slightly to look at you.

"If you want your suit done by tomorrow, I have to knuckle down and finish it before I do anything else." You snickered, beaming up at him.

He thought for a moment. "if you ended your work day right now and we went out, how far would that set you back?"

"You'd probably be looking at Friday for pick up." You answer, glancing up as you fact check yourself. "Yeah, that's right."

With a sigh, his shoulders slumped. "What kind of ice cream do you like?"

"What about your suit?" You laughed, scrunching up your nose as his nudged against it and his tail wound around your ankle.

"It can wait, this is more important."

[robotlesbianjavert]

honest question... was there really nothing spinner could've done to save Shigaraki? i really dunno what Hori thought by one more step.

i guess hypothetically if spinner had tried to take shigaraki and run and then get murdered because he's on an actual island with some scary motherfuckers. then at least his effort could have meant something to shigaraki and help him fight AFO's control sooner? or something?

here's the thing, for me. a) the story doesn't really suggest another path that spinner could have taken that he denied, to make his failure something concrete. difficult to run away, again he's on an actual island. the guy he wants to save is the one being possessed so can't really take him anywhere, he'll just be possessed about it. can't go to the heroes cuz the heroes suck ass. at most he could have refused the extra quirks from AFO to remain under his own power, but then horikoshi would have had a harder time figuring out how to get spinner to kurogiri because he really needs characters to be strong enough to smash things aside in order to get to the next plot point.

and b) i can't imagine a scenario where spinner tries something and survives it. and frankly the story has taught me to recognize that acts of heroism, goodness, and kindness only matter if you survive them. kouta's parents die heroically against muscular and he's traumatized for it, but is fixed when deku fights muscular and survives it. nana's regret isn't abandoning her kid, but dying to AFO - deku of course survives his encounters with the guy. deku's ultimate heroic act is him psychically holding tenko's hands before he can decay his family in the fake made up world of his mind of memories that cannot be meaningfully changed cuz the family murder already happened, and nevermind that tenko's mom's first instinct was to run towards her child with her arms outstretched to try and save him, reassure him. but she was stupid enough to do that in real life and die for it! sucks to suck i guess.

let's be real. this whole thing was basically written in to make deku seem ultra good, despite doing very little. i can't really take it as a meaningful reflection of spinner's failures.

[owlf45]

started scrolling through candor and ended up rereading the whole thing. here's some things that I noticed that people didn't pick up on/didn't mention in comments (ordered from most interesting (IMO) to least):

chapter arcs & stages of grief

Roughly each of the 7 chapters in Candor embodies a different stage of grief (an extended model from the 5 stage model): shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, reconstruction, and acceptance. because grief is inherently messy, these stages are superfluous and sometimes a chapter cycles through multiple of these moods. but, generally, each chapter shines with each stage of grief. (funnily enough, this was not necessarily intentional; I broke up the chapters in terms of vibes and readability, but it turned out quite nicely.)

theme: growth, love, and the unsaid conflict b/t AFO & Yoichi

everyone picked up on the theme of self love, but really the theme is about love despite changing. its about growing up.

you see where this theme shows the failure of love when people grow in two different directions. Yoichi and AFO in chapter 3, for example:

“You lied to me,” All For One snarls. “I told you I would take care of you. I loved you, and you lied to me.”  “The person I loved died the minute you decided to kill for no reason!” Izuku snaps.  All For One reels. “What happened to the Yoichi that cared? What happened to you?”

And:

All For One watches him curiously. “I wonder how many times my adoring little brother will watch you die,” he says simply. “I wonder how long it will take before he realizes it was his fault he changed.” 

Versus Yoichi and Izuku in chapter 6:

“When you choose to love somebody, you choose to love a different version of them every day.” Yoichi looks sad. His hair curtains his face more than usual. “Maybe, when you wake up from this simulation, you will not be the same. Maybe the person who went into the simulation isn’t the one who will come out of it.” Izuku stares.  “If they love you,” Yoichi says, “they will choose to keep loving you.” “They can’t love someone who doesn’t exist anymore,” Izuku says, defeated.  “It exists, here, in your memories,” Yoichi replies. “And it exists in their memories too.” 

it is as blatant a metaphor for growing up as I could get without starting to wax poetry. it's about changing, becoming someone so different that recognizing you is difficult. yes, it is about loving yourself, but its about loving in spite of not being the person you were once comfortable being.

the line 'it exists, here, in your memories' ('it' meaning izuku) is also a little bit funny. izuku is quite literally in his memories when this line is spoken, but he is not the person he wants to be there (he is not who he was before the simulation): instead, he is unrecognizable, monstrous, and lost. it is supposed to be paradoxical. at the same time yoichi says, "it exists here, in your memories", 'it' does not exist in his memories— 'it' is dead. the contradiction lends itself to the theme of growth often being a confusing, uncertain period.

(note that Yoichi is speaking both times here. in chapter 3 he says he loved a person who died (a younger AFO who no longer exists, who didn't kill others). in chapter 6, yoichi says that when you love someone, you choose to love different versions of them as they come. here is as close as yoichi gets to confessing that he loves afo, still, even as he hates him. what makes chapter 3 fascinating is that afo says he loves Yoichi but means it shallowly and obsessively—he means he loves a version of Yoichi that is adoring, repentant, and reliant on afo. yoichi dies with his love completely unmentioned (it's not even in the narration), though it is far more real.)

inspiration from canon

there are a lot of references to the muscular fight, and the first time is when I introduce the readers to warring identities between izuku wanting to flee and wanting to fight (civilian Deku vs. hero Deku). this dialogue is actually directly from canon (the anime, at the very least). watching it inspired that whole part of the fic.

the fourth vestige & theme: perception

less for candor, more for the series in general: people wildly overestimate the 'evilness' or twistedness of izuku's fourth vestige in perception, which is my fault because I made aizawa the POV and the man is notoriously paranoid and harsh. his personal feelings do melt into the narration quite a bit which paint a brutal picture (which I did on purpose but I underestimated how seriously people took aizawa's POV), so ill talk a little bit from behind the scenes. i find the fourth vestige to be cunning, analytical, and sort of the mastermind behind canon!izuku's brains. civilian-izuku can memorize tons of facts, but obviously, he's not much of a planner. he tends to go about things in a very headstrong way, as seen by how he mindlessly throws himself into the simulation. UA izuku (the fourth) is more creative. but much like the other vestiges, he is scared and doesn't want to be left behind. he takes satisfaction when he's seen as a person, a worthy hero, a challenge. as a result, he's much like a peacock, posturing in the way izuku does at UA to seem confident and in control, though pushed to an extreme because its hosted in a single vestige. the line that gets twisted in aizawa's POV the most, I think, is this one, where UA Izuku says this to civilian (Aldera) deku:

UA Izuku holds his hand out to the other. “I don’t want to hurt people any more than you do.” And the lie is so, so smooth.

which, if you think about it for a second, is probably not an unrealistic lie for... well, anyone. civilian Deku would cry if he stepped on a ladybug. here UA izuku is charming, knowing that civilian Deku is twitchy, frightened, and difficult to pin down, and needs to be reassured of UA Izuku's goodness and kindness. UA Izuku, understanding how explosive the other two vestiges are, has to think creatively to minimize conflict and does that by seeking out the one most likely to hurt himself to keep him safe (I find UA izuku would be the least likely). now, would UA izuku be willing to hurt others? probably, if it meant keeping himself and others safe. but that's not an evil value. hence why I titled perception the way I did... not just because more things are happening that were never seen in candor, but also because Aizawa himself, our POV and our muse for the day, brings his own biases to the table.

theme: grief, again

explaining the up-and-downs of each chapter is super complicated and circumstantial, so I wont for all of them, but I wanted to talk about chapter 3 (again! I guess it has my heart). it has a heavy focus on the warmest, most compassionate characters (fifth and seventh). as hinted above, it is also the 'anger' stage of grief. much of the chapter is about this compassionate love, but its also about loss, and the anger that accompanies it. chapter three starts with izuku whole and ends with him in pieces as he loses parts of himself in parallel of fifth/seventh's memories. candor is constantly ending at an arc where it started (but with its occupants changed, different). the material in each chapter and between chapters is circular/repetitive, much like grieving is.

fun fact, i guess

the first scene in candor is not the first scene that izuku goes through. the very first line says as much: "It’s the third time Izuku’s hit the pavement face-first... And it’s his third time dying today." It's implied that Izuku's already been at it for a while in different scenes, though it's subtle. no one seemed to pick up on that in the comments until it was shown in perception. i wanted it to be very evident what the crux of the conflict in the fic was, however, so I started with the jumping-out-the-window scene.

i dont believe this is a super inclusive look at everything candor has to offer, but here's a few things i could think of right off the top of my head. again, this is what I was thinking about when I wrote it, but I am but one person, so conveying these points might not be obvious or done poorly. nevertheless, if you ever decide to go back and reread parts of it, I hope some of my decisions are enlightening and/or interesting!!

[maybeitsalivescribbles]

Hey! Hope your having a good day! If you want to, could you do a story where a supervillain typically goes easy on a group of rookie heroes, as he usually fights them just for fun, and could destroy them if he wanted.

He just lets them think they can beat him.

Then, something happens (maybe they cross a line, and one of the heroes tries to stop their team from crossing that line but they don't listen) where the supervillain shows them just how powerful he actually is?

Sure. Do you mind if we stop for ice cream?

*

A Taste of Revenge

“You’ll never get away with this!” yelled one of the three Heroes from afar.

Supervillain smiled and just waved at them while flames and energy beams hit his forcefield without leaving a scratch. It was, in fact, the third time this month he was getting away with this.

The heroes were all new, of course. The town was too little for the closest hero agency to care about what was happening here, so they’d only sent their three youngest. Sometimes they popped in while he was minding his business. They always thought they’d found a way to break through his defenses, and were always wrong. He didn’t care much, amused by these three overgrown teenagers who were looking equally embarrassed and proud of their muscles, trying to speak loud to cover their awkwardness. There was no use hurting them. The hero agency would have sent someone competent in their place. If Supervillain was only mildly inconvenienced by them, and they were convinced to gloriously fight against evil, everyone was happy.

It was sunset. There was no time to sleep before another night’s work, but enough to take a break. Supervillain went home, put his citizen clothes on, called his cat who jumped on his shoulders, and went in his favorite ice cream shop. Coincidentally, it had a magnificent view on the shiny new heroes headquarters.

The door bell rang. The shop owner raised her head and smiled at him. He was a usual customer.

“Hello, Citizen.”

“Hello, sir. Hello to you two,” she added, nodding politely to his pet.

Supervillain smiled in return. To make sure he wouldn’t be ever recognized, he’d gotten a cat. Mister Whiskers was more than happy to follow him in his ice cream adventures, especially since Supervillain was the one who walked for them both. People asked to pet the kitty sometimes, but never gave his face a second glance.

“What will you take, sir?”

Supervillain pondered for a moment, answering then:

“When I was eight, my mother took me to see the ocean for the first time. I want three scoops of that memory flavor in a cup, please.”

“Right away, sir.”

She took a cup that she filled three times with white ice cream, then gently set her opened palms over it and closed her eyes. The scoops changed into a lovely turquoise. Mister Whiskers mewed with anticipation, opening and closing his mouth.

“And for the cat?”

“A kid scoop of Oyster-Caviar, lactose-free.”

She gave his orders to him. Supervillain thanked her and settled in his usual corner. While Mister Whiskers ate his own treat like he hadn’t already eaten thrice today, Supervillain took his time, glazing by the window. For the Heroes headquarters, it was the end of the day. Secretaries were pouring down the establishment. He looked at them with interest, wondering how many people was needed to manage three baby heroes. Sometimes they went in the ice cream shop, looking harassed, not giving him a second look. They never stayed long. It was just enough for him to memorize their faces and note their schedules.

Supervillain bit his lip to hide his smile when he saw the Heroic Trio getting out of the agency, their faces crumpled. Every time he saw them by the window, he wondered what would happen if they were coming here. Today, he realized that he was going to find out. After pausing, all three opened the door and went into the line that had been forming.

Supervillain took a spoonful of ice cream. It melted on his mouth as lightly as foam. It was a flavor of pure joy, with an aftertaste of melancholy. These holidays had not lasted long. Why rush his break, then? He was more than convinced that he wouldn’t get noticed, and if he was, well, that was too bad for the customers. Most of them didn’t linger anyway. They thanked Citizen and went out, hastily eating out outside, maybe because the Heroic Trio grumbled louder and louder about the wait. The line went down quickly until the moment a little boy asked for a cone.

“I can make all the flavors you want in the world, young man,” said Citizen. “Every memory, every feeling, every object, the weather, time itself, everything has a taste.”

The little boy thought long and hard, reading out loud the suggestions. After fifteen minutes, he made his choice:

“Chocolate.”

Ignoring the loud groans behind, he was about to merrily go out, when one of the heroes caught him by the shirt:

“You haven’t paid, kid.”

“She gives it to me for free,” explained the boy, pointing at Citizen.

“Really? Why is that?”

The kid shrugged, licking his cone.

“Sometimes, I do the dishes.”

“He’s right,” intervened the shop owner. “He’s done nothing wrong, let him go.”

Hero released the kid, who went away trotting and licking his prize, and turned back to the owner with a frowning face:

“What sort of business are you running here?”

Citizen raised an eyebrow:

“I don’t understand.”

“Do you see these suits, ma’am?”

“Well, yes-”

“That means we’re heroes. He-roes, you understand? We protect you all day, putting our lives in danger for you. We’ve just escaped the most dangerous criminal of this town. We’d like to give us a little respect.”

“But I didn’t-”

“You made us wait to indulge a kid who can take anything he wants? It’s bad business practice. Terrible, even. How can you make profits like that? It’s a wonder this shop is still open.”

The three heroes towering over her, the woman tried to look at Supervillain, the only customer remaining, but he avoided his gaze. He wasn’t about to blow his cover for that. Furthermore, Mister Whiskers had finished his cup and was now interested in Supervillain’s ice cream. He put it away, but as he avoided the cat’s insistent paws, he was still listening to the conversation, quietly readjusting his perception of his self-proclaimed foes. Kids they were, but bullies are of every age. He heard them making their choice (one Nova scoop, two Oncoming Storm scoops, one First Prize cup), and refusing to pay.

“ If you give free food to the bloody kid, I think you can afford to give us a free pass, too.”

The shop owner made the effort to laugh, throwing her red braid off her shoulder.

“You have a good sense of humor,” she said politely.

“I’m not joking.”

Ah, thought Supervillain, there you go. Citizen raised her tone, but they laughed at her:

“What are you going to do, use your power?”

“That’s not our fault if all you can do is ice-cream flavor', said another. “I’m sorry you can’t be a Hero, but not everyone is born equal, don’t take it on us.”

Supervillain stared at his blue ice cream melting, waiting for the shop seller to burst in tears and give in. That didn’t happen. Instead, she clenched her fists and said:

“I am more useful than you.”

The booming laughter of the Heroic trio filled the room, but the shop owner was fed up. She hit the counter with her little hand and yelled, covering their voices:

“I feed children who are hungry. I give people the taste of things they’ve forgotten and can’t have otherwise. I give people shelter when they need it. You’ve just set foot in the neighborhood and do nothing but cause property damage. I am the better Hero. Now get out of my shop.”

The laughs died out. With a stony face, one of the heroes went behind the counter, pushing her away, and took their orders by force.

“Keep telling yourself that,” he said.

The doorbell rang when they left. A heavy silence fell.

The shop seller rocked slightly on her heels, burying her face in her hands. Supervillain looked at her, then at his now melted ice cream. His mom had offered him to see the ocean to cheer him up. He remembered why, too. Because of the day before. A school day. A bitter taste in his mouth. The wall behind his back. Kids with frowning looks and mocking smiles.

“Forcefield is not even a real power.”

“You’re so uncool.”

“What can you do, uh? Hiding like the coward you are?”

Supervillain sighed, shaking his head. No, that wouldn’t do at all.

He stood up, holding out a handkerchief to the ice cream seller. She took it without looking at him. While she blew her nose, he turned his eyes towards the Hero headquarters, looking at the Heroic Trio walking away.

“They’re kids,” he said. “They don’t know a lot of things.”

“That doesn’t give them an excuse to-”

“I know. They have no respect for powers that aren’t flashy enough for them. They’re the kind of people thinking that forcefields are for defense only.”

He smiled. All the windows on the first floor of the Hero headquarters exploded.

People screamed in the streets. The Heroic Trio came back running despite the glass shards flying, trying to localize the culprit.

“They have no imagination,” he explained pleasantly at the shop owner, who was looking at the scene with wide eyes. “They don’t know how impenetrable shields that can be projected from everywhere could be used otherwise.”

He glanced at the building now cut in two, shaking his head:

“I mean, how can they realize that this kind of shield could pierce any matter like a knife through hot butter?”

The heroes wanted to rush towards the headquarters, but bounced back. The forceshield was now covering the whole building, slightly buzzing. It didn’t stop there. It got tighter and tighter until the walls cracked and collapsed under the pressure.

“People inside-” squeaked Citizen.

“It’s the end of the day, my dear.”

The heroic trio was running around, getting people away, swearing and not knowing what to do. The forcefield didn’t vanish until the building was in ruins. Only then Supervillain turned towards the show owner. She flinched hard, but he only pulled out his wallet.

“Now, how much do we owe you?”

*

Back to the Hero x Villain Masterlist.

[antianakin]

Am I the only one who just lost any and all love for newer Star Wars material due to Jedi hate ? Like- the only merch or show or even FANDOM topic I get involved in is clone wars stuff and MAYBE TBB. Like- why would I want the watch shows who attempt to rewritte canon and portray the very heroes of Star Wars as the bad guys ?

Why would I want to watch shows that assassinate characters left and right (looking at you, Ahsoka and Sabine) ? Why would I want to buy merch of characters who I not only NOT care about, but who also are used as meta mouthpieces for stupid Jedi hate ?

I think there's TONS of good newer Star Wars material, to be honest.

I loved the Kenobi show and it is arguably one of the most pro Jedi pieces of media to have existed since the Prequels films. Aside from one itty bitty somewhat awkward word choice in one line of one episode, there is absolutely NOTHING in that show that can be used to indict the Jedi or blame them for anything and it is arguably one of the only shows to really spend time MOURNING the Jedi and recognizing the horror of what was done to them. Rebels comes closest after this, but its structure makes it a little less visceral than the Kenobi show was to me.

I really adore Visions and I recognize that this is sort-of Star Wars adjacent more than anything else, but SO LITTLE truly understands what makes Star Wars compelling as a story and really hits on those primary themes the way that Visions does. There's SO MUCH Jedi content in Visions and I remember people complaining about how much Jedi content was in Visions and other people responding that if you were given free reign to just play in the Star Wars sandbox with near zero restrictions on what you could make with it, you would probably ALSO immediately go for the psychic space wizards with laser swords. Who WOULDN'T? Visions also just genuinely has some of the most engaging and heart-wrenching stories to come out of Star Wars in a LONG while and it does it in these beautifully animated 15 minute packages. It's such a gem and I am so glad to be alive at the same time as Visions.

Rogue One is older now, but both Rogue One and Andor, despite having zero actual Jedi in them, really hinge on the themes from the Prequel trilogy about the tragedy in the Star Wars universe, stepping up when no one else will, choosing to be selfless and compassionate for the greater good, etc. Faith and hope are MASSIVE themes within these two works and even though there aren't any space wizards, good or evil, in either story, they feel like some of the most pro Jedi things Star Wars has come out with in a while based on thematic messages ALONE.

The Mandalorian's first two seasons actually have this absolutely BEAUTIFUL story about the selfless sacrifice of one man as he gives up everything in order to help this child find his way back to the culture he'd been ripped from. Everything AFTER that regarding Grogu and Din's storyline is a piece of shit (it's not explicitly anti-Jedi or anything, but it undoes a lot of the things that made their story so compelling and beautiful), but the first two seasons are genuinely GOOD and very pro Jedi in a lot of ways despite the lack of many actual Jedi characters.

The Book of Boba Fett is a terrible show for a LOT of reasons, but shockingly none of them have anything to do with its treatment of the Jedi. If it ever ends up with a season two, I desperately hope they leave Mace Windu's name the fuck out of it, but at this point it is a pretty Jedi neutral show if you're willing to deal with the rest of its bullshit.

Rebels is also somewhat older now, and it has a few lines here and there that are a tad more Jedi critical, but it is by and large VERY Jedi positive and does also follow a lot of the themes of selflessness and sacrifice that go along with being a Jedi. It also has themes of mercy and patience and facing your fears in Sabine's storyline that got entirely thrown away in her later storyline. Just thought that was worth pointing out. For reasons.

TBB is also fairly Jedi neutral, but its treatment of the clones is basically the clone version of being anti Jedi, so I'm not sure it's actually any better. It just traded hating on the Jedi to hating on the clones, and I find that just as distasteful.

I can't really speak to things like comics and novels much since I don't tend to consume them really. I've read a few of the adult novels in the High Republic Phase I and the first one was genuinely very good, but there were some relatively heavy-handed Jedi critical themes within the third book of Phase I (The Fallen Star) that put me off of it a little. I haven't continued into Phase II or III at all, so I have no idea if those themes got continued in later books. I've heard generally good things about the Padawan book, I think.

The Cal Kestis video games, Fallen Order and Survivor, also have their small Jedi critical moments, but much like Rebels, it has these massive overarching themes and messages about compassion and selflessness and sacrifice and facing your fears and mercy. They are immensely Jedi positive in a lot of ways and I really enjoyed both of them.

So out of everything I have seen (and know about) the only stuff that's truly heinously and insultingly anti-Jedi is the Ahsoka show, the Acolyte, and Tales of the Jedi. Three shows and like 30% of one book. Out of a list of like ten different shows and one film and some books and video games. It's not even really HALF of the content we've been getting recently.

A lot of people talk about the Disney era like it's ruined Star Wars, or like nothing it releases has ever been good. But it just straight up isn't true. It's a little insulting to all of the genuinely wonderful work that is being done by all of these other creators to just brush aside everything that's been coming out recently as awful and bad because some of the MOST recent things have been pretty explicitly hateful towards the Jedi. It's not fun that we had the Ahsoka show immediately followed by the Bad Batch followed by the Acolyte. I hate that, too, it feels like we're on this neverending shitshow of stories explicitly aimed at hating a group of characters for no obvious good reason. But I don't think that the last 6 months or so of bullshit should overshadow some of the really beautiful stories we HAVE gotten within the last several years.

If you feel like things are getting difficult, maybe do a "good Star Wars" marathon of sorts. Watch the Prequels, followed by the Kenobi show, then Andor, then Rebels, then Rogue One, then the Original trilogy. This one long beautiful story of people stepping up to fight against selfishness and greed and darkness no matter what.

Or go rewatch Visions or read some of your favorite fanfics and remember all the things about Star Wars that are just universally cool and compelling across the world. Hell, you can try writing something of your own! Anything! A lot of my AU concepts stemmed from spite and really helped me feel a little bit better about Star Wars when it sometimes felt like I was just surrounded by the parts of it I liked the least. Go buy yourself a cool t-shirt or some fun jewelry. Find some pretty stickers and put it on a water bottle or an enamel pin to put on a canvas tote bag or a corkboard.

Curating your fandom experience goes beyond just the internet. There's a reason I am boycotting the Acolyte and it isn't because I think Disney or its creators are going to care at all. I'm doing it for ME, because I had such a shitty time watching the Ahsoka show and it made me so miserable each week that I seriously think I will be better off just leaving it the hell alone and just absorbing whatever ends up crossing my dash from a distance. I only participate in Star Wars fandom servers that I feel safe in and only really get into discussions with personal friends who I know well. If participating in Star Wars fandom is making you sad, maybe take a step back or find a way to create your own corner of fandom that feels better. Ignore the damn Ahsoka show, pretend it never existed. Ignore the Acolyte. Ignore Tales of the Jedi. Ignore Filoni-related bullshit. Focus on the parts you DO like, or give yourself the space to remember why you liked it in the first place.