threadingtheneedle

[tallykale]

episode 19

as you can probably tell, i've thought a lot about what post-canon one would look like in my vision... i've said before that i have issues with straightforward fix-its, and i do genuinely love the tragic open-ended conclusion that the series has, but i... am not immune to playing with characters like dolls LOL

here's some writeups about where everyone is at mentally in these pictures. please please please PLEEEASE feel free to ask me more about this cuz i love talking about my beautiful mind palace

charlotte: somehow the most optimistic person in here, mostly out of necessity. when she died, she saw parker leading her out of a cave as her waiting room and was about to take his hand when airy respawned her, so she has a brief moment of bonding with bryce when he talks about the waiting room and seeing stella. with the knowledge that there is potentially a way to get out (bryce and liam being the proof) and the fear of rotting away again she is by far the most actively motivated to help liam figure out the computer. a lot of her days are spent talking to liam over the mic and writing out the code in the dirt so she can try to understand it. she still has to push against her natural misanthropy (and often shouts at liam or bryce for being fucking stupid and useless) but both working on the code and helping amelia give her something concrete to focus on outside herself. she wants to get home so she can make amends with her friends. charlotte is scared of dying! she's really genuinely horribly scared of dying and has awful vivid nightmares about rotting away. she often pushes amelia into talking about her life which causes some tension, but it's because she really hates seeing amelia lose herself like that - a metaphorical rotting away of the self.

subway seat & atom: not on the same level of pure existential depression as the batch 1 contestants, but they both feel the hopeless mood pretty harshly regardless. subway feels very lonely as the only hidden object still 'awake', and likes to carry whippy creamy around rather than just leave him sitting on the ground constantly. tray is too big and unwieldy for him to do that with, but he 'hangs out' with her anyway, talking to her and whippy creamy in the hopes that it'll get them to want to wake up again. atom doesn't talk much, but he still carries his piece of grass. he's definitely the person who's the least affected by the prospect of being stuck on the plane forever, since he… doesn't really perceive existence in the same way as everyone else? he's an atom. but his time in the competition definitely made him view everyone else as friends, and he feels even more powerless than usual in the face of this incomprehensibly difficult problem.

amelia: falls into total hopelessness when bryce rejoins, basically seeing it as the final sign that they're never going home. still calls everyone their competition names (she actually gets into a big fight with bryce about it lol). she gets really clingy and dependent on bryce when he first comes back but it crashes and burns pretty quickly when, during an argument, bryce tells her how much he wishes he could just go back and never have let liam in and forgot about everything… which really sucks for amelia to hear, given that she's part of that everything. after that, with bryce isolating himself, she's kind of reliant on charlotte to keep her going. she blames liam for airy dying and secretly kind of thinks he killed him but just isn't telling them… she also doesn't really believe there's any way of getting out and is just kind of waiting around to die of, like, old age i guess. after how long she's been here, amelia is convinced that she has nothing to even go back to and frequently forgets details about her life. regularly cries and hates being alone. the shift markings on the side of the water tub have changed from being a way to keep track of time and stay sane to a horrible reminder of how long they've been here and how much longer of an eternity they have before them.

bryce: hates himself and liam and airy and the plane and his entire stupid fucking life. bryce is really, really fucking pissed off at liam for losing the notes and letting texty die and every other mistake he's made, and isn't shy about telling him that. as well as being angry, he's also incredibly miserable, because he was finally starting to turn his life around (he quit drinking after the plane) and now it's all for nothing - and even worse, those 7 months he spent getting better were 7 months he did nothing to help the rest of them, especially amelia. he's horribly guilty about that, and that he didn't tell amelia about the fake votes before he was eliminated… but finds it easier to just let liam take the heat for that one at first. after he fights with amelia about it he becomes a bit of a hermit, hanging out by himself next to the plug, and never responds when liam tries to talk. contemplates suicide regularly but pretty much the only option is drowning himself, and the idea of that still scares him more than staying like this forever. would kill for a beer.

liam: tortured by horrible guilt every day over a million different things. these include getting bryce pulled back into this (plus delayed guilt over getting him for real killed), letting texty die and not saying anything about the charger, not telling amelia that everything was fake, knowing that charlotte is going to die if he doesn't get really smart really fast… he's frequently gripped by fits of rage where he almost smashes the computer and has to hobble around outside with the axe for a while to blow off steam. he has really bad nightmares and dissociative episodes, made worse by the isolation and spending hours in a dark cave. liam really wants to fix things with everyone but genuinely has no idea how to start that conversation. he assumes airy killed himself (and views it as an unforgiveably cowardly move) and directs a lot of resentment towards him. he has a lot of things he wants to say, especially to bryce, but the fact that he cant talk to anybody one on one makes things difficult. spends a lot of time just reading through the code, too afraid to actually make any changes in case everyone explodes, but talking it through with charlotte at least makes him feel like he's doing something. more than he would like to admit, liam catches himself staring at the plane as if it's a simulation or a livestream.

[ao3feed-kiribaku]

Come Back to Me

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/7NUokmW by Caffeine_Addict3 Denki coughs and fully sits up, looking around. It’s not much better but less bright. He takes in his surroundings becoming even more confused. “Yeah… Why am I in a hospital?” “Oh. You had a villain encounter and you hit your head pretty badly. Don’t worry, we fixed most of the damage. Though you may experience some intense headaches. That is normal. You also have some intense bruising but no broken bones.” She moves to the end of his bed and grabs his chart, flipping some of the pages. “Now, I do have some questions I need you to answer. What is your name, hun?” “Uh, Kaminari Denki,” he rasps. “Good. What year is it?” “It’s, uh, 2030.” “Hmm,” she scratches something on the page. “Okay, and how old are you, Kaminari?” Denki’s head is pounding, but he forces the pain down. He is good at ignoring pain. “I’m sixteen.” ___________ Or Denki is hurt during a villain attack and is forced to forget the past twenty years of his life. Including his husband Shinsou Hitoshi. Words: 7627, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: M/M Characters: Kaminari Denki, Shinsou Hitoshi, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Eri (My Hero Academia), Bakugou Katsuki, Kirishima Eijirou, Sero Hanta Relationships: Kaminari Denki/Shinsou Hitoshi, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou Additional Tags: Memory Loss, Light Angst, Childhood Trauma, Eating Disorders, Hospitals, Kaminari Denki-centric, Shinsou Hitoshi-centric, Pro Hero Kaminari Denki, Pro Hero Shinsou Hitoshi, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead | Dadzawa, Married Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead and Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic Adopt Shinsou Hitoshi, Kaminari Denki is Bad at Feelings, Bisexual Kaminari Denki, Gay Shinsou Hitoshi, Shinsou Hitoshi Has Issues, Kaminari Denki Has Seizures, Selectively Mute Shinsou Hitoshi, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Anxiety Attacks, Panic Attacks, Kaminari Denki is a Ray of Sunshine, Kaminari Denki Needs a Hug, Not Canon Compliant, Aged-Up Character(s), Post-U.A. (My Hero Academia) read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/7NUokmW

[direwolfrules]

3 Mandos and a Baby AU: The Republic

For the first part of this AU things go according to canon for the wider Republic. Listen, they are four time traveling dumbasses who can barely manage to fix one sector, they’re not even going to attempt to touch that dumpster fire. When the Clone Wars break out they’re more than okay with hunkering down and trying to fortify Mandalore. Honestly, the survivors of the Siege of Mandalore could do with never seeing another plastoid covered clone in their lives.

Unfortunately for them Korkie’s a bleeding heart with a passionate hatred for slavery. He was partially raised by the force ghosts of Jaster Mereel and Myles the Mandalorian, two people who spent half their time screaming about the bastard slaver cowards who really killed Jango, long before Mace Windu’s lightsaber ever entered the picture, and 99, who tells Korkie such terrible stories about Kamino that he gets nightmares.

Korkie fucks off to Coruscant to deliver an address to the Senate. Everyone’s all tense because last they heard from the Mandalore system was there was a coup. Quite a few people are worried about whatever this barbaric, savage warlord is going to say. And what has he done to poor Duchess Satine?! (He gave her a “sorry for overthrowing your government” card, that’s what he did)

Korkie rolls up to the Senate dome in full armor, calls them all slaving monsters, and then pledges Mandalore to fight with Republic on the condition that they get at least partial control of Kamino’s security. They’re not going to be fighting for the Republic, Korkie says, they’re gonna be fighting for all the Mandalorian citizens they’ve enslaved for this war. (Clone freedom underground go brrrrr)

The Senate’s going crazy. One guy, maybe the Senator from Nemodia, questions what he’s done with good Duchess Satine and why should they entrust the source of their army to an illegitimate ruler? Korkie responds with “Honestly, do you all think I killed my aunt?” and sets the record straight but like, everyone comes away feeling nervous and with the impression that the Kryze family needs serious therapy.

Obi-Wan lets out the world’s tiniest sigh of relief upon hearing the news that Satine was okay. And also kinda surprised that she has a nephew because last he checked her and Bo-Katan didn’t have any siblings? Eh, she probably just adopted a more distant clan member or something.

Anakin’s not sure how to feel about the new Mand’alor. Like, the guy said he’d fight with them, and he made it really clear he hates slavery. Two massive pluses in his book. But he had rubbed the Chancellor the wrong way. Anakin’s knows this because Palpatine stopped Padme to chat about how much of a power grab Mandalore was making with these demands and how much of threat this was and stuff. And Anakin trusts the Chancellor. Plus, Obi-Wan’s been super freaked out since news of the coup hit the holo. Anakin is supposed to be the biggest source of stress in Obi-Wan’s life!

The Senate quickly comes to anticipate Korkie’s visits with a healthy combination of fear and awe. It seems like every time he shows up another dozen or so Senators are arrested for corruption related reasons. One time he just pops in to read off Orn Fre Taa’s crimes for over three hours. Each individual offense is read out, and when he gets to the slaving he reads out every name. Every goddamn name.

Bo can’t help but be proud and also a little sad, When he’s up there giving his passionate speeches about tyranny she’s reminded of another Korkie, one who may have lived had he not kept running back into the fires that night.

Anyway, Korkie’s always wearing armor and the helmet mic + they fact that this boy is tall makes him seem older than he is. The first time anyone outside of Mandalore sees him without his helmet he’s on the Coronet, escorting his Aunt Satine to go speak on his behalf on the issue of clone rights. The cast of who’s on the ship changes only slightly, Padme joins in place of Orn Fre Taa and Mandalore’s new senator is Vel Batin, who’s honestly just so cool and may or may not have adopted like seven vode.

Korkie takes off his helmet for dinner and everyone just kinda chokes cause that is a child. Well, except Obi-Wan. He chokes cause that is teenage him sitting across the way. Well, except the ears, but seriously what the hell? Anakin pulls a pro-gamer move and says something like “Huh, I didn’t know Mandalore had child politicians too. How old are you?”

And Korkie being a cheeky little shit answers 17 while putting on his best Kenobi smile, and then immediately goes back to texting Fenn about the new ad Bo totally isn’t adopting. Obi-Wan proceeds to have a mental breakdown over the salad, Satine is just left sitting there awkwardly, and Anakin and Padme are left sipping martinis while everyone else is confused what just happened and still reeling from the revelation that the Mand’alor is a teenage boy. Orn Fre Taa was thrown in prison by a teenage boy. The senate was read for filth by a teenage boy. Suddenly a lot of things make a lot more sense.

The GAR love Korkie. Like, when he shows up to the Senate every brother who’s able tunes in to watch his speeches. The Coruscant Guard have named him their official vod’ika. The 212th contest this on the grounds that he is their general’s biological son. The 501st just likes that he sent the Children of the Watch to the Kamino system just in time to save those stationed at Rishi base.

Palpatine’s attempts to discredit the kid or paint him as a savage monster Mando of old keep getting derailed by the fact Korkie’s just a genuinely nice kid with an excellent PR team (our favorite nameless theater kid found his calling). A holo recording of him giving Satine the “sorry I overthrew your government” card goes viral, people love that sheepish smile he has on. A whole news segment is dedicated to times he’s saved children/clones/government officials. Not to mention the cadre of animals that always follow him around.

[ao3feed-dadzawa]

Sic Semper Tyrannis

sic semper tyrannis by xaidyl

AFO hummed, lifting his foot over his head. "Any last words, Deku?" Kacchan. I'm so sorry, Kacchan. I promised I wouldn't give up, that I'd keep fighting for you, but– I can't. At least I'll see you soon. He swallowed– though his throat still felt really dry and hot– and he glared up at the grinning expression on Shigaraki's face. "Yeah," he rasped, using all the strength he had left to raise his middle finger to the sky. "Fuck you, All for One." The last thing he heard was a short, surprised laugh– before his head was suddenly crushed by the force of the villain's shoe– And then– There was nothing.

// Or, Izuku finds out he has a quirk that brings him back 24 hours before his death, so what's the rational thing to do? The easiest, least bloodiest- hah, not counting himself of course- method to saving the most amount of lives?

To kill himself over and over until he is eight years old to warn All Might before he ever gets injured of course! // Or or, I just wanted to throw together my favourite tropes, like vigilante!Izuku, time-travel fix-its, and more.

Words: 5893, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Multi, Gen

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Sensei | All For One, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Nedzu, Shinsou Hitoshi, Hatsume Mei, Monoma Neito, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor, Takami Keigo | Hawks, Bakugou Katsuki, Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya Inko, Dabi | Todoroki Touya, Bubaigawara Jin | Twice, Toga Himiko, Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Pro Heroes, Class 1-A, Hero Public Safety Commission

Relationships: Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Enji | Endeavor, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Midoriya Izuku & Nedzu, Hatsume Mei & Midoriya Izuku & Monoma Neito & Shinsou Hitoshi, Midoriya Izuku & Takami Keigo | Hawks, Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto, Bubaigawara Jin | Twice & Dabi | Todoroki Touya & Toga Himiko, Midoriya Izuku & Sensei | All For One

Additional Tags: Angst, Heavy Angst, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Suicide, Temporary Character Death, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Midoriya Izuku Has Issues, Midoriya Izuku Has a Time Travel Quirk, or so he thinks, Midoriya Izuku Needs A Hug, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Suicidal Midoriya Izuku, Vigilante Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Nedzu Friendship, Corrupt Hero Public Safety Commission, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor Redemption, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead is So Done, Married Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Protective Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Tired Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Midoriya Izuku-centric, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, no beta we die like izuku does in this fic

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43464385

[ao3feed-izuku-midoriya]

Sic Semper Tyrannis

sic semper tyrannis by xaidyl

AFO hummed, lifting his foot over his head. "Any last words, Deku?" Kacchan. I'm so sorry, Kacchan. I promised I wouldn't give up, that I'd keep fighting for you, but– I can't. At least I'll see you soon. He swallowed– though his throat still felt really dry and hot– and he glared up at the grinning expression on Shigaraki's face. "Yeah," he rasped, using all the strength he had left to raise his middle finger to the sky. "Fuck you, All for One." The last thing he heard was a short, surprised laugh– before his head was suddenly crushed by the force of the villain's shoe– And then– There was nothing.

// Or, Izuku finds out he has a quirk that brings him back 24 hours before his death, so what's the rational thing to do? The easiest, least bloodiest- hah, not counting himself of course- method to saving the most amount of lives?

To kill himself over and over until he is eight years old to warn All Might before he ever gets injured of course! // Or or, I just wanted to throw together my favourite tropes, like vigilante!Izuku, time-travel fix-its, and more.

Words: 5893, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Multi, Gen

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Sensei | All For One, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Nedzu, Shinsou Hitoshi, Hatsume Mei, Monoma Neito, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor, Takami Keigo | Hawks, Bakugou Katsuki, Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya Inko, Dabi | Todoroki Touya, Bubaigawara Jin | Twice, Toga Himiko, Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Pro Heroes, Class 1-A, Hero Public Safety Commission

Relationships: Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Enji | Endeavor, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Midoriya Izuku & Nedzu, Hatsume Mei & Midoriya Izuku & Monoma Neito & Shinsou Hitoshi, Midoriya Izuku & Takami Keigo | Hawks, Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto, Bubaigawara Jin | Twice & Dabi | Todoroki Touya & Toga Himiko, Midoriya Izuku & Sensei | All For One

Additional Tags: Angst, Heavy Angst, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Suicide, Temporary Character Death, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Midoriya Izuku Has Issues, Midoriya Izuku Has a Time Travel Quirk, or so he thinks, Midoriya Izuku Needs A Hug, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Suicidal Midoriya Izuku, Vigilante Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Nedzu Friendship, Corrupt Hero Public Safety Commission, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor Redemption, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead is So Done, Married Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Protective Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Tired Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Midoriya Izuku-centric, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, no beta we die like izuku does in this fic

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43464385

[geewritesshit]

Hiiii so I wanted to request something ,so it’s canon that shigaraki plays games ( probably a gamer) what if reader fucks shigaraki while he’s saying gaming terms lollll

ofc my dear! i don't know a lot of gaming terms tbh, so my friend benny helped me out. he wasn't 100% sure on all the terminology so i apologize if anything seems off, i did take a little artistic liberty :)

note: i had some fun with this and i apologize for any really bad grammatical issues i started writing this on my lunch break; also i don't know how i feel about this, but i'm trying to step outside of my comfort zone. so thanks for your request!!

pairing: sub!gamer!Shigaraki x femdom! Reader

cw: cockwarming, exhibitionism (a lil ig), incorrect use of gaming terminology (i'm so sorry)

A03 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32606554

tomura has been basically glued to his computer ever since himiko had introduced him to online gaming. you have to admit, it's cute getting to see him all riled up over something as silly as a video game, but that feeling is starting to fade. you want him to feel riled because of you.

"hi, baby. how's your game going?" you say softly to him as you kiss his neck from your place behind him. he shivers at the feather light skin to skin contact. tomura mutes his mic.

"i'm okay, pogchamp." he jokes to you, you roll your eyes.

"what does that even mean? it sounds stupid." you fix your tone so he can hear the slight pout in your voice.

"awe do you miss me, babe?" he snorts.

"yeah, i do," you say bluntly, "maybe you should sit on my cock and make me feel better about it." he breathes in sharply at your words. "you've been playing your games for days now and neglecting me... i think it's time you made me feel better about that."

tomura is breathing a little more heavily as he turns over your proposition in his head. he nods slightly.

"you can still play your game while i fuck you. i'll go get the strap."

"but..." he starts nervously, "if you fuck me i might have to keep my mic off."

"oh no, you can keep it on you just have to be quite, so your teammates don't hear you. wouldn't want them to know your a slut for your girlfriend's cock." he shivers again at your words.

"okay, baby, i'll be quiet. i want you to fuck me." you grin at his words. you turn to go grab the thick purple strap from your room.

when you reenter the room tomura is in you see that he has removed his sweatpants and is back to yelling at people over his mic.

"fucking scrub! do better, you're gonna get us killed, dick." his eyes are darting all over the screen and his face is lit up with a bluish hue. you tap his shoulder with the strap in your hand and he pulls his attention away from his game long enough to look you in the eyes and say, "pog."

you glare at the side of his head while you remove your jeans and pull on the harness. once everything is comfortable and situated correctly you tap his arm and pull him out of his chair so you can sit. while he's bent over his keyboard you take the opportunity run your hands up and down his back before settling on his ass to give it a squeeze.

you reach over to the side table next to his computer desk and grab the bottle of lube sitting on top of it. his body tenses when he hears the telltale click of the lube bottle opening. you rub a hand on his lower back to soothe him a bit before you pour a generous amount of lube onto your fingers. you force two fingers past the ring of tight muscle making him gasp, and almost forget that his mic is still on. you can hear a faint question being asked through his headphones.

"i'm all good," tomura says straining to keep his voice and breathing even as you pump your fingers in and out of his hole, "i just almost got fucking pwned." his voice pitches a bit towards the end as he swallows a whine when you finally find that spot that makes him see stars. he covers his silences his mic before turning to you to say, "can you take it a little easy on me so my friends don't hear?" you almost laugh but settle for a smug look.

"you want me to go easy on you, really?" you tug on his hips as a signal for him to move closer so you can position him right where you want him. you pour some more lube onto the strap, and start to push the thick head into tomura's hole.

"fuck, baby, it's so big. hnng, i love it when you fill me up; it feels so good. hah." his breathing deepens as his whines grow louder. he's moaning your name like a prayer as you guide him down your member until he's seated in your lap. "you're so deep in me, hah. i can't take it, hnng."

"if you really can't take it; i'll take it out. but if you want to keep going you're going to unmute your mic, and keep quiet while you sit on my dick." he nods, and moves to unmute his mic to resume playing.

"hey guys, i'm bac- FUCK." he half moans, half yells out the last word when you decide to thrust into him a little deeper. he's hunched over and panting quietly before whipping around to glare at you.

"what? i'm just getting comfortable." you say in a syrupy apologetic tone. "play your game, baby boy."

he turns back to his game apologizing to his teammates, saying his girlfriend was playing a joke on him and laughing with them. they pick up their game again, and tomura is perfectly content to sit on your cock while he plays game with his friends. when he seems a little too comfortable you'll grind into his ass, making him keen a bit into his mic.

"oh, i'm good i just thought someone was, hah, ghosting me, hnng." he's trying so hard to swallow his groans and whimpers, but you make him feel so good he can't help it. he pulls his headphones down around his neck, and angles his head so he can kiss you. "fuck, you make me crazy. ahhn, i'm getting rekt out there because of you, shit, hah, fuck." he's babbling trying to tell you just how good you make him feel.

he's bouncing himself up and down on your strap moaning out words you don't quite recognize, "our team is getting pwnd while you sit here fucking me," and "i'm gonna have to ask for a fucking rez." you don't even care what he's saying because he just looks so pretty falling apart on your cock... because you're the one who gets to fuck him and rile him up like this, not some fucking game.

"fuuuuck, i'm close. please fuck me harder." all to happy to agree you push both of you up, so you can bend him over his desk and fuck into him harsher making him scream and moan. you see his hand scrambling to jerk himself off. you lean forward to stage whisper in his ear.

"you can cum, baby boy. let me hear you." he shudders as he cums painting his desk with his semen. "good boy." you say against his neck.

"that was fucking pog, babe." he laughs as he pants against the table.

"fuck you, really?" you groan back, rolling your eyes

" you already did." he snorts. you both hear some yelling through his headphones.

"i guess you didn't mute yourself, tomura."

[kuikuri]

This happened a year ago (Oct 2020). Here's the first Twitter thread I made about it. I didn’t post the screenshots until now because I wanted time to think about it.

As briefly as possible, here’s what happened-- During Blacktober, I drew a Black racebend of Rio Mason Busujima (a canon mixed-race, Japanese-American character) from Hypnosis Mic Division Rap Battle. I wanted to post the art in a Hypmic fan-group. The group moderators said they would stop any antiblack comments. One commenter cries “blackwashing”, saying that the group mods should not allow this in the group. The mods delete my art. I tell the mods that I feel unsafe knowing that they gave in to antiblackness. Mods tell me that racism is too big of a problem for them to deal with, I should have known this would happen, and that I’m free to leave the group.

Here’s why this is an issue, especially for HypMic in particular:

Rap started in Black culture, and Hypmic makes use of it, even while there are no main characters in HypMic who are black (or even have dark skin).

And yet I love HypMic. I really do. And despite its flaws, I didn’t draw Black versions of the characters in an effort to “fix” anything. I did it because I want to be able to see a little more of myself in something that I love. Making a connection between my own blackness, and a series that uses black culture. It made sense to me. I’m hurt by what happened because I honestly expected a lot better from the fans of a series about rap music. HypMic fans cannot and should not forget that rap is a genre that started in Black culture. We need this fandom to do better by its Black fans.

Trying to keep a sense of neutrality and “understanding” in the face of antiblackness is not helpful, and it’s not allyship. Suggesting that Black people leave a space where they once felt safe, while harboring antiblackness, is not allyship. Making a comparison between Black art to pornography (screenshot 10) isn’t okay. Victim-blaming (screenshot 11, “you knew this kind of artwork would attract these people”) isn’t okay.

I've said it before on twitter. Black racebending and whitewashing/lightening are NOT a 1:1 parallel. Saying that they are the same completely ignores nuances and racial power differences. They come from completely different places, and completely different intentions. Whitewashing is from a place of malice, erasure, light-skin-centric beauty standards, colorism, and racism. Black racebending comes from a place of wanting to be represented/seen, relating to characters, and loving the source material as a black fan. They’re not the same.

I know I can't really change anyone's mind. But I want to bring attention to this problem in the fandom. If you claim to be an ally and you happen to enjoy HypMic: remember that HypMic is makes use of the culture, slang, musical styles, and aesthetics of Black rap musicians, and simply ignoring Black people in the fandom is, simply put-- pretty messed up.

[frienderbender]

E, 28, and 18 for Nikki?

Uncommon Questions for OCs and Their Creators

nikki time!

18. What embarrasses them?

she doesn’t necessarily get embarrassed easily because she’s good at playing it off in a charming way, but lots of unwanted and uncontrollable attention can make her cringe a bit. canon-compliant and notorious examples include times where rikki was drunk and causing some sort of scene that inadvertently put eyes on her. what he does reflects on her, etc. this is a point of contention in their relationship in canon

but for a sweeter and more general (but still canon-compliant) example, they’ve gone out to places before that had a lounge singer and rikki has quite often taken the mic and sang to her……she loves to be serenaded and he’s wonderful at it but oh my god rikki pls sit down can we have one evening without taking the mic from the performer😭

she LOVES attention but she likes to be in charge of getting it, if that makes sense.

28. Would they prefer a lie over an unpleasant truth? 

she thinks she’d prefer the truth but she would absolutely prefer a lie. just one of her bad habits. she makes up excuses for people/things and lets stuff slide rather than addressing the issue. out of sight, out of mind. but it’s also because if there’s an issue, in her head she’s like “i can fix this” without considering if she’s really capable of doing so. “just give me more time” etc etc.

E) Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you?

i mean i’d be lucky if she even looked at me irl. i would absolutely be a fan of hers. catch me making a nikki cooper-jacobucci stan account as if this blog isn’t that already i’d like to think we’d get along, though. we have similar interests and she’s a blast to gossip with, so we’d at least have SOME stuff to talk about haha

[lulzyrobot]

Pokemon Dynamorph AU Masterpost

Based on THIS POST 

The short of this AU is that the climax of the Eternatus fight had an even more profound effect on the Galar region and its people. The excess energy made people fuse with their pokemon! Oh boy! So below the cut I’m going to outline all the ideas behind this AU thanks to everyone’s asks showing an increasing curiosity about all this! I’m used to writing original content, nothing based on an existing property so bare with me…

Events Leading Up to The Dynamorph Event

So for this AU, the events of the game leading up to the Eternatus conflict are the SAME except for some details. 

Gloria/Victor and Hop never encounter Zacian or Zamazenta. The Rusty Sword and Shield were lost to time.

When Leon goes to confront Eternatus, he is joined by everyone up on the roof. The Gloria/ Victor, Hop, Bede, Marnie, the Gym Leaders (minus Opal because she’s back in Ballonlea enjoying retirement.) 

This confrontation happens AFTER Gloria/ Victor beats Leon, for simplicity’s sake.

So when everyone confronts Eternatus, thanks to Rose’s eager impatience to do good for the Galar region, they are unable to stop it properly since Zacian and Zamazenta are nowhere to be found. Instead, the combined efforts of everyone force Eternatus to flee.

But not without releasing an overwhelming blast of Dynamax energy.

The blast rippled throughout a portion of Galar, and had a chain reaction with power spots and the dens of the Wild Area. When the dust settled, the pokemon everyone had out that they were using in the big fight were...gone. Not in their pokeball, just..gone. Naturally, people assume the worst but they have a lingering feeling that the Pokemon are still...here somehow. But they don’t know why. So when everyone’s calmed down, and clean up begins, they all go their separate ways.

About a day passes, and then it starts to happen. From the time of the blast and when the changes start to happen externally, everyone experiences some oddities superficially (better hearing, acute sensitivity to stuff etc.)

 Leon was in his newly acquired office and the just obtained Battle Tower. He had the blind closed, sat in the darkened room thinking over everything that happened, and his loss of the Champion title. When the changes started happening, he nearly burned the office, leaving claw marks in his desk, the floor, and the walls. The noise attracted someone from the Battle Tower staff and he yelled at them in panic to call Sonia. His own phone started ringing. It was Hop.

Gloria/ Victor (I separate them cuz it's more of a ‘who you imagine in this role.’ Can only have one Champion) were being briefed on Champion duties and what that entails. It’s a boring meeting, but they excuse themself to go to the bathroom. In reality they duck away outside to just get a breather. They suddenly feel a sharp pain and start to change, probably biting into their arm to muffle any scream to prevent causing a scene.

Bede headed back to Ballonlea, distraught that Hatterine was nowhere to be found. He wanted to distract himself by continuing his gym leader training, but Opal sat him down for some tea to talk about grief and loss. She’s way older and definitely has experience in that field. What she doesn’t have experience in, is what to do when your protege starts growing traits of a pokemon…

Hop, after that whole ordeal, missing Dubwool, and having lost the gym challenge just had so many feelings to vent out, he wanted to just scream. So he heads deep into the Slumbering Weald to just scream out his frustrations. When he sits down after tiring himself out, his changes start happening. In pain, scared, and alone, he calls Leon.

Marnie went back to Spikemuth with Piers. Team Yell welcomed them with open arms and gave them the idea to have a tribute concert for the pokemon they believe they lost. Marnie declined, electing to stay at home and be alone for a while. She didn’t want to be around people right now. Then her changes started happening, and she uncontrollably let out a burst of electricity, causing an outage in Spikemuth. 

Piers, meanwhile, was setting up for an impromptu concert. He dealt with his feelings by doing literally anything to distract him from them so yelling into a microphone for a couple hours seemed like a good idea. Just as he was about to test the mic, a huge power surge came from his place and shut down all of Spikemuth’s power. Concerned for his sister he runs off stage, taking alleys as a shortcut. In his adrenaline he doesn’t even realize his changes started until he tripped over his own new claws and writhes just outside their place.

Raihan, being in Hammerlocke, wastes no time in helping with the clean up. While at the highest point in the city, he and his gym trainers were hard at work. Until Raihan collapsed, trying to hold himself up with his broom. His trainers looked on in concern and horror as he began changing, even starting up a sandstorm in the process. As a result, one trainer almost gets pushed off the roof but, bearing through the pain, Raihan leaps in and grabs them in time.

Gordie and Melony head back to Circhester. On the way, they had talked a lot about their issues and gripes that had torn a rift in their family, in earnest. The assumed loss of their pokemon worked as good common ground to remind them about the importance of family. They were both at Melony’s home when it happened. The heat and cold put a completely new kind of barrier between the two.

Bea wanted to get her mind off everything that happened by training in the outskirts of Stow-on-Side. She pushed herself too far, and her pokemon urged her to stop. But she fought them off. At first with difficulty, but then as her changes happened, more easily. Her pokemon backed off and started looking for help.

Alister, figuring that his Gengar maybe wandered off on its own again, headed to the graveyard during the night. One of Gengar’s favourite spots. For a moment, Alister thought he heard Gengar’s chuckle and it’s cry but turned to see nothing. Something compelled him to look down at himself and he could see himself becoming translucent and a suspicious shade of purple. He had always had an affinity with ghosts but becoming one was something else entirely. Ensue panic attack.

Kabu returned home to quietly meditate and think rationally about everything that happened. In a trance-like state, he could feel Centiskorch right there next to him. He felt at peace. The smell of burning snapped him out of it, however when he realized he, as well as a good part of the room, was on fire. He quickly escaped, realizing the fire didn’t hurt him. 

Nessa just wanted to be alone, so back at Hulberry, she walked along the docks, shrouded in early morning fog. Her changes started happening, but she really only felt itchy as the scales came in. Upon checking her phone, did she herself in the screen’s reflection and freak out.

Life moves on and Milo had a farm to tend to. His family urged him to take a break but he smiled back at them and assured them he was okay. He wasn’t. While working was when his changes happened. His whole family rushed to his aid. And again, through a smile, he insisted he was okay.

Oleana was working feverishly on getting money together for lawyers and bail money to get Rose out of his self-imposed jail sentence. She knew all he wanted was good for the region, but he was just too blind to see the potential damage he was causing. She wanted him to have a second chance. But her changes slowed her down. 

Rose, in a cell, reflected on his actions. How rash he was that he didn’t see the big picture. He should’ve listened. When his changes happened in his cell, he was horrified. Not at what happened to him, but what was no doubt, happening to the others. And probably more. What had he done? He needed to fix his mistake. 

The ones present at the event were not the only ones to change, however. This was happening all over the region, closer to power spots (which includes the towns, but the morphs aren’t all as drastic) and the wild area (trainers fused with wild pokemon and went hostile. This is covered in depth in another section). After one of the quickest trials, Rose had offered to the court that instead of a full prison sentence, he spent his entire resources and wealth into funding on solving this new, now coined ‘Dynamorph Crisis.’ They agreed and the Macro Cosmos got to work.

How the Dynamorph Actually Works

Bare with me because this is where I kind of bend canon and make assumptions about things for the sake of explaining how this AU even works. So. Eternatus caused all this by basically converting things into energy. On humans, it would just tear them apart. On pokemon it would just turn them into dynamax energy temporarily. The normal situation is that dynamaxing makes the pokemon grow and change form, yeah? Well for this AU, the pokemon, seeing that their trainers are potentially going to die, decide to fuse with them to ‘fill in the gaps.’ Saving them. At first, it appears like they were able to change into the parts missing, but after a while, the pokemon traits start showing, which is my excuse for why the actual changes were delayed. 

The severity of the dynamorph is dependent on proximity to the blast/ powerspot. And just personal preference if you wanted to make your own trainersona dynamorphed (which I totally encourage! It’s fun and I like seeing what you all come up with!!). 

Dynamorphed trainers gain the physical traits, special abilities, movesets and odd quirks that come with the pokemon they are dynamorphed with. (Bonding with Morpeko makes you hungry, bonding with a Xatu lets you see the future, etc) Though, since the humanity is still there, they are able to curb some of the more aggressive quirks with diligence.

If the pokemon bonded is not fully evolved, applying the correct evolutionary method will evolve and change the outward appearance of the dynamorphed trainer. Normal level up are accomplished by fighting, not by age. 

Since being part pokemon, the trainer is a lot more resilient and could, if they REALLY wanted to, fight other morphed trainers. Trainers feel the type weakness and resistances. They would faint just like a pokemon fight. Potions and pokemon centres would help them recover. Though death is still something that can happen. 

Trainers fused with food-like pokemon are not edible please don't eat them, there's a place where the food stops and the flesh starts and we don’t need to find out where that is ok??

Normal pokemon that are caught and trained will REFUSE to attack a dynamorphed trainer unless absolutely provoked. So you can’t really have a pokemon battle where a dynamoprhed trainer is beating up a pokemon or vice versa. That’s messed up.

Dynamorphed trainers cannot be caught in any kind of pokeballs. That’s also messed up.

They cannot breed to make a weird hybrid plz stop asking.

Dynamorphed Trainers can NOT be Dynamaxed. Too much energy, man.

Trainers CAN bond with more than one pokemon, but that's where complications start to occur. The more pokemon bonded to the trainer, the harder it is form them to hold on to their humanity. 

1 Pokemon = Okay

2 Pokemon = A struggle to keep humanity, but it’s possible.

3+ Pokemon = This is not a person. It is a hostile beast.

There are no legendary pokemon/ ultra beasts dynamorphed. They’re all in other regions and wouldn’t be in the Galar region when it happened so there just wouldn’t be. But if ya’ll make one with one anyway, I won’t stop you but the legendary pokemon may be too strong for a trainer to handle.

If the pokemon’s nature is different than the trainer’s than it might affect their personality. The extent of this is varied.

**No two dynamorphs look the same! If you have two trainers bonded with like...a Pikachu for example. One might get yellow fur, ears, and a tail while the other only gets a tail and the cheeks. Go nuts.

If the pokemon dynamorphed with the trainer is the opposite gender, the result is whatever you want. 

Speaking of complications, that brings us to the next part…

The Wild Area Trainers

During this whole event, I previously mentioned that the Wild Area was significantly affected. Those unfortunate enough to be out camping during the blast had the chance of 1 of 3 things happening:

They dynamorphed with one of their pokemon. 

They dynamorphed with with more than one of their pokemon

They dynamorphed with one or more wild pokemon Examples found HERE.

In the case of being bonded to a wild pokemon, this takes a heavy toll on the trainer’s mind as its constantly fighting with a wild pokemon. This causes them to lose their minds and become hostile, just like a wild pokemon. Unfortunately a large number of “Wild Trainers” roam the Wild Area. Their previously caught pokemon usually try to flee or stick around to protect their trainer out of sheer devotion. As mentioned before, they cannot be caught with a pokeball. But the region is working on a program to deal with this. …

How the Galar Region is dealing with the Dynamorph Crisis

Professors Sonia and Magnolia are appointed the top researchers, being granted the resources of the Macro Cosmos thanks to Oleana and Rose, wanting to atone for his mistakes. However the government, doubting Rose’s competence, sends out their own officials to oversee and make decisions. (I have no idea how the government of this region works. Is there a parliament? Is the gym league the authority? I’ll say for this AU there is actually a system of government…). 

They have labs and rehabilitation centres set up to be able to study and help help dynamorphed trainers cope and eventually go back home. They are not kept there against their will. Most, anyway. The main cast were quarantined in a lab/ facility for the early stages of the crisis so they could learn/ test their capabilities in a safe environment. Shenanigans ensue. Because of this, the crisis put a hold on the gym challenge league entirely. 

At first, the authorities wanted to keep this under wraps in case their morphs were an isolated incident but quickly realized that was going to be impossible. Travel to and from the Galar region became incredibly restricted. Dynamorphed trainers are not allowed to leave the region, for everyone’s safety (don’t want to risk an outburst that could harm anyone :c ), but unchanged people were free to travel once they were confirmed as ‘human’ by a mandatory test. 

The Wild Area became a huge problem, what with Wild Trainers running about. Defenses were set up just in case to prevent Wild Trainers from wandering into populated areas and causing havoc, though a few occurrences still happen, what with flying pokemon and all. Eventually, a special force was assembled that consisted of consenting dynamorphed trainers that were tasked with going into the Wild Area and subduing and retrieving Wild Trainers to bring them to a more secured location to help study them and to try and find a cure. And to confirm to families the fate of their missing family member(s). The attempt is to be as humane as possible. 

The special force (Do I really wanna call it Dynaforce? I feel like I’m abusing the prefix if I do), consists of all the current gym leaders, Piers, Leon, Victor/ Gloria and a bunch of other trainers who signed up who are 18+. (you don't want to send kids out doing this kind of dangerous work, I know pokemon is all about children taming powerful animals but you gotta draw the line in the sand somewhere. Gym leaders are exempt because they why not. They insisted and already proved their strength to the region. It’s an AU based off a fuckin game/ anime.) This force has two jobs:

Go into the Wild Area to subdue Wild Trainers and bring them home

Protect the towns in case any wild trainers get in. 

So what happened to Eternatus if it just escaped? Theories indicate it might be living in a massive den in the heart of the Wild Area, waiting to strike again. There are a lot more Wild Trainers near this area, so excursions here are difficult.

Is a cure eventually found? Honestly this is just an AU so that's up to you. My personal answer is no. Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. //Bear Grylls voice

So….this is a lot. This is just some silly AU that inspired me to expand on it for fun since you guys showed a lot of interest! I’ll edit this as I get more asks about things I may have missed, but I will be going in and deleting a lot of previous asks so I can clean up my blog a bit. I had WANTED to keep a lot of this ‘secret’ cuz I wanted to draw stuff for it. I STILL WILL DRAW for it, but realistically I don’t have the time or energy ahah. Especially for an AU of a published franchise aha. 

If you want to make a dynamorph trainersona, totally go for it! Just tag me when its done! I love seeing what people do!

[ao3feed-bakusquad]

Becoming a Hero

becoming a hero by RejectsCanon

“Can I ask you something?” Mic asks, slowly looking away from the sky as the cloud passes and the sun's rays shine on them again.

“Of course.”

“Why do you want to be a hero, Kaminari?” Mic's voice is gentle, as if he's afraid to break whatever somber mood has settled over them as well.

Kaminari looks down, into the sea of people walking so far below them. Kaminari can't hear them, can barely make out their faces, even. But, he can imagine what they're doing. Adults walking to and from work, or the store running errands. Some laden with bags, others with briefcases. Teenagers and kids walking home from school, stopping at corner stores and arcades to hang out longer with their friends. Families walking downtown, children in the middle, clutching their parent's hands and laughing in joy. Everyone living their lives, in their own bubbles, going about their day. Kaminari can feel himself smiling as he observes them.

Or, Kaminari interns with Present Mic. It goes better than Kaminari could have ever hoped.

Words: 17055, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Kaminari Denki, Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Shinsou Hitoshi, Original Characters, Class 1-A

Relationships: Kaminari Denki & Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Kaminari Denki, Kaminari Denki & Shinsou Hitoshi, Class 1-A & Kaminari Denki, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic

Additional Tags: the original characters are civilians a villain and a hero i made up lol, Canon-Typical Violence, suggested violence no one gets hurt, Fluff, Bonding, Kaminari Denki-centric, Kaminari Denki Angst, just a bit my boy has self-confidence issues. mic fixes it, Deaf Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Protective Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Fluff and Angst, i couldn't find any mention of mic's agency name so i made it up for the drama of it all, watch me give kaminari more detailed goals of being a hero and give him a good mentor, I just think they'd be a good duo, Mentor/Protégé, Mentor Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Threats of Violence, Smart Kaminari Denki

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/36106216

[makeste]

Newest theory of the day. Shigaraki after finding out he can't steal OFA from Deku tries to dust him, the decay spreads across his arm and to keep Deku alive because his specific order from Endeavor was to protect him~ Bakugo severs his arm with an AP shot, because some of us are still on about Deku losing an arm in this arc. Then we can get from mentoring from Miruko, you know bunny themes, using your legs, and now how to be a hero with prosthetics.

anon I disagree with basically all of this, but I just want to be clear that it’s in a totally respectful “that’s just not how I see things going/where I’d prefer the story to go” way, and it’s more just a matter of my personal preferences than anything else! like, I’m about to break down every specific thing I disagree with, but I hope it doesn’t come off in an attacking way. I kind of feel like I’ve been shooting down pretty much every theory people have thrown at me lately, and I don’t mean to be a buzzkill about it or anything. but since you did send me an ask about it I’m assuming it’s all right to give my opinion. lol I’m probably overthinking this. anyways.

1. so first, I personally don’t think Deku is going to lose his arm, at least not in this arc. I just can’t see any kind of purpose for it. particularly since Deku has already injured his arm very badly in the past and has already gone through the associated angst, and had an arc of learning how to fight without it (for the most part) and learning to fight with his legs instead. I just don’t see this bringing anything really new to the table. and Mirko and Hawks already have the “working to recover from/adapt to disabling injuries” thing covered between the two of them, I think. I also am not a believer in the foreshadowing power of popularity poll covers, at least to the extent of using them as a basis for theories. I know this last part is an unpopular opinion lol.

that all being said, I do think he might lose the arm maybe towards the end of the series, but if it happens it would be from overuse of OFA. and it’s still not something I actually think should happen or think we need to see; Deku is someone who’s already struggled in the past with being differently abled from his peers due to being quirkless, so I’d rather see a different character go through this arc if it does happen. and I’ll also add that I’d be more interested in seeing Ectoplasm mentoring a student in regards to the prosthetic thing; no disrespect to Mirko, but he’s been dealing with it for a lot longer, and would probably have more insight to share.

2. Katsuki saving Deku at some point on the other hand has been foreshadowed, but if he does it won’t JUST be because he was ordered to watch his back. I don’t know if you were necessarily implying this; probably it was just the wording, but regardless, I wanted to throw that out there.

3. you’ve probably figured out my opinion on this already lol but I do think we’re more than likely heading for quirkless Bakugou.

4. Bakugou hasn’t experienced a so-called trauma in a long time, and also I think fandom has a tendency to exaggerate the number of traumas he actually has (and here we get into another unpopular opinion, but hey). canon!Bakugou is a very different beast from fanon!Bakugou, and I think there’s a tendency to conflate the two. canon!Bakugou, from what we’ve seen, does not have any lingering trauma from the sludge monster attack, being chained up at the sports festival, or even from being kidnapped (aside from the “blaming himself for All Might’s end” part of it). canon!Bakugou’s confirmed sources of angst are 1) him feeling guilty over All Might, 2) him feeling pressure to prove to the world that he’s not a villain, 3) and him not wanting to ever lose to Deku. that’s basically it. I know fandom likes to throw all sorts of other stuff in there (PTSD, child abuse, his quirk being toxic to him; you name it), but he’s really not like that in the canon at all.

he definitely has been through a lot, don’t get me wrong. and also I should add that just because I don’t think these things are canon doesn’t mean I’m not interested in exploring them in headcanons or fanfic. on the contrary, I have a fanfic rec list consisting almost entirely of Bakuangst for a reason lol. but the suggestion (not necessarily made by you, but other people have brought this up) that he shouldn’t lose his quirk because it’s “yet more Bakugou angst” or whatever is just something I don’t agree with for a lot of reasons.

here’s a spontaneous list which nobody asked for of all of the other characters who have experienced trauma since the last time Bakugou last went through anything of note.

Aizawa - had his childhood trauma revealed to the audience in a Vigilantes flashback, and subsequently went through the angst of realizing his dead friend had been brought back to life and brainwashed into becoming a villain. also recently watched a man die saving his life.

Present Mic - same as Aizawa minus the “someone died for him recently” stuff. also has to carry Ujiko around everywhere right now which I sure would find traumatizing.

All Might - had his “you are going to die horribly” prophecy revealed. watched his former sidekick die and was helpless to do anything. struggled with the guilt of having not reconnected with him sooner. grappled with trying to figure out how he can help people now that he no longer has OFA.

Ochako - struggled with survivor’s guilt over not being able to save Nighteye.

Kirishima - had his past revealed in a flashback and was shown to have depression and self-worth issues. struggled with those same issues during the Basement arc and was also horrifically injured. most recent response to being asked whether he was okay afterwards was “I’m getting there/working on it.”

Shouto - watched his dad come within an inch of being murdered on live television. is still struggling with reconciling his very complicated feelings about his father and his past actions vs the man he is trying to become now.

Tokoyami - saved his mentor’s life at great risk to his own; was nearly burnt alive; was told that he shouldn’t save Hawks because he killed someone (my poor baby bird is going to have a lot to work through after this arc).

Kaminari - had to overcome his fear of fighting on the front lines in a very real and potentially deadly battle.

Iida - yoinked part of his own leg out to get stronger wtf.

Mirio - lost his quirk; watched his mentor die.

Tamaki - was and is still grappling with severe anxiety. was nearly killed during the basement arc. dealt with boyfriend losing his quirk.

Endeavor - had his goal finally realized in the most hollow, meaningless way possible. realized he’d basically acted like a complete monster in regards to his family for the past two decades. came to terms with the fact that nothing he can do now will ever make up for it (although he is still doing his best to make amends and atone however he can). nearly lost an eye and had his face scarred pretty badly. also has a dead son who secretly isn’t dead so that’s fun.

Mirko - lost an arm and a leg and came within an inch of death and Endeavor had to cauterize her wounds on the spot.

Hawks - ahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Deku - learned about the All Might death prophecy. grappled with feeling like he wasn’t worthy enough to inherit OFA. dealt with the angst of not being able to save Eri sooner. watched Nighteye die. had a secret fight with a villain while worrying about the school finding out and also feeling conflicted the whole time because he empathized with said villain a lot. had his quirk suddenly flare out of control during an exercise and nearly killed everyone around him and subsequently learned that he’s getting a bunch of new quirks and has to learn how to control them all. was informed that all of the past users of OFA have died young. and last but not least, has now learned that Shigaraki Tomura is specifically targeting him and his quirk.

anyways that’s not even complete because I skipped a ton of other characters, but you get the idea. basically the “Kacchan has already had a lot of trauma” argument falls flat to me as a reason why he shouldn’t have anything else happen to him. if anything, looking at everything that’s happened to him recently in comparison to the other characters makes me wonder if he’s not overdue. Kamino was almost two hundred chapters ago. Ground Beta was a hundred and sixty chapters. there has not being anything else since. this is one of the reasons why I want there to finally be something else. I don’t get this idea that we’re done with him now or whatever. not that I’m being all “yes!!! more tragedy for Kacchan!!!”, but this is a story, and characters grow in stories by facing and overcoming obstacles. so let’s give him a new obstacle already. (and I do mean a new one, which is another reason why I’m not sold on the “has to blast off Deku’s arm” angst; him feeling guilty and blaming himself for something that wasn’t his fault is the exact kind of angst we’ve already explored with him, and which we don’t necessarily need to rehash just with minor adjustments.)

Deku has already struggled with his own physical limitations. Kacchan never has. he’s been frustrated with the pace of his growth, sure, but that was more or less just comparing-myself-to-Deku angst disguised as thinking-I’m-weak angst. which is something he’s still doing even now, by the way. he was literally doing it a couple of chapters ago. Ground Beta didn’t fix it; it gave him something new to work towards, yes, and a new perspective regarding his relationship with Deku being something he could use to grow stronger. but it never actually addressed the root of the angst to begin with, which is him only seeing himself as worthy if he’s above Deku. it never addressed the issue of him being so fearful of being “weak” to begin with. he’s so determined to prove that he’s not, because even now he’s still secretly afraid that he is. and this is something I very strongly believe that he needs to confront, one way or the other.

but anyway, this turned into yet another “reasons why I think Bakugou should lose his quirk” meta, which I didn’t intend it to, so I apologize. this pretty much veered way off track so I should probably wrap it up. again, I apologize if any of this comes off as needlessly blunt, as that’s not the intent. and we’re all reading the story in slightly different ways, and we all have different things we want to see explored, and I’m sure as heck not going to say someone else’s view on this isn’t valid! this is just my own personal take. but we’ll see what happens, and I’m going to be wholeheartedly along for the ride pretty much no matter how this turns out.

[hey-hamlet]

BNHA AU Ideas: Don’t Praise the Almighty (Part 2)

Also on AO3!

TW: Child Abuse (all kinds implied, explicit verbal and physical abuse), implied CSA

TL;DR:

Things you must sacrifice to make a hero: Humanity, Empathy.

Things you must sacrifice to be a hero: Everything.

But with the end of a symbol come the end of the hurt. 

Starting with I-Island Expo

mellissa calls them over like canon, shouto basically demands he gets endeavours spot. aizawa and yamada go too, mostly because yamada was going there for his show and they heard whispers of all might, and were worried about a possible izuku attending so aizawa went as a plus one

the other kids are there for the same reason, but other than scissors paper rock for the tickets it was a tournament brawl because ochako demanded combat.

she won, of course

anyway, they meet up w david and melissa, and izuku and her go explore the expo when melissa tells izuku shes quirkless he just give her the strangest look, and she's a little confused

i-island was a very chill attitude towards quirks. if you have one, cool, but they aren't useful to the inventors so its nbd if you don’t. and she says ab how she's a researcher and all the and he just looks at her like shes speaking gibberish

"they,,, they let you?"

and melissa looks dumbfounded "obviously? i mean, my grades are good enough?"

and izuku just start to cry. melissa is panicking bc she's already adopted this little hero as her little cousin because he's basically uncle might's kid. she like, hides him away in a corner and tries to understand what's wrong

and all she can get out of this crying kid is

"i used to be quirkless" and "don't tell all might"

she gives him a big hug and he talks ab how he was treated in middle school, and about how he hasn't told anyone in ua. she asks why he said don't tell all might and he murmurs that allmight doesn't think is very befitting of a hero to cry

deep down that doesn't sound right to her. but she only nods, hands him a tissue and they giggle about it behind a fancy model car

back in the office david and all might are talking

all might tells david that he knows his quirk is fading but it's ok, because he's training a successor and izuku is going to be perfect. that sounds ok to david. he's warmed by the total faith all might seems to have in his student, and the close relationship they must have to call him by his first name

all might confesses he’s looking forward to retiring and nurturing his student and david calls off the whole heist (well. he tries to. not that they listen.)

so Yamada and Aizawa are walking around the showroom floor and they see a "i was just crying but im trying to hide it and going an ok job" izuku with some random fucking blonde girl and they s w o o p in bc these are some worried dads

basically Yamada keeps her busy while aizawa says "oh i have to talk to you ab something" izuku goes over to aizawa and hes freaking the fuck out quietly. aizawa just leans down to look him in the eye

"you ok, kid?"

and izuku is confused

"what do you mean?"

"you looked a little upset back there, do you know that girl? is she,,, doing anything? to you?"

and izuku feels all warm and fuzzy inside and smiles at his teacher bc aizawa cares!! ab him!!

"no sensei, shes all mights kind-of-niece, she was just showing me around the expo"

and aizawa winces a little at the all might comment but what can he do

"well, don't forget you can talk to me, ok? i know i gave you my number on an emergency basis but i also want you to know your definition of an emergency is terrible. just call whenever you want"

melissa, bc she understands social cues unlike izuku, and also bc shes fucking 18 looks at yamada and says "what's wrong?" and yamada feels all the force of an 18-year-old girls glare of "ive adopted this kid and ill kick you for him"

"just worried about the little listener is all, he looked a little down"

melissa just sighs and nods

"yeah."

yamada expects her to continue but she doesn't. they both just kinda fiddle around with some random buttons until aizawa brings izuku back, who looks significantly cheerier now. melissa declares lunch is on her and that the teachers are coming too

aizawa and yamada try to wiggle their way out of it, until izuku also tries to so they all double down on going to lunch and izuku gets dragged along

when they get there he's fretting ab what won't ruin his diet plan, and aizawa and yamada feel bad. melissa just tells him to get what he wants

"but i dont want to upset-. i should be sticking to my diet plan though."

aizawa loudly declares hes getting a chocolate sundae and pork cutlet sandwiches. melissa, equally loudly, decides on carbonara. yamada fumbles for a bit looking for something unhealthy because hes a mess, finally finds a chicken karrage bowl and points at it like hes very proud of himself

melissa loses her shit laughing, izuku just giggles softly and aizawa fuckn snorts at the crestfallen look on yamada

izuku quietly asks if getting katsudon would be ok and melissa just looks into his eyes

"izuku i would kill a man for you of course pork katudon is ok"

anyway, the other students turn up, and momo shouts them all food, ochako proudly declares herself the winner of a fighting tournament and aizawa just slumps in his chair

"if i didnt hear that, you dont get detention for using your quirks without supervision"

and ochako just smiles with a scary amount of teeth

"who said we used quirks, sensei?"

and ochako proudly shows off the bruise on her upper arm where jirou punched her and jirou is whining bc she has a foot shaped imprint in her stomach s t i l l from the last round

everyone is talking n shooting the shit. it strikes the kids (and the teachers) a little weird that izuku is in his hero costume (the only other person there in costume is yamada, who is representing his agency. aizawa is in free dress but also his scarf bc he wanted to ask how the fuck it was made) but they just kinda, don't mention it

anyway, the bit w the quirk display

they hound aizawa into doing it, and he makes time pretty similar to bakugo and everyone is cheering for him and he's trying very hard to maintain his "im a professional hero not a dad getting cheered on by his stupid kids"

yamada wants to do it, but aizawa won't let him bc people need their ears

all the hero kids give it a go, including ochako, jirou, momo, etc. izuku (who at this point is like at 10%ish full cowl) makes time tied w Todoroki and izuku is talking ab how amazing todoroki is, and tenya chimes in with "you are quite amazing as well!" and midoriya blushes so hard he looks like a strawberry. he is very very flustered and keeps trying to deny it

eventually, everyone piles on the compliments (even katsuki bc this is the most fun hes had in ages) until izuku gets so flustered he hides behind aizawa like "you won't do this to me right?"

aizawa fuckn ruffles his hair and says "you're a good kid"

izuku just cries but he's smiling so wide everyone knows he's happy

so its the night of the party

izuku is dressed to the nines and he's sad ab it bc he wanted to wear something cheery and bright but instead he was dressed in a charcoal black suit, vest and a dark red tie. black shoes too

the one bit of cheer he shoved in were some red laces bc all might didn't mind them bc he was so "good" ab the suit fitting and the poking and prodding so he wears the bright red laces and he's very happy ab them

all might is in his hero costume, and he's very proud of the fact he and izuku match like a pair with the same shade of red bc that's his successor! his boy! all might tells izuku he can wait outside for the rest of the kids to show up and izuku is so happy! so he thanks allmight a lot more than he needs to and waits outside the door (all might was early to the event bc he needed to schmooze)

aizawa and yamada come later to a surprisingly well dressed izuku waiting patiently off to the side

they ask him why he's out there and he happily chirps that he's waiting for the other students that attended, they smile at him and walk in . all might sends them a glare from across the floor that aizawa returns just as spitefully

anyway, iida texts that he's stuck out the front bc the door won't open so he scrambles over to let iida and, apparently ochako as well, in (for the purposes of this au, todoroki, iida, ochako, izuku and melissa are the only ones of the kids at the beginning, todoroki's melodramatic entrance is stolen by jirou and momo. no mineta or kami bc they just,,, arent there lmao)

so the doors slam shut and melissa is like "wtf wtf" and the announcement sounds. they pile up the stair to look down to the dining room, teachers and other heroes tied up

the kids know a bit of sign from various hero class training bits by aizawa and "fun facts" by mic

so they brokenly sign to allmight and aizawa (the only teachers that can see them) that they are going to fix this

all might nods

aizawa looks panicked. these are kids. his kids. they shouldn't have to fight people with fucking guns

izuku says "ill keep them safe" and aizawa wants to cry because he believes him, but who'll keep izuku safe

so iida starts on his whole "we cant use quirks" speech before melissa can even remind them ab i islands quirk laws, izuku just murmurs

"all might gave me permission to fight. it'll be ok."

melissa freezes bc,,, she knows adults shouldn't be letting these kids fight, even if that's exactly what she's going to help them do. she mentions the quirk law anyway

now todoroki is pissed at all might but the bitch was gonna fight anyway. ochako is 100% roaring for a showdown

now they are,, a little more cautious. bc they are a smaller group here but izuku is like double the power so its not realllllyy an issue. the middle fight happens, they gain the wlw and mlm solidarity pairs (Jirou + Momo, Kirishima + Bakugo)

then pretty quickly lose bakugo and momo for a hot minute as they stay to finish up the fight while sending the others on

oh izuku totally has the punchy punchy thing from melissa i just forgot to mention it

so, bc melissa's dad didnt actually,, want in on it this time he's fighting back. he's stalling, pleading, backchatting; everything he can do to give someone a chance to fix his fuck up before it kills someone

so melissa and izuku make it to the top of the tower

izuku has been at shot more times than he's really happy about, just he has nothing more than a few grazes. melissa has a nasty bruise on her face and a cut on her arm from where she redirected a blow that would have stabbed izuku

the villain is talking ab how this was David's idea, and he's trying to explain to the kids that he's sorry, this was a mistake. he tried to call it off but they wouldn't stop. at this point he is totally away these people are real criminals and has been since the heist began

he's trying to convince them to run because as proud as all might is of izuku, and as proud of melissa he is, they are to young. they don't deserve this

izuku takes out the goons but the villain has already escaped with david and the quirk enhancer

izuku promises melissa he'll keep her dad safe and shes left in the control room crying alone because who'll protect the kid that's been nothing but kind and gentle yet has the weight of the world on his shoulders

also just an fyi bc you needed to know- melissa is down her heels and she lost her hairpin when she stabbed someone with it, she threw her heels at a villain too bc she was running out of ideas. melissa literally tied her hair in a big knot so she could fucking see

izuku is down a jacket - threw it over someone's head then punched them and his waistcoat is unbuttoned bc he need to punch. his hair is going fucking hog wild, even in the tighter clip yagi likes it kept in

anyway, when the alarms go off, all might fucking rockets to the roof and aizawa is fuming bc those are his fucking kids too

he and yamada have to take the goddamn elevator to the roof. its certainly not a slow elevator but aizawa is so fucking tense. yamada isn't much better

all might won't let them fight. he hands david and melissa off to them and tells them he and izuku will handle wolfram and aizawa is so pissed bc izuku is on his last fucking legs here

aizawas quirk doesn't work w the enhancer so he admits there isn't much he can do, but yamada is perfect here. but all might won't move out of the way long enough for mic to let his quirk go. honestly, hed be tempted to do it anyway if not for izuku also being there

anyway, all might and izuku do their lil double detroit smash and its all very sweet

kind of

bc,,, aizawa can see how izuku is shaken up, and close to passing out. visibly in a lot of pain but he's swallowing it all down and acting as if everything is fine and aizawa sees izuku with small might again and wonders why, why do they know each other?

yamada and aizawa feel vaguely ill when izuku and all might return to their shared hotel room after all might grabs a few bandages and alcohol wipes from a first aid kit. bc,,, aizawa can see how izuku is shaken up, and close to passing out. visibly in a lot of pain but he's swallowing it all down and acting as if everything is fine

aizawa and yamada stay with the kids, trying to cheer them up and bandaging wounds that don't need urgent medical care. melissa is just blankly watching out the door izuku left through

"why didn't they stay?"

aizawa just aggressively tightens the bandage around his sliced up arm. todoroki looks pissed. iida just kind of looks down

"im not sure, melissa. im... im not sure"

the next morning, as aizawa and yamada stumble downstairs to eat shitty hotel breakfast food, yamada glances out the window and looks like he's about to cry bc izuku, still battered and bruised, is stepping out of the gym over the road. its only 7am

they basically pounce on the kid and drag him to breakfast, where they find out he has been training since 5 and hasn't eaten yet and he's fucking, sheepish about it

"i got up a little late, so i just to my light routine for the morning, ill have to make up the time a little later"

aizawa just shoves pastries at his kid. izuku tries to stammer out that they arent part of his diet but,,, they look really nice and he's really hungry and stressed,,, and he caves pretty quick

so aizawa yamada and izuku are sitting around a table, both of his teachers arent totally human until they've had a coffee so izuku is happily babbling about some new hero teach he saw as aizawa grunts in affirmation

allmight shows up and izuku blanches. aizawa and yamada are a little too tired to realise until yagi is already over by the table. izuku quietly puts down the pastry and just cringes into himself

"im,,, im really sorry. i - i just"

"i got it for him" aizawa says totally deadpan as he slams back a whole ass cup of coffee

deep down inside he did it to flex on mister "i have no stomach so im not allowed caffeine"

all might sighs and gently chides izuku for not sticking to his diet plan. izuku nods miserably and excuses himself back to the room to 'get changed out of his sweaty clothes'

yagi sits and eats breakfast with aizawa and yamada as they try to understand what,,, what exactly happened there. it hurts both of them because they aren't sure what all mights doing

mic has seen one instance of something nasty going on, but other than that its just been a collection of terrible vibes

Training Camp Time Baby.

after that total clusterfuck of an event training camps still on

all might wants to go but nezu no sells him bc "you literally attract villains, all might" and like bitch is smart, he knows something is up. he's not sure what yet, but he's working on it

all might gives aizawa a personalised training schedule for izuku that he takes one look at and throws it out the fucking window

basically all might goes as "all might's secretary" to monoma

"very worried about my boy, and i think aizawa is training him too hard, could you please give me a run down on what happens each day?"

monoma, starry-eyed: of course all might

and there is this little,,, list of things he doesn't want izuku doing and he phrases them in ways that make it seem like he's being perfectly reasonable. like allergies or bad habits izuku is trying to break or whatever. izuku has to tell all might what happens at the end of every day anyway

all might,,, wants hourly updates,,,, but he realises that's not going to happen w aizawa's deep hatred of students on cellphones lmao

he hears izuku mentioning to todoroki that "yagi" wants to know what's happening at the camp and that he's excited to talk to his mentor about all the training they do. and aizawa is caught between wanting to find some bullshit reason to take izukus phone, or just pretending he didn't hear that bc who knows how much trouble not answering yagi could get him in

he makes an announcement that cellphones are to be on mute for the duration of the camp anyway.

yagi wanted to go on the camp, aizawa wouldn't let him, monoma is yagis mole etc we have covered this

in this au the league never latched on to bakugo, it's izuku that shigiraki wants, but to backtrack

getting off the bus its funny in a sad way bc izuku was so prepared to get hit by one of the teachers "training" them at any time he dodges the landslide

they all just kinda sit there for a second, stunned. izuku sighs quietly and jumps after his classmates

anyway so, they get to the camp a lil faster bc izuku is More Powerful, izuku (bc hes faster than iida on uneven ground) runs shinsou to the campground, they mind control pixiebob to stop the earthbeasts then run back to show the rest of 1A the way out

they get there in 2 hours

aizawa is very proud of his boy for thinking of that! and he ruffles izukus hair and its cute

in this au izuku isn't confident enough to say hi to kouta, but he waves. kouta just glares at him and he hides behind iida

they do a little extra training because 1A finished the earth beast thing so fast, half of the training is all of 1A trying to stop Izuku from going overboard. they get a little,,, disturbed when they realise just how long izuku can train without visibly breaking a sweat

they go to chill in the baths and iida sees izuku walking out of the changing rooms and freezes

because he's c o v e r e d in hand-shaped bruises

he tries not to react bc he doesn't want izuku to be uncomfortable and change his mind ab hanging in the bath w all of them

kaminari goes to say something and kirishima just fucking pulls him under the water before he can say anything, mineta is socially aware enough to not open his fucking mouth

they chat n izuku can kinda,,, tell,,, something is wrong but most of the bruises are places he can't see/doesn't look, like his shoulders, hips, back, back of his legs

and the ones on his wrist he just kinda brushes off bc he's still convinced this is normal. the thing w mineta happens, izuku helps kouta, iida comes with him to give him to the wild wild pussycats

and pixiebob looks like she wants to say something bc who is hurting this kid? and iida just catches her eyes and he looks so worried. she keeps her mouth shut, but makes sure to mention it to aizawa. she feels terrible when aizawa just curses and pulls his hair in frustration

anyway, 1B shows up and its hilarious bc 1A is going hog fucking wild other than izuku, aizawa is forcing izuku to learn to cook

so bakugo is screaming and blowing shit up, todoroki is in a fucking barrel, iida is running like afo is chasing him and aizawa is patiently showing izuku how to scramble eegs

monoma is losing his fucking mind

but yeah aizawa and izuku are sitting in front of a little stove w their legs crossed, izuku is trying to cut tomatoes and aizawa is supervising. they are making breakfast for 1A. slowly. all of 1A is being very careful to not disturb them, so there is this little bubble of calm around the egg station

"why,,, why arent i training?"

and aizawa fucking pauses

"this is training, keep up problem child."

and izuku looks so fucking lost but the eggs smell good and he gets to cook the bacon next. each part of the fucking breakfast is cold by the time 1A gets to eat it bc izuku was cooking it 1 by 1, little portions at a time

everyone just tells him its fucking wonderful

he joins in training after breakfast, ragdoll is placed on "izuku watching duty" which izuku has 0 clue about. if he gets hurt/sore/too tired someone gets sent over to get him to do something else

when she looks at him the first time she wants to cry bc,,, he's not tired, he's more rested than he's been in ages. but the places that hurt, before hes even been training, are sending blaring alarm bells in her brain

anyway, its amusing bc everyone is 'going beyond' and they are just trying to get izuku back so they can know what is 'going beyond' and what is 'going so far beyond how are you still moving'

everyone is fucking wiped and izuku is like 'this is the easiest training ive had in months what' and aizawas want to yell bc while hes being soft on izuku, they arent taking his training lightly, and this is easy?

he gives the curry to kouta like the show, they all go to sleep

izuku has a nightmare and shouto - the only person not asleep - tries not to hear the things he's saying. he can't hear much, but he wishes he hadn't heard anything. anyway at least they all wake up well-rested

unfortunately in this au the villains actually have a half-decent plan, and fucking, communicators -which isn't great for the kids

so muscular sees izuku and is like "oi compress move your arse over here" while he tries to kill kouta. so we get the joy of izuku saving kouta, getting him to aizawa and just as he hands over the kid, compress takes izuku and kouta just starts to cry

"izuku is kidnapped" time is a ride

the only thing they give him is a set of quirk suppressors and dont give him a key to get out of the bar. they are about as nice to him as they are to each other, a little softer on him bc he's young and they pretty much know what's happening to him

like, he gets out of compresses marble and he's panicking and crying, dabi just crouches down next to him and rubs his back, asks him if he's gonna be ok

shigiraki is trying to convince izuku to join then and his face just kinda falls when he sees izuku looking resistant

"you,,, you don't know that what he’s doing to you is wrong, do you."

and izuku looks like a deer in the headlights

"what do you mean? no ones- nothings- nothings wrong."

dabi just sits on a chair bc he knows where this is going and he doesn't like it. shigiraki looks at izuku

"if its not wrong, then tell me about it"

and izuku clams right up

ok but afo wants to talk to izuku. in this au he has literally 0 beef with the kid

he has only so much beef with the ofa users in general and he's typically pretty soft on them for being part of his brothers legacy, as soft as he can make killing them if they won't stop getting in his way, but still

but he hates allmight so fucking much and he's never been totally sure why

anyway, he asks to talk w izuku and this kid is shaking like a leaf and afo tells him

"you are a child. i have no intention of hurting you, i just want to know what all might has done to you."

"hes not done anything bad, i swear!"

"then why don't you tell me about it?"

izuku sits there quietly and afo feels just generally disgusted with humanity tbh

"how did you two meet?" izuku slowly opens up about the day they first met, and afo feels a stab of empathy for izuku, because being quirkless now is pretty comparable to being quirked before, afo doesnt interject beyond nods and encouraging him to keep going

but eventually, izuku totally clams up, starts crying and can't say anything else. afo wishes he didnt look as scary as he did because he wants to give the kid a hug. he calls tomura to take him back to the bar and get him something to eat

it gets to the point that all of the villains are super fucking soft for izuku. he's very nice, treats them well, and has seen some horrific shit

so when all might shows up to "rescue" him, they close ranks. they don't even pressure him to become a villain, because each of them has felt society push them into boxes they didn't want, and they don't want to do that to izuku

anyway, they get to kamino bc the usual fuckery, and izuku is just stranded behind villains crying and looking ill

the rescue squad : bakugo, todoroki, ochako, kirishima, iida, and one stubborn shinso that befriended the hero departments resident nervous wreck

they look across the field and they feel ill because izuku looks sick. but they feel a little better when twice gives him a bit of a hug.

confilcted, but better

they see afo talking to him gently but quickly, gesturing both to the villains and to the section of wall the rescue squad is hidden behind. izuku tearfully points to the wall, afo nods, ruffles his hair, and goes to send him off when all might rockets in

basically afo has looked at izuku and thought "wow he's me but a good person" and thinks he's what his little brother would want a hero to be, so, while he's very much going to continue his villainous thing, he's going to go out of his way to avoid hurting izuku bc this kid is what his little brother wanted OFA to be

and allmight is exactly what he would have hated

so, all might takes a step forward to drag izuku, the villains push him behind them

dabi is basically saying something along the lines of

"so does being in the top ten require you to be a total dick, or is it just a running theme?"

"give him back"

"why all might, izuku is his own person."

"izuku, get over here, now."

izuku lets out a sob and vaults over the villains, hiding behind allmight and all might looks horrifically smug. izuku whispers something to all might, but all might shakes his head (he was asking if he could run away)

the fight begins

a few reasons he won't let him leave:

its punishment for being 'weak' enough to get kidnapped

its backup if afo gets the better of his because hes made sure izuku is more than a force to be reckoned with

he wants to know what dabi ment and hes very read to ask izuku ab it

izuku is honestly shaking like a leaf, quirk going bonkers and he can't turn it off. the rescue squad does its thing, and their hearts break when they see izuku look at them tearfully and shake his head

they all hide in the crowd and cry as they watch the fight go on, izuku shakily pulling people from the rubble in the background. when hes gotten all of the people free he can, izuku kind of runs out of reasons he isnt actively helping allmight. he grits his teeth and dives into the fight with the other villains

hes trying to keep them away from all might and they all look heartbroken ab having to fight him dabi is saying something along the lines of "we know he hurt you, but how? why?" and izuku is just crying

all might can hear this too

izuku actually misses a few kicks and punches bc his eyes are too filled with tears, but the villains are careful not to hurt him too much. they just want to get him down and out of the fight, but as uninjured as possible

but that's a little fucking difficult when compress and kurogiri are down for the count and everyone else has nasty death quirks

eventually, it gets to the point that trying not to hurt the other villains is only hindering afo, and all might is pulling exactly 0 punches with izuku present, so afo teleports the villains away, they feel bad ab leaving izuku behind but there is no way this little hero would go with them. they know that now

afo goes to deal the final blow to all might, izuku just moves

cant stop himself from planting himself between them and trying desperately to catch the punch. hes hurt, badly. but he's not as dead as all might would have been

there is a vicious edge to all might’s smile as izuku is blown across the battlefield, and lays there w/o moving

afo feels sick, all might just looks pleased

"ive done pretty well wouldn't you say?"

afo just stares at him

"ive created the perfect hero. selfless down to the last breath, filled with overwhelming power and determination."

"he's flawless. isn't he."

afo wants to gag

"so, in creating your 'perfect hero', you find it acceptable to sacrifice your own humanity?"

"absolutely"

(all mights been small might for this conversation i just forgot to mention it l m a o )

they exchange their final blows

izuku shakily gets up from where he lays crumpled on the ground and staggers over to all might, where he stands victorious over afo

iida, todoroki, shinsou, Bakugo, the people who have seen what yagi has done to izuku and how he has treated him are now slapped with the realisation that the number one hero and the person hurting their best friend are one and the same

shinsou punches a wall, bakugo looks like he's about to be sick. iida and todoroki look shell shocked. ochako is just lost and confused

all might wraps izuku is a hug, where izuku hides his sobbing face. all might whispers something in izukus ear, not that the cameras can pick it up

"come on now, heroes don't cry."

izuku takes a breath, wipes away his tears and steps back. All might rests a hand on his shoulder and looks into his eyes, and loud enough for the cameras to pick up and announces

"you're next."

izuku nods solemnly

in the back of a conference room, vlad watches as aizawa goes deathly pale in realisation. at ua, nezu watches on with a degree on concern. at the hospital, the clueless members of 1A cheer. those who know more feel nervous, those who know the most feel sick.

the internet goes fucking bonkers. all might transformed, defeated a crazy villain, and literally declared his successor live on television

izuku and all might end up in the same hospital room, and all might,,, allmight.. ye.

anyway, the kids from the rescue attempt call aizawa over and over and over. every teacher, student, pro

any hero of ua staff they have anyway of contacting, begging to find out where izuku is right now. aizawa would tell them if he wasn't going exactly the same thing himself

eventually recovery girl calls him and he hightails his way over. fyi inko isn't there bc shes passed out drunk at home uwu

he bursts into the hospital room with as much dignity as he could possibly have and it's not really very much. doctors are hovering around, stitching wounds, taking blood, and watching an ecg pretty closely (they felt the room for a minute and izukus started going crazy, so they thought something may have happened to his heart)

the amount izuku perks up when he sees aizawa is heartbreaking he rushes over and immediately starts looking him over, apologising and telling him he's brave and that he's sorry he couldn't be there to help and izuku tears up. all might is glaring a hole in his back but aizawa doesnt give a shit right now, his kid basically go taken by the boogeyman and his unstable son, then has a target painted on his back on live tv. aizawa gives 0 shits ab all might right now

izuku just looks stunned, and then he lets out a watery giggle

"you shaved, sensei."

and aizawa is caught between crying and laughing. gently asks izuku if he can give him a hug, and izuku looks so shocked he was asked aizawa heart breaks again. izuku nods shyly and gets a Good Dad Hug

aizawa stays until izuku falls asleep, then he rounds on all might

“I don’t know what you’ve done to him, but he looked more afraid to be stood next to you than a man who has killed countless. Whatever you did, you won’t be doing it again.”

All might goes to say something, anything, but aizawa grabs him by the front of his hero costume

Aizawa tells him in no uncertain terms that he’ll never be alone in a room with izuku again for as long as he lives.

And with that, he storms out, leaving all might to stew.

[thejaheira]

2019 fic roundup

december was INSANE and i spent most of january dealing with the aftermath of Terrible Parents, but i am finally doing this! in nearly-february! good grief!

tagged by @catty-words​! always a delight, cori <3

Total 2019 Word Count: 541,906 Total 2019 Hits: 29,555 Other 2019 AO3 Stats: Kudos: 3,184; Comment threads: 787; Bookmarks: 509; Subscriptions: 223.

Total 2018 Word Count: 338,835 Total 2018 Hits: 22,374 Other 2018 AO3 Stats: Kudos: 2,192; Comment threads: 453; Bookmarks: 280; Subscriptions: 69.

links and titles to 2019 works (buckle up, folks.)

[btvs] imperfections (148,374 words) y’all know about the braveryverse already but i’ll bring up some good points: jenny and giles accidentally adopt the entire scooby gang. also faith gets some actual support and is actually eventually stable enough to date buffy. good times.

[btvs] deliberate obstruction (5,492 words) the one where jenny is petty as fuck and attempts to sabotage every single one of giles’s dates after their breakup. not her best look, but it was really fun to write jenny being Not Great. she deserves to have that option.

[btvs] arch-nemeses (2,171 words) who doesn’t love some of that good old-fashioned ripper au nonsense? particularly when it’s spike and ripper being confusing nemeses who sometimes drunkenly make out (jenny thinks this is very funny).

[btvs] sick day (3,097 words) written because someone should take care of giles, damnit! probably not jenny, tho. she’s not the best at it. lucky for her giles loves her so much.

[btvs] simpatico (10,096 words) sister fic to the grieving process! set circa btvs season six! jenny is connor’s awkward aunt! giles is a repressed disaster who’s still pining but refuses to admit it! 

[btvs] honesty’s the best policy (3,830 words) that one where giles and buffy are hit with a Truth Spell that means they say exactly what they’re thinking. is that all that bad for buffy? not too much. is it a little iffy when you’re a repressed watcher man who still haven’t told your girlfriend how much you love her? uh.

[btvs comics] i router, you giles (1,111 words) GOD this was written BEFORE i knew that giles and jenny were dating in the reboot comics and isn’t that a concept? a snarky-cute first meeting! ok not really that cute bc they just yell at each other a lot! but definitely snarky!

[btvs] transitional (3,152 words) good golly this is cute and i honestly forgot that i wrote it. which makes sense, bc there is a lot of stuff on this list. set in between season one and season two, in an attempt to bridge the giles/jenny gap between “awkwardly friendly coworkers” and “oh my god i think i like you”

[btvs] across the pond (5,323 words) FUN FACT this got nominated for a headline award and i’m SO PROUD OF THAT?! epistolary fic! giles leaves for england in s6 but without his wife! his wife is very mad and writes him VERY MANY LETTERS TO YELL AT HIM! perfect for those people who sometimes think “god, i wish jenny had been in s6 to yell at giles.” 

[btvs] very really married (66,987 words) giles and jenny got drunk-married in las vegas and are keeping the marriage going so they don’t look like terrible authority figures. giles does not want buffy to know about his fake wife. giles does not want his fake wife to know about his real slayer. giles has a lot of problems and it doesn’t help that he might be catching feelings. big mess.

[btvs] bad dreams (2,267 words) GILES/JENNY/ANYA IS BEST SHIP NEXT QUESTION

[btvs comics] an open mic enthusiast (2,250 words) yet another giles/jenny comic-reboot meet-cute written before i knew they were dating!!! this time: jenny gets to see giles playing guitar. repeatedly. because she keeps going back to watch him at the open mic.

[btvs comics] blindsided (2,024 words) my first (and definitely not last) giles/anya fic! a shorter version of a plot bunny i hope to chase down in 2020 (ahaha did i say that WHOOPS)

[btvs] uncharted (16,469 words) my jenny calendar day fic! also known as “jenny calendar has a guilt complex: a novella.” no prophecy dream outs jenny to the group -- but she tells them anyway. and blames herself. and breaks up with giles while she’s trying to Fix Things. absolute mess. (thank god there’s a happy ending, right?)

[btvs] on the mending of hearts (9,236 words) that giles/anya fic where giles shows up at anya’s failed wedding and sweeps her off her feet and they have sex in his hotel room! except uhhh there’s a lot more drama and crying and anya really just needs some cuddles, tbh.

[btvs] extracurricular activities (1,003 words) straight up this one BARELY counts as a 2019 fic. i wrote it back in 2016 and forgot about it and found it on my hard drive and wrote an ending to it. it’s tiny, but it’s cute! lots of early-relationship calendiles fluff, as is My Brand.

[btvs] cookie dough and boy talk (a remix) (3,976 words) dawn, but in the ripper au! she’s a precocious little bab and ripper babysits her and gets semi-adopted by joyce. it’s a thing.

[btvs] a history lesson (698 words) a brief ripper au interlude between jenny and dru. dru tries to point out that jenny and ripper are in love. jenny very unconvincingly denies it.

[btvs] faith, hope, and pancakes (3,236 words) ripper au, now with faith! and she gets to hang with college-age jenny! who is dating her idiot boyfriend ripper! the Most Fun of times.

[btvs] compromises (750 words) this....was supposed to be a three-sentence prompt but I Can’t Do That. giles and jenny discuss (read: jenny yells at giles about) giles attempting to attack angel on sight.

[btvs] valentine buzz (3,422 words) i wrote this in may lmao but i just REALLY WANTED to write fluffy braveryverse valentine’s day nonsense!!! lots of cuddles and kisses and softness abound in this fic.

[btvs] days in goodness spent (5,893 words) this fic's point was a little more abstract and a little less blunt than most of the rest of these, but i wanted to explore the concept of giles slowly going from idealizing jenny to genuinely loving her. i hope i did it justice.

[btvs] to have and to hold (7,861 words) giles and jenny get married in the braveryverse. that’s really all there is. also i posted this on my birthday (may 23rd) AND it is the 23rd fic on this list!!!! WILD!!!!!)

[btvs] saw her in the streetlight, making all the world bright (5,738 words) took me like a year and a half to write the first fic in the ripper au, lmao. in which jenny is a snarky eighteen-year-old, ripper is a snarky college dropout in a band, and neither of them are at ALL good at communicating. especially not ripper.

[btvs] perfect (1,465 words) ripper au: it’s revealed that jenny hasn’t had sex before. ripper handles this with his characteristic maturity and grace (just kidding lmao he FREAKS. but it’s bc he loves her.)

[btvs] respite (1,106 words) i wrote this after issue 5 of the reboot dropped bc i was very emotional about canon power couple giles and jenny. in retrospect, i gave giles’s emotional maturity WAY too much credit--esp. given what’s going on now--but it was still fun as heck to write.

[btvs] shouldn’t we be getting together (3,193 words) this fic’s existence is a combo of me reading a summer camp ya novel and liking the Aesthetic but not the Culture & me talking endlessly w/ @jackalopingintothevoid​ about ripper and jenny’s teenage dynamic. so many of these fics have her galaxy brain takes woven in and i KNOW she knows that. lov u, jack.

[btvs] fragmented (6,158 words) written because of that one time my brain was like “but what if jenny WAS haunting the school?” happy ending because it’s me and g/j deserve some kisses.

[btvs/hp crossover] buffy summers, muggle-born (22,070 words) i CAME BACK TO THIS in 2019 and wrote a few chapters and DROPPED IT LIKE A HOT POTATO. hopefully 2020 will bring me the courage to pick it up again!!!!!! who DOESN’T want a carelessly-mashed-together crossover where the scoobies and the golden trio are all going to hogwarts together for some reason????

[btvs] in bloom (8,452 words) this was SUPPOSED to be the end of the jenny-anya-tara trilogy. it was not. (more on that later.) this was also supposed to be a fic where giles and jenny get together. jenny and anya got together. writing things is wild sometimes.

[btvs] i still want to be your girl (35,165 words) straight up i am so proud of this fic! s7 au: jenny was chased out of town by angelus. giles does not know this. jenny has been working with angel in la, but left with faith to try and help defeat the first. giles is not the guy she remembers. (but jenny’s not exactly the lady giles remembers, either. so maybe things might work out.)

[btvs/leverage crossover] what’s in a name (4,421 words) sophie’s & jenny’s relationship to their names & identities always so totally fascinated me! this fic was my way of exploring that. (also i got to give giles and jenny a toddler. that was fun too.)

[btvs comics] live a little (6,700 words) i had so much fun coming up with a backstory for giles and jenny in the comics that i am kinda tempted to eventually try and do it again. this one was fun to write, tho.

[btvs] kind of like hydrogen peroxide (7,501 words) THIS was FUN. ripper au, but it explores both jenny’s longing for High School Normalcy AND ripper’s fucked-up relationship to magic. also senior prom is a thing.

[btvs] mending fences (6,093 words) sequel to the aforementioned epistolary fic! lots of first-person self-loathing from giles, but also a LOT of love for jenny and his kids. also the man really truly needs to stop repressing.

[btvs] her father’s daughter (1,982 words) 2020 will bring us another chapter of this fic i swear to GOD. literally there’s only one chapter up so i cannot even TALK about my plans for it but uhhh if you want giles and jenny and their three daughters pls feel free to go to that prologue and check it out.

[btvs] a thousand different ways we fell apart (4,888 words) the au fic to encompass all au fics! inspired by the comic reboot and me being like. christ. do they go through this ridiculous shit in EVERY universe? ....and then i wrote a fic where jenny was a space traveler looking through multiple universe to try and fix her marriage with giles. extra fun.

[btvs] no such roses (4,814 words) this one turned out a TINY bit rushed, but the concept of jenny bringing giles back from the dead is always something that i love exploring. i might come back and rewrite this, someday.

[btvs comics] no perfect choice (4,801 words) OOF. wrote this one after issue 8 dropped. a lot softer and more tender than what actually happened, tbh. maybe i will reread it again to make myself feel better about comic calendiles and their brutal split.

[btvs] family (3,545 words) wrote this one p early in the year and came up with an ending to it much later! ripper au: the story of how xander came to live with giles and leave his parents. angst-with-a-happy-ending abounds.

[btvs] a california january (2,206 words) jenny and giles attend a funeral together. that’s pretty much it. this is defs one of the best things i wrote this year, tho.

[btvs] how i survived my summer vacation (volume two) (25,027 words) swear to god this is gonna be the next thing i update. the braveryverse NEEDS to continue. it’s got married calendiles, for god’s sake.

[btvs] clear and impartial judgment (3,977 words) that fic i wrote when i got mad at a lack of resolution wrt helpless. like!!! giles drugged buffy!!! do we not get to talk about the psychological ramifications that would have on her???? (well. canon doesn’t. but i do.)

[btvs] sunshine ladies (10,188 words) THIS FIC WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN and i say that with incandescent love in my heart. i intended for the ‘verse to be giles/jenny, and then i intended it to be jenny/anya, and then i was like....jenny has two goddamn hands, and there’s foreshadowing here for endgame giles/jenny, and i wanna write some giles/anya. let’s fuckin go. (DEFINITELY writing another installment in 2020 about this iconic ot3 of mine.) 

[btvs] spirit-touched (4,769 words) the first smut i write and it’s calendiles ghost sex. i really think this is on brand for me, esp. considering that swath of asks in 2016ish where everyone wanted to know if ghosts could jack off. incredible.

[btvs] dear friend (28,865 words) this fic had such a rushed ending :( it’s a cute premise (you’ve got mail giles/jenny au!!!!!), but i lost interest halfway through, and as a writer i can rlly see that when i read it. another thing i might like to go back and rewrite at some point, tbh!

[btvs] familiar (2,034 words) AUGH i am SO proud of this fic. SO SO PROUD. it’s a concept i really can’t explain and the little twist at the end is something i really really like, so...just read it.

[miss fisher’s murder mysteries] unbearable (5,670 words) i need to write more mfmm in 2020 but the amount of good fic out there is deeply intimidating/delightful. this one was my little “what if it was phryne who thought jack was dead” and tbqh i had a lot of fun with it? bc pining phryne (who makes brief but extremely poignant appearances throughout the series) is an awkwardly, heart-meltingly sincere lady.

[ace attorney] man’s duty to society (544 words) wrote this as my first foray into aa fic while getting emo about miles edgeworth. would absolutely still die for that man.

[ace attorney] fancy running into you (5,887 words) lots of schmoopy narumitsu fluff! gregory edgeworth is alive! miles is trauma-free! phoenix is an artist! just!!! goodness!!!!!!!

[ace attorney] big sister (2,741 words) set in the same gregory-edgeworth-is-alive ‘verse: babey franziska comes to live with miles and his dad. she is a little impossible but miles kinda does love her.

[ace attorney] prince charming edgeworth and his incredible tux (8,042 words) this fic came from me being like “i want to write phoenix swooning over miles in a tuxedo and being like HE LOOKS LIKE A DISNEY PRINCE” and spiraled into something much longer!

[ace attorney] fate, choice, and everything in between (4,384 words) SOULMATE AU. nothing i love more than deconstructing soulmate aus. but like. in a romantic way. also phoenix and miles ARE soulmates and that is JUST facts.

Favorite Fic: I WROTE SO MUCH STUFF THO LIKE !?!??! how can one expect me to distill it to just one fic? i’ll make it my top threeL

a california january (I AM SO PROUD OF THIS FIC. it is soft and angsty and silly and devastating and tender. all the calendiles feels.)

i still want to be your girl (same mood!!! i’ve wanted to write this fic for literal years, and it’s one of those rare occasions where the picture in my head actually turned out BETTER when written out!)

sunshine ladies (this is like my giles/jenny/anya ship manifesto and it still makes me happy to think about them all co-running the magic box together and smooching a lot.)

Hardest Fic: OOF uh i went through a rocky period of writing when transitioning into college? no such roses and dear friend were hit the hardest by my insecurity & my desire to Finish Things rather than actually spend time on the craft. but i’m much more settled in now and my writing is DEFINITELY in an upward swing (as my newest fic -- as day follows night -- attests to quite nicely, imo)

Do You Plan to Take Prompts in 2020? always always yes! (i’m bad at following through with them, but am ALWAYS accepting them.)

What was the best thing about 2019? there were almost too many good things to COUNT, but i think all of them were made possible by me working extremely hard to get myself the FUCK out of my abusive parents’ house and into my first choice college!! i’m thriving, y’all.

What was the worst thing about 2019? realizing that both of my parents are fundamentally terrible people. that part kinda sucked.

Any last thoughts for 2019? i finally understand what it’s like to fall asleep feeling safe, and to notice the way the leaves change color, and to get excited about self-indulgent things like food and cuddly stuffed animals and my own fic and art. 2019 brought a lot of happiness into my life, and oh yeah also i’m in love! lots of cool stuff going on.

Goals for 2020

finish the latest braveryverse installment!

MORE ART JUST IN GENERAL. i love drawing, but there’s not a lot of free time for artsy celia when they prioritize writing so often!

write one of the many incredible longfic ideas that’s floating around in my head. it’s honestly probably only like two or three big ones, but at least DECIDE which one i’m gonna focus my energy on.

more giles/anya this year!

more giles/jenny/anya this year!

diversify! still gonna be writing about jenny forever, but like. it might be fun to write about a few new things here and there.

maybe some more ace attorney fic? maybe even some mfmm fic again? phryne and jack are never far from my heart.

not tagging anyone bc this is....january. but if you wanna do it, feel free!

[calliecat93]

Top 5 Dislikes of Red vs Blue: Season 1

(Top 5 Likes)

So back a few months ago, in the lead up to RWBY Volume 7, I did a Top Likes/Dislikes list for all six volumes. I also did this for RvB Seasons 16 and 17, so… why not do it for the other fifteen? Especially with RvB18 on the way? Not only gives me an excuse to rewatch everything, but I get to have some fun~ So I will be covering RvB seasons 1-13 and 15. S14’s is gonna be a little bit different. But anyways, we’re gonna begin with the one that started it all, Season One~

Honestly though, critiquing Season One is hard. Mainly because this was a season made when RT was just a back bedroom with mainly Burnie and Geoff doing the machinima. We’re a long way away from RWBY-level quality. In the Blood Gulch Era,  it was just a bunch of friends making dumb stuff. Quality dumb stuff, but dumb nonetheless. So the five Dislikes are honestly minor and I don’t even really consider them bad. If anything, they show how far the show has come. So take the Dislikes list with a grain of salt, ut I needed to do it for the necessity of the list. So then, let’s get started~

#5. Not Fully Fleshed Out Characters

This is on the bottom because it’s really not that big a deal. The characters are kinda just somewhat exaggerated versions of the people that Burnie cast. They certianly have character, but aside from really Matt with Sarge, it’s just the cast playing exaggerated versions of themselves. It does kinda stand out because here, the characters don’t really have any defining personality traits or roles. We know a few things like Simmons being a kissass to Sarge, Grif is more out of shape, Caboose is a little dim-witted compared to the other Blues, etc. But when you look at all the future seasons, the lack of fleshing out is very noticeable. Especially for characters who are nothing like they were here, like Donut. I mean I don’t think he spouted even one innuendo here, it’s weeeeird.

Like I said though, this isn’t that big of a deal. The characters still have character and are still funny, it’s just clear that they hadn’t been fully developed. It’s a first season of what was originally meant to be a comedic miniseries and is very forgivable in that regard. It’s honestly fun to rewatch this season and then say Chorus and see how far the characterizations have come. Still, it is a tad noticeable and I needed five picks, so I’m gonna put it here. But again, it’s honestly fine. As is our Number FOur pick…

#4. The Voice Acting

These guys, aside from like… two or three of them, were not actors. They hadn’t done a bunch of material like they have now either, so this is again very forgivable. But it does make the voice acting lover in me kinda cringe when I hear it. You can tell that they’re trying, but as I said, this was still in the early days when no one really knew what they were doing. The one who did the best were either already actors (Joel, Yomary) or had more of a character to play with (Burnie, Matt). Everyone else, as I said, was pretty much given an exaggerated version of themselves and I think it kinda shows in the voice acting. They were all okay, but compared to their later performances and when they are given more characterization, this was not their best work.

But again, this is not that big of a deal. This was the early days and as I said, you can tell that they were trying. I think ti honestly adds tot he charm of early RvB. A bunch of friends making dumb stuff with a video game. I mean Gus outright recording his lines over the phone while living in Puerto Rico, he and the others were clearly dedicated to this thing. It’s not the stuff of legends, but given the tone of Blood Gulch, it works. It’s a dislike because like I said, it annoys my voice acting loving self and it’s weaker to their later performances. But still, it’s very enjoyable… even if some of the voices some chose are kinda jarring. Speaking of…

#3. Sarge’s Voice/Not Fully Fleshed Out Character

This one is super nitpicky, but it bothers me! We all know Sage and his overly exaggerated Southern accent, right? Well… in this one, he is much, much more subdued. Like I said, the characters weren’t fully fleshed out and so Sarge isn’t quite the same as we know him now. The voice reflects this. Here, Matt plays him like a stereotypical Nasty Drill Sargeant. IDK why, but the voice just… bugs me. I guess it’s just because I’m so used tot he current one, but it jarred me so much I had to check if Matt had been the one doing the voice in Season One. Sure enough…

Yeah, this one is very nitpicky and again reflects how I don’t feel the characters were very well fleshed out. I mean even comedic wise, Sarge didn’t really stand out and was really just there to give Grif a hard time. Even his hatred of Blue isn’t really there. Fortunately, this would be fixed in Season 2. Every time I look back at this though, it just takes me out for a minute cause ‘OMG this is not the Sarge I’m used too!’. So a nitpick, but a dislike nonetheless. But hey the fact that this is a minor issue speaks of how much I enjoy this season, haha!

#2. The Afterlife Scene

OH GOD THIS SCENE! IT CONFUSED ME ALMOST AS MUCH AS THE S3 TIME TRAVEL SCENES DID! ALMOST!

So… Blood Gulch is very weird. I mean it had Ghost Church, is this a surprise? But that wasn’t even the weirdest part of this season or even the entirety of the Blood Gulch Chronicles. No, that honor goes to this scene where, after Caboose shot Sarge when Church was possessing him, Sarge found himself in the afterlife. Church and Shelia are also there. Now, fortunately, Sarge comes back via Grif using CPR… on a bullet wound… yeah… but God this scene was the first time the show made me go ‘WTF am I even watching?!’ especially since unlike Chruch’s ghost thing, it never comes up again. Church having been an AI the whole time didn’t help.

Now I know it kinda got explained later as part of Recovery Mode, but it still leaves a lot of questions. Why was Church there? He got kicked out of Sarge’s body when he got shot. Maybe he went back in hopes of making it work? IDK. But maybe we can just say that since Church was possessing Sarge, he left some kind of trace and the Recovery Mode picked up on it. Cool… then why was Shelia there? Sarge wasn’t even at the canyon when Shelia was unleashed. Did Recovery Mode pick up on that from Church too since it was so recent? I guess that makes sense? And yeah I know that when they wrote this Church wasn’t intended to be an AI so maybe it really was the afterlife, but that’s no longer a possibility, so… AAAAHHHH!!!

Yeah… this is why I don’t try to think through Blood Gulch stuff too much. Doing so does nothing except make my brain hurt when I try to go over how it makes sense in canon. Don’t get me wrong, the scene was funny especially with Grif and Simmons trying to revive Sarge. Kinda feel bad for Grif for getting scolded when he just saved Sarge’s life, but it’s Sarge. Of course, he would. I also like the more muted colors int he afterlife and the weird wavy effects with the scenes in the world of the living. It’s a funny scene, just one that hurts my head whenever I try to make sense of it. Stupid me and my stupid need for logic…

#1. The Audio

This was by far the biggest thing I noticed, including back when I started this back in 2017. The audio is… not good. I think this might help explain some of the amateur voice actings because half the time, the filter effect distracts you from the performance. Now I actually do like them using the filter since it makes sense that they’d use mics int heir helmets to talk, but I think that they tuned it up a little too much here. The whole reason they did this was to hide the fact that people like Gus, Jason, and all the guys in California had to record their lines over the phone. It’s one of the better decisions that they made, but like I said, in this season it is super distracting.

The only thing maybe worse is the mixing when it comes to explosions. There are a lot of explosion effects in this due to all the guns, grenades, and tanks. They are loud. Really loud. Like I remember watching the scene where Church dies. I was watching it on my laptop with headphones and I had the volume at a fairly modest time. The explosion noise made me jump. It can sometimes also overpower the voice acting like I think there were a few times I couldn’t fully make out what the Reds were saying when Shelia was firing at the end. Add that tot he voice filter and… yeah.

The audio wasn’t bad. Like I could tell what characters were saying. The effect was just distracting though and clearly they needed some work on audio mixing. Which they, fortunately, did by the next season. I think Burnie even mentioned how annoyed he got at the constant complaints about the filter int he Season 2 commentary, but hey he listened! Still, for Season One, it was by far the thing that annoyed me most and while I know it’s because they didn’t have quality equipment, it still distracts me when I rewatch. So it’s going to be my Top Dislike for Season One.

Final Thoughts

As I have tried to make clear, I don’t view any of these as major issues. Heck aside from Audio, IDK if I’d even say I disliked them. Thrown off by them sure, but not outright dislike. It honestly helped the show I think. It’s certainly mature and kinda crappy work, but it added to the charm and appeal to the show. It’s why they still use stuff like and photoshops, it’s endearing. Even with the improved production quality and while they have maintained a lot of what made RvB such a fun series, the original seasons still have this unique charm that despite how stupid it is, you just wanna tune into it over and over again. So these may be Dislikes, but they’re ones to be proud of. But hey I’ve still got plenty of Likes to talk about, so stay tuned for that~

[epersonae]

This has been informally known as the “Mavis and Angus Fix Everything” fic in the WDA discord. It might also be called “epersonae yells at @magcretia about Another Beach Year” because that’s basically how it got started. It ended as the the longest thing I’ve written so far, even though it just covers a couple of days, and mostly a single evening.

Some almost equally long liner notes below the cut....

So this started with two things:

The very first line just sort of popped into my head when @magcretia was helping me work through some writer’s block about something else entirely. Originally, I thought I might use it for an Extreme Teen Adventures fic, so I just dropped it into my doc of random little ideas.

But then not very long after, she was in the discord talking about Another Beach Year and how she thought of something that could make it worse, and everyone (@blue-mood-blue, @emi--rose, and @weatheredlaw for sure) started piling on with more and more angst and I just kinda snapped? And was like: ANGUS AND MAVIS FIX EVERYTHING. [and now I’m trying to remember if I’d already written that first silly little scene where Merle is about to get lost in the woods? Anyway.] Because jeez, these grownups just keep getting deeper and deeper into their own drama, and what about the children?

Which, to start with: how old are Angus and Mavis? In one of several things that I just lifted entirely from Another Beach Year (which, btw, is excellent and you should be reading it), this is set approximately three years after story and song, which makes Angus about 13 or 14, and Mavis 14 or 15. So less children, and more early teens. For sure old enough to be picking up on all the drama going on with the adults around them, and to think maybe they can do something about it.

Speaking of grabbing ideas from other people:

First, this whole damn thing is basically a dialogue with Kath’s post-canon work. It’s perennially interesting to me how we’re working in more or less the same space, and because we focus on different aspects and have different narrative styles, we end up in slightly different places. This one has a lot of little details that I’ve more or less yoinked intact from Sizzled Out and For Old Time’s Sake; I might not even know what all of them are?!

Additionally, there was a long discussion in the WDA some months back about a Parent Trap AU with Angus and Fischer in the roles of the kids and Magnus and Lucretia in the roles of the parents. I think there’s a bit of that in here, tbqh, although I didn’t realize it until I was well underway.

Initially, I was thinking of this story as a stand-alone fic separate from my post-canon continuity, but as I went along it made sense to integrate bits of that, and at some point I realized it was set at a very specific point, which is to say right after Back in the Zone.

And in that continuity, I’m pretty certain that Lucretia and Taako don’t really reconcile until Magnus dies. So it couldn’t be “Angus and Mavis fix everything”, so what do they fix? Well: Polyblaster 4Lyfe plus all the Kraagnus I’ve been writing lately means clearing up things between Magnus and Taako, and baby!Magcretia means that it’s all directly related to Angus and his parentage. Which led to: Mavis persuades Angus to try to get his dads to be cool with each other again.

And oh yeah: writing about how much or how little these two young teenagers understand of the goddamn complicated web of relationships? Honestly was one of the most fun things I’ve gotten to write. (“Uncle Magnus likes Kravitz okay?” I die.) Angus saying “I don’t know why they have to be so complicated.” HOOBOY KID, us too. Plus for the hell of it I gave Mavis basically the WDA reaction to Magcretia: she thinks it’s adorable.

I also put a lot of thought into what the characters call each other, especially what the kids call the adults. Per canon, Mavis calls everyone Aunt and Uncle except for Davenport (WINK); I also have her interchangeably refer to Merle by his name, as “Dad”, and as “Pop”, just as they felt right. (This may or may not be true to canon; don’t @ me.) In a previous fic, I asked the crew what Angus would call Taako if Magnus were his father, and the consensus was “Mister Taako,” so I stuck to that here. Similarly, Merle is “Mister Merle” and Lup is “Miss Lup”, with still a lot of “sir” and “ma’am”. By this point, he generally consistently refers to Magnus as Dad and Lucretia as Mom, although there’s often extra ums and uhs around that, because he’s still feeling his way through it himself. Kravitz is just his name, nothing else.

At first I thought this fic was going to be spread out over a much longer stretch of time: I even had a bit of an idea for something way off in the future expanding on something that gets a couple of sentences in Remember. But it ended up coalescing into this single evening: Angus and Kravitz and Taako and Magnus going to Fantasy Olive Garden in an undetermined location while Mavis and Lucretia and Lup go to Chesney’s for karaoke night.

Sooooo, my favorite “Taako finally uses that FOG pass” fic is actually a 10000% nsfw Kraagnus, so that adds to the weird emotional whiplash in my own brain at least. 

On top of that, when I first had the idea, I thought “jeez I’ve done this already, should I?”, with Angus trying to get Taako and Lucretia to talk: then I realized that could actually be part of the fic itself. Angus has a Way of Dealing with Conflict, and it involves making people talk over food. And man, this dialogue just kinda happened? (Thanks Kath for encouraging me to give Kravitz’s mic drop a little room around it. And bless Griffin for having Angus say “horseshit” in canon.)

I’m very proud of the chunk of dialogue that got this reaction, by the way:

As for the karaoke: this summer I discovered two things: Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics is absolutely a Relic-hunting song, and it’s also absolutely my go-to karaoke song. So that was obviously Lucretia’s song. Then, as usual, I asked the gang for opinions. The consensus was that Mavis was going to be amazing at karaoke, and when Kath mentioned 4 Non Blondes What’s Up as being her song, I went to have a listen. (Dang that song was everywhere when I was 18.) And it just fit. When blue mentioned singing “a song about killing a man”, I had to ask, and when that turned out to be Goodbye Earl, we all started joking about Goodbye Merle, and yup, absolutely a duet of Mavis and Lup to give Merle a heart attack. Kath also suggested Alone by Heart, and since I know I want to write a Lupcretia follow-up, that fit nicely as well. Bonus song: I love the Bond movie Goldeneye, and Minnie Driver mangling the hell out of Stand By Your Man seemed like a nice touch for some bad karaoke.

Have a playlist.

It was nice, really, to just let the gals have fun while the guys worked out their issues. Which turns out to be “Taako on the art of apologizing without apologizing” after Kravitz cuts through all the equivocating and bullshit.

I took a couple of stabs at an ending before it really solidified, and AGAIN, suggestion from Kath for both Angus and Mavis to have some separate resolution with an adult, who I realized had to be Merle for both. He’s very Dad in this, and in my fic he’s also tried to do what they want to do and has a lot of sympathy. 

I actually wrote the scene with the kids on the roof before either of the two scenes right before it, but even with the additional conversations it didn’t feel like a good resolution, whereas ending with Merle somehow did. (Catch me adding a tiny glimpse of Davenchurch!) I know it’s not “all better”, but I feel like I’m moving towards that “happy ending they all deserve” with this one, which is something I really want to do.

[beckyhop]

I watched a crappy anti-SJW documentary today

I may have been re-listening to Hbomberguy’s Measured Response videos as background noise lately, and it inspired me, in between chores and drawing today, to check out the inspiration behind some of his early popular videos: the infamous “documentary” The Sarkeesian Effect.

I’ll fully admit to not having watched Anita Sarkeesian’s videos (making me about as knowledgable about her work as Davis Aurini himself), and my opinion on her is one of massive indifference, though I think she deserved none of the awful harassment she got. However, as a connoisseur of shit movies with questionable messages…this sounds like a goldmine to me.

I know I’m late to the party on this one, but screw it, a documentary shouldn’t feel limited to the time period it was created in. And even as someone who’s not interested in Sarkeesian’s videos, I don’t think that should matter because a good documentary shouldn’t just preach to the choir; it should be able to inform people who may not have any stakes in the game.

…emphasis on “should”.

For a better idea of what I’m in for here, check out We Hunted the Mammoth’s coverage. Also, this is a great opportunity to break out my updated Alt-Right bingo card!

So without further ado, here’s my notes on Jordan Owen and Davis Aurini’s The Sarkeesian Effect: Inside the World of Social Justice Warriors

First shot is of Jorden Owen’s “production logo”

Between the font choice and the accompanying sound, I think he’s trying to imitate the THX logo. It fails because it’s butt-ugly and the “JO42” is barely readable.

The movie proper starts with this quote:

“Our censure should be reserved for those who would close all doors but one. The surest way to lose truth is to pretend that one already wholly possesses it”

-Gordon W. Allport

Time will tell how ironic this choice may be.

The title sequence is a CGI shot going across a goddamn CONSPIRACY THEORY WALL, WITH THUMBTACKS AND STRING AND EVERYTHING. Good job establishing your side’s credibility already, Jordan.

OH YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT, THUNDERF00T’S IN THIS DESPITE DECRYING THE DOCUMENTARY LATER ON. Really, though, Jordan took out all mentions of Davis Aurini, so I’m surprised Thunderf00t’s still in this thing.

Speaking of Thunderf00t, does he always look like he just rolled out of bed, or is it just me?

Oof, I think Jordan Owen needs to get a new pop filter.

Alright, I think you can cut Anita a little slack for forgetting that Zelda was the main character in two of the CD-i games; Nobody wants to remember those, and they sure as fuck aren’t canon.

Bringing up the assumption that Anita’s an “art critic” is some rather flimsy justification for interviewing a traditionally attractive female erotic photographer, Owen. Also, WHY CAN I SEE YOUR HANDS IN THE SHOT, HAVE YOU NEVER WATCHED A GOOD DOCUMENTARY BEFORE.

God, that’s an awkward jump cut. You couldn’t throw in some B-roll to make that cut less awkward? AND WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS LIGHTING, COULD YOU NOT FILM HER IN AN AREA WHERE THE CHANGING OUTDOOR LIGHTING WOULDN’T FUCK UP THE WHITE BALANCE

The hell does Mallorie mean by not seeing female game characters as “women” and learning not to “anthropomorphize” characters, and only seeing characters as a means to further a story? Isn’t that kinda defeating the purpose of engaging in media? She’s acting like video games and all fictional characters should exist in a politics-free vacuum, when they really, really can’t. Taking away a character’s wants, desires, and their cultural implications kinda ruins the effect of a story, if you ask me.

Aggggh, the quick shots of each “social justice warrior” game critic are cut way too fast for me, I had to pause to actually read some of the names and credentials here.

Another interview subject who couldn’t be bothered to clean up his appearance before showing up on camera. Sigh.

AGGGGH, FUCKING FONT COLOR CHOICE, please tell me this is other peoples’ pet peeve as well.

I’ve seen documentaries where you could hear the interviewer’s voice in the interview, or see them actually in the shot, but those were usually done for a purpose (such as making the question being asked clear to the audience), and the interviewer themselves usually has enough screen presence to pull off actually being seen on camera (look at most Werner Herzog docs, for example). Jordan Owen has the screen presence of a mildewy sponge, and I don’t need to hear him go “right” and “uh-huh” every few seconds during interviews. I LEARNED THIS IN ONE GODDAMN CLASS IN COLLEGE, HOW HAS HE NOT LEARNED THIS YET.

Side note, I find it kinda eyeroll-worthy that, when listing logos of sites that have been pro-Sarkeesian, both Gawker and Kotaku are shown. Dude, Gawker owned Kotaku at the time you were making this, that’s a little redundant.

Also, as someone who has worked freelance, I don’t care much for Brad Wardell’s assumption that freelance writers are willing to work for free so they can push their agenda. Fuck you, buddy.

Black Sabbath quote, huh? Man, I’d love to see Ozzy Osbourne’s opinion on being dragged into this shit.

Oh god, more shit lighting, I should not be seeing goddamn artifacting or lighting glares from the mirror in this shot. And could you not nudge the camera tripod a little further down? Maybe fix the focus a little? And why is your fucking shoe in this shot?!

One of the subjects in this interview says that Sarkessian claims that anyone who enjoys media with sexist elements is a bad person. Again, I haven’t actually watched any of Sarkeesian’s stuff, but I think this viewpoint sums up a lot of angry gamers’ reaction to even the slightest criticism of anything they like. For the record, I don’t think you’re a bad person if you like something with problematic elements, but people are allowed to criticize media with sexist elements because how else are we going to progress?

Jordan. I know you had lapel mics on hand for this documentary. I know you and Davis got a LOT of money to produce this thing. Could you not make the sound quality a little better? Because I SHOULD NOT BE HEARING ANY ECHOING.

Was…was that an actual dip in volume? Where did you learn your skills, Jordan, the James Nguyen School of Sound Editing? Also, I had to move my left headphone speaker away from my ear for a second because I thought I heard something in the other room, and noticed that once I did, I could hear NOTHING the interview subject was saying. Fucking…can he not balance his audio channels?

These are the kinds of threats that several interview subjects think Anita should have just brushed off:

…you guys, uh, don’t see any bigger problem with women being called whores or being told to kill themselves over goddamn video game opinions? Okay then.

I’M ONLY 20 MINUTES IN.

“Police don’t just delete records…do they?” Uh, yeah. Sometimes they do. A quick Google search might have told you that.

You know, normally if the audio quality of a call is crappy, you put subtitles on the video. Just saying. Also, even if nothing comes of a terror threat, IT’S STILL LAW ENFORCEMENT’S JOB TO INVESTIGATE IT.

I don’t need to hear every intake of breath in your narration, Owen.

He…he’s actually using a fanfiction of Sarkeesian threatening Randy Pitchford and then killing him over Aliens: Colonial Marines as a talking point? What?! This documentary just got hilarious.

“Why would Anita Sarkeesian…endorse the spread of such a chilling snuff narrative?” Uh, because it doesn’t sound like it’s a very serious story, and anyway doesn’t most of the gaming community hate Aliens: Colonial Marines and Randy Pitchford’s attempts to brush over that controversy? I mean, I think a fanfiction that also costars Spider-Man and the Green Goblin should be taken way less seriously than actual rape and death threats.

Christ, if you’re gonna have lower thirds, keep them up long enough for people to read them without pausing, asswipe.

Wait, are you seriously crediting this guy as a Wikipedia editor? Isn’t that like crediting someone as a clothes-wearer? He also claims to have edited over 1,000 articles which…man, that’s a weak claim to fame.

Okay, so Wikipedia guy says he was trying to point out on the Talk page for Sarkeesian’s Wikipedia entry that there was nothing on there about how she once worked with a pickup artist (he points out this as hypocrisy, though let’s be real, we’ve all associated with people we grow to despise the views of later in life), and he claims that the Wikipedia admins were forbidding him to edit GamerGate related articles. Sounds to me like the higher-ups at Wikipedia were just getting really, really goddamn tired of vandalism on Wikipedia pages for people related to GamerGate, and this guy’s editing attempt just got lumped in with a lot of the bullshit.

Now the Honeybadger ladies are criticizing Sarkeesian for bringing up toxic masculinity and relating it to a then-recent mass shooting. I don’t deny the questionable nature of those comments, but you guys ARE aware she’s nowhere near the first (or worst) person to use a shooting to bring up one of their favorite talking points, right?

AGHHH, WHO’S MAKING NOISES RIGHT INTO THE MIC MY POOR EARS

Why is all the footage of Wikipedia guy so weirdly shot and edited? It looks like he’s trying to scoot out of the frame.

Oh hey, actual context for that “I’m not a fan of video games” clip I’ve seen floating around in gif form. Sounds to me in this video like she’s just too turned off by the video game fandom and the content of certain games to really consider herself a gamer. And from personal experience in other fandoms I’ve been in, I totally get it.

I never thought I’d see a gamer documentary actually defending Jack Thompson and his views on violent video games, after all the backlash I saw against him in the 2000s.

AGAIN with the awkward jump cuts, Jesus.

Oh, is Jack making the old “How can you get angry about THIS sexist issue when there’s BIGGER sexist issues out there” argument? Despite the fact that most feminists I know are capable of multi-tasking?

JIHAD! JIHAD! HE SAID THE MAGIC BUZZWORD! HE COMPARED HER TO RADICAL ISLAM!

Oh don’t try to one-up her in the Who-Got-More-Death-Threats Olympics, Jack. Also, wow, he actually sounds bitter that she got an award for her coverage (even claiming that awards undercut a critic’s credibility!) and that some people actually like her while he’s gotten nothing. Overall, Jack Thompson sounds like a whiny old man who’s mad that nobody respects him the way he thinks he should.

Thunderf00t is claiming that Rebecca Watson’s reaction to being propositioned at 4 AM during an atheist conference was overblown. Dude, in a society where women can and do get date raped under similar circumstances, I think she had every right to be creeped out and explain to men why she felt that way. And I don’t think she’s saying “all guys shouldn’t hit on girls” I think she’s saying “please consider if you’re coming across as a creep”. And let’s be real, a LOT of dudes don’t consider that.

Christ, how many instances are we going to get of a dude in this documentary trying to one-up a woman’s claims of harassment by saying “I’VE SUFFERED WORSE, GROW THE FUCK UP” Like…dude. It’s not about you.

What…what even is this bit of editing?

That’s how this shot is edited in the film, I swear to god.

Hoo boy, are we touching on the “PTSD is only for veterans” chestnut?

Hey, now I know the context of that one screencap of a feminist with bright red hair! And her name (Chanty Binx)! And it…sounds like she was just trying to make a point and was getting more and more pissed off that people were interrupting her? Really, this is what anti-feminists like making memes out of? (Also, she apparently later admitted she got pretty rude)

…wait, what does an “adult performer” have to do with any of this? Jordan Owen, I once again SERIOUSLY question your methods in picking interview subjects.

Okay, the performer, Mercedes Carrera, clarifies that she thinks that women who claim their failures (particularly in STEM fields) are rooted in misogyny are being ridiculous. She cites her own experience in a STEM field as proof. Ma’am, I don’t doubt your experience, but let’s not invalidate others’ here. Perhaps you were just lucky?

Apparently one of the interviewees thinks “mansplaining” is one of the most sexist terms ever. Pfffffffffffft.

Hey, come to think of it, in this section about “professional victims”, do we have any actual evidence that the women in question received any money for their victimhood? Maybe that might have helped your point, buddy.

One interviewee, Jim Goad, says “Do micro-aggressions EXIST in sub-Saharan Africa” WHAT IS HE EVEN TALKING ABOUT?

Seriously, why are so many of these interviews so weirdly cropped? Is this “artsy”?

Ugh, thanks a lot for reminding me of the existence of Shredded Moose, asshole.

Brad Wardell claims he didn’t know anything about the gross pornographic cartoon the Shredded Moose guy drew of Zoe Quinn when he reached out to said artist, and claims that Quinn and people on her side (including Jim Sterling!) were lying about him reaching out to him because of the anti-Quinn cartoon. Maybe so, dude, but you really, REALLY should have done some research on this artist before making that job offer. That’s just good business sense.

Oh, THAT’S why Mallorie Nasrallah’s an interview subject: she worked with Zoe back when the latter was a nude model, and claims that Zoe was a compulsive liar!…and this has anything to do with video games how? (also, not sure about verity of the compulsive lying thing)

You know, even if posting images of Zoe’s porny past doesn’t count as “revenge porn” in the strictest sense, the fact that people are bringing these up specifically to discredit her IS A GODDAMN PROBLEM.

This is the image Jordan uses when discussing “social justice warriors”:

…really making your side look mature there, bud.

Jim Goad compares SJWs to “cell warriors” in prison WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS DUDE ON.

Frankfurt School! Ooooh, bring up Cultural Marxism for the sake of my bingo card.

Now we’re seeing a collage of “SJW” game journalists and their respective publications. Shit, this was produced while Jim Sterling was still working at The Escapist, feels like that was forever ago.

Oh of course this documentary would feature people who hate the Southern Poverty Law Center.

More “wisdom” from Jim Goad: “When I was a kid, if you were a Communist or a homosexual, then you’d lose your career. Now communists and homosexuals are in power and are seeking to destroy the career of anyone who’s not down with their agenda.” OOOO! HOMOPHOBIA! I’m one “red pill” mention away from a bingo!

“Orwellian idea of hate speech”? You know, sometimes I wonder if the political Right ever actually understood George Orwell.

Oh for the love of…

STOP CROPPING THINGS SO WEIRDLY, JORDAN OWEN. Or was that Davis’ idea, given how similar this is to the editing of that Alt-Right Dogs trailer?

Citing Breitbart as a source? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA oh God, this feels even worse in the current political climate.

I’m an hour and 40 minutes in AND THERE’S 50 MINUTES LEFT, GOOD GOD JORDAN OWEN IS A TERRIBLE EDITOR.

I must not have ever looked too closely at this picture of Zoe Quinn before, because Jordan Owen’s constant use of it has made me realize for the first time she’s wearing a necklace with Sailor Moon’s Cosmic Heart Compact on it.

I don’t always wear jewelry, but I need to find out where she got that now.

Watching a segment on actual death threats aimed towards anti-feminists and Gamergaters, and I should mention that I’m not denying that harassment occurs from the other side of the debate. Death/terror threats probably shouldn’t be the first course of action against someone you disagree with, no matter where you fall on the political spectrum. That said, I’m not comfortable with the whole “Our death threats are worse than yours!” narrative this segment seems to be hinting at.

Wait is…is this how Jordan Owen censors out brand names?

Dude, a blur effect would have looked way better here.

So, why are we presenting the threats Brad Wardell got threatening to rape his wife and child as completely serious, but some of the similar threats that Anita got as “That’s awful, but it’s just how people are on the internet!” Shouldn’t both situations be concerning?

Seriously though, Jordan, thanks for using pics of Zoe Quinn that give me more inspiration to go find sweet-ass Sailor Moon necklaces.

(I want that jacket, too)

Oh NOW, after about a goddamn hour, we get back to Anita Sarkeesian, a.k.a. THE PERSON YOU NAMED THIS DOCUMENTARY AFTER.

Back to the Honeybadger ladies: “If our society were misogynistic…it would not work at all” Hello, I’m from the future-year of 2017, and do I have some bad news for you.

JIM GOAD SAID “BETA MALES”, I CAN CHECK OFF THE ALPHA MASCULINITY SQUARE!

On the #NotYourShield topic now. I don’t feel knowledgeable enough to speak about the racial minorities or trans people who took part in that movement (I am very white and very cis), but I will say that as a woman, I’ve certainly encountered my fair share of misogynist women (who usually justify themselves as being “better” than modern women).

…also, I’m gonna give Jordan Owen the benefit of the doubt and assume that this segment isn’t the documentary equivalent of saying “I’m not racist, I have black friends!”

And the PhD candidate you found to explain “false consciousness” is Christina Parreira, who is first and foremost credited as a sex worker. Now, I’ve got nothing against sex work, but that title seems pretty irrelevant to the subject at hand and just makes me continue to question how you picked half the female interviewees.

Holy shit, what is with this weird buzzy echo in this segment?

Jordan goes on to talk about feminist opposition to sex work and porn, and Parreira brings up Anita’s use of “prostituted women” for female sex workers, but using “sex worker” when referring to male characters in that industry. I certainly won’t deny that certain forms of feminism haven’t been kind to sex workers (there’s a reason the term SWERF exists), but I do think it’s unfair to ignore that there are issues with the porn and sex work industries that really need to be examined and dealt with. (Problems that, admittedly, could be solved partly by destigmatizing women who choose those lines of work)

Christine Parreira goes on to talk about how she broke away from feminism because other feminists didn’t get how she was a proud sex worker. I understand where she’s coming from, but I’d also like to point out that feminism isn’t the monolith Jordan Owen’s trying to present: there’s a reason why we have constant discussions about TERFs and “white feminists” and how feminism really needs to work on its inclusivity issues. It’s not a sign of how feminism has failed, it’s a sign that, like all political movements, it’s still got a long way to go.

And now a serious story about how a sex worker was raped in her home and, despite being informed about it, Anita and many other feminists ignored the story and crowdfunding efforts to support her. I really don’t have much to say about this part except I hope she did get the help she needed (Oh, and Mercedes’ Carrera’s comment about “we don’t get workman’s comp”? Perfect example of the sex industry problems I was talking about)

With all this pointed out, I should state that these notes are being written as I watch the movie, and I now realize why Jordan Owen brought in sex workers to talk about Sarkeesian. However, given that the sex work talk doesn’t start till after the 2 hour mark, it seems really, really odd for those couple of hours that he’s brought in sex workers to talk about a video game critic. If he were a better writer, director, or editor, I wouldn’t be questioning this. Fuck, if he were a better filmmaker, I don’t think this thing would have been two-and-half hours, period.

This is the second time Nick Robalik’s shown up in the film and I just NOW noticed the goddamn pizza box in the background.

I’m pretty sure most filmmakers don’t show their craft services in the film itself. And for god’s sake, WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH THAT ECHO

So now Jordan Owen is criticizing the concept of “gamification”, and specifically using video games as a political mouthpiece. But…aren’t video games art? And isn’t there a long, rich history of art and political messages going hand-in-hand? JORDAN OWEN, YOU ARE A FAN OF SKELETOR, FOR GOD’S SAKE.

Oh and hey, speak of the (almost literal) devil, there’s a quote from Rand herself! 

“Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars.”

Ironic, considering Rand’s being used as a tool for Jordan Owen’s use here.

Brad Wardell says that he was inspired to get into game programming thanks to Sid Meier’s Civilization and he wanted to know what happens “when that spaceship leaves Earth”. Well, if I may be a smartass here, he could’ve just waited for Alpha Centauri…

Ooooh, and now Jordan Owen gets all ominous as he builds up the reason why he and many others are mad at Anita Sarkeesian, and he describes it as “the unending fountain of rage from which we draw strength” and WAIT ARE YOU USING A SCREENCAP OF AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE PATREON CAMPAIGN FOR THIS VERY FILM TO ILLUSTRATE YOUR POINT?!

WHAT THE FUCK

And speaking of “what the fuck”, why is Jordan going into some monologue about the nature of virtue and morality and the will to live while zooming in on some stock animation of a galaxy?

I’m not kidding, this is an actual screencap from a film about Anita Sarkeesian and GamerGate:

Why is he talking about how we’re different from other animals this is a documentary about video game feminism

He’s claiming that feminists want to take fun and competition out of games. No, dipshit, most geeky feminists I know just want to feel comfortable in gaming communities.

Oh god, he’s comparing them to parasites, WHAT KIND OF DAVE SIM WINGNUTTERY AM I WATCHING NOW

He’s calling gamers “historically ostracized”?! Look, I know what it’s like to be bullied for being a nerd but…I still don’t think that’s the appropriate phrase here?

Oh god oh god oh god he’s claiming that feminists want goverment regulation of the gaming community what is this shit

He claims SJWs who want games to be “better” only want propaganda and can’t see the imaginative potential in games. Dude, making games more inclusive and diverse would, in my opinion, expand the creative possibilities in game design. I’VE LIVED THROUGH SEEING WAY TOO MANY GODDAMN GAMES FEATURING GENERIC BROWN-HAIRED STUBBLED STRAIGHT DUDES AS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERS FOR ME TO LET THAT ARGUMENT SLIDE.

He’s claiming that people who want to be represented in art simply want to use creators as mouthpieces. REPRESENTATION. DOES NOT. WORK THAT WAY.

He keeps using this animation to represent how SJWs want to beat opposition into submission or some shit and good God, man, you think the Left is fearmongering?

“It is not because we resent the idea of gaming’s expanding horizons, but because we know that there was never any limits in the first place” Except the limits of close-minded execs who only want to appeal to 13-year-old male COD players, of course. But you won’t touch on that, now will you?

And he pulls out the old “If you want representation, make your own stuff” argument. And yet, I do distinctly remember him deriding Gone Home as “D*ke Mansion 3D”, so even if someone took his advice, people like Jordan Owen would still complain about its political agenda. People do make their own diverse works and yet they still get pushback from anti-SJW types.

And a montage of gaming history to prove “how far we’ve come without [SJWs]”. I noticed a clip from one of the King’s Quest games in this montage, which is hysterical to me considering how many Sierra adventure game people refused to work with Jordan Own specifically because of the views he spouted in this very documentary.

I’m admittedly a little grumpy he included footage of one of my favorite game series, Portal, in the “We don’t need SJWs to make good games!” montage

And now a montage of the interview subjects telling what they’d say to Anita Sarkeesian if given a chance. One of the Honeybadger ladies pulls out the “get a real job” line, which, as someone working in a creative field, admittedly made me flinch.

Are…are some of these people trying to psychoanalyze Anita?

Well, if all else fails, Jordan, you could always get a job making overly-long montages for awards shows.

Oh, so you ARE at least crediting Davis for the videography! First of, I think you mean “cinematographer” or “director of photography” and second, holy fuck does that explain a lot given what I’ve seen of Davis’ camera work in other stuff.

Sargon of Akkad gets a special thanks! Another person who would (understandably) break ties with Davis Aurini!

And that was, undoubtedly, the worst documentary I have ever watched…

…at least, until I get around to watching Davis Aurini’s version.

And here’s the Alt-Right bingo results! Didn’t get the bingo I wanted, but I came REALLY damn close:

One last note: in the description for this video, Jordan Owen says "No, I am not returning to Sarkeesian/SJW related commentary." Good, because you suck at delivering said commentary.