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#basically just my thoughts about how the physically weaker ones end up having more power over The Strongest
cursedvibes · 11 months
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Two Types of Ultimate Strength in JJK
I wanted to take the time to break down the two types of The Strongest we meet in the story and the way these four people are representing them. In this case, "The Strongest" means: a person with the power to permanently change (jujutsu) society.
Raw Power
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I struggled a bit with how to name the two categories, but ultimately settled on this. Raw Power refers to the people who get called The Strongest in text aka Ryomen Sukuna & Gojo Satoru. The strongest sorcerer in history and the strongest sorcerer of modern times. Their power lies in their attack strength and natural abilities. Their physical superiority lets them shape society and even affect things like the spawning of curses and the power-levels of sorcerers because the lethal threat they pose forces everyone to follow or die. In Sukuna's case there is basically only the option to die, although he did negotiate with the Fujiwara and they incorporated him into rituals and political plays (more like you would use an atomic bomb than him actively participating in discussions, I imagine), so he wasn't in kill mode 24/7. Gojo changed the behavior of curse users just by being born. He could kill the higher-ups at any point and put his own people in power to run society as he sees fit, nobody could stop him. He could block or instate any political system he wants. Recently it looks like that might actually be part of his plan.
Gojo and Sukuna have more differences though than Sukuna just being more destructive and forcing sorcerers to evolve or die. Gojo was special the moment he was born. Tengen literally designed him to be an indestructible weapon from a young age. He's smart too, but his physiology and innate technique already give him a huge advantage over anyone else and nobody besides Sukuna has even a chance at breeching that gap.
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As far as we know, for Sukuna that wasn't the case. His cursed technique, Shrine, depends on taking other skills in and collecting them. Add onto that large reserves of cursed energy and quick learning skill. He has a strong understanding of cursed energy and the soul (without a physical advantage like the six eyes) and that is the basis for how he is able to perform techniques like an unclosed domain, turning himself into a cursed object and learning to regenerate his cursed technique after experiencing it once. It relies a lot more on experience and study than in Gojo's case, despite also having intrinsic advantages like his large cursed energy pool. He is also more adaptable than Gojo as his fight against Mahoraga shows very well. Gojo's attitude is more straightforward, but he also rarely gets challenged to do more than shoot his energy blasts very precisely and with a lot of power behind it. He rarely gets forced to rely on other skills or trickery. In that way, he's actually much more the brute force type than Sukuna.
Plotting
This is the category I made up for Tengen & Kenjaku. They aren't very physically strong, not in the sense that Sukuna and Gojo are. Actually they would very quickly die in a straight up battle against the two, but they are still more influencial than them. I mean, Tengen is the reason society exist in the way it does after all and Kenjaku is doing a very good job at breaking the system down. If Gojo and Sukuna are natural disasters that alter the balance of the world, Tengen and Kenjaku are the ones that guide the path these disasters take.
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Tengen isn't a fighter, but she is still powerful through her understanding of cursed energy, huge energy reserves and mastery of barrier techniques. She created barriers around Japan to enhance the sorcerer and curse formation inside them (like a greenhouse for cursed energy). Society is dependant on her to exist as it is. If she's gone, all structure would collapse and curses would run wild. It would likely affect future generations of sorcerers as well. She is the reason Gojo even exist and Sukuna...well who knows what she did with him. She did all this "merely" through talking and building connections and subtly influencing people, like when she appeared in the Nara period and preached about buddhism and her vision for jujutsu sorcerers or how she facilitated the creation of the Big 3 and higher-ups and continued to guide them from behind the scenes.
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Kenjaku is more of a fighter than Tengen, they know how to defend themselves, but it is not their first instinct and direct conflict is rarely their preferred plan of action. Due to having reduced their body to purely the brain, their physical capabilities rely heavily on the vessel they inhabit and even in the body of someone like Geto whose technique they use much better than the guy himself, they would still easily get killed by Gojo and they have to rely on Sukuna at the moment to not die to him. You can also see it in their fighting style. They rarely get close, instead prefer long-range attacks and tools. Their real speciality lies in using other people to let them do the work for them or enhance their plans in some other way. Even Sukuna and Gojo fall victim to that. Another specialty of theirs is the manipulation of cursed energy and the soul, only that in contrast to Sukuna they use it to create tools, recruit people and create barriers comparable to Tengen's (I think technically they could create the same thing Tengen does, they just lack the energy reserves).
However, both Tengen and Kenjaku get overlooked by history and their influence is pushed aside. Even when entire organizations criticize Tengen for very valid reasons, nobody takes it up with her or actually challenges her in a meaningful way because she is both illusive (the higher-ups are much more present) and also an integral part for the sustainability of everyday life. Take her away and society will crumble and most people don't want such radical change. Kenjaku wasn't known at all until recently except by selected "curse users", despite their clashes with the Gojo clan in the past (I blame Tengen for their late identity reveal). Their actions have great influence and at times even make it into the history books, but they aren't tied back to them personally, just their vessels.
TL;DR: Next to Gojo and Sukuna's very palpable, aggressive power, there is also a more subtle power represented by Tengen and Kenjaku that relies a lot more on manipulation and minimal, longterm actions than physical strength. All this can be seen in the way that both Tengen and Kenjaku often get overlooked, but have both influenced Sukuna and Gojo to a great degree and are even responsible for the rise and fall of jujutsu society.
Kenjaku and Tengen are both barrier users, a very defence-oriented skill, but furthermore heavily tied to mind & imagination and the manipulation of energy. The reason they are so successful is also tied to their experience. Gojo's and Sukuna's power allows them to skip the long game in most cases, while Tengen and Kenjaku rely on it to amass strength. I highly doubt Tengen was just born with the cursed energy reserves she uses for her barriers, she likely collected it over hundreds of years. Kenjaku's plans would also be barely effective if they only had one human life span to enact them. And the interactions with so many other sorcerers allow them to learn a lot more than the other two could ever hope to. Sukuna is kind of immortal now too, but if you take out the time he was just hanging around as a cursed object, he's actually pretty young compared to the Manipulation Duo.
Side Note: I think Maki and Toji could technically qualify too, they have the ability to facilitate change, but both haven't done anything with it so far, not on a larger scale at least. Toji killing Riko had major consequences, but he was ultimately a tool and a stepping stone for Tengen's evolution. I mean, isn't it a crazy coincidence that the people employing Toji have the same goals Kenjaku does? The Time Vessel Association also exists since the Nara period... either way, while Sukuna and Gojo are getting manipulated too, there is still purpose behind their actions. Both the Zenin massacre and Riko's death are more incidental. Their actions don't have the same consistency as Sukuna or Gojo, although Maki is still promising. She can still do something with her new powers. In terms of strength they don't quite measure up to the other two either. Maki might make it with a bit more training, but not based on what we've seen so far. So...I guess, they might be Type 3: unused potential.
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threewaysdivided · 5 months
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compared to the other hero's in YJ how do you think Phantom stands up power wise. like Future Danny ripped the world apart and i know in some fanfiction that it is used as an indicator that he is high up there, but i'm interested in your thoughts.
This is an interesting question nonnie!
I generally agree with the idea that Phantom is in the upper-tier of crossover superhero powers, but I do have more specific thoughts so let’s break it down:
Danny’s power level
Just looking at the variety and strength of ghost-powers that Phantom displays in his show, I would put him in the higher rankings of most heroes when it comes to raw ability.  I alluded to this in my main DP x YJ Deathly Weapons fanfic, but to me Phantom shows signs of a pretty common power-scaling differential that happens when a solo-protagonist hero gets transplanted into an ensemble setting.  Within his own setting, Phantom had to be (or become) powerful enough to solve most problems/ fights all by himself – and some of those ghosts he ended up facing towards the end of his canon were impressively strong.  By comparison ensemble heroes are generally less-powerful because working as a collective means they don’t have the same need for aggressive self-sufficiency and also so that no one character upstages or outmodes the rest of the group from a writing perspective.
There’s also the nature of ghost powers.  Phantom needed to develop the raw strength to fill the role of solo combat heavy-hitter, but his base powers are versatile to the point of unsettling.  He has to physically fight against other ghosts because they have (and to some extent are immune to) the same abilities as him, but in a fight against other species he could potentially avoid, manipulate or exhaust an opponent with strategic use of invisibility/ intangibility/ overshadowing.
The back of Dinah’s neck prickled.  With flight to mask footsteps and intangibility rendering them undetectable by touch…  Nonthreatening as Phantom generally appeared, she was starting to understand why his kind had developed such an unsettling reputation.  The idea that a ghost could be present at any time - eavesdropping, spying, interfering - without any of them being the wiser was… disquieting to say the least. - Deathly Weapons, Chapter 17: Assessment
On top of that, he seems to be in a similar boat to Superman when it comes to physical weaknesses – he doesn’t have that many, and they’re often quite specific or hard-to-find.   The most easily-exploitable one is that Danny can run out of power, be slowly starved of ectoplasm or be knocked unconscious; all of which would forcibly revert him back to his weaker human state.  After that, he’s vulnerable to certain magics and ghostly-artefacts, which are more likely to be accessible to various DC/ Marvel heroes (although they might not know exactly which spells/items will be most effective or why).  Beyond those two, most of his weaknesses need to be specifically known about and actively sought out – anti-ecto-technology is obtainable but not mainstream, blood blossoms naturally repel/hurt ghosts but they seem to be rare in nature (or even extinct in the modern day) and then assuming you acknowledge Phantom Planet there’s ectoranium which is basically ghost-Kryptonite in rarity (and possibly even the same mineral in DP x DC settings depending on the crossover).  Much like with Superman, the most reliable ways to take down Phantom require actively knowing what he is and having prepared accordingly.
Based on those metrics, I want to place Phantom in the same power-band as Superman or the Martian Manhunter.  I’d consider their powers to be equivalent incomparibles – it’s hard to stack their abilities side-by-side and say one is objectively better than the others.  A no-holds-barred, knock-down drag-out fight between those three could get very nasty but it would be hard to confidently call a winner without knowing more about the external factors around them.
That said, I think the thing holding Danny back from being fully at that level is his experience: or rather his lack thereof.   Danny hasn’t had much formal training (except maybe some basic self-defence instruction from Maddie/Jack) and he doesn’t have a proper mentor either.  His personal experience mostly fits the narrow niche of direct open combat with other ghosts, mostly throughout Amity Park and surrounds (although occasionally in the Ghost Zone or further from town). 
Phantom has enough raw power and innate talent as a strategic lateral-thinker to get by, but I think that hyperspecialisation and lack of guidance would leave him with a lot of blind-spots.  His hand-to-hand is self-taught and probably missing a lot of best-practice basic techniques.  He’s also never had an experienced third party to observe him in the field and offer suggestions on alternative approaches to using his powers/ keep him from developing bad habits.  This is something Danny actually comments on in canon; he can take a long time to identify solutions (even obvious ones) that deviate too far from his default throw hands approach to fighting.  His powers could be more effectively deployed as a precision-instrument but a lack of coaching means he tends to falls back on using them as a blunt hammer because that was the pattern that came naturally when he was first starting out, and no-one was around to keep that habit from ingraining.
The place where you can see this lack of experience hurting him the most is in his lack of soft-skills.  Phantom didn’t have anyone to advise him on de-escalation, damage control, comforting civilians, interacting with authorities etc.  Add in the naturally-frightening nature of many ghosts and it was easy for him to fall into a public perception of being “the town menace”.  Danny is pretty decent at rallying both humans and ghosts (even erstwhile enemies) to his side in crisis situations but no-one has taught him how manage public relations outside of that.  He says it himself: he needs a PR agent.
On the other hand, Phantom’s heroics have inadvertently earned him a decent amount of potential political pull in the Ghost Zone.  He has enough positive rapport that some regular rogues will take his side or even actively seek him out for help in the right circumstances, and other more antagonistic ones have at least developed a degree of grudging respect.  There are several powerful ghosts that either have direct debts of gratitude to him/his team (Princess Dorothea, Pandora) or who hold him in high esteem for re-sealing Pariah Dark (The Far Frozen).  It’s possible that defeating Pariah might even have granted him a potential candidature/claim to an official position, and judging by the way the Observants and Clockwork pay attention to him, it seems that Phantom’s slow accumulation of power/influence isn’t going completely unnoticed.  However, again, Danny doesn’t have the awareness, experience or training needed to leverage that effectively – heck, he’s not even doing it on purpose.
With all that taken into account, I think Phantom would rank very highly in terms of overall potential, but at his current level he’d be in the lower ranks of the A-tier.  He could become a much more powerful figure with the right guidance but in his canonical state he’s underutilising or outright overlooking a lot of his most effective tools.
TUE Future/ “Dark Phantom”
The “Dark Phantom” presented in the TUE Bad-Future is interesting to me because while he’s a very powerful figure within that story, I don't think he’s a very good reflection of canon-Danny’s potential to do harm.
Gonna complain about The Ultimate Enemy for a bit: I’ve tag-muttered about this before but I’m one of the Phandom members who finds The Ultimate Enemy to be a frustratingly weak episode.  It has a potentially fascinating core premise (the “evil future/alternate self”) but the execution is so convoluted and driven by improbable contrivances that the whole ends up being far less than the sum of its parts.   
One of the biggest problems is that, rather than being a straight future/alternate version of Danny, “Dark Phantom” is actually a hybrid of Phantom and Plasmius’ worse sides.  He’s a distinct, separate entity which means he can’t work as an effective dark mirror to either of them.  (Compare and contrast the Justice League episode A Better World in which the Justice Lords acted as a dark mirror of what the actual Justice League members could become if they chose to abandon their morals and compassion in favour of seizing control and instating a totalitarian system of draconian crime prevention.)
The episode also tried to graft on a really mismatched moral of “don’t be a cheat”.  Rather than being a lesson on choices/ values/ power/ responsibility, Dark Phantom almost ends up being an offhand biproduct of Danny getting caught cheating on a freshman/sophomore-year career-aptitude test.  Instead of learning a lesson about himself/ his ideals/ his personal faults, Danny comes away from the episode with a cool new superpower after deciding not to cheat on the test after all.  Not exactly satisfying.
That mismatch and the convoluted levels of moon-logic required to make it fit severely undermine the idea that this version of Dark Phantom is “inevitable”.  There are too many steps that are too highly-specific and too easily-avoidable for the threat to feel real: Danny has to care enough about an early-highschool CAT to want to cheat, he has to somehow get the answers which he wasn’t intending to do in the canon timelineand only does as a result of Clockwork’s meddling, making it a self-fulfilling situation, he has to get caught using them, Mister Lancer has to hold the resulting parent-teacher meeting at Nasty Burger rather than a school office for some reason, the Nasty Burger Sauce has to 1. be dangerously explosive and 2. coincidentally explode while not only Danny’s parents but his friends and sister are inside, Danny has to be placed in Vlad’s custody rather than with his Aunt Alicia or closer family-friends, Danny has to ask Vlad to remove his Phantom-half and finally, Vlad himself has to agree to do it.  Take away any of those steps and this version of Dark Phantom doesn’t happen.  That’s not inevitable, it’s contrived.
But anyway, let’s look at Dark Phantom as his own entity:
One of the things that makes Dark Phantom much more potentially dangerous is that he combines Phantom’s raw power with Plasmius’ experience.  Like I was saying before, one of Danny’s biggest handicaps is that he lacks training/guidance and tends to underutilise his most effective abilities.  Vlad meanwhile has had years of relative freedom to practice and finesse a lower raw-power level; he’s much more skilled at advanced techniques like duplication and overshadowing (which he canonically used to force through his fortune-making business deals), as well as ecto-constructs.  Plasmius is also a lot more tactical and manipulative in how he applies their common powers.  Plus, the TUE version of Dark Phantom is a full-ghost, which means he doesn’t have a vulnerable mortal state that can be exploited as a weakness.
This is why I think it would be possible for TUE!Dark Phantom to successfully decimate other heroes in shared-universe crossover situations where ghosts aren’t common knowledge.  He’d be an unexpected, unknown enemy that the heroes have no effective way to fight (outside of a few magic users).  Combine that with many of the most powerful heroes being visible as public figures, and Dark Phantom having inherited Plasmius’ strategic/manipulative traits and it could be very easy for Dark Phantom to basically launch a premeditated paranormal blitzkrieg attack, using Plasmius’ skill with duplicates and overshadowing to subjugate any hero he couldn’t overwhelm with Phantom’s raw power level.  It would also make sense that Amity Park would become one of the remaining bastions in any TUE-style future, since having advanced knowledge of ghostly abilities and access to anti-ecto technology would tilt the balance more evenly and allow them to at least keep the danger out.
Mentally, it’s also worth noting that Dark Phantom is a lot more dangerous than either Phantom or Plasmius.  He’s basically the most toxic traits from both of them, removed from their more moderating/ compassionate instincts.  Based on the canonical explanation given, TUE!Danny had Phantom forcibly removed in attempt to remove the pain/ rage/ grief he was feeling over the death of his family.  This isn’t a model-hero-persona conceptualisation of Phantom a la Splitting Images; the TUE-version of his ghost half is a big ball of churning negative emotion.  And what are some of Danny’s toxic traits when it comes to negative emotions: he lashes out, falls into self-blame and self-destructs.  Then we add in Vlad’s toxic traits: he’s egocentric to the point of narcissism, he projects negative feelings/ blame onto others rather than accept responsibility for his own actions and he has a controlling/ sadistic streak.   
TUE’s Dark Phantom is the worst possible combination of an emotionally devastated teenager and an emotionally immature adult.  He’s a ball of pain and rage that blames the world for that pain, lashes out at it, feels worse for doing so and then blames the world for making him feel worse because he doesn’t have the emotional capacity to accept that he’s the one causing it.  Grief is love persevering but the feelings of love, connection and guilt that contextualise his pain were left in the human shells that remained of Danny and Vlad.  It’s possible that the Dark Phantom presented in TUE might not have the capacity to feel positive emotions or compassion.  He was never meant to exist as his own entity – he was an attempt to destroy Daniel Fenton’s negative emotions which went horribly wrong.  In some ways it seems like his reign of terror could be an angrier version of Dracula’s scheme from Netflix’s Castlevania or Haliax’s goal from the Kingkiller Chronicles – a drawn-out suicide note from an undead being who’s been dead inside for much longer, destroying whatever peace/happiness he encounters in revenge for being denied it himself, until such time as he either attains catharsis or finally ends the pain by destroying reality and himself along with it.  That’s the final thing that makes TUE’s Dark Phantom more dangerous than either Phantom or Plasmius – he has nothing to lose and no “better nature” or personal dreams that other heroes could try to appeal to.
So yeah, the TUE version of Dark Phantom could absolutely rip the world and other heroes apart, but I don’t think he’s a particularly good reflection of Danny’s capabilities in terms of either powers or personality.  There’s too much Vlad in the mix, and even then he represents such a narrow and extreme edge-case for each of their personalities that it’s barely representative at all.  At best he’s a warning for what these kinds of powers could be capable of in the wrong hands.
Meta-question: What is “power” in narrative?
Alright, now that I’ve (hopefully) answered the question, let’s finish with a self-indulgent thought exercise for extra credit.
There’s an anecdote which I’ve heard attributed to the Stan Lee, in which a fan apparently asked him “who would win in a fight between Superman and the Hulk?”  To which Stan apparently replied, “whoever the writer wants.”
While it can be fun to make tier-lists and try to rank how strong different heroes/villains/creatures are based on the rules of their respective universes, I think it can also be helpful to consider that– like all things in storytelling – power is a narrative device.  It’s a tool that the character(s) and storyteller(s) can use to create and solve problems.
A character can be extremely physically strong/ skilled/ knowledgeable/ influential in a specific area but how much narrative power they have depends on how well their abilities allow them to influence or resolve story problems.   And, as the omnipotent god(s) of the narrative, the storyteller(s) can choose whether to confront them with challenges that play to their existing strengths, or that force them to find other solutions.  What’s the best way to kill a vampire?
This is actually part of what makes Lex Luthor such an effective Superman villain.  Objectively most versions of Lex are just A Guy™ – on a physical level he doesn’t have anything close to Kal El’s Kryptonian strength or superpowers.  But he feels like a serious threat because he often comes after Superman in ways that Clark can’t easily steamroll with that brute strength.  Lex uses manipulation, money, influence, connections, politics, public opinion; Superman can’t physically fight him without playing into Luthor’s plans, and trying to face him in those other fields requires tools that Clark wasn’t handed as part of his Kryptonian heritage.  An invading alien army is objectively a bigger physical threat to Earth, but a competent Lex Luthor scheme feels more dangerous because – while we feel confident that Superman can beat down a legion of monsters – when it comes to the question of whether he can outwit Luthor, the outcome is a lot less certain.
Situational disempowerment is another of the ways a narrative can reign in an otherwise “overpowered” character: placing them in circumstances where they either aren’t given many opportunities to showcase their best strengths, or are kept from using them because the drawbacks/ risks/ consequences of using their abilities makes their power(s) a liability.  I’ve mentioned it before, but this is actually one of the tricks I’m personally using to keep Phantom’s massive powerset balanced against the other proteges in Deathly Weapons.  It’s also something I’ve been struggling with when it comes to Conner’s place in that story since the stealth-mission plot structure doesn’t allow as much room to highlight his core powers and personal strengths.   
Stories can create additional stakes for powerful characters by giving them emotional arcs which their powers can’t resolve.   For a published example, consider the series One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100.  Despite how high-ranked Saitama and Mob are within the power-scaling of their respective stories, those powers don’t kill the emotional stakes because the things they actually want/ need can only be gained through self-improvement or making connections in ways separate from their powers (and in some regards their power level actively gets in the way of that).  This is also something I’m doing with Danny’s main grief arc in DW.   
Final Conclusion time
In terms of physical strength and range of abilities, I think Phantom would be pretty near the top of the power-scale in most superhero crossovers.  While the Dark Phantom presented in TUE might not be a particularly good reflection of Danny’s specific potential, a crossover version of the TUE timeline offers a pretty good litmus-test for how dangerous a strong ghost could be in a given universe: the combination of power level, ability range and highly-specific/ inaccessible weak-points poses a strong strategic threat.
On the other hand, physical strength isn’t the only strength.  Phantom has a decent level of potential political sway as well, but he also lacks a lot of the soft skills and experience needed to make use of his toolset to its full ability.
Stepping back further, the answer to how powerful Danny is in a narrative sense is really just “however much the writer wants”.  Phantom’s narrative power depends on the kind of story he’s in and the challenges placed around him – there are as many ways to situationally nerf our ghost-boy as make him OP, all without needing to alter his on-paper powers.
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hikaririnku-blog · 1 month
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Hikari MID Rambles #1
I've been thinking random thoughts about MID, some additions/reinterpretations that can just be put into one post. This is also gonna help me with a rewrite I'd be planning because I am dedicated asf LMAO. So, feedback and additional thoughts are welcome! Daemos Society: The many times I've rewatched MID and how much we get within the castle is a great start, but other than where the last human soul was held and some smaller flashbacks with Daemos, we don't exactly have much on the outside of the castle. Discussing it with some other friends that have watched it, I thought of an idea that, with how absolutely brutal Daemos can be towards their own kind ⁽*ᶜᵒᵘᵍʰ* ᴬˢᶜʰ'ˢ ᴰᵉᵃᵈᵇᵉᵃᵗ ᴰᵃᵈ *ᶜᵒᵘᵍʰ*⁾, maybe there were a little more interconnected to keep the most powerful close, and the least powerful contained. Maybe, instead of villages outside of a castle town, the kingdom has sectors for living, some sectors closer to the actual castle where uncommon knowledge is withheld, and even powerful Daemos reside there (basically, their version of "rich" people, since it is implied they do not have currency, at least in an actual money sort of way), hence the rarely spoken "ranking" system they have. The farther away the sectors, the weaker Daemos residents are, and are kept that way through boarder control. Only way to move up in living and in power is through your hard-working efforts. This also may help explain how Bish ended up recognized by and married to Rhal, and how Noi managed to be a knight despite his lowest rank. It doesn't mean they won't be looked down upon as seen by Noi's fellow comrades and Lady Grandma towards Bish, but they still more than likely shown more than enough effort to be where they're at now. With it also being in separate sectors, the current ruler for the sake of instilling fear and sending a message can absolutely ruin, if not fully destroy, a sector, if they so pleased, or help it. Hair: Partly inspired by @load-theloading-artist 's thoughts on hair styles (link to their post here), I do imagine very similarly Daemos have different hairstyles to hide vulnerability and/or show confidence, but also have ideas of some hairstyles that are more combat-ready as well. A lot of those that fight either have shorter hair or have longer hair that is tied back to help them within said combat, and more of your regal, non-fighters will assume some more "fashionable" hair (i.e. braids, buns, half-up, etc.) With that being said, though, it can show status as well, like the ones that are more modest and are your run-of-the-mill civilians may care less for their hair, or if they do, they may get sneered at by (in their own terms) "weaker" Daemos that assume they're trying for nothing, or they'll be like the rest of the more powerful Daemos that just forgets about them or be cruel to them and will avoid them; either way it'll look and feel like an insult. Other teachings: I'd assume there'd be more teachings in Daemos society other than just the combat. Medical fields to help injured soldiers (prioritizing healing magic for those able, and have subcategories of physical treatment, herbal remedies, etc.) would be great within this time of magic crisis, and some lighter teachings for the civilians. With how dystopian the world of the Daemos feels, some history may be hidden, either within the mystical library of the kingdom, or even in forbidden areas (this may be due to Asch's Dad to keep his power longer in my mind's eye, he just seems a kind of monarch that would Do That), and maybe there's even a way to restore magic without human souls. The history teachings would be in rebel groups that are super lowkey and underground. Language teachings, to help read, write, and speak in other languages other than the Daemos's home language (probably is useful for Daemos that only speak a certain language and was once used to communicate with humans a long time ago before they were eradicated for magic usage.) (Continuing in next post!)
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birb-boyo · 8 months
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HOW DID THE CHAIN MEET IN YOUR STEVEN UNIVERSE AU???
HOW DID TIME BECOME…TIME?!
ARE THE GODDESSES THE DIAMONDS? AND IF THEY ARE ARE THEY LIKE THE DIAMONDS IN THE SHOW???
WHAT IS RAVIO?? IS HE LIKE- A GEM THAT WAS CUT FROM THE SAME CRUST/KINDERGARTEN AS LEGEND???
TELL ME ABOUT IT SAHDE
OKAY
HELLO(I just got from my nap, sorry for the wait)
FOR THE FIRST QUESTION
All heroes, instead of having a triforce, they have a shard of First’s gem, also called the Shards of Courage. These shards are made of basically just Light because that was Hylia’s parting gift, to make his shards shine brighter than the morning sky. Ask the chain, except Sky, they fucking hate it. It’s Sky’s nightlight by the way. It’s like a naturally made flash bang. It’s an activation thing, so it’s not always there.
I don’t know why I explained that last part but whatever.
I actually haven’t thought about how they met, but I suppose we could stick with the iconic dream montage. Like, they all pass out randomly and suddenly First is talking to them like, “Hyrule needs her heroes to assemble and-“ blah blah blah
A lot of them probably ignore him, but some days later, when they all end up through a portal, surrounded by each other with their bright ass shards, they definitely believe the magic dream man.
SECOND QUESTION
Time is a fusion between Fierce and Mask
I should also clarify that Majora and Fierce were never masks, their gems were put in stasis. Skull Kid and Mask were able to gem those gems out of stasis(I didn’t think about how yet) and I guess the final fight was like a Pokemon fight and I love that idea so much but it’s also so stupid-
SO WHAY HAD HAPPENED WAS, AFTER THE BIG TERMINA FIASCO,
Mask and Fierce were going to part ways, but Fierce has been in stasis for so long, he knew that the surface had changed. Not only that, but being in stasis for so long made him weak. It made Majora and Fierce weaker than they used to be.
So Mask, still in a existential crisis, was like “we can be travelers together then” because mask didn’t want to seem like he used Fierce (even though he kinda did) so he offered to be travelers together with Fierce.
My boy Fierce took that “together” the wrong way and kinda forced Mask to fuse with him.
THEN BOOM, TIME EXISTS
Mask is kind of shaken like, “What the fuck?”
Fierce is kinda like, “Isn’t this what you meant?”
Mask is like, “No!” Mask then uses they mirror shield. “I mean…”
So now they’ve been fused for a good while. They also just feel safer inside the fusion because they know that if one fumbles, the other has their back.
I also have a feeling that no gem truly knows what it means to be married, so when marriage was proposed to Time, he was kinda just-🧍🏼‍♂️
Then Malon(I’m keeping her human…hylian) explained it sort of like, “Marriage is like promising to be best friends forever-“
“Then me and Fierce are married?”
“NO-“
THIRD QUESTION
I would give the Goddesses Diamonds. Nayru gets Blue, Farore gets Yellow, Din gets White, Hylia gets Pink.
Hylia gets pink because she is all over the place. But she is actually shattered too. She shattered herself after First got shattered so her shards(Shards of Wisdom) could be beside First’s for all eternity. You know Demise’s hating ass shards(Shards of Power) are also there, tearing shit up🥰🥰🥰
The other diamonds, Nayru, Farore, and Din, just monitor what the shard wielders are doing and making sure Hyrule doesn’t fall in on itself.
FORTH QUESTION
Yes, Ravio was born in the same Kindergarten as Legend. The same hole too. He was made after Legend though and came out “deformed”. Physically, Ravio doesn’t look really deformed, but other amethysts disagree. He’s skinnier and weaker and far more in the mind(smarter) than he should be.
That being said, my boy did not have fun while trying to serve his diamond. So he ran away. He attempted many times to run away, in turn, he was kind of tortured by his “siblings”. Don’t worry, there’s no crack, but other amethyst would forgive and forget in a solid three human years, but Ravio? Those nights are engraved into him gem.
In order to truly escape, he had the help of an opal(Hilda) they kinda just hang out together until they find another amethyst(Legend) on earth and started spying on him and WOW ANOTHER GAME INCOMING
Kinda dropped backstory there whoopsie😅
@the-cucco-nuggie :D
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bigshotautos · 2 years
Note
throws hands in the air I LOVE UR SPAMVIL CONTENT SO MUCH!!! Been literally scrolling and reading ur blog nonstop for like 2 hours now, god, they're fucking amazing. You just singlehandedly resurrected my love for Jevil and made it even bigger! I always saw him more of a naughty cat sort of way so at first it was a bit weird seeing ur interpretation of him but!!! He's so big and round!! Perfect for hugs 💖
They're in love ur honour!!
Okay uh, all the screaming aside u got any headcanons for if they met during Spam's big shot era? And how would other Addisons react to that scary clown, hehe. I saw you reblog a similar comic some time ago and wanted to hear ur thoughts on it basically
If it's not too much to ask of course!! Thank you so much for the brainrot and have a wonderful day!! 💕
hehehe thank you!!! i USED to draw him more implike in 2018 when chapter 1 dropped and at the beginning of chapter 2, but was very inspired by mossea's use of shape language to make him both rounder (friendly looking) and bigger (more imposing). stick him next to spamton who's much more delicate as a tiny puppet with sharp angles and much thinner proportions and he pops a lot more. he's not much taller they both just have interesting contrast. pictured below is a VERY sloppy height chart i didn't think would be touched by Internet but here it is.
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The comic you're talking about is by foolishrat6 on twitter and on tumblr! they make some stunning art, premise of that comic is Jevil on the run from card kingdom becoming a fugitive in Cyber City. really really good stuff.
as for my own headcanons, i'll throw those under the cut.
At the moment, I'm between two potential meeting avenues during the big shot avenue but the end results are mostly the same. There's the likely canon scenario, where Spamton's already in contact with his mystery helper and through that contact meets the menagerie of other Corrupted Secret Bosses which, if the trend follows between chapter 1 and 2, will keep being referenced and built on by previous chapters. Through this, he meets Jevil during his stay in the mansion and starts somewhat of a one-sided rivalry with Spamton getting a complex over this clown who likes to dunk on him who he feels is grossly misusing and complacent with the power he has. Hence the petty act of lobbying against carousels as public transport. Jevil at some point gets locked up, Spamton sees it as a major W against clownery, but Jevil's still constantly running circles around his head for decades as his mental state deteriorates with his obsession with surpassing him and breaking free of 'the dark'.
BUT I like to entertain the idea of Spamton not being 'trusted' to meet his mystery caller (hence being in contact only over the phone, where Seam says that Jevil has met his mystery someone in person) and Jevil is sent as a physical intermediary between the two. At this point in the timeline, travel between Card Kingdom and Cyber City was sealed, and Jevil with his benefactor can enter any Dark World without suffering adverse effects, much like Ralsei.
Jevil would see Spamton as a VERY easy target with his ego quick to bruise and get funny reactions out of and is well aware that Spamton 1) can't fight back because he's physically much weaker 2) can't afford to lose him as a physical ambassador of his contact. He'd also find Spamton kind of pathetic, not impressed at all with the materialism, obsession with image, and overindulgence of the luxuries he was barred from as an everyday Addison. Meanwhile, Spamton's fucking HEATED about being assigned a clown as a babysitter and not being able to meet his contact in person, especially a clown that doesn't worship the ground he walks on and one that actively toys with him.
In this timeline, the addisons are already out of the picture and Spamton's already dealing with the effects of not trusting anyone. He's not ENTIRELY locked on the path of disregarding others entirely but he's fixed on it. Jevil likewise isn't entirely locked into his 'nothing matters' mentality but he's finding it cozy orchestrating the game for his mystery contact and feeling safe in his mentality that his whims are the only things he can count on.
This is very similar to most of my other first meeting scenarios, but I feel like Jevil would get bored of seeing the same low-hanging fruit reactions from Spamton over and over again, and see that Spamton is on a path similar to him and CAN become more than a fixed piece on the board, the way Jevil views himself in his freedom. Both Spamton and Jevil are very lonely, isolated, and could have been saved if someone had reached out to them. Except at this point in time it's already a little 'too late' and they've both got the hooks of fate dug into them with the mentalities they're constructing.
The angst potential is there but I also think there'd be good moments, like Spamton finding someone in person he sees worthwhile to spend money on and share experiences with in Cyber City, Jevil having his 'nothing matters' mentality upset by coming to care about the man beneath the flashy facade. They'd also be absolute menaces to everyone in the mansion during this time period Tasque Manager's got plenty reason to dislike Jevil LOL.
Personally I'm not sure if I'll explore a ton of this except some snapshots, but it's a lot of fun to think about!
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therealvinelle · 3 years
Note
Hi, I was reading a post here in Tumblr about how Edward has two gifts, he can hear thoughts and is super fast, so I wonder what is your opinion about this topic?.
Furthermore, what others power might the Volturi's leaders and guards might have?
Edward has one gift, and it’s telepathy. Being fast isn’t a gift.
Strength, speed and even senses is varied among vampires. Some, like Emmett, are on the extreme end, but that doesn’t make Emmett gifted, nor does it mean that the rest are at an equal level. The Cullens have clear variations between them.
Physique appears to play a dominant role in how these variations play out: Alice, who was malnourished and never made it past 4′10″, is the physically weakest of the coven, while Emmett at 6′5″ and a mountain of muscles is the strongest. This is made very clear during the baseball game:
“Emmett was hovering close to third (base), knowing that Alice didn’t have the muscle to outstrip Rosalie’s fielding." (Midnight Sun, chapter The Game)
There’s also the fact that it’s taken for granted that Emmett would be intimidating to other vampires, and he is dismayed when James is more worried about Jasper, who is lean.
I suspect this disparity exists simply because a large frame means more tissue to have blood in. Newborns, animal, and human-eating vampires all having a difference in terms of strength is proof that blood has the final say in a vampire’s prowess, so Emmett being able to contain more of it than Alice and therefore being stronger makes sense to me.
This isn’t the meta for me to get into that, but I don’t think vampires have muscles in the sense we do. Or rather, we can’t know that they do. Renesmée is proof that Edward retains his human DNA, or she would be a clone of Bella. Nahuel is proof that Joham retains a Y-chromosome. Does this mean that vampires have different cell types? Does a vampire’s stone-like skin still contain human DNA? One would think yes - except, if you rip a vampire apart, you get rubble. The parts are all solid. There’s also Carlisle theorizing that vampires digest blood by absorbing it through porous tissue, which makes me wonder why he dismissed his digestive system (my guess: vivisection fun times with Aro in Volterra. Carlisle couldn’t have done it on his own, and Aro is the only one mad and curious enough to be down for that). I’m getting off-topic - what I’m saying is, we don’t know how vampires work, meaning I can’t build this meta off of the assumption that they have muscles. I simply can’t know for sure that they do.
The important thing is that a vampire’s physique is a deciding factor in how strong they are.
There’s also Laurent’s warning about James, that he has “unparalleled senses”, meaning some vampires are better at sight, hearing, and smell than others. I can believe that, because we have canon examples of vampires being bad at tracking.
There’s Edward in Port Angeles, who couldn’t track Bella’s, his singer, scent to her location, and (I admit this one is conjecture but it’s so probable that I say it goes) Carlisle’s creator, who after taking care of the mob must have realized he’d bitten one of the humans, meaning a newborn would soon be loose in London. This is punishable by death by the Volturi. The fact that he didn’t return to finish Carlisle off means that he was unable to find him. I remind the audience that Carlisle was bleeding and suffering the effects by a venom intended to paralyze the victim. To put it this way, Carlisle wouldn’t have survived James, or anybody with a trace of tracking competence. By comparison, Carlisle was able to locate a dying Rosalie by the smell of her blood, even though there wouldn’t have been a trail for him to follow, as her body had not been moved.
When it comes to these disparities in strength and speed among the Volturi, I imagine Jane and Alec are the physically weakest members of the guard, and among the slowest. They’re prepubescent, meaning no muscle for them, and their height (a humble 4′8″ and 4′10″) implies very short legs. They’re simply not going to get as far as an adult would, not in the same number of steps. Renata at 5′0″ is another tiny vampire lady who likely isn’t very strong or fast.
That’s not to say I think these physically weaker members of the Volturi guard are necessarily useless in hand-to-hand combat, Alec at least is a boy stuck in a playful age, and the males around him are trained warriors. He’s probably picked up a few things over the years.
As for the others, Aro is described as frail-looking, which hints at him being quite thin. I don’t think he’s weak, if he couldn’t win a fight he wouldn’t be around, but I do think he’s probably below average in terms of strength. Caius I picture as a Harrison Ford type, so of course I’m gonna think he’s a bit burly, but this is me headcanoning and not actually hinted at in canon. Marcus is 19, so I imagine he can only be so strong.
Back to Edward’s speed.
He’s a 6′2″ teen, that’s code for “very long legs”, though I’m actually going to go ahead and posit that he’s not actually that fast. Strap in for this next part:
The guy was a teenager who lay dying for an undisclosed amount of time. The fact that Carlisle had the time to get to know his mother points to a few weeks, at least. And Edward was very ill:
Elizabeth worried obsessively over her son. She hurt her own chances of survival trying to nurse him from her sickbed. I expected that he would go first, he was so much worse off than she was. (New Moon, page 21)
Muscles atrophy quickly, never more so than when you’re a teen ravaged by fever, on your deathbed. And as I’ve explained above, I think your physique in life ties directly into your vampiric prowess.
I think Edward is certainly the physically weakest of the male Cullens, quite likely weaker than Rosalie as well, maybe even Esme.
Now, speed is not the same as strength. However, for humans, the two are connected. It’s the muscle fibers in our legs that determine our speed. Basically, type I fibers make an enduring runner, type II fibers make a speed runner. So, assuming that vampires retain their human musculature, one could argue that Edward had a lot of type II in life. However, Carlisle when he was human was able to outrun the mob he was with:
He ran through the streets, and Carlisle — he was twenty-three and very fast — was in the lead of the pursuit. (Twilight, page 158)
Carlisle clearly had a lot of type II fibers, and unlike Edward he was in peak physical condition when he died. He was also an adult who’d had more time to develop musculature, while Edward was a seventeen-year-old. If musculature was a deciding factor, one would think they would at the very least be of equal speed, though realistically Edward should be slower.
So, if it’s not muscles, what is it that makes Edward faster than the others?
It could be a matter of technique. Except, the way Bella describes movement when she wakes up as a vampire, it’s all very automated. Her body knows exactly how to do everything, and executes it without much input from her:
After that first frozen second of shock, my body responded to the unfamiliar touch in a way that shocked me even more.
Air hissed up my throat, spitting through my clenched teeth with a low, menacing sound like a swarm of bees. Before the sound was out, my muscles bunched and arched, twisting away from the unknown. I flipped off my back in a spin so fast it should have turned the room into an incomprehensible blur—but it did not. I saw every dust mote, every splinter in the wood-paneled walls, every loose thread in microscopic detail as my eyes whirled past them.
So by the time I found myself crouched against the wall defensively—about a sixteenth of a second later—I already understood what had startled me, and that I had overreacted. (Breaking Dawn, page 251-252)
Growling, crouching - those are all distinctly vampiric, non-human ways to act. Bella didn’t learn this, her body knew it of its own accord. When she later runs, she explains it as happening the same way - she just does it.
The way Bella experiences it, vampiric movement is like a package she downloaded, and that executes her instinctual commands with no need for her to actually know how to do any of this. Her grace is another example of this - Bella Swan may be in charge of her own consciousness, but the venom is entirely in control of her body.
Given these facts, I don’t think it’s technique that makes Edward a better runner than others. His technique is likely similar to everyone else’s. If it isn’t, if technique is what makes the difference, then who is and isn’t fast is an arbitrary process.
With that, we get to my controversial theory about why Edward is the fastest Cullen: he’s not.
Running and being fast is the only thing about vampirism that Edward enjoys. This is for another meta, but Edward is extremely depressed about every single other bit of it. Every aspect of being a vampire torments him.
Except the running. He enjoys all of it, especially being the fastest, so much. And as a newborn, he would have been faster than Carlisle.
But after that, when his newborn strength faded…
I honestly think that Carlisle decided to just slow down a bit when running with him, let Edward have this. It’s no skin of his back, and it makes Edward happy, so why not.
Esme joins the family, and of course she would be down for this. Nothing is more parental, more maternal, than losing at checkers to make your child happy, after all. Could also be she’s not very fast herself, but even if she were then she would downplay it to make Edward feel like Jesse Owens.
Enter Rosalie, who would think it’s completely ridiculous, yes, but she would also recognize this excellent opportunity to call in a big favor from Carlisle later on. There’s also the fact that I think Carlisle has a gift (yes, yes, meta is coming, people) that makes him very persuasive people. And also that for all that Rose gets a lot of bad rep, she is very generous and loves her family, if being fast makes Edward happy then alright.
Emmett is an easy-going guy, he goes along with things. Alice adores Edward and would go along with it. She also has tiny matchstick legs and couldn’t outrun him if she tried. Jasper could not care less.
Bella does get outrun by Edward after waking up, but she also did zero exercise in life (listing this in case musculature matter), had Renesmée devour her from within rendering her emaciated, and then died like a slasher movie murder victim. There’s not a lot of blood in her, and what little blood there is doesn’t have a lot to work with. She does defeat Emmett at arm wrestling, so I’ll concede that. However, there are enough extenuating circumstances surrounding Bella that I think my “Edward isn’t that fast” theory survives his ability to outrun her.
So, I believe Edward is the fast Cullen because Carlisle told a white lie in 1919, no one ever corrected that, and now it’s too late.
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Midorima Shintarō: How Strong Is He?
So, I’m making this post in response to a couple asks I got (one by @taigaakagami and another anonymous one) asking some questions about Midorima:
Do I think Midorima is underrated in the GoM? This question includes Midorima being unable to go into the Zone/analysis on if he even needs the Zone.
What would it would be like if Midorima did enter the Zone? I’ll also talk about why Midorima hasn’t entered the Zone/if he even can enter the Zone.
Do I think Midorima is the best shooting guard in the series, despite the fact that characters like Hyuuga, Tatsuya, and Mibuchi are also strong shooting guards?
I don’t know that this post will be super long, but I’m going to try and answer these questions thoroughly. I’ll say upfront that I do think Midorima is the weakest of all the GoM members, excluding Kuroko. I’ve said this before in my posts, and the reasoning goes beyond the fact that Midorima is the only member of the GoM starters that hasn’t gone into the Zone. Let’s break down Midorima’s skills first, and then we can get into the comparisons.
TL;DR in bold
P.S. For the sake of argument, just know that when I say “GoM members” in this specific post, I never mean to include Kuroko. No offense to Kuroko, but on his own, he isn’t in the same league as the GoM starters.
Midorima’s Abilities & Weaknesses
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Midorima’s basic abilities include his shooting accuracy, his defense, his intelligence, and his physical strength. He also improved his endurance over the course of the series to enhance his ability to shoot physically draining shots for longer periods of time. Of course, Kuroko no Basket is famous for naming every advanced ability a player has, so Midorima also has a few of those. His Super Three Point Shot allows him to shoot accurate three-pointers from the half-court and full-court lines, and the Sky-Direct Three Point Shot is a combination shot with Takao where Takao will pass the ball to Midorima’s hands--as he’s already in a shooting form--and Midorima makes the shot. This prevents any opponents from blocking the shot as Midorima can throw it off before the opposing team realizes what’s happened. Unless it’s Akashi, but we don’t need to get into that.
Though Midorima’s endurance isn’t a weakness for him anymore, like it was at the beginning of the series, he is still weak when it comes to the physicality of his GoM skills. Yes, he can make incredible shots that no one else can make, but it will definitely tear up his body in the process. If he’s able to make it to adulthood without seriously injuring his joints and muscles, he’ll be unstoppable, but until then, Midorima has to put limiters on his ability to remain healthy. Additionally, he can’t enter the Zone. Whether he needs to enter it or not is something we’re about to get into, but for now, it’s considered a weakness.
Is Midorima Underrated?
Asking if Midorima is underrated is kind of a subjective question, so really, this answer is up to whoever is reading this, but if I’m trying to be as objective as possible, I’m going to look at the comparisons between him and the other GoM members. How do fans of KnB react to Midorima in comparison to the other members? Do they generally think his abilities are weaker? Are his abilities weaker?
Here’s the thing: from what I know of the fandom surrounding KnB, it seems that people simply find Midorima’s abilities boring. Yes, everyone loves the Sky-Direct Three, but that’s because it’s a Midorima/Takao thing. It’s an awesome skill because it needs both of them. I think the mystique that comes with Akashi, the overwhelming awe that comes with Murasakibara, the amazement that comes with Aomine, and the surprises that come with Kise are too difficult to compete with. Midorima doesn’t have the same wow factor that they do. So, to that end, I don’t think Midorima is underrated because he is what he is. Some people really love him as a character and a player, and some people probably dislike him. But I don’t think people are underestimating his abilities. I think it’s perfectly clear to most people that his abilities are the most vanilla, if you will, despite potentially being the most useful. Plus, there’s the fact that he can’t enter the Zone. So, you’d be forgiven if you thought Midorima was the weakest based on that since the other members have all gone into the Zone.
Does Midorima Need the Zone?
Is Midorima underrated on the grounds that people think he’s weak for not being able to go into the Zone, despite him not even needing the Zone to being with? That is a possibility, yeah. I’ll talk about what a Midorima-in-the-Zone playstyle would look like in a minute, but I’ll agree with the notion that Midorima probably doesn’t need the Zone at all.
When players enter the Zone, you’re basically looking at the enhancement of all basic abilities. You’re faster, your more accurate, you’ve got more power. The downside to the Zone is that it drains the stamina of the player significantly. The requirements for entering are vast amounts of talent and passion for basketball.
The way I see it is that Midorima may actually be hindered by going into the Zone. The endurance training he completed to be able to use his abilities for an entire game would be wasted by draining his stamina in the Zone. Also, Midorima isn’t a very mobile player. He can be swift, and he does use power on defense, but his position as a shooting guard means constant movement isn’t necessary. Aomine, for example, needs to be able to drive and jump and dodge and pivot, so an increase in his physical abilities would only make those things more precise. Akashi needs to outmaneuver his opponents at the top of the key and make the correct passes to get the ball through, so being more agile benefits him. For Midorima, though, those improvements would go to waste.
What if Midorima did enter the Zone?
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What would it look like for Midorima to be in the Zone? Why can’t he enter it already? Let’s answer that second question first. If Midorima meets both of the requirements for being in the Zone, why hasn’t he entered the Zone? Is it because he doesn’t have the talent? Well, no, because he’s a GoM member. And we know he loves basketball. So, what is it that keeps him away? I don’t think there’s a clear answer to this, but if I had to reach for one, it would be that Midorima doesn’t go one-on-one with people enough for him to focus in the way you need to if you’re gonna get into the Zone. I know that Midorima did go one-on-one with Kagami, but that showdown never had the same high-energy, high-movement feel that the Kagami/Aomine showdown did, or the Kagami/Kise one did.
As a shooting guard, Midorima is basically getting the ball to throw it off right away. He’s not in a position that favors one-on-one moments. I mean, of course, there’s always going to be some moments like that because shooting guards still have defenders, but it’s nothing like a power forward trying to make it past a center or a point guard trying to shake his defender so he can drive. It’s mostly just a.) the shooting guard gets the ball and b.) the defender tries to block it or knock it out of their opponent’s hands. Without the sense of rivalry being enhanced with one-on-one play, Midorima never really focuses hard enough to enter the Zone.
There is also the possibility that he can’t enter the Zone because he relies on his team more than the other GoM members. Which would also explain why Kuroko can’t go into the Zone. All of the GoM members rely on their teammates--well, Aomine is a work in progress, but he’s open to it, so we’ll leave that there--but Midorima is dependent on his team to perform at his best. Before meeting Takao, this wasn’t the case, but his skills elevated with the Sky-Direct Three, so his best now includes that. Meaning, he needs someone else to achieve it. Maybe that’s a stretch, but nonetheless. Look at it this way: Midorima is the only GoM member that hasn’t done the whole, “No offense to my team, but this moment is just about me” thing. Like, even Kise, who is super pro-teamwork, expressed his immaturity during his match with Seirin because he wanted to carry the burden of winning on his own. Midorima doesn’t do that, though, so maybe his lack of selfishness is why he can’t enter the Zone.
But what if he did?
I honestly don’t know that I can imagine a Midorima-in-the-Zone playstyle. It’s not like his accuracy can increase in the Zone if his accuracy is always 100%, right? I really think the only thing that would be different about Midorima in the Zone would be his speed. Which would, essentially, equate to him being able to throw shots off faster. I guess, potentially, he may step out of his traditional role as a shooting guard if he were in the Zone. Like, maybe he’d steal the ball back after a turnover or something. Takao definitely wouldn’t be able to keep up with him in the Zone, though, so I’m sure a game with Midorima in the Zone would end up like any other GoM-in-the-Zone game: Midorima running the whole thing by himself. I really don’t think it would look much different than the games we’ve already seen with Midorima, though. He’d just be sharper. I guess that’s why he was never written to go into the Zone because his abilities don’t really lend themselves to superhuman improvement. Probably because they’re already pretty superhuman.
Is Midorima the Best Shooting Guard in KnB?
Can I answer this with a short answer? Yes, he is. I’m not gonna front and say that the other incredible shooting guards in the series wouldn’t give Midorima a good fight. Tatsuya and Mibuchi, especially, but Hyuuga has also proven that he’s a worthy opponent for him. But it really comes down to accuracy. Midorima could be tricked by Tatsuya shots or foul off of Mibuchi’s, but they can miss. Midorima can’t. Actually, if it came down to a battle of accuracy, Hyuuga is probably the one I’d pick to go up against Midorima. And we’re talking individual abilities here, okay, not a team verses Midorima. One-on-one, Midorima’s basic abilities as a shooting guard outweigh anything else. That’s what they were designed to do when Midorima was written as a character, so I think it’s accurate to say that Midorima would win against any other shooting guard in the series 9 times out of 10. Now, that tenth time may be an interesting discussion to have, but that’s another post for another time.
Well, sorry this took so long to post. I meant to post it about a month ago, but hectic lives don’t leave room for KnB blogs. Anyway, please let me know your thoughts on this topic as I’m sure there are some of you reading that think Midorima is the strongest GoM player or that he’s so weak, any other shooting guard could beat him. I will try to make time for the pile of asks in my inbox in the future, so please bear with me and keep an eye out for what’s to come!
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linkspooky · 4 years
Text
...And they were brothers.
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From the start, Endeavor has pitted his own children against each other. Now we’re seeing the complex dynamics of an abusive household, Todoroki Shoto Endeavor’s  golden child and Todoroki Toya Endeavor’s scapegoat, play out on a battlefield. At first glance, Shoto looks like the good brother fighting on the side of the heroes, and Toya the bad brother who cares more for plotting villainous revenge than anything else. However, it’s more complicated than that: a look at abusive dynamics and the character foiling between Shoto and Toya underneath the cut. 
Before I begin, a brief explanation of the golden child and scapegoat dynamic. 
Abuse isn’t just a thing that happens. It’s a power dynamic. The Todoroki Household is considered an abusive household, because all the power is held by one man, Todoroki Enji. An abusive power dynamic can be explained simply as a person who uses the power they have others to their own advantage.
An abusive teacher is someone who steps out of line and acts inappropriately with a student, who they are responsible for because they have power over them. An abusive parent will use their authority as a parent to act in a way that’s not in a child’s best interests. 
Abuse is also a cycle. It perpetuates itself. The reason abuse is cyclical is that, in an abusive dnyamic, fights or disturbances can’t resolve in a healthy way so usually things will go back to status quo and power will be held by the abuser again at the end of the disruption. 
I’m simplifying here to try to make this as understandable as possible, but abuse is a power dynamic. It comes down to a question of: Who holds power in the household? 
In the Todoroki Household, it’s Todoroki Enji who holds all the power. 
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In a narcicisst’s household, everyone exists to serve the narcissit. This is quite literal in the Todoroki Household. Enji only had children so they could take on his dream of being number one hero and he could live vicariously though them. 
Let’s strip away all the fantasy paint in this scenario and define it in more realistic terms. Enji thinks he is entitled to something: the title of number one hero. Enji is unable to handle the feelings of being denied the thing he wants, so instead he sets up a family. 
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Enji’s family exists for his emotional benefit. He expects his family to “give him something.” He only had a family in the first place, because he thought he was denied what he was owed. Enji had a family for selfish reasons, and thought they existed to fulfill his ambitions, his intention from the start was to use them. So, it’s no wonder more traditional forms of abuse (wife beating, child abuse) rose out of these circumstances. The Todoroki Household is built by Enji, and at the center is Enji a narcissist. 
(I do more nuanced takes on Enji’s character in other meta, but this isn’t the time or the place to talk about it here). 
The household is centered around Enji, he’s the most powerful person in the house, and he expects the household to give him what he wants. When he’s denied what he wants, he’ll rely on abusive tactics to get it.
There are many types of abuse. Tactics used by abusers include: private criticism leading to doubt and hurt; public criticism leading to shame or humiliation; threats of emotional or physical withdrawal leading to abandonment; withdrawal of money or sexual contact that leads to a devaluation of financial power or decrease in sexual self-esteem; verbal threats that can begin a process of fear; verbal and physical tirades or tantrums (i.e., power displays) that can leave the victim feeling helpless; and finally, physical aggression that can lead to fears of physical death.
In the process of a relationship where a man uses these "tactics" on a woman, any or all can be used in any order, at any time. Usually in the beginning of the relationship, criticism and withdrawal are the two most used tactics that lead the man to have an increased sense of power and control, and the woman to have a decreased sense of power and control. [Source] 
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Endeavor is denied what he wants. Endeavor gets impatient.He denies that Shoto is even properly in pain, and claims he is just faking it. Endeavor uses physical aggression as an intimidation to get Rei back in line. We also know this happened, Rei fought Endeavor hard for Shoto’s sake at first, but over time became more fragile and more mentally unstable. 
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My point is not to detail Endeavor’s abuse because we already know it happened, but to show the underlying motive behind the abuse, abuse is a pwoer dynamic, Endeavor was acting to maintain total authority and control in the household. For the narcicisst everything in the household exists to fulfill the narcicisst’s needs. 
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The children as Enji sees them all exist to fulfill his ambitions, so he can live vicariously through them, therefore he doesn’t see their pain. He doesn’t see outside his own ego, because tending to Enji’s needs comes first. He scapegoats one child, ignores the other two, and then the child he does pour his love into he cannot see how much his love and attention is actively harming this child. When Shoto doesn’t want to accept Enji’s attention, he sees Shoto as ungrateful and rebellious. How dare you Shoto, I’m putting all this time and effort into raising you, I’m giving you all of these advantages in life and you don’t repay me????
My point in going into this much detail is that no matter what happens, or how the victims turn on each other in the household, the architect of the abuse, the one who created this situation is Enji. If the victims blame each other, then it benefits Enji because his position at the center will remain unchallenged. 
Which is why... 
“It’s not better or worse to be the golden child. Both face the psychological whiplash of being raised by a narcissist. The GC becomes the conformer to the extreme, with the intense pressure to measure up, and when they don’t they receive cruelty. The SG becomes the rebel who receives almost constant cruelty and shaming. 
The scapegoat and golden child are created because the abuser has a set of impossible to fulfill and aribtrary standards. One of thsee children meets those standards and one of those children does not. 
Why divide people up like this, though? 
As I said, it’s a power dyanmic. We have already seen this play out in canon once before in the richly detailed telling of the Shimura Household. A household where abuse is taking place will be an unstable environment, because it exists at the whim of an abuser. If there are more than just abuser and victim in the house, people will inevitably notice the fractured mood. This is exactly what happened in the Shimura household, there was a problem that everyone saw but nobody talked about.
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The Shimura household was constantly being disrupted by Kotaro’s abuse on Tenko, however, an abusive dynamic maintains itself by denying the abuse. Rather than confront Kotaro who holds all the power in the household, the weaker Tenko is blamed. This is Tenko’s issue that clings with him all the way until adulthood, instead of just calling his father out for his improper behavior, his family all sided with his father and told Tenko to stop picking fights. 
The process will continue as long as the man denies the impact of these tactics on the woman and the woman also denies being victimized. He will deny the impact because of acculturation and insensitivity; [Source.]
Instead of challenging the abuser, the victim is told that it is his fault, he needs to stop provoking the abuser, he needs to stop crying, he needs to stop being so sensitive, the feelings of the abuser are catered to over that of their victim and the dynamic is miantained. By finding a scapegoat to blame for the unrest in the household that is happening because of the abuse, nobody ever challenges the abuse directly. 
In other words divide and conquer. If the abuser pits victims against each other, it’s practically guaranteed that nobody will challenge him or confront him on his behavior and he’ll continue uninterrupted. So, in the Todoroki Household where there is a golden child and a scapegoat it continues like this: 
So in the family, the Scapegoat and the Golden Child become these roles assigned by the narcissist in order to play the game of Extract Narcissistic Supply through Triangulation.
Triangulation is like driving a wedge between people. Basically, the game involves two or more people who get pitted against each other and usually they don’t even realize what’s happening. They’re just aware of the conflict between each other and there’s always this conflict. [...]  The narcissist wants the loyalty of everybody and the narcissist wants everybody fighting amongst themselves. [Source.]
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This is why every Dabi fan in the series is saying that Shoto, and Toya were set up to fight against each other, because they were. Enji keeps Shoto separated from his siblings, to maintain control. The scapegoat will blame Shoto for his circumstances believing if they hadn’t been born their fathers attention would be theirs, and the golden child will blame the scapegoat for their rebellion, and their own actions done in reaction to the father’s abuse. HOWEVER. In fighting each other. blaming each other, it is Enji who will escape ultimate blame. 
Which is why ultimately scapegoat and golden child don’t really matter, they are  both victims of the same abuser. Shoto and Toya are the same in the way they were abused and their reactions to abuse, it’s only circumstances that differ with them. 
1. Shoto and Dabi Is the Same
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Edit by @miriio​
Shoto and Toya are the same, not just because they’re both brothers with the same fire quirk, but because they’ve both been moulded by Enji their entire lives, and their personalities, values, are all in reaction to that. Abuse scars everyone it touches. Arguing about whose scars are worse are besides the point, rather Shoto and Toya mirror each other because they both cope with the stress of abuse in similiar ways, despite their entirely different positions in the household. 
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In chapter 204 when faced with a foe who won’t give up, Shoto Todoroki flashes back to his father, and begsin to use his fire qiurk. 
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We are shown earlier in this chapter Enji’s attempts to once again assert control over him. Enji texts Shoto multiple times having gone behind his back to get his number. Enji insists that he be the one to teach Shoto prominence burn. (Enji also uses the tactic of understating the past abuse saying he was “misguided” in the past). Shoto while fighting against Tetsu^4 is also fighting against the memory of his father, and uses his flames to his absolute limit in order to prove that they are his flames. He even goes so far to warn Tetsu that he’s not holding back and could cause severe burn damage to his body. 
This also mirrors an earlier behavior when Enji pushed Todoroki before his fight with Sero, he overdid his ice quirk to the point of freezing the entire stadium. There’s an idea with Shoto that just because he is starting on the path to healing, and learning to cope healthily, that he never lashes out, or responds to his his father’s violence with violence. That is simply not true. 
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Shoto’s character arc is not complete. He is still dealing with this. As far back as the fight against Class B, he was getting what look to be trauma flashbacks in the middle of the fight, and could have even possibly been triggered by Tetsu’s relentless beating down on him. 
Shoto and Toya maintain a similiar pattern of behavior, in that they intentionally are docile, and hold back their strength in a fight. Shoto used to never use his flames at all. He also usually uses them far less effectively than his ice quirk. 
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Toya also, uses his flames sparingly in a fight (albeit for different reasons, his flames will burn him as he has no way of cooling himself like Shoto). However, when pushed in the situation, especially emotionally he will go all out. He’ll use the fire with far less regard for who he burns or even for burning himself. 
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Toya doesn’t use his flames at all, until he does and then he has no sense of moderation. 
Besides the way they use their flames, and their bad relationship with their own flames, (Shoto holds them back, Toya is burned by them.) They also both tend to overuse their quirk when they get emotionally riled or are lashing out. Their fire is a metaphor for their emotions, but more on that later.
Shoto and Toya exhibit several behaviors, the similarities are especially strong between Shoto and Earlyroki. First and foremost, they both insist on doing everything alone. 
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They’re both (Dabi, Earlyroki) highly individualist people who purposefully distance themselves from others, and deny any closeness to others because  they need to feel strong on their own. 
Shoto and Toya are people who have lived their entire lives fighting their controlling father over agency over their own lives in different ways. Toya fights Endeavor’s rejection of him, and Shoto fights Endeavor’s smothering and insistence that he take his legacy. The reason they cut out everybody else from their lives is because (1: their father dominating and controlling them they never learned to make connections with others, 2: they live their entire lives focusing on battling against their father). 
However, the methods they use to fight their father are what their father taught them, because ultimately it’s all they know. Children who are raised in an abusive household grow up improperly. They don’t know healthy means of dealing with their emotions because they are never taught these. Developmentally, they are stunted and this can even have effects late into an adulthood so it doesn’t actually matter that Dabi is in his twenties (especially since he died in his teens). 
Shoto, and Dabi are to an extent what their father made them to be. They are staunch individualists, who rely on the strength of their quirk to get what they want, like being the strongest truly is the only thing that matters. This behavior is shown in the both of them, but especially with Earlyroki. There are parallels. The way they both deal with small fry villains. 
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The scene where they both take out minor villains by entirely dominating them with their quirk is a parallel set up between the two of them.
They also both have a tendency towards dissociation to try to deal with past trauma: IE, trying to move themselves away from their feelings and insist their not feeling anything in order to avoid their feelings.
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At their worst, Shoto and Toya show off several of the same behaviors. These are all symptoms of abuse. Their shared inability to regulate their own fire is a metaphor for the fact that neither of them were taught how to properly regulate their own emotions. 
A healthy adult is able to handle stress, and negative emotions in healthy ways. They can put a lid on it, deal with it at a better time, think and sort through them. Shoto’s emotions always, always, always, come out during a fight even if he insists he’s letting go of the past and his father. Dabi and Shoto show behavior where they are either completely emotionally remote and unreachable “off”, or they are flipped “on” and completely unleash themselves. The point of these states of being is that Toya and Shoto are themselves unstable, because they were not fully developed emotionally, because they did not grow up in a household where their emotional well being was put first and foremost. 
They grew up in a household where they catered to Enji’s emotions first and foremost, and because of that both Shoto and Toya have trouble finding themselves in their fire. They also show several other symptoms, dissociation, social isolation, and a belief that they have to be strong and handle everything by themselves. Dabi cannot accept cooperation, and neither could Earlyroki. IN effect, Dabi is still fighting against the idea that he is weak that was beaten into him by his father, so of course relying on others is the sign of that same weakness. They both let their flames burn because they feel the need to be strong. 
2. Shoto and Dabi is different
I am making the argument that they are emotionally very similiar, and they both are who they are in reaction to what Endeavor did to them. They just take a different tack in the way they frame themselves. Dabi the villain, Shoto the hero.
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Shoto mentions very early on his quirk could be used to kill people, but he won’t, because that’s not a heoric action to do.
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Dabi says that he’s killing these villains for a purpose. We learn later what that purpose is, to get his body count up to thirty in order to further stain Endeavor’s name.
In other words, Shoto fights against his father as a hero, Toya fights against his father as a villain. This also reflects the golden child / scape goat dynamic. Shoto on the whole conforms, Dabi on the whole rebels. Shoto is still in the middle of hero society.
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Shoto’s strategy has always been that he has to work around Endeavor to get what he wants, which leads to Shoto cooperating with Endeavor on many occasions. He interns with him because he’s the number two hero. He often has his boundaries violated by Endeavor wanting to act like father son in public and Shoto not being comfortable with that. 
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Shoto’s strategy is to exist within the same framework that his father created, but learn to be his own hero. In this strategy he gives Endeavor what he wants almost as a trade for what Shoto still needs, which is practice and training to become a hero on his own terms. 
The golden child conforms, the scapegoat rebels. Shoto tries to accomplish what he wants inside of hero society, whereas Dabi pushes his agenda as a villain. Shoto lives to become a true hero, and wants to become a hero for his own reasons not because his father pushed him to, but because All Might inspired him.
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Toya not only declares that there are no true heroes, but he dedicates everything to tearing down what he sees are false heroes. His strategy is one of rebellion. Toya is aware of the arbitrary and hypocritical labels of hero and villain in this society, and because of that goes out of his way to show someone how villainous the actions of a hero can be.
However. Shoto wanting to become a hero. Toya becoming a villain from necessity. 
Isn’t as black and white as it seems. Toya has what Shoto lacks, which is awareness, the ability to criticize society and the situation he was in. Enji isn’t the only one to blame for the abuse of the Todoroki household, the society that allowed it to happen is also to blame. Shoto is capable of unknowingly inflicting violence on people who are just like him victims of abuse because he lacks Toya’s outside perspective.
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Shoto, that kills people.
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Shoto, that also kills people.
The point being it easily could have been Dabi that Shoto stabbed to death with an icicle, or burned alive to the point where half of his body was smoking. It could have been Dabi who has the same scars as him, who was burned by the same man. It’s only chance that he was going all out against Shigaraki instead of Dabi. Shoto can’t see villains as victims of the hero system, even though he was a victim of the same system. 
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Shoto hesitates when he learns that it’s Toya but what is the difference here? He was ready to use lethal force on Shigaraki a moment ago. Has anything truly changed? Dabi is still an enemy trying to destroy hero society. He still kills innocent people. He’s just now a villain that Shoto happens to know personally. 
My point is that Shoto’s conformity can set him up against victims of the same society. The same way that, Dabi’s rebellion can lead him to harm his own family.
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Dabi’s rebellion is just lashing out. The scapegoat because they are the lowest position in the whole family, because they are isolated, can sometimes associate the abuser’s actions with the whole family. We saw this with little Tenko. Tenko resented both his abuse father, but also his little sister for tattling on him, his mother and grandparents for not comforting him and taking any steps to stop his father. When you are the lowest rung on the ladder, when the stress of the whole household is taken out on you, you tend to see every member of the family as the same. 
Dabi absorbs the stress of the whole household. When he inevitably retaliates because nobody can keep that stress inside of them, and Dabi has been taught no healthy means of dealing with that stress, he is pitted against both other members of his family and Endeavor himself. 
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Dabi’s rebellion will hurt other people in the household, he has no regard for Shoto whatsoever, he sent Ending to Endeavor who ended up kidnapping Natsuo, he also is probably going to cause Rei’s setback.
However, at the same time Dabi’s lashing out is inevitable. Dabi was made to bear the stress of the entire household when he was blame and ousted as the scapegoat instead of his father Endeavor. Dabi is dealing with those emotions alone, lashing out on them alone, he only sees his own pain, but that is because to begin with, and all this time he has been suffering alone. 
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That’s where we get to the main difference between them, Shoto now has support, and Toya doesn’t. 
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Shoto even says back as early as the stain arc, which is the arc that Dabi first emerged in the aftermath of, that the problem with Earlyroki is not that he was angry, but that he was dealing with that anger all alone. He says it, that being all alone warps your vision, to the point where you can only see yourself.
Dabi is cut off from others, he might care about them but he severs those feelings away from himself. He has been isolated at least since he died, and maybe all his life, and even the connections of the league can’t bridge the gap between himself and others. Dabi is someone stuck in permanent Earlyroki phase because to him he lives his life for one purpose.
Shoto has been allowed to develop as his own person, because he let others in. The biggest difference between them can be illustrated with their fire. Dabi says his flames are Endeavors flames. Shoto is told that his flames are his own. 
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However, Shoto did not reach this consclusion on his own. He was told this by someone else. Shoto could not even take the first step until someone showed him the way, so who is to say the same can’t be true for Dabi? 
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Dabi has been separated from his family, homeless for ten years, and he literally died that one time. It’s likely that in all that time nobody has told him something so simple as “Your flames can be your own.” Dabi doesn’t know he can have a life outside of revenge against Endeavor because he hasn’t been shown it, he’s only ever known his father’s abuse and his fight against it. We don’t know if the league can reach him or not because he hasn’t been entirely honest with the league until right this second. 
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There’s a reason that the camera is cut like this. 
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Shoto’s scar, the damage inflicted on him, and Enji’s unscarred side. It makes a point. Is Dabi really the enemy in this situation? Is Dabi the ultimate villain? He plays the mastermind but he’s not. 
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Both Dabi and Shoto were burned by Endavor’s flames. It was Endeavor who created the situation and pitted them against each other in the first place. Which is why hero or villain, golden child or scapegoat it honestly, should not matter. Dabi and Shoto are not each other’s enemies, they were just made to think that way by Endeavor’s actions all the way back from when they were kids. 
If Dabi is blamed for his own rebellion. If he’s villified for it. If Dabi is made out to be the bad one for reacting the way he did, then, it’s no longer Enji’s fault for abusing him in the first place. After all, Natsuo, Fuyumi, and Shoto were similiarly abused and they didn’t react that way. Maybe Dabi just had bad vibes. If Dabi and Shoto are fighting each other, neither of them are fighting Enji, and the society he represents which enabled Enji’s abuse. While victims blame each other for their own reactions they don’t confront the abuser. 
Endeavor burned them, and Shoto, and Dabi are coping with those lifelong burns in different ways. Instead of trying to kill each other, they have much more to gain from sympathizing with one another. Shoto’s path to become a hero and surpassing his father, should take the course of being a hero who rescues. We’re even shown in this arc how horribly violent Enji is towards Shigaraki, a victim of similiar abuse to Shoto. Shoto would become a better hero, from listening to Dabi’s perspective and learning about the flaws in hero society. Whereas, Dabi needs to learn that he has a future beyond dragging his father to hell with him. Shoto was only able to open up to other people because someone forced their way through his walls and told him that his flame was his own, and Shoto can be the one to open Dabi’s eyes that his flame can be used for more than just destruction.
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Shoto’s desire for a hero is not wrong, Dabi’s desire to confront Endeavor’s abuse is not wrong. Both of these things are necessary. To make a person stop behaving badly you have to confront them about your behavior. However, it’s not healthy to linger in your pain forever because you won’t be able to move on and heal. 
Shoto is someone who can tell the all important words to Dabi. Your flames are your own. Didn’t you want to be a hero? 
PS. It’s really hypocritical to say that Dabi is wrong for announcing what Enji did on public television, like... Shoto tells his backstory to literally anyone who asks. Fuyumi casually discusses the fact that Natsuo thinks their father killed their brother with Shoto’s two friends from school. THEY ARE ALL LIKE THAT. THE TODOROKIS WILL TALK ABOUT THEIR DRAMA IN FRONT OF ANYBODY. 
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obeiii-mee · 3 years
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Heyo, this is my first time asking (im kinda new to tumblr, so please dont judge) if you would'nt mind, could you do some headcannons (or oneshots, it dosen't matter) with all the demon bros and a MC who is crippled/paralized in their legs, and has to use a wheelchair to get around? Thank you!!
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This is the first time I’ve written about a crippled MC, so I hope I didn’t fuck this up or anything. I found out that being paralysed in both legs is a disability called Paraplegia so that’s how I titled this post. And y’all are too sweet, you are more than welcome anon! I hope I can portray this properly because I am not crippled myself so I’ve opted to do some research before writing this! I hope you like it! Also, I feel inclined to add that none of the brothers would treat you too differently if you happen to have a disability because you’re their human nonetheless :)
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The Brothers with an MC that has Paraplegia and needs a wheelchair to get around:
Lucifer:
-Lucifer was in charge of choosing the final human, exchange student for the program so it’s guaranteed he already knew about your predicament before you even arrived
-Him and Diavolo probably had many meetings concerning your disability before the program could commence, considering that being unable to walk would double the chances of you getting killed since you are obviously more vulnerable
-Not to mention all the treatment you would require
-Lucifer is not well versed in human illnesses and disorders, but he makes sure that he is educated enough on the matter before you get brought down there
-It would not be easy, but he is determined to help you survive your year in DevilDom for the prince’s sake
-First problem of the day was, of course, your wheelchair
-Due to lack of time, Lucifer was unable to instal ramps around the House of Lamentation which meant that for the first couple of weeks, someone would’ve had to help you move around certain parts of the house
-He gave that highly prestigious job to himself because he didn’t trust his brothers and thought they would accidentally drop you and your wheelchair down the stairs
-He talks a lot to you, even at the beginning, because he needs to establish your needs and what he should do to make sure you don’t die for the following year
-You would have to tell him about physical therapy and how most commonly it uses heat, massage and exercise to stimulate your nerves and muscles, making it a great treatment for people with leg paralysis
-Once you two enter a more intimate and personal relationship, it’s more than likely he’ll help you perform those things himself (instead of kidnapping a human doctor from somewhere)
-Lucifer knows you have no problem getting around with your wheelchair by yourself but there are times where he’ll insist to push you along in order to give you a quick break
-I can totally imagine you two strolling around DevilDom and having cosy chats about RAD and your adjustments to DevilDom
-He has a softer side to him that he’s afraid to show most of the time, but he feels so at ease when you’re around, it’s hard for him to hold that part of him hidden from you
-Of course, your safety still remains his primary concern and he acts more like your guardian than Mammon does, even if he was originally supposed to look out for you
-He will accompany you almost anywhere. And if he can’t, he’ll have one or more of his brothers do it. And even then he’s probably lurking nearby, just in case
-He would always be willing to listen about your condition, if you wished to tell him whether you were born with the defect or why you ended up crippled later in life. Either way, he’s all ears
-If you would rather not speak about it, he wouldn’t pry and respect your decision because he knows it’s not his place to pressure you
-Because of your paralysis, it’s quite obvious to demons that you are even weaker (physically speaking) than most humans and that usually puts a target on your back
-Howver, never fear, because Lucifer is pretty quick to put lower rank demons in their place with just a mere stare
-Oop one of them passed out from the fear, haha
-In conclusion, he’s the most responsible when it comes your comfort and safety during your stay
-He makes sure you are always left in good hands and and provides most of the requirements you need
-Y’all should see how his wings puff up when he senses a threat approaching you, he looks like a peacock ready to go on attack lol
Mammon:
-The second born is unsurprisingly a bit of a jerk at first
-He stays really grumpy the whole day of your arrival because he’s stuck babysitting you stupid human
-“Lucifer c’mon, what’s all this workload for? The human can’t even walk by themselves, why do I have to help them out?”
-Wtf Mammon you can’t say shit like that
-Anyways, the following very few days, the only thing he’s thinking about is how much money he could sell your wheelchair for
-He’s the literal incarnation of greed, what else did you expect from him?
-After a while, he starts feeling a bit guilty every time he thinks about it though
-Mammon is gonna take this secret to the grave (laughs in immortal) but he actually really likes pushing you around
-Maybe it’s because it’s a clear indication to everyone around him that you are HIS human, under HIS protection and therefore you trust HIM the most since he was your FIRST MAN
-He will insist on helping you get out of that thing when you need to go to bed and stuff every night and he will get pouty real fast if you let any of his other brothers do it
-You wake up to him trying to roll around in your wheelchair one night at like 3am
-At some point, he stole a wheelchair from the human realm to match with his human. You can guess the consequences of his actions
-I can imagine you having to face a staircase or something at school and Mammon being like:
-“Fuck it, imma carry this fragile human instead; wheelchair and all!”
-Like you were a sack of potatoes or something smh
-Cue his brothers watching him from a distance as he heaves you and basically weight-lifts you up the stairs
-Ok but every now and again, he gets so sad thinking about you not being able to walk, like he starts crying kinda sad
-While you stand there like 😐 “Why are you crying?”
-He’s so quick to help if he senses you’re in danger too
-It’s canon that Mammon is crazy fast if he wants to be so if he has even the slightest impression that your life is threatened, his feet are already moving
-He will charge at your immediate threat at around 120 miles per hour-do not try him when he’s mad
-“The Great Mammon saved the day! C’mon MC, let’s go buy some ice cream. My treat! Ya better be grateful!”
-He says while the demon that tried to eat you lies on the floor with about a dozen broken bones
-Mammon is the second most powerful demon out of all of his brothers, even if he doesn’t resort to violence often
Levi:
-He didn’t really know how to react when you first teleported to DevilDom
-I mean, from the very beginning he considered you to be a human normie but at the same time, he felt bad you were stuck with his brothers for the rest of the year
-I think he would understand you would have an even harder time integrating yourself in their house because of your disability and he knows his siblings are really fucking annoying, always pushing you around and whatnot
-So, he kinda lets you hide in his room quite often
-You guys chill out in there all the time, much to the dismay of the other brothers who also want to spend time with you
-At some point, Levi definitely begged asked Lucifer to let you start online classes with him
-“But wouldn’t it be easier for MC to do online school from home rather than go to R.A.D since there aren’t any ramps or anything around there???”
-“The answer is no Leviathan.”
-“Ugh fine! What a fucking boomer-“
-For some reason, he gets so flustered whenever you ask him to push you around
-He blushes right to the tips of his ears and then he starts sputtering some nonsense that you can’t make out at all
-But he’s more than happy to do it, especially if you guys are going to a convention or if he’s dragging you out to buy new merch
-You two would get along in the sense that Levi realises the struggles you faced all your life were tough to overcome and he believes you are just like him
-Usually left out by other people, ignored even
-He knows you always listen to him ramble on about whatever he is currently obsessed with and how much you check up on him to make sure he never isolated himself
-He wants to do that for you too! Talk to him about your hobbies, please I’m begging you-he feels so bad whenever he’s doing all the talking
-If you ask him to help you with anything (getting something, helping you into bed—that sort of thing), he legally and physically can’t say ‘no’
-And he would get envious enough to stop talking to you for a day or two if you let his brothers do it instead (the second and third born are indeed similar lmao)
-S T A Y I N H I S R O O M, W H E R E Y O U C A N B E P R O T E C T E D !
-He will feel so much more at ease if you’re in his room because to him, that’s his haven
-If you’re in there with him, that means you’re not getting involved in his siblings’ endless and dangerous shenanigans
-Whenever you’re at school, he can’t help but worry about your well-being
-Because you’re human! You’re gonna get killed!! Do you know how much your organs sell on the black market in DevilDom??? 100x more than in the human realm, that’s for sure
-Would they have a black market or would it be a regular market lol
-For some reason, he also likes staying in your wheelchair when you’re not using it
-I think he just takes comfort in knowing it’s something that belongs to you and smells like you and-
-OK Levi, sit back down
-He wouldn’t treat you any differently if you had a disability tbh, but he’d be more concerned because you can’t even run away or anything
-So he’s so fuckin’ relieved when you guys are just vibing in his room
-He could die happy knowing he kept his best friend/ partner safe
Satan:
-Satan would be even more prepared for your arrival than Lucifer would, in a sense
-Out of all of his brothers, he’s most likely to understand and recognise paraplegia (either from studying human illnesses/birth defects/disabilities or from encountering humans with said disability)
-He’s a smart boy, alright?
-Always seems to be the first to notice if you need help or if someone’s bothering you
-Though in the very beginning, he was pretty tempted to just let you get killed to see how angry Lucifer could get
-Seeing dear Luci’s misery brings him great joy 🥰🥰🥰
-Once you two manage to build a very honest and strong relationship, he feels more and more inclined to keep you out of harm’s way
-Pls, he would feel so honoured if you let him push you around (it’s like you asked him to h*ld h*nds or something)
-If you require treatment of any kind, he would be so happy to help
-But in a subtle way...?
-Satan makes it seem so smooth too like he doesn’t mind lending a helping hand when in reality he’s all giddy inside
-*Kinda wants to rub it in his brothers’ faces but at the same no, because he’s definitely the bigger person here
-He wants to know how your wheelchair works
-It’s got all of these neat mechanisms and he wants to learn how they’re constructed because he never had the chance to inspect one before
-He’s such a sweetheart about asking you as well and never pries about your disability unless you start elaborating yourself
-Most of the time, he acts all charming and very gentleman-like
-So people have a hard time spotting and acknowledging the building rage inside of him every time he sees you are threatened by some moronic low rank demon
-Satan’s usually chill when it comes to injuries, unless he can see you’re in horrible pain
-There’s nothing a few spells can’t accomplish
-But when others purposefully try harming you?
-It’s like he loses all the self control he’s been trying to perfect over the centuries and he can’t help himself from at least breaking someone’s rib cage
-Satan’s a weird one because he’s protective of you even though he’s more on the relaxed side when compared to his siblings
-He very much acknowledges that you made it this far in life with your predicament so he doesn’t feel the need to baby you or anything
-You’re strong and he knows this
-It’s one of the many things he clearly loves about you
-That one time you rolled over Mammon’s foot with your wheelchair on purpose, he was wheezing
Asmo:
-Even now, he can’t help but wonder what it would be like to be stuck inside a wheelchair for the rest of his eternal life
-I mean, he’d obviously still be absolutely fabulous, have you seen him? He’s gonna be gorgeous either way
-But after the two of you meet, he definitely starts thinking about how he takes his feet for granted all the time
-It would be so difficult to complete his daily tasks without the ability to walk or run around
-That’s why he gets sad every time he remembers that’s your reality and on days like that, you’ve noticed he gives you a helluva lot more attention than usual
-He knows you don’t need pity or anything so he’s just making sure his human has all the support they can get
-Paraplegia or not, shopping trips are still a go-go
-He loves buying you clothes! And he loves helping you try them on! Asmo takes it very seriously
-Might have a go at the employees if they’re being rude to you
-You don’t even ask him to, but he subconsciously starts pushing you around himself whenever the two of you are out together
-“MC! Look at that new shop that’s just opened! Isn’t it adorable? We have to check it out!”
-He can’t help it! There’s so many places he wants to visit, he sort of just drags you with him wherever he goes
-Even at home, he always pops out of nowhere to coax you into coming to his room
-Y’all have so many skin routines to do each day
-Like he’s in your room most nights to greet you goodnight and tuck you in, with the rest of his brothers it gets so awkward at times
-Asmo just wants to see you smile, ok? He thinks you have a beautiful smile and laugh and he wants to remind you that you’re marvellous, disability or not
-And if anyone does anything to put an end to your self confidence, he will swiftly put an end to their life
-Please, he’s a pro at ruining lives, he’s been doing it for centuries
-Asmo has such a huge influence over the people in DevilDom, he just needs to make this one post on Devilgram to end said demon’s whole career
-I mean, who is he compared to him, Hmm? So don’t worry MC, scum like that don’t even deserve to breathe the same air as you :)
-That one time Mammon tried lifting you up the stairs and Asmo started shrieking, like put them down! Don’t manhandle them like that, poor human :(
Beel:
-I know I sound repetitive, but he would be an overall sweetheart to you no matter the circumstances
-If Mammon is not by your side, then Beel definitely is
-His big, scary aura and figure usually scares off any threat in a 10 mile radius
-Most demons don’t fancy being eaten by the Avatar of Gluttony, ya know?
-Idk why but I feel like he’d be the type to ask for oral consent every time he wanted to push you around
-He doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable :(
-Surprisingly also the type to lift you and your wheelchair whenever an obstacle gets in your way
-You basically weigh the same amount as a paper plate compared to him, so he has no problem doing so
-He doesn’t really understand your condition as well as Satan may do, but he’s trying his best
-You mean so much to him and he feels it’s only fair he learns more about your disability as a thank you for what you’ve done for him
-He has a rough time keeping up with you when it comes to stuff like physical therapy because he’s very unfamiliar with it but that doesn’t mean he’s not gonna help
-Of course, Beel believes that this is the second best way to show you how much he cares for you besides the obvious ‘I love you’
-Giving you a hand whenever you need his support the most
-That’s his way of saying “I’m not going to let you down. I want you to trust me, the same way I trust you.”
-And knowing him, he will try to do everything in his power to keep you safe and sound
-After a while, you’re bound to notice he’s the first one to pull you out of his brothers’ pranks before you have a chance to get hurt
-Beel is always the one handing you stuff from high places you can’t reach, without teasing you for it like Mammon might do
-Always the first one to remind you to get plenty of rest and to eat enough
-He wants to protect you and his brothers because he knows he failed to do so with Lilith so yeah, he’s a bit overprotective at times
-He doesn’t mean to be overbearing, but he gets so anxious knowing you’re by yourself
-After a few months of getting accommodated with him, your disability is no longer brought up in the conversation
-Because he doesn’t care that you are crippled and forced to use a wheelchair
-You are part of his family and he loves you no matter what
Belphie:
-He didn’t really care, even when you first met and his hatred for humans was at its very peak
-It didn’t matter that you had a disability
-All that mattered to him at the time was killing you to satisfy that deeply rooted need of vengeance inside of him
-Though he was sort of surprised his brothers didn’t get to you first
-In general, he’s pretty chill about you being crippled in both legs
-It takes too much effort to worry about your well-being 24/7 after all
-Surprisingly, he does keep an eye out for you if his siblings aren’t nearby
-It’s his redemption arc people, he’s trying to be nicer
-But he has such an irritating way of showing his affection for you
-Do not let him push you around
-He’s either going to a) fall asleep after 30 seconds and slump over you in the middle of RAD’s halls
-Or b) be annoying and fling your wheelchair in every direction possible just to piss you off
-He likes messing with you because you give him the best reactions and he thrives on that
-You’ve almost fallen off your wheelchair multiple times because of this asshole
-Not that he’d actually let you fall, he just wants to see how easily he can get you to yell at him
-Speaking of said wheelchair, like Mammon and Levi, he also loves using it when you’re not
-You’ve woken up to him curled up and asleep in that thing quiet often and he’s gotten in trouble over it every time with Lucifer
-But he doesn’t care
-And at this point, I don’t think even he knows whether he’s doing it to get a reaction out of you or because he somehow found a way to make himself comfortable there
-He would low key use you as a mode of transportation every time you go to RAD
-Just clings the damn wheelchair and almost topples both of you over
-“Belphie, there’s nothing stopping you from walking 😐”
-“Shh, just bring me to class and let me nap until then.”
-He doesn’t mention your legs but he still lays his head on your lap often
-Might make you hold him like a bride every time you stroll around the house
-It’s done out of love, I promise 😌😌
———————————
Al~
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kittydemon9000 · 3 years
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Alright so I know Literally Nobody asked for this but the idea of leaguers having differnt armor types, speeds, and strengths is so fascinating to me so here’s an entire post about my headcanons about it, staring the Main 7 since they’re the ones we see most and have the most evidence for. 
Also, please keep in mind that this is completely made based on memory alone and it’s been a bit since I last saw the show. If I missed something or remembered something wrong feel free to correct me or add your own thoughts.
Also also, I made a chart (the chart is based on the strongest for the leaguer, not out of all of them, ex: Top Joy’s strongest is different from GZ’s strongest)
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First off, the leader of Silver Castle himself, Magnum Ace, a Baseball Leaguer. Right off the bat(hah puns) I immediately knew his arms would be the strongest points. He seems to have been created with him being a pitcher in mind and his 44 Sonic has clearly been shown to posses a lot of power which he would need the strength to handle. There’s also how he was shown to be a decent hitter in Gold Arm’s flashback, sending every ball into the outfield. As for his weakest points, they were also pretty easy. The joints are a bit of a constant with all of the leaguers I showed, but the fins are because they seem to be rather thin and probably can’t hold up very well under pressure. There’s also the shoulder joints, which I wasn’t able to put on the diagram, since as shown during the end of the series, if Magnum repeatedly pitches his 44 Sonic without rest the stress on his shoulders start to cause them to break down, to the point where he was forced to sit out for the next few days for repairs. Speed wise Magnum is nothing special and in my eyes pretty average amongst the team.
Next up, we have Mach Windy, a Soccer Leaguer. Similar to Magnum, I knew almost immediately his strongest point would be his legs since, y’know, soccer. Everything(physical) we see coming from Windy is almost always centered around his leg strength and speed. This is outright said when Silver Castle is resting after some baseball training and Magnum tells Windy(I shit you not) “We believe in your leg.” There’s also his Mach Spin which depends entirely on his ability to kick to ball at an extremely high speed. There’s also a scene when trying to help Gold Foot during the Forced Retirement Arc where his kicks a ball of solid rock without any issues. The scene also brings me to why his head is a strong point. Heading is also something Windy has been shown to be able to do, and referencing the Forced Retirement Arc again where he head butts the aforementioned ball of rock. For speed, as mentioned before, when it comes to running Windy seems to be the fastest amongst Silver Castle. The weakness I feel is pretty self explanatory since soccer doesn’t really require use of your arms unless you’re a goalie. There’s also how in the Jet Setter episode Bull sees Windy loose an arm wrestle almost immediatly with Ryuuken, but that might just be since Ryuuken is ridiculously powerful. As for durability, he seems to be not very strong, instead having lighter armor for more speed.
Speaking of Ryuuken, let’s talk about the Karate Leaguer. As you can see, his strongest part is his armor, aka almost all of him. As a karate leaguer, Ryuuken was probably created with the intent of being able to take a lot of hits. There’s also the running joke of a member of another team attacking him with all their power and him not budging and saying something along the lines of “I feel nothing.” Strength wise, we get a taste of his crazy power is during his first spotlight episode where he was practicing kicking with Windy, to which he accidentally broke the stone wall surrounding the field. He then unlocks more of his power when rescuing Ruri from the factory, but we don’t see his real power until the Forced Retirment arc. There we got to see when going to rescue Magnum, Windy, and the Gold Bros how he opened a literal chasm into the ground with a single punch, though I can’t remember if it was rock, metal, or both, but that’s still pretty impressive, and that was before he unlocked his Heart Kit in the Death Football Arc which only increased his power. And then during the OVA when the Fighter Brothers try to fight Windy’s new team and they use their pitch, a pitch that nobody had been able to hit before, Ryuuken straight up punches it with seemingly no backlash and getting a home run all because they made him mad.….maybe it’s a good thing Ryuuken is so innocent and calm. Speed wise, Ryuuken seems to be on the slower side of the team, however I do think Ryuuken(alongside Juurouta) would have the best reflexes. This one is completely headcanon and I don’t have much proof, it just makes sense to me.
Next up, we have Bull Armor, a Football Leaguer. His armor and helmet are easily his strongest parts, for mostly obvious reasons. Multiple times throughout the series he is seen tanking blows that would normally knock another leaguer to the ground, most notably when he’s Silver Castle’s goalkeeper in soccer and catcher in baseball. However, his durability seems to be different from Ryuuken’s since he is still moved by the attacks but can bounce back from more. His durability seems to be pretty tied to his strength too since he is one of the only leaguers who has been shown to catch Magnum’s 44 Sonic. There’s also how when he was first introduced he stopped and lifted a truck much larger than himself with relative ease in order to stop it from hitting a young boy. His speed however is admittedly a bit harder to figure out. He seems to be much larger and heavier, however as shown when he lost control in his past he still has the ability to charge down opponents at a speed in which they can’t properly evade, though it’s up for debate whether they were trying to properly evade or trying to reason with him.
Juurouta, a Kendo Leaguer, is next. His durability is more basic compared to the others, mostly focusing around his Armor Armor(no that was not a typo). Said Armor Armor also seems to be protecting the joints which may or may not be intentional, but I’m going with it. His fins share the same logic with Magnum, as do his joints with everyone else. His strength mostly seems to be localized in his arms, which makes sense since he is a kendo leaguer. His strength was first shown in comparison to the others when he was the first person to hit Gold Arm’s Genocide Screw with a hit(discounting Bull since he technically kicked it). There’s also how in the Arctic he was able to cut down the  blizzard machine, however that spent all his energy. Speed wise I think he’s in a similar i boat to Ryuuken: slow overall, but incredible reflexes.
Now, Top Joy, a Basketball Leaguer, was a fun one to do for no reason more than I like the character. Strength wise, nothing very impressive, he show much. Durability though….it’s not the best. The only points that seemed to be able to hold up were his arms(sort of) and feet, and they’re less based on actual proof and more on logical thinking but I digress. Hand and arms because he’ll need to be able to catch balls thrown his way, but they’re still relatively weak compared to other members of Silver Castle. I highlighted his feet because they would probably be needed to make they don’t break once Top Joy lands after jumping high. If they were weak the repeated slamming into the ground would cause them to break and then Top Joy(and any other basketball leaguer) would be relatively stuck. But where I think Top Joy shines is his speed and maneuverability. As he has demonstrated many times throughout baseball and soccer games alike, his spring legs can be used in a variety of situations, from avoiding attacking players to catching balls that would normally be too far out of reach. And there’s also the possibility of using the force from the spring to propel himself faster when running, thought it’s unclear if he does this already. However, they are not without weakness. As shown in the episode with Gebara, they are easily damaged when seemingly a single coil is damaged and prevents him from walking without assistance from his teammates. There’s also his recording equipment and speakers which, while functional, seem like they would also be damaged rather easily since as someone who has worked with recording/video equipment, I am all too aware of how fragile it can be. Also another note, Top Joy also seems to have an incredibly high pain tolerance. When the members of Section X give him a warning shock with the shock circuit, he pleads with them and says how he “doesn’t like punishment,” implying this has happened before. There’s also his questionable relationship with his past team and much later in the Death Football Arc when he flat out says “I’m used to pain,” which in concerning to say the least.
And finally, last but most certainly not least, we have GZ, a Hockey Leaguer. Similar to Ryuuken, GZ has been shown to be incredibly powerful and being able to take a lot. There are three times where his power is shown. First is barely a day after he joins their team when he defends his teammates from attacks that would normally knock them off their feet(sans Ryuuken). The second time is when he’s babysitting the kids and survives an avalanche that took out another group of hockey(?) leaguers with barely a scratch. And then in the OVA where he’s able to deflect almost all of Garret’s dive bomb attacks without took much trouble. This is undoubtedly a combination of some hockey leaguers being incredibly defensive(like Thunderbolt) and his reformatting which led him to be a mercenary. We don’t seem too much from GZ in terms of strength, so I’m going to say he’s just a little weaker than Magnum. Speed though, that one was a bit hard to figure out. Main because of his boosters. His boosters give him an enormous speed boost, fast enough to get ahead of Garret who was literally flying and dive bombing, and on the ice without as much friction it only increases his speed. However, the few times we see him running, he seems to be slower than the other Silver Castle members, likely because of his weight and how he was meant for ice, not land. 
TL:DR, From most to least
Durability: GZ, Ryuuken, Bull Armor, Juurouta, Magnum, Windy, Top Joy
Strength: Ryuuken, Bull Armor, Juurouta, Magnum, GZ, Top Joy, Windy
Speed: GZ(with boosters/on ice), Windy, Top Joy, Magnum, Bull Armor, Ryuuken, Juurouta, GZ(running), but Juurouta and Ryuuken have the best reflexes
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pridewhatpride · 3 years
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do you have any gx rivalshipping hcs!! im super curious on your take of them :]
When I saw this ask my immediate reaction was thinking: "Yes, I have an excuse to talk about gx rivalshipping, YES."
So yeah. I love this ship a lot, like a whole damn lot and it's a little hard to explain why, especially when gx has so many open possibilities for romances involving Judai. By which I mean two, really, and Manjoume is not one of them (sadly for me). I am referring to Yubel and Johan, by the way, I refuse to acknowledge Asuka as a love interest.
I'll start off with a bit of fluff headcanons?
Manjoume thinks Winged Kuriboh is really cute and that its friendly and fluffy appearance screams Judai, in a way. But he will never admit it because of what that might imply for him and the Ojamas.
Manjoume is fueled by caffeine and monster, he only really starts to recognise how nice it can be to have a meal because of how much Judai enjoys his food. He tries to sit at the table with him with dumb excuses.
Judai feels a bit guilty for how his actions impacted Manjoume's life, but Manjoume generally tells him that it's fine, it's better this way, that he's never this happy, that the only reason why Judai should maybe feel bad about it is because of his tendency to get overly invested in other people's problems and getting hurt in the process. Judai responds with bear hugs.
Manjoume brags about Judai a lot, actually. "Oh you think that's cool? One time Judai managed to do a backflip, you loser." "Slifer reds suck, but they do have redeeming qualities, by which I mean one of them is actually good."
Judai likes to indulge himself in the thought that he's Manjoume's most trusted, that he's the only one who could ever be allowed to have that many incriminating pictures of him. Because Judai just loves taking candid pictures of Manjoume. He thinks he looks and and cool in every situation, so yeah. A part of him does it because he has an inexplicable fear of forgetting people and the way they look, but he just can't say why that is.
They hang out in silence a lot, but once they start talking they just never stop. You'll find them on the beach at 3 am with a smiling Manjoume listening to Judai go on about how crazy it is that you can fry food in so many different ways and how he once caught a butterfly as a kid and named it Kujaku.
They share their music a lot, so Manjoume's tastes switch from just emo to fast paced rap and the weirdly happy sounding songs about very morbid things Judai listens to (plus emo). Judai starts to enjoy a bit of angry screaming into microphones thanks to Jun. Do they sing along like idiots as they share earphones? Yes. Is Manjoume mesmerised by Judai's singing voice? Also yes.
Judai loves hiking and sometimes invites Manjoume, but because he's a lot weaker and has less stamina, they take it slow. Manjoume keeps cursing himself for being slow and dead weight, but Judai is just happy to have a companion. Admittedly, going slower makes the walks better as he has the time to enjoy the scenery properly. He never teases Jun about his lack of physical training.
Now... I wanted to talk about my general view on the ship, plus headcanons I guess, but this is going to be EVEN LONGER (you are getting more than you asked for, your fault for enabling me, really). For the sake of the sanity of mobile users, I'm adding a cut so nobody has to unwillingly scroll through endless text.
On to the the juice, then. My thoughts on the ship. Manjoume and Judai are, of course, the rivals of the series and, if my thoughts on rivalry weren't clear enough, I am one of those people. It's just really romantic to me. What is very interesting about the two of them specifically is that they are polar opposites in the way the reason why they play, throughout the whole series. Hell, their views end up getting reversed completely: Manjoume goes from "if I don't win I'm gonna have a breakdown breakdown" to "losing is ok, as long as I enjoy the game and am true to myself", while Judai does the 180 from "I really just love playing cards with my friends, who cares about the outcome, it's fun" to "I have card game related trauma, nobody speak to me, games are only an excuse to assert a sort of power scale and honestly fuck that".
Manjoume is sort of the only person in the 'friend group' (he's never actually part of it, sadly, literally only Judai and Fubuki like him) to not idolise Judai, not explicitly. He clearly has an admiration for Judai from the beginning, but he is adamant on expressing it as hatred towards for being better than him. A part of me feels that a lot of his superior act is meant to try and fool himself and Jaden into thinking that he's a worthy rival, because I know for a fact that Manjoume doesn't believe that. He wants it to be true, yes.
What I am trying to get at is that Judai is probably a little confused by the fact that Manjoume doesn't drool all over him like the rest of the school does, but it soon becomes a crutch. Judai is under a lot of pressure because he is the hero who will save everyone and people like to remind him of how much they count on him. Manjoume is in it for Judai. He wants to be acknowledged by him, he wants his recognition and his attention, but he never asks for help or expects Judai to fix his problems for him. Judai is probably thankful for that.
Manjoume is also really scared of being left behind and cast aside as soon as he stops being useful and that's exactly what the writers do to him!!! hooray!, but Judai keeps insisting that he's not a bad guy, that he's fun to be around, that he's competent. Manjoume doesn't really believe all that that much, but Jaden keeps playing him despite his repeated losses and to Jun that's the equivalent of someone kissing his tears away. Manjoume only learns to accept his losses and shortcomings because Judai did it for him first.
So basically Manjoume is the only one who fully sees Judai as a person, while Judai is the only one who is really willing to look past his pretentious facade. I fully believe that Judai was relieved to learn that Manjoume was not just a perfect boy with perfect manners, by the way. They both just love to learn about every imperfection that the other has and silently thinking that they just add to the beauty of the other's character. Will they tease eachother about it? Fuck yes. Do they feel awful when the other tries to fix something about themselves because they pointed it out? Also fuck yes.
They are in a dumb competition against themselves to be better in order to earn the right to be friends with eachother, but because they are fucking dumb they never actually communicate (until they do), so for a long time it's endless pining that is definitely not gay because admittedly Judai just doesn't think that dating is a thing, while Manjoume is straight™, really straight. He has never liked a boy in his life, he's so very fucking straight, I swear.
So Manjoume is a bisexual disaster (and in my headcanon he prefers boys, actually, the Asuka incident is the biggest example of denial™ ever. He prefers Fubuki, fight me over this). The problem is that he never really considered he might be crushing on Judai, but at the same time admitting to maybe liking boys too means that there was more to wanting to stay at DA, to hanging out with Judai's crew despite their mutual dislike, to his continuous playful headlocks and ear pulling. To add onto that, there is probably a certain amount of guilt over having betrayed that bond with Judai by trying to throw away his cards and everything. Judai, on the other hand... is confused at how bothered he is by the public declarations of love, because Manjoume is his rival and rivals are supposed to focus on eachother, not on some girl, no matter how good said girl is at card games.
So maybe they are a bit gay for eachother. And maybe they just want excuses to be together as much as possible. And it's really just the vibe of highschool romance between two people who don't want to admit to caring for one another on a deeper level, but are also weirdly possessive of eachother for no apparent reason. And I think I'll stop here with my gay retelling, but really if you look at the two of them you do see that they do a lot for eachother's characters. It's kind of beautiful, really. They are the two socially inept characters who find comfort in someone being just like them and understanding them as they change and grow up.
I have a lot to say about how that changes once the transfer students come in, but I think I've bored everyone for long enough- as in nobody will read this lol. That's ok. I thank you again for the ask and for allowing me to gush about this ship that is so close to my heart. If anyone ever wants to talk about them, just. Do. Break into my house at night and I still won't mind, I just want to talk about them.
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michals · 3 years
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That post reminded me I never actually posted this and it's one of those ‘kind of embarrassing I spent so much time on it but I’m posting it because I spent so much damn time on it’ things.
Klaus and Luther similarities/parallels
So the show doesn’t give us a ton of Luther and Klaus interaction but I think just them being the characters they are they’re really similar and have interesting parallels.
Of all the siblings I think it’s actually Luther and Klaus who are the most diametrically opposed in terms of their place in the Academy and their childhood. Obviously there’s the dynamic between Reggie explicitly calling Luther his favorite and Klaus his biggest disappointment, both of them had high expectations thrust upon them and one excelled and the other failed. But then again Luther was set up to excel and Klaus to fail. For all that Reggie wanted from Klaus he went about it in entirely the wrong way which only hurt Klaus’s abilities, and comparatively Luther’s powers are very straight forward so his training had to be mental in that he became exactly what Reggie wanted him to be.
Basically: Reggie’s abuse had opposite effects on them. Luther was brainwashed and isolated, Klaus was discarded and left to fend for himself. Luther loves/trusts his dad, Klaus hates him. Luther thinks they have a purpose and what they did was worthwhile, Klaus thinks it was all a big joke and meant nothing beyond Reggie’s little experiment. Luther’s at one end of the spectrum, Klaus the other, and everyone else falls somewhere in between.
How they show the effects of their abuse however, is actually more in sync. Klaus has a habit of either ignoring or talking around problems, acting like they’re not problems, or being flippant about them. Klaus acknowledges Reggie’s abuse but it’s usually in a jokey, casual manner, he usually moves on from talking about it quickly without getting too deep. He knows Reggie did a number on them but confronting it head on is difficult. And this is from a character who’s been in multiple rehab centers that obviously include some kind of therapy sessions.
Luther of course outright denies it until he’s faced with it in the worst way, and even then he can’t really get his head around it. One of the first things he did when landing in the 60s was to go to Reggie and expect him to welcome him, even though he doesn’t even know him. And then for all his talk in s2 about having moved on it reads like lip service, it sounds like he knows that’s what he should say, what he should feel, but it’s not entirely working. It’s like he’s just trying to dismiss it to the point where he will literally run away from the conversation. I still think the moment of him telling Sparrowverse Reggie that he’s happy they’re all home and together is a huge sign that he still thinks of Reggie as his dad no matter what.
Klaus and Luther either don’t know how to talk about their trauma or aren’t willing to. Whether it’s that Luther still doesn’t want to face up to it completely or that perhaps he does have the littlest bit of hope that actually Reggie did care and there was/is a chance he might care yet, or with Klaus trying to put the trauma on the backburner so he doesn’t have to relive it or process it in a way that means he won’t be able to drink it away or perhaps be forced to confront the powers that have caused him so much pain.
I also think they are genuinely sensitive. Not in the same way the others are, but empathetic and gentle in ways they never got to explore as children. I think that emotional wounds go much deeper than they let on. They’re always on the cusp of reaching out but not only do they not like dealing with their problems, they were taught not to. If given the chance they’d probably be happy to play support for the others but that wasn’t Reggie’s goal. I can easily imagine Luther as the kind of leader who takes everyone’s plans and thoughts into account and makes sense of it from there, who’s better at dictating than just demanding. And I imagine Klaus would probably be capable of understanding and connecting to his ghosts in a way that helps both him and them if he had been given different training.
Next is how both of them have poor self esteem and what comes across as a passive view of self preservation. Klaus has a very conflicted view of his place within the Academy. Apparently he was regulated to being the ‘look out’ often and wasn’t as active as the others. Obviously this is because of his complicated relationship with his powers and how Reggie treated him within the group dynamic. If he didn’t think Klaus was important (because he wasn’t doing what he was supposed to) then he wasn’t important. Now, having embraced his place as the black sheep of the family, Klaus still doesn’t know where he fits in and often comes across as “useless” (in quotes cause obvs that’s not the whole story, just a simplification).
Just in general he sees himself as an outsider. For all that he’s flippant and casually cocky he’s not actually all that confident in what he’s capable of to the point of not even trying sometimes because he’s convinced he’ll fail. It’s a smokescreen. It goes hand in hand with him not confronting his feelings or trauma, easier to play like he’s confident than to deal with it.
Luther’s self esteem came entirely from his place in the Academy and his father’s opinion and what Reggie made him. Even then his confidence gets shaken all the time when someone doesn’t listen to him or when they argue with him. He too tries to cover this up, Klaus is glib Luther is bossy. Then there’s the whole gorilla body thing, which he is very obviously mortified by. (Side note: interesting contrast in Klaus being usually the least physically covered up sibling and Luther being the most.) He’s wildly ashamed and embarrassed by his appearance. (There’s a whole other point I could make about how Luther only willingly shows his body when he’s being exploited and pummeled – or high – but that’s another post.)
Then Luther’s whole foundation crumbles with the discovery of Reggie’s true nature. He doesn’t have much left after that and then he’s dropped into a foreign world with no one and no way of coping and then Reggie once again lets him down. What’s he do? Gets into a situation that mirrors his relationship with Reggie, lets himself be taken advantage of, does what he’s told to the point of physical harm - because he knows nothing else and the bet is he doesn’t think he deserves better. Then he spends all of season 2 saying that he messed up, he’s not a hero, he’s not a leader and that he has no place thinking highly of himself. Guy straight up doesn’t have any self esteem at this point.
(Klaus also doesn't see himself as a hero even though he was on a literal superhero team.)
And in terms of their sense of self preservation: Klaus obviously has very little regard for his own health and wellbeing. Even if he doesn’t throw himself in front of bullets he’s still drinking and doing drugs to an extreme degree, to the point where they’ve actually killed him. He knows it’s bad for him, he knows it’s dangerous but he doesn’t care. Even with Ben in his ear he continues. When he dies in s1 he’s relieved.
Speaking of throwing one’s self in front of a bullet: Luther does this 3 times that we see. This comes obviously from his protectiveness as a leader but there’s an undercurrent of other people surviving being more important than him getting hurt. And when Five comes to him to say the world’s ending again Luther says he doesn’t give a shit. The Luther from s1 was all about saving the day, s2 Luther is shrugging and saying ‘yeah well, so what?’ and when he does start to care it’s mostly because he’s looking out for Five.
(Sidenote: I realize that my headcanon that Luther is becoming an alcoholic and has an unhealthy relationship with drugs is probably me reading into things but were the show to go in that direction: that they both would find comfort or an escape through substances would be another thing to tie them together and explore how their traumas affected them and what they do to deal with/avoid dealing with them. They’ve become pessimistic about the prospect of answers or catharsis so they look for escape instead.)
(Also also pointing out that the two times Luther was the most candid about his trauma was when he was drunk/high and one of those times was with Klaus – who for the first time in probably a long time, or ever, got to be the shoulder someone cried on. And what a great thematic idea that it’d be the two of them that’d be the most honest and open with each other eventually.)
Bonus item: Luther and Klaus have both died outside of their apocalypse related deaths (pretty sure Allison never actually died in s1 but was close) and in ways that none of the others were there for. Neither of them have talked about it. Maybe it’s because they don’t want to seem weaker than they already are, maybe it’s more of that ‘let’s not talk about trauma, let’s just get drunk’ mentality, or maybe it’s because they don’t think anyone would care. None of the others have really talked to Luther about the accident or the aftermath, none of them have approached Klaus’s addictions as an actual problem. Whatever reason why it would probably do them a world of good to find out they have that in common in the same way it would be good for Luther and Five to talk about their isolation.
They really seem like they should be very different characters in all respects and they really are in a lot of ways but there’s also this laundry list of ways they mirror each other or are similar and I hope the show takes advantage of that.
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faithinthefuture28 · 4 years
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Larry songs timeline & what it tells us about the evolution of their relationship
**These are all just my interpretations but the more I listen to the music they wrote, the more it all fits together. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THROUGHOUT THE YEARS THEY’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT WRITING “AUTOBIOGRAPHICALLY” AND “FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE”
I deffo missed some songs but these stood out to me:
2013
L-Strong: Love isn’t easy (waves trying to break it) but what we have means something and it’s worth fighting for. read: love is only for the brave (Think of how much love that’s been wasted...there’s nothing i’m running from...i don’t care, I’m not scared of love) And we bring out the best in each other so lets not throw this away (i’d do anything to save it...when i’m not with you i’m weaker). 
H-Happily: I want to fight for us too bc we’re on fire and our love is powerful af. ik we have to do stunts and stuff (and if (s)he feels my traces in your hair, sorry love but I don’t really care) but what we have is insane and fuck everyone else bc you’re MINE and i’m YOURS at the end of the day (i wanna be the one who holds you when you sleep). Together, we’re magic so just be with me so happily
H-Something Great: ****this song is very straightforward so i won’t explain it much***** (i want you here with me like how i pictured it so i dont have to keep imagining... We’re better off together here tonight). Written as a longing for what could be if they dont have to suppress the relationship. (script was written...want to rip it all to shreds) Louis’ response (you’re all I want so much it’s hurting) basically says “it’s not too much to ask babe, i want it too.” This has the kind of longing that ‘wouldn’t it be nice- beach boys’ which Harry has admitted is kind of a theme song. 
L-Through the Dark: I know all this bs we’re going through is taking a toll on you and hurts you and i hate seeing you upset (you tell me that your sad...you tell me that you’re hurt and youre in pain and i can see your head is held in shame...i just wanna see you smile again) but I will do everything physically possible to protect you from any pain bb (i’d never let you fall and break your heart, if u wanna cry or fall apart, i’ll be there to hold ya). We’re going through this together and I will take on any responsibility needed to keep you happy.  I’M WILLING TO GO THROUGH HELL TO FIGHT FOR US HARRY LOVE (entire chorus basically).
L-Better than Words: holy fuck our love is amazing can’t even describe it can i just sing to you foreva love u babycakes
L-Why don’t we go there: what if...we just forgot about the world and escaped and enjoyed each others love and rode the high??? Also sex
2014
L-Ready to Run: *******Followup to Why Don’t We Go There*********** But this time let’s escape for real bc (there’s me inside a sinking boat running out of time). Like i’m ready to get out of here and it could just be us living happily ever after (this time i’m ready to run). Honestly nothing else makes sense (without you i’ll never make it out alive...wherever you are is the place i belong). I know what i want out of life and IT’S YOU HARREH (i want to be free and i wanna be yours, i will never look back). 
L-Steal My Girl: all u thirsty hoes find someone else bc Harry is MY pretty princess. Srsly ask his family. But you can still admire how he looks in those jeans. We all do. You know the ones
L-No Control: boy u fine, let’s do what lovers do IN THE MORNING. bc we can. also you own me and i am urs
L-Clouds: WE KNEW THIS WAS GONNA BE HARD SO WHY ARE YOU BEING A LITTLE BITCH (you dont like it complicated...but love is never ever simple...you are tired of all the changes, but love is always always changing). We could be great yo, just keep fighting (if we’re never coming back down, we’ll looking down on the clouds...we go and we go and we dont stop)
H-Where do Broken Hearts Go: IM SORRY LOU BABY YOURE EVERYTHING (rest of my crimes dont come close the look on your face when i let you go... the taste of your lips...is at the top of the list of things i want). H&L’s call and  response at the end is basically forgiveness and acknowledgment (come on baby come and get me out, come on baby cuz i need you now)
H-Two Ghosts: *****was written around this time according to Harry******. This is fucking hard yo. We’re drained and exhausted and idk how much more we can fight for this... (it’s not you and it’s not me...sounds like something that i used to feel). That infatuation and electricity and hope that fueled our younger selves isn’t really there anymore and i’m just tired man (we’re just two ghosts swimming in a glass half empty, trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat, we’re not who we used to be...this was all we used to need). We’re empty vessels going through the motions (same eyes blue, couple more tattoos). AND WE AREN’T FUCKING COMMUNICATING (we dont say what we really mean). 
2015
H&L-Perfect: so what if... we get rid of the pressure of forever? What if we just have fun doing the stupid shit we love and makes us feel alive (trouble up in hotel rooms, secret little rendezvous, things you know that we shouldn’t do). Like we won’t be out of each others’ lives, I’m still around and we can find comfort in each other and even mess around here and there (I can be the one you love from time to time). Remember how we used to be young and EXCITED (when i first saw you from across the room, i could tell that you were curious) let’s get that energy back without the responsiblity of an adult relationship. And we can keep making art lmao (if youre looking for someone to write your breakup songs about). 
L-Long Way Down *****this song fkn hurts man. It’s overlooked a lot but shows so much insight**** We were...everything. And maybe that’s the problem? We’ve been through so fucking much, more than anyone our age should have to endure. (We've been in fire, Went down in the flames. We sailed the ocean And drowned in the waves. Built a cathedral But we never prayed) We didn’t know what we had. We were damn kids man. We weren’t prepared for all this. We didn’t know how powerful this would be. We didn’t know what it required of us. (We had a mountain But took it for granted. We had it all yeah. Who could’ve planned it). We didn’t know what to do with it, how to deal with it, so here we are. (We had a spaceship But we couldn't land it) We’re each other’s everything, but we can’t keep going on like this babe. (We found an island But we got stranded). I don’t want to leave you but being together is breaking us down. (Point of no return and now It's just too late to turn around) We thought we were untouchable. That love conquers all. Maybe, we were wrong. This is gonna hurt like a bitch (We built it up so high and now I'm fallin', it’s a long way down)
H-Olivia: I LIVE FOR YOU, I LONG FOR YOU, I LOVE YA. And i think i’ll always love ya. And I’m scared...of life without you (i get the feeling you’re walking out, time is irrelevant when i’ve not been seeing you, the consequences are falling now, there’s something i’m having nightmares about...dont let me go). But maybe just maybe thats okay, because you’re AIMH (you live in my imagination...i love you, it’s all i do). 
L-Love you Goodbye: I fucking love you and I’ll always fucking love you but i think this is the right thing to do even though it feels so wrong (i know there’s nothing i can do to change it, but is there something that can be negotiated?) We made some goddamn fireworks together though (unforgettable together held the whole world in our hands) and do ya maybe think...we can make them just once more? (if tomorrow you wont be mine, let me give it to you one last time, baby let me love you goodbye...one more taste of your lips just to bring me back to the places we’ve been and the nights we’ve had because if this is it, then at least we could end it riiiiight). ********in the interview with our FAVE Gwen Garcia, she asked if it’s better to say goodbye and end a relationship that’s not feeling right or keep trying even if your heart’s not in it. Harry responds with “I think it’s better to say goodbye...but sometimes if youre trying to protect..” Then Louis cuts him off and says “you’re going deep aren’t you”, brushing the question off as a joke but imho i think there was pain in that answer. Then Harry continues “if you’re not 100% in it, I think it’s better for both parties if you say goodbye”. And Louis adds a “yeah” at the end.********
H-Walking in the Wind: I know this is scary but i think we can do it, (you said to me do you believe i’ll be too far? if youre lost just look for me you’ll find me) I think because youre AIMH and i’m always in yours, it’ll be good for us. And look at us being mature, we’re killing it babe. We can live our separate lives and grow on our own. We dont need to make it messy and hurtful. We’re on the same page. (the fact that we can sit right here and say goodbye means we’ve already won. A necessity for apologies between you and me, baby there is none). At this point, we’re kinda part of each other right? So it’s healthy for us to be apart for a bit. (it’s not the end, i’ll see your face again... i know we’ll be alright...just close your eyes and see i’ll be by your side any time you need me). And you’ve helped me grow into the person I am, and I you, so that’s cool as hell, right? (you will find me in places that we’ve never been). We had a TON of fun (we had some good times didnt we) so i feel okay that we’re doing this (goodbyes are bittersweet) and starting the next adventure in our lives. 
H-If I could fly: I. am. yours. Louis. William. Tomlinson. (for your eyes only, i’ll show you my heart). Maybe this growth thing isn’t worth it, let me prove to you how much you mean to me (i think i might give up everything just ask me to). This is gonna be hard as shit because i’m so dependent on you (i’m missing half of me when we’re apart). I’m being honest and I’m being scared and I’m being vulnerable because I can’t lie to you and pretend I’m strong (i let my guard down, right now i’m completely defenseless). But we’re part of each other, right? (i could feel your heart inside of mine). I’ll always be here for you Lou (for when you’re lonely and forget who you are) even if for now we can’t physically be together. 
L-Home: I’ve tried, Harry. I’ve tried to play pretend (told myself i kind of like her but there was something missin in her eyes). But i was lost (i was stumblin, lookin in the dark with an empty heart) because none of it was enough, none of it was YOU (it was there i sawr it in your eyes). And then i met you and you felt the same and we’re both lost souls playing pretend who found magic in each other (but you say you feel the same, could we ever be enough?) Is our love enough to overcome everything? Maybe we can be enough. Maybe I can make this enough, let me try to make it enough for you. And if we go our separate ways, know that I’m here for you no matter what. I won’t let you be lost again. (When you’re lost I’ll find a way and I’ll be your light, you will never feel like you’re alone, I’ll make this feel like home). So go. wander. find yourself. Then when you’re ready, come home. 
 2016-2017
H- Sweet Creature: ***Harry admit that this was the first song he wrote for the album**** We aren’t in the best place rn. We’ve been fighting (had another talk about where it’s going wrong...it’s hard when we argue, we’re both stubborn). But it’s you Louis. It can’t be anyone else. (don’t know where we’re going but we know where we belong... wherever I go, you bring me home). That’s not even a question. I’m still trying to figure out who I am, but the one thing I know is that a large part of who I am is you (we started 2 hearts in one home). And aint no way I’m losing that part of myself (when i run out of road, you bring me home). It was always you. 
H-MMITH: Whenever you’re ready, I’m ready (just let me know i’ll be at the door,  hoping you’ll come around). I know I need to work on myself a little more (i gotta get better, and maybe we’ll work it out) but honestly i’m getting impatient and i want things to go back to how they were and i want to be yours again (once you go without it, nothing else would do). But I can’t communicate this to you clearly so let me just put this in a song and hope you get it (we dont talk about it, it’s something we dont do) ****Harry mentioned in an interview that he expresses himself through songwriting when he can’t say the words directly to a person because it’s easier to just write it in a song than have difficult conversations*****
H-ESNY: ****honestly no idea what this song is about but it’s something to do with them fighting and not communicating and being in a weird place before their relationship is rekindled******* edit: this could be about his stepdad
H-FTDT: I MISS YOU AND I’M TOO FULL OF PRIDE TO TELL YOU DIRECTLY JUST COME BACK INTO LIFE LOU I’M LONELY AND SAD AND EMPTY AND IM NOT FUCKING FINDING MYSELF LIKE YOU SAID I WOULD (woke up alone, played with myself where were you...we havent spoke since you went away, why wont you ever say what you wanna say) So until then I sit and wait for your sorry ass to make the first move (maybe one day you’ll call me and tell me that you’re sorry too...but you never do). Also like i have to hear from other people how you are?? (i saw your friend that you know from work, he said that you feel just fine) ANd you’re sharing OUR clothes with people?? wtf just swallow your pride and call me 
L-Miss You: OKAY BUT I CANT JUST CALL YOU BECAUSE I HAVE PRIDE TOO also my mates are trying to make me get over you (now i’m asking my friends how to say I’m sorry, they say lad give it ttime there’s no need to worry, and we can’t even be on the phone now). So i’m just numbing your absence with partying and drinks but CLEARLY ITS NOT WORKING (should be laughing but there’s something wrong...shit maybe i miss you...when i feel it coming up i just throw it all away, get another few shots cuz it doesn’t matter anyway...such a good time, i’ll believe it this time). This is weird bc like you were my everything but im trying to get used to this and it fucking sux (oh how shit changes, we were in love, now we’re strangers). And tbh, its scary af bc what if this is it (i’m asking myself, is it over?). BUT ALSO LIKE WTF U COULD REACH OUT FIRST YA KNOW (i’ve been checking my phone all evening).
H-Anna: wtf Louis how do you not see how much this is killing me. I miss you so much and seeing you on tv or in pics drives me wild bc you’re not mine. (I don’t want your sympathy but you don’t know what you do to me...everytime I see your face there’s only so much I can take...I guess it would be nice if I can touch your body). And idk if you’re replacing me (don’t know where you’re laying, just know it’s not with me) and we’re in SUCH a weird place rn how do I tell u you’re the loml (don’t know what I’d say if I passed you on the street...don’t know what I’d tell you if you asked me for the truth) so I refuse to put this song on the album and let you know this and give you satisfaction from knowing how gone I still am for you bc I have 0 idea how you feel (hope you never see this and know that it’s for you)
L-Always You: SO THIS IS ME SWALLOWING MY PRIDE STANDING IN FRONT OF YOU SAYING IM SORRY FOR THAT NIGHT... ok but fr i miss u i miss u i miss u i miss u and nothing else compares like i can travel the whole world and all i think about is how much more fun it was with you and the memories we shared and i wish i could just say thx fr th mmrs and move on but actually no thx actually fuck you for making me not able to enjoy my life without you. So like...come home? and wrap your legs around me? also lmao i took El to a gay bar in amsterdam for her bday lmao i miss u come cuddle me and i’ll tell you all about it
L-We Made It: looks like we made it, look how far we’ve come my baby. They saidd I bett they’ll never make it, but just look at us holding onn, we’re still togetherr, still going stronggg. Also to the fans, miss our single bed and the nights we talked about our dreams :-* also Andrew my man luv u
2018-2019
L-KMM: our love was youthful and exhilarating and fucking electric and i think it still can be. dont know what i’d do without you now H 
L-DLIBYH: We’re strong babe and we’ve grown and we aren’t gonna let life drag us down. I’m doing better, you’re doing better, this is what we wanted. And now any shit we go through, we’ll go through TOGETHER 
L-Too Young: Okay but looking back, that was a lot of shit we went through and we were just babies and i’m sorry for not fighting harder (i cant believe i gave in to the pressure when they said a love like this would never last so i cut you off cuz i didnt know no better) baby i tried, i tried to protect you but like it was just so much and i hate that you got hurt and i wont ever let that happen again. ALso go us for being mature and COMMUNICATING (face to face at the kitchen table, we can finally have a conversation that I wish we could’ve had before). ANd i know you’re an arrogant son of a bitch who can’t admit when he’s sorry so here let ME say i’m sorry that i hurt you darling. Like we were too young to know we had everything BUT now we’re old(er) and can realize that when we’re together, we DO have everything now and omg is this our happily ever after and we can have a daughter and name her Darcy 
L-Habit: do i need to spell it out for you iiiiii aaaaaaaaammmmmmm sssssssoooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyy. But tbh i let you go because it felt right because mentally you were already out the door and i needed to give you room to grow babe. And i needed the space too (you gave me the time and the space i was out of control and i’m sorry i let you down). but like also i’ve learned i can’t escape you Styles. You’re always in my fucking heart and my fucking mind and in every essence of my being and somehow I knew that 9 years ago and it took me this long to realize how powerful this really is (guess that that i know what i already knew, i was better with you and i miss you now). Ooooh also my favorite line i wrote (took some time cuz i ran out of energy of playing someone I heard I’m supposed to be and honestly i dont have to choose anymore) like who am i kidding, im done pretending i just wanna be yoursss now
L-Defenseless: I can’t help it okay theres something about you that doesn’t let me stay away. I need you and I know that rekindling this relationship isn’t going to be easy even though it feels so so right. It’s going to be hard work (sleeping on our problems but we’ll solved them in our dreams, wake up early morning and it’s still under the sheets) and we need to communicate and solve our problems but here I am, raw and unfiltered and emotionally naked in front of you ready to lay it all on the table (not sure how to say this right, got so much to lose. NEver been so defenseless). So like this branch I’m reach out to you and you be honest with me too babe (you dont have to keep on being strong for me and you. Acting like you feel no pain, you know i know you do...I can’t get inside, when you’re lost in your pride but you don’t have a thing to prove). Be open with me. Lets talk. Let’s solve problems. Lets have an adult relationship. I’m asking for a little vulnerabiltiy babe. It’s just me. Theres nothing to be scared of
L-Walls: And here you have me in my purest form. No lies, no secrets, no insecurities to hide behind. Losing you was fucking painful but i got through it. I’ve been through hell and back and I’ve fought. And without you, I grew into the person I am. And any further growing i’m doing is gonna be with you. bc it was all for you babe. and honestly i can take anything life throws at me now. I’m strong baby. I’m fucking strong and fucking brave and fucking resilient and...fucking yours. ***** wtf is the I just hope i see you one day and you’ll say to me oh oh********
H-Golden: You are the literal sun and I’m not ready. YOU’RE SUCH A GOOD PERSON (you were way too bright for me, i’m hopeless, broken, so you wait for me in the sky). I’m scared to go through this alone, I need your comfort and your guidance (i can feel you take control of who i am and all i’ve ever known). But you’re scared to go through this with me bc you dont wanna get hurt and i’m too open so where tf does that leave us. ******this could be about coming out especially with the London AND NY secret shows where Harry added the lyric I’m hoping someday you’ll open*******
H-Adore You: You dont have to say you love me, you dont have to say nothing, you dont have to say you’re mine. I’d walk through fire for you. Just let me adore Lou. Like its the only thing I’ll ever do. read: Louis is a great person to just admire what he’s like. ALso I dont need anything back. I just dont want to hide my love for you anymore. I don’t need answers or promises. Just let me adore you. ********the music video is also basically a Louis appreciation post. He was the boy with the smile that the world took away from him. He found Harry lost and loved him and nurtured him and made him confident and allowed him to be who he wanted to be. But in doing so, Harry became big and unsatisfied and wanted to explore the world and was clearly interested in Hollywood and Rockstardom especially evident in his behavior 2014-2015. And Louis wasn’t about that life and didn’t want to hold him back. So he let him free. But they realized that they don’t work apart. Wherever they’re going, they’re going together, as the boy sails into the unknown following the fish. I see it as Harry’s version of “this one is a thank you for what you did for me” ************* I see it, I appreciate it, and I love you for it
H-Lights Up: ****fight with Louis. (What do you mean I’m sorry by the way) About coming out? About fame? (Step into the light, so bright sometimes) Either way, L is the guy driving the motorcycle in the video who makes H feel comfortable and safe until they get pulled over because SOMEONE wont let them love*******
H-Falling: What if i’m out, what if i’m someone you won’t talk about? Okay maybe I lied I do want you to claim me. Would me coming out of the closet make that hard for you? I CAN’T GO THROUGH AN IDENTITY CRISIS WITHOUT YOU LOU. I picked someone supportive and now I’m spoiled and I dont know how to be with myself. You want back in my life but what if I dont deserve it? (you said you cared and you missed me too...what i’m someone i dont want around). What if you’re better off without me? (i get the feeling that you’ll never need me again). I know youve been through so much shit because of me, things you’ve never even told me about and im afraid...that I wasn’t worth it. Am I being selfish? because either way, i want YOU (what if you’re someone i just want around). Does that make me a bad person? 
H-TBSL: ****Probably when they starting talking again but it was v casual and they didn’t really discuss their relationship yet*****. I MISS U BUT I WONT TELL U THAT and its nice to talk to u again i missed your voice but if u call me baby i will kill u bc that word has weight OKAY. Like i know you just call everyone babe and darling and sweetheart but baby is FOR ME and only for me when you wake up with me and cuddle me and if you think you have any right calling me baby without giving the luxury of being in a relationship with you then piss off because that shit hurts dude. (i know that you’re trying to be friends, know that you mean it...it’s hard for me to go home to be so lonely). ALso it’s not my fault i’m like this, you literally captured my heart when i was 16 like wtf do u expect (dont blame me for falling, i was just a little boy)
H-Sunflower Vol. 6: we were babies and i was so enamored by you and you’re so bright and beautiful and i want to watch you all day and make you smile and i want you to touch my hair and call me curly and i hope im not making you uncomfortable with my heart eyes but like how are you so perfect. I hope you think i’m cool, i’m really trying but like you’re SO FUNNY and charming and everyone loves you i hope im not embarassing myself. And now it’s like 8 years later and i think i can have you again and i want you so bad but i dont wanna seem too eager and im trying to have dignity and not text you first but like also i want nothing more than to talk to you. Do you think i’m cool now? did you like my new hairstyle? Do you think i’m funny on tour? I want everything i want to be domestic again and kiss in the kitchen and i want to cook for you and as;ldfa;sdhaf i want to buy you flowers everyday and shower ur cute face with kiss. boopx28 
H-Canyon Moon: Hell yea i got ma man back and i have a girlfriend named Jennifer ;) and we are domestic and even though I HATE being away from him for work (so hard to leave it) we have the 2 week rule yall then i can wrap my legs around him and after so so so long I’ll be h.o.m.e. Also did i tell you his eyes are so so blue like sky who i dont know her
H-TPWK: So we’re really doing this. We don’t need to have it all figured out. We can just be us. and happy. and dance. The world loves us babe. (Giving second chances, I don’t need all the answers and if we’re here long enough we’ll see it’s all for us and we’ll belong)
H-Fine Line: You’ve got my devotion but man I can hate you sometimes....We’ll be a fine line. Between what? love and hate? public and private? out and in the closet? each others’ and ourselves? Idk. But i’m going to swallow my pride (my hands at risk I fold) because no matter what, the worst possible outcome is not having you. And I never wanna go through that again. I know we have work to do on our relationship (spreading you open is the only way I know you). And there’s lot of unknown here (there’s things that we’ll never know) but what i do know is that i cant resist you (you sunshine you temptress) and i cant be without you ever again. I think it’ll be hard as hell. But when have we known love as anything but hard? And when have we known our love as anything but worth it? We’ll be a fine line baby. But i know, i knowww with every part of me that we’ll be alright. Because these past 10 years, we’ve been through A LOT. ANd it could have ruined us and made us cynical and cold and closed off. And I think at one point it did. But you know what we did? We fought it. We fought it together. Then we fought it individually. And we became BRAVE. And a brilliant man once said, “love is only for the brave”. 
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tsu9live · 3 years
Text
Before I start, this is in no offence to anyone else’s opinion. You are all valid and probably make more sense than me. This is a bit of a rant and then a short character study.
Warning: This got too long.
I tend to come online for manga updates and ended up reading through opinion posts because I am a curious cat. Most of the time I come across really well-thought out posts, really valid points. But then MHA is also a soap opera/family drama where the main character is not supposed to have any progress in his story unless its to bolster or move along the other favs . But then they shouldn’t be bolstering his story either because why is a story about Deku’s journey all about Deku?
But then there are people who are happy Deku is finally edgy and they want him to wipe the floor with his classmates who love him and are willing to fight him if only to get through to him. So there are both extremes and honestly there is validity in all these thoughts because despite the writer’s intentions, a reader brings the story to life.
I personally hate making my own predictions because most of the time I feel it ruins the experience of reading a work for me. I go in with different expectations and when the story goes a different way I don’t enjoy it as much but I feel its more my fault.
So I do understand and respect the difference of opinion because there is no fandom without discourse.
In my opinion though, this Deku solo arc was a long time coming and I think Horikoshi has handled it really weird. I’m still trying to understand what he wants us to think about.
A story about heroes and putting your life on the line for someone else is controversial, but, I thought it was a given. Recklessness had been part of Deku’s character but an overly-cautious character would do nothing. Deku’s lack of self-preservation wasn’t unnatural for a hero, he rushed in to save Bakugo from the slime-villain when Pros stood by putting himself at risk but it spurred AM to act. Katsuki experienced it as well during the war arc, when his body moved to save Deku.
Going to Kamino to save Bakugo was suicidal, reckless and potentially flawed but story-wise it made sense. How is hero-work anything than risky? Kirishima and Todoroki initiated it.
Disclaimer: Deku, Bakugo, Uraraka, Momo, Toga and Shigaraki are characters that are very dear to me because they have had me extremely invested since the beginning of the story. This is my personal opinion, flaws, rant... basically me working through my feelings about this manga I had been obsessed with recently.
1) There is an opinion where Bakugo had a right to be upset/angry/bully Deku because he wanted to be a hero but did nothing for it. Firstly, I don’t understand the need to justify his behaviour when he himself has expressed regret on it. People want others to move on from the “go jump off the roof comment” but won’t stop talking about how everything about Bully Bakugo was justified. Deku was weaker, but he had the same dreams, dreams that were the basis of their friendship earlier on. Regardless of how Deku wanted to achieve them, Bakugo had no right to keep trying to stop him from doing so. No, 5, 10, 14 year old Bakugo did not do so because he had the brilliant foresight that Deku would be self-sacrificial and it was for his sake, he was an angry kid and Deku was a timid, wannabe that confused him, intimidated him even. Taking out his anger was a way of working through those feelings. He was in Deku’s words “a punching bag”. In a world where the powerful reign, Bakugo couldn’t understand how a quirk less, weak little boy could think he could stand shoulder to shoulder with someone as gifted as Bakugo. Yeah, society is very much to blame. The change and maturity Bakugo goes through where he is humbled by a cast of amazing hero students who are just as gifted yet with inspiring personalities and then traumatic consequences of being kidnapped, watching his hero use the last of his powers to hold back a great evil, having that fight with Deku where he bared himself open, failing the licensing exam, training with todoroki, the internship... the war has changed him in a way that has brought out his full potential as a hero and a person. There is a lot to admire about him yet I see so many people fixate on headcanons that glorify his every action/word instead of praising the amazing person he has become/how well written his growth has been.
2) “Deku wanted to be a hero and he did nothing for it”. “He could have been a quirkless hero like Batman.” Listen, the story is about AFO vs OFA first and foremost. Hori has done a good job of worldbuilding and adding a cast of interesting characters that its easy to forget what the main plot point of the story is. But it really is about a weak/timid boy who was born with a sort of handicap who dared to dream to be someone strong enough to have others rely on him instead. A lot of the times people want to become something they feel they needed, someone who gave people hope just by existing. Its natural for someone who is ‘considered useless’ to want to be the most useful person ever. His mother didn’t believe he could do it, Bakugo told him repeatedly he shouldn’t even try, everyone else made fun of him, and his hero gave him a wake-up call, no... you can’t be a hero without a quirk. Deku studied heroes and quirks all his life, hoping he’d find something that could work for his advantage. Not every hero relies on physical strength, their bodies are adapted to the nature of their quirks. Deku’s analysis, quick-thinking and impulsive nature is what helped him progress even after getting the quirk because he didn’t gain control until really late. People act like he was handed power, seem to forget he has just learned to use it without consequences. His studies of quirks also made him the best candidate to get new quirks, quirks that he has learned to utilise as tools quickly and efficiently. He was doing what he thought was going to help him become a hero without guidance, without backing and constant discouragements. Its admirable and relatable. If you don’t relate to him that’s fine, your life was different.
Batman was loaded. Deku is not an inventor. The Editors shot that idea down because it would not have survived in a genre where power fantasies are the main hooks. Aizawa, sure he’s training Shinso because he sees his potential now but he would have either expelled Deku/moved him to General studies on that first day for scoring the least in that test. He changed his mind not because of Deku’s quirk but because of Deku’s ingenuity.
When Deku did find his guidance, he tried to do years of work/training in a short period of time. He acknowledges how far behind he is, that the rest are leagues above him and all he wants is to be able to stand side by side with those incredible people and he would go to all lengths to do so. DEKU has never said he wants to be the number one hero. He always says he wants to be one so reliable he saves people with a smile and later on, he wants to be a hero that can save without having other people worry about him. Bakugo works hard, he’s not just exceptional he works hard for it, all of 1A do but saying Deku does nothing when he is constantly shown, studying, training his body, understanding his shortcomings and working on it is just petty. You don’t like him because of his saviour complex, newsflash, that is a hero thing. Hero course is about that, Deku’s is just highlighted because of how often he gets hurt. How can you be a Todoroki stan and hate Deku (although to be fair its your right, I’m just making a point), the kid saw Shouto and decided that it was more important for Shouto to stop hurting and gave him a hell of a fight. I still remember Shouto’s smile, it gave me goose bumps.
Deku’s lack of self-preservation is a part of his programming so much that he hasn’t noticed it yet. Deku broke his bones, but he didn’t realise the permanent damage. When Deku got injured with Muscular, he was never intending to fight him alone. He wanted backup, his phone was broken and he wanted to get Kouta out and tried but Muscular gave him no opening. He was driven into a corner and fought his way out. Like Aizawa said, “He got that injured because he has no intention of dying.” Before rushing to find Bakugo, he informed his superior first, knowing she can spread the message.
The fight with Stain, he messaged his location to all his classmates, didn’t intend to fight Stain alone, just defend Iida long enough for help to come along. Fight with overhaul, he just wanted to get Eri away and when he understood Eri’s power, he gave her the opportunity to fight back against her oppressor by teaming up with him, keeping her secure with the cape made out of Lemillion’s hair. During the whole fight he was present-minded enough to take the fight away from civilians and managed to prevent damage and casualties. During Natsuo’s rescue he played support.
During the war arc, he realised with despair that Shigaraki was coming in all his destructive glory for him and tried to stop him before but he didn’t object to Bakugo joining him. In the movie Heroes Rising (the initially planned ending) he willingly gave OFA to Bakugo, because he trusts him with his life, and was willing to be quirkless again if that’s what it took to keep the kids safe, and himself and Bakugo alive. Its mostly been good decisions on his part.
Its the war arc that’s been his downfall. Watching his childhood friend/rival almost die, his best friend, his mentors almost die while he could barely hold Shigaraki back set off a fight or flight response in him. The seriousness of how Shigaraki came for him and left such death and destruction in his wake because he was not strong enough and AFO is a monster and the sight of Shigaraki and the reality of his situation pushed him down the current path. His solo arc started well because constantly training in the field has helped him master his quirk, and he had the backup of the vestiges who trained and guided him in learning to use it as a toolset instead of a one-punch solution. Then coming face to face with the flaws of hero society and the power, manipulative nature and destructive intentions of AFO has prepared him emotionally. He is not acting like AM, he hasn’t in a while. He is acting like NANA and i don’t blame him because she’s in his head. No adult stopped him from doing this, instead using him as bait to lure out the league.
When they started realising he’s spiralling out of control, that’s when they realised they messed up.
He’s running on adrenaline/fumes alone and I think he’s actually terrified.
“AFO is OFA’s responsibility” “Tell the world I am here” “You’re not as strong as me yet,” “You are not a worthy successor”
Deku isn’t self-centered and but I agree with the screw loose comment (its years of “you are useless, not good enough, not worthy and I bet a dozen or so concussions, bloodloss, dehydration lol). I know Bakugo means well and that’s how he talks. At the moment, he’s probably the only one whose sole goal is Deku’s survival. Deku’s like a wild animal, terrified, lost and as always backed into a corner. AFO has him where he wants him and I am curious to see how class 1 A are going to get through to him. I don’t want them to fight, all those fanarts of Bakugo reaching his hand out to Deku and then maybe punching him in the face would have been a lot better then the mocking (the slow clap was a little triggering for me) but again maybe it just bothers me and Deku needs it. I’ll just have to wait and see. Deku and his class together would be an unstopabble force and I am waiting for that to finally happen.
P.S. Class 1 A looks so mature, everyone going crazy about Bakugo and his tie and I’m here like, look at baby Kirishima and his roots <3
I’m sorry if I gave anyone a headache lol.
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jamestrmtx · 3 years
Text
Fairytale Complex - [Undertale | Sans x Reader]
[Gender Neutral, Frisk's Parent Reader | Slow Burn]
Chapter Thirteen | Waterfall (Part 4 of 4)
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As the storm worsens, so does he. He's shaking from head to toe, yet when you ask him about it, he says it's fine. An hour's passed since you booked the room, and all the banter and light-hearted nature from before has faded since then. Thunder continues to strike without a break, sending electrical appliances nearby into an on and off frenzy. You look towards the skeleton sitting farther away from you and notice how his grip on a pillow strengthens, his fear being let out through it. 
The view makes you think back on last time and how you'd dealt with the situation, leaving you to consider it again.
You sit next to him in bed and stretch your arms out when he looks at you. It's as if he's stumbled upon an alien, gaze facing yours with both caution and confusion alike. "C'mere, Serif," you offer, patting at your lap. "Take it as a thank you for everything you've done so far." You scoot closer to him and stop when you see him tense up and a bead of sweat make its way down his forehead. "I mean it."
Sans doesn't have a choice with how violent the next thunder is. He's practically sent into your lap as the lights go out, and his grip on you turns almost painful, the hardness of his touch sinking into your skin. The monster's face ends up pressed close to your chest while his hands move back down to your waist; his shaking grows prominent, even with how strong he holds onto you. Minutes pass before the lights turn back on, allegedly due to a power plant with how much weaker they glow. A murmur leaves his teeth, though none of the words can be deciphered with how wild the weather outside is. "What did you say?" you ask, bringing him closer. "I couldn't hear you." You shift your positions so that you can lay your head against the headboard and cuddle up to him more. 
His chest heaves subtly as another one strikes. "Why're you doin' this for me?" He breathes out, loosening his grip on you. "I, uh… thought you didn't feel comfortable around me."
"Are you sure you're okay to talk about that right now?" you ask, bringing an arm around his waist. "You're shaking, Sans. And I already know why, so it's... It's really no big deal." You stop to look at him through the dresser's mirror set right across from the bed, yet his face is still kept hidden from your view. "We can leave that for later, if you want."
You expect disagreement, only to receive it partially.
Sans moves away from your hold and sits up straight in bed while you stay laying down. Then, he tries to spare a glance at you, though your current positions make it awkward for you to face him back without feeling strange about it. He seems to notice that himself, having to look elsewhere to lessen that feeling as you both adjust yourselves to a better, more comfortable position. "So, uh… Thanks, (Y/N)," he says, facing away. "But you don't need to do that. If you feel like all this stuff is your responsibility, then I don't think it's okay for me to approach you like this." He flinches when another thunder strikes, yet he recovers quicker than before. "You don't have to force yourself into makin' this a date, 'cause I'm not asking that of you."
You sit up and move right behind him, holding his shoulders. "And I'm not trying to make this a date, Sans," you reply. "I'm just trying to help you with what's happening right now." You hold his waist, tensing when you feel him shudder under your touch. "Though I won't deny that I, well…" Your throat turns dry and your face grows hot, hands doing the opposite. "That it's been too long since I've felt this way." Your eyes close with the next thunder, how loud it is making even you seek some comfort from the embrace. "It feels nice to be liked, and to… to actually live life a little more. Today, I… felt so alive. Even with those guys calling me names, I had fun."
With the latest strike appearing to have been the last, Sans again shimmies out of your hold and turns to you. He meets with your gaze and a hand places itself over yours. Then, he shifts closer to you, his hand tugging for you to go lower while he goes higher.
He closes his eye sockets as his teeth brush with your cheek. Lack of experience over such a simple action reveals itself in an instant by how awkward his hand placement is on your shoulder and waist as he tries to match better with your height, and how fast his soul beats the longer he stays that way. The moment ends far too quickly, yet it's sufficient for you to be fulfilled, just as much as he appears to be when you pull back, open your eyes, and see him grinning. A brighter light's present in his irises, and -- judging by how he looks at you -- you can already tell you've given him more than enough of a reason to tease you over this in the future. "So... I take it the first date was a success?"
You return his expression with a smile and let his hand go while you fix your posture. "I thought you said you didn't want to make this a date?"
He winks and takes a hand to your cheek, fingers brushing close to your lips, but not quite. There's an unfamiliar emotion beyond that of lust or want in his gaze, and it makes more sense when you think back on what he said at the hospital regarding how he felt about physical touch, aside from all the basics established by societal norms. Rather than lust, curiosity shines in his irises, likely by how different you both are and how it would feel for the both of you to kiss on the mouth. "Only if you want it to be." A brief pause follows and a subtle, amused flare leaves his nose cavity. "How about it?"
Smile growing, you take his wrist and reply with, "I'd like that." Then, a frown returns, concern showing through the furrow in your brow. "But… What about after? I… I really don't think I'm ready to date anyone seriously yet."
The monster pulls his hand back and faces your eyes again. "That's alright," he says, chuckling. "We'll just keep doin' things like normal, pretendin' today didn't happen." Sans shifts on his seat as a sterner look crosses his gaze. "We'll give each other some time. And if ya don't return my feelings by then, I'll stop -- And we can keep the memories we've made 'til now."
"Now that..." Tugging him in for a quick hug, you then laugh, kiss his cheekbone, and pull back with a smile still intact on your face. "That sounds way too good to be true. But I like it."
• • •
It's close to midnight by the time you're done eating, showering, and settling stuff out with Undyne. You take your phone and re-read your latest conversation with her. Embarrassment overcomes your thoughts with the reminder of how both she and her girlfriend had caught you and Sans last time on the couch.
Told you it was a date!
Papyrus actually looked after Frisk most of the time today, so I can look after them 'til tomorrow morning. 
But is it really okay with you?
'Course it is!
Didn't I tell you to take as long as you need?
Take your time. ;-)
Thank you.
But could you please keep the whole date thing a secret?
I don't want Frisk to know I'm thinking about dating anyone else again.
Sure.
Dunno why you insist so much on that, but I get it.
A new message pops up. While reading, you open the door of your room and exit, ready to go off and explore more of the hotel. Though it's late, you don't want to miss out on the opportunity of extending the date for a little longer, even more now that the skeleton invited you over to the pool area. You can hear water running even as you close the door and begin walking off, reminding you he's still showering. 
Jerry came over asking where you were, btw.
The latest message Undyne sends you prompts you to keep going, now too anxious to wait and stay in one place. You rush off, not wanting to dwell too much on it. It's a short walk to get there, only having to pass by a hallway, then the lobby, and take a turn to the right. A different world's introduced to you as soon as you step in, welcomed by a large swimming pool from afar and at the center of it all, along with two smaller hot tubs closer by. There are folding chairs and their respective tables on the left, along with a busy and bustling bar at the right, ‘Happy Hour’ flashing above the entrance. All the attractions are occupied with people, each doing their own thing.
Really?
What did you tell him?
Your chest tightens as you wait for an answer. An icy wind blows by, making you shudder with the current outfit you're wearing: a one-piece swimsuit bought hastily at the small souvenir shop the hotel offered for everyone around. You stay in place, still waiting for her reply.
Told him you were running errands, but he still told me to give you this when you returned.
Her next message is a picture of a gift basket with all sorts of favourites, from sweets to flowers, and even a new work uniform, each individual piece of the correct size. A letter's tucked in-between all the items and a bright red ribbon tops it all off.
He also gave Frisk something and then tried convincing them into going with him to the beach. 
Your stomach twists and a sour note reaches your taste buds. Jerry's first attempt at getting back together had clearly been without him knowing Sans was hitting on you, so you're not sure whether he's making stronger efforts now that he's aware of it. Your legs grow weak the more you force yourself to keep on standing, now too anxious to move.
What did Frisk say?
They said they'd only go if you came with them, so now I think Jerry might make arrangements for the two of you to come.
"Your phone's gonna get damaged here."
At the sound of someone behind you, you jolt and your phone slips off your hands. Fortunately, it's stopped by a blue force, and so's your waist when you slip and almost trip on your feet. You're let go and turned around to see Sans changed into an outfit composed of beach shorts and a tank top. They're a little baggy on the sides, revealing the fact he's also bought them at the souvenir shop. "You okay?" he asks, furrowing his gaze.
You grab your phone back and put it away, nodding before replying with, "...I think so."
Side-by-side, you walk with him to a pair of folding chairs. There, you sit, take off your towel, and set it aside. "Jerry's still, well... trying to get back with me, I guess." A smile forms when you see the monster's gaze look away, avoiding to meet with your swimsuit more than with your eyes or anywhere else. "You can look, y'know. Or are you getting shy?"
Sans takes the towel off his shoulders and sets it next to yours. Then, he shakes his head once, still avoiding you. "Just bein' cautious." Finally, he faces you, a grin showing on his skull. "Still haven't forgotten how stern you can be, so I've gotten used to bein' careful around you."
"Really?" you taunt, snickering. You stand up and begin your walk with him to the pool. "I was thinking the opposite with how shameless your flirting's been since day one of us being more than strangers."
"There's a difference, pal." He sits on the edge, irises drifting off to the hot tubs, where a buff bunnyman and an even buffer fishman sit at. They're both hugging each other, the former resting his head on the other's chest, eyes closed shut and body relaxed. "My intention's not to insult you or make you angry."
Your smile grows; the upbeat energy of your surroundings gives you courage to challenge him again. "What are your intentions then, Sans? I'm curious."
You slip a foot into the water and a shiver follows. While you stand by for it to warm, you pay attention to the monster, expectant of an answer. Oddly enough, he doesn't confront your question and chooses to sink himself completely into the pool -- no wait needed. His irises avoid your eyes, until a few swimmers nearby move further away from your spot. "I guess I've never really done somethin' like this before. And then my brother suggested I made some new friends, so when I saw you, I kinda just went for it."
"So flirting's your way of making friends?"
Again, you're welcomed with a reaction far different from your expectations. He looks down at the water and rubs the back of his neck, a laugh -- nervous and quiet -- leaving his teeth. "...The way you confronted me back when we were at Waterfall," he begins, facing you, "it kinda took me off guard, so I went with the first thing I had in mind to try and ease out the mood." 
A human toddler dives into the water, the splash that accompanies him almost reaching you despite his tiny self. That's enough to distract you and smile, though you look back to witness the skeleton's done the same thing. It's without a doubt he's trying not to confess his thoughts right now, so you give him space to back off if he wants to. "I…" He looks back to you, continuing with, "I was surprised to see you come up to me like that, pointing out faults I was aware we had, all without hesitation -- both back then and on the day we first met. So I guess you could call that me fallin' for you at first sight. You called me out on my mistakes after Jerry told you the truth about me, and you accepted yours without me even havin' the chance to say anything about it. You came over apologizin' for lettin' Frisk slip from your care, but then you also didn't exactly tolerate our own choices when you found out the, well... morally ambiguous implications behind my kinds' freedom."
You dip the rest of your body in the water and sit beside him. "So you fell for me at first sight?" you joke, nudging him. "I find that real hard to believe."
He chuckles and leans in closer. "Guess it was kinda more of an admiration I had for ya, at the beginning."
You do the same, sparing a glance at others nearby to make sure they aren't looking. "...I also recall you saying my stubbornness was hot?"
He nods, giving into another cheek kiss from your part this time -- one far more fleeting than the one shared at your bedroom. "Very."
The two of you back away as quickly as that moment lasts, avoiding PDA at all costs -- not only for the younger ones around, but for the current state of your relationship, and what that implies. You'd already crossed plenty of the lines and limits you'd set for yourself in terms of dating. Even the simple act of having accepted his invitation is enough to surpass them all. "I'm… I'm sorry I can't make this a serious thing," you say, looking aside. "Maybe you said it was okay to have only one date, but I... I guess it doesn't exactly feel right for me to lead you on like this."
The monster pulls you against him, giving you a hug from behind. "See what I mean, pal?" He's the one teasing you now, hands tickling your waist with how careful his movements are. "You're doin' it again."
To defend yourself, you take Sans's hands, push him away, and bring him down into the water, concluding the feat with a laugh. 
Proud, you turn around -- expecting to see him drenched and unamused -- yet what you receive is prompt payback for your actions. His magic grabs your wrist, pulling you in with him. You close your eyes tight in defense, and the sensation of slow sinking is soon interrupted by you bumping right into him. 
He helps you stay afloat, though you're unable to see him, water drops clouding your vision.
"Karma," he reminds you, chuckling as you both make it safe out of the pool.
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liliesoftherain · 4 years
Note
I'm back again with a daddy bakugou prompt but I'm asking you to break hearts now. Daughter in this scenario is working as a intern in bakugous agency and they go out on patrol. However a villain attacks and bakugou tells his daughter to go cause he's not going to make it and he tells daughter reader to tell her mom he loves her. But the daughter jumps in front "tell her yourself" and saves her dad. Please end it with daughter surviving. Fluffy but with angst.
A/N: So wow.. This was over 5000 words.. I got carried away whoops. I hope you guys like this, I tried adding more of the fight scene because well, I wanted to practice because I’m not good at them. Also, let me know if you guys like the way I described the quirks, was it too much? I feel like I gave the bad guys ordinary quirks, but what can you do. I’M SORRY I FEEL LIKE I COULD’VE DONE SO MUCH BETTER AHHH. Enjoy y’all!
Title: For the Love of a Daughter
Pairing: Dad!Katsuki Bakugou x Mom!Reader
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Katsuki Bakugou!:
“Have fun at your internship today, Bakugou-chan!” 
“Thanks! Enjoy school for me.”
“Not likely, you’re the one who gets the day off while I’m stuck here!”
“Not my fault! Find an agency!” She laughed at her friend as she walked out of the dorms.
The young girl made her way to the Ground Zero Hero Agency that was located nearby U.A. High. It was a convenient commute, and an even more convenient place intern at. Her blonde hair secured high and red eyes set in a determined gaze as she walked through the front doors, being so well known she didn’t even have to show her badge to the lady at the front desk.
“Good morning Akari-chan!” The young woman smiled brightly, waving her through.
“Good morning to you, Chizue-san.” Your daughter smiled in return, walking forward towards the elevator.
After pressing the desired floor and heading to the locker rooms, Akari had gotten changed into her hero gear and made her way to the lead hero’s office. She knocked twice, before opening the door to see him at his desk.
“Still doing paperwork old man?” 
“Watch your mouth brat, I’m almost done.” Katsuki tsk’d, clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth as he spared his daughter a glance before looking back at the computer screen.
“What are you going to have me do today pops.”
“It’s Ground Zero while you’re here, how many times do I have to tell you that.”
“Yeah yeah, Ground Zero-Jiji.”
“OI-”
“C’mon dad really, am I going to be able to go on patrol today? I haven’t been in for a week!”
He smirked at her, standing once he submitted the last of this morning's work.
“Yeah brat, a patrol with your favorite hero.”
“Deku is my favorite hero-”
“Not funny, shithead.” He snapped, flicking her forehead as he walked by her. She huffed in false hurt, internally laughing at how she could get him so riled up, even when he knew she was joking.
“Because of that, I’ll have you file all the paperwork yourself when we get back.” Katsuki snickered, pressing the button to head down to the main lobby.
“You can’t do that,” Akari crossed her arms with a light glare, “I’m not allowed to handle paperwork, I’m a second year dad. Did you forget due to your old ass age?”
Entering the elevator Katsuki flicked her forehead once more, this time putting more force.
“Ow-”
“Watch your fucking mouth, I remember perfectly thank you. This old man could kick your ass. Plus, as long as I supervise, I can make you do whatever fucking paperwork I want.”
“I’ll tell mom on you.” Akari crossed her arms, nose pointed in the air.
“Do it brat, she won’t take your side.” Katsuki mocked her look without even realizing it.
The fact that him and his kid were so similar was almost scary, it surely gave you enough headaches to last a lifetime.
The doors open with a chime and the two headed out, punching out by the front desk. The system was there to keep record that they were going to be away from the agency on a patrol. It was a handy system, letting other pros of the office know what you were doing in case an emergency happened.
“Have a safe patrol, Ground Zero, Surge!”
“Thank you.” The two replied in sync, walking out of the building.
The two left their playful bickering inside, turning on a much more serious demeanor while on patrol. Katsuki wanted to teach his daughter everything he knew, because before long she would be her own hero taking her place to come out on top.
Nothing but the greatest for his kid.
The patrol started normal, and if Akari wasn’t as well groomed in the line of hero work, she’d dare say boring. However, she knew better than to think of it that way. 
Peace may be tranquil, it may be calm and still, but it was never boring.
It was a blessing.
However today, was not one of those blessed days.
They had already been out for almost a good thirty minutes, interacting with civilians and helping with smaller issues, when screams were heard. The two quickly rushed to the scene, smelling the smoke before they could even see it.
Large flames danced along collapsed buildings, civilians were running wild, desperately trying to get away from whatever had caused the situation in the first place.
“Go help with an evacuation, make your priority the safety of the citizens!”
“Yes sir!” Akari knew better than to argue about wanting to help with the villains who were making the scene, the civilians were the priority.
Katsuki had charged forward, assessing the situation to see that there were 3 villains and their main target seemed to be unknown. It wasn’t money, there was a bank right down the street. They were standing closer to a now burning abandoned building, possibly there just for a harmful deeds with no goal. Or, they were causing a distraction for something bigger.
Katsuki enclosed on the three, quickly blasting an explosion to try to quickly knock them off their feet. However, they must have seen him becoming because all three immediately countered the attack. That gave Katsuki a moment to analyze their quirks, and how big of a nuisance they’d be.
The female of the group seemed to be able to manipulate shadows, he could tell as she manipulated what looked like to be her own as a shield to block his attack. He noticed she didn’t bother using any other shadows, even though there were plenty around her that were larger than her own, so he figured that was the extent of her power. The amount of shadow she could manipulate seemed to be as small as she was. Either way, it could be used not only as a defensive quirk, but depending on how she could handle her quirk, a good offensive one as well. 
There was a man with a mask over his face, bending the air around him to make the attack head over his head. Wind was always a pain to deal with, even if someone wasn’t as skilled with it in turn making the quirk weaker. It was hard to aim calculated attacks without having them be blown away. Katsuki knew he’d had to keep an eye out on that one.
The last man, who looked to be the leader, took the blow straight on. His skin changing to that what was hardened in what looked to be steel, most likely high carbon steel, seeing as there were no scratches or abrasions even with the high impact explosion. He may be the pack lead for a reason, most things would bounce off of him, no damage, no injury, less mess. However, there was a thing about hard materials were also very brittle- if he kept on his toes, not allowing this guy to take a break and continued to hit him with hard impacts, he’d either let his armor down himself or finally break.
Katsuki readied for battle as the two underlings rushed forward, attacking him simultaneously. Katsuki was able to use enough force to send the shadow user back a few feet into some debris, before blocking a punch from the main man himself. The hardened punch caused him to grunt, the force from the punch was almost as much as Eijirou’s.
Almost.
Katsuki sent an explosion from both palms to each guy, countering immediately with physical attacks. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the man with the wind quirk was causing him more problems than he’d like. He had a good sense of control on his quirk and it was difficult to find openings as not only his quirk, but his attacked were being pushed back because of it.
The fight lasted with neither one side or the other going down, the shadow user came up from behind as she recovered, almost knocking Katsuki off of his balance. He was growing irritated, these lowlifes were actually putting up a fight-where were the other pros in the vicinity?
Where was Akari.
Like she read his mind, his daughter quickly came from nowhere it seemed, surprising the wind user as she used her own explosions on him from behind. 
She was his daughter alright.
She got a really amazing quirk, even more so than his, even if he’d never admit it. Your quirk was a really good match with his, even though your quirk was the last reason why he married you.
Your quirk was called Adrenaline Rush, you were able to enhance your physical body because of it, your adrenaline working more overpowered than anyone else’s. Your increase in blood flow and oxygen to your muscles causing you to be- well basically supercharged.
The reason why it paired so well was because one prominent feature that happened during a rush-
You sweat. A lot.
So in turn, when your daughter had both, the increased sweating mixed with his explosive quirk-
Let’s just you guys made one bad ass kid.
Her quirk was Explosive Adrenaline, he thought it was the cutest name, a mix of both of yours. She was sort of able to control her physical body like you were, but she could either put in a ‘super charge’ into her limbs, or into her explosions. 
This time she put more of her overcharge into her fist, having it painfully collide with the back of the wind quirk’s head. Katsuki, now even more on a high alert, made sure to keep the other two occupied on him while he let Akari handle the other. 
The two-on-one was going better now that he didn’t have his attacks weren’t being blown away, and he could tell he was wearing both of his opponents down. The shadow user manipulated her shadow into a bat, and went to swing it at his face, but Katsuki grabbed the other guy moved him into the spot instead, forcing him to take her attack while he followed up and used an explosion from behind. The two crashed into each other, falling on the ground while Katsuki went for another attack to make sure they stayed there. 
Although, the sound of his daughter's cry caught his attention and he turned in time to see her back collided with an unstable building, the walls shaking from the impact and threatening to fall. He sprinted over to her, blasting the wind user away while covering her body with his own as soon as the building crumbled down. The pain spread throughout his body, and he ground his teeth together as he tried to make sure Akari was alright. 
He blasted through some remains, the overuse of his quirk causing his hands to shake but he bared with it. The rush in his body numbing the pain as he dragged the both of them behind another building to recoup. He slumped against a wall, taking in heavy breaths as he scanned her over. Besides for some cuts she looked fine, and he felt a breath of relief fall from his lips. 
“Are you alri-”
Before he could finish his sentence the three, now all up and running, came from behind the corner in order to fight once more. This wasn’t right, something was wrong.
Katsuki just knew it, if they were after something they would have ran off the moment they got, unless they were distracting them for a reason-
There was something else they were covering for, or worse yet, someone.
Katsuki frantically looked around while trying to fend off the persistent villains, trying to see who the hell they were messing with.
“You heroes really are idiots!” The shadow user screamed out, her shadow flattening out and pushed the father-daughter duo back.
They both landed further down the alley with a grunt, and Katsuki felt his lungs working overtime to get air into his lungs. Then he finally saw it, another person coming out of the shadows with a wicked grin.
“Ground Zero- good to see you buddy. Really, it’s been a while.” Katuski stood, throwing three explosions in his direction while throwing five more in the other to hold off the three lower villains.
“You think this had any effect on me- come now Ground Zero, you mustn't remember me if you think that could hold me, and frankly, that pisses me off.”
The sound of cracking bones was loud in Akari’s ears, more so than her father’s and her own explosions. The sickening sound of it taring through the skin was horrid and she held back a gag at the smell that followed. His bone turned sharp, coming out of him like extra limbs as they stretched and grew, heading straight towards her dad. She vaguely saw the look of panic on her dad’s face, and she knew that he must've had great trouble with him in a previous battle, if the villains monologue wasn’t anything to go by. 
She felt the wind from behind and saw the others closing in, looking back to the front, the man's bones were growing thicker as ran forward.
“Surge-” Her dad let off more explosions and she followed suit, gritting her teeth as she sent multiple to the party behind her, “Get the hell out of here- go request back up. I don’t know why no one else hasn’t fucking arrived.” 
A bone sliced through the air unharmed from the blasts, managing to clip Katsuki’s shoulder painfully. His hands were tied, if he ran forward to attack the man, he’d be leaving his daughter to a 3-on-1 fight, and while she was no weakling, that was hard on anyone. If he focused on the three, they’d have his full attention and she would be left alone with the creep. Either way he’d be leaving her as an opening, and he wasn’t about to risk that. He was sure he’d have a fighting chance if she wasn’t there on the forefront of his thoughts, if he was able to go wild. At the very least, he’d be able to buy her enough time to get the hell out of here and request some assistance. 
To get somewhere safe.
 Akari gasped as she saw her dad get his shoulder sliced, drawing plenty of blood from the wound. He was already badly injured, plenty of regular bruises and scratches, but worse wounds from the falling building earlier. Plus, this maniac with the crazy quirk was striking only him, deep cuts appearing on his skin, angry red coming in its place. She started sending more powerful explosions to the group behind her, trying to keep them away as she racked her brain for any ideas on how to fight. She knew she wasn’t strong enough to take on a group alone, and this guy seemed to think he could give her dad a struggle, so what were they going to do? 
All she could do was send a constant barrage of supercharged explosions, and it was working for the most part, the smokescreen helping to keep them blinded and unable to press on with any attack. But the smoke was being wiped as fast as she could create it, the wind picking up do to the man with the quirk, blowing it away and trying to create an opening for his team.
Damn wind quirks.
“No- I can’t leave you Ground Zero! We have to find a way out together-”
“This is no time to argue with me dammit!” 
Her eyes widened as she looked up at him, he was looking down at her with a worried look on his face. He was shaking due to overuse and exhaustion, and he was bleeding out in multiple places as the bone kept meeting his form. She willed her explosions to come larger, feeling adrenaline course through her veins as she began to sweat more, and took all of the energy and moved it into her palms. The smoke was thicker, the pain was larger, and the panic was coming in waves. 
“I’m sorry dad-I can’t leave you!”
“You get your ass out of here! You got that!? Dammit-your mother must be calling by now, you haven’t had a fucking lunch break yet and you know how pissy she gets when you don’t eat. Kid, you know you’re a hero in my eyes but you’re still fucking learning! So get out of here so you can keep moving forward and take over the number one spot-GO.” He gave no room for argument, and the sadness in his eyes scared her more.
She saw another part of the bone coming from the smoke, this time aimed right at her dad’s heart. She yelled out, and rushed for it before it could reach him. 
He wanted her to learn, but if she couldn’t learn from him, learn from the best, how the hell would she ever make it to the number one spot? 
It was over before it began, the searing pain in her side caused her to grunt in surprise as she was lifted up into the air. The gravity forcing the bone to travel deeper into the wound, this time bringing a scream from her lips. Although she couldn’t hear it due to the ringing in her ears-plus she was too busy trying to focus on breaking the bone. 
If her father’s quirk couldn’t break it, she would have to show that old man who’s boss and do it herself. 
She wrapped her hands around the bone, drawing all the power she could muster before releasing multiple, large, supercharged shots into it. She heard the crack, and the screams and shouts around her blended together. All she cared about was the the bone turned to ash and she was finally dropped onto the floor. The impact took the air from her lungs and her vision blurred before it all went black.
While all she could see was black, Katsuki saw red. 
One moment he was telling her to leave, to save herself without really telling her that it was over, and the next he sees his baby on the ground.
His baby.
Katsuki’s mind flashes to every moment he’s ever had with her, and for some reason the most prominent memories were all the moments he's ever cried;
The first time he held her he cried because he was scared that he would never be enough for the angel he held in his tainted hands.
The first time she had talked, she had spoken had been his name and he had cried tears of happiness because his whole world was complete as long as he had her. 
The first time she had walked, it was into his embrace, so he cried tears of joy at being the arms where she felt safe enough to walk into.
The first day of school she had said goodbye with no problems, and he cried at the fear that she didn't need him anymore. 
The first time she had shown her quirk, he cried right along with her as the explosions had burned her hands; he knew the pain of a powerful quirk, both physically and emotionally, and he wanted nothing more than to blast that pain away.
The first time she had shown interest in training, she had asked him to train her and he secretly cried because he was overjoyed that she wanted his help over anyone else.
The first time that she was ever excited about school was when she got her acceptance in his alma mater, and he cried because he was so damn proud of her.
The first person she said when he asked who she wanted to intern with was him, and he cried because he felt so lucky to be her first choice.
This was the first time he had seen her hurt so badly, and he knew he was crying in agony at the sight.
She had so many firsts in her life already, but she still had so many firsts left ahead of her. 
He wanted to keep crying for all the good and all the firsts she had yet to do.
He wants to cry as he watches her graduate.
He wants to cry as she makes it as a pro.
He wants to cry as he walks her down the aisle.
He wants to see her grow, he wants her to have the world at her feet.
He didn't want to cry in regret at her funeral because he didn't have what it takes to save her.
He would not let himself see her death, there was no way he was going to let her die.
"AKARI!"
Any hurt he had been previously feeling was pushed to the side, the only thing Bakugou could focus on was keeping his little girl safe. 
Sending a large enough explosion to keep the ones behind at bay, he moved her from the middle of the ground. He wanted to hold her tight in his arms but he needed to make sure they were safe first, so he ran towards the man with bone, sending a punch that was backed with an explosion at his face, twisting around to kick him in the gut before sending off another explosion for good measure to knock him down.
Katsuki turned around, and wasted no time blasting an explosion larger than he had ever done before at the trio, making sure none of them could possibly think of getting close to Akari. He wasted no time sprinting forward and grabbing the man of steel, tossing his hardened body into the wind user, before grabbing the girl by the face and slamming her into the wall. He sent off an explosion before tossing her as well at the pair on the ground. 
He backtracked and brought the man of bone back to his feet, the man only staring with wide eyes as Katsuki gripped his throat tight, having to force himself to stop before he took it too far. More bone tried to desperately pierce his skin, but the chokes and frantic kicking of his legs showed how his mind was off due to panic, his quirk doing nothing more than grazing in an ungraceful frenzy. The labored breaths framed Katsuki’s face and he squeezed a fraction tighter, in hopes to knock him out for a while. 
Inside his mind he wishes it was for good.
Once the eyes rolled back and the man went limp, the viper-tight grip was released. He let him fall harshly onto the ground, no care in his body for anything other than their suffering. The other group was groaning on the ground, writhing in pain, but it wasn’t enough. 
Yet before he could do more, police ran forward into the smoke, catching the villains and binding them with quirk suppressant cuffs. 
Another hero ran through the smoke, looking as bad as Katsuki did. Bloodied and torn green hero suit, curly hair flat against his head with sweat and even more blood. He was holding onto his stomach, breathing harshly with one eye closed to keep it clean from what trickled down from his hairline.
“Kaach-fuck, MEDIC!”
Katsuki didn’t listen, focusing all of attention to his little girl. She was still breathing, the wound deep but fortunately not deep enough to have her bleed out in the seconds he was fighting. He raised his heavily shaking hands and pressed them to her side, tears falling down his face as he whispered promises into her unconscious ears. 
He refused to let anyone pick up up, choosing to strain himself longer and set her down onto the stretcher himself, also refusing attention as he insisted on riding with her. As much as they wanted to tell him to trust them, to let himself get help, they wouldn’t. The look in his eyes proved that anything spoken to him would be futile, so they ushered him inside the ambulance before speeding off to the nearest hospital. He could wait, he needed to make sure she’d be okay.
Akari had to be okay.
As soon as they had gotten her stretcher into the operating room, is when Katsuki collapsed. His body was running on pure fear and adrenaline, and the damage he had taken was more than he could handle. As soon as he saw she was getting the treatment she needed, the small amount of relief had been the switch that turned his body off. His shakes stopped, breathing hitching along with eyes fluttering closed and he felt weightless, landing with his back on the cold tile. Nurses and doctors rushing to get him help.
You had watched the news, worry coursing through your body as the woman reported of how small yet powerful groups of villains were targeting top pro heroes. You tried to calm yourself, saying your husband was more than capable of handling some weaklings. But you remembered today was the day Akari was with him, and you knew he’d be more concerned about her safety than the fight at hand. You rubbed your enlarged stomach with shaking hands, trying to remind yourself the stress wasn’t healthy for the two of you. 
Although that worry only intensified when your home phone began to ring, the ringing sounding further away the closer you went. Lifting it with a shuddering breath, you answered.
The man on the other end told you how your husband and daughter were in critical care at the moment, and that you needed to get down to the hospital as quickly as you could. You could only hang up, no answers needed. Knowing if you spoke it would all rush out. You were in a trance, grabbing your purse and keys one moment, and the next time you blinked you were rushing through the hospital doors. 
Waddling as fast as you could to the nurses desk, you quickly asked for more information. The nurse soothingly gave you all the information she could, getting up to guide you to a seat as you were finding yourself swaying in place. She knelt down in front of you, asking you to breath in and out with her. You don’t remember complying, but the nod of her head gave you the indication you were. Her lips moved but no noise came out, static white noise is all that you could hear-and in a way it was calming.
The hustle and bustle of rushing professionals was all in the background, fading slowly as if you had muted the television. The nurses words, the speakers overhead, the squeaking of stretchers, the sirens from outside, they were all silent. 
Quiet.
It was too quiet now.
You needed to hear two things only.
Your family’s voices. 
Your husbands throaty scoffs and your daughters teasing laughs.
You needed your family.
It must have been hours before a doctor came to you, but you had sat for what seemed like years of your life were chipping away. 
All at once the noise came back at full volume, almost too loud to hear the doctor in front of you.
“They’re ready to be seen, but be warned, they’re most likely still pretty groggy. If that’s the case, know that it is perfectly normal.”
You followed the doctor to a room on another floor, the entire walk felt too long, you had to see them now. 
Katsuki had woken up, pain shooting from multiple places in his body. He grunted in pain, the closing of his eyes, along with the growing weight of his limbs, were trying to coax him asleep and he was allowing the pull to lull him. 
His eyes shot open before he fell back under, his heart rate spiking on the monitor as he panicked.
“A-akari.” His voice was hoarse, broken glass in his throat causing pain that no amount of throat clearing could get rid of.
“I’m right here daddy-I’m right here.”
His eyes snapped to his left, seeing his daughter sitting up and bandaged in many places, although not as bandaged up as he was. She started to sniffle and held out her hand to him. Despite the pain, he reached out and held her right hand just as tightly, lips quivering in relief at the sight of her.
She was okay.
“Don’t you ever do that again, you understand.” Katsuki demanded, voice still scratchy but just as serious. 
She said nothing but smiled, although her smile quickly fell and was replaced with a wobbly bottom lip.
“You l-look like shit.” Tears fell from her eyes.
Katsuki barked out a mix of a sob and a laugh that hurt his body, hand squeezing hers as he replied.
“I love you brat.”
“I love you too old man.”
The door opened, causing the two to sober their tears as best as they could, and the pair looked over to see you and a doctor walk in. 
“Oh my babies.” You cried, rushing over to hug your daughter in a hug. Katsuki let go of his daughter’s hand, slowly bringing it back to his side, hissing quietly at the pain. 
You kissed her face all over, holding her cheeks and muttering sweet nothings into her hair.
“Mom, I’m okay-”
“Shut up brat, let me kiss you.” You pressed her against your chest, rocking her slowly as you kissed her head. 
She gripped your shirt back, holding the material tight between clenched fists. You stayed that way for a while, long enough to where the doctor excused himself and said he’d be back later for more information.
After a moment, you pulled away, giving her one last kiss before looking over at your husband. He was staring at the two of you with a small smile, love in his eyes. 
“(y/n)..”
“You stupid man.”
“Oi!”
You remove yourself from your daughter, walking over to Katsuki before hugging him just as tight.
“OW-damn woman, I’m hurt here.”
“Sh-shut up.” You cried into his chest, laying sideways on his bed facing your daughter, being wary of your bump.
Katsuki ran his right arm down arm a few times, hoping to sooth your cries. His hand ran down your back, reaching around the best he could to hold onto your stomach. He lifted his left arm to do the same, but that took a lot more effort. 
No matter the effort, he’d do all he could to hold you close to him.
You sighed, calm enough to sit up to look at your loves in matching bandages.
“You both are in so much trouble when we get home.”
“Awh Ma, c’mon!”
“Yeah what the hell woman.”
You laughed and they looked at your confused, glancing at each other before sharing mental thoughts, knowing they shouldn’t poke the bear.
“I’m sorry mom.” Akari sighed.
“Me too mom.” Katsuki replied sarcastically.
Well, poke the bear too much. Katsuki couldn’t help it sometimes, even during serious moments such as these.
“You better be, I never said you could get yourselves hurt, did I?” 
“No ma’am.” They responded in sync. 
You sat on his bed in a way that allowed you to look at both of them at the same time, and you felt tears well up one more. Reaching out to your daughter, you held her hand tight, using the other to rub circles on your husbands bicep.
“I love you both, I’m so happy you’re okay.”
“We love you too.”
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