#dedicated to the underdogs/real heros

[yournewlodger]

I think the self-built criminal empire "drag yourself up by the bootstraps" ification of Oswald Cobblepot is indicative of a larger problem with Batman that refuses to address that hey, maybe billionaire politicians who hoard all the wealth with a refusal to relate to or in any way help the less fortunate, are bad maybe. Like of course the Penguin is a self-made criminal immigrant mob boss, because these days you can only be a Batman villain if you are 1.) Mentally Ill or 2.) An Immigrant. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with characters being immigrants. Before you say "how dare you piss on the poor" please understand I'm talking about intent when you see these characters always presented as villains.

And I'm all for reimagining characters for the modern lens, and I fully understand the inherent problematic nature of a character like The Penguin, and maybe I will be Bobo the Fool when The Penguin (the show) comes out, but I think reframing the Penguin as something out of The Godfather severely misses the point. Not only because never more have I wanted superhero media to critique billionaire criminal politicians running for public office (historically, the Penguin's whole bit), but because we don't need the Penguin to be something out of The Godfather. We have someone for that already. And clearly they know that. Because his name is Carmine Falcone.

I think that this notion that the only crime in Gotham City has to be drugs, prostitution, human trafficking, and domestic terrorism severely misunderstands the inherent whimsical nature of superheroes, and historically the Penguin. I mean we are circlejerking into infinity a self-hatred in superhero media. His name isn't even Oswald Cobblepot anymore. When's the last time the Penguin had an umbrella?

And here's the thing. I like Gotham (2014 - 2019). I do. But that universe at least understood that the Penguin is aesthetically ridiculous. Try as they may to present him as a threat, but he will always be a guy who calls himself Penguin.

I do think this problem started with Batman Returns. I'm not here explicitly to critique that version of the Penguin, but I do think it's where we began to lose the plot. Because once again the Penguin is presented as an underdog, a minority, an outcast. And again I ask you to think about intent when the Penguin is a villain and Batman is not. But that movie had Max Shreck to balance it out. What do we have now?

They are so, so allergic to presenting the rich as villains, because they'd be calling themselves out. Because calling the Penguin what he is, a cartoonish portrayal of a wealthy Gilded Age capitalist who preys on the less fortunate to further and further elevate his own wealth, doesn't align with their messaging, which is "billionaires are so awesome, and more importantly, infallible." The Penguin is meant to be an antithesis to Bruce Wayne, who is also generationally wealthy, but most importantly a philanthropist. Bruce Wayne is supposed to be someone who dedicates all he has to making Gotham City a better place, which also includes helping reform Gotham’s villains. But these days we see a man who more and more seems less like a hero, and more like a Penguin. Because if Bruce Wayne cared about Gotham City, really cared, beating every one of his villains to a pulp, just shy of his "no kill" quota, would be less of his focus. I mean how does a man with near unlimited resources allow institutions like Arkham Asylum to exist, let alone send his bad guys there?

And yeah, I know. The answer is the Batman mythos has turned it into The Good Place. His world is too complicated to do any real good. And yes, I know, it mirrors our world too. But why is it that the people who are pointing out that corruption, these We Live In A Society types, the villains? Why are they always the one presented as "insane" for pointing out what's right in front of them? And when's the last time Bruce Wayne did charity work, anyway? Tell me, who are we supposed to be rooting for in the end?

Anyway, the summary is this: The Penguin isn't a Capitalist anymore. The Penguin isn't even a Cobblepot anymore. Who is he? Because he isn't the Fine Feathered Fink I know. And we all know why. And personally, I'm sick of it.

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

Hi! As the Tumblr expert of the Flashfam, would you say that they're capable of solo-ing other members of the Justice League if they wanted to? I mean, from reading the Flash War, Superman couldn't even keep up with the Flashes because they're too fast. Doesn't that mean they could beat Superman and other heroes easily?

Hey! Thanks for the question!

To start this off I first want to say that there is a meta answer to this and a in-universe answer to this.

The meta answer is: it depends on the series. For example, it is extremely unlikely that a series dedicated to a specific hero or team would have said team losing to a speedster, solely because heroes are supposed to win. It doesn't make sense for, let's say Superman, to lose a fight against Eobard Thawne in a Superman book. Even though Eobard would be capable of taking Superman out, it's Superman's story, and the hero always wins. But if it's a Flash story? Hell yeah, definitely. Also in crises/crossover series you can generally see speedsters being used to their full potential. (For example, Eobard demolishing Batman)

But that's no fun so let's look at the odds in-universe.

Because there are so many different Leaguers I'm going to separate them into categories to make it easier:

The Non-Powered Heroes:

The Non-Powered Hero is always a fan favorite. In a world full of gods it is fun to see the average human being the smartest and most capable person in the room. People like to root for the underdog. Unfortunately for them, they are extremely unlikely to win against a speedster in a fight. They would need Dues Ex Machina levels of gadgets specifically tailored to speedsters to even have a shot. Like I said before, Batman went toe-to-toe with Eobard in the batcave (where all of his gadgets are) and the man was decimated. Being smart and having gear and skills doesn't do much when you look like a frozen statue to the person you are fighting.

The 'I Got One Thing' Heroes:

These heroes are really interesting and cool. Their ranks are filled out by heroes like Black Canary, Black Lightning, Beast Boy, Signal, ect. However, even if their powers would hinder a speedster they are A) extremely unlikely to use their powers fast enough and B) extremely unlikely to actually hit a speedster. Speedsters also have a lot of experience fighting people with just one really strong power and they typically fight 6-20 of those guys at the same time and win. Even super strong heroes like Black Lightning are out of luck because speedsters feed on electricity.

The Strong and Invulnerable Heroes:

Honestly? If I am being completely real here? The Strong and Invulnerable Heroes don't have a chance in hell. I'm sorry but heroes like Wonder Woman and Superman are built to be tanks. They excel at fighting physical threats. They can't do anything against reality bending. That is even how speedsters have historically dealt with Kryptonians in the past. They teleport them into another dimension with no yellow sun and just leave them there. A skilled speedster would have them in a pocket dimension or 20 thousand years in the past before Supes could even blink.

The Lanterns:

Speedster and Lantern relations demand that Lanterns get their own category. First of all, the location of the fight would matter. Speedsters would have an extremely hard time winning against a Lantern in their natural element of space. The Lanterns, however, would have an extremely hard time winning against a Speedster on a planet. Speedsters can phase through and break constructs so there isn't a lot that can be done. So it's entirely dependent on location in my opinion.

Additionally, the Lanterns and Speedsters know A LOT of shit about each other so this would be an interesting fight. The Speedsters know the Lantern's color weaknesses and they know about the battery life of their rings (which they might be able to drain tbh, Barry's worked with the energy in Hal's ring multiple times before and has manipulated it). But, conversely, the Lanterns know that Speedsters don't do well in the cold and that the more energy they expend the more unstable they get. So, it would be a wild fight, especially because the Lanterns can fly so there's a possibility that a Speedster couldn't reach them to take them out immediately.

Psychics:

Speedsters do have a little bit of an advantage against Psychics. In the past Speedsters have sped up their minds so fast that their speeding thoughts actually injured people in their minds. But to be frank they have no skill or expertise in this area and, historically, strong and skilled Psychics can easily grab control of Speedsters. For example, Gorilla Grodd. When fighting Gorilla Grodd the main tactic of the Speedsters is to take him out before he has time to think, ie moving faster than the speed of thought. That doesn't always succeed. So a very strong Psychic would have a pretty good shot against a Speedster.

Magic Users:

It REALLY depends on how strong the Magic User is. Raven, Zatanna and Dr. Fate would all have a 50/50 shot against a Speedster in my opinion. Any magic user that can bend reality and do super strong spells would have a really good fighting chance because they are the exact same brand of fucked up as the Speedsters. Also Speedsters don't really have a counter against curses or spells. They have zero magical expertise. So it's really just a matter of if the Speedster can knock them out (or gag them in Zatanna's case) before they can get a spell out.

So when it comes down to it Speedsters are the experts of fighting large groups of people at the same time. They know how to prioritize and they are fast enough to take out the heavy hitters before they can even react. I think it would largely depend on the Justice League roster at the time (for example, the JL cartoon roster of Bats, Supes, WW, Hawkgirl, GL and MMH wouldn't stand a chance as only MMH would be a threat but a team consisting of MMH, Miss M, Zatanna, Dr. Fate, Raven and Deadman would probably take a Speedster out fairly quickly.)

Their main weaknesses are extreme cold, magic and mental attacks, so a team entirely filled with heavy hitting Magic Users and Psychics would excel at fighting a Speedster. So to answer your question, yes a Flash could probably take out a typical Justice League roster solo (unless the roster was tailor made to exploit their weaknesses).

[bicon-crange]

Alright, let’s hear it

HI SORRY I'M LATE!!

I know this is about this post I made because I got it like. not even a day after.. so.. for context!

SO like I said, I think Dr. Horrible is actually pretty solid writing wise.

I think you could make it an actual (maybe off-broadway budget lvl) musical with a toooouch of rewrites. I think literally just removing the use of slurs (there's like, two, in the whole musical. which sucks but its also like…10+ years old) would make it really palatable for a modern day audience.

Lots of songs like A Man's Gotta Do touch on subjects waay ahead of the public discussion on them like toxic masculinity (again the movies like 14 years old), and I also think it's interesting that in THAT song in particular, the one who espouses these toxic ideals is not the super macho sterotype Captain Hammer, but the our nerdy, underdog, 'relatable' main character.

I also think that it would be greatly improved as a script if Penny didn't die at the end. Now THIS is where it gets lengthy and where I bring in the read more…

I think it would be much more interesting if Penny didn't die. I also really hate it because from the moment she dies on, she's instantly weirdly dehumanized by both the narrative and the literal lyrics, where she is refferred to as "everything you ever…" It's weird to me and I never really liked it.

I think it would be much more interesting if she wound up, as a result of the freeze ray, gaining powers and going against Dr. Horrible. Or something similar.

Now Penny, in real early 2000s girl fashion, is not written to be as in depth or 3 dimensional as the other male characters in the movie ( which is fine to me, as the movie is clearly satirical and very tongue-in-cheek, ALL the characters are more or less stereotypes ).

But what we do know about her is that she is already established to be both very altruistic and a weird parallel to Dr. Horrible.

Her first song, "Caring Hands" is her literally trying to get help for a local homeless shelter that she's dedicated to, and in her third song "Pennys Song," she explains WHY she cares about her town specifically and WHY she is so dedicated to help.

It reads to me as very superhero-y! There are lots of superheros (Spiderman,Batman, you KNOW THEM) who are very dedicated to one specific town or city because something of relevance happened to them there or there's a deep emotional connection (i.e. this need to "fix" a town). So in that way, it still works as a sort of parody of already established superhero characters.

I also think she's someone who idolizes heroism in general, as getting saved by Captain Hammer is what draws her to be interested in him in the first place.

Now, where she works as a sort of narrative foil/mirror really kicks in in the song "My Eyes", where her and Dr. Horrible sing about their completely different points of view (simplified, it's optimism v. pessimism, altruism v. anarchy) … but once in a while in this duet (which they sing on opposite ends of town)…. their words overlap!

And they both wind up saying the same word, or similar phrases, though in completely different contexts.

I think this could totally have been a set up for a fantastic dynamic where they work as dynamic opposites of each other!! Especially if Dr. Horrible stays pining for her long after she becomes a hero? Ough! The drama! The intrigue!

It especially works for me because Dr. Horrible doesn't really care for Penny? Outside of the idealized version of her he's conjured in his mind. Which we know he's been doing since the start of the movie by the way.

He KNOWS she's altruistic and he KNOWS she cares about people, and she has told him this to his FACE, but he keeps on with his antagonistic plans anyways because he thinks he's smarter than her. At his core, he thinks he's better than her and that she can't make decisions for herself.

He even says in one song that he knows she'll cry over what he's going to do but resolves to still do it. He wants power over her,essentially. He wants her the way you want a shiny new toy.

Yet he still wants to try to impress her. Her opinion means EVERYTHING to him because in his mind she's still deified.

During his big villain moment towards the end of the movie one of his ONLY concerns is her seeing him, even now worried that her opinion of him will be tainted.

He even,tellingly, in this moment- calls himself by her nickname for him to soothe himself.

TELL ME THAT DOESN'T JUST SMACK OF A CRAZY INTERESTING HERO/VILLAIN DYNAMIC!!! Especially if Penny, knowing her big heart, continues to not give up on him. But MAN is it hard.

[stillness-in-green]

Deku arrived, with calvary, the same one that supported Stars and Stripes. I don't know... Will Deku use the same approach as she did? Weren't we shown that it does not work neither for save nor for win? They need to have a heart to heart, except Shigaraki is in no place to really hear Deku or understand him. A person that had some meaningful parallels with Shigi and could've been set up to reach him is romping through spirit world with All Might, probably talking about Deku. I just don't know.

Now that the next chapter’s out from this ask, and leaks for the one beyond, I’ll say I’m damned if I can see how Deku’s Beat The Absolute Piss Out Of Shigaraki play is any different from the approach people have been using on him since all the way back at USJ, much less as recently as Star & Stripe.  Like, I know that Fighting To Understand Each Other is a time-honored method of emotional catharsis and relationship advancement for a Shounen Jump comic, but I feel like the hero needs to be taking some more damage for that kind of thing to work, you know?  It shows they’re dedicated to understanding their opponent, even if it’s going to take some hurt.

But this?  It’s just beating on Shigaraki from a place of comfortably higher power, while Shigaraki is, just like he was during the war, constrained from acting with the full level of force available to him.  And I feel like I’ve seen that kind of thing before, where the heroes have a, “We can’t let the villain attain/unleash his full power, or we’re all doomed,” line, but the thing with that kind of set-up is that of course the villain eventually will!  It’s not as dramatically satisfying if you put that Chekov’s gun on the mantle and then never fire it!  But that’s where HeroAca is right now—where it's always been, and why the hero/villain dynamic is so damned strange for the way it confuses who the real underdogs are in this story.

Agreed that Deku needs to be able to actually talk to Shigaraki, but it's difficult to say what a dialogue would actually accomplish.  Deku's connection with Shigaraki is unearned, and none of the people who have actually earned a connection with Shigaraki—principally the League and Bakugou (Bakugou more than Deku, anyway)—are actually on-hand to weigh in and give Deku some perspective.  Instead, we have this foreordained connection because of AFOFA, and even that's not being done in a very interesting way, because Deku has not had a chance to have a sustained dialogue with Shigaraki in—to the exact digit of the most recent release—300 chapters.

Further, while their origin stories have a lot of ironic similarities, there's basically zero common ground between the people they are now—not least because Deku's experience with fighting the power inside him hasn't been a real issue since Joint Training, and even then, the sentience of OFA was never opposed to him the way VFO is inimical to Shigaraki's free will.

I don't know.  I still have some small hopes that Spinner will spring Kurogiri and press the shuffle button on this conflict, but as it is, I just am not buying some turn where Deku will spend however many chapters relentlessly destroying Shigaraki only for him to turn around and offer him a hand at the end, and we'll all be expected to cheer and be really emotionally affected by how incredibly generous and noble and forgiving Deku is.

I didn't buy it with Nagant and Overhaul, and like hell will I buy it here. Thanks for the ask!

[tvfangirladdict]

So Buddie was trending today, again, and I was reading some posts, and a couple stuck out to me. People seem to be realizing that even though we all ship the same couple, there's still sides that have been picked. I've noticed it in most ship couples I follow.

With Buddie, I think the majority of shippers tend to side with Buck. I don't know if it's because people relate to him more, or they just see him as the "all-american", wholesome, sweet, cute, blonde they feel sorry for and want to protect because I've noticed a trend in favoritism shown to similar characters in other shows, but that's just how it is. And so this leads to a majority of fics and posts that put him first. And this makes it feel like Eddie's always painted as the bad guy, Buck's the one who's betrayed and hurt, and Eddie's the one who's forced to grovel and chase Buck.

And this isn't to bash Buck or people who favor him, it's just to express frustration in not seeing the same level of compassion and love for Eddie, for those of us who are on "his side". It can get tiring to see the character you favor always being the one who messes up and acts selfishly and hurting the person they're shipped with.

And it's not always even restricted to issues between the two of them. I saw a few posts where people vented frustration with seeing people putting Eddie down for decisions he's made with Chris's best interests at heart. Like, I'm sorry, but Eddie is his dad, and no matter how good of a guy Buck is, no one loves that kid more than Eddie. So I don't understand why people seem to think Eddie should be putting Buck's feelings ahead of his son's. Like yeah, it'll be tough for Buck, he'll miss his work partner, but Chris is screaming himself awake over his mom and spending Christmas season worrying about his dad dying, his dad who has been shot on multiple occasions, buried alive, walks into fires every day, etc. Like, Chris's fears are valid, and they're logical. Anyone who works in similar fields has to weigh the good they're doing with the possibility of not coming home, and that's a personal decision that I don't think anyone has the right to judge one way or another.

It's bad timing with what Buck's going through, but it doesn't make Eddie a bad person for doing it. Maybe it's true that it won't be the fix or long term solution he's looking for, but neither is it healthy to stay in that situation only to make a friend feel better. He needs to take the time to work on himself and his son first.

One of my favorite parts of being a Destiel shipper is that it seems pretty even. Like the fans love them pretty equally. They don't love just Dean and decide that Cas is good enough for him and write them together or vice versa. They don't pick sides, or at least it seems pretty equal on both sides. There's thoughtfulness and compassion for both sides of the ship from writers. Both characters mess up.

And I think that's where my problem is. Because people's love for the characters can be so blind that they think they could never do anything wrong. I've always been Team Iron Man over Team Cap. Personally, I'm not a fan of Cap. He's too good if that makes sense. Just too squeaky clean and inhuman. And I'm not talking about the super serum. It's like he's some perfect person who always knows what to do and always makes the right decisions and always does good. He never messes up or has thoughts or feelings that aren't 100% good. Tony's flawed and can be selfish and stupid and imperfect. He's human.

I guess I tend to lean towards the characters who are more grey, which makes them more human and relatable to me. They get angry and petty and mean sometimes, but at heart are good people who are doing their best to be good.

I watched the Harry Potter reunion last week and the actor who played Lucious Malfoy (sorry I'll have to look up his name) said something that's really stuck with me. He said that in his opinion, Malfoy was the real hero. Harry wasn't a hero because there was never a question, he was always going to do the right thing, but Draco? Draco was raised to be the worst kind of person, but still found the courage to be good in the end.

I'm as far from perfect as you can get, so I side with the troubled underdogs who try to do good, but still mess up sometimes.

Like with Buddie, I favor the underdog in Sterek too, Derek. I feel like most of the Sterek fics written paint Stiles as some physical badass, but emotionally he's some victim or damsel in distress all the time. Derek's always the one who says or does something stupid and Stiles distances himself to go lick his wounds. He's written like he's infallible and Derek is a monster who feels nothing. Exaggerated a bit maybe, but i swear 80% of Sterek fics are written that way and it's tiring. I get it to a point, I get wanting to give a hurt character you relate to some justice from their relationship partner, but c'mon. Every time? Personally, I think Stiles can be an asshole. That's why we like him. He's not some wilting flower who's going to run and hide when his feeling get hurt. I'm not gonna get into it with Derek because I could write a whole essay on how the writers wronged his character in the name of Scott McCall. Not gonna lie, probably gonna write that next, so if you've made it this far and are interested in some ranting on the behalf of Derek Hale, keep a look out.

But seriously, do you know how hard it is to find a fic where Stiles was the one who screwed up and hurt Derek for a change? And he's the one who has to work to get Derek back? So freaking hard. So if you know of any, seriously, please please please send them! Same goes for hurt!Eddie Buddie stories. Send them all! I could use some Derek or Eddie whump right now.

This started out as another venting about Eddie bashers and kind got off track a bit. But it just sucks when you're on the less popular side of a ship.

And before anyone comes at me and says that people can write whatever Fanfic they want and that writing Buck or Stiles or whoever, that way helps them deal, I'll reiterate. This isn't to say that they're wrong or their characters feelings aren't valid. I'm just venting my frustration that I can't find the same level or amount of writings dedicated to the other half of the ship. It's me trying to accept that I favor the less popular character, so he's gonna be the bad guy in most stories.

Okay, I'm done whining now😅

[patchworkpuzzle]

authors note: this is my submission to Emme’s Mental Health Awareness Collab and like most submissions to this collab this came from a very personal place for me, how I struggle with the aspects within it though nothing graphic or severe. I know that @lemonlordleah-shinzawa-kitten created a wonderful mental health resource list which I encourage you all to take a look.

wordcount: 1.9k

paring: Sero x F!Reader (there is only two mentions of female pronouns, as its from a deep place in my heart but I did try to keep it a gender nutral as I could)

warnings: self doubt, self deprecation. Though it is pretty tame, and has fluff, again please be careful when reading this. 

Also, just a reminder to please not interact with my blog if you are under 18 years oh age.

You didn’t know why.

You didn’t know why Sero Hanta, the hero Cellophane, would ever be interested in you. Someone who wasn’t a hero, or anyone of real importance.  You just worked a normal office job at the Hero Agency he also worked out, that’s how you met after all.

You weren’t an up and coming fresh faced new hero or side kick, you were just someone who filed paperwork and arranged meetings. The sidekick, to the sidekick, of the sidekicks, as it were. Nothing extraordinary about you, in fact you found yourself as nothing but ordinary.

Extraordinarily average, as you like to put it.

And yet, he still saw something.

It was hard to notice at first, a top hero just stopping by to ask you to file something for him to then ask if you were new. But then it got more noticeable, with them continuing to stop by to ask questions and have you file things that weren’t even in your department, trying to find any excuse to see you. To finally just coming out with the truth and asking you on a date.

To say you were shocked when he asked was an understatement. You could feel your face get so red as you stuttered out a jumble of words that ended up meaning yes. Hiding your face in your hands when he left with a smile and a wink, telling you he’ll ‘pick you up at eight.’

The date was almost too awkward, having you try and come up with interesting facts and stories about yourself and your life, trying to compete with a Pro Hero and all the accomplishments he had. But apparently it wasn’t so awful, cause the next Monday at work he stopped by your desk with some flowers and another proposed date.

Date after date you went with him. After a few months he wanted to become official, proclaiming not long after you agreed on a live television interview that he was a ‘happily taken man now’. Though it filled you heart with warmth being so doted on, it made you feel guilty. Made you think that these kinds of affections should be placed on someone more worthy.

Someone who had a more outgoing personality, who didn’t get shy and flustered easily. Or have a short fuse in their social battery, making them want to go home earlier than he may want to. Someone that could match up with him and keep up, not slow him down.

Someone who was more physically attractive, who didn’t look in the mirror and see barely there muscles that were always covered in some way. And who could turn the heads of people when walking by as easily as he could. Someone who could be just as beautiful as the Pro Hero looked all the time, with his perfect smile and dazzling eyes, who could take their shirt off without having to worry if their partner would still find them attractive.

Someone who could do all sorts of amazing things, all sorts of cool hobbies and talents to share and teach. Not being the boring person who started and stopped things all the time, who had no real interests in something for long; whose most notable skill was knowing a bunch of useless facts. Good for a trivia night, but not exactly a good comparison to that of your boyfriend. A man who was filled with many abilities and talents he garnered over the years; both physical and crafty.

He seemed to be able to do so much, and you paled in comparison ever single time.

~

Sero Hanta didn’t know what he did to deserve you.

He was never the strongest person, or the smartest, or had the coolest and flashiest quirk. To him, he was nothing more than just your average guy trying to become a hero and help people. The underdog constantly punching up, and somehow managed to break through.

He was a decent hero; he would never say otherwise. He always worked so hard and tirelessly to help people, sacrificing so much to get the job done. From sleepless nights, to his body breaking, and his mind almost following suit at times, that he felt he more than deserved the spot he got on the hero rankings.

But at times he couldn’t help but compare himself to his friends. People who more than deserved their spots and fame but always proving that he was lacking in some way or form, though it was always unintentionally. They always celebrated his success and praised him for his hard work, but Sero always felt less than when standing next to his friends.

They were always able to get the press to notice their hard work, even if Sero did just as much. Always able to get fans to interact with them, having them compliment them constantly over this, that, and the other while Sero found that a dedicated Cellophane fan was few and far between. And when they did come up to him, they easily turned their attentions to his friends once they showed up.

He never minded. He did this job because he wanted to help people, and he was good at it. There was nothing more he could ask for. But he couldn’t help but admit he got a little envious at times, or that his smile tended to be forced for the cameras.

He just wanted to be seen.

And then he met you. A cute little office worker whose eyes sparkled so brightly as they excitedly exclaimed that they were so happy to meet him, and that they’ll do there best to make sure everything was done right for him; before blushing and apologizing. It made Sero’s heart skip a beat, to be seen the way you saw him then.

It was probably why he kept coming back to your desk and asking you favours and questions. He just wanted to see your eyes light up when you saw him, to be seen as someone as amazing as the other top heroes around him. And he couldn’t lie that he found you beautiful, in that soft gentle way that would make him want to gaze at your face to see all the expressions it could make.

You were magnetic to him, in the delicate sense. You didn’t stand out in the way plenty of others around him would, you almost blended into the crowd. Almost. But you held this kind and sweet aura around you, one that always felt safe and reassuring, and he couldn’t help but be pulled tighter and tighter into it.

Finally, he found the courage to ask you on a date. Overcome with joy when you said yes but trying to play if off cool to not embarrass himself. And the date was wonderful, he loved learning all the little things that made you who you are.

He couldn’t help but ask for another, and another, and another, you were an addiction to him, and he couldn’t get enough. He thought you were so lovely in every single way. He wanted to keep you for himself, for as long as time would allow him.

He just wished he was everything you thought he was.

But Sero Hanta knew he wasn’t. He wasn’t as strong, or capable, or talented, or all the other amazing things you claimed he was. Just an average man trying his best to pull an incredible weight, trying not to be overlooked, to try and be seen.

And you were just a woman, working a thankless 9 to 5 job, trying to keep up with the expectations of those around you. Pulling yourself in so many directions to try and please everyone. Never seeing yourself in the light you should, never realizing all the wonderful things you were.

And yet, without fail, you both would always choose the other.

Like puzzle pieces you fit.

Despite the flaws, the cracks, and the broken pieces you both saw in yourself, the other would see something more. They would see a mosaic, something beautiful and worth wanting to be apart of.

And despite the troubles that popped up, the demons that would tell lies of not being enough, the self doubt of years of not being seen and treated as kindly as one hoped and dreamed for, it all amounted to nothing more than dust that would float away in the wind when you looked at him and he at you.

You both weren’t fixed. Love was something that was strong but fickle if not properly tended, and it could not fix years of trauma and disbelief. But it helped. And the little reminders it gave helped garner a beautiful bud that would someday bloom stunning and bright.

There just needed to be reminders.

And reassurance.

And patience.

You would always tell him, whenever you could, that he was your favourite hero. That his quirk was something to admire, despite the things he and other might say. How all his training made him so strong whenever he would lift something you couldn’t, or open something small like a jar. That whenever he told you he knew some fact you brought up that he was smarter than he gave himself credit for. That all the little things he did, like take you in his arms to gently sway you both whenever he wanted, made you feel so warm and had your heart fill with a soft joy and made you feel wanted; like you had always hoped to be.

And he would always tell you how he loved spending nights curled up with you doing nothing, as he preferred doing that than going out all the time. How soft your body was, how wonderful it was to hold; and how he always felt like a nervous teenager again when he was intimate with you, like it was his first time all over again. He loved that you knew all sorts of little facts, no topic or subject free from your endless knowledge; and how he loved and felt proud calling you ‘his girl’ whenever a trivia game night with friends was won by you, yet again. And most importantly, he loved your gentleness. He loved how you would look at him, and only him, with such love in your eyes it made him feel like the most important man in the world; finally, being seen like he always wanted to be.

Though it wasn’t perfect. There were times where you would hide away from him, cry yourself to sleep some nights when your self doubt got too strong and the demons in your head telling you that you weren’t good enough. And times where he would distance himself from you, to not want to burden your further with his problems, and not wanting to hold you back in any capacity in case someone better than him came along.

But it was enough.

The good days always outnumbered the bad. And when the bad days came it just proved to the other how deeply you cared for the other’s happiness. How much you both truly loved the other, flaws and all.

At the end of the day, you would always choose him, every single time.

And Sero Hanta would always choose you.

[indecisive-behaviors]

Originally I was just going to add this as a reblog to my previous post about the parking lot scene in KK2 but it’s almost 2k words so now it’s getting it’s own post. Be forewarned- this is fucking long.

TW for discussion of PTSD, child abuse, neglect, injury, and death, in relation to topics surrounding the show, under the cut-

Obviously, Cobra Kai is a show based around the premise of “what happened to that Lawrence kid after he got kicked in the face?”, which is honestly a pretty cool idea for a show. Johnny’s story is never explained past sitting on the sidewalk with his head in his hands at the tournament, and there are no real context clue’s to figure out what may or may not have happened.

In the show we get to learn early on that Johnny’s life spiraled after the tournament, going from bad to worse to “holy shit how are you still alive”-dropping out/never going to college, working jobs he seems to hate, becoming an alcoholic, presumably many dead end relationships, and not being there for his kid. And yeah, obviously, this would be a hard pill to swallow for anyone watching the show if Johnny had just lost the tournament. If we never got the scene in KK2, he would have just been some kid who lost a tournament- we see at the end of the first movie that(through tears holy shit Billy) that Johnny is the one who gives the trophy to Daniel with his famous line, “You’re alright, LaRusso.” There’s a level of grudging respect in that moment that isn’t lost on anyone who sees that movie- that Johnny, who throughout the movie only sees Daniel as some whimpy kid, gets proven wrong and respects that. If we didn’t have that scene, there’s reason to believe Johnny would have apologized, tried to make amends, Something, even if it was just being less of a dick at school.

But then, we get the parking lot. We get a far off shot, intended to distance you from the scene, framed over Daniel’s shoulder. This makes sense, Daniel is the main character, the protagonist, the underdog hero- why wouldn’t it be framed in his perspective? But the scene is about Johnny. We get the shouting match, the back and forth- “No, you’re the loser man.”- and again it’s fairly obvious how Johnny sees this situation. This is a man who we assume(and is later confirmed) to be a surrogate father figure, who set his friend up for failure, and then basically forced him to do the same by targeting an injured opponent, and forcing him to fight without honor. This same man presumably follows a teenager out to the parking lot, to harass him, to tell him he’s off the team, to tell him he’s a loser, that he’s nothing.

But at that point, Johnny knows the truth, even if subconsciously. At the end of the day Johnny knows that Daniel LaRusso was a worthy opponent, and that regardless of the cheating and manipulation, Daniel could have won anyway, and did win, despite of it.

And then Kreese grabs him, too fast to react to, Johnny too surprised even knowing that Kreese is the bad guy here, not believing that he would ever willingly hurt him- and Johnny isn’t strong enough to fight him off, none of the boys are, so Johnny is forced to suffocate for almost a full 30 seconds(which I double checked for the record- also as a reference, 30 seconds is about the average time it takes for a person voluntarily holding their breath to pass out- this does not account for the oxygen lost during a struggle, and the lack of preparation from both surprise and panic. The only silver lining here is the fact that Kreese was most likely compressing his windpipe, not his jugular, which would have made him pass out in about 5-10 seconds, and would have caused permanent brain damage or death in about 15).

Now, PTSD is a complex thing. I’m not a psychiatrist, and what small amount of information we have is all we have to work off of, but I feel fairly comfortable in saying Johnny mostly likely developed it after the incident. This not an uncommon take in the fandom as far as I’m aware either. But, if we assume this, we also have to assume that after the fact nothing would have been done about this. Not just in the sense that we still don’t really know everything that happened right after the tournament, but that in the early 80s, PTSD wasn’t really a thing yet.

Sure it was absolutely a condition that existed, but Post Traumatic Stress Disorder wasn’t even added to the DSM-III until 1980- and for a long time afterward, was only seen as a condition that affected primarily war vets. Even after an event as traumatic as having a man you considered a father trying to kill you, in public, without remorse, would not have been seen as something to warrant the diagnoses, let alone treatment.

Johnny Lawrence was 17 when Kreese tried to kill him, and this boy would have been offered no resources beyond filing charges with the police. And as we see in KK3, either this didn’t happen either, or someone(presumably Silver) got the charges dropped. So on top of almost being murdered, Johnny had to live with the fact that the man who did that to him was still out there, and to top it off, still ran a dojo at least for a few months after the event. The only relief he could have gotten is after Kreese faked his death.

And sure, Mr Miyagi may have gotten Kreese to let go eventually, but as several people have pointed out in comments and tags, left him and the other boys alone with Kreese still standing there in the parking lot and just... drove off. Kreese has already been established to be a psycho with no problem hurting children, a little bit of glass might not have prevented him from trying again.

So why did I talk about all of that? Because it all contributes to why Daniel LaRusso works as a credible antagonist in season 1 of Cobra Kai.

Think about this- Johnny blames losing everything on Daniel in season 1, but we specifically get a shot in KK1 and later KK2(”You’re alright, LaRusso” and “I did my best” come to mind) where he seems to be at least mostly accepting of the fact that he lost(with what was actually an illegal kick but that’s a rant for another time). So why does he blame him for everything 30 years later?

Because 30 years later, Johnny is forced to go outside, go to work, and pretend like he doesn’t see what feels like every street corner(including right outside his apartment mind you), a literal billboard sized reminder of what happened to him.

The rest of this is mostly speculation but it makes sense in my head so bear with me.

When we get introduced to Robby, it’s made pretty clear that Johnny has not been in his life for a bit. In season 2 we get Johnny’s heart to heart with Miguel, where he divulges that he missed the birth, because he spiraled after his mom’s death. This however doesn’t suggest that he stayed gone, especially knowing that it wasn’t long enough for Robby to not consider seeking out his dad. Because tacked up to the fridge, is a picture of Robby in his soccer uniform as a kid. It’s an early detail you can see in previous episodes, and says a lot about how Robby grew up. To be fair, this could have been given to him by Shannon, and not taken himself, but it’s the sport Robby’s playing that makes me question this. KK1 dedicates an entire scene to Johnny being on the soccer team in high school. Soccer, while maybe not as important to him as karate, is still part of his character. Robby does not know karate in season 1, Johnny obviously didn’t share it with him, but that doesn’t mean Johnny didn’t share anything with him.

So Johnny’s back in his kids life, maybe doing better for himself, maybe cutting back on the drinking. LaRusso Auto is already established to exist at this point but it’s in Encino, a place Johnny has no reason to go to, and probably doesn’t want to. He’s trying again and things are okay. But Robby knows enough about Daniel to know that going to him will piss off his dad. So Johnny had to have talked about him at some point. The billboards here are what’s important- they’re in the first episode, the first scene montage, Johnny draws a dick on one of them as some petty revenge.

The first billboard goes up in the late 2000s to mid 2010s. Johnny sees it, maybe he has Robby with him at the time, maybe he goes home and says something there, but he says something in a way that sticks with even a child as being important. More billboards go up. Dealerships starting popping up more and more. Daniel’s face, and by extension, the memories, the flashbacks, become inescapable. Johnny, for a third time, spirals again. Before he even knows what’s happening, he’s lost his relationship with his son. And it’s all Daniel’s fault. Of course Daniel doesn’t do it deliberately, but the constant reminders are enough to send him back into a tailspin and Johnny blames him for it.

Because it’s Daniel who is a constant reminder of his failures- it’s Daniel who caused him to lose the tournament and almost get killed, Daniel who put up the billboards that trigger his flashbacks, it’s always Daniel Daniel Daniel.

And then Johnny gets it in his head that he wants to be better. He opens a dojo, teaches Miguel and the other kids, wants to try again- and he almost succeeds.

Johnny up to this point has not deliberately antagonized Daniel in any way. Sure he named the dojo Cobra Kai, but Cobra Kai is all he knows. Besides Johnny doesn’t blame karate for his failures, his best memories are Cobra Kai and he’s trying to be better than Kreese. So what’s the harm in this really? His building is in Reseda, there’s no reason for Daniel to ever be there, he doesn’t do it out of spite, it’s because he lives there and rent is cheap. He doesn’t know about KK3, doesn’t know about Daniel’s own trauma. This isn’t an attack. Johnny sincerely just doesn’t know.

Enter Daniel, stage left. Daniel makes no attempt to talk to him- he simply makes demands and accusations, before he starts making active attempts to put him out of business.

Sure, we as the audience know Daniel has good reasons to not want Cobra Kai back. But Johnny doesn’t. All Johnny knows is that the kid he picked on in high school- who won, who got everything Johnny wanted, who grew up to be successful, has a wonderful wife, two kids who love him, a thriving business- is doing everything he can to make his life hell 30 years after the fact.

And this could only have happened because in 1986 John G. Avildsen decided to add in a scene meant for the original movie into the sequel, for absolutely no fucking reason.

[usafphantom2]

How an "underdog" drone became a popular hero in the Ukrainian "Guerrilla" Air Force

Bayraktar TB2 is quickly becoming a legend, as it surpasses other heavyweights in a war for national survival.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 03/20/22 - 12:17 PM in Military, UAV - UAV, War Zones

One of the many highlights in Ukraine's defense is the Turkish drone Bayraktar TB2.

One of the many highlights in Ukraine's defense is the Turkish drone Bayraktar TB2.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is not going the way Moscow intended, and one reason for this is a small and cheap Turkish combat drone. Ukraine's small fleet of Bayraktar TB2 drones is kicking the bear, destroying surface-to-air missile batteries, fuel convoys and other vital targets for Russia's war effort.

The drone, which first flew in 2014, destroyed 796 targets in five wars in Syria, Ukraine and Ethiopia.

The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium-altitude and long-lasting (MALE) reconnaissance and attack drone. The drone is only 7 meters long with a wingspan of 13 meters, making it smaller than the MQ-9 Reaper drone of the U.S. military. A 105-horsepower turboprop engine drives a propeller that pushes, facing backwards, providing a cruising speed of 70 knots and a maximum speed of only 120 knots. Bayraktar can remain in the air for up to 27 hours and reach a maximum altitude of 18,000 feet. It has a maximum payload capacity of 300 pounds.

The Bayraktar includes a sensor tower with an electro-optical camera, night vision and a laser designator. This allows Bayraktar to stay more than five kilometers above the Earth's surface, day or night, and gives drone operators hundreds of kilometers away the ability to look at the battlefield in real time.

Once operators decide what to attack, they can point the drone's laser designator at a target and release up to four Rocketsan MAM-C micromunitions. The small laser-guided glider pumps are equipped with shielding perforations, high explosive explosion fragmentation and even thermobaric warheads. Although MAM-Cs are small, weighing only 48 pounds each, laser orientation means that Ukrainians can place them exactly where they want, maximizing their effectiveness.

Bayraktar provides a live image of the battlefield and the ability to attack far behind Russian lines.

The Oryx blog, which is tracking the Russian equipment that TB2 destroyed, has visually verified the destruction of at least six air defense systems, two fuel trains, five howitzers and more than 20 other vehicles. Bayraktar is rapidly achieving popular hero status. There's even a song dedicated to this (below).

All this for the reported cost of only $1 million per drone.

Kiev bought 20 TB2s before the war and ordered another 24 shortly before the Russian invasion. In early March, Turkey had transported TB2s to Poland, which were then transferred to Ukrainian service.

The Turkish drone has accumulated almost 800 targets, destroyed on three continents.

The Ukrainian military uses TB2 for various functions, including reconnaissance and surveillance, suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), destruction of enemy air defenses (DEAD) and battlefield interdiction. The Bayraktars destroyed the Russian Buk medium-range surface-to-air missile launchers, paving the way for the surviving Ukrainian air force to carry out an airstrike. Others attacked Russian convoys, destroying much-needed supplies to the front lines. Yet another hit a Russian train carrying diesel, depriving tanks and armored vehicles of the ability to advance deeper in Ukraine. The last function - to interdict trains heading to the front with food, fuel and ammunition - is especially important, because it is known that Russian forces have little fuel and supplies.

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko inspects the Bayraktar TB2 UAV test flight at the military base located in Hmelnitski, Ukraine, on March 20, 2019. (Photo:

Anadolu Agency / Getty Images)

Bayraktar's success against one of the largest air forces in the world is disconcerting. The Russian air force far surpasses the Ukrainian air force and should have defeated it in the early days of the conflict. The Russian Aerospace Force performed poorly in Ukraine, refusing to carry out airstrikes against Ukrainian air bases and combat air patrols designed to sweep Ukrainian forces from the skies. Russian air defense systems, such as Tor and Buk, should have already cleared the skies of the slowly flying Bayraktars. It must be very difficult to operate Bayraktars on Ukraine, but it is not, and the brave little drone is making Russia pay dearly for its mistakes.

TB2 is quickly becoming a legend, as it surpasses its weight in a war for national survival. Bayraktar is not the fastest drone, the most heavily armed or even the most flying. But it's the hero drone that the world is knowing.

Source: Popular Mechanics

Tags: Military AviationBayraktar TB2DronesUCAVWar Zones - Russia/Ukraine

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in a specialized aviation magazine in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation

Cavok Brasil - Digital Tchê Web Creation

[demonicheadcanons]

Hello again! I meant to send this days ago, but what do you headcanon the brothers and undateables favorite Disney movies to be? Just thought it might be cute!

Oh this is adorable!! Sorry for my inactivity here, I’ve been too tired lately to write on top of drawing ;u; but the second I saw this one I decided on Diavolo’s and had to write the rest. I haven’t watched any of these movies in a long time, and some of them I’ve never fully seen, so please excuse any inaccuracies ^^

Also now I can’t stop thinking about an Alice in Wonderland AU ;u;

Lucifer

Anastasia

- Its... pretty much solely because of the music, and because Lord Diavolo likes it so much. He finds the music enchanting enough that the rest of the movie becomes more tolerable than most.

- Also I know it isn’t Disney but I could see him finding Who Framed Roger Rabbit entertaining.

Mammon

Robin Hood

- I don’t actually know how to defend this choice. It’s more of a vibes thing.

- Potentially falsely relates to Robin Hood and the things he does. His values don’t quite align with what others believe in and Mammon relates to that in his own way. He feels like he’s cheering on the underdog, and when others do too it helps him feel supported.

- Soft bb, likes the romance aspect and that Robin Hood ends up with the girl he loves. “Where’s /my/ Maid Marian?”

Leviathan

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

- Loves the aesthetic of it all. When the monstrous leviathan is on screen he gets a bit offended but it makes him feel proud too that humans have noticed him enough to make cool monsters based off of him.

- He also admires Milo - he’s not the typical prince-like character, but he’s admired nonetheless and treated as the hero.

Satan

Beauty and the Beast or Princess and the Frog

- For the former, he likes Belle and her dedication to reading. Also really loves the Beast’s library - if he ever gets a castle of his own that’s the first thing he’d put in it. Might relate a small amount to the beast when he gets angry.

- For the latter, he’s obsessed with the darker themes and Dr Facilier. Thinks some of his “parlour tricks” would actually be entertaining to try on humans and see how they react. Was ready to throw hands at the sad part towards the end that I won’t spoil.

- For both, he’s a little soft for the stories - he likes the simplicity of it all, and the happy endings help him relax and tune out the world for a little bit.

Asmodeus

Cinderella

- Like in the event, he sees himself as being a fairy godmother as sorts. Really adores the dress transformation, and finds himself inspired by it - he already enjoys dressing people up and finding outfits that they look good in and enjoy wearing, and feels like he’s making Cinderella’s out of people.

Beelzebub

Sleeping Beauty or Alice in Wonderland

- He isn’t a big movie person - he prefers the snacks and such that go alongside watching movies. However, he likes Sleeping Beauty because Belphie likes it.

- Thinks Alice in Wonderland is very pretty and likes the feeling of escaping into a different world. He’s a homebody, someone entirely dedicated to his family, but he likes that Alice wants to go off and explore and have her own adventures - he gets to experience, through her, something that he’s unlikely to experience on his own nowadays.

Belphegor

Sleeping Beauty

- I feel like this one is self-explanatory. Girl gets to sleep for a long time, he really wishes that were him. Also soft for the idea of being kissed by his true love to wake him up.

- Chaotic boy also cheers Scar on in Lion King solely to annoy the other brothers. Gets a kick out of the more emotional brother’s reactions (primarily Mammon, being real)

Diavolo

Anastasia

- He doesn’t have much time for movies, but when he does, it becomes one he’s obsessed with after being introduced to it. The simplistic nature, the guaranteed happy ending. Also likes that Anastasia is a royal, and that she got to go off and have her adventures and discover herself.

- Lucifer will tolerate watching it with him because they both like the music so that’s always a bonus - he doesn’t have to sit and watch it alone, like he does with most of his work.

EDIT: I can’t stop thinking about Diavolo having a little music box that plays Once Upon a December and he has it on constantly and December becomes his favourite month ;u;

Barbatos

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

- This is a vibes thing again. I think he’d like Esmerelda and Quasimodo. Finds the darker themes to be interesting, and likes how developed the characters are.

- Also finds it to be entertaining that he enjoys something that is quite inappropriate, considering the religious themes in the film and its commentary on perceived sin, him being a demon and all.

Solomon

The Princess and the Frog

- Like Satan, he likes Dr Facilier. He’s not very invested in movies, but the twist on the original story and the ‘magic’ keep him interested enough to sit through this one when the occasion arises. 

- If he’s in the mood for it, he’s going to try and mimic some of the spells whilst watching to scare the brothers.

Simeon

Simeon likes all of the classic Disney films - Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, The Little Mermaid, etc.

- The style is pretty, the music is enchanting, and there’s always a happy ending. He primarily writes about men himself, because his stories are about the brothers, and so he likes anything with a female lead as it truly feels like a break from his work.

- He also likes seeing what humans find entertaining, and likes the downtime he gets when he watches the movies with Luke or with the MC, or both.

- Soft spot for Mulan - she stands up and fights for her family and her people, whilst also defying them in the process? She reminds him of a certain someone. He’d never admit to this, though.

Luke

101 Dalmations

- He’ll never admit to it but he loves seeing all the dogs. He thinks it’s really cute. Needs Simeon around to watch it though because Cruella de Vil scares him sometimes ^^”

- Okay but imagine he has a nightmare and it’s Lucifer is Cruella de Vil’s coat threatening to take his hair or something to make a cloak out of. :C

[siratrem]

I need to nerd out about Haikyuu right now (Season 1 Episode 1) (manga spoilers)

I have nobody that I can nerd out about Haikyuu with so I’ll do it here.

My first introduction to volleyball was through Haikyuu and watching reactors from coaches and players on YouTube really expanded my understanding of this manga/anime. Now that I’ve finished the manga and watched all available episodes (more than once) I want to see why I find this shounen sports anime so bloody compelling.

A good beginning sets up the middle and end. The opening scene of Haikyuu is the famous “a tall, tall wall looms before me…”. Before the rewatch, I had it in my head that the scene after the opening (Hinata seeing the Little Giant on TV) was the first scene. So, no, Furudate-sensei actually started this chapter at the end – Hinata is already in the Karasuno gym, he’s already scared of the block, and he’s lining up with the shoes of five of his teammates. This is a common framing technique – sets up the question of “how did we get here?”.

On my first watch of Haikyuu, I didn’t know anything about volleyball. I have, however, watched a fair amount of anime, including shounen. I think my inexperience actually helped me understand why Hinata was so awestruck by the Little Giant when he saw him on TV.

I knew the premise of the anime – tiny Shoyo wants to play a sport made for tall people – but rewatching it actually confused me. This scene is set 3-4 years before even making it to Karasuno, so Shoyo is, what, 11? He doesn’t know how tall he’s going to be, so why was he fixated on this “small” player going up against the bigger blockers? I mean, he could still be small for his age and be self-conscious about it, I guess, but not like he would be at 15. Then I thought – maybe it’s because the Little Giant jumped so high?

Shoyo is small, yes, but he can jump high. This is a defining aspect of his character. This was also the moment Shoyo became interested in volleyball, from what I can tell. So, if he’s as inexperienced as me, he wouldn’t be able to see the technique that the Little Giant used to defeat the big blockers. In his little kid head, maybe he assumed that the Little Giant beat the blockers because he jumped so high. So, perhaps little Shoyo thought: hey, I can jump high → I’ll be good at volleyball.

Themes

What are the overarching themes of Haikyuu shown in this episode?

Friendship. This is a Shounen anime, after all. Hinata makes friends wherever he goes, but it’s not until the match in this episode (and later Karasuno) that he finds a place that he belongs. Hinata has a wide variety of friends and is lovable enough to both get Izumi and Koji to join his team and make them emotional about the game.

Kageyama takes a liking to him from this match (although whether Mr Grumpy himself even recognises this is up to interpretation). From the moment they snap at each other in the hallway outside the gym bathroom to that beautiful jump that scores the first genuine point for Hinata’s team, Kageyama is intrigued by the bouncing ball of sunshine. After the match is finished, Kageyama snaps at Hinata “what were you doing for the last three years?”. He’s the first person to see Hinata’s potential, although Hinata takes it as an insult. It’s okay – they just don’t know each other yet.

Rivalry. Kageyama vs Hinata. Later (ep 6 minor spoilers??): Karasuno (Hinata and Kageyama) versus Aoba Johsai (Kunimi and Kindaichi). Shoyo sees Kageyama as the biggest barrier to his dream of playing volleyball. He wants to defeat him with all his being: if he can defeat the strong player, then he will be the strong player.

Victory and defeat. Duh. It’s a sports anime. One team plays another in a game where only one can win. Hinata is sure he is capable – he’s over-confident and inexperienced. He doesn’t know what good volleyball looks like, let alone how to implement it. But he’s also a show-off – a facet of his personality I didn’t really grasp until season 4. He wants the recognition the Little Giant got. He wants a stadium of people to go “wow, did you see him jump? Did you see how he beat the three-man block? Oh my god, he’s so amazing”. I’m sure the cool nickname – the Little Giant – caught his attention as well. So if he tries hard and jumps high enough, he’ll win, right?

Yeah. Poor baby learns a very harsh lesson. This defeat is crushing. He jumped high, like the Little Giant, but he couldn’t defeat the block. Those looming hands haunt him – “a tall, tall wall looms before me…”. This is a barrier he can’t overcome and he doesn’t know *why...*You can see it on his face after the block – ‘huh? I copied the Little Giant’. This sets up the goal of the first season: Hinata needs to learn how to see what’s at the top, the other side of that tall wall. He needs to hit rock-bottom before he can start climbing up.

Kageyama’s team won because it was a better team. Kitagawa Daichi is a powerhouse on the Miyagi junior high volleyball scene. I don’t know if it’s a private school, but it’s a feeder school for Aoba Johsai, which is a private school. Both seem to have a specialism in volleyball training. Maybe if Hinata went to Kitagawa Daichi, [Manga spoilers] if he’d been introduced to volleyball as early as Kageyama was, maybe he’d already be a monster. Or maybe his natural instincts would have been trained out of him. It’s important to the story that Hinata starts off as an untrained underdog, deprived of good volleyball and hungry for victory.

Team versus the individual. Kitagawa Daichi was the favourite to win the whole tournament. It’s a powerhouse team with more players than can fit on the bench. They’re tall, they’re scary, they’re elite. The team members often go on to Aoba Johsai, a high school powerhouse. Hinata’s school didn’t even have a team until he came along. They’re small (exactly 6 players, no reserves, no libero). His teammates don’t even know the rules for the game. Hinata had to fight tooth and nail to get on the court. However, he’s encouraging to his team members and dedicated. He’s glowing at just being there. He wants to win, of course, but most of all he wants to play volleyball.

Volleyball is a team sport. “The team that wins is the one with the strongest six players”. However, at times, it seems like both Hinata and Kageyama are the only ones really playing on their teams. Kageyama is giving it his all, yelling at his team for not keeping up with him and slacking off. Hinata is the only one on his team who wants to be there, the only one who wants to play. He’s hitting the most spikes, jumping the highest, playing the best (not that that’s saying much). This match, in a large way, is Kageyama versus Hinata.

Talent. Kageyama is a genius setter. (Manga spoilers:) He was raised in a family of volleyball players (one of which is an alumnus of Shiratorizawa for christ’s sake). He’s enamoured with the sport – obsessed with it. He lives and breathes volleyball. (Manga spoilers:) he keeps a volleyball journal where he records and analyses every play, practice and game he’s ever made. He’s tall and strong and athletic. He goes to a school with a good volleyball training programme. He’s built for this game.

Hinata is (superhumanly) athletic. He can run fast and jump high. But he’s short and untrained. His talent is raw and unrefined. But it’s still enough to catch Kageyama’s attention.

Characters

Furudate-sensei is a fan of the Meaningful Name™ convention. This is actually fairly common in Japanese culture anyway: traditionally baby names are carefully chosen to reflect the parents’ aspirations for the children. (I also don't speak Japanese so I'm going off other people's translations for the kanji).

HINATA SHOYO (日向 翔陽) - “sun place” “soaring sunlight”. He’s a bouncing ball of sunshine who makes friends wherever he goes and jumps really high. He’s a shounen protagonist to his core: boundless enthusiasm, determination, friendship, the underdog. He’s also a magnetic hero.

This episode needs to cement the key aspects of Shoyo’s personality. He’s outgoing and “magnetic” – he makes friends with people from all walks of life. He is an underdog. Everyone loves an underdog, right? Effort and passion should be rewarded. The good guys should win. This episode really sets up how hard little Shoyo had to fight to be on the court and how he’s willing to fight to stay on it. The flashback occurring the moment he walks into the gym for his first tournament demonstrates this nicely: his junior high school didn’t have a team or a real club, none of his friends was interested in volleyball (although they were athletes of various persuasions) and he spent most of his time practising by himself against the wall or begging his friends to set the ball for him.

It’s okay, though: he has the magnetism of a true Shounen protagonist and not only manages to talk his friends into occasionally throwing the ball to him but also drags them to a tournament of a sport they’ve never played and don’t really understand. He’s also managed to talk some first-years into joining the team. Shoyo is very magnetic and I wonder how much he’s aware of it at this point. He’s not exactly reflective or a deep thinker.

He’s enthusiastic and determined. He will play volleyball to his full capabilities until the match point. When his teammate worries about getting hurt after watching him run into a wall, his response is “I don’t understand [why you want to slow down]. We haven’t lost yet”. It ain’t over until it’s over.

KAGEYAMA TOBIO (影山 飛雄) - “Shadow Mountain” “Flying Hero”. What are his main traits? He’s volleyball mad, he’s ambitious and competitive, he’s tall, he’s athletic and strong, and he’s grumpy. Also intimidating – to his opponents and his teammates. The second-years on his team are scared of him. He hates to hear them trash-talking other players as they are only benchwarmers. He’s a setter – a control freak who takes every match he plays seriously, no matter the opponent. He will win at his best, dammit, and without holding back. He especially seems annoyed that the benchwarmers on his team place themselves above Hinata, even though they’re not even good enough to be regulars. “Don’t ride the coat-tails”, he tells them.

He wants to beat the block and the faster the attack, the better the hit, he believes. If people can’t keep up with him, that’s their fault. His sets are perfect. They need to keep up with him. If only they were as fast as Hinata, and capable of hitting difficult sets like when Izumi fumbles the ball and Shoyo leaps to save it and hits it anyway. They score their first genuine point off that, and Kageyama is impressed.

Kageyama and Shoyo are opposites, but they’re also mirrors of each other. Both are reckless: Kageyama throws reckless sets and Shoyo will leap for the ball even if he has to crash into walls and what-have-you. Both want to win. Both have their talents. Both love volleyball.

Something I found interesting is how the characters are in “sets”. Shoyo and Kageyama, obviously – their relationship is one of the major focuses of the whole series. The secondary characters too: Kunimi and Kindaichi to Kageyama and Izumi and Koji to Shoyo. They share the same jersey numbers: Kindaichi and Izumi are #5 and Kunimi and Koji are #6. These “sets” of minor characters only exist in the narrative in relation to each other. If Kindaichi appears, Kunimi is never far behind.

Izumi and Koji are third-years at this point, so why are their numbers lower than the first years? I realised (at the end of the episode) that Shoyo actually talked the first years into joining the volleyball club, not just the tournament team. Shoyo inspired a new generation of volleyball players – something he continues to do throughout the series.

Kindaichi and Kunimi are often showed in the background of Kageyama’s shots. Kunimi is the first person to serve in the game – he gets a few service aces. Kindaichi is the ace(?) of the team, often shown spiking Kageyama’s sets. This is an example of the subtle manipulation of the audience: hinting that these faces will reappear. It’s the same kind of story-telling that makes the reactors I’ve watched feel so smart when they predict something. The author wants you to notice them. The author is practically hanging a sign over them saying “remember these two!”.

When Kindaichi almost misses a reckless toss from Kageyama and expresses surprise that they managed to score from it, Kageyama responds “Faster!”, which makes Kindaichi irritated. Kunimi complain about his sets with him – Kunimi makes a comment about not having to work so hard as they’re outclassing Hinata’s team by miles – but Kageyama is taking the game seriously.

Kunimi and Kageyama squabble over Kunimi’s “laziness” – he doesn’t run for balls when they’re far enough in points, he doesn’t see why they have to try hard against such a weak and untrained team.

Kindaichi and Kageyama argue over Kageyama’s sets. Kageyama is the self-centred King of the Court after all. I think Kindaichi is actually a friendly sweetheart – and he seems to interact with Kageyama the most and deals with most of his sets. These missed friendships are missed opportunities for the three of them. (Manga spoilers): Kageyama shows he wants to be friends and play with them as adults.

Then, there are the Karasuno players. No faces, just those awesome black club jackets. I love those things. I now know that they are Suga, Daichi and Tanaka, but Furudate-sensei is good at building tension and anticipation by hiding their faces.

They appear in the stands at the junior high tournament, talking about Hinata and Kageyama’s match. Suga comments on Kageyama being “the King of the Court”. Ep 2 spoiler: Suga is a setter. Of course he’s going to appreciate Kageyama. Daichi also appreciates the overwhelming talent. It’s Tanaka who bets on Hinata becoming a threat. Tanaka seems to like Hinata’s spirit and athleticism. Ep 2 spoilers: He’s also the main hitter for the team at this point, so as the setter recognises the setter, the hitter acknowledges the hitter.

We later see them upon Shoyo’s arrival at Karasuno amongst the other clubs gathering applicants. Shimizu is also there. Daichi comments on the limited selection of applicants – this sets up the fact that Karasuno has been in decline: the “flightless crows” and such. There’s character establishing moments: Suga trying to cheer up Daichi and Tanaka flirting (and getting shut down) by Shimizu.

The Little Giant. Shoyo’s inspiration and hero, who shapes the entire course of his life. The 170 cm wing spiker makes him fall in love with volleyball and determined to enter Karasuno High School. Interesting how Shoyo never mentions his name. Maybe he doesn’t know it? He doesn’t really seem to understand the Little Giant at all. (Manga spoilers): I think this is why, by the time we meet Tenma Udai, he isn’t upset about his hero leaving volleyball behind. Now that he understands volleyball, he knows that he could never be the Little Giant anyway. Their play styles are different. Their positions are different. Shoyo can now be himself, forge his own playstyle – Ninja Shoyo, the ultimate decoy.

One thing I like about the characters is how their personalities/character development reflect their play styles, which becomes more apparent later on.

Motifs

“A tall, tall wall looms before me…”. This is the opening (and closing) of the season. It’s Shoyo’s greatest barrier – a literal wall holding him back from scoring. He can’t overcome it on his own, so, as shown in the opening scene, he needs the five other players on his side to get through it.

Crows (obvs). I find it funny to watch non-weeb reactors who don’t know what “Karasu” means. There are crows everywhere in this anime*.* The first time Shoyo sees the Little Giant jump, he sees black crow wings over the arms and gets blasted by crow feathers. Inspiration – seeing a human fly. Shoyo is now hooked on volleyball. When Shoyo’s running to the volleyball gym on Karasuno campus, he startles a crow who drops a feather in his face.

King of the Court. Before Shoyo even hears Kageyama’s nickname, he sees him wearing a cape and crown. The crowd (which Furudate-sensei often uses for exposition) also give him that name, and then Suga repeats it. When Kageyama appears in the hallway outside the bathroom, Shoyo sees him wearing the same outfit. Of course, Shoyo thinks this is a great thing – a reflection of his talent and powerful aura. Kageyama sets too fast for Kindaichi during the warm-ups and criticises him. Kindaichi rolls his eyes and half-heartedly apologies. The coach scolds him and tells him that the best set is the easiest for the hitter to spike.

Face receives. 2. 1 with a football (soccer) to Shoyo’s face, the other when Koji misses a receive.

“I can jump”. Shoyo says it to Kageyama while he’s being chastised for talking big. Izumi says it to Shoyo when they’re trying to sike themselves up for their match.

The pre-game bathroom break. Shoyo gets nervous after seeing Kitagawa Daichi and runs to the bathroom, only to run into players from the opposing team. This is a running gag throughout the series.

I don’t know if this counts, but I saw Shiratorizawa jackets in the crowd at the junior high tournament.

Many Youtube reactors commented on how Shoyo runs everywhere. He runs through the Karasuno campus on the way to the gym. The bouncing ball of sunshine has one gear: zoom. Similarly, Kageyama sets fast while Shoyo can cross the volleyball court in the blink of an eye. Their play styles complete each other.

Jersey numbers. Shoyo is 1, Kageyama is 2. When they get their jerseys (spoiler maybe?), Kageyama is 9 and Shoyo is 10. This is the only time Shoyo’s jersey number is higher than Kageyama. (Manga spoilers): in the V-league, Kageyama is 20, Shoyo is 21, then 9 and 10 again in the Olympics. As mentioned above, Kindaichi and Izumi are #5 and Kunimi and Koji are #6.

“One more” - mou ikkai. Hinata will forever ask for one more chance to play volleyball. He asks Izumi to set for him despite his complaints.

“The strong get to remain on the court”. Shoyo has to be good at volleyball to play volleyball. He wasn’t good enough to beat Kageyama, so he only got to play 31 minutes before having to leave, while everyone else got to play more games. Kageyama is used to winning at this point and only values people who can stay on the court.

Plot

Kageyama versus Hinata. This is arguably the main plot point of the series. Hinata wants to win and Kageyama defeats him. Hinata sees him as a good player, so if he also wants to be a good player, he needs to be able to outplay him. Kageyama envies his natural jumping height and speed. They argue and fight and challenge and inspire each other – destined rivals. Such a shounen trope.

Hinata is an underdog who had to fight to stay on the court. He didn’t have a coach, he didn’t have a team. Kind of an aside, but somehow he has good jumping form (according to Coach Donny) which seems to confuse volleyball players who react to Haikyuu. They wonder why he doesn’t know how to change his spike direction and forget that he’s new to the sport. As someone who doesn’t know anything about volleyball form, I found this interesting.

Hinata is willing to put the work in to develop his skills. At the beginning of the episode, he is horrified when a teacher suggests he joins the girl’s volleyball team but asks them for help (along with the 1st years who seem to be permanent members now) at the end of the episode during the montage. He also studies for the High School entrance exams and makes it into Karasuno – his determination has paid off and he wants to go to his dream school even if he has to bike over the mountains every day.

Kitagawa Daichi is in the newspaper/magazines stating their defeat. This is foreshadowing the downfall of Kageyama and the King of the Court and sort of the big plot twist at the end of the episode:

“I’m finally at Karasuno!” Shoyo thinks, running to his first meet at the gymnasium. Then...Boom – Kageyama. His sworn rival is now his teammate.

I'm sure I missed a whole lot of stuff but this was what caught my attention.

[nissakii]

How to find Motivation in Sports Anime

The human body is a very complex structure, every organ in your body, every ligament and every nerve works to keep us healthy. And like a machine that needs to be oiled and tended to have it last for a long while, our bodies need nutrition in many ways to live a healthy and fulfilling life.

Today, we are going to talk about exercise and how we can gather the motivation to get up and work on our physical health from nothing other than sports anime.

You heard me right!

While watching anime is ironically an activity you will most likely perform while sitting or laying down, let us look together why physical activity is important, how that relates to anime and what to do after striking the match of motivation!

We hear it from everyone around us, especially people who are active themselves and even doctors.

Exercise is good for you! It’s good for your body and mind!

But why is that so?

Well firstly, like the example with the machine suggests, our body responds extremely well to exercise if it is done correctly. In this instance it is always better to start slow and look at what is best for yourself which might differ considering your age, gender or other attributes.

Rigorous and controlled movement of your body makes you sweat, which might be unpleasant at the beginning if you don’t like much exercise, but we can’t really see what’s happening on the inside. As you move more and more, your blood circulates a lot quicker through your body to deploy oxygen into your organs. If you're actually interested in an anime more on that note, here's the link to Makii's Hataraku Saibou post!

With your oxygen levels raised, you’re straying further from the possibilities of heart diseases and even heart attacks. It also helps to lower your blood sugar and insulin levels which is very beneficial for prevention of diabetes or for people who used to smoke, as it prevents withdrawal symptoms more efficiently.

It’s not just the physical aspects of your body that are being mended, but exercise is also an extremely good measure to enhance your mood and mental health. Not to say that sports will solve all of your problems in an instant, but look at it this way; while exercising your body releases chemicals such as dopamine and endorphins in your brain that not only elevate your mood but are also essential for your general well-being. You even exterminate substances that make you feel worse, which is why oten after a workout you tend to feel exhausted but a good kind of exhausted.

Another great factor to include is sleep schedule!

Often enough we are torn between wake and sleep, as we can’t really get our mind to shut off after a long day. After some tough exercise your body will automatically deplete its own energy resources, as it's naturally easier to fall asleep when you’re tired. The longer you have built up your routine of including exercise in your life, the better your sleep schedule will adjust!

If actual units of exercise aren't your style, don't worry! There's a variety of things you can try, even stretching can help a lot in regulating your physical health and is a great way to wind down as you focus on each of your muscles.

Now after all of these facts about exercise which will probably sound a bit dull, how do we incorporate anime into this?

Do you know that feeling when you watch a new anime and you just want to dive into that world to see it for yourself?

Anime often incorporates a great deal of hype element, keeping us on our toes while watching so we stick with the extremes that are being displayed no matter the genre.

It’s the same with sports anime, right?

Just as much as the shounen protagonist in a fantasy world wants to defeat the villain and save humankind, the drive behind that one athlete to defeat everyone and win his favorite tournament is just as strong! In this case, we can even relate more to the anime character in a sports anime as his world is definitely closer to our real world as well.

Especially since we’re often shown the narrative of the underdog who fights tooth and nail to become the strongest, we can look at ourselves and think “If they can do it, I can too!”.

Of course the reason for the underdog becoming so strong is the intense workload they put on themselves to see quick and amazing results.

Another great thing sports bring are the teams.

In anime those teams can become more than just friends but more than a family, and to see so many different people work together is also a huge motivator.

Our brain immediately sees what can happen after a portion of hard work and that is precisely why we are suddenly so motivated after watching an episode of our current favorite sports anime. We envision ourselves what it could be like to be part of a team, dream or goal that we would do anything for.

Constant challenges and emotional outburst are not only part of the show that is animation, but also exist in real life! People dedicate everything they have into their sport just as much as an anime character might! Or they won't! Sometimes it's all just for the sheer fun of it all, and if the stiff rulings of a team feel more confining to you, be sure that there's those happy go lucky teams everywhere in real-life as well as in anime!

The sheer rivalry between characters that have only their sport in mind is immensely empowering, and therefore a good reason to start your own journey into a new sport whichever kind you might prefer.

Now if you can’t or don’t want to grab onto your next volley- or baseball or catch the next bus to your track field or gym, there’s other ways to blend a bit of healthy exercise into your life!

Hobby teams of most sports are able to be found almost everywhere, but if you have a busy schedule and simply joining a club is too much right now, try to trick yourself into sneaking some exercise into your daily life! You might for example take the stairs instead of taking the elevator all the time, or try to do short span runs or even jumps while doing some other activity! How about leaving essential stuff like food or your water bottle scattered around your place so you'll be forced to walk around to get it?

Try to see it as your personal ‘I have to become the best hero/player/fighter montage’ if the exercises seem dull! Imagine how some of your favorite heroes in anime have done the same so far!

An easy way to motivate yourself is to get friends and family involved! I myself have a hard time getting myself to exercise regularly on my own, but as soon as another person steps in the obligation kicks in and so could your motivation!

Another way that’s a bit less social but just as effective could be to exercise while watching a show you would watch anyway. Or rewatch something old you’ve had in your mind anyways, you could even try an audio book or something else in the background to get you through your reps!

And one more thing to conclude: it is never too late.

Don’t let yourself be discouraged by people telling you that you can’t do something. Whatever the reason might be, anyone can do anything if they just set their mind to it properly and stick to their goal with discipline.

I’m the last person who would call herself the epitome of discipline, quite the contrary, but there have been people in my life who have always taught me not to give up and stay positive, so I shall give you the same wisdom!

Now let’s go out there and take matters into our own hands! Until the next teatime!

This tea is so good! Wanna share?

-Nissa

[elkian]

I was gonna do a “missing the point”-style meme but I’m honestly not sure that would even work tho so:

Harry Potter and My Hero Academia/Boku no Hero Academia have similar issues with introducing and then immediately ignoring ENORMOUS issues re: ableism.

I think these two series in specific come to mind bc it’s ableism within a specific empowered community, and in both cases the series are pretty well-known and the community (Wix/Heroes) are immediately identifiable to many audiences.

[WARNING: Discussions of ableism, child harm, and abuse on multiple levels.]

What’s the problem?

SQUIBS.

[This post got stupid huge SO here is a tl,dr for all you lovely people who understandably have no time for this.

TL, DR: Both Harry Potter and Boku No Hero have a bad tendency to implement or imply a level of disability regarding unempowered people in empowered societies. They then continue on to completely disregard important conclusions to these implications, such as how heavily it is implied that these unempowered people (Squibs) are so ‘worthless’ to those societies that their very deaths are merely a byline rather than an actual tragedy.

This is especially troubling in MHA/BNHA when so many other political and worldbuilding considerations HAVE been planned out, and seems to be less-discussed in the fandom as a whole, so that’s a much larger chunk of this post.]

That’s your tl, dr!

Here’s the Harry Potter angle:

HP has a bit that I’ve seen people discussing already: Neville’s magic was discovered when his uncle dropped a literal child a potenial lethal distance. 

Neville activating his power and surviving is celebrated, and then JKR immediately glosses over the glaring issue this has introduced: the heavy implication that a Squib dying from this incident would have not have been mourned or even really commented on.

The few adult Squibs (and isn’t that a whole new slice of wonderful /j) are generally disliked and ridiculed for some reason or other. Now, while obviously there are plenty of places where the Venn diagram of “disabled” and “asshole” intersect irl, when your ONLY presentation of a disabled character or group is, every time, an asshole or a fool or both, boy! That’s bad!

Neville (who is generally presented as magically, physically, and mentally weak and often treated as comic relief) is a bit better via the POV Character constantly having positive interactions with him, but this is still a mess. Yes, Neville canonically is not a Squib, but it’s not subtle that he’s on the cusp OF being a Squib, and that is a key element of ridiculing him in many situations (also the whole trauma thing multiple times, like if I really get into it I could do a whole double-size post of how Neville was done dirty or nearly dirty by JK all the time but this isn’t that post).

This isn’t even the point of this post. Let’s move to MHA/BNHA

Hero Academia has differing but honestly even worse issues. And I’m aware that different countries handle ableism and accessibility in different ways, but if you think too hard about it this is an absolute clusterfuck.

What is the problem now?

Squibs! Or rather, the main character of the series, Midoriya Izuku.

Deku (a nickname meaning “useless”! Imparted after his disability is recognized! hilarity!!) is also born without powers. Even worse in some ways, he is born without powers in a world where the overwhelming majority of the global population has some kind of empowerment. I can’t recall if it’s outright stated or only implied that someone with a functionally useless (and hoo boy, usefullness to society is its own post nope not today i do not have that much energy) Quirk is still more of a person than a Quirkless human.

That sink in? Okay, let’s move on.

In a narratively not-uncommon turn of events, Deku gains power. This is partially a product of, and directly tied to, his own work and determination, as well as his willingness to help even when physically outmatched.

To an American audience (NOT the intended audience though I wouldn’t doubt it if Horikoshi meant to have international appeal more or less from the start), this is a deeply satisfying narrative. Who doesn’t love an underdog story? And we even learn that the strongest hero of all time (til this point, anyways) was ALSO born Quirkless!

However, from here, things take a nosedive.

The key problem is a combination of story progression and overall thought put into worldbuilding. Horikoshi’s efforts may not be the MOST thorough, but he has put a great deal of work and thought into his creation (he at least understands the concept of implications and sometimes plans accordingly, looking at you JKR). However, that tied with story progression and personal repercussions actually works to the detriment of the matter.

Especially given recent turns of events.

 [BIG MEGA SPOILERS FOR FAIRLY RECENT PLOT

 STOP HERE IF YOU’RE NOT CAUGHT UP

 SERIOUSLY]

 What I mean by this is the current state of events re: two particular recent/recent-ish plot arcs.

First, Quirk Removal, and second, Endeavor’s comeuppance.

Quirk Removal/Loss was the start of my realization to what the narrative was doing regarding Izuku’s Quirklessness and the state of being overall.

This arc was a perfect time to bring up Midoriya’s past! A lot of Western works certainly would have done so! And yes, it may be bordering on done-to-death, but many elements of Hero Academia put new twists on common themes and cliches; it wasn’t unreasonable to hope that he might do it again.

Instead, little to NOTHING is discussed during this time! In fact, iirc I’d go so far as to say Midoriya straight-up never considers his past at any point during this arc!? If I’m wrong then it obviously made little impact.

NOW, not every disabled character needs to incorporate their disability and/or skills gleaned from living with it in every narrative. In fact, it would get tedious and questionable if they did (note: this does NOT mean ignoring/forgetting the character is even disabled when convenient. Like, I’d like to think that’s the obvious point of this post but... *gestures at tumblr*). 

But the complete lack of it here feels really weird. Like, almost hollow. I think Midoriya makes some kind of suggestion to Mirio of his former Quirklessness at the end of the arc, but nothing that made any kind of impact.

Let’s move on.

Endeavor.

Now, the problem with Endeavor’s arc is not the arc itself. Or, rather, it’s the fact that Endeavor’s Comeuppance is pretty good.

This is a problem because someone else should be getting this exact same arc, yet the issue is never even RECOGNIZED, let alone addressed.

Endeavor’s abuse of his wife and children, all in the name of creating a Heroic legacy, is publicized and tanks his popularity. The general public is now aware of what he’s done to the people closest to him, which aside from giving him a more correct reputation, means they can’t trust him to protect them if they can’t trust him to protect his own family.

This isn’t the goal of this post and I’m no expert regardless, but up to this point (around chapter 290) this was handled in an interesting way. Endeavor is humanized and often shown interacting with people in a way that, while often domineering, isn’t always aggressive or abusive. He runs a Hero Agency for crying out loud! But abuse in the real world often isn’t constant, nor happening to everyone in contact with the abuser. So this is a surprisingly good lead up to the reveal, where you can understand how most people never realized this was an issue.

But here’s my main point. Let’s examine some traits and actions that come up:

physically abusive to a child (often dangerously so) to the point of permanent trauma and severe scarring in some cases

target of abuse was weaker (physically and/or regarding Quirk power)

often abused victim emotionally/psychologically, bringing this weakness up again and again

own immense power led to rising in the world of Heroics

comrades, fellow Heroes, UA teachers etc. not aware of prior abuse issues

Who does this sound like?

Endeavor, who has a whole fucking arc dedicated to this reveal and repercussions?

Or Bakugou?

Reminder: This isn’t a hate post. This isn’t a character post, or even an abuse post. This is about ableism.

Bakugou exhibits many, many traits and actions that Endeavor was literally just punished for. So why does the treatment of these characters in-universe differ so drastically?

Two primary reasons I can think of, which feed into each other:

1) Bakugou was a child (still technically is a minor, remember! Still a first-year high schooler!) when this started. This doesn’t mean he’s strictly innocent, but it’s an important point, because it leads us to

2) Bakugou Katsuki’s abuse of Midoriya Izuku is socially accepted.

Reminder of the audience’s first encounter with Katsuki. The very first page with him is him and his grade-school posse picking on a kid that Izuku is trying to protect. His posse is showing off their Quirk powers and mocking Izuku’s lack thereof.

Then we flash forward to late-middle school versions of the kids. Bakugou, in front of a fucking teacher and entire class, is verbally, physically, etc. abusive to Izuku. He trashes his stuff, threatens him, tells him to kill himself (which, as Izuku notes later, is a fucking felony in Japan too).

No one stops him.

No one criticizes him.

We don’t even get a shot of like, some more ‘regular’ students being like “man Bakugou’s kinda fucked up but we’re too scared to do anything about it” NO. NO. Everyone more or less either backs Katsuki up or straight up doesn’t care.

Remember that this started when Katsuki and Izuku were four. Remember that Katsuki’s power is absurdly dangerous, ie. LITERAL. GODDAMN. EXPLOSIONS.

Izuku has scars. He probably has hearing loss! He may have gotten at least one concussion which can cause serious neurological issues and open him up to further risk!

He could have died.

And?

NO ONE. DOES. ANYTHING.

THIS is the point of the post. THIS is the value placed on Quirkless people in this society.

And yet. Despite Endeavor’s comeuppance. Despite All Might and Izuku’s blatant ‘value’ to society through Heroics. Despite so many other political implications and quandaries address in the Hero Academia series.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing about this is addressed. The nearly-lethal ableism towards Quirkless people in this society is never ONCE brought up properly once Izuku receives One For All.

There is so much potential here! There is so much worth talking about! And yet we’ve moved into what feels very much like the Final Battle without it being addessed, despite numerous, numerous opportunities for a meaningful conversation about it along the way.

Mirio losing his power! Hell, Mirio’s powers’ drawbacks (and pretty much every Quirk’s drawback! if acknowledged properly!) border on a disability-analogue, and even more when Yuga’s laser comes up, and yet again and again we fail to truly engage with the matter in a meaningful way.

At this point, even if it comes up in the finale, I’m going to be disappointed in this particular aspect of the series due to the complete and total shut-down it’s been given so far.

What the FUCK, Horikoshi?

[danzinora-switch]

Typing the Turtles (ROTTMNT) Part 1 - Raphael

This started out as an investigation into the turtles’ insecurities, because one thing the show does so well is demonstrate that they are still teenagers. And being a teenager is a confusing experience - there’s angst, drama, exploring one’s identity, a lot of growth, and overall figuring out who you are. That’s a messy process, too! And we see this mess in our turtles: they mess up, they’re learning, they self-doubt, they have fears and insecurities, but they’re also discovering their strengths and how to overcome their inner obstacles.

So after thinking about all this way too long, here’s my psychological breakdown of each turtle (I’ll be referencing MBTI and the Enneagram, but will include links for more general information on those if you don’t know what I’m talking about).

Raph: ISFJ, 6w5

The Defender, The Loyalist, The Big Brother, did I mention The Defender?

Raph is always helping out the little guy, whether that little guy is Mikey, Donnie, Leo, April or someone else. In the first episode, Mystic Mayhem, Raph is the one who notices poor Mayhem alone and scared, and suggests they should help him. He just met the little furball, and even after Mayhem attacks his face he’s still ready to fight some dog-jogger Yokai to protect him. He’s there when April’s school is attacked by Hypno (Hypno! Part Deux) and when she just needs her fan fixed (Repairin’ the Baron). He’s also there for a myriad of underdogs, such as Guy Flambe (Pizza Puffs). Interestingly enough, that episode also indicates that Raph has taken to moonlighting as the hero Red Angel of Preventing Harm.

Raph at his Worst: What is Raph afraid of? Beyond Mrs. Cuddles. Raph is afraid of being alone. But he also feels strongly empathetic when others are alone: Mikey on a solo mission in Hot Soup: The Game, Mayhem in the pilot, Frankenfoot when he runs away.  But why? 

If we look through the lens of the Enneagram, Raph wants security and support. The system/structure he is most committed to is their inner circle of family/friends. So nothing must happen to those he loves!

Raph has also demonstrated Worst-Case Scenario thinking when he’s stressed. Alone for 5 minutes in Man vs Sewer? Expect the worst. In Nothing but Truffles, Mikey even flashes back to a Raph lecture about what to do in the event of a: shark attack, vampire attack, werewolf attack, and puppy attack.

That said, when someone does hurt someone he loves, or sufficiently threatens/scares him and/or his support system, all his disaster-planning goes out the window in an effort to SMASH IT LIKE A BOSS! (Counterphobic 6).

He puts a lot of pressure on himself, but it’s not really about failing in big moments (as Leo describes it in Mystic Mayhem and Down with the Sickness, but that says more about Leo than Raph), but more about letting the others down. He needs to open the gateway to the Mystic City or else they’ll lose April forever. He needs to think of something to ask for in the Must Say Yes stage that will please all his brothers and not leave anyone out. And, in Insane in the Mama Train, Raph is the one most affected when Splinter says he’s disappointed. The others were willing to brush it off and apologize, but Raph is aware that they let Splinter down. It’s something worse, and he feels that hurt, deeply.

Raph is also sensitive enough that he sometimes takes things too personally. When Mikey and Donnie have a good idea in One Man’s Junk, he internalizes it as ‘Raph never has a good idea’. Mikey sorts that out the best: “We’re not saying you don’t have good ideas, Raph. We’re just saying we do, too.” It seems to snap him out of self-deprecating funk.

Average Raph: Raph wants to protect those he loves from physical threats, but also emotional ones. That’s why he’s so bad at handling interpersonal conflict. He can’t yell at Donnie in Donnie’s Gifts. He can’t yell at (Mike? Lou? Tony?) in the Pizza Pit because “it’ll destroy him”. He’s super conflict-averse when it comes to those he cares about. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings (ISFJ). Mostly this is a kind, caring, compassionate trait, but sometimes the situation needs Dr. Delicate Touch.

He’s the supportive friend and brother. He’s always ready to help out, whether it’s fixing April’s fan (Repairin’ the Baron), rescuing Guy Flambe from Meatsweats (Pizza Puffs) or saving Mayhem from the mirror. He’s encouraging… but sometimes to the point of enabling. In Pizza Puffs he recognizes this the most and literally wrestles with himself over trying to let his brothers fix problems on their own without him there to protect them. Sometimes he can’t help but support his friends even when he doesn’t want to: when he’s volun-told by Mikey to help warm Draxum up to humans, he doesn’t ditch, and when April invokes the Birthday Card to help Warren Stone he honors it. He can be dedicated and loyal to a fault.

He can be a little short-sighted, at times. His team-building exercise in Stuck On You was meant to be a positive, brotherly, bonding experience, but suffered from serious drawbacks. His tenacity in smashing foes is admirable, but doesn’t always get the best results, something Donnie tries to get him to see and think through. But they’re also what makes him a force to be reckoned with. You do NOT mess with Raph’s inner circle and expect NOT to get smashed, hoss! And the fact that his brothers know that he has their backs like this is probably its own form of support and security.

Raph at his Best: He believes in the Mad Dogs the most, that they can be and are heroes. “We’re do-gooders! And what do do-gooders do? They do good! And they do good well.” (The Mutant Menace) His compassion and commitment to protecting the underdog keep the others on track and in line with their goals. He is the rock in the middle of the chaos.

Raph actually has good practical skills: he has the mission calendar that only he seems to consistently stick to, and clearly enough self-discipline to responsibly and reliably sleep with his retainer on every night (Flushed, But Not Forgotten)

He also has the most grounded sense of duty. When they’re watching the skateboarding livestream in Gilbert’s Department store in The Longest Fight, Raph is the one who first investigates what sounds like a robbery, and is the one who cajoles his brothers into fighting the Foot. It’s a ‘look, guys, we have to do the right thing here and prevent them from stealing!’ moment. Pizza Puffs: look, guys, you’re going to have to learn to solve problems without me, it’s for your own good! (He knows that’s what needs to happen, even though he’s at war inside over it).

Raph says: what’s the responsible thing to do? And he’s trying to get his brothers to understand this as well (Pizza Puffs).

Raph Relationships:

Donnie: despite the lack of a full Donnie & Raph episode, they have a few surprising things in common. They each have an episode where they want their brothers to learn something. Donnie, in Mind Meld, wants his brothers to be smarter and plan ahead. Raph, in Pizza Puffs, wants his brothers to use some common sense and be a little more responsible. They both like finding solutions to problems, just one focuses on technical and one focuses on interpersonal problems. Mostly (for right now, though) Raph can be blunt with Donnie. He’ll slap the genius in the face with reality. “Donnie! The mech is REAL!” (The Purple Game). “Donnie, I know you know how to say it. We’re all on to you.” (Air Turtle). This is one turtle with whom he can put his foot down and say ‘hey! Back to Earth, now!’ (I can also see them collectively sharing facepalm moments in the future).

Leo: there are times when Leo’s need to be the best and stand-out attitude clash with Raph’s focus on teamwork (Air Turtle, for example “take your win-at-all-costs attitude somewhere else, Leo, we need to work as a team!”) but they do get to a point where both of their strengths in the group strengthen each other, like how iron sharpens iron. Raph wants everyone to work together as a team, but Leo sees their individual strengths. Without that, we get Raph’s glueball disaster in Stuck On You, but together, we have their greatest moment in Many Unhappy Returns. Leo points out the parts each member have to play, and Raph puts it all together in one big plan to defeat the Shredder. “Trust me, bro.” “I do.” (I’m really excited to see where the show goes with this).

Mikey: the main Mikey & Raph episode right now actually seems to be Repairin’ the Baron, and there’s an interesting clash going on here. Raph believes and supports his system, his family. Draxum has been the mortal enemy of the Mad Dogs and deserves to be smashed. However, Mikey is adopting him into the family. Raph is not immediately okay with this, he has a hard time trying to change his inner world. But he cares about Mikey. As he tells Draxum “I’m still trying to get used to this, but Mikey thinks you’re part of the family. And the number rule of the Mad Dogs is: you always take care of family!” They’re actually very complementary, as Mikey can step in in emotionally charged situations where Raph can’t, and how his adaptability gets through Raph’s need for stability. (It will be interesting to see what Raph does as Mikey grows up).

Ultimately, I’m excited to see Raph grow as he figures out the best way to guide this team and save the world. Home is where the heart is, and he’s got a big enough heart to be the home for a lot of people.

So that’s my (unbelievably cut-down) analysis of Rottmnt Raph! I’m going to save the relationships with April and Splinter for later, since this is already too long. Here are the links to learn more about the ISFJ and counterphobic 6w5 if you’re interested:

https://www.16personalities.com/isfj-personality

https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-6

https://enneagrampaths.com/2018/04/09/im-afraid-im-going-to-punch-you-discussions-about-the-phobic-and-counter-phobic-enneagram-type-six/

https://www.crystalknows.com/enneagram/type-6-wing-5

https://thoughtcatalog.com/heidi-priebe/2016/01/mbti-and-the-enneagram-2/10/

[themovieblogonline]

Sarfira (2024): The Crash Flight Of The Common Man

Fasten your seatbelts because it’s time for the common man from India to reach sky-high! Written and directed by Sudha Kongara, the craze turns wild with “Sarfira”! Witness the madness and hunger of the common man to achieve his dream in an ocean of obstacles, his own Airline! Starring the "Khiladi" Akshay Kumar, Sarfira hits your nearest theaters on July 12, 2024. Experience The Spirit of Sarfira with Bollywood Star… Akshay Kumar! https://youtu.be/v546mSwEtCw?si=YbEM5cNxEJjiMFMz Sarfira (2024) Official Trailer: https://youtu.be/8Iy2geJD8HY?si=2biytQKTH2KRu9_0 The Good: I have to appreciate Bollywood’s idea of showcasing an inspiring true story of an underdog who bars all obstacles and achieves his dream. The dedication, perseverance, and enthusiasm shown by the lead character Vir Mhatre (played by Akshay Kumar) in achieving his business goal are indispensable. This true story can motivate many. If you have lost hope about achieving something you dreamt of, then you must visit your nearest theaters and consider watching this inspirational movie. The visuals in Sarfira have a rustic appeal. Many dialogues in Sarfira are thought-provoking. For example, in a dialogue, Akshay tells Paresh Rawal, “Sir, Main Chahta Hoon Aam Aadmi Aasmaan Choo Sake”, which means, “Sir, I want every common man to touch the sky”. And I have to tell you, the combo of Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal in itself drives audiences to theaters. They both have a glorious past together in the history of Hindi cinema. Paresh Rawal as an actor is outstanding. His comical punches in his villainous business tycoon character add life to the screenplay. South’s superstar Suriya has a sensational cameo in Sarfira and the pairing of Akshay with Suriya was indeed delightful. And why not have a cameo? After all, Suriya and his wife Jyothika are co-producers of this movie. https://youtu.be/TJG9qOJi_jQ?si=5F_Ghobtn27ik0kQ The Bad: If you want to witness your favorite “Khiladi” cry like a baby, then this movie may appeal to you. You may be amazed that according to reports, Akshay didn’t use glycerin for his emotional scenes. He said that he used to recall the event of his father’s demise and that made him really cry and shoot the emotional scenes! This emotional drama is based on a real-life personality G.R. Gopinath who founded Air Deccan, India’s first low-cost affordable airline for the common man. Akshay plays his character but is named Vir Mhatre here who is an Air Force pilot-turned-businessman who dreams of opening his own airline. This 2-hour and 35-minute drama is laden with emotions and has Akshay crying frequently. Mhatre had to face emotional, financial, and logistical hardships such as his opinion clash with his father, setbacks driven by corruption, bureaucracy, and betrayal; and worst of all, rivalry with a powerful aviation mogul (played by Paresh Rawal). I would say that having a superstar like Akshay, who is known for being a daredevil action hero, crying like a kid amidst personal, family-related, and career-related challenges can be unacceptable for many. People just don’t seem to enjoy watching him that way! Moreover, the aging Akshay, in certain scenes, has looked horrible in his character of Vir Mhatre. I bet the filmmakers wanted to show that he is toiling hard to set up his dream airline but showing him in an unkempt style with messy hair, a face full of graying beard, and shabby clothes is just not right. Even a well-groomed man can work hard and achieve his dreams. In the quest of making one's dream come true, you need not show the central character in such a shabby and unkempt look. Indeed, Akshay Kumar is one of the most handsome actors in Bollywood and was the heartthrob of every Indian actress once upon a time. But just look at how he has been depicted in this movie. People may despise the character he is playing just because of his awkward appearance. Akshay Kumar and Radhika Madan in the romantic track “Saare Ki” from Sarfira https://youtu.be/ykuZWxUBy54?si=k5-9qdS9Ebw5HAFk The biggest drawback of Sarfira is that it is a carbon copy of the 2020 Tamil film “Soorarai Pottru” which stars South’s sensation Suriya. That Tamil film too was written and directed by Sudha Kongara. Even the casting was the same with Paresh Rawal as the villain who played the lead character’s rival businessman. The only difference between Soorarai Pottru and Sarfira is in place of Suriya it's Akshay Kumar. And disappointingly, Akshay in this Bollywood remake just doesn’t seem to match the vibe and hype of Suriya. I don’t know why, but maybe because Akshay has become too old to match the chemistry with his co-star Radhika Madan, or maybe because of his weird unkempt look in the movie, or even maybe because he has been made to cry like a kid which just doesn’t suit his personality. I believe Sudha Kongara has made a big mistake by remaking Soorarai Pottru as Sarfira in Bollywood. It's because many people had already watched that Suriya-starring Tamil drama and this Bollywood remake has nothing new for them. Shot by shot it is an exact copy of that film. Also, the Hindi-dubbed version of Soorarai Pottru is already available on Netflix. People who don’t understand Tamil can very well watch the Hindi version of Soorarai Pottru. Then why waste your time, energy, and money to watch that same movie in theaters that has been remade by Bollywood? If you want to watch it just to see Akshay, then you are most welcome! https://youtu.be/mzHsDu1VUyM?si=uiswW5-0v8MOGQWF The Verdict: Even if Sarfira is a motivational story based on businessman G.R. Gopinath’s memoir “Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey”, it won’t work out at the Box office. Unfortunately, the film also suffered because nothing much had been done to promote it before its release. This exciting flight for the common man may have succeeded in gaining altitude, but it simply crash lands! Even if the story of Sarfira is appealing and inspiring, it won’t influence you. You may feel lost upon knowing the real story. The fact is, India’s low-cost airline, Air Deccan had shut down long back. So what if it was a flourishing airline business once? Where is it now? People get inspiration from the things that leave their mark but sadly, Air Deccan didn’t. Just as that business didn’t succeed, similarly, this emotionally inspiring drama wouldn’t. The bad news is that the aging Akshay tested COVID-19 positive after this film's release. This is the third time he has been detected with COVID-19. Hope he recovers soon in good health and continues entertaining us with his movies. https://youtu.be/X7sc-TCUAsM?si=RtGYJA-I2zx2WBQe Read the full article

[applsauss]

Origin Story

Description: You’re the hero of your own story. (Prelude to BLiNK: The Story of an All-American Hero)

Fandom: My Hero Academia


Pairing: (Eventual) Bakugou Katsuki/Reader

Word Count: 2.2k+

Warning(s): Brief Description of Domestic Abuse (Father/Daughter).

“I am not worthless! Stop talking to me like that!” This isn’t the first time your father’s yelled at you and it’s not the first time you’ve talked back, but in this moment, something in him seems to snap.

You hear the sound of his hand hitting your face before you register the pain of the slap. It’s a loud crack, and it makes your head whip to the side. You hear your grandmother gasp from over by the sink, and your cheek begins to itch, becoming unbearably hot with pain.

When you finally manage to turn back and look at your father, he’s huffing with fury, shoulders squared and rising and falling with each loud breath he takes. You’ve never seen him fight in the ring, but you imagine that this is what it looks like. To have him direct that sort of expression at you is bodily terrifying. 

“Get out,” your grandma says before you can react at all. Her sudden interjection has both you and your father turning towards her in surprise. Her eyes are narrowed in a hard glare and she’s clenching a dish towel in her shaking fists. 

Your dad opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted again by your grandmother. “Get out!” she shrieks this time, taking a step towards her son. It’s almost comical, her accent, how small she is compared to your father’s imposing height. “Get out! Get out!” She takes a step towards him, and he jumps, a slack-jawed expression stuck on his face. 

“Get out! Get out of my goddamn house!” She shouts, voice shaking in anger. She begins to angrily approach your dad, throwing her hand out to whip him with the towel, and he finally jumps into gear, stumbling backwards towards the front door. His back hits it, and still, he says nothing as he stares, wide-eyed, at her. 

She whips him with the towel again, this time on his collar, close to his face, and he’s shaking as he fights with the doorknob, then falls into the hallway. “And don’t you ever show your face here again! No son of mine lays a hand on his daughter like that!” She continues shouting, chasing him out to the stairs. Then she steps back into the apartment, and slams the front door shut so hard it rattles in the frame.

Your cheek stings, your face is hot with shame, and you’re frozen in the kitchen, shoulders so tense you feel like they could cramp. You stare angrily at the floor until it blurs, and then you hiccup. 

“Oh, child,” your grandmother tuts as she returns to your side, gently smoothing your hair away from your face, then dragging you down into a hug. “Stop your whimpering. You’re fine.” 

At the gentle affection, you start to cry harder, clutching onto her apron and burying your face into her shoulder until you have no more tears left. She leads you to the kitchen table, and you sit, pliant and emotionless, as she serves you an early dinner. 

“Eat your food. You have lessons after this, don’t you?” She urges gently, like she’s forgotten she hates how you insist on learning Muay Thai, the same sport your father had dedicated his life to.  ‘Look what good it did him,” she would usually tell you after cuffing the back of your head. She doesn’t say it now, though.

Your father’s words ring in your ears: “You’ll never be anything but a sad bitch. You’re a waste of space -- worthless.” 

When you were younger, even if he only showed up when he was out of money, you thought of him as a hero. The people he fought in the underground rings he frequented were the villains, and he would punch them into submission, save the day and come back to you and your grandma. 

Worthless. He’s wrong, you know he’s wrong, but he’s your dad, and what if he isn’t?

“Eat,” your grandma urges you again, this time pushing your spoon towards your bowl.

You nod slowly, then drag a spoonful of chicken adobo into your mouth. You wipe your teary eyes, and reflect on how even when everything else in the world feels grey, her cooking manages to taste like home.

***

You’re mopping the sweat-soaked floor of the Muay Thai studio below your apartment when the owner and your teacher looks up from his desk in the back room. “Have you ever heard of UA?” 

“No.” You pause and lean against the mop, exhausted muscles twitching from your training, and now the clean up. “What’s that?”

“A hero school in Japan. It’s All Might’s alma mater.”

“The hero?” 

“Come here,” he beckons you with a wave of his hand, and you do as he says, leaning the mop against a wall and picking your way across the studio, barefoot. 

He shows you clips of All Might, the hero who came from nowhere, the hero who always smiles, and he tells you that he’s a real hero, someone to really look up to. You identify with All Might more than you have anyone else before, and when your teacher sends you upstairs for the night, you can’t help but feel like he’s trying to tell you something. 

That same night, you wait for your grandmother to fall asleep, then sneak back out into the living room and pull open her laptop. It takes a couple minutes to load, and then you spend the rest of the night soaking in every length of video featuring All Might in existence.

A hero who helps people. A hero who smiles. A hero from nothing. 

You forget all about your dad, and the yellow bruise taking shape on your cheek.

You think of UA, and you recognise that your decision was made for you the moment your teacher asked you if you’d ever heard of it. 

All Might grins and the sparkle in his smile becomes the star you shoot for.

***

Two years later, you get hit hard. Your vision swims and blurs. You feel yourself hit the ground, and your strength is pulled from your grasp in the same moment the impact forces the air to rush from your lungs. 

The gritty concrete scrapes your palms as you struggle to push your body up. The crowd roars. You feel goopy liquid drip from your mouth, and you wipe it with your forearm only to realize it’s blood. You ball it with saliva in your mouth, then spit it out. You look up and your vision clears just enough to see your opponent, standing at the end of a dark tunnel, and behind her, white glory.

You never got a response to your application from UA, but it did nothing more than make you stumble because you’re going to show them all what you’re worth, and if your parents are out there, then you’re going to show them too, and they’ll regret ever doubting your greatness, and UA will regret passing you over, because You Are Here. 

State, regionals and nationals -- you’ll do what it takes to get that phone call -- and she, the girl standing over you with a vortex of a quirk, is the last match you have to win until you claim the underdog title that is yours. 

Still stooped over, you keep your eyes trained on your opponent and you know in your heart, in your soul, in your bones, that you’re going to beat her. You swear you’ll beat her. 

You’re going to prove to them your worth. You’re going to follow All Might until you surpass him, and then everyone will be looking at you, your mother and father included, and they’ll have no choice but to recognise how great you are. How despite them, you have become the greatest hero in the world. 

You’re going to beat her. 

You stand, and your head is buzzing. Your balance is dangerously off, but all you can see is that girl, and she is the only thing standing between you and victory. You take a moment to prepare yourself, body tensing, strained muscles bunching and charging, and then you feel the crackle of energy that zips through the air and you blink out of existence, and then flicker back again right behind her, body twisting through the air with the force of which you throw yourself into the attack. 

Your shin connects with the side of her head with a thunderous crack. You don’t feel the pain, but she sure does, and as you watch her crumple, you feel nothing but blood-pumping victory.

***

It’s the second day of class 2-A’s second year at UA, and everyone is buzzing with excitement. Already caught up with each other and thrown headfirst into schoolwork, the buzz is focused around the new exchange student that will be arriving today, a champion from America.

“That’s her!” Mina says excitedly from across the classroom. She has her phone out and is showing Shoji the clip everyone’s grown familiar with, the one where the exchange student takes first place in whatever national competition she was in. 

Bakugou chews on his cheek thoughtfully, relishing the idea competition, but unwelcome of the hubbub surrounding you, the student who came from nowhere, the student who took home first place in some competition he’s never heard about, the student who’s transfering to class 2-A, the top hero class in Japan, from some dumb unnamed highschool in some dumb city he doesn’t give two shits about.  

Everyone had searched your name on the internet as soon as they heard they were getting a transfer, and a couple of them found news articles and clips of your victory, of your half-told origin story. It was researching the competition that drove Bakugou to pour over every clip, but he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t at least a little entertaining to watch your wild fights.

The clip Mina is playing is getting to the part where in a sudden burst of ferocious violence, you leap to life and take down your last opponent with one final push: You use your warp quirk to appear behind your opponent and deliver a swift kick to her head, with a deadly twist of your torso, the follow-through torque brutal -- and then --

“(L/N) wins!” The announcer shouts, and Bakugou is familiar with the way the camera zooms in on your heaving form, with the way you turn to the crowd, visibly shaking, hands clenched at your side, and then you throw both fists in the air, suck in an elated breath, then bring your elbows down like you’re flexing, and let out this pure, victorious, elated shout that stirs something primal in his chest. 

You look terrifying in the clip, this ball of pride and rage; You look victorious, you look like no one else, sweat and blood on your face and bare arms, this monstrous gleam in your eyes. Afterwards, you turn towards the shaky camera approaching you, point, and announce in choppy japanese, “I am transferring to UA next semester.” Your voice is hoarse and strained, but still manages to rumble like thunder.

The paramedics rush toward you and your opponent, and then finally -- finally, you stagger, and collapse into the one approaching you. 

The clip ends and Mina excitedly gauges Shoji for his reaction, and Bakugou rolls his eyes, then glares straight ahead at the blackboard.

When Aizawa enters the class followed closely by the transfer student, he struggles to remain only half-interested. Out of the corner of his eye, he scrutinises you, and is confused when he learns that you look decidedly normal and not murderous, though still foreign, and out of place in a school uniform.

His eyes narrow as you follow Aizawa up to the podium, and the scream you’d let out after your victory sticks to the inside of his ears, contrasting with the reality of who you are. Your expression is… blank, maybe a little upset. You look nervous, but approachable, and are making the effort of meeting various students' eyes. Bakugou openly stares when you force a smile.

Aizawa says good morning, he says that you’re the exchange-student they’ve heard about, and then tells you to introduce yourself, and you do -- your voice like any other student’s, not at all like thunder, and maybe your japanese is a little accented, but it’s passable, if a little stiff, but when you say your name, it sounds decidedly American. 

“Does anyone have any questions they’d like to ask (L/N)?” 

There’s a volley of questions, mostly from the girls, and then a few from Kirishima and Kaminari. Bakugou doesn’t listen to any of it because the first one was about your favourite food, and then Aizawa addresses the class again.

“Thank you. (L/N), you may take your seat; in front of Yaoyorozu, in the back.”

Yaoyorozu raises your hand and you make your way through the rows to the back. When you pass Bakugou’s desk, your eyes fall to his, and his interest is piqued when he finds some of that ferocious energy from the video clips still in them, like you’re daring him to rise to your challenge.

His face drops to a scowl at the idea, and as you pass, he follows your movements with a glare. You take your seat between Deku and Yaororozu, two rows behind him, and he decides that you’re competition, and he wants to do nothing more than mop the floor with you.

Masterlist | Posting Schedule