#hopeless hero

[wren-l-winter]

“Abandoned again?” Those cool words slipped through the darkness like a serpent’s forked tongue.

The hero sat in the center of the chamber, bathed in moonlight from the hole in the ceiling. Chains glinted around her limbs, allowing her to kneel but restricting any further movement. She looked into the shadow, frantically trying to find the viper in the shadows. “My team will come back.” A laugh, sweet as poison, filled the high ceiling. “Like they did last time?” The villain stepped into the gentle lighting, basking in the way the hero recoiled at the sight of her. 

“Last time was different.” 

Were the villain capable of pity, the hero would have earned it. “Is that what they told you?” 

Metal clinked together as the hero squirmed. “It’s true,” she insisted. 

A hum filled the room, low and sensual. “Forgive me for not believing you.” The slow, elegant footsteps of the villain took her along the moonlight’s edge. Too close for comfort, and yet far enough to give a false sense of ease. “Why don’t we play a game, hm?” The dark silhouette of the villain continued to idly pace around the circle of moonlight. “Perhaps you aren’t lying and your team will come for you.” The villain paused behind her captured prey. The hero turned her head, startled by the sudden silence. Amusement played on the sharp line of the villain’s onyx lips. “Call for me when you’ve decided they’ve abandoned you.” 

The hero’s silence was admirable but foolish. They both knew the hero’s supposed friends would never return. They expected the villain to let her go, as she had done time and time again, but what would they do when the hero realized they’d truly left her behind?

The villain left her alone in the chamber's silence. 

The moon gave way to the scorching sun as the hero remained. Brilliant rays bit back the darkness and warmed her cold, stiff limbs. But as the day wore on, the chains grew hotter. 

“Free me.” The hero’s voice rang in her ears like a murder of angry crows. 

The villain appeared in front of her, delighted at the visage of the squirming, sweaty hero. “And why would I free you?” Gorgeous eyes, so soft and pained, looked up at her. “Have they abandoned you?” 

“No.” The hero shifted, her skin red beneath the metal sitting on the flesh of her shoulders. “If you free me, they’ll show you mercy.” A bark of laughter burst from the villain. “Show me mercy? Me? Oh no, my dear, have they really convinced you they could beat me?” Her figure trembled with restrained laughter. “Sweet, delicate flower, they couldn’t kill me even in their dreams.” 

“They could!” 

“Then why haven’t they? Why do they keep leaving you like a sacrificial lamb? Hm?” 

“They don’t.” The hero bowed her head, unable to look at the sneering villain.

“I see your delusions remain intact.” A harsh sigh left her. “Very well. Call for me when you’ve realized they won’t come for you.” 

The sun loomed above her, slowly crossing the sky as it continued to scorn her beneath its brutal gaze. When dusk arrived, the door to the chamber groaned open. A silent servant shambled into the room with a bowl and a bucket. Calloused fingers pinched the hero’s nose until she was forced to open her mouth. Watery, cold porridge was forced down her throat—the villain already knew she’d resist any food or water offered to her. The chains were loosened enough to slide the bucket beneath the hero before the servant disappeared, offering her the illusion of privacy. Several minutes passed before they returned to fetch the bucket and tighten the chains. The hero had shifted onto her rear, allowing her to stretch her leg as much as her bindings would allow.

The heat of the day gave way to the prickling chill of night. Metal cooled, offering a reprieve from the angry throbbing along her shoulders. Relief turned into shivering. Alone, in the darkness of the chamber, she rocked from side to side, trying to do anything to keep herself warm. Fog swirled from her lips as she tried to blow warm air on her stiff, aching fingers. She remembered her team’s captain, how he’d gently cradled the hands of his lieutenant when she’d complained of the cold. The hero yearned for the care offered to each member of her team, and yet, she always found herself pulling her coat tighter, fighting the frigid night on her own. 

Soft, clicking footsteps echoed around her. “How’s my darling hero?” Her words were sweet and soft, but they cracked against her nerves like a barbed whip. 

“Cold.” 

“I can see that.” Behind her, the hero felt her enemy close in. Warm, delicate hands brushed through her unkempt hair, sliding down to gently rub the tension along her stiff jaw. “You could come with me. There will be a warm bath waiting for you and you can sleep wherever you’d like. I even have your favorite blanket in my guest room.” 

The aching fibers of her jaw relaxed beneath the villain’s painfully familiar touch. She closed her eyes, imagining the soft fur against her. The first time she had been left behind, she’d been offered a room instead of a dungeon. The villain, cruel and wicked, had offered her every luxury she possessed. The hero still didn’t understand why. “What do you want in return?” 

“The same thing I always want—for you to be honest with yourself and me. They don’t care about you. They never have and never will. You’re expendable. Something to be left behind when you’re an inconvenience. Look at you.” The villain’s touch disappeared as she moved in front of the hero. “Caught in a trap they could have saved you from, but why would they sacrifice themselves for you? Hm?” 

“They know you won’t hurt me,” the hero said. “You’ve let me go every time.” 

“And what if I didn’t this time?” The villain crouched down, her features etched skillfully with neutrality. “Do you think they’d try to set you free?” 

Uncomfortable silence fell over them. An entire day had passed since her team had disappeared. “They would come for me…” 

“And how long do you think they’ll wait?” 

The longest the villain had kept her for was three weeks before the hero had miraculously escaped. There had been no news of her team during her time with the villain, but when she’d returned, they’d said they’d searched for her. They wouldn’t lie to her. “I don’t know,” she said, though the words scraped against her heart with an iron claw. 

The villain regarded her for a long moment before standing. “I will come when you call for me, even when they won’t.” She stepped into the shadows, letting them consume her. 

Left only with the ache in her chest and the weight of the chains bearing down on her, the hero let the first of her silent tears fall. 

When the darkness lifted, the servant came again—their treatment as harsh and swift as before. 

The cycle continued for days. The hero’s skin, abused by the sun’s torment and the scorching metal, had blistered, and begun to ooze creamy puss. Discomfort had long since turned to incessant pain. Night and day offered her no reprieve from the isolation of the chamber. The villain had stopped visiting her, though the hero suspected she watched from the shadows. The phantom presence of her enemy offered the smallest comforts as she recalled the time spent with her team. They were always doting and caring when in need of her talents, but when there was nothing for her to do, they left her out of their conversations. At times, they were even annoyed when she spoke up. They’d never listened to her suggestions. She was an instrument for them to wield and discard until they needed her again. And now they’d left her behind. But they hadn’t just abandoned her. They’d left her helpless to the whims of their enemy—to suffer at the villain’s hand until she was released again. She was convenient to them. Something to swoop up when the villain was done with her and use again to their advantage. Had they ever truly needed her? Did they even like her? Did she mean anything to them? 

Nine days passed before the weight of the chains and her team’s betrayal became too much. 

The villain’s name had hardly left her tongue when she appeared from the shadows, as radiant as the sun and just as oppressively beautiful. “Why have you summoned me, little lamb?” There was no kindness in her smile, nor was there cruelty. 

“Everything hurts.” The hero looked up, her eyes hollow and dark from lack of sleep. The villain said nothing. She bowed her head, the movement pulling painfully at her blistered skin. “Let me go,” she whispered.

“You know my price.” 

The hero’s shoulders trembled, too tired to show any restraint. “I thought they’d come by now.” 

“Disappointing, isn’t it?” There was no empathy in the villain’s words, only thinly veiled disdain. 

“They should have come.” The hero’s lips trembled as she stared at the ground. “I would have come for them.” “You wouldn’t have left them behind.” 

“I don’t understand” Her voice tightened, dancing on the edge of tears. “They said they would come back. Every time I disappeared, they said they did but I was gone. Why haven’t they come back yet?” 

The villain lowered onto her knees, taking her sweaty head within her gentle grasp, coaxing her gaze up. “Because they do not see your value, sweet flower. They don’t see how hard you work or how much you care. All that matters to them is what they have to gain. You’re of no use to them when they have to save you.” 

“I could do better,” the hero whispered. “I could train. Be more careful. They wouldn’t have to save me.” 

A gentle thumb wiped away the hero’s tear, smudging the grime on her delicate features. “You know it would never be enough. They don’t see you as one of them.” 

“They used to.” The hero’s hands clenched, her nails slicing open the tender flesh of her palms. “They used to care about me.” 

“You don’t need them to care about you,” the villain said, her voice cool and calm. “Not when you have me.”

“You left me here to freeze and burn.” The hero yanked her head back with all the feeble strength she could muster. 

“For good reason.” Gentle hands fell away and waved over the chains. The villain murmured and the heavy bindings fell away. “You needed to see the truth.” The hero slumped forward into the villain’s arms. “I just wanted to be good enough for them.” 

“The problem was never your worth, lamb.” In one smooth motion, the villain swept the hero’s weakened body into her embrace, taking her away from the chamber. 

[hotwings-incorrect-quotes]

dabi: *sitting down on the couch near hawks* move fat nugget

hawks: u think i look fat? 🥺

dabi: no birdy, i didn’t mean...

hawks: YOU THINK I’M FAT! 😫😫😫

dabi: fuck. no, i really didn’t mean that

hawks: but... you said

dabi: i know, that was stupid. i’m sorry dove

dabi: *opening his arms* c’mere

hawks: *hugs dabi* ‘kay

[grimstrawberry]

screw these chapters, I miss the league

[susartwork]

Ever since Cottontail (HT!Frisk) died, Hopeless feels responsible for the safety of every child he encounters.

Must protect the beans.

All the children in the 1st drawing belong to @axmoth The Tiny Squad (Undermirror) belongs to @au-mashup-party Hopeless UW!Sans & Frisk belong to me

[codenamesazanka]

what was the point of the possession plot. for real, someone tell me it’s most lasting impact, because as of now:

AFO becomes final boss maybe AFO will have another comeback but currently he’s being handled and defeated by someone who is not the main protag

Deku physically and metaphorically saves Shigaraki from AFO Shigaraki broke free on his own!

moral lesson about Shigaraki’s rage being detrimental by empowering Ultimate Evil AFO to continue controlling him Shigaraki’s negative emotions leads to AFO’s downfall because it was too powerful for AFO to control

[gayfortheplot]

Himiko and Shuuichi talk about love and romance together. Himiko was the first to find out Shuuichi liked Tomura and was the one to push Shuuichi into asking Tomura out because she could smell how in love the two of them were. Himiko asks him for dating advice because while she knows how to start a relationship, Shuuichi is the one who has more experience being in one. They play dating sims together and gush over the romantic scenes. They give each other fun date ideas. They go shopping for Valentine's Day gifts for Tomura and Uraraka together. Sometimes the four of them will go on double dates and Uraraka and Tomura get along over how similar their quirks are.

[haleigh-sloth]

I know the hero society sucking ass plot point is important and deserves proper follow up, but man it has really overtaken all the other parts of the villains' issues to talk about on a meta level.

Not enough people on this site talk about how the remaining 4 League members all hate themselves to the core and through their self destructive methods are desperately seeking, waiting, and hoping for someone to give them a reason to stop hating themselves so much.

I know it's not the most desirable way to use the societal failures in this particular manga, but the way I see the macro-scale issues being utilized in the story to support the villain side of the narrative is for all of the League using it to explain how and why they ended up where they currently are. But that's the extent to what I see the villains' characters using it for.

Are they asking for it to be fixed? I'd argue that no, they're not. Not now at least. Because think about it--in their minds there is no hope for them. They have stopped caring about a "fix" and are just looking to get rid of it all. They don't care about fixing it because they don't see a place for themselves in it--no matter what--even if it WAS fixed.

Because they hate themselves and the people they were born as.

The way the story has set this up is this:

If the villains can't stop hating themselves--escape their self-destruction and self-loathing and hopeless mindsets--then offering a fix for society is ultimately pointless.

Because yeah, someone can promise change on a large scale to them--but at this point in time, right now, that doesn't matter. Because even if you do fix the issues, they still don't see themselves as people worthy of joining it with everyone else--fixed system or broken system.

They hate themselves and that is the very first issue that needs to be handled for their wellbeing and salvation. Nothing can even sort of be fixed until they are stopped. They will not stop until they are given hope.

I'll be one of the only ones in this little corner of the fandom to say that society can take the back burner on this one. It's necessary to be looked at and fixed and changed, but looking at things on an individual character basis--that's actually not what's necessary at this point in time.

Afterward, yes. Now? No.

[me1297]

Love Me Knot

PAIRING: Bakugo Katsuki x Fem! Oc/Reader,

SUMMARY: When a hopeless romantic is shattered of the fantasy of her soulmate at thirteen in her head and he makes her adolescence miserable until they part ways.

But of course they meet again as adults, late at night, in a convenience store, over the last bag of spicy chips.

STATUS: Ongoing, chapter 1 (Chapter 2)

Yena had just transferred to Aldera Junior High, a week ago due to her mother getting a job promotion causing her family to move closer to her job. It was after school in a hallway empty except for Yena, as she stood back to finish her notes, as she was walking towards the exit her string started to tighten around her finger and pull her back. She then felt a wave of excitement wash over her, as this was the moment she dreamed of ever since she was a little girl, she was gonna meet her soulmate, Yena let the red string take her to them, with a smile on her face.

Then all movement stopped coming from the string, by a corner of the hallway making Yena confused so she turned the corner and that's when she met Bakugo, and his friends. He was for sure her soulmate she looked at his pinky and saw the red string that was connected to hers, Yena couldn't control her excitement so she just let the words out of her mouth and told him that he was her soulmate and she wished she hadn't.

“Ha, as if you're not my soulmate” he sneers at her while looking at her up and down “I'm not letting some dumb string tell me I should let some ugly loser like you hang around me for the rest of my life.” Upon hearing his words Yena felt her heart shatter, as this wasn't how she dreamed of meeting her soulmate would be like.

His friends laughed and jeered, and her face dropped sour. This was far from what she dreamed of as her soulmate, the soulmate she fantasized about was sweet, kind, caring, handsome, romantic, loving, and was equally madly excited to meet her like she was with him.

Yet this boy in front of her was not. And she didn't understand, why didn't his string tighten and pulled him to her? And could he see the string that tied them together as well? He, at least, was her soulmate. Yena felt dumb for letting her emotions take over her and making the mistake of telling him.

Bakugo then shoves pasted Yena hard enough that she stumbles, barely catching herself, and leaving with his friends. As Yena stares at his retreating back, angry tears well up in her violet eyes, as her dreams of going on cute fun romantic dates, like going on a picnic, or going to festivals when they come around, or an aquarium, visiting a pop-up museum, and going to the arcade and letting him win her whole bunch of cute plushies she could decorate her bed with, even taking a hike together were all shattered. Yena couldn't believe he’s supposed to be her soulmate. Just as she was gonna walk away she looked down upon her red string to see that it formed a knot, by her pinky making her confused but she didn't care she was heartbroken,

From that day forward Yena tried to cut, burn, tear, and untangle her string but it was no use, as she refused to be his soulmate, the string was unbreakable. Yena avoided Bakugo every chance she got for the next two years, even though he didn't, and picked at her every chance got, from calling her names to tripping her by putting his foot out when she was wall, and down to pulling her hair, all of this cause Yena pray for graduation day as she couldn't wait as everyone knows Bakugo has plans to attend UA after graduation.

Since she had no interest in becoming a hero, that meant she could forget about him just like how she forgets what she eats in a day.

Yup graduation was gonna be great she could just feel it.

A/N: Sorry it's so short this is my first time writing on here, but much love to you all!<3

[thejasontoddarchives]

DC is just so silly! This:

Batman #423 (1988)

Came exactly one issue before this:

Batman #424 (1988)

But we get this little reminder at the end of 423, of what the core of Batman really is and what we should ultimately keep in mind:

Meanwhile the latter was left to be framed in this light:

Batman #425 (1988)

Ah yes. The established empath calling a SA victim foolish.

If we take what Jason says at face value then what he did to Garzonas the rapist isn’t much different from what Batman did to that addict/thief (and what he does to countless other opponents he doesn’t deem deserving of salvation). The difference is Jason didn’t have a police officer pat him on the back and vouch for the goodness of his character for wanting to protect women and children.

[neonscandal]

After some Commission mandated Anger Management due to what was cited as "excessive aggression" during a small-time villain takedown, Pro Hero Dynamight is in the agency common room tinkering with one of his gauntlets.

After multiple attempts trying to open the compartment holding his reserve sweat, Dynamight slams his fist on the work table: Gah! Fuh- *deep, intentional, shuddering breath trying to calm himself* I am gentle. I am kind. I am living a soft life.

Pro Hero Deku walks in chipperly, waving: Hiya, Kaccha-

Dynamight, fists clenching: FUCKKKKKKKKKK! GET OUTTA HERE, NERD! *Deku makes a prompt u-turn as the compartment pops open.* Well.. shit.

Pro Hero Cellophane observing from across the common room while shaking his head: He is the man his mother raised...

Pro Hero Chargebolt, squints and nods while calling out to Dynamight: Speaking of- yo, Kacchan. Is Mitsuki of the Bakugo's single, yet?

Pro Hero Red Riot hardening to diffuse an attempted manslaughter: REALLY, bro!?

[pimsri]

I'll see you again when the stars are mine

[rayssion]

Nico: sorry but my social anxiety requires me to not answer your question until I first ask either Hazel or Will or Jason and they tell me what I have to say to you.

[wild-blueb3rry]

Whatever Our Souls are made of, his and mine are the same.

[pumpkinpie59]

brainiac-5 in the losh cartoon is so funny to me bc like

in season 1 he’s a child. like young. baby. hero worship of clark.

in season 2, he’s an adult and. i’m entirely convinced he’s had feelings for everyone on the legion at least once, the worst of it with superman until that eventually doesn’t work out for him …

[unexpectedbrickattack]

talks about my own damn post in your inbox i guess but i think a good part of the bros' trusting peppino is like. pizzahead can so easily buy out or win over basically anyone who stands against him and peppino is like the ONE guy they knew for sure that wasn't gonna happen with. he might not have cared/known about their plight, but he also didn't seem to have any ulterior motives that would make their lives more hell if he got the treasures, so that was...really as much as they could ask for given the circumstances

I like the idea of this 🤔 Like maybe there were other people theyve seen immediately take the money, like randos but also some of the bosses. So their only hope was someone who wasnt going to be talked or bribed into leaving this tower alone. I can see ph still trying to buy his way into peppinos restaurant, even towards the end…like ouuuh…fat and rude italian man…i dont HAVE to explode this shop, i can just buy it 🥺🥺🥺 please let me buy it 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 pwease…..🥺 and peppino is so fucking determined to just smash everything into oblivion that that simply isnt an acceptable offer. Get ur ass beat. That is the only acceptable offer. And u know what? John will definitely put the small amount of faith he has in this man bc of it.

[theemptyspacehelmet]

There’s untapped potential for a “Morpheus was the inspiration for Mr. Rochester” headcanon that this fandom needs to dicuss in-depth