#i suspect spinner will add some things to this at the very least

[pikahlua]

MHA Chapter 423 spoilers translations

This week’s initial tentative super rough/literal translations under the cut.

tagline 1 ねじ込んだ一撃ーー‼︎ ねじこんだいちげきーー‼︎ nejikonda ichigeki--!! A single, exacting blow--!!

tagline 2 No.423　OFA vs AFO　堀越耕平 ナンバー423　ワン・フォー・オールバーサスオール・フォー・ワン　ほりこしこうへい NANBAA 423  WAN FOO OORU vs OORU FOO WAN  Horikoshi Kouhei No. 423 One for All vs All for One Kouhei Horikoshi

1 何故気付けなかった なぜきづけなかった naze kidzukenakatta Why didn't I notice?

2 この窶れた"身体"に「超再生」が適用されない違和感 このやつれた"からだ"に「ちょうさいせい」がてきようされないいわかん kono yatsureta "karada" ni 「chousaisei」 ga tekiyou sarenai iwakan [This] sense of discomfort that Super Regeneration no longer applies to this worn-out body.

3 こいつだ…いやーーー koitsu da...iya--- It's this guy...no---

4 こいつらがーー‼︎ koitsura ga--!! All of these [people]--!!

5 謀ったのだ はかったのだ hakatta no da They conspired.

1 それ単体では それたんたいでは sore tantai de wa By itself

2 あまりに脆弱な"敵意" あまりにぜいじゃくな"てきい" amari ni zeijaku na "tekii" [each one's] enmity was too frail,

3 しかし撚り集まって しかしよりあつまって shikashi yori atsumatte but when they gathered together,

4 いつしか僕を覆い感受を鈍らせていたのだ いつしかぼくをおおいかんじゅをにぶらせていたのだ itsu shika boku wo ooi kanju wo niburasete ita no da before I knew it, they enshrouded me and dulled my sensitivity. (Note: He means his ability to sense one person via Danger Sense became dulled because there were too many people with enmity gathered together in one place.)

5 与一と継承者どもを打ち込まれたあの時にもう精神のみならず よいちとけいしょうしゃどもをうちこまれたあのときにもうせいしんのみならず Yoichi to keishousha-domo wo uchikomareta ano toki ni mou seishin no minarazu Yoichi and all the successors were cast [into me]. At that time, not only my spirit but

6 身体も…‼︎ からだも…‼︎ karada mo...!! my body, too...!!

7 生半可な"身体"では なまはんかな"からだ"では namahanka na "karada" de wa (literal) A half-baked body (official) Your limp-noodle body isn't ready for it.

8 受け取り切れず四肢が爆散してしまうんだ！ うけとりきれずししがばくさんしてしまうんだ！ uketori kirezu shishi ga bakusan shite shimaunda! (literal) can't receive it. Your limbs would explode! (official) Your limbs would pop right off!! (Note: This frame is from chapter 2.)

9 たった2年…！8代目より少し上乗せされた… たった2ねん…！8だいめよりすこしうわのせされた… tatta 2nen...! 8daime yori sukoshi uwanosesareta... "Only 2 years...! I only added a little more to [what it was with] 8th..." (Note: He means he only added 2 years' worth of power to OFA, a tiny amount after what it was when All Might passed it off.)

10 9人分の力の結晶だ 9にんぶんのちからのけっしょうだ 9ninbun no chikara no kesshou da "It's the crystallization of power in proportion to nine people."

1 既に"身体"も すでに"からだ"も sude ni karada mo This body also has already

2 砕かれていた事に くだかれていたことに kudakarete ita koto ni been broken, unfortunately.

3 "個性"が崩れてく… "こせい"がくずれてく… "kosei" ga kuzureteku... "His quirks are crumbling..." (Note: This is a word often used to describe the effects of Tomura's Decay.)

4 やったのか緑谷…！ やったのかみどりや…！ yatta no ka Midoriya...! "Did you do it, Midoriya...!"

1 まだだ‼︎ mada da!! Not yet!!

2 "個性"で無理矢理 "こせい"でむりやり "kosei" de muriyari With his quirks, he forcibly

3 つなぎ止めた！ つなぎとめた！ tsunagitometa! tied himself together! (Note: This word also means "to save someone's life." In this case AFO is forcibly preserving his own life by using his quirks to keep himself from falling apart.)

4 まだ何も為していない まだなにもなしていない mada nani mo nashite inai "I haven't achieved anything yet."

5 誰にも奪わせはしない…‼︎ だれにもうばわせはしない…‼︎ dare ni mo ubawase wa shinai...!! "I won't let anyone steal it away...!!"

6 僕だけが夢を為す ぼくだけがゆめをなす boku dake ga yume wo nasu "Only I will achieve my dream."

7 誰にも…！継がぬ…紡がぬ‼︎ だれにも…！つがぬ…つむがぬ‼︎ dare ni mo...! tsuganu...tsumuganu!! "No one...! [They] won't inherit it... [They] won't spin the tale*!!" (*Note: The word used here means "to spin (thread), to make up a story, to assemble, to put together.")

8 魔王は常に唯一‼︎ まおうはつねにゆいいつ‼︎ maou wa tsune ni yuiitsu!! "The Demon King is always the only one!!"

9 そうだとも繰り返せばいい… そうだともくりかえせばいい… sou da tomo kurikaeseba ii... Even if that's true, I can just do it over again...

10 愚かな弔にそうしたように‼︎ おろかなとむらにそうしたように‼︎ oroka na Tomura ni sou shita you ni!! Just like how I did to foolish Tomura!!

11 OFA無き今緑谷でも…！誰でも‼︎ ワン・フォー・オールなきいまみどりやでも…！だれでも‼︎ WAN FOO OORU naki ima Midoriya demo...! dare demo!! Even Midoriya, now that he doesn't have One For All...! Anyone!!

12 "個性"を「与え」奪えばいい‼︎ "ぼく自身"を「あたえ」うばえばいい‼︎ "boku jishin (kanji: kosei)" wo 「atae」 ubaeba ii!! I can give and take away "myself" (read as: my quirk)!!

1 器を!!! うつわを!!! utsuwa wo!!! "[I'll make] a vessel!!!"

2 もうやめろAFO もうやめろオール・フォー・ワン mou yamero OORU FOO WAN "Give it a rest, All For One."

3 緑谷‼︎ みどりや‼︎ Midoriya!! "Midoriya!!"

4 白雲…⁉︎ しらくも…⁉︎ Shirakumo...!? "Shirakumo...!?"

5 消…太 しょう…た Shou...ta "Shou...ta"

6 山…田… やま…だ… Yama...da... "Yama...da..."

7 ゴメン…ナ…… GOMEN...NA...... "I'm...sorry......"

8 行かなくては…私はーーーーー いかなくては…わたしはーーーーー ikanakute wa...watashi wa----- Have to go...I-----

1 死柄木弔を守らなくては しがらきとむらをまもらなくては Shigaraki Tomura wo mamoranakute wa I have to protect Tomura Shigaraki

2 Xあ‼︎X生‼︎ Xあ‼︎Xしょう‼︎ XA!! Xshou!! (Note: This speech bubble is partially cut off.)

3 やっぱり…‼︎どこまでも… yappari...!! doko made mo... "As expected...!! No matter what..."

4 手ぇ差し伸べちまうんだよあいつは‼︎ てぇさしのべちまうんだよあいつは‼︎ tee sashinobechimaunda yo aitsu wa!! "he's that guy who'll hold out his hand [for someone]!!"

5 A…FO… オール…フォー・ワン… OORU...FOO WAN... "All...For One..."

6 死柄…木弔を…オ返シ…下サイ しがら…きとむらを…オかえシ…くだサイ Shigara...ki Tomura wo...OkaSHI...kudaSAI "Tomura Shigara...ki...Please give...him back."

7 オッおォッ OoO "Ooo"

1 オ友達が待っテイルんデす オともだちがまっテイルんデす Otomodachi ga matTE IRUnDEsu "His friends are waiting."

1 爆豪⁉︎ ばくごう⁉︎ Bakugou!? "Bakugou!?"

2 病院にって…‼︎うっそだろあいつ！ びょういんにって…‼︎うっそだろあいつ！ byouin ni tte...!! usso daro aitsu! "They said [you were heading to] the hospital...!! That guy's unbelievable!"

3 「爆破」で一人で来やがった‼︎ 「ばくは」でひとりできやがった‼︎ 「bakuha」 de hitori de kiyagatta!! "He went and came over alone using Explosion!!"

4 轟の"ジャンプ台"貸りたけどよォ〜〜〜〜〜 とどろきの"ジャンプだい"かりたけどよォ〜〜〜〜〜 Todoroki no "JANPU dai" karita kedo yoO~~~~~ "I borrowed Todoroki's jump platform, but~~~~~"

5 俺に追い越されてンなよ出久‼︎ おれにおいこされてンなよいずく‼︎ ore ni oikosareteN na yo Izuku!! "don't let me overtake you, Izuku!!"

6 AFO…‼︎おまえを許しはしない オール・フォー・ワン…‼︎おまえをゆるしはしない OORU FOO WAN...!! omae wo yurushi wa shinai "All For One...!! I won't forgive you."

1 けれど理解できない化物だとも思わない けれどりかいできないばけものだともおもわない keredo rikai dekinai bakemono da to mo omowanai "But I don't think you're an incomprehensible monster."

2 …やめろ ...yamero "...Stop."

3 おまえは魔王なんかじゃない おまえはまおうなんかじゃない omae wa maou nanka ja nai "You are not actually a Demon King."

4 見るな みるな miruna "Don't look [at me]."

5 おまえはただの omae wa tada no "You're just"

6 寂しがりな人間だ‼︎ さみしがりなにんげんだ‼︎ samishigari na ningen da!! "a lonely person!!"

1 与一…⁉︎ よいち…⁉︎ Yoichi...!? "Yoichi...!?"

2 緑谷くんは みどりやくんは Midoriya-kun wa "Midoriya-kun"

3 限り限りのラインでカケラが残るよう ぎりぎりのラインでカケラがのこるよう girigiri no RAIN de KAKERA ga nokoru you "seems to have a fragment remain for as long as possible."

4 ぶつける力を調整したんだね…… ぶつけるちからをちょうせいしたんだね…… butsukeru chikara wo chousei shitanda ne...... "I guess he adjusted the force of his hit......"

5 そして　残り火による"感応"で叩き起こしたんだ そして　のこりびによる"かんのう"でたたきおこしたんだ soshite nokoribi ni yoru "kannou" de tataki okoshitanda Then, I was roused awake in response to his embers.

6 僅かな残滓となった僕を わずかなざんしとなったぼくを wazuka na zanshi to natta boku wo I, who became mere dregs,

7 ワン・フォー・オールを WAN FOO OORU wo One For All.

8 正しく完遂させる為に ただしくかんすいさせるために tadashiku kansui saseru tame ni In order to properly follow [things] through. (Note: The order of the lines here makes this confusing. He's saying that, in response to Izuku's final attack with his embers, the barest dregs of Yoichi's vestige was roused. This one last piece of his vestige remained likely because Izuku held back on his attack using Yoichi's vestige. Now that he, the base One For All quirk, has awoken, he will carry out the mission of One For All.)

9 どうでもいい‼︎ dou demo ii!! "I don't care!!"

10 どうでもいい‼︎ dou demo ii!! "I don't care!!"

11 消えるな‼︎顔を見せろ！ きえるな‼︎かおをみせろ！ kieruna!! kao wo misero! "Don't disappear!! Show your face!"

12 無理だよ むりだよ muri da yo "That's impossible."

13 消える きえる kieru "I'll disappear."

14 駄目だ だめだ dame da "You can't!"

15 僕のモノだ‼︎僕を見ていろ‼︎目を見せろ‼︎ ぼくのモノだ‼︎ぼくをみていろ‼︎めをみせろ‼︎ boku no MONO da!! boku wo mite iro!! me wo misero!! "You're mine!! Look at me!! Show [me] your eyes!!"

16 兄さん にいさん niisan "[Older] Brother,"

17 貴方を導けなかった あなたをみちびけなかった anata wo michibikenakatta "I couldn't guide you."

18 これは緑谷くんが見出してくれた これはみどりやくんがみいだしてくれた kore wa Midoriya-kun ga miidashite kureta "Midoriya-kun discovered this for me."

19 僕らへの最期の救済だ ぼくらへのさいごのきゅうさいだ bokura e no saigo no kyuusai da "It's our final* salvation." (*Note: The word used for "final" here means "one's last moment at their time of death.")

1 駄目だ‼︎許可しない‼︎大好きだ！ だめだ‼︎きょかしない‼︎だいすきだ！ dame da!! kyoka shinai!! daisuki da! "You can't!! I won't allow it!! I love you!"

2 大好きなんだ!!!おまえがいないと僕は駄目なんだ!!! だいすきなんだ!!!おまえがいないとぼくはだめなんだ!!! daisuki nanda!!! omae ga inai to boku wa dame nanda!!! "I love you!!! If you're gone I have no purpose*!!!" (*Note: The word used here, dame, means many things depending on context. It means "bad, no good, useless, broken, hopeless, wasted, in vain, purposeless.")

3 そうやって sou yatte "In that way,"

4 全てを己が為に利用してきた代償を払う時だ すべてをおのがためにりようしてきたツケをはらうときだ subete wo ono ga tame ni riyou shite kita TSUKE (kanji: daishou) wo harau toki da "it's time to pay reparations for taking advantage of everything for your own sake."

5-6 彼が起こしたのは僕だけじゃない かれがおこしたのはぼくだけじゃない kare ga okoshita no wa boku dake ja nai "I was not the only one he awoke."

1 先生に喰われて消滅したと思ったんだけどな… せんせいにくわれてしょうめつしたとおもったんだけどな… sensei ni kuwarete shoumetsu shita to omottanda kedo na... I thought I had been devoured by Master and disappeared, but...

2 あんたが俺を あんたがおれを anta ga ore wo were you

3 消えないように繋ぎ止めてたのか きえないようにつなぎとめてたのか kienai you ni tsunagi tometeta no ka tying* me down so I wouldn't disappear? (*Note: Again, this word also means "to save someone's life.")

4 おばあちゃん obaachan Grandma,

5 黒霧…………… くろぎり…………… Kurogiri............... Kurogiri...............

6 先生から身体を奪い返しただけで せんせいからからだをうばいかえしただけで sensei kara karada wo ubai kaeshita dake de I only stole my body back from Master, and

7 何も壊せやしなかった なにもこわせやしなかった nani mo kowase ya shinakatta I didn't destroy anything.

8 結局俺はおまえの言った通り…泣いてるガキだったって事か けっきょくおれはおまえのいったとおり…ないてるガキだったってことか kekkyoku ore wa omae no itta toori...naiteru GAKI datta tte koto ka "In the end, I was just as you said... A crying kid, huh?"

9 この手をX壊せなかったX このてをXこわせなかったX kono te wo X kowasenakatta X "This hand X couldn't break X"." (Note: Some of this speech bubble is cut off. It could say something like "I couldn't break these hands of yours.")

10 …やった事を許せはしないだから戦った …やったことをゆるせはしないだからたたかった ...yatta koto wo yuruse wa shinai da kara tatakatta "...I can't forgive the things you've done; that's why I fought."

1 止めたかったし…止まってほしかったんだ とめたかったし…とまってほしかったんだ tometakatta shi...tomatte hoshikattanda "I wanted to stop [you]... I wanted [you] to stop,"

2 悲しみが紡がれないように かなしみがつむがれないように kanashimi ga tsumugarenai you ni "so that the sadness wouldn't [keep] spin[ning]*." (*Note: This is back to that word that means "to spin yarn, to spin tales, etc." Izuku is saying he didn't want the sadness to beget more sadness. He wants the chain of sadness to stop.)

3 ハッ HA "Ha." (Note: This is an exhalation that could mean any number of things, like shock, laughter, realization, etc.)

4 緑谷出久 みどりやいずく Midoriya Izuku "Izuku Midoriya,"

5 スピナーが生きてたら伝えてくれよ スピナーがいきてたらつたえてくれよ SUPINAA ga ikitetara tsutaete kure yo "if Spinner is alive, please tell him [something]."

6 "死柄木弔"は最期まで壊す為に戦ったって "しがらきとむら"はさいごまでこわすためにたたかったって "Shigaraki Tomura" wa saigo made kowasu tame ni tatakatta tte "Tomura Shigaraki fought until the very end* in order to destroy." (*Note: Again, this is that "finale" word that means "one's last moment at their time of death.")

7 もう…壊したよ もう…こわしたよ mou...kowashita yo "You already...destroyed [it]."

tagline 決着‼︎永きにわたる因縁が晴れ上がるーー‼︎ けっちゃく‼︎ながきにわたるいんねんがはれあがるーー‼︎ kecchaku!! nagaki ni wataru innen ga hareagaru--!! Settled!! The chain of cause and effect that spans a long time is cleared up--!!

[asphodelroot]

Hi Emmy. I’m your Secret Santa and I hope that this year’s Christmas are the best (or that this Saturday is if you don’t celebrate). I’m afraid that I can’t draw or make amazing edits so here’s the only thing I kinda sorta can do :D I hope you’ll enjoy this little drabble~! (and I’m sorry if the last part is a bit wonky, I was a bit tipsy when finishing this story). ENJOY

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The first time she heard those words, it made her feel proud, excited even. Granted there wasn’t much understanding on her part, not that beyond the most basic, organic one, but what she could decipher from Severus’ sentence, she’s found to be simple.

  ‘You are very powerful for a Muggleborn.' 

  They’ve known each other for about a week at that point. And what a magical week that has been, no pun intended, filled with wonderfully intricate stories of spells and hexes, of shapeshifting abilities and wizarding schools that held secrets beyond imagination. Every morning, Lily woke up with a smile, rushing to get ready for another warm, spring day full of classes that had recently lost their appeal in lieu of the new life that she now knew was awaiting her. How could Maths or English or French even live up to the promise of wands and incantations? They couldn’t… So Lily rushed back to the playground near Spinner’s End every day after classes and met up with the most fascinating boy she could ever wish to meet in the dreary town of Cokeworth. 

Severus Snape was a mystery. He appeared out of nowhere one day, and after witnessing, what he had later called, an accidental burst of magic became a guide of a hidden world that she apparently was a part of. He had shown her moving pictures and newspapers that talked about things and people she’s never heard of, tried explaining to her what it meant to be a witch or a wizard and recalled all the stories of Hogwarts he could remember hearing before. But there was one thing that he couldn’t do. And ironically it was magic. 

He had tried explaining, to the best of his abilities and childish understanding, the reasons behind his inability to perform magic, said that it was almost impossible without a wand. When asked how he knew he was a wizard, he huffed angrily and puffed out his chest as if his honour had been wounded. 'It’s because my mother is a witch. She’s told me about it all. And I had my own outbursts when I was a child.’ To her own childish mind, it was all understandable. She didn’t know that Sqibbs existed, or that there was a stigma to those born outside of the Pureblood lines of the magical world. To her, she thought as she willed another flower to bloom, hoping that Sev would follow her example, being a Muggleborn meant exactly what the word suggested. She was a daughter of Muggles… And she was powerful for a Muggleborn. 

Their friendship continued to grow with time. Somewhere along the way, they had grown attached to the hip while Lily and Petunia’s sisterhood started to fall apart. It was a slow process, sometimes hardly discernible to the minds of kids this young, but nothing could ever be the same after Lily learned of her abilities. After a name could finally be attached to the things she could do with her willpower alone. And maybe at 8 or 9, it wasn’t that much of a deal, but it was going to grow still, and she simply couldn’t imagine the extent of pain that it was going to give her. For as long as Lily was still living in Cokeworth the two remained family, the statuses of Muggle or Muggleborn, not all that often present in their thoughts. However, then came the moment Lily’s been waiting for. She got her letter and a visitation from an intimidating Witch wearing a stereotypical pointy hat, who explained everything that Lily apparently had to know about Hogwarts and how to get to both Diagon Alley and the hidden train platform somewhere in the far off London. Within weeks from that, she was off to a new world located for the very first few years solely in between the gates of her new school with thrilling new friendships looming on the horizon.

What she didn’t know, though she should have suspected after several particularly negative comments from Severus, was that once she had officially started her magical education, her status was going to be much more important to other people. And as it was her wake up call came as soon as the Welcoming Feast ended and the newly appointed Gryffindors followed their prefect up several staircases to a tower that was about to become their home for the next seven years. 

As soon as the Portrait’s frame moved from its original place and the sea of students poured into the common area the chaos erupted. Older kids formed groups around the room, some claiming the most comfortable sitting spots by the fireplace, others still gossiped about their summers as if the train ride hadn’t been long enough to catch up. All in all, it was a beautiful gathering of people under eighteen with no adult supervision enjoying their last moments of summer holidays.

In the middle of the room stood a bunch of first years, some openly staring around at older students playing Gobstones in the corner, others muttering with each other and a few patiently waiting for more directions to come from the prefect who brought them there from the Great Hall. Lily was one of those people. After all, despite coming from an unmagical family, she has already learned so much about the school from Severus. 

A tall, lean girl who stood in front of them and seemed almost as intimidating at professor McGonagall turned to face them and theatrically spread her hands to indicate the room they were all in. ’ Welcome to Gryffindor’s Common Room. It’s a place where you will spend most of your free time for the next couple of days and it’s where we cultivate our House Pride. To your left, you can see a notice board on which any and all information regarding our House will be put. Keep an eye on it.’ After that, she indicated one of the staircases behind her. 'On this side, you will find boys’ dormitories and on the other - girls’. Your trunks are already up there and waiting.’ With that, she was technically finished with all the information that she absolutely had to pass onto the first years, but there were a couple of things she wanted to add from herself. 'You see, us Gryffindors take our House Pride very seriously. Every year we make a great effort to win the House Cup or at least come up second. So try to keep up with us. Preferably by not being late tomorrow for your first classes as many often are.’ She finished with visible distaste and it was clearly their cue to leave the common room in search for their appointed sleeping quarters, but one of the girls suddenly raised her hand. 

'Yes?’ The prefect girl asked with resignation. Usually, one question meant that more were about to come.

'How will we know when to wake up? I mean, are there alarm clocks or something?’

It wasn’t a stupid question per se, but technically it wasn’t a good one either, especially since the girl pretty much answered it herself. But before the prefect could say anything, some too tall, too knobbly at the joints sixth year joined in with a nasty sounding comment. 'Oho! We got ourselves another Muggleborn this year, haven’t we?’ He asked his companion loud enough for the whole room to hear and even though there was little foundation to think that he had meant something vile, Lily could swear that his intentions weren’t pure. She glanced in his direction in curiosity, but soon her attention was brought back to the prefect. 'Yes, there are alarm clocks and there are masses of students waking up at odd hours of the morning to get ready for classes. So don’t worry. Unless you actively try to lose our points by sleeping in you should be fine. Even if you are, in fact, a Muggleborn.’ With that, they were dismissed and even if no one said anything about Muggleborns being somewhat lesser, Lily went to sleep much less excited than before.

It didn’t take long for her to learn that there were, in fact, those few people who did think her kind of people to be unworthy of magic. All it took was a few weeks and one overheard conversation between purebloods to get the whole spectrum. Some people didn’t care, others cared a little bit and some were total arseholes. 

Her first boyfriend was supposedly one of those precious few who didn’t care at all. He was a Ravenclaw and her partner during Herbology in the fourth year. A perfect example of his House’s stereotypes. 

He was studious, even though not the smartest, and knowledgeable about so many subjects that talking with him could never be dull, he was a pureblood but came from a family of very little importance., but most importantly he was as interested in Lily as she was in him. 

They started going out at the beginning of the second semester in all the school meaning of this word - Hogsmeade trips, library study sessions and an occasional stroll around the Great Lake. And it was nice, perfect, as thrilling as any first love ought to be. Sure, there were also awkward moments, natural at this stage of life when one is still learning and searching for what is what. Both had been fortunate to find the other. 

However, things had to start tumbling downhill as all first loves are ought to do. In their case, it was mostly because soon after the summer Lily started to get lost in her new prefect duties. There was too much to learn, too much to perfect that the spare time she’s had wasn’t enough to keep them together. And maybe it was for the best? She’s started to have some doubts during the summer and the disastrous way in which she’s met his parents. Disastrous in her opinion, but disastrous nonetheless. 

Everything happened within a span of some three minutes and yet it was enough to leave Lily uncomfortable with enough food for thought to last her for two whole months. It was the way he introduced her to his parents, something that hasn’t been planned beforehand but happened out of the blue. They should have predicted such a situation, but both were too young and too into each other to think about such details and nothing foretold how his simple, 'mum, dad this is Lily, my Muggleborn girlfriend’ would affect her. But it did. It made her blush, a sudden wave of embarrassment flooding her insides. And it made her angry, but at herself mostly, as at that point, she was already well acquainted with the notion of blood purity and had trained herself to pretend that the whole ideology didn’t affect her. Instead, she smiled through clenched teeth and shook the offered hands hoping that her redness, easily visible due to her light complexion, was being taken for a sure sign of her teenage infatuation. 

Everything changed from that moment. With every received letter from him, she remembered the way he had phrased his introduction, the way his choice of words felt off (who could ever naturally say “she’d my Muggleborn girlfriend”?), the way he felt it necessary to add that bit about her. Was it such an important part of her character? Did it matter all that much to him that she wasn’t a pureblood or even a half-blood? Couldn’t he just say that she was his girlfriend, plain and simple? Did that mean he had another girlfriend, with a different blood status hidden somewhere? In the end, it was all too much for her to take in and the pair had drifted apart. She was left with all those questions, though. And she never got her answers. 

Once the war had started to pose a real threat, her previous worries started to feel insignificant. Suddenly it wasn’t anymore about the way someone might find her not good enough to date her or throw a slightly thoughtless comment her way, suddenly it was starting to become life-threatening and before she knew what was going on, it had become more than serious. 

On her way there were classes, exams, OWLs and NEWTS and then she was out of school, graduated, a real witch with a real wand and an apparition licence. The world was huge and scary and even though she should be caring only about getting a good job and safe place to build a home she has found herself fighting for her basic rights. Instead of going to interviews or maybe learning new things, partying with friends and going on dates with her boyfriend (or two), she was spending her evenings patrolling and going to secret meetings. Instead of taking potions to sooth her sore throat (after a whole night of club going and screaming happily with friends) she poured over books in search of long forgotten potions and spells that they could use to tip the scales in their favour.  And then, just as suddenly, she was pregnant and engaged and then married and a mother and before she knew what was happening she was no more. And it was no longer her duty to make sure their baby never said to their future friend - “you are great…

…for a Muggleborn”.

[ambroseffxiv]

LFRP - Ambrose

special thanks to @crimsonfluidessence for the edited lfrp!  NOTES: most of initially mentioned notes on how Ambrose’s ability ties to Arcanima/works (in a simple sense) can be found on his Carrd profile found under the cut.

Overview

- Report from The Supreme Sacred Tribunal of Halonic Inquisitory Doctrine -

The Metaxas creature is a violation of not only the laws of Her Holy See of Ishgard, Her word within the Enchiridion, as well as the laws of the recently reclaimed Stone Vigil, Darkhold, and outposts of Camp Dragonhead, Whitebrim Front, Rosehouse and others, but a violation of nature herself. We are to do whatever within our power under Halone’s guidance to bring this creature to justice for the Greater Good.

NAME: Ambrose Metaxas PRONUNCIATION: Am-Bro-S Meh-Tax-Us RACE: J Tribe Miqo'te/Plainsfolk Lalafell Mix GENDER: Male (Trans, fully transitioned) AGE: 19 BIRTHPLACE: Ala Ghiri, Gyr Abania, Tailfeather, Dravania CURRENT RESIDENCE: Ren Huang’s Goblet apartment or personal apartment in the Lavender Beds PLACES THEY FREQUENT: Ul’dah, Gridania, Dravania DISCIPLINE: WAR/SMN(/DNC?) OCCUPATION: Retainer: gathering specialty in botany, combat specialty in WAR, botanist (specialized in seedkin)

SERVER:  RP MAIN: Balmung (Crystal) and MOSTLY CONTENT: Jenova (Aether) Different Data Centers=Different Universes, so treated as different instances

Personality

AT A GLANCE: Prickly, like a cactuar. Ambrose isn’t that hard to open up, but you have to be a certain type of person. He’s known to be stoic, cold and barely reacts to small attempts to garner his attention. BELOW THE SURFACE: A child at heart, he collects toys and dolls, and enjoys being able to play when he can in-between work. He’s also bubbly and energetic once past his initial walls, happy to lend a hand if needed. MOST DEFINING TRAITS: Extremely loyal to a fault, and when you do gain his trust, Ambrose will trust that person equally to a fault, unless proven otherwise with strong evidence, and even then, unless they are against his personal morals, he may follow without question anyway.

Motivations and Beliefs–––-

Worshipper of Shiva 

Dislikes the Twelve, but knows there’s a distinction between what the Twelve teach to how people may interpret it.

Seeks some revenge everything that happened to him. Passionately hates the Ward and Ishgard for everything that was done to him and the people he loves for years, and Garleans for robbing him of what he had and putting him in a prison when he tried to escape.

Despite everything that’s happened to him, Ambrose maintains a relatively kind and cheerful demeanor towards people, and despite his want for vengeance, wants to help make the world a better place through kindness as well.

Backstory–––-

- Further documentation from The Supreme Sacred Tribunal of the Halonic Inquisitory Doctrine -

The Metaxas creature is said to originate from the Dravanian Forelands, though it’s appearance begs a different origin for it. [Further investigation under way.] No hunter of Tailfeather has been suspected of heresy, however, the Metaxas creature has been reported in both the Dravanian Forelands and the Coerthan Western Highlands.  Following the initial sightings of the Order of Black Lotus, the Metaxas creature was first witnessed from a scouting group from Falcon’s Nest, seen making a large explosion of fire in what is believed to be a summoning of Ifrit. Other sightings were by other creatures similar to the Metaxas one, such as the Macelle creature, Clefier creature, and Gealionne creature.  After the elimination of the Order of the Black Lotus, the Metaxas creature was sighted in the Brume of our fair city, likely feeding on the innocent children of the poor. He went missing shortly after, sighted only years later.. Halone knows where or what he was doing before sightings resumed.

more under the cut!

Significant Relationships–––-

Vacho Vesucho - Father

J’nhakso ??? - Mother

Liloki Loki - Older Sister

Moh Ehs - Teacher and old friend

Oohr Seih - Old friend

Balmung

Esredes Rosemond - Adoptive father Leader and boss

Ren Huang - Boyfriend (? still complicated but not as much)

Akai Ikigomi - Friend

Additional Trivia

PATRON DEITY: Nymeia, the Spinner HOBBIES: Gardening, organizing, collecting dolls and toys to play with. Also collects miniature porcelain chocobo statues. ABILITIES: The ability to summon primals and aspects of primals into himself at a heavy physical cost, a higher level of aether within himself to manipulate and use. LANGUAGES: Dragonspeak, Old Elezen/Ishgardian/Landlord, Eorzean/Common (spoken only) FEARS: Excessive amounts of fresh blood, red on snow, large fires, the smell of burnt flesh, people who have an affinity with flames, excessive amounts of blood and gore on the color white, various other things that he won’t name. SEXUALITY: Homosexual HEIGHT: 4′11″ BUILD: Ambrose is a muscular yet soft looking man, trained to be a warrior, and be able to protect his fellow test subjects if necessary. The latter was fruitless, but gave Ambrose a routine to follow, and with how intensive retainer work can be, he kept himself in shape for a long time to be able to keep up with all of his clients. Nowadays, he’s much more soft, but still easily able to do heavy lifting and fighting, but for much less time. Otherwise, he has soft curves and larger than average thighs, and an overall curvaceous figure for a young man of his age. He is not uncomfortable with himself at this point in his life. (Reference NSFW) (See: Deviations from ig model ref for SFW references) DISTINGUISHING MARKS: Stripes, massive fangs that don’t seem to fit his mouth, but cleanly fit behind his lips, tiger ears, paws on his legs, unnatural eyes. COMMON ACCESSORIES: Cactuar earring on right ear, two rainbow colored earrings on his right hand. DEVIATIONS FROM IN-GAME MODEL: The paw legs, ears, teeth and much of his stripes, his tail is also much longer. Pupils are also white, and are less like slits, and moreso akin to plainsfolk eyes. (Reference art by elizastarkart, Reference)

Things you should know about my character: I play him how I play him. He might be an absolute ass to you, and walk out on a scene. I am not responsible for the trouble he gets into icly. Additionally, if you want to interact with him but want nothing to do with his primal side, I have no intentions to push anyone to have to be involved with anything with his primal side. That being said, if i make you uncomfortable, that’s different. Please say something so that I can fix it! I like to think I’m very adaptive to what I’m given, so don’t feel like you’re bothering me. But if him walking out because your character pisses him off and you get pissed off with me oocly for it, I’m gonna bring this up. Gets along with: Anyone kind to him initially. He’s immediately fond of people who will be willing to be nice right off the bat, and tends to favor them most. Otherwise, if you respect him and his ways, he’s inclined to like you more. Could go either way with: Anyone who doesn’t follow either extreme. He’s had to deal with other people most of his life, and most initial reactions are him being relatively shy or at least closed off, refusing to answer anything personal, even vague.  Unlikely to get along with: People who have no sense of morality whatsoever, people who treat him like a child simply due to size and age, and, of course, those who are aware of who and what he is, and intend to act because of it. 

possible hooks –––-

In Need of a Retainer/Interest in his ASSets

The last part is a joke- But he does have a nice ass. Ambrose is a retainer, and has many clients all over Hydaelyn, so long as it isn’t Ishgard/Coerthas. Ambrose serves adventurers, nobles, anyone who’s up to having a retainer, though non-adventurers will need to pay his salary themselves. He does not take ventures for his services at least, and accepts meals in return for work. Currently trying to save up for a place of his own.

Primal Summoning

Ambrose is a summoner, his brand is.. Complicated, but something definitely interesting to anyone who is invested in primals, Allagan summoning with egis, or arcanima in general. To summarize Ambrose’s summoning briefly, he has various etchings in arcane ink on his arms and legs, stemming the flow of primal energy when he summons them into himself. His summoning is akin to how both Shiva and Tsukuyomi were summoned, and so long as Ambrose can form an idea of what they look like, has the will for it, and is at his full aetherical capacity, can summon any primals that do not need a catalyst (Zantetsuken, the three kojin artifacts, and Tsukuyomi’s mirror, are all catalysts.) This would mean that you would need to know that Ambrose is.. Who he is, however. This hook means a lot more talking about meeting.

Botany help

If neither of those are your cup of tea, Ambrose is a botanist trained under Fufucha, guildmaster of the Botanist’s guild in Gridania. He originally picked up gardening as a hobby through his love of flowers, something he didn’t see for a long time after the Calamity hit Coerthas. His love for flowers eventually manifested in him caring for many once he was attempting to sign onto being a retainer, and was accepted into the Botanist’s guild in the meantime. He still is connected to them, and does some jobs for them if they request it.

Veteran of the Dragonsong War?

This one is a little complicated, but a hook I’ve been meaning to add. Ambrose was deeply steeped in the Dragonsong War for as long as he was able to- At least 4-6 years, depending on how long you see ARR and HW taking. He was not anywhere near Ishgard during Stormblood, instead being held in a cell in Ala Mhigo. Ambrose, being a heretic of Shiva and frequently taking on his own missions, could be a familiar face to anyone who slayed dragons for years, or simply served their time in the Ishgardian military. A strange Miqo’te with unnatural eyes said to cannibalize those who drew too close, and rode on dragonback. Subsequently, if you have any heretic background, you may know him simply as Ambrose by word of mouth or through some of his more distinct features.

Mystery Man

If this wasn’t already a little clear, Ambrose is appealing in more way than one. If you feel your character would have an interest in Ambrose simply because of his looks, I am not going to stop you from using that as a hook! If you do, however, you would hear some rumors about a mysterious pony-tailed retainer coming out of nowhere to rescue people from thugs in alleyways, before disappearing into the night without a word. Considering Ambrose is muscular, he somewhat fits the description.. But he’s a bit short, isn’t he?

what I’m looking for ––––

I’m looking for long term stuff! And no, that doesn’t just mean ships. I really want Ambrose to have more friends and connections, ships are just a nice bonus if they come too.  When it comes to friendships, the only real requirement there is is an ability to break past Ambrose’s prickly exterior, or have a desire to. It is relatively easy if you have the right personality, but does take determination for others. Ambrose has a habit of stalking as well, and being okay with that ooc is important to me, and if you need me to stop, I will.  For ships, I’m not picky, but we have to at least RP once before I’ll consider it. I also am picky with ERP, so if you’re going to come into things with the intention of just becoming Ambrose’s fuckbuddy, I have bad news. On Balmung/Crystal he is now in a monogamous relationship in canon, and they’re in the courting phase of things. I am open for AU romance and side timelines, but main timeline Ambrose is not up for romance. I am not looking for any ooc romance, and will stop talking to you if you make clear intents for it.

oocly, I am ––––

I am a perpetually sleepy 20 yr old trans dude with a boyfriend and likes coffee and drawing thighs. I have terrible handwriting and equally terrible taste in music, and I draw a lot. Throwing ideas with me is an invitation for my art. I prefer being explained a character than reading (ironic i know) or learning about them through rp. I get very distracted very easily, and on discord will either spam you forever or be too shy to talk initially! Please be patient with me.

you can contact me via ––

Twitter: @miqosabotender Tumblr (Main): @senorsabotender Discord: satan#9018 carrd: eikon.carrd.co <-also contains full background, more hooks and other information worth knowing In-Game: Ambrose Metaxas

[inexchangeforyoursoul]

Have some proper content from me lmao ( AO3 )

It’s been a long one…  He’d already been tired for the briefings and whatnot in the morning, which was followed by a day spent on retrieving smuggled support items with the League. It was fun, he supposes… the sneaky mission impossible thing. Much more enjoyable than lying through his teeth, at the very least. Then it turned out that the loot included some extra booze in courtesy of Giran, leading to this impromptu celebration that’s been going on for hours. Which wouldn’t be a problem, if not for the fact that it’s past 11pm already and he needs some goddamn rest. An all-nighter before illegal activities? Never again.

Whatever high quality drink there was in the two bottles draped in Cyrillic text sure packed a punch, though. Tomura was worryingly unaffected and Sako was keeping himself together, but a lick of the stuff knocked Jin and Himiko the fuck out and had Spinner in the corner humming off-tune to whatever came on the radio. Doesn’t stop him from chugging down what’s left in one go, though.

All in all, on top of wistfully thinking of his bed, Hawks would be lying if he wasn’t rather buzzed, too.

But even that’s no excuse for this.

“I’m not sure what I should be more upset about,” he mumbles with half a pout on his face, breaking the quite possibly hour-long silence. “The fact that I’m spending my last few hours off on a Saturday night slow dancing with a dude in a dump, that it’s you of all people, or… that I’m actually enjoying it.” He’s being slowly but surely lulled into sleep, in fact. Concentrate, man. Shake off the warm coziness and concentrate.

There’s a short, easy-to-miss hum that has an almost content ring to it. “You were the one to scrape me up from the floor, remember? Any and all complaints are on you, feather duster.”

That’s fair; a smile ghosts his lips, but he doesn’t bother with an answer. One of Dabi’s cool hands gets bored of tugging at the cluster of feathers on the small of his back since forever, so it digs into them, earning a pleased sigh from Hawks as he snuggles a little closer. The asshole doesn’t even smell that bad for someone who barely showers… a little pungent, a little burnt. Must be his quirk’s doing. It sterilizes everything.

“… you sure have become comfortable around me,” the villain notes as he plays with the red plumage, slowing the hardly-dance (that started as another hardly-dance with a bouncy idiot dragging his even more drunk ass around, making him almost throw the fuck up in the process) down until they come to a halt. There’s a thoughtful look on his face. “Especially for what a nervous, jumpy wreck you are.”

Hawks lifts his head from the shoulder in a moment of vague clarity; he’s… right. For starters, he wouldn’t be clinging to Dabi like this if he was even remotely sane, the guy could grill him on the spot without effort if he wanted to.

Could. But he also knows… that he won’t.

“Well… your own damn fault for making me feel safe,” he sighs eventually after the spark of common sense slips away, and leans his chin back down. Fuck, he really needs to crawl into bed asap. But first he’ll have to, well… wake up. Then pocket the rest of his feathers so he can take the midnight train relatively incognito… then either take the elevator that he hates up to his apartment, or take the currently inhuman effort and get all of his feathers from both the bag and his room to zoom up. And hopefully not hit the one closed window. Ugh.

“Oho, and I almost blamed it on the booze. Thought you didn’t trust me?”

He moans in annoyance; there’s a mocking smirk hidden in Dabi’s voice. “Hell yeah, I don’t. But, like… you never made any remotely suspicious moves. What am I supposed to do right now? Kick you in the nuts, for which this is a golden opportunity for, by the way… maybe headbutt your face, earning a number of piercing imprints? Or just, like… scream? Oh nooo~, big bad criminal has me in his clutchesss~”

The overdramatic damsel whines earn a breathless laugh from the other, who then pulls away. “Okay, okay… show your face, midget. Look at me, you hear?”

“Anyway, I just ‘ave no energy for that shit,” Hawks continues unperturbed and motionless in not wanting to let go as the logorrhea wave goes on. He already misses being warm. Bummer. “Hell, you don’t trust me and just gave me the back scratching of the decade! What’s the deal with that, huh?” Two cold, rugged hands, which are pretty much the polar opposites of Dabi’s heated torso, come up to cup his face and tilt it upward.

“See?” SEE?! There he goes again. Still, being touched this gently is really… nice. It’s not something he’s used to… nor something he would have thought Dabi capable of being, to be frank. He can barely keep his eyes from closing. “This is what I’m talking about. My shit is safe. About-to-fall-asleep safe, with that big fucking payload of safety that you dropped on me. I’m gonna sleep pretty damn sound tonight, if I say so. Huggin’ my pillow and shit, like a bear… full of honey. At hibernation station.” Wow. Nothing he says makes fucking sense anymore. Thinking before opening his mouth is everything but an option right now. Oh, one more thing: “ … and I’m no midget,” he adds while lifting both pointing fingers.

“Mhmm, mhmm,” nods Dabi after every other line, observing the hero’s pink-tainted face. “… I’ve suspected as much, but you really are more than just a little tipsy,” he concludes then as a matter-of-fact. He taps Hawks’ face a few times with a hand. “I’m warning you that there are no pillows to brood on around here if you dare fall asleep on me, chicken.”

“Hrmm… Whatever. Your bony ass will do. Is warm.” … okay, whoopsy-daisy, he definitely should not have said that. Even if he finds all this touching enjoyable beyond words… and admittance. Speaking of which, the hell is even Dabi’s game? This shit could be taken as interest.

… wait. Wait, fuck…  what if he is being flirty!? Abort, ABORT.

The adrenaline rush that comes with the thought dissipates like half of his exhaustion; Hawks peels his eyes open to take a good look at the villain. But his first reaction is to squint. Then squint even harder.

“Waiiita’seeec… are you… sober? Already?” His voice hitches high with disbelief and wings flare in a hiccup of scorn. “How the fuck, you downed like half a bottle of that shit! You were a mess— no, a disaster!!” he continues in an accusatory tone, with puffed wings of indignance and air karate chops, as if being the bigger mess at the moment was supposed to be a jab specifically at him. It’s Hawks who’s supposed to be the sane and rational one around these parts…! It’s him!!

“My body’s long burned through that shit, birdy,” Dabi informs him, his face infuriatingly and inexplicably neutral while sporting the smuggest barely-smile on his face.

The comment itself, on the other hand, rouses a goofy snort-giggle from Hawks, which reminds him of the fact that he is, in fact, everything but sober. ‘Burned through it…’ fucking hell.

Unimpressed head shake; Dabi lets go of his face and takes two steps back while putting his hands on the hips instead to have a good, condescending look at the other. Hawks is trying his best to suppress the giggles, and is leaning to wherever gravity takes him before his wings, relatively small as they are now, do their damnest to correct his balance while on autopilot.

He finishes his checkup with a deep sigh. “Yep… as wasted as they come.

“ You,” the hero points at him, tip of his finger as eerily rigid on target like a chicken’s head while he sways around lightly, “were near passed-out on the floor, young man.” The corner of his mouth is still twitching as his face is getting redder.

“Not anymore. You are about to kip over, though,” he states, tilting his head. “And damn if I’m not gonna watch you try not to.” Having said that, he steps forward with a hint of an amused smirk to give a tentative shove himself.

Hawks leans back fast and far enough from the impending hand of doom that it would indeed make him stumble backwards, if not for grabbing onto Dabi’s jacket. The villain connects with his target meanwhile- via finger flick to his temples.

His wings reflexively flap once as he’s yet to retain balance of any kind, and Hawks feels the redness creep up to his ears in embarrassment, then he peeks downwards… but the stars just aren’t aligned to put the returning idea into motion. Not if he wants to avoid falling ass backwards, that is. He sticks his lower lip out a bit, still staring. “… should ‘ave kicked you in the groin while I had the chance.”

“Too little, too late. Face is up here, bird brain.” He pulls the hero back onto his wobbly legs by the collar. “Get your wings flapping and your ass home… you are a hilarious mess.”

“Good enough for a joke… But, an absolutely ill-advised suggesshon. Drunk,” he says, pointing at himself with his free hand (as the other has yet to let go of Dabi), then back at his wings; “as small as they get while rede— reartaning… retaining funky– fuck it, they are… just big enough to lift me. When I’m not fucking like this. There.” Damn, if he’s stuttering, all hope is lost. Next time he’s packing snacks to drown out the booze before it drowns him. He wouldn’t risk flying like this either way, but damn it all, if Dabi really is fully sober… god, he’ll never let him live this down, will he.

“‘Flapping’ around like this would actually end up about as well as that horrendous mobile game did for any of us,” Hawks moans then. “Which you would pay to see, I know. Anyway, what I’m saying is… that the only way I’m flying right now… is if you chuck me, pal. And that ain’t gonna get me anywhere.” Even getting to the nearest train station would be a hassle by flight. Actually… it will be a hassle, no matter what, his legs are not exactly—

“WoAH…!” is the single most natural reaction he has to… well, being lifted off the motherfucking ground like a toddler. “The hell are you doing?!”

This is not something that just happens to the one guy on the block with functional wings, you know? When Hawks wants to leave planet Earth, it’s out of his own volition. It’s also him who divebombs villains or snatches various people off the ground, or from the air, it’s never the other way around. This? This is weird, this is unnatural, hell… literally unheard of, actually?

Because he can’t, for the life of him, remember anyone, ever carrying him. Not even as a child.

Not this way, at the very least… he has been on a stretcher a couple of times, but that’s never a good experience… you don’t land on one without a good, all kinds of painful reason. It feels nothing like this. This… this actually feels…

“Giddy up, then, because I’m taking you to the station. I sure as hell don’t feel like dealing with you in the morning,” Dabi huffs, interrupting the other’s epiphany. A drunk Hawks, he can deal with; he’s tolerable, if not, dare say, adorable, but hungover Hawks?! That just sounds like a living nightmare. He’ll have to deal with his own headache in a few hours. He’ll pass on this, hard.

“… you’re unnecessarily heavy for a half-pint canary,” he mumbles after a few steps; the bird has some muscle to his name, but is no body builder. And a shorty. He’d be impressed if said weight wasn’t literally on his shoulders. Also… he’s a little worried about the hero’s sudden silence. He’s got enough presence to hold onto him, though, so the guy can’t be that far gone.

“… Well,” Hawks drawls after a pause, “fun fact, Dabi… when at peak condition, my wings add up to roughly fifty per cent of my body weight. We’re being hella easy on you.” He gives a tentative swing with them, barely missing the villain’s head with his right one.

“Do that again, and I’ll make sure that you won’t be able to fly for a month.”

He lets out a soft laugh at that. The warm, alcohol-induced tingles still dancing at his fingertips may be a factor to consider, but he’s thoroughly enjoying this.

Not him being the one to fly just to get his head over the sea of people, gasping for air, even without the crowds being present… is an experience for sure. And being so much taller while still rooted to the ground one way or another, and able to see everything there is to see on an empty street at night feels straight-up sublime, and the wind that the freight train passing them carries with itself is blowing through his hair as the ka-chak, ka-chak of it quickly fades into the abyss, and, and…

… this is nice. Holy shit, is this nice.

He closes his eyes for a moment… which, of course, ends up not being just a moment, but the rest of the trip. He doesn’t even notice Dabi stopping until he speaks up.

“Your stop, Tweety. Wake the fuck up, man, I’m not your perch.”

“… ah.” The disappointment slipped through that one… oh well. The fact that he gets dropped about as gently as a sack of potatoes doesn’t help, either. He actually fell asleep there, didn’t he.

He takes a look around; they stopped at the end of the alley almost opposite the station. That’s good… he has yet to put on a shitty disguise. AND has his feathers attached, that one won’t do at all, into the bag they go, and out of the bag the strack suit comes. While he’s waking up and doing his thing, Dabi’s already sneaked over the fences of the next two houses and struts up to the platform from the street corner one over. With a head scratch and a sigh, he trods towards the entrance a minute later, too, attempting to look like someone who’s on villain trail.

The doors of the train slide open, and he collapses opposite Dabi, who’s fiddling with his phone. A few seconds later he pushes the button to slip back out. There’s a fresh note folded to as small as humanly possible left on the seat, lost next to baked good crumbs on the left, a piece of chocolate wrap just past that, and a lone piece of gum that looks as if it had been there for a while.

“‘He’ better send a message so I know he wasn’t murdered, kidnapped, or arrested on the way home,” Dabi says as the doors close, muffling the last bit. He turns around.

Hawks lifts a hand as a sign of understanding. The villain nods and swings his own arm in a half-hearted wave as he leaves. He takes a look around the outer walls before slinking back out and heading off to the opposite direction they had come from.

Hawks is left alone with his thoughts in the empty car. Eventually he remembers that he has a KFC cap at the bottom of the otherwise empty bag, too, along with… two leftover nuggets from yesterday that he forgot about. Cold and probably stale, but shit, that’s a godsent right now. As the train leaves the platform and he bites into his surprise reserves, he starts pondering.

Somehow… he’ll need to make him do that again.

[stimtoybox]

My Stim Toy Collection

Given that there’s a lot of people like me who don’t like buying online, I thought I might go over in more detail what I’ve gotten that HAS worked for me in the recent past as I find online shopping intensely overwhelming.

I live in Canada in the Fraser Valley, and have to get around by bus, so all of this is focusing on Canadian chain stores, as finding all the tiny corner-shops with niche items is almost impossible, even though I absolutely know they exist here. I’ll group the items as best I can by place, but this is still going to be a long post.

WALMART (Classic Fidgets):

Zuru Fidget Cube; I believe mine cost about 8.00 - 9.00 CAD, you can find it on Walmart.ca too right now for 8.77. It works quite well, the weight is nice and the plastic is that lovely texture. It has the silent and clicky buttons, and all the parts move quite smoothly (except possibly the joystick, but I might just find it inferior to actual game controller ones.) However, it mixes really poorly with my love-hate relationship with clicking and inability to NOT use those sides even when the noise is bothering me intensely.

Zuru Tangle Jr.; their website currently lists them for 24.00 CAD, but I found mine for I think 10.00 or 12.00 CAD in store when I went recently. I’d tried someone else’s recently and found in to be very engaging but horribly clicky; the one I bought is dead silent unless it brushes against itself. It moves like an absolute dream, and I love it to pieces. I am SO happy.

Kitty in My Pocket; these are a mystery grab bag item, for 3.47 CAD. The kitties are about the size of a large adult’s thumbnail, made of hard plastic, and absolutely adorable - they are also FLOCKED. It’s a lovely texture and I’m super happy I got one. Walmart (and Superstore) both have a ton of mystery package items right now and I had been wanting to try one out, and this was the first where I liked the potential results. If you love cats, I’d definitely suggest it.

PARTY CITY (Tiny fidgets):

Woolly Balls; singlets for 40 cents, or a pack of twelve for 5.00 CAD. These are like my ideal work fidget, as they’re small enough to go in a pocket discretely, they look fairly non-descript despite their colour, and can vanish into my palm or back into a pocket on a moment’s notice. I love rolling them across my palm for texture, or crushing two together for a different feel.

Puzzle Erasers; also singlets for 40 cents, I didn’t look for larger packs as this isn’t my favourite toy but I’m glad I tried it out. There was a lot of extra material from molding that I had to pick off but that wasn’t too much effort to do. I got a box that breaks down into six pieces and can be slot back together again, but I believe they may have had other things too.

Keychain Plush; “YooHoo and Friends” are fairly high quality tiny (smaller than my palm) minky plush, for 4.00 CAD. It’s stuffed very tightly, except for the arms and tail that are empty fabric. The keychain seems securely attached, but I pulled off one of the felt paws already while stimming. The seam seems undamaged by it, though, so while he only has three paws left it didn’t cause on-going flaw.

Mermaid sequin keychain; this was the last one of that particular style in-store at the location I went to, but they are still stocking online also 4.00 CAD. The backing is minky plush, which is what I’d wanted from a sequin keychain as the sequins themselves can be overstimulating for me. The plush part is kind of low, and the seams are a bit rough - enough I’m considering the relative risk of unpicking a seam to add either more plush or some poly pellets to increase the volume. The sequins however flip quite well.

Spiky Light up Ball: I actually bought mine at a local hardware store, but when I was trying to find things online to check prices, I found that Party City had packs of four for 4.00 CAD as well at least online. The one I got has a finicky light; sometimes it goes off sitting still in the wrong position, other times I can shake it three times and not get it to go. Still, the spikes feel great and the ball is pretty firm (although I can’t say I’d call it ‘bouncy’ as Party City does.)

TOYS R US (BABIES R US): (teethers)

IIRC Canada’s still supports A$, but I wasn’t aware of anywhere else to look for the kind of silicon baby toothbrush I needed for self-care.

Teethers: I got a Nuby round teether for I believe 3.00 - 5.00 CAD on sale; most were potentially on clearance when I went in last, so no idea if this is eve still an option. If its not, there’s a Canadian website for that that’s possibly a better option. However, if you’re like me and the thought of buying online makes you sick with anxiety, I’m not sure what other baby stores even exist? Either way I’m not the best judge, as both teethers I got don’t actually work well for me due to my sensitive gag reflex (a thing I suspected, given I was looking for a finger toothbrush for precisely that reason.)

Perhaps more relevant, I don’t think I saw anything super stimmy in Toys R Us that wasn’t also present for much the same price in Walmart or Superstore. The only thing that was significantly different was that I found a single-pack for the toothbrush (you could buy it with other stuff for slightly more money from Superstore, which I compulsively avoid waste) and teethers of any kind. If you don’t need either of those, you can happily stick with the other department stores.

SUPERSTORE: (Plush, slime, Playdough, Kinetic Sand, mojmoj squishies)

*Much of this is also at Walmart, but I currently work at Superstore with this stuff so I know their selection better. What I mentioned about Walmart is basically what I could not find at Superstore. I cannot review playdough for allergy reasons and I’m not interested in buying kinetic sand, but for people who want to know a retailer that has it in store, Superstore does.

Slime: Currently a seasonal item (IE it will no longer be stocked after Easter clearance is gone) but they have “Easter Putty” that is actually quite a nice slime. The marbled effect vanishes after some use, and the egg-shaped container is useless once opened, but it has a nice vibrate to it, it doesn’t melt so quickly you can’t keep up with it, and it cost 5.00 or less to try out if I like slime at all. It leaves a watery feelign residue that vanishes even if you don’t wash your hands immediately, and has no scent. Its prone to tearing if you’re not careful, but if you’ve been wondering if you’d even LIKE slime or not it might be worth checking it out.

Plush: Superstore store-brand plush are the absolute best so far, I stg. I own two of their seasonal plushies from Christmas - giant rotund cats - and they are SO soft and so well-stuffed and they were 15.00 CAD for plush 16" tall and 12" wide (approx. 40 cm by 30 cm). Currently their seasonal plush are rabbits, sheep, and llamas, plus others - the most expensive at the moment is a 34.00 CAD giant rabbit that’s 3-4 FEET tall. They have in the past carried mermaid sequin plushies too, but not for the current season. If you are a stimmer who collects plush, I’d highly recommend checking regularly to see what’s in stock - not in the toy aisle, but in the back corner seasonal stuff. There always seems to be some kind of stuffy offered.

If you want the most amazing plush blanket EVER, I’d go in the next two weeks for the faux rabbit fur blankets but they should be sold out before long too.

(I’d review the mojmoj squishies, but handling them as a retail employee who has to clean up after others is just. Heavily biased towards the “OMG dirt magnets” end of things. Do NOT drop your squishy in a department store??? There are, however, currently giant plush mojmoj puppies and unicorns, but as they are 34.00 CAD I will not be going more than “Cute looking” about them anytime soon.)

OTHER:

I found a decent spinner at Pharmasave, but they were all on sale so I don’t know if they’ll still be available anywhere else. I’ve seen decent plushies offered at Indigo Books recently, but haven’t been in of late to see what all they have. I heard that Odin Books in downtown Vancouver has Tangles as well, but that’s quite a long ways for me to go to see. The only other location I could suggest to people who want tiny shops in Greater Vancouver would be Commercial Drive or Kitsilano along 4th Avenue.

The above are things and places I’ve been in looking with stim toys in mind in the past couple of weeks, so hopefully the information should be more up to date and helpful to people.

This is an epic resource, and I am always here for posting about more offline resources outside of Australia. (There’s so many reasons why stimmers can’t purchase or easily purchase toys online, so conversations about alternatives are so important!). Thank you so very much, @tassledown, for all the time and effort you’ve put into such a fabulous post.

And yes: flocked toys are great little palm fidgets! I have a childhood Sylvanian Families (Calico Critters for US-based folks) collection, and I keep a few of the knock-off Lil Woodzeez figures just for stimming so I don’t wear the plush off my expensive (and vintage!) Sylvanian figures. I know there’s a surprise box set of Lil Woodzeez babies available in the US, which I’d love to own...