#in any case i want more details about the vestiges

[makeste]

Plus One For All

so guys. can we talk about how there’s somebody chilling out inside of Katsuki’s mind who’s not supposed to be there.

hello there Mister All Might Vestige sir. you should not exist, just FYI. you’re not some Nighteye-type plot hallucination. because if you were, you would not be appearing here as Cloud Might, a version of yourself whom Katsuki has never met and has no frame of reference for. ergo he did not imagine you. ergo you are, in fact, real.

which means Katsuki has One For All.

because that’s the only way he could have a Vestige -- which is indisputably what this is -- inside of him. he has OFA. so. where did he get it. how does he have it. and why is it only making its presence known now.

let’s discuss.

okay so I’m going to try and lay this all out as clearly as possible while also attempting to be as succinct as I can. but knowing me, I’m probably going to wind up sacrificing the latter in pursuit of the former. I’ll do my best though. here goes.

1. Heroes Rising is canon.

which is a fact we’ve recently been reminded of not once, but twice -- first with the appearance of Katsuma and Mahoro in chapter 405, and then in chapter 406 with the “Bakugou no Kacchan” callback. the timing of this almost certainly isn’t coincidental. Horikoshi wants this to be fresh in our minds.

mind you, it is extremely unusual for movies, even technically!canon ones, to actually be relevant to the plot. but BnHA may be one of the few exceptions. we’ve already seen movie 1 impact the series both with Star & Stripe’s backstory, and with Deku’s new gauntlets. so there’s precedent, and it’s something I am paying very close attention to.

2. Deku giving OFA to Bakugou is canon.

just in case anyone here hasn’t yet seen or been spoiled for Heroes Rising, that is in fact what happens in that film! so yeah, that certainly seems like an extremely relevant detail right about now.

3. we never found out why and how Deku got OFA back at the end of the movie.

okay so I was looking for a clip to link before we discuss this next part, but I unfortunately couldn’t find one that hadn’t been edited to avoid copyright issues, so you’ll just have to make do with this.

skip ahead to about 7:10 for the relevant part. for the purposes of this theory, we’re just going to ignore everything All Might says here, because tbh he has no fucking clue what’s actually going on and is just guessing wildly lol. however, I do want you to take note of one thing which will be important later. and that’s the fact that, when OFA “returns” to Deku’s body, it’s only his body which starts glowing, and notably not Kacchan’s. the latter just keeps lying there unglowingly. nothing to indicate any kind of transfer is actually happening between him and Deku, in other words.

moving on.

4. OFA and AFO are probably the same quirk.

as summarized here and here. which is relevant because if they are the same quirk, or close to it, then OFA can most likely do anything AFO can do. so file that away for later.

5. AFO was able to split his quirk and give it to Tomura while still keeping a piece of it for himself.

what’s more, he was able to do the same with Garaki/Ujiko’s quirk, and presumably other quirks as well. while it’s possible that this quirk duplication has nothing to do with AFO and is simply something Garaki was able to figure out using ~*~Science~*~, I think it’s more likely that the two of them used AFO’s quirk in some way to accomplish this feat. particularly since Tomura not only received AFO, but a bunch of its stored up quirkdata as well, such as the information stored in Ragdoll’s stolen Search quirk.

6. OFA responds to Deku’s feelings and desires.

or at least this is the case according to Banjou in chapter 213. recall this interesting conversation on how Deku first activated Blackwhip.

he was thinking that he wanted to capture Monoma, and so OFA obediently activated his “capture Monoma” quirk. despite him being unaware he even had said quirk. it responded to his need, even though he wasn’t consciously trying to activate anything.

now then, let’s revisit that scene in Heroes Rising one more time.

7. during the climax of Heroes Rising, Deku was NOT thinking, “I need to give OFA to Kacchan.”

here’s the scene one more time for reference. this time you’re gonna want to skip to about 3:57.

here’s where we are going to get extremely technical, because this scene right here is the key to everything. Deku’s lines in this scene are, and I quote: “a way we can protect [everyone]... there’s just one way...!” but he very notably does not specify exactly what that “one way” is.

until we get to this scene a minute or so later, which spells it out for us very clearly.

two One For Alls. as in, “with two One For Alls, we could win this battle and save everyone.”

that’s what he was thinking at the moment of the “transfer.” NOT, “give OFA to Kacchan.” but, “we need two One For Alls.”

which, I think, may have made all the difference.

8. OFA created a copy of itself to share with Kacchan, so that both of them could have OFA and use the two OFAs to defeat Nine.

let’s recap. OFA is AFO. AFO can clone itself. so it stands to reason that OFA can presumably clone itself as well. and that’s exactly what Deku wanted to do. make a second One For All.

he didn’t know that he could do that. but as previously established in the Blackwhip incident, OFA is more than capable of making its own executive decisions in key moments just like this in order to help him out.

which would mean that what we saw at the end of Heroes Rising was not OFA being transferred from Bakugou back over to Deku. it was actually just Deku’s OFA briefly self-activating (possibly in response to his delirious apology to All Might -- kind of a “no worries bro, you’ve still got your quirk actually, so go back to sleep and stop stressing over it” type of thing). and Kacchan’s OFA doing... absolutely nothing. it didn’t actually transfer back into Deku. it didn’t actually go anywhere.

let me repeat that: it didn’t actually go anywhere.

in other words, Kacchan still has OFA. and has had it ever since Heroes Rising. he just didn’t realize it. and neither did anybody else.

9. Kacchan’s OFA went dormant once Nine was defeated.

okay, so. remember all of this exposition from chapter 304?

basically, if someone who already has a quirk receives OFA, using it will slowly destroy their body until it kills them. the Vestiges learned this from All Might while he was researching the past generations of OFA in chapter 241, incidentally. Heroes Rising takes place right around this same time (immediately following MVA if I recall). so by the time the film’s climax rolled around, the Vestiges would have known that giving OFA to Kacchan could have devastating consequences down the line if they did not take action immediately after the fight.

so they did.

once Nine was defeated, the Vestiges shut the whole thing down. the crisis was averted, and they no longer had need of a second OFA. they have this boy who is way too similar to Deku in terms of his willingness to put himself in harm’s way in order to achieve his goals. and they absolutely do not want any harm befalling this boy. more on that momentarily.

so they go dark. and they even seal his memory so that he’s no longer aware of even having the quirk. they are essentially in sleep mode. and if circumstances hadn’t eventually become desperate enough to force their hand, they might have remained inactive for the rest of Katsuki’s life.

now, you might be wondering to yourself, “why is OFA willing to go to such unusual lengths in order to protect Katsuki?” and well, the answer to that is pretty simple.

10. Kacchan does not have the same version of OFA as Deku.

Deku is ninth gen. Katsuki, however, is tenth gen. which means that his version of OFA has one additional Vestige. a Vestige whose presence immediately explains why OFA is so goddamn determined to protect him at all costs.

:’)

long story short, while Deku’s version of OFA has proven itself all too willing to enable him in his increasingly suicidal mission, Katsuki’s version of OFA is very much a different story, on account of it being under the management of what I’m guessing is the most willful Vestige ever to exist. and said management being just the slightest bit unhinged when it comes to Katsuki’s safety in particular. seriously, you can’t tell me this is not exactly how a Deku!Vestige would behave. “oh hell no. no OFA for you!! and no memories either, because you can’t be trusted, goddammit. we never should have done this. what the hell were we thinking. if anything happens to him I will kill everyone in this room and then myself.”

so yeah. dormant.

right up until they literally couldn’t afford to be anymore.

11. OFA can self-activate in moments of crisis to protect its user.

Sports Festival. chapter 33. Deku vs. Shinsou.

aw yeah. it’s all coming together.

12. OFA reactivated itself in order to save Katsuki’s life.

I would now like to briefly draw your attention to this scene from chapter 405, in which Edgeshot explains how Katsuki was finally saved. please note my man is very clear that he did not restart Katsuki’s heart himself. he was basically just performing quirk CPR up until Katsuki’s own quirk returned him to life apropros of nothing.

“what brought you back... was the power you’ve honed.”

except... that should have been impossible. because Katsuki was dead. meaning he should not have been able to activate his quirk on his own, on account of the whole “being dead” thing.

however, if he by chance had a quirk with just enough of a mind of its own to activate in critical situations in order to help its user. situations like being forced under mind control. or, perhaps, being stabbed through the heart. well then. that would certainly go a long way towards explaining all of this.

and oh hey, when exactly was it that we saw this guy, again?

oh? it happened at the exact moment when his heart was stabbed through? you don’t say. well that certainly is interesting.

in summary:

Deku cloned his quirk in Heroes Rising and gave Kacchan a copy of OFA. owing to the hyperprotective Deku!Vestige inside Kacchan’s copy of OFA, it shut itself down once Nine was defeated, and all of Katsuki’s memories of having OFA were deliberately wiped, or sealed away. OFA itself remained inactive until TomurAFO stabbed Katsuki through the heart, at which point OFA was forced to reactivate itself to save his life. which it did, by forcibly restarting his heart.

that’s it. no idea how close to the money any of this is, but I think it would explain most of the lingering mysteries and questions about what exactly is going on with Katsuki. and I’ll throw in one last observation as well -- Katsuki has a nine in his name (BaKUgou), but not a ten. which I know sort of contradicts what I was saying earlier about him being the tenth gen, lol. but he both is and isn’t. if Deku split his quirk, Kacchan would in theory receive everything that’s currently in Deku’s quirk right now, and that includes Deku’s own power that he’s been adding to the mix. so he’d still have the Deku!Vestige. but he’s also still ninth gen, because he and Deku are sharing that distinction now. or at least I think the argument could be made at any rate.

so yeah. I’ve been obsessing over all of this for the past few days lol. what do you guys think?

[77dekiru]

Stain Isn’t Dead.

Okay. I know that this sounds like me just being delusional, but I have genuine reasons for believing that Stain is actually still alive…

(yes, I promise that this isn’t just cope lmfao)

1. His death was very… odd.

Alright, first let’s talk about the quirk that AFO used to break free from Bloodcurdle:

Phlebotomy.

In the viz translation of the series, it translated the quirk as “Bloodletting”, but it is actually able to be translated from Japanese to English as both!

“瀉血” bloodletting; phlebotomy

Both translations are technically correct, but I do think that “Phlebotomy” fits better for what I believe the quirk actually does!

Phlebotomy is the act of removing blood from a patient using a needle (yes, I googled this…) AFO needed to use his “Forced Activation” quirk as well to be able to use that blood ejection move, so that wasn’t the original purpose of the quirk!

Who said that “Phlebotomy” can only be used to dispel blood, and not take blood as well?

I noticed that on the fan wiki the quirk is described as allowing All For One to “expel all the blood from within his body and then retract it back into his body” when I genuinely don’t believe that’s the case?

All For One said himself that he lost all that blood, and we are never actually shown it retracting back into him. Also, the majority of the blood that he was originally covered in, he seemed to lose due to the speed of him chasing after Akaguro…

It doesn’t follow him, but instead is left behind.

Even if AFO is able to retract the rest of his blood back into himself, or regenerate the blood, all of the damage that he takes makes the rewind process speed up. I don’t think that it’s a stretch to assume that he wanted to minimize the damage to as little as possible.

And for Stain’s actual “death”…

I think that after AFO used “Phlebotomy” to remove his own blood, he stole Stain’s blood to replenish his own… he needed more blood from somewhere!

Now, for the most important detail that actually makes this theory plausible…!

AFO’s hands look as if they’re using two different abilities. The one in focus is obviously AFO using his original quirk to steal Bloodcurdle, but the second hand’s ability looks suspiciously like “Phlebotomy” to me!

If you look at the close up of AFO using “Phlebotomy” the first time with Forced Activation, and compare it to the ability that he uses in his second hand when he “kills” Akaguro, they are literally drawn the exact same way. (lol)

And without AFO using “Forced Activation” the effect is much smaller, and contained only to his hands.

Not to mention, Akaguro even had an open chest wound before AFO used the (presumed) second quirk on him, perfect for him to extract his blood from!

I also want to point out that after All For One used that move on Akaguro, he doesn’t have any blood left on his hands (which AFO had before using that second ability…)

Which is definitely odd.

I genuinely don’t see this being just a possible continuity error either…

2. Stain’s role hasn’t ended yet.

I think that it’s pretty reasonable to assume that AFO won’t be correct about Akaguro’s “role” ending with his (possible) death…

Akaguro’s (possible) last words are quite literally telling All For One that he’s wrong, and that it’s all part of a “bigger process”. The main theme throughout the final battle is challenging AFO’s way of thinking, and proving it wrong in the process. It would be very weird for him to suddenly be right about this one thing!

(Not to mention, AFO views quirks as the thing that gives people a “role” and without Bloodcurdle, I can see him viewing the loss of Stain’s quirk as what makes him now be without a role.)

3. We weren't shown Stain's vestige after AFO stole his quirk.

I am not saying that only the dead get vestiges (Hawks is still very much alive, and we saw his vestige lol) but I’m bringing this up to point out that Stain’s future relevance to the plot isn’t with the vestiges. I thought that maybe he would play some sort of role debilitating AFO from the inside as a vestige even after death.

But that didn’t happen.

All For One (or at least his physical body) is officially gone now, and he wasn't able to transfer the copy of his quirk to Tomura before he died... so there isn't any chance for Stain’s future role to be as a vestige within Tomura either.

I like to think that if Stain’s role had truly ended with his death, we would’ve at least seen a glimpse of his vestige before all them vanished along with AFO for some sort of closure for his character.

4. It just doesn’t fit.

MHA doesn’t kill off characters just to kill off characters. (Also, I would like to think that AFO wouldn’t be given that satisfaction of being the one to kill Akaguro… Especially since nothing else has gone his way so far in this final battle.)

It’s also important to remember that Stain dying doesn’t just affect his own arc, but it directly affects All Might’s as well!

Stain has been set up to be All Might’s villain counterpart during the final act, and just like the other heroes who were given their own counterparts, they will all be helping them! (It won’t just end with this battle, it will be a long process that will continue even after the war has ended…)

It would genuinely be so strange if All Might failed to save someone (especially someone so important to him) at the very climax of his character arc… it just doesn’t fit the current tone of the story at all.

I’ll be honest, one of my original theories for how Stain’s character would eventually end was with him dying…

My thought process was that if All Might wouldn’t kill Stain (and he never was, for obvious reasons), then what if Akaguro died for him instead? And if Stain really did die there, then my theory would be right, but now I’m pretty sure I was wrong! (lol)

I don’t think that anyone (besides AFO) will die during this final battle. The concept of “Absolute Victory” has been defined as not losing anyone. And I doubt that the heroes will be taking any losses during this final battle!

Now, this is just an idea that I’m throwing out there, but a lot of the big character moments throughout the series have been shown through the idea of rebirth, so perhaps this “death” will be something like that… who knows!

5. Stain’s ideals need to be challenged.

I just want to remind everyone that this final battle isn’t just about challenging AFO’s ideals, but all of the different villains ideals.

(As well as their shared belief that there isn’t anything for them past this point. I do think there is a bit more to Stain’s obsession with All Might killing him than just him believing he’s the only one worthy to do it...!)

His belief that All Might is the only true hero, the only one worthy of his trust needs to be challenged. It’s just simply not true, and we have already seen hints that his mindset has started to change!

How Stain will survive:

I will not be holding my breath for any of this happening, and it’s mostly my ideal ending (with solid evidence for) for what I hope happens for both Stain and another important character’s arc…

Tenya!

In the final battle, Tenya has been paired off with Shouto in a supportive role for the Todoroki Family plotline, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing for his arc… But I do hope that he gets more than that!

Each character who was a part of the main cast during the beginning of the series have gotten their own separate arcs with the main focus being on showing how far they all have come since then…

Expect for Tenya.

I think that Tenya saving the man that he once was planning to kill would both be a perfect way to show far he has come since the beginning of the series, and a satisfying way to end his character.

We have already gotten teased for Tenya and Stain interacting one last time, in both Chapter 385 and Chapter 386…!

Stain even thinks to himself how Tenya is now acting for the sake of others. A quality that he has only consistently shown to associate with All Might up until now…

We were shown what Tenya is currently doing in Chapter 395 for a reason!

Tenya isn’t shown to be passed out on the ground, or down for the count like the rest of the other heroes that were shown.

He is still moving!

Now, I might be looking for something that’s not there, but it looks as if he’s heading back to where All Might is supposed to be..?

Reminder: The AFO vs. All Might fight begins about 20 minutes before the TogaTwice clones disappear, so I don’t think that it’s much of a stretch to believe that Tenya can make it to where All Might was in a reasonable amount of time without Stain being left critically injured for too long.

I don’t think that Stain will be able to survive on his own (and if he does, it would be a bit odd with the theme that the current battle can only work if it’s a group effort), and him being saved by Tenya would be the continuation of that “bigger process” that Akaguro talked about…

(Also, I can’t imagine anyone else coming to save him besides Tenya at this point…)

Anyways, this is my ideal ending for the both of them, and I don’t think that it would necessarily be a bad ending for it to end without any of this happening, but I do think that it would be a disappointing one.

[yournextflame]

Western fandom views Golden Order Greatsword as an evidence that Radagon never loved Renalla and cynically reforged her wedding gift. But during my visits to the Japanese side of community I noticed that native speakers are calling this sword a copy and their interpretation of what happened between Radagon and Rennala is very different from EN. In my attempt to understand why there is such massive discrepancy of opinion between anglosphere and JP fandom I decided to check the description.

Telltale signs betray that this was once the greatsword bequeathed to him by his first wife, Rennala

そこには、最初の妻レナラから贈られた 大剣の面影があるという

面影 - has many meanings; modern ones such as vestige, traces, remnants, but also more archaic - in a memory of someone, reminder, looks, likeness.

Depends on the reading of "omokage" 面影 description of the Golden Order Greatsword can have two opposite interpretations: - Radagon didn't cared about about Rennala anymore and reforged her gift (Golden Order Greatsword bears traces of Moonlight Greatsword) - Radagon still loved Rennala and forged his new sword in the image of her gift (Golden Order Greatsword bears likeness of Moonlight Greatsword)

Official translation went with the first variant, which is the most popular reading of 面影. But Elden Ring often favors archaic Japanese over modern language, a good example of this case is a famous Greattree fiasco. Translators slept on 樹根 "roots" being an ancient term used in old times when Japan adapted Chinese hànzì, and created a magic tree, which ruined Western lore arena is never discussed by native speakers or mentioned at all. When it comes to difficult translation my golden rule is go to Japanese online spaces and find out what they think.

Japanese twitter, what is your wisdom?

However, some people think that Radagon reforged Rennala's gift:

Well, I get it right and description is supposed to be vague as even native speakers are questioning what does it mean:

As you can see there is no consensus, majority of tweets I read were saying that the Golden Order Greatsword is a copy, not a reforged Moonlight Greatsword, but not everyone is so optimistic.

I'm not going to call description of the Golden Order Greatsword a mistranslation as even native speakers don't have a common interpretation of it, but I'm disappointed that EN missed the duality of 面影 and went with the most straightforward variant, missing original deeper meaning.

This sword is one of the greatest mysteries of Elden Ring lore to me as my blog started with investigation of Cave of the Forlorn, and I wonder if we will see Greatsword of Full Moon in DLC (if there will be any).

P.S. I've been already talking about many interesting details surrounding Golden Order Greatsword, but this time I want to pay attention to the color. According to the description "greatsword made of light, modeled after the Elden Ring itself" it is supposed to symbolize the Elden Ring, but I've found it interesting that a sybbol of Elden Ring in Radagon's interpretation has a very noticeable red tint.

The red tinge in the gold coat mirrors the primordial matter that became the Erdtree. The color of homeward yearning

[sallertiacallidus]

Tagged by @grimalkinsquill! (and also @purrfectlypunny before I could finish it on the first tag, lol [I had to go to sleep :p])

Rules: Pick any 10 of your fics, scroll somewhere to the midpoint, pick a line (or a few), and share it! Then tag people! (If you don't have 10, that's okee! Just post what you can! <3)

Tagging: @applebearly, @coracries, @amystarsmith (if y’all want to), and, uhhhhhhhh, anyone else who feels like it?

It’s Just… I Wish Someone Would Listen - Chapter 2

And whoever that person was, couldn’t be farther from who Félix was now. He remembered vestiges. Of not having as many heavy, paralyzing, thoughts. Of being able to approach others out of his own volition. Of talking. Then a giant fog of uneasiness and unsafety, then his throat getting more and more clogged up as the years went on.

Rumpus, Ruin, and a Third One

“Cut it out, Knick!” he snarled to the goblin smacking his head against the wood. “Denting your thick skull won’t help us.” He knocked his own head for emphasis. “We gotta think.”

“Yeah!” Knick threw hands. “Because thinking has always helped the captain! Thinking has never disappointed the Goblin King! Thinking has never made Wuvvy demand satisfaction for making Rue cry!” He jumped high at the end, pulling at his ears.

Trickster - Chapter 5

He sighed after confirming no page had been wrinkled or ripped and turned to scowl at his deskmate, only for it to fall at the red-faced and slightly disheveled Dupain-Cheng muttering under her breath. Her hands shook as she tried to take out her materials, making pencils, papers, and a cookie fall around her, irritating her even more, which made her drop more materials.

Félix blinked out the flashing thought of a bottomless bag that’d never let this cycle end and waved a hand in front of her face. Her eyes focused on his hand and he slowly took a hold of her shaking hands so that she’d follow his movements and pull away anytime she wanted; but she didn’t, and the cycle was successfully broken. With his other hand, Félix began to pick up the fallen objects.

A Pretty Special Date

And she didn’t need to pretty herself for him, but she wanted to; even if he only took her for a walk around the public park, she wanted to look as pretty as he made her feel.

Technicolor Phase

This was one of the scarier movies. The kind that made Félix’s eyes gleam at the details like the green from the grass right after a rainstorm. That hooked his breath out of his lungs like a gray snowstorm right before the tension released the bright aurora—that, in this case, would most like be colored in a gory red. She knew all of that because of how closely she watched him, she had no idea what was going on on the screen.

But instead of snorting or poking him about his little eeps and arghs, she just smiled and felt the thud of the evening stars wanting to burst out of her chest and replace the gory blood from the movie’s scene. And when Félix clutched her arm, she was almost sure the DUM from the sound speakers was exactly that happening.

City of Fools - Chapter 1

It felt dirty, to simply run away from her home while it fell apart, when, maybe, she could be there, doing more for it. She helped her maman to make the amnesia potion, but that was it; she took herself out of the picture after that simply because it was too painful to continue being there. So she draped herself in blue and ran away to somewhere she wouldn’t be in direct contact with that pain.

The Mouse’s Tale: of the Twilight

When Mullo found the first piece of cheddar on the counter, she had assumed it had simply been forgotten there by Marinette. But the Parmesan plate seemed very intentionally placed in front of the door covered in glittering stickers.

Bridgette’s gray eyes—dimmer from the nighttime and brighter from her ecstasy—peeked through the door’s breach, smiling crinkles creasing their edges as she gazed at the small mouse sniffing at the Parmesan. Mullo waved at her and took the food to a crane on the ceiling.

Stray Cats - Chapter 2

She scrunched her nose. After seeing how he took care of his little brother, thinking of him as the “blond jerk” didn’t seem right. Just like letting him go out in this rain with his little brother, when he obviously didn’t have where to go, ticked her off with wrong, wrong, wrong, for several reasons.

A thunder roared out.

Even the sky agreed.

Symphony of Lights - Chapter 1

A laugh escaped her. Hundreds of bells tinkling in harmony with the glistening in her eyes as she took him in. He focused back on what his face was doing and made it give her a smile he hoped conveyed his delight at seeing her well enough—because he was; even if there were others, harder to discern, emotions sizzling his brain.

Alternative Cuisine

“Just jelly!” She took a seat across from him, putting an elbow on the table and placing her chin on a palm. “Come on–” She pushed the tray to him. “The taste is divine, you have to try it.”

He arched a brow at her. “Did you taste it first?”

She bit the inside of her cheeks.

Félix grabbed his book and stood up.

“Nooooooo! Félix, pleeeeaaaaaase!” She leaned over the table, pushing the tray aside as she grasped his wrist. “I need an impartial judge! I can’t criticize my own cooking properly.”

“Translating,” Félix said, groaning as he let her pull him back to his sitting position. “You need someone that still has a decent paladar.”

Marinette humphed and crossed her arms. “There’s nothing wrong with my paladar, thank you very much.”

“Love, you swear that crickets are just like crackers.”

“If they’re crispy enough, people can’t even tell the difference! And they have way more nutritional value.”

[haleigh-sloth]

hi haleigh! i dont know if im missing something but i dont think iunderstand what exactly is going on with shigaraki right now—last we've seen him after his battle with sns he was angry, it was his hatred of heroes and all might, his desire to destroy that we saw, but right now he just seems so out of it? do you have any thoughts on how his consciousness merging with AFO might manifest in coming chapters?

Hi!

So, I don't think there is a super clear cut answer for what's happening with Shigaraki's mental state right now, and we can only speculate based off of what we have seen so far. But I will say that all we know FOR SURE is:

His inner world is a fucking mess right now.

Also: I am going to be linking to a TON of past posts I've made that expand on points I'm making in this post better, because this post turned out kinda long. But the links will help explain my thoughts better in case I skim over some details here.

So the very first tell tale sign we got that something was off was back in chapter 329 when he appeared for the first time in so. fucking. long. when he hinted at the notion that HE HIMSELF is not completely sure of who he is:

And I had kinda figured that there was a weird disturbing mental struggle going on between Shigaraki and AFO, and I was kinda sorta right:

Throughout the entire S&S fight, it was kinda hard to tell who was talking at times. But I think that the majority of the time it was AFO's consciousness:

--with a little bit of Shigaraki poking through at times:

And then at the end of that fight, we got a little more insight into what's going on beneath the surface:

And then we get back to the evil villain lair and we see Shigaraki, once again, angry about All Might (very early-Shigaraki of him):

And then a little bit further, we see that he's doing much, much worse:

And....low and behold, he shows up to the final battle with blank eyes, and he is extremely passive and pretty much does nothing when he arrives on the battle field:

So the conclusion I personally came to about Shigaraki right now is:

The mental fight for who is in control has resulted in a stalemate. In other words, there is no real identity present and his body is on auto pilot. He will probably act on instinct, as in he won't let himself get killed, he'll go after OFA (because that's what AFO wants, and AFO's desires are kinda ingrained in Shigaraki atm), and he'll fight whoever is in the way. The reason I think this is because in chapter 344, him JUST saying "Dabi" was very passive and there was zero urgency, and I'm pretty sure he was trying to warn Dabi that there was something underground to be weary of. Also, the introduction of completely blank eyes shows us that something entirely new is going on that differs from AFO being fully in control or Shigaraki being fully in control. Another reason I think this is because it's not just Shigaraki and AFO we're talking about anymore. Tenko Shimura has been identified as a possible identity that is fighting for control:

Which is new, because Tenko Shimura has not really been acknowledged in anyone’s dialogue as an alternative to Tomura Shigaraki, until now.

Now, Tenko and Tomura are the same person through and through. BUT--as you can see in Horikoshi's symbolism with children, we know that Tomura is a GOTDAMN LIAR . Tomura Shigaraki is the "mass of destructive instincts and frustrations" (Horikoshi's words not mine) and Tenko Shimura is the true identity that just desperately wants a hero to give him what he's wanted since he was a child and save him, in every sense of the word (body, heart, and soul).

So I guess, TL;DR:

The struggle for whose identity is in control seems to have resulted in this auto pilot zombie that MIGHT (key word there because this is just speculation) only be acting on instinct.

I think once Midoriya does whatever he's gonna do to save him (in the vestige probably), we're gonna come back to the real world and see Shigaraki's eyes go back to normal and that's when we'll know that 1) Shigaraki is back in control and 2) Midoriya reached him and got through to him, and brought him back.

Again, this is just what I think based on what we have so far. I think we will get better answers once we see what the HELL Bakugo is going to do facing Shigaraki without Midoriya. He's obviously going to have some impact on Shigaraki because they have unfinished business, and Bakugo is undeniably tied to the OFA/AFO plot line. So we'll probably get more insight very soon.

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E125 (Feb. 16, 2021)

Goooood evening good evening good evening, all! I hope you’re all staying warm and safe and dry in this chilly weather. Tonight’s guests: Travis Willingham and Laura Bailey. 

We open tonight with Travis ribbing Brian for his continuous remodel of his office space. Laura demands a second introduction of herself as she wasn’t paying attention during the first one.

Travis: “You’ve gotta love Julianne Moore. She’s the only actress who can cry and show you all her teeth at the same time.” I was listening pretty closely when he said this and I’m still not sure it had any context. 

Jester thinks there’s a strong possibility at least half the party will die against the Tombtakers. Fjord doesn’t think the odds are quite that high, but it will be dangerous. Laura points out that most of the M9 are also willing to sacrifice themselves for the rest of the party, so that changes their odds as well. Travis: “The game is not a stress reliever. It is not a stress reliever. I mean, it’s fun as shit, but it is stressful!”

Laura thinks Essek will give them a better chance. Travis: “A plus-one? A powerful plus-one, but a plus-one?” Did you see his reaction when we gave him the lowdown? Let’s be real: we kinda trust Essek. I got $50 that when we come back, he’s gone.” Laura is convinced he is trustworthy & wants to lighten his soul.

Jester spent so much time trying to bring out the Molly side of Lucien that to have him then betray them sucked. She knew that trying to bring the good out of everyone they met would eventually fail, but it stung that it was the most powerful one they encountered to first betray them.

She tries to talk about finger gestures during the answer as a reference to the HBO show “Raised by Wolves,” and Brian and Travis tell her to keep digging this hole she gets herself into about fingering. Travis: “Just get off the interstate at the next exit and turn right.” Laura, of course, immediately mimes turning a hard left, and they spent the next few minutes laughing at her inability to tell right from left and that even now she still has to hold up her hands to tell left from right.

Fjord is furious that they nicked the Bag of Holding. The loss of Vess DeRogna is bad enough, but he is genuinely IRL anxious about the loss of the Cloven Crystal. Laura points out that Fjord has also explicitly talked to Lucien about the deep sea creature patron he used to follow as well. He’s terrified one of Lucien’s scimitars is suddenly going to have a big eye sticking out of it. Laura suggests they’ll just succeed, bring back the city, and wake up Uk’otoa for the heck of it.

It was really rough to go from the Gelidon fight to the Tombtaker fight, especially since the first fight sent so well. Travis felt great that he initiated the dragon fight - he knew they had a far advantage in the numbers and felt that it was an open and shut case.

Laura does boggle that if Caleb hadn’t asked for that item from the Bag of Holding, they might have slept all night before realizing it was gone. They’re both relieved that they now know so much more about how the Tombtakers fight, especially the anti-magic cone. The most anxiety-ridden part was when they were trying to run and the TTs weren’t letting them. “You know when you don’t even have squares, when Matt’s black-tableclothing it, you’re in deep shit.” Laura had no spells left - she was so worried if she dropped the polymorph she would have had nothing left.

Travis: “Thanks for healing me, babe.” Laura: “You’re welcome, baby. It was ultimately a waste, though, because we took a rest immediately and you could just spend your hit dice.” Everyone laughs at Travis’s pain. She does say it was worth it in the moment since they didn’t know if they would be able to get away.

They joke that Laura’s just wearing the Fire Resist ring on a chain around her neck/Sprinkle is wearing it now to keep it safe since she’s not attuned to it anymore. It’s pretty hilarious!

Travis hoped that the TTs were originally actively looking for more acolytes rather than just having Caleb & Beau read the book. Otis needs to die. He’s relieved they have an idea of what all their blood rites do. Laura thought the time with them was fun, but it makes her retroactively wish that she’d dropped Zoran in the lava when they had the chance. Travis wishes they’d put a chime on the door of the tower.

Laura loved the tarot card reading, since Taliesin sent her really detailed breakdowns of the cards & gave her a real deck for Christmas. Taliesin told her she did a great job afterwards which she really appreciated, since she’s not sure what she’s doing. She does wish that she knew why Lucien seemed so nervous when she was talking about rebirth.

Cosplay of the Week! @clever_comics on twitter with a lovely Veth in her snowy lavender-colored outfit and pigtails.

Travis on confessing to Jester: “It FUCKING made me crazy!” He’s never been an instigator of campaign romances in the past, but because he loves Laura and was able to connect to her on that level he felt like it was a good challenge instead. He doesn’t think he could have done it with someone he wasn’t comfortable with. It was also important to him for it to be founded on real-game moments and after real-game time had passed, and he felt it was a very natural progression. Seeing the statues rip five years from her in such a benign situation made him realize that to let the opportunity pass wouldn’t have been worth it. He wishes he’d told Vandran what he meant to Fjord as well.

Laura loves that Fjord is becoming more confident as well. The post-Gelidon smooch took Laura completely by surprise since she’s finding Jester is a little surprisingly awkward with IRL affection, and she was surprised Fjord was the confident one there. “It’s so wonderful. It’s a matter of finding a way to get comfortable with it with her away from the Tombtakers.” Travis thought it was important to continue the “go for it” mantra. He notes that he’s pretty private about his personal life IRL, so it’s been a bit of a shift. It’s slower in a way - not a “you’re my one true love” kind of thing, more of a “let’s see where this goes and act on what you can” thing.

They were all “poopin’ in their pants” to get to go to Emon. The worst part was not getting to explore outside the tower since they had to leave again immediately. Kima is so cool, and Travis was actively trying to get Kima to come with them. Everyone boggles that they got to borrow Allura’s staff.

Laura only was thinking about the item-tuned-to-the-target-plane because she’d been texting with Liam trying to iron out their spell choices. She’s so relieved that they were able to get something tuned to the Sea from Allura.

For the most part, Laura knows what spells are the most useful for Jester, but every now and then she does get caught by major component requirements that she hadn’t noted. She wants to get another chalice for Hero’s Feast before they go into the Sea.

Dani points out that a lot of their allies right now are mages (no Kashaws, no Kimas, no Grogs) and they’re heading to a bad place for mages.

Travis has a sudden brain wave about all the TTs being from the Claret Order and wonders if they should investigate that before they pursue. I don’t even remember what that order is and I feel terrible!

Fanart of the Week! It’s a beautiful card by @crovyne on twitter of the Cree counterspell.

Laura really wants Brian to shave the sides of his hair and do Viking braids in the rest. I didn’t want to say anything out loud, but Brian’s hair is really looking pretty...pandemicky.

This is Dani’s four-year-anniversary of her start for Critical Role! Awww, Dani! You’re so short in real life.

Fjord is stoked that the Star Razor is a Vestige, and more now that he knows in-character what that means. It was great to see Allura react the way she did.

Jester doesn’t think they can really go to Nicodranas - they don’t have anymore time. Even more, Jester’s avoiding going home because she doesn’t want the Ruby to see that she got aged up/hurt on her travels.

Travis honestly assumes that the TTs are spying on them 100% of the time now.

Does Jester feel better now that the crest is away from Lucien? Yes, even though it’s gone off course. She thought dropping the crest where they were was a HORRIBLE idea and was appalled so many people were suggesting it. She saw the city with her own eyes, knows the danger of what’s coming, and if they had dropped it in flight she would have dropped with it and defended it as long as she could if that’s what would have kept them from getting it.

Travis thinks that if they can negotiate with Lucien, they should try. Everyone is super worried about Caleb’s and Beau’s new eyes and are fully anticipating they’re on a clock at this point. They wonder if it’ll drive up their exhaustion, allow Lucien to force them to fight against them, maybe make them willing slaves to the mysterious voice...they need to solve it sooner rather than later. 

And that’s all for tonight! New episode this Thursday - usual time, usual place. Stay warm, friends, and is it Thursday yet?

[utilitycaster]

To me the relationship between Ted and Opal is the most important and consitent plot point in EXU. On the other hand everything with the Plateau and the Nameless Ones feels like it builds up something for C3. I think that Matt gave plot points about the state of the world (crater, sigil) and Aabria used it as a jumping off point and created the city as her contribution. So as long as things like the memory loss and the crown are dealt with, I feel pretty good about the story of EXU.

So I deleted another ask that was similarly purely speculative and I just want to say that like...I have open DMs/replies and obviously reblogs, and if you want to actually discuss your opinions that is always a better place; the askbox is for questions and suggestions and, well, things that explicitly invite my input, which I'm going to give anyway but it feels like this could have been a reply. Because I wholly disagree with much of this:

The crater is certainly a pre-existing concept because Thordak's presence in Emon happened, but including the sigil seems very odd given that he is a player in the world and it appearing was a surprise plot point in the second episode; I think the general worldbuilding was "Thordak's crater is here and there's weird magic possibly tied to the fire plane should you wish to use that" (emphasis speculative, and mine).

I am probably least interested in Opal and Ted, or at least, I was, but more so now that at least that pulls in whatever the fuck is happening with Syngorn. I think you might be correct that this will be treated as the main plot in terms of resolution; but the reason I think this is that Opal being central came up in the interviews and because of how the last episode ended. If you don't think the plot is the main plot until episode 7 and external press...that's not good.

I like Opal and Ted's relationship! I think it's fun for the character, in the same way I don't necessarily really think we'll get all the details of who Dorian really is - and that is truly tangential to the plot, despite any curiosity we as an audience may have. But compared to the fact that they open the entire story with memory loss at the crater, being approached by someone high-up in the Nameless Ones, a vestige of divergence, and sigil mysteriously appearing? The fact that the details of Ted no longer being in Byroden appear at the halfway point of the series and the Ted and Syngorn plot is primarily in stingers?

Again, at this point, yeah, that might end being the main plot...but just thinking about this, after episode 1 it seemed the main plot would be "okay we're missing a week and a person, we're in deep with the Nameless Ones, and we have a vestige of such profound power that it makes two people ill." After episode 2 it seemed the main plot was "well we can escape those problems and maybe find out more about this sigil that's possibly tied to the crater/memory loss by talking to Gilmore." After episodes 3 and even 4 it seemed it was "okay, we go to these ruins, come back, resolve the rest." But we keep getting balls thrown in the air - further mysteries about Ted, the people from Syngorn, Niirdal-Poc still existing, the journey to the Iron Authority instead of returning home - and none of it has been resolved, and again, I'm enjoying myself, but that is because everything other than the plot is great so I'm treating this like those big-budget artistic sci fi movies where you're like "the aesthetic and worldbuilding and acting and dialogue is all incredible and the plot falls apart if you breathe on it a little too heavily."

I was talking to someone about this recently who made the point that the party seems to have missed a lot of checks early on that might have introduced the Ted and Myr'atta plot back in Emon and honestly? forcing one of those checks or giving it for free would have made a world of difference; I think the party would have made far different choices that in turn would have significantly tightened up the plot. And you don't need to do that, in a long-running campaign, but you really, really do in an 8-episode series.

I do want to speak to people talking about this setting things up for C3 because that was in the anon ask I deleted: I'm not saying it doesn't, necessarily, but I think there is a big difference between "C3 may, understandably, deal with some of the consequences of things that happen in EXU. much as it will deal with consequences of C1 and C2, because it's the same world" and "EXU is explicitly leaving threads for C3".

The former I absolutely agree with; that's how shared worldbuilding works and it was the case with C1 for C2. The latter is, I think, a wildly unfair expectation to place Aabria and a terrible marketing choice for the series and bodes ill for future seasons of EXU.

EXU was very much put forth as having appeal for people who, understandably, don't have the time or inclination to watch a 100+ episode series. I have already seen reviews criticizing it for relying on past information; while I don't agree with this completely, given the difficulties with the plot this does, for example, feel like it may ring true for people who have no emotional connection to Gilmore. A tighter, more Emon-focused plot that happened to include Gilmore to the same extent (or even greater) would probably not have the same criticism, but as is, I think viewers unfamiliar with C1 may legitimately be saying "why did we spend time on this."

EXU can have threads that can be picked up with in C3 - it does not need to, for example, resolve every detail of the Nameless Ones, only the status of this party with regards to Poska - but to say "and to know what happens about the major event, in Emon, which is tied to Thordak, ie, how the series was marketed, which was introduced to the audience long before Myr'atta, you need to watch C3" is something I'd consider a serious misstep. The story in EXU should be somewhat self-contained, with the consequences of that self-contained story fueling the plot; it should not be a collection of plot points for a later day. That's not just going to alienate potential viewers of future seasons who don't intend to watch full CR campaigns; it's kind of a shitty thing to do to your guest DM, to say "oh throw to me, you can DM in my world but you need to set up for my show even if it makes your plot seem more unfocused". EXU can and should be thought of as its own show in the same world, not a mere appendage to the flagship.

I'm still withholding final judgement until it can, you know, be final. I think there's a still a chance I am very pleasantly surprised! As mentioned I and much of the fandom had doubts about the campaign 2 finale to the point that some people were writing, as I referred to it at the time, vivisections and calling them post-mortems. I disliked it then and I disliked it now and I will reserve judgement on EXU's plot structure on the whole until after the finale; I am just saying that while it may end up standing quite well as a complete story in the end, the pacing has felt increasingly off to me since the midway point and if this is just setup for C3 I think that makes it worse, not better.

[class1akids]

Some more speculation about the Bakugou & Co Search Party: 

Sequence of events:

Conversation with Nii-chan in vestige world (unfinished for us, but not for Deku - still Nii-chan appears to be only halfway on board, and we haven’t seen the second quirk yet)

Deku leaves the hospital last, after both Shouto and Bakugou (we don’t know if he saw either of them)

He decides not to go back to UA, leaving letters though to reveal OFA secret, but not the details of his mission

He’s working with All Might & Top 3, he fights Muscular (Smoke Screen unlocked) unnamed villains, Nagant (uses Fa Jin for the first time, faux 100%)

They go to the villa in the Forest with Team Lurker and Top 3. 

AFO’s long speech, Villa goes “Boom”

While heroes are regrouping, Shouto calls, Endeavor ghosts on purpose.

Deku fights another hired gun.

Deku ditches All Might and his bento box

Deku roams the streets as an urban legend dirty beast

Endeavor calls Deku (so he still has the phone they use to track him)

Deku “ditches” Vestiges

Random fight scenes - one at the mall

Arrives at Kamino where Deku runs into Dictator and Bakugou appears, apparently being with a team of likely his classmates (he calls them a pretty, rude informal “guys”) trying to track down Deku. 

[We have no idea how much time passed - likely not much, as Deku was implied not to sleep the whole time - maybe a week - 10 days?]

Options:

1. Nobody knew Deku was shadowed by the pros, so the whole class / a smaller group was looking for him because they are worried. 

-> This is the most straightforward, but it’s strange it would take them this long to find Deku. 

2. Bakugou and Shouto knew he was with the pros, so they didn’t look for him immediately - but something changed that made them worried / wanting to find Deku:

(i) Shouto’s phone call was about Deku because they became worried or it was to inform Endeavor they would look for him.

(ii) Shouto’s phone call was unrelated to Deku and All Might asked them to look for him

(iii) Shouto’s phone call was unrelated to Deku, but they saw footage of Deku becoming more beast-like and became worried. 

So I think all of these options could lead to potential twists. In case of (i), since the phone call was before Deku ditched All Might, what would have made them worried? Deku acted calm and rational before, plus both the Nagant fight and the villa incident was away from any prying eyes. So who tipped Shouto off?

And in cases of (ii) and (iii) - if Shouto’s call was not about Deku - what could have been so important that he’d call + message Endeavor?

And I keep coming back to this foreshadowing:

All eyes are on Deku and AFO, the situation is volatile - doesn’t this sound like the perfect time for Dabi to make a move? It would totally fit his M.O. 

To be the one setting a trap  or luring some of the strongest students away from UA so they can make a move on it, and show to Japan that the pros are not capable of defending even the hero schools they turned into fortresses...

The discussion of the pros last chapter highlighted how AFO doesn’t want all the heroes united in one spot with the OFA-holder. It’s easier if they are divided. So yeah, I’m kind of anxiously expected a twist that would further fragment the heroes and leave UA vulnerable to an attack. 

[ignitification]

at this point d.ku saving shiggy would just feel hollow. of all these 10 solo d.ku chapters he hasn't had any emotional or mental development/understanding. Like d.ku just isn't where HK's writing shines. Not giving him any tragic backstory may have seemed like good subversion at the start but rn my emotional attachment to his growth/lack of it is just at an all time low. And yass way to make another pro hero look infantile due to MC-armour. Istg as soon as any character interacts with either en.dv or d.ku they take negative infinity in power, potential and likeability. Even the vestiges went down on the likeable scale. Also, these chapters were deserved more by literally any other character.

I'd begin addressing your last point anon, and by saying that while on one hand I agree with you, on the other I really understand that on some level (except physical) these chapters are needed for two reasons. First of all, because BNHA has picked up at ‘intense pace’ which translates into a lot of stuff happening all at once (It took us 285 chapters for Bakugou to admit that he cares about Izuku, and then we got in the span of 20 chapters Touya’s reveal, Mr. Compress face reveal, Mirio is back, BJ is alive, Todoroki’s backstory, Tartarus breakout, the name of the 1st OfA User, Izuku dropping out of UA, Overhaul and Lady N - just to name a few), which consequently means that we are fast approaching the final battle (excluding the Traitor affair, the grounds for the last arc are all already in place) of AfO against Midoriya, which bring me to the second point being Izuku, as also confirmed by himself, would not be able to save Shigaraki and also destroy AfO in the shape he is (or rather was, when leaving the hospital), meaning that he needs an upgrade of his abilities, and he needs it quickly. These chapters, unfortunately, are exactly that: a boring build-up needed in order to show us Izuku’s progress in managing OfA. Therefore, while I do agree that it would be nice to have other characters (from which we haven’t heard from in ages, like Toga and Bakugou), I also sadly understand why exactly we are at a halt in terms of ‘story progress’. And this is mainly due, as you pointed out, to the fact that Izuku is definitely not where HK’s writing shines, not in the slightest. 

Izuku’s main flaw is that he does lack some sort of baseline growth which in his case should translate into less hero worshipping and more concentration into his rightful mission of wanting to change the status quo (by saving the villain). HK planted the seed, and at some point it feels like he forgot to water it, and while still holding the principle (on some level, as we saw in his fight with Muscular), it still feels very superficial for something that should be the main goal and more interesting lapel of the manga? I totally understand how someone would feel dejected when faced with this characterisation, especially if the character in question is the Main Character, the story is ending and he STILL appeals to the only thing which caused the entire problem. 

As for me personally, I am still very much attached to Izuku and the Vestiges (because nowadays they represent an interesting development in the Quirk area, in a scientific and symbolic aspect, which I’d like to be explained and explored more, but let’s be realistic - this is a shounen and fans eat this content like famished lions just because it is content, with no critical thinking whatsoever), but I do admit that sometimes I feel frustrated because my main issue with BNHA is how is actually treats its victims and the way people feel attached to toxic traditions (and in particular Izuku’s attachment to the notions of hero as represented by AM, and his will to copy him in the slightest detail). This is even more evident for Endeavour, who seems a catalysis for bad decisions and just a cluster of condoning actions which would not be accepted if done by anyone else, and a lot of crap justifications about themes like violence and abuse, and the implicit lack of consequences each of these actions have in the manga (because preoccupied with more important things, sure - but I think a line would be enough).

Nonetheless, yeah - Izuku should have shown some kind of advancement (not Quirk-wise), but instead in a way to contrast Gran Torino’s view and the example set by older heroes, but instead we get a team up with those same heroes, with Izuku as a bait (which, very much is a problem for both him because he still disregards himself, and the heroes who accept this condition voluntarily) and now that they get separated and Izuku is fighting the possibly only threat (besides the remaining villain at large - and because I really cannot define Lady Nagant as a villain, more like an anti-hero) and he is still winning? Where is the realisation that maybe, even with his Quirk - what Izuku is missing is actually the experience of the pain and grief of this world, which he should have acquired since he appositely left UA? I would agree that until Izuku reaches a level in which he can admit to himself that heroes are not what this world needs, but instead a more inclusive and less-Quirk based society (and the fun fact here, is that he himself is a victim of that and instead he just lets it happen because he is selfless that way) which does not allow loopholes in terms of bad behaviour and where villains are not villains by default when they spur on a bad action, but instead can be guided on a different path - since no such injustices exist in the first place, it would feel very superficial and forced for him to save Shigaraki. It would be seen as a duty, he is forcing himself to make because he consider himself a hero, instead of the contrary and that he is a hero because he decided to save Shigaraki. I hope this can change in the next few weeks, and a good first step would be to have Izuku being overpowered by Lady Nagant - finally showing Izuku that weaknesses are real and that he is still human, and that there is no concrete rule by which someone could be judged as weak or strong (especially if we talk Quirks), and then finally brought forward to AfO, so we can see how he reacts to a. Overhaul; b. AfO; c. ShigarAfO. 

I do not want to hope too much, but at the same time there are reasons for which I am still holding a candle for that. I hope this helps believing, even a little, that hope for a better narrative is still possible. Thank you for the question and thank you for reading.

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

And the aftermath of the first battle. Featuring more OFA talk!

[No. 34 - Victory or Defeat]

The cover art for this chapter is actually pretty gorgeous. Like, wow, that HAIR. It looks so damn soft I can’t even.

Getting into the chapter itself, we get just shy of a page of flashback to Shinsou’s middle school. Several students are talking about how cool Shinsou’s quirk is, how they’ve never heard of a quirk like it, how jealous they are. One student comments on how he could make all kinds of trouble with it, while another adds on that it’d be without getting his hands dirty. She then asks Shinsou not to go around controlling them. 

Past Shinsou just laughs it off and notes how everyone says that, with his internal narrative thinking about how he’d also expect bad things from someone with his ability. That person would probably turn into a criminal - a villain, even. So he’s used to everyone implying that about him. That’s just how the world works.

Back in the present, we see Shinsou gritting his teeth, while Izuku is standing over him, a bit bloody and beaten, but still victorious. Present Mic again confirms Izuku is going to the second round. Up in the stands, Kaminari nudges Katsuki’s shoulder with his own, noting how Izuku had also gotten him with that shoulder toss. Katsuki looks a bit put out, I guess? Or just distracted. He calls Kaminari dunce face, which gets a fantastic face out of Kaminari.

Artwork. 

There’s a bit here about Izuku using a baiting tactic that I’m not sure whether is from Katsuki or Aizawa, since Aizawa’s thought process continues in the next panel. In either case, I am certain it’s Aizawa noting how Izuku was concentrating his quirk in just his finger, like the strength test and the throw in battle training. Izuku’s been learning from those experiences - or rather, said experiences have forced him to adapt. 

As Shinsou and Izuku bow (or at least Izuku does), Present Mic comments on how the event is off to an uneventful start, before encouraging the crowds to put their hands together for their fierce competitors. As the crowds do so, Izuku is thinking about Shinsou’s words, being ‘naturally blessed’ and ‘getting to follow his dreams.’ Eventually, Izuku asks why Shinsou wants to be a hero. Shinsou turns away to start leaving the platform while replying that ‘we don’t get to choose the things we naturally admire.’

Izuku vibes deeply with this, thinking about how those feelings are just like how Izuku was before he got One For All. But as he is now, what does he say to that?

Shinsou gets his own surprise, however, when his classmates start shouting their praises from the stands above the entryway. One says how awesome Shinsou had been out there, another on how he’d had them on the edge of their seats, a third on Shinsou being the shining star of the general studies guys, and a fourth on how he’d done just as well as the guy who’d gotten third in the obstacle course (Katsuki). Shinsou looks like he has no idea how to process this. And if that’s not enough, the heroes in the crowds are also talking about him and his quirk with no small amount of admiration.

...oh man, wait, do I spy Miss Joke there with the crowds?

Why, yes it is! I don’t know if her character was fully planned or background developed at this point, but I suppose Hori must have elevated hr to more than a one-off appearance at some point. Perhaps liked her relatively simple design?

But yeah, we shift back to Shinsou and the other gen ed students as the latter point it out, and repeat how awesome he is. Shinsou says nothing for a moment, hesitating at the entrance, before speaking to Izuku. UA will consider transfers to the hero course depending on the results here. Remember that. Maybe he failed here, but he’s not giving up. He’ll show UA he’s got what it takes to make the hero course, and he’ll become a greater hero than all of the other students. 

Izuku accepts this driven challenge, only to get caught in Shinsou’s quirk again. Izuku’s confused, because the match is already over. Shinsou comments on how people who respond to him tend to stiffen up like that, and how it’d be easy to mess everything up for Izuku just now. But instead he just demands a promise as he lets Izuku loose from his quirk - don’t lose in a sorry way out there. Izuku agrees again, only to again be temporarily caught in Shinsou’s quirk.

Also, it's a teeny thing here, but I know there's been people (not necessarily in here, but in general) who've questioned how shinsou's quirk works, and from here in the sports festival, what I can at least determine is this:

-his quirk can affect multiple people at once

-people don't remember what they were doing under the quirk's effect (barring Izuku for Reasons)

-his quirk takes effect when he chooses after someone responds verbally to him (sign language or writing don't work)

-it can be a statement or question someone responds to!

-general non-word noises, or non-directed sounds (ie izuku's growls of exertion) don't work as targets for shinsou's quirk

Anywho, with that, we transfer over to Recovery Girl’s temporary office, where Izuku is getting himself healed up while Toshinori hovers nearby nervously. Izuku admits that he couldn’t smile at all, and Toshinori considers that and figures this must have been a tough battle for him, given what Shinsou was saying. Izuku replies that that doesn’t make it okay for him to lose; when you’re aiming for the top, that’s just how it is, right?

Recovery Girl is not impressed with the ‘life lessons’ Toshinori is passing on to Izuku, spinning around to wallop Toshinori on his non-injury side. Toshinori tries to reply that it’s all necessary, only to be interrupted by said wallop and yelp in pain. While Toshinori is nursing his poor abused ribs, Izuku brings up the vision he had. 

He saw eight or nine shadows - not sure on that - when his mind was lulled from the brainwashing, the vision appeared and snapped him out of it. In that instant, he was just barely able to move his fingertip. One of them had Toshinori’s hairstyle… so could it have been the souls of the people who have inherited One For All?

Now, a few things I have to say to this: 

First off, holy SHIT did Izuku already pretty much hit the nail on the head for what’s happening here. We obviously don’t really get more about this for, what, a hundred and fifty or so chapters? I dunno when the JTA is in the manga exactly, so I’m probably off, but even before then, there’s only a few hints here and there about the whole ‘ghost’ thing happening - and yet, Izuku already is kinda sus of what’s happening after just one vision. 

Secondly, while it’s way more likely that it’s Izuku being scared and confused that has him questioning the number of shadows he saw there, I also really love how it’s a perfect set-up for something Fishy if Hori so wants, while also allowing an out if he doesn’t want. It’s like, does the number mean something, or is it just a scared schoolkid struggling to remember details he only glimpsed for a moment?

In any case, we move on to Toshinori’s response to this strange vision. Mostly in that he finds it kinda scary. Izuku is confused, because he was sure Toshinori would know. Toshinori admits that he did see them once when he was young, and that it’s a clear sign Izuku is getting used to One For All. 

At Izuku’s visible confusion, Toshinori continues - the shadows are traces of the quirk’s past bearers. But whatever they are, they can’t directly interfere or influence Izuku. Nor can Izuku affect them. In other words, that vision wasn’t what undid the brainwashing. Rather, it was Izuku’s protagonist powers strong will that allowed him to see those faces - and as far as Shinsou’s brainwashing, Izuku overcame it! Just for an instant! He managed to move that fingertip all on his own.

Izuku isn’t convinced, but Toshinori chastises him, telling him not to dwell on it, and shouldn’t he be worrying about his next opponent instead? Izuku agrees, and thanks both him and Recovery Girl before heading out. Only once Izuku is gone does Recovery Girl note that Toshinori’s shadow had been there too. Toshinori replies how that’s not a bad thing.

My take on this whole scene?

But yeah, it definitely is interesting how early Hori outright told us what was happening with One For All, only for it to be dismissed by Toshinori and a good chunk of the audience. I mean, I don’t know if Hori was planning everything with the vestiges and the other quirks at this point, but he sure laid the groundwork here, and I kind of love it. 

Anywho, moving on from that, we shift over to Shouto making his way towards the arena for his own fight, only to run into the last person he wants to see - Endeavor. Shouto tells Endeavor to get out of his way, but Endeavor ignores him, instead calling Shouto a disgrace to him. He harps on about how Shouto could have crushed the obstacle course and the cavalry battle if he’d used his left side. Shouto says nothing as he marches himself past his father. 

Endeavor tells Shouto to grow up, and stop rebelling like some petulant child. His duty is to surpass All Might. He’s different from his siblings - Endeavor’s greatest creation! Shouto asks if that’s all Endeavor has to say, then states how he’ll win this with his mom’s power alone. He’ll never use Endeavor’s power in battle. Endeavor states how that might be good enough while he’s a schoolkid, but he’ll reach his limit soon enough. 

Shouto is… not in a good headspace. As we’ll see momentarily. 

Izuku joins Ochako and Tenya in the stands while Present Mic starts to announce the participants of the next match. Sero Hanta, the cream of the crop, and yet somehow still as plain as they come! Versus Todoroki Shouto, the best of the best, strongest of the strong! 

The match starts as Sero finishes stretching himself out, stating how he doesn’t really feel much like winning. His arms then snap forward, the tape rushing out to wrap around Shouto. Sero tugs back, yoinking Shouto into position to be swung out of the arena. Present Mic hypes up the surprise attack maneuver, and how it’s probably the best strategy for him, overall complementing how Sero’s giving it his all. Shouto, still somewhat mad-eyed, apologizes, and then-

...yikes. How Sero (or any audience members in the way) didn’t die here is a show of Shouto’s astounding control here, even if it doesn’t seem like it. The entire stadium is dead silent as Sero calls the move a bit overkill. Midnight, half-frozen as well, tentatively asks Sero if he can move. Sero asks if she’s kidding, before the frostbite starts getting to him and he starts biting back pained hisses. Midnight announces Sero’s loss, and the crowds are… pretty sympathetic, calling out good tries to him. 

Shouto steps forward to start defrosting Sero, apologizing for overdoing it, stating that he’d just been annoyed. Up in the stands, Izuku watches on, with his future narration noting that, lost amid the cheers that arose from the audience, he saw Shouto defrost his own frozen self with his left hand. And to Izuku… something about Shouto seemed really sad. 

Shouto is announced to be moving on to the second round, and the chapter closes.

Holy shit. This chapter is actually really something, and not just because of One For All. But still, it really is fascinating to see what groundwork laid early on in the series ended up being used way down the line by Hori as he got more comfortable with the direction he wanted his story to go in. 

Anywho, see you next time for the last chapter of volume four! Which means the next bonus material post is upcoming. And I can just say there’s some interesting stuff in that as well…

[lairofsentinel]

Ok since Mystra came back in 1487, and the game is about 1494, would that mean she immediately went after Gale? Like she was dead until 1487 so... if gale was 20 or younger, 18 when that happened he would be early 30s? I just want to know companions ages...

Ok, this is a long, LONG answer. I've been thinking about this like a month ago, when I was working on my fic. I will show you the different hypotheses I work with, their cons and pros. 

A warning: all this is my personal headcanon and my personal opinion, it doesn't mean it's the “truth”.

[Baldur’s Gate 3 Early Access, Spoilers]

I think you are using some dates a little different or the sources I'm using are wrong.

What we know as canon:

From wiki:

Mystra returned to the Forgotten Realms in 1479 DR. A vestige of Mystra had survived her death in 1385 DR, and was guiding her Chosen to aid in her renewal.

From Forgotten Realm wiki:

In 1479 DR Elminster and Storm restored the Simbul's sanity by feeding her a Blueflame item. After her mind was restored, she charged both Elminster and Manshoon to work to gather all the Blueflame items together, possibly to restore Mystra

Conclusion: Mystra returned in 1479 DR

Another bit of canon: Baldur's Gate 3 takes place in 1492

From Forgotten Realm wiki:

The game takes place as of 1492 DR, and is defined as the "current year", as is stated in a tollhouse ledger. The ledger can be found under the Order of the Gauntlet's makeshift base.

This is one of the “canon” inconsistencies that enrages me, since the game shows it takes place after “the descend to Avernus”, which happens in 1494. Therefore, Larian saying this is placed in 1492 when featuring the ending of the descend to avernus in it, only puts us in a situation with a strong problem in its coherence. I'm just ignoring this by now until Larian corrects themselves. Or  they say something on the matter. So far, I will stick with what the game and its wiki show.   UPDATE: Apparently the one with problems in their date is Descend to Avernus, according wiki: 

 Canon material provides two distinct dates for the events described in Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus: the adventure itself, described in chapters 1 through 5, takes place in 1494 DR, according to events mentioned in pages 7 and 47, while the Baldur's Gate Gazetteer describes the city as of 1492 DR (p. 159).

Conclusion: BG3 happens in 1492 DR

Now we are going to proceed to the hypotheses:

Hypothesis one: Gale is around 40 years old.

Reasons: This is my personal headcanon. By the way his face wrinkles, I have the feeling he is closer to his early/middle 40 than his middle 30s. Those crow-feet speak volumes to me. It's true that wrinkles depend a lot of the type of skin you have, your nutrition, your health, your level of stress, and your genetic. There are people who has deep wrinkles in their 20 or a baby-face in their 50s. But statistically speaking, using the average concept of how population gets wrinkles over the years, I'm inclined to think he is in his 40.

If BG3 happens in 1492 DR, and he is 40 y/o, this means he was born in 1452 DR.

Mystra returned from death after 1479, when Gale was 27 years old. This means that Gale's involvement with Mystra happened when he was 27 y/o or older [nothing says that the affair had to happen in that same year, right there after she came back... it could have happened several years later]

Pros: This theory fits a lot more the wrinkles we see with Gale's current age, in my opinion.

Cons: 27 y/o is not “a young man” age in the sense Gale explained during his scene.  Also from a design point of view, and considering the amount of stress and fear that Gale has been living during his last decade [at least], he should be displaying some grey hair as well. First grey hair tends to appear [once again, all this is pure statistical observations in the white population] around their 35's. And it's also well known that constant stress tends to accelerate them, so more evidence against this concept: if he is around 40 y/o and lives stressed as fuck as he has explained, he should be displaying a good amount of grey hair. Maybe we'll see them in a future patch? Maybe not. Only Larian knows.

Hypothesis two: Gale is around 35 [30] years old.

Reasons: This headcanon implies that Gale has more wrinkles than the average of people in such age. But then again, we can't assume this is a rule set on stone. As I said before, skin and genetics depend a lot in the way we age. This age sounds adequate for not displaying grey hair yet, but then again, he is under a lot of stress. It would be expected to have premature grey hair under such conditions.

If BG3 happens in 1492 DR, and he is 35 [30] y/o, this means he was born in 1457 [1462] DR.

Mystra returned from death after 1479, when Gale was 22 [17] years old. This means that Gale's involvement with Mystra happened when he was, at least, 22 [17] y/o or older.

Pros: This theory fits a little less in the amount of  wrinkles we see with Gale's current age in my opinion. It justifies a bit better the lack of grey hair, even though I prefer the idea that, no matter his age, after the orb event, his stress is constant and that should cause premature grey hair. But this is personal taste.

Cons: 22 [17]  y/o is certainly “a young man” age in the sense Gale explained during his scene. I know 17 y/o may sound weird, but we can assume two things: 1) Mystra gave a shit about it [she is a goddess, she cares little for mortal details] or 2) Mystra waited a time before whispering in Gale's ears. Pick the one you prefer. In both cases, 17 and 22, fit perfectly the concept that he was too naïve and young to see the true weight of his involvement with Mystra.

Hypothesis three: Gale is ancient. As a wizard, he can extend his life with magic, artefacts, and potions.

Reasons: This headcanon implies that Gale has lived the Spellplague, and his affair with Mystra happened before 1385 DR and before her death. It could have happened at any age.

In this scenario, since he would be under some magical effect of longevity, we can't even guess his current age, and  his few wrinkles [for an ancient man] and lack of grey hair would be justified by such magical effects as well.

Pro: This theory fits well with whatever inconsistency in his design that could suggest or not certain age in Gale's apperance.

Cons: We are completely lost in the timeline, and we cannot make any decent estimation

I personally do not support this theory because 2 reasons:

When Gale narrates the story of “the little silly wizard”, he explicitly says “not so long ago” when he explained his affair with Mystra. On the other hand, when he explains Karsus' folly, he explicitly says “Long, long time ago”. It's evident in my opinion that he perceives the times of Mystra's death as something that happened too long ago, while placing his own youth in a more recent time frame.

If Gale were ancient, he would speak of the Spellplague time in a more dramatic way. Since Magic and Weave are so important in his life, that historical event should have scarred his mind deeply.

Final conclusion

I personally like the idea of Gale being around his 40. It's true it doesn't fit well when he describes himself as a “young man” during his affair with Mystra, but I think his current design fits more to a man in his early 40. If you read my DOS2 metas, you will also know that Larian is well-known to overlook details of this nature or simply ignore their own lore, so incoherence is something I always expect from them, especially when we do analysis with this freak level of detail.

Gale being 35 y/o or younger is also valid since it's an hypothesis that fits much better the concept of “young man”, though he looks a lot more aged than he should be. One could assume this premature ageing is caused by the stress of the Netherese infection in his chest, but in that case it should be fairer to add to his wrinkles a stronger presence of grey hair.

I don't support at all the theory of Gale being ancient.

[butmakeitgayblog]

Hello

We need another sneak peek *PLEASEEEEEE *😀

You know how much we love the demon give us some mercy *pleaseeeeeeeeee *

Have a nice day please..

Ps : love your ff dude

I know you weren't trying to be rude, I do. So far I've been really fucking lucky in not having any legit rude anons or readers. But I just... sometimes it can start to feel like I'm this work horse, ya know? And sometimes things are like "... Hey 😔, I know it's taking a while but ya coulda asked a little more politely here man I work hard on this stuff." When someone post a 1k snippet you have to realize that represents a couple hours of work they put in instead of doing other things because they want to make these stories great for readers. So just, yeah. Please keep that in mind. But yes, here's a little snippet but nO MORE I GOTTA FINISH THIS DAMN THING 😩

////////////

She had this. 

Raven was right. It was just a friendly dinner. 

A friendly dinner where Clarke could possibly see what it might feel like to live out the mortifying ordeal of being seen as half of a… something. 

A something with Lexa. 

Clarke pushed the thought down as she twisted the handle, taking a minute to herself to breath and calm her nerves.

Which was all shot to shit the second the door swung open. 

"Hey, gorgeous."

The smirk that greeted her sent a flutter through Clarke's belly, her eyes doing a quick route down the length of Lexa's body. Gone was the skirt and skin tight blouse from earlier, all vestiges of the office wiped clean.

The usually wild mane of brunette was pulled back in a ponytail, an exquisitely messy one that hung over her shoulder and draped across the curve of a sharp collarbone. Clarke's gaze wandered along the waterfall of it, sliding to the cleavage that peeked out from the unbuttoned dip of a low-cut navy Henley. Her leather jacket stopped just shy of distressed jeans that clung to her thighs, calves, and ankles and stretched down to a smart looking pair of black boots. 

Clarke shook her head at the deeply pleased look painted across Lexa's face.

"How did I not foresee you managing to get yourself invited here?"

Lexa's smile slipped into a frown, head tipping to the side as she spoke. "... You didn't know I was coming?"

"No," Clarke sighed. "I was not made aware until about five minutes ago. We've been set up."

"Ah," Lexa breathed in understanding, shuffling awkwardly on her feet on the front stoop. "I should've known when Raven told me to hurry up. The texts felt very urgent."

"Don't know how you don't know this by now, but you can never trust Raven. And I'm saying that as someone who also fell into this trap."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"I can't uninvite you from someone else's house, Lex."

"That's not what I asked," Lexa murmured, throat bobbing with a swallow as her eyes strayed to her shoes.

Clarke licked her lips. Thumped the door twice with her thumb. Weighed the conversation from the kitchen that still felt fresh on her tongue. 

"You really weren't in on this?"

"I would tell you if I had been. She just texted and invited me. Said it was dull with just the three," Lexa shrugged. "Felt rude to say no."

"I'm sure that was the reason," Clarke snorted, shaking her head with an exasperated smile. "Not at all like you wanted to spend the evening with me or anything."

"Well you already know how I would've preferred tonight to go."

Clarke's smile weakened when Lexa wagged a devilish brow. 

Right. 

Sex. 

There it was. Why she hadn't wanted to do this to begin with. Not this way. Had questioned ever even fucking confronting the jumbled mess of thoughts that had been churning in her skull for the past few days. Because she'd set up these boundaries and didn't know why she'd begun questioning them to begin with. 

Something in her face must've given her away. A glimpse of her hesitance. The stab of something sharp and unpleasant at Lexa's admittedly innocent words sobering the smirk on Lexa's face. 

Lexa stepped in closer, one foot on the threshold, the other firmly staying outside. "I can go if you want me to," she said so quietly Clarke wouldn't have heard if she weren't that close. Wouldn't have seen the sparkle in Lexa's eyes from the porch light above them. "But I'd like to stay. If you want… You know I'll take any time I can get with you."

Never mind.

That was why she'd been having those jumbled mess of thoughts. 

It sent her stomach flipping and chest aching with something else entirely. Clarke smiled more genuinely, throwing in a cursory roll of her eyes for good measure. "At least you're getting better at being smooth."

"Just like making you smile, gorgeous."

"Mhm… in that case, I guess you can stay."

"Lucky me… So are you gonna invite me in now?" Lexa asked, the silky hum of her voice causing Clarke to sway a bit on her feet as Lexa lifted her hand to reveal a 6-pack of imported beer. "I came bearing libations as peace offering. Just on the off chance you were a little… cranky. For whatever reason."

Clarke eyed the bright label as she reached out to grab a fistful of Lexa's shirt, stepping aside to make room as she yanked Lexa inside and shut the door. "How did you know what beer I like? You're a wine girl."

"I asked Raven," Lexa said as she set down the case and shrugged out of her coat. "She's a very helpful secretary… Sometimes."

"She's a goddamn schemer," Clarke corrected with a grunt as she shot a glare in the direction of the kitchen. 

"Don't be mad," Lexa soothed and hung up her coat on the wall before sliding back into Clarke's space.

Her hands settled low on Clarke's waist, thumbs brushing over the swells of her hip bones that peeked out from beneath her shirt. 

Clarke felt a rush of heat flare through her as Lexa bent down and kissed her. Kissed her slow, and full, with the careless intensity that left Clarke spinning. That languidness Clarke had been struggling so hard to describe. She felt a moan against her mouth as Lexa pulled back with a smile. Barely reigning in a pleased smile of her own, Clarke worked to keep a straight face as she poked a finger to the flat of Lexa's chest.

"Hello to you too, handsy."

"What?" Lexa whispered, eyes twinkling in the dim light filtering from the doorway a few feet away. 

"We're in Raven's front hall."

"And? I don't see anyone else with us."

"Ya can't just cop a feel every single time someone isn't looking."

"'Cop a feel?' You mean like this?"

Clarke sucked in a breath as Lexa surged forward again, the length of her body pressing along Clarke's front as hands wrapped around her backside and squeezed.

"Lex--" 

"Lexa, hey, you made it!"

A reproachful yelp died in Clarke's throat as the new voice called from around the corner, her mind working just fast enough to thrust her hips forward to send Lexa a few stumbling steps back. 

Clarke shot up off the wall and turned as Raven emerged from the kitchen, an inviting smile on her lips even as sharp eyes slid between the two.

"Here I am," Lexa said without missing a beat, bending down to retrieve the all-but-forgotten drinks. "Complete with alcoholic party favors."

"Oooo. A woman after my own heart," Raven leered as she drew even, taking the pack from Lexa's hand and bussing a kiss to her cheek. "I'm gonna go pop these in the fridge, but make yourself at home. Clarke knows where everything is if you want anything. And dinner should be done any minute. Sound good?"

Lexa nodded as Raven flashed her another smile and turned to leave, Clarke barely resisting the urge to throw a middle finger up when Raven mouthed a silent 'lock it down, bitch' on her way out. 

"Okay, new rules," Clarke sighed as she tugged Lexa by the elbow down the hall. "Since apparently my very well thought out guidelines for us around people are apparently useless, let's just get through tonight unscathed, please? Yes, obviously Raven knows we're…"

"... Fucking?"

"Lexa."

"Friendly fucking."

"This is gonna be a disaster," Clarke mumbled to herself, reaching up to rub at her temples. "Yes, Raven knows. Yes, I'm okay with it. Just… please try to at least keep your hands in appropriate places. And no offering up details about… this. Us. I know you think it's hilarious to embarrass me to the point of wanting to run screaming from any given room, but in reality, Raven wouldn't let me live it down for weeks. So. Behave... Behave-ish. Aim for like a three on a scale of one to... you."

"I promise, gorgeous, don't worry," Lexa whispered, leaning in to nuzzle a spot beneath Clarke's ear as they rounded the corner into the front room. "I'll be such a good girl for you."

"Jesus Christ, Lex."

Quickly pulling back, Lexa shot her a devious smile, lip firmly planted between her teeth despite Clarke's shove to her shoulder. A throat clearing stifled the flustered rebuke that teetered on Clarke's tongue as the crack of a book closing sounded through the room.

"Sorry, I would've met you out there, but Raven said to give you a minute," Anya said airily as she tossed the book in her hands onto the table with a thunk and turned. "I'm Anya, Raven's…"

Anya's words seemed to die in her throat as she ground to a halt halfway around the far end of the couch. 

Clarke watched as the bored set of her eyes sharpened. Widened. 

A paleness slunk over her features as Anya stared at the woman at Clarke's side, Clarke's brow furrowing as she glanced between the startled look of her friend's wife and the relaxed grin on Lexa's face.

Throat bobbing through a few dry swallows, Anya's ribs expanded and released as she breathed in deeply. 

"You're Raven's boss?"

Lexa gave a quiet chuckle, Clarke's heart jumping at the dark timbre of its sound. 

"Guilty as charged."

//////////////

[azurewoods]

bnha 304‼️

(so, in summary, I think Todoroki Shoto is the other vestige on OFA. yep, here we go again)

Deku stans, how are we feeling? finally we got to see our favorite boy and, not less important, the two mysterious vestiges (it was just one panel but still. Progress).

This time we got a more detailed appearance of the vestiges, this could be useful to the theories going around about their identifies.

Now, I'm sure we all agree that one of them is an older version of Bakugou since they both have the same hair, same body build and proportions, not to mention his equipment on his wrists that could be an upgraded version of his grenades.

But in this post I'm going to talk about the second vestige. The most popular theory is that Kirishima is the other vestige, mostly because of the hair and the equipment he's wearing.

The hair itself wasn't really similar but, again, they're presumably an older version in case they are deku's classmates and clearly when you get older you change a lot, including hairstyle. It really isn't enough proof but since the only panels we had of them were literal silhouettes, everything was possible. I even believed it myself, until today.

When I started reading the unofficial translation of the chapter, the moment I saw them, I took a good look at them. Definitely is a more detailed version of them, their hair, clothes, heights.

And that's what make me realize that the second vestige is no other than Todoroki Shoto.

Why? you may ask. Well, let's compare Kirishima with the vestige first.

The most solid proof of being Kirishima was the equipment he wears on his shoulders. But if you take a look at the new panels you can see they're not similar, not even remotely close to an upgraded version.

You can see that Kirishima has his arms far from his body in a "resting instance" since his equipment takes a lot of space between his armpits and his torso that could be seen as an 'uncomfortable position'. It also makes him look buff, if that makes sense lol, but the vestige in the panel doesn't look awkward or very buff.

There's also that mask he uses that covers the back of his head, ears and neck. The fact the he has his chest uncovered, uses black pants and boots. The vestige uses a kind of headband and doesn't use any of the last thing I mentioned. But, again, equipment changes.

There's also the sleeves, the vestige doesn't wear them but it could be an upgrade since he does have short black sleeves.

Now there's just little detail that doesn't convince me at all. The hair. From the silhouette we could see the similarities if Kirishima wore his hair in a ponytail but in the panel of chp 304...

It just looks so soft. And not just that, the type of hair and its form is really different from Kirishima's. He [the vestige] has hair that looks smooth and straight. It seems it's white or light hair.

Meanwhile, Kirishima's hair is red, that looks hard and spiky. And there's the fact that he probably wouldn't change his hairstyle precisely of the reason why he decided to have it that way in the first place. It was a change of image, a new person, new choices and was inspired from his favorite hero Crimson Riot. His characteristic red and spiky hair is something Kirishima would probably not change in a long time.

It is totally razonable since his hero name is very similar to the pro hero, it's fan boy behavior lmao. And that includes Deku since his hero costume has bunny ears resembling All Might's; and Bakugou since, you know, his recently announced hero name Great explosion murder god Dinamight (self explanatory lmfaoo)

Now, it's time to show you why I think is Shoto.

First, his hero costume. He has a belt with first aid equipment, those things over his shoulders and that things in his wrists (sorry, when it comes to describe things my english knowledge is non existent). Meanwhile, the vestige also has a similar costume (in terms of a base and color), has a belt that has pockets attached, that thing around his shoulders that are not massive, they're like mini pockets or decoration that doesn't look heavy and, finally, both have equipment on their wrists.

He has physical similarities in terms of body shape and height. He doesn't look buff but he sure looks well shaped.

And there's the hair. Shoto's hair is straight but not that straight on the ends, it is also long and smooth. But it is red and white and the vestiges is not, it seems to be white or a bright color, such as blonde or similar. However, I think it's not that crazy if Todoroki changed his hair color or something. The only reasonable explanation I can come up with is that Shoto didn't want to have Endeavor's hair color.

But, if you paid attention, they only show us the right side of the vestige. There's a possibility that his other side is still red and it's hiding it with his scar. I know the ponytail should be half red half white but who knows, maybe Shoto styles it with the purpose of hiding the red side on the ponytail.

Finally, on the other hand, we can make a guess of the vestiges heights but is not accurate because of the perspective the panel was drawn and stuff. So, Todoroki's height is 1.76 cm (5,9ft I guess?) and Kirishima's 1.70cm (5,6ft). Bakugou's height is 1.72cm (5,7ft), assuming Bakugou is one of the vestiges.

Bakugo is probably going to be tall (I mean, he arleady is), maybe grow a little above average.

Todoroki is tall and still has a lot to grow, and taking into account that Endeavor is big as f!ck, he js probably going to be taller. But if he "grew up all he could" then he's going to be like Bakugou above avererage height, or a bit taller

For Kirishima, I think he's going to be average. We don't know his parents to help but he seems to be average. I think he might get tall but not that much.

So, it seems that the mystery vestige is taller than "vestige Bakugou". Yeah, he's hunched but it looks that, even if he straightens back, he's still shorter. I can't really tell because the room looks a bit tilted. But having said that, the heights matches more with Todoroki.

There's just so many similarities, I am genuinely convinced Shoto can be the other vestige and it makes sense if we talk about their relationship with Deku and OFA.

I mean, the main reason Bakugou was so rapidly accepted as the vestige, besides the physical similarities, it was of his relationship with Deku (he has history with him, he cares for Deku's wellbeing, he's atoning and most part of the war arc he spend the whole time at his side trying to protect him from Shigaraki/AFO), and his knowledge about OFA, how he thinks of it as a curse more than a blessing based of the repercussions it had on Deku and it's past users.

And Todoroki has been impacted in a positive way by Deku. He learned that his fire is his, to be open to friendship with his classmates, one of his first friends in a long time and, with others of the class, be motivated and do his because of Deku. Not just because is him, but for his action in the past that unchained a lot of good times. And now that OFA has been mention to Shoto and other heroes present in Deku and Shigaraki's fight, he's probably going to be involved in some aspect. If that's the case, they must have turned into vestiges a lot after or maybe it happened between the time skip between the Endeavor agency arc and the war arc (who knows, maybe something happens in the third bnha movie).

[p.s: just noticed that " vestige bakugou's" gauntlets look veeery similar to the ones bakugou is wearing in 'the three musketeers' illustration]

[nomanwalksalone]

MY RALPH OUTLET

by Réginald-Jérôme de Mans

A recent conversation with Ivy revisionist Berkeley Breathes led to me a revelation. The relationship between Prep and Ivy, I ejaculated, is that of birds and dinosaurs. Just as my mom’s evil African Grey who used to eye me balefully was the collateral heir to the thunderous hundred-foot-long Ninjatitan zapatai (they did it, they really gave an animal the scientific name Ninjatitan, so prep is the existing offshoot of a look that otherwise died in the 1970s, or 65 million years ago in fashion years. Existing Ivy exponents are no dead clade walking, but as authentic as rumored plesiosaurs subsisting in Loch Ness: impossible, ridiculous and fascinating latter-day inventions. What actually and organically has continued to evolve following the death of Ivy is messier, sloppier and more casual, less precise and thus more adaptable… and may even owe its survival to its adoption and adaptation by American’s most important designer, Ralph Lauren.

There’s a lot to unpack from the free-with-purchase-at-these-fine stores Polo-branded baggage of the above paragraph. As I’ve written in earlier pieces, reading Richard Press’s Threading the Needle and the interesting if misbegotten Ivy Style museum exhibition monograph helped sharpen the picture of what Ivy style is perceived to be now (the old Take Ivy book helped provide a more contemporary picture of it at the time that Ivy was on its last legs). Youthful as it purported to be (its very name localized it to college years at privileged college campuses), Ivy still included aspirations to a kind of maturity: grown-up clothes in the form of tailored jackets, and sobriety’s leash itself, the necktie. Even if decades ago such clothes could exist in more casual registers by nature of their materials or patterns (J. Press’s famous tweeds, for instance), they existed as prescribed forms of uniform at prep schools and (at least as a de facto uniform) universities at midcentury. From the 1960s, student rebellions of various forms threw off such uniforms among young people. At my own prep school, legend had it that protestors against the old coat-and-tie uniform even came to school naked (this was several years before it also went co-ed). Legend? I suppose if I had wanted to investigate, I could have asked teachers who had been at the school since shortly after graduating from it in 1952, or the octogenarian who had taught there 60 years straight since 1929.

The death of a frankly prosaic tailored uniform opened up two planes of possibility: one for the more casual sorts of Ivy play clothes that younger students had worn that were less restrictive and less costly than tailored clothes; and another plane of imaginary romance and dash for myths to write themselves. Ralph strode in and straddled them both, and preps welcomed him. No more did the privileged student have to order jackets from LL Bean or Barbour, piqué shirts from Lacoste and loafers from Bass or Brooks Brothers in New York. Instead, Ralph’s shop-in-shops in better department stores across the country offered a one-stop experience for an entire look immersed in the sort of generalized Anglophilia and muddy horsiness (from the brand name Polo on down) that put America’s aspirational middle classes at ease in their social insecurities.

1980’s The Preppy Handbook gave us an informative snapshot of its time and this attitude: Polo items infiltrated the various shots of preppy accoutrements, as do the various carefree, confident corner-cutting that began to mark its difference from dead Ivy: moccasins held together with duct tape and a lack of any care about fit, and later, provenance: the book points out to us to notice the sloppy hemming job on a grown-up Prep’s suit pants, and tells us the credentials of former Prep hall-of-famer Lisa Halaby are now in question for marrying a man “whose blazers fit perfectly”: the incredibly elegant, Camps de Luca-clad King Hussein of Jordan. Preps were happy to wear Izod’s licensed Lacoste shirts instead of the original, and over the decades to wear Ralph as he expanded into a brand supported (according to biographer Michael Gross) by its outlets, and later Ralph pastiches like Tommy Hilfiger. The populations wearing prep changed in appearance: prep schools themselves became somewhat more inclusive, at least in appearance, and other populations appropriated aspects of the look that Ralph popularized, even if old curmudgeons like Lewis Lapham missed no opportunity to sneer at Ralph for now making expensive copies of traditional garments in cheap factories.

I used to share that rather snobbish sentiment, before realizing that for better or worse Ralph captured all the problematic romance of nostalgia without the boredom of latter-day Ivy irredentists, arguing over details of collar roll and shoulder construction irrelevant to everyone but themselves. One writer in the Ivy Style monograph suggested that Ralph started his business in reaction to seeing Brooks Brothers (where he had sold ties) losing its way. Rather, both Ralph and Brooks Brothers were reacting to changing times that killed Ivy as anything but a historical look. Ralph moved into fantasy, bringing elements of 1930s English dandyism (too flamboyant for Ivy to have espoused even in an abdicated, morganatic manner) and of other senses of loss: lost colonial empires through exotic and safari imagery and lost WASP fortunes and heritage in the decoration and presentation of his boutiques, most infamously in the conversion of Manhattan’s Rhinelander Mansion into his New York flagship. His boutiques around the world followed its inspiration. Even if their décor was ersatz copies of its old wood, the Ralph Lauren staff knew how to trigger that strange sense of transport which is momentary acceptance in prep enclaves, like when a beblazered boys’ chorus began singing carols in the gallery of one boutique during our holiday browsing.

He made prep more interesting, more visible and accessible, and more new than its traditional retailers had. In the beginning, at least, he probably kept some in business, too. Such is the case with an amazing vintage handmade Fair Isle sweater, made in Britain for Ralph Lauren in traditional wool with traditional heathered colors… and metallic lurex, more commonly associated with punks, giving it gold highlights. A deep dive looking for handmade Fair Isle sweaters turned up this example (a Scottish knitter friend told me that if I wanted a new handknit sweater, I had better pick up “a pair of pins” myself, since even one of the famous handknitters was photographed using Shima knitting machines). It made one of the staples of prep (as the distant, extant vestige of Ivy) novel, arresting, yet coherent. Even if, 35 years on, the Ralph Lauren empire has retrenched, its brand and manufacturing approaches called into question, what he does today is still the heir to the best, or most redeemable, of what prep was.

[strawberrysoup]

Yes, Sheriff || Chapter 3

Sheriff Carol Danvers takes her job of protecting the citizens of her small town very seriously — there are just some that she cares about more than others. A lot more, in fact, and she will take care of her sweet baby girl whether she likes it or not.

relationship: Carol Danvers/Reader rating: Explicit chapters: 3/? length: 3k warnings: Dark Carol Danvers, coercion, manipulation, noncon and dubcon sexual situations, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat additional warnings: open the read more and CTRL + F, search “content warnings” to skip to detailed trigger warnings at the bottom of the chapter. note: another long wait, but here it is! hope y’all enjoy it. remember to reblog and comment! please.

The barstool was incredibly hard and you found yourself wishing for the 8th time in an hour that you were back at home. Carol had managed to coerce you back to her place for the second night in a row, citing collecting your belongings as the bare minimum necessitating your return. You'd grabbed your belongings immediately, having darted inside and into the bedroom before Carol even turned on the lights. Before you could make an escape back to the car though, she'd been quick to pull you into the kitchen and sit you at her breakfast bar. She was puttering around with something on the counter, 'just real quick' she'd said.

She at least hadn’t touched you since picking you up from the library at the end of your shift—a small blessing after she’d nearly made you cry while taking you to the Town Hall and then did make you cry upon returning you to the library. You prayed she couldn’t read your thoughts from your face, hoping you didn’t blush and betray yourself. She’d forced your legs apart while she drove and used some sort of little vibrator on your clit until you gushed, soaking the passenger seat of her cruiser. It had been humiliating but the pleasure was overwhelming and you’d just started to wail when she pulled into the library’s parking lot. 

Carol had been very quick to remind you how lucky you were that she’d forgotten to call Tony about your car, otherwise he would’ve been waiting in the parking lot when the cruiser pulled in. The look on her face had been sincere and soft; you couldn’t even begin to reconcile the ever morphing faces she could exchange at the drop of a hat. She’d run circles around you in the few minutes after that, easily managing to talk you into going to her house later in the evening and she’d gotten that dopey little half smile on her face when you agreed and it gave your stomach butterflies. 

"Get yourself a drink from the fridge baby girl, there's wine and some beers," Carol didn't even look over her shoulder at you, too focused on whatever she was stirring on the stove, "probably a soda."

A shiver ran down your spine, nervous at the tone she'd used; it was an order, not a request. You’d gotten so many of those today, most of which had ended in either pain or humiliation. You quickly stood up and crossed to the fridge, grabbing the half empty 2-liter of coke. It was the only nonalcoholic thing in there and you didn't want to end up in the same situation as the previous night. You hesitated for a moment, glancing back towards Carol.

“Which cabinet are the cups in?”

The smile that slithered over the blonde’s lips was both parts coy and apologetic, “the cabinet next to the sink, over my cutting board. You’ll have to grab it, my hands are dirty.”

She took two measured steps back from where she’d been pressed against the counter top, gesturing to the cabinet that had been right in front of her. An icy cold sensation dripped down your spine, your brain immediately kicking into high gear. It had only been a day, but you’d already come to realize that keeping up with Carol meant staying potentially several steps ahead of where you both agreed to pretend you were. It wasn’t that Carol was smarter than you, or more clever, but she had some sort of underhanded cunningness to her. She was methodical and calculated and you had to figure out how far along in her planned progression of this evening she was and what she was steering you towards, so you could avoid it.

“Baby girl,” the exasperated sigh made you blink, surprise widening your eyes, “could you please come grab your cup? I need to finish this up so it can cook while I take you home.”

Heat rose in your cheeks—you were acting like a freak and the Sheriff was obviously getting tired of it, especially since all you were doing at this point was interrupting her evening and delaying your ride home. Maybe you’d made your disinterest clear enough now and she was just ready for you to be out of her hair. You skirted forward quickly, carefully pressing against the countertop to leave as much space between her body and yours. The smallest glasses were on the lowest shelf and you quickly grabbed one from the front. An embarrassing sound escaped you when her hand brushed your ass, on ‘accident’, of course.

On accident.

Your rational brain struggled. You kept accusing Carol of these things in your mind, of trying to manipulate situations or assault or trap you. Sheriff Carol. You kept accusing Sheriff Danvers of such heinous things and it was baffling.

Carol Danvers was the first outsider to move to Burgess to be entirely accepted by the reputable population (which was most people, with the notable exception of some wife-beaters and a couple of folks who’d gotten busted for cooking meth). She went out of her way on a regular basis, literally daily, to go above and beyond her duty to help the town. You knew for a fact that just today she’d taken Ms. Bea to the grocery store—the older woman’s son was out of town for a few days for a wedding and had asked around to see if anyone could help his mother during his absence. Carol had immediately taken the responsibility, according to Paul. You knew this because you’d gone to school with Paul and he’d called you after hearing about your breakfast date.

Unbeknownst to you, Carol was watching your internal struggle with a wary eye. The same argument had played out before her multiple times today, where you tried to reign yourself in or change an instinctive behavior. It was interesting—you had an incredibly strong gut instinct and it was trying its best to direct your attention to every suspicious thing she’d done. But you had trained yourself to be rational over the years and Occam’s Razor was a wasp stuck in your ear, whispering that it made more sense for you to be misinterpreting the situation rather than her actually having insidious intentions.

The coke was slightly flat when you poured it but you couldn’t have cared less. All you wanted to do was keep her happy for the next ten minutes while she finished whatever it was she had going on. 

“That’s a lot of sugar this late in the evening, don’t you think?” Her voice broke you out of your reverie and your shoulders scrunched up, embarrassment coursing through you. 

“Yeah, probably,” you murmured in response, shifting to dump about half of what you’d poured down the sink; whatever it took to make her happy for the next ten minutes, you could deal. 

“Good girl.” The hairs on the back of your neck stood on end, “sit down and relax, I just need a few minutes.” 

Returning to the barstool hurt your ass and your soul. The waiting was agonizing. You finished your drink relatively quickly and found yourself absently watching the glass reflect light while she continued to putter around. Your attention peaked when she put a lid on the pot and started washing her hands. 

“You should go grab your bag, I’ll be ready in a minute,” she called over her shoulder and you immediately darted out into the living room, shifting the strap over your shoulder and standing next to the front door. 

Carol was only a few seconds behind you, grabbing her keys off the table by the door and opening it for you. Thor was outside again, likely having worked a similar shift to Carol, and was mowing his lawn. The blond’s exchanged waves but you barely noticed, swiftly stepping up to the passenger side door before stopping patiently. It took a second before you realized she’d stopped moving too and was instead just standing there, smiling at you. 

“Uhh—” 

“Sorry baby girl, I spaced out a little,” she shuffled into your space, one hand curling around to the small of your back while she opened the door with the other, “watch your head.” 

This would hopefully be the last time you ended up in Carol’s cruiser. She’d called Tony after returning to you the library and he had arrived sometime in the afternoon to tow away your car. He’d couldn’t make any promises but assumed he should be able to fix whatever was wrong tomorrow. Luckily Monday was your day off and you didn’t need to be anywhere you couldn’t walk to. 

“You have my personal number right, in case you need a ride anywhere?” The blonde asked, once again featuring a brutally sincere smile, “I wouldn’t mind hearing from you, even if you don’t need anything.” 

“I-I’ll keep it in mind,” your eyes flashed from her face to the road ahead apprehensively; thank God she’d waited until the ride was more than half over, there was no way you could hold a convincing conversation while your heart raced so fast it almost made you dizzy. 

“I’ll walk you up to your door,” Carol had gotten out and was on her way around the front of the car before you could respond beyond a nod, opening your door and holding out her hand to help you up, “is that Mr. Taylor?” 

Your eyes followed hers as she pulled you to her feet, finding your neighbor puttering around in his yard with the last vestiges of light from the day. He’d owned one of the local bakeries and you had practically grown up on his pastries. 

“Yes,” you swallowed when Mr. Taylor seemed to notice you both, waving kindly from across the way with the blonde returning the gesture. 

“Alright, up you go,” she ordered with a smile, one hand settling onto the small of your back to nudge you up the steps to your porch, “I’m gonna wait until I hear the lock.” 

It was so thoughtful your brain swirled. Was it thoughtful or was she pretending? What kind of idiot were you to think she was pretending? 

“Have a good night, Carol,” you offered the parting words quietly after stepping over the threshold, “thanks for your help.” 

Help was kind of a stretch, if you were being honest with yourself. It had been one of the most stressful days you’d had in ages and you were so tired, all you could think to do was grab a bottle of red from the kitchen and take it to your room. You weren’t hungry but the wine would help you make it through your shower because no matter how exhausted you were, there was no way you could go to sleep feeling as dirty as you did. 

Luckily you managed to get through the whole thing on your feet, occasionally reaching out through the curtain to grab the neck of the wine bottle and take a swig. The combination of the alcohol and steam enhanced your drowsiness and you yawned, quickly rinsing off before getting out of the shower. You barely managed to squeeze some of the water out of your hair before collapsing into bed and almost immediately passing out. 

Carol had arrived home by the time you fell asleep, moving quickly to empty the 2 liter of coke down the drain. She’d put a carefully measured amount of rohypnol in the bottle, knowing she’d be able to monitor the amount you imbibed. It had seemed to be just barely starting to kick in when she’d walked you up to your door, your eyes not quite as focused as usual. It wouldn’t take long before you were firmly knocked out for the next 10 to 12 hours. 

She’d been on edge the entire time you’d spent in the kitchen, having no idea if you would follow the steps she’d set out in her head. You were very intelligent but had been conditioned by small town living, as most people had, to operate on the belief that everyone was inherently good unless proven otherwise. Carol learned it was hard to manipulate someone who outmatched her in intelligence, even with the social handicap offered by societal expectations. 

The empty coke bottle was filled with bleach and water before she threw it in the trash, the cup you used receiving the same treatment before going into  the dishwasher. It was unlikely that Carol would ever come up as a viable suspect but she wouldn’t take the risk of not destroying evidence. She passed the next few hours cleaning, turning all of the lights out around 11 pm. Thor’s went off not half an hour later and she took that as her cue; he’d seen her arrive home after dropping you at your place, it wasn’t an alibi but it did lend credit to her story. 

The nice thing about the way the houses were arranged in Burgess was the trees that surrounded most properties; it was so windy that the trees were necessary to protect the houses from damage. They provided excellent camouflage as Carol silently walked to your house from hers, winding between branches and making a mental note that she needed to be encouraging people to clean up the debris that had fallen. No need to potentially feed another fire.

The lights in most of the houses were out and Carol avoided the ones that weren’t. It extended her walk a few minutes, especially when she had to go wide around Mr. Taylor’s house. It was easy to break the lock on the backdoor though, even as new and well maintained as her baby’s house was. The blonde dropped her head back on her shoulders as soon as it closed behind her, sighing in relief. It was incredibly unlikely anyone would see her but it was still an adrenaline rush—she hadn’t been involved in such delinquent activities since she was a teenager.

The house was cute, just like her girl. There were little rose accents in the classic little farm house kitchen, lace pillows and curtains in the living room, fairy lights trailing up the banister to the second floor. It was also very obviously rarely used; there was no wear on the floors, no clutter, the refrigerator was practically empty and the pantry looked similar. The only evidence she saw of her girl was the cork from a wine bottle on the kitchen floor, just shy of the trashcan and a purse hanging next to the front door.

Carol hummed quietly to herself as she roamed, grabbing a knife from the block in the kitchen and wandering into the living room. The first thing she did was cut up the sofa and arm chair, ripping out the stuffing and repeating the action with the throw pillows. She scooped every row of books off each shelf on the many bookshelves in the living room, leaving the books in piles at her feet. The pictures and knickknacks went with them, some shattering against the hard wood floor.

Her baby wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon, no matter how much noise and Carol took advantage of that by knocking a flower vase off a side table. Water and glass went everywhere, the sound jarring in the silent house. She grabbed the purse off the hook and tipped the contents out, stealing the wallet from inside and dumping the rest on the floor. The main floor was mostly for show and she continued up the stairs, where she could already hear soft breaths coming from the bedroom.

She was passed out face down on her bed, a towel somewhat wrapped around her body. Carol smiled, it was too easy and she was thrilled by her baby’s current state but focused on destruction first. She grabbed the jewelry off the dresser, pulled out and emptied all of the drawers. Her attention got caught on the top drawer, filled with panties and bras and socks. That one was left in the dresser, but Carol made sure that her rummaging was noticeable and stole at least three pairs of panties. She took a few more ‘valuables’, anything that looked like it might fetch some cash at a pawn shop that was also easy to carry, before turning her attention back to the lovely little drugged up baby girl in the bed.

The towel was dispatched quickly and Carol smiled at the sight of her still reddened little ass. It had been a lasting spanking and the blonde enjoyed seeing the results of her labor.

“Spread your legs baby,” she cooed into the silent evening, easily shifting y/n until her knees were tucked up under her torso, spread wide for the best angle, “let’s take some pretty pictures, huh?”

Carol must’ve taken a hundred pictures; some with her fingers seated deeply in her baby’s pussy, some with her fingers breaching that tight little asshole. The pièce de résistance being the fifteen minute long video the blonde recorded after turning y/n onto her back, leisurely riding the younger woman’s face until it was dripping with Carol’s arousal. She had to be careful when she started to cum, forcing herself not to smother her baby with her cunt—she couldn’t get carried away.

“That was good baby girl,” she murmured reaching between her legs and scooping her cum onto her hand, spreading it on her lips and tongue, “I’ll be the first thing you taste when you wake up. You’ll be the last thing I taste before I go to sleep, sound fair?”

Feasting on her baby’s pussy wasn’t nearly as fun when she wasn’t awake to thrash and cry at the overstimulation and mind-blowing orgasm. She made her cum twice anyway, forcing herself not to lick up the mess dripping from her pussy. Her baby girl would wake up in the morning with her own cum dripping out of her, naked and spread wide on the bed. All of Carol’s cum and arousal was beginning to dry on her pretty face, sticky and shiny in the light of the moon.

It would be hard to stay in bed until she received the phone call, that her baby’s house had been broken into and burglarized and she had potentially been assaulted. There would be no viable evidence, no fingerprints or unexplained hairs. The cum smeared on her baby’s face would be washed away in panic the moment she noticed something amiss, washing the evidence down the drain. Even if something did make it back to the station, it would obviously pass her desk. Maybe she’d set someone in town up to take the fall, like that shitty mechanic Hammer who’d scammed her when she first moved into town.

All she needed was the rose colored glasses to remain for a little longer, to mislead her baby for a few more weeks.

That was all it would take, after all.

content warnings: non-consensual (all of the following) somnophilia, vaginal and anal fingering, face riding, cum play, drugging, nudes, manipulation.

[ask-comrade-kuvira]

You are listening to Earth National Radio.

We are pleased to present this very special announcement from the Great Uniter herself, Comrade Chairman Kuvira.

Good evening, people of the Earth nation. It is I, Kuvira, and I have come to speak to you tonight not merely as a general, a revolutionary, and a patriot, but as a scholar and a teacher of revolutionary science. A subject we must never forget lest we succumb to baser emotions, the project of our liberation - of the world’s liberation - is a work of science and reason. Our labor of love is also a labor of history. We are not merely artists sitting in front of a blank canvas - we are the auteurs of a delicate and ancient struggle. The struggle I am referring to, of course, is the class struggle.

In all of history, we have striven to overcome our fellow man in the name of our class interests - representatives of our communities, our faiths, our cultures, and even of our prestigious families. All people in history have understood intuitively that for a nation to “thrive” it is necessary for that nation to steal and to exploit - to take from others. And whomever you take from, you give back to your class in equal measure, returned to palatial estates that grow in size and power with the wealth they extract from others. The ultimate expression of this power, the ultimate goal of all who have partaken of this historic struggle, is known as the rule of Government.

For most of history, a cycle has prevailed over the fate of all people. The cycle of dynasties, of the rise and fall of empires, and of the destruction of old land and the sowing of new. Long-dead places where ruins stand were once the province of power - and with time, they, too, did succumb and crumble. And all along this cycle has been characterized by the same thing: the class struggle, the rule and the conquest of man by man.

But in our modern era, a miracle has occurred. We have developed a power our forebears could only dream of: the awesome power of industrial civilization. Suddenly, the productive forces that were once the domain of precious few craftsmen and laborers have become the domain of the merchant class - those who live by trade and commerce. To own factories is to own the means of advancing every aspect of society, of annihilating Want and Need where one wills, and of accumulating incredible wealth. This ownership class, these bourgeoisie - they are the masters of our industrialized world.

Does one require proof? Look at the other nations of the world. A hundred years ago, the Great War set aflame and burnt to ashes the last vestiges of the ancient orders. The Fire Nation, ruled by a feudal emperor, could only resolve the contradictions between its nascent bourgeoisie class and the aristocratic class by joining them in an alliance against the other nations of the world.

Ask yourselves, what did it mean that the Fire Nation discovered such powerful technology before the rest of the world? I’ll tell you: it meant that there came to be in the Fire Nation a class of wealthy shippers, owners of fabulous navies that could move against the winds and currents with the power of fire, whose commercial exploitations around the world brought wealth and power back to the Fire Nation. Make no mistake, this is the development responsible for the rise of the Fire Nation. And this development introduced in turn a struggle for power, between those traditionally powerful aristocrats - and the newly powerful bourgeoisie.

This conflict could only be resolved one of two ways: one class destroys the other and claims the Fire Nation for itself - in the process tearing their nation asunder. Or, the two classes join as one, under the aegis of the Fire Lord, and resolve as allies to plunder the rest of the world together. And this latter case is what came to pass.

The resulting Great War all but annihilated the old order, and ironically the Phoenix Lord did not rise from the ashes, but the rule of the bourgeoisie did. The Air Nomads and their ancient order - destroyed, represented now by a reclusive and valuable colonial estate in Republic City harbor. The Water Tribes - driven to the brink, now ruled by Varrick Global Industries. The Fire Nation - ostensibly defanged, but preserving all of its commercial attachments to its far-flung colonies, and now sitting comfortable, distant, and aloof among its ill-gotten gains.

And what was the Earth Kingdom left with? A pathetic government that preserved the status of a corrupt aristocracy at the expense of the entire nation’s self-determination. For the past two hundred years, our nation has been beaten down into the mud. And even when the Great War ended, no reparations came and no justice was forthcoming. Our people had been taken into slavery and brutalized by the merciless, exploitative colonizers of the Fire Nation, and the reward our people had for their diligence was to be forced to allow the Fire Nation settlers to continue their business. How many thousands of Earth Kingdom families were forced out of their homes, keys still in hands, to make way for Fire Nation colonizers? How many of those Fire Nation colonizers ever paid back what they had stolen? As shameful as it is, this is our history. It seems only too fitting the final Earth monarch was killed in her throne room by an unhinged maniac.

However, the antidote to the shame of our nation is not the same vulgar pride the foreign imperialists cultivated. It is humility, for through humility do we recognize the true cause of this shame. In fact, the Fire Nation is not composed of a superior breed of people. That conceit is nothing more than the arrogance of petty conquerors. And the fall of our Queen was no reflection on our people: it was merely a reflection of the decrepit standing of her waning, soon-to-be-irrelevant class.

Look at how the foreign nations took responsibility when she was killed, and anarchy ruled our fates. All they cared about was lining their pocketbooks, and maintaining their precious business relationships. The richest woman in the Earth Kingdom, Suyin Beifong, elected to recline within her metal domes to continue profiting off of trade with the outside world. None of these events are rooted in anything supernatural, or uncanny, but in the simple, base reality of the historical class struggle. It was the class struggle that placed the Earth nation in this position, and that is why our true struggle is not against the people of the Fire Nation, the Water Tribes, or the colonized territories, but against the bourgeoisie.

It is the international bourgeoisie that we stand against, ultimately. After all, it was the international bourgeoisie that sought to use the fall of the Earth Kingdom as an opportunity to crowbar in their own business interests. They were happy to support the pacification of the Earth Kingdom insofar as the minerals they sought kept flowing into the factories spread throughout the colonized territories. Any detail was perfectly irrelevant to them as long as it did not affect the bottom line. President Raiko, Varrick, the White Lotus - all content with the project of our liberation while it seemed they could profit from it. Suyin Beifong, alone, opposed it - perhaps out of distaste for a little competition.

Keep in your mind that the moment we demonstrated the remotest inkling that we sought the liberation of our people for our own good, their knives were out. All of a sudden, they spoke of a Second Great War, of regime change, of the “good” of the “global community.” The only good they spoke of, my friends and my comrades, was their own good. The good of the international bourgeoisie.

It is this enemy we struggle against, and this enemy over which we shall triumph as a united, liberated, and decolonized people. We are all out of time for tonight, but please tune in tomorrow, when I will be answering questions that listeners like you would like to Call In over the radio. After all, we now have electricity and telephone service here in Ba Sing Se, the proud achievement of our comrades at the newly nationalized Ba Sing Se Telecom & Electrics Utility Corporation. Why not treat yourself to a little of it?