#my hero collegiate

[concussed-to-pieces]

Verbena: Vibrant Once More!

Fandom: Boku No Hero Academia/My Hero Academia

Pairing: College!Mirio/AFAB Reader

Rating: Holy shit M.

A/N: Written for @hijackser's Hanakotoba (Flower Language) collaboration event! This is a College AU and contains spoilers for most of season four, so read at your own risk! The flower I picked was Verbena, which represents safety, healing, creativity, and joy. While the flower is not explicitly mentioned, these themes will run through the entirety of this story. Enjoy!

Tag List: @hijackser, @nonstop-haikyuu, @zombiexbody, @buttons-beads-lace, @honey-shippies

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: This installment contains emotional distress, mentions of past abuse and past character death. Stay safe!]

"More flowers for you, Mister Mirio!" You chirped as you lugged yet another overstuffed vase of blooms and greenery into the room. Honestly, this was the third one today! You were starting to realize, much to your chagrin, that the no-doubt valedictorian posted up in the hospital bed in front of you was very, very popular.

The aforementioned Mirio laughed sheepishly, trying to clear space on the already-crowded windowsill for the latest arrival. "Guess this encourages me to get better even quicker, right? If I don't, soon this whole room will look like a jungle."

"You take all the time you need," was your firm reply as you shimmied the vase in between its fellows. You turned to leave but a hand lightly grazed your own, and when you glanced back Mirio was looking at you oddly. "What?" You asked, a little perplexed.

"Thanks for that." His voice was quieter, very unlike the happy-go-lucky mood he usually affected. "It's…it's been hard, you know? Losing Sir," and my Quirk, you could almost hear in his brief pause, "...it's just been difficult to smile. Not hopeless or anything, but…tough." As if to contrast, he offered you a weak grin. "Still gonna', though. Promise!"

You gingerly patted his hand. "Even if you can't for a little while, that's okay. People are so eager to give heroes burdens to bear, but I promise you won't always have to shoulder it alone." You had seen far too many chewed-up collegiates from the local campus come through the triage area for you to truly believe your own words, but Mirio was clearly searching for some reassurance. "Let the normies hang onto their problems for a few days. Take your time to recuperate."

"I-" Mirio hesitated, his fingers worrying at the worn edge of the thin hospital blanket. "Thanks. Again, I mean." 

A soft chime from your work phone alerted you to the fact that someone was at the reception area and you quickly rushed to check them in, waving goodbye to Mirio as you departed. 

Unbeknownst to you, the young man stared at the door for a long time after you had left.

…

While a medical professional in your own right, you had accepted an entry level position at the prestigious UA campus' medical center instead of heading directly to the grind of regular medicine. Entry level though it was, it offered you invaluable insight into the current generation of heroes being forged, and you felt more sympathetic towards the young men and women you would see a little too regularly. Panic attacks and academic burnout were incredibly common. There were also fights that occurred between members, dormitory living difficult for some of the students to adjust to. 

Though there were no real fraternities or sororities to speak of, the student body was still not a unified group. Rather, it had splintered into bands of different classes and Quirks, the tight cliques ever-evolving as the semester progressed. 

One such group had come to the center early one morning during your first few weeks of work. It consisted of three twenty-somethings; a blue-haired young woman, a dark-haired young man and their towering blond compatriot. The taller of the two men seemed to be gently manhandling the other while the woman spoke to him, but they all quickly fell silent when you approached the counter to check them in.

"Tamaki hasn't slept well for a while." The blond man announced, writing as much down on the intake sheet. You thought you vaguely heard a noise of protest from the shorter, dark-haired man, but he was making a valiant effort to stare a hole in the floor. The blond carried on, "I think it's because living in the dorms is still kinda' new and it can be pretty unsettling. Especially if you start thinking late at night about why we're all in the dorms and stuff." 

Like magic, you watched the shorter man's shoulders relax back down into a slouch. The blue-haired woman bumped her forehead into his, as if to offer silent comfort. 

The taller man eventually handed the filled sheet back and looked at you expectantly. "I just need to scan your school IDs so I can get your friend seen. And I need the name of the professor that cleared you guys to accompany him." You informed him gently.

"Oh sorry! I'm Mirio Togata. That's Nejire Hado, and our friend is Tamaki Amajiki." The blond rushed to say, collecting his companions' IDs and slapping his own on top of the pile. "We were cleared by Professor Aizawa."

"Alright, have a seat and someone will be with you shortly. Would you prefer to meet with the campus psychiatrist? I can check to see whether she's available." As you carried on speaking you could see Tamaki stiffen back up, though he did nod in reply to your question and mumbled something that sounded affirmative.

His large friend clapped a hand on his shoulder, seeming to half-buckle him underneath the weight. "Don't worry Tamaki, Nejire and I are gonna' stay put! Heck, we can even come in with you if you-"

"That…shouldn't, uh, be necessary." Tamaki hastily cut Mirio off, his voice stronger now. "It's…it's like I told you guys. I'm just tired." 

…

"Another care package for you, Eri!" You announced, knocking on the doorframe. From what little information you had been privy to, you knew that the child had experienced a fair amount of trauma at the hands of adults, so you did your best to not sneak up on her when you stopped by. "You have so many friends already!"

The pale girl looked up at you from her spot on the floor, a few interlocking plastic blocks falling still in her hands as her expression shifted to one of cautious curiosity. "Is it from Midoriya?"

"Yeah, how did you guess?" You were thrilled when the child bounced to her feet, one little hand wrapped around the IV pole to wheel it along with her. While she had yet to smile, she was showing more interest and enthusiasm every day. Not to mention her body was on the mend, as it was becoming harder and harder to get her to rest. 

You knew you weren't the only one excited with her progress. Midoriya and Mirio were in her room nearly every day, checking up on her. Ever since Eri had vocalized her desire to see the two, she had been allowed supervised visits with them. 

It was difficult at first; she had been healing and was easily exhausted so it was all she could do just to keep her eyes open. But Mirio and Midoriya were nothing if not patient, occasionally stopping by to just sit quietly while she slept. 

"We're heroes, and she's a person in trouble," was Midoriya's reasoning for his visits. You had never quizzed Mirio, just assuming that he felt the same about the young girl. 

The way he looked at her sometimes was enough to break your heart though, all professionalism aside. 

You knew that Eri had something to do with why Mirio no longer had his Quirk, but you were uncertain as to the details and the last thing you wanted was to broach such a delicate and upsetting subject with either of them. Better to wait and see. Your curiosity didn't entirely rule you, after all!

"A new coloring book!" Eri's soft exclamation at her present from Midoriya made you smile, the child rapidly leafing through the pages emblazoned with pictures of All Might. "All Might is Deku's favorite." She informed you seriously, little fingers tapping on one such image. 

"Oh?" You thought back to the backpack Midoriya sported, covered with pins and patches of All Might. "I hadn't noticed."

…

"Eri should be able to experience the campus festival!" 

Mirio felt like he and Midoriya had made a great case, truth be told. If the public at large wasn't allowed to go to the festival, and the security was already ramped up to an insane level…

Aizawa sighed, rubbing his temples. "That's risky, Mirio. We don't know if she's okay to engage with the gen pop yet."

"Aw c'mon teach!" The tall man wheedled, jamming his hands into his varsity jacket. "She's been doing really well!"

"Please sir, at least speak to the dean about it!" Izuku begged earnestly.

"I fail to see why I should whack that particular hornet's nest," was Professor Aizawa's dry retort. "Besides, we would need someone from the medical facility to assist in case of an emergency. All the pros will be otherwise engaged, you both know that."

Midoriya frowned, clearly thinking hard. Mirio however, smiled even wider. "Don't worry, Professor. I know just the person for the job!"

…

"Togata has recommended you as Eri's medical chaperone." Professor Aizawa's infamous stare had you all but pinned to your seat. Even though you understood he was just kind of like that, it was difficult to maintain your composure.

The news that Mirio had thrown your proverbial hat into the ring was a bit of a surprise as well. You weren't sure whether to be grateful or start panicking. Nonetheless, you kept your expression neutral and folded your hands in your lap. "If that's what you all think is best," was your calm reply.

Aizawa nodded, startling you. "We do, actually. The dean decided that we should have a pro manning the triage area, at least for the day of the festival. That way if there's an MCI, we'll have someone familiarized with our procedures." His expression softened to something that vaguely resembled apologetic. "You weren't supposed to need to know this stuff, so don't take it personal. It's above and beyond the surge planning you're familiar with. We're working on a new program for the center. Pamphlets and slides, that sort of thing, to bring people up to speed, but we haven't gotten the chance to implement it."

"Everything seems to be moving so fast." You remarked, glad when the pro hero nodded in agreement. At least you weren't alone in that sentiment!

"You have a rapport with Eri; she clearly trusts you. According to your resumé, you've kept up with your con-ed." The professor leaned back in his seat, looking more worn than you expected. "The question is whether you'd be okay with being in the thick of the action, should something go wrong." His already-flinty gaze hardened even further. "Mirio will be with her as well. While his Quirk is, in theory, temporarily inactive, he is still a capable hero in training. The choice is yours."

Temporarily? You wondered what that could mean. To be fair, you had heard about Quirks being briefly rendered useless, usually with experimental street drugs. But those cases had been something measured in minutes and hours, not days and weeks! "Again, if you think it's best, I won't object." You then dared to venture, "I'm glad that the college decided to clear her for this, in spite of the risk. She's a sweet little girl and I just…I feel like she's seen too much."

Aizawa cleared his throat after a moment, straightening some papers on his desk. "In order to avoid additional stress, we're letting Eri explore the campus before the festival. Dean Nezu wants you there with her during both outings, to ensure that she feels comfortable and safe." He leveled you with that fierce look, making you cringe in your chair. "If anything goes wrong, anything, you and Mirio are to return immediately with Eri. Do I make myself clear?"

…

"Good morning!" Mirio's smile never wavered even while his brain was catching up with how casually you were dressed. He had never seen you out of your uniform before, but looking at your outfit now made him wish he had. He could hardly take his eyes off of you!

You looked…comfortable. Prepared for the day, although you were currently rummaging in your bag to make sure you had the fob to your room. The staff housing was situated diagonally across campus from the student and faculty dorms, so Mirio had taken a few roundabout paths to reach your residence. 

Eri had clung to his hand the whole time, wide eyes taking in her surroundings. She hadn't asked many questions, which was odd for her, but Mirio chalked it up to nerves. This was a lot to handle, after all!

"Does she have any sunscreen on? We're going to be out on the grounds for the most part, I think." 

Mirio was jerked out of his reverie by your question, shaking his head with a self-conscious chuckle. "Nope! Uh, sorry about that."

"It's okay! I have some in my bag. Eri, can I put some sunscreen on your face? We'll be outside for a while." You waited for her nod to go ahead with the application. Mirio had noticed that you were always sure to ask permission from the child before you did anything. He figured you were doing your part to try and give her some level of control back. 

Eri patiently put up with your ministrations and Mirio found himself allowing you to talk him into coating his face and neck with sunblock as well. It was only after he was halfway done that he realized it was a glittery children's brand of sunscreen, and he was now covered in sparkles. 

"Finally! Something that matches my personality!" He joked, warmth spreading across his face when you grinned at him. "Alright Eri, let's show you around! You're gonna' love it here, everyone is super nice!" 

Eri, while still holding his hand, shyly slid her free hand into your own. You looked startled at first but quickly covered it up with another smile, swinging her arm gently as the three of you walked towards the main building. 

Maybe I should have asked Nejire and Tamaki to come along, Mirio thought, shoving his other hand into his pocket to keep from fidgeting. They're a lot better at this kind of stuff. I don't even know what to say! I'm so distracted–

"Mirio? Did you hear Eri?" You asked, sounding a little confused.

Mirio stifled a frantic yelp, quickly jerking his head down to where Eri was gazing up at him. "Sorry, I was thinking hard! Can you repeat what you said?"

"Candy apple." Eri's eyes were wide. "You said there would be candy apples."

"Oh yeah! That will be on the day of the actual festival though. Today's just the warm-up period," Mirio explained. "Everyone is still working hard to get things set up so that it looks nice for you. After all, you're a very important guest!"

"Are you sure?" Her fingers squeezed his hand in what he had come to recognize as an anxious tic. Anxiety already?! I must not be doing a good enough job at explaining things, maybe this was a–

"Of course!" You replied brightly. "Aren't you excited? I know I can't wait!" Eri nodded, apparently satisfied as she turned her gaze back to the hive of activity the three of you were approaching. 

"Thanks for the save." Mirio whispered to you out of the side of his mouth.

"No worries. It's what heroes do, right?" You answered softly, winking at him.

The hallways were already festooned with pennants and banners, uniformed students roaming around carrying tape or even more construction paper. A few students stopped to chat, his peers expressing their happiness at seeing him up and about after his 'break'.

"Hey, it's Togata!" The faces were familiar, but Mirio couldn't put a name to the two young men who called out to him. They were from the business major if he had to guess, though that was mainly due to the colorful lecture flyer that one of them was pressing into his hand.

The other, a brown-haired young man with a large horn on his forehead, gawked at Eri, who gripped Mirio's school blazer and half-hid behind his arm. "Whoa, who's that? Don't tell me your temporary leave from school is because you have a kid now!" He exclaimed, seeming bewildered.

Mirio's mind went entirely blank at those words, leaving him standing there with a frozen smile on his face. A kid? Like, one of my own? Huh. I guess it might look that way. And with the added entourage…

His brain caught up just then, slamming the brakes on that particular train of thought and leaving Mirio scrambling to come up with a response.

"Dude you gotta' say something, now I feel like it's for real!" The student protested. 

You somehow managed to straighten out the situation while Mirio was still trying to recover from the mental whiplash, explaining that the upperclassman was your chaperone for the day. You quickly steered the conversation off of Eri and onto the topic of the flyers the two young men had handed you. Apparently the business majors were having a lecture (complete with PowerPoint presentations!) to show the fiscal impacts that the college had to deal with due to the dormitory construction and housing changes. 

"Sure, Quirks can be helpful, but no labor is free these days!" The brown-haired young man reasoned, continuing, "with a lot of heroes unionizing, we have to make sure that dues are paid and, more importantly, that the hero agencies are offering proper benefits. Like all-inclusive dental, or something customizable in the event of a hero having specific requirements to function at full strength."

Proper benefits. Dental. Customization options. Mirio grimaced without meaning to, realizing that he was vastly in over his head.

You, on the other hand, seemed entirely at ease, expositing about the insurance options that you had seen in your day to day work. Co-pays were apparently on the rise, nearly in sync with the recent increase of villain encounters. There was a clear connection between the two, and you were willing to allege that private companies no doubt had a hand in the current state of the world.

You were obviously passionate about what you did, Togata had to give you that much. Even if he was a little ignorant on the subject matter!

…

Problem implied that this was a thing that needed to be fixed, and Mirio wasn't sure if that was the case just yet. He might need a different word. Panic-inducing was two words, but that seemed closer to the truth. Baffling, maybe? Confusing. Dangerously close to something, and he hadn't figured out whether that something was good or bad.

You had been great with Eri, so at least he could rest easy knowing he had made the right choice when he suggested you as her medical chaperone. If Mirio was being honest with himself, you had been great in general. You were just as familiar with the campus as he was, and you effortlessly answered a multitude of Eri's questions regarding the preparations in full swing. 

Heck, you had even brought sunscreen! Mirio felt a little foolish over his lack of preparation. He had kind of just…expected things to work out.

At least the three of you had been able to stop by the beauty pageant area so Eri could see the academy's most vaunted ladies getting their steps in. Plus, both Nejire and Tamaki had been there! It felt like a weight off Mirio's shoulders when you laughed along with Nejire, and the fact that you were able to discreetly enquire after Tamaki's wellbeing…

You were a member of the staff. That didn't technically complicate things even if he did come to terms with the fact that he might be crushing on you; you weren't a professor. I'm in my final semester though! Mirio reasoned later that evening. Augh, why is this such an issue for me? It's not off-limits! I haven't done anything wrong, darn it all. 

"You are about a Lemillion miles away, Mirio!" 

The young man jerked upright as Nejire's spoon retreated from where she had rapped it smartly against his forearm. "Ah! Sorry Nejire." He chuckled, rubbing the area she had smacked. "Was lost in thought, I guess."

"Oo, do tell!" The young woman exclaimed, bouncing in her seat. "What's up, Mirio? What's got those gears turning? Is it that little cutie from the med center? Y'know, the one you got to walk around with like, alllll day?" She grinned at him and Mirio wished his Quirk would return so he could just…sink into the ground and vanish. Probably forever.

Granted, Lunch Rush was deserted at this hour; most of the other students had filtered back to their dorms. Aside from the Big Three, there were only a few stragglers. But still! 

Cutie. Was that it? Did he think you were…cute? He did, the young man admitted to himself, oh God he did. You were so cute. Everything about you was just…

Oh no.

Panic officially set in. Mirio could feel his palms beginning to sweat and Nejire was just looking at him expectantly between bites of her dinner, what the heck was he supposed to say-

"Yeah, Eri seemed super happy when you brought her by," Tamaki added hesitantly. "I know she doesn't smile, so it was more…w-well, her eyes looked happy." 

Oh. Oh.

Nejire had been talking about Eri.

Well now he felt stupid and sweaty. 

…

You dug the broom into the corner, frowning in concentration. After a long day of checking IDs, setting up temporary pro hero accounts on the medical center's computers and dropping off delivered goods to various rooms, it felt good to perform a portion of your normal evening routine. 

Sweeping the foyer, while not required of you, helped your brain settle down from your workday. You were deep into contemplation about heading off campus to get some laundry detergent (as you were nearly out of it), when a large hand waved in front of your eyes. 

"Hey there! Just leaving for the night, wanted to make sure you checked me out so you don't get in trouble." Mirio smiled, looking a little embarrassed. "I uh, I called your name a few times, but I guess you were pretty into what you were doing."

"Oh, Mirio! Sorry, I was thinking about the errands I have to run." You apologized, leaving the broom propped up against the wall and going to scan his ID. 

"Gosh, you too huh? Adulting is tough stuff." Mirio commiserated, leaning on the counter. "I have to go pick up some laundry soap. Drew the short straw amongst the Big Three, you know how it is." He continued with a shrug. "Might grab a snack or something while I'm there, but that depends on whether I'm hungry once I make it down. Tamaki wants some of those…fancy bead things too, the smelly ones. I can't remember whether he wanted the purple or the orange, though. He said something about a light fragrance? He's really sensitive to smells."

"Oh, you're getting detergent too? I know I could use the campus courier service," you then lowered your voice conspiratorially, "but I feel bad about making those guys lug my heavy junk so late in their day. Definitely not when I can use the exercise, and it's a nice night out too."

"Would you--er, would you want to come with me? It's probably not safe for either of us to leave campus alone anymore." Mirio rubbed the back of his neck after putting his ID away. "I know that makes it sound kinda' grim, and I don't wanna' buy into the whole paranoia…"

"No, I get it. You're probably right. Besides, better safe than sorry!" You agreed rapidly, a shiver going down your spine as your mind supplied you with a myriad of unwanted newsreel images. "Can you wait half an hour so I can finish closing up shop and change out of my uniform?"

"Oh absolutely! Take all the time you need. The place I usually go to is open until midnight." 

…

He wasn't entirely sure what he had been thinking. He had just been on his way out! He was going to go buy some soap! But now, the two of you were leaving campus.

Together.

Mirio nervously glanced at you, but you didn't seem to be suffering from the same internal conflict that he was. On the contrary, you seemed more relaxed than usual. Did that mean you were comfortable with him, or that you didn't care if other people made assumptions? Because of course there would be assumptions, word spread like wildfire on campus. 

Mirio found himself envious of your ability to ignore the chatter of the student body. Maybe it was because your job required some certain level of impartiality? What he would give for an ounce of your peace of mind!

The sun hadn't fully set yet, golden light still grazing the tops of the taller trees. You tipped your head back, inhaling deeply. "Ah, what a beautiful day it's been!" 

"It really was." Mirio agreed, "Nejire wanted all of us to head down for a walk, but she's been super busy practicing for that pageant. I told her to take the day off instead. It's her last year to compete, so I get her dedication."

"Oh, is she graduating soon?" You asked curiously. 

"Yeah! We all have our provisionals, so for her it's as easy as passing her finals. She's going to have her associate in electrical engineering, but I'm pretty sure she's still planning on working towards her bachelor and master after that." Mirio could feel himself rambling; it was sort of like watching a train wreck in slow motion. "Tamaki and I are in different programs. I'm trying to get my bachelor in mass casualty incident management via the specialized fire science elective, but after what happened, I'm on a bit of a hiatus. Tamaki is almost done with his associate in bioscience, and he's also debating on continuing to the culinary arts program. He hasn't decided yet."

Your smile was genuine and Mirio breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't seem to have annoyed you. "That's great! I'm glad you guys all have a plan going forward. Times are so weird lately. It's good to have a little stability, right?"

Stability.

Stability had been the furthest thing from Mirio's mind since he had lost his Quirk and Sir Nighteye had passed away. It had been days of him just barely clinging to some shell of normalcy, trying to keep his spirits up after the somber affair of the funeral. He only vaguely recalled being next to the grave site with Kaoruko, Juzo and Midoriya once everyone else had paid their respects, wearing the one ill-fitting suit coat that he owned. The shoulders had pinched the entire time but it had hardly registered; a fleeting inconvenience. 

Nejire had returned after giving him the time to say his final goodbyes, the young woman gently steering him back to their dorm where everyone had gathered in the central hall. There amongst his friends and peers, Mirio had done his best to smile. But he was emotionally exhausted, physically still in recovery, and he soon found himself hauled away and tucked into his bed by Tamaki.

"Stop pretending that you're fine," Tamaki had muttered, not unkindly, before shutting the door. 

At least he hadn't called it lying.

"Stability is really important." Mirio murmured to you, hoping you didn't notice that his mind had been elsewhere. After what had happened, he found himself spacing out more and more. There were so many things he had to worry about now! Whether he could still pass his practicals without his Quirk, keeping his grades up so that he could compensate for his now-lackluster fieldwork…the academic hiatus was appreciated, of course, but he didn't know how long he could expect that charity to last before the dean reevaluated his usefulness.

You abruptly changed topics to the support majors exhibition and the young man found himself talking, actually talking, not just making polite conversation at the check-in counter. He could talk to people, of course he could talk to people. What kind of hero would he be if he couldn't handle public relations, after all? But this felt different. It was more natural, organic. Like how he felt talking to Eri or Midoriya, that newer sort of friendship. Were the two of you friends? Was it too soon to be friends? 

The rustling in the trees alongside the road snapped Mirio's attention upwards and he inwardly berated himself for letting his guard down. He was relieved when, instead of some skulking villain, he made out the bulky form of Hound Dog. Professor Ryo was a youth counselor and despite being…rough around the edges, he made excellent progress with certain students.

The large teacher emerged from the brush, shaking himself off and nodding in their direction before trotting across the road and back into the woods.

"For being so big, he sure can be quiet." You commented after a few moments. "He's been following us since we left the gates."

Mirio turned his head so rapidly he was sure he had pulled something. "H-He has?" He managed to ask, his voice pitching funnily.

You nodded, like it was to be expected. "Of course. You didn't notice? He's quiet, not silent."

Well, now Mirio felt dumb all over again.

…

"Detergent, deterrrrrrgent," you mumbled to yourself, ticking back and forth between two large containers. On the one hand, the pods were lighter. But on the other hand, they were expensive, especially compared to the powdered options. The powder came in a cardboard box, which was easy to break down, but you could also rinse the liquid's plastic bottle and put it out with the recycling–

"Hey, can I ask for a favor?" Mirio's voice interrupted your mental quandary and you turned, finding him next to you with three different containers of scent booster beads. "Gimme' a hand. Which one of these smells the least offensive to you? I think they changed the colors since the last time Tamaki got them, because the purple ones don't smell like I remember."

You screwed up your face and obliged. Two of the scents made you grimace but the last one seemed light enough to suffice, and Mirio thanked you for your assistance. "Alright, now you help me out. Trying to pick between heavier but cheap, or lighter but pricey?" You posed the question, waving a hand back and forth between the boxes, bottles and tubs. 

"Pick heavy! I'll carry it for you, so don't worry about the weight!" Mirio reasoned, his easy smile making an appearance midway through his sentence. "After all, you loaned me your nose. It's the least I could do for your heroic service!"

You laughed, waving him off as you slid the box of detergent beneath your arm. "I'll be fine! That's what the backpack is for. This isn't my first trip down the mountain, y'know." 

"Oh sure! I uh, I wasn't trying to imply anything."

"No worries. I appreciate the offer! Any other night I'd probably accept, but I've been dying to get some exercise and this is just what I need."

…

"Heard you went on a late night walk with someone."

Accusatory wasn't exactly the right word but Mirio still froze up on reflex, nearly dropping his controller. 

Tamaki exhaled through his nose and Mirio caught him sneaking a glance, the dark-haired young man eventually pausing their game to look at him head-on. "You know I don't care." Tamaki finally continued awkwardly, "b-but Hado--er, Nejire, she thinks we talk about…that kind of stuff, and she uh, she wanted me to ask…"

As Amajiki hemmed and hawed, Mirio watched the tips of his ears go a neon shade of red. Finally he decided to have pity on the other man, grinning and explaining, "Tamaki, I went with them when I had to get those things you put in with your laundry. Everyone says it's a bad idea to roam off-campus alone after everything that's happened, right?"

"Still!" Tamaki erupted, cringing a little at his own volume. "I…you should be more careful. Take Nejire or I with you next time, we can at least keep you s–" He paused, shooting Mirio a nervous look. "Uh, n-never mind."

We can at least keep you safe.

Mirio heard his friend's hesitant declaration loud and clear. It was true, he had no Quirk. Neither did you, for that matter! Maybe it had been reckless to go without someone else. Had Tamaki and Nejire been worried about him? "I'm sorry." Mirio apologized sincerely, pressing his hands together in contrition. "I didn't think about it. I'm still not used to needing to be so careful, I guess!"

Tamaki squinted, cautiously asking, "you…you aren't mad? I'm sorry, I-I shouldn't have said it like that." A rare half-smile teased at his mouth. "You're really strong, even without your Quirk. But…yeah, Nejire and I were pretty worried when you didn't come back from visiting Eri." He admitted quietly. 

"How about I make sure to keep the group chat updated if I head off-campus? Will that be a little less stressful for you guys?" Mirio threw his friend a wink. "As for the walk, you can either tell Nejire what I told you, or you can make up something!"

Tamaki then sputtered and stammered, dismissing the notion with a scandalized expression as Mirio laughed.

…

Tensions were growing as the festival approached. It felt like everywhere you went, there was a blanket of steady pressure. Both the students and the professors seemed hellbent on making sure everything went as smoothly as it could, which led to fatigue, shortened tempers and disagreements. 

You had your hands full trying to make sure the triage consoles wouldn't immediately turn themselves inside out once the pro heroes logged in on the day of the festival. Everything else at the college was state of the art except for the CBMS, which seemed to be a relic of a previous establishment. Multiple days during the week before the festival you ended up staying late. At least I'm getting paid overtime, you thought ruefully on Friday afternoon, wiping down the counter and then leaning on it with a tired sigh. A little extra tomorrow too, for my 'supervisory' shift. 

You chewed your lower lip, thinking about what might transpire at the festival. You were absolutely nervous, of course! But you knew you had to stay calm. If Eri picked up on your unease, it might ruin her whole day. That was the last thing you wanted, so you would have to do your best. 

Really put on a…Plus-Ultra game face.

You snorted, shaking your head at yourself. 

…

"Aw, visiting hours are over already?" Midoriya complained when the tones chimed overhead, the usual recorded message playing after a moment. Eri nodded, not even looking up from her coloring page on the table. 

Mirio rumpled the other man's hair. "Cheer up! We'll get to spend the whole day together tomorrow, right?" 

"Well yeah, I suppose. At least you guys will. I'll need to stick by the group for the tune ups and stuff." Suddenly Midoriya jerked upright, looking perturbed. "Oh no! The rope!" He exclaimed, looking at his watch and then groaning unhappily. "Ugh, the hardware store is closed by now. That means I'll need to go in the morning instead." Izuku gave Eri an apologetic smile. "I guess I won't be able to walk you to the festival with Mirio and your other friend. I'm sorry."

"I'll still get to see you, right?" Eri asked, "you'll still do your dance?" 

"Of course!" 

The little girl gave him a nod, her expression almost laughably serious. "Okay."

"We'll have to find you a candy apple too! That's half the fun of a festival," Midoriya continued excitedly, "all the cool things to eat!"

"You ready for our big date tomorrow?" Mirio asked Eri as he tugged on his jacket. 

She replied with a slow shake of her head, her brow furrowed. "What's a date?" She finally queried.

"Oh! A date is when you go to hang out with people you like!" Eri still didn't appear to understand and Mirio wracked his brain for an example she would be familiar with. "Like what you and I did the other day with our friend from the front desk, right? We got to walk around and see a bunch of things, have some snacks, enjoy each other's company…that's a date!"

"Oh." Eri looked a bit confused. "Okay. Date. Date tomorrow."

"Yup!" 

Mirio could feel Midoriya staring at him as they walked down the hall, but he figured he would just wait until the younger man posed his question. When Midoriya next spoke, however, it was a statement. "She still hasn't smiled."

"Nope." Mirio agreed softly. "I'm hoping for tomorrow."

"Yeah?" Midoriya cocked his head. "Why?"

"I don't really know." Mirio admitted. "Call it a gut feeling maybe?"

"I guess." 

Izuku still looked a bit dejected as the two of them emerged into the foyer so Mirio nudged his shoulder, giving him a thumbs up. "It'll be fine! Everyone's been working hard. Now go back to your dorm and get some rest, underclassman." He ordered with a grin. "You've got a busy day ahead of you!"

Midoriya returned his smile after a moment, nodding. "Yeah, you're right. Hey, thanks for…" he paused, seeming to be searching for his words. "Well, uh, just for helping, I guess. You did so much during the fight, a-and you've been helping with Eri, too. I wish there was something I could do for you." 

We can at least keep you safe.

"You've already done a lot for me!" Mirio protested, "you and everyone else, you keep people like Eri and I safe. That's a really important job, and it's one that I can't really do at the moment, y'know? So I should be thanking you!"

He had learned early on that Izuku was a bit of an easy crier, so Mirio was prepared for the way the younger man welled up momentarily. "We'll…we'll keep doing our best then." Midoriya managed to say, clearly trying to rein himself in. "Oh! My ID, sorry, I need to-" he floundered at the counter, searching his pockets wildly until he found his student card. 

You took his card while waving off his apologies, scanning him out and handing the card back with a kind smile. "Be careful walking to your dorm tonight. The maintainers were out earlier so the sprinkler schedule may be off by a few hours again." You warned the younger man right before he bolted for the door.

Togata tilted his head, just barely catching the sound of an indignant squawk outside. You snorted, then composed yourself and took his ID. "So what time am I picking you up tomorrow?" Mirio queried, leaning on the counter. "Uh, you and Eri, I mean!" He rushed to amend, mentally kicking himself.

"Well that's…I mean, I figure probably by ten-thirty?" You suggested, seemingly having forgotten that you were supposed to be scanning him out for the evening. Not that Mirio particularly cared! It was just odd. "Are we bringing food, or…?"

"I got some juice packs in town the other day! Went with Nejire. Figured we'll find plenty to snack on during the festival." 

You nodded, appearing satisfied by his logic. Then, you clearly realized that you were still holding his ID. "Oh! Let me get you out of here." You exclaimed, nearly knocking over the counter-mounted scanner in your haste. 

Mirio quickly put a hand on top of the device to steady it but you had been about to do the same, which caused your hand to land on top of his for a moment. You glanced up at him and Mirio found himself staring at you, uncertain of what exactly was going on but not necessarily opposed to it. "Everything okay?" He asked finally.

Like you had just awoken from a trance, you blinked. "Okay? Oh yeah, everything is definitely fine." You insisted, nodding rapidly and then dropping his ID twice before you managed to give it back to him. "Sorry, I'm…it's been a long week. I guess I'm a little jumpy!" You excused yourself with an awkward laugh. 

"Everything will be fine tomorrow!" Mirio assured you. "There will be pros patrolling the grounds and a whole bunch of precautions have been taken. You've got nothing to worry about."

"Ah, yes. It was definitely that that was making me nervous." You said slowly, seeming to pick your words with great care. 

Mirio felt as though he might have missed something, but he wasn't entirely certain. So he simply gave you a thumbs up as he headed out through the sliding doors. He paused once outside the med center, inhaling deeply and then going stiff when he heard a low hiss next to him. 

Mirio abruptly found himself getting drenched by a sprinkler. On reflex he attempted to use Permeation, before remembering with a bit of a gut-wrenching jolt that he no longer had his Quirk. All he could do instead was wipe his face and chuckle ruefully as he stepped out of range of the first sprinkler. 

Directly into the range of the second one. 

…

"Today's the day." You hummed for the hundredth time, digging into your tiny closet once more. "Today's the dayyyyy." 

You had been trying to put together an outfit for nearly half an hour now. It had never been this difficult before! Why were you so nervous?

You blew out a breath, a bit exasperated, and finally just picked something at random. Pairing the outfit with some comfortable shoes, you gave yourself a once-over in the mirror and smiled at your reflection encouragingly. "It'll be totally fine. There's pro heroes everywhere today. Everything is going to be just fine." You told yourself aloud, checking the time. "It will all be fine."

Everything will be okay.

With every step you took, the words repeated in your head. Down the ramp to the staff foyer, outside to the small courtyard, across the campus to the medical center. One foot in front of the other, pro heroes stationed both subtly and not-so-subtly, students and staff hustling to get the last few things done.

Everything will be okay.

The sidewalks were still a little damp from the sprinklers, small puddles shimmering at the edges of the grass. You recalled Midoriya and Mirio getting caught by the sprinklers the evening before and a smile crept across your face. You had to fight back your laughter, only just managing to keep it under control. 

Eri was waiting in the foyer with a nurse, the little girl already dressed and bouncing in place. "She's had her breakfast this morning," The nurse informed you dryly, "under extreme duress, of course. She wanted to save room for all the food she was promised at the event."

"Candy apple!" Eri proclaimed, grabbing hold of your hand. 

"Let's put on your sunscreen while we wait for Mirio, okay?" You suggested, crouching. "I'm a few minutes early anyhow, so we have the time."

"I wanna' do it!" Eri held out her hands, her expression one of intense concentration. 

"Okay, but I'll get the tips of your ears for you." You bargained, letting her squeeze a liberal amount of sparkly sunblock into her palm before you took it back. The poor child was still so pale from her previous confinement, you knew it wouldn't take much sunlight for her to burn. "Remember to keep your eyes closed, that stuff stings if it gets in your eyes!"

"Well well, looks like I got here just in time!" said a voice from behind you. It was Mirio, the blond waiting to swing Eri up into his arms until she nodded. "Wanna' put some of that on me, Eri?"

The little girl began sliding her hands over Mirio's cheeks, leaving a white snail-trail of sunscreen in her wake. You smiled, stretching over Mirio's arm to get Eri's ears while she was preoccupied. "Don't forget his nose and forehead!" You teased, laughing when Eri dipped her head solemnly and dragged two fingers across Mirio's once-pristine forehead. She even managed to get some of the sunblock in the young man's hairline, but Mirio just grinned and worked it into his gelled strands. 

"There." Eri announced, finally seeming satisfied with her work. "Now we'll be safe."

…

Mirio tried to ignore his heart thundering in his chest when you rested on his arm to apply sunscreen to Eri's ears. Your face was right next to his, your eyes crinkling at the edges when you laughed and–

And then you pulled back and whatever it was was gone as quickly as it had arrived. The young man felt crushed suddenly, like something important had just passed him by. But there was no time to ruminate on that particular issue, as Eri was clamoring to get moving. So with a few sticky patches on his face and glitter stuck in his hair, Mirio took the little girl's hand and led the way.

Eri squeezed his hand tight, sandwiching herself beside his leg. "Don't be scared! I'm right here with you." The blond man assured her, smiling. She nodded with a determined frown, her free hand seizing yours as if to anchor herself.

The campus was ablaze with color and activity. Mirio wound his way in between the throngs of attendees, his large frame easily clearing a path for Eri while you brought up the rear. He knew he had to be mindful of safety but he also wanted to make sure that Eri got to see whatever she wanted to see, so he did his best to be alert for any tugs on his hand.

"Ah!" Eri exclaimed, halting abruptly. Mirio swung her up into his arms to avoid causing a pause in the flow of people, accidentally pulling you in with the little girl. 

"What's up, Eri?" Mirio queried, doing his level best to play down the knowledge that your body was pressed to his side. Eri mumbled something he couldn't quite hear, pointing towards a brightly-colored food cart. "Wanna' stop for a snack?" The blond man guessed. She nodded vigorously. "Alright! Remember that we need to be careful in this crowd, so don't stop so quickly next time, okay?"

"Even if we walk past what you want to see, we can always double back!" You chimed in, checking your watch. "We can only make this one stop before the show, but after the show we can go wherever you'd like."

"Promise?" Eri asked you, the fragile hope in her voice threatening to break Mirio's heart.

"I promise," was your sincere response. "Now, let's get you your snack!"

…

Eri munched on a small twist of cinnamon pastry, her eyes roving over the crowd in front of her. You could barely see the stage from your spot next to Mirio, but you waved off his offer of lifting you as well with a laugh. Instead you kept a hand on his elbow, doing your best to maintain your position in the jam-packed area. 

It seemed like the whole college had turned up for this particular show! You were a little concerned. While you didn't exactly need to be alert for threats (that was Mirio's job!), you still found yourself scanning the crowd for unfamiliar faces. 

Everything will be okay.

Your grip on Mirio's elbow tightened without conscious input and he looked down at you, his expression uncharacteristically serious. "You alright?" He asked, seeming to be keeping his tone light so as not to attract Eri's attention.

"Sorry! There's a lot of people here, that's all." You apologized, smiling weakly. 

"Everything will be okay." Mirio assured you, his easy grin making your stomach backflip. "I'm right here with you."

You could feel your face beginning to flush with heat and you quickly ducked, breaking eye contact to rummage through your bag for the set of ear muffs you had brought. "Eri!" You called, getting the little girl's attention so you could hand her the headset. "Can you pop these on? It's going to be pretty loud and we want to keep your ears safe."

Eri donned the hearing protection with zero fuss, Mirio helping to adjust the headband so that the cups fit snugly over her ears. "Man, you think of everything!" The young man praised, the admiration in his words enough to send a frisson of pride down your spine. "Wish I could be that prepared! I'd probably…" he trailed off, his smile fading. "Well, there's no real point to that. I'll do better." He continued quietly.

You opened your mouth to say…something, anything, maybe something comforting? But the lights overhead dimmed suddenly, and the moment was gone. 

…

You even brought hearing protection. Mirio was downright awed at how prepared you were. But he supposed it made sense. After all, Eri was just a little kid in recovery to you! Little kids needed things like sunscreen, tissues, band aids…

He felt somewhat ashamed of himself for losing sight of the fact that while Eri was incredibly powerful, she was still a child. 

The little girl posted up in his arms had her eyes fixed on the stage as the music began, her hands gripping Mirio's shirt collar. The blond man shifted his weight, giving her a reassuring smile when she glanced down at him uncertainly. "Look!" Mirio exclaimed, pointing back at the stage. "There's Midoriya!"

While the tight frown on Eri's face eased slightly upon seeing Midoriya and the rest of his class dance, it was nowhere near gone. Mirio knew this might not even work, but…

Mirio Togata, pro hero in training, had one goal for the day.

I want to see you smile!

The lights and sounds grew more intense and the crowd around him began to move in time with the music. Mirio found himself rocking back and forth, the rhythm too infectious for him to keep fully still. On his left, your hip gently bumped into his when you began to sway as well. 

Eri's hold on his shirt started to loosen, making Mirio look up at her. Her eyes were bright in the shimmering lights, the little girl clearly enjoying the show. Streamers erupted over the audience, confetti fluttering this way and that in the fitful currents of air. Eri's tiny hands reached to grab fruitlessly for the glittery crêpe paper, her eyebrows furrowed with focus. 

Your mouth brushed Mirio's ear, no doubt so he could hear you through the cacophony around him. "Lift her so she can get a streamer!" You instructed, giving him a thumbs up. 

Mirio made sure that he had enough wiggle room to move safely, then hoisted Eri as high over his head as he could. Her questing fingers finally caught the tail end of a streamer, and he felt her bounce in what he assumed was excitement when she clutched the thin paper to her chest. Mirio lowered her once more, settling her a little higher on his hip so she could still see over the gyrating audience. 

It looked like Ochaco was hard at work, several people closer to the stage beginning to hover above the main crowd. There were lasers sparkling brilliantly through the foggy atmosphere, more pyrotechnics erupting from the stage, were those doves-? It was all so bright, so vibrant, Mirio very nearly missed what happened next.

The music was building to what seemed to be a final crescendo and you tugged on his sleeve, pointing at Eri when he looked down at you. Mirio jerked his eyes back up, feeling Eri's arm slide past his face even as he did.

The small child had her hands over her head, waving the streamer in the air as she smiled broadly in blatant, unrestrained delight. The joy was evident on her face, her eyes alight with what seemed to be a mixture of wonder and glee. 

It was as if Chisaki's shadow had finally released its stranglehold on her, banished in the brilliant glow of that hard-won smile.

Are you seeing this? Midoriya…Sir! Look at her! She's smiling!

Despite his best efforts Mirio felt a sob grip his throat. The young man hurriedly ducked his face into his shoulder to hide his tears, but something soft touched his cheek and he flinched, opening his eyes. It was you, because of course it was you, gently daubing away the moisture with a tissue. You smiled at him, your own eyes suspiciously damp. 

Mirio's heart lurched in his throat. He couldn't help but laugh freely, pulling you into his side and giving you an elated kiss on the cheek without even thinking about it.

"Thank you!" He shouted over the music, trying to enunciate so you would still be able to understand him even if you couldn't hear. "Thank you, thank you so much." 

You simply nodded in reply, wrapping your arm around his waist.

…

An enormous weight seemed to have been lifted off of Mirio at the sight of Eri's smile. It was a thing of beauty, the large blond man clearly torn between laughing and crying. You found yourself emotional as well, doing your best to rein it in before you went full waterworks. You were only here in an auxiliary role, after all! It wouldn't look very professional if you were caught sobbing hysterically, so you set your jaw and mentally begged your lower lip to quit quivering already!

At least you didn't have to hide your smile, even if it wavered a little.

You definitely didn't mind Mirio hauling you into a one-armed hug, his body warm and solid against your own as he tried to say something over the music. It might have been a thank you but you were unsure, so you settled for a polite nod even as your hand rested gingerly on his waist. After a moment his own hand slid down to your hip, keeping you tucked into his side. 

The show ended with a bang and Eri began clamoring to go see Midoriya once she took off the ear muffs. You weren't sure if you imagined the reluctant way Mirio released you, his hand lingering on your lower back longer than it seemed to need to. 

He had kissed you. 

You froze, the reality of what Mirio had done sinking in. Granted, it was just a little peck on the cheek, but still! Heat flushed your face and you glanced around guiltily, wondering if any of your coworkers had been in the crowd near you. 

Togata's hand grabbed your own, startling you somewhat. "We have to go against the crowd to get to Midoriya!" He explained over the noise. "Stay behind me, okay?" 

Eri waved at you from her new perch on Mirio's shoulders, still smiling even as she smoothed down his spiked hair. You couldn't help but smile back at her, struck once more by how happy she looked.

Mirio trudged through the students and faculty on his way to the stage, occasionally detouring or pausing briefly to let larger groups move past him. At one point the two of you were separated and you called out his name, only to hear Mirio laugh and reply, "Polo!" off to your left. He didn't let go of your hand after that, simply angling his arm so that you were slightly behind him. His other hand rested against Eri's shin, keeping her steady on his shoulders. 

He had shoved the sleeves of his varsity jacket up to his elbows, no doubt in response to the elevated heat inside the gymnasium. In an effort to ignore the fingers intertwined with your own, you studied the scars on his forearm. Some were clearly from whatever tussle he, Midoriya and Eri had been involved in, the healed skin still fresh and nearly purple in hue. Then there were older ones further up his arm, silvered with age and half-covered by his jacket. You wondered at them a bit, but the world had always been a dangerous place whether you had a Quirk or not. 

Your gaze traveled up his shoulder to his face, currently in profile as he glanced around trying to find an opening in the crowd, and you simply watched him. Your mind was suddenly full of the thoughts that you had been trying to avoid, embarrassing you to the point that you forced yourself to look away.

…

"Hey, good work buddy!" Mirio praised Midoriya as he set Eri down. You hovered a few feet away after he released your hand, which he didn't quite understand. Were you still worried about losing track of him? It was much less crowded backstage!

"That was crazy!" Eri erupted, her grin still in full effect. "At first when there was a loud noise it was scary, but then everyone was jumping with the dance-" she raised her arms over her head and started bouncing in place, "and then there was a flash and Deku, you went away for a little bit, and the guy started flying in the air!"

Mirio had been mimicking Eri's motions while she spoke, his own excitement fueling the childish action. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of Midoriya's expression, the other student looking absolutely overjoyed. 

"-and a bunch of people said 'wow' and you know what I said?" Eri asked Midoriya, her eyes shining with excitement. She didn't bother waiting for an answer, simply exclaiming, "wow' too! It was so fun!"

Deku inhaled raggedly, the younger man using his arm to wipe away the tears that had started welling up in his eyes. "I'm glad you had such a good time, Eri." He said sincerely. 

"All thanks to you!" Mirio clapped the other man on the shoulder. "You and the rest of your class really pulled out all the stops, y'know?"

"Absolutely!" You chimed in, giving Midoriya a thumbs up. "What's next on the Class 1-A agenda for the day?"

"Well, Mineta really wants us all to hurry with the clean up, he's excited to get to see the beauty pageant." Izuku gestured at the smaller young man, who did indeed seem to be working himself into a frenzy. "So I guess we'll head over there once we're done."

"Beauty pageant!" Eri cheered. "Will we see your friend, Mirio?"

"Of course! We should get over there now, we have to get good seats." At those words Togata heard Mineta begin to huff, the younger man scuttling past him lugging a bucket full of ice while muttering curses under his breath. "Watch the language, buddy!" The upperclassman warned him with a smile.

The beauty pageant was…well it was something. Mirio was a little confused by the whole affair, if he was being honest, but Nejire did a fun sort of dance in midair and she seemed like she was enjoying herself. Of course she got his vote. Yours too! You were obviously dazzled by her display. Eri was just thrilled to watch the princess-esque students go through their routines, the show already a clear high moment of her day.

After the pageant Mirio dedicated his time to winning the games at the various booths, the young man determined to send Eri home with a mountain of prizes. His efforts were not exactly fruitful, however. 

Down to his last ball on a milk-bottle game, he surrendered it to you instead. You, to his utter bewilderment, actually managed to knock the bottles over and win! Every time he had tried, the bottles just refused to topple.

"There's a trick to it," was your nonchalant explanation around a stuffed unicorn that was half the size of your own body. "Hang on to this for Eri, would you? I wanna' see if they have a duck pond." You leaned in, the unicorn ending up mashed against Mirio's shoulder. "Eri can win that one easy." You continued in an undertone. 

Mirio nodded rapidly as he draped the pastel unicorn over his shoulder, thrilled that the both of you seemed to be on the same page. 

Luckily, a booth touting the aforementioned game was mere steps away. It was a simple pink plastic kiddie pool, filled with water and a plethora of rubber ducks that looked like they had been scavenged from the student body instead of bought in bulk. No two were alike! There were red ones with devil horns, blue ones with sunglasses, even a few with tiny hats. 

Eri rushed forward, the child seeming elated that a game was actually at her height. She then hesitated mere inches away, fidgeting as the booth vendor patiently explained the rules to her. 

Mirio lingered a few feet back, scanning the crowd a little more fiercely than he meant to. But this was important, and he would be damned if Eri's first carnival game was interrupted by anything less than a world-ending event.

"Okay, here we go." You muttered, and Mirio noticed you crossing your fingers. "She's totally got this."

Eri pulled up a pair of ducks, checking the bottoms for matching symbols. A pink circle and a green star were revealed, however.

Mirio groaned silently, but immediately perked back up when the vendor held up one finger. Okay, okay! She gets more than one try! The young man clenched his fists, leaning forward slightly in an effort to see the ducks a little better. 

Eri took a moment to study the pond, her eyes narrowing in concentration. To no avail though, the next pair she picked was an orange square and a red triangle. 

The vendor held up a second finger and Mirio began mentally debating whether he would be bribing this student. On the one hand, it was a dilemma of ethics and morals. But on the other, Eri really, really needed a win to keep the ball rolling–

"Congratulations! You've won a prize!" 

Mirio jerked his head up, blinking in confusion. Eri held two matching ducks, both with green stars on the bottom. The little girl smiled ear to ear once more as she happily accepted her winnings, a purple pencil case with a variety of ducks on it. "Mirio! Look!" She exclaimed, bolting back to the young man. 

"Gosh, I guess you really ducked out!" Mirio heard you groan at his pun and it only served to widen his grin. He took Eri's hand and then extended his other to you. "C'mon, there's still so much to see and do!"

…

"I had a great time today." You murmured to Mirio, pretending to straighten Eri's hair out in an effort to avoid eye contact. 

"Hey, that's my line." was the young man's equally-soft reply as he shifted Eri's dead weight in his arms. The little girl had finally succumbed to her exhaustion moments before, heavy eyes drooping and sliding closed even in the midst of such intense stimuli. You had no doubt that she would need a few days to recover from all this excitement.

You too, if you were being honest with yourself! Mirio seemed to have boundless energy, the man darting from booth to activity with all the enthusiasm of a person half his age. It was endearing, if nothing else. You couldn't help but feel a bit sad that after today, things would return to how they were. "I don't want this to end." You admitted quietly, still fidgeting with Eri's long locks. 

A hand cupped your chin and you found yourself looking up at Mirio, the blond man's expression oddly serious. "It…I-I mean, it doesn't have to be over. If…er, i-if you don't want it to be, that is." The uncharacteristic stammering caught you off-guard, your brow furrowing as you tried to piece together what he meant.

Suddenly, "there you are!" rang out from behind you, making you jump and nearly drop all the stuffed animals you and Mirio had won for Eri. It was Midoriya, the younger man's face becoming apologetic when Mirio shushed him. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake you, Eri. I made you something though!" He said excitedly, unwrapping the plastic-swathed object in his hand. 

Eri rubbed her eyes, staring down at the bright red candy apple. "What is…what is that?" She asked quizzically.

"A candy apple! You remember, Mirio told you about them. They're covered in super crackly sugar!" Deku explained, picking the treat up and passing it to her. "Be really careful with your shirt, okay? The red will stain it, trust me." With a touch of amusement, you noticed crimson splotches still lurking in the lines of his palms and knuckles. 

The child immediately bit into the apple, the crunch of the sugar coating meeting your ears. "Oh wow." She mumbled into the fruit, not resisting as you rushed to tie her hair back in a low ponytail. The last thing you wanted any of the staff to have to deal with tonight was trying to get red, sticky residue out of her nearly colorless hair! 

"Where did you even get that?! We looked everywhere!" Mirio queried, obviously dismayed that he had failed. 

"I couldn't find any booths that had them, so I improvised and got some help from Sato." Izuku replied, smiling. 

"Wow, that was really…" you paused for effect, aiming finger guns at the younger man, "sweet of him to give you a hand."

Midoriya groaned while Mirio's delighted peals of laughter rang out. "Guess I should have seen that one coming." The underclassman allowed ruefully, quickly smiling once more when Eri thanked him profusely for the confection that was currently staining her chin. "I'm just glad I caught you guys before you left! You must be pretty tired. It's been a long day!"

"Yeah, but I can say with confidence that this has been one of the best days I've ever had." Togata said sincerely, shaking Midoriya's hand. "And it's all thanks to you guys! Your class, you-"

"Whoa, and what about you?! Everything that you did to make sure that we could even have Eri come…you've done so much to help out!" Deku protested, a little red in the face. 

"Guess we all worked hard for this moment, right?" The blond reasoned, tilting his head to offer you a warm smile. "Us, and Eri too!" 

Eri took her eyes off of her apple for the barest moment, her serious nod making Mirio chuckle.

Professor Aizawa meandered up as Midoriya was about to say his goodbyes, the older man looking more weary than usual. "I trust there were no further issues?" He asked, those piercing eyes oddly trained on Deku, who rushed through a farewell and then bolted.

"'Further issues'?" Mirio repeated, cocking his head to one side. 

Aizawa sighed heavily. "I'll explain later. For now, I'm here to escort you three back to the medical center."

"Mr. Aizawa, I got to see a loud show and there were ducks in a pond!" Eri announced, the copious amounts of sugar in the candy apple no doubt perking her back up. 

You were stunned when Professor Aizawa gave the child a thin smile. "That's great news, kiddo. Anything else happen?"

"Mirio tried to win a bottle game, there was lots of food and I saw two people get to fly today! I had a hot dog for lunch, and all kinds of snacks, and I gave a little bird some fries because he seemed hungry-" As Eri carried on regaling the professor with the tale of her very full day, you watched the older man's harsh glare soften. Evidently he had been just as worried as the rest of you, if not moreso! You got the feeling that there may have been an incident earlier in the day.

…

"Someone tried to attack this morning?!" Retroactive panic washed over Mirio in a cold sweat, the young man clenching his fists as memories from Eri's rescue flooded his mind. There was an attack and I didn't even notice?!

Aizawa grimaced, rubbing his temples. "It's not exactly so cut and dry, Mirio. Technically yes, but the situation was managed. Improperly managed. Midoriya is lucky Hound Dog didn't shake him to death."

Midoriya. So the underclassman had ended up being their first line of defense? Mirio wasn't exactly sure how to feel about that. Talk about having a full day! Midoriya seemed totally unphased when we saw him. I guess that was just a show to keep Eri's spirits up. "I'm glad we still got to go through with the festival." The blond man remarked after sorting out his thoughts.

"That was Midoriya's reasoning. He wanted the festival to happen no matter what, I guess." Professor Aizawa shook his head. "He didn't want to alert the pros because he thought it would risk the festival's cancellation. Regardless, he should have called for backup. He's on campus cleaning duty until further notice, so you may see him a little less."

"I'm happy he's safe." You said, unconsciously echoing Mirio's own sentiments. "It couldn't have been easy to deal with a threat all on his own."

"He didn't have to deal with it all on his own." Aizawa grumbled, obviously annoyed. "Kid's got guts and he's smart, but damn he's stupid." He straightened up after a moment, adjusting his scarf. "Alright, I trust the two of you can at least manage to return to your housing without further incident?"

"Of course! You can count on me, teach!" Mirio assured the older man, and then turned to you. "Well, we'd better get you back safe and sound!"

You nodded, falling into step alongside the blond. Mirio hadn't anticipated the silence that stretched awkwardly between the two of you, and he wracked his brain for some light topic of conversation. 

Before he could think of something, you spoke up.

"You and Midoriya had a really difficult time when there was the incident with Eri, didn't you?" 

Mirio was caught off-guard by your odd opener, clearing his throat. "Well, uh. Yes." He admitted bluntly. "As you know, I lost my Quirk. Hopefully temporarily! But still, it wasn't…" Mirio trailed off, the thought of Sir Nighteye threatening to choke him up. "It wasn't a simple mission." 

"Did today make everything worth it?" Your voice was soft, uncertain, and you refused to meet his gaze.

…

There was no way. You had never had a Quirk of your own, but they seemed to be so intertwined with someone's personality and sense of self…there was no way you could imagine the thought of losing such an important piece of your identity.

There was just no way that Mirio's hurt or Midoriya's guilt could be erased with the smile of a little girl.

And yet you hoped so hard, with every fiber of your being, that maybe, just maybe, it could. That maybe the triumph of the day had been enough to, if nothing else, ease the pain, even a little.

But…

"Absolutely." Mirio's reply was instantaneous; he didn't even think before he responded. "I wasn't kidding when I said today was one of the best days of my life." 

You couldn't help the way you were staring at him, you just really hadn't anticipated such a quick and succinct answer! 

"What?" He queried, "Is there something on my face?"

"Well, no, I just…I guess I'm confused is all." You fumbled to explain yourself. "You lost the use of something important, and Midoriya…I mean you both suffered pretty extensive injuries from what I remember, and while I didn't have any of the specifics it just…it doesn't seem like it would even out in the end to me." You reasoned frantically, hoping that he wouldn't think you were rude. 

"To me it does." Mirio's smile was serene. "Life is full of stuff like that though! The things that seem little to other people, but to you…" he hesitated, seeming to search for the right words. "To you, it's the thing that brings you happiness in a day. Like sixteen bouquets of flowers crammed onto a windowsill!" He laughed. "Sure, a smile doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but when you think about it, it's the biggest deal."

You cast your mind back to when you had watched Mirio notice Eri smiling, the progression of emotions that had occurred on his face within the span of bare seconds. The grief, the heartbreak, the joy, and the tears that had come with it. Seeing him so emotional had stirred your own heart, but it was also bewildering. 

All this, for one little girl's smile?

Maybe it wasn't for you to understand. His healing was his own, after all, and it wasn't really your place to question his happiness. You hadn't been involved in Eri's retrieval, you had no idea what may have transpired, you probably shouldn't have said anything–

Clearly you had been silent for too long, because Togata quietly said, "I know it seems silly to you." 

"It's not that! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry or be insensitive. If it makes you happy, then that makes me happy too." You rushed to say, smiling afterwards. "It doesn't need to be any more complicated than that, right? I'm happy you're happy."

The tall blond stared down at you as the two of you walked, his brow furrowed in thought. "Today made me happy." He finally said, his words chosen with care. "I enjoy spending time with you."

You blinked. What?

"I'd like to…" Mirio paused, beginning to fidget. "I-I'd like to spend more time with you, maybe?" 

"What, like…tonight?" You managed to croak, nervous laughter bubbling out of you when Mirio's shoulders jolted up around his rapidly-reddening ears.

"What?! No, not like--I-I mean, I wasn't suggesting that!" He frantically tried to backtrack, shaking his head. "I-I just meant maybe we could go get lunch! Sometime! When you have time! L-Like a date!" His voice was getting louder and louder, forcing you to tug on the hem of his jacket to bring him down a notch. 

"I would like nothing more than to get lunch with you." You stated plainly, making Mirio slow to a halt. You took a few more steps and then looked back at him, a bit confused. Was that the wrong answer? "Are…are you okay with that?" You asked tentatively.

"I…Yes! Absolutely! I'm super okay with that!" Togata replied frantically, loud all over again. "You make me feel good and I'd like to make you feel g--wait, no, that came out wrong, I promise I'm not--er, I mean, when would you-?"

"As soon as possible." You interrupted his rambling, laughing at his nonplussed expression. "Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow! Tomorrow works!" A broad grin stretched across Mirio's face, brightening his entire visage. "I'll see you tomorrow, then!" Suddenly, his smile faded. "Oh sorry, I…uh, I promised Eri she and I would have a lunch date tomorrow."

He looked so crestfallen that you nearly started laughing all over again. "Hey, don't worry about it! Tomorrow night, then?" You suggested. "We can get something from Lunch Rush, if you're alright with everyone knowing about this."

"Oh geez, people are going to talk." Mirio groaned, his cheeks pinking up. "Nejire especially."

"We can always order something to campus, if you're worried about that. Or we could go to Lunch Rush at separate times and eat together in my quarters." While placing a reassuring hand on his arm you gently reminded him, "people will always talk."

"No way! If I'm going to be a pro hero someday, I can't get spooked by public relations now!" Mirio reasoned, his hand landing on top of your own. "Tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night." You agreed, leaning into his side for the last stretch of distance the two of you had to walk to your housing. "Looks like this is where I'll have to leave you."

"Uh." Mirio seemed nervous all over again, his free hand jammed deep into the pocket of his varsity jacket. "I…er, I-I don't suppose I could give you a goodnight kiss?" He managed to stammer out, his tone hopeful.

"Absolutely."

"Awesome!" Mirio exclaimed. You closed your eyes in anticipation, but you were met with him giving you a simple peck on the cheek. 

You tilted your head, certain that your disappointment was a little too obvious. "That's it?"

"Oh! Oh, you wanted--oh." Mirio swallowed hard. "You're sure? I…I mean it might not be any good, haven't had much time to practice." He tried to joke. 

"If you'd rather not, it's-" 

"No! I-I do, I have for a while." Togata admitted, stunning you with the confession. "I really…I really like you." He then inhaled, squaring his shoulders. "Okay. I'm gonna' give it a shot!"

This time was…a bit different. 

His hands came up to cup your face and you could feel him trembling slightly. As Mirio leaned in, you closed your eyes yet again in a desperate bid to cling to your composure. His mouth met yours and, instead of immediately retreating like you had expected, Mirio slid one hand to cradle the back of your neck while he deepened the kiss.

When the two of you finally parted you were both flustered; you were panting and Mirio's face was bright pink. "Was that…okay?" He asked hesitantly, seemingly unaware that you were still trying to catch your breath.

"That was way better than okay." You huffed, making him laugh and punch the air victoriously. "Who the hell taught you how to kiss like that?"

"Huh? Uh, no one. I just kinda'...I mean I've seen a few movies, and they always…you know what, that's not important! We have a date tomorrow night and it's already pretty late, I should let you get some rest!" Togata responded in a rush, one hand on the small of your back ushering you through the entryway of your housing unit. "Have sweet dreams, okay cutie? I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hey, wait-!" You began to protest, a bit more than interested in what exactly he had been watching, only for him to cut you off with another kiss. Then, Mirio bolted back outside before you could recover, the blond man leaving you leaning against the wall next to the elevator in a somewhat-rumpled state. 

All you heard over the sound of your heart pounding was an elated, far-off shout of, "power!" which in turn made you burst out laughing.

What a nerd!

[churchandstateofbeing]

T-MINUS THREE HOURS !!! ITS TIME TO GO TO SCHOOL AGAIN!!!!

[likeadevils]

I trust your opinion. If you were making bets about what TS11's themes, concepts and sound would be like.. What would you like& prefer? and what would you think Taylor would do?

thank you for trusting my opinion but i am god awful at predicting what taylor is going to do next. that being said:

i think something taylor learned with all too well, anti-hero, and cruel summer is to… trust her instincts, i guess? not that she hasn’t in the past, but she’s mentioned that those songs were her favorites of their respective albums, and she didn’t expect that the general public would enjoy them as much— at least, not to the degree that they have been. but they’ve all been #1s, and more impressively to me, they’ve all broken through into wider pop culture in a way that’s super hard to do nowadays. like can you tell me what’s #1 right now because i can’t. but anyways i think she’ll be following what she wants to hear a little bit more, and trusting that her and the general public’s taste is pretty aligned at the moment. so like, to boil it down into a bingo card prediction, the lead single is going to be taylor’s favorite song on the album

also, bingo square, the color will be white. no evidence just vibes

i think another thing taylor recently learned is trusting that not only her fanbase, but the wider pop landscape would accept complex ideas delivered with a complex vocabulary. in some ways i think she was really burned by me!— she had been taught that it’s the we are never ever getting back together and shake it offs that you send to pop radio, not the all too wells. and then me! got torn apart (deservedly or not), and then the world shut down and it’s not like she needs to find a tour off her next album so what the hell, let’s take out the immediate hooks and replace it with flowery language. and it was a massive hit! twice! but it’s not the kind of music she wants to make forever. so midnights was an added gamble— can you marry the hooks with the collegiate vocabulary? and you can! anti-hero was her biggest chart success ever! so i expect more dictionary/thesaurus starter pack memes in our future, no matter what genre it’ll end up in

that being said, i think she’ll be staying in pop. i maaaaybe could see a kind of pop rock thing happening— think like, the electric guitar she adds to don’t blame me when it’s preformed live.

regardless i do think she’ll be pulling in more rep influences— i’m not super in the buisness of trying to track down when exactly she’s been re-recording, so this is coming from swiftie brain rot not timeline brain rot, but if i had to guess i would say she was mostly recording rep over the summer and with the occasional ts11 track thrown in as well. but i could be wrong maybe she has three albums recorded. idk. i am very interested in what the rep sounds like though, i think that’ll be the biggest clue to what ts11 will sound like

i’m curious how auto-biographical it’ll be. honestly, i could see taylor creating a single character to inhabit and tracking their story throughout an album, which would parallel the emotions she’s going through, but not the exact situations. but that’s me projecting what i would need to do to process the fucking year she’s been through, and taylor has consistently been saying how much she gets from having people sing back the words thought she must be alone in thinking, so like maybe it’ll be intensely About Her, who knows

as for release, i’m a big post eras tour believer. like i know it’s been said a million times but god how impossible would it be to add another set to that thing. like we might get the announcement and lead single while still on tour, but not a full album

i’m also expecting a more talk-y rollout. i would bet we’re getting a couple of print interviews— not anywhere near 1989 or lover levels, but like, you know. rolling stone, vogue, maybe another time, that kind of thing. and in front of camera stuff too— zane lowe, a bbc live longe, some late night appearances, maybe going on kelly clarkson’s show. and maaaaybe a hot wings episode. maybe. i think taylor got a bit burned by the long roll out for lover, and regardless she had other priorities when it came to the midnights release, but it’s been a while and she does like to surprise people by doing something completely predictable. but also this is totally me being like pleaseeeee give interviews they help me with timeline research so much

i predict this every time but visual album!!! if i keep saying it one day it’ll be true!!! it just makes sense she’s been getting so into directing!!!

while we’re in the realm of things that would make me specifically go insane i just think it would be funny if she got paul mccartney to feature on a song. just to be petty. imagine your ex is releasing an album and she gets one of your favorite musicians to play on it. and after the sweet nothing debacle too. oh. so ouchie. also she would have paul fucking mccartney on an album that’s insane in its own right

while we’re throwing spaghetti at the wall. two word title. let’s get crazy maybe 3+ words why not (this is by far the least serious prediction if the title is more than one word i’ll lose my mind)

maybe some religious imagery for the visuals? i’m trying to think of aesthetics taylor hasn’t thoroughly explored. what’s coming to mind is stained glass windows and like, the wild west. this is not at all influenced by me being raised catholic in the american southwest what are you talking about

so to sum up i think i want a pop rock opera with a title along the lines of “the blank of firstname lastname” about a woman in the wild west that has climatic scenes in a cathedral?? i guess that’s the shape i want?? i was not aware that’s what i wanted when i started writing this post okay

[thesecretbookworm]

I normally don’t post about my personal life but I need to talk about this.

I’m a professional athlete by trade and none of the media I have consumed involving high level athletic feats talk about the rehab and daily care you need to continue to function after extreme physical exertion.

I wanna see MHA characters sitting in the ice bath or normatec, recovery girl doing dry needling when deku’s quads get tight. Don’t tell me the top hero school in the country wouldn’t spend the same amount of money on a medical team as even a small collegiate football team.

Show me batman and other heros with tens stimulation machines. Bruce Wayne is loaded he can afford to buy the best of the best in recovery technology.

Give me yuuri katsuki spending 20-30 minutes stretching and using a theragun. That’s like a bare minimum for most athletes.

In a world where characters are absolutely destroying their bodies on the daily, they need to take care of their bodies on the daily.

For a frame of reference I’m a professional hurdler and I spend 20/30 minutes stretching and rolling a day, ice/cold bath on a semi regular basis, get worked on (dry needling, contrast stimulation, or soft tissue scraping) if there are minor issues, and have a recovery massage on a semi frequent basis (it’s a must after a competition). The amount of damage you to your body cannot be underestimated.

[o-uncle-newt]

Cabin Pressure Advent Day 15: Ottery St Mary

Okay, so I know this episode is controversial.

I think we all agree it's a classic. But I'm told that for some people, it's just too mean to Arthur for people to like it. I get this point of view, but I disagree.

But we'll get to that soon.

First of all, this episode is full of so many epic, classic Cabin Pressure moments that you kind of HAVE to like it. Yellow car? That magnificent post-credits song? 100 otters? (And re that last one, for those who haven't seen this, if you want to see what's effectively a pre-draft of the script...) And that doesn't even get to the Carolyn/Herc plotline, which is awesome on its own.

I'll talk about that one first, actually, because it continues on something that my bandaged finger yesterday prevented me from elaborating on- the Carolyn/Herc relationship beginning. I know very few people in real life in relationships that are the kind of adversarial ones that you can get in sitcoms, and I think that S4 will do a lot to make their relationship a bit more realistic, but it really doesn't matter because a) the dialogue is funny and b) the actors are really able to convey how much fun the characters are having arguing. Is that going to sustain a healthy relationship? Nah. Is it going to get the two of them interested enough to become (as Carolyn will put it later) "sparring partners"? Of course. Later we'll see them acquire a bit more of the balance and mutual vulnerability that will allow them to live a normal day together, but for now this is super fun.

(I also thought it was interesting how back in Newcastle, the two of them were much more mutually collegial, even if they were arguing a lot- and this episode they were way more adversarial. At first I was kind of like "wait... isn't this backward?" but really, when you think about it, Carolyn's kind of testing Herc here, and Herc is showing that not only does he pass but he's enjoying himself. So this is bringing their relationship forward and proving that they're more comfortable with each other.)

As far as the piano-shoving plot- okay, so I actually think it's kind of genius. Because it SEEMS like it's more of a Limerick, with the random different things all coming together, but I think it's actually more of an Ipswich. It's beautifully plotted, if a bit simpler of a plot than some other episodes. Listening to it, it's just so enjoyable to hear the plot unfold... especially because the plot IS so simple, or at least deceptively so. You barely even notice that it's happening until it does.

For another past-episode callback, remember all the fuss I was making about Cremona vs Douz? How the crazy plot needs to measure up to the crazy villain? So I think it actually works great here. There isn't actually an outside villain here- each of them is the architect of their crazy sitcom hijinks, each in his own way. Martin creates the situation and does basically nothing to help, and Douglas and Arthur each make stupid mistakes that hold them all back. And the nice thing about them themselves being the villains is that it means that, because they're crazy sitcom characters, no plot resolution is too crazy. If Douglas and Arthur end up dragging a piano through Ottery St Mary, then that's totally the sort of thing that might happen to them!

But it goes further than that. They're all the "villains" from a purely plot perspective- but there's another dimension, which is theme. And thematically, Douglas is the villain, and Arthur is the hero. Because the thing is, Martin and Douglas are, as people note, pretty mean to Arthur here- but they're not actually meaner here than they are at other times. They just do it more often, and Arthur reacts a bit more strongly. And it's Douglas who really is awful to Arthur about the keys and to a lesser degree the address- the typical sarcasm but even more biting and nasty, and to an Arthur who seems really upset.

The interesting thing is that there are a bunch of episodes where Arthur comes out looking kind of dumb. (Like, the moral of Ipswich is basically "any company with an Arthur in it is too doomed to receive a legal permit to operate"...) From that perspective, the show has been pretty hard on him the whole time. And I'm not sure there's an episode where Martin comes out of the thing winning until... Vaduz? Maybe? But even Douglas's big taken-down-a-peg episode, Johannesburg, ends with him getting one over on Martin. His whole function is to end the episode saving the day. This, however, is the first episode* where Douglas is unequivocally the clot by the end... and Arthur gets a chance to be the one to tell him so.

Like, that's art. When Douglas finally gets taken down a peg- and stays there!!- it's Arthur, who they've been having a lot of fun insulting (and who takes it like a champ), who gets to get his own back. He doesn't get to bounce back- he just has to take it, knowing that he was an asshole even if he's too embarrassed to admit it.

So that's why I can't really hate the episode for how mean it is to Arthur- first of all because the show kind of always was, and secondly because, well, hearing Arthur call him a clot is like poetry.

Next up... one of my absolute faves... PARIS!

*As I think about this, I realize that Fitton is an exception- but I'm going to let my argument stand as technically that happens outside the bounds of the aircraft and the airline, even if the repercussions, to a degree, show up in the airline in Gdansk and Limerick.

[beyondthetemples-ooc]

same anon as the raven and trigon question here! I completely agree that their relationship is abusive, I didn't mean for it to come off for a second like it isn't. imo the only way to read it as not abusive is deliberately ignoring canon or like, only watching teen titans go and taking it as gospel or something. I still think it's interesting to explore, though. Trigon influenced so much of Raven's drive to be good and how much conviction she has towards Azarath's ideals and her need to be a hero. I think it's also interesting how much Trigon wants a family, it's something very human in his very inhuman personality. It's also interesting to me that he doesn't care for anyone who he doesn't see as a part of him - he has no interest in an actual romantic relationship, he's only interested in having his children rule beside him. there's just lots to consider with them and how much Trigon affected Azarath and Raven.

(Oh my stars, I'm so sorry about the delay on this one. I saved it as a draft and forgot to finish it and reply.)

Hello again! I would like to reassure you: If I had any anger or defensiveness about the abusive aspects, it wasn't directed at you specifically! It was more at the creators who acted like it was Just Regular Father-Daughter Stuff in the bonus content for JLvTT. And the writers/boarders/whoever wrote in that moment at the end of Apokolips War where it lingers between Raven and Trigon as if it's a bittersweet farewell. I'm horrified that they seem to think such treatment is normal.

You're right though, it IS interesting to explore! Because it's no small, petty conflict. They're both very driven, and you're right, it's a defining factor for Raven.

(I have a small gripe with most writers making it her ONLY struggle nowadays, but that's all very subjective.)

I'd go so far as to say it's also a big factor for Arella and Azar, too. I wish we'd been able to see more of Raven's relationship with them, but what we Have is so impactful! And none of them would know each other if it weren't for Trigon.

The story behind Trigon and Azarath fascinates me to no end (at least, the story in the first half of the 1980's). Opposing forces, forever in struggle. Life, death, and rebirth. I'm not sure if you've seen, but I can write collegiate-length ESSAYS on Azarath, and I've spent a long time contemplating why Azar even BOTHERED creating Azarath, if Trigon was going to kill them anyways!

(My conclusion: Raven was the crux all along. Azarath needed to exist to stop Trigon, to raise Raven. But paradoxically, Trigon wouldn't existed if they hadn't created Azarath... So maybe he would've existed in another form if they hadn't, and there wouldn't be anything to stand in its way? That's wild speculation though. I'm still not sure.)

Anyways, this "interesting" aspect is why I do read others' fanfictions about it! One of my favorite things to watch people headcanon is how his influence affects her. How much of her is him; how well she can control it (or not); how she feels about it; how she feels about HIM. How it looks when under pressure; how it looks in her other relationships. It's very fascinating to see what other dimensions people add to the obvious tension in canon.

[katriniac]

OMG you are in folk fairytales and legend Please can you tell me some of the cuteer ones you found even better if involving bears ? I loved interact with your OC too thanks fir joining and pls relax too from time to time and do not rush in answering me either 🙏🙏 I wish you a wonderful day 🤗🤗😘😘

Yesssss, I love them! Since a very young age I have been an avid reader/student of folklore, fairy tales, myths, and legends. 

Below I talk more about my personal history/feelings on the topic, and end with my three favorite fairy tales. I hope they are “cute” enough for you!

But first I wanted to answer your question about stories featuring bears.

I tried to think of one in my memory where a bear played a prominent part, but turned up empty. I mean, yes, there is the standard “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, but I assumed you wanted to hear about something off the beaten path. 

So I dug around and found this one for you:

"The Bear in the Forest Hut". 

It is a Slavic folk tale about a prince who was cursed to take the shape of a bear, and the brave and kind woman who helped him out of that curse. She had the typical misfortune to have a stupid father and an ‘evil stepmother’ who tries to stop anything good from happening to the heroine. 

I liked this one because there is plenty of detail about the trials and tests the girl goes through in order to earn the bear’s trust and break his curse. Even more unique is how the story doesn’t just end right when the curse is broken (like so many folk tales). Instead, it goes on at length about how the two get married, travel over his kingdom, and what happens to the stepmother and stepsister.

@queengiuliettafirstlady What are some of your favorite fairy tales and myths?

How did I come to love fairy tales so much?

I think I can trace it back to my godmother, who was an amazing storyteller. She was Irish, so most of the tales she told me came from the British Isles and dated back to the 12th Century or earlier. The stories I most vividly remember her telling me were about the 3rd Century charismatic (but slightly foolish) folk hero Finn MacCool (or Fionn mac Cumhaill) and his very very clever wife Sadhbh. 

As I entered my preteen years (1990s, pre-internet era) a library was built within a 15 minute drive from our rural town. I had never had such a frequent exposure to books before that, except our small school library. My mom would take me to the new public library often and I devoured every book they had on fairy tales and legends.

When I started college, the trend of turning ancient folktales into modern, dark retelling had begun to rise in popularity. Not only was my backpack full of those every week, but now I also had access to scholarly papers through our inter-collegiate online system! I could read published research on people all over the world, those who retraced Charles Perrault’s steps, or compared similar narratives, or discovered a new translation of an old work. It was also during my college years that I discovered The Aaarne-Thompson-Uther index, which categorizes the plots and themes of fairy tales. 

When I learned about Perrault and the ATU Index, it changed my self-image.

Of course kids like fairy tales, but we are expected to grow out of those stories as we mature. I still had a deep love of folklore and myths well into my 20s and that made me feel a little silly and childish. But when I discovered that Charles Perreault (a historian in the 17th Century) believed the stories being shared in the oral tradition were important enough to be written down for posterity, that boosted my spirits. And when I stumbled across the ATU Index (begun in 1910, and continues to be updated annually still to this day), which took fairy tales seriously as anthropological artifacts, I was vindicated even more. 

These historical efforts were proof that folk lore, legends, and fairy tales weren't just for children. 

This short article is a MUST-READ for anyone who wants to have their love for storytelling rekindled and get pumped up to talk about fairy tales. It’s all about hope and courage.  I especially appreciated the excerpt from Katherine Rundell when she talks about “the hope that is sharper than teeth”

As I studied more and more obscure stories from around the world, I soon had a list of my top 4 favorites that I came back to:

Katie Crackernuts

The Twelve Dancing Princesses 

Beauty and the Beast 

The Myth of the Selkie

The middle two I have owned a few printed copies of. They are quite common and have many retellings/variations. But Katie Crackernuts was a story I could only read online; I had never seen it in print. 

There are actually similarities between parts of all three stories, which is probably why I love them so much.

I know you asked for ‘cute’ ones, but I don’t know if these really are that adorable. They all have happy endings for the heroines. Does that count? LOL

Katie Crackernuts (collected by Andrew Lange, first printed 1889)

This is a Scottish story about two sisters, one plain but clever (Katie) and one beautiful but simple (Anne). Despite this difference, they loved and supported one another as much as two sisters could. Through no fault of her own, Anne was cursed (you guessed it, by an evil stepmother) with the head of a sheep (or sometimes a donkey or goat, depending on the version) because the stepmother was jealous of her beauty. Katie put a hood over Anne to disguise her and left the house together, never to return.

They eventually came to the kingdom where there was a sick prince. His parents offered rich rewards for anyone who could heal his mysterious disease. Katie knew there had to be a reason normal medicine wasn’t working. She thought perhaps he was under a curse, too. Yep, he was going out at night in a trance to go under a hill to dance with fairies. So she watched and listened and investigated until she discovered the cure and how to administer it. Turns out the way to lift her sister’s curse was under that hill, as well!

She out-smarted the fairies, collected the items from them, and followed the instructions precisely. He grew well and discovered he loved her during all their time together while she was patiently investigating. When she used the cure on her sister, Anne’s sheep head turned back into a human one and the prince’s brother fell in love with her on the spot (of course he did). It was a lovely double-wedding. 

The Twelve Dancing Princesses (collected by the Brothers Grimm, first printed 1812)

This is about twelve sisters who are constantly tired and ruining their expensive shoes every night, and no one can find out why. The king has offered rich rewards and even marriage to the most beautiful of his daughters, but any man who steps up to the challenge either dies, fails the task, or is never seen again. Until one clever man (who has been watching this happen over and over) decides to try solving the mystery. The eldest sister (the most intelligent and haughty of the siblings) tries to stop him each time, but he outsmarts her as he follows the princesses into a fairy forest where they dance all night until their shoes fall apart and they drop from exhaustion.

Just like Katie in the story before, he is observant and waits until he has all the information and proof he needs to confront the princesses. He convinces the king, who is angry that his daughters were escaping every night. The man explains they were under a spell that compelled them to sneak out. The king offers him the most beautiful daughter (who is also the youngest and the most silly), but the man opts to marry the eldest because she was the only one who came close to matching wits.

Katie Crackernuts has much in common with The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

Both have very strict rules for entering into the world of fairies, and the “wasting sickness” that comes upon a human who spends too much time in that world (which is also a metaphor for other maladies that were rampant during those centuries, such as tuberculosis). I enjoy that theme of “Good luck if you’re beautiful because your looks won’t save you. You need to be wise, patient, and clever in this world.”

Beauty and the Beast

This was one of my favorites long before Disney made their movie. Almost everyone knows how the story goes, so I won’t make this long post even longer by summarizing it here. The bravery and selflessness of the heroine was very inspiring to me, and I loved the idea of being surrounded by talking furniture and not a single human! I was a very introverted kid. And I guess I loved the idea of a sad prince in an unloveable disguise who needed to feel loved.

Another thing I think is neat about that story is there is an actual author: Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, published the story in 1740. Most folklore and fairy tales have a shared origin and no single creator. Not so for Beauty and the Beast. This one has a bonafide author, which makes it unique. Not only that, but the author was a woman! 

What Beauty and the Beast has in common with Katie Crackernuts is charity, mercy, humility, and selflessness.

The heroine not only saves herself, but she saves those who are entrusted to her. Who needs a prince, right?? Katie didn’t have to leave home to take care of her cursed sister, but she did. She didn’t have to agree to help the sick prince, but she did. Belle didn’t have to sacrifice herself in her father’s place in that unreasonable pact, but she did. She could have been disagreeable, rude, and throwing herself a pity party the entire time she was captive in the Beast’s castle, but instead she did her best to keep her spirits up and not hate her captor. (Readers: don’t come at me with the whole “Stockholm Syndrome” comment trying to be witty; it’s an old joke that was never funny in the first place.) Katie also tried hard to make the best of an awful situation, and she was never resentful to Anne or put her on a guilt trip. I was inspired by the important values and virtues portrayed by these two heroines.

The Legend of the Selkie

You asked for ‘cute’ stories, but this last one is anything but cute. The Celtic legend of the Selkie is heartbreaking, and there is hardly ever a happy ending. I heard briefly about it as a kid, but never found a published story to read. The oral tradition of the tale goes back to the 13th Century, but it didn’t make it into many books. Then the movie The Secret of Roan Inish came out in 1995. I was 15 at the time and didn’t have my driver’s license yet, so I begged a family member to bring me to the only theater in the entire state that was showing this independent film, over an hour away. It was magical. I bought the DVD as soon as it was available. It was the only thing I could find at that time (remember, the internet wasn’t really used for entertainment in 1995 like it is now) that displayed the Selkie myth, which is:

There are some special seals in the sea who can shed their seal-skin and turn themselves into human women. They are beautiful, quiet, and hard-working. And therefore they are much sought-after as wives by the lonely fishermen of the islands. The legend says that if you find a Selkie in her human form and take her seal-skin away from her, she is yours for the rest of your life. You can imagine the life of servitude that awaits the poor woman! She is usually desperate to turn the house inside out looking for her seal skin and return to the sea, or if she doesn’t find it she will murder her husband.

Fascinating!

Oof, okay. That post went on really long. Sorry. When I start to talk about fairy tales and folklore, I have a difficult time keeping it short, lol. And I didn't even get into the Greek myths! Yikes.

[wlwhq]

hey all!! under the cut are some wanted plots for each of my muses, shoot me an im or like this if any of these are calling your name and id be happy to plot something out with ya! <3

(ps everyone's a sapphic below so give me all your sapphics plz)

soleil. late 20s. baker. jasm.in savoy brown fc. switch.

fwb where your muse is getting attached and soleil is being distantly distant as per usual

someone else in the baking/cooking/restaurant industry where they could work together??

mikayla. mid/late 20s. interior designer. saman.tha logan fc. top.

little sister's best friend ship for the angst of a secret relationship

rich well off milf for mick to work for in designing a new mansion

nora. mid 50s/early 60s. lawyer. julia lou.is dreyfus fc. top.

law student/maybe a law professor if we lean into the collegiate territory (insert crazy eyes here)

anywhere where she can be a sug.ar mommy please !!

mariana. late 30s. er doctor. americ.a ferrera fc. switch.

FELLOW DOCTORS/INTERNS/NURSES/PLZ.........

someone to help her lighten tf up

samantha. late 30s. defense attorney. sara.h snook fc. switch.

fellow older woman who can take her on a sexual Journey of discovery

another lawyer at her firm, so there can be Late Nights Working...

maggie. early 30s. dancer. ari.ana deb.ose fc. bottom.

i have a spider-woman verse pls dont let it go to waste...give me your super villains and your drastically angsty anti-heroes she will love them

also a verse with her as a backup dancer for a famous performer, touring together....it could get ga.y

rowan. early 30s. paramedic. er fi.ghtmaster fc. top.

older sibling's wife. imagine the side eyes emoji here

old ex from college that can't resist the Energy!! & hooking up

darcy. late 30s. restaurant owner. katie mc.grath fc. switch.

regular at her restaurant that's always trying to be flirty and darcy finally giving in

food blogger/food critic that's always hanging around or stopping by bc can't get enough of the food or of darce

violet. early/mid 30s. speech language pathologist. tat.iana mas.lany fc. switch.

bc vi works with a lot of kids, maybe give me your single moms??? please???

older friend of her dads who she thinks is hot pfft

georgia. late 30s. executive chef. nata.sia demetriou fc. switch.

another chef at her restaurant who she has a love/hate relationship with and refuses to give the time of day

former therapist who worked georgia through all of her shit a decade ago and now they're friends/casual??

destiny. early 30s. therapist. quin.ta bruns.on fc. bottom.

give her someone to simp over my god she's probably the softest out of my muses

grad school bestie that maybe they would occasionally hook up? and don't talk about it so they don't ruin the friendship?

syd. mid 20s. tattoo artist. kehla.ni fc. top.

tattoo clients/fwb!! she'll accept payment in head

someone they used to cam for regularly

cole. early 20s. barista. liv hewson fc. switch.

someone they look up to (professor, coworker, counselor) that understands the they/them experience

current girlfriend who goes on a cross-country road trip with them in a bid to get out of their small town and start Living

evie. mid 30s. florist. taylo.r swif.t fc. bottom.

acquantaince of her mom that she's seeing on the low low

someone who doesn't give a shit that she comes from money and doesn't care who she is (that would make her so !!!)

aurora. early 50s. tech ceo. hann.ah wadd.ingham fc. top.

i cannot stress enough how much of a sugar mom.my she is. please.

fellow mil.fs to form a mil.f alliance with

nadja. 500+. vampire badass. nat.asia deme.triou fc. switch. canon character from wwdits

LESBIAN VAMPIRE POLYCULE PLEASE!!!

also if any of y'all write as the guide i will cry

disclaimer that nadja is just a test muse of mine and i might be bad at her so PLZ

[porcelana-r0ta]

Fandom: The Owl House

Title: Idol of an Infidel

Chapters: 2/?

Relationships: Hunter | The Golden Guard & The Collector

Summary:

After his uncle skips their Sunday dinner, Hunter hears crying from his uncle's study. There, he finds The Collector.

Together, they find a family.

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40613058/chapters/104863596#workskin

It’s another few days before Hunter can play with The Collector again due to patrol rotations, but soon enough he has a three-hour block of free time. Normally his free time would go to his studies, but Hunter finished his last learning units ahead of schedule so his head tutor, a professor from the University of Hallowed Pleura, was able to convince the Emperor to give him a small break. 

Professor Sybil Glass was kind like that in a way that people in the Emperor's Coven weren’t, though he honestly suspected that it was so she could get a break from grading his papers — which were always over her word maximum — in addition to her collegiate students’ papers. So whenever she gives him a break that’s really a break for her, Hunter usually just reads a few books from the Palace Library. 

But now he has something to do that isn’t reading.

When Hunter reaches his uncle’s chambers, he removes his mask and cloak and leaves both items at the entrance along with his staff. He finds The Collector in the office again, though their tablet is resting on the desk this time, and they jump up excitedly as the door clicks open. 

“Hunter!” They beam, floating up to him, “You’re back!”

“Professor Glass is giving me a holiday,” he says. “I won’t have lessons until the day after tomorrow, so I’m free today and tomorrow.” 

The Collector squeals, “Yay, yay, yay! We should finish our game. You never found my last copy.” 

Hunter nods sagely, and ignores how his head still smarts just from thinking about how his uncle had thrown him against the wall. 

It’s not like Uncle meant to do it. He knew it was the curse. 

(It still hurt, though.)

“You’re right. Can I grab your tablet and move it to the sitting room to expand your range again?” Asking before touching was very important — that was something all his tutors drilled into him, not just Glass. 

At The Collector’s nod, Hunter does just that, and then he faces the wall so The Collector can split again and hide. When he turns around, the copies from their first game are waiting, wearing a detective’s cap and holding a magnifying glass respectively. 

“It’s good to see my Warrant Officers are back on the field,” he says, his voice firm. 

Giving them enlisted ranks was unbefitting for a being like a Celestial, but officer ranks should measure up decently. Warrant Officer 1 was the lowest of the warrant officer ranks, so that position will go to the copy he found last, who wore the detective’s cap. Chief Warrant Officer is a step up, so that honor can go to the copy he found first and has thus been in his “service” for the game longer. 

“You’re more than soldiers,” he continued, and sensing the change in the game, the two copies straightened to attention. “You’re heroes, loyal followers to the Emperor, who upholds the Titan’s glorious will. Tonight, however, there is one who threatens the Emperor and his fealty, and thus threatens us. My soldiers, my friends, my siblings-in-arms, there is a wild witch lurking in our fair empire.

“Will we let the wild witch go uncaptured? Will we let them destroy our peaceful way of life with their greed for power?”

“No, sir!” the two chimed. 

“Good, soldiers. Then let’s go out there and hunt the wild witch.” 

And so the game was on, the copies breaking character by giggling at each other as they raced around the sitting room, helping Hunter search for the last copy. They look in places they had the last time they played if only so Hunter could prolong the game, but it still doesn’t take too long to find the remaining copy. 

They’re hidden under the dining table, the blood-red tablecloth masking their form, and while Hunter notes that it's a new table, he doesn’t comment on it. 

“Soldiers! The wild witch is over here!” The last copy shrieks out a giggle at his words and the other two race over, pulling the third out and holding an arm each. 

“What should we do with them, General?” asks Chief Warrant Officer. 

Hunter knows that they can’t actually interact with the real world, so he hesitates on his initial response: tickling. He’s heard many of the Coven Scouts talk about interacting with little siblings prior to joining the Coven and having to sever familial contact, and tickling was one of the ways they would irritate their siblings. 

“Hmmm,” he hums, and then smirks and leans back, “We will do what must be done.” Then he presses into the space that the Wild Collector occupies and shouts, “You’re it! Everyone else, scatter!” 

“Hey!” cries the Wild Collector as the other two giggle and run from the room with Hunter, each going in separate directions. “No fair!” 

“Start counting, buddy!” Hunter calls back and dives into the parlor. 

There are several chairs and sofas Hunter knows he can still fit under, but he knows of a better hiding place behind the woven tapestry of his uncle’s coronation as emperor where there’s an indent in the stone wall so his feet won’t peek out from the golden tassels. 

He rushes behind the heavy tapestry, plugging his nose when the action kicks up dust so he doesn’t sneeze. The countdown from the kitchen, as if on cue, speeds up impatiently, and then the Wild Collector calls out, “Ready or not, here I come!” 

The anticipation sets in, and after five minutes of waiting, it dies a tragic death. Maybe Hunter really isn’t ready for stakeout missions yet — not that he’d ever admit that to Head Witch Deamonne. 

He heard one of the copies be found in the sitting room three minutes ago and not a peep since then. By now, he’s struggling to refrain from fidgeting just so he’d have something to do. 

He gives it another two minutes before peeking his head out. Upon seeing the empty parlor, he steps out completely. He strains his ears for voices but hears nothing. 

The silence starts to ring. 

Quietly, he steps out of the parlor and into the dim hallway. 

“Collector? Are you g— out here?” He trips on his words, unsure if he should refer to The Collector as an individual or collective being when there are three copies running about. 

Despite his care with his words, there is no answer. Unease curls in Hunter’s gut. 

“Hello? Collector?” He walks into the living room to see the lights out. The unease doubles down into dread, and he fumbles for the lighting system. 

The magical lights flicker into existence, but there’s still no sign of The Collector. His heartbeat booms in his ears and his eyes find the doorway, searching for any clues that his uncle maybe returned while he was hiding and scared The Collector off. 

Just as his breathing was just about to pick up, a shudder passes through his body and his hair rises, and when he looks up, he gazes into the mischievous eyes of The Collector. 

“Boo!” they cry, and then cackle and turn around in the air, clutching at their belly. “I gotchu! You were so scared, haha!” 

His heart still pounds, but as his ears heat up, it’s not with fear. 

“I was not scared!” he denies, even as his eyes flicker to the doorway. 

“Sure you weren’t.” They snicker, and warp their face to match Hunter’s, “C-Collector? Where are you?”

“I did not sound like that!” 

“Sure you didn’t. And you weren’t scared either, huh?” 

“I really wasn’t,” Hunter insists, and The Collector lets out one last giggle before calming and standing straight. 

“Whatever, liar.” 

He rolls his eyes, and then remembers his earlier problem. 

“Collector? When you have your copies, are you multiple people or still just you?”

The Collector shrugs and bounces back into the air, “laying” on his stomach, his head resting on his hands. 

“I’m still just me,” they say. “But more of me. Just one with many forms.” 

“Oh, okay,” Hunter responds, even though he’s not sure that actually answered his question. “Well, what do you wanna play now?” 

“Hmmm,” wonders The Collector, settling on the floor. They tap their chin with their finger. “Oh, I know. Floor is Boiling!” 

Then, before Hunter can react, The Collector jumps from the floor onto the couch, cackling all the way, and Hunter is left awkwardly standing in the middle of the room. 

“Um,” says Hunter.

“Hunter,” The Collector cries. “You have to get off the floor! It’s the Boiling Sea now!”

“Oh,” he says; it’s a make-believe thing. Then the realization actually hits him. “Oh!” He jumps onto the armchair closest to him. “There! Safe.” He grins proudly at The Collector. 

They jump from the couch and onto the coffee table to stare at him blankly, “It’s too late. Your skin was boiled off you and now your insides have been cooked. You’re dead.” 

“What?” He crosses his arms, “That’s not fair! I didn’t even know the game.”

The Collector raises a doubtful eyebrow, “You’ve never heard of Floor is Boiling?”

He shakes his head. 

“Hmm,” says the Collector, then mumbles something he doesn’t hear. “Okay, that’s no problem. I can teach you lots of games!” They jump off the table and gesture for Hunter to do the same, and so he does. 

“We’ll start with Floor is Boiling,” The Collector says, and his form warps to include a pointer stick in his hand. 

“But isn’t it just avoiding touching the floor?” 

The Collector gasps, fake shock and offense coloring his tone, “Just avoiding the floor? No, no, no, Hunter! It’s an adventure! A quest! There’s gotta be a goal somewhere!”

He shifts on his feet, “Okay, well, what is the goal?” 

The Collector smacks the pointer into the palm of his other hand repeatedly, “It changes from game to game. Sometimes, it’s just to get from one room to the other. Other times, you have to save a damsel, or slay a beast, or find a treasure. Plus, you sometimes have to use cushions or other stuff as steps to avoid the floor. Anyway, since this is your first time, we’ll just go from here to the study.”

Immediately, Hunter is wary. 

“I’m not permitted entrance into the Emporer’s study when he’s absent,” he says. 

The Collector’s nose wrinkles, “He’s not here, and I’m the one teaching you, right? Weren’t you taught to listen to your teachers?” 

“I guess that’s true,” Hunter says. Plus, The Collector is a millenia-old deity. An Ancient among the modern. 

The Collector nods and flicks the pointer onto Hunter’s shoulder, and readjusts when the pointer goes through him. “That’s right! So listen to me. We’ll start from here and go to the study, okay?”

“Okay.” 

“Great.” The pointer disappears. “The Floor is Boiling!” 

The call in the air, Hunter jumps back onto the armchair, and The Collector onto the coffee table. 

“Be careful, Hunter,” his friend warns, their voice low and concerned, “The rocks are small and unstable. One wrong move and you could fall into the Boiling Sea and never be seen from again!”

The floor shifts at The Collector’s words. Hunter watches as the stone and carpet fade into the murky, steaming sea, and his eyes light up as his imagination fully claims him. 

“You too, Collector,” says Hunter. “Here, I’ll come to you.” He jumps from the armchair to the table. “Let’s go to that stretch of rock ahead.” He points to the couch.

“Good idea!” They both jump, and Hunter grabs one of the decorative pillows. He tosses it over the edge of the couch, close enough to jump again but far enough to stretch a good distance out of it. 

“You go ahead, Collector,” Hunter instructs, tying the throw blanket around his neck and then gathering up the other three pillows in his arms. 

The Collector dutifully jumps onto the pillow, and Hunter throws another one a bit further, so they jump again. Then Hunter jumps after them, and the pattern continues for all the pillows. 

Once they run out of pillows, they are close enough to the study to stretch the throw blanket around Hunter’s neck to maximum efficiency. 

The Collector jumps onto the blanket, walking with one foot in front of the other and his arms outstretched horizontally, as if balancing on a tightrope. Once they are at the end of the blanket, they step into the safety of the study. 

“You’re safe now,” Hunter congratulates. “Good job!”

“Now come join me.”

Hunter jumps.

“Whoa!” He pretends to teeter on the blanket, rolled up and thin, and The Collector hides his laughter with a fake concerned gasp. 

“Careful, the water!” 

“I– I’m good!” Hunter grins, and hops the rest of the way into the study. 

“Yay!” They bounce around and dance through the study, and for a moment, Hunter forgets why he was ever scared. 

“We should play again,” The Collector says.

“Yes,” Hunter agrees, already thinking of playing with The Collector tomorrow for his last break, “We should.”

[lboogie1906]

Mark Christopher Lawrence (born May 22, 1964) is a character actor, stand-up comedian and voice-over artist. He is known for his role as D.J. Tone Def in Fear of a Black Hat. He has appeared in popular films such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Tales From the Hood, Planet of the Apes, Lost Treasure, and The Pursuit of Happyness.

He is known for his role as Big Mike on the series Chuck. He has made guest appearances on many television programs, most notably Heroes, My Name Is Earl, Crossing Jordan, Dharma & Greg, Malcolm in the Middle, Touched by an Angel, Malcolm & Eddie, Men Behaving Badly, Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, Good Luck Charlie and Martin. He is featured on the radio series Adventures in Odyssey as “Ed Washington”.

He grew up in Compton, He and his two siblings were raised by a single mother. In tenth grade, he became involved with his high school’s debate team—immersing himself in forensics competitions and theater. After winning his school district’s Literary Olympiad competition, he competed at the state and national levels as a member of the Cerritos Community College forensics squad. There he went on to capture the collegiate Bovero-Tabor Award, awarded to the top community college speaker in the country. He gained the attention of USC’s debate team coaches and was awarded a full scholarship to attend the university. He traveled the nation competing in tournaments. Meanwhile, he was gaining valuable experience in his craft by moonlighting at the Los Angeles Theater Center. There, he landed his first job in television, a role on Hill Street Blues.

After graduation from USC, he worked with the San Francisco Mime Troupe while performing standup comedy throughout the US, Australia, and Canada, opening for major acts, such as Jerry Seinfeld and Rodney Dangerfield. His work in live theater led to a Dramalogue Award for his performance in Reza Abdoh’s, Minimanta. He won an NAACP award for his work in Ken Davis’ The Glass House. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[concussed-to-pieces]

-Coming tomorrow, May 10th!

As an individual with a pretty unimpressive Quirk, it hadn't taken long for you to stray from the straight and narrow. Until, of course, a certain pro hero from your past turned up on your doorstep…

(aka this image)

[kayahforde-cs]

Joseph Campbell understood the hero myth plot in the Jungian terms. This consists of the protagonist’s encounter with the divine, and this occurs in adulthood rather than childhood. Furthermore, these encounters happen more often with gods than parents, and there seems to be some sort of acceptance and love, rather than hostility. In these terms, my animation almost perfectly aligns with this layout. However, my protagonist is female – a heroine, not a hero. Here, Campbell has been under criticism for taking male heroes as the norm.

In my animation, as previously stated, my character ventures into the forest after experiencing some sort of ‘blip’ in her life. Something is missing, and it is wearing her down. Her experience in the forest includes an encounter with a forest spirit that gives her a spark, and this spark ultimately makes her one with the forest – she becomes a huge tree, with green leaves that cascade over the forest floor.

Despite Joseph Campbell’s narrow-minded outline of a typical hero, Marina Warner is a writer that writes about folk and fairy tales with a nuanced gender in mind. However, I will be discussing her work in relation to my graphic media project – where she mentions female heroines. Oftentimes, Warner writes about well-known female heroines, both from history and mythology, such as Madonna, and Joan of Arc. Early (1996) mentions that Warner’s historical vision draws us into a ‘room of mirrors where we look at the familiar tales […] as tales of the forced marriages and wicked stepmothers that reflect the terrible history of upper middle-class women’s reality in former centuries.’ Essentially, Warner’s writing works as a portal that enables us to look into the past and reflect on the misery of women that came before us through these classic fairy tales.

Bibliography

Britannica Academic (no date) Joseph Campbell. Available at: https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy.mdx.ac.uk/levels/collegiate/article/Joseph-Campbell/19851 (Accessed 14 April 2024)

Early, E. (1996) ‘On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers’, The San Francisco Jung Institute Library Journal, 15 (3), pp. 27-29.

[blue-red-from-everhood-zero]

just saw my calc teacher post the whole textbook- raw, uncut, unedited, in beautiful ebook format- right on the Collegiate Institutional Noncon Groupchat

sometimes libertarians can be heroes, too

[plungermusic]

“We’re really all just one big happy family, honest …”

Blues folk are always banging on about the warm familial collegiality that has long been a hallmark of the ‘scene’, but then there are families and families. Plunger take a chainsaw to the family tree:

Grandpa Blues - A bit past it now, and prone to long rambling tales about the good old days when everything was black and white, a night out at a gig cost 3/6 and you could understand every word of the songs (mainly because there were so few of them and every one of those was repeated at least three times in a verse). Doesn’t understand his kids or grandkids but, as paterfamilias, he tries his best to keep them all on the straight and narrow path he trod all his life, offering stern, sage, and mostly ignored, advice (from his continental retirement villa).

Grandma Blues - Spry and sprightly, often to be seen down the front in the hamster-dance mosh-pit at any sparsely attended community centre or village hall gig. She doesn’t get involved in the family politics, no matter how acrimonious, as she loves everyone equally without fear or favour. After a few Dubonnets will regale you with how much she fancies “Oooooh, whatsisname, you know, Earl is it, or Errol something or other? Oooooh inn’e loooooooovely…”

Dad Blues - Hair and a discernible waistline may be long gone, but Dad still knows he’s got it, as long as he can still squeeze into that vintage Hoax t-shirt. If he’s not in a band with his old Polytechnic chums, or playing bass for his son’s best friend’s band, he’ll be guiding his son toward the stardom that was always rightfully his own. Having bombarded his children endlessly with his SRV collection he is hugely proud of Nigel but frustrated the others only have ears for Fats Domino, NWA and Metallica (or worse, Joe Bonamassa). Secretly hopes ‘Uncle’ Mike will groom his daughter Susan for bigger things.

Mum Blues - Mum Blues is like mums everywhere, but instead of cake stalls, Tupperware sales or WI jam drives, mum Blues is organising the local blues confederation from her kitchen, working the merch desk at her children’s shows, or trying her hand at promoting jam sessions in the local tea shop. Loves her whole family unconditionally “…if only Dad wouldn’t be so pushy, and Auntie wasn’t quite so loud, and Nigel would find himself a nice girl, and Susan had better dress sense, and Sid wouldn’t spit on the floor and… awwww, Tristram, bless!!!”

Auntie Blues - Dressed much like Dad blues, always head-banging on the rail and flipping ‘the horns’ Auntie Blues is a much-loved source of mild embarrassment to the Blues family. Eagerly following any and all bands that cross her path, her catholic tastes manage to offend all sides, but her sheer teenage enthusiasm largely overcomes any real ill-feeling. 

Nigel Blues - Eldest son Nigel had to bear the brunt of Dad’s eagerness to spawn a new star. Dutiful, neatly besuited, diligently practising, respectful of both Dad’s 90s heroes and the older icons from his Grandpa’s era, Nigel has already toured the halls and pubs with his Dad (and a reliced Strat) notwithstanding his total lack of talent, musicality, verve, flair or charisma. Openly critical (but secretly jealous) of his siblings.

Susan Blues - Susan has unaccountably confused ‘rockabilly’ with ‘blues’ and consequently spends her days dressed in 50s crinolines, bobbysox and braids: no one in the family has the heart to point this out. Looks upon her family with the era appropriate ‘They’re all squares, freaks or longhairs, Daddio!’

Sid Blues - Sid hates his family, and everything they like, do, or represent. His musical interests run no further than a mix of rap and 70s punk rock which he reveres as religiously (and erroneously) as the rest do Charlie Patton. Dad has been close to kicking him out of the house on more than one occasion, only relenting on the assurances of wise old Grandpa that in 25 years time Sid will release one if not two ‘homage to my influences’ blues classics cover albums.

Tristram Blues - The youngest of the blues family, Tristram (who attends a private school unlike his older siblings, thanks to the recent success of his father’s planking company) is an all-round prodigy. Well spoken and brimming with confidence, he has already mastered light-speed tapping, pinch harmonics and quantum music theory. He is submitting designs for his own range of guitars based on the molecular shapes of amino acids to a private luthier. Privately considers the rest of his family as harmless Neanderthals.

Cousin Georgie Blues - Without a single musical bone in his body, cousin Georgie splits his time between his hobbies of grammatically poor cliches and awkward, stilted portrait photography. One of the few scions of the Blues family residing north of Watford, Cousin Georgie is as distanced socially as he is geographically. Due to a long-held petty grudge over who should take cousin Belle’s wedding photos back in 2015, refuses contact with any member of the family except through his solicitors (Dunham, Goode & Propper). Recently compelled to hand back his key to the Blues family house.

Cousin Gwladys Blues - Another ‘exile’ from the main family group, but at her own volition, cousin Gladwys (who left school at 14 without any qualifications and what’s more has a faulty keyboard, so there) was picked on by other family members over her terrible spelling, grammar, typing, editing, proof-reading, personal hygiene etc. so badly that she moved to a place where even the place names look misspelled, to breed dogs and review books and poetry.

Cousin Belle Blues - Not actually a cousin: mum and dad blues found her in a basket in the park and she seemed like a very nice girl so they took her in and reared her as their own. now grown up her frequent if fleeting stopovers at the blues household have to fit in with visits to the many other adoptive/foster homes who also took her in and reared her as their own. Loves the Blues family. But she also loves Mr and Mrs A. Mericana and the wealthy Lord and Lady Classic-Rock too.

‘Uncle’ Mike Turquoise - Not actually an uncle but a ‘family friend’, Cool ‘uncle’ Mike is a regular visitor chez Blues. Mum and Dad love him, hang on his every word and are always pleased to give a hearty welcome to whatever latest-probably-slightly-too-young-for-him-ladyfriend he brings along. Grandma and Grandpa are a little suspicious of his louche ways (occasionally muttering darkly ‘spiv’ when he leaves the room) and the youngsters largely regard him with disdain (except when he asks them to walk out with him, obvs).

[mudaship39]

Rivals enemies and foils of the Asian Pasifika and Afro Latine Native demigod and alien pasifika main character

Charlotte Anderson one of the rivals enemies and foils of the Asian Pasifika and Afro Latine Native demigod and alien hyrid main character Kanai Makoa Latu/Attahua Kamalani Latu (one of the main characters of my precontact post land back bipoc disabled and qtipoc futurism project). Charlotte Anderson she is cishet female. She is an allistic neurotypical and abled bodied. She is white non native and American Caucasian. She is a metahuman. She is 6’3”. She has long and medium hairstyles of Dutch and French braids. She has hairstyles of medium and long ponytails. She has green eyes and is a red head. She is an atheist.  She has older and younger siblings.

She is a democrat and white liberal. She speaks English, Chinese, French, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, German, & Arabic. She is old money. Her family comes from American, Earth, & Terran dominion and hegemony. She’s a former super soldier. She loves being human. She is xenophobic of aliens. She is distrusting of alien hybrids and demigods. She went to Ivy League in Mercury. She is a doctor and surgeon. She has bionic enhancements and cybernetic implants.

Lucas Bartholomew Chamberlain. He is a cishet male. He is white and non-native. He is European Scandinavian Swedish and Norwegian. His real name is Johan Peterson. Lucas was an attempt to Americanize and Earth centric himself as a politician of the Terran political system. He is abled bodied, allistic, & neurotypical. He is 5′11. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. He has a crew cut hair style. He has a lean and athletic body type. He is 160 pounds. He is Roman Catholic.

He speaks Swedish, English, German, Spanish, & French. He is conservative and alt right. He is upper class rich. He is an intergalactic scientist, inventor, & engineer. He has a masters in biomedical engineering and PHD in xeno biology. He went to college off planet to Ivy League University on the planet Titan. He played high school varsity baseball and men’s collegiate football. Johan comes from a super wealthy family that owns various iron and diamond mines and refineries across the galaxy. They mine asteroids and comets in space for space ore as well. The parents are still alive but both were only children. He is also an only child. He has holographic military tattoos of the Earth and Terran Dominion military as a Earth Space Marine Corps veteran. He has holographic military tattoos on his forearms.

He is a former super soldier. He was an officer in the Earth and Terran Dominion military. He was a colonel. He is a scientist, inventor, & engineer. He built weapons and tech for the Earth and Terran Confederation. A lot of the superweapons the Earth and Terran Dominion used for their war crimes were built by him. Like the Star Crusher a weapon that doomed the entire Regulus System to be vaporized by a supernova. To show the universe the might of the Earth and Terran Dominion military. It is why the Sol Vega and Polaris System all surrendered overnight. After seeing only a tear in the fabric of space was left. The screams of billions wiped out in an act of intergalactic genocide can still be heard across space and time. He is an intergalactic politician. He is a politician who is a remnant of the Earth government and Terran Confederation government as a former senator of the Earth High Command representing the United States.

He is an intergalactic businessman and business mogul who is the CEO and chairman of several intergalactic businesses. He is a trillionaire. He is a capitalist and plutocrat who hoards wealth on a cosmic scale. He is like billionaire Jeff Bezos but on steroids. He is rich by intergalactic standards that outshines Tony Stark, Oliver Queen, and Bruce Wayne. Unlike these heroes this supervillain and anti-villain is not a philanthropist or humanitarian. He pretends to be a philanthropist that gives money to charity and holds fancy balls while using donations to increase his wealth. He has a carefully crafted and built facade and pretense. He has a mask of being kind, compassionate, humble, open-minded, progressive, charitable, modest, & tolerant. He is actually cold, selfish, egotistical, bigoted, arrogant, intolerant, boastful, envious, bigoted, over confident, greedy, & pretentious. He is transphobic to Kana’i/Attahua’s Indigenous third genders of mahu and fakaleiti as someone Norwegian Scandinavian mirroring how his people treat Indigenous Sami. He is ruthless, unkind, & cruel as a supervillain and antihero. He has a god complex. He likens himself to demigods and gods of antiquity. He likens himself to the greatest men who ever lived. He believes himself to be the hero and champion humanity deserves.

He views humans as weak. He hates that he is half human. He joins the super soldier program for this reason. To get rid of what he deems as human weakness. It is why he marries Daphne, a superhuman with bionic enhancements and cybernetic implants. He is a former superhero. He has delusions of grandeur. He is a megalomaniac. He is a supervillain, antihero, & anti-villain whichever serves him best. He has no allegiance to anyone or anything but himself. This personality was made worse when he found out that he is a demigod. He is a metahuman with superhuman: strength, speed, durability, & intelligence. The queer and trans Asian Pasifika and Latine Native superhero Kana’i Makoa Latu/Ataahua Kamalani Latu is his archenemy and rival. He/she/they is his arch enemy as he/she/they and Joanna Jacobson exposed him for who he truly was. Lucas Bartholomew Chamberlain is a former disgraced member of the superhero conglomerate Sentinels. He uses his background as a scientist, inventor, & engineer. He/she/they are a metamorph, changeling, & shapeshifter as an alien hybrid and a water elemental as a demigod. He is a demigod child of a European goddess of death. He has power over fire and decaying things. Powers he used to his advantage when conquering planets for the settler colonizer regime. He also uses forbidden dark magic against him/her/them in their battles. When he uses the power of death his eyes blaze jade. When he uses the power of fire his hand burn crimson.

He wears divine armor as a demigod. The divine armor has a long red gaudy and pretentious cape. His armor is red, black, & gold. He wears a black domino mask and green face mask. In his demigod form his short hair turns into a short dutch braid.

Lucas as a former politician was the mastermind behind many of the actions of the Earth and the Terran Confederation. He used his power, influence, control, & power to hurt people. So many of the cruel actions that Earth and the Terran Confederation did with their colonialism, imperialism, neocolonialism, & occupation was passed by him as a politician behind the scenes. Lucas as an inventor, scientist, & engineer in the shadows built many of the weapons that Earth and the Terran Confederation used to maintain their hegemony and dominion. He was one of the leaders of the Forces of Evil. He left them when they no longer served his goals.

[treuallahtreuvulieou]

Super Hero League.. Board of Super Hero

Students or Adult Collegiates

Corporation and Global Financial security..

Chief of Service and Security

My self three parties Domesticated Royal and Imperial Chief of Service and Security.