#no hero

[sarahthecoat]

aprops of the ongoing discussion about why it's important to be able to write fic about dark subjects. we've always needed that.

[thefailurecult]

[bohemian-rhapsody-in-blue]

Beboptober Day 2: No Hero

Thanks to @thestarlightsymphony for the prompt list!

Spike’s bounty-hunting job entailed a lot of things, but performing wasn’t one of them. He’d bag a criminal somewhere public if that’s where they were, if it was absolutely necessary, but not solely so everyone could see—it wasn’t like he did his job out of vanity, or a desire for flashy spectacle. He didn’t have some weird need to show everyone in the Solar System how cool and upstanding he was. He was here to do his job, collect his reward, and go.

That was true today, too. Under cover of darkness, in a Mars alleyway, he’d just caught a spree killer without too much trouble. The guy had three confirmed kills. The kid backed up against the alleyway’s wall, watching Spike with wide eyes—Spike couldn’t help but think of her as a kid; she was shivering, quivering, with a backpack over her shoulders and hair dyed electric blue, barely looked old enough to drink—would have been his fourth.

“You…” she said through a shuddering breath. “You’re a cowboy?”

“Yep.”

Her eyes were wide, shining. “You saved my life.”

“Mm-hmm,” Spike said distractedly. He was focusing on tying this guy up, not making eye contact with the kid.

“You’re a hero.”

Maybe another day he would have replied more appreciatively, with a cool, nonchalant smile and some effortlessly cool one-liner. Not today. Today had been a long and crappy day, and he was tired as all hell, absolutely not in the mood for chitchat. He wanted nothing more than to just cash in the reward for his latest (and only) catch of the day, then celebrate it with a hot meal that wasn’t instant noodles before crashing on the Bebop’s couch.

“I mean it.” She practically collapsed to her knees at Spike’s feet. Her already-tremulous voice rose in pitch and intensity with every word. “I would have been dead right now if it weren’t for you. You saved me. What can I ever do to repay you?”

Spike began to get uncomfortable under the kid’s effusive praise. “This is all business. I’m not here for repayment,” he said, glancing away from her. Just plain old payment.

“But I have to do something,” she said, achingly earnest. “You’re a hero. You’re my hero.”

And since when did he deserve that?

He’d love to take the praise. But she was only saying these things, he knew, because she didn’t know him. She hadn’t seen him in the days when the only pleasure he got was from violence. When his arch-enemy was his closest comrade, when they’d work together, brothers in bloodshed. Before he knew what it was like to love and be loved; long before he knew what it was like to lose that, to lose everything. Before he knew what it was like to die.

He shook off the memories almost as quickly as they’d slammed back into him.

“Trust me, kid,” he said, closing his eyes and holstering his gun. “I’m no hero.”

[epilepticsaints]

[the-overanalyst]

it's always so fascinating and heartbreaking when a character in a story is simultaneously idolized and abused. a chosen prophet destined for martyrdom. a child prodigy forced to grow up too fast. a powerful warrior raised as nothing but a weapon. there's just something so uniquely messed up about singing someone's praises whilst destroying them.

[shoezuki]

Some wild shit goes on in ppls lives

[coffinwoodx]

ok so for those of you who don’t know, there’s this twitter account of a japanese local hero mascot named dentman who went viral recently due to this tweet

but yeah he saw the tweet. and his response went viral as well (which is how i found his account)

and he just has like. hourly posts reminding you to brush your teeth

oh and his rival? his name is mr. mutans. whenever dentman posts he makes a post of his own, ofc

but THAT’S NOT ALL. literally while making this post i found a THIRD ACCOUNT that’s all about taking your meds

safe to say i’m losing my mind

anyway the point of all this was that people are ALREADY beginning to draw them ship art 😭

and the reactions are everything

I CANT ADD ANY MORE IMAGES BUT TRUST ME THIS IS SO FUNNY

toxic one-sided dentman yaoi wasn’t on my 2024 bingo card but it DEFINITELY IS NOW!

[cherriielle]

itty bitty ghost king 👑💀

[hpandcarbs]

Things Percy Jackson remembers in Son of Neptune:

Annabeth exists

I met Annabeth at a camp

Annabeth and I kiss sometimes

Fuck Ares

[dngsicheng]

Very sad to hear Motaz apologize for choosing safety and evacuating as if he owes the world anything.

If anything the world owes him an apology. He kept on going despite his mental health decreasing day by day.

May he live a long and happy life, so he can tell his story to future generations.

[catchymemes]

[thefailurecult]

[lilislegacy]

imagine being someone at new rome university and not knowing percy is the same guy as “percy jackson, son of poseidon, two-time hero of olympus, former praetor” because the thought doesn’t even cross your mind. like… he’s percy. he’s a total frat boy. on a normal night, he walks into a party, refers to everyone as bro or dude, socializes with every living (and not-living) person in the room, makes at least 50 sarcastic comments, plays 12 rounds of beer pong, drinks way too much, and then skates around campus on his skateboard yelling “I LOVE NEW YORK” (which makes no sense, because they’re in california) until someone calls his girlfriend to come get him.

and then one day there’s an attack, and frat boy percy is all of a sudden a fighting machine. he’s yelling battle cries alongside the praetors frank zhang and hazel levesque as they lead everyone into battle. (why is he with the praetors? and why…. why in the world do the praetors seem to be following his lead?) his sword slashes through armies of monsters faster than you’ve ever seen. he’s controlling the entire river surrounding the camp, creating huge waves as tall as skyscrapers that crash down all around him, wiping out monsters and causing mass destruction to his enemies’ ranks. the sky is suddenly dark above you, ice-cold water droplets are slashing through the air, and the wind is blowing so aggressively that it’s making it hard to stand up steadily. because he’s somehow created a hurricane.

and he looks terrifying. you can feel the power radiating off of him. he’s like a god. or maybe a monster. it’s hard to tell. you’re a little scared of him, to be honest. but also in total awe, because it’s extraordinary. he’s extraordinary.

frat boy percy is not who you thought he was.

[epilepticsaints]

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

Of the 19 hijackers who carried out the Sept 11 attacks:

15 were from Saudi Arabia (a powerful/oil-rich country the U.S. works hard to maintain diplomatic relations with)

2 were from the United Arab Emirates (also a powerful/oil-rich country the U.S. works hard to maintain diplomatic relations with)

1 was from Egypt, 1 from Lebanon.

None of the hijackers were from Iraq.

None of the Sept 11 hijackers were Iraqi.

None of the 9/11 hijackers were from Iraq.

[teathattast]