#the kids should save the villains asap

[thyandrawrites]

https://thyandrawrites.tumblr.com/post/614692078547582976/i-havent-cried-since-my-tear-ducts-got-burned

Just read your meta about this ^ <3

And It made me question why the league has given up on changing their society into a healthier one. I mean I can see why they did give up on it but I guess theres just a part of me that wishes they didnt. What do they think will happen when they show the world how corrupt it is and do succeed in destroying Heros and all that. We talk about them wanting to destroy Heros and their status quo but what do they think will happen once they manage to do that? Just because they destroyed status quo, I don’t see anything changing for the better in the end because the villains aren’t purposely fighting the heros for the sake of a better society🤔. One reason why they destroy is because they no longer see a future for themselves but jeez it makes me sad that they think that way and making everything worse by destroying everything around them in the war right now. The heros really need to step up right now and help them.

You're right that they're not seeking to destroy to build something better atop the wreckage. Not anymore, at least. But I think it's important to point out that while their goals weren't exactly constructive to begin with, their current destruction is an escalation of their original objectives.

Like, Dabi is the most obvious example. Up until the war arc, he still had some sort of lingering idealism. He made a nationwide broadcast aimed at civilians to push them into thinking with their own heads and making society better by ridding it of all fake heroes. It's only when society throws the abuse he suffered back in his face by siding with Enji that he realizes that's never going to work, that people will always "live to laugh" in the face of his trauma and step on his need for justice.

Same with Toga and Shigaraki. They tried explaining themselves over and over, but not a single time were their points ever heard. Toga tried to get Ochako and Deku to acknowledge that heroes took the lives of a precious friend and showed no remorse and suffered no consquences. Neither of them acknowledged her suffering, and instead kept addressing her as a love-obsessed freak. Shigaraki told Deku and the heroes that the society that heroes built has always rejected him, started from his own household. He was locked out of the house as punishment for refusing to obey arbitrary and despotic rules that didn't value him as a person. The heroes built him a flying coffin as punishment for refusing to die quietly, and called him an "it", making it clear they also don't see him as a person.

I mean. Draw your conclusions.

At some point they did seek a dialogue, but it was only met with even more rejection. Imho that's important to acknowledge because all three of them became villains precisely because society rejected them over and over, made them scapegoats, and then called them monsters and tried to put them down like wild animals.

So while I don't see lashing out with even more violent and destruction as a viable solution... I can totally understand where they're coming from.

it... really shouldn't be on them to make a good enough case for why children shouldn't be fucking abused, for the heroes to finally start seeing them as human beings... and yet...

I think it makes sense why the League would have enough of being pummeled to near-death every time they try a dialogue, and instead decided to hit back just as hard. I mean, obviously that's just repeating the endless cycle of violence (it's the same old 'an eye for an eye'), and we can clearly see how it's only making the Lov trio's self-loathing fester and bring them further and further away from their origins, but. At this point, honestly, why should they make things easier on the heroes?

[zorphie]

Here I saw that you dropped this so I came into your inbox to return it to you 🖊️ (give me any precious OC you have in stock I wanna Know about them)

ty for the ask!! (eats 🖊 whole) everything is below :]

i shall talk about devin for 2day.. my token failboy. God

he's from earth Except it Sucks!! because he's ostracized a lot and has no friends💔 he will often come home and indulge himself in a bunch of his hobbies like drawing ,writing , making music, he's literally just the art kid. he was into a lot of fantasy and imagining himself in those kinds of worlds, doing lots of heroics , yeah you see where this is going . The irony

his only company is his mom which he doesn't mind too much, but it's led him to develop a very self centered attitude (he focused more on himself because he didn't have other people to empathize with if that makes sense?)mf never learned how to share

he ends up in the spiral because there was an urgent situation where mana was flooding into earth, quinn was sent to deal with it. he was worried that devin absorbed it because he could sense his magic and also wanted to save him because devin had some weird negative aura cast on him Somehow (effects include nausea and blurry vision, headaches to anyone nearby, fun all around) quinn was like What Is Going On, panicked, and took him along. worried about this decision later because what if the teachers flip . the plan was just to help devin and bring him back home (uhh very long groan. because this is wizard101 we all know the latter didn't happen)

coming into the spiral has changed devin a Lot for better and for worse. he felt guilty for leaving his mom behind, and she disappeared when he came back to visit. he was excited to learn magic but i think the realization settled in after he killed a man (malistaire)

as the arcs go on he has friends now! finally a circle of people who will accept him. he learns what empathy is because of that! hes still silly and loud but he becomes selfless, a bit more mature and level headed. but he feels like he's become "too selfless" to the point where he's going a little nuts ? always being self sacrificing just to save everyone if possible? the yw pipeline. he wishes he could settle down for A Minute to use his hands to create art again not destroy things . gwah.

just wait until he hears about azteca🙄

he learns his dad is the giant tree and his mom straight up stole him when he was like 3 or something and took him away . Crazy. he's conflicted by the fact that he's being shaped into a weapon by no matter who it is? his mom or the spiral? (his mom is a completely different can of worms I will not be getting to rnLOL but yeah she was just plotting to use him for selfish reasonz) he doesn't like knowing he was born for the sake of (all the horrors he's had to deal with. Erm?) and wants to have an identity seperate from that. his friends remind him that he's still just a human being too. he's doing his best

he delved more into astral magic around arc 3 which was not by choice. at all. (crazy woman told him to . idk why but ihave a lot of evil wizarfd women) and he should not have learned that much but he did! uhmwhoops. it's hazardous. it does not just enhance spells -he could accidentally fuck up time and space. he's learning how to control it with eden and lalin because he needs to eventually. does not actually go to the arcanum scholar about it because he's terrified of seeming like a threat to them

hypothetically he could time travel but that's for his super secret alternate version who's stuck in a time loop we don't worry about that guy

devin's other path would've been a villain if quinn never dragged him into the spiral,, he was missing and people were looking for him but it was near impossible to find him because of the aura he had going on. ambrose's spell wouldn't have worked. (his mom was taking a lot of precautions) it was just known that the scion was out there and he needs to get his ass in the spiral asap or we're all fucked (quinn standing there like 🧍‍♂️as if he isn't ambrose's errand boy)

devin's alternate self is aware of him and is supposed to show/answer "which life would've been better for him". since he's obviously not having a care free time in both

dasein kinda reached him around empyrea because of the astral magic stuff sorta fucking with reality but it was very limited

oh and his eyes turn from full purple to a tint of blue he's got stardust hands now. it's "contagious" and he can flick his hands onto anything and get glitter all over it, he does it a lot on his friends . his blood is also glitter. somebody help him. pros: glitter. Cons: black holes. is it worth it

he's trying to start a silly band.. only amari and erin will join nd they will never stop annoying the others about it

devin is good at the storm spells, but the machines related stuff that his teacher assigns? not at all.so he cheats and asks for eden to do it

his pet is a zappy glowbug who's always scared of everything and frequently flies into glass. it acts as his nightlight. it's also probably radioactive . it can charge your devices but they have a chance of exploding. has also probably electrocuted people

[yyunari]

omg HAHAH yess epic winter is banger!! im thinking 🤓🤓 that ngl i dont really like that faybelle didn't really "learn"(?) much out of it? like the whole signing a deal without reading. like we can tell she's implied to BE better cus she's in the bff pics in crystal's room at the end but it feels so rushed? in a sense 🤠🤠🤠 like i get she's gonna be a villain eventually but like man come on do my girl some justice 😔😔👎 like when i saw the outfits when i was a wee lil kid i was like THIS IS THE MOST GORGEOUS THING I HAVE EVER SEEN!!! esp faybelle's and her crystal wings i need to kiss whoever thought of that that was GENIUS 🤯🤯🤩🤩

ok yes but it feel like jackie frost and northwind's takeover of the snow kingdom was ALSO rushed like the ppl were fs like "OH HECK WE HAVE NO MORE TIME EVERYONE GOGOGO LET GOOD WIN ASAP" like they were annoying but like not omg i NEED to punch them annoying ykwim AKKDLWG maybe it's just me LOL but yes way too wonderland is super banger too!!

esp that scene where raven returned the pages to each chara HELLOOOO that was so tear jerking i may or may not have shed a tear esp after apple's character development!! in the whole do you wonder song where they all got pretty wonderlanderful outfits idk maybe it's bc im just pessimistic but if i was darling and i didnt have a whole transformation with them and ended up in a tree and woke up only when they left idk how 15yo me would have took it LMAOO 😭😭😭 defo not well tbh i would have CRIED but darling is so cool i love her aaaaa (can she save me too i mean WHAT)

oh lord i lost the plot BUT yeah i fr thought eah was super super popular too but i guess not?? maybe bc we were young so we didn't know. also i can get why people find apple annoying but most of them don't talk about/see her development like ok it's not the best and she can grow more but her change and how much she grew is amazing esp for a 15-17y.o. like i just KNOW the same people who hate her are the same people who complain about characters who have no flaws like ???? how do u hate development but also hate no development can u pick a struggle 😭😭🤠🤠

but yes i did wanted to ask on ur opinion on the characters (like apple) too. maybe i should make a 20(?) questions thing for eah bc my brain is WORKING 😃👍 i agree that eah had so much potential esp for all the characters' development!! and also!! omg which dolls do u have :O

also girl (is this gendered term ok with u btw, bc i can stick with slayer if not!) did u leave ur computer on bc i slept at 5:30am (for me) and it's almost 3pm now and u are still online HELP 😭⁉️ and yes i DID sleep ok (lol <3 hrs gang wya) THIS GOT SO LONG LMFAO I THINK ITS GONNA BE SPLIT NAURRR (update it's not somehow :O) istg i NEED eah to come back apparently the last activity/media/wtv of it was back in 2018 can mattel use all the barbie profits to fund a reboot PLSSS 😔😔

but i would like to say thank u for returning the energy and answering everything om 😭😭🩵🩵 ive always struggled w that growing up woop so it feels weird but amazing owo (i didnt answer about niki Lol looking forward to the fic and the references!!also common niki L (affectionate) hehe 🥰🥰

yesss i completely get what ur saying i feel like towards the end of the series they definitely rushed some things but it still slapped🙏🙏🙏 THE OUTFITS WERE ALWAYS AMAZINGGG like for literally everything they somehow managed to make every character wear a drop dead gorgeous outfit like even to this day i want to steal all of their wardrobes🤓 faybelle was too queen for everyone to handle but no one’s ready for that 🫡

omfg and rosabella and daring😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 that shit was crazy to me when i was younger LMFAOOO esp since i was so apple and daring

SPEAKINF OF APPLE im so glad u brought her up because I COMPLETELY AGREE😭😭😭 i literally love apple so much and it pisses me off that people only pay attention to the side of her that’s pushy and stuff and don’t ever talk about her development like?? the thing about apple that most people don’t realize is that she never tried to hurt her friends and that she always only cared about raven, like she pushed raven to follow her destiny because she was worried that raven was going to poof and she didn’t want to see her friend disappear ☝️ and during true hearts day when ashlynn and hunter revealed they were dating apple was confused about it at first but she was willing to push aside all her previous biases against royals and rebels dating to try to understand ashlynn because she CARES about her 😔😔😔 it’s so sad to me that people only pay attention to the annoying side of apple and not the side of her that cares about her friends and is genuinely looking out for them ughhhh i love her sm her character development is so good

that 20 questions thing sounds so fun LOL u should definitely do it🙏 in terms of characters, my top three is ashlynn, cupid, and apple i love them sm☝️☝️☝️ my main character opinion is that apple isn’t the villain that most people make her out to be but this is random but i wish the creators made hunter huntsman hotter LMAOOOO cus i’ve never really found him attarcttive, i like his character and he’s good for ashlynn butttt at the same time ashlynn is really pretty and he’s kind of mid in terms of looks… but he’s nice😋

the dolls i had were all they in their regular outfits, i think it was apple, raven, maddie, and possibly blondie? i cant really remember if i had any more or not but those were the dolls i can think of, i also had other eah branded things because i was literally sooo obsessed like i had a diary that was rebel on one side and royal on the other, and it played the theme song but i lost it😭😭😭😭

yess girl ok with me since i do identify myself as female🙏🙏 i think tumblr just always says i’m active since it’s on my phone LOL idk discord does the same thing for some reason😵‍💫 and i’m glad u slept well!! istg eah needs to come back or i’ll cry😢 if they come back they should do a live action and i will literally audition to be ashlynn🙏🙏 idc that she’s supposed to be white i’ll be the first asian ashlynn 😜😜

and omg im glad i always try to answer everything when i’m having a conversation with people because i know what it feels like for things to be ignored and i hated that feeling so🙏 but yes look forward to the fic bc i literally finished it today WOO WOO it’s all coming together😍😍😍☝️

[mettywiththenotes]

Yes, it is true shouji did do the 'right thing' , but to what end? His solution is basically to inspire people by being the cool heteromorph, as if that would actually work in swaying the minds of people who would try to scar/kill mutant children just because of how they look (after shouji saved the girl no less!)

It doesn't seem like a very compassionate or even self-aware response when looked at from a wider view, especially since he's made no mention of ever returning to places where incidents like that happen, not even as a future goal.

Also, do you think it's weird that the heroes kept kurogiri at the hospital when that had momona around? Who could have warped him anywhere else, presumably without limit? It seems a little fishy?

I think the thing you need to remember is that Shouji is just a kid. He's been through a lot and he's just leaped into a battle that is not only very personal to him, but very triggering as well

I can only think that the "cool" stuff comes from a sort of hope that, if people see a heteromorph doing good and amazing things, that will leave an impression that says "actually, heteromorphs can be cool and amazing just like any human or Hero, so don't kill them"

It might also come from a sort of hope that, no matter what, there is some good in everyone. That somehow, if he just does enough to convince them (anyone, everyone), then all the hurt and abuse will have been worth it

Like I said, this is all quite triggering for him, and I think it makes him feel helpless, to be so desperate that he's pleading to the army to stop and think, getting so emotional about it all

Not only that, but Shouji is only going off of his own experience. What he's saying isn't exactly right; it just sounds like he's projecting his own feelings and trauma onto those in the riot

The way I see it, what happened in 372 with the riot is only a temporary fix. We'll see what happens next though

About Kurogiri;

I do think it's a little weird that they kept Kurogiri there, but I can only think they did so because of the facilities the hospital has, with all those machines hooked up to him, you know?

About Monoma;

I mean, Monoma's use of the power wasn't entirely unlimited. He had to learn how to use Kurogiri's warp within just a few days. He could only use it pretty well on the day of the battle, presumably not prior, and there was a tight schedule on the day everything happened (warping everyone to different locations then heading straight to UA asap in order to erase TomurAFO's quirks)

I should also imagine the adults didn't want him doing too much, since 1) its already asking a lot to warp all the Heroes and the Villains AND erasing TomurAFO's quirk and 2) the adults have that whole thing about not wanting to involve the kids too much, despite having to do so anyway. I guess that could play into it as well

Despite this, I do still think it's a little fishy that Kurogiri was still kept there with the other patients. I wonder if it will be revealed to us why he was kept there

[did-we-imagine]

OMG I just watched the DoBS pt 2 of S3 in ATLA.

I'm very late and have skipped stuff whuch I should go back to...

BUT WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK THERE IS SO MUCH STUFF I HAVEN'T SEEN MUCH META ABOUT ?!

My boy Sokka ??? Literally the best strategist ? Hakoda being the bravest dad ever ? I can't even ? Sokka is so so so smart and underrated. I can't even. The way he guessed Ozai had a bunker. His impeccable team work and complimenting Toph. The way he knew where Azula was going though she did get him. Ofc, Toph being the best earthbender. The way that little powerhouse found the effing bunker. She folded that hugeass metal door. Aang being Aang, the last hope of the world y'know. And Azula. Azula is absolutely fabulous. Then there is the parallel between her manipulating Sokka with Suki and Ozai manipulating Zuko to stay with Ursa...That was very interesting. Some other tumblr user had put a screencap of them and mentioned some parallel but I hadn't caught on since I hadn't seen the episode. I think it was smokey-liveblogs ? Feel free to correct me OP or anyone else who knows. I apologize if I am mistaken.

One thing I really liked was that the guys were free to express their feelings. Sokka's tears broke my heart. Poor baby, it feels as if the trauma from losing his mom, and Yue caught up to him...He probs wouldn't have survived losing Suki. Let's not talk abt Zuko, I have a very soft spot for sad abused kids.

Also, Azula's portrayal is probably one of the reasons some of us (me included, yea don't come for my head pls) keep on forgetting she's 14. The voice acting, the makeup, the smoothness...My girl coulda been some very influencial general or minister instead of Zuko's sister/ 2nd queen consort instead of Ozai's daughter and I wouldn't have questioned her abilities as a military strategist/politician. (And pls don't misunderstand, I am not pro Ozula or whatever, what I mean to say is that this little girl is so skilled she could have been a major adult villain and no questions would be asked lmao. Even now, many ppl think she is the older sister.) It's also very creepy...What kind of upbringing made Azula this manipulative ? While I have no doubts that Azula is very cunning and intelligent, I do not think that this level of manipulative prowess is normal for a small 14 yo, she literally caught the other smartest character in the show aka Sokka and grabbed him by the feels, and he does not strike me as a hothead (Zuko)/ Softie (Aang). The parallel is meant to show where she got it from (aka dear old genocidal phoenix papa).

I have already spoken about my own opinion on the Zuko/Ozai showdown. While most people find it -rightfully- cathartic, I personally feel it was not the smartest choice nor the most pragmatic. Aside from my own preferences, the writers could have avoided putting themselves in a tight spot with Zuko being able to kill Ozai and choosing not to "because destiny duh" then trying to convince Aang to do it, which many people -rightfully again- claim is non-sensical at best, hypocritical at worst, since Zuko is chill with calling for his death, though some think that seeing his demise as a necessary evil is not the same as killing him because he's still his father... I think that the confrontation would have been more interesting at the end of the series with a defeated Ozai instead. I would have loved it if Zuko decided to leave a letter and disappear to save Iroh/do stuff. Not only would it have avoided these writing "complications", but also it would have told us more about Zuko & Ozai's relationship indirectly. Would he care to open and read ? How much time would it take him to realize that Zuko peaced out of the palace lol ? What would have Zuko done had he left with Iroh or would they have gone separate ways ( Z with the Gaang/I with the white lotus)? Imagine my dude decided to join the invasion asap lol ? I am not sure as I am very new to this whole writing meta or whatever what this is considered to be, but I think that the main reason for this scene is probably to show the badassery of lightning redirection and "Iroh's teachings" finally getting through Zuko by having the very special technique he created saving his life from Ozai's abuse and generally horrible ways (imperialism, racism, genocide, child abuse, and so on...). It could have been replaced with something even more badass in my humble opinion : maybe him stopping combustion man with it and saving the Gaang's lives, Iroh's whole every nation/element matters coming full circle with him genuinely realizing the severity of his mistakes and protecting people of different nations from his country's march of genocide, the lightning being more than the symbol of the abuse he's been through, but all of FN's sins against its citizens and the other nations. I find this idea interesting in that it would have made Zuko's conflict and learning fit more into the grand scheme of things instead of an individual scale (he redirected lightning twice, once to save himself, and once to save Katara in canon, which is sometimes interpreted as a romantic gesture rather than a purely selfless one).

I didn't want to tackle the emotional impact of their confrontation because I feel it has been very largely touched upon by other very talented meta writers. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Again, going back to Toph and Sokka...Their wisdom is amazing. They may be children, but they are wise beyond their years. They stopped Aang from going to his own death. No, you weren't ready yet, sweetie pie. I love how they didn't lose faith despite their defeat. You can't save the world if you aren't very, very tenacious.I would have shipped Sokka x Toph if it weren't for the age gap and Suki's existence. 🙈

And...The water fam standing amidst of the bombings/chucking projectiles and planning...I wonder how this show was actually aimed at kids...Not easy to watch. I love how it absolutely captured the raw, vile brutality of war.

PS: Hakoda digging Katara's waterbending skills gave me life too, especially after seeing that episode where Pakku refused to teach her because she was a girl. And also, God I love healing, especially as a real life biological/medical science enthusiast. 🙈💖 *squeals* + Hakoda/Bato/the other adults being selfless and letting the kids escape as opposed to Ozai leaving Azula to fend off intruders...I'll never laud enough Hakoda's shielding his kids from the war.

PS 2: english is my 3rd language so I apologize for any strange sentence structures/incoherencies.

[brinnanza]

also people giving all might shit for failing to stop the fight in the training exercise like there's something to be said for the fact that despite the fact that he let the fight go on for izuku's sake, as the adult in the situation, all might should have pulled the plug way earlier HOWEVER 1. all might does in fact try to stop the fight less than a minute later 2. the audience/izuku doesn't know about all for one at this point but all might does and it's like literally world ending stakes to either train this kid up or find a new successor asap 3. all might has no reason to believe a hero student would actually attempt a murder like it's a hero school for heroes and he doesn't know all the backstory with bakugo 4. he's trying his best man he's really trying his best to save the world and he's not that smart but woof the way some people villainize him in fic it's like girl he's not like that what are you doing anyway this is an all might apologism blog if all might has 10000 stans I am one, etc honestly the way some people bend over backwards and then fawn over aizawa when he's just as bad if not worse to mido at the beginning

listen I'm pretty high so but like listen. listen. aizawa is my favorite. but. he is justified for it because he doesn't know the siutation but he's a real dick to mido on the first day. like. he's way meaner than all might ever was. and I agree that he has big dad energy for sure I'm just SAYING that if you can't handle me at my dad might you don't deserve me at my papazawa

[panlight]

It would have been kinda nice if charlie had a ramp at the house, if billy is over so much and all

Yeah, you would think so?

SM was so close to doing something good in terms of representation with Billy. He uses a wheelchair! It's not a big deal! There's so much more to him than that, his story is not like 'oh look what he's had to overcome' it's more about being a dad and a leader in this dangerous time with vampires running around and the children turning into wolves, something that none of these adults ever experienced, so they are at a bit of a loss as to how to help and guide them.

But then you sort of wonder like, why is the only disabled character an Indigenous one? He's the only example, and he's also framed somewhat negatively in that he is against E/B, the main romance of the story, and I always kind of felt he was punished in the narrative for that, by having Jacob basically abandon him to obsess over Renesmee (he doesn't seem to spend CHRISTMAS with his dad? He's with Nessie and Bella instead?), and Charlie and Sue get together, leaving Billy basically alone (save for Rachel and Paul, I guess, but Rachel seems to want to get out of La Push ASAP).

Not wanting your best friend's kid to date a vampire is a perfectly reasonable stance to have? I think we could all agree that we would be worried if someone we cared about were getting involved with vampires? He's not a villain, but the writing makes him sometimes come off that way, like a fiancee who is in the way of the leads getting together in a Rom-Com. He's getting in the way of the main couple, but his concerns are, you know, legit. And well-meaning!

So like with so much in Twilight, there was potential there. Just like there was a lot of potential with the third lead being a contemporary Native American character.

Anyway, yeah, Charlie should have a ramp.

[heroloverangel]

Light Bulb

Nana Yagi is an excellent judge of character.

It’s good to be home. Your daughter is five days old now, and you were finally able to leave the hospital yesterday afternoon. You weren’t sure you wanted to live on UA’s campus with a newborn, but sleeping in your own familiar bed last night was a welcome reminder that you love it here. Even though you’re still recovering from major surgery, all the energy and activity around you makes you feel more productive.

You wake up in the morning and stagger out of bed to Nana’s crib, fussing over her diaper and making sure she gets plenty to eat. Toshinori’s already left to help with a class; you know he’d feel guilty about ignoring his students for too long no matter what the reason. You grab an apple to snack on and settle down to watch the news with Nana resting comfortably in your arm. It’s a blissfully peaceful day in the city from the looks of it, and you’re thankful that the school’s getting a well-deserved break from villain activity. 

“What should we do today while Papa’s at work?” Your baby blinks up at you before whining, and you smile happily down at her. She’s been fussy this morning, and you wonder if it’s because her father’s not there with her. You can get in a nice shower after you get her back down, and then maybe you’ll start on the excessive amount of emails you’ve been ignoring since you went into labor. You were in the hospital for days, you’d think people would have gotten the hint to leave you alone but your inbox is overflowing with messages. You walk into the bathroom and flip the light switch-

-Only for the bulb to give you the telltale flickering warning before going out and leaving you with only the dim light from the hallway. You yelp in surprise, too loud, and it disturbs Nana from her nap. She seems unhappy at the sight of you instead of the familiar thin face; you should feel annoyed that he’s already her favorite parent, but you think it’s heartwarming that she loves him just as much as you do. “Sshhh, it’s okay sweetheart. Mama didn’t mean to scare you.” You manage to calm her down with an adorable stuffed toy version of her father and glare into the dark room.

You’re going to need help. The ceilings in your home are sized for a man who’s over seven feet tall. You can’t reach the light bulb without a stepladder, and you’re certain that both your doctor and your husband would be upset if you went dragging one around the floor while you’re still recovering. You send your husband a text asking when he’ll be back and wait for his response.

“I’m sorry, I’ll be stuck in a staff meeting for awhile. I’ll send someone over to help ASAP.”

You sigh, kissing your dream of a warm shower goodbye for the foreseeable future. You assume it must be related to the hormones playing havoc with your emotions, but you feel guilty for bothering him with such a minor problem, and even worse that you can’t just do it yourself. It makes you think of all those days you spent alone at home, feeling helpless as you waited for All Might to save the world and come back home to you, and worrying about Toshinori after his injury. He’s always done so much, and you can’t even handle a light bulb of all things?

You hear a loud knock before you can descend further into this hole of self pity and doubt. “Open up, old lady. I’m not standing out here all day.”

You’re confused when you open the door. “Bakugo? You’re the one he sent over?”

“I had the time.” The student shoves past you with his usual scowl. “It’s not like you need to be a damn repair man to fix a light.” He’s right, it only takes two minutes for him to shove the heavy stepladder into place and change the faulty bulb, but he manages to swear impressively the entire time. Your daughter stirs in your arms, but rather than being upset at the noise she seems interested in this unfamiliar voice coming from the other room. He stomps out complaining about wasting his time on such a stupid errand and stops at the sight of her. “This your kid?”

You nod and move her blanket to show her off better. “Her name is Nana.”

“Why’s she staring at me like that?”

A smile starts at the corner of your mouth. “She must like you.” You step forward and beckon him to you. “Here, you should hold her.” The boy immediately takes a step back.

“Absolutely the hell not.” Your grin spreads at his reaction. If you didn’t know better, you’d think the fearless future hero was nervous. 

“You know, Midoriya didn’t have any trouble when he held her.”

His eyes narrow. “...Give me that baby.” You carefully pass Nana over, giving him quick instructions on how to support her head and adjusting his arms to make sure he’s got a safe hold on her. You’re not surprised that he learns quickly; you always knew that beneath his rough exterior (way, way beneath), Bakugo is a good kid who’ll be a great hero some day. You double check that neither of them are in distress before giving him a pat on the shoulder.

“Okay, great. Now stay like this for a bit while I go take a shower.”

“WHAT.” Nana blinks up at him but doesn’t cry at his outburst. “Get back here, you old hag!” You laugh in response, escaping to the bathroom while he yells at you. You emerge ten minutes later feeling refreshed and peaceful to find him still standing in the exact same spot and glaring murder in your direction. “Take. This. Thing. Back. Now,” he snarls, and you’re happy to rescue him.

“Thanks, you really did me a favor on that.” At this point, his temper amuses you more than anything. You hold him hostage for a couple more minutes as you tell him all about your daughter’s first few days, and you can see the relief on his face when the door opens again and Toshinori walks inside.

“Ah, young Bakugo. I appreciate you taking the time to help. Have you met our Nana yet?” His student’s patience finally snaps, he rushes for the open door and slams it hard behind him. The two of you stand there in silence for a moment before your eyes meet and you both start cracking up. “How was he, aside from that temper tantrum?”

You give your husband a kiss on the cheek as he reaches for your precious little girl. She’s always happy to see him and grabs at his hand, holding it with all the strength in her tiny body. “Bakugo? He was fine. He’ll never admit it, but I think he’s got a soft spot for kids.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Yeah,” you agree and run your fingers over the fine yellow hair on her head. “How long do you think we can trick him into helping out by comparing him to Midoriya?” It’s been a long time since you’ve heard Toshinori laugh this hard.

[five-rivers]

Pep Talks 12

I think this might be the longest chapter of Pep Talks so far...

(AO3)

.

.

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When Clockwork first took Danny on as an apprentice, he’d laid out some ground rules for when he unexpectedly found himself in an unknown timeline. As Apprentice of Time, Danny was more likely to attract anomalies like natural portals and the like, and when that was combined with his innate bad luck regarding portals, well… winding up in weird places wasn’t quite a weekly occurrence, but saying it was wouldn’t have been a huge exaggeration.

That’s all to say, Danny appreciated the rules. He didn’t want to wind up never having been born again, or, worse, making it so that one of his friends had never been born. Or causing an apocalypse. Or wrecking the future. Or—

There were just a lot of problems that he could, and had, caused.

If Clockwork were able to pick Danny up right away every time, most of the rules probably would have been unnecessary. But he wasn’t. Mostly because of physics-shaped problems involving paradoxes and how too many time portals in the same general area could screw things up, but also because of Observant- and politics-shaped problems. And, Clockwork had admitted to Danny, sometime Clockwork left him somewhere because he was supposed to be there.

The first rule was to lay low. Avoid people when possible, except to acquire basic necessities. Avoid major events, crowds, protests, and cameras. Avoid important-looking buildings.

Do not offer help unless asked first, or unless the person is a ghost. There was, evidently, a loophole that made it okay for Danny to interact with ghosts even in places where it wasn’t okay for him to do the same to humans. Clockwork had said ghosts fell under Danny’s ‘jurisdiction,’ a term that seemed just a bit too weighty with meaning for Danny. As for being allowed to help when asked… Well, Clockwork knew that Danny was incapable of not helping. Although he did ask that Danny be subtle and indirect about it.

He was also not supposed to fight anyone unless he himself was directly attacked, for similar reasons.

The fourth rule was to stay within the accepted rules of the world he found himself in, where possible. In other words, if people generally didn’t believe in ghosts or the supernatural, don’t challenge that belief by using his powers in public, but if superpowers were common, it was okay to use them.

The fifth was that, if he found himself in the past, leave civilized areas. With the threat of unpersoning himself hanging over his head, Danny took that one very seriously.

The sixth, the one that made Danny feel like a little kid despite his real age, was, if the previous rule didn’t apply, try to stay in the same general area he first found himself in.

There were others, of course, and special ones for special circumstances. For example, if he was captured by law enforcement, or injured, or actively in danger, or if he didn’t know what time period he was in. Different sets of rules prevailed if he was actually on a mission.

Clockwork had also told him that the rules no loner applied if it took him more than two weeks to find Danny. That, if he’d been waiting for that long, something had gone wrong, or Clockwork was unable to find him or pull him out.

It had been just under half that time, and Danny was starting to get worried. More worried.

He pulled his legs up, closer to himself. He didn’t need to conserve warmth, being what he was, but the action was comforting and the abandoned warehouse he was in was weird and creepy.

This whole timeline was weird and creepy. Also, semi-apocalyptic. They were going through some serious societal upheaval. Danny wasn’t entirely sure why, having only been here for six days, but he was pretty sure it had to do with the nascent ghosts partially overshadowing people and giving them power.

At least, that’s what it felt like. Danny wasn’t sure. The next nearest thing to this he’d ever encountered was a warlock, and that had been just one person. Ghosts were under his jurisdiction, but, like the warlock, the people with powers here didn’t quite feel like ghosts, and he wasn’t sure how trustworthy news sources saying that metahumans were all soulless degenerates were…

Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to find out. Hopefully, Clockwork would pick him up before another week went by.

He didn’t think the government here could actually catch him, but some of the things they apparently did to metahumans made his core ache. It was a very X-Men-like situation. Except, well, set in Japan.

Why Japan?

But! Eight more days. Tops. Clockwork would get him.

Before he’d finished the thought, something blew the door of the warehouse in and a ropelike appendage hurtled towards Danny’s corner.

He reacted. Rules were, if someone attacked him, he could respond in kind, and if superpowers were common knowledge, he could use his.

There were at least a dozen of them, all of them displaying an eclectic array of superpowers, some reminiscent of Danny’s ghostly enemies, others entirely novel to him. A fair few also had guns. One man even used multiple powers. Needless to say, the battle was incredibly one sided.

In Danny’s favor.

Hey, he’d been doing this for years, and he was very comfortable with his abilities. Most of these guys weren’t. Most. The multiple-power guy had been challenging.

Danny examined his captives. He should probably just knock them out, then go find a new hideout somewhere else, but he wanted to know why he was attacked, first.

“So,” he said, deciding that the curly-haired man with multiple powers was probably the leader, given the way the battle had been structured, “why did you and your goons attack me?”

“I heard you were like me,” growled the man, attempting to escape Danny’s telekinetic hold. “I’m looking for a power that can help my brother.”

Danny twitched slightly at the word help. “What do you mean, like you?”

“You can take powers, too,” said the man, staring up at Danny with desperate, hungry, red eyes.

Danny blinked, frowned. “You thought I could help you, or your brother, so you attacked me?” His frown became deeper. “Or did you attack me to, what, steal my powers?”

The man squirmed.

It was. That was such a ridiculous villain cliché, although the brother thing was a twist. People could get desperate about their families and do terrible things.

Including Danny. As had been proven many, many times.

His heart and stance both softened. This counted as a request for help, right? And the guy was sort of ghostly. On the other hand… Transplanting whatever it was giving these people powers willy-nilly couldn’t be healthy, especially if it was related to ghosts.

(Multiple ghosts in one body… It reminded him of his dark future self, which was never good.)

“Okay,” he said, dragging a hand down his face. “Alright. What exactly does your brother need help with?”

The man clearly hadn’t expected Danny to ask this question. “He’s sick,” he said. His eyes gleamed at the edge of tears. “His body is tearing itself apart, DNA molecule by DNA molecule. If I could just find the right ability, I could save him,” the man’s voice broke, “I knowit.”

Molecule by molecule, huh?

Actually… that was something Danny could help with. Crud. People had powers here, right? He was being asked for help, wasn’t he? He was staying within the rules. Especially seeing as these guys were like warlocks. He was only doing warlock stuff.

“If I help you with this—if,” he stressed when the man perked up. “If I help you with this, I need two things from you. Well, three, really. Actually, no, four.”

“Name them,” declared the man.

“Yeah, I was about to,” said Danny. “Anyway, first, you need to ask your brother if he wants this. If he doesn’t, you have to come back here and return it. Asap. As in, tomorrow.” He was pretty sure he could get Clockwork to give him a day, even if he came to pick Danny up right now.

“Those are your first two conditions, then?”

Danny nodded. “Yeah. Third one is, you have to stop taking powers from people who don’t give you permission. The end of that road isn’t pretty.” At least, he was pretty sure it wasn’t. All those little maybe-ghosts, slammed together… Even if it didn’t have any immediate effect on this guy’s personality, the resulting ghost could wind up possessing him. If the ghost vaguely wanted to go with him, that might change things. Maybe. At least, it’d slow things down.

If this worked the way he thought it did.

The man scowled. “And you know this, how?”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Look, you’rethe one who said I was like you, not me. Too much of these powers can mess you up.”

“If the number is the problem, it shouldn’t matter how I take them.”

“Do you ever get bad dreams?”

The man stilled completely. “What do you know about that?”

Danny shrugged. “Enough,” he said. “Do you want to be overwhelmed by your powers? Do you want to explode? It could happen.” Actually, Danny had no idea if it could happen or not. But it sounded good. “More importantly, do you want to help your brother or not?”

“Of course I do!”

“Great!” said Danny, clapping his hands together. “Let’s finish this up somewhere privately, okay?” He grabbed the man’s shoulder and phased them through the floor into the basement, which he lit with a ball of ectoplasm. “Okay,” he said. “Fourth thing.”

The man was staring at the ectoplasm with undisguised curiosity. “What is it? Money? A new identity? Passage out of the country?”

“Uh, no,” said Danny. What would he do with any of that, after all? “I need to know the full story behind you and your brother.”

“What? Why? Don’t you know enough?”

“So that I can be sure that I can help, first off. Also, the way I’d be doing it involved me giving you something rather personal, so…” He trailed off with a gesture that indicated he expected the man to talk.

He sighed. “My name is Shigaraki Hisashi. My brother’s name is Kazuki, and he’s been sick since we were children…”

Danny let him give a summary of his life up until this point. He had the vague feeling that he wasn’t being told everything of importance, but, then, not everything about a person’s life could be condensed into an hour or so of storytelling.

Apparently Hisashi had basically raised Kazuki, and once Hisashi’s meta power had come in as a young adult, they’d been completely abandoned by their parents. Hisashi had put together a group of freedom fighters (Danny skeptically recalled the guns, but also forced himself to remember the hints that there might be something like concentration camps for power users) to defend himself, his brother, and others with power. But Kazuki’s illness made him incredibly vulnerable, and as he was Hisashi’s one major weakness…

The feeling that he was living through an ‘X-Men Japan’ comic intensified. He felt so sorry for this guy. Danny knew what this kind of life was like.

“Alright,” he said, softly, finally, “I can help. And, this probably doesn’t mean anything coming from me, but that better world you were talking about? Where people with powers and people without can coexist? I think you’ll be able to make it happen. Just don’t let anyone stop you.”

“I don’t intend to.”

Danny nodded. “I can give you something to help your brother. A power,” he clarified. “But I need you to know, it could change him.”

“Change him?”

“His personality.”

“You were saying something about that before. Forgive me if I don’t agree with you. These powers are tools.”

“Okay, sure, but even just having more options can influence how a person behaves. Just warn him before you give it to him, okay?”

“Of course. I’m a man of my word, after all.”

“Right,” said Danny. “Give me your hand.”

“A handshake?” asked Hisashi.

“Not exactly.”

Danny let a minuscule, almost microscopic, piece of his core break free from the whole. It hurt like a knife to the chest, and some of his physical and mental abilities would be impaired for a while, but he had done it before, and it would heal before long. A fragment this size would give a power on par with those he’d seen so far in this world. It would also grow, of course, but it was unlikely for any human to live long enough for that to become a problem.

He let it pass into Hisashi, and the man shivered.

“That should strengthen his body without being too much of a burden on him,” said Danny.

“What kind of power is it?” asked Hisashi, reclaiming his hand and flexing his fingers.

“Uh,” said Danny, casting about for something vague that would fit. “A gradual stockpile of power. That enhances the user’s body.” That should be close enough. “Remember, ask first.”

“I will, I will,” assured Hisashi one more time. “And you can be sure I’ll be returning regardless, to thank you.”

“Uh huh.”

It took a while for Hisashi and his men to clear out. Longer still for Danny to find a new place to sleep. But he did.

He woke to a time medallion around his neck and Clockwork’s exasperated expression. “Daniel,” he said, “what did you do?”

.

Toshinori and Izuku stared at Danny with open mouths.

“You’re the original stockpile user?” yelled Izuku, pointing.

Danny smiled sheepishly. “Surprise?”

[sodapopsolstice]

Before I say what I'm boutta say, should preface. I'm not c!dream apologist, you scroll through my blog for 5 seconds you'd know I'm hardcore c!Tommy apologist.

But I've realized something when people see Tommy or Wilbur they immediately say "Yeah, they're fucked up but they need therapy." But when they see Dream it's immediately "He needs to die asap." But he out of everyone needs therapy the most.

It's a thing I see in media a lot, therapy is always used for the good guy who wants free themself from their burdens. Or the kid who got fucked up but never for the villain who NEEDS to change. Like only reformed or good people use therapy, down right despicable people need therapy just as much as anyone else, I just never see that in media

If you think about it, Dream has had a shitty life as well. But as much as people say Dream is such a deep and layered character everyone seems to look at the surface of "Evil Bad Guy" and just get pissed at him.

Dream, is a bad person, yes. I will never ever deny that. But being bad doesn't deny the fact he desperately needs therapy, or just someone to talk, to vent. Who doesn't see him as a 1 layered bad guy and instead a corrupted man who spiralled into his ego and power obsession who can still be saved, not back to pre-lore Dream but very early disc war Dream (just a guy having light hearted sibling-esque fun with some friends)

Tl;Dr: people don't really look all that into Dream all that much and don't consider the fact he needs therapy as much as Tommy does

[greenhappyseed]

BnHA Chapter 317: Thoughts & comparisons part 2 - THE OLD MAN AND THE KID

As mentioned in Part 1, I'm splitting my thoughts on Chapter 317 into 3 posts: this one about Deku and All Might (part 2), plus separate posts on the hero brain trust and the media (part 1) and the hero killer Stain (part 3).

* * * * * * * * * *

This part of the chapter was an emotional sucker punch and gave me strong "Gift of the Magi" vibes. All Might is trying to protect his boy by following him, and Deku is trying to protect his idol by saying goodbye. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee of safety for anyone right now, so their "gifts" of protection are unusable. All Might isn't safe whether All Might follows Deku or stays behind. Same for Deku -- his loved ones aren't safe whether he accepts their help or not. It's the harsh reality of what AFO does. The real thing that All Might and Deku need to focus on isn't giving each other the "gift" of safety, but on how strong their bond is.

The main stumbling block is that Deku STILL idolizes All Might (as All Might recognized a few chapters ago). As the adult, it was on All Might to speak up, but he didn't because he's scared to disappoint his boy. He already knows the pain of disappointing a fanboy, so this would take it to a whole new level. But if he really wants to keep Izuku in his life, he MUST risk it and tell the kid all the things he wishes someone had told him. As I wrote previously (between Ch 315-16) it's maddening because we know All Might is capable of having this kind of frank talk with Izuku -- he did it all the way back in Ch 2. All Might saw Izuku overworking himself and modified the workout plan to moderate Izuku's extreme behavior, which would have prevented Izuku from reaching his ultimate goal if left unchecked. So yeah, All Might knows better, and knows he can’t stand idly by while his kid makes a massive deadly mistake. When a child doesn’t have the capacity to help themselves and the consequences are serious, an adult HAS to step in and help ASAP. Talk to the kid, talk to the kid’s friends/teachers, talk to professionals. Keep going until your kid gets the help they need, because even if a parent/guardian can’t help directly, it’s their responsibility to find that help for their kid. Haven’t we learned anything from the lost children in the League of Villains?

Meanwhile, Deku doesn't see All Might as a human who loves Izuku Midoriya. I think, in part due to his being bullied and his innate tendency to not take himself into account, he sees All Might's devotion to him as part of a predecessor-successor relationship. Deku will struggle as long as he sees "All Might" as an ideal and not the human in front of him. (Admittedly, I thought the HPSC storyline might go here and disclose All Might’s awareness of some “grey” missions, causing Deku to look at his mentor through a different lens.) But even now, Deku is trying to have an "I AM HERE" moment so All Might is proud of his successor, but fails to realize All Might is ALREADY PROUD (in part because All Might hasn't vocalized it in a way that Deku can truly hear it). The "You don't look back at me anymore..." in context is immediately followed up by this glowing Dadmight moment:

It only becomes a sad moment in retrospect as All Might realizes (1) he didn't really tell Deku explicitly how proud he was often enough; and (2) the full weight of what it means to nurture a child towards independence (and that his boy is just like him, and is heading towards the same fate as him....)

While I definitely think Bakugo will knock some sense into Deku, I still think All Might is the only one that can truly “release” Deku from these burdens, especially the ones related to the “Symbol of Peace” and the Shimura family that are tied directly to All Might. We see this in Deku’s callbacks:

Nana in the vestige world sobbing over her mistake in giving up Kotaro, saying she and Gran Torino were wrong, and testing Deku’s resolve to save Shigaraki. Juxtaposed with Gran Torino saying, "I should have made the kill...sorry...don't be so rigid. Killing can be another way to save someone," and Shigaraki screaming in emotional pain, “I don’t care if you understand. That’s what makes us heroes and villains!” It’s not just AFO — it’s the weight of generations and broken families on Deku’s shoulders. It’s All Might’s failure to save Shigaraki earlier that has become Deku’s problem now.

Post-USJ Deku meeting with All Might, talking about the first time he used OFA without breaking himself, and All Might pressuring Deku to become the Symbol of Peace. Even though All Might no longer feels that way, and SO MUCH has happened since then, he never clearly said so to Deku, and Deku keeps that weight on himself. The past never dies.

Deku is overwhelmed and destined for a poor decision that will hurt someone or himself, which would definitely play into the media's (and AFO's) hands. First, note the flashback inception with Deku recalling the post-USJ All Might meeting, which itself contains a flashback to Thirteen lecturing about how uncontrolled quirks can kill.

Second, the image of the defeated assassin is downright ominous, with the way All Might is shown above Deku's shoulder like a conscience [Edit: see @codenamesazanka's post here for a Spinner parallel!!] and the way the villain is tied up with his head hanging back, mouth open, eyes rolled back…. Deku and All Might are in shadow, and the villain is in the light…. no real attempt to talk to or understand the villain, just what he knows of AFO……SO MUCH POWER in a volatile teenager with too much responsibility and too few physical and emotional reserves. This won't end well.

Ok, time to bring the real Dadmight pain. All Might dives to save Midoriya and falls. The only other time he’s fallen flat on the ground like that is when he dove to save the random lady during the Cider House incident (which we got in the anime last week). In that fight, All Might needed a guardian gremlin to save him from falling debris. Hopefully that means he’ll go to UA and find young Bakugo soon, and he won't do something dumb and sacrificial in the meantime. WHO SAVES THE (EX-) HEROES?

All Might is a genuinely good person with good intentions, and he drove himself into the ground to help others, but he’s NOT a god. He’s not infallible or omniscient. He has tunnel vision from pursing the same mission from age 14 to, uh, 50-something, and is learning how to function as a "normal" adult. He never asked for help before, and in fact, considered it shameful (even in Kamino). He needs to follow the advice he was going to give to Deku, and reach out to others to save his little boy and himself. He’s still very much capable of inspiring others, even if he needs to rest sometimes. And with that, we cut to Stain, an extremist who believes in self-sacrifice and idolizes prime All Might. Cue Part 3...

A few other points:

Nobody in this arc (including Deku) seems to be using All Might as a resource based on his decades of experience with the media OR with AFO, and it really bothers me. Why is All Might excluded from the brain trust? They’re acting like All Might is useless because he’s quirkless and no longer a ranked hero, but he's still got his brain and his memories. Are Endeavor, Hawks, and Mt Lady really going to chat with Edgeshot and sort it all out??? Will Jeanist's fiber puns stop AFO??? Ugh. This is why hero society as we know it needs to be radically reworked; these top heroes are misusing resources and NOT TALKING to people who might actually have useful info. Does a "hero" need to wear a costume or hold a license to use their brain?

Will anyone tell Inko???? I posted before about this chapter's reference to All Might promising her that he’ll keep Deku safe. But she generally only appears after Deku gets a big advancement of some sort, so I don't know if she'll pop up soon...although I feel like she might need to? (E.g., my pet theory is that we only get her note in the hospital after the forest raid because Deku saved Kota but failed to save Bakugo.) Who else has "lifted up" All Might except Izuku, Inko, and Aizawa -- and Aizawa is probably not in a place to do heavy emotional labor right now???

Others have noted the outreached hand parallels (PAIN!) so I won’t belabor that. BUT look at All Might’s hand, how it is first outstretched and then starting to curl as he realizes he can’t reach Deku in time. Also, how small and frail All Might's hand looks as it curls up. He's normally drawn with huge hands (as big as Deku’s head) so to see his hands look equal in size to Deku’s shows Deku’s growth. Also, contrast this set of hands moving apart with how we saw hands moving together at Kamino, where All Might’s fighting inspired fearlessness. Hopefully All Might can “fight” here too, and inspire the next generation to to amazing things.

[kaito-is-baby]

Shoto Todoroki x Reader

A little bit of help

Okay, hiii~ so... I really don't know what this is, I finished boku no hero and I started to read the manga ASAP and now I just want to give some love to my baby todoroki but this is more like... I was trying to set the ambient for my idea of a Midoriya x "useless" reader scenario but then my love for Shoto took over me and it ended up being about him so... I will write that one someday

Warnings: none, it takes place on season 1 and has no angst. Also gender neutral reader (I think...)

The first class with the great All Might had ended and you felt... stupid.

Every single one of your teammates had incredible abilities at fighting

And there you were, with a sweet gas making them fall asleep, but only if you touched them

It could have been good if they weren't much better, there was no way to touch them.

You couldn't even find the invisible girl

And everytime you tried to approach the half an half haired boy a wall of ice would appear between the two of you

No matter how fast you ran or how hard you tried you felt absolutely useless

Your teammate had to carry you all the fight and you were just a burden for your team, you knew it

You knew you were useless since the very beginning. You had been working with your grandma, recovery girl, in the school nursery this last year and you loved it, don't get me wrong

But seeing all those brave kids getting into fights to save the world, thinking about yourself saving people that way... yeah, grandma had told you lots of times that your quirk did also save people but you weren't her, your quirk wasn't really useful at healing either. Yes you could put on a sweet dream someone who was in pain and that same fluid that made them dream could heal them but it couldn't save a life, maybe an arm but not a life

You wanted to go to the battle and rescue the civilians, you wanted to calm them and cure them when they needed it the most

So you decided to take the joining exam for the UA

You still couldn't understand how you made it through, you wanted to believe that even if your gas did not affect the artificial villains your strength sure did but it was... quite difficult to believe

And your only answer was that your cute little grandma had convinced then to let you join

Of course she claims they let you in because how you threw yourself to heal every single one of the soon to be heroes on the field even altough they were your rivals

But what they wanted was for you to beat the villains not to have a great teamwork and a sweet heart oh baby you should listen to your grandma

You tried to shake that thought of your brain and enjoy your very first day as an student on the UA

You failed

"Let's use our quirks to make our phisical abilities greater" yeah, that didn't work out

Luckily for you that thing about expelling the worst calificated was a lie because you were sure that either Midoriya or you were going back home forever that day

'Things can go better tomorrow' you think but yet again you fail in your prediction

After the disastrous fight on All Might's class you had obviously stated to all of your classmates and teachers that you were, in fact, useless

But then again, you already knew you were useless and yet chose to try and become a hero

And your mind could have thought of something better, maybe ask Aizawa for some help or a nicer classmate

But your feet moved towards Todoroki

If you try to give it a rational explanation you can actually find it. He was, alongside with Bakugo, the strongest one of the class and, being honest, you were not brave enough to get even near that angry boy

So yeah... you could say you chose to speak to him because he was the best prepared but deep inside you, you knew well it was the 15 years old teenage that you, even if you deny to accept, actually were. A handsome tall boy who fitted quite well on your type, and to be honest, everyone's, had fight against you, being pretty close, trying to touch any part of his body, avoiding his attacks and trying to prevent what he was going to do... maybe it had made you develope a little crush, but it was for sure little!

So you took the opportunity when you had it right in front your eyes

He approached you just after your fight

"I hitted you with that last wall of ice right?"

Yes, yes he did, you weren't fast enought to avoid the hit but you were stubborn enough to be too close to him even although you knew he would make an ice panel

Maybe in a desperate intent, you tried to make him step back and don't throw his attack at you directly

That failed

And now you had a little hurting mark on your right leg and your right arm

But you weren't angry, you both did what you had to do to get good grades, this was a friendly competition after all

"Yes but-"

"I'm sorry I may have been too tough for a first class fight" you could tell by his face this wasn't the apologies of someone who is genuinely sorry but of someone who knows it's polite to apologise after it

"it's nothing, really, you were fighting for that 10 and so was I, it's cool"

He nodded and turned his back

"Wait! Todoroki... could I ask you... a favour? Please" your checks- No! Your whole face- was turning red now, you were not good at asking for help and even less to someone you barely knew

"Hm?" He nodded again, giving you permission to request that favour

"I'm so weak, I just can't fight, I can't fight like you or Bakugo or even Iida or Uraraka I just... I can't, I can't do anything but to heal and stay still watching how everyone loses" he kept looking straight to your eyes, truth be said, he hadn't took his eyes out of yours since you started talking but now he looked confused and even kinda angry at your statements

"And so what?" Did he took you for an idiot? He surely talked to you like if you were a 6 years old kid

"That I want to be a hero" his eyebrowns bent "and I need help, I... no one has ever really taught me how to fight, no one saw any potential for that on me and... maybe if you could... give me some basic knowledge? I could at least avoid getting hit"

Silent

Absolute silent

You only heard one thing, your heart bumping at an scarily fast race and your

Not only it was beating, your stomach ached, your skin burned and you felt stupid for asking for help so you opened your mouth to retract your words and admit that it was an stupid idea

"I don't train anyone, I have my reasons, I won't train you or teach anything"

And with that he left you, even more disappointed than before

Of course that night you could only think about leaving the heroes course

But after thinking about it you chose to keep fighting

And from that day on, you would train everyday, without any exception.

It didn't mattered that your classmates would though you were a weirdo, you kept imitating every single thing they did.

You stopped attending those classes that were not about fighting, you did not needed them as much as you needed free time on the special playground that the UA had, there you could train much better than on your small room

And one day, while your classmates were eating- something that you hadn't done since the day you started using every second on the UA for training- your body failed you, it needed a break and you wouldn't accept it so it just failed to get some rest.

You weren't able to keep your breathing and your legs weren't going to obey you anymore

So you just... felt

And without having any real strength to stand back you stood there, surrendering

You had been weeks working with no hesitation and yet you hadn't improved in the slightest

You were giving up when Todoroki tended you his hand to lift you up

"I did not want to train you because I really don't want you to get hurt by my training or to feel that I am pressing you too much" you weren't really following him "but if you are going to do that to yourself all alone then it will be better if I help you so you can, at least, improve"

Was he agreeing to train you?

"But first, go eat, second attend all your classes and then we will train"

"Yes!" You answered, ready to become a real hero

[purplerose244]

My thoughts on Tales of Arcadia: Wizards 💚💚💚

LOOK OUT FOR THE SPOILERS!!!

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SHORT VERSION

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 😍😍😱😍😭😍😍😱😱😱😱😭😭😍😍😍😍😍😭😭😭😱😱😭😭😍😍😍😭😭😱😱😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😱😱😱😱😍😍😍😍😍

REGULAR VERSION

I don't know if I can fully express how emotionally exhausted I am right now. I cried. And I'm not talking about metaphorical tears or stuff like that, no-ho-ho, I'm talking real freaking tears. A roller coaster of emotions, truly. You stood by your words Aaron 👌

Douxie gets into the best protagonists I've ever seen group ASAP. Like, I knew I was going to love him but GREAT GAYLEN this is ridiculous. I WOULD DIE FOR THIS WIZARD AND HE WOULD PROBABLY WANT TO SAVE ME ANYWAY LIKE HE IS A POOR BABY WHO JUST WANTS TO BE RECOGNIZED BY HIS MASTER AND FIX EVERYTHING AND SAVE HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH AND AAAAAAA 🤯🤯🤯

JIAIRE 💙💜💙💜 Everything about them, from them wanting to find the other, to how much they just love each other so MUCH, to the kisses, to Claire not giving up on him, not even once. This is the ship, the OTP, the couple that went through so much yet somehow still made it. Bless them 💕💕💕

I'm biased because I love Steve and I generally don't mind comic relief, I think they are more useful than people think. That being said, yes it did feel a bit... useless? The part with Lancelot was still very cool anyway so good on that. Kinda felt like Steve found a group of dads in Camelot 😚 Also him sending that one message to Aja, that was something 😂 Can't help it liking Staja 💙💙 Although him calling out Eli so much was also very interesting 😏😏

Do I even have in me the words to fully express how amazing was Claire's arc in this? How she wanted nothing more but to save the man she loves? How she managed to get a hold onto her dark powers even though they are scary and she didn't want to become like Morgana? HOW CAN I FULLY EXPRESS HOW MUCH OF AN MVP WAS CLAIRE NUNEZ IN THIS??? 💜💜💜

Also Morgana? MORGANA??? We saw her point of view, the heart she used to have, the compassion that somehow brought her to the edge of darkness! And her redemption, AND ACTUAL!! REDEMPTION!! FOR MORGANA!! 😱😱😱😱😱 Her working with Claire, heck yeah, omg, I don't have words for such awesomeness 👌👌

Deya was glorious. I think we all kinda knew Callista was going to become the first trollhunter 😅 But she has such a strong and unique personality, and a background that makes sense for her to acquire a new identity as the first defender of the two worlds. I loved how much she connected with Jimbo, loved her A LOT 👌👌

Seeing Blinky and AAARRGGHH!! meeting for the first time and slowly building their friendship, that's the sappy stuff I'm looking for 😍😍

... wait now that I'm writing I realized, Angor Rot was there? Just that one cameo? That sounds a little suspicious 🤔

Okay sorry, I need preparation for this one *clears voice* Why is- No that's not right *cough a bit* Why is that...! No no still too low *deeply inhales* Okay so...

WHY IS THAT BEST BOY JIM ALWAYS GETS HORRIBLE STUFF THAT HE DOESN'T DESERVE?!?!? 😭😭😭

The luck of this kid, my world 😞 Besides this, man that was heartwrenching, loved it even thought it hurt a lot. And the best part is that, nothing was out of character, it all made perfect sense. Jim is and remains an altruistic person, even to a fault, who would and will think about others before himself, even if that means putting himself into such danger. I think him turning back into a human will generate a bit of controversy through the fandom, which I can understand, but personally I think it makes sense how they did it IN THIS WAY. Especially since he is now without amulet, after such a strong experience, in need to reshape himself... is this why in the game he doesn't have a troll form? NOW I'M WAITING FOR THE GAME EVEN MORE!!! 😍😍😍

The bonds. The bonds, freaking, how refreshing they were? Not only we didn't get a useless triangle with Jiaire and Douxie, him and Claire had a genuine friendship and he even taught her magic! And Archie was MAGNIFICENT?? 😭😭 Fully supportive, so close to Douxie, he clearly loves him dearly and wants only the best for him I LOVE THIS FAMILIAR SO MUCH 😍😍😍

And then Merlin... Wizards actually managed to make me feel sorry for him. And I would like to applaude the season for not making him fully good, like just because it was proved he cares about others doesn't mean he is not the known jerk that thinks about "the bigger picture" first before actual lives. Toby said it that nobody likes him (I know it was a joke but there is a bit of truth for me), Claire clearly despised him, even Douxie said it at the end that he wasn't perfect. But I think half his entire kind of redemption was right into his last words. He said his greatest accomplishment was saving Douxie. The greatest magician of all times said he did better saving a "nobody" than stuff like helping prevent the Eternal Night, or saving Camelot. I think he realized there the real bigger picture, and that actually made it hard for me to watch him pass. I really thought if he was ever going to die in the show, I would've been ecstatic 😅 But no, it felt like he died right when he was understanding. And that hurt... dang it TOA crew, playing with my heart!

But what hurt the most was just how much Merlin meant to Douxie. He was everything. His master. His friend. His father even. Not the perfect one, but one that made him who he is. He gave him a purpose, a path to follow, and a reason to be. And at the end he was someone who was even glad to see Douxie making choices different from his, like he was happy to see him taking a different path... I cried okay 😢

I know a lot of people were hoping and got rewarded to see Zoe involved, me included 😂 Didn't really explain much of the relationship between her and Doux, maybe another time? Still nice to see her pink hair again 💕💕💕

If any of you heard some kind of strong explosion coming from the general direction of Italy... that was me after seeing Krel again 😅😅 I am disappointed that he was barely involved (although him tinkering with Akiridion tech and magic was DOPE LET HIM DO MORE OF THAT) but apparently there's a movie coming next year so I'm guessing that one will show the arc Diego told us about?... I WANNA SEE MY LITTLE BOY IN ACTION AGAIN 💙💙💙💙

Also too bad Toby also didn't have that much of a role, hopefully they will fix that in the next installation 👍

I did like the Arcane Order, they all have cool as heck powers and amazing designs. With that being said, it felt like there's still stuff to discover? I freaked out for a month because of Skreal since he looked so much like an Akiridion, but Krel didn't acknowledge that? Is it just a coincidence? It didn't help the fact that they even have a similar name 😅 Also fire pal there had a mask... maybe it's just me but in my opinion masks should always be there because of a reveal. And they seemed pretty unknown. I loved these villains, they are cool as HECK and Skreal cracked me up 🤣 It just feels like we still don't know much about them

Also Nari is absolutely adorable and cute and PRECIOUS and I'm happy she's with Douxie and has that super cute disguise omg so freaking CUTE 💚💚💚

What a ride. What. A. Ride. I'm more than ever looking forward to this movie, because I hope we'll get Akiridions fully into this. Is this why the Genesis Seals are made of three parts? That would make sense

... wait wasn't Jim's dad supposed to be revealed here? Did I miss something? Or is it for the movie? I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS!!! 😱😱 The movie might actually be like a second season of Wizards. This one presented Douxie, the next one will be the final fusion of all the three franchises. CAN'T. WAIT. NOW ONTO THE VIDEOGAME 😍

FULL EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER 😭😭😭 Amazing, really amazing, and I'm really happy it's not the last we've seen of this franchise. The end will come, but not today my friends 😉

[spooky-z]

COLLEGE FRANÇOISE DUPONT’S TALENT SHOW [5.1/5]

The promissed epilogue.

• 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 4.1 • 5 • 5.1 •

@ozmav @maribat-archive

The show was over and the big winner declared. It was time to go home.

The mood was not the best around the class. Expressions ranging from anger, disbelief and sadness.

Marinette had to stop herself from feeling pity or remorse. They needed this reality shock to understand that it was no longer the Ecole and now it was adulthood. Responsibilities and maturity.

Her parents had already gone home on a ride with Alfred, Dick, Kori, Tim and Jason.

Allegra, Allan, Claude and Felix were gone too, not before saying goodbye, of course. The promise of meeting soon upon them.

Only Kagami, Chloe, Luka, Marinette and Damian were left, who had been ambushed by Adrien, Nino and Alya as they step out of the theater.

The three of them looking like they had been riding a roller coaster of emotions. None good.

"Mari, we need to talk." Adrien says, eyes red and puffy. He had cried.

Alya wasn't much better and Nino still had the incredulous expression on his face. Probably refusing to believe everything that had happened and everything he had heard.

Damian shook Mari's hand and was ready to tell them some truths, but before he could, Chloe along with Kagami and Luka, took the lead of the couple. An obvious attempt to hide Marinette from the three.

Kagami's expression was murderous.

"No. You have no right to want to talk to her! Not after all these years of acting like she's nothing but shit stuck in your shoes.”

“Kagami, this has nothing to do with you. Our business is with Marinette. Just her.” Alya had the audacity to counter.

Damian could see the thin smoke rising from Kagami's mouth and was apprehensive of the asian losing control in front of the other three.

Everyone on the miraculous team suffered with at least one side effect from carrying the jewelry for so long.

He could clearly remember every time Kagami spit fire from being angry or the first winter of all together, when everyone panicked because Marinette didn't wake up at all.

Chloe ate honey like water, and Luka found that he no longer needed to chew his food. This discovery had been a little disturbing at first.

Luka stepped forward, as if to beat Adrien, but Chloe stopped her friend by gripping his arm.

"It's our problem-"

"Chloe, that's fine," Marinette says, stepping in front of her friends. Damian following her closely. "You know I need to put an end to this."

"Minette..." Luka looks about to explode. This was a side of the boy that few people knew about.

She strokes his shoulder quickly and smiles, trying to calm her friends.

“Alright, guys. Just stay close.”

Only when the three of them pulled away, dragging Damian along, did Alya speak again.

"Girl, you look beautiful today." An attempt to lighten the mood. Which doesn't work, because Marinette only returns a bland smile.

“Thanks.” She replies. “But let's get to the point. I still have to say goodbye to my parents before the flight.”

It makes Nino wince.

"Are you really leaving?"

"Yes. I thought I was clear about that on stage.”

"Oh." He makes a sad expression.

Adrien draws Marinette's attention to him.

"Mari, I came to apologize." He says "For closing my eyes to what was happening and doing nothing to help you."

"Dude." Nino puts his hand on the blonde's shoulder in comfort and he grins gratefully.

“You're right.” Marinette cuts their moment. “You didn't do anything.” He cringes. “But thanks for that.”

Adrien was surprised by the girl. Alya even more so.

“What, Mari-“

"Because if you hadn't been a coward, I wouldn't have seen the true face of the people I thought were my friends."

“Mari…” Alya whispers “I'm still your friend. I never stopped being.”

Marinette lets an incredulous expression wash over her face. She was not believing what she was hearing. What the hell!

“You're kidding me, aren't you?!” She snaps. “You stopped being my friend the moment you preferred to believe a liar you barely knew! I tried to warn you, tried to open your eyes, gave you the damn evidences and you ignored it! You accused me of being jealous! Not once have you shown any faith in what I said! How can you say you're my friend?!” Marinette waited for an answer, an answer that didn't come. “I’d rather my worst enemy sleeping under my roof than have such a friendship, Alya!”

Alya was crying openly now, Nino was more discreet for comforting his girlfriend.

“I did everything for you and all I got was accusations, anger, disbelief and invalidations!” She was screaming but didn't shed a tear. They did not deserve it. “It was you who threw our friendship in the trash. So, don't give me that one of continuing to be my friend.” She gasped for breath.

Damian was having trouble holding the three friends and himself not to meddle in the discussion. He wanted to defend his angel, but he knew she needed that.

“I know we made a mistake, Mari.” Nino looks at her. “But we want to fix things. Pick up where we left off.”

Marinette returns her gaze, but the heavy tiredness in her being.

"You are three years late."

She glances at her friends behind her and her fiancé.

“I followed my life. You should do the same.”

Damian seems to feel this was the end of the conversation and picks up the phone. Probably calling Alfred.

"I have to go now." Marinette looks back at her former friends. "Goodbye." She says quickly. Wanting to get out of there ASAP.

Adrien takes her arm to stop her. He still had a lot to say. There was much more to apologize for. He wanted to show that now he would be there for her. That he loves-No, that he could not say. He no longer had that right. Not when she looked so happy with Wayne.

“Wait, Mari. I need-” He shuts up when she puts her hand over his cheek in a gentle caress.

She smiles sadly.

A black car pulls up beside them and Alfred gets out, opening the door for the five of them. Kagami, Chloe and Luka come in, but Damian waited for Marinette at the door. Alfred returns to the driver's seat.

"You know, Adrien, you were a good partner." She says quietly, but all three are able to hear clearly.

“Kinda messy, silly, and too gallant, but you got my back when I needed it on the battlefield. You fought by my side even when your world was falling apart.”

Adrien widens his eyes as soon as he understands what she meant.

“You were a very good kitten, Chaton.” She balances on her toes and kisses his cheek gently. “It was an honor to fight by your side. After all, I'm glad I met you.”

Alya chokes in the background.

"Oh my God. Oh my god!” She was almost jumping. “Ladyb-” Nino covers the girl's mouth.

Adrien still had the shock on his face, mesmerized by the woman in front of him.

"My lady..." He whispers, the raw emotion in his voice.

Marinette walks away.

"I have to go."

The blonde seems to come to himself.

“My lady, Marinette, please wait, I”

Marinette shakes her head no.

“Bye, Adrien. Alya, Nino.”

She turns and quickly gets in the car followed by Damian.

Alfred starts the car, but they are still able to hear Adrien calling for her.

Marinette wished not.

BONUS

The little girl, no more than six years old, looked at the wooden box.

Her pale pink hijab slung over her shoulder, leaving the dark hair free, the school uniform missing a sock and her backpack tossed in the middle of the room.

Aria Wayne was curious.

Even though her mother letting her play with her new cloths, she never let Aria get close to the box and that made the little girl increasingly uncomfortable.

There was an itch that wouldn't let her forget about the box, even when she tried not to think.

So here she was, in her parents' room, taking advantage of the fact that they were both working out adult things, to finally find out what was so important in the box that her mother wouldn't let her have a look.

Aria pushes the dressing table chair closer to the shelf, needing extra height to reach the box.

She peeks once more toward the door to make sure she is alone. When she decides that, yes, she was safe to continue, she climbs into the chair with a little difficulty.

Her uncles loved to joke that she had pulled her grandmother's side of the family.

When she is fully up on the chair, arms outstretched to reach the box, fingers almost touching the polished wood, a cough comes from the door, startling the little girl.

She screams and jumps. Almost falling from her chair with the startle, but manages to steady herself before falling.

"Aria Wayne, what did I say about trying to sneak around māmā's stuff?"

She looks at her father, who was standing in the doorway, his arms busy with baby Jules who seemed to be wide awake.

Aria smiles awkwardly.

“… Not to do?”

Damian raises an eyebrow at his daughter.

"And what were you doing now?"

Aria sighs hopelessly.

“But bābā! I want to know what's in that box. Why don't you and māmā let me see?” She pouts.

The man looks at the little girl, his heart melting with the cuteness.

"How about I tell you about the story of Miss Ladybug and how she and her friends saved the world from the powerful villain Hawkmoth?"

Aria seems unconvinced. Damian smiles.

"Can I have ice cream?" She asks.

"You can. But only if you come now.” He replies and leaves the room.

Jules was quietly sucking his finger as he looked around.

“YEAH!” Aria jumps off the chair and runs excitedly.

//

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Tikki comes out from behind the miraculous box along with Plagg.

"That was close." She says.

"She'll be a great kitten." The black kwami responds, the mischievous smile on his face.

He had plans for his grandchildren.

[tag list]

@mystery-5-5​ @spicybelladonna​ @iglowinggemma28​ @crazylittlemunchkin​ @lunaraquaenby​ @maude-zarella @mooshoon @kuroko26 @littleredrobinhoodlum @fanboy7794 @shadowberrybinch @k-rena-k @captainmac6 @clumsy-owl-4178  @tazanna-blythe @vixen-uchiha @zebrabaker @chloe-bourgeois-is-big-gay @artxyra @ellerahs @minightrose @redscarlet95 @soaringowlsstuff @xxkelsey39​ @unmaskedagain​

[pop-culturereference]

as long as i’m reflecting you

Summary: “I can’t believe you haven’t figured it out yet. I'm you, Hawks."

@hawksweek2020 day 1: Cliché

If you’d rather read on ao3 (or if you want to read my long rant in the chapter notes): https://archiveofourown.org/works/27203351

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Pairing: Gen

Rating: G

Characters: Hawks, Dabi

Dabi towers over Hawks as he lies there, helpless, blue flame licking greedily at his face and wings. He can feel himself shriveling under the heat, but perhaps the worst part is this:

Takami Keigo.

Dabi knows his name. Dabi knew all along what Hawks was doing there, knows more than even his friends do—his name.

Hawks panics at the sound of Dabi’s boots crunching on the broken shards of his visor—He can’t die here! The battle is far from over, and he’s the only hero ready and equipped to deal with the aftermath. There’s not much Hawks can do, at this point, but he does have one option. Dabi needs time between using his quirk in order to recover. Use conversation, distract him, draw him in. In Hawks’s experience, villains never pass up a chance to gloat and throw their self-righteousness in everyone’s face. Get a villain talking about themself, and they won’t shut up. Even closed-off Dabi will likely blab his life story, thinking Hawks is about to die. It’s worth a shot.

“The only members of the League I found nothing on were you and Shigaraki. I found everyone else’s background, their families—but for you, I couldn’t even find a name. Who are you?”

Dabi sets a foot on Hawks’s back, leans his weight into it. Hawks pushes himself up with his hands as much as he can to prevent his ribs from snapping. He’s miscalculated. Dabi will keep his secrets over his ego. Hawks accepts his death even as he fights and pushes against it; he can’t die, but he’s going to, and there’s nothing he can do about it. He’s expecting Dabi to burn him to death right there, and he’s already bracing himself and gritting his teeth against the heat. He is <em>not</em> expecting Dabi to crouch down, one foot still on Hawks’s back, and whisper:

“I can’t believe you haven’t figured it out yet.” There’s a warm huff of laughter on his ear that has Hawks cringing away, then— “I’m you, Hawks.”

-----------------------------

Hawks wakes up to the horrible smell of antiseptic solution and the annoying tug of compression sleeves on his leg hair. Then, of course, the swoop of vertigo that speaks of some Pretty Heavy Anaesthesia. He tries to cough the smell out of his mouth, but is met with a sore throat—more than sore, actually. It’s like someone’s taken literal sandpaper and dragged it down his entire esophagus. He gags, tries to sit up, is hit off balance by the vertigo, and promptly throws up over the side of the bed.

He leans back against his pillows and wallows in the agony his stomach acid has raked over his poor, abused, sandpapered throat.

“Can I get you anything?” asks a nurse holding a bucket. Oh, good. He’d vomited into a bucket and not all over the hospital floor.

Hawks gestures frantically to his throat with a plea in his eyes that the nurse hopefully interprets as “water,” or “cough drop,” or even, “please just slit my throat and put me out of my misery.”

The nurse hands him both water and cough drops. Hawks’s eyes water with gratitude. Well, either that or pain. Maybe both.

“Sorry, man,” says the nurse as he reaches to adjust Hawks’s blanket. “They had to do surgery on your wings, and you had a breathing tube.”

Hawks croaks in horror. “Wings!?”

“They’ll be all right. You also had some skin grafts for the burns.”

Burns. Dabi. I’m you, Hawks.

“Phone,” he demands urgently.

With his miraculously only-slightly-singed phone in his hands, Hawks shoos the nurse away and starts tapping and typing with frenzied vigor.

His google search shows him an article spotlight on him, featuring an interview with Tokoyami, who apparently saved him. Good kid, that Tokoyami. It also shows him that there were minimal casualties and that apparently the UA students were spearheading the clean-up and rebuilding of the battleground. Okay. Okay. Good, good. All of it good. 

Now, what he <em>really</em> wants to know: Dabi.

To: VP HPSC: 

get me every pic i ever sent u of dabi highest res possible asap

also the cam footage of lov hideout

To the number he’d found on Google for the news network he saw at the raid:

Hi, this is Hawks. I saw your news logo at the fight in Reika. I was wondering if you could send me any footage you managed to get of the villains. Thank you. Here’s a selfie for proof it’s me.

To: Dabi (Villain):

hey ik its a bit of a long shot but like i would love an explanation thanks xoxo <3

He knows Dabi’s claim is ridiculous. He knows, all right? What he’s actually hoping to find is some connection to Endeavor. There’s definitely <em>something</em> familiar about Dabi, and that, paired with the fire quirk, could explain it. 

The first replies he gets are the pictures and footage from the Commission. Hawks zooms in and examines Dabi’s hair. He always knew it was dyed.The roots come in a lighter color, which would make his hair look perpetually greasy if it laid flat; but instead, it makes his spiky hair look just the slightest bit detached from his head. As he looks at the pictures, he’s surprised to realize that he was already biased toward his Endeavor explanation in his head: he was thinking Dabi’s hair was white, like the color of Todoroki Shouto’s ice side, from whoever was Endeavor’s wife. Closer scrutiny shows that it’s actually a dark blond, like Hawks’s own hair. 

That doesn’t mean anything, though.

Dabi’s aesthetically stapled under-eye bags are right in the spot where Hawks has his natural eye markings.

The one picture he managed to find of Dabi shirtless (It’s okay, Hawks reminds himself. I’m a creep with a noble cause. It was for the intel) shows that the stapled purple skin covers the part of his back where Hawks has his wings. If Dabi had wings and they were removed, purple skin grafts or whatever those were would cover up the evidence quite nicely.

And… what Hawks learned during the raid. Dabi’s weakness is his own quirk. Fire. That’s Hawks’s own biggest weakness. That’s almost too much to be a coincidence…what if…?

As he’s looking over the Commission’s images, he almost drops his phone in surprise because Dabi (Villain) texts him back. 

Every intelligent thought in his head evacuates in favor of wtfwtfwtfwtf.

It’s a selfie—a close-up of Dabi’s face, right behind a hand that’s flipping him off. It’s just the puzzle piece that he needs, because the small gleam of light catches on the telltale glint of a contact lens, and Hawks can see where the edge of the blue goes lighter where it’s not covering the colorful iris underneath—Dabi’s eyes aren’t actually blue. And, what Hawks has always thought of as edgy eyeliner looks suspiciously similar to his other eye markings.

Another quick text to: Pres HPSC, VP HPSC:

i dont have any sort of long lost twin brother right??? or like an evil clone or smth??

Almost instantly, he receives a No.

It should be a relief, but his mind’s still going haywire. Dabi…is him? He is Dabi? Dabi is Hawks? Does Hawks is Dabi who? Shut up, brain, you didn’t connect shit. It Dabi, Takami Keigo Dabi Hawks… if Hawks? Who Takami Dabi… he…   

-----------------------------

Maybe I shouldn’t try thinking when I’m high on painkillers, he thinks when he wakes up. 

As he looks around, he realizes he’s been moved to a more long-term room. Instead of curtains, it has a door, and there’s a TV and a nightstand. His phone is dead and he’s not about to call the nurse to come plug it in for him, so he switches on the TV instead, not sure how much he can trust his conclusions on the outcome of the raid if he convinced himself that he was somehow Dabi in the same 10-minute timespan.

The first thing that shows up on the news channel is a report about Hawks, and he’s greeted with the atrocious selfie he took to prove his identity to the news channel. His hair is a devastated battleground and missing completely on his burned side, he’s covered in gauze and medical tape, and his smile looks half-crazed. What was he thinking?

“Hawks is recovering in an unknown hospital, but he looks to be well. The real question is, will the Number Two Hero still be able to charm without half of his famous wind-swept hair?”

“I don’t know, Motome-san. Let’s look at some footage of the battle. I’m sure any lady—or gentleman—would be charmed by someone willing to go so far to protect them.”

Hawks rolls his eyes and scowls, but doesn’t turn off the TV. If they show his fight with Dabi—if he could get a quick glimpse of him—he could turn off the idiot switch in his brain that won’t shut up. 

Instead, what he sees is a streak of red that flies into Dabi’s hand. That’s one of his feathers. Dabi controlled one of his feathers. Dabi has control of Hawks’s Fierce Wings.

To hell with his pride! Hawks repeatedly jams the help button on the side of his bed, and a nurse arrives soon after, out of breath. Hawks feels a little bad for scaring the poor man, but he needs to charge his phone. As soon as it turns back on, he sends out the text to almost every single one of his contacts.

Hi all, this is Hawks. I’ve figured out the identity of the villain Dabi. It should help you lure him out and take him down. DABI IS ME. Text me with any questions. Go after him with fire, if you can.

Within three minutes, Hawks has rejected 7 calls. Text me with any questions, he said. Not call. He won’t be speaking with his sandpaper throat for at least the next month if he has anything to say about it. 

Someone with enough manners finally texts instead of calls. It reads: omw to kill you right now. should have finished the job last time.

Oh, shit. Did he really send that message to Dabi? 

Yeah. He did.

SOS this is not a joke, he sends to the HPSC. Dabi just texted me says he’s going to kill me right now. i’m in the hospital, can’t fight. PLEASE send someone

He answers the next call from Pres HPSC. “Can’t talk,” he rasps and tastes blood on his tongue. The president talks to him and he gives one tap for yes, two taps for no.

“Do you really want us to send someone?”

One tap.

The president sighs. “Hawks, as soon as you can speak, I expect the most thorough, detailed, in-depth report you’ve ever given in your life.”

--------------------------------

With Hawks’s warning, they capture Dabi easily enough. He shows up at the hospital directly and comes face-to-face with Endeavor, who, knowing about his weakness to fire, easily takes him down.

When Hawks visits Tartarus a month later to interrogate Dabi, he wonders how he ever missed it. Without the dye and the contacts, there’s no denying that Dabi is Hawks. He’s left wondering, though.

“Why did you text me at the hospital that you were on your way to kill me? I immediately got Endeavor there. I thought you were a little smarter than that.”

Dabi just shrugs, his newly-regenerated red feathers rustling with the movement. “Obviously not. I am you, after all.”

[jq37]

The Royal Report– A Crown of Candy Ep 10 Blood and Bread

Come Together

Welcome back and I hope you took advantage of the opportunity to catch your breath because the Rocks family is granted no such reprieve. Fresh off the heels of Jet’s tragic murder by Ciabatta and Calroy answering the question of whether a cake can coup, we pick back up with Theo who’s foiled his imprisonment by making use of the skills Lazuli taught him and magically busting down the door. Then, he makes use of his other knight skills and absolutely eviscerates the shocked guards outside. 

He runs for the King’s quarters and, obviously, doesn’t find Amethar as he’s in a smoking crater outside, but he does run into Caramelinda who he immediately informs of the situation as best he can. Cara is confused, even as guards (Cal’s men) show up and start firing on them. She tries to get them to stop on her royal authority but Theo hears a lot more soldiers coming on a Nat 20 Insight and is like, “We need to go.” Cara does her own Insight check and has the good sense to follow him.

They run and Theo takes her into a little secret door in one of the hallways. Just in time too, because Cal walks by all camp-y kids movie villain, clearly telegraphing his intention to kill Cara, and tries drawing her out by saying some bait-y stuff about Amethar but Theo says they should ignore it and they escape down a spiral staircase instead of confronting Cal.  

Meanwhile, Ruby (still Invisible) runs across the bridge, feels Jet pass, and keeps running, all the way to the standing stones of the Sugar Plum Fairy. 

“Bring her back,” she demands, tearfully. “I know you can bring her back. What is the point of having magic if I can’t bring her back. Please.”

The SPF appears and gently says that the nature of the world is such that she can’t bring Jet back. However, it may be possible to bring them to Jet. Go north to the Stone Candy Mountain, she says. That’s where she is and where her sister is waiting.  

Ruby then sneaks her way back to the castle, and sees Kerradin on his way there with about 30 knights. On double Nat 20s, when she gets to the castle, she clocks her dad immediately. Cumulous (who was also in the general area Ruby just came from and can now see where she is based on the glow of her magic, though he doesn’t know it’s her) also sees Amethar. Ruby, horrified at the thought of losing both her sister and father within about five minutes, runs to him.

Liam, still in the lingerie shop, hears Ciabatta wonder where the “witch boy” (Liam himself) went and also gives away some plot info for free: Alfredi has been hanged and she was apparently the only person skilled enough to make watersteel daggers. They’re fresh out. They leave and Liam pops out of the Rope Trick. He checks the glowing chest and sees that all that’s in there is a glowing rock--ambush bait. He then wraps Jet’s body in tasteful lingerie (sure), puts it in a cabinet for later retrieval, and takes her sword and locket for Ruby before stealthing away to find the others. 

Amethar, fallen but not Fallen, unsteadily picks himself up, just in time to see the magic glow of his invisible daughter’s footsteps approaching him. “Pops, it’s me,” she says, voice wavering. “I think Jet is dead.”  Amethar gives her a huge dad hug as she channels some of his barbarian energy, vowing to kill whoever did this, and their children, and drown their lands. The very stealthy Liam and Cumulous also show up for this--Liam joining the hug and Cumulous just announcing his presence awkwardly when his name is mentioned. 

Liam lets them know where Jet’s body is and also gives Jet’s things to Ruby. Ruby takes the sword but haltingly insists that Liam keep the locket--it won’t work alone, and besides, Jet would want him to have it. 

Cara and Theo pop out of the secret tunnel and the kids instantly Perception/Insight check her (no doubt feeling burned after Cal’s betrayal). Ruby, on a 23, gets nothing sinister--it’s just her extremely freaked out mom. With that reassurance, she reveals that Jet is dead and Liam chimes in that it was Ciabatta and his men. Liam accusatorily mentions the letter that got them ambushed and Cara claims to not only not know about the letter, but to not know the lingerie lady at all.

Ruby lets everyone know that Kerradin is on his way and Cara says that most of the Castle Candy soldiers have been sent to Castle Many Licks on Cal’s orders. It’s mainly just Cal’s men in the castle--the castle that is currently being redecorated with House Cruller banners. Translation: They’re F’d. 

Amethar remembers that Manta Ray Jack is still in the harbor and--after talking Liam out of going rogue and tracking Kerradin--the group decides getting to him and making a break for it is the best bet. They pick a path that will go past the lingerie shop so they can pick up Jet’s body on the way.

They see torches being lit and hear dogs--clearly a search party coming for them--so Ruby uses Prestidigitation to scent the path with anise so the dogs will be confused (which Brennan rewards with disadvantage on tracking checks). Ruby and Amethar are both mortally wounded, but they decide that getting away ASAP is a better option than waiting to tend to their wounds. They roll initiative and head off.

The Sweet Escape

This is another unusual combat episode from Crown of Candy. There’s not so much brawling as there is running and trying to avoid fighting. I don’t think a play by play will be very interesting, so I’ll just give a quick rundown of the highlights. 

The mechanics of this is it’s basically a series of group stealth checks until they get to where they’re going. Ruby still has 25 mins left on her invisibility and Brennan lets her cast Mage Hand with a 1st level spell slot to keep Theo’s armor from clinking and giving him disadvantage for seven rounds. 

They fail their first round of checks and are spotted by hot-hounds (hot dog hounds, of course). Cumulous tells the group to keep going and he stays behind to handle it. He kills the dogs (yay?) but alerts other guards in doing so. Liam, with his crossbow, headshots the guard about to make trouble for Cumulous and then Cumulous steals his chariot. 

Ruby, cantrip master, uses her Mage Hand (feeling a kiss on her cheek as she does) to hold a lantern and send it in a different direction, creating more confusion for the people tracking them.

Cumulous, on a Nat 20 Animal Handling check, fully on purpose (and after taking a bunch of damage from being fired on by ballista) drives the chariot off a cliff.

We’ll get back to that.

Liam, four rounds in, remembers that, oh yeah, he *does* have Pass Without Trace which gives +10 to all stealth checks--a little late but a game changer nonetheless. As he casts it, Cumulous feels the call of something like the Hungry One but not the Hungry One and Liam feels that same weird magical feeling he did running from the Cathedral in Comida.

Cumulous, as he rockets off the cliff (killing the horses in a very Hardwon Surefoot move), uses Fluffwind (his staff) to cast Gaseous Form--dropping his speed to a snail’s pace but saving his candy bacon.

The rest of the group does stealth checks until they make it to Dulcington. Ruby sets a tent on fire with her lantern as a distraction and all of them have to cross a river (the bridge is occupied by guards). Ruby gets a Nat 1 and falls in but Liam gets a Nat 20 and helps her across.

Unfortunately, the initial splash into the river alerted guards and they’re run up on by Ceresian soldiers. But, really, it’s more of a minor annoyance. Between Peppermint Batman critting, Ruby doing some sniping (losing her Invisibility in the process), Theo desperate to not see another Rocks dead on his watch, and Amethar in a full dad-rage, these guys are dead before they even have a chance to attack.

Cumulous drops Gaseous Form and anime sprints back to the gang. 

Amethar and Liam grab Jet’s body and then run for the harbor with the others. Theo Messages Jack to get the ship ready because they’re gonna be there in a minute and they need to go NOW.

Enemy archers fire on them but they ignore it and just keep running. When they show up, Jack is confused but they’re like, “Sail now, questions later.”

Brennan says there’s no way they’re gonna get the ship going before soldiers catch up with them but he obviously didn’t count on Amethar going into a rage and just pushing the boat himself, snapping the mooring keeping it docked. As soldiers ride up on them, Ruby uses Mage Hand to help with the few remaining ropes and Theo casts Knock to undo the reins on one of the horses, sending the mounted soldier flying. 

They narrowly escape up the river, and that’s where we end our episode. 

Thing I’m Concerned About

This is something I mentioned as an aside in the last recap and it seems that it’s become relevant so I’ll be more explicit now. When the tear-away lingerie came up in episode one, it seemed like it was news to Cara (and I’m sure Brennan too because it was obv off the cuff). But last episode, the letter they got seemed to indicate that she was in cahoots with that person. But then in this episode, after a pretty high Insight check that indicated she was on the level, she said he didn’t know about any lingerie lady. Which seems to indicate setup, right? Which would make sense there was nothing at the shop and assassins waiting (assassins who seemed unsurprised to see the kids and not her for what it’s worth). But the way they got the letter, with Cara leaving the room, it seems like she would have seen it. So was that even really her? Is there a bad guy walking around with Disguise Self? If so, Bad! Also Bad! if she actually does turn out to be bad and it was like a DC 30 Insight check to find out, “Surprise! Your mom has been secretly evil this whole time!” Cara calls Ciabatta Imperator before she gets that info and idk if that’s Brennan misspeaking or A Clue and it *better* be the first because I don’t have the energy for *another* betrayal right now. It does seem like exactly the kind of thing you’d use in story to bait the twins if you knew them though, right? Like anyone who even sorta knew them (but especially someone who really knew them like Cal--was he there for that lingerie conversation in episode 1?) would know that was surefire twin-bait. 

Don’t love that the SPF is, with different faces and different tactics, corralling everyone to the Mountains. I don’t know what her game is but I Do Not Trust fae. Also, maybe I’m being paranoid but when the SPF said, “Your sister is waiting,” I def had a burst of...your sister as in Jet or your sister as in this bastard child who we know nothing about? Wouldn’t that be such a dirty trick? To skirt fae lying rules (idk if they exist in this world) by talking about Jet a bunch and then saying, “Your sister is waiting,” about a totally different (half) sister?

So who all is working together? Cal last week said he was working with Alfredi and Ciabatta was also working with Alfredi. Plus, Kerradin was there (which, sidenote, WILD. Did Alfredi just take all the heat or something?). But I can't imagine everyone’s goals are fully synced. Ciabatta seems to mostly care for his own power. The Pontifex wants the Ramsian Doctrine fulfilled presumably which puts her at cross-purposes to Cal. What’s everyone’s game here. Is any of this stuff just happening independently of the others and Amethar just has hella enemies/has just lost Concord protection?

All this “like the Hungry One but not the Hungry One” stuff has me suspicious. People have mentioned to me that the noises that Brennan makes when he brings that up are kinda snorty and pig-like which raises two possibilities. It could be the vengeful spirit of Preston--which would go with the ice motif since he’s a peppermint pig and we all know peppermint is the cold magic of candy. It could also be related to the Great Boar of the Meatlands. I can see a pig spirit showing favor to an angry kid who took good care of his best pig friend who then tragically died, even with the cross-food barrier. Idk, we’ll see how this goes.

Ruby, my girl, please don’t do anything rash in your grief. You’re 1000% valid but please stay as levelheaded as you can. 

Five More Things

Lol at Ally very confidently saying they don’t have Pass Without a Trace even after being reminded of it and then three turns later being like wait nevermind. 

Killshot Thompson at it again with those precision voice breaks at all the most heart-crushing times. I would have loved to have seen Emily’s reactions from video village during the scene with Amethar. And then the, “I can’t lose another. Please,” to Liam? Ugh. My heart.

Ally’s “WHY?” when Manta Ray Jack started ringing that bell was beautiful.

“Another secret black woman,” might be the funniest thing Lou has ever said. And he’s said a lot of funny things. He originated, “Somebody call Wizards of the Coast.”

A second set of double Nat 20s from Siobhan! She also did it in Fantasy High Sophomore Year when freeing Fig from mind control. The only other person I think who’s done it is Lou as Fabian during the arcade battle in FH S1. You can’t really tell because of the way I glossed over the nitty gritty of this ep, but the Nat 20s were really out of control this session. It’s just that, as the cast said in Adventuring Party, Nat 20s don’t get you spectacular things this season. They just mean you get to not die that turn.