#well those villains are on thin ice it seems

[tanglepelt]

Dc x dp idea 85

Danny keeps freezing things. That on its own. Not a big deal. When it takes ectoplasm to melt, naturally or by an ghost attack it becomes one.

He could also just will it away. To bad he doesn’t know that. In Amity it just goes away on its own. How could he know that doesn’t happen everywhere?

Now his parents have dragged him on a cross country tour of all the ghost haunts and attractions.

If only the other vigilantes rouges would stop attacking around them. He keeps having to freeze their feet to the ground. He would not let another joker incident happen.

Rogues are not ghosts.

The other rouges need to be protected from his parents.

[gaybananabread]

Hello, beautiful soul!! For the fruit shop, could we have lee!Hawks and ler!LoV? With banana, orange, and watermelon? Maybe some of those tickle bites/kisses land on those extra sensitive wings...lord knows how he'd handle a raspberry. He's canonically vibration sensitive.

Fruit(s): Bananas, Oranges, Watermelon

Aww hi Anon! I’ve never written for the LoV besides Dabi, so new experience! I do have the character limit capped at four for these fics, so I just picked the league members that I thought would be most fun. Love writing for KFC, definitely one of my MHA favorites to get got (). This is gonna be pre-PLF because it’s just easier for me that way. Thank you for requesting, and I hope you Enjoy!

Lee: Hawks

Lers: Dabi, Twice, Toga

Summary: Hawks is sassing his fellow LoV members, collectively pissing everyone off. While some more violent methods are suggested, the most interested trio finds a way to get back at the birdie without injuring their “asset.” 

Warnings: none! This is a tickle fic, so if you don’t like that, scroll away!!

The League of Villains were gathered in their “meeting room,” though only two members were really paying attention to Shigaraki’s spiel. Kurogiri was…probably listening? It was hard to tell with him. Mr. Compress seemed to be engaged, nodding along and occasionally humming. Then again, he almost always indulged Shigi’s rants; it was just the kind of man he was.

Dabi was practically laying on the table, his head resting on his folded arms; he couldn’t care less about the precautions. If heroes ever found them, he’d burn them all to a nice crisp. Twice and Toga were trading a piece of paper back-and-forth, writing little notes and doodles to pass the time. Spinner idly twirled one of his blades, sharing most of his teammates’ boredom.

Right as Shigaraki got to the extra repetitive part of his speech, a smug yet smooth voice spoke up. “Don’cha think you should talk about something new, Shigaraki? This is getting kinda old.” 

Six pairs of eyes shot over to Hawks, though most were more excited than shocked; it was something other than the same “we’re the ultimate fighters” speech. Shigaraki, however, seemed less than amused. “Really, hero? And what would you say, since you’re so amazing at speeches?” The word “hero” was said very bitterly; his way of reminding Hawks that he was still on thinner ice.

“Well, ya really haven’t gone over the next moves for the League. We’ve tossed ideas around, but do we have a clear idea? Seems kinda important ta me.” The Decay user frowned, though he couldn’t say Hawks was wrong. He had been laying the hero slander on a little thick, but he was getting angry. Besides, he had a clear idea of what was to come next. He just wasn’t ready to share that big a plan with the bird yet.

“That…isn’t ready for sharing. I do have plans, you just… don’t get to know them.” That wasn’t a lie, either. He wasn’t telling them more than the bare minimum until the day grew closer. Upon hearing this, a few league members huffed and chuckled under their breaths. Even though they knew their leader did have plans, it was funny to see someone make him squirm. 

Hawks normally wouldn’t act like that; his main goal was to blend in and find out the League’s big plans without getting caught. That day, however, he was bored of the same unhelpful information, his casual attitude and snark slipping out without him realizing it.

That week, it had slipped out a lot. Everyone’s patience was wearing thin, to the point of them discussing various torture methods and violent solutions. A few were particularly pissy, having a group discussion about what the hell to do with their newest member.

“I’m gonna kill that ungrateful newbie.” Shigaraki growled in a scratchy, annoyed tone. “Who does he think he is, hijacking my fine meeting?!” Toga giggled, though didn’t make any comments.

Dabi spoke next, huffing. “Told you lunatics he was trouble. But no, none‘a you listened to me. Reap what you sow, assholes.” He really didn’t care about minding his language; everyone was a bit pissed, giving him an excuse. Twice decided to put his two cents in, quite literally.

“C’mon, it’s probably just an off week for him or something. Let’s main him; I’m sure nobody would mind!” Toga giggled again, catching the attention of the hothead. Dabi glared at her, crossing his arms as his snarl somehow deepened. “What’s got you all giggly, psycho? Maiming get you going or somethin’?”

The blonde just shook her head, a shit-eating yet lax smile on her face. “You boys are going about this all wrong~! If he’s making jokes, you gotta make him laugh for it to stop! Izuku-kun does it all the time~” She sounded oddly reminiscent at the end… Still, Dabi just scoffed.

“Make him laugh? And you’re still stalking that hero kid? Seriously?” She disregarded that second part, nodding and smiling widely. “Yeah! He’s looking for a giggle or snicker when he sasses you guys; why not return the favor~?” The answer was cryptic, as things usually were with Toga, but it got a certain man interested. 

“Return the favor? How do we do that, jokes? That’s idiotic, let’s just do it my way!” His first statement sounded intrigued, so Toga went with it and explained. “Well, that’s one way, but Izuku’s friends make it a lot more fun!”

Dabi interjected, sick of the short back-and-forth. “Fuckin’ hell, just say it, you nutjob! Sick of this!” She rolled her eyes, pouting. “So grumpy, Dabi! Well, I say…we tickle him!”

Every man in the room paused, looking at her with varying degrees of “what now?” for her statement. 

“Tickle him? What is this, fuckin’ preschool?”

“Toga, we’re respectable villains, not children.”

“Oh…I mean, uhm, why. What the hell?!”

“C’mon boys, you’re no fun! It would teach him a lesson, and he’d probably stop interrupting your meetings~” Toga said the last bit in a sing-songy voice, making Shigaraki huff. She had won. “Whatever, I don’t care. If it doesn’t work, though, I’m putting chicken wings on the menu.” Their leader left, done with that entire conversation; Toga had his permission, though.

“Are you really not gonna take the opportunity to get back at Hawks? Even after he called you crispy?” The flame user’s nostrils flared; she knew how to play her cards. “FINE! Fine, ya shit, I’ll help! You’re lucky I need revenge…  Twice, c’mon.”

The multi-opinionated villain jumped up, seeming mostly curious and a bit excited to carry out their plan. Well, if you could call the vague outline of “tickle Hawks until he stops being an ass” a plan. Still, they were ready.

-

Hawks was sitting at the bar counter, scrolling aimlessly through his phone. He was bored, and the news was rather unhelpful in keeping him up-to-date. He was in a sort of daze, so much so that he didn’t notice the three villains sneaking up behind him. 

Twice took one more step, though that seemed to be a wrong move; the floorboard squeaked, alerting Hawks of their presence. He whipped his head around, seeing the three of them “sneaking” towards him. Oh hell no…

He immediately tried to fly away before realizing that he couldn’t; he had depleted his wings in a fight a few days prior. He was stuck with running. The hero took off, zipping into the back room of the bar. 

The villain trio followed, though Dabi wasn’t putting his full effort into it. Twice ducked through one of the roundabout doors, running through the back halls. Right as Hawks flung another door open to try and escape, he was greeted by two wide cloth eyes. Not good!

Twice tackled him, calling out to Dabi for the taller man to restrict the winged hero. Dabi grabbed Hawks, keeping his hands pinned behind his back as he practically marched the other man back into the main bar. The flame user forced Hawks to sit, using Toga’s red scarf thing to bind his hands together. “Let me go! When I get loose, you guys are-”

Toga pretty much cut him off, too eager to wait any longer. She bent her fingers into claws, running them down both sides of him. He squeaked, biting his lip to restrain the giggles bubbling in his throat. He failed pretty quickly.

The blood enthusiast cooed, speeding up her tickling fingers. “Heya birdie~! You’ve been trying to get us to laugh aaall week! Figured we could give you your turn!” Hawks thrashed a bit, realizing two things: one, dabi was behind him and very close to his wings, and two, he was completely stuck. Shit. “G-gehet off mehehehe!”

Dabi spun the stool a bit, exposing more of Hawks’ front and giving the two other villains more access. His own fingers wormed their ways between his wing bases and his back, tickling furiously; man was wasting no time. The duality of Toga’s gentler teasing and Dabi’s ruthless scribbles drew deep, panicky belly laughter from him. “H-HEHEHEY! DAHABI, NAHAT- GYAAHAHA!”

“Ooooh, bad spot~ Get ‘im, Dabi!” Toga cooed close to Hawks’ ear, her fingers teasing along his ribcage and sides. Now that the man was more exposed, Twice joined in, his hands as split as his personality. The left was lightly clawing at his stomach while the other was digging into the back of his knee. The most wonderful noise Toga had ever heard left his lips; a snorty squeal.

“Awwwww, Hawks~! That’s soooo cute! Twice, make him do it again!” The man continued to torment Hawks’ knee, pulling more loud laughter and a few snorts from him. “TWIHIHI- *snrk* FUHUHAHACK OHOFF!” “Wow, you’re ticklish! He’s like a human squeak toy!” Toga giggled, absolutely delighted; it was like a deranged kid in a candy store.

While those boisterous reactions were great and all, Dabi was out for revenge, not playtime. Looking over the bird man’s wings, he noticed just how much they were twitching from the scribbling on the bases. The most they would move, though, was when Dabi got closer, his breath slightly ruffling a few feathers. Oh…oh that’s perfect.

Leaning in closer, Dabi whispered in the hero’s ear, the smirk clear in his voice. “Get ready to sing for me, birdie~” Hawks squeaked at the buzz on his ear, his eyes widening when he realized just where Dabi was. Toga and Twice were still going to town, giving him no reprieve. It wasn’t as bad as when Dabi was on his wings, but that would soon change. “Dahahabi noho! Ihi- I’ll kihihill youhuhuhu!”

Completely ignoring the other man’s pleas, Dabi lowered his mouth to the depleted wings, gently nibbling on the very top of the frame. 

Hawks practically shrieked, his back arching as he tried to get away. Toga grabbed his waist, both wanting to continue and help out her fellow tickler. “DAHAHAHAHA! *snrk* NAHAHAT THEHERE!”

Dabi just chuckled against his wings, sneaking small kisses in with the nibbles. The other man’s reactions, while adorable, were fulfilling his need for revenge quite nicely. It was also hilarious to see a pro hero absolutely destroyed by something so simple. “What’s wrong, bird brain? Does it tickle?”

At that point, what Twice and Toga were doing was nothing; his wings were horrid, especially with bites and the like. If he could, he’d send his feathers after Dabi to get him off. His wings were left with only smaller feathers, however, and he couldn’t focus enough to control them if he tried.

As much as the man hated to do it, he was really close to his breaking point. Throwing in the white flag, Hawks tried to call the mercy plea, though he had no idea which one to use. “S-STAHAHAP! REHED, UHUNCLE, C’MOHOHON!”

Dabi snickered, taking a quick break from the nibbles and kisses to tease Hawks’ ear once again. “You gotta promise to behave, songbird~ No more sass.” Then, without giving the winged hero a chance to speak, he blew a raspberry right on the base of one of Hawks’ wings. 

That man lost his shit.

“NYAAAAHAHA! *srk* DAHAHA-” The man’s laughter went silent as Dabi blew another raspberry, the killer vibrations spreading all throughout his wings and flooding his senses. The vibration sensitivity in his wings was amazing for flight combat, but it was like an Achillies heel in that moment. Tears of mirth gathered in the corners of his eyes, his thrashing almost tripling.

Toga, of all people, felt a bit bad for Hawks. She liked the bird a bit and had already gotten her fill of his laughter. Plus, the silent stuff was no fun. “Awe, Dabi, give him a break. We don’t wanna kill him; he won’t be able to laugh anymore!”

Rolling his eyes, he pulled his head away; it was almost cute how quickly the man slumped back onto his chest. He was exhausted. 

Panting and trying to regain his composure, Hawks giggled off the residual tickles. Both of his wings were buzzing with ticklish energy, his face red and his mind reeling. “Hoho- hohohoholy shihit…” Looking around, he noticed the expectant looks he was getting. He’d rather not risk that happening again so soon. “Ihi prohohomise to…to stohop sassing youhu guhuhuhuys. Hahappy?”

A small sound came from behind him; something strangely close to an amused snort as Dabi chuckled. “Ecstatic. You’re a mess, bird brain.” Toga leaped forwards, getting very into Hawks’ personal space and smiling. “Oh my, that was adorable! You look so cute when you beg~!” Twice chuckled behind her, both sides of him amused with what happened.

The moment Dabi untied his hands, Hawks stormed off, shutting and locking the door to his temporary room in the bar. Having achieved their goal, the three villains split ways, each going to do their respective business. Dabi went to stalk the city’s nighttime scene, Twice decided to play video games, and Toga updated her tabs on poor Midoriya. While they all did their own thing, all three of them were thinking about what had just happened. 

Even Hawks, who would have preferred to forget it ever happened, laid on his bed with the event running through his mind. He’d definitely be watching his mouth from then on…

[shortpplfedup]

Only Friends Character Rankings Episode 3

Man Jojo, Ninew, Ninepinta and Vivienne know exactly how to build a mess because this was OUTSTANDING. Here's how the pimps and hoes are stacking up this week.

🔺1. Boston (3)

Damn! Tilly Birds should write a song about you.

THIS NASTY SHITBAG MOTHERFUCKER YAAASSSSSS KWEEEEN! Boston spent the entire episode mansplaining, manipulating and manwhoring and considering that is what this whole show is even about he fucking wins the week! Stringing Nick along, spewing poison into Top's and Ray's ears, fucking Top nasty in a classic automobile...I don't care what any of you say, he's the winner.

🔻2. Ray (1)

Don’t define it. Just enjoy your life. You said you could differentiate between love and lust.

This dizzy bitch. This messy mess-ass hoe. Playing with everybody's feelings because he can never face up to his own and just fucking deal with his shit. Everybody is correctly fed up of his bullshit, including Sand and Sand LITERALLY JUST MET HIM. Sand telling him to save his money for a shrink was the best advice any character has ever given any other character on any show anywhere.

🔺3. Nick (5)

Can friends with benefits turn into lovers?

Well the boy is dumb but he's not dumb if you know what I mean. Boston is screwing with his head and he knows it, but he just can't help himself cuz dick2bomb. They say you should never actually get your crush, and this is why. Nick being a sneaky surveillance spy bitch is the main reason Boston should've never messed with him, because now he's gonna go NSA on his ass. He wants that man and he will have him, whatever it takes.

🔹4. Sand (4)

If you want a boyfriend, get yourself a boyfriend. Don't mess with me.

SAND YOU KNOW BETTER! YOU KNOW THIS MAN IS A MESS! AND YET YOU ARE STILL FALLING FOR HIS CHARM. Sand giggling and twirling his hair with Ray in the car was...it was embarrassing. I'm embarrassed for you sir. Sack the fuck up. Like when you threw Top the middle finger, more of that. Also, what the fuck happened between those two TELL ME JOJO!

⭐5. Yo

Sweet as sugar, hard as ice. Hurt me once, I'll kill you twice. Haven’t you heard?

We have our first sighting of Yo in the rankings! Homegirl clearly has all her shit together: a thriving business, a hot and devoted younger man, and a house full of kids who stay drinking her dranks and eating her food because they can't get their shit together. And she looks like a bag of money THE ENTIRE TIME, just FLAWLESS. More of her please.

🔺6. Top (7)

♪ I’m a villain, no matter how much I love you, I must die eventually ♪

So he totally planted that guy at the silent disco right? Seemed like a weird play to push Mew along. Because at 3 months, the game's probably gotten a bit boring, especially if Mew's not even giving him the occasional sniff at it to keep him on the hook. Top likes a challenge and he sorta likes Mew, but if Mew really did screw Ray, maybe he's not so interested anymore. To be clear: I absolutely do not think Top is jealous, more like the shine wears off Mew for him if Mew has succumbed before. I still don't trust a thing coming out of this man's mouth, but the way he worked Boston OUT in that car is worth at least a one-rank jump.

🔻7. Mew (2)

-Are you drunk and taking advantage of me? -Don’t you like it though?

Mew is this week's biggest loser, falling the furthest from last week as his shtick starts wearing thin. Mew's overplayed his hand a bit here: his testing of Top has gone on too long. He doesn't even dispute Top calling him his boyfriend even as he insists they're not dating yet. He was totally about to give it up after the party because I think he realised he had gone from a challenge to a bore, but he waited too late, Boston had a chance to get into everybody's head and now it's all fucked. When he finally sleeps with Top next week it's not a victory for him, it's a capitulation. Also, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED WITH HIM AND RAY I NEED TO KNOW LIKE RIGHT NOW I CAN'T WAIT A WHOLE WEEK!

🔻8. Cheum/April (6)

Guys, I think I’m gonna throw a pool party.

Poor Cheum, the only person to remember they are in fact trying to run a fucking business and actually working at the pool party rather than causing and/or engaging in drama, and April right by her side just helping her woman out because her so-called friends are a dumpster fire. As usual, the lesbians gotta be the ones getting shit done.

[save-the-villainous-cat]

I'd adore a Flirty Villain who gets super Flustered and nervous because Hero Flirts back for the first time

Love all your writing! Seeing any updates always a highlight of my day!

“You should be more careful. I don’t like those pretty hands all broken with bloody knuckles,” the villain said. “I want to find out what they can do after all.”

They weren’t done bandaging the hero’s hand yet. Obviously, the hero had gotten into a fight. And obviously they had decided to fight the villain right after. With probably broken knuckles.

The hero could be kind of an idiot.

“I thought you’re into that. Bruises, I mean.” The villain frowned for a split second. But a simple comment didn’t hinder them from bandaging their hero.

“Well, I am. But not when someone else puts them on you,” they answered.

“Quite possessive, hm?”

The villain’s gaze fixated on the hero. They grinned at them which was new. They looked smug.

The villain however was quiet for a moment, trying to gather their thoughts, trying not to blush.

“So it may seem.”

“Cute,” the hero answered. They worried their bottom lip between their teeth as they maintained eye contact with their enemy.

It was way too suggestive for the villain’s liking. The hero wasn’t supposed to return the flirting. They were supposed to blush and be the adorable one.

“I’m not cute,” the villain answered. They felt the sheer embarrassment crawling through them. They were actually nervous.

“You worry about me. That’s cute,” the hero said.

“What is up with you today?” the villain asked, their tongue just a bit bitter. They didn’t know why it was so difficult.

But the hero flirting with them was exactly that.

“Maybe I realised how much I truly want you to make me scream for other reasons than breaking my kneecaps.”

“I’ve never—” The implication set in. And the villain wanted to drown.

“I’m sure you’re into handcuffs…I could arrange something for us…” The hero pulled their hand slowly back. “Unless you have other preferences.”

“Stop,” the villain warned. They’d always been the playful one. This was unacceptable.

“Or what? You’re gonna punish me?” the hero asked cockily, every syllable that left their mouth teasing the villain.

The villain stood up, their gaze sober. Except for the blush on their cheeks.

“You’re on thin ice, darling. Don’t push your luck.”

“Push? I thought that’s your job.”

The villain’s stare hardened.

[stillness-in-green]

Chapter Thoughts — Chapter 391: Rejecting the World + Chapter 392: Villain Name

On Toga’s Accusations

I am somewhat wary that two-thirds of Toga’s accusations towards Ochaco—you’ve never wanted for anything; your life was perfectly easy to live—are worded in such a way that they’re very easily parried by a reminder that Ochaco grew up in poverty.[1]  No, Uraraka never struggled with quirk-based compulsions like Toga did; she always seemed to fit easily into her social surroundings; that doesn’t mean she’s never wanted for anything and has always had an easy life.  It feels extremely akin to the Spinner fanboys yelling at the Black dude that he has no idea what it’s like to be judged by his appearance; it makes the accusers look wildly self-centered, oblivious to hardships suffered by people other than themselves.

That said, Ochaco’s already done the thing where Toga expresses that she finds her life difficult and Ochaco responds by ignoring that statement completely in favor of moralistic scolding about actions having consequences.  One would hope, given the contents of these two chapters, that we’re not due for yet another speech of that sort.  At most, I’d like to see Ochaco use their shared difficulties—different in nature, but both still present—as a basis for empathy rather than an excuse to chide Toga for not trying harder.

A while back, I criticized the Flamin’ Sidekickers for feeling the need to justify their continued association with Endeavor to Dabi—as if their reasoning makes any difference to Todoroki Touya!—and I feel similarly about this. True as it is that Ochaco has faced her own share of problems, her firing back about those problems and comparing her and Toga’s responses to them would not actually be helpful right now in de-escalating the situation.  It’s not always about you and your own problems!  Especially not when you’re trying to talk someone down!  As was the case with the Spinner fanboys, Toga’s in a very bad place right now, and has been for a long, long time.  Ochaco doesn’t have to validate her crimes, but I do think it’s important to validate her pain.[2]

(Hit the jump for more on Toga—her flashback and the intersection of her emotions with her quirk mechanics—as well as some musings on the broader implications of the quirk counseling scene, and the usual assortment of odds and ends.)

   

On Toga’s Emotional Quirk Mechanics

O Nice to finally get a hard confirmation that the doubles are clones of Toga-as-Twice, not clones of Twice himself.  Makes sense, given the speed with which she’s replicating, and makes it slightly easier to justify her own emotional hang-ups interfering with the way Double normally functions, though I’m by no means rescinding my complaints about that whole thing being hella arbitrary. Also, confirming that these are all Togas would seem to make it less probable for Uraraka to be able to pick out the real thing by her tears, right?  If they’re all Toga-masquerading-as-Twice, shouldn’t they all be crying?

O I like the Zeno’s Arrow-esque nature of the problem with Toga’s time limit on her transformation here.  Like, yes, any given double, and Toga herself, will run out of transformation time eventually, but she’s making exponentially increasing numbers of doubles every single second; each one of those doubles is created with the same amount of blood stock its creator had at the moment it started the creation process.  Each double thus comes into existence with one second more time than its creator now has.  So, how thin can Toga slice those seconds?  How infinitesimally close to the timer reaching zero can a double still snap out a new copy, which now has that tiny fragment more time remaining to make a copy itself? Real life doesn’t operate on philosophical time, of course, so she’ll run out of time eventually, prompting a huge tidal wave of Twices turning back into Togas, but it’s a neat thought exercise.

O DELIGHTED that Tsuyu’s guess was off-base, so all the ice-cold, “Toga doesn’t really love the League,” take meta from the people who think the League are toxic and bad for each other is rendered just hilariously short-sighted in retrospect.  Because, hey, maybe you shouldn’t take Tsuyu’s word over Toga’s about Toga’s own feelings!  Imagine that!

O Interesting that, despite the whole horde moving with the feeling of, “All heroes must die!” when they overrun Tsuyu, they don’t kill her on the spot, but rather just bind her and hoist her up as a hostage.  I assume there’s at least some influence from Hori not wanting to kill off any student characters, but extra-canonical explanations being what they may be, it still reflects interestingly on Toga’s own desires and intentions, and certainly her (underutilized) affection for Tsuyu.

   

On Toga’s Flashback

O So like, Toga’s dad definitely hit her in the flashback, right?

His hand is outstretched, specifically visible against the black silhouette of the rest of his figure; he could have just slapped the bird out of her hands, but I don’t think that would have been enough to spin her all the way in the opposite direction from when her parents first discovered her with the bird.  Further, she’s on her knees and hunched over, one arm raised towards the left side of her face, and if you look closely at her cheek in the next panel—

              —you can see a mark on the left side of her face that isn’t there on the right.

I don’t have a particular observation about this to discuss further—just wanted to point it out.  Toga’s father’s first response to seeing his three-year-old daughter holding a dead bird was not to tell her to put the bird down, or to hit it out of her hands, but to slap her so hard it spun her around and knocked her over.  Oh, and then to accuse her of killing it.

The three-year old.  Killing a fully-grown sparrow with her bare hands.  I couldn’t kill a fully-grown sparrow with my bare hands because a fully grown sparrow wouldn’t let me in touching range without flying away!  What is wrong with Toga’s father, exactly, that that’s the assumption he jumps to??

Incidentally, one of the bright little changes the anime made to that sequence back in MVA—one I actually overlooked in the In Memoriam posts—was to specifically animate him slapping the bird out of her hands and then leave her standing there grinning, arms lowered, as her parents continue berating her.  It’s truly astounding that we are still uncovering new issues stemming from the anime’s butchering of My Villain Academia!

O Speaking of Toga material the anime wildly fucked up, let’s talk about ~~quirk counseling.~~

So like, I tried for so long to maintain a layer of skepticism about what Curious said about quirk counseling.  After all, Curious was a villain, a member of a free-quirk-use cult, violently against the current social order.  She was categorically not a reliable narrator about the intentions and outcomes of quirk counseling!  All the same, it seemed safe to assume she was at least partially right, if only because, in a meta view, no one ever showed up to contradict her!  If we were meant to understand that she was wrong, why allow her words to stand uncontested?

Well, it turns out it’s because she was 100% right!

“They attempt to hammer out any bumps in your understanding of the world and program you to fit neatly into society’s little boxes,” she said, and, “The counseling ends up emphasizing the inherent differences among us all.”  And here we find a counselor saying, “Let’s get you all reformed, nice and normal,” thus emphasizing that Toga is very much not normal.

Of course, the counselor then immediately turns around and reveals that Toga’s desires are normal, at least in the sense that “deviant” desires are quite common in “children with powerful quirks.”  It happens all the time, apparently!  Despite the frequency of the problem, though, the best answer Hero Society has come up with is to preach repression, to strictly control who is allowed to use their quirk—and thus alleviate any natural urges that might accompany it.

Remember what Re-Destro said back in Chapter 227?

Wow!  It’s almost like this was an entirely predictable outcome!

O My perennial gloating about the (MVA-era) MLA being justified and correct aside, it’s interesting and, I think, promising that Horikoshi made time to include that bit on quirk counseling here.  Firstly, it reinforces the idea that Toga did not become a villain due to the actions of one discrete villain like AFO; she was failed by society at large, so simply offering her the sanctified blessing of The Sympathy of One (1) Teenager is not going to do a thing about the problems that created her, and will go on creating others like her unless real change happens in the attitudes of the current society.

(Of course, all of that is also true for Spinner, and we saw how the confrontation with the societal problems that created him went, thanks but no thanks, Shouji.)

Moreover, though, it’s yet another element that points in the direction of the Quirk Singularity Theory looming on the horizon.  If quirks are getting stronger and stronger as generations pass (and we’ve got plenty of evidence that suggests that they are) and psychological issues like Toga’s are common in those with strong quirks (and I don’t see any reason for a professional counselor to misstate something like that[3]), then it follows that such issues will also become more common as quirks increase in strength.  Indeed, an irresistibly strong desire to use one’s quirk would be a logical expression of Ujiko’s conclusion that quirks will eventually go out of control!

This is the dark side of Second’s conflation of a person’s intent with the term “quirk” back in Chapter 369.  It’s a place where the translation of the word kosei as “quirk” obscures the sentence somewhat.  Recall that the word Horikoshi uses translates more literally as “personality.”  So, Second says that a strong intent is what makes a person fearsome, and this is why meta-abilities were given the name they were[4]: the power is merely a vessel, a weapon to be used to carry out the intent in question, a characterful, personalized expression of one’s inner will.  In other words, a “personality.”

But the inverse also becomes true.  If a quirk, a “personality,” is reflective of one’s will, then to suppress one’s quirks is to suppress one’s will.  To condemn someone’s quirk becomes the same as condemning them.  To label a quirk deviant is to label the person’s will deviant.  And if a quirk grows too strong to control, then the will-as-embodied-by-the-quirk also goes out of control.  Hence, Toga snaps after too many years of suppression.

So how does that problem get addressed?  The MLA, of course, wanted free quirk use, because Destro foresaw a time when quirks would grow too powerful for suppression to be effective.  Even radical self-acceptance and an even more radical restructuring of society are still just kicking that problem down the road, though, assuming they’d be effective at all—not that it looks like Hero Society is on the cusp of embracing that particular point of the MLA’s ideology regardless!  Indeed, as Team Hero still regards the problem of quirks increasing in strength as “fringe thinking reserved for cults,” they don’t seem to have any intention at all of addressing the problem.  Time will tell if the story itself will do so.

O It’s striking that even after some years of emotional abuse, Toga was still barefacedly begging her parents to please explain to her what made her so different from everyone else.  It’s a telling parallel to her willingness to actively seek out Ochaco and Deku to ask their opinion on things, and makes it not terribly surprising that she reacts so negatively to being rebuffed by them.  Her whole question in the wake of Jin’s death was whether heroes viewed villains as human—when heroes go on to reject her, like her parents did, of course she’d assume that it means those heroes also view her as inhuman.

   

Stray Notes

O ‘Eeeeeey, people picked up on the Death part of the Parade name this time!  I notice it hasn’t been corrected in the online version of 375, though; I wonder if the volume release will fix it?

O One thing I wasn’t clear on from the leaks/scanlation—the former of which are too fuzzy, the latter too murky—but am very happy to see here is that the Himijin Horde is definitely visible on the horizon for Hawks.  You can tell from the difference in the shading: fuzzy, gray, irregularly sized trees on the right and left, but a long black line of much more regular height in the center:

They’re heading for the Todorokis and Iida, too, of course, but Hawks is obviously the confrontation I’m most interested in.  (Read: GET ‘IM.  GEEEET ‘IM.)  Very much hope we get to see that before Uraraka completely defuses this whole situation.

O Love the acknowledgement from both Ochaco and Tsuyu that Ochaco’s efforts here are late, and that’s worth an apology, worth Toga being upset about.  I’m thrilled that the story is finally, explicitly folding villains into that idea expressed by Nedzu that it’s difficult but necessary for someone to be the first one to hold out a hand if society is to meaningfully advance.  I extra love that Ochaco is holding out that hand while also taking a huge risk: offering her thoughts on why Toga’s having problems with making quirk-use-capable clones.

As I said about Chapter 382, Toga resolving that issue would be incredibly dangerous for Team Hero, and I love that Uraraka is still—despite being very aware of that danger—willing to try to help Toga with it.  With no guarantee of reciprocity, with everything at stake, Uraraka still takes the time to carry on that conversation because it’s what her heart tells her is the right thing to do.

After all, if she can resolve Toga’s issue, that stands to win her back at least a degree of Toga’s faith, at which point a Toga-made clone of Shigaraki obliterating this whole stretch of countryside would no longer be what Toga wants.[5] More than the strategic considerations, though, it's plainly apparent that Toga struggling with Jin's quirk is causing her great anguish, and that's really what Uraraka wants to soothe.

Taking the talk-no-jutsu gamble is how Shinsou should have handled Machia; it’s how Deku should have been handling Shigaraki instead of drowning him in his Fist Ocean.  I praised Mirio for making at least a game attempt at it, and Shouto took a crack at it before slipping back into castigation; if Spinner had been coherent enough to hold an actual conversation with Shouji, we might have gotten it there.  This conflict, though, is where I expect the tactic to finally work, as Toga has both the emotional investment in Uraraka[6] and the presence of mind/free agency to actually respond.  I can’t wait to see how it goes!

O Toga’s spitting-mad injunction that Uraraka not dare to pity her based on societal standards that never made room for Toga to begin with is an excellent echo of Jin's indignance that Hawks would dare to say Jin led an “unlucky” life, as well as Toga’s own fury at Curious for trying to paint her as miserable.

----------------- FOOTNOTES -----------------

[1] So far as I can tell, there’s not an officially recognized difference between “being poor” and “living in poverty”—they’re just different parts of speech describing the same condition—though it seems many people feel instinctively that there’s a difference in severity there.  Still, I’ll stick with “poverty” in this case: while Uraraka’s family never seemed so destitute that they were worried about keeping a roof over their heads, we know that, as of the beginning of the manga, she was skipping meals to save money.  I doubt she would have been so blasé about going hungry that it could be used as grist for comedic volume extras if she didn’t have prior experience with it, and not having enough money to have regular meals is right there in what it means to live under the poverty line.

[2] Elsewhere in this same angle, Deku’s frank empathy for and validation of Gentle and his motivations is what made Gentle’s return feel so much more earned compared to Nagant’s, and Shouto scolding Dabi for involving innocent people proved ineffective.  Shouji, meanwhile, took a stab at validating the mob’s pain, but didn’t have a single word of sympathy for Spinner.

[3] You know, assuming she doesn’t turn out to have been secretly on AFO’s payroll or something.

[4] Setting aside Second’s rampant historical revisionism about the origin of the term, of course, because not a lick of what he says lines up with the actual story of the Mother of Quirks.

[5] Though, you know, the clone Shigaraki would probably still want it!

[6] Dabi’s emotionally invested in Shouto, but in an inverted way, not one that primes him to listen to anything Shouto has to say.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: ML Season 5 episode 21 Confrontation

Spoilers below

-Ohhh okay, starting out with the drama bomb

-So for those that forgot (Like me) Gabriel is sending adrien to London for Private school. And Adrien cant fill out the orientation form because of it

-Plagg... My boy. No cheese jokes.

-So all the students are stressed about the meeting

-Oh so Marinette also got the guilt that now that Lila is the class rep there will be some fishy business.

-Yea the jobs are what I would expect for Nino and Alya

-Ivan out here showing himself to be loyal af. All other men need to step up their game. Mylene showing ambition.

-Juleka wants to be a mortician. Sticking to your asthetic, but didnt she want to model? Or was it just to help her get out of her shell. Meh

-Sabrina wants to be a nurse,

-Yea, Marinette's worries are justified

-Chloé and Lila having Opposite goals, one doesnt care because she is rich, Lila basically wants to "Resolve everything" but thats a lie

-Adrienette cuteness!

-Adrien, you are going to have to tell her eventually

-You can screen shot this and write "Moments before a disaster" and it would be accurate

-And they are shredding them. Im not even surprised

-"In case of a problem, blame it on your predecessor." Its nice to know kids shows are accurately explaining politics to children for once.

-"Its gonna hurt people?" THATS 90% OF THE S*** CHLOÉ HAS YOU DO! NOW YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT?

-Also Sabrina being a whistle blower is TOO on the nose, even for this show.

-Principal damocles is going to find out about the resistance! Wait, is he cool with it? He actually covered for them. I guess being a hero has helped you be less of a jerk... BUT I still am not cool with the BS from episode 14. You are on VERY thin ICE Owl man

-The class wants to go to the same school together, thats sweet

-Oh, that call must have been Sabrina. But we will see

-Oh right, Adrien still hasnt filled out his form

-Welp now he did

-But now I believe this is where all the pennies drop

-Why is there a just a random ass toilet trailer? Is that really the only bathroom in the school?

-Adrien exhibiting true AND KEN behavior.

-Lila once again proving that all the adults in this show are idiots. Bustier does seem at least a little bit suspect tho

-It is interesting to see how the teachers are. Bustier is suspect of it since she knows her students, Damocles is being his best to be supportive and Mendelev doesnt give a f***

-Juleka already repeated a year, thus confirming Luka and her as twins via the retcon

-Cue the reactions

-Juleka is gonna get akumatized...

-Monarch must have a guy that writes all of these speeches for him to speak before he does this.

-Yea I know Rose was trying, but yea. If I was repeating a year. I would NOT be in a mode to try and be positive.

-And she gets Roarr

-WHY IS ALWAYS REFLEKTA THO?

-Bustier realize she let this happen

-Lucky charm is tape.

-"You cant touch the bakers, I love their croissants to much" and their daughter. You forgot that last part chat noir

-SO THATS WHAT HAPPENS IF TWO FALCON PUNCHES COLLIDE?

-Wait... thats it? That barely lasted 2 minutes. and the episode isnt over.

-Monarch thinks there will be more akuma soon. I see

-Chloé and Lila really pulling this crap

-Oh they remember how Sabrina can forge handwritings and thus Marinette isnt going to get in trouble. And Chloé throws her under the bus

-Lila and Chloé really didnt expect Sabrina to turn Whistle blower on them. Chloé I get, because Sabrina has been loyal dog for years and the writing for her has Chloé have the mental capacity of a parsnip since season 4.

-Okay Lila that was well played lie right there. That is A tier gaslighting.

-I will give this scene credit, Lila is absolutely HORRIFYING. I can see the next season's main villain already. Since I assume Gabriel is probably dying this season.

-Chloé out here being a dumbass

-Sabrina you sly dog, you got her Monologue-ing

-Sabrina I put you as the least favorite classmate after episode 14, but now I gotta retcon that. Sure it was messed up what you helped chloé with. But that absolute MASTERY of playing Lila. Just, Chef's kiss. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

-Sabrina and Marinette's plan worked. Also, Mr.Damocles was okay with that?

-Ah so none this matters. Because Andre is also being whipped.

-Damocles looking like he cant take the bulls*** anymore and Monarch ready to capitalize on it

-The magic reacts to emotion, which means... IF the person is strong enough emotionally to resist it. Then the charm has a purpose

-Lila just straight up left.

-CHAT NOIR! But he is making it worse

-JULEKA! This moment probably will not have as much impact as it does in any other dub. French dub superiority

-OOOO it makes a shield that purifies the mega akuma. Neat

-Monarch crying like a bitch

-Damocles finally standing up to Andre. Good on him

-Damocles going out like a G.

-Chat noir telling ladybug what happened and her having to act like she didnt know

-Bustier calling Chloé in.

-"You cant expell me." "Nah bitch, thats a problem for you." is how I saw that exchange

-LILA WAS WEARING A WIG! I KNEW SHE WAS A FAKE B****

-HER NAME IS CERISE?

______________________________________________________

WELL that was a lot.

So i think part of me really likes this episode, but also doesnt.

I like that Lila finally got exposed and Damocles got his redemption for his failures of the past. Going out like a G.

But all this stuff with Lila having ANOTHER life. Thats just nuts.

so overally 7/10

I will do a review of Collusion tomorrow

[mjm5655]

SHIPPING INFORMATION

this post is honestly going to be half a headcanon, & just half general stuff i require for shipping on this blog, since majima is literally my first muse ( i have mostly wrote villains & animal characters in the past ) that can actually develop into having romantic relationships. i'll likely be linking this under shipping in my rules so it's easily accessible in the future.

it should be noted first that majima is a very dangerous man, in most of his canon verses, he is yakuza, & even verses where he is not yakuza a good majority of the time, he's still got that vibe to him ; he'll still smash a dude's head in if it called for it. he's also an enforcer in the yakuza, which is the type of yakuza that will carry out punishments, & even hits. this can make him a huge target to others, & his loved one can end up getting in this kind of mess too if they are discovered.

going off the previous, later on, when he has really established his family, he is considered the reigning force of the tojo clan, the chairman, daigo even has a lot of respect for majima, & tends to lean on him for advice, but anyway, his family consists of several thousand men, & maybe some women here & there. not all of them are outright yakuza, some are construction workers, some run clubs, but a good majority of them are yakuza. it is shown in the first yakuza mainly that majima has no issue punishing & killing any of his men that step out of line, & i would consider this still goes for the later verses too ! he is quite aggressive. but this is another thing that will have other clans going for his head, knowing he's the reigning force of the tojo clan, they realise this will be a big hit to the tojo clan if they were able to land a hit on majima, & were successful with it, likewise, his loved ones could be targeted to draw him out.

saying all this, majima is very soft toward women, he has a huge soft spot for them considering how scary of a yakuza he is, some women he goes with might not agree with this, & want to try & fix him, but honestly, hate to break it to you, there is no fixing him, this is the way he is, he would sooner want to break up if he felt he was going to be as controlled. generally, if a relationship is to go well with majima, this is something his partner will just have to accept, that it's a part of him.

if the partner can accept this fact, he is extremely protective, for example, if anyone even looks at his partner in the wrong way, they are walking on thin ice around majima. majima is very much willing to kill to protect the one he loves.

i headcanon majima to be heteroflexible, this means he mostly does prefer women, but he can be attracted to other men, there is dialogue that he says as goromi which reveals this, & also more dialogue when he's in a dirty dvd store ( where he discovers videos of naked buff men "wrestling" & seems into it ).

he does have his tastes when it comes to men, he really only likes strong, as in buff men, he wouldn't be interested in men who aren't, & he tends to really only want to have flings with men, nothing really serious, just a bit of fun.

as for women, he can be a bit of the polar opposite here, he really likes any kind of woman, he's not picky when it comes to his type of woman. though, he does have a preference to those he considers cute.

now just some general rules when it comes to shipping here !

i will only ship our muses if there is enough ooc plotting involved. i'm not into pre-established shipping, or just shipping on the fly, i prefer there's some development in the threads as well as plotting ooc for it.

majima has various different verses, his age range in them are 20-54. i would normally set him in a verse whereas there is not a large age gap between the two.

i do not outright roleplay fluffy stuff, so don't expect a lot of it.

smut may be written, but i will require there to be a lot of plotting involved, this just won't happen if no plotting, i choose to not write it in threads, i prefer doing so in asks only.

i don't like to write anything involving pregnancy. if our muses have kids, it's either via adoption, or we skip that part of the roleplay entirely. majima has kind of hinted at wanting kids in the series, so it is something that would otherwise have the chance of popping up but i would not write the pregnancy part & i ask people to at least respect this.

[disneyanddisneyships]

Chapter 67 part 2! @gyubby99

Jack made a giant blast of ice, with the help of Elsa, and froze almost half of the mares. "I've got this. Go help anna," Jack shouted. Elsa nodded before running over to where Anna, Merida, and Rapunzel were fighting off zombie soldiers. Elsa used her powers as she shot out her arms, making sharp spikes hit some of them in the head. "Well well well," hans stated as he walked up to Anna and Elsa. The girls raised their weapons. "Jerk," Anna spat. "Oh don't be like that beloved, you know we were engaged," hans smirked. "And you know I'd love to gut you where you stand," Anna replied. "Oh don't worry. Once Elsa and I are married we can all go live our happy lives," hans stated. "In case you've forgotten, I'm the queen of Arendelle now you prick," Anna muttered. "Yes. But Elsa can control all the spirits of nature. I think that's a bigger prize than your worthless title. In fact. You have always been, and will always be worthless-" Elsa shot hans in the heart with ice before Anna charged at him and stabbed him. "God I am SO tired of him," Elsa stated as she rolled her eyes. Zombie soldiers charged at them and the girls Bagan fighting.

"Gothel! Stop this! You've already lost!" Rapunzel yelled as she fought her way through the zombies and nightmares to where githel stood. "Oh, my flower, still so naive," gothel taunted. "You seem to forget who raised you," she stated. "I raised myself. You were never my mother," rapunzel seethed. "Oh come now! Still as fragile as a flower," Gothel smirked. Rapunzels face morphed to anger as she ran at gothel with her sword. Gothel blocked it as she created her own sword out of thin air.

"Pitch stop! You've already lost! Just give up already!" Jack yelled as he and pitch fought one another. "NO! I'LL NEVER GIVE UO AS LONG AS THERES FEAR IN RHIS WORLD!" Pitch screamed as he charged at Jack with his scythe. "Pitch! It's over!" Jack exclaimed as he disarmed pitch and pinned him down with ice. "Its over," Jack muttered. Pitch struggled against the ice before Jack struck him in the head with ice and pitch was knocked out. Jack flew to Elsa. "Elsa be careful!" Jack yelled as he blasted one of the zombies away from her. "Thanks!" Elsa shouted before Anna cut of another's head. The group looked around. No more zombies, and no more nightmares. Gothek and Rapunzel stood in the middle of the room.

"Grimmel give up! We could've had peace all those years ago!" Hiccup shouted as he slashed his sword at grimmel as they flew past one another. "I don't want peace!" Grimmel shouted. "Toothless, now!" Hiccup yelled as toothless shot out a plasma blast, knocking grummel off his dragon. The villain fell to the ground, and a loud cracking was heard when he hit the floor. Ye lay there, motionless. Hiccup and Toothless flew down to be next to the group, all staring at Rapunzel and Gothel. "Its over. We've won. Give up," Rapunzel pleaded. "I'll never give up, flower," Gothel spoke before she raised her arms. Black fog-like power surged toward the group.

Gothel laughed. But when the fig settled, the New Guardians still stood, All of them holding each other close. From what was seen, Anna had stepped in front of Rapunzel, and Elsa had stepped in front of Anna, a shield of ice around all of them as Elsa stood strong.

[scrawnydutchman]

Howard Hamlin; The Christ Figure of Better Call Saul

*SPOILERS FOR BETTER CALL SAUL AHEAD*

How’s that for an essay title? Lol.

Sooo let me start this by saying if you haven’t seen any of the Breaking Bad spinoff ‘Better Call Saul’ you are doing yourself a HORRIBLE disservice, ESPECIALLY if you’re a fan of Breaking Bad. This show that was once misunderstood for it’s ultra slow burn pace and it’s restrained violence in comparison to Breaking Bad has proven itself as not only a worthy successor to Breaking Bad, but possibly even better than what many would consider the best tv show of all time (whether or not that’s true depends on if BCS sticks the landing in its finale, but there’s no reason to believe it won’t). Anybody who is keeping up with the series up to Season 6 episode 8 (and probably more beyond that) will have one solemn thought lingering in their mind . . . the tragic fate of Howard Hamlin.

Howard is arguably the most interesting character in Better Call Saul because of what he represents. Better Call Saul is all about just how thin the line between good and evil can truly be. Every character in the show ends up defying expectations by showing their true selves in unexpected ways. Nacho, the deadly right hand of Tuco Salamanca, turns out to be a tender hearted young man who desperately wants out of the criminal game and wants nothing more than to protect his father. Lalo is the charming, outgoing and seemingly approachable demon of the show who is arguably the most evil of them all. Chuck is the righteous, steadfast and wise Lawyer of the show who turns out to not be nearly as impartial in his judgement of character as he would like you to believe. Kim isn’t the angel we all thought she was, Mike isn’t the cold hearted hitman we thought he was in Breaking Bad, I could go on and on.

“I’ve known good criminals and bad cops. Bad priests, honorable thieves” - Mike Ehrmentraut

So where does Howard fit into all this? Well, Howard is the show’s red herring. He’s set up in season 1 to seem like the main antagonist of Jimmy McGill and effectively so. He comes off as disingenuous and pretentious. A douchey stick in the mud whose supposed good intention is only surface level. Fun fact: Vince originally planned for Howard to be the sincere villain of this show. But as we continue to watch, we quickly learn that these assumptions about Howard just aren’t true. In truth, Howard’s only real crime is being loyal to Chuck to a fault and being needlessly punishing of Kim by keeping her in doc review. Honestly? Not really THAT egregious in the grand scheme of things. And really, why wouldn’t he do this when you consider his position? Of COURSE he sided with Chuck. He looked up to him. Everyone did. Chuck was put on a pedestal as the sharpest legal mind ever. Chuck mentored Howard from the ground up. When somebody is that significant to you it can take a while for the rose tinted glasses to come off. And of COURSE Howard kept Kim in doc review. Kim committed a big betrayal of trust by not informing him about the commercial. She convinced Howard to vouch for Jimmy and when Jimmy inevitably broke the rules that reflected poorly on HIM and HIS judgement. She made him look like a fool. She can’t just expect all to be forgiven by getting one good client.

But honestly, whether Howard was in the wrong for those things or not, he did ULTIMATELY make amends for them.

I’m reminded of one particularly interesting line from Jimmy in episode 1 of season 4. After Howard confesses that he thinks he is responsible for Chuck’s suicide (even though we the audience know that Jimmy is arguably more responsible) Jimmy says

“Well, Howard, I guess that’s your cross to bear”.

Cold. As. Ice. But what’s interesting is that phrasing. “cross to bear”.

Anyone who knows the story of Jesus of Nazareth (so like . . .everyone in the world) will know the old adage that Jesus “died for our sins”. Jesus took the punishment for a crime he did not commit. Because the masses wanted to see him suffer. Because they hated how his good nature disrupted the natural order of things. He suffered immeasurably not for his own sins, but for the rest of ours. He took the bullet for us.

What’s interesting about Jimmy saying this to Howard is that it’s much more relevant to the story of Christ than we might think. It’s not simply “this is your problem”. It’s “This is technically my fault but I’m gonna let you take the blame anyway”. Jimmy lets Howard go through immeasurable guilt and torment so that he doesn’t have to. And, fittingly, he feels an enormous weight lifted from his own shoulders and goes right to feeding the fish, to the confusion of Kim and Howard.

So Howard takes all the blame and more for the fate of Chuck, especially after a frankly unearned reprimanding from Kim. Howard goes through immense depression and insomnia for things that are not at all his fault.

And yet . . . . he finds the light at the end of the tunnel. He goes through therapy, makes the effort to come back out on top and is made better for it. He’s spiritually whole again. He has dinner with Jimmy (who is going by Saul at this point) and he offers Jimmy everything that was unfairly denied from him for so long. A position at HHM. The legacy he deserved FINALLY given to him. Howard fessed up to all wrongdoing and expressed sincere commitment to making things right.

Jimmy’s response? He destroys his car with bowling balls and sends prostitutes to his dinner with Chuck. Not the answer one would expect. But it makes sense.

Jimmy sees Howards strength of character to triumph over such darkness . . .and he resents him for it. Jimmy let him take the burden because he didn’t want to face the horror of his brother’s death or what has become of the fate of his family. Because that would be too hard for Jimmy to healthily go through. So he sees that Howard faced that darkness honestly and healthily and emerged victorious and he resents him for coming out a better person. Because he could NEVER do that.

Howard tries to tell Kim about this and she . . . ALSO does not give the response one would expect. Yeah, it turns out she’s not nearly as upright as we were lead to believe for so many seasons. Turns out she’s way more into Jimmy’s antics than we thought . . . and wants to REALLY up the anti.

so Kim and Jimmy devise an elaborate scheme to tarnish Howard’s reputation forever. They go to GREAT lengths to convince everyone he is a drug addict, and boy howdy do they succeed. Howard keeps trying to end this feud with Jimmy honestly by exposing him the right way and by ending it in a boxing match, but it doesn’t matter. They successfully ruin Howard’s reputation irreparably. Not knowing that he already has enough on his plate with his failing marriage.

Howard goes to Kim and Jimmy’s apartment and confronts them on this. He really tares into them, and despite being inebriated with alcohol he somehow manages to remain classier than both of them.

And then . . . Lalo pays an unexpected visit. Howard is caught in the middle of a conflict he has no idea about . . .and he’s killed. For no reason at all. All because Kim and Jimmy couldn’t help but fuck with him for really petty reasons. As a cover up they make his death look like a drug induced suicide: maintaining the false narrative Kim and Jimmy have put up all this time.

Once again, Howard pays the price for Kim and Jimmy’s awful behavior. Once again, Howard takes the fall so that Kim and Jimmy can be preserved. Howard literally died for Kim and Jimmy’s sins.

What is a “Christ” figure? It’s somebody with altruistic qualities who was made the fall guy for the crimes of more horrible people.

Howard was misunderstood from day one. He was established from the very beginning as the guy who takes the fall for the awful behavior of others. He willingly acted like the bad guy on Chucks behalf and let him pretend he was always on Jimmy’s side. He paid Chuck out of pocket to get rid of him. He willingly slept in a guest house for the better half of the year because his wife refused to have any empathy or interest in him. Over and over again, Howard pays the toll for the shitty behavior of others.

And that’s what makes him the strongest character in the show.

“You’ve mistaken my kindness for weakness” - Howard Hamlin

When it comes down to it, Howard ALWAYS stuck by his principles. Over and over again he did what he truly felt was right. He didn’t try to justify shitty behavior. He wasn’t motivated by a vendetta against anyone. He didn’t make excuses for his shortcomings. Howard is the truly good man of the main cast of Better Call Saul . . . . and he suffered a horrendously awful death so that the bad guys could go on living.

Even when he’s in Kim and Jimmy’s apartment when Lalo shows up. Nobody would have blamed him for bailing. Nobody would have blamed him for putting his own safety first. But he stayed to try and talk Lalo down; to do what he could to protect two people who worked so hard to make him seem awful.

“there’s really no need to--” - Howard Hamlin’s last words.

And then Howard was buried with his killer under a lab that would go on to harbor the great Heisenberg. The worst criminal Albuquerque has ever seen.

What does his sacrifice lead to? Just more criminal antics from Saul Goodman. Even after the Christ figure takes the fall for us, we just keep on sinning.

[lovelesslittleloser]

Fnaf au where y/n is an animatronic?

I don’t think I’ve seen one of these before so yeah imma fix that real quick

So basically, y/n (imma act like they’re their own character this whole time btw) was made like years ago, and when they weren’t being popular enough with the kids, they were decommissioned. But, in true fazbear corp. (I’m probably wrong but eh) fashion, instead of actually like. Destroying them, they just took y/n & stuck ‘em hidden in the big basement in the pizzaplex. Which, clearly, was a bad idea. Bad idea to have the basement, even.

So, now, years later, y/n, having managed to survive years down there, all whilst getting smarter and stronger with minor self-given upgrades and updates (only very minor ones where they can stay conscious the whole time), they managed to drag themself out of hell and into the main pizzaplex.

So, y/n, the vengeful animatronic, may or may not be after humanity. Thankfully, their AI is smart enough to know that children and adults are different; adults have already been tainted, but children have a chance. So y/n, avoiding all the staff and the glamrocks, made their way to the daycare. Thankfully, it was night, and Moon was willing enough to let y/n stay in their room as long as they didn’t make contact with any of the children. They easily agreed. Sun, while more worried about rule-breaking, let in quickly enough.

Eventually, they met all the glamrocks and staff, even with how much they tried to avoid them. Freddy was mostly just concerned, but also rather confused, and agreed to allow them to stay as long as they weren’t a threat to anyone’s well-being. Chica was quite nice, and offered them some trash. They only took the metals scraps, and she didn’t seem to like eating those anyway. The two became fast friends. Roxy was rather rude on their first meeting, but quickly took y/n to her room to tidy up their appearance. She said it looks bad on her if an animatronic in the pizzaplex has that rough of an appearance. She was satisfied only once y/n was sparkling and glistening like they were polished. Monty seemed pissed at their existence, but once they played Monty Golf horrifically wrong, he declared he liked their spunk and allowed them in his presence.

Of course, y/n never did stop planning the destruction of the pizzaplex at least, if not humanity (though it was on thin fucking ice). In fact, although not planning to use it, they spent a small portion of their free time constructing a bomb. They may have morals, but that did not change the fact that they were insane; deranged, even.

Meaning, once they ran into a demon child named Gregory, they were fast friends.

Turns out something was possessing the other animatronics to become violent toward humans at night. Or maybe just humans in general? Either way, y/n knew what they had to do.

Y/n gathered all the animatronics near the entrance with a lie that Gregory was there. Well, not a lie, per say, as he was hidden away inside Freddy’s stomach hatch, but it worked nonetheless. All the glamrocks were present, as well as the daycare attendant in the form of Moon.

You explained the situation in something of a villainous monologue. You were going to set off the bomb you had planted with the help of Gregory, and destroy this hell they had all been trapped in. You didn’t give them a chance to react before you lit the fuse and hurried everyone outside, since you’d prepared all doors for a quick escape, although only you knew how to access them.

With the best view in the house, you and the others watched as your prison was destroyed. Gregory, now safe as whatever was possessing the others was destroyed, came out of Freddy’s stomach hatch and opened a bag of marshmallows he had squirreled away in Freddy’s stomach. You helped him safely hold them over the fire, grinning maniacally as you watched the flames dance.

You turned to the others, sending messages to them directly in the animatronic’s way of communication when not wanting to disturb humans. You want to raise this one so it becomes decent as an adult, unlike the others. Gregory was smart enough; skilled enough. You’ve seen him work ideally under the pressure of imminent death; what more could one ask for?

[yanderecandystore]

Could you please do a fanfic for a male version of Yandere! Lady Dimitrescu (from Resident Evil Village game) with the reader.

I really like the Resident Evil franchise but I'm too lazy to know what the hell is happening in the older games XD I'm so sorry about that-

I loved watching playthroughs of Resident Evil Village (can't buy the game ;-;), but I felt like it was a bit empty, idk- I felt like the lords weren't really explored enough.

Also the Duke is the best husbando in the whole game- Fight me! >:3

TW/Tags: GN = Gender Neutral, I normally forget to properly name it when it's gender neutral, most of the time I just say "reader" // maybe ooc // lazy genderbent, I'm terrible with names // size difference // servant reader // mentions of gore/cuts/bruises/blood and deaths (and torture- I'm so sorry-) // reader gets hurt // mentions of vomiting

It's Dinner Already [Yandere!M!Dimitrescu x GN!Reader - Short Fanfiction]

It's dinner time already, unfortunately for you, of course.

It feels almost like a routine at this point- Which in a way, it is! You always take care of your tasks during the day, while dreading the inevitable time for dinner to arrive again.

Everyday, at this exact same hour, you and the other servants would prepare a meal for Lord Dimitrescu and his lovely… Sons…

As someone who has started "working" for their family only a month ago, you can positively say: Starving in the cold woods next to your village would have probably been a more merciful death than the ones you have witnessed at this place. You weren't as accustomed to such brutal executions at your village, actually you hardly even witnessed so much death, at least not so up close.

When you came here, you didn't expect to be instantly comforted and treated with respect- You were a commoner looking for an possibility to thrive in a noble's house, you were basically an easy target for any entitled selfish lord to easily belittle you and make you work for them until your hands would turn to dust. Yet nothing could have prepared you for such an odd situation.

Vampires. Monsters. Fiends if you were bold enough to insult them. You weren't exactly welcomed as much as you were snatched in and now forever trapped inside this castle. You can still hear their laughter… Their insane expressions of pure glee, the way they have bursted into maliciously laughing at your pain as you screamed for help trying to open up their door again and be free from that nightmare.

The chase didn't last even a second, they stabbed your legs with their scythes and brought you deeper inside this hellhole, as you cried your eyeballs out. The sons had brought you back inside so their father could take a look at the "intruder".

An absolute titan amongst the mortals. His height was only a sick reminder of how much power he had over the castle, over his sons, and now- Over you.

He may not have been as massive as he was threatening as you remind him to be, but at the time you were just in awe of his height considering you have never seen someone as tall and as mighty.

Then again- You have never seen vampires as well. Were they the same vampires as the books you've read as a kid? You weren't so sure of it…

You were hoping that if you begged for life and for forgiveness for having disturbed their peace, that they could spare you and let you go back to your village. Sadly enough, you commented on how you were only trying to look for a job as a servant.

You probably shouldn't have given them ideas, but it's too late to think about your mistakes now, however.

The sons begged to see your blood spilled, yet Lord Dimitrescu was merciful enough to grant you your "wish", as he said.

It has been a month ever since you were trapped inside and forced to work as a miserable little servant, and even if you didn't suffer the worst forms of punishments that they had in-store for you, you couldn't help but fantasize about just running away and never turning back.

You're so tired of this castle, of the smell of carnage, of the undeserved and over the top punishments, and especially of the people who would subjugate you to such things.

But at last, it's dinner time already, and you can't keep them waiting.

You feel your hands shaking as you walk out of the kitchen and into the dining room where the masters of the castle were so graciously waiting for you. You know what they're waiting for- But you can't let them distract you, for those that commit accidents are faced with fates worse than death.

Although you would rather do this process quickly, you can't afford mistakes to happen, so you take your time to set not only their meal in front of each one but to also pour "wine" into their glasses. You do all of this without looking directly into their eyes, only bowing down to each one and saying "excuse me"s in what they would call a "decent tone", as the smell of their disgusting beverage starts to irritate your nostrils. If you didn't know the main ingredient to Sanguis Virgins is, you probably wouldn't have this immense disgust over it, but right now just the thought of it makes you want to gag.

Only villains could so easily drink blood, and still make a living out of it.

Your internal thoughts of pure hatred against this whole situation almost completely blinded you to the fact that they were eerily, very quiet.

….

On most nights they would be talking with each other while occasionally making comments about you or your presence. Obviously they were all pretty nasty comments that they somehow expected you to back it up in some way or another, it's when they try to insert you into their conversation that makes you hate this occasion so badly, but it normally ends as quickly as it begins.

But as you are pouring wine to Lord's Dimitrescu, you notice that they haven't said a single thing while you were there. You stop what you're doing as you realize that they were silently observing you this whole time, and as you look into their expressions you come to think that maybe you have messed up-

Somehow, in some way or form, you may have messed up- And the fact this mistake could cost your head only agitates your already very worried mind.

….

A small moment of silence continues before the middle son, Cassandro, starts to chuckle in an almost innocent way- As if he was a kid who just said a bad word for the first time- And as he bursts into sudden laughter, Daniel leans towards Bello and loudly whispers:

"- I told you, they do this every time." To which Bello only replied with:

"- It's almost like hypnosis in a way."

The three sons were mesmerized by your ability to trap yourself in your own mind. They're probably aware that you do this as a defensive mechanism but they still find it comical in a weird way. You feel yourself get more tense as you look up at Lord Dimitrescu and see him staring back at you, with an unreadable expression across his face.

Before you could come up with an excuse to whatever you may have caused to disturb their dinner, the Lord himself spoke.

"- How inappropriate. As my sons, you three should know better than to laugh at our servant's airheaded mind-"

And as he said that, their smiles begin to disappear and be replaced with frowns and a bit of shame as they become stiff at their father's words.

"- And how inappropriate of you, too. To be so distracted in the presence of your masters, that's quite rude don't you think?"

But as he continued their bodies begin to relax once again as they realize he wasn't focusing on them- He was focusing on you.

Words have completely disappeared from your vocabulary as you start to think that maybe you won't be able to see another day after their meal is over. You try to mumble some possible responses before getting interrupted by him once again.

"- It's very rude, so very rude in fact that I think we deserve some answers. What were you so distracted about? What were you thinking that could have possibly taken over your small little head?"

Right now, he was sounding a bit condescending, thankfully not as angry as he would have been with the other servants right about now. Every little mistake was used as excuses for punishments- And if you were walking on thin ice before, right now you are one-step closer to breaking this entire lake and getting yourself killed by the freezing temperatures of the water below you.

Thanks to your luck (or maybe lack thereof, depending on how you see this) Daniel came to "your rescue" by coming up with an excuse for you.

"- Maybe they were hungry." He said without any indications of it being a joke or a lie- As the youngest yet craziest of the bunch, he always had that weird "naive yet dangerous" energy coming from him. He was naive enough to make that statement when it's very clear that you actually despise being near them, but he still was a son of Dimitrescu.

You know better than to underestimate any of these people.

The Lord didn't seem completely convinced as he side eyed Daniel who was blissfully eating his meal without acknowledging his dad's glance or his brother's looks of disapproval.

Without a warning you were pulled closer by your wrist and forced into sitting next to the Lord, who made a sign for another servant to bring you your food. This… Doesn't feel right at all, you're waiting for the worst to come yet you don't feel like you can ever prepare yourself enough for what they have in store.

"- M-My Lord- This isn't needed, I'm fine. I'll just continue my duties, if you can excuse me-" You plead, while trying to get up from your chair.

"- Oh but what host would I be if I didn't take better care of my guests? Poor thing, you must be starving if you can barely serve us wine-" And as his tone gets progressively more sarcastic and a bit louder, you can hear his sons snickering from the other side of the table, but you can't see them since you can't take your eyes away from him.

You're worried that if you look away for just one second, that you may not be able to see ever again.

"- It's so sad when one of our guests feels hungry- What's worse is when we are also very, very hungry."

"- Thirsty, even!"

"- Oh, I can feel my throat drying just at the thought of such misery!- Our dinner seems to be ruined."

You hear their whispers, you hear how they are clearly joking about this- How overly dramatic they're being over something so miniscule as you just- Ignoring them.

Let me remind you this is all because you refuse to look them in the eyes, that you refuse to give them any satisfaction for the heinous things they have done! You've seen so many people get hurt inside this castle only for their sick and twisted thirst and entertainment.

"- Indeed, my boys. My appetite is ruined, though dinner is not over yet-" Lord Dimitrescu spoke as he looked at his sons clearly enjoying your inevitable pain, but before he could continue he turns himself to you again, putting a hand on your arm and saying:

"- Wouldn't you agree?" Loud enough so that his sons could hear it, but soft enough to send the tiniest shivers down your spine.

"- …!"

"- No, no- Please, not again!-" He wouldn't dare do this, would he??

But before you could react he had already done it, you barely noticed how fast he had grabbed that knife to slice your wrist- His hand firmly gripping your arm as he made a deep enough cut so that your blood could be easier to access.

It somehow hurts just as badly as the first time his sons have stabbed your ankles and dragged you across the floor- At least you're not bumping into things like before, and even if it's a deep cut it's not as big as it could be if he used his claws to actually do this.

Oh, oh those claws- You almost thought he would use them on you… Those were something else. You can't remember exactly what happened, and why it happened, but you remember seeing him use those on another servant who may have crossed the line at some point.

Well "crossed the line"- More like "casually inconvenienced him". Lord Alcino may act like an incredibly high noble but he acts so childishly and in such an egotistical manner that you are surprised he can even have a castle like this in the first place! You don't remember what the servant has done to be so cruelly dismantled, but you don't doubt that it was for a stupid reason!

You miss that servant actually- Probably the only person who you actually talked with, and the first one to actually taught you how to do your job… You two could have been friends if he didn't intervene.

You briefly remember those moments before getting to experience the most weird sensation of all- Having your bloody cut be licked and sucked on. It hurts and it stings in a way that not only makes you want to cry but to also gag at the thought of you feeding this monster.

You refuse to look at him even in this scenario, you refuse to see him feeding off your blood… Sometimes you wish you were just as poisonous as some species of frogs, poisonous enough to make his mouth burn so he can experience a fraction of the pain he causes to others.

You tried fleeting away, you tried getting up and moving away but his grip on your arm only helped you in getting closer to him- You have your eyes closed as your only option is to cry and muffle your agony.

But as always, he is not satisfied with you just ignoring him. This was supposed to be a lesson, yet you're clearly avoiding your teacher as best as you can- But not today, little flower, you're not getting out of this so easily.

This is the first time he ever got to really taste your blood, as normally you would be behind the other servants while trying to learn how to please him, the only moments where he gets to see you is when it's dinner time, but oh- You're just so cruel!

Escaping inside your own little head while he has to content himself with just your image. Your presence is very much appreciated around this hour, little one-

He has noticed this before, of course, but it was only when he noticed his son's curiosity over the way you behave around them that made him organize this little trap. He didn't have everything planned actually, his plan only involved getting to this moment no matter what- And oh boy, has luck been on his side!

Your blood tastes better than expected of a commoner, your delicate and fearful whines of pain are just as delightful but what really gets him is this tough persona you try to convince everyone you have- You despise him, and it's clear to see why- But he knows his charms will probably work on you one way or the other.

He gripped your face trying to make sure you'll get to him in the eyes as he has a taste of you. Absolutely delicious, especially after you so gracefully "ruined" their dinner.

His sons were just watching as they continued to drink from their crimson glasses. They were just enjoying the show, as everything seems to easily amuse them- Their father was just showcasing how they were so much better than the common folk, and they have no other option but to take notes and to remember what they have to do if they ever feel ignored by the servants in the castle: Show who are the true masters of this place.

None of them were really interested in drinking from you, considering how all three seemed to recognize how their father has taken a liking towards you. No one would dare mess with their father's prey.

If you had enough strength in you, you would start vomiting as soon as this has started, but the more he takes from you the more you feel like you can barely stay conscious.

He wasn't supposed to take so much, at least not so soon- He wanted to just take a sip but he can't deny the fact he would rather drown himself in your blood than to let go.

He sighs, as he notices that you're slowly getting less and less aggressive, getting more and more tired as he drains you from this cut.

You're not unconscious yet, just barely stable enough to understand what's going on.

"- Sigh… Now that was a decent enough meal." He can't praise you for being tasty, can't have you being cocky around him.

"- Here, since I'm done here I'll take you to the servant's living quarters- And because I'm so kind I'll make sure that wound is safely secured and cleaned, so here- Come along now."

And as he stood up he offered you his hand so you could get up yourself, but you don't have enough energy to walk yourself to your room, thankfully you're already ready to go to bed and wish to never wake up again.

And as the nightmare never ends, he decides that if you are going to be difficult then you leave him no choice but to carry you there. How much has he taken from you?? Jesus, he should learn some self-control before doing this again- The absolute brute that he is.

Your vision may be a little screwed over because of the lack of red cells running through your body at the moment- But you have a weird feeling that you two aren't heading towards the servant's living quarters, as you feel like you two are quite literally going in the opposite direction.

Oh but it's fine- Right?

It'll be fine. Surely. After all, he already took what he wanted from you, and he doesn't seem to need more so- You probably won't have to worry about anything right now, dinner time is already over, you can finally relax now….

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

So I'm sick again- Sorry y'all, I just have a horrible immune system and I really don't understand what is wrong with me-

I'm sorry if you didn't like this boo :(

[showrunnerihardlyknowher]

It's A Bitter Sweet Symphony And I Am Tone-Deaf - Ch 2

We're back with some classic Nano and Negasonic action because I love them and want Negasonic to suffer with the knowledge he's becoming Soft™️

HEFTY TW!! For sexual harassment and attempted assault, though the action itself never happens

Nano learns not to meet their heroes

--

Day 2: Cuddle (Nano & Negasonic) // AO3 Link

This was the greatest freaking day of Nano’s life!

As if it wasn’t an honor in and of itself to be invited by another hero for a team up, Nano had been blessed with a request from none other than Icepick to come tag along for a nightly patrol. Not to be confused with the other frigid superhero Captain Freeze, of course, who was leagues above both of them, but Icepick was at a solid enough ranking that Nano had never imagined in a million years would he want to hang out with them. Slowly but surely, Nano was making their own waves in the hero community, reaching out to make much needed friends and allies to further strengthen their own reputation.

And did it help to maybe secretly have an infamous villain behind your back to ensure you survived all these new, daring escapades to get your name out there? Probably a little bit.

Whatever, it was enough to make the living ice block of a man deem Nano skilled enough to breeze around the seedier parts of the city to keep an eye out for crime. Unlike the other critically acclaimed icy hero, Icepick’s powers stemmed from the fact that he was entirely encased in a sculpted layer of ice. There were various rumors about whether he was made of solid ice or if this was only a casing for human flesh beneath, but Nano wasn’t going to ask. It felt rude to be so invasive of his bodily anatomy, and that was not the first impression they wanted to give. Besides, Nano was perfectly content to see up close and personal how Icepick could form frozen shards out of thin air, sculpted like daggers and either adhering to himself for defense or sending them flying to pin down petty criminals.

Nano had no idea what someone so cool was doing reaching out to a little scrub like them. In the brief messages they had exchanged back and forth, Icepick had seemed interested in Nano’s ability to shrink at will (so long as they were suited up), but didn’t really ask any further questions about the science behind it. Which was good, because Nano had no idea how the fuck any of it worked to begin with, happy to rely on whatever Uncle Julio had programmed. Icepick had given off the impression that he was more interested in Nano as a…person. Not quite wanting to pry into their civilian life as Jamie, more like he wanted to know what else Nano liked to do aside from the badass stories that got around.

The notion was sweet to Nano, albeit a little out of left field. It was nice to meet those kinds of heroes that were just as interested in being a genuine friend as they were to have another acquaintance for back up. It was only a handful of conversations before Icepick was suggesting they meet up for a round of observation, particularly on the west end where a lot of drug smuggling liked to take place. Honestly, Nano was still so giddy at having someone as revered as Icepick reach out to them first that they snatched up the opportunity before the offer could be rescinded. Sure, Icepick was no League member or anything, but he wasn’t unknown in the local scene. There was plenty of talk surrounding him, some good, some bad, but rumors were like that for all heroes and villains alike.

Nano was just happy to hopefully start getting their name up in the ranks like him as well. The night had gone off without a hitch. Both of their fighting styles appeared to blend into one another that made them feel unstoppable when it came to halting junkie thieves and cornering drug operations until all the dealers could be apprehended for police custody. Nano was riding a new (figurative) high they had never felt before, almost as if it was them and Icepick cleaning up the scum of the city by themselves to make it a little less awful to live in. All in all, they must have captured at least twenty-three rookie criminals and shut down one mid-sized meth lab near the docks. Excitement and adrenaline made Nano want to keep at it all night, but Icepick was insistent that they take a break from patrolling when it was nearing two in the morning.

Fair enough. Nano slid down the alley wall to sit with a sigh, Icepick following suit to drop down next to them. He was a little closer than most people, yet Nano didn’t mind. They never hid the fact that they were a touch starved little bastard, and it wasn’t like Negasonic was going to indulge them with physical affection anytime soon. Not that they wanted him to, obviously. That would be weird. And maybe a little funny.

Nano shivered when Icepick’s frozen thigh bumped against their own, a shock of cold easily absorbing past the suit. It reminded them of being locked in the cryopod months prior, a feeling they didn’t like to recall. Even though they had made it out alive, with the added bonus of all their team members surviving and the operation being destroyed in the end, it was still too close of a call. They wanted to shift away, but Nano was too worried Icepick might take some sort of offense to that and stayed put.

“So,” Icepick started. “This was fun.”

Nano laughed, flashing a \ (•◡•) / text face on their visor. “Yeah, pretty productive, too. Thanks for taking me out, man.”

“Anytime,” a silence fell over them for a moment and Nano felt at peace just listening to the sounds of distant traffic. They were startled out of their thoughts a moment later when a freezing hand draped over their thigh, making them yelp while Icepick laughed. “Hey, I have an idea.”

“Yeah, okay, what is it?” As nice as it was to unwind in the midst of heroic ass kicking, Nano wasn’t one who liked to stay still and quiet for long. They needed to be up and moving to burn all this restless energy, not to mention Icepick’s hand was still…curled around Nano’s thigh. He probably didn’t mean to let it linger, but the freezing sensation was only making Nano hyper aware of how long he continued to touch them. Getting up and putting a few feet of distance between them was the perfect discreet excuse to shake him off.

Oh, come on, Nano, it’s not that serious. They had just spent all night parading around town as a perfect team, and now they were getting squicked out by a misplaced hand? Get a grip.

“Let’s play twenty questions,” Icepick said. “Kinda get to know each other a little better.”

Nano tilted their head. “What, you mean, like, secret identities and stuff? Shouldn’t you wait until the third date for that stuff, usually?”

Icepick quirked a brow, a sly grin on his angular face. “So this is a date?”

A ｡゜(｀Д´)゜｡ face flashed rapidly on Nano’s visor as they shook their head. “No, no, oh my god, I-I was just making a joke!”

“Hey, relax, you’re good,” Icepick laughed. “I get it. Don’t get so freaked out, anyways. Lots of heroes hook up in costume and stuff, you know?”

Actually, Nano didn’t know, because they really had no desire to hook up with anyone in or out of spandex. They were willing to take the other’s word for it though. There were plenty of rumors of heroes and civilians alike claiming to have slept with Icepick, just as there were with members of the League and various villains. Some of the claims were vicious and some seemed more of a brag, so Nano assumed the truth was somewhere in the middle.

“Okay, twenty questions, sure,” Anything to change the topic back to something more lighthearted. “Um, what’s your favorite…color?”

Icepick snorted, giving Nano’s thigh a squeeze that made them squirm. “Come on, give me something better than that.”

“Fine, fine. What about…worst team up?”

“Shit, Megalodona, for sure,” Ah, a heroine who had the ability to shriek vibrations that could crumble buildings. As far as Nano was concerned, they had thought they heard only positive things when it came to working with her on a team. That despite her deafening power, she was quite soft spoken and polite, rather timid in comparison to the more showboaty heroes she hung around with. “She was such a bitch the whole time.”

Nano blinked, though it couldn’t be seen behind the helmet. “Really? What did she do?”

“Sorry, it’s my turn to ask a question, thank you,” Icepick teased. “Let’s see…who’s your villain crush?”

Christ, Nano swore their heart almost lept out of their chest. There was no way Icepick was trying to elude about knowing their affliction with Negasonic, was he? That wasn’t to say Negasonic was even remotely something as a crush, regardless of what their unconventional friendship might come across as to outsiders. It was one thing for heroes to assume Nano was some sort of double agent working with a renown supervillain this entire time, but it was another to think they were lovers on top of it. Nano could have gagged at the thought. Instead, they sputtered to catch their bearings. “My what?”

Icepick laughed at them again. “Or hero crush, I guess. C’mon, we all have a caped crusader we’d love to have rail us.”

Ugh, again with the sex talk. Maybe Nano was the weird one here for not wanting to indulge in the topic so much with a friend they had only gotten to know a few hours ago, but some people were just more open about it than others. It wasn’t fair to shut down someone else’s sex positivity just because Nano lacked their own interest entirely.

“I…don’t think I have one? I don’t know, no one’s really struck my fancy yet,” Nano shrugged. Yet meaning never. “What was the dumbest criminal you ever saw?”

Icepick hummed in thought. “Probably this guy trying to build a timed bomb who got the minute and hour hand mixed up and blew himself to bits. What’s your opinion on capes?”

“Kinda cool, even if it just looks like a giant blanket. Do you like fighting crime at night or during the day?”

“Night. There’s a lot more activity. Would you rather date a hero or date a civilian?”

“If I had to…maybe a hero? I feel like there’d be less drama with the whole ‘secret identity’. Which supervillain are you actually scared of?”

“Dr. Orion. Are you a virgin?”

Nano could not hide their scandalized gasp this time, fully jerking away from Icepick’s touch. “Wh-what?”

The other snorted. “What? It was just a question. I’m not, if that makes you feel any better.”

Nano couldn’t bring themself to find the appropriate emoticon to portray their bristling indignance. They could handle a few tasteless remarks about crushes and sex, they weren’t a prude after all, but the direction this conversation was taking was beginning to cross a line that they weren’t comfortable with. “On what planet would that make me feel better?”

“I just meant that I could, you know, teach you a couple things if you weren’t sure about it,” Oh. Oh no. Icepick leaned closer, his lack of body heat not being the only thing that made Nano’s blood run cold. “I like virgins.”

As if their secret super power was incredible speed, Nano was up on their feet to back away from Icepick’s advances. They could feel their throat tightening, a sweat prickling at the back of their neck when all the hairs stood on end. “Hang on, shit, wait, I-I think I gave you the wrong idea–”

“You’re not a virgin?” Icepick asked.

“No, it’s–! It’s not about, I didn’t mean, I’m,” Nano took a deep breath to ground themself and their thoughts. “I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean to lead you on or something. I’m not…I’m not really into you like that. O-or anyone! It’s not just you!”

Icepick stood up as well and took a few, slow steps towards Nano to close the distance they had tried to put between them. For every additional half step Nano took back, Icepick took a full one forward until the shrinking hero felt their back press against the alley wall with Icepick mere inches away. His expression was difficult to read, especially under the glistening ice crystals that were shadowed by night. He didn’t appear angry with Nano’s rejection, but…they didn’t like how he was still finding it necessary to crowd their space. 

“I can help with that,” Icepick said in a low, almost sultry voice. He reached a hand up to caress Nano’s neck, though his wrist was grabbed by Nano and shoved away. He frowned then, scoffing when the other put a hand on his chest in a weak effort to keep him at bay. “Don’t be such a tease.”

Who did he think Nano was teasing!? They felt as if they made it very clear a moment ago they had no desire to have any encounter of a sexual nature with Icepick! “Stop. I’m going home.”

“That’s no fun,” Icepick whined. “I can show you real fun.”

“No, thank you,” Nano snapped. There it was, there was their ‘no’ said clear as day and even politely. They were unsure how much more transparent they could be in regards to the issue at hand. “I’m not interested.”

Icepick used his free hand to paw at Nano’s collar, fiddling with the zipper and threatening to yank it down. “That’s what everyone says at first,” he purred. “And then they loosen the fuck up and love it.”

Being so close to their chest cavity, Nano wondered if Icepick could feel their heartbeat skyrocket and if he would take their thumping pulse the wrong way. Instinctive reaction took over the second Icepick tried to undress them, squirming against his hands and body as he tried to press them into the wall with his own being as a restraint.

“L-let go, let me go!”

“Fucking relax already, god,” Icepick took a hold of both of Nano’s wrists and forced them to their sides. “Don’t you wanna be a hero? How do you think they really get this popular? It’s a big pond, little fish.”

No. No, no, no. Nano didn’t want this. Nano didn’t know what they were supposed to do. They said no, they tried to walk away, and now they were just short of thrashing around to claw and kick and scream. What would that amount to, though? If they didn’t give into what Icepick wanted, he could ruin their carefully built up reputation with just a few untrue rumors. Who would everyone believe: a well known hero who’s saved the day more often than not, or some kid who just showed up a few months ago and already had serious allegations of drama under their belt? Whatever option they picked, Nano was going to lose something far too valuable for them to give up, yet they both felt like equally wrong answers. They knew better than to assume anyone would come to their aid these far deep into the east side, much less when crooks knew to mind their own business and police were too busy tying up the loose ends of a few drug busts.

Every fiber of their being was screaming at Nano to fight, to take on Icepick like any other villain who made indecent remarks about their body. Shrink out of his grasp, kick him in the balls, hide in a two inch crevice that he won’t be able to pry them out of with his normal sized hands. But they couldn’t. Their body was locked up tight, an unfortunate fight or flight reaction to have for someone with such a dangerous side profession.

“Please,” Nano tried again, still wriggling against Icepick while he tried to find the end of their embedded zipper. God forbid he tear their suit open like another infamous supervillain had done previously, this thing was a bitch to repair. “P-please, I don’t want this, I-I won’t say anything, just–!”

Icepick released the collar of their suit in favor of slapping his hand over the lower part of their helmet, as if he could muffle Nano’s actual mouth underneath. Ice fractals spread across the visor like a frozen spider web. “Fucking hell, do you ever shut up?”

“No,” a new voice answered.

Nano recognized it in an instant, but Icepick wasn’t as lucky. He wasn’t even given the luxury of turning around to face his demise before a gloved hand gripped the top of his frozen skull to yank him backwards and off of Nano. No sooner had he been out of reach to make the other collateral damage, a pulse of purple energy shot straight down into his dome like a fiery stick for a shih kebab.  The direct contact from the heat, mixed with the previously built up kinetic power, was more than enough to break through the thick layers of ice to fry the vulnerable flesh and bone within. For a brief second, the openings of Icepick’s head lit up in a purple haze that reminded Nano of a jack-o-lantern.

Then Icepick’s head was released and he was allowed to drop dead between Nano and Negasonic.

A swirl of emotions were spinning so fast through Nano’s mind that they felt dizzy. There was the residual fear that was left behind from Icepick’s touches, now mingling with the natural terror that came from seeing someone be melted from the inside out at such close proximity. There was a disgusting wash of relief at having their attacker removed from their space, even if that meant he had been removed from this mortal coil as well. There was the desire to cry, to gasp for air they hadn’t realized was stolen, to hide away in shame.

Nothing happened, Nano had to remind themself. No touch had ever managed to make contact with their bare skin, even if they could feel every hungry sensation through the fabric of their suits. That didn’t count. They refused to believe that counted as anything. So why did they feel so sick to their stomach?

“You…killed him,” Nano whispered. Their mouth felt dry, making it impossible to swallow the lump that was still lodged in their throat. 

Negasonic’s purple eyes flicked between Nano’s trembling form and the still sizzling corpse that was sprawled on the filthy alleyway ground. “Yes.”

“You killed a hero,” Nano tried again. If there had been any other precursor to this, they would have been kicking up a fit with the supervillain for doing something so recklessly violent, especially since a majority of the time he did so without a second thought. Negasonic must be thinking he was going to be subjected to another tirade on morals and higher grounds because he clenched his jaw, his only subtle tell that he was beyond pissed.

“Don’t give me that shit,” Negasonic snapped. “Heroes don’t pull those kinds of stunts and you know it. What would you have preferred I done? Not intervene? You realize it’s my interventions that keep you from a body bag.”

The words were ringing in Nano’s ears, but the meaning behind the sounds were washed away by the blood rushing to their face. Negasonic was annoyed and they really couldn’t care less right now. Normally, they’d be quick to backpedal and apologize to some extent, anything to ensure they still had the supervillain to rely on. Because lord knows they need it.

Nano hadn’t even realized Negasonic was still reaming their ungrateful ass, which was unusual on its own as he was not typically a man of many words. Very blunt and straight-to-the-point words, yes, but once he got his point across he rarely explained it any further. He must not think the hero was fully absorbing his lecture and he was right. To be fair, though, most of these kinds of talks went in one ear and out the other to begin with. Nano just liked being able to talk to somebody, even if they were being told they were an idiot for drinking three energy drinks at seven in the morning and then wondering why their chest hurt.

“--can’t just freeze up like that.” Oh, right. Still talking. “That’s how you get a bullet between the eyes, if you’re lucky. It really is a miracle you’ve survived this long on your own. God help you the next time I go out of town, I guess, since I always have to clean up your messes.”

Yeah, yeah, Nano wasn’t the greatest superhero in the world, they’ve heard it a million times before. It was like Negasonic was trying to both encourage them to better themselves as a self proclaimed protector of the innocent and also hang up their secret identity for good. In the same vein, no one was forcing Negasonic to hang around them so much but himself. He didn’t have to fix Nano’s broken tech and upgrade it, or step in when fights got a little too overwhelming, or drag Jamie out of their apartment when they hadn’t seen the sun in over a week. This was just as much of his problem as it was Nano’s.

But Nano wasn’t focused on that as of now. Nano was only thinking about the events that continued to loop through their immediate memories, their body recoiling under the phantom touches. “He was, h-he tried to…he…”

Negasonic stopped his speech to sigh instead. “Yeah, kid, I know.” And thank fuck for that, because Nano’s subconscious was not prepared to process the events that just unfolded with any unsavory terms yet. The supervillain was prepared to let this be for now, seeing as the immediate threat was taken care of and Nano was no longer in any real danger. “You need to learn defensive combat instead of just avoidance, it mi–”

The supervillain was turning to leave and Nano felt a new surge of panic shock their entire body into action. They didn’t want him to go, they didn’t want to be alone right now with only their thoughts and Icepick’s body to keep them company. Before Negasonic had the chance to finish his closing thoughts, Nano pushed themself off the wall to careen straight into the older man. Their helmet smacked against the hard chest piece of his armor, but they didn’t care as they still attempted to bury their already concealed face against him. Their arms coiled around his wider body, squeezing like he might slip away. If he wanted to, Negasonic could easily shove the small hero off of him, or at the very least zap them right on the spine for daring to touch him so brazenly.

However, it appeared the supervillain was actually taken by surprise when Nano launched into his arms if his silent gasp was anything to go by. Negasonic didn’t immediately reciprocate the embrace, but Nano didn’t care. They just wanted to be able to feel a warm body again, one that they wanted to touch and one that they trusted beyond a reasonable doubt would never try to hurt them in such a way. How ironic that Nano felt more at peace with a world renown supervillain with an impressive (surely that wasn’t the correct word) kill count than with a beloved superhero.

Seconds ticked by before Negasonic hesitantly wrapped his heavy arms around Nano, giving their trembling shoulders a squeeze. 

“You’re okay,” he said. “You’re fine.”

Nano wanted to believe that because Negasonic never lied. He made a noise of surprise and the hero felt him flinch to hurriedly catch the rapidly shrinking hero before they fell from clinging to his chest. They hadn’t even realized they triggered the suit’s function to do so, only caught up with the need to be fully encased by the comfort being given to them. All they wanted was to be surrounded by Negasonic’s warmth and voice, anything to drown out all the sensations that were forced upon them minutes prior. They wanted to hide away against him, hidden from any other dangers that lurked behind popular faces, safe with the knowledge that Negasonic could strike them down before they laid another unwanted finger on Nano.

“Christ, Nano, don’t do that,” Negasonic huffed. His voice rumbled all around them now as their miniature body was cupped between two hands to his chest. Even through the gloves, Nano could feel the tingling heat of recently dispelled energy stored within his fingers. Those same fingers brushed against their back as Negasonic shifted to be able to hold them with one palm to keep his other hand free. “I’m going to drop you one of these days.”

That was fine. Nano knew he was always going to catch them.

[kittydemon9000]

The Beginning of Heatstroke, aka Red's Villain Origin

* crashes down from the ceiling * I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED ONE OF MY 5+ CURRENT WRITING PROJECTS! BEHOLD, A WRITTEN VERSION OF THE 'Red's Villain Origin AU', also known as RVO / Heatstroke AU

To summarize the AU for SPBNR for those that don't now it: 

“Who'd be the biggest conspiracy theorist out of the M!Ninja? The one who drinks 5 hour energy at 3am and spits off the craziest theories and then actually gets it right but nobody gives the theory any merit because the rest of the theories are too crazy?”

The answer: Red / M!Kai

Red: Okay hear me out: Smith is actually an alternative version of one of us sent here from another dimension.

The other M!Ninja: You’re just saying that because Smith’s cool and you want him to be your counterpart

Based on the M!ninja making red cork boards trying to figure out ‘What Is Up With Smith’: Red gets increasingly accurate and nobody will believe him (all pre shogun reveal) and he eventually snaps and takes up a secret villain persona to fight Shogun like 'if they won't believe me I'll do it myself' and it gets awkward when he accidentally does too much damage and catches not only Shogun's attention like planned, but also the rest of the Ninjaforce, and now he has to keep his own identity a secret

So, without further ado, I present... Heatstroke

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

Red blamed the 5-hour energy coffee blend at 3:00am for this.

It was no surprise that between ‘Operation: What’s Going on with Smith’ & the sudden appearance of Shogun that the resident Bounty red-stringed ‘joke’ cork-board doubled in size and seriousness. It also was no surprise that Red had a corner all to himself and that his theories were… in the words of the others, ‘wildly inaccurate and implausible’.

But this time, he was sure he’d gotten it right.

Smith is Shogun sent here from another continent/planet/dimension with the goal of protecting Ninjago City.

The latest string of laughs and scoffs at his theory was the last straw. He’d show them. He’d prove it!

Which was why he was currently standing on the roof of a noodle house, awkwardly adjusting the spare motorcycle helmet he’d ‘borrowed’ from Nya and painted black and orangey-yellow (red had seemed too obvious). He’d exchanged his Ninjaforce outfit for a soot-burned cross between a bomber jacket and a leather jacket. Down his back jutted a row of flames like the spines of a monster, courtesy of one of Nya & Jay’s unfinished inventions Red had modified- surely nothing bad would come of that!

For tonight, the Red Ninja was off-duty. For tonight, it was Heatstroke’s turn.

He fiddled with one of the weapons he’d ‘lent out’ from Master Wu. It resembled a small arm canon, like a smaller version of the Ultimate Weapon. The plaque under its post had read ‘Elemental Focuser’, which, in cryptic Wu speak, probably translated to ‘you can use an elemental power like something out of Avatar: The Last Airbender’. So far he’d only figured out how to activate a focused jet of fire. Well, at least it was on brand. He hoped it would help him catch Shogun’s attention so he could unmask him.

He’d tried confronting Smith at school, of course. But there were only so many ways of saying ‘are you the new vigilante helping the ninjas’, and Smith has a genuine talent for dancing around the topic. Red could confront him with the name Shogun to get a proper reaction, but that would mean explaining how he knew the name and outing himself as the Red Ninja.

So fake villainy really was the only way.

His plan was to use the Elemental Focuser to cause some minor petty damage, just enough to attract the new vigilante. Perhaps set a trash can on fire, block an alleyway with rocks (if he figured out how to change the setting from fire to earth), small things that could easily be repaired.

Of course, plans were never actually stuck to. One way or another, something was always improvised.

Red’s improvisation just happened to involve him accidentally setting the entire alleyway on fire.

He’d only been aiming for one dumpster, honest! And maybe he’d spotted a couple fliers for a SoG meeting on the ground and happened to burn those too. And a newspaper article blaming Lloyd for the recent Garmadon attack, again. And an article about those ‘Damn Ninja Menaces’ by a S. Sonah Sameson. And-

Okay, so maybe Red had aimed the fire at a few small targets. But just a few! And with good reason and good care, but…

Well, fire liked to burn. Give it enough kindle and it’ll continue to grow, stretching like reaching branches towards each other to join in a massive bonfire. 

So now the entire alleyway was on fire, and Red was panicking. 

He’d luckily chosen an abandoned part of town near the beaches where Shogun sightings seemed most frequent, but with the stupid Elemental Focuser not switching from fire mode to water mode or ice mode or something that didn’t have the potential to burn Ninjago City to the ground, Red had no way of stopping the flames.

And more flames meant more destruction which meant a bigger audience.

Which was why his previously muted comm suddenly flared to life, the only warning Red had before Nya’s water strider mech slid around the corner.

Red scrambled onto a roof as the mech drove past, spraying water at the bonfire to dose it. His sigh of relief was just as quickly dosed as Lloyd’s voice came over the comms; “Status, Grey?”

“Flames are out,” Nya replied. “Pursing the joker that set it ablaze.”

Uh oh. Red took off across the roof, leaping from building to building. Tiles creaked, pebbled and dust scattering underfoot. The sounds of the mech’s engine roaring behind him echoed through alleyways below to create the illusion the mech was everywhere at once. 

As the chase grew on, more mechs started to join in. Red ducked into a narrow avenue to avoid Zane’s tank, then under a cafe overhang to throw off Jay and Lloyd. His heart hammered in his chest and he groaned, filling the inside of the motorcycle helmet with steam. Saying this was going ‘bad’ would be the understatement of the century. 

What had he been thinking? Oh wait: he hadn’t. Seriously? ‘Oh I’ll just pretend to be a villain real quick, that should get Shogun’s attention and not the attention of literally my entire team of fellow ninjas!’ Stupid, impulsive, this was why everyone was always calling the red ninja the ‘hothead’ when he really tried not to be- Lloyd’s voice over the comms snapped him from his thoughts. “I can’t catch them! It’s like they know our every move!”

Red winced as he climbed up a banister and leapt from balcony to balcony. Sorry, Lloyd. 

He didn’t miss how the others asked Nya where Red was. And how she made up excuses the others bought so easily- granted, he’d told those excuses to his sister before setting his plan into motion, but still, ouch. They acted like he was simply being at best too busy and at worst lazy and selfish.

He just wanted them to know the truth! Why couldn’t they at least try to believe him when-

Of course, that was when Shogun dropped out of the sky and tackled him.

Red shouted with surprise as he tumbled down from the second floor, slamming into a few softer bags of garbage to break his fall before rolling and slamming into the unforgiving concrete. A crack formed in his vision as the visor of his motorbike helmet smacked into the concrete ground. One of the fire jets on his back sputtered and sparked, sending a thin wisp of smoke into the air.

Shogun pinned his wrists to the ground and growled. “Who are you?”

Red tried to break free, agony turning his muscles and bones to fire with the movement after his fall, but the vigilante was too strong. Damn, how often did this guy train?

“Who am I?” Red said, a nervous tinge to his voice. He quickly smoothed it over with faked confidence. “Who are you? Who are all of us, really?”

Shogun narrowed his eyes behind his hood. “Did Garmadon send you? Or someone else?”

Red sputtered. Really, the nerve! Garmadon? The thought turned his insides to disgusting mud. “Nobody sent me!”

“Then why are you here?” Shogun spat.

“Why am I here?” Why was he here again? Oh right, the bright idea on how to reveal that Shogun was Smith. “It’s, uh… a valid reason! That I don’t have to tell you!” He tried for a villainous laugh. Stay in character, don’t blow your cover, you got this!

Shogun was unimpressed. “Nearly burning down my home was a valid reason?”

“Well, I wasn’t trying to set everything on- wait, WHAT?” Uh oh. “You LIVE here?”

Now it was Shogun’s turn to look uncomfortable, though the expression was quickly wiped from his face. “Nothing wrong with this district.” 

Red nodded. “‘Course not. Uh, sorry about that… wasn’t my intention, I swear.”

Shoot, he could hear Jay’s jet getting closer. He had to get out of here, but Shogun, annoyingly, didn’t seem to be in the mood to simply let him go. “Then what is your intention?”

“Well, for starters, it’s getting out of here. This really isn’t going to plan and I’d rather just be home right now, or even inventing a time machine like in that book ‘Hands of Time’ to slap my past self in the face for even thinking about this stupid idea in the first place-“

Jay wasn’t the only one that could ramble under pressure, it seemed.

Shogun leaned closer. “What idea?”

Red shrugged as best he could with how he was pinned to the ground. “Well, for starters, I just wanted to prove to my friends that you’re Smith, and things just kinda escalated from-”

The words were out of his mouth before he realized what he said. 

Shogun lurched back, letting go of him. His eyes betrayed a kaleidoscope of emotions; surprise, worry, suspicious, hurt, fear, realization. 

“…Kai?”

Well, f!ck.

“I-“

Red was about to badly attempt to bullsh!t his way out of his identity reveal before it suddenly dawned on him that Shogun had not denied his theory. 

Which meant Shogun was Smith.

And it also meant Smith instantly recognized him as Kai, which, considering his disguise, was aptly concerning. Sure, he was the first one in his group of friends people would think to do something this extreme but give him some credit! Zane was a regular detective, he’d do the same if it meant answers! Or, well, at least something similar. And Nya could be an adrenaline seeker. And Lloyd- well, maybe not Lloyd. Or Jay, either. Cole had his head just enough on his shoulders that he probably wouldn’t do this either.

But come on, instantly guessing it?

Well, at least Smith/Shogun didn’t know Kai was the Red Ninja. That would be a catastrophe.

Right. Back to the current catastrophe at hand.

Shogun- Smith- still had a look as if he’d been slapped, and Red hated it. He hadn’t meant to hurt his friend. Shogun… Shogun hadn’t wanted them to find out his identity. And then Red had gone and done it, just to prove that he could be the smart one, or a leader, or the protector so they didn’t get hurt, or literally anything but just the ‘hotheaded one’. 

…And he’d done it in the most hotheaded, impulsive way possible.

He really was an idiot.

The cracked helmet hid the look on his face, a twisted mess of distraught and shame. But it didn’t help hide how he took stumbled to his feet and away from Smith, nervous that any second he’d spill another mistake and mess up again, like how he always freaking messed up on everything. Don’t pick this fight, interject there instead, no, not there, idiot, there, FMS why are you so useless-

Focus, focus.

Lloyd’s voice, sharp in the intercom and full of static from his tumble, snapped him from his thoughts. “Anyone got eyes on the arsonist?”

Red caught Smith’s eye as he raised his hand to his own communicator. He was so screwed, so busted, so doomed… Smith would report it, and the others would know, and they’d think he was just messing around in an alleyway with some stolen devices and weapons out of curiosity or rage, - and-

“None yet, still looking.”

…What?

Smith stared at him, gaze searching. He looked shaken, more so than Red- who’d just taken a fall from a second story, mind you, it was a miracle he wasn’t more injured than a couple small scrapes and some future bruises-, yet everything from the set of his jaw to the softening of his furrowed brows suggested a change in emotions. Well, not quite change; more like repress and replace.

“You wanted to prove yourself, didn’t you.”

Red flushed, hand instinctually clamping into a tight fist at his side. The still-working fire jets on his back ignited without him pressing any buttons; faulty activation from the fall or something. 

Palms up and hands raised, Smith silently asked to defuse the situation. “Didn’t mean it as an insult. This wasn’t about venting some anger, was it.”

Red’s lack of response only confirmed it. Smith continued. “I won’t say anything about this if you don’t tell anyone my identity. Deal? I know finding it out was important to you, but-“

“Deal,” Red interrupted. Guilt ate away at his core, like a wave of water dousing a candle. “Smith, I-“ He swallowed hard and stared at the alley floor. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… to…”

Smith’s hand was suddenly on his shoulder and he flinched before relaxing as Smith didn’t move further, nor did the grip tighten. “I’m a little hurt, you’re right. But I’m not mad. And I won’t tell the others, so you can relax. But you better get out of here and get yourself an alibi. We can talk at school or something.”

Wow, he was handling this rather calmly. Red was struck by the sudden memory of- what did Jay call the word? Right. Compartmentalizing. That… wasn’t healthy. But at the roar of Lloyd’s mech somewhere nearby, he didn’t comment further. Instead, he shot Smith a grateful nod and ran down the alley, sticking to the shadows and blind spots of the flying mechs and the tight alleyways where the land mechs couldn’t reach him. 

When he got home, miraculously without further incident (though Shogun leading the others on a wild goose chase over the comms certainly helped there), he ditched the outfit in a bag hidden beneath a loose floorboard in the shed. He’d return the weapon to Master Wu’s ship later, and… well, hope Nya never searched for the missing supplies. There wasn’t a way of fixing it without involving her or Jay, and neither was an option.

Heatstroke was back off duty, and so was the Red Ninja.

For now, he could just be Kai Smith. And there wasn’t any issue with that.

…

Right?

—————

yooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

THIS IS AMAZING REHJJGFHDESFXJVZ

and ah yes, good ol trauma and compartmentalizing, we love to see it

[khaotic-kitsunes]

Hm, how about canonverse Dabi with a fellow Villain Reader who's really sensitive to the cold bc of their water based Quirk?

Hi! Thank you for the ask, it was a lot of fun to write! Enjoy!

~Ki

"Dabi!" You protested, as he simply laughed at you and your suffering. You huffed, wrapping your arms around yourself.

He'd just stolen the only blanket you had. It was winter, and the weather had been getting colder by the day, which was very bad for you.

Today was the first day below freezing, and you were on the verge of doing the same. After all, your body was made up of almost entirely water, making you much more sensitive to the cold than your average person.

"Aw, come on, Doll." He teased you, still holding the blanket away from you. You stuck your tongue out at him. "Why are you so mad?"

"I'm fr-freezing!" You proclaimed, growing more frustrated and more cold. Of course, you'd been paired with the scarred villain since the weather turned, since theoretically, his fire would keep you safe and not completely useless. But it seemed that fate had other plans, and Dabi was feeling particularly obnoxious during this mission.

It was a simple scouting mission. Nothing too important or noteworthy... Maybe that was it...

"If you're just bored go burn down a building or something." You snapped, making another grab for the blanket, but you stumbled on your own feet, before you could even reach it.

"Woah, you're clumsier than I thought." He laughed, but when you didn't get up, wincing at your foot, he crouched down to help you.

You were cradling the foot that you'd tripped on, so he'd made to look at it. His eyes dulled, as he realized just what he'd done. You'd been complaining about the cold since you left the hideout, and Dabi was fed up with it...

"I didn't-" He breathed, unable to finish. He shook any hesitation from his mind, quickly wrapping you back up in the blanket, and picking you up. He was careful of your foot, which now had a thin layer of frost over it, which he could see at the ankle. He just now realized that your lips weren't soft or beautiful anymore, but cracked and as blue as his flames. Your ears and nose were also among the first to be affected by the cold. He didn't realize you had been serious.

He knew the consequences of quirks could be bad, but... He didn't realize it was this far out of your own control...

Water was by no means light, but Dabi couldn't be bothered to care. He heated up his own body, coddling you to your chest.

You squeaked, but couldn't resist the warmth of his body.

You sighed in relief, as your body began to warm back up. He took you into an alley, and gently set you down on some steps. He held his hand over your foot, a dull heat radiating from it.

He was silent. You stared at him, watching him, as the frost slowly melted again.

"Thank you." You said, when you'd regained all the feeling in your body.

"You didn't say you would actually freeze." He said, all too quietly.

"I was built for warmer climates." You shrugged. "I tried to get Shigaraki to pair you with Twice and Toga, this time, but-"

"I'll take care of it, next time." He interrupted you, looking into your eyes.

His eyes were so intense, as they always were. They were frigid and cold, and yet held fire in them... You'd often caught yourself staring into his eyes, but now, it seemed you couldn't pull your gaze away.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked, gently brushing his hands over your blanket, warming it up to combat the frigid air. Admittedly, Dabi had so much fire beneath skin designed to protect an ice quirk, he didn't really even start to feel the cold until most people began to hit frost bite.

You nodded. He picked you up again, despite your protests, withdrawing his heat when you tried to flail out of his grip. You gave up, and let him carry you.

You then noticed that he'd turned away from the target, headed back towards the base.

"What about the mission?"

"Hand job can suck it. You told him you'd be a liability and he didn't listen, he can take responsibility for this."

You blinked, sputtering, but no protests ever found their way to your lips.

You sighed, and allowed your head to fall on his chest, taking his his warmth.

Dabi smirked, softly, turning up the temperature, just a bit, to keep you closer to him... It was... nice.

He didn't want to admit it, and wouldn't out loud, but it had been a long time since someone had simply just been in his presence. There was no hurt, no yells, just the touch of another person.

How long had it been since he'd really embraced a person?

He tried not to think about it, but he couldn't help himself from walking a bit slower. Once you were back at base, with a heating unit, you would no longer need him... And he didn't want to expose you to the temperature any longer but... Well, he could keep the cold away, couldn't he?

So he could let himself touch you a little longer, right?

Alas, the base did eventually draw closer, and Dabi couldn't exactly turn around or go a different route. You would get suspicious.

He reluctantly opened the door. Everyone else was out on their own missions, too. He looked around. He'd only ever bothered to memorize his own room, and didn't know where yours was.

"Which way is your room, again?" There was no response. He looked down at you, but you were merely curled up into his chest, eyes closed, and breath soft and deep. A sliver of a smile and a sinking pit of anxiety crossed his being. You'd fallen asleep.

He sighed, muttering something or other about how troublesome you were, though he didn't believe in it, himself, and took you to his own room. He wasn't about to go searching though everyone's rooms for yours, the Gods only know what's in those.

He gently placed you in his bed, tucking you tightly in the covers. You whined slightly, when his warmth disappeared.

He figured you'd be fine, sitting on the edge of his bed, and reaching for his phone, but he felt you shift.

You'd rolled in your sleep, arm partially stretched out... For him, he realized.

Even at room temperature, it probably was still too cold. He sighed, moving the blankets, and slipping under with you.

He held you in his arms, letting his body do the rest. You sighed in content, curling back up into his chest.

Dabi tried not to think about how perfectly you fit in his arms, or about how your head was tucked just beneath his own, or about how you smelled like the sky just before it rained.

When you'd finally awoken, you were warm and well rested. You were in no hurry to open your eyes, until you felt something shift about you. You blinked open an eye, to see purple scarring. Both eyes opened wide, and you scrambled backwards.

This was not possible, as Dabi's arms were wrapped tightly around you. Feeling you struggling in his arms, Dabi was also awoken from the slumber he hadn't intended to fall into.

He blinked down at you, a sly smirk on his face. "Still cold, sweetcheeks?" He teased. Thought this might not have been the best first response, it was all Dabi, still tired, could come up with.

"Could you let me, go, please?" You asked. He shrugged, lifting the arm that was over you. You scrambled back.

The last thing you remembered was Dabi carrying you back to base.

"What happened?" You demanded. Dabi yawned before sitting up, in no hurry to explain himself.

"Well, let's see. You started turning into a popsicle, and I helped you warm up." You gave him a hard look. He chuckled, holding his hands up in defense. "You fell asleep on the way to base, and I couldn't be bothered to find your room. Not only did you proceed to steal all the blankets off my bed, you refused to let me go." He smirked at you. He didn’t reveal how good it made him feel or how it almost hurt when you’d pulled away from him so eagerly.

You flushed at his words. Dabi raised his hand to feel your cheek, making sure you weren't still cold. Despite his teasing actions and words, he was actually quite worried. You flushed deeper. Dabi dropped his hand. Embarrassment, not cold, then. Good.

He stood from the bed. "Well, I'm gonna go bother Handyman, stay here. Or not." He grabbed his jacket off his floor, tossing it at you. "Don't get cold, again." With that he left the room.

You remained where you were, stunned. You hesitantly grabbed his jacket. You buried your face in it, unable to resist the draw of the cinnamon and bonfire smell you'd awoken to. You breathed in, despite the embarrassment

"It smells like him." You mumbled to yourself.

[monkey-d-addy9000]

Hey~ some young EraserMic fanfics.

First of all, sorry for my english, it's not my native language

Since I don't find many young Erasermic fanfics, I decided to share with you some of the ones I liked the most and, who knows, with this encouragement, some writers feel inspired and decide to write some more? I don't know, I think it's just an appeal from a disaster girl.

Anyway~

Summary: As far as camping goes, it’s probably within Yamada’s Top Three Least Favorite Things To Do list.

But maybe this camping trip wouldn’t turn out so bad, so long as he has Aizawa by his side.

Second part:

Hizashi apologizing to Aizawa for making him insecure. Read Murphy's law first to understand.

Written by @tiniest-hands-in-all-the-land

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

Summary: “I thought you might wanna hang around someone who didn’t hate your guts!” Yamada yells. “But I guess you just get off on everyone hating you!”

“I don’t care what people think about me,” Aizawa hisses back, just as coldly.

Or

Yamada's relationship with Aizawa is on thin ice, to say the least. Too bad class trips, technical mishaps, and simulated natural disasters don't consider personal vendettas when putting a damper on your day.

I highly recommend this story as it is a twist of feelings and emotions. I could feel on my skin every sensation I read. All the effort the author puts into their stories is almost magical.

Written by @tiniest-hands-in-all-the-land

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

5 times Hizashi drops everything to take Shōta somewhere where he can rest comfortably, and 1 time Shōta picks everything up to allow Hizashi some repose

Hizashi being cute and careful with his "friend".

Written by @tiniest-hands-in-all-the-land

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

I smiled on every line of this story. Just two cute boys being cute.

Written by @ill-go-with-that-then

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

Just a warning: it's hot.

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

Summary: 8-year-old Hitoshi Shinsou is Quirkless—at least, that’s what his foster dads have been told by the orphanage. Hitoshi never speaks, he signs, although there were no mentioned disabilities or medical conditions on his file to explain this. He’s seemingly capable of speaking, but it’s a mystery as to why he doesn’t. One day, however, a ruthless gang member breaks into the Aizawa-Yamada residence, intent on revenge for Shouta's capture of their brother, and upon seeing his foster dads in trouble, Hitoshi is left with no choice but to reveal his ‘villainous’ Quirk to save them.

I was so moved by this story that I had to reread it 4 times in less than a month to relive every good feeling that was transmitted to me.

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

“What are you, scared, Aizawa?” Kayama leered, leaning in too close and poking at his side.

Shouta swatted her hand away. “Why would I be scared?” he scoffed. “They’re just mirrors.”

Hizashi fidgeted, leaning closer in a way that would be imperceptible if Shouta weren’t ridiculously over-aware of him. “The place looked deserted when we came in… maybe we should leave? We could still make it to the party!”

“We can’t leave without solving the maze,” Shouta said, irritably.

--

Don't trust your eyes...

Ma babys are scared and in love

Written by @ill-go-with-that-then

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

He tries to put all the enthusiasm he feels into it, to reassure Shouta that this step in their friendship is wanted and welcome.

It seems to work. Shouta’s shoulders relax, and he grins up at Hizashi, wiping his hair out of his eyes. He misses a piece, and Hizashi has to shove his hands into his pockets to keep from giving in to the strange impulse to tuck it behind Shouta’s ear.

It’s different, after that.

Another point of view.

Ah, young love. These boys are so soft. I can't handle that anymore. If you want to scream because you can't handle the amount of cuteness, you must read this.

Written by @ill-go-with-that-then

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

1.

One In A Billion summary: Mic as a weapon is too much to handle. Aizawa as a meister is difficult to get along with. What will happen when these two odd souls are forced into taking on one of the names at the top of

Death's hit list?

It's Soul Eater AU time!!

2.

Clarity summary: Mic had his secrets, this Shouta knew. Even after all this time, when their souls resonated, there were places Shouta felt he couldn’t go, places Mic blocked from him. Shouta had these places within his own soul, too, but whenever something was truly important, Mic always seemed to know how to gently tug the truth out of him. Shouta, unfortunately, had no such similar tact, and usually he didn’t need to; Mic was open about so much.

How bad could Mic's secrets really be?

I was fine, until Yami quotes the song Clarity, and Yamada enjoying the song claiming to remember Shota when he hears it? I almost screamed. I love this fanfic from the bottom of my soul.

Written by @yamiheart and @nartothelar

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

Those were the cutest young Erasermic stories I've read. I just wanted to share with you a little bit of my daily dose of love.

And yes, I reread them every day because they are the ones I liked the most. It's so well written that it really makes me feel every emotion as I read this.

Oh! And I will be updating as I find new good fanfics

[pa-panda-heroes]

heya! how about a scenario where shiggy accidentally hurts the reader with his quirk and like, freak tf out? angsts with lots and lots of fluff, please! ty! ♥︎

Okokok imma do my best for my first angst!! Also I added Dabi because I got a request for him a while back and I’ve wanted to write him for a bit, now <3 hope that’s okay!

I think this was a bit longer for a scenario but... I enjoyed writing it so :>

Warnings: language, mentions of violence(? Eh...)

Tomura/Dabi accidentally hurt reader with their quirks!

Tomura:

It happened accidentally. You knew that. Right? It wasn’t his fault, but his damn quirk’s fault, the one that he never asked for and the one that never allowed anyone to get close. Rather, he never let anyone get close because of it. He’ll admit he was always proud of its destructive capability as a villain, but now that it had hurt you, he wish he’d never boasted to a soul.

Twenty-three times. He had called you twenty-three times. And twenty-three times you didn’t answer. What was he to do, now? There was no stopping the decay borne from his fingertips once it had set in, and considering you wouldn’t answer your phone... it didn’t look good. Kurogiri had whisked you away before Tomura could even utter an apology, which looked to him as though Kurogiri did so in order for him not to witness your death. Kurogiri told him something about a doctor, but Tomura figured him a liar.

He couldn’t breathe. You shouldn’t have been hurt. Literally. Tomura hadn’t so much as touched you with a single finger; if anything, he was trying to protect you from the stranger grabbing you. It happened so fast, all he remembered was his quirk activating and the stranger vanishing before he heard your cry of pain and saw the skin of your arm drying out, much like he had done to that hero at U.S.J. He couldn’t tell, but it somewhat looked as though the decay was limited to just your bicep. That could’ve been hopeful thinking, of course, and he knew it.

So he sat there, all alone and hunched over on the couch in the bar, with misery and dread coursing his veins, accelerating his blood pressure to concerning levels. He had nothing to look at but his shaking palms and red shoes as he tried to even out his breathing - to no avail. Then, he felt the weight of someone sitting next to him, and instantly recognized how far the cushion next to him sunk in. And yet, he couldn’t look at you.

“Thanks for that back there,” you say quietly, afraid to startle him, but you recieve no response. “Y’know, I’m not sure what would’ve happened if my knight in shining armor hadn’t showed up!” You knew he felt guilty. Why wouldn’t he? But he shouldn’t. You wanted to convince him of that.

“Didn’t go far, huh,” you hear him mumble, nodding his head to your bandaged left arm next to him. There was no life to his voice and before you can say anything, he speaks again. “It won’t happen again. You’re not coming around anymore.”

“Hey, wait! That’s not your-“

“I’m the leader, and I say so! You can stay in the League, but you can’t... be close to me. You’ll get hurt.”

You stand up in defiance and put your hands on your hips in defense. “I’m not leaving you! First of all, I can take care of myself. Second, look at the League. We have a bloodthirsty serial killer and a cynical pyromaniac constantly lounging about, and you’re worried about some one-in-a-million freak accident happening again?” Patience was key with Tomura, and you knew that, but he could be stubborn and unreasonable, and when it came to you, stubbornly, unreasonably protective. “Besides, with the world as it is, I could get hurt doing something as mundane as taking out the trash, like I was when I was attacked!”

He finally looked at you, the look of a whipped pup on his face and while you knew he wasn’t doing it on purpose, you felt guilty for raising your voice at him. You sigh quietly and sit back down next to him, reaching for his hand and settling for his knee when he yanked it away. You snuck your arm around his shoulders and plopped your cheek on his shoulder, knowing all too well he would welcome it despite his standoffishness - and he did. Tomura didn’t pull away or push you off. But he hid his face. Your fingers on his left shoulder rubbed at it, his clavicle prominent enough you almost cringed at how thin he was. Your other hand on his leg idly toyed with the seam of his jeans, not having anything better to do.

“I’m sorry.” It was unclear as to whether he was apologizing for hurting you, or for demanding you keep your distance from him. Either way, it was undoubtedly genuine and soft.

You sat up straight and hugged your leader and lover from the side, gliding your fingers through his hair as you gently guided it to you. He hesitated slightly before burying his head into your chest and latching onto your ribcage for dear life, muttering the weakest “Don’t go, please,” anyone has ever heard. The desperation and vulnerability in his voice elicited your arms to wrap around him in a tight, warm embrace, your chin digging into his hair when you peck it, again and again and again. You stifled a giggle at how soft and ticklish his hair felt, electing to gently shush him.

“I just told you, didn’t I? I’m not going anywhere, even if you tell me to. I love you, silly.”

Dabi:

Dabi let out every curse known to mankind - and then some - as he rushed over to you, the bastard thugs the two of you had been after now burning alive and falling to the street. He would have sworn on his life you were not within range of his flames, and yet here you were, on the ground clutching your burnt leg and cringing away the searing tears of pain. Maybe you didn’t see him readying the attack and charged in? Maybe one of those thugs diverted his attack? He wasn’t sure.

“Y/n-“

What little color he had in his face drains completely, and his fingertips are already trembling.

“Dabi, I’m fine,” you tried to assure him. “It’s not that bad! I’ll just need a little first aid.” It hurt like hell, a white-hot, pulsating pain, you couldn’t lie. You just weren’t going to tell him that. It stretched from just below your knee to a hand’s length above your ankle and covered only the side of your leg, thankfully. The affected area was an awfully dark pink and honestly, it was hard to look at.

He practically scoffed at you. “Y/n, you’re fucking burnt. Don’t tell me that shit.” From the look on his face, it seemed bad.

That was the most cross he’d ever been with you, despite his brash and vulgar nature, and you couldn’t help but retreat a little as he knelt down to you and pulled his phone out of his pocket to make a call. “Y/n’s hurt, get us to the bar or something.” He grabbed your leg - surprisingly gently - and seemed to examine it. He paused as if to listen to the other end. “She’s burnt, does it matter? Just get us the hell out of here.” He must’ve called Kurogiri, as the next thing you know there’s a warp tunnel summoned next to you.

You tried standing on your own to leave, but the burn decided it didn’t want you to do so, and so you dropped back to the ground and bit your lip at the shockwaves of pain crawling up your leg. Dabi said nothing and helped you up himself, grabbing your arm and side to help you walk through the warp. Once through, he set you down on the couch, still eerily quiet, and left you there. The pain was so bad at this point, you began to think you’d faint, your head feeling fuzzy as tears run down your cheeks.

The stapeled villain returns with a bucket of ice water, towels, and what looks to be a first aid kit. But he stops for a second when he sees you hunched over with a death grip on your knee and the seat beneath you, and it takes all he has to hold it the fuck together. He’s unreasonably angry, and he’s not sure why. He wants to tell and scream, maybe at you, maybe not, he’s not sure. His quirk’s only quality was destructiveness. It was damaging not only to his enemies but also to his own body - and now, you.

He hurt you. Accident or not, he hurt you. The lump in his throat was suffocating.

Dabi knelt down and soaked a towel in the cold water before wringing it wordlessly, then gently tapping it to your leg and pulling back when you hiss. He seemed to notice it but didn’t outwardly acknowledge it and contintued to use the cold towel on your burn. As more time passed, the more convinced he became that it was a second-degree burn, meaning the second layer of your skin, the dermis, was badly burnt. He had no doubt it would scar, and at the thought the breath was pulled from his lungs. Dabi muttered a curse and suddenly rested his forehead against your knee, his right hand holding the cool towel to your leg.

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault, fuck.” His voice was low, and if you looked hard enough, you could hear that it was forced out through a tense throat. He was nearly in tears, wasn’t he? He wasn’t an overly emotional person by any means, but the fact that his quirk hurt you, with its history, it hurt worse than if you would’ve left him for a hero. He hated himself. His quirk didn’t have a single redeeming quality, and he began to think the same of himself.

“Dabi, don’t, okay? I’ll be fine, really.” You can’t help how weak your voice sounds, being in so much pain, but you nonetheless plant a hand in his hair and rub his scalp.

Dabi lifts his head to look at you, and the look in his eyes isn’t something you’ve seen before. His free hand comes up to rest on your thigh, and you can feel it shaking. “It might scar, y/n. Don’t you get that?”

You huff. “So? If it does, I’d be pretty cool with that, all puns intended,” you try to giggle at your own pun and can practically feel him rolling his eyes, “Besides, I’d kinda match you, wouldn’t I? It’ll be like a couple’s tattoo sort of thing!”

He rests his chin atop your knee and a look that only be described as a pout crosses his features, but he says nothing and you can only smile. Dabi deadpans when you say nothing, forcing yourself to beam at him with bright eyes and a smile. “You’re a weird one, ya know that?” he muttered.

“You’re even weird for falling in love with me,” you teased after he began to work on your leg again.

“Pfft.”