#when she’s charging through the hospital she gets assumed to be some kind of villain based on her appearance and demeanor

[daydreamerdrew]

The Savage She-Hulk (1980) #1

[decayandfanfics]

The great book of sayings

PAIRINGS: Tomura Shigaraki x FemReader

SUMMARY: He looks at you, his scarlet eyes fixed on yours, burning a hole through your head, every bit the predator he is, but you are as tough as it gets, so, against your better judgment and any well-founded logic, you answer his silent threat, the animalistic look he gives you with nothing less than a fearless smirk, irises burrowing into his pupils.A clever girl. He thinks, finally labeling you inside his head, cursing himself in the very moment he allows his brain to think of you as more than an asset. He is sure (he knows himself enough to know) he’ll think of this moment many times from now on.A clever pretty girl.

Reader is a typical college student until she gets herself tangled with the league of villains. 

WARNINGS: Unhealthy/complicated relationships, violence, Tomura being Tomura, mentions of murder, heroes’ abuse of power, smut later. 

A/N: I’m trying so hard to write crusty boy here really in character. At least after AfO is taken.  Any misspelled words, english is not my native language so i’m trying Helen. 

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The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

It takes about ten seconds to screw up your whole life.

Well, in theory.

College is a monstruous violent thing that feeds on your happiness and lets you sharp and scrawny, both physically and mentally. Medical school was brutal, you knew it before even applying, though you didn’t think it would be this exhausting. But you are a responsible person above everything else, so you use your sharpness and the power machine that is your brain, forcing yourself to do it. So, here you are, four years into it, stress flowing through you like blood, embedded in your system like is normal. You are fine with it, at peace with your constant nail chewing and the tics in your brow. It is fine, you went completely insane in the meantime, but it was worth it.

You see, there are many ways of being a hero, and with a quirk like yours, it would be nothing but almost impossible to follow the traditional path, so you take a side path, another form of saving lives (the true form in your experience) and with a head like yours, becoming a doctor is the natural way. Thinking about finals, your succulents and rent, you walk the path that leads to your little apartment in a quiet part of the city when you hear the soft whimper behind the trash cans in an alleyway. It would be wise to keep walking, but you believe in helping others and curiosity it’s been a main trait since childhood, besides, the soft hum of your quirk sings inside your chest like a promise of safety, so you turn and get close to it, prudence before you take another step.

“is anybody here? I heard a cry” you keep walking, measuring the distance between you and the street in case you need to run back “do you need help?”

You see him. A young man, grabbing his head between his hands, his body clutched against the wall. “Sir, are you okay? Can I help you?”

“My head…I’m going to split! It’s me! It’s me! No! it’s not! I can’t!”

You look carefully around you, making sure no one else is watching, then your eyes flare with your quirk relaxing him softly, easing his tensed muscles as you get close.

“hey…what’s the matter? i want to help you.” You decide the best option is to put yourself to his level, before speaking sweetly, your activated quirk shining subtly red in the dark.

“My mask” he says with teared eyes “I lost my mask. I’m going to split without it.”

It some kind of psychotic episode, you know that much, but he seems to be harmless otherwise. Concluding that if dangerous he would already lash out, you decide to look for something in your backpack.

“Does this serve you?” you ask handing him a red beanie you keep with you in winter.

He takes it with trembling hands and covers his head completely with it.

“Oh…thanks. That’s better. I feel better now. Thank you, miss, thank you!”

“You have a name?”

“I’m Jin. My name is Jin.”

“You have a family, Jin? Someone to call? Maybe a home?”

“my…yes, i. I…my phone is dead. I need to call Toga-chan.”

The moment he stands you see it. A big bloody gash at his side in desperate need for some stitches.

“Omg…you are hurt. Careful. Let me help you. We need to take you to the hospital.”

“No. No! No! I cannot get caught; they’ll lock me up if…yes, they will, no they don’t, yes, they will!”

“okay, okay. No hospitals. But i need to see that injure. It looks awful.”

“It hurts, no it doesn’t. But, yes. It hurts.”

“Let me take care of it. I’m a doctor…I mean, I’m on it, but I can take care of your wound.”

You take him home, thinking that maybe he’s been hospitalized before. You know how psychiatric patients tend to be caged up when no one looks for them, often tied up to the beds, sedated so they don’t bother anyone. It is cruel and you don’t want that. Besides, he says something about his friend Toga, something about someone called Dabi and Compress, so you just assume he actually has someone to look over him.

That’s how Jin ends seated in your kitchen, eating some leftovers, freshly patched as his phone charges in a corner of your living room.

“thank you again…you’ve been so nice to me, yes you are.”

“is nothing. I’m glad I found you. That wound wasn’t deep, but it could get infected very easily.”

You let him stay the night, trusting in your gut and the power of your quirk to keep you safe. He seems thankful and kind. His ways are soft, a hint of naivety and simplicity when he speaks, so even when you stay careful, you really don’t think he’ll be a problem truly.

Next morning and after some phone calls, Jin says goodbye to you between tears and wholehearted thanks. Your beanie still in his head, two holes where the eyes should go.

You watch him go from your window, waving your hand and a smile plastered across your face, hoping he stays with someone who cares for him, because he’s clearly in a vulnerable state. A blond girl takes his hand rushing across the street, watching every direction before disappearing in a nearby alleyway, but you think nothing of it.

You thought nothing of it when you got a basket full of candy by your door.

You thought nothing of it when you heard your neighbor talking about a strange man waiting for someone in the main hall of the building.

You thought nothing of it when you receive a letter from Jin naming you a great good friend of his, saying he would be your friend forever.

That’s why you think it’s kinda your own fault when the entire group of homeless people makes its appearance at your door one night at two am in the middle of your well-deserved vacations. (a month after your little encounter with Jin.)

Fear shoots through you like a bullet so quickly you forget how to breathe the moment you see the hands and a bunch of costumes for clothing.  

You’ve seen the tv, you know who they are, yet you just cannot fathom why the fuck are they standing outside your apartment, covered in dirt, starving and distressed; at least, not until you hear his voice again.

“Hello! I know this is unexpected, but you are my friend! Look, Shigaraki! She is the one who helped me when I was about to split! The doctor one. She was so good to me! Is my friend! Could you help us, please? I know it’s late, but please.”

You are livid.

Jin Is no other than Twice.

This is no other than the League of fucking Villains.

Chapter 2

[faulty-writes]

Hey you awesome humanoid you... Can I request a Shoto x reader, where the USJ incident happens and the reader, having a better understanding of her quirk and able to use it quite well due to her family ties with some Pro hero she helps Aizawa fight, and when Shoto finds out and sees her getting injured while trying to protect Aizawa he gets really emotional and decides to confess his feelings when he visits at the hospital. Thank you! 💖

[ Just so you know. I somewhat forgot about the details of the USJ incident and I’m too lazy to rewatch the episode so everything I know about it is coming straight from my memory with some added thoughts of my own. ] 

You hadn’t imagined this happening, it was supposed to be a simple training exercise. When that dark vortex appeared, it was almost as if the warmth inside the USJ disappeared. Replaced by a cold chill as those villains walked in. You were more than certain your fellow students had thought the same thing as you. That this was simply part of the training exercise, but Aizawa quickly told you otherwise.

It was almost memorizing to see how Aizawa fought, proving without a doubt that he was a true Pro Hero. However, you along with your fellow classmates couldn’t just standby and watch as your teacher fought to protect you. After all, you were heroes in training and your teacher was trying to take on the various villains by himself. However, as soon as you made the decision to jump in, you and your classmates were all scattered to various training areas of the USJ. You had landed in the water along with Tsuyu, Midoriya, and Mineta.

Tsuyu seemed to have the most level head while Mineta was freaking out and Midoriya was...being Midoriya. Mumbling to himself as he tried to think of a solution. However, your eyes were more focused on the land which you could see clearly from your position on the boat. Tsuyu had decided it was safer than being in the water, but it also made you sitting ducks. “Guys, I think we need to go back to Aizawa,” you explained before looking down at your hands, you had a strong quirk. Given you came from a long line of Pro Heroes and most of them helped you train when you had decided to enter U.A. so it was no doubt that you had enough confidence to take on the villains.

You stepped onto the railing of the boat before feeling someone grab your wrist, “Hm?” you turned, looking down at Mineta who seemed to be having a panic attack. “D-Don’t go! Y/n! You’re gonna get creamed by those villains!” you narrowed your eyes at him, “Aizawa is getting creamed right now and if we don’t help, it might mean the end of our teacher.” you explained and looked to Tsuyu and Midoriya. “Ribbit, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Y/n. Aizawa told us to stay out of it.” you couldn’t help the soft growl that came from your throat.

“Sorry, but I don’t follow rules that well. Feel free to join me, if you dare.” you looked at your fellow classmates before smirking and jumping off the side. The villains who still floated in the water were taken care of thanks to Mineta’s quirk and you were quick to avoid his ‘sticky balls’ as he liked to call them and climbed onto the shore. “Mr.Aizawa!” you called, quickly catching the attention of the villains that surrounded him. One of them even chuckled, “Oh, a little student coming to help Eraser, how sad.” you growled and snapped your fingers, a wave of what appeared to be energy came and knocked them back.

You watched in satisfaction as the rest of the villains gasped, clearly surprised at how well you could control your quirk. Aizawa however was glaring at you, his hair still up and his hand clenching his injured elbow. “Y/n.” he growled and you frowned, “Don’t tell me not to help,” you responded before a villain charged at you, their scream filling the air as they swung their fist at you. But you were quick enough to dodge and much like the last villain, you sent them flying. In the distance, you could see ice forming on the ground and could only assume it was from Todoroki.

You knew from experience he was one of the more powerful quirk users in your class, though he was quiet. When he did speak, his words were honest and true. You knew he was the son of the number two hero Endeavor, but you never held that against him. Todoroki was a mystery to most people, though he had feelings for you. Of course, you had failed to notice this. But you could feel his stare on you during class and training, you tried to push it off as nothing. Just believing it was your imagination.

“Hey, hey now Eraser. I thought you’d do better than to make a child fight in your place.” a scratchy voice sounded and you turned your head, your eyes widening when you saw him. He appeared to be the leader of this attack, dressed from head to toe in black. Apart from his shoes which were red in color. He had silver shoulder-length hair but the thing that made a shiver run down your spine was the fact that he had several hands on his person. Including one that hid his face.

Either way, you swallowed down your fear and spoke, “A hero always helps someone who is injured!” you snapped before charging at him, however, he chuckled at your heroic attempt and snapped his fingers. You stumbled over your own feet as a horrid screech filled the air, you winced and covered your ears which you swore were bleeding by the time the noise ended. “Heh, you like my Nomu?” the villain questioned and your eyes widened when you saw the monstrosity next to him.

It was some kind of strange creature, bulky and intimidating and it looked like its brain was exposed. It had sharp jagged teeth and a strange-looking muzzle. You swallowed, staring at it in awe. “W-What the hell is that thing!?” you questioned before it let out another shriek and you once more covered your ears. A loud ringing sounded before you dropped your hands and got into a fighting stance. You didn’t know what this creature was but damned if you’d let it do any more harm.

Nomu stretched its arms out before charging and for a moment, you believed it was going after you. Yet, it jumped clear over you causing you to turn on your feet. “What the hell!?” you snapped before realizing what it was doing. “Eraserhead!” you screamed before using your quirk to propel yourself forward, Aizawa’s eyes went wide and though he was in no condition to fight. He was more than determined to try, as any Pro Hero would.

But you couldn’t let that happen and before you registered your own actions, you had pushed your teacher out of the way. You heard him hit the ground before Nomu’s large hand wrapped around your waist. You gasped and immediately latched onto the creature’s hand, kicking your legs in an attempt to get free. Your quirk surrounded you, but it didn’t seem to affect Nomu and you felt its grip tighten around you. Your jaw clenched and you narrowed your eyes on the creature, angry that you couldn’t break free.

“Y/n!” you heard someone call and turned your head, hearing the cracking of ice before the creature gave another cry. A small dribble of blood seeped down from your ears, but you ignored it and looked down to see its feet had been frozen to the ground, you didn’t need to say who was responsible for that. Todoroki stood a few feet from the creature, his arm covered in a thin layer of ice and his eyes looked menacing. “Put her down.” he threatened with a hiss, damned if he’d let the person he loved get hurt.  

Nomu didn’t seem to take well to the command and you hissed softly as you felt its nails dig into your skin, though not enough to pierce through. Its head was turned to face Todoroki and for a moment, you thought that the creature would actually listen. But you were proved wrong when it let out another cry and lifted one leg, easily breaking Todoroki’s ice. The boy’s eyes widened as he watched the ice shards scatter, “What the?!” before he could say anything more, you let out a scream as Nomu brought you to its mouth. Your heart dropped into your stomach when you saw those sharp teeth and you let out a scream as they sunk into your shoulder, immediately piercing the skin and your warm blood began to soak through your shirt.

You hardly had time to react before Nomu suddenly retracted its teeth, causing you to cry out yet again. “Stop!” Todoroki’s shout came, his palm facing out as he shot ice at the Nomu’s arm. Watching as it crept over its skin but Nomu seemed to protest and before you could register or predict its actions. You found yourself being lifted into the air. Your nails dug into the creature's wrist and you looked at Todoroki before the world blurred around you. The Nomu threw you with such force, it felt like the wind was knocked out of you. “Y/N!” you heard Todoroki call, but there was very little he could do at the moment.

You assumed that you were thrown back in the direction of the water as you saw a blurred pink object try and catch you. Tsuyu must have tried using her tongue, but at the speed, you were going. It was easy to miss, you screamed out when you felt the impact of the water. Pain shot down your spine causing precious air bubbles to escape as any further noises were quickly silenced by the gentle hum of the water. Though your shoulder was still bleeding, which caused the water to turn dark around you. Your hand reached out, you could still see the sun shining on the surface. But there was no way you could swim up to it, not in your condition and lack of air made your lungs begin to burn.

You pressed your lips together, feeling how they quivered as your vision grew dark. “Todoroki…” was the final word you spoke, the last of your air bubbles floating in front of you before everything turned black. Of course, the fight outside the water still continued. The fellow Pro Heroes showed up, effectively stopping Shigaraki’s attack. But Todoroki wasn’t satisfied, despite Class 1-A having been instructed to return to the entrance. He had made the choice to try and go after you, only to be stopped by Cementoss. “You don’t understand! Y/n! They fell into the water, they’re injured! I have to save them before-” he had tried to run only to be blocked by another cement wall.

“We’ll take care of it. Return to the entrance with your classmates.” Cementoss instructed and Todoroki clenched his jaw, his hands curling into fists. “You’re just going to give me instructions like that!? I don’t see any of you going after her!” he snapped, though the Pro Hero seemed rather unphased by Todoroki’s anger. In fact, his eyes were more focused on Denki as he came running toward them. Laying his hand on Todoroki’s shoulder, “Hey, come on man. They said to-” Todoroki growled and shrugged Denki’s hand off, causing the blond to grow confused. Though that wasn’t a hard task, “Don’t touch me.” Todoroki hissed as he brushed past Denki. “Gees what’s up with him?” the still confused boy questioned if only he knew how Todoroki was feeling at the moment.

He had tried to save you, but he failed, or rather, he was being told to back off by the fellow Pro Heroes. What the hell did they even know? This was ridiculous, a deep growl escaped him. Was this his fault? He wasn’t sure, but he knew one thing. His chest felt heavy and his heart sank. He had never felt this way before. Not about anything or anyone. Before he had entered U.A. he had a clear goal, to become a hero. Though unlike the kind of hero his father wanted him to be. Yet, when you came into his life. When he set his eyes upon you, something in him switched.

His life slowly became about you, thoughts of you, dreams he wanted to share with you, and possibly even a future. But now, he was forced to leave your life in the hands of Pro Heroes who weren’t acting quick enough. Even if they got to you on time, it was highly likely that you would be sent to the hospital and if you were. Then Todoroki had decided, he would finally tell you how he felt. He needed to, else it would drive him mad and continue to distract him. Maybe it was selfish, putting his own needs ahead of yours. Especially when you were injured, but part of him didn’t care and part of him was afraid of what you’d say.

The days that passed seemed sluggish and an awkward tension was in the air. U.A. itself seemed to be on thin ice and there were talks about students getting transferred to a safer, more kept hero school. Todoroki however, didn’t pay much attention to the rumors or anything for that matter. The only thing he cared about was you and though he had visited the hospital the day after the incident, he was turned away because the doctors claimed you weren’t in a stable enough condition to see anyone. It angered him some, but at least it gave him time to think of how he could possibly go about telling you how he felt.

He could just blurt it out, but that wasn’t like him. He was honest and whenever he did happen to speak, it was always with purpose. He didn’t like wasting his words. He debated inside his head for the next few days, eventually settling on the idea that whatever happens happens. Still, he couldn’t help but nervously twiddle his thumbs as he sat in the waiting room of the hospital. One of the nurses was going to instruct him when he could see you, apparently, you were getting a check-up at the moment. He sat there with his head hanging low. Just replaying the moment that damned Nomu sank its teeth into your shoulder. He should have done more, yet at the same time, he knew it wasn’t worth worrying over.

The past was the past, what was done was done. He couldn’t change it, but hopefully what he was about to do would make it better. “Todoroki.” he heard his name and snapped out of his thoughts, turning his head to look at the nurse. “You can visit your friend now, but remember she’s still recovering. So no excitement.” Todoroki rose to his feet, nodding. The nurse smiled before motioning him to follow which he did without hesitation. It seemed rather quiet in the hallway, apart from the few doctors and patients that were being rolled to God knows where. He stopped short when the nurse came to a door at the end of the hallway. “Here we are.” they said, “Remember the rules.” Todoroki nodded once more, “I will, thank you very much.” he said before bowing which for some odd reason caused the nurse to giggle before they walked away.

Todoroki leaned back up and looked at the door, a certain warmth filling his chest and he felt his stomach twist with what could only be described as butterflies. He took a deep breath, hoping to settle down his nerves before he gently knocked on the door. “Y/n! It’s Shoto Todoroki,” he said, though it might be awkward to announce yourself like that. He was raised with manners, much to the amazement of being Endeavor’s son. He paused a moment before sliding the door open. His eyes settled on you, though you looked fine for the most part. A few bandages were scattered on your face and neck. But he could see even with the hospital gown that your shoulder was wrapped up and he assumed you had gotten stitches.

“Todoroki,” you said with a smile, though you were a little surprised to see him of all people. You didn’t think he would be that concerned about you, but he was the only one that saw what happened. So maybe he just wanted to make sure you were okay. “Hello,” he said before walking over and pulling up a chair, you hissed at the sound the metal legs made as they scraped across the floor. Somehow it reminded you too much of the noise Nomu made, why did it shriek so damn much? You just hoped you wouldn’t run into it again anytime soon. When Todoroki finally settled down in the chair, he looked at you. Somehow those eyes always made you feel strange yet there was an odd warmth to them.

“How are you?” he questioned and you couldn’t help but chuckle, before reaching up to brush a piece of your hair back. “A bit sore, I can’t use my shoulder for about two or so weeks. At least that’s what the doctor said but um,” you paused and latched onto your bottom lip. “I was actually hoping to see you, I mean I didn’t think you’d come here. But, I just wanted to say thank you. For saving me, you were pretty brave to face up to that thing. Hell, you even yelled at it.” it was kind of funny to think about now. But Todoroki didn’t seem to be smiling, in fact, he looked as serious as ever. “I have something to tell you as well.” he replied, “Huh?” you looked at him with a confused expression. “What do you mean?” you questioned, what could he possibly have to tell you?

You watched him shift in his seat, his eyebrows cross and his hands looked to be clenching one another. You wondered if he was alright or if this was bad news. It was strange to see him like this, more so uncharacteristic. “Are you alright?” you questioned and Todoroki nodded in response. “Y/n I…” he trailed off and that’s when you noticed the slight quiver of his lip. However, you failed to take into account the way his eyes traced your face, settling on your mouth. “I…” he tried again before letting out a frustrated growl and rose from his seat. The action causing the chair to tumble back and hit the floor with a loud bang. You jumped in your bed. “Todoroki!” you snapped, perhaps you were a bit on end because of what you had been through. But somehow every loud noise you heard began to scare you, maybe it was an aftereffect of Nomu's screeching. You weren’t sure and you weren’t about to admit you were afraid of loud noises.

However, Todoroki seemed unphased and simply leaned down, his hands reaching to gently grab your face and tilt it up. He leaned close and you could feel his nose press against yours and the heat of his breath. “Todoroki…” you whispered before feeling the ghost touch of his lips against yours. “Forgive me, I don’t know any other way to express myself but directly.” you were about to ask what he meant when his lips pressed against yours in a selfish kiss. Your eyes widened, Todoroki was kissing you? Your hands remained by your sides, simply too shocked to move. The kiss lasted only a few moments, but the ticking of the clock made it seem otherwise. 

You took a shaky breath when Todoroki finally pulled away and you noticed that soft flush across his face. “Todoro-” he interrupted you as he stumbled back, “I…I apologize.” he stuttered out before turning on his feet, quickly exiting the room. “W-Wait!” you called out, your hand extended out to him but he was already gone. You heard his frantic steps running down the hallway. You blinked and lowered your hand, what was that about? You looked down at your lap before pulling your legs up and wrapping your arms around them. “Mm…” you could feel the heat continue to radiate from your cheeks and the fact that your heart was racing inside your chest left very little explanation.

After all of this, did Todoroki have feelings for you or was he feeling guilty over what had happened? Frankly, you were left confused by the sudden kiss and run. “How am I going to face him in school now?” though part of you wanted answers, you knew you couldn’t go anywhere without the doctor’s okay. Yet, you knew once you were healed. You’d go straight to Todoroki and demand an answer.

[real-jaune-isms]

RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 10 Review/Remix

WHAT the ever loving FUCK was that just now RT?? You give us several great answers and scenes we really wanted to see, and then rip all that joy away in the last 3 minutes!!! I want to sue for emotional damages, but I really can’t be mad cuz it’s very masterful writing on their part. After years of shows doing redemption arcs we finally have it... the bastardization arc~

We open, perhaps to the disappointment of some, on Ironwood staring out the windows of his office at the battlefield and city in turmoil below. He’s being given a situation update on the destruction of the cellblock two episodes back, and he takes the news a little differently than might have been expected (read: worse). Jacques apparently stayed right where he was and let himself be put back into custody, while Qrow avoided much harm by being a bird and ending up in a spot where the rubble wasn’t landing directly on him. Robyn was only slightly lucky, she was under some large debris but doesn’t seem terribly hurt and is actually conscious when Atlas soldiers uncover her and say she’ll be moved to a new cell elsewhere. Qrow isn’t about to be put back in a cage though, and flies right at the soldier who finds him. Behind a conveniently placed piece of wall he turns back and, as I was somewhat praised for phrasing it in a discord chat, he tackled that man as a man. We can assume he knocks out the guy about to apprehend Robyn, and the two make a getaway. Ironwood doesn’t like this news one bit, though he focuses more on recapturing the two huntsmen he had arrested on paranoid treason charges than the actual war criminal he lost an arm catching whose dangerous work on the city of Mantle still hasn’t been undone. Not cool, dude. He yells at the soldiers who had come to report this, and they leave to try and find the jailbirds. He stares out the window again in contemplation and tries to calm down a little before turning on his earpiece to get an update on the status of some thing or another, probably the bomb, when something massive happens.

With a blinding flash and an array of gold and green, Oscar’s staff goes off with whatever he was charging up. It’s as bright and forceful as you’d expect a nuclear bomb to be, and it knocks Winter and the Ace Ops off their feet as they were heading towards Monstra lugging their own bomb. Weiss and Nora see it from Schnee Manor, and it seems to do a real number on the Grimm around Monstra and in the city. Rooster Teeth had to give a flashing lights warning at the start of the episode for those it would adversely affect, and I can totally understand why after the crazy display this gave us. When the light fades and the noise settles, Monstra has been snapped and is fading away to dust, and in that dust cloud we hear and barely see Neopolitan skipping away with the Lamp in hand. What a little punk... Winter gets back on her feet and is quick to ask her squad for their status, she doesn’t want to have lost anyone or suffered serious wounds from whatever the hell they just saw/felt. No one is hurt, though Elm’s ears seem to still be ringing. But Marrow is very distressed, realizing they still hadn’t heard back from Jaune and the others and they may have been killed in that blast. Nobody has anything to say that would appease him, so they stay silent. Vine tries to put a reassuring hand on Elm’s shoulder but she brushes him off. Guess after they got called out by Ren she wants to show even less emotion and sentimentality than before. Ironwood contacts them under the false assumption this was the result of their bomb, and requests they return to HQ for an update on the new problem he wants to deal with. Marrow naturally points out that the destruction wasn’t their doing, and Winter decides that will be news best delivered in person, so they load the bomb back on the airship and take off. 

Cutting into the city, we see Watts and Cinder viewing the destruction of their mobile HQ from a distance. Nobody is returning Cinder’s calls but they know Salem will be back so Watts suggests they come up with a plan in the meantime. But Cinder is fully confident that they can still do what they originally intended, that being having her kill Penny and take the Winter Maiden powers after Watts brings the synthezoid to her. But this was a plan made under false assumptions, because apparently she misunderstood the terminology in his message and thought he could puppeteer Penny to go wherever he demands when really he just laid a new prime directive to send her straight to the Vault as we saw two episodes back. Hearing this pisses Cinder off immensely, especially the part about Penny being set to self destruct as soon as the Vault is open since that means the next recipient of the powers will be randomized again and she’ll have lost her chance to yoink them. Watts is too busy grumpily musing to himself about Penny having free will and a spirit that doesn’t want to succumb to his leet hacks to notice Cinder growing more and more enraged, until he turns around and she pulls him in close to yell at him. But Watts is having none of that, he works for Salem not her, and his plans weren’t made to give this flaming whining goth what she wants every single time. He’s just supposed to get the Vault open for Salem, and this is how he’s doing that. This is not the kind of answer Cinder wanted to hear, and she stretches her arm out to shove Watts to the edge of the roof and leave him on the verge of falling over to his demise. He doesn’t seem terribly fazed, calling her bluff and saying her mission was to bring him back and Salem won’t be a bit pleased if he dies. But you know what Salem is not? Here right now to stop Cinder from dealing with this arrogant self righteous prick once and for all. So she fully intends to drop him and then tear up Atlas on a fiery path to the Vault where she can intercept Penny and steal the Winter powers before tearing her to pieces herself and being the triumphant follower getting everything done that Salem really needed. And Watts just... laughs. Chris Sabat must have had a great time in the VO booth for this one, because he gets to have an absolute roast session the likes of which he hasn’t delivered since Majin Vegeta tore that clown Kakarot a new one. Naturally Cinder’s plan would be to brute force her way to victory and get glory for none but herself with her every whim satisfied along the way. Because that’s always her plan. And it always fails. She tried to storm Fria’s hospital room like that and got her ass handed to her by some teenagers and a dying woman before Penny took the powers before she could. She did the same damn thing 2 Volumes ago when she tried to massacre all her enemies under one roof in an alliance with a woman she thought she could outwit, but ended up blindsided by a surprise Maiden reveal and almost died while her outnumbered forces were on the verge of surrendering without her. And did anyone warn her not to do that? YES! WATTS DID!!! WATTS IS ALWAYS RIGHT, YOU FOOL!!! Well, okay, he’s really not. But he’s more clever and meticulous so he saw the flaws her arrogance left her blind to. And then Watts really tears into her by saying she isn’t smart, she isn’t worthy, and she isn’t entitled to what she wants because she’s suffered in the past. The one thing she is is a goddamn migraine. I’m a little mad Tyrian stole the show’s first cuss 4 years back cuz I really would have liked for Watts to cap this off by calling Cinder a bitch. This roasting literally lights a fire under Cinder and she seems ready to snap and kill Watts here and now, but instead she pulls him back onto the roof and stares off blankly into space before her fire fades and she walks off to sit on the ledge of a different side of the building to really think about his harsh words and shed a single tear. It’s a little unclear if she’s just feeling sorry for herself and realizing she’s more of a failure than she wanted to admit, or if she’s just overwhelmed by Watts reminding her of her childhood trauma. Maybe she’s realizing how powerless she’s truly remained all this time after fighting so hard for her own freedom and independence, and crying at the fact that she seems unable to escape that role she hates so much. Whatever the case, it’s real rough for her but I don’t feel like shedding any of my own tears for her sake. She doesn’t seem like she’s gonna change her allegiances so I don’t feel much need to cheer for her, but maybe she’ll reevaluate her strategy and become a force to be reckoned with as a villain because of this. I wouldn’t mind that. We’ll have to wait and see.

Back in the ruins of Monstra, we see Yang Ren and Jaune are all doing alright, and Oscar seems to be as well. Jaune is using his Semblance to help Oscar heal up quicker so that’s good to see too. Yang answers a call and sees Blake anxiously hoping she’ll pick up. The biggest smile comes to her face when she does, and the two halves of the group are ecstatic to hear the other is still alive and well. Neither are quite ready to tell the full tale of what they’ve been up to, but Weiss pulls up a map of the city and lays out a safe route through the subway tunnels that will take OYRJ straight to the mansion so they can actually reunite. Oscar isn’t about to leave Emerald behind though, and we see her knelt in the chaos holding out her hands as if hoping to catch some of the dust that was once her father figure. Yang is vocally against the idea of bringing Emerald with them, but Oscar advocates for her being every bit against Salem as them so the enemy of their enemy should be their friend. Emerald actually doesn’t seem to want to keep hanging around them and says they should just part ways, but Jaune isn’t about to let her walk free without facing any kind of justice for her past crimes. Ren thinks they need to be able to see past their emotional hang ups and consider the value in having her as an ally, and Yang is quick to remind them all that Emerald is part of the reason she lost her arm. Technically that is true, Adam was working with Cinder and if Yang hadn’t been framed as a brutal criminal she would have been around the rest of the team when everything popped off so maybe that first fight would have gone differently. But I do feel like it’s a bit of a stretch. Yang keeps going about why she can’t just forgive and forget when Em had been such a snake in the grass back at Beacon, but that’s not what Oscar is asking of her. He just wants her to try and give the girl a second chance to be better. He gets a little cryptic about how they’ve already gotten help from someone they haven’t had the best track record trusting, and Ren perfectly guesses he means that Oz has reemerged in his mind. This takes the blondes by surprise, and Oscar stands up for the old soul by saying he took the brunt of the beatings and told him how to impede Salem like he did just there. Turns out we’ll be finding out the secret of Ozpin’s cane today: It’s been made into a magical repository for kinetic energy stored over dozens of past lives to be made into a sort of bomb to set off when needed. I don’t know quite enough about physics to describe how exactly that would work, but it seems to make sense that it does. But the blast that took out Monstra used up the majority of what was in there so he can’t rely on it for that kind of attack again. It seems likely that was what Ozpin used against Cinder in the Beacon Vault, but didn’t use very much of it, and again what Oscar used to bust a hole in the bottom of the pit Ironwood shot him into. Oscar finishes making his case that Oz really does want to aid them, and the others seem convinced. What’s worth noting is that all eyes had been on him during this, but Emerald made no attempt to run away or even lower her hands. Guess she might really want to stick around after all... The moment is interrupted by the not so distant sound of a crying baby, and they all run further down the tunnel to find a subway station where the people of Atlas are taking shelter on Ironwood’s orders. Emerald starts to feel the weight of her action and those she used to side with, especially when she sees kids scared and hungry like she was before Cinder found her. They continue past the station on their way to the manor, and Oscar offers some encouragement to Emerald that they need her help in this war considering what she’s capable of. Considering the feats she performed under stress back in Volume 5, I’m inclined to agree. 

We fade away from that scene to Ironwood’s office and the camera rises up the stairs as if being held by the Ace Ops as they and Winter come through the still broken doors to give their report to the general. He’s looking at multiple holographic screens projecting from his table: one with graphics telling him the status of all the airships mechs and soldiers, one pulling up news articles and any other info they can get on Monstra presumably for the purpose of cataloguing it in case they ever need to worry about another one, the third seems to be a map of city to monitor the damage so far, and the last is all the info they have on Cinder. He congratulates the team for their work destroying the Grimm, but Winter admits it wasn’t their bomb that did the job, they still have it intact for him. This confuses Ironwood greatly, but he sees an opportunity in this twist of fate. Penny hasn’t come to the Vault like he wanted her to be programmed to do, so he assumes Watts did a shit job of reprogramming her or just intentionally screwed them over. Yet the truth is something he can’t seem to imagine, she has free will and doesn’t want to do as she’s told. Who’s the real tool now Jimmy? He informs them that Cinder broke Watts out, and he seems to consider Qrow and Robyn escaping to be an even worse consequence. Harriet seems ready to sprint out of the room and haul them back here herself, but Ironwood stays her hand... or foot in this case. With Salem temporarily halted, now is the best time they’ve got for him to have the Winter Maiden open the Vault and use the Staff to lift Atlas higher than she can reach like he wanted so badly. So he wants Winter to bring him Yang Jaune and Ren. Winter doesn’t see the purpose of that, or she does and hates to imagine it’s truly what he intends, but either way she knows she can’t do what he’s asking. He plans to make full use of the lives they hold in their hands, and he’s going to use Jaune and the others as leverage to make Penny do what he says. He acts as if he’s actually proud of himself for realizing this is an option available to him, and I think it’s his Semblance that’s partially blinding him to the moral reasons why it should not be an option worth considering. Winter is left wilting under his unaware and proud gaze, and then Harriet pipes up to tattle on her commanding officer. Winter gave the kids a chance to try and rescue their friends from inside the whale(they don’t mention that friend was Oscar so he still doesn’t know the kid survived his attempted murder), and they weren’t seen exiting before it blew up. I want to say I’m shocked and disgusted that Harriet snitched on Winter just for the brownie points of being honest and taking Winter down a peg, but I’m really not. She’s been a loyal bootlicker since this time last Volume, and this feels like payback for that whole “I outrank you so you can’t stop me from giving them a chance” thing in chapter 7. Ironwood removes the proud and probably intended to be comforting hand he had placed on Winter’s shoulder, as if ashamed to be touching her after she let him down like this. This was his last plan for his definition of success, and now it’s ruined so he can’t do anything. In a fit of rage he smashes his table like the goddamn Hulk and the Ace Ops are left to watch and wonder just how in his right mind he actually is. As he tries to catch his breath, the general gets an urgent transmission that dozens of non-military aircraft have shown up on radar. I and probably a few dozen other people watching this hoped this was an Avengers Endgame moment of tons of allies coming to the rescue of the down and out heroes. But no, its the Schnee Dust Company ships Whitley sent out. Almost forgot about that plan, whoops. Ironwood immediately recognizes this as Weiss’ handiwork for the sake of saving Mantle, because nobody would have guessed Whitley would show some humanity and make this plan himself. Winter immediately shows attentive concern hearing her sister has done this, and Harriet gives her a look as if to say “you are such a bleeding heart for these little criminals...” Ironwood makes the very one dimensional assumption that everything Ruby and the others have been doing is simply to protect Mantle, as if they didn’t have a serious conversation with May about helping Atlas as well as Mantle 3 episodes back. With that knowledge in mind, he decides he needs to make a call. 

Speaking of phones, Cinder gets a cheeky text and an accompanying selfie from Neo revealing she has the Lamp and she knows Salem will tear Cinder to pieces if she doesn’t bring it back to her. So she’s proposing a trade; Cinder gets the name to activate the Lamp, and in return she has to bring Neo to Ruby for the revenge she so deeply craves. Watts can’t see Cinder’s screen so he wonders who among their comrades has survived. Unclear if Cinder is going to tell him.

At last, we see Ruby throw open the front doors of Schnee Manor with Weiss and Blake flanking her, to see Yang and the others on the front steps. The sisters immediately embrace and Ruby sheds a tear of relief and joy that they’re all okay. Yang tells her she missed her too, and that seems to be that for the distrust and argument they had back in chapter 1. Ruby goes to greet the guys, and Yang gives Weiss a nice hug too. Then she sees Blake has taken a few steps away from the group and seems ashamed or embarrassed, unable to even look in their direction in Yang’s direction. Yang puts a hand to her cheek, her thumb softly stroking up and down as she turns Blake’s head to meet her gays gaze. Yang blushes and smiles, Bake returns the smile, and the two softly press their foreheads together. The intense sapphic energy of this deeply intimate moment was almost overwhelming, and many couldn’t help but adore it. I know I couldn’t stop myself from being a little giggly. Ren notices Nora isn’t there to greet them, and Weiss seems like she’s going to bring him up to her room and possibly even explain what happened along the way. Ruby takes this chance to go and greet Oscar with a hug, but stops short when she sees Emerald behind him. She seems real mad and is about to go on the attack, but Oscar steps between them and insists he can vouch for her, or maybe he’s saying he can explain? We don’t quite know because they get cut off by the sound of Ruby’s Scroll ringing. May is calling from the crater to say that the SDC freighters aren’t the only thing in the air right now, and she seems very panicked by what she sees. She yells for everyone to run into the mines for shelter, and an explosion is hear before the call is cut short. Before anyone has time to try and puzzle out what they just heard, a loud alarm tone goes off on all their Scrolls. It’s a fun detail that as a Faunus Blake covers her ears cuz the loud noise is especially bad for her. An emergency CCT broadcast is coming in for everyone in the kingdom, and Ruby magnifies her Scroll’s playing of it to be projected into the air for all of them to watch. The cargo ships are shown being shot down by military ships, and then the feed cuts to Ironwood standing ominously under a single light to deliver a downright villainous speech. He claims he has been trying his best to protect the technology and future of the kingdom from those who would do it harm, but I think it is VERY telling he never mentions protecting the people. Because that’s not what matters to him anymore. Not really. He says the only person stopping him from finishing his plans of making sure the currently crippled Salem can’t hurt them anymore is Penny. So he has an ultimatum for Penny and her friends, because he knows they will be listening right now. Either she turn herself over to him so he can have her do her “duty” and save as much of the Kingdom as possible and forget about trying to save Mantle, or he will nuke Mantle as punishment for her selfishness. The more he talks the more angry Ruby and the others get, and we are right there with them. He somehow thinks that if Mantle is destroyed then Penny will be free to only care about Atlas and its protection and will gladly work with him to do so. What a delusional bastard. And if anyone tries anything other than what he has said to do, he will use the bomb. 1 hour to decide how they will respond, and a hell of a lot riding on that choice.

There can be absolutely no question now, Ironwood will be the villain for the rest of the Volume and Salem will probably return at the end to ruin whatever hope putting him down will have raised in our heroes... And I’m kinda excited for how that’s gonna play out. Let’s see how team RWBY get out of this one~

[saltfics]

Villains AU: Hot Chocolate

For the RWRB Winterfest 2020. Day 2: Hot Chocolate.

Based on Playing His Game, a Hero/Villain AU. 

Nothing quite says truce like sharing hot chocolate and trying to distract the crowd from the fact that one of the cups is floating. 

(Full text below the cut)

AO3 link

He never realized how uncomfortable he is wearing his suit in public for no reason. Clearly, there’s a reason why he’s not the kind of over-glorified hero who participates in public appearances, aside from the fact that this city is not the kind to sanctify its heroes, or that Alex isn’t the most moral role model to begin with.  Even with the mask on his face, he feels like they can all see through him, and even though this spandex-looking fabric is the socially acceptable hero costume, he still feels super dumb wearing it.

And yet, after the hundredth post he saw of people hoping they would get to see some of the superheroes in the Christmas Market like they were a couple of fucking Santa Claus’ elves, and the thirty additional times Portal told him she wanted to go, Alex had caved to the request. Kid, however, wasn’t coming. As it turns out he always goes back to England for Christmas, so at least Alex has that going for him.

He lost Portal in the crowd within an hour. She keeps blinking in and out of places to make the kids whoop and laugh, so Alex has spent the past forty-something minutes strolling around by himself, nursing a cup of hot chocolate that’s barely even warm at this point. The Christmas Market is perfectly charming, all little wooden houses decorated with fake snow and tinsel and an absurd amount of fairy lights. The air smells of melted sugar and wine, and it makes him want to overspend on sickly sweet things he’s going to regret later. But as beautiful as it is, he would much rather spend an afternoon here with June and Nora, instead of wandering alone, and he can’t do that while he’s in costume even if he knows they’re somewhere there in the crowd.

He has just downed the last of his chocolate when a voice comes up behind him.

“Hello there.”

Alex yelps, earning confused glances and more than a few chuckles from people passing by. He turns around to find nothing but air and snow and a grinning old vendor in his booth too far away from him to have been the one talking. Frowning, Alex carefully stretches his hand out in front of him until his fingers brush against fabric.

“Take me out to dinner first,” the voice whispers, tangled in a soft laugh.

“I know that’s your stomach, you ass,” Alex scoffs, his own words just as quiet, speaking from the corner of his mouth so people don’t realize he’s talking. He turns back around so he can pretend to watch the people walking around the market but he keeps their shoulders close together to make sure the other is still there. “What are you doing here? I doubt they invited you.”

“I can’t enjoy some holiday cheer?”

“I guess,” he shrugs. “You’re not going to steal the gifts, are you?”

“Is that how you think of me? As a Grinch?”

Alex sighs. “Not really. If anything you’d be the kind of person who’d rob a toy multi-corporate that like, secretly donates to fascist organizations, and then just dump the toys here.” Figures it would be Alex to have an arch-nemesis too nice to actually stop so they can both play hopscotch with line of right and wrong like schoolchildren. “Was that your plan?”

Mirage chuckles, the sound sending a chill down Alex’s spine. “Not this year.”

“That’s almost a threat. Please tell me I won’t need to fight you during the holidays, Invisiboy. Come on, give me a break.” He’s joking for the most part but it would also be really fucking nice if his secret job could leave him alone for the season so he can feel like a normal person for once. Plus hiding his extracurriculars from his family is always draining in all the worst ways. As much as June helps, she cannot take away the worry in his mom’s eyes since that has burrowed there from the day they almost lost him, or rather the one they got him back, or the way she acts when Alex is being weird like she wonders if somehow he returned wrong.

He’s thought of showing her more than once. But he thinks she already knows. She’s seen the news segments, the time-line matches and Ellen Claremont is no fool. So as long as Alex withholds that confirmation from her, she can sleep a bit better, not knowing for certain what her son is doing after dark. Alex loses enough sleep for the both of them.

Mirage shifts against him, breaking him out of his thoughts. Alex could swear he’s moving closer. “Are you…?” He snorts. “Are you snuggling closer to me?”

“You’re like a human radiator—are those your powers?”

“Might be. Never thought about it. Honestly, I just thought I was warm because of the chocolate.”

“Oh, that would do the trick.”

Alex must have spent too much time with him if he can grasp the slight longing in his tone.

“If you’re that cold why don’t you just get some for yourself instead of cuddling with the guy who might try to kill you?” he asks, raising his brows towards what he hopes is Mirage’s general direction.

“You wouldn’t,” Mirage says but he does move away from him, and okay, thanks, he feels like an ass now. “I think people just might notice if there’s a cup of hot chocolate floating around. And like you said, I wasn’t invited. Heroes only.”

Alex could argue about this both in his favor and against it but the last thing he needs is to tell Mirage he’s nice to his face, more than he already does by not dragging his invisible ass to jail every time they meet. Instead he decides to do something that will work for both of them. “Tell you what. You tell me what you’re planning for the holiday season, and I’ll help you drink your chocolate.”

“Truly?”

“Scout’s honor.”

Mirage is quiet for a moment. His shoulders brushes against Alex’s again. “All right. You weren’t far off. Just… not here. The children’s hospital.”

Alex’s heart clenches. “Where are you taking them from?”

“Spitfire, why don’t you go on vacation next week?”

He tries to look at him again, squinting his eyes at the emptiness where his voice is coming from like he could catch a glimpse, a shadow of his figure. He has to be wearing his costume to be invisible in it but is his face bare? Would he finally see a hint of his features if Mirage let him? There’s nothing but fairy lights next to him but if he focuses enough he can just pick up the barest puff of a warm breath in the cold air.

Alex smiles despite himself. “I think I might.”

Mirage bumps their shoulders together in response.

“Okay, time for my end of the deal I guess. Wait here.”

He buys another cup of hot chocolate, insisting that he pays for it after the vendor gave him the first one free of charge ‘for his service’. If he’s going to be feeding super-villains he should do that out of his own pocket.

The hole in his plan reveals itself when he returns and he… can’t see where Mirage is. Of course he can’t. Fuck. There’s a couple taking photos in the spot where they were and even if he had perfect eyesight he would not be able to spot a little cloud of a breath with all these people around.

“This is what I get for being nice to you,” he mutters under his breath, as he goes to take a sip from the chocolate he’s apparently going to drink himself. Oh, yay, more sugar.

He jumps when someone steps lightly on his foot but as he looks around, no one is close enough to have hurt him.

There’s an extra pair of footsteps on the snow in front of him.

Alex fights back a laugh. “Hey, is snow your mortal enemy? When it snows do you have a little white pile floating around on the top of your head?”

“Did it truly take you three seconds to give up on me and try to steal my chocolate?”

“You should be the last person to lecture me about stealing. And I paid for it!” Alex can’t stop the grin from spreading on his face as Mirage laughs nearby. “Okay, are you ready? Wait for my cue.”

“What are you—”

 Ignoring him, he walks over to where most of the children have gathered. “Hey, kids! Do you want to see a magic trick?”

He thinks he hears Mirage groan somewhere behind him.

All the kids and a number of adults turn to him at his exclamation. He sees the recognition on their faces and he tries to focus only on those who seem happy to see him and not on the ones who would have him arrested if they could—he can see the distaste on their faces, so stark against the holiday cheer the surrounds this place. Once they realize he’s messing around, most of them turn back to their business but a couple of kids break off the mold and approach him, waiting with their big, curious eyes to see what he’ll do.

“Don’t get too excited now but I know one trick and I know it really well. You ready? I, Spitfire, hero extraordinaire, will make this cup”—he shows off the hot chocolate with the flair of a magician presenting his empty hat— “float in the air.”

Some children giggle in front of him. If Mirage bails on him now, Alex is going to kill him. “In three… two…” He feels Mirage’s fingers against his own around the cup. “… One!”

Alex lets it slip from his hands and though Mirage fumbles with it for a second, it looks like it’s floating. It stays in the air on its own then gets lifted towards what he can assume is Mirage’s mouth as Alex points at it with exaggerated movements.

He’s surprised Mirage doesn’t dump the whole thing on his head for the unnecessary drama.

With the kids still gathered, he decides to play some fire tricks as well, crudely-shaped birds born of flames like phoenixes flying around them, swirls and storms and whirlwinds in his hands, if only to redirect the attention from Mirage who must be trying to finish his drink in peace. Relative peace.

The combination of both ‘tricks’ leads to some confusion in the audience as the two spectacles  neither match in powers nor are they at all coordinated. The headlines in the morning might be more accusatory than usual if somebody notices the second pair of footsteps next to his. But he can hear Mirage laughing and he can see the children staring with open mouths and wide eyes in front of him, and maybe it’s fine if the media questions him once more.

He’ll even let Mirage do his thing next week too, if he wants to. Alex can always kick his ass after the holidays. Even supervillains deserve a gift after all, if they’re as nice as he is.

 @rwrb-fests 

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[1a-imagines]

Amnesia

Overview: A villain with an amnesia inducing quirk attacked you, and when you wake up in hospital you've forgotten everything. Including your boyfriend.

Type: scenarios

Characters: Midoriya, Bakugou, Todoroki.

A/n: This might be just a part 1. Assuming people want a part 2 but you'll have to let me know if you do want a part 2 to this.

Midoriya:

"Ah, so you're his precious little lover?"

"Huh?!" You gasped at the sound of a creepy voice echoing from behind you. You turned around as quick as you could, not wanting to let whoever it was get the upper hand. You thought you had been alone, so the voice had really scared you. You were faced with a tall man who was mostly in black, staring right back at you. A long black trench coat hanging off his frame and black baggy pants underneath. You couldn't see his face because it was covered with a black mask but you could see his eyes poking through the holes. They were an unatral light blue, almost white, colour. They really stood out against all the black he was wearing. You noticed he was holding what looked to be some sort of needle in his right hand. Of course, it wasn't hard to assume he was a villain but why was he talking about your boyfriend? You stepped back cautiously. Looking for a ways to escape. You were in an underground tunnel, that led under a busy road, on your way home from school when he appeared out of no where. Seriously, it looked he had materialised out of the purple dust that was currently swirling around his feet. You two were the only ones around, which only made you more alert. All you could hear was the sounds of cars passing above you. Your best bet was to get out of the tunnel as quick as possible, he probably wouldn't follow or attack you if you were around other people. They would call a pro hero in no time.

"Well, isn't he a lucky boy, you are a looker aren't you?" The man chuckled lowly. You knew you may have to fight this villain if you couldn't escape in time, as much as you didn't want to you weren't going to let him inject you with whatever the hell was in that needle. You didn't know what he wanted but it was clear he had something against Midoriya.

You narrowed your eyes at him and took a fighting stance to let him know you were prepared to fight if he tried anything. "What's with that face, doll? I'm not going to kill you. Oh no, no, no! That would be too easy. Don't you think? I want to cause that brat the most pain possible, I want to drag it out for as long as I can! If I killed you, it would all be over too soon. I wouldn't be able to revel in his depression." He continued on before melting into the purple cloud beneath his feet. You put your guard up, knowing he was going to strike. You had no idea what his quirk could be, but it seemed to be like Mirios quirk. When the villain popped back up he was a lot closer to you. Thanks to training and quick reflexes you kicked him in his chest and in the process pushed yourself as far away from him as you could. You slid back on your feet, making sure to steady yourself in the process. You were further away but your kick had done nothing to him! He hadn't been affect by it at all! You had no idea what was going on. In fact he only let out a deep chuckle at your attempts to fight.

"Oh my dear, it won't be that easy."

"What do you want with Midoriya!?" The villain let out a low growl and turned his head. You figured it would be a good time to run but before you could a cloud of purple dust came out of no where and surrounded you. You felt like you were being suffocated as it entered your lungs, In no time your body felt too weak to even stand and you collapsed onto the ground. What was this stuff? It felt like it was stopping you from breathing. Your heart began to pound in your chest as tears pricked at the corners of your eyes. Was this how you were going to die?

"He took my love away, so I'll take his. Just relax and let your mind slip away." You were now facing down on the cold concrete, Trying to boost yourself back up but your body felt so heavy, like you were made of led. What was this purple stuff? You coughed violently as you inhaled more of it. You wanted to cover your mouth but it was too late. Your body was paralysed, you couldn't move. All you could do was lay there as your eyes began to droop close.

"Sweet dreams, doll~" was the last thing you heard before you felt a prick in your arm and you fell in a deep slumber.

~*~

"(Y/n) (Y/l/n). What room are they in?!" Midoriya asked frantically as he ran up to the receptionist with Iida and uraraka running up behind him. As soon as he had gotten the phone call from the hospital saying you had been found unconscious in an underground tunnel he ran out of the school so fast his friends didn't even have time to process the fact he was running away from them. He ran faster than he ever had before. He didn't have any other information about your status, all he knew was you were unconscious. For all he knew you were in a critical condition! The lady at the reception stood up from her chair. "Please relax sir. They're doing fine. After the doctors took some tests they found no injuries on them."

"Oh that's so good to hear!" Uraraka sighed in relief for her friend. The nurse pursed her lips and looked down. "Yes, but there's something else." She went around the desk and began to guide the three students down the hall to your room. Leaving the other receptionist in charge.

"What is it!? What's wrong!?" Midoriya asked, still filled with adrenaline from his sprint over here. The nurse sighed and stopped outside your door. "They had this purple powder all over thier uniform when they were found and after some tests it was found that they were hit with a quirk. One that induces-" she paused and shook her head. Not liking this part to her job. "They might have some brain damage."

The three friends gasped in horror. Thier hearts clenching with worry in thier chests "We're not sure just yet if they do but the powder they were hit with contained traces of sedatives. We think they were put to sleep and injected with something, we found there was a fresh needle prick in thier arm. The doctors took some blood samples and are still running the tests.

We're going to keep them here until we find out more information about thier current condition. Please, be wary when you go inside, they might not be fully responsive. They seemed confused and a little slow ever since they woke up. Even when thier parents arrived it took awhile for them to remember their faces."

She bowed to the three students and left them alone. They looked amongst themselves in worry. What had happened to their friend? Why would someone attack such a sweet and caring student? Did (y/n) get in some kind of trouble and not tell anyone? It was typical of them to keep things to themselves so other wouldn't worry so much.

Midoriya was the first to walk inside. The other two following close behind. You were currently on your bed flicking through your phone absentmidely. Being in hospital was boring. Even if you had only been awake for about an hour now. You looked up when you heard the door open and smiled when you saw your friends at the door. "Hey guys!"

Midoriya grinned and walked over. He took your hand into his only to be met with a confused look from you. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine... Mostly confused. Ever since I woke up I feel like I'm missing something." You looked at your hands and then back up at him. You raised an eyebrow which did not go unnoticed by Iida and Uraraka. They suddenly felt uneasy about your reaction and walked over. "(Y/n)? What happened?" Iida questioned you.

"I'm not sure. I was just walking back from school and next thing I knew I woke up here! Speaking of which! Why didn't you two walk back with me. You always do!" You huffed and they shot each other a confused look. "We were training with Midoriya. You know that... don't you? You said you had to leave because you were going out with your family." Iida asked cautiously.

You looked at them, blinking a few times which only made them more scared for your answer. "Midoriya? Who's Midoriya?" It was as if time had completely slowed down to a stop. He felt his breath catch in his throat as his heart pounded in his chest. You... didn't remember him? That couldn't be true.. out of everyone in your life you couldn't just forget about him! Why did you remember the others but not him! It broke his heart in two. His hand started to shake against yours and you looked up at him. His mood had completely changed, he looked like he was about to cry. Had you said something wrong?

"(Y/n)! You-" Uraraka couldn't finish her sentence. She had to cover her mouth with her hand to stop herself from letting you hear the fear and sadness in her voice. She didn't want to add more stress onto you. You had been through enough but she couldn't help but stare at Midoriya with sympathy. It was clear to everyone in the room he was hurting, a lot. He tried not to show it by looking down in hopes his hair would cover his face from you all but he was shaking and a few tears dripped from his cheeks.

Midoriya slowly let go of your hand. He tried to stop himself from crying but it was overpowering him. You had completely forgotten about him. The way you looked at him with empty and distant eyes, was crushing him. It was as if all the love you once felt for him was now gone. "I-i-i'm going to get a drink." He burst out if the room before you could stop him. He knew the last thing you needed was to see him crying. That would only make you more stressed.

He sat in the chairs outside your room and sobbed into his hands. He couldn't believe it. It tore him appart. You were the person he loved most, the one he spent most of his time with. The one who made him smile more than he ever had in his life. And now you looked at him with nothing but confusion on your face. Everything you had been through was now gone. He hadn't only lost his lover but his best friend too.

He heard the door to your room open and close but he didn't look up. Iida sat down beside him, unsure of what to say so he opted for just sitting there with him for awhile. He figured it would be best to let Midoriya be the first to speak. It must've been ten whole minutes later when Midoriya finally did speak up. "They asked me to walk home with them and I didn't."

"You can't blame yourself! You were training and (y/n) is very encouraging of that. They wouldn't want you to blame yourself for this." His friend reassured him. While Midoriya appreaciated it, he felt too sad and defeated to listen to him.

"When you left the room they said they felt bad. They think they made you cry. Even if they don't remember you, you shouldn't be out here. I'll talk with the doctors. It may only be temporary amnesia for all we know. You should go and speak with them. Maybe you can help spark some memories." He knew Iida was right. There was no use in being out here and sulking. Maybe being around you could help you remember him quicker. Midoriya waited until his eyes dried and his cheeks were no longer red before walking back inside. You were showing Uraraka something on your phone and when you looked up you smiled at him. The same bright smile that he's come to love so dearly. "I'm so sorry Midoriya! Uraraka explained everything to me. I didn't really believe her at first but well-" you held up your phone showing your lockscreen. It was a picture of you two, you both looked like the two happiest people in the world. "Guess it explains this." You blushed and turned your head away in hopes he wouldn't see your red cheeks. He did see, and it made him half smile at the sight. He would've smiled fully but his heart was Still aching. He Remebered that picture on your lockscreen. The day you both went to the amusement park. You were meant to go with a bunch of your friends from class, but they all ditched you two (On purpose) and it ended up being the first date of many.

He walked over and sat down beside your bed. "I'm sorry I ran out like that. It wasn't your fault. I just didn't know how to react."

"I'll leave you two alone for a bit." Uraraka said sweetly before walking out. You looked down and admired the pictures of you and him on your phone. "So- you're my boyfriend huh?"

He froze up at the question but shyly nodded in response. "How did that happen? I didn't believe Uraraka at first because- well, One, I don't remember you, and two... You're really cute." You teased him which caused him to blush harder. "Th-thanks." He didn't know What to say. He couldn't hold you or kiss you. He couldn't even compliment you back because you didn't remember him, he didn't want to wierd you out, yet at the same time all he wanted was to bury his face into your hair and cry.

"Look- I know I don't remember anything but, I still want to get to know you again. I want to remember you. I looked so happy in these photos of us. Can we at least still be friends?"

Oh you had no idea how much those words hurt him. Everything he went through to confess his love to you. Every memory he had of you two. Your first kiss. Your confessions. Even when you took on the league of villains together. You had been through so much to get to this point. To be in such a loving and supportive relationship. You're everything to him. Your relationship was everything he ever dreamed of and more. Now he had to take a step back. Hearing you ask to just be friends hurt him more than any villain ever could. More than broken bones or bloody wounds.

He forced a smile and softly nodded along. He didn't trust his words, he had to take a moment before replying. He reached over to squeeze your hand, but he wished he didnt because it hurt him even more when you didn't squeeze back like you normally would.

"I'll be with you, even if I have to leave all of our memories behind to make new ones."

Bakugou:

"There you are dumbass!"

You let out a squeak as Bakugou barged into the hospital room, having kicked it open with his foot. His friends trailing behind him, trying to calm him down. He had been yelling and pushing everyone out of his way on the way here. They had to apologise to a lot of terrified strangers for him. But he didn't care, all he cared about was you. He needed to know you were alright! He was going to kill the person who did this to you. The guy who knocked you out and left you in an alleyway. That bastard would be lucky to see another day with Bakugou around.

"Dude this is a hospital! Be quiet!" Kaminari whisper-yelled at him but of course Bakugou didn't listen. He really couldn't care less about anyone other than you right now. He stomped over to your bed side to glare at you. "Did you know how fucking worried I was! You were found in an alleyway knocked out!? How stupid are you! Don't go in alleyways alone! God I can't leave you for one second without you getting into trouble! You're a fucking moron!" He continued to yell at you and call you insulting names. You stared up at him with scared eyes, utterly confused as to why this random guy was screaming at you. Not the mention the rage in his eyes made you want to run as far away as you could get from this guy. Kirishima noticed your reaction and placed a hand onto Bakugou's shoulder. "Relax man. You're scaring her."

"Scaring her? She's not scared of me yelling at her."

"I'm not suprised. You do it so often." Mina muttered. "Shut up raccoon eyes!" He yelled at her before turning back to you and finally noticing the fear on your face. He felt his heart stop for a split second seeing how terrified you were of him right now. It was so out of character. Out of everyone he yells at you were the one who it seemed to bother the least. You never took it to heart because you knew he loved you either way. He just sucked at expressing it. Usually you'd either roll your eyes, letting it pass by or you'd laugh it off. Finding his overreactions funny. Sometimes you'd argue back! Telling him he was an ass and to shut up. Though everyone knew you two never meant it. Your arguements were more comical than serious. In fact to this day you two had never seriously argued about anything!

"Who the hell are you people! Why are you yelling at me! You must have the wrong person!" You defended yourself. If you had the strength to get up, you would've ran to get a doctor by now. You wanted them out as soon as possible. They were scaring you to no end, and you had only woken up about 10 minutes ago. You had no energy yo deal with this.

The group fell into a tense silence as they stared at you in horror. "The hell are you talking about dumbass!? Don't play games! You already scared the shit out of me enough today."

"I'm not playing games! I really don't know who you are! Now get out before I get the doctors!" You glared at the ash blond. This guy was so rude. He had called you dumbass at least three times now and you had only just met him! What was going on!?

"(Y/n)... don't you remember us?" Sero asked. They walked closer to you but you only shook your head and raised a hand to tell them to stop getting closer. "I can't remember anything ever since I woke up. I'm sorry... Should I know you?"

"W-well yeah! We're you're friends! How can you forget us!" Kaminari pouted, he couldn't believe you'd just forget them that easily! You were really close to all of them so it crushed them to hear you telling them that you had no idea who they were. "She has amnesia." Kirishima muttered as he looked over the clipboard that was at the end of your bed.

"Amnesia?! You mean the villain who attacked her gave her amnesia too!? Why!? She wasn't even hurt was she? Why would they just knock her out, give her amnesia and leave her there?" Sero questioned. You looked around at the group of teens. You didn't know who they were but they looked really sad after finding out you didn't know who they were. You felt bad for upsetting them. The atmosphere was tense and it made your whole body stiffen, You really did feel bad seeing their expressions, especially for the angry guy. He had been so silent ever since you told him the truth. You could see his shoulders shaking as his hands clenched up into tight balls. His hair was covering his eyes, so you couldn't read his expression properly but his teeth were clenched tightly, almost grinding together. He looked as if he was about to blow up the hospital. You couldn't tell if he was angry or just sad. Either way, he looked like he wasn't holding it together very well.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Mina asked from beside you. You shook your head to tell her you couldn't remember anything. "Nothing everything's just empty. I'm sorry to ask this but... Who are you?"

That was the last straw. Bakugou kicked open the door and stormed out. He couldn't handle hearing you talk like you didn't remember a Damn thing. You looked round at the group who was staring at the door frame. They weren't sure what to say but the only thing they knew they should do was introduce themselves to you again, going after Bakugou when he was like this was just asking for trouble. He needed to cool off first.

They went around and told you who they were to you as well as their names. They tried to spark some memories in you by talking about things you did last week or even last month. Or how you met each other. Or about class 1A. Though nothing worked. You just didn't remember anything. However, You did begin to trust them more when they were able to tell you things about yourself. Like your favourite colour and your favourite food as well as what hobbies you had. They even showed you a few pictures of you and them together. So there was no reason not to trust them. Clearly you had known them at some point. They were really nice too, asking if you needed food or drinks. They were willing to look after you even if you couldn't remember them.

"That angry guy is also a hero in training?" You asked unsurely, it was hard to believe when he was so terrifying and angry all the time. You did feel bad though, it had been a few hours and he still hasn't come back. Kirishima left awhile ago to go find him and the other three were trying to entertain you until they got back.

"Yeah! And you two are actually dat-" Sero elbowed Kaminari in the stomach to stop him from talking further. It wasn't really their place to tell you that stuff. You should hear it from Bakugou, assuming he would tell you anyway. You raised an eyebrow in confusion at their behaviour but decided to let it go. You were too tired to question them. You just wanted to fall back asleep at this point, but at the same time you had so many questions left to ask them. You wanted to know more about your friends and life in the top hero training school.

"Hey hey! Guess who's back and all calmed down!" Kirishima came back in with an angry Bakugou walking behind him. He wasn't yelling at least but he was still scowling just as much as when he left. You glared at the blond, shuffling back until you hit the wall. He didn't seem stable and it made you uncomfortable to be around him. "Can we just talk for a moment? Without you looking like you're going to cry." He asked you softly. There was no bark in his tone like before. His eyes looked stone cold, There was just no emotion in them. Not even the angry spark from before. The rest of them left you two alone to talk. You wanted to know what he had to say but you also wish the others stayed here with you.

"If you don't remember me, fine. Whatever. But I just can't handle you looking at me like I'm a monster.." He muttered softly. You gripped onto the sheets of your bed tightly. "Then maybe try not acting like one then." He flinched at your words. His eyes couldn't meet yours, for once he didn't have the courage. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets before grumbling to himself. "I can't fucking believe this, and just when I was getting the hang of this boyfriend shit."

"Boyfriend?" You repeated in shock. You stared at him and when he met your eyes he glared at you again. His heart was breaking and he didn't know how to deal with it. The sadness he felt kept coming out in angry ways, which only made you more wary of him. He wanted to say how sad he was. How it hurt more than anything that you didn't remember him, that you were scared of him. It was like the person he loved was just gone. You weren't excited to see him. You weren't smiling your stupidly gorgeous smile or gently punching his arm when he said something mean. You weren't saying something dumb and teasing him with that annoying smirk you had. Everything he loved about you was gone. Everything he found irritating he missed more than anything. He would give anything to hear you laughing at your own dumb jokes. Hell! He even wished you were making fun of him! Trying to get a reaction out of him like you always did. Anything would be better than this!

"This is all your fucking fault. This never would've happened if you weren't so damn weak. You're so selfish!" He growled despite not meaning the words. He didn't mean it, he just didn't know how to deal with this heart ache. He loved you so much, you can't forget him. You can't hate him, you just cant, he can't handle you of all people hating him. When you two first met, sure you didn't get along so great but you've been through so much shit together! He wouldn't trade a thing, not even all the bickering to two did. In fact, he loved it. He loved how quick you'd backfire his insults. He loved that mischevious fire you had in you. He loved you more than anything he had ever loved before. He treasured you to no end.

You glared back at him with all the hatred you could muster. You felt nothing but hatred for this guy in front of you. "I can't imagine I'd ever date someone as awful as you." You had no idea how your words were impacting him. It felt like he was repeatedly taking a knife to his heart. He hadn't felt so much pain before. The stinging feeling in his chest was building and making it hard for him to breath.. "If we were dating beforehand, then I'm sorry to say but it probably won't go back to that."

He began to shake, he was trying so hard to hold back his tears. He could feel himself breaking down more with every second. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Out of everyone you should know he didn't mean it. He really didn't mean it. He was just scared. "No... No. You, can't mean that... please, say you're joking. Right?" He sounded so broken. So defeated. He could barley speak above a whisper. He couldn't lose you. He couldn't lose the love of his life.

"I'm sorry... but I mean it. I can't love someone like you."

Todoroki:

"Oh I get it!" You smiled up at the man who claimed to be your boyfriend. You couldn't remember a thing since you had woken up but luckily this really good looking guy had explained everything to you. He had been so paitient with you. You were feeling better having him around, he seemed like a really nice guy. You must've gotten lucky.

"We should get you out of here soon. The doctors said you should be fine to leave and I don't want to be in this place any longer." You nodded in agreement. The hospital was starting to make you feel nauseous. You wanted fresh air. "I think my parents need to sign me out though. They won't let you take me out because were not related- Uh- sorry. I forgot your name again."

"Kanaye" the ravenette smiled and ruffled your hair. You made face but nodded along. He was so affectionate and you weren't use to it. Well, not that you could remember anyway. He walked out of the room and you sighed. It was scary not knowing anything not knowing who to trust. The only ones you remembered were your parents and they had yet to arrive. They were taking a really long time. You reached over for your phone, kanaye hadn't really let you near it since you woke up. Saying you needed rest first. When you turned it on you had 78 messages and 39 missed calls. You gawked at the amount notifications you had before opening some of them up.

Midoriya.

- we haven't heard from you since yesterday. Is everything ok (y/n)?

-I really hope you're ok. Todoroki is really worried for you.

-(y/n)? We don't know what's going on but we're all looking for you.

- We all care about you so much. We're relly worried. If something happened you can always talk to us.

Momo

- (y/n) is everything ok? You missed classes today.

-The class is getting very worried for you. It's been almost two days.

- Now we can't find Todoroki either. Please tell me you're both ok.

You had many more too from a lot of other people. Mostly they were from this guy you had in your contacts. Shoto. There was a heart next to his name too which was confusing. He had been messaging you like crazy. He was clearly worried. You didn't know who he was but he was in your phone and clearly very important to you. It looked like you two messaged a lot. Your heart skipped a beat when you saw the two of you exchanging "I love you's". You froze up. You could feel your cheeks getting hotter. Who was this guy? What about Kanaye? It seemed like you were dating this 'shoto' guy but that didn't make sense... You decided to put your friends at ease and sent the same message to everyone in your contacts.

- Hi? I'm not sure what's going on but I want you to know, I'm fine. I can't remember anything but I'm assuming by the fact you're in my phone that means we knew each other? I'm in the hospital, I got attacked by a villain and I have amnesia. These contacts in my phone are all I have. I'm sorry for any worry I caused.

As soon as you sent that it didn't even take more than a minute for responces to flood your phone. You aren't sure how you knew so many caring and Lovely people. They mostly seemed to be classmates but they were all worried for you and they wouldn't let up until you gave them the name of the hospital. When you gave them the adress you put your phone down as kanaye walked back into the room.

He smiled at you and you smiled back. Until he noticed your phone had moved closer to you. He glared at it and shook his head. "Don't go on your phone..." He told you sternly before pocketing it. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. "Why not? It's my phone."

He sighed and sat down. Taking your hand in his. "There are some bad people from your past in there. They may pretend to be friendly but they only want your power. Now come on. We're going home."

"But my parents-"

"They came but they left after signing you out. They have jobs you know." You glared at him for the attitude. You knew they had jobs but their child was in hospital you knew they wouldnt just leave you without at least checking on you. "Kanaye, what's going on?" You questioned.

He was packing your bag for you and when he was done he grabbed your wrist and pulled you up, he was being rough and it startled you. Alarms began going off in your head. "You told them where you were didn't you!? And now they're on their way. I need to keep you safe." He muttered and grabbed your hand. He began pulling you out of the hospital despite your protesting. It was late and there wasn't many people around. When you got outside and into the parking lot you yanked your hand out of his.

"Why are you so frantic all of a sudden! I may have known you beforehand but I have amnesia! I don't feel comfortable leaving alone with a stranger!" You stepped away from him.

"Neither do I." You heard a voice from behind you growl. It was so cold it almost made your shiver. You turned to see a man with half red, half white hair sending a deathly glare at kanaye.

"Who are you?" You asked. "That's not important right now. What's important is we get you away from this guy." Kanaye smirked and crossed his arms. "Who she going to believe, a stranger. Or me, her boyfriend." The man behind you furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, there was obvious hurt on his face. "What?" Kanaye placed a hand around your waist and pulled you closer to him. You couldn't stop staring at the guy in front of you two. For some reason looking at him made your heart race you wanted to run to him, to hug him and feel safe again. "Who are you?" You asked again but a lot quieter. You were more asking yourself. He looked so familiar. You wanted to trust him more than you did kanaye but Kanaye was your boyfriend right? This was really stressing you out. You knew you couldn't rely on your brain right now. All you could trust was your heart and your heart was pulling you towards the man in front of you. "I don't appreciate you lying to my partner. Let them go. Who are you and what do you want?"

Kanaye began laughing maniacally. His hold on you tightened and it alarmed you to no end. "Aw~ and I was doing such a good job too!!" He now had a girls voice! He began to turn into a goo-like mess that consumed his whole body and when it disappeared again kanaye was no longer there. He was replaced with a girl with blond hair pulled into buns. She was wearing a school uniform. "Oh well! Luckily I still have some of this!" She was distracted with trying to pull of a small bag from her pocket. You turned to the guy and he motioned for you to come over to him. "Please... trust me (y/n)." He whispered softly to you. It made you feel safe and you couldnt help but step forward. Something about the way he said your name snapped something inside of you. Memories of you and your boyfriend came flooding back. You gasped and ran forward. "Shoto!" You finally remembered him but before you could reach him Toga ran in front of you. "Here cutie (y/n)! Go to sleep!"

She blew purple power into your face. The same one that knocked you out the first time. You felt your eyelids close as you lost consciousness and you fell backwards into someone's arms. "The league of villains..." Todoroki watched as one of kurogiris portals opened up and a bunch of them came out. Dabi was now carrying your body through the portal. "They're so cute! We're going to be best friends!" Toga squealed and jumped over into kurogiris portal. "You think I'll let you get away that easily."

"No, that's why we saved just enough powder for you too." Dabi replied in a raspy voice. In a flash toga ran over to him and tried to throw some into his face but he dodged just in time. He couldn't let them take you! He wouldn't! He began to fight them but he knew he couldn't use his quirk. At least not to it's full extent. This was a hospital and civilians were around. It didn't help when more of them began to walk through the portals. Shielding Dabi as he carried your unconscious form away. There were too many villains and civilians in one place for him to win. When he saw the portal closing he turned away. Unable to watch As he had to keep fighting the remaining villains.

'Im sorry (y/n). I promise I'll get you back.'

~*~

That was one week ago and he still hasn't found you. He wasn't sleeping or eating properly, he had been made sick with worry. Who knows what the league was doing to you. He had already told all your friends about the situation as well as the teachers and pro hero's. They were all looking for you. It was wasn't until the next Saturday that Todoroki received a call from Midoriya saying they had found you walking through an alleyway. He didn't waste another second running to your location. Though he couldn't prepare himself for the sight he saw. You were tied up with pro heros surrounding you. You looked scared but at the same time you were struggling against their grips. "What's happened!" He asked and Midoriya was the first to answer. "They... they don't remember anything Todoroki. They keep saying they dont' know who we are. They think they're a villain... We don't know what they did to them but it doesn't look good"

He cautiously walked over to were you were struggling on the ground. You looked up at him with a hate filled glare. "(Y/n) what did they do to you." He whispered softly you tried to make a move to shove him away but you couldn't get anywhere with the restraints on you. "How do you know my name! Who are you people!? Get away from me!" He stared at you in disbelief. He had finally found you again and yet he was back to square one, but the most important thing was you weren't with those villains any more. "It might be best we lock them up for awhile. They've been acting up ever since we found them." One of the hero's suggested. "No." Todoroki interjected as he stood up. "I'll take them back to their house and keep an eye on them. They've got amnesia again. It was like this before the league took them but it didn't last long. They remembered me, something must've triggered their memory. I'm sure that can happen again. Just leave them in my care." He argued with the heros. They agreed to leave you with him. They all knew you weren't a villain, even now you weren't exactly dangerous. You hadn't made a move to hurt any of them even with your quirk. You didn't even really put up a fight. You weren't capable of hurting innocent people, no matter if you had amnesia or not. You were scared and you didn't know What was going on, it made you defensive. You stared up at the man, who had essentially saved you from jail, in shock. They undid your restraints once you calmed down and he reached out a hand for you to take. You took it and he pulled you up. "Who are you?" It was a question todoroki was dreading to answer but he did, knowing he couldn't just ignore the fact you had forgotten all about him. No matter how much it hurt him, he couldn't be selfish. Though when he answered he never would've expected you to glare at him with such undeniable hatred.

"It's... You... You're the- the one Who killed my parents!" Everyone froze in shock at your words. You parents were very much alive! They were helping the hero's look for you this whole time. When you lunged for Todoroki a few of the pro hero's had to restraint you again. "They've been brainwashed..." Midoriya muttered sadly. Feeling his heart shatter more at the sight of you breaking down. Todoroki could only nod in agreement. You struggled against the hero's as your two friends could only watch. It hurt more than anything to see you like this. Why you? Why did the league want you? Why did they do this? They didn't even harm you. It seemed to be more directed toward hurting Todoroki and the people around you. It didn't make sense.

"Look kid! You're parents aren't dead! Relax!" One hero tried to reason with you but you just yelled back that you couldn't trust them. Out of everyone in the world you're the last person Todoroki wanted to look at him with hatred. It was soul crushing. Despite the overwhelming feelings he felt he pushed them down, knowing he had to focus on you right now. He had to help you rather than feeling sorry for himself. He couldn't stand to see you like this. He was going to take care of you, to help you regain your memories again. He would undo all the brainwashing the league had done no matter what it took.

"Look, you either go with Todoroki or you get put in jail, your choice." They reasoned with you and that seemed to make you calm down. You stopped struggling and looked up at him. "Fine..." You muttered and they did eventually let you go. You walked up to Todoroki and when you met his eyes he knew what you were about to say wouldn't be nice. Yet nothing could've ever prepared him for just how much pain your words caused him.

"Just because I'm going with you doesn't mean I trust you." You narrowed your eyes at him.

"I hate you."

[sky-scribbles]

Guess who’s new to Fallen Hero and throwing her first fic into the void! ~1400 words, nb!Sidestep x m!Ortega. Tw: canon-typical violence and injury.

Ortega's used to being certain that he’s going to die.

He’s always been wrong before, of course. Herald will swoop from the sky and grasp his wrist as he plummets from a rooftop, and the awful certainty of this is it, this is how I go out will be replaced with the slightly less awful sensation of his arm being dislocated. Which he can take. It’s better than falling to his death.

Or his electricity will fizzle out against the armour of whatever villain he’s facing (everyone’s got goddamn insulation these days) and they’ll grab him by the throat, fingers steadily tightening – and then Argent will tear into them from the side, clawing and snarling until they release him. Or Chen, his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed as he beats them back.

Maybe this is why Ortega’s so comfortable with recklessness. Things always turn out okay. Someone always comes.

No one is coming this time.

His enemy – what was her name? Tremor? Terror? He doesn’t even remember – hurls him against the rooftop again. Pain crashes through his shoulder as he collides with the concrete and falls onto his chest. Something snaps. Damn it, let that be one of his mods and not a bone. He can still fight with a broken mod.

His hands find the roof’s grit-strewn surface, scrabbling to shove him back up, but she’s already on him, too fast, much too fast. Her foot slams into the back of his neck, and his face hits the floor. Blood wells against his tongue, an all-too-familiar metallic taste.

She’s new on the scene, this one, still riding the euphoria from getting lucky with the hero drug. The intel said she was just fast and strong, enough for one Ranger to deal with. It was supposed to be safe to send him alone, while Herald and Steel deal with the mass robbery over by the Millennial Span and Argent’s off on some personal mission to god-knows-where. And then he got here, and the supposedly easy-to-handle enemy started sending seismic pulses through the asphalt.

It’s kind of hard to fight someone who knocks you off your feet and collapses buildings on your head whenever you try to hit them.

Tremor-or-Terror – probably Tremor, what with the whole seismic thing – kicks him onto his front, apparently just so she can punch the air from him with her heel. ‘Easy,’ she whispers, her voice echoing against her helmet, ‘So easy,’ and then she’s gripping the front of his suit, lifting his head and shoulders off the ground. ‘God, I can’t wait for them to find your body.’

She’s laughing, the breathless near-giggle of someone who can’t quite believe how lucky she’s been. This is really how it ends, then, listening to someone laugh over his death. Mierda. Not like this. He’s not ready.

But no one ever is, are they? Like Anathema, a huddled mess on the stairway. Like Wren, crashing through that window.

Wren.

He’s glad his vision is blurring out from the pain, because that means he doesn’t have to look at Tremor. He can see Wren instead. Picture dark eyes and overlong sleeves dangling over small hands. Hear them half-mumbling songs when they think no one’s listening. Feel them just sort of unravelling in his arms, letting their tension drain away, huffing out a breath against his chest.

Tremor’s hands are closing around his temples, ready to snap his head to the side. And suddenly there’s no time left to think of everything he wants to think about, like his mother’s hand in his hair (this is going to kill her he’s sorry he’s so sorry) or whether he can generate a shock strong enough to hit Tremor though her armour (he wants to but his limbs won’t obey) or Wren, finding Wren alive in that diner, kissing Wren beside the promenade, seeing Wren smile, Wren –

And then Tremor jolts back, letting him drop back against the rooftop. Throws up her arms to shield herself, a yelp forming behind her mask. ‘What the shit-?’

A faint mechanical whirr, and something large and dark rockets over the rooftop and slams into Tremor’s body. She crumples onto the concrete, clutching her chest, and her weight’s off Ortega and he can breathe again. He stumbles upright – mierda, mierda, he’s definitely cracked a rib – and looks up. Ready to see Argent or Steel or Herald, ready to grin and say took you long enough –

The words falter on his lips.

Because the figure tackling Tremor to the ground is small and lithe, armoured in black with the faintest silvery sheen. A talon-tipped gauntlet for a hand, a perfect mirror for a helmet. It’s like seeing a snake, the same punch of instinctive fear in his gut, the same bone-deep revulsion, because Myriad of all people is firing their jump-jets to evade Tremor’s seismic blasts. Myriad is dodging the flying rubble with impossible speed. Myriad is swinging their fist forward with a roar that reverberates behind their helmet, a twisted, alien sound – and dissolving Tremor’s armour with a single touch of their fingers to her chest.

Dissolving her armour. Ortega sucks in a breath and lunges. His fingers find the opening, hit fabric, feel flesh underneath – and then there’s lightning, and Tremor’s crumpling to the ground. Twitching, gasping, and going limp.

The electricity stops crackling around her unconscious body, and there’s silence. Myriad stands motionless on one side of Tremor, Ortega stands, shoulders heaving as he breathes, on the other.

He can already feel his stomach sinking. There’s not enough electricity in the world for him to win this fight. He’s pretty sure he’s cracked two damn ribs, it’s everything he can do to not just sink right back down onto the concrete, and Myriad is fresh, Myriad is uninjured, Myriad is –

Stepping back. Walking away, towards the edge of the rooftop. Calling over their shoulder: ‘She’s all yours, Charge.’

Ortega blinks. The newest scourge of Los Diablos is just… leaving. They have him their mercy, barely able to raise a fist in his own defence, and they’re leaving.

The words slip from his mouth before he can really think about them. ‘Wait. What are you – why?’

Myriad doesn’t break their stride. ‘Why what?’

Ortega gestures at Tremor, and instantly regrets it as pain shoots through his torso. ‘I… what, did you have some kind of grudge against her?’

‘No.’

‘Then why help me? Can’t think of any reason why you’d want to keep me alive.’

Myriad stops, poised with their clawed toes poking over the edge of the rooftop. The blank mask of a face swivels around to face him.

‘Bold of you,’ they say, and there’s a trace of a laugh in their voice, ‘to assume you know what I want.’

‘Which is?’

‘It doesn’t involve you being dead.’

Ortega swallows. Wipes the blood from his lips. ‘So what does it involve?’

They’re motionless for a moment. Then they jerk their head towards the city lights below them. ‘Making them hear me.’

And before Ortega can say anything else, they leap from the roof. The roar of their jump-jets sounds from below him, slowing their fall as they sink out of sight.

Well, at least that keeps his track record going. Someone always comes.

Wren visits him in hospital the next day, lips pursed as they run their eyes over his bandaged chest. ‘I know you’re not going to listen,’ they say, ‘but you could avoid a lot of this if you just… stopped.’

He can’t. They both know there’s a medical bill roughly the size of the West Coast hanging over him. But he’d rather not think about that, so he grins instead. ‘And lose the chance to have you fuss over me every time I get beat up? Perish the thought.’

He tries to grin, because they’ve had this talk so many times it’s almost like a joke between them, but Wren’s hands are balled into fists underneath their too-long sleeves. ‘I’m not in the suit anymore, Ricardo. I’m not there to cover you. Just – whatever happens –’

They snap off the end of the sentence, looking away, and Ortega reaches out. Takes hold of their bunched hand until their fists uncurl. ‘Yeah?’

‘Just… try to stay alive, damn it.’ They breathe out slowly, fingers curling tight around his own. ‘Stay alive.’

And if there’s something very familiar about the intensity in their voice, something that reminds him of Myriad’s furious roar and their icy motionless on the edge of the roof –

If there is, Ortega doesn’t dwell on it.

[thunder-the-ranger-wolf]

Stolen Dreams

Summary: A traumatic event in Yagi’s childhood shapes his will to become a Hero. All Might still exists to save people with a smile, but only as a last resort. The Broker is an extremely persuasive hero, able to dismantle hostage situations and calm rivalries with a well-placed word. Few people know that the Symbol of Peace and the Broker are one and the same. Fewer still know that he has anything resembling a personal life. That just might change soon.

Toshinori was always good at talking to people. When he was younger and had the looks to back up his words, he could practically get away with murder. Not that he wanted to, or that he would. Besides, it only lasted as long as nobody knew he was Quirkless. It was easy to hide and easier to pass off as a Strength mutation when necessary. Lying about having a Quirk wasn’t exactly illegal. No one could look at your paperwork unless it was required for a background check or some other random reason. Nana saw right through him, with her truth-sensing Quirk. Gran saw right through him because he saw himself in Toshinori. That didn’t make them go any easier on him. But all these things matter for a reason.

Stolen Dreams

The first time Toshinori is aware that someone is kidnapped, it’s him and some other kids from the foster home. He was seven years old and he should have gotten a Quirk by now, but he hadn’t. Nobody cared about him, it wasn’t like he had much to offer. The Quirks among the kids were Strength Enhancer, Speedster, Screech/Echolocation, Cat’s Eyes, and his main bully, Doomer. The kid was called Doomer because anyone he didn’t like got (quite literally) crushed under his large, furry heels, including adults. He was one of the only “long-term residents” of the foster home who wasn’t Quirkless.

The nabbers weren’t so keen on giving them up because it turns out they had quite the range of Quirks. And were easy pickings. The thing that really kept them quiet was the oldest, a woman with a scar that ran from her left eye to the right side of her cheek. She took out Doomer like it was nothing. The kid with the Strength Enhancer Quirk was knocked out immediately. Every time someone used a Quirk, they were punished. In the end, Toshinori managed to get out by asking to go for a walk and heading straight to the nearest police station. They were swamped, but one look at the battered, bleeding child babbling about five other kids being held against their will and two heroes nearby were called in to figure out the situation. In the end, he crept through a vent with a Knockout-Quirk-Suppressant gas and the police gathered everyone up. They attributed the catch to a rookie cop but Toshinori was fine with that. He didn’t need Doomer going after him any worse than usual.

Stolen Dreams

The second time Toshinori is aware that someone has been kidnapped, it was because of him. He was training with Nana and Gran had been called for hero work. Toshinori would learn later that he was helping to diffuse a tense robbery-turned-standoff between the police and the armed robbers. He’d been able to get civilians out before the robbers caught on and trapped him there too.

Toshinori had received a picture to his phone of Shimura’s young boy, Kotaro. The messenger said they would be returned home as soon as he agreed to stop training with the Interrogation Hero, Soothsayer. How these villains could be so cruel as to snatch children from their homes, he’d never know. They were so vulnerable. They relied on you for everything. How could adults take advantage of that and willingly lead them into or leave them in the midst of such danger?

(He knew. His parents had done it, so had millions of others before and many more after them. It was because they didn’t care.)

When Nana asked what had him so spooked, he didn’t bother lying about the situation. She panicked, predictably enough, and would have charged off had he not slammed her into a lamp-post.

“You don’t know how to talk to people when you’re stressed.” He informed her. “No one ever does. I’ll get your child back, Shimura, but this will be the last you see of me.”

Stolen Dreams

Nana wakes up in a hospital after what she assumes is a nasty spill down a flight of stairs. No one could tell her where she’d been before the hospital, only that a young man with bright hair and a solemn smile dropped her off, claiming to be a passerby who’d seen her fall and wanted to make sure she was alright. She could taste the lie as sure as if it had come from the boy himself, but when she was discharged and went home, Kotaro babbled about his day at school as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

“Did anything… strange happen to you today? Anything I should know about?”

Her son deliberated and, with a conviction that she surely lacked, shook his head. The worst part was that since truth-related Quirks ran in the family, she had no way of telling whether he was lying.

Stolen Dreams

Despite Yagi's words, that is not the last she saw of him. He appears on her deathbed, carrying her away from the wreckage she and the villain All For One had caused. He managed to get the raging jackass to leave them be with some line about letting him have the gods-forsaken Quirk when he got Shimura as far fucking away from this as possible. She had wanted to give him the Quirk anyway, and you certainly don’t know what happens when someone dies before they’ve passed on the Quirk, do you? He takes the bait, and when Toshinori sets Shimura down, she asks why he’d lied.

“Oh yes, I’m clearly going to give the most powerful Quirk in the world to the most destructive villain of our time. I manipulate people, sure, but what kind of asshole-.”

“Eat this.” She ordered, shoving a few strands of hair into his hands. He took them, wary of the idea that he was essentially ingesting someone’s DNA, but swallowed them anyhow.

Stolen Dreams

Toshinori keeps in touch, Nana’s last will be damned, which is when he knows that Kotaru has gone into the foster care system after Nana’s death. The boy never finds out how his parents died, and Toshinori doesn’t go looking for trouble where there is none. It’s bad enough he inherited the woman's Quirk, why does he need to unravel her life as well?

“You’re coming with me.” He informed the boy.

“I’m his cousin.” He informed the foster care, giving them his papers.

“Says here that you’re his brother.” The woman behind the counter corrects scathingly.

He looks at the papers. They were legit, Asahi made sure of it before he died. But he hadn’t bothered to look over what Asahi had him sign. They were adoption papers, yes, but he’d never thought himself to be anybody’s son.

“Huh.” Toshinori murmured, eyes wet. “I grew up with them.”

Nana basically shoved him through her front door for dinner every other night once she realized his parents weren’t around. But that was in middle school. And later on, in high school.

“I didn’t know they felt that way.”

He briefly wondered what Gran Torino would say. He never tries to find out.

Stolen Dreams

The first time he gets angry enough to consider burning the world and everyone in it, his coworker’s child goes missing. So does Fumikou, when she goes looking for the little girl.

He works at a bakery because while gaining the title Broker of Peace is immensely more satisfying than being All Might for three years in America, it doesn’t exactly rake in the cash. When he feels like exploring One For All, he takes the odd job involving construction. Or destruction. Whichever is offered, it doesn’t matter to him.

But the coworker’s daughter goes missing. She goes to the police, of course, but they can’t do much until someone is contacted for a ransom. It turns out that someone is him.

We know who you are, All Might.

Toshinori has done his best to keep under the radar. His Quirk works just fine, thank you, Shimura, for the extra societal boost. But his dreams of becoming a hero ended abruptly when he realized what his former mentor went through to keep her family. What being All Might would mean. A family was dangerous to heroes, but he already had one in the form of Kotaru, and now Tenko. People got hurt because of him. People were kidnapped. And when it came to being taken against your will, a Strength Quirk couldn’t do a damn thing.

So he goes looking. He calls in about maybe five favors from people who owe him a million times over. The rest was all him. He found the paltry group who thought to bring down the wrath of a “former hero.” They wanted All Might… they didn’t know what they were asking for.

“I AM HERE!” He roared, eyes gleaming bright blue in the dark labs this very public search led to. “And these… pitifully down-on-their-luck fools will not trouble your family any longer.”

“It’s a trap.” Fumikou hissed warily.

“Well of course.” Toshinori grinned ferally. “They are indeed trapped. Your coworkers will be looking forward to your return.”

Suffice to say that none of those villains was anywhere close to conscious when All Might was through with them, and when they did come to, Toshinori tracked them down and swore them to secrecy under threat of… a lot of things, really. Death would be an escape compared to the Hell that the (someway somehow, Toshinori would never know) Number One Hero could rain on them.

Stolen Dreams

“Fumikou-san, welcome back.” He offered calmly. “There’s a fresh pot of tea in the back room, all yours.”

“Bless you, Yagi-san, it’s been a hell of a week.”

“Was your daughter sick?”

“She…”

Fumikou hesitated, likely wondering how much she should say about what happened to her.

“Yes, she was more than a bit under the weather.” The woman said at last.

“Well, I hope she recovers from such an ordeal.”

“Thank you, Yagi-san.” Fumikou sighed gratefully.

Stolen Dreams

It isn't often that anyone thinks to kidnap Toshinori himself. The opportunistic villain who sees him as an easy target will quickly come to regret that, one way or another. Not many believe that the mild-mannered stick-thin weed of a man has the ultimate strength Quirk at his disposal and knows how to use it. Word gets around when it comes to such situations, and eventually he is left alone entirely.

Or he would be, if the villain Nana had died fighting hadn't made a reappearance.

At any rate, when Toshinori wakes up one day, three decades after his "mentor" died, he knows this is not where he fell asleep. He checks to make sure that Kotaru and Tenko aren't with him. Easy enough, considering one of the Quirks this gods-forsaken juggernaut of a woman passed down to him was X-ray vision!

Regardless of how he felt when it came to Heroes, Shimura was a hell of an example to live up to.

There were thirty other people in similar positions to him, moving slowly and seemingly confined to the wall. Likely via chains, like his. This X-ray vision could detect heat signatures throughout the building, but not much else.

"Yagi Toshinori… such an average name for the man my master has determined to be such a threat."

The ghost before him wore a suit and apparently liked to taunt people about their situation. What villain didn't? This ghost also seemed to be taking orders from All For One, or whatever the hell this immortal creep went by. Toshinori just wanted to go home and make sure his brother and nephew were alive. Maybe he'd call Gran Torino after all this was over. But first, it had to be over.

"I'm not going to bother asking questions." Toshinori yawned. "Since this is likely the same man that killed Shimura Nana, this guy wants me dead, wants my Quirk, or both."

"Both would be nice." The ghost snorted. "If only life were always this easy. I despise the scared ones. Or worse yet, the chatterers."

"Well, I happen to like this Quirk and to my understanding, it is not gained so easily."

"You'll have to take that up with him. I'm just the guard."

"Fair enough." Toshinori grumbled. " What's your name, Guard Dog."

"Kurogiri."

"Alright, Ghastly McGhoul, do I get to see the Big Guy anytime soon? If I remember correctly, he liked to monologue when he killed heroes."

Stolen Dreams

There were at least thirty people in these cells. There could be more, he didn't know what All For One was capable of.

(Untrue, he did. He was capable of many things including bathing in the blood of another. Destruction followed wherever he went and all the skills and Quirks in the world couldn't save Toshinori now. Once again, he was helpless.)

Some paced every day for hours on end. Some had gone silent long ago, and the only reason he knew they were still alive were his heightened senses ensuring their breathing. Some told stories of a past life. Some told stories of the future. He planned. There were many ways out of this chamber of a room. There was only one way out of the facilities that anyone knew of. There were so many people to coordinate with so everyone would be on the same page that if he were any less determined he'd pass on Shimura's Quirk and charge Ghastly the Guard Dog. He still might.

Quirks were a means to an end, in this society. If you were old enough you didn't need one. If you were strong or clever or smart enough you could never hope to match up to anyone who had all of that and a superpower.

But he thought back to the first time he'd ever witnessed a kidnapping and knew that it wasn't quite true.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S3 Ep 25: We Finally Address the Dead Bakura in the Room

It’s been a long while guys, a long wait. We had a lot of filler. That filler ended up being just a hell ton of characters, and since the show knew they would only be filler characters, every single one of them had to die. So, now that they are all absolutely dead (at least until we’ll need more filler later) we can finally get back to what we were trying to accomplish since S2, to finish this one single tourney that has been going on for a week in the show’s timeline but about a year and a half in the timeline of anyone watching from home.

It’s finally here, we’ve finally made it to...

A tower that Kaiba really did make in just that shape.

Sometimes you can really tell that this kid is a 16 year old. (who is occasionally 18 whenever it’s necessary. But only occasionally.)

I want you to know that it was probably this image that got this post flagged from my drafts folder. This show and getting me flagged, I swear. I’ve now reached a point, that the moment I click “Save” in my drafts folder, I get an automatic flag. Just automatically. Maybe once you’re tagged enough times, they just start putting you into a special group? I dunno. I’m not concerned about it since this blog is quite kosher, it’s just kind of funny to me that this will probably continue to happen whenever I post from here on out, and the massive dick tower Kaiba made is not helping my cause.

In case you are wondering, Kaiba and Mokuba are completely over losing their only surviving family. They act as if getting trapped in a VR nightmare where your Dad is trying to control all human life is something that is completely trivial and something that everyone goes through at one point. They’re completely over it. Most people would cancel the tourney after seeing the horrors they just witnessed but...Seto still wants those God cards, so, no one has spoken a lip about Noah at all. And probably never will ever again. RIP, Noah arc.

This episode (as well as the next one, since I’ve gotten in the habit of doing these two at a time for weekend updates) is pretty short. This is mostly because they’re recapping S2. Luckily for you and I, this is not really necessary since this is a recap blog and I can just...scroll down...to see what happened in S2 (and I did have to do that because I forgot...a lot)

But, I imagine kids who started watching this show who with the Noah Season and just kinda walked into this situation aboard the blimpjet from Hell were...hella confused at all these rando characters and Egyptian curses coming out of nowhere. The Noah arc and the Real arc are like two completely different feeling arcs.

(Read more under the cut)

They were probably also super confused at this random blonde lady in the hospital who is Joey’s friend but also, if I had not actually seen this show before, I’d just assume was his own mother because she’s drawn so much older than him.

Joey and Mai are now like...basically dating. Honestly, this is probably the best relationship Mai has ever had, and it’s taken place entirely when she’s in a coma.

On the other side of the Blimp, Marik is also checking up on his own beloved coma patient -- but by checking up on him, Marik actually intends to kill him.

Still trying to kill Odion. How many times are we gonna get this guy hovering over Odion’s bed with a knife (that they leave the tip off of in the English version) ?

What follows is a bizarre scene of Marik threatening to kill his Sister but never actually doing it. Honestly, this would be them until the end of time. Marik is never going to kill his Sister. It would be too much effort. He couldn’t even kill Odion when Odion was just asleep right in front of him.

And this is probably there as a sign that Marik still has a slightly less evil side in there somewhere but also...Marik is a villain that doesn’t like actually doing the work required to be a villain, which is how that entire Noah arc happened, youknow? Everyone should be dead by now. It’s been DAYS.

Honestly this whole scene was freakin weird, but not as weird as the next scene.

That’s right, the thing I’ve been waiting for for so long. That thing I’ve brought up every freakin episode for 25 episodes. We’re finally going to talk about it. We’re finally going to address it. I can’t believe it’s actually happening, I honestly thought this wouldn’t get addressed until S5.

It is amazing how many times Yugi’s friends have walked into Yugi having a freaking melt down with himself and how many times Yugi’s friends have been absolutely cool with it. They’re just...used to this now, I guess. They’re just used to Yugi crying at the top of his lungs with the lights off in someone else’s empty room. Completely normal Yugi behavior.

And then...this happens.

For absolutely NO REASON AT ALL, Yugi decides to lie.

I mean if I had a quarter for every lie Yugi says in this show, we’d be drowning in loose change, but it still surprised me a whoooole lot that Yugi would bother to lie about THIS. This thing that you could so easily debunk. This would be so easy to catch on to. The fact that no one wonders “wait, how is he getting air if the jet is still in the sky?” or the fact that when they’re outside, getting some air later in this very episode no one wonders “wait, Bakura’s not even here?”

Like why does any of Yugi’s friends even trust him at this point? Yugi is constantly lying and he’s not even good at it.

And maybe it’s because Yugi thinks that if he says Bakura died, then everyone would get their confidence shattered by Marik and would become too weak to fight back but like...they just witnessed half of Kaiba’s family die and now Yugi thinks they can’t handle Bakura--their shadiest asshole friend--getting killed by the same serial murderer that put two other people in a coma?

He doesn’t even tell the Kaibas “hey, so Marik killed one of your duel champions, do you maybe...need to do something about that?” No. He just...lets it be. Why tell Kaiba? Why tell the guy in charge of this tournament that one of the people in your tourney killed the other tourney people? Why even threaten Moki to threaten to enforce the rules for once his life?

Yugi, I swear.

God bless the storyboarder.

It’s been a while since I praised the storyboarder, mostly because I forget, but man, seeing this pose from this angle is such a good joke. Kaiba just committing to his signature pose until the camera cuts away.

And then, they step off the blimpjet and unanimously agree that Kaiba has deffo brought them here to murder them all and hide the bodies.

Admire this hell hole and then remember that Yugi told everyone that Bakura went outside for “fresh air” and they didn’t immediately ask “you mean in the dump? The literal trash compactor that’s outside? You said Bakura just walked out into the piles of weapon’s factory and rusty sharp metal and is just...waltzing around out there?”

I mean, at this point they should have put two and two together but it’s this team so...I guess they’ll just never know the truth.

And then Joey decided it was time to fight club again.

Marik really did leap up here and go like, “man, this is SO pretty” and it’s supposed to be taken as a sign that Marik loves destruction, but honestly? I don’t think Marik has any idea what things should look like above ground in the first place. He might think this is what normal above-ground people like.

Then, Marik patiently asked Mokuba what the duel order would be and that’s when Mokuba lost his freakin gourd just out of nowhere.

I mean Mokuba doesn’t really like talking to Marik, I get that, but how much of an asshole do you have to be before Mokuba doesn’t like you?

Anyway, they all enter the tower and learn about a whole new mode of playing the game. It took a very long time, and since I don’t go over card games here, is another part of the reason why this update is mercifully short.

They go on these...elevator cars????? And, as they attack eachother they sort of get pushed to the top of the tower, and whoever gets there first, is the first to duel and so on.

They make a very big hullaboo about who they want to duel in the finals. Every single person here. We spend like 5 minutes in everyone’s head wondering about what their strategy will be in this mini game that makes really not much of a difference.

There’s not even guard rails, they could’ve just given him a little push.

I take that back, there are guard rails on these things, but because none of these people ever sit down, the guard rails that are a foot and half off the floor of their cabin will make absolutely no difference.

Like please notice that every single one of their weird duel cars has a padded seat that none of them will even use.

Overall this looks like a whole lot of dueling and I’m looking forward to skipping it. Honestly it’s nice, when was the last time I had a 25 length cap post? S1, right? Like all the way since S1. Ah, good memories.

Anyways, if you just got here, this is a list of the other recaps of this series, starting at S1 Ep1 and moving forward in chrono order.

[shirtlesssammy]

4x14: Sex and Violence

Then:

Sam’s being seduced by the dark side.

Now:

We open with a happy couple going through the joys of settled marital bliss. Or at least a couple where the husband comes home late from work, the wife makes plans without his input, and the husband becomes dangerously angry --and by dangerously angry, I mean he takes a meat tenderizer and smashes his wife’s brains with it. Joy.

Because I’m not passing this up without a screenshot, here’s a rare shot of Bby Dean all tucked in and sleeping in what appears to be sleepwear. A rare sight in the wild.

He wakes to see Sam on the phone with someone, but quickly acts like he’s asleep when he realizes Sam’s not on the up and up. Sam “wakes” him with a case!

They head to interview the husband, who’s now in jail.

The husband explains that he killed his wife because she made plans without telling him. He knew what he was doing, but he doesn’t know why he did it. He loved her. They were happy. The boys bring up some dodgy credit card charges. The man admits to going to a strip club and meeting Jasmine. She was everything. He killed his wife for Jasmine. He takes full blame for what he did to his wife. Sidenote: The camera work is really interesting...so many extreme close-ups and cuts.

At Dr. Cara Robert’s office, Agent Stiles (I’m assuming it’s not Harry…) shows up for some questions about the three men who killed their wives. She reveals that all three men had high levels of oxytocin --the love hormone. Sam’s hitting it off with Dr Cara when Interrupting Squirrel arrives. (Side-side-side-note: I just looked up who Stiles and Murdock were. They were the characters from Route 66. Murdock is portrayed by an actor named George Maharis. And here I always thought George Michael Bluth’s fake name was an original goofball name. Oof. Arrested Development is the show that just keeps giving.) Dean turns on his “charm” but she only has eyes for Sam.

They boys head out, but not before Sam can get in one more bit of flirting. Dr Cara is smitten.

(For a one-off liaison for Sam, I LOVE THEM.)

Dean’s research revealed that each man’s story played out the same way, but they all fell for a different woman from the strip club.

Sam and Dean head to the Honey Wagon strip club for research that night. Dean gets nowhere with the club’s owner. No paperwork, all independent workers. Sam talked with Bobby, who suggests they’re dealing with a Siren. They’re beautiful creatures that prey on men, and entice them with their siren song. Dean’s song: Welcome to the Jungle. “So they shake their thing, and the guys zombie out?” (Side-note: SPOILER...Dean’s siren IS A MAN. I don’t want to jump ahead but I CAN’T WRAP MY HEAD AROUND THIS WHOLE EXPLANATION, AND THEN CONTINUE ON WITH THE “DEAN’S TOTES STRAIGHT” BULLSHIT THIS SHOW IS FEEDING US.) “Whatever floats the guy’s boat?” “So it can be the same chic, morphing into different dream girls?” Just as the brothers are lamenting the fact that it’ll be nearly impossible to locate the siren, one worker takes a client outside.

He takes her home for sexy-time, but not before checking in on his infirm mother. Later, she passively aggressively asks him to kills his mom so he can be with her forever. Then she just aggressively suggests he bash her brains in so they can be together. (Side-note: If this example of the siren working its wiles on a dude and his mom is supposed to show the “familial” side of the situation to parallel Sam and Dean, uh, the SIREN IS STILL SEXY-TIME for the dude even if the person they’re making them kill isn’t a significant other.)

While at their motel, doing a little research, Dean has a chance to check out Sam’s phone. He calls the one unknown number, only to hear Ruby on the other end. He hangs up, pissed. Sam arrives and Bobby calls in information.

Bobby mentions that the siren injects the men with some kind of toxin. But if the siren gets any of the toxin, they’ll die.

The boys head back to the hospital to meet with Dr. Roberts. Sam is hoping to get a sample of the Oxytocin. THE FLIRTING IS OUT OF CONTROL, FOLKS.

They’re interrupted by another FBI agent, Nick Monroe. There’s some FBI badge measuring. Dean and Nick look each other up and down and introduce themselves. There’s some staring (LISTEN, I’m just going off what the camera work is telling me, ok?) And Interrupting Moose, off-screen, tries to get in on the intro-fest. There’s some more FBI measuring, and Nick stares at Dean the whole time while Sam answers the questions. I mean, this is a master scene in heteronormativity. Nick calls the brother’s boss to check their credentials. Bobby, busy frying up lunch, puts everything in order.

Nick lays a theory on them all: all the attackers were hooking up with strippers from the same club. Sam and Dean bask in feelings of superiority because...DUH. Dean’s ready to be a “lone wolf” but Sam tasks him with occupying Nick instead.

It’s okay, though, because Nick is 100 billion percent into Dean(‘s car).

At the strip club, Dean’s not even watching the women (for pleasure OR for the case). He’s drinking and comparing music nerd levels with Nick.

There are “not a lot of Feds as cool as us,” Dean says, totally suavely. Totally, Dean! Finally, they get around to talking about the case. Nick pulls out further evidence that he collected...it’s a baggie with flowers matching the ones in Dr. Cara’s office. According to Nick, similar flowers have been found at every crime scene. He suggests that it’s the signature move of a serial killer. (Sorry, Nick, but Sam’s the one heavily into serial killer talk.)

Back with Sam and Dr. Cara-of-the-insidious-flowers, they’re reviewing security footage to find out who stole the blood samples from the attackers. It’s a no-go, though. Someone has already doctored the tapes. Sam tells her that he suspects a cover-up of the killings and that the men were drugged. Otherwise, why would they kill their victims in the first place? “Haven’t you ever been in a relationship where you really love somebody and still kind wanted to bash their head in?” Dr. Cara...keepin’ it real.

She pulls out alcohol to share from a cabinet in her office. (She’s clearly working through some issues of her own, poor bean.) When Dean calls she encourages Sam to ignore his phone call. It’s adult time now, baby. She can’t stop thinking about Sam’s lips, for example.

I’m sure I speak for Boris when I say:

Later, Sam heads back to the hotel room, accompanied by foreboding music. Dean’s not there, though. He’s driving in the Impala, and feeling disappointed in Sam. When they talk on the phone, Dean drops all his latest facts:

Sam’s ignoring Dean’s phone calls

Dr. Cara has hyacinths on her desk - which ties into the Grecian island where the siren myth originated

Her ex-husband is an ex because he’s DEAD, JIM

Also, why is Sam a jerk

Dean thinks Cara is the siren and he angrily asks Sam why he keeps hooking up with monsters. You’ll learn the allure of the supernatural someday, Dean. Maybe in just a few minutes in fact.

Dean enlists Nick’s help in canvassing for Dr. Cara. Nick finds her at a bar (poor, grieving Dr. Cara) and he and Dean stake out the late night dive.

In the car, they share swigs of a flask. Nick suggests that the poison might be entering the men through the saliva. Dean and Nick stare at the flask. “You really shoulda wiped the lid on that before you drank from it, Dean.”

Nick, who is totally the siren, tells Dean that Sam’s just a barrier to their relationship who needs to be removed. Nick can be like the brother that Sam’s failing to be. (Stares into the distance and thinks about labels.)

At the hotel room, Sam walks into an ambush. Dean holds a knife to his throat, while Nick delivers his villain speech. Yes, it is HE who has been driving men to kill others. “Maybe I got exactly what I wanted. I got Dean.” The siren reveals that he loves the hunt. He loves falling in love over and over again.

Nick squirts poison into Sam’s mouth. “Whoever survives can be with me forever.”

Sam and Dean, both under Nick’s control, turn to each other to...talk about their issues? The knife fighting comes later, clearly. Dean tells Sam that he’s changed, and lets him know that he knows about the calls to Ruby. Sam launches off of the Ruby subject and tells Dean that he’s too weak to fight Ruby. “You're too busy sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. Whining about all the souls you tortured in hell. Boo hoo.” DAMN, SAM. They fight - physically this time - and end up in the hallway.

As Dean is about to bring down an ax that he’s taken from the wall, Bobby appears! He jabs a bronze knife into Dean’s shoulder, throws the knife, and kills the siren. Damn, Bobby <3

Bobby lovingly chastises them later as they drink around their cars. According to Bobby, “Agent” Nick was clearly a big faking fake who fakes.

Dean asks if Sam will say goodbye to Cara but...nope. Sam’s just gonna blow outta town. (I think Dr. Cara mostly just wanted an uncomplicated hookup anyway, so likely for the best.) We leave the episode with awkward feelings all around. They’re “good” with each other but there’s a narrator voice intoning, “They were not, in fact, good.”

Whisper Quotes about Love:

Dude, you totally c-blocked me.

Strippers, Sammy, Strippers. We are on an actual case involving strippers.

Hey, I read.

For a fed, you’re not a total dick.

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

[hollyoaksloversx]

Gone Too Soon...

Rounding up a week in Hollyoaks (8th-12th April 2019)

If there was ever a character that deserved their happy ever after, it was Lily Drinkwell. Having lost her Mum to cancer a couple of years back, Lily moved to Hollyoaks to live with Aunty Diane, but life in the village wasn’t kind to Lily and she faced one upheaval after another. Lily has always struggled with her mental health, but this week she finally decided to accept help in a bid to get closer to her dream of becoming a doctor. Unfortunately, this is Hollyoaks and life has a habit of never going smoothly...

As the week began, Lily was stressed to the max as she prepared to hand in one of her exam pieces, however, she was left horrified when she realised she’d forgotten to prepare for the presentation element of her assessment. As Lily suffered a meltdown in front of her amused classmates, Courtney realised that Lily was self harming again and called Diane. Courtney reassured Lily that they could speak to the exam board and rearrange and Lily decided to check herself in to the mental health unit at the hospital. As Lily settled into the unit, she was visited by the people closest to her, including Peri and Yaz, who agreed to put their differences aside in a bid to help their friend. However, Lily was struggling with life in the unit, particularly with the buzzing noise coming from the light...

Meanwhile, James and Romeo were on the hunt for Mac’s killer and their detective work was clearly troubling Breda, who later planted the vial of poison she’d used to kill the villain in ‘James’s’ jacket. Unfortunately, Breda made a mistake and the vial ended up in Romeo’s jacket instead. Romeo was taken in for questioning and upon his release pending further investigation, was encouraged by James to go on the run. Romeo reluctantly agreed but refused to leave without saying goodbye to Lily. Heading to the unit, Romeo told a devastated Lily that he was leaving. After saying goodbye, Romeo headed on his way, but was shocked to find Lily standing behind him, begging him to take her with him...

It didn’t take long for the hospital to realise that Lily was missing and a search was launched. However, the situation suddenly became far more urgent when Farrah received the results of some tests that they’d done on Lily and she was forced to inform Diane that Lily had sepsis, and they now faced a race against time to find her. Lily returned to the village in secret and begged Sinead, who, having just returned from her holiday and was not aware of the situation, to collect some belongings for her. Sinead agreed, and Lily then went to say goodbye to Peri and Yasmine. Despite the girls begging her to stay, Lily refused to listen, and asked the pair not tell anyone where she was going. Meanwhile, Diane, Tony and Prince were on the hunt...

Romeo and Lily headed to the train station, where Lily’s illness began to catch up with her. As Lily began to question her decision to join Romeo on the run, Hollyoaks explored Lily’s childhood in a series of flashbacks, showing her first making the decision to become a doctor, through to the death of her Mother just before her arrival in the village. Romeo was shocked to discover that Lily was still self harming, but she promised him that she would stop once they’d settled into their new life. However, Lily quickly realised that life on the run was going to be no less stressful, and she was forced to admit to Romeo that she pictured her future with Prince. As Lily and Romeo decided to part, back in the village, Peri and Yasmine finally revealed Lily’s location after learning of her illness. As Tony, Diane and Prince raced to the station, Lily lay passed out in the bathroom. Upon his arrival, Prince tried desperately to save his wife, but it was too late and Diane broke down when she realised that Lily had died...

Lily’s death shocked her friends and family and Diane was quick to blame everyone else for her niece’s death as she mulled over Lily’s personal statement and grieved for what she could have become. The police eventually caught up with Romeo and he was charged with Mac’s murder. As if that wasn’t enough trauma for him, he also had to deal with Prince laying the blame for Lily’s death at his door...

Elsewhere this week, Maxine was horrified when she realised that the recording device in Minnie’s toy parrot had captured her telling her daughter that she wasn’t really ill. Luckily, dim Damon, upon hearing the recording, assumed that Maxine was simply trying to protect Minnie and so the lie continues. Juliet decided to tell Darren how she really felt about him whilst, finally, Scott grew tired of the constant bickering between Grace and Mercedes and donned his drag again to perform as ‘Gracedes’.

5 Things We Learned This Week:

1. Toys that record are never a good idea. We should have guessed when Damon first gave Minnie that toy parrot with the voice recorder that no good would come of it. Luckily for Maxine, Damon’s too stupid to realise that he’s being had...

2. Ant needs a few lessons in gender equality. Girls can be anything, and there’s no reason why little Hannah can’t play the doctor in your show. This is Hollyoaks, and they sure don’t discriminate. Girls can do everything boys do, including be serial killers!

3.  Sight is the weakest of the senses amongst the Hollyoaks residents. Romeo didn’t exactly make much of an effort to hide himself as he waited for Lily to retrieve her belongings, but not one person spotted him. Similarly, no one seemed to notice Breda skulking about suspiciously close to James and Romeo with a worried look on her face whilst they discussed who could have bumped Mac off. Specsavers would do a roaring trade in this village! 

4. It’s always somebody else's fault. In a show full of characters who are changed to suit the plot, Diane is the exception. Never one to take a look in the mirror and acknowledge her own role in situations, Diane reverted to form this week as she blamed anyone and everyone for Lily’s death. At least she’s consistent! 

5. Last week, I said that seeing Scott perform in drag as Mercedes was the best thing I had seen on Hollyoaks in a long time. Well, this week, it’s been topped. ‘Grecedes’ was far more amusing. 

This Week’s Cast:

Anthony, Breda, Courtney, Diane, Damon, Darren, Dee Dee, DS Yates, Farrah, Goldie, Grace, Hannah, James, Juliet, Liberty, Lily, Marnie, Maxine, Mercedes, Minnie, Misbah, Peri, Romeo, Rose, Scott, Sinead, Sylver, Tom, Tony and Yasmine. 

Past Characters Mentioned:

Harley Frater, Tabby Maxwell-Brown, Mac Nightingale.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 039: Deku VS Todoroki 2 - Flashback Boogaloo

Previously on BnHA: Todoroki and Izuku began their one on one! Todoroki blasted ice attacks at Deku and Deku broke up each one with mini One for All finger smashes. Todoroki’s right side slowly froze up, but meanwhile Deku went through all five fingers on his right hand and then proceeded to blow up his entire fucking left arm. You’d think this would have been the end of it, but no, this motherfucker then went and busted out another smash through his already-mangled right hand. Rather than going into shock at this point like a normal person, Deku fucking screamed at Todoroki to use his full power, because apparently he wants to die in the most spectacular way possible. I don’t even know.

Today on BnHA: Everyone just sits back and watches while Deku destroys his own body in his crazed attempts to get Shouto to use his left side. It’s not fun. Then Shouto starts having flashbacks to his horrifying past. This is even less fun. Basically no one is having a good time here. But eventually something in Shouto clicks when Deku yells at him that his power is his own. And then Shouto finally fires up his left side. So that part at least is fun, but the rest of it has me needing some damn blood pressure medication you guys.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 91 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

oh my god literally the first panel is a baby Shouto POV of his mom

I don’t know if I’m ready for this chapter guys

“when did I forget what came after that?” oh my god. is it so bad his mind blocked the memory for self-preservation reasons or something

Todoroki is really mad that Deku would suggest something so absurd as him using his full power. I assume Deku is going to tell him something similar to the “you’re not your dad” thing that he already said to Endeavor earlier

seriously Shouto, you can use your full power and still piss your dad off

now he’s really mad and he’s charging right at Deku

that’s maybe not the best plan

meanwhile Bakugou is watching intently and it’s so cute I have to post the panel

you go ahead and take your notes kiddo. you’re gonna need ‘em if you end up having to battle him yourself

now that they’re up close Deku is using the microwave trick again!

BUT HE’S STILL USING HIS RIGHT ARM. WHAT GOOD IS THE MICROWAVE TRICK IF THE ARM’S ALREADY FUCKED UP

PLEASE DON’T PUNCH HIM WITH A CLOSED FIST WITH YOUR BROKEN HAND, I MAY ACTUALLY FAINT OH MY GOD

I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW DEKU!!!!!!

has Horikoshi ever broken any of his bones?!! COME BACK AND WRITE THIS SCENE AGAIN AFTER YOU’VE BROKEN A BONE, ASSHOLE. COME BACK AND TELL ME THAT HE CAN FUCKING DO THAT AND NOT FALL DOWN SOBBING AFTERWARDS

the only possible explanation I can come up with is that he’s somehow completely hopped up on the adrenaline of it all and isn’t actually feeling the full pain just yet

but he SHOULD be, because that’s the body’s way of telling him, “DON’T FUCKING PUNCH ANYONE WITH THIS HAND YOU COLOSSALLY STUPID FUCK!!!”

anyway, Todoroki is FLYING ACROSS THE RING, but DEKU SHOULD BE FUCKING DEAD AND NOW I’M JUST MAD, DAMN IT

whoever wins this match has to fight either Shiozaki or Iida next, depending on who wins their match (probably Iida). and then after that, either Bakugou or Tokoyami (probably Bakugou). but I don’t know if either of these guys will actually be up for that at this rate

I can’t believe it, but Todoroki actually doesn’t look too good. just use your stupid left side already, Shouto

JESUS CHRIST CAN WE GET AN ACTUAL RESPONSIBLE ADULT OUT HERE??? ANYONE?? AIZAWA????

he’s agreeing with my hypothesis that Deku is so hopped up on adrenaline that he’s not feeling the full pain of what he’s doing to his body. and he’s already done so much damage that it can’t all be fixed in a single healing session. that’s what I’ve been fucking saying

should they stop the match? ABSOLUTELY. will they stop the match?? FUCKING WHAT DO YOU THINK

fucking hell, even Aizawa and All Might are just watching in awed admiration

SUPERHEROES ARE THE FUCKING WORST

Deku’s gonna be in the hospital for a fucking month and ALL OF THIS IS ON YOU SADISTIC FUCKS

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAIIIIINED

oh my god finally

YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE A FIST IN THE FIRST PLACE. BUT OKAY. YEESHHH

now he’s... biting... his thumb...

aaand that’s another smash

this is fucking horrifying. I’m not enjoying this at all, not even gonna pretend. it’s just absurd to me at this point that they would let this keep dragging out. I hope this inspires a series of rule changes to future sports festivals to lessen the risk of children doing irreversible damage to their bodies all for the sake of a fucking exhibition match

Shouto asks why Deku is going this far and Deku says he’s “just trying to meet expectations”

All Might you need to sit down with this boy after this and explain where he’s supposed to draw the line in this regard. like, when you did the plus ultra thing? that was for a good cause! sacrificing yourself to save other people’s lives! but he’s just doing it because he has something to prove and it’s the dumbest fucking thing, ugh

sorry guys, I might be bitching about this the entire chapter if this keeps up

“I want to be a smiling, dependable, cool hero!” Deku fucking shrieks

then you might want to step back about twenty feet and take a good long look at what you’re doing so far to accomplish those goals, Deku. because right now, “smiling” and “dependable” are not the words that come to mind

OH MY GOD!!!

BABY SHOUTO WITH NO SCAR!!!

RED ALERT. GOT MY BOX OF TISSUES OUT. ICE CREAM IN THE FREEZER AND ASMR PLAYLIST CUED UP ON YOUTUBE IF I NEED SOMETHING TO CALM ME DOWN AFTER THIS SHIT

Deku says he can’t begin to imagine what Shouto’s experiences have been like or how fierce his determination must be, but...

oh my god more flashbacks oh my god oh my god

(ETA: adding this note a couple years after the fact to warn people reading these recaps for the first time that my initial reaction to the full Shouto backstory was kind of intense. I really blew up at Rei in particular because without getting into any detail, that scene hit close to home for me in regard to some experiences I had while growing up. so I kind of projected a bit without meaning to. anyway, please see here for the “part 2″ version of this post, and fwiw Rei is now one of my favorite characters.)

THIS CHAPTER IS MAKING ME SO FUCKING ANGRY I’M GONNA FUCKING HULK OUT. SHIT. FUCKING SHIT

SHOUTO’S SCREAMING AT DEKU TO SHUT UP AND I FUCKING AGREE. YOU JUST SAID YOURSELF THAT YOU DON’T KNOW THE HALF OF WHAT HE’S BEEN THROUGH AND NOW’S REALLY NOT THE TIME TO START FUCKING PREACHING AT HIM OVER WHETHER OR NOT HE’S SERIOUS ABOUT HIS GOAL

NOW BABY SHOUTO IS HUGGIN’ HIS MOM AND SAYING THAT HE HATES DADDY AND DOESN’T WANT TO BE LIKE HIM

BECAUSE HIS DADDY “BULLIES” HIS MOMMY OH MY GOD

HE KEEPS REPEATING THAT HE DOESN’T WANT TO BE LIKE THAT

WHY DID WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS STUPID FLASHBACK. I WANNA GO HOME

I KNOW IT’S MY FAULT!! I ASKED FOR ANGST!! I KNOW!! I’M SORRY! I NEVER LEARN SOBB

SHOUTO’S MOM IS PATTING HIS HEAD GENTLY

DEKU IS SCREAMING AT SHOUTO AGAIN. STOP SCREAMING AT HIM!!!

BABY SHOUTO IS LOOKING AT THE WINDOW AT SOME KIDS PLAYING

-- THOSE ARE HIS BROTHERS?????!

AND HIS DAD SAYS NOT TO LOOK AT THEM, “THEY BELONG TO A DIFFERENT WORLD THAN YOU”

JESUS CHRIST. DID ENDEAVOR JUST WAKE UP ONE DAY AND DECIDE TO BE THE WORST??? JUST LIKE, THE WORST EVER? SINCE HE COULDN’T BE THE BEST, HE DECIDED TO BE THE WORST?!

LIKE, IF I HAD A GUN WITH TWO BULLETS AND WAS TRAPPED IN A ROOM WITH ENDEAVOR, MINETA, AND THE SKYPE VILLAIN, I WOULD SHOOT ENDEAVOR TWICE AND THEN PISTOL WHIP HIS DYING ASS UNTIL IT STOPPED TWITCHING??

NOW SHOUTO IS WALKING BY THE KITCHEN AND IT LOOKS LIKE HE’S ALREADY CRYING FROM SOMETHING (ABUSE, PROBABLY!!) AND HE’S OVERHEARING HIS MOM TALKING ON THE PHONE AND SHE’S SAYING THAT SHE CAN’T TAKE IT AND SOMETIMES THE LOOKS AT SHOUTO AND HIS LEFT SIDE AND HATES WHAT SHE SEES

WHAT A FUCKING THING FOR YOUR CHILD TO OVERHEAR!! AND I SEE A KETTLE ON THE STOVE! SHOULD I BE PREPARING MYSELF TO PUNCH MY COMPUTER SCREEN

SHE SAYS SHE CAN’T RAISE HIM ANYMORE

HE’S LOOKING UP AT HER WITH WIDE EYES

SHE’S LOOKING AT HIM LIKE... I CAN’T EVEN DESCRIBE IT. I DON’T WANT TO DESCRIBE IT OR POST IT

AND THE NEXT PANEL AFTER THAT IS HIM WITH A BANDAGE OVER HIS LEFT EYE

I HOPE SHE FUCKING WENT TO JAIL FOR FUCKING LIFE. MAN, I DON’T EVEN CARE. I HAVE ALL THE SYMPATHY FOR HER, RIGHT UP UNTIL SHE (A) LEFT HERSELF AND SHOUTO IN THAT SITUATION RATHER THAN TRYING TO REMOVE HIM FROM IT, AND THEN (B) FUCKING MAIMED HER OWN FUCKING CHILD, WHO LITERALLY HAD NO ONE ELSE EXCEPT FOR HER

I HATE THIS!!! I HATE ALL OF THIS!!!! I HATE THAT I AGREE WITH ENDEAVOR’S DECISION! I HATE THAT SHE ENDED UP PAYING FOR HIS GARBAGE BEHAVIOR! AND I HATE THAT SHOUTO IS NOW STUCK WITH HIM ALL ALONE!

AND IT SEEMS LIKE SOMETHING IN SHOUTO JUST SNAPPED FROM THAT POINT ON AND HE BECAME DETERMINED TO DEFY HIM

BACK TO THE FIGHT OMG

DEKU IS GOING FULL SHOUNEN JESUS

OH MY GOD AND IT FLASHES BACK TO BABY SHOUTO AGAIN

AND HE’S WATCHING A VIDEO, AND IT’S AN INTERVIEW WITH FUCKING ALL MIGHT

HE SAYS QUIRKS ARE PASSED FROM PARENT TO CHILD, BUT IT’S NOT JUST THAT AND “ONE MUST RECOGNIZE AND APPRECIATE ONESELF”

FUUUUUUUUUUCK

HE LOOKS SO HAPPY AND RELIEVED AND IT LOOKS LIKE HE HAS THE SAME BABY BOY CRUSH ON ALL MIGHT THAT BABY DEKU HAD

I’M JUST SO MAD AND UPSET THAT THIS WOMAN COULD HURT THIS CHILD, KNOWING FULL WELL HOW DIFFERENT HE WAS FROM HIS FATHER, HOW MUCH HE DIDN’T WANT TO BE LIKE HIM, AND HOW MUCH THE MERE THOUGHT OF IT HURT HIM

OH MY GOD AND NOW PRESENT-DAY TODOROKI LOOKS LIKE HE WANTS TO CRY

PROBABLY WHEN THE SAME WOMAN WHO SHOWED YOU THAT VIDEO LOST HER MIND AND POURED SCALDING WATER ON YOUR FACE

WELP

I just want to press pause for a sec and let you guys know that I’ve been listening to my “fight music” playlist during my readthrough of this chapter, and this scene was absolutely perfectly timed. got to this point RIGHT when I read that panel. I got so fucking fired up lol

so finally Todoroki has gotten over his stupid insistence on not using his left side! yay! I think Deku could have picked a better sort of therapy than this, personally, but hey! anyways, are you happy now dude?

you know what, forget I asked. no one cares about you

I’m just happy for this little guy:

THAT WEIRD SMILE AT THE END I CAN’T I’M FUCKING DEAD. HE LOOKS SO HAPPY AND DORKY

ALSO, WAY TO BLOW ANY CHANCE THAT BAKUGOU OR ANYONE ELSE HAD OF DEFEATING HIM LOL. MIGHT AS WELL JUST WRAP UP THIS COMPETITION NOW

(ETA: well I mean. it would’ve been true if this breakthrough had actually stuck lol)

well, Deku, you did it. you can pass out now

BONUS: 

Kouda’s pure, sweet face is all the ASMR I need after this chapter that fucked up my emotions in every possible way!

gotta tell you guys, I liked his design from the start. but this?

this just seals the deal. he is in fact the best character in the whole series. THIS WHOLE TIME IT WAS KOUDA, who the fuck would have ever thought

[samanthasroberts]

The 10 Most Difficult-to-Defend Online Fandoms

Oh, fandom. So passionate, so partisan—and, too often these days, so prolifically peevish. From Tumblr and Wattpad to more mainstream platforms like Twitter and Instagram, online communities have served as rallying points for stan armies: obsessives who comb over every interview and shred of non-news for information about the object of their adoration. But increasingly, fandoms' emotions have been curdling into a different kind of potion; something petty, entitled, conspiratorial, even abusive. So on the occasion of San Diego Comic-Con, one of the biggest fan events in the world, it's time for some tough love.

First, a note: this is a look at toxic strains that exist within a larger fandom, not an indictment of a given artist or person. Fandom is a pure and precious thing, and no one should feel conflicted about being invested in a pop-culture figure or property. If you express that investment by being a worse person, though—treating appreciation like warfare, demanding dogmatic purity tests, attacking people, or seeing yourself as some kind of a crusader—than it's probably time to take some time and re-assess things. We're sure nothing in the following catalog sounds like anything you've done in the name of fandom, right? Enjoy Comic-Con!

10. Barbz (Nicki Minaj Fandom)

The Barbz are a fiercely loyal sort. Case in point: In April, upon the release of Invasion of Privacy, a writer for British GQ explained how Cardi B had adopted Nicki Minaj’s style in a much more accessible way. “Nicki intimidates; Cardi endears,” she wrote. Minaj disciples responded with an all-out attack. The GQ staffer was flooded with malicious tweets, ranging from the direct (“I will kill u bitch”) to even more direct (“You better to delete that before we get your address and start hunting you and your family down!!”) The following month, the Barbz turned on one of their own when a self-proclaimed fan wondered aloud on Twitter: “You know how dope it would be if Nicki put out mature content? No silly shit, just reflecting on past relationships, being a boss, hardships, etc.” (Minaj took it further and DMed a disgustingly petty reply to the fan). For Barbz, fandom doesn’t allow for dissent—even when it's not dissent but a valid, healthy appraisal. This may come as a surprise, y'all, but love and criticism are not mutually exclusive.

9. Swifties (Taylor Swift Fandom)

Generally speaking, Taylor Swift’s fans aren’t bad—they just really love Swift and tend to be a little over-the-top about it. And most of the time, that’s what fandom is. (Also, this is a pop star who sends holiday presents to them; she’s earned their devotion.) But within that group, the “Bad Blood” singer has a few bad apples. There are those who go after Hayley Kiyoko for daring to point out that she shouldn’t be criticized for singing about women when Swift sings about men all the time. (Swift actually agrees with Kiyoko on that point.) There are Swifties who get bent out of shape when she doesn’t get nominated for enough awards. And then there are the white supremacists—fans Swift seems to have done nothing to court, but pop up anyway. Yeah, the ones who call her an “Aryan goddess”? Those are the ones who give her a bad reputation.

8. Zack Snyder Fans

Look, Zack Snyder's hardcore supporters have it rough. Or, well, they think they do. They’ve hitched their wagon to a star that occasionally blinks out. He’s made some OK movies (Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen) but he’s made even more that have been trashed by critics: Sucker Punch; Man of Steel; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That's led to a persecution complex among more than a few of his stans. While this kerfuffle has died down a bit with Snyder's step back from the spotlight—recently, he has shifted focus to make iPhone movies and produce the DC movies rather than direct them—the coming years represent a reckoning. James Wan’s Aquaman and Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman sequel are headed to theaters, and the receptions they get may determine whether critics have complaints with all DC movies, or just the ones with Snyder behind the camera. In the meantime, though, his own personal justice league will be there to defend it.

7. Rick and Morty Fans

Yes, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland created a funny, smart, challenging (god, those burps) cartoon. Yes, it delivers a bizarro Back to the Future ride through both spacetime and genre tropes. Yes, it's the most STEM-conscious animated show since Futurama. But sweet tapdancing Pickle Rick, you've never seen a TV fandom more noisome than this one. There's the "this show is so smart normies don't get it" self-congratulation that's so over-the-top it became a copypasta meme; there's the propensity to doxx the show's female writers and generally be such venal stains that Harmon despises them; there's the mass freakout after McDonald's ran out of limited-edition Szechuan dipping sauce. (Yes, that's correct.) While Adult Swim recently renewed the show for 70 new episodes, there's going to be quite a lull before anyone sees a new episode—here's hoping the fans grow up a little bit in the meantime.

6. #TeamBreezy (Chris Brown Fandom)

It’s been almost a decade since reports first surfaced of Chris Brown’s violent abuse of then-girlfriend Rihanna. Since then, Rihanna has rocketed to pop superstardom while Brown’s career has strided along, aided by a loyal following that borders on enablers. Despite an earnest-seeming redemption tour, reports of Brown’s violent behavior continue to bubble up: Brown’s ex-girlfriend filed for a restraining order; Brown went on a homophobic Twitter rant; Brown punched a fan in a nightclub; Brown locked a woman in his home, without a cell phone, so she could be sexually assaulted. (Brown’s camp denies that last accusation.) Yet, Team Breezy generally attributes such reports to misinformation and "haters." Fandoms are built on stand-by-your-man loyalty, but at some point it becomes impossible to love the art in good conscience. If the #MeToo movement is any indication, the times have changed since Rihanna’s bloody face headlined gossip sites. Willful ignorance is no longer an acceptable choice.

5. XXXtentacion Fans

On June 18, outside of a Broward County motorcycle dealership, 20-year-old Jahseh Onfroy was fatally gunned down by two assailants. At the time of his death, Onfroy, who rapped under the moniker XXXTentacion, had already amassed a rare kind of fame: He attracted deep love and even deeper hate with a ferocious mania. The allure of Onfroy’s dark matter inspired the type of fandom that spills into violent obsession. A recurring source of vitriol for the rapper, and an easy target for his rabid fanbase, was his ex-girlfriend, Geneva Ayala, who filed multiple charges against the rapper (including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, and witness tampering). When it came to light that Ayala created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for hospital bills due to damage inflicted by Onfroy, his fans bullied her into exile: forcing her to delete Instagram, hacking her Twitter account, harassing her at work to the point that she was left with no option but to quit, and shutting down her GoFundMe (it was later reopened). Having made a name for himself on Soundcloud, where he often engaged issues of mental health in his music, Onfroy willingly embraced his demons (he once called himself “lil dylan roof” on Twitter, referencing the Charleston shooter who murdered nine parishioners in South Carolina in 2015). But even now, in death, XXX is a reminder that extreme fandom has the power to blind people to the blood on their own hands.

4. Logang (Logan Paul Fandom)

Let’s get this out of the way up front. Many, even most, of Logan Paul’s fans are literal children. And so if you ask us who is really responsible for their bad behavior, we’re going to have to say the fault is predominantly with Paul and, you know, other adults. But the Logang (or the Logangsters, depending on who you ask), like Lil Tay, are inventing a new category of internet villain: the terrifying baby troll. They do all the things adult trolls do—parrot back the sexist and racist things Pauls says, stalk him outside hotel rooms, and harass and troll the “haters” daring to criticize their deeply problematic idol—but they’re kids! So you can’t really fire back at them without being a jerk yourself. Listen, Logang: all Logan wants to do is sell you merch. He’s not really your friend. Can I interest you in a puppy video?

3. Bro Army (Pewdiepie Fandom)

First rule of non-toxic fandoms: Don’t call yourselves "bro," don’t call yourselves an "army," and definitely don’t call yourselves the Bro Army. People might assume you’re a bunch of flame-war-loving trolls who think girls are icky—and where YouTuber PewDiePie’s fans are concerned, everyone would be absolutely right. It’s not just that they’ve stuck with the Swedish gamer/alleged comedian as he peppered his videos with racial slurs, rape jokes, anti-Semitism, and homophobia for nearly a decade (though that’s bad enough). It’s also that they insist that PewDiePie somehow isn’t being hateful at all. Oh, and if you quote their hero back at them, they’ll wallpaper your social media accounts with thoughtful messages about how you suck—for years.

2. The Dark Side of Star Wars Fandom

The most recent eruption has been a hilariously non-ironic campaign to remake The Last Jedi, but that's sadly just the latest in a long line of online grossness from the entitled Sith-heads who are so keen on reclaiming the Star Wars universe . Somehow, Gamergate has come to a galaxy far, far away; hectoring, harassment, even death threats aimed at director Rian Johnson. To be clear, this is a tiny (if vocal) subset of Star Wars fandom, which on the whole is as joyous and inclusive as the universe is finally becoming. But to to quote our own Adam Rogers:

"Everyone has a right to opinions about movies. Everyone has a right, I guess, to throw those opinions in the face of the people who make those movies, though it does seem at minimum impolite. Everyone has the right to ask transnational entertainment companies to make the movies they want, and if those companies don’t respond, to stop giving the companies money. But harassment, threats, jokes about someone’s race or gender? A Jedi would fight someone who did that stuff. The Force binds us all together. Hatred and anger are the ways of the Dark Side; they may bring power, but at a cost. It harms individuals, debases the people who do it, and it breaks the Fellowship. In the end, the cost of that power will be powerlessness."

1. Elon Musk Acolytes

"Always punch up" is a good life motto. You’ll accomplish a lot by speaking truth to power; dissecting the misdeeds of a relative unknown, though, makes you look like a tool. That’s why, despite the plethora of dark and toxic fandoms that flourish on the fringes of the internet, the group that tops our list of nasties is devoted to a person at the internet's very center: Elon Musk. To his fan club, Musk is so much more than a charismatic artist, a talented musician, or, hey, a flawed but successful tech entrepreneur—he’s a messiah, a vestige of an age of retrograde masculinity, when a reasonably successful man could expect his ideas to remain unchecked and his words be read as gospel. And Musk wields his one-man metaphor status (and his 22.3 million follower army) to whack out any dissenting opinions. “Because before he commented on my tweet, it was floundering in relative obscurity,” science writer Erin Biba wrote in a piece for the Daily Beast. But after Musk’s dismissive response, Biba found herself drowning in hate mail and abuse. By letting his mob pick over opinions he does not like, Musk is able to control the narrative, playing up investigative reporting on Tesla’s poor labor practices as a misinformation campaign—or even, in some recent deleted tweets, insinuating that one of the people involved with the Thai cave rescue efforts is a pedophile. It’s bad to be thin-skinned, and terrible to play the underdog, but playing it while you ignite a million-man bullying campaign is reprehensible.

More Great WIRED Stories

Sex, beer, and coding: Inside Facebook’s wild, early days

Sci-fi invades Netflix—as they both invade your home

The worst cybersecurity hacks of 2018 so far

Microsoft’s big bet on a tiny-computer future

How Silicon Valley fuels an informal caste system

Looking for more? Sign up for our daily newsletter and never miss our latest and greatest stories

Related Video

Culture

How To Battle Trolling Ad Hominem Attacks Online

An internet troll's favorite way to argue? Ad hominem, of course! This is your guide to spotting bad arguments on the internet and how to fight them.

Source: http://allofbeer.com/the-10-most-difficult-to-defend-online-fandoms/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2019/03/20/the-10-most-difficult-to-defend-online-fandoms/

[adambstingus]

The 10 Most Difficult-to-Defend Online Fandoms

Oh, fandom. So passionate, so partisan—and, too often these days, so prolifically peevish. From Tumblr and Wattpad to more mainstream platforms like Twitter and Instagram, online communities have served as rallying points for stan armies: obsessives who comb over every interview and shred of non-news for information about the object of their adoration. But increasingly, fandoms’ emotions have been curdling into a different kind of potion; something petty, entitled, conspiratorial, even abusive. So on the occasion of San Diego Comic-Con, one of the biggest fan events in the world, it’s time for some tough love.

First, a note: this is a look at toxic strains that exist within a larger fandom, not an indictment of a given artist or person. Fandom is a pure and precious thing, and no one should feel conflicted about being invested in a pop-culture figure or property. If you express that investment by being a worse person, though—treating appreciation like warfare, demanding dogmatic purity tests, attacking people, or seeing yourself as some kind of a crusader—than it’s probably time to take some time and re-assess things. We’re sure nothing in the following catalog sounds like anything you’ve done in the name of fandom, right? Enjoy Comic-Con!

10. Barbz (Nicki Minaj Fandom)

The Barbz are a fiercely loyal sort. Case in point: In April, upon the release of Invasion of Privacy, a writer for British GQ explained how Cardi B had adopted Nicki Minaj’s style in a much more accessible way. “Nicki intimidates; Cardi endears,” she wrote. Minaj disciples responded with an all-out attack. The GQ staffer was flooded with malicious tweets, ranging from the direct (“I will kill u bitch”) to even more direct (“You better to delete that before we get your address and start hunting you and your family down!!”) The following month, the Barbz turned on one of their own when a self-proclaimed fan wondered aloud on Twitter: “You know how dope it would be if Nicki put out mature content? No silly shit, just reflecting on past relationships, being a boss, hardships, etc.” (Minaj took it further and DMed a disgustingly petty reply to the fan). For Barbz, fandom doesn���t allow for dissent—even when it’s not dissent but a valid, healthy appraisal. This may come as a surprise, y'all, but love and criticism are not mutually exclusive.

9. Swifties (Taylor Swift Fandom)

Generally speaking, Taylor Swift’s fans aren’t bad—they just really love Swift and tend to be a little over-the-top about it. And most of the time, that’s what fandom is. (Also, this is a pop star who sends holiday presents to them; she’s earned their devotion.) But within that group, the “Bad Blood” singer has a few bad apples. There are those who go after Hayley Kiyoko for daring to point out that she shouldn’t be criticized for singing about women when Swift sings about men all the time. (Swift actually agrees with Kiyoko on that point.) There are Swifties who get bent out of shape when she doesn’t get nominated for enough awards. And then there are the white supremacists—fans Swift seems to have done nothing to court, but pop up anyway. Yeah, the ones who call her an “Aryan goddess”? Those are the ones who give her a bad reputation.

8. Zack Snyder Fans

Look, Zack Snyder’s hardcore supporters have it rough. Or, well, they think they do. They’ve hitched their wagon to a star that occasionally blinks out. He’s made some OK movies (Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen) but he’s made even more that have been trashed by critics: Sucker Punch; Man of Steel; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That’s led to a persecution complex among more than a few of his stans. While this kerfuffle has died down a bit with Snyder’s step back from the spotlight—recently, he has shifted focus to make iPhone movies and produce the DC movies rather than direct them—the coming years represent a reckoning. James Wan’s Aquaman and Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman sequel are headed to theaters, and the receptions they get may determine whether critics have complaints with all DC movies, or just the ones with Snyder behind the camera. In the meantime, though, his own personal justice league will be there to defend it.

7. Rick and Morty Fans

Yes, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland created a funny, smart, challenging (god, those burps) cartoon. Yes, it delivers a bizarro Back to the Future ride through both spacetime and genre tropes. Yes, it’s the most STEM-conscious animated show since Futurama. But sweet tapdancing Pickle Rick, you’ve never seen a TV fandom more noisome than this one. There’s the “this show is so smart normies don’t get it” self-congratulation that’s so over-the-top it became a copypasta meme; there’s the propensity to doxx the show’s female writers and generally be such venal stains that Harmon despises them; there’s the mass freakout after McDonald’s ran out of limited-edition Szechuan dipping sauce. (Yes, that’s correct.) While Adult Swim recently renewed the show for 70 new episodes, there’s going to be quite a lull before anyone sees a new episode—here’s hoping the fans grow up a little bit in the meantime.

6. #TeamBreezy (Chris Brown Fandom)

It’s been almost a decade since reports first surfaced of Chris Brown’s violent abuse of then-girlfriend Rihanna. Since then, Rihanna has rocketed to pop superstardom while Brown’s career has strided along, aided by a loyal following that borders on enablers. Despite an earnest-seeming redemption tour, reports of Brown’s violent behavior continue to bubble up: Brown’s ex-girlfriend filed for a restraining order; Brown went on a homophobic Twitter rant; Brown punched a fan in a nightclub; Brown locked a woman in his home, without a cell phone, so she could be sexually assaulted. (Brown’s camp denies that last accusation.) Yet, Team Breezy generally attributes such reports to misinformation and “haters.” Fandoms are built on stand-by-your-man loyalty, but at some point it becomes impossible to love the art in good conscience. If the #MeToo movement is any indication, the times have changed since Rihanna’s bloody face headlined gossip sites. Willful ignorance is no longer an acceptable choice.

5. XXXtentacion Fans

On June 18, outside of a Broward County motorcycle dealership, 20-year-old Jahseh Onfroy was fatally gunned down by two assailants. At the time of his death, Onfroy, who rapped under the moniker XXXTentacion, had already amassed a rare kind of fame: He attracted deep love and even deeper hate with a ferocious mania. The allure of Onfroy’s dark matter inspired the type of fandom that spills into violent obsession. A recurring source of vitriol for the rapper, and an easy target for his rabid fanbase, was his ex-girlfriend, Geneva Ayala, who filed multiple charges against the rapper (including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, and witness tampering). When it came to light that Ayala created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for hospital bills due to damage inflicted by Onfroy, his fans bullied her into exile: forcing her to delete Instagram, hacking her Twitter account, harassing her at work to the point that she was left with no option but to quit, and shutting down her GoFundMe (it was later reopened). Having made a name for himself on Soundcloud, where he often engaged issues of mental health in his music, Onfroy willingly embraced his demons (he once called himself “lil dylan roof” on Twitter, referencing the Charleston shooter who murdered nine parishioners in South Carolina in 2015). But even now, in death, XXX is a reminder that extreme fandom has the power to blind people to the blood on their own hands.

4. Logang (Logan Paul Fandom)

Let’s get this out of the way up front. Many, even most, of Logan Paul’s fans are literal children. And so if you ask us who is really responsible for their bad behavior, we’re going to have to say the fault is predominantly with Paul and, you know, other adults. But the Logang (or the Logangsters, depending on who you ask), like Lil Tay, are inventing a new category of internet villain: the terrifying baby troll. They do all the things adult trolls do—parrot back the sexist and racist things Pauls says, stalk him outside hotel rooms, and harass and troll the “haters” daring to criticize their deeply problematic idol—but they’re kids! So you can’t really fire back at them without being a jerk yourself. Listen, Logang: all Logan wants to do is sell you merch. He’s not really your friend. Can I interest you in a puppy video?

3. Bro Army (Pewdiepie Fandom)

First rule of non-toxic fandoms: Don’t call yourselves “bro,” don’t call yourselves an “army,” and definitely don’t call yourselves the Bro Army. People might assume you’re a bunch of flame-war-loving trolls who think girls are icky—and where YouTuber PewDiePie’s fans are concerned, everyone would be absolutely right. It’s not just that they’ve stuck with the Swedish gamer/alleged comedian as he peppered his videos with racial slurs, rape jokes, anti-Semitism, and homophobia for nearly a decade (though that’s bad enough). It’s also that they insist that PewDiePie somehow isn’t being hateful at all. Oh, and if you quote their hero back at them, they’ll wallpaper your social media accounts with thoughtful messages about how you suck—for years.

2. The Dark Side of Star Wars Fandom

The most recent eruption has been a hilariously non-ironic campaign to remake The Last Jedi, but that’s sadly just the latest in a long line of online grossness from the entitled Sith-heads who are so keen on reclaiming the Star Wars universe . Somehow, Gamergate has come to a galaxy far, far away; hectoring, harassment, even death threats aimed at director Rian Johnson. To be clear, this is a tiny (if vocal) subset of Star Wars fandom, which on the whole is as joyous and inclusive as the universe is finally becoming. But to to quote our own Adam Rogers:

“Everyone has a right to opinions about movies. Everyone has a right, I guess, to throw those opinions in the face of the people who make those movies, though it does seem at minimum impolite. Everyone has the right to ask transnational entertainment companies to make the movies they want, and if those companies don’t respond, to stop giving the companies money. But harassment, threats, jokes about someone’s race or gender? A Jedi would fight someone who did that stuff. The Force binds us all together. Hatred and anger are the ways of the Dark Side; they may bring power, but at a cost. It harms individuals, debases the people who do it, and it breaks the Fellowship. In the end, the cost of that power will be powerlessness.”

1. Elon Musk Acolytes

“Always punch up” is a good life motto. You’ll accomplish a lot by speaking truth to power; dissecting the misdeeds of a relative unknown, though, makes you look like a tool. That’s why, despite the plethora of dark and toxic fandoms that flourish on the fringes of the internet, the group that tops our list of nasties is devoted to a person at the internet’s very center: Elon Musk. To his fan club, Musk is so much more than a charismatic artist, a talented musician, or, hey, a flawed but successful tech entrepreneur—he’s a messiah, a vestige of an age of retrograde masculinity, when a reasonably successful man could expect his ideas to remain unchecked and his words be read as gospel. And Musk wields his one-man metaphor status (and his 22.3 million follower army) to whack out any dissenting opinions. “Because before he commented on my tweet, it was floundering in relative obscurity,” science writer Erin Biba wrote in a piece for the Daily Beast. But after Musk’s dismissive response, Biba found herself drowning in hate mail and abuse. By letting his mob pick over opinions he does not like, Musk is able to control the narrative, playing up investigative reporting on Tesla’s poor labor practices as a misinformation campaign—or even, in some recent deleted tweets, insinuating that one of the people involved with the Thai cave rescue efforts is a pedophile. It’s bad to be thin-skinned, and terrible to play the underdog, but playing it while you ignite a million-man bullying campaign is reprehensible.

More Great WIRED Stories

Sex, beer, and coding: Inside Facebook’s wild, early days

Sci-fi invades Netflix—as they both invade your home

The worst cybersecurity hacks of 2018 so far

Microsoft’s big bet on a tiny-computer future

How Silicon Valley fuels an informal caste system

Looking for more? Sign up for our daily newsletter and never miss our latest and greatest stories

Related Video

Culture

How To Battle Trolling Ad Hominem Attacks Online

An internet troll’s favorite way to argue? Ad hominem, of course! This is your guide to spotting bad arguments on the internet and how to fight them.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/the-10-most-difficult-to-defend-online-fandoms/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/183577966647

[allofbeercom]

The 10 Most Difficult-to-Defend Online Fandoms

Oh, fandom. So passionate, so partisan—and, too often these days, so prolifically peevish. From Tumblr and Wattpad to more mainstream platforms like Twitter and Instagram, online communities have served as rallying points for stan armies: obsessives who comb over every interview and shred of non-news for information about the object of their adoration. But increasingly, fandoms' emotions have been curdling into a different kind of potion; something petty, entitled, conspiratorial, even abusive. So on the occasion of San Diego Comic-Con, one of the biggest fan events in the world, it's time for some tough love.

First, a note: this is a look at toxic strains that exist within a larger fandom, not an indictment of a given artist or person. Fandom is a pure and precious thing, and no one should feel conflicted about being invested in a pop-culture figure or property. If you express that investment by being a worse person, though—treating appreciation like warfare, demanding dogmatic purity tests, attacking people, or seeing yourself as some kind of a crusader—than it's probably time to take some time and re-assess things. We're sure nothing in the following catalog sounds like anything you've done in the name of fandom, right? Enjoy Comic-Con!

10. Barbz (Nicki Minaj Fandom)

The Barbz are a fiercely loyal sort. Case in point: In April, upon the release of Invasion of Privacy, a writer for British GQ explained how Cardi B had adopted Nicki Minaj’s style in a much more accessible way. “Nicki intimidates; Cardi endears,” she wrote. Minaj disciples responded with an all-out attack. The GQ staffer was flooded with malicious tweets, ranging from the direct (“I will kill u bitch”) to even more direct (“You better to delete that before we get your address and start hunting you and your family down!!”) The following month, the Barbz turned on one of their own when a self-proclaimed fan wondered aloud on Twitter: “You know how dope it would be if Nicki put out mature content? No silly shit, just reflecting on past relationships, being a boss, hardships, etc.” (Minaj took it further and DMed a disgustingly petty reply to the fan). For Barbz, fandom doesn’t allow for dissent—even when it's not dissent but a valid, healthy appraisal. This may come as a surprise, y'all, but love and criticism are not mutually exclusive.

9. Swifties (Taylor Swift Fandom)

Generally speaking, Taylor Swift’s fans aren’t bad—they just really love Swift and tend to be a little over-the-top about it. And most of the time, that’s what fandom is. (Also, this is a pop star who sends holiday presents to them; she’s earned their devotion.) But within that group, the “Bad Blood” singer has a few bad apples. There are those who go after Hayley Kiyoko for daring to point out that she shouldn’t be criticized for singing about women when Swift sings about men all the time. (Swift actually agrees with Kiyoko on that point.) There are Swifties who get bent out of shape when she doesn’t get nominated for enough awards. And then there are the white supremacists—fans Swift seems to have done nothing to court, but pop up anyway. Yeah, the ones who call her an “Aryan goddess”? Those are the ones who give her a bad reputation.

8. Zack Snyder Fans

Look, Zack Snyder's hardcore supporters have it rough. Or, well, they think they do. They’ve hitched their wagon to a star that occasionally blinks out. He’s made some OK movies (Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen) but he’s made even more that have been trashed by critics: Sucker Punch; Man of Steel; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That's led to a persecution complex among more than a few of his stans. While this kerfuffle has died down a bit with Snyder's step back from the spotlight—recently, he has shifted focus to make iPhone movies and produce the DC movies rather than direct them—the coming years represent a reckoning. James Wan’s Aquaman and Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman sequel are headed to theaters, and the receptions they get may determine whether critics have complaints with all DC movies, or just the ones with Snyder behind the camera. In the meantime, though, his own personal justice league will be there to defend it.

7. Rick and Morty Fans

Yes, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland created a funny, smart, challenging (god, those burps) cartoon. Yes, it delivers a bizarro Back to the Future ride through both spacetime and genre tropes. Yes, it's the most STEM-conscious animated show since Futurama. But sweet tapdancing Pickle Rick, you've never seen a TV fandom more noisome than this one. There's the "this show is so smart normies don't get it" self-congratulation that's so over-the-top it became a copypasta meme; there's the propensity to doxx the show's female writers and generally be such venal stains that Harmon despises them; there's the mass freakout after McDonald's ran out of limited-edition Szechuan dipping sauce. (Yes, that's correct.) While Adult Swim recently renewed the show for 70 new episodes, there's going to be quite a lull before anyone sees a new episode—here's hoping the fans grow up a little bit in the meantime.

6. #TeamBreezy (Chris Brown Fandom)

It’s been almost a decade since reports first surfaced of Chris Brown’s violent abuse of then-girlfriend Rihanna. Since then, Rihanna has rocketed to pop superstardom while Brown’s career has strided along, aided by a loyal following that borders on enablers. Despite an earnest-seeming redemption tour, reports of Brown’s violent behavior continue to bubble up: Brown’s ex-girlfriend filed for a restraining order; Brown went on a homophobic Twitter rant; Brown punched a fan in a nightclub; Brown locked a woman in his home, without a cell phone, so she could be sexually assaulted. (Brown’s camp denies that last accusation.) Yet, Team Breezy generally attributes such reports to misinformation and "haters." Fandoms are built on stand-by-your-man loyalty, but at some point it becomes impossible to love the art in good conscience. If the #MeToo movement is any indication, the times have changed since Rihanna’s bloody face headlined gossip sites. Willful ignorance is no longer an acceptable choice.

5. XXXtentacion Fans

On June 18, outside of a Broward County motorcycle dealership, 20-year-old Jahseh Onfroy was fatally gunned down by two assailants. At the time of his death, Onfroy, who rapped under the moniker XXXTentacion, had already amassed a rare kind of fame: He attracted deep love and even deeper hate with a ferocious mania. The allure of Onfroy’s dark matter inspired the type of fandom that spills into violent obsession. A recurring source of vitriol for the rapper, and an easy target for his rabid fanbase, was his ex-girlfriend, Geneva Ayala, who filed multiple charges against the rapper (including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, and witness tampering). When it came to light that Ayala created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for hospital bills due to damage inflicted by Onfroy, his fans bullied her into exile: forcing her to delete Instagram, hacking her Twitter account, harassing her at work to the point that she was left with no option but to quit, and shutting down her GoFundMe (it was later reopened). Having made a name for himself on Soundcloud, where he often engaged issues of mental health in his music, Onfroy willingly embraced his demons (he once called himself “lil dylan roof” on Twitter, referencing the Charleston shooter who murdered nine parishioners in South Carolina in 2015). But even now, in death, XXX is a reminder that extreme fandom has the power to blind people to the blood on their own hands.

4. Logang (Logan Paul Fandom)

Let’s get this out of the way up front. Many, even most, of Logan Paul’s fans are literal children. And so if you ask us who is really responsible for their bad behavior, we’re going to have to say the fault is predominantly with Paul and, you know, other adults. But the Logang (or the Logangsters, depending on who you ask), like Lil Tay, are inventing a new category of internet villain: the terrifying baby troll. They do all the things adult trolls do—parrot back the sexist and racist things Pauls says, stalk him outside hotel rooms, and harass and troll the “haters” daring to criticize their deeply problematic idol—but they’re kids! So you can’t really fire back at them without being a jerk yourself. Listen, Logang: all Logan wants to do is sell you merch. He’s not really your friend. Can I interest you in a puppy video?

3. Bro Army (Pewdiepie Fandom)

First rule of non-toxic fandoms: Don’t call yourselves "bro," don’t call yourselves an "army," and definitely don’t call yourselves the Bro Army. People might assume you’re a bunch of flame-war-loving trolls who think girls are icky—and where YouTuber PewDiePie’s fans are concerned, everyone would be absolutely right. It’s not just that they’ve stuck with the Swedish gamer/alleged comedian as he peppered his videos with racial slurs, rape jokes, anti-Semitism, and homophobia for nearly a decade (though that’s bad enough). It’s also that they insist that PewDiePie somehow isn’t being hateful at all. Oh, and if you quote their hero back at them, they’ll wallpaper your social media accounts with thoughtful messages about how you suck—for years.

2. The Dark Side of Star Wars Fandom

The most recent eruption has been a hilariously non-ironic campaign to remake The Last Jedi, but that's sadly just the latest in a long line of online grossness from the entitled Sith-heads who are so keen on reclaiming the Star Wars universe . Somehow, Gamergate has come to a galaxy far, far away; hectoring, harassment, even death threats aimed at director Rian Johnson. To be clear, this is a tiny (if vocal) subset of Star Wars fandom, which on the whole is as joyous and inclusive as the universe is finally becoming. But to to quote our own Adam Rogers:

"Everyone has a right to opinions about movies. Everyone has a right, I guess, to throw those opinions in the face of the people who make those movies, though it does seem at minimum impolite. Everyone has the right to ask transnational entertainment companies to make the movies they want, and if those companies don’t respond, to stop giving the companies money. But harassment, threats, jokes about someone’s race or gender? A Jedi would fight someone who did that stuff. The Force binds us all together. Hatred and anger are the ways of the Dark Side; they may bring power, but at a cost. It harms individuals, debases the people who do it, and it breaks the Fellowship. In the end, the cost of that power will be powerlessness."

1. Elon Musk Acolytes

"Always punch up" is a good life motto. You’ll accomplish a lot by speaking truth to power; dissecting the misdeeds of a relative unknown, though, makes you look like a tool. That’s why, despite the plethora of dark and toxic fandoms that flourish on the fringes of the internet, the group that tops our list of nasties is devoted to a person at the internet's very center: Elon Musk. To his fan club, Musk is so much more than a charismatic artist, a talented musician, or, hey, a flawed but successful tech entrepreneur—he’s a messiah, a vestige of an age of retrograde masculinity, when a reasonably successful man could expect his ideas to remain unchecked and his words be read as gospel. And Musk wields his one-man metaphor status (and his 22.3 million follower army) to whack out any dissenting opinions. “Because before he commented on my tweet, it was floundering in relative obscurity,” science writer Erin Biba wrote in a piece for the Daily Beast. But after Musk’s dismissive response, Biba found herself drowning in hate mail and abuse. By letting his mob pick over opinions he does not like, Musk is able to control the narrative, playing up investigative reporting on Tesla’s poor labor practices as a misinformation campaign—or even, in some recent deleted tweets, insinuating that one of the people involved with the Thai cave rescue efforts is a pedophile. It’s bad to be thin-skinned, and terrible to play the underdog, but playing it while you ignite a million-man bullying campaign is reprehensible.

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