#【 ❝ i was the one with the world at my feet ❞ 】 ✕ arbiter.

[warcost]

tag drop + updates

APEX LEGENDS 【 ❝ i know we'll meet beyond the shore ❞ 】 ✕ ballistic.

DARKEST DUNGEON 【 ❝ these bones never rested while living so how can they stand to languish in response ❞ 】 ✕ leper. 【 ❝ what you crossed was a line at the edge of the void ❞ 】 ✕ occultist.

DESTINY 【 ❝ the brutal winds of change are knocking at your door ❞ 】 ✕ atticus. 【 ❝ all the things you've said and done; can you carry it with no regrets ❞ 】 ✕ misraaks. 【 ❝ it hurts to pray to god cause god is dying too ❞ 】 ✕ speaker. 【 ❝ truth begets madness begets death ❞ 】 ✕ timur. 【 ❝ imposing penance one by one you've got a virtue in a vice ❞ 】 ✕ young wolf.

HADES 【 ❝ where you go i'm going since there is no me without you ❞ 】 ✕ patroclus.

HALO 【 ❝ i was the one with the world at my feet ❞ 】 ✕ arbiter.

OVERWATCH 【 ❝ go back to your grave o' soldier ❞ 】 ✕ ana.

TRANSFORMERS 【 ❝ we'll be sailing to the sun 'til the voyage is done ❞ 】 ✕ dreadstar.

WARFRAME 【 ❝ fight because you don't know how to die quietly ❞ 】 ✕ umbra.

OCS 【 ❝ tell me when the end is nigh i’ll sober up and come down in time ❞ 】 ✕ archangel raphael. 【 ❝ i see your star you left it burning for me ❞ 】 ✕ munin.

[possiblyunhinged]

Tommy Robinson and his ilk centring ‘women’s safety’ as part of their anti-immigration rhetoric is not only idiotic but also illogical.

I understand that men are disenfranchised. Despite a lifetime of navigating the behaviour of men, both strangers and men I know, I can still empathise with the reality that working-class men in this country have been abandoned. I'm not sure when they weren't, frankly. But in a tale as old as time, they are being told it’s immigrants to blame for that. Not billionaires. Not politicians. Immigrants.

Now... where have we heard this before in history? Hmm, if only we had a reference to this slippery slope.

Every single attack on women that makes the news seems to be a platform for them to blame immigration and fuel the notion of ‘this is what’s coming; this is what we’ve voted for.’ It doesn’t matter who the offender is; it will be assumed by these individuals that they are asylum seekers.

So, white British men aren’t predators? Or are they allowed to assault us because we’re ‘theirs’? Perhaps rape isn’t objectively bad; it’s actually subjective based on the colour of someone’s skin? When the head of the MET stated that violence against women and girls is an epidemic that should be treated with the same severity as terrorism, did he include white British men in that?

I’d like to point out that the individuals who suckle Tommy Robinson's singular brain cell also believe they are the ones who follow logic and facts. It’s quite remarkable, really, that level of delusion.

I am one of the many women who have experienced sexual violence.

I grew up in a domestic violence household. I was first groped by a stranger on a train when I was a pre-teen by a man who looked like he could be somebody’s dad. The vast majority of women in my life have a story to tell, often laced with tactics to cope with the actions that were done to them against their will. We live in a country that sees itself as ‘civilized’ and an arbiter of morality while essentially decriminalizing rape.

All the men I’ve had these experiences with were white, British men. How do I know that? Because I knew them. A large portion of sexual violence cases are committed by people the victim knows, not some bogeyman lurking in dark alleyways—men that victims know.

I was assaulted by a country pumpkin, skateboarding, floppy-haired boy who everybody thought was the nicest man on earth. Again, it is a far cry from the stereotype that the likes of Tommy Robinson paint of violent misogynists. But alas, what do I expect from men who describe British women as ‘ours’?

Move over, Simone de Beauvoir. The true feminists are in town, waving little St. George’s flags and drinking tinnies.

My white British dad was a 6’5” rugby player from Stoke who was ‘one of the boys,’ and people in his life thought he was soft as butter. He was physically violent to my mum. He completely decimated my and my brother’s right to just be children.

Two of my friends from university were raped by the same boy, who also raped other girls in our halls of residence. They managed to get the case to court, but eventually, all of them dropped out because everybody, including the police, was quick to say they were ruining the life of a white British boy with the whole world at his feet. They said it would be better just to get a restraining order—well, better for him, at least.

Would Tommy Robinson, Laurence Fox, and others feel outraged at that? Or is it different, violence towards women, if it’s from our country? Our women? Or are they doing what they accuse the left of—ignoring reality because if they were to acknowledge the complexities of the issue, it wouldn’t quite make for a hit tweet for people whose frontal lobes are made of butter?

I mean, one would imagine Robinson and co would be deeply outraged that a misogynist like Donald Trump could acquire the most powerful political position in the world once more... you know, being that they are so into women's rights and that.

This scapegoating of immigrants in a country built on immigration and, frankly, exploitation is beyond the realm of idiocy—it’s illogical. If you want to talk about the cover-ups in Rochdale, then you should also talk about the police officers who are sex offenders and are still allowed to work. You should talk about the rapists in the commons. You should talk about the systemic protection of predators in industries across the UK. You should talk about the girls in schools who are experiencing a rise in misogyny, which is being flagged by teacher's unions.

It's weird... they never mention women's rights outside of their race-baiting antics...

If they truly cared about violence against women, they’d at least acknowledge the scale of the issue and realize that misogyny is as embedded in ‘British culture’ as it is in any culture around the world. Yet again, the thin veneer of civility in this country means nothing when rapists face no consequences via the law or otherwise.

If this sounds mean-spirited, it’s because it is. I am sick to my back teeth of hearing and reading about men who perceive themselves as virtuous, failing to grasp basic points, and having vast platforms afforded to them. Meanwhile, misogyny is on the rise again. Who do people credit for this? The likes of Tommy Robinson, Andrew Tate, and others who have targeted disenfranchised, vulnerable men and directed their rage towards women and minorities.

I am an idiot, and I have had farts that speak more sense than Tommy Robinson.

[orangepanic]

What are your thoughts on the 'problematic' ships in atla/tlok? You know, incest, big age gap, etc

I'm very firmly ship and let ship, don't like don't read. Are there things that personally squick me out? Absolutely! Are there ships that make me wonder what's wrong with someone that they could want to write that, let alone share it, or why anyone would possibly want to read it, either? Of course. Do I have blocked tags, muted authors, and stuff I deliberately exclude from searches because I hate it so much I don't even want to see it, even just to scroll past? Totally do. I'd go nuts if I didn't.

And yet - and this is the important part - all of that is about ME. I don't like it. I don't want it. I sometimes hate that someone made it. But I firmly believe that in the totality of human history very little, if anything, has come from the censorship of fiction. What is "problematic" changes over time, and is a feature of one's individual absorption of culture and moral beliefs and preferences. There was a time in history where incest was fine - look at most European royal families, or the common marriage of first cousins in the U.S. until very recently. There was a time in history where a lord raping every woman in the area on her wedding night was also fine, or when male guests coming to the house were routinely provided one of the unmarried daughters to sleep with. There was a time when women riding bicycles was considered a disease. There was a time not all that long ago when depicting a same sex relationship was illegal - see the Hays Code in film. Also, someone told me we can't like The Time Traveler's Wife - a book that was a bestseller only 20 years ago - because it's now problematic to have an older man time travel back to his younger wife. I even hear kids these days think showing your bare feet is enabling an apparently huge population of foot fetish pedophiles to get off on all the feet of children? 10,000 years of human beings wearing sandals but now we're at risk it seems. And there are people in this fandom right now who argue Irosami is disgusting age gap ship even though it was originally supposed to be canon, was fairly popular when the show came out, and Pema and Tenzin are 15 years apart (which nobody seems to mind).

I guess what I'm trying to say is, who died and made me or anyone else the moral arbiter of fiction? Because once you go down that road you have to start making decisions on what it means for something to be "problematic." How big an age gap is too big? How close a relation is too close? Can my characters wear sandals? And then you get stuff like "sibling-coded" and three-year age gaps being problematic and fandom police as you open the door to more and more restrictions on fake people in fake worlds doing fake things with each other to the point that, if you're not careful, the only thing a transformative work is allowed to do is regurgitate canon in a way that defeats the entire point of creative writing, fandom, and fanworks. Even if I don't like a specific ship or piece, I do believe society is better in aggregate for having fewer restrictions on creativity, not more.

So I choose to reject the entire principle that I have any right to consider anyone else's ship or work wrong. If I don't like it, I have the tools to curate my own experience.

[nanaosaki3940]

Touya [The Crimson Butterfly]

Synopsis: It wasn’t until he met her for the first time that their encounter made him believe that the world is just as beautiful as her. She was brighter than the summer sun, prettier than the spring flowers, kinder than the winter moon & warmer than his blue flames. She was his first and only love, his life, his biggest fan, his supporter, his playmate, his healer, his everything... Even after his supposed ‘death’.

|| My Hero Academia ft. Tokyo Ghoul || (Follows the canon storyline of MHA & is up-to-date with the manga.) 

Pairing: Touya Todoroki X OC/Reader X Shoto Todoroki

Genre: Romance, Fluff, Angst. 

Note: Shoto and my OC are of the same age (16 yrs old) and Dabi/Touya is 8 yrs older than them (24 yrs old) - Just like how it is in the manga.

(A snippet of my MHA fanfic "The Crimson Butterfly". I know this is an xOC fic, but you can read it as a self-insert if you like.)

Nana’s POV (The fateful day: The beginning of the 2nd War)

Around 10 AM this morning, Midoriya and I made our way towards an abandoned city outside UA to meet up with Aoyama. When we finally reached the designated spot, we found our blonde friend standing alone in the middle of a huge parking lot in front of a shopping mall. 

"Thank you for coming..." Aoyama greeted us in a quiet yet monotone voice with a dull look in his eyes as Midoriya and I flew down from the sky and landed just a few feet away from him on the ground. 

"Why are you out here, Aoyama? Weren’t you being detained?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. 

"My parents’ lawyer got me released..." Aoyama replied and this brought a big smile to Midoriya's face. 

"We gotta tell everyone!" Midoriya stated in relief, turning around to leave. "We can rejoin the search effort and-"

"Wait..." Aoyama spoke up again, causing Midoriya to halt on his spot while I stared at the blonde boy with a skeptical look. "I’d like to speak to you two. It’s almost funny… That courts and the illegal system still exist despite Japan being in ruins. With society as it is now, would the old ways of living really get you anywhere?"

"What do you mean Aoyama?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows, crossing my arms over my chest. 

"Let me tell you All For One’s real goal..." Aoyama continued and this got our full attention. "With the state Japan's in... do you know what’s become of the rest of the world? The sudden crash in the value of the Yen… forced Japanese corporations into bankruptcy. That, plus the coordinated uprisings of villains caused the damage to spread worldwide. Now the world faces a crisis much like the Great Depression or the period around the advent of quirks. Record unemployment, loss of faith in currencies… an era of total chaos."

"What are you talking about, Aoyama?" Midoriya asked, getting a bit uncomfortable with this talk. 

"Lacking the strength to implement long-term policies, Japan's society devolves into one scrambling for short-term safety. While the nations who have abandoned Japan prioritize their own stability. In such a world imagine a country lacking potable water. Imagine if a quirk capable of producing that water were to suddenly appear. Or electricity or gas. Or strength. As the world is plunged into this state of chaotic decline, we suddenly have an arena ripe for a certain remarkable individual to take the initiative. he would become the world's arbiter; its very own Demon Lord. He only had to rock that balance somewhere. It didn’t matter how." Aoyama added. 

AFO's ultimate plan is... Capitalism... To become a World Bank?!

Like seriously?! You gotta be fucking kidding me!!

"I don’t think so… The world would never go along with that." I countered back in a strong tone. 

"Nana-chan's right. Besides the world still has us!" Midoriya added. 

"True. Which is why it all has to end here." Aoyama stated with a saddened face and teary eyes, his voice cracking in the end as a certain someone emerged from behind him. "I’m sorry. Alas, I had to protect Mama and Papa." 

"All For One!!" Midoriya and I gasped out in unison, shocked, our eyes widened in the process. 

"Splendidly done, Yuga Aoyama." AFO stated, clapping his hands who was in formal attire with a black skull mask covering his whole head. "How terrifying it must have been to turn on your friends like this. How heartrending, to betray someone who put their faith in you. But you overcame the fear and pain! And that speech about my ultimate goal? Wonderful! Wrong in some of the details but that's fine. Did your parents explain it all to you?" 

"Yes..." Aoyama replied in a trembling tone with tears rolling down his cheeks as he held a remorseful look on his face. "They said you promised us a blessed existence in your new world." 

"Aoyama, did you really betray us again?!" I yelled out through my gritted teeth, clenching my fists in anger and frustration. "How could you?!"

"We believed in you dammit!!" Midoriya cried out, panicking. 

"My pain cannot be measured…" Aoyama trailed off before suddenly he turned around and blasted AFO with his Navel Laser. "By that singular word 'uncle'!!" 

And right on cue, Midoriya immediately let out a large amount of his smokescreen to block AFO's view, and taking the chance, Aoyama quickly moved away from his previous spot and hid behind me for protection. AFO was caught off guard by the sudden attack before he figured out what just happened. It was just all a fake play to lure out the Demon Lord from his hideout. 

"Ungrateful little…" AFO grumbled out through his gritted teeth. 

"That was such a believable performance, Aoyama!" Midoriya praised the blonde boy. 

"Yeah, excellent job!" I added with a wide smirk on my face, coming out from my previous facade as I stood protectively in front of him. "You're gonna win an Oscar for this Aoyama!"

"I had no choice! Otherwise, we could not have lured him here!" Aoyama cried out from behind me, still trembling in fear. "And I must say, both of your actings were tour-de-force as well!"

"We couldn’t help it once your tears started flowing." Midoriya chuckled out as he and I got into our fighting stance once the smokescreen started to dissipate away. 

"The tears are real! I truly am scared! In fact, I think I may have wet myself!" Aoyama cried again. 

"You did great, Aoyama!" I reassured him once again, my eyes now locked on the floating form of AFO. 

"This is for Mama and Papa! For all of my friends and for myself! I shall fight AFO!" Aoyama declared with all his determination. 

"Disappointing." AFO sighed in annoyance before taking off his coat and just then using his Warping quirk, he began to summon the League of Villains, Paranormal Liberation Front, and Nomus all at the same time which included Touya, Tenko, and Toga. "Trap or not, Ghoul and One for all is here within reach. The Search quirk tells the user the location and weaknesses of those they see. And heroes Tomura saw in the previous conflict are deployed and dispersed across the country. They will not make it in time to assist you. They didn’t happen to notice that my people were drawing near! And now I’m afraid they are entirely too late!!" 

My heart skipped a beat when I locked my eyes with Touya who just walked out of the gooey warp gate and landed on the ground. 

He's here... Touya's here... He's finally here... 

His beautiful bluish-turquoise eyes went wide open a bit upon noticing my presence while his instant sorrowful expression didn't go overlooked by me when we gazed at each other from afar before he decided to turn his head away from me and break the eye contact. As I continued to stare at Touya with hope and yearning, I noticed the new outfit he was wearing at that moment; a tattered overcoat, boots, and pants all colored white, with bracers on the sleeves and a belt on his waist. His new outfit also lacked a shirt underneath which caused him to expose his chest. 

"What act of sluttery is he wearing?" I mumbled to myself, a small blush appearing on my cheeks as I scanned Touya from head to toe, trying hard not to facepalm. "Did he seriously decide to walk into this war like a whore?" 

Although my words didn't go unheard by Midoriya and the poor green-haired boy tried his best not to burst out into a fit of laughter. I also noticed Tenko looking the same, not to mention even worse; completely topless, in a pair of black pants, his traditional red shoes, and a long ragged-looking cape hanging on his shoulders.

What the hell is up with these villains and their fashion sense these days...?

"Mama and Papa told me something else…" Aoyama spoke up again, causing me to snap out of my trance. "They told me what it is you fear most, AFO. You fear the world learning that Japan isn’t finished yet. You feel the light and hope that will come with recovery. And you fear Japan inspiring the world to unite once more. So today is the day and this is the place where you fall!!" 

And just then AFO got alerted when he suddenly noticed a black mist appearing behind Midoriya which happened to be Kurogiri's quirk, confusing the Demon Lord to no end and soon realized who it actually was; it was none other than Monoma from Class 1-B who copied the misty warping gate quirk and now using it to bring out the heroes from our side. 

"Didn't see that coming, huh AFO?! Suck, doesn't it?!" I taunted him as Endeavor, Mirko, Fat Gum, Edgeshot, Tamaki senpai, Nejire senpai, Gang Orca and the others appeared by our side. 

And so the rumbling begins!!!

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!! The man behind the curtain!!" Monoma laughed hysterically, being all full of himself like always, as he brought out more and more heroes from the warp gate. 

"Just as expected, he's brought his army along!" Detective Tsukauchi stated out through the comms from the headquarters (The Central Hospital). "All squads, take action!" 

"If he steals Ghoul and OFA, he'll have no need to run and hide ever again! They'll attempt to bring it all to an end right now!" All Might pointed out from beside Tsukauchi. 

As we the Heroes and Villains all charged toward each other, Tenko touched the ground, only to notice something peculiar, so commanded Touya to attack.

"Dabi..." Tenko called out.

"You ain’t the boss of me, leader!" Touya shouted back before he dashed straight toward Endeavor, his hands already ignited with his blue flames. "Fancy running into you here, dear old dad!! Come to watch your pals get cremated?!"

Touya was prepared to burn everyone with his fire and as soon as he shot out a huge gush of his flames toward the heroes, a large explosion of ice appeared from the misty warp gate and canceled out his fire; emerging from another warp gate, Shoto and our whole Class 1-A just joined the battle. 

"Not on my watch, Baka Aniki!!" Shoto yelled out. 

"Shoto!!" Touya yelled back in excitement, getting all pumped up. 

"Like cockroaches…" AFO groaned out in annoyance and just then, among the sea of villains, I noticed the ones I needed to go up against; Shuu Tsukiyama and Rize Kamishiro, all decked up and ready to fight like always. 

"It's been a while, Nana-kun!!" Tsukiyama shouted out with a huge grin on his face as he and Rize dashed their way toward me. 

"How many years now?! Almost 3 years, right?!" Rize added, unleashing her Rinkaku kagune from her back. 

"Oh, how I've been itching all these many years just to finish you guys off!" I taunted back and immediately unleashed both of my Rinkaku and Ukaku kagune while bringing out my scythe. "Time for payback for what you guys did to me 3 years back!!" 

"Operation Troy-Tempt and Trap!! Activate!!" All Might commanded through the comms.  

Upon his commands, suddenly, the ground beneath us started to shake violently before cages emerged from beneath the battlefield, surrounding all the villains in individual metal containers and as soon as the villains were being trapped in those metal cages, Monoma began to summon several more warp gates around the cages while we the Heroes prepared ourselves to shove them all in, to split up the villains.

"Cages? They can’t be serious!" Touya commented before getting trapped into one of the cages. 

"I’m pulling these strings!! Everyone now! Shove them in!!" Monoma ordered us before looking over at me. "Osaki!! Use your repulsive force now!!" 

"Roger!!" I replied and started to use the Repulsive force technique of my Gravity Manipulation quirk to push the metal cages into their respective warp gates. 

"This cage is moving?! They really think this tin can is gonna hold us?!" one of the villains cried out. 

"Break it open! Quickly!" Toga screamed out from inside her cage. 

As I continued to push the cages into the warp gates, Touya suddenly used his flames to melt down the metallic container he was trapped in before trying to get out from there. 

"Your pathetic cages didn’t even last three whole seconds!" Touya mocked and just then Shoto and his gang appeared in front of him to push him into their respective warp gate. 

"3 seconds is all we needed!" Shoto countered back as the two brothers began to attack each other with their flames while submerging into the gate. 

"Lock them down for an instant! Break them into smaller groups! Seize the slightest advantage! All of this to shove you into those warp gates all at once and split you up without fail!!" All Might continued through the comms once again. 

"Deku!" Bakugo called out to Midoriya as he headed towards Tenko. 

"Yep!" Midoriya responded and began to follow the explosive blonde. 

"Ahahahahaha! I’m the mover and shaker!!" Monoma continued to laugh while still keeping Kurogiri's quirk activated.

Among us heroes, Uraraka and Tsuyu headed towards Toga's direction while Kaneki and Ayato joined by my side a few seconds later to go after Rize and Tsukiyama. Just as we all were about to enter our respective warp gates, an unusual occurrence happened. From two different warp gates, two whips came out and grabbed me and Midoriya individually by our wrists. And before we could even realize what was happening, we were being pulled away from our respective comrades. 

"What the?!" I gasped out in shock. 

"Huh?!" Midoriya gasped out as well in confusion. 

"Nana!!" Kaneki called out in worry as he tried to reach out and grab me but failed. 

"Nana-Nee!!" Ayato called out as well in concern. 

"Huh?! Oi, Deku!!" Bakugo called out to the green-haired boy but it was already too late. 

Both Midoriya and I were pulled into two separate warp gates which we weren't supposed to enter. After entering the unknown scene, I immediately landed on the ground as soon as I passed through the gate and began to look around to see where I actually was; Ground Zero in Kamino Ward. 

What?! Ground Zero?! Why am I here?! Shit!!

I was supposed to be on the other side of the Kamino City with Ken and Ayato, facing off against Rize and Tsukiyama!! 

"They are divided! Now we shift to phase two!" All Might commanded through the comms again. 

"Nana?!" familiar voices called out my name in shock, causing me to turn around and face them; it was Shoto, Iida, and Endeavor's sidekicks (Burnin, Kido, and Onima). 

"What are you doing here?" Shoto asked in surprise. "Weren't you suppose to be with Kaneki and Ayato?" 

"I was, but..." I trailed off in confusion before looking down at the wrist where the whip was still wrapped around. 

"Sorry, Babydoll." a familiar deep masculine voice spoke up from just a few feet away from us and we all looked over at the man himself; Touya, smirking down at me while firmly holding the other end of the whip. "Couldn't let you go so easily, you know... You're just too precious." 

"Touya... but how?" I asked in confusion, furrowing my eyebrows a bit. 

"That crazy woman gave it to me, said it might come in handy. Hate to admit it, but she was right." Touya replied, referring to Toga as 'the crazy woman', causing me to click my tongue in frustration as I unwrapped my wrist from his whip before the news was sent to us by Tsukauchi through the comms that Midoriya was warped to an aquarium, alongside Gang Orca, Uraraka and Tsuyu by Toga using her whip. 

"So, Izuku isn't with Katsuki and Jeanist at the UA High right now, huh? That sucks." I stated in a calming tone though I was kinda panicking from the inside before I looked back at Touya and locked gazes with him. "Looks like I'm stuck here with you, for now, Touya."  

This wasn't supposed to happen...

I wasn't supposed to fight Touya...

What should I do now?!

"Indeed, Doll-face..." Touya agreed in a mocking tone as he climbed up on the All Might victory statue before unleashing his blue flames around us, causing us to get into our fighting stance at once. "So, now... where were we?"

Fuck!! This is bad!! This is really, really bad!! 

Right now, Shoto, Iida, and I were at Ground Zero in Kamino Ward, where Touya was completely burning everyone down in a fire tornado while being accompanied by a spiky Near High-End Nomu, dwindling down our accompanying heroes.

"There are already so few heroes left and you are losing more by the minute..." Touya stated in a calming tone, glancing around with a bored look in his eyes while hanging onto the All Might victory statue as he began to reminiscence on the current event being similar to the Hosu Incident. "Let’s see, we have got a Nomu in a raging sea of fire. This is really bringing back memories even if it wasn't that long ago. Seeing that battle in Hosu spurred me to take action, you know?" 

"Nana! Shoto!" Iida yelled out in concern from outside the ring of Touya's fire tornado as he couldn't get any closer to us or else the fire would damage his engines. 

While Shoto and the others could resist the fire and the heat, I, on the other hand, was using the Repulsive Force of my Gravity Manipulation quirk to push back the flames away from me. Using this repulsive force as a defense, I could repel nearby opponents or attacks without breaking a sweat like for example I could use this force to disperse flame attacks which could also strike the user back. But in this case, I wasn't doing that because my intention was not to attack or hurt Touya. It was just to protect myself from his flames. 

"The sheer heat! It's extraordinary!" I commented in surprise yet amazement while Endeavor's sidekicks used their quirks to absorb Touya's hot flames as much as they could for now. 

"Oops, sorry. Just yapping away to myself." Touya stated, letting out a sigh as he propelled himself up into the air by shooting out flames from under his feet. "Once again, he won't pay me any attention. It really bums me out that all I get is his third son and his three merry helpers. Is that really his answer to me?"

"You keep back, Kido. Your body's got no way to withstand the heat." Onima stated, looking back at his comrade. 

"I’m good. You know I can alter the trajectory of anything so I have just gotta make all that heat air swerve around me. Nothing new for me. Keep a cool head and go about it logically. That’s how I have done it for a whole decade. Just like always. I’m here to follow our main man’s orders because I want to." Kido replied while doing his job. 

"His family drama may be a can of worms, but Endeavor shows up and gets the job done, even if he does stink like an old fart!" Burnin commented, frowning up at Touya before looking back at me and Shoto. "And that includes today! And now he has handed off us three junior stinkers to you! So you have got our full support, kid! You too, Nana-chan!"

"Thanks for that Burnin." Shoto responded back, his gaze locked onto Touya. 

"No thanks needed! Save your energy!" Burnin joked with her signature laugh. 

"Touya… Dabi…" Shoto carefully called out, furrowing his eyebrows in the process. "You have got it all wrong. I’m not here on anyone’s orders. I’m standing here now because I made the decision to stop you."

"Stellar job, being the perfect little pawn Dad always dreamed of." Touya mocked his little brother as smoke came out of his mouth. 

And this caused me to get worried even more. Months ago, back at our fight in Jaku City, Touya wasn't covered with as many burns marks as he was covered right now. As I carefully observed his new scars and burn marks in concern, I realized that his body was burning away even more as he continued to use his quirk wildly. My chest tightened and my heart hammered hard against my chest in concern. In concern for his wellbeing. 

"If I ignored you and kept trying to be a hero anyway that just might be true..." Shoto replied in a strong tone. 

"Hey, fair enough…" Touya stated casually with a shrug. "This war is all about the people involved. It’s not the mindless soldiers following orders who are the real movers and shakers. This is what happens when everyone's got feelings and urges that start firing off. Some wanna change the world they live in. Or destroy… The warped imbalances built up over time that we all just came to accept. Behold, the limitations of a superpowered society. That's me. That’s all of us." 

"Touya..." I called out in a soft tone with small tears forming in the corner of my eyes, causing him to look over at me. "Please stop this. You're burning yourself alive." 

"I don't care anymore, Babydoll. I just really don't care..." he replied in a monotone voice with no trace of emotion in his voice, aching my heart even more and this frustrated me to no end.  

"Why are you being so stubborn like this, huh? Though, to be fair, you had always been a stubborn guy. But, that raises my question... You survived back then… So, why didn’t you come back home?" I asked, frowning at him and Touya let out a chuckle in amusement. 

"You really wanna know, Doll? Fine. Happy to share. Rotten or not, I’m still your Touya." Touya replied with a grin as his already burned flesh around the right side of his face began to crumble and fall off, leaving him horribly disfigured while a portion of his jaw and teeth, as well as muscles and tendons, were now visible and his burns continued to spread around his face, leaving me shocked and concerned. "Here is the story of how I became Dabi…  and the reason I’m still alive and kicking to tell the tale… Even when I never stopped burning hotter than you, Shoto, his masterpiece!" 

~~~~~

Flashback (11 years earlier, at Sekoto peak)

'Hot! It’s so hot!!' a 13-year-old Touya thought to himself in pain and agony as he continued to burn himself to a crisp on top of Mt. Sekoto while burning everything else around him to ashes. 'No, no, no! I don’t wanna die!! I still haven’t… I still haven’t shown him anything! And Nana-chan?! Oh, Nana-chan! I can't leave her behind just like this!! I wanna live a long life with her!!' 

Desperate while on the verge of death, Touya frantically began to run around in the midst of the ocean of his own flames to find any source of water to extinguish the fire on his body before finding a lake nearby and jumping into it to quell the flames. And soon after when Touya lost consciousness and laid there in the water all burned and crisped, almost turned into charcoal, his charred body was later discovered on the very spot by the Demon Lord himself, AFO. 

After this, three whole years passed by before the white-haired Todoroki boy finally woke up from his long comatose. A 16-year-old Touya let out a gasp before snapping his eyes wide open and the first thing that came to his view was a white ceiling. Shocked and confused, he immediately sat up and looked around at his surrounding while trying to figure out what was happening right now. He found himself laying on a bed and with all these childish decorations around him, he realized that he was in a nursery school. 

'Where am I? I’m alive…?' he thought to himself as he walked down the hallway before entering a room full of kids younger than him. 

"Oh! he’s awake!" A young girl with short hair stated gleefully, causing the others to shift their attention towards him while Touya stared at them in pure confusion. 

"Sleepyhead is awake!" another little girl with long hair added with a bright smile on her face.

"Where are we?" Touya finally spoke up before halting himself from speaking any further. 

'Was that really my voice?' he thought in shock, realizing how deep and manly he sounded just now. 

"This is where we live, silly!" the short-haired girl replied with a giggle while the long-haired girl rushed towards the other room to fetch their sensei. "It’s um… three years, sleepyhead! You were asleep for three whole years! At least that’s what sensei told me… since I haven’t been here all that long!" 

Touya immediately went rigid on the spot upon hearing those words, his eyes went wide open in shock and disbelief.  

'Three years? How? What happened? What’s going on? I was on Sekoto peak and then… I burned up and… I have to get home!'

"We can’t have that now can we, sunny?" the sensei (creepy-looking dude with a sunflower head and a buffed body) stated with a bright smile as he and Touya were now in an office room, talking about the situation. 

"Why not?!" Touya asked in confusion. 

"From now on you live here with everyone!" the sensei replied, still with a smiling face. "Your very own place under the sun! They're your new family! You'll come to love it, as sure as the sun does rise!"

"Huh? That can't be!" Touya argued back in desperation, tears forming in his eyes as his voice began to tremble. "I gotta get home! I bet that Dad… was just too busy with work to come see me, right? Probably? Yeah, he must be really worried! Those were some awful things I did and said. I should apologize to Mom and everyone. And Dad still needs to see what I can do. And above all, Nana-chan is waiting for me! I need to go and see Nana-chan!" 

And just then a very deep yet eerie masculine voice spoke up from a computer on a table beside them. It was AFO. 

"Sadly your hope is in vain." AFO stated and Touya looked at the screen of the computer in confusion. "Restoring your burnt and broken body was a monumental task. Your missing pieces had to be replaced via regenerative tissue. You’re a changed man with that burnt rictus look on your face and yet you survived."

"I’m changed? I don't get… what you're saying…" Touya trailed off as he put a hand on his throat, suddenly getting worried. 

"You’ll never exhibit the power you once did. Every organ was damaged. Your senses, your ability to feel pain, all dulled. Your body is debilitated. And you will never be the same again." AFO replied, causing Touya to put a hand over his own mouth, horrified. "But alas, despite our best efforts, we wanted to welcome you in at your full strength… We failed." 

And the word 'failure' caused Touya to fall into even more despair, breaking and crumbling his soul and spirit into pieces as he began to recall what Enji used to call him back then over and over again; a failure. 

"You must be suffering, you poor thing." AFO continued, using his sympathetic voice to lure Touya. "But, I must just be able to restore your flames at their full glory! Well, what do you say? Will you join our family and allow me to raise you?" 

"Shut up…" Touya hissed out through his gritted teeth, looking down at the ground while covering his face with a hand as he viciously denied the Demon Lord. 

"Hmm?" AFO hummed out in confusion before the white-haired Todoroki boy looked up at the computer with fury and hatred in his eyes. 

"No way am I getting trained by anyone else." Touya added with finality in his voice, showcasing his unhealthy obsession with his father Enji Todoroki aka Endeavor. 

And with that Touya somehow managed to escape from the nursery school after burning the whole place down with his own blue flames. Later he did go back home, and even though his body was weaker and he didn't have anything to look forward to anymore, he wanted to see if anything changed. However, seeing his butsudan (funeral altar) in his old bedroom, and Endeavor's continued abuse toward Shoto, reminded him of his purpose as a failed creation, and his family had already left him behind.

Flashback ended 

~~~~~

3rd Person's POV (At a prison)

"I suppose, the big day has begun then?" Dr. Kyudai Garaki (aka Dr. Ujiko) spoke up in a tired tone from inside his cell causing a gorilla police officer who was standing down the hallway to frown at his words. 

"Be quiet." the cop ordered. 

"You are light on guards today. So it’s pretty obvious." Garaki pointed out. "All to prepare for today. That's why we sought out twisted raw material born into this world. Warped seeds that could serve as his vessel. That one too was born with some cracks in him. No, maybe, from the very start, it wasn’t just cracks... Maybe that boy was born with everything." 

And with that, the doctor began to tell the exact same story of Touya Todoroki to the police officer. 

"He had already been too molded by his upbringing for us to lead him astray. He was already festering away inside. Even the man who had known absolute control far and wide couldn't exploit the boy’s obsession with his father. Those kids were our spares, in case anything happened to Tomura Shigaraki. A seedbed of ferocity and hatred. One full of vessels for the demon king. Dabi as one of those spares was a failed experiment." Garaki went on.

"How despicable!" The cop grumbled in disgust. "No, never mind! What are you even trying to say?! More crap about how AFO had everything planned out from the start?"

"I’m saying they'd better watch out. ‘Cause that one boy never did buy what we were selling. Nah, we gave up on Dabi and let him run loose cause after his body came back to life and he was up and about, he wasn't supposed to live for more than a month. What a surprise, when the broker Giran brought him back to our doorstep. Why had he come back? How was he still alive? I had to know what Dabi was really thinking, so I arranged a moment when we would be alone just the two of us..." Garaki continued as he referred to their meeting where he and Touya went to meet the Near High-End Nomu, Hood in one of their hideouts; the same Nomu that was taken down by Nana, Endeavor, and Hawks back at Kyushu. 

"Ujiko-san, you're the one who kept me alive right?" Touya asked as he stared down at Hood in front of him. 

"Why I’m tickled pink that you realized!" Garaki chuckled. "Now tell me, what's been keeping you kicking?"

"Seeing this walking corpse here gives me a decent idea of what you people were planning to do with me. And I’m back now… because this seemed like the perfect place for my funeral." Touya stated before looking back at Garaki over his shoulder with a murderous glare in his eyes, sending a strong shiver down the doctor's spine. 

"That one glimpse told me everything. He had kept his dying body tethered to this world through a pure blazing grudge." Garaki stated. "Heat is energy born of living things as they move and thrive. AFO who seeks to live forever had no use for that mad heat, rushing headlong toward death. The Demon Lord himself had to abandon that frenzied flame of death." 

Nana's POV (Back at Ground Zero)

I stared at Touya with wide eyes and a dropped jaw upon hearing the story from him. 

AFO saved Touya and recovered him to almost full health?! 

Touya was in a coma for three years?! 

Touya was a replacement in case Tenko couldn't become the next successor of AFO?! 

But they saw him as a failure because of his quirk and his body, so they wanted to use him in their Nomu program instead?! 

Thank God Touya ran away from there before anything bad happened to him...

'Cause for sure that the potato-headed bastard would've used him and turned him into a Nomu...

"Nana, Shoto, I did come home actually..." Touya spoke up again as his fire started to grow even more in comparison to size, strength, and temperature. "Even though I was weaker than ever and there was no way that what I was hoping for was there. I still just wanted to be seen… but then… but I was sure something must have changed… that’s all I wanted to see. Instead, I was shown once more… after three years away, I witnessed that old familiar scene. The reason I was born. The fact is, as a failed creation, my life had been pointless. this family had left me behind in their past."

Touya started to fly higher and higher into the sky and began to emit larger flames from his whole arms, burning his skin even more. 

"When you surpass your limits… it’s like everything you have built up is flipped around upside down. I focused on honing my flames so I won’t be so weak when next we met. This body of mine kept peeling away and falling to pieces but I never felt a thing. You want battle moves? I have seen them all, over and over." Touya went on and my eyes widened in concern, seeing him burning himself up even more. 

"Kids! Listen, I think-" Onima shouted out worriedly.  

"Yeah, he has been prepared to die from the start!" Shoto added with a frowned face through his gritted teeth, getting ready to counterattack. 

"Touya!! Please just stop already!!" I cried out in desperation, but all my words fell deaf in his ears. 

"Every time that thing saved the city, every time that thing got a boost in popularity, my heart kept pounding away!! Ever since the day that Touya died and Dabi was born!!" Touya continued, getting ready to launch an attack called 'Flashfire Heatfist' as he stomped over All Might's statue, melting it down in the process. "Once I have burned away all that that thing holds near and dear, that will be the mark I have left on this world!!" 

"Like I said, Baka Aniki, not on my watch!!" Shoto responded back, putting his hands together to create an attack. 

Ultimate move, Flash Firefist; it builds up internal heat to the maximum threshold before unleashing it as an attack. It’s the peak manifestation of fire achieved by a young Endeavor. When Endeavor mastered this move in his quest for power, he came to understand his own limitations and that fire produced a shimmering heat haze that warped and distorted all that he gazed upon.

"All right! That little chat has got me pumped for this! Thanks for listening to my tale!" Touya yelled out, getting all pumped up before looking over at me for a split second. "Now Babydoll, step aside! This battle here is between me and my little brother!" 

Touya doesn't wanna fight me...? 

Also, he’s faster than Shoto at raising his temperature! There is no hint of hesitation!

A huge ocean of blue flames surrounded us while Touya standing on top of a melting All Might statue was looking like a walking, talking inferno.

"Now that I’m thinking about it with a cool head, even if Dad ain’t here, you’ll make for some prime kindling all the same, little brother!" Touya stated as he continued to shoot more and more fire around us, trapping us inside a firey tsunami. 

"I’m the one who'll stop you!" Shoto yelled back, still controlling his fire and ice sides. 

"Hey, now, don't get the wrong idea! I’ve got some legit thoughts about you too, Shoto!" Touya countered back, ready to finally launch his attack. "It began when I worked on boosting weakened flames. Turning up the firepower was all I knew. 'Your potential surpasses my own'; that's what he had said. That encouraged me. The numbing of my body stripped away my limitations which was ideal, following his lead with max output." 

"Nana, get away from here!!" Shoto and Burning shouted out, pushing me behind them. 

"Flashfire Fist: Hell Spider!!" Touya unleashed his attack, sending a wide array of fire spirals all outside the tornado. "Are you a fan of All Might, Shoto?!" 

Touya's Hell Spider attack was similar to what Endeavor once used on the Nomu called Hood back at Kyushu, but his flames were rawer and more intense. Touya's firepower and the heat were so strong, just the sheer strength of his quirk overwhelmed me to no end, leaving me completely stunned and speechless. I always knew Touya had the potential to surpass his own father, but I had never imagined that he would grow this powerful and strong, and that amazed yet scared me all at the same time. 

"Incoming!!" Burnin and the others announced, getting ready to stop Touya's attack. 

"Hot! Hot! Is that Endeavor's move?!" heroes who were fighting that big spiky Nomu yelled out. 

"So much thicker though… and so haphazard!" someone else added. 

"Ready yet, Shoto?!" Burnin asked. 

"I am!" Shoto replied, ready to launch his attack. 

But just then with the help of my Ghoul quirk sensing ability, I sensed Touya's speed blitzing and slid behind Shoto with the help of his flames in a matter of seconds, almost melting the ground with his fire in the process, before the bi-color-haired boy could even do anything as a counterattack. 

So fast! The Hell Spider was a smokescreen!!

"Shoto, behind you!! Watch out!!" I shouted out as a warning but it was already too late. 

"One thing I just gotta ask, Shoto. What was the look on your face..." Touya yelled out before launching a firey punch on Shoto and hitting him right on the face, causing Shoto to fly way back from where he originally was. "While you were holed up at UA with all those scared little civilians?!" 

Touya then immediately dashed forward and continued his assault on Shoto by throwing a series of fiery punches and kicks at his little brother with no sign or intention of stopping or whatsoever. 

"Son of Endeavor, brother of Dabi… Calamity incarnate, concentrated down into a boy-sized package!! A worthless mix of fire and ice!! Awful brazen of ya, Shoto!! Have you no shame at all?!" Touya asked as blue flames started to come out of his mouth like a dragon while he continued to mock Shoto even more. 

"Shoto!!" Burnin yelled out in concern. "That’s more firepower than even Endeavor can boast! But if he keeps the heat dialed up like that…"

"Blessed with the ideal body and ushered into a place where you could shine bright, but still, you depend on everyone else!! The boy born with everything! But you sure don't capitalize on it!! Can't even man enough to own it!! No one's willing to say it to your face, so allow me!! You're a feckless, half-baked puppet!! You’ll never make a damn thing of yourself!!" Touya continued as he unleashed a beam-looking Jet Burn attack like a strong fiery punch that blasted Shoto up in the air and launched him directly into a building; an attack so strong that the whole building shook and slightly bend back after Shoto crashed into it. 

"Oh my god, Shoto!" I cried out in concern. 

At that moment, I was amazed and scared all at once. It was a very weird feeling, something that I couldn't explain to myself. Amazed because Touya had grown really strong and I was proud of his improvement. Scared because of the fight that was going on right now in front of my eyes and how Touya was beating up Shoto while burning himself up with his own flames even more. 

If Touya doesn't stop, he's gonna burn himself to death!!

"You're not wrong about me…" Shoto finally spoke up from the building he crashed into with scratches, small burn marks, and blood all over his body but didn't look like Touya's attack damaged him that much. "I took a long way around… A half-baked dummy. That’s me. And was full of doubts all the while…"

He neutralized Touya's heat?!

"Here I thought you were only focusing on Dad! But, no, you were nice enough to take a close look at me too. Glad to know it." Shoto stated and Touya frowned at him in fury and hatred. "I stumbled onto this… while working on that old move in the hope of keeping pace with the others. I turned Flashfire into something more. Now it’s a move made to stop you. I may be your half-baked little brother, but let me say this… Dad was a madman! Our family was screwed up! But when you burned all those people to death, that was your choice! You're not taking any more innocent lives!!" 

And with that Shoto jumped off that building and headed straight towards Touya to launch his new ultimate attack. 

"You damn golden boy!!" Touya snarled out vigorously, also dashing towards Shoto to fight back.

"Just aim all your rage at us!! Flashfire fist: Phosphor!!" Shoto added before unleashing his ultimate Super Move, Flashfire Fist: Phosphor on Touya. 

Phosphor allowed Shoto to channel both halves of his quirk throughout his body via his circulatory system, using his heart as a generator to circulate the chilled and hot blood around his entire body, merging the two halves of his Quirk into a single ability. The move granted Shoto an incredible defensive and offensive advantage against most opponents, especially those wielding pyrokinetic quirks. The flames created by the technique were described as being a 'Cold Fire' of sorts, allowing him to both burn and freeze his opponents. This move was first developed during a training session between members of Class 1-A in the UA courtyard before this war started. It was described by Shoto as his body coming together 'as one', as well as creating 'a body even Touya can't burn'. The move usually took a certain amount of concentration and focus to build up, so if he lost control, he had to build it back up again, and thus because of that, it took Shoto this much of a time to launch the attack on Touya. 

"Icebound crash: Coldflame's Pale Blade!!" Shoto launched another firey-icy attack on Touya as soon as Phosphor hit his older brother, sending the white-haired older Todoroki flying back. "Maybe this is the way to cool your head!!"

So he's got himself a body that can withstand Touya's scorching heat and he found the power to chill Touya's inferno…

"Aren't you the perfect man for this job, huh?!" Touya taunted him, recovering from the attack by using his own fire as he jumped backward and landed on the ground. "What a wonderful sense of morality you have, brother! You go on and on about right and wrong choices. But I knew it! We might share the same blood, but we ended up real different!! Once you stray from the right path, there’s no turning back! A warped rail can never mingle with a straight and narrow one! The limitations of a super-powered society! That's us! You hear me?! Running in parallel but forever apart!!"

Shoto ended up losing control of his Phosphor and needed to switch it back on. But just then, right an instant, Touya touched the ground beneath him and pushed his fire into it, unleashing gigantic volcanic eruptions all over the battlefield. The whole ground of the battlefield shook violently beneath us and was now breaking apart with enormous splashes of bluish magma and lava gushing out from it, shooting high up in the air and smoldering anything and everything it touched within its vicinity. 

"Now burn to ash! Die for our sake!!" Touya shouted out as he continued to burn himself up even more than before which was ultimately leading him to lose his already burned skin and flesh as both of his arms began to burn to the bones, skin melting off his face; his whole body was now engulfed with his own blue flames, making him almost look like a character called Johnny Blaze from the Ghost Rider movie. 

"Touya, please stop!!" I cried out in concern and desperation, immediately using my Gravity Manipulation quirk on us before lifting myself and the others (excluding Touya) high up into the air to avoid Touya's volcanic eruption that was coming out from the ground before looking over at Shoto with a pleading look, my anxiety level had already crossed its limiting point. "Shoto, please do something!! Stop him from killing himself!! Please!!"  

"Shoto… you couldn't be more right!" Burnin groaned out in pain as she and the others already took the brunt of the damage to protect me and Shoto. 

"I’m sorry, you guys!" Shoto cried out, getting ready to unleash another attack. 

"Quit it. Save your energy!" Burning chuckled out.  

"Thank you!" Shoto added and looked over at me once again, getting all ready with his new attack. "Nana! Put me back down on the ground! I'm ready!" 

"Promise me you'll stop him?!" I asked him with tears forming in my eyes, causing Shoto to soften his gaze on me. 

"I promise!!" he reassured me in a gentle yet firm tone. 

Right on cue, I immediately put Shoto back on the ground who using his quirk split blitzed, and went up in front of Touya before putting a hand on Touya's chest. He was so fast that Touya couldn't even realize what just happened to respond back immediately to the situation.  

"There is always turning back, even if it is by force..." Shoto stated and Touya's eyes went wide open upon hearing those words. "We're gonna mingle, whether you like it or not. So please, just stop already, at least for Nana's sake..." 

And with that Shoto unleashed his final ultimate move on Touya, Great Glacial Aegir: Arctic Tsunami, a gigantic wave of cold fire that shot directly through his older brother's chest, and the fire all over Kamino were later immediately frozen over by his ice as he grabbed ahold of an unconscious and alive Touya in his arms. The intensity of the fiery battle between the two Todoroki brothers overwhelmed me so much that my heart stopped beating for a few seconds and I was trying to register the situation in front of me right now. 

Shoto Todoroki had won the fight and stood as the final victor on the battlefield. 

It took me a moment to finally realize that Touya was really taken down and was also unconscious before I put down myself and the others back on the now icy ground. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I immediately dashed forward at lightning-fast speed toward the Todoroki brothers and pulled both of them into a warm bear hug. Proper words wouldn't come out of my mouth in joy and relief as I held the brothers dearly into my chest with tears continued to roll down my cheeks like a waterfall and I couldn't just stop sobbing. The fight was over and both of the Todoroki brothers were alive in my arms, breathing. I was happy, I was relieved. That was enough for me. 

"I-I kept my promise, Nana..." Shoto coughed out, moving a bit away from me, all beaten and bruised up as he kneeled down on the ground beside me, his lips curled up into a small smile. "I promised you that I'll bring Touya-Nii back into your arms..." 

I couldn't help but smile back at Shoto as I slightly nodded my head in response and wrapped both of my arms around Touya's unconscious body, pulling him even closer to my chest before burying my face into his spiky yet soft snow-white hair; his body was burning, sizzling hot and he smelled like smoke, dust, and burned flesh, but I didn't care any of that. I was so happy and relieved that I didn't care about anything anymore at this very moment. I was just simply happy by the fact that I could touch Touya again, I could feel him, sense him and inhale his scent like the old times once again. Finally, Touya was back in my arms and this time I won't let him go ever again. 

"Thank you, Shoto..." I sobbed out, tightening my grip around Touya even more. "Thank you..." 

After Shoto’s overwhelming victory followed by Touya’s defeat and arrest, I carefully handed over Touya’s unconscious body to Onima (one of Endeavor’s side-kicks) before making my way back to Shoto and Iida to see how the former was doing. Iida had Shoto by his side kneeling on the ground, just a few feet away from Touya and Onima, as the bi-color-haired boy huffed and puffed from exhaustion, bruises and burn marks were evident on his body.

“Your engines stalled, right? Sorry…” Shoto apologized to Iida in a soft yet gruff tone.

“You have nothing to apologize for!” Iida immediately assured the injured boy, draping an arm around his shoulders.

This interaction caused me to smile at them before I spoke up.

“Shoto…” I called out softly, causing the said boy to look up at me. “Thank you…”

Shoto’s bi-colored eyes widened in shock in response while I continue to speak up.

���Thank you for everything, Shoto… I know I asked a lot from you and I have been selfish-“ I blabbered out before Shoto immediately cut me off.

“It was nothing, Nana, really.” He stated with a smile that warmed my heart. “Compared to whatever you have done for me and my family up until now, this was nothing… also, Touya-Nii is my brother, there’s no way I can ignore him. This is something I have to do and I’m glad it’s over now…”

Hearing that, I smiled back at Shoto in response. Shoto did everything he could do to stop his older brother and I hoped his words really did reach Touya at some level. I really hoped Touya had calmed down now. And just when I was thinking about Touya and Shoto’s earlier interactions, I heard Onima suddenly speak up to himself and his mumbling voice reached my ears.

“How is he still alive in this state…?” Onima mumbled while holding an unconscious Touya captive.

At that moment, I noticed something strange about Touya. I looked closely from where I was standing with the boys and noticed a spark igniting in Touya’s stomach. And seeing this, my eyes widened a bit in confusion.

“Shoto… what’s that?” I asked, pointing at Touya, and in response, Shoto looked over at his older brother. “That spark in Touya’s stomach…”

Both Shoto and Iida also looked at the older Todoroki in confusion and for some reason, I didn’t know why, I started to feel anxious again.

“Shoto, this isn’t good. Something’s happening to Touya.” I stated in concern, furrowing my eyebrows as I sensed Touya’s breathing was getting heavier with the passage of every second. “Touya’s regaining his consciousness again…”

Onima and Kido also might have noticed the change in Touya and they were about to do something about it when suddenly, something horrific happened right in front of our eyes. Within mere seconds, large spirals of blue flames erupted out of Touya’s charred body and the said boy immediately attacked the two side-kicks with his flames. Touya was quick with his moves and attacks which threw Onima and Kido off guard in shock and his blue flames were so hot and so destructive that it was too much for the other two to handle. 

Shoto, Iida, and I watched the whole scene in shock and horror when Touya finally regained his consciousness, watching him burn off Onima and Kido with a devilish grin on his face. At that moment, Touya looked nothing like how he did before. He looked like a walking, talking mummy in an inferno now and his facial expression was so demonic that it literally scared me. Touya wasn't looking human anymore at that point. 

“Touya, what the fuck?! Stop this already!!” I screamed out in concern and frustration but unfortunately, the said boy didn’t pay any attention to my words. 

“Given how this worked out… it’s actually great that I fought you first…” Touya stated to Shoto with a grin before he started laughing while holding a burning Onima by the neck with his left hand. “Ha, ha! Experiencing something yourself just hits differently! Intuition helps when getting the idea of how it works… Right before you put me on ice, I took a chance and mimicked your big move!!”

“Run, Nana, Shoto!!” Burnin yelled at us.

“Am I doing it right, Shoto?!” Touya asked as we noticed a crossed blue flame in the middle of his chest. 

“Touya copied Shoto’s Phosphor move?!” I gasped in shock. 

I always knew Touya was smart and intellectual…

But I never thought that he was this smart…!!

“Onima-san, no!!!” Shoto screamed out in concern as Touya tossed a burned-up Onima away from him.

“It isn’t just sheer firepower, Shoto. This whole time, Touya has studied and trained his quirk on his own! Your brother’s honed instincts are bolstered by his hard work and obsession!” I pointed out, frowning at Touya who was now creating a huge sea of blue flames around us.

“You’re right…” Shoto agreed with me through gritted teeth, frowning as well.

Touya's inferno started to endlessly increase and consume the city once again and against all odds, he was still standing in front of us. It felt as if we weren’t standing on the hard ground anymore; it was as if we were standing on an ocean of raging blue flames. The flames literally consumed the ground beneath us, causing me to levitate myself and the others a few feet up from the ground with the help of my Gravity Manipulation quirk. Touya’s flames were so hot and ferocious that it was preventing us from even going near him. I then started using my Repulsive force as a defense around me and the boys to protect ourselves from the wild wrathful flames of Touya.

“Skeptic!!” Touya suddenly yelled out at the High-End Nomu which was going up against the other heroes in Kamino.

“Ahem, I’m busy! Don’t pester me, Mr. Daddy Issues!!” Skeptic’s voice yelled back at Touya from a micro-device that was on the back of the Nomu. “You want Endeavor? He is trading blows with AFO at the Gunga Villa ruins!!”

“Talk about firepower!!” Burnin gasped at Touya who was erupting even more of his blue flames from wherever he could.

“Touya, please stop this nonsense!” I yelled out again, frustrated, as tears started to roll down my cheeks and I was about to walk towards Touya.

“Nana, wait!” Shoto called, immediately grabbing my wrist to prevent me from moving any further.

“Even you were burned by that, Todoroki-kun! You must not engage him again!” Iida stated in concern, all of our eyes were locked on Touya who was now using the flames from his feet as jets to fly high up in the sky. “You have already hit your limit with your phosphor move!”

“We have all hit our limits and then some!” Shoto snapped, his frown deepening even more. “We gave it everything! And yet he is the only one still standing! He's trying to fly over to our father!”

“This goes way beyond powering through with that sheer will he has inherited! It does not make sense! I thought his body was not made for heat?! How the hell is he not falling to pieces?!” I added in confusion but also in concern.

“Get back here, Touya-Nii!! I’m still on my feet!!” Shoto yelled out at his older brother. “You wanna kill me right?! Looks like you are the half-baked one now!!”

But just then Skeptic’s voice spoke up again through that device on the Nomu.

“Ahem, Mr. Daddy Issues! I know I said no pestering, But I have fantastic news! Apparently, you’ll get to travel free of charge!” Skeptic informed.

And right on cue, all of a sudden out of nowhere, Kurogiri’s misty portal appeared before Touya and immediately sucked him in, teleporting him to the Gunga Villa Ruins. 

“Touya!” I gasped, calling out to him in desperation but he had already left without even looking back at me once.  

Touya seriously left… he left to fight Enji-san… And he didn’t even look back at me for once… Also, I didn't do anything to stop him... Did I seriously just stand there and watch Touya leave? 

And with that, Touya left for Gunga Villa Ruins and as soon as he left, the blue flames got extinguished from the scene on its own.

“Not yet! It's not over yet!” Shoto gritted out through his teeth in pain, frustrated as well while Iida tried to help him stand up from the ground.

“You’re still feeling the blowback from your phosphor move, Todoroki-kun!” Iida pointed out, extremely worried.

“I said I’m fine! They are saying AFO will reach Midoriya! But I’m still on my feet! I must do whatever I can…” Shoto stated.

“The thoughts of your brother must weigh heavily on you…” Iida added, softening his facial expression. “I can only imagine the feelings that drove you to stand against him like that. The suffering you have borne… You’re the kind of soul who made me to never forget who I want to become. Why is this your emotional burden to bear?”

I also started to worry about how to stop Touya. Not only we needed to stop Touya from burning himself alive, potentially killing himself as well, but also I needed to go and stop AFO and Tenko. I needed to face and go up against AFO and get my own revenge for my parent’s death. But here I was, wasting my time like this. At that point in time, I was getting frustrated at myself. 

This isn’t who I am!! This isn’t someone I want to become!! Why am I wasting my time like this, standing here and doing nothing?! I need to go to AFO as quickly as possible and fight him!! I need to confront Tenko as well!!

“Ah, ah… there!! I got through!! You three!! You're still with us, right?!” a familiar masculine voice spoke up from the comms in our ears and we immediately realized who it was – All Might.

“Toshi-chan?!” I gasped out in surprise upon hearing his voice through the comms.

“Every moment counts, so I’ll make this quick!” he started, addressing me, Shoto, and Iida. “You need to run over to Gunga right now! Dabi is on the verge of exploding and a stalled evacuation block is in the blast radius! Endeavor is keeping an eye on Dabi right now. But his quirk can't do a thing to stop the explosion!”

My eyes widened in shock when I heard those words. My heart dropped and it felt like my pulse died down for a moment. The whole world around me went completely silent, deadly silent which was literally suffocating me now.  

Touya’s gonna explode…?!?! Did Toshi-chan say Touya’s gonna explode like a nuclear bomb?!?!

“Nana-chan, you know how to fly fast, right?” All Might asked me, pulling me out of my trance. “And Todoroki, kid… The body and mind are two halves of the whole. You know that better than anyone, with the inner turmoil you have carried.”

“But All Might… AFO, he is…” Shoto was about to say something but All Might cut him off. 

“Fear not!” All Might replied in a gleeful tone and I could feel him smiling on the other side of the comms. “You have still got a mighty ally waiting in your wings! Battling on won’t bring you victory if you carry doubts. But I have got the utmost respect for youngsters full of doubt who nonetheless honor whatever it is that drives them. Put a stop to Touya-kun! Make everyone feel safe again, so you can be your best self. Now if anyone can do a darn thing about the impending crisis at Gunga, it would be a dynamic duo… with Ghoul, Gravity Manipulation, and half-cold-half-hot. You’re their only hope! You’ve got this!”

And with that, All Might cut off the line, saying his farewell, and the other side of the line went silent again.

“He wants you to fly fast like a jet plane?” Shoto asked in confusion, looking over at me with furrowed eyebrows. “I know you can fly fast, Nana, but the distance… Does he realize how far it is Gunga Ruins?”

“Tch! Doesn’t matter, Shoto.” I stated, clicking my tongue in frustration before grabbing Shoto by his wrist. “We need to stop Touya from killing himself as quickly as possible. And after that, I need to go and confront AFO and Tenko. I wasted enough of my time here already!” 

And wasting no time, I immediately flew up into the sky while holding onto Shoto before we zoomed through the air like a fighter jet plane, making our way towards the Gunga Villa Ruins to stop Touya from exploding while leaving Iida, Burnin, and the others all behind at the Kamino Ward. 

3rd Person’s POV (Back at the Gunga Villa Ruins)

Right at that moment, before Endeavor, Hawks, and the other heroes who were all now injured and battered, a young healthy AFO was standing there on the ground with a gleeful smile on his face, satisfied with the outcome of what went down with Skeptic and the heroes at the Central Hospital where Kurogiri was kept locked up.

“You kept Kurogiri in the dark, so to help him take immediate action, I planted a micro-device in one of Nana Shimura’s hands. Yes, Iguchi-kun played his part!” AFO stated calmly to the tired injured heroes in front of him, referring to Skeptic’s actions. “What’s more…”

AFO then trailed off when suddenly a number of Kurogiri’s misty portals appeared and opened up behind Endeavor and Hawks. Endeavor looked back and noticed Touya coming out from one of those portals.

“Heya, Dad!!” Touya greeted him with a grin and Endeavor’s eyes widened a bit in shock upon his son’s current burned skeletal appearance.

And just beside Touya, a number of Twice clones started to appear from the other portals, indicating that Toga had used Twice’s blood, which Touya gave her a few days ago. And seeing those Twice clones left Hawks in utter shock. 

“Oh, Hawwwwks!!” the Twice clones greeted the man as they were coming out of the portal and Hawks was left stunned at the sight.

“The death of that sad, sad man gave rise to rancor in a young woman’s heart. The man who would overrun the world to make good on his grudges gave that femme fatale just the tool she needed to bring ruin to all.” AFO stated, referring to Touya giving Twice’s blood to Toga. “Now you have got a front-row seat, Takami-kun. Time to learn how it might have turned out if you had not made his death your top priority back then.”

And hearing that, Hawks immediately yelled out an order to his fellow heroes at the battleground.

“Kill them!! Right now!!” Hawks yelled, referring to the Twice clones before them.

Through those portals, Uraraka and Asui also suddenly arrived at the scene as they both followed Toga there and then started to help Jiro and Tokoyami to fight back the Twice clones. Hawks was now facing off against AFO who was trying to escape from the scene to reunite with Tomura, bickering and taunting back and forth to each other, and meanwhile, on the other hand, Endeavor was getting himself ready to confront Touya.

“Those flames on his chest… Is that the phosphor move Shoto mentioned…?” Endeavor mumbled to himself before speaking up loud at Touya. “Touya… what would you do to Shoto?”

“I was hoping to bring you his head, but he was a tough cookie…” Touya replied, flying up in the air above his father while looking down at him with raging turquoise eyes. “Now my grand dream will never come true… but at the very least I will take as much as I can. Whatever you hold dear! Whatever you try to protect!”

“Endeavor-san!” Hawks yelled out while facing off AFO, stopping the Demon Lord from leaving the scene. “The divide-and-conquer plan is a bust! Our allies can't battle in this nasty heat! And if we fall here, the villains are gonna converge on Deku, Nana-chan, and Tomura!! Please, put a stop to Touya-kun!!”

Hearing that, Endeavor looked back at his son with determination who was now dashing toward him at full speed.

Duties… This time around… I’m really seeing you, Touya…

Another big fight then suddenly broke out between AFO and the remaining heroes as more and more help from the hero’s side (Inasa, Camie, the Pussy Cats, etc.) started to appear in the scene. Gigantomachia also later arrived there after a minute or two with Mt. Lady, Shinso, Kirishima, Mina, and Mineta following his trail from the Jaku Hospital Ruins to the Gunga Villa Ruins. While this was all happening, Endeavor was running away from the said battlefield with Touya following him from behind so that he could confront and talk to his son without any hindrance or anyone disturbing them.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Counter-Force continued to report on the evacuation blocks' movement and AFO's location. Detective Tsukauchi asked if there was anyone left to stop him, but the officers said that almost all the remaining heroes from each of the battlefields were out of commission. Another officer freaked out when he recognized Touya's heat signature in Gunga, telling them that ever since his initial defeat, he had been internally compressing thermal energy and that in about ten minutes, his body would explode and cremate everything within 5 kilometers. Tsukauchi and former criminal La Brava realized that while most were back online, some of the evacuation blocks that stopped in between UA and Shiketsu were still underneath Gunga, meaning that they would be directly within the estimated blast zone. Meanwhile said civilians, including the rest of the Todoroki Family, proceeded to quickly evacuate to the surface as the shelter continued to crumble apart. Another officer reported that AFO was speeding up and was almost in range of Tomura to use his Warping Quirk, knowing that if they reunited, they were done for.

Meanwhile, in one of the prison lockups, prisoner Geten was speaking to his neighbor, prisoner Mr. Compress, about how the Himura blood ran thick within their blood vessels. He explained how in the past, the Himuras were village leaders that maintained their wealth and pride by creating branch families, however, the rise of Meta Abilities led to their downfall, as they didn't want to dilute their bloodline. Compress then remarked on what Spinner would say hearing about a "snobbish bloodline prejudiced against heteromorphs". Geten continued that this resulted in many marriages between the branch families and their distant relatives, however by insulating themselves it led to the Himura clan dwindling over time. Once the head of the family started selling off the children into marriages, it marked the end of the line, resulting in the remaining families scattering, with Geten revealing he was one of them until Re-Destro recruited him. He stated how Meta Abilities would grow more complex with each generation, with new powers lying dormant in the user's body, while people's hearts never managed to evolve, wondering what changes they would witness. Geten then concluded his speech with a smile asking Compress if he heard anything from the police force or heroes since there was nothing left to do but kill time until the final war was over.

Back to Endeavor’s situation, he was now facing Touya, far away from AFO and the others, and through the comms, he learned from the Counter-Force about Touya’s impending explosion.

“An explosion you say?!” Endeavor exclaimed in shock and concern after hearing this.

Touya was now literally like the burning sun, cremating away the trees and almost everything within and beyond his reach.

“It’s not just the evacuation block that’s in danger… but also Pixie Bob’s group which is fighting back against Toga's doubles!!” Endeavor said to himself, huffing and puffing, as he kept luring Touya away. “Dammit! Fighting AFO did a number on my legs! I’m not sure how much longer I can keep luring Touya away…”

“D… Da… D-Dad!!” Touya yelled out in a cracked tone, charging at his father again, engaging in a combat with Endeavor. “Watch me!! Watch meee!!!”

As the combusting Touya manically screamed out for his dad to watch him, Endeavor began to see the young Touya in his eyes before the current adult Touya unleashed a devastating Vanishing Fist, even bigger and more powerful than Endeavor’s, that completely enveloped the older man while decimating the ground he was standing on. Losing his right arm after unleashing that attack, Touya then grabbed ahold of him as Endeavor desperately tried to convince his son to put out his flames, and that he didn't want to watch him die, but Touya continued to repeat the same things over and over with his mind long gone.

“Come on, Touya!! Put out those flames!!” Endeavor yelled, holding onto Touya. “I don’t want to watch you die!!”

“Watch meee!!!” Touya screamed out again with an incoherent mind. “Natsu-kun! Let's play?!?!”

And hearing that, Endeavor’s eyes went wide open in shock.

His mind is gone long! This fire is hot enough to burn even me… So how is it possible that he can still hold himself together?! Touya, what is it about you?!

Endeavor then reached out to Touya’s chest when suddenly he realized something absolutely shocking and baffling.

That visceral sense of danger, when facing death, sometimes a near-death experience can trigger a quirk to awaken. On the other hand, people can also summon absurd power in a crisis when it's do-or-die. That's different from a quirk awakening. That power only manifests as the Reaper draws near…

As Endeavor thought about how when someone had a near-death experience, it might cause their quirk to awaken or summon an absurd power in a crisis, and unlike a quirk awakening, this latter power only manifested when they were truly at death's door, he then slowly realized that within Touya's Phosphor, he recognized Rei's ice quirk which was indicating that Touya had manifested the ice power within his flame quirk, meaning he always had that ice quick within himself all along, this entire time. 

While envisioning a hellish dance with his son in hell, Endeavor’s life began to flash before his own eyes and he started to wonder what he had done in his life. He envied All Might and produced these designer children to surpass the former No.1 hero, he did everything he could to have a child like Shoto when in reality Touya had always been that prodigy child he truly wanted and craved, someone who would inherit his fire quirk stronger than him while also would inherit his wife’s ice quirk at the same time. It was like a slap on Endeavor’s face when he realized what he had done to Touya and the rest of his family.

Endeavor then began to recall back the words he said to AFO earlier.

I’ll win today and keep my eyes on Touya!!

“I take full responsibility… I swore to bear that burden and live my life atoning for it all. However, you have been watching me all this time. While I couldn’t be there to watch you… You were someone I especially needed to do right by…” Endeavor said to himself before hugging a combusting Touya in his arms and starting to fly up in the sky.

It’s always the same dream…

My whole family is there but not me…

“No, I can’t let you meet your end alone!!” Endeavor yelled out. “But I won’t let anyone else get caught up in our tragedy!!”

Endeavor grabbed ahold of his son, and was preparing to use his son’s blue firepower to propel the both of them into the sky, to explode together but however before he could get too far, as Touya’s body continued to crack, Rei suddenly appeared before the two of them out of nowhere and started using her ice to stop them.

“Rei?!?!” Endeavor exclaimed in shock and confusion.

The reason why and how Rei even got there was when after the heroes managed to take out AFO's subordinates within the evacuation center, Kendo of Class 1-B called out to the civilians that the foundations of the system were sabotaged, ordering a retreat to the surface. They made their way out, with the U.A. robots being there to let the civilians evacuate to wherever they wanted to go. However, just outside, they all had to witness the immense heat and destruction caused by Touya's Blue flames, noticing the gigantic sphere of a fireball that literally looked like the sun was about to explode like a nuclear bomb anytime soon. Seeing this, Rei rushed away from her children toward a robot, telling it to take her to the center of the storm, to which the robot responded they exist to serve humans' desires. 

And now Rei was there and was using her ice quirk to attempt to shield herself from the heat, while also trying to cool Touya off, calling out to him.

“Touya!!!” Rei screamed out at her son.

“No!! Why are you here, Rei?!” Endeavor yelled back, burning away with Touya in his arms.

Are you trying to cool him down, Rei?! You must have coated yourself with a layer of ice to get even this close…

“Get away now!! Or you will burn to death!!” Endeavor added.

“You mean the way… You and Touya are about to die?!” Rei snapped back and that’s when Touya turned his attention to his mother.

“M-M-Mom…?!” he called out and that broke Rei’s heart.

“Oh, Touya…!! I’m so sorry!!!” Rei screamed out.

“Natsu-kun…!! Fuyumi-chan…!!” Touya added and Rei looked behind her, realizing that her other children had followed her, using their ice quirks to protect themselves from the heat. 

“No, don’t!!” Rei warned, shaking her head.

“I can’t!! I can’t take any more loss!!” Fuyumi cried out before looking over at her older brother. “Touya-Nii, please!! Don't take everyone down with you!! I can’t bear to lose anyone else!!”

Natsuo then started to think about the old times from their childhood and wondered if he just had listened to his older brother’s ranting and complaints about their father like how Nana did instead of turning away and ignoring him. Unlike him, Nana was always there for Touya and listened to his words and complaints. She selflessly shared her moments and time with Touya giving him the attention he needed which Natsuo couldn’t do despite him being his younger brother.

“Cut it out already, man!!” Natsuo screamed out with a frowning face. “Quit causing trouble, Baka Aniki!!!”

As the Todorokis continued shooting their ice toward Touya, Endeavor could only beg his son to not let anyone else die and he should be enough. In response, all Touya could let out was a couple of muffled laughs, while having a vision of him and his family being happy again. 

Meanwhile, at the Counter-Force center, they reported on how the rising temperature of Touya's inferno was slowing down, thanks to the intervention of the Todoroki Family. However, despite this, the temperature was not dropping, meaning the explosion was inevitable.

Back at the center of the impending blast, Rei, Fuyumi, and Natuso, now all burned and bruised up, continued to unleash their Frost quirks to try and cool Touya down. While he cackled to himself, Touya thought about how everyone was finally watching him, and looking at Endeavor, realized this was what it was like, thinking about if it was so simple, why it didn't happen sooner.

‘Everyone is watching me…’ Touya thought to himself while on the verge of exploding any time soon. ‘So this is what it's like…? If it was so simple a thing, then why…? Why not sooner…? It’s like everything is flipped around upside down. My origin as Touya and Dabi… if it was so simple a thing… if only we had butted heads like this sooner… there are still arguments I wanna have and things I still wanna say!!’

And just then something unexpected happened. When everything seemed lost, when it felt like there was no hope, two familiar individuals zoomed in and appeared on the scene like the heroes they were meant to be – they were none other than Nana Osaki and Shoto Todoroki. 

Nana’s POV (Now at the Gunga Villa Ruins)

Zooming into the vicinity of the Todoroki family where Touya was about to explode, Shoto and I just flew there, dashing at the speed of light with the help of my combined quirks (Ghoul and Gravity Manipulation), while Shoto began to prepare his attack which he would unleash on Touya to extinguish those raging blue flames.

“You ready, Shoto?!” I called out, tightening my grip on him.

“Ready when you are, Nana!!” Shoto yelled back.

And right on cue, just within mere seconds of anything bad happening, Shoto released all of his power and unleashed Great Glacial Aegir once again on Touya, completely consuming the inferno in his ice, as the fire began to dissipate and burn out. The collision of Touya’s fire and Shoto’s ice move had a huge impact on the area which caused me and Shoto to wait for a bit before I noticed Touya and Endeavor who got hit by that ice move were now falling towards the ground from the sky. I immediately let go of Shoto and quickly dashed forward, eventually catching the injured father-son duo in my arms in mid-air. I slowly landed on the ground and safely placed Endeavor by the side while still holding Touya in my arms, close to my chest.

I looked down at a crisped, partially frozen Touya and noticed how he was looking way worse than just a few minutes ago. He had lost his right arm, similar to his father, and his whole body was now charred with no skin left. There was even a crack across his face which was an indication of his previous impending explosion. Then my eyes traveled down to his scorched chest where I finally noticed ice coming out from it, leaving me in shock and confusion.  

Wait, what…?! Ice on Touya’s chest…? It doesn’t seem like Shoto’s ice… Don’t tell me this is Touya’s ice…? Touya had ice power?! Since when?!

I then looked over at the other Todorokis and noticed that almost everyone was burned and scarred, but their situation wasn’t as bad as Touya’s. Endeavor also lost his right arm and was all burned up too, but he was somehow still alive. Rei, Fuyumi, and Natsuo were also injured and burned but nothing major or serious. Shoto had a few burns and scars from his previous fight with Touya at Kamino but other than that, there wasn’t anything much on his body as I kept him protected from the other attacks with the help of my Repulsive Force.

I then looked back at Touya once again and my eyes started to tear up at the sight of his charred body while my heart ached for his well-being. At least he was still alive and breathing and that mattered to me the most at that moment.  

“T-Touya… you fucking idiot…” I let out a muffled cry, holding him close to me so gently as if he was this delicate precious being and would shatter into millions of pieces if I didn’t handle him well and carefully.

“Our whole family… is here…?” Shoto huffed and puffed, letting out heavy sighs in exhaustion as he stood a few feet away from us, just beside his mother and his other siblings. “Well, not great… But… Maybe it's for the best… Cause my Great Glacial Aegis alone might not have been enough to stop this… Ever since round one back there, Touya-Nii’s fire just kept growing… He reached uncharted territory where I can’t tread. Maybe I was never actually the masterpiece creation…”

My face softened at Shoto’s words. While Endeavor chased after All Might his whole life, engaging in a quirk marriage with Rei and creating designed children to surpass All Might, eventually having Shoto while thinking that he could be that masterpiece Endeavor always wanted and there was Shoto, who was standing in front of his whole family now, acknowledging the power and strength of Touya that he could never have or even reach to that level, the same Touya whom Endeavor thought as a failure years ago. What a pitiful situation it was really.

“You all… die already…” Touya suddenly spoke up as I kept on holding him in my arms, his voice sounded hoarse and cracked as if he was crying at that moment, and hearing the sound of his voice broke my heart once again for him. “Dad, you scum… Just die… You all and me too… Drop dead…”

“Please, don’t say such bad things, Touya… Please…” I sobbed alongside him, noticing how he was freezing from the inside out.

“N-Nana…” Touya mumbled in a shaky tone and in response, I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on his burned forehead.

“I’m here with you, Touya. Don’t worry.” I reassured him, sniffling a bit while tightening my grip on him in a secure way.

“Well? What now? All that awaits us is pure hell…” Natsuo spoke up with a frowning face from beside his mother and his sister.

“Touya!!” Endeavor suddenly spoke up from where I placed him on the ground and crawled up to us before placing his left hand on Touya’s frozen chest. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry I never made it to Sekoto Peak!!”

And that threw Touya completely off guard. He never expected an apology from his whole family nonetheless from his once abusive father. I noticed the shocked look on his face as Touya’s body quivered a bit in my hold. At first, I got a bit concerned for a second but then realized that Touya was trying to hold himself back from breaking down in front of his whole family.

“Hate you all…” Touya sobbed out again, his voice choked as he spoke, and seeing him like this made my eyes teary once again. “Hate you, Dad!! The whole family too!!”

“Go on… Really. Let me have it! Keep it coming!” Endeavor stated as he also started sobbing. “Rei, I’m sorry for pushing you to the breaking point. Fuyumi, I’m sorry for leaving you to pick up the pieces! Natsuo, I’m sorry for neglecting you like I did! And Shoto… I’m sorry!”

The whole situation was overwhelming for me. Despite not being a part of their family, I was still close to the Todorokis simply because of their connection with my parents. Touya, Shoto, Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Rei, all of them were dear to me and I cared about them as if they were my own family. Even Endeavor as well, though my relationship with him wasn’t as smooth after Touya’s disappearance 11 years ago.

But right now, the concerning matter for me was, had Touya finally calmed down after getting the apologies from his family which he truly deserved? Had Endeavor’s apologies and Shoto’s acknowledgment finally reached him? 

Read the entire fanfic on Quotev and Wattpad.

Links for other MHA fanfic snippets - Link 1, Link 2, Link 3

[2lim3rz]

So it’s me again, the one who first asked about all of the emperor of mankind imagines and asks and I recently came back into the fandom. Alas all of your Yandere asks is/are amazing and I was wondering about your take on a reader escaping Yandere Emps? Like they escape and evade all of his attempts to capture them though sheer luck and will, but he still lovingly tortures them in their sleep. Anything from bribes, feral possessives, to anger, anything, and yet they don’t give in, don’t give away their location, until they let slip one tiny detail about the planet they are inhabiting.

YOU HAUNT ME ANON, GOOD JOB. SEND ME MORE EMPEROR X READER VHA IDEAS.

Your dreams were once haunted by flashes of the unknown. Of the vague and eldritch.. but now they were haunted with gold and bones. With wires sinking into your flesh and a myriad of voices all sounding deeply masculine.

"My sweet dove," it would murmur into your ears "come to me once more and I will grant you your wishes. You may walk more of my halls and explore any planet you wish to see. You will have the most luxurious of goods and the most comforting of beds to sleep upon. Only the best for you, my love." Comforting. Gentle. Tempting.

Other dreams were darker. Of oppressively opulent halls and beautiful clothes that drowned you. Of skeletal hands that tore into your flesh and a thundering voice roaring so loudly; loud enough so that when you woke up, you could not hear for minutes at a time.

"I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING, YOU THIEVING WRETCH. WHORING YOUR MIND, YOUR SOUL SO THAT YOU AVOID MY GENTLE TOUCHES."

Frightening and fearful, so that you wanted to run once more. They hadn't found you yet. He hasn't found you yet. Your dreams were always so fickle and yet you were prideful that you were somehow coherent enough to ward any thoughts of your current 'home' away from Him.

"I worry for you, my heart. I need you, I yearn for you. Even my most trusted warriors and advisors ask where you have been."

It was the sad ones that tore your heart the hardest. That made you awaken crying. You cried a lot these days anyways. Everything was so tolling on your mind. The smallest thing would send you bawling. You were only lucky to be some no body in some hive-world. Hiding in a not-quite-house not-quite-shelter.

And yet, you knew that when you awoke to Arbites pulling you to your feet and yanking you sternly to the spires above that you had failed yourself. That your mind betrayed you. What had you thought? What- Maguttol fruit. An underground delicacy that only found the will to grow on the planet you found. Something that was bitter and felt like eating snot but delicious and nourishing if you were starved.

The moment the Arbites supporting you let go, you fell to your knees only to be dragged up again by an Ultramarine the second you tried to sprint for it. Thrashing your malnourished body and wailing as if you were being burned alive.

Anything! Freedom in suffering was butter than captivity in safety! You howled your displeasure until your voice broke. Until you could do nothing but bleat out croakily. Until you were placed before the Emperor once again. Feeling the gaze of a godly thing that beheld you in mixed emotions.

Feeling the gilded cage wrap around you ever tighter as his skeletal fingers lightly lifted your chin, and mummified lips pressed against yours.

[monstersandmaw]

i saw your post about feeling like it isn't worth it to write cuz of reblogs lacking etc and wanted to let you know that even if they're not interacting with it, somebody out there saw it and enjoyed it, or even needed it.

i feel a bit bad for dragging my feet on this, am sorri, but i wanted to say thank you for your writing, the way you build up your little worlds and scenes and characters, and fill them with this genuine little warm and cozy feeling that you can just curl up in. (and pull off plot beats and subtle hints like a pro. :})

because i stumbled across your stories when i was at a severe low point, trying to patch myself up mentally after an abusive mess. and your stories, your writing, all the warmth and coziness and genuineness and just how sweet and intimate you craft relationships- it helped. deeply. it helped remind me what a good healthy and loving relationship looks like, what i should look up to and gauge a future one on, what i shouldn't bend on just because someone doesn't like it - and yes, i know, you're not the sole arbiter of relationship standards, please don't worry - but it still helped so much then. it reminded me that the hell i went though wasn't normal, wasn't on me, and i kept going thru your stories to remind me on the worse days. and those bad days kept coming less, because reminding me eventually gave me a small little constant flame of understanding and hope and relief with all this. and so your writing means and represents so fucking much to me. so thank you. so much.

obviously one person's experience doesn't make up for that work-to-appreciation ratio, or even a tiny number. but i hope knowing that for someone, (maybe even many someones), your writing represents more than just regular reading fodder- helps lessen the feeling of writing not being worth it for you. even if it's a tiny tiny bit.

I don’t have enough words for how lovely and kind (and brave) this is of you, Anon. Thank you.

I never mean to guilt trip people into reblogging, and only ever mean it as a general rule to encourage people who don’t know or aren’t sure about the etiquette, or to remind people who just comment ‘more pls’ without any other effort/nuance.

For those like this sweet Anon who don’t have the spoons or the energy or the time or whatever, you absolutely carry on as you are. It’s always so hard making posts which try to get people fired up about reblogging because I know it’s also going to look like I’m pressuring the quieter folk to do something they’re not comfortable with etc.

Know that at the heart of it, you’re all welcome here, whether you’re lurking and chilling out, or reblogging left right and centre.

Thank you for taking the time and effort out of your day to reassure me with this, Anon, and I hope you know you’re as treasured and valued as anyone else who contributes to this community simply by being here with us to enjoy all the creations people share.

Take good care of yourself, and goodnight from a very warm room somewhere in the south of England :). 👻💤

[mrxcreepypastamadness]

Hellish Hollows Song #4:

Overdue

Character cover: Ms. L

Notice: Some parts of the lyrics will be changed to fit her theme. Thank you. ^^

Lolli Muttonfudge?: 🎵Who's that girl you see, who grooms her hair so well? This mystery will be unsolved by those whose who fell into this hell.🎵

Pico: 🎵Who's that in the street, stumbling like a drunken bitch, get fucked. Get out of my way do you not see the gun?🎵

Lolli Muttonfudge?: 🎵Now behold the twilight of a so-called racer who somehow found it easy to betray she who she claim to love, the one who laid me low from above.🎵

Pico: 🎵Cool, but who asked? Oh, wait, I know the number - zero! I gotta go, you made me slow I'm getting sick of ya.🎵

*She grew in length as she turned around revealing her true self*

Ms. L: HAHAHAHA

Pico: What the FUCK is that thing!?

Ms. L: 🎵Glad you're here, now it's too late to escape you will know the fear I felt as I began to melt in flames to hate!🎵

Pico: 🎵Jesus Christ, you're the ugliest thing I've seen, Fuckin' die, I didn't know the goddamn slender girl wore green!🎵

Ms. L: 🎵Witness who's behind the mask, desecrated you should've been afraid to ask, now in desolation, you will bask.🎵

Pico: 🎵Buncha fancy words for making dudes dead nothing I haven't heard before, Eat lead!🎵

Pico: Die motherfucker! *He began to shoot her depends how many bullets will run out*

Ms. L: 🎵In the whispers of the woods truth echoes freely, the who claims to be just, is a liar. Sure of racer's selfhood but gaze upon me, one look shall reveal what transpired!🎵

Pico: 🎵Got three in the chamber, bitch, I'm packin' heat, best spill where ya took my homie or you'll taste the street! I'm really getting sick of you, I got shit to do, if you're between me and he, you're the one blowing holes through!🎵

Ms. L: 🎵Standing on the bridge over the Lord's Inferno, hand in hand, I thought we fight together. And I never lost my trust to my sis until she plunged me to her foe.🎵

Pico: 🎵If that's what you say, guess you had a bad day and now you're here with some kind of curse, your night's getting worse, gonna put you in a hearse if you don't get the fuck outta my way!🎵

*Transitioning to a Hellish background of eyes and mouth*

Ms. L: 🎵Our sacred ties were but sacred to me, how I hated he got off free.🎵

Pico: 🎵What the fuck's this for? I'm not into vore! This place is an eyesore! Didn't your mama say to brush your teeth?🎵

Ms. L: 🎵For her betrayal, the world shall burn!🎵

Pico: 🎵 I'm gonna make your heart churn! How many shots before you learn?🎵

Ms L: 🎵It's their turn! Strike the infestation of the ones who lie through their teeth!🎵

Pico: 🎵For your information, you should be six feet beneath!🎵

Ms. L: 🎵Those who feel no guilt, those who feel no sence of shame, all will play my game, all will perish all the same know my name!🎵

Pico: 🎵We got arbiters of vengeance. Cool, what a show, how's that gonna go with a name like Lolli Mario?🎵

Ms. L: 🎵Madness is honesty within a world ruled by Cain, the pain of treachery can only dull with sweet revenge!🎵

Pico: 🎵This whiny shit's killin' me, tonight is such a fucking pain. Want my honesty? The worst thing about you is that stench!🎵

Ms. L: 🎵Oh, did our bond of blood truly matter not? Oh, dear sister I did love you, Molly...so then why did you twist the knife in the gash?🎵

*MOLLY (The Forgiven) appears*

Pico: 🎵The fuck this have to do with me? For I was not, was not right there for what had happened. Oh your careless tunnel vision right before the final crash got your ass in lava splash!🎵

MOLLY (The Forgiven): 🎵I know you can't forgive-a-me. For I would not, could not myself for what had happened...Oh, my careless tunnel vision on the final fated crash, burned my sister into ash...T-T🎵

Ms. L: 🎵Who's that girl you see, who grooms her hair so well? Who's the one who saw me as an empty shell to throw in the pyre, to damn within the fire. No need for apologies long past overdue, your sins you'll rue!🎵

Pico: 🎵Wow bro, cool story. Cheap as free, just so you know, sorry not sorry. I couldn't find a soul who cared. None around for the brothers in the underground.🎵

MOLLY (The Forgiven): 🎵Who's that fool you see, It's a me. Oh my dear sis, I'm so sorry, I should've have made sure that you were there, safe and sound maybe you'd still be around...😭🎵 *She fades away*

Ms L: IT'S TIME TO GO TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

Pico: *Pico ran out of bullets as he threw his gun to the ground* Son of a bitch! *He runs off as the background changed into dark hallway as multiple Ms. Ls appeared*

Ms L: 🎵Wind me up, and up I go to claim you all as my prize for all the pain I've endured. I decree it's an eye for an eye!🎵

Pico: 🎵What the fuck's your deal? Can't take the shit out in me! Man, go to therapy! Go fix your miserable life!🎵

Ms. L: 🎵Even as you run away, you know that you're here to stay. One martyr will not slake my fury, now your blood will spill in righteous reverie.🎵

Pico: 🎵But you ain't gonna get to me, this ain't a horror movie. I won't be a victim you ain't catchin' me!🎵

Ms. L: 🎵Treachery! Come, face me, whipping-boy and know my wrath, for I was toyed with by your vile kin! Come to Abel, pay for sin! Run and run as you might, you can't fight for the guilt of man shall overtake you and snuff out your light!🎵

Pico: 🎵I'm gettin' off this line, Pico is feelin' fine, Pico is livin' through the night! What a shitty monologue, I ain't the one you should flog, I'm gettin' through the fog Goodbye! You utter waste of time! Get an extra life and get the fuck out of mine!🎵

Ms. L: 🎵It's my world, my rules! My justice is overdue! *She fades away*🎵

Pico: Fucking bitch!

Based off of:

Friday Night Funkin' Mario's Madness - Overdue - With Lyrics

Original Lyrics written by: Man on the Internet

Rewritten Lyrics written by: mrxcreepypastamadness

[yzeltia]

Closer to You

Chapter 16 Characters: Natsu Obinata, Fuyu'li cen Zwhan, Jannie Eyradoux, Urianger Augrulet, Thancred Waters, Patient Heaven, Keith Summers, Carter Summers, Claudien @mintibunny 's Minti Chocolate , Mikoto Jinban, Violet Fisher, Hayzel Summers Rating: T for Teen Notes: Thank you @driftward for the mechanics pass and @mintibunny for blorbo sharing and line edits

“The Echo was the only way I could see them…and I suppose chasing that feeling I found myself as Leto, who had devoted herself to helping mothers of the Ancient world. When she met Castor and Pollux…their mother had been killed by some sort of swan creation and had grown up relying on only one another in a world that was not kind to orphans. She gave up her seat of power to a young protege so that she could raise them. To her, they were her star. I will not say I was possessed. My actions were also my own. This world…this world deserved their light.”

Patient rested against a stone as she rubbed her eyes while Natsu sat on her knees in front of her. She pressed her hand to heart, “I cannot deny that they were not special. They took me, a stranger that sounded mad and made sure I had a home and family. It made me realize how much I took for granted…I’d searched so long to find what it was like to be loved by family, I hadn’t seen that family is what you make of it. A friend you travel the world with, a stranger who opens his home to you,  people you work beside every day, a friend that doesn’t mince her words with you…those people can care about you just as much as and sometimes more than someone with blood or familial ties written on paper. I was so blind to those who cared for me before…but Drowning…”

“I know, I could not be with them but I could sense it all,” Patient agreed, reaching out to take Natsu’s hand, “You would have been a wonderful daughter-in-law…”

“I still can be,” Natsu said with a smile.

“As lovely as all this sentiment is, mayhaps we address the kidnapping, impersonation, and I don’t know, the murder,” Thancred said flippantly, gesturing broadly to the trio of kidnappees.

Carter shrugged his shoulders, holding Hayzel asleep in his arms, the latter having lost their Ascian mask. “Hayzel is safe and no one I care about got hurt. Minti, you ready?” he asked before starting to walk away with the Viera in tow.

Keith balked, hurrying after his brother. “What do you mean no one you care about got hurt!? I was hit by a train! Twice,” he yelled, trying to squabble with his brother while Minti shook their head and sighed. 

“In light of what brought me here, I rather not have to broadcast who I saw,” Violet chimed in, holding herself as she blushed.

“Riol,” Jannie hummed with amusement.

“It wouldn't have been weird for him to visit U’odh,” Violet hissed at her fellow warrior or light. 

“I too, find myself embarrassed by the situation that led to my capture. While it was a distressing ordeal, she did see we were well cared for,” Mikoto added.

“Garlond,” Urianger mused, hiding a smile with a spread of cards as Mikoto shot him a cross look.

“Good, great. That's settled. Still murdered someone though,” Thancred pointed out.

“That, I must face my punishment for,” Patient said, rising to her feet. “There is no excuse for what I have done. Even spurred on by my Ancient persona, I could have very well stayed my hand and not let her take control.”

Patient looked at her hand, shaking a bit before looking up at Thancred to respond. “If you must strike me down, you may do so.”

“I will not be the arbiter of your fate. We'll turn you over to Gage and his cohorts for them to decide,” Thancred said before rubbing the back of his head.

“Leon…he's the one who got through to me and woke me up,” Natsu said softly, putting her hand over her heart, the memory feeling like it was a lifetime ago. “For…For Y'zel's sake…Where is my brother? Didn't he assist you?”

Patient shook her head. “Not beyond his writings. I haven't had the occasion to meet him. He eluded me when I sought him out.”

“As with us all,” Thancred.

Natsu looked around concerned then closed her eyes, trying to capture a memory, “Leonnioux woke me up specifically for Y’zel. And then…And then Hypnos, rather Hayzel, said that he did so because of the way Y’zel would react! They said Mikoto had foreseen it.”

Mikoto stepped forward. “This is sounding familiar now, though it sounds like they knew more than I about what I’d seen. A Miqo’te standing in a field of blue.”

Claudien dropped his bow, eyes wide as he turned to Patient. “Do you not have the Heart of Sabik?”

[adhd-mess]

How death parade ended in my head(and somehow they are in the human realm don’t ask questions)

This is Decim & Chiyuki centric I might do one with Mayu & Ginti

Decim & Chiyuki

They are happy

Decim & Chiyuki are married

They have two girls(4 & 2) and are expecting another one, I’m pretty sure arbiters can’t have kids but I don’t care and Decim is a girl dad I don’t make the rules

Chiyuki goes to therapy and is in a much better place now and has come to terms with being unable to ice skate

Bc of therapy she has opened up an ice skating rink bc she wants others to feel the joy it had brought her

Her daughters adore ice skating and Chiyuki will tell them step by step instructions on how to perform certain moves

She is kind of like a coach for her daughters and other ice skaters

The customers love her

Her daughters all get in her & Decim’s bed, dressed in pjs, and listen to her read Chavvot. This normally ends with them laying between Decim & Chiyuki fast asleep while Chiyuki rests her head on Decim’s chest. Those are her favorite nights.

Now onto Decim

He’s still emotionless(kind of), the only people he shows emotion in front of is Chiyuki and his daughters

Decim was very scared about having their first daughter. Like extremely. Definitely more scared than Chiyuki

He bought every parenting book he could find, read through forums, consulted Chiyuki’s mother

He went to every appointment, class, everything

He was oh so very protective over Chiyuki during her pregnancies

He would prepare food(even though it tasted awful and was always burnt although she never told him that. She praised his inedible food)

He would massage her feet and back

He would try to do all the chores around the house but Chiyuki was like “I can do this. It’s okay. I know you’re worried but I’ve got this.”

Part of it stemmed from the fear of losing her and their baby and the other part was the fear of messing up bc of his inexperience. And he could not fail her again

As a father he is the best,

Though he is a bit of a pushover i.e letting them use Chiyuki’s makeup, making a mess with flour, painting on the walls, buying them anything they want

But he is very close to his daughters

He’s a stay at home dad and spends 24/7 with them

When Chiyuki comes home from the rink dinner will be prepared and him and the kids will either be passed out or playing together

It warms her heart

when she first saw him playing with their oldest daughter when her second hadn’t been conceived yet she burst into tears

Decim who is not very good at social cues was concerned, he stood up and ran to her

Then he was confused when he saw the smile on her face

She embraced him and kissed him, saying how lucky she was and she wouldn’t trade this for the world

At some point before the kids Decim was feeling sad and guilty and couldn’t sleep

She rolled over to face him and asked him what was on his mind

It took a minute for him to respond

He asked if she held any anger at him for erasing her memories, and that if he found a way to go back in time where she never got that injury and never died would she(this arose since he had been researching this exact thing, wanting to make her happy thinking that she wasn’t as happy as she could be with their life)

She told him no, she doesn’t harbor any I’ll will towards him and would never give up their life together that she has never been this happy before not even when she was ice skating she finishes it by saying that she loves him and she will never stop and he says that he loves her and would do anything to make her happy what he doesn’t say is he’d sacrifice his happiness and well being for hers

She kisses him and he holds her for the entirety of the night

[th3w00ds]

And All That You Know, You’ll Be Leaving It Behind 

Title From: Hero of Our Time by NateWantsToBattle

Fandom: Youtuber Egos

AU: None

Content Warnings: Not proofread

(This exists cuz I wanted to write something for Time and Arbiter :D)

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

Time had been settling in quite well to the residence of the other… what was it they called themselves? Egos? Yes, that was it. Time had thought he was settling in quite well in this house with the other Battle egos, although it was quite weird to see as many people who looked the same as him.

In his old universe, before he got transported here, he had only had a resemblance to one individual: Arbiter Dragmire. That was Time’s former friend, current rival and enemy. 

Arbiter… just thinking about that traitor made a chill go down his spine. Time didn’t want to think about when Arbiter had managed to defeat the royal family of Hyrule and start his horrible reign; a few weeks after that, Time was transported to this world. One with, to his knowledge, no Arbiter. 

Just then, Time heard footsteps, and his hand rushed to his sword instinctively. When he saw that it was just Phantom and Natemare, Time calmed, and moved his hand from the weapon. Natemare shifted on his feet a little, just barely taking out his headphones, and Phantom tapped his cane on the floor once. Time looked at him.

“So, how’ve you been? We haven’t seen you a whole lot, and you’re pretty quiet… I can totally understand, but we wanted to check in on you, see how you were,” Phantom said. Natemare nodded. 

“Yeah, what he said.” Natemare said, looking at Time. Time didn’t answer for a few moments, and simply stared up at the two.

“I’m okay,” He finally said, “I like this place,” Time was looking between Phantom and Natemare, then deciding to just look at Phantom.

“That sounds good,” Phantom said. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. They had no guests scheduled for right now, and Nate wasn’t supposed to come by for another week… odd.

Time stood up, and walked with Phantom and Natemare to the door, standing off to the side next to Natemare. Phantom opened the door, and Time had to do a double take at who he saw. 

It was Arbiter. He looked the exact same as the last saw him; Time stepped back, letting out an exhale. Arbiter stepped in, not yet looking in the direction of Time. 

“Hello, my name is Arbiter Dragmire, and I’ve been told that this is a safe place for… egos?” Arbiter said, pausing briefly before saying egos. Time thought that was because Arbiter also had trouble adjusting. 

“Well. That entirely depends on how you act towards the others here. If you harm another ego here majorly, I will ask you to leave. That’s pretty much the only main rule we have..” Phantom said, looking Arbiter up and down. Time could never guess what the demon was thinking in a thousand years. 

Arbiter’s eyes slowly scanned the room, and eventually landed on Natemare and Time, before staring at Time. Arbiter glared.

“You,” Arbiter said, his hair growing longer, glowing red now, his eyes turning orange, “Of course. I should’ve expected that you would be here.” Arbiter’s voice held all possible animosity towards Time, and Time saw gloom and malice gathering in Arbiter’s hands. 

In response, Time drew his sword, ready to defend himself and possibly the others. Time stepped forward, pointing his sword at Arbiter like he had done many times before. Suddenly, Phantom got in between the two egos, pushing the both of them back. “Arbiter. Time. No fighting, you can talk about this. There’s no need to go destroying this house in your fight.” He said, looking at Time, then Arbiter. After a few moments, Phantom stepped back. Time glared at Arbiter and Arbiter returned the gesture. The malice and gloom slowly dissipated from Arbiter’s hands, his hair went back to its normal length, and it became its regular color again. Time sheathed his sword, sighing. No fighting was good, it finally ended him and Arbiter’s streak of fighting whenever they saw each other. Arbiter was still glaring at Time. Time looked at Arbiter in the eyes, and spoke loudly. 

“I’ll tell you this once; Do not attack me or anyone else here, or I will need to stop you again. Hopefully for the last time.” Arbiter scoffed, “As if,” he said, “I could beat you in a one on one fight with no weapons, I could beat you in a fight with weapons,” “You might think you can, but I think its time you stop underestimating me, Arbiter. That has been the thing that defeats you each and every time,” Time replied. Time looked down at the floor, and then walked away, leaving Arbiter with Natemare and Phantom.

[tentakrool]

Introduction to From Whence Came She: An Exploration of Pharasma and the Windsong Testaments

Edelgarde Midwyck, professor of theology and cosmology Lepistadt University, Lepistadt, Ustalav

Before the birth of everything, there came an ending, to which only one survivor bore witness.

In an ancient time inscrutable to us who now live, a universe unknown met its end. Whether this realm exploded in an unquenchable fire, or found itself snuffed quietly out like a candle, none can say. All that remained scattered amidst the blackness of space, speckling the void with the dying embers. Nothing remained but she: The Survivor, the Lady of Graves, the Mother of Souls. She, who threads the weft and warp of fate across the centuries; who holds life and death in her hands, gathered the remnants of existence and began anew. 

Her name is Pharasma, the First and the Last. 

Pharasma’s role as mother to our universe may seem strange to those who do not know her. After all, is she not the goddess of death? Does she not author the final pages of our soul’s journey? Those more familiar with her worship know better; after all, she also safeguards the passage into life. Midwives invoke her name and bless their knives with water drawn from her holy fonts. A goddess of cycles, she sharpened her skills on the greatest birthing of all: that of reality itself.

What her role might have been in those days before, none can guess. After all, we have nothing to draw from, save the groundless assumption that this previous incarnation must have resembled the current. I have my own suspicions, as do dozens of my contemporaries, the scholars and ascetics who dedicate their intellects to untangling the riddle of what could have been. Personally, I wonder if the Pharasma we know and the one that traversed an all-consuming apocalypse eons ago were much alike at all.

Consider Nocticula: once a demon lord, she murdered her contemporaries and assumed their roles, stole their devotees and quite literally built her kingdom upon their backs. Now, she has transformed herself into something new – a goddess of freedom and redemption. Perhaps, like Nocticula, Pharasma transformed herself upon the death of what came before, changed into a deity to suit the season of creation and destruction. Perhaps, Pharasma once knew a time when life and death did not hang in the balance of her every word and gesture.

Of course, if we further explore my theory, one must then wonder what sort of deity Pharasma could have been, back in those unfathomable days. I can envision her as a young deity bursting with vigor and life, ushering the fragile souls of the unborn into the light, guiding the hands of those wise, skilled women without whose ministry so many would meet an untimely end. Perhaps she walked among the people, with bare feet and ruddy cheeks warmed by the sun of an ancient world. Perhaps then, her face was not haunted by millennia of shadows.

Regardless of what form she took then, I cannot help but imagine how devastating that moment must have been – the moment when Pharasma looked around herself and saw that she truly existed alone, swaddled in void, with no one but the vast, unknowable Outer Gods watching from beyond with hungry eyes trained on our little empty scrap. How brave of her to take that solitude and wrap it around herself like a mantle, mold it into a shape that we could call home, breathing life into the ash and embers of the things she’d loved and lost. As a mortal, it may not be my place to do so, but I cannot help but pity her.

Some of my contemporaries take it upon themselves to criticize my work. They feel that speculation of this sort leads to nothing but confoundment and consternation; I cannot help but disagree. What are they gods, if not reflections of ourselves? What does it hurt for us to imagine Pharasma not as an impersonal arbiter of our fates, but as a servant to our souls, and as keeper of the loneliest duties of all? How can we not grow closer to her, knowing that our penitent souls are the only brief company she keeps? 

[studioninilong]

Caution I'm talking.

Some may know, I’ve designed a few games, written quests and missions, and generally crafted some game experiences. Not all of them have seen the light of day but some have survived. Welcome to Wu. A luxury Board Game I’m currently developing. Think of it as Ticket To Ride & Monopoly meets Forbidden Island & Talisman. The First installment is simply known as Black or Wu (which has many meanings in chinese but another main one to us practitioners is “martial”) So yes it’s a game of conquest. In particular a Villian’s conquest. A game designed for those who believe they already dominate the world….for the world’s own good, of course. This is a long project. A board game made by artisan hands: from different woods, to stone, to metal…and even a tiny bit of glass. No it is not intended for children. It is designed for those nights serious players want sit with a bottle of wine and plot to end friendships. No, i jest. It’s more of an art piece you can play with really. One I'm involving a few craftspeople in to complete. There are 7 play pieces. Each with it’s own villain story and purpose. Every player piece for this first installment is of course…black. The tiles are black, the cards are black, the dice are black. But different black materials when arranged with care and assembled carefully yield an extraordinary art piece. And no it is not all Chinese folklore. This game is crafted with many of my life influences and inspirations from Eastern to African to German tales to Scientific and even Technical bits. Things I've studied to an exhaustive degree. This game houses only my most cherish game mechanics and experiences. Expect AOE. As I'm getting the prototypes crafted, I’m releasing 7 SPECIAL SHORT RUN pieces. This is the first. Faction Arbiter or play piece: 妖 Yāo (Monster/Demon) 靈 Ling Their Faction’s Title: 魔道 Mó Dào (The Way of Demonics) The Play Piece itself is similar to this: a Horned creature poised on a black cloud Their Faction Modus Operandi as would be laid out in the rule book, is something akin to their backstory and the reason in which they’ve been sent to devour the world…or Wulin and it is referred to the in the game. If you were to play as YaoLing, thi swould be their story. Your 宫决 Gōngjué (hall-master) is the second, and only living, son of the Demon Lord. At a young age he was presented with his father's spear and forced to choose between his eldest brother's life and his own. When he refused, his eldest brother made the choice for him and in the fray the second son defended himself but his brother lay dead before his feet; spear in his chest. Your Gōngjué is now the leader of the Five Great Sects. He became this after subduing their lands and setting enforcers all about Wulin (the world). Your Gōngjué has given you, his top disciple, the mission of spreading your sects' influence across the land with the aid of his enforcers. His credo: to make all of Wulin better by ridding the world of this problematic thing called "choice" and establishing only one martial system. The system he acquired from his time in the underworld. If you wish to follow your intrigue and watch as the game takes shape join me over on Patreon where You’ll basically watch construction paper playthroughs and pebbles as markers. Don’t laugh game designers will use anything. Thank you for watching and hope you enjoy.

[hypostatic-oath]

I can see it depending on personalities and on the characters themselves tbh. It's an interesting thing about hsr - they have different perspectives on the Aeons (Yaoshi my controversial beloved) and other entities based on cultural and personal experiences and that is actually shown. Since hsr characters are familiar with videogames, though, it is easier for them to grasp the concept of what is actually going on. It is possible that some may see you as a sort of Aeon or spirit, some seriously and others for the meme (*cough* the trailblazer *cough*).

The first thought that comes to mind is that Silver Wolf has immediately gained a kindred spirit. Someone who also understands that the world is a game? Finally!

She'd 100% be the most talkative and the most nonchalant. Reality is a game, of course there's people playing. And if they happen to be chill, well, she's more than happy to lend a hand. Befriend your local Silver Wolf, y'all. She's onto you. Idk enough stellaron hunter lore to know whether she'd share it with the others, but this girl would know what's up.

The Trailblazer now uses you as an excuse for anything. Dan Heng and March wonder what the Trailblazer keeps looking for in the belobog dumpsters? Not their fault, it's definitely you who insists on investigating. They put their feet up on the couch and Pompom is panicking? You made them do it. They keep flirting with everyone? Clearly, your doing. They introduced themselves as something super dramatic and largely innacurate? Guess who's to blame. "The devil made me do it but I also kinda wanted to" vibes from them. Like yes, those are things they would've been naturally inclined to do or say... but it was totally, definitely the MyStErIoUs SpAcE bEiNg that made them do it. They will 100% think you're the Stellaron that is inside them at first. (I love the fact that we can just. Fuel the trailblazer's dumbass energy. Like hell yes eat garbage for the achievement. We're basically their intrusive thoughts at this point and we are winning.)

If you end up being considered an Aeon, oh boy. Prepare for the weirdest Simulated Universe encounter. Imagine pulling up to one of the worlds and

If that is the case, Herta is most likely smug about the fact that you get her for free, because essentially she gets unlimited access regardless of whether you pulled her or not. I wonder which type of blessings ya'll's Paths would have...

Idk enough stellaron hunter lore to base this on more than "sounds cool idk" BUT. Keeping in line with my interpretation of sagau, I'm gonna say that the player as an Aeon would be considered the kind of entity responsible for making events come to pass. (If you don't play the game, Kafka doesn't put the stellaron in the Trailblazer's body, no one defends the Herta Space Station from the Antimatter Legion, Bronya never discovers the truth, etcetera that I will not list to not spoil the game for anyone). This ties in with the whole "slave of destiny" thing Elio has. One of the player's Aeon titles could very well be "Bringer of Destiny" or "The Fate Enforcer" (kinda like Yaoshi is seen as "The Plagues Author" and Lan is "The Reignbow Arbiter"). Either way, the Stellaron Hunters are rocking with us for now. Silver Wolf knows the truth, Kafka is the first person we meet and the first person we help/guide/control in the game...

The Xianzhou's Divination Commission classifies the Aeons into three groups: "The Arbiters," who determine mortal births and deaths, and are highly connected to the rise and fall of civilizations, "The Sacrosancts," who are difficult to predict as good or evil, and "The Authors of Calamity," who are seen as the main culprits behind all disaster. With this in mind, I'd wager that you would fall somewhere along the Sacrosancts, but one can never be sure. After all, who's to say that the disruptive arrival of a force that sets catastrophe in motion just by existing wouldn't be immediately placed among the last group? I do believe that it'd depend on the way each of us as players interacts with the world.

sum thoughts about sahsrau, like would they hate your guts for stuff, idk or would they think of you as an Aeon?? It probably depends on your personalities or smth like that :P

[lys-9-10]

EEK new art for one of my Yachi-Kageyama-Hinata friendship trio fics! 🤩 by astay_y! THANK YOU! This is a Karasuno Volleyball club sleepover scene from my fic In Which Yachi Ships Kagehina (read excerpt below) Ps. See all my Y-H-K friendship trio fics here. 😁 I love writing these three 🥲💗

“Oi. Pass the popcorn, dumbass.” Kageyama elbowed Hinata in the ribs.

The redhead looked over and scowled. That is, his mouth was scowling. His eyes were always smiling whenever he looked at Kageyama. “You’ve already eaten more than half, you big tyrant. We’re supposed to share this bowl between the three of us.” He motioned with his head to Yachi, who was sitting between them with her back resting against Kageyama’s shoulder and her feet tucked up against Hinata’s thighs. “Sugawara said one bowl per three people. Right, Suga?” 

From the couch, the silver-haired third year glanced over and smiled lightly. “Yep. Those are team sleepover rules, Kageyama-kun.”

Nishinoya, who was sitting on the top of the couch above Asahi with his legs dangling down over the ace’s torso, snickered. “Mom,” he quipped. 

Suga ignored him. 

Kageyama was now reaching across Yachi to grab at the popcorn bowl in Hinata’s lap. “I’m taller than you two combined,” he declared decisively. “So I warrant a double-plus share.” 

“That isn’t how it works!” Hinata protested, snatching the popcorn bowl up and hiding it behind his back. “Tell him, Yachi.” Yachi looked between the bickering pair and sighed. “Just because I get credit for the existence of your relationship, doesn’t make me arbiter for all your couple conflicts.”

Suga, who was watching the interaction in his peripheral vision, smiled at the girl’s sauciness. He enjoyed seeing Yachi come out of her shell with Hinata and Kageyama. The latter two dating had seemed to bring all three of them closer together as friends. Yachi might still cower before the rest of the world, but with Karasuno’s 9-10 duo, she was fully at home. 

“You don’t get credit, Yachi,” Kageyama said dismissively. “Hinata was going to ask me out eventually. Was just a matter of time.”

Hinata rolled his eyes and chucked a piece of popcorn at his setter’s head. Yachi giggled. 

---------

“Well I gotta say,” Daichi said, scrubbing a hand through his hair and grinning at the three first years passed out on the floor. Yachi had her legs draped over Kageyama’s lap and her head resting on Hinata’s stomach. The two boys’ hands were clasped together in their sleep. “I was really rooting for KageYachi. But I’m kind of digging this KageHina plus faithful third-wheel Yachi thing.” 

“Yachi isn’t a third-wheel,” Suga said. “She’s part of the wholesome friendship trio. Different thing. It’s like Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Harry isn’t a third wheel just because Ron and Hermione started dating.” 

Asahi hummed and scratched thoughtfully at his facial hair. “Nah,” he said, shaking his head. “They aren’t Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The gender pairing is wrong. Try Simon, Baz, and Penelope.”

Nishinoya squawked and fell off the top of the couch. Asahi caught him.

 “A-Asahi!” The libero stammered, gazing wide-eyed up at his ace. “You read gay romance too?”

Read full fic on AO3

[tolkien-feels]

I had a thought. A half baked thought. But you know how there are several very legit rebuttals to the "Elrond could have pushed Isildur" position? I had another potential reason pop into my head -- what if another reason could be because of the ring's own "will"? Yeah, Elrond could've pushed Isildur into Mount Doom, but maybe the ring would have abandoned Isildur right then and just landed at Elrond's feet or something. Again, not fully flushed out thought. But I think the ring's "sentience" could also come into play, and not in Elrond's favor...

(Also I'll just take the moment now to join the other appreciate messages you've received! I love your blog, and your observations and thoughts on the text, and seeing your posts really brighten up my day! <3 )

Aww thank you! You're so nice!! <3

This got long so I'll put it under a cut

Like you said, there are many very good reasons why Elrond should Not have pushed Isildur, even if he could (and it's debatable whether he could, I think.) I do think you've got a point, and it fits in nicely with my personal headcanon that broadly speaking, it would be a greater tragedy if Elrond had killed Isildur, even if it was to take down Sauron.

"Oft evil will shall evil mar" is a comforting (and correct!) thought in Tolkien's world, and it's what allows the heroes of all stories to have absurd hope. But it's also a warning. The instant you fall to evil, there's a chance you'll bring about your downfall and worse, even if you think you are totally justified - see Saruman for a clear example.

It's bizarre that Gollum should just happen to die and get the Ring destroyed. A very unlikely chance indeed. Would it be weirder if Elrond attempted to push Isildur and the opposite kind of chance happened? Maybe both Isildur and Elrond die but the Ring escapes. Maybe Isildur dies and the Ring tempts Elrond, who (being in a bad headspace) would be extremely susceptible to temptation. Is it fair to want Elrond to roll the dice here? Is it wise?

Maybe the end justifies the means, but come on. Elrond is one of the Wise. He knows the End is not his to bring about. To slay a companion because he thinks he alone can save Middle Earth is little more than to do Sauron's work for him. Is the Dark Lord Sauron meaningfully better to have than the Dark Lord Morgoth just because Sauron is a Maia where Morgoth was a Vala? I don't think so? Why would Elvish Dark Lord Elrond be much better? Because he could easily be killed if the Ring corrupted him? In that case, someone would feel justified in trying to kill Elrond, and maybe they'd be. But then what? Would the person not then take his place as Arbiter of Life? Ruler of the Life in Arda? That sounds Morgoth-like. How many Dark Lords, great and petty, until someone decides enough is enough and mercy alone breaks the cycle, if the cycle can be broken by any Child of Iluvatar? How many have to die until that lesson is learned?

Alternatively, maybe Elrond does not get corrupted, maybe the Ring gets destroyed. Surely Men would try to get revenge, wouldn't they? And elves would have to fight back, then. An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind, and anyway, is war for revenge less deadly and dark than war for dominion? Does it make a difference why Middle-Earth has darkened, so long as it has darkened? Why kill a common Enemy only to fall into civil war?

Now, I'm not suggesting that Isildur and Elrond should've just passively waited for Fate to play out. They shouldn't! Isildur does fall by not destroying the Ring (though it's hard to blame him)! ...but how on earth does Elrond immediately, voluntarily falling as well help make matters better?? Like??? Does everybody skip over the roughly 10 thousand times when we are told and shown that what the Ring wants is for people to kill each other because "I Alone Should Determine What Happens To The Ring" -- and that the people who are able to resist the Ring are the people who choose mercy? Or, should I say, "Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need"? Elrond killing Isildur would not have been self-defense. It would've been murder, and we can go back and forth all day on whether murder is justifiable but. Satan's backyard is probably the last place in the world you want to test your theories about gray morality. Why take the chance? More importantly, why take the chance in the presence of an item designed to corrupt your very soul?

And I'm not suggesting that Elrond was standing there and thinking "Ah yes I shall take a philosophical stance here as I consider the history of Middle-Earth" or whatever. I'm absolutely not. Elrond does not kill because Elrond may be as strong as a warrior and as venerable as a king of dwarves, but he is also as wise as a wizard and as kind as summer. He has the strength and the authority to kill Isildur. He is too wise and to kind to. That's why he's Good as well as Great.

(He's also probably wise enough to know even the Wise cannot see all ends (as repeatedly emphasized in LotR), so even if he killed Isildur, and then, idk, jumped into lava holding the Ring so there's no way things would go wrong, who's to say if this wouldn't somehow become an AU where Rivendell falls and all its beauty and knowledge and warmth is lost?)

At the end of the day, it's really kindergarten levels of morality: two wrongs don't make a right. If your brother has two toys and doesn't give you one, hitting him and stealing a toy doesn't make the world a fairer place even if you let him keep the other toy. That's like. Really easy to understand. And it might not always work in the real world, but this is fantasy. Elrond's mom became a shiny bird, but what stretches your suspension of disbelief is the part where you're not supposed to be thinking cynically about morality while reading about a world where there are literal angels running around casting spells...?? Not every hero has to be an antihero burdened by hard choices. Sometimes heroes are allowed to, you know, do everything right and still fail but be comforted by the thought that they remained Good, or as Good as they can be.

Anyway sorry for the rant. If I can, let me just quote from Tolkien himself speaking on another similarly criticized, world-altering decision:

If we speak last of the "folly" of Manwë and the weakness and unwariness of the Valar, let us beware how we judge. In the histories, indeed, we may be amazed and grieved to read how (seemingly) Melkor deceived and cozened others, and how even Manwë appears at times almost a simpleton compared with him: as if a kind but unwise father were treating a wayward child who would assuredly in time perceive the error of his ways. Whereas we, looking on and knowing the outcome, see now that Melkor knew well the error of his ways, but was fixed in them by hate and pride beyond return. He could read the mind of Manwë, for the door was open; but his own mind was false and even if the door seemed open, there were doors of iron within closed for ever.

How otherwise would you have it? Should Manwë and the Valar meet secrecy with subterfuge, treachery with falsehood, lies with more lies? If Melkor would usurp their rights, should they deny his? Can hate overcome hate? Nay, Manwë was wiser; or being ever open to Eru he did His will, which is more than wisdom.

[morganas-pendragons]

My Thoughts On Halo Infinite

So before I write the mother of opinions on this game, just a couple of things to note. I've been playing Halo since 2005-2006. I've always been someone who gets rather invested into stories, and this one was absolutely no exception considering the fact that: It mentions my favorite Halo game multiple times, and incorporates a character we technically have never seen in canon who is extremely crucial to John's character development as a young Spartan to this legend who has outlived virtually everyone he has ever loved.

Without further ado... my thoughts on Halo Infinite! spoilers for the campaign below. 

EDIT: I’m finishing this in the midst of my second playthrough, so I’ve added more! 

First off, let me tell you I was really skeptical about this at first. My brother and father didn't bother playing Halo 5 because I told them almost immediately how terrible the gameplay was and the story as well, and I played it twice before never going back to play it again. It was awful and the fans knew it was awful but after those Believe tv spots for Infinite were released I was like... okay. Okay, you've got my attention. Maybe I can give this a try and pray it's better then the previous.

If you're a veteran, this game was either one of your favorites or one of your least favorites. It's in my top 3. Halo 3, Infinite, and then Reach. And to be candid... the sole reason for it is because this is the only Halo game that takes the time to write an intricate and heartbreaking story about John's character and how Cortana and he are wound around each other.

There has not been one Halo game solely focusing on John. That's my biggest praise of Infinite in particular, the amount of effort and time they spent into doing something they'd never done before for a widely beloved character who grew leaps and bounds in this game.

Before I get into the thick of it, let me give my immediate likes and dislikes. The graphics are gorgeous. The NPC dialogue is so funny that I found myself in tears over it multiple times. The open world was a wonderful idea and prolongs the game for more enjoyment. The campaign story was extremely well written and bitter sweet by the end, but beautiful all the same. The music is new in its own right but incorporates music from the previous soundtracks.

Cons: No coop, no Arbiter OR The Swords of Sanghelios, you get no indication where Blue Team is unless you find the Audio Logs (which is stupid and the whole reason why they shouldn't have introduced them if they were just going to go away again) and that's literally it because I loved every aspect of this game LOL

Now, to the story.

We all know that John was indoctrinated from the age of six years old by Catherine Halsey who had chosen him and 70 some other children to, putting it candidly, be the saviors of humanity. He and a few others were the sole survivors of the Spartan 2’s. This also includes Blue Team. He, however, was deemed as one from the start who would outshine the others and serve a far greater purpose past being just a Spartan.

People are constantly talking about him. He has the highest rank in the miltary and exceeds the expectations placed upon him. But sometimes those expectations get to be too much, you know? 

That’s made obvious when we see his first real defeat - where the bad guy wins - when Atriox beats the absolute crap out of John and everything goes to hell in a matter of months. 

John goes MIA for six months and is pronounced dead. His world drastically shifts under his feet when he wakes up to the elated Pilot who believes the return of the Master Chief is the ticket he needs to be able to go home. The UNSC doesn’t exist anymore, and Cortana is dead. 

The relationship between John and Fernando is stellar for so, so many reasons. It’s one of the only relationships I can think of in game besides maybe Miranda and Johnson and Lasky where John is treated less like a soldier and more like a person. 

I’ve said this multiple times about the Halo show, and it applies here too. The whole purpose of Cortana for the Master Chief was initially to be advising with logistical and tactical advice on the battlefield. What she ended up teaching him in addition to that was how to be human. 

Something he would’ve never learned to do - and attempted to exercise in Infinite - had they not met. 

Removing the armor in the show is meant to show you, the viewer, that John is getting to the point where he’s trying desperately to grasp onto the little humanity he’s been permitted to experience. 

In the game, this is shown mostly through his interactions with The Weapon and the scene in the UNSC graveyard with The Pilot. 

Case in point... 

“I don’t know how you keep doing this.”

“I don’t have a choice. Maybe it’s my programming.” - John to The Weapon, Halo Infinite

“Let me know when you figure out which one of us is the machine.” Cortana to John, Halo 4

He’s being forced to face something he’s never been allowed to face before: Grief. He’s grieving Cortana, as he says many times through the countless mentions of If I had been able to do this, this could’ve been prevented and confessing to the Weapon that so much could’ve been prevented if he had just done more to protect Cortana. 

Because that’s what his mission was from the start when she chose him. They were meant to take care of each other, and they did. 

He was essentially betrayed by the person who became the one constant in his life, and there is this tiny human part of him that is desperate for relationships enough to the point where he wants to trust The Weapon. He can’t yet. 

The whole purpose of John keeping The Weapon at arms length is to protect himself from being hurt again. 

And doesn’t that sound familiar? 

I love what you as the player have to work through with John in this game. Arguably the best part is at the end where he has the flashbacks of Keyes, meeting Cortana, and their final goodbye in Halo 4. The whole point of that sequence is for you to understand John’s motivations over the last 7 years of canon and the depths of the loss he has experienced. 

Samuel. Cortana. Lasky. Halsey (probably, hopefully) both Jacob and Miranda Keyes, Avery Johnson... could LITERALLY keep going. 

No one should have to go through that much tragedy in less then 10 years. Literally everyone - outside of Blue Team, because it’s never confirmed if they’re actually dead or not, but i highly doubt it - is gone or deceased. That crap hurts. 

There are multiple sequences I could talk about here but the biggest thing I want to mention for people who have never read the novels is that you need to know about Samuel. The first loss, the worst loss, and one John carries with him for decades after the fact. 

In the scene where John nearly deletes The Weapon, he's asked to give three confirming phrases to the interface in his armor for confirmation.

What You Need To Know About Red Flag

034 - Samuel's Spartan Number.

Samuel - The final member of Blue Team who sacrificed himself to save them when John was barely sixteen years old, just in the first months of humanity's struggle with the covenant.

I didn't have a clue that Fall of Reach existed until I came across it on Youtube last year. Turns out most of Cortana's lines from Halo 3 before you find her on High Charity are things that John has heard over the course of his life! And let me tell you... the way I screamed when I heard all of these again after 14 years.... they just hold so much weight.

To put it shortly if you don't want to watch the movie: Samuel was John's first loss and one part of many reasons of why he does what he does. The movie itself is a fantastic service to John's character and I highly recommend watching it.

This game is fantastic. Say what you want, love whichever Halo you desire, but the depth of the emotional journey that goes into the main storyline for this game is the best out of all of them besides maybe Reach. Reach is the only other Halo game where you just.. lose. And there’s not anything you can do about it. 

John lost. He can’t do anything about it. He can try to rebuild the little that is left of the UNSC.. and he can hope it’s enough. 

At least he has people now. Because that will make it enough.