#AFO as CEO YES

[kindredzindred]

I NEED THIS SO MUCH BRO

I need more Shigaraki and Spinner being League of Legends players or interacting with League of Legends characters in my life.

I need to know how the Battle Academia skin line exists in the game in My Hero Academia. Especially when Battle Academia Ezreal is based off Deku, and Battle Academia Wukong heavily resembles Shirakumo.

I need to know if Stain inspired the creation of Yone in the MHA universe version of League.

Is AFO secretly the CEO of Riot Games in MHA?

More discussion, more funny headcanons, and shitposts of two of the most massive franchises that have rot my brain over the past decade.

I NEED MORE IT'S SO FUNNY

[aimportantdragoncollector]

Cruella De Vil AU! Does Yoichi get mistaken for a sickly cub and gets adopted by a bunch of white tigers?

For new people the premise of this AU is that AFO is an ordinary if corrupt fashion CEO obsessed with making a coat from a white tiger. Your idea actually ties in very well with the events as I imagined them:

-AFO sends his minions to the jungle to hunt the tiger because he's way too important to do it himself. The minions are Machia and Garaki and they can't stand each other.

-Yoichi shows up just behind them to warn park ranger Second about the tiger poachers. Then Yoichi insists on coming along to stop them. Second tries to dissuade him, but Yoichi says he will go into the jungle himself if Second doesn't let him come along. Second considers how much trouble it would be if a Japanese tourist died in the jungle and reluctantly agrees.

-Yoichi thinks that he knows all about wilderness survival from his comics. In fact, Yoichi's comics taught him useless stuff like "moss grows on the north sides of trees" and nothing about proper footwear for jungles or that monkeys bite if you try to pet them. In most of my AUs, Second immediately simps over Yoichi. But this is the AU where Second spends the whole trip longing to ship Yoichi back to Japan in a cardboard box. Yoichi thinks that park rangers are amazingly cool and spends the whole trip trying and miserably failing to impress his new crush. (It's okay, Second will eventually start to find the stupidity endearing. Yoichi is lucky that he is pretty.)

-Second gets in a pitched battle with poachers Garaki and Machia. He's down with a bullet in the shoulder, then Yoichi uses a hairspray and matches to create a miniature flamethrower and send the poachers' jeep over a cliff. This is the moment when Second falls in love. Unfortunately Yoichi falls off the cliff too.

-When a very worried Second tracks Yoichi down, he's in a cave surrounded by two mated female tigers and their cubs. Yoichi believes that his awesome comic book wilderness abilities have successfully tamed the tigers. Actually the tigers have mistaken him for a sickly cub and are trying to nurse him back to health. (Yes, I know this is not how tigers work but this is crack.)

-The tigers are Second's adopted family. He was raised by tigers in the jungle since he was a baby Mowgli-style, and the tigers adopted Yoichi partly because he smells like their son/big brother. (This is the rare AU where Second is not afraid of cats, but cats are afraid of him because he smells like tiger.) Second spends a lot of time persuading his Moms to let Yoichi go by promising to look after the weak little cub and bring him for visits.

-Yoichi sends his big brother lots of pictures posing with tigers and brags about how having a living tiger is way cooler than a coat. This launches AFO's epic obsession with getting a pet white tiger. Which is at least better than him trying to kill tigers, so...happy ending?

[pocketramblr]

AU where kid AFO tries to summon a powerful demon to kill his parents but he ends up summoning a young and still learning the ropes demon his age named Yoichi.

Lol so the reverse of this one fun

Hajime watched the summoning circle. The imp was shifting, melting into a bright human form. It's light and smoke faded, and suddenly a boy with an impossibly bright green eye was staring at him.

The demon's form was far from intimidating. Hajime wondered if it was to lure foolish summoners into underestimating it, trick them into breaking the circle.

"Why did you summon me?" The demon asked. His voice felt familiar. Eerie, a good touch.

"I want to make a deal."

The demon blinked. "What?"

"A pact, oath? I give you something, you do something for me."

"What am I supposed to do for you?" The demon sounded confused.

"Well, to start with, I want my parents dead."

The demon's mouth dropped open. "You- what?"

"Oh, you can collect both of their souls, if you want them."

The demon stared.

Hajime waved his hand to catch his attention. "Do you take souls?" He'd read about that in the Demon Lord versus Captain Hero comics- some special issue where the hero had almost been sacrificed.

"I mean, I guess, technically, we do?" The demon said it like it was a question. "Do you... know what I am?"

"A demon, I hope. Why, are there different types? Do I need to summon a soul eating one?"

"No, you don't need to do that. But, you know, demons punish sinners. You know that, right?"

"Oh, I don't care how you punish them. As long as they're gone."

The demon went from looking confused to something Hajime hated- pity. "Do they hurt you?"

Hajime shrugged. "Sometimes. What's that matter? Does it factor into how you kill them?"

"I'm not going to kill them! I'm going to help you." The demon shook his head, white hair flicking back and forth. "Look- I'm just interning in Hell this semester, but if I tell my supervisor I'm sure-"

"You're an intern?" Hajime had to ask, then quickly, "Hell has interns?"

"Um, yes?"

"Are they unpaid internships?" That would at least make a little more sense.

"I mean, I guess, we don't really have a currency system like humans do. We pick jobs we like and are good at, after studying and finding who we work best with, and are sustained in a way similar to a plant in sunlight. I'm interning in Hell because you're supposed to try everything, but really I'm more excited to try some of the Angel corps next decade, being a guardian sounds really cool and- are you still listening?"

Hajime was not, as he was considering that an intern was probably a pathetically weak demon who could not give him what he wanted, no matter how many souls he offered.

"Could I summon a more powerful demon to kill my parents?" He asked instead.

The demon's face fell.

"No." He said, very slowly. "You haven't lived long enough- humans get more powerful over their lives. You could probably summon someone at the level of my manager when you're, oh, fifty? But! I can absolutely tell them about your parents now, we can get someone to help you."

"How long would it take for me to be able to summon, like, a demon lord?"

"A... lord?" The demon repeated.

Oh right, he was an intern. So they probably called them... "A demon CEO?"

"Oh. Well, I guess the demon equivalent would be... It'd take you about 500 years."

"So I need to survive for five centuries." Hajime frowned. "Is there a lower level demon I could get that much longevity out of?"

"You're better off praying for a miracle." The demon boy answered plainly. "Oh, well- no."

"Well what?"

"It wouldn't matter- but, um, have you humans been noticing any strange things lately?"

Hajime stared at him. There were a lot of strange things. Like- oh. "Is living in Hell that literally under a rock? Yeah, I heard the news about the UBC pattern found, the meta-humans. Why?"

"It doesn't matter. Some humans might be born with such long lifespans now because of the- what did you call them? Meta? But you don't have a longevity one, so." The demon shrugged.

"Could I make a deal for one?"

"You don't need to, you've already got one." The demon blinked, then covered his mouth with a gasp. "Oh, I have no idea if I'm allowed to say that or not!"

"I... have a meta-power?"

The demon nodded, but kept the hands over his mouth.

"So you know where meta-powers come from. Did someone else make a deal?"

"No deals." The demon sighed, dropping his hand. "I'm not sure where you got that idea from anyway. But, I know my manager was talking to the circle's secretary about the new human powers. They thought it was from the Plague Department but she said it wasn't, she thought it was the Miracles Office and so... yeah, I'm not sure." He shrugged. "Can I... go, now?"

"No, I have more questions." He didn't, actually, but he had to stay in control of the demon summoning situation. "So, you say you don't make deals, but you can be summoned."

"Yeah, how did you even figure out how to summon me?"

"Comic book."

The demon tilted his head, interested. "Can you show me?"

Hajime didn't turn his back as he moved to get the issue from his pile, carefully handing it over so his arm didn't pass the circle around the demon.

The demon studied the panel with a hum, then began to flip through the other pages.

He kept reading. After a while, Hajime felt ignored.

He got an idea, and shifted back a little.

"Are you done looking at it?" He asked. "Be careful with it, I don't have the money to buy many of my own issues, so..."

The demon looked up, then nodded. "Right, sorry- here." He handed it back; in doing so, his hand had to pass a bit farther to reach where Hajime was, and it crossed the circle.

Hajime grabbed his hand, not the comic, and tugged him out.

"Hey!" The demon yelped, stumbling out of the circle. "What was that for?"

Instead of answering, Hajime clipped a bracelet of twisted metal wire around the demon's wrist.

"I was right." He said, carefully kicking and ruining the summoning circle. "That circle protects both of us. I would have been in your power if I went inside, and now you're in mine because you're outside. But the bracelet will keep you from having to go back to Hell."

The demon stared at him, then his wrist, then at him again.

"You aren't letting me go back?"

"You want to go back to Hell? To being an unpaid intern?" Hajime asked, pitching his voice up. "That awful place where they torture people? After you offered to help me?"

"Um, I'm really fine there, and it's only- no, wait. You were trying to help me too?" The demon squinted at him.

It didn't have much effect, half hidden behind the curtain of hair. This imp really was naive, it was almost cute.

"You're the only one who was nice to me, why wouldn't I?"

"Do you... have any friends?"

Hajime shook his head.

"Oh. Wow. Ok, there's a lot going on there. Um." The demon sighed. "Look, I want to help you, but I guess if you want me to stay a bit, maybe I could find out more about your parents, then take back word and bring it to the attention of someone who can do more?"

"Sure!" Hajime said with every intention of arguing that 'a bit' could mean '490 years', from a certain point of view.

This demon was too valuable to let him get away, not with his knowledge of meta-powers and other demons, plus his apparent desire towards aiding his summoner. Maybe that was part of the summoning too.

"We can go to the comic store- the library is still under reconsruction from the last riot- and look at whatever issues you want. My dad won't leave the house until six but any time after five Mom probably won't notice you sneaking in. Oh! We could tell people you're my little brother if you asked, I think we could pull it off." Hajime scooped up the comic book and pressed it into the demon's hand so he wouldn't keep messing with his circle cuff.

"What?"

"Let's go! Oh, right, what's your name?"

"I don't think I should tell you..."

"Fine, then I'll just call you little brother until you do." Hajime decided.

"Um, what's your name?"

He began to start tugging the demon to move, but paused. "You know I have a meta-power just by looking, but you don't know my name?"

"Names are different." the demon stressed, but let himself be pulled along.

Well that certainly explained the reluctance to share his.

"You can call me big brother, and I'll tell you mine when you tell me yours." Hajime decided. "Now come on, we're burning daylight."

He could figure out the killing-his-parents plan another day. For now, he needed to work on this development.

[mamashenanigans]

No-Quirks CEO AFO AU Snippet!

Wanted to do something different and try to write Kudo and Bruce interacting for the first snippet of this story.

Quick background:

1. Yoichi died right before their surrogate gave birth to their daughter, Kotomi.

2. Something happened between Kotomi and AFO(Daiki Shigaraki) three years ago that has changed her outlook on her Uncle. Only she and Kudo know as her father doesn’t want to reveal such sensitive information about his brother-in-law, regardless of how much he may hate him.

3. Yoichi’s last words to Kudo before his death, along with a video will, are important to Kudo even if some of it does involve his brother-in-law.

4. AFO is incredibly rich and the CEO of All for One Industries. He became a recluse after Yoichi’s death and hardly leaves his skyscraper where both his business and living quarters are. His business ambitions became far darker after the death of his only moral compass. Kotomi took on her dad’s role of trying to persuade AFO concerning his business dealings. She’s actually been quite successful in the last three years, but doesn’t talk about it much unless cornered by her father’s old teammates.

5. The One for All Operation was created by whistleblowers, law enforcement, and others to try and finally have AFO pay for his crimes, but they’ve never been able to succeed due to AFO’s legal team and ability to pay anyone to do anything. Kotomi knows nothing about this.

Anyway, enjoy this little snippet. It’s a rough draft so excuse any grammar mistakes.

———

“Knock, knock!” Bruce called out as he let himself into Kudo’s apartment. He let out an impressed whistle as he took in his surroundings.

“Wow, Kudo, my man! This is quite a nice place you have here!” He shouted as he moved further in following the sound of running water. He found Kudo in the kitchen at the sink, his back turned towards his friend. Bruce casually leaned on the corner of the archway and quirked a brow.

“Um, you hear me, ol’ fearless leader?”

”Yes, Bruce. I heard you before you even walked in. And that’s the reason why we preferred you at a computer most of the time.” Kudo answered nonchalantly, his back still turned.

Bruce would have chuckled if the words didn’t sound so hollow. He eyed the fancy kitchen then asked, “So, where’s Kotomi?”

Kudo turned off the faucet and turned around. “Where do you think?”

”Dear ol’ Uncle, huh?” Bruce shook his head, but couldn’t help but grimace as he caught sight of a large television on the wall of the adjourning family room.

“Speaking of which,” Bruce leveled his eyes with Kudo’s, “how’d you afford all this, Kudo?”

Kudo threw down the cloth he was using to dry his hands and turned back around. He planted his palms on the counter and growled, “I knew this was coming. I don’t want to do this right now, Bruce.”

”You promised that you wouldn’t use any of his dirty money and, damn, you haven’t since Yoichi passed, but now you’re fine with it?”

”Bruce, I lost my job-.”

”So?! You’ve changed your cover jobs more times than I can count! You got a whole new apartment! Have you really sold out like this?” Bruce breathed in heavily once he finished and gestured to the family room.

Kudo slammed his fists on the counter then spun around once more, his glare piercing through Bruce.

”I did it for Kotomi, okay! The private school here is one of the top in the country and my daughter’s too damn smart to miss out! The university here is just as prestigious! I know Yoichi would want what’s best for her too! So, yes, he offered and I accepted.”

Bruce sputtered. “Oh, an offer, huh? And what was it exactly, Kudo?”

”He offered to pay for all of it! The school, the apartment, even the university once she goes there! I couldn’t pass it up, Bruce! I was tired of watching her potential be wasted! She can do so much for this world, like Yoichi wanted to himself…”

Bruce closed his eyes as his thoughts wandered to his old friend. Yoichi was one of those dreamers that always wanted to do good in the world. Even though he knew his brother’s business had morphed into something dangerous, the man could never take his twin out of his life. Daiki had always been a shadow in the background of their friend group’s relationship. For a good while, many of the One for All Operation members were wary of him, convinced he must be a spy. Yoichi wasn’t, but he also never committed entirely to the cause. He was truly stuck between a rock and a hard place: he hated what his brother’s company was becoming, but still believed he could change him. Or, at the very least, guide those predatory eyes to something less evil…if only for a moment.

“Since you won’t just fucking say it, Kudo, what’s the catch? Aye? What did he want?”

Kudo finally broke eye contact and looked away.

“Pfft, it has to do with Kotomi, right?”

”Yes!” Kudo yelled. Bruce took a step back and shook his head.

”So, what? Are you forcing her to visit him now? That poor girl—”

”She wants to go,” Kudo whispered and Bruce barely heard it.

“Excuse me? Wants to go? You’re joking right? Who wants to be around that asshole?”

”She does! I’m not making her do anything and that’s…that’s the hard part, Bruce!” Kudo finally left his vigil over the sink and sat himself down at the kitchen table. He grabbed his head in his hands. “She’s been more than willing for the last three years to see him. It was harder when we lived farther away. It became harder and harder to deny his limos that came to pick her up, to turn away the delivery men with gifts, and keep her from running off to ride some derelict train to the city. This…this works for her and for him.”

Bruce scoffed. “Does it work for you, Kudo?”

“It does if Kotomi is happy and able to have the best education possible.”

”Dude, you know that’s not what I’m asking.”

”And that shows you aren’t a parent.”

Bruce decided not to detonate that bomb and moved on. “So, what? She visits him more often now? That’s all he wanted?”

”Often isn’t quite the right word,” Kudo bit out. Bruce tilted his head in question, so Kudo continued. “He…he has her spend the night a lot. Like…a week at a time. Her, uh, her school is pretty close, so…”

”Are you joking?! Are you guys sharing custody or something?”

Kudo was out of his chair faster than Bruce could react and was now in his friend’s face.

“Don’t you ever say that again!”

”Why? Did it strike a nerve?”

”GET OUT!” Kudo roared and Bruce was smart enough to obey.

As he backpedaled towards the front door, he couldn’t help but call back, “Our team has been working for DECADES to get that man behind bars! I know Yoichi wasn’t aware of all of our plans, but are you sure he would want this?”

Bruce slammed the door as he exited leaving Kudo to stand alone in the hallway of his new home. He clenched his fists and looked at the floor, tears held back just barely.

”Yes,” he whispered only to himself, “I know he would and that’s why it hurts.”

[quirkthieves]

ayano monoma--> basic info

[art at the bottom!]

NAME: Ayano Monoma

AGE: 40

HEIGHT: 5'0"

GENDER: Cis woman, she/her

QUIRK: Personal Understanding; By touching an individual, Ayano becomes privy to the details of their quirk, even those unknown to the user. However, this does not include unawakened traits. She can also force the quirk to activate, although it must be within 30 minutes of her touching the individual, and can only last up to 15 minutes. With someone like her husband, whose quirk she's been able to practice with for a very long time, she can even "control it" to some degree, but this is far out of the realm of what she can do with most people.

FAMILY:

Shigeo Monoma, 42, husband

Yasuo Monoma, 16, son

Neito Monoma, 16, son

??? Monoma, Deceased, father

speedrun basics:

-she was going to be a twin, but absorbed her twin in the womb

-her father had the original Forced Activation quirk, and was killed by AFO when she was 10. she found the body.

-she's a graduate of UA's management course.

-CEO of Monomerch, a company that licenses and produces hero merchandise

-the company was founded by her great-great-grandfather

-she also does freelance consulting for law enforcement and medical professionals (and others, anyone, really) using her quirk, but her fees are extortionate. in order to use her quirk, she has to maintain a hero license. yes she takes that fuckass exam every few years.

-when she first met her husband, he annoyed her to the point of wanting to kill him. frequently. he was aware of this, but thought she was hot and that it was cute, and eventually he did successfully woo her. they are passionately in love. nobody really understands it.

-her family was displeased with her choice in spouse, but ayano threatening to elope was enough to bluff them out into dealing with it

-she is constantly in relentless pursuit of the bag. she never works for free.

-she has a constantly serene, even sometimes demure demeanor, but will say some absolutely heinous shit and is an obsessive control freak. she just also has control over her emoting :).

-she doesnt have a maternal bone in her body, not really, but in a way, she's showing her love by working to secure a future for her children where no matter what they do, no matter when or how she leaves their lives for whatever reason, they can live well. after all, she had to rebuild from the skeleton of her family fortune herself

-as a child, she was in quirk counseling. it was not good, but she does not register it as such. because of her quirk, she began making arrangements early to get quirk specialists for her own children.

-shes got a few oddities of her own: including a habit of counting time to the second and a love of chemistry.

-she doesnt really care about what her children do so long as it doesnt jeopardize their reputation/futures/inheritance/etc. shes more of an omnipresent governing force than a helicopter parent.

-she can be severely vindictive. a grudge can and will lasts years. she will get her revenge at some point. unfortunately this can also be seen with how she chooses to punish her children.

-the household is run on a language of passive aggressiveness.

-she never saw toga as a member of her family and regarded her as one of many "just dont make it my problem" things, and when she became a problem, she was more than willing to cut ties and eliminate any connection past or present to said problem.

actual quote from ayano monoma 1/ 58494084080348 : "I don't want to make the world a better place, I want to make money, because I believe in real life and not the tooth fairy."

bonus: ayano, 10 years ago [vaguely au also]

annnnnnd a bonus NSFW:

she and her husband are swingers. their extra partners are never allowed in the main house, but man, that shit gets weird and psychosexual REAL fast

shes a hard dom, if you were curious.

[barid-bel-medar]

Words can hurt AU: 1. Is this a DFO AU? 2. Regardless of the answer to 1, what is AFO's and LOV's response to Aizawa straight up lying & Tensei misblaming Izuku?

I'm going to leave it at that that Izuku's father is the CEO of Dumas Industries. And yes it's DFO this is me. I think the only fic I haven't done as DFO is The Long Way Forward

We'll actually be looking at that to some extent in Words May Hurt! I will note the events are also spiraling in a weird way to affect the LOV. After all, in light of everything going on at UA including a severe student injury like that? Do you really think they went to USJ?

[candlecoo]

Based on the CRO AU except Izuku inherits a company previously owned by his grandfather, a small but profitable company that AFO has had his sights on acquiring for decades and so the bogeyman of the Underworld duals with the child genius that is Midoriya Izuku.

AFO will regret underestimating the young owner

So basically where the CEO au is not a Dfo au?

Izuku would only have one company but it would be a lynch pin for one of Afo's plans. But yes this seems very fun!

[welovethecloudboytoomuch]

Ah yes, the characters of vigilantes aka:

just a dude

if the flash became the child of batman, the punisher, and daredevil

A Tsundere who bites people

Wolverine and Cyclops but in middle school

Knockoff endeavor

Spinner but straight

Wolverine again but also sonic this time

Superman but a womanizer

feral crab woman

Thomas the tank engine

The main train character from Chuggington, no I will not be looking his name up

The CEO of the girlbosses

Barry B. Bension

Prince. No joke here it’s literally just prince.

Goku and Naruto’s true son

if you put the Reverse Flash, Two-face, Ghost Rider and Thanos with a just a dash of AFO in a blender and then gave him an identity disorder

also Aizawa

[haleigh-sloth]

idk why but i've had this feeling since the sj cover "face reveal" and with the leaked chapter it's only gotten worse... healed afo looks like a shitty discount version of keiji shinogi from your turn to die lol

💀

I looked up the character you’re referring to and had to stifle laughter lmao.

Somewhat yes.

I think we’ve all had a hard time pinpointing how to describe his face. He’s not bad looking but he’s definitely majorly unsettling.

He honestly gives me corporate CEO vibes. Idk if that makes sense but that’s what I think when I look at him.

[codenamesazanka]

Warning: Rant, character bashing, lots of opinions

I'm saying it outright. I hate Deku. He is entirely underwhelming as a character, much less as the main character, the shonen protagonist of the series.

It's a 'different' type of dislike, though. I feel like I could've like his character. There's nothing greatly disagreeable about him, he's as inoffensive as can be, he's an optimistic, considerate, and polite boy, he's as plain as he is said to be, and that's fine.

My issue is that he's not the character he's said to be. I, personally, just don't buy that he "possesses a drive to save others that eclipses all common understanding", or that he's super intelligent with great analytical abilities that he actually applies on the battlefield, or, in general, he's as amazing or heroic or compassionate as he's apparently supposed to be. How can he be inspiring if he barely challenges any aspects of the society he lives in. Deku is a super good example of the terrible use of "Tell, Don't Show". We're told about his amazing traits, but he rarely follows through; when we do see hints of it, it's lauded but frankly I think it's typical behavior and (this though is not quite his fault) written so stiffly and awkwardly I'm not convinced.

(Honestly I might even call him a Canon Mary Sue. He has no interesting or distinguishable flaws, unless having a shit for brains attitude is one but that's not acknowledged by the narrative. Breaking bones is not a personality trait. If he has a Hero Complex, it's not even the interesting ones where he fucks things up even more; or carries crippling guilt about circumstances beyond his control; or focuses completely on saving people to the point of rejecting almost all human connections and keeping deadly secrets - which is All Might's big flaw.) (Well fair, he does this in the most recent chapter but did it need to take 300+ chapters? Plus I sense the way it's framed is that it's the radical, but right course of action.)

Say what you want about Villains and redemption/shouldn't be redeemed/too evil to be saved/justice/etc, but I think this 'Incredible Drive To Save' should've included Villains from the start. Why does Deku want to "Save people with a smile on his face"? Assuming it's empathy, he should have felt some towards everyone he encounters, whether it's sensible or not. "Why are you so angry?", "You shouldn't go about things this way", "What caused them to be like this?", "Why is there evil in the world?" even. I'm still fuming over his Mall Encounter with Shigaraki, where Shigaraki pretty much reveals his damage: "All Might acts like there's no one he can't save"; but ultimately Deku goes "Wow, that sure is an opinion."

What kind of inane response is this??? There's little pushback from the narrative either, so this isn't pointed out as a failing of his (because, again, he has no big flaws). And he's supposed to be smart and caring. Yes, he does ask All Might right after the Mall Encounter, "Was there anyone you can't save?"; but essentially the replies he gets is "Don't worry about it" and Deku immediately largely puts it out of his mind "Oh whew, I was about to do some introspection and reflection". There isn't even the daunting, kinda-existential anxiety that people get when they realize it's impossible to save/help everyone - which is something, like, medical workers have to learn to deal with - that sharp sense of the inevitably of death, of loss, failure, guilt. I'm not asking for him to come to the conclusion that everyone should be saved - he could've decided nah, Shigaraki is too ugly to be saved and I would've been fine with that, it's part of the character role and potential development - just that he should've had a conclusion at all.

There are the latest chapters where Deku decides he wants to try saving Shigaraki first (though killing him is still on the table), true. Him wanting to save Shigaraki after seeing AFO merged with him, after seeing The Crying Child - but see, I don't think it qualifies because I think it's the bare minimum about of consideration, the typical response to seeing the body horror of warped, fused flesh, to seeing a small sad little boy. I think it shouldn't require "You look like you needed saving" for a true Hero to consider saving someone. Not for someone who is supposed to be unique and special in this regard.

*

I've complained about this before, but the trouble with Deku was evident from the very beginning.

Again, Deku wants to save people with a smile on his face, and again, I’m assuming it’s empathy. We're shown this on the very first page, as he attempts to protect a friend(?) from bullies, but imo like it felt groundless because who was the kid he was protecting? We never see him again. Did Deku's standing up to Bakugou work, and the kid was saved? Or did they both got beaten up; but afterwards, being the kind boy Deku is supposed to be, he still gets to his feet to help the boy, to apologize for failing.

But more significantly, this theme of saving was overshadowed immediately by his focus on superpowers - that he was quirkless. Next page, his focus was on ‘Woah, giant villain and superpowers!’ Instead of like. Helping people. (Though I chalk this up to early installment weirdness)

What should’ve happened if the theme was ‘SAVE PEOPLE’ Is something like: The opening sentence being “People are not born equal. This is the harsh truth I learned when I was four. I knew that... but despite my powerless, I still wanted to help. That was my first and last setback.” And the panels/images themselves (of little Katsuki and his friends) implies that people on the world thinks you need power to help people.

When he saw the villain attack on way to school, Deku can be wow’ed by the spectacle! But then he notices a kid crying and offers to help find his mom. He can be interrupted by a Hero saying he (the hero) will take over, he can find the mom and realize he’s late for school (and so that shows he’s willing to sacrifice something of his to help others! Because of his altruistic nature!). A scene like that, of him helping the lost kid, we would know that he wants to help *anyone*. At school, though, he still gets bullied for not having powers. So he’s mulling over that when he meets All Might, and asks the question.

It proceeds as usual for the next few events: When the sludge monster attacks Katsuki, he can still go gawk at the scene. He can still hesitate. In canon, it's only when he realized the victim was his friend that he jumps into action, which I thinks undermines the theme of 'wanting to save indiscriminately'. IMO, it would've been better that Deku sees it’s his friend, but he still hesitates. “There’s nothing I can do right? All Might himself said so...” But when he sees Katsuki’s *face* of fear, he runs to help. Instead of seeming like he helps only because he realizes it’s his friend, he helps because he feels too deeply about trying to save Katsuki.

Admittedly these are minor, personal critiques; but all in all, the first chapter fails to establish Deku is the willpowered, champion of wanting to save people he's supposed to be.

--Which is fine, if it's acknowledged in the story later, that maybe he wasn't the True Blue Hero he's supposed to be at first, but he can change and still become one. But it's not - Deku is apparently special, without anything special to show for it.

*

I read the one-shot "My Hero" - the prototype for this series - that Horikoshi published years ago, before My Hero Academia was created. I also found it underwhelming, but that was due to personal tastes (I wanted more explosions and dumb violence); as a story on it's own merit, the logic and progression was solid.

The Villains Heroes fought were 'Aberrations' - true inhuman monsters that showed no sentience that would eat people - so the focus could be solely on saving humans. The main character - Jack Midoriya - his original goal was less 'save people' and more 'become a cool hero', before learning that saving people is what true heroism is about, hero license unneeded. (Moreover, he really did 'save' someone without being a hero - by working hard, he was preventing the company from becoming ruined completely, which the CEO had confessed and thanked him for. )

This version of Midoriya didn't exactly needed deep empathy or compassion for that, just a strong willpower, which he effectively demonstrated by chasing after a childhood dream even as an adult salaryman in a tanking company, even though he had anemia and no training and no license. He insisted on this, to the point of getting hurt by being dumb, of being petty over someone dissing the Hero who inspired him in the first place, of skipping out of work and going vigilante. Not the most upstanding guy, but he came through in the relevant themes of the story, in being the character the story needed him to be.

Jack Midoriya was an unimpressive, weird-looking, weak, pitiful, somewhat selfish, awkward salaryman with no great aspects that 'eclipses all common understanding'. But he was a far stronger character than his incarnation Izuku Midoriya could ever be (so far).

[inkykeiji]

im doing some work and had some thots about BMB!Tomura. how smart is he? like, we know that dabi is secretly smart (or at least hiding how smart he is). and reader is going to uni im assuming full-time. but where does tomura lay? he's inheriting his father's business, but do we know what field he's mostly in? what books he likes to read (if he does read)? or is he still a gamer? 🤔 sorry these thoughts just came out of nowhere and won't leave me alone. big loves and have a good dayyy 👋🏾🥰

OOOOH MAY SUCH FANTASTIC QUESTIONS THANK U!!!! omg NO please do not apologize i love love love questions like this!!!!

how smart is he?

he’s very smart—he’s too smart, he has an overactive brain that he likes to dull with drugs, or else he’ll think himself into an absolute spiral (which is beginning to happen anyway, as you’ve seen. obviously drugs wouldn’t be the right remedy to an overactive brain, but he’s impatient, and he’s busy, and they work fast). but he’s genuinely smart; i’d say he’s more or less on dabi’s level of intelligence as well. they kind of balance each other out, which is why it can either be very difficult to pull a fast one on the other—because they match each other in intelligence—or very easy to deceive the other one—because they match each other in intelligence (and sometimes have similar thinking processes, too! not always though).

what field is he in?

he went to uni to get one of those bullshit business degrees, as most rich boys who are next in line to take over/inherit their family business tend to do. but now, he’s transitioning into the position of CEO. it’s a slow transition between him and his father (his father is half-retired—think the godfather part one when michael’s slowly beginning to take over the family business from vito). at the moment, all major decisions concerning the company (the drugs they’re manufacturing, the distributors they’re working with, the humans they’re experimenting on, etc etc) go through the both of them. tomura’s basically CEO in training, right now. the new york trip was meant to serve as his first BIG step without daddy holding his hand—he’s been on smaller business trips before of course, often in his father’s place, but they never averaged more than a night until bmb part two. the business in new york pertained to all sectors of the company with a heavy focus on distribution. his father babies him quite a bit tho (as AFO does for tomura in canon bnha) and genuinely cares very much for his son 🥺 you’ll see more of this in part four (yay!). i’ll be going more in-depth into the company itself in the book ofc!!!

what books does he like to read?

HAHAHAHA i see him as someone who reads a lot of roman à clef books; you know, books that have something to SAY about society. and he’s pretentious as hell about it, too. (as we know, dabi LOVES golden age sci-fi novels, so,,,,)

is he still a gamer?

YES. HE IS. and he will fucking fight you if you try to tell him video games are ‘a waste of time’ or that ‘they aren’t art’. he’ll play anything and everything under the sun and is always vying for something new to try out. it’s a good distraction for his head (and a much better alternative to drugs, too). he’s also super competitive about it, and a total completionist, a fact he takes major pride in. dabi thinks he’s a fucking hypocrite for teasing him about his reading material when tomura’s literally head over heels in love with video games.

[theteapotofdoom]

Dlxnmfkskdkyufjd stardew valley but Shigaraki is the new farmer and instead of a grandpa it's Nanas and JoJo's CEO is afo and instead of being a office drone Shigs was being groomed for ceo-hood but ran away because obvious reasons and is trying to stay low because afo might come after him anf jrkfkdllsldlflkfofkdmfkdpsosb I could go on and onbut I'll stop here

OKAY OKAY SO I HAVEN’T PLAYED STARDEW VALLEY YET (I’m gonna play real soon but I know it’s really addictive and I need to work a lot of things right now!!!) BUT I know the premise and the basic plot and I agree!!! YES!!!

I’m just super down for Shigaraki saying “fuck AFO�� and getting his new farm from Nana and starting a new life full of self-care and gardening and cute pats and cute neighbours, like hell yeah my dude, I agree!!! 

This is good content!!! This is what he deserves!!!

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 218: Purse Pilferage and Mouse Murder

Previously on BnHA: Kacchan and Deku sparred in an attempt to draw out Deku’s mysterious new power once again, but to no avail. In a brief flashback, the OFA Scooby Squad (now including Bakugou!) discussed Deku’s recent visions and his multiple quirks. Kacchan pointed out that it was very similar to All for One’s power, which seems to be weighing on Deku’s mind some. That evening at the fanfic dorms, Shouto approached Deku asking if he had been hiding a second quirk. Deku assured him that the new quirk surprised him as much as everyone else, and fibbed that it was probably derived from his original quirk. Meanwhile the U.A. faculty accepted Shinsou into the hero course, and Aizawa acted all weird and cagey about someone from his past named “Shirakumo.” Later, Monoma met with Aizawa, Mirio, Deku, and Eri at the teachers’ dorms and unsuccessfully attempted to copy Eri’s quirk. Eri apologized for being so troublesome, and the others assured her that she wasn’t and Deku told her that even seemingly dangerous quirks can be used for good. It wasn’t lost on him that this applied to his own powers as well, and he resolved to keep working to master OFA.

Today on BnHA: Early one December morn, the kids of 1-A gather in their common room to watch some TV while they wait to hear if Bakugou and Todoroki passed their provisional license retest. The news is reporting on a company called Detnerat which has recently entered the hero equipment business. Their CEO is some Joker-looking dude who’s apparently a big fan of AFO’s old nemesis Destro of Meta Liberation Army fame. Destro’s book has recently been republished and is making the discussion rounds. DetCEO discusses it with his cute lil mouse subordinate Miyashita, but Miyashita isn’t really a fan. This proves unfortunate for Miyashita, as DetCEO is all “that’s too bad, guess I’m just gonna have to snap your neck then.” Like, for real though. Anyway so then DetCEO heads to a secret meeting of like-minded individuals who are apparently Destro’s descendants and are seeking to make his goals a reality. We then segue to a group of purse-snatchers led by someone who I really thought was Shirakumo for a hot minute, ngl. He’s not, though. Anyway so they’re wreaking some havoc and stealing people’s shit -- that is, until two good boys who just earned their provisional licenses after three months of hard work show up to spoil their fun.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my mostly-unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’m caught up with the manga now at chapter 225, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

HOLY SHIT

BABY WE GOT OURSELVES SOME MOTHERFUCKING SNOW IN THE FANFIC DORMS!!!

holy shit. and it’s the weekend! ARE WE GONNA HAVE SOME ANTICSSSS YES PLEASE I REALLY NEED THIS SO BAD RIGHT NOW YOU HAVE NO IDEA

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

KIRISHIMA WHY ARE YOU TAKING YOUR CLOTHES OFF

I hope they get a ton! I WANT SNOWBALL FIGHTS AND SNOW FORTS AND TODOROKI TO LET IT GOOOOOO LET IT GOOOOOOO

ahh but apparently he and Bakugou are away right now

wow they even got that class on Sundays now, huh

also, who did Sero borrow the tankoubon from? because more likely than not it was Bakugou since I can’t even picture Shouto reading manga (unless he borrowed some volumes from Deku, maybe). so that means Bakugou is (a) a big ol’ manga-reading nerd who brought his manga to school with him, and (b) sharing with friends. both of which make me so, so happy

(ETA: Viz translated this as “I want to borrow the next volume of this manga from Todoroki,” but as far as I can tell, in the RAW version he doesn’t specify who he borrowed it from. I think Caleb Cook just doesn’t think Bakugou is capable of sharing. give him some credit, Caleb Cook.)

Deku says they should be back around six, and Iida says it’s apparently the last day of their provisional class!

OHMYGOSH. hold up. so that means that their re-test is in like a week, no? holy shit. oh my god I’m so hypppppped ahhhhhh

SDLFKHASLDFKJLK HOLY SHIT

IT’S TODAY!?!??

YOU CAN DO IT KIDS I BELIEVE IN YOU. YOU GOT THIS

KACCHAN ARE YOU READY TO OFFICIALLY BECOME KACCHAN THE HERO

(ETA: maybe we’ll actually get Kacchan’s hero name before I grow old. maybe.)

SDFKASLDHK AND LOOK AT THIS SETUP!? AHHHHHH PLEASE DON’T CUT AWAY FROM THIS. OH MY GOD

but snow antics though. oh my god I’m so torn lsdkjlk

anyways of fucking course we cut away, and I don’t really mind because I love cozy 1-A snow day dorm antics also. plus everyone is gossiping about Todo and Baku, and Satou is baking a cake like the Princess Peach he is

Kami is playfully lamenting the fact that he’s about to lose the one leg-up he had on those two, and flipping on the news

oh shit are we gonna get some Plot

I guess so. what is this

Detnerat?? is that a portmanteau of something? an acronym? or another Star Wars reference I failed to pick up on??

(ETA: yeah so it’s the word “talented” spelled backwards. except with an r instead of an l.)

so the news is showing some people with mutant quirks, including a four-armed lady, a jello child, and a walrus with a bowler hat

and the narration is talking about how people like this used to be a minority but now “their era arrived”

interesting. I guess there’s pretty much no such thing as “one size fits all” anymore these days huh. so does that mean there’s been a shift back to custom-made tailored items?

this pointy nose guy is extremely theatrical

calm down buddy

so he says his company has come all this way while building products that meet the needs of each of their customers individually

this is cool and all but I’m trying to figure out why this new arc is opening with an infomercial

I’m expecting things all right, but I think it’s a little too early to say if they’ll be great

and now we’re cutting to this guy’s office, where his employee is concluding his presentation. apparently he was showing his boss the finished commercial

and now they’re discussing the thus-far lukewarm reception to their recent announcement

(ETA: holy shit. famous last words. fuckin’ jinxed it Miyashita.)

are you guys... good guys? bad guys? how is this related to the plot?? a new arc all about stock holdings and market shares. Iida did you write this arc

so pointy nose says that they’ve been doing this on a much larger scale for a long time already, so he’s confident they’ll be successful

oh shit

it only just occurred to me that he used the word “superpowers” instead of quirks

AND LOOK AT THIS SHIT

IT’S THAT BOOK. THE ONE THAT WAS PROBABLY WRITTEN BY DESTRO OMG

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

IT WAS DESTRO. CALLED IT WOOP WOOP

Mishiwhatsa says he read the book too but “it’s a load of crap if you ask me”

he says that what the army was doing was nothing but terrorism at the expense of innocent people, and yet Destro “had the gall” to act like he was in the right

hot damn this guy really was Magneto. are we going full-on X-Men in this arc. I want the works. I want fucking sentinels and everything oh god please

oh shit I’m starting to worry about ol’ Mishi here

MIYASHITA, RUN

OH SHIT

IS HE GOING TO SNAP HIS FUCKING NECK!?? HOLY SHIT!??

holy fucking shitballs oh christ

this dude is straight up murdering his best employee, Nezu’s cousin, all because he didn’t agree with his favorite book!?

...

holy shit

fuck. I’m speechless

okay. okay shit. well. uh. Detnerat, huh

you have my attention, plot

hooooooooooly shit

holy shit holy shit holy shit

okay. calm down, self. let’s jot down some thoughts real quick

okay so one, that one shot of that guy with his hand on his hat has a decided Ian McKellen vibe to it. I’m telling you guys. X-Men references all over the damn place in this arc

two, the word “supremacy” was used. meaning this wasn’t just a “quirk rights” group, this was a quirk supremacist group. or is a quirk supremacist group, I should say. these people believe themselves to be the future of humankind. they don’t want liberation, they want control. and assuming we continue to follow the X-Men parallels here, they also believe themselves to be superior to those without superpowers and they’re looking to assert their authority over them

they clearly believe the current laws restricting the usage of quirks are a form of oppression and persecution and are looking to eradicate them

this seems like exactly the type of philosophy the League of Villains would be eager to spread, and I wouldn’t be surprised if another team-up is in the works here

lastly, if these guys are now in the business of making hero equipment, whoever buys from them had better be really careful, as I can easily see some sort of Iron Man 2 plotline going down in which there’s a secret command built into the coding of the new equipment which will sabotage its users once activated. or if you’d rather think of it in Star Wars terms rather than MCU, call it an “order 66” ploy

(ETA: well I partly called this one. still up in the air honestly, who knows.)

also: friendly reminder that Bakugou’s gauntlets were recently destroyed and he’s gonna be needing new ones! (:

so having said all that, let’s see how this pans out!

and right away, the prediction about them teaming up with the League is panning out. waste no time, huh

so Hooknose is telling him to do so at once

oh shit hold up

WELL I SURE GOT THAT BACKWARDS NOW DIDN’T I

lol oh shit. I totally forgot that AFO was the one who bombed the Army’s HQ all those decades and possibly centuries ago. I can’t believe these guys still remember that and know how AFO was connected to boot

also, is there a Rorschach thing going on here? I wonder if it’s a reference to the psychologist or to the comic book character from Watchmen. I’m betting the latter given the way they’re using the inkblots as masks, and also because this is a manga based on superhero comics after all

(ETA: yeah, Rorschach, Joker, and Magneto... drawing on a lot of classic villains and anti-heroes in this arc.)

ah so now we’re getting details on their new bid to enter the hero market

HOLD UP

WHAT THE FUCK THIS GUY LOOKS AWFULLY FUCKING FAMILIAR

IS THIS SHIRAKUMO??? AIZAWA WERE YOU NOT CONTENT WITH THE STRIKING SIMILARITY YOU ALREADY BORE TO KAKASHI? HAD TO GO AND ADD THE OLD FRIEND TURNED EVIL BACKSTORY TOO?? OR WHAT

given that this guy seems to have some sort of cloud-based power (look at what he’s riding! and now the people he just harassed and stole from are describing it as “carbonated water”), and kumo means “cloud”...

(ETA: nope, this is just good ol’ Soda Sam. Carbonation Carl.)

okay and now we’re cutting to a conversation between two as-yet-unknown parties that seem to be witnessing this robbery from a distance, and deciding whether or not to intervene

for a moment I entertained the idea that this might be Kacchan and Shouto with their hot-off-the-presses licenses, possibly talking to All Might? but none of this dialogue seems to have that Kacchan flair, and it also doesn’t make much sense for them to have attended the lesson accompanied by All Might and no one else. Aizawa’s been pretty good about making sure there’s always at least one other fighting pro accompanying them

so now this group of merry bandits is celebrating their new haul

OH SHITTTTTTT

ODDS OF THIS BEING BAKUGOU AND SHOUTO JUST SHOT WAAAAAAAAAY WAY UP OH MY GOD?!

OH MY GOD IT WAS EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT?!

I SHOULD STOP DOUBTING MYSELF AND HORIKOSHI’S PROPENSITY FOR GIVING ME EXACTLY WHAT I WANT ALL OF THE TIME

motherfucker. you just know Kacchan spent that entire cab ride with his nose pressed to the window trying to sense danger and keeping his fingers crossed something like this would happen

(ETA: him and Shouto both, since the dialogue suggests it was Shouto that spotted it first! so basically one of them stationed at each window with All Might sandwiched in between wondering if he’s even going to survive this trip. the answer is yes, All Might, but not without it becoming Eventful.)

also, 30 minutes or 30 seconds, it hardly matters All Might. you know these two spent the last three months anticipating this moment every single minute of every day. they’re gonna go do reckless hero shit, All Might. THEY’RE JUST GONNA

oh my godddddddd

TodoBaku fighting against Aizawa’s possible friend-turned-villain in the snowwwwww having JUST EARNED THE SHIT OUT OF THEIR NEW LICENSES HELL YEAHHHHHHHHH

and it appears Kacchan does have a gauntlet. goddammit. make that propensity for giving me almost exactly what I want, most of the time

anyways, I don’t really care! life is good. life is fucking amazing, fam

[pocketramblr]

I want to know about the subtext discussion

Somewhere, there is someone shrieking a warning cry.

But if you are sure, then read on under the cut. Just know I apologize for the mental imagery this is sure to cause. I do not apologize to any rich men or evil ceos or the like though. They deserve the bad rep, but uh, yeah.... Warning esp to... Age Gap? Just. Yeah. Squicky stuff in general.

Anyway, so this all started in the discord server. I'm way off my ADHD meds now since I gotta kinda... Save some for when school starts in three weeks and uh, there a pandemic so. Im going a bit crazier then normal, and post this little ramble: (I'm purple yeah)

You see that first point? I said it and was ready to move on.

A friend, who's identity is mostly hidden here, wanted an explanation. If this friend wishes to come forward, they can say who they are themself.

(yes, I lovingly nicknamed them my favorite torturer. Or it might have been their idea actually, I don't remember.)

I get the text in order to find the subtext:

Ok I'm going to stop using screenshot and just explain now, but the points I then outlined were as follows:

- Geten gets "affection" from ReDestro, is a pretty young man with no actual job or much eduction beyond quirk training.

- ReDestro is- beyond being a, like, millionaire(?) and powerful leader and we know about those in real life...- is obsessed with the fact that he's Destro's bioson, legacy, heir, etc, even though the fact remains that his father died before he was ever born and Destro didn't even know about him

- the whole obsession with quirks means he likely would want his own successor to have their Stress quirk, so why didn't he have his own kid?

- uh, yeah, I'm sure the implications are answering that question there. Geten being his boytoy kinda solves fits both answers.

To quote myself: "im sorry but i have been thinking it since that book came out so many months ago and i have been waiting to see if anyone else thought it too, but no one did, so it kept building up until it exploded and i had to be the one to put it into the universe... oh i hate this"

Now my dear blue torturer isn't the only one seeing this convo unfold. I'm pretty sure both Gentry and Dekuquake's eyes are scarred forever, along with other lurkers. The conversation was filled with shrieking and things getting worse and people chipping in to add things, little interactions, things that looked like red flags in this light, etc etc.

Now: there is hope!! Another friend generously stepped in to offer balm and a third option: Geten is like the little brother ReDestro- only child- never got to have, and is basically the 'perfect, starry eyed little brother who listens to you' that AfO didn't have. Foils and all that.

Everyone decided to go with that interpretation but uh

Yeah

The Subtext Conversation still happened and will not never leave the minds of people there.

[limpblotter]

Fly me to the Moon

[Previously…] A/N: IM text and second to last part! xD  Summary: It's Christmas Time and Johan discovers the joys of instant messenger and unexpected surprises (Ft. Johnson Fam) WordCount: 3313 Taggies: @hell-yes-puns-and-ships  Warning: Panic attack/ Depressing thoughts

“Bow have you seen my watch?” Dre grumbled, rubbing his empty wrist as he crossed the large, open kitchen. He gently placed his hand on his wife’s shoulder and kissed the side of her face. “I just had it…”

“You mean this one?” She motioned to a black Rolex watch sitting on the counter right next to her cup of coffee. “Or that one.” She pointed, across the kitchen to the living room where another expensive watch sat folded neatly on the coffee table. “Or--”

“No it's the gold one, the one I wear for my ‘Drop em like it's hot’ meetings.” Dre smiled cockly, Rainbow arched an eyebrow not sure what he was talking about. “For the meetings where I drop some big news, big news mean a big watch. I gotta assert my dominance in that room.”

“Because your CEO title means nothing if you’re not waving around big, shiny things on your wrist?” She shook her head, sometimes her husband made her wonder what she got herself into. “The point is you leave your watches around all over the house I’m surprised you haven’t lost any until now.”

“No see, that watch is my lunch watch, swap it out when I’m going on lunch outs with the crew. Can’t flash anything too nice but I can’t be watchless.” He scoffed as pointed to the other one across the room. “That's my, I’m reading don’t bother me watch.” Dre nodded, then motioned to his empty wrist. “I need my ‘Drop em like it’s hot’ watch.”

After a moment of silence Rainbow shook her head and pulled the only conclusion she could think of. “Did you leave it in the bathroom?”

A lightbulb went off in Dre’s head and he pointed at the hallway. “And this is why I married you, we are a team.” He kissed her cheek and bounced up the stairs to retrieve his watch. There were few things in his life which he thought were sacred. His kicks, his watches, and his personal space. Which was why when he bought and designed the house, he had in mind an oasis like master bedroom. Far away from most of the rooms, a little corner of his personal space. So imagine his outrage when he found his master on suite bathroom was crowded with his children and his not-so-welcomed brother in-law. “What are you doing in my bathroom?!”

Junior popped his head out of the many bodies crowding around the vanity and smiled. “Uncle Johan is signing up for facebook and we’re helping him get the best quality profile picture around.” He gave his father an ‘ok’ sign before diving back in. Andre stood there, somewhat bewildered before shaking his head.

“No, no why does it have to be my in bathroom!?” He yelled, another child coming out from the herd and placed her small hand on her hip. Andre casted his eyes down to the youngest daughter of his family.

“Zoey said that the best lightening comes from bathrooms and your bathroom has the best lightening.” Diane shrugged a bit. “Zoey is on a roll in here, you do.not. Want to get in. We’ll call when we’re done.” She smiled and went back to the hustle and bustle. “No, we need the light in your eyes--wait! And, fluff his hair a little. Ok now hold the phone like, yes!” Zoey’s voice was high and cheerful. “I think we did it…” She pulled away and noticed her father was standing there with his arms wide open in exasperation. “Oh hey daddy.” Zoey smirked, still beaming from her handy work.

“Does anyone mind telling me why the four of you are crowded around in my bathroom like there is a concert going on?” Dre got a glimpse of Johan who wordlessly, walked out of the bathroom and climbed on his bed with his sandals still on. “WOAH WOAH now, not the shoes, JOHAN.” He yelled at him and usually Johan would prattle about something but...he was quiet his eyes glued to his phone more than usual. “...O-K, what’s wrong with him, wait no he’s quiet I don’t want to know.” Dre motioned his children away and retrieved the watch in question from the bathroom. When he returned they were all huddled behind Johan, looking over his shoulder at his phone. “No Dre. Don’t ask. It's not worth it…”

“Why isn’t he accepting the friend request yet?” Junior frowned, “you think he’s not online yet?”

“No way, I checked his facebook he made a status this morning.” Zoey had thoroughly stalked the guy in question. Johan came back doe eyed and with a sudden interest in social media. Of course she needed the details. “...maybe he’s blinded by how amazing you look with the flower crown filter.”

“Or maybe he doesn’t like you.” Diana crossed her arms and felt a nudge from her twin brother.

“Excuse her, uncle Johan, someone didn’t have their cereal this morning.” He mumbled, “I told you’d be cranky if you didn’t eat first.”

Clearly all his children were invested so Dre was swayed, he was going to pry and pray it wasn’t something he’d regret. “Alright, what are you all talking about?”

“Dad, Johan is trying to slid into the DMs with the guy he met in New York” Andre Jr. wiggled his eyebrow gaining only facepalms and groans from his siblings. “What?”

“What he is trying to say in a less...cringey way, is Johan likes a guy and he doesn’t know how to go about social media flirting.” Zoey smiled, “so we helped him out.”

“Social Media….flirting? Uh huh.” Dre shook his head and his children felt a lecture coming. “You know back in my day, we didn’t ‘slide’ into anyone’s Ims.”

“DMs.”

“Whatever” Dre held up his hand, ignoring the fact he was corrected in the slang. “If you liked someone you called them, wrote them letters, took them out on dates. And you did not date someone you didn’t visit. Long distance only worked when you’re dating someone who’s going out to war or if you’re starring in a B rated Hallmark romcom movie.”

His children exchanged looks, “that's not how romance works now dad. You can date anyone anywhere in the world with a click.”

“HA” Dre sarcastically laughed and clapped his hands together. “I’d hardly call that romantic.”

“Oh coming from the guy who got mom a blender for their anniversary?” Andre Junior shook his head disapprovingly.

Dre dramatically placed a hand to his chest and backed off a bit, “your mother had been dropping hints she was into juicing, my gift was thoughtful and expensive! I am plenty romantic.” There was a silence that came over his children and he felt nothing but judgment. “Don’t you have to be at school, BEAT IT” He shoo’d them out of his room until the only person who remained in his room wasn’t even someone he was legally required to take care of. Dre had some choice words for his annoying brother in-law but something about Johan’s face stopped him. He jumped a bit when Johan suddenly gasped.

“...he’s talking to me... “ Suddenly Johan’s entire world muted and the only thing that mattered was this Facebook messenger.

[[Usnavi De La Vega: You have a facebook? … You just got a facebook.

Johan Johnson: Yeah I figure I’d try out this government monitored boobytrap that everyone seems to be a part of.

Usnavi De La Vega: jaja! ]]

Johan arched his eyebrow, was that a typo? He didn’t look into it too long, he noticed there were dots blinking at the bottom of his screen indicating that Usnavi was still typing.

[[Usnavi De La Vega: well as long as you have nothing to hide I think the government doesn’t give two shits lol, btw nice picture. You have a snapchat too?

Johan Johnson: blame my niece, she decided if I was going to leap into social media I was going into the deep end. She signed me up for Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and this thing called Tinder.

Usnavi De La Vega: Tinder ?? Isn’t that the hook up app or something? Swipe left or right, I don’t know what the kids use these days.

Johan Johnson: AH. Lol I won’t be using that one then…

Usnavi De La Vega: What government controlled dating apps is where you draw the line? I’m sure the government is very curious who you’d swipe right for.]]

He didn’t respond, his eyes might have been reading too far between the black and white typings of their conversation...But he would like to believe Usnavi sounded a little jealous. He frowned when suddenly another message came up and it was the end of their brief conversation.

[[Usnavi De La Vega: Sorry I got to help Sonny pack. He’s leaving for Cali in the morning *eyeroll emoji* I have half the mind to not send his ass anywhere...anyway, I’ll hit you up later, ok?

Johan Johnson: Later :) ]]

Johan groaned a bit, laying back on the bed with the phone on his chest. He felt his heart bang against his ribs. Any harder and his phone would have been bouncing on top of his chest. The bed dipped a little as Dre took a seat at the edge of his own bed. “So, hispanic guy huh?”

“Dominican” Johan beamed with a trance like smile.

“You know they have a lot of Afo-Carribean heritage in the Dominican Republic.” He smiled but then mildly wondered if he was confusing them with Haiti. “How do you plan on making it work with him being across the country, hm?” Dre was still mildly proving his point that long distance wasn’t healthy or very stable. There were very few exceptions. Johan didn’t answer right away, “like do you even know him?”

Suddenly his brother in-law sat up right and nodded. “He’s a store owner, he has money but is really careful...he’s really careful about everything actually. And yet, I can tell there is something in his eyes excitement and ….”

“I mean family facts, history, possibly any transmitted diseases.”

“Are you implying he has an STD?” Johan rolled his eyes, “He’s been on his own for a while, his parents died in...huh, December actually.” His voice trailed off.

“Wow…” Dre also sounded a little softer. “Must be rough. At least he has other family right? Hispanics got em’ big families like we do.” Dre nudged him a little with a comforting smile, but the facts began to pile up on Johan. Usnavi didn’t have much other family from what he remembered from their conversations. Usnavi’s parents died around this time, then his beloved abuela Claudia, his cousin was traveling away for the first time, and all his friends had moved out of the neighborhood. He was… alone. “I love the eggnog Puerto Ricans make, you think he’d have the recipe for that?”

“...Dre...would it be crazy…” Johan couldn’t fathom what Usnavi had to be feeling right now. However there was a chance, a sliver of a chance Usnavi was alone and sad...Johan couldn’t bear that idea. “If I go to him?”

Hallmark movie and there was a good chance Johan would be absent for Christmas. No commenting on their economic spending or having his mother relentlessly flirt. Dre turned and placed his hand on Johan’s shoulder. “Brother, this might be only time I call you this by the way, you care about him? You go. Right now. Immediately, I’ll even book you a flight.”

Dre was walking around with his head high after that. He did a good damn thing this morning and his kids had the nerve to call him ‘unromantic’. HA. Later around the dinner table, Bow mentioned how Johan wasn’t joining them for dinner and hasn’t been around the whole day. So Dre dropped his bombshell.

“...what you’re meaning to tell me is you let my little brother, run off to New York by himself? During the holidays?! DRE” Bow stood up from the chair. “This was going to be our Christmas a family! I had a stocking picked out and everything.” She stormed for her phone while Dre’s kids gave him disapproving looks again.

“Way to ruin Christmas dad…” Diana sighed, picking at her food.

“Like, really” Zoey began, “Johan just got social media and how he���s flying across the country to see him? Talk about Creepy af, dad, you’ve practically ruined all of uncle Johan’s chances”

Had he?

Winter was a hard time. The cold in the city felt a lot heavier when the store was empty. It was too cold for too many people to walk on by. Most people ran into stores to hide from the merciless winds. The snow gathered along the sides of the sidewalks like small mountains, coating cars in their parking spaces. Usnavi was usually a little somber this time of year. His parents died this time of year so he had the reason. Usually though, he had Sonny who would light candles with him and binge watch Christmas movies. Benny and Nina use to pop in and drop off the Rosario’s famed Coquito. Abuela Claudia would conduct secret Santa at her place while Daniela somehow always got Carla or Vanessa as her Santa…

The barrio changed. Abuela was gone, her stoop filled with snow and her apartment now housing a new family. Daniela and Carla made it a tradition to spend Christmas with Vanessa who was downtown, living around all the Christmas decorations and the tree. Benny and Nina had a small family now, no doubt they were spending it together. Of course Usnavi got invitations to go...but...why would he? He was just a guest, in a house, a guest in a family. A sad face that probably wouldn’t get much joy out partaking in someone’s happy family.

Usnavi slugged on his jacket and hat. He gazed over his store one more time, keeping his mind busy from the clawing void that was just waiting to get to him while he was alone. Reluctantly he started to pull the grate down and locked up for the night. He rubbed his hands together and felt his phone go off. For a second, he thought it might have been Johan. He felt bad for leaving him hanging. Once he helped Sonny back and saw him off he messaged him back. The message remained sent, not even read so … “Heh…” He mused at the idea of Johan struggling with social media, even going so far to humoring his ego with the idea Johan got it for him. To his slight discouragement it was Sonny who texted him a picture of him and Pete at a dinner by the beach. 

The text read, 'He surprised me with dinner, the weather here is bomb cuz!! You need to fly out so we can all hang on this playa.’

Usnavi replied, having a snarky comment in mind...then he deleted it and responded with, ‘Enjoy it kid, you deserve it.’ 

Sonny was a good kid…why did he have to spend another sad holiday with Usnavi. He deserved to be where he wanted to be.

He tucked his phone away and made the quiet hike back to his apartment nearby. The city was a snowy ghost town. No doubt people were warm with family, getting ready for the holidays. He imagined families coming home from sightseeing or last minute shopping… He passed abuela Claudia’s stoop and the memories forced themselves into his mind. Unwillingly he recalled childhood memories, hazy from years gone by, of waiting up in Claudia’s house. His parents sneaking around for deals on Christmas presents. Usnavi only a kid helping set up the tree and candles. Celebrating Noche Buena by the time his parents got home, music playing, hugs and kisses…

It was almost painful for him to walk into his bleek and now empty apartment. Nothing waited for him here, not a soul or a cheer. He sloppily kicked off his shoes and coat. Making a beeline to the fridge he pulled out a green beer bottle and cracked it open. His phone buzzed again and once again his stomach did flips wondering if it was…

No. It was Benny, asking if Usnavi wanted come for the Rosario’s Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow. He didn’t want to but out of coursey he responded as vaguely as possible.

‘I’ll see how it goes with the store.’ Ben: ‘K man, you know the fam would luv 2 have u. Stop working so dam hard, it's xmas.’

Ha. 

Like that was an excuse. His parents worked through many holidays, Christmas too...but by nightfall they made it back just to light candles with Usnavi. Speaking of which...his eyes scanned the room for a tall red candle, the one with the Virgin Mary sticker on it. A candle so traditional that he was sure his parents and grandparents used the same one. He lit the candle and carefully walked it over to the closed window sill. “Otra Navidad…” He smiled placing it down watching the flickering flame dance on it's small wick. “...miss you guys…”his lower lip trembled. He bit his lip to try and keep it still but if it wasn’t one thing it was another, his eyes started to ache with bitter tears.

“Fuck.” He hissed, he should be over it by now. Every Christmas he felt this weight on his shoulders...his parents broke their asses every damn Christmas to get what they could to fill the tree. Every damn holiday day in and day out until the day they died. Working so hard just to put something under the tree for him, to give him something they didn’t have. Now he had the money, money he wished he had years ago when the people he loved still walked on the Earth. Now he could give his parents a vacation to Dominican Republic, a relief from the store… If only he hadn’t been too late.

If he worked harder. If he had made something of himself sooner. If he wasn’t such a failure of a son. His parents will never know, they died leaving Usnavi debts and worries, they died probably upset...Upset they were leaving their son behind with so much unfinished work. So much to carry, they weren’t here to see he was still managing. Abuela wasn’t here to see he was still going...He was too late.

Usnavi felt his lungs twist cutting off his breathing. His heart beating slow but hard against his chest, like it was trying to punch a hole out of his chest. His eyes widened when he realized he couldn’t breathe….he couldn’t! His body shook as he slowly fell to his knees, hard sobs breaking through his crumpling frame. He tried to calm his panic, calm the screams in his head that reminded him his parents and abuela died fully aware Usnavi was struggling. Died before Usnavi could do something for them, something they deserved.

Desperate to relieve himself he slumped forward and pressed his head against the cold, wood floor and forced himself to take shallow breathes.

Knock knock

His head snapped up so fast he felt the air trapped joints crack along his neck. He crawled across the floor, all the while forcing himself to take purposeful breaths.

Knock, Knock

Usnavi grabbed the doorknob and willed himself to his feet, leaning against the door. He ran his hand over his face covering the tear trails as best he could, then opened the door. “Who---” His eyes widened, he looked up at a slightly flushed and incredibly cold looking Johan. His jacket was barely warm enough for the winter they were experiencing at the East Coast. Johan’s eyes held Usnavi in a silent stare, he assisted him thoroughly and his face fell a bit.

“Usnavi, are you ok?”

Usnavi opened his mouth. “No” He wailed.

[fruitgumy]

oof YES he totally is like the suave ceo of villains, i mean dude wears a suit every single day like who does that???

it totally makes sense for him to come across as this good looking well intentioned guy bc that’s how japan fell in love w him from the start and how he was able to gain so much influence before beginning to use that influence for some not so good things. i mean, he was basically the king of villains and greater japan had No Fucking Clue bc they thought he was like....quirk curing mother theresa or something fjsksksksk

i remember studying a type of personality survey in my psych class and i totally took the test for afo and he cane out as extremely dominant and influential in that he’d rather use his influence on other people to lead and get them to do what he needs them to do. so that means knowing how to read people and how to react in a way that will make them respond positively, and if he’s as handsome as it looks like he is there’s no way he’s not gonna take that into consideration when trying to win favor from people fjdksk. he’s totally like a chess master and i love that also him having the power to basically do whatever he wants but making other people do it just bc he can??? sexy and iconic

all for one was extremely physically attractive and this worked to his advantage in gaining allies’ trust quickly and he knew it in this essay i will