#dad for all: second user addition

[riahlynn101]

"Kidnapping is Easier Said Than Done."

summary: Yoichi sometimes wishes he were born into a better family, but what he wants more than that is for his nephew to be raised by someone, anyone that's not All for One.

Trigger warning: Kidnapping

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Yoichi’s favorite hobby is people watching. Call it a holdover from his childhood days of being relegated to the shadows of society, but it has never ceased to amaze him how people interact with the world around them. The park near his apartment is both a nice place to relax and to indulge this hobby. 

He likes to sit on a bench in the center of the park, between a row of neatly planted tulips and a scattering of wildflowers. People pass by, sometimes in pairs or groups, sometimes alone. 

But today he’s there for a different reason. 

“Hello,” a young woman pushing a stroller greets him. 

“Ah, Midoriya-san, how are you doing today?"

“Good, good.” She sits next to him. 

“And how is Izuku?” He looks over the baby. Now a little bigger than the last time he saw him, even though it’s only been a couple weeks. “Getting bigger.” He clicks his tongue. “They grow up so fast.”

Midoriya-san frowns. She traces a finger down the baby’s chubby cheek. “Too fast.” 

Yoichi suddenly feels guilty. He shouldn’t, not yet. But he does. Making people upset has never sat right with him. 

“He has your eyes,” he says, changing the topic to something less imminent than her baby growing up. Though, if Yoichi’s being honest, he knows that’s not true. The only similarities little Izuku and Midoriya-san’s eyes share are that they’re big and green. 

Midoriya-san laughs. “My husband says Izuku has his brother’s eyes. I’ve never met him before….” she trails off, chewing on her bottom lip. “Guess I’ll have to take his word for it.” She laughs again. The sound is nice. Nicer than anything his brother deserves to listen to.

“How is your husband?” Yoichi asks. Maybe his brother calmed down, retired even. As much as he doesn’t want his nephew being raised by his brother, Yoichi really doesn’t want to cause the young woman next to him any pain. She seems nice, just gullible and misled. 

The smile falls off her face, replaced by a frown, and Yoichi knows the answer before she speaks. “Hisashi’s on a business trip.”

“How long?”

“Who knows,” she murmurs. Izuku coos in his sleep. A soft fondness overtakes the sad, tired look in Midoriya-san’s eyes. “I’m sure he’ll be home soon, though.”

It’s Yoichi’s turn to frown. “Yeah,” he agrees, “I’m sure too.”

He looks at her. At her soft hair and soft features and big eyes. Yoichi knows his brother. He knows that he didn’t fall in love with this beautiful but naive woman for no reason. There has to be a plan in place. A scheme to get his hands on One for All, or a chance for a new quirk. Yoichi can’t put his finger on what it is exactly. 

“I’m tired,” she admits in a small voice, like she’s ashamed. Midoriya-san looks at him, and he sees the countless hours of sleep she’s lost raising Izuku on her own. She bows her head, one of her hands rest on the stroller, absently moving it back and forth. “I’m so, so tired.” Tears fall from her eyes, she sniffles.

“I would be too.” Yoichi pats her shoulder. He’s not the best at offering comfort, but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t try. 

“Izuku is a good boy. I know he is, and I know that it’ll get easier when he gets older. But right now…” Midoriya-san sobs into her hands, shoulders shaking. The noise almost wakes Izuku. Yoichi keeps an eye on him, even as continues to pat Midoriya-san on the back. 

“Do you have any family or friends?” 

She looks up from her hands, shaking her head. “Besides Hisashi, you mean?”

Of course his brother would choose someone without a good support network. The thought fills Yoichi with an indescribable rage. But he’s nothing if not good at managing his emotions (living with someone like All for One will do that to you), so he just flashes a gentle smile. “Yes.”

“Mitsuki, she’s my best friend.”

“Why don’t you reach out to her?”

“She has a baby too, only a few months older than Izuku. I don’t want to burden her.” At those words Midoriya-san devolves into sobs again. 

Yoichi grimaces. The guilt is already setting in. “Midoriya-san,” he says. “You look like you need a break. I’d be more than happy to watch Izuku for you.”

Midoriya-san shakes her head. “N- no….I…you can’t. My husband doesn’t like people watching our son.”

“Besides you?”

“Besides me and him.”

“How is that fair?” Yoichi asks. “You can’t sustain yourself by taking care of Izuku all the time. Besides, your husband will never know. You can go home and sleep, and I’ll take care of the baby. We can meet up here at five.”

“But….Hisashi-”

“Should be here to help you.”

Midoriya-san looks at him and then over at her baby. “Are you sure…? Izuku can be a handful and I’ve heard horror stories of babysitters getting frustrated and-”

He cuts her off. “I’ve dealt with worse, trust me.” Not babies but All for One is certainly close enough. Yoichi takes her hand. “I promise to take good care of your son.”

“His diaper bag is at the bottom of the stroller. It has everything you’ll need.” Midoriya-san sighs sadly. She leans over to kiss Izuku’s downy head. “I love you, Izuku. Be good until mommy comes back.” She then looks over at Yoichi. “Take care of him. Oh, and I know you’re only watching him for a few hours, but he might be a little fussy when he wakes up. He’s not used to being cared for by anyone except my husband or I.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” The sudden urge to throw up washes over him. He smiles. 

-x-x-x-

Yoichi abandons the stroller a block away from his apartment. He shoulders the diaper bag, and carries the baby close to his chest. Izuku is thankfully a heavy sleeper, so the rest of the trip isn’t interrupted by the sounds of a crying baby. 

He enters his apartment. It’s totally empty, minus a few bags, the baby, him, and….

“You got him,” Kudou, his husband, says. His amber eyes are warmer than usual, staring at the baby in his arms.

“I feel sick,” he admits. The baby moves a little, snuggling closer to his chest. Yoichi imagines his baby nephew finds the sound of his heart relaxing. Anything to offset his racing thoughts. “I don’t think I can go through with this.”

Kudou places a firm hand on his back. “I won’t fault you if you don’t. It’s not easy, and if I was anymore approachable I would have been the one to do it. But it is either All for One, us, or a random family’s doorstep.”

“I- Midoriya-san is so kind,” Yoichi whispers, looking down at Izuku. “I don’t think she knows.”

“Would she tell you if she did?”

Yoichi thinks of his own lived experience of protecting his brother’s identity from prying feds and nosy neighbors. The constant paranoia that anyone he talked to could be vying for his brother’s head, and even now he wouldn’t want that. Especially if his brother decided to settle down and retire. 

But that’s a pipe dream , he realizes for the millionth time in the hundred-plus years he’s been alive.

“No,” he says, a finality in his tone. 

-x-x-x-

Izuku stays asleep for the duration of the car ride. Given, it’s not exactly a long ride, but the fact that he does stay asleep is a small mercy. Kudou doesn’t know what he would do if he had to both comfort his husband who is one minor inconvenience away from having a panic attack and soothe a crying baby. 

They bought a new house in the countryside. It’s still hours away, so they’re going to stop for tonight. He already feels like they are pressing their luck. 

Kudou pulls into a shady looking motel’s parking lot. A glowing ‘vacancy’ sign sits in the window. “I’ll be right back,” he says. Yoichi nods. He hasn’t said much this entire trip.

The receptionist is a middle-aged man who, upon Kudou asking for a room, threw the key at him, annoyed at being asked to do his job. After completing this, apparently, herculean task, the man returns to watching his soaps at full volume on the tiny TV in front of him. 

Kudou rolls his eyes. 

Some people. 

-x-x-x-

Yoichi sits in the front seat. He can’t get his mind off Midoriya-san. Izuku’s mom. He knows he shouldn’t feel bad. She made her choices. Choices that Izuku, being born into this family, had no say in. 

But he can’t stop the gnawing guilt clawing at his insides. It’s not too dissimilar to what he felt all those years ago, being rescued and (in certain people’s eyes) leaving his brother behind. The guilt of breaking an unspoken bond. 

The bond of brotherhood. 

The bond of perceived friendship. 

A hiccup startles Yoichi out of his thoughts. He looks over his shoulder at the baby (who is laying a pile of blankets in a laundry basket). Another hiccup and a sniffle. 

Oh, no!

That’s all the warning he gets before Izuku starts bawling. Little arms flailing around.. His face is scrunched up and red from the few seconds of crying. Yoichi unbuckles his seatbelt. He kneels on the seat, leaning over into the backseat. 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he says, waving his hands around frantically. “Shhh….it’s-”

His husband decides to come back right at that moment. Kudou has an annoyed look on his face, but it instantly fades when he looks between the screaming baby and Yoichi’s tearful expression.

“Yo’,” he murmurs. “I got him. How about you go check our room out.”

“But,” Yoichi starts, anxious and frustrated in equal measure. Logically, he knows that he’s in no state to calm his nephew down. But the idea of not being the one to do it, of offloading that responsibility on someone else, only adds to his guilt. 

“We’ll be right behind you. You need a few minutes to yourself. Just to collect your thoughts.”

Yoichi opens his mouth to argue but finds that his husband (as always) is correct. “Fine,” he says. 

He gets out of the car, taking with him a backpack and the baby bag. The sounds of his baby nephew crying and his husband shushing him fall silent as he heads to their room. 

-x-x-x-

Kudou is a soldier. A warrior. A commander. 

He’s killed and fought and lost everything.

And somehow, wrangling a squirming baby is the hardest thing he’s ever done. He comes to two conclusions simultaneously. One, his nephew is going to be a royal pain in the ass, especially if they want to continue to stay undercover. And two, baby Izuku looks an awful lot like his dad. 

He shakes his head. He would rather chew on broken glass than willingly think about All for One. The bastard doesn’t deserve to take up residence in Kudou’s head. Not after all the chaos and calamity he’s caused. And, more importantly, the baby doesn’t deserve being compared to someone so awful. 

Tamping down any comparisons or thoughts of All for One, Kudou scoops the baby up. Izuku sniffles, looking up at him. His big eyes seem to search Kudou’s face, as if deciding on something. 

He breathes a sigh of relief, ear drums still ringing from the few seconds of the baby’s screams. But it’s short lived, as not a second later, Izuku bursts into hysterics - louder than before. 

Kudou sighs again, this time resigned to his fate. He carries the baby, squirming and crying like a banshee all the way across the motel parking lot. An older woman shoots him a dirty look as he passes. 

As if the baby crying is his fault. 

To be fair, it technically is. But she doesn’t know that. He glares at her, and feels a little vindicated when she quickly looks away. 

-x-x-x-

By the time he makes it to their room, Izuku has settled down some. He’s more still and his cries have less bite to them. Which doesn’t help his poor ears, but at least they won’t be kicked out because of a noise complaint (not Kudou has any faith in the guy up front to do anything about it). 

Yoichi is making a makeshift bassinet on the bed. He forms some of the pillows and blankets into a circle. He looks up when Kudou enters. 

“I was starting to worry.” He glances at the baby in Kudou’s arms. “He didn’t give you any trouble?”

Deciding not to fuel his husband’s growing anxiety, he shrugs his shoulders. “Nope. None.” 

He hands the baby off to his husband. Kudou busies himself with drawing up plans for the next day and offering small encouragements to Yoichi as he paces the room. 

Eventually, thankfully, as the sun sets beyond the horizon, the baby finally sleeps. His cries taper off into small whimpers and then into soft snores. Yoichi places the baby in the center of the bed, sliding into bed after him. His body curls around the pile of blankets. 

“Coming to bed?” Yoichi asks, quiet because of the looming threat of the baby waking up. 

Kudou hums. “Not yet. I’ll be there in a second.”

Yoichi nods, settling down for the night. It’s not long before he, too, is fast asleep. 

Kudou watches them for a while. If he didn’t know better, he could almost pretend that they just adopted Izuku. That the baby is really theirs, and not the product of All for One scheming. His heart clenches.

Izuku extends his arm in his sleep as if reaching out for something (or someone). 

He frowns, which only deepens further when the baby cries out in his sleep. His tiny hands brushing against scratchy blankets. 

Kudou puts his plans for the next couple of days on the back burner. He sits awkwardly on the edge of the bed. One of his hands hover above the baby, unsure of what to do or how to offer comfort. 

Carefully, tentatively, he strokes a finger down the baby’s chubby cheek. One of Izuku’s hands come up to grab onto him. The whimpering and crying instantly stops. 

Kudou comes to one more conclusion, body curled around the pile of blankets and pillows on their bed:

Their nephew, soon to be son, is innocent and needs to be protected and has all the potential in the world to become something great and kind - if they only treat him with all the compassion neither of them were given while growing up. 

He falls asleep, holding one of Izuku’s tiny hands. The baby’s fingers wrap around his thumb. 

Across from him, Yoichi smiles.

[fractiflos]

awww poor Yoichi :(

Hmm, do you have any immortal headcanons?

I felt so sorry for him the whole time I was writing that AU. But yes, I do have some immortal OFA users headcanons.

Note: This time, an immortality quirk got mixed in with stockpile, so the users all had to fake their deaths. The headcanons go from there.

Yoichi had fun writing the books he always wanted to write, but under a pseudonym of course. His brother hates his books of course and vows to hunt down the author. (Yoichi does change pseudonyms and stuff every few years)

Also, once every few years, Yoichi will get HOOKED on some trend. It lasts about twice as long as it takes for the trend to die down.

Second married Yoichi and while he wanted to just steal what they needed; Yoichi convinced him to get money in a more ethical way. So, he became a mechanic. The only bad thing is they have to move every few years as they look the same age they were when they passed on OFA. Like the vampires in Twilight.

I headcanon Third as aro/ace, so this is a duoholders universe.

Also, Third becomes a therapist. He figured he would be qualified after so many years being the therapist friend. And he is good at it, but he also runs into the Twilight issue. Even so, the 3 are never far apart from each other. Third does have his own place, but he's always there if the other two need anything and vice versa.

(I have a weird version of trioholders where, while the first two holders are romantically involved, their friendship with Third runs so deep, that if he died, they would be destroyed. Same with Yoichi and Second. They all need and understand each other in a way so deeply, it goes beyond any normal intimacy. Like, platonic soulmates I guess is the best word for that.)

Hikage lives in the woods. After 18 years of being chased around, he decided to fake his death and give OFA to Banjo. So, now he lives with the forest creatures in peace. Third still drags him out for the occasional family dinner though.

Banjo uses his extra immortal time to become talented at, not just normal hobbies, but really weird stuff like peeling a banana with his feet like a monkey. In addition to bothering Hikage, he decided to try his hand at a childhood dream and become a cowboy. That didn't work out, so he travels the world instead.

My headcanon for En is that he had 5 siblings, so immortality would give him a lot of grieving to do. However, I also headcanon him as a lover of reptiles and technology, so he used his immortal time to get acquainted with all the new tech coming out each year and finally get a pet chameleon. He also got a degree in Graphic Art. However, he chooses to make his money by doing commissions.

Nana did give away her son after her husband died, but only until she faked her death. Then she got him back, so Kotaro doesn't end up being as bad, but there's definitely still some tension between them as she didn't tell him about her plan. She hides away, with Gran Torino helping her try to raise Kotaro as normally as possible. Meaning his last name does end up changed because Torino adopts him, but he co-parents with Nana. It's complicated. At least Hana and Tenko are happy children with grandparents who spoil them and a better dad. Nobody wants to be on the bad side of both Nana and Gran Torino.

Toshinori did not know about the immortality thing. Nana forgot to tell him, and he just thought his master had really good genes. So, he has the same knowledge in canon. In fact, his life is pretty much like canon, as they figured it was best that he goes to America for a bit to keep AFO away from Nana's hiding place. He also gets into the same fight with AFO, but sustains the same damage. You see, the immortality quirk doesn't keep them from getting hurt, it just keeps them from dying.

Oh yeah, remember the family dinners Hikage gets dragged to? Those are between every OFA user. Toshinori just thinks they're historians who love to joke around. He has to believe it at this point. At least they only happen once a year, unless there's an emergency, like a new user or a faked death. Or, AFO dying (is he dead?)

Then Toshinori brings Izuku to OFA family dinner. Cue the awing over the new user (who looks oddly familiar). There was some worry over how Izuku would adjust to the quirk, but they all assumed All Might had it figured out. That man was taught by someone who beat the crap out of him daily. All Might did not have it figured out.

(After the AFO fight, the other users convinced All Might to get a hobby or something, so he decided to try and get the credentials to become a teacher, because he always loved children. The credits to become a kindergarten teacher that is, so the jump to high school is still going to take some adjustment. Not to mention training a middle school boy to handle a quirk you gave them. I don't think there's a book on that.)

After the entrance exams, out of worry for their new user, all the vestiges move to the Musutafu area around UA to help with Izuku's training. The users get along great with Inko (who was told about OFA.) And Yoichi's brother and Inko's husband sure have a lot of similarities. What a coincidence...

From here they get upto all sorts of school-themed hijinks, but I'll let you imagine them. (The eventual meeting with Aizawa is always a fun one to imagine)

Uh... this did not turn out how I thought it would. It was supposed to be random headcanons and not a story outline. I did keep some stuff vague on purpose. Anyway, I hope you liked it :)

[ladyaj-13]

Sidekick app - A Comprehensive Review

Or, if you have a question about it that I've missed covering, I honestly don't know how that happened.

-

I've been using the Sidekick app for about eight months now, so I wanted to write a review - all the thoughts that have come to me as I use it (and I probably do use it three weeks out of every four), so you can decide if it'd work for you.

Firstly, I never planned to get a year's subscription. I planned to let my free month trial roll over for a paid second month, but it charged me for a year straight off. So that's point one to be aware of if you do a free trial. More under the cut because this got LENGTHY.

Ethos

The thinking behind the app, I really like. Using ingredients over multiple meals to prevent waste? An obvious move, but not something I'm great at when left to my own devices!

Having said that, sometimes the amount of ingredient used feels unnecessary - you could use less crème fraiche or fewer herbs for the same result, but we'll use it all because then we've used up the pack (even if dinner now looks like the compost heap after my Dad's mowed the back lawn).

I also really like that nutritional information for the meals is available, but has to be turned on. It's not always good to be looking at calorie counts, especially if you're vulnerable to disordered eating, so having that opt-in instead of opt-out is great.

The calorie counts often feel high for what the meal is, though, and a lot of that is probably the amounts of oil and butter used. So if this is a consideration for you, a quick tip - it's unnecessary most of the time. You can probably halve it, or do two thirds, and be fine.

Quantities

Speaking of, I realise the recipes have been developed by the kitchen team, which from what we've seen in the Sorted videos seems to be all male? So maybe that's driving it, but I eat a reasonable amount - I'm definitely not bird-like or have a 'small appetite' - yet I often get three meals out of every cook (I've got it set to two people, as I like leftovers). Sometimes I even get four decent portions!

When you've then got three meals to make, you're generating anything from six up to twelve portions for the week, or drifting into the following week and hoping the ingredients haven't gone off.

This is more cost-effective and lowers the high calorie counts, but means eating a lot of the same thing. (I could eat down my freezer enough to fit things in it again and save them for later, but hey.) It also means there's no real opportunity, for me and how I end up using the app, of a one-off cook (e.g. pancakes on pancake day, or something I'm randomly craving), but am instead very tied to the pack.

Recipe design

The quality of the recipes is key! And I would say it's usually fair to good - most get 3 or 4 stars out of 5 from me.

I've cooked 47 recipes so far, and there have been a couple that were very bland and needed doctoring, and maybe 6 or 7 really delicious ones I want to keep for life. (There's an amazing mushroom gochujang udon dish, a really easy halloumi tray bake, and a lamb and feta orzo (that I twist and add some extra veg to) that's great.)

I live in the UK, so am closely aligned to what the recipe creators will have available. I'd like to see potential substitute info added, though. (For ages my local supermarket didn't stock ciabatta, which is used in loads of their recipes, and I can only imagine this is more of an issue for those living elsewhere.) The app allows users to post 'twists', so that can be helpful where other people have faced the same issue, but this feels like a relatively easy addition that would be valuable for everyone, but especially those with allergies or more restricted access to global foods. It would also be helpful for vegetarians - if a chicken recipe would work equally well with tofu, you've widened your veggie (or even vegan) recipe offering.

I also find that pack sizes listed don't always match those in the supermarket, but working across multiple stores and serving sizes must be a nightmare (and that's before you consider multiple countries!), so I'll let them off that one 😉

Their shopping list function (which tells you exactly what you need for the week's recipes, and you can check off as you go along) is really clear and easy - it's such a valuable function. Having an extra step of possible substitutes that you could feed through to it would just be the icing on top.

I'm an omnivore, but I'd also like more variety in the make-up of the packs. If you get a "meat" pack you're likely eating meat every day (and the amount of meat per person is normally too high for me - I'll often halve it and sub in some veg, as in the meat meals the veg content can be pretty low). They also often do themed packs - a pasta pack or a Mexican pack - and as someone using this pack for the week, I'd prefer the variety of more packs where you get one Mexican dish, one pasta dish, and one other dish all in the same pack, rather than eating pasta for every meal. (I realise it's designed to be three meals out of a week, but even so, that's a fair amount of pasta, and I love pasta.) More recently released packs do seem to address this a bit more, so maybe it's feedback they've already received.

It might be worth knowing there are currently 110 recipes tagged vegan and 433 tagged vegetarian - so a pretty decent range!

Recipe steps are listed in order, obviously. But these don't always seem the most sensible order - e.g., you boil a kettle right at the beginning, but by the time you get to needing hot water thirty minutes later, you kind of need to re-boil it. Putting that step later on would be more logical. Sometimes things overcook because there wasn't enough time to fit in all the later steps and have things be ready at the same time. You can get around this to an extent by reading through the recipe first and applying common sense/your own cooking expertise, but the app seems designed to do this sort of thing for you and be a real 'beginners and up' tool - it just doesn't quite work in all instances.

Recipes highlight what equipment you need, which is so helpful! A word of advice, though, that their 'medium frying pan' is my largest frying pan. 'Small' is not one of those single-egg frying pans - I don't think they acknowledge the existence of those🤣 Whenever it says a large frying pan, I use a casserole dish, or it WILL end up all over my hob.

Also ensure you have pans that can go from hob to grill/oven, and a mini chopper. They seem able to blend things with a hand blender that I will never manage, but the mini chopper saves me. And you will need it, as a number of the packs include at least one sauce or soup or pesto, so it would take some dodging to only do recipes that don't need pureeing in some fashion. Honestly though - what witchcraft powers their stick blender?

Final thought on recipes - wouldn't it be cool if they include an option to add dessert?

'Benefits'?

The advertising of the app - when they talk about it in their videos - often emphasises there are no "use up" meals. I would disagree with that; in some packs there's a clear shoehorned third to get through the odds and ends! Which is fine, that's how it works sometimes, but own it 😀

Another selling point they promote is that using the app will save you money - this is, of course, all relative. Using a wider variety of ingredients (some of them more specialist) is likely to increase your shop cost, especially in the short term. Similarly, personally the app has encouraged me to eat more meat than I might otherwise just because of what looked good, but that is more expensive. So take that selling point with a pinch of salt, depending on your current eating habits and recipe choices!

The app is great at getting you to try ingredients and recipes you might not have gone to before, though, so for getting out of a cooking rut (which I was in!), it's fantastic. Sometimes this is forced - you get that third recipe you're not sure about (hello corn and kimchi lasagne) along with the two that look really good! - but also just knowing that you'll be told exactly what you need to do makes it easier to take that risk and try new things. (And that lasagne was actually pretty decent, for sounding so weird.)

Timings

In terms of skill level, I would say I'm a middling cook - I'm not a beginner, but also no chef. I can and will go off piste and create decent things from scratch. I've been cooking for myself for over a decade. I'll host friends for dinner and not panic about it. But - and I touched on this earlier with prep taking longer - I can't cook Sidekick recipes in the time allotted!

Are these timings based on the Sorted food team? Their knife skills are going to be better than mine. So are the normals', as after however many years with chef-directed instruction, they're not actually normal any more. I'd appreciate more realistic timings, accounting for the fact that most people will have to get the ingredient out of their cupboard, and weigh it out, and maybe remove the cat from the countertop. Even aside from this kind of time slip, their estimates for how long X takes to brown, or Y takes to boil, always seem too low. If they say Z is cooked now, it probably needs a few more minutes.

I don't know, I'd just prefer a recipe say it takes 40 minutes and it takes 30, than it take an hour, and it's always the latter for me. Probably that's personal preference and other people would find the opposite more annoying. But Sidekick timings given seem to be the absolute quickest possible time, and who is a) able or b) wants to cook at superspeed after a long day?

The app itself

It's really nicely designed and inviting to use, and has several useful features such as being able to guide it's recommendations via marking favourite cuisines, diet types of vegetarian/vegan/pescatarian only, and adding your allergies, dislikes and intolerances. You can also search by ingredient or by cooking time, and packs are coloured according to diet type, so it's really easy to spot veggie or meat or fish packs.

Using it to cook along - the app automatically keeps your phone screen active, which is good. It also includes timers you can set for each stage, really handy, although a niggle I've noticed is that you can't see multiple timers at once without clicking out of the main recipe, and sometimes you will have mutliple going (or one finished, but they don't automatically disappear).

I don't use the voiceover option, but I can see the value in it and having different ways to follow a recipe is cool.

Also great - new recipes are released weekly, so there's always something new!

However, the app is glitchy. Several times it's crashed while rating a recipe, which sometimes pops up a while after you cooked it, as you're trying to cook the next one. It's never yet prevented me from being able to cook (or shop), but it's been close a few times and would be pretty disastrous if you're standing in your kitchen trying to get dinner on the table!

Final thoughts

So. Will I renew my subscription for another year? At this point, I'm not sure. The app makes it easy to eat more variety, easy to choose a week's menu 'in one', easy to shop using the auto-generated shopping list. But I sometimes feel tied in by it, and I'd like a higher hit rate of 'this is delicious' recipes to justify the cost. At the moment I'm leaning towards cancel... we'll see if that changes by April.

If you got to the end of this actual essay (I didn't realise I had SO much to say), congratulations on your staying power! I'm very fond of the Sorted crew since I discovered their YouTube channel about a year ago, and I hope you've found this fair, balanced, and helpful.

Do you subscribe to Sidekick? Or do you want to try it out? 💖

[kore-arts]

The Fae's Fate

In honor of my new Fic Series!

Rating:

Not Rated

Archive Warning:

Major Character Death

Fandom:

僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Relationships:

Sensei | All For One & Yoichi | First One For All User Midoriya Izuku & Yoichi | First One For All User Second One For All User/Yoichi | First One For All User (My Hero Academia) Second One For All User/Third One For All User/Yoichi | First One For All User (My Hero Academia)

Characters:

Yoichi | First One For All User (My Hero Academia) Sensei | All For One Midoriya Izuku Second One For All User (My Hero Academia) Third One For All User (My Hero Academia)

Additional Tags:

Fae Magic Fae & Fairies Quirks and Magic Both Exist (My Hero Academia) Dad Yoichi Shigaraki Kid Midoriya Izuku

Language:

English

Series:

Part 1 of Fae, Wilds and Iron

[obscurecharactershowdown]

Group D Round 2

[image ID: the first image is of Es, a teenager with light hair, blue eyes, wearing what looks like a guard's uniform, including a hat. around their neck is a necklace of keys. the second image is of Copen Kamizono, a boy with white hair and red eyes. he wears wears armor consisting of a black, body-conforming base layer and several pieces of white armor over his torso, shoulders, thighs and knees, as well as an attachment to his back acting as a jetpack. end ID]

Es

15 year old teenager with amnesia working as a prison guard with 10 prisoners who were involved w someones death. AND they are nonbinary

Copen Kamizono

the most HORRID fourteen year old ever. in a world where superpowers exists, he decided "hey, that's scary" and decided to built a jetpack to kill people with super powers. only Some Guy who can control electricity has the bravery to say, "dude, that's fucked up," and Copen's life has gone downhill ever since. I geniuenly think he's an interesting portrait of a radicalized teenager, and how the belief he inherited from his father ends up destroying him. When it turns out his sister, who he treasures above all, Also Has Superpowers, his entire worldview crumbles. Cuz at first, those people were just faceless monsters to him. But now it's his dear sweet sister. And she's the one he's protecting. So he just. crumples. it's fun. there's also an alternate timeline spinoff series where he's a 100yr old cyborg fighting corporate overlords to take care of the four kids he adopted. 4chan user copen vs chad dad copen. i love this one too. He's grown past his old mentality understands the nuances of morality. Now he only judges people on their personal actions. One of his new kids even controls electricity! Truly full circle. He also has a robot sidekick he built himself and she likes to write his theme songs and perform them during combat. Lola my beloved. [additional propaganda 1]

[glompcat]

One delight of having had my aunt and uncle stay with us for over a month now (they are heading home tomorrow) is I have gotten used to my uncle's standard complaints when calling support when navigating badly designed websites.

For some context, my 84 year old uncle (my mom's brother) got his PhD in mathematics in the 1960s. Shortly after finishing his studies, he got interested in computers. That is what he wound up focusing his career on, and he helped found the computer science department at George Mason University and taught programming there right until he retired two years ago.

Not long after my mom started to see my dad in the 1980s, my dad told my uncle that in his own experience as a college professor, the secret to making money is to consult. As my uncle had two bio kids (who he had a truly lousy visitation agreement with, because the courts back in the day felt his mental health struggles meant he was unfit to be around children) as well as two step kids (his wife fell for him specifically because of how good he is with kids and how much her kids loved him, the story of their second date - a trip to the beach where she brought the kids - is one she tells again and again) he jumped on the opportunity to earn a bit more to support them all.

In his case that meant he started to consult with various companies both on their internal computer systems and on their digital presence. The place he consulted the longest - only leaving it during his big retirement two years ago - was AT&T, where he spent years helping them with all kinds of computer systems, and most relevant to this post, their digital security.

This means I have now heard, over and over, when he has issues using a website, he will call and after getting help with whatever his issues are, he will ask if he can speak directly to their IT department about the way the website is set up. He emphasizes that he spent decades as a computer science professor at a university in addition to consulting on this stuff, and that the way the website is set up is just nonsense. He jokes that had he ever approved anything like this for AT&T, they would have fired him. He lists out, in an itemized manner, each way the website is set up in a user unfriendly manner and simple fixes that would make the site easier to use. He truly can not believe how bad the user interfaces are for basically every website. Every call ends with his wondering, after hanging up, who benefits from the current way these systems are designed to fail and confuse.

He does this so often that my aunt sits there each time mouthing everything he says either as he says it or just before he says it.

[cosmic--dandelion]

So I have a fairly unique take on Kakyoin's backstory in my own writing. I wrote his parents as straight up toxic, psychologically and sometimes physically abusive, and neglectful. My version of Kakyoin ran away from home years before he met Jotaro, spent some time in a mental institution, and instead of being stalked and kidnapped, deliverately sought Dio out on his own.

Quite a departure from the more commonly accepted "Kakyoin has nice, normal parents who just didn't understand him" interpretation, huh? So why did I write this (other than the fact that I graviate toward angsty backstories) and how does it fit what we know about Kakyoin?

Kakyoin's most obvious feature is his intelligence. All of his friends, who are (mostly) brainy guys themselves, acknowledge that he's the best, most reliable strategist in the group, and a good portion of his dislogue is info-dumping. As expected of an honor student, he's very prim and proper to contrast Jotaro's delinquent image. Yet he's also weird, socially awkward, brutally honest, and emotionally distant. I've heard him described as having no setting in between "uncomfortably polite" and "rude bastard", and damn if that doesn't fit him like glove. In battle, he's probably the scariest, most ruthless crusader and is perfectly capable of straight-up beating the shit out of his closest friends, even if he's also capable of bring the bigger person and forgiving them. Friendship and bonds are everything to him. He's caring and empathetic but has balls of steel and takes exactly zero shit from anyone. He's quite familiar with other cultures' customs and traditions, implying he's an experienced traveler. Kakyoin is very independent and has skills, knowledge, and confidence you wouldn't expect a normal kid his age to have.

I wrote a little about Kakyoin's backstory in the second fanfiction I ever wrote, "Facets" and then in great detail in "In Water". If you haven't yet, please go check them out! They are, in my opinion, quite a bit more interesting that just hearing me talk about them. Now onto spoilers, for both the manga and my own work.

So this is Kakyoin's canonical backstory. All of it. The anime isn't canon, the fighting games aren't canon, the Josuke and Hol Horse spin-off isn't canon. Only this is, plus that 19 page backstory Araki wrote for him thirty years ago that will never see the light of day.

This is it. There's a blurb on his character profile that mentions that his parents are alive, they think he ran away, and they're either "shocked " or "very worried" depending on the translation. Then he dies, and in typical Araki fashion, Kakyoin is never seen or referenced again.

The sheer amount of angst Kakyoin had over no one being able to see his stand, even compared to other born stand users, makes me think there's more to it.

In my version of his backstory, Kakyoin's parents are poor. His dad is a rather unimpressive, unambiguous office worker who's made several bad business decision, escalating tensions between him and his wife. She hails from an upper middle class background and is generally a bit snobbish and image-conscious. Kakyoin's birth just adds fuel to the flames. In addition to being another mouth to feed, he has inexplicably bright red hair and violet eyes. (In my version of the jjba-verse, born stand users just have weird hair and eye colors sometimes.) The husband decides that this means his wife cheated on him with a red-headed foreigner.

Kakyoin is a problem child. He's exceptionally bright and imaginative in a school system (remember, it's 1970s Japan) that doesn't know how to handle gifted children, and he's non-neurotypical with a troubled home life to boot. That conversation with his teacher probably happens around this time. He self isolates, but he's not causing trouble on purpose, and the other kids are intimidated, but not hateful. Yet.

Then his parents have a their worst fight yet, and Kakyoin loses control of Hierophant due to stress and almost kills his father. The man is traumatized (as you would be if you were possessed by an invisible tentacle monster only you son can see and control) and abandons his own family. The mother knows Kakyoin did *something*, but she doesn't know what. Her resentment deepens, and they continue to drift apart.

Kakyoin's relationship with his mother reaches its nadir, and now he *is* getting ostracized. He's angry at the world and starting to lash out. By age 10, Kakyoin has started seeing counselors. He is misdiagnosed as having a whole host of scary-sounding mental disorders and is forced to take powerful mood stabilizers and antipsychotics every day. After all, he spends all his time playing with someone they can't see and drawing a weird green thing that looks like a cthulhuloid abomination. The mother reaches her breaking point and surrenders him to a combination group home/"special school". This experience defined him probably more than any other event in his life before this point. It's incredibly violating and humiliating, and Kakyoin develops a complex about always having to be seen as the smartest guy in the room.

At around age 14, he runs away, desperate to find more people like him. On his travels, he hears rumors about a mysterious, beautiful man in Egypt with strange powers. The entire "family vacation" to Egypt was a lie he made up on the spot because he didn't want to admit that HE sought Dio out, not the other way around, and that he's a runaway with a checkered past.

So what about his parents? My version of Kakyoin doesn't hate them and would have at least tried to bridge the gap between them if they'd both hasn't so thoroughly cut him out of their lives. He feels guilty on some level for not being a good enough son, and he wants to believe that they still love him on some level. Hence the "I'm sorry for making you worry" line.

Are they worried? Probably. They're shitty parents, not monsters.

(The "mom has dad and dad has mom" line? The former Mrs. Kakyoin had a revolving line of boyfriends and lovers, so Kakyoin started to think of 'dad' as a temporary position in her life rather than a singular person. Growing up in a dysfunctional family with no socialization with peers who had normal ones, he has a warped view of how families are.)

So what about Dio?

This one's pretty easy. In my version, Dio acted like a friend at first, lulling Kakyoin into a false sense of security. He was a little intimidated, but not full on terrified. Dio didn't want to risk destroying Kakyoin's brain, finding it quite useful, so he basically tried to groom him so the fleshbud wouldn't be needed. Then once Dio realized that Kakyoin was going to be harder to control than his other minions, he implanted the fleshbud. Dio being Dio, he decided to scare the shit out of the poor kid, savoring his pain and horror and sense of betrayal.

I think I would probably feel differently giving Kakyoin this amount of baggage if I ever wrote anything canon-compliant. I also didn't add it to make him more of a wobbie or break him so Jotaro could fix him with the power of yaoi.

It means something to me that (my version of) Kakyoin went through all this shit and healed from it and went on to lead a long, happy, successful life.

[ao3feed-tododeku]

The Truth is Rarely Pure and Never Simple

The Truth is Rarely Pure and Never Simple by katydid

Izuku Midoriya doesn't have a quirk, but he's never needed one—because he's one of the fae who live amongst humans passing off magic as quirks. He lives a happy life with his three dads until a powerful fae named All for One appears and claims to be his biological father.

Words: 6892, Chapters: 1/7, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Sensei | All For One, Todoroki Shouto, Yoichi | First One For All User, Second One For All User, Third One For All User, Past One For All Users, Class 1-A

Relationships: Midoriya Izuku & Sensei | All For One, Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto, Second One For All User/Third One For All User/Yoichi | First One For All User

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Sensei | All For One is Midoriya Izuku's Parent, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Fairy Midoriya Izuku, Alternate Universe - Fae, Parental Yoichi | First One For All User, Adopted Midoriya Izuku, Feral Midoriya Izuku, Past One For All Users as Family, Yokai Todoroki Shouto, Class 1-A Friendship, Youkai, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Fae & Fairies, Vault Time, Yoichi | First One For All User Lives, Creepy Sensei | All For One, Dad for One Week 2023

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48483913

[aksartisticlife]

<a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/54189307"><strong>Congratulations It’s a Bio Daughter!</strong></a> (1518 words) by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKP31E"><strong>AKP31E</strong></a><br />Chapters: 1/5<br />Fandom: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Miraculous%20Ladybug">Miraculous Ladybug</a>, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Batman%20-%20All%20Media%20Types">Batman - All Media Types</a>, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Maribat%20-%20Fandom">Maribat - Fandom</a><br />Rating: General Audiences<br />Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply<br />Relationships: Dick Grayson/Koriand'r, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug<br />Characters: Dick Grayson, Starfire, Mar'i Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon, Damian Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Félix Fathom, Kagami Tsurugi<br />Additional Tags: Found Family, Fluff, Unconventional Families, written on my phone, MariBat<br />Series: Part 2 of <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/series/4019914">Congratulations it’s a family!</a><br />Summary: <p>Continuation from my first part of the story, “ Congratulations It’s a Bio-dad” this picks up where the other left of and shows Dick’s point of view as he processes finding out about his bio daughter. This story will focus more on the different family dynamics on the Bat’s side as they try to bring Marinette into their fold. Family is hard, and adding heroism and vigilantism to the mix only complicates things further, but will they come out the better for it eventually? What makes a family anyway?</p>

My second part of a new series is now up on AO3:)

[ao3feed-izuku-midoriya]

A Bad Night

A Bad Night by Callisto the ice nymph

Izuku is having a bad night, thankfully one of his dads is there to comfort him

Words: 373, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 7 of Dad for All, Second, Third and their adoptive son

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Third One For All User, Midoriya Izuku

Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)

Additional Tags: Third is a Good Dad, Parental Third One For All User, Midoriya Izuku is a Mess, Midoriya Izuku is Bad at Feelings

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48590623

[addrianastarflower]

Keep on running, kid (I’m here for you)

By: AddrianaStarflower & Ruolumen

Summary:

Thrown back in time to the dawn of quirks, Izuku must run from All for One with the help of his newly minted father figure, Yoichi. Meanwhile, the quirk wars rage on and the resistance is in full swing. Things are only just starting for them, and it certainly won't be slowing down anytime soon.

Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warnings:

Graphic Depictions Of Violence

No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories:

M/M

Multi

Fandom:

僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Relationships:

Midoriya Izuku & Yoichi | First One For All User

Sensei | All For One & Yoichi | First One For All User

Midoriya Izuku & Sensei | All For One

Second One For All User & Yoichi | First One For All User (My Hero Academia)

Second One For All User/Yoichi | First One For All User (My Hero Academia)

Third One For All User & Yoichi | First One For All User (My Hero Academia)

Second One For All User & Third One For All User & Yoichi | First One For All User (MHA)

Midoriya Izuku & Past One For All Users

Characters:

Midoriya Izuku

Yoichi | First One For All User (My Hero Academia)

Sensei | All For One

Second One For All User (My Hero Academia)

Third One For All User (My Hero Academia)

Past One For All Users (My Hero Academia)

Shimura Nana

Additional Tags:

Parental Yoichi | First One For All User (My Hero Academia)

One For All Quirk Haunted by Past One For All Users' Ghosts (My Hero Academia)

Past One For All Users as Family (My Hero Academia)

Parental Past One For All Users (My Hero Academia)

Sensei | All For One is Midoriya Hisashi

POV Yoichi | First One For All User (My Hero Academia)

Protective Yoichi | First One For All User (My Hero Academia)

Uncle Yoichi | First One For All User (My Hero Academia)

Good Uncle Yoichi | First One For All User (My Hero Academia)

BAMF Midoriya Izuku

Midoriya Izuku Needs A Hug

Midoriya Izuku Has One for All Quirk

Midoriya Izuku Has All for One Quirk

eventually

Midoriya Izuku Has Multiple Quirks

Time Travel Fix-It

Alternate Universe - Time Travel

i guess it can be considered a fix it

it's a thrown back in time au so he is fixing stuff

Angst and Hurt/Comfort

Sensei | All for One & Yoichi Shigaraki Are Twins

Possessive Sensei | All for One

No violence yet but we'll get there

Slow To Update

DadDecember Ect Events

Obscure Dads Week 2023 Part 1 (My Hero Academia)

Language: English

[riahlynn101]

"Does This Child Belong to Anyone? (No? Then I'll Keep Him).

One shot

Summary: The Second One for All user wanted to be a parent.... when he was alive.... over a hundred and fifty years ago. But as the old adage goes, be careful what you wish for.

Trigger Warnings: Trigger warning: Violence, child abuse, abandonment, and major character death.

Word count: 3,105

--

Let it be known, the Second user of One for All never had a child. 

Let it also be known, this doesn’t mean he never wanted one. 

Growing up, he remembers stealing his sisters’ baby dolls to playhouse with. He wasn’t supposed to; his father would have blown a gasket if he had been caught. But Second, as would become a trend for the rest of his life (and afterlife) refused to follow what he considered a “stupid” rule. 

Besides, he took great care of the baby dolls. He pretended to feed them bottles and rocked them to sleep while humming lullabies his own mother used to sing to him. She was an angel in the ground by that point. The ugly, purple bruise slowly spreading across his chubby cheeks, and his ragged clothes, indications of his father’s grief. 

He couldn’t wait to be a dad one day. 

He’d love them and hold them and tell them he’s so proud. 

He’d kiss them goodnight and hug them lots and tickle them every chance he got - just to hear them laugh. 

For now, playing with his older sisters’ baby dolls will have to do. He’s sure his time to be a father will come eventually. 

-x-x-x-

Time passes and he grows older. The violence previously contained to the cities spills over into their little slice of suburbia. 

Houses burn and people go mad. 

His siblings-his two older sisters and older brother-and him watch the madness through the boarded up windows their father put up. It offers a little more protection but not much. 

So far, they’ve only been spared because their neighbors think they’re a typical Japanese family. And they wouldn’t be wrong in that assumption, except….

“Boy! Get away from the window!” His father tugs him off the couch, away from prying eyes. “If they see you, they’ll kill us all!”

He gasps, nearly tripping over his own two feet. Once he finds his balance, his father’s tugging him towards the bedrooms. 

“You’ll be safe in here,” his father tells him, shutting the door to the crawl space in his face. 

He remembers, even two hundred years later, how claustrophobic he felt being trapped in there for hours at a time. Every few hours his siblings or father would allow him to leave the confines of the space for a bathroom break. Occasionally, a water bottle or energy bar would be tossed in. 

He felt like a prisoner in his own home. 

At the time, he couldn’t understand why his siblings could go about their lives (as much as possible considering what was happening just outside their windows), laughing and playing, while he was forced to stay in the crawl space - out of sight, out of mind.

And then, one day, he hears the unmistakable sounds of gunshots and an angry mob floods their house. His siblings’ laughter turns to blood-curdling screams. 

He remembers how frozen he had been, listening as they were dragged from their beds. Them begging the whole time for a mercy they would never receive. 

He stayed hidden in the crawl space, curling up into a ball and wrapping his arms around himself. 

Eventually, he would wriggle his way out of the crawlspace to find his childhood home looted. His mom’s jewelry, one of the last things they have of her, gone. And all the pictures of his family destroyed, entire scrapbooks turned to charcoal in the fireplace.

He was barely nine, standing in the ruins of what should have been a safe place, when he started to doubt if he wanted to help bring a child into the world. 

-x-x-x-

Second remembers being fourteen and being scooped up off the streets by a ragtag group of rebels. 

They weren’t much in terms of numbers, but what they lacked they made up for tenth fold with passion and training. They had one goal, which would later become two: get rid of the discriminatory laws against meta-users. (The second one, which would become the group’s main focus: destroy All for One at any cost). 

More important than their goals, was how nicely they treated him. 

They gave him a place to stay and clothes that didn’t smell like mildew and let him have access to a shower whenever he needed it. They fed him delicious food, even under the restrictions of government-imposed rations. 

-x-x-x-

By the time he’s twenty, Second has long since given up on his dreams of having a family. Yoichi is enough for him, and he’s put on babysitting duty at the compound so much, he’s practically a second (or third) parent to all the kids. 

Besides, he reasons late at night while Yoichi spoons him-his long, thin arms, wrapped tightly around his midsection-no adoption agency or orphanage would allow a meta-user to adopt. Not that either of them have the money to, and then there’s the slight issue of his husband’s brother trying to track them down. 

They could hire a surrogate, but that ends in the same way. 

He remembers how much his heart hurt to give up on that dream. 

But he did it anyway.

-x-x-x-

Izuku Midoriya isn’t the youngest holder to receive One for All, at least not by much (All Might had been fifteen as well when he inherited the ability for his entrance exam). But he is one of the smallest (according to the eighth's perspective). 

He’s kind and polite, with a heroic spirit that rivals the best of them. 

Izuku loves talking animatedly about heroes and quirks, speech becoming fast and murmured. His big green eyes-so alike Yoichi’s, so innocent and naive-seem to glaze over as he recites all the statistics related to whatever quirk caught his eye. And the eighth listens regardless, though through the quirk, all the users can sense an uneasiness from their current holder. 

“Toshinori is reminded of All for One,” Nana says one day after listening to their next holder launch into a rambling session. It’s the one thing all of them have been trying to ignore. 

The others shake off her comment. Yoichi even goes as far as to joke that Midoriya is much more similar to himself than to his egotistical brother. This seems to calm the rest of them enough to let the issue lie, but Second….

….Second can’t shake the feeling that Nana might have been more right than she could possibly imagine. 

-x-x-x-

The quirk is transferred right before the entrance exam. 

Even stretched between the eighth and the ninth, all of them can sense the boy’s excitement. He practically skips all the way home. He hums and dances around as he gets dressed.  

His enthusiasm gives off a wave of warmth that makes all of them allow the transfer to go through. Even Second allows himself to be swept up in boy’s happiness. 

All of them silently agree to never bring up the ridiculous claim that their ninth holder is similar to All for One in any way. 

The entrance exam comes and goes, and the ninth is left distraught by his own performance. 

He cries in the sanctuary of his room, ignoring his mother’s calls for dinner. 

It's a different sight from what they witnessed earlier. 

The others hunker down, allowing the boy his privacy. Even Yoichi hangs back, unsure of how to comfort him. 

Second doesn’t follow them. 

He sits on the edge of the bed. The action doesn’t so much as make a noise, and the bed stays firmly in place. Yet, still, the boy perks his head up. His face, still full of baby-fat, is ruddy and wet from crying. He wipes his eyes, sniffling. 

A warm feeling wells up in his chest. He’s familiar with children crying and has done his fair share to help them, but something about the ninth makes the second want to protect and comfort him. It's a warm, fluttery sort of feeling that scratches an unknown itch. 

The boy sniffles again, curling even further into himself. Second’s fingers twitch wanting to reach out, but it’s unlikely the action would be felt anyway. It would be pointless. Except….

The ninth looks pitiful and lost and- 

Before he can stop himself, Second wraps his arms around the ninth. It’s unlikely that the boy will be able to feel it, but he can’t watch the kid cry without doing something. 

And, as if under a spell, the boy stops crying.

He looks around his bedroom with wide eyes. The corners of his mouth slightly tick upwards.

“Thank you,” the ninth whispers out. 

Second, more than a little shocked that his small gesture of comfort actually worked, nods mutely. Not that the boy can see it. 

He disappears back into the vestige realm, ignoring the others. 

Yoichi sends him a knowing look, coming over to slide his hand into Second’s. 

He sits on Third’s chair (as all the others are in the middle of an intense UNO match at the other end of the room). “How is he?” He asks. 

“I got him to stop crying,” Second answers, voice monotone. The event plays over and over in his mind. 

Something flashes in Yoichi’s eyes. “Oh. How did you manage that?”

He looks down at his free hand, turning it over. “I…I don’t know. I saw him crying and couldn’t stand it anymore.”

His husband doesn’t say anything, stroking a gentle thumb across the back of his hand. 

“UNO!” Banjo shouts from across the room. He thrusts a card into Hikage’s bewildered face. 

Yoichi smiles fondly at the sight. “With all that my brother’s destroyed, it’s good that we all have each other.” The corners of his eyes wrinkle a little as he smiles. “Don’t you agree, my hero?”

“Sure,” Second says. “But I didn’t know that we could reach out.”

His husband shrugs, resting back in the chair. “We can feel the emotions of any users that are still alive, right?”

“Right.” 

“So, it would stand to reason that, if a past user’s emotions are strong enough, they could influence a current or still living user.”

Second gives him a sideways look. It makes sense, but he doubts that his emotions were powerful enough to bring comfort. 

“You’ll see,” his husband says in a knowing tone, “in time.”

-x-x-x-

Izuku Midoriya is All for One’s child.

It’s one of the first things the vestiges come to realize once the quirk finally settles fully deep within the newest user’s being. 

There’s external factors, things that they passed off as being paranoid, but are hard to ignore when they’re around Midoriya all day everyday in one form or another. 

His eyes, which, while not similar to All for One’s blood red, soulless eyes, are the exact same shade as Yoichi’s. 

His hair is green, sure, but it’s the exact same texture as All for One’s back in the day. 

And then, there’s the pressing issue of the boy’s habit of rambling on and on about quirks. Which still freaks some of the vestiges out. 

All this, coupled with them being stuck with and intertwined with the boy’s heart, mind and soul, makes finding the connection between All for One and the ninth easy. 

But easy doesn’t mean accepting it. 

Second tries his best to avoid looking at the boy. He would hate to look at him and see All for One staring back. The ninth is good, through and through. He doesn’t deserve to be looked at with any amount of hatred. 

But Second fears, if he spares a single glance towards the boy, his face will twist into an expression that will make the ninth user feel unwelcomed or less than. 

It doesn’t escape him how, in this roundabout way of protecting the kid, Second’s just confusing him further. 

At least Third joins him in staring at the wall in solidarity. 

-x-x-x-

Midoriya is….for lack of a better word, reckless.

He’s constantly on the move, taking down villains and finding new ways to use their combined quirks. It should remind Second of All for One, with how easily the kid manipulates their quirks, but it doesn’t.

Even worn down and haggard, Midoriya, their ninth holder, is still very much himself. 

He fights to keep the peace, tentative as it is, and fights those that hurt the innocent. He often forgets to eat, and since leaving eighth in the dust, has no one to remind him. 

The others try, of course, but Midoriya pretends not to hear them. Or maybe he can’t bring himself to listen to reason. 

His emotional state is unstable, at best - the users can feel waves of unbearable sadness, tinged with desperation. A silent, childish plea for everything to go back to the way it was. 

Second guides him, and amazingly, Midoriya listens.

Perhaps it’s because he has experience in making wide-eyed, naive souls that are hellbent on making the world a better place, see reason, but it works all the same. 

“You need to rest,” he says. They’re standing on a rooftop overlooking the city. The stars are out, likely due to the lack of light pollution. 

Midoriya waves him off. “I don’t need rest. I have to watch over the-” A yawn forces its way out of his mouth. 

“Rest,” Second says firmly. “The city will still be here when you wake up, and if it isn’t, well then it isn’t your problem anymore.”

The kid gives him a sideways look, the same one Second gives his husband when he says something outrageous. “Was that supposed to convince me?”

“It’s the truth. None of us can predict what will happen next. What we can predict, however, is you collapsing in the middle of a fight.”

“I’ll be-” 

Second interrupts, fixing the boy with a hard stare. “No, you won’t be fine. You need to eat something, a good rest, and to find somewhere to clean the blood off. But we’ll settle for you curling up on this roof for a ten minute nap.”

Midoriya scoffs. 

“I’m serious,” he presses. “You’re still a…you’re still only human. Rest. If not for me and the other vestiges then for the sake of being able to go a little longer in this fight against All for One.”

“...Okay.” 

The ninth finds a spot under an awning, hidden and out of the way. He uses his mask as a pillow of sorts, which makes Second cringe (he’s never been so glad to not have the ability to smell). The ninth looks at him. 

“And you promise to wake me up if anything happens?”

“Of course.”

“And I only have to rest for ten minutes?”

Second kneels down next to him. “Close your eyes,” he whispers into the boy’s matted hair. “It’s time to sleep, Izuku.”

-x-x-x-

Izuku unlocks gear shift during the long-fated battle. And, despite his own reservations, pushes the boy to use the quirk. They need every bit of leverage they can get. 

Though, it’s hard to ignore the internal damage his quirk (and why his quirk has to cause so much pain and suffering and-) is causing the boy. Izuku is a fighter, and it’s no secret his pain tolerance is somewhere on the moon by this point.

Second still hates it. 

The battle continues to rage on. Shigaraki and Izuku face off, All for One vs. One for All. 

Izuku pleads with Shigaraki’s humanity. He extends a metaphorical hand out, wanting nothing more than to save the crying child. 

The sight is heartbreakingly familiar, and the outcome remains the same. 

And then, All for One-the one not tethered to the quirk-arrives and all hell breaks loose. 

He’s younger than any of them remember him (with the exception of Yoichi), but Izuku’s eyes grow impossibly wide when he sees him. 

The ninth looks between the vestiges and him, betrayal flashes in his eyes. Without saying a word, Second already knows what he’s thinking on repeat:

You all knew. You all knew, and didn’t tell me!

Izuku ignores their warnings to keep his temper in check. Typical and expected. But when Second tries to say anything, he just glares at him. 

“I hate you,” he says under his breath, though through their connection, he may as well have screamed it.

And, if not for the waves of remorse that crash through all of them at those words, Second would have believed him. But he knows differently, even though it hurts. 

Putting aside the sting from the words, Second puts his game face on. “I know. Keep fighting anyways.” 

-x-x-x-

Izuku trembles in his arms, fifteen again. His hair is curly and he’s perfectly clean despite the ruins around them. 

“W-why?” He asks, voice shaky. 

It’s hard to know what the boy means by ‘why?’ 

Why did this have to happen?

Why did it have to come to this?

Why did he have to inherit One for All?

Banjo, En, Third, and Fourth stand around them, blocking Izuku’s view of his own rapidly cooling body. 

Nana stands outside the circle, yelling at All for One. Her maternal instincts coming out in full force. For all All for One likes to wax poetic about loving his family, he sure seems to have a nasty habit of killing them. 

Yoichi kneels beside Izuku. He runs his fingers through their boy’s hair. “It’s going to be okay, Izuku,” he tells his nephew. “We’re going to a better place now. The heroes can take over from here.”

Izuku shivers in response, crying harder. “All-all Might….my mom….I never got to say goodbye.” He buries his face in the second’s chest. 

He holds the boy closer. “You’ll see them again…eventually.”

Izuku sniffles, looking up. “You promise?”

“I promise.”

-x-x-x-

“Izuku, Full House is on!” Nisuke announces, placing the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. 

Yoichi laughs from his place lounging on the sofa. His long legs are tucked underneath a knitted throw blanket. A mug of hot chocolate nestled in his hands. “I forgot that show even existed. My brother and I used to watch it after school.”

Before Nisuke can respond, Izuku is hurrying down the stairs. He smiles from ear to ear; his eyes sparkling. 

“Thank you for waiting, dad,” Izuku says, face going red when he processes what he just said. “I mean, sorry, I didn’t mean-”

“It’s no trouble, son,” Nisuke tells him and means it with every fiber of his soul. “No trouble at all.” Without looking, he already knows Yoichi is smiling at them. 

As they all sit together, cuddling up under the blanket, Nisuke feels like his greatest wish has been granted.

He’s finally a parent.

[beryroll]

the controversy with android and iOS

yes, I’m really going to express an opinion here 💀

DISCLAIMER: I don’t mean to offend, or insult anyone preferring Android or iOS. I am simply expressing my personal opinion on this matter, and use this as a caution in case you do not like what you see. Thank you for reading.

So, we’re finally talking about the biggest debate. Is Android better or iOS?

I hate to be another bummer just like the other reviewers, but it really does depend on the person.

Android has the best features, functionality and customisation. It has a lot of design options (thus appealing to me) and is quite popular too, mostly amongst geeks as well.

To most of the public, iPhone is the one. This is almost always because of its popularity and the symbol it represents.

“You have an iPhone? You’re rich. You’re part of a niche crowd.”

That sort of thing. I hate that motive the most because that means they don’t care about the little details and UI stuff that Apple looks out for. The little emojis. The little functionalities within each app. The little UI things it watches out for in its own apps.

In my opinion, I’d like a hybrid of iOS and Android — iOS bringing its design qualities, and Android bringing its customisation and functionality.

Not all Android buyers are always functionality-focused or geeks, and not all iOS buyers are paying for the status symbol. Sometimes iOS buyers might be looking for the minimalism the product brings, and Android users might be buying it for the variety of apps it offers.

There are plenty of motives and reasons why people buy which product which isn’t always expressed in the demographic, or the graphs, or the surveys.

Honestly, I was the worst indecisive tech geek you would’ve ever seen (still am). Before I got a new phone, I had two, working hand-me-downs: my dad’s Oneplus 3T and my mom’s iPhone SE (1st gen). These were like 2015 vintage antiques, to the bustling, big-phone-loving 2019-2023. I still survived, though.

I would switch between them so fast, it would span within three months to a day (yes). I took my time studying, deciding, and operating an Android and iOS device to reach the conclusion I boast today.

I now have a Samsung, and it’s the best. The temptation of an iPhone has haunted me to this day to (because of its minimalism and UI), so much so that I dug out my old hand-me-down iPhone, just to feel it working again.

Android phones and iOS phones still do have a long way to go, many improvements to inculcate, and a lot to start (especially iOS when we talk about system functionalities*), even if you might think this is the furthest we could go.

*With the addition of a customisable lock screen, iOS fans were on top of the world, with thousands and thousands of reviews popping up each second immediately after its release. Android was the clear winner from the start, just like Android fans said, because (as usual) Android already allowed users to customise their lock screens long before Apple did.

So yeah, today I pick Android.

Who knows what each company may unveil in the future?

[ladysunamireads]

The Truth is Rarely Pure and Never Simple

The Truth is Rarely Pure and Never Simple by katydid

Izuku Midoriya doesn't have a quirk, but he's never needed one—because he's one of the fae who live amongst humans passing off magic as quirks. He lives a happy life with his three dads until a powerful fae named All for One appears and claims to be his biological father.

Words: 6892, Chapters: 1/7, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Sensei | All For One, Todoroki Shouto, Yoichi | First One For All User, Second One For All User, Third One For All User, Past One For All Users, Class 1-A

Relationships: Midoriya Izuku & Sensei | All For One, Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto, Second One For All User/Third One For All User/Yoichi | First One For All User

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Sensei | All For One is Midoriya Izuku's Parent, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Fairy Midoriya Izuku, Alternate Universe - Fae, Parental Yoichi | First One For All User, Adopted Midoriya Izuku, Feral Midoriya Izuku, Past One For All Users as Family, Yokai Todoroki Shouto, Class 1-A Friendship, Youkai, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Fae & Fairies, Vault Time, Yoichi | First One For All User Lives, Creepy Sensei | All For One, Dad for One Week 2023

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48483913

[ao3feed-bnha-rarepair]

Izuku Has a Crush Third Being a Good Dad

Izuku has a crush, Third being a good Dad by Callisto the ice nymph

Izuku has a crush, and is unable to sleep. Third decided to give him some advice.

Words: 491, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 5 of Dad for All, Second, Third and their adoptive son

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Third One For All User, Midoriya Izuku

Relationships: Second One For All User/Third One For All User/Yoichi | First One For All User, Kaminari Denki/Midoriya Izuku

Additional Tags: Midoriya Izuku is Bad at Feelings, Midoriya Izuku is a Dork, Crushes, Established Relationship, Third One For All User is a Good Parent, Parental Third One For All User

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48452662

[ivyquinnauthor]

My Answers to 2022 Ao3 Unwrapped

My AO3 profile for reference - https://archiveofourown.org/users/legendarytobes/profile

1.     How many words have you written this year?

 I wrote 420,570 words this year.

 2.     How many works did you publish this year?

 I published 400,734 words this year that were new across 23 stories.

 3.     What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

 I really love and intend to return to the Michaelo series because it stretched me into M/M in Lucifer fandom and also doing an original love interest for Michael with Marcelo.

 4.     What work of yours has the most hits?

 A (Former) Archangel Walks into a Bar, but it’s also the longest.

 5.     What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

 Cabin in the Woods got more feedback than I expected. I definitely feel like that’s one of the few one shots of mine/complete novel on its own, but people really wanted or did ask after it was done about sequels.

 6.     Favorite title you used

 Every Blessing Ignored is a Curse because I think it applies so acutely to an angel being saddled with having to control and deal with Fear as an ability.

 7.     If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most?

 I don’t usually do song lyrics, sorry.

 8.     Pairing you wrote the most for this year?

 Michaella (Michael Demiurgos/Ella Lopez)

 9.     Favorite pairing you wrote for this year?

 Michael/OMC because it was a stretch and something different to write. Also, I did a Lucella as well, and that was just really trying to do a different vibe as a writer as well, so that was fun to do a different thing and not be in a rut writing wise or same groove. But I do like writing a gay/queer Michael a lot.

 10.  What work was the quickest to write?

 Seis Abrazos is actually a novella-length story at over 20,000 words, but I wrote it in about three days. It just poured out of me randomly.

 11.  What work took you the longest to write?

 A (Former) Archangel Walks into a Bar. To be fair, this was started in 2020 but over 100,000 words of it was written in 2022. I think it took a long time both because it’s really emotional with a lot of parts setting up into the second novel, and just because it’s hard work to craft a relationship between Michael and Ella under really extenuating circumstances and through mutual trauma.

 12.  How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

 Lost count but far too many. I hope very much so to get things off my plate and be able to finish Michaella and Michaelo stuff for Fuckruary 2022 in February of 2023 and also get back to the “Devil and Trixie Espinoza” series as well. It all really depends!

 13.  What’s your longest work of the year?

 A (Former) Archangel Walks into a Bar. It comes in at about 170,000 words, and 102,000 of them were written this year.

 14.  What’s your shortest work of the year?

 Trust, the first Michael/OMC or Michael/Marcelo fic is only 2,066 words.

 15.  What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

 My three big ones are Every Blessing Ignored is a Curse, The Ruin of Souls, and A (Former) General is Expecting.

 16.  What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?

 Probably Michael/Ella and also AU or Alternate Universe tags, since a lot of my stuff really goes off the beaten path.

 17.  Your favorite character to write this year?

 Elaine. I enjoyed being inspired to write the Cousin Capers series of interconnected fics about Elaine and her cousins getting into mischief and Michael’s patience with them…mostly. Writing Elaine as a kid and pre-teen has been a delight. Also, it’s been fun because Michael is a soft, gooey dad and kind of a pushover for his “peanut.”

 18.  The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

 Probably Chloe Decker, who I have always struggled to get in her head space throughout fic. I don’t dislike her; I just never feel I get her voice down right. A close second would be the version of Michael in my The Ruin of Souls fic. There, he’s been sprung from Hell but become demonic and can’t remember things, even some language yet. So not having an automatically sarcastic, sort of Brooklyn-sounding Michael to draw on has been a challenge.

 19.  What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

 One day, even if I’m not great I think at writing either character overall, I’d like to do a Maze/Chloe one-shot. I think they had a lot of chemistry the whole time that series. Either as a post s4 grieving thing or maybe even post-series, not sure.

 20.  Which work of yours have you reread the most?

 A (Former) Archangel Walks into a Bar but mostly because I had to get into that head space to pick up threads for and write part of the sequel.

 21.  How many kudos in total did you get this year?

 I don’t know, but I’ll say a lot or at least enough going back to count is not something I’m gonna do, lol.

 22.  Which work has the most comments?

 Technically, A (Former) Archangel Walks into a Bar has the most at over 700, but of the fics only written and started this year, the most is A (Former) General is Expecting.

 23.  Did you do any collaborative works this year?

 Not exactly, but I was inspired by chatting with JustAnotherFangirl69 over discord and some of the dialogues we came up with together got worked into Cousin Capers fics. Where I could, I attributed her dialogue and inspiration, but it hasn’t been a formal, co-writing partnership.

 24.  Did you write any gifts this year?

 Yes, I wrote a couple Cousin Capers for JustAnotherFangirl69 as well as a fic for a fandom fic exchange.

 25.  Did you receive any gifts this year?

 Yes.

 26.  What’s your most common category?

 Probably AU, angst, or family fluff. It depends on which series I’m working on!

 27.  What do you listen to while writing?

 Movies, actually. I put on a few movies that I’ve seen a lot and are terrible just to be background noise, and they tend to include I, Frankenstein, Underworld, and The Covenant.

 28.  Favorite work you wrote this year?

 Every Blessing Ignored is a Curse because even if it’s only partially done, it’s started me thinking about different things within the series: how the coliseum fight at the end of season 5 horrified and hurt Chloe and Lucifer, how bad a set of crimes that is to come back from, how the twins can ever learn or try to learn to relate to each other again, and also the kind of cost that would have on a nephil/child. Like the patterns of how history repeats itself, especially with Lucifer meaning well but his own son with Fear also becoming a pariah and isolated anyway.

 29.  Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

 From the Epilogue of Seis Abrazos:

 “But we never have to go back to any of that, and the Host here love you…”

“I think they just are glad for reinforcements, but Remiel is teaching me all kinds of aerial stunts in training. I think she finds me interesting!”

Michael stilled at that. Somehow this Remi had glommed onto Ella, probably a novelty to have such a newbie to train again. He was keeping his distance, but one day, somehow, maybe he could get a chance to explain to her all the things…maybe she’d allow him to say everything he’d never said to his own sister. All his horror at how the struggle for Azrael’s blade had ended.

That small voice he still worked to shut up that said it should have been you…

Ella seemed to notice the dip in his mood and that light glittered over her, putting him at ease. “You good?”

“Always, chica.”

“I just…I still don’t get how this,” she said, holding up her hand, still silver and glowing, “opened up the ledger. I couldn’t have locked it. It makes no sense.”

“Neither did Rory coming back in time, messing around for weeks in our timeline, and then changing the course of Sam and Chloe’s future. Both are weird paradoxes, just like Charlie was Celestial enough for my…for the other universe’s Remiel to feel but not enough for Dad to be sure of. I think, maybe, that for once it’s beyond the Presence, something deeper, like the multiverse itself was trying to course correct. Not sure why, but you being the key to a book you never locked…it’s impossible, but it led to good things, like Charlie finally getting his wings or even Rory getting my brother to not only do his job but do it the right way.”

“Finally getting over twin resentment?”

He laughed and set both hands over her burgeoning belly. It wasn’t as far along as it was going to get, but she was almost four months and as this Raphael and also Raziel had confirmed, Ella had twins of her own percolating in there.

Michael fervently hoped they were not identical. That was…too hard, but whatever they were, he would love both of them as he knew she would. And the last thing they’d do would be to pit their twins against each other.

Ever.

Reluctantly, he let go of her and twisted around her. Leaning down, he kissed her cheek. “Mom doesn’t like being kept waiting in any universe, so let’s get cleaned up, chica.”

She snaked an arm around him and pulled him back for a kiss so deep, Michael was pretty sure he’d have to speed through a cold shower to be appropriate for dinner after all. “I love you, Michael.”

“Love you, too…actually,” he said, smiling, and it felt like he did that ear to ear most days now. “I love all three of you,” Michael finished, bending almost in half to plant a kiss to her belly.

And to the promise of new life both for their nascent family and for a war torn yet recovering realm.

 30.  Biggest surprise while writing this year?

 In a way, Trash Panda Translator, because the idea of a punished by his Dad, addled, and very literal for now raccoon!Michael is fun to write because he’s bonkers. However, I also really found that I enjoyed being inspired and playing around loosely with dialogue with JustAnotherFangirl69 to create Cousin Capers and its stories. So I think discovering more comedy was fun this year.

 Finally, I think that Every Blessing Ignored is a Curse surprises me because it has a lot of original characters in it (Deckerstar kids not just Rory) and because it really isn’t a grey Michael or an antihero Michael. He just flat out has been a villain and has to deal with the terrible crimes he committed. But, at the same time, he has to do all this while being heavily invested in protecting his nephew because no one was there to protect him or help him cope with Fear powers. A lot of projection, guilt, and themes of possible redemption in that fic. I did redemption in Cabin in the Woods, but this is at the micro-level, trying to repair familial relationships, and I don’t even know yet in the writing process if that’s possible.