#exhausted villain

[chaotic-orphan]

“Hey! Villain, Villain, look at me!” Hero called from the second story window that they were currently half dangling out of. “What light through yonder—“

Villain lifted a hand and shot the glass of the window and Hero yelped, shielding their face and body from the spray of shards. Hero turned back to face Villain in the garden below, scowling.

“The line is window breaks, Villain. It doesn’t mean you literally break a window.”

“I’ll break you if you don’t stop goofing around.”

“Are you flirting with me or threatening me? I can never tell.”

Villain’s gun was trained on Hero this time as they drew back the hammer and Hero put their hands up and stepped back away from the window.

[lokiandpeter554]

im a sucker for (part 2, heroxvillain edition):

villains who cant remember the last time someone is kind to them

villains or heroes with bad memory issues

villains with lairs that are so comfortable you’d think that’s where they live

heroes who found home in their villains

hopeless romantic villains

male villains who wears corsets and heels and makeup

villains and heroes who are swifties

villains who loves cats

villains who are literally the personification of “Bejeweled” (by Taylor Swift)

villains that the public loves

villains who sings under their breath when they think no one is with them

heroes that are genuine friends with villains outside the mask

heroes doing their homework during patrol (…and maybe villain spotting them and coming over to help and tutor them)

villains who have deep voices

hero being villain’s favorite

the public interacting with villain and hero like they didn’t just beat the shit out of each other for fun

heroes and villains who became each other’s enemies for shit and giggles

villains becoming villains just because their bored and wants to fight the…government maybe???

villains who becomes villains just for shits and giggles

villains who is a hairstylist and makeup artist

^+hero’s personal hairstylist and makeup artist. …villain hired themself. not hero.

villains who were once martial artist and became a villain just to put those skills to use.

hero taking villains to ice cream shops or starbucks after battling them

hero and villain who just chills with each other 50% of the time they’re together

villain just sleeping in a rooftop and hero looking after them just to make sure nothing bad happens

villains who acts like a cat 99% of the time

villain who may or may not own a fuckton of plushies (fuckton = thousands??? wtf villain?)

villain who often cuddles with hero just because

villains who has a sweet tooth

theater kid villains

heroes dealing with villains like if they didnt they might just hurt somebody

villains who often spill the tea to their henchmen

villains and henchmen who are crackheads

henchmen and sidekick bonding just because villain and hero leaves them alone with each other to do their stuff

villain who has a reptilian friend

villains who are practically snow white

animals who loves villain/hero

mom friend villain

older sibling villain

villain who acts like moms

villains who are literally the mother figure to their henchmens

villains who makes sure their dear heroes are taking care of themself

wine mom villain

wine aunt villain

villains who are like an exhausted mom of 3

[starry-bi-sky]

on a completely separate note; shizun luo binghe with a disciple shen yuan who fell into the abyss??? *thinks about LBH canonically stealing SQQ's corpse for 5 years* he'd hallucinate i think. like, like visual and audial hallucinations.

Keeps thinking he's seeing SQQ in the corner of his eyes, or wandering between the trees, amongst a group of disciples. Thinks he hears him calling for him, but its just the wind or another disciple.

Gets Xiu Ya reforged but patently fucking refuses to make a sword mound. Because his disciple Is Not Dead :))) There was No Body. He's Not Dead. And If You keep Insisting That He Is, He's Gonna Skewer You :). He's holding onto Xiu Ya so he can return his most favored disciple's sword when he returns. It's on his hip right next to Zheng Yang where it's supposed to be.

Also this motherfucker?? does not sleep btw. He has the image of SQQ, wide eyed and hysterical and standing at the mouth of the abyss burned into his fucking eyelids. Can't use the dreamscape to escape it either because he keeps trying to save him and either he does and it's an incredibly cruel trick to wake up to, or he doesn't and he gets his heart broken in several different pieces again.

There is no convincing this man that Shen Qingqiu is dead. Absolutely nothing at all. He is buried so deep in denial that moles would be jealous of how deep he is. He keeps making tea for two in the bamboo house only to remember that it's just him. SQQ's fans are hiding everywhere, little reminders of his presence. He goes to wake up SQQ on the mornings he sleeps in-- only to find the room empty.

[blindmagdalena]

enough "it's bad writing to portray evil characters sympathetically" and more "i'm uncomfortable sympathizing with characters who do evil things"

discomfort does not warrant censorship, it warrants self reflection. it's good to be challenged by the art and media we consume. the world is messy. fiction should be, too.

[caledine]

Types of whumpees in a team

( This is just a few, lmk if you can think of more c:<)

Youngest teammate Whumpee

You get your reckless and brash whumpees who’d who’d do anything to prove themselves

Unknowledgeable new to the field

“ I can do it, on my own.”

Angry and defiant till their hurt

Trying to act tough but just people pleasers

Being left behind for ‘safety’ and probably the easiest to break

“ it’s for your own good Whumpee. It’s not safe out there.” queue them getting captured from said place that’s deemed safe

Stupid plans?? Youngest learns just how bad not thinking things through results in

Doing things due to pure peer pressure

A go to hostage since team would fight tooth and nail to get them back (?)

Always doing busywork and never on the field

“ I have done everything from making coffee to doing your laundry— How is this hero work? “

Being deemed not strong enough

Medic/ Doctor whumpees

Either stoic or overly doting

Exhausted from caring to much

Just exhaustion whump in general !!

Always the caretaker and never taken care of

Full ER / too many patients

Natural disaster or a horrible fight leaving them swamped with injured teammates ( maybe they’re hurt too)

“ I know everyone’s hurt— hold on i need a second…”

Getting hurt and knowing just how doomed they are

Using all the good supplies on the team and leaving themselves with ‘alternatives’

Trying to talk other members through healing themself, knowing if they faint they are as good as dead

Does your Medic snap?

“ How many times have i told you to be more careful?! every single time your in my office you’ve brushed death again—“ ( Angry or worried?)

Stitching themself up because they think they have the knowledge to keep themselves healthy too ( knowledge ≠ strength to save themselves )

Second in command/ Right hand ( Could be a sidekick?) Whumpee

A glorified PA juggling all the ‘less important’ tasks or running errands

Never getting the authority / leadership they want over the team

Always picking up everyone else’s slack

Paperwork and all the busywork and never getting the full credit

Sometimes people are too tired to be nice

Snappy, defiant and never backing down

Always trying to one up other team members or get recognition or affirmation because they never seem to get credit

Stuck in Leader’s shadow

The moment Leader is out everyone expects them to know what to do

“ I don’t know— Leader never let me have any say-?”

Loyal beyond fault ( too much so) maybe they let people be dicks just because they’re teammates

Too forgiving

Maybe Leader sticks the blame on them for failed missions

the perfect stoic whumpee 🌟

Leader Whumpee

Exhaustion, overworking, passing out , thugging through sickness — Leaders normally the one who checks in on people, but who checks in on them?

Putting themselves last

Guilt of failed missions, maybe blame from other teammates

Trying to guide the team while injured ( concussions 😌)

Never really being part of the team just there to keep themselves healthy too in check

Breaking under pressure

Survivors guilt

Being replaced

Leader being held hostage because the team would be in shambles without them

Humiliation— make the team stop believing in them

Self sacrifice

“ I’m sorry i know it’s my responsibility…”

Struggling to ask for help because they’re scared the team won’t come to them

Their life revolves around keeping their team safe, too selfless

The team just expecting them to know what to do

Trying to juggle looking after the team with Hero work

Doing all the chores, being expected to do the most and be selfless

Their higher ups see their overworking as a good thing and feed into it

Everyone just always assumes they’re fine because pfftt they’re Leader of course they’re fine!!

Stoic but pathetic ejenkeosos

Sighhh i just adore team whump. I could always go on about this because the amount of possibilities are near endless. Give me complex relationships between characters!! Make your whumpees suffer while no one around them bats an eye, toxic team dynamics suck but the whump around them… Found family but make it hurt comfort!!

[unionizedwizard]

tbh i know it's me being biased because irma is a summoner main but there's something so funnily accurate about the wol being a summoner re: the whole azem thing. convoker outfit huh! azem's special spell being Use Party Finder and summon allies HUH! and as we've established*, summoning is the missing link between creation magicks and regular sundered arcanima. though of course the funniest reveal of them all was to find out WHY the phoenix rotation had spells called shit like "brands of purgatory" (extremely ❓ for most of the MSQ) and that the true reason is that you pirated copyrighted material created by none other than lahabrea himself and then fixed it yourself. the DRAMA

*as we have obviously all read and agreed with my archon thesis on the topic

[romatito]

forgive the sketchy mess but i watched potc 3 high off my ass after eating an edible with my fiancé and i think it permanently altered my brain chemistry. bc now im only thinking about pirates again ✌️🫥

(this isnt any part of an au or anything i just. needed to draw this interaction between these three. im already cooking up a completely different pirate au and this scene does Not exist in it all lol.)

[commander-revan]

This chapter was better than I could have hoped in some ways, and a little disappointing in others.

I am upset about the whole 'slowly dying' thing, but honestly I'll take it over him dying in this chapter. Touya shouldn't have survived a long time ago anyway, so I'm not buying that he's actually going to die anytime soon now. (They didn't even touch on the whole ice quirk thing.)

We finally know his favorite food (the fact that it's the same as Shoto's is killing me), and I'm not accepting that Horikoshi will kill him off before he gets to have soba with his family, minus Endeavor.

Also I really appreciate that Horikoshi didn't make Natsuo forgive Enji in any way, and that he's going no contact. Good for him.

I do wish we could have seen the family talk to Touya more, especially Rei. But maybe, hopefully, that's something we might see in the future, like in one of the light novels or something. (Hori, I'm begging, please give me a LoV focused light novel.)

[haine-kleine]

Slowly leaving the copium phase and getting genuinely curious what even was the intention behind the epilogue?

The manga could've ended with Deku punching Shigaraki into dust and nothing of value would have been lost. Why are we spending 70% of the epilogue on the society rebuilding itself back to status quo? Nothing has changed, no lesson was learned in the war against villains because they were successfully defeated. Pro heroes are alive and well, the hero kids, despite being literal war veterans at 16 years old are all still in the hero course. Now they even have their own fans.

Is it supposed to show how the hero propaganda makes child soldiers and keeps the machine running forever by glorifying the profession and demonizing the villains? Is it supposed to show the heavy burden the heroes will be carrying for the rest of their lives after getting killed the person they set out to save?

Is it supposed to be so dark and hopeless? No one won in this war, no one got what they wanted, none of the saviour trio achieved their goal of saving their villain, with two confirmed dead and one joining them soon. Even the narrative's golden boy Bakugou got his dream of competing with Deku forever taken away from him because Deku doesn't have a quirk anymore. (on that note, what Izuku is even doing in UA still when the manga has spent so much time establishing how impossible heroics are for quirkless people and not giving us even one example of a quirkless hero who did not get OFA).

Why this insistence on making both sides as miserable as possible? For a manga that started as a hopeful story about saving people, giving them hope, that sure is a choice.

Not sure what message we are supposed to take away from this other than a 'Fuck you' from the author to all of his readers.

[maybeitsalivescribbles]

Superpowers: a recap

You know, I often tend to skip superpowers under the rug when I write my snippets- which is kind of a problem in a Hero/Villain setting.

So this is a recap to help me remember the possibilities, in case it can help anyone else:

LIST OF POWERS

Classical set

Super strength

Super endurance

Super speed

Telekinesis

Teleportation

Forcefields

Laser eyes (classical because of Superman, but I still think this is bonkers)

Immune to superpowers/elements/illness/etc

Flight

Healing (themself or others)

Can speak to animals/plants

Hypnotism

Immortality

Wish-granting

Astral projection

Miscellaneous

Can steal power from others (forever or it’s temporary)

Has non-human animal anatomy (reptilian scales, horns, produces poison, etc)

Can break into parts and reassemble

Can make clone(s) of themself

Immune to gravity (the fall doesn’t kill you, can jump as high as you like, can crawl on walls, etc)

Super instinct (can sense when something’s wrong, when someone is lying)

Can control fibers/clothes

Can create portals to anywhere else

Control of one single type of object (doors, trains, cars, paper, etc)

Control anything made by humans

Music powers

Can force everyone to dance

Can control voices/can take voices away

Can control volume of any sound

Charm people when they play an instrument/sing

Can summon music whenever they like

They get an upgrade (super strength, etc) every time there’s music

Elemental/Nature powers

Can control fire/ashes

Can control electricity

Can control water/ice

Can control plasma

Can control air/wind/gazes

Can control earth/magma

Can control metal

Can control light/shadows/colors

Can walk on water/wind/lava/rainbows

Can breathe underwater/in space

Can burrow into earth

Can control temperature

Can control the weather

Control of life forms

Can control humans

Can control beasts

Can control plants

Can control...mushrooms, I guess ?

Can control viruses and bacteria

Can control blood

Everything they touch die

Everything they touch come back to life

Can accelerate/slow down aging

=> is the life form conscious while under control ? Can they fight back? Do they have to be okay with it?

Sense powers

(Reminder: human senses are hearing, vision, touch, taste, smell, vestibular)

Better senses (better sight, better hearing, etc)

X-ray vision

Can see every place they like or eavesdrop everywhere

Can manipulate the senses of others (can heighten them or cancel them)

Can inflict pain

Emotions

Their sheer presence induces an emotion (fear, love, etc)

Can force to feel an emotion/heighten or dull emotions

Can project their own emotions into others

Empathy (they feel the emotions of others)

Shapeshifter

Can reduce/aggrandize their size

Can seem much older or younger

Intangibility

Invisibility

Strechability

Can take the form of another thing/person

Can take the form of any human

Can take the form of anything (animal/plant/object/liquid/gas/etc)

Reverse Shapeshifter: can transform others into an animal/stone/plant/anything

Mindpower

telepathy

illusions

possession/mind control

can mess with memory

can mess with dreams

Time powers

Can time travel (future/past)

Can froze time

Can predict the future/see the past

Oh now that's just cheating

Reality wrapper

Luck

Everything they create becomes real

Can choose any superpower they want according to the situation

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Is the character okay with their power ?

they hate it it’s a curse to them

they wish it were different (stronger, another power altogether, etc)

they don’t mind

they really enjoy it

it’s their whole identity

Etc.

If they hate it, is it because:

it hurts

it could hurt someone/something else

it’s useless/ it’s not offensive

it goes against their personality

people hate it too

it makes people treating them as a tool

Can they control it?

they’re a walking disaster

using it makes them sick

perfect control, natural or learned

they don’t even need to think about it

etc

How powerful it is?

(Ex control of fire: can barely light a match versus can set in fire the whole country)

Characters with weak powers my beloveds. It's about them fighting when they know they will lose, putting everything they have in the fight, keeping their head high when people sneer at them. It's about them enjoying their power without having it to be useful, or forcing them to be creative and smart about/around it.

Overpowered characters my beloveds. It's not about them winning the fight because the answer is obvious, it's about them dealing with too much power in a fragile world, the gap between them and the others, how it impacts their relationships, their morality - never hesitate to make a character like this. It can be terrifying, it can be hilarious, it can be great. No trope is bad, it all depends on how it's used.

What is the source of their power ?

failed experiment?

successful experiment?

got them from a supernatural being?

got them from their family?

got them from a magical object?

When did they get it ?

when born?

during childhood ? Teen years ?

grown-up ?

Was it expected or not?

Is getting this power a one time thing or to they need to renew it ?

(via sacrifice, offering, a special food/medicine, a good/bad deed, etc)

Can they give it to someone else?

Can it go away/fade?

Does it grow stronger/weaker with age?

Is it affected by the health of the character ?

(Is the power weaker when the character is sick, or is it stronger as a defense measure ? Does it become unpredictable?)

Does it hurt using it/not using it?

(Because it takes too much on the body/because it forces to repress an important part of the self)

Does the power change their personality in a good/bad way?

(Does it corrupt them, does it force them to see the world in a new light, etc)

Can their power combine with someone else’s ?

Do they have a weakness/something that cancels their abilities?

Do they have special needs because of it ?

(Do they need glasses, headphones, medicine, a special diet, etc)

Are they immune to their own power or do they take damage ?

(Ex : is your character able to control fire is fireproof or not?)

How much do they rely on it?

they use them for everything

they use them often

they could do without

it’s barely an afterthought to them

they never use it

etc

How do they use it ?

Raising their hand

With their eyes

With some object

They don’t have to do anything

Etc

How does this power is perceived by the others?

This makes them a god

This makes them a star

This makes them totally mundane

This makes them look really stupid

This makes them a nuisance

This makes them someone to be killed at all costs

Etc.

About the suit

Is that for protection ?

Is it an uniform ?

Is it here for the vibe ?

Does it strengthen their abilities?

Does it have gadgets ?

How (im)practical is it ?

[jeding-png]

Chapter 151 made me feel like a sadomasochist all over again.

OK. I was hoping to see Reynold in the new chapter, BUT NOT UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES—

"Reynold told me that you weren't the one who stole Ivonne's necklace."

And in that moment, Penelope realized that the wounds on Reynold that she had seen on him during lunch with the Eckharts in the orangery were not from training.

He seems so... small. I do not know. What he did is truly terrible. But I just remember the affair and the Duke's attitude towards all his children. And separately, his attitude towards Reynold killed me. Because Reynold will not blame his father, whom he loves and from whom he has never heard the words "I'm proud of you", for this.

Do you think only this moment will break your heart, which is already full of events? Other Tumblr users will quickly convince you otherwise.

The Duke has come to say 'goodbye' to Penelope, his immature daughter who is about to become an adult. Everything sounds great, so why so many cool colors? Why is there so much pain in their eyes again?

Because those words were not heard by the one who was waiting for them the most.

"That day I thought you just wanted jewels for your young heart. As a father I thought it right to forgive your transgressions."

"If I knew it would take six years to hear you call me father again..."

Real Penelope not only did not hear farewell from her father, she carried the stigma of a necklace thief until her 'death.'

Also, the duke says that he can't get the same look of Penelope out of his head the day Ichlis brought the protagonist of Normal Mode to the duchy.

"What... what expression in my face did you see?"

"You didn't make any facial expressions."

This chapter isn't just about Penelope and Duke's conversation either. It's also a reminder of how much Penelope and Siyeon are alike. How past and present life echo each other.

— Nothing will be solved if you are emotional.

— If you hold your breath until you suffocate, everything will pass.

"Dear... do you remember our first meeting?"

A tired and exhausted duke who is desperately searching for his missing daughter and that little girl from poverty who begs for some food.

As much as I love the Original Penelope... we really don't know much about this character. Except for general information or relying on the stories of other heroes. And it is her finale that breaks the heart.

The chapter is very full of events, but I can't tell more. It was as if I had taken all of Duke Eckhart's mood on me, fr.

[goldenshrikecomic]

Question for you! What makes Nero an appealing character for you specifically as a creator? I love to hear people's thoughts on their fictional bebes :]

I love writing his kind of characters. I love love love portraying flawed mindsets, bad behavior born from insecurity, characters who have tunnel vision and anger management issues, straight up selfishness, greed, desperation, struggles to fit in with kind and considerate people. Not saying Nero has all of these, but I love musing about these characters the most. Which honestly sucks because there's this ridiculous and loud mindset going around calling these characters out, and their writers with them. It's ILLEGAL to enjoy morally grey characters, god forbid they're villains, and man it's so tiring to see. Sometimes it feels like baby sensory videos are the only safe media to consume.

BUT on the topic of Nero, I just get him. I get his train of thought, and while I don't agree with how unfair and offensive he is, I get where he comes from and where the anger stems from. He's the easiest character for me to write. There's a lot to him that is still unexplored in the comic, I can't talk about that. But those parts of him are very important. I also really like his design, he's a joy to draw.

[so-that-was-okay]

Tommy came into the hospital after a 24h shift. He waited so Buck would be discharged then they went home, he probably cooked for them, cleaned and helped Buck in basically everything he had to do up to the moment they had to sleep.

After a 24h shift.

He was exhausted and had the right to ask Buck to stop doom scrolling. Both of them needed to rest.

[chaotic-orphan]

A quick prompt

“Please…” Hero wheezed, clawing their fingernails desperately into the dirt, trying to pull themselves forward, closer to Villain who was so heart wrenchingly close if Hero could just reach them. “Please d-don’t…”

Villain tilted their head at the exhausted Hero with more pity than sympathy, and a little bit of awe at how even when beaten, even when eating dirt, Hero still didn’t know when to quit. Maybe they were born without a survival instinct.

“I told you before Hero,” Villain said.

Hero’s grip in the dirt turned their knuckles white and they cried out a strangled scream of frustration and helplessness as they pulled their limp body towards Villain.

“You can’t save everyone, everywhere, at all times and expect to get away with it.”

“Yes…” Hero panted, dragging themselves an inch closer. “I can. As long as I draw breath, I can save the world.”

“Sweetheart,” Villain cooed, clicking their tongue against the roof of their mouth. “You can’t even save yourself.”

Hero heard, more than saw, Villain push the button on their remote and froze. It was as if the Earth took a sharp inhale of breath — the world turned slower, nature grew quiet, all Hero could hear was the ringing in their ears and the thundering pounding of their heart in their throat — the ground rumbled beneath Hero and they had just enough strength to push their head up to watch as everything they knew turned to ash.

The fire burned hot, as if Hero was in it instead of beside it, looking down at it, and no matter how much they wanted to Hero couldn’t tear their eyes away from the flames or the screams or the smoke or the sirens or the death and destruction they could have prevented if they had just been stronger.

Hero flinched as a hand settled on the nape of their neck, rubbing soothing circles over the skin. “It was a valiant effort Hero, I want you to know that. There is nothing you could have done. Although you did come the closest to beating me. I had to even the playing field a bit, what with your borderline obsessive tenacity.”

Villain’s words sent a shiver up Hero’s spine. “Don’t worry, this is only the beginning. I told you we would change the world, didn’t I?”

They did. That was the first thing Villain ever told Hero. At the time it sounded so attractive, so endearing. It was so easy for Villain to convince Hero to follow Villain after that because they wanted the same things.

Hero just didn’t imagine that in order for the world to change, so many needed to die.

“Come on now, let me get you back to bed. We can start rebuilding tomorrow. That’s when the real work begins.”

[the-broken-pen]

“You’re going to blow out your arms,” the villain observed. They watched as the hero merely grit their teeth, shoving themself through another pull-up. It looked painful, and if the sweat slicking the hero’s brow was any indication, it was.

They waited for the hero to let themself drop from the bar and accept the villain was stronger. But they didn’t.

Three more pull-ups, and the villain stepped in.

“Hero,” they said slowly. “You’re about to tear the ligaments in your arms. You need to stop.”

The hero blew out a shuddering breath. Struggled for purchase, fighting gravity—and let themself drop.

The hero’s hands were bleeding, calluses torn open by the bar. The hero didn’t seem bothered when their own hands shook so much that their blood began to splatter on the gym floor.

For a moment, the villain could only stare at them.

Shit.

They didn’t know how to handle this. They knew the hero was dedicated. They knew the hero was strong, and perpetually trying to be stronger, but they hadn’t thought…

They hadn’t thought the hero would be so willing to tear apart their own body for success.

It was supposed to be fun, the villain thought. They felt a little sick as the hero pressed their palms together to soothe the bleeding, an action that was practiced and familiar. As if they had done this before.

The hero reached for something in their bag, smearing blood on the side, and pulled out a roll of blue electrical tape. The villain didn’t understand why, until the hero tore a strip off and made to wrap their hands with it.

The hero would be the death of them.

They crouched in front of the hero, plucking the electrical tape out of their hands.

“What are you doing with this?”

The hero blinked at the villain like they were the strange one in this situation.

“Wrapping my hands?”

The villain hissed in a breath.

“With electrical tape?”

The hero flushed slightly, looking down at their bloody hands. They looked close to tears.

“It…sticks to skin, really well. And it doesn’t move, either, when you move your hands or wherever else, even if you’re fighting. Plus, blood doesn’t make it come off, at least, not for a while.”

The villain blinked at them.”

“Blood doesn’t make it come off,” the villain repeated, processing. The hero nodded, reaching for the electrical tape. The villain settled it out of reach.

“Not if you wrap it right.”

Dimly, the villain realized that meant the hero had done this enough times to have it down to a science.

“And you couldn’t use a bandaid?” The villain asked incredulously. The hero shrugged a shoulder, then winced at the motion.

Yeah, the hero had absolutely blown out their arms.

“Bandaids move—“

The villain hushed them.

“Be quiet for a second.”

The hero, wisely, went quiet.

The villain rubbed a hand over their face, then studied the hero for a moment. They took one of the hero’s hands into their own, studying the damage.

“Why did you do this to yourself,” the villain murmured.

“What do you mean, why,” the hero snapped. “It’s my job.”

“Your job is to save people,” the villain corrected. “Not destroy yourself.”

“I’m not destroying myself—“

“You are.”

“Shut up—“

“Hero.”

“I need to be better,” the hero snapped. Their voice rang out across the gym, echoing into the rafters, and they both froze. After a moment, the hero spoke again, voice soft. “I need to be better.”

They said it like they needed the villain to understand. The villain wondered who they were really saying it to—the villain, or themself.

“Better than who?”

“Everyone.” It was hushed, like a secret.

The villain watched them, waiting.

The hero took a shaky breath

“My whole thing is being the best. I have always been the best. That’s the only reason I matter. If I’m not strong enough, then I am nothing, so I need. to be. better.”

The hero had started crying, very quietly, like they were afraid to take up too much space.

The villain was not equipped to handle gifted kid burnout.

“There’s more to you than just being a good athlete,” the villain said hesitantly, and the hero shook their head.

“No. There isn’t.”

“Hero.”

“Can you give me back my electrical tape?” They hiccuped to contain a sob.

“No,” the villain said firmly, and then the hero really was sobbing.

“You don’t understand—“

The villain didn’t. Not really. They had never been the kind of talented that the hero was.

They wondered now if maybe that was a blessing.

“I don’t,” the villain agreed. “But I do understand that you’ve saved half the city, and you give everything you have to give, and you always do your best.”

“But I-“

“No.” The villain stopped them. “You are doing your best.” They tipped the hero’s chin up until they met the villain’s eyes. “And it is enough.”

The hero froze, eyes darting over the villain’s face. They wondered if anyone had ever said that to the hero, if whatever mentor they had was giving them anything other than orders to be stronger. Be better. Be more.

The villain had some new targets to take care of, it would seem.

For now, though, they had to take care of hero.

“We’re going to go wrap your hands,” they said softly. “And then we’re going to take care of your arms, and you’re going to take a nap.”

The hero nodded, watching them like they were some kind of good, selfless person.

“And if I ever catch you using electrical tape again, so help me, I will put you six feet under.”

That startled a laugh out of the hero, and they let the villain guide them to their feet.

“Fine.”

The villain turned to them. “Okay?”

Are you going to be alright?

The hero seemed to understand.

“Okay,” the hero agreed.

Yes.

And so, it was.

[comradeboyhalo]

i held this opinion in dsmp as well, but i think you can disagree with characters, but in their chat, you should be 100% supportive or just stay quiet...it just drags the energy down on the streamer if you’re disagreeing with everything theyre doing in rp