#heroes kill in shows all the time so it doesn't really matters when a villain does it either unless the person killed is beloved by fans

[mirokuna-hime]

I think it's interesting that in anime and manga killing people is one of the least offensive things that you can do while bullying/abusing someone will have an entire fandom raise the pitchforks up against you.

[hotpotatopotat]

Why I don't think Shigaraki or his legacy is over.

I don't normally do canon delves but I am compelled as a Tomura fan to dissect the final battle. This isn't a post on whether it's good or bad, but observations on what's been told.

Shigaraki's crux has always been that he feels like no one can possibly understand what he is trying to accomplish, that his message and suffering is pushed under the rug, and that society is so rotten there's nothing to be done. Deku's goal is to try and understand this.

When Deku breaks through in mha417, Tomura challenges him on this. What would even change if you saw what happened to me? What would you even DO about it? Deku declares to the one person that needs it most: To reach out and give you peace, and "that is why...I am here"

But... When given the chance to go back to a time when he was happy, Tenko chooses not to. "Nah." he says. I think this is often overlooked, but Tomura didn't WANT to leave behind everything he's done.

Tomura says, even if you got rid of my hatred, even if you succeed in "saving me", it doesn't change the fact that I still believe in the future I'm fighting for, to destroy. The villains need a hero, the suffering needs to end, and things need to change.

Hang on to that for a moment. All for One shows up. He mocks him, his dream, his goals, claiming that they weren't real, that they weren't his, that his heart doesn't matter, that none of it does. He's evil.

All for One does kill Tomura here... or at least he would have....

With Deku's final blow, he ignites any remaining embers, Shigaraki, included. They land the final blow to All for One. Without that spark, and without Nana having saved Tomura from fading away, he wouldn't have been able to do this. Tomura would have died before.

Tomura's vestige is still decaying away, and he laments the fact that maybe...he wasn't more than the crying kid Deku said he was. He couldn't do anything. He didn't even destroy Deku's hands. His dreams are over.

Izuku says that he wanted to stop the cycle of grief and suffering. Tomura gives him a soft "hah..." This is such a cathartic moment for them, because I believe that Tomura finally feels understood. He's actually quite relieved.

Strangely, Tomura is soft here. He's not decaying away anymore, he's solid, he's wearing his old shirt. He's NOT the same. He declares how he wants to be remembered, as the one who never stopped fighting to change the world. Izuku says, it's already been...but...

In mha424, Tomura instantly challenges this. With a giant smirk, he tells Deku that he better do his damn best to make sure that things change. It depends on the choices that he continues to make, not the conclusion of one battle.

424 feels like a giant wink wink nudge nudge for the reader. Deku is dissatisfied with not getting that instant gratification of "saving" Tenko, just like after a final battle, he won't get the instant gratification of changing the world. We don't get the gratification either.

But honestly, I really do believe that Deku will carry on Shigaraki's legacy and internalize it just like All Might's.

One final thing... You see his hair change textures. Left to right, It's decaying like in the final form, it's defined and stringy like in his early days, and it's airy and blocked like in his liberation days. This is such guardian angel energy, I swear.

I don't think this is the last we will see of him. And if it is, at least physically the last we see of him, I'm happy Deku will carry on what was truly in Tomura's heart.

[violet-butterflies]

❥︎ yandere! Villain Headcanons

❥︎ Warnings ! ☞︎︎︎ stalking, violence, gore, angst ☞︎︎︎ A/N If you recognized this character then you probably read my work from Quotev. Or I might be wrong and my story might be more generic and/or similar to another author's work than I thought lmao. ( male yandere! oc x gn reader )

❥︎ yandere! Villain who disguises as a hero he killed earlier that week. He purposely caused a huge chaos in town where he can come in and pretend to help! After that, he can always go into the hero's circle and infiltrate the hero's defense systems and take the hero's powers all for himself!

❥︎ yandere! Villain who is betrayed as a child by the very heroes that are supposed to protect him and his small village. Now, equipped with shadow powers that allow him to absorb and transform into the heroes he's killed, he is gonna hunt for the most powerful hero in town!

❥︎ yandere! Villain who meets the hero's overworked sidekick. No matter, you won't be a problem in his master plan at all.

❥︎ yandere! Villain who is frustrated about how the hero barely shows up to most of the chaos he and his minions have caused. For god's sake, he made sure to cause trouble for the whole week so he could pretend to be friends with the hero and gain more intel! Why are you the one showing up to deal with all this?!

❥︎ yandere! Villain who has to change his plans due to how much the hero was not showing up. Maybe he can use you to hunt the hero down! After all you are his sidekick and, he must say, your company is not half bad!

❥︎ yandere! Villain who spends a lot of time with you to gain your trust; hoping that is he gets close enough you'd take him to the hero's hideout! But wait, why are you actually interesting?

❥︎ yandere! Villain who finds out you were betrayed by the heroes too. He can't help but sympathize with you but he just doesn't get how you still want to join forces with them. In fact, it only pushes you to protect the people even more! Not only that, he even found out that the hero barely does anything to help you if the crime is not big enough to take any significant credit! He can't help but feel a big need to protect you from people that are clearly taking advantage of you. This also makes him want to tear the hero down even more for taking advantage of your undeserved kindness.

❥︎ yandere! Villain who finds a lot of things in common with you and eventually hangs out with you for no reason on top of a building somewhere when nothing is happening. You were so sweet and kind! He wants to stop disguising himself because he feels bad fooling you. He's sure you'd fall in love care for who he really is anyways because it's his personality you've been hanging out with this whole time!

❥︎ yandere! Villain who finds out your real identity and where your family lives. Apparently, they live far away from the big city. Perfect! Now he has a way to get you out of the city for his master plan. You won't be there to help the hero. and you will be safe in case anything goes wrong.

❥︎ yandere! Villain who is pretending to feel sympathy for your mom who apparently got harassed by a thug and needed to be hospitalized. Oh you needed to go home for a few weeks to take care of your mom? Don't worry about it, he'll make sure to keep the city safe! tell your mom that he's sorry for beating her up

❥︎ yandere! Villain who summons a murderous demon to massacre the city! Now that you aren't here to help the hero, he's free to let loose and do as much damage he can to draw the hero out and kill him! He doesn't even have to do a thing! All he has to do is to be a vessel for the demon and he can watch under his subconscious!

❥︎ yandere! Villain who is in a panic since instead of the hero, you were the one that showed up. What were you doing here?! You're supposed to be with your mom! No no! You can't handle this yourself! Y/N GET OUT OF HERE YOU'LL DIE! PLEASE GET OUT OF HERE I DON'T WANT TO HURT THE PERSON I LOVE!

❥︎ yandere! Villain who gains back control when it is too late. Lying on the concrete streets is the broken and bruised body of his beloved sidekick. You are covered in bruises and blood. Multiple stab wounds covered your body and you were missing a whole arm. On top of that, crimson blood oozed out of you and you were losing heat quick. He doesn't even bother to hide his true identity since he wants you to see who he actually was at least once.

❥︎ yandere! Villain who is crying while he apologizes to your unconscious body. His whole body is shaking as he tries his hardest to find any solution to fix the problem he caused.

❥︎ "Please y/n wake up! I'm so sorry! Please don't leave me alone! You've barely even met me! The real me! So please open your beautiful eyes and tell me that everything is going to be ok!"

❥︎ yandere! Villain who shoots a sharp glare to the hero and lets out a string of profanities when the hero showed up late, witnessing the villain hug the body of his sidekick; he himself can't help but stare, feeling mortified and remorse.

❥︎ yandere! Villain who takes you to his hideout where he keeps you hooked up on all sorts of machines to keep your body alive until he can fully bring your soul back from the other side.

❥︎ yandere! Villain who swears on vengeance to the hero and promised himself to properly protect you from everything including himself from then on.

❥︎ "I promise y/n. I'll save you and we'll get to know each other properly this time. When the time comes, I'll let you punish me for hurting you and I'll keep you safe from everything including me."

[sobasluuurp]

Ok. About Tenko.

I understand why so many people are angry that he's dead. I really do. I would've loved for him to live as well. I cried when he died.

However.

Just because he's dead doesn't mean his character has been handled poorly. In fact, all things considered, this ending (even though it makes me real fucking sad) makes the most sense for both his character and his story. Let me explain.

First and foremost, there's the matter of Shigaraki's characterization and arc. It goes without saying, but he's an angry, used, and abused child who grew up into an adult who wants nothing more than for everything to end. His goals have always been destructive to an extreme and honestly, the logical end to "let's destroy it all" is LITERALLY everything, including himself. He's also had absolutely zero agency since the moment his parents even thought of conceiving him, and has been struggling to become his own person since the beginning of his arc. He, against his abuser, who covets immortality and eternity.

What better a way for a person such as himself to assert his agency is there than to go out the way he did? To shift his focus away from the faceless masses and to the (similarly faceless, lol) abuser who caused his pain in the first place? To destroy the control AFO has held over him and prove to him that he was always his own person? To say, this is who you molded me into. And because I am who I am, I will now kill you, and take myself down with you, and be glad for it.

(and in the process, destroy the worldview AFO showed us in the Star and Stripe arc, that the ones who survive are the victors. AFO has completely and eternally lost, but Shigaraki is victorious to his last.)

It's his first moment of complete agency in his life -- acting entirely against anyone else's wishes for himself or his actions. And he uses it to do the one thing he's been itching for his whole life -- to destroy the source of his pain.

It's a negative character arc, in a way. It's not what any of us would've wanted for him. In a perfect world, he would be able to recover and readjust, building a life for himself and his found family in peace. He'd be able to experience life fully for the first time, and see that the world is not so bleak after all.

(I'm choking up just thinking about what's been lost. It's a fucking tragedy.)

But not every character arc gets to end happily. Sometimes people do slip through the cracks. That's always been what Shigaraki's character is about.

....and what every other member of the League's characters have been about.

Because here's the thing. The story of Shigaraki's life and death would be incomplete without his relationship to his found family. He's their leader. Their symbol. Their All Might.

Shigaraki's death is not the grimdark, fuck-the-audience, senseless kind of tragedy. He is a martyr, yes, but the people he stood for will in all likelihood survive. He died for the League. His life -- his existence -- brought them together, gave them purpose, and showed them a bright future. It is my steadfast belief that he will be the only death among the main villains. Because this is a story about saving to win, after all. And given that My Hero doesn't like to kill characters off too often and each one of them still has a path to recovery, I think it's a safe assumption to make. Especially since (especially in Toya's and Toga's cases) each of them had a moment of reconciliation at the end of their fights -- the kind of thing that can help them move forward.

And to be honest, we've known for a very, very long time that BNHA is the kind of anime that likes to turn old cliches on their heads. Kacchan did not become a villain during Kamino. La Brava's literal power of love was not enough to win the battle. Deku fought tirelessly to talk-no-jutsu Shigaraki into redemption, and while he did get through to him, he still couldn't save him after everything that happened. It's nuanced and messy in a way that I've come to expect from BNHA.

So yea, Shigaraki died. But Shigaraki also lived. Despite everything that AFO and Kotoro wanted from him (despite the fact that he was never meant to really be alive in the first place), he lived on his own terms and fought so that the people he cared about would be seen. Because he lived, the old world was destroyed, and from his ashes, a better one can be built. He achieved everything that no one thought he could, and reclaimed his life in the process. What better ending could you ask for a tragic character?

[sarnai4]

The Real Deal

The Penguins of Madagascar is a great show for many reasons, but I feel like one is very underrated. Despite being a comedy, it has good villains. I have seen series where the comedy becomes a bigger part, so villains are written as playful obstacles or too silly to really be taken seriously. That does not happen here.

Hans is a villain who not only acts as an antagonist for the show, but he also connects to Skipper's past, adding new layers to the already mysterious nature of the Denmark incident. Because of whatever happened, Hans is that type of villain who won't kill the heroes. He even mentions how he didn't want to fry Skipper in a real volcano. He just wants to make him miserable. These villains are so dangerous because death isn't their goal. In a sense, torture is.

Dr. Blowhole is on the other end of this. He makes it very clear that he wants Skipper dead. Between making him even "most importantly" forget how to swim (as he falls into the ocean, mind you), this dolphin has a penguin-seeking middle. He has plans to make the world suffer for his pain and will destroy anyone in his path.

Rat King is a surprisingly fun villain to me. He easily could have just been the dumb jock kind of enemy who's basically an older version of a high school bully. Despite that, he's pretty clever too, shown when he hustled the penguins out of their habitat. He's also way more ruthless than I gave him credit for being. He had a vat of acid somehow and was going to use it to kill them.

Kuchikukan was not a villain I ever expected to see in the series. Evil spirits weren't on my radar, but this is probably the only time I won't complain about their presence. He was so much fun! He mastered the combination of "light-hearted jokester who messes with the mere mortals" and "all-powerful being who can and will destroy the Earth." That's not an easy balance to strike. It's such a great time to watch him go from an almost laughable threat due to his host body, then show how much he can still do. By the time the episode is over, I know why he was able to destroy a world inside of a cheese loaf.

Blue Hen was a nice way to give the penguins a psychological threat. She knew how to come after them where it mattered most. Go after Kowalski's obsession with science and go after Skipper's position as leader. It's a shame that she only was in season 3 because it would have been fun to see what else she did with more time.

Last, but certainly not least, X. Just X because he's been an animal control officer, zookeeper, exterminator, fishmonger, storekeeper, and unemployed. Of them all, he is my favorite. I love this character so much. He's also got something going for him that I feel is unique to him. You can see the downward spiral of X throughout each episode he's in. Gradually, he becomes more and more unhinged. It makes sense that he's one of the only human villains because he's so competent that he doesn't even need to know what the penguins are saying in order to stop them from doing everything they want. He just was the pinnacle of competency to the point of even freaking Skipper out because he kept failing against him in the zookeeper episode. Through it all, we see X go from this super officer of animal control, then more and more, he loses it because of the penguins. He even gets a cameo in an episode where he's just throwing chopsticks of a poster with the penguins on it and is later shown to have bowling pins painted as penguins. I almost feel bad for him since he really did want to just do his job, but there comes a point when you have to relinquish your obsessions and he's an example of why.

The other villains were also fun to me, but these were my favorites. PoM didn't have to try hard with its villains, but they still did and I really appreciate that.

[riotlain]

You still take requests???

If so could you write hcs about batboys realizing they're in love 🥰 (with male reader if you could) (if you did before could you share link 🙏) Love you...

IM SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG JT GOT BURIED UNDER DRAFTS IM SORRY 😭😭

THIS IS A NWLNW BLOG!! WOMEN DNI

Dick Grayson

When he realizes hes in love with you

HES DOWN HORRENDOUS

ok he's like probably really bad at hiding his feelings so he ends up like flirting like prolly more often

Bottom of the barrel shit sometimes too

Bro would straight up say "Nice cock" if he had balls

Batfam teases him for how obvious he is

Depending on whether or not youre a superhero he's gonna be protective

Like yea as a civilian hes protective enough. Gotham is very dangerous!!

If you're a superhero too than he'll probably be a bit less protective... or atleast try to be

"Y/n can handle dealing with Poison Ivy himself it'll be fine... I'll go show up just in case."

If you're a villain though he's always the one to arrest you (he lets you go)

He aint the elaborate plan type of guy when it comes to this

So he one night jusy thinks "Yea im def gonna fess to him"

So no matter if youre civilian, hero, or villain he'll confess with a bouquet of flowers under the moonlight with some shit pick up line

Jason Todd

Used to have internalized homophobia but now hes over it... mostly

If youre a villain he'll straight deny his feelings for the longest time

Civilian or hero though? He'll definitely flirt

As in he just shows that he wants to protect you I guess

It honestly took him a while to realize he had feelings for you

Like yeeaaa hes gotten with alot of women and all but like with you? Something is hitting different and he doesn't know what

Roy finds out for him

He found out and teased Jason and Jason is just like "Wait what🧍‍♂️"

So with this new found crush how will Jason approach it?

Hes either really blunt or will completely avoid it all together 💀💀

Like i'm ngl you gon have to make the first move

Tim Drake

He found out he was bisexual and really went "Oh🤨??...OH😲"

Like if you just go to school with him he'll like try to hang out with you more

If you're a hero he's going on patrol more often just to hang around

And if youre a villain💀💀 He definitely tries to keep up the hero facade but like

Fucks it up with getting nervous

"I dont wanna hurt him too bad so he hates me. Wait he's trying to kill me though. I think he is???"

Has definitely lost a few fights with you bc of that 😭😭

Damian found out first (analytical lil shit) and made fun of him

Not in the homophobic way but in the way where his brother has a crush and looks like an idiot

"Drake you look like an utter idiot."

He tries to be smooth (Advice from Dick ofc) and fails

He does the thing where he tries to lean against a wall and fell the other way😭😭

Man just ask him out so he can quit embarrassing himself please

Damian Wayne

Def has internalized homophobia sorry

You know he isnt the best at his feelings so when he's around you he goes a bit crazy-

'I think of Y/n as a friend. Why would I think more of him as more?? Is it normal for me to like boys???? Dear god.'

Asks Alfred about it (One of the batbros prolly heard him though and barge in I'm ngl)

He isn't sure how to go about uh... "Courting you" as he calls it

Like yea he gets the kinda stuff to do for girls he's read many novels on that

But boys??? Hes stumped

He ends up stalking all the couples in his school for an answer

And probably ends up avoiding you :((

Whenever you try to confront him he just says "Its nothing." and leaves

Buuttt one day he ends up spilling everything on accident

[acertaincritic]

Episode 9 & the season overall

MEEEEEH

Do I need to say more?

Like yes, fine, overall, it's not as bad as the previous two seasons. Overall, this was the best season since season 2.

But let's be honest, it's not some high benchmark to clear.

Structurally, this episode's problem is that it's the final episode yet it has the structure of an early-in-season episode. It solves a personal issue of Rayla and it deals out Aaravos's backstory, and it even recaps early seasons! If not for Aaravos's return in the end, this could've been the first episode of the last season. It still could've been, just move his return one episode earlier and the rest could stay the same. No reason Aaravos can't explain his backstory to Claudia after she lets him out. The whole "cast spell with love" was a bullshit excuse.

But the most prevalent issue of this whole series is its refusal to put its heroes through any meaningful trials or tribulations. Any time they have any meaningful choice to make, the story ultimately makes it so they don't have to pay the cost. Some examples:

Rayla decides to lose her hand instead of killing Ezran - Zym just breaks her hand-cutting bracelet.

Callum decides to use dark magic and regrets it - he just gets primal magic he can use with clear conscience. He arguably chooses wrong and then he's still given the good magic in reward.

That also entirely nullifies his initial choice of "use dark magic or have no magic." He just gets good magic.

Claudia kills a deer to heal Soren's legs and in the end... Nothing? She gets ugly I guess? Soren is perfectly fine, it doesn't matter that such a powerful dark magic was used on him, at most it's Claudia who bears the cost, and it's not clear what "looking ugly" really does, if anything at all.

The Dragon Mom ignores her injury and pretends she's fine - when she stops being fine she just stumbles across a healer by accident.

Or just this season:

Callum gets healed from using dark magic by a ritual. They say it's dangerous but eh, it seemed pretty easy, half an episode and done, and he's fine and has his primal magic. No cost.

Rayla thinks she'll have to choose who to save, but in the end her parents are at peace and happy to go. She doesn't really have to choose, she just goes with what the other people choose.

The Sun Queen strikes out at her brother's forces and in the end nothing happens to her lol. That whole Z plot line was ultimately a nothingburger. The big sun dragon wasn't even needed to release Aaravos. You could've entirely cut it out and just have Claudia sneak into the castle to get the egg!

And so on and so on. And it's just so tiring, because we're dangled nice stuff in front of us, like a possession arc, but then nothing happens.

Claudia just lets Aaravos out like she's intended for three full seasons. It's just dull. It's boring! It's, well, it's the definition of meh.

Guys tell me, seriously, am I the weird one? Is it weird for me that I expect the heroes to have to deal with complex issues and hard choices, and not the villains? Am I asking for too much?

Because it feels like the creators had some nice epic pictures in their heads, like Katolis burning or a big battle among the Sun Elves, but they just can't or won't commit to them. They don't write a meaningful story to accompany those pictures. All the heaviness is put on the antagonists, while the heroes, if they have any issues, typically resolve them within one episode - like the Sun Queen had a one episode long "arc," but she just had to listen to a story and she's perfect and flawless again! Callum's arc of struggling with dark magic and possession is the only such one, and it still came to an anticlimactic, easy end with the cleansing ritual.

Yes, the show can still do something with it. If I had more trust in this series and its writing, I'd say that sometime in the next season, Callum is going to use dark magic to save Rayla, breaking his promise, and then she'll be unable to kill him, breaking her promise, and they'll need to put themselves back together and come back from that.

But... I don't have any trust in this series at this point. They used false advertising in the trailer! There wasn't any scene with Callum having black eyes this season, yet they even used it as a thumbnail?

So with my zero faith in the writing of TDP, I'm presuming there will come a moment when it'll look like Callum might use dark magic again, but he'll then refuse and instead of suffering any consequences, he and others will be promptly rescued by someone, like maybe the Dragon Mom coming back during the final battle or something like that.

Because the heroes just got to choose right and they'll suffer no consequences for it. I guess the moral of the story is "just be good and things will work out on their own." In other words... "trust in God/Fate."

Amazing. That's exactly the message to teach kids, instead of "sometimes doing good is hard but it's still worthwhile" or "be smart and creative and you'll find a solution" or idk a hundred other messages this show could've had.

Like seriously, the setup where humans don't have inborn magic and elves do is such an amazing one. It could've been a story about humans outsmarting elves, about figuring out other ways to use magic, about not letting their lack of power put them down.

But nooo. Instead it's a story about those born powerful being always good and beautiful, and only a couple of them are bad apples - usually because they're deceived by one particularly bad apple. And if you're born without power (privilege, khy khy) you should just accept it and you'll be rewarded by fate/those with power.

This show is progressive?

[whumpshaped]

anon asked:

A villain that's being tortured by the hero, because the hero thinks they had something to do with the death of their teammate. But villain didn't have anything to do, it was all supervillains plan, but hero doesn't listen to them. Even if they beg, scream, or plead, the hero doesn't... doesn't behave like a hero. Where did all that mercy go?

---

tw death mention, murder mention, interrogation (sort of), torture, burns, revenge (directed at the wrong person)

“How many times do I have to tell you?” Villain screamed, tears streaming down their face from the utter agony Hero had put them through so far; and which they showed no signs of stopping. “I had nothing to do with it! Do you think I even know all your dumb fucking friends? Do you think I spend my day hunting them down? I barely care about you!”

Hero didn’t seem fazed. They didn’t even seem angry, really, and that was the scariest part. They seemed cold and detached, devoid of all the good parts of their public persona. All Villain was left with was everything else, the things Hero cleverly dressed up in flourish and respectable morals: brutal efficiency, a calculating mind, and the terrifying ability to pinpoint others’ weaknesses. 

They would’ve made a vicious villain, a fact Villain liked to taunt them with every now and then. Hero always came back with some ridiculous monologue about how all the wealth in the world was nothing compared to the worthy cause of helping others. Villain really, really wished they’d launch into a monologue like that right about now.

“Say, does fire hurt you at all?” Hero asked instead, unfeeling eyes boring into their soul. “I know it doesn’t kill you. Does it hurt?” 

“Hero, listen to me. I’m not the one you fucking want! You’re torturing the wrong guy! Do you not care about it at all? Are you just torturing me for the sake of it? Because if so, maybe we’re on the same fucking team!”

Hero didn’t answer. They grabbed a lighter from the table next to them and put it right under Villain’s chin, and they couldn’t do anything except crane their head to get as far away from it as possible. “I suppose it does, yeah? You wouldn’t be squirming so much if it didn’t.”

“Please!” they blurted out, their angry facade crumbling under the threat of third degree burns. “Please, I’m telling the truth! I had nothing to do with it! I don’t know who did it! I would tell you, I swear I would! Hell, I can help you hunt them down, just listen to me! You’re supposed to be the good guy! You’re supposed to be just!” Their voice was getting more and more desperate, and while they weren’t proud of it, they wouldn’t be proud of several burn scars on their face and neck either. At least the memory would fade away.

“Just?”

Hero flicked the little thing on, and the flame started licking at the sensitive skin of their throat. They could withstand the heat better than regular people, but they couldn’t take it forever — an inhuman scream was eventually ripped from their chest as it became too much, too painful, too hot. Hero didn’t seem to care. They continued dragging the lighter along their jawline, grabbing them by the hair to steady them when they started thrashing too much.

By the end of it, Villain was a sobbing mess, unable to even let their head hang. It hurt too much. It was ironic, the fact that they’d be forced to walk around with their head held high, because putting it down would be all too painful. 

“It wasn’t just when I lost my friend to your little scheme.” Hero tossed the lighter back onto the table. Some of their anger was seeping through their words, now, and Villain would’ve grovelled and apologised at the sound of it, had they been the one responsible for the murder.

When they saw Hero grab the can of gasoline, they decided it didn’t matter whether they were responsible. “It wasn’t! It was unfair, and I’m sorry! I– Do you want me to say it was me? What do you want? What do you want from me? Even if I was responsible, what would this change? I’m sorry, I don’t know what to do to help you, but I’ll– I’ll do anything! I’ll be a spy, I’ll be a fucking rat, I’ll help you catch whoever did it! I’ll stop with my little schemes! Please!”

None of their pleas were heard. Hero completely doused them, not caring whether the liquid would make the previous burns worse. Villain supposed it didn’t matter, not when they were about to do something so much worse. 

They coughed and sputtered and tried to get the disgusting taste out of their mouth at least, but they couldn’t get it off their face enough to open their eyes and see what was going on. In the end, they didn’t have to. They could hear it very clearly when Hero lit a match.

And the rest? The rest they could feel.

[electronickingdomfox]

"Memory Prime" review

Novel from 1988, by Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens. It's strange that the title says "the new novel by...", since as far as I know, this was the first Star Trek book of these authors. Chaotic, crazy, convoluted, at times campy and hard to follow, it's also a lot of fun. Even the cover is a "what-the-fuck" moment, with that Spock looking tiredly at the viewer, wearing the trademark Kirk-ripped-shirt.

The story mixes several TOS elements: a conspiracy to kill someone aboard the Enterprise; a mission to rescue Spock that puts everyone's careers in danger; and an obnoxious Commodore that hinders the heroes' efforts. All mixed and enhanced to cinematic level. Apart from all that, the novel expands on the story from "The Lights of Zetar", showing the aftermath of Memory Alpha's destruction. And has Mira Romaine (the guest from that episode) as one of the main characters.

The titular Memory Prime is the new center of knowledge and research for the Federation, and the main node in a network of similar centers, each in a different asteroid. Selected as the place to hold the Nobel prizes, the Enterprise is tasked with bringing scientists from all over the Federation to the ceremony. But things get awry when Starfleet intelligence discovers that one or more of the scientists are targeted for assassination. And to everybody's surprise, the main suspect is... Spock!! On top of that, Starfleet has lost confidence in Kirk, and orders a Commodore to take over the Enterprise during the emergency. So Kirk now has to recover both his First Officer and his ship, while confronted with a thickening web of conspiracy. There's something of pulp fiction about the cackling villains, killer robots, and constant plot twists and cliffhangers. But surprisingly, there's also an element of more serious science fiction, with the introduction of the Pathfinders (artificial intelligences that have developed their own worldview), and the discussions about computer science. The chapters dealing with the Pathfinders show a fascinating and alien perspective, that may very well be classified as "cyberpunk". It's possible that something of this owes more to TNG than TOS. The final reveal about who was behind the assassination, the real target of it, and the motives, were actually unexpected.

As for the characters, Kirk gets the spotlight and most heroic deeds (so it's no wonder that these same authors got to co-write the Shatnerverse novels later). And of course Spock is central to the plot, though absent during a good chunk of the story. But Scotty also gets a larger-than-usual role, and picks up his romance with Romaine. While Uhura has one of her most badass moments when confronting the Commodore. Also, everyone has crazy, crazy fight scenes: from Kirk defeating a robot with bullfighter techniques (and utterly annihilating his shirt in the process), to Spock locking in a mind-meld combat, or McCoy... attacking with hypos.

In summary, a pretty exciting action adventure, with humorous scenes that are actually funny, and some food-for-thought concerning AI and the fainting distinction between human and machine. Even if the plot can get messy and even ridiculous at times.

Spirk Meter: 9/10*. Kirk is really distressed by Spock's framing and incarceration, and spends most of the novel focused on rescuing him no matter what. Even if this means the end of his career and losing the Enterprise; Spock comes as his first priority. He doesn't doubt his innocence for a moment, either, while others in the crew have some reservations. And whenever Spock's in physical danger, Kirk is the first to jump to protect him (even if he himself is a wreck). Kirk is also the only one who truly seems to understand Spock, he can anticipate his thoughts and see his logic, where others only see crazyness. Besides, there's a scene where Kirk faints, and the first thing he says upon waking up is "Spock, Spock...?". And yeah, Spock is there, hovering over him and pushing him gently to lie back in bed.

Though this is clearly a spirky novel and McCoy has a lesser role, there are a few moments with him too. At the beginning, both he and Kirk devise a convoluted plan to keep Spock in the dark about the Nobel ceremony, in the hopes of seeing him smile or at least react when the surprise is revealed. While at the end, McCoy wants to know EVERYTHING about Spock's years in the Academy, once he learns from one of his teachers that he was a bit of a "class clown" back then (for Vulcan standards). And despite Spock's apparent annoyance, Kirk notices a warm expression on him, because of the doctor's antics. Kirk also jumps in front of McCoy and Spock to take a lethal phaser shot instead of them. With the hilarious result that the shot wasn't neither that lethal, nor he took it all that well, considering both Spock and McCoy also end up groaning in bed after a stun.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[100hearteyes]

The reason why I love Saskia so much and think she's hands down the best character of Class of '07 (in a cast full of really great characters) is that she's never just one thing or the other.

She was an awful bully and queen of the school, yet that school is also where she lived her biggest trauma. But the show never uses one thing to negate nor excuse the other; only uses it to inform and deepen Saskia's character.

Going back to the role of Queen Bee is torture and eats away at Saskia, because that's a side of herself she worked very hard to leave behind, and she only does it because she truly believes it's their only way of surviving. And we see it in those moments where she says people have no idea how much it hurts her to revert back to her mean girl persona and how much she resents Amelia for making her do it. She hates it.

However, she also almost revels in it, as it comes oh so easily and naturally to her. And she admits that she doesn't feel anything when she sees Laura collapse, she "murders" Sandy, manipulates conversations with Zoe and Teresa, shuns Genevieve, etc because she's doing what she has to to survive, keep riding, like he said, but also... It's like something in her shut off. And also came alive at the same time (we see that happening in real-time when she breaks in front of Teresa - who had just lost a toe, but that was also Saskia's thing until later in the season, how her pain seemed to matter more or something - and then when T bursts at her she shuts down and back into mean girl). And she hates that more than anything, as she admits, that she worked so hard to leave the mean girl behind and then it's so damn easy to be her again.

And then, she explodes. She goes ballistic on Renee and Phoebe, and when she's finally caught for "killing" Sandy she's willing to take her punishment. Relishes the opportunity to finally leave the mean girl behind. But then, she's confronted with just how much she hurt all the girls in her class, and she understands that her pain doesn't negate that, and she fully accepts her punishment. Becomes numb to everything that's happening to her, even.

I think Saskia only truly starts healing when Sister Bicky shows up and they have that conversation about him and how the faculty should have done more to deter him.

She's never just the bully, she's never just Queen Bee, she's never just the girl who was taken advantage of my a teacher, she's never just the byproduct of her trauma. She's never just sad or angry or guilty or cold. She's never just either victim or perpetrator. The villain or one of the heroes. She's all of those things all at once, and she can and does change from one facet to the other in a fraction of a second.

Speaking of whom, Saskia's complexity also shows in how she (rightfully) blames him for fucking her up, but also still remembers him in key moments (that line, "I don't understand how the person who fucked you up so badly could also be the voice of encouragement that you need to go on," is brilliant) and gets jealous when she finds out this other girl lasted longer, and still relies on her memories of him to find the strength to keep up the mean girl persona, for the sake of the group. Those are normal - and heartbreaking - consequences of that type of trauma, of course, but they also show just how layered Saskia is and how up to a point - and even if, like Genevieve said, she was a bully before year 12 - her trauma informs her mean girl bullying, and the bullying and inhabiting the mean girl skin again deepens the trauma.

She's possibly my favorite pseudo villain ever.

Anyway, Saskia is a fantastic character and that's thanks to the writers and Caitlin Stasey.

[aldana-brillantina]

HERO OF MY OWN STORY, A VILLAIN IN OTHERS'.

Nobody is good in Arcane(maybe Ekko). If you watch the show you can take a side depending on who you empathize with the most or who you consider their reasons to be good and justifiable to a certain point. This is a story of sides, of perspectives.

Caitlyn is a good person, who has never had anything bad happen to her and lives in a perfect world where her city is an example of progress, she is a person raised in a peaceful environment and she never had the need to be bad or wish evil. That makes her naive, like a baby. That makes her even somewhat insensitive in very specific occasions like when she sees a reality that is not hers (You don't have parents? You're wrong) but it also makes her feel empathy because she doesn't conceive that someone can live like garbage (when she hugs that man addicted to shimmer, when she criticizes her mother and the council for the situation in undercity). But what Jinx generates is what I want to discuss. Before her encounter with her, Cait had never been in danger and bad things classified as horror movies had happened to her, that was in the past. That's when you start to think, she was good because she never had or felt the need to be anything else. Hate can warp a person, and someone like Cait who never felt it, really felt it, well. She's still a person.I think bad situations are the ones that really bring out some hard truths about a person. But also, do we all process trauma the same way? No, does that justify any wrong you do? No, it makes it understandable.I think people are very unfair to Cait, Jinx, Vi, and even Jayce. I think it's because we all judge them from one reality, our own. But they have many.

If we look at it from Piltover's perspective, the Enforcers are heroes, people who protect them from those who want to harm them and risk their lives all the time, that it is thanks to them that they sleep peacefully in their beds and that it is thanks to the council and their good management that everyone has what they need to live. If I grew up under that reality, the Zaunites are wild animals, less than them.Jayce did not belong to the elite in the beginning of the series, he really worked hard to reach the position he is in and he believes that with enough dedication one can achieve their dreams. That is not Viktor's reality, because no matter how hard he tries or how much effort he puts into it, he is a Zaunite and people will always look down on him. That is when two realities collide without letting the other be a lie. Because Jayce really tried hard and Viktor is still less.

Jinx is a killer, a monster in Piltover, the bogeyman who took the city of progress out of peace and balance. She is Silco's attack dog, his pet for most of Zaun. She is the daughter of her boss, for Sevika. His daughter, the representation of the city he always wanted and his greatest weakness for Silco. But I think the worst thing is that she is a product of a violent environment, an environment that never saw any other way to survive than by stealing like rats or kicking others, and this was Piltover's fault. How much of the damage she does is justified if we look at it from the Zaun perspective?

For Undercity, Zaun, Piltover's live off their blood and beat them in the streets since before Silco. How many of them lost families, friends and lovers at their hands? The protests are the result of rage, pain and hunger. My dad said that if there's one thing you never forget it's hunger, guys, this is a city that lives hungry and on crumbs. No, Enforcers are not heroes, they're boogeymen and it's been a reality for, if my calculations are correct, over 150 years (I'm guessing a bit here, taking into account Vi's birth date and Piltover's founding in the lore). So the Zaunite mentality is different, like, you slaughter us for a few when you slowly killed thousands over all these years? It's not right because I'm sure there are innocent people in Topside who live in ignorance of the cost of all the pleasures they enjoy and probably see them even more as animals after these "senseless" attacks. But this makes a lot of sense to them. And Caitlin along with Mel's mom, how many lives will they take, how many mothers? She would be someone else's Jinx.

I remember Silco, in his meeting to remind the chemis of their place, mentioned the mines and how they all breathed shitty air and did they remember it. They don't look old, they started young. Vander and Silco met there, young. Because, here I am playing devil's advocate, Silco despite being a shitty person did not invent child labor or all evil as some of us like to believe, he is a product and he grew up with it, it is normal for him. And yes, at some point, even before he died, he wanted something more, believed he deserved something more when many people simply continued to think they belong under the boot of topside. But he also poisoned his people and did not change the reality for younger generations, he only made it harder for them to prosper. Because in his reality, people who want to survive will do so at all costs, for him only the one who manages to reinvent himself deserves to remain standing, because that's what he did to live. Swim or you sink, there's no other option.

And isn't that the reason why Ekko and his community are still alive? They reinvented themselves, but by lifting each other up rather than tearing each other down. And that's their reality. They didn't need to leave anyone behind because they all contributed to the boat instead of swimming individually.

People who work for Silco, do they have families? Children, siblings. When you hurt someone, regardless of whether they're bad or good, it's someone's brother, someone's child, someone's friend. Someone always gets hurt, directly or indirectly. The Firelights are the good guys, probably the most well-intentioned organization in the series. That doesn't change that how much they screw up those Silco jobs (for good reason) they put other people in danger who may have children or family and they'll think, even if they're wrong, that they're the bad guys.

But did Silco have Vander and were leaders in their own movement for independence? Well, it didn't work out and they lost everything. That formed Silco. What would Ekko do if he lost everything? Even though he's done it once, can he do it again?

That's the litmus test for every character, who you are, what's left, after a great loss. You become like Jinx or Cait, who get lost in their grief and punish people regardless of whether they're responsible or not. Or like Ekko, who like a tree, resists blows because his roots are stronger.

[octochick]

i think its time for me to come back to my origins:

shitty spiderbit villain isekai au

Cw suicide idealization? Kinda? Nothing too realistic or explicit but there is a little bit

First, there's Cellbit, the 'villain'

-Was tricked by Mike into watching shitty fantasy harem anime #1413 (Mike doesn't like this type of anime, but he does like to see Cellbit suffering)

-And suffer he did, he was almost pulling his hair out when the first episode ended, and really did it when the opening spoiled the little mystery there was in the show

-He went to sleep balding mad and woke up in the body of 5 years old Farael, the prince of Embersland Kingdom, brother of Bagriela whom he is fighting for the crown

-There's also this voice in his head telling him that he needs to follow the plot and shit and he's just like- what the fuck do you even mean by this, I wanna out, get me the fuck outta here

-'Follow the plot and it may be considered to send you back', it says, and Cellbit obviously argues with it because 'Don't fuck with me like that, get me out of here right now' and 'No sorry can't do', 'What I have to do to go back? Send me back right now' and it's this back and forth until the system is tired enough to just say 'Die by the hero's blade and we'll send you back' and Cellbit's like 'Ok fine'

-It's not really fine because it will take at least two decades before he will be able to be killed by the hero, but it's something more concrete than a simple possibility so he will take it

-So he starts preparing to be a villain, quite successfully if you may allow him. And the worst part is that he really ends up as a 'good' villain, winning the crown from Bagi, organizing an army, making evil plans full of twists and turns, neglecting the people, all in all he is a decent villain for a bellow average harem anime

-(Btw, there are some reason why a 'normal' person from the real world ends up being so good at being evil, that includes: he's already something of a freak, he thinks this is just a shitty harem anime, he never had any contact with other people that aren't nobility or servants except for a single instance. He really wants to go back, he thinks nothing in this world matters, and it's part of his bucket list so...)

And then there's Roier, the 'hero'

-He's just a peasant boy living in a frontier town, abandoned by his father, mother died during childbirth, raised by his old abuelo

-He does odd jobs around town and helps in the adventurers guild, going in a small quest here and there, nothing too big despite him being quite good with a sword

-That is, until Bagis busts into the guild asking for help to defeat her brother before he does even worse than he already did, of course for a handsome reward

-But everyone there knows how much of a tyrant King Farael is, and how they'll end up with their salted heads hung in the public square if they do anything against him so no one accepts it

-Roier comes in late, and Bagi begs for him to help her... he really doesn't want to, but money's tight and he really needs it because abuelo has been getting worse recently and there's not a lot else he can do (Saving the kingdom is just a bonus for him)

-And so they go out on this quest, they recruit some other people during the way (In the original anime they're all woman and part of his 'harem') and plan how to end King Farael's reign of terror once and for all

-Syke! Cellbit kidnaps Roier when they're near the capital and brings him to a 'dinner' to monologue to him about his evil plans (It's to motivate Roier to really kill him, he can't be imprisoned or exiled, he has to be killed)

-Anyways they get a little frisky and end up in a knife fight where Roier cuts Cellbit's mask in half and oh shit! This guy, tyrant King Farael is Roier's first crush! He knows he is, his blue eyes are the same as he remembers!

-The rescue party arrives at the castle and saves Roier, while he is slightly confused about the villain

-It's not even about the puppy crush he had on him, even if it did help him think about the situation from a slightly different angle, it's more like how his evil plan now sounds like a very elaborated suicide attempt

-Well, if this is what the villain wants, then he won't let him have it!

-Meanwhile Cellbit is surprised Roier remembers him, but is otherwise happy because he thinks now Roier has even more reasons to kill him

... and that's all I have until now

[totally-not-here-for-the-smut]

So, @arcanavoid made me thinking about Lucio in their post

WELL THEN LETS TALK ABOUT LUCIO YOU BITCHES

Pleas keep in mind that I'm right now very drunk and I'm not a native speaker and the autocorrect for this phone can only do so much Also I'm in a different time zone so if you see this at, like 10 in the morning or whatever, no worries bc now is definitely night here and I also program my posts I have not a drinking problem thats why I cant hold my f-ing liquor

WELL THEN MY DEAR LUCIO and

WHY

as a person who is very close to people with serious mental illness, like i legit live with them

I THINK LUCIO'S ROUTE IS SO GREAT

Let's start with an assumption: we're all assholes. Somewhere in our life, maybe in the past, or present, or future, we are huge AH. It's not like we're evil and condemned to hell, it's just that as humans we're small, petty and miserable so we behave badly and are very selfish when big difficulties challenge us. Like, sometimes we manage to scramble enough willpower and common sense to act decently as we're afraid and suffering, but lots of times we don't and make shitty things. So here's my first point:

1. We all are a Lucio sometimes. Or often.

Like, way more than we want to admit. We're afraid, we're too full of ourselves, and we behave in petty ways. We're mean towards strangers, we feel happy in humiliating them and showing the world how better than anyone else we are. We need something bc we live in a world that doesn't grant basic human rights (food, shelter, health, safety and human connection), so we strain to get those things, sometimes at others' expenses. Then we tell ourself that those people deserved our scorn and malice because they're bad, and we tell us such lies because facing the guilt of what we've done is painful and complex.

We need to show ourselves we're better, so enjoy picking at others' mistakes without caring who they are in a whole (this is super easy on the internet). All this while low key ignoring what bad we're more or less responsible for.

And we are. Like, if you ever did buy something on sites like shein, you are actually exploiting poor people who are basically slaves. And you're keeping a blind eye on it.

But you know what? You're not evil for this. We're weak sometimes, we're tired, we have little time and really don't have the lucidity to think whether this stupid chicken breast is full of hormones and antibiotics or not. We're humans and we're small. Often we're sad, afraid and tired and we need a malicious self esteem bost.

Often, we're Lucio.

2. A flaming piece of trash can change. And doesn't need others' forgiveness to do so.

Did you notice how everyone is so eager to show of other people are wrong and bad and evil? That's because they, and we as well, need reassurance about how we're the hero of the story.

That's because we can't tolerate being the flaming piece of trash, because the the flaming piece of trash can't change and everyone hates them.

This idea is stupid.

It doesn't matter how low you fell. How many people you hurt, how many times you made the same stupid mistake or how many people deeply despise you. You still can change.

That's why is

So

Important

To have a Lucio route where it's shown he can choose to be better, no matter how deeply wrong his past deeds were.

The moment we understand this concept is the one our guilt becomes less heavy and we start being less judging of others. Granted.

This doesn't mean you're entitled to people's forgiveness - but the fact that YOU are willing to forgive yourself means that you can really change and forgive others. If some people won't forgive you, it will be fine, no need to hate them: you can always find new people to gift your better self to.

This is what happens to Lucio. Will Asra ever truly forgive him for making him and orphan and killing you? No. But this doesn't mean that Lucio will be a villain forever. He will be still able to change, become a good man and gift his goodness to the MC.

As MC says to Julian: you can always come back.

3. What it takes to change

Now, I'm in general rly humble when talking about mental health bc I'm no doctor nor therapist. But living with people who went through hell and managed to survive (and knowing people who sadly didn't), made me able to figure a couple of things. So, brace yourself. I'm about to give you the ultimate recipe of healing.

It takes two things:

Compassion and Accountability

When all is said and done, this things are the two main things it takes to change and heal. Compassion for believing you can change and deserve happiness, seeing the world through other people's eyes and accountability to motivate you into stop being a dick and owning the shit you did (so yeah, maybe you should stop blaming your parents for who you are, sry, but it doesn't serves your cause).

and there's one and only one way to get them:

Positive human connections.

That's it. When you go to the bone to it, that's how one can change, heal and survive.

It's reduced to the very bone, simple idea: the whole process is much more complicated and it's ok if you get lost in it. But at the very root, this is it.

And this is WHY Lucio's route it's so great:

MC shows compassion, because they don't recall him doing anything bad to them.

MC helps him being accountable. They doesn't shelter Lucio from his guilt, never.

MC believes in them but NEVER puts up with their shit

MC doesn't believe his lies and doesn't lie to them either. No games: they talk through everything, they're kind but firm and true.

MC helps him accept other people's scorn towards him

I love this route because it's the one where the MC is the most clever. There's a murder mistery? Let's ask the ghost of the murdered one who did it. Everyone is mad at him? Let them be. Not bc "he deserves it", but bc people are entitled to be mad at him and to their idea about him. He has troubles with his mother? Don't get between them. Listen, understand, let them unravel their shit. Ghosts are mad at him? Sit with him, but don't do his emotional weightlifting. Mc puts Lucio in front of his deeds and holds his hand as he deals with them.

Folks: THIS is how it's done irl.

4. No dumb justification & the danger of privilege

There are a lot of shows about "why villains are like this" that paint them as a poor misunderstood saint who was mistreated by their parents. Like in Once Upon a Time or the Disney Villain's Live actions. I hate that stuff because they distort the plot to make the villain a misunderstood anti heroe who was a victim all along, so he's justified.

Guess what: they're not. If you actions are evil there's no justification. No retelling of your story: you made very bad choice and were an AH and that's it.

This is what happens with Lucio: in his route his story doesn't gets to be retold. It's an honest story about how Lucio, the villain, can choose to be the better man and benefit from it. It's a story about the inherent dangers of Privilege:

Lucio's story shows how dangerous privilege can be: he wasn't hold accountable for his actions while he was alive, bc he was pretty, powerful and rich. He loses his privilege, he gets his ass kicked, he find motivations to change in his desire to be loved. I know irl folks who got to adulthood without having to face how shitty they were bc of social privilege. It literally kept them from changing, healing and be happy. So beware, folks. Your privilege might be harming you in the first place, and the day you will face who you truly are without it WILL come. The later, the worst.

So, this is why I love Lucio's route. It's relatable and helps us to find the courage to face our demons, knowing that we can change. Knowing that we can forgive ourselves and accept others' scorn. It WILL be hard, it WILL be painful, there WILL be consequences, but eventually it will be worth the hassle.

So, long live the goatman, for he can change. And so do we.

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

I love how bnha parallels Izuku's first heroic act, his connection with other kids and Tenko's past.

In the first chapter of bnha, while the slime villain is about to kill Bakugo, everyone is waiting for a hero with the right quirk to show up and save him.

Deku's lifelong dream of being a hero has just been rejected by All Might, so he's "trying to be realistic" as everyone told him he should be.

Instead, Deku's body moves on its own once he realizes that a hero could arrive too late and Bakugo could be dead by them. In truth, Deku doesn't know what he's doing or why. His body moves on its own because "Bakugo looked like he needed saving".

That moment convinces All Might that Deku has what it takes to be a hero. Even more, to be an OFA user.

In Tenko's past we saw that no one around him would save him because they were waiting for the heroes to arrive. Similarly to what happened with Bakugo, except no Deku showed up to help little Tenko. He was roaming aimlessly, hands covered in blood and completely in shock. Yet, the people who passed by were too scared to act.

The chapter makes it very clear that if someone had reached for him, maybe things could have been different.

AFO "found him" in the end, planting in his heart the seeds of resentment against society and heroes for not saving or helping him at all.

When Deku comes across Eri, she's crying, arms full of bandages and she begs Deku to not let go. Although he had the disadvantage of being only Mirio and him against a seemingly dangerous man, Deku insisted on questioning Overhaul. He kept on using his mind to focus on the evidence he had that Overhaul was abusing Eri.

Deku's thoughts say it all. He cannot back down in the face of a frightened child crying. Aren't they heroes? Even if it's scary or too much to handle, it is their duty to react.

Like All Might first told him, his smile was to hide how scared he was, how nervous. It was his life on the line each time! That's what being a pro-hero means, being willing to put your life on the line to save others.

We saw a bit of that before, during the Summer training arc. Kota couldn't believe Deku would go so far to protect him. In fact, the reason for it was quite simple.

Deku is a hero.

Like Deku said:

" It's not a matter of what you can or can't do. For a hero, risking our lives and walking the walk is our job! "

The moment he saw Kota crying, Deku swore he would do anything to save him, no matter what.

So really, it's been building since day one. The only option for Tomura and Deku's fight resolution was for Deku to give his absolute best to help the person in front of him.

Kinda funny, how the name of my blog comes from such belief: that Tomura is both a victim and a villain, that a person can be both an answer to both parts of themselves in equal measure. One thing doesn't cancel the other out.

[valya-kingoftherats]

Bills would've been better

Mia brings Jane the letters. All from the fanclub you've somehow amalgamated. The one that you wish didn't exist.

And being the idiot that you are, you read them.

You're lying on the floor in your base, cold concrete doing wonders for your migraine. Sprawled out on your back with a little stack of loose papers beside you. One held up above your face.

They're more or less all the same. Glorified thank you notes. But reading them doesn't fill you with any sense or pride. They just make you feel hollow. More than before.

You are a pathetic excuse of a villain for one. What exactly have you done so far? Had a temper tantrum about an exhibit about your past at a museum. Stood at some protests and fought the LDPD to keep them back and put them in their place. Harassed government officials to improve the living standards in low-income communities. Picked away at removing corrupt politicians from power. Which will never work. There will always be another to replace. An endless cycle you are ultimately powerless against.

Worthless.

Why did you ever think you could stand a chance against the farm? It's completely unobtainable. Out of your league. Pathetic. What's one stupid telepathic regene with power armour versus an entire establishment? You are a fool if you ever really thought you stood a chance.

The next letter is from a kid. Pink glittery pen scrawl that hurts your eyes in the low light. You don't want to move so straining your eyes to read it is.

Another thank you note. For how Entropy mysteriously got the construction company to leave his neighbourhood alone. The project terminated and the houses and families that live in them safe and undisplaced. The CEO paid off everyone's mortgage as consolation for the stress and an apology for thinking them so easy to toss aside. Entropy is his hero.

Hero. That's not what you are. Aren't supposed to be. Never was.

None of them know what they're idolizing. You are nobody's hero. You're done with that. Ended horribly. But no matter what you try, you seem to be bound to fail time and time again at playing the villain. All you've done is hurt Julia.

Maybe that's enough to make you the bad guy. It feels like it.

The next five letters are from employees from a local grocery store. They're unionized now. Thanks to Entropy.

Fucking hell, you hardly even pass for anything more then a glorified crosswalk guard. Holding people's hands and leading them from point A to point B.

They would've got there eventually, with or without you. You're sure of it.

If any of them knew the truth about what you are, they wouldn't be quick to attach themselves to you. How many would turn you in? Send you back?

The good life is only meant for real people. Which — you yank the sleeve of your hoodie back up over your wrists — you are more than well aware that you aren't.

Two more letters. More of the same. Work you don't need armour for. You could've done that with street clothing and sunglasses. Show up, adjust some minds, problem solved. Anonymous neighbourhood watchdog.

Four official letters from the charities you last hit up. Donated thousands, stolen from real villains. They're grateful. One of them wants to meet in person. Thank you. It isn't happening. You are not something to be shown off.

Too many people looking up to you. It makes you feel sick. You are the last person who deserves that. Nobody's hero. You couldn't save people you cared about when it counted.

You can't even find reason to even attempt to save yourself.

Look at you. Reading a dozen painfully heartfelt letters, and what does that make you feel? Like everyone would be better if you never came back from the dead. Were never here at all.

Maybe that makes you the villain. Because you must truly be awful to think the things you do. To do the things to yourself that you do in response. Because nobody in their right mind would want to kill themselves after hearing about how beloved they are. How many lives they've changed.

Selfish and pathetic.

A successful failed career. You switched sides only to do more good than you ever did as a hero. And none of it is even remotely useful to achieve your goals.

Not goals. Pipedream. Because there really is no way you can take down the farm. Not continuing on like this.

Right now, not continuing on sounds like the best course of action.

You let the last letter fall from your grasp. Watch it flutter down and land beside you. You don't know what it says. It doesn't matter. More false admiration for someone who doesn't deserve it. Someone who only tangentially exists.

Jane needs to get rid of the letters next time Mia hands them to you. And Entropy needs to toughen up and be the fucking bad guy. And Valya needs to take down that stupid fanclub website.

But none of that will get done. Because it's so much easier to construct new and creative ways to hurt yourself. Even just mentally. Remind you of what you are. Of how you will never be one of them. Never fit in. Never be truly deserving of being the hero everyone writes letters to thank.

You're more likely to actually take down the farm than to become a person deserving of that.

[tiredflowercrown]

💩 King Beast: If you could make any one thing happen in canon without consequence, what would it be?

🤩 King Charming: Who or what first caught your eye in/about Descendants? What got you hooked?

🍎 Snow White: If you could ask any character for a five minute interview, who would it be and why?

🥸 Mr. Deley: You have evidence to expose the crimes of a so-called hero. Who’s going down and why?

🤡 Seven Dwarves: You can pick any seven characters to be your roommates. Who are they and why?

💋 Evil Queen: If you had to marry one of the classic Disney villains, who would it be and why?

⚓ Captain Hook: What’s your pirate name? How about the name of that dinghy you call a ship?

This got entire too lengthy, and took far too long sooo cut

💩: if you could make any one thing happen in canon without consequence, what would it be?

Hmmmm. I wanna make it count. Fuck, I can't deny my gut instinct. Anthony. Make him exist and be acknowledged by Dizzy or Chad or Chole. Make him appear, not in an off shoot where we assume it's him, but like give him a little scene. Like maybe a Doug level character, a relationship to a main character but not relevant to the main plot in anyway. (I know it's silly and doesn't matter but that was the instinct)

Oooh or actually show the abuse and don't sweep it under the rug. Quit being a coward disney.

🤩: who or what first caught your eye in/about descendants? What go u hooked?

Traditionally, before I was fandom? The Music. I actually used to listen to songs when I was daydreaming/stimming. I know and can name drop It's good to be bad, but that is far from the only example.

Fandom? I've said this before, but Anthony. He's just so compelling to me. The fandom dive actually went Anthony Tremaine, Claudine Frollo, then Harriet Hook. He is Blorbo more than anyone else to me.

🍎: if you could ask any character for a five minute interview, who would it be and why?

This is such a hard question because I know interviews and have conducted them before. 5 minutes isn't a lot of time and the questions i want to ask need more time. Hmmmmmmmm, Ben.

I would ask about his plans to better Auradon, about how he plans to inact said ideas, maybe about why he chose the Isle. He's a politician he should be able to answer those quickly.

🥸: you have the evidence to expose a so-called hero. Who's going down and why?

Beast. Idk who of my mutuals wouldn't answer Beast. Why? Crimes against humanity, unjust imprisonment, genocide, rights violations (in Auradon), union busting, etc.

🤡: you can pick any 7 characters to be your roommates. Who are they and why?

So many difficult questions. It's not just oh who do I want around me, but also who wouldn't kill each other living together. Ugh, who have the most compatible personalities.

Carlos. He's fairly easy-going and keeps to himself. He also would clean up after himself, so it wouldn't be a horrible mess. (At least not one of his doing.)

Jane. Couples are tricky, but I don't think they would fall into the typical traps of too much pda or sex. Maybe arguments would be an issue but any group of people would have that threat.

Doug. Evie isn't gonna be here and I feel like he would spend a lot of time at her place so he's a negligible factor. Also if he was around he would be pretty chill.

Hear me out, Gil. Anything he would bring home wouldn't be "bad" enough to like horribly disrupt the house and vibe. He's also nice and is easy-going.

Uggg this is so hard. I'm going canon (or like canon to the point where they existed in canon at some point), and vks are hard because of VK tendencies for not working well in big groups. I don't wanna room with kids (or like under 16s). Lonnie??? Her sports equipment would take up a lot of space but I don't think she would actively use it inside???

Screw it I'm going with relative unknowns, Yzla and Reza. The canon versions. So Reza is an unsufferable know it all and Yzla doesn't really have a personality. I can deal with that. Sure why not.

💋: if you had to marry one of the classic Disney villians, who would it be and why?

When they say classic I'm assuming pre Renaissance. So Evil Queen, Chernabog (though I don't think they mean him cause he isn't "well kniwn"), Captain Hook, Cruella de Vil, Queen of Hearts, Madam Mim (see Chernabog reasoning), Lady Tremaine, and Maleficent.

Lady Tremaine. She wouldn't kill or abuse me??? She's just mean and like abusive and neglectful to her kids but I feel like she like her spouse?? None of them are good options. But she isn't insane so I'll take it.

⚓️: what's your pirate name? How about that dinghy you call a ship?

Salty Sal. It's got alliteration and and like sea themes. Ship is Wilted Flower. It has a bit of historical justice (I think. I'm not looking up what I think to check.)