#it’s part of why I believe the last hero was a man of the (original) night’s watch

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

What makes the legend of the last hero stand out among the more prominent messianic figures in the story is its ‘every man’ sort of feel. The Prince That Was Promised can only ever be royal - since the existing requirement is to be born of Aerys and Rhaella’s line, who ruled as king and queen. Azor Ahai is interpreted in story as being related to a king. Yet the last hero was just some guy. His tale has been passed down across millennia, but he himself remains anonymous. We don’t know what family or region he came from. He may have been low born or high born, it doesn’t really matter. And what’s most interesting is how GRRM chooses to parallel his story in the published material. Waymar Royce, Bloodraven, Coldhands, Sam Tarly, Bran Stark, and Jon Snow all serve as narrative mirrors for the last hero. But there’s are quite a few differences. Waymar Royce is a highborn lord, but Jon and Bloodraven are bastards. Jon Snow is the typical fantasy warrior, yet Sam and Bran are GRRM’s deconstructions of what it looks like when a boy who doesn’t fit the chivalric ideal of knighthood gets to be the hero. Jon and Bran are also especially noteworthy because they are at the heart of one GRRM’s core thesis statements:

 “I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples and bastards and broken things.”

So as a propaganda piece, I'd imagine that repeating this tale goes a long way. Imagine you're some unassuming kid from Flea Bottom. You'll never be the promised prince because you're not related to the king. It's a bit hard to be Azor Ahai because where in seven hells will you get dragon eggs, and how will you attain the magic required to bring them to life? But then you COULD be the last hero. Regardless of who your parents are and what type of blood you've got, you too can gather all your friends and go on a hero's journey. And isn't that what children's dreams are made of?

[neoanedotheart]

Lazy thing i wanted to do!!! they're just silly :3

I think dave is a pretty princess and John is awkward

I'll be yapping below

I believe that Dave texts John right after he gets his ass handed to him DAILY. It usually plays out like this where they banter and Dave never really goes through the extent of explaining what thoroughly happens to him so John lives in forever ignorant bliss. And this leads Dave to feel like there's more of disconnect because he first of all doesn't really know how to articulate his feelings and second abuse doesn't seem like abuse to the victim. So he goes about everyday unknowingly yearning to be saved by someone greater than him, which is why I put the snow white reference at the end hehe.

Snow white as a fairy tale is extremely cliche, you got the prince in shining armor showing up conveniently on a horse and saving the girl. There's always this hierarchy placed upon the story where the damsel in distress is saved by a man, that man being portrayed as a greater being.

And with John taking place as the prince in this context paints him as this greater being. And I feel like a part of Dave envies and despises John for being this way, for being "perfect" or in a way. Greater than him.

The thing is in the original snow white story she's unconscious, that's undesirable. But it adds to the desperation of wanting to be saved, shining a better looking light on a person who isn't really there for reasons you want them to be. However John is a sincere person, it's more so the lack of communication or true understanding of one another that leads to this rift, this belief that John isn't there for Dave because he loves him, but because he's his friend and it's John's duty as a friend to save him. Which also brings me to the last line where Dave never corrects himself, and how he insinuates that he'll be unconscious due to being placed in a glass coffin much like snow white was when she was poisoned. He's at this stage where he doesn't want to be saved by an outer source, a greater person than him. He wants to be saved by himself he wants to prove worthy, but then conflicting within his mind is also this idea he isn't good enough to. We all know that Dave believes he isn't a hero and explicitly states John is the hero multiple times throughout homestuck. So he stays waiting.

John however, refers to Dave as Cinderella, Cinderella gets abused and put through plenty of torture from her step sisters and is saved through marriage of some person she just met. There's still this base line of being saved by man however there's this more mutual understanding of what they're getting into, a similar yearn for one another. Though he never caught her name he was still willing to find her, the real her. Which is John in this case, he probably understands he's missing something in the big picture but can never find out what and the best he can do is hope that the other half still held on to what they once were and was willing to share.

This is a pre-sburb interaction btw they're just unknowingly foreshadowing a shit ton.

Sorry if there's like bad shitty writing in here, I'm rambling and it's like almost midnight hehe

[quotidian-oblivion]

I've been thinking about Jason's memorial case in the Batcave recently and came up with a few thoughts.

Obviously, there are a few things wrong with it, mainly the title of a "Good Soldier" being attached to a child. And I've been thinking aboit that mostly.

There's no questions of how intensely focused and obsessed Batman is over the war against crime in Gotham, we see him quoting it multiple times in the comics and even the movies, animated and live-action. And so he thinks everyone in the war is a soldier, including Robins. I hate that and loathe it.

Not because I'm a Batman apologist, I'm not. It's because I like to see and believe in the better parts of Batman. The reason why he doesn't kill in the first place--because it comes from a place of compassion and a place of strong belief set by an 8-year-old boy who grew up too fast. Because he believes anyone can be redeemable because ultimately everyone is human, as proven in the older Batman comics and Batman TAS when he helps Harvey, Harley, Baby Doll, etc.

And the biggest reason of all--because Batman, whether anyone likes it or not, represents a strong symbol in Gotham. A burning torch in murky darkness. A hope--one shrouded by shadows--but a hope nonetheless. It's in the psychology of Gothamites, it needs a Batman because of that symbol which is lethal to criminals and a relief to citizens. I'm heavily referencing The Dark Knight Returns I and II (animated movies) here. Watch it if you haven't yet, you'll see what I mean. This is why he can't kill the Joker. It will be completely tainting that hope and we can see its effects in The Dark Knight Returns II.

In any case, Tim was right about Batman needing a Robin. Because in the end, Batman is just that--a man. And Robin is a child.

Lego Batman is really good for this reason. The concept of found family in that movie is just amazing. I love how Bruce fears having a family again after he lost his old one.

Batman needs a Robin because Batman was originally born out of a vengeance scheme of an 8-year-old newly orphaned boy who lost everyone. Trauma lasts. Batman needs a Robin because Robin is a family. And that little boy who lost his parents needs it. And so does Robin.

I love in Young Jusitce when Batman says "So that he doesn't" in response to Wonder Woman asking him if he pulled Robin into this life "So that he turns out like you?". Because Dick was also a little boy bent on revenge. Bruce gave that to him in the only way he knew how, but a better version because he himself has matured and understands how dark he has gotten. He doesn't want that for Dick, or Jason, or Tim, or Damian, or Cass--or any of his kids. He gave them early on what he didn't have--a family. And he received a family back. And having that family keeps Batman from tipping oved the edge into insanity. Because revenge is a poison, even if it's an 8-year-old boy imagining it.

But that still doesn't change that he sees it as a war. And he sees Robin and himself as soldiers.

So I came to a conclusion.

He doesn't.

Bruce doesn't.

Batman does.

Here's how I'm piecing it out:

"A Good Soldier" carved on the memorial case because only soldiers can fight so openly and outwardly. Even if they're dubbed as vigilantes, they are soldiers. And I think Bruce thinks it this way.

So when he sees a Robin or a Batkid out there, kicking rapists in the face and whatnot, he sees how someone so young can bear so much weight. He sees how a child can hold so much bravery--like the soldiers in the frontlines--doing this because of the morals they believe in. He sees how Robin is a good fighter, a good helper, a brave one, a confident person, a soft hero.

He sees how Robin is all that and he thinks "A good soldier." Because Robin is one. With the thing they're doing, he is one.

But yes, it's wrong. Children cannot and should not be soldiers. But a) this is the worst type of fiction, comic fiction 😂 and b) Batman is fucked up himself and considering he started training to be Batman from a young age too, he himself was a child soldier.

In the world of DC comics, the people there need someone like Batman while the people in the Earth we live in need someone like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malala Yousufzai, etc.

So yeah, Robin is a good soldier--a great soldier, because he holds the bravery, determination and strength of a soldier. It could mean a literal thing, but it could also mean a metaphorical thing. Bruce could have engraved those words to Jason's memorial case because the only thing he can think of to sum up how Jason was as a Robin was a soldier. Because soldiers are brave, and Jason was the bravest.

And I think comic writers after that took the whole "war against crime" psyche of Batman too literally and too much creating the abusive ass prick in some of the continuities.

But you can't tell me that Bruce--not Batman--Bruce has a case of his own for Jason. Maybe a physical one, maybe an imaginitive one. A case which holds Jason's annotated copy of Pride and Prejudice, his first aced test paper, and his favorite hoodie, all kept tidily in the case with the words "a good son, be well loved, Jay lad" written under it. A case which he holds private because it was his son who he lost. Jason.

A little boy who survived so much until he couldn't. A little boy who he tried to protect until he couldn't. His son. Jason.

[yanderes-galore]

If you're comfortable, could I request a romantic concept for Endeavor (MHA)?

I have mixed feelings about him because I know he's going to horrid to Darling... but at the same time he'd probably try to redeem himself later- This doesn't have much of a plot but it takes place after Rei. The original draft I was doing took place where you replace Rei but I scrapped it for now. Take this as an AU that doesn't really connect to canon.

Yandere! Enji Todoroki (Endeavor) Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling (A section mentions female anatomy, however. This section is in pink), Obsession, Age gap, Possessive behavior, Manipulation, Abuse of power, Lucid yandere, Stalking, Marriage, Mentions of wanting/having children/baby trapping, Isolation, Dubious (forced) relationship.

In an alternate timeline where Enji decides to start anew from his old family, I can see him hesitate for once when he finds a new obsession.

After all, it's clear he's been horrible with relationships in the past.

He's only ruined his kids lives, same thing for his wife.

He probably doesn't even think he'll love again.

Then you come into his life, just about as annoying as Hawks, yet make him feel funny.

It's a familiar warmth... and he dreads it.

You're a new pro hero which means he's going to be dealing with you a lot.

This leaves him conflicted as now he'll have a harder time to suppress the burning warmth in him when he looks at you.

You're younger than him, at least half his age if not a bit older, he knows it would be unprofessional to do anything.

The good news, after his original family and the retirement of All-Might, he's much better than he was.

Unfortunately, if you ever got too close, old habits may make themselves known.

There's times you're so bratty... yet he knows it's just because you're young.

You're overconfident, yet you have a decently strong quirk.

Enji wants to be better, part of him even wants another chance at love, but doing it here would be poor choice.

You look up to him, something he both enjoys yet pities.

Which is why he'd probably stay quiet about his newest obsession for a long time.

He doesn't want to ruin your life.

You have promise, you don't need him to ruin everything.

At the same time... He worries he won't be able to hold back the longer you're around him.

To talk about Enji in general, he's a possessive yandere.

Even when he leaves his old family behind to make them happy, he'd still be bad with you.

Enji no doubt eventually would want to marry his obsession just to be able to show everyone you're his.

He knows marriage didn't go well for him before... but when he looks at you, he can't help but want others to know you're his.

That he's picked you.

To add onto that, if you have a womb... Enji would no doubt try to put a child in it.

I personally believe this man has a thing for strong successors.

Based on past behavior, that is.

So, if you were capable of having kids, Enji would eventually want that.

At first he'd be against it, knowing how his last four kids went, but the thought of giving you his kid...

It just makes him think it's another way to show you're his.

Even after losing his original family he's still possessive.

Old habits die hard, too bad you are on the receiving end.

Enji no doubt tries to be better.

He doesn't want a repeat of Rei.

He doesn't want to hurt this second chance, maybe he's just lonely but...

He wants to make you happy if you're involved with him, it's not like All-Might is in the picture anymore.

Enji may not even suggest a Quirk marriage in this case, perhaps this one he'll take his time with.

But your quirk is an added bonus as a fellow pro hero.

Enji tries his best to stay away and help you from afar.

He shouldn't have you, he doesn't deserve you, he can't ruin another...

Yet you grow close to him and he's trying to put a wildfire out.

I feel most pro heros would take a subtle manipulative approach towards their obsessions.

Things like coaxing their obsession into being involved with them.

Enji would try to stay away from it more due to past experiences.

But you just know he'll snap and start being closer with you.

It's no doubt an abuse of power due to his seniority.

Which is what makes it so manipulative.

You're both skilled heroes and you may even find dating the Endeavor flattering.

At first you think there's nothing wrong.

Completely unaware that being around Enji can get you burned.

Enji doesn't want to keep things hidden when he manages to date you.

He wants other heroes to know he's dating you.

That way no one else can sabotage him.

He wants people to know you for dating him.

When dating you he tries his best to be more amicable.

He doesn't try to hurt you, he's learned.

He's possessive and easily irritated when people bring you up... but never blames you.

He probably buys you what you want, even if you have the money as a hero.

He remembers certain aspects about you, even does it before you're dating.

Enji tries to hold himself back from marriage, but he may use it as another way to show you're his.

It's like a flex to him to say you're engaged. (even if you're not... but that's okay, he can change that.)

Plus, when he eventually gets you to marry him, it feels euphoric to slip on that ring.

He's admittedly nervous to ruin his second chance... which means he does his best to tend to you, even when he has work.

He wants to make things better.

If he notices you're falling out of love with him, or if you notice his more toxic behavior... he distracts you.

Others pity the relationship you two have, even if you are well cared for.

Most of his old family pity you, while Dabi finds it laughable Enji found someone else to torment.

Enji doesn't seem to care about the backlash.

As long as you love him, as long as he has that chance, as long as you're his...

Everyone else can burn.

Speaking of burns, early Enji may have used burns to mark his darling.

This time he refrains from that... but the thought is tempting.

Although... anything to show his mark on you couldn't be that bad, right?

He may not kidnap, but he'd definitely manipulate you into staying with him.

By the time the rose tinted glasses are off, you're in too deep.

If you can have children, you may even already be with child before you realize this... might've been a trap.

Enji likes to show ownership over his obsession.

While he may be caring with you, he's still controlling.

You're no longer your own person, perhaps even forced to give up being a hero.

You're his partner, you'll be known as his partner...

Enji doesn't plan on letting you leave, he'll use whatever means he deems necessary to keep you with him.

He'll lock you away, he'll bribe you, he'll baby trap you... anything.

Enji isn't going to mess this up again...

You're going to be his...

No matter what it takes.

[minus-plus-zer0]

Vigilante Bakugou x Normal Reader Headcanons - Part 2

| Part 1 | ♡ Genre: Angst, fluff ending ♡ Pairing: Vigilante!Bakugou x Normal!Reader (I couldn't put the last post in bullet points like I normally do because it always glitches ;-;)

Bakugou avoided you, believing you liked Dynamight better.

He couldn't stand to hear you praise Dynamight and talk about how the hero was so much better than him. He couldn't show his face to you, knowing that you preferred his other side.

So Dynamight appeared more and more in your life as time went on, since that was the side you truly loved.

But it was killing Bakugou inside. He would really rather have you love him as one whole. He missed you so much during school hours. Bakugou was more grouchy, testy, and just not as responsive as before towards anyone. He couldn't even talk to you anymore knowing you preferred Dynamight. He didn't know what Bakugou did wrong.

You kept hearing about Bakugou's worsened behavior from your other classmates. This pushed you to reach out to Bakugou more, but he avoided you completely.

The more you chased after Bakugou, the more Dynamight would reach out to you and comfort you. He told you he'd do anything to keep you safe and watch over you. When you needed someone to share your life with, Dynamight was there instead of Bakugou.

But you couldn't easily forget your old best friend.

One day, a super villain incident broke out at your school. You were separated from your classmates, pushed to the side in the hallways as everyone ran past you. You didn't have anyone to protect you.

Little did you know, Bakugou was running over.

You wanted to contact Dynamight, but he wasn't picking up. You headed for the nearest safe zone while texting and calling the hero, hoping he'd pick up.

But the super villain caught you first, alone in the hallway. They rushed towards you to attack but someone sprinted past you and blasted them back. Several explosions flashed, filling the hallway with smoke until finally, the villain laid prone on the ground, defeated. Another figure emerged from the smoke.

It was Bakugou, who saved you in his civilian form.

Bakugou was so happy got here just in the nick of time, just like when he first saved you in that dark alleyway.

You're shocked to see him here. He's shocked that you caught him in the act.

Bakugou/Dynamight remained frozen as you ran up to hug him.

He started crying. You, on the other hand, were so glad he turned out okay. You feared he would've been hurt during the invasion.

Through his tears, Bakugou asked, "Why are you hugging me? Thought you liked Dynamight."

You kissed him, and that shocked him even more. But he didn't pull away, he'd never pull away.

"I love you, Bakugou," you said. "I thought you'd never have feelings for anyone. You were my platonic love as a friend, but since you're also Dynamight, I guess I love you in a different way as well."

"I've always loved you," he said, holding your face. "I can't believe you never knew. I thought you chose him over me."

You kiss him again, and it's like every kiss is healing him each time.

"I'm choosing the man who saved me, alright?"

"Alright," he said, finally smiling at you. "Take both sides of me, okay? Don't just take one or the other."

"I won't."

From now on, Bakugou would let you into both sides of his life. You couldn't allow him to walk this dangerous path alone, you'd help him from the sidelines every step of the way as his new sidekick. And he'd never let anyone hurt you, not for anything.

(This was meant to be posted weeks ago, but the original post glitched and I never got around to finishing this until now)

[lume-nosity]

an: this is a reupload!! (copy and paste pain) because for some reason my original post wasn’t showing up on the tags?? even my own??? if this doesn’t show up again i’m just gonna leave it as is. also the og’s who saw the post before i took it down are the real ones <3 anyways, requests are closed but i took this as a suggestion because i wanted to do it. when i saw this in my inbox i felt productive/determined to fulfill this ask so you're welcome /Ih and holy shit 2k+ notes on part one you guys are crazy thank you so much i'm so glad you liked it!! you take care of yourself as well dear anon <3

‘i've got my eye on you.’ (pt. 2)

prompt: what would they do if they saw their s/o in an uncomfortable situation

characters: itto, diluc, zhongli, ayato, tartaglia, thoma, kaeya

style: fluff, much fluff

notes: not proofread, lowercase intended, possibly ooc because i used character demos/teasers/ a few voicelines as references, gender neutral reader, the smaller text is whispering, no dialogue/use for [name], kuki shinobu mention in itto's part, how tf do you write zhongli and kaeya, petnames: beloved, treasure, love, swearing, blood mention in tartaglia's part, tartaglia getting a little violent, got lazy while writing the last few portions

reblogs are appreciated!

itto

"HEYYYY THERE YOU ARE!! so uh, are these guys bothering you?"

"huh, so they are. hey! hey, no worries! ill getcha outta here. i'm THE arataki numero uno they’re dealing with."

"hey, so, you're making my lovely super amazing wonderful partner uncomfortable and i would absolutely LOVE it if you leave em alone."

"oh wait, they're already gone. OHHHH did i scare them?? HAHAHAAA, man, that was great. totally worth the scare. anyways! want to have an onikabuto battle? yeah? OKAY! come on, come on, come on!!! i know the best spot to find them. but just so you know, i will beat you this time!"

let me tell you itto's was a lot of fun to write. i don't have to write too seriously!!!

he was looking for you actually, to have a little onikabuto battle since he's determined to win. (despite the many losses he has under his belt)

but seeing you look so uneasy from afar, yeah no he's not having it. ran towards you at mach 20.

one simple glance at him, those creeps are running to their mothers. the best part was that itto was confused as to why they've run off but he assumed it was because of him.

well, he's half right, because what really scared them off was kuki shinobu's shadow quite literally appeared out of nowhere next to you and itto. mvp! you guys weren't aware of her presence, because after they ran off, she just walked away. stealthy. like a boss.

i find it canon that if itto has a s/o shinobu would do anything in her power to keep those two away from trouble/danger. it's her job as deputy leader of the arataki gang, right?

diluc

"look, i'm not interested in small talk, but i'll get straight to the point. if you wish to make things simple for the both of us, see yourselves out. i won't ask again."

"what am i going to do about it? well, wouldn't you like to know." (casually readies his claymore)

"what a bunch of imbeciles. *sigh* i apologize for not arriving here sooner, i'll escort you home."

"you. want to stay with me? alright, i'll arrange a room for you at the winery right away. no? ah. i see. then i suppose my bed would big enough for the two of us to sleep on. are you satisfied with that? good. now let's go."

he isn't the darknight hero for nothing

like the gentleman he is, he was going to accompany you until you get home safely and then exchange goodbyes.

but no, you wanted to stay with him for the night. he has many rooms for the guests to use, but when you in particular suggested to sleep with him in his room, he of course doesn't mind since it's you.

should it be anyone else, it'll be an immediate no. so be glad you get to have this privilege from the guy because he loves you and is willing to do anything for you

zhongli

"pardon the intrusion, but i believe now's the time for the both of us to take our leave. please excuse us."

"it'd be wise for you to not place your indelicate hands onto my beloved. lest you'll see a rather.. grotesque, outcome."

"my dear, are you alright? ... how did i find you, you may ask? oh, please do not underestimate me. i'm far more than what meets the eye."

"we are sharing a contract, after all. to live and cherish life with one another until the end of time, to be safe, filled with tenderness and warmth within our hearts, and to not have anyone interfere that great deal of a bond. for you are my greatest treasure."

rip my brain for having to push zhongli's portion out because it clearly cannot comprehend this man's vocabulary.

you and him are to follow a contract, yes. but it's similar to a confession, if that makes sense?

basically zhongli was the one to confess to you first with his built-in thesaurus (to which you accepted of course if you like him too) and then have you and him sign' this sort of contract as a promise to stick with one another for as long as life can allow it. and by sign...

it's a kiss. to seal the contract :)

ayato

"a pity. hm? yes, i am 'the head of the kamisato clan. but your concerns about my reputation is irrelevant."

"you're harassing my lover, and if i catch you doing this unsightly act once again, then i'm afraid i'll have to resort to something that'll make you wish you've never been born."

"ah, my words were too harsh? nonsense, it was vitally necessary. at least it'd driven them away. well, i guess there are benefits for someone of high status."

"come now, i'll have my staff cook you something to your liking. you are my lover, so they'll be sure to suit your needs. you needn't worry."

fun fact: i've never finished ayato's story quest so i was writing this blind (with the help of some voicelines/demos/teasers, this goes along with the rest of the men on this list)

originally, you two were going on a nightly stroll since he was free but were stopped by a group of creeps. however, ayato handled the matter in his way.

in his head, those creeps are a waste of time and mere bugs because, well, they are. and pathetic, because they immediately recognize him for his high status and they all shrank in his presence. which made things easier for ayato. he made a small threat, and then they zoomed.

afterwards, he wanted to bring you home for dinner instead. continuing to stay out after that ordeal was not an option in his book.

what a good man

tartaglia

"wow, you all are quite bold. daring to do that while i'm here? hah, how risky. i'm actually impressed, by how wrong of a move you've just played."

"say, wouldn't you guys be interested for a sparring session? i'll be delighted to fight you all at the same time to enhance my combative capabilities. no? are you sure? okay, the offer's still on the table you know. and don't think i'm letting you all off so easily."

"love, are you alright? did they hurt you? if they did then i'll be sure to give them the same pain as they did to you. but worse. hm? no? okay, if you insist."

"moving on, let's go home shall we? the more i think about those creeps, the more i'm itching to grab my blades and hunt them down. oh! no, it's nothing. let's move, wouldn't want to stay out for too long."

we all know that he'll definitely end them

the thing is, he was right next to you when it happened and it's almost as if those asshats were blind!!!

blinded by his beauty ig

well, those assholes should sleep with one eye open every night now that tartaglia has seen them.

thoma

"excuse me, my partner and i are in a hurry. we have important business to attend to and we wouldn't want to be late."

"we won't take up the rest of your time, so please, if you'll excuse us."

"phew, that was rough. i didn't like how they were treating you, so i wanted to help you out. oh nonono, there's no need to thank me! as your boyfriend, it's my job to make sure that you're safe and happy at all times!"

"to get your mind off of what happened, i'll cook dinner for you tonight. any preferences? favorites? recipes? ill be sure to write them down!"

thoma based

instead of staying and insulting them, he just makes up an excuse to leave! it saves less time!!

..which shunned the creeps to bits. because you see, to me, people who are as kindhearted as thoma are equivalent to sunshine. and by sunshine i mean blindingly bright.

too nice and polite to the point the creeps are blind and deaf, you get what i mean?

kaeya

"well, well, well, how amusing of you all to act in such a way while i'm here. clearly you weren't cautious about your surroundings nor able to understand the differences between common courtesy and disrespect."

"how do i think so? from what you were displaying a few seconds ago, there's an obvious answer to that. it's allill written in your face. uneasiness. just like my partner."

"run along now, before your feet will run cold."

"ah, please, spare me the thanks. i only did what i had to do. as long as you're safe, that's all that matters to me. now then, allow me to treat you to dinner. it's all on me~"

honestly i got very lost in writing kaya's portion despite listening to his voicelines for like 2-3 times :,)

but, what i can conclude from this is that he'll be the sly bro he usually is with people

except in here, it's a bit different. his words are like that of a snake, wrapping around its prey.

makes sense, because kaeya doesn't stand people who make his s/o uncomfortable. if he scares them off or anything, then so be it. anything to keep you safe.

[bookished]

( a collection of starters. adjust phrasing as necessary.) feel free to make edits to better suit your muse, but please don’t edit or add on to the original post 💛 if you like, please consider supporting me through tips

The old, leather-bound journal was found hidden under the floorboards of the abandoned mansion. Its pages contained cryptic messages and a map that seemed to lead to something of great value—or danger.

In a world where the stars can be plucked from the sky and turned into powerful talismans, a young orphan discovers a constellation that has never been seen before. It points to a destiny that could change the fate of the entire realm.

During the height of the Renaissance, a young artist discovers a hidden chamber in the heart of Florence. Inside, she finds sketches of inventions far beyond her time and a letter addressed to her, written centuries ago.

Two strangers meet on a delayed train during a snowstorm on Christmas Eve. As they share stories to pass the time, they realize they have more in common than they ever imagined—and that fate might have brought them together for a reason.

In a small, isolated village, people start to vanish without a trace. The only clue left behind is a symbol carved into the doors of their homes, a mark that matches ancient legends of a vengeful spirit.

In a future where emotions are controlled by the government, a young woman discovers an underground movement that aims to restore true feelings to humanity. She must decide whether to join them or stay in the safety of her regulated life.

Every night, a small café in the city transforms into a magical place where time stands still and dreams come to life. Only a select few know about its existence, and one day, an ordinary person stumbles upon it by accident.

A high school student finds an old camera at a garage sale. When they develop the photos, they see glimpses of the future. Now, they must navigate high school life while trying to change events they know are coming.

"I don't believe in coincidences, especially not ones involving missing people."

"You mean to tell me you've never seen a dragon before? Where have you been living, under a rock?"

"The prophecy spoke of a hero, but I never imagined it would be someone like you."

"This isn't just a piece of space debris; it's a message."

"Our planet was destroyed. We're the last survivors, and we need your help."

"Do you really believe the king will pardon us if we find the lost treasure?"

"She's a woman in a man's world, but she'll change history, mark my words."

"I didn't come here to fall in love; I came to find myself."

"Every letter I wrote to you, I wrote with my heart in my hand."

"That house has been abandoned for years. Why would anyone go inside willingly?"

"The shadows in this place…they move when you're not looking."

"There's a map, but it's missing the most crucial part—the key to decoding it."

"I've been to the highest mountain and the deepest sea, but I've never seen anything like this."

"Freedom is an illusion they sold us to keep us compliant."

"We've been living in a lie. It's time we uncover the truth."

"Every night at midnight, the old clock shop comes alive. Haven't you ever noticed?"

"They say the forest spirits grant wishes, but only to those who ask with pure intentions."

"I found this old diary in the attic, and it’s like it’s talking directly to me."

[dcdreamblog]

As someone who works in American health insurance (boo hiss) customer service, one call that I get frequently, about once every two months is "why doesn't my plan cover Miraclo (tm)?" And then I have to explain that there's no such thing as "generic Miraclo" and don't even get me started on so-called "herbal Miraclo."

So may I ask you to write a bit about the history of Hourman and why Miraclo (tm) isn't covered by most health plans?

Ok, I agree with you but I should warn you, if you are a person familiar with the medical field this explanation is going to make you cringe yourself sideways. Here goes. 1. Rex Tyler AKA Hourman, was not a pharmaceutical scientist by trade. He was a biochemist. His job was not to invent medicine specifically and he invented Miraclo on accident. The only three subjects it was ever tested on were

A. Tyler himself B. Rats C. An owl (if certain stories are to be believed)

2. Miraclo was never released to the public and we still don't know what's in it. As with any drug or chemical agent that grants superhuman abilities it is HEAVILY controlled and the only reason it hasn't joined the likes of Venom on the most wanted list is because it never leaked to the drug trade in the first place.

3. SPEAKING of Venom, Miraclo is how that drug got started when only PART of Tyler's notes ended up in the wrong hands.

And finally,

4. Miraclo is not safe for human consumption over any extended period.

It makes the muscles stronger, but not as strong as it makes them FEEL. Making it super easy to deeply injure yourself.

It only lasts for an hour (at MOST, for anyone other than Tyler its effectiveness can be measured in minutes if not less), meaning it would be useless for the treatment of basically any medical issue.

As you can expect from such a potent rush, the come down is worse. It leaves the subject weak, shaky, disoriented and aggravated.

It's addictive

It can only be taken once every 24 hours between doses without instant, violent overdose reactions.

If it IS taken "safely" over extended periods it strains the involuntary muscles, most specifically those around and within the heart. Placing the user at increased risk of random heart attacks.

It also sharply spikes your risk of developing virulent and aggressive leukemia

And, over time The debilitating effects after each dose become more and more permanent, meaning it makes the muscles it empowers weaker without it over time.

Before anyone even THINKS the words "but what about Hourman's son Rick" Rick Tyler is A. a metahuman B. using a form of Miraclo that makes it "nonaddictive" but doesn't get rid of any other side effects. C. Had cancer and D. spent several years retired under the assumption that the Miraclo rush had helped him kill a man.

I respect the Tyler men, deeply. We would not be living in this world we have, maybe even a world at all, without Hourman. Miraclo is a closely guarded secret for a lot of really good reasons and even their teammates have interceded multiple times with the worry that while it might make them for effective heroes it is almost certainly shortening their lifespans. (The original Hourman and Doctor Midnite infamously butted heads over it constantly)

The only difference between Miraclo and Kobra Venom is that nobody with a profit motive knows how to make Miraclo.

[alicerosejensen]

Please tell us you’ll do a part 2 for your head canon about Leon’s girlfriend finding out about Ada and Claire. Surely he wouldn’t just let her run off like that if he loves her.

All you need to know is that while I was writing this part, I listened to "I Love How You Lie" - Eminem feat. Rihanna. At least twenty times. Maybe more.

There is no physical violence here, but you can see a broken Lеon when his girlfriend left for TWO months without explanation. Fuck knows why Tumbler gave me some character restrictions in the last post, but out of fear I shortened some part of the text. (And this time there were no such gifts)

Tornado meets volcano.

So, a few people asked for the second part and I translated it as far as I could into English. Enjoy it if you can.

I like this text. I consider this one of my best works (I think it looks much better on the original).

If you need a translation of the third part, then let me know. Because of the fucking restriction, I'm not sure it's worth putting this whole story out.

As Cersei Lannister once said, "Love is poison. Yes, it is sweet, but it kills no worse than any other".

Because of one man, you have no desire to go out into the daylight, there is no reason to smile or laugh. The realization that for Leon you were nothing more than a beautiful doll still makes the heart bleed and quietly cry into the pillow looking for salvation in the night while everyone is sleeping.

It seems that there will be no end to this pain, and your hero turned out to be the main villain in your story, because of which you suffer. You allowed yourself to be deceived, you allowed yourself to be played with. You're the one who let a stranger become someone close. You're the one who let Leon rip out his heart, leaving a gaping wound that's slowly rotting away.

Nevertheless, you still miss his warm, slightly rough hands at night, who hugged you tightly, hugging you on cool nights. Now this whole stupid story reminds of how the moth flew into the light and eventually burned to the ground, so that only ashes remained of it. The truth is that the fire is Leon, and you are a stupid moth that has gone out. Although now, looking at the night sky, pressing your knees to your stomach, hugging yourself tightly, despite the great loss, you hope one day to start shining brighter than comets again.

Carey called last week, telling the latest news and gossip, not forgetting to mention your boyfriend who came to college looking for you, but she lied to him saying she didn't know where you were and where you disappeared. Leon hardly believed it, but he was not a man who beat the truth out of others. At least not from stupid students. But your happiness is that he did not know where your parents' house was, which means that in any case his search will not be successful.

You're very happy about it. Here you allow yourself to walk through the fields, remembering your youth and go with your father to the forest, just like in childhood jumping on the biggest stones. In the evening, the old man plays guitar to you and your mother while you and her clean up the dishes after a hearty dinner. Here at home, your wounds don't ache so much from the pain, and you look with laughter at the childhood photos taken by your mother in Calcutta, when you wrapped yourself in someone's sari trying to repeat the movements of Indian dancers. Flipping through the pages, you came across a photo with your fifth birthday, where you joyfully got dirty with a birthday cake.

And while your parents were laughing, you suddenly remembered that for some reason Leon didn't have more than one child's photo. Then, for some reason, he still said that his parents died quite early, but it was a sore subject that the two of you never touched on with him again. But he really liked to hear about your childhood adventures.

So you thought…

You so wanted to escape from the noisy city, away from Leon, and now involuntarily the soul is drawn to him. Although it doesn't make sense to dream about a summer together anymore. You had a wonderful, romantic love. You left Leon your dream of living together, but he never touched on the topic of future family with you.

It was really funny. Your father still doesn't like your first high school crush, even though you were fifteen and there was nothing between you and this guy but a chaste kiss on the cheek, this guy was forever blacklisted by your father. To make him think about Leon, who was twelve years older? Most likely, he would have tried to shoot him with his hunting rifle.

All the things, books, clothes, cosmetics, even the phone - everything is left with Leon and you will have to come back for them anyway. However, the mere thought of the collision of these sapphire eyes makes, the body goosebumps. You can lick your wounds at home, but there…all the scabs will open up again if only he touches you. If he suddenly says that Ada does not matter to him, however, by that smile and the compact in his bedside table, you realized that she would always be in the first place for him.

I wonder how long he's been looking for you? You called your friend because you wanted to clarify (and once again slash at the heart with a sharp knife of truth) whether Leon appeared in college or tried to reach you through friends, but the truth is cruel: he wasn't looking for you. Of course, it was probably stupid to worry, but you hoped that you meant something to him at least a little.

Leon has become your sweet poison.

Somehow, all thoughts returned to him alone. You are ready to fall into the abyss after him, get a hundred bullets instead of him, but it was his bullet that killed you.

Therefore, no matter how much you love him, the mind, and not the remnants of feelings, tells you a reasonable "Let him go." This is what needs to be done, and it will be the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, Leon is not the hero of Tolkien's beautiful story. He is not Beren, and you are not his Luthien. Funny comparison… But this is an analgesic balm, so you can stand firmly at the door of the apartment from which you escaped a little more than two months ago.

However, uncertainty again knocked down your legs at the very last minute, turning you into a mess with swollen red eyes, drowning in a puddle of your own tears. But to hell with it! You weren't tempted to listen to his voice or reread old messages, so why the hell are all these fucking feelings coming back out?! The cleaner handed you the keys and you exhaled with relief, hoping that you would have time to pick up all the things before Leon returned and then the need for an explanation would disappear by itself.

You will simply disappear from his life. He will cherish his love for Ada Wong or find someone who will not mind being a replacement for this irreplaceable woman.

But you cross the threshold of the house, leaving the keys on the bedside table, intending to finish it as soon as possible. This person is not capable of loving you, and by and large your days together are numbered. This is what you repeat to yourself, pulling out of the closet a large suitcase and a bag, alternately putting your things there.

Yes, you notice a few bottles of alcohol in the kitchen, a mess and your phone. Leon unlocked it, and you think that maybe he decided to check your correspondence or recent calls, but he definitely didn't find anything "criminal". Because Ada Wong didn't write to you.

Without wasting precious time, you continue packing, still taking the phone and putting it in your coat pocket. Your blouses, dresses, underwear…actually, you wouldn't mind quickly changing into more comfortable clothes than the one you took from home. But still discarding the thought of changing clothes, you zipped up suitcase, grabbing an empty bag with her free hand to put all the cosmetics there. You turn around to go to the dressing table and…freeze.

Leon.

He tricked you. He wasn't on your side. Burn it with fire, but he will not see you in tears. You won't stay with him and let him tear you to pieces. You are not the heroine of Lana Del Rey's music video…

But Leon was just silently watching your hurried movements. With those deep bruises under his eyes and a faraway look. He looked so exhausted that you wanted to go up to him and kiss him almost on a reflex level, but your brain was still saying "let him go! Save the remnants of your poor heart!"

You thought one thing, and Leon did not understand why you poured caustic poison on him in this way, running away without explaining anything. Smouldering like a coal, he was still just glad to see you alive and unharmed. And yet the sandcastle that he was building with you was now being destroyed on his hands.

The only thing Leon knows is that if he loses you, he will lose his only home.

"I can't…I'm leaving you," you whispered, still fiddling with the strap of the bag, watching the light blue eyes darken in an instant.

"What do you mean?" - Leon takes the bag out of your hands, throwing it on the bed at the same time looking strangely at the already packed suitcase. - "Baby, if you've been wanting to tell me something for a long time, then you should have done it, and not run the devil knows where without money and a phone. What was I supposed to think? Where have you been? You haven't been to college for two months!"

My God, your body is screaming again, as it did then: "Run." Although it was a lie. Leon's voice remains even, calm… and gentle. Just don't run away from him. His hand gently grabs your palm, warming it, forcing the blood to circulate through your veins. He's been so damn worried, missed you so much, that he seriously thinks he'd rather tie you to a bed and set the fucking house on fire than let you leave.

"I'm not her. But I'm not a fucking piece of cake that you can take whenever you see fit. I loved you, but I don't want to see you anymore. I don't want to talk to you and know you."

The good question is, who is going to hurt who now? Some part of you wants to cause him at least a fraction of the pain that you experienced, while Leon becomes a shadow of his former self in front of your eyes from these words. You fucking promised him! Be with him!

"I'm not Ada Wong. I'm not a mysterious spy. But I'm not your toy either, Leon. I'm the fucking person whose feelings you played with! When I loved you so much that it went beyond sanity, you loved a completely different woman!"

You're crying, turning away from him to grab the remnants of things and throw them into a fucking bag and run far, far away to start all over again. Away from Leon and his woman in red. The main thing is that he does not look at you with that sad, tired look, otherwise you will not stand it and burst into tears out loud. Do you want to yell at him when he asks one simple question, "Is it because of Ada? Is she the reason you left?"

But you turn around abruptly.

"No. The reason is you, not her. You hurt me. Not Ada. She's the part of you that you'll never let go of. "

This quote and the compact should be enough for him to understand. But it drives to lose your mind. Your love melts when you look at him and listen to his tacit consent. He would never let this woman go. And you still have some remnants of pride. "Maybe you're right." - This is what finally breaks your love. Next to him, you become quieter, smaller…Leon won another round, and you lost to him. Your heartbeat slows down, but his words finally force you not to let him touch you.

"Good" - Your lips whispered it so simply. As if it doesn't hurt at all. "I'm leaving."

"Don't!" - Almost a plea, but you jump away from Leon when he grabs you by the shoulders and pulls you to him. Despite how much you missed him, now in order to save yourself, your brain began to make a monster out of him. "I won't let you go. I love you, you know that! That should be enough!"

"But it's not enough! You love her and you will always choose her from the two of us. I'm not coming back to you anymore. I'm NOT her replacement! I won't fall into these nets anymore!

This is your end.

The last point. You don't know how to continue to believe in better days, but it's time to part. It's time to leave and forget this feeling. You resist when Leon tries to hold you to him. This is what tears apart. You just loved him. Your emotions are in a mess, you don't even realize right away that you are choking on the howl of that same beaten dog. How can you love and hate him at the same time?

That's all. Leave. Run. But you fall to your knees because you can't do anything against him! You love him so much! Whether he's a monster or a scoundrel. What should you do? It shouldn't be like that at all.

"Angel, believe me! It has not been as important as it used to be for a long time. I love you. That message doesn't mean anything!" - His hands hold you tightly by the waist, not allowing you to leave. He also loves you no less than you love him. Why didn't you just tell him what was bothering you? - "You are my love."

He's fucking lying. He wasn't even looking for you.

"Let me go!" - You scream, remembering all the nights with him without sleep, when everything was fine. You want to believe in this fucking lie, but in order to escape, you grab the very last thread, strike a fatal blow: "I don't love you anymore!"

It was painful. Leon feels a ringing in his ears and wants to loosen his grip at the last second, but for some reason he leans against the top of your head, still hoping that you are lying.

"It is not true." You both knew that. You heard only a pulse pounding and one boundless silence. You would be ashamed to look at yourself in the mirror, but Leon turns you over to face him, wiping the wet tracks of tears on his swollen cheeks with his thumbs. - "I don't believe it. Princess, if you would tell me…I was going crazy. You ran away without even explaining anything. Do you really believe that I could hurt you? I love you, not her. That's all you need to know. I will always choose you."

"I want to leave." Leon nods negatively, feeling a lump in his throat, but you want to leave him. You've already decided everything. Even for the first time, only now he continues to deprive you of strength, being your biggest weakness. Even if you feel calm right now, burying your nose in his neck, you have to do it.

"Please don't say that…"

"But it's true!"

Leon's hands close around your waist as he kisses your temple. He has found you and right now he is holding you in his arms not so that you will leave. Not so that everything that you both have been building for so long will collapse. He doesn't need tears to hurt. He needs you.

And again a single tear falls from your eyelashes. Why is he lying to your face? Why did you become his victim? But you can't order your heart and you can't lie to your soul - you want your love for him to disappear like a bird in the sky, what a pity that miracles don't happen.

You are bound by these hands and absolutely unarmed. Hell, you can't even leave as beautifully as Ada always does.

"You don't want that, I know. Please baby…We can talk about it. Look at me." - You're doing it. Idiot. You look at him when his gentle touches become rough, as long as you just don't look away. Unlikely you could have turned your head even a couple of degrees. - "It's all good."

It would be better if you died now. There is no doubt in your sincere love… he will always come back to her. Therefore, not a damn thing is all right! You're not okay! It's you who are suffering from agony, while he just needs the warmth of a young body.

This is what you shout at him, pushing him away from you, getting to your feet, grabbing a suitcase. You don't care about anything anymore! You're running away forever. Leon's reaction, however, is faster than yours, and he manages to intercept you faster than you get to the open door, throwing the damn suitcase aside.

You are probably the unluckiest girl.

A familiar record of Leon's promises that he loves you. He pinned you against the wall, hanging like a mighty rock, cutting off escape routes. At this moment, you do not have enough air, as if the breathing taps have been blocked.

"Princess…" - You smile bitterly. A princess who was banished from her own kingdom and from his heart. You turn from a princess into a prisoner. It was he who left you a deep crater instead of a heart. -"You're not her, but that's why I'm with you. I don't love you for your body. If I wanted a beautiful girl for the night, then this relationship would never have happened."

"Please go" - The request hidden from the lips responds with a dull pain inside Leon. Taking a step towards you, he bumps into an obstacle from your hands that have fallen on his chest. - "I don't want to be second place anymore."

All Leon is thinking about at this very second, while you are tearing his skin and flesh getting to his heart in shreds, which bastard drove this thought into your head?

You're the reason he's still alive. How can you want to leave him after he has allowed you to become a part of his life? He's been looking for you these fucking two months! Sometimes, in a frenzy, I rushed after every passerby thinking that it was you. You are his most beloved person, so how can you leave him?

Why has everything changed so much? Because of that stupid message from Ada and the compact, which he hadn't thought about for a long time. He just threw it away and forgot, not thinking that you can find it, but if you find it…Why didn't you just ask him about it?! He would have gotten rid of this item in front of you!

You have to stay. But you had different points of view on the situation.

He couldn't fucking sleep in a shared bed, thinking about where you were and who you were with. What if you had actually been killed in an alley somewhere? But the way your friend calmly said that he allegedly knew nothing about your whereabouts made him calm down, because he was sure that this girl was not one of those who are in the dark. So you were either with her or at least safe.

The thought of another man who could touch you the way he touched you turned him inside out. You couldn't run off to another guy to hurt him even more. That's not your style.

"You always came first." - It's true, but why the hell do you think it's a lie? How can you think that he has someone else?! What the fuck is wrong with you? - "Since came into my life. All I ever wanted was you."

Leon wants this whole two-month performance to be a fucking manipulation. God, he'll forgive you for your stupidity. He will strip you naked, hold you close and tell you that he loves you very much. The main thing is not to leave. He'll take you wherever you want, just stay with him. Don't lie to him that you don't love him!

"I don't believe you." - The end. - "You're right, my heart is full of blind love for you, but enough of this torment. My biggest mistake is to think that you loved me too. I'm tired of this pain, and if I stay here, it will kill me once. I want to be happy. But to become one of them, you don't have to be in my life! Аlthough I love the way you lie."

"Don't say that!" - Leon grabbed you, hugging you to him, which is why the familiar smell of cologne hit you in the nose, which made you want to close your eyes, enjoying it. You become a disassembled puzzle in his hands again. - "I've never lied to you! Not a single day. Princess, Ada was an important part of my life. However, what I feel for her is nothing compared to what I felt for you. Believe in it."

And that's what you want. It seems that only one step separates you from the possibility of leaving. You pressed against his shoulder-so strong, warm, safe, while his palm covered the back of your head.

So weak. Grabbed him by the back, giving a spark of hope that you will stay. Instilling in him the hope that now he will calm you down and you will put on these shackles again when he puts you on the bed and makes love sex to you.

You thought it would be easier to do.

"That's it. It's all good. I'm here with you. You're with me." - Leon's voice is shaking. If you believe him now… remember the compact in his bedside table. Push him away! Save yourself! - "I love you."

He is the one who kisses your tears from your cheeks and nose. He holds your neck, so it seems he can squeeze it until it crunches in order to end your life, but Leon just strokes the skin with his thumb.

Leon's heartbeat slows down, returning to a normal rhythm. And you are his little favorite toy, which he takes away from the door, confident that everything is in the past. Sure he convinced you. And you take six whole steps forward with him, glancing at the suitcase he threw.

Your pulse is pounding in your temples. If you stay, then only God will know how much loneliness you can endure. Leon may not be cheating on you physically, but his thoughts will always be with the woman in red. With Ada. He will always come back to her.

If you stay, you will lose yourself forever. You suddenly thought that one day you would want children, but Leon's work does not imply their presence. Then even they won't be your outlet. And one day, the best solution would be to just kill yourself. Poison, knife, rope… you will be so broken by him that you will absolutely not care.

You're leaving. Point.

Don't forget about all the happy moments that he gave you, but don't you dare let him destroy you!

If you can't leave like Ada, then do it your way. Even if it looks ugly and pathetic. You may look like a beaten dog, but you will be ALIVE.

Someday this day will be just a nightmare from which you could wake up. Just find a little strength in yourself to take the handle of the suitcase and… leave.

Then you bend down, grab the handle and lift your luggage off the floor as Leon takes a few small steps away from you, intending to remove the empty bottles and finally throw Ada's compact away. He knows that you picked up the suitcase and for ten whole seconds was sure that you just want to put things back in their places.

So scary.

Both him and you.

"Sorry." - You exhale. It's so complicated. Either God is such a masochist, or you yourself. Leon looks at you and doesn't believe you. Some strange smile appears on his lips mixed with despair.

"Sweetheart, wait."

"Goodbye Leon"

And you're really leaving him.

You run out of the apartment like the first time, leaving him alone. But you won't come back.

Your days together were numbered.

[faulty-writes]

[ Hello followers, and or fans! I am back with a Part II/Follow-up to the piece I originally wrote for the Hawks Big Bang. This was inspired by this image created by pepepecoooooo which is so so cute. Please note this piece contains MAJOR manga spoilers. ]

[ As a support specialist, you were used to receiving attention, and it wasn’t just because you were the child of Endeavor, a fool. Trying to adjust to your new life after the war was hard, but it was even harder knowing what happened to a certain winged hero man that you knew. It was clear the two of you had lost things you could never get back, yet this could be the key to finally moving forward hand in hand. ]

The tension in the air was beginning to make you sweat. ‘This is so awkward…’ you thought, mindlessly staring at the plastic container you were helping Keigo go through. It was filled with his hero memorabilia and merchandise.

‘Why did I agree to this again?’ The ache that coursed through your chest served as enough of an answer and your hands tightened around the edge of the container. The fingers of your newly created mechanical arm whirred in response to this.

You could only assume that it was still getting used to its functioning, and it served as a reminder of what you had lost during the war against All For One and the former members of the Paranormal Liberation Front. Ironically enough, your father had also lost his arm, and although you had offered to craft a new one for him, he refused.

You assumed he believed this was a way to atone for his past sins and thought he was foolish but tried to respect his decision, especially given the now delicate state of your family. Despite this, you knew that the heroes and hero students alike had lost something during the war as well.

The ache in your chest increased when you looked at Keigo who was crouched over another container across the room. Most would think that being in the former number two hero’s house would be a dream come true, but considering the events that led to this moment, it was more of a nightmare.

Despite now being a retired hero, he was currently dressed in his former hero attire which consisted of a black shirt with a repetitive golden pattern, a tan jacket with a high collar lined with white fur, and black gloves. Much like before the war, the only thing that was missing was the beautiful bright red feathers that made up his wings.

However, there was no chance of recovering them this time. Sure, the heroes won in the end, but Fierce Wings had been stolen by All For One, and upon the villain’s death, the stolen quirks died along with him. This, of course, is what prompted Keigo’s abrupt retirement.

Although there were many casualties, he considered himself one of the lucky ones because he could at least walk away from the war alive. Sure, a part of him was missing. But hell, he was never whole to begin with and part of him felt guilty for having made it out alive given that he took Jin Bubaigawara’s life.

At the same time, however, he assumed being alive was worth it if he had you. Although a part of you was missing as well, or a semi-part? Guess you were both equally messed up. He was slightly amazed that Endeavour had even allowed you to help him go through his things given what happened last time.

Of course, he didn’t give a damn if Endeavour knew he had feelings for you, especially now that he was retired. Being the person he was, however, he tried to laugh it off and say that now he had plenty of time to catch up on the things he wanted to do.

This included getting rid of or donating most of his possessions. However, you couldn’t help but notice that the merchandise he wanted to get rid of was related to his previous career as a hero. Still, you tried not to judge and knew that like before, this little task he requested your help with related to his desire to spend time with you. 

This was evident because he knew you had recently relocated with your family and while you missed Musutafu, the rural environment you now found yourself in wasn’t so bad. Yeah, it would be ideal if you got to work constructing a new development studio.

However, when you tried making blueprints for it, you struggled. At first, you thought it was a fluke and that you were still in shock from the war. ‘All I need is some rest to recharge, then I'll make those blueprints.’ Yeah, that’s what you foolishly thought.

That a small break from your passion would fix everything. It was only later that you discovered that said passion you felt for creating support items, among other things, had all but disappeared. Your family tried to remain positive and told you that your creativity would return when the time was right.

You weren’t sure if you believed that, and this only added to your frustration. But as usual, you tried to keep yourself distant from them and well everyone until you could sort out your emotions. However, just as in the past, this self-made rule didn’t apply to Keigo.

Just as before, your troubles seemed to be staying with you even in his presence. “Hm?” He paused, feeling your eyes on him. Guess he still had some of his hawk senses, but that was hardly a reason to celebrate. He frowned and focused his attention on the box in front of him again.

The very same box, that yes, bore the weight of his memories as a hero. The rustling of aged papers and faint crackling of outdated newspaper clippings echoed through the room. But among these was something from his childhood that was associated with skyrocketing his dreams of becoming a hero.

When his fingers brushed over something soft and plush, he knitted his eyebrows and leaned over the box. Carefully moving a few more items out of the way, he notices the red and orange coloring, accompanied by a cool blue undertone.

As he pulled out the Endeavour plushie, he noticed it was a little worn, and had a few stitches here and there. Still, it carried with it a sense of happiness, and memories came flooding back to him accompanied by a bittersweet smile.

He tentatively squeezed it and looked over his shoulder at you. His eyes naturally drifted to your artificial appendage that, like your previous metal fingers, gleamed the faintest blue and had a sleek metallic surface. In addition, precisely articulated joints mimicked the motion of the human body.

The metal fingertips were equipped with sensors that allowed you to perform tasks that surpassed normal human capability. There was a subtle space along the sides of it, that allowed that soft luminescence to emanate from its core, this was the source of the gentle blue glow that made it stand out.

Underneath the surface of your arm was a complex network of wires and circuits that was nothing less of the sophistication only you were capable of crafting, or so he believed. He imagined that like your mechanical fingers, the arm worked in tune with your quirk which made it the life force of the technological masterpiece.

It served as a reminder to him that you never said no to a challenge, no matter how difficult, and that was a quality that set you apart from other support item specialists. It was also what made him interested in you in the first place.

Not many freshly graduated support specialists could make a name for themselves as fast as you did and you were already popular at Yuuei because of your outstanding grades, and equally outstanding inventions. So, he had heard of you even before meeting you face to face. If only he knew the arm was indeed not crafted by you.

The smile fell from his face, and his chest ached softly. Although he tried to convince himself it wasn’t his fault that you had lost your arm, he felt responsible. However, this didn’t change the fact that you were still the child of his favorite hero.

The same favorite hero whose likeness was modeled after the plushie he was currently holding. He glanced at it, taking note of the synthetic fibers that made up the flames that Endeavour used as a makeshift mask and beard, and the bright turquoise color of the plushie’s eyes.

“Hm…” he perched his lips and grasped his chin, tapping it with the tip of his gloved finger. His gaze once again shifted to you, and he noticed that you had taken a few items out of the box you were rummaging through. They lay on the floor in organized piles, and he chuckled softly.

It was just like you to organize what you saw and make sense of it. “Hey,” your head turned when you heard his voice and tried to push down the fact that it made your heart race. Yes, the relationship you had with Keigo was…strange if anything.

This was especially evident given the last time the two of you were alone you almost kissed. That’s also when you realized just how strong your feelings for him were, and although you wanted to follow said feelings, something was holding you back. 

Regardless, Keigo had a history of pushing his luck with you and distracting you from your work whenever he damn well pleased. While you wanted to finish the task, he had given you, a sigh passed your lips. “What?” you replied, your voice flat as you placed a hand on your hip.

He smirked, happy to see that despite everything, you still had that fierce attitude. No doubt that was something you inherited from your father. “Check it out,” he said, approaching you. “He’s waving at you,” with a snicker, he proceeded to take the plushie’s arm and move it.

He had his hopes that his misguided sense of humor would make you smile. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Instead, you scowled at him and glared daggers at the plushie before grabbing it. Luckily, you used your flesh hand to do this, as opposed to your mechanical one which would have surely ripped the stuffed companion apart.

After you chucked it across the room, it bounced on the floor a few times before hitting the side of the wall where it lay askew. The smile on his face faded, leaving behind a frown as he stared at his precious childhood friend who was now laying face-first against the floor.

He then glanced back at you, taking note of your heavy panting and the whir of your mechanical arm that again, seemed to be straining to move. In this case, it struggled to make a fist, but he assumed this was ignored by you.

Still, he had faith you’d be able to tinker with it until it reached the flawless level of complexity and functioning that was usually associated with your inventions. The tension in the air was obvious, as was the awkwardness that lingered between the two of you.

It was no surprise that his mind once again drifted back to the kiss the two of you almost shared and the look on Endeavour’s face when he barged in to see you in his arms. He also recalled the way your father forcibly dragged you away from him. It all seemed so unfair.

Yeah, he had told you on that day that he wasn’t a good guy. But hell, he deserved love, right? He didn’t give a damn if he wanted it from the child of his favorite hero. That was part of the reason he insisted you help him with his much-needed task.

While things had just seemed to turn sour, he was determined to finish what he had started. “I don’t need to be greeted by a plushie of my Dad!” You snapped, pointing a mechanical finger at him. “Jeez,” you said, turning your back on him.

You knew that you might be taking your frustrations out on him, but for the moment, you were too stubborn to apologize. “D-don’t be weird, okay?” You muttered, making his frown deepen. ‘Hm…’ he narrowed his eyes, ‘weird, huh?’

If that wasn’t the greatest instance of the pot calling the kettle black, he didn’t know what was. But he had been dealing with you for too long, and he wouldn’t rest until he had destroyed every wall you tried to put up. Furthermore, since you were already at your weakest point, it was the perfect time.

Yeah, maybe that was a little…villainous to do. But hell, if his hero career taught him anything, it was that you needed to use whatever you could to your advantage. ‘Maybe Dad was right…’ you thought as you resumed looking through the box, taking a few items out of it to place in the piles you had created.

Of course, your father didn’t trust anyone who tried to get close to you, let alone pursue you with romantic interest. He had grown suspicious enough the last time you and Keigo were together, and it only heightened when Keigo requested your help after the war.

Part of you thought your father finally agreed because of your mother’s assurance that you would be alright, despite him having resentment toward Keigo. In his mind, he believed the once-winged hero was the one responsible for you having lost your arm.

This, at least in your opinion, was an illogical conclusion because Keigo was too injured to even move, let alone save your arm from getting severed at the time. You had tried your hardest to explain that after your family had stopped Touya’s reign of terror by working together, you searched for other heroes.

You were also the least injured one of your family thanks to your specialized combat suit. It was like that of a robotic suit that old superhero cartoons would depict, be it more advanced. However, it had received great damage from Touya’s flames and as a result, was weakened to the point of just barely functioning.

Despite this, your stubborn attitude made you determined to protect others. That’s unfortunately how you got caught up in the brigade of Himiko Toga’s doubles that had attempted to attack Keigo with a large knife. Without thinking, you jumped in front of him.

Of course, you didn’t anticipate just how much damage that knife would cause. It ended up shredding through the combat suit, and effectively through the flesh and bone of your arm, severing it completely. You certainly were a fool for doing what you did, but you also felt some pride knowing you prevented him from further injury.

Yeah…maybe you loved Keigo, whatever. If you were being honest, you were disappointed that your mechanical fingers got destroyed as well. But your original opinion still stood strong, countless individuals chose to have certain body parts or limbs replaced with robotic ones. Only this time, you felt different.

You couldn’t necessarily explain why, but maybe that’s because you were still processing everything that happened and dealing with more emotions than you wanted to. Jeez, there had to be a way to distract yourself from how you were feeling.

Your father only added fuel to the fire by acting protective and had initially refused and furthermore, forbade you from helping Keigo. Of course, he hadn’t explained why. But much like you, your father had a difficult time articulating his emotions.

You assumed it was because he didn’t want you to be romantically involved with anyone, maybe the fear of someone taking you away from him struck a nerve. The members of your family almost losing their lives during the war and Touya ‘dying’ for the second time likely added to this.

You could understand that no one wants to lose their child either in death or from someone else taking them away. But your mother managed to convince him to allow you to help Keigo, saying that she wanted her children to be able to be happy. Guess you could thank her for that, but your relationship with her was strained at best.

Still, you were beginning to wonder if you should have come here at all. “You know there, you don’t have to take your frustrations out on your father,” he said in a joking manner, crossing the room to pick up the Endeavour plushie before once again cradling it in his arms. “That’s not funny!” You snapped, pointing an artificial finger at him.

He seemed to recall the last time you had done that and like before, his body stiffened out of instinct. But instead of the memories of the flames that had stolen his wings away, the scene of when you jumped in front of him and the blood that splattered when your arm was cut off came to mind.

The blue hue of your finger reflected off the golden color of his eyes and you took a deep breath, letting out a sigh as you lowered your hand. Once again, it gave a loud whirring that made you smack it. “Shut up and work properly already!” You snapped, making Keigo raise his eyebrow.

While your mechanical arm was certainly a marvel, it wasn’t one of your designs. In the weeks following the war, and your attempts to make blueprints for a new Development Studio, you also tried to come up with blueprints for a new arm. Several. The only thing this confirmed was that your passion for invention and technology had now become a sizzling flame. Your frustration began here. It was like an author having writer’s block. There was potential for something beautiful to be created, and yet the mind remained blank, unable to convey the correct words for a heart-capturing story.

You were unable to do anything about your brain’s lack of creativity. Even when you had attempted to make your robotic limb, believing that baby steps would reignite your abilities, you found yourself struggling yet again.

This eventually led you to contact a promising Department of Support student named Mei Hatsume, who was the only one who challenged the legacy you had left behind at Yuuei. She was the one to thank for constructing your arm based on the blueprints of your once mechanical fingers.

Of course, this didn’t change the fact it was embarrassing to have someone craft something you should have easily been able to create. Although Mei had warned you that your new arm would struggle at first given that she had set limitations on it and would gradually increase them which would allow it to work more efficiently.

You knew it was important to get used to the strength of your mechanical appendage at first, and further knew that Mei was following safety precautions which was almost amusing given the stories you had heard about her inventions spontaneously combusting.

“Taking your frustrations out on inanimate objects now?” He questioned with a chuckle, but it died quickly when he noticed you were glaring at him. “That’s not funny either,” you said before walking over to the nearby wall and sighing as you slumped against it.

You frowned as you slid onto the floor and pulled your knees up to your chest. The frown on his face remained as he watched you, guess he should have expected this. Although you still looked like the same little firecracker he had always known.

“Mm…” he hummed and turned the Endeavour plushie in his hands. His eyes focused on it for a long moment as if he expected it to come to life and give him advice on how to deal with you. He took a breath as he lowered his hands and looked at you.

For the first time, it seemed that the illusion you were the child of his favorite hero was broken. Instead, he just saw you. Someone who needed comfort because they had so much frustration built up they were liable to burst at any moment.

At the same time, he also saw someone so intelligent when it came to crafting support items and other inventions yet didn’t stop to see their own success. You sacrificed everything for your passion, even if you didn’t receive as much as a ‘Thank you’ from your customers.

Someone like you didn’t deserve to be this…glum. More importantly, he saw the person who had saved him from the painful sting of a knife cutting into his flesh. Maybe he was seeing you as his new hero. The only difference was that he was no longer chasing a childhood dream.

He was pursuing the next stage in his life, the period when he’d settle down with the one, he had adored for quite some time. His eyes once again drifted to your artificial arm, and he walked toward you. “How does it feel to be without your arm?” He asked, his voice flat and an absent tone accompanied it.

Of course, having been trained under the Hero Public Safety Commission, he had, unfortunately, mastered the ability to numb his emotions. This didn’t last long around you and as he came to stand in front of you, he could see the anger brewing inside you, and the small hint of hatred dancing in your eyes.

He knew his question would make you angry, this was evident by your slanted eyebrows and scowl. You balled your hands into fists, and once again the sound of your artificial appendage permeated the air. Your lip twitched, and although you knew it was wrong, your anger and stubbornness got the best of you.

You leaned forward, and growled, “How does it feel to be without your wings!?” His facial expression dropped, and although most couldn’t tell. A look of sadness filled his eyes and an ache coursed through his chest. He knew that he had done good things during his career as a hero, it was something he was born for.

Ever since he saved all those people when he was a mere child, he had his hopes of becoming a hero. The rest followed when he found out about Endeavour, who unintentionally saved him, and the Hero Public Safety Commission was responsible for creating him into the person who stood before you today.

But it seemed that despite his best efforts, you were yet again trying to put up walls. He glanced toward the ceiling, rubbing the back of his neck. You raised your eyebrow, noticing his change in demeanor and guilt filled your heart, making your chest feel heavy.

You drew your bottom lip into your mouth, glancing away. ‘Okay…maybe I shouldn’t have said that…’ you thought, almost feeling sick for having come to that realization. Your eyes drifted to your mechanical arm. ‘We both lost something…’ you glanced at Keigo once more.

‘What he lost was more personal…’ and after the tragedy he went through before, you couldn’t fathom how he was feeling or how he could even smile. Images of his bandaged-up face and fresh scars came to your mind, making you tense up.

He raised his eyebrows, noticing this. He was keen to know what that meant thanks to his years of training as a spy, and frankly, he didn’t like the way it looked on you. So, he made the bold move to sit down next to you.

He stretched one leg out in front of him while the other was bent so he could rest his arm against it. Laying the Endeavour plushie on the floor next to him, he faintly smiled. If a little comfort is what you need, then he’d gladly give it to you. Although he could use some in return, he always put others before himself.

Maybe that’s part of the reason why he could shut off his emotions at any given time but as he looked at you, he was quickly reminded why that was impossible around you. He took a deep breath and focused his attention forward.

The awkward tension in the air continued to grow and sweat began to drip down the sides of his head before he let out the breath he was holding. “Guess it’d be crossing the line if I asked why you did that, eh?” He said, finally shattering the silence.

“Did what?” you replied, he noted that your voice was slightly strained indicating that you were still frustrated. He gave a half-smirk and leaned over, knocking on your mechanical arm. You stiffened as a result and quickly jerked your arm away, but its movement was slow and clunky.

A loud thud came when the elbow of it hit the wall. “Mm, again taking your frustration out on inanimate objects, huh?” Keigo said flatly, brushing his gloved fingers over the small indent you had now created in his wall. You grumbled and crossed your arms.

“Again, you’re asking stupid questions,” you hissed back, looking away from him with your anger boiling. Ironically, the temperature around you dropped which was unfortunately a side effect of your quirk. He wanted to reach out and touch your shoulder but decided against this given that your cold flame quirk was dangerous.

Although he didn’t believe you’d hurt him, at least not physically. He frowned and glanced up. “You know you could have lost your life trying to save mine, and despite being a devilishly handsome man, even with these scars…” he paused, and his eyes looked glossed over and void, almost like his soul had been ripped out.

“But damn if my life is worth more than yours,” he said, making your eyebrows rise and your lips part. He would have thought the look of surprise on your face was amusing if it wasn’t so sad. The weight on your chest seemed to double at his words, and you couldn’t help but wonder how the hell he could even think that.

Your eyes scanned his face, noting that his scar had gotten better, and you swallowed heavily before hesitantly lifting your hand. It hovered in the air for a moment, and you chewed on your bottom lip as second thoughts came to mind, but you pushed them away.

How could he think that your life was more valuable than his? His heart beat wildly when he felt the subtle cool touch of your hand against his cheek. Ironically, a heated warmth rushed through his body like the connection between two souls finally forming.

His eyes widened, unlike before your flesh and blood hand felt so at home, and he couldn’t resist placing his hand over yours. Your eyes locked, and when your thumb grazed over his scar, he hitched his breath. Silence lingered between the two of you and the tension in the air shifted.

Uncertainty and anticipation replaced the awkwardness in the air, making you lean forward. Keigo lowered his eyebrows, and his gaze lingered on your lips. He too, leaned forward expecting you to finish what the two of you started but-“You’re an idiot,” you said, removing your hand from his cheek. His eyes widened before he glanced away.

You sighed, and once again brought your legs up to your chest and wrapped your arms around them. “The world needs you,” your gaze turned to the ceiling, then drifted to the boxes that still needed to be emptied. You couldn’t admit that you needed him too.

A lump formed in his throat, and he lowered his head, sighing. “Heh, that’s the funny thing about the world,” he replied after a few minutes of silence. “The world thinks it needs heroes to save the day…” you knit your eyebrows.

“But it’s a bit different when someone is your world,” you hated the way your stomach filled with butterflies at his words. You clenched your jaw, pressing your teeth together. Once again, your mechanical arm struggled to move, and your fingers to close, causing a subtle creaking to echo through the room.

“You’ve protected even ungrateful people, you’re the number two her- ” you hissed when he grasped your chin. “Yeah,” he said, locking eyes with you. “I’m also the guy that wanted to sit on his ass and make the world an easier place for heroes,” he explained bluntly.

“And now that I’m rendered useless to the world I used to protect, I’m starting to see things a little differently.” A small ting of pain enveloped your heart when he described himself as useless. “Namely that little support specialists like you are the brains behind the operation,” a growl rumbled in your throat.

He wasn’t wrong, without support specialists the world would be in chaos, and the heroes without the proper means to fight. “That little stunt you pulled could have caused the world to lose someone that is actually needed,” he said, his eyebrows slanting, and his lips slightly pulled back in a snarl.

It was rare to see him angry, at least outside of his previous hero work and to know that anger was directed at you was a little off-putting. You looked at him with a dropped jaw, frozen for a minute before wrapping your metal fingers around his wrist.

In response, he tightened his grip on your chin almost as if silently conveying you weren’t going to make him let go. “You give hope to people who need it, and those who can’t control their quirk,” he said firmly. “You gave me hope when I needed it,” he added, hoping you realized he was referring to the feathers you created for him.

Another wave of sadness crashed over you; damn you hated feeling this much. “Why does that matter when you don’t have a quirk anymore?!” You knew you were rubbing salt into the wound but couldn’t help yourself.

A spark of blue fire erupted from the corners of your eyes, and the atmosphere around the two of you dropped again. However, just as with your father, he remained unintimidated. “E-even if I died…” you hesitated to speak and latched onto your bottom lip to prevent it from quivering.

Honestly, you would have happily died if that meant Keigo could get his quirk back. Moreover, you’d give up your quirk for his if you could. It didn’t really matter considering that since you were little, you knew your quirk wasn’t the ideal one your father was looking for.

Although you had since learned to cope with that, it didn’t make it any less true that your quirk wasn’t practical for anything except your previous mechanical fingers. Eventually, if you ever got the motivation to craft support items again, maybe you could improve your artificial arm so it could work in tune with your quirk again.

He sensed your frustration and watched his breath evaporate as he sighed. He released your chin before fisting his hand into his hair, contemplating his next words. It seemed you wouldn’t listen to reason, so he said something he knew would catch your attention.

“Endeavour needs you.” Even though it hurt him to say that because he also needed you. Your mouth grew dry, and his words made your chest ache again, although you knew he was right. As much as you hated to admit it, your life as a support specialist was the very thing that caused you to grow distant from your family.

After everything your family has been through together, everyone was trying their hardest to get along and you knew you needed to do your part by spending time with your parents and siblings. So maybe in that sense, it was selfish that you had risked your life to protect Keigo. Yet you remained with no regrets.

Why was this such a big deal to him in the first place? The two of you were still here, you had both lost something, and yet gained something at the same time. Silence filled the space between the two of you, except for the soft humming of your mechanical arm.

Why did he have to mention that your father needed you? “Mm…” you rested your chin on top of your knees, a blank expression in your eye. Your mind replayed the look on your father’s face when he and Best Jeanist stumbled into your Development Studio and the almost threatening conversation he had with you in the car afterward.

‘So, it was Hawks who initiated it then.’ Your bottom lip quivered. ‘I’ll have to have a chat with him later.’ Your arms tightened around your legs, something that caught Keigo’s attention. He then noticed the distant look in your eyes.

‘What could they be thinking about?’ He wondered before you hitched your breath. “Be honest…” you said, feeling your stomach twist with the soft flutter of butterfly wings. ‘And don’t make me regret asking this, okay?’ you thought before continuing.

“If…if my father hadn’t interrupted us on…that day,” you emphasized, knowing he knew exactly what you were referring to, “would we have…kissed?” Your heart thumped heavily in your chest, and although you hated it, the faintest warmth spread through your cheeks. You expected him to give a smart answer, and he did. 

Smirking, he locked eyes with you and said, “Depends.” You knit your eyebrows, and he chuckled. You almost looked cute when you were confused. “Would you still kiss an attractive but devastated former hero who lost his quirk in a freak accident with one of the most dangerous villains alive?” he asked, making you glance away.

Well, that was certainly a question. You frowned, and silence lingered in the air again. Even after learning that he killed Jin Bubaigawara, you still liked him even if you acted like you didn’t. After that day in your Development Studio, you realized how much your feelings for him had grown.

This injured former hero, who had tried to do good all his life only to meet failure in the end, was also someone you loved. You closed your eyes, taking a deep breath. “I…” Your bottom lip trembled, causing you to sink your teeth into it briefly before you sighed.

“I think…I would,” you admitted in a whisper before looking at him. He met your gaze, a small smile playing on his lips. No words were exchanged as the two of you closed the distance. The world around you faded away the moment your lips met, and the gentle warmth of his kiss sent a wave of bliss through your body.

The kiss was soft, but filled with passion that spoke the volumes of affection you couldn’t convey through mere words. All your worries and fears seemed to get lost in this moment. Another growl passed his lips as he paced back and forth, his mind dancing with thoughts of you and Keigo.

He regretted allowing you to travel back to the city to help the former hero. Then again, given his condition and state of mind, he didn’t have the energy he previously had. He felt tired, exhausted even. Yet, there remained a burning flame that desired to protect you and had him conflicted.

Rei frowned as she watched him, a sad and anxious atmosphere lingering. She knew it would take a while for everything to feel normal again and that she had been absent for most of your life. To think that one of her children became a successful support specialist made her heart swell with pride.

Although you were having trouble finding your passion again, she had confidence that you would be inventing wonderful things again soon. That was a part of her reasoning with Enji to allow you to help Keigo despite his disapproval. “They’ll be okay,” she said, her voice soft but still holding a tinge of annoyance to it.

Enji halted, and another growl passed his lips. He turned, glaring at her. However, she remained standing tall and narrowed her eyes. Much like him, her skin was healing and more than likely would scar due to being in the heart of Touya’s flames. He noticed that strong and determined look in her eyes, and his shoulders slumped.

After everything he had put her through and the regret he had to live with, he was a changed man. He didn’t want to lose any more members of his family, and despite knowing it would take a long time to regain everyone’s trust, he was willing to put in the work. 

That was the reason why he backed down and instead sighed. Pressing his hand to his forehead, he grimaced. “I still can’t accept that they have feelings for-” Rei nodded, understanding where he was coming from. It was natural to be defensive and worried when your children were involved romantically with someone. 

Still, she knew neither of them could interfere. “Let him prove himself first,” she said, her voice holding a calm yet motherly tone. “If Y/n trusts him, then I’m certain he knows better than to break their heart,” once again she narrowed her eyes on Enji.

A moment of silence lingered, and although a sad expression enveloped his features, he turned to stare out the window. “I suppose that’s true…” he said, folding his hand behind his back. He then glanced at his opposite arm, which had been severed by All For One.

Guilt swelled in his heart as he thought about your artificial fingers and newly crafted mechanical arm. He knew he should have been there for you. No child of his deserved to get injured so gravely. Yet, he also knew it was too late to change anything.

His throat tightened, forcing him to swallow hard as he raised his head and stared out the window again. His hand then curled into a fist. ‘Yes...’ he thought, ‘I will give him a chance to prove himself.’ If Keigo did end up hurting you, he would ensure the former hero had wished he had died during the war.

Soft pants filled the air, but neither of you dared to break eye contact. That is until Keigo chuckled, feeling higher than his previous quirk could get him. “Hm?” You raised your eyebrow, wondering for a moment what he was laughing at.

Seconds later, you jolted when he wrapped his arms around you, embracing you in a warm hug. You trembled at the unusual contact, and in response, he tightened his arms around you. There was no way he’d let you push him away now.

Your heart was racing, this was all new to you. Yet, it felt welcome, like it was meant to be. You slowly wrapped your fingers around one of his arms, hoping the cool metal touch of your artificial fingers wouldn’t bother him too much.

You sighed in contentment, finding his embrace to be comforting, and leaned closer to rest your head on his shoulder and close your eyes. Eventually, you knew you’d have to leave, that you’d have to return to your family and although Keigo had stated that your father needed you, it was easy to read between the lines.

Your family would be fine without you for the time being, because even if they needed you...there was someone else that you needed more. That was the same man that embraced you now, and the one you had unexpectedly fallen in love with. 

[shirefantasies]

Why is Tolkien so charitable regarding Frodo's missteps? After all, Tolkien conveniently and entirely blames all of Frodo's missteps regarding his handling of the ring on the ring itself.  "I do not think Frodo's was a moral failure. At the last moment the pressure of the Ring would reach its maximum -- impossible, I should have said, for anyone to resist."- JRR Tolkien. One can't imagine him saying anything remotely like this about the others who tried to take the ring. It's only Frodo's actions that Tolkien excuses by saying that anyone in Frodo's position would have done the same thing.

Hi there! Not sure if this comes from dislike of the character or just Tolkien’s handling, but if it’s the former I know I have characters I wouldn’t want someone to push me to like so I for sure will be surprised but respectful if Frodo is a character you don’t enjoy. Having people try to change your mind can be exhausting and annoying lol, so this’ll focus on just how I take things in the story personally! I am by no means a huge Tolkien scholar, but here’s how I take that situation with the ring and some evidence for the points as I at least see them (with some general agreement from other fandom and analysis discussions and conventions with other LoTR fans as well!). Hope this is at least an interesting read and I’m pretty darn flattered you chose me to ask this to ☺️

1. The ring bears a heavy weight (literally) on everyone’s decisions interacting with it, but I’ve always taken the story and Tolkien’s words on it as a bit of commentary on the folly of man, and as a religious person the concept of original sin. I.E. that we as humans (men, hobbits, dwarves, and even elves included in this setting) are simply not perfect and cannot be. Part of that evidenced in quotes like that from Tolkien himself but also scenes where even characters seen as beacons of good, strength, wisdom, morals, etc. do show temptation by the ring or that it would turn good intentions to evil. Galadriel and Gandalf, for example, are some of the most powerful beings and they tell Frodo that they would become corrupt and misuse the power they already have and that of the ring. Boromir as a character shows this too, because he is held overall pretty blameless too despite doing a bad thing. I love Boromir personally but nearly every fan on here I interact with does too and many discussions are had around his desperation, his life experiences up to the point of the fellowship’s travels, and how we all believe him to be a good man that made bad decisions out of both the influence of the ring and the pressure put on him to be his people’s hero. So I hold Frodo and Boromir especially on an equal ground of people who are flawed and strained, people tired of fighting and who just want an escape, frankly, a solution they don’t feel is coming especially not through the dark lens of the ring and its temptation to trust the way it warps you.

2. I think part of why Frodo gets emphasized in what can seem like the ‘oh he did no wrong’ narrative comes from the simple fact that he’s one of the characters who holds/interacts with the ring the longest. Besides characters like Bilbo and Gollum, we don’t see as much detail on a long time spent with the ring- in fact, beyond the what the Smeagol flashbacks do Frodo is the main indicator of it all for readers/viewers. Most of the other characters only touch/hold/carry it briefly, not for months like he does. So the weight of it does not fall as heavily on them, but we do see that Sam, the chief hero of the story (Tolkien’s words!), even hesitates before giving the ring back to Frodo after carrying it for a fraction of the time. Would Sam have been driven that much further down by it if he had been the one to carry it? I believe so, though it would have manifested differently (Frodo is more a quiet, brooding type who spits venom on occasion where Sam is much more a man of action and outward anger, so the ring would have twisted that and I think he would have been more tough and explosive while Frodo got nasty if that makes sense). Bilbo and Gollum take on similar traits when they try to snatch the ring and I believe Frodo would have descended further into those, too, with even more time carrying the ring.

3. If we’re looking at LoTR also as a showing that absolute power corrupts, we have to have someone like Frodo fail. We have to show even a ‘little guy’, someone young and joyful at the beginning of the story, someone with innocent beauty, falling to it for that very idea that anyone would. It’s almost easier to believe that one of the aforementioned beacons of power and strength like, say, Gandalf, would fall because they already have power to go to their heads. We see this with Saruman, for example, and how he literally falls from grace and dies trying to dominate. But a hobbit and a young innocent one falling when he has nothing of the sort is more telling and tragic. He never wanted this, in fact though he is brave enough to take it on he also tries to give it up numerous times because of the pressure that ultimately threatens to crush him. It’s a cautionary tale that’s sad because it’s true- pressure and power get to us.

4. I totally agree that Frodo made some bad decisions on his own, too! Once again, nobody’s perfect so as an author I can see why it’s realistic to have him screw up, but for sure I would not blame the ring on every single bad thing Frodo has done! The ring definitely amplifies and warps things, but one of the biggest tells of that is Gollum. Sam doesn’t trust him and is right to do so, and while Gollum is very essential to the story, Frodo does let fear and a desire to do every single thing right (again, pressure, imo a big theme here lolol!) take over the decision to trust their shady guide and then the ring takes the stress of that and Gollum’s words and twists all his feelings of exhaustion and resentment against Sam.

5. We’ll never know for sure, but I’ll wrap this up by saying I do personally believe that Frodo is by far not the only person who would fall in this way. He isn’t a perfect character, either, but that is exactly why what happens happens. But then that logic can by applied to many others too, like not only more obvious targets like Boromir or Gollum but even Gandalf, who feared what he would do with ring in hand, would succumb. The concept of the folly of man is especially interesting to me outside of ‘man’, like in the case of Saruman who is supposed to be of great wisdom and purity as a white wizard, but even he falls short. Even the Valar can fall short. Tolkien to me exemplifies the idea shown biblically that anyone can fall, even angels like lucifer/Maia and Valar like Sauron and Morgoth, if they let greed follow their hearts or do not trust the guidance of others. In this case, for Frodo that was Sam. Distrusting Sam gets him in world of trouble, Tolkien lists Sam as the chief hero, and to me the other core of Lord of the Rings is that NO ONE in that story can do it alone. Frodo would have died and fallen all the way without Sam. Rohan had to come to Gondor’s aid. The Three Hunters would not have succeeded if just Legolas or only Aragorn set out and I firmly believe that. Friendship and trust are what keeps us afloat, and Frodo’s mistrust in that, greatly amplified by stress, exhaustion, and indeed the ring, is his undoing. Human nature and evil temptation are a heck of a combo, friends!

Again, hope you find this an interesting read and even if you still don’t personally enjoy Frodo as a character I understand! I hope this comes across as just an analysis, for I don’t like debating and want to be respectful. People with the ‘I’m right, you are wrong’ mentality are a huge turnoff for me so I try to avoid that type of thinking. Thanks again for giving me a lot of food for thought anon, feel free to stop by more if you want to talk so long as this blog can keep a tone of study, not debate 🫶🏻

[blueskittlesart]

what do u think totk is gonna b about

OH WOW I AM SO SO SO GLAD YOU ASKED!! HERES THE ESSAY I TOTALLY DID NOT HAVE PREWRITTEN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT!!

so arguably the biggest mystery left unsolved at the end of botw is the origin of ganon as we now know him -- "calamity ganon." in all other games (and by extension all known previous incarnation cycles) where "ganon" was the primary antagonist (incl. all ganon and ganondorf variants) ganon was something real, physical, and ALIVE. a man or a boar-monster, usually, but always something that was bound by the laws of nature to some degree and could be physically killed. botw departs from that formula (and by extension botw's CYCLE departs from the usual governing laws of its own universe--i'll come back to this point) by showing us a ganon that is far less human than any other known incarnation of demise. even in name, this incarnation of ganon is given no personhood--it's a calamity, a force of evil with no origin and no complex thought beyond a need for destruction.

The thing is, for all the game wants the player to understand this ganon as nothing but a mindless, monstrous force of evil, it also makes a point to identify this force as GANON, incarnation of demise. seasoned zelda fans will relate the calamity back to ganondorf the human king at the first mention of its name. anyone familiar with the cyclical lore or even just the basic formula of zelda games will recognize the cycle's steps being played out in such a way that the calamity plays the part of the king of evil. for those who don't make the immediate connection, urbosa's final line after the player frees her in vah naboris cements the calamity's former personhood: "it was written that calamity ganon once adopted the form of a gerudo." it's a deliberate hint to new players that the form we see ganon take in this game is not his true one.

So what is calamity ganon? what turned the newest human incarnation of demise so deeply inhuman? what happened to the human that calamity ganon once was? why, when the calamity struck, did it rise from underneath hyrule castle, with pillars full of armed guardians ready to aid it in its destruction? these questions are what i expect will be the main focus of totk. as for their answers, i only really have my own speculation, backed by some evidence from trailers and botw, which i'll outline now because that's the whole point of this post.

botw is 10k years removed from the last known instance of an incarnation cycle, a fact which is crucial to its story and worldbuilding. while there's no official source on how long periods of peace usually last between cycles, it's obvious from context that botw has gone much longer without a new cycle than any previous game before it, if only because of how much information about the cycle itself has clearly been lost to time. this lack of information is what causes a majority of the problems link and zelda face in botw. But it raises a question for those of us who follow the lore and have noticed the discrepancy: why was hyrule able to forget this information in the first place? Why was there such a long period of peace when the cycle ought to have continued? there's no other instance in centuries of documented hyrulian history where enough time passed between cycles for the idea of the TRIFORCE to be lost to time. how did it happen before botw? the answer, I think, lies with the hero and princess of 10k years ago.

there's a LOT we don't know about the hero and princess who came before botw, obviously. and I believe their story is going to be incredibly important in totk, given how it was teased in botw. we can assume, from context, that the incarnation of demise that this hero and princess went up against was the gerudo incarnation of ganon mentioned by urbosa. What botw tells us about this cycle is that ganon was powerful enough to need legions of guardians and four divine beasts ALONG with a presumably fully-realized hero and princess to defeat him, but that, with these resources, the hero and princess triumphed. what is not confirmed, however, is what exactly HAPPENED to ganon after his defeat. one could assume that he died, because hitting a human man with a sword enough times will usually kill him. however, there's another important piece to the puzzle when looking at loz cycles: zelda and her goddess power. the thing i'm going to be focusing on here is the fact that throughout botw zelda's power is referred to specifically as a "sealing power." it's significant to me that the concept of SEALING surivived when so many other crucial pieces of the cycle did not, because, in multiple previous games, "sealing" ganon does NOT mean he dies. in both oot timelines in which link DOES NOT return to the past at the end of the game (defeat & adult), the official explanation as to ganondorf's fate is that he is "sealed" in some form, either in the sacred realm or the twilight realm. (if you don't know what those are don't worry it's not important, what's important is that he is sealed.) alttp and twilight princess, follow the aftermath of these two timelines, in which ganon has been "sealed" but not killed. in both stories, ganon (specifically the SAME INCARNATION OF GANON AS OOT) eventually frees himself from the confines of the seal and continues to terrorize hyrule. so "sealing" is not necessarily synonymous with defeat or death, and it doesn't reset the incarnation cycle for demise's spirit, it just keeps the current incarnation dormant for a while.

i hear you saying, "blue, why the fuck does any of this matter? ive been reading for so long!" and i am sorry. i promise i will get there. the important point at this point is that SEALED does not mean DEAD or even DEFEATED, and that zelda's power in botw is exclusively referred to as a SEALING POWER. we can assume that this terminology is left over from the hero and princess from 10k years ago, because, by virtue of a 10k-year period of peace, most everything that botw hyrule remembers about the cycle appears to be left over from only that previous cycle. What this means is that, upon defeat 10k years ago, human ganon was not killed, he was sealed. and as i've already mentioned, there's a precedent in these games for a sealed ganon to come back to terrorize a new cycle's hero and princess. I think it's pretty obvious that the mummified gerudo skeleton seen in the totk trailers is that sealed ganon from 10k years ago. but those trailers take place AFTER link and zelda defeat calamity ganon in botw, so why is he still there, sealed but not dead?

the most obvious explanation to me is this: calamity ganon is not ganon. botw's blights give us proof that ganon is capable of somehow reproducing itself in smaller, less powerful doses to deal with immediate threats without having to leave its shelter in hyrule castle. if you recall, calamity ganon's first phase underneath hyrule castle is essentially a rehash of the blight fights, with ganon cycling through attacks previously used by its blights (and adding some new ones into the mix, obv.) One thing that struck me when fighting it, though, is that the fight lacks one signature mechanic that's been a staple of ganon battles in the zelda franchise since at least alttp: sword pong. in almost every game involving a fight with an incarnation of ganon, there's an attack pattern in which the player and ganon have to deflect a ball of energy between each other via their weapons until one of them eventually misses a swing and gets hit. calamity ganon doesn't have this attack in his arsenal, which is strange to me because it's an iconic move for loz final battles. the only ganon battle i can think of which DOESN'T involve this mechanic is oot's shadow ganondorf, a PROJECTION of ganondorf rather than the real thing.

can you see what i'm getting at here?

I don't think botw's link and zelda have gone up against their real incarnation of demise yet. I think the calamity was one of two things: either a genuine expression of rage/escape attempt by the sealed human ganon, or a calculated attempt by him to get modern hylians interested enough in the origins of the calamity to investigate and free him accidentally. The way the pillars rose from under hyrule castle, the fact that calamity ganon smashes through the floor of the sanctum and forces link to fight in that underground chamber, it all seems to beckon you to dig deeper. we know that that mummy is somewhere under the castle. Calamity ganon was a shootoff of its power meant to lead hylians to it. this is what i meant way back when i mentioned that botw's cycle departs from the usual governing laws of its own universe--link and zelda haven't actually played out the full cycle at all. what they've done is essentially the precursor to the main event--they've defeated agahnim, or zant, or ghirahim, but the true evil of this cycle has yet to be revealed. to that point, it's worth noting that, excluding shrine mini-dungeons, botw has WAY less dungeons than your average zelda title. most new-cycle titles (by which i mean games that weren't direct sequels featuring the same incarnation of a given link) are divided into 2 sections of dungeoning - the first section having 3-4 dungeons containing prize items needed to unlock some late-game functionality, and the second half having 5-7 dungeons and being accessible only after the player has completed the first section. botw has four dungeons TOTAL (not counting hyrule castle), meaning formula-wise it's essentially the first half of a cycle. i believe totk is going to be the second half of this cycle, with link and zelda having to fight the true evil -- revitalized HUMAN ganondorf.

so now we need to bring this all back to my initial point--why was there a 10k-year period of peace pre-botw, and how does any of this effect my predictions for the story of totk?

in simple terms, i think that the reason there was such a long period of peace was because 10k-years-ago-princess sealed ganon REALLY well. she probably came the closest anyone in hyrule's history has ever come to a TRUE defeat of ganon, because she managed to keep him ALIVE so he wouldn't reincarnate and SEALED so he couldn't hurt anyone for a really long time. what this implies is that 10k-years-ago princess knew on some level about the reincarnation cycle. she understood that if she couldn't keep ganon alive and incapacitated, he would revive and the cycle would start over anyway, so she did everything in her power to stop that from happening, and she did a DAMN GOOD JOB tbh. better than anyone who tried this shit before her. there are other bits and pieces of botw's story that point to the hyrulean civilization 10k years ago understanding the potential of a ganon reincarnation, most notably the fact that they buried guardians and divine beasts seemingly purposefully for later hyruleans to find and use should a new threat ever arise. this implies that 10k-years-ago hyruleans had a REALLY HIGH level of awareness about the cycle, in direct contrast to modern hyrule's REALLY LOW understanding of it. this is really important when we start thinking about totk.

we already have a decent amount of evidence suggesting that totk will deal with the events of 10k years ago and the hero involved in them. In several trailers now we've seen modern link's arm become weirdly, creepily fused with/corrupted by the arm that was holding mummified ganon in place under the castle. i think this arm is going to serve two purposes in totk. the first is a practicality thing: from gameplay footage it looks like the arm is going to basically take the place of the sheikah slate. the second purpose i think it'll serve is to be link's (and by extension the player's) connection to the events of 10k years ago. I've seen plenty of theories thrown around about what the arm is, but my personal theory is that it's some sort of prosthetic or tech that originally belonged to the 10k-years-ago hero. the way it's holding mummified ganon in place in that first teaser trailer looks less to me like an evil influence and more like something physically holding ganon down; a seal of sorts. (and in most games both the hero and princess's power is needed to seal ganon, so perhaps this is how the hero and princess managed to keep him dormant for so long: adding a physical piece of the hero to the mix?) in any case, i think that after establishing this physical connection to the 10k-years-ago hero, modern link is going to get some knowledge and flashbacks (potentially in the form of memory-style cutscenes like botw) that will serve to basically fill in all the cyclical lore that has been lost in-universe over the past 10k years. I've talked at length about how i believe link and zelda's initial failure in botw was due entirely to their lack of knowledge of the hyrulean creation myth and the REASON behind the motions they were carrying out, and i believe that by witnessing the 10k-years-ago hero and princess's journey, modern link will be given the knowledge he needs to defeat ganon.

[duhragonball]

Enter the Casinoverse: Why I Don't Like Multiverse Stuff.

I probably should be resting instead of writing, or at least writing stuff that actually counts towards my writing goals, but dammit, this is how I relax, and I finally found a way to tackle this topic properly.

Over the last decade or so, I've come to loathe all the multiverse fare in pop culture. This is probably because it's gotten so overexposed in media, but also because comic books were running it into the ground well before I was born. When I actually got into comics in the 90s, a lot of the older fans used to pine for the "good old days" when DC had a multiverse, and everybody was constantly teaming up with their Golden Age self to fight their Evil Universe self. DC keeps teasing bringing the Multiverse back, and sometimes they even go through with it, but it's like they can never get it quite right or something, but they refuse to just commit to anything, and that's one reason I don't read DC comics anymore.

These days the Marvel Cinematic Universe keeps horsing around with the idea, and even using "Multiverse" in one of the movie titles. I haven't watched the Dr. Strange movies, but my idea of a good Dr. Strange story is Doc traveling through a dimension that looks like a Salvador Dali painting, battling Lovecraftian horrors by uttering spells that rhyme. Then he goes home to hang out with Namor and the Incredible Hulk, and Queen's "It's a Kind of Magic" is playing the entire time. But sure, have Benedict Cumberbatch screw around with AU Reed Richards and revisit some of the dirt-worst Scarlet Witch stories ever written, all for the sake of setting up Phase Five. Sounds good.

Here's the problem: The whole premise of a multiverse story is that none of it matters, because somewhere out there is another set of universes where everything turned out differently. There's a DC direct-to-home-video cartoon about this, where the Justice League battles their Evil Counterparts, and the Evil Batman is named Owlman. His plan is to destroy the entire multiverse, including himself, because he he's a nihilist. Faced with an infinite reality where every possible decision has already been made somewhere else, he wants to blow up the entire thing, because that's the only choice that can actually matter.

I like Owlman's speech, but he's a dope. Batman stops him before he can go through with his plan, but it still doesn't matter, because even if it worked, there would still be an alternate reality where Owlman didn't destroy the multiverse. At best, he can only wipe out parts of it, because it goes on forever. Owlman believes there's some "Prime" universe from which all the others originated, but he has no way to know for sure. I guess he doesn't need to actually be capable of destroying reality to be a good villain. His frustration and willingness to try is sufficient.

Nevertheless, the multiverse concept is deceptive because it seems to raise the stakes. Instead of fighting for one world, the good guys have to fight for many worlds! What could be better? But ultimately it lowers the stakes by presenting too many shortcuts and loopholes. Instead of defending one home which is precious and irreplaceable, the heroes have to live with the knowledge that there are infinite copies, and they could just as easily switch over to one of them when things go wrong. Instead of getting to know other characters with diverse backgrounds and histories, they wind up bonding with alternate versions of themselves.

I'm trying to be careful here because I've heard the Spider-Verse movies are quite good, but I haven't seen them yet so I can't comment on how they might have gotten the formula right. My best guess is that they focus on very different versions of Spider-Man. Miles is different from Peter who is different from Miguel, etc. They seem more like the Green Lantern Corps than a multiverse concept. A fraternity of superheroes with the same powers, that just happens to be operating across multiple Earths instead of outer space. "No Way Home" went the opposite direction, with three Peter Parkers all being amazed that they each had an Uncle Ben who told them about great responsibility, like this is some big revelation.

The multiverse premise also suggests a broader canvas for greater creativity, but in practice it always seems to mean repeating the same ideas over and over. Hence the Council of Cross-Time Kangs, or the Flash teaming up with himself to fight... himself. Or the MCU revealing that Dr. Doom will be played by the same guy who already featured heavily in nine of their previous movies. You'd think an infinitude of universes would open the door for all sorts of bizarre ideas, but instead they just use it to bring back dead characters like Loki, so he can join the Time Variance Authority, which in the comics was a bureaucratic organization made up of identical men who all looked like Marvel Comics editor Mark Gruenwald. Loki's job in the TVA was apparently to apprehend... another Loki. Brilliant.

I'm not saying these projects can't be successful, or even well-told. Again, a lot of people were high on the Spider-Verse stuff, and it looks pretty cool. I need to check it out. But I've seen lots and lots of stories that get it wrong, or use it as a crutch, or present it like some novel concept that hasn't already been going on for decades. The TV show "Sliders" aired from 1995 to 2000, and its opening credits had to explain the premise, probably because general audiences weren't familiar with the concept. That was a quarter-century ago. And I got bored with "Sliders" after the first season.

You might be wondering how Multiverse Stuff is different from Alternate Timeline Stuff. And you're right, the two ideas tend to blend together a lot. My personal definition is that an Alternate Timeline depends on some sort of time anomaly or time travel to exist. For example, in "Back to the Future II", Old Biff goes back from 2015 to 1955 and gives his younger self the sports almanac. This creates the "Hell Valley" timeline where 1985 Biff is rich and powerful. When Doc and Marty go to 1955 and destroy the almanac, the "Hell Valley" timeline is prevented and it no longer exists.

By contrast, the parallel worlds seen in "Sliders" or DC's multiverse appeared to be permanent fixtures. They may have been spawned by decisions made in some "prime" reality, but they couldn't be un-made like "Hell Valley". DC's Earth-2 was a place you could just go to whenever you wanted, but "Hell Valley" only existed for as long as the future almanac was in the past.

This was something I liked a lot about Terminator 5. It had its problems, but the movie's premise was kind of fun for a fourth sequel to a time travel movie. Both sides of the conflict have been using time travel to win their war, but there's only one world, so all of the characters remember events from timelines that no longer exist because of all the tampering. They each have ideas about what was supposed to happen, but all bets seem to be off.

So, with all that said, let me talk about the 1995 film "Casino". It's based on real world events involving the Chicago Outfit's skimming operation in 1970's Las Vegas. The names were changed for the movie, and some events are retooled to work better for the movie, but I started reading the book this was all based on, and it's interesting to me how closely the movie matches up so far.

The story is the same, though. I'll stick to the movie version, since I know it better. The mob installs a trusted bookie (Sam "Ace" Rothstein, played by Robert DeNiro) to run their casino, the Tangiers. Ace's job is to run a tight ship and make the casino as profitable as possible, so the Outfit can send a guy into the casino's count room every month to steal a bunch of money. The "skim" is a bit more complicated than this, from what I understand, but the point is to avoid paying taxes on the profits. A made man, Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), is sent to Vegas to protect the Outfit's investment.

But by the early 80's the whole operation goes wrong. The FBI uncovers the skim. Ace screws up his marriage and career because he's too stubborn to compromise and too greedy to cut his losses. Nicky defies the Chicago Outfit by trying to become his own boss in Vegas, and the Outfit fails to deal with any of these issues until it's too late. I guess you could call it a tragedy, in the sense that everyone is brought down by the same brutal and venal talents that made them successful in the first place.

What makes the movie so awesome is how inevitable this is. There is no Plan B for any of the characters. Ace's wife Ginger (Sharon Stone) tries to find a way out of her abusive marriage, but every path leads to her demise. Nicky screws up so badly that he can't even go near Las Vegas by the end of the movie. He thinks he still has prospects in the mob, but instead he gets executed for all the trouble he caused for the bosses. Ace gets so focused on running the Tangiers that he loses sight of what he's really there to do: Supporting the skim operation. He survives the events of the movie and ends up living in San Diego, but he'll never again be the big shot he was in Vegas.

The point I'm trying to make here is that there isn't a "Las Vegas 2" these characters can go to and start over. This is their big opportunity in life, the only one they'll ever get, and they all blow it. And it's not just one or two big mistakes that bring it all crashing down. It's lots of little blunders and unforced errors that happen over the course of the movie. It's a beautiful thing, because when you rewatch the film, you realize just how many chances they had to save the thing, and they kept zigging when they needed to zag.

For example, let's talk about Joe Bob Briggs. The host of TNT Monstervision got a small part in "Casino" as this Nevadan Slot Manager named Don Ward. I'm not even sure what his job was in the movie, except to watch the slot machines and make sure his area was clean. Ace says he had to hire Don Ward because his cousin-in-law Pat Webb is the county commissioner, and they need support from local officials like Webb to maintain the mob's control of the Tangiers.

Later in the movie, Ace fires Don Ward for general incompetence. It's not clear what Don did wrong, but someone won a bunch of money on his slots, so Ace is sure there was cheating going on, since the odds of winning that big are astronomical. Don was either stupid enough to let it happen, or he was in cahoots with the cheaters, so either way, Ace wants him out. This upsets Pat Webb, who tries to talk Ace into hiring Don back as a personal favor. But Ace refuses to budge.

And this is a big mistake, because throughout the whole movie, Ace has been running the casino without a gaming license, and relying on a loophole that lets him do the job as long as his application is still pending. Before, everyone was willing to look the other way, but now that Ace has angered the county commissioner who handles those applications, Pat Webb fast tracks the application and it gets denied, making Ace's position even more tenuous.

And from there Ace becomes more worried about vindication and getting his license than his actual job: Supporting the skim. If he had just kept Don Ward on the payroll, and tolerated his incompetence, then maybe things could have been different. Maybe some of the other dominoes in the movie wouldn't have fallen. But he made his choices and the movie played out the way it did.

So when you watch the movie, it's tempting to play What If and imagine things going a different way. This is what Multiverse stories try to do all the time. Ace Rothstein meets his AU counterpart who still runs the Tangiers and patched things up with Ginger and Nicky. Then they team up to fight an Ace who ratted everyone out to the FBI, which I guess is just Lefty Rosenthal, the real life guy Ace Rothstein was based on.

The problem is that the alternate scenarios don't make sense. Multiverse stories love to present ideas like "What if the Nazi's won World War II?" but they neglect to consider whether such a scenario is even possible. The whole "infinite worlds from infinite choices" concept presumes that every scenario is equally possible. The Nazis didn't win World War II, and they probably never really had much of a chance, since their strategies usually involved taking badly needed oil resources from countries they hadn't finished invading. It's more complicated than that, sure, but when you learn more about the war, you begin to realize just how steep the odds were for Nazi Germany.

But I didn't want to get into all that historical analysis, which is why I'm talking about the movie "Casino". Joe Bob Briggs' role in the movie is a little easier to discuss. What if Ace rehired him? Ace wouldn't re-hire him, though. He was too stubborn and arrogant to go back on his decision. Pat Webb warned him of the consequences, but he stuck to his guns. Whatever money loss Don Ward caused for the Casino was surely a pittance compared to the eventual loss of the entire skim operation, but Ace couldn't see it that way.

Well what if he could see it that way? What if hats were ants? Look, if you rewrite the story where Ace Rothstein always does the most logical thing, he never would have gone to Vegas in the first place. He never would have gotten involved with organized crime in the first place. He wouldn't have been a bookie in the first place. He would have become an accountant or something.

Or take Nicky Santoro for example. He got too big for his britches and started doing mafia stuff in Las Vegas because no one else was doing it, so he had no competition. Great, except the reason for that was because the Outfit purposely suppressed that kind of crime in Vegas in order to encourage tourism. More tourists means more gambling, which makes the casino more profitable and the skim even greater. Everyone wins, as long as Nicky stays quiet and does his actual job: Protecting the skim.

But Nicky couldn't do that, because he was too ambitious and aggressive to just sit around waiting to respond to trouble. And all the bosses were 1700 miles away, so he could start robbing jewelry stores and hotel rooms and dating Ginger behind Sam's back without any consequences. Well what if he just... didn't do all that? What if he stopped and realized how badly that would mess things up? Because if he didn't make those kinds of mistakes, he wouldn't be Nicky Santoro! That's why!

The simple fact is that Nicky is a violent, ambitious man. When he wants something, he takes it. That's the character. He can be reasoned with, but only to a certain extent. Early in the film, he shakes down bookies for money. Later in the film, he tries the same thing with an investment banker, as if that's the same thing. To him it is, because he thinks he's invincible, but to the rest of the world, its ridiculous. The bookies can't stop him because no one in law enforcement would care if they got whacked, but an investment banker can go to the authorities. There is no alternate universe where Nicky Santoro is a chill guy who only does bad things when his superiors tell him to. Because that guy wouldn't be cut out for the mafia in the first place.

This is why alternate timeline concepts work better, because there has to be an inciting incident that creates them. Trunks goes back in time and warns Goku about the androids and the heart virus, so now we have a timeline where Goku lives and one where he died. And we don't have to trouble ourselves with 500 other universes where Goku doesn't like to fight, or 37 realities where Goku is a porn star, or that one AU where he got the bit role in "Casino" instead of Joe Bob Briggs.

This is why I got sick of "Sliders" back in the 90s, because they would find themselves in an alternate universe where women overthrew the patriarchy, or the British won the Revolutionary War, but they would never adequately explain how those things happened. The one where the women run everything was especially insulting, because one of the characters reads a history book and explains that the women just got fed up one day and took over. Like, that's it. It's that simple. It's the most interesting aspect of the show and they don't even bother with it. If it was a time travel story, then you'd have to show a character going back in time and actually doing something to cause history to change, and then explain why that one change worked.

This is why "Back to the Future II" works, because it's simple enough to understand that if 1955 Biff knows the outcome of every sports event for the next fifty years, he can win big by placing bets with bookies, like the Earth-7 Ace Rothstein, who never went to Las Vegas and became a bookie in Hill Valley instead. It's the same Biff, with the same wants and desires and flaws, but now he has an advantage that he didn't have before, and we can see the character taken to the logical extreme.

I suppose this is the gripe I have with that animated movie version of Owlman, becuse it's kind of silly that an ominverse-killing nihilist just happens to still be similar enough to Batman that he throws knives and ropes and such, and he dresses up in a Batman costume even though he's supposed to look like an owl. It would all work a lot better if he was just a whole new character without any ties to Batman at all.

I don't really have a neat little conclusion to put on this. Studios are probably going to keep milking mutliverse fare until it stops making money. The idea will never entirely go away. It's not the worst thing in the world or anything like that, but I do sort of wish everyone else was getting just as bored with it as I am, so that we could move on to some other cliche, like boat chases, or sexy assassins.

And this is where it's nice to just write my own stuff, because at least I can make my own stories where the Time Patrol doesn't get bogged down with Goku-on-Goku action.

[seventhdoctor]

For the yugioh character ask meme: Supreme King Judai!

Oh boy is this an interesting one.

Why I like them/why I don’t I'll be honest, at first I didn't like him. Back in 2007 when I was experiencing GX through Photobucket screencaps and forum discussion, I was like "Wait. Why is Judai evil now. What's going on. I don't like this. Also the Evil Heroes look ugly."

[Haunted voice] I understand now.

Supreme King Judai says a lot about Judai Yuki, how he deals with his guilt and his fear and his trauma, and what he'll do to try and...feel safe? Regain control? I bet he'd like to know the end to that sentence, too. And I came back to GX after one of the worst periods of my life so uh, that part really got me when I was rewatching GX last year!

I love love love his little monologue about how "I won, and I kept winning, but still [all of this happened, I lost everything, etc.]" and how it parallels early S1 Manjoume. We heard that lesson and learned nothing! It says a lot about both Judai (who failed to internalize it) and the way he's treated (because yeah that feels emptier when everyone and their mother and even the bad guy is depending on you to beat the bad guy, SAIOU I SEE YOU WITH THAT SATELLITE KEY). I even appreciate the symbolism of the Evil Heroes: to defeat evil he did indeed become evil, and yet defeating evil makes you the hero doesn't it?

He also raises questions about Judai and his past life. Like...how did this guy:

...become this guy?

He came like this. Judai lost himself in the darkness of his heart and out came a side of himself buried underneath a life he doesn't remember, and this is how he came out. The little boy who made a tearful promise in response to another's self-sacrifice turned into a tyrant who believes power is the only way to achieve anything, and how did that happen?

Obviously this is a question that's driving me to write a 40k word prequel fanfic. Help.

What I like about their appearance

Hey, do you think those shoulder spikes were originally meant to match Yubel's? :'D But also, the cape. Of course in that black and gold armor, he's got a red cape.

If I can give voice acting a shout for appearance, KENN's work was amazing too. I recorded his debut monologue to show a friend who watched the dub and sometimes it's nice to revisit that clip because damn.

Do I prefer their dub names or original names? There really isn't much that isn't carried over from the original Judai -> Jaden change; Haou is just Supreme King. (I use Supreme King as a title and Haou to refer to the character but that is extremely a personal thing for my brain only.) As with Asuka I'm neutral on the name change here aside from being ehhhhh on localizing names to Western ones as a broad trend but that's for another kind of post entirely.

OTP What Haou are we talking about here. Probably with Yubel or Johan but it EXTREMELY depends on time point and circumstances.

NOTP IDK man. Any ship with him is probably a little fucked up but we enjoy that here.

OT3 See above.

Favourite card they use

CHOU YUUGOU

Favourite moment they were in

Definitely his debut in episode 136. That monologue about "In order to defeat evil, one must become evil" and "In this world with the rule of the jungle, one must rule with power" is iconic.

Least favourite moment

Is there a moment that qualifies? His scenes are bangers.

[ghostflowerhotpotch]

Spiderman Society and Manipulation Part 2

Horrible Copy Mechanism and the Responsibilities you put in your own shoulders

Part 1

Oh boy this is going to be interesting for sure.

While I was writing the first part I originally wasn't thinking of writing this section at the beginning, I thought considering the situation it was better to focus in how the lower rankings and people in need are put between a rock and a hard place, and in the cultish characteristics it has.

But then I realized is not just that is a horrible copy mechanism that they are more or less using as a crutch, it also involves why Miguel is convinced over this, and also the responsibility that still comes with it.

WARNING: The following chat will have talks about trauma, recovery, and accountability. It will also include mentions of real religious manipulation and cultish behaviours.

If you think any of this could be triggering, please consider skipping this one.

But before we address the sad reality that is enforcing canon by the eldest/higher up members of this society, let me address something that I didn't mention last time.

Part of the reason all of this is bad is because Canon is fake, this theory falls apart by the seams, and this makes the society more like a cult exactly for this reason!

Here is the long version of why I say this so firmly.

But because I don't want to sent people to do homework, here is the cliff notes version:

Canon Event ASM-90 cannot be happening at this moment, because Spot IS an anomaly. Also, Miguel said himself that canon event ASM-90 is when a captain dies in a battle between the spider-person and a nemesis, but Spot isn't Pavitr's nemesis, and Miguel himself said that Spot shouldn't had happened and is another anomaly like Miles, so why Captain Singh should had died at that moment?

The black matter that supposedly is happening because Miles broke canon? Was happening BEFORE we saw the captain. The alchemax building is breaking down, and has a dark matter absorbing it, which gets bigger and bigger as we see our heroes descend, and then in the same spot the building felt, now there is a black hole! Coincidence? Doubtful.

Miles's universe didn't fell because he became a spider-man, even if by being an "anomaly" you should expect to cause some sort of reaction, right? Further more, he blames Miles and Co for the hole in the multi-verse, but this is ignoring the fact the spot not only was the one to transport the spider, he has MULTIPLE of them. But Miles's universe has no reaction to any of this somehow? And the only issues it had was because of the collider messing up?

Look dear reader, I feel the fact that Pavitr's example doesn't fit the bill by Miguel's own words, and Miles's case in ITSV has jackshit to do with being anomaly; is safe to say this isn't about canon. Is about what is happening.

Because Miguel, Peter, Jess and the rest are so blinded by this idea of canon on Spider-man, they can't notice an incongruity as they are explaining it to you.

You guys know what this means? This means that instead of learning what is actually going on with Pavitr's universe (probably more related to physics than spider-man in itself.) They are wasting time and resources in preserving a mythos that so far feels more like trying to fit a pattern and mix destiny with physics somehow.

So the question is...how come is that they don't see it? Why they believe in this well?

WELL-

Here is the interesting part about the "Canon is part of every spider-man story,." While is a horrible thing to say to people just starting that need to deal with the fact that they will lose love ones and suffer great hardships because of their work, for those who are over? Oh this is great news.

(I swear while looking at this I had a flashback of "G-d's time is perfect" and "Everything happens for a reason," after having a personal hardship. Goddammit this really falls in the steps to a cult way too much.)

Okay but seriously, I saw a lot of people over the past few months complain about how the other spiders could let this happen, and this is so horrible how come Miles is being the only real spider-man here-

Is trauma, is all back to trauma.

Because okay, we don't know until which point the canon theory goes; I would say most spider-people are bit when they are teens or young adults (tho there are universes where Aunt May or Uncle Ben got bitten- yes as senior adults.) So I wouldn't be surprised if the "canon" events Miguel has mapped out has already happened to Peter, Jess and him, considering that at least Peter? Has been doing this for almost a quarter of a century; the others can't be too far apart for what I gather.

So while for someone like Gwen, Miles or Pavitr means "oh this is the list of horrible things you are going to suffer, sorry kid." For people like Peter, Miguel and Jess? Is probably more of a "oh those tragedies that you faced? They were part of the universe making sure it stays intact, is okay."

The sad reality, one of the most twisted things about this situation, is that the system uses the trauma of the eldest members to ensure they continue the cycle.

A funny thing about cults and many religions quite honestly, is that they have specific believes in place to ensure that people are not just indoctrinated, but are also incentivized to perpetuated the doctrine and make others do the same. Almost like evolution, the ideology behind became this way in order to ensure it is believed and doesn't die out like other beliefs.

I know I already put warnings previously, but now I want to bring a real life case because I think I need to hammer home how these beliefs can be so hard to shake off.

WARNING: Talks about Missionary Work, Murder, and passing mentions about colonialism.

The following discussion will involve the case around John Chau's missionary work and end, if you want to skip it, the discussing will begin and finish with the gif below.

So, in case you guys aren't familiar with this guy.

John Chau was a young man, he liked to go on adventures and was a passionate evangelical christian, who also liked to do Missionary Work. He went to a few different places, but the one were he died was in North Sentinel Island. He was killed by the native people there.

North Sentinel Island is among the last few places that has a group of people that are disconnected from the rest of the world. Every time someone tries to establish contact they killed, or at best, barely make it alive for what I recall. We don't know exactly know why since no one has been able to establish communications with them.

Now, I can't have this chat and not mention that is better to leave those people alone. They clearly prefer to continue with their traditional ways, and if you had seen some history you can probably tell even if they were interested, chances are this would end more poorly for them than anyone else.

Considering their reputation, that it is ILLEGAL to try to contact them for that exact reason (John Bribed two fisherman to leave him in the island, there is no way to get there without breaking the law.) You may be wondering, why he choose to go there?

Well, as mentioned before, missionary work; because he firmly believed this was "Satan's last stronghold" since no one was able to preach Christianity to them yet.

Okay, I know I am messing with the tiger here, and I don't want to insult anyone's faith; but I also have to be honest. I am Jewish, but I am a convert, my family is christian (I prefer not to say which branch but is probably obvious,) and while I will try to remain neutral let's say is hard when you are still processing stuff that happened to you.

I will say this, for all the people who called this man a "deluded idiot" when I remember this case, I feel two things, one of them is pity, and the other one is rage.

For starters, trying to force a religion into others is wrong in my eyes, (In Judaism is forbidden to proselytize, the traditional thing is actually deny converts until they ask for a third time.) It also forces an erasure of culture and colonialism, a lot of times trying to absorb past beliefs just to make the new believers happy, which muddies some stuff later on.

So, why I still feel bad for him?

Because he thought he was doing the right thing.

As someone who doesn't believe, in my eyes this is horrifying; but for him? He believes if he doesn't go to preach to this people, they may suffer in eternity for never hearing about Jesus. In his eyes, if he goes to them and convinces this group of worship his lord, he has now given eternal happiness and peace to this people; or the possibility to do so.

I feel bad, because this man was convinced to do something dangerous and bad, by thinking he was saving the lives of these people.

Sorry for the heavy topic, but I feel this was a good way to understand why the society does what it does. Because by bringing real life situations, I think is all the easier to understand how easy you can end up in these places.

Miguel theory doesn't just provide an explanation as to why the dimensions work the way they work, they also provide a nice explanation as to why they all had lived similar struggles, while they had suffered this much.

Is a balm to all those old wounds, because I am pretty sure Peter, nor the rest of the other adults that are "done" or mostly done with the canon events, or heck just suffered a few of them- still had their nightmares and hard times remembering all of the people they lost.

But if they learn about this after? Now they know it wasn't their fault, this was suppose to happen.

Remember what I said earlier? "G-d time is perfect"? That's something I heard growing up, from people who needed to hear that this has to have a purpose, serve a deeper meaning.

Otherwise, is just suffering.

However, can you see the parallels now? A belief that uses the pain and trauma of their members to make them believe, gives a "justifiable" and "noble" reason to continue pushing this narrative too (aka if we don't do it the universe collapses.) And just as well, is also fake, yet they are too blinded to notice, and they are now making people suffer for most probably not good reason while neglecting to learn what is actually going down.

Yeah, this really hammers more than anything the most cultish aspects of the Society. Because it is at is core.

Miguel's Biases

Now, I am convinced Miguel's canon theory is wrong, I know we can't know for sure what's going on until BTVS, but at this point I am rolling with that idea because too many things are adding up for me.

Yet despite how it becomes obvious in a way I consider embarrassing that Miguel doesn't notice- He is blinded by his own theory.

We all have our own biases, is not odd that we are inclined to believe things when they are said for people we respect, admire or look up. Similarly, we are also inclined to believe things more quickly when they align we pre-established world views, or favours a narrative you are more inclined to believe in.

(Yes I admitted how that means this work and others fall into this category, the reason they are as long as they are is because I try to at least to be able to justify my position in some way, and lay all what I think in case someone wants to debate me on it.)

My point with all of this, is that the reason why Miguel cannot see the holes in his own theory as he explains it, is because he is biased by the narrative he has done in his head.

I said this a million times already and I will say it again: No one believes in this more than Miguel, while I think Jess and Peter believe some things and are doubtful with others, Miguel believes all the way.

And just like some missionary people going too far, he can justify all the things he is doing because of this. Because is for the "greater good," and as long as it is for that reason, slamming teens into the train while screaming "you are a mistake!" Is all to save the multiverse.

But we aren't seeing a guy convinced to do things the hard way because sometimes tough situations demand desperate measures. We are seen a man try to cope with his guilt so poorly he created an entire unit dedicated to preserve this idea.

This is horrifying.

And now everything he has done colours different, because let me tell you, if you think too hard about his behaviour now looks a lot more authoritative and insane.

Projection is NOT a great Look Miguel

You know? I firmly believe a lot of people in Miguel's side are biased by his angsty demeanour, by his looks, by the power he has. This isn't to say I am not biased, is just that is not in that direction.

Not gonna lie I can't see this guy throwing stuff and don't remember a couple of temper tantrums my dad has done.

Regardless of my biases, I believe is for this reason I can say that honestly? I find embarrassing that Miguel throws things like that.

Again, I feel these scenes changed a lot the context once you put together that canon isn't part of saving the universe, and that Miguel is getting so worked up about something that until I see the contrary, is a theory he came up by himself with no other backing.

Which means he is throwing stuff at people for no good reason, getting worked up to intense levels that are not appropriate; all while being the boss that doesn't like to be questioned.

Honestly this part isn't exactly necessary on cult leaders, but I would say it happens.

(Again, I don't want to call this necessarily a cult; regardless of how much I think it fits the bill. There are multiple criteria, and I can't evaluate everything.)

One way or another, Miguel's reactions aren't anything good. Think about it, if your boss threw things around when he was angry, would you consider that safe?

Because you know what I consider the most telling part of all of this? Neither when Miguel throws the trashcan, nor when he throws the console, has anyone being surprised about this behaviour.

Let me repeat this; even if this wasn't about Miles, Miguel apparently is known for this enough that no one is phased.

Forget that they are super heroes, I don't think is a great look when the leader of your organization gets so angry he can't think straight, to the point he reaches the wildest conclusions.

This is another reason why I think the mental health in this institution has to be shit, 1) You can't have a harmful belief that enforces suffering and have good mental health, is not feasible. 2) I don't care if Miguel is the boss, or is probably his decision not getting help; is downright embarrassing he is let to do these things and no one questions if he is out of line.

Remember, this shouldn't be a dictatorship, regardless if this was Miguel's idea and operation, if you can't question the leader even if he is wrong; that's tyranny, and all just needs the boss to be wrong once for things to go south.

Now imagine when the entire system is flawed.

Now, the following part feels like I may be repeating myself, but the previous part was about how these actions are bad; and the second one is about why having mental health issues isn't a defence,

I imagine by this point, perhaps someone may want to come out of the woodwork's and say "But you are being completely unfair! Miguel is clearly hurting about this, he is not thinking clearly! That's why he screams to Miles that he is a mistake, he is projecting!"

(Sigh.) You know? I don't think there is a lot of people who would seriously try to say that about someone making a theory like this is still justified to do what he does, because he is clearly trying to substitute reality with his own, but because I had gotten WAY TOO MANY TIMES the "oh poor Miguel/Peter they are traumatized!" I am going to do the thing that is the real reason this post will be controversial.

Because disregarding your mental health to the point is hurting you and affecting others IS BAD TOO.

HEAR ME OUT!

In real life, there are complications like not having money, not having resources you can go to, maybe you are living with an abusive person who will not let you get any help- Things are very complicated, and there are many reasons you are stuck.

This isn't Miguel's case, for starters.

The guy clearly has money, he even has a spider-man psych which means the guy knows how the secret identity goes and has a psychological degree, so you can say he has an available, viable help just right around the corner. He is also a middle-aged man, meaning he should know better.

Because here is the thing, for all the dumb shit Gwen has done, she is a traumatized teen with not the best support, not adults she can rely on, and has a dad which copy mechanism is "I have a job to do," which is the same thing she does. I can believe she doesn't know any better, and will not take the best decisions either. I did my own fair of mistakes at that age so I can't talk.

What is Miguel's excuse? I am sorry, but I feel when you are at that age, when you have a responsibility this big, (that let's not forget everybody, HE CHOSE THIS, no one forced it onto him.) You need to be able to look in yourself and know when you can lead or not, when you can be trusted with big decisions or not. By this point in your life, you shouldn't rely on other people to tell you need help. If you are so much in your own head you are not seeing what's in front of you, that's a problem you need to fix.

You could try to argue that at that point he obviously will not see it, but 1) Honestly people let him get away with it, as we can see. 2) Do we know he would listen, considering this situation?

That doesn't mean letting him go rampant, that means "we took the executive decision you aren't fit as a leader." I am not joking here, Elon Musk was kicked out of paypal for less dumb shit and that's saying something.

I had heard so many excuses over the years about angry men that refuse to address their attitude issues because, "he had a rough childhood," "his father was absent," "he is stressed about work." All while being told that you need to grit your tear and bear it.

I can't take seriously a guy who has the money and the means to recover, yet refuses to confront reality because is more comfortable to fabricate something in your mind.

ESPECIALLY NOT when he is involving more people into his twisted system, that perpetuates people having MORE TRAUMA, all to justify his own.

All, while putting the multi-verse in danger, because he decided to take this task upon himself yet using his own flawed narrative.

And you know why I think Miguel being wrong in multiple things, (his theory, behaviour, literally throwing Gwen for questioning him and "letting him go" and not for disobeying- seriously why throw a way the justifiable reason if it isn't meant to be something?) Is not bad writing in my opinion, is because-

THAT'S THE ENTIRE POINT~!

Notice the funny thing about all of these scenes? All of them have Miguel showing being in the wrong.

Miles is telling Miguel it was the Spot, because it literally was; the black matter started way before and he saw it.

Miles IS Spider-man because he has earned that title, and not by doing a checklist of pre-approved events to see if he fits or not the bill.

Miguel is wrong because he is literally mad at Gwen for questioning him, and is insisting Gwen let Miles go; which is funny because PETER was the one in close quarters with Miles, and had a much better chance of capturing him.

But he isn't given any a reprimand for his behaviour, he gets scotch free while Gwen is being blamed for that blunder; and hey isn't something very traditional of corrupt systems of power favour those close to the inner circle while the "problematic members" are blamed for the mistakes of others?

And you can see all the other mistakes I had laid down already.

Because Miguel is the antagonist.

He is a man so blinded by guilt he has created a whole system made to keep it intact, is absolutely absurd to realize how crazy everything sounds once you put all of these pieces together.

Yet the point of this story is how even while having the most noble of reasons, if you are so focused on the past you are forced to make it your future, you may miss the opportunities out there to make it better.

Just like someone living in an unjust society, convinced it needs to perpetuate the status quo because anything else would mean the end of the world as we know it.

It really shows how sad and twisted this can be.

Oof, that got a little heavy huh? Sorry about that, is hard not to get intense.

Still feel a little crazy seeing the parallels about cults because I don't think the team realized how much this is hammering home with that; or maybe they do and I am underestimating them.

Thank you for anyone who came along in this ready! As always if you have the chance please support my ko-fi, and if you can't, please share this post around!

[zuffer-weird-girl]

I just read your work as Eri's caretaker reader and it totally blew my mind. PLEASE I need another part. I don't know, maybe let the reader convince/threat Kai to let her take care of the little princess again. Or make Eri so obnoxious that they have to let her meet the readers. You must have better ideas than mine. My broken heart is counting on you! kisses

I usually don't make these but since this fic is a old one I thought I could give it a shot-

Angsty, you all were warned.

You woke up with a gasp that you swore it felt refreshing to your own lungs.

Your body reacted before you could as you sat up with a hand already on your heaving chest as you almost panted... a bitter yet light pain could be felt on your neck, and as you went to touch it you hissed at the sting of it... it was like someone had...

Oh. Oh someone did do that.

"How could he-?" You whispered in both shock and fear that your own partner had the courage to simply pierce your neck with a syringe to make you sleep. All this just because of that poor little girl who just wanted decent company, a friend, hell, anyone who gives her a feeling of safety... anything.

You were starting to remember what exactly happened until you flinched when a door opened... only to reveal the man itself that you were thinking of.

"I see you're awake." He muttered monotonously as you stared at him, not sure exactly what to say after what he did to you. "I believe that things will get back to normal."

"Normal? Taking a girl's blood to make fucking bullets is normal?" You mumbled as you gulped the thick air stuck on your throat when those gold eyes stared right back at you... almost like inside your soul even.

"My dear angel." He muttered lowly while approaching you on the bed to grab your chin to tilt it up to look at him "Is a sacrifice, for a better world. No one should be living on a society where everyone is sick and worship figures that doesn't exist... they carry the hero syndrome.. and I must put a end on this."

"Is a child-"

"Listen," you felt his grip tighten "all I want, is to make this filthy world into a better place.. for me, for the boss... for you..." he growled the last words as you shivered "I want a world where no such sick filthy gets even a foot near you... I understand if you do not understand for now, is alright.. the old man didn't understood at first either."

You widened your eyes... pops...

"I can put you to rest my darling..." his gloves slowly started to dissappear thanks to his quirk "So I can wake you up when my plan is finished... but I didn't wanted to make this since I absolutely adore you... but if you dont wish to see me doing my dirty work I can spare you of this... do you want that?" His voice was so low as he stared deep at your eyes and suddenly all the pieces had fit together... why the hell the original boss of the hassaikai had entered on a coma out of the sudden.

"N-no... I... I will stay by your side." You stuttered as he hummed in approval before lowering his mask down to place a bittersweet kiss on your forehead.

"Good girl..." this usually brought you shivers out of happiness and pleasure... but not this time.

No, this time was out of fear of this man you didn't know neither wanted to get close with.

"I do know of your disdain for such actions of mine my angel, but sometimes you need to take drastic measures..." he spoke lowly on the top of your head as you shakily nodded.

Fuck... this wasn't the man you were dating... whoever the fuck was he, you didn't knew him.

Suddenly the door busted open alarming you as Kai merely lifted his gaze, already with the murderous aura around him as the poor precept stuttered in fear of seeing he interrupted his boss on his... alone time.

"I-I apologize master b-but the girl-" while the precept explained your eyes shined in hope.

Did eri escaped?! Was she safe now?!

In a blink of an eye you shrieked when Chisaki merely overhauled the poor man, making sure that his blood wouldn't come near you.

"I will go after her." He looked over his shoulder at you "she usually wouldn't dare to do that... I will tell you about it later."

"P-please do."

"... my love, please don't get attached to her. She killed her own father with her disease. She is dangerous, she kills those near her... I want her very far away from you." He spoke Ina threatening tone before leaving and ordering someone to clean the mess up as you felt tears escape your eyes as you brought your hands together and prayed to whoever was listening that Eri escaped and wouldn't be dragged back to the hell she was put into...

.

.

.

She didn't... she did managed to escape many times, but was always brought back to the base as your boyfriend complained about the incompetence of his subordinates and how stubborn was this girl... it had been months already on this play of cat and mouse...

You walked inside the halls one day only to gasp at seeing your "boyfriend" and Chrono walking... the white haired girl on the arms of Kai's childhood friend... another failed attempt of her trying to escape probably.

You couldn't contain your instincts, gasping the girl's name in worry as she looked up at you... her hair had gotten longer...

She almost sobbed your name... you didn't saw the utter horror and disgust on Chisaki's face as she manage to get out of Chronostasis grip and met you on a crushing hug.

"Eri..." he growled... he sounded almost like a raged animal at the sign of the girl hugging you and you hugging her back with so much... emotion.

But to his despair, the girl didn't listen... she only hugged you harder.

"Your hair got longer... you look so pretty..." You whimpered as the tears felt on the top of her hair as she sobbed in your arms.

"I missed you (y/n).." She sniffled and before you could say something you tensed up at Chisaki standing up near you two with an almost psycothic look.

"Let go of my partner Eri..." he growled and the girl widened her eyes, aplenty only noticing what she had done only now as she got out of your embrace and before he could do something you stood up immediately, hands near his chest but not touching it.

"Kai please.." You begged as his murderous look went towards you "She is a kid, doesn't how to control her quirk and is fine! Okay? I'm fine see!"

"That doesn't matter right now. It was just a coincidence." He growled before looking towards her "She escaped once again... apparently a rebellious age. And she has been in the streets and has the courage of touching you like-"

"I-I swear I won't escape anymore!" She yelped and all of you immediately got silent.. shocked that the girl had actually raised her voice at Chisaki "I promise! I will do whatever you want me to! B-But at least... can I please have (Y/n) back as caretaker?" She whimpered and Chisaki looked even more disgusted and before he could speak she kneeled on the ground and bowed... the sign heartbreaking...

"I.. I swear I won't touch her... I swear I won't escape anymore... but.. p-please?" She sobbed on the ground as you wanted to kill Chisaki...

How dare him make a child do that?

Minutes passed by and the only sounds of the hall was Eri's whimpers and sobs... you looked at him, begging with your eyes to accept the girl offer as he furrowed his eyebrows even more before sighing... his monotonous expression back on.

"Two hours. You got two hours with my partner each day if that means you won't try to leave this place and not make a fuss." He spoke lowly as the girl gasped and looked up.

You blinked your tears away at his words... two hours weren't enough... yet Eri had one of the most hopefully expressions you had ever saw on her face...

"Is that cleat?" He growled and the girl nodded while trembling, a small and quivering thank you leaving her lips as Chrono ushered her to her room leaving you both alone on the hallway as Kai rubbed his temples as you breathed in a sigh.

"You meant it?" You turned to him as he glared at the ground.

"... if she ever, ever, bring you any harm... I won't hold back." He growled as you gulped and nodded .... to get on his good side you forced yourself to go to him and awkwardly hug him close...

"Thank you..." You sighed shakingly as his gloved hand hesitantly placed itself on the back of your head.

"Don't get attached to her." He ordered as you nodded...

It was too late to follow his commands..

.

.

Eri couldn't smile anymore... it wasn't that she didn't want it too or not feel safe around you.

Is that she couldn't.

You brushed her hair as she stood tense and silent before you widened your eyes at the mention of your name being called by her.

"Yes?"

"... I met two heroes." You tensed up... maybe that's why Kai was so pissed off that day.

"R-Really?" You whispered as you went to look at her face "Did they.. were they nice to you?"

"They were.." she whispered back "One had a messy green hair while the other was a blonde one with cape... the green on didn't wanted to let me go... I almost told them about him but... he threatened to kill them... so I went back..." she whispered as tears slowly started to drop from her ruby eyes "I'm sorry... I should have called help for you..."

"No no no." You wiped her tears away, not caring about the rule of her not touching you "You didn't need to call help for me, I'm fine!"

".... but aren't you stuck here too?" She broken whispered as your eyes widened at her words...

Before you could answer both of you flinched at the door being opened... Overhaul standing right there as he stared at you.

"We need to go. We got company."

You were about to question him until you heard a very loud commotion coming from outside, Eri doing her best to not cling onto you near with overhaul standing less than meters away from her.

.

.

.

You didn't know how to felt with what had happened... you saw your boyfriend being brutally beaten up by teenagers and heroes and now be taken away to be on tartarus...

You heaved a relieved sigh as your legs wobbled as you felt on the ground... eri was with a hero.. it was over.

"Ma'am." You felt yourself being lifted up by a hero or officer as you stuttered "Come with us. You got a lot of explaining to do-"

"Wait i-I-"

"Not buts." They said harshly while dragging you along with the other hassaikai members until a shout was heard.

"WAIT NO! NO!" You saw the white haired girl dragging a green hero kid as she was shaking terribly but still managing to walk "SHE IS GOOD! SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING PLEASE! DONT TAKE HER WITH THEM!"

All the heroes and hassaikai members were shocked until you gulped and as the hero's grip started to fade away you were standing awkwardly in front of the ki-... Deku. Him staring at you in wonder as Eri almost sobbed about you as you stood near the heroes awkwardly.

... how were you going to get out of this and explain to all of them what you had to Arturo for these last years...?

"Miss." The teenager caught your attention "Eri chan seems to like you a lot..."

You blinked as another black haired hero approached... eraser head, whose was wounded badly...

"Did you took care of her while you were there?" His weak yet rough voice echoed on your head as you started to sob, eyes on the girl that was staring at you with a heart breaking expression.

"I tried to... I'm so sorry..." You fell into your knees on the ground as you sobbed and cried desperately, all of the events now coming all at once and making you break down right on the middle of the street and in front of all of those people...

You felt two small arms hugging your head.. a weak voice echoing one sentence that made you sob harder.

It's over.