#ostracization

[mysticdragon3md3]

I noticed some dialogue from the Nimona movie, and now I'm wondering if Ambrosius was bullied by the other Institute kids in his class. And did Ballister and Ambrosius end up so close, partially because they were ostracized together?

During that scene with the knights surveying the collapsed statues, Todd declares "This is his fault!" And then other knights joined in with Todd, to gang up on Ambrosius. You can hear them almost booing Ambrosius, while agreeing with Todd. The one clear "Tell him, Todd!" gets subtitled. But you can also hear "Yeah, that's right, Todd."

It sounded like all the other knights in Ambrosius's class were eagerly waiting for any excuse to attack him. Really sinks in the pressure Ambrosius felt to conform. They probably hated him because of the special treatment he gets as the direct descendent of Gloreth. Even in that very scene, the Director gives him special treatment, instantly giving him command of the mission to arrest Ballister, as soon as Ambrosius expresses interest in leading the mission. She even cites "We have a descendent of Gloreth to lead us!" Even though Todd was much more enthusiastic and probably reflected more of the same motivations/sentiments as the Director, she still chose the descendent of Gloreth.

Now it becomes clearer why Ballister and Ambrosius became close: They may have both been ostracized by the rest of their class, and only really had each other.

(Instagram post by the official storyboard artist estebravo mentions that Ambrosius and Bal met as children and agreed to go to school together, but I mean their likely mutual ostracization probably brought them even closer, since they would have been isolated together, from the rest of the class. https://www.instagram.com/p/CvK56M3vCEo/)

Ballister gets ostracized because he was the one commoner, "intruding" upon a space filled with the nobility class. Ambrosius gets ostracized because, as the descendent of Gloreth, he was always going to get special treatment. And considering Ambrosius's lack of motivation to become a knight (citing estebravo's storyboards that were cut from the final movie), the rest of the class probably hated him even more. Ambrosius probably didn't have to work as hard as Ballister, to prove he was worth taking up his spot in the Institute class, but Ambrosius would have had to work hard to make the special treatment he was likely given, probably seem more earned. After all, if his skill could justify his special treatment, almost or as much as his status as Gloreth's descendent, then the rest of the class probably would have to admit it was at least partially valid.

That probably wouldn't stop the bullying, but it would probably stop the bullying from being overt, constant, or from as many classmates. They'd at least hesitate before sabotaging his equipment or something. Or they'd worry about the consequences of getting caught going after the Director's "golden student". Maybe it'd be enough to get half of the would-be bullies to chicken out.

On the other hand, if they couldn't take out their frustrations on Ambrosius, it just might make them take it out onto Ballister even more, since he was the more "acceptable" target. I wonder how often that gave Ambrosius a guilt trip, or motivated him to beat them up in return. Imagine little Ambrosius having another parent-teacher conference in the Director's office because he keeps getting into fights, "disgracing Gloreth's legacy", and disappointing his parents, who I assume are very invested in their pride as Gloreth's descendants. No wonder Ballister has to hold Ambrosius back from defending him in the movie. Not just because Ballister cares about Ambrosius getting into trouble, but also because the ones Ambrosius beats up, probably come back to bully Ballister even harder for it. It's a bad cycle, that I'm sure they learn to navigate better as they grow older. Unfortunate they act like they have to placate it, even during that "locker room" scene.

I've heard some reaction videos call Ambrosius his class's number two knight, after Ballister. But if they're referring to ranking by skill level, I realized, do we ever actually hear the movie state Ambrosius's skill ranking, compared to his classmates? We know Ballister was number one, and he worked harder than everyone else. But I like the idea that Ambrosius would have also worked hard to make his special treatment seem justified. Maybe not just to keep off the bullying, but maybe also to prove it to himself. Maybe with Ballister's personal training being so demonstrably effective, Ambrosius would have asked Ballister to help him train, get tips, or just spar together a lot. If Ambrosius trained most often with Ballister, then I could believe Ambrosius as the second most skilled knight in his class.

[nicxxx5]

i hate when people discuss sign/traits/symptoms of autism they often you the word "inappropriate" to describe the behaviors of the autistic person

maybe it's just me but the use of the word inappropriate just gives off a gross connotation to the autistic person's behavior?

like why is the behavior inappropriate? what makes it inappropriate? because it's not like what allistic people do?

so is it actually inappropriate then? or is it irregular? abstract? different? even "abnormal" sound better than inappropriate to me

to me calling the behavior of autistic people inappropriate is dehumanizing because to me it implies the idea that autistic people don't know how to behave at all. like as if they can't understand what it means to do xyz.

but autistic people do know how to behave. they behave in a way that makes sense and is comfortable to them. it may not be what society scripted as they way to do something but i think to call it inappropriate is just wrong

[softnoodlesdoodles]

O is for ostracization

[gwemmieee]

I've realized that I have a very complex relationship with gossip. Unique to most, but not so unique to any trans woman with autism. Not even that unique to any non-trans woman with autism. My relationship with gossip is somewhat dominated by the destructive consequences of abusers who falsely claim to be advancing the plight of women, almost as much as it is dominated by the empowerment of solidarity between women.

Since taking this new chance in this new less transphobic world to realize and broadcast that I am a woman, I have been given access to this rich inner world of gossip, and it has drastically and instantly changed my life for the better. It has allowed me to hope that anyone else will ever treat me like a human being, which has taught me how to treat myself like a human being for the first time.

I have always been someone who is in the trenches, directly facing many of the struggles of girlhood and womanhood, as well as celebrating many of its beauties and strengths, but I have not always been someone who had any clue that any of it was related to womanhood at all.

That was because I was not allowed into the world of gossip.

I had no blood family in that world--they were all too misogynistic and preoccupied with a religious level of all-encompassing shame. When it came to anyone else, I was seen for my appearance in a very bioessentialist way; for my frames of reference that had been thrust upon me without my consent and without a full picture of any other frames of reference to counterbalance; for my autism and my imperfect skills in making sure I'm accurately heard on who I am and what my intentions are. I was constantly deemed someone who is not entitled to, deserving of, or safe with, the privilege of gossip.

Instead, I was left with the scraps; people who do demonize gossip or who misuse it to be abusive; and ultimately between those people and loneliness, I chose loneliness. Because those people felt just like being lonely, and at least if I stayed away from those people, I could be more in touch with myself as a result.

My life could have become so much more fulfilling and fair so much sooner… if I had ever been given a chance to choose. To show who I am instead of being told I'm someone else and gatekept over it. I think the most traumatizing thing about my past experience with gossip, that I had before coming out as a woman, is that I was either ignored when I had my own gossip about abuse and pain, or I was adamantly kept out of real access to anyone else's genuine gossip, or I was taken advantage of in my faith in people and was led to believe that I was a welcome member of the community--while they openly refused to let me in on any gossip at all, to the point that I was deeply scared they might gossip negatively about me, too. (And in many cases, I would find out later that they did, even though I hadn't abused or coerced or been mean or dismissive to anyone. It was simply down to bioessentialism, homophobia, and especially ableism.)

That is really hard to process alongside the fact that, now that I am finally welcome into the world of gossip, gossip truly has transformed for me from this secret underworld that I was made to be afraid of to this empowering interconnected international network that helps me thrive. To this day, thanks to lingering trauma, I still have an instinctive fear of people who are especially eager to shit talk someone who I haven't had any reason to suspect is an abuser. And yet I also retain my lifelong instinct to look up to people who gleefully celebrate gossip, and to give them a chance in good faith. But, thanks to continuous traumatic experiences, I also have a very real knowledgeset, mask, and careful approach, because a large chunk of people who engage in gossip are, in fact, extremely ableist, and dangerous to interact with as an autistic person. Even if those people truly agree that I am a woman, and let me in on their gossip--the danger to letting them start to see more of me* is so great that they might just take that recognition of womanhood and access to gossip away from me, and not just for themselves but throughout every community I'm in that they have influence over. I've noticed that would even still be a problem if I was a cis woman--it's an autism struggle. It's also a much deeper problem as a trans woman, because the potential for and the consequences of my personhood being denied are much much greater. But also, it was my continued unconscious attempts to enter their world anyway, that got me here. It was the gradual inch by inch that, very rarely, exceptional women barely let me in a little bit more and educated me a little bit when they actually listened to me gossiping about my own abusers. Even while my misogynistic biological mom passionately demonized and rejected my attempts to gossip, attempted to control them, and kept me isolated. (She demonized a lot of other feminine things, too. There is something huge that I suspect about her these days in retrospect.)

It's almost as if my entire life is meant to reinforce the moral that bioessentialism is evil. I believe in the collective attempts by trans folks and our allies to redefine what womanhood is, so that people like me are more easily welcomed in, and abusers and bigots are not. And I believe in gossip as an essential tool of womanhood, that we must not tolerate misuse of.

*I carefully worded this. I would have phrased it as "the danger to letting them get to know me," but that wouldn't be accurate, as people like this never actually want to get to know me--they latch onto the first excuse they can find, however delusional, inaccurate, or bigoted, to brand me as dangerous, and once they've found it, they will voluntarily opt not to ever really know me at all.

[sisyphussister]

whoops broke down crying (again) when one of my coworkers asked how i was doing

[sidewalkchemistry]

This basic template of "overcoming evil" and "asserting dominance" has infiltrated every aspect of our political culture. It's the basic problem-solving template of our society. If there is a problem, find the bad guy, defeat the bad guy, and the problem is solved. This is the basic mentality of war. And what I'm saying is the mentality of war is rests on a deeper place, rests on the story of separation. The basic mentality of war is...as the saying goes, if you have a hammer everything looks like a nail...We become blind to any other way of solving problems.

- Charles Eisenstein in The Secret to Changing the World (The Origin of Wrongness)

[edsheerankinnie]

Cringetober day 16: something ive been bullied for an (old) insecurity of mine

Wow this one was HARD bc like. ive never actually been bullied?? At most ive been teased or sort of ostracized, and that latter bit has always eluded me bc there was never any solid reason for that ????? But it HAS bred a lot of insecurities bc effectively, bc ppl were avoiding me and not telling me why, I had to figure out for myself what it was. Like was it bc i was ugly? Did i smell bad? Was i just too shy?? Was it my lack of a phone/social media at the time? was it bc my parents were too strict??? Did they just not like my fruity vibes?? Was i too weird or boring??? In any case i never figured that out and realize the kids i went to school with were fucking weird. so yeah im changing the prompt a bit lol

In any case, notice how shes pretty in spite of the ~insecurity~ (see if u can spot it lol)

[hourback]

Sign a petition to oust the USA from the United Nations

https://chng.it/R2rBFDLPRj . . . Since the USA doesn’t particularly care for international diplomacy anyway. Instead it seems hellbent on global domination by military means out of wanton fear and greed.

[inbabylontheywept]

so i left the mormon church as a teenager (15ish? 16?), but stayed in attendance until i was 20. i was pretty up front about the whole deciding-it-wasnt-true process with my bishop, who frankly took it really well, but it wasnt like i pulled all 150 ward members aside and had a heart to heart with them. anyway, i didnt believe, so at 19 i didnt go on a mission, and while some people in the ward were totally fine with that, others werent. and there was one woman in her late 50s who pulled me aside one day to interrogate me why i hadnt gone on a mission.

"the duty of every young man" she said.

and the thing is, im autistic. and a lot of people assume that when youre autistic, your social skills just arent very good. but thats not exactly true. your Be Polite skills are kind of eh, and they tend to stay that way, but as a sort of survival mechanism your Be Rude skills become amazing simply because you get put in tons of situations where your choices are to Function or Be Polite. and no one can choose Be Polite forever. the world demands function, it merely encourages politeness.

anyway, it can really catch neurotypicals by surprise, because hey, heres this kind of awkward, graceless guy, who stumbles over his words a lot and is very apologetic. hes probably a huge pushover. but i'm only like that when we're playing The Polite Game, because i am frankly kind of bad at it. but when its time to play The Rude Game, i go fucking ham and asking about the not-going-on-a-mission thing is Super Rude. so i said:

"sister hadlock... they wont let me go because i lit-er-ally cannot stop sucking dicks. i dont know why, its just so, so hard."

*dramatic pause*

"also - its very difficult to stop."

anyway, it almost killed her. i think she'd expected to just kind of steamroll me for the entire conversation, but the answer crushed her soul. instead of continuing her interrogation she made a noise like a horse drowning in a bog and left.

to add insult to injury, she went to the bishop after that, thinking he'd chew me out for being an ass, but instead he chewed her out for not minding her own business. then she went to my parents after that, who basically went "yeah, babylon was pretty rude. but youre also pretty rude. what are you, mad that he's better at it than you?"

i really loved that ward.

[runawaycarouselhorse]

Psst, read Rainbow Revolution (Nanairo Kakumei), it's a shoujo manga entirely about a lonely young girl--Nana-- and her popular supposed best friend--Yuyu-- who boycotts and isolates her when she tries to stop being friends with her, who always used to control her, even what colours she can wear or buy (for instance, if they're buying matching teddies, even though main girl likes pink, she's not allowed to pick pink, she can only pick blue, because pink's fake friend's colour, and main girl can't "compete" with her...)

The fake friend turns people against her, while acting all loving when she DOES speak to her and isn't giving her the silent treatment. It's scary accurate.

She makes herself sound like the victim of her friend (trying to break free of her abuse!), so everyone isolates the actual victim, the heroine, and even see isolating her as giving her a taste of her own poison to teach her a lesson. Then expecting her to apologize and make up with her bully.

no piece of teen media has ever accurately depicted the quiet psychological warfare of bullying. bullies on TV are always dumb brutes and not the evil geniuses of emotional manipulation that they are in real life. being given a wedgie and having your lunch money stolen is nothing in comparison to a classmate quietly creating a taboo against speaking to you that they intend to enforce against all the other kids. it’s nothing like continuous cutting comments from people you thought were being nice to you. that way that the work of one kid can make you feel like every person on earth silently hates you and that you are dirty, disgusting, worthless, creepy and useless. that you can have friends but many of them will not speak to you at school for fear of the social consequences on their end. how that damage lasts in any social setting for the rest of your life

[coffee-scrub]

Mia would have some choice words on Phoenix’s taste in men

Bonus:

[aspenforest732]

Bello Licentiae Chapter 8: Imagining Is Better than Remembering

Summary:

tw: heart attack, stockholm syndrome, deadnaming, threats of violence, coercion, child abuse mention, grief, loss, death mention, ostracization, quirk elitism, ableism, classism The promised drama :D part one of the provisional licensing exam 'text' JSL Text thoughts

Akira stared at the calendar for a long moment, guilt churning in their gut. They forgot. Now three days away, they started the advance meal prep for dinner that night since they wouldn't have time during the day. At least I won't have to see Asami. She should be at Wren Stadium. A confusing swirl of emotions washed over them. On one hand, Asami would be punished if she didn't get her provisional license. On the other... she'd at least be safer from their mess.

When not training, Akira threw themself into the search for Kurogiri's identity. They wrote even the smallest details in their nomu notebook. Anything could hold the final piece of the puzzle of his former life. They tried to break down the separate quirks that made up Warp Gate from what they remembered of the file and observations. Something about clouds, a sight-based warp, and something to do with coordinates or geography. One of the augmentations was a stabilizing mental fortitude quirk that seemed a common type among the more aware nomu.

Akira set reminders to eat, dodging their classmates and even Mad Banquet when they could. There were almost always leftovers and quick or ready-made meals in the fridge.

Saturday night, they made their way back to their room with dinner leftovers, sidetracked in the logic of quirk weaving. Stepping out of the elevator, they sighed and paused at the sight of Mad Banquet standing awkwardly at their door. Akira shifted the bowl into one hand and opened it, gesturing the group inside. ' Did you want to talk? '

"Are you okay? You've been isolating yourself from everyone," Koji asked, shifting awkwardly.

' I'm fine, ' Akira dismissed before taking in the tired, worried postures of their friends. They set the yakisoba on their desk and leaned back in their chair, letting their eyes close briefly. ' This is a hard time of year for me. I know I'm hard to be around, so I stay out of people's ways. '

Hitoshi bristled as Fumikage and Shoto grew more concerned. "Who told you that? If this is a hard time, we want to be there for you."

Cracking an eye open, Akira smiled slightly. ' No one said it, but I could tell. I don't want to talk about it, but I'll be fine. '

"If talking would not help, how can we help you?" Fumikage asked.

' Just let me take the time, and I'll make it up to you afterwards. September first is an important date to me, and I'll come to you guys when I'm ready. '

"If you can pass this test and get your provisional licenses, then you novice eggs will become chicks. You'll hatch into semi-pros. Do your best," Aizawa said after they finished collecting their costume cases from the bus undercarriage.

Akira looked curiously at the group of Shiketsu students approaching and shied away as one of them tried to join the class chant. They glanced to Aizawa as the student dramatically apologized, but the teacher only seemed mildly annoyed as he explained who Inasa Yoarashi was. Akira did a double take at the blonde girl's mild fascination with the blood now dripping from Yoarashi's head, but without any other signs, they decided to just keep an eye on her.

"Eraser? It's you, isn't it, Eraser?!" a shrill voice called out, immediately setting Akira back on alert as Aizawa flinched.

Drifting closer to their teacher, Akira gave a subtle sign for ' danger? ' as the colorful woman approached. Aizawa shook his head, but his open disgust spoke volumes before his mask of indifference slipped back into place.

They heard a quiet "fuck" from Hitoshi on their right as she got in Aizawa's space. ' That's Ms. Joke, she won't take the hint to back off ,' he signed when Akira looked to them.

"Let's get married," she said. Hitoshi made a choking sound, and Aizawa said no, his mask momentarily slipping into anger. "No? Good one!"

Akira stalked forward, mouth set in a hard line. 'Ms. Joke, do you realize you're making him uncomfortable?' they asked bluntly.

"Oh, don't worry about Shou! That's just our relationship," she laughed.

Aizawa's eye twitched as he said, "No, that's just you."

Ms. Joke stopped, confusion knitting her brow as she said more quietly, "I thought you enjoyed the teasing. If you want me to stop, I will and apologize for making you uncomfortable. I had no idea."

Akira pivoted back to the class as they quietly cleared a few things up, nerves even more frayed as they tried to intentionally relax their muscles. Ms. Joke called out Ketsubutsu Academy's second years as they caught up to her.

"I'm Shindo! U.A. this year's had trouble after trouble, so it must've been tough!" one of the kids at the front of the group started introducing himself by clasping hands. His smile didn't quite reach his cold, calculating eyes. Akira backed away as he got to Katsuki.

They bit back a grin as the fiery blonde burst out, "Stop pretending. What you're saying doesn't match the look on your face!"

Kirishima tried to apologize for his rudeness, but Akira just signed, ' He's right, though. '

"Hey, change into your costumes and go to the orientation. Don't waste time," Aizawa called out as a girl from Ketsubutsu started asking for autographs.

In the changing room, Akira heard a soft gasp and looked up to see Aoyama looking at their wrist, specifically a twine bracelet of red, white, and yellow with six beads. He went to say something, but Akira cut him off, ' Can't talk about it right now. ' Midoriya also noticed as they walked out but one look at their face had him respectfully nodding with sadness in his eyes and turning away.

Once Mera explained the rules of the first part of the exam, Mortis placed their targets on their forehead, the top of their right boot, and the inside of their left forearm. They didn't have as many options for unobstructed placements since their costume relied on constantly moving tassels to obscure movement.

"Everyone, don't get too separated! Let's move as a group!" Deku called out.

Mortis sharply nodded and confirmed that their classmates' coms were on the same frequency as theirs. Shoto and Dynamight with Red Riot split off so they could have space for their quirks, but the rest of the class started jogging away from the center. Mortis snorted at several students only just now realizing the bloodbath it would be since everyone knew about their quirks from the sports festival.

' My clones duplicate equipment, ' Mortis rapidly signed as Anima interpreted. ' I can start tagging the other groups once we start, but I'll quickly lose the element of surprise. Tell me over coms when you're ready for me to pass. '

"Isn't that cheating?" Creati asked. "And why aren't you using your coms?"

Mortis rolled their eyes. ' No, it's efficiently using my quirk. Signing is faster and more accurate right now. '

"Will a ball hitting your clones' targets count against you?" Deku asked, starting to slow as they approached the mountainous area of the stadium.

' I don't know, but I can block or dismiss clones as needed to avoid that, ' Mortis signed. Their capture scarf snapped up with their surprise as Mera announced the start of the exam. The group skidded to a halt. A hoard of students rose from the rocky outcroppings, a hail of balls catapulting toward 1-A.

Mortis warped behind cover and rapidly created clones from the first, warping them into engagement with the cocky and insecure kids to land a hit or two on each before dispelling.

With most of their focus on directing the dozen clones, Mortis didn't notice the steps coming up behind them until the person was a couple meters away. Mortis took a hard step as they warped on top of the rock formation and narrowed their eyes as Trophaeum rounded the corner.

Her gold and pink armored costume glinted in the sun, the red Wren symbol proudly worn on her chest. A pair of electrified escrima sticks – standard for non-offensive quirks in the family – hung from her waist.

"Hey, Umbra! Long time no see," she grinned.

Mortis slid down as Earphone Jack's Heartbeat Distortion dispelled their active clones, revealing their location. They fought to keep their expression neutral, and some of their anger seeped into their eyes from how Trophaeum winced. ' The hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be at Wren Stadium, not Takoba National. '

Trophaeum shrugged easily, "The family wants to start over with you, promote good relations. I'm here to make sure you pass the exam and to start repairing our relationship."

Mortis saw red and walked themself through a breathing exercise as they sharply signed, 'They lost any chance of good relations when they killed Minori. Did they even let you remember him?' Mortis scoffed and continued, 'What's the bare minimum you need to accomplish to not be punished?'

"Of course they did!" Trophaeum's expression cracked into hurt. "Minori died in a tragic training accident. I miss him every day."

"Mortis, are you alright?" Tsukuyomi asked over the coms, voice slightly distorted with his Dark Abyss move.

"Yes, Tsukuoymi. Sister here."

"I'm on my way," Siren ground out.

"No," Mortis immediately shot back. "Not obstacle."

"I... Are you okay, Aki?" Trophaeum took a hesitant step forward.

Mortis' capture weapon immediately rose to hover about their shoulders. ' Stay back, and yes. Again, what do you need to not be punished? '

Trophaeum gave them a sad, disbelieving look. "I don't know what weird notions you have of our family or why you think they control what I remember, but-"

Mortis waved them off as their capture weapon resettled. ' I know exactly what your family does, and I'm not interested in causing you pain. No matter how justified you think it is. ' After a tense moment, Mortis forced their expression to soften a little, ' Mission parameters. Give me your mission parameters for this. '

Trophaeum relaxed marginally and explained, "Establish nonhostile contact. Ensure you get your provisional license. Get my provisional license. Improve relations by a minimum of two factors."

Mortis sharply nodded and slapped a ball away with their capture weapon, warping as they danced to the side. A few students they hadn't met yet bore down on them while grinning maliciously and palming balls.

"You really shouldn't be talking so loud in an exam," the redhead said. "Never know who might hear."

Mortis warped again as the ground started to shake, getting sufficient clearance to see over the formations. Once they spotted Shindo at the epicenter, Mortis warped again onto the tip of a thinner formation while effectively giving their mid-air clone a heart attack to dispel it. They crouched like they'd seen Eraser do many times, letting their capture weapon hover about their shoulders to add to the gargoyle-like pose. Mortis grinned as their clone dispelled with the earthquake and several people nearly fell over at the sight of them.

"Did you seriously just... Mortis!" Siren groaned, and Mera announced the first person to pass with 150 taken down. "You're good to pass. We're split up, so you'll be less effective running support."

"Understood, good poo. Luck ," Mortis warped from their perch and quickly took out the redhead and blonde while invisible before dispelling their clone.

They turned back to Trophaeum as their targets lit up green, ' Consider this one factor. I won't target you unless you go after me. ' Mortis stalked off towards the break room, tassels rustling in the slight breeze of their own making and capture scarf restless with their tumultuous emotions.

Mortis did a double take as they noticed Primordial shoes on a student joining them on the walk to the break room. They offered a small smile and shook their wrist so the bracelet slid down enough for the other to see.

Eyes wide, they held out a gloved hand to shake, "I'm Anka or Apex. She/her."

Mortis shook her hand before signing, ' Akira or Umbra Mortis. They/them. Are you aiming to be the first Quirkless hero? '

Anka grinned, "Sure thing! I'm doing a double track with support so I can make my own items." She rubbed the back of her neck as her smile turned a bit awkward. "Not everyone wants to work with us, y'know?"

' If you ever need other work done or want another eye, Mei Hatsume will be open to working with Quirkless people once she graduates. She actually prefers working with quirks that aren't flashy. '

"I'll keep her in mind," Anka chuckled. She turned serious after a moment, expression falling. "Don't feel like you have to answer, but... are you more of a flowers or games person?"

Akira gently rubbed their bracelet a moment before responding, ' Games. ' The rest of the walk passed in reverent silence between the pair in contrast with the explosions and shouts ringing throughout the stadium. Akira rarely needed to use the code Haru taught them, but they regularly reviewed it in the evenings just in case. Colors for memorial bracelets were easy: red meant quirkless, white death, yellow family, and blue star trusted Quirked person. Each bead represented a year since the person's death. Flowers were representative of late bloomers and games of people who underwent Forced Quirk Manifestation. Going to a Quirkless person' party was being there for their final moments, usually before they jumped off a roof.

Akira exchanged numbers with Anka and emphasized that if she was ever in trouble or danger, they were a message or call away. No matter the time. They spilt off as they entered the break room, neither eager to draw attention to the other. Yoarashi was animatedly talking about a new hero on the scene with another prospect who looked somewhat uncomfortable, and more hopefuls trickled in after Akira.

They grabbed a selection of mostly seafood from the buffet, a tradition they held since it could be pretty cheap and there was no grave for Akira to visit. They quietly people watched as more prospects filtered in, especially keeping an eye out for underground heroes, but most were very clearly limelights between their color schemes and equipment.

When Shoto drifted in, Akira waved him over. They frowned as his expression shifted to confused curiosity and followed his gaze to Yoarashi, who was glaring at him. ' Do you know him? Besides the recommendation test? '

Shoto shook his head and sat down with a plate of soba. "I don't know if I did something to bother him."

' I can ask if you'd like. That way if it does have to do with your sperm donor, you won't have to deal with it. ' After a moment, Shoto nodded.

As their legs twinged, Akira pulled out the crutches from their utility belt and pressed the buttons to extend them. They walked over to where Yoarashi was still talking about Stamp Man and caught his eye.

"Ah! It's wonderful that you passed, too! You must have great passion," he broadly grinned.

' You could say that, ' Akira smiled awkwardly. ' I was wondering if you have a problem with Shoto? I'm a friend of his. '

Yoarashi's expression dropped into cold anger, and Akira winced but resolved not to waver. "I hate him and his father, Endeavor. While his behavior's changed since the entrance exam, Shoto has the same eyes."

Akira bristled and matched his glare with their own. ' Have you not been paying attention to the news? I thought Shiketsu would teach their students better. Endeavor is a flaming pile of shit who abused and neglected his children. If you ever make that comparison to Shoto to his face, ' Akira emphatically tapped their crutch as they got in his space, ' I will personally make sure you don't pass and will make your life a living hell. '

Yoarashi took a step back, surprise and a touch of guilt flashing across his face.

Akira sharpened their gaze and took a menacing step forward, "accidentally" jamming a crutch into his foot. ' Am I clear? '

"Crystal," Yoarashi muttered and slunk back to his classmates.

Akira pivoted back to their table and retracted their crutches as they sat down. ' Don't pay attention to that asshole, he hates Endeavor and you by extension. '

It didn't take long for students to start flowing in, rapidly increasing the room's volume. Akira tapped the lower button on their coms to turn on noise suppression and made their way over to the mini fridge to top off their costume reserves as the number of people who passed climbed to 82.

They turned around to spot Yaoyorozu limping in, mostly supported by Shoji and followed by Jiro and Tsu. Tumbler under their arm, Akira quickly made their way over and noticed Tsu was a bit sluggish and shivering. ' This should help Rich Miss reup her lipids quickly. Frog Girl, there are covered hot dishes on the far side of the buffet. Ear Jerk, Tentacle Boy, is there anything you need? ' Akira pulled a fresh bendy straw out of their belt and held the tumbler emphatically towards Yaoyorozu.

"I'm fine, thank you," Shoji said quietly after interpreting as Jiro shouldered past Akira.

"Thank you, ribbit," Tsu said and started slowly making her way to the buffet. Akira watched her for a moment before Jiro moved to offer some support.

' Peppermint and I already have a table if you'd like to join us, ' Akira offered. ' I don't know what your base line is, Rich Miss, but I can help monitor for fluctuation complications. '

"Why are you helping me?" Yaoyorozu asked with suspicion shining in her eyes.

Akira shrugged and started guiding them to the table, ' I can set aside personal feelings for first aid, and I know how much it hurts being in that state. Since I passed pretty quickly, I don't need much to top off my costume's stash. '

As Tsu settled at the table, Akira's brow knitted in confusion at their phone dinging. Soon, most people were looking at their phones. There was a headline notification: "Wrens announce new hero in training at U.A. Akira Mori's identity revealed and why they've been..."

Akira stared at their phone and sped through the article, anger simmering as they saw their dead name throughout it. The heads of the family had even implied in the press release that they'd be taking the Wren surname now that they didn't "need" to hide their identity. Their parents, Kanaye and Chinami, even spoke of how proud they were of their daughter. Akira directed their glare up as they caught sight of a familiar gold costume approaching.

"Hey there, I'm Asami Inoue or Trophaeum Wren. Yaoyorozu, good to see you again. I take it you're my sister's friends?"

' Sibling. ' Akira sharply corrected. ' What the hell are they doing? '

Asami grinned, "Come on, Aki, everyone's just excited that you can officially be in the lineup. It's great you wanted to prove you can do it on your own, but with the villain attacks, it makes more sense for you to be under the family name. Who would kidnap you now?" She laughed brightly.

Akira bristled but was keenly aware of the eyes on them. ' My hero name is Umbra Mortis. I'm going to be an underground hero, and I will be independent from the Wrens, ' they firmly signed while emphasizing the use of watashi over atashi. ' I will not be taking the surname. '

Notes:

I know Aizawa could tell Joke off, but I get the awkwardness and not wanting to make a scene. Akira absolutely will be and has been the extrovert in those situations. The code is based on SYITM : Everyone Has Someone  by broken_radio on ao3. Idk how much I'll use it, but I like the idea.

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[finleycannotdraw]

I don’t have the capacity to be coherent right now but. this movie is so good

[seventeendeer]

ppl are too quick to point to laios' disability as the reason his friends think he's a freak sometimes. so many instances of laios getting yelled at are, in my eyes, a case of "this guy had to emotionally mature very early in order to be there for his little sister" combined with "much older friends who never had to learn to manage their own emotions to the same degree"

a lot of the time he's right about needing to be more direct/deal with things in a way that may seem scary/needing to put your gut reaction aside. he tries not to make his friends uncomfortable and he puts up with a lot because he's trying to keep the peace, but he also pushes the others out of their comfort zones purposefully to try to get them to think more constructively. everyone else in the party is prone to acting on their gut instincts and avoiding uncomfortable situations even when facing them head-on is very much necessary. part of what makes laios such a great leader is the fact that he knows from experience how to put his own feelings aside to help someone else grow.

yes, he does make a lot of social blunders by accident and he does struggle to connect with others, but not all of his positive influence on others is accidental or "despite" making people uncomfortable. a lot of the time, I think it's clear he knows exactly what he's doing and he's trying to help the people around him process emotions in a healthy way as they all go through some truly harrowing shit. all the main characters support each other as well as they can with their unique emotional skillsets. laios' skillset just happens to be "gently talk child into eating her vegetables"

[honeyxilia]

Trans flag from the colors of the title card from Dungeon meshi's second opening !!

[frontlinebicepsoftheninth]

one of my favorite things about gideon is the characterization of "born 2 be jock 😎🔥💪 forced 2 be goth 😔☠️🦴" like quite literally one of the funniest character choices i've seen an author make and pull off