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makeste · 4 years ago

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BnHA Chapter 313: Deku VS Lady Nagant

Previously on BnHA: Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai Lady Nagant showed up to fire a cupid’s arrow into my heart, and a bunch of literal bullets into my son. Deku was all “oh shit it’s Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai, what do I do, let me think back to Hawks’s advice for a sec.” Flashback!Hawks was all “anyway Deku so if my super-hot badass murder senpai ever shows up you’re basically screwed so you’d better abscond the fuck out of there.” Present!Deku was all “lol idek why I flashed back to that conversation since I’m just going to do the exact opposite of what Hawks said” and charged directly toward Nagant because WHY NOT. Overhaul was all “waah I need to get back to my boss who I put in a coma out of love” and Nagant was all “jesus christ why did I even bring you here” and had a flashback to AFO who was all “ILU NAGANT IMMA GIVE YOU AN EXTRA QUIRK SO PLEASE CAPTURE DEKU FOR ME PLEASE AND THANKS” and yeah. Shit is all over the place right now and I love it.

Today on BnHA: All Might gets attacked by a pair of discount assassins and is all “Call an ambulance! ...BUT NOT FOR ME” and it’s really badass but also I really wish he would stop tempting fate like this. Lady Nagant is all “[casually flies around town shooting shit]” and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t read an entire chapter of just that. Deku is all, “[gets shot (≥_<)]” and releases a giant Smokescreen which prompts En to show up. En is all, “( •᷄⌓•᷅ ) (⌣̀ Δ⌣́) ( •̀_•́ )σ (¬､¬) (눈_눈)” which I consider to be a high point of both the chapter and of my life. The chapter ends with Deku using the Third’s quirk to launch a bunch of random objects at Nagant so that he can jump up and grab her arm all sneaky-like, and I’m sure this is going to prompt another week’s worth of discourse that I don’t care about at all, but fuck it, I’m having a good time.

OH WE’RE CUTTING BACK TO ALL MIGHT WELL THAT’S NICE I GUESS. CONGRATS ON NOT BEING DEAD

you named your car??

you named it Hercules??

I love you so much??

please marry me you giant fucking dork???

lmao speaking of huge fucking dorks

who the fuck are you clowns. la dee da we’re gonna murder All Might with our synchronized spear attack!! I mean... they’re clearly trying their best... maybe I should just be nice and politely hype them up like All Might is so clearly trying to do

like okay, but we all agree that this is actually the least intimidating attack any of us has ever seen, right?? these guys zipped up their hoodies all serious-like and are trying to attack All Might and Hercules with their Walmart tiki torches, but just, no?? right?? like the only way this could possibly be effective is if they were trying to kill All Might with secondhand embarrassment

“those are assassins” this is a VERY generous assessment, All Might

OH MY GOD THE TIKI TORCHES ACTUALLY KILLED THE FUCK OUT OF HERCULES

[slaps roof of car] this baby can fit so many weaponized festive backyard lighting solutions in it

and yet, even after watching this with my own two eyes, I still can’t take these dudes seriously. idek what it is. anyways r.i.p. Hercules, I loved you a lot but I guess you weren’t actually a very good armored car were you

omg they didn’t know it was All Might??

okay 1) for a moment there I was like “oh hey maybe they’re not so bad after all” but then a moment later it was like “ah nope, they are.” like, that was an interesting .06 second emotional journey there. anyways 2) All Might you have my permission to kick their asses for this disrespect, and 3) anyone else all of a sudden getting ��wouldn’t this be an interesting time for Stain to suddenly show up” vibes?? no?? just me???

(ETA: hmm tbh I’ve still got those vibes and they haven’t gone away lol. Stain?? you out there buddy?? do you want to be cool for just once in your life. ball’s in your court pal.)

OH SNAP ALL MIGHT ARE YOU REALLY GONNA DO IT ARE YOU GONNA KICK THEIR ASSES

PROTECTIVE DAD MODE ACTIVATED?? BECAUSE YOU KNOW I’M HERE FOR THAT SHIT, SO YEAH, FEEL FREE

omg he’s shouting at them about how much Deku has suffered lmao and they’re just like falling over from being scolded

so they have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about though, right? “SIR THIS IS A WENDY’S” well whatever, you killed his pet car so he’s in a bad mood now

OH MY GOD

LIKE, JUST SO WE’RE ALL CLEAR, THESE FOUR PAGES SO FAR HAVE MADE ALMOST ZERO SENSE. LIKE MAYBE 2% SENSE TOPS. BUT ASK ME IF I CARE. GO AHEAD AND ASK. I SAID GO AHEAD, IT’S OKAY. ...NO I DON’T CARE AT ALL THANK YOU FOR ASKING

(ETA: also, the more I look at this panel, the more I’m just like, why the hell would you phrase it like that though, sob. way to doubly tempt fate?? are you trying to give Horikoshi a challenge??)

and now back to Deku who is randomly bouncing around the city and narrating it to himself just in case he was confused about why he was doing this

who are you talking to Deku. but thanks we appreciate it

man you gotta love that overconfidence. the smartest guy in the world warned you away from this lady, so SURE, LET’S RUN RIGHT UP TO HER. “I APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT, FLASHBACK!HAWKS, BUT I’LL TAKE IT FROM HERE” well okay then!!

I think it would be funny if RHA.com put little Buzzfeed-style polls in between the chapter pages so they could survey people at random intervals as they read their way through the chapter. like, you finish this page and then there’s a little poll there asking “do you think Deku’s plan of catching up to Lady Nagant and finding out where Shigaraki is will work?”, and you click “no” just like everyone else and then nod as the results show that 97% of your fellow readers also picked “no”, and you chuckle to yourself wondering how many of the 3% accidentally clicked on the wrong option by mistake, and then you keep on reading

ANYWAY, SO

HOW’S THAT PLAN WORKING OUT FOR YOU SO FAR DEKU. nice kick, though!!

omggggggg

ouch

update: Deku’s plan not really working out. sources tell me my boy has been fucking shot. this is an ongoing story and we will keep you posted with the latest developments as they come in

wait what

feel free to explain to the rest of us what all of this “UNLESS...” and “THAT POSSIBILITY...” shit means anytime, Deku

oh lol did he realize she could fly??

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE, CNN’s John King reports that Deku is still fucked. eyewitness reports now coming in that Nagant is doing no-look shots and basically not even giving a fuck. sources described her mannerisms and expression as “sexy, but in like an effortless sort of way.” we will continue to bring you the latest

so now there’s basically an entire page of Deku being all “ah fuck so she’s basically closing in and she could already hit me with impossible accuracy even from Far Away, so if that’s the case then her being Up Close is probably going to be even worse!” making good use of that Big Hero Brain there, Deku

so now what, you’re doing some kind of spiraling kick thing?? how is that going to help

oh lol he’s using Smokescreen to create some cover. aww, good for you Deku you named one of your Smokescreen attacks

OH NO LADY DON’T TELL ME AFO DIDN’T EVEN FILL YOU IN ON THE BASICS

seriously, AFO?? you basically told her what Deku’s exact strategy was going to be but then couldn’t be assed to drop that little, small, barely notable piece of knowledge that Deku is rocking multiple quirks?? is it supposed to be a secret or something?? you dropped the ball here man

damn this is getting intense now

(ETA: the way En is poking Deku’s head in that first panel is fucking sending me, I love this guy so much omg.)

well then what are you planning, Deku?? I’m actually really curious!! I am genuinely starting to be invested in this fight scene not only in the “wanting to see who wins and how that impacts the plot” sense, but also in the “wanting to see how it happens because the choreography and strategy is actually pretty cool” sense, which honestly hasn’t happened for quite a while now! this is fun

anyway so what’s up Deku, are you going to use another quirk?? I’ve been speculating that he hasn’t actually unlocked the last two yet (since Two and Three didn’t exactly seem convinced when we last saw them), but maybe I’m about to be proven wrong

(ETA: well he clearly has Three’s obviously, but Two’s is still MIA, and that’s the one I am of course the most curious about. that’s the one we’re all curious about, let’s be real.)

OH SNAP???

AHHHH I’M HYPED LOL. ANOTHER SHINY NEW QUIRK LOL SHOULD I PUT UP THE USUAL DISCOURSE DISCLAIMER

(ETA: so yeah, after thinking on it, I’m not gonna say “please no Deku discourse on my blog” this week, but I probably will ignore any discourse that does come my way though, just because I don’t have much interest in getting involved in what would probably be a pretty repetitive discussion. like, I can just sum up my opinions (which is what they are) here instead. in fact here they are lol:

1) I like the SIXQUIRKS and I like seeing Deku be a badass.

2) I also don’t think Deku is too OP. more like he’s exactly as OP as he needs to be at the moment, given that we’re approaching the end of the series. I expect the other kids will also be pretty damn OP when we see them fight again. we’re just at that point now where they’re all badasses (as well they should be; they’ve grown a lot and they deserve it). it’s just that Deku’s the one we’re getting to see right now.

3) of course I miss Kacchan and the others, but for me this vibes much closer to the MVA arc where even though I missed them, I was still having a blast (as opposed to the dark days of the Basement arc where I was pretty much losing it lol). like, even though Kacchan’s my favorite, I still love Deku a lot and this arc has been amazing for him getting to shine on his own (for like the first time, really).

4) y’all know I love the OFA plot and I’ve never been shy about that lol. I like all of the Vestiges a lot. Banjou and his over the top personality; En and his “guy you thought would be serious and :| all the time but is actually hyper-animated and ALL OVER THE PLACE” energy; Shiro who actually is a :| sort of guy lol; Three who I still expect will be fleshed out in a more detailed flashback at some point; and of course Two, who, well. you know what I think about him lol. Bakuverse is still on the table and I’m still hyped. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we still have yet to see Two actually talk to Deku (as opposed to talking to the other Vestiges while Deku is distracted). did he lend him his power yet?? or is he still holding out?? either way it’s definitely going to be a Big Thing when it finally happens and I can’t wait to see it.

5) Lady Nagant is Everything and just because Deku grabbed her arm doesn’t mean the fight is over yet lol. Overhaul hasn’t come into play yet either. not to mention that even if the fight is over, the “where do we go from here” part still has me excited either way. her connection to Hawks and the HPSC is very intriguing and we’ve barely touched on that as of yet; she definitely has more of a role to play in this.

6) last but not least, I feel like every week the discussion is all about how much focus Deku’s getting, and how OP he is or isn’t, and OFA this and OFA that, but meanwhile I’m actually so invested in the character development here though?? the way Deku has distanced himself from everyone (except for the Vestiges, because of course they’re already dead so it’s not like they can die again lol)?? the way he’s pushing himself far too hard and we can see the shadows in and under his eyes, and the fact that he never smiles, and even All Might has remarked on how he isn’t taking care of himself at all?? the fact that he’s so single-mindedly obsessed with focused on stopping AFO?? the fact that he’s still the same sweet old Deku despite everything and was so kind to that fox lady with the umbrella, but there was also something so sad about that scene because it felt like a reminder of the type of hero that he wants to be, but that he’s not allowed to be right now?? because the stakes are too high and the world is falling apart?? and he feels like he’s the only one who can do something about it?? and that he has to be?? and that he is putting so much pressure on himself right now, and it’s absolutely too much pressure for any one person to bear, and I feel like no one is fucking talking about this lol goddammit.

anyway so yeah. I have feels about this, and every week that slow-burn angst is getting more and more intense behind the scenes, and I feel like it’s all going to hit a breaking point eventually. sooner rather than later. it really feels like a mirror of Katsuki’s post-Kamino arc. where all that angst was just churning below the surface for like twenty chapters and then it finally was like “okay it’s time” and it all came bursting out and we got the best five chapters of the fucking series (in my admittedly biased estimation lol).

basically, I know that most of fandom is billing this as either the “villain hunt” arc or the “solo Deku SIXQUIRKS fighting arc” or whatever. but for me, it’s always been and still is the Deku Angst arc lol. the cool fights are a sexy bonus (the worldbuilding less so because even though it’s interesting to see society at such a low point, it’s also very depressing and gets old pretty fast), but for me the thing that’s really keeping me engaged chapter after chapter is seeing Deku like we’ve never seen him before. seeing him all quiet and withdrawn and brooding and focused on AFO, AFO, AFO, and seeing that “he just doesn’t take himself into account” mentality taken to extremes. I am invested in that. I’m soaking up that angst each and every week, and I’m invested in seeing what comes of it. it’s a big picture thing. week to week this arc might just seem like a bunch of villain fight scenes, sure. but Deku’s emotional journey is the thread that’s going to carry this arc through from beginning to end, and for that I’m willing to be patient.

anyway that turned into a BIG OL’ RANT there but yeah! so those are my thoughts on the disk horse as it currently stands. and like I said, I’m open to discussion, but tbh I will probably just wind up repeating these same talking points endlessly so just a fair warning lol.)

anyway so Three says Deku has yet to use his quirk at ALL but now he’s trying to combine it with another quirk?? damn. also please check out En’s face here you guys

En launching a sneak attack up my favorite character list by the sheer power of his expressions alone. he really knows how to make the most of his screentime

OH DAMN DEKU

at this point the 3% from that hypothetical poll earlier are starting to feel prettttty damn smug, I’ll bet. well shit

what in the fuck

?? so like releasing his chi or whatnot?? isn’t that basically just like base OFA all over again?? also Deku did you seriously just apologize to Gran’s cape

update: Nagant has turned her eyeball into a gun

hm. hmmmmmmm. ...okay yep, still somehow sexy

anyway so she’s just floating up there building suspense, as one does. lord I sure hope she has good reflexes because something tells me she’s going to need them

OH SNAP HE THREW GRAN’S CAPE AS A DECOY WHAAAAT OKAY THAT’S SOME SMART SHIT DEKU

LOL SHE’S MAD NOW

JESUS CHRIST SHE JUST NEVER TAKES A GODDAMN BREAK FROM BEING AWESOME HUH

DEKU ARE YOU JUST THROWING EVERY DAMN THING IN YOUR INVENTORY

but without the cape and the hood how will you continue to look like an enigmatic badass. you really can’t. which means we might finally be moving on from the wandering nomad part of this arc, stay tuned

LOL YOU MANIAC

I hope he went full Kacchan with the dialogue there. his face sure looks like it lol. popped out of a building all mad fdskljlkj omg

well this was fun, shit. I still have basically no idea what Three’s quirk does though lol. like, can he use it to charge up objects with kinetic energy or something?? but then what was all of that talk about combining it with one of the other quirks?? or was that just because he was using Smokescreen at the same time??

(ETA: having seen and read an additional half-dozen explanations of Three’s quirk, I can say with confidence that I still have basically no idea what it is or does.)

anyway so!! Deku is a badasssssss but something tells me not to count Nagant out just yet even so. also I really enjoy seeing Deku flip out on people like he doesn’t have a fucking hole in his torso because it reminds me of A CERTAIN SOMEONE and I always love to see him channeling that feral energy; I feel like it’s been a while

anyways good luck to you both!! I truly wish that both of you could win. but if not, then maybe you can at least become friends instead. you have so much in common, you both can fly and have multiple quirks and you’re both badasses, and plus it would just be really funny to see the look on Hawks’s face lmao

#bnha 313 #midoriya izuku #lady nagant #bnha meta #deku meta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha

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letshaikyuu · 5 years ago

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─── ʙɪʀᴛʜᴅᴀʏ // ᴍꜱʙʏ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ᴊᴀᴄᴋᴀʟ

ᴀ/ɴ: It’s this wonderful person’s birthday @mysticrainpain and even though I’ve said all that I wanted on Snap, I’m here to gift you with some Black Jackals content because we both know how much you love them ;3

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ: none; possible manga spoilers if you don’t know who plays in this team !! ; gender-neutral reader

ɴᴀᴠɪɢᴀᴛᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍʟɪꜱᴛ

ꜱ��ɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ: It’s your birthday and the team forgot about it. We all know this is going to end disastrous lol; this is basically something crackhead-like and not at all serious, so just go with the flow <3

Ok, for the older members of the team to actually forget your birthday, they must be either extremely tired or they got drunk the previous night and forgot all about it lol

I like to headcanon them having their alone time once a week in their favorite bar and just talk, without worrying about scarring the newbies lol

I wouldn’t be surprised if the younger members either didn’t know to start with because they wouldn’t have access to your file where your birthdate is listed or:

Hinata and Bokuto are too occupied with practice to actually remember what date it is; Atsumu only sees the date while posting his daily Instagram story from the gym, but doesn’t think twice; Sakusa doesn’t even look at his phone tbh and it’s running on low battery somewhere in his bag

And then, as if to tease them, a notification goes off while all of them are in the locker room and getting ready for morning practice: ‘Y/N L/N’s birthday is today!’ Oh shit. Bokuto screams, Hinata is panicking and Shugo and Sakusa are just tired

So, they have only a handful of minutes - 15 tops - to not be empty-handed and completely lost when you walk through those gym doors. Mission Impossible, who? The plan itself is not even a plan to begin with, but they work with it

Buy a cake

Buy some decorations

Buy some snacks and drinks

Hinata definitely forgot his wallet, so the others pitch in to cover his part as well. He definitely forgets his wallet often. Luckily for them, they have a pretty neatly placed konbini nearby. Hinata and Sakusa run off - Sakusa speed walks to be honest - because Hinata is the fastest and can grab the items quickly, while Sakusa actually remembers what you like and where it’s placed in the store, so they’re the perfect duo for that

On the other hand, we have Bokuto trying to find some kind of items to use for decorations because the nearest store like that is a 10-minute run from their gym, so that’s impossible...he opts for using an extra net as ‘streamers’ and a wall to hang other ‘decoration items’...it doesn’t look good at all, but you work with what you have

Atsumu heads on over to the confectionery and buys a simple cake - definitely his favorite flavor because he doesn’t want to eat anything else - and asks them to top it of with: “some kind of birthday shit, idek,” as the store clerk recalled Atsumu say. He’s the first one back because the cake was already done when he entered the shop

Hinata and Sakusa are back with just a few minutes to spare - you had previously sent a message to Shugo, apologizing in advance for being late a few minutes. He wanted to kiss the ground you walk on because they ✨ got ✨ extra ✨ time.

They can hear you walking towards the gym with their coach - who, proudly says, didn’t forget about your birthday and agreed to stall for a few more minutes while the guys shut down the lights of the gym and waited for your arrival

Upon entering the, now, dark gym, you call out for the guys, only to be met with complete silence. “Surprise!” And, cue the confetti Hinata sneaked in Sakusa’s basket and bought unsuspected. Guess who’s cleaning the gym because the coach said no confetti Hinata - Hinata

Honestly, it’s noticeable that whatever they did was done rather quickly and unprepared, but who are you to find anything wrong with their sweet gesture? They tried their best and sigh in relief when they see the amusement, yet happiness in your eyes

“You guys actually did something for my birthday!?” You exclaim, surprised that they’d use their precious practice time to prepare this. Atsumu walks over with the cake - you flinch once he approaches because he has this habit of accidentally shoving cakes into people’s faces - but he’ll save that for another day

The fun doesn’t last long because coach really needs to start practice and while Hinata is sweeping the floor and listening to the critics coming out of coach’s mouth, you thank everyone for making an effort and doing all of this

Of course, Atsumu shoves the cake in your face and snaps a picture

“We need ‘em memories,” he says as he looks at the picture. Coach really wants to scream because they need to wipe the floor again - well, Hinata does because he’s ‘already holding the mop’ and he curses under his breath - and Shugo just wants a drink and some quality sleep

Yes, perfect birthday indeed

extra:

“I’m so sorry for not getting you a gift, but it’s, uhm, you know...It’s on a boat!”

“...on a boat, Bokuto-san?”

“Ye! I bought you a camel from Egypt, hope you like it!”

*face palms*

#msby #msby black jackal #black jackals #haikyuu #haikyū!!#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu headcanons #hq x reader #hq x you #hq x y/n #hq x male reader #hinata shoyo x reader #miya atsumu x reader #bokuto x reader #sakusa x reader

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blackfemmecharacterdependency · 4 years ago

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BFCD Reviews by Nesha: Final Space, Season 3

Everybody that know me know that I’m high class #Quillective trash and my main thoughts and feelings go out to Quinn Ergon and Gary Goodspeed - precious Gemini gems, and of course the BABIES: Little Cato, Ash and Fox #NeshaLuhDaKids I had some attachment to Avocato once upon a time, but that n***a got on my LAST nerves this season, so we currently at “Do you, Boo” status by the end of S3, and eventually, yes, I’ma get to why that is.

Disclaimer for somebody who stumbled across this post because of the fandom tags - I am an independent partaker of this content, not “part of the fandom,” and my audience in particular is NOT for everybody. SO: If you may have been criticized in the past for casual racism, tone deafness to Black women’s concerns or accused of misogynoir or antiblackness, leave now.

If you don’t like cussing, AAVE, general ratchetness and mean lesbian energy, you too might wanna go. A bitch can be eloquent, but I type like I talk, at times, so it is what it is and I don’t curate for kids, dudes, or nonblacks. That’s just what that is.

I wanna start with Ash Graven. This season is about Ash more than anybody else, despite the fact that there was a lot of emphasis on Avocato’s toxic ass man pain and growth in Quinn and Gary’s relationship, ULTIMATELY, nobody in the crew did more coming into fruition as Ash did, and I have a lot to say about her, because I have a lot of feelings.

♡ Ash Graven

1. Ash is a kid. Lol. Everybody got very confused because of the unnecessary transformation that Invictus gave her. Ash did not “grow up,” her body was altered. That’s a fuckin kid in a woman’s body. A kid who has previously been living with survivor’s guilt, parental abuse/neglect/exploitation, chronic trauma, and a disastrous superpower that most people could not be trusted to carry. She’s a child having a coming of age moment in this season that is mostly molded in manipulation. If you hate on Ash, go fuck yourself. ESPECIALLY if I’ve caught you stanning other characters who have been shit characters, in this fandom or not. Ash was dealt a shit hand and nobody had her back but her brothers, and she’s done what she could and thought was best to care for them. Anybody that missed that - just don’t have kids, K.

2. Ash has no parental guidance. As far as she knows, the only adults who have ever had her back are dead and the ones that she’s stuck with now, she GAVE a chance to try to trust them. She gave Quinn a chance to try to see some of Nightfall (the only adult that we’ve seen not exploit her) in her. She gave Gary a chance by choosing him over Clarence, when she had to make a choice. She even gave Clarence’s ass another chance - with which he responded by dying to not fail her. Now, she has Gary, who just a few days or weeks ago, idek, forced her to try to summon her powers while she was both injured and also upset over having to leave her brother behind - TO SAVE HIS GIRLFRIEND! And she got snatched away in the process and left behind with the enemy, to be mentally assaulted and returned changed, only to have them not trust her.

I love Quinn too. I love her dearly. But the facts were that she was dying and having an episode that nobody could really help with, and Gary didn’t take the time or consideration to think about the stress that he was putting on Ash by putting her in the position to make her feel like she needed to save Quinn for him. Whether or not she was the only one who could, that is a lot to put on a child, and not only did he do it, but he didn’t even seem to think that hard about it whenever he then left her ass. Sure, he was glad when she was returned, but that was a fucked up situation that yet another adult put her into, and the first thing that he should have wanted to do when seeing her was to apologize and try to make it right. It was a huge miscalculation to treat her as a potential enemy that he and Avocato needed to vet. EVEN IF that’s what she was to them, both of them should have had the sense to assess while still treating her as the kid that they supposedly knew.

3. Most of her trauma has been recent and continuous. She looked up to Nightfall, watched her die, and had a meltdown. The events from Season 2 (with Clarence almost killing Fox and leaving him to die, her leaving his side to help out, seeing that Sheryl was treacherous to her own son, losing Nightfall), and the events that are taking place in Season 3 are only in the span of a few months.

They were only stranded for a month whenever we see them surviving together. That girl has had more happen to her to hurt her than to help her and nobody around her BUT Little Cato has been sensitive to that. And they are all fucking adults.

These things being noted - changing Ash’s design was the absolute worse fucking thing. Aging a girl up to make the bad things that follow more palatable is what that seems to be. Ash is still a kid. And THEN, they allegedly made her a queer kid. I say allegedly, because that “reveal” was so poorly done and subtle and weak that I, an almost 40 year old queer, didn’t realize that that’s what they meant whenever they said that they were gonna reveal somebody as a character who is part of the LGBT community.

So... FS production just gon’ decide not only to transform her body into that of a woman, when her mind is still full on traumatized child and hormonal teenager, but also, she likes girls, and they didn’t even do it in a cohesive way that added to the story. They threw it in, like, “BTW, she likes girls, and also, she’s full grown now.” then immediately went for the “Villain” lever, and bitches just ate that shit up. Fuck y’all, forreal.

& Fox

He didn’t deserve that shit. And, I know a lot of people felt that he was pointless and boring, but his ass was sweet and caring and searching for love and acceptance. As a background character, I liked him. But, he was literally just fodder for Ash’s downfall, which was unfair and problematic, considering that his ass is definitely Black coded. Don’t play. He was voiced by a Black man, spoke with a blaccent, and definitely would be read as Black if you wasn’t looking at him and seeing an alien. They gave him a sacrificial negro trope, the big friendly negro that can kill you but loves everybody trope, and they used his death to just push some narrative forward to set up the one verified queer character as a villain. They got they ass in a vehicle and rolled right over another Black character, and another queer character. Chile...

♡ Little Cato!!!

My precious have not been getting some good for too long, and I have had it. He’s not focused on so much this season as he is in the background of other people’s stories, but a very important takeaway is and will always be that Little Cato, aside from Fox, really was the only one here who consistently treated her like she mattered, so it made a lot of sense that he could be the catalyst for her finally having ENOUGH with these people.

I really wish that he could have found out the truth about his past from Avocato, because that’s really who OWED him that truth, but Ash did the thing that I’d expect and told him, to be honest with him. She even told him that Avocato wanted to tell him and that she took that right away from him, because she didn’t believe he deserved it, and I’m respecting her for that, too. I wish she could see how much it hurt Little Cato for her to try to take him away from his home.

Little Cato has lived before, for a while, and he’s not mature enough to behave as a man, but he at least has a loving foundation to draw from, and having had that support, this is more of his home than it is Ash’s. He doesn’t know how to explain that to her, and she doesn’t know how to understand that for him. Just a tragic situation for two kids with a lot of problems.

♡ Quinn Ergon & Gary Goodspeed

Quinnary notes that might not be featured in the BFCD Reviews by Nesha: (Quinn Ergon/Nightfall x Gary Goodspeed) rundown -

I've had two favorite parts of this season so far and they're very mediocre things that you wouldn't think would be like my favorite part but they are. One of them was that the first thing Gary does when she wakes up is to ask her about her sister (someone obviously very important to her who he's previously promised to allow to let live through Quinn's memory and says he wants to hear about her when he's trying to keep Quinn from dying). Because... He really did care and wasn't just saying something to keep her.

Quinn's mother fucked her up in a way that is so frustrating because Black mamas really will traumatize you about their younger kids. That shit hurt. You showed your daughter dead bodies to make her think about that in the event that your other daughter might be in battle? Bitch wtf

Whenever we say that Black girls are programmed to put everybody ahead of us, that's unfortunately not just including Society, it's in households too. And Quinn comes from this place where that is her reality... Then she meets Gary and he doesn't even register for her as anything special. He doesn't appear impressive or incredible in any way... But he (admittedly) weirdly locks on to her and shares himself - thinking that he's showing himself to her, and ultimately he DOES. And he wants to see her too, beyond all this, who she is, at her most humane. He wants to know about her sister. About someone who mattered to her enough to have the helm of her trauma when she was out of touch with reality. Very soft. Very sweet.

The other was when they were talking about how they met and stuff and Gary absolutely cringed thinking about how corny he was when he approached this woman. A lot of dudes never do that. The complaint of earlier seasons that Gary was overbearing, obsessive and creepy , if you missed the fact that he has terrible abandonment issues from his father’s death and his mother’s rejection, here we have him, in his adult state, looking back at the way he was and being embarrassed about it, and that’s growth!

A close third is whenever at the beginning of the Season he says "Quinn it's been a month eventually you have to open up to me about what you've been through" and she says "I will in time" and he respects it but he reiterates that he's there whenever she needs him. I don't think that people realize how revolutionary that kind of statement is especially for a character like Quinn to hear - who has always felt like she had to take charge, had to take the lead, had to make the sacrifice.

Even when she realized that she was dying, she didn't want to burden him with the information. Not even like ‘a thing that she knew if that could help prevent it and she didn't want him to have to go after it,’ but... she didn't even want him to have to deal with knowing about it!

Maybe she thought that she would just drop, maybe she didn't realize that he was going to have to see her in that condition. And then once she realized that he was going to have to see her in that condition one of the first things she says is "I should have told you." Girl is on her deathbed wishing she had done it differently, for Gary's benefit.

I saw somebody on Twitter tried to come for her about not going to Gary after he killed Fox (you know, shortly after her surgery to save her from the very brink of death, and listen... Quinn comes to see about Gary when she can. She’s done it several times. In fact, I’ma make a whole POST about Quinn and Gary moments SPECIFICALLY to point out to haters in the main tag - where they got Quinn Ergon, and by extension, me, FUCKED UP.

Stop Playing in Quinn Face

HI! HELLO. ACTUALLY MY FAVORITE PART OF THIS SEASON IS THAT QUINN AND GARY JUST FUCKED. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANKS. OK. Back 2 bidness

See.. after Gary and Quinn got over the humps of Quinn’s Final Space poisoning... everyone got it... nobody told her until Avocato was mad and told her during a lash out, and let me say something about Avocato’s fucking audacity this season...

♡ Avocato (Note: His name is A-V-O-C-A-T-O. Some of y’all be tryna stan and y’all can’t even spell his name.)

I done seent Avacata, Avocata... That’s not that dude name. Be writing whole ass expositions about some other Ventrexian n*gga. Hope this helps:

AVOCATO. Listen, boy. YOU decided to be a traitor to your people and your king and queen. YOU decided to dedicate your cause to the Lord Commander and lied to your son his entire life about killing his parents, raising him, and never talking to him about it.

Yet and STILL - whenever you had the chance to finally tell him, you ain’t do the shit. Lord Commander gave you the perfect ass opportunity - WHEN IT CAME UP, and even then, with that boy looking you dead in the face and being glad that now he knows everything... you ain’t Ventrexian man up.

Then, whenever you were supposed to be checking on Gary after his traumatic murder fight with Fox and Invictus, you turned it around and literally made it about you. attacking him in the process and only after a physical fight did you apologize. (And y’all still didn’t get back to what had happened to Gary, which was no real fault of his own).

Fast forward to after you willingly agreed to stay behind and fight and y’all lost. Now, it was Quinn’s turn to be the center of your blame and you lashed out at her because everybody is dying, despite the fact that y’all agreed to stay behind and fight, nobody even told her that y’all were sick, AND you still wasn’t 100 with Little Cato.

You just had a lot of mothafuckin audacity this season, Avocato, and I personally was not here for the shit. Even when Ash blasted yo ass, your main thought was to threaten to kill her if she took Little Cato, instead of assuring her that despite what you’ve done, Little Cato was safe with you. No, she wouldn’t have listened to you. But, the words you chose tell us about who you are and how you are. You a war mongering killer that don’t ever take responsibility for his shit, and even in those brief moments that you do, its always somebody else’s problem.

I’da thunk that LC getting snatched away would be humbling for you, but I guess you were chosen by the writers for minimal growth. Bye, Avocato. Witcha bitch ass. We is not cool right now, but you do you. Hope you find some growth up there in ya ass, where ya head been. 😁 Can’t believe I mourned yo ass. You coulda stayed dead as hell.

FINALE NOTES:

OK BITCH OK THIS FINALE WAS HYPE!

Let me pull it up so that I can liveblog it for the shit that I need to conclude this journey.

We start out after Ash done took Little Cato and burnt off. Gary and AVOCATO done said they finna go get they son. Chile, I cannot handle Biskit voice. I like that lil’ dude but ya voice, Mane. I can’t with it.

OK OK OK... Whenever Quinn comes up to Gary to talk to him and say potential goodbyes, she look like she wanna say some and that makes me think about whenever she looked like she wanted to say something in season 1 and didn’t. Quinn as grown a lot in her feelings for Gary, but she still has that hard time with talking about her feelings, but I love that you can see them in her face.

Chile... these folk was kinda taking they time gettin started, huh? Knuckas, do y’all remember that everybody finna die of FS poisoning? Lol. Also... why didn’t they start hallucinating and shit? I guess its not until it covers ya face?

NIGHTFALL. 😥 I love you, Sis. I miss you. But, “Because I’m you and WE think of everything...” YES. I HAVE BEEN SAYING THAT! EVERYBODY EXPECTS QUINN TO THINK OF EVERYTHING AND WHENEVER THEY DON’T THINK OF THE THINGS, SHE GETS BLAMED FOR MAKING THE TOUGH DECISIONS THAT NOBODY ELSE COULD EVEN MAKE. Underappreciated, really. And people still mark Nightfall as a villain, despite the fact that she not only sacrificed herself, but also came specifically to help another Gary. Sidenote - Nightfall didn’t actually pursuit Quinn’s Gary until Quinn was trapped in Final Space and she thought she got a signal from him. So, I’m still salty AF that she been labelled as a villain just because people don’t like her, when her actions have all been to try to help. Here is no difference. She thought of the things that she didn’t think a younger version of her would think of, and left it for Quinn to find. Nightfall be on RNS, and most of y’all didn’t deserve her.

Quinn’s identity crisis is so sad, but I liked that Nightfall EVEN thought about that. And Sheryl... you kinda starting to grow on me. I hate to give shitty mothers who find compassion in old chance a try, but she do seem to really be giving it a go.

Ash is so fucked up that she rushes right into the devil’s arms. This reminds me of when trafficking victims go back to their abusers because they don’t have the resources to adjust in the system. 😪 She REALLY believes what she’s saying. She really feels like Little Cato is safer with Invictus with the Team Squad. That’s sad as fuck, bruh.

THE. ACTING. AND. ARTWORK. IN. THIS. CONFRONTATION. SCENE.

Avocato... I’m proud of you for FINALLY taking responsibility ad opening up about it. Little Cato’s reaction is precisely how kids in the system are, as well. They wanna be at home with their parents, no matter who their parents are or what they’ve done. and Avocato meant what he said and did what I referred to earlier as “Ventraxian man up.”

“I’m sorry we failed you,” from Gary was so important. Because, they technically did fail her. Had Ash seen the same amount of love from Gary as she’s seen him give to others, she might have been more receptive to the truth and less susceptible to lies. But, as she had just said earlier, it was too late for kind words. She’s currently beyond accepting them from him. For a brief moment, it breaks through, but without that ability to know love from an adult properly, she can’t accept that apology right now.

H.U.E. with his big robot, Lord Commander...EYE. There’s so much happening right now bitch processing has left the room girl. Biskit did so damn much this episode. And it was good to see everybody on the team have a moment to help things, instead of like one person having to handle the bulk of things.

Quinn’s begging voice... its such a contrast from whenever she sent out the SOS in season 1 and was afraid and angry. Like... the desperation here shows her softness.

Ash’s RAGE Bitch...

Gary’s “I love you...” She looked so happy! And then she just sat with it. I feel like she definitely loves him too, but she doesn’t communicate that way. But, her FACE. She was just... did she think that he didn’t before, or was she just speechless because she didn’t expect to hear it? Because, we gotta be real... Sis probably has not ever heard those words from anybody before. And that first time, when it’s really there is a DOOZIE. She had an abusive mother, a seemingly jealous or competitive sister, and we saw how nobody in the Infinity Guard respected her ass when she was serving them the real. I think this is the first time she’s been in love or felt it and when Gary said it, she had to collect herself. The way she ran to him and jumped into his arms??? SHIPPING CRACK. And Mooncake was a part of their hug too. I have a lot of feelings about this dynamic since Quinn and Mooncake are the only characters that we’ve seen Gary have these “love at first sight” reactions to and Mooncake is the first character that I recall Quinn being nice to in S1.

So.. my heart was very full when they ripped it from my chest moments later. Mooncake has been watching Team Squad members be self sacrificing for a little while now, and he loves his family and Gary so much that he rushes straight towards danger. (Sure, I don’t think that he estimated how powerful Ash could be at this moment), but he had to at least consider that he might be caught or left behind.

Bitch, Ash is GONE. She said, “Fuck all y’all!” Not knowing whether or not Mooncake is destroyed makes it very hard for me to know how much I can stand this, but I also want to hope that he is gonna survive. Quinn having to make the decision to lightfold is hella sad, but even though Gary is destroyed, he has to know that this is exactly how Ash must’ve felt whenever he had to make the call to leave Fox behind. She hated to do that to Gary. She even seemed more regretful about it than Gary did whenever he had to leave Fox and when he left Ash. Sure, its because she loves him more than he loved Fox and Ash, but its a terrible position to be in to have to hurt somebody you love like that. On the other hand, they gave her hella shit for them not escaping when could have the first time, so naturally, she was going to make this decision.

It very much sucks that Invictus is free and my brain can’t eeem FATHOM what that means for everything and everybody, but the Final Space poisoning left the Team Squad’s system, so maybe there is a rejuvenation of some sort in Invictus’ power? Or does Final Space poisoning leave your system as soon as you leave Final Space? I don’t think that was clarified.

Anyways, I still don’t hate Ash. Y’all can say whatever about it, but I see sad white boys get forgiven all day every day on this site, and I’m upset, but I’m not letting my baby go. I’m not cheering her on, but unless she dies, I’m gonna hope for the best for her, like I said here.

DAMN this season was some shit. Ionknow if I’m emotionally capable of watching another season of Final Space in progress. If they make it back for another season, I will most likely just wait until the end to dive in and let them shock my senses all at once instead of on a weekly goddamn basis, because GODDAMN GODDAMN GODDDAMN!

@andromidagalaxie @daintyurbanprincess @shslargue @space-finally The Quinnary Moments Masterlist probably won’t be ready by Quinn’s birthday, since her birthday is the day before Juneteenth, but I’ve started on a little fic that I might have the first installment of posted by then. We shall see.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Here is my JOURNEY during my first watch of the first two seasons of the show. (I watched Season 3 in progress and waited until it was over to write up this review) and my probably incoherent tag of whenever I do me a lil’ liveblogging: Nesha Watches Final Space, and here is my review on Quinnary: BFCD Reviews by Nesha: (Quinn Ergon/Nightfall x Gary Goodspeed) FINAL SPACE

#Final Space #BFCD Reviews by Nesha #Nesha Watches Final Space #Nesha Watches #Quinn Ergon #Quinn Ergon commentary #Final Space season 3 #Final Space spoilers #long post

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killerhatcanons · 4 years ago

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Could u do a childhood friends hc with Trapper, The Shape and Ghostface?? 🥺🥺

Of course my friend! uwu

So we can imagine most of Michael‘s and Trapper‘s childhoods but I don’t think Danny has much of a background lore going as far soo I‘d personally also put him into a difficult household (even though I wish it were different) I also think I’ll put this one into a text form

TW: idek what to tag this with but I’m guessing abuse/domestic violence

The Trapper (Evan MacMillan)

Evan had always in a way idolized his father and his father had never deemed anyone worthy to get close to his son. Needless to say Evan didn’t have many friends at all when he was young. The other children were scared of his father and the stories their parents had told them about the MacMillan family. They were gruesome, as much as a parent would allow their child to hear but enough to ensure they would never want to get close to the MacMillan child.

You had always thought it was unfair. It wasn’t Evan’s fault that his dad was mean and you didn’t want him to sit alone over something he wasn’t responsible for. So you approached him and you kept approaching him even as he tried to push you away. He knew about the stories and he himself knew very well that his father wasn’t the kindest person. Time and time again had his father hit him for not following his orders, had thrown away his sketches and sent him to bed on an empty stomach as a punishment. He understood why others feared his father and he didn’t blame them. Even though he loved his father, he also despised him. He knew no one but him would endure his father’s punishments so when the tiny you approached him he tried his best to push you away. You were far too fragile, you couldn’t get close to him or his father.

But you didn’t care. No matter how many times he rudely sent you away you always returned. And as time passed he felt himself slowly growing fond of you. You were nice to him, the only person that made him feel warm and he didn’t want you to leave him anymore. He wanted to keep your kindness, to keep the warmth you made him feel through the utter coldness he was accustomed to. So he allowed you to stay if only for a while which soon became longer and longer.

You played together in elementary school and he would protect you from anyone that even attempted to bully you. Or ask you out for that matter. He soon had to realize that he grew more and more possessive of you, that he didn’t want anyone to take you away from him. You had been with him since the beginning, had shown him kindness and understanding, had been there for him and took care of the bruises his father kept giving him. As cheesy as this sounded you had been his sun all along, naturally and selflessly giving him warmth without ever being asked to. His one and only friend.

Shit I might need to turn this into a fiction maybe? haha we’ll see

The Shape (Michael Meyers)

Michael had always been the silent child in your kindergarten group. First everyone thought he was just a little shy but you soon realized that he simply refused to speak. Of course your teacher tried to convince him to talk, even had a meeting with his parents but they assured that he learned speaking, however at one point simply stopped any form of communication. To the adults he was a hopeless case. They tried desparately to change him, but he wouldn’t budge.

To you he was a welcome friend. You didn’t mind his silence, you knew he was listening to you and you could still play together. Well, it was mostly you telling him what to do with the toys, because he himself wouldn’t do anything besides holding them in his hand, but that wasn’t much of an issue to you.

Of course you tried to get him to play with your other friends too, but his lack of enthusiasm often got in the way and the other kids got scared of his silent and emotionless behavior. However, even when they told you to, you refused to stop playing with Michael. Yes, he was a little odd, but that didn’t make him a bad child (killing his sister later lowkey did tho oop) so you didn’t want him to be alone. Everyone needs some company, right?

Over time you noticed, that he would remember what you had told him to do with the toys, instead of simply holding them, to which you would give him a big smile.

This improvement you saw in his behavior made you even sadder when one day he stopped coming to the kindergarten. At first you had thought he was sick, but weeks went on without a single trace of him or his parents.

Upon asking you own they had told you he was sent to another kindergarten instead, that was specialized on children like him. You were sad of course, but you accepted it, hoping he would find more friends to play with now.

You only later found out he was sent to an asylum instead of another kindergarten.

The Ghostface (Danny Johnson)

Danny Johnson did not have the nicest childhood imaginable. After her divorce his mother didn’t become directly abusive to him, more so the alcohol.

He liked to think that the slurring woman bruising him wasn’t his mother, that it was simply someone else, someone more aggressive trying to be her. He didn’t want to think his mother hated him, he didn’t want to believe she would bruise him, would shout at him and blame him for what had happened to her marriage.

Even as a young boy he knew to cover his bruises. He loved his mother, he didn’t want her to be alone even though the woman the alcohol brought out of her hurt him in every way possible. But it was his fault right? His dad didn’t want him so he left him and his mother. He was responsible and the least he thought he could do was let her let out her pain on the person responsible for her misery.

In school he didn’t talk much to anyone. He was a rather shy kid, not wanting to cause anymore trouble for anyone. At lunch he sat alone, but he didn’t mind. He also didn’t mind being called weird or gross for his greasy long hair or the bags under his eyes. Not that he wanted to talk to anyone about himself anyways. Not even to you as you approached him.

You had watched him sit alone for a long time. He looked sad, restless, sometimes even scared and despite not even knowing him, it hurt you to see anyone in this state. So you went to talk to him. However, it took a while for him to stop avoiding you as best as he could and he eventually opened up to you a bit. He still didn’t tell you about the abuse until you reached middle school, but when he did you were determined to help him, to clear his understanding of him not being responsible for anything and to get him a new home.

With the help of your parents you were able to get him out of his household and soon find a acquainted family that was willing to take him in. The Olsens tried their best to provide him with everything he needed. And while you knew it would take time for him to heal, you were relieved he was part of a loving family now, that would help him back onto a safe track.

You couldn’t have known that the damage to Danny’s brain had already been done and there was no way of saving him from the twisted prison of his own mind.

OOK THESE ARE WAY DARKER THAN YOU PROBABLY WANTED BUT I OOP GOT CARRIED AWAY

I can attempt to make it more wholesome a second time if you want these were just the most logical things that came to my mind haha... honestly idk but I usually think that someone isn’t just yk born a killer (except Michael maybe pfft) so I came up with some uhm logical upbringings to the boys haha yeet..

Anyways I’m considering turning the Evan and Ghosty one into their own separate story thingsies. Kinda hard to do something with Michael bc uhm Psychiatry but possibly something with a reader that’s also in treatment or we pull a Harley Quinn sometime who knows!

For now I hope you aren’t too mad that this was so... dark instead of cute oop >:)) if you’re mad just let me die on the hook next time pffft

#evan macmillan #evan macmillan x reader #the shape #the shape x reader #the trapper #the trapper x reader #trapper #trapper x reader #michael meyers #michael meyers x reader #danny johnson #danny johnson dbd #danny johnson x reader #dbd killers #dbd #dbd headcanons #the ghostface #the ghostface x reader #pre-entity

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lackadaisicalnereid · 4 years ago

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The Game: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line. Then tag some authors! I was tagged by @elasticella & am tagging @bohemicns @kwritten and @ravenbells if they are up for it. It was fun to think about and fit in nicely with me trying to figure out stylistics recently, so good for me.

1.deal with the devil

Malady is tired and Lohse is young.

(oh, do I love words which are not quite opposites but become opposites through being put in a sentence together. also, short sentences, yes.)

2. money dick power

(money)

Rachel almost wishes she could be embarrassed about this,

(dick)

with Quinn's fingers stroking her clit at a steady pace, and Rachel's fingers in response twisting in Quinn's hair,

(power)

but Rachel had misplaced most of her sanity decades ago, and there wasn't much of it to begin with anyway.

(yeah, this is one of those things that happen to me sometimes, idek, here I'm interspersing the entire fic with the repetitions of money, dick, power which is what the characters got on their matching tattoos, rhythmically mimicking one of the characters getting the other off with her hand, what ever are my choices)

3. a fire burning

Nyota's not sure even as it's happening, why she's in the landing party.

(ah, the thing in clauses when the referent for the pronoun comes after the pronoun itself, i cherish you so)

4. king of something

When Jane first sees Valkyrie, let's just say that it's a lot.

(one of my probably most used openings - both key characters present, making first contact)

5. falling, except

They keep falling - except

(in contrast to #4, a more in medias res approach, which i also do like sometimes, and then there's the the not-really-finishing-the-sentence thing which i also sometimes employ)

6. we’re all strays on a sidewalk

Magic can be many things.

(generic present tense statement, how i both worship and fear you)

7. but you took your toll on me It will never happen.

(ah narratorial OR character prediction for the future that starts the fic and its repetition creates the structure)

8. to avoid death, marry the hangman

6. They are in Clytemnestra's bed, always in Clytemnestra's bed, in lieu of crimes ot yet committed, Clytemnestra at least claims Cassandra away from Agamemnon's bed and for herself.

(this is the type of rambly opening line i honestly thought i'd find more of in my fic, but alas there hasn’t been much of it lately, but i do do the thing here where i number events and then scramble their order, which i have fun with both reading & writing)

9. come nightfall you’ll be waltzing through my door

Paris in summer is wonderful – at times.

(ah generic present tense statement, we meet again, ending on a hedge, and i do love hedges, also i’m itching to finish the next chapter of this blair/dan whatever it is)

10. Upper East Side, a queendom

Blair is a queen.

(maybe the shortest sentence on this list. i really do like a short opening line)

11. little beast

A story needs to start somewhere, so let us say this story needs three protagonists now.

(oh, hello narrator, nice to see you again, this is probably the most present distinct narratorial voice i’ve ever tried, even i occasionally think it’s obnoxious)

12. above all else, a god needs compassion

Tally is strong.

(oh i was wrong about #10 being the shortest. who knows if i'll find a 2-word opening line somewhere)

13. girls are cruellest to themselves

For the first time in recent memory, Abigail Bellweather does not know what to fucking do.

(i do like to employ swearing occasionally, and also i do consider characters not knowing sth a good starting point - see also #3 and #4)

14. the only apple on the only tree (that we’re not supposed to eat)

It's always the only apple on the only tree that we're not supposed to eat, and it's the same fucking shit all over again, except this time it's Laura looking at Baph, all metal and goth, and dark and grief, and not hers, not even remotely, and thinking, yes, I pick you.

(rambly again, and swearing (must have been a phase) and hello religious motif, we meet at last, i was wondering when you were going to show up, also i do the listing thing which i like in the second half of the sentence, and i do the free indirect discourse thing, i think?)

15. as goddesses do

1. Hera hears about Persephone long before she meets her.

(oh, see: #4 except this is even before the characters' first contact, which makes it kinda like #3)

16. everything i want here "I love her - Father, Mother, please," Paris begs, as well as Paris was ever capable of doing just that.

(you know for some reason i just love the as well as Paris was ever capable of doing just that second half of the sentence, but that's probably because i have a lot of thoughts re: Paris & begging & family and i like the staccato of what Paris is saying, this might just be my favorite of the openings here )

17. so many things i’m not allowed to tell you

1. It's this: Katherine comes to Mystic Falls.

(oh, short event description with some narratorial intervention and framing, hello)

18. am i your demon yet

The nature of it is that she never comes to Baph.

(the nature of what, that is the question, and i do love a good opening question, also - if she never comes to Baph - what does happen? so many questions and so little time)

19. girls in the mirror are closer than they appear

It would be silly to pretend Laura does not know that Sakhmet has eaten someone.

(i wish i'd made this sentence shorter, or changed something in the rhythm maybe, but i liked the epistemological focus on the pretending and/or knowing, so *shrug* what’s a girl to do)

20. forever just means forever

There is a corpse, or more than one corpse, maybe one or two or three.

(again, epistemological uncertainty, my best friend, see: #19, also aren't corpses just a great starting point, who's with me)

#meme #elasticella <3 #fic fic fic

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gothedistance-herc · 4 years ago

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Every Mile Will Be Worth My While ⚡ [Hercette]

In which after Hercules hurts Adella, he makes a decision with the help of the Fates...[takes place: idek honestly, late august??]

@perfectisme-georgette

[tw: talk of blood, injuries, self-hate, mentions of sexual assault, arguing]

HERCULES: Hercules stumbled home in a daze. He was sure any minute the police would be after him. If not for blatant injury, then death. He was sure that he had killed Adella. His mouth was dry, his hands were shaking. He felt like he was going to be sick. Once he managed to get his key through the door (literally, he accidentally shoved his fist through the keyhole, blasting out part of his door), he fell into the house and collapsed in a chair, immediately putting his head between his knees.

He didn’t know how long he sat like that for before he heard Georgette’s voice. She must have opened the door when she noticed it wasn’t locked (due to the huge hole.)

Shit. He’d forgotten that they were going out to dinner tonight.

“Shit,” he said out loud, jerking up as if someone had prodded him with a taser. His hands were still bloody. His face and shirt too. He stood up, scrambling back like an injured, abandoned dog might. Forgetting that his girlfriend was nearly indestructible. All he knew was that he could feel his own power pumping through his veins and knew that it was out of his control right now. Which meant he couldn’t, shouldn’t touch anyone.

“Just--just stay over there,” he basically pleaded with her.

GEORGETTE: Georgette was looking forward to her dinner with Hercules. She was even thinking of skipping the wh loool ole dinner part and just hopping straight into dessert. Hey, she was already undead, she figured she should enjoy all the best parts about it.

At least, those had been her original thoughts that were now quickly vanishing out of mind as her eyes fell over the broken through door knob in front of her.

There was a sickening feeling that began to gnaw at the pit of the blonde’s stomach, something felt wrong… and she immediately opened the door.

There was Hercules fully upright, frightened with big skittish eyes and covered in crimson red blood. An immediate rush of concern filled Georgette as she dropped her purse and walked up close to Hercules in a sprint.

Georgette had heard his plea, but she was far too shocked by the blood and clouded by fear that he was hurt that the plea hadn’t registered. All she cared about was knowing if Hercules was okay.

“Hercules, are you okay?! You’re- you’re covered in blood! Are you hurt?! Did you get hurt?! What happened?”

HERCULES: Georgette got closer and Hercules froze, becoming stiff as a board. He felt his heart, even, freeze in his chest. Terrified of hurting Georgette. He knew that he could. He didn’t remember her own strength and magic now, all he remembered was pulling her broken body from beneath the tree trunk. In just a flash, Hercules was pulled back to that moment. That agonizing moment. The pain flashed through him like a lightning bolt and he stumbled backwards, away from Georgette.

He tripped over the coffee table, smashing it to pieces as he stumbled and tried to regain his balance again. “Stay away!” he repeated, his voice tight as a violin string. Tears flooded his eyes, blurring her figure in front of him.

“It happened a-again,” he choked out. “I-I hurt someone. I’m--I’m always hurting someone.”

He bowed his head and scrubbed at his face. He didn’t deserve to cry.

“And it will keep happening, as a matter of fact,” came a voice that was at once foreign and familiar to him.

Hercules blinked the tears out of his eyes and then, they widened as he noticed three women, with cloaks like smoke, sitting in his living room. Clotho, in her square glasses, was poking through the rubble of the coffee table. Lachesis was standing next to Georgette as if she were sizing her up. And Atropos was lounging in the armchair lazily. It was her who spoke next:

“Yes, it would do you good to learn some tact.”

GEORGETTE: Hercules had all but stumbled on his own feet and landed sprawled on the floor breaking the coffee table with him. Georgette knew that he was still pushing her away and even still her immediate reaction was to approach closer and get down to his level the minute he had hit ground.

She was never good at listening especially when what asked of her was not something she wanted and in this case, all she wanted was to comfort Hercules.

This other person that was supposedly harmed was not even a concerning thought for Georgette, honestly, they didn’t even cause a blimp in her thoughts all she cared about was making sure Hercules knew she was here for him.

He wasn’t a monster to her like she was sure he was feeling of himself right now.

Tears began to coat the skin of Hercules’s cheeks and they made her heart ache and her chest bruise. Georgette very gently caught the rest that continued to spill from those beautiful dark chocolate eyes she has grown to love so much with the pad of her thumb. She inched herself closer to place a very soft kiss on Hercules’s forehead.

“Oh Hercules I’m su-” Georgette wasn’t able to complete her sentence stunted by the sudden feeling of a presence beside her. Turning her head, just to make sure that she wasn’t going crazy, sure enough there was someone or something…? Right up next to her!

Georgette immediately jumped right up, caught completely off guard and now staring at three women of the likes of which she has never seen before. (That was saying a lot since she has been through the Underworld)

“Who- who the fuck are they?!”

HERCULES: The feeling of the kiss was still lingering on Hercules’ forehead as he blinked and tried to register the fact that the Fates were standing in his damn living room. For a second, Hercules’ gaze jumped around. Looking for Hades...or maybe Ashton Kutcher to jump out somewhere and tell him that he was being punked.

The Fates didn’t show up in just anyone’s living room.

Hercules was just anyone. He had always felt like a just anyone, even with his powers and how he hurt people. He was still just a just anyone.

Except he wasn’t.

Son of Diana. Demon. Demi-god. Amazon.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us to your pretty little friend?” pouted Lachesis, standing up with Georgette and reaching out to tug on a piece of her hair playfully.

“Introduce us and you’re one more step on the mend.” This was a command from Clotho.

Hercules cleared his throat. “Er, yeah--these are the...Fates,” Hercules stammered, clearing his throat. “Clotho.” Her eyes glinted behind her glasses. “Lachesis.” She gave a little bow. “And Atropos.” She waved her scissors lazily at Georgette.

“They’ve come to help...I think. I have met them once before when you--”

“Died. So sad. So pretty. It was never supposed to happen, what a pity.” That was Atropos, her voice lilting like she was singing an advertising jingle. She laughed afterwards.

GEORGETTE: Let this important fact be noted: Georgette did not like people touching her hair, especially strangers she didn’t know a lick about. Don’t touch her hair unless you are someone she cares about and honestly that list stretched out to like three people only. Don’t touch her hair, she will verbally assault anyone who was so stupid enough to do so.

That being said, one of the Fates was currently touching her hair and a verbal assault should have followed except that Georgette was currently standing motionless and quiet.

The Fates.

The Fates were currently standing in Hercules’s living room.

See, Georgette knew of the Fates, in the mythological sense. Her mythology was pretty on point and has only gotten more so advanced with Hercules. They would spend time together where Hercules would share mythological stories with her and she would love the excitement in his voice and the spark that would catch his eyes whenever he did.

So, she knew of the Fates, but she often got this picture of three old shrew women who own like three pieces of yarn for hair and passed a mythical eye ball around to share in her mind.

That was not at all what she was seeing now.

Thankfully, or rather un-thankfully really, one of the Fates had said something that immediately erased all of the shock that had settled on her features switching them over to one of a stuck nerve.

“Thank you for that recount of my death, I wasn’t at all very personally aware of it.” She snapped sarcastically.

It probably wasn’t the best idea to throw attitude at three immortal beings who controlled the very tapestry of your life, but they had aggravated a very personal chord and Georgette had an exceptional temper.

“What are you doing here?”

HERCULES: If Hercules wasn’t in the middle of a near-to-full-on break down, maybe he would’ve laughed at Georgette’s peevish attitude towards the Fates. He wasn’t surprised by it, even through the haze of his self-loathing, he could recognize that. He wished there was room for the fondness that he was sure he felt deep down beneath the panic.

All the fates found it amusing, apparently, as they tittered with their dark and ghoulish chuckles that sent shivers up the spine.

“We’ve come to help, do not doubt us. Listen close, you’ve no reason not to trust.” They chanted it in unison like the choruses of old.

Hercules laughed once, humorless, but he sat up so that his elbows hooked around his knees. “Well, you can’t make anything worse.”

“You must go to the land of your mothers,” they recited, “and once you’re there--seek their guidance. It is only through them that your powers manifest and you have a chance.”

Hercules stared and then he stared some more. He knew that they spoke of his birth mother. Someone he tried not to think about often. The wound was still fresh. The confusion over who he was and what it meant was fresh. He hated her, in a way, for damning him to this life due to her own selfishness, but Hercules was too soft to really hold that hate in his heart. So, he pushed it out and ignored it.

But now: the Fates were telling him that she was the key.

“The--Amazons? You want me to go to the Amazons?”

“We know you’re thick, but we thought you were more quick.”

Hercules scoffed. “Thanks. I can’t just go to the Amazons. What makes you think they’ll even listen? Or want to train me?”

“That is for you to decide, we do not see why they cannot coincide.”

“Great.”

GEORGETTE: The Fates wanted Hercules to ask the Amazons for help?! They wanted him to return back to the Underworld and ask the very people who had left him out in this world like some worthless dog without warning or guidance as to what he was going to face?!

Georgette hadn’t even realized when she let out a steely and very unrelenting no.

That was the thing about Georgette, she often spoke before she thought and when angry even more so. It wasn’t something she was planning to change about herself either. She had already learned what staying quiet could do to you. She had stayed quiet once about her rape and look at how that had left her later on in life.

“No.” Georgette repeated clearly so if the Fates didn’t get it the first time they were definitely going to get it now.

“You want Hercules to return back to that god-forsaken hell hole?!”

Quite literally and she had every right to call it as such since she had gone through the Underworld herself. She still remembered every bit of it, every ounce, second, minute and hour of that journey back to the world above. Georgette had images of the Underworld seared into her brain and she had gone through the Underworld once. Hercules had gone through it twice and these fucking hags wanted him to live through that some more?!

“To ask those heartless, barbaric bitches for help?! The same ones that left him to fend for himself in the fucking first place! Those same sorry excuses for beings that knew exactly what he was and didn’t give two flying fucks. If they didn’t care the first time why they hell would they care now? What, would you like Hercules to get on his knees too and beg for that help even though they are the reason for all of it!”

Georgette was seething.

None of it was fair.

Hercules had gone through so much already. He has gone through enough, gone through more than the average person has in a lifetime and the Fates wanted him to do this? Like-like if he wasn’t worth some dignity? Or worth being treated right?

“Did I get this all straight?” She snarled.

HERCULES: Georgette went off.

It didn’t surprise him. Georgette was always going off about something. He found this quality endearing most of the time. She was passionate and he loved that about her. He appreciated her standing up for him, because he could never find it in him to stand up for himself. She had always been good about not making him feel like a monster, like someone worth forgiveness and someone worth protecting. (People didn’t think he needed it, considering that he was nearly indestructible.)

Hercules stayed quiet, though.

He stayed quiet and he thought. Something that Hercules rather spent much time on. He was reactive. He acted. But, there was nothing to act on. Not this moment. He still felt shell shocked by all of this. What had happened to Adella. The Fates in his living room. And more than all of that: the instructions they gave him.

To go see his birth mother. To go venture to the Amazons. To ask them for help.

It had never occurred to him to do that before and he felt like an idiot now. It made sense. If they had the same abilities as him, of course it would make sense for him to train with them, to ask for their help. They knew how to control their abilities. He’d seen it himself.

Thinking over.

Hercules got up off the floor.

Atropos smirked from where she was sprawled in an armchair, touching the tips of her scissors to her fingers.

He walked towards Georgette, putting a hand on her arm.

“It would be that easy?” he directed this at Clotho.

“Easy has nothing to do with it, we’ve told you what to do. Now it is up to you.” Her eyes flicked to Georgette and back to Hercules. She smirked and then, in a blink, the three women disappeared, leaving his apartment just the way they’d come.

The air was heavy with silence.

“I’m going to go,” Hercules said. He turned to face his girlfriend. “If they can help me, I have to go. It doesn’t matter all the rest. I can’t live like this anymore, Georgette.”

GEORGETTE: The Fates disappeared as quick as a batting of an eye and the room was left with a piercing silence. The silence didn’t really bare down on Georgette or cut as deep until Hercules had placed his hand on her arm. The moment he had done that gesture the blonde already knew what his decision was going to be.

And so, she walked away, she placed some space between them and kept her back to Hercules.

She was just so angry and in all that anger was a storm of different emotions whirling around chaotically that Georgette didn’t even know what she was supposed to feel. She wanted to shove him, yell, pound her small fists over his chest again and again. She wanted to strongly and very clearly reiterate all the damage those Amazon hags had caused since Hercules seemed to have missed it all the first time she said it.

She wanted to plead with him not to go. She wanted Hercules to see himself the way she saw him, see how big and how entirely she really loved him because maybe, then maybe he would get it. He would understand all of this anger that was eating at her insides and why the last thing she ever wanted was for him to go back to those women.

And Georgette got it, she did, she understood why all the rest didn’t matter for Hercules. She knew how big his heart was. It wasn’t like hers that only expanded for those she cared about, his heart always yearned to stretch out to everyone, to care for everyone. All injury to himself in the process of it all didn’t matter to him, but it mattered a great deal to Georgette.

He would go, go back through hell and swallow everything else in, risk getting hurt and humiliated and Georgette never wanted that for him.

Was that really so bad? Was it so bad for her to want to protect him? To want more for him?

Did it even matter? He was going, he already said he was as clear as day and that was Hercules. He would go through his decision like a bull in a china shop. Georgette was proof of that herself, she was undead.

Georgette didn’t realize how long she had been staring at the wall or when her hand had wrapped itself around her wrist, her nails sinking into her skin. She took a deep breath in for what purpose she wasn’t sure because it did nothing to suffocate her emotions but she did so anyways before she turned around to look at Hercules. Georgette knew herself very well, she knew that when she looked at Hercules, her eyes wouldn’t even try to hold a single emotion back.

“Then it doesn’t matter what I have to say does it? You’re still going to go.”

HERCULES: “Yeah, I am,” Hercules said hotly.

He rarely put his foot down like this. Pegasus always lovingly referred to him as the strongest pushover they’d ever met—and it was true. Sometimes, Hercules wondered if this was an instinctual habit due to the fact that…Hercules hurt so many things when he stood his ground. He became a solid wall, impossible to break through. And he hated that. So, in all other aspects of his life, he tried to be soft.

But he couldn’t be soft about this. It was tearing him apart, already. He knew that this was what he needed to do. The bloody Fates had told him so! And, besides, it felt like the right decision.

“You don’t have to understand, but it’s what I need to do, Georgette. You—you don’t get it. I can’t keep living my life like this!” His voice rose, surprising even himself. Hercules rarely got this worked up. He had always been afraid of his own temper.

He sighed harshly, his shoulders collapsing. “Look, I’ve got to at least try, Georgette. I can’t live like this. I can’t—make a life for us like this.”

GEORGETTE: Hercules’s voice rose, something Georgette was not used to. It almost took her for a loop and made her flinch. Hercules was not the one that entered into a temper that was Georgette. She was the one that always unleashed her anger not giving a flying care where and how it landed.

But Hercules’s voice rose and it reminded Georgette of Ryan.

She felt awful that such a thought had even crossed her mind because Hercules could never be like Ryan, he wasn’t a monster, he would never seek to purposely hurt her. Even still the thought had formed and it left her muscles debating if they should still go ahead and flinch or make her fingernails sink even deeper into her own skin to stop her from attacking.

She did neither. Instead, she spoke.

“Then go!” Georgette spat venomously, releasing her hand from the clench it had on her wrist. “Go have your damn try and do everything those hags want you to do! Because apparently none of it will affect you so I’m just being the stupid one here actually giving a rats ass and worrying about how this can all just finish only fucking hurting you in the end.”

Georgette began to move now because well one, standing still never worked for her when she was angry, it always made her feel like a caged animal and two she wasn’t about to stay here when her opinions and concerns meant absolutely nothing so she needed to start looking for her purse so that she could leave.

“So be my fucking guest, Hercules!” Where the hell was that stupid purse?!

HERCULES: Hercules had no idea what this meant for him and Georgette...but he knew what it meant for him.

Did it hurt that she didn’t trust him on this? That she wasn’t going to support him? Definitely. However, he needed to do this. That was all he knew. That he needed to do this, with or without help. If he didn’t, he’d never be able to take care of Georgette the way he wanted. Their lives would always be plagued by this decision. This moment. Maybe, it wouldn’t matter in the end and Georgette would stay pissed at him, but for the first time in a long time, Hercules had hope. Which meant that he hoped that when all this was fixed, when he was fixed, Georgette would forgive him and see why he had to do it.

So, he didn’t try to stop her. Instead, he handed her the purse that she was looking for. He didn’t need to be told that was what she was doing. He’d seen her lose it a thousand times before, especially when in a huff.

Silently, he handed it off to her. There wasn’t much to say. Georgette could see the hurt on his face. He could see the hurt on hers. There was nothing for it, though.

This had to be done. It was destiny.

So, the door closed and Hercules packed his own bag. Then, he went to the only place he knew to get the gates open: to Hades’.

His wife let him inside, heavily pregnant and clearly tired. It made him nervous just looking at her. She was so fragile. He thanked her and waited awkwardly for Hades to come down the stairs. When he did, Hercules rose quickly, but carefully. Then, he explained the situation.

“You don’t have to come into the Underworld with me,” Hercules assured. “I know the way.”

With that, they set off through the forest. Unlike last time, Hercules didn’t say anything. He was quiet and determined, his jaw set. The trip was silent and felt both long and unbelievably short. It was Hades who alerted him that they had a tag-a-long, as soon as the Gates had opened. The blue flames flickered silently in the backdrop.

“Georgette?”

Hades left without preamble, telling Hercules he had about two minutes before the gates shut tight and, no, he wasn’t coming back to open them again.

“What are you doing here?” Hercules demanded as soon as Hades disappeared.

GEORGETTE: So, Georgette hadn’t exactly thought out this decision of hers to the extent that it probably should have been thought out. She just knew that once she had made it, she immediately went into action and found herself in the forest.

By no means was it a pleasant trip reaching the Gates of Hell. Georgette was not a nature girl. She did not appreciate dirt, or grass, branches, leaves, insects and disgusting creepy crawlers.

She hated this forest and it’s trees. They, after all, had taken her life from her.

Yet here she was trying very hard not to be daunted by her surroundings or think back to those painful memories this exact entrance could make her relive. Even against everything, against her better knowledge because this was a trip through the Underworld after all, here she was. Wasn’t that how it always ended though?

Georgette coming right back to Hercules.

“I’m still really upset.”

She stated because it had to be well known that her being here didn’t forfeit what she felt regarding this situation. She was still pissed and she still believed all of this was a terrible and very unfair idea.

“But I don’t want you going through hell alone.” She admitted, her voice growing soft. “I know how that feels.”

Maybe not so much literally going through actual physical Underworld hell alone, but Georgette had gone through a rape alone. She had gone through the trial of her rapist alone. The rape, the trial, both were very real. Both had been hard and both had been excruciating painful. They were her hell.

And being alone through hell, that was something she never wanted for Hercules. If he did this alone, she would be like every other person who had deserted him in his life. She wouldn’t forgive herself, so yes, she was still pissed off, but her anger wasn’t worth deserting Hercules.

“And I don’t want that for you so… that’s what I’m doing here.”

HERCULES: Despite the circumstances, Hercules laughed.

It wasn’t a loud laugh, more of a chuckle than anything, but it felt very out of place, here at the entrance to the Underworld.

He was just surprised—delighted, suddenly, by this turn of events and he couldn’t help the smile that showed on his face. How fond he felt of Georgette, as she glowered at him. He wanted to kiss her, even if she’d just said she was upset with him. And he would. He’d wait, maybe, but he would.

There was a relief, too. It meant that if she was here, Hercules wouldn’t have to be alone. If she was here, she couldn’t be too upset with him. Hercules could handle pissed off Georgette, but he couldn’t handle a Georgette that wasn’t speaking to him, a Georgette that hated him. He was plenty familiar with his girlfriend’s temper and while it was a sight to behold, as long as she was still talking to him, he wasn’t going to worry.

And, y’know, he didn’t know when that had happened. Once, Hercules would’ve worried at every fight, every annoyance that he caused her (which was a lot.) But now, he just—wanted to laugh.

He softened, though, at the next thing Georgette had said and he stepped forward. Reaching out, he placed his hands on her shoulders and drew her a step closer so that he could kiss her forehead. His hands moved to her cheeks and he smiled at her.

“Thank you. I didn’t want to do this without you.” He leaned in and kissed her once, softly. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

#bdrpgeorgette #hercette #otp: in your corner #otp: you're my safest place #i cry about hercette a lot y'all

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writer-and-artist27 · 5 years ago

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@kuc1ng-uzumaki said on this bit of writing:

I don’t really know the characters or what happens to them so oop.

(family problems, from the looks of it??)(lol idek)(also screaming/raised voices while planning on cooking)(reminds me of me and my bro when he has to help me in the kitchen lel)(i’m the one screaming/relaying my mum’s cooking instructions to my brother while I work on smth else or just ordering him to look after our 5 y/o brother so that he doesn’t do dangerous shit while playing hahah)(but yeah)(this is a nice thing to wake up to)

#👌👌👌 #👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏❤

Well, first off, now that I have the emotional energy to respond, I’m glad you enjoyed it, Seni. :) It took a lot to incorporate as much emotion as I did with Mordred.

But how to explain Mordred and Arturia’s issues in a nutshell... hm. I’m still wrapping my head around the little details, but I’ll try my best to sum it up.

TLDR: you can watch this video instead to get Mordred’s POV on why they still have beef with Arturia. If you want more details, go under the cut.

youtube

-------------------------------------------------

Anywho.

It was originally hinted at during Arturia’s own stories in the various adaptations of Fate/stay night, but it’s really Fate/Apocrypha where we see Mordred show up and explain their side of the story. As the Knight of Treachery in legend, Mordred is known for being the end of King Arthur in Fate lore. Do note that Fate does take some liberties to the original Arthurian legend, so feel free to read up on those if you want, Seni. I’ll just be explaining the Fate version as best as I can for context.

The main problem stems in how Arturia’s sister, Morgan Le Fay, was jealous of Arturia’s power as King. When Arturia was trying to conceive an heir with Queen Guinevere via magic-based means, Morgan intervened by somehow taking some of said magic to impregnate herself. Thus, Morgan sired Mordred, the illegitimate heir and homunculus of Arturia. Because Arturia never knew, Mordred kinda grew up into idolizing her as “Father” and joined the Round Table of their own volition. At the same time, Mordred’s growth was accelerated as a homunculus, so they didn’t get a lot of emotional maturity compared to others. This’ll come into play later.

Thing is, Mordred being a loyal knight to Arturia pissed Morgan off since she wanted Mordred to take the throne for her means and then (with words such as “how long are you going to play at being a Knight? You’re the King’s own blood!”) ended up convincing Mordred into thinking that they were King Arthur’s rightful heir.

The main snarl that was hinted at in the oneshot, though, came from how Arturia bluntly told Mordred once they approached that they didn’t have the qualities to become king. From rage and their emotional immaturity that came with their homunculi accelerated growth, Mordred took it as Arturia refusing to acknowledge Mordred’s birth right when in reality, Arturia was being too emotionless on the matter because of her interpretation of what it meant to be a perfect king for Britain, which Stay night shows she regretted A LOT. Arturia never hated Mordred, unlike what Mordred thinks.

Still, from this rage, Mordred led a rebellion against King Arthur and the Round Table to try usurping the throne, just after the controversy that was Lancelot and Queen Guinevere’s affair going public. This rebellion led to the Battle of Camlann where both Mordred and Arturia died. At least, in legend.

By the time of the anime adaptations, Fate explores how Mordred and Arturia went after their legends, with Mordred hoping to pull the Sword of Selection so that they would be King in Fate/Apocrypha and Arturia wishing to go back in time to redo her kingship in Fate/Zero leading into Stay night.

This oneshot, and in turn, Healing Over Time, is supposed to take place after Arturia went through Unlimited Blade Works in Stay Night and Mordred the Great Holy Grail War in Apocrypha. So their wishes have essentially changed and character development has been set in place. It’s another reason why Mordred’s not immediately pointing their sword to Tomoko’s throat at seeing Arturia so close to her, because of said character development. Not to mention Arturia going about things civilly as she can be off-screen.

Now that the King of Knights and Knight of Treachery are both under one master in this continuity, they’re having to face being with each other when they’re the original cause of each others’ deaths and root of some nasty issues.

So... Family issues is a huge understatement and I kinda wish Fate as a continuity just had both involved parties look to Morgan as the main cause and thus rightfully put the blame on her. If not for Morgan and her abusive tactics, Mordred and Arturia might’ve had a better relationship, so now Tomoko has to pick up the pieces. (Once I get about to writing more of Healing Over Time, anyway..)

#fate stay night #fate apocrypha #fate mordred #arturia pendragon #mordred #healing over time #backstory #long post #text post #text reply #review reply #writer thoughts

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unproduciblesmackdown · 5 years ago

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i am SO delighted to hear that the "detective and five people trapped on an elevator and one of them is the devil" movie is real and you saw it. also while trying to send this i accidentally clicked the Unfollow button (and then promptly refollowed), sorry about that

lmao i maybe wouldn’t’ve noticed, love Tumblr Notifications and how like, they display different on desktop vs mobile and the way it Condenses them is only so helpful cuz sometimes some of them only display for 0.2 seconds while i’m on mobile and it hasn’t Refreshed in a way that reshuffles everything and i can’t view that particular [Like from a certain person or smthing] ever again lmao like i hate this, it’s bad, just like that movie about people trapped on an elevator and a detective has to get them out and has to act fast b/c one of them is the devil

it is so stupid first of all like. it’s just overall not a great movie from Any of the angles it’s playing like. first of all the Detective is only around b/c he’s solving a nearby murder / death and making like. corny dumb “oh this is a Smart guy” observations about the Scene and someone is like “oh hey @ cops you’re already on the premises, come solve the mystery of Elevator Broke” like i don’t think that’s how it works and also i can’t even remember the reason they find this issue That pressing pre-realizing And One Of Them Is The Devil. maybe someone dies right off, idk. there is conflict on the elevator so naturally that’s a whole other thing like, we’re all trapped in this elevator together and maybe one of us is untrustworthy and liable to be dangerous to the rest of us like, i don’t know the Contrivance that makes these people think anything has to be done but just Stand Around for a while but it’s you know. that whole Thing where there’s a premise of “some shit is happening to Incite Conflict amongst strangers who are trapped in a bad situation together and they’re all apparently raring to judge each other’s moral fiber to decide who deserves Suspicion vs Protection.” but also, one of them is the devil

meanwhile on the outside it’s this dumb Cop Mystery Drama where this rando guy apparently sets aside the death he was investigating earlier to solve this elevator situation (i think eventually it’s revealed that that death was tied to the elevator situation all along. i think that the devil killed the guy. or something) and also, maybe there was Coincidentally some kind of heist going on at this place b/c i remember at some point the detective (and some partner there too involved in all this) like, find some tools hidden in a bathroom like “aha this was Used to do [whatever]” and despite having no idea what the details are i Know i remember this b/c of at the time going “oh my god that is so dumb Nobody Would Do This / this makes no sense” lol like. writing not great. and this was maybe Not the devil, but a regular separate scheme to. do something

also there’s some aspect where Main Cop has some tragic backstory and is like, not over it b/c it was so painful. i think maybe someone like hit and run his wife or something like that. you know how it goes. spoilers in that i think the person that the devil is here to kill (more on this devil assassination thing....) was Behind That somehow lmfao so it’s like really??? is that our resolution, that people’s stories are Converging in a very serendipitous way b/c the devil would like to give people emotional catharsis......idek. look, spoilers, this old lady who “dies” in the elevator relatively early on turns out to have been The One Of Them Who Is The Devil, Act Fast. and it was this weird thing where the devil is like “grr whoever i’m even here to Get in the first place is just Such A Bad Person that uhhh i guess i came here in person to take them to hell” like.....what tf kind of Lore......this is definitely going with “aaaah the devil is evil” approach, not any more kind of Neutral figure, but then in the end apparently the evil devil is just really Judgey and Disgusted by someone being A Bad Person like??? you ought to love this shit!!!!! and anyways the detective learns that One Of Them is The Devil b/c when they take him up to the security camera display hq it’s like a) look at this scary Moment where the elevator camera feed gets staticky and a scary face appears for a moment (im not sure if i could see what it was supposed to be lmfao) This Means Something and okay oh my god i reread the plot summary b/c for the life of me i couldnt remember the ending, it is so stupid oh my god

okay so first of all the Dead Person the detective was investigating had left like a suicide note like “i am killing myself b/c um. the devil approacheth” like wow okay right off the bat? amazing foreshadowing. why does this person Know this?? and why should he care b/c the devil is here apparently for a Special Soul Collection like, this has nothing to do with you, random guy?? you don’t even need to worry like. just stay home from work to avoid the fairly minor problems that occur (like MAYBE one guy dies in the course of this story but i think it’s a little ambiguous, meanwhile whoever Really Dies in th elevator was i think due to like, suspicion and infighting lmao. idk maybe the devil killed a few of them. it’s weird) but yeah the highlight is this

everyone please enjoy this scene. security guy ramirez is explaining the Devil Expertise courtesy of Where I Come From where toast falling jelly side down is evidence that the devil is hanging out in the elevator.

while looking up “devil toast” the result immediately after that one was “the devil takes the toast” which is a devil takes the hindmost ytp which i feel is really fitting

it kind of undercuts the stakes i think when not only is the devil only sorta gently radiating Bad Luck but also is just super Righteous but like. yes it turns out that the devil is here to Claim a guy on the elevator was the same dude who Hit N Run the detective’s family (wife and kid apparently) those years prior......except like, it wasn’t even like oh he assassinated them On Purpose, it’s apparently already a Known Detail that although they ~never knew~ who killed detective joe’s family (idk what his name is idc) there was a Note left on the scene like “sowwy :(” like really? this is the Big Bad that the devil made a special corporeal visit for??????? and then, get this, when the devil is like “i’m not a dead old lady, i’m the devil, and i’m here to Get you b/c you accidentally killed a couple of people and i, the devil, am really disgusted by how sinful you are for that” the guy is like “yes that was me :’( i’m sorry” and then the devil is like “ah fuck you’ve Repented. i can’t take you to hell anymore. bye” like what!!! why did he only have to feel bad about it to get out of this whole situation when obviously he Felt Bad in the first place b/c he up and left a note like “[grimace emoji] aaa my bad” like, did he have to apologize To The Devil?? the lore i s2g. Jelly Toast Rules operating here i guess.

anyways then the detective who witnessed this i guess is like “wow the guy who killed my family all those years ago but i’m still sad about it.....well i’m gonna arrest him now. but also, I Forgive Him.” oh and also for a while there the detective was so gritty he didn’t believe in The Devil b/c the vehicular manslaughter apparently made him think that human nature was evil enough to not need the extra help. so now he’s made the arc of getting uh, emotional closure on his family’s death by forgiving the dude who i guess super crashed into them on accident, And gets to know that the devil is real actually and he’s on the elevator but now Not b/c he was like “ah jeez thwarted by this guy uh, feeling bad about the accidental deaths even though he felt bad in the first place” and there was no other point to the detective being there b/c he didn’t Really do shit except i guess drive this sideplot where you are led to believe he Might figure out who the Bad Guy on the elevator is. (it is the devil. one guy has a crime record or something but, spoilers, he is trying to turn his life around with some good honest work as a security guard or something. idk)

it was amazing and very stupid and i was continually indignant b/c the writing was dumb and made no sense and just so fucking corny throughout. the entire movie is called “devil” and i remember it was like “tf is ‘devil’” and as soon as it involved an Elevator i was like omg omg is this And He Has To Act Fast Because One Of Them Is The Devil, and it was, so that was exciting. it was a dumb waste of time but also it was not b/c it was *slightly* so bad it’s good. mostly Not Even. but just watch the toast scene there b/c like. i think that’s this movie’s #1 contribution outside that post about the plot summary.

#Thank You for this excuse to go on for a while about Devil (2010)#it's also weird it feels more like. mid 00s than that #anyways i appreciate you as always #just the shot of the toast going Thwack on the floor followed immediately by other guy going ''what are you - what are you Doin...'''#SO good

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uozlulu · 4 years ago

Text

Given some spoilers I’ve seen for chapter 291, I’m going to post some snipets from my giant TodoBaku soulmate AU relevant to upcoming spoilers.

I used canon-typical plot points to pad the fic and guide the soulmate plot because since the soulbond is the ability to feel each other’s emotions, it’s a very slow burn fic about growing up and maturing as people as much as it’s about Todoroki and Bakugou being soulmates

I decided to do this fic preview since some sections might change or might not depending on how the canon goes. I was trying to come up with ways to do anticipated plot points like the upcoming spoiler and Midoriya vs. Shigaraki in ways I thought the canon wouldn’t do them, so there might be nothing to change in the end.

Anyway, warnings and such under the cut. I’ll provide relevant context to the snipets. Please keep in mind that these sections have only gone through the first edit phase so they are still rough and will be tweaked further before posting.

I’ll probably get around to posting the fic in about idek probably 3 - 4 weeks since it took about 10 days to put half of it through the first edit.

Okay so generalized fic summary is basically: Todoroki and Bakugou share a soulbond that allows them to feel their emotional states. When in a shared emotional state, this soulbond can vibrate and increase their quirk output. After finding each other in high school, they go on a journey from soulmates to classmates to friends to boyfriends.

Some general warnings: canon typical abuse (though in canon it’s more implied and this gets into it a bit more than that), canon typical violence, suicide, immolation, death, kidnapping, cursing, major character death, gruesome injury (not in that order, I’ll be more exact about warnings when I post the fic properly)

So, you know, read at your own risk.

If you’re curious why I did what I did I either a) forgot, b) didn’t notice, c) it’s in the pocket of story I haven’t read yet, d) chose to ignore it (like Mineta or Yaoyorozu flashing people to use her quirk), or e) it just wasn’t working out for the fic (Hatsume unfortunately D:).

I’m going to post all the sections Dabi appears in and provide context before each scene. I should also note it’s my headcanon he was born just under two years before Fuyumi, making him nine years older than Shouto.

Please keep in mind there are several sections in-between what I’m posting, so these sections have lighter moments and so forth in-between when the fic is whole

===

Basically at the start of the fic, I establish when the soulbond began. The following is the second scene of the fic. The previous scene was Bakugou’s POV and established how things work in universe and teased that Midoriya’s soulmates are Uraraka and Iida.

This scene is Todoroki’s POV because their POV alternates throughout the fic. Todoroki grew up sheltered from things like how the soulbond works so he thinks Bakugou’s emotions is a part of his brain acting on its own rather than another person’s emotional state (this will get clarified to him later in the fic)

***

For a long time it was just Todoroki Shouto, one mind and one body. Then one day, his brain decided it was tired of this routine and became sentient. When Todoroki was sad, his brain was mad. When he was content, his brain was aggressive. When he tried to feel no emotions at all, his brain was endlessly frustrated. It was worrying. It was too much like his father. On television, Endeavor was commanding, confident, and capable. He dispatched villains easily and everyone complemented him as strong, fast, brave, and exceptional. At home, Endeavor was angry, violent, demanding, and commanding in a different, more stressful way. Todoroki did not want to be like that. He did not want to be two people, and he definitely did not want to harm his family.

Todoroki’s brain became another person soon after his quirk manifested and Endeavor began training him. No matter what Todoroki did, thought, or tried to feel, his brain stubbornly felt other things. Luckily it was not always aggressive annoyance. Right now, for example, it was content like a day at the playground. Maybe his brain was just nostalgic. Todoroki could not remember the last time he went to a playground. There was no way to train there after all.

It was afternoon, not long after Todoroki’s birthday. He was hungry and bored from studying. As he approached his bedroom door, he froze. Voices drifted to him from his oldest brother’s bedroom. Ever since Todoroki started training, his siblings did not talk to him much anymore. His father said it was going to make him a better hero. Todoroki was not sure. It seemed like heroes should play with their siblings, give them presents on their birthdays, and help them with their chores.

“I don’t want to play it,” Touya murmured.

“It can’t be that bad,” Fuyumi said.

“When I use my quirk, I get blisters. Sometimes I just set everything on fire. I don’t want to be Blister Man, so I just didn’t use it,” Touya said. “It was that bad.”

“He’s got Shouto now,” Natsuo said. “Maybe it won’t matter.”

“You know it will.”

A long silence followed. Todoroki frowned. He knew he should not keep listening but he could not move from his door.

“Play it before Father comes home,” Fuyumi said. “We’ll figure something out.”

“Fine.”

Todoroki kept himself against the bit of wall beside his door. He held his breath. What were they watching? Why was it so bad? Todoroki put a hand on his door and then removed it. No matter how curious he was, he could not look. He should not look. He could not get them in trouble. He should ask his mother for a snack before their father came home. He remained against the wall. He let out a breath he did not know he held.

“Thank you for participating in UA’s hero entrance exam this year!” All Might’s voice boomed.

There were hasty whispers and button pushing to reduce the sound as much as possible.

“All of you showed great skill and achievement, however, only so many students can pass,” All Might continued.

“Shit,” Touya whispered.

“I am sorry to say that you did not pass the entrance exam this year,” All Might said in a firm but not unkind voice. “That does not mean your hero journey stops here! Cheer up and –”

There was silence. Todoroki held his breath again. After a moment, the disc ejected and the laptop closed. His brain commenced a power trip. Why? There was nothing to feel powerful about. Todoroki bit his lip. Heavy footsteps sounded in a far hallway.

“I…I got to get rid of it,” Touya said.

Todoroki should say something. He should do something.

“He’s going to want to see it!” Fuyumi hissed.

The footsteps only drew closer, making the door shake as they passed. It was too late.

“I don’t care. I’ve got to get rid of it.”

“Get rid of what?” Endeavor’s voice seemed to echo through the house.

Todoroki’s heart stopped. He pressed himself against the wall more even though no one could see him. His brain continued on its power trip with a twinge of spite.

“That’s it,” Touya said. “This is fucking it!”

Todoroki braced for the sound of a hand on skin.

Instead there was a whoosh of flames and everything seemed much hotter than it ever did when Endeavor used his quirk inside the house.

“Touya! Don’t!” Fuyumi shrieked.

The smell of burning flesh, fire, and smoke filled the hallways and surrounding rooms.

“Touya!” Natsuo cried out.

“Get back! I’ll handle this!” Endeavor commanded. Not even seconds later, Endeavor ran down the hall and out the door. Fuyumi or Natsuo cried. Todoroki could not move.

“Why would Touya do that?” Natsuo whispered.

Fuyumi did not answer. Maybe there was no good answer. Todoroki remained against his wall. Endeavor did not return for hours. Touya never returned. His photo appeared in the family shrine. No one explained anything. Todoroki did not know when or how to ask. Rei snapped two days later and then she had to live at a hospital Todoroki could not visit and she could not come home again.

Todoroki did not want to feel anything. He could not feel anything. His brain continued its parade of incorrect disembodied emotion. Maybe Rei was right. Maybe he was too much like Endeavor. Todoroki wrapped himself in muted numbness. He would make sure he did not become Endeavor. He would find a way.

===

This next scene is Bakugou’s POV. This first part of the fic explores canon events with the soulmate lens to help me get a feel for how the soulbond works and also a feel for the character development journeys both Todoroki and Bakugou would have to take. So this is set immediately after the League kidnap Bakugou during summer training after the sports festival he got tied down to a cement pillar because he didn’t want to accept the gold medal.

This is also a scene in which the soulbond’s ability to amplify quirks comes into play. I called it the resonance since the ability for emotions to resonate together is what amplifies quirks. So for Todoroki, his fire and ice become easier to draw forth and for Bakugou that means increased sweat production and increased explosion power.

***

There were no windows. There were few doors. There was a bar of all things. Sweat puddled around Bakugou. When the villains attacked the training camp, everything went sideways quickly. The resonance began to vibrate as Bakugou’s sweat production skyrocketed. His arms ached from holding back his quirk. He could no longer estimate the size of his explosions. If he let one off against his leg, he could just blow his leg off instead of bust his restraints.

Bakugou’s jaw tightened. Every time his mind wandered, it returned to Midoriya staring back at him as he disappeared into Kurogiri’s quirk. Midoriya’s eyes lit with determination. He totally did not listen when Bakugou told him not to follow. How long would it be before Midoriya was here too? Before both of them were completely fucked?

The room grew colder. Bakugou froze. The mist had been cold and suffocating. He took a deep breath. The bar’s air was normal. The resonance kept vibrating. Of course now would be the time Todoroki would finally allow himself to feel so freely. Todoroki definitely looked terrified enough before the mist made everything dark.

“You can’t stop thinking about the consequences can you?” Dabi asked. He looked like some kind of Frankenstein reject and smelled of death and ash. They were the only people in the room right now while the other villains took care of whatever villains did after a successful kidnapping.

“All of us have this rage,” Dabi flexed his fingers as though his joints were stiff, “because we want control.” He looked from his fingers to Bakugou. Dabi’s laughter was quiet, mirthless, and hoarse like his voice. “Who controls you?”

“Not you,” Bakugou said.

“That’s right,” Shigaraki said as he entered the room. His voice was thin and quiet. Hands gripped his body like some kind of bizarre fetish. It set all of the hair on Bakugou’s body on end. “We aren’t here to control you. We’re here to give you control.”

Bakugou narrowed his eyes. “Then free me.” Would it be that easy?

Several other villains appeared like some reject disco revival group.

“In time,” Shigaraki said. “We want to give you control, but we’re also not idiots.”

The resonance began to lessen. The sweat began to dry. Fear and terror transformed into resolution and determination. Bakugou’s jaw tensed, his stomach tightened. Midoriya had a dumb plan. What else could it mean? He had to come up with his own plan to counter it. If he freed himself then there would be no need for a stupid reckless plan. The resonance fluctuated between aching and normalcy. Bakugou would have to act sooner than later. Bakugou could still feel his quirk aching in his arms. He had to find the right time to act and find it fast.

===

In the fic the hospital raid goes differently like the whole Shigaraki vs. Midoriya thing doesn’t happen, though Shigaraki has been enhanced so he can use his quirk without destroying his body in the process.

Anyway, after the hospital raid, Endeavor finds out that samples obtained from Ujiko’s lab are a DNA match to Touya. Now the heroes are doing a preventative raid against multiple targets in different cities. Endeavor’s group is targeting an apartment complex full of villains and civilians. Bakugou and Midoriya are helping Burnin’ get civilians out of there while Endeavor wants Todoroki in his raid group in the off chance they confront the villain he assumes is Touya (aka Dabi, but Todoroki doesn’t know who Endeavor suspects is Touya). The ring goes back to a theme of jewelry, adornment as an expression of rebelion.

This sequence is set during second year in late April maybe the very start of May. It’s after Bakugou’s birthday but with enough time for students to recover to do the sports festival the weekend at the end of Golden Week. I decided to include Bakugou’s POV between the two Todoroki POV involving Dabi so it would flow as intended. When you see a ~ the POV changes.

***

Todoroki fought Endeavor many times. Frequently as an intern he was support and rescue. Only on rare occasion did they fight in the same place at the same time and even then Todoroki was not sure he would calling it fighting alongside each other. Today was different. Endeavor was deliberate, swift, and dramatic like always. He expected Todoroki and the heroes with them to keep up and assist without direction. Todoroki did not have to blink. He knew Endeavor’s attack patterns, the pauses, the direction and intensity the fire would take. He knew when to shoot his ice and when to shoot flame.

As they traveled upwards through the building, the fighting from below grew fainter. Sometimes there were ambushes, sometimes the villains attacked head on. Endeavor motioned for Todoroki to meet him on the next floor. Endeavor took stairs to the right and Todoroki to the left. The sidekicks finished securing the villains on this floor.

Todoroki charged up the stairs as silently as possible. There was no one in sight. He looked at the numbers on the doors. None of them matched the numbers he memorized.

“I told you. Get your ass downstairs!” Dabi kicked a villain with a tiger quirk near Todoroki. There was door open at the end of the hall that was closed when Todoroki arrived.

Dabi ran his hand through his hair. In the hallway light he seemed more grotesque than he had in the dark woods at the training camp. His flesh seemed to slip from the staples in places. Dabi looked at him. “You’re not my enemy.”

“You kidnapped my friend.” Todoroki slid into a stance. He drew his quirk to his hands. Dabi did not look away.

“Still doesn’t make you my enemy.” Dabi put his hands in his pockets. His shoulders almost slouched out of their sockets, but he managed to keep them where they should be.

“Touya.” Endeavor’s voice seemed to echo.

Todoroki did not move. He kept his eyes on Dabi. Endeavor was just in his line of sight down the hallway over Dabi’s shoulder.

Dabi held Todoroki’s gaze for a long moment and then rolled his eyes, turning his body so he could keep Todoroki’s movements in the corner of his eye but also look towards Endeavor while keeping himself between them. His chest moved with each breath, and he wheezed occasionally. His fingers contorted but he did not draw flame to his hand yet. “That name means nothing to both of us.”

Endeavor approached. Dabi remained where he was. His shoulders angled like a shield. For the briefest moment, something through Todoroki’s mind. Touya with his body almost in the same position except with a hand stretched out to block Todoroki even more, body tensed. Endeavor’s footsteps loud and decisive against the flooring. Touya’s hair was pale. His flames were yellow and blistered his palm and fingers. The memory faded as quickly as it arrived.

Dabi bounced on his feet. His attention turned more and more towards Endeavor.

“Your quirk was so unpredictable, I never imagined it would consume you. It was a shock. It seemed impossible.” Endeavor approached them. “So I pushed myself. I resolved to become even stronger, even stricter. Then I lost your mother, and again, I pushed myself farther. I kept pushing, I kept winning, but also losing.” Endeavor stopped walking. His flames shrank but did not extinguish. “You started me down this road. Finding you again now is a sign that my actions are the right direction now.”

“Yeah, and that direction is down!” Dabi called flame to his hand, intense and blue. The smoke carried the smell of meat turning from burnt to beyond salvaging and intensified the smell of death wafting from Dabi. Dabi lunged forward in that same instant, his flame engulfing his arm. It plunged into Endeavor’s chest and intensified further.

A low rumble approached. The building began to shake, bits of ceiling began to crumble. Dabi pulled his arm back, his hand covered in blood and arm charred to a crisp. His unused hand shoved Todoroki towards the stairs.

Todoroki stumbled. He could He could not look away as blood oozed from Endeavor’s wound and Endeavor fell to his knees. Todoroki’s feet remained stubbornly planted to the floor as the building began to creak and squeal in agony, the shaking building. Dabi grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the stairwell. Todoroki called his quirks just as the floor gave out from under him.

This was it. This was officially one of the worst days of Bakugou’s life. Bakugou bit his tongue. He wanted to curse. He wanted to shout. He had to keep his voice down. He had to keep his movements to a minimum. He was trapped between floors and a wrong choice could compress the debris further. Midoriya’s teeth were just about to bite through his bottom lip. His eyes flickered up towards the debris hanging centimeters above their heads dim from the emergency lights attached to their costumes. Midoriya’s gaze returned to the body between them. They landed on Endeavor when the building collapsed. They managed to dig him out without compromising things further. Midoriya pressed his undershirt firmly against Endeavor’s chest wound, trying to keep it closed. “We have to cauterize it, Kacchan.”

Bakugou took a deep breath. Yes. Yes of course. Use nitroglycerin sweat to cauterize the wound on a fire user. Bakugou grit his teeth. Even with their first aid gear they really didn’t have a better option for such a deep, gaping wound. “Fine,” he hissed, already formulating a plan. He was not going to be the reason Endeavor died. He was not. Not after Best Jeanist.

Bakugou removed his storage tanks and gloves, setting them down slowly. He waited for signs of their perch settling with the change of weight distribution but there was no movement. “Move your shirt. Hold the wound closed.”

Midoriya did so. His lips became a fine, thin line, and his brow furrowed with focus.

Bakugou took a deep breath and thought about a small amount of pressure, small sparks, a line of very excited tiny sparklers. He took two fingers and showered the wound with sparks, energetic but controlled. It did not work. Endeavor’s skin was too used to heat. Bakugou grit his teeth.

“Maybe if you –”

“Shut it.”

Midoriya surprisingly did. Bakugou breathed through his nose. Fire resistant skin meant higher heat. But even with a low level explosion he could cause organ damage. Sweat trailed down his forehead and nose in the heat. The resonance remained quiet. Bakugou frowned deeper. “I need metal.”

“My mask,” Midoriya said. “Use it. Destroy it.”

Bakugou freed it from Midoriya’s costume. He put his glove on his right hand and began heating it with his quirk from his left hand, trying to keep everything low-level. The metal did not warp or melt. It did heat. When he could feel the heat through his glove, he pressed the metal along Endeavor’s wound. The wound finally sealed.

Midoriya leaned back and removed his hands. Bakugou set the mask aside and put his gear back on his arms. If he wore them, he had more control on their weight distribution.

Endeavor continued to breathe. There were no other sounds.

“It’s eerie when you can’t feel them isn’t it?” Midoriya murmured after a long time.

Bakugou did not answer. He had not thought of Todoroki since finding himself in this collapsed hellscape. He searched the resonance a moment. There was only a dull buzz like there was when Todoroki slept.

“I can’t feel either of them,” Midoriya murmured. “They were probably on the ground floor when it happened. They were both in the final wave.” He continued to murmur to himself, his voice becoming quieter and hard to distinguish syllables.

Bakugou’s jaw tensed. The constant whispery noise almost made his ears hurt and set his brain on fire. He should probably tell Midoriya why he hated it, but then Midoriya would write it in one of those notebooks and who knew what would happen when villains got their hands on those things. Bakugou took a deep breath. He could not shout. He could not lunge for Midoriya either. “Will you shut up?!” he managed a gruff hiss.

Midoriya blinked. “Ah…sorry.”

Bakugou kept his eyes on Endeavor. He was still breathing. They already sent out a distress signal. Now all they had to do was wait.

Todoroki opened his eyes and then immediately closed them when his futon shook beneath him. Something gave way and he fell just a second before everything settled. He groaned and coughed, dust filling his lungs. When did his room get this dusty? Why was his futon so uncomfortable? He opened his eyes and blinked. Everything was completely dark. It felt like the ceiling was much closer than it should be. Debris seemed to lay underneath him instead of a futon. He was not in the dorm or in his bedroom. What was the last thing he remembered? His head hurt too much.

“I wouldn’t sit up if I were you,” a voice rasped.

Todoroki’s instincts and the dizziness in his head agreed. He tried to ignore his growing nausea. The resonance was full of sharp annoyance and frustration, maybe fear. It was hard to discern. It did not quite feel normal, but it was a good sign. Wherever Bakugou was, he was awake and possibly with Midoriya.

“You should talk,” the voice said.

Todoroki tried to place it, but it was hard to concentrate. The person seemed to be laying down nearby. The smell of death wafted from the same place. “Why?”

“Because you hit your head.”

Todoroki’s eyebrows drew together. He went to touch his head and then reconsidered and lowered his arm.

“Tell me about the ring.”

“It’s just a ring.”

“Endeavor wouldn’t think so.”

Todoroki frowned. “How would you know?”

“I’m his number one enemy.”

Todoroki tried to see in the darkness. There was nothing to see. “I like the ring.”

“Good. You’re not completely their dog then.”

“I’m not…a dog…” It was hard to make words. Maybe he really did have a head injury.

“All heroes are dogs.”

“No…. Just the dog ones.”

“Which are all of them.”

Todoroki opened his mouth and closed it. He tried to focus on Bakugou’s emotions. If he could just latch onto them, maybe he could stay conscious. There was more fear now and stress. Whatever was happening wherever Bakugou was must be dire and terrifying. Maybe the adrenaline would transfer.

“Shouto, keep talking.”

Todoroki opened his mouth but there were no words. His eyes fluttered closed. The darkness seemed less claustrophobic this way.

Todoroki opened his eyes. Sun filtered into a white room. The smell of death was gone, replaced by something distinct but sterile. An alarm somewhere kept ringing. It was near and then far, left and then right. Maybe there was more than one alarm. Activity rushed past. Todoroki’s brain could not focus or process it beyond acknowledgement. He tried to speak but only managed a faint graon.

“Oi!” Bakugou’s voice rose above the din before saying something unintelligible. Someone answered from nearby. Midoriya also said something. Todoroki could not process any of it. He closed his eyes.

Todoroki’s eyes opened again. The room was white again but this time there was barely any light. There was a television in the corner. There was an IV hookup in his arm and a heart monitor clamped to his finger. Fuyumi sat in a chair beside him, using a reading light to work from a binder. Todoroki blinked. Fuyumi was still there.

“What…?” his voice barely functioned.

Fuyumi closed the binder, turned off her light, and set both aside. “You’re in the hospital. Looks like the doctor’s quirk finally worked. I have to call the nurse now.” She reached over and hit the button by Todoroki’s bedside.

A medical team appeared and started poking and prodding. Todoroki slowly sat up when allowed. There was no dizziness or pain. After some water, his voice began to work properly. This was his second day at the hospital. He was in and out of consciousness for that entire time due to a healing cranial injury. He also sustained an injury to his left side, but it healed first and even when Todoroki prodded his side through his hospital gown, he felt no evidence of it.

“We should be able to release you tomorrow morning,” the doctor said. “Unless there are any more complications in the healing process. These types of injuries are always difficult even with my quirk.”

There was a long silence after the medical team left. The clock said it was about the time Todoroki would turn in for the night. He did not feel sleepy, though he could feel Bakugou’s sleepiness, exhaustion, and stress acutely.

“What do you remember last?” Fuyumi’s voice was quiet.

Bakugou and Midoriya were there, but maybe it was Dabi. It was dusty but also sterile. Strong terror and yellow flame flickered. He might have used his quirk in a building. There was blood. So much blood. Whose blood? What was clear? Endeavor must have been there but Todoroki could not remember. What was clear? What was solid? “Waiting for the signal,” he said. The memory was well before sunrise. Everyone was silent. Endeavor was just seconds from turning his flame on full. It felt real.

Fuyumi frowned. She tugged at her bottom lip in thought. “Shouto,” she said carefully, looking towards him in the dim light, “Father’s also a patient here.”

Todoroki tensed.

“They told me there was a building collapse. That makes sense with your injuries, but his…” her voice trailed.

Todoroki shivered involuntarily. His first thought was blood, All that blood. Except there was no source. Just blood. “What happened?”

Fuyumi continued in the careful voice, choosing her words deliberately. “Something happened to burrow into his chest and damage his heart. They’ve done all the healing they can, but the injury weakened his heart significantly.” Fuyumi paused to let Todoroki process the information. Then she said in a quiet voice, “They’re optimistic about his prognosis, but he’ll have to retire.”

Todoroki pulled his blankets up around himself. Even his right side felt cold. What if Endeavor did die? What if Endeavor did not die? What would retirement even look like? What would Endeavor do with that much free time? What would an Endeavor who could not use his quirk at full power be like? Would he just push himself to death even if he survived?

“I’m going to help while I can,” Fuyumi said. “So, don’t worry about Father.”

Todoroki’s frown deepened. Was he worried? Was he relieved? Guilty? Afraid? Which emotion went with which outcome? “You don’t have to do that.”

“I…I know.” Fuyumi stretched her legs out and looked down at her hands on her lap. Her lips pressed into a thin line. “But I want to. I know our childhood was beyond stressful, but things aren’t so stressful now. Maybe it can keep improving.”

Todoroki did not know what to say. Staff walked past their room. Someone’s heart monitor crashed across the hallway. There was a rush to help.

“Your friends are okay,” Fuyumi said. “I’m not sure about your classmates or teachers.”

Todoroki nodded. He was one of the people everyone waited for this time. They probably made food for him. How many others had not returned? Did they get up early and fall asleep in the common room waiting again? They should not sleep on the sofas for his sake. His shoulders slumped and he ran the hand without the IV hookup through his hair.

“Why don’t you lie down?” Fuyumi suggested. “You’re still recovering.”

Todoroki did so. Slowly exhaustion crept over him. He did not remember falling asleep.

===

One of the points of the fic is to get Todoroki, Bakugou, and Midoriya to a point in which all three of them become something different than they set out to become as first years. Todoroki steps out of Endeavor’s shadow, Bakugou becomes less of a King Explosion Murder, and Midoriya diverges from being an All Might clone. Part of what encourages these journeys is the corruption of the Hero Commission. That’s why, after Dabi’s captured after the building collapse, this scene happens because the Hero Commission wants what it wants and what it wants right now is confirmation that Dabi is Touya and also confirmation none of the Todoroki sibligns are working with him.

Narratively though I wanted to do this scene so Natsuo and Fuyumi are now both in on the Touya is Dabi circle.

This takes place after Todoroki is released from the hospital following recovering from injuries sustained in the raid from the previous section. The reason they’re not at Tartarus is Shigaraki eroded Tartarus when he broke Kurogiri out of prison a few sections ago.

***

Golden Week meant a break from internships in lieu of the sports festival and this year also meant a time for recovery from the recent raid. Today was one of the days off school, and Class 2-A planned an outdoor lunch. It sounded fun, but Todoroki would have to skip it. That morning, All Might arrived at the dorms to collect him with Detective Tsukauchi. They picked up Fuyumi and Natsuo and began a long drive. Detective Tsukauchi drove, choosing a playlist that had a mix of music from several decades. All Might hummed along quietly frequently especially to the songs that were in English.

The car ride kept going. Where? No one would say. Why? Still no answers. Todoroki stared out the window as mountains, houses, and fields passed. They were on the road with the whole of Japan it felt like. When Detective Tsukauchi turned off the music, they entered a section of tunnel that required his ID.

There were several forms to fill out, all of which Fuyumi had to sign as Todoroki’s present guardian. There were still no details.

“It’s like we’re going to meet a prisoner or something,” Natsuo murmured.

“What else would it be?” Fuyumi whispered.

“But why?” Natsuo whispered.

Todoroki said nothing. He glanced at All Might. All Might kept watch.

Once the papers were signed, All Might cleared his throat. “I’m sorry we could not say anything sooner. This matter is highly confidential.”

“About what?” Natsuo asked.

“Even I am unsure of all the details.” All Might’s eyes seemed to soften. His lips were a thin line.

Todoroki stared at him for a long moment. He glanced at Natsuo and Fuyumi. Natsuo’s jaw tensed. Fuyumi stood straighter.

“Are we in danger?” Fuyumi asked.

“No,” All Might said.

“Is this something Shouto should really be doing?” Fuyumi asked.

“The Hero Commission believes so.”

“But do you?”

All Might was quiet a long moment. “From what I understand, there is no reason he should not.”

Todoroki watched All Might’s face. It was that face when Midoriya broke his fingers. The face when Bakugou and Midoriya fought after the kidnapping. That face. All Might did not like this. Todoroki tensed and looked around them. There was no one out of place. There were no windows. There were only two doors in view. His eyes returned to All Might. All Might held his gaze. “You are all safe,” All Might mouthed.

It seemed that way. Todoroki remained silent. He followed his siblings, Detective Tsukauchi, and a pro with a wasp theme down the hall. All Might brought up the rear. There was an observation room at the end of the hall. The siblings sat in the chairs provided. The room on the other side of the glass was dark.

“I will be outside the door,” All Might said. He closed it behind him. The siblings were alone.

“I don’t like this,” Natsuo whispered.

“If they were going to do something I think they would have done it by now,” Fuyumi whispered.

Todoroki remained silent.

The lights in the other room turned on. Todoroki’s heart caught in his throat but in a way vastly different from how it moved when he was around Bakugou. Fuyumi froze, her fingers curving but not quite curling.

“Touya!” Natsuo exclaimed, his voice thin.

Dabi stared at them. He was strapped to a chair and there were reinforced gloves on his hands to smother ignition. He laughed a dry, hoarse cough. “The assholes running this place must be desperate for fun.”

Fuyumi’s fingers curled into fists. Todoroki tried to keep his attention forward. He tried to keep his mind focused. It kept flickering back to the villain raid. The fire. The blood. The collapse….

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Natsuo said. “What the hell is this? What kind of sick entertainment….?” his voice thinned further. “How long have you been alive?”

“Who said I was alive?” Dabi snorted. “Surprised you were let in here without the chimney to supervise.”

“I’m in charge here,” Fuyumi said firmly. Her gazed locked with Dabi’s gaze.

“Ooooo….teacher voice,” Dabi said. “What are you going to do? Expel me?”

“I’m in charge here,” Fuyumi repeated. “This is cruel and unusual punishment for all of us. I work hard. I don’t use my quirk on others. I pay our bills. I make sure everyone has what they need. What has Natsuo and Shouto done to deserve this shock? Why couldn’t you people tell me and let me handle this? I’m the oldest. This is my burden. There was no reason to do this to my brothers.”

“Fuyumi…” Natsuo murmured.

“No.” Fuyumi’s fists tightened steadily. “No, I’m serious. Shouto is only sixteen. He’s fighting a war. Natsuo is working so hard to become a nurse, which must be so stressful. How does this help them? How does this help anyone? It doesn’t. This is unproductive.”

“Then what are you going to do about it, Fuyumi?” Dabi asked. “You don’t use your quirk on people.”

“None of us should!” Fuyumi said. “Isn’t that what we all should have learned?”

Dabi snorted. He leaned his head back as much as the high back of his chair would allow. “If these freaks want a show. I can give them one.”

Todoroki tensed. He turned the palm of his right hand upward and curved his fingers, keeping his movements small so not to draw attention from anyone observing. He did not call his quirk, but waited.

“When Natsuo was two he was a fucking prodigy. He opened his mouth one morning and let out a bunch of misty icy fog into the playroom. It was ridiculous like a fucking frog or something.” Dabi smirked but there was no mirth in his eyes. “Anyway, we had a blast. We played swamp monster for hours. Fuyumi and Mom would have loved it, but Fuyumi had a fever so they were busy. This was before we had anyone else watching us.

“Anyway, Endeavor comes home and the playroom is a fucking disaster. Everything’s been stewing in frozen mist all day. Mom never saw it so no one gave a shit about it, so we just didn’t realize you know what was coming.”

Todoroki’s heart rate sped up involuntarily. He could almost finish the story though he had not lived it.

“So Endeavor comes home and he’s pissed already because that’s who he is. He starts roaring audibly fire and voice. No clue what the fuck he said it was all noise. He grabs Natsuo because the last time he grabbed me he left bruises without even trying. I had to make a choice. I had to do something. So I light myself on fucking fire.” Another breathless coughy laugh escaped. There was still no mirth. “It hurt like a bitch. I was covered in blisters immediately. Endeavor shoves Natsuo aside and starts shouting at me and rolled me up in this carpet in the playroom until all the fire was out. So now I couldn’t run, couldn’t hide. Natsuo is crying.

“Mother appears.”

Dabi’s face contorted. “She should have stayed with Fuyumi. Mother could do this thing where she could cover her body in ice, so she had this shield. I tried to get out of the rug but it was too tight. I couldn’t do anything. Natsuo kept crying. I didn’t know what to do. So that night I took Natsuo and ran away.”

“What…?” Fuyumi whispered.

“We got picked up by the police immediately. So I made up a bullshit story about a villain with a fog quirk. It worked? Endeavor actually told me I was brave or some shit. How the fuck did that work? Everything got stricter after that.”

“What the heck…?” Natsuo whispered. “What the…? I don’t remember any of this! My quirk’s too weak to even show up!”

Dabi wheezed. “Lies.” He sighed. “My story is true. You can prove it. Open your mouth and let it fly.”

“Don’t,” Fuyumi whispered, her teeth close together.

“I read the agreement,” Natsuo whispered. “Besides, we all know my quirk’s a dud.”

“There’s more proof of the story,” Dabi said. “You’ve got burn scars on your elbows.”

Natsuo tugged at the sleeve of his shirt self consciously. He pressed his lips together. “Endeavor’s grabbed me like that lots of times because I’m as good as quirkless.”

“Who said that? Endeavor? Fuck him.” Dabi snorted.

“Well maybe you’d know if you didn’t disappear! I saw you die! Fuyumi saw you die! Endeavor saw you die! Mother saw him carry your body out the door! And here you are!” Natsuo’s chest heaved. His lips trembled. Tears formed but did not fall. “We’re just some freak show. Can’t even take you home.”

“That’s not my home.”

“Touya –”

“Dabi. My name is Dabi. Touya died from his injuries in a white room. I’m going to die in a ball of fire.”

“You’re just going to die again?! What kind of BS is that?!” Natsuo’s fists were so tight his knuckles paled.

“Do you really think the heroes will let me live after I ripped Endeavor’s heart out? Natsuo, you’re a genius. You can do math like some human calculator. They’re not going to let me live. They already took the bad doctor away. It’s already set in stone. I just got to do it first before I fall to pieces.”

“Wait,” Fuyumi said. Tiny snowflakes began to appear instead of tears. They melted the instant they touched Todoroki. “I didn’t hear that right. You did what?”

“I ripped Endeavor’s heart out. You can thank me later.”

Fuyumi sucked in a breath. “You did that?”

“Yeah.”

Fuyumi’s fingers trembled. Her arms trembled. The tremor worked its way to her torso, her face, her legs, and feet. “I….” More snowflakes appeared. “I didn’t want that!”

“That’s because you’re too steeped in Endeavor’s bullshit –”

“I AM NOT!” Fuyumi held Dabi’s gaze. “He was terrible to us! He used his quirk on his own family! That’s not love! But….but that doesn’t mean he deserved what you did! He was changing!”

“He wasn’t changing! He can’t change! If he was going to change, then he should have changed the first time he used his quirk against Mother! He should have changed when –” Dabi tried to shout but it led to coughing and a quiet, wheezy, “Fuck.”

Fuyumi waited for the coughing fit to pass. She sat straight in her chair. Her fists were so tight her nails drew blood from her palms. More snowflakes fell from her eyes, some gathered around her fists. “Did you even think about the consequences?! Did you even think about us?!”

“Of course I did! I didn’t even attack Shouto in that stupid forest or at the raid.” Dabi’s hand moved in Todoroki’s direction vaguely despite being restrained.

“No! No you didn’t think of us at all! This isn’t cathartic, it’s a nightmare! I woke up in the middle of the night and Dad and Shouto were both unconscious and in the hospital and had been for hours! I had to sit there and watch them decide if they were going to live or die! Now I have to deal with you as a villain in this place. I…” Fuyumi shuddered with a silent sob. “I…” She could not finish. She removed her glasses and put her hands on her eyes. Snowflakes kept falling from her hands and face.

No one spoke. Todoroki saw every sob but Fuyumi made no noise. How many times did she cry and they just did not know? How stressed was she? What could he do? What was he supposed to do?

“Do something, Natsuo,” Dabi said.

Natsuo’s hand hovered above Fuyumi’s head. “Do you…? Should….?”

“I don’t know,” Fuyumi wailed as quietly as possible.

“For fuck’s sake. Just wrap your arms around her. That’s what you do. She’s a crier,” Dabi said.

Why was it so hard? Todoroki frowned and then put his hand on Fuyumi’s shoulder. “Is it too hot?”

“No….”

Natsuo slid as far over as he could in his chair that was bolted to the floor. He put an arm over her shoulders.

Fuyumi just cried harder but still silently.

“We should….We should go,” Natsuo said. “Fuyumi’s This isn’t productive.”

Todoroki looked up at the ceiling trying to find the camera. He could not locate any. Perhaps a quirk recorded them instead or the cameras were too well hidden. “Let us out! We’re done!”

There were several voices outside the door.

“Then you’ll have to arrest me!” All Might boomed.

Silence followed.

The door unlocked. All Might appeared, breathing labored. “Let’s go.” He looked at them a long moment and then looked at someone behind the wall in the hallway. “We’re leaving.” It was firm. Final.

Natsuo and Todoroki helped Fuyumi to her feet. She could not stop crying. Natsuo wrapped an arm around her shoulders and helped her to the door. Todoroki paused and looked back at Dabi.

“See you later, little brother!” Dabi called out. The lights on his side of the glass went out.

Todoroki lingered. The other room remained completely dark. Was that really Touya?

“Todoroki-shounen, we must go,” All Might’s voice was barely audible.

Fuyumi still cried snowflakes. She still made no noise. Natsuo offered her some tissues. Todoroki swallowed something in his throat. He followed All Might out of the room.

===

So, I needed a subplot for Todoroki so he didn’t like disappear in the word count. I was also not really sure what to do with Gang Orca who’s his current internship. I kind of didn’t know what to do until I decided when the League broke Dabi out of prison, the Hero Commission put the Todoroki family basically under a type of house arrest to prevent Dabi from interacting with them. This evolved into the Hero Commission trying to bait Dabi into attacking Endeavor or any of the other sitting ducks in a bid to recapture Dabi.

Meanwhile, after resonating so much Todoroki and Bakugou double knocked each other out with their amplified attacks at the sports festival, they realize they have to train this soulbond resonance thing. Aizawa is helping them do this, since Aizawa has done it before (though this is just heavily implied in the fic, Aizawa never tells them why he’s the one training them).

So, this section picks up in October or so of second year after the cultural festival. Class 2-A put on a play Kouda wrote about superhero insects. That’s what the first part of this section is going on about. Also, as a side note, Bakugou’s new internship is with Miruko. Natsuo and Todoroki have been messaging each other since the family dinner incident. since part of the goal of the fic is for Todoroki to grow closer to both Natsuo and Fuyumi.

***

The play was a success. The jokes for the most part landed and the audience seemed to enjoy the ending when Hagakure sent Bakugou sliding across the stage. They won their year but the overall school champion was Class 1-J and their maze. After the festival wrapped, it was time to study for midterms. The mornings grew increasingly chilly making jogging easier. By the end of the month, Todoroki was running faster and found he had more strength and endurance during his resonance training.

Today was the last day to train the resonance before midterms. When their cellphones buzzed to indicate the end to the session, Todoroki and Bakugou walked over to Aizawa. Aizawa observed them a long moment. “For the last few weeks, you’ve gotten to a point I don’t need to use my quirk during some of our sessions. You’re showing greater control when attacking and greater control when you try to disconnect from the resonance. After midterms, I think you will be able to start practicing attacking simultaneously. Custom dual attacks can come later after you prove you won’t create indiscriminate bombs you can’t control.”

“About time,” Bakugou said. He let off a series of sparks, each spark diminishing in intensity as Todoroki calmed and Bakugou’s excitement grew.

The session ended. After cleaning up and changing, they headed to the cafeteria, walking in step with each other. Todoroki’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and then accessed his messages with Natsuo.

Natsuo: I did it! Behold~

Natsuo: [a stack of Japanese style pancakes sitting on a plate]

Natsuo: Be jealous.

Todoroki silently snorted. He texted as he walked, too hungry to pause.

Todoroki: No syrup?

Natsuo: I put the sugar in the batter.

Todoroki’s lips turned upward as he put his phone back in his pocket. While stuck in his apartment near campus, Natsuo started cooking regularly. He always sent Todoroki a photo of his successes. Todoroki hoped the pancakes tasted as good as they looked.

That phantom tightness returned to Todoroki’s stomach. Bakugou looked away casually like Todoroki could not feel the tightness.

“Are you okay?” Todoroki asked.

“Of course I am.”

Todoroki’s phone buzzed several times like a phone call. He frowned and glanced at the screen. It was a call from Natsuo. Natsuo never called. Todoroki slowed and answered the call.

“…going to kill you,” a faraway voice murmured.

“You don’t know that!” Natsuo hissed. He also seemed far away from the phone.

Todoroki froze. His heart started beating faster but it was different than when Bakugou made it beat faster.

“How can you trust the Hero Commission to do anything? They looked at Mother’s medical assessment and said, ‘Yeah nothing to see here,’ and then locked her away.” Dabi was the faraway voice.

“She has a legitimate mental illness you know. Oh wait. You don’t know. You decided to fuck off on us!”

Todoroki looked down the hall. Bakugou stood only two paces away, eyes fixed on him. “Get Aizawa,” Todoroki mouthed.

Bakugou disappeared back towards the gym.

“Do you think I chose to die?!” There was a raspy, breathy chuckle.

“Well, you’re still alive, so I don’t know!” Natsuo shouted.

There was a scuffle. Something or someone seemed to hit a wall possibly.

“Shut up! Shut up! Do you want to get busted?!” Dabi hissed. Then he said something too quiet for Todoroki to discern all the words.

Aizawa and Bakugou appeared. Todoroki bit his inner lip. There were no more voices, but he did not dare take the phone from his ear. “Sensei…I….” his voice trailed. He tried to ignore his own rushing, cycling emotions. “Natsuo’s phone called me. Dabi’s there.” His voice was not as firm as he wanted it to sound. He hoped no one on the other end would hear him and end the call.

There were still no more voices on Natsuo’s end of the call.

Aizawa pulled out his own phone. “I’m going to contact Detective Tsukauchi. Don’t hang up.”

On the phone, someone in another apartment turned on the television or maybe the radio. Someone honked multiple times outside the window. There were no other noises.

Todoroki’s heart kept pounding. He did not move.

Aizawa greeted Tsukauchi barely. “I’ve been alerted that Dabi is at Todoroki Natsuo’s location.” He looked at Todoroki. “Are they talking?”

Todoroki shook his head.

“There are no voices on the call now.” Aizawa was quiet for a long moment. “Alright. Thanks.” He hung up and looked at Todoroki. “He’s going to forward the information.”

Todoroki nodded. The television kept playing. There was the sound of a door barely. Then nothing. Absolutely nothing. The call ended. Todoroki’s phone slipped from his hand. He took a step back and leaned against the wall. His hands kept trembling. He was sort of certain Dabi would not hurt Natsuo. He was not sure about the Hero Commission. Now what? What about Fuyumi? Was Dabi going to try and take her too? Would he come to UA? What kind of battle would that be this time?

Aizawa’s hand hovered beside Todoroki’s arm and then withdrew. “Todoroki, I need you to breathe.” His voice was low, steady.

“Natsuo’s not a villain,” Todoroki whispered. “Fuyumi’s not either….”

“I know,” Aizawa’s voice was quiet, still firm.

“But do they know?” Todoroki put emphasis on the word they.

Aizawa did not answer. Maybe he could not answer or did not know.

Todoroki took a few deep breaths. What could he do? He could not leave campus. Even if he could leave campus, then what? Even if he was there, then what? Could he have stopped it?

“Todoroki,” Aizawa said, pausing until Todoroki looked at him, “you can’t let what ifs and unknowns overwhelm you. If you need things, ask for them. We might not be able to let you leave here, but there are other things we can do.” He paused and waited. When Todoroki said nothing, Aizawa said, “I’ll let you know if there are updates.”

“Thanks.” Todoroki took a deep breath and stepped away so he could pick his phone up off the floor. “I’ll…let you know if there’s anything.” Did he want anything? Did he need anything? There was a rushing in his ears with no sound. His shoulders tensed. He wanted to scream.

Aizawa left.

Bakugou watched the direction Aizawa left in for a long moment. He was either calm or his emotions so much quieter than Todoroki’s own that Todoroki could barely feel any of them.

Todoroki remained standing in the hallway, clutching his phone. What should he do? Should he call Fuyumi? Was she in danger? Should he text Endeavor? He was definitely in danger. Did they already know? If they asked for details, Todoroki would have none to give. He could not even prove Dabi took Natsuo, though he doubted Dabi would kill Natsuo. Kurogiri probably used his quirk. Todoroki’s grip on his phone tightened. His jaw clenched.

Bakugou approached and extended a hand. When Todoroki did not step away, Bakugou carefully worked the phone out of Todoroki’s grip. “Breathe,” his voice was louder than a whisper but still quiet.

Todoroki inhaled and exhaled. He lowered his head and then ran a hand through his hair.

“I’d kick your ass in the gym but we already did that. Miruko says what we need most now is protein and rest.”

“I don’t know if I can eat.” Todoroki’s stomach rumbled in protest.

“Do you want to bother with the fucks in the cafeteria or eat at the dorm?”

Todoroki rubbed his face. His thoughts were still all over the place. “I want…to do something normal.” Maybe. He had to do something at least. He also had to eat. Maybe things would seem steadier after eating.

Bakugou nodded. He handed the phone back to Todoroki, who put it in his pocket.

“Thanks.” Todoroki tried to breathe deeply. He put a hand on Bakugou’s shoulder. It made things seem more real. Todoroki dropped his hand and headed to the cafeteria.

A few seconds later, Bakugou followed. They parted on their way to get their food as they always did. Todoroki took another deep breath and kept his face neutral. His emotions were still anything but.

===

While Todoroki’s stuck on campus indefinitely, he’s been interning with Present Mic temporarily since he can’t go to his internship with Gang Orca. This will be Dabi’s final appearance in the fic.

I decided to kill Dabi because I wanted to keep a 1:1 hero : villain death ratio. So since Best Jeanist died earlier in the fic, Dabi was the League member to die.

***

Everything seemed surreal. Todoroki sat on the floor in Aizawa’s and Present Mic’s apartment with a cat nestled against his left side. Eri stretched out on the other side of the cat. She had a blank notebook she was filling with doodles. She sang softly with the pop act preforming on the New Year’s variety show on the television. Present Mic and Aizawa were in the kitchen preparing food. The apartment was a modest two-bedroom apartment in commuting distance to UA. Artwork and photos decorated the living room. On either side of the TV were two picture frames. One was a selfie of Present Mic and Aizawa that had to be almost ten years old from when they first moved in and the other was a timed photo with Eri on the sofa from last year. The same cat against Todoroki’s side was the cat Eri held in the photo. The second cat was more aloof and remained in Aizawa and Present Mic’s bedroom on its own volition.

After lunch, Present Mic received permission from the Hero Commission for Todoroki to leave campus under certain conditions. Todoroki could only go to the off campus apartment, he could not tell anyone outside of UA staff that he was not on campus, and he had to return to UA by noon tomorrow. How Present Mic made it happen, Todoroki did not know.

Paper ripped, drawing Todoroki’s attention. Eri sat up and smiled that same awkward smile from the photo except it reached her eyes more now. “I drew this for you.” The picture was the two of them sitting on the floor with the warm cat and the aloof cat. She drew the cats better than the people. Across the top of the drawing was “Happy New Year” written in hiragana.

“It’s really nice.” Maybe more than that. It was the first drawing someone gave him. Todoroki rolled it up carefully and set it where it would stay nice. He would put it up in his dorm room later.

“Maybe when Mei-chan gets used to you she’ll come out of the bedroom. She’s very soft.” Eri smiled a little bigger. “Last year she curled up with me on the sofa. I want to stay up all night this year!” It was an ambitious goal.

Eri made it to about ten thirty before she reluctantly fell asleep between the cats on the floor. Aizawa put her to bed. Close to midnight, Present Mic cracked the window and they listened to gongs from a nearby temple. By twelve fifteen, Aizawa was in bed. Present Mic and Todoroki finished a movie that started a little after midnight. By three in the morning, only Todoroki remained in the living room. He could not sleep. The futon was comfortable but his mind kept wandering. He scrolled through his messages.

Fuyumi messaged him leading up to midnight and a little after before disappearing. Bakugou sent him pictures of food that Todoroki responded to with little cat stickers he found in his phone options. The Class 2-A chat finally quieted for the night for the most part. Todoroki put his earbuds in and opened a music app. He opened a user profile that had several playlists of music sorted by century. He was several playlists in, but still in music made before quirks. This playlist was a bit peppier than the previous playlist. He saved songs he liked to a playlist of favorites. Todoroki watched colorful lights shoot across his phone screen, moving somehow in rhythm to the music. It was hypnotizing

His phone buzzed.

Hero Highway: Endeavor spotted in Shinjuku! Live feed!

Hero Highway was a service that tapped into local security cameras and provided live streams of events in real time, some of which never made the news. Midoriya suggested it along with some similar services that also specialized in rare footage and news. Todoroki hesitated and the alert disappeared, returning him to the light display and music. He paused the music and closed out of the app. He opened Hero Highway.

The video angle was from the perspective of a security camera second story balcony on the same side of the road. Endeavor stood almost unrecognizable, his muscles considerably leaner and his shirt almost a size too big. The building behind Endeavor glowed orange, setting a familiar glow in absence of flames.

Dabi stood a few meters to the left facing Endeavor, his shoulders surprisingly relaxed. Cars sped past them on the other side of the road. People nearby gawked. Some wore kimono, others street clothes.

“Where’s Natsuo, Touya?” Endeavor asked, his voice barely carrying to the microphone.

“That’s not my name now,” Dabi hissed, his voice carrying slightly more. “Natsuo is safe.”

“Your lair isn’t safe!” Endeavor’s posture changed to the one he struck most often before igniting. There were still no flames.

“It’s safer than being surrounded by Commission pricks!

“It’s safer than surrounded by Commission pricks! I mean look what they did to Hawks. Who would trust them with their children?” Dabi’s voice grew louder.

“Touya –”

“You know when I was twelve I reported you to the police,” Dabi said, projecting his voice as if on stage. “They threatened me! They said I must be desperate for attention! That if we angered you, we were at fault! That I lied about Mother! They said it was discipline! That wasn’t discipline!” his voice grew in intensity and volume. He let over several wheezy coughs after.

Endeavor said something in response, but it was too quiet for the camera to record.

“No! I won’t! Everyone should know! If the Musutafu police office is worth their asses, they’ve still go it on record! It’ll be from March fifteen years ago at midnight. I detailed everything. If anyone wants to go digging, it’ll be the file about the father who uses his fire quirk against his family. Sometimes it’s ‘training’ sometimes it’s an argument, sometimes it’s ‘discipline’ which leaves blistered and marks. It sucked ass when it was me. I hated waking up to an immediate fight or being covered in burn salve gauze, but then Shouto got his quirk that February and everything changed.

“Who fucking trains a three year old by attacking them? Who fucking does that? Surprise attacks. Constant fear. Constant vigilance. I had to watch you fuck him up like you fucked me up. I started trying to stand up to you, but my fucking body isn’t made for this shit. I just couldn’t take it. I just stressed out and lit myself on fire. I didn’t even fucking think.” Dabi snorted. “I can still remember standing up to you, trying to protect Shouto. I would still have the scars on my palm, but…” Dabi bent his arm at the elbow and made a gesture with his hand, “well, this skin isn’t really mine. The bad doctor kept patching me up with treated cadaver skin.”

“I know I made mistakes,” Endeavor said, his voice carrying this time. “I’ve been working to atone for them. I want everyone’s lives going forward to be better than they were. That’s why I built that house, that’s why I told the doctors it would be all right if Rei transitioned away from the hospital. It’s why I’ve made promises to everyone I intend to keep and have kept. It’s why I need to find Natsuo.”

“If you find Natsuo, they’ll just send him to jail now. You know that.” Dabi snorted. Flame flickered to his hand. “I’ve been thinking about revenge for almost twelve years – Hell, maybe my whole life. When you captured the bad doctor, my body started falling apart. Not even Natsuo can do what that geezer’s laboratory could. I’m royally fucked, but it showed me what I should do.” Fire shot up Dabi’s arm. “Fuck killing you! Fuck this body! Fuck your mistakes! Fuck your promises! Fuck everything! Live with this! You can’t save what you throw away!” Dabi’s entire body erupted in blue flame. There was a cry of shock and fear from the onlookers.

“Touya! Touya!” Endeavor ran towards him.

Dabi’s flames grew more intense. When Endeavor reached him, his flames ignited even brighter, leaping to Endeavor’s clothes and skin. Dabi fell to his knees, his flames becoming a blue beacon in the street, his body too weathered and dry to fight his quirk. Endeavor kept trying to extinguish the flames, ignoring those on his own body, but they were too intense and fast. All too quickly, all of the flames extinguished as Dabi’s quirk stopped. Endeavor sat back on his knees. A howl echoed through the street and buildings. It was not quite a cry or wail, not quite a scream or shout.

Todoroki dropped his phone. His hands shook. Tears threatened but did not fall. Touya was important to him even if his memories were faint and short. Dabi terrorized his friends and committed so many crimes even if he did not attack Todoroki directly. Dabi made Fuyumi cry and kidnapped Natsuo. Todoroki did not like Dabi. He might have loved Touya. Endeavor’s howl echoed in Todoroki’s ears even though he no longer wore his earbuds. What kind of noise was that? Was that even real? Was any of it real?

Todoroki pulled his blankets over his head. He shut his eyes tight. All he could see was Dabi burning. Todoroki opened his eyes. He did not know what to do.

#fic preview #i don't know what to tag this #i just wanted to post it in case i decide to change it #because i did work hard to set this up #also my anxiety was like ''post it'' so i went for it #adventures in fic writing

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lowkeyhockey · 5 years ago

Text

cat and mouse (for a month or two or three) - freddie andersen

Pairing: Freddie Andersen/Single Mother!Reader

Mentions: Mitch Marner, Nazem Kadri

Warnings: Curse words, slight sexual innuendo, two POVs

Word Count: 6.5k

Credits: @hockey-reblogs beta’d this for me, and like. thank g od IDEK what i did to deserve her help and support <3

Summary: Someone can’t wait to get on the ice, someone wants to meet up off the ice, and someone has an unexpectedly intense reaction to coffee. OR: a story of how you two met.

Writer’s Note: This is a standalone fic that’s a part of a bigger verse titled Can I Go (Where You Go) featuring [Y/N], a not-very single mother, Lila, your very opinionated daughter, and Freddie Andersen - a man very happy to be invited along for the ride.

-------------------------------------

The first thing you notice upon arriving at the Mastercard Centre, your new training facility for the next five seasons (if your contract has anything to say about it) is the noise. The words sound about the same, shouts about cellys and sick dangles and benders and dusters, all the words North American players like to throw around to make it sound like they're from a generation older and greater than they are, but the pitch is - different.

A lot higher, for once, the voices a lot softer, and you're frowning even before you turn the corner to the Leafs' locker room. Mitch Marner and Nazem Kadri are standing near the doorway, Naz grinning in a way that you know from watching game tape means he's probably going to lay a hit on someone, and Marner looking - well - scared, but they're not looking that way at each other.

Which, is probably good. Mitch is as new to the Leafs as you are, which means you'd probably have to take his side against Naz, and you've seen Naz's hits. Game tape. It's weird to think of them as teammates now, with how you've memorized the slightest shifts in their stances to figure out split-seconds before the recoil of their stick exactly where the puck is going to go, but you're good at dealing with weird.

Dishing it out, taking it. Part of hockey, and part of being a goalie. You're not good at, however - you're not used to - dealing with the sight that had apparently frozen Naz and Marner into caricatures of themselves.

About thirty girls, give or take, all of them minors, in green tartan skirts and hockey skates and green and white sweaters. You wonder if the Leafs are taking another PC shift on the ice crew, though the girls aren't even in Leafs colours. But then you see that half the girls are holding hockey sticks, and suddenly you're feeling just as worried - worried, not scared - as Marner's obviously feeling scared.

You can't blame him, though. Kid looks about twelve, looks like a couple of the bigger girls could beat him up without breaking a sweat. He's probably worried about his voice cracking in front of them or something.

It's Naz who sees you first, shit-eating grin in full effect as he calls you over, but his voice is drowned out halfway through "Yo Andy, get over-" (which, thank you, but no) as a girl shouts, "motherfucker, get on the ice and I'll show you roughing."

And then you change your mind.

Naz cracks up laughing at the threat and you match Marner's smile, but a woman is there in the next heartbeat - this one, thankfully not in uniform, though you wouldn't mind seeing what she could do to a schoolgirl skirt - pinching the girl's nose in a way that you're almost certain isn't part of the school's disciplinary code.

Or maybe it was. California didn't have corporal punishment, and it didn't have school uniforms either, and judging by the way you were looking at the woman - the teacher? - up and down and trying to picture her in pumps and tiny skirt and blazer, with maybe a green ribbon in her hair, it was probably for the best.

The girl doesn't look like she's in pain or anything, so you wander over to the boys, trying to not make any sudden movements just in case the girls could smell fresh blood. "School trip, we're teaching them the ropes," Marner says to you before you could ask, and Naz's expression turns a little wry, his smile a little dry as he adds. "Private school girls, so make sure none of them breaks another nail or we could be looking at a lawsuit."

*****

You'd been helping one of the younger girls with her skates when you'd glanced up and saw Freddie Andersen - the Great Dane, the Ginga Ninja, the new goalie for the Leafs - approaching through a break in the cloud of girls, and you bite back a grin that was - okay, maybe a little mean.

But his furrowed brow-stoicism was an expression you knew well, from the faces of men who just didn't know what to do with a small army of girls - which, good. You girls can handle your own, which is a weird thought to have when you're on your knees in front of an apprehensive-looking sixth grader, but all the other girls had gotten each other laced up and strapped into protective gear and you wonder whether it was actually necessary for the headmistress to insist that the Leafs drop in to "show you the ropes", as it were.

It was a school in Canada, after all, and in Toronto to boot, where hockey wasn't so much a pastime as it was a minor religion. An open, accepting religion - you could be both practicing Christian, or Muslim or whatever and a Leafs fan. There was a reason why games aren't scheduled for the same time as Sunday Mass, or Friday prayers.

God and the NHL both knew which one people would rather attend.

But Branksome Hall's new to allowing hockey to be played and not just watched at the school, and having been a hockey fan for most of your life (not to mention a young and new teacher, which made you an easy target for assignments such as these) you were an obvious pick to get girls into the sport.

You probably won't have a school team this season, but it's always nice to get girls on the ice, and your girls could always use an outlet for their excess energy (not to mention aggression).

Brianna's all talk and you tell her that, giving a last, gentle tug on her nose before she pushes you away, laughing, and you turn to the boys just in time to hear the tail end of Nazem Kadri's words.

Which, ouch. But not at all wrong, and it's your turn to laugh, though Madame Mercier - who's just as suddenly by your side - is looking considerably less amused.

"Branksome Hall takes the health and safety of our girls very seriously," she says, her French accent - French, and not Quebecois, she'd remind anyone with a faux-haughty look on her face and a twinkle in her eyes - thicker than it usually is, and you jump in to alleviate the tension before the boys could apologize - or very pointedly not apologize.

"We do, but we also understand how dangerous skating and hockey can be, and the girls and their legal guardians have all signed the disclaimers we've passed along to your organization," you say with a smile - not the practiced one you hold in reserve for overbearing parents, because god only knew what you'd do if you ever ran out of those - but something easy and warm.

You'd been an athlete yourself, when you were in school, and you hadn't gone to a school like Branksome Hall, where the Board of Governors could up and decide to introduce a new sport to the school and then have the pull to have some of the best athletes in the sport go and teach it to the girls themselves. Never mind that it's still off-season, and that the boys would probably rather be in board shorts than hockey gear.

You're just you, a little messy, a little too casual, you have nothing of Madame Mercier's dignified grace as you offer your hand out to the newcomer. Frederik Andersen, who's all ginger scruff in the early light of day, brown eyes looking a little wary even as he takes your hand.

His hand's large, because of course it is, and a little rough, because of course it is, and you feel an impulse to sandwich it between your own for a full study. But a smaller hand covers the back of it before you could embarrass yourself, yanking both your hands down -

and you look further down to see Lila coming out from behind Mitch Marner's legs, all toothy grin despite the fact that she was clearly feeling ignored, and you laugh again. "Sorry about that," you quickly say, dropping the goaltender's hand and dropping to your knees to scoop up your little girl.

Mitch, sweet boy that he is, reaches out to tickle her sides, and you suppose you're thankful that he's learned his lesson about having his hands too close to her teeth.

"I'm [Y/N L/N], and this is my daughter, Lila." Lila frees one of the arms you'd pinned to her sides in an attempt to stop her from squirming out of your arms to give the man a wave, looking almost shy, and Freddie in turn - surprise fading into something that almost looks like shyness, too - reaches out to pat her head, as though copying his teammate.

God, if you were just unlucky enough the boys might come to see Lila as some kind of lucky charm to be fussed over or petted, like a team mascot in tiny human form. It seemed a little far fetched, but you know hockey players and how superstitious they could be, and you turn around to pass Lila off to your nanny before any of your dire predictions could come into fruition.

When you turn back around, Freddie's hand is still hovering in midair, and you can't help but raise an eyebrow at him, watching a flush slowly spread across his cheekbones as though in slow motion. He looks so dumb, looks something like a piece of art. You'd title it: hockey player vs social situations or something like that.

You squash the urge to paint him.

"Frederik Andersen, right?" you ask, because he hasn't introduced himself, and smile encouragingly when he nods, feeling like you were talking to one of your younger girls.

"Call me Freddie," he says, and you grin, turning to include the other boys in it.

"Freddie, Mitch, and Naz," you say as though to check their names, though of course you know them all. "Thank you guys so much for coming, I'm sure all the girls are going to love this. Now, are you guys ready to meet the next group of miracles on ice?"

A little kitschy, a little corny, but Mitch is grinning back at you, and Naz is looking amused, though you suspect that with the latter that's pretty much his default expression. Freddie's not looking at you, though, and you follow his gaze to the near-empty corridor, wondering if he's looking for an escape route - but no, he's watching Emilie and Lila.

And you feel - jealous? Emilie's very pretty, and she's so good with Lila, and you were only expecting two hockey players with you today and not three and - Frederik Andersen could do whatever he wants, really, it's nothing to do with you.

Naz gives you a light punch on the arm, like you're a part of the team, though you're just a teacher for the group of girls he's been made to babysit. "Lets get at it, coach," he says, as he follows Mitch to the entrance of the rink, and you give Lila a small wave before following suit

Madame Mercier doesn't even own skates and she's not about to start trying it at fifty-two, and Freddie Andersen - you realise, then, that he hadn't even been wearing skates. He was still in his coat, for god's sake - he was taller than you even though you're in skates so you hadn't noticed.

But then the girls are calling for you, tapping their sticks against the ice where they all stand in a loose circle on center ice, and you and Mitch and Nazem hurry up to join them.

*****

"Freddie," you repeat to the little girl, all brown, windswept curls and a grin that takes up about half of her face, and her hazel eyes look like they understand but all she does is blow a raspberry at you. And then giggle, like it's the funniest thing in the world, and maybe it is, because her nanny laughs too.

Emilie, she'd said her name was, in the same accent that the strict-looking teacher had. The one that wasn't [Y/N]. You didn't even realise that you hadn't asked her name, and now she's ignoring the three of you, leaning against the glass like she's worried one of her girls might actually break another nail.

"She's only three, Mr. Andersen," Emilie says to you, and that Lila decides to repeat, the lisped "three!" sounding jubilant in her voice. Emilie smiles down at her, expression so fond, and you can see why. "She has one month before she turns three," Emilie corrects herself, as though the one month makes a difference, and you nod a little dumbly because maybe it does.

"She looks a little older," you say, though she doesn't. "She looks smart." And she does. There’s something assessing in her gaze, more curiosity than shyness or fear.

You've always liked kids, but they've always looked a little fragile, especially compared to you. And the kids you usually meet are excitable boys either starting out in or already playing hockey, eager to show the world that they have what it takes.

And Lila's just staring at you with her large hazel eyes, squirming for a moment before she suddenly flops back, body going limp all over until her nanny relents and sets her down on the floor. Her little shoes squeak with each step, and you both watch her as she makes her way - just as determined as any young boy you've ever met - to the rink entrance.

"Too smart," Emilie says with a smile, and you grin as Lila drops to the ground in a deliberate collapse, patting both of her hands against the ice. It looks like she doesn't want to walk in - she's ready to crawl in instead, but Emilie is on her in the next heartbeat, scooping her up and pressing kisses against her little face.

"No, silly, your maman said to stay here," she tells Lila.

You take the chance to step in then and say, "I can take her in, she'll be safe with me," but the look Emilie shoots you is arch, a little too knowing, and you feel heat rise on your cheeks again.

"If her maman wanted the little one on the ice she'd take her herself, non?" But her grin turns friendly again as she tilts her head to the ice, before swinging around so that Lila isn't pushing out of her arms to take matters into her own tiny hands. "Now go, before her maman wonders why I'm keeping you."

And you're fairly certain that this isn't in your schedule, that no one's expecting you to stay, but you already have your gear and skates in your bag and you wanted to get some solo training in before training camp, anyway, so.

You go.

*****

He's easy on his feet, you realise with a pang. Quiet. You hadn't even realised that he was standing right behind you until Wei Yan slammed into his side, not hard enough to make him stumble, but enough to catch your attention, making you turn around with a slight frown.

She's not at all apologetic about it, grinning as she says, "inertia" as though that alone's an explanation, even though it isn't. Freddie's looking down at her like he doesn't quite know what to do with a fifteen year old girl suddenly attached to his side and spouting Newtonian principles at him, which, fair.

The girls love to show off what they'd learned in class - little teachers' pets, all of them, and you could relate - and usually, it makes you smile. It means you've done a good job. Nut somehow inertia is always the first thing they remember, probably because it allows them to do things like this, and you can't have them breaking the new Leafs goalie before he's even broken in yet. God knows the Leafs need a good man in the crease.

"Goon," you shoot back at her, waving your hands like you're shooing off some stray chickens. And you might as well be - wherever Wei Yan led, the rest of the girls usually followed, and soon there'd be no one doing the skating drill you had set up.

Mitch was in the far end of the rink, coaching most of the girls through puck-handling drills, and Naz is on center ice dropping face off puck after face off puck while girls battled for dominance. You could see his grin from here, delighting in the role he's getting to play in the chaos.

When Wei Yan doesn't move, leaning against Freddie's side and giving him a narrow eyed look that he seems intent on returning in full measure, you skate over to them to give her a gentle nudge. "Shoo, you know how hockey players feel about a hit on their goalie," you tell her, and she turns to face you, grin unnervingly like Kadri's.

"There's no D-men on the ice," she points out, sly, and it takes Freddie by surprise - the laugh he lets out is over-loud, and it looks like the sun had broken out just over his face.

You're soon giggling too, more from the sound of his laughter than anything else, and Wei Yan skates away looking smug.

Silence stretches after that but it's not awkward, not really, the two of you watching as Wei Yan lands another hit - this time against Marie, who's a full head shorter than her and maybe fifteen pounds lighter, but she's so gentle about it that you can't help beaming.

They're good girls, and you're so proud of them, and you're so happy that the school's letting them have this outlet.

Freddie's apparently thinking along the same lines because when he breaks the silence it's to ask, voice light but sounding just a hint too serious to be properly teasing, "you went to all the trouble of bringing Lila to the rink and won't even let her skate?"

You turn to him with brows raised, more amused and curious than annoyed by the personal question, and he smiles a little at you, as though encouraged by your expression. "Seems a little mean, is all," he explains, and you laugh.

"My dad's a diehard Leafs fan," you explain. "He'd never forgive me if I didn't bring her. But she's still a little too young for skates. "

There's a beat of silence, and it looks like he's studying you now, as though he's memorizing the planes of your face the way you'd tried to memorize his hand, and you're already blushing - your gaze sliding from his eyes to his lips - when he asks -

"Would he forgive you if you said no to the Leafs' new goalie taking you out for coffee?"

And the colour's exploding over your face in full force, now, you could feel even the back of your neck getting warm, it's like you've never been asked out before. And you might be a single mom but you're only twenty-six and still attractive, still in full possession of a sex drive, thank you very much, you're clever and you're articulate and you're athletic.

You shouldn't be staring up at him looking like you'd just finished a 5k on the treadmill, mouth in a flat line, arms crossed across your chest.

He shouldn't be looking down at you, looking somewhere between confused and mortified, but god that was such a pro hockey player question - I have money, I have fame, I can hit a puck really, really hard, wanna come home with me?

And he'd just been talking about your daughter - Lila, of all people, who absolutely doesn't deserve to be around more hockey players. Once burned and all that.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Freddie finally bursts out, and you shake your head.

"Of course you didn't, Mr. Andersen, I apologize if there's been any confusion," you say, and you know you're using your stern teacher voice, and now he's looking down at you like he doesn't know who you are.

Which, of course he doesn't. He doesn't know why you're so opposed to - well, if not hockey players, then hockey players pulling what he'd just tried to pull.

And you would have let it drop at that but he's moving just a little closer, brows furrowed, looking contrite. "I didn't, I'm not trying to use my position to ask you out. I'm just - I was trying to be funny."

He looks half- in pain is the thing, and you believe him. You can certainly believe he's not the best at being funny. You relax a little, make a show of untensing, giving him a small smile and putting a hand on his arm. " It's fine, really. It's just that I'm working - and I have Lila."

Not that Lila's really an excuse, with the full-time nanny Sid hired and pays for. But Freddie doesn't need to know that.

"Can I make it up to you?" he asks, and he still looks like you'd kicked a puppy, and he looks softer than you're prepared for. But when he continues, words tumbling over themselves in the rush to be said, "I can get you tickets for the opening game, you said your dad's a fan and you can bring Lila -"

you shake your head, laughing. "I said it's fine, and my dad has season tickets anyway." Honestly, you think it's the biggest family heirloom your family has to your name.

He looks like he believes you, he looks like he's relaxed somewhat, and he looks like he's not some pro-athlete dick so you even tease him with an "I'm sure I'll come and see you sooner or later, see if you're any good,"

and if it sounds like flirting it's possibly because you are, just a little.

But he's smiling back at you, looking like you'd given - well, not a puppy, but maybe a dear friend - CPR, and you find yourself smiling back.

And become aware, in the next moment, that the girls closest to you have stopped doing their drills, and are looking at the two of you just smiling at each other like idiots with expressions that ranged from surprise to delight. Which meant that Madame Mercier was probably watching, too, even if you both had your backs to her - which meant you had to disguise what you'd been talking about.

"But if you still want to make it up to me," you say to Freddie, voice low, not waiting for him to reply before you skated to the girls. "Line up, ladies, Mr. Andersen's going to get in goal for you. Make sure you show off a little, eh?"

And the sound of his laughter from behind you, the quiet swish of his skates as he moves to set up between the posts, makes you smile.

*****

You go to all the pre-seasons game you have the time to attend with your dad, and once with Emilie, though the poor girl ended up with a headache from all the noise. You - you were in your element, in your old Sundin sweater that still hit you about mid-thigh, usually with blue lines painted under your eyes even though it was just the preseason.

After your first game, a young man with a Leafs intern lanyard comes over to your seat with a puck and a kids' jersey, and you're frowning just a little until he tells you that they're both from Marner. You ask the kid to give Marns your number, so you can thank him personally, and when he texts you later that night he tells you that he's just excited to have someone wearing his number in the coming season.

He's just a sweet kid, and you thank him about ten more times, and you take it to mean that you're going to have to bring Lila in for a game sooner or later. You'd enjoyed watching Marns while he was with the Knights, and you're definitely looking forward to rooting for him on the Leafs - and Freddie, too.

But he doesn't look at you. Freddie, that is.

Not during warmups and definitely not during the games, you don't think he sees anything but the puck and there's something almost magical about that degree of hyper-focus.

It's the night before opening night when he seems to remember that you exist - and it's Marns texting you, not Freddie, and at first you ignore it because Marns has taken to texting you memes you can barely understand, though the girls at your school giggle when you pass it on to them. You won't let him contact any of the girls directly - it would be unprofessional for you to give away any of your students' numbers, and none of them ask you for his - but he seems proud of being the girls' favourite coach.

(The girls still practice at the Mastercard Centre, and you're the one chaperoning them more often than not, but with the season coming underway the boys are no longer obligated to show up - the school's hired their own skating and puck-handling coaches, and even a goalie coach though Melanie's the only one interested in getting between the posts, and she far prefers when Freddie's the one to help her.)

When you finally reach for your phone, deciding that a social media break's allowed after three straight hours of grading physics papers, you're surprised to see a closeup shot of Freddie in his goalie mask - eyes narrowed and staring at you through the grill and phone, like he sees exactly what you're doing and he doesn't approve. It's a little intimidating, more than a little hot.

You wonder what Marns has done to piss him off - and why Marns decided to send it to you - but the text that pops up after you reply with a simple "???" just says - "he's wondering why u haven't brought lila yet."

Which, weird. Also, flattering. Also, weird. You hadn't even been aware that he's noticed that you're there at all.

"so he can eat her?" you shoot back, grinning a little down at your phone, and marns replies in the next instant with

"maybe"

then:

"rude tho"

then:

"y don't u ask him urself"

You shoot back a "he didn't ask ME himself", even though it feels at this point like you're two kids passing notes in class, and you're judging yourself for it hard when your phone dings thrice with more text messages.

From Marns:

"can u imagine freddie taking a selfie"

and then:

several barf emojis, and you don't know why, because Freddie has a pretty decent face

and

from an unknown number:

"Why haven't you brought Lila to any games?"

When your phone dings again, a few seconds later, you see several frowning emojis from the same number, and you hate how you can picture exactly, in your mind's eye, the way Freddie could be frowning at you right then.

You save his number under "F.And, L", knowing how hockey players - at least the ones you know - value their privacy, and you wouldn't want his number to get leaked if you somehow lose your phone. Marns is just saved under a frog emoji, and he seemed inordinately pleased about that when you'd told him.

"Too loud for her," you send back to Freddie, and before you could think twice about it, you send Marns several sweat droplets emojis. You are a teacher - if anyone asks, you could say that you had no idea what they meant, you just know that that's what the kids are texting nowadays.

"Marns is going to be disappointed," Freddie replies, and you're disappointed - despite yourself - because he didn't say that he would be disappointed.

Another two dings, another two texts, and it's Freddie saying "We'll have to get her in for a practice," while Marns just fills your whole screen with more barfing emojis.

You shoot them both the okay emoji, and then tell them that you need to get back to work.

When you check your phone again before bed, there's two text messages, both of them from Freddie.

The first: "Good luck with your work, and sweet dreams"

And then a picture of him, light spilling over him from a bedside lamp, duvet halfway up his bare chest. He looks a little tired, a little shy, but he's smiling up at the camera.

A selfie. You wonder what else Marner has told him.

And you save the picture.

*****

The boys win the first home game of the season, and you couldn't make it because Lila's down with a cold but you send Marns a selfie of you and Lila in Leafs jerseys in front of the TV - you wearing Sundin's number and grinning wide, Lila in Marner's and opening her mouth to show him a mouthful of chewed-up mashed potatoes. You figure it's not too different from a picture of unchewed mashed potatoes, and besides, you're just happy that she's eating.

Marns sends back a shot of him flashing a peace sign, flushed with good spirits and (you're pretty damned sure) alcohol he's barely old enough to be drinking, and the way he angles the camera makes you think he's trying to hide the fact that he's in a bar.

Which, dumb, but you pass along the congratulations the girls text you to send to him, and there's almost thirty of them, and by the time you're done Freddie's message to you has been waiting for several minutes, unopened.

"Thanks for the congratulations," it says, even though you didn't send him one, and you giggle as you lean back to reply.

"sorry! had to pass on messages from mitchy's fans first, and there's a lot of them."

Freddie: "Yeah? And who were you rooting for?"

"david pastrnak," you reply, grinning to yourself as you did it.

and then before he has time to get into a sulk: "guy has to be a superhero to have gotten one past you"

He doesn't reply anyway, not for a good half hour, and you switch the tv to a golf tournament with the volume on low, because of course that's what Lila falls asleep to best.

And then, from Freddie: "Guess that makes me your kyptonite."

Which, okay, he isn't wrong.

You're not sure how to reply - you guess this means that he's at least a little bit into you, and he knows you're at least a little bit into him, and - you're not sure how to reply.

"you're not wrong," you text him. And then, like a coward, but at least an honest one: "i need to go and tuck lila in. make sure you drink lots of water before bed x"

And he sends you a goodnight text, tells you to tell him if Lila's not feeling better in the morning, as though there's anything he can do about it anyway.

When you wake up the next morning, there's a text from Marns sent at around three am that says, "YOOOOOO WAS TAT SMOOTH OR WHAT"

Which, okay, he's not wrong.

*****

The boys go through a losing streak like it's nobody's business. Which, is disappointing, but it's the Leafs, and Toronto's a city that's grown accustomed to it. After a home win against Florida that they barely managed by the skin of their teeth (which, it's Florida) Freddie's on your doorstep instead of celebrating at some bar or another, or maybe sleeping the adrenaline off.

You raise your eyebrows at him, don't move aside to let him in even though you'd known he was the guy at the door when you'd looked through the peephole, and you'd gone and opened the door anyway. He looked rumpled, exhausted, hair a mess but not covered in product - like he'd gone for a shower after the game and then left, not even bothering to swing by his place to change out of his game day suit.

And you're in your Leafs jersey still, it's practically a dress on you so you didn't bother slipping any pants on, and the TV's still quietly going over game recaps.

You know this, the look on him, even though you've never seen him this way. He racks up a loss, takes it all on his own shoulders, won't let anyone take some of his burden or even see any of his pain. You've lived this, just not with him, and you're not in the mood for dealing with a moody hockey player.

It's Lila's birthday tomorrow, and Marns' already said he would come, and he's asked if he could bring some of the boys with him, too. He hadn't mentioned Freddie, and neither had you - Freddie's been on radio silence since the loss against the Hawks, third in a streak that didn't seem like it was going to end. That had been five days ago, which

You're a big girl, you can take it.

But you don't particularly want to expose Lila to it.

"Look, I know I've been stupid," he starts, the creases in his brow deepening when he sees you're not going to start shit, but he falls silent when you shake you head.

"Don't make a martyr of yourself, Freddie." It comes out sounding short, impatient, you're a little tired yourself and it's late.

And it hurts, just a little, him showing up here and now like you're some kind of fair weather-only friend. You're not even a fair weather fan, or you sure as shit wouldn't still have your Leafs jersey.

He looks confused, though, raising one hand to rest against the frame of the door, and leans in, like proximity would help. That, or he's too tired to stand straight, which. Idiot.

"You lost, and you went and licked your wounds in private. It's fine." You pause, consider that, and decide to go for something a little more honest. "Or it's not fine, I missed you, but if that's what you need to do to get your head on right for your next game then I can live with it."

You're a big girl, you've survived worse things.

"I'm sorry," he says, and you smile, because - that's one you've never heard before. And you didn't think he'd understand, either, how you needed an apology and not a self-lashing from him, because the latter's designed to make you feel sorry for him more than anything else.

Which, you already do. Idiot.

You open the door wider, but instead of letting him in you step forward to wrap your arms around him, feeling him do the same to you - one across the back of your shoulders and one around your waist, warm, solid weights holding you in place for a long moment.

"I know you were worried about me, I shouldn't have put you through that, all I needed to do was pick up the phone." He pulls back, then, to look you in the eye, and your right hand slips higher to settle on the nape of his neck, to keep him there.

"Idiot," you tell him, but you're grinning, and in a moment he's grinning back. "You can come on in. I'm almost done getting things ready for Lila's birthday party tomorrow."

"Can I help?" he asks, but you brush the offer aside, leading him through the hallway and into the living room, where you give him another push until he's settled on the couch.

"Beer's in the fridge, if you want, and Lila's already in bed. We have a spare room if you'd like to use it." He looks a little concerned at that - and, yeah, maybe you are being a little too forward - but you flash him another grin.

"What, you're making it up to me, right?" You ask him, voice teasing. "So you're going to do all the barbecuing for the party tomorrow."

He smiles back at you, but then the smile slowly fades, and he says again, sounding like he has to, "I'm sorry. I needed time to myself, but we're - friends, and- "

"You shouldn't have gone full radio silence?' You shake your head, amused, but Freddie's still looking at you like you might throw a temper tantrum, so you move to sit on the couch beside him, stretching out your legs so that your feet rested in his lap.

Physical contact helps. Open communication helps. The slow massage he was giving your left foot definitely helps. After a few minutes: "I was upset, but it's just five days, Freddie. I've gone into radio silence for longer just because I had an assignment due." You give him a nudge with your other foot and he takes the hint, switching feet. "We're still friends," you tell him, the emphasis on the last word unmistakable, and you watch him colour up a little.

"Are you free next weekend?" He blurts out, like you figured he would, and you shake your head, biting back a smile.

"Nope, I'm chaperoning a school dance."

"Can I chaperon with you?"

And there's no biting back the laugh you have to let out at that, hand covering your mouth so it doesn't wake Lila, and Freddie's looking halfway between amused and embarrassed.

"The school isn't usually okay with having strangers attend our private school functions. Why don't you come out for coffee with me instead? Say, after your game on Tuesday, even if you lose?"

The smile he gives you is something like watching the sun coming out, or maybe you're just feeling warm, but either way you'd have liked to be closer to him.

And then - voice teasing - "last time I asked you out for coffee you tried to snap my neck."

Which, fair, and you shrug a little even as you shift closer, so that you're sitting on the seat beside his on the couch, your bare thighs across his lap. His arm slips down from where it had rested along the back of your couch to around your waist, which. Feels nice. "Nah. Last time it was this kinda arrogant Ducks trade who'd asked me, and I wasn't even sure if he's any good between the posts."

A misstep, maybe, because his brows are creased again, and you have an urge to smooth it out with your thumb so you do just that. "So you want to go out with a good goalie," he says, something so uncertain in his voice, something sad in the way he looks down as you as though braced for the worst. Idiot.

You kiss his cheek, because you can't help it, then the corner of his lips - pulling back before he could kiss you properly, grinning a little as you drop one last kiss on the tip of his nose. "Yeah, but I'm hoping that's not all you're good at."

#freddie andersen #freddie andersen imagine #nhl imagine #hockey imagine #toronto maple leafs #toronto maple leafs imagine #v:can i go (where you go)#lyss writes hockey

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