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by-any-other-games · 10 months

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so i originally tried to make this as a youtube video, but my camera autofocused to the wall the entire time, and it was otherwise a pain in the ass. but anyway, here’s a way too long post about how to write a character backstory for your next ttrpg

warning, there’s literally no pictures or gifs or anything, this is just a massive wall of text

this guide will be more aimed towards newer players, but even if youre a veteran, writing backstories is a challenge. A lot of people will jump to compare their backstories to stuff from critical role and dimension 20, but youve gotta remember that those backstories are done by professionals, people who get paid to play d&d. It’s okay if what you come up with isn’t shakespear, but that is totally okay, and should be at least a little bit expected. But don’t just take off writing random lore, if you keep your processed organized, you can get a lot more valuable insight into your character, for a lot less work

so ive got some rough steps that i use as a guideline to keep myself on track, and avoid hitting some of the big snags that can ruin a whole backstory from the get go.

Part 1: Pitfalls

so, The Big Three of backstory pitfalls, “Forgetting your Level”, “No Attachments Nate” and “Making a Soloist”.

The easiest trap to fall for (and to avoid), is ‘making a soloist’. D&D is an ensemble, it is at best when everyone plays their part, harmonizing with everyone else. If you want to make your character the best at everything, you’ll hit some deadends pretty quickly. First, you can’t be the best at everything. it’s just about impossible to make a character who is better at everything than everyone. your eldritch knight / arcane trickster rouge multiclass will never be as tanky as a full fighter, and never as magically inclined as a full wizard. a character needs strengths AND weaknesses, you don’t need to cover those on your own, your party is there to help you.

but weaknesses are just one of the ways to give a character ‘texture’, another very important piece of texture comes with attachments. fhats friends, enemies, family, or even just a location you care a lot about. there is not a single person alive today with no attachments. it would be ridiculous to make a “no attachments nate” as a D&D character.

this does tend to go hand in hand with the Edgy Loner trope, the ‘brooding assassin who sits in the corner of the room, and trusts no one’. Edgy Loners aren’t inherently bad, but they can be a little bit boring. If youre dead set on an edgy loner, i highly reccomend Play Your Roll’s video about it. Just make sure that you care about SOMETHING. A mentor, a parent, a friend or a former employer, if your character knows people, they start to feel like a real part of a world, not just a game piece that you’ve dropped onto a map.

lastly, before you write, remember what level you are. old and new players alike let this slip their mind when writing backstories, even I’ve made this exact mistake: if you are writing a level 1 backstory, then you need to be doing level 1 things. your level 1 fighter might have killed a few goblins, or a really big wolf, but they definitely didn’t spend 200 years fighting demons in hell without gaining a single level. just keep your starting level in mind. if you get to start at level 15, yeah, 200 years of demon fighting sounds great! Level 5? maybe you fought ONE demon, but have plans to go kill some more

now I didn’t mention this as one of the pitfalls, because its really just a basic skill for everything in ttrpgs, not just writing a backstory. writing a backstory is not a one person job. TALK TO YOUR DM. ask them things about the world, tell them your ideas and theories. Do not keep secrets from them.

If you wait until halfway through the campaign to reveal your top secret, 10 page long lore packet, you can’t expect your DM to rewrite history for you. There’s probably something similar to your idea in your DMs world, something you can help them flesh out, and by doing so, feel more connected to the world. D&D is collaborative: so, collaborate.

Part 2: Attachments

Like i said before, attachments are a vital piece of texture, but they work best when they are meaningful. not just ‘the nameless parents’.

this bit worked better as part of a video, but im still gonna do it anyways, i’ve got an example character that imna build as i go over the steps here. for my example character, I’ve decided to make an elven fighter, named “Fellin” .

Now before even considering any details or attachements, i’ve got a rough idea of what i want this character to be,, like a silhouette for my DM and I to fill in together. This fighter will:

Be taken in by a noble family

Be smart

Have a strong sense of duty to the less fortunate

literally just three bullet points

there are thousands of different characters that share these exact same traits, but I’ve still managed to narrow down my options from literally infinite, to thousands. These three bullet notes give my DM just enough info to start recommending things in their world that might suit this character, and open some points of discussion between the two of us

so after some discussion with my DM i can solidify these bullet points into proper attachments, using new details about the world, and things that we’ve come up with together. Now, my elven fighter:

Caught the attention of Lord Tul’dala, and was adopted by them.

Was enrolled in University Laderra under their tutelage, where they forced me to join the dueling team.

Even after years of posh schooling, never forgot their lowborn roots in the Wall District of Fedrin, and hopes to offer the same help to others in the future.

that’s such an immense difference! each bullet point has a specific location or person related to them, and this fighter is instantly connected with the greater world, they have an alma mater, they have a family, they have goals. honestly, if you’re not one to get super into role-playing, this is good!

Part 3: Thorns

now that you know the basics of how this character fits into the world, its time to start looking at their thorns. im talking about flaws, inconsistencies, regrets, and unfinished business. all the little rough edges that show depth

unfortunately the first step to this is a bit of a difficult one. you’ve gotta accept that your character is not a perfect, logical person. your character does not know what ‘optimization’ is, nor do they care about it. your character has made mistakes in the past, little ones, and big ones.

let’s go back to that example fighter. since they were a member of the dueling team, i figure they would be using a one handed weapon, probably a rapier, so they can be dexterity based. since they’re only using a one handed weapon, it would be optimal to use my other hand to carry a shield. but Fellin is a classically trained, competitive duelist. they wouldn’t use a shield. Fellin does not care that having an empty hand decreases their Damage per Round, they like using rapiers, and they don’t like using shields. end of discussion.

once you’ve accepted that your character needs to make mistakes, you can start looking for inspiration in the original three bullet points. details that you didn’t think of, interesting twists, and potential downfalls.

so my first bullet point was:

Caught the attention of Lord Tul’dala, and was adopted by them.

I never actually clarified here what happened to Fellin’s parents / guardians here. are they alive? do they like them? did they abandon them? this type of ‘plot-hole’ is a great thing to hand over to your DM as a potential quest hook.

i’ll decide that Fellin only remembers their family a little bit. there was a big fire, but after that, they were just living on the streets. they can just barely remember their fathers face. and this is all the detail I need to write here, i don’t need to know the specifics of this fire, maybe it was a random house fire, maybe it was arson, or maybe there was a major fire in the Wall district, where Fellin grew up. By leaving this open for the DM, and leaving it out of my control, it creates a question that Fellin wants to get an answer to, unfinished business for them to investigate later.

Now for bullet point number 2:

Was enrolled in University Laderra under their tutelage, where they forced me to join the dueling team.

i used an interesting word here, they FORCED me to do a sport?? let’s dive in on that, if they forced me to do something, maybe Fellin and Lord Tul’dala didn’t have the best relationship? fellin might have been a rebellious child, and University was a way to “get them in line”. at this stage, the exact details of this relationship aren’t really necessary, but we can boil it down to “Fellin does not have a great relationship with Lord Tul’dala, and they resent eachother a bit”

this isn’t necessarily a flaw, after all, they're not mortal enemies, not rivals, they just politely dislike each other. their relationship is overall beneficial, but comes with some discomfort, this won’t discourage me from using Lord Tul’dala as a resource or a connection later in the campaign, it just gives that future connection a bit of defined texture, a rough edge.

And the last bullet point:

Even after years of posh schooling, never forgot their lowborn roots in the Wall District of Fedrin, and hopes to offer the same help to others in the future.

here, the poshness sticks out to me. that’s not exactly a positive word. from this, I’d guess that Fellin doesn’t much care for the rich and fancy ways they were raised with, they remember what it was like living on the streets, and they dislike the excessive opulence of Lord Tul’dala and his compatriots. this kind of behavior would make Fellin a bit of a sore thumb at big social events. while Fellin has some station, not many fully respect them.

this is alright, but its starting to sound a lot like the 2nd bullet point, so im gonna flip where i’m looking. as an outcast from the wealthy, Fellin likely takes time out of their day to do some type of good deeds for less fortunate folk, maybe handing out coins to beggars, buying meals, renting rooms and helping people carry things.

now, we know that the rich nobility doesnt much care for Fellin, while the working class probably quite likes them. since I looked at those bullet points in different lights, and considered them in different ways, I’ve now got two groups of people, with differing opinions on this character. AND, we now know that Fellin has a bit of a soft spot towards helping people. They might be a little overly trusting towards people if they ask for help, a pretty interesting flaw, that's also very well defined to roleplay

Part 4: Aspirations

now that i’ve got a general sense of this person, I can start thinking about what they want, what their goals are. these goals can be informed by our previous bullet points, but they don’t necessarily need to be. What you do need to keep in mind however, is the scale of these goals.

for a regular person on earth, it's reasonable to dream of becoming a politician, that’s something that makes sense in our understanding of the world. but if someone said they wanted to RULE the world, we would consider that ‘unreasonable’, as it doesn’t match how our world currently works

if you do happen to have a character with lofty goals such as this, create stepping stones. instead of jumping right to ‘ruling the world’, maybe we just start by dismantling the establishment, this is a huge goal, but still makes sense in the context of our world. and this goal can change over time, after some experience, maybe this person decides that “they are the only person who is responsible enough to be in charge”.

but that cant be the ONLY goal. people contain multitudes, so we want to have big, long term goals, as well as small goals. some of these might be urgent, but it’s also okay for these goals to be on the back-burner. that happens to real people all the time.

so for Fellin, we are looking for a variety of goals, some long term, some short term, with various levels of urgency. each of these goals should add some new information to what is currently happening with this character, it shouldn't just rehash our thorns and attachments.

so after tossing around some ideas, I’ve come up with these:

Send someone to college - long term, low urgency

check in on father after cryptic letter - short term, high urgency

win the national duelist competition - short term, low urgency

but as is, these ideas aren’t very fleshed out. they’re just a silhouette. just like how this this process started with the DMs help, you’ve gotta end it with their help as well. All of our goals are potential plot threads, or at the very least, cool sidequests. by handing these over to the DM, they can plan ahead, figure out how these can connect to the main story

so after some discussion with the DM about locations and details, i’ve improved these bullet points a bit:

find money to send another person from the Wall District to University Laderra, and tutor them.

follow up on a cryptic letter from someone claiming to be my father

in 2 months, finally win the national dueling competition in the city of Saint Veris

keep in mind, these bullet points aren’t going to change very drastically, what’s being affected here is not the detail in the goals themselves, but the details of progress. for instance, winning the competition. that’s not a task that Fellin is just starting, they’ve been training and practicing for years. it makes sense that they might have tried this previously and failed. It’s an actively growing goal, not something that just suddenly gets planted once session one starts.

and by collaborating with the DM to flesh these out, it’s another opportunity for your backstory to become part of a much larger world. if everyone in the party does the same thing, the DM can even secretly tie your backstories together. imagine if the strange letter from your father mentioned a fey being, haunting their dreams, only for that being to be a warlock's patron! that would be sick!

But, now that Fellin is finished, let’s take a quick look at ‘em. the college educated, adopted child of Lord Tul’dala. as a notable duelist, they hope to win the Tournament in Saint Veris. but, they’ve recently had to put this on hold as they received a rather concerning letter from someone claiming to be their father. while their adventuring career is mostly a way to train for dueling competitions, they also hope to use their riches to send another Fedrin Lowborn to University Laderra, hoping to pay their luck onwards to the next generation.

these steps certainly aren’t the ‘end all be all’ of backstory writing, but they will get you to the most important thing in your backstory, a fun character

and the best characters will always be the fun characters. it doesn’t matter if they’re a martial or a caster, charismatic or not, a fun character has personality. not just flavor. if your character has depth, meaningful flaws, realistic goals, and personal connections to the world around them, they’ll start to feel like a living thing before you even sit down to play.

i swear to god the next post like this will be shorter, i just converted a video script into a post, so its just a huge amount of content. this should probably be in a few parts or some shit

#text #lots of text #dnd #dnd5e #ttrpg #backstory #backstory writing #byanyother #critical role #dimension 20

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randomshyperson · 3 years

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Left Behind - Chapter 10 - Atlantis

Gif was made by @abimess aka wifey

Summary: The one where you lived in the apartment under the Maximoff family in Sokovia, or, your journey as a Sokovian civilian to Avenger.

Series Warnings: (+16) Violence, fighting, cursing, civil war environments, abuse of power, assault, torture, underage kissing, psychological torture, substance use, mention of assault/fighting of children, smut, kissing, teasing, insinuation of sexual and moral harassment, verbal offenses.

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Reader || platonic bucky barnes x reader, mentor!natastha romanoff and mentor!steve rogers, bruce banner x reader (friendship), pietro maximoff x reader (friendship).

Words: 3.445K

A/N> I should warn you for the angst in this one i think. Please don't hate the ending of this or the fic. Good reading you all. Also, listen to "Atlantis" by Seafret, i chose the name based on that song.

All Works Masterlist || Read on AO3 || Series Masterlist

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Chapter 10 - Atlantis

You ignore the insinuating look Pietro gives you when he sees you leaving Wanda's room in the morning.

"Not a word." You warn threateningly as he raises his arms in surrender, holding back his laughter.

You turn and go back to your room, trying not to smile like an idiot as you prepare for the mission, and failing miserably.

You try not to think about last night, or the morning after, but the feel of Wanda's lips on your skin is all that comes to mind for the next few hours.

Even during breakfast, where after she stole a kiss on your cheek in the hallway before you guys joined the Avengers, and sat beside you at the table while Steve went over some details to everyone, all you could think about was the last night. In Wanda's taste, her hands inside…

"Stop it." She warns softly at your side. Lower enough so only you can hear, and not to get in the way of the captain's speech. You blink in confusion, and then you understand. Feeling your face heat up, you look at her with a mixture of surprise and indignation.

"You can...?"

"Yes, now eat in silence please." She interrupts in the same tone, equally embarrassed as she keeps her gaze on the plate in front of her.

"Wanda?" You try next. And she mutters under her breath, and then she realizes. She rolls her eyes, and goes back to eating. You smile. "I can't believe you didn't tell me you could hear thoughts."

"It was kind of obvious don't you think?" She retorts mentally. "My whole thing is mind control."

"Your whole thing is to be the love of my life." You tease and she chokes lightly on her coffee, making you hold back a laugh as you gently touch her back. She says she's fine softly, and Steve, who had given her a worried look, goes back to talking about planning for the defenses in Sokovia.

"When this is over, I want to try a few things." You mentally tell her and Wanda looks at you quickly before turning her attention back to Steve. You imitate the movement.

"We'll leave as soon as you finish eating." Steve says already getting up. You suddenly feel anxious.

Wanda notices the way your body has tensed, and looks at you immediately.

"Hey, everything okay?" she asks tenderly. You give her a weak smile, placing your hand on her thigh. Wanda puts her hand on top of yours.

"I'm nervous."

"Me too." She confesses. "But we'll be fine. I got you."

"And I got you."

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As soon as you join the jet with the rest of the Avengers, you could already feel the control serum starting to wear off.

Sighing a little, you don't even have to ask to have Wanda's hand in yours. Her eyes and fingers glow red for a moment as she helps you, before returning to normal. You mumble a thanks, resting your back against the jet's wall.

"Remember what we trained, Avengers." Announces Steve upon entering. "Removing the civilians is the support team's priority, while Clint searches for Natasha. The strike team must deal with Ultron's guards."

"Yes, captain." The team says in understanding, and then the jet is leaving.

It takes ten minutes for Pietro to start teasing you.

"I hear we had a girls night yesterday." Commented the boy out loud, attracting the attention of Bruce and Bucky, who were standing next to you. Wanda glared at her brother.

"Pietro..."

"What is it, sestra? I’m just saying.”He joked. You wondered if you could throw him off the jet from that high. "I heard that this type of activity is a great stress reliever."

You felt your face heat up, and you sank into your seat. In the next second, the rest of the team understood. Clint whistled loudly, and Tony laughed. Bruce blushed and pretended to pay attention to his boots while Bucky giggled at Steve's embarrassed expression.

"Forgive me, I'm not following the reason for the humor in this conversation." Vision commented then.

"Don’t you dare." Wanda warned when he saw Pietro raise his hand to tell Vis what was being said, and the boy laughed before ducking.

Vision watched the interaction with confusion, but it was Tony who threw his arm around him.

"They had sex, champion." Tony announced, making you grunt in embarrassment. "I can't wait for Nat to know, she owes me fifteen bucks”.

“What?” Wanda asks, confused.

"Ah, it's just that before you arrived, the golden eyes there were always talking about you." Tony counts with irony. "How much she loved and missed a certain little witch and her inconvenient brother. So we made a bet that you two would work it out. I said it would happen before you went back to Sokovia, but Natasha thought Y/N was slower and would just work it out after we’re done with Ultron."

"Thanks for the faith, Tony." You mumble awkwardly, adjusting your posture. "Now if you don't mind, can you stop talking about my life?"

The team laughs but the comments about you and Wanda stops. Until you reach Sokovia, you spend your time playing with Wanda fingers as you both lay against each other's shoulders while listening to whenever small talk the Avengers build up.

Things get tense once you reach the country.

Steve signals that you arrive and starts moving around to get read for the jet to land.

You only let go of Wanda’s hand to put your suit on and once you’re done, she’s right in front of you, smiling tenderly as she puts a jacket on.

“Are you good?” She asks.

“Yes. You?”

“Yeah.” She aswerns as she moves forward to kiss you firmly on the mouth. It relaxes your body completely, and you keep your hands on top of hers that are on your face until you break the kiss.

You wish you could care about the teasing looks the team cast to you too, but all you see is Wanda.

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You sat down quickly on the ground, your body against a wall, while trying to get your breathing back to normal.

Wanda was using her powers to get civilians out of their homes, and well, it took some of her magical attention away from you.

It didn't take long for you to be able to detect all the biological life around you again, meters and meters away, quickly feeling overwhelmed.

"How are we?" Steve asked over the communicator, probably already advancing with the rest of the team towards the former Hydra base. You looked up at the sky to get a quick glimpse of Tony flying in his suit before he vanished away.

"All right around here, Captain." Clint responded first followed by the rest of the team.

Your hesitation made Steve specifically call you, but before you could say anything, Wanda was kneeling beside you, one hand on your shoulder and the other on her communicator.

"We are good." She responded before turning her attention to you completely. You felt her magic envelop you quickly, your body relaxing. "How do you feel, dear?"

"Better now." You respond with a smile. "Thanks."

As she helped you to your feet, you noticed her worried expression, and placed a hand on her cheek.

"I'm fine Wanda, I promise."

"Just don't push too far, okay?" She asks. "You can go back to the jet whenever you want."

"I'll be okay, Wanda." You mumble. "Let's get this over with so we can go back to bed." You teases with a mischievous smile, stealing a kiss before walking away, giving her a wink before heading towards the rest of the civilians.

Ultron had better plans than this.

“We need to get everyone out of here immediately.” Tony told through the communicator. “A vibranium bomb. We don’t have time.”

“Working on it, iron boss.” You mock as you helped another family move out of their home. Just like, Pietro had already headed to police stations and hospitals to remove people from there. There was a large crowd of inhabitants heading out of town, but there were still many more.

Peace ended quickly.

Ultron activated the robot army, and they literally began to sprout from the ground.

"Bucky, we're going to need support here pal." Steve warned through the communicator while you were drawing your pistol to prevent one of the robots from advancing on you.

"On my way, cap." The soldier warned. "Just don't tell my therapist."

You and the team laughed lightly as you fought. The whole thing getting bigger and bigger every minute.

Wanda covered for you while you guided people out, but it was becoming untenable.

So, as soon as she tore apart the small group of Ultron’s army that was surrounding you two, you called her.

"You can't keep babysitting me , this is getting too bad." You warned, your voice almost muffled by the length of the fight. The robots flying above you, and Thor and Vision facing them in the sky.

"I won't leave you." She insisted seriously and you swallowed hard.

"Wanda..."

“End of discussion.”

“You are cute and all, it's just that we have a situation here. Mind getting back into the fight?" Natasha's voice interrupted the moment over the radio, sounding amused and teasing. You sighed with relief when you realized she was okay, and you exchanged one last look with Wanda before going back to fighting. “By the way, Tony said I lost the bet.”

“Please don’t bring this back.” You ask Natasha, that just laughs before hanging off, not without teasing you about being proud of you for making a move.

The ground shook beneath your feet, making it difficult for you to keep your balance.

"Guys, what's going on?" You asked through the communicator.

Sokovia is going for a ride.

Friday tells the whole team. You gasp in surprise, looking around.

The ground is breaking apart, and the city is rising into the air. You don't need your powers to know that not all buildings are empty. The debris will end up hurting someone.

And even with all that, the advances of Ultron's army get even worse.

You barely have time to duck before Wanda rips apart a robot that attacked you.

Clint catches up with you two the next second.

"We need to regroup, Tony needs us back there." He warns you. You frown.

"Not a chance, there are civilians all over the place." You say, moving quickly to fire at the machines that have appeared behind you.

"Well, we need the offensive back at the church." He counters. "That's where the bomb is."

"You two go then." You say when you finish shooting. Wanda, who has just destroyed three machines at once, turns to you in indignation.

"No."

But you don't look at her, you look at the blue flash figure approaching.

“Hey Peete, do you mind?” You shouted to him as he stopped next to you two. He nods at you before picking Wanda up, who has no time to complain. He teases Clint "Keep up, old man." before disappearing at high speed, making you laugh.

Clint looks at you.

“Are you sure?”

"It's my job to protect them.”

“The Maximoff or the civilians?” He mocks, making you roll your eyes.

“Go, Barton.”

It doesn't take long for your biological detection to come back.

You think you're going to pass out. But you take a deep breath, and stumble among cars and wrecking machines.

Calm down. You remember Wanda's soft voice in the glass room. The feel of her fingers on your skin. Calm down, I'm here. You can do this.

"I can do this." You mutter to yourself, trying to keep your balance.

You find a horde around the corner, almost close enough to a group of civilians coming out of the municipal hospital.

Ignoring the feeling of being overwhelmed at being able to feel the fear and despair of those people, you advance with the pistol in your hand.

The machines were destroyed, but not by you.

"You took your time, Barnes." You tease with a wry smile, rushing to help the civilians, feeling their superficial wounds before helping them. Bucky smiles and shrugs, a rifle in his hand as he gives you cover to help the population.

"Two minutes out here and I'm already missing my retirement." He comments as he fires, making you laugh, a bit breathless due your powers. Bucky notices right the way. "Are you all right?"

"I'm just considering retiring too after here." You retort by standing up again, helping the little girl who had bruises on her forehead to join the rest of the family. She smiles in thanks, but you're already walking away again, your head pounding from how many people you can feel at once.

You stumble around the rubble to the front of the municipal hospital. Ignoring the memories you have of the whole neighborhood, you try to focus on some group.

"Y/N, I think there are kids coming out of that corner!" Bucky unnecessarily warns you because you've already felt them.

You recognize Church clothes that the adults leading the group wear. They are coming from the Orphanage where you grew up.

You run to catch up to them, and it's the first time you've really noticed Ultron's cruelty. It's a horde that arises, and they notice you right away. The machine in front follows your gaze to the small group, and it has a chance to shoot only you, but it turns its mechanical hand, and aims directly at the kids.

You widen your eyes, feeling your heart race.

"NO!"

Something explodes in your chest. Everything turns golden before returning to normal color. You can’t see the golden wave that reaches the group because there’s a pain in the back of your head that makes you close your eyes tightly.

The robot fired, but if it weren't for the gunshot marks on the robes, no one would know as none of the civilians had any injury. The kids were wide-eyed, and you fell to your knees.

Bucky shot the machines before looking at you in amazement.

"How did you do that? They were practically a street away." He asked in shock, watching the nuns guide the kids to cover quickly, just as in shock as he was. Your lack of response alarmed him and he turned to face you quickly, touching your shoulder. "Y/N, you're bleeding..."

"I know." You grunt weakly, taking a deep breath as you lean on Bucky to get up. "Let 's keep going."

You wiped the blood running from your nose with your hand, but ignored the wet sensation in your ears. Bucky hesitated.

"No, you're not okay." He insisted. "Let's go back..."

"Let go of me, Bucky." You exclaimed angrily, pulling his hands away. "I heal, don't I? I'll be fine. Let's keep going."

"Y/N..."

But you are already walking. You can feel all the injured, and you need to keep going.

You help at least two more groups to shelter, until you're resting your hands on your knees and trying to stay on your foot.

You see your blood dripping to the ground, and you hear Bucky's footsteps approaching, so you wipe your face quickly while disguising the way your head is spinning.

"This isn't working Y/N." He says as he looks around at the wreckage. "These things seem to grow out of the ground, and there's no end to them. The city is too high right now and these people have nowhere to go."

You were going to agree with him, but something in the sky caught your eye.

"I think that's their ride." You say while pointing straight ahead.

It's a gigantic ship, flowing alongside the city. You and Bucky exchange a look, before he uses the communicator to confirm that this was a good thing.

With Shield providing shelter for civilians, you started running to help evacuate people from the floating capital of Sokovia.

Your head was spinning, and your feet were about to give up, but you forced yourself to continue.

Your body is shaking when you turn to help a boy who cut his leg.

"Ty angel, devochka? (are you an angel, lady?)" He asks, scared when you heal him and you give a weak laugh.

"Net, ya Avenger. (no, I’m an Avenger.)"

The wound isn't that big, but it's enough to rob the air of your lungs. Bucky guides the boy with the rest of the group back to the ship, and you can barely stand, your stomach turning.

You force yourself to get up. Just a bit longer.

Lifting your hand to your ear, you call out to Wanda while leaning on the car beside you so you don't fall to the ground.

"Wands?" You say wait for her to respond. She sounds worried when she says your name, but you just sigh. "Babe, when this is over, I'm taking you out on a date. Like the cliches we've never done before, okay?"

"Why are you talking like this?" She asked, scared. You can hear the background noises, the way she was probably keeping the bomb safe but facing Ultron's army. "Where are you?"

"I think we should try Disneyland too. Americans seem to love that." You continue as you begin to walk again. One hand on the tech inside your ear and the other in the wound in your belly, formed while you faced the last horde of robots, not healing anymore. "You would like a candlelight date with wine and music, wouldn’t you?"

"Please tell me where you are, I'll come to you." She begs through the radio and you smile before hanging up.

You saw Clint run further to the town.

You take a deep breath, rushing to catch up. You also see the jet Ultron stole rounding the city towards them, the rifles outside ready to aim.

That's why Clint ran there, to save one of the civilians left behind, you notice as you see the little boy on your friend's arm.

You try to do what you did before. Project your healing magic to them to keep them protected, but as you lift your hands to do that, all you feel is a sharp twinge in the middle of your chest and you almost fall to the ground.

Fine, I'll heal them myself. You think impatiently as you ignore your own limit and run.

You are almost there. But so is Ultron. If you stay up front, you think you can protect Clint and the civilian, you'd heal later, no problem.

“I’m gonna win.”

You widen your eyes in surprise when Pietro whispers in your ear, disappearing in his speed the next moment.

No. Don't do this.

You feel the shots before you hear them. You feel it through Pietro's body, who stepped forward to protect Clint.

You throw yourself forward, desperate.

You reach Pietro the second his heart stops beating.

"Piete?" You call to him as he falls into your lap. You can feel the air disappearing from his lungs, life fading away "Hey buddy, don't do that. Pietro! Please..."

You bury your face in his chest, trying to hear something. Anything. You press your hands against his chest next, then his face.

"Don't die on me, Pietro." You beg with a sob. You force your magic in despair. No matter how much it hurts, Pietro cannot die. He just can't.

You can only remember the skinny little boy running with you in your childhood. Laughing with you on the roof. Teaching you to fight.

Your tears mix up with your blood.

"Captain, we have a problem." Clint announces at your side.

No.

I'm not giving up.

You grunt in pain as you press your hands hard on Pietro's chest, your veins popping with a golden light. You're not dying on me.

Something starts to pulse in your head. Loud enough to completely disorient you. Your eyes are heavy, and you choke on your own blood coming out of your mouth.

You smile because you can feel the air returning to your friend's lungs at the same rate as it leaves yours.

When Pietro breathes again, your eyes close.

/-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-///-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-////-//-

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voidnoidoid · 2 years

Text

My (very late) 3AM thoughts on the final episode of Ousama Ranking (pt 1)

I had decently high hopes for episode 23, I really did. And it (mostly) delivered! Except for one part.

To get the part I didn't like out of the way... you guys probably know what I'm talking about... I'm unhappy about the way Miranjo's redemption was carried out. Daida just goes "I know you've committed a lot of crime, heinous crime. Literal war crimes. Like straight up ordering the murder of Queen Sheena, my brother's mother, for the sake of your selfish goals. And I accept your crimes, because you suffered a lot too." Daida, bless his 12-year old heart, forgave Miranjo for her many misdeeds because of all the pain and suffering she had gone through... by choosing to MARRY her.

Whaaaaat???

There are multiple reasons why this is really weird. First of all, their previous relationship dynamic as well as their age gap. Daida is around the age of 11-14, and Miranjo is a full grown woman, possibly in her mid twenties to thirties. While Miranjo existed as the magic mirror, it was clearly established that she took on the role of a mentor, or perhaps even a maternal figure. She offered advice and counsel to Daida, and thus manipulated him into doing what she wanted according to her plan to use his body as a vessel for Bosse. She was a mentor revealed to be a manipulative traitor. Afterwards, when Daida was trapped in the unfeeling void prison of his father's mind scape, Miranjo's heart, represented by a version of herself when she was a very young child, shows herself to Daida. Daida then proceeds to care for and comfort the young Miranjo much like an older brother. There's a bit of a role reversal here. The cared for became the carer, the guided became the guide. I can somewhat understand Daida when he said to Miranjo, "You were my light in the darkness" because she influenced almost all his actions as Prince, and kept him company and prevented him from going insane in the void. However that line comes off as needlessly dramatic and is over exaggerating Miranjo's role in keeping Daida sane.

Then suddenly, their relationship is framed in a romantic context. Daida goes "im gonna marry miranjo yeah" and even princess carries her and comforts her like... DUDE she manipulated you and hurt you and everyone you love and MADE YOU DRINK YOUR DEAD DAD. How the hell did he come to the conclusion that marrying the one who singlehandedly threw his entire kingdom into chaos was the right choice??? And the worst part? All the adults in the show are okay with this. Yes, they are surprised but in the end... The big 4 are fine with it if Daida's okay. Despa gives some random speech I dont remember but is ultimately fine with the choice. Bojji is surprisingly okay with this?? And finally, Queen Hiling, who had the most violent objection to this, accepts it too. At least her reaction made the most sense. Miranjo just knelt there and cried or whatever. She's grateful yes, but she's totally ok with marrying a kid? She's not gonna like... refuse? yeah ok makes SenSE

This brings me to my second point, Miranjo is/was a shitty person who hurt many people including Daida himself. I'm not gonna list all the bad things she's done because if you're reading this, you've either finished the whole anime or making the silly choice of spoiling yourself. For the entire show, Miranjo has been built up as the big bad main antagonist. To the manga and anime's credit, they've done a great job humanising her and showing off the more sympathetic side of her character. Nevertheless it does not excuse the atrocities she committed for the sake of her selfish love for Bosse. I went from hating her completely to feeling sorry for her and liking her a little more. But does this mean that because Miranjo went through many horrible things in her childhood, that it should excuse the bad things she's done? HELL NO. The story tries to touch on this point, it acknowledges that Miranjo has done Bad Stuff, and even throws in a consequence to her actions. As payback for everything she's done, Miranjo gets the well deserved fate of having her soul ripped apart, consumed, barfed out and fixed only to have the cycle repeat for ALL ETERNITY in a blazing hell within the demon she betrayed. Not gonna lie that scene was INTENSE. And I felt bad for her, but you reap what you sow.

My main issue here, is that there is no lasting consequence for Miranjo's crimes. She is locked in that hellscape for like 15 minutes before being saved by Bojji and Daida, who straight up STOLE Despa's wish to save Ouken. Asshole move but okay. And the moment she's out everyone just forgives her at the drop of a hat and she gets her happily ever after. But to be fair she does agree to atone for the horrible things she's done and work towards making the kingdom happy instead of focusing on what she wants.

Now for my third and final point, it all feels like bad writing. The author is a great writer, but sometimes the best of us make mistakes. Sosuke Toka wanted a happy fairy tale ending for the main characters, and there's nothing wrong with that at all! I myself love happy endings. But the way he went about writing it was just wrong. He wrote a good end point but the journey there felt rushed and hamfisted in so that he could get his happy ending regardless of how nonsensical it would seem in the story. In the first place, Daida shouldn't have and probably logically would not have proposed to Miranjo that easily. He does not harbour romantic feelings to her at all, and frankly the romantic undertones of the last episode and the one before that felt wildly inappropriate in my opinion. What he still would have done is save her from her cruel fate at the hands of the demon.

I envision a scene that would go like this: After Miranjo is saved, instead of the proposal and "light in my darkness" shit, Daida goes: "Miranjo. You have hurt me, my family and put my entire country in danger. You have committed countless atrocities in the name of love for my father, the late King Bosse. But despite everything, I think you should have a second chance. Nobody deserves to go through such immense suffering. Now don't misunderstand me, I haven't forgiven you. Not yet. I want you to use this opportunity to right the wrongs you have committed, and maybe... you can find your own happiness. For yourself, and no one else." Honestly if anyone were to forgive Miranjo so early on it would probably be Bojji? That kid has too big of a heart for his own good. Daida would probably come around to it some time after his brother. The adults (excluding apeas lol) would take way longer and some may not ever forgive Miranjo at all. But hey, I prefer this ending rather than the proposal one.

Even if the proposal did happen, I would expect the adults to freak out more and object crazy hard. like "Your majesty king daida I know you are the king but YOU CANT MARRY HER WHAT IN THE FUCK MAN". Daida would not react well to that lol. How I personally would rewrite the story from here is that Hiling would come in and talk to both daida and miranjo, how she does not approve of them marrying each other, and give a similar speech like I wrote for daida earlier. Then, I would give Miranjo agency to make the choice whether to accept the proposal or not. In the anime and manga, Miranjo never really said a concrete yes or no, she just cried. But judging by her final statement it was probably a "yes". Obviously in this case I would write her to say "No." Miranjo would say something like "King Daida, I am most grateful but I do not want to marry you. I am deeply indebted to you your Highness, but please understand, I do not see you that way. I am much too old for you, it would not be right. Thank you so much for giving me a second chance. I promise you that I will devote my life to atoning for my sins, and bring happiness to the kingdom." Hiling and the others would be more accepting of this outcome imo.

Then BOOM. happy fairytale ending woohooooo. Same end, different journey, no weirdness. I don't have a problem with forgiving Miranjo, it's just that it should come later and in a more natural way.

pt 2 is gonna be about what I liked about the ending!

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makeste · 3 years

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Do you think Deku will ever get mad at All-Might for keeping so many secrets from him? Deku has been giving All-Might free passes on things he should have known about like AFO, previous holders of OFA and now that Tomura is Nana's grandson. It feels like AM needs to be held accountable at some point.

I think it’s likely; he’s gotten fairly mad at him about this before, back when All Might hid the truth about his falling-out with Nighteye.

and he’s probably going to feel a bit betrayed at the realization that All Might is still keeping things from him even after this conversation. and it’s not like it’s just small things, either; these are some pretty major things that Deku is still getting blindsided by as a result of All Might’s secrecy. it feels like AM hasn’t really learned his lesson at all and is still Dumbledoring his way through this mentorship.

but the thing is, I can understand All Might’s point of view here as well, and I get why he keeps doing it, even if I don’t agree with it. I’ve been meaning to write a post about this anyway, especially since it ties into the matter of the Fourth OFA User and his quirk, so let’s take a look at All Might’s ever-growing List of Secrets, because there’s a pattern there.

1. OFA

starting with the big one. now obviously Deku is very much in on this particular secret. however it is still a secret from just about everyone else, and it’s probably the one secret that All Might has been the most adamant about keeping, going to increasingly elaborate lengths even as it becomes more and more obvious that all of these efforts are eventually going to prove futile.

the thing is, it’s pretty obvious why he’s been trying so hard to keep the truth of Deku’s quirk hidden. OFA paints a huge target onto Deku’s back, one that would attract notice not just from the villain side, but from the hero side as well. OFA is basically the ultimate prize. it’s probably the most powerful quirk in existence, aside from AFO. and once word gets out that this power can be passed on to literally anyone simply at will, things could start getting very ugly.

Deku would suddenly come under pressure from all sides, with people trying to use and control him (well, I say “people”, but mainly I mean the HPSC sob). that’s if they see him as a useful tool and a weapon in the battle against the League, mind you. but if they decide that he’s not, or that he’s not ready, there would instead be pressure for him to give up OFA to a “worthier” candidate. either way, Deku himself isn’t going to be taken into account. his thoughts, his feelings, what he wants, what he deserves; none of that is going to matter to these people.

and these are the good guys, mind! that’s not even mentioning the villains, who have already destroyed an entire city in pursuit of him. Deku is in a lot of danger now. and so far, Tomura/AFO have been surprisingly honorable in their attempts to get ahold of OFA, in that they’ve been targeting Deku directly. but AFO is a notoriously underhanded guy, and it concerns me that there are a ton of more underhanded methods still on the table for him to try out. because we’ve already established that Deku is notoriously self-sacrificing. I mean literally notorious, as in both his friends and enemies alike have all picked up on this trait and made a note of it. so imagine if Tomura ever decides to take hostages, for instance. “give me OFA or I’ll kill so and so.” then what?? jesus.

so yeah, all in all it’s pretty clear why All Might has been exceedingly careful about keeping OFA a secret even from most of Deku’s allies. this isn’t even getting into the whole U.A. traitor thing as well, but I mean, you get the idea, right? the reason All Might has gone to such lengths to keep OFA a secret is to protect Deku.

2. AFO

and now we get to the first of many things that All Might kept hidden from Deku himself! and these are generally going to be a lot harder to defend. like yeah, you probably should have told this barely-pubescent child that that the quirk you were giving him came prepackaged with a built-in mortal enemy, All Might. might want to actually lead with that part next time.

so why didn’t he tell Deku about AFO? well first of all please understand that I’m not trying to justify this decision, lol; I’m just trying to rationalize it from All Might’s point of view. he was less than six years removed from his fateful battle with AFO in which the both of them were gravely injured. and yes, he said that he believed AFO had died from his wounds; but if he really thought that was true, why didn’t he listen to Nighteye and pass OFA on to someone else back then? why did he stubbornly stay in the field for as long as he could? his actions just don’t line up. if he really thought AFO was dead, you’d think he would have been able to retire in peace, as there wouldn’t have been such a great need for the Symbol anymore.

so honestly, what I’m learning towards here is that he didn’t really believe it, deep down. but once his powers really started to wane, he felt like he had no choice but to pass the quirk on to someone else and just hope for the best. and then, once he met Deku, I think he really started to want to believe it was true. because he empathized with Deku and he saw himself in him, and he wanted to give him that chance. Deku wanted so badly to be a hero, and All Might saw that he had the heart and the spirit of one, and only lacked the physical ability. and there All Might was, with a quirk he could bestow on him that could potentially make his dream come true. he wanted to believe he could do that. he convinced himself that the threat of AFO really was nonexistent -- after all, it had been six years! -- and that it wasn’t a burden he was passing down onto this child anymore, but a gift.

and so he didn’t tell Deku about AFO because he wanted to believe it wasn’t something Deku needed to know. so in this case it wasn’t just Deku he was essentially lying to, but himself as well. so yeah, not the best rationale in the world, but a very human mistake for him to make, and one that once again has its roots in wanting to protect Deku. or more precisely in this case, wanting to protect Deku’s dream. he wanted to believe it was all right for him to hand down this power which he so strongly believed that Deku deserved.

3. the Vestiges

honestly it’s a bit up in the air whether or not this one was really a secret, because All Might genuinely didn’t seem to realize that the Vestiges were conscious inside of OFA. or so he says at any rate. regardless, I’m going to include it in the list because he was definitely acting pretty cagey about the subject back during the sports festival, and I’ve never been fully satisfied with his explanation.

if you ask me? I think one of the reasons why he didn’t want to discuss this more in depth with Deku back then was because he was afraid it might inadvertently lead to some other topics that he wasn’t yet ready to discuss.

the idea of the previous OFA users living on inside the quirk is comforting in some ways, but that’s also a conversation that inevitably leads to the subject of AFO and AFO’s brother just for starters. not to mention Nana, whose death was deeply traumatizing for him and which I don’t think he was emotionally prepared to bring up just yet.

but I think the biggest factor that led to All Might being mum about this was the fact that he himself was included among the Vestiges. because I’m thinking he might have been a bit paranoid about avoiding a conversation like this:

All Might: “hey Midoriya-shounen, I just wanted to let you know that those weird little shadow figures you saw during your fight were the ghosts of the previous users of OFA, who are all living on inside of the quirk. my master once told me, 'even if I die one of these days, we can always meet again inside One for All.' so you know, that’s nice.”

Deku: “huh okay, so you’re telling me I have the souls of eight other people trapped inside my quirk, well that’s pretty trippy but I’m a weird little boy who lives for this kind of wild quirk shit so I’m okay with it! but it’s not like it matters though anyway since you’re still here to guide me haha! it’s not like you have any reason to suspect that might not be the case in the very near future, right?”

All Might: “...right.”

so yeah. once again, the reason for All Might keeping this a secret is because he doesn’t want to burden Deku. spoiler alert, the next two secrets also have the exact same reasoning behind them. in fact I’m just going to go and lump them both together.

4. Sir Nighteye, and 5. Sir Nighteye’s prophecy

so #4 is the one that actually finally set Deku off in the scene I posted earlier lol. and yeah, All Might should have told Deku, especially since it was inevitable that Deku was going to find out anyway. once he learned about Nighteye and All Might’s falling-out, him finding out about the prophecy was a given. and so once again I want to stress that I’m not actually trying to defend All Might’s decision here lol. just trying to relate to it.

anyway but that said, the reason why he didn’t tell Deku is pretty straightforward: he didn’t want to burden Deku with that knowledge. he knows Deku looks up to him. he knows that Deku looks to him for support. and All Might has spent his entire career doing everything he could to be that strong support for everybody, for the entire nation. he wants everyone to feel secure and safe. he wants nothing more than to be able to keep them safe. and it’s so hard, when you have that mindset, to let yourself show weakness and allow the cracks to show and to admit and accept that you can’t protect people from everything, no matter how bad you want to.

how do you tell the kid you’re mentoring, the kid who’s come to depend on you for so much, that there’s a good chance you might not be around much longer? that there’s a good chance he’ll be left to deal with everything all on his own, the same way that you were? how the hell do you even begin to approach that conversation? especially knowing what kind of person Deku is, on top of everything else. for a hero, someone who’s dedicated their whole life to helping and protecting others, nothing is more devastating than being told that something terrible is going to happen, and that no matter what, there is nothing you can do to change that fate. that alone would have been reason enough to not want Deku to know. he didn’t want him to experience that kind of helplessness.

and Deku is still just a kid!! Nighteye, a fully grown man and a hero with years of experience, completely fell apart after that prophecy. meanwhile Deku just started hero school less than a year ago. he’s only sixteen. he is far, far too young to have to deal with all of this. yes, he needed to know, both as a matter of trust and as a matter of practicality. but the fact that he needed to know is pretty fucking cruel on the universe’s part, and I get why All Might was so reluctant to tell him. I get it.

side note!! I feel like it’s worth mentioning that this one is still a secret as far as a certain other person goes. like, I feel that’s pretty noteworthy. pretty much every other person who knows about OFA also knew about Nighteye’s prophecy, including Rat Principal, Recovery Girl, Gran Torino, and Nighteye himself. (although it’s not clear whether or not Naomasa knows, come to think of it. but it’s likely, since All Might probably physically can’t lie to him lol.) and of course, Deku now knows as well.

but aside from Naomasa, there is one other person who’s notably missing from that list.

Kacchan knows about OFA and AFO, but neither All Might nor Deku have told him about the prophecy. even though Katsuki has firmly elbowed his way into the OFA Scooby Squad and knows about all sorts of other things including SIXQUIRKS and the Vestiges and all that jazz, and he’s been helping Deku train and has been included in pretty much everything for months now, he still doesn’t know about this.

and honestly, this might be the one time where I actually agree with All Might’s decision. I say that as someone who loves Katsuki to pieces and very much wants him to find out about this, because I’m mean and because I love angst. but once again, I get it, though. because you probably don’t want to tell the kid who was thinking this...

...that at the time, when you came to save him back at Kamino, you were thinking something like this:

yeah. I’m just saying. I don’t think it does Katsuki much benefit to know that All Might originally went out to Kamino fully expecting that it would be his last battle, and fully prepared to die the horrible death that Nighteye foretold. like, on the one hand there’s definitely an argument to be made that Katsuki should know about the prophecy just so that he’s prepared in case anything does happen, because he would then be the one to have to step up and replace All Might as Deku’s primary support. (and this is something All Might already seems to have been grooming him for in recent months, which is a bit of a red flag as far as All Might’s mortality prospects are concerned, but that’s another discussion for another day.)

but on the other hand, Katsuki is a pretty smart kid. and if and when he does find out about this, there’s a good chance he’s going to connect the dots and realize that Kamino was actually a hell of a lot riskier than All Might ever let on. and there’s close to a 100% chance that he starts blaming himself all over again if he ever learns that. I don’t think it would set him back too much, because he’s made a lot of progress, but I do think that even now it’s still something that he feels a lot of responsibility for. and so really this is just an additional burden that he doesn’t need to be carrying on his shoulders. Deku’s not the only one who’s still just a kid.

anyway! so tl;dr this is yet another case where All Might was keeping something a secret because he didn’t want to burden Deku. and is, in fact, STILL keeping it secret from Katsuki because he doesn’t want to burden him, either. basically just trying to protect both of these kids here.

6. Nana’s relation to Tomura

almost done with the list now! for real though, it’s crazy how many of these there are. how can one man have so many secrets. like seriously, calm the fuck down, All Might.

so! again, Deku should arguably have been told this as soon as it became clear that the responsibility of dealing with AFO and Tomura was going to fall to him. except, I guess, the thing is they didn’t think it was going to fall to him. or at least they hoped it wouldn’t. AFO was in Tartarus, and Naomasa and Gran were planning on hunting down Tomura and the League themselves. and Deku is just a high school kid with an internship. so in an ideal world, he would have never gotten near Tomura, and vice-versa. the adult heroes in BnHA may be inept as fuck, but I’ll give them credit where due: none of them wanted this kind of responsibility to ever fall on any of the kids until they were ready. even during this arc, the kids were all originally assigned to the evacuation teams, and the handful who were on the front lines were there because it was essential to the mission. and even then they pretty much had assigned babysitters (Midnight, Fatgum, etc.) shadowing them the whole time and ready to haul them back out as soon as their tasks were accomplished. like, don’t get me wrong, the child soldiers thing was and is still very fucked up, lol. but they were clearly trying to keep them out of harm’s way.

anyway! and so of course this applies to Deku as well. never mind that he’s All Might’s heir and well on his way to becoming more powerful than anyone could have ever dreamed. he’s still just a teenager. and we don’t send teenagers out to hunt the bad guys. we leave that to the adults, supposedly. and so in these guys’ minds, there really wasn’t any reason to tell Deku about the whole Nana/Tomura connection, because even if it was true, in their minds it’s not really relevant to Deku. they weren’t planning on him and Tomura becoming arch-nemeses. and so it was really just another thing that All Might presumably didn’t want to burden him with at the end of the day. “by the way, Midoriya-shounen, you should know there’s a possibility that Shigaraki Tomura is actually the grandson of my late mentor whom All for One killed.” that’s basically just a very unfun fact that Deku can do absolutely nothing about, except feel bad about it. it doesn’t change the fact that Tomura is still a mass murderer who’s eventually going to have to be captured or killed. so in All Might’s mind there’s really no benefit to telling Deku about any of this.

anyway! and so now finally, last but not least,

7. the Fourth OFA User

so now we finally get to the one secret we don’t actually know yet! OFA IV, and his whole mysterious deal.

All Might, after doing all that research on the previous OFA users and their quirks, suddenly changed his mind at the last second and decided not to tell Deku about this one specific user and his quirk (and notably, his cause of death). why is that?? “I don’t want to speculate and talk about things I’m not sure of...” really?? so you think the better option is for him to be unprepared and to not have any idea of what’s coming, then??

no, seriously. I’m seriously asking that. does All Might, in fact, think that it’s actually a better option for Deku to not know anything about the fourth user than for him to be aware of it. I am genuinely asking that question, because I truly suspect that this might actually be the case.

because, you see, that’s the pattern. if you look at all the other things he’s kept hidden either from Deku, or from others on Deku’s behalf, that’s the one thing they all have in common. he kept them secret in order to protect Deku. either to shelter him from the burden, or to keep him safe from people who might try to do him harm.

so I think it’s safe to say that even though we know absolutely nothing about this particular secret yet, it’s still going to follow that same pattern. All Might isn’t telling Deku about the Fourth yet either because he doesn’t want to burden him with something, or because he thinks there’s some other reason why Deku is better off not knowing.

here are a few other things we can extrapolate here:

All Might’s next line after this is “because I’m worried for him”, so yeah. whatever the reason, he’s trying to protect Deku somehow.

All Might has a history of avoiding truths he’s not ready to face yet, such as AFO still being alive. so even though he says here that he’s “not sure of” whatever it is he found, it’s very possible that he is in fact pretty sure of it, but just doesn’t want to believe it.

the fact that he wrote something down but then crossed it out would seem to support that as well. he says “not yet”, but I’m definitely not convinced that’s actually the case.

whatever this secret about the fourth user is, it’s something All Might isn’t willing to tell Katsuki either, even though Katsuki specifically presses him about it. this makes me think that it’s not just something shady or unpleasant about the fourth user’s past (like him being a villain for instance), because if it was just something like that, I don’t think he’d be so insistent on hiding it from Katsuki as well. and also that wouldn’t explain why he’s keeping the quirk a secret, especially since he knows Deku is going to manifest it at some point.

so my thinking is that it’s not something about the Fourth’s history, but rather something about his quirk. and after all, the Vestige storyline is mainly about the SIXQUIRKS anyway, so that tracks. and so if it is something related to the Fourth’s quirk, and this something also convinced All Might to hide the Fourth’s cause of death, I think the most likely explanation is that something about the Fourth’s quirk ended up killing him, and All Might fears that this quirk could potentially harm or kill Deku as well.

“but if the Fourth’s quirk is potentially dangerous, then wouldn’t it make more sense to tell Deku about it so that he can be prepared?” well, yeah. definitely it would. unless, of course, All Might has somehow concluded that the danger to Deku is actually GREATER if he knows than if he doesn’t know. in other words, the risk of the quirk manifesting with Deku unaware of what it is, is outweighed by the risk of Deku knowing and manifesting it on purpose.

and this, I think, is where the rest of Katsuki’s conversation with All Might in ch 284 comes into play:

All Might has no doubt observed the same thing himself. and so what I’m thinking is that this must be some kind of super high-risk, high-reward quirk that Deku, if he knew about it, would be tempted to use while battling someone like Tomura, even knowing there was a risk of it hurting or even killing him as well. this is Deku, after all. Deku, who takes himself out of the equation. Deku, who is ALREADY pushing himself to extremes with OFA and has been doing so from the start. Deku, who barring a miracle will be lucky to have even 1/10th of the normal function in his arms when this arc is said and done. and that’s just with normal, everyday OFA and Blackwhip and Float. if you were to go and add some sort of super-self-destruct quirk on top of all that?? jesus christ. they’d be picking up the pieces of what was left of him, probably.

so yeah. if this really does turn out to be the case, and the Fourth’s quirk really is a potential suicide quirk? I could absolutely understand why All Might would keep that hidden from him. once again, it’s all about protecting him and keeping him safe.

and it’s problematic though, for sure! and most likely futile just like all of his other secret-keeping efforts have been. at some point he’s just going to have to start trusting Deku to handle this stuff, and letting him know these things. like it or not, he’s not going to be a kid forever, and Destiny is currently being Thrust Upon Him at a fairly alarming rate! pretending like all of these threats will just magically go away all on their own is not it. if you didn’t want peril lusting over him at every corner then you shouldn’t have chosen a motherfucking Shounen Protag as your motherfucking heir, my dude.

anyway! so those are all of my thoughts about All Might and his secrets. I do think Deku is gonna call him out on it again soon, and I think All Might will be apologetic for not telling him about Tomura and Nana, but I don’t know if it will be enough to finally get him to change his ways and reveal everything else. he is an overprotective dad filled with anxiety over his trouble magnet son and his arm-exploding ways, and it’s a tough position for him to be in, knowing that either way there will be pain that Deku can’t avoid. it’s rough. anyways, maybe I’m too soft, but while I don’t necessarily want him to just keep getting free passes on everything, I kind of hope they don’t rake him over the coals too badly for it either. he means well!! he is doing his best. hopefully they can manage to talk it out, sob.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #all might #midoriya izuku #bakugou katsuki #bnha meta #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #asks #anon asks #I'm so behind on my metas that while everyone else is posting about dabi and enji #I'm only just now getting around to organizing my thoughts on stuff that was revealed seven chapters ago lol #ah well #no chapter this week so I'll have some time to catch up maybe

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fishtre · 3 years

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Oh lord your work has honestly has got to be one of the things that truly cemented me into being a Jason fan when I started to enter the fandom. I just wanted to ask; Has Dick or Bruce ever seen Jason (or even Jessie; im a fuckibg lesbian for her) while they were at a low point? Or have they ever seen something in Jay's behavior that seriously made them stop and think for a moment?

Oof-!!! o-okay. I wasn't ready for this. So many responsibilities??? Thanks and welcome! XD

*****

> Have they ever seen something in Jay's behavior that seriously made them stop and think for a moment?

This goes for Jay and Femjay

For Dick: No. Dick and Jason aren’t close. They know each other through Bruce who is this deforming prism between them: lingers even in his absence. This + a lack of a relationship = Dick's empathy sleeping where Jason is involved since day one. Meanwhile, Jason just doesn't trust Dick nor expect his sympathy as the replacement goldfish Bruce picked up (or the outlaw Jason later become). They avoid/ignore rather than seek/antagonize each other (unless the situation demands violence). Hence, it’s not granted Dick could recognize the moment for what it was and not chalk it up as “classic Jason”.

As for Bruce: short answer is YES. Their whole history is paved with moments where Bruce has (usually late) epiphanies about Jason and himself. And this’ pretty much how Jason got benched after a rapist went flying through a balcony to meet the concrete twenty floors lower.

More to say, so long AF rant below the cut. Mostly about canon interpretation I use for characterisation + some side notes about Femjay at the very end. The essential is above tho.

Starts with “Batman the Cult”:

Aka Batman goes missing while investigating an underground sect that kidnaps homeless people. When Jason finally finds him, Bruce is a drugged, tortured, half-raving mad man on a pile of corpses who've been living in the sewers for weeks. Jason tries to bring Batman to his senses and at the surface but he's so damaged in and out that Robin has to guide him back home like a lost child. Eventually they get surrounded by the cult members. After a "it was an honor to meet and fight with you sir" Robin got outflanked. Begs Bruce to help as a crowd of drugged hobos tries to literally tear him apart. Jason is like 14-15yo and it takes these three "adult fears" in a row (child going “yolo” + child protecting the powerless adult + watching child get almost killed) for Bruce to finally fight back and save the day.

Which brings us to the following event: The rapist and the balcony :p. Bruce can't prove if Jason committed the crime or not so the act in itself isn't the point. Jason admitting he didn't try to catch the falling rapist, no feeling remorse to potentially causing someone's death is what alarms Bruce here.

Between the Cult and this, for me it's definitely when Bruce first gets blessed with many epiphanies; 1) Jason’s attitude toward death, his or the crooks' lives, his soldier-like devotion to Bruce during the Cult is alarming. 2) Turns out Jason have different opinions regarding Justice, the right to redemption or vigilantism. Opinions that are pretty irreconcilable with Bruce’s. 3) He's not shaking the grip Gotham has on the boy at all (his reason or excuse to take Jason in at first.) 4) Jason's indulging Bruce and playing by his rules because love and respect (he hopes), not because Jason understands or believes in Bruce's methods or share his creeds. 5) He may had been emotionally compromised when he took in Jason (as Dick accuses him to be) and had been making thing worse for the boy, failing Jason as a mentor/guardian and an adult.

As the “greatest detective”, it weighs on Bruce that he ultimately failed Jason in knowing the boy and providing what he needs; his guilt and irresponsibility catching up to him all at once. From Bruce’s perspective, this has cost a man's life and Jason’s “innocence”, simply because he (or anyone) didn’t manage to see Jason for who he is; a more troubled child than he or Dick ever was, and that despite having all the clues in the world to figure it out. In result Jason and Robin are benched. Jason dies before Bruce can find what he should do. That's it. UTRH could be seen as Jason at a low point I guess. But special mention to when Bruce "walks away" to not choose between Red Hood and Joker before aiming a batarang at RH's gun, Jason sits down in silence and simply gives up; resigned to wait for the bomb to blow up, not caring if Bruce or Joker get away or die with him. A stark contrast to how determined and mouthy he's been until then. Jason "accepts" what he sees as Bruce's choice: that Joker is more or equally as important to him than Jason. Bruce has to pull him away from the worst of the blast so it's fair to say that he must notice. It doesn't manage to make Bruce stops and thinks, but the conclusion to that story on Bruce's side this time is that while Jason is back and alive, the event in UTRH achieved to kill the boy he knew and lost.

As for femjay, here a bit more trivia just for her AU:

Dick first thought after discovering that new Robin was a tomboy, whom Bruce also addresses or presents as one 90% of the time does alarms him a bit in the midst of his confusion. But when he half-questions Jason about it, she mocks him about this incident and shuts him off with a "none of your beeswax". Fuming, Dick brushes it off as being some kind of pervert game between Bruce and Jason, be it Bruce trying to replace and hurt him, introverted misogyny, lesbian culture or whatever. None of his beeswax. He doesn't look deeper into it. He leaves Gotham and only comes back for her "funeral". As a general rule, looking into Jason- related stuff and not minding his business when she is involved, always ends up biting Dick in the arse.

Bruce never really brushes the subject of what Jason may have done or not in order to survive on the streets for two years or why her parents gave her a boy name. He takes what Jason gives him on this (which is little) and doesn't pry into it further since Jason's medical checkups are fairly good and promising. Jason is a girl who prefers to blend in as a boy and Bruce plays along, secretly relieved because Bruce has no idea how to deal with a pre-teen/teenage girl. So yeah; he's scared and this is a blessing for him and she looks happy like that. Bruce avoids using pronouns to avoid confusion himself (which is partly why Dick got so confused by Jason's gender when they first met).

Nobody but Alfred realizes she starts corseting herself with bandages and a sports bra by the end of second year at the manor. Or that she buys pads and razors on the dozen with who knows what money since she asks for nothing. Old-fashioned Wayne's British butler is barely more at ease with Jason's womanhood than Bruce, but Al does take the initiative to give her an allowance so she can buy underwears when she first arrives. He simply raises that allowance to cover her new needs with a cryptic and awkward explanation. But because Jason doesn't know how to choose a bra she sticks to what she knows, aka; keeps wearing a sports bra and flattening her chest as best as she can while residing at the Manor. By the time she comes back as Red Hood, Jason is too curvy to hide so she doesn't. Also; Talia... While she still was only trying to use Jason against or to win Bruce back, she's appalled to learn what Jason used to do to her breasts, and took pity of her. She forcefully take Jason out shopping for her first actual bra at 17-18 yo and teach her some more basics.

#reply #jason and the curse of the anime tiddies AU #aye 2/10 answers answered #( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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gerrydelano · 3 years

Note

So, this is gonna be really open ended, but are they any bits of the latest chapter you want to really highlight? Like, things we should pay attention to or bits you really liked writing. Because I am Not Good at seeing connections without someone pointing them out and I love it when you expound on your stories.

i love this question so much, thank you for sending it in! i actually do have some things i’d be Super Happy to expand on more directly, yeah! once again this got wildly longer than i intended it to but that’s par for the course 😅

01. adelard’s teaching methods.

adelard was really calm that whole time. like, really not worried at all, while jon was pretty understandably urgent! his friends are not responding to his texts after one of them just Literally Disappeared behind their backs and there are Moths in the hallway and oh the room is full of them HEY ADELARD THIS SEEMS PRETTY TIME-SENSITIVE, DOESN’T IT? IS IT A CRISIS YET?

yes and no! because adelard has seen far worse. he saw amherst melt a whole town and sit on a People Throne it was about as bad as the corruption gets and he survived that. (here, anyway, lol. but again, that killed him in canon! it was fucking BAD!) this? this is nothing.

if he said “this is nothing” to jon right now, though, that’d not go over very well. because to him, it IS something! in general, it IS! just not enough to make HIM sweat, because he knows already that it’s manageable. so why not just tell jon exactly why he thinks it’s manageable? handle it himself?

he wanted jon to feel that pressure, to put him on the spot enough to see if he can summon up a useful gut feeling or dive into something that adelard at least knows is safe enough to, to see if he can handle this after all. he’s been asking adelard to teach him for a While now, but they haven’t done anything on the ground yet! talking theory isn’t the same as putting that into practice, and to adelard, this was actually a pretty perfect Test Run and First Job to see if jon’s got the stuff. and telling jon THAT would ALSO not go over very well, because again, these are his friends. he’s scared. he’s not hardened and objective yet, this is his life and people he loves and if someone minimized that, it would kind of ruin the progress he makes!

adelard isn’t actually a teacher. he’s experienced, he’s compassionate, he’s rational, he’s got the best interest of everyone in mind — but he has no way of knowing if jon is a hands-on learner or not! he’s not even trying to be super Sneaky about what he’s doing, either; he’s handling it at the pace he would if it was him, and seeing if jon can mirror him. that will tell him if he can keep teaching by showing, and it’ll determine the future of their mentor/mentee dynamic here. lucky for all of them, jon DID end up going along just fine!

but i really wanted to emphasize that just because adelard is experienced and wants to help, doesn’t mean he’s going to actually have a plan Every time, nor is he going to do everything perfectly/with undying compassion, either. yeah, he knows he stressed jon out! and he thinks that’s probably an important part of learning how to do this kind of thing in general. he wants him to be able to work under pressure when he ISN’T taking direct orders from somebody who knows better, and to guide him towards being able to make the right decisions when he’s alone, because someday, he will be.

adelard has a harsher side! he’ll grin at the feeling of finally closing in on a hunt right in front of a scared civilian, he’ll be cold and calculating when he has to, he will go back to re-lobotomize a guy because it’s the practical solution that worked. he’s not fluffy butterflies and rainbows! he’s just not gertrude, either.

basically, his teaching style is when they throw a baby into the pool to activate its floating instinct. he knows it’s safe to do certain things in a controlled, supervised environment, but damn if it won’t freak out some onlookers!

02. gerard��s citations of what’s happening in their inner world.

this was one of my favorite parts to write, i have been waiting. So Long. to finally get to use his perspective more deliberately and use his voice more, to differentiate it from gerry’s and show that i HAVE used it before! that first flashback scene in candorsteep was also him! ponytail i love you.

but here, every time i mentioned “inside” and whatnot, it was him referencing the inner world! i imagine their headspace is fairly dark and hard to parse unless you’re one of the more internal parts, so like, gerry doesn’t have much access to it himself but ponytail and the caretaker are very familiar with it and know it’s a big, sprawling dark house.

i mentioned the caretaker in this part! here’s where she first showed up:

Pchit-pchit, says the breeze inside, tapping windows for his attention. Outside, the sound of something spraying.

first of all, “pchit-pchit” is actually french onomatopoeia for the sound of a spray can or bottle, and she’s the one who was singing and mumbling in french when they went to scotland! she’s got a bit of a french accent, for actual reasons not just aesthetic, and it’s really fun to incorporate that stuff because it DOES happen sometimes! i am a new yorker but i have an alter with a southern accent due to some family, being raised on country music, and. i think he honestly just really likes cowboys but y’know lol.

the caretaker holds onto the way they learned to speak french, and also eric has family that lives in france! in TSP i mentioned gerry tracking down his aunt amelia in coaraze and meeting her for the first time. so, that whole thing is associated with comforting things gerry never got to have access to, and so the caretaker compensates!

the other important part of her here is being referenced as “the breeze.” that, i’ll expand more on when she shows up, because there’s a reason for that, too. and it makes my heart Melt.

she’s not the only one mentioned reacting to this, either! the part that gutted me most to write was this:

The decision to move one hand from his face is a sick one, but Gerard needs at least one unobstructed ear. Frantic smudging tears fragile shapes asunder with gentle, wet clicks that make someone inside start to cry. It’s not his job to console the children.

sorry for the bug death here but i mean, i’d also cry! and there is definitely someone in gerry’s brain who has been harboring a lot of his corruption-trauma-based feelings since childhood who would NOT be happy about any of this.

but also?

No one laughs on the inside, now. Gerry is bent over the sink. Breath is but a foreign word.

this is another reference to things i introduced in TSP, right in the first chapter: the dreadstone, a buried artefact that nearly drowned him in his own sink at home.

this is a lot of why he doesn’t see much of the headspace himself. if he’s not in the front, it’s because he’s in the sink.

03. the brief appearance of sasha’s pink text.

for those who want a reminder:

(ID: a screencap from AO3 that says: “You, she’d snarled. This is your fault.” the italicized dialogue is in berry pink text. /End ID)

the way i use colored text varies a little bit, but usually just denotes Supernatural Activity! the other times i’ve used it has been when raphael and sasha gave their statements, when ponytail compelled gertrude in the safehouse that one time, and when ponytail made his introduction on the tape by treating it LIKE a statement. so, typically a response to compulsion!

HOWEVER! every time michael speaks, i use a shade of sepia brown because he doesn’t show up often enough for it to get too Busy. and here, i used it just to show that sasha’s really not herself right now, she’s Lost In The Moth Sauce, and honestly, it IS michael’s fault as much as it is also based in her spike of animosity Towards The Archivist specifically.

honestly, it comes down to gerard! the fears are like colors, you know.

04. the way gerard and gerry each use other people’s names.

this one’s a smaller bit, but i am happy for the chance to point it out! the two most obvious examples in the whole series are adelard and mary, only one of which was done here but the comparison stands!

gerry refers to mary as “my mum” usually, not by her name or even “Mum” as a name in his thoughts, just... y’know, the title, not a name. a little bit of distance, but not completely, and it’s a little sad around the edges.

gerard? refers to her as Mary. he’s done it in two chapters so far (pyreknell and grimguard) and it was one of my subtler clues as to him being there, just a small difference between him and gerry before his reveal.

but with ADELARD... bit different! gerry started off calling him “dekker” in his letters, and you see it change as they become more familiar with each other and he’s not just trying to be respectful of him as an authority figure. them getting on a first name basis was a sign of their development!

but i have gerard Still calling him “dekker” through the first two chapters of changing face whenever he comes up, aloud and inside, to kind of establish distance because he sort of designates adelard as Gerry’s Friend, like he does with everyone else. this changes right in the very last lines of his scene:

He doesn’t know what else to say. His staring contest with what’s left of the swarm is interrupted by Jon’s cane stretching over him. Jon takes it back, and Adelard offers Gerard his hand.

“On your feet.” Gerard sways upright with the push and pull of both of their help, Jon’s hand drumming dust from his back. Adelard catches the side of his head with a grounding pat. No one inside flinches. “It’s time we move on.”

this is a Big Deal, kind of! this is gerard realizing that adelard Also wants to help Him, realizing he wants to accept that help, and not just help but comfort, too. the whole system has an issue with People Touching Their Head because it was a trend in mary’s abuse to grab gerry by the hair, so it’s a big deal when not only do they Let someone do it, but when they find it genuinely relaxing. it’s a bigger deal for gerard — the biggest memory holder in the system — to accept this kind of thing from anyone, ever.

so, like gerry, calling adelard by his first name is a sign of progress!

05. “seven months to the day.”

“There’s a moth in your hair.”

A wet laugh from Jon. “I’m sure there’s more than one! And I really wish there wasn’t! You’re the only person that can change that, Sasha, you need— you need to let them go, you need to let them go. You have to let go, or none of us can go on living.”

The same instructions Gerard had given her after her statement. Seven months to the day, seven months to hear it.

i’ve been keeping a timeline! by the day, actually! sasha gave her statement on april 9th, and the way that the events shook out naturally, this ended up being november 10th. it’s not exactly To The Day but it was so close by accident that i Flipped when i saw it and, like. it could literally be spun that right at that 7 month mark, she just Fzzzt! snapped.

this series has seven fics planned, each with seven chapters. there are seven main characters (gerry, tim, sasha, jon, martin, melanie, and [REDACTED]) who get POV scenes. there’s just a recurring Seven Thing, and so this being so close just. knocked me out ngl which i just AAAAH. have to say. HJBKn.

06. gerry in the final scene.

Gerry’s ponytail is different now, a loose bun at mid-height on the back of his head. [...] Every time Jon peers around her head to meet the feeling of being watched, Gerry’s eyes are on the steps.

this is not gerry. it’s also not gerard. hope this helps<3

07. rubber duckie debugging.

hehe seven bullets. ANYWAY I REALIZED SOMETHING ABOUT THIS THAT MAKES ME GO INS*NE once again an accident!

if you know TSP, you’ll know that in that, jon had given gerry a water bottle on the tube once without knowing who he was, and he’d carved a duck into the cap with a paperclip at some point. gerry ended up keeping it and pinned it to his backpack with all his other crow instinct keepsakes, and the first tattoo he ever gave his boss was a duck because she saw him doodling them once. ducks are a thing for some reason!

jon has Always had a bird motif, typically different waterfowl, but writing this chapter made me realize that there’s more to it than that and apparently he’s just An Duck, Specifically, For Some Reason.

example from THIS chapter is:

“I know you can hear me, Sasha, but I need you to look at me. I-I know— I know how hard it is for you to pull away from your work when it’s giving you trouble, I know you’re… trying to do something right now, a-and it’s not coming out the way you want it to. When did you give up on rubber duckie debugging? Talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.”

him literally saying “let ME be your rubber duck” which is intended to be an inside joke sort of thing with her (because everyone who works with code knows what rubber duckie debugging is, and it IS a solid way to solve problems!)

this becomes more complicated when you remember what he and gerard talked about in grimguard last installment, when he told jon that adelard leans into the hunt even though he hasn’t aligned with it:

“If it quacks like a duck.”

and then jon asks him afterwards, “Where does that leave you? On the scale of one to duck.”

...denoting “ducks” now as a tongue-in-cheek way of saying “a person who has and uses power, but never became an avatar secure it.”

so, coming back to this most recent chapter, there’s also this bit right here:

Sasha crowds against his back on the landing, pinching the back of his shirt for guidance. He longs to turn around and take her hand almost as much as he itches for a shower.

which i had joked to ren the other day about by saying “sasha imprinted on him like a duckling.” which is pretty adorable and also killing me inside but IS relating now to the fact that 1) her focus is so strongly on him because of the loupe right now 2) she is ALSO someone who has power but is not an AVATAR.

HM!

the worst part of this is? there IS another duck-related thing that’ll come up later, too. but that’s BIG spoilers <3 just. what’s killing me is that i admittedly did not even plan for it to be this bad but there IS another HUGELY TSP RELEVANT component to it that i cannot WAIT to explain fsdkjfhsdkjfh FUCK!

thank you again for this ask!

#asks #sewingmonster #pbr tag #ronologues #i am past the point of pretending to be surprised at myself #pharos #sable #reva

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botheredbuck · 3 years

Text

hi hello my name is leo and here’s the post that literally no one asked for about how three by sleeping at last is written for one evan buckley (with lyric references!)

maybe i’ve done enough and your golden child grew up

listen this is literally about the buckley parents. he spent so long trying to be the perfect son for his parents, trying to solve whatever he’d done to them, trying desperately to just be enough for them and breaking himself in the process. he literally tore himself apart trying to be just something to them. he talks to maddie when he visits her in the hospital (in buck begins) about them thinking he’s a loser and literally begs her to believe him when he says he’s going to be something one day. that’s the effect his parents had on him. and when his parents come back in what’s your grievance/buck begins and he finally gets to tell them how they made him feel his whole life, and that convo with them at the end of buck begins, i think that’s the beginning of him kind of being able to say i’ve grown up now, and yeah what you did will always hurt me but i can move past it now, because i have my own family, i’ve found somewhere where i actually belong. and with the 118, he doesn’t have to be that golden child

(sure, there’s the protective, kinda mentoring instinct between him and bobby that we see a lot through the early parts of season one especially, but even with that there’s never this expectation that buck’s gotta be perfect - gotta be the golden child. bobby’s trying to help him be a better firefighter and grow as a person but there’s never that pressure that there was with his parents.

oh and hey maybe that’s why the lawsuit happens because the whole thing about bobby holding him back feels too much like his parents underestimating him, never believing in him (they think i’m a total loser maddie, and i’m not, i’m not okay- i’m gonna be something, i just- don’t know what yet) and it’s hard beause bobby has never made him feel like that but it’s just a little too close)

maybe this trophy isn’t real love

this lyric. i do not give it enough appreciation but holy fuck. okay but, its like- it fits well with this whole idea that buck grew up with that he always had to deserve love, yanno? like his parents’ neglect basically taught him that he had to be putting himself in danger and hurting himself to be worth even attention. and it’s like- with the 118, he’s finally getting to realise that maybe that’s not how love is supposed to work. he’s been brought up with the idea that he needs to work for this love because otherwise if he’s not good enough people will leave. and this doesn’t even finish with his parents. this goes all the way through to abby, to ali. he has this deep rooted fear that if he’s not good enough then people will leave him, because that’s all he’s really had. and then this lyric- it’s like, him realising that this version of love that his parents fed him isn’t real love, isn’t how parents should love their kids, or how families should care for each other. and it’s just buck’s realisation that this tokenistic love isn’t something that he has to settle for, because it’s not real love.

and with or without it i’m good enough maybe i’ve done enough

this kinda carries on from the first point but it’s like, buck finally getting to realise that he doesn’t need his parents love to be worth shit. like his whole childhood he was just trying to be what his parents wanted in the desperate hope that they would see him. and now he’s found this place he really belongs and in the 118 he’s found these people he really belongs with, and it’s like- suddenly he doesn’t need to try- doesn’t need to work to be loved. and it’s like, he’s realising that he doesn’t need to change himself to be worth shit.

a mess of a story i’m ashamed to tell but i’m slowly learning how to break this spell

this- it’s just- the whole thing about buck getting therapy in s4. for so long he’s not really talked to anyone about the shit he’s been through, like even we see in what’s your grievance that the 118 basically know nothing about the buckleys. because buck doesn’t even talk about his past to them really, because he’s so ashamed of it. but him finally being able to go to therapy and work on it, it’s like- he’s slowly learning how to undo all this shit that his parents drilled into him, like about him never being good enough and about him having to work for their love and attention and change himself. and he’s finally learning, with therapy and with the 118 reteaching him all this shit about love (and not even romantic, like buddie is a whole other thing don’t even get me started, like familial love), how to get past his parents and realise that he is worthy of love, regardless of anything else.

and i finally see myself through the eyes of no one else

oh shit but this is important and all right. like. it’s just a little thing but it’s like, buck trying to move on from letting what other people thought of him control him. i think this is something that he’s working on, and something that comes with time, because i think it’s something we see a lot throughout the show. i think it kinda contributes to the whole buck 1.0 thing, like sure a lot of why he wants to move on from ‘buck 1.0′ is about moving on and being a better man and stuff but i think it’s also this thought of being embarrassed of himself, almost? idk but look he has a lot of issues with seeing himself as good enough without the influence of others and i think this lyric links a lot to that.

now i only want what’s real to let my heart feel what it feels

again this fits with the whole therapy thing as well but it’s like- throughout the show he’s always been a very heart-on-his-sleeve kinda guy. like that’s just who he is. but like this- to let my heart feel what it feels - its like about him being allowed to be proud of how far he’s come and everything he’s been through with his parents and even after that. and its about him allowing himself to love unashamedly and without fear of people abandoning him, and not like letting that fear stop him from loving. and like yeah im gonna touch on buddie here bc like, it’s like after all this shit, everything that the two of them have been through, it’s like, that line is like him letting himself feel that for eddie, whatever it is. because for so long he’s not let himself get that connection after abby because she hurt him like that and he’s not let himself have this connection with eddie out of fear that it’s not going to be reciprocated or tat he’s a terrible person for falling in love with his best friend or some shit but it’s like- that line is like him allowing himself to feel that, and like that just being okay? like he’s finally getting to accept that he’s fallen in love with this increibleman and his incredible son and the life that he’s built with them, and like it’s about buck falling in love with that life and trusting that it’s not going to disappear from under his feet. and that takes buck a lot of courage because he’s only ever had people that left. and so he’s finally letting his heart feel , and letting his heart guide him, because he deserves it.

and like even out of a buddie context, with the rest of the 118, it still applies. this shit about letting his heart feel what it feels, it’s like- letting himself believe that this life is something that he can have, that he can settle into, that he can keep. it’s like- he can love these people, and not have to see them leave. and that’s a revolutionary thing for buck, but it’s so freeing.

and leave my greatest failures on display with an asterisk worthy of love anyway

holy fuck this is like, my favourite lyric ever okay but again it’s this idea that he has to work to be loved. he has to fight for attention and for appreciation and for love and like this lyric, it’s about him being able to move on from that and realise that he’s worthy of love at his rawest, without all this work and putting himself at risk. and sure im going back on my buddie bullshit for this but like- it’s eddie that makes him realise this. sure it’s the influence of the whole 118 and maddie and shit but it’s eddie most of all. eddie, who has dealt with his bullshit first hand (the whole jealousy thing in 2x01) and come through it by his side, still wanting to be his friend. eddie, who appreciates him and helps him and supports him and trusts him with his son. eddie, who forgives him, even when, yeah, sometimes he doesn’t need forgiving but then it’s eddie that tells him that (the post-tsunami stuff at the end of 3x03) and reassures him that he’s worthy. eddie, who fights by him and for him and desperately, constantly, tries to make him realise he’s so much more than what his parents deem him to be. eddie, who tells him that he doesn’t have to apologise just for existing and expecting the bare minimum of love from his parents (the boxing scene in - i think? - 4x04). eddie, who fights to get back to him. eddie, who trusts him so much with christopher that he’ll change his will for him. eddie, that loves him. right at his rawest, without all that work, with all his greatest failiures on display. because it’s eddie who’s seen most of that shit, and it’s eddie who’s stayed. who’s made him realise he’s worthy of love, anyway.

...um

thank you for coming to my ted talk listen to three by sleeping at last and tell me that there is at least some sense in this pls im driving myself up the wall istg

#evan buckley #buddie #eddie diaz #911 #911 fox #911 on fox #leo writes hcs #...maybe it's me that needs therapy.#this is almost two thousand words holy fuck #i can write this but not fic? wow thanks brain

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thestarswhim · 3 years

Text

MK needs some rest

Summary: “Look, kid, using that much power, your body can’t handle it.”

In which MK didn’t fully recover his strength after the Macaque and DBK situation, and is really trying hard to push through, anyway.

Thankfully, Monkey King intervenes.

Words: 3360

Notes: Has descriptions of anxiety and stress. Since this is in MK’s perspective, Wukong will just be referred as Monkey King throughout the whole fic, but if I end up writing this in Wukong’s perspective as well, that’ll change, or go back and forth between “Monkey King” and “Wukong,” to fit his own perspective.

Enjoy! :D

MK woke up feeling… tired, to put it simply. It had been like this for the past week, and no matter how much rest he got, even when he slept for ten hours given the chance, nothing elevated the hazy daze he felt himself constantly being in. It started after his “training” with Macaque and the fight with the Demon Bull King, and only got worse since then. Maybe that just drained his energy a bit more than usual. Yeah, that made sense, being more exhausted could happen to anyone.

He was doing work just fine, though Pigsy had to yell more and even louder to get his full attention every once in a while, and he may have had missed a few stops while delivering noodles (and had also, probably, dropped more than one bowl when cleaning up the shop. Pigsy was definitely going to take that out of his next paycheck). Then, when he and Mei would hang out and do their usual arcade/porty — party; he meant party — fun, he would zone out for a moment and stare blankly at nothing, lost in thoughts and memories that Mei had to quickly snap him out of. What were those thoughts and memories? … That didn’t matter. He was fine. His friends and family were fine. The city was filled with high energy and bustled with life. Nothing was wrong for now. Everything was fine. He was fine. And tired. Gosh, he was so tired— Anyway— After that, he would go home, with his feet being dragged on the floor by this point, and head straight to bed, not even bothering to change his clothes, or brush his teeth, or do anything. He just let the overwhelming weight of exhaustion that was seeping all the way into his bones to finally pull him into the state of unconsciousness. The dreams that he could barely make out left him shaken in the morning, and, of course, he felt like he never slept in the first place. He groaned in his pillow, fighting the tears of frustration that pushed at his eyes from leaking out.

It was a constant cycle, a routine, and the fact that no major threats had happened ever since the fight didn't make him feel any better. But, that could be the sleep deprivation — if he was sleep deprived because he did sleep — talking.

Today he was supposed to train with Monkey King who throughout the weeks would make him do the smallest of chores, up to the point where he only had to sweep the floor…? He was doing that on purpose, MK knew that much, because where was the life lesson for sweeping the floor? But, all his mentor would say was, "It's never a bad thing to take it easy once in a while," and that was that.

It had been a long day (again) before he finally got to the mountain, the energy he had left already drained and gone, but he was fine. After all, maybe he'd just have to watch paint dry this time. Okay, nevermind, that sounded excruciating and so much worse. “Welcome back!” Monkey King greeted casually, snapping MK back into the present. He blinked. When did he walk over to the cavern?

“Hey…” he greeted back distantly and started to become more and more aware of his surroundings as he looked around, stopping at the sight of Monkey King who jumped off the cloud he always laid on. “So, uh,” he shook his head to regain focus again which he quickly regretted when he got light-headed by the simple action. And now there were small dots in his vision. Great, just what he needed. “What—” he subconsciously rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand, “what are we doing today— ah!” Monkey King was now in front of him, no warning or any indication that he walked closer at all, and eyed him carefully, brows creased. Before MK could say anything, two hands gently cupped his face and started to move his head around slowly from side to side as a way to examine him. He sucked in a quiet breath from the sudden contact, and had the urge to lean into the warmth the hands were giving off, but stopped himself since he would probably fall over. “You doing okay, bud?” Monkey King asked as softly as he could make his voice be. The kid attempted to nod enthusiastically, but it came out rigid beneath the palm of his hands. “Yup. It’s been a long day, ‘s all,” MK mumbled, though to himself he said that at normal volume. “Really now?” The hands then left MK’s face which apparently were supporting him since he did almost fall over regardless, setting a foot down in front of him to stop that from happening. “Well, there isn’t really much to do today… but you are staying over.” That brought his attention back. He looked up towards his mentor and raised a brow. “Wait, what?” “You’ll be spending the night,” Monkey King explained. “It’ll be for, you know,” he shoved a peach chip in his mouth, “training.” “I feel like you’re starting to use that as an excuse…” “Ehh, no. You’ll learn something from this,” and, again, that was that.

Despite MK’s mind running like a phone on save battery mode right now, a new energy seemed to gradually rise within him as he took a minute to actually process the situation. Would this technically be a sleepover? Having a sleepover with the Monkey King? How many people could say that? His excitement might be muddled by fatigue, but he was still excited! It was just…

“What are we going to do, then?” “First off,” Monkey King put a bag of the peach chips in MK’s hands, “you should eat something. I also got some of the instant noodles you could snack on later.” He stared down at the bag, making him realize that his appetite wasn't really apparent, and inwardly cringed. He hadn’t actually eaten much at all the last few days, only ever having a few dumplings or a bowl of noodles Pigsy would try to make him attempt to eat during break (he could never finish the noodles, though). You’d think he would be starving by how tired he had been, but nope. “I think I’m good for now. I’ll… eat later.” Monkey King looked at him for a moment once more, searching for something, and then hummed thoughtfully. “Okay.” MK let out a breath of relief, and his body slightly untensed. He didn’t think he could stomach anything right now.

“Let’s get watching!” Monkey King announced, carefully taking a hold of MK’s arm, and guiding him over to his house. “Hope you’re a binge-watcher ‘cause it’s a pretty long series. I mean, I’m in it, afterall, so of course it is.” MK let his teacher guide him, not trying to pay any mind to the fact that his legs were basically all sloshy and almost numb, and that Monkey King was holding onto him in the first place. That was new. But, they’re going to be binge-watching? …

Thank. Goodness. “Oh, yeah,” MK waved his hand dismissively as if there was no question needed, “I definitely am! Mei and I stayed up for two days straight one time watching this weird sci-fi movie series. Something to do with a guy named Jim? I don’t know, it was weird.” “Nice! One time I stayed up for about a month straight watching… literally anything.” What!? How was he even still ali— oh, right. Geez, his brain… and was he seeing everything in slow motion now, or…?

And now he was sitting on the couch. … Huh? When did they—? What? He rubbed at his eyes like it would help the dysfunction his state of mind was in, and blinked. Monkey King was turning on the TV in front of MK, and then went over to the couch and sat down next to him. His expression looked… odd for some reason? It wasn’t anger, but he did seem more serious (or was that concern?) compared to how he was moments prior, like something was bothering him. Did something happen? The weird expression instantly changed when he looked over to MK, his smile once again apparent. “There you are, kid. I was worried for a sec there. You, like, totally spaced out on me when I was talking to you.”

“Oh, uh,” MK instinctively rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish smile, “sorry about that. It’s been a long day.” Didn’t he already say that? He noticed Monkey King’s tail slightly twitch. “Right, right. Good thing we’re taking it easy today.” “‘Cause this is definitely training,” he thought— he said that out loud. “Exactly!” Monkey King then put a hand to MK’s chest and lightly pushed him further into the couch. “Now relax. You’re stiff as a board right now.” MK got sort of surprised by how easy it was for him to be pushed with such minimal force. You could poke him and he would probably go falling instantly. Hopefully, he didn’t feel even worse in the morning. He really, really hoped. This unnerving sensation swelled in his lungs and buzzed throughout his head as he thought of the possibilities of an enemy showing up while he was still like this, or not being able to do his job right at the shop and even as a hero, or be there for anybody, or—

There was a sudden pressure on the top of his head. He inwardly gasped and snapped his head toward the source.

It was one of the monkeys from the mountain.

“Oh,” was all he could breathe out as a few more showed up, one of them resting on Monkey King’s abdomen. The monkey on his head slid off to sit on the couch as well. MK looked back over to the TV when the first episode was starting, and actually tried to relax. It was the Monkey King animated series, he could totally focus on it no problem. ~~~

What was strange was that Monkey King had barely been saying anything while they watched. Maybe a few comments here and there, but other than that, nothing more. MK would have said something, but he wasn’t really paying attention. He didn’t even know what episode they were on. The daze he was still in was even more heavy and dragging, his vision getting hazy as he stared at the screen. The monkey was still on the couch, and MK just realized he had been petting them this whole time.

He felt like he was about to pass out at any moment, he wanted to pass out. But, something in him was saying not to. That if he were to fall asleep now, something, someone, out there would attack. But who? Ugh, why couldn’t he just calm down, and not think dumb thoughts! Everything was fine! Everything was… fine. “White Bone Spirit…” MK froze. His eyes instantly stayed locked on the TV, blocking out all his surroundings. The person on the screen was talking to the group, but the blood pounding in his ears wouldn't let him hear any of the words that were coming out of their mouth. He didn't recognize the name, but something wasn't right. Their white, pure hair, and those eyes. It was like they were staring right at him. Mockingly.

His entire body went ice cold. and he most likely even stopped breathing, but he didn't notice, he didn't care. He had to do something. Now.

"Hey," MK squeaked out, immediately on his feet. "Monkey King? Shouldn't— shouldn't we do some training?" His heart wouldn't stop racing, and his hands and legs became numb. He couldn't feel anything. Too many thoughts were flooding his mind, someone dangerous was out there, and if they wasted any more time...

Monkey King looked up at him, still sitting down. His tail twitched again. "I think it's getting a little late for the kind of training you're thinking of. You got work tomorrow, don't you?"

"Yeah, but I haven't been doing anything for almost two weeks!" MK didn't mean to shout, but his nerves were on end, and they were wasting more time. "Don't you think it's strange that nothing has been happening?"

"Well, yeah, but," Monkey King shifted in his seat, "we can't do much until something does happen."

"Except maybe train?"

Monkey King's face had that bothered expression again. He sighed. "Kid, I don't want you pushing yourself anymore than you already have."

MK formed his hands into fists, tightening them as flashes of purple shadows and blue whispers swept over his mind like a fog, and tried to keep his legs from giving out. "Someone's out there! Uh, maybe. I don't know, but we have to at least do something!"

"...Hey—"

“Because—” MK’s lungs were burning from his now ragged breathing, his mind was spinning, and he barely comprehend that he interrupted his mentor. Tears were starting to form in his eyes. "Because if I'm not ready, then I won’t be good enough, and then everyone will get hurt, and it will all be my fault— “ “Xiaotian.” MK instantly stopped, nothing but his harsh breaths breaking the weird, sudden silence that fell over them. The TV had been long turned off, apparently. Monkey King grabbed his arm again, even more gentler this time, and continued talking. “You’re shaking. Breathe.” He was easily pulled down back on the couch, and Monkey King repositioned himself so he could start… combing through MK’s hair?

It was so careful and… comforting. Strangely, that was what made the tears fall down, one by one, and MK quickly tried to wipe them away. It was like this for a while. Quiet, but a peaceful quiet, except for the hushed sobbing that echoed the room— and when did he start sobbing?

“It’s okay,” Monkey King said, petting his head with a nice, steady rhythm. “You’re safe.”

MK took in slow breaths, now attempting to do what he was told before. He was surprised how he hadn't completely passed out yet, but that didn’t matter at the moment. He was comfortable, and it had been too long (way too long than he had liked) since he truly felt that way.

After his breathing settled down, and he could, well, breathe again, Monkey King decided to speak up.

"Remember when I told you about using too much of your power?"

MK nodded, slowly, the reminder causing certain flashbacks that he had to shake away again.

"Well," he continued, grooming MK's hair more than petting it now, "it really wore you out, and I'm sure you know that," he chuckled the last few words with a tried effort. "You didn't fully recover by the time you had to go and basically fight again. Literally, once you came back, you were thrown into the prey."

"Wait," MK turned his head toward the monkey with narrowed eyes, "so you do still watch me."

He noticed Monkey King's eyes widen before he could cover it up with a side glance. "I… not all the time, no. I just wanted to keep an eye on you for a while." He flicked a piece of dirt that was in MK's hair away.

"Okay…"

"Seriously."

"Mhm…"

Monkey King ruffled his hair and laughed. It was so genuine that MK couldn't help but laugh as well, causing a weight to be lifted off his shoulders, and, wow, was he really feeling the exhaustion hitting him now.

"Anyway," back to the grooming he went, "that's why I was making you take it easy. You need a break so you can fully recover all of your strength which will help you for whatever danger might be out there. It's not always about the physical, you gotta focus on what's inside, too. We'll get to the 'fun' training stuff later, okay?"

"'Kay," MK mumbled, already slipping into a sleepy-like trance. If he had anything else to say, or worry about, he forgot; his eyes closed, and the welcoming blanket of rest enveloped him. Monkey King was saying something, but he sounded too muffled and far away.

The dreams never showed up that night, and he no longer was shaking.

~~~

“Kid!”

He woke up to his nose being pinched, and yelped. His vision only made out colorful blobs that apparently represented someone. “What happened?”

The blob cleared his throat in a failed attempt to hold in a snicker. “Nothing much,” he then shrugged, “except you’ll be late to work in a few minutes, so…” “What!?” MK shot up from the couch and started running straight to the door, everything becoming clearer in his sight of panic. “Oh my gosh, Pigsy’s gonna fire me!” Would he even be able to make it in time? Where would he end up staying once he was fired? Would he be replaced by that delivery bot? No, no, no, no! Definitely not! His hand was already on the doorknob by the time Monkey King appeared right behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Wait, wait! Slow down. How are you feeling?” MK turned around and started to run in place. “Fine, I guess! But, I have to—” His eyes widened as he realized and stopped his eager bouncing. “I… feel great, actually.” Huh. Monkey King’s eyes lit up, and his smile grew just a bit wider. “Good! Now,” he wrapped an arm around MK, “do you need a ride?”

“...What?”

~~~ After Monkey King shoved the bag of peach chips in MK’s hands again to which he devoured in a surprising matter of seconds, they were now both up in the sky. MK’s hair was flying back as the crisp air of the morning blew on his face, his arms tightly around Monkey King’s torso as they rode along on his cloud. He wasn’t sure how fast they were going, but his face felt numb, so that must have meant something. “I might just have to teach you how to ride this thing soon!” Monkey King yelled, his voice cutting through the rush of wind… somehow.

“That’d be awesome!” He could ride his board with ease, flying a cloud would just be an upgrade. A very, very awesome upgrade. It was hard to talk, though, and close his mouth no less. Ew, what if he swallowed a bug?

Not even a few minutes went by before they were nearing the shop, and MK couldn’t stop grinning when he jumped off safely onto the concrete ground. He wasn’t going to be late!

He spun around to face the Monkey King, who was still standing easily balanced on the cloud with his arms crossed, and waved. “Thanks, Monkey King! For, well, yesterday, and taking me here!” “Anytime, bud.” He hovered over and swiftly fixed up MK’s hair which was all over the place by the wind. “Try to eat something more on your break if you can, and remember,” he gave him one more pat on the shoulder, the features of his face softening, “one step at a time, all right?”

The way Monkey King had been grooming his hair during this time, and how casually he did it, too, like this was something he’d always done, that there was nothing wrong with showing this kind of… affection(?), made MK feel overwhelmed with a certain emotion he couldn't describe. Tears were wanting to well up again for some odd reason, but he smiled and nodded, holding it down.

Monkey King smiled back and proceeded to go on his way into the sky, leaving a gust of wind in his absence.

MK stood there, watching him take off before shaking his head to regain focus, and jogged over to the entrance of the shop. As the door chimed opened, a new sense of determination rose up within him; a new surge of energy buzzed throughout his body. And even though he still had an uneasy feeling, he knew — and he actually believed it this time — that despite whatever could happen…

Everything was fine.

~~~

Notes: This took me weeks to finish, but ayyyye! I love me some of that Hurt/Comfort, and the boy really needs it (especially with what might happen in season 2 OHOHO BOY). While writing this I realized that it’d be interesting to do this in Wukong’s perceptive, soooo... look out for that if I write it 👀

I hope you enjoyed reading it! I haven’t finished a whole fanfic in awhile, so this being over three thousand words is beautiful 🤩👌 Love y’all! Much Love, and many blessings! 💖

#monkie kid #lego monkie kid #monkie kid fanfiction #MK #qi xiaotian #monkey king #sun wukong #hurt/comfort #LMK #fanfiction #fanfic

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jadethest0ne · 3 years

Text

In need of Refueling, Chapter 6 - Back-up

Summary: “You?! Why would I trust you? You have brought me nothing but failure. Time and time again; nothing but disappointment!”

His father’s words might have been a result of his possession by the White Bone Spirit, but whether or not they were his true thoughts, Red Son vows to prove them wrong. To do so he seeks to attain a power strong enough to destroy his father’s immortal enemy. After all, he’d much rather throw fire at his problems.

Word Count: 1548

Ratings/Warnings: Teen and up; injury, burns, angst and hurt/comfort, toxic thoughts caused by toxic parents, Panic Attacks (this one was just added)

Notes: I'm not sure if it was clear or obvious, but I'm writing this story as if this is all the characters' first in-person encounter with The True Fire of Samadhi - including Wukong. I know many people include The Fire in his backstory, but I'm creating a kind of canon-divergent timeline for this story - both for LMK and JTTW. At the very least, I'm keeping Wukong's backstory ambiguous since we don't know much about how LMK will interpret it.

Credits: Big thanks to @painted-arachnid and @simplyfornardo for helping me bounce ideas off of them. And also thanks to @lemonsqueazie for providing me with “Journey to the West” lore. I don’t know much about the original novel or other iterations, but I still tried to keep some things compliant with the lore. You should check all of them out, since they’re really great content creators with neat ideas!

Read on AO3

———-

MK sees the fire begin to consume the Monkey King. He tries to say something to his mentor. Plead. Shout. Anything. But no words come out. His breath is knocked out of him as Monkey King does some weird motion with his arms, and suddenly MK is thrown through the air at a rapid speed. There’s a ringing in his ears and he feels wetness on his cheeks. The ringing becomes louder, until he realizes that it is his own voice yelling. Another voice breaks through the noise.

“Kid!”

Monkey King? MK thinks; hopeful.

“Kid!” the voice repeats. “MK!”

MK blinks the tears out of his eyes and sees a pink chubby snout cross his vision.

“...Pigsy?”

The noodle shop owner breathes a sigh of relief, but his face is still shadowed with deep concern. “MK! Are you okay?! What happened?!”

Mr. Tang’s bespectacled head pops into view. “We found you in a crater in front of the noodle shop. It’s a wonder you are still alive,” he says pushing his glasses up his nose, reflected light blinking off of them.

“Yeah! It was a pretty epic crash!” MK’s heart lightens a bit further, seeing his best friend, Mei join the other two.

But anxiety once again takes hold of his heart. ‘What happened?’ MK leaps out of what he now recognizes as his bed, nearly butting heads with Pigsy, who was hovering closest to him. He wobbles on his feet, head swimming slightly, having gotten up too fast. Pigsy helps steady him, and MK grasps at the pig’s shirt. “Monkey King! He-he’s in trouble! I gotta- I gotta help! He-- Red Son came! DBK has him-- I -- I think- he’s hurt! He tried to protectmeandI I- gotta- I need to go--.” The words spill out too fast. He’s not sure he’s making sense. Everything seems to spin together and it feels like his whole body is buzzing with energy. His breath hitches and he feels like he’s choking--

“Hey there, MK! Slow down. Breathe!” Mei puts both of her hands on either side of his face and gently pulls his head so only she is in view. She places her hands over his ears, filling them with a soft static sound. Her eyebrows are tilted in concern, but her smile and voice are carefree and calm. He focuses on the muffled white noise and on her.

MK takes a couple of fast, hiccupy breaths, before he begins to breathe deeper, and slowly calms down. Mei waits a few beats before taking away her hands and asking, “Can you tell us what happened, but slower this time? We’re here for you, dude!”

MK blinks a couple of times and pulls in a longer, deeper breath before nodding slightly. He wipes away the wetness under his eyes and begins.

“I- I saw Red Son. He- he was going to Flower Fruit Mountain. And he wanted to get to the Monkey King. He-- he had this weird new power. He said he wanted to defeat Monkey King and bring him to DBK.”

“Beat the Monkey King?!” Pigsy gave an incredulous look. “He couldn’t have been serious!”

MK shivers a bit at the memory. “Yeah, but he was different this time! The fire he had was blue, and was really strong. He-- I-- I got in the way, and Monkey King-- I think he got the Monkey King-- Why would he send me away like that if it weren’t serious!” MK’s breaths come quicker, but before he can start hyperventilating, Mr. Tang puts a grounding hand on his shoulder and squeezes slightly to get MK to focus on him.

MK looks to the scholar who has an unreadable expression. He asks cautiously, “Can you describe the power he had? That blue fire?”

“Um…” MK tries to focus on what it was like and not on his last view of it as it swirled around his mentor. “It-- it was blue,” he repeats. “It lit the beach - the water on fire! The Monkey King could ward it off, but not put it out.”

“What was it called? Did it have a name?” the scholar prods.

MK nods as he recalls Red Son shouting a name out loud. “The True Fire of… somebody…?”

“The True Fire of Samadhi?” Mr. Tang prompts.

MK nods more vigorously. “Yeah! That was it!”

“Hmm…” Mr. Tang puts a hand over his mouth, eyebrows knit together. “That actually may be a real problem.”

“How?” Pigsy asks. “The Monkey King’s immortal, ain’t he? And MK said he could repel it. How could fire hurt someone like dat?”

Mr. Tang sighs, lips pursed as he chooses his words carefully. “The True Fire of Samadhi is not a natural fire. Like MK said, it can’t be extinguished by normal methods. And…” He hesitates with his next words, eyes flicking over to MK and back to Pigsy. “And… it’s one of the few things that could potentially cause harm to an immortal like the Monkey King.”

The silence that follows is almost too much. Or maybe there wasn’t silence and MK had just stopped hearing. So he was right. The Monkey King was in trouble and--

“It’s my fault,” MK whispers. He can feel the other three staring at him. He forces his gaze downward. Tears build up and drip at his feet. “It’s my fault!” he says more loudly. “I let Red Son trick me into leading him there! I distracted Monkey King! I got in the way, and he- he took a hit for me! If it weren’t for me then-”

“Then Red Son would’ve found another way to get to him,” a gruff voice finishes sternly.

MK looks up to Pigsy, tears still dripping. “But- but I got in the way. If I hadn’t been there, if it hadn’t been for me-”

“Then we wouldn’t have this information to help the Monkey King now.” Pigsy again, does not let him finish that train of thought. He gives MK a determined but gentle gaze. “It is NOT your fault MK. And we ARE gonna do somethin’ about this! Together!”

“Right!” Mei chimes in, wrapping an arm lightly around MK’s upper back, not quite grasping, but letting him know it’s there. “If the Monkey King is in trouble, we’re going to help him get out of trouble!”

“Tang, you got any more info on dat fire?” Pigsy turns to the scholar.

“I’ll have to dig out some old books and scrolls, but I’m sure I do,” Mr.Tang affirms.

“Good! We can also get some back-up from Sandy.” Pigsy turns to Mei. “Mei, you stay here with MK, while we get the big guy!”

Mei nods in response.

MK’s nerves settle a bit at the support from his friends, but a pit of fear still bubbles in his stomach. “I can’t let you guys do that! What if the fire gets you, too! I have to--”

“YOU will stay here,” Pigsy points a stern finger at MK, “and wait until we get back. We’ll go together to DBK’s lair.”

MK shrinks a bit under the intense glare of his boss. But Pigsy’s face and voice soften. “We’re not gonna let you do this alone. And I am not gonna let you get hurt by that fire either. Okay?”

MK’s shoulders sag in defeat, but he nods.

“Good! Now sit here until we get back,” Pigsy says, guiding him to sit back on the bed, before leaving with Mr. Tang.

It’s difficult for MK to just stay there and sit down. His body still feels like it is buzzing. He needs to move, to do something. As he watches his two pseudo-caretakers leave, he only becomes more anxious; not only with the worry from before, but with the dread of waiting. The energy bubbles up and he squeezes the edge of his bed with enough strength to cause the wood to crack. But he pays no mind to that. The Monkey King could be in DBK’s clutches already. He needs to go. Now! Seconds before he feels as if he’s going to literally shoot out of his seat, the mattress shifts as the weight of his friend sitting next to him is lifted.

“What are you doing?” MK asks the girl.

Mei simply strolls over to the window, opens it, and puts one foot on the ledge leading out to the fire escape.

“You are obviously going to go after him on your own. So I’m coming with. Duh!” She looks at him like it’s the clearest thing in the world. Which, to be honest, it is.

“I can’t let you do that,” MK attempts, but he knows it is a losing battle.

Mei knows this, too and gives him a smirk. “Come on. Either I make sure you stay here like Pigsy says, or I’m coming with you. And since you’re going to go either way, I’m definitely not leaving your side. Ever.” Mei hardens her gaze, all the while keeping a playful smile around her lips.

MK can’t help but smile back. “All right, let’s do this.” He gets up off of the bed and joins her by the window.

“Together!” Mei holds up a hand.

MK grasps it in his own. “Together!”

They both leap out of the window.

start || <– previous // next –>

#lmk #lego monkie kid #red son #mk #in need of refueling #pigsy #tang #mei #panic attacks #jadethest0ne #jadethestone #fanfiction #my writing

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wisteria-lodge · 4 years

Text

Character Analysis: Sorting Pirates of the Caribbean

So @sortinghatchats is brilliant. Absolutely my favorite character (and person!) analysis system. Instead of one house, you get two - a PRIMARY (your motivation, why you do things), and a SECONDARY (your toolbox, how you get things done.) Here is a very stripped down refresher, and here is my explanation for why I am saying Lion, Bird, Badger and Snake instead of the names of the Hogwarts houses.

IDEALIST PRIMARY Lion - I do what I feel is right. (MORAL) Bird - I do what I decide is correct. (LOGICAL) LOYALIST PRIMARY Badger - I do what helps my community (PEOPLE MATTER) Snake - I do what helps me/my inner circle (MY PEOPLE MATTER)

IMPROVISATIONAL SECONDARY Lion - Charge! React! Smash the system! Snake - Transform, adapt, find the loophole. BUILT SECONDARY Bird - Plan, make tools, gather information. Badger - Community-build, caretake, call in favors.

Now let’s talk Pirates of the Caribbean! I’m mostly focusing on the first film because it’s the best and my favorite, but I do mention 2 and 3.

***

Jack Sparrow is the classic Snake secondary. He’ll improvise an escape, improvise a weapon, wait for “the opportune moment.” He’s never fought fair in his life and doesn’t feel the tiniest bit bad about it. He’s silver-tongued. When he’s in a tight spot, he’ll tell you exactly what he thinks you want to hear. And if he knows you don’t trust him, he’ll reverse-psychology you on purpose.

It’s hard to see past his theatrical, charming, over-the-top way of doing things, and that’s on purpose. The last time Jack told someone what he actually wanted, he got himself marooned. No wonder he “plays things close to the vest now,” living in his secondary, and making people guess his motives.

At first he appears totally pragmatic, always on the side of the person who can give him the most stuff. But I don’t buy it. Jack Sparrow has a weird code of honor. Maybe not one he’s comfortable with (“you can never predict when an honest man is going to do something incredibly… stupid.”) But it’s there. The way he’s introduced - alone, respectfully saluting hanged pirates – that’s letting us know it’s not just his own freedom he values.

I like that little moment after he rescues Elizabeth when he makes it clear that she doesn’t owe him anything. “I saved your life, you saved mine, we’re square” implies that there’s a right way to do things, and that the wrong way is making people feel obligated. Jack has similar moments with Gibbs. Every time he says “keep to the Code,” he’s reaffirming that no one has to save him. When his crew abandons him, Jack shrugs and says, “They’ve done what’s right by them. Can’t ask for more than that.”

This means that Jack Sparrow has a Lion primary. But he’s a pirate, so his felt morality is less right vs. wrong and more free vs. trapped. Apart from that he’s actually kind of a classic Lion - perfectly happy on his own, so long as he doesn’t have to compromise his morals. In a deleted scene we learn that he turned pirate because he refused to be a slave ship captain, and that’s in character. He only wants the Black Pearl because the Black Pearl is freedom. That’s the message he teaches, as an unconventional mentor. He cuts Elizabeth out of her literal corset, and prods Will out of his figurative one.

(and a magic compass that points to whatever Jack wants most is a gorgeous metaphor for a Lion primary, guided by their feelings and intuition. Their internal compass).

Elizabeth Swann has a pirate’s soul. She ends the story as Pirate King. But when we meet her, she is a high-class lady deeply suspicious of the rules. She’s not on board with the latest fashions, eager to ditch her table manners, and she’s real friendly with Will - even though it makes her father bluster, “The setting is not entirely proper!” Miss Elizabeth Swann is stifled by her situation (her corset is too tight.) She’s got a whole life planned out for her, and it’s a nice life. Port Royal is a nice city and Norrington is a nice guy. But still. The thought that this is where things are going makes her uncomfortable.

Elizabeth wants to be able to act based on her gut responses. And as long as the pirates are also doing this, she’s on board. But she ditches the Pirate Code the moment it contradicts her own internal felt morality.

ELIZABETH: All of you with me. Will is in that cave and we must save him! (…) GIBBS: There’s the Code to consider. ELIZABETH: The Code. You’re pirates. Hang the Code, and hang the rules. They’re more like guidelines anyway.

She’s been using the pirate way of life as a way to justify and explain the way she’s always felt. And when you put things in that order (I like this system because it supports what I already know to be true) that’s a Lion primary. Also, the advice her dad gives her is just so perfect for a Lion: “Even a good decision if made for the wrong reasons can be a wrong decision.” You’re doing the smart thing Elizabeth, not the thing you feel is right. It’ll make you miserable. Stop it.

When it comes to secondaries, Elizabeth definitely has some Bird skills. She collects data (about pirates), and can put a plan into action. But it’s a model. When she’s in trouble, when things are serious, she goes improvisational Snake secondary all the way. Elizabeth lies to Barbossa, tells Norrington what he wants to hear, pretends to be drunk to put Jack off his guard. She improvises weapons, and she plays into “proper lady” stereotypes so people underestimate her. Gibbs actually recognizes this, and calls Elizabeth “daft like Jack.”

Elizabeth and Jack do house-match, which is why they always seem to get each other. Elizabeth can pin Jack down and make him give her a straight answer. She’s the only one who can consistently trick him. And when she kills him – well, he forgives. Easily. It’s never even a thing. If he had been in Elizabeth’s place he would have done exactly the same thing, and he knows it. And he knows she knows it.

(it’s kind of neat how at the end of the first movie, the two of them are trapped by Norrington, then freed by Norrington, and go off to form the core of their respective pirate crews.)

Will Turner is a charging Lion secondary who deals with challenging situations by laying all his cards on the table and throwing his sword at something. This makes him a really good foil for the Snake secondary leads, and I will never get tired of watching Jack make faces, and say variations of “how about this time we don’t just run in screaming, yeah?”

JACK: Do us a favor. I know it’s difficult for you, but please, stay here. And try not to do anything… stupid.”

WILL: Let her go! BARBOSSA: You’ve only got one shot, and we can’t die. JACK: Don’t do anything stupid… WILL: You can’t. I can! JACK: … like that.

JACK: So what’s your plan then? WILL: I row over there, search the ship until I find your bloody key. JACK: And if there are crewmen? WILL: I cut down anyone in my path.

To be fair, Will does start off with a Badger secondary model. Badgers care about things being fair, and Will gets annoyed at Jack for cheating, and annoyed at Elizabeth for stealing the medallion. He’s also really leaning into the hard work aspect of the Badger secondary by practicing sword fighting three hours a day. But this doesn’t seem to be a secondary that’s especially good for him. It makes him tense and uptight, and by the end of the first film he’s completely thrown it off.

I really considered a Snake primary for him, based on how single-mindedly he goes after Elizabeth. Movies 2 and 3 just keep throwing Loyalist conflicts at him. (Will can stay with Elizabeth or save his father, but he can’t do both!) But I think he’s actually a Badger primary.

This boy cares about his communities a lot. He doesn’t think he can be with Elizabeth (even though she clearly likes him) because of “propriety.” He believes society when society tells him she’s out of his league. He covers for a boss who spends most of his time passed-out drunk, probably out of a sense of loyalty, or because he feels that’s what he’s supposed to do. He starts off the film completely dehumanizing pirates, but slowly learns his lesson – a very Badger primary character arc. And then, when Will rescues Jack at the end, it’s not because Jack is his (the way a Snake primary would parse it) but because Jack is a good man who isn’t being treated right.

(also the “part of the ship, part of the crew” refrain that Will’s new crew chants as he takes over for Davy Jones is very… dark Badger magic. You are becoming part of the whole.)

Hector Barbossa is the definition of a Burnt Primary. He can’t want. He can’t allow himself to want. Wanting is off the table. (because he is an undead skeleton.)

However, I do think that when Barbossa is healthy and y’know, not cursed, he’s a Snake primary. His beloved monkey is a little nod to the sorts of Snakey bonds he would like to form, but isn’t able to at the moment. Apart from that, he values self-care, and is a bit of a hedonist. He likes pretty things. He likes putting Elizabeth in pretty dresses. He likes elegantly prepared food, antique furniture, and nice hats. (Things start getting serious in the sword fight after Jack cuts off his feather.) This is why I think his redemption arc is so funny. Once his primary unburns, and he’s able to want things safely, he pretty much becomes a happy-go-lucky good guy overnight. And you know, I completely buy it.

As for secondary, I’m going with Badger. Barbossa community builds (he’s a much better captain than Jack.) He gives morale raising speeches. Leader of a mutiny is pretty classic dark Badger stuff. Marooning Jack, and dropping Bootstrap Bill into the ocean tied to a canon are both very ruthless, very public acts that are all about weaponizing community as a way to dehumanize your enemies and cement your power.

James Norrington starts out very Establishment (like Elizabeth.) But unlike Elizabeth, he seems to enjoy the way he can just see his life all laid out. Work his way up, become Commodore, marry the governor’s daughter. He proposes the second after he gets his promotion, it really is like he’s working from a checklist. It’s a very rigid Bird primary.

And he follows the law: “One good deed is not enough to redeem a lifetime of wickedness.” But more than that, he is comforted by following the law. When Jack tempts him into going after the Black Pearl, Norrington is clearly feeling it – but says there are things he values more than his own gut responses.

JACK: Think about it… the last real pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate. How can you pass that up? NORRINGTON: By remembering that I serve others, Mr. Sparrow, not only myself.

This is such a great illustration of the difference between a Lion and Bird primary. A Bird’s higher power lives outside of them (and as we see here, that can make them really hard to tempt, bribe, or corrupt). But a Lion’s higher power is inside them, always. At the end of the film, Norrington adapts his system into something that looks a lot more Lion primary (this is a universe that likes Lions, and Norrington likes Lions too). But he’s still very, very Bird.

Governor Swann tells him that “perhaps on the rare occasion that the right course demands an act of piracy, piracy itself might be the right course,” and Norrington takes that in, sees the actions of Elizabeth, and says - okay. Maybe hunt all pirates always isn’t the perfect system I thought it was. Jack Sparrow tends to leave the world better than he found it, so it’s best to let him go. This change doesn’t seem upsetting to him, he doesn’t need to justify or explain it. It’s just obvious. Norrington reacts exactly the same when he learns that Elizabeth is not in love with him. He absorbs this new information, tells her that he understands, and walks away. When Lions change their minds, the process is a heck of a lot more emotional.

Then in the next film, the people around him don’t support his new Truth, and force Norrington to continue doing things he has discovered that he finds morally objectionable. And so he resigns his commission, burns, and goes into freefall, grasping at the systems he sees around him, trying to find something to hold onto. He seems like he might be beginning to build a more stable Truth – but dies before he can manage it. The sequels did Norrington dirty.

I actually want to say he’s a Badger secondary. At his most desperate and lost, his instinct is to join Jack’s crew. At his most powerful, he’s quietly calling in all his favors and getting the entire Royal Navy to look for Elizabeth. These are both versions of the same thing – leveraging community and connections to get things done.

tl;dr

Jack Sparrow – Lion primary that sees “freedom” as the ultimate good, with a bit of an amoral, pragmatic Snake primary performance so people don’t find that out / Snake secondary

Elizabeth Swann – Stifled Lion primary living in a situation where she’s not allowed to act on her instincts. Runs after pirates every chance she gets, because the ‘pirate life’ allows her to do just that / Snake secondary, Bird secondary model

Will Turner – Badger primary / Lion secondary, Badger secondary model that Jack gets him to drop.

Hector Barbossa – Burnt Snake primary that un-burns when the curse that doesn’t allow him to want things is lifted / Badger secondary

James Norrington – Rigid by-the-books Bird primary that changes to something that looks a lot more Lion, before it burns in the sequels / Badger secondary

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thestarwrites · 3 years

Text

All Right, All Might: Ch.8

Word Count: 3,242

Rating: PG

Painting: Toshinori Yagi X FemOC

The UA Guidance Counselor, a quirk user with Pathokenesis, is shocked to find out her personal hero All Might is coming to be a teacher. The road they walk as a parallel starts to merge and there’s no telling what could happen. The attack on the USJ has sparked a lot of things from happening -- including a new level of relationship for Toshinori.

---

CHAPTER EIGHT: The Morning After

A soft hum leaves Patho’s lips as she feels the sunlight through the blinds on her cheeks, and the long lean arms around her waist — wait — her eyes pop open and she looks down at the familiar hands and arms of Toshinori wrapped around her from behind. Her whole body feels like its on fire in an instant. Biting her lip she turns her face to look at him. He looks like an angel.

She remembers going to bed with him — not WITH him, but, she made him sleep in the queen sized bed. He was injured after all. He went to sleep curled up on one side of the bed, and she on the other. When did they start spooning?

Closing her eyes again she sighed softly, it felt so nice to be in his arms. She could still smell his cologne faintly on his skin, she loved the smell of him. His whole aura was still big and strong and powerful - he just didn’t think so - so being in his arms felt so safe. She knew it was the only place she ever wanted to be.

Things will be different one day, when they are we can talk about it then.

His words from last night rang through her head, she didn’t want to have to wait until that one day came. She knew he was selfless, that he wouldn’t want to put a burden on anyone - but he deserved to be happy too. To chase what he wanted. Keri sighed and turned in his arms slowly so she was facing the sleeping man’s face.

They would have to talk about this now.

Leaning up she pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, “Toshinori…”

He hummed softly, squeezing the plush woman in his arms, “Not yet…”

She chuckled gently, “Toshi… come on.”

Toshinori blinked his eyes open and flushed bright red, “UH— I UH—“ Keri put her hand on his chest, activating her quirk to calm him. After a few moments he swallowed thickly, “We’re… very close.”

“I know, I woke up with you spooning me,” Keri smiled, “Problem?”

He flushed beet red, “No— no I… I just don’t remember…”

“We just must have been drawn to another body in the bed, you and I usually sleep alone you know?” She gingerly ran her hand over his chest, “Toshi…. i…. I want us to have that talk you mentioned.”

“Keri.”

“No. I want to have that talk now because I don’t know what will happen tomorrow or the next day and I don’t want to do this anymore.” She looked sternly up at him, tears in her eyes.

His own eyebrows knit together, “Don’t cry—“

“Toshinori, will you go out on a date with me?” She looked up at him, cheeks red, eyes glassy.

The older man felt so conflicted to look into her eyes and know what life had in store for him still, he thought about Nighteye in that moment, about his mentor, about All for One. She didn’t know everything, how could he tell her everything? She dealt with enough, and now she was going to have to deal with more student issues due to the attack the previous day.

Taking a deep breath he sighed, “Keri… you’re just still all worked up from yesterday is all, you don’t mean that.”

She scoffed softly, “I know perfectly well what I mean and what I don’t mean. I was so worried yesterday and, and I spoke to your friend outside — he… he asked me how long I’ve had feelings for you.”

Toshinori’s cheeks reddened as he looked at her, his arms still wrapped comfortably around her. He wanted to get up, put some distance between them - but he was frozen, “You… have feelings for me?”

“Yeah… I do.”

He took a deep breath and sighed, “You don’t want me, I’m… I’m old and I’m ugly, and I’m all but washed up at this point, and I… I don’t frankly know how long I’m going to live. You don’t even know me that well because I always keep everyone at arms length…”

“I do want you,” She looked up at him, “I know I don’t know everything. And you can take your time telling me what you want to tell me. You’re my best friend, Toshi.” She gently squeezed his shirt, “I want to try… but if you don’t… then that’s okay too.”

Toshinori looked at the girl he trusted implicitly and he considered everything they’ve been through so far together. She knew about things no other woman knew about him, he so willingly let her almost completely into his life. He’d been asked so many times now if they were dating — well, here she was asking to try? Who was he to deny her?

Taking a deep breath, the older man gently rubbed her side, “I want to try.”

A tear slipped down her cheek as she broke into a smile, “You do?”

He nodded and smiled bashfully, “I’ve never been in a relationship before… I… I don’t know how good I’ll be at it.”

Keri just laughed softly, “We’re literally just going to be what we’ve always been — just, adding in this…”  Leaning up, she pressed her lips gently to his and his whole body tensed. His hands gripped into her hips as he slowly began to kiss her back. His hand slowly threaded into her long messy hair. After she pulled back with a soft smile he chuckled, “I think I can handle that…”

Smiling she ran a thumb over his cheek, “Come on… we have to get ready for work. It’s a big day. You have the big meeting with Nezu and the other teachers, and I have to start 1-A’s counseling.”

He groaned, “Its too early.”

“No, I gotta bring you back to your apartment to get ready.” She chuckled, “I don’t want you to use your hero form until you get to school.”

“Yes, dear.” He smirked and kissed her softly once more before she pulled out of his arms and stood up, stretching, “So… will you still go on a date with me?” Toshi smiled.

Nodding she grinned, “Yes.”

—————

Walking up to the school with Toshinori in his All Might form was strange enough, usually when she was with him he was himself, her small might. But today, he had his arm crooked for her to hold onto, and her arms were wrapped around his enormous bicep, “Are you sure you’re okay with this Toshinori...? It’s only going to be a few moments until we’re seen.” She whispered softly.

He smiled a winning smile down at her, “I asked you on a date! What kind of partner would I be if I didn’t escort you to work!?”

She giggled gently at his explosive cheer, “Toshi- I’m serious.” “I’ve wanted to walk with you like this for a while, I don’t care who sees. Everyone we know apparently thinks we’re dating, right? So, here we are on time and ready for work.” He smiled more subtly, and winked.

Blushing she smiled and nodded, “All right, All Might.”

Walking into the front doors of UA, the kids still in the hallway seemed to stare in disbelief- wasn’t that the guidance counselor? - some whispered. Some less kind words reached her ears and she almost looked down, pulling away before she heard a strong voice. Her anchor, “Look at me, baby,” she looked up, “You look beautiful today.”

She flushed bright red, keeping control over her quirk- but barely- “Toshi...” she smiled.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to your office,” he smoothly took her hand and led her to the elevator, as if he was in hero mode saving her from being embarrassed. Once they were alone in the small room, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, “You okay?”

“Yeah- you?”

He nodded with a small smile.

She took a deep breath and leaned into him, “You’ll make sure to fill me in on what Nezu and the others have to say at the meeting, right? Since I can’t attend.”

“Oh yes, of course, I’ll fill you in over lunch,” he nodded, stopping to take her hand once more to walk her to her office on the administrative floor, “You’re going to be great today.”

Chuckling gently she motioned for him to lean down, and she stroked his cheek gently, “So are you... I’ll see you at lunch.”

He nodded and leaned into the gap, kissing her softly.

—————

Across town… an old hero was sitting down with his breakfast to watch the morning news and read an interesting letter from an old student…

Greetings,

The air is warm here, it feels like summer is around the corner. I hope this letter finds you well, sir, in good health and even better spirits. This semester I took a position as a teacher at UA High School. Thats right. Me. Now guiding the next generation of heroes.

I was hoping to find someone worthy of inheriting my power among the elite students at the school. A hero in training with outstanding test scores and a powerful quirk. However, before my tenure even began, I met a young man. Even though he was weak and had no quirk of his own, he showed incredible bravery. He rushed into a dangerous situation that pro heroes, even myself, to hesitate.

He managed to save the life of a classmate. He might not have had a plan when he ran in, but he knew he had to do something. I feel like watching this young man spring into action taught me something that day. It reminded me of the virtues I must embody in order to call myself aa hero. Thats why I meant it when I told him he too could become a hero. Shortly after that, I told this pupil the secret of my quirk, and proposed that he inherit it from me - he accepted without hesitation. I have been training him for the trials he will have to overcome, in order to be accepted into the hero course at UA. Even though he struggles with his abilities, he gives it 100 percent as he tried to harness One for All.

I don’t like to toot my own horn, but I believe I found the perfect person. Who has what it takes to be a real hero. I’m still quite new at the role of instructor, so the time may come when I have to trouble you, my old teacher, for advice. I’ll be counting on your wisdom and patience when that time comes.

Until then, please take care of yourself as the seasons begin to change.

There is, however, something troubling me that I would like to request your advice on now, sir. There is a woman in my life. I think I am in love with her, and I don’t know what to do. She knows my secret, she knows about One for All. I actually met her last year when I visited UA to speak to Nezu. She and I have been almost inseparable and, sometimes I can convince myself maybe she has feelings for me as well.

She is the schools guidance councilor. Patho is her hero name - but her name is Keri Chairo. Isn’t that a beautiful name? But she’s so young, she’s a year younger than Aizawa, and - well, suffice to say, I am so conflicted on what to do.

What would you do?

I’ll continue to keep you updated on what’s happening with my young pupil.

Sincerely Yours, Toshinori Yagi

“So,” he smirked, “Toshinori has found himself a successor and a woman in such a short time, I’ll have to write back immediately. Poor sap.”

————————

Keri smiled, pouring a cup of tea for Eijiro Kirishima, her first student counseling session of the morning, “How are you feeling this morning, Eijiro?”

The red-headed boy smiled up at her, “I’m feeling okay… a little weary but… I think mostly okay?” He picked up the cup, blowing on it, “Thank you for the tea— you have a really cute office.”

She smiled again and sat back down, “Thank you, so, you’re class is getting a lot of attention, hm?”

“Yeah! We’re like celebrities!” He laughed a little, “But, I dunno…” Patho tilted her head and rested her chin on her hand to listen to him, “I don’t know if I’m ready to be seen like that, helpless in a disaster. It just, it makes me think about when I was in middle school.”

She took a sip of her tea and pushed a plate of cookies toward him, “What do you mean, Eijiro? What happened in middle school?’

“I just,” he paused, clearly still shaken up under his cool facade, “I used to be such a coward, I never helped anyone. And I mean - yesterday? I don't think my stupid quirk helped anyone either.”

Keri smiled softly, her forehead beginning to glow as she sent calming waves toward the teen, “First off, your quirk is certainly not stupid. You just haven’t unlocked its full potential yet is all, that’s what most quirk users lack, the motivation to find out where they fit.”

He sipped his tea, feeling a little better already.

“Also, recognizing you want to be better and to actively take steps to improve yourself into the man you want to be - that’s extremely brave and grown up to do, you know.”

“It… is?” Kirishima blushed.

She nodded, “Of course. Plenty of us pros are scared to death, but we know what we need to rise to become to be heroes, and you definitely understand that already, Eijiro. Most of your classmates probably skated by all their life until now.” She smiled, “When you’re someone without vast amounts of power, you respect and work for it. But those who have always had power? They’ll end up having more work to do on themselves in the long run. So, really, you’re ahead.”

A small, bashful smile came over his face, “You think I’m ahead?”

Keri nodded, “I do.” She took another drink of her tea, “I think you’re a sensitive, sweet, brave guy. Definitely the picture of what it means to be a man - you just keep holding that image of who you want to be in your head, Eijiro, and I know you’ll hone your quirk and do great things.”

His eyes pricked with tears and he grinned, wiping at his eyes, “Miss Keri, you’re the coolest ever… I mean it.”

Giggling gently she smiled, “Would you like to hang out here a little while longer and drink your tea?”

He hummed softly, “Yeah. I really would it that’s okay, Miss.”

“Of course it is, Eijiro - so tell me, who is your favorite hero?”

Grinning he seemed to be shaken our of the small funk he was in, “Crimson Riot! The gentleman hero! He’s so cool and manly and he always does what’s right! I wanna be just like him!” She giggled gently and smiled before he paused, “Who’s your favorite hero, miss Keri?”

She blushed a little and chuckled, “Well, when I was a little girl… I wanted to be just like All Might. I had this doll of him that I carried around everywhere.”

He laughed, “It must be so amazing to get to work with him!”

“Oh… its certainly something alright,” She chuckled.

“You guys are like... really close right? I mean — I heard someone say you were holding hands this morning?” He leaned over and smirked, “Whats the deets?”

Keri blushed and sighed, looking at him, “You are definitely very charming, I’ll give you that. I don’t see any reason why you wont have a sea of groupies when you get your license…”

“You didn’t answer my question!” He pouted.

She smirked, “A woman’s got to have some secrets, hm?”

Huffing he slid down in his seat, finishing his tea, “I guess.”

Laughing softly she stood, “Okay, Eijiro, I think it’s time for you to head back to class. But you come and see me any time you’re feeling down and out - or even if you just need someone to chat with, okay?”

He smiled and picked up his backpack, going to the door, “Thanks Miss Chairo, I’m really glad you’re here.”

“Anytime,” she smiled and waved, closing the door, she sighed, “He’s relatively fine from that — lets see, who’s next—“

She didn’t even need to look at her calendar as the door slammed open, “Why do I keep ending up here, nerd.”

Turning she smiled, “Good morning Katsuki.”

“Tch, whatever Pathological. I passed shitty hair in the hall, so - is he over here like a sap getting his head shrunk and all that?” He crossed over to the fridge, “Can I have some of this milk?”

“Of course,” Keri rolled her eyes with a smile, “Eijiro and I were talking about our favorite heroes.”

Bakugo rolled his eyes as he poured a glass, “Such a waste of time coming out of damn class to shoot the shit. I know who his favorite hero is, and it isn’t All Might. Who he hell’s favorite hero isn’t All Might?”

She smiled a little more, “I mean, you know I’m in agreement with you.”

“Yeah, I know. You’re his little sidekick nowadays. Never see one without the other. It’s annoying. Someone told me you two were holding hands this morning. Never thought All Might would let a dumb girl get in his way.” He took a drink of the milk before going to sit down.

“Why does everyone keep bringing that up?”

“Tch, what are you, dense?” He looked at her in earnest for a moment, “This is all Might we’re talking about, not some extra like Ectoplasm. All Might comes to school holding hands with your dumb ass, of course people are gonna talk.”

“Well then, lets just cut to the point shall we? How are you feeling from yesterday, Katsuki?” “I feel fine. What’s the big deal? This is more a UA problem than a me problem.”

“I just need to check with everyone, especially for the sake of your parents, that you are all going to be alright in the weeks to come, especially with the Sports Festival looming.”

He leaned back on his chair, eating a cookie, since they were there, “Well my parents know I’m fine, I know I’m fine, and I’m gonna win that damn festival.”

She smirked, “Well, good.”

Frowning he put his chair legs back on the floor, ‘Whats that smirk for, dumbass?”

Patho just sighed, “You’re my favorite student, you know that?”

His cheeks lit red and he coughed, “Of course I’m your favorite! I’m the best at everything! Even seeing the guidance councilor! I’m going back to class. These cookies suck.” He chugged the rest of his milk, going to rinse out the glass, “I’m sure there are other extras who need to talk more than me. I don’t need you. You know? I just come up here to humor you.”

“Of course, Katsuki.” She smiled, “Have a good day, alright?”

“I will!” He huffed, still blushing, “and you know- like, you too — DUMBASS.” He practically steamrolled out of the door and she laughed to herself.

She had a ten minute break between appointments now, and so she let her thoughts wander to Toshinori as she cleaned up her office for the next student - Tenya.

#all might x reader #all might x oc #my hero academia #all might #toshinori yagi

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aster-aspera · 3 years

Text

Forget-me-nots

CW: major character death, character with little regard for their own life, mentions of injury, explosions, minor original characters

Relationship: romantic DLAMP

Song is Elsa's song by The Amazing Devil. I highly recommend you go listen to it, not only because it's an amazing song but also because it plays a big part in this chapter.

Masterpost for the rest of my superhero AU (this chapter isn’t part of the main story)

Patton felt his chest squeeze tight when the message came in.

“Suspected bomb in the university, time to ignition unknown.” Aisha’s voice reported.

“Who’s closest?” Virgil asked.

“Pathos, but he’ll need assistance, the unseen have blocked all the ways out and there’s loads of civilians trapped there.” He heard the tapping of keys and assumed Aisha was coming up with a battle plan.

“Okay, Prince, Storm, you guys head over there, engage the unseen. Deceit and Vortex, you head over once you’re done and help get the civilians out. Pat, I need you to get into the uni and disable the bomb.”

Patton swallowed nervously. “Me? Wouldn’t Logos be better?”

“Ideally, yes. But he’s engaged at the other end of the city, the unseen are literally everywhere.” Aisha groaned in frustration.

Patton felt like echoing that groan. He really wasn’t qualified for this, he wasn’t very good at technology, that was Logan and Aisha’s area and he didn’t have the nerves of steel required to calmly defuse a bomb. He was really just the sniper of the group. He hoped he wouldn’t mess up this job too badly.

I can hear the cannons calling

As though across a dream

He stared at university, where members of the unseen were walking around, herding students into the central building.

“What is their plan?” He asked aloud, mostly just to get the question off his chest. With the unseen, it was almost always impossible to know what their plan was, sometimes it wasn’t even clear after the fact.

“I have no clue.” Aisha confirmed his musings.

“Okay, there’s a sky light you can use to get in undetected. I think the bomb is in the library, so you’ll have to get there without being discovered.”

Patton looked at the map Aisha had sent him. The skylight was two floors above the library.

“Is there no way directly into the library?”

“There’s three doors, one of which is unguarded and accessible through the only other unguarded point, the sky light.” Aisha explained impatiently “So, no. There’s no other way in.”

“Alright, I was just asking.” Patton tried to defuse. He wasn’t hurt by Aisha snapping at him. The situation over the whole city was tense, with the unseen somehow managing to hold three different areas at once. The whole team had been working non stop to take back control of the city, and everyone was tired.

And I can smell the smoke of hell

In every stitch and seam

He hesitated a moment.

“Pathos?” Aisha prompted.

“Yeah, sorry, just nervous about the bomb thing.”

“Hey, don’t worry about that, I’ll be here to guide you.”

Patton felt a bit foolish being comforted by a teen who was about ten years younger than him. He shouldn’t be placing that burden on her, he was the experienced one, he was the mentor, he shouldn’t be relying on her for comfort. Regardless, he felt steadied by the knowledge Aisha would tell him what to do and quietly headed in.

And like flowers, the bodies tumble

Around this muddied lot

He stared in horror at the device in front of him. He had seen and defused bombs before, but this didn’t even look remotely close to anything he was used to.

“Um, A?” He asked, sending a scan to her.

“Oh, wow.” She gasped “Okay, well uhm… That’s not ideal.”

“Not ideal? I think this is a little more than just not ideal.”

“Yeah, hold on, I’m working on it.”

“What do I do? We need to get the civilians out.”

“Prince and Storm are nearby, they’ll start evacuating, I need you to stay here and be my hands.”

“Okay.”

He heard Aisha frantically tapping at the keyboard and occasionally she would ask him to send pictures or scans of a specific area.

“Sure you can’t find a countdown anywhere?” She asked for the fifth time.

“No.” Patton sighed.

The lack of a countdown was unnerving him. While a clock slowly ticking towards your doom wasn’t exactly reassuring, it was better than sitting next to an explosive with no idea when it could go off.

Noise echoed from somewhere on the campus: gunshots and screaming.

“A? What’s going on?” He asked, shooting upright.

“We’re here.” Roman’s voice declared triumphantly, then cut off with a yell.

“Prince, you alright there, kiddo?” Patton asked, vaguely worried.

“He’s fine, just needs to pay attention more.” Virgil sighed.

“Pat, look at that red wire for me please.” Aisha cut in.

“Will you be okay?” Virgil asked.

No, I don’t know what I’m doing, I’m nervous, I’m really not qualified for this Patton thought. But he just brushed Virgil off, they’d been doing this for years, he could handle this. He had to handle this, the others were counting on him.

I cannot hear them scream

‘Forget me not.’

What felt like hours later, but in reality was probably closer to half an hour, they still hadn’t gotten it. Aisha was groaning in frustration and cursing her wheelchair.

“If I could be there in person, I would have solved it already.” She griped.

Patton tried not to flinch at the reminder of his uselessness, she probably wished it was Logan in this room, not him.

Janus and Kiara had arrived by now and the evacuation was in full swing. The fighting had stopped abruptly a few minutes ago, when all members of the unseen had mysteriously fled. That really wasn’t helping Patton’s confidence.

Your voice it carries over

The hubbub and the hum

“Are you guys getting anywhere?” Janus asked.

“No, I can’t figure it out, I’ve never seen anything like it.” Aisha answered.

“Well, you better hurry, the evacuation isn’t going as smoothly as we would like, it might take a while longer.”

“You guys be careful, be ready to get out of there if we can’t disable it.” Patton said.

“We’ll be safe, love, but what about you?” Janus asked.

Patton ignored that question, clicking his comms off and focusing on the bomb again. There were too many civilians still in the building, he couldn’t leave till he knew the bomb wasn’t a danger anymore or everyone was a safe distance away.

And it paints the sky and circles high

Like the beating of a drum

“Pat, you might have to consider leaving. We have no idea when it can go off and we might not figure it out in time.” Aisha said.

“There’s still too many people here, we have to keep trying.”

He wasn’t leaving yet, he had to help these people. If he stopped now, how many lives would that cost? It was his job as a hero to save them, even if it cost him his life. It wasn’t like he mattered that much anyways. He had no special skills, the team wouldn’t even have to find a replacement.

“Pat, please, it’s been almost an hour. It isn’t safe anymore, you have to come out.” Virgil pleaded.

Patton stubbornly ignored their comments, snapping at Aisha to stop worrying and stay focused. They were nearly there, they had to be.

You will scream ‘I won’t forget you’

But I’ll cover my cold ears

“Patton, how many times have I told you it’s okay to put yourself first. You’re not going to save anyone by letting yourself get blown up. Please just listen to us and get out of there.” Janus pleaded.

Patton groaned in frustration. “This wouldn’t have happened if it was anyone else. I just can’t figure it out, I’m useless.”

“Nonsense.” Logan snapped, presumably following the conversation from where he was making his way over to them. “From the description A gave, I doubt even I would have been able to figure it out. It’s not your fault.” He finished gently.

Patton got up, feeling miserable and useless. How many people was he leaving here to die? But they were right, he wasn’t doing anyone any good staying here.

“I’m coming out.” He announced.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“I thought you did that years ago.” Roman joked. “I mean, you are dating four guys.”

Patton chuckled, then whirled around in horror as the bomb started beeping behind him.

“Aisha?” He asked, panicked.

“Shit! Run!” She yelled and in that moment, Patton knew he was done for.

“I love you guys.” He breathed and could hear various yells in the earpiece before the world exploded in fire and pain.

It cannot be a lie

If no-one hears.

Patton watched miserably as Roman gently cut away Logan’s sleeve. Janus sat perched on the counter, watching them intently. Logan followed Roman’s movements, his eyes blurry with pain. Patton felt his chest squeeze when Logan bit back a groan at Roman jostling his arm.

“Sorry.” He muttered “Painkillers haven’t kicked in yet?”

Logan just shook his head.

Patton curled his fingers around the chair in guilt. It was his fault. He should have paid attention, should have been faster.

A roar from the entrance snapped him out of his thoughts. Virgil kicked the bike stand down and strode over to them, his hair mussed from the helmet.

“What happened?” He asked, focused and direct as always.

“Acid, Logan got burns all over his arm.” Janus explained.

“It was my fault, I should have paid attention, I should have stopped it.” Patton said miserably, then curled in on himself when all eyes turned to him. Now he was just being whiny. They all knew it was his fault, pointing it out like that just sounded self pitying.

Of course, Janus immediately started to refute it. They always made an effort to make him feel better, it was sweet. He just wished he was worthy of their praise.

“Patton, you know it’s not your fault, right?” He started gently.

Logan hissed suddenly.

“Can you watch out with that?” He snapped at Roman.

“Well, sorry I’m trying to save your arm, microsoft nerd. I can also just leave it like that!”

Janus sighed as Roman waved him over to help. Patton breathed a sigh of relief at that topic of conversation being over. Only Virgil hadn’t let it go yet.

He sat down on the armrest of Patton’s chair.

“You okay?” He asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He brushed off.

Cos although you say good day to me

I know I don’t belong

Virgil clearly didn’t believe him and took his hand. “It’s not your fault, Pat. We can’t always see everything coming.”

“Right, because if it had been you or Janus then you definitely wouldn’t have seen such an obvious trap coming.” Patton laughed bitterly.

“There’s no guarantee we would have. Even we fuck up occasionally.”

“Language.” Virgil rolled his eyes.

“And we have years more training, it's not fair to put yourself down like that.”

Right, because even after years of being a hero, they were still making excuses for him. He still wasn’t good enough, fast enough, smart enough. Everyone in the team had their specialty, Virgil was their best fighter, Logan was smart, Roman was their medical expert and Janus was their former crime boss. They were all good at something, and where did that leave him?

He could shoot, yeah. But who needed that when Virgil could just kick all their asses by hand, when Janus and Logan could set up elaborate schemes that didn’t even require any kicking of ass to get the criminals in jail?

And although you hold my hand and say

‘I love you’, you are wrong.

Patton was on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He should go downstairs, join the others. He could hear their chatter all the way up in the bedroom.

The mood had lifted a bit after Roman had declared the burns on Logan’s arm weren’t that serious and they were having their customary ‘someone got hurt comfort dinner’.

Patton didn’t really feel motivated to join.

Because love does not exist here

In this garden there’s no feeling

The door opened and Logan popped his head around the corner.

“Oh, hey Lo.” Patton tried cheerfully, but it came out sounding a bit shaky.

Logan smiled gently. “May I come in?”

“Course, it’s your bedroom too.”

“Are you alright?” He asked.

Patton felt like sighing at those familiar words. He’d heard them so many times tonight and the nights before that. Always that concern for him, their weakest member. Even though he didn’t really deserve it, even though most of the time it was his fault.

And you say the words so often

That I barely know the meaning

“I’m fine.” He groaned “Why do you guys keep asking?”

“Because we’re worried about you.”

“Me? You’re the one who’s hurt.”

“Roman said I would be fine, the physical wounds will heal. I’m just worried about the mental ones.”

“What? Mental wounds, I’m fine Logan. It really isn’t that serious.” Patton laughed.

“It’s not the first time you’ve blamed yourself without any cause for it. I just want to make sure you’re aware it wasn’t your fault.”

“I’m aware.” Patton said. Did he really believe himself though? It always felt like empty reassurances when they told him he wasn’t at fault.

He wanted to believe his lovers wouldn’t lie to him, but they were all just so kind. They wouldn’t want him to feel guilty, even if that meant they had to lie. He wondered why they still let him come along. He just got in the way.

And when all the flowers are rotten

And all the cannons shot

“Will you come downstairs and join us?” Logan asked.

“Yeah, give me a minute, I’m coming.”

I’ll scream, but you won’t hear

‘Forget me not’

In the end, ten people still died. Figures, even in death Patton had failed. Even then he hadn’t been able to save them. Maybe it was better, at least now, he wouldn’t be able to mess things up anymore.

His family didn’t take it well, of course they didn’t. They always cared too much, even about him.

And in years to come you’ll wander

To the place up on our hill

He wished he could hold them, just one last time. Tell them ‘it’s alright, don’t mourn, you’ll be alright’.

He watched as the Rewind team, the teens they mentored, fought with more vigour than ever before. They took the job of the grieving heroes, of him, and carried them out with a sense of honour. He felt proud, looking at them. They were so much more than he had ever been, they would lead this city towards a better future.

Aisha visited his grave, drove her car all the way up country and rolled her wheelchair along the muddy path to the spot they had buried him. It was near his family home, where his mothers could visit frequently, where he was surrounded by the familiar forests.

She cried for a while, apologized, said she should have figured it out faster. He wished he could tell her it wasn’t her fault. She had tried so hard, she was just a child, she couldn’t always save everyone.

And then you’ll cry to our painted sky

‘I loved her then, I love her still’.

The others visited too, Logan quiet, reserved, emotionless. Patton ached for him. He had lost so much in his life. It wasn’t fair that Patton had taken this away from him too.

And you’ll strew some sage and lilies ,

Roman, his tears and anger burning as hot as his love once had. He still went out to the streets, despite Janus’s urging not to. His anger needed a way out. Patton was scared for him. He would let his rage burn him up over this grief.

And roses where I rot

And Janus, sweet, caring Janus. He kept the family together, somehow. Bottled his grief up somewhere deep and drew his lovers into his arms. He only dropped the mask at Patton’s grave, surrounded only by the evergreens and spring meadows. Let the grief consume him for just a moment, cried till the pain that had curled itself up in his bones drowned him in her violent throes. And then he got up, gathered himself and walked back to the car. Now that Patton wasn’t there anymore, someone had to keep the team alive. Patton was grateful to him.

Of all the flowers you picked,

Virgil came last, after months of the others coming and going. He barely glanced at the grave. Just sat down a few meters away and stared out at the trees.

“Why did you do that?” He asked the empty air, his voice filled with tears.

“Why did you leave us like that? It’s not fair. We were supposed to grow old together, get married.” His voice picked up in speed and volume, his breaths coming quicker.

“You said you were fine! You told me it was alright to place myself first, place our family first. Why couldn’t you do that? Why couldn’t you listen to your own damn advice and think of us for once?”

‘I wanted to, god, I wanted to’ Patton wanted to tell him. He wished he had left the building sooner, wished his death hadn’t been so meaningless. He saw the pain he put his family through. Maybe he didn’t fully see his own worth, but he saw how much he meant to them. He wished he hadn’t taken so much from them.

I knew you would forget

Forget-me-nots.

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saintheartwing · 4 years

Text

Lily’s Post about Mary Sues

Let’s analyze this.

None of those series you mentioned have characters that could be labelled as Mary Sues

Clark Kent, Goku, Luke, Anakin, Kirk.

Okay, a Mary Sue or Gary Stu has to be, basically, either an author avatar or stand-in, they tend to be beautiful or really handsome, have unusual, or dramatic backtories, are “chosen one” types, all of the main characters in the group will love them or admire them and those that don’t are always portrayed as in the wrong for not doing so, this kind of thing. They tend to be overpowered as well and they possess unique, special powers. They’ve basically overpowered, over-idealized, beloved by anybody and if you DON’T like them, you’re clearly in the wrong. Oh, and everything they do is treated as good, and if they DO screw up, hey, it’s no big deal. Any actual flaws are negligible or nonexistent. Like being “Naive” or wearing their heart on their sleeve.

Let’s take a look at...Superman. Well, he’s got several big weaknesses. Kryptonite, for one. And Magic. HUGELY weak against magic. He IS overpowered and he is mostly beloved by everyone...but he has made a LOT of mistakes. Especially when it comes to Batman. Whenever Batman is involved in a story with him, it’s Batman who’s right, and Superman who’s in the wrong. Pretty much all the time. “Darkseid is dead, Superman.” “You know what Bruce? You’re not always right!” But Batman WAS right, at least technically. Batman regularly beats Superman in several stories. So Clark isn’t always treated as right. On top of that, he does have some real character flaws of constantly being torn between wanting to do more and being afraid of how far he should go. And when you have GODLY strength, that’s a huge exploit, especially for supervillains. But...he does fill a lot of the Mary Sue tropes, so we’ll give Lily some credit.

Goku? Well Goku is a moron. The story always treats his stupidity as being a huge problem. One that CONTINUES to cause issues, and has even nearly gotten his world destroyed a few times. He’s even gotten himself and his friends KILLED cuz he couldn’t think of any other way but to sacrifice himself or the like. AND he has serious anger issues. When he’s furious, he’s almost uncontrollable. The only person more so is Vegeta. He’s also a pig who eats too much but we can sorta overlook that last one because being a glutton is played more for laughs and “He needs it to keep up his strength”. How about his powers? Well he’s DEFINITELY overpowered. Is he handsome? Well, he looks pretty good. And he’s well-liked by pretty much the whole main cast except for, of course, the villains. So we could say...yeah. Goku’s kinda Mary Sue-ish.

Luke? Well...not really. Luke isn’t naturally gifted or talented like Goku or Superman were. Despite having the POTENTIAL to be great, his Jedi skills started out so poor he couldn’t even block blaster bolts using the force alone. He had to train for weeks if not months under Yoda just to get somewhat up to snuff and he STILL failed. “Don’t go into that cave with your weapons”. He goes in. Sees Darth Vader and...oh, wait, it’s HIMSELF he’s killed! You were put to the test and you failed. He can’t lift large objects with the Force. He’s reckless, he doesn’t think things through and he often has to rely on help from OTHERS to succeed. He only got that one-in-a-million shot on the Death Star because Obi Wan’s ghost spoke to him in his head to help guide him. He only got away from the first Death Star because Obi Wan sacrificed himself. Throughout the first two films, he’s just not good enough. He loses to Darth Vader MISERABLY, and he even loses his HAND. A real Mary Sue would have won, or at least held Darth Vader off, or tied. Worse still, he’s not just dangerously reckless and kind of whiny...he’s got a serious anger problem that rises up in the films, he almost outright gives in to the dark side. But other than that, he’s just some country bumpkin who happened to luck out at finding the right droid. All his powers, he basically earned, showing a classic heroes’s journey growth. So that, combined with the huge failures in the first few movies and even if we factor in the sequels and the stupid, dumb decisions he made...he’s not a Mary Sue. A Mary Sue wouldn’t f--k up that much. Or if they did, it wouldn’t be treated as his own fault, or as a bad thing. It’d be brushed off.

Anakin! OHHH boy. This guy is a whiny little brat. I don’t know if people realize this, but...Lily, NOBODY LIKED ANAKIN. Anakin was unlikable BECAUSE he was a Mary Sue. You DO realize this, right? He was overpowered, treated as the chosen one, and he was super whiny at that. But you know what? At least the story treated him doing awful stuff as the wrong thing. Him being reckless? A bad thing. He should listen to Obi Wan more. Him casually killing someone through the back in the Clone Wars? A bad thing, he could have just knocked the guy out or cut his arm or hand off, what he did was murder. Anakin murdering the entire tribe of Sand People that kidnapped his mom, leading to her death? Shown as a VERY bad thing because he slaughtered ALL of them, even women and children. Anakin becoming Sith and killing kids? SUPER bad thing.

So at the very least, him doing morally reprehensible things is treated as genuinely bad. At least the story calls him out on this.

Kirk? Uh, Kirk is just a random human. He’s not exactly super strong or super intelligent. He’s clever and he’s fairly skilled in combat, and he’s definitely good looking, but he’s no ‘chosen one’ like so many of the others. Has he got flaws? Yeah, he’s got a temper. And he flagrantly disregards the rules. And he DEFINITELY is something of a skirt chaser. But he’s not exactly overpowered enough to be considered a Mary Sue. He hasn’t GOT enough powers at all to be counted as one. Plus, when you consider how he died? A real Mary Sue would get a far better and more dramatic death, if they died at all. So Kirk? Ahhh, not really. He’s not a Mary Sue. He’s just not powerful enough to be one and he’s no chosen one.

But your characters? Well, let’s see. Rey is a chosen one. So is Aliana. And Aliana is descended from a LONG LINE of superpowerful Sith. She’s basically “old money”. It runs in the blood. Pretty Mary Sue right there. They’re overpowered? Yep. Very. They easily beat the crap out of Kylo Ren. Do all the main characters like them? Yeah. And any that don’t are always treated as wrong, like Leia, or enemies, like Kylo Ren. They fit the definitions to a T.

can never be wrong

“So are a lot of characters in popular culture”

Except that’s not true. Superman, as I’ve shown, has been wrong quite a lot, especially when arguing against Batman, or Wonder Woman. Superman having to kill three Kryptonians who had did a literal genocide of an alternate Earth was portrayed as VERY wrong and it haunted him for years and years. Anakin was VERY, VERY wrong. The minute you do mass murder, you kinda instantly become wrong. Kirk ends up being very wrong in the final film he’s in. He doesn’t want to leave his heavenly alternate reality, it’s PICARD who has to convince him to stop being selfish. Goku is stupidly wrong when dealing with Cell, he really screws up and it gets his mentor and a few of his friends killed because he couldn’t think of a better way to get rid of the about-to-explode Cell than to teleport him to King Kai’s moon. He could have just teleported him, say, the serpent bridge, THEN teleported back if he really thought the explosion was gonna be so big it’d take out the entire world but...nope! Then there’s how he handled Majin Buu. He THINKS he doesn’t have to use fusion with his son. After all, Majin Buu has just lost a ton of power! He and his son can beat him normally...then Majin Buu catches him off guard and claims his son. Nice going, Goku, he was weak and instead of doing what everyone told you to do, you whiffed because you assumed you could handle it. And then there was his whole “Okay Vegeta, you finish off Frieza while he’s all Golden”. Big mistake. Frieza does a self-destructive attack that BLOWS UP THE ENTIRE WORLD and Whis has to literally TURN. BACK. TIME to fix this. Thanks, Goku. You COULDA just finished Frieza off like you did last time, but noooo! You had to indulge your friend’s ego. Luke? Luke’s been wrong a ton of times. Even if we ignore the sequels and the stupid way he handled Kylo Ren and hiding off on some podunk island, he ignored Yoda’s advice multiple times, he took off to fight Darth Vader, and he lost miserably.

Basically, every time these people do something wrong...it is, for the most part, TREATED as the wrong move by the story. That’s NOT the case for Aliana or Rey. Casually killing a guard for harassing a refugee? Cold blooded murder? Not portrayed as wrong. Overkill of guards at Canto Bight? Not even REMOTELY called out, nor the whole “mass forced suicide” thing. Killing Rey’s parents in cold blood when they were unarmed? Barely glanced over. What’s portrayed as wrong was keeping that a secret, not the MURDER thing. SHOOTING LEIA WITH ELECTRICITY? Not even REMOTELY treated as going too far.

are always victims

“Can’t imagine why a woman who suffers from PTSD writes characters who have suffered trauma in their lives. It’s a fucking mystery.”

You realize though this makes Aliana an author-avatar/stand in though, and that enforces the whole “she’s a Mary Sue” thing, right?

and bend the narrative to suit their needs

“If they were villains you wouldn’t complain about it this insessantly.”

But they’re NOT villains. When a story has a hero doing this, even when it has a villain doing this, that’s bad writing. Having Leia reasonably point out the fact that the Republic has every good reason to not trust a Sith and Aliana can’t just bully them into going along with everything she wants...and then having Aliana just SPONTANEOUSLY summon her own WAR FLEET to go “Sword of Damocles” on Leia and the Republic? That’s bad writing. It comes out of nowhere, no build up, and exists ONLY to tell Leia and anybody who has a problem with how Aliana’s doing things to SHUT UP I’M IN CHARGE. It’s bullying, bad writing.

Also, those other characters mentioned have other characters who will call out people like Luke or Kirk if they mess up. And Luke and Kirk or Goku will go “Yeah, you’re right, I should listen to you” and they have to change...or at least say they’ll try to. Does anybody in your story do that? Well...no. Because ANY objection to how Rey or Aliana does things is treated as BAD and WRONG because they’re the main characters, and thus everything they do is right, even if it’s morally repulsive and if ANOTHER character shot lightning at a middle-aged woman for a nasty comment, they’d be the bad guy.

Anyway, said my piece. Lily really has absolutely no self-reflection on this. She can’t handle actual criticism. All this is is DEFLECTION and PIVOTING away from your own story’s problems. It’s very easy to crow about how popular your work is when you dismiss and delete all actual critique and criticism.

#Star Wars #Sith Resurgence #the sith resurgence #lily orchard #mary sue #fanfiction #fanfics #Aliana #Rey

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