#there’s a reason why writers leave things unanswered and even if it is an i made it tf up moment or retconned moment
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“The demigods arent allowed to have cellphone why do they have cellphones cjfjdj” first of all, annabeth said she SNUCK her cell phone in camp and she owns a laptop tht she brings to camp. Second, Nico is the son of Hades…..ofc he’s gonna “bend the rules” and having a cell phone isnt the only rule he “broke.” (i also hc he owns a Nintendo switch and plays rhythm games, specifically project sekai and occasionally plays legend of zelda with annabeth to ask her for help on certain puzzles and kicks everyone’s ass in smash bros, mario kart and mario party and he and annabeth are always tied. And yes im spreading my gamer annabeth agenda)
Sorry i got sidetracked but anyways, to give ppl another interpretation is tht rules are there for a reason yes, but those rules can be bent to an extent (im coming for your brand apollo cabin).
Like the big 3 gods broke their own rules of not having demigod children and in the show, it’s established tht gods and goddesses have rules to abide by, hence why they have demigod children….the answers are right fucking there.
Also, these fucking demigod teens have been through enough, let them have a little bit of normalcy by owning a piece of modern technology.
#being fr#percy jackon and the olympians#there’s a reason why writers leave things unanswered and even if it is an i made it tf up moment or retconned moment#put your critical thinking into use and learn how to use interpretations#you learned this in high school english#this why they ask why the author chose xyz and why the curtain is blue#anyways gamer girl annabeth!
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The Supreme King Judai vs. Dark Deku: How To Do a Dark Deconstruction of your Shonen Hero!
Think of this as less me complaining about My Hero Academia, and more me taking a closer look at the writing of the Dark Deku arc and why it failed to achieve what it set out to achieve.
I like to look at writing on a deeper level than Thing Bad, and Thing Good. Imagine a story is a car engine that won't start, in order to find the problem you've got to disassemble all the pieces and look at them one by one to see what pieces aren't working. That's the kind of criticism I'm talking about, break storytelling down into different tools like parts of an engine, plot, world, characterization, ideas, actions and consequences and then look if the author is using those tools effectively to sell a story.
In other words we're talking about the difference in ideas and execution. All works of fiction have ideas, even bad anime can have good ideas inside of it. The idea in question is Judai's case is can exploring the dark side of a hero. Can a hero's positive qualities also lead them down a dark path? Yu-Gi-Oh Gx answers this in a satisfying way, and My Hero Academia I'm going to argue does not.
IDEAS VS EXECUTION
One piece of writing advice I heard from Brandon Sanderson of all people that always stuck with me is "Ideas are cheap. You can always come up with more ideas."
All works of fiction have ideas and themes no matter what the Game of Thrones guy say, but some works are better at communicating their ideas than others. I want to quote a Homestuck Ending analysis of all things to explain what I'm talking about.
When you are a writer you can write anything you want. But if you want to write a story that people want to read you have to follow the rules of good storytelling.
There are reasons why storytelling rules exist. A story is a bond between author and reader, readers to other readers. It is a communication between humans and humans work in a certain way.
Storytelling rules are rules of communication. Rules for handling expectations and saying what you intend to say without it being misheard. Rules for tugging at emotions and pulling heartstrings in a good way rather than a bad way. Storytelling rules are lessons learned by authors of the past that failed to communicate what they needed to. They are not that subjective.
Chief among these rules is buildup and payoff. In fact one of the most basic techniques of storytelling is foreshadowing, in screenplays you usually foreshadow one important twist, then add a reminder so the audience doesn't forget, before finally paying it off.
To simplify build up and pay off I like to refer to it as question and answer. Usually a story will ask its audience a question, and usually by the end that question is answered, unless the point is to leave that question unanswered / ambiguous.
Character arcs are examples of buildup and payoff too, a lot of characters, especially in serialized media are sold on their potential future development. Here's an example, how may people got invested in Dabi years in advance because of the Dabi is a Todoroki Theory? That's an example of good buildup and payoff, because the author sewed just enough hints to build up an audience expectation and then paid it off. People became invested in the story, because they thought their investment and theories would pay off eventually and it did - so hooray!
Both MHA and YGOGX dedicate an entire arc to trying to deconstruct their main protagonist. They also seek to deconstruct the "Hero Complex" or "Saving People Complex" that each protagonist has, and ask the question if those traits are really a good thing.
This post puts it better than me so I'm going to quote tumblr user rhodanum.
‘Hero complex’ or 'saving people complex’ — an obsession with rescuing people in the face of danger, often to the exclusion of all higher thought processes. All too prevalent among shounen main leads, especially hot-blooded shounen main leads. Yuki Judai is certainly no exception. What is interesting in his case is that the writers follow the consequences of his rash, reckless, often thoughtless actions all the way to their heartbreaking logical conclusion.
For those not fully in the know, it involves spiky black armor, an army of sycophants and a fall from grace that caused as much damage as a thermonuclear bomb. Don’t make perky, happy shounen protagonists snap, people. First rule.
I'm going to quote another video too, to add onto the above quote. It's from this video, starting at around 39:52
"GX is kind of famous among fans for taking its happy protagonist and stripping him down to all of his worst qualities. And that's fun. So Judai is a character who's really interesting. He's definitely open to a lot of interpretation, and you know we're gonna be leaning on my interpretation of him. Sorry. It's my video. I think he's commonly referred to a "very typical shonen protag" probably one of the most shonen protag of the yu gi oh protagonists. He is headstrong and loud, and (makes punching noises while air boxing), he is a type of character who's like I'm gonna be the best and brings everyone along on the ride. He's the kind of protagonist that everybody loves him they're all fighting over him, and Yu Gi Oh Gx really puts him up on the pedestal, of like THIS GUY. THIS GUY DOES IT ALL. Then season 3 rolls around and dares to ask: but what if that's selfish behavior?"
That's the question both MHA and YGOGX are asking in Dark Deku arc and Season 3 respectively, what if all of those behaviors that make them the typical hot blooded shonen protagonist are actually selfish? Is their hero complex really a good thing?
Each arc is tasked with exploiting the main character's flaws, until they reach their emotional breaking point and lowest point in the story. Let's see how each story treats their main character and from comparing that I want to make a point about what makes effective storytelling.
The Supreme King Haou Arc
Instead of recapping the entire arc to you, I'm going to touch upon what ideas the story setup in regards to Judai's character and how it paid off those ideas. What are the questions the story asks and what answers does it give us?
I'm going to focus on the two questions I outlined above. Is their hero complex a good thing? and What if this is selfish behavior?
Yu-Gi-Oh GX is an anime where instead of using super powers, the main characters fight each other with a magical trading card game. Besides that fact there's a lot of similarities between GX and MHA. They both take place in an academy setting where the main characters learn about using their quirks, and playing the card game better respectively. It is a shonen battle anime where almost everything is solved with a shonen fight, they just use cards instead of flashy superpowers. The main characters are all students who have to grow up and enter the adult world.
Judai and Deku are both characters that deconstruct the "hero complex" of shonen main characters. Judai is themed entirely around heroes, he has an elemental hero deck where every hero is based off a hero that appears in popular culture, he is the best duelist in the school and the one everyone calls on to save the day over and over again. As stated above he is the most Shonen Protag to ever Shonen Protag, he's a warrior therapist who makes friends and saves the day because he's really good at the card game, and will always show up to fight for his friends.
For the first two seasons Judai is built up on this pedestal of the ideal Shonen Protagonist, and praised by basically every single character for being "childish" and "pure of heart" however when Season 3 comes around the narrative stops heaping endless praise on him and starts to challenge him. However, this doesn't come from nowhere there are signs of these personality flaws of Judai, they just get swept under the rug the first two seasons.
There are several moments such as the climaxes to season 1 and season 2 where Judai fails to grasp the stakes of the situation, saying things like "Oh, this card game is really fun" when he's dueling with lives on the line. Judai in fact has a pattern of "only wanting to duel for fun", he fights because it's fun to him not because it's the right thing to do. However, he's continually forced into high stakes situation where he has to fight for others just because he's the strongest character - and constantly having to carry that on his shoulders starts to weigh on him after awhile. Judai will show up to fight and save his friends every single time they need him, and that's the source of his hero complex because after a certain point his friends start relying on him too much.
In general he also doesn't have deep thoughts of what heroes are, he admires heroes but it basically boils down do "Heroes are cool." He's kind of like Goku where he doesn't really fight for any idea of justice or to save others, just for the thrill of fighting itself. He also has a tendency to be insensitive to other people's feelings and take things for granted. For example, in Season 2 like three of his friends get possessed and Judai doesn't even do anything about it for half a season because he's too busy participating in the dueling tournament.
In general though it's a pattern of Judai only wanting to "duel for fun" and him being forced to duel to save others instead, and be responsible for other people. Judai will show up to fight for his friends, but even then he falls back on just "dueling for fun" because always having to fight for others is too much responsibility to put on his shoulders.
There's a lot of hints of Judai's flaws, but they also tend to get brushed off because shonen protagonists are just like that. Like, Judai can say some insensitive things to his friends sometimes and be oblivious to their feelings, well he's just a book dumb shonen protagonist. Judai should be taking this fight seriously, well he's just being a happy go lucky shonen protagonist, etc. etc. A lot of these things are also just swept under the rug as him just being a child, a boy-at-heart like most shonen protagonists are supposed to be.
However, season 3 starts looking at Judai not as a shonen protagonist but as a person, and it all starts with the suggestion that maybe Judai remaining a child at heart is a bad thing, especially when his friends around him are all growing up. It all starts with the introduction of this guy right here - Johan Anderson.
Johan shares many things in common with Judai, he can see spirits, he's a duelist who loves to duel, he has a strong connection with his cards. However, the more you compare them the more you notice that Johan has a lot of things that Judai lacks. They are so similiar that they become almost instant best friends, but even then Johan himself notices there are a few things off about Judai's behavior.
Sho: Bro... I thought you would have something to say to me.
Johan: He seems lost. I think he just wanted you to give him some advice.
Judai: SHo will be fine.
Johan: Judai, you're colder than I thought.
It takes someone completely new to the dynamic between Judai and his friends, who likes Judai but hasn't spent the past two seasons idolizing him to realize that some of his behaviors are kind of off. That Judai isn't really the most empathic, or even that good at understanding other's feelings.
Johan is the one to point this out because he has the emotional intelligence that Judai lacks. We've been told Judai is our shonen protagonist for two seasons, only for the real shonen protag Johan to step up out of nowhere and show them how it's done. Johan is good at seeing other people's emotions, and he becomes a near instant pillar of emotional support for Judai. More than that, he also is the first person to treat Judai like an equal, he never asks Judai to save him like all of Judai's friends do, if anything they both save each other.
Johan also exists to show what Judai is lacking, mainly a reason behind why he fights.
Judai: I do it because it's fun. Or because of the surprise and delight, I guess. Well, I guess that comes down to "because it's fun", huh? Sorry, I guess that's an awkward question to ask out of nowhere.
Johan: What's wrong, Juadi?
Judai: Nothing, really.
Johan: I have a proper goal.
Judai: Don't tell anyone. Even if people don't have the power to see spirits, they can still commune with them. That's why, for those people as well... (I want to be a bridge between humans and spirits).
Judai is someone who will always show up to save his friends when he is asked, but he doesn't really have a concept of what being a hero is or the repsonsibilities it entails, he just admires heroes in a pure hearted way. Johan on the other hand has a reason to fight and that's to help humans and card spirits get along, and Judai expresses admiration for Johan because he has a goal.
At the same time this is happening, Judai gets picked apart by two villains for his lack of reason for fighting. Judai has been praised to death for two seasons for being pure of heart, but now the villains are challenging him by saying he has no "darkness of the heart". That without it the reasons that Judai fights are superficial and frivolous.
We have something that you lack.
Judai: That I lack?
Yes the darkness of the heart that slumbers deep within a duelist. The burden that a duelist bears in his heart. Judai, you have none of that.
Judai: A burden in my heart.
I have nver, not even once, dueled for myself. I doubt someone like you, who only thinks of himself could udnerstand that.
Judai: What would be fun about a duel like that?
It isn't fun at all! You must bear other's expectations while remaining strong. That is what it means.
Judai is a bit of a blood knight, he will be dueling with his friends lives on the lines and stop to go "Wow, this duel is really fun" and it's usually just dismissed a shim being a shonen protagonist until suddenly it isn't.
I'm gonna draw a deliberate parallel between Deku and Judai here that I'll reference later on, they both don't understand "darkness of the heart" and they need to understand it in order to grow as people.
There's also the underlying notion that being a hero is not all it's chalked up to be, to be a hero, to fight for other people's sake means also taking on their suffering. As noble as that may seem suffering is suffering.
Cobra: Fortune would never smile on a fool like you who fights while prattling on about enjoying duels.
Cobra: You are certainly a talented duelist. But you have one fatal flaw.
Judai: A fatal flaw?
Cobra: Yes, your duels are superficial. Someone who fights with nothing on his shoulders, cannot recover once he loses his enjoyment. What a duelist carries on his shoulders will become the power that supports him when he's up against the wall!
Cobra: But you have nothing like that! Those who go through life without anything like that cannot possibly seize victory.
Cobra: But I know that nothing I say will resonate with you... because you have nothing to lose but the match.
Judai: I...
Cobra: Afraid aren't you? Right now, you have nothing to support you.
In the context of this scene, Cobra has told everyone that he's currently enacting his evil plan out of the vain hope that he can somehow revive his son from the dead.
As insane as "I think I can revive the dead" is as a motivation, fighting for the sake of your dead son is a much stronger motivation than "I think duels are fun."
Judai doesn't have an appropriate answer as to why he fights when he's questioned by the villains, and instead of coming up with his own answer he relies on the answer Johan provided for him.
Johan: You idiot. Why are you so shaken Judai? You think you have nothing on your shoulders? Give me a break! You always bear other's expectations on your shoulders. When you have other people's expectations riding on you, it means they've trusted you with their hopes! Don't you always carry those? If you lose what will happen to us here?
Johan's words snap him out of it, but this isn't Judai coming up with an answer himself it's just taking the one that's provided for him.
This is also the point where we get start to develop an answer to our question. Is Judai selfish?
In action he's not. His actions are selfless. Judai is always fighting for others, even when he only wants to duel for fun. He will show up and fight if you ask him too.
However, in motivation he is selfish. His motivations are selfish. Judai isn't fighting out of some selflessness, but because fighting for the sake of other people gives him a purpose. He keeps fighting for his friends, because he's built all of his friendships around being the one to solve their problems. It's why he Johan's answer suits Judai so well, because he thinks that's how friendship works that he has to keep carrying everyone's burden for them.
Not only does it lead to unhealthy friendships (he sees his friends as burdens) but also it's unhealthy for Judai himself (he can't keep carrying other people's burdens without getting weighed down).
Judai's hero complex, this pressure he feels to save everyone around him arises from two things, it gives him friends when he'd been a lonely child before that, and it gives him purpose. Playing the hero is how he made all of his friends, and now it's how he keeps them.
However, in spite of doing all this to keep his friends, Judai's relationship with his friends is so all give and no take that he's practically fighting alone until Johan shows up. Judai doesn't form a healthy and stable relationship with Johan however, Johan just becomes a crutch.
In Summary:
Judai's actions are selfless.
His motivations are selfish.
Judai's purpose is to carry everyone's burdens on his shoulders.
Judai's friends exist to be saved by him.
The following arc is roughly divided into four sections. Everything I've covered above happens in the first section the Cobra Arc.
Cobra Arc
Zombie Survival Arc
Dark World / Supreme King Arc
Oh Shit, Yubel's Back
The cobra arc is the introduction and it sets up the basic ideas of Judai's character that I listed above, in addition it focuses on the question of if Judai is selfish, and the idea that being a hero is a burden. There's also the third question where Judai is called to understand darkness of the heart, something Deku will also be called to do.
The Zombie Survival arc is an arc where the school is teleported to another dimension and they have to survive for several days with a limited food supply, everyone fighting, and an outbreak of zombies.
The main setup of this arc is to show how everyone is working well together as a team, even in a high stress situation. Alexis, Judai, Misawa, Kenzan, all pull together with the help of new students Johan, Austin O'Brien and Jim Crocodile Cook.
However, I'm brushing over this arc because Judai doesn't actually do much this arc. If you analyze who does what, it's mainly Johan and Austin O'Brien who are in charge of the entire school. Johan demonstrates leadership skills, calls on everyone to pull together in a time of crisis, and most importantly emotionally supports Judai all throughout.
Even when Judai is confronting the main villain of this scenario Yubel, it's Johan who shows up to support Judai, and it's Johan who wins the duel at the sacrifice of his own life. Everyone gets through the zombie arc unscathed, but it's because Johan is the hero of this part of the arc, not because of anything Judai really did.
Judai who having gone on so long carrying other people's burdens to the point where he's made saving others his purpose, has for the first time experienced someone helping him carry those burdens only to disappear and Judai does not react well to it.
This is when the story has finished setting up all the dominoes that are about to fall. We have one mini-arc drawing attention to the dark side of Judai's personality and how he doesn't understand his own darkness, and one mini-arc showing Johan being a much more effective hero and leader than Judai, demonstrating everything Judai lacks.
You Either Die a Hero, or You Live Long Enough...
Yadda yadda you know the rest. A character being undone by the same traits that made them a hero, is classic tragedy 101. It's called the Hamartia or the fatal flaw. A character's greatest strength in some situations can be their greatest weakness in others. The Supreme King Arc is a masterclass in showing how the traits Judai had that led to his success in the first season, can lead to his total ruin, and even to him becoming the villain of his own story.
Hero and Villain are much closer than you'd realize, and this becomes especially true in the relationship between Judai and Yubel. Judai shares an extremely close relationship to his antagonist foil, just like Deku does with Shigaraki.
However, in Judai's case he's the reason that Yubel turned evil. While it's not entirely his fault, Judai's decision to abandon Yubel when he was a child, made Yubel go through ten years of painful torture all alone, which is the reason behind their current madness.
To summarize Yubel and Judai's story briefly. Yubel is a card spirit, the thing that Johan wants to serve as a bridge between card spirits and humans. Judai had an incredibly close relationship with Yubel as a child, but Yubel was overprotective and used their powers to harm anyone who came near Judai. Judai launched Yubel into space hoping the righteous space rays of justice would calm Yubel down (I know that sounds stupid just go with it) but instead Yubel was hit with the light of destruction a corrupting force that made them endure years of torture. They called out for Judai's help in their dreams only for Judai to eventually forget about them with a psychologist's intervention. Eventually the satellite they were trapped in made it's way back to earth, and they almost died burning up on re-entry. When they finally crawled their way back to Judai, they found Judai had been living the past ten years happy and surrounded by friends, while they had been tortured in space and nearly died all alone.
At which point Yubel snaps, hard.
While it's not Judai's fault entirely because he was a child and he didn't know what was going to happen, he still made the decision to abandon Yubel and stuck them in that situation. Judai's actions creaeted Yubel, and now Yubel is here broken and hurt and determined to hurt all of Judai's friends.
Judai doesn't know how to cope with the guilt or responsibility for either of these things. Both for creating Yubel, and for the fact that because of Yubel Johan might now be dead.
I'm the one who made her what she is!
This is where the show starts demonstrating that understand in darkness of the heart is necessary, because Judai can't understand two things, number one the fact he might have hurt Yubel, and two how to deal with the sense of responsibility he feels towards Yubel becoming what they are, and for Johan's apparent death.
He just feels a lot of guilt, and as someone who's only been the carefree hero up until this point he doesn't know how to deal with that guilt.
Judai makes a very similiar decision to Deku. He decides to go out and hunt for Johan by himself, leaving his friends behind so he won't risk their safety. Unlike Deku however, his friends immediately follow and insist on coming along.
This is when the problems start appearing, because the second everyone enters the Dark World to look for Johan, the show starts demonstrating clearly how different Judai's leadership is from Johan.
All of Judai's flaws start popping up, he's tactless, self-centered, and doesn't consider others feelings, and most importantly of all he doesn't look before he leaps. These behaviors that could earlier be swept under the rug, just become aggravated in a high stakes situation where everyone's lives are on the line. Judai came together with everyone to look for Johan, but he keeps acting like he's alone.
Another user's meta post here summarizes Judai's actions in the Different Dimmension, more succinctly so I'm going to quote them.
Shit Judai’s friends signed up for when they went into the Different Dimension with him:
searching for Johan
working as a team
deciding as a group what risks they’re willing to take
risking their lives together, on an even playing field
Shit Judai’s friends didn’t sign up for when they went into the Different Dimension with him:
having their input thoroughly ignored
being left behind while their friend recklessly charged ahead
having essential information kept from them (Judai didn’t tell them about the fatal consequences of dueling in Dark World)
being kept from dueling without their opinion on the matter ever being taken into account
having their physical, mental and emotional well-being be completely ignored by the de-facto group-leader
being relegated to secondary importance in comparison to Johan, in Judai’s eyes
having their group leader outright break the promises he made to them
To name a few things Judai does while in the different dimmension. Almost immediately after entering the dimension he runs away from the rest of the group, forcing Austin O'Brien to follow before anyone has even gotten their bearings or investigated where they are. Make an agreement with everyone to rest and wait for Dawn to search for Johan, only to run off into the middle of the night without telling anyone. Run off ahead of the group leaving several of their members behind, and when O'Brien tells Judai that members of their group are missing and that he should go back and search for them, Judai asks O'Brien to just do it instead.
Judai doesn't see the flaws in this behavior because it's how he's been acting all along, he always runs off into danger head first and he always fights on his own. Judai's never been good at considering the feelings of others though because he's a tad socially impaired, so he just doesn't seem to notice everyone's growing concerns with how he's acting.
Once again we are asked the question, is Judai's behavior selfish?
Judai deliberately abandons his friends three times, and the third time everyone stops to discuss his behavior.
Kenzan: True, we did come to this world to save Johan, saurus...
Fubuki: He did find some minor clues as to Johan's whereabouts, so I suppose it's only natural, but...
Asuka: But right now, I feel something is different about Judai.
Menajoume: That's right. He got us all riled up about this, and now he's totally forgotten the comrades who came along with him.
Kenzan: That's really irresponsible, Saurus.
Fubuki: I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but I wish he'd realize the anguish he's putting us through.
Asuka: Judai isn't doing this for Johan or us now. It's for himself. He just seems to be rushing forward, headlong, to forget the responsibility he bears on his shoulders.
The answer now is yes, his motivation is selfish because it's no longer about saving Johan, but just to stop himself from feeling guilty.
The stress of the situation is aggravating Judai's worst qualities yes, but Judai's always thought about himself first before others, he's always viewed his friends more as burdens / people to be saved rather than equals.
This all leads to a situation where Judai messes up big time. The same way he abandoned Yubel, he abandons the rest of his friends to run ahead and search for Johan.
They are all kidnapped - and it's Austin who notices they are missing Judai isn't even paying attention. Austin says they should head back and look for the others, but Judai asks Austin and Jim to handle that alone so he can keep searching for Johan.
Jim: The others haven't arrived yet. Something might have happned to them on the way.
Judai: I see. Sorry, but could you go back and fetch them?
Jim: What? You mean you don't care what happens to them?
Austin: Don't forget these are the friends that are in this with you. To fulfill our objective in this dimmension we need everyone working together. You wait here until we return.
Judai: Okay, I will.
Austin and Jim agree to go back and search for the others, if Judai promises to wait for them here instead of going on ahead. A promise which Judai immediately breaks.
Which is how Judai walks right into a trap.
Judai abandons his friend so they get kidnapped. He doesn't go back to look for them, so he misses out on a chance to save them. He doesn't wait for Austin and Jim to come back, and because of that he wanders all alone into a trap.
That trap is a sacrifice ritual where the leader Brron challenges him to a duel, and every time Judai attacks one of his friends are sacrificed. Judai is forced to attack and each friend dies one by one.
Judai didn't want to attack, he didn't choose to sacrifice his friends, but he did make every decision leading up to that. The trap was easily avoidable if he 1) didn't leave his friends behind 2) went looking for his friends after they were left behind or 3) waited for Jim and Austin to come back.
Judai didn't mean to sacrifice his friends, but it's a result of his own bad decisions. It's the culmination of an arc where he's been selfishly taking his friends for granted. It's a consequence for Judai just choosing to recklessly barrel forward because he can't cope with his guilt.
Judai's lack of darkness of the heart really dooms him here, because he was blind to his own flaws until it was too late. This isn't even the part where Judai does the bad thing, Judai's careless actions lead to four of his friends dying but he doesn't learn from his mistakes. He snaps, hard.
Judai: But at least I avenged them. Sho I'm really glad you're alive.
Sho: Those words... they're just lip service. Bro... bro, you're selfish. Before now, I thought of you as the sun. Someone who gave others energy and made the impossible possible. But, I was wrong. All you care about is getting your way. You don't care who you sacrifice. You'll do anything in the name of your goal. Avenging them won't bring back the people you sacrificed. You're just dueling to satisfy yourself.
Judai: O'brien!
Austin: I thought I told you to wait.
Judai: Are you saying what I did was wrong?
Austin: Think it over for yourself.
Judai: Why? What did I do that was so wrong? I... I did the right thing! And yet... everyone keeps leaving me! What... What is wrong with me?
Supreme King: Yuki Judai. To be willing to be evil to defeat evil. This world exemplfiies survival of the fittest. It must be ruled with power.
Judai: Power? I don't have that much power...
Supreme King: You hold the Super Polymerization card in your hand. Defeat the spirits that stand against you. Breathe their lives into it and complete that card.
After this point Judai decides to sacrifice everything else for power, and to complete the Super Polymerization card he's already sacrificed four friends four.
It's the culmination of an arc where Judai's only been praised for his strength and his ability to win duels. Where he constantly has been called to win duels to solve problems, until that stops working. When everyone is gone, all that's left is his strength. He had to keep winning to keep people safe, but even that wasn't enough, he was still missing something.
He knew he was missing something, that there was something wrong with him and he didn't know where to look.
Conclusion?
He needed power. If he had power, then he wouldn't have lost. If he had power then everything would have turned out alright. He didn't have the strength to carry everyone's burdens for them, that's why he lost, so what he needs is more power. He's been demanded to win, win, and win again so now winning is all that matters.
Now we have our second question: Is Judai's hero complex a good thing?
That's a definite no, because the pressure to always win, to always save everyone and carry their responsibilities has now completely broken Judai. To the point where he now believes that the only thing good about himself is that he's powerful, but he now is willing to sacrifice others to gain more power.
My name is the Supreme King.
Now here's the best part about Judai actively having a villain arc.
He does bad thngs. He does a lot of bad things.
It turns out when you're abandoned and left alone to suffer you do bad things, crazy that, I'm sure Yubel would have a lot to say about that.
Judai is also not being possessed in this scenario. They state it several times. You could say he's Shadow possessed in a Jungian sense. The supreme King is the symbolic embodiment of all of Judai's flaws that he's been ignoring until now. You could say Haou is representative of Judai's subconscious that has been repressed for so long until all those flaws finally surfaced, and that the Judai we see on a day to day basis is his ego, that the relationship between the two is a metaphor for conscious and subconscious.
Jim does a deep dive into Judai's mind, where we're shown a symbolic sequence of what the inside of his head looks like. Judai witnesses his friends appear in mirrors before they shatter one by one, all while he mumbles about how he needs to get stronger.
These are all storytelling devices to show Judai's fractured psyche, but Judai is still in control of his actions. Judai talks and responds to questions when he's addressed. Judai's friends confirm that it's still Judai, he's not a puppet or possessed.
Misawa says later to Judai's face that he and the supreme king are the same person. Judai later is able to use the Supreme King's powers and maintain complete control, because the Supreme King isn't a split personality. Judai even says when Amon is sacrificing someone he loved for power, that he was doing the same thing as the Supreme King, sacrificing everything for power.
We later learn that the ritual that sacrificed four of Judai's friends was a part of Yubel's schemes, but that's the only thing Yubel set up. Judai made every bad irresponsible decision that led to his friends being captured. Judai was the one who snapped and decided to complete Super Polyermization after it was completed. Learning Yubel was behind the sacrifice ritual doesn't take away any agency from Judai at all, because Judai is responsible for his own decisions.
What it does do is create another parallel between them, because we learn the reason Yubel set up the sacrifice was to make Judai walk the same path that they did.
Judai is hurt, abandoned and isolated and in that situation he ends up lashing out at everyone around him in a similiar manner to Yubel. When Judai is put through similiar trauma, he doesn't overcome it in some heroic way because he's an innately good person, no he succumbs and behaves in ways that are incredibly similiar to Yubel.
Even when Judai's friends selflessly try to help Judai, he resists them every step of the way. He ignores their constant calls to him, their comfort, and he even fights them. Judai is eventually reached by the efforts of Jim and Austin combined, but they both die in the effort. Judai is saved because Jim and Austin were way better friends to him than he was to them.
Judai is effectively snapped out of his destructive spiral, but he's left alone with the sobering realization of everything he's done and the blood of two more friends on his hand.
When it's time for our hero to finally face Yubel, he no longer has the moral highground. Now when he faces Yubel it's not as hero and villain, they're just two sides of the same coin. Two people who when they were abandoned, lashed out and hurt everyone around them.
The question is no longer can Judai save Johan. The question now is whether Judai can live with the guilt he's carrying within him, and for that matter can Yubel live with the guilt of what they've done now too?
By this point Judai's been completely deconstructed. He's no longer the hero of the story, he's just a flawed person who needs to fix his flaws. He has the choice to live with his mistakes, and the biggest conflict now is whether he's going to save his villain foil Yubel, or strike them down in order to save the rest of his friends (the three that are left).
This also creates a much more compelling reason for Judai to save Yubel. Not just because Judai is responsible for Yubel's creation, but because they've both made the same mistakes, they have the same traumas and the same scars. Jim and Austin were willing to risk everything to save Judai even when he didn't deserve it, and didn't want it. Now is Judai capable of doing the same thing, of reaching Yubel the way he was reached, not for the sake of saving the world but for helping a friend?
I just want to save my friend. That's all.
This is to me a very compelling setup for the challenge of whether or not Yubel can be saved. Judai's not really saving a helpless victim, he's not acting out of a sense of duty to sacrifice himself for the world, he's being challenged to save someone who suffers from all the same flaws that he does. Judai and Yubel are so similiar at this point it's really just Judai saving himself.
The Dark Deku Arc - Setup
This is the part where I'm actually going to praise MHA. Shocking I know. Season 1 and 2 of Yu-Gi-Oh GX are about 105 episodes in total. The Dark Deku arc begins at about episode 131 with Deku's decision to leave the hospital by himself to hunt down Shigaraki and AFO alone and try to understand villains better.
The 130 episodes up until that point are much better build up, than the first 105 episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh GX. To put it frankly GX is paced like ass. There's far too much filler, and because of that the plot points the anime is trying to make are delivered less efectively. In fact 105 is a good example of what I said above, that ideas are one thing and execution are another.
Season 2 especially is a season filled with good ideas and weak execution due to pacing. Here's one I use as a go-to example. There's a character named Edo Phoenix who's on a quest to find who killed his father. The ending of his plotline is he discovers that in a twist, the man who adopted him is the one who killed his father, and he's been encouraging Edo to investigate because it lets him spy on the police investigation and keep it off his tail.
That's a good twist - however that twist happens in the same episode that Edo's adoptive father is introduced. The audience is given literally no time to even get to know Edo's adoptive father, or get invested in their relationship so the twist doesn't hit at all. A better paced story would show Edo's relationship to his adoptive father early on, get you invested in them, only to pull the rug out from under you so you would feel the shock of that betrayal alongside Edo.
GX establishes its character cast, and yes the filler does give the cast time to breathe and they're all well characterized but because the plot around them is so poorly structured, none of the plot points really hit. Okay, Edo's adoptive dad is evil. Next! You can have good characters, but if you don't put them in a strong narrative framework that challenges them then those characters are just gonna kinda sit there.
The first 105 episodes of Yu Gi Oh GX does succesfully characterize most of the main cast, but it also feels like everyone's just goofing around. In comparison the first 135 episodes of MHA much more successfully builds an escalating conflict. Each new arc either introduces you to a new facet of the world, makes the amin characters more complex, or adds to the conflict.
We basically go from arc 1 "The hero high school is fun" to Arc 2 "The villains are a serious threat" to the Camp Arc "Oh shit, Shigaraki is learning and the villains are getting stronger."
When Bakugo is kidnapped at the end of the camp arc, the tension is ramped way up with the appearance of AFO, and All Might's retirement.
After that point we're introduced to the Overhaul arc, which not only again makes the League of Villains more complex and sympathetic, but also introduces the audience to All Might's more flawed side - the fact that All Might literally worked himself to death saving others and it still didn't work.
Then My Villain Academia -> The Villains are now a threat and they have an army.
Each arc builds on a previous arc, the characters and the world grow more complex, and it feels like you're learning about these complex issues alongside the characters. It just makes Yu Gi Oh Gx look like the silly card games show by comparison, by setting up this very layered world, and conflict, and heroes that challenge the protagonists on what it means to be a hero and what it means to be a victim.
Then all of that great setup.
We are side by side with the proagonist. We, like Deku now want to see if someone like Shigaraki can be saved. We, alongisde Deku want to better understand the villains and learn to see them as people. We want to know if the corrupt hero system can be salvaged.
However, these are too many questions so let's boil it down to two once more, because this is looking at Deku's character.
Deku and Judai are in some ways different as night and day. Deku is an introverted nerd and the victim of bullying, and he starts out with no quirk at all. Judai is a self-confident, charismatic prodigy who instantly seems to charm and befriend everyone around him. Deku desperately wants to be the hero and works his way up there, whereas Judai is just kind of thrown into the school hero because he's the best at dueling.
Judai is kind of a mix of Bakugo and Deku's traits, he's a self confident prodigy who always wins, but he's also someone obsessed with heroes and who has a hero-complex where he's continually forced to save others.
The Dark Deku arc, like the Supreme King Arc looks to take a darker, more introspective look at Deku's character, while also exposing Deku who is a sheltered kid to the a very grey on grey world. It also seeks to deconstruct Deku's suposed "hero complex". Despite the many differences between Deku and Judai I believe the two questions an be boiled down to the same thing.
Is Deku Selfish?
Is Deku's hero complex a bad thing?
These are the questions the series itself is asking in the deconstruction of Deku's character. Deku himself is asking if there's a better way to save villains tha just beating them down or outright killing them, but we'll discuss that later.
Just like Judai there is some setup before this to give a previously very one-note Shonen protagonist mor depth. Deku and Judai are both people who fit the determined, punchy, solve everything fist fight shonen protagonist to a T, on top of being the one to always show up to fight for their friends. Just like in the beginning of season 3, we do have some hints before this that there's something wrong with this attitude. That there's something about Deku that's not entirely there.
There's a flashback of All Might talking with Bakugo where Bakugo discusses that the fact that Deku never takes cares of himself or factors himself into the equation when he always puts others first deeply bothers him and there's "something wrong with it" that's made him always push Deku away.
This flashback also leads into a scene where Bakugo pushes Deku out of the way of one of AFO's attacks, telling him to "stop trying to win this on his own." In an attempt to make Deku see that he's not fighting alone this time.
Deku has also been warned repeatedly about the way his power destroys his own body when he uses it, warnings he's repeatedly chosen to ignore. Saving others isn't just a goal for Deku, you could arguably say it's a method of self-harm and that's what unnerves Bakugo. Bakugo even gave a similiar speech in the past, about how someone like Deku shouldn't take all of the bullying that Bakugo has given him over the years and still try to be his friend afterwards. At this point it's not really like Bakugo's done anything other than tone down the constant insults a little bit, he hasn't apologized or anything but even this early in the manga Deku has a tendency to just let Bakugo's treatment of him go. It's not like they were super best friends forever before the bullying started either despite what the shippers might tell you. Bakugo is saying it's weird that this kid just takes it, and takes it, and takes it without fighting back like he doesn't care about how people treat him and Bakugo is right... that is weird!
Deku either has such low standards for how he's treated that he just lets Bakugo get away with it, or he just doesn't hold a grudge when he is mistreated because his pain and his suffering just always matters less. Either way it's not healthy, and it could be indicative of a deeper problem hiding behind the surface.
Either way there's setup here, because on one hand you have everyone and their grandma praising Deku for his "drive to save others that eclipses all common understanding."
While at the same time he's criticized by Bakugo for having no regard for others. This could be the setup for the character trait that led to his earlier success leading to his downfall later. In Judai's case, everyone praises his purity of heart, but then that purity is later criticized as childishness, naivete and a refusal to grow up.
As for Deku...
How can you protect others if you can't even bother to protect yourself? How can you save others if you can't save yourself? That's the question Touka asked of Kaneki in Tokyo Ghoul when she rightly called out his desire to protect everyone at the Anteiku Cafe as just a roundabout way of getting himself hurt by acting recklessly.
In Kaneki's case he's not trying to protect anybody, he's just picking battles against the doves and getting himself hurt. He's acting out a hero complex in the sense that if he feels like he didn't fight his friends battles for them like Judai then he wouldn't have any friends to begin with. That's why Touka also says "Besides that, everyone doesn't belong to you. You have no business protecting us."
Is Deku fighting for the same reason? Does he harm himself to protect others because he views himself to be worthless and the only way to demonstrate his worth is try and fight to save others?
We don't get an answer for that question. Judai thinks duels are fun, and he's really good at them, and because he's good at dueling he's made friends. He think to keep those friends he has to keep dueling for the sake of others.
Deku's not motivated by the idea of protecting or keeping his friends, that's a secondary motivation. All we have on Deku is that he feels a strong desire to save others, and that he worshipped heroes like All Might growing up but has a naive idea of what a hero is supposed to be. However, his lack of motivation could be the "something that's missing" just like Judai has.
The GX writers did some hardcore digging into Judai's character by focusing on how shallow he was in motivation compared to everyone else, and showing that to be a symptom of his childish naivete.
There's also the potential parallel between All Might and Nighteye's breakup, and Deku's decision to leave all his friends behind to hunt for Shigaraki himself.
Even if Deku doesn't have a deeper motivation than just "an unnatural drive to save others" then you could show the effects of Deku walking down the same path that All Might did, the belief that he has to be the one to save everyone singlehandedly and if he rests for a single moment than someone might die, leads to him not only destroying his body, but also doing permanent damage to all of his social relationships.
Even if Deku's motivation isn't too deep, you could still have the traits that led him to earlier success now driving him to ruin as the story punishes Deku for his excessive selfishness.
This is also where we finally get back to Deku's goal of understanding Shigaraki, and contemplating whether or not it's possible to save villains without killing them.
I draw a parallel between this and Judai's enemies calling him out on lacking "darkness of the heart" and that without understanding that darkness he can't win.
Judai's lack of darkness of the heart means two things, he's not mature enough to understand the reason why his enemies are fighting, and he's also not mature enough to se the darkness in his own heart which is why he ends up blind to his own flaws and making pretty severe mistakes later on.
For Deku, it's mainly a lack of understanding of the motivations of the villains he's fighting again, villains he's only ever really beat down with his fists until now.
However, for Deku lacking darkness of the heart you could also re-contextualize that as meaning because of his idealization of heroes he's never once looked at the darker sides of hero society that might have driven people into becoming villains.
Deku's lack of inner darkness may just come from the fact that compared to the villains he's fighting against, he's gotten to live a pampered life. Without understanding that darkness, he can't be a full person because he'll still be a naive sheltered child, and not an adult wise to the way the world works and the moral greys he inhibits. Either way, it's just as necessary for Deku to gain an understanding of "Darkness of the Heart' as it is Judai.
So here's all the setup for the start of Deku's Dark deconstruction arc. As different as these characters and scenarios you can still boil it down to those three narrative questions about Deku / Judai, is there behavior selfish? Are there hero compelexes a good thing? Do they need to understand darkness of the heart?
Before moving on I'm going to summarize Deku's setup as thus:
Deku's actions are selfless.
Deku's motivations are also selfless (a desire to save others).
Deku does not benefit from saving others in any way, if anything he actively harms himself in order to do so.
Bakugo finds this behavior incredibly disturbing.
All Might destroyed his body and burned all bridges because of similiar flaws to Deku.
So the answer to the first question is Deku selflish? No. Is his hero-complex a bad thing? Potentially.
While Deku himself decides that he needs to understand darkness of the heart in order to better understand villains. Deku is actually more set up to contemplate darkness of the heart than Judai is, because Judai charges into the dark world blindly with only the motivation of saving Johan not even caring for Yubel, while Deku has the explicit motivation of trying to understand the little boy inside Shigaraki.
DEKU LEFT THE HERO ACADEMY
Deku begins the arc by leaving alone to go searching for Shigaraki, with hand-written letters addressed to all of his friends that tell the truth about One for All and also say Goodbye. He makes the deliberate decision to leave them behind so they don't get targeted alongside of him. It's a pretty classical superhero motivation, I need to cut myself out of my loved ones life in order to protect them. Of course this sort of ignores that everyone in his class has super-powers too, but you know heroes they're all such drama queens.
Is this selfish behavior?
This is going to be the only time I'm going to solidly answer yes. Deku clearly did not take his friends feelings into account. His desire to protect them, is more important than their own agency. They also might want to fight alongside him, they'd be upset if they saw him die or get hurt trying to protect them. Deku thinks of his own feelings of wanting to keep them safe and not being able to handle the emotional burden of protecting him, more than he does their own personal feelings.
This is also something that All Might did they permanently burned all of his bridges with his sidekick and friends, and deeply hurt his sidekick who was just asking him to take a break so he did not get himself killed and quit because he didn't want to watch All Might slowly kill himself by inches.
Deku is being selfish here, and later on when he does face his friends he even acts pretty condescending belittling them and insisting they can't fight on their own or keep up with him.
However, I need to ask a secondary question.
Is there any lasting consequences for this selfish behavior?
Besides the fact that it hurt his friends feelings for a little bit, no. I spent a much longer time covering this in Judai's sections because Judai's selfish behavior led to character conflicts. Judai disregarding his friends led to everyone starting to resent him in the Dark World, and their once tight-knit friend group further falling apart.
Judai on three seperate occasions makes impulsive decisions to run ahead without consulting with the group. The second time he outright lies to the group and sneaks ahead without them. THe second time all of his friends are captured when they go after him and try to follow him to give their support because they're worried about him. The third time he makes the decision to run ahead, he knows about the danger they're in and the risk of getting captured and he just blatantly ignores them. When Austin notices they're missing Judai doesn't even go looking for them because they're not a priority at this point - saving Johan is.
This is something that has very real and lasting consequences in the story, they're captured because of his recklessness, and sacrificed in front of his eyes. Even though they technically come back in season 4, the trust between Judai and his friends is all but gone and he's alone for a lot of Season 4.
Judai's decision to abandon his friends has direct and lasting consequences. He is being punished for his hero complex. Running ahead, and fighting alone against the bad guys is what Judai has always done and what's worked before, but now in a more complicated world it's not cutting it and Judai is being challenged for his flaws.
Deku hurts his friends feelings a little bit, but even in that case the focus is on how sad it is for Deku, how hard it must be to be a noble hero fighting alone.
Deku's Mary Jane and Spiderman bullshit never impacts his friends directly, other than the fact that they find it slightly condescending. His "I need to keep secrets from my loved ones attitude" is challenged because his friends want to fight alongside him, but there's never any narrative punishment delivered to him. It's just solved with one fight scene and a character holding out their hands. Whereas, the consequences for Judai's rash actions last two seasons.
I call it "Mary Jane and Spiderman" Bullshit, because Spiderman keeping his identity a secret from all his loved ones is a big conflict in the comics. Something that got Gwen Stacy killed, because Peter Parker never told her his identity in order to protect her, and then that just ended up with Norman Osborne finding out about her anyway and kidnapping and killing her.
You might have heard of the "Death of Gwen Stacy" it's a pretty famous moment in comics. It's also a case where it shows that the Hero's failure to communicate honestly with their loved ones in the name of "Protecting Them" can actually get them killed.
There's even consequences in MHA itself for heroes choosing to sacrifice their personal lives to help complete strangers. Shigaraki literally made a whole speech about it. Kotaro Shimura is traumatized for life over his mother's decision to abandon him instead of giving up on being a hero. Nana Shimura believed she was doing something selfless in sending her child into foster care to keep him out of AFO's clutches, but that was shown to be wrong as AFO just found Kotaro's household and then destroyed him later on in adulthood anyway.
So in the story we are shown scenarios where choosing to abandon your loved ones in the name of "protecting them" can have disastrous and lasting consequences, but as for Deku himself, the decision to leave the school has basically no consequences whatsoever.
Well, Deku making the decision to fight alone is something that might lead to some consequences. After all, Judai's breakdown came about because he always felt the pressure to fight alone and carry everyone's weight on his shoulders until he couldn't.
Perhaps, with Deku fighting alone to protect everyone we'll reach a similiar breaking point. Just as Judai couldn't handle carrying everyone's burdens, looking for Johan, and leading his friends into the Dark World all that the same time and eventually broke down maybe we'll see Deku break down because he just like All Might can't carry the burdens of an entire nation - oh wait nevermind he's working with the Top 3 Heroes.
Even the premise that this is Deku leaving the school, to become something like a vigilante wandering the countryside trying to fight AFO on his own is just incorrect because Deku is receiving government assistance right now.
In the Dark World it was really just Judai and his friends, so every single bad decision Judai made had consequences because they were well and truly alone. Deku has backup so he's not even really "alone" in the arc that's supposed to be about him fighting AFO and trying to understand Shigaraki alone.
ALL YOU'LL FIND IS BLOOD AND VIOLENCE
Let's briefly focus on questions two and three, is Deku's hero complex bad, and does Deku need to understand darkness of the heart?
Judai's hero complex was based on the idea that if he wanted to have friends he needed to fight for them and solve their problems for them.
Judai got in such an unhealthy negative feedback loop, that he had to carry his friends burdens in order to maintain his friendships with them, but at the same time he couldn't receive any help from them because he made their friendship all about him carrying their burdens. He was operating underneath an amazing pressure to always win until he lost. The very thing he did to try to maintain his friendships, keeping his friends at arm's length and fighting alone is exactly what ends up driving them away and leaving him alone.
But, still...!
They're all... They're all gone. There really was something missing in me. But what is it? What was missing? What should a duelist burden themselves with?
Judai paradoxically fights alone in order to keep his friend group together, which only ends up with him losing four friends and being abandoned by the rest when they're disappointed for him in his selfish behavior. Judai screams out why, realizing he did something wrong here, that something went wrong because he's been winning duels, he's been fighting the same way he did before only to end up with the worst option possible. The realization that he is truly alone breaks him down entirely.
Judai's hero complex unwravels when simply charging ahead to fight doesn't work for him anymore, because the situation becomes more complicated than that. Darkness of the heart can mean many things. Judai not understanding his own personal flaws. Judai not seeing how his flaws are affecting others. Judai not looking at other people's emotions, he doesn't hear or respond to criticism when his friends start trying to tell him how is selfish decisions making is making them feel.
I can't just stay and wait. All this time I've run on instinct, never second-guessing myself. If I just stand still now... I'm sure I won't be able to start running again. And I won't be able to get to Johan.
Judai's hero complex has a clear source - he believes he has to keep running ahead and fighting for his friends the same way he always has in order to keep those friends and if he stops he'll lose everything / succumb to the guilt he now feels about being uanble to save Johan. His Hero Complex also has clear consequences, him running ahead without thinking gets all of his friends kidnapped and used in a sacrifice ritual that could have been avoided if he had made different choices.
Spiderman kills Gwen Stacy because Peter Parker deciding to not tell her about his secret identity to protect her backfired and made her an easy target to the Green Goblin.
Heck, Spiderman's entire character is about how the burden of being Spiderman and his Hero Complex constantly sabotages any attempt he makes at having a personal life. Miguel O'Hara's catchphrase in the incredibly popular Spiderman movie is that "Being Spiderman is a sacrifice" and he's not wrong either.
SO, is the narrative punishing Deku's hero complex in any way?
Well, the one warning he did receive that if he kept fighting he'd lose permanent loss of his arms turns out to not matter anymore because his body is just stronger now.
So, even the phyiscal toll of fighting alone that's a consequence for Deku doesn't actually apply here.
I keep talking about consequences but what do I actually mean? Am I talking about strictly punishment? Do bad things need to happen to characters in order to get their lessons?
Not necessarily.
When I say "consequences" I mean in terms of actions always having consequences in a story. The best stories are succinct, that means you basically cut down in as many frivolous details in a story as much as possible so everything that happens onscreen is something that matters and contributes to the whole. Therefore, every action should have a consequence directly seen onscreen in story. Stories are all actions and consequences, the choices the characters make should have direct impact on the plots and the other characters because it makes those choices seem like they matter.
If the story constantly draws attention to the fact that Deku is afraid of ducks, but the story takes place on the moon and there are no ducks living on the moon then that's a wasted plot thread because there are no consequences. If a character does something bad, other characters should discuss it, or it should negatively impact them in some way.
When Judai decides to run ahead without all of his friends for the first time after they all agreed on a plan, the result is the next episode they all start talking about their shared doubts with Judai when he's not around. If they all just swept Judai abandoning them under the rug, then Judai running ahead and leaving the others alone doesn't feel like an impactful character flaw.
There's no lasting consequence for Deku's hero complex. It doesn't drive him to any kind of breaking point like it does Judai.
I think the reason why is because there's no real moment of failure for Deku. When he tries to ask Muscular why he fights, and Muscular rejects him and says that he was just born evil and has no deeper motivations, Deku's not frustrated at all.
Deku who feels a "unnatural desire to save others" isn't really bothered by the fact that Muscular insists that he can't be saved and that they can only fight. Despite this technically being a failure, Deku has failed to talk a villain down, failed to find a way other than fighting and also failed to understand the darkness in someone's heart it's of little consequence because it's not framed as a failure.
Deku just punches Muscular, back to the drawing board.
There's another manga called Choujin X running right now, where the main character is on a similiar quest trying to see if there's a way they can save the big bad Sora Shihouhin, and when he is forced to fight against a villain who won't back down, de-escalate, or listen to reason he has a complete emotional breakdown.
This is the reaction of someone who's genuinly invested in the idea of saving the villain, and frustrated with the reality that he might not be able to save her, that he can't talk to the villains or convince them to back down. Tokio's not even characterized by an unnatural desire to save others like Deku is, so why is he the one breaking down and not Deku someone apparently so selfless that he wants to save the mass murderer that's trying to destroy society?
If Deku's desire to save others is so strong why doesn't he show frustration at being unable to talk down, or understand Muscular?
Judai is stuck in a negative feedback loop where he's forced to fight for others, because he believes he has no worth to his friends otherwise. All we're told of why Deku feels the need to save everyone around him is that he's just like that, he just feels like saving everyone no matter who they are the moment they come into view.
If we're choosing to characterize Deku that way, then number one he should be attempting to save everyone, and number two the stress of having to save everyone is something that should get to him. His "Hero Complex" should be what's breaking him down at the moment. The unnatural desire to save everyone around him that led him to so much success should be what's punishing him this arc.
Judai felt pressure from two aspects, first the pressure to carry everyone's burdens, and second the lack of understanding of darkness of the heart. Unlike Judai who doesn't want to understand darkness and who avoids it as long as possible, Deku goes into this arc actively seeking to understand how his villains think.
Deku and Judai also suffer from a lack of darkess in their own hearts. This leads to them having empty motivations. Judai has a childish desire to enjoy fun duels. Deku has a childish desire to save everyone. Neither of them have tried to grow or change or even question those motivations in any way and because of that they're stunted people.
Judai doesn't know why he fights. He doesn't question why he fights. He just takes on the burdens of others to give him something to fight for. This all together leaves Judai blind to his own personal darkness, and also because of that blindness he can't grow in any way because he never evaluates himself, he never looks at himself and tries to change.
When he's on his knees and at his breaking point he screams at the top of his lungs, "WHY? WHAT AM I MISSING? WHAT DID I DO WRONG?" simply because Judai's never thought about these things.
Deku's asked these same questions both in the Dark Deku arc, and hundreds of chapters later he's asked what he's planning on doing as a hero in order to make things better and Deku never materializes an answer.
Pre-Dark Deku Arc, during Dark-Deku Arc and Post Dark Deku arc, Deku always solves his problems by recklessly jumping in and saving others. There's never any point where he's punished or criticized for this behavior in any significant lasting way. He never has to self reflect and develop a reason on why he wants to save others, or eve think about how he's going to save others, he can just keep acting as the rash, impulsive hero.
Judai and Deku are both characters who are empty, and lacking in motivation but Judai is ruthlessly criticized for that until he reaches his breaking point and is forced to look at his motives.
This once again comes from a lack of failure on Deku's part. Deku never fails the way that Judai does. There's a scene where you could have easily had Deku fail. The entire Nagant vs. Deku fight where Deku fails to give her any substantive answers to his questions.
Imagine if Deku's simple philosophy of always extending a helping hand failed here. Imagine if Deku actually got deeply ivnested in the idea of saving Lady Nagant, and did his beset to talk and reach out to her but his answers weren't enough and because of that she just chooses something like suicide. Imagine he has her by the hand, and she's dangling off of the roof and he thinks that his impressive move to save her should have been enough - he's reached out a hand like always. He thinks this should have won her heart over, by showing her that someone still cares in all of her despair.
Then, Nagant in one final spiteful move lets go. The person he heard her entire backstory, the person maybe he once was a huge fan of her when she wasa hero, the person he wants to save the same way he wants to save Shigaraki chooses to let go and fall to her death because dying would be better than living in whatever kind of corrupt world that Deku is trying to build.
This could be Deku's Gwen Stacy moment. Spiderman carelessly webs Gwen Stacy whe she's falling to catch her and for a moment he thinks he's saved her because he's overconfident and has caught people falling like this a thousand times, only to find out he's snapped her spine. His overconfidence, his hero complex making him believe everything magically would work out led Gwen Stacy to her death. This could show the simple act of just offering a hand out to someone in need isn't enough, without empathy and understanding.
Instead, AFO just blows Nagant up in Deku's face.
Except, that isn't even a failure bcause Nagant turns out to be just fine! There's no point in blowing up Nagant except for the spectacle of it, because she turns out to be fine five minutes later and even shows up to fight in the next arc.
There's no consequencs to anything that happens in this scene. Deku doesn't suffer any consequences for being blind to the faults of society. (He's working right alongisde a killer cop just like Nagant and he doesn't even care.) Deku isn't forced to reflect on what saving people or making society better would even mean. He also isn't punished for his lack of understanding the way that Judai is.
Afterwards, Deku denies help to a very mentally-ill Overhaul, who is apparently not one of the villains that Deku wanted to save. There's a whole buch of asterisks on that "Deku wants to save everyone***" goal. This also isn't framed or used to paint Deku in a bad light because Overhaul is unworthy of salvation in Deku's eyes for hurting Eri.
Is this action part of an arc? Is Deku reaching his limit with trying to sympathize with villains only to see people like Overhaul and Muscular fighting him every step of the way and telling him they don't want to change?
Nope, this scene is never brought up again.
Deku never fails, and he never does anything wrong. Even when there are situations where you could argue he does do soemthing wrong, like denying the armless, mentally ill Overhaul help - he's not painted as being in the wrong.
The entire arc is supposed to be about criticizing the protagonist for their hero complex, and their lack of understanding of the darkness of the world but for Deku there's no criticism to be had here.
Compare this to the sacrifice ritual in the Supreme King Arc, where not only does Judai fail to save his friends, but the friends that survive ruthlessly tear into him aftewards for his selfish behavior. THe actions of one protagonist matter, have consequences in the story and are criticized. The actions of another protagonist have no real consequences and are never criticized.
The whole mansion blows up and... nothing happens. No one's injured in the explosion. It may as well have not happened in the story because there are no consequences for Deku just continually choosing to blindly run ahead like his hero complex tells him to.
There's evena moment where Deku winds up in a similiar situation to the dark ritual. After receiving information from Nagant, he blindly wanders into a mansion in Haibori woods believing it to be AFO's base, only to find out it was a trap and AFO was waiting for him to blindly charge in all along.
THAT'S WHAT MAKES US HEROES AND VILLAINS
This is where I'm going to talk about another big similarity between Deku and Judai, and also the biggest point of divergence in the Dark Deku and Supreme King Haou arcs.
Deku and Judai are both character foils with Shigaraki and Yubel respectively. This is where I'm going to praise MHA again, surprising everyone.
The foiling between Shigaraki and Deku is masterful. They both started out in relatively the same place, as boys with dreams to become heroes who were softly told no by their parents. Tragedy struck Shigaraki and he killed his family on accident and wound up alone wandering the street for days until he was found by AFO.
They're both the students of the greatest hero and villain of the last generation. They both end up being surrounded by a group of close Nakama that they want to protect. They're both continually challenged to grow up, and show how they're going to be better than their predecessor for the hero and villain sides respectively. They both have to prove they are worthy successors. Shigaraki has all the heroic spunk and determination that Deku has but on the villain's side, and while Deku loves heroes, Shigaraki is hero society's critic wants to bring down the hero system that didn't save him.
You get the feeling that Shigaraki really is Deku just in a different situation, a same person on the opposite sides of the conflict kind of character foiling.
As the biggest Yubel stan here, in some ways the foiling for Shigaraki works better than the foiling for Yubel because Shigaraki isn't just Deku's foil, he's the foil for all of society. Yu-Gi-Oh Gx takes place in a society run where everything centers around card games, it's not really that deep. In My Hero Academia you have that 100 episodes of great setup where Deku is not only learning to look at the darkness within himself, but also the darkness within hero society around him.
Judai's narrative as much as I love it, is entirety about Judai.
Not only could Dark Deku arc develop Deku's character, it could also say something deeper about the world it's taking place it, because Deku has all these connections to Shigaraki, who also kind of represents the orphaned boy failed on all levels by the society around him.
Shigaraki is the shadow of -> Deku, but also Shigaraki is the shadow of -> all of society.
Yubel is the shadow of -> Judai, and only relates to Judai's personal growth.
Yubel is Judai's personal villain, and was created by his actions as a child. His decision to abandon Yubel into space, led to Yubel being tortured and their later madness.
Yubel is also Judai's shadow. They carry all the same flaws, but those flaws are obvious in Yubel and repressed in Judai. Yubel's belief is that Judai is someone who purposefully enjoys hurting their friends, and that's how he shows his love. While that's twisted it's not hard to see how Yubel came to that conclusion. After all, Yubel loved Judai so much only for Judai to abandon them and turn a blind eye to their suffering. In the Dark World, Judai abandons his other friends continually in order to search for Johan, and they wind up suffering too.
While Judai doesn't sadistically enjoy hurting others as Yubel put it, there's an element of truth to Yubel's criticism. Judai does abandon people, Judai isn't as empathic as he seems to be. When Judai is subjected to the same kind of isolation and abandonment that Yubel has endured for the past ten years, Judai loses his mind a whole lot quicker and starts lashing out at everything around him the same way Yubel has. Judai without the love of his friends starts to hurt everyone around him in his lashing out, the same way that Yubel desperate for love starts to inflict pain on the people she loves. Even before the ritual happened, Judai was unwittingly hurting his friends with his own selfish behavior.
Yubel's stated criticism is "of Judai is "Anguish and sorrow born from loneliness. That is the nature of love as you taught it to me" and further beyond that "When you forgot about me, I suffered. It's hot. It hurts. I am in pain. Why? You know how much I love you? Why did you do this to me, Judai? In that moment I realized that was how you showed love. Because you loved me, you hurt me and made me suffer."
That sounds crazy, but hasn't Judai been hurting the people he loved for his own selfish reasons this entire arc? Is it that crazy then to conclude that neglect and abandonment must be how Judai treats everyone he loves, so surely he loves me.
One of the biggest criticisms of this arc is how Judai's behaviors impact his relationships, so of course his most personal villain and foil is his jilted ex nonbinary dragon lover. On a less joking note, when Yubel was displaying troubling behavior as a child, Judai's first response was to abandon them. Which is ironic for someone like Judai so paralyzingly afraid of being abandoned that he became everyone's workhorse and worked himself to death solving their problems for them. Who when abandoned by those friends finally, snaps just as hard as Yubel did when they were abandoned.
Do you see the parallel I'm drawing here? Judai is slotted into the spot of the protagonist who's friends with everyone he meets, who loves and fights for his Nakama. Yet under closer scrutiny he's shown that he doesn't really understand what love or friendship is or how to give and receive love from others in a healthy way. His antagonist is his former childhood best friend, who is obsessed with love and demands that Judai love them back. Judai's lack of understanding of relationships and love takes a dark twist with Yubel, their shadow, foil and antagonist.
These are once again very personal challenges to Judai, society doesn't really factor into this equation. Though, Judai is somewhat challenged as a hero because there's an irony to Judai plunging into the world to save his best friend Johan who he's known for like three weeks, but not really lifting a finger to save the antagonist of the arc Yubel who he's known since childhood and is personal responsible for putting through torture.
That hypocrisy there too, is a personal challenge to Judai that paints him in a less heroic light. He wants to save Johan and ignore Yubel because it's easier, because saving Johan relieves him of his guilt. He doesn't even know what to do about Yubel, so he doesn't try and falls back on his previously established behavior of playing the hero.
The hero is really just a mask for Judai at this point, something the story has ripped right off of his face by the time it comes to face Yubel.
There are two ways in which Yubel serves as an ultimate foil to Judai.
Yubel acts like a callout post to all of Judai's flaws
Yubel represents a dark path Judai could have taken.
This second one is what Shigaraki and Deku have in Common with Judai + Yubel. There's something deeply tragic about the idea that while Deku was making friends, getting taught by a loving teacher like All Might, Shigaraki was all alone being pushed by a ruthless manipulator like AFO into becoming the worst villain.
Judai and Yubel's lives follow the same tragic parallel path. They began in the same place as childhood friends, but after abandoning Yubel, Judai spent the next ten years growing up, making friends in a healthy and safe envirnoment while Yubel the one who was abandoned was alone in space desperately crying for Judai to come save them only to be ignored because Judai has long forgotten them.
However, there's a striking difference there too. Yubel is created directly by Judai's neglect and actions. Whereas Shigaraki is created by the neglect of all of society, it's not Deku's fault directly.
#1 Shigaraki acting as a callout post to Deku's Flaws
However, this is where Shigaraki's callout post comes in. Shigaraki gives a long speech on how the existence of heroes itself, creates villains like him.
"You heroes pretend to be society's guardians. For generations you pretended not to see those you couldn't protect and swept their pain under the rug. It's tainted everything you've built. That means your system's all rotten from the inside with maggots crawling out. It builds up little by little, over time, you've got the common trash all too dependent on being protected. And the brave guardians who created the trash that need coddling. It's a corrupt, vicious, cycle. Everything I've witnessed. This whole system you've built has always rejected me. Now I'm ready to reject it. That's why I destroy. That's why I take power for myself. Simple enough, yeah? You don't understand because you can't understand, that's what makes us heroes and villains."
To break it down simply, heroes look away from the faults in their society, they intentionally ignore the people they cannot save, and when those people turn into villains the heroes beat them down hard. The villain attacks then convince the common people of the need for heroes, and the cycle perpetuates itself. This is all powered by the people's blind, uncritical faith in heroes.
Deku is a person who has that same blind, uncritical faith in hereoes, and until this point has never thought of Shigaraki as anything more than a villain to be punched until he stops. Which is why this is still a callout post that applies to Deku, because Deku's blind admiration for the Hero System is part of the problem that enables the very flawed hero system.
Deku does not understand darkness of the heart, therefore Deku does not understand that heroes could possibly be bad, and he could possibly be supporting a bad system until he's slapped in the face with it.
However, is there a lasting consequence for Deku's blind support of the hero system?
Nope.
I just described up above what could have been a consequence, if Lady Nagant refused to have faith in Deku since he didn't back his words up with action.
Deku also clearly does not want to break away from the corrupt hero system that created Shigaraki, because the heroes that he brought along to fight with him are Endeavor, Hawks and Jeanist, a child abuser, a state sponsored murderer, and a guy who makes bad puns. He doesn't change any of his bahavior that enables the corrupt system to stay in power.
Not teaming up with the Top 3 heroes, and deciding to go full vigilante would have at least have been breaking away from that system.
This circles around to a big underlying problem in this whole arc in that Deku isn't really doing anything different from what he was doing before, and he's not punished for his character stagnancy either.
So we're left with.
#2 Shigaraki represents a dark path that Deku could have Taken
This is where Judai / Yubel succeeds and Shigaraki / Deku falls flat on its face.
When pushed to his absolute limit after failing repeatedly, Judai snaps. With no friends left he decides that all that matters is power. This path seems natural for him because we've already seen what being abandoned and left alone can do to a person and how it twisted Yubel. The story hints again and again at Judai's blood knight tendencies, and that he thinks the only thing he has of value to offer others is strength by fighting for them.
He loses his friends and the fighting is all he has left.
At the point of despair he decides to just embrace power. If he cares about nothing more than strength, at least that will give him some sense of control over his life after the out of control tragedy that happened to him.
"Yuki Judai. In order to defeat evil, one must become evil. In a world with the law of the jungle at work, one must rule with power."
"Power? I don't have that kind of power."
"In your hand lies the super polymerization card. Defeat any spirits who may oppose you, and combine their lives into it to perfect the card."
Supreme King is just a villain persona that Judai adopts to as a protetive blanket for all the hurt and pain they've gone through, just like ding, ding, ding, the villain persona Shigaraki Tomura is for Shimura Tenko.
Judai snapping under such intense pressure shows us that if even the faultless hero can snap, then how much can we blame the villain for snapping under similar circumstances? Maybe the reason both the hero and the villain fell is because they're both equally human and to fall down is human.
Deku never falls down as hard as Judai does. He doesn't even fall down and scrape his knee. There's no instance where he fails to save anyone. There's no instance where his actions hurt anyone. There's no instance where he takes things too far and hurts a villain. I kow it's unlikely for Deku to turn into a villain, but he could have at least gotten so frustrated he turned into a punisher style vigilante! Is that too much to ask?
There's not even a single moment where Deku goes too hard in a fight and injures or even kills a villain. They could have pulled an "I thought you were stronger" moment like in Invincible.
I don't know why this is called the Dark Deku arc because there's no darkness in Deku's heart for him to exploit, nor is he actually called to better his understanding of the darkness in others hearts. Judai understands Yubel's darkness because by the end of his personal arc he's been there, he's not the hero he's the atoner. He can either punish Yubel, or hold a hand out to help Yubel atone.
Deku's arc might as well be called the "My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Arc" because he never does or confronts anything dark. His worst crime is not showering. All that isolation and his repeatd failures in hunting AFO down should have worn Deku down, but it didn't because he's just that special of a boy!
Deku's hero complex also is completely uncriticized from beginning to finish. Judai's hero complex is an unhealthy behavior that utterly destroys him. Deku's hero complex is a job interview flaw.
FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC
Just to hammer my point in I'd like to compare these two scenes. One is in the middle of the Supreme King Arc, the sacrifice ritual scene where all of Judai's friends are blaming him for the fact that they're about to be sacrificed while he's still trying to save them.
The second is the climax of the Dark Deku arc, where all of Deku's friends are showing up to fight him and convincing him to accept their help.
Just look at how vastly different these two shows treat their shonen protagonists when it comes to his flaws.
For the ritual sacrifice scene. This is immediately after Manjoume wakes up to find that he has been chained and kidnapped with Judai standing right there.
Judai: Sit tight! I'll save you soon!
Manjoume: Wait, is he dueling? JUdai you damned idiot! Weren't you going to save Johan with us!? Getting yourself all flared up. You didn't even stop to think about us at all, did you?
Judai: That's not it.
Manjoume: That's just how you are! You were the only one in your kingdom from the get-go. We were the idiots for getting all motivated with you and feeling some sense of friendship with you being like that!
Then Judai watches helplessly as Manjoume dies. His other friends don't fare much better.
Kenzan: Big Bro? Why'd you want to save Freed's comrades when it meant sacrificing us-don!?
Judai: You're wrong. That's not it.
Fubuki: It's painful. This pain isn't just physical. It's the pain of a friends' betrayal that I have tearing my soul. apart.
Asuka: I'm being betrayed and sent away by you. To think that I'll have to bear a sadness like this.
All of Judai's friends die spitting on him and telling him what a terrible friend he is and that this is all his fault. Which it is, because his decision to abandon them got them captured and led up to the sacrifice ritual.
Now, what scathing criticisms do our heroes have to give Deku after he left them all behind to fight Shigaraki alone?
Denki: Midoriya! We get that all for one is really importnat but you got something even more important in your life! Me and you we aint'g otta ton in common, but you're still a friend! Even if we gotta force this friendship down your throat.
TodorokI: What a look you have on your face. Is this resposnibility so much that you can't let yourself cry? Seems like a burden you should share with the rest of us.
Uraraka: The thing is Deku, we don't want to be protected by you and reject who you are and what you're doing, we just want to be with you (this part is narration).
Deku is told that none of his friends are mad, they want to be by his side no matter what, and that it's okay for him to cry.
I should also mention how underdeveloped this supposed nakama group is in the manga itself. The entirety of Season 3 of GX is tha the bond between Judai and his friends are more shallow then it appears, but he's also spent two whole seasons bonding with a group that consists of: Asuka, Sho, Kenzan, Fubuki, Manjoume. That's six people total including Judai who serve as is primary friend group. Their friendship is more unhealthy than it appears, but Judai has spent the past two seasons hanging out with one small friendgroup.
Meanwhile the entirety of Class 1-A shows up to tell Deku how much they love him and how much he means to them, and Deku's hung out with maybe like... four of them?
You have one bond shown to be how shallow it is, and one shallow bond treated like it's the deepest, most loving friend group in all of fiction. Deku doesn't even receive some lgiht criticism for how inftantalizing it was for him to abandon them for their own protection, because no one resents Deku or is capable of holding any negative or critical emotions towards him whatsoever. He's just told how much everyone loves him and wants him to come home.
And yes, Judai also does get two characters sacrificing themselves to try to reach him when he's the Supreme King.
However, as I stated above Jim sacrifices himself to help Judai because that's who JIm is as a person. Austin does it after Jim fails, both to honor his friendship with Jim, and also because of someone who got scared and ran he feels like he has to confront the darkness of the heart.
Jim and Austin O'brien's sacrifice is also a sacrifice. They died trying to save Judai, and Judai has to wake up with the knowledge that not only did he kill a bunch of people in his quest for power, he killed two more friends who were only trying to help him.
At the end of the arc, Judai has woken up with the knowledge that he has done bad things that can't be taken back and he's barely better than Yubel at this point.
At the end of the Dark Deku arc, Deku gets a speech from Uraraka about how amazing and selfless he is, and how he never gives up and how he always pushes forward, and how everyone at the UA shelter should appreciate him more.
The Supreme King arc exists to criticize Judai. The Dark Deku arc does nothing but flatter Deku from beginning to end.
Judai's hero mask is ripped off and he's forced to be a person. Deku's hero mask stays on, his hero complex is unchallenged, and he's praised for being teh greatest hero evarz.
I often get accused of not liking MHA simply because I expect it to be a different story than what it is. That I want it to be darker, when it's a more optimistic shonen manga.
However, here's my secret. I hate edgy superheroes. I don't like watching stuff like The Boys because it gets too dark for me. The oly reason I read invincible is because my friend told me that Omni-Man got a redemption arc. My favorite DC Superhero is Superman. My favorite Superhero of ALL TIME is Spiderman.
The thing about Spiderman though, is that it is hard to be Spiderman. The entire point of Peter Parker's character is that he has a terrible work/life balance and constantly loses people around him because being Spiderman is a sacrifice. The story doesn't bend over backwards to praise Spiderman as being a selfless hero, in fact it points out what a loser he is constantly. Peter Parker's friends are always frustrated with him and he's a wreck of a person.
Yet, the fact that being Spiderman is such a sacrifice and he keeps choosing to make it, shows what kind of person Peter Parker is, and that's just a person who does whatever he can to help out.
Even Peter Parker, the nicest, most well-intentioned boy ever has the Symbiote arc. One of the most famous arcs in comics dealing with Peter is when he lets Venom graft onto his suit, and even though the symbiote makes him violent, and makes his behavior change he spends the longest time not wanting to peel it off because the power boost the symbiote suit gave him made his life that much easier.
Dark Deku is an obvious reference to the Venom Suit, but a completely shallow reference because Dark Deku acts exactly the same as regular Deku the only reason he looks like that is he forgot to take a shower.
Superhero stories don't need to be Dark Deconstrutions, but they do need to be SOMETHING. They need to say something about the character. The problem with the Dark Deku arc isn't that Deku didn't experience a villain arc.
It's that nothing of consequence happened in the entire arc. Nothing changed. The story asked us if Deku's hero complex was a bad thing, and then it didn't deliver any answer. The story asked us if Deku needs to understand darkness better and then didn't answer that.
These are ideas that the audience promised were going to get answered. We were told Deku was going to get his development this arc that he was going to be pushed to the edge. The entire premise of this arc was that it was supposed to better help Deku understand Shigaraki and Hero Society only for Deku to not learn about either of those things.
Deku's learned nothing. We've learned nothing. Nothing has changed in the story itself. The only thing we've accomplished was wasting a lot of time that we could have been using watching Yu-Gi-Oh GX!
#mha meta#ygo gx meta#yu gi oh gx#yuki judai#judai yuki#supreme king haou#supreme king jaden#supreme king judai#yu gi oh gx meta#dark deku#ygo#ygx meta#ygo meta
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when you think about the unanswered questions at the end of season 4 that will and mike's relationship has, and then think about the unanswered questions that el and mike has at the end of season 4, it's clear that byler is going to be endgame. here's why.
mike and will's unanswered questions
who was will talking about in the van?
finn wolfhard himself said that mike knows something was up in the van scene, but not exactly what it was. there is no way they would leave this as an unopened thing never addressed. it simply doesn't make sense plot wise for mike to find out it was will talking about himself and for that to not impact mike greatly. it is clear the words influenced him, and it is what he needed at the time - words that was supposed to motivate him about his girlfriend, but once he finds out they were truly from will and not el, that would impact his feelings about el. especially because that is the conversation that led to the biggest "m!leven" moment of the whole show, meaning will's feelings for mike is what motivated the whole climax.
who is the painting from?
in the same vein as the above unanswered question - mike was amazed by the painting, and it is what led to will's pep talk to mike about el. once he finds out that the painting isn't from will, it will mean that the love and adoration he felt for el would actually be for will, unintentionally.
how is will going to get over mike?
will said in his conversation with mike that he would rather "get it over with quick, like ripping off a band-aid". but how is that going to happen in one season, with no new characters introduced because they want to focus on the og cast? additionally, with the next question--
how are will and mike going to work as a team?
we know that will and mike are going to work as a team. some evidence within the show includes the final shot of st4, mike saying he wants to work as a team and their last heart-to-heart of the season. on top of that, the duffers said they will return to the og groups and pairings as well as saying that will is going to be a "big part and focus" of season 5 as he is entering his coming of age, hinting his journey will be full circle back to season 1 again. so it is safe to say that mike and will will get a lot of screentime, considering they are the closest of the s1 party.
however, if there is one thing we know about stranger things, and tv shows in general, is that all lies will come to light eventually - call that chekhov's lie. so we know they will be working together a lot, but we also know that will has recently told several lies to mike - albeit for reasons he believed were right at the time - while he is trying to distant himself from mike to stop his feelings for him. without a doubt all of this will be addressed in season 5.
mike and el's unanswered questions
how is mike going to say "i love you" to el?
while mike did say it in the monologue, it was not properly acknowledged by either parties after. mike has said i love you twice - once in the heat in the moment, the second time when he believed el was going to die. however, this is clearly not sustainable for el, who knows that mike has said it, but dislikes mike's avoidance of the word. mike's reasoning was because he thinks el won't need him anymore. however, that problem still needs to be solved. el never says she needs mike - in fact, she distances herself from mike after the monologue. so if that is the reason, and mike does, in fact, hold that fear - then how is that going to be solved?
what is the aftermath of the monologue?
after the monologue, there was no on-screen conversation between el and mike. mike says that did not "talk much" and only a "little bit" - but even this was not shown on screen. in the time skip after the monologue the writers chose to show mike and hopper interact over mike and el - perhaps because more focus needs to be on it.
can they come back from their fight?
mike describes their first fight as a "fight you can't come back from". they try to have a conversation about it after they get el back - where el struggles to make eye contact with mike - but alas, they are interrupted by argyle! which if you count as a romantic trope, means that you acknowledge that the not one, not two, not three, but four times it happened to will and mike should also be up for consideration. but anyway, despite starting the conversation, they never finish having it, and that's the last proper conversation el and mike have of the season. so there's a lot of loose ties regarding their fight, which wasn't exactly solved during the monologue - and even if it was, el hasn't talked about it yet.
what do we get from this?
to summarise:
the byler unanswered questions surround whether will can effectively hide his feelings for mike and get over him, and if he can get away with the lies he told mike in season 4.
the mileven unanswered questions surround whether mike can say i love you to el enough to have a healthy relationship, and whether el accepts the monologue as an apology for his behaviour in their relationship.
from this, i believe mike and will will be endgame. why?
as with every tv show, like i mentioned, all the lies will come to light - especially true as one of stranger things' main themes is "friends don't lie". anyway, mike will undoubtedly find out about his feelings, the painting and why will is being distant from him.
mike and el will have a proper conversation regarding their relationship next season, but that is not el's main arc of the show. she has other things she needs to focus on - namely, defeating henry, saving max and saving hawkins and everyone in it.
an independence arc has already been hinted at for el since season 3. combined with the mike and will duo that has also been foreshadowed, this means there is a high chance that mike and el will not spend a lot of screen time together.
if mike's whole arc was about wanting to be needed by el in s4, and it is followed by el not needing him in s5, it spells out a very simple endgame: m!leven is bones.
now with will's arc, which will be focused on in s5 as confirmed by the duffers, his coming of age story is about wanting to be loved. romantically, this focuses around his crush on mike, which has been set up since season 1 ,and his acceptance around his sexuality.
once all of the unanswered mike and eleven questions are answered, it only makes sense for m!leven to end. once all of the unanswered will and mike questions are answered, it only makes sense for will and mike to be endgame.
who was will talking about in the van? mike finds out that will was talking about himself, and the feelings he built up again for el from his monologue was actually from will. the words he got emotional over, and about being needed, is from will.
who is the painting from? the painting is a physical representation of the creator's love for mike, which mike at first believed was from el. this will come up again, considering it was built up since the first episode of season 4 (chekhov's painting lmao)
how is will going to get over mike? and how are will and mike going to work as a team? over the course of the season, mike will find out about answers to the previous questions. we have already seen a heartbreak arc for will time and time again, in season three AND four - it would make no sense to have that again in season five. it would be the same narrative we have seen in the show for the last time, with no real difference. the only way it can end is for byler to be endgame.
narratively, it only makes sense for byler to be endgame! i have confidence in the duffers, and so should you.
#stranger things#byler#mike wheeler#will byers#byler meta#stranger things meta#byler theory#byler analysis#midleven is bones
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20 questions for Fic Writers
thank you to everyone who tagged me and I'm sorry it's taken me a month to do this.
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
25 plus a few that I've posted anonymously. bonus points if anyone ever finds them.
2. What's your total AO3 word count?
348,031
3. What fandoms do you write for?
just HP/marauders these days
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
A Brief History of Dragons - people like this Remus I think.
Beneath a Big Blue Sky - my love letter to Yorkshire.
Statten Park - an old one but I do actually still like this, it's a lot of fun.
Sunshine on Leith - can we knock this out of the top five already please.
And a Hedgehog in a Pine Tree - I'm so surprised that this is here, it's such an inconsequential little thing. people like Christmas I suppose.
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
oh god I try I really do, every email that comes through with a new comment makes my day but I'm terrible for leaving them all unanswered in my inbox. I'm sorry to everyone who has ever left a comment that I haven't responded to.
6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
The Proctor House for sure. A Winter, Forever Ago is pretty bleak too.
7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
most of them! probably the most joyous is something like Beneath a Big Blue Sky because you've been on a decent journey to get there. that goose threatening everyone's happiness and all.
8. Do you get hate on fics?
not really. one comment I do get sometimes is that the way I write Remus/Sirius is OOC and yes I agree, it absolutely is. Remus in Beneath a Big Blue Sky has nothing to do with e.g. Remus in Ullswater. those men have never even met in a bathroom. James in A Brief History of Dragons is an arsehole compared to living legend James in Beneath a Big Blue Sky. Sirius in Statten Park is a complete stranger to Sirius in Heartstones. none of them, really, have much to do with their canon counterparts. just bits here and there but I haven't read the HP books in well over a decade and I don't really remember what these characters are actually like beyond the surface-level stuff, so a lot of what I write is fairly OOC. it's all done knowingly and intentionally and I'm not going to change that.
9. Do you write smut. If so, what kind?
oh gosh a little bit a little bit. please understand that I'm a repressed Englishwoman and I'm trying my hardest. Seventeen Hours and Statten Park are both fairly smutty. I'd like to write more but I'm awkward af.
10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?
no not really my thing but I do like to take other stories and plonk marauders characters into similar worlds - Ullswater was very much inspired by If We Were Villains.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
no but people keep nabbing them to get them printed and then apparently sell them? so actually maybe yes. grow up.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
no because I'm a control freak and I don't allow my work to be replicated. sorry about it. I think people have done it for personal offline projects though and that's absolutely fine.
13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?
back in the day I used to co-write with my then-partner but it was just bits and pieces, not full fics. again, I'm a control freak so I'd struggle with this. I need to get my own way always.
14. What's your all-time favorite ship?
right so I should say Remus/Sirius but honestly... Remus/James just reaches places other pairings simply cannot. so it's a toss up.
15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?
oh god how long have you got. I think one of the reasons I dislike Sunshine on Leith so much is because I put that stupid note at the end promising a third part in a few weeks. that was in 2020 and I've still not done it. help.
16. What are your writing strengths?
description, particularly when it comes to: natural landscapes, buildings, food, weather. I think I'm alright at witty dialogue too.
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
actually writing anything down. also action, can't do action to save my life.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?
I don't think I've done it but I'd give it a go.
19. First Fandom you wrote for?
I think it was LOTR and yes it probably still exists somewhere on an old desktop computer at my dad's house and yes that thought keeps me up at night.
20. Favorite fic you've ever written?
The Proctor House and Beneath a Big Blue Sky
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What do you think of the fan theory on ‘Licorne/Lico’ (established as an alias) the androgynous detective from the ‘Danganronpa Kirigiri’ book series being a young Junko, during her ‘homeless’ years between the flashback of ‘Danganronpa Zero’ and even entering the fashion industry at all? While she was still figuring out what to do with her life? It was apparently a semi-common theory in Japan (that people would independently think up of), given how similar the characters are and how it would add new context to why Junko erased almost all of Kyoko’s memories beyond just Hope’s Peak, if they’d really known each other before. I don’t know a huge amount about the books, but on paper the theory sounds very interesting, to inquire as to your thoughts on it.
The "Junko is Licorne" theory is one that I like in concept, but I believe there is a more satisfying connection to them other than "they're the same person." There are undoubtedly a lot of similarities between them, though there are holes in this theory that kinda make it fall apart.
*Spoilers for the Danganronpa series, especially Danganronpa Kirigiri, go read that
Now let's start by going over the evidence for this theory.
Both are motivated by boredom and wanting to entertain themselves
Both have a similar personality
Licorne is androgynous, and while most people refer to him as a boy (hence why I'm using male pronouns), his sex is unknown
The word "despair" is written near a lot of crime scenes in Danganronpa Kirigiri (though it's unknown if Licorne is the one writing it)
Both have a similar eye color, perhaps meaning both are wearing the same contacts
Both are extremely analytical, smart, and capable, which ultimately leads to their boredom
Them being the same would give added context to Junko erasing all of Kyoko's memories
Now on paper, it sounds like a pretty solid theory. They have a lot of similarities after all. Unfortunately, there are some holes in this theory.
If the writers intended for Licorne to be Junko, then why didn't they reveal that? Danganronpa is a series that usually tries to pay off the mysteries it sets up, so why would they leave this seemingly important one just unanswered?
We already know Licorne's identity. Licorne is a child named Rei Mikagami who was sent to an orphanage after his parents died. This immediately contradicts Junko's backstory, who was homeless for a lot of her childhood. Later on, during the events of Kirigiri, he lives with Gekka Ryuzoji. Also since we know his real name is Rei Mikagami, and assuming he is the same person as Junko, then how come he never calls Junko that? Yasuke and Junko were childhood best friends, he would have known Junko's hypothetical true identity because he knew her as a child. But he never calls Junko Rei because Junko's true identity is simply just Junko. The flashback in Danganronpa Zero tells us one thing, Junko was always the way she is. She never "became" Junko, she just was. Basically, Rei and Junko lived completely separate lives and it's impossible that Kirigiri takes place in between that flashback and Junko joining the fashion industry.
As for giving added context to Junko erasing all of Kyoko's memories, it really doesn't. Trigger Happy Havoc makes it pretty clear that the reason Junko erased all of Kyoko's memories is because Kyoko is a skilled detective with years of experience, and thus would be a threat to the killing game. Kyoko wouldn't have even been able to recognize her as Rei because they both look hardly alike.
So yeah, while it's a neat theory, I think it's pretty safe to say it wasn't intended. But if they're not the same person, then how do you explain why they're so similar?
I believe that Licorne and Junko are supposed to be parallels. They lived similar lives, have similar talents, a similar mindset, etc. But where Junko used her abilities for evil, Licorne used his for good. When Licorne eventually grows tired, we see that he's sad and doesn't know what to do, but goes off into the unknown to find something. I believe Licorne is supposed to represent a Junko where they didn't turn to despair. Thematic parallels basically. And I think that explanation works a lot better than them just being the same person. Those are my thoughts at least.
#danganronpa#danganronpa zero#dr0#dr#danganronpa 0#danganronpa kirigiri#danganronpa book#danganronpa novel#kirigiri#dangan ronpa#junko enoshima#danganronpa junko#dr junko#licorne#rei mikagami
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I couldn’t find it anywhere, but I was curious as to what your writing boundaries are as I didn’t see it listed. Really loving your writing so far!!!!
-❤️💚
Hi there!! Thank you so much first of all for your kindness and expressing your love of my writing thus far—I really cannot even begin to express how much this means to me. I love being able to bring you all joy, and things to read that you can really enjoy and immerse yourself in! It seems I'm doing my job well, and I'm very thrilled to hear that. Thank you so, so much. ♡
Secondly, thank you so much for going so far as to wonder about my boundaries as a person and writer—that means the world to me as well! Really great that you asked this, because literally right before this ask came in, I was already beginning to think about my boundaries a bit, and how I would go about organizing this information for you all! I imagine that after this, I'll begin my formal masterlist, as well as link this post so you all can reference my boundaries as well. Really, thank you for caring about that, I can't explain how much it means to me. But let's get right into it!!
Honestly, I am open to hearing any request ideas. Sometimes, I'm not sure if I'd be comfortable with writing something until I get the request for the thing and then I can gauge my comfort level. There are three levels of my comfort:
🌑=FULLY comfortable with writing this!
🌓=partially comfortable with writing this, will have to be on my own terms, and illustrated either vaguely or in ways that I am comfortable whilst still fulfilling the request.
🌕=not at all comfortable writing this, please bear with me while I do my best.
When necessary, I will indicate any one of these symbols at the beginning of a request or even my own idea (and of course I will specify what it means, I don't expect you all to remember! That would be so unfair!) if it is something I feel would be necessary to note, especially if there is an aspect or more where I haven't had much experience with due to not knowing my comfort level, or knowing that my comfort level is less than fully comfortable. But I will also still be sure to let you all know if I am fully comfortable writing something if that request seems like something where it would feel sort of essential to note that.
For example, any sort of NSFW request, even if I am fully comfortable fulfilling it, I will still note that I am because I think it is important you all know that, even. So honestly, don't hesitate to run anything by me! If I am absolutely NOT okay with writing something, I will either leave the request unanswered, or I will post a little explanation as to why I will be leaving the request unfulfilled. If this happens, please, do not take it personally for asking that of me! I am just glad to have things be run by me, I am always open to ideas of any kind and I'll just be glad you asked and I will always encourage you to request something else. But honestly as a writer, I am comfortable with quite a lot. NSFW writing can depend, but honestly, don't hesitate to send in those ideas. It really, really just depends on what it surrounds and how in detail you expect me to go, because sometimes I won't be open to being super in detail with those themes but sometimes, I will!
I will say though, by no means am I comfortable writing anything surround SA in depth. There can be a past of it for a character or the reader, that is absolutely fine if it is necessary for the idea, but I will not go in depth about the actual SA that happened. I am also not too comfortable writing things surrounding pregnancy as I don't feel like it's much my place to and it's a bit triggering for me due to some personal reasons but like, I am okay writing things where a character and the reader already have children and such, or even just had children, just not the process of pregnancy. It's not my favorite thing to write still but, I am comfortable doing so. I also do not like to write character x readers either where the reader cheats and/or the character cheats, but I will write stories where one of them have been cheated on in the past and such, by other people. Also of course, if you can think of anything considered morally wrong and/or illegal (for instance, incest) I obviously will not write it, I don't feel like that was essential to say because I can see you are all good people that know right from wrong and wouldn't request stuff like that anyways, but like, just to lay that out there, you know?
Things surrounding mental health—go ahead and request. I will either fulfill your request (most of the time, I will!) or I will not, depending on the context/content. I do not want any of you, or myself, to feel too terribly triggered, BUT mental health topics are important to delve into and I do feel comfortable doing so. I know it can be validating for others, and even myself! But I also want to be respectful of you all and myself.
That should be it for now! If anything changes, you all will be the first to know. Thank you again for asking this, let alone caring enough about my boundaries to ask! It really means so much to me. This is such a loving and healthy and positive environment which I truly appreciate. I can't wait to continue writing for you all! Never, ever hesitate to request, comment, message me, anything of that sort! I adore you all and I wish you all the best beginning of this new week! i can't wait to execute more of your amazing ideas, and thank you for sending them in, and for all of the love and kindness already. It's been a pleasure to be here and to share my writing with you all.
Love,
Lavinia
some stars because it's night as I write this!
#boundaries#thank you for asking this#you all are amazing#requests open#please request#i love writing#i am open to a lot#don't be afraid to run anything by me#our flag means death#ofmd#ofmd season 2#our flag means death s2#community tv show#once upon a time#izzy hands#izzy hands x reader#gossip girl#gilmore girls#the oc#enola holmes#wow i'm forgetting a lot of my fandoms#x reader#fem reader#masc reader#gn reader#queer#pride and prejudice#little women 2019#fanfic#fanfiction
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The finale is old news by now, but I have to go back to it for a minute if that's alright. After watching it, I lay in bed teary. Can't really explain why. I've been invested in the Caryl relationship since Cherokee Rose way back when, surviving on scraps. Then S10 came around with a wealth of scenes. The renewed focus given to their relationship, the conflict, was appreciated and encouraging of things to come. Well we know how s11 turned out. Resignation set in around ep. 20, but I kept waiting for a conversation. 40 min into the finale, couple missed opportunities already, I was screaming at my laptop.
Intellectually I know the ilys are a big deal... yet it fell kind of flat for me. Technically it's payoff for 11 seasons, but it still didn't really feel earned. It felt kinda tacked on (which I suppose it was). It's not a kiss or the implicitness that bothered me. It was the build up of a narrative that fizzled out. They were put on the back burner. Conflict and tension was barely addressed, then dropped with the time skip. That a resolution happened essentially off screen was unsatisfying. Not to mention the lack of sense that ending made.
What drove me up the wall about TWD is even when characters were having conversations, sometimes they weren't really saying anything. And other times they would say nothing at all.
I feel this sentiment deep in my bones, friend. We can give credit where credit is due. Caryl's narrative as a whole was leading up to those I love you's which are a huge deal no matter what, but when their narrative suddenly collapses in the show's last season and becomes about pushing one of them into a nonsensical spinoff, the impact absolutely gets lost and its hard to get over it. Not to mention, after rooting for these characters for so many years, we want to see them get everything they deserve in the end, but ultimately neither of them have. Daryl is alone. Carol is taking care of everybody else. They're supposed to be each other's happy ending.
I'm sure we can make a list of all the unanswered questions. How did Daryl get his scar? Why did 9x07 make it seem like Carol knew what happened? Why did Caryl talk about New Mexico throughout season 10? What happened to the trinkets they gave each other? Why did Carol stop wearing her bracelet? Where is Daryl's double capper? What was the purpose of all the parallels between Leah and Carol? Why did Caryl's fight amount to nothing except making Daryl look like a hypocrite for leaving? Why use Connie as a plot device if the reason would never be addressed? Why was there so much tension between Daryl and Carol if they were just going to shrug their shoulders in the end and say all's well that ends well?
It's just maddening and this is why everybody is wary about TWDU's future. It comes down to the storytelling and AMC should leave it to the writers they don't pay enough to tell it instead of noting them to death.
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CONGRATULATIONS ON THE MILESTONE WIFEY!! <33 those prompts look so cute 🫶 could i request “wow i really can’t speak, huh? must be because of how pretty you look.” with heeseung?
TYSM MY FAE, MY WIFEY, MY WIFAE 😭💞💞💞
project partner — lhs/gn!reader
g. fluff ☆ w. not proofread ☆ wc. 1k
note. AHH i enjoyed writing this sm??! I thought i was gonna leave this in the drafts bc of the sudden writers block i had but last night my 12am mind was like.. Omg I know how to finish this fic now!!! ANW i hope this was somewhat enjoyable cause again, i did =w= + reblogs & likes are greatly appreciated!
perm. taglist! @jangwonie @coffeewon @butterflyy-ningg @w3bqrl
A lot of people (including you) hate group projects, yes, but there’s something about project pairings that gives you an ick. And there is a reason why you think so; it’s because every partner you had paired up with either ghosted you or have made you do all the work. Yelling at them was no use since they wouldn’t care a bit, resulting in you ratting them out to your adviser.
In short, pairings are more of a hassle than group work, which can still have a few people helping out. Unlike those toad sucking people you have been paired with in the past.
You always fume whenever collaboration projects only require being in pairs. ‘Cause who would be your pair? Would it be the class’s brainy or the brainfart? you only have to pray and gamble with yourself for it to not be the latter.
And boom.
You’re suddenly at a desk beside Lee Heeseung, your project partner.
You were internally screaming yet thankful it was not anyone else. Heeseung is a smart guy, though he only uses that sweet brain of his whenever he wants to, and that’s the hard part. Trying to crack him open to his potential and getting him to cooperate so you two can pass.
You shook your head out of trance and began to transfer your gaze to the male beside you, already writing notes.
Surprisingly, he doesn’t need any cracking, thankfully— though you still don’t trust him, maybe, you’re not so sure either.
While the other does his task, you take a peak of his work. Slowly nodding as you examine his neat notes and the way he writes gets you mezmerised. You honestly did not expect him to be so awfully cooperative AND organized, which made you more excited on trying to finish the project as soon as possible.
The only thing that’s bothering you now is communication.
In any amount of tries you had, requiring him questions, everything you had said would be left unanswered by the other.
“ So, what do you think we should start researching first? “
No response, the male’s wrist still moves as the pen he’s holding scribbles at the notebook he’s writing in.
“ heeseung, Do you have any suggestions about this topic? “ You have decided to give it another shot, asking once more. You lay your gaze on the male’s head as it was blocking your view on his notebook. You wouldn’t even care about what he’s doing anymore, at that moment all you feel was anger and the urge to rip his head off and face you.
Another silence brought by the man, as if it's your talking to mid air.
You deeply exhaled all the fuming anger inside you, attempting to keep yourself calm but at that point, you didn't ponder on asking once more, instead, you slid your hands under Heeseung's notebook and immediately snatched it from him.
You tried to stretch your arm far and high as possible so that it would be out of Heeseung's reach, finally getting his attention.
You let out a proud “ Aha! “ then noticing the other, not even trying to get it back from you.
Instead, Heeseung raised his head, his eyes only following the book you had snatched. And froze in that position for a few seconds. You expected him to try and take it from you yet he didn’t. Your arms still stretched afar yet your face slightly dropped when Heeseung’s eyes darted to you, looking directly to your eyes, slowly forgetting your classmates were around, and the both of you were still in your classroom. You froze in place, unable to let out any words out of your mouth as your eyes sparkle while staring at the male in front of you. You felt your chest pound every second pass of the two of you just staring, but not long Heeseung finally spoke up.
“ I really couldn’t speak earlier, must be because of how pretty you look. “
And a sudden pang! Has hit your heart, too deep.
You were completely frozen, trying to process what he just said.
Your heart was about to explode as Heeseung’s face leaned closer. you hold your breath, prepared for what's about to happen next.
“ Thanks, I thought you were gonna keep that away. “ Heeseung thanked, easily sliding his notebook out of your grip, a huge grin plastered on his face. And you? You were dumbfounded, trying to process what had just happened as well. It felt like too much had happened within a few minutes between you and Heeseung, and your heart couldn’t stop beating rapidly as you recall those events.
You knew that you fell for his trick, and it was smart of him to have thought of that and do it so boldly.
Who knew heeseung was a flirt? You thought to yourself, finally lowering your arm where you were holding the male's notebook just a few seconds ago.
You stare at him… Continuing to write in his notebook like nothing happened for a few moments ago, in which the male catches your gaze and lets out a soft chuckle which has caused your heart to pound again. You deeply exhaled, calming yourself and your thumping chest, and coming back to your main focus that was your project presentation that was due in two weeks. It’s best if you two plan it right now and not lose focus because of whatever heeseung pulled.
As you were about to speak, Heeseung had already cutted your words off, “ if you’re going to ask me what i’m doing… Then it’s the agenda and topic choices we can be able to present. “ He turns his head too you. His eyes laying it’s view on you once again. “ The only thing we have to do after this is the research, docs, and the slideshow. Can we do that? “ He said, raising a brow.
“ As long as we have everything planned, of course we can. “ you answered with a smirk on your face. From frustration, dumbfounded, to being ecstatic knowing that the both of you already have made progress thanks to Heeseung. And you just then realized that you haven’t cooperated a single thing for today’s brainstorming. Though you didn’t feel much upset about it since it was the first day, You’ll be able to do something tomorrow.
Also hoping that your project partner doesn’t pull another You look so pretty trick on you again.
© wonamore 2022. please do not modify, edit, copy or reproduce any of the works published.
#ficscafe#enhypenwriters#enhypen x reader#heeseung x reader#enhypen x you#heeseung x you#enhypen heeseung#lee heeseung x reader#lee heeseung#heeseung x y/n#enhypen x y/n#heeseung imagines#heeseung scenarios#enhypen imagines#enhypen scenarios
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your honest thoughts on the motherland finale?
oh boy jsdfks i knew this ask was gonna come up one way or another so i guess i might get it out of the way now. that finale was bad. disappointing. i've never said a single bad thing about motherland. like. ever. i've always trusted the writers and eliot to handle things like they did with s1 and s2 and even though s2 was a bit messy, it was good. but what happened last night was one big messy clusterfuck. i was sad, mad, on the verge of tears because of how bad it was. i've always been the biggest "trust the writers" idiot and i kinda wanna eat my hand now cause sdjfkds i trusted the writers and they fucked me over but it's okAY i'm fine i'll get over it cause someone whom i adore very much can write me a fix fic. anyway this show has been my comfort show for 2 years and it has given me one of the best experiences i've ever had. it has also introduced me to people that are everything to me and i won't ever forget how good it has made me feel, always. so, this is just constructive criticism of something i love.
so, my thoughts, no specific order, just things that won't leave my mind and won't let me and my brain process how stupid everything was:
no closure for any character. like. at all. it's literally an open ending and i know eliot was maybe hoping he would have more chances for the show to get picked up by another network but??? what the fuck was that. there are so many questions that stay unanswered and so many things that make no sense AT ALL and for what. what happened after everybody became a witch? did they end conscription? if that's not the case, why would raelle and scylla go back to the army willingly knowing they wanted to escape? leaving those things to the imagination of the audience is not good storytelling mister, it's bad writing and it's so unserious. when tally got her sight back, they could've shown the audience the characters' future instead of doing whatever they did in that final scene. they should've provided a solid conclusion to the show, they knew it was their last season and they didn't deliver.
so many unnecessary scenes of silver and hearst and his fucking sister which surprise!! is still out and didn't make a final appearance. she was introduced as a new character and her purpose was what exactly? being a mean sister? yeah, okay i guess. unnecessary. they wasted so much time on useless scenes of the camarilla being bad™ when it added absolutely nothing to the plot (hearst singing???? jesus fucking christ what was eliot on), instead of giving us things we genuinely care about. like haha the main fucking couple they forgot existed til ep 8.
that's the next thing i'm gonna talk about. raylla was done so fucking dirty this season. i know all about tay's accident and i'm so glad she healed completely but there was no reason to keep them apart for so many episodes after she was back to filming?? i wasn't mad about raelle reuniting with the unit first, like, not at all. i loved it. but scylla being kidnapped for no reason at all and them not reuniting til next episode was a big dick move and again, unnecessary. their reunion was spoiled in the actual trailer of the season which made it even more anticlimactic and dull, thank god amalia and taylor put their whole souls into them or i wouldn't have felt a single thing. don't get me started on how they have butchered raelle and how they took a lot of fucking liberties with her character. you're telling me raelle was okay with not knowing where scylla was for a whole ass WEEK and she was just straight up chillin' and not losing her shit? nah, i don't think so. anyway, their scenes are cut short and have the length of a tiktok video. when was their last meaningful conversation as a couple?? idk probably in s2 cause they haven't had those in s3, not even in the first episodes where all they gave us were lil amalia/taylor touches n glances. the proposal and the wedding felt rushed, ridiculous and like something they did to shut people up. "they got married what more do you want?" an on-screen relationship with actual fucking scenes that show how the characters feel towards each other, maybe, idk could be wrong. they were not treated like the main couple this season and it's been a hard pill to swallow but it's true. the finale was just scylla holding raelle and carrying her around and that's it. gregorio and tally, a couple that got together LAST EPISODE got a kiss and a worried hug and we got!! nothing!! haha yeah. not even an ending for them. the setup was there. the lighthouse, raelle and scylla running together and living near the beach. instead we got them standing next to each other like they're best buds. welp, at least they're not dead, right?
scylla's treatment was also bullshit. they did an exceptional job on making her part of the unit just to throw her under the bus last minute and sideline her character at the end. that last scene felt empty without her. i know the show's always been about the unit, i agree. but scylla's part of the unit now. she should've been there. instead, she just carried raelle around, and did nothing. what a waste. amalia knows her way around stunts, they should've made her fight and show us what she's actually capable of. but whatever.
anacostia's death pissed me off so much. it was anticlimactic and pretty avoidable if you ask me. i remember last night when watching the ep, i didn't even react to her death because it felt so ??? stupid?? that i was like "haha dude she's not dead". and she was? what the fuck eliot. it didn't make sense for the plot, it was just a big fuck you to us all and a stupid attempt at pulling a plot twist. it wasn't a plot twist, it was absurd. the audience didn't even have time to mourn her. if they wanted to kill someone and make the audience feel something, they should've gone for petra. i know miss ashley would've delivered a performance. but anacostia's death was pointless and mister sterling what's his name wasn't the person she should've died for. if they wanted to kill her so bad, she should've died protecting the unit.
can someone explain to me how making everyone a witch solves the world's problems? what was eliot thinking? forcing everyone to be the same, erasing their identities and differences and giving the camarilla (remember!! bad people who hate witches!!) actual power to fight them and kill them seems pretty stupid to me. also the big epic moment didn't feel like one. it felt pretty dull.
okay, some positive feelings:
i really missed arlen's nicte. i'm really glad she made a last appearance. nicte is my bestie i love her.
the whole raylla/adigail convo about the lighthouse and the ocean. beautiful.
raelle healing scylla and refusing to let anything happen to her.
izadora is a fucking beast i'm so glad she's not dead. the scene of her laughing in alban's face. GOLD.
abi being the last steward <3
and that's pretty much it. i'm sure i'm leaving sooo many things behind but this is as much as i can think of right now. i'll be mad for a few days and then i'll start giffing to numb the pain i guess sjfds.
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post more Yes! also from experience with my notes it's always a bit interesting to see people adamant about "the simplest/in hindsight most obvious thing is usually what the writers are going for" which, yeah. until it comes to sexuality debates where arguing for bi Mike needs So much hoop jumping. like how "boys only" comments are only meant to be taken literally when Will is making them or long explanations about how "it's not my fault..." wouldn't just end up being left as homophobia no matter how Mike really meant it. when "he was projecting" is Right There. simplest answer
Or how the family parallels are all of a sudden a hint that “Mike and El will not last but they were definitely in love once”, when “Mike never had romantic feelings for El” is right there lmao.
But bad takes from aspiring gymnasts aside, there are so many things that aren’t directly connected to what’s happening in the show which the people in the different camps (bi Mike/gay Mike) do that are just telling of what’s really Mike’s canon sexuality.
(Quick side note: i don’t mean that every single person in each camp has contributed to this but there are some things that have only happened in the bi Mike camp and things that have only happened in the gay Mike camp which I have picked up on over the past year. So again if you (general) specifically have not done any of these things that’s true and I’m not arguing against that but what I’m taking about exclusively happens/happened in your (general) camp).
For example what I said in my Doofenshmirtz post. I don’t know if there’s been more instances but I for once have seen two blogs that are openly bi Mike truthers post alternative arcs for Mike that do not include him being queer, trying to convince people that Mike wouldn’t be a jerk if he’s straight.
And why is this telling? Well, the bi Mike interpretation leaves unanswered questions. It does not explain everything we’ve seen of Mike in the show so there’s a whole lot of room for doubt. But instead of opening up their minds to Mike being gay instead of bi they think that if he’s not bi he’s gotta be straight (because for some reason people obsessively cling to the idea that Mike is attracted to girls). So they’re making up a super vague arc that somehow would explain Mike’s actions if he’s straight and tell people that Mike wouldn’t be a jerk if he was actually straight because they’ve become attached to Mike but can’t explain all of his behavior with the bi interpretation so they’re trying to make people still love him even if he was straight (even though Mike’s character would just objectively suck and be badly written if he was). And that just shows us how fucking fragile the bi Mike interpretation is.
Not once have I come across a gay Mike truthers who’s so insecure about the gay Mike interpretation that they’ve resorted to trying to explain how Mike’s character would still make sense if he was straight lmao.
Another example is the infamous question: “are all interpretations equally valid?” to which most gay Mike truthers answer with “no” while most bi Mike truthers answer with “yes”.
Gay Mike truthers analyze the show with the goal of finding out what the writers’ intention is. We’re analyzing the source material and our conclusion is that the writers’ intention is gay Mike which only logically means that not every interpretation can be equally valid as the writers’ intention cannot be both gay and bi Mike etc. The show cannot portray both, it portrays one or the other. Thus the gay Mike interpretation is more valid than the bi Mike interpretation because gay Mike aligns with the writers intention. It aligns with what the show is actually portraying. Which all makes sense given our standpoint,
So what does this tell us about bi Mike truthers saying that every interpretation is equally valid? Well, either it shows us that they’re insecure in their believe that bi Mike is actually the writer’s intention, or it shows us that they’re analyzing the show with a different goal entirely. That being just interpreting it for themselves which is also supported by the common argument that every interpretation must be equally valid since “everyone interprets things differently”.
And that’s outside evidence for the gay Mike interpretation being more valid for canon than the bi Mike interpretation if I ever saw one.
One thing that counts into this too is the fact that bi Mike truthers often preach that “every headcanon is valid” while simultaneously not listening to us when we tell them that gay Mike is not a headcanon! Which is actually just hilarious because they’re just confirming that they themselves see the bi Mike interpretation as a headcanon, while the gay Mike truthers separate these things because a headcanon is something that can be made without any regard to canon but gay Mike is the conclusion we got from exclusively analyzing the canon source material! Which makes it not a headcanon.
And my favorite difference between the camps truly is that saying “Mike is not gay” will get you notes from gay Mike truthers telling you that you lack media literacy, while saying “Mike is not bi” will get you notes from bi Mike truthers telling you that you’re biphobic.
And all of that is just kinda shows that Mike’s canonically gay which I got from simply observing the people from the different camps lmao.
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[ EXPLAIN ]: a letter that explains the reasoning behind choices that the writer has made in the past, which they would like to explain to the recipient.
Trunks
You must first and foremost understand the type of man that I am. In that writing this letter I hope to explain why some things happened, and why some things did not. It was never my intention to leave you wanting in answers but the circumstances of my life has made that impossible.
In reading this I hope you might find some solace in that I did not abandon the cause. I have only taken a brief departure to right a wrong which has long plagued me.
Before I was extraordinary, I was ordinary.
I held no honors; I held no station. I was but another human among many. My country found itself in civil war, brother turned against another. I am not sure if you have ever encountered such a subject known as 'slavery.' I do not know if the history of your world ever experienced such an institution en mass.
But what I can say is that it is a most vile thing. To enforce your will on another. To control them, diet them, train them, to make them obedient and will the very thing which comprises the soul.
I fought against such an institution as a mortal man, I killed my countrymen to end such an abomination. I was sixteen when I killed my first man, even for a righteous cause it changed me irrevocably. I have been alive longer than any man born in my era, although that is not particular true. I died once, and now I am something more and less than man.
I have witnessed war in it's many facets, it's evolution. In a world where no gods among men walked, machines became instruments for death. As terrible as it is to admit, I am nothing but a man who has given himself completely and utterly to conflict. I sincerely wish for peace. But I understand it cannot be bought without the blood of men.
How I came about my abilities is not important. What matters if that I have left wrongs of my past unanswered. I will have to right these. And when I do I will return to you, and the cause, and put right what we left unfinished.
You have known me to be a man of my word. To say, is to do, for me.
Your brother,
D. Hayden
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Top 25 Larry Fics of 2020
h 2020 was HELLISH. So thank you to all the writers, and I mean ALL of them, who kept us occupied as the world continues to burn.
You may be familiar with these lists:
Top 25 Larry fics of 2016
Top 25 Larry fics of 2017
Top 25 Larry fics of 2018
Top 25 Larry fics of 2019
We’re going on our 5th year!! As always, I read a lot of fic and the majority of it is Larry. I like making lists and I like Larry so I thought I’d do some minimal research of the top 25 larry fics published/completed in 2020 in order of least to most kudos (with links). All of these fics are top notch so you should all check them out!
25.) a trail of honey through it all by @yvesaintlourent (27k)
The boy in front of him, well really, the man in front of him, was like something out of a confusing wet dream. Built, tall, tan and muscular, his skin glistened with sweat after a long day of working outdoors with his hands. He was wearing a cut up old American football shirt, the bottom hem was torn and the sleeves were cut off to the point where the t-shirt was really just a loose tank top. The shorts he had on had clearly been full length jeans at one point, and were now just crudely cut off above the knee. His white socks were pulled up too high on his calves, and the brown work boots he had on were old as fuck, the leather peeling along the edges of the soles. Curly brown hair stuck out from the edges of his backwards snapback, and there was a smudge of grease wiped along his brow bone. The smattering of hair along his jaw proved that he hadn’t shaved in a week or two, the hair growing in thicker across his upper lip and around his chin. His sinfully bowed mouth was pink and plump, and Louis was suddenly hyper-focused on the way that he chewed at the toothpick stuck between his lips. He looked like he needed a shower. Louis wanted to lick him.
Or, the TPH fic we’ve all been waiting for.
24.) even the best laid plans by @falsegoodnight (25k)
“Anyways,” Louis stresses, narrowing his eyes, “just let me say it and then rate how terrible of an idea it is on a scale from one to ten.”
“Alright,” Zayn agrees, sitting up expectantly.
“I want to ask Harry Styles to take my virginity,” Louis blurts, holding his hands out for emphasis.
The way Zayn’s eyes bulge is almost comical. “Negative infinity,” he says, voice choked. “Negative infinity times negative infinity.”
“Technically, a negative times a negative is -”
“Really negative infinity,” Zayn corrects himself, shaking his head wildly. “Louis, what the fuck?”
-
Or, Louis wants to have sex with someone and decides Harry is the perfect alpha for the job.
23.) A Distant Hazy Light by @greenfeelings (76k)
Life’s pretty ordinary for Harry. He lives with his best friend, got into university just like he’s planned, and manages to support himself just fine for an unbonded omega. If he sustains that lifestyle by getting paid to help alphas through their rut every now and then, that’s nothing to be hung up on. Until he’s hired by an alpha that turns everything upside down.
Or, Harry’s working on taking Louis’ walls down, until he builds his own up.
22.) Ghost Note Symphony by whoknows (96k)
Louis is on tour when he first hears about it. It’s all over the news – Harry Styles Attacked By Fan runs in headlines for days. It’s not even just the gossip rags, either. Actual journalists are covering the story. It would have been impossible to avoid hearing about it. Technically, Oli is the one who tells Louis about it, but it’s not exactly being covered up. Harry doesn’t answer Louis’ text asking if he’s alright, but that’s not really surprising. They haven’t spoken for months, and it’s been a lot longer than that since they’ve had a real conversation. The sting of the text going unanswered is still there, less painful than it might have been a few years ago.
It’s not that it’s easy to forget about, exactly. Louis has a whole life outside of One Direction now, though. So Louis goes on with his life, figuring that if Harry was seriously hurt he would have heard about it by now. He might currently be in the same country as Harry, but being on opposite sides of it puts enough distance between them that putting it in the back of his mind is easy. There’s nothing Louis could do, even if he thought Harry might want him to.
That’s why everything that happens next comes as a complete shock to him.
21.) Until by @allwaswell16 (38k)
Rural Eagle County, Colorado wasn’t the type of place to find a famous musician or actor. At least not until songwriter Louis Tomlinson showed up with pop star Niall Horan to visit his uncle’s horse ranch, and they just happened to find themselves next door to a reclusive former movie star.
20.) Strangers in Love by sweetums (42k)
Louis wakes up to find himself in a marriage with the last man he thought he'd ever end up with.
-
Prompt 51: An amnesia fic where louis and harry were enemies to lovers but after an accident, louis only remembers those memories that him and harry hated each other. now harry has to fix it. I think something like this less dark and less angsty compared to other amnesia fics and it could be funny
19.) A Long Way From The Playground by Pink_Sunsets (170k)
One Direction is broken up. They broke up five years ago. That should be the end of the story, right?
Harry is finished with One Direction. He now has a new life, one with two kids and a successful solo career. And he’s happy.
But a call one night from management flips Harry’s whole new life upside down, and he’s forced to face the life he had left behind.
As well as a certain blue eyed man who had left him behind.
18.) my love’s not simple (it’s fragile) by @falsegoodnight (27k)
“Can I take you out tomorrow?” he asks. “My shift ends at 7 but we can go for dinner at 8.”
Louis is silent for a few seconds and then, “Like… on a date?”
Harry swallows thickly. He hasn’t done this in years, hasn’t ever wanted to. “Yeah.”
He’s worried he’s misread things but then Louis raises his head to kiss Harry’s cheek. “Yeah,” he says easily. “Sure.”
Tension leaves his body swiftly. “Are you sure?” asks Harry. “I know we’re both so busy but I can’t not try with you, Lou.”
“Neither can I,” says Louis. “I think we can figure it out. I care about you a lot Harry. We’ve known each other for a week, but I already like you so much.”
-
Or Harry's new job is threatened by his impending rut. Desperate for a solution, he allows Niall to introduce him to Louis, an omega whose heat begins the same day. They click.
17.) Cocaine for Breakfast by @harryeatsburger (309k)
“It’s an easy job.” He continues, as if Louis wants to listen. “Like I said, a few trips. Parties, students, nothing dramatic.”
Louis gazes over to Harry. He’s looking thoughtful now, eyes on the green like he’s talking more to himself than Louis.
“Clubbing, drinks. Whatever, the business is just a side thing.”
That’s not how Louis remembers it to be, “You lying?” He honestly can’t tell.
Harry shakes his head slowly, meeting Louis' eyes.
“No,” He answers almost toneless. Harry clears his throat, “I won’t put you in any dangerous situation.” His voice is sincere, Louis can tell he means it, his jade green eyes glinting with truth.
or,
- Louis Tomlinson is a drug addict, sent away from his beloved party-scene to recover. There, he discovers that small towns have just as much access to drugs as London did, plus something even better that he just can't get enough of. That something is a boy with green eyes and bouncy curls named Harry Styles. -
16.) Tastes like Strawberries by @sadaveniren (4k)
I’m stressed. I’m nesting and demand cuddles. Come over
Harry frowned and double checked who the text was from. Yup, it still said Louis - Grad, which meant it was from Louis from his grad school.
aka Louis texts Harry by mistake. It works out
15.) the way the storm blows by @rbbsbb (21k)
Louis doesn’t have a habit of thinking about Harry’s dick.
That would be weird, seeing as they’re best mates, and they share a flat, and they’ve spent holidays at each other’s family homes. Their friendship hasn’t ever risen to a point where Louis should want to see his mate’s dick, and he’s happy to keep it that way.
Except, all that Louis can think about is exactly that. The size of it. The shape. The amount of people it’s been in.
Maybe it’s the tequila talking, or the fact that Louis’ just recently walked in to an eyeful of Harry taking turns on some slags that he’s never seen before, but. Louis’ mind can’t stop obsessing over the idea.
14.) bruise you like a peach by @falsegoodnight (40k)
There’s two reasons Harry despises Econ.
The first is that it’s boring as fuck. The second reason is a bit more personal, a bit more focused in a way. As in it’s focused on one specific thing, or in his case, person.
His name is Louis Tomlinson.
13.) Watching The World Fall by whoknows (11k)
This segment has been going on long enough that Louis knows what’s coming before James starts in on it, trying to sell him on something he knows that Louis wouldn’t normally be buying. But there’s four cameras surrounding him, and an audience watching him expectantly, so if Louis wants to continue convincing people that he’s doing just fine, he’s going to have to go along with it.
“We have a whole host of single men backstage waiting to meet you, Louis,” James tells him. “We want to help you find love tonight, on Late Late Live Tinder. Is this okay? Do you want to play?”
It actually kind of makes sense that his first date after the break-up is going to be just as public as said break-up. Something like coming full circle.
“Alright, James,” Louis agrees, hopping down off his stool.
“Okay, come down to the stage,” James says. Louis can’t even tell whether the excitement in his voice is genuine or not. “Right now, come on down!”
12.) Quiet People Have the Loudest Minds by @2tiedships2 (38k)
Broadway shows were one of the few things that could keep Louis’ attention for a full two hours without needing to move about. But not tonight.
The alpha next to him was both infuriating him and practically turning him on at the same time. He needed to leave. The alpha, that is. Louis was staying.
Or the one where Louis is a nonverbal omega who has accepted the fact that he will never find an alpha that will treat him as an equal. On the other hand, he’s never met anyone like Harry.
11.) The Wrath of the Emerald Eyes by @purpledandeli0n (85k)
His chin is grabbed harshly, facing the two deep green eyes that have been getting on his nerves for the past ten minutes. The smirk on the man's face does not vanish. The grip of his hand on Louis' chin does not soften, his thumb at the side of his lower lip.
His smile widens as he answers Louis' question, ''My name is Styles, but you will call me Captain."
•
Pirate AU
10.) Canyon Moon by @eeveelou (40k)
For as long as Louis has remembered, he has been promised to be mated to Harry, his best friend and the future pack alpha. But Louis’s heart belonged to the forest and to the hunt more than he could ever imagine it belonging to Harry.
Then Harry’s father dies in a violent accident, and Louis’s future alpha disappears on the wind.
An A/B/O Lion King AU
9.) We Both Got Nothing to Hide by lovelarry10 (43k)
“Talk to me, Lou.”
“I can’t,” Louis mumbled, knowing he genuinely couldn’t say it. He couldn’t admit to what he was doing. “Don’t ask me to say it, because I can’t.”
“Then… I’ll try and guess. You’ve… got some stuff of Harry’s. Something of his to make it smell like him?”
Louis just nodded, eyes fixated on the floor. This was humiliating, but he knew Zayn wouldn’t stop until he found out what was going on.
“Okay. Like… a blanket, or a comforter or something?”
“Kind of…”
//
Omega Louis has a secret nest. Alpha Harry keeps losing his clothes.
8.) sleeping on our problems by @falsegoodnight (67k)
I’m in love with you, Louis thinks. He feels empty, weighed down by his sadness and the loss of Harry inside him just moments ago before his knot finally went down.
There’s moments where he’s sure Harry feels the same. Like now, when he’s gazing down at Louis with so much adoration and tenderness. It’s like they’re both on the cusp of something more, but neither of them ever say a word.
His confession is on the tip of his tongue ready to slide out like honey, and yet he remains silent. They both do, looking at each other and recognizing the reluctance mirrored in each other’s eyes. It’s then that Louis realizes they’re both scared.
-
Or Louis sleeps with Harry and they have more than just catching feelings to worry about.
7.) like it’s a game by @soldouthaz (32k)
there is little harry hates more than truth or dare.
and louis.
6.) before we knew by @falsegoodnight (39k)
“C’mon Lou,” says Zayn after a moment, He sounds even more exasperated than before. Louis sort of has a knack for exasperating people, especially people like Zayn who aren’t usually bothered by his brattiness. “Can’t you give this guy a chance? Harry Styles? Aren’t you curious about him at all?”
Despite his best efforts, Louis still flinches at the name. He really shouldn’t be so affected after all these years. He’s seen the name printed down the curve of his waist in obnoxiously and uncommonly large loopy letters every single day since his sixteenth birthday eight years ago. He’s very familiar with the name Harry Styles.
It sounds pretentious and Louis hates it.
He hates everything about his supposed soulmate.
He hates his large handwriting that stands out like a claim on his skin whenever he’s walking around shirtless. He hates his pretentious name. And now he hates his supposed curls and green eyes and dimples.
-
Or Louis has been skeptical of soulmates for years so it seems like fate when he finally bumps into the owner of the obnoxiously large signature printed into his skin since age sixteen: Harry Styles, a human rights attorney who is firmly against soulmates.
5.) Mine Would Be You by @crinkle-eyed-boo (114k)
Louis blinks his eyes open, his eyelids fluttering as the room swims around him. He takes several gulps of beer once he confirms that he’s definitely not hallucinating, that the very first portrait Harry Styles ever painted of him is hanging on that wall.
Louis stares at the wall, his heart jackrabbiting in his chest as he realizes that there’s not just one painting of him, there’s five, the portraits lined up like they’re some sort of storyboard depicting the rise and fall of his deepest love. His greatest heartache. A pain that cut him so deep that he left the fucking country, severing all ties with his life in New York, now suddenly surrounding him as if he’d never left.
Fucking shit motherfucker fuck.
Louis returns to New York City five years after he left it – and the love of his life – behind. He didn't intend to see Harry again, but fate has a funny way of pulling them together, whether they like it or not. After making a begrudging truce, they both start to wonder: Would it be so bad if history repeated itself?
4.) You’ve Got My Devotion (Hate You Sometimes) by @harryrainbows (95k)
Harry was in the biggest boy band in the world. He was also one half of the best (or worst, depends on who you ask) kept secret relationship in the music industry.
Now, almost five years on, after One Direction has broken up, and Harry and Louis' relationship has as well, a video threatens to put everything at risk.
One determined Irishman, a massive publicity stunt and two begrudging exes are all it takes to bring One Direction back to life and maybe, just maybe, Harry and Louis' mangled love life too.
Or: Harry and Louis are forced to fake-date after an old video from when they were dating emerges.
3.) The Space Between by @lads-laddylads (39k)
Harry Styles is the alpha rockstar who can’t sleep and doesn’t know why.
Louis Tomlinson is the omega PhD student who helps him figure it out.
2.) Nothing But You On My Mind by @absoloutenonsense (83k)
Louis Tomlinson is a PR manager hired to improve the image of royal bad-boy Prince Harry Styles. Unfortunately for him, that means being faced with the Prince's constant innuendos, incessant dirty jokes, and relentless flirting. Louis just wants to make it to Princess Gemma's coronation; once she's crowned Queen, his contract is up and he never has to see the Prince again.
1.) Collision by @tequiladimples (224k)
Mythology/Fairytale!AU in which Louis is a dainty fairy with a temper who wants to be intimidating and Harry hurts people. Naturally, they hate each other.
(Featuring Liam, the big and not-so-bad wolf who’s got a thing for humans, Zayn, a human with supernaturally good looks, and Niall, the cupid who just wants his job to be easier.)
#larry#larry stylinson#larry fic rec#harry styles#louis tomlinson#fic rec#one direction#1d#one direction fic rec#larry fan fiction#updated because I'm an idiot and added a zarry fic
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should have [xiao oneshot]
tw: mentions of self harm and suicide, mental health issues and angst with a bit of fluff
xiao x gn! reader
a/n: first post on the blog! decided to show some xiao love and u h angst ehe. sorry for the downer but i haven’t been doing so well and meds don’t do much DDDX
i would like to clarify that if any of these scenarios/hc's of mine are similar to other writers' works, it is unintentional and i apologize
“reckless thing, you are-” the yaksha huffs and ceases his own words as he coughs at your impact on his chest. “how many times have i reminded you to stop running up or down the stairs?” he scowls. you know he means well.
“ah, sorry xiao,” you chuckle, “i’m just excited to see you, is all.” you push yourself off the chest that caught you and peered gleefully at the male. he seems annoyed to the unknowing mortals passing by, but as a person who has spent half their time ‘pestering’ (as he says) the adeptus, you can quickly tell that he was merely relieved and was trying to hide it—although he’d rather deal with karmic debt twice his own than to admit such fondness for you. “thanks by the way.”
xiao diverts his gaze onto the railing of the stairs, “this is the fourth time this week that you’ve gotten yourself into dangerous and careless situations. are you sure you’re keeping an eye out for yourself?” he interrogates you as if he were your guardian, which he might as well be, you nod earnestly at his question.
“don’t worry about me, i’d never dream of leaving you alone.” you giggle. this answer of yours urged the adeptus to cringe and tell you to stop thinking like you’re all important and whatnot, but he knew he’d be lying if he said you weren’t someone he treasures deeply. “i swear on it!” you add.
“hmph, fine.” he begins to walk away, stopping for a second. xiao hesitates to take the next step without a word and decides to leave you with a message,
“if you ever find yourself in trouble, no matter how small or big–if you know that it’ll cause you any harm, call out my name. i’ll be there.”
you appreciated that.
to be fair, xiao did not bring up his concern because of your recent recklessness, but how dim you seem in comparison to how you were before. yes, you still smiled brightly, but the lanterns in the sky easily outshines you. your eyes still held warmth, but warmth that fleeted every now and then if not focused on the adeptus’. he worried that something was gnawing at the back of your mind and causing said recklessness as of current.
he knows mortals are weak, fragile, and although he does not look down on you too much, he still feels the need to protect you from even the slightest of disturbances, which is what led to his conclusion now; to check up on you.
‘where in teyvat are they?’ xiao furrows his eyebrows in frustration as he knocks on the door to your house for the sixth time.as he reaches out to knock once more, he flinches slightly when the door opens.
what the hell?
“oh! xiao, what are you doing here?” you smile.
he could see how distressed you are, even from a mile away, he presumes. you look weaker, thinner and definitely worse than three days ago. eyes as dull as a blank canvas that hasn’t been acknowledged by it’s artist for years, limbs as frail as a dried flower’s petals. what in archons happened to you?
“y/n, what in the seven happened? what’s with your weak physique? you clearly haven’t been taking care of yourself.” he moves to grab your arm but you draw it back quickly before he could catch it. he grows more and more irritated as your silence greets his question, left to be unanswered.
“i’m sorry, xiao, but could you leave me be for a while? i’ll visit you soon, i promise!”
ah, there you go again with your promises.
“why the hell would i leave after seeing you on the brink of fainting? someone has to look out for you if you aren’t going to yourself!” he exclaims as he grows more and more livid by the second.
you huff in annoyance, “why do you care? you have millions of other people to save, you shouldn’t get distracted by one you can’t do anything about.”
xiao clicks his tongue in extreme disappointment as he doesn’t seem to get through you. “you don’t get it at all, do you?”
“you don’t get it either, xiao.”
silence envelops the air between you as you bask in infuriatingly awkward stillness. xiao knows he doesn’t get it, you know you’ll never understand him either. it’s hopeless.
after a few minutes or what felt like a decade, you speak up.
“..hey, can you accompany me somewhere?” you catch his attention. he raises a brow in skepticism, as it is the middle of the night. “it won’t take long.”
he sighs quietly and nods, nudging his head to silently signal you to lead the way. he might as well accompany you instead of going off on a tangent about how you worry him too much.
you arrive at the windrise tree, the breeze nipping gently at your exposed legs. xiao eyes you from behind and bites his tongue despite his urge to berate you.
you sit down at the base of the windrise tree, letting out a long sigh of relief as you stretch your legs. the adeptus hesitates for a second but ultimately decides to sit down beside you.
this time, he’s the first to break the ice.
“what is your purpose of going here with me?” he doesn’t meet your eyes that snap to him quickly at his question.
there are multiple reasons as to why you might have wanted to visit windrise, some being that you wanted to take a breather after a heated argument, taking a stroll after an exhausting week or even just needing a fresh scenery for a change. all of these reasons and yet, nothing could have prepared him for the words that came next.
“it could be the last time i’ll see this place again.” you smile fondly, despite the rather depressing statement you had just made.
the yaksha froze up. ‘last time? are you moving?’
could it be that you’re leaving him? when you said you never dared to even think of it?
perhaps the fatui were after you?
were you in danger?
his mind listed a myriad of possibilities, all of them he wished were not true. he was still trying to wrap his head around what you just said. when you finally take into account his stiffness and silence, you forced out a chuckle.
“yeah, i’ll be gone by tomorrow.”
he shouldn’t have done what he did next.
“..xiao? are you-”
he cut you off by standing up and glaring at you.
your heart dropped at his gaze.
it was one of the most intimidating but hurtful looks he’d ever made in your presence. his eyes screamed in unsaid fury and his face was etched in borderline offense. looking down. you see both his fists clenched in a tight grip of nothing. his form was trembling in anger, almost making you mistake yourself for one of the millions of demonic figures he rinsed the land of.
“don’t ever show yourself again.”
noted. and he’s gone.
you stare at your scarred arms and wrists.
‘it won’t be long now.’
xiao regrets it now, is all.
#genshin impact x reader#genshin impact headcanons#genshin impact#genshin impact xiao#xiao x reader#xiao headcanons#xiao scenarios
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I'm Alright
Inspired by this by @katsupeach and originally just titled "thank god for emme" and also I made it very difficult for myself to write because of all the fanfiction within fanfiction within fanfiction. Fanfictionception. Take a shot every time you read "holy shit"
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Content: childhood friends? sorta, nerdiness and teasing, light smut (minors dni), cringe culture
Time travel. That’s what some people would call it. Most others would say nostalgia, or something along those lines. Everyone looks back on their life and remembers something embarrassing. Even pro heroes do some pretty cringey things in their youth.
Deku was a total nerd when he was younger- Not that he wasn’t one now, but he was better at keeping his mumbling to himself, better at not freaking out when a girl talks to him, better at not gawking at other heroes wishing he had the courage to ask for an autograph.
It was because Kaminari- No, Chargebolt. It was all because Chargebolt was bragging about his fans, saying edits about him were really cool and someone sent him fanfiction about himself. Deku’s face had gone as red as it’d been the first time he saw boobs, remembering the days when he wrote fanfiction, when he made edits, when he ran a fanclub online.
The sudden memories made him leave Mina’s party as quick as he could, wanting to delete his old fan account before it could be traced back to him. He hadn’t used it in years, but he was very aware that he’d never deactivated it.
As soon as he was home, he was on his computer, logging in with a very familiar (and very embarrassing) username and password.
username: allmight-alright
password: #1PR0hero
He sighed to himself when his profile showed up, remembering the days when he’d log on excitedly, a bruise forming on his arm from Kacchan punching him and his feet hurting from kicking off his shoes at the front door too fast.
For some reason, his notifications were totally blown up. Thousands of likes and hundreds of comments, reblogs, even unanswered messages (most of which were years-old from his old internet friends wondering if he was okay). He scrolled through, seeing that most of his All Might fanfiction had blown up around the time he’d retired. One of his old online friends had kept his account on her fanfiction taglist, despite him being gone. He noticed the most recent one she’d written was only a week old. She was still using her account? All these years, she’d never picked up some other hobby?
He paused for a moment, remembering that she did have other hobbies. He cursed himself for the assumption that a fanfiction writer didn’t have a life, despite knowing that wasn’t true. Prejudice, you know? He remembered staying up late messaging her. She played piano. She wanted to be a dancer. Her favorite book was a compilation of professional essays written about quirks and theories about where they came from.
His face flushed red when he remembered the huge crush he’d had on her when he saw her first face reveal. She’d deleted it after only a few hours, but she was so pretty, and such a nice person. He blushed even harder remembering that he’d never put his real name on his account. She called him Alrighty based on his username.
Another message popped up in his feed, from her.
herofics-dot-org: OMG ALRIGHTY YOU’RE BACK !!!
Deku smiled, fingers flying across the keyboard to respond.
allmight-alright: yeah lol
allmight-alright: i’m actually just here to delete this account
herofics-dot-org: nooo :(
herofics-dot-org: why???
allmight-alright: my old fics are all super cringe
herofics-dot-org: you’ve only been active for like five minutes
herofics-dot-org: at least stay a bit and chat
herofics-dot-org: it’s been like nine years
allmight-alright: holy shit really???
herofics-dot-org: yeah, we were like 14 when you logged off forever
herofics-dot-org: that makes you 23, right?
herofics-dot-org: since you’re a year younger than me lmao
allmight-alright: ok but i’m probably taller than you now
herofics-dot-org: you 5’2” bastard lol
allmight-alright: kiuajbhgdvytf >:0
allmight-alright: n e ways why do you still tag me in stuff
herofics-dot-org: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
herofics-dot-org: idk i guess i was hoping you’d come back someday lol
allmight-alright: ok i guess that’s fair lol
allmight-alright: i haven’t actually checked your recent stuff yet
herofics-dot-org: omfg go do it i’ve gotten so much better at writing
herofics-dot-org: oh also i put that collab fic we did forever ago on my nostalgia masterlist
herofics-dot-org: it’s where all my older fics are
allmight-alright: i’ll go check out the new ones!!!
Deku closed the messaging system, going back to his notification wall and finding her most recent fic. The first thing that caught his eye was the glittering gif banner of his own face. The second thing he noticed was her content warnings. His face flushed red again as he read.
Content: angst, hate fucking, exhibitionism, dubcon, secretary!reader, size difference, pwp, use of daddy and babygirl, comfort/fluff ending because i’m a huge sap for deku
The fic started off a little less intensely as all her other smut fics did, but she was right; Her writing had improved. A lot. Her infamous porn without plot fics had always started strong with ‘he slammed his member into me, ripping my hymen with no mercy’ or ‘she shoved me down on the bed, both of us tearing off our clothes frantically’ but this was so much better. So much so that he almost refused to believe it was written by the same giddy preteen fangirl he used to know.
“-the only good thing about you is your giant cock and you don’t even know how to use it, you asshole!” Y/n practically screamed, tears bubbling over from her eyes, spilling down her cheeks in thick droplets as her heart raced in her chest.
Deku grabbed both of her teeny wrists in one large, calloused, scarred hand, the warmth of his skin nearly burning Y/n as her head spun- With anger? Arousal? In the heat of the moment, she could hardly tell.
Deku blushed, not knowing if he could even continue reading without his head exploding. He’s not mean! He’s not an asshole, he would never treat a woman so roughly, especially one that worked for him. He treasured his work relationships almost as much as personal ones. Coworkers are people too!
He decided to scroll through her profile, maybe see if she had any Chargebolt fics. After all, he was so proud of his fans.
She did indeed have Chargebolt fics. Twelve of them, actually, accompanied by two Dynamight fics (both angst, one where the reader died at the end), seven Froppy fics, four Uravity fics, a Grape Juice crack fic, a Hawks x Endeavor request from a few years ago, and…
“Holy shit.”
Deku covered his mouth, realizing he’d spoken aloud. No one was around to hear him, but still.
Sixty eight Deku x Reader fics.
He also noticed she’d expanded from just fanfiction. She had a second account where she posted original short stories and poems, she had a place where dedicated readers could donate money or pay for more complicated requests. She had several professional-style essays on quirks and quirk history (Deku almost laughed, it was almost too in-character), reference links included, and dissertations of different heroes with images provided by another account- Credit given and granted permission of use, of course.
There was a lot to scroll through.
Why Hawks’s quirk is one of the worst
Unpopular opinions about All Might’s retirement explained
Deku’s UA debut and why he broke his own bones
Deku’s UA debut 2: Shoto Todoroki
Seven years ago today: details about All Might’s former sidekick
Deku’s UA debut 3: his galaxy brain during the obstacle course
Reasons I hate Dynamight (since people won’t stop asking)
All Might or Endeavor?
Deku’s UA debut 4: behind the scenes
UA’s class 1-A at the USJ
Why Cellophane’s costume is the worst thing ever
‘Deku is problematic’ theory explained
“Oh my god.”
The sheer amount of Deku content on her page was incredible. Fanfiction, photos, edits, videos, explained theories, multiple essays about his costume alone, clips of interviews, cross-referenced articles side-by-side with opinions and facts pulled out of official papers-
allmight-alright: holy shit there’s so much deku
herofics-dot-org: lmao yeah
herofics-dot-org: i suddenly understand your fascination with all might
allmight-alright: kyjwfevgdh shut up
herofics-dot-org: i can’t believe you’re going to deactivate your account T-T
herofics-dot-org: i don’t even know your social medias so i won’t be able to find youououuuuuuu :(
allmight-alright: ok ok i won’t delete my account
herofics-dot-org: YAY!!!!
herofics-dot-org: you’re the best alrighty
Deku froze for a moment, pondering his next message.
allmight-alright: yeah i AM the best
allmight-alright: i’m like the number one hero or something lol
herofics-dot-org: jhagvjcdghvre you wish lmao
herofics-dot-org: you just wish i liked you as much as i like deku
allmight-alright: gjaskdhvbywe shut up
She’d always been very good at messaging back quickly, as well as knowing when not to send a text or exactly what message an emoji was meant to convey, but she didn’t answer for a minute. Deku thought perhaps something had happened before she got back to her computer, or maybe she wasn’t as good at texting as she used to be.
He saw the gyrating ellipses pop up for a moment, indicating that she was typing, but it disappeared again in a second. It popped up again, then disappeared, then another time.
herofics-dot-org: hey so this might be kind of a weird ask and i know we haven’t talked in nine years but do you wanna meet up?
Deku stared at the screen blankly.
allmight-alright: irl?
herofics-dot-org: only if you want to but yeah
Deku was typing in an answer before his brain even registered her other message.
allmight-alright: i’d love to
allmight-alright: when and where?
herofics-dot-org: i’m not busy tomorrow if that works for you
Tomorrow? Deku got off work early tomorrow.
allmight-alright: sure!!! do you know where?
herofics-dot-org: you still live in the same city, right?
allmight-alright: yee
herofics-dot-org: how about that cafe across the street from deku’s agency? maybe we’ll see him and we can take a picture lmao
herofics-dot-org: at noon? we can have lunch together
Deku grinned mischievously.
allmight-alright: oooh yessss
allmight-alright: i could add his autograph to my collection
herofics-dot-org: nerd
allmight-alright: you’re no better than i am
herofics-dot-org: i have an idea for what to write next
herofics-dot-org: “fifty reasons alrighty is the nerdiest nerd of all”
allmight-alright: ooh that reminds me
allmight-alright: you write so much non-fanfiction stuff now, even on your fanacc
herofics-dot-org: one time i posted something like “ten reasons the iida agency is totally underrated” and it blew up
herofics-dot-org: you probably weren’t online for the ingenium craze i sparked, it was insane
allmight-alright: there was an ingenium craze and i missed it????
herofics-dot-org: yeah!!! it was the best
herofics-dot-org: it was my biggest post ever so i took the idea and ran with it
herofics-dot-org: i got so many new followers and my non-fic posts like “reasons why” got super popular
allmight-alright: yeah, your masterlist is crazy huge now
herofics-dot-org: LMAO
herofics-dot-org: my main masterlist, you should see all the other ones
allmight-alright: ...do you have a deku-only masterlist
herofics-dot-org: NKJGBVHSEFA DON’T CHASTISE ME
Deku stared at the message for a bit before going back to her masterlist. He found the link to her Deku-only post and scrolled through all the works she had. One called Fanfiction caught his eye, the title almost too relevant to be a coincidence. He decided to read it.
Content: established relationship, teasing, caught in the act (of reading a fic lol)
Y/n was at it again, indulging in her guiltiest pleasure yet. It wasn’t her fault she was lonely- It was Deku’s! For sure. She had to do this. Since Deku was always working. Yeah. It was all his fault.
That’s what she would tell herself every time she lowered herself onto her green hero-themed dildo. That’s what she would tell herself every time she turned on her phone and started reading the filthiest things she could find about her boyfriend. It was his fault, not hers, that she would feel so empty without him around, like a hollow shell, a hole that needed to be filled up.
Deku slid his dick in easily, Y/n’s ready-and-waiting hole fucked into the shape of his cock long ago. He whispered filthy praise in her ear, holding her close as he snapped his hips against hers, slowly, but with the force of his quirk x1000.
She was so focused on her reading, on how she was feeling, that she didn’t hear the front door open and close, didn’t hear Deku coming home early just for her.
Y/n was right, her writing had improved. Deku couldn’t look away from the screen, eyes scanning every word, taking in every bit of filth. He’d always read everything she wrote, her every post that crossed his dash, and she’d always been good at what she does. He’d been turned on by her smut plenty of times before, but this was different.
She was writing about him. She was writing about having sex with him. She was writing about loving him. Wait-
Okay, wait, hold on.
He remembered having a huge crush on her. She was nice, never made fun of his dorky interests, they even indulged in fantasies together. She had always been on his side. Anonymous hate online had never affected him because she was there taunting his mean anons. She would always say he was one of her closest friends, she was always the first like, the first comment, the first reblog with encouraging tags included (#oml this is the best all might fic ever #number one pro? nah. number one fic). They were each other’s beta readers, the “hey, should I include this?”, the best person to collab with.
She’s totally head-over-heels for Deku. He’s Deku.
So… Does that mean we both like each other?
Deku grimaced, exiting the fic to check her profile and consequently blue-balling himself, sifting through her posts to see if she had a more recent face reveal.
It took a while to find since it was buried between a Dynamight x Red Riot drabble and something called Daddy, I’ve Been Bad that he was scared to look at.
She was still beautiful. She looked incredibly similar to the photo he’d seen of her when they were younger. She still had the same sharp eyes, the same crook in her smile, but she was taller now, filled out in all the right places, and her hair had changed, though it was still just as entrancing and easy to lose yourself in as he remembered.
Speaking of remembering things, he remembered just how hard he was from reading her Deku smut. He decided relieving himself should be the first thing he did next, so he did what he thought was the only rational thing and went back to the Fanfiction smut.
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Y/n waited patiently at the café, sitting at a table just outside and drinking a hot chocolate as she slowly nibbled on a pastry. She perked up at anyone who passed her on the sidewalk, always disappointed when they weren’t who she thought they were.
She heard a giddy shout from across the street and watched, fascinated, as the number one hero left his agency, immediately swarmed by fans and press. The urge to run across the street and beg for an autograph was strong, but she’d made a deal to meet with Alrighty, and she didn’t want to miss him. She settled with watching Deku from across the street. She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of him signing a little girl’s backpack, watching as the crowd slowly dispersed, fans leaving with autographs and interviewers slowly slinking away empty-handed.
To Y/n’s surprise, Deku crossed the street (he looked both ways first, of course) and stared at the café for a moment. He scanned the storefront, smiling when he saw Y/n. Her heart almost stopped beating.
Holy shit, the number one pro’s looking straight at m- HOLY SHIT HE’S WALKING UP TO ME
“Hi.”
“H-Hi!” Y/n said nervously.
“You’re a big fan, huh?” He asked, gesturing to the Deku t-shirt she forgot she was wearing.
“Uh, yeah,” she said awkwardly.
“Want an autograph?”
Y/n’s eyes lit up and she grinned.
“Yes! Please, yes, sure, thank you,” she said, reaching into her pocket and grabbing a pen, then digging around in her purse for something he could sign. She settled on her phone case and handed them both to Deku.
“No, thank you,” he said smoothly, signing her phone. He handed it back to her, sitting down at her table before she had a chance to look at the signature.
Holy shit, why’s he sitting with me?!
Y/n glanced down at her phone as she tucked the pen away.
Alrighty
She stared at the autograph, completely dumbfounded.
“I- You- Wait, but you’re- We- Huh?!”
“Yeah. Something got lost in translation, I think,” he said, chuckling. He shrugged. “It’s been nine years, after all. I’m sure you’ve got things happening that I don’t know about.”
Y/n was silent for a moment.
“…Wait, shit, you read my fanfiction about you, oh my god, holy shit-”
“I think it’s cool,” Deku said quickly. “I mean, I know what it’s like, remember? And then I actually met All Might himself, so I really do absolutely totally know what it’s like!”
“Oh. Right,” Y/n said awkwardly. “So, the great number one pro used to be some little fanboy dork?”
“Hey! Mean,” Deku said, pouting. He smiled, noticing that Y/n was still shaken, starstruck at the idea of meeting her idol. Not only meeting him, but actually knowing him. Actually- Knowing about parts of him no one else did. After all, none of his other friends knew a thing about his life before UA (save for Bakugo, but he didn't count. He didn’t know anything about him, he just knew him).
Y/n laughed, tearing her pastry in half and offering the larger side to him.
“…I asked if you wanted to meet up so that I could ask if you-”
“Want to go out with you?” Deku finished. “Yes. Yeah, I do.”
“…Wanted to go to HeroCon together,” Y/n finished slowly. “Holy shit.”
=
Taglist: (Want to be on it? Fill this out!)
@sageyrage @izuushi @adminbryantsaki @a-mongoose @jodrawssmut @dearestdynamight @angelmidoriya @itszero16 @devilgirlcrybabiey @nightwingsgirl @kirishibaby
#xineohp's fics#neo's fics#izuku midoriya#deku#deku x reader#midoriya x reader#x reader#x fem!reader#bnha#boku no hero academia#my hero academia#my hero academia fanfiction#fanfiction#fanfic#deku fanfiction#the title is a very bad pun and i'm deeply sorry
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"Paper" Rings : Toni Shalifoe
Summary: Very loosely based around Paper Rings from Miss Taylor Swift! In which the reader and Toni have feelings for each other but are too afraid and too oblivious to truly admit them to each other. It gets pretty fluffy at the end!!
Word Count: 2.2K
Request(s): “Hi! Can I request Toni (the wilds) crushing on a dense reader when they are stuck on the island? 👉🏼👈🏼” and “Can I request some the wilds/toni fluff? Im fine with anything as long as it ends somewhat happily,.....”
Warnings: mentions of edibles, drunk reader/girls/Toni.
A/N: I finally got out of writer’s block so I am back! I also tried to combine two requests as I thought they went together nicely! Hope you all enjoy :)
The moon is high.
Like your friends were the night that we first met
You didn’t know it yet but that day on the island when you and the rest of the girls got high off of edibles, Toni realized just how much she liked you. Maybe it was the way your smile only seemed to grow bigger as the day went on, or maybe it was the way you couldn’t help but say the worst possible pick up lines to Toni, but something you were doing that day had her whipped. She hated it and loved it at the same time because she was so scared of how you would react to her strong feelings towards you.
The two of you were a “thing” but the term was loosely used in replacement of girlfriends. It was hard to decide exactly what you two should be when survival wasn’t even promised. On the other hand, if it was promised, what would happen when you went back to your ordinary lives? Would you forget each other and slowly go back to your old regular lives or would you try and make the distance work. Those questions had been left unanswered, which tormented the both of you.
Some of the other girls on the island had tried to trap you into confessing just how much Toni meant to you or vice versa, but you and Toni knew better, you were on an island and admitting your strong feelings would only complicate whatever was going on between the two of you. The nights spent alone in different corners of the island and empty promises shared between the two of you were nice, but it was more wishful thinking than anything realistic for the time being. That didn’t stop the two of you allowing yourselves to get close and let down your walls, even sharing your deepest secrets and fears with each other- something that almost seemed easier if you two never saw each other again.
You knew the way she felt like she was too hard to love and that she thought that her anger scared everyone away, but you didn’t agree with her. Maybe it was your own temper, which wasn’t nearly as bad as hers, but you weren’t worried by it. You had told her that you didn’t care that she got out of control, citing your reasons as being that control was difficult for everyone and you would be a hypocrite to judge her control issues when you knew how hard control was.
She knew about how you worried about running from your feelings again and completely shutting everyone out. You had done it more than once and in the back of your mind, you were convinced you would do it again. It was your defense mechanism to keep yourself from getting hurt- but it negatively affected those around you- which you couldn’t bear to hate yourself for. She told you that she wouldn’t let you leave her, that she was too stubborn to let you leave her, especially if the two of you were stuck on the island for however long. It provided you comfort for the time being, but just like her fears, yours weren’t fully dissipated either.
The wine is cold
Like the shoulder that I gave you in the street
Cat and mouse for a month or two or three
Now I wake up in the night and watch you breathe
That’s just how the two of you worked- you would have deep conversations in the woods of the island and hold onto each other when the woods got cold as the sun went down, but that was the most of it. Neither of you could deny that something was going on between you two, but you couldn’t quite bring yourselves to admit your real feelings for the other one. It was embarrassing almost, the high school type cat and mouse game in which you both chased the other one but would never fully give in- it felt like every shitty romcom ever- well maybe without the happy ending.
That cat and mouse game continued for the following weeks of you all being on the island, which frustrated the others to no end. They could see the way you two looked at the other one when they weren’t looking and they could see the kisses in the woods that you thought you were being secretive about. Fortunately for them, and the two of you, the girls had devised a plan to further the relationship between you and Toni. A plan that only needed one thing, copious amounts of alcohol.
Thankfully for them, you were already pouring alcohol into your mouth by the time the sun set. All it took for your actions was a simple suggestion from Martha, she had asked you to get drunk with her and a few of the other girls and you had eagerly agreed, excited to finally have a reason to let loose on the island. The liquid stung the back of your throat as you shared the bottle with Martha and Fatin, but you could care less- you didn’t need chasers in school so why would you need them now?
Despite your lack of need for a chaser, your tolerance was embarrassingly low- or perhaps you just always drank too much. Unfortunately for you, that led to you sitting next to Toni and offering her a drink from the bottle in your hand, insisting that she wasn’t nearly as drunk as you were, in Toni’s defense, no one was as drunk as you were. However, your puppy eyes were too good for Toni to say no to, so of course, she was drinking to get caught up to your level, hoping it would help her relax just as much as you were.
The night carried on quickly with different dance battles, a little bit of night swimming- to which Dot had freaked over the idea of you or Shelby getting eaten by a shark, and even sand castle competitions. All of these ideas came from you who happened to be letting every single idea slip past your lips with a lack of any filter at all.
You suddenly jumped up off of the sand you had been resting on and looked around the group, a big smile covering your face, “I need to pee!” You announced, earning a few giggles from the girls that had ended up nearly as drunk as you were. You then looked down to Toni, pulling at her hand to get her to stand up with you, “and you’re going to come with me!” You added, not noticing the way Toni gulped nervously or the way the other girls seemed to be watching the two of you as if you were their favorite movie. Instead of responding, Toni just nodded, an uneasy smile on her face as you dragged her towards a darker corner of the island.
You walked a few feet in front of Toni, painfully oblivious to the way she seemed to be deep in thought. Toni was busy trying to keep her lips sealed tight despite the alcohol in her body begging them to part and let out her feelings for you. Her speech she had practiced a few days ago was dangerously close to falling out past her lips and thus, she would reveal how she felt. The one problem was that she didn't want to say it drunk, especially when she didn’t know how you felt. Despite your relationship between the two of you, Toni couldn’t help but think about how you called yourself a player, telling Toni how you wished you weren’t one- but you just couldn’t quite seem to keep feelings for anyone.
Toni was so deep in thought that she hadn’t realized when you stopped moving to stare at her. “I don’t have to pee,” you suddenly mumbled, catching Toni’s attention with your words. Her eyes crinkled in confusion but you just smiled in response, “I just wanted to spend time with you alone. “ You admitted, something you wouldn’t have said so easily if you had been sober.
I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings
You could almost see the slight blush on Toni’s face in the dark, a mix of alcohol and you creating that reaction on her face. “You did?” She asked, her voice coming out a lot weaker than she intended for. She hated how weak you made her, like she could be ruined by the wrong set of words coming from your mouth.
You nodded your head quickly and pulled her down onto a rock, “sit here. I wanted to show you something.” You mumbled, holding onto her shoulders as you spoke to her, your glassy eyes meeting her own. While your nerves were completely gone, Toni’s heart was still racing, something you had yet to notice.
You walked, or skipped, off towards a bush, not caring about anything except for your current plan for what you were going to do. It was honestly quite bold but you couldn’t stop thinking about it and if you didn’t do it, you would be upset with yourself. So, without a second thought, you plucked a long piece of grass from the ground and brought it back to her, nearly letting out a laugh at how confused she looked.
Before she could question what you were doing, you spoke up, “wait, don’t say anything just yet. I need to say something.” You said, watching her for her agreement before you carried on. “You know that Taylor Swift song that is like ‘I like shiny things but I’d marry you with paper rings’? Well I was thinking about that song and you make me feel like that. Like not marriage obviously, I’m not even eighteen yet, but like we’re here. On an island. And despite all the scary things and bad ideas- you’re the only thing that matters. Like I could care less about if we never get off this island, I’m just happy I met you.” You rambled, nerves and alcohol leading to the slurred and messy speech you had just told to her. “I like you, Toni, a lot.” You paused, looking down at the piece of grass in your hands, “I guess this is like, I don’t know, a promise almost? That I actually like you and that I’m not gonna run away from my feelings anymore.”
You paused, your heart rate finally becoming noticeable to yourself and you suddenly felt insanely sober from your actions. You felt as if you had just let her break down all of your walls and you were quite frankly terrified of how she would react. “Can I stand up now?” She asked, a smile on her face, which drove you crazy.
“That’s it? I say all that and you ask if you can stand up?” You asked, not even knowing how to feel, you hadn’t even noticed your arms were flailing as you questioned her until she grabbed both of your wrists and pulled them down, using them to pull you a little bit closer to her.
She still hadn’t said anything yet but the two of you were inches apart and you wanted to throw up. Or maybe it was just a feeling of panic settling in your chest, what if you had gone too far with what you said? You had been known to jump into feelings too quickly but you felt as if she could be there too.
Before you could speak up again and question her once more, she let go of one of your wrists and planted her hand softly on the side of your face, her eyes scanning your own before she leaned in and gently pressed her lips to yours. The two of you had kissed before but this was different, you were finally allowed to feel everything you were feeling, you could finally show her how much you liked her. Your free wrist dropped to her waist as you pulled her closer, not letting her pull away just yet. The two of you stayed like that for a second, just taking each other in and enjoying the moment of peace.
She pulled away with a soft smile on her face and a mysterious glint in her eyes as she backed off and went over to the spot where you had once been. You could see her pick up her own piece of grass and walk back over to you and smiled again, “then I promise to actually stop worrying and just let myself like you. Because I do like you,” she paused, “like I like you a lot.” And with that, she took the piece of grass and tied it around your ring finger, “so instead of getting married with paper rings, we’re uh- dating? With grassy rings.” She said, finishing the knot around your finger and looked up to you expectantly, “well if you want.”
You grabbed her other hand and worked on tying the grass around her finger, looking back at her and nodding, “yeah, I’d like that.” You answered, feeling heat rush to your cheeks at how intimate the moment had become.
#toni#toni imagine#toni shalifoe imagine#toni x reader#Toni the wilds#toni shalifoe#toni shalifoe x reader#the wilds#the wilds on amazon prime#the wilds imagine#the wilds imagines#wlw imagine#fluff#toni fluff
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My Thoughts on Trollhunters : Rise of the Titans
WARNING : ALL THE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW
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Mmmmm. Okay. So I just finished the movie. I’m fatigued as always so this’ll be a bit of a mess lol. Gotta spew the thoughts while they’re still fresh, y’all know how it is.
Right out the gate, I definitely want to talk about the things I loved.
The animation was, of course, phenomenal and gorgeous!
Voice acting was incredible as always
MUSIC SLAPPED
Douxie. I just loved seeing Douxie again and honestly kept my eyes trained on him for most the of movie lol
OK DOUXIE AND NARI SWITCHING?? BODIES??? Definitely didn’t see that coming and I legit started screaming lol
Nari in Douxie’s body is the most precious, chaotic, and wholesome thing like holy cow that was so adorable LOOKIT DOUXIE CROUCHING AND CRAWLING AROUND ON ALL FOURS WITH THOSE NOODLE LIMBS OF HIS I CAN’T --
We called Nari’s mind control and Douxie trying to reason with her!
In the very few scenes they were together, Douxie’s love and affection for Nari really came through. You could really feel how much he cared about her. ALSO THAT TENDER HUG AND NARI’S LITTLE HAPPY SQUEAK MY HEART NO--
Loved Barbara. Always love Barbara.
Walter and Barbara getting engaged
Nomura back in action
Claire being the powerful sorceress she’s become
Loved seeing Aja, Krel, and Varvatos all together again.
NARI VS SKRAEL WAS ALL SORTS OF EPIC AND CRUSHING EMOTIONS.
The way Douxie yelled Nari’s name and ran to her after she died and the remnants of her magic falling all around him, like she was saying goodbye, just *UGLY CRYING*
It was so cool to see Charlie out of his den and flying about like the mighty dragon he is
Loved the Guardians of Arcadia pulling Excaliber out together.
All the gang all going after Bellroc together
YES JIM MY BOOOOOOY
BLINKY DIDN’T DIE
Aarrgh I love you so much
Stuart, what a bro!
We saw a hint of mercy in Bellroc towards the end.
Toby’s death... That was a huge curveball. Jim might as well have cut my heart out with Excaliber as he sobbed over his best friend.
Uh.....um....and.....Er...what else........ .___.
..........Alright so.......It’s about to get a bit brutal from here on out as I talk about the things I didn’t like at all. And the really sad thing is, at least to me, the cons far outweigh the pros in this movie. Because I’m actually having difficulty picking out things I enjoyed, they were so few and far between...which really sucks.
So here we go.
Gosh, where to begin... I guess I’ll go ahead and say this : I’m really disappointed.
Like as I’m here typing this, I’m just thinking, “...That was it? That was the movie?? The big finale???”
So much of this movie just felt....unnecessary. I hate to say almost like filler. The entire intro re-caping the series really wasn’t needed. And then Toby went and restated it all again when he was being interrogated. The pacing, oh my gosh...Guys, the pacing in this movie was not good. The action started and it never seemed to stop. There wasn’t a single moment of rest, of levity, of our characters just being themselves, getting to know each other, being friends outside of the battle. No Reckless Club Segment. No fun, just... I mean Claire and Aja didn’t speak to each other at all. Douxie and Toby hardly interacted. Steve was turned into a gross male pregnancy joke. Jim and Krel barely spoke. Douxie and Aja had nothing to say to each other. Even Aja and Krel didn’t have any moments together. The list goes on. The whole movie was just go, go, go. And it’s so frustrating because there was time for it but it was poorly executed.
Like was the whole break-in to the Chinese Trollmarket really necessary?? Guys, I really found myself not caring. I didn’t care to see this random side quest involving an insignificant new troll character and a Trollmarket that had little to no bearing on the plot. Did I love seeing Charlie, Archie, Blinky, and Claire? Of course! But these scenes were so pointless. So needless. They could’ve written other ways for all our heroes to go after the chronosphere (Maybe we could’ve had Zoe for crying out loud). But instead this vital artifact was the hands of a character we don’t know and don’t care about in a place that turned out to have basically nothing to do with anything.
Deaths. The deaths in this movie. Because of the pacing in this movie, there wasn’t nearly enough time for the emotional impacts to sink in. Nomura? Gone and the only ones mourning her are Aaarrgh and Douxie, who barely knew her. Walter’s death was handled better since we got to see Jim and Barbara actually having a moment to mourn him. The weight of Nari’s death was singlehandedly carried by Douxie, but even that was over before it started. The immense gravity of Toby’s death, which really got to me, was also short-lived to make way for an ending that...I don’t know.
ALSO DOUXIE JUST??? BEING OKAY WITH HIS FAMILIAR, THE ONE WHO RAISED HIM AND WENT THROUGH SO MUCH WITH HIM FOR CENTURIES, LEAVING HIM FOREVER TO BE TRAPPED IN THAT DUMB TROLLMARKET WITH CHARLIE LIKE???
“I hope he’s happy.”
WHAT. THE. EVERLASTING. FRICK.
Douxie’s reaction objectively doesn’t make a shred of sense. Geez, it’s almost like Douxie was expecting Archie to up and leave him someday to be with Charlegmane. Just...what???
What also frustrates me so much is how this movie undid so much characterization and development that happened in Wizards. Or more like all that development didn’t even matter.
What was the point of Steve’s arc in Wizards if he was just going to be reduced to...this?
I was so excited to see Douxie really being a Master Wizard. To see him lead the Guardians of Arcadia alongside Jim. To see him in action as Successor to Merlin and Protector of this Realm.
But no.
Douxie, who had such an incredible arc in Wizards and a character who’s come to mean so much to me in my life, was nerfed and sidelined.
And then time restarts and I can’t help but wonder why any of this mattered at all. What the heck was the freaking point of the suffering, the loss, the pain, the growth, enduring and overcoming so much, the friendships and family spanning across three shows... All gone. Starting all over. Undoing everything, except what Jim went through. As much as I love Jim, I didn’t think he’d be the only character I’d be getting closure for at the grand finale of this entire franchise. But that’s what happened and I really hate it.
Just...all in all, this movie wasn’t satisfying. Not to me. It had its good moments. But not nearly enough. The comedy was misplaced and fell flat. The climax was sorely anticlimactic and didn’t hold a candle to Eternal Knight. The writing, the direction, characterization...For some reason it was all lost and confused and none of it felt right and so much didn’t make sense.
I’m not at all upset with the writers, though, because they still pulled through and did what they could. When the movie did something right, it was beautiful. The things I loved about it I truly adored. No, I’m not upset in the least bit with any of the creative team.
I’m upset with Netflix. I’m upset that Wizards was robbed of the seasons it should’ve had. I’m upset with big cooperations stifling creators. I’m upset that this’ll be it. This is the ending we got and nothing can be done about it.
Aaron did say there’s every possibility for the franchise to continue in some capacity, and I’m hoping for that someday. Because so much, too much, has been left unanswered. So much left to be explored that couldn’t. But until then....I guess this is it. This is what we get.
Now, I want to remind everyone that this is my own personal experience with the movie. These are all my opinions. If you enjoyed every second the movie, that’s wonderful! And who knows how my thoughts will change upon another viewing. But in the meantime, Rise of the Titans really missed the mark for me. I wanted found family badassery and fluff. But nope. Just fighting and heaviness and no payoff. It’s such a letdown...a real shame.
But yeah...Thanks to any and everyone who read to the end of this haha
I still love Tales of Arcadia. It’s a series that has blessed and inspired me so much as an artist, writer, and as a person in general. I do want to keep making ToA content for a while. Cause this movie isn’t the end. Not my ending, at least.
I’ll continue to hope for more Tales of Arcadia in the future (a Douxie spin-off series please Lord pleaaase). We shall see. Until then, fics and fanart fixing this mess galore haha
Until next time everyone! God bless!
#trollhunters rise of the titans#rise of the titans#rott spoilers#tales of arcadia#jim lake jr#claire nunez#toby domzalski#steve palchuk#aja tarron#krel tarron#douxie#hisirdoux casperan#toa archie#nari of the eternal forest#toa wizards#rika rambles#this was tough guys#sigh#but oh well what can you do?#again I'll always cherish this franchise#but oof#They all deserved better
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