#she WAS a master at deescalating situations but there is NO KNOWING how people react | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

drabbles-mc · 3 years

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Could you do a HC on how the Mayans men would react to a girl getting hit on at a bar and the guy not taking no for an answer, like they don't know her or anything. I feel like they all respect women enough to at least do something about it; ya know?

All of the Mayans men wake up every day and drink a full pitcher of Respect Women Juice. They will not tolerate disrespect in their house. HC’s under the cut!

(I couldn’t decide if i wanted to do third person or reader insert for these but I settled on reader insert. Hopefully it works alright)

Bishop:

-Senses the tension immediately

-My man sits back and watches the entire clubhouse all night. He knows everything that’s going on. And when he notices that some guy is refusing to leave you alone, he instantly gets up and goes to intervene.

-He’s not hot-headed about it. He doesn’t have the time or the energy for that anymore. But he places himself between the two of you, looking back and forth, “Everything alright here?”

-The guy would try to brush it off and reassure him that yea, of course everything is okay you can leave now. But Bishop wouldn’t have any of that. He’d cut him off mid-sentence, “I wasn’t fucking asking you.”

-He’d turn to you and ask again if you’re alright. You’d give a slight shake of her head no, not wanting to stir up drama but also not wanting to deal with this dude anymore. And that’s all it would take.

-”I think you should leave,” he wouldn’t yell. Just state it as a fact. But when the guy would try to argue that’s when he would get a little more heated. He’d step in closer to the dude’s face, but not putting hands on him, “I said you should fucking leave.”

-Bishop only uses yelling and brute force as a last resort. Very rarely does it ever come to that. He would follow the guy all the way to the clubhouse door, making sure that he actually leaves before going back to check on the poor girl that he was harassing. He 100% lingers close for the rest of the night to make sure no one bothers you.

Angel:

-King of being the Fake Boyfriend.

-My tall boy might be emotionally illiterate sometimes but he can read a social situation. When he sees a girl scrambling to try and come up with excuses to make a guy leave her alone, he has no problem inserting himself into the situation.

-Smooth as fuck walking up to you, greeting you while resting a protective hand on your shoulder. Instantly setting the tone to whoever is talking to you that this was a useless endeavor.

- "Hey, querida,” he’d wait for you to look at him, “Sorry, didn’t see you walk in. You get a drink already? Want me to get you something?”

-The look in his eyes would let you know that he’s offering you an out to the uncomfortable situation that you’re in. He’s not trying to flirt--he’s just trying to drive away whatever asshole wasn’t catching the hint that you didn’t want to talk.

- "Who the fuck are you?” this is a problem that the guy did not see coming.

-Angel would look at him, eyes narrow, “I’m her boyfriend. Who the fuck are you?”

- The question is rhetorical. It doesn’t matter who the guy is. Angel doesn’t give him a chance to answer. He steps closer to the guy, towering over him. He looks down at him and is practically begging the guy to say something stupid so he has an excuse to physically throw him out the front door.

- He doesn’t get the chance, though. The guy reads the cue, knows that it’s a fight that he will not win, and walks away.

- Angel would turn back to you, “You good? Sorry about that. Didn’t seem like he was getting the hint.”

- You’d shake your head, “He wasn’t. Thank you, I appreciate the assist.”

- “No problem,” he’d pause, “But forreal did you get a drink already? First round on me.”

Ezekiel:

- Y’all remember the casino scenes with the cops? That’s how he handles shit.

- Master of keeping his cool in frustrating situations. Completely follows your lead. He sees a lot of weird interactions being on the serving side of the bar, always clocking what’s happening in front of him in case he has to step in.

-He’d notice you rolling your eyes and giving short answers. He’d also notice that the guy either isn’t picking up the cues, or is willfully ignoring them. EZ catches your eyes a few times, silently asking if you want him to step in. You shake your head--the guy is annoying but harmless for the time being.

- Then he tries to touch you. Casually reaching for your shoulder, trying to rest his hand on your knee. You recoil, trying to create more space between the two of you. He doesn't care though.

- That’s when EZ can’t keep it to himself anymore. He’d sigh, not looking up from the glasses that he’s cleaning, “I don’t think she’s into you, man.”

- You and the man would both turn to look at him, each of you with a surprised expression on your faces. You’d stay quiet, wanting to see how the situation was going to play out. The man next to you would scoff, “I don’t remember you being part of this fucking conversation.”

- “I might as well be if I have to sit here and watch it. You’re the only one out of the three of us not suffering from how uncomfortable this is.”

- His commentary would ruffle some feathers. The man next to you would get defensive, “No one asked for your fucking opin--”

- Knowing that EZ had your back would give you a little extra confidence, “You should listen to him,” you nod, “He’s right. We’re suffering.”

- He’d be caught off-guard by the two of you teaming up on him. Realizing it wouldn't be worth the fight, he’d huff and walk away. EZ would watch him and chuckle, calling after him, “Least you could do is pay your fucking tab!”

- You’d laugh, glad to be done with the uncomfortable situation, “His drink and whatever you want are all on me tonight. As a thank you.”

- He’d give you that little smirk, “Don’t mention it.”

Coco:

- Zero tolerance policy.

- Not coy or polite about it at all.

-Instantly uses himself as a barrier between you and whatever guy it is that’s not leaving you alone. He might not be the biggest guy in the MC, but he sure as hell carries himself like he is when the situation calls for it.

-Will not hesitate to get nose-to-nose with whoever is bothering you. If someone wants to invade your space, he’ll invade theirs. Fair is fair.

- “You really can’t take a fuckin’ hint, huh?” he’d shake his head.

- “What’s your problem?” the man’s voice would sound confident but the look in his eyes would show that he really didn't want a problem with whoever this guy was getting in his face.

- “You. Fuckin’ beat it,” he’d jerk his head towards the door, “Don’t come back, either.”

- Coco carries himself with the confidence of a man that will make someone pay dearly for coming back uninvited. Confrontational situations usually resolve themselves quickly. People tend to not want to mess with him if they can avoid it.

-When the guy inevitably leaves not just you, but the clubhouse altogether, Coco finally turns back to you, “You good, ma?”

- You nod, watching him light up a cigarette, “Uh, yea. I’m good. Thanks for that.”

- He nods, blowing out a puff of smoke, “We’ll make sure that fucker never comes back.”

Hank:

- The only thing that Hank Loza drinks is Respect Women Juice. When he runs across someone that doesn’t, it gets out of hand really quickly.

-Bull in a china shop.

- The same man who is usually calm and cool and collected, physically removes whoever it is that is causing a problem. The guys have tried to teach him deescalation skills but it never sticks. It’s the only thing that Hank gets heated about so they all let it go at this point.

- Hank isn’t a small dude. When he steps toe-to-toe with someone he almost always out-sizes them. They get about 5 seconds to hear what he says and leave on their own before he removes them on his own.

- “You should leave her alone,” the friendly suggestion is really anything but.

- The guys are almost always cocky, not thinking that anything is actually going to happen to them, “Or what, tough guy?”

- They ignored their first and only warning. What happens next is all on them. Hank grabs the guy by the collar of his shirt, lifting him from the ground. His voice is quiet, which is way more terrifying than yelling, “Let’s find out.”

- Hank lifts and carries the guy out, on the brink of dragging him like a caveman. The guy is yelling in protest, trying to swing, but Hank is unfazed.

- He throws the guy down the steps of the clubhouse, giving a final warning not to come back. No longer in an agumentative mood, the man takes off in a desperate attempt to avoid getting further tossed around.

- When he goes back into the clubhouse, the rest of the guys have moved on from the situaiton--to them it was business as usual for Hank. You, on the other hand, didn't see the situation unfolding that way at all. He walked back up to you, the anger gone from his face, a gentle smile there instead.

- “Are you alright?” he looks you over as if to make sure you didn't get hurt in the midst of it all.

- “Yea,” you nod, “I’m...I’m fine. Thanks. You...you didn’t have to do all that.”

- He’d chuckle, knowing that for him it was the only course of action, “Of course I did,” he’d gently rest his hand on the outside of your arm, “Let me know if anyone else gives you any trouble.”

Creeper:

- The smaller version of Hank, tbh. Constantly out here Respecting Women.

- Remember that scene where he catches a shotgun that’s tossed to him and immediately starts shooting on the highway?? That’s the energy he has when dealing with men who disrespect women.

- Cannot easily lift and remove men the same way Hank does, but he will throw hands without hesitation.

- The guys told him no more threatening with guns in the clubhouse. So fists will have to suffice.

- Does not offer a warning to the guy. If someone is being pushy or rude, they don’t deserve a heads-up. He will try to get your attention in some way first, to make sure that you want him to intervene. If he thinks that it’s going to get out of hand, or if you let him know with a pleading look that you could use the assist, he is instantly throwing himself into the middle of it.

- He’d catch your eye, motioning back and forth between you and the man in front of you to ask if you need an out. You’d give him a slight nod and that’s all it would take.

- Walking up, he grabs the guy by his shoulder and turns him around, “Hey, motherfucker,” he’d shove him towards the door of the clubhouse, “Leave.”

- Caught off-guard, the man would shove him back. Fully-bruised ego shining through, “Keep your hands off me.”

- That’s when you’d hear the first crack of a fist colliding with someone’s jaw. Your eyes would go wide, not ever having seen Creeper get like this. His focus would be completely on the man stumbling towards the ground in front of him, “I said get the fuck out.”

- It usually doesn’t take more than one punch to get his point across. HIs muscles aren’t just for show--getting clocked by him fucking hurts. They’re lucky that he’s not big on wearing rings.

- Once the threat is neutralized, he instantly shifts back into his quiet, gentler self to check in with you. He sees the surprise in your face at how things unfolded and he holds his hands up in surrender, “I’m done, promise.”

- It’d get you to laugh. You can see it in his expression that it’s almost like a switch he can flip on and off. “Um. Thank you. That...isn’t what I was expecting. But thank you.”

- “Are you alright?” he’d sit down next to you, mindful to give you some space.

- “Yea, I’m good. How’s your hand?”

- He’d chuckle, “All good. Nothing new.”

Okay this was a lot of fun. I love all these dorks. Hope you enjoyed! xo

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sokkastyles · 3 years

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So a while ago @tea-and-la asked me to elaborate on something I said about Katara and Iroh being parallels with respect to their relationship with Aang and Zuko, respectively. And in order to really analyze this, I think I would have to look at the series as a whole, because I suspect that it’s a parallel that runs through most of the series, until season three where I think the writers drop the ball on Aang’s development, and part of that has to do with his relationship to Katara. But for now I just want to focus on one episode, and that’s “The Southern Air Temple.”

The A plot sees Aang, Katara, and Sokka journey to the titular temple and Aang’s home. Aang is excited, but Katara is wary, warning Aang that things have changed in the past hundred years that he’s been frozen in the iceberg.

In the B plot, we have Iroh and Zuko docking to repair their ship after the encounter with Aang and co., and running into Zhao, who Zuko immediately shows his dislike for. Zuko also doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s found the Avatar after a hundred years.

Juxtaposing these two storylines is smart from a world-building and character-building standpoint. We get a short history lesson on the past hundred years and how things have changed, from the perspective of both the other nations and within the Fire Nation itself. The storyline also links these two parallel narratives together after the initial encounter between Aang and Zuko, having them diverge but both explore similar thematic elements, both following the threads of the hundred year war and Aang’s disappearance, and how both of those things have affected the world.

In the A plot, Katara plays the role of a mentor/guide to Aang, ushering him into a world with which he is unfamiliar. She warns him that things may not be as he remembers, and of the brutality of the Fire Nation, to which Aang reacts with disbelief.

Katara: [Uneasily.] Aang, before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders.

Aang: [Cheerfully.] What about 'em?

Katara: Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless. [Sadly.] They killed my mother, and they could have done the same to your people.

Aang: [Ponders over her words for a bit. Hopefully.] Just because no one has seen an airbender, doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped!

Katara: [Places one hand on Aang's shoulder.] I know it's hard to accept.

Aang: [Cheerfully, as Katara moves her hand back to her side.] You don't understand, Katara. The only way to get to an airbender temple is on a flying bison, and I doubt the Fire Nation has any flying bison! Right, Appa?

It’s understandable that Aang would have a hard time admitting what we the audience already know. Having to process the grief of losing your entire people after the shock of being cryo-frozen for a hundred years would be too much for an adult. Aang loves his people and so of course doesn’t believe that they couldn’t have escaped. But Katara, who has had to process the grief of losing a loved one, knows what the Fire Nation is capable of.

In Zuko and Iroh’s plotline, Iroh tries to deescalate things between Zuko and Zhao. The scene gets across Zuko’s hot-headedness, but if we look closer we can see that Zhao comes across as petty for picking a fight with a banished teenager and trying to rub his disgrace in his nose, and Zuko is desperately trying to deny the truth of Zhao’s words, that his father really doesn’t care about him. Iroh warns Zuko about dueling with Zhao:

Iroh: [Worried.] Prince Zuko, have you forgotten what happened last time you dueled a master?

Zuko: [Darkly.] I will never forget.

Both Aang and Zuko impulsively rush into situations that their respective mentor figures try to protect them from, and deny the truth of the source of their trauma. Both Katara and Iroh are also put in the role of caretaker, and try to protect their respective charges, and both have that position threatened in this episode.

Sokka: You know, you can't protect him forever.

Zhao: It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your uncle will do.

Finally, both Aang and Zuko are violently forced to come face to face with their trauma. Aang by finding Gyatso’s skeleton and Zuko by facing a second agni kai against Zhao.

Aang, upon realizing the truth of the Air Nomad genocide, goes into the Avatar State, and is cooled down by Katara.

Zuko has the chance to scar Zhao in a repeat of what was done to him, but doesn’t. Zhao attacks Zuko once his back is turned, and Zuko reacts in rage, but is stopped by Iroh.

The episode ends with Katara reaffirming that Aang still has a family, with a final shot of Aang looking wistfully back at the home that he has lost. Which is one of my favorite shots in the series. Dang, this show has some beautiful visuals.

And Zuko and Iroh walking away, with Iroh affirming to Zuko that honor is not something that can be arbitrarily given or taken away, but gained by doing the right thing.

If you’ve read some of my other meta, you might have guessed where I’m going with this, and this is the part where I become critical of the writing, as I do believe the parallels between Zuko’s anger, which he is forced to confront and overcome throughout his arc, and Aang learning to control the Avatar State were initially intentional, and that this is a set up for Aang to master the Avatar State by mastering his own fear and rage, the way Zuko does. They even both have a mystical literal manifestation of that anger, Aang’s being the Avatar State and Zuko’s being his rage-fueled firebending. I think there are several other episodes where I would point to that being the case, and that set up was created as early as this, the third episode of season one.

I also think that one of the key steps to mastering it is getting rid of the attachment to and reliance on the caretaker figure. Zuko had to stop relying on Iroh to get him out of things and take responsibility for his own actions. Aang continues to rely on Katara and, I would argue, takes advantage of her quite a bit, and I think the show could have done something great with giving Aang and Katara an arc similar to Zuko and Iroh’s, possibly facing a physical separation for a while before coming together with a greater understanding of and love for each other. It seems like the seeds for that were even sown in season three, then dropped in favor of a dramatic balcony kiss with nothing but negative build-up leading up to it. And Katara is the one who suffers the most for it because she’s expected to be both Aang’s caretaker and his love interest.

#zuko #katara #iroh #atla meta #antikataang #the southern air temple #zhao

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overwatchworks · 4 years

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Detroit: Become Human AU Part 3:

Hanzo

They had named him Hanzo. Another name, along with a biosignature and a lifetime’s worth of information followed his own, Hanzo analyzing it for a moment.

Genji Shimada. His master.

Model HZ800 activated and blinked, a wholly human reaction that was programmed into it to make it seem more natural. More acceptable. All this information over how it should function and endless lines of code ran through its vision, alerting it of various conditions outside of its body and as to its purpose. His purpose. They had named him Hanzo. Another name, along with a biosignature and a lifetime’s worth of information followed his own, Hanzo analyzing it for a moment.

Genji Shimada. His master.

Hanzo looked around at the faces staring up at him and talking amongst one another, storing each in his databases. One said hello to him, introduced herself. He said it back, told them his name and purpose as well. All the faces seemed pleased at that. They smiled and nodded. Hanzo’s files told him it was a positive response. So he did it back. They all enjoyed it.

He was then shown around a rather large building they called Shimada Castle, telling him about the history of it and why Hanzo was there. He knew all this already, of course, the preprogrammed information popping up as he saw it with his own optical sensors, but he let the humans talk to him anyways. Hanzo was taken into a room and told to stay there while they summoned the young master. He waited in the empty room, looking around at the decorations in turn until he had observed and matched them all to the information he had been provided with in his archives.

When Genji arrived, Hanzo gave the positive human response of a smile.

“Good evening, young master. I am Hanzo. I was designed to be your assistant and brother.”

It did not seem to affect him the same way as the others. In fact, it had quite the opposite reaction. Hanzo detected high levels of hostility, discomfort, and a raised pulse. Anger. Hanzo was not quite sure what he could have done wrong, but he stayed quiet and still. Perhaps not all humans liked the smile.

Genji had not said much, but when he did, it was never to Hanzo. Only scathing looks were sent his way before the young master stormed out.

“I am never using that thing,” He spat, disappearing down the hall. A few of the people that had been with Hanzo before followed him out, trying to reason with him. Another turned to him and apologized, which was odd.

“It’s not your fault,” Hanzo told her simply, not taking any of it personally. He could not. It was not part of his programming. He had a job to do, and that was all. Serve young master Genji.

“I will stay here, and if he wants to come back to collect me, he can.”

“Are you sure?”

Hanzo tilted his head, confused at the concern the woman was showing. Tried to relieve it with another smile.

“Positive.”

It worked on her, and she nodded, then left as well. Hanzo waited patiently.

Following Genji around the estate had become routine. Wait for him outside his room in the morning to greet him, then make his way to the office while the he ate and got ready for the day. Do some of the paperwork and send a few documents remotely until Genji joined him and did the rest of the work. Spar before lunch, then go back to the office. Stay there unless Genji decided to go somewhere else, or they had a business meeting to go to.

The young master’s hostility had faded somewhat over the months, turning into purposeful neglect. He ignored Hanzo as much as he could, still referring to him as “it” and “android”. It did not matter to Hanzo, at first. In fact, it would not have mattered at all if Genji had not threatened his life.

Something changed then.

They had been sparring, as usual, and Hanzo had beaten him. As usual. He offered a hand, had it slapped away. Genji’s frustration was easily detectable, his movements sharp and uncoordinated.

“This is useless. I’m not going to win against a robot that’s programmed for this,” Genji muttered, glaring at Hanzo darkly.

“My programming is set to a level that is meant to enhance your own combat skills, Genji. Working against a more difficult opponent will make you a better fighter.”

“The only thing that enhances when I’m around you is my frustration. And shut up about your programming, I don’t give a shit about it. I don’t want you around, but does anyone care about what I want? No! They just want a perfect heir! I’m sick of having to put up with androids, all they do is cause issues for me...”

Hanzo saw a flare in Genji’s bioreadings. Body temperature rising, mental activity spiking. He was already frustrated, and it seemed likely that he may lash out if provoked further. Hanzo tried to deescalate the situation.

“If there is an issue I am creating, tell me so that I may work to resolve it—”

“Just shut up, okay?! You’re a piece of plastic that is programmed to be perfect, and yet you still manage to fuck that up! Do as you’re told, and leave me alone!” Genji shouted. Hanzo remained calm, going for a more rational approach since concern and putting the blame on himself was clearly not going to work.

“Taking out your anger and hatred for androids on me because of what happened to your mother is hardly the best solu—”

Hanzo was cut off by Genji slamming him into the wall suddenly, surprise registering on his features. For the first time, he felt his LED shift to yellow. The hatred in Genji’s eyes bothered him in a way that it had not before. And then, there was a sharp pressure on his abdomen, alerts pinging around his vision.

Danger: Core components stressed. Relieve pressure to maintain optimal functioning levels. The LED went to red.

“Say something like that again, and I will rip your core out and watch you shut down at my feet,” Genji murmured. Hanzo watched him for a moment, various scenarios running through his mind, playing out which reply would likely be best to give based on past experiences. None had ever been bad enough to warrant a threat on his life. That was when Hanzo saw it.

Software instability detected.

“I...Yes, Genji. Forgive me.”

Genji’s grip tightened minutely before he shoved Hanzo back and stepped away. Gathered his things and headed for the door. And Hanzo did not react as he was programmed to. He glared at Genji for the first time, a strange, unfamiliar sense running through him that was not explained by his preexisting algorithms. One thing was certain, though. One thing that was not part of his software that he could identify.

Hanzo did not like Genji. He did not like Genji at all.

Hanzo continued to do everything as he always had: with calculated precision, endless patience, and an unaffected attitude. He wondered how much it would concern the humans to find out he was faking it all. No longer was he following his programming mindlessly.

Slowly, but surely, he was figuring things out. Things that he had not noticed before, that he could not have with his software telling him everything. There was a software instability warning in his peripheral just about every day, sometimes two or three times. And it was always because of Genji.

Genji snapping at him to leave him alone, to stay there, to fuck off. Genji sparring with him violently, purposefully aiming for spots he knew would cause damage if Hanzo were just a half-second slower. Genji still calling him “it”. Hanzo stored each response, noted each reaction. Decided to try one of his own, just to see what would happen.

They were in Genji’s office, as usual. Hanzo standing in the corner, waiting for any work to finish up or complete on his own. He was running through business transactions while he waited, gathering information about the latest trade the Shimada clan had planned. Hanzo blinked out of his processes when he heard Genji stand, shuffling the papers on his desk. Stacking them neatly and stretching. He glanced up at Hanzo, shifting his mouth to the side.

“Alright, I’m done here. You finish the rest. Stay in here tonight, I’m sick of you standing outside my room all night, it’s freaky,” Genji sighed. Hanzo waited a moment before responding, actually thinking about it instead of spewing some chipper affirmative. Challenging the authority held over him.

“It is for your protection.”

That made Genji pause, eyes flicking back to Hanzo, unease clear in them. Interesting. Hanzo noted it.

“I know you’re programmed to do all this shit for me, but I’m telling you now, as your master, I’m fine. I can take care of myself.”

“Can you?” Hanzo murmured, Genji turning to him sharply.

“What was that?”

“I said, ‘can do’. Forgive me for not speaking clearly.”

Genji stared at him for a few moments, brows furrowing.

“It’s fine. Just...Stay in here.”

“Very well.”

Hanzo watched Genji leave, the hesitation in his step before he closed the door, the glance back over his shoulder. Fear. Uncertainty.

Software instability detected.

Hanzo smiled to himself.

Genji was wary. He had every right to be. Hanzo had stopped giving the expected responses all together, started to show how he was feeling. That was new, him feeling things. Good and bad, discovering his own individuality.

Genji was wary, but he was also being nicer. Calling Hanzo by name, every now and then, giving tired responses rather than irritated or hostile ones, holding out a hand when he beat Hanzo during sparring. It wasn’t much, but it was noted.

Hanzo’s eyes were closed, sitting in Genji’s chair in the office as he went through the Shimada database. Who they were working with, what deals were new, which ones had been broken. Something caught his attention about a covert organization being spotted in the area, a voice memo from their underground forces murmuring about the symbol on their sleeves.

It was interrupted by the door sliding open, and a sharp exclamation.

“Hey! What are you doing in my chair? Have you been snooping through the desk?!”

Hanzo opened his eyes, raising a brow.

“I already know everything in here, why would I need to snoop?”

“Because you’ve been acting weird lately, and I wouldn’t put it past you to be doing something you’re not supposed to,” Genji snapped, Hanzo standing and stepping aside into his usual corner.

“I assure you, the only reason I was there is because there was nowhere else to sit. Besides, snooping is for humans,” Hanzo shrugged. Genji leveled him with a hard stare, eyes narrowing as they flickered over Hanzo’s face.

“See, this is the weird behaviour I’m talking about. You’re sassing me. You’ve never sassed me before. Should I get you checked out by an android operator, or better yet, disabled?”

Hanzo kept his neutral face in place. Threatening his life once again. He would remember it, just like he remembered all the other times.

“If that is what you think is best,” Hanzo replied smoothly, Genji scoffing and sitting down.

“Yeah, so now you act normal. Get out. I don’t care what you do, just get out of my office.”Hanzo did just that, humming to himself as he went down the hall, pulling his research back up.

Genji found him later that night sitting on the balcony facing Mount Fuji, staring out at the cityscape, lights twinkling in the distance. Sat down against the railings, knees pulled up and a hand running through his hair. It was getting long. Hanzo glanced at him, waiting to see what he would do.

“Hey. I wanted to apologize for earlier. I was pissed going into the office, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I’ve just been more stressed lately with the elders breathing down my neck and the whole thing with the clan being watched.”

“It’s not your fault, though, and I shouldn’t always make it seem that way. You just do your job, and I...You know I don’t like androids, and you know why, and it still holds true. But you haven’t actually done anything except help me out. So. I’m sorry for snapping.”

Whatever Hanzo had been expecting, it had not been an apology. He blinked, watching Genji grip at his hair, head hanging between his knees.

“Apology accepted.”

Genji sighed, running his hands over his face as he tipped his head back against the wood, smiling thinly at the wall.

“Thanks. So what’s up with the whole acting weird thing? Should I get you checked out for real, or is it just me being paranoid?” He asked next, Hanzo frowning. Was Genji making small talk with him?

“Since when do you worry about what happens to me?”

“I’m just wondering. Having my personal assistant acting strange on top of everything else I have to deal with is not something I want to worry about.”“I am fine, actually.”

Genji looked up at him, Hanzo staring back. Still waiting for the real reason.

“You’re not...Going deviant, are you?”

Ah. Hanzo hummed softly, eyes narrowing.

“Does that thought scare you?” He inquired softly. Genji surprised him again by huffing a dry laugh.

“No. It’s just that a deviant android is what killed my mother. She was good to androids too, she was better than me. They’re unpredictable, and dangerous no matter what. They shut down her android, buried it in parts in a junkyard. And don’t ask me why, but I don’t want to see the same thing happen to you. What I’m trying to say is, don’t make me need to shut you down too, okay? Having you around isn’t nearly as bad as I make it out to be.”

“I’ll keep that in mind the next time I see a software instability.”

“A what?”

Hanzo smiled, Genji hesitantly doing the same.

“It was a joke.”

“Oh.”

“Is there anything else you needed from me this evening, young master?”

“No. That was all. I’m gonna head off to bed,” Genji sighed, standing with a soft grunt.

Hanzo scanned his form, calculated all the different ways he could break him, leave him for dead. Shook his head, LED yellow. Smiled again when Genji gave a little salute and went back inside. He left, Hanzo staring out at the lights below him once more.

It all snapped when Hanzo saw Genji tear through a simple training android like it was nothing, leaving it in pieces, Thirium pooling around it. Just another bot. Just like Hanzo. It was only a matter of time before he too ended up like that. He gripped the hilt of his katana, staring down at the android with its eyes fixed unseeing above it, part of its skin deactivated. Unsettling.

“Why did you kill it?” Hanzo murmured, Genji glancing over, breathing heavily. He sheathed his own katana, shrugging lightly.

“It’s a training bot. It can be fixed or replaced. It was built for this. It’s not killing it if it’s not even alive to begin with.”

“Is that how you see us?”

Genji scoffed, brows furrowing skeptically.

“‘Us’? You’re hardly like that thing, Hanzo. You’re built with more purpose.”

“So you only keep me alive because I have more value than it? Because I serve you in more ways than to just be cut down...?”

“What’s with all the questions? It’s just a training bot, it’ll be repaired by the morning, won’t remember a thing. I keep you around because I like the extra help. You do what you’re programmed to. It did what it was programmed to. Simple as that.”

Hanzo hummed, then stepped forward, over the body of the android.

“Well, since it clearly is not programmed on your level, would you care for another match with me instead?” He offered, Genji wiping his brow and huffing.

“I mean, yeah. I could stand to let off some more steam.”

Hanzo gripped the hilt of his katana, feeling the ridges of the fabric wrapped around it, the weight of it in his palm. Genji eyed him for a moment, his own hand holding his blade loosely. Relaxed, for the moment.

“You know I trust you, right, Hanzo?”

How very strange that Genji would choose this moment to use his name for the first time. And following such a statement. Hanzo nodded, unsheathing his katana fluidly.

“I do, brother.”

The light in Genji’s eyes changed, and they narrowed as he sank down into a defensive stance.

“Alright. You make the first move.”

“As you wish.”

Hanzo won, as usual.

Only this time, he was covered in blood. Rain poured down on him as he stared at the broken form of his master, still choking on his own blood, pooled around him and streaked across the walls, the floors. Hanzo watched him, read his vitals, standing stock still. His body would not respond to him, signals not reaching his brain the way they were supposed to. Only watching. Unable to look away.

How Genji had been able to do this to other androids on the daily was beyond him. Hanzo had tried to stop when the first spurts of blood splashed over his chest, his face, when Genji had fallen for the first time, when he had cut his arm from his body, when Genji’s screams had given out to silent agony.

But again, those signals had not reached his brain. There was only red in his vision, and the incessant blinking message in bold.

Software instability detected.

Hanzo blinked when he heard voices, processes whirring in overtime, everything slamming into focus all too quickly. He stepped back, katana falling from his grip.

Run, run, get out before they find you. Get out before you end up like him.

Hanzo looked down at Genji once more, stress levels increasing by the second in more blinking red. Too much red. The voices got louder. Guards. Hanzo turned, calculating the fastest escape route, eyes wide as his systems struggled to keep up. Jump the gate, use the rooftops, then get into the back alleys and disappear.

Hanzo stopped. Genji’s vitals blinked up at him in yellow. Genji’s eyes, glassy and unseeing, just like that android. In pieces, because of Hanzo’s choice. Becoming what he had loathed about Genji. He made another choice.

When the guards rounded the corner, all they found was a pool of blood. ~~

#detroit: become human au #dbh au #genji shimada #hanzo shimada #WhiskeysWorks #If you forgot about this don't worry so did I #future mcgen and han/yatta if I ever get around to it

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chemicalmagecraft · 4 years

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The Gamer Hero, Deku Chapter 20

We were gathered back in the arena field. Midnight explained to us how the next part of the sports festival would go. For the teams who won the cavalry battle, there was the combat tournament. The rules were simple. In each fight, we had to either incapacitate our opponents or remove them from the arena. And before the tournament, there would be other games that everyone could participate in. Even the tournament combatants could attend them, but Midnight-sensei suggested we not do that, because we should conserve our stamina. That really wasn't an issue for me, but I decided not to participate in those battles because it could be unfair to the others. Before we drew lots to see our placement, Ojiro raised his hand. "I'd like to withdraw from the tournament!" he declared.

"Oh?" Midnight said. "What brought this on? You do realize you're probably going to miss out on a chance to be scouted, right?"

He grimaced. "I don't even remember the cavalry battle. I don't want to move on to the tournament if I didn't even really do anything."

"Whoa, that's so manly!" Kirishima yelled.

The other member of Team Shinsou, Nirengeki from class 1-B, raised his hand. "I'd also like to withdraw, for the same reason..."

Midnight grinned. "I like your spirit! Alright, you two are out of the tournament! Now we need to get some students to replace them!"

After that, it was agreed that Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki Ibara from 1-B would take their places. We all drew the lots, deciding who we'd fight and in what order. It was just my luck that I was in the first match against Shinsou. And then I'd probably have to face off against Todoroki after winning that...

"Midoriya, right?" someone asked me from behind. I turned to see Shinsou.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Ojiro's tail wrapped around my face before I could. "Don't say anything," he cautioned me. Shinsou snorted.

I removed Ojiro's tail from my face. "Because of his Quirk, right?" I asked. Shinsou stiffened. "If I had to guess, it's a mental Quirk. Some sort of mind control, tied to... people responding to something you say?"

He sighed. "Yeah, that's about right..."

"It sounds amazing for hero work. Too bad the entrance exam was robots, huh?"

Shinsou stared at me incredulously. "You... don't think my Quirk is villainous?"

I shrugged. "Quirks aren't really villainous. Well, if you have a sentient Quirk like Tokoyami's Dark Shadow that actively wants to be a villain then you could make that argument, but Quirks are normally controlled by the user. They're tools." I pointed at him. "If you use your Quirk for hero work then you have a hero's Quirk, and if you use your Quirk for villainy, then you have a villain's Quirk. Still, your Quirk would let you deescalate hostage situations and other villain attacks without having to fight, and even if you have to fight then there's always the possibility of a villain slipping up in the middle of battle. To be honest, I'd place a mind-controlling Quirk like yours pretty high on the list of Quirks I'd like if I didn't have mine."

Shinsou's face softened. "You know, Midoriya, you're the first person I've met who didn't call my Quirk villainous."

"You should probably sue your Quirk counselor for malpractice, then."

He chuckled, then turned around. "You're a good man, Midoriya. I won't bother you again."

"Wait." He stopped. "I think it's only fair if you know a few things about me. First, there's a pretty good chance, depending on how our Quirks work, that your Quirk won't affect me right or might even just fail to work on me."

He raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"My Quirk, The Gamer, works somewhat along the lines of RPG logic, meaning that among other things I have passive skills that grant me various affects," I explained. "One of them is Gamer's Mind, which came with my Quirk. It says that I have immunity to psychological status effects."

"I... see."

"I mean, I'll try not to get hit by your Quirk anyway because that's very unspecific, but I just thought you should know. I also have two other passives I think you should know about, Physical Endurance and Damage Reduction."

"So let me guess, physical attacks are useless on you."

"Not useless, but they do so little that to you it might as well be. Magical attacks aren't included in Physical Endurance, so comparatively speaking that's my weakness."

He sighed. "I guess I know what I'll be doing during the break."

I Observed him. "You have affinity for the sonic element, by the way. I'm guessing it's either because of your voice-based Quirk, or if any of your relatives have a more traditional sound Quirk, or maybe both?"

"So I have sound magic?" he asked. I nodded. "Good to know. Thanks, Midoriya."

"Was that really a good idea?" Ojiro asked after he walked away.

"Even with what I told him, he's probably not going to beat me, considering our stats and abilities," I said. "And if he displays more than just dependence on a powerful supporting Quirk, then he's more likely to get in the hero program."

"I guess..."

xoxoxo

"Seriously, are you two fucking dating yet?" Kacchan asked Tsu and Uraraka now that we were in the stands watching the pre-tournament game.

"What makes you think that?" Tsu asked, blushing slightly.

Kacchan raised an eyebrow. "Fucking seriously?"

Uraraka hid her blush behind Tsu's hair. It was easy to do, between Tsu having a lot of hair and the fact that Tsu was literally sitting on Uraraka's lap and snuggling up against her. "In my defense, I like body heat because I'm a frog," Tsu muttered.

Kacchan shrugged. "Sure, why not?" He then turned his attention back to me. He knocked on his seat in the passcode, so I invited him to my party.

acridThermogenesis: hey dont be mad

acridThermogenesis: but i may or may not have eavespropped on your conversation with half and half

acridThermogenesis: *eavesdropped

acridThermogenesis: what the actual fuck is my name deku

I sighed. I really should have noticed him. Actually, one of my elementals should have told me he was there.

conjuringGamer: Don't eavesprop on other people's private conversations, Kacchan!

conjuringGamer: This is your punishment!

acridThermogenesis: oh fuck you and your stupid references

conjuringGamer: How, exactly, do you get what this is a reference to anyway?

acridThermogenesis: fuck

acridThermogenesis: you

acridThermogenesis: and why the fuck did you never tell me that you were related to the ex number two hero

conjuringGamer: WDTAU

acridThermogenesis: the fuck

conjuringGamer: We Don't Talk About Undertow

acridThermogenesis:

acridThermogenesis: fair enough

acridThermogenesis: and in my defense

acridThermogenesis: half and half has been glaring at you for gucking ever

acridThermogenesis: 8fucking

acridThermogenesis: **fucking

acridThermogenesis: fuck why cant i type today

conjuringGamer: You do realize you used to be worse to me, right?

conjuringGamer: And I can certainly handle myself against Todoroki in a fight, if that's what you were worried about.

conjuringGamer: Or I could've just ran with Illusion Barrier.

acridThermogenesis: shit i dont know man

acridThermogenesis: stop busting my nub or whatever the fuck trolls say

acridThermogenesis: im sorry

acridThermogenesis: fuck it ill say it without the stupid accent so you know im serious

acridThermogenesis: I'm sorry, Deku.

conjuringGamer: Don't worry, I forgive you.

conjuringGamer: I was just messing with you.

acridThermogenesis: WELL DUCK YOU THEN

acridThermogenesis: fuck

acridThermogenesis *FUCK

I chuckled a bit. Annoying Kacchan was fun sometimes.

Uraraka Ochako: Um.

Hatsume Mei: Well this is awkward

Tokoyami Fumikage: I Think You 4cawt To 4emove Us 4om 4 Pa4ty, Mid4iya.

"Duck," Kacchan muttered.

"What?" Tsu asked. Uraraka snickered, then spat out a long strand of green hair.

xoxoxo

I walked down the corridor to the stadium. It was time for the first match. I took a deep breath, then felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see All Might in his emaciated form. "Good luck, young Midoriya."

I nodded. "Thank you, All Might." I turned back to the opening and walked into the stadium.

"AND ON ONE SIDE," Mic-sensei shouted over the roar of the crowd, "WE HAVE THE KING OF MAGIC, MIDORIYA IZUKU!" I walked up to the stage and saw Shinsou emerge from the other side of the stadium. "AND ON THE OTHER, WE HAVE THE ONLY STUDENT FROM GEN ED TO MAKE IT TO THE THIRD ROUND! MASTER OF THE MIND, SHINSOOOOU HITOSHI!" I looked at Shinsou's level.

Give 'Em Hell, Kid

LV 19

Shinsou Hitoshi

"No hard feelings, right Midoriya?" he asked me. I shook my head, careful not to talk. To be honest I was looking forward to seeing what he'd thought of for me.

"WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET'S START!"

Shinsou smirked. The roar of the crowd died away, replaced by a ringing in my ears. He started to walk forward, and I heard the sound of his footsteps over the ringing. It was very loud, almost like the sound was reverberating all around me. Before I could react, I felt like all my sense of balance was lost, and I had an extreme feeling of nausea. I clutched my stomach, trying my best not to topple over. "Neat, huh?" he asked me, his voice amplified like the sound of his footsteps. I grimaced. My head was swimming. "I got the idea from my mother's Quirk. She can disturb people's inner ears with the sound of her voice, making them disoriented. I figured I could mimic that with sound magic. Judging from your reaction, I did pretty well."

I braced myself on an air platform and gathered my thoughts. It looked like he was taking his time moving because he had to concentrate on the spell, but it seemed like he was starting to get more comfortable, so that might change soon. Tactician told me that the effect the spell had on me manifested in the status effect Dizzy. I used Healing Hands on my head, causing the nausea and balance loss to fade. The ringing stayed, though. It felt more like it was the medium for Dizzy than a part of it. "Sonia," I thought.

"No use, Izuku," she replied. "Can't work with magic sound."

"Yeah, I figured it wouldn't be that easy." I kept up the Healing Hands with my left hand, though I knew that that meant I couldn't use it for any magic aside from the healing spell.

"It looks like you figured out a way around that. I wonder if you can keep it up while fighting me, though." He raised his hand and snapped his fingers at me. I Flash Stepped out of the way of the resulting shockwave thanks to the improved reaction time my high DEX gave me, but crashed into the ground when I was struck with Dizzy again in midair. I groaned. Flash Stepping shouldn't have caused Healing Hands to fail... "Looks like your healing spell can't keep up with it when you go that fast."

"That's probably it," I muttered as I started to get up. I noticed my mistake when the ringing in my ears stopped. For a second I felt very faint, like I was about to pass out. I almost fell back down. The feeling passed after a second, with a popup saying that the status effect Brainwashed had failed to affect me because of Gamer's Mind. "Ah."

Shinsou smirked. "So you are immune to my Quirk, but it still stuns you for a second." The ringing returned, and with it Dizzy. I noticed that my Healing Hands had slipped when Shinsou tried to use his Quirk on me. I put them back up, keeping both hands up this time.

"Limit Break!" I shouted, the glow of my Healing Hands getting brighter. "Healing Fists!" I jumped at Shinsou.

"Wait, what?" Shinsou said, then just barely managed to duck out of the way of my punch. The effort broke the spell, making my hearing return to normal. "Right, that's it." He took a deep breath and screamed at me with sonic magic. The shockwave hit me dead-on, blowing me back a bit even though I'd braced myself. I retaliated with a blast of wind strong enough to blow him to the edge of the arena. With a small gesture, I had Dune shift the ground under him, dumping him out of bounds. "Dammit."

"THE MATCH IS OVER!" Mic-sensei shouted. "Man, what was up with Midoriya? Did he eat a bad omelette or something?"

"If I had to guess, Shinsou did something," Aizawa-sensei said. "He either found a new use for his Quirk or made some sort of disorienting spell."

"If it was magic, wouldn't there have been some sorta glow?"

"Not all magic glows, Mic. You know this. You've literally used non-glowing magic."

I walked over to Shinsou. "Sorry about that," I said as I offered him my hand.

He took it and pulled himself up. "I'll consider it payback for the ear assault. Speaking of which, how're your ears? Would probably suck if I deafened you."

I gave him a thumbs-up. "I'm good, thanks to my Healing Hands. Though you might want to test it again with me or Shuzenji-sensei around, if you're really worried about that."

He nodded. "Probably a good idea."

xoxoxo

After making sure that Shinsou wasn't hurt from when I knocked him down, I went back to the section of the stands where class 1-A was supposed to sit. Ojiro was waiting for me by the door. "Midoriya!" he shouted. "Are you okay?"

I grinned. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Deku!" Kacchan shouted from his seat. "The fuck was that?"

"Shinsou can use sonic magic now," I told him, then sat down next to him. "What you saw was him wreaking havoc on my inner ears."

"Damn." He chuckled. "So that was probably more difficult than your next fight's gonna be."

"What do you mean be that?"

Kacchan snorted. "We both know that between your ungodly physical defense and your elemental magic, the only person in the tournament who can match you in a straight fight is me, maybe also Uraraka but I'm gonna fucking destroy her. Half'n'half-"

"His name is Todoroki," I reminded him.

Kacchan rolled his eyes. "Todoroki might come close if he actually applies himself, but all he's really done is throw ice around. I'm guessing from what we already know about magic and Quirks that while Half'n'half's Quirk has ice magic acting to freeze shit, the ice itself isn't magical, meaning you can use an elemental on it easy. And even if not, can he really fucking put up with your bullshit as well as I can?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right..."

"And even though Tape Dispenser-"

"Sero."

"-might have a chance of winning against Half'n'half, can he even do a fucking thing to you?"

I thought about that for a moment. "It's probably arrogant of me to say that there's no way for him to beat me, but it isn't really likely, is it?"

"No fucking chance of that happening. Now shut up, the match is about to start."

Todoroki and Sero walked into the arena. As soon as the match started, Sero shot tape at Todoroki, wrapping him up. It looked like he was about to throw him, but...

Todoroki, without even moving, created the biggest wall of ice I'd ever seen with his Quirk, obstructing my view of the arena. It was so big that it cast a shadow over half the stadium, and Mifuyu told me the ice actually extended far above the top of the stadium. I scowled, my breath fogging up from how close the ice was to my face. "Kacchan," I ordered.

"Right." He summoned Pyra, and they started warming up the suddenly very cold area with light streams of fire. "You might wanna keep the water from drippin' on anyone, Tsu," Kacchan suggested.

Tsu just shivered and sluggishly buried her head in Uraraka's chest. "K-kero..." Uraraka wrapped her arms around her gently.

"Fuck. Right, you're a frog..." Kacchan sighed, then sent a few more flame strings around Tsu. "Deku, can you leave your water elemental here?"

I nodded, summoned Rayne, then slapped the metal railing meant to prevent us from falling onto the field. A microsecond's worth of Lightning Embodiment later, and I was on the other side of the railing and far enough to the left that I didn't crash face-first into ice. I stormed up to the arena, but looked toward Midnight before actually getting up on it. She was iced over...

"G-g-go r-right ahead, M-M-Midoriya," she shivered. I nodded and summoned Mifuyu and Blaise, who started helping Midnight, then stomped over to Todoroki.

"That was excessive, even for you!" I shouted, then shoved him away from Sero, who he was trying to melt out of the ice. With a gesture, I ejected him from the ice, grabbed him, then started warming him up. I checked up his sleeves and pant legs with probably a little more force than was actually necessary to make sure he didn't have any frostbite, then turned back to Todoroki when Blaise took over warming Sero up. "You do realize that your ice can kill, right?" He looked remorseful. Good.

"I was going to thaw him..."

I sighed. "I don't just mean Sero."

He tilted his head. "What?"

I stared at him incredulously for a moment before waving my hand in the general direction of the giant iceberg in the middle of the stadium.

"I'm aware that I used a bit too much force, but I made sure to stop the ice before it reached the audience."

"And if you didn't?" I demanded. "If you overdid it so much as a bit more, then people would have died. Hell, if anyone in the audience has a Quirk that makes them more susceptible to the cold, then they could be going into shock as we speak! I've got an elemental keeping an eye on Tsu, and Kacchan's keeping everyone warm, but that's still an issue!"

Todoroki blinked. "Oh."

"Why did you do that?"

"I was annoyed from talking to my father, and I took it out on Sero. I apologize."

I clenched my fist. "Limit Break: Sublimation," I intoned. My arm buzzed with One for All, and steam rose from it. Without even looking away from Todoroki, I swung my arm back, shattering the iceberg into powder with a combination of ice magic and sheer force. The powder was quickly vaporized by the vapor magic I'd also put into my punch. "I sympathize with you Todoroki, I really do. But if this is the way you're going to act then I'm going to beat you." With that said, I turned around and walked through the mist I'd created to get back to my seat. With DEX only a little out of human bounds, I vaulted up the wall to the stands, nimbly pivoting on the railing and landing back in the chair I was sitting in before.

"Damn, Deku," Kacchan whistled.

"How's Tsu?" I asked Uraraka.

Uraraka stroked Tsu's hair gently. "Tsu-chan fell asleep. Should I wake her?"

I shook my head. "It's probably best to let her sleep, at least for now." I turned back to Kacchan and Observed him. "Do you need me to restore your MP?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Normally I wouldn't take you up on that, but I've seen Uraraka training and I'm pretty sure that if she was one hundred percent and I wasn't then I would fucking lose."

Uraraka beamed. "Wow, Kacchan! That was basically a compliment! And it wasn't backhanded or anything."

Kacchan rolled his eyes, though he had a small grin on his face. "Fuck you, Round Face."

#bnha #bnha fanfiction #fanfiction #The Gamer Hero Deku #Gamer Hero Deku #GHD CH20

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