Tumgik
#that they need to heal on their own
hythlodaes · 4 months
Text
until we get it right emile/estinien - 1.9k words cw for references to past violence
wild west au heavily inspired by this gpose by @coldshrugs <3 estinien becomes something of an outlaw in seeking his personal vengeance, and emile is sent to stop him but ends up joining him at the promise of earning his own. title + fragments come from wishbone by richard siken!
 let’s just get going, let’s just get gone...
They make camp for the night.
Or rather, Estinien makes camp for the night while Emile stands far too still in the distance. Estinien stares at the line of his back through the softening smoke. They’ve hardly spoken a word since they skipped town—what was supposed to be a quick stop for supplies ended in nearly getting caught, and more violence than either of them intended. They’re a safe distance away, enough that Estinien felt comfortable building a fire and setting out their bedrolls, gathering the food rations they have left, and all the while Emile has stood by the creek, unmoving. 
He said he was just going to wash up. 
Estinien’s jaw aches from clenching it this whole time. The answers to his questions feel too far out of reach—they’ve been through too much to know what’s wrong without asking. Estinien told him there would be bloodshed from the beginning, and it was a warning and a promise all the same. It’s the reason why Emile joined up with him at all.
Come on, he thinks to himself. Just move. 
But nothing changes as the fire cracks to life, the only sound besides the wind chasing through this empty space. 
It’s just them, and sometimes Estinien wishes it wasn’t. 
“Emile!” he calls, gritting his teeth at the harsh sound of his voice cutting through the evening. Emile still doesn’t move, doesn’t turn his head, and Estinien swears under his breath before he gets up. He repeats his name as he draws closer, the sound of his boots crunching over the dirt. Emile’s hands are clenched at his sides, but as Estinien finally reaches him, he can see the way they shake. 
“You over here sulking, or what?” Estinien asks, refusing to let his heart soften at the way Emile stares into the water, his face marked red with blood, his sleeve soaked with it from where the bullet grazed his arm. He finally looks over at Estinien, his eyes dark, his mouth pulled into a tight line, and it takes a long moment for Estinien to realize that he’s angry. 
“Why did you do that?” Emile asks, and his usually soft voice turns sharp. He doesn’t need to clarify—Estinien can still see the gun pointed at Emile, can still recall the way he didn’t hesitate to raise his own to protect him. It was just one quick pull of the trigger...  
“Because you’d be dead if I didn’t,” he answers, glancing at Emile’s injured arm. A few inches over and that would’ve gone through his heart. Emile’s brows pinch together before he looks away. 
“I could’ve taken him.”
“You could’ve had a hole in your chest,” Estinien bites out. “Then where would I be?” 
You. He’d meant to say you. 
Luckily, Emile is too upset to notice. “His blood should’ve been on my hands, Estinien” 
“You don’t owe me, if that’s what you’re wonderin’.”
“It isn’t about that,” he returns. “I...”
Estinien waits, but Emile doesn’t finish his thought. They stand side by side at the edge of the creek, and the setting sun ignites the shallow water in shades of pink and orange. Estinien kicks a rock into the stream. “Is this still about your honor?” 
“No,” he answers, and the anger leaves his voice entirely. “Just forget it.” 
Finally, he moves. He turns back towards camp, taking off his hat as he shakes his hair out. He looks golden in this light, like something that was made to reflect the sun, and this time Estinien is the one frozen where he stands, trying to understand what he meant. 
He pulls his bandana free from his neck and wrings it out in the water a few times before he follows him back to their camp. He means to hand it to him but falters as he approaches him sitting by the fire, frowning at the flames. He looks up at Estinien with a question in his eye that only grows as Estinien crouches before him. 
“You’ve got...” Estinien trails off. Emile glances between him and the bandana in his hand, eyes cautious, but he nods. Estinien lifts it to wipe at the dried blood on his cheek, keeping his touch as gentle as he can. He can feel Emile’s gaze still on him, but he focuses instead on his tanned skin, on the freckles that multiply daily as they travel by the relentless sun. He can feel Emile’s breath against the side of his hand—the way it comes shallow, the way he holds it as Estinien brushes the corner of his mouth. 
There’s an ache in Estinien’s chest that never goes away. 
“Take off your shirt,” he says as he pulls back, ignoring how his hand trembles the slightest at the thought of taking it off himself. “You can borrow my other one until we have the time to mend it.”
Emile shakes his head. “It’ll do for some time yet. It just needs a wash.” 
Still, he undoes the buttons and Estinien looks away, retreating to grab his makeshift medicine bag from the saddle. It’s no more than a few tinctures and a bandage, but that’s all he needs. When he returns, he stops short at the sight of Emile by the fire’s glow. The flames lick at his naked skin, orange light ghosting over his exposed muscles as he pushes his hair to his uninjured side. 
The wound, Estinien reminds himself. 
It’s uglier up close, grazing his bicep, angry and raw. It’s stopped bleeding but it’s still completely open, and Estinien takes a breath before he touches his elbow, pulling his arm closer. There’s a chill that’s settled in with the night, but Emile’s skin is warm against his hands, making him want to draw even closer. Emile merely keeps his gaze locked on the fire in front of him as Estinien begins to wrap the bandage around his arm. 
“My Ma taught me how to do this,” Estinien murmurs, just to fill the silence between them. “I was always bleedin’ from one injury or another—I think she knew it would save my ass someday.” 
It gets Emile to look at him, his eyes still so dark. He doesn’t say anything for a long moment, but then, quietly, “Do you miss her?”
Estinien swallows hard. “Every day.” 
He thinks Emile’s the only person that knows this side of him. He’s the only person he’d let see this side of him. They’re in this together, and sometimes that feels like a vow of its own. They’re married to their vengeance, and they will see it through or they will die—they would rather walk through hell than leave the crimes against them unanswered.  
It’s something only they can understand now, and as much as they rile against each other, it binds them together. 
It leaves room for confessions like this:
“I don’t know how I can go home after this,” Emile chokes out as his breath hitches. “I don’t know how I can face my mother.”
Estinien doesn’t let his hands pause. He finishes wrapping the bandage around his arm, each motion smooth and methodical, something reassuring where words can’t be. There’s nothing he could possibly say—they aren’t good men, and they’ve walked too far down this path to turn back now. 
“Is that what you want?” he asks. “To go home?” 
Emile shakes his head. “No, I… I need to do this, but I won’t be able to forgive myself for it.”
Estinien ties off the bandage but finds that he can’t let go of him yet. He smooths his thumb across the skin beneath it, and his next words come hushed: “Can you forgive me?” 
“You don’t spare me any guilt by killin’ for me.” 
“I’m not trying to,” he murmurs. “I’m just keeping you alive.”
“Why?” 
The sky grows darker, and with it the fire glows brighter. It highlights the pain in Emile’s eyes, and Estinien thinks he could do anything for him—he could protect him, he could avenge his father, he could bandage any wound, but there’s nothing he could do to take that hurt away. 
He thinks he’d still like to try. 
“Because you hum when we’re on the trail—for hours at a time. It must be every song you ever heard, because each time I look back, I think, he’s bound to stop after this one, and then you keep humming. It annoys the hell out of me,” Estinien says, and he finds his smile threatens to crack at Emile’s soft laugh. He takes a breath, sobering as he feels the full weight of it in his chest. “It would be awfully quiet without you, Emile.” 
Emile stares at him for a moment before he turns away, scrubbing his free hand over his face, and his voice is muffled and shaky when he says, “I can stop humming, if it annoys you.” 
“No,” he says, and he laughs despite the way it aches. “We’ll keep going, okay? Just as we are.” 
“Just as we are,” Emile repeats. He looks back at Estinien, eyes a little watery but he nods. He pulls his arm away from where Estinien still holds it, and then he gets up, digging through their bag for the spare shirt they have. He throws it on while Estinien throws another piece of wood on the fire, and it seems that they agree on letting the conversation go. 
He doesn’t say anything when Emile lays on his bedroll after—doesn’t say that it’s too early to sleep, that they haven’t eaten yet, that he feels like all his emotions have spilled out everywhere to be seen. He stays up, staring into the fire as the stars begin to turn in the sky, and he listens for any danger in the distance. It’s just them. 
It’s just them, and most of the time Estinien is grateful for that. 
He doesn’t remember when they started placing their bedrolls next to each other, but it’s become part of their routine. It makes it easier to share body heat when the night grows cold, but neither of them say anything when they curl up together regardless of the temperature. Estinien tosses one more piece of wood on the fire before laying beside Emile. He listens to the sound of his breathing, judging if it’s heavy and even enough to mean he’s asleep, before he inches closer to press his back along his. 
Like this, they guard each other through the night. 
In the morning, they can pretend that this didn’t happen. In the morning they can wash the blood clean from Emile’s shirt and stitch up the hole in the sleeve. They have a lead on their next destination, and they’ll pack up their horses and take to the road, where Estinien will count the minutes since the last time he looked over his shoulder at Emile. He’ll memorize the slight smile that pulls at Emile’s lips under the shadow of his hat, and he’ll ignore the warmth in his chest, the weight of his gun at his hip, and all that he would do to keep him safe. 
And maybe, one of these days, they’ll find what they’re looking for. 
Do you know how it ends? Do you feel lucky? Do you want to go home now?
14 notes · View notes
turtleblogatlast · 4 months
Text
AU where Leo is trapped in the Prison Dimension for months instead of minutes and the only way he gets by with his sanity intact is through recording himself talking to his wrist comm.
When they finally manage to get Leo back and make him rest up to heal, Donnie can’t help but listen to the recordings left behind.
He’s not sure what exactly he’s expecting, only that his subconscious is screaming at him that it has to be heartbreaking, that it has to be torturous.
Instead, what Donnie is subject to is a full thousand hours’ worth of Jupiter Jim and Lou Jitsu crossover fanfiction. More than one part in the series. Spanning well over a million words.
(The worst part is that it’s actually good.)
#rottmnt#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles#rottmnt headcanons#donnie keeps the comms going on in the background as he works#when he gets to the end he’s like what the hell…where’s the rest#donnie: leo where’s part nine#leo barely cognizant after not needing sleep for months: whuh-#donnie: you can’t leave it at a cliffhanger. leo. leo where’s the next part.#listen leo has a great memory for his special interests this is CANON plus he’s a great talker so he would totally be able to do this frfr#whenever he needs to be quiet he’s SILENT but otherwise he’s regaling the exploits of his idols to the captive audience that is The Photo#sometimes Krang sneaks up on him and just listens to him talk like ????#it starts both as leo trying to comfort himself with his favorite things PLUS comfort himself with thoughts of his father#as splinter makes his own crossover fanfiction when sick lol plus he’s Literally Lou Jitsu#and yes krang ALSO gets a bit invested#leo notices the reduction of Ouch but hey more time for rambling fanfic for him 👍#idk leo’s a damn good actor/liar/planner/schemer and I genuinely think that can pivot into storytelling so well#the literal second mikey’s hands heal donnie zooms to his side with hand stabilizers and a request to draw ‘scene 82 from recording 3’#mikey’s like what#so obvs now HE needs to listen as he works#he too gets invested#he comes across raph who mentions having trouble sleeping#mikey: have I got the podcast fanfic for you!#it only somewhat helps raph sleep#somewhat bc sometimes he forces himself to stay awake to hear the rest#yes these recordings go to the whole fam and leo is none the wiser#they don’t even mean to hide it it just never comes up lol#it’s only when donnie FINALLY makes it to the end of the recordings that he confronts leo to continue the story#leo: oH YOU HEARD ALL THAT HUH-
3K notes · View notes
nelkcats · 8 months
Text
Spite
Danny made himself known to the world by hacking into the Justice League's communications line. Amity was safe but he was so tired of being ignored that the moment he figured out how to isolate his small town from the rest of the world he decided to let the heroes know they had failed.
He posted all the ignored calls, the GIW legal documents, the experiments, everything that would let them know that they had failed. Because he had saved himself and the others but never got help.
In a very short time Amity declared itself independent, similar to Atlantis or Themyscira; they didn't need anything from the rest of the world anyway.
At first the League thought it was the attack of a villain or some new organization.
It became very obvious that this was not the case the more they confirmed the information presented, from a law passed under their noses to the threat of exterminating an entire race of beings that were much stronger than them but decided to chose a peaceful route instead of just destroying everything.
For the first time in years, the League felt useless. The weight only increased when the last piece of "evidence" turned out to be the death certificate of Daniel Fenton, the first victim of the whole mess.
2K notes · View notes
brighteuphony · 1 month
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
@xoxo-lahh
So in this verse, Tsunade never ends up teaching Sakura- as that role is fulfilled by Chiyo. (But she DOES return to Konoha eventually).
And Chiyo's first rule (for everything lol) is: Nothing is Free.
Chiyo always demanded something in return for healing, and unlike Tsunade, she considered medical jutsu a part of her arsenal. If it could kill, then it was always an option.
So Sakura learned from that mindset, trading her services and using her rare skillet as a powerful negotiating tactic, especially during Tea Country's civil war. Her healing effectively kept her, Enji, and Saeko in relative safety and provided her a card to play when she needed.
And, while Sakura is nowhere near as jaded as Chiyo is, and often enough of a bleeding heart to help people for damn near free, (a place to stay, food for the night, a new holster for her kunai), she is also VERY pragmatic about her skillset. The civil war taught her that sometimes, letting someone die is better. This puts her at odds with Tsunade, who has a very different mindset (and was, historically, bitter enemies with Chiyo).
Another issue that arises with Tsunade, is that the Godaime is a doctor- while Chiyo is more of a healer. Their understanding of the human body comes from a different place.
Tsunade can name every bone and muscle and perform open-heart surgeries. Sakura can heal bone and stitch back together muscles and flesh on a very basic level, but she's never going to be able to open up a human body and revolutionize medical history like she does in canon. (In canon, Sakura creates a Jutsu that allows her to do a four-man surgery alone; she can't do that here.)
However, she can do some stuff that Tsunade claims is impossible—like reconstructing/altering someone's chakra network, unblocking tenketsu, sometimes turning off someone's dojutsu from a distance, and lite-healing remotely (Tsunade is very upset about this one specifically). A lot of it comes from her mastery of Genjutsu.
Genjutsu, as I reworked in my comic, requires a complete understanding of someone's chakra network to control ALL their senses. Sakura's understanding and control are so prodigious that she can almost autonomously control people's bodily functions (a skillset that is GREATLY aided by training with Chiyo's puppet mastery).
She uses Genjutsu as a tool to understand the body and employs it as both support (helping an ally maintain a sense of gravity as they're pulled underground or flung in the air, etc) and offense.
And that's it for the wall of text! Once again, thank you SO much for the amazingly kind words and all the interest in this AU! <3
778 notes · View notes
The Babel Incident
Phantom doesn't make talk to anyone when he joins the Leauge. They may try to make small talk and learn more about their new teammate, even going as far to to invite him to the occasional gathering or socialize, but the newest member simply shows up when there is mandatory meetings, helps out on the field, and leaves as quickly as he arrived.
Keeping everyone at arms length, no matter how they much they try. They can clearly see he's lonely, but he insists they leave him be.
Clark doesn't miss (or like) the way Bruce tries to get more useful information on the newbie in roundabout like asking other Leauge members for anything. It wasn't until the usually straight faced Phantom got angry at Bruce to vanish to get away from their leader. It irked the Dark Knight to not have any useful information, even when Martian ManHunter told him no to reading his mind, but Bruce will keep trying to get something out of Phantom.
Little do they know that the reason why Phantom doesn't speak or socialize with anyone has to do with the fact that Batman uses mere conversations to formulate his contingency plans to put down his colleagues, something they don't know about yet. The Last Universe he visited had its Batman getting his plans stolen by a villian and had gotten the entirety of the Leauge killed.
1K notes · View notes
dashingwishes · 1 year
Text
I hope everyone heals soon 🌱
Here are your pretty flowers
🌹🌸🌻🌷🌼💐🪷🌺
For trying each day.
4K notes · View notes
lolottes · 4 months
Text
Danny walked the streets of Gotham
he was hungry.
His steps were slow and I was still in pain, but under his abdominal bandages his wounds were much better.
but he was hungry.
he did not know since when he was in town.
he was hungry.
He didn't know what time it was, but an alarm sounded.
He was hungry.
but it wasn't the noise that woke him up, no, there was… a smell? no, it wasn't caught by his nose, but it made him salivate.
he was hungry.
His gums itched while his teeth took on a ghostly shape despite his human body.
he was hungry.
The smell, for lack of a better term, led him to the center of noise and bright light.
he was hungry.
as he mingled with a tense crowd he began to "see" his target even with his eyes closed. good thing because he was hungry. and his eyes must have glowed in response behind his eyelids.
he was so hungry.
the crowd seemed more than willing to let him pass as he approached his target's voice, it was so loud, it must have been speaking into a megaphone or microphone.
he was hungry, but not for long…
jokers: hoooo, we have a brave volunteer~
His food came down from its perch, probably the roof of a car. it was moving towards him, holding something out with confidence
jokers handing a microphone to Danny: a few words from our volunteer?
Danny: …I'm hungry…
His food seemed destabilized, but he continued to move closer, finally opening his eyes, seeing the reflection of their light in those of his food who had a little reflex of unnecessary recoil. One last big step and he was almost chest to chest.
The crowd didn't really know what they were looking at, the child stretched out his arm towards the jokers chest then when he pulled him back with some gently luminous light in his hands, the jokers collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose string have been cut off. Even before the jokers had finished falling, the child put the light in his mouth and a cracking sound echoed through the shocking crowd.
Danny sighed in relief, not satisfaction because it was one of the worst things he had ever eaten. But he feels SO MUCH BETTER now!
he wasn't hungry anymore
… For now
370 notes · View notes
powdermelonkeg · 4 months
Text
Personal headcanons for Gale's tower layout:
5F: An astronomical observatory with an orrery in it. The stardome is enchanted to reflect whatever sky and weather Gale wishes; if he wants to see the stars in Kythorn, that's what it shows him. If he wants rainy weather to read to, guess what. The stars reflect whatever position the orrery's been set to. There's a walkable ledge around the exterior of the roof for Tara's pigeon-hunting.
4F: A portal room, surrounded by three guest bedrooms and a bathroom. The bedrooms are themed: one smells like a sea breeze and faces the harbor, colored with sunset shades with gold accents, one smells like rose potpourri and fresh grass, mostly pastel purple with brass, one smells faintly spiced, deep maroon and bronze. Morena prefers the rose one. Each one comes equipped with a vanity that has three (magic) mirrors, a wardrobe that removes wrinkles and stains of anything hung in it and repairs minor stitches, a set of candles that never burn down their wicks, and curtains that, when drawn, enact a silent barrier around the room. The floors are polished hardwood with plush, patterned carpets. The bathroom is self-cleaning, has running water on command, whatever temp you want it, warms towels for you, and has a magic mirror (magic mirrors in my headcanon show hairstyles and things you WANT to try before you actually try them out).
3F: Gale's floor. His bedroom, a walk-in closet, a room for Tara, and a personal bathroom. Gale's bedroom has silence-spelled drapes, glowing crystal sconces he can dim with a wave, a desk, a large canopy bed (the one he summons during his last night in Act II), a small bookshelf for whatever he's currently reading that doubles as his nightstand, and a plush window seat. The walk-in closet is neatly sorted, with everything from travel robes to finery to wear to the annual Blackstaff Ball, and has the same enchantments in it as the guest room wardrobes, with the added effect of making anything put in it inexplicably smell like a library. His bathroom is just like the guest ones, but larger. The bathtub inside, when activated, always assumes he wants his bath piping hot and lavender-scented. Tara's room is smaller, but fully designed for her little cat body. Scratching posts, cat-sized perches and comfy cat towers, and a little bookcase and window seat of her own. She keeps her space VERY neat, in contrast to Gale's "organized chaos" sort of living.
2F: This is the floor we see in Gale's Act II illusion. The packed library, the messy desk, the private study, the balcony... He sorts his books by topic, then by date rather than author. Tara is appalled by it. The balcony has a minor enchantment to keep weather, pigeons, and seagulls off of it. Tara is upset at the lack of birds; it's SUCH a cozy napping spot, and you're going to take away her free breakfast, too? Gale's compromise was the 5th floor's walkable ledge, which is a prime pigeon-hunting perch.
1F: The entry floor. It's got a sitting room to entertain guests with, and a large, well-kitted kitchen. The dishwashing basin does the washing for Gale. On the wall in the sitting room, there are two notable paintings: one is of young, 10-year-old Gale in a cape, standing proudly with both his parents and holding his first-ever proper wizard staff. He's TRYING to have Tara on his shoulders, he insisted, but she's just too big, so he's wound up leaning forward where she awkwardly perches on his back. He has a snaggle tooth. The other painting is of a much older Gale, dressed finely and standing with his mother, smiling. It was made before he got the beard, so he looks a decent bit younger than he is. Tara is wrapped around Morena's shoulders like one of those feather boas, but she's headbutting Gale's shoulder affectionately.
B1: Gale's wine cellar and well-stocked pantry. He collects all kinds of wines from all over Faerûn, usually getting them from merchants that pass through Waterdeep, but he's not opposed to cracking open an expensive vintage with the right company. There's a locked cabinet labeled "in case of Elminster" that contains some cheeses and wine to offer the older wizard, that way Elminster doesn't raid Gale's pantry when he's not looking. If you don't feed Elminster, he WILL feed himself at your expense.
B2: Gale's spell workshop, scroll storage, alchemy lab, and vault. Gale's not especially well-versed in alchemy (I think Wyll's got dibs on that, personally), but he DOES mix himself up some Arcane Cultivation elixirs from time to time. And if a potion recipe intrigues him enough, he likes to have a place on hand to try things out. The vault is well-guarded with spells, but, sadly, pretty empty; it just has his savings there now, where once it held all sorts of enchanted items he'd picked up through his studies and younger adventuring days.
An additional note: Tara has perches all throughout the house, on every floor, basically anywhere Gale spends a lot of time doing things. The cushions that are hers are magically heated and smell like tea and mint.
386 notes · View notes
juustozzi · 8 days
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Like a déjà vu, but across the universes
83 notes · View notes
asparklethatisblue · 1 month
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
/|\^o^/|\ Vampire AU Fitzier! In which Francis turns James as he lies dying, and it very nearly doesn’t work
A follow up for @vandrawsing ‘s art here
86 notes · View notes
turtleblogatlast · 6 months
Text
Absolutely love the idea that it was April who got the boys super into snow days.
Like, pre-April, they probably would view the days as miserable, since as turtles they’re likely more susceptible to the cold and back then they probably had much less to keep warm with.
The cold altogether was just never good to them - and then April comes around and teaches them how to make a snowman. And when it’s done, she pelts them with snowballs. And suddenly, the cold is now fun, and they might still be shivering, but now they’re smiling too.
#rottmnt#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles#rottmnt headcanons#obligatory paragraph of text incoming-#but god I love April so much#I kinda implied it in this post but to go further - April is FUN#she’s energetic and quick witted and kind and overall just FUN#and that is so important!!!!#she as April O’Neil is the embodiment of friendliness and that alone got her four whole brothers for life#she’s just - she’s SO GOOD#she GETS the boys and gets what they need and will go about it in her own way#and likewise they’re exactly what she needs too - a group that matches her energy and vibes and gusto and everything#god I Love April#not even just the boys I love her relationship with splinter too#I personally think that interacting with a human being probably helps Splinter humanize HIMSELF#he adores his boys oh of course he does he loves them to the moon and back#but they are also a direct link to his trauma - and a direct reminder of what he now is#so I imagine it’s healing - to interact with a human and not only that but to see her interact with his boys too#I bet it brings a much needed sense of normalcy#and specifically it being April - someone who’s so accepting and kind and fun - I think she brought a lot of great vibes to the hamatos#and a new sense of normalcy that wasn’t there before#and in turn I bet this makes April feel more at ease too because-#the hamatos are WEIRD#and so is April!#and thus they’re so weird that it circles back around to being normal!#this is THEIR normal#they’re family your honor-#APRIL IS ALSO SO INCREDIBLY BRAVE BTW#like soooo brave and daring like she’s so cool????#sorry she’s my second fave after Leo and I do not gush about her nearly as much as I should I loveeeee her
240 notes · View notes
Text
Tumblr media
she is her own biggest fan.
2K notes · View notes
pikahlua · 17 days
Note
So many plotpoints I just don't understand in this arc. Why have bkg die? Why have him fight afo? Why have izuku lose his arms? What purpose has any of it served???? At all???????
Todorki and ochakos fights were handled so well and streamlined and benefited their characters and arcs but bkgs and dekus have been a mess all bcus hori is a coward who won't just let them fight together bcus ig save to win and win to save meant nothing at all
Why have bkg die?
I think it's pretty clear from the way that whole thing was framed that the purpose of Katsuki dying was symbolic. This is a staple of Japanese drama running all the way back to kabuki. It is a trope for a main character to die to shed their mortal incarnation and come back to life as their deified form. Katsuki's death runs perfectly parallel to Tomura's from the PLW arc right down to the part where they are both responsible for their own resurrections. It's probably one of the best cases I can think of where a character's death actually did further that same character's arc without fridging them for the sake of someone else.
Why have [Katsuki] fight AFO?
Because AFO was set up as a "what if" scenario or cautionary tale for Katsuki, the other side to his "villains and heroes are two sides of the same coin" storyline. AFO in his physical form has a different character arc and story utility from AFO the quirk vestige. He provided a lot of backstory that allows us to infer the subtlety of how Katsuki is likely some sort of reincarnation of Kudou, the mechanics of which we will never need to revisit because they're unimportant. It was about karma and personal growth. It was about showcasing how Katsuki is an heir to many legacies, All Might's included.
Why have Izuku lose his arms?
Again, it's symbolic. It's been foreshadowed pretty heavily that Izuku would risk losing his arms in reaching out to save someone. This was a demonstration of his willingness to take on that risk. It also provides a moment for Eri to get in on the "everyone contributes a little bit to the fight" action all the other characters have been allowed to have. We don't even know yet what state Izuku will actually be in when this is all over, so it'd be premature to jump to any major conclusions about all of this. The story may still have a lot to say about this.
What purpose has any of it served???? At all???????
To entertain me specifically.
Todorki and ochakos fights were handled so well and streamlined and benefited their characters and arcs but bkgs and dekus have been a mess all bcus hori is a coward who won't just let them fight together bcus ig save to win and win to save meant nothing at all
Bold of you to assume you've read the final chapter in the story yet.
65 notes · View notes
nelkcats · 1 year
Text
Broken Wings
A few days before his coronation, Clockwork came looking for the boy who was staring into the void dejectedly, Danny had really thought that being a halfa would at least give him the chance to stay a little longer with his family.
However, as the ghost features were displayed in his human form and his parents suspicion increased, Danny understood that he had become too ghost for humans, it was just depressing to note that even in Infinite Realms he was too human for ghosts as well.
He loved the green freckles on him, he loved how his eyes had flashes of constellations, and even though it was a bit strange, he loved the little crystal in his right hand made of ice, he felt it made him a bit similar to Frostbite; but when he started to freeze everything with his touch he freaked out.
"Difficult times are coming" the master of time commented, caressing the halfa's hair "your coronation will increase your power and although the ghosts will be fine, you won't be able to return to the human world"
"I didn't want to be king" the halfa murmured sadly "I didn't want to leave the world so early"
"No, I guess not" Clockwork sighed "You must be careful, one of your royal duties will make you see things you wish you didn't, I'm not going to stop you but try to make the right choice"
Danny couldn't understand this until a few days after his coronation, when his consciousness expanded through the dimensions and he began to see people's deaths, their thoughts, regrets, dreams. And he could do nothing more than offer them a home in the Realms or guide them to a peaceful rest, praying that it would be enough.
With each passing day he felt more restless; It was then that the death of Jason Todd played in his head, he saw the boy who wanted to fly and he remembered himself when he had the dream of visiting space, he remembered when he learned to float like a ghost and compared it to the moment when Jason discovered Robin, he couldn't help but want to give him a better ending.
Jason Todd's soul was sad and stubborn, he flatly refused to rest, but he also refused to become a ghost; Danny couldn't help but sigh as he saw the little core forming in his hands.
It was then when he broke the rules, more or less; he waited for the moment when a catastrophe would occur in the boy's dimension and sneaked into Jason's grave, placing the small core in his living body and feeding it with his ectoplasm. He didn't know if that would be enough to make him a revenant or a halfa, but it was the best he could do.
"Please fly into the night sky for me" the halfa said sadly as he walked away. He knew he was being unfair by leaving Jason in his own grave, but what if it didn't work? Would he leave a body far from his resting place? No, he did enough, what happen next depends on Jay.
Danny hoped Jason wouldn't resent him for it if he found out in the future. He clapped with joy when Clockwork told him that it worked, but the time master frowned, telling him that he couldn't return to said dimension for a few years.
So it's understandable that Danny was upset when after a few years he decided to travel back to check on Jason and found the boy alive but with his little core surrounded by contaminated ectoplasm.
1K notes · View notes
exhuastedpigeon · 10 days
Text
Hey you - yes YOU.
I'm gently holding your face in my hands and reminding you that you are loved and valued and you don't have to do anything to earn that love.
You're special and important and the world is better because you're here. I'm proud of you.
Go drink some water, I think we've both been crying a lot and we need to rehydrate.
69 notes · View notes
francesderwent · 4 months
Text
since apparently in 2024 I’m just saying stuff
I do not want fictional characters to go to therapy.
therapy is a great way to begin to see yourself more clearly, to pinpoint the ways you’re self-sabotaging and make changes which will allow you to strengthen and deepen your relationships. and obviously, we here at redemption.com want to see our favorite characters do that. after a while a character with no self-awareness starts to grate; we usually want them to figure out what they’re doing wrong and have some positive forward motion.
however. therapy is not the only way to have these epiphanies about yourself, or the only way to learn a new way of living, trusting, being a friend. sometimes a series of coincidences will put you in the one situation which will throw a mirror up in front of you and allow you to see and recognize yourself. sometimes you meet just the right person at just the right time who will love you in such a specific way that you’ll realize how wrong your old understanding of love was. it’s less purposeful and less sustained a method of growing than therapy is, it’s more of a winding road with occasional lightning strikes.
and I don’t know how to explain why I only ever want to see characters growing in this way, except to say that when they aren’t, then precisely what you’ve failed to create is a cohesive story. at best you have a story going on while the character privately sorts out their issues at the same time, with themes and climactic moments occurring in neat parallel. (I think Ted Lasso does something like this in season 2.) at worst, you don’t have any story at all, you have a character study in the form of a soliloquy, which happens to be delivered to a therapist. (a lot of fanfiction is like this.) it might be a very good character study! but it’s not a story.
it seems to me that fiction should be a window into the way we can learn from our experiences in the world and from our relationships with others, by being open to seeing ourselves anew and being open to change. and I’m not saying I want all the supporting characters to therapize the protagonist. I’m saying I want my protagonist to listen to the supporting characters and glean the truth of what they say as if they were a very good therapist—even if what they say is delivered in an incomplete way or in the middle of an argument. I don’t want an oracle to appear and point-blank tell the protagonist their fatal flaw. I want the fatal flaw to become exquisitely, inevitably clear in a moment of terrible dramatic irony, when the knowledge seems to come too late. and personally, I want this to happen always in the most dramatic way. I do not want my friends to reach rock bottom in order to start learning and changing. I do, sometimes, want to see fictional characters reach rock bottom. why? well. because there’s a story there.
I don’t just want to see characters changing. I want to see a story about characters changing.
114 notes · View notes