I Mean, That’s What I Would Use Them For…

An alternate epilogue for A House Made of Cards

A Breach of Trust might be @phantomrose96 's best known mp100 fanfic, but A House Made of Cards is such a solid punch to the gut, I often find myself returning to it. The slowly mounting dread when you realise exactly what is being going on, just enough to haunt you, and your imagination supplies the rest.

But, I'm a baby, and because where the fic leaves off is agonising, I had to indulge in a little alternate post-script, exploring a different possibility.

The actual fic is not so kind . . .

I wanted to touch briefly on a comparison I’ve seen making the rounds sometimes, between Saitama and Reigen talking to their respective pupils.

The debate here is often regarding who’s in the right. Is it ok to run away, or should you always try to face the danger?

Well, the problem is that to water the argument down to this is to miss the point of these two moments entirely. Saitama isn’t saying it’s not ok to run away. He’s saying it is a hero’s duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Reigen is saying that Mob *isn’t* the hero, and he doesn’t have to be. It’s not his duty to shoulder the burden and sacrifice himself for the sake of others when it would only cause him harm.

These are two ideas that can and should coexist. In one way or another we’re all the “heroes” Saitama mentions; there’s always going to be problems we have to solve, situations we have to manage because no one else will, because it is for the betterment and safety of ourselves and others. If we run away from those responsibilities, there is no one else who can clean up for us.

But on the other hand, there are issues that aren’t ours to fix. You may find yourself in a situation where you don’t want to be, where trying to fix the problem can make it worse, where unnecessary pressure is being put on you to shield everyone else at your own expense. And in those instances, it’s better to walk away.

Not everything that’s expected of you is your job to handle, and not every problem you come across can be walked away from. As human beings we need to be flexible, come into every situation with the knowledge that there is a choice to be made on whether this is something that needs our attention, or if it’s something that isn’t our burden to bear.

***(Editing this with the addendum because I think its really important for people to see)*** Edit:

I just wanted to add something to this because a lot of people have been mentioning it in the reblogs.

Mob is indeed a child. None of this responsibility is his.

But Genos is not a completely different story. He’s only 19 years old. Certainly old enough to do things for himself and to be taking on some responsibility, but not old enough to take the whole world on his shoulders like he’s trying to. There are older, more experienced heroes who should be there for these grand battles. All too often we cheer when Genos steps in to fight the big bad, whether it be the Deep Sea King, Garou, Centichoro, whoever. But consider the fact that he isn’t the only S-Class in existence. He’s not the only person whose job it is to protect the general populous from these monstrous beings, he’s just the only one who bothers to step up and do it.

In a weird way, Reigen’s message applies to him too. Not in the sense that he should run away, but in the sense that it’s not solely his responsibility. It’s pretty obvious that Genos suffers a lot from this idea that he has to be there no matter what, or he’s not growing as a person, not being a good disciple. There’s potential for this to change into a healthier mentality, but for the moment, Genos is constantly throwing himself into dangerous situations and barely making it out alive. What Saitama is telling him isn’t meant *only* for him. It’s a testament to the times they live in, a nod to the fact that high level heroes pick and choose what emergencies they want to respond to instead of always being there to save the day, the way you would expect. The thing is that neither of these approaches is really the right one. Genos throwing himself into harms way all the time isn’t necessarily heroic as much as it it self destructive, but it’s his only option when everyone else has decided not to show up at all. In the reality that they face, where threats to humanity are so constant, it’s not possible for a single person to be a true embodiment of a hero, because it’s not a world that can be saved alone. Genos needs help. He needs other heroes to realize what it means to actually be heroes, and to step up as well to face the danger.

I want to reiterate that both Saitama and Reigen’s messages are universal and coexist. Some things are problems that you have to step up and handle, somethings aren’t solely your problem, or even your problem at all. Some situations aren’t Mob’s problem, some things only he can handle. Some things are up to Genos to fix, others he won’t be able to do alone, because it’s the responsibility of other heroes to stand by him for the sake of humanity. It’s not about age, because no matter how old you are, it’s important to keep this  in mind.

oso you were so close

original

since april fool’s day is tomorrow i would like to remind everyone that my entire existence is a massive joke

Choromatsu: take out the trash

Ichimatsu: why would I take myself out on a date?

if Peggy Carter had received the super soldier serum she’d have come out looking exactly the way she went in

That wouldn’t be a radio in your lap, would it, Mr. Pitts?

Dead Poets Society | 1989 | dir. Peter Weir

…. I want to talk about this. Specifically Shigeo’s lines. I honestly have no idea how this will manifest in the anime—whether it gets cut out or changed in translation—but I interpret this as a form of self harm. Mob is overwhelmed with grief and self-loathing from the realization of what he’s done to Teru in this moment (he only became internally lucid a few pages ago, when Teru kneeled before him, pounding his chest and screaming his name). Even though he’s “woken up” from his coma-like state, he’s not in control of ???%/‘Shigeo’s’ actions and cannot stop his body from hurting Teru. He’s seeking punishment for this, asking Teru to be violent toward him and to use his powers to subdue and hurt him. Convincing others to hurt you as a form of punishment is a self-harm behavior.

Well, he’s actually trying to convince Teru to hurt ???%/“Shigeo”, with Mob himself as acceptable collateral (“You don’t have to think of ‘that’ as me…Yes! Use your psychic powers on me!”)

And then, a shot of Mob’s teary eyes wide with horror as he thinks, “Better yet, just hurry up and…”

I personally think he was about to try and encourage Teru to kill him.

The way he words it builds it up as a step beyond hurting him and using powers against him. He honestly looks a little out of his mind in that panel. This is quite literally Mob’s worst fears realized to the most intense possible degree. It’s a waking nightmare, and he’s spent every day since hurting Ritsu trying to avoid this. He’s overcome with such intense panic and self-hatred at hurting another person he loves. I’m pretty sure he’d rather die than be doing that.

This entire scene makes my stomach drop when I read it. Something about this whole arc is just so… grown. And real. It feels deathly serious in a way fighting with floating skyscrapers and defeating a supervillain organization doesn’t. This scared little boy wants to be seriously hurt because he feels like there’s no other option, and he feels like it’s deserved.

I’m not looking forward to Wednesday. :(

pretty much what i noticed in this picture:

first is this:(the most easiest for me to spot)

which is “sextuplet” spelled backwards

next is this:

which is “otiosum” 

which means unemployed in latin (google it so you’ll believe me)

and the last thing i noticed was this

i dont know how to fcking math but it either says “the matsu bros will live forever” or we will stay in this fckin fandom forever”……idk anymore bye

Mahiru: Dammit, my uncle's calling. Act natural.

Hyde: OMG MAHIRU-CHAN YOU'RE SO WILD GET DOWN FROM THAT TABLE

Licht: He's stripping.

Kuro: Ya.

Hyde: He's naked now!

Mahiru, walking away: Uncle... Uncle, please calm down.