Welcome to @pix-pulleiaceus, an 18+ indie, private, and selective multi oc rp blog. I also write threads with various canon muses, but will rarely post musings for them, due to personals always interacting with them. You can ask me for musings on discord. This blog may seem inactive at times, but the muses are, generally, alive- I just tend to prioritize activity on my main, so please, if you want to write, ask.
Here is my carrd, here is my interest checker.
Other blogs: @thekavseklabs (oc multimuse for a singular setting), @galransandextras (voltron multimuse), @sunshine-bastard (runescape multimuse). This blog has two archives, @niks-archive, and @niks-archive-2.
Reminder that even though I rarely if ever post here, and may go silent on this blog for months, the muse is still alive! As long as one of my blogs is active, I consider them all to be, so feel free to come and plot with me <3
the enormous man who stands across the street from my apartment with the long bony fingers and bloodshot eyes and too wide smile seems like he's just phoning it in this month. his smile was almost normal width last saturday honestly. i taped a single lexapro to the lamppost and left it for him and it was gone in the morning. i hope it helps. you never know what someone else is going through #kind
As she turned to look, several things happened at once. For a single instant, things seemed to be alright—as much as they could be with Eraserhead fighting a large group head on for a long period of time. He was exhausted, and one arm hung limply, the muscle exposed, as the grey haired man gloated, but he was still fighting. And then, in the blink of an eye, that changed.
The nomu, that terrifying thing with an exposed brain and dead eyes, shot forward, behind Aizawa. A breath, wherein he turned his head slightly to activate his quirk. And then it grabbed him by the head and arm, and—
Slam.
Aizawa's head met the earth.
Slam.
His goggles tore in half, one side pushed so hard into his face that it cut below his eye before slicing to the side and flying into the air from the force of pressure between concrete and skull.
Slam.
It seemed more like a bored toddler idly smacking a toy to the ground than anything.
Slam.
Blood splattered across concrete, and Aizawa's head was lifted up to force him to look upon the grey haired villain. Warden would try to move, of course she would, to save her colleague, her friend, and Vahan would stop her, an arm shooting forward and earth following it, to encase her torso and trap her arms against it with solid stone. And finally, he spoke, a trembling, soft, terrified voice.
"Don't."
Aizawa turned to attempt to erase the quirk of the nomu. A hint of force, and bones were crushed like twigs beneath a palm and he screamed.
Slam.
His head met concrete again, and this time, it caved beneath him.
The first slam scared her. The second slam froze her in place. The third slam, her body began moving by itself, animated with this unknown force all heroes had, where they were no longer in control of their actions, rather possessed by the spirit of heroism itself, forcing them to act to save another.
Then, on the fourth slam, as she tried to run towards Aizawa, she was encased. Furiously, she tried trashing around to free herself, to liberate her hands from this prison of stone. Just an inch, she begged internally; just an inch, let me get free, let me help him. Dear god, let me help him.
As she realized she could not get free, she turned to the other man, furious tears welling in the corners of her eyes, from the helplessness and fear for Aizawa's life.
❝ Let go of me !! It's━ that thing━ it's going to kill him !! ❞
She looked back to Aizawa, seeing his head pulled upright by the hair by this horrific, unknown creature, with the beak of a bird and exposed brain matter, forced to look upon the grey haired villain. A monster in his own right, if this was his doing, on par with whatever that thing was. It clearly was not a person, it didn't seem to have any thoughts beyond harm.
Oh, and how it hurt to watch, as well.
A scream of fear escaped her as the villain rushed to three students she hadn't seen nearby, watching the fight from the water rescue section of the USJ, a hand extended to grab Asui's face.
Oh my god. Oh my god, he's going to kill her.
❝ NO !!! ❞
But then, suddenly, he stopped. She could see him mutter something under his breath, turning his head slightly towards Shōta, to which she followed his eyes, hoping to see a miracle.
There he was, Eraserhead, his hair floating in a clear sign of his quirk being used. He cancelled the man's quirk, whatever it was. He saved his student. Of course he would ━ to his own peril, he would keep his students safe until his very last breath.
But before anyone could sigh in relief, the creature grabbed his head, and slammed it so hard into the concrete, it shattered beneath him, pieces of rubble falling down around the man's head in an acursed, terrible halo.
Warden truly thought, in this moment, that she had just witnesses Shōta Aizawa die.
A scream died in her throat. She couldn't let it out, even if she tried. The pure shock, the horror of it all, rendered her unable to vocalize. She ... she had just watched Shōta, the man she had been in love with for fourteen years━ almost half her life━ possibly die, in an act of gruesome, horrible violence. Her friend, her coworker, the students' teacher ... oh dear gods, they just saw it too, didn't they ?! They had, all of them present here, witnessed Aizawa's skull be crushed by that creature's palm, and pushed into the solid floor ━ heard the crack of bones and nauseating pop of his nose.
Again, she turned to the stranger, tears now streaming down her cheeks as she began almost pleading with him.
❝ Please, please you have to━ You have to let me help him !! You━ The kids━ please, please, I beg you━ Let me go to him, please !! ❞
Please, let me save him. I can't bear to watch him die like this.
For all the cold comfort it would be, Vahan was staring in just as much horror as she was, though his blood had dried for the most part as the walls had already settled. His tears were mostly stopped too, as he was too horrified to keep crying. Though, the woman's distress wasn't making it any easier.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I can't—you'll die, too, you have to know that, it's—it was created to kill All Might. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
He was shaking, but finally able to speak.
"The walls have hidden gaps leading to the exit area. They don't lead to here, I don't know how those children got through—a child escaped, help is coming."
It was all the comfort he could give her. Barely any, he knew.
"I can't let you go."
But maybe he could do something.
One of the children jumped forward, threw a punch, and the lights surrounding the facility shattered under the force of wind. Vahan remained upright, and the nomu took the punch. Raised its hand. Shigaraki lunged for the girl, blood pooled, and Vahan made one split-second decision.
A tiny shift in the earth beneath Shigaraki. A divot just big enough to trip on. Another, for the nomu, not tripping it, but moving it backwards subtly. Just enough to make them both miss, just small enough for it to be blamed upon the children dodging. The nomu hit the boy, but not as hard as it could, he was alright. Shigaraki missed the girl by a hair. And the doors flew open in a cloud of dust as the Symbol of Peace arrived.
Once again, height and weight served Vahan well— the breath was in fact knocked from him, but he remained upright, and he kept his concentration on the walls, if shaky. His hands shook, and he stared at her with a very apparent mix of fear and pain, focusing through his migraine. Blood slowly dripped from his nose as he tried to think of what he could possibly say.
He failed to think of anything. After all, there was no right answer. If he told anyone, his mother would be hurt, he knew this from experience. If he got himself arrested, he would either be brought right back with Kurogiri's portals, or worse, he and his mother would be disposed of.
His mouth opened slightly despite his lack of words, as if the movement would save him. Instead, the blood from his nose caused an unfortunately timed tickle, and he sneezed, which promptly led to tears of frustration welling in his eyes as he stood his ground, a dangerous force despite how helpless he felt (and quite possibly looked) in the moment.
She knew, by this point, protocol dictated she should apprehend him like the rest. She knew, from experience of other heroes, that he could be putting up a front, making himself look like a victim to get her to lower her guard, to take advantage and potentially dispose of her. She knew all this.
And yet ... seeing the blood and tears trickle down his face, and how miserable he looked, how his eyes met her in that moment ... could he really be a villain ? Even if he was, it felt ... like looking into an abyss of despair and torment, as if ...
No, he's definitively not doing this of his own volition.
By now, she guessed something was afoot. He was not fighting her back, but focusing on his task, as if doing anything but would land him in trouble with ... someone. The grey haired man ? Perhaps ...
Quickly, she turned around to where she had last seen him.
As she turned to look, several things happened at once. For a single instant, things seemed to be alright—as much as they could be with Eraserhead fighting a large group head on for a long period of time. He was exhausted, and one arm hung limply, the muscle exposed, as the grey haired man gloated, but he was still fighting. And then, in the blink of an eye, that changed.
The nomu, that terrifying thing with an exposed brain and dead eyes, shot forward, behind Aizawa. A breath, wherein he turned his head slightly to activate his quirk. And then it grabbed him by the head and arm, and—
Slam.
Aizawa's head met the earth.
Slam.
His goggles tore in half, one side pushed so hard into his face that it cut below his eye before slicing to the side and flying into the air from the force of pressure between concrete and skull.
Slam.
It seemed more like a bored toddler idly smacking a toy to the ground than anything.
Slam.
Blood splattered across concrete, and Aizawa's head was lifted up to force him to look upon the grey haired villain. Warden would try to move, of course she would, to save her colleague, her friend, and Vahan would stop her, an arm shooting forward and earth following it, to encase her torso and trap her arms against it with solid stone. And finally, he spoke, a trembling, soft, terrified voice.
"Don't."
Aizawa turned to attempt to erase the quirk of the nomu. A hint of force, and bones were crushed like twigs beneath a palm and he screamed.
Slam.
His head met concrete again, and this time, it caved beneath him.
The distraction was successful, and while most men would be knocked over by a solid tackle from a hero, Vahan, even weakened, was simply too large, instead only stumbling briefly. The rising walls froze in place, and one that had only been half formed fell over with a deafening boom. Thankfully, it had fallen in a place where she could see it, and no one was badly hurt by it. Vahan immediately pushed one arm upwards, trying to put just that wall back in place while also backing away from Warden in case of another attack. The grey haired villain glanced over, but upon seeing that Vahan was putting in his best efforts still even if impeded, he seemed satisfied and returned his attention to Eraserhead.
❝ Oh no you don't ! ❞ she exclaimed, going for another tackle, running up to the other at full charge. She trusted that Aizawa could handle himself with the grey-haired villain without her help, after all, he'd been doing this job longer than she had.
However, once a few feet away from Vahan, she decided to switch gears and, rather than tackle him, got on one feet and used her momentum to spin around once, the other foot raised to slam into his hips or waist as hard as she could, to either knock him off balance, or the wind out of his metaphorical sails. Which would be his literal lungs.
❝ This is your final warning ! Stand down, or I will have no choice but to apprehend you under the assumption that you are a villain like the rest of them. ❞
Once again, height and weight served Vahan well— the breath was in fact knocked from him, but he remained upright, and he kept his concentration on the walls, if shaky. His hands shook, and he stared at her with a very apparent mix of fear and pain, focusing through his migraine. Blood slowly dripped from his nose as he tried to think of what he could possibly say.
He failed to think of anything. After all, there was no right answer. If he told anyone, his mother would be hurt, he knew this from experience. If he got himself arrested, he would either be brought right back with Kurogiri's portals, or worse, he and his mother would be disposed of.
His mouth opened slightly despite his lack of words, as if the movement would save him. Instead, the blood from his nose caused an unfortunately timed tickle, and he sneezed, which promptly led to tears of frustration welling in his eyes as he stood his ground, a dangerous force despite how helpless he felt (and quite possibly looked) in the moment.
It had been a few weeks since this new student had joined class 1-A, and in a few weeks, no one had gotten more than a few words in a row from this kid. No one knew his hobbies, what was his ambitions, his favorite pro hero, nothing.
Maxime, on her end, didn't care much to participate in the hazing rituals or bothering of the new kid. She was busy not being very chatty herself, save for a few friends she'd chat with when the want would take her.
So it was a surprise when she caught Vahan Derian, half hidden behind a corner in the hallway, seemingly spying on a group of other students. Did ... did he have a ... crush ?
Curious to find out, she walked up to him with a lack of tact or carefulness, speaking up once in range;
❝ Who're you looking at ? Someone caught your eye ? ❞
Thankfully, he'd transferred in fairly early in the year, so there wasn't too much hazing to be done. He was a little behind, but some of it was artificial to make sure it was believable, and he didn't react to anything, whether positive or negative, sticking to his preferred seat in the very back corner of the classroom, by the window, and speaking to no one. He watched with large, anxious eyes, taking mental notes on everything he saw, and writing it down only when he was certain that no one was looking, in the same notebook he used for class notes, so nothing would be suspected.
He heard Maxime walking up behind him, as he watched the other students around a corner, his pointed ears even visibly twitched as she did, but somehow, he didn't expect her to actually interact. After all, she never had paid him any mind before, and there was a fairly large chance she'd simply walk past and keep going. So, despite being aware she was there, he jumped when spoken to, whirling around and pressing his back to the wall, clutching his notebook to his chest.
"N- h- whuh? What do you— what do you mean?"
He was, perhaps, a bit comically startled, but a large part of that was panic. He'd been watching a group of older students, watching how they interacted, trying to figure out their personalities. He wasn't even sure how much of what he was learning would be wanted... To him, he could see how anything would be useful, but sometimes others told him he was looking into things too deeply.
Unfortunately, just as she got to the base of the stairs, the students were abruptly dispersed by Kurogiri. If she looked back, she'd see that many of the villains had disappeared as well, presumably to wherever the children had vanished, and worse, concrete walls were rising fast, Vahan stood heaving for air, head thrown back as his hands lifted at the same rate as the walls. His nosebleed had worsened, and she likely couldn't see them from that far away, but his eyes were bloodshot. Clearly, the walls were his fault. If Warden wanted them to fall, she would have to handle him.
In better news, fighting her way here had likely resulted in weakening some of those villains. She'd done more of the same heavy damage on her way out that she had done on her way in. Aizawa was still fighting hard, and grim as it was, Thirteen had a smaller group to protect, and seemed to be forming a plan. And perhaps the luckiest of all: Warden could see Vahan's captor walking away from him, now that Vahan had done his job. Even though she'd been delayed, it seemed that it had worked out for the best, at least for now.
Cursing under her breath as she watched helplessly as the students were scattered all over USJ's territory by the villain, Warden tried to run up the stairs to meet with Thirteen, only to be stopped by a rising wall. Turning around to see where it came from, she saw all the other walls surging out of the ground, just like the pillar previously stopping her from reaching the supposed trafficking victim, trapping the students in, and the teachers away from them. Fuck, they were really advantaged there. And ... perhaps even ... prepared ? Did they have intel on the inside of UA facilities ??
Looking back to where she had come from, she luckily spotted the grey-haired supposed ringleader stepping away from the other man, and saw her chance to get him away long enough to get clarifications on what he was - villain, or victim. So, she charged, jumping back down the stairs, not unlike Eraserhead, and bouncing off her landing into a sprint towards the man struggling under the strain of his own quirk, aiming to tackle him at least hard enough to unfocus him from his task, and hopefully a little further away from the grey haired man.
The distraction was successful, and while most men would be knocked over by a solid tackle from a hero, Vahan, even weakened, was simply too large, instead only stumbling briefly. The rising walls froze in place, and one that had only been half formed fell over with a deafening boom. Thankfully, it had fallen in a place where she could see it, and no one was badly hurt by it. Vahan immediately pushed one arm upwards, trying to put just that wall back in place while also backing away from Warden in case of another attack. The grey haired villain glanced over, but upon seeing that Vahan was putting in his best efforts still even if impeded, he seemed satisfied and returned his attention to Eraserhead.
Just a small reminder that I have more muses than I list, and have muses I don't ever plan on listing because I'm afraid of their fandoms. Special sneakrets creatures.
The woman slowly laid back down, giving a small and weak "okay", and as far as Warden could see, she remained down. She wasn't going to stay there, but she also wasn't going to give Warden any more trouble if she could help it, certainly not while Eraserhead was in the picture.
Vahan had been watching her the entire time. Watching with terrified eyes, between surges of power. And then, with horror, he realized that Shigaraki was watching her, too. She was approaching, and Vahan had precious few seconds to do something about it.
With all of his adrenaline, only one reflex kicks in: fight. A pillar of earth shoots out underneath Warden's feet, aiming to send her flying backwards just as Shigaraki lets go of Vahan to prepare for combat. His aim is flawless, but her reaction time equally so; she manages to skid to a stop with only one foot on the pillar, sending her stumbling back but not flying. The interruption serves to stop anyone before they can attack each other, but Vahan doubted he could get away with it again, now that Warden is within shouting distance and has Shigaraki's clear attention.
Indeed, she tumbled backwards as her foot as abrutly shot into the air by the pillar, thankfully not anchered enough to take her with it, but enough to almost kick herself in the face with none of the grace of a ballerina. Taking a few steps back, she locked eyes with the grey-haired man across the pillar from her, and began thinking.
Once again, Warden had a critical decision to make. Press forward, and try to stop the assumed ringleader of this operation, or save the hostage. Or fall back, help Eraserhead, or try to locate the students to assist them. Last she checked, they should still be up those stairs ...
It was with a heavy heart she stepped away from the two of them. One step, followed by another, and another, never breaking eye contact, until she did, which quickly turned to her running back where she came from, hoping to reach Thirteen and the students in time to help evacuate them if possible.
Hold on, stranger ... she'll find a way to reach you.
Unfortunately, just as she got to the base of the stairs, the students were abruptly dispersed by Kurogiri. If she looked back, she'd see that many of the villains had disappeared as well, presumably to wherever the children had vanished, and worse, concrete walls were rising fast, Vahan stood heaving for air, head thrown back as his hands lifted at the same rate as the walls. His nosebleed had worsened, and she likely couldn't see them from that far away, but his eyes were bloodshot. Clearly, the walls were his fault. If Warden wanted them to fall, she would have to handle him.
In better news, fighting her way here had likely resulted in weakening some of those villains. She'd done more of the same heavy damage on her way out that she had done on her way in. Aizawa was still fighting hard, and grim as it was, Thirteen had a smaller group to protect, and seemed to be forming a plan. And perhaps the luckiest of all: Warden could see Vahan's captor walking away from him, now that Vahan had done his job. Even though she'd been delayed, it seemed that it had worked out for the best, at least for now.
The woman goes down easy, and the second she's up, she's down again, taking a second while she's on the ground to spit out a bit of chipped tooth. Seems she was a glass cannon, and without her quirk, she was not interested in trying to fist fight. She attempted to kick Warden off of her, and completely failed. One more good hit would probably knock her out, and though heroes weren't generally supposed to aim for unconsciousness (brain damage was a very real risk), there wasn't much else Warden could do to guarantee this woman didn't get up again and keep fighting the second she had her quirk back.
The first punch chips the woman's tooth, and a bit of it is spat out. The second punch keeps her down on the ground as she tried to get back up and shove Warden off of her. Her first rose a third time, the implied threat made heavier by the glare in the hero's face, less that of a scorned official and moreso the white hot rage of a maternal drive kicked in by a predatory animal.
While not the most heroic of actions by popular standard, Warden was not above a bit of a threat to keep villains in check in situations of emergency where lives were at stake. And lives were, very much so, at stake there.
❝ Get up again, and you'll find out what a broken nose sounds like. ❞
If the threat was taken seriously then, she'd finally get up and resume her sprint towards the mysterious man and his captor.
The woman slowly laid back down, giving a small and weak "okay", and as far as Warden could see, she remained down. She wasn't going to stay there, but she also wasn't going to give Warden any more trouble if she could help it, certainly not while Eraserhead was in the picture.
Vahan had been watching her the entire time. Watching with terrified eyes, between surges of power. And then, with horror, he realized that Shigaraki was watching her, too. She was approaching, and Vahan had precious few seconds to do something about it.
With all of his adrenaline, only one reflex kicks in: fight. A pillar of earth shoots out underneath Warden's feet, aiming to send her flying backwards just as Shigaraki lets go of Vahan to prepare for combat. His aim is flawless, but her reaction time equally so; she manages to skid to a stop with only one foot on the pillar, sending her stumbling back but not flying. The interruption serves to stop anyone before they can attack each other, but Vahan doubted he could get away with it again, now that Warden is within shouting distance and has Shigaraki's clear attention.
The possibility captive man shook, and Warden would see the grey-haired villain grab his arm, one pinky raised, but oh-so-close as the man flinched and ducked his head, saying something with his eyes squeezed shut as if in preparation for pain. And then Warden's path was blocked, and she had more immediate problems to deal with.
A woman emerged from the fray, jumping towards Warden with clear intent to attack. At the last moment, her quirk was erased, but she still was on path to hit Warden hard.
Behind it all, Vahan was breathing fast, and every time that he could manage even an instant of power, he used it immediately, nothing remaining the same for long. He was clearly warping more than just the main area everyone was in— all the way to the edge of the USJ, things were shifting, large structures rising and sinking, even as his nose began to bleed.
"Please, let me go," he barely managed to speak, every nerve in his body alight with awareness of Shigaraki's hovering finger. Just a singular tap and he would have yet another scar, small but more than enough when he knew that he wasn't the only one who would suffer the same. "I'm doing all that I can, one of them is interfering with my quirk, please."
Shigaraki said nothing, and did not release him, but he did turn his head away. So long as Vahan kept trying, he was as safe as he could get for the moment.
In a rapid succession of actions, Warden, at first, braced for impact from the villainous woman's attack, before noticing her quirk had been erased, of course from Aizawa. Without giving the woman a second to catch up with that knowledge, Warden quickly got on one foot, spinning around quickly and without enough force to slam her foot into the other's ribs, aiming to throw her to the ground with it, or at least far enough away for a comfortable ' thinking distance '.
Before she could get back on her feet, Warden charged at the other, one fist raised and ready to make contact with the woman's face.
❝ YOU PEOPLE THINK YOU CAN HARM KIDS ON MY WATCH ? THINK AGAIN, CONNASSE. ❞
The woman goes down easy, and the second she's up, she's down again, taking a second while she's on the ground to spit out a bit of chipped tooth. Seems she was a glass cannon, and without her quirk, she was not interested in trying to fist fight. She attempted to kick Warden off of her, and completely failed. One more good hit would probably knock her out, and though heroes weren't generally supposed to aim for unconsciousness (brain damage was a very real risk), there wasn't much else Warden could do to guarantee this woman didn't get up again and keep fighting the second she had her quirk back.
With both inspirational speeches finished, Aizawa stepped forward, pointing to the main area.
"So first, we will—"
The lights began to shut off, one by one in rapid succession. That wasn't right. Aizawa's gut told him that this was no error or shortage, and he whirled around just to see a distortion in the air before the shuttering fountain. Then darkness, then a hand. Then a man.
"Stay in one group!" His previously bored, flat voice turned urgent, "Thirteen, protect the students—Warden, with me."
Villains began emerging from the portals, one after another. Just behind the first came a giant, cloaked, with haunted eyes and strange materials embedded in his skin. The same man Warden had encountered that day. He looked even more terrified than before.
As the lights began shutting off, Warden immediately took a defensive posture, worried that it was no normal power shortage. And just as she thought, it wasn't. As Aizawa turned around, prompting her to do the same, she too witnessed the entrance of a group of villains via some strange dark distortion in the air. There were many of them, and she was growing increasingly worried. Then she saw him.
That man.
Before Aizawa could jump off the stairs, she rushed next to him, grabbing onto his shoulder to hold him back long enough to hurriedly share that fact with him:
" Eraser- cloaked man, next to short grey hair. Suspected trafficking victim. Be vigilant. "
No civilian names on the job. Short, concise, sparing in her words. They had no time for flourishes.
The villains spoke, and it became immediately clear that they were the cause of the panic before, when the school was broken into by the press. That they were here for All Might. That they were willing to kill at least one if not more of the children to get that. A massive, hulking (though still, somehow, shorter than Vahan) entity with a birdlike head and exposed brain entered, and the grey haired man held up a hand, stopping it as he spoke. But where each of the villains were surveying their surroundings, preparing for the fight to come, Vahan stared forward. Empty.
Almost immediately after the description was given, he was pushed on the shoulder, a reminder of something. He pulled down his hood and took a stance, eyes squeezed closed, and it was clear he was about to do something. He must have a powerful quirk, if he was taken captive for it, especially if he was pushed to act first.
Whatever he was preparing for, Eraserhead thankfully stopped it. And stopped it again, as he jumped down the steps. Most of the villains couldn't do much, but there were a few to look out for, and between them all, one was bound to slip through.
First, Kurogiri. The black mist vanished and reappeared before the evacuating students, trapping them in. And in the shock of that, as Aizawa tried to get him back in his sights, Vahan.
The terrain twisted beneath the heroes, spiking up, walls and pillars appearing as the man gave a clear cry of pain from whatever drawback his quirk had. Particles of various materials flew towards him, and melded to his body, making him even larger, as well as visibly monstrous, claws, horns, and a spiked tail of stone, earth forming off of his body. He stumbled back, clutching his head, and there came another wave of distortion, further blocking the exit and making the familiar area the heroes should have had advantage in more difficult and therefore more neutral. Blocking lines of sight for Eraserhead, too. There, he collapsed to his knees, catching his breath and fighting through a horrendous migraine as Eraserhead erased his quirk once more, moments too late.
"Yep. You should have time to introduce yourself to them individually today during one-on-one instruction. It's an opportunity for me too." After all, this was only a little while into the school year; he had developed a sense of each student's personality, but had minimal direct conversation with each.
Aizawa scratched at his stubble, his other arm crossed over his chest. All Might not being here was irritating, but Warden taking the time off to attend this lesson should make up for it, and it was perhaps better suited to her anyhow. He waited for Thirteen to begin their speech, telling the students about their ability and how it was known for being an incredible rescue quirk, but could easily kill. Once they started, he carefully indicated three students—one with curly green hair, one with spiky, puffy blond, and one with purple orbs for hair—while making sure they didn't see it, too taken with the speech.
"Keep an eye on those three. The first has a quirk he hasn't learned to control, and it breaks his bones. The second has an explosion quirk and is incredibly violent and angry. The third... I don't know anything for sure, but he's prone to inappropriate comments towards the girls at least. I'm waiting to see if he'll go any further, but even if he doesn't, he'll need discipline at best." Expulsion at worst, but that didn't need stating. They both knew that Aizawa would not tolerate it.
After a moment, Thirteen was done, and it was Warden's turn to step forward and give her own explanation of her quirk, while Aizawa stepped back to lean against the wall. Their abilities were very similar, in many ways—they both held incredible destructive or even pain inducing ability, rotting or dusting things away, but Thirteen had a reputation for a cute and bubbly personality and being a rescue hero, so most forgot what she was capable of on a physical level what with her not engaging in combat. Warden was the opposite. One look at her costume and most would be unsettled. The quirk itself, even moreso. A 'villain quirk'. Her purpose in being there was to show these children that her destructive capacity did not negate her ability to save lives, and even supported it, as each of these children could surely find a way to do so themselves regardless of whether their quirks were supportive or destructive.
She stayed besides Aizawa as Thirteen began their speech, listening as he pointed out three potential problem students for her to keep an eye out for. It was something they were used to doing, outside of class context, during the few times they worked together on patrols or missions, pointing out potential points of interest to each other as subtly as possible. It was good for heroes to be able to communicate important intel without being spotted by others.
As he mentioned each student's potential drawbacks, she nodded, taking mental notes of each. The least troublesome to her for now was the kid with minimal control over his own quirk - a late bloomer, it seemed. Sure, he could cause a lot of problem for himself and others, but it wasn't a behavioral issue, as far as she could tell, and thus, more easy to approach. That's why the other two concerned her more ― a teen with anger and violence issues, in a hero course, was in fact worrissome to her. But she'd have to learn more about him, to decide if it needed to be brought up to the principal, especially with an explosion quirk. As for the third ... not ideal, but not unexpected from a teenage boy, unfortunately. She'd have to talk to him directly. All three of them, actually. She needed a deeper understanding of their issues, if she wanted to make actual progress in the short times they'd see each other throught the year.
Indeed, as Aizawa thought to himself, Warden's presence for this lesson was a sort of mirror to Thirteen's ― her costume, featuring a skeletal ribcage and more bone motifs, as well as her quirk, Decay, could make her appear to others, especially impressionable youth, as a villainous figure. That was exactly why she was here today: to show them that this was not so, and that quick judgements like these could be detrimental to their work as heroes ― if one was judging potential teammates based solely on these, and not character and actions, it could lead to catastrophic team failures, especially during rescue missions.
" Greetings, everyone. While a few of you might've known our dear Thirteen already, I suspect not many of you would have heard of me, as I don't tend to advertise myself much. I am Warden, the Decay hero, and I specialize in offensive missions, though, as many heroes do, I am often called as well to help out in rescue missions. "
" My quirk, Decay, is not dissimilar to Thirteen's, Black Hole, in that it can be used to harm, or even kill, others. Decay allows me to accelerate the rate at which things grow and decompose, as soon as I touch them. I can make a tree grow from a seed to a full sequoia in seconds, or turn concrete to dust. The difference to most growth quirks, however, and what would make many people see my quirk as vilalinous, is that the growth I promote does not stop at maturity - if I am not concentrating to slow down the process, things I touch with Decay, well, rapidly rot away and decay in place. "
She paused for a moment for students to digest what she was telling them, then continued.
" However, Decay, like many other quirks, is not limited in it's usage, and it's the usage that determines if a quirk is villainous, or heroic. While you could easily assume that my quirk's only use is to destroy things, or kill people, over the years of training ― some of these years being spent at UA, in fact ― I have learned to use Decay in a myriad of ways to help others, such as growing a tree to maturity to hold up a crumbling building long enough for people to evacuate. "
A few students began murmuring amongst themselves after that claim, and she stopped speaking for a moment, smiling to herself. She hoped that this lesson, and speech, would show them that a 'villainous' quirk was nonsense - it was the wielder that made the quirk, not the quirk itself.
" Quirks don't have personalities ― it is how you use them that determine if they are 'good' or 'bad'. Think to yourselves, if our dear All Might was using his quirk to hurt people and destroy buildings, would we say his abilities are heroic still, or villainous ? "
Dramatic pause ... and, continue.
" Today, you will learn how to use your abilities to help others who need you, and how to work with others to provide that help. Try to think outside of the box for this exercise - do not limit yourselves and the use of your quirk to what it's basic description is, but to how you can exploit every single use of it to it's full potential. Learn to be versatile, and you will discover just how useful and helpful you can truly be. "
Then, as Thirteen had done, she bowed, grinning to herself.
With both inspirational speeches finished, Aizawa stepped forward, pointing to the main area.
"So first, we will—"
The lights began to shut off, one by one in rapid succession. That wasn't right. Aizawa's gut told him that this was no error or shortage, and he whirled around just to see a distortion in the air before the shuttering fountain. Then darkness, then a hand. Then a man.
"Stay in one group!" His previously bored, flat voice turned urgent, "Thirteen, protect the students—Warden, with me."
Villains began emerging from the portals, one after another. Just behind the first came a giant, cloaked, with haunted eyes and strange materials embedded in his skin. The same man Warden had encountered that day. He looked even more terrified than before.
