he'd been hoping to get back to his apartment without a hitch, but he can tell that won't be the case. not tonight.
shouto wishes he could catch a break. his body is heavy, weighed down by stress and exhaustion and confusion. he hates the confusion the most.
he's sure that if he hadn't had the help he does from the very beginning, he'd have lost a long time ago.
"It's not up to me." (It's up to you.)
— cas \U0001f338 (@dekuthepastry) January 19, 2021
he'd been hoping to get back to his apartment without a hitch, but he can tell that won't be the case. not tonight.
he continues walking for a beat, stepping out of view of his agency. he reaches a fire escape stairwell against the side of another building and climbs to the top, quiet as he can.
shouto could use his ice to get up,
he settles on the edge of the building, legs relishing in the pull of gravity for but a moment.
"shadow," shouto says aloud then, unsurprised.
everything about him, however, is tense.
"maybe i should develop more stealth tactics," the man quips. shouto knows it's just an attempt to keep the air light.
"i like to think i know you by now. anything new?"
"ah, straight to the chase with you," shadow hums, shifting on his feet. shifting like he wants to bolt. he doesn't, instead dropping down into a crouch.
"so what," shouto scoffs, "you can't finish it off from the inside like you've been doing?"
shadow smiles at him, but nothing about it is kind. it's grim. "that's not up to me."
"i've done my part, shouto," shadow says, voice tight. his viridian eyes glint in a way that sends another message.
/it's up to you./
'like me.' a quirkless vigilante, uncatchable and morally gray to the unsuspecting eye. someone who was never given the light of day, not like shouto was from the very beginning of his life.
shadow deserves so much more than the life he's led.
"you're better than any hero i've met before, shadow."
the man blinks, taken aback. "...what?"
shouto turns his head to face shadow head on then. "that's better than all the heroes who've fueled the hpsc for decades."
shouto knows that shadow knows he means it.
when shadow finally looks away, he lets out a chuckle, a short, wet thing like he doesn't quite want to believe it.
"well," shouto sighs, curious how far back this man's heroic streak goes, when and why it started. "i think that's who you've always been.
shadow's lip quivers, a small movement that shouto would have missed if he hasn't been paying such close attention to the vigilante in front of him. shadow snags it with his teeth to stop its shaking.
the man smiles then, genuine and soft and kind,
More from For later read
Inside: Planet Money on HP's myriad ripoffs; Strength in numbers; and more!
Archived at: https://t.co/esjoT3u5Gr
#Pluralistic
1/

On Feb 22, I'm delivering a keynote address for the NISO Plus conference, "The day of the comet: what trustbusting means for digital manipulation."
https://t.co/Z84xicXhGg
2/

Planet Money on HP's myriad ripoffs: Ink-stained wretches of the world, unite!
https://t.co/k5ASdVUrC2
3/

Back in November, I published an article for @EFF about @HP's latest printer-ink ripoff: after offering its customers a free-ink-for-life plan, it unilaterally switched them all to a $1/month-for-life plan.https://t.co/bsc73xPSuo
— Cory Doctorow #BLM (@doctorow) February 18, 2021
1/ pic.twitter.com/tagduPupA5
Strength in numbers: The crisis in accounting.
https://t.co/DjfAfHWpNN
4/

Accountancy is more likely to be mocked than celebrated (or condemned), but accountants, far more than poets, are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.
— Cory Doctorow #BLM (@doctorow) February 18, 2021
1/ pic.twitter.com/FaNQc66gQN
#15yrsago Bad Samaritan family won’t return found expensive camera https://t.co/Rn9E5R1gtV
#10yrsago What does Libyan revolution mean for https://t.co/Jz28qHVhrV? https://t.co/dN1e4MxU4r
5/

@Daoyu15 @lab_leak @walkaboutrick @ydeigin @Ayjchan @franciscodeasis @TheSeeker268 @angie_rasmussen
28. Before moving on to DARPA, let's look at DTRA:
— Billy Bostickson \U0001f3f4\U0001f441&\U0001f441 \U0001f193 (@BillyBostickson) July 31, 2020
A must read!
It is astonishing the number of pies they had their dirty little fingers poking into:
Note John Epstein and Kevin Olival from EcoHealth Alliance are key figures in DTRA:https://t.co/O4QwVWrm7m pic.twitter.com/cnNGZ7AApj
@Daoyu15 @lab_leak @walkaboutrick @ydeigin @Ayjchan @franciscodeasis @TheSeeker268 @angie_rasmussen
24. DTRA Network for Collection of Viruses
— Billy Bostickson \U0001f3f4\U0001f441&\U0001f441 \U0001f193 (@BillyBostickson) January 9, 2021
7. DTRA - Metabiota - One Health - Ecohealth
Bat Research Networks and Viral Surveillance: Gaps and Opportunities in Western Asia pic.twitter.com/SOqSSXF3pa
@Daoyu15 @lab_leak @walkaboutrick @ydeigin @Ayjchan @franciscodeasis @TheSeeker268 @angie_rasmussen
That is the key question
— Billy Bostickson \U0001f3f4\U0001f441&\U0001f441 \U0001f193 (@BillyBostickson) January 5, 2021
1. DARPA/DTRA use NGOs like Ecohealth or Metabiota to collect new pathogens
2. They are sent to US labs (Mailman, Rocky Mountain, Atlanta CDC, UNC, USAMRIID) for GOF work by Lipkin, Nichols, Rasmussen, Baric, Dension, Munster, etchttps://t.co/wqhHK7uZO6
@Daoyu15 @lab_leak @walkaboutrick @ydeigin @Ayjchan @franciscodeasis @TheSeeker268 @angie_rasmussen
1. I wonder why Dr. Angela Rasmussen is so so upset & full of almost palpable venom about a Hypothesis and a "What if" question by @nicholsonbaker8 in the @NYMag https://t.co/a6lxtJLpKR
— Billy Bostickson \U0001f3f4\U0001f441&\U0001f441 \U0001f193 (@BillyBostickson) January 5, 2021
Did I hear someone say "DARPA"?
Did I hear someone say "DTRA"?https://t.co/i27mpxJDw2 pic.twitter.com/x4X3QPnTMS