1. Delaware Smash [anonymous text]

[onederfulhero]

[Toshinori's had this post percolating in his head for a while, but he's been hesitant to talk about it, not in the least because he's sure Midoriya, Momoyao and Present Mic would know right away that it was him and would (rightfully) be upset he didn't talk to them first. Heck, anyone he's told his story to might be able to piece it together.

But he has to know, and wants to hear the perspectives of people for whom he isn't All Might. So here he goes.]

I know there are some people here who come from worlds where superheroes are common, so you may know best how to answer this, but then again anybody from any world might have some insight.

Say that, back in your world, you were a great hero. Your life was dedicated to saving people, you loved to do it, and it was all you could ever see yourself doing.

Except something happens, your body just isn't strong enough to support your heroism any longer, and then you have to retire.

What do you do? How do you spend your time when you didn't plan on giving up the proverbial cape so soon? How do you still feel useful?

Comments

[tadeadshi]

[Well this sounds specific.]

If it were me, I'd do what I can to support those who can still go out as a hero.

[onederfulhero]

I guess that's the part I'm stuck on

This world isn't terribly different from my own, but it's different enough to where I don't know where to start, aside from supporting the people from my world, and that's fine to a point but I feel like I could be doing more. Should be doing more.

>> private

[recommendations]

[ Oh. This is... Dreadfully obvious. Momo isn't sure whether she should say something. Surely All Might will know right away that she knows it's him?

But she can't just ignore it. Not when he's so earnestly reaching out for advice.

She decides to make her message private, to help preserve whatever anonymity he can muster. ]

For what it's worth, I believe teaching a new generation of heroes is a noble endeavor.

[onederfulhero]

I should have guessed you'd figure out it was me right away.

I agree. That's what I knew I was going to live for back home. But I don't have U.A. here, so I felt like it wouldn't hurt to explore more options, too.

Text

[vociferates]

🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

[onederfulhero]

🤐🤐🤐

[spaceforged]

...Those are good questions.

[Ones...that deserve some serious thought. He doesn't want to just toss out ideas when this is something that matters.]

How did you plan to handle it before? Maybe that's the place to start. Or at least, it's an idea to spring from.

[onederfulhero]

In my world, there were schools for heroes. I was a teacher at one, and planned on dedicating my life to training the next generation.

I can still help here in that regard somewhat, but there aren't any formal hero schools, either.

text

[photografist]

[ This hits far closer to home than she wants it to. ]

I think putting all your value into being a "superhero" is the first misstep.

[onederfulhero]

I'm starting to wonder if that might be true. But my world is different from this one. Almost everyone has some sort of power, and where heroes rise up, so do villains.

I wanted to give civilians hope. Someone who would make them feel like there'd always be someone there to save them.

Voice | Private

[heroondecku]

[Kacchan's right, All Might. You're really bad at being subtle. At least this way he knows to respond on a private channel, since he knows exactly what this is about and there's no such thing as being too cautious when One For All is involved.

Because of course he's not going to just ignore this. It's Izuku. Helpful meddling is his Thing.]

...you know, someone really smart once reminded me that there's a lot of options for helping people besides being a hero.

[Then again, Izuku is also bad at being subtle.]

I'd be happy to help you find something, if you want?

voice

[onederfulhero]

Not even sure why I bothered to make this private.

[But he's not angry, he sounds... almost amused. But mostly just Tired.]

I guess it's no use telling you I feel like this isn't your problem to solve, huh? I told Momoyao the same thing and she still wants to help.

text

[germhating_hypochondriac]

You find other ways to help people out.

[onederfulhero]

Couldn't hurt to do better to get to know more people, come to think of it. Find out what they need and how I can contribute.

It's the idea of starting from scratch that's holding me back. But it doesn't mean I can't be useful in other ways than being a hero.

text;

[loyal_soldier]

There's no equivalent where I come from, but most in my situation would get pulled back to train the next batch. Making sure they live up to the ideals you fought for is better than being fully retired.

text;

[onederfulhero]

I seem to have lost perspective of the need for that- but it's true that I need to work harder for that. My students don't have time for me to wallow and second guess mysekf.

Hell, the world won't wait for me to do that, either. Villains aren't going to stop existing.

text; un: the metropolis kid

[callmesuperboy]

Train others, also, go and get backers, and support for them. Make sure they are given the backup, training, and financial support that is needed in the job. Not just the ones who are popular or rich, but all of them.

And maybe pass on your knowledge and skills. Responsibility doesn't end with power, it comes from knowledge and influence as well.

[onederfulhero]

Got the second part taken care of, at least. I have successors, people from my world I was training.

I think it'll take just getting out there more and knowing more people. I've been so focused on myself, I've forgotten that half the job was culivating a good public image. I can at least pass that knowledge on.

[goldtoxicity]

i cant speak to the body part but when my heart couldnt handle things anymore
i became a doctor

[onederfulhero]

I was becoming a teacher, back home. Finding a job that allows me to help other people without straining myself has been what I've been having trouble doing. Mostly because being a hero was such a big part of me, I never pondered the idea of doing something else.

But there'll be something out there for me.

[everduring]

When I was forced into early retirement, I continued to work as a research consultant for the local police department. I found it less satisfying than working in the field, of course, but the perspective of a former superhero can be incredibly valuable to law enforcement officers who aren't experienced in dealing with metahumans.

[onederfulhero]

I hadn't even thought about law enforcement, but I'll definitely look into that. One of my closest friends back home was a police detective, and he worked together with professional heroes all the time.

I want to pass my expertise on to others any way I can. That way my successors can do better.

text - private

[runningstart]

[This reply is canonically several days late.]

Still need answers for this?

[onederfulhero]

[Toshinori wonders if he should bother replying at this point, but hey, it can't hurt, right?]

Anything can help.

[perfectlyhuman]

Maybe you could train others on how to be superheroes. Lots of people like to help others, and they'd like to learn from someone who's done that before.

[ Or at least that's what happens in some comics he reads. Usually there's some time where the new heroes need help from the older one and they still manage to save them, though sometimes the older one dies and fuels the younger one's need for revenge. Something like that. ]

[onederfulhero]

I was going to do that back home, but here I'd need to establish myself as someone trustworthy first, I think. Which is understandable- I guess I'll just have to settle into the mindset of needing to do the work.

text

[h2no]

i feel this but more on the flipside
i was a
well it feels egotistical to say supervillain but i did almost end the world, so
i felt this when i realised i couldn't look after my team anymore, and that i'd misled them

you have to redirect your efforts
it's not all about big fights
sometimes it's just about being nice to someone who had a shitty day

[onederfulhero]

I've had to do a lot of self-reflection myself. It hurts like hell to have to examine your own behavior and think of all the ways you might have seriously screwed up.

That seems like it should be such an easy thing to do, and yet. I was given a job as a motivational speaker here, and sometimes it feels like people are listening but not really.