Lunar!Bakugou. It's an obvious choice, but then so was Solar!Deku. Remember, the rule is only that the Solar-Lunar pair shares an Intimacy. It doesn't have to be a romantic or even positive one.
Man, this story deserves way more attention than it gets. I guess it isn't the most original of premises, but the quality of writing offsets that by far, at least in my opinion.
Especially when it's actually using its premise to approach an interesting character study type narrative. As opposed to being a stations of canon following, op character doesn't ever change things despite invaliding every conflict, harem exists for no reason piece of crap.
Man, this story deserves way more attention than it gets. I guess it isn't the most original of premises, but the quality of writing offsets that by far, at least in my opinion.
Especially when it's actually using its premise to approach an interesting character study type narrative. As opposed to being a stations of canon following, op character doesn't ever change things despite invaliding every conflict, harem exists for no reason piece of crap.
Lunar!Bakugou. It's an obvious choice, but then so was Solar!Deku. Remember, the rule is only that the Solar-Lunar pair shares an Intimacy. It doesn't have to be a romantic or even positive one.
I want to make an argument that introduction of past life memories and solar perspective is likely to mean that the intimacy shared is a positive one.
Firstly, in canon, despite his portrayal, it is quite clear that Izuku and Bakugou are meant to be friendly / positive rivals, rather than antagonists. Yes, I know that (at least western) audience does not seem to like Bakugou a lot, and I think this is due to his porrayal as a raving lunatic being badly handled in the manga medium. The intent, as I understand it (Bakugou is super-brash arrogant, strong-headed guy, who is still a hero / wants to be a positive force; with his quirk and society's treatment of said quirk making the problem worse) does not mesh with actual portrayal at least from the start of manga (he is a raving lunatic psychopath that would / should have been institutionalized).
If we take the intent over the portrayal at least a bit... Bakugou's brashness, and attitude towards people are well within solar god-king's acceptable behavior range. Izuku's past life memories + Izuku's point of view (which considers Bakugou a peer) meshing together would result in a lot of Bakugou's behavior being reinterpreted and brushed under the rug.
Basically, Izuku the Solar is likely to have a much "better" (for a certain value of better) relationship with Bakugou, even if Bakugou's behavior remains completely the same as in (early) canon, including his actions and behavior towards Izuku, than canon Izuku, because past life memories blending in would change Izuku's perspective and reactions towards behaviors of his peers.
Hey, don't let it get to your head too much mister (or madam). I've seen many a strong start utterly collapse over the course of later chapters.
Still, I'm liking what I see so far and what I was comparing you to before are not the hardest hurdles to leap in terms of beating out the quality of other stories. Even if you one day fall from grace, I'm sure it won't be to as bad an effect as some of the stuff I've seen browsing ao3.
So... I can't help but imagine that Himiko Toga is his Lunar Pair. It's extreme nightmare fuel, but it makes too much sense to ignore. Obsessive and semi-fated interactions with each other, her own prowess as a shapeshifter of sorts who consumes the blood of victims...
In other news, someone got a visit from Aizawa I'm betting. That open window is just his style, and he's supposed to be the sneaky one. Definitely looking into Izuku's possible connections with All for One by rooting around for evidence.
I want to make an argument that introduction of past life memories and solar perspective is likely to mean that the intimacy shared is a positive one.
Firstly, in canon, despite his portrayal, it is quite clear that Izuku and Bakugou are meant to be friendly / positive rivals, rather than antagonists. Yes, I know that (at least western) audience does not seem to like Bakugou a lot, and I think this is due to his porrayal as a raving lunatic being badly handled in the manga medium. The intent, as I understand it (Bakugou is super-brash arrogant, strong-headed guy, who is still a hero / wants to be a positive force; with his quirk and society's treatment of said quirk making the problem worse) does not mesh with actual portrayal at least from the start of manga (he is a raving lunatic psychopath that would / should have been institutionalized).
If we take the intent over the portrayal at least a bit... Bakugou's brashness, and attitude towards people are well within solar god-king's acceptable behavior range. Izuku's past life memories + Izuku's point of view (which considers Bakugou a peer) meshing together would result in a lot of Bakugou's behavior being reinterpreted and brushed under the rug.
Basically, Izuku the Solar is likely to have a much "better" (for a certain value of better) relationship with Bakugou, even if Bakugou's behavior remains completely the same as in (early) canon, including his actions and behavior towards Izuku, than canon Izuku, because past life memories blending in would change Izuku's perspective and reactions towards behaviors of his peers.
Don't get me wrong: I do like Bakugou as a character, from this side of the fourth wall, and understood before it was spelled out that his turning villain was never going to happen. I just wouldn't want to interact with him in person and see early-canon Izuku's perspective of him as unhealthily forgiving.
Don't get me wrong: I do like Bakugou as a character, from this side of the fourth wall, and understood before it was spelled out that his turning villain was never going to happen. I just wouldn't want to interact with him in person and see early-canon Izuku's perspective of him as unhealthily forgiving.
I completely agree. From a normal modern-day sane perspective, relationship between Bakugou and Izuku is, at best, unhealthy, with Izuku acting very much the part of a battered wife. My point is that from in-story perspective, adding exaltation with past life memories is more likely to make Izuku more ok with how Katsuki treats him.
She's certainly very Lunar-coded. That said, remember that Exaltation doesn't really care about prior abilities. Earning a Lunar exaltation requires self-transformation, letting go of chains and definitions that hold you back, just like Solar exaltation requires testing yourself against an impossible task shonen-style.
She's certainly very Lunar-coded. That said, remember that Exaltation doesn't really care about prior abilities. Earning a Lunar exaltation requires self-transformation, letting go of chains and definitions that hold you back, just like Solar exaltation requires testing yourself against an impossible task shonen-style.
I'm guessing this is 3E thing? Because I thought lunars were about surviving impossible odds. If it's self-transformation, and letting go of your chains... You know, even if it's survival of impossible odds - All Might right after the battle with All for One and passing down his torch, where he both survives the impossible battle and lets go of being the symbol of peace... That's a perfect moment for him to exalt as a lunar.
Otherwise, Shouto during the festival works. Or, you know, MIneta at several points, where he either survives, or overcomes his base aspects
I'm guessing this is 3E thing? Because I thought lunars were about surviving impossible odds. If it's self-transformation, and letting go of your chains... You know, even if it's survival of impossible odds - All Might right after the battle with All for One and passing down his torch, where he both survives the impossible battle and lets go of being the symbol of peace... That's a perfect moment for him to exalt as a lunar.
Otherwise, Shouto during the festival works. Or, you know, MIneta at several points, where he either survives, or overcomes his base aspects
Well, it's not like it's been clearly laid out precisely what qualifies a person for Exaltation, and doing that would honestly be a disservice. Both the 'survival' and the 'transformation' thing fit Lunars, so *shrugs*
When I said 'letting go of chains', I mean things like breaking your sacred oath to take revenge, leaving an abusive relationship behind, defying family feuds for love and that kind of thing. In All Might's case, to qualify I think he'd have to leave behind the ideals of heroism or disown his legacy, instead of just taking his place in the chain of One for All wielders. It's defiance, not just changing. It must be a choice, not just something that happens to you - that's what Sidereals and to a lesser extent Abyssals and Infernals deal with. And... Well, Todoroki at the festival is definitely a strong step in the right direction; I'm just not sure it's... life-defining enough to fit for Exaltation.
Well, it's not like it's been clearly laid out precisely what qualifies a person for Exaltation, and doing that would honestly be a disservice. Both the 'survival' and the 'transformation' thing fit Lunars, so *shrugs*
When I said 'letting go of chains', I mean things like breaking your sacred oath to take revenge, leaving an abusive relationship behind, defying family feuds for love and that kind of thing. In All Might's case, to qualify I think he'd have to leave behind the ideals of heroism or disown his legacy, instead of just taking his place in the chain of One for All wielders. It's defiance, not just changing. It must be a choice, not just something that happens to you - that's what Sidereals and to a lesser extent Abyssals and Infernals deal with. And... Well, Todoroki at the festival is definitely a strong step in the right direction; I'm just not sure it's... life-defining enough to fit for Exaltation.
OfA's lunar exaltation is not just stepping out. It is shifting from a hero - a solitary existence that is a symbol to a teacher of a new generation, where he isn't defined by personal accomplishment, but by the new generation of society he helps to foster.
Honestly, though, survival + self-transformation is pretty much Mineta's journey through the series as a whole.
She's certainly very Lunar-coded. That said, remember that Exaltation doesn't really care about prior abilities. Earning a Lunar exaltation requires self-transformation, letting go of chains and definitions that hold you back, just like Solar exaltation requires testing yourself against an impossible task shonen-style.
Heh. Not inaccurate. But in all honesty it started with someone saying to me that Izuku is a literal way of sunshine while I was in an Exalted mood. From there, it just snowballed.
Monday dawns grey and cool, with the faint scent of coming rain on the air. Fog hangs low over the apartment blocks and curls around the upper reaches of the city centre's distant skyscrapers as Izuku sets off for school. As always, the sun pulls him like a magnet, even through the blanketing clouds. As he climbs onto the bus, he wonders whether the Sun has Essence too. Is that what calls to him from so far away, like its light warms his face? He doesn't know, but he notes it down to think about later.
The bus runs through a few blocks before it reaches the stop outside Aldera Junior High and begins to fill. Izuku counts the stops and makes sure he's out of the way when it draws to a halt at Kacchan's stop - he doesn't want to get in his friend's way. The blond-haired boy doesn't seem to notice him, turning aside to talk to one of his other friends, who hangs onto a handle with fingers as long as his arms. Izuku buries himself in his book, A Long History of a Short Period: the Quirk Revolution. It's a good one; a little light on specific details but excellent in terms of explaining the larger trends and the cat's cradle of different movements and reactions to the emergence of Quirks.
It's a little strange, imagining a world where everyone has two eyes on the front of their face, only a handful of colours in skin or hair, and no pro heroes. According to the book, Japan in particular was quite homogenous. It sounds like a very dull world to live in.
The final stop comes soon enough. Izuku glances at the page number as he puts the book away, then climbs off the bus, trailing a little behind the crowd. There's a familiar sweet spot, far enough back from the lead of the pack that he's not in the midst, but not far enough back that he becomes a target - more than usual, at least. He falls into it habitually, blending into the forest of dark uniforms and the rising rhythms of the school day.
When he comes to the door, through, he sees something new; something he's never seen before: Kacchan is waiting just inside, glowering at everything and nothing as he leans against the end of one of the blocks of lockers. Izuku shrinks back a little into the throng of morning students, but his friend's eyes pick him out. Kacchan is a rock parting the sea, scattering students to either side, his hand an impossible weight. The green-haired boy's breath seizes in his throat as it falls on his shoulder. He can smell a wisp of smoke.
"Meet me by the gates after school, Deku."
And then Kacchan's gone, a monolith vanishing into the far distance. Izuku breathes, deeply in and then out again. Whispers breathe around him, students turning aside to talk to one another. He wishes he could sink into the ground; starting a day off like this is a surefire sign that it's going to be one of the worse ones. He's on people's minds now, and though things have gotten better since his Quirk manifested he's not exactly the most popular in school. He resigns himself to keeping his notebooks in the bottom of his bag for the day.
Sure enough, as the day wears on and he feels the hot-heavy pressure of Kacchan's eyes on his back, he's disturbed. A knot of students corners him by the lockers and mocks him for his late Quirk - their taunts hurt a little, but the noon-warm pulse of Essence within reassures - and a second group, girls, come over to his desk at the end of a period and ask him for help on their homework. He politely, but firmly, refuses. He's accepted that kind of request before, and it's only ended in him doing all the work himself, or worse.
Finally, school wears to a close. He's done the day's homework in his breaks, barring the worksheet given out in the last lesson of the day. He's prepared for however long Kacchan wants to keep him for.
Sure enough, when he reaches Aldera's gates, the ash-blond is waiting. He's leaning against one of the pillars, face drawn tight and hard over the bone. Izuku can hear the rippling whispers of the other students as they pass; Bakugou's waiting for Midoriya there. What do you think it's about?I heard they used to be friends, you know. That last one stings a little. Used to? Kacchan wouldn't have called him over here if they weren't anymore.
Emerging from the throng of homegoing students, Izuku waves. Kacchan's eyes narrow and he kicks off of the pillar. "Come on, nerd." Without another word, he sets off down the sidewalk. The green-haired boy jogs briefly to catch up.
"So… What do you want to talk about, Kacchan?"
"Shuddup, nerd," Katsuki growled. "Not in front of the fuckin' extras."
Izuku closes his mouth, trotting along beside the taller boy. He's a bundle of energy, tightly-wound as a spring. It doesn't take any trace of Essence to see the emotion Kacchan's keeping bottled up inside.
No, emotions, he realizes. No single feeling could suffuse Katsuki's steps like that, no one passion set the tiny glimmer of aborted spark-chains dancing across his palm, smothered by a diamond will before they could fully bloom.
He's twisted up inside, Izuku thinks, the glimpse into his childhood friend's heart unsettling him. What could have put him so off balance? Kacchan was always saying that he was Quirkless, weak, that he should leave being a hero to the ones with the talent for it. Shouldn't he be happy that his friend had gained that talent - that they could stride forwards like that together, now? Kacchan had always been one to burn - but he burned brief, like his explosions, raging and then subsiding again. He didn't bottle things up, he said them. So why?
They turn a corner. Izuku recognizes this street; it runs back towards their houses, past a little park they used to play in when they were younger. He remembers the stream, the whispering trees, the dens of sticks they put together and that they had both delighted in blowing up, in that brief time between his friend receiving his Quirk and him being told that no such thing would ever happen to him.
Sure enough, Kacchan comes to the gate and opens it, letting it swing behind him as he stalks through. Izuku catches it before it closes and follows. The park isn't how the green-haired boy remembers it, shining in the summer sun and with every leaf sparkling with laughter. It's mid-afternoon, the sky's grey and brooding. The trees lean in close, muttering wordlessly to one another as the wind trails long fingers through their branches.
Finally, they come to a stop. It's in a little clearing, a deliberately-placed tree trunk forming a bench with its flattened top. Kacchan deliberately walks up to it, swings his bag off his shoulder and sets it down against the bench. The green-haired boy can see how his hand shakes minutely in the moment between releasing its grip on the heavy bag and clenching into a fist. Kacchan turns, and somehow Izuku can't quite see his friend behind them.
The blond seems about to say something, but then swallows and visibly strangles the words. His fists clench at his sides, the muscles of his neck are taut. Every inch is pulled like a piano string. He's a vision of fury. Izuku can read it in every line, every crack - anger at himself, at Deku, at the world. And, more than that, confusion, written as if into his very bones. Every sinew sings the question why, and he's angry at that too, more than anything.
There's only one thing Kacchan could want to talk about this badly, the thing that changed both of them: their Quirks. That's been the thing between them for forever - the thing Katsuki had and he didn't, the unbridgeable divide. But things are different now.
"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about it, before," Izuku begins. "Shut up!" he's cut off. The sound startles him. It's not Kacchan's usual yell, angry and brash but still self-possessed under all of that. It's red-scraped and raw, confused and angry and hurting and he was wrong to see a storm in the blond; he's not a force, he's a person.
"Shut. Up. I've got a question to ask you, Deku, and you're gonna answer."
Kacchan is visibly grasping at every shred of control. Saying 'Deku' seems to help, lets him get a purchase in the conversation once more.
"What..." Once again, the question seems to die on Kacchan's tongue. Essence runs with a hot flush through Izuku's limbs. He only barely knows what he brought the green-haired boy here to ask. That's how deep this uncertainty runs. "Tu- turn on your Quirk."
For a moment, Izuku's taken aback. "What?"
Anger. "I said turn on your fucking Quirk, Deku!"
Izuku closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them again his aura's glowing over his skin, a soft radiance like the summer sun through leaves. He feels warmer.
Kacchan jabs a finger at him. "That. Where the fuck did that come from? What, were you keeping it a secret from me all this time? Laughing at me being wrong? And then you just fucking pull it out to-" Strangled again. Izuku can hear the words, though, clearly as if they'd been said: save me.
"I didn't keep it a secret, Kacchan," Izuku tries to protest placatingly. "I didn't have it until then."
"Bullshit," the blond replies, stalking close. "I've read every fucking book I could get my hands on. Quirks. Don't. Just. Appear. Not when you're that old. Just doesn't fucking happen." His voice is low, menacing. Murderous, Izuku thinks, and surprises himself by thinking it. The word doesn't really fit Kacchan - or it shouldn't. He's a hero, after all, or going to be one. Wrathful, righteous, even just plain angry are all fitting for that.
But no, that's what Izuku thought his friend was. The Essence pulsing through him assures him that he's right, what he's hearing is there. What his friend is, before him, is not what he thought he was.
The moment passes, and the sun-disc flares to life on his forehead.
"Then what am I, Bakugou?" Izuku surprises himself by using the blond's family name. But the widened eyes show that it - or perhaps his tone, alloyed with Essence and purpose - has hit home. "Why can I do this? How did I save you?"
His eyes burn, his senses alight. The whole clearing seems to pulse with energy, the living world responding to the tension. That was an exposed nerve, a flaw in the other boy's diamond soul, and he just hit it dead on.
It's almost painful, seeing the crack widen. But this isn't right. A hero shouldn't be so hardened. A hero isn't what Bakugou is, now. He has to break through, shatter that certainty in this moment, or he's not sure it ever will be - and he doesn't want to see Bakugou go any further with a heart like that.
The blond's mouth is open, just a fraction. Izuku's intuition latches onto it - uncertainty, speechlessness. The diamond mountain isn't; it's glass. The boy's mind burns with purpose and an awful realization: to get through to Bakugou, he's going to have to break him, at least a bit.
"You're not a hero, Bakugou. Not yet. Not like this."
"Fuck you-!"
"No!" Izuku's voice lashes like a whip, the force of a hammerblow behind it. "You don't get to not see this, Bakugou!" The repetition is getting through. "You're not helping people! You're bullying them! Terrorising them! Terrorising me!" The words bite and claw at izuku's throat, but he has to get them out. If he doesn't do so now they'll never be said. They sting his eyes, but they need to be let out. "I thought we were friends, but I wasn't looking. I wasn't thinking. I was afraid of you."
"So what?" Bakugou's voice cracks. "People should be scared of heroes! That's what stops them doin' bad shit!"
"Did All Might ever make you afraid?" Izuku's voice has dropped almost to a whisper, but the barb hits home. "He inspires people! Tells them it'll be alright. He's the hero who saves the day with a smile on his face." A pause. "The ones who make people afraid… are the villains."
Once again, Bakugou's reeling. Izuku softens his voice, "You're not a villain, Kacchan. Not yet. But you could be, can be, if you don't think about what you're doing. I am going to UA. I'm going to get onto the hero course there, because I have a Quirk that I can use to help others. I'm not doing it because of you, to support you or to mock you. What I want has nothing to do with you."
Tears are pricking at his eyes now in earnest, but he doesn't let them fall. He can't, yet.
"We were friends, I think. And maybe one day we can be again. I hope..." He stops. He knows his voice would have cracked. "We can meet again, as equals. But not for now. Goodbye, Bakugou Katsuki."
Midoriya Izuku turns and walks away from the boy who had defined so much of his life. He can feel Bakugou's eyes on his back, hear the half-coherent spluttering. Maybe a month ago he would have been afraid to turn his back on his fr- Bakugou, but now he knows all too well that his words have been driven like stakes into his heart, holding him back and forcing him to stop and think. It's not until he's left the park that he lets the tears fall.
He doesn't know what he's crying for. The death of Kacchan? Just the stress of it all? He wipes at his eyes with a sleeve. When he gets home, he sinks into bed still-clothed, and is asleep in moments.
The morning light slants through the window that Izuku didn't close the night before, splaying red fingers across his wall. He can feel the sun outside, still flushed with the dawn. He turns over and puts his back to it, drawing the covers over him. His dreams had been confused melees of faces twisted in anger, red on the floor and red on the walls. He wonders, in the dark between mattress and cover, what it says about him that his mind can conjure so vivid an image of death and betrayal that he could all but smell the iron mingling with the glazed meats.
The sun has climbed a little way when he hears the door opening - no creak.
"Izu-kun?"
The green-haired boy stays still, feigning sleep.
"Did something… happen yesterday?"
He says nothing, but feels a prickling begin to build in his eyes. Kacchan's- no, Bakugou's, he has to remember that - face drifts before him, contorted. People should be scared of heroes!
How did he miss it? All that time.
"Breakfast is ready. If you don't feel up to school I can call in and tell them."
That rouses him - he can't imagine facing school today.
"...Yes please," he murmurs.
"Alright, sweetie. I'll call them," his mother says softly. Two steps, and then a gentle hand is on his shoulder through the coverlet. "Do you want me to bring food in, or..." The question hangs.
Izuku turns to look up at Inko. Her face is haloed by the rising sun at the window. "...I'll come out. Just a moment."
She nods, smiling gently. "It's tamagoyaki - plenty of protein, for all the muscle you're building." She pokes his shoulder. He laughs. It's better, for a moment.
The weight of yesterday comes crashing back down as he finishes the layered eggs. His mom wants to ask - the curiosity and worry shines through every feature - but she doesn't.
"So," she says. "Aldera said that you could stay home for the day, but they'd send over the homework from your classes."
He nods, finishing the last of his egg and rice.
"I'm going to have to head out soon. Just, promise me you'll keep safe. Don't open the door to any strangers, all that. I know you've got your Quirk now, but you're not a pro hero yet." She smiles, but even the mention of pro heroes reminds him of Kac- Bakugou all over again. He opens his mouth, almost voicing the question - When did Kacchan stop being my friend?. What comes out instead is "I won't, mom."
A few minutes later, he's washing off the dishes as Inko wishes him a last goodbye, slips her shoes on and closes the door behind her. He finishes the job, stacking them neatly in the rack, then catches himself staring at the dripping china. He slaps his cheeks, lightly, to bring himself back. It helps, but the whole day still has a kind of hallucinatory feeling as he starts to dry his hands.
Izuku goes back to his room and boots up the computer, but the hero-news and forum-posts just scroll by without being taken in. The idea of doing any real work feels like an impossible proposition. He closes it down. He glances over at the bed. The covers are warm and inviting- but he doesn't just want to spend the whole day in bed. Mechanically, he climbs up from his chair and begins to make the bed, smoothing the covers carefully. From there, the movement just continues. He re-organizes his comics, his figurines, his books. He vacuums the floor, and then the rest of the apartment. By the time he stops, he can feel the subtle warmth of the sun directly above.
He boils rice for lunch and eats it plain, then leaves the apartment, locking the door behind him. The walls feel constricting, like they're squeezing him out.
The boy begins to wander. He didn't really leave with anywhere in mind to go, so he goes everywhere. His feet trace the labyrinth of streets and pathways that sprawl outwards from his home. Some, he knows well. He and Bakugou used to explore them when they were little. Some, he doesn't. He follows them too, noting every gum-scar on the pavement, every weed and every leaning tree. There aren't many others on the streets; most are either in school or at work. He runs into a policewoman once, but it only takes a touch of Essence to convince her of the truth - that he's home ill. Some part of him wonders how bad he looks, that she believes him so easily.
Eventually, though, he finds his feet have led him back to the park from Monday. He hesitates at the gate, but finally plucks up the courage to open it and step in. The low sun throws long shadows of the trees over the ground. He half-expects Bakugou to leap out from behind one of them. He doesn't. The bench where the… confrontation had happened only a day before was bare and dry. Not knowing what else to do, he sits.
The afternoon is warm. The whisper of the leaves seems like a lullaby, or maybe a soft, loving murmur. It is peaceful, and suddenly Izuku hates it. He hates the trees and the wind and the little stream are so calm and serene when just yesterday they were witness to everything about him turning upside-down.
There is a cracking sound, and suddenly he realizes that his aura is up. The light of it is visibly bleaching the bench, peeling its varnish, and his clenching hand has snapped one of the slats of the bench.
The anger breaks like a wave, and the tears like a flood.
The emotions were real, and Deku shows great promise to become the best kind of Solar; one who is a hero, not just a Hero, if you catch the difference.
Someone who heals and uplifts and leads the way to a better place, not just a shiny golden god smashing down anything that threatens his people... Or just stands in his path.
The emotions were real, and Deku shows great promise to become the best kind of Solar; one who is a hero, not just a Hero, if you catch the difference.
Someone who heals and uplifts and leads the way to a better place, not just a shiny golden god smashing down anything that threatens his people... Or just stands in his path.
I'm glad to hear I seem to have gotten the emotions across well. And, honestly, I don't think that whether or not Deku will be a hero is really the question of this thing - it's more about what kind of hero, and what 'hero' means and, in the end, whether the kind of singular paragon that All Might is and Solars often tend towards is the best paradigm for bettering society.
It's funny, just last week one of my buddies was like "You want to play Exalted again, right? We should play Exalted again." and now it feels like wherever I'm looking, it's Exalted everywhere.
