Warnings: Death, Violence, angst, and general unpleasantness. Don't like don't read.
Also, why does Grammarly let me add 'axtually' to my dictionary,
but not 'Sith'?
"...His ass." Tsuyu repeated "Our Coffee... Genius."
Kirishima was holding in his laughter and said, "What'd you expect? When has he NOT told it like it is?"
Tsuyu put a finger to her chin, "But my main concern is why he KEP-"
"Shut your MOUTH, FROG-FUCKER! Katsuki sat up and roared at her, his blush going neon.
"I really didn't think it was POSSIBLE, for Bakugo to be embarrassed." Kaminari jeered to a snickering Kirishima
"Alright, Alright." Sith drew attention to himself, "while I just showed you all what being a pro HERO, is like," A few people were confused by his extra emphasis on 'hero'
"-I'll show you Midoriya as the opposite..: A Villian." His face went a bit more serious and his voice a tiny bit quieter.
"I'm sorry," Jirou spoke up, "But that's a thing?" She gestured broadly at the screen. "After all of THAT, he just does a 180!?" she finished, a bit louder than she meant to, to her slight embarrassment
"Well here, none of that happened in the first place." Sith raised his hand to snap, "You all can take this as a cautionary tale..."
Jirou sighed in defeat.
"...wa...wha' happen'..?" Mineta was awake.
"Shh."
"... M'kay..."
The screen lit
*16 months prior*
Izuku walked the sidewalk to his school, wearing a middle school uniform.
*ROAR*
Izuku turned to a humanoid shark-like titan with dreadlocks, he shook around and swatted at the helicopters around his head like flies, but missing.
"Ooh, I remember that!" Mt. Lady said, "This was my Debut!"
The camera turned to Izuku's face, he looked bored and annoyed, almost gothic... It looked ugly on him, for better terms.
'3...2...1'
All of a sudden, Kamui Woods had appeared and grasped his arm with a long wooden vine.
"Damn, Midoriya." Kaminari was impressed.
'A fanboy through any world.' All Might thought.
'It's not fair...' Izuku thought bitterly
"Huh? what's not fair?" Tooru tilted her head questioningly.
Izuku stared at his feet as they carried him to school, he looked up at the old sign.
Oh, how he loathed it.
"Fuck, me too." Katsuki had to agree.
Later in the day, Izuku was staring into his book, it was about medieval times, fantasy and all that, but at one point he dozed off so much, his entire world turned into some kind of abyss.
"Alright, now that you're in your final year," The teacher, who had the world's most punchable face might I add, heaved a pile of papers on his desk. "You all have to think very seriously about your future careers." He sweeped the floor with his eyes before smirking.
"But who am I kidding!?" He took a hand full of sheets, "You're all going for the hero course! RIGHT!?" He threw them all like confetti.
The class went wild, displaying their quirks, some were muscular, one had a long neck, and one pulled on their eyeballs...
Mina dry heaved
Izuku was pulled from his trance and looked around at the class before setting eyes on the teacher, who was watching the chaos.
Theincompetentprick.
"What a mad bouquet of darkness." Tokoyami uttered
"Oh come on, what kind of teacher..?" Inko was gesturing at the screen to All Might, who was only watching the screen.
"Yes, yes, your quirks are amazing. Settle down, Settle down."
"HEY TEACH!" Katsuki's boisterous voice broke what could have been peace.
He slammed his foot onto his desk while flaring his explosions
"Bakugo-," Iida started
"Iida-san," Ochako put her hand on his shoulder, all while not looking away. "It's fine."
"Don't bunch me in with these losers!" He pointed his thumb at his chest, "I'll be the only one at this DUMP, to be a hero AND I'll be #1!"
"What a jerk!" a girl yelled,
"Jeez, Bakugo!" a guy said in slight disgust.
"What makes you think you're better than us!?"
"Yeah!\Right!"
"SHUT UP YOU DAMN EXTRAS!"
"Were you really like this?" Kirishima asked Katsuki.
He didn't answer, this worried him for whatever came next, he knew he wasn't exactly a positive influence in Izuku's life.
"Oh yeah, you're aiming for U.A, right Bakugo?" This fucking teacher, man, he wasn't even doing anything!
"Yeah!" Mina and Tooru said at the same time.
A huge collective gasp came from the class, except Izuku, who had drifted off into his own little world\abyss.
"That place has a 0.2% acceptance rate!"
"No way!"
Izuku was longing to go home, it couldn't be that much longer, rig-
"Oh! Midoriya, you're going for U.A too, right?" The teacher asked lazily from his desk.
"Aw, fuck..." Katsuki massaged his temples, he knew what this was.
Silence... total, abyssal... silence
"...Uh..?" Mineta had no idea what to do, it was so awkward!
Izuku looked up and around, being snapped from his world by his name.
"... What're you loo-"
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The class broke into laughter like the teacher told the funniest joke in the world.
"H-Hey! What the Hell!?" Jirou was offended, what the HELL did they have to laugh at!?
"FUCKING DEKU!" He slammed his hand onto his desk, put behind him, and detonated it. Izuku didn't even flinch.
But Katsuki did, he knew everything... But so did Sith.
"YOU'RE EVEN WORSE THAN THESE EXTRAS: YOU'RE QUIRKLESS!" His voice boomed louder than his explosions, but what was louder? The Laughter, that only grew at every second he stood, and every letter he spewed.
THIS WHOLE FUCKING SCHOOL IS KATSUKI'S LAP-DOG.
"Bakugo..?" Kirishima wanted to face him, but couldn't bare to look away.
Katsuki ignored him, he put his head under a pyramid of his arms.
Izuku stared back into his eyes, he wouldn't dare back down from this...
... not this time.
Izuku sighed and leaned his head back as far as possible.
"Bakugo..?"
'Damn that's weird to hear.' Class 1-A thought.
"The FUCK do you want, Deku?"
Silence
"...Eat shit."
Izuku flung his head forward with as much force he could muster,
*CRACK*
"M-Midoriya!" Mina flung her arm to her mouth as Iida did the same.
"FUCK!"
*Gasp!*
"Woah!\Holy-!\What t-the!?"
Katsuki fell back into his desk, grasping his nose, it broke... Deku broke... HIS FUCKING NOSE! HOW DARE HE?!
"HOW DARE YOU, ASSHOLE!?" Uraraka was livid
"MIDORIYA!" The teacher slammed his hands on the table, "DETENTION! NOW!"
"BULLSHIT!" Uraraka's, All Might's AND Todoroki's voices yelled out, they spoke for everyone.
Izuku got up as quickly as possible, he had made his point.
"We'll be calling your... Parent" He made sure to put as much emphasis possible on that word with a sneer
Izuku stopped dead.
Inko gasped loudly through her tears, how DARE that vile, stupid, monster!?
Izuku heard only one voice through his heartbeat. It was that stretchy-eyeball, bald Fuckface.
"Oh no..." Based on everything she saw today, Momo knew he was doomed.
"I saw her," Izuku snapped at him. He was talking to a girl, in the WORST FUCKING ATTEMPT to pick her up. "She looked just as fuckin' sad as he is, probably would've gotten rid, of him, if she could tell he'd be quirkless as a... little guy." He gestured at his stomach.
Jaws were dropped. All of them... How could you POSSIBLY, with any DIGNITY, think that's ok?!
"DETENTION, MIDORIYA!" He didn't listen. He stalked towards the boy. The girl gasped and fucking giggled. "Plus," He raised one finger up, "She was so, fuckin' FA-"
Izuku's hand found it's way to his throat.
"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET!" Uraraka was screaming through tears.
Izuku dragged the boy, to the one place knew it'd hurt: the window
"O-oh, shit..." Shoji muttered.
"MIDORIYA! STOP!"
He was ignored.
With a ton of effort, he used that arm to slam the boy into the glass, he coughed up blood
...
...
...
'... That felt good.'
"...D-Deku, no!" Uraraka was NOT prepared for this, but in her defense, no one else was either.
'AGAIN' A voice, that sounded like his own but filled to the brim with bitterness and insanity commanded. And he obliged, h e struck the boy in the face, the glass cracked
"STOP HIM!"
Someone came from behind and grabbed his arm, he was having NONE of it.
He threw his back and headbutted the poor soul who stood there, then he threw his head forward to the eyeball-boy, the glass cracked wider.
"T-th-the t-teacher..." Sero tried to form a sentence, but couldn't.
He struck again, *Crack*
Again, *Crack!*
Again, but this time his eyeballs sprang out, Izuku grabbed his eye.
Jirou hid her face.
He tugged it hard enough to drag the boy off the window and dodged him.
The boy staggered only a few steps like he was about to beg for help, but Izuku grabbed his shoulder.
"DIE!"
The crowd flinched.
Izuku threw the boy back at the window.
*CRACK*
The boy hanged half-way out the window, blood covered his front, he hung so low, his eyeballs could be seen on the very edges of the class below.
"...OK, detention, right?" Izuku turned and asked his teacher, he was too shocked to answer, as a matter of fact, he took a step back when Izuku looked at him, and so did everyone else, they had made a clear path to the door.
"Tch, pussies..." Izuku said to himself.
"Oh, Riji!" The girl rushed over to the window.
Izuku turned to them
"Please don't" Nezu muttered.
She had helped him out,
Izuku smirked.
"Nononono." Iida thought he could command this Izuku.
Izuku turned suddenly and ran at them, suddenly every pair of hands had reached for him, he wasn't sure how he dodged them, the adrenaline was too much.
Tooru and Mina huddled with each other for protection.
"GI-HAHA!" Izuku launched his foot at the boy's chest, time seemed to slow.
Blood splattered from his mouth to Izuku's pantleg,
He toppled backward through the window, glass cutting through his flesh and clothing.
He was gone.
No one dared speak, they didn't want to believe some who was so clearly meant to be a hero... did, THAT.
Izuku panted like an animal, then the class heard a strange sound like he was about to choke.
"Tch, Hehehe,"... He was giggling.
Izuku threw his head up with his mouth covered, but it was so clear he was loving this moment, his eyes filled with demented delight.
Iida took a shaky breath.
Tsuyu, Uraraka, and Shoji had flashbacks about the psychopath Toga.
"Ok, Ok." Izuku acted like he just told a bad joke, "I'll leave now," He looked around to his pale, deathly silent and horrified classmates,
"I promise! hehe." Izuku skipped, like a little boy with his backpack slung over his shoulder, out of the classroom.
*TIME SKIP*
Izuku has been under this bridge for... How long now?
All Might recognized the location, it was where he first met Izuku, where he... Oh, dear.
He checked his phone, a few hours? Wow, time flies.
He turned to keep walking, how would he go over this with Mom? She'd understand... That eyeball prick and that whole damn school deserved to burn, she'd understand when he explains how long they've tried to pull those stunts on him...
...But they took it much too far today, oh yes they did, She'd understand because she knows he loves her, he'd never let someone speak that way and go unpunished...
She'd understand, she has to.
For a split second, she did.
Izuku walked further and further until:
*Clang*
Izuku looked over his shoulder, out of the manhole cover, was a pillar of green sludge.
'What the fuck..?'
The women screamed.
Izuku looked up and saw a jaw, suspended in the sludges' 'face' and two disgusting yellow eyeballs and red pupils.
"Oh, how nice! A medium-sized skin suit!" Izuku took a step back, 'oh fuck...'
"Now, they won't find me! Come'ere RUNT!" Izuku took off his backpack and chucked it at the sludges eyeball, but it dodged.
'FUCK!'
Izuku turned and ran but the sludge dived at him, coating him in his disgusting body.
'GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!'
Izuku threw his hands around, but the sludge bent around his fingers and covered him more and more, but then:
It forced it'self in his mouth and nose.
"JESUS!" Jirou screamed but covered her mouth
She heard gagging and wheezing sounds.
'GET OUT OF THERE'
"This actually happened," Sith said, "To your Midoriya? It did."
He made it worse.
"Don't squirm brat, I'm a liquid!"
Izuku kept fighting, punching and kicking at the sludge.
"After a few more seconds..!" Izuku clawed at the sludge surrounding his throat.
"YOU'LL BE DEAD!"
'MOM! SOMEONE! HELP!'
Inko grabbed All Might's hand and squeezed.
"GEHAHAHA"
'HELP..!'
"HAHAHAHA!"
'...Help... me...'
'...please...'
"HAHAHAHA!"
'...fuck...you...bastard...'
Izuku's eyes were drifting,
No matter what he is, seeing any form of Deku dying was a nightmare for Uraraka, she was crying to Iida.
All the sludge turned hard, like cement.
*Sniffle* "Huh..?" Uraraka looked up.
Izuku looked around, the Sludge and turned black, the camera did a close up of the sludge's eyes, they had rolled back. He was dead.
Izuku fell through the sludge, like a haystack, but as he fell the sludge corroded to ashes.
Izuku hit the ground.
'The...fuck..?' Izuku turned his head and saw a pair of red sneakers, he passed out.
"OH, my... god!" Kaminari panted and breathed like he had held his breath the entire scene.
Uraraka clenched her heart and Iida's shoulder while he held her hand for comfort.
Tsuyu was consoling a hyperventilating Mineta, who surprisingly didn't try anything.
Izuku shook his head, he was sitting down... He was comfy, he wondered what happened,
'where... am I?'
'Did I die?'
The crowd flinched
'No... I was saved...'
'Am I in someone's house?'
Izuku opened one eye, he looked around and saw what looked like a dimly lit, sketchy bar.
The heroes and Katsuki flinched again, they knew.
'Am I in a better, or worse situation..?'
'Worse.' The heroes and Katsuki thought.
"Oh good!" The voice was the raspiest, most 'I need sleep' voice Izuku has ever had the displeasure of hearing, And he's met Katsuki!
Izuku turned his head to look at them, the first thing he saw, were the red sneakers.
'So it was you/So it was you' The crowd and Izuku thought at the same time
He wore pitch-black pants, then he looked up at their chest and head.
"NO!" Iida was the first to shout.
"He's b-been..." Kaminari pointed a shaky finger at the screen.
His shirt was also black, and he had shaggy light-blue hair, no biggie.
The weird thing was he had like, clay hands, all over. one on his face, and one grasping each shoulder, elbows, and forearms.
'Excuse me, what the fuck?'
"You're awake!" The man took his right hand and scratched his neck.
"The League..." The Class said with such bitterness that the Heroes were actually a bit surprised.
"Who..?" Izuku leaned up from his stool, "Where am I?"
The man took a seat next to Izuku, so by reflex, he scooted as far away as the stool would let him.
"My base, I didn't want you to lay there and die."
"Why?" Izuku's question was instant, this man didn't strike him as a hero type.
"GOOD!"
"Because," The man turned to him, "I wanted to give you a job offer."
"NO!"
... "What is it? wait wait," Izuku shook his head. "Who are you?"
"Call me, Tomura. And you are?" 'Tomura' stopped scratching.
"Midoriya, hey look, 'Tomoura'." Tomura raised a brow behind the hand.
"I've got one question then I'll leave, Ok?"
Tomura shrugged
"What's the 'job'?" Izuku raised his brow.
Tomura smiled.
"How do you feel?"
...
...
'ok, what?'
"What those that even mean?" Izuku already looked tired with this man.
"How do you feel about this world? The Heroes?"
Izuku didn't say anything, he was interested.
"Deku... no." Uraraka gasped
He wagged a finger.
"I think," Tomura chuckled. "It's bullshit."
"Everyone thinks that a knight in shining armor will save the day at every little inconvenience, they but labels on how people are born, either a hero's quirk," He looked at his own hand. "A villain's," He looked directly at Izuku. "Or none at all."
Izuku looked away.
"I want to turn those who live in that segregated, demeaning, utopian lifestyle,"
He put his hand on Izuku's shoulder, but raised his pinkie " to ASHES."
...
Izuku liked the sound of that... and a certain blond who deserved it the most.
Katsuki turned away.
"I can't..."
Another massive wave of relieved sighs.
"What do you mean?" Tomura scowled under the hand.
"I-I meant!" Izuku stood up, "I'll consider it." Izuku smirked a little bit, "I like your thinking, Tomura. But there's someone I need to see, If you know I'm quirkless, you know what I did to that bald fuck-head right?"
Tomura laughed and clapped his hands, "And I loved It! but I've got to ask:" Tomura pointed at him.
"What'd he do?"
Izuku was about to say, but he laughed instead
The crowd was revolted.
Izuku covered his mouth, "I'm sorry it's just."
He looked to the roof and sighed,
"He called my mom fat..."
Izuku looked back down at Tomura, He couldn't tell his expression from the hand-mask, but he stood perfectly still "Hehe." Tomura pointed at him again. "I like you, you have a home here, kid." Tomura threw his head back cackling.
"Can we all, just..." Koda was speaking with his head straight down, "Appreciate the fact that none of, This really happens."
"In your universe, All Might saved him from the sludge."
All Might felt grateful that he found Midoriya before the league ever could, but he knew he did something horrible.
Izuku ambled far on the sidewalk, according to his phone, it'd take about 17 minutes to get ho-
"We interrupt this program," The televisions on display to his right spoke up
"Huh?\huh?"
"For breaking news,"
'These are never good...'
"Earlier today," A picture of the Shark man showed up, "This man was apprehended by Mt. Lady and Kamui woods, but during his ride to prison, he escaped."
'Called it.'
"THAT was several hours ago, but he the Number 1 hero: All Might has cornered him, and in retaliation, he continued his rampage."
The image next was a neighborhood of apartment complexes, but Izuku didn't need to hear anything else, he recognized the place, It's where he lived.
"Oh no..." Inko put her head in her hands
"Oh... OH FUCK! MOM!" Izuku sprinted like hell, for the first time his face said something other than rage or boredom.
Izuku wasn't too sure how long he was running for, he just knew he was there because 1: It looked like the entire damn neighborhood was standing in front of the building, speaking of which, 2: The whole building was reduced to rubble
'Oh, shit...' Izuku had cried on the way there, his eyes and throat burned worse than any acid, his lungs and heart were begging for mercy, his arms and legs felt like they were abused, but he had to know.
'H-hasn't enough ha-happened?!' Uraraka and Iida hunched closer for their friend.
He saw two police officers talking to each other next to their cruiser, with what little energy and stamina he had left, he walked nearby and hid in the back of a crowd.
"-So, do we have a Casualty count?"
Izuku and the audience's breath hitched
"Yessir! As far as the investigation's gone, only one..."
'Don't you dare say what I think you're about to, cunt... don't even think about it.' Izuku twitched wildly.
All Might hung his head low
"Oh... Midoriya..."
"Well, you know that report about the assault at the Middle school west from here?"
'Don't you... DARE...'
Inko grabbed All Might's hand.
"The Midoriya case?"
"And how we sent Detective Naomasa to question his mother?"
"Oh, her, uh... Inko Midoriya right? How was it her?."
"She refused to evacuate due to shock, her neighbors say."
Izuku heard enough.
His head spun like a typhoon, he looked around, the police, street, and star lights made things bright. But the world seemed to be out of focus and getting darker, His ears were drowning in white noise...he was dying again, he had to be... He HAD to be dead, or better! A nightmare! An awful, cruel FUCKING nightmare...
... Right?
Inko sobbed heavily into All Might's shoulder, And Ochako to Iida, Jirou to Momo, Midnight and Mt. Lady to each other, and Katsuki to himself as silently as he could possibly be.
Izuku saw one thing come into focus, it was All Might jumping away so far he looked to be flying.
'You...'
All Might looked up, he didn't want to know what he was about to say, but he needed to.
'... You didn't save her...' he didn't sound angry, he was being blunt and straightforward.
"Deku..!" Ochako cried into Iida.
'...You... You're no hero... you couldn't save her...' Izuku heard something pierce the fog of white noise.
It was applause, they were cheering him on...
'stop it...'
They got louder
'Shut up...'
He heard them chanting his name.
'Why are you cheering..? He failed... He's a fraud...'
All Might's heart clenched like a vice, he was hyperventilating.
'All...Might...' Izuku's voice sounded as young and innocent as a baby's, but as worn-down and dead as an old man's
'You... killed, my mother...' He still didn't sound angry.
Inko wrapped her arms around All Might as tight as she could.
'So...' The camera did a close up on Izuku's eye. All Might's and the moon reflected perfectly in his tiny pupil.
'I'll kill you for that...'
Izuku looked over to the conversating cops, 'but I'll need help.'
It was pitch black from midnight and rain clouds.
Kurogiri stood behind his bar, watching the news and washing dishes, listening to the soothing sounds of running water and raindrops against the window.
"It's the kid's Mom." Shigaraki sat on the stool in front of him
"The recruit?"
"Midoriya, and yes."
"Why do you want him?"
Shigaraki sipped a glass of water. "We're both the same:" Shigaraki said like it's obvious.
"We're going to break the world." Shigaraki flourished dramatically. "That broke us."
'He's not anything like you...' the audience thought. 'He's better than that.'
*KNOCK KNOCK*
The blunt noise disrupted the peaceful orchestra that was their bar.
"Oh ho," Shigaraki grunted and got up from his stool.
*Sniffle* "M-mr. T-tomura..?"
Shigaraki unlocked the door,
"I'm home."
Shigaraki froze up, Kurogiri almost dropped his glass.
'We've lost him.' Thought the audience.
Shigaraki threw open the door, and Izuku's shining eyes stared back at him, His clothes were in an awful condition and his hair was matted down by the pelting rain.
"I see yo- Oof!" Tomura was about to welcome the boy, but Izuku stuffed himself to Tomura's chest and wrapped his arms around him, tight as a vice.
Tomura turned to Kurogiri who busied himself with the glasses.
Izuku bawled and sobbed uncontrollably.
"I saw on the news, Kid." He placed his hand on the back of his head, (Minus the pinky) "Welcome home."
Izuku sobbed harder.
"Now come inside, you look fucking awful."
Shigaraki slammed the door shut.
*PRESENT TIME*
U.A was reduced to rubble.
"Oh, lord..." Nezu squeaked.
Ash and flames filled the sky above the lands, no one dared enter.
All Might crawled, for the first time in his career.
All Might looked back at the screen.
He was in his skinny form, crawling with only his arms to a large piece of rubble, with much effort he heaved himself up.
Mirio gasped
His face was beaten bloody, only one eye was opened, while the edges of his hair looked singed, one arm grasped his chest while the other around the rubble, he gasped every second for air, but it was as shaky and rattled as a broken window.
His ears perked as he screams in the distance, commands and battle cries, all were in vain... and ended with pleas of mercy, but then silenced.
Each student and hero wondered the fight they had put up against this force, but all somehow knew their fate.
All Might looked down at himself and groaned.
Those brave enough to still watch turned away.
His costume was tattered, blood seeping from every cut. He looked to his right leg, it was broken at the knee.
"M-M-midoriya, as a V-Villian, does all of t-this!?" Jirou was horrified behind any measure.
He looked up and stared into a wall of smoke...
... A green spark pierced it, and stared at his limp form, and closed.
... All Might heard laughter, cold, amused, triumphant laughter.
"NO, NO! NO!" Ochako shook her head in Iida's embrace.
A single, black leather shoe came from the smoke,
"You, All Might,"
The rest of his form came into view.
Black dress pants, a black vest and white undershirt, a blood-red tie, and a pair of studded black gloves, covered in blood.
"H-He couldn't have..!" Iida stared in shock, Midoriya... DID THAT!?
The camera switched over to his face, his hair was matted over one eye, his emerald eyes were dulled by cruelty and rage, but he still smirked.
"Are an eye-sore."
All Might coughed up blood.
"Wimp." Izuku ran up and high-kicke d his chin
The crowd shuddered and gasped
"YOU!" Izuku stomped his chest
"ARE NO!" Izuku kicked the side of his face like a rock on the street, sending him down.
"SYMBOL!" Izuku stepped on his bad knee.
All Might screamed as much as his broken voice let him.
The real All Might winced and put his hand over Inko's
"NOMU!" Izuku snapped his fingers, a white monster with bladed hands came from the ashes.
"Pick him up..." Izuku took a step back as the beast picked him up by his elbows
All Might slumped pathetically in the Nomu's grasp.
Izuku dug in his back pocket and put a hand on All Might's shoulder. "Any last words?" Izuku asked, clearly uninterested.
"...Yeah..."
Izuku smirked, "And what would that b-"
*splat*
All Might had spit blood in Izuku's face.
"...Wow..." Izuku wiped the blood away and pulled out a pistol.
"NO!"
"Real mature," Izuku looked unamused and pointed the gun, "I guess it's my fault for expecting something from you."
"Midoriya... Please..." All Might tried to bargain with someone who couldn't hear him.
All Might looked up at him through the hair and blood. "...I don't need," All Might swallowed the blood and spit, "To live... to know: you'll still lose... I'll die... but the spirit of peace goes on..." He slumped back.
...
"...Say hi to my Mother."
*BANG*
If anyone wasn't crying or turned away, they were now.
People choked on air, sobbed to the person next to them, or went slack-jawed and staring.