Beware of spoilers! All spoilers from Mockingjay: Origin and the first twenty-five chapters of For Their Sakes are unmarked!
Alternative Character Interpretation: Both in and out of universe, views vary on how much Endeavor was affected by Kaetsu's Fearful Fantasy Quirk in chapter twenty-nine or if he was at all. Whether he was motivated to violently attack Hawks due to the Quirk or not is up to debate, as he has been shown to be extremely aggressive, ill-tempered, and violent before. Hawks and some readers give Endeavor the benefit of the doubt and think he was manipulated while the Voices and other readers believe it was his own violent tendencies coming out. The author hasn't confirmed which interpretation is correct but Endeavor's noticeable decrease in hostility post-Kaetsu's death implies it's the former.
After chapters of accepting abuse from the Commission, Hawks stands up to Norito Kaetsu, defeating him in a fight. Mockingjay then gives Kaetsu a Vigilante Execution via an arrow to the face, while he's mocking her that his arrest would never stick. It is extremely gratifying to read.
Chapter twenty-two of For Our Sakes had an interesting case where one incident caused two different groups to feel upmost catharsis. When "Ennea" exposed Endeavor for abuse and ruined Dabi's plans, readers fell into two camps: those that were overjoyed that Endeavor finally got comeuppance for abusing his family and those that were delighted that Dabi's plans completely fell apart, leaving him screaming in anguish and anger as he realized his villainous acts were for nothing. Seeing Karma get its due for both of them left many content.
Continuity Lockout: The reveal that the other Ennea aka Retiarius is Finnick Odair has less weight for some who did not read Mockingjay: Origin though many agree Mockingjay's grief and the flashback that shows parallels with Finnick and Hawks' situations still make it pack a punch.
Cry for the Devil: Fans unanimously loathed Amplifier for torturing Hawks and obeying the Commission's ruthless demands. That was until his POV was shown in chapter twenty-six of For Their Sakes where it is revealed he genuinely wants to protect Hawks, especially from Norito Kaetsu, and secretly disapproves of the Commission's methods, calling them cruel and unnecessary. Immediately after this sympathetic reveal, Amplifier was killed, leaving some fans grieving and wishing he'd survived to maybe have a Heel–Face Turn.
"The Eight" or "The Rainbowheads" for the eight time travelersnote Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki, Uraraka, Iida, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, and Shinso, who go by color-themed codenames.
"Human Dumpster Fire" or "Human Trash Fire" for Endeavor.
In the fic, Future Bakugo lost his left arm to a powerful Nomu. The exact same thing happened to Miruko, who has a similar characterization to Bakugo, in the manga a few months later.
The Voices' taking control of Hawks without his consent was bad enough but after the reveal that sixteen year-old Hawks was completely controlled by his abusive handler for a year and tried to commit suicide in a final, desperate bid to escape, it's even harder to stomach.
In Mockingjay: Origin, the Capitol crossed the line with the reveal that they sponsored the Quirk Games and supported both Heroes and Villains to keep American Hero Society rolling, reaping the profits for themselves. They then proceeded to go even further by killing Prim.
The Hero Commission passed it by putting ten year-old Hawks through enhanced interrogation resistance training and using shady means to keep him trapped in their employ once he reached adulthood. Readers immediately called for their heads to be put on pikes when this was revealed.
All For One was undeniably evil from the start but some readers cheered for him when he planned to expose the Commission's corruption albeit to destroy Hero Society, while joking that Hawks might be better off working for AFO instead of the despicable Commission. This support stopped after All For One threatened to turn Twice into a Nomu if he tried to leave the League and prevented him from befriending Hawks by manipulating Twice's insecurities, with readers declaring both AFO and the Commission should burn in hell.
Norito Kaetsu crossed the line from "creepy handler" to "irredeemable monster" when he used his Quirk to control sixteen year-old Hawks for nearly a year, abusing and torturing him while he was completely helpless. This pushed his victim beyond their breaking point and they became desperate enough to try to commit suicide in order to escape him.
One of the scariest things about Hawks' situation with the Commission is how realistic their abuse of him is. While Quirks are sometimes involved, he is more often manipulated and made to obey using mundane methods like gaslighting. This is especially the case for his treatment at the hands of the Commission President and Norito Kaetsu. They isolate and control Hawks using threats, physical abuse, and psychological attacks, keeping him from gaining people to turn to for help all while abusing him until he questions his own memory and believes he is the one in the wrong.
Kaetsu's plot is a figure of authority in a learning setting using that authority to abuse and take advantage of a teenager, then stalking Hawks again as an adult upon being released from prison. Kaetsu does not have any grand schemes; He simply wants to control and hurt one person. It makes him one of the most chilling villains in the series.
Hawks' depression and reactions to the abuse are presented in a very realistic way. His fear that he won't believed or helped and that he may never escape his abusers' influence both physically and mentally makes his struggles very relatable to many.
For Their Sakes Chapter one: The moment the eight time travelers end up in Hawks' head instead of their past selves. There were absolutely no hints in the summary or the fic's tags that imply the twist was coming, leaving many readers who came in expecting a run-of-the-mill Peggy Sue fic reeling once they realized what had happened.
Chapter four: White (Future Todoroki) taking control of Hawks' body to protect him from Endeavor. For chapters it seemed the Voices were stuck in Hawks' head but it turns out they're able to take control of him by force.
Chapter five: When Hawks uses Orange's Quirk to defeat Stain. This is after Stain almost kills Shoto, as in the fight against the Hero Killer went even worse than in the previous timeline, and reveals he thinks Shoto is as bad as Endeavor.
Chapter thirty-two: Kaetsu successfully takes Hawks from the middle of the street, in broad daylight. No one tries to help except Twice, who recruits Dabi to help him rescue Hawks.
Chapter thirty-four: Kaetsu cuts off Hawks' wings and only leaves two small bones for them to regenerate back from.
The Woobie: Hawks is an Iron Woobie. He was bought and raised by the abusive Commission, completely isolated with handlers that saw him as a pet project and not a person, trained to resist torture among other Training from Hell, and conditioned to be a self-sacrificing Hero with no choice in the matter. In adulthood the Commission keeps him on a leash with illegal debts and threats to his loved ones while emotionally, psychologically, and physically abusing him. He also has eight time travelers in his head which causes him unbearable pain more often than not, and must carry the burden of their mission on his own since no one believes him. Meanwhile he experiences their traumatic pasts for himself as though he is living through it. He is constantly manipulated, disbelieved, and used by almost everyone with his opinions and safety being dismissed or seen as unimportant. This behavior often comes from his closest and most trusted allies; The Voices keep secrets from him, brainwash him, and take control of him without his consent. Although Hawks is almost always on the verge of a breakdown from all the stress and trauma, he mostly keeps it together, selflessly fights to save the future and his friends, and stands up for the little guy even if that means defying his abusers.
