#when I'm not dealing with making a backup D&D character

[angelbroad]

"We've done worse"

Type: Fanfiction

Fandom: One Piece

Characters: Trafalgar D. Water Law, Straw Hat Pirates, Blackbeard Pirates, Angel Pirates, Jewelry Bonney, Left Wing

Law should have guessed that now that after Wano, and the fact that Luffy was now one of the strongest beings in the world, would have the Navy on their tail even more than they already were. After Dressrosa, Law and his Heart Pirates had formed a stronger alliance with Luffy's Straw Hats, and it only made things worse when it came to avoiding the World Goverment.

Still, it would seem that it was not even the World Goverment that was after them. Blackbeard had made enemies with just about everyone, and that included Law and the Straw Hats. In this case, it was Burgess believing he could finish what he had started in Dressrosa with Luffy and Sabo. Sabo was not with them resently, but perhaps the pirate still believed he could get Luffy. Laffitte had also shown up, but thankfully not a big hitter like Aokiji. The Thousand Sunny had sustained quite major damage from the constant cannonfire being exchanged, and as Law was helping Bonney with Burgess, the others were dealing with the barrage and Laffitte weaving them like a swallow. 

Needless to say, things were not looking good for them. They'd need backup they couldn't call, and using Luffy's powers on them would be a waste of resources.

And it was then, in the midst of battle under the stars, that a shot rung out. A lot of gunfire was exchanged in their fight, but this one had knocked down Laffinitte. He tried to reach for his gun as he was down, but it was quickly seized by Robin. Soon, it was the Blackbeard pirates that were being swarmed. Law could make out a person that was likely the sniper standing in the yard of a ship mostly obsocured by the fog of the night. The man must have been quite tall, his white skin standing out in the dark. His eyes were too small for him to figure out the color, and his hair was a curly and light brown that reached his shoulders.

The man would shout at the crewmates on his ship to move out, and they would soon swarm on the second ship, the one belonging to Laffinitte, to slow down the cannonfire exchanged. Still, the fight went on, and now that the Straw Hats had less to deal with, they could assist Bonney and Law. Because as much of a minor threat Burgess would seem, his tolerance was really damn high.

Burgess' attention was broken for a moment as his crew was yelling at him from his slowly swarmed ship, and that was all it was needed for several bullets to be dumped into him. It didn't kill him, of course, but the lead kept coming until the person holding the gun had run out of bullets. After this, all it took was Sabo, along with the help of Luffy, to knock the man out. 

Law could hear Laffinitte squirming, he was likely being moved. Law hadn't turned around to see the shooter yet, but he saw in the Straw Hats that did see them that their expressions were not exactly thankful.

He finally turned around, and as soon as he caught a glimpse of pink feathers, he nearly had a heart attack. His fears that Doflamingo had escaped Impel Down and deliberately helped defeat the Blackbeard pirates so he can kill them himself dissipated when he saw that the frame did not match, and the face he was met with was Left Wing's. Law also noticed that the grunts Laffinitte was making were because Left Wing had her foot on his back while he was still bleeding out from the sniper shot.

Luffy looked more than ready to fight, but Left Wing raised her arms, her expression as indifferent as always.

"Straw Hats.", she addressed, her eye glancing at Law after. "Law.", she had addressed him seperately.

Pretty much everyone had a weapon aimed at the woman, who only had a gun in her hand,

"Hey.", she said as she shot upwards, only for the gun to click and echo against an empty chamber, "I'm unarmed...mostly. I'm not looking for a fight with you."

"And we should trust you why, exactly?", Nami questioned. She had a few memories of their struggle to escape Punk Hazard and this woman did not go easy on them.

"Because I saved you just now."

"Wait, they're with you?", Bonney questioned as he gestured at the foreign pirates that had taken over the ships, putting a halt on the cannonfire a good while ago.

"Every one of them."

Law was not being overly paranoid, because while Left Wing was not as brutal as Doflamingo, she still had sailed under his banner. If anything, her being sent after you would be the last result for screwing the man over. Still, rumored to be less painful than Doflamingo coming after you himself.

"This was a wrong move on your part.", Law said, making Left Wing's eye turn to look at him, "Blackbeard could try to pull strings with the Goverment, and last I checked, you weren't a Warlord."

"You'd be right about that.", the woman said as she put the gun back in the holster. She was wearing a burgundy suit, every layer possible was worn to shield her from the wind that was so common in the cold sea. "But I was actively seeking out the Straw Hats, and I can't have what I want if they are gone. Besides, we've done worse."

"You want to fight, then.", Zoro asked, "Didn't take you for the type to wait until your enemy is in a weakened position."

"I never said I wanted a fight."

That...surprised them more than it probably should have.

"Uh...we locked up your boss.", Chopper felt the need to remind the giant as she looked down at him.

"And I am smart enough to know that killing you won't break him out of prison. And really, if he couldn't defeat you, what makes you think I can? If anything, I'd just waste my time and strength."

Law was not buying this one bit. He might not have known Left Wing as well as he did the others in Doflamingo's former crew, but he was sure there had to be hidden intentions to this. Still, why did she have to wear that blasted coat of his.

"Then what do you want?", Luffy asked with his arms crossed and head tilted.

"You stormed Impel Down and broke out two Warlords.", Left Wing said, "I want to know how you did it."

"Huh. Why-?"

"Because she wants to break Donquixote Doflamingo out.", Law guessed before Left Wing could give a response.

The look he had received told him more than enough. He was right.

"Like we'd be crazy enough to-"

"Why do you want him out?", Luffy asked, genuinelly, "It looks like you're doing pretty good yourself."

That was something Law was just now starting to recognise. Even though Doflamingo had been in Impel Down, his business was still thriving under the Goverment's nose. Left Wing must have picked up where he had left off. 

"Because he's my friend."

"I find that hard to believe.", Chopper said, and just as quickly moved to hide behind Robin as Left Wing's face split into a spiral of eyes.

It went back to normal as she spoke again.

"I should thank Cow for the shot on this one.", she said as she kicked Laffinitte in the ribs, "Either way, I think we both have something we want done. We could help each other out."

Law doubted that, but he also saw the major damage the ship had sustained and had also been reminded of their situation. 

"We need to get to Egghead Island.", Bonney stepped up, "We need help to assassinate Vegapunk."

Left Wing's eyes actually opened up more at the mention of their mission, the audience now able to see the empty socket that was her left eye.

Law scoffed, "Please, as if she'd agree to help us-"

"Very well."

"What?", said several members of the crew.

"I said, I will help you assassinate Dr Vegapunk, if that means you will give me the information I need."

"..What's the catch?", Robin asked.

"This is the catch. Quid pro quo, no?"

"Deal.", Luffy said as he extended his hand towards her.

Law took it back before a handshake could occur.

"Luffy.", he said, "This is a terrible idea. This woman was and practically still is one of Doflamingo's most loyal pirates. She can't want just information."

"I'm right here, you know.", Left Wing reminded Law, who involuntarily had a bead of sweat run down his temple.

"We might be dealing with rough stuff.", Luffy said, "We're gonna need help, and right now enemies of the Goverment are our allies." He then looked at the tall woman, "As long as you don't try anything funny, then I'll give you what you want."

"Sounds perfectly rational to me."

Law knew this could not end well.

[mantis-lizbian]

so for things like how a sickle is worse than a handaxe... first off, this is in part where weapon proficiencies come into play. if you aren't proficient with the handaxe, and need a light slashing weapon, you might go for the sickle as your best option. otherwise, you have to weigh the pros and cons of gaining martial weapon proficiency, either from a level dip or feat, which is still going to involve system mastery.

secondly - and from here i'm mostly going to have to speak about 3e, since it's getting into the weeds and i'm just not as familiar with 5e, so i can make more cogent points about 3e, though from what i've experienced, pretty much every other edition has its own versions of these kinds of calls on system mastery, even if it hasn't got the specific mechanics - i don't think there was ever an argument that every player choice is of equal importance, and i think that D&D does very intentionally provide some areas of relative slack. while a handaxe is objectively better than a sickle (for characters who are proficient with both) on its own, these differences are relatively small, and in order to really maximize on them requires some investment of other resources like feats (e.g. Improved Critical). likewise, i wouldn't call Craft or Perform (for a non-bard) a "trap" skill, because across your party you're likely going to have at least a couple characters who've put at least something into the important skills, and the ones your group hasn't been able to cover become problems to solve with other tools like spells and magic items.

D&D isn't a game that rewards system mastery in the sense that it wants you to minmax, strictly speaking, it's a game that rewards system mastery in the sense that it wants you to engage with its systems and make them work for you. a premier example of this is 3e's prestige classes which, if you want to take one, will proscribe certain feats and skills you'll need to take which may not always be the mathematically ideal. and so you figure out how to make those things work for you.

last point to make here to highlight how "rewards system mastery" doesn't equal "requires you to minmax" is to compare this to fighting games. anyone who knows much of anything about competitive fighting games knows about character tiers, but the thing is that it isn't as straight-forward as "Smash Bros. wants you to play Fox because Fox is the top-tier character", because i know of at least one tournament that was one by a Yoshi player (usually regarded as fairly low-tier), because the game (and meta) rewarded putting in the effort to truly master the systems of playing Yoshi.

and that's what rewarding system mastery means in D&D, just within a different context. it isn't as straight-forward as rewarding the player for picking the "right" options, but rather knowing how to use the options that they pick. and a massive part of that is knowing how to you might deal with weaknesses your build has, a massive part of which in turn is dealing with monsters you're weak to. have a low attack bonus when you've got to fight a creature with tough armor? try and rely on touch AC or get them flat-footed. specialize in mind-affecting spells when you've run into some giant vermin? have a backup plan. incorporeal creatures while you've only got nonmagical weapons? make a torch.

Roleplaying games are probably the only games-related hobby where there's people who flaunt their ignorance of the rules and actually think knowing the rules/playing in a way that the rules encourage is bad

[greyquills]

do you have any advice for people just starting out writing? i'm struggling through my first wip rn and no matter what the pacing is rushed and the dialogue feels flat. my word count is stagnant and low. i rlly look up to you as an author so i was wondering if you knew anything about how to fix it. thanks!

first off—hi! hello! thank you! i'm so flattered that you chose me to reach out to and i’m also super glad you like my work! welcome to the writing community. i hope your time here is especially rewarding :D

i thought i'd put together a longer post of my biggest tips and advice to start out, based mostly on my own experience. feel free to skim if you’d like :) this is probably a lot more than you bargained for with your ask! 

first off: tips for writing itself.

you mentioned pacing, dialogue, and word count, so i'll briefly address each of those in turn. keep in mind that i’m drawing from my own experience, so don’t feel bad if some of my tips don’t work for you. everyone is different lol.

pacing is a tricky thing. it can be your best friend or your worst enemy or anything in between. my biggest biggest tip for pacing is to outline your wip from the start.

“but grey!” you exclaim. “outlining is terrifying! where do i even start?!”

good question, my friend! outlining sounds scary at the start but it can quickly wind up being a lifesaver. you’ll have to find what works for you specifically, but here are some tips to get started.

my method is as follows—split the plot of your story into three, four, or five parts. depending on how long your fic will be, these can either represent chapters or arcs. if you’re using arcs, these will contain smaller sections. 

i like to summarize each part with a phrase (see my example below that i originally made for of bush and briar). then, i add a few bullet points. what happens in that chapter/arc of the story? what are the big events that occur? 

of course, this example is only a basic outline, but you’ll want to have an idea of where your story is going. this’ll allow you to pace each chapter or scene in a way that flows.

say (for instance) that you’re writing a three-chapter shorter fic which involves the budding relationship of two characters. strangers to lovers, if you will. i’d personally outline the plot like this:

i. characters A & B meet at a coffee shop

ii. they can’t stop thinking about each other

iii. finale where character A asks out character B

it’s sweet, simple, and gets you where you need to go. you can add all the details you want later underneath each roman numeral.

the next step in finding a good pace is sticking to the outline’s main structure as you write your chapters. you can always add details or extra scenes within those chapters, but make sure you drive the story forward each chapter.

in regards to feeling like your pacing is rushed: try to mentally slow down and expand the details of the scene. spend a few extra paragraphs describing the characters’ surroundings; write a little more about a character’s internal thoughts; add some humorous dialogue to soften the blow if your chapter is about a tough conversation. add more scenes to a chapter. showcase more conversations, or more face-offs, if your work deals with tension between characters.

finding a good pace is hard to achieve when you start out, but it’s worth putting some extra effort into your planning in order to figure out what works for you.

next up is dialogue. my advice for this is more specific to fandom and fanfiction as i’m assuming that’s what you’re asking about, so here we go.

in regards to writing better dialogue, i’d say that you should be familiar with the fandom’s content and the personalities/relationships of the characters you’re writing about. for instance, if i were attempting to write bedrock bros (tommyinnit & technoblade) for the first time, i’d go and watch any number of VODs where the two of them interact. 

having that backup knowledge from the start will set you up for success. once you’re sure you know your characters a bit better, sit down to write. it can help to write the dialogue itself without tags first; for example:

“Pick up the phone, dickhead.”

“It didn’t even ring!”

“I don’t believe you.”

“That’s a first.”

then, go in and add dialogue tags or description. figure out where you want beats (fancy writer lingo for pauses) in the flow of your style. for instance:

“Pick up the phone, dickhead,” Tommy hissed.

Techno stared at Tommy in disbelief. “It didn’t even ring!”

“I don’t believe you.”

Techno scoffed. “That’s a first.”

see how the above additions add to the flow of the simple dialogue and break up the conversation? 

that being said, i’m a big believer in using description over dialogue tags. it’s a method that allows you to really show your reader the characters’ body language. humans communicate by so much more than just spoken word—you should use their movement to your advantage as a storyteller.

now that you have your dialogue written (!!!), it’s time to test it. this might sound crazy and insane and super fucking embarrassing, but the best way to test your dialogue is this:

read it out loud in your best impression of the characters’ voices.

seriously. if you can’t hear the rapport between your characters when you read it out loud, then you need to change something. it can be as simple as running through an example conversation in your head or asking yourself how would I respond to that? not every conversation follows a textbook format.

writing dialogue is a skill, and like any skill, it will only get better with practice. you can do this by writing short snippets, watching TV and then transcribing the conversations with descriptions, or by writing more fics. there’s also tons of dialogue practice on the internet if you’re willing to search for it!

now, last but definitely not least: word count. this is every author’s enemy, no matter who they are or what they write. you are not alone in this struggle.

so, you’ve finally sit down to write, only to find yourself staring at an empty document with a blinking cursor. don’t panic. here are a few tips & resources to help with boosting your word count and fighting writer’s block.

first: if you’re out of hope and struggling to meet a certain wordcount, use the most dangerous writing app. 

this website is the best. you can set a wordcount goal or a time limit when you start, and this website will delete your work if you stop typing for more than ten seconds. it’s usually enough to get me off my ass and writing 500+ words in a sprint. 

(also, don’t worry, it doesn’t delete your work permanently—you can download the failed session as a word document so that your progress wasn’t for nothing).

an alternative to this site (aka if you want a sprint timer and no terrifying threats of losing your work) would be the discord bot sprinto, which allows you to set writing sprints with friends or alone. it’s very easy to use and also leads into my new point—finding friends to write and brainstorm with.

second: make friends in your fandom. you’ll want people to brainrot your fics with (and support you), which honestly will motivate you to write more for your wips. it’s much easier to slog through an assigned word count when you’ve got people on your side.

you can achieve this by dm’ing people, joining writers’ discords, following people on the foreign land of twitter, and more! you can also opt into fandom-related writing challenges (such as ficfests, big bangs, or collections) that pair writers or writers and artists together. part of fandom’s wonderful appeal is its community; you are never and will never be alone in your frustrations!

third: if the words just aren’t coming, you can always scrap a fic. 

the truth is this: not every idea is meant to see the light of day. you should be passionate about your work and your ideas in order to follow through. you are never obligated to finish anything that you don’t love, and you are never obligated to post your work on the internet. 

tldr: your work is for you and for you foremost. it can be far too easy to forget that when you’re seeking others’ approval, but try to write for yourself first.

i really hope my thoughts are able to help you on your journey anon! thank you so so much for reaching out. my dms are always open if you’d like me to take a look at your work or if you’d just like to chat <3 

godspeed, anon!

[meticulousfragments]

I'll confess it's more than I bargained for bc I was just asking for a single character. But I appreciate them all! Is this Minnie as in Mina? You didn't ask for recommendations, but I'll offer them anyway. If I were you I'd put her first three levels into artificer, up until the armorer subclass, trying to make herself tough and attract a patron, which she does, and starts dealing so much insane damage with her lightning enhanced gloves under her leather trenchcoat, except…. She slowly discovers that she just multiclassed into rogue at level 4, and has been sneak attacking everyone to death, and her "patron" has been misleading her. PEACHES IS CUTE AS HELL AND I WILL FIGHT AND DIE FOR LOXODON IN NON-MTG D&D!!!!!! Is Peaches the kind of Barbarian who isn't actually angry and doesn't really want to be spending time on all this violence stuff, but feels like that's her appointed roll? Bc I love that dynamic! So much!!!!!! Heck!!!!! I love Loxodon soooooo much. <3

Minnie is short for Minerva, chosen because it sounds similar to "Miranda," and Mama's Broken Heart was a big inspiration for her Vibe.

And her multiclassing would work a little differently than other characters, because I'm not planning to start her at a low level and then build up. She's specifically meant to be a backup character for a specific situation in a specific setting, so I'd be starting her at a high level.

I like the hexblade warlock/vengeance paladin combo because I played with someone who used something similar before, and it gets extremely fun. (Plus he had a ring of spell storing full of only Shield, which made combat nuts). The gunslinger/assassin combo is based on Deadeye Cybin, which was a Brennan character on NADDPOD who also got super nasty in combat, but with the warlock feat for character flavor. If she comes into play below tenth level, it'll be the w/p multiclass, if tenth or higher the g/a combo. It's very situational, and for now she's just an

Peaches gets angry when the situation calls for it, especially when her friends are in danger. She's big on feeling and experiencing her emotions and then working through them. And while her specific dynamic in the party would depend on when/how she actually comes into play, I think she'd be more the kind who is happy to fill a needed role. She has a skill, sees it as honoring her family to used it, and likes helping out her friends with it.

Honestly she might be the most emotionally healthy of any OC I have.

[oikawasass]

I’m in the mood for some really sad angst so take this.

final goodbyes.

‣ pairing : bakugo x fem reader.

‣ oneshot.

‣ synopsis : after a messy and unexpected fight during a training mission, katsuki finds himself forced to say one last goodbye.

‣ wordcount : 2.3k+

‣ warnings : pure angst, swearing, character death, minor gore.

It was supposed to be an easy mission on that cold winter day, one that was simply for training purposes so the students would be able to begin learning what to do in tough situations from experience, rather than a lecture. A quick sweep of a few thugs in the area assigned to the pair and approved by Aizawa himself. 

The two were confident in the mission given to them, knowing that with their combined strengths It would be a breeze, taking them a few minutes tops. Neither Y/n nor Bakugo had expected things to take such a turn the way they did. The simple thugs they were sent to deal with had brought much more of a punch than either of them had expected. A simple battle with a couple of wannabe villain lowlifes, ( in Katsuki’s words, ) had turned into a 2 vs 16, one of those sixteen people being an extremely dangerous and wanted villain in the area who was called “Pressure.” Despite the rather incredible amount of power the teens had combined, the odds weren’t in their favour from the start.

They were outnumbered, and the sheer strength of not only one of the most wanted criminals in the city, but all of his goons backing him up, it was too much for Bakugo and his girlfriend to handle alone as much as they both hated to admit. The two heroes in training held their ground as best as they could, hoping to buy themselves enough time to call for help, or some sort of backup. Even Katsuki knew that their chances of making it out of there on their own weren’t very high at all. 

It was when Pressure had set off an ear ringing, blinding explosion that things really took a turn for the worst. Y/n and Bakugo had been violently thrown away from each other due to the amount force the blast had administered. The last thing they saw before their vision went white, was the couple’s red and scarred hands desperately reaching out for each other. But they were too late. The villains had fleed before the explosion went off, leaving the couple to presumably die. 

Bakugo’s eyes slowly blinked open, a light fog of dust and rubble from the debris of the explosion clouding his vision. His body tried so desperately to pull him back into the sweet lull of sleep as the pain of his injuries and aching body slowly spread throughout his limbs and joints, but the blonde refused to lose consciousness another time. His injuries were nothing severe or fatal, so there was no excuse for him to stay down any longer. How was he supposed to become number one if he allowed a simple blast to knock him down, after all?

With a sharp inhale and a loud groan, Katsuki pushed himself up off the shredded concrete and into a sitting position, allowing himself to come to his senses a bit more before he forced himself to his feet. The boy leaned back on one of his palms, catching his breath for a moment before a single thought overtook his mind, sending him into a panic.

“Y/n.”


He shot up to his feet, not caring to try and balance himself before frantically running to all the large piles of rubble that littered the snow-covered ground around him. He was throwing metal scraps, large rocks, tree branches, anything and everything in his way while he searched for her.

“Y/N!! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!” Bakugo shouted, in hopes of hearing some kind of response from her in the distance. His heartbeat only grew quicker, hearing the fast pulsating ring through his ears as his panic grew. His determination and will to stay calm in situations like these were long out the window by now. All he cared about was finding his girlfriend.

“Y/N!!” Another heart-wrenching scream of her name left Bakugo’s dry throat. She had to be here somewhere, it's not like she just went and vanished into thin air. 


Bakugo rose his forearm to his forehead, shielding his eyes from the blinding light the setting sun was reflecting off the snow in hopes he would be able to see more clearly. That was when he spotted a shadowed human figure lying dead centre in all the rubble surrounding them, there she was.

He bolted over to the frail-looking girl as quick as his legs would carry him, crashing down onto his knees beside her. She looked absolutely horrible, Bakugo felt himself cringe at the sight of her blood-covered face. She had large scratches covering each of her limbs, as well as a small bump that seemed to be poking out of the inside of her chest, showing she had definitely broken a few ribs. And to top everything off, there was a large metal rod piercing through the lower right of her abdomen, and it was in deep.

“Dumbass, you look like shit.” Bakugo said to her, supporting her head with one hand while using his other to mess around with the small intercom jammed in his ear, attempting to get some kind of reception so he would be able to call for help.

Y/n slowly lifted her gaze to look up at him, a pained chuckle falling from her bloodied lips. “J-just. . cause I-I can't move d-doesn’t mean I w. . won't kick y-your ass f-for that.” She choked out through her raw throat. Bakugo tsked quietly and shook his head, amazed at how she was able to crack a joke despite being so wounded.


“Like you could ever kick my ass anyway, shitty girl. Now stop talking, save your breath.” Bakugo continued to mess with his earpiece, finally hearing some static and the voice of his teacher on the other side.


“Ground zero reporting in, (hero name) severely injured. We need help.” His tone was panicked while his words were rushed out of his mouth. The blonde was willing to waste no time in having help arrive, not with his girlfriend's current state of suffering and deformation. 


“Yeah- I'm at location 23AZ, just hurry up and fucking find me, we don't have time to sit here waiting.” Once Aizawa disconnected, he returned his full attention back to the girl who was practically withering away beneath him.


Taking a strong grip on the sleeve of his costume, he tore off the fabric, ripping it into something similar of a cloth to push against her stomach wound, a desperate attempt to stop the crimson blood spilling out of it. A small cry of pain escaped Y/n’s throat at the pressure to the gash, and Katsuki felt himself flinch at the sound. It pained his ears to hear such an anguished sound come from the h/c haired girl he called his, but her bleeding out was absolutely not an option, he wouldn’t allow it. Not now, not ever. It appears the amount of stress Bakugo was under was evident on his face, his furrowed brows and bottom lip caught between his teeth not able to slip past the observant gaze of Y/n.

“W-worried. . .isnt a g-good look o-n you. . .” She smiled sadly, weakly reaching up an unstable and jittery hand to softly cup his right cheek, using her thumb to try and pull the edge of his mouth into a small smile. Y/n knew her time was running short, and she wanted to see him smile in her final moments, not upset. Though she knew her reaction would be the same, if not worse if their roles were switched, so she understood his concerns.


“What the hell else am I supposed to do, idiot? You’re-You-re bleeding out in front of me goddammit.” Bakugo’s words caught in his throat, a small crack in his voice accompanying the evergrowing agony and worry he felt in the pit of his stomach.

“I-its ok-okay, Katsu. . .It hardly. . .e-even hurts anymore.” She was slipping away quickly, her dazed and tired state of mind disabled her from feeling as much pain as she was actually in. It wasn’t good, she would lose consciousness soon, and that couldn’t happen. Bakugo could see her eyelids struggling to stay open, fluttering open and shut every so often as she tried to stay awake.


Bakugo felt his heart sting in pure fear. Katsuki Bakugo never got scared. He was always confident in his ways and knew that losing would never be an option for him. But right now, he was completely and utterly terrified. He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t. “Hey, keep your eyes on me, okay? You-You’ve gotta stay awake princess.” That was a pet name she always loved so much. He felt himself leaning into her touch against his ash-covered cheek. The frigid, bitter winter air and lack of blood flowing through her system caused her to be cold to the touch, her normally warm, comforting hands were practically frozen.

“I kn-know. . .but. . .s-so. .tired. . .” Y/n’s lids fell halfway shut, failing to flutter back open like they had been before.

“No. No, you need to keep your f-fucking eyes open, you hear me? Don’t go to sleep. Just-Just a little longer okay?” Bakugo was surprised at his own stuttering and cracks in his voice, but he was even more surprised to feel a drop of blood trickle down his chin. When he raised his hand to wipe it away, he saw no colour on the skin of his hand. It was a clear, shiny liquid.


Bakugo was crying.

Y/n weakly moved her thumb to wipe away another drop that fell from his tear duct. “d-don’t. . please don't cr-cry. . “ her voice was nothing above a whisper now, the little bit of strength she had left to speak leaving her body. “I-I lo. . love you, ‘kay?” she felt a tear roll down her own cheek. “I love y-you so m. . uch.” She was being forced to say goodbye to someone she knew was her first and only love. Her heart was breaking during the exchange. Katsuki and her had planned to spend so many more years together, make so many more sweet and beautiful memories with each other, cross so many more milestones and hurdles life would throw at them, all while they were one. 

Now the harsh reality was, they would never get to experience those years, memories, nor milestones together.

This was their final goodbye.

“I love you more, stop talking like that.” Katsuki’s jaw was clenched tightly shut, his words slipping out of his mouth through gritted teeth. “You’re not gonna fucking die here, goddammit! You can’t fucking leave me behind!” 


Katsuki’s choice of words was important. Y/n was the only one besides Kirishima he allowed to get close to him, it was true. But Y/n was the one who Bakugo was truly able to open up to, without fear of seeming weak or being judged. She was the only one he allowed to really see his true feelings and emotions every moment of every day, even at his weakest points. She was helping him to grow into the great hero he strived to become, she couldn’t leave him. 

“I-I need you, you idiot! How am I supposed to be satisfied with being number one if you aren’t there being a close number two?! You’re supposed to do this with me!” Bakugo was shouting now, trying to get through to her weakening body as he felt her slowly fade away in his arms.


“I-I I know. . you can do-do it. . without me. . .” her eyes fell closed a final time, the hand she held up against his cheek slowly sliding down his skin as her body went limp. Katsuki quickly removed his hand from her abdomen to hold her it up and keep it from falling. No. She couldn’t die here, not like this, not when she deserved to live such an amazing and fulfilled life as a pro hero, not when he had never taken every moment he got to express just how much he did care about her, not when he couldn’t apologize for things like all the fights he’s caused in the past. 

All the lighthearted bickering they shared, all the secret sleepovers they had in Bakugo’s dorm, Y/n hiding from Aizawa in Katsuki’s closet when he had shown up unexpectedly, the sweet words of encouragement she would speak to him ever so softly when he was feeling low, he wasn’t ready for that to end. Katsuki would never be ready for that to end.


“Y/n. . .” Katsuki’s strained voice choked out, waiting for a response. He didn’t receive one.


“Y/n. Answer me.” He spoke more stern this time with a shake to her body, hoping this was some sick joke and a serious tone of voice would force her into an answer.


It didn’t work.

Katsuki’s body fell on top of her, head resting atop her chest as he felt like he was about to be sick to his stomach. There was a sharp, yet empty feeling in his gut, it felt like someone had just stabbed him.

No more calls of her name left his lips, no more shaking her body while trying to wake her up, it all stopped. Now he was left alone, shattered into what he felt was a million pieces. She was gone. And here he was, laying on top of the near mangled body of his first love, still holding her cold and limp hand to his cheek while he felt something build up and sting deep in his throat.

As his hearing went fuzzy, and all he could hear was his own racing heartbeat in his ears, Katsuki screamed.

Katsuki screamed out of the sheer ache and torment his body felt as she lay lifeless in his arms.