#beep beep likes ua

[beepbeepdespair]

finally tried character.ai and. I cannot fucking breathe

(note added 2nd july 2024: just wanted to say i don't use character.ai anymore, ai concerns me. but i decided to leave this up bc it was funny 👍)

[phant0mth1ef]

the icu was such a complex place, a variety of machines had been beeping all throughout every day and night, and yours, god yours, was the loudest of them all.

your room wasn’t near katsukis, and yet he could hear the ventilator from your room whirring rhythmically as your chest rose upwards and fell, your eyes softly shut.

shigaraki had done this to you. he’d completely pierced your lungs and your torso, and the new lungs were just, they weren’t working. why weren’t they working?

flashes of you both together surged in the boys mind, glimpses of you at the sports’ festival, at i-island, and more.

he didn’t particularly like you. no, some could say he actually hated you. hated how you’d always been tied with him, ever since kindergarten. and why the hell did you even have to follow him everywhere? if you didn’t follow him to ua, none of this would’ve happened.

he stood outside a door, your name etched onto a chart that was placed outside your room. almost everyone in your class had been permitted to go home, except you, todoroki, midoriya, and himself.

he didn’t open the door, nor did he look inside. he tried, his hand rested right above the doorknob, ready to grab onto it and twist. but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. to invade your space like that.

and when he was discharged from the hospital, your figure still rested inside. asleep. comatose.

so he waited, waited for you to wake up & be discharged. because he had so many words that had been left unsaid.

[onepiecestarry]

Katsuki Bakugo Fluff Oneshot

I've had this bouncing around in my brain for a few days and just needed to get it down :) This is lowk based off of my life so I apologize since its a niche situation. But enjoy some Bk fluff and lmk if you want another part to this!

Katsuki x Reader

2.3k words

Most days you wake up, go to class, study, and train late into the night. You are a busy person, with many priorities, but this didn’t stop you from making many friends. You got particularly close to Mina and Sero, and along with that the rest of the bakusquad- besides Bakugo himself of course. You had tried many times to befriend him but to no avail. You decided to give up since you were already a part of his friend group. 

You tried your best to make time for your friends but most weeks you wouldn’t join the nightly hangouts. On any days off you went home to help your mom, only Mina truly knew why you were never in the dorms. 

-

“Alright class, today we are-” Aizawa started his long speech about your new upcoming project. You start to zone out, but quickly focus again to get the project details, jotting down any important notes you might need. 

“I am going to randomly assign partners for this, please do not ask to change because there will be no exceptions this time.” Mr. Aizawa says in his regular monotone voice. 

He starts to list off the groups and eventually says your name. “Y/n and Bakugo” 

“Not that fucking nerd!!” Bakugo yells slamming his fist onto his desk.

“Shut it Bakugo,” Mr. Aizawa says activating his quirk on the rowdy student. 

The rest of the day went by normally, you finished classes and began packing your stuff to study and train. 

Around 1 am you get a text.

Bakugo

“Where are you dipshit”

Y/n

“Training, why?”

Bakugo

“Tf you training so late for, gts”

Y/n

“Dude leave me alone, what do you want”

Bakugo

“Friday at 11 am common room”

Y/n

“The project?” 

He likes the message and the conversation ends. You look at the time and realize you should be going to bed soon, you do a few more reps before heading back to the dorm. 

It's a cool night, as you walk a chill runs up your spine from the cold. You shake it off and continue to your dorms. As quietly as you can, you open the door and make your way to your room. You fall asleep to the crickets and cicadas chirping outside your window. 

The week goes by quickly as the weekend approaches. You completely forgot about having Friday off, but Mina reminded you on Thursday to text your mom to remind her. 

What everyone in the class doesn’t know is that your mom moved with you when you came abroad to study at UA. She and your little sister rent a small house not too far from campus. Your step-father refused to move with them, so on any days you have off you go home to watch your 2-year-old sister while your mom works. The only person who knows about this arrangement is your best friend Mina. She covers for you whenever you are there. 

- 

You wake up to the loud beeping of your alarm, as you look at it to shut it off it displays “4:30 am”. You groan and move to get up. Your mom starts work at 6 on the days you have off so you have to get to the house early so your sister isn’t home alone. 

You grab your prepacked bag and school backpack and start your walk home. The sunrise is barely a sliver when you get there. 

As you take care of your sister throughout the day, coloring, watching movies, and playing dress-up, it doesn’t matter what you do as long as she’s happy. Once you put her down for her nap, you throw yourself onto the couch half asleep. Then your phone starts going off over and over. You grumble something about a group chat and open your phone to see it’s Bakugo. 

Bakugo

“Where are you dipshit”

“If you aren’t here in the next 3 minutes I’m blowing your ass up in your dorm”

“Why aren’t you in your dorm”

“ANSWER ME”

Bakugo has requested your location. 

“Oh boy” You mumble to yourself

Y/n

“Chill dude, I’m sorry I forgot we were supposed to work on the project today, can we do it Monday?”

Bakugo

“NO, dumbass it's fucking due Monday”

“Where are you, answer the fucking phone now”

Y/n

“I can’t answer the phone rn”

Bakugo

“Well then SEND ME UR FUCKING LOCATION”

Y/n

“Will u chill tf out if I do?”

Bakugo likes the message.

Y/n started sharing their location with Bakugo

You huff and turn your phone off falling asleep on the couch. Not long after you wake up to three aggressive knocks on your front door. Knowing Bakugo you jump up to stop him from knocking more and waking your sister. 

“Chill tf out, I’m right here,” You say as you open the door. Bakugo pushes past you walking into your house and turning to look at you. 

“You are so fucking useless, we were supposed to have this project done today! I fucking should’ve done it myself” He says with his fingers on the bridge of his nose. 

“Look, I’m sorry but Aizawa would know if you pulled that shit AGAIN” 

“YOU FUCKING RATTED-”

You slam your palm on his mouth as he begins to yell. Shock is written across his face when he suddenly pushes you off him. 

“What the fuck” He spits at you.

“You have to be fucking quiet dipshit” You whisper.

“Why wou-” He gets interrupted by your sister crying and running to you. 

You pick her up gently and start to soothe her from her startling wake call as you glare daggers at Bakugo. He stands there in complete shock, this time not hiding it at all. You nod your head in the direction of your dining table and say, “Go set up there, we can work on it now.”

He doesn’t say a word while he gets his stuff out and sets up. You put your sister down to start making some lunch for her. 

“Did you eat?” You ask not looking at him.

“What?” He asks snapping back to reality.

“Did you eat lunch?”

“Oh um no”

“Ok,” You say, silently making another serving more. 

As you continue to cook and Bakugo silently sits there trying to think of what to say, he blurts out. 

“So, who’s the father?”

You turn around from the stove and stare at him blankly for a second processing what he asked, then you see how serious his face is. You burst out laughing- “BAHAHAHA, WAIT,” you say wiping a tear forming in your eye from laughter. Bakugo glares at you to stop laughing. After you take a second to compose yourself you answer, “Bakugo, meet my sister, y/s/n.” You say as y/s/n goes up to Bakugo and hugs him. He has a horrified look on his face realizing what he just asked you. 

He tries to jump away and get her off unsuccessfully. He accepts his fate and allows her to hug his leg. 

The next few hours went by awkwardly, you served lunch and while your sister was busy eating you spent your time working on the project, allowing Bakugo to have a break and eat too. But as soon as your sister was done you were up and taking care of her again. 

Hours go by and you realize you have to figure out dinner. 

“Fuck” You whisper so your sister can’t hear. “What do you want for dinner Bakugo?” You ask from your sister’s makeshift playroom in the living room. 

“I don’t know, don’t care.”

You look at him exasperated as you sigh and ask your sister.

“PIZZA!!!” Your sister says excitedly. You pick her up and gently whisper how you can’t afford to order pizza right now, and how you can make her something at home. She begins to sulk and goes back to her toys. You get up walk to the table and look at Bakugo to ask again. 

“Wha-” You begin.

“I already ordered it.” He says not looking up from his notes.

“What?” You ask baffled.

“The pizza, I already ordered it.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that, seriously.” 

“It's fine. She said she wanted pizza.”

“Okay, how much was it so I can pay you back.” You ask getting your wallet out.

“No.” He says not sparing you a look.

“What?” You ask again. 

“I said no. Don’t worry about it.” 

“Oh, okay, well thank you.”

Once the pizza arrives you all sit down to eat, but once again you don’t eat so you can work on the project. As you sit at your laptop across from Bakugo eating his pizza, your laptop suddenly shuts. 

“Wha- What the fuck man?!” You half-yell at Bakugo. 

“You haven’t eaten all day, so eat the pizza and then I’ll watch your sister so you can work.” 

“But-”

“No. I said what I said.” He stares at you, silently telling you that you won’t win any argument with him. 

He kept true to his word, he took care of your sister while you worked efficiently on your project. Around 11:30 you come back to reality and close your laptop, realizing that you should have put your sister to bed long ago. You walk into the living room to see Bakugo and y/s/n on the couch watching her favorite movie, Totoro. Y/s/n being asleep on Bakugo you decide to sit on the other side of him and continue the movie. 

“Everything is done, we just need to make the slides and practice.” You whisper. 

“Alright cool, that should be easy.” He says continuing to watch the movie. 

You look over and admire how calm he is. His arm wrapped around your sister, her head in his lap fast asleep. You had to admit, he was great with kids. While you were working he was playing dress up with her, you managed to snap a few photos of him with a tiara on before he noticed. He was so sweet and gentle with her all day, the opposite of his regular personality. He didn't call her a brat even once, not even one time?!?

He notices you staring and looks over, “What?” He says annoyed. 

“Nothing,” You say silent for a few seconds, “Just- thank you for today.” 

He lets out a scoff, showing you he was listening.

“Is this where you disappear every night?” He asks.

“What? Oh. no, I actually do train every night since I’m here on the weekends. I usually get up at 4:30 and either stay here or go back at 2 am.” You answer. 

“You do this only on two and a half hours of sleep?” He asks with confusion and shock hinting in his voice. 

“Yeah, I don’t have much of a choice. No one else can watch her.” 

The conversation fades as you both focus back on the movie. Eventually leading to you falling asleep on him as well. 

Bakugo sits there on your couch, with your sister asleep in his lap and you asleep on his shoulder. He quietly watches the movie until your mom returns from work. She opens the door and hears the T.V. on, so she goes to the living room to check and she sees all of you there. Bakugo’s head swings at the noise and sees her. 

“Oh my, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to startle you. I didn’t know y/n had her boyfriend over!” She says quietly moving to sit on the adjacent couch. 

“Oh- um, I’m not-” He starts.

“Here let me move her to bed, they both sleep like rocks don’t worry.” She says with a wink, picking up your sister and taking her to her bed. She returns to see Bakugo hasn’t moved with you still asleep on him. 

“How long have you been here? I’m so sorry for any trouble they’ve caused.” Your mom laughs.

“I got here around noon. Me and y/n were supposed to work on a school project but she forgot so I came over to work on it.” He starts

“Oh! I’m so sorry about that dear.” 

“It's okay.”

“So how long have you two been together?” She asks excitedly. 

“We aren’t dating,” Bakugo says quietly still trying to not wake you up. 

“Really? Huh, I swear I’ve heard y/n talk about you before.” A light shade of pink finds its way to Bakugo’s cheeks.

“Well, thank you for helping take care of my girls, I really appreciate it. You should stay here tonight, it's too late for you to go back to school. Y/n’s room is there and there are blankets in the closet.” Your mom says getting up to go to bed. “And thank you again Katsuki Bakugo.” She finally says before disappearing into her room. 

Bakugo tightens up at the sound of his full name, knowing well that means y/n has talked about him enough for her mom to know who he is. 

He decides to stay on the couch, not wanting to disturb your peace. He pulls a blanket on the both of you and shuts his eyes. He thinks about all the times he couldn’t spot you at parties or hangouts. Or how you would vanish off the face of the earth on weekends. It all made sense now, you were working yourself to the bone to take care of your family. 

Bakugo always had a soft spot for you, which is why everyone would always make you ask him to hang out with them, even if you weren’t going to be there. He never knew why he was murder-y with you but it scared him so he pushed you away even more. Hence you trying to be friends with him but ‘failing’. 

But now he’s here, lying on your couch with you on top of him asleep, coming to the realization that maybe his soft spot for you isn’t all that bad. 

[mooniiify]

emergency contact — bakugo katsuki

quirk: super sonic/speed; hero name: sonic

disclaimer: using the established hero identity from my bakugo fic on wattpad lol

contents: second chance, pro heroes in their twenties

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

her whole body hurt, that was the first thing she realized when she started gaining consciousness. her eyelids felt heavy, but she willed them to open, only for her to wince and close them back immediately as a harsh light hit her eyes.

it took her a moment. she took a breath. there was a soft beeping in the background. where was she? slowly, she fluttered her eyes open again, squinting until she got used to the light. she looked around, taking in the white walls and the IV drip stand next to her.

hospital. oh.

what had happened again? she remembered the villain attack in musutafu — she’d been called in, and kirishima, mina and todorki had been at the scene, too. the villain was preaching about the downfall of heroes as usual. she didn’t remember much of the fight, except getting hit really badly in the back of the head at some point.

with her left arm, she reached up and touched the side of her head, feeling the bandages.

she sighed and let her arm fall back down next to her. she looked to the side, noticing the red button that would call the nurse. this wasn’t the first time she’d been in a hospital bed like that and it wouldn’t be the last. she knew the drill by now — she pressed the button and waited.

a nurse walked in soon after, a smile on her face. y/n recognized her from the last few times she’s been here. “oh, glad to see you’re awake, sonic! how are you feeling?”

“mostly fine,” y/n answered. “how bad was the damage this time?”

“concussion, a broken leg due to debris falling over it. some scratches and bruises, but that’s about it,” the nurse read off of her clipboard. “everything was already taken care of and healed. we should be able to discharge you by the end of the day, but you should take it easy when you get home.”

y/n nodded. “that’s good. thank you.”

the nurse nodded before she wrote something on her clipboard. “are you feeling okay for visitors?”

y/n furrowed her eyebrows at that. “visitors?” who could it be? maybe kirishima or mina decided to visit. how did they get out of the fight, anyway? and how did y/n pass out? so embarrassing!

“well, mr. dynamight—“

“mr. who?”

no. this couldn’t be. why would he be here?

“mr. dynamight. bakugo katsuki?” the nurse scratched her head. “i thought you two were friends. or at least classmates back in ua.”

friends. yeah, no. “we were. don’t let him in.”

the nurse nodded and reached for the door. “all right. i’ll let him know.”

y/n sighed and looked back up at the white ceiling. seriously, why the hell was he here? how did he know she’d gotten hurt? okay, maybe he’d heard it from kirishima or seen it on the news, but still! how did he know which hospital she was at?

“tch, she’s still tired and doesn’t know what she’s talkin’ about.” y/n’s blood ran cold at the familiar voice coming from beyond the door. “i’m going in.”

“mr. dynamight, sir—“

the nurse couldn’t stop him. the door opened and in walked bakugo katsuki, still dressed in his hero costume, bar his mask and gauntlets.

the nurse immediately looked at y/n. “i’m sorry, miss sonic, i—“

“it’s okay.” it wasn’t the nurse’s fault. it was bakugo’s annoying stubbornness, as usual.

the nurse apologized again, then excused herself and left. bakugo moved silently from the door to the left of her bed, his arms crossed in from of his chest. “how are ya—“

“the fuck are you doing here, bakugo?”

bakugo’s lips shut in an instant. he looked to the IV drip in her arm, then to her heartbeat monitor — it was beeping a bit quicker now — then back to her. “the hospital called. told me you were injured.”

y/n’s eyebrows furrowed. “the hospital called you? why the hell would they? are you stalking me or something?”

bakugo grunted. “tch, speedy, you didn’t change your shitty emergency contact. you set it to me years ago, remember?”

right. “oh.”

“yeah.”

y/n looked away from him and out through the window. her view was obscured by a tree, but it was better than looking at bakugo at the moment. “why did you come, then?”

there was a sound of metal scraping on the ground. startled, y/n looked back and noticed bakugo pulling up a chair to sit next to her. it looked small under him. it was funny, but she didn’t laugh.”

“‘cuz they called me and told me you were injured.” bakugo said as he leaned on his knees. “and i saw the news. i was worried.”

y/n sighed. “bakugo, we—“

“stop calling me bakugo. you know i hate it when you call me by my last name.”

“bakugo.” she gave him a stern look. “we broke up three months ago.”

bakugo was silent. to this day, even after having calmed down, it was still weird to see bakugo this silent. “i know.”

“then you can’t expect me to act fucking normal and call you by your first name just because you decided to come to the hospital because you were worried about your ex.”

“i fuckin’ know.” bakugo groaned, running a hand through his hair.

they sat in silence for a moment and y/n’s unfocused eyes watched him as he looked at the ground. they dated for five years before they broke up. from their first year at ua, up until a few months ago. it was understandable bakugo was acting like that, really.

“do you ever think we made a mistake?”

y/n’s eyes focused and his face became clearer out of shock. she opened her mouth to answer than, no, she didn’t think so, but closed it. after thinking for a moment, she nodded. “at least once a day.”

their break up hadn’t really been spontaneous. it was building up the busier they got, and at the end, they reached the mutual decision to part ways. they were stubborn, both of them fighting for the top spots in the hero rankings, so much so that they forgot about each other. it made sense, back then.

but now, as y/n returned to the same home she’d shared with bakugo every night to a now cold, empty apartment, she was starting to think how being a top hero was just so lonely.

bakugo nodded at her answer. “yeah. me too.”

y/n moved to sit up, wincing a little as she did. despite the healing, he ribs were still sore. bakugo instinctively moved, one hand going behind her back to help her up. “careful, speedy.”

“i’m fine. they’re discharging me later, anyway,” y/n explained.

bakugo nodded, his hand lingering on her back for a moment too long before he retracted it and sat back on his chair. he ran a gloved hand through his hair. “you know, i really fuckin’ miss you, speedy.”

her heart monitor beeped faster at the words and she felt her face warm up in embarrassment. bakugo had just heard how flustered he made her — there was no backing out now.

still, she didn’t look at him. she looked at her fingers that were playing with each other. “yeah, i miss you, too, katsuki.”

bakugo’s hand reached out, catching one of hers in his. she looked back at him again, at his soft, pleading face. “can we try again? we’ve been through so much shit together and, honestly, before we broke up, i never imagined my life without you in it. but now that i actually experienced it, i realized just how shitty it is. being a hero is so fucking boring if you’re not there to run by work just to tell me a dumb joke, or to sit on the couch and watch the news and make fun of shitty hair and raccoon eyes, or bantering over who’s going to be higher in the next hero chart, or—“

she’d heard enough. leaning in, she pressed her lips on his, her hands grabbing the sides of his face. the IV drip in her arm felt uncomfortable, but she ignored it best she could as she savored bakugo’s lips, the ones she’s been missing for so long.

bakugo moved his hand to the back of her head, the other one on her back. he didn’t really pull her too close because he was scared she would fall off the bed, but he didn’t mind. the fact that she was kissing him was enough.

they pulled away not too long after — it didn’t matter that the kiss was short, there was so many more to come — and y/n smiled as she looked into his red eyes. her right thumb stroked his cheek ever so slightly. “you know, i’m higher in the rankings than you this month. i’m twenty-fourth and you’re twenty-sixth.”

bakugo chuckled, his smile unwavering. “shut up, i saw. i wanted to call you and rant to you about it. that’s only ‘cuz i had to take a week-long break after i got injured.”

y/n waved him off. “excuses, excuses. just admit i’m strong.”

“never denied it, speedy.”

y/n felt warm again. it felt so right, being with bakugo and talking with him like that. she hadn’t realized just how much she’d missed it.

“i don’t know if this is sudden, but are you going to move back in now, or are you gonna wait and see how this goes? not that i’m pressuring you or anything, i just—“

bakugo interrupted her with a peck, sealing her lips shut. when he pulled back, he gave her a nod. “i’ll move back today if i can. i’ll call shitty hair to help me with my shit. hell, i missed the bed.”

[shibaraki]

GOD’S LONELIEST CREATION ┊ AIZAWA SHOUTA

synopsis: as head of the mothman study you’ve devoted countless nights to observing your subject from behind the glass. you liked to think those many months spent together contributed to a sense of camaraderie, but time is merely a cradle gently lulling you into false security— and shouta is nothing if not patient.

tags: NSFT, AFAB reader (mention of ovulating), monsters + cryptids au, mothman aizawa, implied monster hunting, captivity, cryptozoologist reader, possessiveness, dubcon to eventual enthusiastic consent, oblivious reader, monsterfucking, mating behaviour, breeding, mentions of size difference (he is 7ft; called ‘little human’ +‘little flame’), vaginal oral sex + tongue fucking (reader receiving), multiple orgasms, non-human genitalia, oviposition (reader receiving; but no belly bulging), unprotected vaginal sex, *slaps roof* you can fit so much plot in this porn!!

wc: 7k+

A/N: now with art of mothzawa!!!! thank you so much, feral!

Tucked away into the seam between Shizuoka and Musutafu is the UA Cryptobiology research centre. In the eyes of the public it was an extension of the nearby UA University and largely harmless. Cryptids kept there are not advertised, atleast, not the living ones.

The building is huge. An architectural giant, and a stain on the natural landscape. You’ve worked there for years yet still find yourself struck by just how foreboding it looks. Head ducked, you slip past the thin crowd protesting by the security gate, staff card hidden in the sleeve of your shirt.

While they are few in number their voices are loud and accusing. You flinch at the vitriol as you try to reach the scanner. There was a small earthquake in a nearby prefecture a few days ago which was the likeliest reason they had gathered here.

On days like this you couldn’t help the thought that no amount of scientific research would wipe away the countrywide consensus on cryptids. Very early on in your career you came to understand why your superiors lied about the live subjects. If these people knew the truth they could probably birth a calamity all of their own.

Unfortunately it is not only the monstrous who are a target. You lock eyes with a guard standing by the gates and slip your keycard into the shallow of your palm. Nodding in acknowledgement, he places the whistle hung around his neck between his lips and the moment you swipe in he blows, hard.

The gate clicks and unlocks with a short beep that is drowned out by the noise. You walk through and quickly push it closed behind you. Thank you, you mouth over to him, scurrying across the lot toward the main doors. He offers a flippant wave in return.

You enter the mouth of the lobby. It is a wide dome shaped room with high ceilings that houses most of the lecture rooms, and acts as a junction to other parts of the facility. Looking up, you can see each floor twisting into a spiral.

Centred is the reception desk; large and circular to make room for five staff members to be seated at any given time. Yamada is there today, dressed with his shirt cuffs pushed to the elbow, waist length hair braided up into a ponytail. He leans dangerously far back in his chair and twiddles a pen between his fingers. Your unease falls away at the familiar sight.

“Yamada,” you intone sternly. A grin pulls at your lips when he startles. The wheels on his office chair squeak as he rights himself. Wide sheepish eyes land on you and narrow in disbelief.

“Don’t do that,” he pouts, dragging himself closer to the desk, casting another nervous glance toward his coworker. “Bully! I could’ve broken my neck”.

“Then you would’ve thanked me for the two months paid sick leave”.

Yamada smirks, peering at you above his yellow tinted lenses “…Touché”.

You rest both arms on the countertop and lean over, holding a hand out to receive the sign in sheet. “You have a good weekend?” you ask, falling back into idle pleasantries while you skim over the names already on the register. Hatsume Mei. Huh, you think. She’s early.

“Kan and Kayama dragged me out drinking,” Yamada admits tiredly, massaging two fingers to his temples and closing his eyes, opening again to glare at your huff of laughter. “Sure love laughing at my misfortune, don’t’cha? I think you’re spending too much time with those ghouls”.

Signing your name in the next blank row, you give a brief glance at the watch on Yamada’s wrist to mark the time. “Comes with the territory,” you murmur, amused by the whine in his voice, setting the pen and register down on his desk with some finality. “Seen Mei today? She signed in already”.

“You bet. That girl is hard to miss,” he slides the sheets toward his front. “Speaking of…” you turn at the amused hum. His pen is pointed left like the needle of a compass leading directly to a familiar figure. Hatsume is clutching her clipboard with a tenuous grip as she scurries through the lobby, pink hair bouncing on her shoulders.

Her gaze finds you and she perks up. You lift a hand to return a wave as she beckons you frantically. It’s not entirely uncharacteristic of her. Hatsume was the rare type— she loved this job. Any small change or news could garner this reaction from her.

The excitable exclamation of your name draws the attention of the people around you, though the intern remains entirely unperturbed, almost tripping over her feet to get to you. “Mei,” you smile, instinctively stepping forward with arms held open in case she stumbles. “What’s all the noise about? Did something happen?”

“Food!” she pants heavily, grasping your forearm for balance. Her eyes are wide and beseeching as if the word alone was enough to explain her enthusiasm. It doesn’t.

Slow, you repeated, “…Food?”

The band keeping her hair tied back loosens while she nods. “It’s the mothman. He’s not eating!”

“He’s not…” you blink. “Oh!” The realisation trickles in, and you find yourself gripping onto Hatsume’s arms with bruising pressure as it washes over you. Your cheeks ache and she mirrors your grin.

Yamada clears his throat, interrupting before you have the chance to speak. “What’s so great about that?” he asks. “Wouldn't that be a sign that he’s sick or something?”

“No,” you breathe. Energy buzzes lightning-quick under your skin. Restless, you begin to shake Hatsume where she stands, and the two of you laugh in astonishment. “It means he’s hoarding!”

“Hoarding?”

“Mothman cryptids will take food back to their nests for their partners but,” the burst of joy dwindles, then. You worry at your bottom lip. “But… previous observations show that this behaviour should come after they’ve met a potential mate”.

“You think we should be worried?”

“I think it’s unusual”.

Hatsume doesn’t wilt. She shrugs your doubts off like water to a duck’s back, bouncing on the balls of her feet and handing over the clipboard. As always, the notes are verbose but organised. Detailed down to the very last time stamp.

There, written in pen, it states that at 11:58 the mothman was seen hovering by the food hatch. It clarified that there were no signs of aggression or posturing. Shouta was simply waiting. Shouta never waits. At 12:00 his usual weekly meal was given and instead of consuming it immediately as he normally would, Shouta gathered the food to his chest and took flight.

You’re rushing off toward the cryptid wing before Hizashi can press any further. Hatsume is at your heel, her quick light-footed steps echoing through the corridors.

The mothman enclosure is immense. Space is required— most cryptids can grow up to seven feet or above, and their wings even taller. Separated from your observation deck by a thick, bulbous glass window, you needed to crane your head just to catch a glimpse of the ceiling, which remained mostly covered by a canopy.

Flora covers the entirety of the forest floor. The foliage is so dense that sometimes seeing further is impossible, which in turn makes your job that much harder; but it’s worth it, for the sake of Shouta’s comfort. Unlike your predecessors, you strongly advocated for him. You viewed him as an individual, another sentient being with autonomy, and thought building a good foundation of trust could only lead to better data overall.

The facility is vastly different to the outside world. Blacked out nest boxes were placed around the area, hidden away for him to choose from however he pleased, as well as broad net columns where he can rest. Your team was instructed to begin adjusting the seasons months ago. Gradually, the temperature was changed to mimic fall. The fauna acclimated, dousing the otherwise dark and dreary forest in a warm colour palette.

Tawny leaves perched loosely on branches like a flock of goldfinches. Camouflaged behind them are two red dots emitting an unblinking glow. It is very unlike him to be this close to the deck so early in the evening. Waiting for more food, maybe. You note that thought down. You see his eyes follow the movement of your pen and smile.

Mothman cryptids are bipedal winged humanoids. They have always been notoriously aloof and difficult to study. Catching them outright was nigh impossible. They’re a highly intelligent species, and very sensitive to their surroundings. Your best bet was to inflict injury first and capture later when an infection set in.

Shouta was different from the start. So unlike his kin that you sometimes wondered if the research collated about him was permissible. He had been wounded badly by nearby collectors and managed to escape, but rather than relocate, he entered the facility of his own volition. You’d heard the stories. An eldritch being prying open the doors, thick steel bending like paper, the employees paralysed with fear, rendered unable to do anything except kneel under the intense pressure of his glare.

They had been so frightened that the shivering malachite bundle in his arms almost went amiss. A Peryton fawn matted with blood. Director Yagi supposedly spit blood of his own when he noticed.

Shouta never left after that.

Everyone figured the rumours were exaggerated. A mothman wouldn’t surrender itself for the sake of another, not even it’s own kind. That is the universal truth— all cryptids are incapable of empathy. Their sole purpose is to serve as the herald of death, and death bringers did not save life. They took it.

While you knew that to be ostensibly untrue it will never matter. Monster hunting was a tradition practiced for millennia. Accepting that they might be capable of emotion would cast doubt upon such practices. More than anything humanity needed justification for their wrong doings; condemning something as monstrous only renders such violence as heroic.

You, however, had a fascination with them since you were a child. Those unanswered questions and curiosities are what led you to cryptozoology, and ultimately, into cryptid behavioural research. Having Shouta’s care handed over to you was a dream come true.

Shouta was averse to people and made that known; keepers could be found petrified by the feeding hatch, trembling in place for hours if they weren’t careful. Which is why your superiors were greatly pleased by his reaction to you.

You couldn’t confidently say he liked you— could a mothman like anyone? But the cryptid was, at the very least, intrigued by his new handler.

Within the first meeting you recorded vocalisations that were previously undiscovered. Soft chittering and clicks, surprisingly pleasing to the ear; it had a hypnotic quality to it that could almost lull you to sleep. The common denominator was you— rather, Shouta only ever made those sounds when you were visibly anxious, and you often toyed with the notion that he was attempting to soothe you.

You tried not to indulge in such hypotheses as not to cloud your judgment. Humans had a bad habit of anthropomorphising the things they cared about. Countless cynics argued that animals do not love, they simply form attachments to those that provide for them. Shouta may only treat you better because you are the first human to show him sincere respect but that didn’t matter.

Whether your place in his life was just that of a nuisance or not, you cared for him and his wellbeing all the same. That’s what made this so invigorating— not only answers to questions that plagued your field for centuries, but the real possibility that your subject might finally have true companionship.

Your mouth twists as your thoughts drift, imagining the smell of decay percolating in one of his nest boxes now that he was hoarding. Shouta could eat anything within reason if he needed to, but his preferred diet was on the bitter side. Rotted fruits and the like which had a more acidic, sour taste to it, though he could be partial to dry pantry food in the hotter months.

Mothman have been known to feast on flesh, too, in desperate times. Though it is rare for them to acquire the taste for human meat; too mild and too rubbery.

If he truly is readying for a mate then he would soon need more food, materials and bedding. The foliage worked as a foundation but you’re aware mothman cryptids liked to weave silk or cashmere into the structure for the young to cling to and eat.

That gives you pause. Your grimace curls into a wide, exuberant grin, that you immediately shield behind the clipboard. We could end up with babies this year, you think. The first to ever be bred in captivity— a near impossible feat.

Shouta’s antennae are fluttering. Their movements fracture the stillness of the canopy and make known his position. You stare long enough for the dark blob amongst the trees to sharpen into a solid silhouette.

A mothman has a wingspan of around thirteen feet. These measurements aren’t entirely accurate, because Shouta refused to allow anyone to touch them, but the sheer size was obvious at a distance even where they remained tucked to his spine, cocooning him in darkness.

They are covered in loose tiny hairs acting as scales for insulation, while creating intricate, iridescent patterns along the inner forewings that can only be seen in moonlight when open— a gift saved in hopes of wooing a mate. Maybe you’d finally get a glimpse this year.

“Hey big guy,” you call out. Your voice jostles his wings and beckons him forward. Shouta balances himself on a thick cedar branch directly across from the observation deck, a rare sight. He is magnificent in the artificial daylight.

Hatsume releases an awed breath behind you. “Gah, he’s always so responsive to you! I’m jealous!”

Shouta barely acknowledges her presence. His attention is steadfast, pinpointed to your every move; unblinking, lest you disappear from vision. “Don’t take it personally. He’s just known me longer, is all,” you demurred, turning to her with a reassuring smile.

But she is seeing beyond you. The hair on the nape of your neck prickles and suddenly a sinistrous shadow stretches across the deck. Mei flinches back reflexively and you daren’t look back. What was ephemeral fear in her features blossoms into wonderment.

Then, a tapping sound that echoes in your chest. It is careful and somehow that makes it all the more daunting. Brushing off the unease, you pivot on your heel, coming face to face with Shouta. Both wings have hunched forward to create a cocoon of darkness, his pale face barely visible.

Another tap, accompanied by a smooth rumble. His large hand is pressed up against the glass. You step closer and his wingspan widens just a fraction. The light reflects in his eyes. He is right in front of you, so contrivedly real-looking that it feels like it must be fake.

Call it curiosity, or stupidity, or an amalgamation of the two. You outstretch your arm. The pane feels cold where your body presumes warmth. You align your palm with his and it swallows yours, fingers splayed open, still unable to reach the width of his hand.

“Hi there…” you exhale, having to crane your head to hold his gaze. Shouta’s jaw shifts as he clicks his teeth and you are reminded just how impressive a mothman cryptid’s hearing is. “You’re acting all out of sorts, huh. Want more food for the nest, right?”

Dark talons leave marks on the thick glass, hairline fractures stemming from point of impact. His gaze darkens. Hatsume gasps when he shakes his head and you can’t blame her. Cryptids rarely communicated directly with handlers.

“No?” you repeat, brows pinched into a frown. Then, to yourself, “Nesting materials, then? Already? But it can’t be, surely”.

The choice is a difficult one. Every potential mate your team introduced Shouta to throughout the years has been adamantly rejected. There was never an effort to impress or prove himself. He either flat out ignored them or attempted to kill them. You want to enable his new behaviours— to encourage it, even — but there was no mate yet.

Pseudocyesis comes to mind. Though this situation is far different, you wondered whether something in Shouta’s environment had triggered these instincts.

The rich baritone in his purr vibrates against your hand. His eyes blink slow and beseeching, full of apparent hunger, emitting that dewy red glow. Distantly, you register the dull scratch of pencil to paper. Rambling whispers fall from Hatsume’s mouth as she writes, documenting everything the way you taught her to.

“I think,” you begin, tongue heavy in your mouth. Your throat feels dry and the implication behind your next words stings. “I think he wants me to go inside his enclosure”.

A sane person would immediately put their foot down and tell you no. Director Yagi himself would try to talk you down. However, Hatsume Mei is a far cry from sane. She barely considers her own safety, let alone yours.

“What for?” she chimes impatiently. “I noticed he has been keeping an eye out for a specific person all morning— it must’ve been you. Do you think he could really be sick like Yamada said? Since he’s humanoid we can test if our medicines work on him!”

“Mei,” you interrupt, your voice cutting through her exuberance. She shrinks somewhat and you feel bad for being so sharp with her. “No, I’m not sure if he’s sick. And no, our medication only works to an extent. The dose needs to be dangerously high and cryptids burn through it faster than it can be replaced”.

Shouta observes the interaction. The tension in his wings looks ready to snap, and the feathery fingers of his antennae have started to shiver. You take in the sight of your overlapped hands once more and step away, clenching it into a fist at your hip.

“Anyone who goes into a cryptid’s den doesn’t come out,” Hatsume comments, tone uncharacteristically somber.

“I trust him,” you reassured, leveling the mothman with a contemplative stare. He ducks into the fluffy plumage around his neck and glares. “Mostly”.

Hatsume snickers. The weight in your chest lifts and you smile at her. She’s still young. Too young to bear any responsibility for what might happen.

“Something is telling me I have to go in there. It’ll keep me up at night if I don’t,” you continue, adding emphasis with a pointed finger. “This was my idea and mine alone. Do not send anyone in after me. Capiche?”

She gives a mock salute, “Yes boss!”

Each wing with a cryptid enclosure has a staircase leading from the observation deck to a feeding room. You descend the stairs, too aware of Shouta’s stare, which followed until you were out of sight.

The room is dull. Devoid of natural light, furnished only by three large chest freezers and a closet full of linens. There is a hatch the size of a shoebox that can be pulled open to safely deposit food through, and adjacent is a vault door reinforced with steel and concrete.

You open the closet and parse through the fabrics. Admittedly a long shot as far as ‘I come in peace’ gestures go, but the only thing you can think might help. Silk slides petal-soft between your fingers and you tuck it under your arm, joined by another cashmere blanket, smooth and noticeably light.

The vault door requires both a code and a staff card. You input the code and swipe your card. The affirmative beep pierces through your equilibrium. Shouta is not harmless. But you are, and you’re hoping he knows that.

A loud click echoes into the feeding room. You grasp the handle and take one last steely inhale before heaving, struggling with the incredible weight. You curse the door as it groans on its hinges, alerting everything nearby of your arrival.

Mothman feast on anything. Vegetation and flesh, fresh or rotted, but legend always spoke of their hunger for misery. They coveted disaster and fed on it, babe to breast, and somehow grew hungrier the more they swallowed.

You step into the enclosure. The door shuts with a loud foreboding slam and locks automatically.

Shouta does harm to those who would harm him. He feasts on fruit. On cereal and rice. You’d watched him suck through ten packets of coffee jelly, but never misery. If anyone were to ask you, you would tell them that Shouta conjured the very opposite of misery.

You remind yourself of that repeatedly until your thoughts coalesce into white noise. The earth is soft beneath your boots. Something darts through the treeline, gone in a blink, and you feel the hair on your arms stand on end.

Easing into the surroundings, you cautiously call out to him, “…Shouta? You here, big guy?”

A low hum resonates throughout the trees. You feel it more than you hear it, almost like a caress. It coaxes a familiar warm feeling into the pit of your stomach, willing all tension from your muscles until the blankets pinned to your side unfold, falling onto the ground.

A coronal mist has set in, orchestrated by a chattering sound you know well. Your clothes cling uncomfortably to your skin. It’s harder to breathe now. Shaking, you try to advance. Your body is quickly paralysed by the innate urge to flee.

Shouta’s presence echoes throughout the brush and sinks it’s claws into you— throbs under your skin in time with your heart. But if you ran, would that make his blood sing? Would he interpret it as a challenge to prove his worth, or a rejection for which to kill you?

The air is temperate. That perfect balance between cool and humid. Lush oranges and yellows branch out into every corner. Light bleeds through the thinning canopy, the ground dappled with sunspots. This isn’t such a terrible place to die.

You don’t hear or see him. Like before, you feel him first. Fear washes over you and steals your breath. Shouta is at your back, shaping himself to your body in a way that boasts how large he is in comparison. You stay stockstill while he touches you, nosing gently at your throat.

Finding your voice, you croak his name. An eldritch purr shudders through him and he grasps at your hips, pulling them back against him. You exhale at the obvious press of his cock to your back. Those soft chitters you had come to love drown out the panic that follows your realisation.

You were the intended mate.

Death stands behind you, arms cinched around your middle, mouthing along the nape of your neck like he loves you. The line between instinct and desire is deceptively thin. You wonder if Shouta knows the difference, or if he equates love with the heat of your blood spilling into his mouth, seams undone by the touch of his lips.

Your legs collapse beneath you, hitting the floor. A grubby applause from the dirt dances around your knees. Shouta accepts your dead weight as though it were nothing, his wings enveloping you both in an abrupt darkness.

Minuscule scales shimmer and reflect the glaring bioluminescence radiating from his eyes. Before you is a sky soaked crimson and blood spattered stars. “Is this…” you start, voice caught in your throat. It should be harrowing. People would call it a depiction of hell. You call it beautiful.

Shouta tucks his nose into your jugular with a warm hum and you feel sharp teeth protruding beneath his lips. Neck ruffle tickles soft against your skin, keeping you tight to his torso, enough that you think he could consume you whole. He’s pleased. You can tell.

Laughter bubbles up in your chest. It’s as if you are a teenager again, sneaking out with someone to see a clear starry night. The moment is incredulously human.

A mothman does not bare his wings to anyone but his mate. Even in flight they are too fast to be seen. You are so enamoured by it that you don’t notice the shift in gravity until the force on your body lightens and your stomach drops.

You squeak. Frantically clinging to his shoulders and turning your face into his neck, Shouta makes a sound suspiciously like laughter. Your body sways in his arms as the too-corporeal trees rise to meet him. What you cannot see you listen out for; leaves rustling, groaning branches, any sign to indicate where you’ve landed.

When his wings retract the shadows do not recede. You’ve been brought to a dark place. A few metres above your head there is a long slit of light bleeding into the lofty space. You’re distinctly reminded of a grave. That thought makes your heart thump hard against your rib cage.

A calm tenor breaks the silence and you refocus on the figure above. Red eyes bleed into the darkness. Long black hair drapes over his shoulders and blends into the light fluffed ruff of his neck, reminiscent of a scarf that extends down his chest and back into his large wings, which he has tucked closely behind him.

Broad feathery antennae flicker on top of his head, so distinctly insect-like, but his body and hands are startlingly human— it would be, if not for the black tipped talons that grew from each finger and toe.

“Are you still frightened?”

You realise you’re being cradled with deliberate care, as if you might shatter. He treats you like this is the first time he has ever met another living thing. There is barely any pressure behind the claws curled at the base of your neck. All you can think is that he’s warm. Soft. Guided by wonder, inhibitions lost in a concussive fog, you reach up to cautiously touch his face.

Shouta had multiple nests. The team before you took over had planted cameras in all of them only for their recordings to be destroyed, pieces left strewn by the food hatch. It agitated him, thus you respected those wishes. But in doing so you also cut off any means of behavioural observation.

This meant you knew of them, but nothing more than that. You had no idea which nests he actually used. You had no idea how he spun them, or what they looked like from the inside.

What you have been lowered into is not a grave, though it is deep and narrow. The bedding yields, padded under your back, emanating the smell of upturned earth and petrichor.

This is his primary nest.

Your tongue feels too thick for your mouth. “You can… you can speak?”

A black tipped finger hooks into the collar of your shirt. You feel it sharp like a knife's edge, and the fabric rips with barely any pressure. Shouta snorts. And then, “Your kind is strange. Presumptuous,” he traces over the swell of your breast. “And soft”.

There’s only intent to satiate his curiosity, but you feel something dangerously warm coil low in your belly. The broad, feathered antennae atop his head curl toward you, almost prehensile in nature, as if they can sense it.

“You can’t,” words fail you as his tongue glides over your pulse. “You’ve never spoken before. You can’t blame me for being surprised”.

“That wouldn’t be logical,” he murmurs. You exhale shakily as his teeth nip gently at your lobe, pressing what could be a kiss to the shell. “It’s not as if your primitive ears would be able to hear me through the glass”.

The baritone of his voice frissons down your spine and you find yourself clenching your thighs. Shouta braces over you until he is all there is— and you are all he sees.

You argue fruitlessly in attempts to maintain self control, “We could’ve talked through the speakers”.

“We could have. But then the other humans would know this part of me,” he replies plainly. “Is that what you want?”

You’re a little embarrassed by the immediate ‘no’ that rolls onto the tip of your tongue. You bite it and let your silence answer for you. A disservice to your team and to your research— you seek truths and yet the truth is you are secretly happy that this is yours and yours alone.

Shouta huffs. He brings your foreheads together and your knees part reflexively to make room for him as he settles between them. The shine in his eyes has dimmed into a simmer. It reminds you of a pyre after the fire has burned; the glowing ash left to cool overnight.

“If I had not played along and acted beastly you wouldn’t have paid attention,” he continues. You tremble as he slots against the cradle of your hips, a suggestive pulse felt between your legs. The size of his body forces your legs wider around his waist. His cock is heavy and the heat emanates through your work pants. He doesn’t move, and he waits.

“You…” you’re breathless when it hits you. “You could’ve left all this time”.

He rises slowly at your words and tilts his head, beckoning you to continue. There is an unwavering composure about him that leaves you uneasy. You got the sense he knew your thoughts before you voiced them.

“You stayed and cooperated with our research. Even though… Some of them treated you like an animal. You could be anywhere but here”.

Shouta gives a disapproving chitter. The sound devolves into a hum. He settles a large hand on the top of your head and leans back into your space, uncomfortably close, as if to impress the answer upon you. “Here is where I am supposed to be”.

He’s not a monster, just something that wants to belong.

Your hand smooths over his cheek to his hair, the other guiding his palm to your chest where your heart sits. He squeezes at your chest, curious. Gentle fingertips brush the antennae rooted in a crown of thick black hair. The sweet resonant purr surges and you watch the touch shudder through his body in awe.

Your blood sings, reacting to his desperate call with a burst of exhilaration. A thought crosses your mind— had it been you he was chasing, or this feeling?

Was this how it felt to be a predator?

“Here. With me…” you rasp, wetting your lips as your eyes fall to his mouth. Shouta smiles and you have to temper the urge to touch his teeth. “I’ve worked here for a long time. Why wait until today?”

“Courting takes time. And though I was sure of you I knew you weren’t ready,” he rasps, rocking up against your sex. A gasp catches in your throat and his antennae flutter in response. “I can smell that you are now”.

“Smell?”

Shouta hums an affirmative. “All creatures have a cycle. Your body changes over the weeks,” the hand over your heart descends to your stomach, resting above your waistband. The repetitive stroke of his thumb is doting, almost. “Soon you will be ovulating”.

You are torn between horror and amazement. The craving to write this down was insatiable. Truthfully it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Shouta could know that— he was finely tuned to his environment. That was the entire purpose of chemoreception.

Regardless, that knowledge instills a sense of vulnerability in you. The scales felt tipped entirely in his favour and there was nothing you could hide from him. It was equally liberating and frightening.

A quiet trill pulls you from your thoughts. He must pick up on your anxiety, because mothman crowds you back against the nest and you sink further with a weak smile, your fingers threading into his fur. Wildflowers and long grass borders your periphery. You hadn’t much chance to appreciate his hard work in the dark.

“Shouta,” you faltered. Perhaps you should be more concerned that giving yourself to him was never a question. “Are you sure it’s me you want? I’m just a human”.

“I see that,” he stated dryly. “But you are my little human. My mate. This is not up for debate”.

Memories surrounding your tentative relationship over the years come to the forefront of your mind. How purposeful and gentle he was, the obvious preference for your company, his willingness to share his secrets and weaknesses just to see you satisfied.

The pregnant pause is mistaken for hesitance. Shouta brings your hand to his throat, inner wrist tickled by the plumage. Soft hair trails up his neck and thins by his jaw. Behind him, his wings unfurl and stretch. Pushing the heel up to his jugular, you feel six deliberate clicks. The rhythm of each is individual, some pitched and others deep, and the silence between is different in length, almost similar to morse code.

“What did you say?”

“Your name,” he rumbles.

There is underlying significance you aren’t privy to, yet you feel it all the same. You meet his gaze. Skin feverish, breathes coming quicker. Your hips twitch helplessly and he bites back a croon.

“Okay. Touch me, ” you slowly coil your arms around his neck and bring him into an embrace. He goes doubtlessly, engaging you with knees settled either side of your hips.

Shouta cuts your clothes off carefully and with ease. The simple hook of a talon and they tore like thin paper. His tongue, long and tube-like at the tip, glides between your breasts, flicking over your nipples and watching with fascination. It’s as though the roles have switched. You are the subject now.

You laugh breathily as he nuzzles into you, palming at your soft stomach. Shouta works his way down your body, giving a curious churring sound as more of your body reveals itself. He tears away your pants, but rather than discard them, he tucks them into the borders of the nest.

The air feels good on your skin, cool where it kisses your arousal. “Hold yourself open for me,” he says. “I want to taste you”.

An overwhelming wave of embarrassment washes over you as he guides your hands to the back of your thighs, ankles hooked over his broad shoulders. Pressure behind his claw-tipped fingers, Shouta gently pries your folds apart to demonstrate his wishes. “Like this”.

You moan, bear down on his tongue at the first lick as it glides over your clit, a shudder rolling through your body at the threat of his teeth. He descends again and again with bottomless yearning, no longer hunger, rather like an elastic compulsion pulled impossibly taut.

A pleased chitter vibrates against you. His wings extend and shudder, looming above like tapestry. “So good,” he breathes in, shameless as he noses along your cunt. “So warm. You smell even better than usual”.

The muscles in your thighs clench as the narrow tip of his tongue teases your entrance. You push down into your heels with a weak cry of complaint and he obliges, gently pushing inside you.

Your breathing falters. “Sh—Shouta,” you croak, reaching down desperately to grasp his plumage the deeper he sinks. It feels never ending, flexing and twisting experimentally as he draws out, still keeping his lips pressed up against you.

Gradually he builds a rhythm. Observing raptly from his place between your legs, his gaze never strays, gleaming when your hips buck into his mouth. It’s his expression that spurs you on— that rapt, intense desire.

Shouta stretches you on his tongue, the obscene slick sound of saliva echoing throughout his nest. The tension low in your belly coils, taut, and you feel it pulse. Your toes curl and you let out a loud, broken moan that sounds like relief.

“Don’t stop. Feels so good,” you keen, balancing right at the crest. Shouta’s pace grows anxious the closer you get, his big hands palming at your thighs, talons pinching skin. He forces them wider as he presses his weight into you with a long groan. “Yeah. That’s it, make me cum. Oh fuck—!”

A moment passes without air, yanked under by the force of it. Your body wrings tight and the tension snaps. Undone, loose at the seams as he takes you through the aftershocks quaking through your body.

You return to yourself, registering the quiet hum reverberating in your skull. Shouta nuzzles your sensitive clit before making his way up your torso. He smells like sex. His ruff, chin and cheeks are wet with arousal. You can taste yourself on his tongue as he licks over the seam of your lips, and shivers when they part to meet him.

The kiss is strange; not quite a kiss, more a press of mouths. You suppose it can’t be helped with teeth like his. His effort is far more endearing than it has any right to be.

Brief fatigue washes over you and settles into a giddy afterglow. The black spots in your vision dissipate. A short, soft chitter comes from his throat. The noise is familiar— they’re exactly like the sounds he would make when you were anxious.

“I’m okay, Shouta. You— You’re a bit too good at that,” you reassured, taking his face into your palms and feeling it in his cheeks when he smiles. The shifting wings behind his head draw your attention as they flutter. He’s near enough for you to reach out and stroke them.

They’re breathtaking. The texture is unlike anything you have ever felt before. You pause at his squirming, “Does it hurt?”

He huffed a laugh. You think that will never get old. “It doesn’t hurt”.

“Feels nice?”

“Too nice,” he says, stroking your hips. Lifting your hips, you grind lightly over his cock. You swallow, noticing how much it had grown, now completely unsheathed. Shouta reflexively chases the feeling, bucking up against your sex. You both hiss at the sensitivity.

Timidly, you ask, “Can I see?”

He nods.

The size is daunting. His cock is curved, long, but more notably it is thick. Fleshy in colour and hot, leaking a clear liquid over your hand. Ribbed around the shaft, the slight bumps slide under your palm as you bring your fist up to the narrowed head. No spikes. Good. If you met God you’d thank him.

It is crowned by sensitive skin, not unlike a human’s, but in gently pulling it back you find it reminds you more of an ovipositor. Shouta’s rumbling deepens, head hung between his shoulders. Drapes of long dark hair fall to curtain his face. His antennae quiver in place, wide red eyes looking back at you.

You feel yourself ache with unfulfilled arousal. Pressing your thighs together does nothing but tease. Shouta watches you guide his cock to the apex of your thighs, his chest heaving as you glide him through your wet folds, drenching yourself in his slick.

The cryptid pushes into you with a gentleness that is almost terrifying in its intensity— so out of place for a supposed harbinger of suffering. “Careful, little human,” he rasps, an ever present humming in his chest.

A pleasant tingling sensation begins to spread throughout your abdomen, relaxing your muscles, like sinking into the soothing heat of a hot bath. You’ve long shut off your avid questions, rendered thoughtless and pliant by the pressure. “Oh,” you exhale, struggling to keep your eyes open. He’s barely halfway in.

Shouta pulls out slowly and rocks back in, repeating the motion as you open up to him. You crane your head, jaw slack as you moan, reaching out to the immense silhouette above you. Everything about him is big. It’s all you can notice. He’s taking handfuls of you, kneading the fat at your thighs, hooking around them and pushing your knees toward your chest.

“Look at you,” his voice is thick and trembling. You whine, watching the way you swallow around him, clit swollen and twitching. “Perfect,” he rasps, the mix of your arousal dampening the fur around his base. He pulls out again, tantalisingly slow, and your legs start to shake.

“Shouta,” you choke, not knowing what it was you were asking for. He gives it to you anyway, rocking forward in one harsh movement, setting a pace that splits you in two. You can almost feel his cock is in your throat; touching parts of you you didn’t know existed; carving out space for himself and making a home of it.

The earlier mindfulness is gone. Shouta sets a divine pace. He shifts on his knees, gripping at your waist with his talons pressing into skin, pulling you down onto his cock. Praises have dwindled into a language you cannot understand, but you recognise those six successive clicks— he’s calling your name, over and over.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck. Ah. What is—?!”

The hypothesis is reaffirmed by the sensation of him stretching you further, widening inside you, inflating as something pulses through his shaft, abandoning his body and slipping into yours. Your mouth falls open as heat prickles across your skin and what feels like a second orgasm crashes over you. You’re left suspended in a free fall that never seems to end.

It feels too good to panic about. Sperm packets or eggs or both— whatever they are, they’re smooth, cooling where they gather inside of you, and right pushing up against your sweet spot. Tremors wrack through your limbs and Shouta appears no better. His upper lip curls, wings fully presented and twitching.

Weak, you wrap your arms around his head and cradle him to your chest. Your fingers brush over the apex of his wings and with barely any exertion, he slams you back onto his cock, a loud groan drawn from his chest. His pelvis slaps against your clit and in a moment of lucidity, you feel the ground rise to meet you.

Rigidity bleeds from your muscles as you cum again, soon replaced by a wave of exhaustion. You grimace at the uncomfortable bloated feeling in your belly. Shouta is muttering, antennae curled and brushing the swell of your cheeks. You can hear his voice. Muffled, as if you were under water, “You did well, little flame”.

Thinking aloud, you mumble, “What if they don’t take?”

He nudges your chin, gathering you into his arms to cocoon you both, “I’ll make sure they do”.

[ladyelainehilfur]

saying the ending was bad because Horikoshi didn't pair Ochako and Deku at the end due to being afraid of alienating the fanbase + saying Ochako's entire arc was a waste of time because she never confessed to Deku

beep WRONG try again

Ochako's arc was becoming a successful hero who could save people like Toga and to provide for her family! Her crush on Deku is *one* of her character traits and dare I say, completely separate from her motivations! she's a main character in a shonen, not a shojou!! her non-romantic feats should have as much relevance as her romantic goals.

"she didn't marry deku in the end so the writing is bad" anime bros piss me off so bad sometimes 😐 this shiz is NOT Naruto, marriage for the female lead (who is 15-17 for 99.99% of the series!!) was never on the cards. marriage. pack it up, quickly. If you're not expecting Bakugou or Todoroki or Hatsume or Jirou to get married by the end of the series, why place that expectation on Uraraka? Yes, her admiration of Deku was underlined and circled. But at most, she was going to confess to him or date him. To genuinely expect *marriage*. smh.

To be totally fair, I also believe the romantic pairings were left open-ended so as not to cause chaos, because there would definitely be fans of other ships involving Deku and Ochako that would throw a nasty fit if Dekuchako became canon. I'm no BNHA fandom hater, I'm well aware most fans are chill and the toxic minority give the fandom a bad rep.

But Horikoshi made plenty of conscious decisions when he placed the characters where he did at the end. It would've been so easy for Ochako to tell Deku she loved him when they hugged after the war, because it's clear she does. But there was no confession. It would've been *so* easy to have them hold hands in the flashforward of them walking together in the snow. But they weren't. In the last panel, where they're full-fledged heroes, Deku could've been looking down to her when she looked up at him. But he wasn't. Deku didn't make a special note of seeing Uraraka more than he saw the others, he's not wearing a matching piece of Uravity merch like some are claiming she's wearing his. There was absolutely nothing implying that between the war and their mid-twenties, Deku and Ochako ever became more than friends.

To me, that's Horikoshi letting Ochako be more than a love interest. She went head to head against Bakugou in the sports festival and almost won, she helped save countless lives during her tenure at UA, she managed to befriend and disburden a villain who idolized her, AND she founded a successful nation-wide quirk program. And yet people are complaining that she's a waste of a character and the open-endedness of her romantic relationship with the main character spoiled the series. I think maybe people like that are reading the wrong manga.

[foxholewriting]

Orphan Heart

Crux/Male Reader - Mystery/UA sorta - Words/ 1,042

Pronouns - He/Him ; Pet Name(s) - None

Mention - Talk of dead parents (Or parents that never existed)

This isn't fully canon accurate, that is okay! Unless the creator asks me to change or delete this I won't change a thing, this is sorta an AU/theory series

-----------------------------

Half past 2am, it’s been three weeks since Y/N had ended up in a messed up version of home and he had barely settled down. Determined to find a way home or even find a way to make this place less deadly, both with souring results. Black and Crux were to be avoided or for now kept at a distance, was it hard for Y/N to do that? Maybe. But he knew the only reason he was even here was because of them or at least Crux, it was hard to get any sort of information from anyone it was as if he suddenly appeared in the universe and there was never a trace of him before. 

If what Crux said was right and every universe or timeline or dimension had one of Y/N that means there either should be someone already here that's some form of him or at least an idea of what the hell was happening. The libraries weren’t very helpful, either books were in languages Y/N had never seen or the information was too complex. Talking to anyone about leaving this place got him weird stares or more questions that he didn’t want to answer, why did they want to stay? 

“Should be around here.” Y/N mumbled as he held a crumpled piece of paper, the writing was like chicken scratch and words overlapped but it said to meet at the tree. He figured if he died he died, if he learned anything was that he had no control over this world or his own fate. He didn’t have the heart to tell Grete on the off chance something did happen to him and he never comes back that she’d feel guilty for not stopping him or worse try to get Crux to stop him. 

Navigating the tree was weird, it felt overwhelming like he knew everything and nothing at the same time. He stepped closer making sure to avoid being seen and taking extra caution to not be near the scientist, something about him made Y/N skin crawl. 

Lost in thought on what this random meeting could be around he fell over a metal box, tucked away inside the rusty metal was baby photos of Y/N but they felt wrong. Everything was wrong with them, he touched the plastic material and even that felt wrong. It was him as a baby in the photos but he didn’t recognize the people around him, but in one photo they were kissing his cheek and another celebrating his first birthday they all looked eerie. An aged letter sat at the very bottom of the box, he plucked it up and unfolded it. 

“Dear Y/N, 

Our sweet baby boy, I hope you don’t miss us nearly as much as we miss you. Maybe you won’t even remember us if this goes well, maybe you’ll find a safe family and you’ll be protected. We can only hope, but in case you do remember us then we are sorry. We are sorry we couldn’t protect you, we are sorry that you are probably lost and confused, maybe even hurt but remember to keep that book we gave you. That will protect you.

In case you don’t remember us, why are you here? You shouldn’t be here, you should be at home any home but here. Don’t be fooled by the tree or the people or the ones that watch you”

The letter ended there, the bottom half was torn off and the back was smeared with black ink, Y/N checked the metal box no book or anything else was in there, just this half torn paper that gave him little to work off of and baby photos with people he’s never met. The air suddenly felt thicker, even more than usual for being near the tree and Y/N learned fast enough to get the hell out of the area when he felt that feeling. Sprinting away before whatever it was decided to pull it’s next move, once tucked away behind a dumpster he tucked the half letters and photos away in his pocket before the long walk back to Grete’s house. 

Small beeps and buzzes came from the phone, which Y/N ignored for the last few days Black and Crux seem extra persistent to get a hold of him which only drove him to ignore them harder. Almost dying wasn’t in his cards again after Black seemed to be pretty determined to put himself and Y/N into life ending situations, but Crux was different. Y/N has seen him around but did his best to avoid him, he was looking for his own answer and didn’t want to be wrapped up in what nonsense that he could be dragged into by Crux or Black or any other creature that walked this dimension. 

When he returned home the house was empty but thankfully he had remembered to grab the key Grete gave him when he first moved in. The house felt warm unlike everything in this dimension; it felt like it wouldn’t kill Y/N with one wrong move. The room had slowly been changed over the past few weeks, different things he found, news articles on missing citizens, notes he rummaged for in the scientist’s trash and other miscellaneous things scattered across the surfaces. The letter, photos, and the meeting notes were added to the pile he decided later he’d look through everything he had to piece together a new lead but as if this moment the only thing he could think about was the letter. 

Who was watching him, was this planned way before the accident? Was Crux wrong about saying this was an accident, was this all meant to happen but doesn’t that mean that Y/N didn’t die and was still alive? He shook his head and sat down at his desk to write more notes. There wasn’t a defined answer for any of this but maybe he was a step closer with these photos, he made mental notes to take the photos down to the library and maybe he could find photos of these people if anything he could match handwriting to other things he may find.

-----------------------------

@doubledeadstudio

Sorry for the influx of my confusion in the inbox hope my little fic shows that i'm not that crazy

[nights-legacy]

Can't Lose Them - MonoShin xReader

Masterlist MHA Masterlist

MonoShin x Reader (meaning Poly relationship. Don't like? Then don't read. )

2760 words

Angst/Fluff

Warnings: None

+You and Hitoshi have been friends since the UA days. You also may have had a small crush on the purple haired boy. One night, after another bad date, you make a move on him only to find out he's dating Monoma. You avoid the two like the plague. Hitoshi is upset, and Monoma has had enough. He takes the matter into his own hands to settle the matter.

I laughed as Hitoshi lost the argument with his cat, Blossom. He rubbed his nose where he got swatted. As I laughed harder, he turned to glare at me.

"Really?" He asked. I just nodded. He sighed. He got up and sat down next to me. I calmed down and set my head on his shoulder. He set his head on top of mine.

"What do you want to do now?" I asked. He made a hum and thought for a moment.

"Well, you're the one that needed cheering up so why don't you pick." He said. I sat up and nodded. I had a bad date and called Hitoshi. He insisted I come over to hang out and feel better.

"How about we have a few drinks?"

"Sounds good to me." He hopped up and came back with a few beers. 

After a few drinks, I was more relaxed. Not drunk but buzzed. I was staring at Hitoshi while he talked about something. My eyes traveled over his sharp jaw and up to his violet eyes. I had always had a crush on him ever since we met in high school.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" He caught me. I shook my head. He leant in and focused on me hard. "You sure?"

"Yeah." I nodded. My eyes darted down to his lips before looking him in the eyes.

"Y/N?" He spoke up. I moved forward without thinking and kissed him. I heard and felt him gasp. He didn't kiss me back and I pulled away.

"Toshi?"

"What the fuck?" We both turned quickly to see Monoma standing there.

"Monoma?"

"Babe!" We yelled at the same time. I looked at Hitoshi quick.

"Babe?" I asked. I saw his panicked gaze dart between me and Monoma. It finally hit me and I was overtaken with guilt and shame. "Shit... I'm sorry. So sorry."

"Y/N..." I scrambled up. I went for my jacket and shoes.

"I'm so sorry! Monoma, it was all me. Toshi didn't do anything." I looked at him and he was seething. "You can be mad at me all you want. This was all my fault. Don't be mad a Hitoshi. I'm just going to go. I'll leave you both alone."

"Y/N, wait!" I bolted out the door and away from Hitoshi's apartment building.

Ever since then, I've avoided the two like the plague. I had seen Hitoshi try and come talk to me but I would always run away. I can't even look at either of them. I didn't ever know that they were dating.

"How about you come out with the rest of us tonight?" Denki asked as he poked my arm.

"Who's us?"

"Well me, Kiri, Mina, Bakubro, Sero, Midobro, Hitoshi, Todoroki..." I held back a flinch.

"As fun as that sounds, I'm gonna have to pass, Denks. I promised to help my neighbor rearrange her living room after I got off. You know, Lina-san the older lady next door."

"Oh, I love Lina-san. Well that's a bummer you can't come out but at least your not just trying skip out."

"Yeah, definately not." I chuckled but felt bad because in reality I was. I wasn't lying about my neighbor but Anywhere Hitoshi was going, I wouldn't be. An alert beep caught both of our attentions.

"Well duty calls." He said before taking off, throwing a bye over his shoulder. My shift ended not long after and I headed home.

3rd POV

The get together was in full swing by the time Hitoshi got there. He was a little late due to a last minute villain attack. He sat down in between Denki and Bakugou before looking around. He deflated when he didn't see Y/N there.

"Hey Denks, no Y/N?" He leant over to ask.

"No. They already had plans after work. Helping their neighbor." He explained.

"Oh, okay." He sighed.

"You okay, Toshi?" Denki gave him his full attention.

"Yeah, just haven't been able to spend time with them a lot lately." He shrugged.

"Oh, yeah. You've both been pretty busy lately."

"Yeah." He nodded with a solemn look. Denki gave him a concerned look but decided to not press any further. Hitoshi pulled out his phone.

They're not here. - Hitoshi

You sure they're not just late? - Neito

Yeah, Denki said they had plans with their neighbor after work.- Hitoshi

Oh... I'm sorry baby. I feel like I came between you too. They're your best friend. - Neito

It's alright and not your fault. Y/N didn't know we were dating. I just hate that they're avoiding me. - Hitoshi

I know baby. Everything will get better. - Neito

"Hey Eye bags. Tune in will ya?" Bakugou hit his shoulder.

"Yeah, sorry."

Back at Hitoshi's apartment, Neito was getting ready to head out. He slipped on his shoes and grabbed his keys. He left really quick, heading towards Y/N's place.

Y/N's POV

"Your welcome, Lina-san!" I called as I left. I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I walked back to my door. I walked in before kicking off my shoes. I didn't get far before there was a knock on my door. "Coming!" I went back to the door and opened it. "Can I he..."

"Hello, Y/N." Monoma was standing there.

"Monoma?" I whispered surprised, taking a half step back.

"I think we need to talk." He said, looking at me with a soft look. I stood there opening and closing my mouth like a fish. He sighed and smiled at me. "L/N?"

"Oh. Um, come in." I stepped aside to let him in. He came in and toed off his shoes. I led him into the main room. "Um. Make yourself at home. I am going to get a little cleaned up. I'll be right out."

"No, no. Take your time. I am intruding unannounced. I'm in no hurry." He assured. I nodded before swiftly slipping away to go take a shower. I tried to calm down in the shower but I had no clue what Monoma was doing here. I walked out while towel drying my hair.

"So, I suspect you're here to talk about what you walked in on?" I asked shyly. He looked up at me from the couch. He nodded and patted the spot next to him. I took the spot and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, Monoma."

"It's alright. Hitoshi told me what happened. About the bad date, the drinks, and to be honest... I've known about your feelings for Hitoshi for years."

"What?!" I exclaimed. He chuckled before setting his hand on mine.

"Yep. Ever since we were in UA. I saw the way you looked at him and I know how blind Hitoshi can be."

"Monoma..."

"Neito. Please." He insisted. We sat there in silence as I soaked in that he knew all along. "He's going to be pissed at me for telling but, Hitoshi had a crush on you too, you know."

"He did?" I turned toward him.

"Yeah. I'm surprised I was able to ever get anywhere with him because of it." He chuckled. "He's distraught you know. He's so worried and upset that you won't talk to him. He texted me from the party tonight saying you weren't there and I decided that I need to come talk to you. He doesn't know I'm here."

"Oh. I hate that I'm avoiding him but I just ... I couldn't face him. Not after kissing him and finding out you two were together. I couldn't stand the thought of coming between you two. I, I, I..."

"Hey, calm down. You didn't come between us. I promise." He took my hand. "Yes, I was surprised to come home and see it but after Hitoshi explained, I understood. I think I understood more than he did."

"I don't know what to do. I embarrased myself so badly with Hitoshi, I don't even know how to go about talking to him. It is never going to be the same now."

"Who said it needed to be the same?" He suddenly said. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Neito, what do you mean..." My chin was grabbed and he turned my face gently before I felt lips on mine. I gasped before relaxing into the kiss. I looked at him confused when we pulled away.

"Hitoshi wasn't the only one who had a crush on you." He whispered against my lips. He looked into my eyes. I looked at him in shock. "I know I was a major asshole in school but my feelings were and are genuine. I couldn't help but admire you and fall helplessly in love with you. Both Hitoshi and I did."

"Neito..." I smiled and cupped his cheek. I kissed him again, pressing myself against him. "I never thought you were a major asshole, maybe a bit of one but not entirely. I figure there was more to the story."

He gripped my hip and pushed against me, laying me back. He leant over me without his lips leaving mine. I moaned and hooked my knee loosely over his hip. He pulled away gasping.

"As much as I would love to continue this, we should probably go tell Toshi what's going on, Mi Amor."

"Yeah, yeah. Probably." I gasped. He got up and held out his hand. He helped me up and kissed my hand.

"If you're ready, let's go Mi amor." I nodded.

We went back to their apartment and waited for Hitoshi to come back from the party. We talked for awhile. He told me about how he and Hitoshi got together. I also got to know the real Neito Monoma.

"Oh, he's just getting home. Hide! Let's surprise him." He said excitedly. I nodded and hid in the hall closet. I heard Hitoshi come in and greet Neito. The door opened and Neito hung up Toshi's coat. He motioned to follow him with a finger to his lips.

"They weren't there Nei. I don't know what else to do." Hitoshi sighed. I stepped out and saw him sitting on the same couch that we were on before.

"I know, Tosh. I promise we'll figure something out. I can feel it's going to be okay." Neito motioned me towards Toshi as he went to the kitchen.

"God, I hope. I can't lose them Neito. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if. I don't..." He rubbed the back of his neck. I could see how stressed he was by how tense he was. Guilt sat heavily in my stomach before I pushed it away.

"You haven't lost them." Neito said from the doorway.

"Haven't I?" I nearly heard the tears in his voice. I couldn't take it anymore. I set my hands on his shoulders. I began to rub them and he groaned.

"No." I said softly. He froze under my touch. "No, you haven't."

"Y/N?" I hummed an affirmation while still rubbing his shoulders. He suddenly grabbed my wrist and before I could say anything, he yanked me over his shoulder. I landed in his lap before looking up at him dazed. "You're here. You're here."

"Toshi..."

"I'm sorry! I should have reacted differently. I should have told you about me and Neito. I mean you're my best friend and I should have told you. Please, I'm sorry."

"Toshi..." He kept rambling on, working himself into a tizy. I looked at Neito and he looked as concerned as I felt. I looked back at Hitoshi. He showed no signs of stopping so I decided to shut him up. I reached up and wrapped my hands around his neck and yanked him down. I kissed him hard and strong.

"Umph." He stuttered for a moment before he wrapped his arm around my waist tightly. He kissed me hard, lifting me to meet him better. The heat built between us and he pulled me up to sit in his lap. I had to pull away to breath and he attached his lips to my neck.

"Toshi!" I gasped as he bit down on my skin. I tangled my fingers in his hair.

"As entertaining as this is to watch, you're getting a bit carried away for the moment." We heard Neito pipe up. Hitoshi ripped himself away from my neck and quickly but gently moved me from his lap. He quickly stood up.

"Neito, damn. I..." The blonde walked over to the couch, waving his hand in dismissle. I got on my knees on the couch and smiled at him. "I got carried away..."

"No worries." Neito leans over and kissed me gently, cupping my face with care. He pulled away and looked at me in the eyes. "They're easy to get carried away with."

"Wha... What?" He was staring at us confused. I giggled as Neito walked over to him. He cupped Toshi's face and kissed his nose.

"After you told me Y/N didn't show up tonight, I decided to go and talk to them myself. I couldn't stand seeing either of you so miserable. Plus I was getting tired of the run around." He turned to give me a pointed look. I shrunk back a little.

"Sorry." I said softly.

"It's alright sweetie." He smiled. "I wanted to get to the bottom of everything. Explain our side and ... confess our feelings."

"You told them how I feel?" Hitoshi looked at Neito hard. I decided to step in now.

"And I'm glad he did." I stepped off the couch and they both looked at me. "If he hadn't, we may have continued to run in circles. Toshi... I've had feelings for you for years. If Neito hadn't said anything, there's a good chance I would have most likely have continued to go on bad dates and never would have known that both of the men I've had major crushes on wanted me back."

"Wait, both of us?" It was Neito's turn to be surprised.

"Yeah, but you always seemed unattainable. You never seemed interested in anyone really. I guess I know why now." I chuckled. I stepped in close. "So don't be mad at him please. He was just looking out for the two of us. All of us really."

"You're right." He smiled softly. He reached out and he pulled both of us into his sides. He nuzzled into my neck and hair. "I am still sorry. I should of told you about me and Nei. You're my best friend after all."

"It's alright." I rubbed his back. "I could have reacted better. I was just so embarrased and couldn't face you." I felt Neito take my hand.

"That's all over now." He said with bright eyes. "You both made it past this hill. Now we can move on... together?" He looked nervous with the question. Hitoshi and I shared a look. There was hope and love in his eyes. A crooked, charming smile came across his face. He leant down and kissed me firmly. I kissed back earnestly.

"There's no way I letting you go again." He said as he pulled away. He looked at Neito. "You either. Your not ever getting away."

"Really?" Neito smirked at the other man. I saw a sultry look flashed across Toshi's face.

"Yes. And I'll tie you down with my capture weapon if I have too." My eyes widen at the scene in front of me. I saw a challenging looking in Neito's eyes. They seemed to get lost in each other.

"Do I need to give you two the room?" I joked, wriggling out of Toshi's grip. They snapped out of it and blushed.

"No!" They both exclaimed. Toshi was able to catch my hand. I raised the other in surrender with a giggle. I brought Toshi's hand to my lips to kiss it.

"If anything, we will take you to ours." Toshi pulled me into a steamy kiss.

"Mi Amours. You will be the death of me." Neito sassed. He pulled away and was walking back towards the kitchen, petting Blossom on the way. "How about we save that for a different evening? Yes. How about a nice dinner for the three of us tonight? I know Hitoshi hasn't eaten yet. Y/N, have you?"

"No, I immediately went to help Lina-san after my shift." I shook my head.

"Then it's settled. Now get your butts in here and help me." Toshi and I shared a look. "Are you coming?"

"Yes, dear!" Toshi called while ushering me into the kitchen, laughing.

Tag List: @lilparcheesie @dxnaii-rxse @iris-shihabi @l0vely-lee

[sir-knighteye]

It Ain't Easy Being Green

"Izuku doesn’t mind that he wasn’t the favorite in the agency or even the second favorite."

What's this admin? Posting fic?? It's been 84 years... Here's a snippet from the next installment of the Nighteye Agency Hijinks Series which may or may not ever be completed. Enjoy??

Nighteye agency is quiet when Izuku arrives and he knows he’s the only one in the entire building. Centipeder and Bubble Girl both have left for patrol. Izuku’s been tasked with processing the slightly massive backlog of paperwork and reports that has started to pile up since Sir had begun placing all the agency’s efforts in the Shie Hassaikai case. 

He approaches his desk to find his stapler along with his 7cm limited edition All Might figurine encased in a mold of gelatin in the middle of his desk. He surveys the area around the desk cautiously,  as if to find an explanation. There’s not even a hint. 

“Okay…” he mutters, “Weird.”

He takes a gauntlet covered finger and pokes at the odd culinary construction. As expected it jiggles. The All Might figure is stuck in a pose that makes it look like he’s holding up the stapler twice he’s size over the top his head. Izuku giggles then scrambles to get his phone out to take a picture. 

While he would love to keep this weirdly endearing thing on his desk, Izuku really doesn’t think being in gelatin is good for the finish on his All Might figurine. 

...

Izuku doesn’t mind that he wasn’t the favorite in the agency or even the second favorite. There’s only three other employees at the Nighteye Agency. His rank among them is pretty obvious. Still there was no doubt in his mind that he belonged.  He’d been a crucial part of the raid on the Shie Hakkaisai. He helped save Eri, defeated Overhaul, actually changed a predetermined future. Sir Nighteye, himself, while on deaths door admitted that Deku surpassed his expectations.Thankfully he didn’t die.

Izuku had pretty much cemented his place as Nighteye’s agency. 

And then work-study came to a screeching halt. UA required the interns— especially those involved in the Raid— take some mandatory time off for both their physical and emotional health. Aizawa and Nedzu approached Izuku in particular and gave him the option of being able to terminate his employment without penalty. 

But taking that option didn’t sit right with Izuku. He put so much work into those few weeks and wanted to see his internship through to the end. Even if he could no longer be able to learn from Sir Nighteye in the capacity that he had imagined he would. 

It’s the first of many academic choices he makes without the advice or insight of All Might. The former hero has been spending the majority of his time away from UA, visiting with his former sidekick at the hospital. 

…

The next intern day, Izuku cautiously approaches his desk. There don’t seem to be any gelatin concoctions to greet him. He breathes a sigh a relief. As hilarious as that was, cleaning up the resulting mess was a pain. 

It isn’t until he goes to turn on the computer that he realizes that his keyboard and mouse are rubber-banded together. Like really rubber-banded together. He picks them up and carefully observes the handywork.  There are at least 100 bands wrapped around multiple times. The computer finishes booting up and begins to make a loud beeping sound. The error code due to all the keys being pressed at the same time. The sound startles Izuku and he fumble and drops the devices. They land on the desk with a crack. The control key pops off and slides onto the floor. 

Unlike the last incident, this time Izuku isn’t alone. Centipeder is sitting the next desk over working on reports.  Izuku turns to him clutching the keyboard to his chest with wide eyes. 

“I...um, well.” 

Centipeder’s eyes squint and his mandibles make a clicking noise. It’s hard to tell if he is amused or annoyed with Izuku’s predicament. 

“You may want to unplug that keyboard,” is all the older hero says before returning back to his report.

….

Uraraka hunches over laughing when Izuku tells her and the rest of the lunch table at UA about his recent encounters at Nighteye agency.

“I think someone is trying to get me to leave,” Izuku tells Iida and Todoroki, who are the only ones who seem to be taking this seriously. 

“They are not!” Uraraka says calming down “It’s just fun! At my dad's company they have prank wars all the time.” 

Iida reluctantly speaks up, “My brother used to play practical jokes on the senior members of Iidaten when he was younger. But! After what happened I think this is hardly a time to--”

Uraraka shoves a hand over his mouth. “What you’ve gotta do is get whoever’s pranking you back.” 

“But I have no idea who it is.”

“Then prank the whole office! There’s only three of you, right? I’ve got some great ideas!” 

No longer silenced, Iida speaks up, “This could be disruptive to the work at the agency. What would your employer say?” 

Izuku thinks about what Mirio says about Sir Nighteye and his sense of humor. 

“You know, I have a feeling that he wouldn’t mind...much.” 

[huffle-dork]

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 19: The Rift

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs| The Rift ARG

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

Alt lands on a sofa in what looks like a house's living room. It's a nice sofa, its lavender upholstery soft and gentle. The whole living room is nice, actually, though in a strange way. The furniture looks mildly expensive, but it doesn't really conform to a single style. Nothing clashes, but nothing matches, either. Paintings and posters hang on the blue walls, similarly expensive but unmatching. There's a big flatscreen TV across from the sofa, with a couple video game consoles attached. To the left and right are big windows with silky-looking yellow curtains drawn over them. To the left is the house's front door. Turning around, Alt sees a spiral staircase leading up and an archway to the kitchen. To the right is a closed door. Next to that door is a small table with a single object on it. A white cat mask, with the four card suits drawn on its forehead and mirrored lenses over the eyeholes. 

Alt blinks as he lands on the couch. He looks around at the room and whistles quietly. "...this is the nicest place we've ever jumped into oh my god-" He whispers.

Unfortunately, Alt does not land alone. He sees, in the corner of the room, Magnificent land hard, almost knocking over a lamp. 

He glitches in surprise behind the couch as Mag stumbles and almost hits the lamp. The mad magician growls and nearly goes to knock it down himself. 

Alt groans, "What the fuck!! Why did I end up with you of all fuckin-!" 

And then-- EEEEP! EEEEP! EEEEP! The TRVLR makes a shrill noise.

Alt cuts himself off as his stomach drops- hearing the beeping of the TRVLR. 

Magnificent looks at him curiously. "... is that coming from the device?" 

Alt doesn't answer him as he scrambles to pull back out the TRVLR and look.

A message is displayed on the screen. 

WARNING 

Current Location: (!)UA-0829020TR is under quarantine. Jump as soon as possible or risk termination from IRIS employment. 

"Q-Quarantine?? The fuck does that mean??" Alt hisses in panic. Mag has poofed next to him to try to look at the TRVLR, tilting his head curiously. 

As Alt looked at that, the door to his right opens slowly, silently, just big enough of a gap for someone to look out.

Alt flinches and glitches back some more as he notices the door opening. He looks at it with wide eyes.

The door opens fully, and for a second, Magnificent and Alt get the glimpse of a very familiar face--though the freckles mar the resemblance a bit. And then the mask on the small table suddenly flies through the air and into the man's hand, who puts it on so fast that he practically slams it into his face. 

Magnificent's head snaps towards the door as the mask flies- then his eyes flash hungrily. Fresh magic? 

"Who the fuck are you?!" The man hisses. He is wearing some sort of costume. A black suit jacket partially buttoned up over a translucent pale purple shirt, white gloves with some rings on his fingers over it, a black cape with a purple inside, black pants to match the jacket, and boots. His waist-long brown hair is pulled back in a braid, and there's what looks like some sort of utility belt around his waist.

Alt gasps and then holds up his hands. "N-Not robbers if that's what you're thinking!" He automatically says. Then, he winces. "Okay that's dumb um-" 

"You're not good at this Alt, its almost sad to see." Mag snickers. 

"S-Shut the fuck up!" Alt snaps back. Then looks back at the man. "I-I"m Alt- you can just pretend this guy's not here-" 

"Excuse you-?!" 

"We're from... a parallel universe...?" He adds shakily, giving the costumed man a nervous smile.

The man stares at them. "Wh-what the fuck?" he says. "It's gotten to that point?!" He shakes his head. "Wh-whatever. Get out of my house. Now!"

"W-What do you mean it's gotten to that point?" Alt tries to ask. 

"Quite rude to just dismiss interdimensional travelers, Marvin." Magnificent smirks with a raised eyebrow. 

"Would you stop making things worse?!" Alt screeches at Mag.

The man freezes. "How the fuck—Uh, that's not my name. I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not him. As for how it's gotten to that point, well, um, people regularly break into my house with weird stories. Just leave. Peacefully, please."

Magnificent looks surprised at this. "...you're not?" He narrows his eyes then snorts, "I don't believe you. It takes a lot of balls to lie to someone who shares your face." 

"What face? I don't have a face," the man says. "I lost it in an accident at age six, a tragedy really. 

Alt blinks and then bursts into laughter, "w-what??" 

"...if people regularly break into your house- why don't you have like... an alarm?" Alt asks, " or like- threaten to call the police on us." He then narrows his eyes at Mag and hisses to him, "Do you just- constantly go towards scaring your other selves??" 

"Yes- it tends to make things go faster. Also, I like seeing them squirm." Mag giggles. 

“I don't have an alarm because—because I can make you leave myself if you refuse to." He straightens, suddenly flashing a smug smile. "You don't want to mess with me, you know, I'm quite powerful~" His whole attitude had shifted suddenly from the near-panic of before to smirking confidence.

Mag's eyes flash wildly as he grins wide. "Is that so?" He giggles. He then teleports to be in front of the man and gets in his personal space. "Oh I do want to see that- I want to see just what you're capable of~!" 

"M-Mag! Fucking quit it!" Alt shouts, glitches building up around him- just in case he needs to intervene.

The man jumps in surprise--and Mag immediately feels himself shoved backwards by an invisible force.

Magnificent gets thrown back and he skids slightly against the floor. Then, he bursts into mad laughter, his eyes glowing brightly. "That's how you wanna play then! Alright!! Let's play." He shoots green fire towards the man as a distraction before trying to lunge at him again.

The man ducks the fire. "Hey! Watch the art! Do you know how--" And then Mag immediately tackles him, pinning him to the wall. The man grits his teeth. "You don't scare me," he hisses.

Magnificent laughs madly, "You're braver than most... but you should be, Marvin~!" He then tries to steal some of the man's magic. 

"No! Stop!" Alt cries, trying to see if he can glitch over to stop him.

And yet, when he reaches out-- Nothing. Not a single drop of magic or power to be found. But... that's impossible. He felt the man push him, saw him grab the mask without touching it. What the fuck? 

The man flashes a smile. "Should I?" And Magnificent feels something sharp against his stomach.

Magnificent's eyes widen, "T-That's not-" He breathes and then he grunts as he's stabbed in the stomach. 

Alt hurries over and grabs Mag and glitches them both back. "I'm sorry- I'm so sorry-" Alt panics to say. "W-We'll leave- I... fuck! Why do you have to suck so much?!" He shouts at Magnificent. 

Mag just glares up at him. "...its not nice to shout at an injured man-" 

"WOULD YOU FUCK OFF??" 

Mag ignores him with an eye roll then looks at the man. "....how do you not have magic?" 

"...he doesn't?" Alt asks in surprise, looking back towards the man. "but- we saw... him grab his mask and- and he pushed you back! ...how the fuck...??"

The man lets out a breath. Something fans out around him. Blades. No--they're playing cards. Made of thin metal, the edges razor-sharp. 

"Magic?" The man laughs. "So you have heard of the Magician, then. But I'm sorry to say that my special powers are not actually magic. So sorry to disappoint, but if you actually believe that, you should probably go cash in that reality check you just received. Now... get out."

"...like... like a tarot card?" Alt asks quietly. 

Magician flashes a smile. "I didn't make the tarot card connection, actually, but it is fitting." 

Alt’s stomach then drops as he processes what he was just told and he glares at Mag before flicking his hand to put a shield around the magician to keep him in place. "Try to get out of that and it'll shock you, bitch." Alt growls. 

Mag glares at him but stays put, holding his wound. 

Alt then tries to approach the man. "Listen- I'm sorry about him. But i... I'm really lost here. I have no idea where I am or... how this world works." He pulls out the TRVLR and after a moment of hesitating he holds it out to show the warning sign. "...I wasn't lying- we're from another world and... we just want to find a way home. But- we always get separated and... now I gotta find my friends. And now... I just want... anything I can know to find them- to navigate here. Then, I'll leave." He swallows shakily. "Our device is warning us there's a... a quarantine here? Do... do you know what that means? "

Magician sighs, seeming arrogant and annoyed. "I believed you about the other universe part, Michael Vey. I just really don't want you in my house. Unfortunately, I can't give you much to go on. I don't know how to find your friends, or what a quarantine is. I won't be much of help." He hesitates. "But... i-if you see a company called Psyode--they have a logo that's a bit like an atom, and also an eye--stay away from them. They can't be trusted." Then he clears his throat and gives another smile. "Now... if you please. And take your friend with you, if you can."

"He's not my friend." Alt bites back. He glares a bit at Magician but then deflates. "Alright. Thanks... I guess. Sorry for the trouble." 

"Not a problem~" Magician says, smiling. 

Alt then glares at Mag and glitches over to grab him- getting rid of the shield. He gives one last look to Magician before he glitches him and Mag out of there.

As soon as they're gone Magician lets out a breath of relief, slumping. The razor-sharp cards pile onto one another and slide into a pouch on Magician's belt. He hurries over to the front door and peers through a window in the top half to see Alt and Magnificent glitch out onto the street. It's dark out, but well-lit. After all, this is a nice neighborhood, they don't want their citizens driving around in the dark. 

"What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck," Magician whispers, waiting for them to go.

Outside, Magnificent suddenly feels something buzz in his pocket. Oh yeah. His phone. He forgot he had that with him.

Alt throws Mag back onto the sidewalk and then screams into his hands as he paces up and down the sidewalk. "GOD! Why did I get stuck with you of all fucking people! After what you just did to me?! Me and Jack saved your sorry ass from dying you fucking maniac! But noooo you're not humannnn you can just do whatever you want cuz you just- SUCK! FUCK!" Alt yells, glitching in rage. 

Magnificent watches his cub throw a temper tantrum with an annoyed expression. Really it was like watching a child... He then blinks in confusion and checks his pocket. ...oh yeah- his mobile. ....why is it vibrating? He curiously takes it out and looks at it. 

A text message has come in from an Unknown number. I know you're from another universe. I'd like to speak with you. I have an offer. Meet me at Ravenwing Bridge. It's the bridge to the north with green copper railings. Look for the man in a suit. A

Magnificent's eyebrows raise. Hm... what an interesting proposition... one he shouldn't refuse. But... his one sure fire way of getting magic was bust... and after all that virus nonsense...He's starving. And yet Alt- he's not full up but... he's here. And alone... and surely Mag can't go to this meeting alone, right? 

He grins. And then teleports to his feet, grabbing Alt by his wrists and laughing in his face. "Such an attitude, Alt! Did you forget who you belong to?" The mad magician snickers. "And how fortunate for me you've been left here alll alone~" 

"W...What?" Alt breathes, dread cold in his veins. He immediately tries to fight out of his grip- trying to glitch but Mag digs his nails into his skin, pumping a bit of corruption to disrupt it. 

"You're not going anywhere, kitten." Mag giggles. "In fact- you're going to stay right by my side." He immediately drains a decent chunk of the magic Alt has left, leaving the glitch weak but still able to glitch and do minor things for him. As he does this he swirls his eyes and lets magic spiral behind him. 

Alt screams as he's drained and he quickly starts to slump into Mag's grip. The spirals find him quickly, invading his rapidly weakening body and digging into his mind. He doesn't have much energy left in him to struggle, so soon after everything in the last world. Purple and green overtakes his eyes and they glaze over, fight leaving him completely. 

"...y... yes Magnificent... i... will stay right by you..." 

He breathes. 

Magnificent laughs and pushes Alt back down. "That's a good boy. Behave- and I'll even let you stay human~" He giggles. He then starts to walk. "Come now, cub. We're expected somewhere.” 

"Yes, Magnificent," Alt answers hollowly and pulls himself up, weakly following after Mag. 

Mag smirks then starts to make his way north. 

Magician watches from the window in his house, frozen solid. He's not sure what exactly happened there, but he's guessing that the man who looks like him just did something to that electric guy. The same sort of thing he tried to do to him earlier, most likely. And it left the electric one in a zombie-like state. "What the fuuuuuck?" he breathes. 

As soon as they're out of sight, he bursts out of his house, pausing for only a moment to lock the door, then bolts down the street in the opposite direction. He has no idea what's happening, but he knows that they need to know. 

----------- 

Jackie appears in a run-down intersection of hallways. The yellow wallpaper is stained with water damage and there's dust and scuffs on the wooden floor. 

Jackie looks around in bewilderment. “…imma take a wild guess this ain’t home… greattt.”

A door down the hall opens and a woman starts walking towards him-- 

"Whoa!" she jumps, backing up. "Jackie?! When did you get here?! I didn't hear you come in!" She squints at him, walking closer. The woman has darker skin and long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She's wearing an old brown jacket and jeans rolled up to the knees... because beneath there, her legs are prosthetics, specifically those curved running-leg models. "When did you cut your hair? Are you wearing makeup or something? Why do you look, like, three years younger, man?"

Jackie jumps at the woman’s voice- and his eyes can’t help but widen once he sees her prosthetics but he tries to recover quickly and not look at them too long. Perfectly normal- 

“Those are all such weirdly specific questions-“ Jackie mutters, rubbing at his head. “Just- shush for a second while I process.” He breathes and then starts ticking stuff off while pointing at his fingers. “yes I’m Jackie but not who you’re thinking of- which is why the hair’s different. Why do my other mes all have long hair? Should I grow out my hair?? Zara likes it shorter…” he then shakes his head, “wait off topic- um- do I really look that young?? and also I’m assuming you mean the face paint if it’s the blue stuff on my face- cuz what other makeup are you talking about? And if it is the blue stuff that brings up another question of omg how is that still on my face after this long we were in the ocean what magic face paint did my kids buy???” He shakes his head out again then smiles and waves awkwardly, “but uh yeah- questions… kinda answered? Who are you?” 

The woman blinks, stalling for a moment. "...huh. That's... a lot. And it still doesn't explain how I didn't hear you come in?" 

“Sorry I talk a lot.” Jackie says matter-of-factly. 

She narrows her eyes, looking a bit suspicious as she continues walking over. As she gets closer, Jackie can see a burn mark on her neck--around her neck. "...my name is Xiomara. Call me Xio. And that's all I'm gonna explain until you tell me how you got in here." 

He blinks at her and then steps back at bit with wide eyes as he registers her burn. “O-Oh… I’m guessing it’s kinda quiet when we jump then- I thought it did… ripples or whatever.” He laughs nervously. “Um- I’m actually… from a parallel universe? That’s why I… look so different from the Jackie you know. My full name is Jackie Mann. So… nice to meet ya, Xio?” He ruffles the back of his hair with a nervous smile. “So uh- when we jump into new universes- we don’t control where we go so… t-that’s how I got here. Does that help?” 

"From... another universe?" Xio repeats. Her eyes flick him over. "So... you just appeared here. That... would make sense. A whole ass person coming through, what the fuck..." She's quiet for a moment. "I do know a Jackie. Jackie Brody. And you do sort of look like him. So... I guess that makes sense? But I'm not into all this science shit, I don't know if a person coming through is possible..." Her musings trail off.

Jackie’s eyes widen even more, “Jackie Brody…? …that’s so weird oh my god that… that’s my friends’ Chase and Alt’s last name…!” 

"Chase? Yeah, I know him, too," Xio says. "The Jackie I know is his twin. Dunno who 'Alt' is, though. 

“A twin- woahhh… can’t imagine being Chase’s twin but boy do Alt and him act like that sometimes despite being 3 years apart …” Jackie laughs. 

Then he shakes his head again and waves a hand, “wait wait- the fuck do you mean ‘a person coming through?’ Like- I know dimensions hopping is not normal- but… that… feels weird. Anddd it must be possible cuz- well I’m here. I’m pretty good proof.” He digs in his pocket for his phone. “I could show you pics of my wife and kids to prove it if you want-“

“Well for dimension hopping, yeah, it's fucking weird, isn't it? But we've got some... it's hard to explain. We've had some people's... minds... arrive here from other worlds?" She shakes her head. "All I know is their voices come from thin air. But yeah, love to see family photos."

Jackie looks excited to actually show off pictures and starts to show Xio his phone then stops- processing her words. “Wait- what?” he looks at her with wide eyes. “People’s minds?! The fu- what kinda creepy place is this?? How does that happen???”

"I don't fucking know!" Xio says. "It just happens! They just suddenly appear sometimes! Voices that say they're from another universe and stuck here without a body!" 

“What the fuck!!” Jackie shouts back. 

Suddenly, her head snaps to the side. "Oh perfect timing, they can explain it better. Come on. Speaking of Chase and Jackie, I just heard them come in. Follow me." She starts down one of the hallways.

Jackie stops as she looks over and he deflates slightly. “Ah okay- cool. Meeting other mes is always fun-“ He comments lightly as he follows.

Xio quickly leads him down the hallway until they reach a small lobby-like area. There are some old sofas and armchairs making a sitting area and a wall of mailboxes. The front doors are glass, with big windows. Through them is a cityscape at night. 

Three people are sitting in the sitting area, with one in the process of standing up. Talking to them are two men. One wears an old blue hoodie and has chin-length hair. The other one is wearing a gray jacket and snapback cap, his hair dyed a faded purple. 

The purple-haired one looks over at the sound of Xio's footsteps. "Hey Xio-ohhhh what the fuck?!"

Jackie peeks out from behind Xio and grins, waving. “Hello! I’m Jackie, Jackie Mann.” He blinks at seeing the hair color- “woah- never seen a Chase with that kinda hair before- neat!”

The man in the blue hoodie looks over. He jumps slightly. "Whoa! God it's like looking in a mirror that shows the past!" 

“Do I really look that young?” Jackie pouts, “I was always told parenthood makes ya look older!” 

"Wha--huh??" Chase looks back and forth between the two Jackies. "Excuse me? How? Is someone here a shapeshifter?" 

"Uhhhh nope," says one of the people sitting down. All of those three are staring at Jackieboy with narrowed, suspicious eyes. 

Jackie jumps a bit at all the hostility. He holds his hands up. “Not a shape anything! Just a normal guy!” 

"Guys, calm down," Xio says to the three of them. "I thiiiink he's cool? Put the lighter down, Longwei. Maeve, nope, mouth closed. Sunny? Sunny, sit down." 

"W-well, um, I'm named Jackie, too," the man in the blue hoodie says, laughing. "Who are you? The Ultimate Imposter?"

Jackie blinks at the other him and then laughs, “ayyy danganronpa! Man- I need to play v3. Been waiting on Alt to get that so we can play.” He grins. 

Jackie gasps and grabs Chase, shaking him. "Chase! He got it!" 

"Hell yeah!" Chase laughs. "We want to play it too, I can't believe another one finally came out!" 

Jackie says. "I mean, we were a bit busy in September when it came out--to put it mildly--but next time we get access to a computer or a PlayStation I swear to god!" 

Chase laughs again. 

Jackie grins and then looks confused. “…just came out? Huh… it’s been out for 3 years for me… I think. Hm…” 

“Whoa… someone from another universe that’s in the future,” Jackie says in awe. 

Jackieboythen backs up and sticks his hands in his pockets, trying to make him seem more unassuming. “Anyways though- not an imposter but I am from a parallel universe!”

The two of them suddenly sober up when Jackieboy announces that. 

"Whoa, wait, really?" Chase asks, eyes wide. "You're like... a whole person and everything? Uh, stupid question, I guess, obviously you're a whole person." 

"Yeah, not all of us are," Xio says jokingly. 

Jackie holds back a snort of laughter. "Are--are you sure about that joke?" 

"I'm allowed to make it."

Jackie giggles at their reaction. “You guys keep saying that! Yup whole person and all. At least I hope I got everything- I feel like I do?” He pats himself down as if to check. 

He then snickers at Xio’s joke. “Nice one-“

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Chase says. “I know it’s weird, but we’ve only heard voices from other worlds before.” He looks at Jackie. “Hen is gonna have a field day with this.” 

“Oh, for sure.” Jackie nods in agreement.

Jackieboy blinks in surprise and then grins, "Oh! Hen! Henrik! huh- guess my Hen would be pretty excited about this stuff too- but mostly just cuz he gets to meet new people. He's a friendly fellow." He laughs.

Chase laughs. “Our Henrik isn’t that good with people, but he’d be happy to meet you.” The smile drops. “Okay, serious talk. How did you get here? Are you stuck?”

Jackie sighs and nods, ruffling his hair. "That's... probably the best way to put it? My friends wanted to bring me on a trip to this one universe and then our machine we used to get there broke- and now we keep popping up into random universes... and we get separated every time so... we gotta try to find each other. Especially my friend Alt cuz he has magic and the thing we use- and like also a fucking mad man is here too, name's Magnificent. He makes the whole thing harder."

“Magic?” Jackie repeats. “Like Magician?” 

“25 doesn’t actually have magic, yknow,” Xio points out. “None of us do.” 

“Those are very confusing titles-“ Jackieboy comments.

“No, I know, it was just the first thing that came to mind,” Jackie says. “So… we need to find your friends and this villain, is that what I’m getting at? Do you guys have, like, any way to contact them?”

Jackieboy then hums and pulls out his phone. God… it’s close to being dead. “Uhhh I might be able to text them if the wifi is good- but that’s been hit or miss lately.”

“If you can’t, we can help,” Chase offers. “There’s a whole bunch of us here, we can cover a lot of ground, especially Jackie. We are kinda trying to avoid attention but this seems important enough.” 

Jackie pulls a phone out of his hoodie pocket. “Seems fine to me,” he says. 

And indeed, the WiFi on Jackieboy’s phone is passable. 

“Hm? Avoiding attention? …why?” Jackie asks, looking back up from his phone.

Everyone starts shifting around nervously. 

“Well… there’s this company, called Psyode,” Jackie says. “Really, it’s their Experiment Department. They’ve gone rogue and started experimenting on people. A-all of us in this building have escaped from there. And… they’ll probably be looking for us.” 

“That’s why we’re squatting in an empty apartment building,” Xio mutters. 

“Technically Jackie and I are squatting somewhere else, but yeah, same story,” Chase says. 

“Psyode is probably gonna be reeeeally interested in people showing up from other universes,” Jackie says. “We should find your friends fast.”

Jackieboy’s eyes widen. Just like the universe with the facility…! “A-All of you got experimented on??” He squeaks out in shock. He looks even more worried at other Jackie’s statement and he nods, “y-Yeah okay- lemme see who I can get ahold of!” He quickly gets out his phone and tries to call Bro.

“Yyyyeah,” Chase hisses. “I mean. I wasn’t there for long so they didn’t really… succeed? In whatever they were doing? But all these other guys were.” 

“There are benefits, tho!” Jackie says. Suddenly he’s on the other side of the room. Suddenly he’s back by the door. Suddenly he’s down the hall. He’s running so fast it’s hard to keep track of! Jackie returns to where he was before. “Anyway. Yeah. See if you can call your guys.” 

Jackie jumps then grins wide, “woahhh!! You’re like the flash! What the fuck that’s so cool!” He grumbles slightly as he calls Bro- “all my other mes are so much cooler what the hell…” 

————— 

Bro lands in a room with pale purple wallpaper and a sturdy dresser, table, and armchair. There’s a bed with white sheets and a window with curtains open to show night over a suburban neighborhood. There’s also a furry pillow on the chair. No. Wait. That’s some kind of animal with dark fur. What is that? It’s not a cat or dog.

Bro blinks and looks around the room. Huh- comfy. He jumps slightly at noticing the animal. He blinks at it then tries to wave. “Uh… hi?”

The animal is too asleep to respond, but stepping close reveals what it is. A ferret, dark except for a bit of white around its nose. 

Footsteps rush down the hall. 

“No, I’m not gonna!” A voice shouts—and then someone comes into view in the open doorway. A girl, about thirteen years old, with auburn hair, wearing a T-shirt with that Gravity Falls zodiac wheel on it. She stops short, staring at Bro. “Dad? What happened to your hair?”

Bro freezes as the footsteps come and he stares wide eyed at the girl that enters. He flubbers for words- “okay so… this is could like… get me in serious trouble but uh… not your dadddd?” He cringes. 

The girl looks him over. “Well you’re not Uncle Jackie, either,” she says. She turns and shouts down the hall. “Mooooom! Schneeeeeeep! There’s a guy in here!” 

That’s probably the worst way she could’ve phrased it. 

“What?? No don’t say it like that!!” Bro hisses at the girl. 

Footsteps come rushing down the hall and a woman bursts into view, long black hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing a pink sweater. She’s wielding a long ruler like a weapon. “My friend is calling the police!” she shouts. “They’ll be here—huh?” She blinks, confused. “Chase?”

Bro jumps a bit as the woman enters and holds his hands up with a terrified expression on his face. “Uhhh-! Yes and also no??? I’m Chase Brody yes but- n-not the one you know! And I swear I would not have landed here if I could control where I could go!!”

The woman slowly lowers the ruler but still looks wary. “…probably the weirdest thing I’ve seen but not too weird. Who are you, then?” She demands. 

Bro sweats nervously, "well uh- t-thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt! I'm... Chase Brody but from another universe- a parallel one.” 

More footsteps. A man pokes his head into view, a wild head of brown hair with big round glasses. 

“Henrik!” The woman hisses. 

“What? I got curious,” he says, leaning more into frame. He’s wearing a dark turquoise sweater and a brown jacket. “…the window is still locked. How did he get in? And it screeches when opened, yes? But Hawking is still fast asleep and that would have woken her even if Veronica shouting did not. So it seems like he walked through walls.” 

“Woooow,” the girl—Veronica—whispers in awe. “You’re so smart, Schneep.”

Bro blinks at Schneep's deduction and raises an eyebrow, impressed. "Woah yeah- that's... impressive!" He sighs and messes with his hair, "But anyways- when we jump we end up in random places- usually drawn to people we know in our universe,,, or their parallels at least. Which is why I'm here... I can't control where I go I just-" He opens up his hand and makes a popping noise, "-pop right in. People usually say it's from nowhere."

Henrik's eyes light up. He immediately rushes into the room, despite the noises of protest the woman makes. "You've come here from another world?! Really?! A-and you are here? You are, like, a physical thing?" He pokes Bro in the shoulder. "You are!" He giggles excitedly. "Oh this is so amazing! This must be like--like a one in a trillion chance--or not, since you are implying this 'jumping' is frequent, but still, this is incredible! The amount of energy it must take to break between universal barriers must be incredible, we looked at it in theories but decided that it would be impossible with current technology--but I suppose other worlds must have other technology, but even still, this is--this is incredible, it is a miracle, oh, how how how did you get here? Please, you must let me know!" 

Bro blinks in surprise and holds up his hands again. He laughs, "W-Woah hey! You're gonna freak even more when you hear I'm not the only one who jumped from my world- I have two friends- well, a friend and my little brother- and then... a bad guy I gotta track down. But they're here too! But uhhh my brother knows sooo much more about all this- and he has the device we use. Cuz he- like has magic that makes it work."

"You have a device?!" Henrik shouts excitedly. "You have magic?!" 

"Henrik, please, the kids," Stacy says, glancing down the hallway. "Op, nevermind, here they come." 

"Sorry, Stacy." 

Another, identical-looking girl peeks into the doorway, wearing a pair of fake glasses to distinguish her. She's followed by a short, younger boy with curly blonde hair and a sixteen-year-old girl with gray eyes and fair hair pulled into two ponytails. 

"Dad?" asks the boy. 

"No, it's not Dad, Evan," Veronica says. "It's a guy from another universe who looks like him." 

"Huh?" the identical girl blinks in surprise. "A whole guy? Ronnie, are you joking?" 

"No, I'm not, Anna." Veronica shakes her head stubbornly. 

The teenager waves. "Hey, Mr. Brody. Uh... can I call you that?"

Bro blinks in surprise at all the kids, "Oh my god so many children-" He whispers. He waves awkwardly, "uhhh you don't need to be so formal...! You can call me Bro- that's easier."

"Ha." The teenager smiles. "Bro. That's kinda funny. It's like. Bro. Dude. My main man." 

"Oh its actually cuz in my universe I'm a superhero! And my hero name is Bro Fantastic." Bro grins wide.

"I like your jacket," Evan says. 

"Okay, that's enough," Stacy announces. "It's bedtime. Or at least go-in-your-bedroom time." 

Anna and Veronica let out identical groans. 

"Phoebe gets to stay up!" Anna says. 

"Phoebe is much older, and she is a guest, I can't tell her what to do the same way I can tell you," Stacy says, ushering Anna, Veronica, and Evan down the hall. "Henrik, take our guest to the living room, would you?" 

Henrik nods, grinning. "Of course! Please, Bro, you must tell me about your device and your magic."

"I can certainly try," He responds to Schneep, "I'm not... nearly as good at understanding it as Alt is."

“You’re a  superhero? For real?” Phoebe’s eyes go wide. “Like the Scarlet Blur.” 

"Oh- that's a much better name than mine!" Bro laughs. 

“Anything you can tell me will be fascinating,” Henrik says. “Come come come, tell me all about your universe and your jumping through them.” He starts down the hallway, leading Bro to the living room. Phoebe trails behind them. 

Once they reach the living room, the sound of Stacy and the other kids’ voices drift down from an attached staircase.

Bro follows afther Schneep and thinks of what to say. "Welll hm... in my world- I know a Henrik- but he's a deaf actor. And he dyes his hair teal. He's a big ol beam of sunshine. And our doctor is Dr. J- Jameson Jackson. Anddd I have a little brother, Alt or I call him Anti. Anddd we have a Jackie too- he's a dad of 3 kids. Big ol' superhero nerd- Him and Alt are here somewhere!" He grins. "Anndd god... we've jumped through so many worlds now- or me and Alt have. It's... insane- to see how different things can be. But also how the same things are too. Like- You're always german." He laughs. "Jay is always uses sign language- oh and has his mustache. Jackie always wears red. My other mes usually wear hats like mine, but that might just be our good taste!"

“Fascinating, fascinating,” Henrik nods along. His fingers twitch and he starts fidgeting with his sleeves. “Some things are consistent but many are not, of course they are. And you are always finding different you’s and them’s of your friends? You must be sticking to areas that are somewhat close by each other, I am sure the farther you get from home the more strange things will become.”

Phoebe flips down on the sofa. “We know all those people. I mean—Jameson Jackson is Mr. Mustache, right?” 

“That is what our research has told us, yes,” Henrik says. 

Phoebe laughs. “It’s not a school project.” 

Henrik chuckles too. “That is true. Perhaps we can simply call it searching, if research sounds too serious to you.” 

“D’you think, like, those two words come from the same root?” 

“Hmm, possibly!”

Bro tilts his head in confusion, "Research...? Are you guys not... friends?" He asks.

"Oh, ah... no." Henrik shakes his head. "If anything, it is the opposite." 

"It's not Mr. Mustache's fault," Phoebe says. "He just got... stuck with someone." 

"Jameson Jackson is a complicated story," Henrik says. "He is a man from the past, somehow brought here. We are pretty sure he was friends with this man who calls himself the Magician, but Magician does not like to talk about himself, so we cannot be sure. And then, eventually, he ran afoul of... something. Or someone. A being who calls himself Anti."

Bro's stomach drops and he then sighs heavily, "Offf course... I swear if I keep meeting motherfuckers who keep giving my Anti a bad name I swear-!" He frowns, "huh... weird though.. usually in these worlds... You guys are all friends. A JJ, a Marvin, A Jackie, A Henrik, A Chase-" He points to himself and then laces his fingers together. "...we're different though cuz we... we're friends with our Anti- even though he seems to be like... a bad guy in all these places. And its weird cuz... we thought we didn't have a Marvin but- that's our bad guy. He calls himself Magnificent. He's bascially our like... bad Anti."

"Marvin? Perhaps that is Magician, he has not told us his name. Hmm. Well, I have been friends with Chase and Jackie for some time," Henrik says cheerfully. "They are great, my good, good friends. Magician and Jameson Jackson have come in later, it seems. Perhaps we will all become friends in time. 

Bro smiles warmly, "Heh... yeah. I hope so- from what I've seen in other worlds, they're great lads." 

“Right now, Magician is very determined to get Jameson away from Anti, and Jackie is the type who cannot let people be hurt, so he will help Magician and pull the rest of us along." 

"He's a hero," Phoebe says, smiling. "He rescued us. I mean, Magician did too, but the news doesn't really call him a hero because of all the things he's stolen--" 

Bro smiles at Phoebe and laughs, "Really, huh? I always to like to meet other heroes- ...wait stealing?!" 

And then Bro's phone starts to ring.

He gets cut off by the ringtone and he blinks, pulling it out. He sees its Jackieboy and he smiles and answers. "Yo Jackie!"

Henrik gasps. "Let me hear let me hear let me hear!" He rushes forward, practically grabbing Bro's phone before suddenly yanking his hand back. "Ah, if that is okay."

Bro jumps but then laughs, holding out his phone, "It's okay- I'll put it on speaker!" 

"Oh! That's a good idea, I should do that too!" Jackieboy says on the other line as Bro puts him on speaker. "Hey guys! I got to my Chase! Chase say hi!" 

"Hiii! What's up?" Bro laughs. "I'm here with Henrik- who you heard all excited." 

"ohhh! Well- hi Henrik!"

"Hen, are you losing your mind?" The Chase on the other side of the phone asks. 

Henrik laughs. "I lost it a while ago, you know that! But yes, I-I am so--it is--do you fucking realize the ramifications of this?!" 

"Oh my god, the rammies," this world's Jackie says. 

Bro giggles. "The rammies- that's a fun word." 

"Wh--hey, don't push!" Chase laughs, having just playfully shoved him. "Wow, so you're me, then? You do sound like it." 

"Yeah dude! I found other me and other you!! Dude- we're brothers in this world! Twins actually! Isn't that insane??" Jackieboy says. 

Bro's eyes widen, "Oh- that explains something Veronica said then-" 

"Jackie, what is it like to see yourself in another world?" Henrik asks. "Is it strange? Did you even recognize yourself when you first saw it?" 

"It was pretty bizarre," Jackie says. "Uh, it was this weird half-second of uncanniness where I didn't get it, but then I realized and it was like, what the fuck, why are you me?" 

Jackie laughs at other him and shakes his head, "It doesn't stop being weird by the way- and I've been to like- a dozen of these now," 

"It hasn't been that many! ... for you at least." Bro shakes his head and chuckles, 

"Where are you two, anyway?" Henrik asks. "At your hideout?" 

"We're with the rest of the escapees," Jackie reports. 

"I thinkkk we're at other Chase's house? His kids are here. They thought I was their dad. Super not weird." Bro says.  

"Sounds like you're at Stacy's house, if Henrik's there," Chase says. "Uh... I don't actually live there? It's a long story. Basically, has to do with the company. Psyode. I need to stay out of their reach, and I'm sure they're looking at Stacy and the kids to see if I show up there." 

"Hey- have you heard anything from Alt?" Jackieboy asks. 

"Not yet-" 

"Well... the guys here think we should probably be fast about finding him. There's a bad company here like... like Sclera or the- facility guys. They think they'll be interested in us- and well... you heard what Sam said about the... the ripples, right?" 

Bro pales slightly, "O-Oh shit... yeah- that... that's bad."

Henrik perks up. "The ripples? Yes, I suppose you arriving would create very string dimensional ripples. Psyode would definitely be able to detect such things, we had these devices called RDDs that were made for just that. There has been a larger number of ripples in this city as of late, but I'm sure the arrival of four people from other universes would--well it could very well be in the thousands of palmers--" 

"Schneep, these guys are from another world, I don't think they understand all the science terms," Chase says. 

"Yeah, I barely understand them!" Jackie adds. 

Jackie and Bro blink in confusion. "Those were so many words and I understood none of them-" Bro comments. 

"The point is, Psyode will know, and I'm sure the Experiment Department will immediately investigate something so strong," Henrik says. "Can you contact your, ah, Alt friend?"

As Henrik explains more- and mentions the Experiment department, Bro pales. He quickly tries to add Alt to the call, "I'm gonna call him right now-!"

"Wait, you can call people while still being on a call?" Chase says, his voice a bit distant. 

"My god, man," says a female voice. "I know you're past thirty, but didn't you use tech for your job?" 

"Hey, shut up!" Chase says defensively. 

"Oh, that's Xio, by the way," Jackie adds. "She's a friend of ours." 

"Phoebe is here, too," Henrik says. "Ah, other Jackie, she is... also a friend? It is difficult to explain." 

"Hi!" Phoebe waves at the phone. "I'm sure Stacy is gonna be back down soon." 

"Oh well- Hi Phoebe!" Jackieboy laughs. 

While they all talk, Bro's phone just keeps ringing and ringing, trying to call Alt. But it doesn't work. 

Bro tries to listen to the chatter- but he's focused on watching the call go through to Alt. But... it doesn't. Alt is usually one who answers his phone like right away. He hardly make them wait. Bro feels dread spreading into his chest. "...Alt's not answering." 

"...what?? he's- that's not like him at all." Jackie replies. "You don't think he's...?" 

"I-I dunno... so we should start looking." Bro stands up and holds his phone in his hand as he looks back at Henrik. "... I'm guessing seeing someone fly isn't a thing around here right?" 

"...i dunno- maybe- other me can run like a freaking superhero," Jackie comments. 

"..wasn't asking you bro but- he is apparently? Phoebe called him a hero earlier." 

"WHAT THE FUCK ANOTHER HERO JACKIE??!" Jackie screeches, "THIS IS BULLSHIT??"

The other Jackie laughs. "Sorry! I can't help it. Trust me. I-I couldn't." 

"Don't worry, other J, I get it," Chase adds. "But, uh, you wouldn't want to get powers the way these guys did. Anyway, if it's really a problem, you could probably fly a liiiiittle? People would flip, but urgency is, uh, more urgent." 

Henrik nods. "Finding your brother is more important than keeping appearances." 

"I can cover ground fast, too," Jackie adds. "It takes me like... half an hour to run from one end of the city to the other."

"Good. You can keep up with me, then." Bro says, determination flaring up in his eyes. "Maybe I'll see you guys out there- I'm gonna go find my brother. Jackie- you can text me updates." 

"C-Chase don't just rush int-!" Jackie tries to say. 

But, Bro ends the call and starts looking for the front door- or a window to fly out of.

Henrik's eyes widen as Bro hangs up. "Ah, other Chase, are you sure--" 

There! The front door, right in front of him.

Bro doesn't even listen- he speeds to the door and hurries out into the hall- rushing to get back out into the night.

"Motherfucker!" Henrik curses, then glances at Phoebe. "You didn't hear shit from me just now." 

Phoebe nods seriously. "Of course." 

"I-I'm going to go tell Stacy to call Jackie so we can continue that conversation," Henrik says, hurrying upstairs. "I hope we do not need to go searching for both those two." 

----------- 

They must have appeared in an already north part of the city, because it doesn't take long before Magnificent sees the bridge with green railings that the message mentioned. It seems that a river partially encircles this city. Ravenwing Bridge goes across a wide, slow-moving part of it, holding a couple pedestrian lanes and a pair of car lanes. There are lamps along the sides, lighting it up. 

Magnificent can make out a single figure on this bridge, leaning back against the railing. A man in a suit.

Magnificent eyes the rivers and surroundings with intrigue. Until he spots the man. He grins and whispers back to Alt. "Stay out of the way and be quiet, got it, kitten?" 

"Yes, Magnificent." Alt nods, staying back. 

Mag smiles then strides over to the suited man. "You're the one who messaged me, then?" He calls as he approaches.

The man looks at him, tensing slightly. Dark brown hair and bright blue eyes, with a dark mustache. He's holding a phone, clutching it in both hands. Carefully keeping his expression neutral, he shakes his head and holds the phone speaker-out. 

"That was me," says a voice from the speaker. "Don't mind him, I need someone to do things for me sometimes. He did text you, but the message was my words." 

Magnificent blinks as he takes in the sight of the man- the mustache giving away his identity. He hums and comes closer to the phone. "I see- so you're A then?"

"Yes. I'm A--short for Anti. Hold on a moment." The air next to the man with the mustache fizzles a bit, and suddenly there's a person there. Or... more like an image of a person. It looks slightly flat, like an artist forgot to do the shading on a drawing. The image is that of a man wearing an oversized green hoodie, wild brown hair sticking up all over the place, a burn scar going around his neck. His eyes show nothing but static, and he smiles at Magnificent. "It's better for you if you have something to look at, right?" he says, voice still coming from the speaker. He leans back against the railing--though he doesn't actually touch it.

Magnificent's eyes widen a bit but then he can't help but laugh, "Ah- I should have guessed. Well- nice to meet and see you then, Anti. I'm called Magnificent." He tilts his head at the image. "You said you had an offer for me? I'm quite intrigued."

"It's quite simple, actually," Anti says. "For as long as you are in this universe, I will help you with whatever you want. I only ask that, when you are done here, you find a way to take me with you to the next world."

Mag's looks surprised. "... I.. have never tried to do that before... I don't exactly control where we go or who to take with us..." Then he grins sharply. "But... I do have who does." He snaps and gestures forward. "Oh Alt~? I think there's someone you should meet." 

Alt dazedly walks forward- and at seeing the image of Anti he freezes, the purple in his eyes flickering. "y..you-" 

Magnificent grabs his wrist and throws him forward though, pushing more of his influence in. 

Alt's brief moment of clarity quickly ends and his eyes glaze over again. 

"Apologizes. This is Alt. He powers our universal device." Mag explains. "Though... I am curious... what is in this world? I'm usually after magic but... a source I thought i could grab from ended up being empty." He frowns at Anti and crosses his arms, "I'm wondering what this deal could give me in turn."

Anti doesn't so much glance at Alt. He hums. "Judging from where your ripples happened, you appeared in the Magician--Marvin Kane's house." 

The man in the suit flinches slightly, distress crossing his face. 

"That's who you tried to take magic from? Well, the experiment specimens don't have 'magic.' Their abilities are a result of their altered physiologies, from an exposure to particles called weltons--“

Mag knits his eyebrows together, "altered... physiologies- huh... interesting."

“—but that's complicated and doesn't really matter. The point is, just because there's nothing to gain from the specimens doesn't mean there's no power to take. There's a source of great power outside the city--in a hidden compound. And they wouldn't be prepared for someone like you. They're good at containing specimens--well 'good.'" Anti makes air quotes. "But they won't be able to deal with magic. Or me. Or us, if we work together."

Magnificent's eyes shine with that mad hunger. He grins wide. "Oh... well- considered my interest piqued again. That sounds like a delightful plan~! I'm more than interested to see what such a compound could hold..."

Anti grins. "Unfortunately we'll need to cross through the city to get there--it's the shortest route. But I could easily guide you there. And I could act as a sort of scout, telling you what's around and where the best things are held." 

"Oh well- that shouldn't be an issue, me and my cub are quick well versed in quick travel." Magnificent chuckles. 

Anti finally tilts his head towards Alt. "And he could help, too, though if he's low on energy--" And he suddenly stops. And frowns. "You said he had the device that allows you to travel to other universes? But... I can only sense one electrical device on him."

Mag blinks and looks at Alt, "Oh huh- you can sense that? ... perhaps the TRVLR is powered off. Alt, show Anti the machine." 

"Y-Yes Magnificent-" Alt responds and starts to dig into his pocket to pull it out but then- he starts to stop himself. He fights the motion- light flickering in his eyes. "n-no...!" He breathes. Alarm bells are ringing loudly in his clouded thoughts. But- his fingers eventually reach into his pocket, despite his fighting and- 

Nothing. There’s… just his phone.

Alt's stomach drops so fast it hurts. The purple almost completely dims completely as he starts to glitch wildly in panic. "I-It's gone-" 

"What?!" Mag questions. 

"It's gone!" Alt answers back, rapidly checking all his pockets but finding nothing. His head is killing him- fighting against Mag's control and the panic that wants to consume him. "W-Where did it- I-I- I've never-! No nonono-!"

Anti's eyes widen. He growls. "Marvin Kane--he's a thief." 

The man in the suit glances at him. A good one-- he signs. 

"His skill level doesn't matter, Jameson," Anti snaps. "You know he's the type to swipe something that unusual--that valuable."

Alt looks at Jameson and seems to register who he is for a second before he glitches over and grabs his shoulder. There's desperation plain on his face and in his flickering eyes. "D-Do you know where I can find him?! I... I need that device! It's our only way to get home!"

Jameson stumbles back, shocked, into the railing. He hesitates for a moment, then acts on impulse. His address is 44 Sonder Street-- 

Anti leans close to Jameson, making his and Alt's hair stand on end as static electricity fuzzes against their skin. "You know he's probably left that place by now," he says. "Where is he going? Where would he go?" 

Jameson freezes, looking more reluctant now that Anti is asking. He doesn't like to leave other than for business, he signs slowly. 

"Agh, fuck it!" Anti leans back. "He's probably going to talk to one of those others, shaken by seeing his own face. That's what most people would do." 

"Where are these others then?" Magnificent growls. He grabs Alt by the shoulder and holds him back at the glitch stiffens, purple starting to flare brighter in his eyes.

Anti grits his teeth. "I'm not sure. Only one of them has a cell phone whose electricity I can track. Just give me a few minutes to look for that." He closes his eyes, the image of him losing some details and fading to half-transparency.

While Anti does that Mag turns Alt back towards him and growls at him. "And you- I'm not letting you slip away this easy and warning your friends about this. You are staying with me." 

Alt gasps and tries to struggle, "M-Mag-" He chokes out. 

Magnificent ignores him and goes to dig his nails into Alt's trigger point on his temple. Alt stiffens like he's been shocked- purple fulling flaring back in his eyes. "You lost your privileges, kitten. Shift." 

Alt dazedly nods and then in a flicker of static and glitches- a black calico cat now sits on the sidewalk. One with glowing purple and green eyes.

Jameson gasps, staring at the small cat in horror. Anti doesn't seem to notice, though some white noise squawks from the phone speaker. 

Jameson glances at Magnificent, a bit wary, then slowly crouches down and scoops up the cat, petting it gently. 

Alt stiffens as he's picked up and tries to hiss at Jameson but... oh... he's being nice. He slowly starts to purr, curling up in his arms. 

After a moment, Anti's appearance fills back in again. "Got it," he says. "They're near the center of the city." He looks down at the cat. "Nice trick. See, that's the exact sort of thing these people won't be expecting."

Magnificent giggles. "They're easier to keep under control this way. Less messy human thoughts~ And well, Alt has made that so much easier for me~!" He grins, "Well- we have a thief to track down then? Shall we~?"

"We shall." Anti grins. "Jameson, carry the cat. We can't waste time with those little cat legs." 

Jameson hesitates, wanting to ask why he had to come, but nods. He knows that Anti will just drag him along no matter what. 

"Now." Anti disappears, reappearing farther down the bridge. "This way."

Magnificent grins and teleports after him. 

Alt looks up at Jameson, glitches running along his body. He can at least help him keep up…

[ao3feed-kiribaku]

Like my heart might explode

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/2ZnPJtg by emomodetm After the war and being dismissed from the hospital, Bakugou goes back to UA, except now with a with a heart monitor that beeps every time his heart races. How bad can it be? (spoiler: very bad) Words: 11834, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: M/M Characters: Kirishima Eijirou, Bakugou Katsuki, Kaminari Denki, Sero Hanta, Midoriya Izuku Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou, Bakugou Katsuki & Kirishima Eijirou Additional Tags: Post-War, funny but not funny haha funny sad, Misunderstandings, Miscommunication, Fluff and Crack, Crack, Sad with a Happy Ending, U.A. High School (My Hero Academia), Bakugou Katsuki is Bad at Feelings, Kirishima Eijirou is a Good Friend read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/2ZnPJtg

[multifanforever]

“Help me… Help me please…” Tenko trotted down the street aimlessly and dazed. He had no idea where he was going but he wanted someone to help him, to hold him. He wanted Someone to save him.

“Oh dear. Where are your parents little one?” Tenko looked up to face an elderly woman. Her look of concern became one of shock, and disgust. She backed away and laughed awkwardly.

“I'm sure there’s a hero nearby somewhere.” She laughed as she quickly walked away from the shocked child. He just watched as the woman quickly left.

“Wh-why…?” Why didn't she help me…?” He asked himself. Tears began to well in his eyes again. These tears were full of hatred. For himself and the world around him. He hated it! He hated everything! He- Tenko suddenly ran into someone. He let out an ‘oof’ as he hit the floor.

“Oh my goodness are you ok?!” A woman gasped as he kneeled and helped the child up. He sniffled and looked up at her. Her eyes widened. Just like that older woman’s. Tenko was about to pull away when the woman’s hands cupped his face.

“Oh my gods. What happened to you?” She softly asked as she wiped the blood and tears off of his little face. Her hands were so warm and welcoming. His eyes widened as he stared at the woman. Her face was full of concern. Genuine concern for him.

“Are you hurt? Where are your parents?” Tenko was no longer listening to her questions. His hand began to move to her’s. He wanted to touch her warm hands. He wanted to feel her welcome. His fingers came in contact with a fabric-like feeling. He and the woman gasped as her glove disintegrated. She pulled away out of fear. Her warm touch was gone. Fear consumed Tenko as she repelled him. Tears began to fall once more.

“N-No! Wait! I-I didn't mean it! Please don't go!” He cried as he reached for the woman.

“Hey, hey! It’s ok. I'm not going to leave.” She said as she took her other glove off.

“Here, this will help you.” She said as she carefully put her glove on his hand. Tenko watched as the woman gloved his hand. Once she was done, he looked at the glove. It wasn't turning into dust. He looked at the woman with big, hopeful eyes. She smiled at him and held out her hand.

“Come on, let's get you home.” She said softly. Tenko stared at the woman. His gaze fell down to her extended hand. Nervously, he reached out with his gloved hand. Once his hand was in her’s, she gently squeezed his hand comfortingly. Tenko looked back up at the woman. She was wearing a soft smile.

“It’ll be ok.” She said as they started walking. Tenko followed her, never tasking his eyes off her. Whis woman. She was like a goddess to him. She was…..

His hero.

********

“Beep! Beep! Beep!” Tenko groaned as his alarm clock went off. He reached out and pushed the button, shutting the device up. He sighed as he sat up and stretched.

“I guess I could get ready.” He mumbled as he sat in bed for a few seconds longer. He then decided to get up and get ready. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, and even decided to brush his hair. Once done, he went back to his room and put on his UA uniform. He sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror.

“Damn. When was the last time I tried with my appearance?” He chuckled to himself.

“Tenko!!! Hurry up before you're late!”

“Coming!” He shouted as he grabbed his bag and walked down the hall. He placed his bag on the couch and sat at the table, where breakfast was waiting for him.

“So, are you excited about your first day at UA?” His mom asked. Tenko shrugged as he ate.

“I guess.” Was all he said before taking another bite.

“Oh come on! Be excited! Not everyone gets into UA!” She said as she ate her breakfast as well.

“Well, I wouldn't have had that opportunity if you hadn't decided to help me ten years ago.” Tenko said as he looked up at the woman who had saved him, his hero. She chuckled and looked at the boy.

“I'm still glad I did.” She said softly. She then glanced up at the clock behind him.

“Ah, you're going to be late! Hurry and finish eating!” She said as she ate as well. Tenko chuckled as he ate as fast as he could.

********

Tenko sat at the door putting his shoes on. His mom stood behind him.

“I can't believe how much you've grown.” She said as he stood. He chuckled and picked up his bag.

“I can’t either.” He said as he turned to face her.

“Stay safe honey. And make sure you make some friends.”

“Mom!” He huffed. She laughed at his flustered expression.

“Ok ok. Now go! The train might leave without you!” She said, folding her arms. Tenko smiled and opened the door. But he hesitated. His mother unfolded her arms.

“Tenko…? Are you-” Tenko then whirled around and hugged his mom tightly.

“Thank you, for everything.” He choked out. His mom smiled and hugged him back. She kissed his forehead and squeezed him tight.

“Of course Tenko.” The teen slowly let go of his mom.

“You’ll be waiting right?”

“I always will.”

[knowlessman]

it finally crossed my mind to watch this at the magic hour of fifteen minutes past midnight again so here we go (bnha s6e1-6)

oh yeah, libertaria happened; Mosquito from Soul Eater got his entire city's ass handed to him by pajama sam. and I think hawks fucking killed best jeanist to keep his double agent cover intact. I forget whether Endeavor is in the hospital atm or what, if I didn't know any better I'd swear the bit with the smart nomu was two entire seasons ago -- OH FUCK, AND SLENDERVOID TURNED OUT TO BE AN OLD STUDENT FROM UA. there was a whole thing with him and eraser head and present mic

oh boy, and Chapped Komaeda's quirk leveled up too apparently

new OP to go with the new season? I thought this didn't happen with anime. …I miss Carousel 'XD

oh yeah, and Twice unlocked the ability to use his power on himself freely too.

ah, we're finally learning more about Robotnik

"of course, he does have a quirk, it just wasn't in the records" dangit, show keeps dodging opportunities to have quirkless characters in important roles (and have them, y'know, stay quirkless). I don't know for a fact that the detective guy doesn't have one, but assuming he doesn't, he's like the only one. Hell, even that quirkless-centered faction in that movie had no quirkless members who even had faces, much less names; cept maybe that one nameless police chief guy

(outro showing deku and tomura standing across from each other) gawd I hope these two don't get to have a conversation, deku's gonna piss me off so bad

oh no, she killed the ugly platypus

… no yeah I officially miss Carousel. I should go find the other intros and listen to them again, I'm sure there must've been at least one that I liked more than Carousel and just didn't remember the name of (speaking of which, I'm like 50/50 on whether it's Carousel or Merry-Go-Round)

"in all, we only have five High End nomus, including Woman" really? …is her quirk having hair

Mirko goes pretty damn hard, huh

heh. Pichu has Lightning Rod, then. Kinda doubt this means he's worked past that recoil tho. (misc, ngl that amplivolt guy is kinda hot. lights his cigarette with his sparks. not quite the absolute legend that Dilf Legoshi (Chimera from the second movie) is, but still, not bad)

'XD poor Twice is just racking up the L's when it comes to introducing new friends

"Dark Shadow! Ragnarok!" pfft, calling him by his government name now, eh? 'XD

…wait hawks is a fucking child soldier? what the fuck

"no! mewtwo's not ready yet! he can't be taken out of the machine until it beeps!"

danganronpa 4's looking legit

you're not gonna get very far in tetris with a setup like this, not unless you've got some ungodly T-spins

you had ONE JOB, dollar-tree cyclops. one job. "take care of shigaraki." your dumb ass didn't even take him out of the goop, you just HAD to shoot the bad guy machine with your dinky eye laser before doing anything else so it'd spark up and defibrillate him, even though that probably shouldn't have done anything because HIS HEART WAS ALREADY STOPPED

-- (defibrillators don't start your heart, they force it to stop so that your body freaks out and starts over trying to pump it in a proper rhythm. or something like that anyway, lol I got a D in survey of anatomy and learned from tv tropes that writers have been repeating misinformation about zappy shock pads for ages)

(cyclops got jean-gray'd, probably, I don't know x-men) yooo, tomura takin this dipshit's cape and making it his new wardrobe like Liliana taking that angel's hairpiece, I dig it -- or xykon taking that one guy's crown ig. …okay not that xykon isn't a cool villain but I think I just stopped being impressed by this trope

o_o tokoyami you're even weaker to fire than hawks is (probably), the fuck you think you're doing here? -- "this hero friend of yours killed an enemy" okay here's a take: hawks's subplot and entire deal, even his backstory, is in the wrong genre. that's kind of it. spies do this shit, and even kill their own allies, all the time in intrigue stories. it doesn't stop it from being dark af, but their genre is all about necessary evils (albeit, those evils are often only "necessary" for the purposes of their countries', or worse, governments', interests). this is a kids' show. …fine, a teenagers' show. this isn't where those themes generally show up. -- "those pros you admire so much play dirtier than guys like me" also dabi is talking out of his ass here but I feel like that's pretty obvious, he's just trying to demoralize tokoyami and company

'''XD fuckin A! a shitload of ice explodes out and knocks toko and hawks free of dabi, and it wasn't todoroki??? it was just some named rando villain with ice powers? I think I vaguely remember him from when pajama boy took over, but I could swear I recall him getting completely thrashed last time -- "I know you did what was right, hawks!" aw 'XD you kinda can't avoid meeting your heroes in this show. such a shame

oh dammit, and now bigfoot's woken up -- OH TOMURA'S HIS MASTER NOW? FUCK 'XD

just realized something. I don't think we've seen deku yet this whole five episodes. …oh wait, no yeah he and the others showed up way at the beginning, they're in the back ranks and out of the fighting. …author get bored of them? 'XD -- oh, speak of the devils

oh shit, the avatar spirits are sensing whatshisfuck waking up. …there was raava, I think, was the blue one. the hell was the red one called? think it also might've started with an R. ryukyu? probably not. rakdos, idfk 'XD

ayyyup. boomboom levels are approaching the lower end of the DBZ scale

okay this OP is wayyy too chill and upbeat for this arc 'XD

(toga's on the move) spah stabbin mah heroes

"it's like I've had them since I was born" ayyyyup, papa's got a brand new bag of tricks to back up his signature moves

"where are you going?" deku: "uh, I forgot something!" yeah sure, you left the stove on in the hospital that looks like piccolo threw a tantrum on it -- "following you? what, you think you're the main character now?" …gawd bakugo is annoying. catch up, mr verbal-abuse-is-my-only-language -- "you're the bait" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA get dusted, ya swaglesss vegeta knockoff

0_0 RYUKYU'S DEAD HE TOUCHED HER. …oh wait, hat n clogs is on the scene. it's a fight. hot damn, but what tricks are chapped komaeda packing now that hat n clogs can't turn off? -- …(finally looks up the bleach character I keep associating aizawa with) …wait this guy's blond. he doesn't even have black hair. …why do I think Aizawa looks like him? even their personalities are completely different, so it's not that

gran torino: "bakugo knows about one for all, right?" yeah, I don't know why they trust him with it either

…goddammit, that was six episodes, I don't WANNA keep going, I should try to sleep! 'XD eh, I'll try to make that gif and post these later (there was a split second where I'm pretty sure an indistinct figure during one of the crowd fighting shots was breakdancing, but fuck it nvm)

[mmeveronica]

God I want to play a sneaky heavy armour character in DnD. Like I have 2 characters ready to go set up for that, one ranged, one melee. I'll detail them below for your use (obviously don't use these for commercial purposes)

Both of these characters benefit from Mithral Armour, but the ranged character gets more benefit.

Melee, The Monster in Mail

A knight perverse, the glorious shining plate a dull grey hanging from arms too long. A wicked mane of hair spikes out the back of its helmet. Its greatsword carried loosely in one arm. Its other hand itching to toss a handaxe from its bandolier. Few know what lies beneath the helmet, but all know it is nothing they wish the ire of. In battle the swings of its blade aren't carefully measured strikes but a fierce butchering as it clambers around on three limbs.

The clambering around on three limbs and carrying a greatsword in one hand is just flavouring, mechanically this is a Bugbear Battlemaster Fighter. Though I do want to lean into the primal beastial uncanny stalker feel of a character like this.

Bugbears get a lot of benefits from stealth and the Ambush Maneuver helps offset the heavy armour stealth penalties until you can get some Mithral, which eliminates the disadvantage. I'd also recommend the Menacing Attack and Quick Toss maneuvers.

The skills I feel are necessary are; stealth, athletics, survival, and intimidation.

The feats. I'd reccomend are; skill expert (dex boost, acrobatics proficiency, and stealth expertise), heavy armour master, and great weapon master. However I would reccomend resilient (dexterity saving throw) if you get mithral early, and possibly athletic or tough.

The starting point buy ability scores I'd use, including racial bonuses, are; 17 strength, 15 dexterity, 14 constitution, 8 intelligence, 10 wisdom, 10 charisma

Ranged, Heavy Commando

This character was designed for use in a sci-fi campaign, however it could be adapted for use in standard fantasy.

"My first memory was waking up on that asteroid to my helmet beeping. 'No oxygen', it said, 'return to base immediately' and pointed me where to go. When I got back the base was taken over by pirates, so I grabbed the biggest gun we had and started crawling through the vents. In 1 hour I had the base clear."

This character was heavily inspired by Titan guardians from the Destiny series. I went with a reborn, but you can alter it however you want.

This character uses the fact mithral armour has no strength requirements to be a heavy armour wearing dexterity based character. If you're a dwarf and okay with stealth disadvantage you don't even need mithral though, keep that in kind for your characters.

This character would use the Unearthed Arcana Close Quaters Shooting fighting style, but Archery works fine if your DM doesn't allow UA.

I'd play a Champion but Battlemaster with Ambush is always a good shot, and you could really go with whatever.

Feats. I'd reccomend are heavy armour master to get the most out of heavy armour, and sharpshooter and/or crossbow expert/gunner, and skulker because you're a ranged stealth character.

I'd reccomend starting with 13 strength unless you're a dwarf just so you can wear chainmail. The rest is up to how you'd want to play it.

[ihatebnha]

Your cheating!todoroki + momo fic really awoke something in me... damn 🥴

okay but see.... look... when i wrote that... it awoke something in ME TOO.... idk what was going on in my head... but i was right tbh....  

THANK U SO MUCH FOR ENJOYING THO!!! ❤️❤️ u have immaculate taste😭