#i guess I feel like BNHA could have been really good if it had been released more like a novel series

[problemswithbooks]

BNHA 423

So, I can't say I feel much of anything reading this weeks leaks.

I'm not shocked that Shigaraki died, nor would I be surprised if his death is taken back next chapter and he gets brought back to life in some way.

The thing is despite people saying Shigaraki dying messes with the themes of the story the themes have always been more then a little shaky. IDK if it's just a difference in culture, but Hori has a way of setting something up as being a big deal/theme and then doing something that completely contradicts it.

It's really no surprise he might have killed off most of the villains including Shigaraki despite setting the story up in a way where saving villains seemed to be a theme. He did the same thing with self-sacrifice being portrayed as bad, but later showing it as good.

I will say I don't necessarily agree with how some people are framing Shigaraki's death as throwing abuse victims under the bus. I do get the frustration because Hori did focus a lot of how Shigaraki was used by AfO and in a lot of stories that would be used to absolve him of guilt for all the destruction he caused. But Hori never had Shigaraki change his mind. His last words are him continuing to wish he could have destroyed more and wanting Izuku to relay to Spinner he never stopped fighting for destruction.

I think if this had been a more thought out and focused story you really could make it a great tragedy. It feels unfair that he couldn't be saved, that despite Izuku's effort, at the end of the day Shigaraki wasn't able to break away from the destruction he was manipulated and groomed into believing.

In that way I can understand the anger of some fans, because the story is essentially a tragedy framed as a simply triumphant narrative. It always felt like it wanted to have some deep meaning, and always seemed on the verge of it, but never stuck the landing. The one thing I've always been left wondering is: what is Hori trying to say with this story?, and IDK if the ending, given what's on the page right now will really give me an answer.

If anything I think perhaps Hori was trying to say to much at once. I'm sure a lot of it gets lost in translation and cultural differences, still part of me thinks he bit off more then he could reasonably flesh out. Thinking back many writing choices feel like he had an idea or passing thought and added it because it was cool or thought he'd have time to do more with it latter but due to shitty writing conditions couldn't implement properly.

[gece-misin-nesin]

I hope it’s ok if I rant a little about MHA because your post about Endeavor walking free reminded me of how detrimental some of the messages MHA can be. (I’ll try not to write much, feel free to delete this tho!)

It is so frustrating how the story doesn’t linger enough on the weight killing people that have yet to commit a crime, people that are a threat to the status quo, holds.

Sometimes I legit feel insane because people will be saying things like, “He could be a threat, so of course they should kill him.” And then talk about Deku and class 1A “changing the world for the better,” when the series doesn’t care to unpack its systematic issues past individual issues + the series essentially maintained the system that failed so many—resorting to reforms and expanding programs doesn’t actually solve the problem imo.

And it’s so hard nowadays to even try to have a conversation that entails criticism of the story, when so many fans fall for the condescending righteousness the story feeds as a response just because it came from heroes. Even though the story itself presents reasons why we shouldn’t blindly trust heroes (Endeavor literally right there) 🤦

Like, the story presents characters being oppressed and the ultimate response to their plight is constantly, “Just be a better victim.” The whole situation with Touya and Endeavor + what Deku says to Touya, is absolutely insane to me.

It made me sick to see people saying, “This is what Touya always wanted.” This is what people are taking away from the story, when many people who grew up being abused and didn’t fit the “perfect victim” criteria will tell you how fucked up that ending was.

Anyway, sorry for ranting. It’s so hard to find people who understands criticism in the MHA fandom 😭 The story has a lot of good points and potential, Hori just couldn’t handle it properly.

I am ALWAYS happy to listen to bnha rants!! I devour the bnha critical tag like a wild beast lmaoo

As for your thoughts, 100% agree. I feel like a big part of the problem is that the story spends so much time setting up systematic issues and then just..drops them? Acts like they don't exist? And instead it redirects all blame and reason to indovidual problems, like Endeavor for example. Touya became a villain because of Endeavor..but the conditions under which he became a villain could have been massively prevented if the ranking system didn't exist and if so much value hadn't been placed on it. Or if the wealth and privilege that being a hero had brought to Endeavor hadn't let people turn a blind eye to his bullshit. Because are you really telling NO ONE had even an inclination that something was wrong in that household? Really?

This also applies to Tomura. In the beginning The Walk where he spent some amount of time on the streets without anyone helping him seemed very important to his backstory. He didn't become a villain just because his father was a pos, he becane a villain because the state of heroism led to a society that glorified heroes to such an extent that people didn't help a bloody kid on the street because a 'hero would'. But instead most of his memories Deku interferes w are about the Shimura household instead of the very important bystander syndrome. And THEN to top it all off, we learn the stupid 'AFO orchestrated Tomura's whole life' thing. I cannot find the right words to express just how much I loathe that.

Anyway, Touya and Tenko are just two examples. Overall, the story chooses to resolve individual problems (and how well even those are resolved is certainly debatable) and frame them as the leading causes of villainy when its mostly systemic issues that cause it and then act like there were no systemic issues in the first place. I mean, literally no one has a problem with the HPSC casually having private assassins to commit extrajudicial murder, so. Guess Nagant should have just been "optimistic" and waited for someone to, idk, topple the literal government.

[sipsteainanxiety]

holding out (just for you) [3] || katsuki b.

pairing: dragon!bakugo katsuki x reader

word count: 12.9k+

mentions: female reader, fantasy au, near death experience, descriptions of injuries (blood, some light gore, nausea, poisoning wrt reader), not completely revised akhdfg, aged up chars (24+), sfw, second pov, part of the bnha big bang collab!

with art drawn by the talented @your-fellow-passerine!! here is a link to the original post (give it some love!!!!) <33

side note: there had been some confusion wrt the ending of ch2 when i had posted it so im here to say that bkg did not leave LOL.

masterlist part two

You had a feeling for a while now that Bakugo didn’t like being indebted to you. 

You picked it up from some of his more subtle mannerisms whenever you brought him food or spent hours on end healing him. You didn’t mind, you really didn’t, and you tried telling him as much. But well, if there was one thing you learned about him over all these months, it was that he was a stubborn bastard (and he knew that, too). He could be grumpy all he wanted, though—it wasn’t like you were going to stop.

One day, you were just finishing up on healing the wound near his eye when he decided to puff a small bit of smoke directly into your face. Your nose scrunched slightly as you waved away the cloud with a hand and looked into his eye expectantly. He was lucky his smoke smelled kind of good; you don’t think you would have tolerated him doing it so often if it didn’t. “Need something?”

He made a deep rumble and lifted his head up, your hands dropping away from it as he jerked his chin towards his back. You looked at it curiously. “Oh, do you want me to heal—” 

He cut you off with a light growl and shake of his head. You could only watch him dumbly, not quite understanding even as he appeared to get a bit irritated. He gestured to his back again and gave his wings a little flap, then looked pointedly down at you with another huff. 

“Oh!” You brightened as his actions seemed to click together in your head. “You wanna go somewhere?” He let out a snort and lowered his head to give you a gentle nudge with the tip of his nose. “With me?” A puff of caramel-scented smoke and quick nod was all the confirmation you needed. “Sure, we’ve got time.” The sun wouldn’t set for a while. You stepped around him to tug on your bag and head over to his back, your eyes moving to look for somewhere you could sit atop him. It wouldn’t be an issue if he didn’t have all those spikes in the way. 

Just as the thought crossed your mind, though, Bakugo lowered himself closer to the ground. After a short moment that had you raising an eyebrow at him, he retracted his spikes completely into his body. You stared at his smooth back for a second, then looked at him with bewilderment painted across your features. He avoided your gaze a bit, then flicked his eyes towards you. “Wow! Since when could you do that?!” He only snorted as a response. 

It took a bit of shimmying to crawl your way up Bakugo’s back—his scales were warm like an hearth under your palms and slightly slippery as though coated in a light layer of oil—but you eventually managed to nestle yourself in the crook where his neck met his back. Your legs dangled down from the sides of his neck in a way that reminded you of riding a horse—except your thighs were forced to spread apart much wider. You were going to be sore as all hell tomorrow.  

You rested your hands lightly on his neck in front of you and looked up to see him peering back at you, one slitted, crimson eye sharply trained on your form. You gave him a thumbs up, doing your best to ignore the butterflies fluttering away in your stomach. Were you really about to do this? “Ready!” You guessed you were.

Bakugo chuffed and turned back around as the muscles in his back rolled beneath you. It was an entirely different experience being on top of him as he prepared to take off. Part of you kind of preferred to be on the ground—watching—instead. Your heart shot up to your throat when his wings gave two massive flaps somewhere behind you, and you leaned forward to wrap your arms around his thick neck as much as you could, practically cementing your body against him. 

“Ohhh my goddd,” you choked out, holding on for dear life as he leapt up into the air in a sudden, quick motion and flew up, and up, and up. Your stomach lurched, your hair whipped around sporadically. You almost didn’t want to look down, but you did, and you gaped in amazement as the clearing got smaller and smaller. The forest turned into an indecipherable ocean of green and if you looked to your left, you could see the small houses and buildings that made up Yuuei. 

Bakugo eventually leveled off and started heading in the direction of Mount Kamino. Since his movements were less rocky than they were while he was climbing up into the air, you were able to somewhat let go of his neck to sit yourself up. The wind pushed your hair back and stung at your eyes from being this high, but it wasn’t unbearable. You breathed in deeply, the crisp air filling your lungs, then exhaled it all in a relieved sigh. The warmth of the gleaming sun to your left and the coolness of being at this altitude contrasted against each other, but you felt nothing but the heat radiating from the dragon beneath you.

You stared around in wonder, the vast expanse of blue that stretched on until it reached the silver lining of the horizon. You felt like you could get lost in all that blue, unable to tell left from right or forward from backward. The thought made you suppress a small shiver and you turned your attention to the puffy, white clouds that Bakugo soared by—you couldn’t help but reach out to them, humorously imagining that you could just snatch a chunk off to hold in your hand. 

If you peeked down at the Earth, you could see the moment when the grey of Mount Kamino met the thick forest that surrounded it. Some distance away, you could see Lake Might—a mirror in the ground that felt like a portal to another universe. That you could fall through and end up in another sky not unlike this one. Your eyes moved to skim over the face of the mountain, locating a familiar dark cave atop an equally as familiar slope.

You felt, more than heard, the rumble that quaked through Bakugo’s chest. You raised your head to look at him; he’d turned his head slightly to peer at you from the corner of a glowing, ruby eye. 

“This is amazing!” You laughed out, a silly grin on your slowly numbing face. He snorted and returned his gaze to the front. Where you both were going, you didn’t know, but you trusted him.

You got so lost in watching the green ground pass below you—the way Bakugo’s shadow drifted across the clouds he soared above—that when he started to decelerate and tilted himself downwards, you blinked in surprise. There was a large clearing atop a plateau that he circled around once before he dropped himself down onto it in a smooth landing. You hardly felt yourself get jostled around. He puffed out some smoke and crouched his legs so you could slide off his back, your thighs only slightly sore for now. 

You straightened out your clothes and looked around to see where he’d taken you. It really was just a regular clearing. You wandered away from him and crouched down by a flower sticking out from tall blades of grass. A familiar, cerulean-colored flower, with petals shaped in the form of a star and leaves that reminded you of the hearts Denki would sometimes doodle on the sides of your drink containers. Your jaw dropped open. 

“Zeniths!” you exclaimed as you picked said flower and jumped to your feet so you could spin around to face Bakugo. He was watching you quietly, his eyes flicking down to the Zenith as you scurried closer to him to brandish it eagerly. “You found a clearing!! Shit, look at all this!” You waved your hand out at the seemingly endless field covered in cerulean flowers. “This is enough to last me years!” You turned back to look at him with a wide smile that made the apples of your cheeks hurt. “Thank you! Truly.”

For a moment, all he did was stare down at you. Then he snorted out some smoke into your face and turned his head to look away in a random direction. You only laughed at his reaction and jogged off to start collecting as many Zeniths as you could. You’d have to remember where this clearing was for the future—maybe you could come back on your own.

You took your time to carefully pluck and bundle the Zeniths, wrapping their stems together with string so you could stash them in your bag. At one point, you looked around to see what Bakugo was up to and saw that he’d taken to the skies again—you hadn’t even noticed when he’d lifted off, so absorbed in your work. He was steadily circling around the plateau, clearly enjoying himself, in his own way. 

You wandered over to a particularly rough, bumpy, patch of the plateau and knelt down to gather the Zeniths there. But you paused, for a short second, as you felt a faint tremor through the soles of your shoes. You slowly stood up and waited to see if there would be another, your eyes latched onto the gently swaying grass and flowers below you. One second, two seconds—a faint shake. Three seconds, four seconds. The ground shifted. You furrowed your eyebrows.

And then the Earth erupted beneath your feet.

You let out a yelp as you tumbled backwards onto the grass and dirt, your brain not fully processing what was happening. Your reflexes kicked into overdrive when you noticed a large, dark shadow shoot towards your disoriented form, and you were just barely able to toss yourself to the side to avoid it. A large jaw snapped near your head, missing it by inches. You rolled, heart picking up a frantic beat when you heard a low, raspy hissing. From your periphery, something grey and scaley—covered with flecks of brown and green—gyrated at your side and sunk back into the ground. You stared at where it had disappeared, the Earth a mess of overturned soil that quivered for a second before it stilled. 

You swallowed thickly, breaths bated, and slowly picked yourself up from the ground. You kept your eyes locked on the area around you. And you listened. And you waited. You were scared to take a further step for fear of disturbing the odd silence that had befallen the field, but you forced yourself to slowly inch away from your spot. You licked at your dry lips, a foreboding feeling settling in your chest. Your fingers trembled into fists.

This time, when the ground exploded in a monstrous plume of dirt and grass, you let out a piercing scream and whipped yourself around so you could run. 

Keep your gaze low, you panicked to yourself as you pumped your legs as fast as you could. The terra basilisk let out a hiss that you could hear over your palpitating heart. Its large shadow lunged towards you again. You yelped and dove to the side, a pain bursting along your upper right arm as your hands scraped against rock and rough patches of soil. Still, you couldn’t stop, you couldn’t. You scrambled up and sprinted off towards some trees you could see in the distance, not giving yourself the time to rest for fear of what would become of you if you did. 

You could hear the way the basilisk snaked across the ground after you, the way it dove deep into the soil once more to leave you for a terrifyingly quiet minute. The ground shook minutely behind you, before all went still. You didn’t dare look back to see where it was, keeping your eyes locked on a point in front of you. A crisp pain was starting to manifest itself in your side, just under your ribs. Your breaths came out in quick gasps. 

Still, you ran. 

A column of dirt burst forth into the air to your right. You yelped and ducked down as you lunged to the left to avoid the dark, snapping maw that descended upon your head like the hand of death itself. But just as you pivoted to sprint in a direction opposite of the hole the basilisk had emerged from, your foot slipped on something—made it twist sharply and suddenly. You barely had time to throw out your hands to catch yourself as you went plunging towards the grass. Before you could hit the ground, however, something slammed into your side. 

Hard. 

It threw off your momentum—knocked you into the air—a choked gasp leaving your chapped lips as you soared blindly in a direction you couldn’t make out. Your hair whipped around your face, your eyes scrunched closed as though to brace yourself. You hit the ground with a rough thud and rolled through grass and dirt that tangled around your hair and limbs. Sticks and stones scratched at your clothes, your skin. Your head swam with the motion of skidding across the Earth in a seemingly never-ending whirlwind. A rough grunt escaped your mouth when you finally, finally, felt your back collide with something rough. It forced the wind right out of you—caused a throbbing pain to radiate across your torso. You crumpled into a heap, the energy sapped out of you like a sponge wrung dry.

And through the pounding of your heart in your ears, you heard a thundering, soul-encompassing, roar. 

It reverberated through your very bones, sunk deep into your chest and made your heart skip a beat. You could barely even move. The hammering in your head, along your back, was debilitating. Your lips trembled with the pained groans you wanted to release. The dirt felt cool against your overheating cheeks. You kept your eyes shut tightly, unwilling to look up for fear of meeting the yellowed eyes of the basilisk. All you could do was curl into a ball and listen to the snarls and growls in the near distance. Feel a sudden, sweltering heat that washed along your exposed skin—accompanied by a deep, deep rumble. You bit at the inside of your cheek and pressed your forehead further into the Earth in the hopes that it would swallow you whole.

A shrieking hiss. A vicious snarl. The sound of flesh tearing apart. The steady flapping of large wings that got fainter and fainter and fainter, until all you could hear was the gentle rustling of leaves above you. Peaceful, almost, in a way that made you feel sick. Grass tickled at your neck. Your back throbbed at the slightest of movements.

In the far, far distance, there was a faint crack that was followed by the shrill chirps and caws of birds as they fluttered up into the sky. 

You don’t know how long you lay there, your consciousness flickering in and out like a candle fighting to stay lit in a storm. Your eyes fluttered as you struggled desperately against the encroaching darkness that threatened to pull you under. Eventually, you were jolted awake by a thud somewhere near you that you could feel through the ground. For a moment, your heart stuttered in your chest, worried that the creature behind the impact was one with grey, scaly skin and yellow eyes. But then something gently nudged at your right side. Hot air fanned out over your body, ruffling your hair. There was a familiar, quiet rumbling sound that only became more insistent when you didn’t move. 

You released the groan you’d been choking on and started to shift so you could push yourself up. Your back immediately protested, practically screaming at you to lay down once more. But you couldn’t—you knew you couldn’t, no matter how much you wanted to close your eyes and simply rest. You needed to check the stinging pain you felt on your upper arm, the tenderness in your ankle.  

With muscles tenser than you’d ever felt them before, you propped yourself up on your palms and moved your legs until you were in a crawling position. You blinked hazily down at the dirt and grass beneath you, your chest moving as you took slow, steady breaths in the hopes that they would get rid of the spots of black that lingered across your vision. Bakugo let out a chuff near your head and nudged you again until you shifted, painstakingly slow. God, everything hurts. 

You managed to sit yourself up and lean back against the tree you’d slammed into, your legs extended before you. Just doing that simple action made your head swing dangerously. Inhale, then exhale. You shivered at the gentle breeze that drifted through the air. You closed your eyes for a second, then reopened them to gaze blearily up at Bakugo hovering in front of you. Worried, it seemed, if the way he was chuffing close to your face was any indication. Something dark burgundy was smeared across his mouth, coated his fangs. You swallowed thickly and forced down the sudden nausea you felt crawling up your throat. Bakugo watched you carefully for a moment, then his pink tongue darted out to lick at his maw in a quick motion. You let out a quiet sigh. 

“Did it nick you?” you croaked out once your nerves had settled, your tongue like lead in your mouth. Bakugo huffed out his irritation and nudged your shoulder pointedly. You let out a weak laugh. “Yeah, I should… focus on myself, huh?” Your left hand reached across your chest to press your palm against the stinging part of your upper arm. When you pulled it away, it was coated in crimson—though it was much darker than you’d expected it to be. And when you turned your head in an attempt to peer at the wound, you saw that it was tinged with an inky black. Your stomach dropped. No wonder you were feeling so lightheaded and clammy. 

“Fuck, it got me,” you rasped and pressed the back of your hand to your forehead. It felt warm. You needed to do something, and you needed to do it fast. Bakugo made a low whine as your eyes darted around the grass surrounding you. There were a few Zeniths swaying lazily back and forth a few feet to your left. Perfect. You took a deep breath to brace yourself, then shifted back onto your knees so you could crawl closer to the cerulean flowers. Your back pulsed hotly—you winced and struggled to push through the pain for the brief seconds it took you to reach out and snatch them up in a clumsy hand. 

Bakugo followed you with his head, puffing near your body as he kept an eye on you. The light around you was starting to… look strange. Almost like you were underwater. That couldn’t be good. You sat on your calves and promptly stuffed the Zeniths into your mouth, your jaw working furiously as you chewed them into a paste. It wasn’t the best method of execution to get them to the state you needed, but well, it would have to do. They tasted like… nothing, really. Maybe the vague hint of something that reminded you of honeydew.

You were lucky—really fucking lucky—that you were surrounded by the right flora to aid in healing your injuries and slowing down the spread of the basilisk poison. You dared not ruminate on the dark implications of the plateau housing other… less useful plants. 

You did your best to wipe the blood on your palm on the grass near your knees. There was no time to waste—you couldn’t spare the minutes it would take to get your arm to stop bleeding. As you spat the murky green mush in your mouth onto your left hand and smoothed it roughly over the gash on your upper arm, you felt Bakugo insistently nudge the side of your head. The puffs of air from his nostrils fanned gently against your cheek and tickled your neck. You glanced over to him with an inquisitive hum. Once your attention was on him, he lowered his head so he could nose at the hand clutching at your arm, pointedly huffing at it. His scales felt cool, almost, against your hot skin. That definitely couldn’t be good. 

“What?” you asked confusedly when Bakugo continued his actions. He let out a low rumble and nudged a bit harder at your hand, but you were lost as to what he was trying to say. “I don’t…” you trailed off, blinking heavily at him. You felt tired. You didn’t have the time for this. Bakugo huffed out his irritation and lifted his head away from you so you could see the white glow of his fire at the base of his neck. But instead of releasing it, he let the glow fade and exhaled a cloud of dark smoke. He then leaned towards you again so he could nose at your hands. 

“Your… fire? My hands…?” you mumbled to yourself, trying to get your foggy brain to work enough to piece things together. What did they have in common? Was there anythi— “Oh!” you exclaimed as things clicked together. “My— my magic?” 

Bakugo rumbled and leaned away from you so he could give you an expectant look—though there was something to it that you couldn’t quite put your finger on. Something that made your insides twist with guilt. He was antsy, you realized, as you spotted the way his tail undulated almost frenziedly behind him. The way his unsheathed spikes bristled along his tensed spine. You bit at the inside of your cheek and turned your gaze away from him so you could inspect your wound. The Zenith mush was just enough to cover it entirely. Good. It wouldn’t take too long for the Zeniths to take effect—but you needed to get back to your cottage soon. You had more effective treatments you could administer there that would help get rid of the encroaching fever and chills. 

You cleared your parched throat and finally looked back at him impatiently waiting. “I ah, forgot to mention that my magic… it doesn’t really work on me.” You didn’t think your avoidance of telling him such information in the cave would come back to bite you in the ass, but here you were. You grimaced when he let out a low growl, his eyes slitting into thin slices. “You were being defensive when you saw— What was I supposed to do? Look”—you took a deep breath in an attempt to reorient yourself—“never mind that. We— We have to get back to my cottage.”

Bakugo made a sound from deep within his chest as you looked away from him and down at your shirt. You still felt lightheaded and your body felt like you’d just stepped out of a funeral pyre. It was exhausting. Focus, you had to focus. After doing your best to wipe the Zenith mush off of your hand, you made quick work out of tearing off a piece of the bottom of your shirt. You wrapped it around your upper arm as tightly as you could, wincing as you used your teeth to help you tie a knot that rested on top of your wound. Fuck, it was sloppy, but it would have to do until you got back home. At least the pain had simmered down to a dull throb.

“Okay.” You nodded to yourself and slowly shifted your legs around until you were in a crouching position. Leaning most of your weight on your uninjured ankle, you paused to take a small breath, then pushed yourself up. 

Immediately, your back spasmed—a sudden and ferocious thing that made you yelp and lurch forward in a reflexive attempt to curl in on yourself. You caught yourself on something in front of you that shifted underneath your torso and poked your stomach. It felt like you could hardly even move. Once you blinked away the darkness that tinged the edges of your vision, you found yourself hanging off the shimmering gold of Bakugo’s snout—practically leaning your entire weight on top of him. Slitted crimson eyes zeroed in on your perspiring face. 

“Shit, sorry,” you gasped out, eyebrows scrunched together as you waited for your back pain to settle down to a dull ache once more. Bakugo let out a rumble and a small puff of smoke that you felt caress the sides of your face. It was strangely… comforting, you guessed. Once you’d managed to collect yourself, you eased yourself off of him, one of your hands delicately resting on the scales of his left cheek as you grimaced down at your ankle. 

The boots you were wearing were thick enough that you were certain your ankle wasn’t dealing with an injury that was too dire. But still, as you tentatively shifted some of your weight onto it, you couldn’t help wincing as it gave a sharp throb. Broken, no, but it was definitely tender—maybe sprained. You sighed. 

“Les’go,” you told Bakugo as you clumsily stepped forward in the direction of his wings, your back hunched slightly to stave off any more spasms. You raised an arm to wipe it across your warm face. If you didn’t make any sudden movements and kept your back tilted, then you could somewhat hobble around. Somewhat. Bakugo puffed out some smoke and lowered himself so that he was resting flat on the ground, his spikes retracting once more. He kept a slitted eye on you, warily watching as you approached his shoulder. 

It took you longer than you would’ve liked to admit to shimmy your way onto his back. The slightest movements in the wrong direction would cause your back to pulse or your ankle to twinge. Bakugo rumbled an anxious little sound as he attempted to help you, the muscles of his back and front leg shifting underneath your scratched up palms to make the incline up his side easier to crawl across. 

As soon as you settled on top of his nape, he gave you one last glance before immediately taking off. You nearly tumbled off him with the force of his jump, your grip around his neck tightening. His wings moved at a rapid pace. The wind stung at your eyes. You grimaced when your back throbbed and leaned forward until your front rested against his neck. His scales felt a bit warmer now where they were pressed against your cheek—that meant the Zeniths were working. Good.

In the far distance, away from the plateau, you caught a glimpse of something long and grey laying on the ground. Terrifyingly still. It made something foul twist its way through your chest. You closed your eyes and lost yourself to the beating of Bakugo’s wings.

You woke up abruptly, your body jostling harshly in a way that made you bolt upright. You regretted it once your back protested angrily, a pained hiss escaping your lips as one of your hands pressed itself somewhere against your lower lumbar region. You felt groggy—sluggish—but at least you were cognizant. A rumble somewhere in front of you made you look up to see Bakugo watching you carefully, his pupil flicking to your hand pressed to your body. And it was then that you realized you were both on the ground—not in the sky. That was fast. 

He’d taken you straight to your cottage instead of the forest clearing, you noticed, as you glanced around. The space you had around it wasn’t large enough to accommodate him. He was mostly standing on top of the soil you used for your garden—you’d cleaned out the area a long time ago. You just hadn’t had the chance to plant anything yet, with all the medicinal responsibilities you were in charge of. He’d tucked his wings close to his body and made himself as small as possible—though even then it was barely enough. It certainly didn’t seem comfortable.

By now the sun had started to creep its way to the horizon, its light painting the walls of your cottage a rich honey color. Slipping off Bakugo’s back was certainly easier than the whole ordeal of clambering on top of it, though once your feet hit the ground you grimaced at the simultaneous waves of pain that radiated through your back and ankle. You mumbled something to Bakugo—a thanks, maybe, you weren’t quite sure—and stumbled your way towards your front door. 

As you reached behind you to grab your key from your bag, you startled slightly when your hand met nothing but air. A quick glance around you let you know it was nowhere in sight. You slapped a hand against your face and let out a groan. You hadn’t even noticed it was gone. Bakugo made a questioning sound in reply—you could hear him shifting closer behind you, feel the hot air that left his nose as you turned around to see his head hovering over you. He’d curled into an even tighter ball, now that you’d gotten off his back. 

“Dropped my bag back at the plateau,” you told him wearily with a sigh. You already didn’t particularly like the prospect of going back there, but well… you really needed those Zeniths. It didn’t help the bubbling, anxious feeling in your gut, though. This was a problem for another day, you decided. “We’ll grab it later,” you mumbled offhandedly and turned back around so you could clumsily swipe the spare key you kept hidden in a flower pot to the side of the door. 

You shuffled inside once the door opened, making a beeline for one of the wooden chairs you had by the table of salves and creams. You collapsed onto it heavily and grumbled when your back gave a sharp pang. There was the sound of huffing and shifting from outside that you paid no mind to for the time being, instead focused on easing your boots from your feet. A groan escaped your lips once you managed to free your aching ankle and a quick inspection of it after you slipped your sock off showed that it was swollen. Great. 

You were lucky that you had some supplies on the table from the last person you’d treated earlier in the day—just thinking about needing to walk over to your bedroom closet to grab them made your ankle pulse with another wave of pain. 

But first—the wound on your arm. 

You made quick work out of unwrapping the bloody piece of cloth from your upper arm, grimacing when it peeled wetly off your wound. You had to awkwardly twist your arm towards you and crane your neck so you could inspect it. The Zenith mush had mostly been absorbed already, eradicating the black tinge of the poison and leaving nothing but the fresh red of blood. You pressed the back of your hand against your forehead and slumped your shoulders in relief at the steadily decreasing temperature. You felt marginally better, certainly, but there was still work to be done. 

You began the tedious process of cleaning your arm up and slathering a poison-specialized salve over the gash to ensure that it wouldn’t still be in your system. You craved nothing more than to just lay in the comfort of your bed, to sleep off the aches and pains—or attempt to, at least. But you couldn’t, not yet. You let out a sigh as you tightened a roll of bandages around your arm and fastened a knot directly over the wound once more. At least you felt cleaner—albeit marginally. 

From outside, you heard Bakugou make a low whining sound that pulled you out of your focus. You lifted your gaze to see him peering at you through your open door. He couldn’t fit his head through the entryway—it was too big—so he had to settle on watching you through one of his eyes, the pupils slitted to make way for gleaming crimson. Once he saw you were looking at him, he chuffed and glanced up and down your seated form. 

“Almost done, it’s okay,” you murmured—to reassure him or yourself, you would never know. You shuffled through some of the ointments on your table until you found a pale pink one. Uncapping the jar, you swiped your fingers through the paste and lifted your shirt slightly so you could spread it lightly across your back. It was a bit cool—room temperature, you knew—and you did your best to cover all the areas that twinged and panged whenever you moved in the wrong way. Bakugo rumbled again and shifted outside your little cottage. Antsy still, you assumed. 

It wasn’t until you were finished coating and tightly wrapping up your ankle that you finally breathed out a sigh in relief. You wiped your hands off on your shirt—you’d need to trash it anyways, with how it was ripped at the bottom—and tentatively stood up from your chair so you could test how much weight you could place on your ankle. It still ached, and your back protested when you straightened up, but they were both much more manageable than they were before. At least you could walk without limping too heavily. 

You made your way over to the open doorway, painstakingly slow, and stopped just before it, bracing one of your hands against the frame. Bakugo huffed out a bit of smoke and raised his head up and away so you could step outside slightly and look up at him. 

“I’ll be fine,” you told him when it became apparent he was waiting for you to say something. He snorted and lowered himself so he could inspect your arm. The hot puffs of air from his nose fanned out along your exposed skin and made a shiver run down your spine. He gently nudged your side until you lifted a hand to rest it on his nose. Your thumb smoothed over the scales there, as though you could make them gleam brighter than they already were. He let out a quiet sound—soft enough that it nearly blended in with the rustling leaves and chirping insects.

You glanced up at the sky—the deep navy that intertwined with the last bits of tangerine from the sun—then at Bakugo, who still looked way too large for your little garden space. “It’s getting late. I need to rest and you need to head back to your own clearing for the night.”

At that, Bakugo made a low rumble and pulled away so he could properly look down at you. He seemed to curl himself into a tighter ball—nestled himself more comfortably in front of your cottage. You raised an eyebrow at him. “You can’t stay here,” you said slowly, but even then he only let out a huff and curled his tail around himself like he was going to sleep there. “No, Bakugo, seriously, you’re too big for this clearing. There’s no way you’ll be comfortable for the night.” 

He didn’t agree with you, it seemed, for he bared his teeth at you in a move that you supposed was to be threatening—but it wasn’t anymore. Not to you. He growled, but you only crossed your arms over your chest and lifted your chin as you held eye contact with one of his slitted, gemstone-like eyes. 

Stubborn bastard, you thought sourly when his gaze didn’t waver after a few moments of silence. Believe it or not, it was actually rather difficult to uphold a glare with a dragon—who knew. But you couldn’t be mad at him for wanting to stay, not really. His intentions behind it made your gaze soften as you let out a halfhearted sigh. 

“Okay, fine,” you acquiesced, your shoulders slumping. “But we really can’t stay here.” He wouldn’t be comfortable and you didn’t want to risk him getting caught camping out in front of your cottage—it would be too much to deal with if you had to explain. You chewed on the inside of your lip as you weighed your options, then tiredly rubbed the bridge of your nose. “Hang on.”

Bakugo made a rumbling sound as you turned around to shuffle back into your home—curious, perhaps, as to what you were doing. You slipped into your bedroom and grabbed a spare blanket from the closet that you tossed onto your bed. Then you rummaged around for some clean clothes and headed over to your bathroom so you could clean up. You grimaced at your reflection in the small, dinky mirror you had—dirt was smeared across your face, scratches littered your skin, and your hair was a mess of bits of grass and leaves. You’d seen better days, that was for sure.

You were quick with doing your best to scrub away all the dirt and tending to some of the deeper scratches on your face and palms. The clean clothes you tugged on made you feel better—fresher—and you swiped away the hair from your face as you tossed your ruined clothes in a corner of your little bathroom to deal with later. You grabbed the blanket you’d dropped onto your bed and shuffled back to the entrance, casting your gaze around the small space of your cottage before you closed the door and hid the spare key back in its flower pot once more.

“Alright,” you said once you turned around to look at Bakugo. He eyed the blanket overflowing in your arms like a cascading waterfall, then puffed out a cloud of smoke. “Let’s go, then.” 

You’d been prepared to make the painstakingly slow journey to his clearing on your own—a process that likely would’ve gotten more difficult as the last vestiges of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon—but it seemed like Bakugo had caught on to what you were doing. He snorted and lowered himself down to the soil-covered ground in front of you, tilting his body so you would have an easier time clambering atop his back. You gave him a smile and did as expected, wrapping your arms tightly around his neck with the blanket smushed underneath you.

His clearing wasn’t far from your cottage—it felt like you’d arrived within two or three flaps of his large wings. Bakugo landed smoothly on the ground and lowered himself so you could clumsily slide off of him. Your back gave a slight twinge, but at least it was much more manageable than it had been before. You patted his side as a thanks and picked your way over to the center of the clearing.

Seems comfy enough, you thought to yourself as you spread your blanket over the ground, patting down any particularly lumpy areas. Then you eased yourself onto it and let out a sigh as you crossed your hands behind your head and stared up at the inky sky. Splatters of white winked at you through the heavens, intermingled with specks of blood red and sunshine yellow. It was just light enough to be able to see, though the moon had yet to show its full face. You could sense the steadily cooling air as it settled across your skin. Maybe you should have brought another blanket.

You could feel, through the ground pressed against your back, the heavy steps Bakugo took as he circled around you. The vibrations made the hairs on your arms stand up—seemed to reverberate through your entire body. You craned your neck up and to the side to watch him settle around you in a crescent moon. He yawned widely, then nestled his head somewhere to your right atop his front legs. You lifted yourself up partially to look at him lying behind you—if you shimmied yourself back by a foot or so, you could rest your head on the smooth scales that made up his underbelly. 

So you did, awkwardly shuffling backwards until your upper body came into contact with the hearth-esque warmth that he radiated from his stomach. He chuffed gently as you made yourself comfortable, wrapping your blanket snugly around yourself like you were the filling in a flaky pastry. From the corner of your vision, you could see something dark curl closer towards you in a manner that made you tense up—his tail (not a snake, no, you breathed easily). 

You relaxed into him and stared up at the sky that was soon obscured by one of his large wings as it sloped over your head. “Happy now?” you murmured, quiet in the open clearing, but loud enough that he heard and made a soft rumble that you felt through his chest. You listened—for a moment—to the sounds of his gentle breathing, the rustling leaves, and the chirping insects, then closed your eyes.

And there—surrounded by the chilly night air, the cold grass that tickled at your skin—you felt warm.

There was a noticeable shift, in the following weeks, regarding the way Bakugo behaved around you. It was so stark—so different—from the way he’d previously been that it was impossible to not pick up on it.   

He started hovering over your cottage during the day—you noticed him through your little window more often than not. He sometimes landed upon the barren area of your garden while you were tending to things inside and peered a giant, crimson eye through the front door you left open for him. You let him so as he pleased for a day or two, but he couldn’t keep lingering around your home—you often had visitors, and you knew it would not bode well for you nor him if he stayed. You worried about the unspoken consequences. 

You told him just as much, but he was still unbearingly stubborn. However, he seemed to understand, albeit reluctantly, and toned down his visits… not by much, though.

In fact, he started flying around Yuuei more—looping around it in a massive circle whenever you were conveniently there for medicinal work or errands. You wondered how he knew when you were in the village, but figured it was easy enough for him to fly over your cottage and see if you were home or not. You did find that you still had a difficult time walking around properly—you were sore and had to use a spare cane in your closet for long treks. You supposed he was just keeping an eye on you, but well, you think you preferred him lingering around your cottage more so than this. It was startling—and a bit ominous to those who didn’t know him (that is, the entire village)—to see him flying so close. Especially since he hadn’t bothered to beforehand. He was not a bird in the sky, but rather he was close enough that you could see the way the tangerine and black markings on his scales absorbed the sunlight that gleamed off him like a shiny coin.

You had to admit, the shadow he cast upon the Earth—large enough to block out the sun and cover people in a darkness that felt just a bit too cold—was more than a bit terrifying. You were sure the villagers were uneased by his presence; you saw the looks on their faces, the way they would keep glancing up at the sky. Wonder and amazement had been replaced by anxiety and trepidation with a beat of his wings.

(“Is it scoping us out?” one villager whispered to another as they lingered under the awning of a shop—hoping the covering would conceal and protect them. “What does it want? My kids think it’s cool but they don’t understand the danger.”

“Mmmh, I don’t know,” the other replied, fidgeting with the bag they grasped in white-knuckled hands. “I hope it’s not… hungry…”) 

You grew antsy—nervous—at the whispers, but you knew if you told Bakugo to stop for the reasons you were thinking of, he would brush off your concerns. He was a dragon—he was strong enough to handle himself but… you knew he would not be unscathed if anyone particularly powerful came along. His still-healing wounds were evidence enough.

Something, however, that struck you a little odd was when you encountered Izuku whilst heading over to treat one of your patients in Yuuei. 

He’d been carrying what seemed like half of the village’s record collection when you—quite literally—ran into him. A waterfall of leather-bound books and scrolls tumbled to the paved ground. You stumbled back a bit, fumbling with your cane and bag of herbs and salves. Apologies spewed out of your mouth until you realized they were being mirrored by a rather familiar voice. Looking up, you were greeted with the sight of curly green hair and flushed, freckled cheeks. 

“I-I’m so sorry!” he stammered out, his hands hovering awkwardly over you as he glanced over your figure. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” 

“Izuku, I’m fine,” you told him with a small laugh as you straightened up and brushed away his hands. You hadn’t seen him in a while—he was awfully busy nowadays. With what, you weren’t privy to, but you supposed it wasn’t any of your business, not really. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m good— I ah”—he looked down at his feet and stooped down to start picking up his papers—“I should have been paying more attention to where I was going. Sorry—“ 

“It’s okay, really,” you soothed him again. He had a nasty habit of endlessly apologizing for things that weren’t even his fault. You bent down carefully so you could help him gather his things. One of the scrolls you grabbed had a golden seal that looked rather familiar. But before you could observe it more carefully, Izuku had grabbed it from your hands to stuff into his arms once more. 

“So, what—” Izuku cleared his throat as you stacked some books together. They looked handmade, now that you were close enough to see, and a bit worn from use. “What… happened?” 

“Hm?” You raised an eyebrow at him, then saw he was pointedly looking at the bandages around your ankle that poked out from the bottom of your pants. “Oh! I fell. Got my foot stuck around a tree root, sprained it pretty badly.” There was no way you were going to tell him you got injured while running away from a fucking basilisk. It would bring up the question of how you had escaped and, well… You still didn’t want to expose the odd friendship you had with a dragon. Not even to Izuku—and certainly not in public like this. 

“Ouch.” He grimaced and steadily rose to his feet once he’d picked up his belongings—the ones you didn’t grab, anyways. You used your cane to support most of your weight as you gingerly followed him up and meticulously stacked the books in your own hands onto his arms. “Thanks. Hopefully you feel better soon! I imagine being a healer yourself has its benefits.” 

You chuckled and adjusted your bag over your shoulder—it was a spare. “Yeah it does. I’m at least able to alleviate some of the pain with the salves I have. But anyways, where are you off to with all of that? I could hardly see your face poking over all those scrolls.” 

Izuku brightened, as though he was glad you were curious enough to ask. “Ah, turns out Yuuei’s got an amazing historical archive! Did you know All Might used to live here?” 

“Really?” You knew there was a tribute statue to him at the center of the village, but you didn’t really know much else about the swordsman other than that. He’d been a significantly powerful magic wielder, you think. Pretty unheard of for humans, though his time had been quite a while ago, so you weren’t all too sure. You didn’t care enough to do research.

“Yeah! There’s not really a lot of information about him here, though. I found a singular scroll and a few—“ 

Izuku abruptly cut himself off when a dark shadow passed over both your heads, momentarily dousing you in a coolness that was honestly a bit of a reprieve from the midday sun. You looked up to see Bakugo making his usual rounds about the village. His wings leisurely beat up and down, a sound that seemed so pronounced amongst the quiet bustle of the villagers that surrounded you. If you squinted up at him, you could see his giant, crimson eye surveilling the ground beneath him—it didn’t seem like he had spotted you yet. A small smile pricked at your lips. 

Izuku hummed and called your name, prompting you to look back at him. There was a rather contemplative look on his face, to your slight intrigue. Very ruminative. He was quiet for a moment more, then opened his mouth to speak. “You’ve lived here for a while, right? Have you… ever seen dragons around here before?” His voice was low and sounded… distant. Like he wasn’t exactly with you at the present day. 

You shook your head. “Not really. Why’re you asking?” 

Izuku stayed silent—to the point where you considered leaving him and seeing if he would notice—then seemed to snap out of his thoughts. He blinked a few times, then looked back at you with wide eyes. “Sorry! Gotta go! Can’t keep the missus waiting!” 

You were bemused, but waved him off all the same. He scurried away from you, occasionally glancing up at the sky as he left. Izuku certainly was… quirky, that was for sure. You sighed and looked back up at Bakugo to see him circling around Yuuei once more, a bright, crimson eye trained on your significantly smaller figure. You huffed lightly through your nose and set off to your intended destination. You brushed off Izuku’s strange behavior easily enough. Besides, you had more pressing matters to deal with…

Bakugo was worried, you knew he was. What had happened at the plateau was something you tried not to ruminate upon too heavily, but well, it was hard when your back still ached and your ankle still twinged. If you closed your eyes for too long, you could picture the grey scales of the terra basilisk, hear the slithering sounds it made as it chased you. But you didn’t let it affect you—tried not to. You pressed on and drowned yourself with work—with healing the rest of Bakugo’s wounds and tending to your duties as village healer. It worked, most of the time. You didn’t dare linger—didn’t dare let yourself be on your own in the silence for more than a few moments. 

And maybe Bakugo could see right through you—maybe he could tell you were avoiding addressing things. Maybe that was why he didn’t really leave you alone. 

Now that he knew you were fine with sleeping in his clearing with him, he often wanted you to go there when evening fell. You didn’t mind, not particularly, though you definitely couldn’t go there every single night—you had things to do back at your own cottage. You sometimes got visitors for illnesses that onsetted or exacerbated overnight, so it was always best for you to be at home and ready. You entertained him when you could and drank a special tea you purchased at the market to help you have a dreamless sleep. But it could only work for so long, you knew. It was a problem for the future.

You did, eventually, have to face part of your fears. Bakugo took you back to the plateau a week or so later to retrieve your bag. It was inevitable and you were aware that he had been patiently waiting for you to approach him the entire time. You were reluctant and dragged your feet for quite a while, but eventually you steeled your resolve. You would be fine, you told yourself. You would be fine.

And you were… for the most part. 

The moment your feet came into contact with the grass of the plateau, you felt unsteady. Disconnected. You knew the basilisk had been taken care of and yet, you still felt stifled. Like there was a pillow pressing into your lungs, filling your throat and mouth with cotton. You took a deep breath and picked your way over to your bag, avoiding the overturned patches of grass and dirt. Bakugo trailed behind you like a large, deadly shadow. His head hovered just over your shoulder—so that you could feel the warm puffs of air from his nostrils. It was grounding. 

You wasted no time in snatching up your bag and checking to see that it contained a decent amount of Zenith flowers—there was no need for the entire experience to be a waste. It would make you feel even shittier than you currently did. After stuffing a few more Zeniths into your bag, you clambered back atop Bakugo and let him take you home. That was enough adrenaline to last you a lifetime. You definitely wouldn’t be returning anytime soon… 

He made you stay with him that night again, curling around you as you rested on the ground and stared up at the inky sky. You spent some time pointing out some of the constellations you knew of to him, the cool air hardly noticeable from your position surrounded by the warmth he naturally radiated. You lost yourself in telling him stories that you scrounged up from the deepest depths of your brain, hoping that they would serve you well in distracting your mind from the darker path it wanted to veer towards. 

“—so when Vivithia gave her life to guide those crossing the border to safety, the Gods took the dust from her remains and scattered them across the sky,” you told Bakugo quietly, not daring to break the tranquility of the clearing, “forming the stars we see today. At least, according to legend. It is ultimately a tale of sacrifice—and love, if you think about how her lover was able to survive due to her actions.” 

Bakugo snorted out a puff of dark smoke that you watched dissipate towards the sky, spreading amongst the stars. “There are different versions of the story that I’ve heard, but they all end the same way.” You craned your head back so you could peer at him curiously. “I don’t suppose you have legends like that, do you?” 

He rumbled idly in a way that made you wonder if he was tired. The moonlight gleamed off his scales in a way that made them look opaque—pearly, almost. His eyes, half-lidded from where his head rested on his front legs, were like a pair of smoldering coal, ready to be put out for the night. You returned your gaze to the glistening sky. “Yeah, you probably can’t tell me anyw—” Something caught your eye. 

It was stark against the twinkling whites and deep navy of the night sky—a burnt golden speck that kept getting larger and larger. Bakugo made a noise and shifted when you didn’t say anything else, curious. You tilted your head and sat up, squinting at the speck until it got close enough that you could reach a hand out to touch it. 

“Oh!” you said in pleasant surprise when you felt something graze your fingers. You pulled your hand back closer to your face to inspect the little insect that sat on it. “A lightning bug!” 

The bug was a small thing that radiated light from underneath its fuzzy body. Two large eyes peered at you, its antenna twitching slightly as it crawled along the back of your fingers and hand. It kind of tickled. 

Bakugo huffed in a manner that caused you to look up towards him. It seemed like a small swarm had ventured into the clearing: there were more lightning bugs flying around his head—little specks that brought along some warmth to the coolness of the surrounding forest. Some of the bugs had settled atop his nose and were crawling up along it. You grinned; he didn’t look all too amused. 

“Careful,” you warned him when his lips parted to bare sharp teeth at the insects that scattered around him. “They’re called lightning bugs for a—” One of the bugs grew brighter and brighter until a small bolt fired from it, hitting Bakugo’s nose with a small zap! He jerked his head back—almost in offense—and puffed out a cloud of dark smoke. You bit your lip to keep yourself from laughing. “…reason.” 

You smiled and looked around at the dots of warm, honey-colored light that floated around the area. You lay back down on the ground with a sigh. “It’s nice being able to come out in the forest and encounter different kinds of magical fauna, you know?” Your eyes followed a lightning bug as it bumbled across your field of vision. “It’s different from the capital,” you murmured, then frowned, “though actually I… haven’t really seen many fairies around recently. They usually like to cause mischief. I wonder…” 

Bakugo snorted in response and you looked at him to see him resting his head back on the ground. He yawned widely—content with ignoring the lightning bugs for now. It was getting pretty late. You wrapped your blanket around your body and slid closer to his warmth. You spent a moment just watching the flickering golden lights before your vision was obscured by a large, ombré wing. Well, that was a sign as any. You decided not to dwell on things for now. 

“Yeah, time to sleep”—you yawned back at him and closed your eyes—“Good night, Bakugo.” 

A few weeks later, you were out in the village running your usual errands when you noticed something… strange. 

You would like to say that some of the tension at having Bakugo constantly circling around the village had dissipated by now. Or, at least, you didn’t see as many people nervously glancing up at the sky anymore. It seemed they had just needed to see that he wasn’t much of a threat and in fact didn’t really… do anything to anyone. You supposed time had a hand with easing nerves, but you were sure they were still present—just not as prevalent. 

That being said, it came as a surprise to you when you saw people murmuring to each other in little groups—looking around them as though afraid they might be overheard. You were curious as to what they were conversing about—but well, they weren’t really looking up at the sky so you supposed it wasn’t in relation to Bakugo. He had eased up his circling around the village by now—seeing that you were doing quite better. Your back only twinged when you did sharp motions and you were walking around with just a slight limp—barely noticeable, really, unless someone was looking for it. Though, you were sure Bakugo would be flying around you if he could—you saw him circling around Mount Kamino earlier, perhaps for a change in scenery.

You finally understood what the whispers were about when you passed by the Blacksmith’s shop. 

He was there talking to Aizawa—a tired man with a nasty case of dry eye whom you visited on occasion to supply with special eye drops. It was hard not to notice him, with how heavy-built he was. He loomed significantly over Aizawa, who exchanged curt words with him whilst bathed in his shadow. He looked prepared for a fight, decked out in thick clothing with just as thick silver armor covering every part of his body. A large sword—the blade wider than your head and thrice as long as your own arm—lay sheathed across his back. It made a shiver run down your spine. 

When you walked past them, you were able to see a bracelet strapped to the man’s right wrist. It was made of leather, and sitting atop it was a large jewel. Mellow tangerine in color and very… vibrant. There was something… odd about it. Something that made you feel like a hand had grabbed your insides and twisted them about. But you couldn’t exactly put your finger on it. 

A chanced glance up at the man’s face allowed you to see the pinched glare settled across his features—the scar that marred the left side of it. You averted your gaze before he could notice your staring and scurried down the stone path to a familiar pub. 

The moment you entered through the doors, Denki looked up from where he was cleaning the bartop and dropped the rag in his hands. 

“Did you hear the news!?” he instantly shouted at you, then quieted down significantly at the looks he got from some of his customers lounging around in the booths. 

“Hear it? More like I saw it,” you whispered as you slid onto a stool in front of the bar. You leaned in closer towards him. “What the hell is King Enji doing here?” 

“I have no idea,” Denki whispered back, his golden eyes peering widely into your own, “but Hanta told me he’s staying at his inn, so he’s definitely planning to be here for a bit.” 

“When did he get here, do you know?” You didn’t remember seeing him when you were in the village a few days ago. 

“Earlier today, I think.” He shrugged his shoulders. “That’s when I started hearing people talking about it, anyway. Is it true he looks like he’s about to go to war?” 

You nodded. “Yeah. I just saw him talking to Aizawa about something.” 

Denki snorted. “Aizawa’s not gonna tell him shit, he hates any and all royal families.” 

You let out a pfft. You didn’t blame him, honestly. From what you’ve seen of the royal family of the capital—King Enji’s, in fact—they were… not quite regarded in a good light. “Do we even know what he wants?” 

“No idea,” Denki replied worriedly. He picked back up the rag and started cleaning at a stain—perhaps for something to do with his hands. “But it can’t be anything good.” 

You hummed your agreement, then fell quiet as you ruminated. It was quite odd to see someone like King Enji this far from the capital. He didn’t seem like the type to make such a voyage recreationally; there had to be a reason. The way he was dressed only made that twisted feeling in your stomach more pronounced. You didn’t know how fast news spread across regions, but, well… You weren’t stupid. His appearance—his awfully weaponized appearance—said enough. 

You worried, more than you should—and you knew this worry was not unfounded. You glanced out of one of the windows of Denki’s pub and frowned at the hazy sight of Mount Kamino. Dread seemed to pool in your gut.

You left with a quick farewell to Denki and an excuse that you had more shopping to do. The trek back to your cottage was a bit of a long one, but it went by faster than usual as you hurried down stone paths and kept your eyes peeled for any more glimpses of King Enji. He had disappeared elsewhere—you didn’t know whether to feel relieved or anxious. 

You wondered if Bakugo would even be in his clearing, if he had even gotten back yet from his leisurely roaming, but you heard him even before you broke through the tree lining. He looked up as you walked towards him, your eyes automatically sweeping across his wounds to make sure they were fine (they were), then looked away to continue idly stretching out his back and wings. 

“Hey”—you cleared your throat—“I’m gonna preface this by saying I know you’re more than capable of handling yourself,” you started as you stopped in front of him. He tilted his head towards you with a chuff to let you know he was listening. You bit at your lower lip for a moment, then released it. “But I was in the village earlier and King Enji was there talking to peop—” 

His head snapped towards you so fast you wondered if he got whiplash. You cut yourself off abruptly at the snarl he released, your eyes widening as he reared his head back and exhaled a plume of dark smoke. You blinked at him in surprise and stepped back when his wings fanned out behind him, his spikes bristling angrily. “Whoa! What? Something wrong? You don’t like him?” You hadn’t seen him react this viciously to something in a… while. 

Bakugo hissed, his eyes shrinking into carmine slits. He gave his wings a few pointed flaps, then stomped his hind leg—the one that had a wound close to it. You stared at the tender scarring on his flank for a moment, your jaw dropping open. 

“Oh shit,” you whispered, “is that how you got those?” A rough growl was all the confirmation you needed. 

Your heart sank; there was only one reason why King Enji would be in Yuuei. It seemed like your worries had come to fruition. You rubbed at the bridge of your nose, suddenly tired. “He’s so power hungry that I’m somehow not surprised. He must’ve heard the news once you started flying around.” You had questions that could not be answered, but that was the least of your worries. Your main concern was what now? You took in a deep breath, mentally preparing yourself to deal with an irate dragon. 

“I don’t think,” you started slowly, “it would be a good idea for you to… be here, right now.” 

Bakugo didn’t seem to particularly like what you were saying. He looked taken aback for a split second—if you hadn’t been carefully watching him you wouldn’t have noticed—then bared his teeth at you in a snarl. He moved so that his head loomed over your significantly smaller form, slitted eyes daring you to say another word. You held your ground. “Look, I already said I know you can handle yourself, but I really think laying low or— or even going somewhere else might be the right thing to do here.” Bakugo snapped his jaw in disagreement. “Your injuries are mostly healed, but not fully, and I worry that anything… strenuous might tear them open again.” 

The growl he let out was nearly thunderous. He reared back on his hind legs, fanning out his wings to make himself appear larger. He gave them a singular, large flap—purposeful. Powerful. You raised an arm up to cover your face as it sent pieces of grass and dust swirling about in the air. He huffed out a plume of smoke that washed over your body and filled your nose with the smell of burnt caramel. When he landed back on his raised legs, you felt the impact shake through the ground. You frowned. 

“I know you’re strong,” you told him again gently, “but it’s okay to run sometimes, y’know? It’s not worth dealing with him—“ 

His snarl bordered on a tumultuous roar, his tail lashing out behind him with a fervor that made you only a bit uneasy. He was getting really angry—was what you were saying that unreasonable? Or was there something else at play here? You didn’t know, you didn’t know.

“What’s wrong?” you asked him again, worry tinting your voice. He made a deep rumbling sound from his chest, his body tensing. “Why are you acting—”

He didn’t even wait for you to finish your sentence. With two large motions of his wings he’d taken to the skies, the generated wind whipping your clothes and hair around like you’d been caught out in a deadly storm. 

“Bakugo!” you called out helplessly, your voice getting lost in the repetitive flapping of his wings as he flew further and further away—towards Mount Kamino. There was a moment where all you could hear was the rustling of the trees around you, the occasional chirp from the wildlife that frolicked within the leaves. Your shoulders slumped and you ran a weary hand down your face. 

There was something wrong and you had no idea what.

You made the slow trek back to your cottage, heavily contemplating Bakugo’s reactions and what they may mean. You didn’t have a single clue, unfortunately, and his clear anger left you in a funk. You couldn’t really concentrate on anything. You kept an eye on your windows and often went outside to look up at the blue sky for a hint of gold, but Bakugo kept to himself. You spotted him flying around Mount Kamino on occasion—disappearing beyond it at times—so you knew he hadn’t left, but it still bothered you. Surely he wasn’t pissed at you for showing concern, right? You couldn’t be entirely certain. Everything just seemed to spiral out of your control.

You didn’t see him for the rest of the day and your restlessness carried into the night as you lay by yourself on your little cottage bed. You supposed he just wanted time on his own, maybe to stew in his own frustrations and whatever the cause for them may be. You understood, you did, but still… 

Stupid dragon, you thought to yourself as you rolled over and buried yourself in your blankets. 

The following day, you went about your usual routine with as minimal distractions as possible. You kept an eye out for King Enji while you were walking around in Yuuei and spotted him talking to a few more villagers here and there. You were caught between feeling relieved and nervous, though you didn’t let yourself linger around him for more than a few moments. 

It wasn’t until evening was about to fall that you heard familiar flapping just outside your cottage before the ground shook nearly imperceptibly. Your heart seemed to jump up to your throat as you paused from cleaning up some dishes. Was he—? You looked over at your windows and wiped your hands on your clothes before you speed walked over to your front door to open it with surprising vigor. 

“Finally back, huh?” you murmured with a raised eyebrow, trying not to show exactly how relieved you were that he had specifically approached you first. Bakugo rumbled as he curled himself in front of your cottage, his head lowering slightly so he could look at you properly. You reached out to rest one of your hands against his nose and smoothed over the scales there with your thumb. “Calmed down?” Being on his own must have worked wonders if he was no longer as angry as he had been yesterday. 

He snorted out a light cloud of smoke into your face and gently nudged at you with his head—his own little way of apologizing. You exhaled through your nose. “You’re really a piece of work to deal with, you know that?” He snorted again as though to say I know, then drew his head away and gave you a steady look. You tilted your head in curiosity. “Something wrong?” 

There was a moment where all he did was stare at you—a prolonged gaze that made you feel like you could be sucked into the deep carmine of his eyes. It was strange; like you were being analyzed or assessed—stripped down to your very soul. Then, he made a click from his chest and lifted his head higher. Your gaze was drawn to the base of his neck—watching as it glowed angel-white in that familiar way when he had roasted the food you’d brought him. Except, it just kept growing brighter and brighter and brighter—to the point where you had to shield your eyes with your arm, a confused “what?” escaping your lips. And as quickly as it had started, it stopped. Your eyebrows were furrowed when you lowered your arm. Then they shot up in surprise. 

There, gripped in the claws of one of his front legs, was a gem. 

It was a deep, iridescent crimson that matched the color of his eyes—a glimmering pool of blood that radiated a heat like no other. There was something electrifying about it, something that made the soft hair on your arms stand up straight. It seemed to pulse with power; gleamed brightly even in the steadily darkening environment. The gem was about the size of your head, maybe smaller, but it was gripped easily in Bakugo’s claws like he was holding a ripe apple. You were dumbstruck staring at the gem—it was like you couldn’t pull your gaze away from it. Like it was sucking you into its core, demanding that all your attention stayed on it. You swallowed thickly. You understood, at that moment, why dragons were so powerful—why they were hunted. 

“That’s… You’re…” you trailed off as you stared—mesmerizingly—at his gem. You had to steel your resolve and tear your gaze away from it to look up at Bakugo. He nudged your arm with the claws holding onto his gem, purposely. You blinked, wide-eyed. “You’re… giving it to me?” Suddenly, your mouth felt like it was coated in cotton. Your heart seemed to still in your chest. 

He was waiting, patiently, for you to do something. Your movements felt stiff as you looked at the gem, then back at him. Once, twice. And you found the strength somewhere within you to reach out and grasp the gem in clammy hands. It was heavy—like a sack of flour—but you held on tight and brought it close to your chest. It seemed to hum in your palms; made you feel like you were standing next to a large bonfire. Confusion plagued your thoughts—sent them racing around your head. 

“But— but why…” You tore your gaze away from the gem once more to look back at Bakugo. He was watching you carefully, a gleam to his rounded eyes that you couldn’t quite make out. “Why are you…” It was then that you noticed he had shifted: his wings had moved to fan out behind him, his legs were tensed like he was a breath away from jumping into the air. Something seemed to click in place and you went still. “Wait— you’re leaving?” 

He rumbled a noise that only made your heart sink. This, you feared, would not be like the previous day where he’d simply needed time to himself. No, this was something more. Something that you worried would not leave him unscathed—that was perhaps inevitable. And maybe it was something in your expression, your stance, but he lowered himself back down until his head pressed against your front. You cradled the gem in one hand—near your heart—and used the other to hold his head closer. 

“You’ll be back, right?” you asked in a quiet voice. Bakugo nudged you gently with his head and puffed a cloud of smoke at the gem in your hand—a reassurance, a promise. You didn’t know why you were so… affected by everything. Why your chest ached like it was full of water. Deep down you always knew he would eventually have to leave—but you didn’t think it would be this soon. That King Enji’s presence would be the catalyst of it all. You loathed him for it like you loathed him for all the bastardly deeds he had no doubtfully done as king. You thought you had more time. 

And—not for the first time—you wondered why. Why was he doing this, why was it important that he did? Why, why, why. You didn’t have any answers and it didn’t seem like you would be getting them anytime soon—if not ever. It all just… seemed so much bigger than you. Like it had always been from the moment you’d encountered Bakugo in that dark, dark cave. He was a dragon and you were, well… you. 

But you knew what you had to do. 

You would protect Bakugo’s gem—keep it safe for him to avoid having it fall into the wrong hands during… whatever was about to happen. This, you could do with utmost certainty. 

You let out a shaky breath, then stood on the tips of your toes so you could press a kiss to Bakugo’s forehead. It was like kissing a stone smoothed down from the elements, a warm mug filled with hot tea. It was the last thing you could give him, for now. You don’t think he had expected it, for he made the smallest of sounds, then seemed to press further into your touch. 

“Stay safe, okay?” you whispered to him once you’d pulled away. He leaned back so you could stare into his eyes. “I never got to fully finish healing you, after all. You should be fine but, well, I don’t wanna have to patch you up again.” You kept your voice light to let him know you were teasing him. 

Bakugo snorted and with one final, long look at you, he spread his ombré wings and took off. You watched, squinting against the wind he generated, as he rose into the sky in the direction of Yuuei. He disappeared beyond your line of sight once he passed over the trees—but you still heard the loud roar he let out. Felt it reverberate in your bones; a declaration of war. You gripped onto the gem more tightly than before and stood there watching the darkening sky as it transitioned from burnt mandarin to royal purple. It was a moment before Bakugo passed back overhead—a dark shadow against the twinkling whites of the galaxy—this time in the direction of Mount Kamino. 

You closed your eyes and let out a sigh that only the stars could hear. Then you turned around and headed back inside your little cottage, closing the front door behind you with a small click. 

part four

[tadokorochann]

Okay but for some reason Shiggy always playing video games also equals him being chronically online and as an incredibly touch starved early twenties male individual I equate that to him consistently browsing pron sites

so like now I'm thinking about what his browser history was before meeting reader and then after

with all his posturing in the previous ask I'm imagining his desire to want to have all the control and thus taking it by force-basically what AFO has been grooming him to do with his powers and manipulating him into his perfect lil revenge puppet --so honestly it's probably involves lots of violence, humilation, debasement of one's partner?

then presented with reader and that all getting almost instantly nullified cause SURPRISE Shiggy isn't actually like that at his core- he's really just not had any good role models. Like yeah enacting violence on someone who did him wrong may still sound appealing but you're basically a stranger and oh shit you're gently touching his arm and his tummy feels a little queasy but in a good way???

And you're apparently the first person in his life with a gotdamn brain cause you recommend he wear special gloves for his quirk so all his fingers are never touching something all at once and that's a game changer cause now he doesn't have to be so cautious about being close to people--even tho he still is--but he "claimed" you and you're running with it so you're not skimping on the cuddling obligations of a kept woman! (plus Kai was also probably with holding of touch due to his germphobia so you're craving touch like hell too)

okay this got outta hand! I meant this to be an ask about you and tomura watching porn together/him starting to share gentle femdom videos with you and shyly asking if you can try them 😅😂😂😂

Yesyesyes to all of this! Personally for this au (or storyline I guess since it’s canonverse?) I envision the reader to have a powerful nullification/cancellation quirk of some kind, purely to make both Shiggy and Kai more obsessed with her 🥰

For Kai I envisioned a kind of, not worship for reader, but… reverence? Or admiration of some kind, viewing the nullification as her body’s own efforts to resist the quirk virus. Despite it in and of itself being a quirk. The same type of cognitive dissonance he has when it comes to regarding himself as clean and undiseased despite having overhaul lol. In any case it was a reason to keep her suffocatingly close, make sure nothing else could touch her, soil her, make her dirty. I know the “I’m the only one Overhaul can touch without getting hives” bnha fic trope can be overused but I 100% do not care because that’s exactly how I saw this situation with reader. But, like you said, he’s a germaphobe. So even with skin to skin contact not being a primary issue I definitely think touch was still a point of conflict. And sex was… a very specific, step by step process that HE decided every little detail about. As was this entire relationship. He controlled her clothes, diet, physical activity, hobbies, any possessions she had. There was no choice which soured things even when Kai happened to pick something she enjoyed.

For Tomura readers quirk cancellation is simply a means for him to be able to touch someone with five fingers down. Hug her. Hold her hand without fear she’ll crumble. And it’s so huge for him 🥺🥺🥺 I’m getting off track as well lmao

Definitely love the idea of both Reader and Shiggy beginning to share/watch porn together and that Tomura’s browser history and stuff changes. Bc one of the things that had me chewing on this idea the most was him having someone to be soft with, and to be able to make self discoveries with.

100% feel like Kai did not allow reader the consumption of porn either for reasons of keeping her “clean” mentally or bc of being possessive, possibly both. And domming him was a definite no, at least in this particular blurb.

Reader explores freedom of choice in regards to sex, porn, affection, food, spending time with actual people (no real companions were allowed at the Hassaikai because Kai was adamant he was ✨all she needed✨) and just generally being happy w him. And Tomura gets to begin to unpack the ideals AFO saddled him with. Meanwhile Kai gets to be armless and having a constant breakdown in Tartarus 🥰

(edit: the idea/blurb referenced is here for those who haven’t seen it)

[amelikos]

Initial thoughts on chapter 4 based on the poster.

Stray thoughts on the upcoming chapter (link here for a translation).

Name of the arc is cool (and as someone who read BNHA, the fact we got a "Rising" chapter is pretty fun, since that series also had a pattern of important chapters having "rising" in their names).

Chapters have lasted two cours so far, so this one will probably last until the end of March. Which would make for a total of at least 23 episodes for chapter 4? I took into account the break we'll have at the end of the year since the anime is off at that time usually, and I guess we could also have another break somehow for some reason.

Liko looks so cool wearing Lucius's belt! She hasn't worn it since ep 26... I wonder if it's just for the poster visual, or if she'll wear it more in actual episodes.

I don't know if Basagiri are supposed to have scars on them but this one has one on its arm. Is it a situation similar to Lapras? Did something happen to the Six Heroes and some of them carry the scars even now? Either way, looking forward to seeing their personalities because I genuinely liked what they've done with the Pokemon so far (Rayquaza being genuinely an interesting figure who makes me want to learn more about Lucius).

Hogator evolved and so did Kanuchan. Not surprised since the current arc is all about growing etc, but still cool to see payoff! I guess Hogator will evolve during the last ep of chapter 3 then? To parallel Nyahoja evolving during the climax of chapter 2. Liko and Roy are going to battle according to the title for the last episode of September, so it could happen there.

Still funny to see Cap in the middle, all like "look at me" ww Which makes me think that it's actually pretty amazing that the current arc barely featured Pikachu, since Friede wasn't around as much. Like yeah, we had the seminars and Cap always appears there but not in the episodes themselves. Maybe that's why the current opening for this arc features him prominently for the last shot, like "I'm the mascot" ww Anyway, just a thought I had. It feels like they could be slowly moving away from having to feature certain aspects of the franchise all the time etc. I like Pikachu and respect him for carrying the franchise on his small back all this time, but I'm also thinking that Horizons handles the starters the best because the current trio of starters are all the kids' first Pokemon and are clearly meant to fit their designs/respective arcs (Nyarote fitting Liko's character arc and personality, Welcamo meant to push Dot etc) and every single one of them feels special for this reason. They are written to be special. Some of the past starters didn't really leave an impact on me... anyway. Horizons giving the "iconic" Pokemon to Friede was the best choice since he is the mentor character (Cap being there to guide the kids and help them grow stronger etc).

I love that the new characters we'll see are all women (I wonder who their VAs will be??). As expected from Horizons, my favorite shoujo anime. How will Horizons implement these characters in its own storyline. I'm not big into seeing the game characters in the anime if they divert focus from the original plot though. As long as they are there to push forward the original story (Lucius/Six Heroes etc), then it's fine. Horizons has been good with this so far, but I'm still a bit cautious.

Very much looking at Amethio on the right, who is looking back.. towards the main characters potentially? Also, it means they are not hiding the fact that he is appearing in this arc. Also looking at Friede. Hope he appears more in this chapter. I can't live off seeing him only in the seminars. And of course, pointing at the fact that Friede and Amethio's shard things are on opposite sides... Does this mean they'll cross paths again? I hope so, it would be neat.

Anyway, just thoughts for future reference as usual etc. I'm looking forward to the new opening and ending, and the visuals we'll get.

[lowkeyremi]

Spread love to fanfic writers! Answer these questions about your fanfics then send this to 5 other fanfic writers Name a fic you loved writing the most. Name a fic that others loved but you didn’t care for as much. Name a fic you had the most fun writing. Name a fic that you are the most proud of. Name a fic that you wish had gotten more recognition. Name your happiest/saddest/most comedic fics!

remi's note: hi anon!!!! i actually like this cuz it gives me time to really think about my fics!!

but here is my opinion for each question:

Name a fic you loved writing the most: Morning w the kids (bakugo x reader) i haven't written for bakugo in awhile and the funny thing is when i first started watching/reading bnha i HATED bakugo with a passion. but i started reading fics and i just knew i had to write something about domestic bakugo. the whole time i was writing i was just smiling about how cute he would be with his kiddos. AND LET ME TELL YOU him cooking breakfast with baby shoko strapped to his chest AHHHHH it did something to me. gosh i love him.

Name a fic that others loved but you didn’t care for as much: Enchanted (gojo x reader) i think the only reason i didn't like it was because i don't usually write for gojo and i was trying not to mischaracterize him. after i posted it i didn't look at it again. i think if i put more time and thought into it it could have been a lot better :)

Name a fic you had the most fun writing: def the haikyuu dads series! Haikyuu men as fathers: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 (hehe there'll be a part 5 one day, someone has brought to my attention that i didn't do papa ushi) After reading some of the amazing domestic haikyuu dad fics by @emmyrosee (sorry for the tag, but i have to give credit when it's due) i decided my first post was gonna be about some of the boys i love and it ended up becoming a little series. haikyuu is superrrrrrr close to my heart so writing them as dads was a lot of fun!!

Name a fic that you are the most proud of: goshhhh this is so hard but it has to be Bringing him home (atsumu x reader) i loveeeee silly tsumu. i think besides my haikyuu dad series this was one of my first posts to really blow up back then (now it's obvi my jjk stuff but ahhhhh) i'd always wanted to right something about atsumu and i feel like i got his characterization down while righting that fic too!

Name a fic that you wish had gotten more recognition: I'm home (sakusa x black!reader) anything i write about kiyoomi seems to flop D: i loveee to read a good kiyo fic tho which is why a wrote about him. lol i was just gonna post today about how my kiyoomi stuff flops. it's okay tho as long as i like what i wrote i can be happy

Name your happiest/saddest/most comedic fics:

happiest: bday drabble (kirishima x reader) and Bestfriend hcs (sero x reader) most of my fics are really happy but these ones in particular are super sappy and fun :)

funniest: nanami in a compression shirt, JJK men as dads, "daddy I threw up.." (jjk x reader) and how they react when you "bro/bruh" them (aot x reader) what can i say? i like silly stuff

saddest: (i can't write angst for the life of me) I found you (yakuza!au) (eren x reader) looking back it was kind of cringe but i guess it was angst??? i tried??? no i didnt lolll i can't do angst like i want to. i always wanna write gut wrenching angst but it ends up being fluff :P

[cuchufletapl]

Boku no Hero Academia officially ended today and I'm feeling Things.

I've never posted much about it on Tumblr despite the fact that I've been reading the manga for close to eight years, so this is kind of random for this blog, but eh. I'm gonna word vomit for a second.

I think that for a lot of people who are into animanga, there's usually this one series that's in publication throughout their youth and that, as a result of seeing through the beginning and end of adolescence, stays with them permanently. There's a lot to say about the ways that art imprints on the mind, the soul, the self — and I think, above all, there is nothing quite like growing up alongside a piece of fiction. For millenials, one of the Big 3 was often that piece of fiction. For me, it has been Boku no Hero Academia.

There are other manga that have touched my soul with their messages, pleased and expanded my aesthetic sensibilities, in more profound ways that BNHA has — hell, it's not even my favourite shonen, that title goes to Fullmetal Alchemist — but I started watching the anime when I was around sixteen, and I've just come to see the end of the manga when I'm twenty-three, and thus these characters and this story hold such a dear place in my heart that I think is hard to surpass.

I'd been an otaku for years before I came across BNHA, but the fandom still meant a lot of firsts for me: first cosplay, first figurine, first fanzine that I ever bought, first time reading fic in English, first nekketsu shonen that I ever got so into (I watched One Piece and DBZ as a kid, but that's not the same as the fervor of a teenage fan), one of the first times watching anime while it was still airing and seeing all the fandom reactions in real time.

This manga has accompanied me through a good chunk of my formative years. It's weird saying goodbye to it.

My involvement with the fandom has been on-and-off throughout all this time, but tododeku is still my One True Pairing; seeing Bakugo, Uraraka or All Might on screen or on the page still immediately brings a grin to my face; I get excited like a little kid whenever I hear "Saranimu kouhe, Plus Ultra!"; I can talk about the themes and character arcs and my opinions of it all for hours if anyone let me. I expect these feelings to stay with me for a long time even after this journey has reached its conclusion.

The story has obvious flaws. Some loose ends, foreshadowing that wasn't delivered upon, the clear struggle that juggling such a vast cast of interesting characters became, and the ending certainly doesn't really align with my hopes and political beliefs (although it did end along the lines of what I expected — I never once thought they were going to dismantle the system, it's been obvious for a long time that Horikoshi was going in the direction of superficial reform, not transformation). But there were many times during this last arc and the epilogue when I was brought to genuine tears, when I had to walk off the profound emotions I was feeling before I could continue reading. I do feel content and fulfilled with the place where my most beloved characters ever have ended up. BNHA has so much heart put into it, it's the work and dedicated effort of a decade, and despite Horikoshi's shortcomings as a storyteller (which I think are heavily affected by Shonen Jump's brutal release schedule and the inherent drawbacks of serialisation), his art, visual symbolism, and panelling have gotten phenomenal over the years — to me, his work is a huge example of why I love this medium, of what it can do to illustrate long-form storytelling, of how to strike a chord within the reader's heart with just the pacing of the drawings on a page.

I guess the only thing left to say is that Horikoshi Kohei has my gratitude for creating a world and a group of characters that made me care so much, feel so much, and have so much fun with for all these years, including during the roughest time of my life so far.

Anyway.

TL;DR — nothing can quite compare to the bond between a nerd and the shonen manga series with huge potential that they got obsessed with in highschool.

[mha-quotes-and-such]

That's exactly it! In the entirety of BNHA there has been what, 3 deaths? And none of them have been students? You're really telling me these full grown adult villains who have been training their quirks for YEARS can't take out 15/16 year olds that haven't even had a year of proper training? Miss me with that. There are NO stakes, so even when students get really hurt, I know they're going to be fine so I just don't care at all.

I'd have a character like Kirishima killed. I love that boy SO much but can you imagine the absolute heartbreak for every single character if Kirishima died? That's the good shit there. Or Uraraka is another good one to have die. A driving force for Midoriya. Or really any of the main students.

Or Aizawa.

I think characters like All Might and Endeavour are cop-outs for death. I want good characters that are loved to die. Like, Midnight and Nighteye(?) were sad, sure, but neither of them had enough screentime to really hurt. And while I won't say spoilers for the manga, let's just say the current arc for two characters has PISSED me off big time for cop out survival.

Honestly I think thats one of my biggest problems with media with young protagonists. Sure, if a villain was ganged up on by a bunch of kids that might be a problem, which the series does ok at points, but like. One on one combat these kids should not be winning so decisively?? Like you said, theyre 15/16 fighting people who have dedicated their entire lives to their craft, how are they handling this with little to no repercussions? Thats something I could go on about forever, but I digress

Those are all really interesting choices! Aizawa in particular is really intriguing, and I think could work well. I think killing off students, while it would absolutely be effective, could very easily become an issue of turning a beloved character into nothing more than a plot device if done poorly. Aizawa on the other hand I think is close enough to the students to work effectively, loved enough by the fandom to be a blow, but removed enough where he wont act as a super heavy crutch to aid the story if that makes any sense? My only fear with Kirishima or Uraraka is that if its not done right it could become something thats relied on too heavily while developing Bakugou/Midoriya respectively. Although @thelittlegirlinwonderland made a good point here that having a student die would emphasize that they are just children, which could definitely help with the realism of it

I definitely agree with you on All Might and Endeavor, especially the latter as I feel he would be a very fan-servicey kill (as odd as that sounds). However I do think All Might will die before the series ends. Personally it seems theyre heading in the direction of a very coming-of-age-finding-yourself plot for Midoriya that I think will require All Might dying. I guess we’ll just have to see, but it would align with their trend of less risky kills

[magicaii]

Hello, if you don't mind, can I ask, who are your top favorite romantic relationship's couples in any media, like anime/manga, tv series, books, etc (can be canon or non-canon)? Feel free if you want to write the reasons or not of why you love them....Thanks if you want to answer....

Thanks for the ask! I have some ships that I’ve liked for years, as well as ones I’m currently really interested in, so I can talk about both I guess?

So in terms of ones that have secured a place in my heart, I would instantly think of meronia (mello and near from death note). It took me a rewatch of death note to warm up to them, and it's honestly hard to describe why I like it so much (look through my meronia tag I guess, I've been trying for years lol) but I'm a big fan of both slow burn and rivals to lovers and couldn't get the headcanon of Near having a one-sided love for Mello that persists years after his death out of my head. I like the way they work so well together on an intellectual level and the way they would both challenge and protect each other, and the grief and emptiness Near likely felt in the wake of his death not only resonates with me a lot but is also an interesting thing to dissect. They hardly had a real relationship with each other, and yet, Near must feel his vacancy all the same. I think I mourn the dynamic they could've had with each other had Mello come to accept Near as he is, and wonder what would've happened if they made up (the potential is unimaginable). I also think it's a fun challenge to imagine how Mello might ever reciprocate his feelings, since it's not very believable to me most of the time.

I've really liked oldrivalshipping (green and blue from pokemon special manga) for years but it's a ship I find hard to justify. They don't have a lot of interactions and a lot of fans consider them like a joke pairing? My appreciation of them is mainly based on the potential dynamic between them, taking into account them as individuals. Amongst their peers, Green and Blue are the more jaded, hyperindividualistic, "mature" characters, but while Green (guy) is upfront about it, Blue (girl) hides it very well. I think it's interesting to imagine what could happen if they got closer and how Green would handle Blue's capricious temperament, since I imagine Blue would have a hard time faking it in front of Green (he has a zero bullshit tolerance). In canon, Green has also shown signs that he genuinely cares about and values Blue as a comrade and person, so I don't think it's a stretch to imagine them at least becoming better friends and eventually coming to a deeper understanding with each other. I just think they'd have good chemistry.

I used to be like, really obsessed with dabihawks (dabi and hawks from bnha). As in, my real life friends were hearing about this shit. I don't think I'm quite as enamoured with them compared to before, and they haven't interacted in what, four years? So it's died down a lot, but I can still understand why I was so insane over them. They have really intersting parallels in terms of story, themes, character arcs, and aesthetics. The biggest sell on dabihawks for me is the ideological struggle between the two characters. It's not even so much about the romance, but: what would you do if someone important to you had the polar opposite view on morality to you? What if they fundamentally disagreed with how to handle the biggest issues in your life? They are so completely different in every way, it's definitely no wonder they're enemies, but what if they were not made enemies by the plot, what if they weren't the designated hero and villain? Would they still grow to hate each other because of their inability to see eye to eye? In essence, their conflict goes much deeper than a villain vs hero story, and that's very interesting to me. As for newer pairings:

This is so embarrassing, but, haikaveh (alhaitham and kaveh from genshin impact). This is a super popular pairing so I'm sure I don't need to explain why I like it, but again, it's the combination of slow burn and rivals to lovers. More specifically, I'm obsessed with the idea of someone caring about another person so much that they pay attention to and work around their flaws just to silently help them out as much as possible. Unlike a lot of the fandom, however, I don't headcanon them as currently dating. They have a ton of issues to work out and if they started dating in current canon it would not go well for them. Kaveh is unable to even entertain the idea that Alhaitham genuinely cares for and looks out for him, since he has firmly decided that Alhaitham is a heartless, self-centered egoist. For all his intelligence he has absolutely no clue that Alhaitham likes him beyond an 'intellectual equal' or 'house maid'. Alhaitham, on the other hand, has considerable communication issues and his inability to be kind is part of why Kaveh so stubbornly holds onto this view of him. I think their philosophical struggle is also a worthwhile point of contention since they are both obviously flawed (Kaveh is destroying himself, and Alhaitham is sabotaging the most important relationship in his life).

Gladnis (gladio and ignis from final fantasy 15) really took me by surprise. They seem to have a very deep and mature understanding between each other, and both take their lifelong duty very seriously, albeit in different ways. They've always been on the same side, but don't always seem to agree on the best course of action to take (think about the way they both treat Noctis). This is probably the best time to mention that I really enjoy relationships that hapharzardly border between platonic and romantic in nature. When you're a lot more than friends with someone, but you don't know exactly how to describe your feelings for them. Maybe you don't have time for love, maybe there's something more important at stake. Maybe you just can't bear the idea of having something so painful to lose. Whatever it is, those feelings remain undissected. That's pretty much how I see gladnis. I think the potential for something more is there if you squint, but it's a subtle romance. They already mean a lot to each other and are comfortable with their friendship, and I think their journey has brought them so much grief that they would ultimately seek reprieve elsewhere, just for some sense of normalcy. It's very tragic to me. I'm perfectly fine with a platonic reading of them too!

Lastly, I DO want to mention bkdk (bakugo and midoriya from bnha)... I was the biggest skeptic of them in seasons 1-3. But especially with all the ways Bakugo has developed in the last manga arc and the way he has come to truly understand Midoriya's importance in his life is very satisfying and feels well earned. I personally view bkdk as being most likely one-sided on Bakugo's part (that could potentially develop into mutual feelings when they're a bit older), and while theyre truly learning how to get along, I think they both have personal issues to work on, so if anything, it would be best for these feelings to be explored more when they're adults? I'm also a fan of the platonic interpretation of bkdk though, and I'm not really ride or die with them.

I'm sorry this ended up being so long!! I'm a yapper at heart, so I kept it to six ships hahaha. There are other pairings I like a lot such as sasunaru (naruto), kakaobi (naruto), nejilee (naruto), braime (asoiaf/game of thrones), kirimina (bnha), spinneraki (bnha). I enjoy answering these asks so ppl don't be afraid if you're curious <3

[peachonified]

tagged by @mayalaen and I couldn't resist :)

20 questions for fic writers

First, my AO3

How many works do you have on AO3?

202 - that was more than I expected!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,067,968

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly Kuroko no Basket and Haikyu!! I was very prolific in Supernatural (and I feel the urge returning tbh), and I keep umming and ahhing about writing in BNHA. In my past I have also written for Glee, Sherlock, and Harry Potter. And that's like, one fic for each fandom xD

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

To Make A Nest A Traditional Family Sammy's Little Boy Not Meant to Be This Omega is Mine Unsurprisingly, they are all SPN fics!

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I love responding to comments. Sometimes it takes me years (I have honestly responded to comments that are 6 years old) but to me, it's about community, and I won't to share what I love - which is my fic! It's like I comment on peoples art and stories cos I want them to feel the love, and I love that you can become friends when they respond back! that is how I've made most of my fandom friends, and (especially) in this time of reduced interactions, I want to keep it going.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't do angst. I don't. But it's probably Sammy's Little Boy. That is one of the few true non-cons I have written and it doesn't end with it being good.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

They pretty much all have happy endings. Like.. that's my jam. but I guess Friday Nights (KagaKuro/AoKi) is pretty happy and Handkerchief Hijinks (AkaBoKuroo) Great and Striking Actions which Dazzle the Eyes (Destiel) is like, the funnest sort of crack fic but honestly a lot of what I write is pretty light.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

oh gosh yes! I once got death threats and it was awful. In retrospect they were an anon coward, but wow that was an experience. I think that antis are more vocal but they've been there forever. There's an element of such an idiot who can't not like something without informing everyone.

9. Do you write smut?

*nods* I do

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I have never written one, but I have one started at the moment! I have the first chapter and some general plot points. It's a KnB/HQ dystopian d/s verse. I think it's really cool, and I am SO TEMPTED to post the first chapter, but it can take a while to get back to some of my fics...

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I have. A couple of times. It's the height of rudeness tbh. Just write your own stuff.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes. A few.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I wrote a few years ago but haven't in a while. I'd like to do it again!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I don't have one. I don't! I have characters who I ship with everyone (Kise, Bokuto, Dean) and I love them with everyone! I lean towards polyships because I think that everyone should be happy. At the moment I am definitely feeling AkaKi... but I still Kise is everyone princess. Dean is everyone princess.... slight wincestiel leaning, and Bo is (you guessed it) everyone princess. If I end up dabbling in bnha Kirishim will be... is everyone princess.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I think I'll finish them all.

16. What are your writing strengths?

World building. Humour. Polydynamics. all things I want to read. Honestly I'd write less if I could read more!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

finishing things. omg is finishing things hard!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I add japanese words to things. for the japenese characters. like where I don't like the direct translation, or the word conveys much more than the english translation.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I think it was Glee?

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I refuse to choice. I love them all. I especially love the polyships in d/s and omegaverse settings.

honestly, I tag anyone who is interested! this was a fun one, cos there was lots of opinion, not just stats!

[isekai-crow]

Doctor Elise Ep 3-4

I cannot express enough how fun of a potato chip this show is. I had a fever this week and this was a great lil show to watch that didnt require me to think.

As a self proclaimed shonen bro whose not normally into shojos, I enjoyed the manga, and the anime is doing a good job despite not being one of the "big names". It might also be my love of medical dramas from the early 2000s peaking in. I can turn my brain off to watch it and just have fun by going "WTF w h y", and poking fun at how broken some aspects of this world are while still thoroughly enjoying it.

It's definitely the kind of show that probably won't hold up to scrutiny for the world building, so. Just. Don't think too hard about the specifics of what's happening! Then the power fantasy pieces won't break through your suspension of disbelief! Because IV bags did not exist during the Crimean War in the 1800s which seems to be where this fantasy setting is taking place.

But I'm gonna go and point out all the broken bits below because its so much fun (not bashing at all!).

Also my favorite boy shows up! Doctor Graham!! We love a boy whose not there to be a rival or love interest, and respects the Lady and they get to be bros!

Look at this silver haired ponce of a bishonen, he's delightful, ascot and all!

He's voiced by Hosoya, Yoshimasa - Rainer Braun from Attack on Titan, Nezumi from NO.6, WOLFWOOD FROM THE NEW TRIGUN STAMPEDE!! Tokoyami from BNHA, and Sousuke from Free!

DAMN THEY PICKED A GOOD VOICE FOR MY BOY.

More spoilers/screen shots below the cut!

Elise shows up for work as Rose at the No Cultural Touchstone For Mother Teresa Hospital, the genius young doctor Graham is supposed to take care of her but he's busy and assumes like everyone else that a young well-off lady will run from the sight of blood soon enough, and so sticks her in the HOSPICE WARD.

HHMMMM I WONDER WHY ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE ON THEIR DEATH BEDS???? COULD IT PERHAPS BE... UH... SANITARY REASON?? SHOULD HOSPITALS BE SANITARY??? NAHHHH THE DIRTY ROTTING BANDAGES ON THE FLOOR AREN'T MAKING THINGS WORSE, NO WAAAAAAAAY.

These poor overworked shift nurses seem to have no idea what they're doing, but thankfully we have a returner with concepts of modern day sanitation who cleans the place up!

She then finds a dude with bed sores and realizes no one knows what SEPSIS IS, and is like. Get me a scalpel, it's my first day, I've never held a scalpel in my read:this life, I'M DOIN' A SURGERY TODAY. I'VE GOT GALAXY BRAIN TO HELP ME.

I love these shots they're great.

SHE PROCEEDS TO CUT INTO THE DUDES BACK LIKE SHE'S DRAWING FREE FORM SELECTION ON MS PAINT AND THEN JUST HITS CTRL-X DELETE.

That's not A tissue, that's HIS (necrotic) tissue! I sure hope this dude has pain killers or is drunk off his ass with vodka because DAMN.

All the other in-patients are so happy she's here, they feel better already with her bright and happy personality! Normally this would feel really creepy and sexist, but this juuuuuust squeaked by as not coming off that way.

Jump cut to the King! Only 12 people in this world know what diabetes is! How is Elise going to get away with having known about it?? Probably more hand waving!!

Now, we either get a time skip, or she's literally been working all night, but Dr. Graham walks in on her dozing, thinks he's got the wrong place, and proceeds to scold her for performing surgery without permission. But then he takes her on rounds and we're in a medicial show!!!!

IS THAT A FUCKING IV BAG?

IT IS!!!! THOSE WEREN'T INVENTED UNTIL THE LATE 1800s!! At least its a glass bottle, and not a plastic bag like I initially assumed?? But I guess the Crimean War was in the 1850s and this type of open glass bottle IV was from the 1900s so... Wooo Fantasy Europe!! -waves hand rapidly to shoo you on-

This man is having a time trying to figure out what the fuck. But he's pretty.

It takes him a bit to come to terms with her abilities but then he's just so happy to have another Doctor Bro who Actually Cares that he's behind her with full support! Which yay! But also becomes a tool of sorts, to kind of hand wave away the concept of sexism in the medical field to the point where it doesn't seem to exist. Which is also what makes this such a light show, because it doesn't even try to handle said topics, it just erases them completely with regards to medicine.

Equal numbers of men and women as doctors! The women aren't relegated to nurses! Yay! No critical thinking needed here.

My favorite part of this though, is that they DO tease at it. When Elise makes a different call from the doctor she's following in Ye Olde ER, he kind of stutters and is flabbergasted and panicked, while the female doctor is immediately like, I GOTCHU SIS, and steps in to help her as she proceeds to STAB A DUDE IN THE CHEST WITH A SYRINGE.

She's so pretty with blood on her face.

We're in episode 4 by this point, and its the "Festival Episode" common to many isekai romance manhwas, but of course, Elise is a doctor and so she's working the ER instead of attending.

However this is the episode that proves there is magic in the world, and WE GET A SECOND VA FOR THE PRINCE. He transforms into "Lord Ron". We also get a glimpse of his tragic back story!

His bodyguard gets a knife pulled on him and THEN A GUN. New Technology Discovered: Guns! I should hope they had those figured out before IV tech, but you think they'd know about general sanitation being important as well.

Dude's been shot in the SPLEEN!!! OW MY SPLEEN! They don't have a splenectomy in Fantasy Europe, oh no!

Elise puts up such a persuasive argument, and the dude is dying, so they might as well let her try to save him. And look, the prince Lord Ron has field surgery experience and offers to help!

SUDDENLY THERE IS ELECTRICITY. WHAT WERE THOSE OIL LAMPS IN THE GRIMEY DEATH WARD???

MS PAINT SCALPEL FTW!! It's not bad for the limited time they likely had to anime each episode, and the fact that they're putting more emphasis on the conversations. For comparison, this scene in the manga ↓

Surgery is a success! Yay! Elise is asked to write up a report abotu the surgery as it will be the first ever recorded splenectomy.

and then. Blushing Prince is Adorable, even in disguise. Love us some blushing boys.

But by far the most accurate part of this show so far...

Even in a Fantasy Europe Hospital the doctors have shitty handwriting lmfao

[problemswithbooks]

BNHA Ch. 429

So, I guess Toga is dead, and people are losing it.

I get why people liked her--she was actually queer, being pan/bisexual. She was representation for them and that's rare in shonen manga. But here's the thing--she was bad representation at best and insulting at worst. Nor do I think she was made queer because Hori really wanted to represent a queer girl. Himiko was always the author's poorly hidden fetish--she just was. She liked girls as much as boys because Hori wanted to draw a girl touching sexually on another girl. You can see this in how he draws her and Ochako in solo pics together.

I mean, people seem to understand this when it comes to Momo and her outfit being overly sexual or that both Himiko and Hagakure's Quirks either leave them naked or they have to be naked to use them. These are excuses to draw girls in a sexual manner. Himiko being into other girls is the same thing and that's the kindest interpretation.

Given how Himiko acts and her Quirk being heavily coded sexual desire, and therefore her use of it against someone unwilling being sexual assault, it could just being playing into harmful stereotypes of predatory gays.

As a queer person myself I just found Toga insulting. She was designed to be overly sexual and give the male author a female character that he could draw being suggestive with his other female characters. When he did flesh out her character, her backstory was eventually the trope/fear of straight people, that gay people will be so overcome with their lust that they end up sexually assaulting them.

In the end Ochako accepts this part of Toga and says she'll giver her blood forever, but as much as a lot of readers took that that as some deep lesbian confession, for me it really fell flat. Hori never really gave any of the main kids time to actually learn about their villain or show how that changed their minds toward them. Shoto only works because Touya is his brother (even though he admits he barely remembers him). But Ochako goes from not thinking of Toga at all pre-first war, to one thought about her during her speech, to suddenly caring about her so much she--given how Toga's quirk is coded, is willing to essentially fulfill Toga's kink for the rest of their lives.

It's weird and it comes out of nowhere. It's made even stranger because Toga doesn't actually change or show remorse for anything she did, which included personally hunting and murdering people before she joined the LOV. None of the death and destruction she is also partially responsible for is brought up either, something that Ochako was rightfully upset about during the first war when less people and property had been destroyed. Ochako just accepts everything about her suddenly and her past serious crimes are forgotten so they can cuddle and cry.

Am I shocked Toga died--a little. I didn't think Hori would have the guts to kill off a young girl character, especially one that he clearly got a lot of joy drawing in sexy poses. But at the same time, once he killed off Shigaraki and ended Touya's story with his slow death, I'm not surprised he went the same route with Toga.

This isn't Naruto--Hori isn't really kind to characters that do something wrong, especially if they don't try and change. Enji, Bakugo, Hawks, and Aoyama all sort of got punished for what they did. Enji is the worst off, being permanently crippled, missing an arm and burned everywhere. Bakugo's hand is damaged, his heart weaker, plus he feels bad that Izuku lost his Quirk so they can't compete the same way he wanted them to. Aoyama, despite doing way less wrong and even helping his class during the forest raid, still leaves school because he doesn't feel he earned being there yet. Hawks lost his Quirk and even though him running the HPSC could be seen as good for him, Hawks always wanted a break, but now he has one of the most time consuming and stressful jobs out there.

So, if this is what characters who actively did good things and even changed and fought to be better get, what would characters who never changed and never did anything positive for anyone but their friends/themselves get?

Before the last Arc started, when so many people said the LoV were 100% going to be redeemed I had doubts and always thought it wouldn't make sense with how the story presented redemption or treated other non-LoV villains in the past. That if the main LoV did get some happy ending where they were bffs with the main cast it would clash with how other characters had been treated.

That doesn't mean that I think how Shigaraki, Toga, and Touya ended up in the manga was well done. I think their endings fit far better then a last minute redemption would have, but at the same time you can feel how rushed everything has been since the end of the first war arc. Hori was done with this story months if not years ago, yet he was contractually obligated to finish it. Because of that I think he left out as much as possible. As much as I think he's written some pretty obsessive stuff, particularly towards women, I can't really fully blame him cutting corners or the story being shit at the end.

We know Manga authors, particularly those that work with Jump are treated like shit. That they suffer incredibly long hours at times not even getting to go home for days. We've gotten messages for Hori saying he's sick quite a few times. On top of that, weekly story telling is not a great way to tell a cohesive narrative. Ideas probably change week to week or at least month to month and you can't go back and change the last chapter no matter how much you need or want to. Then you remember he also gave a lot of ideas to the people who made the movies, which would also change his plans for how he wanted the main story to go.

The story is bad--it has been for a while, but I think a lot of people put their hopes on their favorite characters getting a happy ending, even when there were signs that probably wasn't going to be the case. I know how much it sucks when a character you love gets a shitty ending (Stain was my fav, but he got an absolute dogshit ending) but at least, knowing what I know about the industry I can't really blame Hori the way I see some other people doing. Criticize it, sure, but saying Hori hates his readers or is horrible writer isn't true. BNHA was popular for a reason--he's great with characters and the beginning of the story had some great pacing. We'll never know, but I wouldn't be surprised if BNHA could have been amazing if Hori had been treated better and the story hadn't needed a chapter every week.

If anything BNHA has taught me how much a story suffers when authors/artists are treated like crap and forced to work past burnout.

[pwnyta]

I havent bitched about BNHA in awhile so I thought Id have some fun....

I hate that Nagant had this thing with Overhaul and here she is a literal gun person but Hori hasnt made use of the Anti-Quirk bullets that were introd in Overhauls arc... Isnt this a literal Chekhov Gun moment...

Even if it only took one of Shigas Quirks per bullet I feel like it would have been a great tie in.

Literally what was the point of Overhauls arc... We got a lot of fun characters but they were just not utilized well at all... maybe except Fatgum who had some good stuff with Kirishima but neither of these characters are really important to the main plot or characters so its like...???

Eri hasnt really been relevant. She was just cute and sad which is fine. I love her but shes a literal Deus ex Machina they could have solved her problem with the anti Quirk bullets or she could have been used in the story further...

Mirio losing his Quirk by the bullets went literally nowhere. He just got his Quirk off screen for no reason and had no real story even though he could have JUST been a hero with all that skill and the tech guys from UA which are super under utilized to begin with. The fact hes a weird mirror to All Might, having him show his ‘worth‘ as a Quirkless hero when Deku & All Might himself are Quirkless and have self worth issues over it would have been SO DAMN GOOD. Unfortunately Hori DOES seem to see Quirkless people as kinda boring and not worth any time so both Mirio & All Might just get shoved to the side.

Nighteye died for no reason... his whole backstory presented to us was about him and All Might and they didnt even get to resolve anything cuz he just died. With Mirios story going nowhere Nighteye would have been a better story to keep around.

Stupid Nagant stupid Quirkless bullets...

Also Speaking of Nagant Im still not over her decision to turn on the heros cuz she was sick of killing bad guys only to join the bad guys and seem to have no problem trying to kill a high schooler... but is back on that high schoolers side cuz he was nice to her.

LIKE... B-i-...c-t-...h.

....also also she got blown the fuck up from the inside how is she even alive.... I guess its not worse than Bakugos 10 year long death scene so I’ll just let it go...

gnash gnash

[asleep-in-the-keep-sideblog]

Asleep In The Keep: A DP x BNHA fic

Summary: Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady find a member from the mysterious vigilante group, Phantom.

Word count: 5817

Chapter 19: Where's Your Head at?!

19/?

It had been a slow night during patrols, which was surprising since during the last few weeks, crime rates had gone up. Stain: The Hero Killer sparked something in society that made people lash out towards the heroes. Most of those affected had been angsty teens who felt hurt or scorned by their peers, or at least that's what Kamui Woods’ heard. They just needed a steady hand to guide them back to the right path. The real threat however wasn’t the ones who made themselves known, but the ones who worked in the quiet behind every corner or alley. It was important to stay diligent and keep an unclouded mind… 

…Which was something his partner was having a hard time with.

“Seriously, that kid was really creepy.” Mt. Lady, while being an exceptional hero with a powerful quirk, she had a habit of looking at the smaller things. This didn’t impact her hero duties for when push came to shove, she shushed harder. Kamui Woods admires that about her. She continued again, “Did you see the way he looked at me?” She made exaggerated motions while pointing to her eyes, “it was like he was trying to freak me out on purpose. It gave me the chills” she shivered. 

Despite her flaws, Kamui Woods really enjoyed his time with her, and even considered her a friend (even if she never agrees to hang out with him off the clock).

“He was probably just shocked to see a hero at this time of night.” Kamui Woods couldn’t lie and say he didn’t feel something from the boy. It felt as if there was no soul behind the kid’s eyes and they wanted his to reflect them. He thought for a moment and said, “It could’ve had something to do with his quirk?” Quirks that affected people’s emotions weren’t unheard of, but they were still few and far between. Kamui Woods himself had only met two people who had such a quirk. He continued, “The kid seemed polite. He even bowed as we walked past.” Despite the interaction being creepy, the kid was still respectful.

“I guess…” she shrugged, “but when he walked past, his shoulder brushed against me. It was cold. It was like all the warmth from my arm was sucked out. I actually thought he was about to attack me.” This took Kamui Woods by surprise. 

The night, while not the warmest, sat at a comfortable 15°C, but when the boy passed by, a bitter chill swept into Kamui Woods bones. He thought it was just the breeze. And the boy, in spite of being off-putting, didn’t give off any malicious intent. He still believed Mt. Lady. She, despite being a newer hero, had a good head on her shoulders and had the instincts needed for the job, even if she could act immature at times. Kamui Woods would keep an eye out for the boy from now on.

They continued like this, neither of them saying anything except for a few short conversations. The patrol remained slow and eventually they were close to where they started again. The Hero Commission had assigned many of the local heroes of Musutafu different sections of the city. Supposedly, they believed the vigilante group who calls themselves “Phantom” had been seen around here but had not made any contact with any heroes in the area. Until that changes, heroes all over Musutafu were confined to one patrol route. Kamui Woods doubted that would happen. One of the group members would probably catch on to being hunted then they would move to a different city, like they did in Hosu. 

As they were walking past an alley, a bitter chill blew in the air. Both him and Mt. Lady froze, recognizing the sensation. Was it that same boy? They had checked the alley before on their last round. Nothing was out of the usual other than an overwhelming feeling of wrongness. They left quickly after confirming the area was clear. Of course it had to be this alley. He looked over at Mt. Lady behind him, her eyes were wide. She was thinking the same as him. They didn’t dare speak, too afraid of disrupting whatever was happening in the alley or alerting the person inside. There was always a chance nothing was there, but Kamui Woods doubted it. Every muscle in his body was twitching to flee, and he had to fight to not cave-in to the instinct. Mt. Lady was in a similar condition. This was exactly why they had to go in. 

Kamui Woods looked over at Mt. Lady and gave her a confident look, but it was hidden under his helmet. Instead, he gave her a firm nod and she nodded back at him. Just being with her was enough to calm him down. With slightly shaky hands, he was able to sign out a hastily thought-up strategy. Most heroes knew sign language since it was important to be able to communicate in situations like this. When what to do was decided, Mt. Lady and him nodded at eachother once more to reassure themselves. Kamui Woods sent out a quick message for reinforcements in the area. Despite his feelings for Mt. Lady, the crammed environment wasn’t the most suited for her quirk. Until then, they had to risk going in, not wanting to chance the criminal getting away. 

Slowly, using all their stealth training, they approached the mouth of the alley. Unfortunately, the alley was a dead-end, so they couldn’t go in through the back to corner them. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise, since that also meant the person (or persons) couldn’t get away either. They had no idea what they were up against. By how intense the aura was, something bad must have happened. The worst case was a murder, which seemed likely since the feeling of death was slowly overwhelming them as they walked deeper into the alley.

They heard faint noises up ahead. They both had to stop breathing to be even able to hear it. It was almost like fizzing? They walked in synchronized movements deeper in, curiosity getting the better of them. A faint green glow illuminated out and there was a faint smell of electricity in the air. Before them they saw a blob on the ground, but what surprised them most was what was above it. After a second, the blob lifted into the air and returned to it’s master, a white haired teen. A phrase repeated into Kamui Woods’ head. It is cold outside. 

The teen, no, Phantom , grabbed it out of the air and it molded into his hand. Was that thing a part of him? Was this his quirk? Kamui Woods couldn’t see any of the others around. From what he knew about the group, they liked to work closely together. Was it just him? Before he was able to communicate this to Mt. Lady, she gasped at the display before her. 

Phantom snapped his head towards them in an unnatural manner, earning further gasps from both of the heroes. His eyes widened as he stared down the heroes, and the off-putting vibe increased tenfold. Before Phantom could react first, Kamui Woods launched an attack of tree roots from his arm and was able to wrap it around him. Mt. Lady rushed in while he was incapacitated, but something was off. Phantom didn’t seem phased, he wasn’t even struggling. The only thing on his face was shock, and even that was mild. While he still had the opportunity, Kamui Woods grabbed his communicator with his free hand and spoke one phrase without context. 

“It is cold outside!” He heard nothing on the other end.

Mt. Lady’s punch connected as soon as the phrase was uttered. Despite being limited in tighter spaces, her hand-to-hand combat made up for this disadvantage, and she was a heavy hitter. The sound of her fist echoed in the alley with a sickening crunch. They both watched in horror as Phantom’s head exploded, bursting his shattered skull into a gooey mess.

Mt. Lady looked at the crime scene in shock for a second, then her face morphed into one of fear and disgust. She looked over at him, pale and trembling after what she had just done. Kamui Woods knew Mt. Lady, she wouldn’t hit hard enough to kill. Seconds slowed down to minutes and Kamui Woods felt himself get sick when he realized his roots were still holding onto the body…

He was about to release his hold, ready to burn off the branches, when he caught sight of the boy's once intact head. The splatters orbited around the boy's neck like a bloody halo (if blood was green and glowing). The body was still twitching. 

Slowly, like the attack was going back in time, the goo started to flow back to the body's head. Mt. Lady was still looking at Kamui Woods, so she couldn’t see what was building behind her. His body language must have given it away and she slowly turned around, obviously apprehensive to what she might see. She turned just in time to see the last few drops meld into his head. 

The once dead teen looked at them blankly, but there was something hidden underneath. Phantom touched the roots that wrapped around him gently, like he was scared they were going to attack him (which was fair after what just happened to him). He suddenly grabbed hold of a firm branch and started to push his body away. He struggled at first, and Kamui Woods had no idea what he was trying to do. Slowly, the boy’s body was starting to move through the roots. It was like watching slime ooze out between the cracks of a box. 

Both Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady were too stunned to do anything, still not yet recovered from the boy’s decapitation. After a few seconds, the boy untangled himself from the branches. He rubbed and patted his torso, as if still surprised that it was intact. Did he not know he could do that?

“What the fuck…” the boy groaned. It appears he didn’t know. His hands shot up to his neck, rubbing under the fabric as if looking for the seam. Something twisted inside Kamui’s gut. The boy felt more than dangerous, he felt wrong. 

Kamui Woods shook off his shock and launched his other arm at the boy while recoiling his other roots. They were able to once again latch onto Phantom. Like before, Phantom was able to squirm out of the root's grasps, this time with more ease than prior. While he was preoccupied with that, Mt. Lady rushed towards him with a fist raised, but missed and hit the roots below, causing them to splitter apart, wood chips flying. Phantom jumped back and it seemed as if he was floating. Mt. Lady charged at him again, but he nimbly dodged her every attack. 

“Why are you attacking me?” Phantom’s voice was hollow as he spoke and its echo reverberated in Kamui Woods bones. It didn’t sound desperate or like a plea, just filled with a child-like confusion. Mt. Lady, unmoved, didn’t stop her volley of attacks and Kamui Woods followed suit, sending smaller but faster branches to the vigilantes' feet to trip him up. His foot got tangled and Mt. Lady was able to hit his shoulder. It reacted similarly to his head, but he quickly recovered.

“Seriously, like why?” Phantom jumped back, “I haven’t done anything to you guys!” He stood open in front of them as if expecting an answer. He really looked like a kid.

“You’re dangerous!” Mt. Lady shouted as she threw another punch. The teen shrieked but was able to dodge it like the others. 

“Is this because of the whole ‘vigilante’ thing?” It sounded like a whine, “I really didn’t think it’s that big of a deal.” He was casually able to dodge both Mt. Lady’s and Kamui Woods attacks. The kid was skilled, that was for sure. He must have had training before, along with his brothers. They have yet to show themselves, but from the stories Kamui Woods heard, they were able to move in sync perfectly. They had to find a way to end this soon before they arrived. 

A thought dashed across Kamui Woods’ mind as cold air filled his lungs. The boy… This was the same chill from when the boy passed by them on the street. Could he be one of the brothers? He couldn’t remember what the kid looked like, only black hair and a white streak, but he felt very similar to the Phantom before them now. But was that really the case, where was he? Kamui Woods looked around frantically for any spot that they might have missed, any corner, any object, any unseen shadow... It’s possible that this all could’ve been a trap, that the boy led them here, he heard a similar thing happened with Fat Gum. But that didn’t make sense! The Phantom member didn’t look like he was expecting them, and if it had been a trap wouldn’t there be more of them? Phantom also hadn’t tried attacking them, despite what they’d done. He seemed more confused than malicious. But the boy and the Phantom before them were connected somehow…

Wait, was it only one person? But that didn’t make sense either! Phantom had only been using one quirk and from the reports each Phantom had a different set of skills (with ice one being more active). Nothing was adding up.  

The fight was going nowhere. Phantom had yet to tire but the same couldn’t be said for Mt. Lady and him. Mt. Lady’s attacks had gotten slower and Kamui Woods branches were becoming less coordinated. Phantom noticed.

“Since you’re not gonna answer my questions, can I ask something else?” Silence, “So the guy, I understand his quirk and costume, he’s basically Groot, but-” Kamui Woods was offended.

“Like that guy from that American movie?!” He shouted. Before the age of quirks, people would make hero movies that almost mirrored the world today. These were classics that people still found enjoyment out of, even if it wasn’t the most accurate portrayal of quirks. 

“Yeah?” The kid answered casually. Mt. Lady tried to sweep his legs, but her kick went through them like jello. 

“How old are you, kid?” Nowadays however, not as many people had seen them. Kamui Woods’ grandparents had a copy of these films so he was at least familiar with it. Before Phantom had the chance to answer, a powerful fist connected to his body, and sent the slime-like boy flying into the wall. 

Luck was on their side. Reinforcements had finally arrived in the form of The Punching Hero: Death Arms. He was the only one so far, but the fight had only been going for less than 10 minutes, so it made sense. 

“Finally!” Mt. Lady beamed, “I was trying to get a hit on that little fucker!” she did a little jump and punched into the air. 

Death Arms looked at the wall that held the remains of Phantom. He had punched so hard that the wall had a crater in it. Phantom looked like a cracked egg. Death Arms paled.

“I really didn’t mean to hit him that hard. When you called for backup, you sounded desperate. I really thought he could take it.” He looked at his arms, the thing he held the most pride for, in shock and disgust, similarly to how Mt. Lady reacted. 

“He’s not dead.” Mt. Lady went over to the man and comforted him, putting a hand on his shoulder and looking up. 

“He’s not?” Death arms looked confused. While she explained the situation to him, Kamui Woods went over to where the boy was splattered. Already his goo-like body was wiggling and being pulled together. It was kind of gross to look at. 

Kamui Woods grabbed a pair of anti-quirk cuffs, but wasn’t sure how to use it on the boy. Out of the gooey mass a limb started to form so he gently cuffed whatever it was. More limbs started writhing out and the cuff fell to the group. Kamui Woods panicked. Without having anything else he could do, he made a bar-like grid with his roots to try to stop them from forming. The goo started spreading to them and they broke over the force. Death Arms was able to snap out of his grief, and started punching the substance. Kamui Woods got a weird sense of déjà vu about a villain they had fought before and felt a phantom memory of smoke and fire. He hoped that boy was alright.

He snapped out of it when the goo started climbing up Death Arms’ arms. A sickening crack echoed throughout the alley and then screams. Phantom had broken his arms as if they were a toothpick. A black skull started to lurch outside from the rest of the mass. Skin bloomed like mold and covered the emerging body. The zombie-like figure was only mere inches from Death Arms face, his head and elongated neck bobbing back and forth like a snake trying to hold onto the hero's eye contact. Death Arm’s body thrashed despite his injuries as he desperately tried to escape from Phantoms’, no, the monster’s body. Kamui Woods had always known Death Arms to be a brave man, he had never seen the man scream, but today the streak had been broken. He screamed like a scared child. 

Instead of overtaking the rest of the man’s body, it’s neck slithered past him. The goo receded and coagulated at Phantom’s head, then pooled down into the shape of his body. When the last of the slime left Death Arm’s body, the man collapsed and did not get back up. The slime started taking more color and soon the once familiar visage of Phantom was before them. 

“O̷͈͂̔H̸͉̬̀͒ ̴̳͠ͅM̶̺̉͆Y̶̹͊͗ ̸͔͕̚Ĝ̶̗̣O̸͍͎̎͠D̶̰̐ ̵̯̭̉̈́T̵͍̳̊H̴͔͛A̸̢͝Ṭ̸̳̽͝ ̴̪͈̿F̶̰̬͗͐Ĕ̵͔͎̌L̵̼̃̂͜T̶̮͠ ̸̱͐S̸̢̄̈́O̶̦͇̾ ̴͙̖̽W̸̭̔E̵̢̛̎I̵̭͕̅͝Ŕ̴̳̺͂D̵̡͙͋!̷̟̎” He started shaking his hands like he was trying to dry them off. 

Indescribable horror froze the heroes to the ground. Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods could only stare at the creature in terror. That was the only thing they had been able to do all night. He was too powerful for just the two of them to fight alone. Even Endeavor would have a hard time bringing him down. 

Phantom continued to ignore them, laughing and mumbling to himself. He didn’t even see them as a threat. Kamui Woods looked over at Mt. Lady. There were only two options: 

1) Retreat. They have no hope of beating him.

2) Stay and fight. So far Phantom had been only toying with them, but there was no telling how long that will last.

He looked into Mt. Lady’s eyes. They were just as passionate and determined as when the fight first began. They were heroes, of course they would stay and fight. Kamui Woods swore if he made it out of this, he would ask out Mt. Lady.

Phantom turned to them with a smile too big for a human face, it only took a second for it to be blasted off. A jet stream of water came from behind them, knocking Phantom away for the second time that fight. Backdraft and other heroes came pouring into the alley. It is a bad sign when so many heroes are needed for a single foe, but at this moment, Kamui Woods couldn’t be happier to see them. Someone started barking orders but he was too out of it to understand.

They surrounded the area where Phantom landed, but at enough of a distance in case something happens. Phantom was able to recover (of course), and stood before the heroes, something unseen in his eyes. His feet lifted off of the ground, which earned gasps from all around. Kamui Woods no longer had the threshold for any more surprises tonight. Phantom rose higher and higher, till he was looking down on all the heroes. They all braced for his attack…But nothing came. 

Phantom simply turned and flew away, fading into the night like a falling star. A haunting silence filled the alley, the anticipation of what might happen still building. No one dared move from their battle stances. Then like a veil of smoke, it dissipated. It started as a few murmurs then spread into loud conversations and disagreements. In all the ruckus, a few heroes went up to Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady. It was clear to everyone that it must’ve been one hell of a fight. Mt. Lady was quick to snap out of whatever trance the two were still in, and started boasting about how she was able to hold Phantom off. Kamui Woods on the other hand had had too much excitement for the night and went to go sit down against a wall. 

Paramedics and the police arrived on scene and immediately rushed to Death Arms, who still lay unresponsive on the ground. A tense excitement buzzed throughout the alley. No one had come this close to any member of Phantom since the Hosu incident. Kamui Woods thought he had an idea why. It wasn’t a group. It was a single person. 

It was hard to believe it at first, but that's the only thing that made any sense to him right now. Maybe he was too tired from the fight, even now his brain was fighting with him about the fact that a person can only have one quirk. Kamui Woods lifted his helmet slightly to rub his face. 

Nothing was impossible these days. 

★

It was safe to say that Danny had had an eventful night. After he found the portal he was ready to go home (i.e. the shack he called home). Amity Park was still out of his reach, but now he was closer than he ever had been before. The feeling of not wanting to go nagged at him, but he shoved it deeper down. 

He flew over the alleyway, just far enough to still be able to see the heroes below. He didn’t expect so many of them, but then again he supposed he was a wanted ‘criminal’. Typical. There were about 20 heroes down there; more still arriving, and some cops. Danny didn’t know if he would be able to take down all of them. He still didn’t know how powerful he was in this world, it was best not to risk it. He was just lucky these last few times..

He didn’t like running away from a fight and even now a part of him wanted to go back and finish it. That was why he was still so close. He watched the hulk of a man that punched him get loaded onto a stretcher. Serves him right, he thought bitterly. He would survive, just be on bed-rest for a few weeks. 

Danny didn’t know what came over him. The hero wasn’t even able to hurt him, none of them could. Even when the hit sent him flying, Danny couldn’t feel anything. Not even when he collided with the wall. He thinks it was his instincts taking over. His new body scared him. For a second he was gone, he was only aware he was unaware. He came to when he heard the snap. No, it was more than just that. He felt the bones break inside of him. It felt like chewing into hard carrots. Luckily, Danny’s body didn’t try to eat the poor man. He could not handle the trauma that came with eating someone.

Danny also thought back to when that lady punched into his head. He thought it was all over. He felt all fuzzy and confused. It was like when you blew your nose too hard and for too long. It took him a moment to figure out what to do from there, but then he remembered his first night here. His ectoplasm moved outside of him. He just took that sensation and expanded it. Danny didn’t know if he would ever be used to his body. 

He watched the heroes below like ants. They seemed happy enough, most of them going off into little groups and chatting, completely unaware that he was still there. He spotted the two heroes he fought earlier talking to an official looking women in black. They were further away from the others, probably for privacy. The women’s mousey assistant handed them what looked to be a large stack of paper covered in small words. He had no clue what that was about. 

It was clear none of the heroes were going to hunt him or do anything else interesting for the night, so Danny flew away. He started making his way towards the coffee shop from before. Danny didn’t know why, he just thought he needed to go there. Besides, getting a sketchy job wasn’t the worst idea he ever had (that was going in the portal). Maybe when he goes back home his mom and dad might finally be proud of him for a change. 

Danny made sure to memorize the area around to be able to find the portal again. He found a good land marker in the shape of a school or office building (it was hard to tell). It had two interconnected buildings made of glass in the shape of an ‘H’, and a tall concrete fence around it with an arc. It was distinct enough to find again and that's all that really mattered to Danny. It also happened to be pretty close to the coffee shop as well. 

Danny had no trouble finding the little shop. The Coffee & Tea sign greeted him at the window. His glowing form reflected back at him and he jumped back a little. He forgot he looked like that… He stared at himself and took a deep breath for comfort and closed his eyes. He imagined his human face again. After a second, Danny didn’t feel any different, so peeked open an eye to check. Ah there he was, the human him. This level of self-indulgence might be unhealthy, but it made him happy. He looked different this time. There weren’t any veins under his skin and looked less like a corpse. He pulled down his suit a little and was shocked to see the blue fade down further under his shirt. He was getting better at this.

He untied his hoodie from his waist (honestly he was surprised he hadn’t lost it in the fight), and pulled it over. He could say that he was shocked to find that it had a subtle glow to it, but that would be a lie. It had just been in an area with a lot of ectoplasm. It made sense it was a little radioactive. 

“There,” he posed in front of the window, “I look perfectly human.” In this world's standards at least. He shook his hands to get rid of the anxious energy he was building up. He checked himself one more time, then with a final breath, he went up to the door. 

He was about to knock when he stopped instead.  

“Tanaka?” Danny asked unsure at the door before him. He heard several clicks before the door opened. He couldn’t see a person on the other side, just the dark room of the café. 

“Come in, Tommy” A staticky voice sounded from the speaker above. Danny jumped and the flights flicked. He walked in and shut the door behind him, careful not to make any noise. 

It wasn’t like anything bad was gonna happen.

Zzz

A man arrived on the scene. He was a local hero who had become less active in recent years due to his other job as a teacher. His students were still away for internships, so he was able to use his free time for patrols (and avoid personal care no matter how much his husband begged). Principle Nezu gave him a special task to locate the vigilante ‘ group’, “Phantom”, before the Hero Commission , but so far has had no luck. The only leads were rumors, and the supposed sightings were too far apart to check in one night. He was actually in the middle of said search when he got an alert. Unfortunately, the location was across town, so it took him a while to get there. 

Looks like they found him first. 

He grabbed a bottle of eye drops from his pocket and wetted his eyes, an unfortunate side-effect of his quirk. Eye bags were a permanent feature on his face, a marker for how overworked he was. Despite this, his eyes were sharp as he looked over the scene. It was obvious there had been a fight there but the property damage was less than expected for someone as powerful and unknown as Phantom. He walked deeper into the alley where most of the people were. A small dent in the ground caught his eye. It was freshly made judging from the rubble around it, and about the size of a fist. It wasn’t close to the larger craters and so didn’t come from the fight. He kneeled down to get a better look at it. There was nothing of substance in the crater itself, but beside it was a small dirt pile and bug shells. Taking a small bag left over from a snack, he scooped up the dirt. This wasn’t the best way to transport the sample, but it was the only thing he had. He could give this to Principle Nezu so they could figure out what made Phantom respond like this. 

A few heroes looked at him strangely, but didn’t approach him. Despite not being well known (choosing to stay underground for both professional and personal reasons), he still had the reputation of being odd. 

“Eraser Head” A cop approached behind him, Shouta turned to meet their eyes. He recognized him as Tsukauchi Naomasa, All Might’s friend. The man looked more tired since Shouta had last seen him, but that wasn’t really a surprise. His eye bags had started to match his own. The two looked like they could be related. 

“Detective Tsukauchi.” He greeted back. Tsukauchi reached out his hand and Shouta used it to pull himself off of the ground. “I take it All Might has informed you of the situation?” They could use all the help they could get at locating Phantom, and Tsukauchi’s resources would be invaluable.

“No, actually.” The man rubbed his neck, “It was Principle Nezu. All Might has chosen to stay out of this.” That surprised Shouta. It must’ve been clear because the man continued, “He has too many personal matters wrapped up in this, that is all I can say at this time.”

“I see.” All Might would’ve been able to cut down the search time significantly, but Shouta supposed with his decline in strength, that wasn’t the most realistic outcome. “That’s disappointing then.” Regardless of the man’s own feelings, he hopes he would at least still be able to give them information about AFO. No longer wanting to talk about All Might, Shouta moved forward with the conversation, “So what happened tonight?”

“While Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods were on patrol, they got a ‘weird vibe’ from the alleyway and decided to check it out. There they witnessed Phantom use an unidentified quirk, my theory is ectoplasm not to be confused with Ectoplasm’s quirk, and fought him.” A muscle in Shouta’s face twitched, but he was able to keep the rest of his face neutral, only nodding along with Tsukauchi. The man paid no mind to this and kept going, “Fortunately I was able to arrive before the Hero Commission, so they were more willing to share this information.” He stepped closer to Shouta and he mirrored the action. In a hushed voice Tsukauchi whispered, “After the first blow, his head exploded and turned into that same substance.”

Shouta couldn’t help his mouth from dropping. After his shock, his hands clamped into fists. He didn’t know much about Phantom, but from what Principle Nezu had told him, he did not have a good life before. He had to keep a clear head. Rationally he understood where the other heroes were coming from. Phantom was an unknown and could be violent. But to go so far as blowing the kid’s heads off? As the opening blow? That was something Shouta couldn’t understand. 

Tsukauchi looked at him, a look of understanding and pity on his face. He knew Shouta had a soft spot for kids. He coughed a little, and continued on with his report, “His body behaved similarly throughout the fight. Death Arms shortly arrived on scene but had both of his arms broken. Then more heroes arrived to save them both.” 

“Who attacked first?” Shouta interrupted. He could maybe understand if Phantom attacked or was acting aggressively than if he was just standing there. 

“They did.” Tsukauchi handed him a sealed folder, “What I just told you was the shorthanded version. The rest is in the report”

Shouta quickly grabbed the folder and stuffed it into his jumpsuit, “And it’s safe to say the Hero Commission doesn’t know about this?” He was looking forward to reading it. 

“As far as they know, I handed the only report over to Ms. Makoto to be destroyed” A smile spread on his face. They were asking him a lot to go against orders, but Phantom needed to be found. 

The Hero Commission may have made official first contact with him, but that didn’t mean they had him. Both Principle Nezu and Shouta sore they would never get him. In a strange way, they actually did UA a favor. 

There had been reports in the surrounding area but they were sporadic and far out, almost as if Phantom was looking for something, which means he’ll stay close by. This location was in the middle of it. They also confirmed that Phantom wouldn’t attack unless provoked. He really was just a kid… Shouta had to keep focus. 

The Commission also did them a disservice. Now the kid would be more apprehensive around heroes, making Shouta’s job harder. He thanked the detective and the man left. If they were seen interacting too long it would be suspicious. 

It was nearing 3 am, but Shouta still had a long morning of searching ahead of him. He doubted he would find Phantom tonight, but it was smart to strike while the iron is hot. First he had to read the report of course (he was looking forward to how the heroes defended their actions). So much to do at once. He inhaled deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose, he could already feel a headache coming in. one thing was for certain…

He needed some coffee.

[pierrotguru]

Title: Baby Firebird

Author: Serpent at Sunset

Rating: T

Fandom: BNHA

Genre: Romance

Pairing: Dabihawks

Word Count: 765

---

Keigo's stomach was so big now. Hawks sighed as he sat down.

Unbelievable, he had a craving for barbecue chips again. Apparently, this kid growing inside him had his appetite.

Finally getting together with Dabi had been unbelievable and getting pregnant just took the cake. Life was just so complicated, but at least it was entertaining. For the most part, he had no complaints.

He supposed that he was destined to be a wild year. Hawks knew that he should look at his Astrology. All he was aware of was that he was a Capricorn with a Virgo ascendant, and Dabi was a Capricorn also with a Scorpio ascendant which wasn't surprising considering his appearance. Scorpios could be considered fearsome. Just like Dabi.

Speaking of which he should look birth chart when he or she was born. Still, Hawks wasn't sure that he believed it.

"I guess the kid will be a Todoroki," said then. "From my side anyway."

Hawks looked down. "I worry if he'll have my wings," he said suddenly.

Dabi was chuckling "Maybe our son will be a badass phoenix bird. He'll have my fire Quirk too." Dabi said.

"Or a daughter would be fine too," Hawks said while rubbing his swollen stomach.

Dabi shrugged. "Well, yeah I agree. Did you pick any name?"

Hawks shook his head. "No, not yet."

But it was all right. They had time. This relationship itself was long continuation. Many ups and downs.

Well, I'll help we can both pick one."

Hawks held a finger up. "But, it has to be distinctive."

"Of course."

Dabi's tone was oddly respectful. Even Dabi could be kind or respectful if one got to know him.

"I still don't know how I got my wings," Hawks said from out of the blue.

Dabi was silent. Sometimes, Hawks hated when that happened. However, he knew that Dabi was still paying attention He was always paying attention

"Neither my father nor my mother have them. I'm an anomaly." Hawks shrugged. "They just appeared one day."

"Why can't we all be so lucky?" Dabi murmured.

The scarred man stared straight ahead

"But then would have thrown me out. My father wanted me to be a proper Todoroki after all."

Then again, if he hadn't been born with a proper fire Quirks, Dabi never would have forgiven himself. He couldn't have. Particularly as a child.

Hawks had never expressed regret for his Quirk. He was grateful for his wings, and they were damned useful out of that environment. Possibly, without them, he wouldn't be here. They were part of the reason now the second hero in Japan. They were probably even part of the reason why he met Dabi. Everyone wanted a government agent that could fly. Hawks was just so useful. Not just useful, but nonchalant and normal too. A bright personality to hide the darkness creeping inside. At times, Hawks just felt so...contrived.

But, apparently something about him attracted Dabi. The real him.

It was too late to ask Hawks if he wanted life to be like this, but in any case, it was too far late to change it. But, honestly, it wasn't that bad in this moment. It was his own decisions that created this life.

It wasn't a surprise when he felt his lips on his own. Immediately, Hawks returned the kiss. Dabi didn't like to be ignored.

...what a nice surprise

How pleasant it would be if everyday would be like this. And, who said that they couldn't be?

"Those chips are good. Really spicy." Dabi licked his lips and it was so...appealing.

Hawks felt a flush of heat rush through him. Distractedly, he bit his lip.

If the urges struck, it was a good thing that he could only get pregnant once. He was feeling too good right now.

But, what remained to be seen was if their child would be a hero or a villain. Only the world knew which father would really take after.

And, in this situation love was the greatest crime.

But in the end, Hawks supposed that they were both villains. With different tactics and histories. So, in other words, the kid would have a lot to deal with.

Their child would need protection and he and Dabi would provide it

In October, their son was born. On Halloween. A precious boy with white blond hair and Dabi's blue eyes.

And a pair of glorious red wings.

They named him Hokuto. "Ho" for flames "ku" for black stone and "to" for flight.

His parents hoped that he would wear the name well.

[upsideoutinsidedown]

10, 17, 34 for the writing ask!!! :DDD

Hi lark :D

Thank you so much for the ask! I just wanna talk writing with people sometimes ;-;

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

Even worse, Katsuki was slowly getting used to waking up in the middle of the night, panting, pulse drumming as if sleep itself had been chasing him to consciousness; then tentatively feeling for his eyes, nose, mouth in the dark and discovering that he had none.

This right here continues to haunt me. It’s from a bnha fanfic called “exit, pursued by a bear (Katsuki and Izuku are dead)”. I read it, uh, four years ago? The whole fic is good, but it’s this specific line that haunts me. The beautiful existential crises a medium-aware character would have to deal with when out of focus.

Of my own writing, um, I guess I have an idea I’ve been dragging around with me from fandom to fandom because I never end up writing it, so that kinda haunts me, I guess. It’s a soulmate au where the first words your soulmate says to you get printed on your arm as they say them. The caveat being character a is a “glitch in the system”, so if they ever talk to someone before they got their soulmate’s words, they’re words instead get imprinted, and of course, character b trying to convince character a to accept that they don’t care if they have a “real” soulmate out there that they ruined because they love them now and they couldn’t be happier to have them as a significant other even if it was just an “accident”. Oh, and explore some less savoury sides of that potential <3

EDIT: I just remembered one other that haunts me, a line and a prospect.

Encountering [him] represented the acme of his existence and, like everything at its peak. the beginning of his downfall.

It's from what I call "fateweaver au". Wherein people are born with fates that are impossible to escape, and "fateweavers" are characters who are able to read a person's fate. The narrator is a fateweaver who's fate it is to die saving someone who has no fate of their own, but is present in others, so the narrator knows this character intimately from reading about them in the fates of the world around them. The Fateless, however, is like a loose thread on a tapestry, and by interacting with the world around them he pulls on that thread until eventually it all comes undone. Fateweavers are a concept I really enjoy and will often use them in my more fantastical stories.

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

I have a few WIPs, but the one I’m most focused on (and coincidentally the one with the most worldbuilding to it) would be Breaking Bounds (the dnd inspired/cleradin au), so I’ll do that one. There’s so much, in fact, I think I’ll just elaborate on a few things relevant to the story: namely the pantheon and some world views.

The main faith is a pantheon of seven gods. Phedes, the Sower, god of fertility; Ithamus, the Riddler, god of time; Æyzar, the Warden, god of the heavens; Usaris, the Conqueror, goddess of war; Amaryllis, the Lover, goddess of pleasure; Enlisen, the Wanderer, god of gales; and Amayadair, the Stranger, goddess of the seas. I could go into more detail about them, but I’ll be here all day because I did, in fact, create a mythos for them, so forgive me. What you need to know is Æyzar is the god Mike serves (and Will used to), and Amaryllis is the goddess Robin is invoking on her quest. Most temples are dedicated to the entire pantheon, but there are some monasteries dedicated to specific members of the pantheon, though these are more for training paladins and clerics. Mike and Will are from one such monastery.

A few world views that won’t really be talked about in detail because it’s in Mike’s POV and these are all just expected and I’m not going to be actively challenging some of them include:

Same-sex attraction is no more or less discouraged than opposite-sex attraction. Homophobia just isn’t a thing in this world (I like exploring Mike’s internal homophobia, but this is a fantasy world, and why add homophobia when I can just not? Also, somehow it felt out of place even if I wanted to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) Same with misogyny. It just doesn’t exist. Their warrior god is a woman. To say a woman can’t do things as well as men might just get them smited after all lol.

Humans are the only speaking race on this plane, but there is a belief that the other dnd races (elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, etc) are on other planes. They believe that once, before the gods, they all walked amongst humanity, and so some people, even centuries later, would make claim to an ancestry of these other races. The Wheelers, for example, are believed to have “elven ancestry”. Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter; they get no benefits from it because they’ve been just human for so long ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sorcerers, for the most part, don’t exist. The only known sorcerer (and by known, I mean known by Mike, not by the general public) is El. El has a similar backstory, having escaped Dr. Brenner and his experimentations.

Warlocks exist and aren’t objectively seen as evil. The thing with warlocks is they typically come in two flavours: those who could not form a connection with the divine (not enough magic potential on their own), so they make a pact with a lesser being and are therefore much weaker, or they’re those who reject a connection with the divine for a patron instead. The first is seen as harmless because even if three agreed to do horrific things in return, they just aren’t much of a threat, and most are just people who want to be able to use magic in their day-to-day life and, therefore, won’t agree to those terms. The second is sketchier because if you can receive your magic from the gods, why wouldn’t you? What could you want so desperately you would shun the gods who refused to give it to you or were incapable to give it to you therefore, what did you have to agree to in order to enter your pact? Will, having grown up as a cleric in training who could and did hear Æyzar’s voice and was able to channel his divinity, makes him one of the second kind. Hence why Mike is harsher towards Will than he would be a random warlock, he comes across in his travels.

34. Thoughts on the Oxford comma, Go:

Don't know her.