#pretty sure I made a separate account to post these like a fool | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kaidenya · 3 years

Text

Getting Caught ✧ MHA

Description: Headcanons for getting caught in a intimate moment with Hitoshi Shinso, Tenya Iida, Mirio Togata, & Tomura Shigaraki

WARNING: NSFW, suggestive content NOTE: This is a repost of an old SHITPOST headcanon I had on my previous account so if this looks familiar I hope you enjoy it the second time around!

“Nobody will know...”

Shinso

Shinso would go to his grave claiming that you were to blame for this situation

But in all honesty, he had been allowing things to build for far too long

You two weren’t necessarily a secret, but most people just assumed you were bEsT fRiEnDs 🥴

It was an honest misunderstanding

You had decided to keep physical contact to a minimum after an unfortunate attempt at holding his hand left you believing he didn’t enjoy any forms of PDA.

Shinso had just assumed the same about you.

However, as the two of you grew more serious, you found it more difficult to keep your hands to yourself

It just so happened your boyfriend had been working extremely hard in the hero course and it s h o w e d

You had found yourself admiring his changing physique and in turn, found you weren’t the only one admiring your boyfriend.

You weren’t necessarily jealous— you trusted him more than anything, but he tended to be socially constipated

And nobody seemed to know about you. Thus giving the other interested parties an unintentional greenlight to flirt with him. And there was one girl that had stood out among the sea of suitors.

Each time you saw the second-year girl perch next to Shinso it made your skin crawl, but no lines had been crossed.

Until they were.

Your knuckles were gripping the strap of your bag so tightly it ached when you made your way to where your boyfriend was perched outside

The second-year didn’t even acknowledge you as she continued her flirtatious ways and you don’t resist the urge to roll your eyes as you settle into the place next to him.

He had flashes you a lazy smile before focusing back on his phone screen.

Then her hand landed on his upper thigh

Let me tell you: sleepy boy was shocked when she touched him, but he was EVEN MORE SHOCKED when you took her by the wrist and tossed her hand to the side

You waste no time threading your fingers with his, rising to your feet and all but hauling him from his seat

His amusement only grew as he realized just how jealous you had gotten, a smirk forming over his lips as he set to teasing you

‘What’s the matter, kitty? You don’t like anyone touching daddy?’

NO, YOU DO NOT

You have no idea how you ended up on your knees in a supply closet??

Shinso is feeling very sure of himself above you, using the hand that was gripping the back of your neck as leverage to hold you down on his length

k i n g of dirty talk 🤭

Absolutely cannot help himself when it comes to telling you how pretty you look choking on his cock

Honestly doesn’t last long, but what do you expect? Seeing your jealous and possessive response to the girl he had given little to no acknowledgment had lit a fire in his chest

He was desperate to get his hands on you, to remind you that he was just as much yours as you were his.

And when he does— oh MAN he makes you forget all about the second-year girl

He has one of your legs draped over his shoulder as he goes down on you, licking and sucking at you in a way that had you trembling

You accidentally knock over a pile of brooms and mops, neither of you paying them any mind as your head lulled in bliss

If only you had remembered to flick the lock on the door…

Kirishima really thought someone was banging on the door for help. It wouldn’t have been manly— or heroic not to make sure someone wasn’t in trouble

Besides, why else would someone be making so much noise in a supply closet if they weren’t stuck??

So when the door swung open and he locked eyes with you, still panting and moaning as an all too familiar head of purple hair buried further into your heat—

He let out the loudest shout he could muster. Apologies poured from his mouth as he fumbled to shut the door

However, your boyfriend made no move to let you go. Instead, he hummed against your skin, only leaning back to nip at your inner thigh before speaking in a heavy voice

‘Better make this fast, kitty.’

Iida

So you’ve tried to keep your relationship on the down-low bc Iida doesn’t want anyone to think he’s distracted

We all know he just doesn’t wanna be called out for his obvious favoritism

Before you got together you were constantly pushing him, breaking minuscule rules in favor of gaining his attention. Nothing too immoral, but enough to get under his skin.

Like slipping into class just seconds after the bell had rung, nearly avoiding Aizawa’s attention, but never making it past Iida.

Or when a class had gotten a bit too stressful, the room filling with hot air as tensions rose and you had to pop open a few buttons of your uniform top

Then there was your favorite offense; desk sitting. If there was one sure way to get a reaction from your stickler of a boyfriend it was to place yourself on top of a desk.

Which is what you found yourself doing at the end of an unfavorable week. The two of you hadn’t gotten a moment together outside of your studies and you were growing needy.

So with a few moments of free time before class began, you decided to chat with Tsu and Uraraka, settling atop the desk between them when you had grown tired of standing

The desk belonging to none other than Tenya

Your ankles were crossed as you leaned forward to speak with Tsuyu and he was beyond s h o o k

Immediate hand chopping.

He’s towering over you, ranting about how your behavior was improper while keeping his hands clenched in an attempt to keep from running his fingertips along your thighs.

When was the last time you were this close to him? It had to have been longer than he realized for him to have such a strong reaction— are you biting your lip??

Any response between you died off as Aizawa addressed the class and you were sent back to your seat, leaving Iida far more frazzled than you realized

The moment class ends he has you tucked under an empty stairwell to continue his lecture

Only he doesn’t get very far

Tenya Iida has an authority kink. I take no criticism.

When you look up at him from under your lashes, muttering the words ‘yes sir’ as he chastised you, his resolve was shattered

Has you pressed against the wall immediately, fisting your blazer as he dips to press his forehead to yours

‘Why must you push me?’

Doesn’t even let you answer before his mouth is covering yours, hips arching to grind his obvious arousal against you

Knowing he had been just as affected by your as you had him was enough to spur a moan past your lips and he takes the chance to slide his tongue into your mouth

Although he was MORTIFIED at the impropriety of it all, he couldn’t resist the sweet noises you made as he expertly worked against you

His hand eventually slides between you, pushing past the waistband of your bottoms and grinding his palm against you teasingly

‘Now, who do you belong to, darling?’

You you youyouyou—

Your hand was rubbing along Iida’s hard cock, his length straining against his pants to the point you’re almost worried they’ll rip

Somehow the two of you had been so lost in one another that you hadn’t heard the door open at the top of the stairwell

Denki and Mineta honestly weren’t creeping this time— they just wanted a snack from the vending machine adjacent to you!

Got a whole ass meal instead 👁👄👁

A moan tore from your throat, quickly being smothered by Tenya’s parted lips as you came on his fingers

You had barely made out the echoing sound of objects clattering to the ground through the ringing in your ears

But your boyfriend had heard

His lips separated from you in an instant, shocked gaze shifting into something closer to anger as he recognized your classmates

Denki began stammering out an apology, looking close to short-circuiting as his attention flickered between you

Mineta had let his gaze linger on you for too long. His eyes taking in the way your exposed chest— Tenya must have pulled the buttons loose

You cringe away from his gaze, post-orgasm haze™ spurring you to tuck yourself closer to Tenya to avoid their stares rather than snap at them

It was your obvious discomfort that had kicked Iida into gear, twisting to thread your button your blouse together before rounding on the others

If embarrassment wasn’t enough, the thought of them having seen you in such a vulnerable position had him seething as he began his lecture

Attempts hand chopping them into submission, but they kept disregarding his words in favor of catching another glimpse of you in a fucked out state

All fondness for his classmates had vanished as he stepped into their line of sight, shielding you from their gazes. His eyes almost daring them to continue

Whatever words lingering on their tongues died off, heads bowing in shame as they agreed to keep the entire situation to themselves

After all, the potential wrath of Tenya Iida was not something to be taken lightly.

Mirio

Mirio’s love language is touch, without a doubt, so it’s honestly surprising when he’s NOT trying to get handsy with you

He’s always defended his obvious displays of affection by claiming he had so little free time— he’d be a fool to waste the opportunity to touch you!

Mirio jumped at the opportunity to feel you against him. Whether it was a heavy kiss to your lips after walking you to class, a hand slipping under your shirt to caress your back, or his fingers trailing teasingly along your thigh.

However, as much as he was attentive, he was also forgetful.

It was because of that forgetfulness that you found yourself alone in your dorm. Countless boxes of takeout were lined up on your desk and a pre-planned movie was ready to play on your small tv.

After a few hours and countless delivered messages, you succumbed to disappointment.

The following day Mirio can’t seem to figure out why you’re avoiding him, but he refuses to give up without a fight.

Definitely thinks it’s a game of some sort and takes it upon himself to break your silent streak

It wasn’t easy being upset with Mirio. He had an uncanny ability to brighten any room he stepped into and being irrevocably in love with him only strengthened his effect

He’s always hard for you and loves letting you know just how you affect him— so why not place a hand on your hand, pressing firmly against your back when he slips past?

You always look so stunning— why not feed you compliments at every given moment?

How could he not look at you with the most iNTENSE GAZE undressing you with his eyes in front of everyone?

It’s when he realizes that you aren’t reacting to his teasing and flirtatious behaviorist that he caves.

He finds you between classes, stirring you away from the crowd, despite your wordless protests. It isn’t until you’re tucked away in an abandoned hall that he finally asks what was wrong

You had fully intended on dragging it out, allowing anger to push you on. But he spoke to you in the softest voice, looked at you with eyes filled with so much devotion that it was nearly overwhelming

He is shocked when you shove him away— were you tearing up??

Actually gets super defensive because he doesn’t realize HES the one that made you upset

Once you finally cave and remind him about the date he had missed it hits him like a freight train.

The two of you so rarely got time together and he had stood you up.

‘I’m so sorry, baby. I’ve been so busy lately— I didn’t realize I was neglecting you.’

Does not waste time making it up to you. He cups your face in his hands as he starts placing soft kisses on your face, cooing softly as tears roll down your cheeks

Did somebody say praise kink?

How can you stay mad at him when he’s telling you how sorry he is and that he loves you and you’re the only one his dick will get hard for??

It isn’t long before he’s pinned you between him and the wall, hitching your legs around his waist while coaxing you into a heavy kiss

His hips flex to grind against you, his hot length slotting between your thighs as he digs his fingertips into the curve of your ass

Mirio does not care that somebody could see— his quirk leaves him naked all the time and he’s shameless 🥵

But again he’s so forgetful—

And he was meant to go straight to class 1A to talk with them alongside the other members of The Big Three

So when he didn’t show up Aizawa had sent Tamaki and Midoriya in search of their future number one hero

How were you supposed to know they would turn the corner just as you arched from the wall?

Mirio had no idea anyone was there as he used the hand that was wrapped around your throat as leverage to grind you over the edge—

bOY were you embarrassed when you heard the two boys audibly g a s p

Midoriya’s embarrassment nearly gave Tamaki a run for his money. You were quick to turn away, immediately hiding your face in his chest as he greeted the duo in an overly cheerful voice

Absolutely teases the three of you over the incident FOREVER!!

Shigaraki

Shigaraki was obsessed with you.

There was no way around how infatuated he had become and it only seemed to grow alongside your relationship

He was touch starved. The moment you began giving him physical affection and attention it was game over

He had no shame, especially when it came to his desire for you, which is how you often found yourself perched on his lap no matter the company.

That being said, the leader of the League of Villains became intolerable when the two of you were separated for long.

And a recent spiral of events has prevented you from returning to the hideout, thus leaving the others to deal with him

You weren’t expected to return until the following week. Aside from texting Shigaraki endlessly (didn’t he have anything better to do?) and assuring Twice and Toga that you’d be returning as soon as possible, you hadn’t had much contact with the League

Shigaraki was wound up tight, lashing out at the others far more than usual. That was how he ended up sitting at the bar, Father concealing his annoyance as Kurogiri took over the meeting.

And suddenly you were walking in, muttering a quick apology before taking the only available seat beside Toga

Shigaraki could not keep his eyes off of you, something that doesn’t go unnoticed by the others. It was the most present he had been since you left.

Of course, that meant Dabi has also noticed and never missing an opportunity to mess with their ruthless leader he shifted closer from his place behind you, muttering small talk into your ear

There is no doubt in my mind that Shigaraki was staring at you both like 😠 behind Father

Luckily the meeting had been wrapping up upon your arrival and the group was dismissed, many leaving to handle their own business.

However, the moment you had leaped to your feet Tomura had vanished from the room

With a sigh you moved over to the bar, sliding into the seat that had once been occupied by your man and Kurogiri placed a drink before you

By the time you had downed the last bit the bar had gotten eerily quiet, though when you shifted to speak to the Misty Man he was already looking over your shoulder. With a single nod, he had left the room.

The moment he was gone leather artist gloves shoved under your top, your heart racing at the all too familiar feeling as a palm settled between your shoulders

‘I’ve missed you, pet.’

There was a harsh tone to his voice, but it was contradicted by the trail of open-mouthed kisses he pressed along your neck and shoulder

Your entire body arched against him, head craning back to catch a glimpse of him, smiling widely as you met his gaze and returned the sentiment

A scoff slid past his lips, though you could see the amusement dancing in his gaze as his hand reached around to wrap around your throat

Despite the gloves, he kept a pinky in the air

His mouth covers yours in a sloppy kiss as his hips jolt sharply against you, knocking you against the countertop

Absolutely cannot control himself as he ruts against you, wasting little to no time in pushing your bottoms down past your thighs

Heat pooled in your stomach as his free hand reached between you to pull himself from his jeans

His dick slid between your thighs, a throaty whine sliding past your lips and despite the slick from your arousal the thick head stretched you perfectly

You had been completely lost in him, moaning and whining freely as he continued to rut against you.

There was a click throughout the room, similar to the door handle being twisted and your attention was adverted to the source

However, Shigaraki was faster.

He grabbed the back of your head and using his hold as leverage to press your face flat against the bar-top while his other hand worked against your sensitive center. A loud moan that was undoubtedly his name tumbled past your lips

‘There’s my little slut— louder, make sure they know who makes you feel this good.’

Unbeknownst to you, the person he wanted to be sure knew you were his had entered the room, Tomura meeting his gaze with a smirk as you began chanting his name like a prayer

A harsh thrust of his hips sent you over the edge as you came on his cock, filthy praises slipping past his lips as his hot release rolled down your thighs

He placed another sloppy kiss on the back of your neck before parting from you.

The moment you lift your head and begin adjusting yourself you lock eyes with Dabi

Embarrassed didn’t even begin to explain how you felt as Tomura let out a loud laugh, reaching down to pull your bottoms up after he had tucked himself away

‘Go wait on my bed while I speak with Dabi and I may let you come on my tongue.’

You wasted no time hurrying away from the two, heart pounding from both excitement and humiliation as you rushed to do as you were told

#iida x reader #mirio x reader #shigaraki x reader #shinso x reader #tenya x reader #mirio headcanons #iida headcanons #shinso headcanons #shigaraki headcanons #my hero academia #my heado academia headcanons

979 notes · View notes

25centsoda · 4 years

Text

An Unintended Side Effect 7/?

Before we get to the story, a note: This will be going on hiatus until January 9th when I’m done with the Winter Exchange Fic event, but I’ll be posting chapters up to this one on my AO3 account until then! Next Monday I’ll post a link to this story on AO3. Thanks for reading, and thanks to sorayume for reading over this before I published it!

Luke was determined to wrest more time off the drugs for himself. Vader wasn’t always able to sit with him while he ate in the mornings, and after several days without an escape attempt of any sort his father wasn’t watching him all that closely. How much trouble, after all, could he get into while he could barely focus on anything?

This mission, however, was simple enough to hold onto.

He was determined not to take anything Vader gave him, or ordered given to him, just to be safe. He’d get one of the officers or 501st to get him water if he really needed it. Try as Owen and Beru had, there’d been hard times a few seasons on the moisture farm. Luke knew what hunger and thirst were like; he’d be fine.

Rather than eat the breakfast that was delivered to him by a Stormtrooper, Luke waited until they left and flushed it down the ‘fresher, pouring the water down the sink. Then he went back to the couch in the main part of his rooms to wait for his father to retrieve him for the day, if he came. He was glad not to be falling asleep mid-morning again, but now that he didn’t have a fresh dose to pull him under again he was realizing there wasn’t much - or really anything - for him to do, unless he wanted to run through katas or other exercises, which would just make him miss food and water all the more.

It was going to be a long day.

-------

Unfortunately, his hunger strike didn’t make it that far. He was able to pull off a pretty convincing act, or at least he thought so, but Vader was not so easily fooled. It didn’t take the Dark Lord long to realize his son suddenly had a normal reaction time when an officer walked up to them on the bridge and Luke turned to look at the woman immediately.

Vader sighed. “Luke.”

“What?” Luke said, obstinate and refusing to look at his father.

“I know you have done something, my son. What did you do this time?”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything.”

It wasn’t technically a lie. Inaction, after all, wasn’t doing something.

“Luke.”

He caved. Over half a day without food or water (and the resultant headache) after weeks of being drugged made him ill prepared to fight, particularly if his father was going to resort to pressing on him with the Force like that.

But it was worth the try.

“Fine, I haven’t eaten or drank anything all day, happy?”

Addressing a nearby Stormtrooper, Vader said, “Get this boy water and a meal, immediately.” To his son, softer, “Sit down, I know you must be fatigued.”

Luke sighed, but sank gratefully onto the stool some technician scurried over with. “Thanks,” he murmured to the man, embarrassed. What the crew outside of the Stormtroopers that babysat him thought of his near-constant presence on the ship and his tendency to faint if he walked around for too long, Luke didn’t even want to know.

“Father,” he said, looking up at the Dark Lord, “can I at least eat somewhere else, that’s not in front of the entire bridge?”

Vader seemed for a moment like he would deny this request, but he caved pretty easily too, when Luke asked for things that weren’t release.

“Yes, but someone will have to watch you.”

When the Stormtrooper came back with a tray, Vader directed him to take it and Luke to the officer’s lounge and to ensure that he actually ate the food and drank the water, then to report back. Luke would be able to rejoin him or return to his rooms afterwards, if he wished.

Luke sulked as he picked at his food, electing mostly to drink the water in the hopes that he wouldn’t fall asleep immediately. The ‘trooper didn’t say anything, even though Luke recognized his Force signature as a guard he’d had often, and for that he was grateful. It’d be a week at least before his father even started to let down his guard again, if he ever did. Maybe Luke would let the next couple opportunities slide by, get Vader to think he was giving up.

Having eaten just enough to stave off the nausea of an empty stomach, he pushed the tray across the table. “Finished. Can I go back to my room now?”

“Are you sure, your highness? There’s still quite a lot left.”

Sighing, he took one more bite, then pushed the tray away again. “Yes. I’ll eat at dinner later, anyway.”

“Very well, sir.”

------

Unknown days later, Luke laid across the couch in his father’s office, head in Vader’s lap, eyes closed as he listened. Vader’s fingers carded through his hair. He hadn’t been let out of his sight unless necessary since the attempted hunger strike, and Luke didn’t bother to look for opportunities to try anything else. Information, however, was easier to come by, as his father took him to nearly every meeting. The main issue was paying attention when every distraction shattered his focus like glass.

“Supplies are good, sir, we shouldn’t even need to refuel for several cycles yet. Prisoners are scheduled to be transferred tomorrow.”

Prisoners? Transferred?

Luke fought to keep the frown off his face so his father wouldn’t know he was listening. Either he’d be sent out of the room or all the way to sleep if Vader found out.

“Good, Admiral. Dismissed.”

He felt the dark sun of his father’s attention turn to him as the hand stilled in his hair, but didn’t react.

“Luke,” the Dark Lord rumbled. “I know you are awake.”

“Mm, barely,” he lied, blinking his eyes open. “Was that Piett?”

“It was nothing of your concern, my son. Sleep.” Vader said, pushing the Force into the last word.

Luke fell into darkness.

-----

Midmorning, after Piett left with the empty breakfast tray to attend to something on the ship, Luke paced the main room of his suite, trying to hold onto the Force as long as he could before the drugs stole it away from him. Reaching out, he felt something odd; there was someone familiar on the ship, possibly multiple someones. He stopped dead in his tracks and gathered the tatters of his focus, trying to find the source of that feeling again. He felt the dark mass that was his father, but turned away; that wasn’t what had caught his attention.

Suddenly, he remembered what he’d overheard in Vader’s office the previous day.

Prisoner transfer.

It could be rebels!

Quickly, before the thought could slip away from him, Luke retrieved the bottle of antidote the Emperor gave him. It had been a while since he had last had it, although he couldn’t quite figure out the exact number of days, so it should be fine. He downed it, grimacing at the bitterness, then went back to the door out of his rooms.

Now how to get the door open…

Just as he thought that, mind still slow from weeks on the tranquilizer despite Palpatine’s antidote, the door slid open to reveal R2D2.

“Artoo?” Luke said, baffled.

R2 beeped excitedly and began rolling down the hallway, presumably expecting Luke to follow. Shaking himself again, he ran after the droid.

“How did you find me? What are you doing here? Who else is here?” he asked, catching up.

The astromech trilled and beeped, but he couldn’t quite parse out the binary. Something about the Princess and being glad to see him.

“Is Leia here?”

R2D2 didn’t answer, instead rolling up to the wall and connecting to the interface, doing something that closed off the hallway behind them. On the small screen next to him, words began scrolling.

“I SAW YOUR NAME IN THE DATABASE WHEN I RELEASED PRINCESS LEIA. WE WILL MEET HER AND LANDO CALRISSIAN IN THE HANGAR, CHEWBACCA IS WAITING IN THE FALCON.”

“Lando? Were you not able to go ahead with the plan to rescue Han?”

“I WILL EXPLAIN LATER. NOW WE MUST GO.”

With that, R2 disconnected from the wall and rolled away, continuing down the hallway. Luke followed.

Somehow, they didn’t run into any Stormtroopers. He had a bad feeling about that, but he forgot all about it when they reached the hangar and he saw his friend.

“Luke, is that you?” Leia cried, running to hug him. He caught her with an oof, laughing.

“Leia! Oh, I started to think I’d never see you again!”

“What happened to you, you’ve been missing for weeks!”

They separated from their hug but continued to hold hands. He glanced at the hallway behind them, still thankfully empty, but he could feel a bunch of ‘troopers headed their way.

“What are you waiting for, come on! Chewie’s gonna take off without you if you don’t hurry up!” Lando shouted, hanging out of the Falcon.

“Not now, we have to go. I’ll catch you up on the way.” Luke said, letting go of Leia’s hand.

As soon as they climbed up the ramp into the Falcon, rows of ‘troopers stormed into the hangar, the static of stun shots buzzing around them as the ramp closed. Within moments, however, they were off, without so much as a tractor beam holding them back.

Luke collapsed to the shouts of his friends the moment they entered hyperspace.

#an unintended side effect #fanfiction #fanfic #star wars #my writing #luke skywalker #darth vader #father #leia organa #r2d2 #aaaaaaand he's out #hope that works out for him #:)

27 notes · View notes

thedetectivessay · 4 years

Text

Highlights from the Fan Meeting

(took longer than planned. sorry..)

So, there were definitely A LOT of people watching during the event. At one point, it reached 26k viewers - but it could have been higher than that. They were also broadcasting through VLive so there were more.

There was an earlier interview thing that was reposted later on on Instagram. I’m not sure if that was something exclusive to SK viewers or if it really was just a private interview (saw a news outlet’s watermark somewhere; Yonhap News’, I think).

Either way, in that interview, Cho PD participated. He wasn’t there for the international fan meet, though.

Anyway, here are the highlights in a (mostly) chronological order:

• During the opening, the cast were introduced. Jaesuk or the MC did mention straight off the bat that this will be the final season.

• Sejeong roasted Kwangsoo because of his hair 😂 It’s currently very long because he and Sehun had been filming for Pirates 2; Sehun’s hair was long-ish as well. But yeah - he got the most teasing because his hair is as long as Sejeong’s now lol

• Okay, I gotta mention this: Jongmin was DRESSED TO THE T. He looked so nice, but it was so cute! He was just so determined to impress the international fans present. It just showed how much he cared about us and about how we felt about him.

So yes: if you haven’t yet, give Jongmin some love.

He was also asked at one point who he felt the closest to among the cast members, and y’all - he hesitated 😭😭 It was obvious he wanted to say he felt the closest to Sejeong, but he got scared because he thought the fans who were there might get mad at him 😭

But Sejeong, being the sweetheart that she is, kept encouraging him to pick her anyway by throwing hearts at him 🥰

Y’all, what are we gonna do once this show is over? This brOTP is the best when it came to roasting people! And they act like fr siblings 😭😭

• On the same question, after Jongmin did pick Sejeong, Kwangsoo made a remark, saying that he thought Jongmin was going to choose him. He looked hurt 😂

Side note: are we finally getting more Jongmin and Kwangsoo scenes this season?? 😃

• Not that long after, they played a game. Three of the cast members were chosen prior to the meet to draw a picture summarizing an episode. The rest had to guess where it was from.

Kwangsoo was the first to go, and his clue - drawn nicely - pointed to S1EP5, The Last Vampire. Jaesuk was the first one to solve it, mentioning that it was the episode Park Hae-jin was in.

Seunggi was next, and it took the cast a while to figure out which episode it is. Can’t remember who solved it or if Seunggi just gave them the answer, but it was depicting one of the final scenes in S2EP10, The Flower of Death. It was that part where they were in Flower Killer’s hideout, when he finally told them who he really was while standing over Minjae.

Kwangsoo afterwards said he was surprised by how terrible(?) Seunggi’s drawing skills were. Seunggi just laughed.

Sejeong was next. She drew the detective team (beautifully, btw), and underneath the picture were the words versus + seven silhouettes with question marks on their faces.

Kwangsoo praised Sejeong for her great drawing skills, and the cast agreed.

The cast eventually figured out which episode, but they were hesitant to really speak of it.

It was then revealed that it’s an episode/case where the detective team faces off with a copycat team. We will see this and find out who the copycat seven are in S3.

• Afterwards, they did this thing where a roulette chooses one of the members, the MC reads the messages written to them by fellow cast members, and they guess who they think it’s from.

I’ll probably make another post later for this if you guys want since I can’t remember everything that was said, but basically...

> Jaesuk received messages from Sehun and Seunggi. Can’t remember what Seunggi said, but Sehun pretty much just thanked Jaesuk for teaching him 10% of what he needed to know about variety (he said the other 90% he learned himself lol)

> Seunggi received messages from Sehun and Minyoung.

> Kwangsoo received messages from Jaesuk and Sejeong. Jaesuk said in his message that he highly valued him and Jongmin - and he asked them to stay with him forever (😭)

Meanwhile, Sejeong said that she’s thankful and sorry to Kwangsoo. When asked what she was sorry about, she said it was because she knew there were moments when it needed to be funny, and Kwangsoo would make a fool of himself to make that happen.

(Side note: she interacted a lot with Kwangsoo this fan meet, too, so I have hope that I will also get the Kwangsoo and Sejeong brOTP scenes I’ve been asking for 🙌🏼)

> Minyoung received messages from Jaesuk and Jongmin.

> Jongmin received messages from Kwangsoo and Sejeong (my other brOT3 😭❤️)

> Sehun received messages from Jongmin and Minyoung. Jongmin said in his message that he was sorry to Sehun because he didn’t (couldn’t?) take care of him better.

> Sejeong received messages from Jaesuk and Minyoung. Minyoung asked somewhere in her message for them to have a drink together some time, while Jaesuk asked Sejeong if she could help Kwangsoo land a role in her current drama 😂

Kwangsoo then revealed that Jaesuk always does that: whenever he meets with his friends and other celebrities, he always asks them to cast Kwangsoo in their drama or movie. The cast laughed.

Seunggi then mentioned afterwards that he’s currently working on a new drama or movie (not sure which one), and he offered Kwangsoo the role of a mouse lol

• That was then followed by the Thank You messages from the fans. Some of you may be aware of this, but about a week and a half ago, on IG, the Busted Netflix official account asked fans to submit a 10 second video of themselves saying “Thank you, Team Busted!” in their native language.

It was so cute, you guys! It just showed how much the cast and crew were loved by many all over the world.

Although: there was one fan from Sweden or Norway who had a whole PROJECT D MARK HANGING ON HIS WALL. THE SAME ONE HANGING OUTSIDE THE MAZE IN C’S LAIR IN THE SERIES PREMIERE.

Where did he get that?? I want one, I’m so jealous!! ☹️

• The fan meeting closed with messages from the cast. Most of them seemed so tired at this point, but Jaesuk proved to be the best leader the cast/team could ask for even in the end.

I mentioned this on the first update, but he said he felt sad that the series was coming to an end especially since the cast had such great chemistry. It was heartwarming to hear because it personally gave me a sense of closure.

To hear a cast member address the feelings a number of us feel is comforting, you know?

• The fan meet ended with bouquets of flowers (non-threatening kind 😏😉) and gift bags for the cast! They were all so pleasantly surprised, and it was so cute.

Netflix seemed to be aware that the awards season just finished in SK, so they gave each of the members their own trophies bearing personalized awards! It was a weighty trophy, too; the cast commented on it.

I don’t know what the other members received, but Sejeong, I think, got the Bright Future Award.

Myuk PD later posted on his IG pictures of this big gift bag that Netflix apparently gave him and the other PDs. One of the gifts they received contained a pair of wine glasses with an electric bottle opener in the middle. It was so classy and nice.

Bro - no one can say that Netflix didn’t love the detective team and the creators of the show. They threw all kind of love and attention on them, and they didn’t skimp on the gifts and ads either.

There are other points from that earlier interview I was talking about, but I’ll put that on a separate post if you’re interested :)

Detective Fam! There’s literally only two days before the final season drops! For those of you who live on the Eastern hemisphere, it’s just one day and some change!

Season 3!! Are you guys excited??!

#update #Busted Netflix fan meet #Yoo Jae Suk #Kim Jong Min #Lee Kwang Soo #Lee Seung Gi #Park Min Young #Oh Sehun #Kim Sejeong #Busted Netflix

19 notes · View notes

rubyjcat · 3 years

Text

[Behind-the-Scenes] HELIOS Rising Heroes: Animation Showcase

“HELIOS Rising Heroes: Animation Showcase” is an English voice fan project I worked on all by myself (barring voice actors) that took five months to make.

The original plan was to make just one video, but it ended up being eighteen of them!

Link to YouTube playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0UbdFyWSx0n_ewcd-t0iAB0adGe5lghH

In this write-up, I’ll be discussing details about the response to the project, recording all the footage, video editing, voice acting + audio processing, script translations + rewriting, which fonts were used, and even the emulator used. I’ve organized it into sections to make it easier to find certain things. Also, this is directed to English-speaking readers since I’m not gonna bother translating the entire thing to Japanese.

THE DREAM

I wanted to make this fandub ever since the game was released (in Aug 2020). I just knew that English voices would be extremely fitting to the world of HELIOS with a setting inspired by America and characters, places, and terms mostly in English. I was disappointed to hear that the studio behind the game, Cacalia Studio of Happy Elements K.K., had no interest to localize their games outside of Asia, which meant the chances of an English dub, let alone a global release were close to zero.

I was able to understand how to play the game thanks to the fan translators, some of which came from other Cacalia Studio games, and got inspired to continue learning Japanese (there was a previous attempt to translate Japanese lyrics years back).

What I thought was just the silly dream of one overseas player’s became something much more!

THE TIMELINE (BRIEF OVERVIEW)

I played the game for about two months prior to working on the project. Before starting the project, I had to sort out graphical and technical issues on my end first as I was unable to play the game smoothly until November.

November 2020

Finding all the in-game battle lines

Writing transliterations (romaji) of lines by ear

Learning and translating lines to Japanese

Started recording footage

December 2020

Further translation revisions

Held a casting call

Script rewriting and finalizing

January 2021

Completed casting

Started video editing (learning process)

Started audio processing

Recorded more footage

February 2021

Recorded more footage

Japanese script revisions

Finished working with VAs

Finished audio processing

Continued video editing

Published Preview video

March 2021

Recorded the last of the footage

Japanese subtitle revisions

Finished Showcase video

Finished Individual battle clips

Gave recommendations to VAs

The exact start and end dates were Nov 1st, 2020 to March 31st, 2021. Pretty neat.

RESPONSE TO THE PROJECT

I was absolutely shocked with the response to the preview video, which at the time of writing has just hit 10K views and almost 600 likes on Twitter and YouTube combined. Not bad for an unpaid hobby fandub (a joke only I find funny...) of an otherwise “niche” Japanese-only mobile game.

As of Apr 4th, 2021 - Thank you so much. This is more than I could’ve asked for.

The preview video blew up way more than anticipated, setting up for a bit of disappointment when the Showcase video was released.

The amount of views I expected for this project within its prime were a couple hundred views, so I’m content that the Showcase video reached that amount (it had ~500 by the end of March).

The expectations for the battle clips were an average of 100 views and a handful of likes - and each one got roughly that amount (or more) - so I’m also content with that, especially for something that’s just “bonus material”.

I tried my best to promote this project on Twitter with three main tweets. My one regret with promoting the project was making the second tweet after publishing the Showcase because the Japanese I wrote there was pretty terrible (as I was all worn out from editing and was in a haste to tweet about it). I tried to make up for it in a follow-up reply the next day, but it was too late. I was satisfied with how my third and final tweet and thread of battle clips turned out, but it sadly didn’t garner much attention. A reason for this was probably due to bad timing. I knew that the timing of the last tweet was awful as HeliosR did something special for April Fools’ day, plus the Easter event was being hyped around the same time, but I really wanted to finish up the project within March (my timezone, at least. It was already April 1st in Japan).

It was important to also make the videos accessible to the Japanese audience as they were a large portion of the viewers. This proved to be a challenge as my knowledge of Japanese is limited - at least for me, it’s easier to translate grammar-correct Japanese than it is to write my own sentences.

I ultimately decided against posting any of the videos on NicoNico because I wasn’t sure about Japan’s laws regarding copyrighted material. I knew it was already risky enough posting on social media and didn’t want to take any additional risks.

ABOUT THE FOOTAGE (1) – HEROES & ATTACK ORDER

HeliosR uses a gacha system, so to be able to even make something like this, you’d first need access to all 16 ★4 OG Heroes in the game.

I had them spread across five different accounts, four of which were reroll accounts. Asakou from the Cacalia RPG server gave me two of those accounts, and I rerolled myself for Keith and Ren during their Birthday Orders (one free 10-pull per account). Every account is also given a free ★4 selector ticket which I made good use of.

3,000 rubies (in-game currency) were sacrificed to pity the ★4 OG Dino when he was released in December just for the sake of the fandub!

Besides covering all of the Heroes, I also needed to play through each account to unlock certain story chapters, event stages, and evolve the Heroes for their shiny evolved CG art. Some of the Expert event stages (that had the Nighttime backgrounds) proved difficult to clear with a new account.

When using skills, the order of the Heroes were edited such that everyone was able to have the majority of their lines used at least once. All Heroes had two “receiving support” lines, two or three “supporting” lines, and two or three “skills against the enemy” lines. Some of the extra lines didn’t make it into the Showcase, so they were used for the individual clips instead.

I should’ve used Gray instead of Marion for the account that had Billy because you can see Marion’s sprite in Billy’s image. xD

In the Showcase, you may notice that the "Union Attacks" consist of all the ★4 CG images. These were spliced together; I never had all four Heroes of the same sector on the same account. For example, I would have Gray, Asch, and Jay on one account and Billy on another account, recorded their ★4 Bursts separately using the same background (from unlocking the Expert stages on both accounts), and then edited all the footage together.

Jay’s Burst was later re-recorded with a different attacking order so that he wouldn’t link to Billy.

It was also important to keep the same order of Bursts as well as use all four Bursts in the same turn. The ★4 Burst order was usually determined by who didn’t link skill with one another (with the exception of East sector as I was still figuring things out) because I didn’t want the link skill activation getting in the way of the animations.

As a little bonus, I also showed off the exclusive damaging skills of the Chapter 6 and 7 ★4 frames that I was lucky enough to pull from the gacha: Marion’s "Invitation To The Dance“ (roses), Faith’s “Synthetic Vibes” (beats), and Dino’s “Crow Mark Dead End” (claw marks).

ABOUT THE FOOTAGE (2) - BACKGROUNDS

Since I didn’t want to use the same battle music and backgrounds for all of the videos, I decided to use some of the themes from the limited-time events which went as far back as Nov 2020.

Each background has three variants (Daytime, Afternoon, Nighttime) and so I carefully picked them based on the colours. I ended up using mostly Expert stages - or Nighttime backgrounds, since Daytime versions were only used for Normal difficulty stages (which are too easy to clear).

The backgrounds used for the Showcase, all from limited-time events.

I decided to mix up some of the Heroes from other sectors in the individual clips for fun, basing it off of their relationships with each other. Using South sector’s background for Gast’s clip was a purposeful choice because I already used the North sector’s background for the other three North sector Heroes. I made sure to include Akira and Will of the South sector in Gast’s clip so it didn’t feel too random!

The only default background I didn’t use was Chapter 2’s because I already made use of the Casino theme for OG West sector’s individual clips. (...Plus I didn’t really like that background :p)

Here’s a list of all the backgrounds I used:

Escape the Prison (Nov 2020) - used for Showcase [EAST]

Mission of CASINO (Nov 2020) - used for Junior, Faith, & Keith clips

HAPPY NEW YEAR SHOW! (Jan 2021) - used for Showcase [SOUTH]

Help! Cooking Hero! (Jan 2021) - used for Will and Oscar clips

A Sweet Spell Garnished With Chocolate (Feb 2021) - used for Showcase [WEST]

Grandiose Chinoiserie (Mar 2021) - used for Showcase [NORTH]

The Hero Is A Detective!? (Mar 2021) - used for Billy and Jay clips

Default backgrounds: Chapters 1, 3, 4 (shared with 7), 5 (shared with 6) - used for all other clips

The Christmas event was the only event that went unused during the Nov 2020 - Mar 2021 period.

I didn’t record the East sector event (Christmas) in Dec 2020 because I was actually too busy with the casting call! I also didn’t think I would make use of it after already recording the Prison event intended for East sector. The project ended up taking so long that it actually benefited from having a wider selection of events over the months, which also showcased the beauty of the game.

ABOUT THE WORK & VIDEO EDITING

Hardware:

A decent computer.

A pair of no-name earbuds I found while cleaning out some junk.

Software:

All FREE!

*There’s a catch

NoxPlayer* emulator (debloated, read more about in its own section) and Open Broadcast Studio were used to record game footage and sounds.

Davinci Resolve was the main tool I used to edit the videos. A very demanding program that I only recommend using if you have a mid to high end computer.

MediBang was used to edit some of the art like the logos, but I ended up using Resolve for the majority of the graphics, including the thumbnails.

Audacity and Cakewalk were used to edit audio.

Many aspects for this project took longer than I had hoped because there was a learning process with using Resolve for the first time. I’m also a bit of a perfectionist, re-exporting videos tons of times just to fix small mistakes. Lastly, the time it took to make all the fancy effects was longer than I’d estimated. As the project dragged on, there was pressure to not delay the release of the videos any longer than I had to. A lot of this was self-imposed though.

There were days where I just did something else other than work on the project, which helped re-fuel my motivation when I decided to pick it up again.

Pretty much everything in the videos were taken from the game itself. The only graphics that were taken from the official website instead were the Substance symbols (the pictures with HERO at the bottom).

Additional overlay graphics were custom-made. It took two whole days to make the 3-second long sector intros and another two days to create and animate the arrow graphics for the credits. These were made using Resolve’s fusion and colour features. Much of the edit was inspired by the official HeliosR designs.

Left: Official in-game graphics // Right: My fanmade video (sector intros)

Sector intros were inspired by the four Heroes version of Union Attacks in-game.

Left: Official HeliosR video // Right: My fanmade video

The Preview video took after the ★4 Burst mini-previews as part of HeliosR’s promotional campaign, uploaded before the game was released.

Left: Official HeliosR video // Right: My fanmade video

The credits at the end of the Showcase were inspired by a different video, this time being the Half-Anniversary video.

The Showcase - which had a duration of 29:07 - was 11.5GB large in size. It took almost three hours to render (which I re-rendered to fix things) and two DAYS to upload to YouTube because I experienced multiple uploading interruptions. It’s a good thing you can re-upload the same video to continue where you left off without having to restart the entire process.

The individual hero clips didn’t take as long to make (but they took a while anyway as I re-uploaded some of them to fix minor mistakes). The recommendations for the VAs that were given alongside the publishing of each clip also spanned over another five days as I wanted to personalize and think about each one carefully.

A pretty frustrating part of the project was the prevalent lag when recording footage, which may have been due to the emulator and/or some technical things on my end. The Prison event used for the Showcase was the very first one I recorded when I wasn’t as aware about the lag, and so it suffered a bit as a result. The Union Attacks were the worst offender. I re-recorded the same battle scenes several times each just in case, then went through the footage frame-by-frame in Resolve and chose the ones with the least amount of lag. If all of the recorded footage suffered lag at different parts, I would even compare and splice together parts of them that didn’t lag. There was also audio lag (a known issue of NoxPlayer) so I had to move all of the audio forward by 1/3 of a second.

By the end of the project I had over 200 videos of game footage with a total size of over 24GB and a total duration exceeding 9 hours, not even counting all the ones that went unused.

The Heroes weren’t the only ones who evolved. MS Paint not recommended for thumbnails.

Overall, (despite the few mistakes here and there that nobody other than me would notice) I was happy with how everything turned out, down to the gorgeous thumbnails! I am an artist, after all~ :^)

I also have much more respect for video editors. They should be called VIDEO ANIMATORS!

ABOUT THE VOICES & AUDIO PROCESSING

When making a dub, it doesn’t mean we want to replace or best the original language, we just want to give it a new interpretation. In fact, the characters’ voice descriptions and direction provided in the scripts were heavily inspired by the seiyuu (Japanese VAs) and how they performed their lines.

Honestly, this was THE dream cast!! Some of the VAs had comparably similar voices to the Japanese ones which was an amazing coincidence. The ones that may not have sounded as similar had unique interpretations that I felt still suited their characters well. I also chose actors based on their performance, and everyone delivered!

Voice actors were not expected to imitate the Japanese voices and lines. They were provided direction and reference videos to help time their lines, but were otherwise given liberty when it came to their own interpretations.

You shouldn’t hear any jarring differences between the voice actors’ microphones and setups. That’s because I took the time to process the audio. Faith’s audio was submitted to me post-processed so it was used as a guideline for what the audio quality should sound like. Some of the others had comparable quality to Faith’s, so I only added compression to balance their volumes. Most of them benefited from equalization of various levels - this took some experimenting back and forth with the frequency spectrum. Lastly, a couple more benefited from clip fixing, noise gate, de-essing and/or click removal. It was very important for VAs to have at least decent room treatment; while small differences between mic frequencies can always be altered, echoes are difficult if not impossible to remove completely.

I feel that audio engineering is highly underrated and more important than ever as voice actors continue to record from home studios.

And in case it wasn’t already clear, this was purely voluntary work. No VAs or myself were paid to contribute anything for the project. Though, the experience alone was worth more than any amount of money.

ABOUT THE SCRIPT & TRANSLATIONS

HELIOS Rising Heroes「エリオスR」English Translation - Battle Lines

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ImWrAfvS_hgp6qr5qt30vCP63uHEk2o79uqY0h-3wL4/edit?usp=sharing

This spreadsheet consists of the literal translations for all the battle lines I could find in the game (it still isn’t done -yet-, plan to finish it when I get the chance). These are only fanmade and are not guaranteed to be accurate, especially as I wasn’t able to find another translator to help or proofread it.

After translating the lines, I made many additional revisions from the literal meanings such as changing the intention of the line slightly to flow better, having extra words added in to provide more context, or changing them completely. Thus, the lines used in the video are NOT literal TLs!

Another thing of note that may not seem apparent, but is what I feel an important aspect of character writing, is to remain completely unbiased towards all the characters. Personal favourites aside, I ensured that every Hero had their own spotlight as well as lines written in a way that remained faithful to their personality, no matter how unlikeable they were (looking at you, Asch Albright).

Even after giving voice actors their scripts, I made another revision in February after the release of the aforementioned Half-Anniversary video with the transcriptions for the ★4 Bursts, which is when I discovered a couple of mistakes with my transcriptions. This resulted in me having to edit out a part of one of the voice actors’ lines (Billy’s “String Show” line in his ★4 Burst) because of a translation mistake! I’m really glad I was able to double-check the correct lines before releasing the Preview video, or it would’ve looked pretty silly to Japanese viewers.

The last set of revisions were just minor edits to the subtitles (such as using kanji instead of kana) while I was working on subtitling all the videos.

Notable changes included:

WILL SPROUT

During attacking combo

Original line:

tanonda zo... ike! / “Counting on you... Reach!”

Rewritten line:

“I’ll become stronger... For everyone!”

The rewritten line is a condensed version of one of Will’s ★4 Evolved CG lines (“For everyone... I’ll become more and more stronger!”). He had “Reach!” in both his attacking combo and regular Burst, so I gave him an extra unique line.

★4 Burst

Original line:

warui kedo... kore de oshimai da! / “Sorry, but... it ends with this!”

Rewritten line:

“I’m sorry, but... it’s over for you! HAAAH!”

There were a couple of oversights I made with the script, and this was one of them that didn’t fit the animation properly. Props to Ryan for coming up with the extra shout at the end! So yeah, we kinda winged this line.

OSCAR BALE

When using skills against the enemy, during attacking combo, and in the ★4 Burst (repeat line)

Original line:

osoi! / “Slow!”

Rewritten lines:

“Too slow!” / “You’re slow!” / “Over here!”

Rewritten simply because I wanted to minimize repeated lines and change things up.

GAST ADLER

When supporting an ally, and during attacking combo

Original lines:

tetsudau ze / “I’ll help (you).”

itchouagari / “All done.”

Rewritten lines:

“I’ve got your six.”

“Target eliminated.”

I wanted to add in a few military terms to reflect Gast’s background.

FAITH BEAMS

★4 CG line (for the credits)

Original line (literal TL):

“It’s not terrible or evil, right? Surely this isn’t punishing... I guess?”

Rewritten line (with “mistake”):

“I’m not doing anything horrible or evil, alright? This is just business as usual... I suppose?”

Faith’s CG line had a mistake when I first translated and handed it off to his actor. I accidentally wrote “oshigoto” (work/business) instead of “oshioki” (punishment). The original has him pretty much saying the same thing twice anyway, so I would say the intention was still retained.

KEITH MAX

When supporting an ally

Original line:

gambare yo~ / “Do your best~.” or “Hang in there~.”

Rewritten line:

“Stay alive, would ya~?”

I know Keith’s meant to say “serious” things in a sarcastic or snarky way, but I just had to add in this fun line!

DINO ALBANI

Using skills against the enemy

Original lines:

haa! / “Haah!”

hei! / “Hey!”

Rewritten lines:

“I can do this!”

“Leave it to me!”

The Japanese lines for Dino’s offensive skills were rather basic, with the third and unchanged line “Here goes!” being a repeat line Dino also says when attacking. I wanted to give him some more lines - as standard as they are - to show his personality a bit more, along with having an additional fun West sector interaction. The changes fit the animations better too. (I actually had his VA say the "Haah!" line, but ended up using a different take of “Here goes!” in place of it.)

ABOUT THE FONTS

Fonts were taken from various sources and were either FREE for personal use or had an open font license. I didn’t have access to the commercial fonts (such as Futura) used in-game, so these were the following fonts I made use of:

Techna Sans looked similar enough to Futura when capitalized, and still looked decent in lowercase.

Jost* is a font that was derived from Futura. Some of its uppercase letters are sharper than Futura's, but it worked pretty well for the text in the credits.

Gau Font Over Drive was used for the ANIMATION SHOWCASE text.

Gen Jyuu Gothic LP was used for the majority of the Japanese text and its English letters were also used for the battle clip subtitles on Twitter.

Meiryo UI (default font) was used for the Preview videos’ subtitles.

Noto Serif JP (default Google font) was used for the serif Japanese text in the credits.

ABOUT NOXPLAYER ANDROID EMULATOR

ETA: AS OF VERSION 1.1.18 (04/23/21), EMULATORS NO LONGER WORK WITH HELIOSR (AS WELL AS OTHER CACALIA STUDIO GAMES). THE BELOW INFORMATION IS OUTDATED.

If, for whatever reason you’re interested in using NoxPlayer, you should take caution when installing it onto your machine. I don’t advocate for or recommend installing Nox. I had to resort to emulation so that I could record the footage and sounds directly from my computer using OBS. The reason why I used Nox specifically is because Cacalia Studio doesn’t like emulators, blocking most of them from running their games. I found further instructions on how to run the game in Nox from the Cacalia RPG Discord (via Twitter @HeliosR_en).

First, not all Nox versions are safe. It should only be installed from the official website, Bignox. More recent versions (I believe from 6.3.0.6 and up) may contain malware such as Segurazo and Chromium packaged with the installer which can be annoying to remove. The version of Nox I used was 6.3.0.0 (you can install older versions, then just don’t update it), which has Android 7 and doesn’t contain packaged malware (AFAIK).

Second, NoxPlayer may be “free” to use, but it comes with bloatware and profits off of its users’ data by collecting and sending it to many different servers. The below guide is what I used to debloat Nox and minimize communication to these servers. Scroll down the comments for additional domains to add to the hosts file.

Debloating & Optimizing Nox:

https://gist.github.com/Log1x/12d330ef7685d6fbc611d1d57efb5c29

This is another good guide that makes use of command prompt to remove additional bloatware from the emulator.

How to Remove Bloatware on Nox and LDPlayer Emulator:

https://codefaq.org/emulator/how-to-remove-bloatware-on-nox-and-ldplayer-emulator/

ENDING NOTES (TL;DR)

Images of the first and last video for the HeliosR project. We’ve come full circle!

One very tired and average person decided to translate, script, cast, direct, and edit an ambitious project all by herself using only FREE tools, and ended up taking too long to finish it. But at least she finished it, right?

Translators = RESPECT

Voice actors = RESPECT

Video editors = RESPECT

Audio engineers = R E S P E C T (their work is especially behind-the-scenes)

Hell, I even like Asch now.

During my time working on this, there was one question I always had in mind: “What would the fans want?”

I hope this follow-up has given you a bit of insight into the makings of the HeliosR project. Thank you for reading!

~RubyJCat

#heliosr #helios rising heroes #animation showcase #english #fandub #dub #voice #voices #voice acting #fanmade #fan #behind the scenes #my projects #english translation

8 notes · View notes

sovietbarnes · 3 years

Text

this is late as fuuuuck but here we go lol tagged by@svartalfheimr <3 thank you!!

oh shit there were two posts from you that I forgot about ahh my bad D:

and now the big one:

1. Why did you choose your url?

When you tagged me I had a different url so I will respond for both. sithmaul- idk I just really like Darth Maul and it sounded cool. I used slthmaul (with an L instead of an i) for a real long time because sithmaul was being held by someone, but eventually it was released and I finally got it! sovietbarnes- I just also really like Bucky Barnes and I love his comic storyline in which he was taken by the Soviets instead of Hydra and sovietbarnes also makes me feel buckynat feelings. I've had this url for years and it has always been one of my faves

2. Any side blogs?

I have a separate account with a k-pop blog that I haven't touched in a solid 6 years

3. How long have you been on Tumblr?

*sweats* I first joined tumblr in 2011 or 2012 so about ten years which is.. unsettling

4. Do you have a queue tag?

i used to have fun queue tags while using xkit, but I haven't been using it these days and I can't be bothered to manually tag everything especially since 95% of my posts are queued

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

bands. This was a good old fashioned band blog back in the days of yore

6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

again I just really like Bucky and especially comic Bucky..

7. Why did you choose your header?

no header currently. I'm planning on making one soon, but I'm kind of enjoying just not having one for the time being

8. What’s your post with the most notes?

this is one of those times when I wish I didn't accidentally delete my entire account like an absolute fool, but I was able to find this one post from my old account floating around that has 926 notes.

9. How many mutuals do you have?

is there an easy way people are figuring this out or am I just supposed to count? 26, but about a third of those are now inactive lmao

10. How many followers do you have?

oof my old blog had over 2k i have 208

11. How many people do you follow?

165, I need more people to follow so feel free to give me some suggestions

12. Have you ever made a shitpost?

every text post I've made is borderline a shitpost ahaa

13. How often do you use Tumblr each day?

too often. that's like half the reason I left, it got too distracting with school tbh

14. Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

I have always pretty much completely avoided discourse so I don't think so. If I ever did it was really mild

15. How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

instant ignore

16. Do you like tag games?

absolutely!

17. Do you like ask games?

I do! when I see someone else post them I will send an ask and I like reblogging them myself, but I haven't done so lately since I don't have many followers on this blog or many mutuals that I interact a lot with anymore so I don't get responses lol mayber in the future

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous?

aside from Shay i don't have the slightest clue, but I'm sure most of them have a follower count that would put me to shame

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

i'm pretty sure @janesfoster is my soul mate

20. Tags!

gonna skip tags on this one since it's a combo deal just for Svar

#me #svartalfheimr #tag games

3 notes · View notes

name-me-regret · 4 years

Text

If The World Was Ending 5/?

If The World Was Ending Chapter Five: Los Angeles, I’m Yours

Read on AO3.

- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

“I’d like to rest my heavy head tonight On a bed of California stars I’d like to lay my weary bones tonight On a bed of California stars

I’d love to feel Your hand touching mine And tell me why I must keep working on

Yes, I’d give my life To lay my head tonight on a bed Of California stars...”

~California Stars - Billy Bragg and Wilco

- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

Buck moved with a limp through the beds that were situated outside of the field hospital, the walk from the Cupcakery on Strand all the way to Sawtell had been a long one. The terrain had changed drastically, almost no street signs were up and those that were had been swept far from where they were supposed to be. So, it had taken him at least an hour, possibly two, but he couldn’t be too sure. He’d lost his phone when the first wave had hit and all his focus had been on Chris, first on trying to shield him from the worse of things, and then trying to find him after he’d lost him.

‘I never should have let him go,’ Buck thought desperately, barely paying the rag tied to his arm any mind even when it was completely soaked with his blood by that point. It didn’t matter, nothing mattered expect finding Chris. Because Buck wasn’t sure what he’d do if that little boy... if he was gone. Buck wouldn’t be able to live with himself.

He saw a nurse and his head perked up. “Uh, hey, excuse me,” he said, remembering his manners at the last minute. “I’m-I’m looking for a kid.” His voice was rough and it broke as he spoke, and his head was aching but he had to find Christopher. “Um, he’s got brown hair. Chris-Christopher.”

“Well, I have way too many Christophers on my list. How old?”

“Um, eight... maybe nine,” he said, wincing as he couldn’t remember. His head was starting to hurt even more and he felt like he could collapse at any moment. “His last name is Diaz.”

The woman flipped through the list quickly, but suddenly paused at the third page. “Yes, I have a Christopher Diaz, he’s nine years old.”

Buck felt relief shoot through him so fast that he staggered, the feeling like a physical pain. “Oh, thank God,” he gasped, sounding almost like a sob. “W-where... where is-?”

“Buck?” a familiar voice asked. Buck turned to face Eddie, the man’s eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “Wait, what are you doing here?” His eyes locking on the bloody rag wrapped around his right arm. “Are you okay? Wait, where’s Christopher?”

“E-Eddie.. Eddie,” he croaked as he turned to look at his best friend.

“Why do you have his glasses?” Eddie asked, his eyes darkening so they looked more black than brown.

“We um,” he started, wanting to explain. Buck wanted him to understand why he was here but without Chris, even if he’d found him. He’d found him. “M-me and Christopher, we were... at the beach.”

The man was looking at him with eyes already filling with grief and Buck shook his head. “No, listen to me, okay?” The man gave a nod, his eyes already filling with tears. “I lost him...but... but I found him... Eddie, I found him,” he said, voice desperately hopeful as he motioned toward the nurse with the clipboard. He was quickly losing his grip with consciousness, the day’s stress and the blood loss starting to catch up with him, and the all encompassing relief that he’d finally finally found Christopher.

Eddie looked at the woman, moving forward and momentarily forgetting that Buck was hurt. He needed to see about his son. As the nurse pointed where Eddie had to go, Buck could only watch as he rushed away and he sighed with a smile.

In the next second he collapsed, and with no one to catch him, he crumpled to the unforgiving ground.

- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

Tony landed on the suit on the roof before he stepped out of it and put it in sentry mode, instructing JARVIS to fly the suit back to Malibu when he confirmed that Buck was there and it was alright that he stay. It was almost midnight when he found his door, knocking on it. There was no answer after the second and then the third round of knocking, and now Tony was starting to worry.

He pulled up his phone and tried dialing his number, but it went straight to voicemail, and grew frustrated. Tony knew it wasn’t exactly legal to ping his phone, but he needed to locate Evan, hoping the man hadn’t done something reckless; like go help when he knew he had a serious blood clot condition. Even then, there was no explanation as to why he couldn’t get his location, because his apartment was out of the flood zone so there was no way for his phone to be damaged.

The man took a deep breath to keep the panic at bay, and then raced back up to the roof as he started pulling up Buck’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. It felt like a cold hand had clamped over his heart when he saw a picture from early this morning of Buck and a very familiar brown haired boy with the location as the Santa Monica Pier; half an hour before the tsunami had hit.

Tony practically threw himself into the suit, blasting up into the air. “J, check the hospitals for an Evan Buckley.” He knew that he’d left Christopher at the VA hospital in Sawtell, and cursed at not having recognized the kid when he’d picked him up earlier. If... Evan was alive (he had to be), and having been separated from the kid meant that he’d be looking for him.

The billionaire knew that Evan had always loved kids, always had card tricks for the few kids that came with their parents to charity events. Evan would make them laugh, showing them his card tricks or telling them jokes; away from their parent’s stern gazes that always told them ‘children are to be seen and not heard’. However, Evan had believed that children should be safe and happy, and he was always overjoyed to give them those secret moments filled with smiles and laughter.

So, Tony knew that Evan would look for that little boy with everything he had. He would search until he had no more strength left in his body, and without regard for his own safety. This made his worry very real, since Evan was on blood-thinners and a deep enough cut might be fatal to him.

He had to find him quickly, and was praying he wasn’t too late. “Evan, you fool,” he growled.

“Sir, there is no answer at any hopsital, and most of the patient and DOA lists haven’t been digitized as of yet.” The last part had Tony feeling cold, thinking that Evan’s name could possibly be on that list. Tony discarded that thought immediately, and instead concentrated on finding Evan, or else he was going to lose his goddamn mind.

His first stop was to go to the field hospital, hoping that maybe Evan had thought to look for Chris there. Perhaps his father had found him and knew something about the blonde man. He wanted to maybe ask his firehouse, but he didn’t remember at the moment what it was, too exhausted and panicked to think straight.

“J, pull up Evan’s file from the LAFD,” he told him. Of course he’d made a copy, since he didn’t want to go back and risk being caught hacking the LAFD again. He was sure he’d get a slap on the wrist, but it was the principle of the thing. Tony Stark did not get caught hacking, he was better than that.

He let JARVIS take control of the armor as he viewed the file, and was surprised when he saw that he was a member of the 118. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he muttered. That meant that he’d been working and helping Evan’s firehouse this whole time and hadn’t even known it. That Bobby Nash was his fire captain.

His eyebrows furrowed. That meant that Chris was one of his friend’s kid. He quickly pulled up his Instagram again and went a few posts back, almost a week ago and the picture of Evan, Chris and Eddie... Eddie Diaz. Well, this was going to be awkward when he met the man again.

Tony pushed all these thoughts to the side and brought his attention to needing to locate the 118. When he’d last seen them they had been going to drop of patients, and since the rest of the hospitals were overrun with victims, that meant the VA hospital on Sawtell. It seemed to all line up and he hoped that’s where Evan ended up as well. As he flew overhead, he saw the mail trucks being unloaded of patients.

Almost every head lifted as he came for a landing, hearing several people calling out to him; either with exclamations of gratitude or people that demanded why he hadn’t been fast enough to save their loved ones. Tony wasn’t angry, since he knew they were grieving. Honestly, he wished he could have been fast enough to save more people, but he was just one person. Even with nine extra suits to help him, he just hadn’t been enough to save everyone.

The Iron Man pilot spotted Bobby Nash right away, the man immediately moving toward him. Tony was relieved when he saw Diaz with a familiar little boy in his arms, Christopher. He wasn’t as dirty as he’d left him earlier in the day, and someone had even changed his clothes. “Tony,” the older man greeted him. “Is there something I can do for you?”

His lips twitched as Tony stepped out of the Iron Man armor and he seemed to realize he was several inches taller than the superhero. Tony would have normally gotten annoyed that he’d forgotten his lifts, but he had more pressing matters at the moment.

“Captain Nash, I’m looking for a... friend, and you might be able to help me.”

The man’s eyebrows furrowed in an expression of confusion. “I don’t know how I could,” he started.

“Evan Buckley,”he said before he could say anything else. “I’m pretty sure he’s in your firehouse?”-

3 notes · View notes

sunnygaybitch · 4 years

Text

Ok the ask got deleted so @thelxckblog asked me:

I WANT TO KNOW MORE. How is Abed with the rest of the losers??? How does the study group respond to Abed suddenly dating Richie TrashMouth- HOW DOES TROY RESPOND??? Does Troy think Richie is hilarious and is like Abed it's so cool you have this guy as a friend and Abed is like it is cool, but he's my boyfriend. And Troy is instantly /Cool! I hate him./

Here’s my response:

I feel like all the Losers would like Abed. They recognize him as one of their own. Like that meme: “self recognition through the other.” They were losers back in the day and proudly reclaimed the title, Abed was a loser in his school days and ended up with “self esteem falling out of [his] butt.” And I think Abed would feel the same way about them. I said before that when Richie, Bill, and Abed are simply coworkers, they’re friendly with each other, but aren’t exactly friends, because Richie and Bill (and all the Losers tbh) have a hard time forming connections outside of their little group, and because Abed has a pretty aloof manner. But when he and Richie start fake dating, Richie and Bill bring him right into the friend group. He’s going to have to spend a lot of time with Richie after all, and spending a lot of time with Richie means spending a lot of time with his friends. So in this particular scenario, with Richie and Bill greasing the wheels, the other Losers have a much easier time calling Abed an actual friend. Even Eddie, who is insanely jealous because he could have totally done this fake relationship thing, what do you mean he has his own shit to deal with that shouldn’t be thrown into a potential media circus, can’t help but like Abed. Honestly I might make a separate post detailing his friendships with each and every Loser. What am I saying, of course I will, or at least - I will if I remember to jskds.

Honestly, Shirley has no idea who Richie is when Abed first starts talking about working with him. All she knows is what Abed has told her, and she’s content to leave it at that until Abed invites the Study Group to his apartment to tell them that he has a fake boyfriend now, because while I think Abed would love the fake relationship trope and would want to carry it out to the fullest, I think he’d also want to share the adventure with his friends. Maybe Abed in the early seasons would have been happy to completely fool everyone, but 2017 Abed? Who’s gone out into the world and made his way and yet still thinks of his friends all the time and is still hoping Troy will one day come back? Yeah, I think that Abed would want them in on the scheme. Anyway, Shirley doesn’t know shit about Richie Tozier, but after Abed tells them of the Plan, she looks him up and tells Abed to be careful. Because while Richie Tozier has had a hard time of it, what with staying in the closet for 40 years and never being able to be true to himself, and he seems nice enough in person, if a little loud, well - her first priority is Abed, and if this comedian drags him down in any way due to his issues or the way paparazzi sometimes follow him around, then Shirley is going to beat his pale ass to kingdom come. She tells Richie so too, and he’s a little in awe of Shirley after that slkdfhls.

Jeff is aware of who Richie is in that way that you can’t help but be aware of some celebrities simply because they seem to pop up all the time. He doesn’t really care about him though - for real doesn’t care, not that “i don’t care but really i do” thing he always does - and when Abed starts working with him, he simply thinks it’s cool that Abed works with actual famous people (though he’d never say that in so many words). When Abed tells their group that he and Richie are fake dating, he’s highly amused and vaguely concerned, because this could go wrong in several ways. Maybe Abed will get too into the scheme and start to think he’s developing feelings, or maybe this comedian guy who’s never dated a guy, much less one as admittedly charismatic as Abed, will end up falling for him for real. Or maybe they’ll both end up falling for each other, only to have it blow up in their faces later, because isn’t that just how most relationships go? But in the end, Jeff does trust that Abed can handle himself, so he just claps him on the back and discreetly (but not really that discreetly) keeps a wary eye on Richie and Abed. Just to be safe. Richie just kind of takes this in stride and resolves to poke fun at Jeff every so often because it’s Jeff. He deserves to be taken down a few pegs at all times.

Britta is very aware of who the Trashmouth is. She was definitely part of a Facebook group that was just people dunking on him for his sexist and borderline homophobic jokes, and then when he came out, was briefly one of the people who thought it was fake before joining the increasingly loud crowd who said, “Good for him for coming out, but that doesn’t mean we should excuse everything he’s said before.” After he issues a public apology and announces that he’s turning over a new leaf, she decides to follow his official account on Twitter so as to keep up to date with all the Richie “potential bi icon” Tozier news. When Abed starts working with him, she manages to stop herself from constantly asking about him, though a few questions slip through here and there. She also finds out that Richie and Abed are dating before anyone else, because the first thing Richie was ordered to do after gaining a fake boyfriend was to post a coupley pic of them with an equally coupley caption. She calls Abed right away to confirm if it’s true, but he ignores her call(s) in favor of sending her a text telling her when to come over to his apartment, because he has some big news. When Abed says that it’s simply a PR stunt, Britta is very briefly disappointed before deciding that actually, the mature, good-friend thing to do would be to wholeheartedly support Abed’s decision, which you know, it technically is. But it’s Britta. She veers into overenthusiastic territory a lot, though everyone can tell that her heart is in the right place, so they just poke their usual fun at her and don’t give her too much shit for it. Richie, ever the Trashmouth, makes it a point to see how often he can get a rise out of her, much to Jeff’s delight.

Annie, much like Jeff, knows who Richie is mostly because she’s a person with an internet connection. She was never a fan of his former comedy, and when he comes out, she internally wishes him the best of luck and moves on with her day. She congratulates Abed on working with such famous personalities, but again, it’s not that big a deal to her. It’s when the fake dating starts that she really starts to keep a keen eye on Richie. Because Richie is 40 years old. Richie probably has several midlife crises under his belt, not including the one that made him decide to come out. Richie has nearly ten years on Abed, and yes, she knows Abed can handle himself, but she’s still protective of him, because he can fake his way through most social interactions but that doesn’t mean he’s really processing them in the moment. It doesn’t mean that he’s not going to end up hurt by an older man (kind of like Jeff managed to hurt her, and ok, she has long moved past that, and maybe Abed isn’t a fresh faced eighteen year old, but Troy was right when he said Abed’s eyes were gentle and mysterious. They make her want to keep him close and make sure that the only people that come near him are the right people, and those can only be determined with a complicated vetting process). But Abed still doesn’t like being told what to do, and honestly, neither does she, so she can respect that and she can respect his choices and be nice to Richie Tozier. But she’s always watching. Richie, who is more observant than he lets on, notices, but figures that as Abed’s friend, she’s earned the right to be cautious on his behalf. He’d do the same for any of the Losers, after all.

And Troy. Troy gets his own post dkfhs.

#it x community #richie and abed fake date au

7 notes · View notes

kirinyakou · 4 years

Text

Fan Account Summary From Touken Ranbu Utaawase

Since the DVD is being released today, I decided to post a fan experience for this since I loved this performance.

**Note This is a general fan account and not for a specific performance as I watched multiple performances spanning different cities; Fukuoka and Hiroshima. And the ad-lib and small gestures in each one is different so I am not able to recall everything per show.

Tickets

I pre-purchased all but one of my tickets before the performances online, I was lucky and was able to buy the last one at the venue. (This really depends on the sold-out status online.) I also noticed a lot of people lining up in both Hiroshima and Fukuoka performances trading tickets with the ticketing office. Some people also had signs asking to exchange tickets privately as well.

During the Fukuoka performances since all the seats were not sold out online, you could purchase the tickets before the showing started. This this was a performance during the weekday I think that might have been the reason that lots of upper seats were empty. The Hiroshima performances were during the weekend so all the tickets had already sold out online.

Buying Goods

In Fukuoka, the line wasn’t very long as I arrived pretty early and before the first performance of the day. However in Hiroshima I arrived in the morning and the line was super long something that I wasn’t expecting. It was already a 4 person line and it was coiling from the main level where goods were sold to second floor outside. I wanted to be able to purchase the goods I wanted the first day. They did have a limit on the Hoodie Ribbons. Everyone was only allowed to buy 1. So I had to line up a few times to get the ribbons for the other characters. It was easy to do this right after a performance, as the lines at that time were really short in comparison. Only a few items were listed as sold out by the end of Day 2. I thought they generally had a good stock.

While waiting in line, they had staff hand out leaflets like they do at Comiket. It was helpful especially if you weren’t sure what you wanted or you were able to see the large banners at the front. As you get closer to the ‘entrance’ of the sells booth they will have a display with the actually products so you will be able to have a better idea of what you want.

There was also a separate line for the Gacha items and it was just as long as the regular merch line. I didn’t go for those, so I don’t have much to add about this.

Trading Goods

Around the area, you’ll find the fans of certain characters/actors will have pins/and other goods for trading. So you can trade with them if the items you got from the gacha were not the characters/actors you like. Everyone will usually carry a clear case and they keep it open so you will be able to easily see which character they are looking for. And usually they dress in the colour of the characters so that’s also another way of finding out who you want to trade with.

Performance Time

As it got close to the opening time, people started to line up at the different entrances. This was determined by where your location was on the ticket. There wasn’t definite signage for this, usually others figured out where to line up based on where others were waiting.

I had heard a lot of about staff checking tickets to see if the name matched for other types of concerts not Touken Ranbu in general. That didn’t happen to me though. However I was worried about it as the rules for ticketing in 2019 seemed to have changed compared to past years. The staff at the door will take your ticket and rip the stub. Then you continue ahead where they will check your bag for cameras. They will ask you this as well.

Once you are inside the venue, there was a table for all the promotional material for the actors. It wasn’t promotional material for Touken Ranbu but for their other works. There were free for anyone to take. Further along there were tables with boxes with each of the actors names on it for fan gifts.

Finding the section entrance wasn’t difficult as they labelled all the pillars. They had staff at various doorways who ca direct you to your seat if you are lost. I also noticed a lot of fans in kimonos and the audience age group was wide as well. This year they had a main stage and then an isolated stage in the middle of the venue. They alternated skits between the two. I was a little difficult to see the middle stage if you sat facing to the main stage, so you really had to rely on the screens.

Opening Skit

The opening skit started with Kotegiri Gou practicing for the concert. It’s the video that was released on youtube that featured Tsurumaru prior to the start of the Utawase Performances. He is then later joined by Monoyoshi Sadamune, Kunihiro Horikawa.

The skit is mainly to tell you the rules that need to be followed during the performance, such as no filming and photos, no smoking inside etc. And also to turn on and off your penlight at certain times. And Gou will ask what will happen to you if you don’t follow these and here is where the adlib starts.

The adlib of the skit changes per showing so you will usually hear something new. For one of the Fukuoka showing, the joke was about turning into mentaiko and the other was about having to commit seppoku.

One of the Hiroshima ones was probably the most memorable. Since the performance was right at Christmas, it was themed just for it. When Gou asked what would happen, Kunihiro replied back that you would turn into Santa-san.

Kunihiro: *acts like santa, bend back pretending that he was lugging a large sack on his back* HO HO HO

He then proceed to hand out a ‘Kane-san’ to both Gou and Monoyoshi. He said ‘For you’ (in English) as he handed it out. And Monoyoshi would reply back ‘For me’ also in English.

Now it was time for the real start. The performance opened with all of the swords appearing in Shinto clothing. Each one had their own emblem on the front and there were two main coloured groups. Red and Blue. Tsurumaru appeared with a torch taking center position.

The first skit was about a nostalgic sound that Ishikimaru heard. He was trying to recall where/what sound it was. First Kogitsunemaru entered and joined him. Then Tsurumaru entered asking to play a round. I guess it was Tsurumaru and Ookurihara that was farm duty as Ookurihara entered and made his complaint. Next Yasusada entered from behind. It was also quite cute that Yasusada did a called out to other swords when he entered the sage where Kogitsunemaru, Tsurumaru and Ishikirimaru played go. Whenever he did a hotscotch entrance he would pronounce the name and surprise Kogitsunemaru while attaching their motto line. For one instance he used Hizamarul and shouted A-ni-ja.

お百度祷歌 from this skit became one of my favorite songs and was quite memorable.

The next skit was Tonbokiri’s dream. It started with everyone, (Nagasone Kotetsu, Aoi, Kunihiro, Yasusada and even Tomoe) asking for conpeito. In the end eveyone was denied of the treat. I loved how Tomoe would enter and speak with a mouthful of dango.

That’s when his dream started where everything thing becomes a conpeito. During the last song, as he was holding on to the last note, Yasusada would gesture to the crowd to encourage use to keep applauding/cheering.

I personally thought camera work that aired on the large screen for this skit wasn’t very good. At the Fukuoka performances as they did a lot of extreme close up on the face, especially for this skit. Spi did make certain facial expressions but it could have been framed better. But it was better by the time I went to the Hiroshima performances.

After that were the 3 songs until the next skit featuring Aoi. This one was performed at the center stage.

Next was Akashi’s skit back on the center stage. His story on the incident with the Plum Blossom Tree. The idea was that when something bad happens people tend to lie. And thus using the incident of him breaking off the branch of the tree he was able to place the blame on someone else. Imanotsugi was his first victim and Kogitsunemaru was the second. This broke my heart right here when Kogistunemaru believed it was his fault!

Next up was the Tokugawa family. The Time Renegade would bring a sea beam and leave it at the middle stage. Nobuyasu who figured out the motive of the assassination attempt, tries to save his father with the help of Hideyasu. As each sea bream was pick up by Ieyasu, they would go and take it back. The first time was by slowing time down, second was where Hideyasu held up the sea bream covering his face and started talking, pretended to be the father of the one that Ieyasu was holding and was able to successfully get it back. In one of the performances Ieyasu dropped the sea bream before heading it back. The last one, they retrieved by shooting darts to make the two faint. They exaggerated the liveliness of the fish quite a bit when ever they picked up the sea bream. It was almost like almost rodeo-like.

Next skit two skits were on the center stage. Kanesada appeared in a yukata and was soon followed by Kotetsu and Aoi. The had a little talk on how they kept their hair. They sang 夕涼み時つ風 and it was quite the surprise to see who was playing the guitar. It was Kunihiro! He appeared in his red tracksuit at left main stage playing the guitar.

‘Two Kistunes’ skit featured Akashi, Kunihiro, Nagasone Kotetsu and Otegine being fooled by a fox that took Kogitsunemaru’s form. And vice versa. The song in this one, was more upbeat and fun. The switch between the two Kogitsunemarus was well done I thought.

During the skit with pulling of the sweet potato, it was cute how Tomoe discovered this giant leaf and he attempts to pull it up, by just lifting up his sleeve. He maintained his graceful figure and pulled up the hem of his sleeve just a couple of cm, and took a step forward assuming that it was enough. Eventually Mutsunokami came in along with Yasusada to help. And they eventually roped in Ookurihara. However not without him saying that he was able to do it himself first!

During 百万回のありがとう Mutsunokami was at the upper left rafters, so I was able to see him up close during the Fukuoka Performances. There was a girl behind me who was decked out in his colours and ribbons so he waved very excitedly towards our section. Unfortunately Kogistunemaru was stayed in the middle ground level so I was only able to see him up close during the Hiroshima performances.

During the final ceremony performance, the new sword manifested. And it turned out to be Kuwana Gou! I had no idea at first who was playing the mysterious character that appeared.

Ending

At the end, after all the characters are announced, and everyone appeared back on stage, there was a short announcement asking us to not post or mention anything on twitter about the new appearance of Kuwana Gou. It was quite how everyone in the audience answered with ‘Hai’. And some of them on stage stared to make the ‘x’ symbol.

Then everyone did their comments/thanks.

The most memorable one for me was during the Hiroshima performance Imanotsurugis’ in which he pulled out a white piece of paper and said that he had message from Iwatoshi. The message from Iwatoshi asked that Master give a lot of presents to Imanotsrugi since it was Christmas. However that plan was quickly foiled as Kogitsunemaru pulled the paper away from Imanotsurugi and exposed it as a blank piece of paper.

I was disappointed that neither the Fukuoka or the Hiroshima performances had the silver and gold streamers dropped so I wasn’t able to get one to commemorate the performances this year. T_T

But overall I really enjoyed the skits this year and the song list was great too. I love hearing Spi sing live, so I think he parts were well highlighted this year.

FIN

9 notes · View notes

comicgeekscomicgeek · 4 years

Text

Their Hero Academia – Chapter 64: Final Exam part 6: Making the Grade

Presenting the next raw and unedited chapter of my on-going, next-gen, My Hero Academia fic, Their Hero Academia! Please note, this chapter may undergo more extensive editing before it gets posted to AO3/FF.net, as this one ended up a bit on the long side.

Earlier chapters can be found here

“Kocho! Were you watching the whole thing? I didn’t know you were going to be here! Does this mean you’re going to be in our class?” Ojiro wrapped her arms around Koharu and pulled her into a tight hug, which she returned. “What’d you think?”

“Maybe let her breathe, Kimmie?” Sato asked, but he was smiling. Even Koharu would admit the invisible girl’s enthusiasm was contagious.

“I was,” she told them, as she took a seat in the small auditorium she and Class 1-A had been brought to after the exam had ended, injuries had been tended to, and the Hero Course students had had a chance to shower and change. “You guys did good. I was worried for a while, but wow, you really pulled it off! Your teacher was quizzing me just about the entire time on what I’d do if I was out there with you. So, yeah, I think that’s pretty official.”

“Yeah, that sounds like him,” Sero added. He had one of those flick-combs and was trying to fix his hair. One strand was stubbornly sticking up no matter what he did. “Do you think he’s that scary naturally or does he have to work at it?”

“Bro, really?” Sato asked.

“I’m pretty sure it’s natural,” Koharu told him. “He can make you feel like he’s glaring at you even if he’s not looking at you.”

She gave a wave to Midoriya and Haimawari, who were in the front row with Tokoyami and Shinso. Twenty chairs filled the back of the room, meaning it could have fit a Hero class with room to spare or any class from any of the other courses. There was a podium at the front, and a large projection screen behind it.

As Aizawa, All Might, and Vice-Principal Midnight entered the room, Class 1-A grew silent and took their seats. Koharu folded her wings and took a seat in the second row from the back, with Ojiro, Sero, and Sato.

Behind the teachers followed the Villains from the exam. She recognized the bug-like Nauseous and the winged Raptor right off the bat, and it wasn’t hard to identify Kamuy and Shadow-Thief. Even utterly depleted of power, Kamuy still towered over most of them. The last one, a beefy man built like a sumo wrestler, with a shovel-like jaw, had to be Jawbreaker, even if he was now made of flesh instead of a conglomeration of metal, concrete, wood, and rock. All of them had changed from their costumes to comfortable clothes. Most of them looked amazingly relaxed for people who had just been fighting a bunch of students less than an hour ago. Only Shadow-Thief kept stealing furtive glances at the door.

Aizawa took the podium and held their gaze for what seemed like an uncomfortably long time. She was certain he was doing it on purpose, trying to put them on edge. She’d already gathered from his exam behavior and the discussion about the “Villains” that he liked to play mind games. “So, let’s discuss the results of your exam.”

He clicked a button on a small remote control, and the screen behind him divided into three vertical segments. The right portion contained a picture of Recovery Girl and a note that her final distance from the civilian defense shelter was two meters. Koharu had to admit, her heart had been in her chest the entire time Haimawari had been racing after her, especially as Shadow-Thief had gotten closer and closer to the end. But given that the numbers were green, she guessed they were still good.

“You were able to complete your primary objective and keep Doctor McGuffin from being moved past the 100 meter,” Aizawa went on. “Barely. Not guarding the defense shelter after you engaged with the Villains’ final assault was foolish and under other circumstances, could have been deadly not just to Doctor McGuffin, but to the others inside as well.”

Ojiro’s arm shot into the air. “No fair!” she whined. “You didn’t tell us she could just sneak inside like that!”

Aizawa narrowed his eyes. “The results would have been the same if one of the more powerful Villains had brute forced their way in. You all practically left the door open and did not only did not account for the full range of her teleportation abilities, but seemed to forget her existence entirely once you were engaged with the others. I shouldn’t have had to explain what all the Villains could and could not do to get in.”

Even Koharu had forgotten about Shadow-Thief, getting much more caught up in watching the other fights. But Aizawa was right too.

“Would have gotten away with it too,” Kamuy said to Shadow-Thief, “if you hadn’t stopped to gloat.”

“Don’t blame me,” Shadow-Thief hissed. She jerked a thumb in Aizawa’s direction. “He was the one who said we had to give them a fighting chance.”

“Still,” he went on, “you met the objective. Barely.”

The middle portion of the screen showed a tally of civilians rescued and a separate tally of failed rescues. The top number was bigger by a long shot, in the three digits, but there were numbers on the bottom too.

“In terms of civilian rescues,” Aizawa went on, “you more than surpassed the bar we set. The number of failed rescues includes a portion of the those injured in Doctor McGuffin’s abduction, but also those missed during the course of your other fights.”

He looked down. “Fortunately, no real lives were lost, as this was just an exam. But in the real world, there will come times when you’re unable to save everyone. When you have to make a split second decision between confronting the Villain or saving the civilian. When you’re too slow or not attentive enough or simply unaware there’s anyone there. It will happen and it’s more than likely at some point, you will make the wrong choice.

“So learn while you can.”

None of the others said anything at that, though many of class 1-A exchanged glances with each other. Koharu guessed that they were trying to figure out what they’d missed, what they hadn’t seen. Second guessing could make you crazy like that. Hopefully, it wouldn’t weigh on them too much.

The final screen displayed pictures of the Villains, all of them but Shadow-Thief with a red x slashed through them. “And for your third objective, you managed to defeat four of the five Villains. As valiant as your rescue of Doctor McGuffin was, Haimawari, I’m afraid it did not count as a complete take down of Shadow-Thief.”

“Still,” Shadow-Thief piped up. “Nice try, kid.”

“I’m going to be sore for days,” Jawbreaker said, speaking less gruffly now than he had during the exam. “I wasn’t expecting children to go all out like that.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I haven’t been hit like that in a while.”

“At least you got to put up a fight,” Nauseous said. “I got taken out early.”

“Wimp,” Kamuy taunted.

“Can you all not…?” Raptor said.

“Settle,” Aizawa growled. He looked over the class again. “As we told you originally, in addition to the three-tiered priorities for passing the exam, we were also scoring you individually. You’ll all receive more detailed feedback after All Might, Midnight, and I have had a chance to compile it, but for now, we’ll be providing a basic evaluation of your exam performances.”

There was a collective gulp from the class. Even Koharu felt a chill go down her spine.

***

Worried looks passed through 1-A, dreading the criticism that was surely going to come from Aizawa. Koharu had only known him a short amount of time, but already she could tell that he did not suffer fools gladly and was quick to point out any flaws he found. Judging by how fearful 1-A looked… she was going to assume it did not get any better with time.

“Aoayama,” Aizawa began. The glowing boy stiffened in his seat. “Nothing exceptional in your performance, but no glaring weaknesses either. You made decent use of your Quirk to try and counter your foes.”

“Merci,” Aoyama said, looking relieved.

It was short lived. “However,” Aizawa went on, “check the arrogance. When you were out the search and rescue teams, you lost valuable seconds arguing with your teammates. If you have something to contribute, offer it. But don’t automatically assume you know better.”

Aoyama looked down, but nodded in response.

“Funny, that’s not how I remember it when we used to team up, Eraser,” Vice-Principle Midnight said, giving him a teasing nudge with her elbow.

“I seem to recall some choice words as well,” All Might said, wearing a grin that might have best been described as “shit-eating.”

“That’s not the topic of discussion,” Aziawa said. “Moving on.”

He made a show of shuffling his papers. “Since we have two Iidas in the class,” Aizawa went on, giving Vice-Principle Midnight a significant look, “we’ll begin with Sora.

“Overall, impressive tactical thinking in the early stages and excellent teamwork throughout. When the shooting started, you did a good job taking command of the situation and put yourself at risk for your teammates. Commendable.

“But you twice allowed yourself to become distracted and vulnerable because you were worried about your boyfriend.”

“That’s when I got you,” Jawbreaker said. “And I’m not exactly easy to miss.”

Sitting next to Sora Iida, Midoriya turned a bright shade and sunk low in his seat.

“They’re dating?” All Might gasped. “Young Grandson, why did you not tell me about this?!” Koharu wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Midoriya turned even redder.

“Sorry, Grandpa Might,” he squeaked.

“Heroes in relationships are more common these days,” Midnight said. “But with a handful of exceptions like Suneater and Nejire-Chan, they typically don’t work together, for just such a reason. I’m all for young love, but do keep it in mind, children.”

At this point, Koharu was wondering how Midoriya’s chair hadn’t caught on fire. Sora Iida looked nonplussed by the whole thing, occasionally shooting curious glances Midoriya’s way.

Still, Koharu understood the flying girl’s worry. Midoriya had been knocked under a collapsing building and no one had been able to raise him. He could have been hurt or worse. That he’d just been pinned down with his patched together communicator unable to get a signal out was nothing short of a minor miracle.

“As you say,” Sora Iida said. “Thank you.”

“As for you, Tensei,” Aizawa continued, “you demonstrated overall good sense and teamwork, and a willingness to sacrifice yourself for your teammates. You kept your head about you.”

“He still went down when I got ahold of him,” Jawbreaker added. “All that speed doesn’t do anybody any good once somebody grabs you.”

Tensei nodded. “I shall endeavor to improve. Perhaps some sort of shock field through certain points on my armor…”

“It would be difficult to properly calibrate the strength of it though,” his sister said. “Especially since you could not anticipate enemy resistance in advance and under such circumstances, it would be difficult to manipulate precise controls.”

Both twins made a “Hmmm” sound and looked like they were about to burst into more discussion. Aizawa cut them off. “Moving on,” he said. “Ojiro.”

Next to her, the invisible girl stiffened and shook. On her other side, Sato took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“You did well,” Aizawa said. “Good use of your Quirk, good support of your classmates, and good, if unorthodox, thinking when fighting Kamuy.”

“You’re creepy, kid,” Kamuy growled.

“Continue focusing on your skills and teamwork,” Aizawa finished. “And know when to back off. Your stunt against Kamuy ultimately worked, but it also severely hampered Todoroki and Kaminari’s ability to support you. If Aoyama and Tokoyami hadn’t arrived when they had, you could have had trouble.”

“Yes, Mister Aizawa,” Ojiro replied, actually sounding serious. Koharu hadn’t known her long, but she hadn’t really expected that of her.

“See, Kimmie” Sero said, leaning forward and looking her way. “Nothing to worry about.”

“As for you, Kaminari,” Aizawa said, and Koharu looked to the back row, where the blonde was sitting next to Mineta, “while you proved effective during the majority of the fighting, with good use of your Quirk and Support gear…

He sighed wearily. “Victory dancing? Really? Never let your guard down like that.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Kaminari replied, her Cords drooping. “In my defense, I really thought she was down.”

“That kind of overconfidence will get you killed, Sweetie,” Vice-Principal Midnight said. “As it was, it nearly cost your class their win.”

That got a gasp. And there was a lot of hurried talk and in the case of Kirishima-Bakugo, a lot of swearing. It wasn’t until Aizawa activated his Quirk that they silenced again.

“Had any of the objectives not been met,” All Might said, gravely, “we’d be having very different conversations right now. As it stands… we decided the two things canceled each other out well enough.”

“Understood,” Kaminari said, very quietly. Mineta gave her a small hug, but Kaminari pushed her away.

“It wasn’t even good dancing,” Kamuy added, which earned her a glare from a couple of the others.

It wasn’t fair, in Koharu’s opinion. But in the real world, that kind of slip up would have absolutely been fatal. And even she was boggled by Kaminari’s early declaration of victory.

“Kirishima-Bakugo,” Aizawa began, clearly eager to move on.

The muscular blonde girl sat up a little straighter in her seat. “Bring it, teach.”

“You acquitted yourself well in straight-up combat scenarios and demonstrated a measure of tactical thinking,” Aizawa went on. “But your first instincts continue to remain all out, full-frontal assaults. Those aren’t always going to work.”

“Worked well enough on this guy,” Kamuy said, giving Jawbreaker a nudge.

“Shut up,” Jawbreaker snapped back.

“Worked so far,” Kirishima-Bakugo said, flipply. “But got it. More thinky, less blasty.”

“I could have told you that,” Todoroki, who was sitting on her left, said.

“…Maybe tell me those things earlier, Iz.”

Aizawa’s attention focused next on the rock-skinned girl sitting next to Aoyama. “Koda, you made good use of your Quirk and demonstrated excellent teamwork with your classmates.”

“Thank you,” Koda said.

“Unfortunately, your combat skills are often not as aggressive as fits the situation. While I respect your desire to cause as little harm as is necessary… there are times where that’s simply not possible. Restraining your opponents won’t always work.”

“Sometimes,” Jawbreaker added, “you just have to hit someone.”

“I shall keep that in mind,” Koda replied.

“I thought you performed admirably, Mademoiselle Koda,” Aoyama said, making a dramatic flourish with his hands.

“Now, Sato,” Aizawa said, obviously determined not to get derailed.

Next to Ojiro, Sato just buried his head in his hands. “Oh no, here it comes.”

“You were one of the few to be able to properly approximate how Kamuy’s Quirk worked, and you were able to use that you your advantage, so good job there. And you had creative application of your Quirk when you faced her the second time, as well as good teamwork with Ojiro. In the future, however, you may want to put more work into combat options that don’t require the use of your Quirk.”

It took a minute for Sato to realize he wasn’t being yelled at. “He said you did good, Kenta!” Ojiro squealed. “Get your head up!”

“Th—thank you,” Sato said, nodding rapidly. “Thank you, sir.”

“Shinso,” Aizawa said, and Koharu could have sworn that there was something just a little warmer in his voice when he said the same compared to the rest. She remembered how he’d cheered for the purple-haired boy when they were watching the exam. Just what was the relationship between the two of them?

“Excellent teamwork and good use of your Quirk,” Aizawa said. “We did have some concerns you weren’t giving it your all, but you eventually corrected.”

A small smile pulled its way across Aizawa’s face. “And your… unique insights proved invaluable in supporting your team’s efforts. Good job. Work on bringing your A-Game right out of the gate though. Don’t just build up to it.”

“Got it!” Shinso bubbled, punching the air. “Give them the Smash right from the start!”

“As for you, Shoji,” Aizawa continued, looking at the tall, six-armed boy. Koharu was one hundred percent of a lesbian, but even she had to admit, Shoji was ridiculously good looking. No wonder Ojiro’s webshow—After becoming friends with her, she’d dug up a few old episodes—called him Class 1-A’s most eligible bachelor. Of course, she’d suddenly stopped doing that for some reason, but hadn’t mentioned why.

“You did well. Good fighting skills, good teamwork. Work on showing some greater initiative in planning and remember that you have options for long range attacks that don’t put you at as much risk in a physical confrontation.”

“Understood,” Shoji said with a small nod.

“Sero,” Aizawa began. The name had barely left his lips when the pink-skinned boy let out a terrified whimper and turned several shades paler. “Overall, good teamwork and good rescue work. You were especially effective against Raptor.”

“Damn tape,” the winged man growled. “Swinging me into that building hurt.”

“But watch your grandstanding. The correct response to finding out you’re fighting real Villains is not worrying about your hit count.”

Sero still hadn’t moved or reacted. It took Sato giving him a nudge. “Bro. You’re not dead.”

“I’m not?”

“You’re not. I’d tell you if you were.”

“Good.”

Once again, Aizawa looked as though he’d rather be anywhere else. He closed his eyes and appeared to be counting, judging by the slight movement of his lips. “Tokoyami.”

The glowing frog-thing, Frog-Shadow Koharu thought it was called, was sitting on Tokoyami’s shoulder. She perked up at Tokoyami’s name. “And me!” the thing declared.

Aizawa gaze briefly went to a corner of the room, where a yellow sleeping back, of all things, was sitting. He instead returned his attention to the bird-headed girl. “The first true victory went to you, so congratulations on that.”

“She got you good, bug man!” Kamuy yelled, slapping Nauseous on the back.

“Yeah, yeah,” Nauseous growled. “Rub it in, why don’t you?”

“I was planning on it.”

“As seems to be the common theme here, good use of team work and collaboration with your classmates. However… as difficult as it is to draw the line where you and Frog-Shadow end and begin, let’s focus on your own physicality and active participation in these battles. Being saved by your living Quirk is fine, but you cannot rely on that.”

“I shall keep that in mind,” Tokoyami said, giving a slight nod. “Or rather,” she added before Frog-Shadow could interrupt, “we shall.”

“Todoroki,” Aizawa went on, addressing the pale girl with the multi-colored hair. Koharu wasn’t quite sure how her ombré hair worked exactly, starting white but turning red the further out it got, but given that her own hair matched the pattern of her wings, she wasn’t sure she was in any position to question it. “Your overall performance was excellent.”

“Indeed,” All Might bellowed, interrupted him. “Young Todoroki was very much the MVP of the exam! You proved invaluable in multiple Villain confrontations!”

“I merely did what I could,” Todoroki said demurely. “I only regret that I was unable to better protect my classmates…”

“That is unfortutnate,” Aizawa said. “But sometimes inevitable. In the meantime, you demonstrated excellent use of your Quirk and good overall thinking and teamwork. Continue to work on your endurance and you’ve a bright future ahead of you.”

“Would it be possible to have that in writing?” Todoroki asked. “I would like to make sure my mother is aware of these facts.”

“Geeze, more jokes, Iz?” Kirishima-Bakugo asked. “You’re on a roll today.”

“Yes,” Todoroki said, her voice carefully neutral. “A joke.”

“You’ll receive your written evaluation later,” Aizawa reminded her. His voice turned protective. “But by all means, do invite your mother to visit if she has any… concerns.”

In the front row, Haimawari squirmed uncomfortably as Aizawa focused his attention on him. “Haimawari, your overall performance was positive. If not for your efforts, the class would have failed the primary objective. You also proved your strategic worth against Jawbreaker and your combat powers against Raptor.”

“That was your plan?” Jawbreaker asked. “Good job, kid.”

“I was supposed to give you a chance,” Shadow-Thief added, “but I didn’t expect you to catch up. You could be faster than Inegnium someday.”

Aizawa stared the lanky boy down. “You’ve raised my expectations of you, Haimawari. I’ll be looking to see you step up to leadership positions again.”

In spite of the praise, Haimawari looked a little pale. “Ah, okay, got it. Thank you, sir.”

“As for you, Midoriya,” Aizawa continued, “if you keep hitting up against a wall and keep bouncing off, what do you do?”

“If you’re this kid, you keep on doing it,” Jawbreaker said with a laugh.

“Maybe… not that?” Midoriya tried. “It’s kind of my go to move, but it really wasn’t working so well. And there wasn’t a lot of room to do some of my bouncing tricks like Gran Torino.”

“At least,” Aizawa said. “You recognize it. You’ve got a lot of power and a lot of techniques, work on developing them. We can focus on some options for when your usual strategies don’t cut it. Additionally…”

“Yes, Mister Aizawa?” Midoriya said, in response to Aizawa’s trailing off.

“In the next team exercises in class, you’re not allowed to take charge or formulate plans unless your teammates have also come up with plans. I think we’re all very aware how much of a leadership role you’ve taken. And while those skills are desirable for a Hero, we can’t have your classmates becoming complacent.”

“He is right, Young Grandson,” All Might added.

Midoriya nodded. “You’re right,” he said. “I’ll… do my best to stick to that.”

“See that you do.” Aizawa looked down at his notes on the podium, then up at the class. He looked back down again, as though he was making sure of something and made a pained expression. Finally, he looked back up.

“And Mineta,” he said. “As is becoming a pattern for you against live opponents, you demonstrated solid tactical thinking when provoking your opponents into a trap or otherwise keeping their focus on your mouth instead of what you’re doing. I would tell you to be less…” He gestured vaguely.

“Ah, you just gestured at all of me,” Mineta said.

“Exactly. I’d like you to be less you. Except that it seems to be working.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “It would be illogical not to encourage you to continue using those skills, not matter how distasteful.”

“What Eraser is saying,” Vice-Principal Midnight added, “is continue to own it, girl! If I was still active in the field, I’d snare you for a sidekick in a heartbeat.”

At that, Mineta actually blushed, something Koharu hadn’t been sure was actually possible. “Y-yes, Vice-Principal. T-thank you.” Koharu was extremely sympathetic though. The Vice-Principal’s expression was enough to set her own heart aflutter.

“Continue to work on battlefield discipline, however,” Aizawa corrected. “As useful as your… talents are, there is a time and a place.”

“Got it,” Mineta said. “Time. Place.”

“And Kocho.” It took Koharu a moment to realize Aizawa had said her name. The others of 1-A turned to look at her. “Overall, good analysis of how you’d participate against the exam Villains. Though you did forget about Shadow-Thief, just like the rest of the class, so I can’t fault you for that entirely. But good analysis overall, especially for someone not currently in the Hero Course. I’ll be expecting good things of you when you join the class for the training camp and for the next term.”

“I knew it!” Midoriya shouted.

“Way to go!” Sero said.

“Good job!” Sato added.

“You did it! You did it!” Ojiro said, practically bouncing in her seat. Cheers went up from some of the others, like Haimawari, and even those of she didn’t really know, like Shinso.

The celebratory moment was short lived. One of the Villains, Jawbreaker, spoke up. “So… that’s it then?”

Aizawa nodded. “The exam is over and the students will be returning to their dorms after this.”

“Then,” Raptor said, “I suppose we just wait for the police, then?”

All Might gave Aizawa a surprised look. “Just what did you tell them, Aizawa?”

“He said we had to beat the kids if we wanted early parole,” Shadow-Thief snapped. “I knew it. I knew I should have run when I had the chance… just taken my chances and run…”

“I can’t speak for these idiots,” Kamuy said, “but I’ll go quietly. I gave my word and I keep it.”

“What’s a few more years?” Nauseous said, shrugging.

“It was a logical ruse to get the most competitive edge out of you,” Aizawa said. “Once you’ve returned to your respective detention centers, your effects will be returned to you and your releases will be processed.

Koharu wished she could say she was surprised. Even already knowing that Aizawa had misinformed the Villains somehow, she hadn’t expected that. But given what she was learning about the man, along with the dirt that the Voice and Deku had spilled on him, she really, really wasn’t surprised.

“You bastard!” Shadow-Thief snarled, and had to be restrained by Kamuy and Jawbreaker. She probably could have escaped easily if she’d wanted to, but it seemed her heart wasn’t in it, as she let the other two push her back down. “I thought I’d lost my chance…!”

“Guess I’m going home,” Raptor said, leaning back in his chair and smiling.

“You’re definitely a bastard, Aizawa,” Jawbreaker said. “But I have to say… it worked.”

All Might just shook his head. “Dirty pool, Aizawa, dirty pool. Let me apologize on his behalf.”

Jawbreaker waved a hand in the air. “Honestly, I figured he was bullshitting us. It was the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. But I figured it was a worth a shot.”

All Might just shook his head. “One of these days, Aizawa, these “logical ruses” of yours are going to backfire…”

“Haven’t yet.”

Being in Class 1-A, Koharu thought, was definitely going to be an experience.

***

“Okay, everybody,” Midoriya began, “if I could just have your attention for a minute?”

Unfortunately, Class 1-A (and Kocho, who’d been invited to celebrate with them) were too busy celebrating their exam victory to notice. After the exam, they’d pooled their money—Izumi had offered to pay for the whole thing, but they’d insisted it come from all of them—and ordered pizzas (and shakes for Kocho), gotten the stereo going, and turned the dining area into a party spread with other snacks and sodas.

It had been close out there more than a few times, but Isamu was glad he’d been able to be a part of it. Of course, now Aizawa was expecting bigger and better things from him, on top of having already raised his profile at the Sports Festival, so that was a lot to live up to. And there was still the training camp on the horizon. They had a departure date for it, but no other details. But those were worries for another day.

He did wonder how the other Hero Courses were doing. 1-B was supposed to be taking theirs this afternoon, and 1-C in the evening. Kana had promised she’d let him know when they were done though, so he was anxiously awaiting that text. 1-B didn’t have as many “heavy hitters” in it as his class did, but they had a lot of variety and a lot of potential for teamwork if they really tried at it.

“Guys?” Midoriya tried again.

“If everyone could give us their attention for just a moment?” Tokoyami tried, with no success either.

“HEY! LISTEN!” Frog-Shadow shouted, from her perch on Tokoyami’s shoulder. And that did get everyone to shut up.

“…Thank you,” Midoriya told Frog-Shadow, before looking around at the class.

“Anytime!” Frog-Shadow said, giving him a thumbs’ up.

“As I was saying,” Midoriya continued, “everybody did great out there. There’s not a one of you I’m not proud of. Not that I was worried for a minute, but we really showed how we could come together when it really matters. So absolutely, let’s celebrate! We earned it!”

Isamu joined with his classmates in cheering, though he thought Kaminari looked like her heart wasn’t in it, despite everyone having told her that they didn’t blame her for almost causing them to fail the exam. He could see the electric girl had taken the criticism to heart and he doubted she’d do anything like that again.

He’d talk to her later if he had the opportunity. They weren’t exactly friends, but they’d gotten to be friendlier over the term, especially when he’d burned a few copies of some of his mom’s lesser known CDs for her. And they both agreed that Double Pop was a cheap rip off and not an homage, no matter how hot Mineta insisted they were.

As the cheers died down, Izumi spoke up. “I have already told my parents about our passing the exam,” she said. She sounded pretty happy, as far as he could tell. Izumi was a fairly reserved person, but even he could see the pride in her victories today. She deserved it, completely. “They send their congratulations to all of us. They have also extended an offer to the whole class—and you, Kocho—to join us at our island vacation home before the training camp.”

He knew Izumi’s family was rich. But all the same, he couldn’t help but blurt out, “You have an island vacation home?”

Kirishima-Bakugo smirked at his surprise. “They have their own island.”

That did not do anything to take down his surprise. “Of course,” he said. Visions of the costs of plane tickets and island prices and everything else immediately tampered down any enthusiasm he would have had for going. Not all Pro-Heroes were rich, of course, but with the right endorsements and even a modest amount of success, they could be very well off. That was not his family. They did well enough, of course, but he wasn’t anywhere near the same ballpark.

Really, between the Iida twins, Izumi, and Mirdoiya alone, the amount of yen in the room was staggering. It did very little to quell his feelings of inadequacy. But he could see Kocho doing a very good job of concentrating on her drink and a pang of sympathy overrode anything else.

“Of course, since it is the Yaoyorozu private jet and hotel, it is all expenses paid,” Izumi went on.

“As long as we’re back in time for the I-Island Expo,” Midoriya said. “Dad’s going to be busy, but the Aunt Meslissa and the Togata kids are all going, and I’m going with them.”

“We’re going too!” Sora Iida piped in. “Mother is presenting several new inventions and Father will be there as well, representing the family.”

Tensei Iida looked over at his boyfriend. “I will insist upon you being allowed to come,” he told Sero. “It is only fair, since my sister’s boyfriend will be there.”

“Double-date vacation with our Iida squeezes, Midoriya?” Sero said. “It’s all moving so fast! We’ll be in-laws before you know it!”

Midoriya turned red at that. “Maybe… maybe not that fast!”

“Toshi,” Sora told him, leaning in, “I think he is joking.”

“Or am I?” Sero laughed, giving himself a double thumbs’ up. Ojiro reached over and gave him a smack on the shoulder. “Ow! Go easy, Kimiko!”

“Stop making Midoriya a nervous wreck! You’ll ruin my ships!”

“You can’t call it a ship when it’s real people, Kimmie,” Sato said, looking faintly embarrassed at his friends.

“You’re going too, right, Haimawari?” Midoriya asked.

“I, ah, yeah,” Isamu said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. He still needed to find a suit before that happened. As the first year winner of the U.A. Sports Festival, he’d gotten an all- expenses paid invitation to the Expo. It would be the furthest he’d ever been from his home in his life. Still seemed like way too much attention on him, but Hero-Society really did like to have people it could celebrate, it seemed. “Hadn’t had too much time to think about it, with the exams and everything.”

“You get a plus one, you know!” Mineta yelled. “You should totally take Kana!”

Isamu let out a squeak. “We’re really not ready for that!” he said quickly. “Really!”

“Take me then?” she asked, pouting. “Shinji’s still grounded and I’ll be so lonely…”

Nope, nope, nope, get away bad thoughts!

“We should be able to return in plenty of time,” Izumi said, answering the question and thankfully ending any conversation with Mineta.

“Are you sure it’s okay if I come?” Kocho asked. The tips of her wings flicked about as she talked. “I mean, I’ll have to ask my parents to begin with, but you all barely know me.”

Boy, did he know that feeling. It definitely summed up how he’d felt at the start of the term. But now he had good friends here, and even got along with pretty much everyone else. He still sometimes felt like an outsider, but with people who’d literally grown up together, that wasn’t completely surprising. But he definitely no longer felt like an outsider.

“You’re going to be in 1-A,” Midoriya said, smiling. “That makes you family.”

“Welcome to the crazy house,” Kirishima-Bakugo said. She made a sweeping gestured. “I’d say you get used to some of them, but, well…”

***

It’s the next morning, Saturday, and most of the class was out and about, some of the couples spending time with each other, some enjoying a day of much deserved rest after the exams. A few had even gone home already in preparation for the upcoming trip. They’d had one of the biggest tests of their lives and they’d passed.

So why couldn’t Chihiro bring herself to celebrate?

Maybe because she’d nearly ruined the whole thing. Not just for herself, but for everyone. She’d barely passed her other exams. As much as her mom often told her to “dig down deep and find the genes I gave you,” Chihiro sometimes had to admit… she just wasn’t that smart. Book learning did not come easily to her. So she’d poured everything she had into being a Hero. And with her new costume, she’d actually started finally getting good at that, overcome the limitations of her Quirk and started thinking a little bit smarter there.

And in one fleeting taste of victory, she’d done something stupid and started celebrating.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. One of the first basic rules of Heroing. Never, ever celebrate until the Villain was either unconscious or in a police car. She’d been so damn sure their combined power had been enough to put Kamuy down.

She’d been wrong.

And everyone had nearly paid for her mistake. Sure, they said they didn’t blame her. And she even believed them. Well, she believed everyone but Kirishima-Bakugo. She’d never actually said it, just grimaced and nodded along when the others said it.

It didn’t mean she didn’t blame herself.

In retrospect, being alone in the common room with her thoughts probably wasn’t the best thing right now, no matter how much she didn’t want to be around other people. Of course, if she really didn’t want to be around other people, she would have just stayed in her room. Instead, she was sitting on the couch, strumming on her ukulele. Maybe, just maybe, a little music would take her mind off of everything. She hadn’t had as much time to play as she’d like this term, but maybe she could get back to it.

She was definitely bringing it on the trip to Izumi’s island. Islands practically called for ukuleles. Also, she just liked the word ukulele. This one in particular had been a gift from her dad. It even had a small inscription. “Just write “I love you, Chihiro.’”

The doors to the outside flew open and in walked someone she really didn’t want to deal with right now: Shiro Monoma. If he said one word about anything—never mind how he’d have found out in the first place—she knew she’d throw hands and Cords. And then she’d probably get in actual trouble.

He had bolted through the doors like he’s gathered up all his courage for an important mission, but now that he was inside, he just looked a little confused. He even pulled his phone out and checked something on it—probably his text messages.

“Mika’s not here,” she told Monoma flatly. Mika had said something about how he was having a rough time lately, but honestly, he got on her last nerve often enough that she wasn’t sure she cared. “Pretty sure Koda’s upstairs though.”

How someone as nice as Koda was put up with the likes of him and Aoyama, she had no idea.

“I, ah, yes, good,” Monoma said, looking both awkward and uncomfortable under her gaze. She must have stepped up her intimidation game. Maybe she’d actually see how this played out. “I… heard you all passed the exam?”

Of course. Why did she think it was anything else? “Come to gloat?” she snapped, pointing her Cords at him. Sparks danced along their tips.

He put a hand to his chest, offended. “Gloat about what?”

“You don’t know?” She carefully set her ukulele down in its case on the table in front of her and stood up. She waved her arms through the air as she ranted, her Cords mimicking the gestures. “You’re not just bullshitting me, so you can insult me? Mock me? Mock poor stupid Kaminari who nearly danced her way into failing the exam?”

Crap. She said too much.

Monoma’s expression softened, though she could also see some kind of comprehension dawning too. “I assure you,” he said, crossing the room so he was standing across from her, “that I meant to do no such offenses. It’s not my place to do so anymore anyway. At least you’re still here. It sounds like you still deserve your spot.”

Wait, what? “The hell does that mean?” she demanded. Dammit, he needed to stop looking like a kicked puppy. It was making it incredibly hard to be mad at him!

“I’m leaving U.A.,” he told her. Chihiro’s Cords jerked up in surprise. “I’m… I’m not cut out for this. My Quirk’s not good enough. I’m not good enough. I only stayed long enough to help my class pass the exam. Which they did.”

Okay, seriously, what the hell.

“I, ah…” she began, uncertainly. “They throw real Villains at you too?”

Now it was his turn to be surprised. “…Your teacher really is insane.” She didn’t disagree. “Super-Ball got some of his Pro-Hero friends to play the part. Dirtbreaker, She-Panther, Silver Stalker, the Human Rocket, and Microwaveabelle. They’re all fairly minor and low ranked… but they gave us all a pretty good fight.”

“Betcha Shinso could have told you all about them.” She did genuinely like the little guy. Their dads were friends, so while they weren’t close, she was certainly more than used to his quirks.

“Yeah,” Monoma agreed. “He probably could have.” Chihiro recalled that his dad was friends were Shinso’s dad too. She seemed to remember the two of them had even been closer, once upon a time.

“But you’re quitting?” she asked. As much as he tried to brag or claim his class was better than theirs, she couldn’t believe it.

“My mind’s made up,” he said, quietly. “Please don’t try to talk me out of it.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she said. “But like I said, Koda’s upstairs if that’s who you’re looking for.”

He hesitated, then looked down at her ukulele. “I didn’t know you could play,” he said.

She shrugged. “I’m not nearly as good as mom. But I do all right.” She realized he was looking at her expectantly. The curse of the musician. As soon as you admitted you could play, people wanted to hear it.

With a sigh, she picked it up and sat down, using her Cords to indicate that he could sit too if he wanted. He took up a spot on the couch opposite her. She took a moment, then launched into the cords of a positively ancient song and couldn’t help but launch into song, in English.

“I see trees of green and red roses too

I'll watch then bloom just for me and you

And I think to myself

Oh, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue, clouds of white

The brightness of day, the dark, say goodnight

And I think to myself

Oh, what a wonderful world…”

She stopped when she realized he wasn’t just watching her, he was staring. Hard.

“What?” she asked.

“I’ve never actually seen anyone play music up close like that,” Monoma said, actually sounding impressed. “At least, not live. Video is one thing, but up close and personal… it’s actually rather breathtaking.”

Okay, Monoma was dishing out compliments instead of insulting her intelligence. This was obviously a Monoma from an alternate universe where he was nice. “Think you could copy it?” she asked. “You’d probably make a good musician that way.”

He shook his head. “I could copy the motions, but I wouldn’t have the heart for it you do. Or the kind of conditioning in my fingers you have. I’m honestly really impressed. You’ve got real talent.” There was an undercurrent of “and I’m jealous” to it, so she took some pity on him.

“It take some work,” she said. “But anybody really can learn. You learn the chords, you put them together, one after the other, they turn into music. Same for every song, just broken apart and put together in different ways and speeds.”

Monoma’s lips were moving, but no sound was coming out, as he seemed to be processing what she’d said. He suddenly bolted from his seat. “That’s it! Like music! Not like shots from a quiver!” His eyes were wild and Chihiro slowly and deliberately put her ukulele in its case so she could stand up.

“I’m going to tase you if you don’t start making sense!”

His expression still maniac, Monoma continued. “I could string moves together into a symphony of fighting! I’ve been treating moves like separate weapons, to be used and discarded! I can combine them!”

“Uh… good for you?” she tried. Should she be calling someone here? Was he having an aneurysm? She could probably always defibrillate him, but she was pretty sure that wasn’t the right medical procedure.

His eyes were shining and maniac still, when he focused them on her. “You’re brilliant, Kaminari! Thank you!”

In a burst of speed, he was at her side, his arms wrapped around her and holding her tightly against him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” His lips pressed against her cheek for a moment, a long moment, separating with a wet, smacking sound.

Reality seemed to settle back in. He stared at her, then bolted towards the door. “Thankyouagain,Ihavetowithdrawmywithdrawl,Ineedtogonow!”

Chihiro stood there for a moment longer, before she flopped back onto the couch, her legs suddenly weak. Her fingers touched her cheek where Monoma had kissed her. “What… what just happened?”

***

Mika had made herself scarce from the 1-A dorms and was hanging out with Anime in hers. As was expected, her friends’ dorm walls were completely covered in posters from various manga and anime, most of which even the biggest otaku would find obscure.

Her phone buzzed. Earlier, she’d sent a message to Shiro, telling him a “mutual acquaintance” was feeling depressed and maybe he could go by and cheer her up. He was depressed, she was depressed, it was the perfect plan.

She checked her phone.

Cute Ex: So I’m not quitting. Got a really good idea when I was at your dorm building. Had a really good conversation. …I may have kissed her. Things got happened and I got passionate.

Mika smiled. That was fast. Really fast, actually, given the parties involved. Good for Shiro and good for Akaya. Her friend needed it. And Shiro would be way better for her than Aoyama, if he ever figured out that he was clearly crushing on Akaya.

“It worked!” she told Anime.

The animated girl squeed happily. “I knew it! Just like I Set Up My Best Friends (Because I Could)!”

Cute Ex: I hope this doesn’t make things awkward.

Mika was about to respond that of course it didn’t, this was her plan all along, when she saw more dots indicating Shiro was still typing.

Cute Ex: Because now I might actually ask Kaminari out. Not just because of the kiss. But because I discovered she’s actually fascinating. I know it sounds crazy, but…

She didn’t see the rest of the text, as the phone dropped from her hands. “Anime, we’ve made a terrible mistake.”

#my hero academia #their hero academia #Koharu Kocho #isamu haimawari #chihiro kaminari #shiro monoma #mika (tha)#fan fiction #fan fic #my writing

6 notes · View notes

stateofmindconfused · 5 years

Text

Dear person reading this,

I'll tell you a story. A story about how I discovered a part of me.

When I was younger I noticed myself staring at girls more than I would stare at boys. I didn't really understand the concept of being gay or the fact that it was seen as something wrong, but I still would hide it and never told anyone. When girls talked about having crushes I didn't understand it; I looked at boys and it was all meh. But I still would force myself to like them and try to get feelings for them, but in the back of my mind, I always knew that wasn't me.

I didn't find the word for until I was in 6th grade and some girls called me a lesbian. I didn't know what it meant but then my mom explained it to me, and so did my dad...he made sure I understood that was wrong. That's when I started hating my feelings, and inevitably myself.

I decided to just push them down and ignore them. I switched schools after that and I was able to pretend I was straight, I even fooled myself. But you can only hide for so long. I met this girl and she changed my world, I fell in love with her and I was in love with her for two years. I stopped pretending to be who I was and started to come to terms with it….at 16. 5 years later. 5 years of hating myself and not wanting to admit my feeling. I came out to friends, and they were supportive. This created this bubble in which I felt safe, but again this can't last forever.

At 17 I came out to my mom and my sister, later my brother, and one of my aunts. Pretty supportive, although awkward but I could not ask for more…..Actually, I could and I should. You see, not my whole family is accepting, and I know that being gay means that people will hate me without knowing anything else. And that's fine, but when you know your family will leave, or when you know someone will leave its easier to just separate yourself from them, makes it easier when they leave. So that's what I do. I have a chosen family which is great, but at the same time, I wish I didn't have to. I wish I was accepted by the people that should love you unconditionally. The people that were there your whole life.

Recently I came to the realization that at turning 19 most of my family has no idea who I truly am. I have to hide stuff from them, make secret social media accounts, be proud but not out. As my mom would probably ask me "why does everyone need to know you're gay?" which I think is a weird misconception of being gay and coming out. I don't want everyone to know, I just don't want to hide. There is a difference. I don't want to double check who can see my Instagram stories if I post something that can out me, or holding my tongue when I want to say something or share something. I shouldn't have to. My straight friends don't have to so why should I.

I don't want everyone to know, I just want them to know me. Not a lie. Because coming out is not about you, it's about me. It's about the fact that it's mentally tiring to have to hide, and I just don't wanna do it. It's about me feeling happy and proud of who I am because I wasted too much time trying to pretend I was someone I am not. That is a time I will not be getting back.

Sincerely,

Just a girl that likes girls

I wrote this because I have so many feeling right now and idk what to do with them

597 notes · View notes

ask-the-guiding-light-cast · 5 years

Text

Guiding Light turns two years old today!

It’s crazy to think this all began only a couple of years back... and also hilarious it falls on the same day as “International Mystery Dungeon Day” over on Twitter. More after the cut. This is gonna be a long one, so I appreciate anyone willing to read this. ^^

For a long time, I had been a casual consumer of fan fics. It started in the late 2000s when I was in a Spyro craze thanks to the more story-driven Legend of Spyro trilogy. I had an itch that I needed scratched and FFN fulfilled that to some extent. I also looked at some Mario fics, including Paper Mario: The Temple of the Sun, which I greatly enjoyed and thought did a good job adapting the formula that made Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door so beloved and putting a unique spin on things.

But it was until the early 2010s that I actually started getting back into Pokémon games with Gen V. After Emerald, I fell out of touch with Pokémon for a time. When Gen VI came around, I dipped my toe into the fandom through Twitch livestreams, but also through reading a few anime-based fics that are very long and still going, even now.

At the same time, I ended up buying PMD: Explorers of Sky... and damaged my cartridge before I could properly finish the game with my Vulpix/Riolu team. So, I watched cutscenes for what I missed on YouTube, then got Gates to Infinity and, later, Super Mystery Dungeon and had fun with both of them... though more for the stories and characters than the actual gameplay. Truth be told, I don’t care much for roguelikes at all.

It was during the gap in time between Super’s release and the first official footage of Sun & Moon in mid-2016 that I found myself hit with a recurring thought: “What if someone made a PMD story where the hero and the partner are forced to fight one another with the fate of the world at stake?” I wound up (loosely) brainstorming an idea for a PMD story revolving around an antagonistic Hoopa character who would use its ring portals to collect entire communities, including the Pokémon living in them... all so that he would never be bored. This would lead him to “collect” the partner to add to his “toys,” so when the hero shows up, he’d sic the partner on them.

But that was as far as I got with the idea. I ended up graduating college and took a job with late evening hours. It left me pretty tired and exhausted and unmotivated to do much of anything. I withdrew from the parts of the Pokémon community I was involved in.

Then the Generation VII games came out and, while divisive in the fandom, I found myself really liking some of the concepts. There were so many times when I thought, “Gee, I wonder what this would be like if it were in a PMD game?” For example, one of the ideas I had was a sort of edgy rival rescue team akin to Gladion, which would have a Midnight Lycanroc, a Zoroark, and a Type: Null character in it.

So, toward the end of 2016 and early 2017, I started creating an idea for a Choose Your Own Adventure story with the intent of putting it on this really small forum I was a part of. It would be a Gen VII-themed PMD story, but because I didn’t think that sounded interesting enough, I decided that, not only would the human keep their memories, but they would be from the real world and be a major Pokémon nerd. The idea was that the choices the readers made would affect the relationship between the human and partner. I even came up with a point system. The more points the readers earned for their choices, the “closer” the relationship the hero and partner would have and the happier an ending the story would get. If the hero and partner couldn’t stand each other, one of them would likely end up working with the bad guy and winning. If they became steadfast friends, they’d work together to save the world.

Unfortunately, the forum shut down before I got too far into planning it, so I shelved the idea and continued focusing on my job. And things stayed that way for several months, until I ended up getting into med school and scrambling to move.

During the downtime I had when I wasn’t doing moving related stuff, I decided to look at FFN again and found Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Defenders of Warmth. I wound up reading through the entirety of the story quite quickly. I guess you could say it sparked something in my head. The fic itself focuses on what, at the time, was the newest Gen (Gen V). It also has multiple humans and is set on a continent separate from the canon locations (which were just the Air and Grass Continents, since Gates and Super didn’t exist when the fic was written). In short, it renewed my desire to pursue my idea of a Gen VII-flavored PMD story.

So, I set about creating my story outline. It is so... so much different from the actual story, though I’ve gone into that in previous posts (search for #amby answers). Originally, I used Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time as the framework for the fic: an alien invasion in a colorful, comedic world. I took more specific cues, too. Zero was meant to be a (mostly) silent antagonist a la Princess Shroob, for example.

The problem was, I really didn’t have much confidence in myself or my abilities. I’d like to say I was writing for myself, but I really did want validation, too. I think any author is lying to themselves if they say they don’t feel this way at some point. Because of this, I figured if I put the fic on FFN, it would get ignored. The site’s huge! There were, at the time, around 85k fics in the Pokémon section alone. (That number’s since gone up to over 90k!)

Given I had experience with forums, I decided to post it to Serebii, because the fic community seemed much smaller and more open to giving feedback to one another. In an effort to try and, y’know, establish some connections, I actually read other pieces and reviewed them before posting any stories. This also helped me build up a backlog of chapters and prove to myself I enjoyed writing this enough to keep going.

When I finally did post the fic, it was a bumpy start, for sure. I do think I made a lot of mistakes out of the gate, including uploading chapters way too quickly for readers on Serebii to (reasonably) try to keep pace. That probably cost me a few potential readers... or made them silent readers who I never ended up hearing from. Which is why I’m especially thankful to @girl-like-substance (who I can seem to tag, drat) for all of the well-thought-out feedback given throughout the fic’s run. I don’t think I would’ve made such significant strides in my writing otherwise... and there are plenty of long-running fics where the quality tends to stagnate.

In any case... it was thanks to a request from @deliriousabsol to put the fic somewhere more mobile-friendly that I chose to mirror Guiding Light on FFN starting in October 2017. I would’ve kept going on Serebii had she not asked so nicely, so she’s the one you can thank for it showing up there! (She’s a fellow author who does cyberpunk-themed fics and art and her characters have cameoed in the fic.)

And, honestly, I’m just... beyond shocked at what wound up happening to the fic once it hit FFN. Well, actually, for the first several months I was lucky if I even got a comment when I put up a chapter. I’m not sure any of the people who first commented on FFN still follow the fic anymore. I haven’t seen/heard from them at all, so I assumed they moved on with their lives.

In any case, around March of 2018, the word count on FFN passed 300k and... somehow, the fic starting getting more attention. Like, a lot more attention. This was... not really something I was even remotely prepared for.

(Yes, this means there’s gonna be a giveaway. More on that later.) I never would’ve thought I’d reach a number like this. I never imagined I’d meet another PMD author who’d be willing to do a fun collab (thanks @virgil134, Spiteful Murkrow, and Namohysip). I really did not imagine that I’d ever get fanart of characters that I wrote (huge thanks @thebreak-ofdawn, @ask-nicky-and-others, and @cresselia92). I mean, above everything, I not expect the fic or characters to resonate with anybody the way it wound up.

A part of me feels like I don’t really deserve it. I’ve made a lot of serious gaffes with writing this. When initial Serebii feedback had people intrigued by Shane’s jerkass attitude (when I didn’t actually intend for him to come off as a jerk), I dialed things up in the hopes I’d keep their attention. It probably cost me readers. Then there’s the slow pacing of the early episodes and the mistake of making Special Episode 3 as long as it was... which my speaks to my (bad) tendency to give into some of my strongest impulses even though I had an outline I was trying to stick to.

And, I mean, there’s also some of the “shamlessly shameful” stuff I’ve done with the fic. I’m not fooling myself. Guiding Light has grown progressively more furry and, uh, probably fanservicey, too. All the big furbait (and some scalebait) ‘mons are accounted for. There’s a lot more sexual humor when I initially promised myself I would stay away from romance and keep everything platonic. I practically turned Xerneas into waifu bait, if some of these asks are anything to go by. This blog certainly didn’t help in that regard. Maybe I’m just being my usual nervous self?

I am worried that this fic’s performance has, somehow, affected my thoughts and behavior. There are very popular fic authors who let their popularity get to their head... or chose to open up Patreons (something that makes me uncomfortable) or start doing things like taking commissions for written pieces, which is understandable... though I think it’s an easy way to lose your passion for writing. I guess some of that worry stems from a debacle I learned about on a Discord server I’m in, but that’s not something I’m comfortable discussing publicly.

And I haven’t even talked much about the blog itself. Like, it somehow passed 100 followers? Where? When? How? I don’t actually draw stuff like many other Pokéasks. And, like, for a lot of folks, I have no idea if they’ve actually read the fic or just check in on the blog. It’s the same with the fic, I suppose. If you’re a silent reader/follower, I would really love to hear from you! I promise... I don’t bite or anything. I’d love to know what (if anything) you’re thinking. And if you’re a blog that’s following this one and we haven’t interacted, please feel free to reach out! It’s honestly hard to tell if people like what I’m doing, so any feedback is always appreciated.

In any case, if I haven’t lost you by now, I guess all I can say is... thank you. Thank you all so much for all of the support... whether it’s on the fic, the blog, or both of them. I really do hope this final episode can meet your expectations. I’ll try my very best to make this an ending to remember. Nothing would make me happier than to hear you guys enjoy it and feel it does justice to the PMD series.

Sorry for all the rambling. The inbox is open again if you’d like to send any messages for the ficaversary. Again, thank you all so much! You’re the best!

#ooc #long post #fic anniversary

28 notes · View notes

eternal-love-song · 6 years

Text

Sunshine Trigger

Kaminari, Bakugo, and Shinso are college roommates. Things get complicated when Kaminari starts pursuing his crush on Uraraka and the three have to deal with their feelings for each other and this girl newly pulled into their lives.

[Kaminari/Shinso/Bakugo/Ochako] [Kaminari/Shinso/Bakugo, Kaminari/Ochako, Bakugo/Ochako, Kaminari/Shinso, Bakugo/Shinso, Shinso/Ochako]

[OT4, Alternate Universe, No Quirks, College AU, Roommates, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationships, Domestic Fluff]

Words: 10,746 Strap in, this is a long one.

"You're blocking my light," Kaminari said as he stared at his plate through the filter on his phone. He was flipping through different filters, though he was fairly certain that he wouldn't be using any of them, a bored expression on his face. The dessert that was on his plate was cute. It was a cake drizzled with strawberry syrup and with graham cracker arranged like a flower bursting from the top of the treat.

"Are you fucking serious?" Bakugo asked as he leaned back in his chair. "Why do you always do this shit?"

"Do you know how disappointed my followers would be if I didn't?" he replied. Usually he would play up his reaction a little more, but he wasn't really feeling it today.

"What he means to say," Shinso added, "Is shut up and let him get paid."

Kaminari looked up from his phone to grin at Shinso. "See, he gets it." He looked back down and took five different pictures of his food, two with filters, and three from different angles, before pushing his plate across the table to Shinso.

"Really? You're not even gonna fucking eat it?" Bakugo groaned.

"Not hungry," Kaminari answered as he looked at the pictures.

"Why did you even come here if you weren't going to eat?" Bakugo growled. "I had better things to do."

"You didn't have to come," Shinso pointed out before shoving the spoon into his mouth. "No one made you."

Bakugo folded his arms and leaned back in his seat, opting to ignore them as he grumbled angrily under his breath.

Kaminari went back to his phone, posting the best pictures on a few social media sites with appropriate emojis and tags. He checked one site in particular, refreshing the page five different times and scouring the new post before he looked up and around again. His eyes scanned the faces around him slowly as he tried to look as unobtrusively as possible.

"Seriously, what the fuck are we doing here?" Bakugo asked.

"Well, I happen to be enjoying this dessert right now," Shinso answered, smirking when his response earned a growl from Bakugo. "Kaminari, on the other hand, is busy trying to stalk his new crush."

"Hey!" Kaminari objected, sitting forward. "It's not stalking!"

"You're waiting for a girl that you've never talked to that doesn't know you exist," Shinso said. He pointed his spoon at Kaminari as he added, "Stalking."

Kaminari sank into his seat. His cheeks turned red. "That's not..."

"What the fuck?" Bakugo asked as he turned toward Kaminari.

"No! Listen," Kaminari insisted, leaning toward Bakugo. "There's a girl in my class, I'm not stalking her! She mentioned that she had a food blog and when I checked her out, she said that she was planning to come here this weekend. I was hoping that I might run into her and maybe we could... talk?" He rubbed the back of his head and looked away from Bakugo's harsh stare.

"You're pathetic."

"We can't all be as confident as you," he murmured.

"Don't mind him," Shinso said. "He's just disappointed that this isn't a date."

Bakugo's eyes widened as he looked at Shinso. "What? Shut your fucking mouth, Shin! I'll kill you!" he yelled as Shinso snickered.

Kaminari stopped listening as the person he was hoping to see walked in through the doors. He stood up as he waved. "Hey, Uraraka!"

She turned towards him, smiling when her eyes actually landed on her. She came over to him quickly. "Hey! You're.... Kaminari, right?"

"Yeah. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I wanted to check this place out for my blog," she told him. "I've heard good things about them. What about you?"

Kaminari ducked his head and shuffled nervously. "Actually," he lowered his voice, "I was going to hang out with my friends but I think I'm being a third wheel."

"The fu--" Bakugo began, but Shinso interrupted him by shoving a piece of the graham cracker flower into his mouth.

Uraraka looked over his shoulder at them, blushing lightly as she averted her gaze. "Oh... Um, if you want, you could join me."

He perked up immediately. "Really? You don't mind?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. The more the merrier."

Kaminari smiled widely. He turned back to his table as he said, "Hey, I'm gonna go eat with my classmate, will you guys be good without me?"

"We'll be fine," Shinso said. He waved them both away with a lazy grin. "Have fun you two."

The two of them walked away as Bakugo glared at Shinso. "I fucking hate you."

The sound of camera shutters echoed each other as Kaminari and Uraraka both took pictures of their food. She looked up at Kaminari in surprise, meeting his eyes unexpectedly. "Oh, you do it too?" she asked.

"Yeah... I mean, why not, right?" He shrugged. "It gives people something to talk about."

"We should follow each other," she said cheerfully.

"Yeah, sure!"

They exchanged sites and handles, scrolling through media feeds as they dug into their food. He'd already seen her food blog, which was filled with pictures of food and reviews and anecdotal stories of her excursions to try certain things. Her personal account had more pictures of her and her friends, selfies, and a few text posts that he told himself he'd read later.

"Hey! I didn't know you were in a band," she said. She turned her phone toward him, displaying the picture she'd found of Kaminari, Shinso, and Bakugo with all of their instruments. "What's it called?"

"Brain Blast," he told her. "I play guitar, Bakugo is on drums," he explained as he pointed, "And Shinso plays bass, or keyboard, or sings. We're still trying things out."

"That's so cool. I'd love to hear you play sometime."

"Sure! I'll let you know the next time we practice," he told her. "Here, I have a separate account for our band. It's shared between Shinso and I."

She immediately followed the new account, scrolling through posts and pictures before pausing on one in particular. It was a picture of Bakugo, mostly from the waist down, and she could only tell because Kaminari's head was sleeping on the table in the background and Shinso was sticking his tongue out in the corner of the camera. Bakugo was ripped, way more than she'd expected at a glance, and she felt her face going red. The caption read, 'look what I have to deal with in the morning.'

Uraraka put her phone down and focused her attention on her food.

"You okay?" Kaminari asked her.

"I-I'm fine!" she squeaked, before shoving food into her mouth and almost immediately choking on it in her haste.

"Whoa!" Kaminari moved to her side to rub her back, handing her a glass of water. "Careful there!"

She accepted the water, sipping slowly lest she make herself choke again. "Man, that was so uncool," she murmured.

Kaminari smiled kindly at her. "I already thought you were cool," he told her.

"Are you kidding?" she asked. "You're the one with a band."

He laughed. It was a nice laugh and she felt warmer inside as she listened to it. "Nah, they're the cool ones," he admitted. "I'm just there to fill space."

"You fill it well," she said without thinking. She blushed. So did he. Uraraka suddenly noticed how close they were. He hadn't moved back to his seat after handing her her water and his arm was on the back of her chair. They met each others eyes, feeling the pull between them yet frozen with indecision.

"Everything alright here?" They both jumped at the sudden appearance of the waiter. Kaminari moved away from her, sliding awkwardly back into his seat.

He cleared his throat. "We-we're fine," he said.

"As you say." The waiter moved away.

They both let out a breath of relief before smiling at each other.

They had both exchanged numbers by the time Kaminari returned to his band mates’ table. Shinso had ordered another dessert and Bakugo was glaring into a cup of coffee. Kaminari smiled brightly when he sat down with them.

"You look pleased with yourself," Shinso said around his spoon.

"She's so cool!" Kaminari gushed immediately. "She was so funny and cute and she wants to come to band practice and--"

"Glad that your deception worked out for you," Shinso said. "Now you can add stalking and lying to list of romantic moves."

"Who says I was lying?" Kaminari asked, looking at Bakugo. "Maybe I was just reading the atmosphere."

Bakugo's eyes raised, meeting Kaminari's immediately. "Well you read it wrong, idiot." He pushed his chair back and stood, tossing some money on the table. "I'll see you two later," he said as he walked off.

Shinso and Kaminari both stared after him.

"What's wrong with him?" Kaminari asked.

Shinso rested his face in hand. "Nothing. Ignore him." Despite saying that, Shinso kept his eyes on Bakugo's retreating form until it could no longer be seen.

Kaminari was pretty sure he hadn't stopped smiling all week. In between classes he'd been playing a game of social media tag with Uraraka, replying to messages on different sites and trying to keep up with five different conversations, not to mention the occasional texting they were doing. He was laying out on the couch, holding his phone on above his head as he typed his messages before Bakugo stole his phone out of his hands.

"Hey!" Kaminari objected immediately as he sat up.

"Stop fooling around and start studying," Bakugo commanded.

Shinso was sitting on the floor across from him, chewing on the end of his pencil with three different books open before him. He was watching the two of them with heavy, tired eyes, rather than looking at any of the books before him.

Kaminari pouted, putting his head in his hands as he asked Shinso, "What are you working on?"

Shinso's eyes glanced down to the books in front on him. "I'm not even sure anymore. One of these was math, maybe... I've been staring at these for so long I'm not sure I haven't turned into a text book myself."

Bakugo pushed Shinso over with his foot, meeting with surprisingly little resistance. "Go the fuck to sleep. You've been studying all night."

"You're not the boss of me," Shinso replied without moving from his uncomfortable looking slump.

"I don't have all day, blondie!" Bakugo yelled.

Kaminari jumped to his feet immediately, before asking, "What? What I do?"

Bakugo pointed to the table where there was an open text book and a note book. He sat across the open place, glaring at Kaminari until he slowly came over. He eased into his seat cautiously, eyes reluctantly going to the notebook. He was surprised to see that it was Bakugo's handwriting in the notebook and looked up at him questioningly.

"You take shit notes," Bakugo told him.

Kaminari smiled softly as he looked back down at his study aides. "Thanks, Bakugo."

Bakugo's only reply was a dismissive grunt as he kept his eyes glued to his own text book.

Ten minutes into studying, they could hear Shinso's soft snoring from where he's fallen asleep on the floor. Five minutes after that, Bakugo got up and draped a blanket over him, pretending that he's gotten up to get a bottle of water. Kaminari knew it was a pretense when it ended up on his side of the table a few minutes later.

'The idiot can't talk anymore. He has to study.'

Uraraka stared at the strange text message for a few minutes, trying to decide how she should reply. She and Kaminari hadn't been texting anything particularly private, but it was still a little startling to think that someone else could potentially read their private conversation. She chewed her lip as she thought before finally settling on asking, 'Who is this?'

'His roommate.'

'Which one?' she questioned before she could think better of it. It didn't really matter which one it was, since she didn't know much about either of them. Well, outside of what she'd gathered from looking at the post on their band blog. Somehow, in the rush of everything else they had talked about, it really hadn't come up.

'The fuck does it matter?'

The grumpy one, then. Uraraka scrambled to remember what she knew of him, but all she could think of was that picture she'd seen on their band blog, with him shirtless and center stage. Her face flushed bright red and she held her phone to her chest as if to keep it from seeing.

"Talking to your boyfriend again?" Her roommate, Mina, asked as she plopped down on the couch beside her.

"No! He's not my boyfriend!" she objected immediately. "We're just talking."

"And what are you talking about?" Mina asked, moving closer.

Uraraka held her phone closer to her chest as she leaned away from her friend. "Don't be so nosy, Mina."

"This is my only joy," she said dramatically.

She stuck her tongue out at her as she moved off the couch. "Go bother Jirou," she said as she rushed into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

"Meanie!" Mina yelled after her.

Without thinking, she unlocked her phone and sent a message to Kaminari. 'My roommate is so nosy. She hasn't stopped bothering me since she saw me texting you.'

'Just tell her to fuck off,' was the reply that came not a minute later.

'I can't do that!' she answered quickly. 'That would be so mean.'

'Fine, give her the phone, I'll do it.'

'What?'

Not a minute after she sent that message, the phone rang. It was so unexpected that she almost dropped her phone and her heartbeat got twice as fast when she accidentally answered and then scrambled to hold the phone to her face. "Ye-yes!" she said stiffly.

"Put her on the phone," the voice said immediately. Uraraka felt like a bucket of water had been dropped on her. She had completely forgotten, due to Mina's interlude, that she was talking to Kaminari's roommate. That was embarrassing.

"I told you, I can't do that," she insisted. Her heartbeat was slowing down now that she knew she was talking to a stranger. "It would be rude to--"

"She's the one being rude. Are you gonna let her walk all over you?"

"Well, no, of course not," she sighed.

"Then what are you gonna do about it?" he demanded. "If you keep being polite, she'll think it's okay to do whatever she wants."

"Maybe you're right, but still..."

"Still, nothing!"

She heard a shuffling in the background, followed by Kaminari's voice asking, "Bakugo? What are you doing?"

The reply was slightly muffled and she had to assume that he covered the phone with his hand. "Shut up, I'm on the phone."

"Isn't that mi--"

"I said shut it!"

Uraraka couldn't help it, she found herself giggling helplessly at the absurdity of the exchange.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Nothing, nothing," she told him. "Your name is Bakugo, right? It's nice to meet you."

Shinso leaned on the edges of his keyboard as Uraraka applauded loudly. Bakugo slammed down his drum sticks before reaching for a bottle of water and Kaminari grinned madly at her. "So you liked it?"

"You guys sounded great!" she cheered.

"Do you mean it or are you just placating us?" Shinso asked. "It's okay to hurt Kaminari's feelings."

"Hey!"

Uraraka laughed as she picked up two more bottles of water and handed them to Shinso and Kaminari. "No, I really mean it! I liked it. Your lyrics are really good, Shin."

Shinso paused where he's lifted the bottle to his lips. "Shin, huh?" he asked before continuing to drink.

She blushed but before she could say anything, Kaminari was already adding excitedly, "Right? I keep telling him he's really good."

"I still think you would make a better lead," Shinso told him. "You've got the looks for it."

"Maybe," he said uncertainly. "But you're better for the tone we're going for."

"We could go for a different tone."

Bakugo threw one of his drum sticks at Kaminari's head, making him flinch and cover the spot with his hands. "Shut up," he told them. "We'll run through each song twice and you can both have a turn."

"That's a good idea," Uraraka said. "Mind if I record you guys?"

"For personal use or for profit?" Shinso questioned wryly.

"Profit is personal," she told him solemnly.

He snickered. "Go ahead. Just send me the footage later so I can put it on our site."

"I'll need your number, first."

"Kaminari will give it to you."

It wasn't until later that she realized that she could have just sent the footage to Kaminari.

Twin flashes went off as Kaminari and Uraraka took pictures of their plates. Uraraka's plate was piled high with pasta, while Kaminari had a dessert. She almost couldn't tell what it was other than a pile of chocolate.

"You two are fucking annoying with that shit," Bakugo said grumpily before shoving his own food into his mouth.

Shinso had his head slumped over on the table, but perked up when Kaminari slid his dessert over to him. He sat up and spared a smile for him before shoving the mess of chocolate into his mouth and humming in pleasure.

Uraraka giggled. "Why do you two always do that?" she asked.

All three boys looked at her in confusion, but Kaminari was the one to answer. "Do what?" he asked. Shinso rested his head on his palm, the spoon still hanging out of his mouth, and Kaminari took the opportunity to take a picture of it.

"You always order dessert first, but then you give it to Shinso," she pointed out.

Kaminari shrugged as he put his phone down. "Desserts are the best things to take pictures of and Shinso likes them. When I tried to give them to Bakugo he got mad and accused me of trying to feed him scraps." He rolled his eyes.

Bakugo narrowed his eyes. "You got something to say about it?"

Kaminari put his hands up in surrender and shook his head, but he was smiling too widely for the gesture to look sincere. "Nope. Nothing at all."

Shinso hummed again as he took another bite of the chocolate mass. "She's right. You should eat something."

He nodded in agreement, picking up his fork and sticking it into Uraraka's plate. She squeaked in protest, waving him off, but he stole a noodle before she could stop him, smiling smugly as he shoved it into his mouth. She bent over her plate, using her arms as a barrier to protect her food. "Get your own food!" she told him sternly.

Kaminari laughed. "I was just joking! I'm not gonna steal your food. That's your work plate, right?"

Uraraka flushed a little as she sat up. "Y-yeah..."

"If I took too much, you wouldn't be able to review it properly and then what would your fans think?" He winked at her. He briefly glanced over the menu that he'd kept before handing it to her. "Here, you can pick something that we can share."

Uraraka turned red as she took the menu. "What? But, um, I..." she looked down at her food, at the menu, at his face, seemingly tongue tied as she tried to find a graceful way to decline.

"Don't worry about it," he told her. "This way you'll have more you can review, right? Plus, Bakugo always pays when we eat out on band practice days, so you can order the most expensive thing you want."

Bakugo grunted. "Who says I'm paying for your shitty date?" he grumbled.

Kaminari grinned at him, before turning the smile to Uraraka. He folded his arms on the table and laid his head down. "Try to pick something, okay?"

Her blush brightened, but she tried not to pay it any attention as she scanned the menu.

"Pick another dessert for me, too," Shinso said.

"You're gonna rot your teeth," Bakugo told him.

"Then I'll stick to the soft deserts once I do," Shinso replied immediately. "But until then, I'm going to indulge."

"At least eat some real fucking food."

"What's wrong, Bakugo? Would you like to feed me?" Shinso asked. He leaned across the table and opened his mouth.

Bakugo put a hand on his face and pushed him back in his chair. "Shut the hell up, idiot. Don't make me kill you in public."

Shinso snickered.

"You two are really cute together," Uraraka said. The silence that fell over the table just then was unexpected and she looked around at them in confusion. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing," Kaminari spoke up.

"Bathroom," Bakugo said as he stood abruptly and left.

Shinso put his head back on the table, both him and Kaminari watching as Bakugo stormed off. "We're not actually dating," Shinso told her softly.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Uraraka apologized frantically. "I thought... because that first time..."

Shinso waved away her concern. "It's really not a big deal."

"Yeah, Bakugo is like this all the time," Kaminari assured her. "He's... pretty much always set to angry. All emotions are filtered through grumpy first. You really don't have to worry. He'll get mad if you make a big deal out of it."

"If you're sure," she reluctantly relented.

The waiter had taken their order by the time Bakugo returned. Kaminari pushed a bright green drink toward him. "I got you a drink."

"The hell is this? Neon in a glass?" Bakugo asked as he eyed the glass warily.

"It's alcohol," Shinso told him. "I'm gonna take a picture of you when you drink it."

"No."

"Just try it, you'll like it!" Kaminari told him.

Bakugo looked skeptical as he picked up the glass, but paused before lifting it to his lips. He glared at Shinso. "I swear to God, if you take a picture of this and post it on that damn hellsite of yours..."

Shinso raised his hands in surrender, leaving his phone on the table. "Fine, I won't do a thing."

Bakugo took a tiny sip from the glass. A light flashed from the opposite side of him. He looked up in surprise to see Uraraka holding her phone up and giggling. "Oops," she said, completely unrepentant.

"I'll kill you, Round Face," he said with utmost seriousness.

"Hey! None of that!" Kaminari insisted. "Not while we're in a restaurant!"

Bakugo narrowed his eyes at her as she stuck out her tongue. "I won't forget, he promised."

The rest of their food arrived. Kaminari had a platter of shrimp and after popping one of them into his mouth, the rest ended up mostly shared between Uraraka and Bakugo. Shinso got a dessert that was mostly hidden beneath piles of fruit and dribbled with strawberry syrup. Kaminari smiled as he rested his head on his folded arms, watching them all.

Bakugo and Uraraka were arguing about his stealing shrimp. Her argument was that it was supposed to be for Kaminari, while Bakugo argued that since he was paying for it, he could take whatever he wanted.

Shinso poked him with the end of his spoon. "You look happy," he said softly. "What's on your mind?"

Kaminari shook his head. "Nothing, just enjoying this."

Shinso placed his spoon in his mouth as he watched the two arguing back and forth. "Yeah, I know what you mean." He pushed his dessert towards Kaminari and wiggled the plate. "At least take a piece of fruit. For me."

Kaminari obediently took a strawberry.

Kaminari held his phone above him, trying to get the perfect angle for his selfie when someone began banging on the door, startling him with the abruptness of the sound and making him lose his grip on the phone. "Hurry the fuck up!" Bakugo yelled.

Kaminari sighed as he unlocked and opened the door. "You ruined my selfie," he said despondently.

"Like you won't just take a million more," he said with an eye roll as he pushed past Kaminari and went to the sink.

Kaminari sat on the edge of the tub, watch Bakugo brush his teeth before the blonde found his eyes in the mirror and glared at him. Kaminari changed focus to his phone, trying to find a new pose, a new angle, for his picture. They all looked terrible and he couldn't decide whether he wanted to focus on his face or his torso, but he felt like all the pictures were crap anyway. His earlier picture had been nearly perfect and he mourned its loss.

At some point Bakugo had turned around to watch him, but Kaminari didn't notice until Bakugo was wiping his mouth off and asked, "Have you lost weight?"

"No," Kaminari answered without thinking.

Bakugo scrutinized him, eyes raking over his shirtless chest, staring at his stomach, examining his arms and legs. Kaminari covered his chest self consciously. "What are you doing? Cut it out," he told him.

Bakugo marched over to him and pulled his arms away, continuing his examination. "You have," he said accusingly.

"So, what about it?" Kaminari asked as he pulled away. The move nearly made him fall into the bathtub, but Bakugo placed his hands on Kaminri's shoulders and held him in place.

"So, you don't need to lose any weight," Bakugo told him. "When was the last time you ate something?"

"What are you, my mom?" he asked. He brushed off Bakugo's touch and stood, walking out of the bathroom. Bakugo caught his arm. "What now?"

"You feeling okay?" Bakugo asked. His voice was calm, worried. It was odd not to have Bakugo yelling or growling for once.

"I'm fine," Kaminari told him. He smiled, though it didn't have the full force of his usual smiles. "You worry too much."

Bakugo let him go, but Kaminari felt his gaze lingering on him as he retreated back down the hall.

Shinso was laying on the couch, looking over Kaminari's shoulder where he sat on the floor scrolling through social media sites. He was kind of bored, and kind of tired, and maybe halfway to falling asleep when Shinso spoke.

"Hey... Are you gonna ask that Uraraka girl out?" Shinso's voice was low, quiet. Kaminari wouldn't have heard it if he'd actually been asleep. He let his head lean back on the couch and tried to look at Shinso over his shoulder with little success.

"It's not like you to ask questions like that, Shin," he replied. "Why? What's up?"

Shinso was quiet for long enough that Kaminari actually sat up and readjusted his position so that he could look at him. There was conflict in his gaze, which turned to surprise when he found that Kaminari was watching him. He looked away, half burying his head in his arms. "You remember what you said...when you went on that first date with her?"

"What did I say?" Kaminari asked without thinking.

Shinso hid himself further in his arms. "You told her that you felt like a third wheel."

His eyes widened as the memory returned to him and he scratched the back of his head nervously. "Oh yeah, I guess I did say that."

"And later, when you came back and I accused you making things up, you said that maybe you were reading the atmosphere..."

Kaminari dropped his hand and looked at Shinso more closely. "Yeah..."

"So, can you?" Shinso asked.

"Huh?"

Shinso lifted his head to look at him. "Read the atmosphere. Can you?"

Kaminari was certainly reading something in this atmosphere, but he was hesitant to attempt parsing it out and naming it. He sat up straighter, eyes never leaving Shinso, though Shinso didn't look back at him. "What should I be reading?"

"Have you noticed how much crankier Bakugo's been?"

He felt himself relaxing at that. He'd been expecting, and was glad to have that expectation dashed, that Shinso was going to talk about something more...immediate. A smile returned to his lips as he leaned on the couch. "Bakugo is always cranky. There's no reason to be concerned about that."

Shinso actually raised his head to meet Kaminari's eyes at that. "Do you really think?"

He sighed, the smile slipping off his face. Kaminari found that he was the one looking away this time. "No, not really. Do you know about it?"

"Yeah. Don't you?"

"Would I ask if I did?" he questioned angrily.

"I think you would," Shinso told him.

Kaminari didn't respond.

Shinso sat up and moved to the floor so that they were at the same level. He stared intensely at the side of Kaminari's head, but Kaminari didn't acknowledge it other than to press his lips together stubbornly. Finally, Shinso said, "He's upset because you're paying all this attention to some girl. A girl that you never mentioned before, at that. You caught him off guard. You know he hates that."

"Why would he care? He hates listening to me talk about shit he doesn't think is important."

"A girl that you were thinking of trying to date counts as important and you know it."

"I didn't know she'd say yes!"

"You know that's not the point," Shinso said fiercely. "And even if it was, you didn't tell me either. You haven't told me anything about her. I see you texting her, and she shows up to watch us practice sometimes, crashes our lunches, and you haven't told me anything." Kaminari still wasn't looking at him and Shinso had apparently gotten sick of it. He made a frustrated sound as he grabbed Kaminari's shoulders and forced him to meet Shinso's eyes. "You know I would care about that. You know that I would listen to you."

"I'm sorry, alright!" he yelled as he pushed Shinso's hands off of him. "What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to say why."

"I don't know why."

"I think you do know why," Shinso said. "I think you know and that's why you avoid talking about it. You know why Bakugo's upset and you know why you avoid talking to me, but because I haven't said anything, you think you don't have to deal with it, but you do." Shinso lowered his voice as he corrected himself. "You should."

Kaminari pulled his legs up to his chest and pressed his forehead to his knees.

"Bakugo likes you," Shinso said quietly.

"You don't know that," he said immediately.

"Alright, fine," Shinso said. "I like you and you do know that. You've known that for months. I'm not saying that Bakugo and I don't share some of the blame for not saying anything, because we do, but not talking about the fact that you're ignoring this... whatever this is, whatever it could be or could have been, that doesn't make it better. Not talking about her doesn't make it better, it makes it worse."

Kaminari didn't lift his head. He stayed stubbornly curled into a ball until he heard Shinso get up and leave. He ignored the fact that his knees were becoming wet, forcing his lips closed and trying to stay as silent as possible.

It was an hour later that Shinso came back out of his room. It was really only to head to the bathroom and he'd planned on avoiding his roommates fort he rest of the day, but Bakugo passed him in the hall and caught his arm.

"Hey," he said in a low, dangerous voice. It was a rare thing to hear Bakugo so angry without also being loud. "You made him cry."

Shinso had to swallow his guilt at that statement. It hadn't been his intention, but everything he'd said was necessary. They couldn't just ignore everything and let it continue to fester. Kaminari's guilt was obvious and being handled in the worst way possible, and Bakugo spent a lot more time growling and storming out of rooms, and it was starting to get under Shinso's skin. "That wasn't my intention," he said quietly.

"What did you say to him?" Bakugo demanded.

Shinso turned just enough to meet Bakugo's eyes. "What you should have said months ago."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Shinso sighed. "Seriously?" he asked. "I don't want to do this twice. I talked to him about Uraraka."

"Oh."

"And us."

Bakugo didn't say anything to that. He let go of Shinso's arm and turned away. Shinso started to walk back toward his room when Bakugo added, "It doesn't involve you," Bakugo said.

Shinso stopped in his tracks. The expression on his face was some mix of incredulity and angry that he didn't know how to define. "Excuse me? What did you say?"

Bakugo didn't answer, didn't move.

Shinso didn't have the energy to deal with this. "You know what? Fuck this." Shinso continued to his room and slammed the door after him.

The next few days were tense. None of them talked to each other more than necessary. Shinso stayed in his room, Bakugo was quiet and perpetually frowning, and Kaminari just tried to stay away as much as possible. He also wasn't speaking to Uraraka, at least, not directly. He skipped the classes they had together, ignored her texts, but responded to her comments on various sites that they interacted on. It was a bad compromise, ignoring her while not ignoring her, but it was all that he could think of.

"This is fucking stupid!" Bakugo said during one of the rare moments that they were all in the same room.

Kaminari had been sitting at the table, staring at his phone as it vibrated on the table, alerting him to messages that he wouldn't answer.

Shinso was pretending to study and pretending to listen to music at the same time. Bakugo knew that he was pretending, having seen his eyes follow them around the room when either of them moved and the way he reacted to Bakugo's abrupt statement.

Bakugo had been in the kitchen, angrily shuffling around food that he wasn't cooking while he watched the two of them. In fact, of the three of them, only Kaminari hadn't been preoccupied watching the room, and that honestly pissed him off even more. "Just fucking call her already!" he yelled, staring straight at Kaminari, whose eyes were wide like a deer caught in headlights.

"Wha-- I..." Kaminari swallowed thickly, clearly not knowing what to say.

Bakugo stormed over to the table, snatching Kaminari's phone off the table, and scrolling through his contacts. This kicked Kaminari into action as he tried to grab his phone back, but Bakugo was having none of that.

"Wait, no! I'm not ready!"

"Too fucking bad," Bakugo said. "I refuse to watch your dumb ass mope over something that isn't even a problem."

"But Shinso--"

"Who gives a fuck what Shinso said?" he yelled. He could see Shinso thinning his lips out the corner of his eye, but he didn't protest. "Who is this helping?" he asked. "You aren't talking to us! You aren't talking to her! What's the point of that?"

Kaminari flinched like he'd been slapped. Bakugo didn't care. Maybe he needed to be slapped. He'd been upset with Shinso for butting in, but he'd known, even then, that it was the right move. It irritated Bakugo that he was doing the same thing, sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. But fuck it! Uraraka was kind of his friend too, at this point, and if you couldn't give advice to your roommates, then who could you talk to?

"We see you every fucking day, so at least we know what's going on," he continued. "She doesn't know shit! How is that fair to her? You go out of your way to bring yourself to her attention and then you just fucking ignore her?"

Kaminari shrunk into himself, eyes glued to the floor. "I don't know what to say."

"Tell her what's going on," Shinso suggested.

"I don't know what's going on!" Kaminari shouted at them. "I don't know...what to say. I don't know what to think..."

"Alright," Shinso said, shutting the book in his lap and putting his headphones aside. "Then let's figure out what's going on." Both Bakugo and Kaminari turned their attention to him. "Instead of ignoring everything, let's actually talk about this."

Bakugo huffed and looked away.

Kaminari bit his lip in hesitation.

Shinso held out his hand, meeting Kaminari's eyes. "Come over here."

Kaminari hesitated a moment longer before walking across the room to take Shinso's hand. Shinso smiled at him as he wrapped his hand around Kaminari's. He choose not to sit on the couch beside Shinso, instead deciding to take a seat on the floor beside him.

"Isn't this better?" Shinso asked. "Instead of trying to wildly ignore every thing, we can just... deal with it, talk about it, and not jump down each other throats or push each other away."

Kaminari slumped against the back of the couch. "I'm... sorry," he whispered.

Shinso nodded, holding tight to his hand, but didn't say anything. He looked up to meet Bakugo's gaze, which was watching them steadily. He tilted his head in question, but Bakugo just shook his head, choosing not to join them by the couch. He folded his arms and leaned against the wall, letting the space between them fill with silence.

"Who wants to go first?" Shinso asked when no one else did.

"This is stupid," Bakugo said.

"What's stupid?" Shinso asked.

"This... this entire thing is stupid," he insisted. "This whole situation."

"Alright," Shinso said neutrally. "Let's make it less stupid. What do you suggest?"

Bakugo didn't answer. When he lowered his gaze to Kaminari, he was also silent, just shifting his gaze down to look at the floor and squeezing Shinso's hand.

"What do you want?" Shinso asked. "What do either of you want?"

They didn't answer. Shinso knew this conversation would be like pulling teeth. That was probably why they hadn't bothered to have it in the first place. Instead they just danced around each other with Kaminari giving him desserts and Bakugo paying for their lunches and Shinso taking dumb pictures of them. Would they have ever broke out of that holding pattern if Kaminari hadn't decided to make a move on Uraraka?

Shinso sighed. He moved off the couch to sit next to Kaminari. "Let's start small," he told them. "I would like it if we weren't avoiding each other all the time."

"Yeah," Kaminari finally spoke up. "I'd like that. I hate it when we fight."

"We fight all the time," Bakugo said.

"This is different!" he objected. "You know this is different." They lapsed into another short silence. Shinso thought he'd have to be the guiding force in the conversation again, but Kaminari surprised him by continuing his thought. "I like how it was before," he admitted. "I never had to think about this stuff. Leaning against Bakugo or holding Shin's hand or anything like that. It was just... something I could do without it needing to be a big deal."

"You made it a big deal," Bakugo said. "You're the one that decided to change things."

"I know," he admitted quietly.

"And you can't do that anymore. We can't do that," Bakugo continued. "Not thinking about it." He held his hand up, balling it into a tight fist. "I never thought about any of this, but I knew... I hate that you made me think about this and that you made me think of it because you were threatening to take it away. I was... fucking comfortable with you assholes!"

"Must have been a rude awakening for you," Shinso said.

Bakugo glared, but it didn't seem angry. Rather, the anger wasn't really directed at him.

"Sorry," Kaminari said again. "I didn't... I don't know."

Shinso rubbed his thumb over the back of Kaminari's hand, letting his head fall onto the back of the couch. "I kind of expected this," he admitted. "In the beginning. I liked how things were, so I never thought it was going to last. But I didn't think that Bakugo would get so attached. I didn't think he was attached to anything, lest of all this... not until that first day..."

Bakugo turned away from them, his face red.

"Bakugo?" Kaminari called out. He waited until he had Bakugo's gaze before holding out his hand.

Bakugo visibly wavered at the offer, but eventually moved across the room to take Kaminari's hand. He let himself drop face down on the couch. Shinso leaned his head next to Bakugo's.

"What do you want, Shin?" Kaminari questioned.

Shinso sighed, drawing his knees up to his chest. "Any version of this that I can get," he admitted softly.

Uraraka sighed as she placed her head on her desk, staring at her phone. She was constantly switching between sites, refreshing pages, checking forums and messages and comments to no avail.

"He still hasn't messaged you?" Jirou asked from her position on her bed. She had a notebook open on her lap, but Uraraka wasn't sure if she was studying or working on song lyrics. She should really try to introduce her to Shinso and the others, see if they got along with their music talk. If Kaminari ever spoke to her again, that was.

It was true that she had Shinso's number, and he had given her a bare bones update of 'I don't think he ate today, we didn't really talk, but he's alive.' that failed to make her less worried in the slightest.

"No," she answered. "And he didn't come to class either."

"Maybe he's sick?" Jirou suggested.

"Maybe."

She was glad that Mina wasn't here, because she would have have been offering ideas and theories that, while probably good natured, would only increase her worry. She was already plenty worried.

She jumped when her phone finally vibrated and it took her a whole minute to process that she'd gotten a message and to make her body move to answer it. Her heart leapt into her throat when she saw that it was from Kaminari, only to plummet again when she actually read it.

'Sorry that the idiot has been ignoring you. He's been going through something. Also, he's an idiot. Maybe I mentioned.'

Despite herself, the comment made her laugh. It was a weak laugh, but it eased the worry that was held in her chest, if only marginally.

'Why do you have his phone?' she asked. If she wasn't going to be able to talk to Kaminari himself, she could at least try to get answers.

'I took it because he was being an idiot.'

Of course. Uraraka rolled her eyes at that answer. She really should have expected as much from Bakugo. She'd only known him a little while, but he was pretty easy to figure out.

'You use that word a lot.'

'Do I need another word?'

'You could stand to branch out a little.'

'Fuck you!'

There really was an easiness to talking to Bakugo that she wouldn't have expected if it wasn't for that first time he'd texted her on Kaminari's phone. She didn't realize that she was smiling until Jirou spoke again.

"You look better. Did he text you after all?"

She blushed slightly, unsure how to explain herself for a moment before just stuttering out, "Um, yeah..."

She hesitated before typing out her message and hesitated again before sending it. There was nothing wrong with what she was doing and she reminded herself of this before she gathered enough courage to do it.

'You could just send me your number or get mine from his contacts and stopped stealing from him.'

She already had Shinso's number, so it wouldn't be weird. She should calm down. There was no reason for her heart to be beating so fast as she waited for her reply.

She got a message from an unknown number. 'Why would I want to talk to you?'

The amount of relief that flooded her was unreasonable. 'I could ask you that questions, seeing that this is the second time.'

'Fuck off, Round Face.'

"Round Face..." she repeated. She couldn't stop herself from giggling helplessly. She had to admit, Bakugo was pretty good at making her feel better.

Bakugo was at the stove when Kaminari stumbled into the kitchen and went to sit at the table. Shinso was slumped underneath it, making Kaminari assumed that he'd fallen asleep and fell out of his chair. He had a hard time keeping his eyes open and was halfway to falling asleep when Bakugo placed a plate on the table before him. "Here," he said. "I haven't seen you eat in days and I don't like it."

"You watch me eat?" Kaminari asked.

Bakugo just glared. "You'd better finish the whole thing, or I'll kill you." He walked around the table to poke Shinso awake.

"You really do worry too much," Kaminari told him.

"Someone has to." He pulled Shinso upright and then into the chair before giving him a plate as well. "Also, you have a test next week and Uraraka's coming over to help you study."

Kaminari sat up in his seat, dropping his fork. "What? I'm not ready for that!"

"Too bad. You can't avoid her forever and you skipped class anyway, so this is as good of an excuse as any."

"No..." Kaminari groaned, putting his head in his hands. "Wait," he said as he lifted his head to look at Bakugo. "How do you know?"

Bakugo handed Kaminari his phone. "I texted her. We worked it out."

"When did you..." Kaminari hit himself on the forehead. "I never got my phone back yesterday."

Bakugo grinned before digging into his food. "You have until three to get yourself together."

Kaminari groaned loudly.

Bakugo ended up tutoring them both. He wasn't in their class, but Bakugo was smart and Kaminari had asked him for help before. It started with Uraraka explaining things that he'd missed and sharing her notes, but then Kaminari started asking questions that she didn't know the answers to and they both started flipping through the text book trying to find the answers and it broke down from there.

Bakugo was apparently annoyed at having to watch them struggle on something that he considered easy, so he multitasked berating them and actually tutoring them, explaining the concepts to them both and finding the relevant passages in the books.

"Wow, Bakugo! You're really smart," she smiled.

"What? Did you expect different?" he asked.

When Shinso came home, he sat on the couch, using the book on his lap as an excuse to stay in the living room and throw snarky commentary at them. It got the biggest rise out of Bakugo, but occasionally Uraraka would join in or snark back, which only got more of a reaction from Bakugo.

Kaminari for the most part was just amused. Amused and happy and... warm. This was what he was missing when they were all at odds. This was what he'd wanted. More days like this where they just hung out and snarked and studied, more days when she watched them have band practice and they went out for lunch, more days where he and Uraraka took pictures for their blogs and Bakugo criticized and Shinso smiled at him when he passed over his dessert.

There was an idea forming in his mind, but it was too big, too bright, for him to focus on at the moment. He tucked it away for later and tried to focus more on his book.

Kaminari went to Shinso's room later that night. Shinso had already told them what he wanted, so he would be the easiest to talk to. The door was unlocked. It was pretty late, he'd spent a lot of time procrastinating, but Shinso often had insomnia, so Kaminari was pretty sure he'd be awake. Shinso was under the covers, but Kaminari could make out the light of his phone. He hesitated before closing the door softly behind him and slipping into the bed behind Shinso.

Shinso paused for a moment, but continued whatever he was doing on his phone. "Can't sleep?" he questioned softly.

Kaminari moved closer, pressing his forehead into Shinso back tentatively. Shinso's weight shifted slightly to press back against him and he felt himself relax at the easy acceptance. "I wanted to talk," Kaminari told him.

"And you felt better doing it in the dark?" Shinso questioned. Kaminari didn't answer and Shinso didn't press. "That's understandable. What did you want to talk about?"

"You said the other day,"Kaminari began slowly, "That you wanted this. Wanted..."

"All of us, together," Shinso finished. "Whatever that has to mean."

"What if you couldn't have that?" Kaminari asked. "What if you had to choose?"

Shinso sighed. "I wouldn't," he told him. "I said that I wanted whatever version of 'this' that I could have. If I had to choose, that would be something different. It would be easier to just stay friends if that was the case."

Kaminari moved closer, hesitantly wrapping an arm around Shinso’s waist. Shinso leaned into the touch, phone forgotten, leaving them in complete darkness when the screen went off. "What about... Uraraka?"

"What about her?" Shinso questioned. "If you're asking if I'd be against her..." he shrugged and Kaminri felt the movement rather than saw it. "You and Bakugo get along with her really well and I don't mind her."

Kaminari let out a breath in relief.

"That's a conversation you'd have to have on your own, though."

"I know."

"What about you?" Shinso questioned. "If you had to choose between her and us, would you? Could you?"

"I don't think I have," Kaminari answered carefully. "No matter, you guys are still my friends and we're still roommates."

"That's not what I meant." Shinso rolled over in his arms. They still couldn't see each other, but Kaminari could feel Shinso's breath on his face. His heartbeat sped up a little. "Kaminari... are you asking?"

"I don't know," he answered breathlessly. There was electricity running under his skin. "What if Bakugo doesn't want us?"

Shinso brought his hands up to cup Kaminari's face and brought their foreheads together. "You know he does, you're just afraid to ask."

"I don't know if she'll want to," he said.

"You don't," Shinso agreed. "What will you do if she says no?"

"I don't want her to say no," he whispered.

"I know."

Kaminari closed his eyes, placing his hands on top of Shinso's and leaning into the touch. "Shin..."

"Are you asking?" Shinso questioned once more.

Kaminari nodded.

"Then ask me, Kam."

Kaminari took a deep breath and gripped Shinso's hands tighter. Knowing the answer didn't make him feel less nervous. "Hey, Shinso?"

"Yes?"

"Will you...go out with me?"

Shinso laughed as he answered. "Yeah... Yeah I will."

Bakugo was actually easy, compared to how much emotion had been spent already. They had band practice that day, so they ran through their routine like normal. They went their separate ways early for classes and met up for lunch before going to practice. Kaminari was vibrating with nervousness even as he took his usual pictures, so much so that he didn't realize Shinso had ordered for him until he was pushing an ice cream sundae his way and Shinso was pushing a plate in front of him in return.

"Huh? What's this?" Kaminari asked.

"Yours," Shinso told him. "You don't eat when you're nervous. We've all noticed and you're starting to loose weight."

Kaminari's gaze slid toward Bakugo at that. "Yeah, I told him," Bakugo said immediately. "Got a problem with that?"

Kaminari shook his head. He didn't really eat his food at first, just pushed it around with his fork. Bakugo was starting to growl under his breath, clearly irritated. Shinso took that moment to ask, "Hey, Bakugo, wanna date us?"

Bakugo spilled his water. He did not knock over the glass and only a small amount splashed on him. He still glared at Shinso when he replied. "You did that on purpose."

Shinso grinned in response.

"Fucker," Bakugo grumbled. "I guess I don't have a choice. You idiots wouldn't know what to do without me."

"Really?" Kaminari perked up. "You mean it?" He leaned across the table toward him.

"I said yes! Don't get so..." Bakugo folded his arms as he blushed, then unfolded them to push Kaminari back in his seat. "It's not that big a deal."

"It is!" Kaminari insisted. "You really want us?"

Bakugo glared at him for a long moment before he relented and answered. "Fucking yes, alright! I like you two nutcases. For reasons that are far beyond me."

Kaminari lit up. Shinso smiled at the sight. Bakugo tried to busy himself with his meal.

"So how are we gonna do this?" Bakugo asked them as they they were leaving the restaurant.

Kaminari had squeezed himself between the two of them and was talking pictures that Bakugo refused to smile for and Shinso snickered at. He was practically glowing, his smile was so bright. Bakugo didn't want to admit how happy he was to see Kaminari this happy again, but the looks Shinso kept sending him meant that he was probably not as covert about his feelings as he thought he was.

"What do you mean?" Kaminari asked as he began uploading the picture to various sites.

Shinso linked an arm through Kaminari's and guided him away from a few obstacles that he likely would have tripped over. Bakugo tugged on a lock of his hair. "Pay attention, idiot."

"Hmm?" Kaminari looked up, questioning eyes landing on Bakugo.

The fact that Bakugo thought it was cute had nothing to do with Bakugo's reddening face or the fact that he pushed his head back down into his phone. "Nothing! Forget it! Look at your damn phone!"

Shinso laughed even louder.

"Shut up!" Bakugo yelled.

"You're answering your own question," Shinso told him. "This is how it would work. Just like it has been."

Bakugo thought about that for a minute. Thought about band practice, and Shinso's snark, Kaminari's cheer, Bakugo's own tendency to...care... about them, loudly and fiercely and... He supposed he had answered his own question. Except for one thing.

"What about Uraraka?" he asked, voice quiet.

"That," Kaminari spoke up, "Is your decision." He didn't look up from his phone as he answered. "Shin and I talked about this. He doesn't care too much and I really like it, but I..." He clutched his phone tightly in his hands. "I don't want to do anything without talking to you guys again." He looked at Bakugo shyly, face red.

Bakugo placed his hand on Kaminari's head. "Learned your lesson, huh?"

"Trying to," he muttered.

Bakugo stopped them all from moving, leaning closer to Kaminari and catching Shinso's gaze. "If we add her, I want that to be it. No one else. And if she says no, that's it, just us."

Kaminari nodded.

"I agree, of course," Shinso said. "You two are the only assholes I need."

Kaminari smiled at him before looking back to Bakugo, who was still leaning close to him. Kaminari bit his lip for a moment before he asked, "Can I kiss you?"

Bakugo jerked at the questioned, stiffening in surprise. He could feel himself blushing again, could feel Shinso's gaze on him. He looked away as he answered. "Whatever. I'm not gonna stop you."

Kaminari took Bakugo's face in his hands as he moved closer. "Look at me," he whispered. Bakugo did, his blush deepening in response. "Thank you," Kaminari said as he leaned closer and pressed their lips together. He heard the click as Shinso took a picture, causing Kaminari to break the kiss with burst of laughter.

Bakugo growled. "Shin, if you post that anywhere!"

"I won't, I won't," Shinso replied through his own laughter. "This is for me. I want a picture of my favorite people together."

Bakugo put a hand over his face as he grumbled, "What did I get myself into?"

'Hey, I have a question.' Uraraka was surprised when she looked at her phone to find the message was from Bakugo and not Kaminari, who had been texting her like normal since their study session.

'What is it?' she replied.

'You like us, right?'

Uraraka gave her phone a look, but she was well aware that he couldn't see her. 'Huh? What kind of question is that? Of course I do.'

'Wanna date us?'

"What?" Uraraka shrieked loudly, falling out of her chair and dropping her phone in surprise. She was really glad that neither of her roommates were around to see her massive freak out and question her. As it was, Uraraka snatched up her phone and slammed the call button. He answered on the second ring. "What? What What?" she asked loudly.

"You don't have to yell," Bakugo replied. "We can hear you."

"What are you even asking me?" she continued to yell, too caught off guard to moderate her volume.

"Do. You Want. To. Date. Us?" he repeated slowly.

His words finally sank into her mind and she questioned, "Wait, us?"

"You heard me."

"Us?" she repeated. "By us, you mean..."

Bakugo growled impatiently. "Us!" he repeated. "Me, Shin, Kam. Do you want to date us? It's a yes or no question."

Uraraka's head was utterly spinning. She hadn't seen this coming at all. It was true that she got along with them better than she'd expected and she had all of their numbers at this point, but still! Kaminari was... cute, true, and they had a lot in common. Bakugo was grumpy, but secretly really caring and he often made her laugh. Shinso was easy to talk to and fun to snark with. But! She hadn't considered... this!

"Are... are you serious?" she asked faintly.

"Do I sound like I'm joking?" he asked. He didn't. He definitely didn't. But how would that even work? She must have taken to long to answer, since Bakugo added, "If you don't want to, just say so!"

"Give me a minute to think about this!" she yelled back. "You can't just drop a truck on me and expect me to be ready!"

"Why did we let him do this?" She heard Shinso question in the background.

"Give me the phone," Kaminari's muffled voice demanded. There was a shuffling, Bakugo's growling, before she heard Kaminari's voice loud and clear. "Sorry about him. I didn't think he would... I don't know what I was expecting."

"Kaminari," she said, "Was he serious?"

"Yeah. Um..." he paused a moment before he explained. "The guys and I talked some things out and... we like you. Bakugo and I like you. And we like each other. So, Shin and Bakugo and I decided to, um, date each other. And since we like you..." he trailed off.

Uraraka let that sink in. They were dating. The three of them. Dating. They wanted to date her. Three boys wanted to date her.

Well, two, of the three. And how does that work?

"It works however we want it to," Kaminari answered.

"I said that out loud!" she pressed a hand to her mouth, feeling herself blush in embarrassment.

Kaminari laughed. "You did, but that's good. We should talk about this, if we're gonna do it. So you can say whatever you want and ask us whatever you want."

Uraraka leaned again her desk. "Why... why me?" she asked.

Kaminari laughed again, happier this time. "Are you kidding? It's because we like you! You're cute and sweet and fun. Of course we like you."

"I think you're alright, too," Shinso said in the background, making her laugh. That was exactly the kind of response that she expected from him.

"Can I come over to talk about this?" she asked.

"Of course," he told her. She had been trying not to think of things like this, but she already knew how she felt. "Kaminari... Um... yes!" she told him.

"Really?" he asked happily.

"Yeah..."

"She said yes!" he said to the others.

"Not surprised," Shinso responded.

"Good," Bakugo grunted.

"You can come over whenever you feel like, but we can also work things out now if you want," Kaminari told her.

"Um... can I talk to Shinso?" she asked.

"Huh? Uh, sure." Kamimari passed the phone over and she waited anxiously.

"Congrats, you've gotten three new boyfriends," Shinso said immediately.

She blushed. She was so glad her dorm mates weren't around and she wasn't sure how she would possibly explain this to them. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"I figured."

"Are we actually... you and me, I mean?"

"Are we dating? Yes," he answered simply. "It's a package deal. One for all and all for one, as they say. I'm not... as interested in you as they are, but I like you well enough and I won't be... upset about this."

"So about..." she paused, holding her phone tighter and lowering her head, hiding her bright blush from the room at large despite being alone. "K-kissing... and stuff..."

"What about it?" he asked. "Do you want a kiss?"

She made a loud sound in the back of her throat that was between surprise and something dying in her throat. It was really embarrassing and Shinso laughed really hard. "Don't laugh at me!"

"Sorry, sorry," Shinso said. "You're just really cute."

She was increasingly glad that this was a phone call. She really didn't want to see the expression that he was making or have them staring at how embarrassed she was. "Don't tease me."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but if you think I'm not going to tease you, you should probably back out of this now."

"Don't tell her that!" Kaminari objected in the background.

"It's not like she didn't know that," Shinso replied. "Anyway, all that's up to you. I'm not particularly interested in it right now, but it doesn't mean I never will be. If we want to, we will, and if we don't, we won't. Simple as that."

"It's not simple at all," she grumbled.

"It is if you want it to be," he told her. "You all worry too much. It really is as simple or as complicated as you make it."

"Good thing we have you to keep out heads on straight," Kaminari said.

"Yeah, good thing."

"Good thing you idiots have me around to keep everything else straight," Bakugo said.

"He's feeling neglected," Shinso said.

"Let me talk to him?" Uraraka asked.

Shinso passed the phone over.

"What?" Bakugo asked immediately.

"Bakugo, thank you. For being the one to ask," she told him.

"Whatever. Next time, say yes faster instead of making me wait!" Instead of making him worry, she knew he meant.

"I'm sorry," she told him. "Thanks for being so patient with me."

"Wow! Bakugo knows how to cook?" Uraraka asked cheerfully as she and Kaminari watched him in the kitchen. The two of them were sitting close together on the couch, scrolling through their phones.

"Yeah, he's really good at it!" Kaminari cheered. "I don't know what we'd do without him."

Shinso was sitting on the floor with three books open in front of him and his pencil hanging out the corner of his mouth. "You would keep losing weight and all your photos would start to suck. I would never wake up because you can't make a decent cup of coffee to save my life."

"Hey! My coffee isn't that bad," Kaminari pouted. "And my pictures would never suck."

"Don't worry, I'll get him back on track," Uraraka said. "I'll take him with me when I review things and make him eat some of everything that I try."

"No fair," he grumbled.

"That's what you get for getting into unhealthy eating habits," Bakugo told him. "And if you even try to waste any of my food, I'll shove it down your throat myself."

"Keep your kink out of the kitchen," Shinso said.

"Shut up!" Bakugo yelled.

Uraraka laughed, leaning into Kaminari's side. He smiled as he watched her, as he watched Bakugo and Shinso's back and forth. He was pretty sure he was the happiest that he'd ever been and he owed it all to them.

Read the follow-up, Overcast Trigger, here.

#Kacchako #Bakushin #BakuKami #KamiShin #KamiOcha #BakuKamiShin #Kaminari x Shinso x Bakugo x Ochako #ELS Writing #Fanfiction #My Hero Academia #BNHA #OT3s are my heart #OT4 #ShinOcha #OchaShin

110 notes · View notes