#I HATE RAPPA. SO MUCH

[uhzuku]

🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

[hellobitchlet]

Honestly, I used to like them, but ever since Penacony ended, the Astral Express have been on thin fucking ice with me.

After pretty much not doing anything for all of Penacony but being treated like they did, Penacony ends with Himeko becoming a capitalist, suddenly revealing that we need to get magic fuel RIGHT NOW or we're all doomed, and having Black Swan temporarily join the Express to lead them to Amphoreus to get their fuel.

...the next update, we go to the Luofu. Black Swan has disappeared. Suddenly, the writers have decided that Trailblazer, March 7th, and Dan Heng were minors this whole time, and that means that Himeko is allowed to lecture them on how going to a festival they were invited to is more important than their home's impending doom. None of what follows seems to be important to the plot except for a twist reveal that seems to be more connected to what Himeko and Welt were doing. That you, as Trailblazer, wasn't allowed to be a part of. Because tHe aDulTs wouldn't let them come.

Outside of some small things (and, you know, this being blatant filler with bad timing), I actually did find the March event to be okay. Not amazing, but okay. But the Wardance with Luka... god... it was so horrible to watch Trailblazer being okay with the IPC npc and Topaz, and refusing to defend Luka from them, but defending him the moment it was Boothill... that event almost single handedly made me hate them. They copy Traveler in the worst ways.

And now, the return to Penacony is the last straw. We repeat the beginning of the last continuance, with Himeko being twice as infantilizing towards the now-minors by having her actively referring to herself and Welt as the grown-ups and forcing them to attend an academy while she and Welt do the 'boring grown up work'. Once again, Black Swan doesn't show up at all, and this time, there isn't even a mention of the extremely important plot point that was established in the last main quest. The only good thing about this quest so far is that Rappa and Reca are actually allowed to be weirdos.

By the time we get to Amphoreus in 3.0, which we could've done months ago instead of adding unnecessary map to Luofu and Penacony and forcing hsr into The Genshin Mold when it has done nothing but make the game worse, nobody will even remember what was supposed to be happening and the Express will be significantly worse characters.

(Man, remember when Himeko treated every member of the Express like their opinions were equal? You would think Mr. Gave A 16 Year Old He Just Met His Herrscher Powers would be against this, but unfortunately he's so ooc in hsr that he goes along with it. Oh yeah, and remember when Trailblazer being silly looked like a nice change of pace after Traveler and not a cover for them being a capitalist bootlicker?)

[alyssapoprocks]

I'm honestly so sad with the way Kirishima's character was handled by Horikoshi, he doesn't deserve him.

Like how can Horikoshi have Rappa swear he's going to fight Kirishima again, and then have Rappa be like the only villain that doesn't show up again in the final war arc??? And then have Kirishima - whose entire character growth was a major plot point in the early chapters - just do nothing?? We don't even SEE the fight that got Kirishima all beaten up.

I love Kirishima so much and he just deserved so much better.

And that's not even to mention Kirishima's friendship with Bakugou, which was also a major plot point and imperative to Bakugou's AND Kirishima's growth. Not showing Kirishima worried about Bakugou, despite less than a year ago he was willing to get himself killed just to save Bakugou, was DUMB. There is no way that Kirishima would see Bakugou pass out on the battlefield and NOT want to be by his side. This isn't even about shipping, it's about the complete disregard for the friendship that was built.

How can Kirishima be willing to die for Bakugou, but not willing to run to his side when he's RIGHT there? Absolute bullshit. I hate it. I hate everything about the war arc.

The way Horikoshi just replaced Bakugou and Kirishima's friendship with Bakugou and Midoriya the second Bakugou apologised pisses me off so bad, and I LOVE the Bakugou and Midoriya friendship. But to just disregard the friendship carefully built up throughout the manga for a friendship that should be hella fucking strained is so stupid and I hate it.

I don't actually think I've ever had such a problem with the way a story has gone in my life - and I've watched many things that have fallen off. But this war arc was a waste of time. No one of importance died, the fights were shit, and the big bad fight with Shigaraki ended in literal seconds by a 15 and 16 year old punching him???? What the fuck was the point???

[hyuge]

Hospital Blues and Fantasy Hues

The lights are too bright, and the smell of antiseptic constantly tickles his nose as Katsuki lays in the godforsaken hospital bed after the war. Everything aches and it’s hard to breathe most days. The doctors said one of his lungs collapsed when his heart exploded. Turns out threading the muscle fibers of a heart back together in the middle of a war zone is a terrible way to triage a fatal wound but if it hadn’t been done, Katsuki would never have made it to the hospital. He would have died long before the battle ended, and that thought terrifies him. The nurses have to sedate him at night in order for him to get any sleep otherwise the night terrors make him thrash violently, ripping out wires, stitches, and IVs. It's a headache for everyone involved and sometimes Katsuki wishes the pro heroes hadn’t sacrificed so much to save him. Edgeshot is gone, and for what? He’s a mess. He’ll never be able to use his quirk the same way again. He’ll likely never be able to go pro now. His power has been cut in half. A prosthetic can’t sweat, which means he can now only create explosive blasts from his left hand. He won’t be able to fly anymore. God, Katsuki was so elated the first time he successfully flew in the air. There was nothing more freeing than launching himself hundreds of feet above the ground in a matter of seconds. Even Bird Brain can’t go that fast.

It's one of his bad days, where he’s left alone with his thoughts, staring out the window as life goes on, when there’s a knock at the door. It opens without him responding. It still hurts to talk. The nurses and doctors tell him he needs to conserve his energy and rest. He hates laying in a bed unable to move. His gaze drifts slowly toward the door. His vision is blurry, but that bright red hair is distinguishable anywhere. Kirishima moves to sit on the left side of Katsuki’s bed where he can see him best. The doctors said they managed to save his right eye, but he’s going to need one damn strong prescription to see out of it properly again.

“How are you feeling today?” asks Kirishima, smiling softly. He asks the same question every day because he comes to visit Katsuki every day. Even his parents aren’t here that frequently. They make do but their architectural firm is even busier than before. They’re helping with the relief efforts to rebuild the country. They’re true heroes unlike the bedridden shell he has become.

Katsuki reaches for his oxygen mask and lowers it to his chin. “Wish I could leave,” he says, because it’s the truth. Maybe his mood would be better if he weren’t stuck in this bed all the time.

“They’ll let you out soon,” says Kirishima. He sets his hand atop Katsuki’s and lifts the mask back over his mouth. They both know it’s not true. He has months of extensive recovery work in the hospital before he gets out, but the warmth from Kirishima’s hand and the kindness in his voice are comforting enough that he almost believes it.

Katsuki lets his hand fall to his side and turns his head, cheek brushing against the pillow as he squints to see Kirishima better. He closes his bad eye, looking only out of his left and his vision clears. He’s wearing his school uniform. Class has been back in session for a few weeks. Kirishima must have come as soon as school let out. He’s talking about something, but Katsuki misses it. There’s a ringing in his ears that comes and goes—tinnitus, another wonderful side effect of having overworked his quirk the way he did. He tries to focus, and the ringing slowly subsides.

“—sent me flying but I was able to stop him. Man, I don’t want to praise a villain, but Rappa is so strong, and he just wants to fight other strong people. It really made me feel good that he saw me as a rival. Probably the last time I’ll get to fight him though… The government is doing a massive overhaul on all the high security prisons.”

Katsuki blinks, trying to register everything Kirishima was just saying. It’s slow. His mind is sluggish from all the painkillers he’s on. He reaches for the oxygen mask again, lowering it to speak. “You fought that big guy… from the yakuza?”

Kirishima nods. The sunlight filtering in through the hospital room window casts a halo over the crown of his head. It suits him. Kirishima has always been angelic. He shrugs, suddenly looking self-conscious about bragging and says, “Yeah. Sorry. I shouldn’t be excited. Everyone was risking their lives and I know the battles were hard. There was a lot of emotional damage done on the others: Midoriya, Uraraka, Todoroki… I guess for once it was just nice to know that a villain thought of me as their equal and wanted to fight me.”

“You’re my equal,” Katsuki says but even as he says the words, he doesn’t believe it. Not because Kirishima isn’t strong enough, no, on the contrary. He’s stronger than Katsuki. Katsuki isn’t Kirishima’s equal.

They fall into silence after that, neither one of them sure how to carry the conversation from there. Katsuki’s mind wanders. He doesn’t like it when his mind wanders. The quiet scares him, so many new fears he didn’t have before. His eyes fall shut. He’s tired, always tired, but he doesn’t want to sleep, not with Kirishima beside him.

Kirishima clears his throat. “I—uh—I’ll go. You should get some rest.”

Katsuki snaps his eyes open to see Kirishima scratching the back of his neck. He moves to stand, and Katsuki reaches for him much too quickly. He winces, feeling his stitches tug on his skin, and grabs Kirishima’s hand. “Don’t go,” he says, beneath his oxygen mask.

Kirishima sits back down slowly and carefully picks up Katsuki’s hand, placing it back on the bed. “Okay, I’ll stay,” he says. “I’m not sure what to talk about.”

Katsuki moves the stupid fucking mask. “Anything,” he croaks. “Anything to fill the silence. Please.” He hates begging. His chest aches and his throat is thick as he fights back tears. He doesn’t want the quiet to come. Mindless rambling was always annoying but not when it’s Kirishima’s. His voice fills Katsuki with immeasurable comfort. He won’t tell him that though, not in the hospital hooked up to tubes and wires. There’s a lot of things he wants to say to Kirishima but not here, not like this. So, he’d rather listen until the day comes when he can be independent again and it doesn’t hurt to breathe, when looking at the void where his arm used to be doesn’t fill him with a sadness as deep as the Mariana Trench.

“Okay,” repeats Kirishima. He sits silently, contemplating, then smiles. The evening’s golden light makes him glow as he parts his lips to speak. “Have you ever heard the story of the barbarian prince and his dragon companion?”

Katsuki knits his brows together, studying Kirishima. “No.”

“Hah. Okay.” Kirishima scratches the back of his neck again like he does when he’s nervous. What does he have to be nervous about? “It would be so cool to live in a fantasy world with magic and stuff.”

Katsuki rolls his eyes. “Our world is fantastical enough as it is.” He puts the mask back on and sucks in a deep breath. His lungs burn but they’re thankful for the added rush of air. “Go on,” he says into the mask. It’s stifled, but Kirishima hears him. Katsuki watches the bob of Kirishima’s Adam’s apple and the way he picks at his nails. He’s stalling.

“So, once upon a time—”

“Once upon a time,” Katsuki barks. It hurts to laugh. He coughs and Kirishima admonishes him for it.

“Be quiet and let me tell the story.”

“Fine,” Katsuki concedes. He relaxes into the pillow and shuts his eyes so that he can listen properly, envisioning the world Kirishima is about to create in his head.

“A long time ago there was this fierce barbarian prince. His family owned the largest kingdom in the entire land. They were well respected; feared by their enemies and loved by their people. The prince was strong and handsome and manly. Everyone wanted to be him or court him. He was very direct about what he wanted and while it rubbed some people the wrong way, others admired him for how straightforward and determined he was. His strength wasn’t just physical either. The prince was super smart and tactical. His magic was unmatched. So, he got bored easily. There wasn’t anyone he considered his equal because of how strong he was. He wanted to fight even stronger people to prove he was worthy of leading someday.”

Katsuki lowers his mask and speaks without opening his eyes. “He sounds cool.”

“Yeah,” says Kirishima fondly. “He really is.”

That makes Katsuki crack his eye open and peer at the soft expression on Kirishima’s face, the way the corners of his mouth are just slightly upturned, and the look in his red eyes is a little distant. Katsuki’s heart aches seeing him like that and not because of his injury. Kirishima clears his throat and continues.

“The prince decided to set out on a journey to find someone he could call his equal. He met and battled all sorts of people and creatures on his journey but none he would call worthy of being his partner. He slayed some ogres, fought some bandits, cleared out a cave of goblins, and while he enjoyed the fights, they never left him feeling satisfied. He had been traveling alone for a while when he heard rumors of a dragon nearby. The prince decided to check out whether or not the rumors were true. He wanted to take on the challenge of fighting a creature as big and strong as a dragon.

“He went to the forest where the dragon’s den was supposed to be and followed a trail that seemed too big to be anything but. The dragon was eating when the prince found him. He made a warning growl, but the prince wasn’t deterred. He unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the dragon, shouting, ‘Hey, you overgrown lizard! I want you to fight me and if I win, you have to become my partner!’

“The dragon huffed a breath of warm air and said, ‘If I win, you’ll be dead,’ which made the prince grin triumphantly.”

Katsuki snorts. “The prince sounds like an idiot.”

“Yeah,” says Kirishima, “but that didn’t stop him. He fought the dragon with his sword and with his magic, sending waves of fireballs at the beast. It was a heated battle.” Kirishima laughs at his own joke. “The prince used his spells to propel himself into the air to avoid the dragon’s lethal tail swings and the dragon spewed flames from its mouth into the air to keep from burning the forest. The dragon was enjoying the battle almost as much as the prince was. They both found someone worth fighting for once. The sound of sword clashing against scale echoed through the trees, and trenches were dug from the dragon’s massive talons scraping against the ground. The prince was getting tired and knew if he didn’t finish the battle quickly, he would die, so he landed on the dragon’s snout and swung his sword, slashing just above the dragon’s eye where the scales were thinnest.

The dragon shook him off and wrapped its giant hands over its face, covering its eye. Gradually, it’s size began to shrink until it was the size of a human man. The dragon stood in front of the prince with one hand covering his eye and the other held out for the prince to shake. ‘Looks like you win,�� said the dragon. The prince stared at him, surprised to see the dragon look so human. His eyelid was bleeding, but the dragon didn’t seem to care. He smiled at the prince and spread his large red wings wide behind his back.

“‘You can shapeshift!’ said the prince, taking the dragon’s hand. The dragon nodded and pulled his other hand away from his face with blood trickling down his cheek. The prince pulled his hand free and tore a part of his cloak, handing it to the dragon. ‘Here. Use this to help stop the bleeding,’ he said. The dragon took it and pressed it to his eye.”

A knock on the door startles them both and Katsuki looks to see the nurse walk in. “Apologies, but visiting hours are over now.”

Kirishima bows apologetically. “Sorry. I’ll go now.” He turns to Katsuki and smiles. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Bakugou.”

Katsuki pulls the mask off his face and takes a slow breath. “You better tell me the rest of the story.”

Kirishima beams at him, thrilled that Katsuki wants him to continue. “Promise.” He holds out his pinky and even though Katsuki rolls his eyes, he happily locks pinkies.

***

Kirishima returns the next day as soon as school lets out. He’s red in the face from running the whole way from the bus stop. Katsuki’s brows arch as he watches Kirishima stumble to take his seat next to the bed. “H-hey,” he greets, breathless.

Katsuki lowers his mask. “Why the rush?” His voice is raspy. He had physical therapy earlier in the day which resulted in an abundance of shouting and cursing from the pain.

Kirishima drops his bag on the floor and slides the chair up against Katsuki’s bed, placing himself inches away. “Just wanted to get here as quickly as possible. I know how lonely you get.”

“M’not lonely.”

They both know it’s a lie, but Kirishima doesn’t call him out on it. Instead, he smiles and says, “Where did we leave off yesterday?”

Katsuki buries himself in the pillows and holds his oxygen mask in his hand. “Shitty dragon lost to the prince.” The elastic on the mask snaps and smacks against his face. Katsuki scowls.

“You deserved that,” teases Kirishima. “The dragon isn’t shitty. He’s manly.”

Katsuki rolls his eyes. Kirishima starts to talk again, recounting the story as if he had been there in that fantasy land. The dragon and the barbarian prince travel together. They make the perfect pair and even though the prince beats him in battle, he doesn’t look down on the dragon. They’re a partner duo, not master/servant. They spend all their time together visiting new lands, fighting monsters, defeating bad guys, taking on odd jobs when one is posted. They don’t need the money, the prince brought a hefty amount of coin with him on his journey and the dragon has a lofty sum accumulated in his horde, but they take the pay. They donate it whenever possible. The prince never tells anyone who he is. He wants to see the kingdoms as a traveler, not as royalty, and he doesn’t fear death by anonymity. They’re too strong to be killed.

“—the dragon admired the barbarian prince. Everyone admired him. The people they helped showered him with praise, but they were wary of the dragon. Whenever they turned in a job, the dragon would stay back so that the villagers wouldn’t be afraid. The prince would collect their reward and head back to him. He always smiled after hearing how good of a job he did. When the dragon would tell him the same, he’d just shrug it off and say it wasn’t a big deal.

“The dragon would brush it off. He was happy enough just getting to adventure with the prince, so they’d head to the next town and take another job. They’d camp in the woods or find an inn to stay at. It was the two of them against the world.”

Everyday after school Kirishima would rush to Katsuki’s bedside. Work studies are canceled for the near future, so he has time to kill. The HPSC and the Japanese government are both in the middle of rebuilding. Because of that, they decided that student hero work would be put on pause indefinitely. That was one less thing for Katsuki to worry about falling behind at, not that he has any shot of going pro anymore.

He listens as Kirishima continues to tell stories about the dragon with his impenetrable scales and the barbarian prince with his explosive fire magic. With each visit, Kirishima becomes livelier with his storytelling. Katsuki watches as he jumps around the room, pretending to be the characters fighting. He watches the way Kirishima stands on the chair as if they’ve just conquered a battle. He laughs when the nurses chide him for his outlandish behavior, and Kirishima’s forced to apologize and sit down. It brightens Katsuki’s days, and he feels less like he wishes he had died.

They meet other people on their adventures, but in the end, it’s always the barbarian prince and the dragon. The two of them are inseparable and they don’t feel the need to have others around for exceedingly long. They explore caves, they slay monsters, and when one is injured, the other does everything in their power to tend to the wounds. When they camp, the dragon varies between sleeping in his full form or as a human. On cold nights, he takes his true form, allowing the barbarian prince to curl up next to him and leach off his body heat. When it’s warm, they sleep in bedrolls beside one another, the campfire crackling a few feet away. They never pitch tents—they block the view of the stars above.

It's romantic, though Katsuki won’t admit that thought aloud.

After two weeks of Kirishima’s storytelling, he gets to a part he has difficulty with. Katsuki watches him struggle to tell the story the same way he did when he first started telling it. He assumes Kirishima is likely running out of ideas for it, until he finally speaks.

“One night, the barbarian prince and the dragon got separated. They agreed to meet up later in the evening after completing a lengthy list of errands they needed to run. While they were a part, an evil warlock that specialized in torture and death magic captured the prince. He had apparently been watching them for some time. The dragon was devastated when he found out. If he hadn’t left the prince’s side, then maybe he never would have been captured.”

“There’s no way to know that for sure,” says Katsuki.

Kirishima gives him a sad smile. His lips are turned up, but his forehead is scrunched, and he shakes his head. “He should have been there. The dragon will never forgive himself for not being there.”

“It’s just a story,” says Katsuki, studying Kirishima carefully.

“Yeah,” says Kirishima. He sighs. “The dragon sent an urgent message to some of the people they met while traveling. They were able to help him find the warlock’s location and cause a distraction for him. When the warlock and his allies were distracted, the dragon swooped in from above and called out to the prince. He used his fire magic to launch himself into the air and land right on the dragon’s back. The rest of their friends withdrew, and the dragon scooped them up as well. They made a hasty retreat. When they were far enough from the warlock, the dragon set their friends on the ground, thanked them, and flew off into the night with the prince.

“They found an inn to stay at. The dragon didn’t want to risk being out in the forest, so they paid for a single room. It took a lot of reassuring from the prince that he was okay for the dragon to calm down. He kept getting worked up and starting to transform and the prince had to remind him that the fees would come out of his horde if they destroyed the inn because he went ‘full dragon’ while they were inside. The dragon didn’t sleep that night. He laid awake until the sun came up, watching the prince as he slept. Whenever his eyes shut for even a few seconds, he would fear the prince was gone again or that he failed to rescue him in the first place.”

Katsuki’s chest ached and not because of the open-heart surgery. Kirishima wipes away a few stray tears with the back of his hand and turns to look out the window, trying to hide his breakdown. Katsuki knows he can be dense at times but he’s not clueless. He sees the lines in the sand for what they are. He wishes he could reach out and properly comfort Kirishima, but Katsuki is limited to the small range of motion he has on his shitty hospital bed. So, he quietly waits for Kirishima to compose himself and carry on with the story.

***

Kirishima keeps telling tales of the prince and dragon each day he comes to the hospital. Katsuki doesn’t have any more bad days. There were tough days, but no longer did he wish he were dead. Instead, he stares at the clock, waiting impatiently for the redhead to arrive. His stomach flutters every time Kirishima walks through the door. It’s annoying as fuck because Katsuki still doesn’t have a deadline on when he can leave the fucking hospital. And it’s getting harder to stay quiet about it. He knows the implications buried in the stories Kirishima tells. The dragon and the prince are more than friends, even if Kirishima doesn’t outright say it. It’s also blatantly obvious that they’re a metaphor but he’ll play along for now. It’s all he really can do.

“They helped a pair of knights from the neighboring kingdom search for the lost prince of that kingdom. While they searched, the prince ran into someone he knew from his childhood. They hadn’t been on the best of terms growing up, but as they worked together to search for the prince who had apparently run away from home after a fight with the king, they had finally managed to work together and grow a true bond of friendship. The dragon was proud to see how much he had changed in such a brief period of time, and the barbarian prince’s friend knew all sorts of facts about dragons that even the dragon himself didn’t know. The dragon couldn’t help feeling embarrassed about that.

“They escorted the prince back to his palace. He thanked them. Even though he ran away, he was glad to be home. The neighboring prince had gotten into a lot of trouble on his own. He said people kept getting mad at him for no reason and he was covered in scratches and bruises from wandering in the forest. The barbarian prince said it was pretty obvious why people hated him. He was scolded for that, but the neighboring prince didn’t seem to get what he meant. That was probably for the best.”

Katsuki snorts. That idiot has to be Kirishima’s personification of Todoroki. It makes sense. The fucker is as dense as a board of plywood. Kirishima will never admit it, but he obviously thinks so too. Katsuki’s gonna pocket that one for later. He knows it’ll come in handy eventually.

Kirishima stays until Katsuki finishes his dinner, then he leaves so that the nurses don’t yell at him. They like to hover outside the door, lacking confidence in a teenage boy doing anything on time. They’re not wrong. Given the chance, Katsuki is certain Kirishima would stay long after visiting hours end. He’d spend the night if he could. Katsuki sort of wishes he could. His days might be better, but his nights are still rough. He could use a familiar face at his bedside as he tries to sleep. He lacks the comfort of friends and family at night. He’ll take that admission to the grave. They’ll all get too full of themselves if he ever says it aloud.

The better days bleed into better nights. He wakes up with less panic attacks, which means the nurses sedate him less often. That leads to mornings that are less groggy and quicker to start. The doctors say the ophthalmologist will be able to visit him soon and get him fitted for a pair of glasses. Katsuki is thankful. The blurry vision makes him dizzy and gives him headaches which require more medication. The ouroboros that is his life. He briefly wonders how stupid he’ll look in glasses and then remembers he looks good in everything he wears.

***

One afternoon, Kirishima comes in with a story of even greater magnitude than the rescue mission the dragon had gone on to save the prince. He talks about how the evil sorcerer has mounted a retaliation, pissed off with the way things went previously. The sorcerer knows who the prince is, and he declares war on the kingdom. The prince and the dragon have to call on all their allies to help them fight the sorcerer. The prince reaches out to the king and queen who mount their army and request aid from the neighboring kingdoms.

Katsuki sits up in his bed on his own. He’s finally able to do so without it hurting. He’s got a wicked grin on his face as he smiles at Kirishima. He lifts his mask and says, “I bet the prince kicked his ass good.”

Kirishima laughs solemnly and nods his head. “Yeah. Yeah, he did, but it takes everyone to defeat the sorcerer and not without casualty. They lose important allies. They mourn the loss of their friends and comrades, and the prince… The prince is severely injured. He’s on bedrest in the palace. Servants come and go tending to his wounds and bringing him meals. They wash him and bathe him because he’s too weak to get out of bed. The prince is alive, but at a great cost. All the while he’s in his bed, the dragon is at his side. He’s there from sunup to sundown, only leaving to stretch his wings in the sky and bathe. Then he returns to the prince’s side once more.

“The barbarian prince heals quickly. The royal healers use strong magic on him, and in no time, he’s back on his feet. He’s offered the crown, but he turns it down. He says he’s not ready to take over yet. He wants to keep on adventuring. So, he does, and his dragon is right by his side. The dragon is in awe of him. He doesn’t feel admiration for the prince anymore. It’s grown into something more, something deeper. The dragon likes the prince more than any treasure in his horde. It’s been that way since before the battle with the sorcerer, but he’s been too afraid to say anything.”

“Why?” asks Katsuki. His words are muffled behind the mask.

Kirishima stops talking and looks at him confused. He quirks a brow as he says, “Huh?”

Katsuki clears his throat. “What was the dragon so fucking afraid of?” he asks, callus as ever. “Did he think the barbarian wouldn’t want him? After everything we—they’ve been through?”

Kirishima splutters. “Well, maybe the dragon was afraid they wouldn’t last. Maybe he was afraid that once their time adventuring ended, that would be it. Maybe the barbarian would realize just how strong he is and that he doesn’t need the dragon’s help anymore. Maybe he’d decided to finally move on and find a stronger partner once he realized just how weak the dragon really was. They made a lot of friends on their journeys and the prince even reconciled with an old friend from his childhood. He might think one of them was a better option. Anyone was better than the dragon.”

Katsuki wrenches the mask from his face and tosses the stupid thing down on the bed so that it’s not in his way. He can breathe fine on his own now, but the doctors insist he keep using the mask for a while longer.

Kirishima lunges forward to reach for the mask. “Bakugou wh—”

“That’s fucking dumb,” snaps Katsuki. “If I had a kickass dragon as a partner, I think I’d wanna adventure with him forever.” Kirishima puts the mask back on his face and Katsuki huffs. He folds his arm across his chest and glowers at Kirishima. Kirishima’s cheeks flame red and Katsuki breaks eye contact, directing his focus on the wall across the room. His face is warm but he’s not fucking blushing because Bakugou Katsuki doesn’t blush like a bashful little girl. If his face is pink, it’s because the hospital room is unusually warm.

Kirishima smiles beside him and continues the story. “Well, maybe the dragon finally gets enough courage to confess once the barbarian prince is healed after the big battle. They set off on their adventure together again and the dragon searches for the perfect spot to tell the prince how he feels. There’s a clearing near where they first did battle. It seems like as good a spot as any. It’s the place they first met and where they first fought. It’s important to them, so he takes the prince there, and he finally tells him how he feels. It’s terrifying.”

Katsuki lifts the mask again, determined to speak without it hindering his voice. “The dragon better be ready for the barbarian to one-up him before that. He’s not clueless. He would take them somewhere they would both enjoy, maybe with some nice dumbass sunset or some shit. The prince already made the dragon his once. He’s gotta do it again, but official.”

Kirishima tears up. Fat, wet tears track down his face as he smiles. He chokes back a sob and nods his head. “I think the dragon would like that a whole lot.”

Good, Katsuki thinks. Now, he just needs to get out of this damn hospital bed so he can prove to the ‘dragon’ just how much the ‘barbarian prince’ cares about him.

Link to fic on AO3

[bullet-and-brain]

one thing about me is that i am nothing if not dedicated entirely to dan heng 🙏

i have mained e6 dhil since patch 1.3. he was my first limited five star and, up until very recently, my ONLY limited 5* dps. i just got rappa bc i thought her playstyle was pretty fun, but i absolutely REFUSE to give in to acheron/firefly/feixiao (no hate to people who main these characters. my point is that they definitely outperform dhil in the current meta and make life so much easier bc of their bis relic sets and whatnot). that isn’t to say that he’s bad by any standard, but let me tell you, it gets ROUGH sometimes, particularly for me in this pure fiction…. but i finally cleared it w/ all 3 stars !!! i had to use himeko/rappa/rm/gallagher for the first node bc, again, no firefly/lingsha aaa (but i really want lingsha. every vidyadhara WILL come home and she’s the only one left)

^^these were my results for that recap web event from the first anniversary. imagine my surprise when i found out that most people had a support unit/sustain for theirs, or at LEAST some kind of variety. dan heng is seriously my goat i love him so bad

also i don’t think i’ve ever actually posted my build here so this is it if anyone’s interested (still kind of a wip but we ball)

yayayaya

[zuffer-weird-girl]

HI!! I don't know if you are still accepting requests, but could you request Kai with an angel who is like Dean Winchester? always openly flirting with him and being very stressed, and faithfully believing in "supernatural" things?

Kisses from Brazil ♥️

He is so done with you.

You know the expression he is making in this pic👆 yeah its him every time you flirt with him.

Don't get him wrong, at first he would scoff and pretend he didn't care with his ears painted on a pink color along with his cheeks.

But it just never stops.

So he grew used to it, to just stare blankly at you....

"You think you're so clever still doing all that?"

"I think I'm adorable 😀"

Again, he is done.

He doesn't even know how he fell in love with you to be honest, but he did.

Your obsession with bacon and burgers kinda worries him.

"You're gonna give yourself a high cholesterol if you keep eating that." He would say with a disgusted face as you looked at him and started to speak with your mouth full.

"Love if I end up dying by bacon than I say is a pretty well good way to go."

He face palms hard every time you say shit like this while his subordinates loves you.

When he met you, he already knew how much you loved your car. It was a nice model and he chuckled once when Rappa almost touched without a permission and you just pointed a gun at his face.

Although he never felt so humiliated when you were hit by a quirk that allowed you to talk with animals... and you end up fighting a pigeon that dirtier the window of your car and you almost shoot... the pigeon. In front of a whole bunch of people.

"(Y/n) let's just go-"he gritted through teeth while physically dragging you away to enter your car.

"I'LL SHOOT YOU! YOU WINGED RAT SON OF A-!"

"WHERE DID YOU EVEN GOT THIS GUN OUT OF?!"

"You never know when a demon can appear Kai-"

Pls give him a break.

Mimic ends up being a very close friend of yours when he learned that story.

Despite your attitude, unhealthy habits and the constant flirting he does end up felling a lot for you, and you the only exception in his life.

Like... you can make him laugh. That's a pretty damn well thing.

Like one time when you were both caught by heroes and thay said you and him were suspects for a case that happened a long ass while ago... and you just straight up said.

"Oh yeah it makes sense we being suspects since when that happened this guy here had only three years old."

He never let out a laugh on public like that and honestly he felt embarrassed you had witnessed that.

But it just escaped.

I know I said he doesn't care when you flirt anymore... but he does get caught out of guard sometimes.

And he hates that smug look you do while leaving the room... while he ends up with warm face and a boner.

You won't be going out for a while after he catches you btw.

[shining-gem34]

||I have finished 2.6 Main story quest and my Dan Heng throughout all of this????

HSR Spoilers

Dan Heng does not want to see anymore monkeys or bananas for the next month or two.

At the start of the story, Dan Heng was genuinely interested in going to the university! He doesn't show it, but he was very excited to attend classes and experience the school life. Because the Paperfolds University is more art-dominated, Dan Heng had some expectations things will be a little crazy in the creative side.

Not the Slumbernana Monkeys.

Dear Long. Dear his father asleep in the sea of his souls. Dear everything up to this point, there was so many monkeys even Dan Heng was a bit intimidated by it.

It didn't bother him much as fads come and go. It's trendy only for a short time, but what really bothered him is how almost everyone was crazy about Slumbernana/Monkeys. Even the Dream Troupes professors, and the University Dean himself are on this monkey fad happening.

Sure, it feels like the university is keeping up with students interest and fads but the sense of something is weird here is very evident.

At least in Dan Heng mind, quietly observing everything and thinking about the overall situation so far.

Nothing was insulting as Pro.fnana declaring there will be no classes and everyone attending gets credit this semester. On the topic of Pro.fnana, Dan Heng is hard agree with Rappa about how Pro.fnana never gave people the freedom to choose as he always emphasize up to this point. All he was in for was for his selfish interest in the name of Dr. Primitive.

Dan Heng also hated how he started adding "bana" to his sentences and he swears he can hear Dan Feng laughing in the back of his head.

Also while checking the other students safety: Dan Heng knows the Slumbernana was a memetic virus and the Ninja memetic virus helped resolve the issue, and Mr. Recc.a removed/adjusted people memories of the incident but...

He's amazed and terrified how fast fast trends can change in a split second; how easily dismissive people can be over a "last year trend".

But things are back to normal now, and the Astral Express Crew will be spending time at Paperfold University.

Thus Dan Heng finally gets the opportunity to experience a university student life without over the top craziness like the monkeys.

[rawbin-hsr]

PINNED POST ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

MASTERLIST

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

Hello !! My name's Robin ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ ) I'm genderfluid and would prefer if you use the same pronouns for me as you'd use for yourself, and I'm 19 years old :-)

I like to draw HSR stuff, and I dabble in writing stuff sometimes (but I'm admittedly not very good at it 💀). My absolute main focus is on Character x Reader/self-insert because I'm obsessed with myself <3 I do like to draw just general fanart too though :3

Feel free to spill your thoughts about different characters to me ! Who knows, maybe I'll write about it or draw it ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

Guidelines + other info below ! ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ REQUEST GUIDELINES ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

I take requests for any type of writing and/or art. You're free to ask for what you want specifically, otherwise I'll just assume myself what it is you want (or I'll choose what I want you to want haha)

I only write for / draw four characters per request at most. Check bottom of this post to see which characters I like and what characters I don't !

Know that requests will not be treated as commissions. I will not draw your ocs (sorry

𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗ CHARACTERS ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

ᯓᡣ𐭩 = romantically, ִ ࣪𖤐 = platonically

⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆ My absolute #1 babygirls

Please request these I lovelovelove them so much

AVENTURINE !!! ᯓᡣ𐭩

Blade ᯓᡣ𐭩

Feixiao ᯓᡣ𐭩

Robin ᯓᡣ𐭩

Serval ᯓ ᡣ𐭩

Fireflyִ ࣪𖤐

Stelle ִ ࣪𖤐

Boothill ᯓ ᡣ𐭩

Argenti ᯓ ᡣ𐭩

I have to include Jing Yuan (ᯓ ᡣ𐭩) on this list since I used to be obsessed with him but I lowkey dgaf about him anymore

𓏵 Characters I WILL NOT do requests for 𓏵

I will only ever mention these if it's in relation to someone else, never on their own

MR RECA. (Don’t even mention him to me I hate him so indescribably much)

JADE.

Sparkle

Screwllum

Luocha

Rappa

Everyone else I'm pretty neutral on !! You can definitely ask for them, I'm just not as passionate about them so there's a high risk of mischaracterisation I fear </3

Thank you for reading all this bro you're a trooper 🫡

Ps you can commission me to draw something for you here

[yippeetournament]

ROUND 1 MATCH 7: BUNNY FROM ZOOBE.COM VS UEE

I ate so much f*cking shit on the 4th of July. I said I wouldn't, but then I did, and I totally f*cked up my diet and now I'm paying for it, by working out in 100 f*cking degree weather. I hate myself SO MUCH. WHY THE F*CK DID I DO THAT!?!? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGHHHAAAAAAAA. WORK B*TCH!!!!

Uee (PaRappa The Rapper Anime) is a little monster seen in Pinto Rappa's lunchbox. He's a blue little bunny-like creature that follows Pinto Rappa around. The relationship between Uee and Pinto is similar to Boxy Boy being a companion of Parappa. Uee can fly and stretch his limbs up to a few inches.

[villain-sympathizer]

hi, can i request deidoro sakaki headcannons?

yes you absolutely can!! 💕

not sure if you wanted general headcanons or romantic so i did both!

────── ･ ｡ﾟ: *.☽ .* : ｡ﾟ･ ──────

General:

Absolutely a party guy, I mean how can he not be? He’s never one to turn down an invite to a club or a house party. He’s literally the “party don’t start till I walk in” type of guy but its actually the truth

Beer pong and keg stand champion, undefeated, no matter how hard others (especially Rappa) try to beat him

Despite constantly drinking alcohol, his teeth are in surprisingly good shape

Although he’s depicted as a raging alcoholic, I think he’s a rather casual drinker when he’s not on a job for the Hassaikai or at an absolute rager of a party

A shockingly level-headed guy and fun to talk to when he’s not sloshed out of his mind. He’s perfect for venting to or trying to work out a thought process, rarely one to cut in unless asked for his opinion

Perfect hype man!! This dude will cheer folks on and boost their confidence, even if they’re a random stranger at the bar or across the street

The master at situational humor and making the most out of a bad or embarrassing situation

He looks like he could be a contortionist to me, not sure why. At the very least he’s double-jointed in my mind

-10% shame, obviously. He seemingly absorbs others’ shame too, willing to cause a distraction or take the blame for something if need be. Says it’s fun and thrilling and keeps him humble, plus he likes the attention

Class clown type, but not in that obnoxious way, y’know? Like the kinda stranger to do something wacky or hilarious that makes you go to your friends and say “Holy shit, you’ll ever believe what this random dude did, it was so funny”, that kinda stuff

Is insanely drained and exhausted the day after using his quirk too much. He only gets severe hangover symptoms after using it, rather than just drinking normally. In fact, everyone’s jealous at how he’s totally fine after a night of heavy drinking and partying

His liver is a medical anomaly, change my mind

His hair may always look oily or greasy, but he still showers daily. That’s just unfortunately how his hair is

Strikes me as the kinda guy to be totally down for platonic cuddling, drunk or not, much to the dismay of his co-workers

Although his room and fashion sense are pretty plain (or even dirty), that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a sense of style or interior design. He’s just always out on jobs or partying to really care about his clothes or furniture

^ Regarding that, his fashion style is more street-casual, grunge/punk mix, even dipping into skater-boy territory

His interior design tastes are a sort of mix of boho and art deco, if that makes sense. Also doesn’t mind a modern Japanese look, either

I’m also gonna say he’s the kinda guy who goes to strip clubs just for the fun of it rather than the sexual appeal. He just loves the energy of the place, plus he supports sex workers

Drinks his respect women juice daily!!!!!!

Romantic:

Pansexual and panromantic, is also down to discuss poly relationships too

Love language is physical touch and words of affirmation, which are amplified when he’s even the slightest bit drunk. The second he takes a sip of his drink, he’s immediately showering his partner in praise and kisses, his arm(s) always around them in some way the whole night

Hates huge flashy dates, UNLESS it’s a festival/amusement park date. He LOVES that shit

Would prefer a partner who’s down to go to parties/bars/clubs with him, but if not that’s chill, as long as they’re fine with him going out himself then

Despite always going out to parties and such, he’s more than willing to reserve a few nights a week (or by request) to just stay home with his partner. He’s still gonna casually drink, though

An absolute doofus who comes up with the weirdest, most out of pocket date ideas.

“No, Dei, we’re not going shotgun fishing just to see how long it takes the police to get there.” “… What about a pistol? Crossbow? Bow and arrow? Okay, okay, how about spear? Babe hear me out-“

Will call his partner babe or baby regardless of their gender, but will stop if asked. Still says it for a joke/bit though

[chainslobber]

You mentioned no one sends you asks in the tags of that poll, so here's one from me: I've seen Dabihaul and Eraserdabi art from you, but what are your thoughts on Chisaki/Aizawa? On a different note, how much do Chronostasis, Mimic, and the Eight (basically all of the non-Chisaki Hassaikai characters) interest you?

Big ask under the cut!

The funniest part of this whole ask is that I LOVE Dabihaul--but Kaizawa hits a personal, delicious gooey center for me. Whenever I discuss my Plague AU fic, it's actually about the two of them. I could go off for hours about them. My only issue is that they're SUCH a rarepair, there's only, last I checked, 21 fics--and 19 of those I couldn't read due to non-con and the fact they weren't even a pairing.

I think the main aspect that interests me is that you have two people who just generally don't work well with kids but both got thrust into a situation where they had to deal with them. We know from Vigilantes that Aizawa was so-so about teaching but ultimately relented, and while we know he'll protect the kids and has a soft spot for him, I also highly dislike the 'dadzawa' headcanons. A caretaker is not the same as a parent.

Likewise, we always see people argue that Kai was a horrible uncle to Eri, and while that's objectively true on one hand, on the other hand, he sent his goons out to buy her gifts as a way to probably placate her. If he didn't care, he wouldn't have done that, didn't NEED to do that. Maybe it's out of obligation to Pops being her grandfather, but whatever the case is, there was some sort of care given to her.

In a similar vein, we have Aizawa who's been hunted since he was a child for his Quirk--literally the 'my Quirk is you have no Quirk' mem--and I know that Aizawa probably has some reservations about his own abilities. He cut off his own leg just for the chance to keep it, and yet we know that it'll never work the same way again. And for someone like Kai, who wants to help heal the world by getting rid of Quirks and making everyone normal, I feel like if he knew about Aizawa prior, then Eri presumably wouldn't need to be in the picture. Maybe she'd have learned how to use her Quirk trying to heal his wounds or replenish his blood, but I think Aizawa would've been a willing candidate if the story went a different way.

AND on that note, I do also have a Dabi/Chisaki?Aizawa fic in the making about after the war as a one-shot but I keep picking at it and then hating it so it might never see the light of day.

Anyways, I really like them and I always get 'divorced parent vibes' from them. Kai getting visitation rights for the weekend or something, Aizawa keeping guardianship, but once they have to do the dropoff, there's quiet words and touches in the dark quietness of either of their homes while she rests on whoever parent's turn it is to watch her's chest.

As for the bullets, Rappa's actually my favorite. I love him IMMENSELY and I miss him dearly. I do enjoy all of the Bullets, I think they all have interesting Quirks and it's neat to see the limits of their devotions, where we have someone like Kurono who's very clearly in good graces with Kai versus someone like Mimic who's just a gremlin but still obedient. I wish we got more information on them.

And on that note, why is Kurono and Rappa both B-tier villains? How is CHISAKI a B-tier? Makes me scratch my head ngl.

[moron-hassaikai-and-more]

Rappa: *reacts even slightly differently to Tengai speaking*

Me: So, prior to that remark of ‘it is my job to keep your recklessness in check, do as I say’, Rappa was simply ignoring Tengai or making retorts but not really looking at him, exception of when he set up barriers, so the fact he looked over to Tengai instead of just yelling at him somewhat speaks volumes. We then take into account what Tengai said, “do as I say.” It sounds strict, controlling, even. He then goes on to insult Rappa, calling him bloodthirsty and clearly disapproving of his violence. Rappa then lashes out and punches him, and while he did try to react violently to Tengai prior, he seemed..angrier about it this time, seemingly not even thinking to use his quirk, and it was clearly sudden and took Tengai off guard, as he didn’t have time to set up a barrier, where as he did previously and Rappa did use his quirk, launching a flurry of punches instead of just a single one, this indicates that he didn’t have real intentions of hurting Tengai as he gave him time to react and Shield himself, it also implies they do it frequently, as Tengai was expecting it. This wasn’t the case the final time. As I said, it seemed less..banter like and more like he was actually out to hurt him. My theory as to why he did this instead of simply ignoring him or just yelling at him was because what Tengai said and the way he phrased it reminded Rappa of his parents, as we know they were controlling and strict, hating rappa’s violence and trying to change him, exactly as Tengai was doing. “Do as I say” is absolutely a sentence a controlling helicopter parent, much like rappa’s own would say, and that would explain why he lashed out with such anger.

[welcometotheunknownlosers]

Honkai star rail Penacony characters ranked not biased at all totally true and accurate to my values

Rappa and Mr Reca: havent met yet

Sparkle: 2/10, enjoyable, dont like her racism :/

Boothill: 5/10 kinda boring, weird

Jade: 3/10 really boring, could have cared less, shouldnt have been in Penacony specifcially

Firefly: 9/10 love her but i wish she had slightly less emphasis in 2.3

Acheron: 8/10 i love her so much too but i feel like i miss her character from not playing hi3 yet

Black Swan: -1000000000 simply just bc i hate the belt on her veil other than that hell yeah woman

Robin: 10/10 welcome TO MY WOOOOOOORLDDDDDDDD RENEW YOUR DEFINITION!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday: -100000 ugly :)

Aventurine: bad

Gallagher: 10/10 Doggie :)

Misha: 10000000000000000000000000x10^1000000000000000000000000000 best Penacony character ever

[sampoenjoyer]

rappa might genuinely be one of my least favorite characters ever. I HATE HER SO MUCH AND ITS BEEN FIVE MINUTES. SAVE ME.

[hots0s]

Imagine overhaul who has a s/o with the same personality as rappa!!!! Idk how that would even go down😭😭

Also, love your work <33

ahh anon thank you so much you are too kind 😭🩷

i think he’d enjoy the challenge for a little bit but eventually get worn down by such an aggressive personality lol, as long as the other person could chill out every now and then i think he could make it work. it would definitely be a love/hate kinda relationship for him i’m sure

it would be this dynamic essentially lol

[yuza-fantasies]

Yuza Rates: My Hero Academia

Summary: Izuku Midoriya gets a quirk and learns what it's like to be a hero on his journey to be the #1 Pro Hero

Plot Rating: 9.5/10 Overall Rating: 8.5/10 What I hate: THE SHIPPING FANDOM Would I recommend: Yes (it's a good anime to start out with too)

Favorite Characters: Iida Tenya, Aizawa Shouta, Yamada Hizashi, Sasaki Mirai, Twice, Mr. Compress Least Favorite: AFO

Opinion: Of course, we need to start out with one of the most popular animes out there. The anime is really really good, but I hate the fandom so much. Don't get me wrong, some parts of the fandom is really nice, but there are others that are just really crazy. I really like the plot and character development for different characters. At first, I didn't like how Midoriya and his personality but as the show went on, I realized that I hated the guy for no reason and that I judged him too quickly.

Experience: I watched this anime in like a month and it's my first anime that I watched. Honestly, this anime is probably the anime that I spent the most amount of days watching. I got into MHA through my sister and she was watching MHA at the time so I decided why not try it with her. I really liked it, but the fandom started making the anime worse.

Character Rant: Iida is literally the best boi and you can't change my mind. He's my first anime crush and I still love him a lot (even tho he tried to kill Stain, but we don't talk about that). Aizawa on the other hand, I hated him. I watched the second season first and watched the first season last (I don't remember why but I did) and that was when he was covered in bandages so I really said to myself, "is that what he really looks like?" I fell in love with him later when I saw his hair tied up in the third season. I honestly don't remember how I started to like Present Mic, but I love him. There's just something about him that I can't put my finger on. Sir Nighteye didn't steal my heart until the part where he was fighting Twice and Rappa. That scene was hot. Twice immediately caught my attention and I love his humor so much. I cried my eyes out when I realized that he dies.

Really good anime, just bad fandom (by that I mean the shipping portion. Some parts of the fandom are chill)