#genuinely I might have achieved my childhood dream

[alice-makes-things]

So today a library kid asked me if I had a different job every day and I’ve made a realisation about my life

[blushstarot]

PICK A CARD: a message from your future self

Pick whichever picture you feel more attracted to and skip to that pile.

Pile 1

nine of cups, four of wands (reversed), the magician (reversed).

Okay, but this pile is giving me really sweet vibes, your future self feels like a genuinely carrying person, and looks back at you as a mother figure would. They just want you to be happy and feel welcomed and the energy is overall very heartwarming. Quick thing I want to add before y'all actually read the letter, i don't know if some of you are fans of musicals, specifically of Hamilton, but while I was writing the letter, the melody of dear theodosia was playing in my head so yeah, it might be important for you to know.

"Right now you may feel like you don't fit in, that you lack support, and that you aren't enough. I know you feel insecure but believe when I tell you that you don't have to be scared about that, you are enough and you all the skills and abilities you need to be successful. The universe is working to bring blessings your way, but you have to put some work on it too. Use your intellect, concentration and willpower to make this wonderful things happen, you have the power to manifest the outcome you want. Leave the past behind and put your mind in anything you want to accomplish, I know all our wishes and dreams will become a reality soon enough, for now it's the time of time of happiness, joyfulness and fulfillment."

**As in all the PACs, just take what resonates and leave what doesn't, this is for entertainment only, so have fun with it!

Pile 2

page of cups (reversed), strength (reversed), page of pentacles.

I actually had to redo this pile because I got busy with something important mid reading, and when I had time to continue I couldn't really connect to it again, so I pulled other three cards to do the reading again. The vibes then and the vibes in this new one, suggest that your future self know you are having hard times, and are probably dealing with some childhood related issues, but they want to tell you that things will get better. Also something tells me that they REALLY wanted you to get their message, since they sent both the bearer of messages and the bearer of good news.

"You're going through difficult times, and right now I want you to try to connect with your inner child by embracing the fun side of life. I've always loved how we are young at heart, even sometimes a little bit naïve, but lately you've been ignoring your inner emotions and listening too much to people that are bringing you and your self-esteem down. I bring you good news from the future, a future where all our goals are achieved, but that is only possible if you make the right decisions now and put the groundwork necessary. The future I'm from might seem too far away from were you are today, but time passes quickly and is unforgiving, so I want you to take my advise and keep it close to your heart. I know you can become a person who is both mature and young at heart, I've seen it and have been cheering for you through all that journey, because after all I'm you, and I've already done it."

**As in all the PACs, just take what resonates and leave what doesn't, this is for entertainment only, so have fun with it!

Pile 3

the fool, strength (reversed), five of swords.

I feel like your future self is encouraging you to start something new, maybe something you always wanted to try but never really made time to give it a chance. They want you to focus on the positive and to stay away from people that don't support your dreams. Overall, I feel this is more of a warning of what's to come, in hopes it helps you to be more prepare to face it.

"You're going to enter a new chapter in your life, it may look like something difficult at first, but you need to tap into your inner strength and don't let your fears and anxiety paralyze you. This new chapter is full of exciting and thrilling adventures, you just have to trust your heart and make a leap of fate. If you are not careful, you might end up self-sabotaging and getting involved in a serious conflict, causing unnecessary stress. When the time is right, I need you to stand up for what you truly want and what you believe."

**As in all the PACs, just take what resonates and leave what doesn't, this is for entertainment only, so have fun with it!

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think of your message.

You can find more of my PACs on my master list, and if you have any suggestions on future PACs you want to see me do, you can send me and ask.

Bye byeee ✨

[timmydraker]

TW: Genshin impact, I’m so sorry please forgive me for this

What Visons I think characters in Bat family might have:

Dick: Genuinely not because of his loss, I feel Dick would have Anemo due to his childhood. Being up high, feeling that risk and reward so much and making me people happy, all while constantly travelling and doing as he wishes all comes down to freedom. He got to be free to be himself in the circus, a world where anyone can be anyone.

Barbara: Geo for sure. She very clearly wants to be the best she can for her father, but more importantly she wants to protect him and earn his praise and respect. Not just him, Bruce too. I think if that wasn’t enough it would be after her spinal injury and how goddam hard she worked after that to get her life back together, to stay strong and prove to people she’s still capable and the best person for the job. Her determination is unyielding, even if she had bad days.

Jason: pretty obvious I think, Cryo. From his perspective and from what he was told my the League, he was abandoned by Bruce. It was an actually a betrayal from the one person who he could rely on constantly aside from Alfred.

Tim: Pyro, out of all the robins he’s arguable the most dedicated to his passion of heroes and Batman. Not to say he adores Bruce the most, but I feel he had the most drive when it came to being around and knowing about Batman and his meaning.

Cassandra: after being raised to be an assassin and being locked away from the world, I see her as someone with both too much understanding of the world and not enough. Electro suits her both in colour and because of how she views the world in status and weaknesses. It’s not ‘programming’, just a viewpoint that she sometimes can’t look past.

Stephanie: her desperation to be Robin only to have it taken from her and then that need and drive to make a name for herself leads me to believe she would be Geo. She’s often shown to be focused on training and being the best she can, working tirelessly to achieve her goals and not be how her father wanted her to be.

Damian: All of Damian’s life he was trained to kill and destroy, basically being groomed to want to take over the world. I think he’d have Dendro, specifically I think he would get that when he first sees how broken down Bruce is when he sees his son attempt or actually kill someone and want to be different. He’d want to learn what Bruce feels and means, he’d want to achieve the goal (dream) of being the Robin Bruce seems to have faith he can be. Electro would make sense too though.

Bruce: Hes a victim of Anemo, both because of his great loss but also because of how he wants to make the world better both because of his parents teachings and their unjust death.

Duke: I think he’s defiantly Hydro and that doesn’t even need to be because of his parents death. Him being a Meta is so important to his character and shows how he wants to be good, wants to not be like the monsters some people view Metas as. His drive to help people and be worthy of Batman’s legacy.

Bonus:

Alfred: 100% Pyro, just like Thoma he’s beyond dedicated and passionate about his job, working hard to keep both the family and manner in order. He’s not just loyal but attentive to every detail and part of his world, whether it be the organisation of the kitchen or making sure everyone of his grandchildren eat.

[jgoddesstarot]

Pick-A-Pile: Thoughts & Feelings of Your Future Spouse | What You're Attracting In The Next 3 Months

👑Check out my masterlist to see all of my pick-a-card readings😊

✨ Visit my shops at Ko-fi.com or J.Goddess Tarot✨

🔮Disclaimer: This reading is for entertainment purposes only. Tarot readings are based upon my intuitive interpretation of the cards and about possibilities based on your current energy. Energy is forever changing and nothing is set in stone. Always remember, you have your own free will to make whatever decision you feel is best.

🔮How I read: I use a mix of tarot cards, oracle cards, along with my intuitive abilities of claircognizance, clairaudience, and clairsentience.

🔮How this works: Close your eyes and take deep breaths, pick the pile you are most drawn to. If you aren’t drawn to any pile then that’s okay, these messages aren’t for you.

Pile 1

Tarot Cards: 7 of Pentacles, 6 of Cups, The Magician, The Chariot, 3 of Wands -- Bottom of the Deck Energy: Queen of Pentacles

Oracle Cards: Protection, Twin Flame, Limitless

Alright, my Pile 1's! Let's dive into the world of emotions, connections, and potential futures, as we explore the thoughts and feelings of your future spouse over the next three months.

Starting strong with the 7 of Pentacles. This card is all about patience, perseverance, and hard work bearing fruit. It seems like your future spouse has been putting in some genuine effort into their personal and emotional growth. They might be in a phase of reflection, thinking about their past choices and relationships, and figuring out what they truly want for the future. They value depth and want a connection that’s truly meaningful.

Speaking of the past, the 6 of Cups pops up, suggesting a touch of nostalgia. Your future spouse could be reminiscing about past relationships, childhood memories, or experiences that shaped them. There's a pure, innocent energy here, hinting at the kind of love they wish to share: genuine, heartfelt, and perhaps reminiscent of first loves or childhood sweethearts.

Now, we see The Magician. This card is brimming with manifestation energy. Your future spouse is channeling their desires, hopes, and dreams into reality. They're equipped with all they need to attract the love they desire – and guess who's on their radar? That's right, you! This card suggests that the universe is working its magic to bring the two of you closer.

Enter, The Chariot. Your future spouse is determined, confident, and on the move! Whether it's progressing in their career, personal growth, or actively seeking out their soulmate, they are on a mission. They have a clear vision of where they want to go, and they’re driving full force towards it.

With the 3 of Wands, it feels like they're on the lookout, waiting for their ship to come in. They anticipate the arrival of a new chapter in love, and they're preparing to welcome it with open arms. It aligns beautifully with the energy of The Magician; they've manifested their desires and are now eagerly waiting for them to materialize.

Let's peek at that underlying energy with the Queen of Pentacles. Your future spouse values stability, nurturing, and building a strong foundation. They might be the kind who finds joy in simple pleasures and cherishes a warm, cozy home environment. This Queen energy suggests that they'll be a caring and devoted partner, always ensuring the well-being of their loved ones.

Onto the Oracle cards: Protection, Twin Flame, and Limitless. The theme of protection ties in well with the Queen of Pentacles – your future spouse wants to create a safe and loving environment. The Twin Flame card? Ah, the intensity of that deep, soul-level connection. This isn't just any romance; it's the kind that feels fated. And finally, the Limitless card suggests there are no bounds to what you both can achieve together. Whether it's personal growth, shared dreams, or adventures, the potential is vast.

In summary, my Pile 1's, the next three months seem to be setting the stage for a deep, soulful connection. Your future spouse has done the work, set their intentions, and is now awaiting the universe to deliver. And, the universe seems to be pointing them right toward you. Ready yourself for a journey that’s both magical and grounded in genuine affection. It’s time for a love story that feels both cosmic and cozy. 💖✨🌌

Pile 2

Tarot Cards: 2 of Pentacles, 9 of Pentacles, The Moon, 8 of Cups, 5 of Cups -- Bottom of the Deck Energy: 4 of Wands

Oracle Cards: New Pathway, Engagement, Shadow Work, Psychic Abilities

My Pile 2's, let's journey together into the thoughts and feelings of your future spouse and uncover what you're attracting in the next three months. Buckle up, because it looks like we’re navigating both emotional depth and a new beginning!

Starting with the 2 of Pentacles, your future spouse seems to be juggling multiple aspects of life. They might be busy with work, personal growth, or even other relationships, but they're managing it all with grace and adaptability. It's as if they're dancing with life's ups and downs, learning to find balance.

Next, the 9 of Pentacles enters the scene. This card screams independence, comfort, and self-sufficiency. Your future spouse is likely enjoying the fruits of their labor, feeling content with where they are in life. They’re strong on their own but might be starting to sense that they're ready to share this abundance with someone special.

But ah, The Moon - a card shrouded in mystery, illusions, and the subconscious. Your future spouse might be grappling with some hidden fears, doubts, or even past emotional baggage. It's like they're at the edge of a new chapter but have to navigate through this fog to truly embrace it.

The 8 of Cups deepens this journey, showing a willingness to leave behind what no longer serves them. They're ready to move on from past relationships or patterns, actively seeking deeper emotional fulfillment. This, paired with The Moon, suggests a profound inner journey, possibly even a spiritual awakening.

Now, the 5 of Cups adds an emotional layer. There's a sense of loss or mourning for the past. Your future spouse might be feeling the weight of letting go but is also beginning to see the opportunities ahead. This card hints at the necessary healing before embracing new love.

Let’s peek at the underlying energy with the 4 of Wands. It's celebration time! This card promises joy, stability, and perhaps even a significant commitment or milestone in a relationship. It’s as if all the emotional work leads to this beautiful place of connection and harmony.

Diving into the Oracle cards: New Pathway, Engagement, Shadow Work, and Psychic Abilities. These resonate perfectly with the tarot reading. The New Pathway aligns with the 8 of Cups, signifying a new direction in love. Engagement echoes the celebratory 4 of Wands, hinting at a profound connection or commitment. Shadow Work resonates with The Moon and the 5 of Cups, emphasizing the need for inner work and healing. And finally, Psychic Abilities could suggest that you both might feel an intuitive or spiritual connection, enhancing the depth of your bond.

So, my Pile 2's, your future spouse seems to be on a transformative journey, balancing life, enjoying independence, but also doing some profound emotional work. They're readying themselves for something extraordinary, and it feels like you are the one they've been preparing for. Get ready for a connection that’s both spiritual and grounded. In the next three months, the path is clearing, the heart is healing, and love is on the horizon. 💫💍🌕

Pile 3

Tarot Cards: 3 of Swords, 10 of Swords, 2 of Pentacles, 8 of Swords, King of Cups, King of Wands -- Bottom of the Deck Energy: Ace of Pentacles

Oracle Cards: Regret, Sacred Connection, Relationships

Alright, my Pile 3's, let's plunge into the intricate tapestry of emotions and connections, uncovering the thoughts and feelings of your future spouse and seeing what the universe has in store for you in the upcoming months.

Starting on a more intense note with the 3 of Swords. This card often signifies heartbreak or emotional pain. Your future spouse might be working through some past wounds or disappointments. These are the shadows of old stories that have left a mark, but they're also a part of the journey towards healing.

The 10 of Swords intensifies this narrative, symbolizing rock bottom or a situation that feels like a betrayal. It appears they've been through some turbulent times, faced challenges, but the silver lining here is that things can only go up from this point. The dawn is always darkest just before the sun rises, right?

Now, juxtaposing these deep emotions, the 2 of Pentacles swings in, reminding us of the balancing act of life. Your future spouse might be learning how to juggle their emotional challenges with everyday responsibilities. They're seeking equilibrium and are starting to learn the dance of life's ebb and flow.

But wait, the 8 of Swords pops up. It suggests feelings of entrapment or being stuck, perhaps in their mindset or emotions. Your future spouse might be grappling with self-imposed limitations. But, the beautiful thing about the 8 of Swords is that the bondage is often an illusion. A shift in perspective, and they can free themselves.

The King of Cups and the King of Wands are powerful energies that provide a glimpse into their character. The King of Cups showcases emotional maturity, compassion, and a depth of understanding. The King of Wands, on the other hand, is passionate, charismatic, and has a fiery drive. Your future spouse is a blend of deep emotions and fiery passion - someone who feels deeply but is also driven and confident in their pursuits.

Diving into that bottom of the deck energy, the Ace of Pentacles. This card promises a new beginning, especially in the tangible world. Be it a fresh start in a relationship, a new job, or even a physical move, something new and promising is on the horizon.

Time for our Oracle insights: Regret, Sacred Connection, and Relationships. The 'Regret' aligns with the initial swords energy, indicating past sorrows. But don't let it dim the hope because 'Sacred Connection' and 'Relationships' suggest something profound and meaningful is budding. Your future spouse recognizes the depth and sanctity of connections and is eager to find one that truly resonates.

In conclusion, my lovely Pile 3's, your future spouse has walked through the fire, faced challenges, but they’re emerging with wisdom and a burning desire for a connection that's both deep and passionate. Over the next three months, as they navigate their emotions and break free from self-imposed shackles, they're being led towards a promising new beginning. And you, dear Pile 3's, seem to be an integral part of that fresh chapter. So, open your heart and prepare for a connection that promises depth, passion, and growth. 💖🔥🌱

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[my-rewrite-academia]

what are class 1-a's (and 1-b's, if you want to include them) childhood favorite heroes and what are their current favorite heroes (if it changed)?

Hello! I do actually have them in my notes, though I don't have it for 1-B. Sorry, but I can do 1-A!

-

Aoyama Yuuga: All Might. No question, he loves the way All Might presents himself, and how he smiles in the face of despair. All Might is the pinnacle of heroism, in his eyes

Ashido Mina: Ryukyu. She thinks of her as an absolute icon, adoring her humble attitude, yet her ferocity in battle. Plus, all those clips of her being soft with children helped fuel her adoration

Asui Tsuyu: Gang Orca. Along with his aquatic-based quirk, she indentifies with his past, which he's open about, admitting how people would mock and bully him for being mutant, but strived towards heroics to help others accept their traits

Bakugou Katsuki: All Might. Mostly due to his strength and how he never loses. Alas, his ultimate dream is to surpass All Might and become the strongest, though this conflicts how he percieves All Might as unbeatable

Hagakure Tooru: Gunhead. It's less due to his strength or achievements, and more due to how threatening and strong he looks, only to be absolutely adorable in all the interviews. She loves that dichotomy

Iida Tenya: Ingenium, as if there is another option. In his eyes, Ingenium is the ideal hero. While he may not be as strong as All Might, or taken down as many villains as Endeavour, he will always see his brother as the best there could be

Jirou Kyouka: Present Mic. His tenacity, his never-ending joy, his pure enthusiasm, everything. She adores it all, and when he speaks up about how music can save people just as much as heroes do, it solidifies her choice of favourite hero

Kaminari Denki: Endeavour, (subject to change), due to how strong he is, and how many villains he's taken down. As someone with a dangerous quirk, Denki sees Endeavour's Hellfire and admires how he's able to control it so easily, especially with his flaming beard

Kirishima Eijirou: Crimson Riot, all the way through. His manliness, his view on courage, his inspirational speeches towards the newer generation. Maybe Crimson Riot isn't as well known as modern-day heroes, but he will forever be Eijirou's number one

Kouda Kouji: Hound Dog. While he may appear threatening, Hound Dog genuinely cares about others, and takes pride in his counselling job, (unlike canon). Plus, he has an animal-based quirk and Kouji adores all animals. Apart from bugs

Midoriya Izuku: Of course, All Might. Not just his strength, or his no-lose win streak, (apart from AfO), but his actions. The way he inspires everyone, his yearn for peace, his unwavering smile. His message of: anyone can become a hero. Even after All Might says no, Izuku still greatly admires him

Mineta Minoru: Midnight. Yes, groan all you want. He admires how, rather than just using her looks for popularity, she weaponises it, using it to distract men, (and women), getting their guards down. For once, he admires something other than physique

Ojirou Mashirao: Swinger. He's an original hero, who has a monkey mutation. He's very crafty in the way he uses his mutation. He inspired a lot of Mashirao's moves, and helped him look past his bullies

Satou Rikidou: Lunch Rush. His stance on cooking helped Rikidou find pride in his baking, and his upbeat attitude. The fact that he cooked a full-course French meal for up to ten-thousand people says a lot, and Rikidou admires it

Sero Hanta: Spiderguy. He would have called himself Spiderman, but it'd been copyrighted long before. His use of webbings to capture criminals and to swing across the city inspires Hanta to use his own quirk in similar ways

Shouji Mezou: Godzillo. Ever since he was little, he liked watching his interviews about how he was bullied for his appearance when he was young and strove to be a hero to help others accept themselves. It helped him strive to become a hero

Todoroki Shouto: At first, he doesn't really have one. He doesn't really admire heroes, when the only one he's had a close look at is Endeavour and, well... This is subject to change

Tokoyami Fumikage: Hawks, (subject to change). He admires his strive, how he became such a high-ranking hero at such a young age. His creativity with his quirk is also an inspiration

Uraraka Ochako: A la canon, Thirteen. They're the staple of resuce-based heroics, and both of their quirks affect force. Plus, Thirteen isn't ashamed to admit to being brought up poor, which Ochako identifies with

Yaoyorozu Momo: Miruko, no question. She loved her ferocity in battle, and while she dislikes her lack of cooperation, she still admires her strength in battle, and how her status inspires a generation of women and women in heroics

-

Thanks for the ask!

[yukidragon]

I love to hear more of your headcanons on Bo in Mafia AU! Also what would happen if Bo's puppy doesn't want to be his in that AU?

It's been a while since I touched on the Mafia AU hasn't it? And that was before I created my version of Bo's puppy, Barbie too. This ask does make me wonder how their interaction might go in this AU.

In the main universe, Barbie's attraction towards Bo, at least at the start, was pretty shallow, all things considered. He was more like a fun adult toy that she grew fond of until eventually that fondness grew into genuine love. It's hard to blame her though, since he quite literally is a toy. She pretty much treated him like many people treat AI bots - a fun diversion, but nothing to take seriously. It was only when he forced her to realize that his feelings are just as real as hers that she truly saw him as a person.

Barbie is a self-proclaimed misanthrope. She's not fond of humanity in general. She can't stand noisy places or being in crowds. It takes a while for her to warm up to people, which leaves her with few people she cares about outside of her immediate family. It's also why she's very fierce if someone hurts her family. Fictional relationships were the closest thing she was interested in when it came to romantic or sexual pursuits.

In the Mafia AU, Bo is an actual human being, even if he's got some pretty distinct canine features. More than that, he's a wise guy working for a mafia boss (Jack); not really someone who is safe for normal people to get involved with. Add in Barbie's default mistrust of people, and Bo in this universe is going to have a steep uphill battle to overcome in order to win his puppy's heart.

Since I've started fleshing out the King family more, it would be good to reexamine their roles in this Aphrodesia-influenced AU, don't you think? It'll be especially interesting to consider how they'll react to Alice being kidnapped by a human trafficking ring, and the scars that incident left behind on her when she finally sees them again.

Content warnings: this post will contain mentions of violence, torture, human trafficking, SA, drugs, and sex. Overall I'll try to keep any uncomfortable descriptions to a minimum, and ramp up the spice where I can. Remember, Something's Wrong with Sunny Day Jack, DachaBo, and Aphrodesia are all stories for Adults Only. NSFW elements will be touched on!

Traffic Stop

The broad strokes of the AU are basically the same as from the first post. Alice and her family originally lived a normal, happy life, far and away from the crime-invested city of St. Valen's. She and Ian grew up as childhood friends. Things seemed to be going down the same route it did in the regular universe, with puppy love developing between them that might turn into something more.

The divergence happened when they were both still in high school. There was a person going around their school, looking for acting talent. It was somewhat shady. Alice wasn't sure about going, but Ian wanted, no, needed to seize the opportunity to achieve his dream. The talent scout remarked that he had a nice face, both of them did. They would go far. They just had to audition.

It was flattery that Ian couldn't resist.

Of course Ian's mom wasn't going to let him do such a thing, so they had to sneak out. Ian didn't want to risk his mom finding out from her parents, so he convinced Alice to lie to her parents that they'd be out with friends.

As you might suspect already, this audition was a trap sprung by human traffickers. They pick young and vulnerable people who look like they can't fight back, lure them someplace isolated, nab them, and ship them off someplace to be sold for, well, less than savory purposes. While initially both of them were caught in the trap, Alice managed to help Ian escape.

Ian's greatest regret was that he ran away, that he didn't stay to rescue Alice like she did him. Even though she told him to run, to get help, Ian still felt like a coward. It was made worse when by the time he returned with authorities, the traffickers were already gone.

Needless to say, this incident still haunts Ian to the present day, crushing him under the weight of his guilt.

This incident replaces the cheating Ian does in the main universe, and Alice being trafficked replaces the SA incident she went through. While Alice mercifully didn't get SA'd during the trafficking, she was a victim of a "red room" after being taken and sold in St. Valen's. A "red room," for those unaware, is a type of livestream on the dark web, where innocent victims are tortured according to an audience's bids.

I won't go into detail about all the horrors Alice experienced, since the scars speak for themselves. Fortunately, she managed to be clever and lucky enough to escape. Luckier still, she managed to stumble into a member of the Sunny Family, and said family just happened to have a vendetta against the gang that was behind the trafficking.

St. Valens is full of people who showed up out of nowhere, and others who don't ask or care where they came from. There's plenty of corruption, people looking the other way, and shady deals going on. The Sunny Family might be relatively better than most crime families, but at the end of the day, they're pretty shady. They helped her out by rescuing her, even paying her hospital bills and taking her under their wing, so now she owed them.

Alice could contact her family, have them pay back her hefty debt... or she, now an 18 year old adult, could do some favors for the family. Her medical bills were insane - St. Valen's isn't exactly kind to the less fortunate when it comes to medical care - it would bankrupt her family.

It was a classic hustle, presenting a vulnerable person like Alice with potentially devastating consequences, or an out by someone who is wearing a kind and smiling face. I'm inclined to have that representative of kindness from the family be Mama Shine, who was so kind and empathetic, just wanting to help Alice after she went through so much. Working for them wouldn't be that big a deal, especially since they were the ones who rescued her and all the other trafficking victims...

That's the classic Sunny Family con. They smile, act kind, extend their gloved hands to help, offering salvation to poor souls down on their luck. They are then indebted to the family. They need the family. Alice needed a prescription of drugs that they could give to her regularly for all her pain, far cheaper than the healthcare system would.

Shine had taken an interest in Alice, helping her while she was rehabilitated in the hospital. She could've been the one who Alice ran into that night when bloody and desperate for help. Shine is so caring, just like Alice's mother, having that same warm motherly aura. So trustworthy and kind...

It was a far less violent trap that ensnared Alice a second time into this world of crime, but this time she didn't realize the cage was around her, or that she couldn't leave it, until she was in far, far too deep. Her vulnerability was exploited, and she signed a contract that she shouldn't.

The King family were so relieved when Alice finally contacted them... but confused when she told them she couldn't go home. She was receiving medical treatment and needed to stay in the city, and she had debts to pay...

Naturally, her family isn't going to take this without a fight. The King family immediately took a road trip to St. Valen's to see Alice at the hospital.

Lycoris is a fierce mama bear, and she was enraged when Alice was kidnapped, doing everything in her power to find her baby. So despite Shine acting kind and friendly, she was ready to throw down from the word go. Lycoris is a small lady, but she can be very scary, though, sadly, not as scary as an entire crime family.

None of the King family were happy with what had happened to Alice, the debt she had to repay, or that she had already signed a deceptively scary contract. However, the Sunny Family is the most dangerous crime family in the city for a reason, and the King family were in over their heads.

Not that the King family knew they were facing a crime family. The Sunny Family has a reputation to uphold after all. They're a family-run business. Many details were left out or unspoken, all to hide what was really going on behind their squeaky clean image.

The King family did involve the legal system, but that was a failure. The Sunny Family owns the police in St. Valen's. The police just informed them that everything was legal, Alice is an adult who can make her own choices, and there's no better family to work for than the Sunny Family. Plus, Alice was going to need the drug they provided for the rest of her life, so wasn't this a sweet deal anyway? They should just feel grateful that she was rescued. Not a lot of trafficked teens are...

In the end, the King family was powerless, and Alice became a member of the Sunny Family with a debt that seemed never ending.

Barbie vs the World

Needless to say, Barbie was pretty much spitting nails about the whole thing. Even if the Sunny Family was putting on a smiling face and rescued her older sister, so generously providing Alice with needed medical treatment for the foreseeable future, she raged against the entire situation. Unfortunately, being a teen younger than 18 at the time, she was left with a feeling helpless and frustrated. She raged at her parents for "giving up" on bringing Alice home safely even though they didn't have a choice.

Naturally, with Barbie not being the biggest fan of the Sunny Family, she's going to be wary of anyone working for them. Bo has quite the reputation in the city of St. Valens as their enforcer, so he's got quite a steep uphill climb to take if he wants to earn his puppy's love.

Barbie was already the type to play fast and loose with laws, and this entire affair killed all faith she had in the justice system. In the main universe, she's a programmer and hacker. In this universe, she focused more on the hacking aspect. She snuck behind her parents' back, doing very illegal things online to get more money to pay back the debt to the Sunny Family and free her big sister.

So, years later, while Alice gained experience in the Sunny Family as a sniper, Barbie became a skilled hacker, going by many aliases online. By her early/mid-twenties, she used a particular handle when making things difficult for the Sunny Family - Clown Killer. She became quite notorious among the Sunny Family, and a thorn in their side online.

Of course, Barbie had to prioritize not getting caught above any victory. If the Sunny Family knew that she was the one making things hard for them, it would put Alice in danger. Her primary focus with her hacking and other shady dealings online was to get money to repay the debt, but whenever they would just miss repaying the full amount, or something else tacked onto it to keep Alice in that debt, Barbie couldn't help but want to vent her frustrations as Clown Killer.

Barbie has learned quite a lot about the members of the Sunny Family, but could never quite gather enough evidence that would convict any of its bigger members. Their reputation was so squeaky clean. She especially had an axe to grind against Shine, who never once lost that "sweet and gentle" motherly aura while making it clear to her all those years ago that Alice wouldn't be coming home. She knew behind that sweet smile was a ruthless criminal, but she could never peel back that smiling mask to expose the truth.

The King parents are trying all they can to help Alice, saving up money on their side. They visit the city as often as they can to see her and offer support. If one of them could've taken her place, they would, but with Alice needing regular medical treatment from the city, and Shine taking a shine to her in particular... she was going to be stuck in the city no matter what.

Plus, there are other children in the King family who needed their parents too, Coraline especially. She also needed medical treatments... treatment that the Sunny Family offered to provide. In spite of the protests of her parents about adding to the debt, Alice wanted to help her little sister. Besides, the Sunny Family were treating her well... right?

Well, Alice insisted they did. Her family was already worried enough without knowing how how her job's "duties" slowly became a bit more involved over time, a bit more violent, and a lot more bloody.

Barbie did learn of some of the things Alice was hiding from them because of her hacking, and it infuriated her that her big sis was hiding secrets now too. Their parents told her to not worry about the debt, that it wasn't her responsibility, but fuck that! It's not Alice's responsibility either! She was the victim in all of this! The Sunny Family aren't a wholesome family running businesses, they're manipulative criminals, and Barbie is going to destroy them!

Although Barbie spends much of her time as a recluse, she does visit Alice in St. Valen's from time to time. It's how she crossed paths with a certain dog that the Sunny Family keeps on a tight leash.

The Sunny Family's Hunting Dog

As mentioned before, Bo is working for the Sunny Family as Jack's right hand man. He's an enforcer who enjoys his job. He especially enjoys the thrill of the chase, hunting down a target before brutalizing them up close and personal with his fists and fangs. Of course, he also knows how to handle a gun as well as a few other weapons. He also knows some unconventional means to torture someone if need be.

Bo has excellent hacking skills of his own, as a nod to his AI counterpart in the main universe, but he prefers to get hands on with his target whenever possible. He's aware of the hacker Clown Killer that's giving the Sunny Family some headaches, but they always evade his attempts to catch them in cyberspace, much to his frustration. They become something of a rival, his white whale that he's eager to conquer once and for all.

Not only does Bo have a lust for violence, he's also a very, very horny dog. He has slept around quite a lot, though his relationships never last. He never quite connects with anyone. He gets mistaken for only having a talent for senseless violence, the dumb muscle of the gang who is also is some good eye candy, when he's a lot smarter than his wild behavior might imply. There's a reason why he's Jack's second in command after all...

Alice intrigues Bo, simply because of how Jack is practically obsessed with her. In many ways, Jack is a rival of Bo's, being his "master" who he wants to one day be free of. Seeing Jack bend over backwards to win the heart of just some random sucker who got sweet talked into debt confuses the hell out of him. He wants to know what it is about Alice that draws Jack in... and if he can use that to his advantage.

Alice isn't a fan of Bo's constant teasing, and she hates the nickname of "squeaky toy" that he uses for her. It's in reference to how he loves to sneak up on her and startle her, causing her to squeak in surprise. Bo is really good at sneaking up on his prey, so her reaction is pretty fun.

Still, no matter how many times Bo pops in on Alice unexpectedly, he doesn't quite see what draws Jack in. Sure, she's surprisingly soft despite this hard life of crime, which is a novelty, but it's not something special. She's attractive, sure, but there's plenty just as attractive as her, if not more. He wants to dig deeper, interrogate her more, maybe even seduce her, but whenever he pushes just a little too far, Jack pulls on his metaphorical leash. Hard.

The intrigue keeps Bo coming back to ruffle Alice's feathers despite the risk. It's also why he suddenly pops up at Alice's place while Barbie is visiting one day.

Barbie is surprisingly tall compared to Alice, but Bo can see and smell the family blood between them. She's got these eyes that stand out - both of them blue and brown at the same time. She also has this cutting stare like she wants to carve open his guts. It's actually hilarious that a powderpuff from the suburbs could think she has a chance at even leaving a scratch on an alpha like him. It intrigues him enough to have a little fun teasing her as well.

Barbie shuts down Bo's flirting instantly. It trips him up a bit, as Bo knows he's a good looking guy. He's not used to being turned down in such a harsh manner, especially by someone as powerless as a puppy. He'd be offended if it wasn't so ridiculous.

When Barbie learns that Bo works with Alice, and as such is part of the Sunny Family, her dislike turns into outright hostility. She's not even hiding it either, though Alice rushes in to keep the conversation more or less civil.

After leaving the apartment, Bo decided to case the place until Barbie left. He wanted to tease her a little, scare this spoiled little pampered suburban pet before she barks at someone big and nasty who is more than ready to bite back. Despite his attempts to intimidate her, Barbie didn't even flinch, even when he made a subtle threat, just to see how she would react. Not even that shook her resolve. In fact, she warned him that if he hurt Alice, hell would feel like a sunny vacation spot compared to what she would do to Bo and the rest of the damned Sunny Family.

The threat tickled Bo instead of intimidating him, and Barbie fumed at the way he laughed her off.

It was in that exchange that Bo found himself a new toy to tease. He called Barbie puppy whenever he encountered her. She barked big, but she had no idea just how tiny and helpless she really was compared to him in his eyes. It was cute really, and he found great delight in teasing her.

However, though Bo was amused by their banter, Barbie was anything but. His teasing just made her hate him all the more.

A Hungry Dog

Over time Bo's attraction towards Barbie grows. He stops flirting with Alice, though he still teases her, mostly to learn more about Barbie and how he might win Barbie over. He feels less satisfied with the people he sleeps around with, thinking of Barbie more. He even starts imagining that it's her he's sleeping with, which kills the moment for him and leaves him feeling unfulfilled and horny.

At some point during this, Bo finds out the identity of the infamous Clown Killer. It's surprising, but so fitting that he can't help but laugh when he realizes it's none other than his puppy. My, my, such a naughty puppy too, getting up to so much mischief. It'd be a shame to let anyone else know. Then he wouldn't be able to play with her more.

It's that realization that his greatest rival is the woman who has been intriguing him that turns his attraction into downright obsession. Bo wants to conquer Barbie in every sense of the word, tame this wild puppy and make her whimper and beg for his loving touch.

Bo has obscene fantasies about the various ways he can conquer and tame Barbie. It's the more extreme side of the lines from the game, where he wants her on his leash, to be at his beck and call, ready for him whenever he wants her. (Which quickly becomes all the time, really. The man is so horny he makes Jack seem reserved.) He wants her always by his side, in his lap, hot and whining for him, begging him to take her in every one of her pretty little holes like the dirty puppy he knows that she really is. He wants to make her see that she's powerless before him and beg him to take her, to protect her. Only he can have her.

Unfortunately for Bo, Barbie isn't someone who is turned on by a self-proclaimed alpha asshole who teases her just because he's good looking and desires her. Every time he tries to proposition her or seduce her, he gets rejected, much to his increasing frustration.

It brings out Bo's yandere side more and more. He tries different schemes to win Barbie over. He would use his power and influence to impress her, make her see how much he can provide for her. He tries to show off how good looking he is, entice her to at least want his body if nothing else.

Barbie doesn't want any of it. She knows there are strings attached to anything Bo offers her. The only thing she wants is for the Sunny Family to let Alice go and never, ever bother her or the rest of their family ever again.

Sadly, that's the one thing Bo can't influence with his pull, even if he was willing to let Barbie go. Jack isn't ever going to let Alice go. Worse, he can't even pretend he's going to try and separate them, not when Alice starts dating Jack.

Barbie doesn't buy that Alice is happy with Jack. She doesn't buy Jack's super nice and generous millionaire sweetheart from a sappy romance novel schtick. After everything she's gone through to save her sister from that damn Sunny Family, there's no way Barbie is just letting Alice stay with them.

Jack is just another smiling liar, just like his mother Shine who talked Alice into signing that contract in the first place.

Bo can use this hatred for Jack though. He can try to show Barbie that he's on her side, that while he works for Jack, that doesn't mean he wants to stay a part of the Sunny Family.

In spite of Barbie's hatred, she did have encounters with Bo where he showed his softer side. St. Valen's is a dangerous place, especially for someone who has never killed before. Barbie resents being in Bo's debt even as she's grateful when he saves her life. Bo had Barbie squares away this debt with dates, which she very reluctantly accepted with the stipulation that he never touches her unless she explicitly gives him permission.

On these dates, Bo tries taking a play from Jack's book and acting more polite, more gentle with Barbie. It doesn't win her over, since she doesn't trust it, but she's not as openly hostile. Barbie also uses these dates as an attempt to sneak info on the sly that she could use against the family. It's kind of cute to Bo, that she thinks she's so slick, but she's a lot better at hiding her real motives online than she is in person. She has such a lousy poker face.

But it's cute too that she doesn't hide her real feelings. The more time Bo spends with Barbie, the more he wants her. Her scent is so appealing, so delicious. He wants to nibble on her skin, or at least get just a little lick. It's almost like she was made to drive him crazy. She's so fierce, so loyal to her family, and so in over his head. The small moments that he gets in past her walls where she softens to him, just a little, oh that makes his hope burn brighter, hotter.

Still, for every step closer he takes, something seems to pull them apart again. Usually that something is Bo and the criminal life he lives with the Sunny Family.

Puppy Love

Before Bo realizes it, he is helplessly in love, completely obsessed. It's Jack who infuriatingly points out to him that Barbie has become his weakness. Despite Bo insistence on being a lone wolf that doesn't need anybody, he is desperate to make Barbie, that grumpy barking puppy, his mate.

Which works in Jack's favor. After all, if Alice's family gets closer to his family, then she won't ever want to leave. He can also have Bo indebted to him for helping Bo win over the untamed heart of Barbie.

Barbie isn't going to make it easy for Bo, even with Jack's help. Like Alice, Barbie is on the aroace spectrum. She has to trust Bo in order to start developing real feelings for him, and it's going to take a lot of effort to get her to trust him.

Also, Barbie is the type to take charge. In the main universe, she's the one who holds Bo's leash. He might be the alpha dog, but he bows down at her feet. I imagine until she can feel secure in her dominance over Bo and trust that his love for her is stronger than his allegiance to the Sunny Family, she's not going to feel anything remotely close to attraction when it comes to him.

Still, Barbie and Bo are one of my ships, and it'd be a shame if they didn't eventually sail, even in this darker AU. It's just going to be a very slow burn.

It'll burn even slower if Bo gives in to his frustration and yandere impulses to force his puppy to stay with him. Only by rolling over and showing his soft belly will he stand a chance of seeing Barbie's softer side as well.

A bad end to their storyline would no doubt be Bo forcing Barbie to be his, through blackmail, debt, or both. Even in that situation, she wouldn't simply just submit. Trying to overpower her isn't going to win Barbie's love. Instead it'll just make her bear her fangs and fight back even more. The harder he forces her, the more desperately she fights, and the closer he pushes them both to their mutual destruction.

Of course, I'm a sucker for happy endings. So while Barbie isn't going to make it easy for Bo, I do like the idea that in spite of everything, Bo manages to slowly show her there's more to him than a blood-thirsty, horny killer. He's someone who loves deeply, is loyal, and would do anything to please her. His love for her is more real and pure than anything else he found in the city of St. Valen's, and despite all his dreams of becoming top dog, there's nothing he wants more than to be loved by his puppy.

Bo might hate to be on a leash, but he'll find it's not so bad when Barbie is the one holding onto it instead of Jack. In fact, when she's confidently in charge, she'll be a lot more inclined to reward her big bad alpha dog with some treats.

Oh, and naturally, Bo wouldn't be Bo without his breeding/seeding fetish. Once he and Barbie finally get together, he's going to want to knock her up immediately with his pups. He never gave serious thought about having kids before, but that's only because he never found someone he wanted as his mate before. He really hopes the pups his puppy gives him will have her pretty heterochromatic eyes.

I think we can wrap things up there for now. I hope you enjoyed another visit to this multi-crossover mafia AU. Let me know if you want to hear even more about this AU or any of my other story ideas and characters.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Racoon and Swan

Summary: The first time Momo sees Midoriya Izumi, it's the first day of school and the other girl is slurping a jelly pouch with a deadpan stare. A few minutes later she fights off an old bully.

Honestly, Momo would say that falling in love hadn't been as surprising as she originally thought.

ON AO3

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 The entire class was introduced to their teacher’s protege on the first day of class. She was a tall and lean green-haired teenager around their age, dressed in a pair of baggy pants and a loose jacket over a hoodie for a punk band, the hoodie going to her knees as she slouched as she wandered over to them, a jelly pouch between her lips as she slurped obnoxiously.

 “Hey, Aizawa,” the girl said, removing the pouch from her lips as she pushed her green curly hair out of her face, revealing the heavy dark eyeshadow around her eyes and piercings in her eyebrow and nose. “All Might wants to have his secretary keep an eye on this for his records for his teaching tomorrow. That chill?”

 “All Might!?” The squeal from most of the crowd was lost in Bakugou Katsuki's roar of ‘DEKU! ' The girl turned to look at him blankly.

 “That's Midoriya to you, Bakugou,” she told the blond. “I'm here as Aizawa’s protege. I'm not a teacher, but-”

 “What?!?” the boy roared and lunged, only for Midoriya to move. She threw the jelly pouch at his face while pulling out some pellets from her jacket pocket she threw that caused foam to begin expanding. The foam stopped the blasts Bakugou had begun making from his hands as his head jerked back from the pouch. He stumbled a few steps backwards as the Midoriya used a long stretch of fabric that erupted from under her loose sleeves to wrap around him.

 “Strike one,” Aizawa said, watching the incident closely. “Midoriya, here is my personal student. She's graduated from high school already and is very skilled. She may not be a teacher, but her word is to be followed, and she is to be respected.”

 “She's a Quirkless freak!” Bakugou screamed.

 “And? Japan hasn't had a Quirkless hero yet, but that hasn't stopped England, Canada, France, Taiwan and many more from having them.” Aizawa said calmly. “Now, you have two more strikes before I move you to Class 1C and give you a chance at trying to get back into the hero course.” He looked at the other stunned students, staring at the scene wide-eyed. “If any of you slack in this assessment, you'll be moving to the class too.”

 “HUH?!” that derailed the class from focusing on Midoriya. Except for one person.

 Yaoyorozu Momo felt her cheeks flush as the other girl removed the bindings from Bakugou, slouching once more.

 That had been fairly attractive.

(Izumi hadn’t seen Bakugou since she was twelve and had been saved from her father by Dabi, who’d come across the fire-breathing man threatening his ‘useless child’ with his Quirk. Dabi was not a good man, and Izumi would be genuinely foolish to think of him as a hero, but he had interfered. It caught the attention of a new hero called Hawks.

 Izumi honestly felt the whole thing felt like fanfiction, one of the self-inserts she read quietly at night, pretending she could be saved by a hero. And she was. More so when it turned out she had an uncle who was a hero, who took custody with his partner when she needed help.

 She was achieving her dreams, and she hadn’t seen one of the boogeymen from her childhood in years. Seeing Bakugou again was harder since he hadn’t changed. He still looked at her with contempt, a sneer on his face as he tried to attack her. He still hated her.

 She pretended it didn’t hurt. She had become someone else, and it shouldn’t matter. But it did.)

-0-

 Momo knew she liked women for a long time. There was no shame in that; frankly, no one cared anymore when your neighbour could breathe fire. Momo’s mother had cared, but the divorce her dad initiated when the woman tried to cut their daughter’s carb intake had her out of the girl’s life.

 However, Momo did… honestly she questioned her taste.

 “Trash Panda.” Midoriya was telling the class, face completely serious. “That’s my hero-”

 “No.” Aizawa sighed loudly.

 “Yes, it is.”

 “No, it isn't.”

 “It is. Midnight, let me.”

 “No.”

 “Too bad, Uncle Sho. I’m Trash Panda.” Midoriya grinned widely as the class laughed. Her grin was a bit terrifying, but she was related to Aizawa, whose wide smile when he moved Mineta to class 1C terrified the class.

 (Momo had been stunned and unsure. She thought it a ruse, the threat to move them to a different class if they failed to meet Aizawa’s standards. She felt nervous upon learning it had been the truth, her mother's sharp voice hissing about perfection and always being right in her ear.)

 “Now,” Midoriya turned back to them, the word coming out slightly strangely. She paused and swallowed before continuing. A speech impediment? It sounded a little like she had slurred her words, only slightly, though. The nasty snort from Bakugou had Momo side-eyeing him. How rude to make fun of someone like that. “I’m not going to be directly involved in teaching, and I'm not an assistant. I'll occasionally be around and spar with you, but I'm not in your class.”

 “Young Izumi here is very skilled!” said Yagi Toshinori, All Might’s secretary. He was a tall, thin man with a chronic cough, but he provided deep insight into their performances after gaining permission from Aizawa. Momo herself had been told she did perfectly, though he did mention she possibly would want to learn how to create things by instinct. That had been something interesting to think about and something she was glad that UA had thought of.

 Momo looked at Midoriya, who’d flushed, the girl rubbing the back of her neck. Her freckles stood out more this way as she looked at Yagi bashfully.

 “Thanks, sir,” she said, her words slightly more slurred. She paused again and looked down. Ah, so she had to focus on making her voice clear, and she was upset, so she kept slipping up. Momo felt for the other teen.

 “Any questions?” Aizawa asked the class.

 “Yeah,” Bakugou began rudely. “Is Deku being your niece why you took her on?” he asked with a nasty glare at the girl.

 “Yes and no. Keep that slur out of your mouth, or it’ll be expelled and not just demoted,” Aizawa threatened. Bakugou snarled, glaring at the ground as the gravity girl (Uraraka Momo thought) took a noticeable step away, looking at him with disgust. “There are no laws against a Quirkless hero, and the Commission supports us; however, UA’s board refused to allow Midoriya in as a hero student. As such, she chose to graduate early to work as my protege. Her being my niece made it easier. As well, as we have four different legacy students in this class you could pose them similar questions as I assume you are trying to claim nepotism as I am her mentor.” Aizawa looked at the boy with engines, Iida. “You will work as a sidekick under your brother, correct?”

 “During the first round, yes,” Iida said, eyeing the blonde boy. Bakugou crossed his arms.

 “My old man would want me to,” Todoroki said, his gaze resting on Bakugou without a word.

 “I have a position as soon as I graduate,” Ashido said, grinning widely. “Mom’s underground, but I plan on being an All Rounder.”

 “I won’t, but that’s because my Quirk is not like my uncle’s,” Monoma said casually with a hand wave.

 Momo made a note of the legacies; she was quite curious now after learning about them all. She knew two of their parents but wondered who the other two were related to.

 They were dismissed soon after, and Momo looked back to see Midoriya talking to both Aizawa and Yagi. Perhaps about the next few days.

 (“You did well, Izumi.” Shouta told his niece, giving her one of his rare genuine smiles.

 “I’m still annoyed I slurred that much.” Izumi sighed, shaking her head. She’d stopped caring when the other teens left, though she tried to sound clear still.

 “Other than Bakugou, I doubt any cared,” said Toshinori, his voice a bit hard.

 “We said we wouldn’t hold our past against him,” Izumi told her other mentor. She hadn’t taken One for All, wanting to be the first Quirkless hero no matter what. Instead, the baton was passed to Tenya, her best friend, who, at first, nearly self-destructed with the pressure, but his brother had stepped in to help.

 Toshinori had to be scolded, but he got much better at teaching afterward. Izumi liked learning from him, though he was Tenya’s mentor most of all. She just got help learning the All Rounder skills that Shouta was lacking.

 “Who put him in my class?” Shouta wondered. “Nezu knows of your history.”

 “The board,” Nezu’s voice came from the comms all three wore, which connected them to the other staff members.

 “Of course.”)

-0-

 The next day, at UA, they were given their costumes, which were all different from what they’d originally wanted.

 “It’s a new policy rolled out this year,” Aizawa said as he stood with All Might (which had caused plenty of squeals) and Midoriya. She was wearing her baggy pants, hoodie and jacket combination once more. Obviously, it was her hero costume, though Momo didn’t know why she chose it. “Normally, we give you what you want and then watch as you figure out how it went wrong instead.” Aizawa looked at Midoriya, who slurped obnoxiously on the jelly pouch she’d pulled out after what seemed to be an argument about her lack of lunch. “However, it was pointed out how many students continue to make the same mistakes even after becoming true sidekicks, so instead, we have changed your uniforms and left a list of why we did it.”

 Momo’s costume had been changed from the original style the designer gave her when she’d spoken with one: a pair of shorts and a crop top that let her stomach and back open. Along with it was a wrist computer so she could look things up and a visor connected to it with a voice-activated prompt. The notes said her original costume was too revealing, and the heels were impractical. The combat boots were much nicer. The image Momo got was that from the old ‘Tomb Raider’ games that had been remastered recently. They were pretty fun.

 “I liked my costume idea,” Kaminari whined. “If it’s to streetwear, what about Midoriya’s?” he asked. Momo looked at his costume. It still was more streetwear than not, with loose black pants, a white shirt and a jacket over it. It was only that his coat was covered in lightning bolts, making it slightly obnoxious.

 “This is my incognito costume,” Midoriya said, taking the jelly pouch out of her mouth. “I have a more in-your-face one, but this will be my lesser-known one. I aim to function in underground and limelight spheres like All Might.”

 “All Might’s limelight, Midoriya,” Bakugou said in a sneer.

 “HA! Actually, I do both,” agreed All Might, smiling at them. “You just don’t hear about my more covert operations due to the secrecy. I also do dress down.” He grinned at the class. “I am very good at disguise.”

 “What routes you all will go through is the discussion for today, with us also having a sparring tournament. No Quirks, we want you to go hand to hand and see your range of movement in your costumes.” Aizawa said. “All Might is your main Hero Foundations teacher, but I am here to talk about it as one of the main underground heroes in Mustapha.”

 The class continued through to the lecture first, with the investigation, underground, rescue, capture and combat areas of heroics laid out. All were routes someone could go down, and those who did an investigation, rescue, capture, and combat were called ‘All Rounders.’ The licensing for them (that had been interesting learning there wasn’t simply a single license, and you had to be given proper permits for each route) could occur throughout the year. Undergrounds were different in that they had to take all of the exams on the same day.

 When that was done, the sparring began. As they were missing a member, Midoriya joined in. She removed her jacket, as it was full of weapons she wasn’t allowed to use, and removed her hoodie too, revealing that she wore a tank top with the logo of some band called ‘Deep Dope’ on it, a scarf much like Aizawa’s wrapped around her arms. Jirou, a girl with jacks attached to her ears, perked up.

 The sparring wasn’t bad, though Momo felt off kilter she could not create a sword. Luckily, her opponent, a boy named Tokoyami, who possessed a sentient Quirk, was also having difficulty as he could not seek help from his companion. The companion, Dark Shadow, decided to manifest and trash-talk them both.

 She managed to defeat Tokoyami and moved on to her next match against a girl named Ashido. That was trickier, as the girl was very flexible and had dance training, but Momo managed, just as Bakugou screamed,

 “That’s BULLSHIT!”

 “You lost Bakugou. Ojiro moves on,” said Aizawa, making the blonde boy sit down. Momo rolled her eyes as she sat down for a break. That boy seemed to be the type who could not accept he could fail.

 She watched the next fight, realizing Midoriya would be fighting Todoroki. They were going with five pairs fighting at a time, and Momo was on the opposite set from the other girl. It was nice to watch someone more experienced than her fight.

 (And if Momo’s eyes lingered on Midoriya’s biceps and how her curly hair bounced as she dodged the dual-haired boy... That was her business.)

 Midoriya was good. It didn't look as polished as Ojiro’s style; it was more of a brawler style, as she used her legs and fists. She'd had to stop halfway through her first fight to remove some metal bad from her shins, apologizing she forgot about it.

 “We aren't using weapons, and those count,” she had told her opponent, Jirou. The two stood to the side afterward and discussed music. From what Momo had overheard, Midoriya was a fan of the same bands as Jirou.

  Momo watched as Midoriya ducked under a punch from Todoroki before grabbing his arm and performing a flip that had him on the ground. She knelt on his back, his arm in a pin. The boy looked stunned, lying there.

 “Winner Midoriya!” All Might boomed when Todoroki just lay there. The green-haired girl frowned at the boy beneath her and said something as Bakugou growled loudly.

 Momo did not know what to think about that boy. He seemed so angry, and how he acted with Midoriya was… concerning. She focused, though, on the criticism of Todoroki and Midoriya. Mostly, it was because Todoroki hadn't taken advantage of several openings that the girl had left open. (Ones she said she did on purpose because she realized he had a depth perception issue, which Todoroki was shocked she’d noticed.)

 The rest of the sparring tournament didn't draw Momo’s attention as much until the end, though she was knocked out in the next round as she went up against Ojiro. He was well trained, so Momo didn't feel too bad as she sat out. She watched the rest of the bouts, though she did get distracted by Midoriya again. This time, the girl was signing to Kouda (a rocky-headed boy), who seemed delighted.

  Skilled, and she knew sign? The girl was… fascinating.

 More so when she and Ojiro battled it out for the winner, the girl losing only by a throw that landed her outside the ring.

 Momo sighed a bit dreamily. That was really attractive.

 (Izumi was about ninety percent sure Todoroki had a hang-up about hitting girls or that he had some ego problem. He went into their fight way too confident and had barely tried. He seemed too scared to hit her. Why?

 She'd talk to Shouta about it. Or Hizashi. Zizi tended to know how to handle that sort of stuff with their own multiple hang-ups from the shit fire that had been their childhood.)

-0-

 Momo had to drink water the next day to stop herself from reacting to Midoriya, who showed up in her limelight hero costume. It was a crop top that showed off her abs under a leather jacket with the name ‘Trash Panda’ on the back in spikes, covered in pins. Her pants were tight and red checkered, leading into big black boots.

 Her make-up was still heavy around the eyes, and she had dark black lips curved into a grin, her hands (in fingerless gloves, and Momo hadn't realized she’d like that) on her hips.

 “Hello, fellow youths!” she said perkily. It was a bit of a whiplash from her more grumpy persona the last few days.

 “Don't,” Aizawa said, completely exhausted sounding.

 “Don’t what, my dear uncle?” Midoriya asked, popping a hip.

 “Don’t.” their teacher said. Midoriya just laughed.

 The sudden mood shift from the girl was confusing, but the class adjusted to it. She also ended up eating in the cafeteria with them.

 “Uncle Sho refuses to put up with me when I'm like this,” she told Uraraka, who asked. Momo, Iida, Uraraka, and Jirou had been sitting together, and Midoriya joined them swiftly.

 “Because you’re a menace,” Iida said.

 “Tenya! My cousin! My brother! How could you besmirch-” Midoriya said dramatically, pausing when her last word came out slurred. She continued, though, her smile remaining on her face. Iida looked sad as he gazed at her. Momo didn't bring it up; instead, she cautiously asked about her outfit.

 “It’s a persona. You’ll learn about them later in the year, but heroes act a certain way in public. I have two- underground and limelight. When I'm underground, I'm more of a random civilian. When I'm limelight…” Midoriya grinned and waved her hands towards herself.

 “She takes cues from Midnight,” Iida said.

 “You two know each other well? I mean, she called you cousin,” Uraraka asked.

 “My uncle, Aizawa, is friends with Tenya’s brother. When I started living with Uncle Sho, Tenya was the only kid my age who wasn't put off by the fact that I was mostly stuck with sign language.” Midoriya said. No one asked, but Midoriya seemed to guess what they wanted to know. “I wasn't as good at dealing with my dysarthria back then.”

 “Your what?” Uraraka asked.

 “My slurred speech,” Midoriya said. She shifted. “I don't like talking about it.”

 “You have nothing to be ashamed of,” Iida told her.

 “Yeah. My mom has a stutter, and it doesn't make her less badass,” Jiro said.

 “I still don't like it,” Midoriya said. She bit into her katsudon and then pointedly changed the conversation to discussing that they'd choose their class president the next day. “Uncle Sho will announce it tonight and ask anyone who wants to be part of that to make a bit of a speech. He will also lay out exactly how Hero Schools handle it.”

 “Is it different?” Momo asked.

 “Heroes have to be prepared for anything. A class president is assumed to be the de facto head of the ‘agency’ and treated as such. You have to know all the schedules of your classmates, allergies, contact info, and anything important. You have limited access to the files as well. Mostly just the very bare basics and a note of people banned from interacting with them,” Midoriya said.

 (Momo did not react, thinking of her mother. The woman wasn't allowed to contact her, but emails often came. It… she should report them. But it was her mother. How could she not want to keep speaking to her?)

 “Wow, I didn't know that,” Uraraka said.

 “There are meetings weekly; you have to write progress reports—it's a big job. He’ll discourage anyone who isn't willing to put in the time and possibly outright sabotage those who shouldn't try Tenya.”

 “I have a handle on it,” Iida said.

 “You went through a Quirk evolution two months ago, and I know you broke your arm after school yesterday because of it,” Midoriya told the boy. Iida frowned but nodded.

 “You’re correct. I should focus on controlling my evolution first. Perhaps Vice President or Secretary would be better for me,” he decided.

 “Aren’t Quirk Evolutions rare?” Jirou asked. Momo was reasonably sure they were but not that uncommon.

 “We think I may have something similar to my engines throughout my body, a sort of fake machinery that makes me stronger,” Iida said, his eyes on his food.

 “He destroyed the zero-pointer with one punch!” Uraraka said, impressing the table. Then, Kaminari, one of their classmates, came up.

 “Hey, can I sit here?” he asked. “I just wanted to ask about your music after seeing your tank yesterday, but I was more focused on sparring.”

 “Oh, sure. Do you like Deep Dope?” Midoriya asked Kaminari. He nodded and sat down, an easy smile on his face. The rest of lunch was spent discussing music, and Momo walked away with a lot of recommendations she never thought of. It was very nice.

(Izumi was hopeful she was making friends. There was a strange relationship between her and the students. She was not in charge of them, but there was a level of authority over them. It was a delicate balance.

 Still, she knew she needed more friends her age. Uncle Sho, Zizi Zashi, Uncle Tensei and Auntie Nemuri were great, but they weren’t her age. Tenya was her best friend but even he wasn’t that much of a normal kid. She had Keigo too, but he was an adult. She had Dabi, but the weirdo was also an adult. Z was perhaps closer, being Quirkless like Izumi so the woman was always willing to help out with training. Yet even then they were a bit adrift, mostly due to Z’s stance as a mercenary. No one ever quite knew if she was on their side or the side of whoever paid her lately.

 She knew she needed friends her age. Maybe she was making them.)

-0-

  The rest of the week was normal, other than the press breaking in. Momo had become class president, and Iida was vice president, with Tokoyami taking the secretary position. Midorous spent time with the class and with the teachers, though class 2C already knew her.

 “They all were demoted from heroics by Uncle Sho,” Midoriya said when asked. “He demoted them all after the first week because half were idiots, some were just lazy, and a few were Quirkist as hell.”

 “And they remained demoted?” Momo asked.

 “Yeah. I mean… you know how many kids wash out of heroics, right? It's hard. You don't just go to school and learn it; it's a career and a lifestyle. Working out daily, eating right, and keeping on top of the laws. You break your body daily to be better. Not everyone can make it. Class C is traditionally the waitlisted kids who get extra classes compared to class D, so they can be slotted in when someone can't handle being in heroics. And it will happen- I think the rate is like 65% of students who start in heroics don't stay,” Midoriya obviously was very opinionated by the topic, as she was speaking very enthusiastically. Her voice had started to slur, and she tripped over some words, but they could understand her.

 No one brought it up. Jirou had opened her mouth, but Kaminari and Iida shook their heads at her, getting her not to voice any thoughts.

 “So anyways, the class was bad. And he shoved them into 1C but even THEY weren't all that great. So he didn't have a class last year, but they all know me. And hate me,” Midoriya shrugged. “Cause I'm the Quirkless brat who is being trained, and they aren't.”

 “Assholes,” Kaminari decided.

 “Not wrong,” Midoriya said. “Two of them even got arrested. Turns out they had a few people hiding their pasts dreaming about them becoming big-time heroes. When they got demoted the first week, people stopped.”

 “That's messed up,” Uraraka said as Momo stared in astonishment. That happened? She always thought it was fake. How could people do that?

 “It's not uncommon,” Kaminari said. “I actually got a lot of leeway in middle school since I wanted to go into heroics, and my Quirk is perfect. My parents, though, did not let me get away with anything, which, thank god. I'd be more insufferable if I had.”

 “I mean, I know a lot of people get a lot of privileges, and when that happens, it's just messed up,” Uraraka said.

 “I never heard of that, other than people claiming it happens,” Momo admitted.

 “You went to a private school like Iida, right?” Midoriya asked, and Momo nodded. “A rich private school wouldn't be obvious about it. Also all of you would be technically in the same class level? Like rich, connected, that sort of thing.”

 “So we do not see it as we receive the same privilege,” Iida said.

 Momo didn't know what to think. Was she that privileged that she did not see such a disgusting form of favouritism? Was she that blind to the truth of why her teachers had praised her most?

 Was she actually intelligent, or did they fake her grades? Did she deserve the praise? Was she as good as she thought?

 Was Mother right? Was Momo nothing?

(Izumi was worried about Yaoyorozu. The girl had all the marks of being a good hero if she overcame her desperate need for perfection. However, after the conversation about privilege, the brunette had been withdrawn and pale.

 Did she worry for herself? There wasn't a reason to do so; the girl was brilliant. Nezu was already arguing with Uncle Sho about training her, and Keigo had heard Izumi talk about the girl and expressed interest in her Quirk, too.

 Yet, well, Izumi understood the concerns that could happen when you became aware of a truth that you'd been oblivious to. Or when you were confronted with something you didn't want to see. How long had it taken for her to admit Bakugou wasn't a good person? For her to articulate how her mother (who loved her and had protected her as best she could) sometimes made Izumi feel weak.

 Izumi decided that after the USJ, she would reassure Yaoyorozu more. Maybe invite her to the cafe Izumi and Tenya liked to frequent. It would be a nice rest from the exercises that Thirteen would have the class do.)

-0-

 Momo was running for her life. It had started as a typical day, going to the USJ on a field trip. Midoriya was wearing her ‘underground’ costume and talking with Aizawa about things while Yagi hung around, too. All Might wouldn't be able to make it until later, but his secretary was skilled in heroics too, they'd been told.

 They got to the USJ; it started with a lecture, then…

 “We are the League of Villains.”

 They were separated and scattered around the facility, and it was Bakugou’s fault, along with Kirishima and-

 Momo dodged a blast from a villain, eyes wide, as she spotted Kaminari and Jiro facing four villains. Both were fighting—she had to-

 Smoke bombs soared out of the air, obscuring the view before it dissipated to reveal Midoriya. She’d landed on the biggest villain and was on his shoulders, yanking him back as she shoved something into his mouth.

 Whatever it was made the mad sway, and Midoriya jumped off, arms out, and the scarf under her jacket sleeves coming out to wrap around more villains. The teen yanked them so hard they flew off their feet to smash to the ground as Midoriya landed. She kicked out, and her shin hit the fourth in the side, making him wheeze as she took something from her pocket and threw it into his mouth.

 It took barely thirty seconds.

 “Holy fuck, that was hot,” Kaminari said. Midoriya snorted.

 “Sorry, I'm gay. But we need to move,” she ordered, and they were off.

 Momo tried not to think of what Midoriya said, but it played in her mind as they were attacked several more times. She helped as much as possible and took out her fair share of villains, but Midoriya? She was stunning. The girl moved fast and had various things hidden in her jacket. Smoke bombs, foam pellets she threw at a few fire Quirk users, and knives.

 A lot of knives.

 Midoriya threw them or used them to cut through an obstacle created by a Quirk before she dodged and weaved around someone trying to grab her.

 Then, they got to the middle of the USJ. Aizawa was on the ground, and the man with his hands on him was rushing towards Monoma, Uraraka, and Asui, who were trying to hide behind a rock.

 Momo didn't even see Midoriya move before knives were sticking out of an enormous villain holding Aizawa down, and the other girl was flying through the air to kick the hand villain off course. The big villain moved at her, only for All Might to intercept. He had a cut on his head already, and Momo wondered what could have hurt him like that.

 “Fuck you!” Midoriya was screaming; the words slurred and jumbled as she kicked the hand villain in the face. He fell back, and she lunged again, her leg coming up. The other villain, the mist one, began moving only for Todoroki and Bakugou to take care of him.

 It meant Momo got to watch as Midoriya began beating the hand villain. Her rage made her seem to glow as she aimed a kick at the villain again, who grabbed her leg. She pulled it back just as her pants started disintegrating.

 “Five-point activation,” Momo said out loud to herself, and Midoriya seemed to realize it, too. A knife appeared in her hand, and the green-haired girl dove for the villain, who roared in anger.

 Momo could not tear her eyes away as Midoriya dodged and weaved, the knife flashing in the air as she stabbed and slashed and-

 Three fingers fell to the ground as the villain yelled in pain. Midoriya’s grin could be seen from their distance, teeth bared, eyes wild, and a little blood on her cheek as she’d dived under a grasping hand to cut the fingers off.

 “That's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen,” Momo said out loud. She ignored the two people giving her judgemental looks, Kaminari not getting it either as Momo stared, besotted, with the image.

 Midoriya was divine.

(She wouldn't let her uncle die. Izumi could not let him die. She wouldn't lose him. She wouldn't lose the first person who'd said she could be a hero. She wouldn't lose the man who wrapped her hand around a knife and taught her how to fight. She wouldn't lose the man who sat through countless speech therapy sessions with her and never judged.

 This villain was a threat. Izumi could deal with threats.

 Take out the Quirk. Stop him from using it. Break his fingers- no. She needed it to be more reliable. So knife it was.

 The man was screaming, and Izumi grinned with all her teeth as she turned to slam her shin into his side, cautious not to aim for his head with her steel guards. Death? Not a good thing.

 Maiming? Oh yeah, that she could do.

 Uncle Sho taught her dirty fighting, Toshinori taught her how to smile, Keigo taught her how to play it off to make herself look innocent, and Dabi taught her where to hit. Z and Zizi Hizashi also taught her how to cover her tracks, though this wasn't useful when everyone saw her cut the villain’s fingers off.

 Not that she cared. This man had hurt Izumi’s uncle. She would have killed the students that she had begun to see as sort of friends. Uraraka was always at their table, smiling and ready to share a story or talk about anything. Izumi couldn’t let anyone die.

 Not unless it was the villain.

 The man lunged for her again, and Izumi dropped, but he changed at the last second, his intact hand going towards her face-

 A gunshot, and the man stumbled back.

 “The CAVALRY HAS ARRIVED!” Zizi roared, and Izumi grinned, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the villain. He’d failed; they won. They were safe-

 The man began coughing up black gunk, and she ripped herself away as he did so. Always get the hell out of dodge when weird things happen. Quirks were too varied to make an actual guess of what was going on.

 He began to be absorbed by the gunk, though, and Izumi lunged forward, eyes widening when she realized he was escaping, only for Toshinori to grab her. The man had thrown his own villain out of the USJ during the fight.

 “No, Izumi,” he said. She could only watch as the man responsible for the almost death of her uncle vanished.

 It wasn’t fair.)

-0-

 For the days after the USJ, the news played various segments. Only one of which genuinely caught Momo’s eyes. Midoriya, dressed in her crop top and leather jacket costume, was having an interview. The news of what she’d done during the USJ had gotten out, and most people were praising it, saying her taking care of a villainous Quirk was smart.

 “Quirks aren’t villainous,” Midoriya was saying in an interview. Trash Panda- Special Student of UA Teacher Aizawa, Honorary TA, was written under her. “It’s the people using them who are villains. My sperm donor breathed fire and abused me along with my mother for years, leading to the death of my mother. However, no one ever called his Quirk villainous. It matters what you do with your Quirk, not what it is.”

 “That’s your friend Midoriya, correct?” Momo’s dad asked her.

 “She is,” Momo replied, smiling at the screen.

 “I like her,” Mr. Yaoyorozu said with a nod. “She did the right thing, and she is right. Look at your mother. Her Quirk would be called heroic, but she is awful.”

 Mother. Momo had been trying not to think of her, given that the woman had sent an email stating that her child was pathetic for not beating the villains herself. It made Momo feel so small. Mother used the most disgusting slur for Midoriya that, for once, made her delete the email, not keep it.

 Yet her dad bringing the woman up stuck in Momo’s mind as she went to a mall for light shopping. She wanted new books after the USJ. More types of capture gear or things like the pellets Midoriya had used to take down multiple villains would be helpful. Momo could not stop thinking of her mother, though, and how she was compared to what Midoriya was saying and the girl’s words of her own father.

 Momo’s mother was mentally abusive and, in some ways, physically, but that had been mostly restricting her food intake. She was never beaten, never hurt. But how Midoriya said it…

 “Fuck off,” a familiar voice startled Momo from her thoughts. The slur to the word you, making it much longer, had her looking to see Midoriya dressed in a flannel shirt open over a band tee, jeans and the regular boots she wore also making an appearance.

 “No, I got tasked with babysitting you, you little shit, so I get to annoy you all I want.” The man Midoriya was with said. He was a thin man, covered in burns he’d used staples to keep his skin on with, dressed in a white shirt under a leather jacket.

 “I want to be at the hospital,” Midoriya said.

 “And Hizashi told me to take you out to the mall so you’d stop freaking out brat.” the man said. Momo hesitated but then approached. Midoriya spotted her first.

 “Yaoyorozu?” she asked, her voice becoming more controlled.

 “Midoriya, apologies. I saw you and wanted to know how you were doing,” Momo told the girl.

 “She’s acting like a fucking weirdo who won’t leave the hospital.” the man said.

 “Shut up, Dabi, take your meds. I know you didn’t,” Midoriya threatened. He glared at her, annoyed.

 “Fuck off brat. Let’s go to the food court,” he said grumpily.

 “Fine. Do you want to come?” Midoriya asked Momo, who nodded. Dabi led the way, the girls trailing behind. “Are you doing well?” Midoriya asked.

 “I am. My Dad has insisted on me going to therapy for a few extra sessions,” Momo said.

 “Smart. Zizi insisted on it too for me,” Midoriya agreed.

 “Zizi?” Momo asked. Midoriya paused and sighed as Dabi laughed mockingly.

 “You did not hear this from me, but Uncle Sho is married. His partner is non-binary. I call them Zizi,” Midoriya explained.

 “Oh!” Momo blinked and nodded. “I see. He hides it to protect them?”

 “They’re both heroes, but he hides it because it’s a weakness. Few married heroes talk about it, and most keep a sharp divide in their lives. Endeavour-” Midoriya paused to let Dabi let out a sharp snort before she continued, “is the exception, though sometimes lower-ranked heroes may be open about their marriages to other heroes.”

 “I see,” Momo said. “I had not considered how having a public relationship could be a weakness,” she admitted, embarrassed.

 “Most don’t. It’s not talked about until second year, I think, when hero students start getting more attention,” Midoriya said.

 “Well, I am glad you have support,” Momo told Midoriya. “I was worried. You…” she hesitated.

 “Went feral at the USJ?” Dabi interjected.

 “No, you were upset. I was worried, and your uncle was hurt,” Momo quickly assured Midoriya who didn’t seem offended, simply flipping off Dabi before turning to Momo.

 “I did go feral. I was angry and scared,” Midoriya admitted. “Uncle Sho is important to me. He’s part of the reason I got away from my biological father.”

 Right, the interview. Momo hesitated, but Midoriya shook her head.

 “Don’t worry, I’m… open about it. Therapy plus trying to combat the fact he would never want me to talk about it.” Midoriya told her. “It sucks, and I have a lot of trauma, but I can’t let it hold me back. Right, Dabi?” she emphasized the man’s name. He responded by holding up his middle finger. Midoriya laughed, shaking her head.

 “Who is he?” Momo had to ask, keeping her voice a little low.

 “Dabi. He’s the guy who found my dad trying to hurt me and reacted. He’s got a lot of issues himself, but he’s doing better with medication and therapy.” Midoriya said just as quiet. “He works at a convenience store, the one near the Tatooine Station.”

 “The…” Momo paused, not wanting to say how run down that area was.

 “The front? Yeah. Not sure for who, but Dabi gets a lot of info working there, and as long as he balances things, he can work as an info broker,” Midoriya said, grinning. “Welcome to heroics, where you toe the line and hope you don’t trip.”

 Fascinating. Momo wanted to know more.

(Yaoyorozu hadn’t been offended by Izumi’s actions. It made her sigh in relief. After the USJ, maiming someone, and the interviews, Izumi worried the class would avoid her. Tenya wouldn’t, but the others? Izumi didn't know. But at least one still cared.

 Spending the day at the mall was excellent, even with Dabi. He decided since she liked to annoy him, he’d annoy her back. Izumi rolled her eyes at him when he teased her for having a girlfriend.

 Yaoyorozu was attractive, both in mind and body. And her Quirk? Izumi wanted to know everything about it. She wanted to sit for hours and talk about it with Yaoyorozu, wanting to know everything about her.

 Oh. OH.

 Izumi felt her cheeks warm. A crush on her friend? She’d have to be careful. Ruining her friendship wouldn’t be fun, and with her strange status in the school, there could be concerns there.

 Still, the memory of Yaoyorozu’s smile and wave when they parted ways stuck to Izumi as she went back to the hospital to watch over her uncle.)

-0-

  “Oi! Deku!” snarled Bakugou first thing the day they all got back when Midoriya entered with a frown.

 “Bakugou, I am not above reporting you continuing to call me about that,” Midoriya said. Bakugou bared his teeth, and Momo saw many people preparing to intervene. Bakugou’s dislike of Midoriya was well known, with everyone defending the girl. She didn’t deserve the boy tormenting her. Not that she needed help, she could handle herself.

 “Fine, Midoriya,” Bakugou sneered. “You were the one to get me in trouble!”

 “...What?” Midoriya asked, staring at him in confusion. “I’ve been with Uncle Sho for the last few days other than when they made me go to the mall. I haven’t done anything.”

 “They fucking told me off for trying to take down the mist fucker!” Bakugou screamed.

 “Hey, hey- Baku-bro,” Kirishima said, and the class did a double take. “I got the same scolding. We messed up; Thirteen could have taken the villain out if we-”

 “FUCK THAT!” Bakugou yelled. “Midoriya here has always been-”

 “Is this about us being kids and you falling off a log again?” Midoriya asked. Bakugou paused. “My therapist made me talk about everything, and while you always hated me, your hate only got worse after that.” Midoriya was getting angry, Momo could tell. Her words were becoming choppier, and she dropped some letters, but she could be heard easily. “I was five years old. You fell, and I was worried you would get hurt. But you apparently decided I was loook-innn-” Midoriya stopped, closed her eyes and breathed.

 “Oh yeah, your fucking slur. So damn useless you can’t even speak properly, huh Deku?” Bakugou taunted. Midoriya’s shoulders jerked up as Kirishima grabbed Bakugou’s arm.

 “Not cool, man!” he said as the rest of the class burst into chaos. They were already stressed from the attack, and for someone to lash out against one of their own- particularly the person who helped fight off the main villains, was not a happy experience.

 “She saved our lives, and you act like this?!” Uraraka shouted.

 “Wow, I knew you were a piece of shit but that?!” Kaminari snapped.

 “Hey Baku-bitch, you should shut the fuck up!” Jirou yelled. Aoyama was yelling in French, looking furious with his eyes almost shouting lasers themselves. Ashido was glaring at Bakugou, and Kouda had a very dark look on his face. Momo herself felt the schematics for a metal bat appearing in her mind, about to make it when the door slammed open.

 “That is enough,” All Might said from the door, sounding furious. “Another strike Bakugou. That is not the behaviour of a hero, insulting someone’s speech impediment.” Beside him is Aizawa, bandaged up but giving the vibes of a furious parent.

 “Extra lessons with Hound Dog required to continue in the hero course,” Aizawa said in a dark tone. “You will be going to sit through multiple lectures on disabilities and how heroes do not act as ableist monsters to anyone.”

 Bakugou looked stunned as if he could not understand what had happened. Momo rolled her eyes.

 How foolish could you be to say that and not expect anger?

(Izumi had never been defended by her peers. Tenya did not count as he was family. Before, when her slur was worse, everyone made fun of her. Even with her jaw wired shut, a shady doctor having done so as her father knew if a good one did it, his actions would get out; there had been no sympathy. No one cared, only following Bakugou’s actions. He never got punished, never was told no.

 Even when she went to a different school, Uncle Sho took her away from everything no one had tried. Bullying was stamped out, but no one seemed to think she was deserving of protection. And now, an entire room jumped in to protect her.

 She watched as everyone stepped in, saying something. How furious they all were. Leftover tension and nerves had to be the reason behind the outburst or at least the ferocity of it, but everyone had said something. Yaoyorozu had looked enraged herself, about to make something to hit him.

 Izumi took a minute to ‘go to the bathroom’ as Uncle Sho talked to the class about the Sports Festival, putting her face in her hands.

 This felt strange. But she liked it.)

-0-

 After school, the class was confronted with a mob of other students.

 “Whoa, what’s going on?” Kaminari asked.

 “They want to see the survivors of the USJ,” Bakugou said confidently. Most ignored him, and Momo frowned as she looked at the students in front of them.

 “That’s right,” a purple-haired teen said, coming forward. “I’m not impressed.” He sneered at the class, and Momo saw Midoriya’s eyes narrow slightly. “We hear a great deal of those in the hero course, yet I don’t see anything special.” He glared at them, not looking happy. “We gen eds-”

 “Can transfer into the hero course,” Uraraka suddenly said. Momo glanced at the girl who looked at the boy, her face strange. “We know if you came here to try and spook us.”

 “A student was moved to class 1C and so far has not impressed any teacher to move him back,” Midoriya said. “Any other waitlist kids in class C can easily prove themselves during the sports festival.”

 “Other…” the purple boy said before he shook his head. “You all just coast by, acing the entrance exams and having a TA who can help you. Meanwhile, those of us who can’t face the biased test-”

 “Hey Hagakure,” Midoriya said. “You’re just invisible, right?”

 “Yep!” the bubbly teen replied. Midoriya nodded.

 “And, no offence, but you’re…”

 “A noodle? Oh yeah. I’m going to start bulking up,” Hagakure said.

 “How did you pass the test if you’re just invisible?” Midoriya asked.

 “There were power switches on the legs, and I found my way to what looked like a control centre. Turning off the power there counted!” Hagakure chirped. The purple boy looked angry, glaring at Midoriya.

 “So… not as biased as people think,” she said in response to the glare.

 “You think you’re all so great, facing off villains already-” the purple boy began, but Iida spoke up.

 “I was terrified, running for my life as I tried to get back to UA to get the teachers.”

 “I was hiding while facing off against villains who could kill me,” Hagakure admitted.

 “We were fighting for our lives and facing off against people willing to kill us,” Monoma said in a calm tone, his eyes on the purple boy. “It wasn’t a good thing.”

 “Speak for yourselves!” Bakugou barked. “Those small fries were weak!”

 “Not all of us have trained to use our Quirks in a fight or against people,” Momo said. “I’m lucky I have training and that Midoriya was with me.”

 “Yeah,” Kaminari said. “She was badass and took on the head villain! Just BAM out in the middle with All Might taking on the next villain!”

 “Ah yeah, the perf Quirked protege,” Purple said, his voice angry. Obviously, he had been growing angrier as they talked back. “Like you didn’t eagerly jump on the media to put your name out.”

 “If you’re going to use slurs, and yes, perf-Quirked is a slur, use the right one,” Midoriya said in an eerily calm voice, eyes narrowed at the boy. “Null.” She gave a shark-like grin. “I’m Quirkless, something Googleable if you want to double-check that.”

 “What,” the boy said, not even a question.

 “I’m Quirkless, I’m also disabled cause my jaw got broken in two places, and it was set a bit wrong,” Midoriya continued, letting her slur show, surprising Momo. More so with her confession. “I have a hard time eating sometimes, and other times, my muscles ache too much. Now, what about you? What’s your Quirk?”

 “...Brainwashing.” the boy said stiffly.

 “Vocal, I assume, you have that minor hum in your voice. Lucky, it means you’d be valuable for heroics. Hell, you probably could have talked down the villains at the USJ,” Midoriya said calmly. “Like Melodee in Paris or the Pied Piper in Germany. But you didn’t get in because you decided to coast along on your Quirk instead of working your hardest.”

 “HEY!” the boy said, glaring. “I’m not like the hero course brats. I don’t just get by with my flashy Quirk and have everyone love me.”

 “We all hate him,” Kaminari said, pointing at Bakugou. “And he’s got the flashiest Quirk besides Todoroki.”

 “HEY!” Bakugou barked, glaring at Kaminari.

 “Stop being a dick, maybe we’ll stop hating you,” Ashido said snidely. “And no, Kirishima, I don’t care about your opinions when you are defending a guy who says the kind of stuff he does and acts the way he does.” Kirishima frowned, looking very upset.

 “He’s not-”

 “Even he’s worked his ass off,” Midoriya interrupted. “I grew up with him, and while our history is complicated, he’s had trainers work him into the ground, and he’s practiced until he gets things right. He doesn’t coast.” Midoriya looked at the boy with hard eyes. “We almost died. The teachers saved me, and yes, I was interviewed as a licensed sidekick. I got more attention because I am a protege, and I was willing to attempt to pull the attention off the students. Some of them may want to go underground, and having me shove my face into the limelight helps. But do not forget, I had a person with a Quirk that if he touched me, I would disintegrate inches away from my face. I saw my mentor broken on the ground. We got LUCKY they did not know our Quirks, and they sent us to stupid locations.”

 “HEY-” a new voice said, and they all looked to see a silver-haired boy. “You 1A bastards shouldn’t forget about us-”

 “1B should know better,” Midoriya said, her voice cold. “I can forgive an angry boy wanting to complain, even if he is a hypocrite. I can’t forgive a 1B student who decided that an entire class being in danger of death was showboating.” Midoriya glared at the other boy, who froze. “I’ll be reporting that to Vlad King and reminding him he’s on probation after people reported his encouragement of rivalry led to seven hospitalizations and three students dropping out.” The boy stepped back. “We almost died, and you treat it like a big fun thing 1A arranged to get ahead. That’s disgusting.”

 “Doesn’t fucking matter!” Bakugou said, pushing through the crowd. “I don’t care what any extras think of us.”

 “I hate how manly that is,” Kirishima said.

 “It’s not manly,” Ashido said, her voice angry. “He’s a bully with delusions of grandeur.”

 “Kirishima,” Midoriya suddenly said. “He actually meant it.” Kirishima shook his head, not listening. Midoriya shrugged and turned back to the crowd. “We almost died. I had to see my mentor, my uncle, broken and bleeding. I jumped in to save students from death, and I had to cut someone’s fingers off because it was that or dying.”

 “It wasn’t fun,” Hagakure said softly. The entire class nodded. The students in front of them winced and looked down, some moving away to let 1A walk out of the hall. The purple teen and the 1B kid stayed, though, looking lost.

 Momo glanced at Midoriya, whose hands were shaking. Was she okay?

(Izumi couldn’t breathe. Her tongue felt heavy, and her jaw ached. Why did she do that? Why did she say that? She saw the crowd, heard them blaming the class, and reacted.

 She knew the purple boy she had spoken to. Sort of. Being allowed in the teacher’s lounge allowed her to learn a lot of gossip. His teacher had words about him. He is skilled and has potential, but he needs to get his head straight and realize he’s in the wrong. That it wasn’t his Quirk holding him back, even if he faced hell for it. It was him.

 But Izumi hadn’t cared about that; she wanted to hurt him. Wanted to shake him and yell that he was in the wrong, that none of them had been looking for fame. It had been survival, and they’d done it.

 Plus, she wanted people to know she was Quirkless. The reporters hadn’t run it, not wanting to draw attention to that. Too afraid of what it would do to their ratings. Hearing Perf-Qurik, seeing a boy so angry at the world, he used slurs while ignoring the fact not everything was black and white… of course, she reacted. Talking about her slur, too, had been a split-second choice. She wanted… she didn’t know what she wanted.

 She only reacted.)

-0-

 Momo found Midoriya at the back of the school, doing some breathing exercises after the incident with the other student. The girl was sitting at a picnic table, and others were around the area as well. Obviously, it was an outside option for the students to eat at. Momo cautiously approached the girl, sitting down next to her when there was no negative reaction.

 “Midoriya, are you alright?” Momo asked.

 “More or less. Just…” Midoriya swallowed, obviously trying to control her voice. “I reacted. She got angry. Revealed a lot.” she shook her head, tired. “Stupid.”

 “Why was it stupid?” Momo asked, curious. “You defended us.”

 “It was stupid because now people KNOW,” Midoriya said. “My stupid slur is known now.”

 “And… that's bad?” Momo asked.

 “You saw how Bakugou was. I faced that f-f-” Midoriya swallowed, obviously upset. “Years,” she said, giving up on using full words.

 “Those people were awful,” Momo said. “Surely UA…” Bakugou came to mind, and she fell silent. She couldn't say UA students wouldn't. Not when one already had.

 “I don't regret defending you guys,” Midoriya said, slightly slurred. She wasn't trying to keep it away fully then. Her shoulders were slumped as she spoke, eyes down though. “But I regret… telling them.”

 “It's understandable,” Momo said softly. “Thank you. For defending us and for the USJ. You were brave.” Beautiful and dangerous to Momo knew, but she wouldn't bring that up just yet. (Maybe not ever.)

 “I wanted to save my Uncle. And survive,” Midoriya said.

 “It was more than what we did. My Mother certainly thought so,” Momo said sadly.

 “You guys don't have the training I do,” Midoriya said with a head shake. “I've fought villains before on patrols with my uncle and the other family members I get assigned to for experience. I knew what to do. You were fantastic for having no training.”

 Momo shook her head, unable to answer. She could have done better. She was the top student and had blown the former record for recommendation students out of the water. Everyone put so much faith in her, and then… she failed.

 “Wait, isn't your mom banned from contact?” Midoriya asked Momo after a moment.

 “… how did…”

 “I may not technically be a teaching assistant, but I do get some of the files just in case.” Midoriya propped her chin on the palm of her hand, leaning her elbow on the table. She looked relieved at the subject change, and Momo was reminded they discussed that before. “How is she contacting you?”

 “Emails,” Momo said. She knew she should have told her dad and said something to an adult, but it was her mother. Even if each email burned and hurt, it was still her.

 “… my father killed my mom and beat me so hard my jaw broke in two places. That's why I have a bit of a slur to my words.” Midoriya said. Momo’s head jerked towards the other girl, staring at her. Midoriya didn't look away. She looked scared but determined, holding the other’s gaze. “He didn't do more because he wanted to auction me off more or less to some rich bitch who would want a Quirkless broodmare. I know that the Hero Commission was bidding; it's why they're very… accommodating about me being Quirkless and my being a protege. I have evidence and will use it.” Midoriya sighed. “Good thing I want kids anyway since I can hold that over their heads of letting them pick the donor. I'm gay, so no penis, please.” She gave a half smile. “But my point is… Mom had left him. She didn't speak to him, she had a restraining order… but he emailed her, and she never stopped him.”

 Momo looked down, her hands gripping each other firmly. Her mother… Her mother wouldn't…

 Her mother wouldn't beat her. Wouldn't kill her.

 But she wasn't safe, was she?

 That night, Momo told her father about the emails. He was upset she had hidden them but understood.

 “Your friend Midoriya is a good one,” he said when Momo explained why she finally told him, omitting the personal details.

 “She is,” Momo agreed, thinking of the half smile. Dark lipstick had been the makeup choice today, and it made her smile seem like a ray of sun coming through the darkness.

 Momo wanted to see it more.

(”I’m giving all my secrets away,” Izumi told Keigo, the two playing video games. The perks of having blackmail meant she could use it to get her friend some time off. He was an adult, so their friendship was strange, but they were friends.

 “Huh?” the winged hero asked, trying to beat her in combat.

 “Yaoyorozu. I told her about Hisashi,” Izumi said, completing a combo move.

 “Really?”

 “Yeah. She’s in a similar boat. I wanted to tell her about him to… warn her. That she should shut down her mother contacting her.” Izumi admitted. Keigo paused the game, earning a taunt he didn't want to lose, though he ignored it to face her.

 “This is the girl Dabi said you were crushing on?”

 “It is not a crush, and Dabi needs to focus on his weird ass romance with that mercenary,” Izumi muttered, mentally adding Keigo to the whole thing. She didn't want to touch any of that with a ten-foot pole. Z was intimidating as hell, and Izumi wanted no knowledge of whatever the three had going on because she felt she’d need brain bleach otherwise.

 “It's a crush,” Keigo teased. “I think it's good you're being more open. It helps.”

 “You, Uncle, Zizi and Auntie all tell me that. Yet rarely do you all take your advice,” Izumi grumbled. “I… I just said it. I'd already fucked up earlier, and then it came out because I was scared for her.”

 “Ah, the kid at the school. Hisashi called bragging,” Keigo told her. “Hence me being here since they did have to deal with that. You reporting the 1B kid kicked over a hornet’s nest, too.”

 “I wondered why you were here,” Izumi said. The blackmail to give him breaks had him sleeping more or doing whatever weird romantic thing he had with Dabi and Z. Sometimes; he hung out with her, but not like this. “I lost my temper.”

 “You were angry. It happens. I thought you wanted to be open anyway. Prove you do not need to be able-bodied or have a Quirk to be a hero,” Keigo said.

 “… I wanted to do it differently.” I wanted to be comfortable, Izumi didn't say. I wanted to be able to tell people I trusted. She wanted more control over her damn mouth before she admitted to the pain.

 “I get that. It's why there will be a big news story from me next week,” Keigo smirked, but Izumi just rolled her eyes. If it were news, she’d find out. “You wanted her to know. Wanted to help and have her know something private. Because you like her.”

 “It's not a crush,” Izumi insisted. Keigo rolled his eyes, and she kicked him with a pout. “By the way, the Commission was bugging me again. When do you want a kid?”

 “When you're a damn adult, and it's not skeevy to have you be a surrogate or when Z says she's willing to carry a baby,” Keigo muttered in disgust. Izumi just laughed, shaking her head.

 She felt a bit better now.)

-0-

  HAWKS COMES OUT AS THE CHILD OF A VILLAIN was a title that blazed all over the news a week after Midoriya’s confrontation with the other students. It finally beat out the low murmur of Vlad King being fired after he was discovered to have violated his probation. His encouragement of the rivalry and lacklustre handling of students had been pointed out as the reason.

 Momo felt the latter was more important than the first and told her friends so.

 “I don't disagree,” Iida said at lunch. While Hawks’s story is noteworthy, our concerns should lie with our sister class and the disturbance they are facing.”

 “I heard a couple of the kids got pulled from the hero course, the class president included!” Kaminari said in a conspiratory tone.

 “Same,” Uraraka agreed; Asui- no, Tsu, she preferred that- eating calmly beside her.

 “I hear it's for good reason,” Jirou put forward. “She was smacking other classmates for acting out. Imagine if she did that as a hero. Just SMACK at the back of the neck to a colleague.”

 “She could have seriously hurt someone!” Iida shook his head. “What if their Quirk made their neck weak?”

 “Agreed,” Midoriya said, coming up to their table. Her voice wasn't as controlled as it was earlier that day. She looked exhausted as she sat down, dressed in her limelight outfit. “Hawks only did this to ride off my speech; knowing him, he felt it the perfect time.”

 “You know Hawks?” Jirou asked, sounding disbelieving.

 “I know a lot of heroes. Some because they know I'm Quirkless and want the PR for when someone finally publishes it that I'm around,” snorted Midoriya. “Hawks, though, is my babysitter sometimes because I’m friends of a sort with one of his friends, and I also may or may not end up his surrogate, thanks to the Commission.”

 “...I think I need you to unpack all of that,” Kaminari said.

 “I’m Quirkless, meaning any child I have with someone who has a Quirk will have a ten times stronger Quirk than their other parent. The Commission is all too eager to support me in exchange for an agreement to carry a kid from a hero. Hawks is one of the possibilities; I know Endeavour could be one too,” Midoriya said distastefully.

 “Gross,” Kaminari said.

 “It’s life. I actually want kids anyway, so I don’t mind. Co-parenting would be simple,” Midoriya shrugged. “I’d rather have a shady deal and make my dream than not. It’s not that shady anyway.”

 “As long as I’m an uncle, I support you,” Iida said to Midoriya. She smiled at him, the amusement in her eyes painting this as a familiar joke before she switched topics.

 “Vlad King is a good hero, but he’s a terrible teacher,” she informed them. “I won’t go into what I know; a lot of it is private or at least confidential, but I will say his encouragement of rivalry has caused issues in the past that have now escalated into his removal as a teacher.”

 “What about the kids removed from the class?” Jirou asked.

 “1C has taken them. Gas Attack, the teacher, is in charge. She’s got a Class 9 Quirk for which she needs equipment, and she’s on a watchlist due to the dangers of her ability. She’s one of the best for sniffing out problems and driving home hard realities. She’ll get them sorted if she can; if not, she isn’t a bad teacher to have,” Midoriya shrugged. “I’m more worried about the media digging further into Vlad King.”

 “How so?” Momo asked curiously.

 “UA has secrets. Not many, and none are bad, but some could get dragged out,” Midoriya said. “Some stuff is kept quiet due to confidentiality or because it's like rescue points. It's something that any hero SHOULD think about, but not everyone does. As well… there's the program Nezu runs.” Midoriya hesitated. “You’ve seen the girl with space buns around, right?”

 “Toga? Yes,” Uraraka said with a nod. “She kind of seems intense.” Momo tried to think of the girl but had never talked to her. She was around often, though, her eyes glittering strangely at times.

 “Toga is part of a program Nezu keeps on the down low. It's a rehabilitation program for youth offenders. Toga has QAB, but her parent's neglect and abuse brought hers on.” Midoriya said quietly.

 “QAB?” Kaminari asked. “I think I've heard of that…”

 “Quirk Affected Behaviour, kero,” Tsu said. “I have it to a lot of people with a mutation or mental Quirks have it. It's why I act frog-like; my brain is wired that way.”

 “People with mental Quirks are more likely to have mental health concerns and are more susceptible to things like Huntington's and Dementia, too,” Midoriya said. “Toga has a physical Quirk that lets her shapeshift after she's tasted the blood of someone she's changing into. She needs blood, and her parents decided to keep her bloodless because they practiced Quirk suppression. She's very open about this, but she's also struggling.”

 “If she was denied blood, no wonder she has QAB, Kero,” Tsu said.

 “Exactly. She doesn't need it to live, but it helps her sanity and emotional regulation. Even just a bloody steak once a week would have helped, but her parents refused. So eventually, she snapped and killed three people before a friend of mine, Dabi, found her. He was also in the program and helped her out.” Midoriya looked at them sternly. “She is better and is in therapy. Her killings were deemed an action of insanity. Having her here isn't illegal, but…”

 “The media would cause a scandal,” Momo said. She didn't know what to think about a murderer being at the school, but as it was a sanity break, she could forgive it a bit more. It was a little unnerving, though.

  “Yeah. She can't be a hero- her psychosis is still there. She's aware it's wrong, but she can't move past her thoughts. But she is scary good with management stuff, so she's doing that. However, having her at a Hero School…” Midoriya shrugged.

 “Understandable. I made the cut-off for Heroics with my QAB, but my little brother didn't, Kero.” Tsu voiced. “He's upset about it.”

 “QAB is serious. My mom had it, which…” Midoriya sighed and shook her head. “It was not good.”

  “Can we befriend her?” Uraraka asked.

 “Go ahead, but if she talks about love, stop it. Part of her QAB is she is convinced that ‘love’ means becoming the person you love, which, for her, is killing them to take their place. She knows it's wrong, but again, she can't move past it.” Midoriya explained. “Do not encourage it and change the subject. She likes video games, cute stuff and pastel goth fashion. Also, if she says she loves you, go to a teacher.”

 “Sounds good,” Uraraka nodded, looking determined.

 “I wonder if we could point out Bakugou and say his attitude is Quirk-related, and they'd pull him,” Kaminari suddenly said. Momo pursed her lips. It was an attractive thought.

 “He doesn't have QAB. His Quirk is physical only, unlike Toga’s, which has a shapeshifting element. He got tested when my mom was diagnosed,” Midoriya said. “I did, too. Mostly because my mom was convinced, I had an analyst Quirk for a few years. I don’t, but she made me do it.”

 “We had to do a lot of tests to get into UA,” Uraraka pointed out. “A kid from my school had an IED, and he wasn't allowed to be a hero.”

 “IED?”

 “Intermittent explosive disorder. Basically, he had these emotions that caused him to fly into rages every so often. He had a fire Quirk and got away with a lot of stuff until his diagnosis. He's in a facility now,” Uraraka said.

 “A lot of mental health diagnoses or medical conditions automatically disqualify you from heroics. People don't know that, though, because it's not talked about,” Midoriya said.

 “The line is anyone can be a hero. But it's not the truth,” Iida agreed. “Anyone can be one; however, sometimes it's not safe for them or others to be heroes.”

 “… okay how did we get on this topic?” Jirou asked.

 “It's kind of all connected. Hawks has a criminal dad, meaning his worthiness of being a hero is in doubt, and Vlad King was removed from his teaching position because he isn't doing what is needed. So discussing qualifications of heroics is connected.” Kaminari said.

 Momo nodded. It had been an exciting conversation, and she was happy Midoriya wasn't hiding away. She was with the class all week but hadn't eaten with them.

 It was nice she was back.

(Izumi didn't like Toga that much. The girl always knew she was wrong but had gone along with her whims. Insanity or not, that had always disturbed Izumi. Toga had a psychosis, and it wasn't her fault, but it didn't mean Izumi had to LIKE the girl.

 But it was nice to chat with her friends after everything. Yaoyorozu talked with her still, and he wasn't put off by Izumi’s confession about what had happened years back. Izumi smiled, thinking of the other girl. The past week had been crazy with the Vlad King stuff and handling the outcomes of her little speech. The purple kid, Shinsou, had apologized to her. He was also in therapy, apparently, but he would swap his therapist, who'd been encouraging his attitude.

 The other stuff, though, was trickier. Vlad King wasn't a bad man; he was just very… competitive and had issues recognizing problematic behaviour. Uncle Sho had been similar in many ways before he took her in, and it was only because he wanted to set a good example that he started therapy for his issues. He still didn't like admitting he was wrong, but he at least admitted that therapy helped.

 “So, it's official,” Hizashi said as Izumi entered the staff room. “ID is now the 1B teacher. They'll be here next week.”

 “Tensei will be happy,” Nemuri said. “Hey, kiddo, did you sit with Yaoyorozu again?” the heroine waggled her eyebrows, and Izumi rolled her eyes.

 “Yes,” she said, not bothering to hide the slur to the word. “Am I sitting in the announcer's booth this year?”

 “Nah, you’ll be working as a referee,” Hizashi said. “You have good insights and Quirk analysis, but you should keep that quiet for now if you really want to play up the flirty badass.”

 “Agreed,” Nemuri said with a nod. “Hide the brain, play up the flirt. Ooh, I think-”

 “No,” Izumi said. “I’m sort of a superior.”

 “And?” Nemuri joked, but she looked understanding.

 It wasn’t fair that Izumi always had to be aware of the issues surrounding her and the others. She couldn’t just be friends with them, not right now anyway. Maybe if she got a license early and signed on as a sidekick with someone else… not Nighteye. He was doing better after the verbal dressing down and therapy. But Izumi knew she couldn’t stand working with him long term. They were too much alike.

 However, the only one Izumi wanted to work with was either her Uncle or Zizi. She trusted them and knew they had her best interests at heart. Anyone else could use her for clout or be like that one hero who tried to make her quit out of ‘worry’ for her being Quirkless.

 “Is there anything I need to know for the afternoon lessons?” Izumi asked after a moment. Might as well get back to work.)

-0-

 The Sports Festival started out amazing. Momo got fourth place, behind Iida, Bakugou and Todoroki. They placed first in the Calvary battles. She had been so happy…

 Now, she was shaking as she stood in the hallway. She’d lost to Tokoyami. He was a strong opponent yet, but… it took five seconds for him to beat her. She covered her face, not wanting to look at anything.

 She’d lost. Her, Momo, the top student and the highest scorer on the recommendation exam. She’d lost.

 Was Mother right? Was she nothing? Was all of this because of her money? Was-

 “Yaoyorozu.” a voice said, sounding relieved. Momo looked up to see Midoriya, who was wearing her limelight hero outfit, plus an orange lanyard declaring her an apprentice. “You okay?”

 “I’m fine. I…” Momo wiped her face. “Tokoyami won fair and square. It… I am fine.”

 “No, you’re not,” Midoriya disagreed. “You want to talk about it?”

 “I…” Momo started to shake her head, but the words that came out of her mouth just came. “I lost so fast.”

 “Tokoyami isn’t just one person; he’s two people simultaneously. You’re not fighting just him,” Midoriya said reasonably. “But I bet that’s not a comfort,” she sighed. “Just an excuse.”

 “I’m the top student. I was recommended. How can I fail so badly,” Momo said. “He’s a strong opponent, but five seconds…”

 “Yaoyorozu, I’m going to be blunt,” Midoriya began slowly. “But you tend to go for the chess style of fighting. You like to plan and adapt. It’s why you’re amazing when we have scenarios you can think through. But reacting to a situation instantly is something you need to work on. You’re not bad at it, but the chess thoughts overcome your mind when you panic.”

 “Oh,” Momo blinked upon hearing that. “I am more trained for long-term plans.”

 “Which isn’t bad. It's a vital skill when you’re a hero working on large-scale operations,” Midoriya said. “But in a fight, you need to be quick on your feet. Do you know about batting cages?”

 “Yes…” Momo said slowly.

 “I suggest going to one where you can use your Quirk and have it firing at you. Respond with shields, and try to make it faster each time. Then get a friend to come and randomly surprise you.” Midoriya said. “I know that with Info Dropper now on staff they plan to use their Quirk to build better personalized plans, so that may happen soon anyway.”

 “I still lost,” Momo said, feeling guilty for being so upset about it.

 “It’s the first sports festival, and you beat how many others?” Midoriya pointed out. “I loved you drop-kicking Mineta when he grabbed you. It was beautiful.”

 “Thank you,” Momo said, smiling a little at the memory. “It’s mostly 1A students in the finals,” she said out loud.

 “It is. 1B is suffering from Vlad King’s mismanagement plus ID is a hard taskmaster.” Midoriya said. “Everyone else didn’t try to hard.”

 “Except for Hatsume and Shinsou,” Momo said. “Can I ask if anything has happened with him after the…”

 “Blow out?” Midoriya asked. She shrugged at Momo’s nod. “He’s been talked to, and he’s actually trying now, so I think we’re good. Hatsume did well until her fight, hence her disqualification after it turned out she lied to Tenya. That was dishonesty and very against the rules.”

 “She didn’t seem to think so,” Momo said, remembering the girl yelling about it being unfair she couldn’t show off her babies.

 “She lied to Tenya about wanting a fair match and then used it against him. It’s not a bad move as an underground hero, but in the sports festival context, it was dishonest and against the rules. She’s also probably going to be blacklisted for a year.” Midoriya said. “The sports festival is crucially important for hero students. If she were one herself or a dual program student, it would have been seen as a good thing. As someone in support, it will be taken as she can’t follow the rules or respect others. Plus, the Iida family is highly respected. She will find herself suddenly short a lot of friends.”

 “It’s that important?!” Momo asked in horror. What did it mean that she had failed so badly?

 “Yaoyorozu, you are a first-year student. No one will hold you, failing against you but yourself. You’re strong, smart, and adaptable, but you aren’t perfect. No one is.” Midoriya told her honestly. “You have time.”

 Momo nodded, deciding to take those words to heart. Or try to.

 She had gotten far.

(The next day back at school, Izumi was half listening to ID rant about the ‘dumbasses who allow certain heroes to request interns’ as the hero furiously tossed some requests into the trash. They’d been drafted to help pick out proper mentors given their Quirk.

 “I mean, I get why she does this, but for a first year? No,” ID said as they tossed a letter into the refusal pile.

 “Who?”

 “Uwabami,” ID said, their eyes flashing as they got the information from the name. “She tends to go after the girls who look down on other girls or for those she thinks need an ego boost. There’s that new law being debated for mutation Quirks, and she may look more human than not, but I’ve seen her unhinge her jaw to eat a full turkey. So she puts her face out there, looks pretty, and makes noises about her being a mutant, too, and how those laws affect her. Insert pretty pout, leaning over to show off her cleavage, and a lot of guys don’t want her to not be on TV.” ID listed.

 “But you don’t want her taking first-year students.” Izumi summarized.

 “No. That girl with the creation Quirk? Your crush? She would be very put off by the placement, and while sure she needs some self-esteem, Snakey isn’t a good choice.” ID shook their head. “I see why Nezu asked me to pre-screen. This is dumb as hell.”

 “ID!” Nemuri said upon entering the room. “How is Tensei?”

 “Good. He’s still shaken,” ID said with a sigh. “But Stain is in custody and will be for some time. I’m just happy my brother was in Hosu, even if it was to intimidate Engine Boy over his intentions now that we’re in the same country.”

 “Is Squirt in trouble for using his Quirk?” Nemuri asked.

 “No. He’s actually being praised. He’s also offered his own pseudo-internship to that purple kid from gen-ed. It is just a general ‘hey, so we both have similar Quirks, and I’m going to teach you ethics’ since the kid lacks a few. The Possum is in favour, so is the kid’s teacher and Done is alright,” ID listed. Izumi had to take a second to remember who the Possum and Done were. ID’s Quirk only worked with names and not the specific nicknames they gave, but they got confusing sometimes.

 “Why does Uncle Sho need to know?” Izumi asked.

 “Kid wants to be underground. He’s the guy who vets them usually, though the Possum is trying to lure others here,” ID said casually. “Done says he won’t take another apprentice other than basic training with his scarf; he’s got you. Hopefully, the ki… nope, students. Can’t gossip.”

 “She’s not a student,” Nemuri said.

 “She’s buddies with some,” ID countered. The two began bickering over it as Izumi listened, though her mind moved from their discussion to the first point.

 Yaoyorozu wasn’t confident. Izumi had picked up on it, but… this seemed more serious. If ID, who tended to brush aside minor issues and outright ignore solvable things, mentioned it…

 How to increase confidence, though?)

-0-

 Momo did not know how any of this happened. One minute, she followed her work studies teacher, Manual; the next, she made fire extinguishers while chowing down on high-calorie snack bars as the entire city burned.

 “Can you make wire nets? These things are vicious?” Her mentor said as he ducked a swipe from a Nomu, one of the creatures from the USJ. Momo shoved a snack bar into her mouth and made a net wordlessly. “Thanks!” he ran off with it, and she kept going.

 “MOVE!” a voice shouted, slightly garbled, and then there was Midoriya. She was on top of a Nomu, knife in hand, cutting at its wings. Momo swallowed a too-big chunk, choking briefly, and saw Midoriya highlighted by the fires behind her. “STAIN IS LOOSE! I REPEAT!” Midoriya shouted to everyone in a clear voice. “STAIN IS LOOSE! SUSPECTED INVOLVEMENT WITH THE GROUP THAT ATTACKED THE USJ!” her voice slurred on the last few words, but she pressed on. She looked at Momo and nodded before running off.

 Momo only had time to wonder why the other girl was here before she was distracted with work again. She and Todoroki (there with his father) worked side by side until a text came through their phones. He noticed, first, an address from Midoriya.

 “Manual!” Momo shouted to her mentor. “Mid- I mean, Trash Panda! She sent a location!”

 “Shit, alright,” Manual grabbed a sidekick. “Valkyrie, go with the students!” he said, pushing her towards Momo and Todoroki, who was already running.

 They found their way to the location, where a hero was on the ground with blood around him and an armoured figure recognizable as Iida. Fighting off a man with a red scarf carrying a sword was Midoriya. She was jumping around with her scarf, lifting her, and throwing knives. She’d lost her jacket and had a cut on her stomach. She seemed eager to keep away from the man.

 “It’s Stain!” shouted the downed hero. “He tastes your blood, you’re down!”

 “More fakes?” Stain said darkly.

 “Oh, for the love of fucking GODS!” Midoriya shouted, her voice slurred and angry. “Stop with the fucking self-congratulatory speeches about only you know what a true hero is!” she threw a knife at the man, who dodged with a snarl.

 “You fakes-”

 “Oh fuck off. All you’re doing is bitching. No one follows the ideals you set forward. What, you think certain Quirks should be banned from heroics too?” Midoriya mocked.

 Momo ran to Iida and the other hero- Native, she thought he was- while Todoroki and Valkyrie ran at Stain. Bandages were coming from her arms as she heard Midoriya continually mock Stain, calling him a rapid fanboy and an ‘egotistical mother fucker who wanted his name in the books. Does that sound familiar, Stainy?’ It was somewhat amusing, and she had to keep her eyes firmly on the people she was helping, or Midoriya would distract her.

 “I should have gotten help,” Iida said in shame. “But I saw Native was hurt and just couldn’t leave.”

 “So it really isn't about your brother?” Native asked.

 “That’s my cousin beating up Stain. She already beat me up when I mentioned revenge,” Iida said dryly.

 “Ah, I see how that would be…” Native looked at Midoriya, and Momo glanced back to see the girl kicking Stain in the face as Todoroki tried to freeze him. “Reason to reconsider.”

 “She’s amazing,” Momo couldn't help but say. Iidas gave her a look she flushed at.

 “She is gay if you're interested,” he said finally. Momo ignored him.

 That wasn't any of his business.

(Izumi wished they had more people who could block teleportation Quirks. Dealing with Stain after he got out, thanks to the League of Villains, was not fun. She almost wanted to cry when she sat down at the press conference. The long cut she got on her stomach was healed up but tender and her head ached from a lucky shot that had it bouncing off the ground.

 Yet there she was at a press conference, given she was again involved with something big. She looked out at the crowd of reporters, noticing how some looked smug. Why?

 “I have a question for Trash Panda!” one said when the time for questions started. She was blue-skinned with purple hair, and the smugness was oozing off her.

 “Yes?” Izumi asked, giving her best smile.

 “I’m Kizuki Chitose with Shoowaysha News. We interviewed Mrs. Watanabe, who said she was surprised you were on TV claiming to have graduated early. She said you frequently cheated but blamed others,” the reporter said in a smug tone. “You also got her fired for wrongful reasons. Your response?”

 “Aldera Elementary was investigated for abuse,” Izumi said bluntly. “I already spoke of the abuse from my father, but what few realize was that the school as well was abusive. They let students use their Quirks on each other and, when discussing anatomy, would drag certain people to force them to show their ‘freakish’ appendages.” Izumi said. “Among those were a girl with cat ears and tail, a boy with six arms, and me, as I am Quirkless. They were very invested in pointing at my feet to discuss my backwardness.”

 That got the crowd going, but Izumi pressed on, staring down Kizuki. “I am Quirkless. People say that means I have to be stupid, but the highest IQ was 400, achieved by a Quirkless man centuries ago. My so-called cheating was proven time and again not to be by the Anti-Cheating Board and various officials. Mrs. Watanabe was the worst of my teachers and once attempted to force me to strip to show off where my appendix was before I got it removed.” Izumi stood up and motioned to her side, where the faint scar was before she sat back down. “It’s funny you say you spoke to her. Did you do any research on her claims? Or did you simply decide that you could accuse me? Because it is public knowledge.” Izumi stared down the woman, who looked pissed.

 “What about the so-called speech impediment you used to have?” Kizuki demanded. “She says you faked it, and I don't hear it now.”

 “I have it,” Izumi stopped trying to hide it, letting it colour her words. “If you look into the case against my father, you’ll notice how I got it. I don't want to discuss the incident, so I won't. But it makes things hard to understand.” she looked at the sea of reporters who were all listening in. Some looked like they couldn't understand her, others looked thoughtful. “I am Quirkless. I am disabled. This is not something I hide. The claim I am lying or that certain things happened is false. Perhaps you should check your sources better.”

 The sheer rage makes Izumi want to flinch, but it lets everyone launch other questions. Some she was prepared for—why be a hero, how could she be a hero, the laws involved, and so on. But one…

 “Is it true you're engaged to fellow hero student Bakugou Katsuki?” a man asked. Izumi had to do a double take.

 “What?” she stared at him, completely baffled. “No? I'm not a hero student; I’m an apprentice. And no. My mentor is my guardian, and he cancelled anything my father set up, but I've never agreed to anything like that.” Izumi looked at the man, very confused. He raised an eyebrow.

 “A recent Tweet from said boy says different.” The man said.

 “… I am not engaged,” Izumi said dryly. “And it will never happen with him. I'm gay. Any other questions?”

 What had that been about?

 After the conference, Izumi checked her phone. There were messages from Todoroki, Tenya, and Yaoyorozu. Todoroki had sent a warning that his father was angry that she was getting recognition. Izumi sent back an acknowledgment and then forwarded it to Dabi. 

 Tenya was apologizing again. He'd gotten separated from Gran Torino and had been trying to find him when he'd stumbled on Stain. He did try to save Native, no revenge. Good, she’d kick his ass again otherwise.

 Momo’s made her smile. A congrats on her press conference and expressing hope she was okay. Izumi texted back a confirmation, tucking her phone away. She liked texting Momo. It was lovely.)

-0-

  The day after the internships, Momo backed up Midoriya, who was staring down Bakugou.

 “For the love of all that’s holy,” Midoriya was saying, voice slurred and annoyed, “why the fuck did you do that?”

 “Because it was true,” he growled. “We were engaged. The bag talked about it.”

 “Well, not anymore. Besides, you were one of many Hisashi who wanted to marry me off, too, so it’s probable we actually weren't.” Midoriya said dryly. “Why post it? Why do you have this constant need to be in the spotlight and this obsession with me?”

 “I'm not obsessed with you! You're obsessed with me!” Bakugou shouted. “Always following me around with your stalker notebooks and-”

 “I haven't been near you since we were eleven, and they weren't stalker notebooks,” Midoriya said. “I literally lived two blocks over from your house. I was going home whenever you saw me, and honestly, after I turned seven, I got bored with your Quirk. Everyone else had cooler ones.” Midoriya said bluntly. “You were the one who always had to have a go at me. You were the one always complaining. I kept away from you. Even now, who starts any of this? I literally walked in here, and you started. This is on you.” Bakugou glared at her, looking pissed as Kirishima looked torn.

 The gossip Jirou imparted to Momo the day before said that Bakugou’s disqualification for attempting to attack Shinsou after his loss had shaken Kirishima. His claims of cheating and that the ‘stupid Brainwashing bitch’ was a liar had been too much. The theory presented by Ashido stated Kirishima believed Bakugou to be a victim of bullying himself or someone who'd been told his whole life he would be a villain.

 Momo was confident it had no basis, given how Midoriya talked about him. She did see how Kirishima got that idea, though.

 “You’re a fucking worthless Deku, and you always will be!” he snarled at Midoriya.

 “And you’re nothing but the same asshole you were as a kid,” Midoriya said. She turned away as Aizawa came into the room. Bakugou looked baffled as if he didn’t understand what was going on.

 Momo focused on class, though, and left for lunch with her friends. Toga had been looking at their table before Todoroki joined the group, surprising them. The space bun girl looked put out but seemed to move on.

 “It’ll piss off my father being around you,” he told Midoriya, who shrugged.

 “You’re dad’s a bitch. I support this,” she told him.

 “He is,” Todoroki said as the others snickered.

 “Ah, shitty parents run in the class then,” Kaminari said. “My dad’s been starting shit about Midoriya now. No offense.”

 “Which does he have an issue with?” she asked.

 “The slurring,” Kaminari said. “Not the Quirklessness.”

 “Huh,” Midoriya shrugged.

 “My parents think it’s epic and want to have a talk with Bakugou. That was so weird seeing that,” Jirou said.

 “My mother emailed me, but I only sent it to my dad,” Momo offered. “She’s not supposed to have contact with me, and I let it go for too long, but… it wasn’t good.” There were a lot of insults and mocking of Momo for needing to be saved by a variety of words that made her make a picture of the woman to destroy.

 “My parents are similar to Jirou’s. They asked me to stay away from someone who’d post that sort of thing, more so with some videos they found,” Uraraka.

 “Videos?” Midoriya asked, her face paling. “Shit, they uploaded me being bullied, didn’t they?”

 “Yeah. Like… it’s dumb kid stuff, but some comments say Quirks were involved,” Uraraka admitted. “Didn’t you know?”

 “Sort of. I knew it was out there, but not what exactly.” Midoriya sighed. “I don’t want Bakugou expelled,” she said. It felt odd and slightly out of place, causing all the students to do a double-take. “I fear what he could become without the support and structure of UA. If he needs to be removed, sending him to 1C is better than outright expulsion. I’ll have to make some report now to clear that up.” She stood up, pushing away from the table. “Another thing…” she muttered before taking off.

 “What’s that about?” Uraraka asked Iida, who sighed.

 “It’s not unknown, but Shinsou, the 1C boy? He’s been half-accepted into heroics as long as he proves himself. He has a teacher giving him personal instruction. Mrs. Blink, she teaches second-year math,” Iida explained. “But he’s upset because he wanted Aizawa to teach him, as he idolizes the man and has even shown skill with a captured weapon.”

 “Yet Midoriya is his apprentice,” Todoroki said.

 “Exactly. So he’s upset at her, and it’s caused a mess. It’s become known among staff and even some of us other students who take extra classes,” Iida warned. “People are bad-mouthing Shinsou more for demanding even more from UA when he’s gotten so much. Which is causing backlash.”

 “Well, duh, he’s demanding a specific teacher when one’s already assigned?” Jirou shook her head. “This kid is… entitled isn't he?”

 Momo noticed a familiar purple hair behind Jirou and watched his shoulders stiffen. She ate her food quietly.

 Midoriya saved lives recently and helped take down a serial killer with delusions of grandeur. She then got bashed by multiple media sources for being Quirkless.

 Momo had a crush, but anyone with sense would know she didn't deserve hate for being lucky.

(”Did we catch it early?” Izumi asked Nezu.

 “No. The media got some from my minor hacking. I expect we’ll see articles tomorrow,” the principal said.

 “Try this evening,” Info Dropper remarked from where they'd been dragged into the miniature war meeting.

 “Shit,” Shouta rubbed his face as he glanced towards his niece. “You okay?”

 “I already said the schools were investigated. I'm just worried about how everything else will pan out,” Izumi admitted. “Bakugou won't let this go.”

 “He’ll be moved to 1B like we’ve been trying?” Nezu said. “Info Dropper is skilled enough to handle him, and he’ll be on a tight leash, so to speak. Other than verbal abuse, he hasn't resorted to his old physical bullying, so we will use that in our defence of keeping him on. We have the opening in 1B to make it happen.”

 “Suckerpunch needs more time in therapy before I want her back in class,” Info Dropper said. While the other students had returned to 1B after the sports festival, Kendo was still stuck in 1C. It wasn't going well. “I thought Sleepy Boi would be in my class with the issues concerning his tantrum.”

 “He didn't have a tantrum. He just complained,” Izumi said. “It's annoying and causing issues, but it’s not like he's insulting me and threatening me.”

 “Squirt will set the kid straight.” ID said. “Or I will. But should he go to Done?”

 “I'm honestly the best person to teach him, more so next semester when we get to the personal training I have with my students… unless the dumb plan to get them provisional licenses goes through,” Shouta said.

 “I vote no on that still,” Izumi said, even though it wasn't her call. “It'll let the Commission deploy them as heroes, and if things go as bad as we think…”

 “Point. I'll withdraw my request,” Nezu decided. I'd rather not have first-year students fighting a war.”

 “Well, we’ll move Bakugou. Tell the board they can deal with the PR nightmare if they complain,” Shouta nodded. “It should probably wait till finals, though. Bakugou’s on his last strike; if he messes this up, it’s demotion to gen ed.”

 “Does he know that?” Izumi had to ask.

 “I told him. We’ll see if he listens.”)

-0-

 Momo enjoyed studying and was happy that so many wanted to join her little group. Some were people she did not often spend time with, such as Ashido, so it was nice to devote more time with them. Midoriya had begged off when she was asked to hang out, the girl reminding them she was somewhat their superior. She knew what would be on the tests, so it was more reasonable she did not help out. Toga had offered to help, too, but Uraraka had made an excuse, confiding in Momo the blonde was being weird. She already confessed her love to the gravity girl, so it meant they needed to be kept apart anyway.

 Which was the current topic of discussion.

 “Bakugou’s saying since he has to be moved, it means the engagement is still on,” Ashido said to Uraraka, who rolled her eyes hard.

 “She’s gay, she went on live television to say so,” Uraraka said.

 “He said she’s bisexual and lying, but even Kiri is telling him to knock it off. Hopefully, being tutored by the asshole gets through the last of his weird block about realizing how much Bakugou sucks,” Ashido looked at her papers. “Ugh, math is the worst.”

 “Everyone knows Yaomomo and Midoriya like each other,” Sero said. Momo’s face went warm, looking away. “What? It’s true.”

 “Midoriya may like me,” Momo hedged. She didn’t believe it, but her therapist told her she should try to accept the idea people may like her. She’d been rejecting the notion for some time. “But given her position, it wouldn’t be appropriate.”

 “So? Wait till her apprenticeship is done. She’s been one for over a year; she just needs to pass the tests,” Sero said.

 “Can we focus on studying?” Momo asked, and thankfully, Uraraka helped get people back on track. Momo let her mind wander a little about that, though, the idea of dating after Midoriya became a sidekick. She’d still work with her uncle, Momo figured, but perhaps she would no longer work at UA. It would be sad to lose the girl, but… if they could date… maybe…

 Maybe.

(“I’m sorry,” Shinsou said to Izumi. She lifted her head in surprise, raising an eyebrow at him. They’d been recording his averages for the test he needed to pass to meet the physical requirements of UA’s hero course, something he’d forgotten about when complaining about the entrance exam. Yes, he failed there, but he’d also failed the physical requirements. It was simply easier to blame outside influences than your own shortcomings. “For the stuff with Eraserhead and me complaining.”

 “Squirt kick your ass?” Izumi asked.

 “He did. And Mrs. Blink and Gas Attack and a bunch of others. I was… I dunno. I built up the idea of being this lone wolf who was let down by society and saw Eraserhead as just like me,” Shinsou said. “And being trained by him was my dream.”

 “I get it.” Izumi allowed. “How’s therapy?” Should she know this stuff? Probably not, but somehow, she’s become the group TA for the first-year teachers, or at least Shouta, Info Dropper and Gas Attack.

 “Good. My victimization complex is under control,” Shinsou joked. “How’s Bakugou’s bullshit?”

 “How did you know about that?” Izumi had to ask.

 “Other kids are talking about it. Plus, he’s shown up trying to find you. We always send him off; it’s kind of weird.” Shinsou said. Izumi shook her head, focusing on finishing up the writing she needed. “Are you safe?”

 “I am,” she promised.

 “And your girlfriend? The creation girl?” Shinsou asked.

 “Not my girlfriend.” Izumi corrected.

 “Really?” Shinsou blinked in surprise. “Why not?”

 “For one, I don’t know if she likes me. And two, I’m technically a superior,” Izumi said.

 “She so likes you, but I’ll give the second,” Shinsou nodded and didn’t bring it up again.

 Izumi didn’t think Yaoyorozu liked her. Sure, They were friends, but… well, Izumi was the ‘half-feral’ Trash Panda, as one paper called her, after finding a picture of her biting a criminal. Yaoyorozu was so pretty, so proper… there wasn’t any chance.

 There wasn’t.)

-0-

 As finals approached, Kirishima punched Bakugou in the face and stopped hanging around him. It was right after some newspaper got an expose on the teenager about how he’d treated the rising star Trash Panda, whose fame was rising even more as Midoriya worked with Present Mic and others.

 Momo hadn’t been there, but it was retold with delight by Ashido, and it made her… feel strange.

 She didn’t like Bakugou. Not at all, and she would shed no tears about him being removed from the hero course. But for everyone to turn on him for things he did years ago was difficult. It wasn’t like it happened maybe a year or so ago; it had been when they were eleven. It would be different; Momo knew if he’d still been abusing Midoriya (for it was abuse with his words, fists and Quirk) when they were in middle school. Frankly, she’s halfway convinced he had other targets and wouldn’t be surprised if they started coming out of the woodwork now that the first gauntlet was thrown.

 But he was losing everything, and Momo could only watch him realize it. He would look around the classroom, looking confused or angry. He’d try to talk, only for people to ignore him or harshly remind him of their names. Any aggressive behaviour was avoided, and…

 It looked lonely. Not enough Momo would talk to him; she could not stand him. But she felt for him in a way.

 He lost everything and only received scraps in the end. Not even, actually. Momo should NOT have overheard his conversation with Aizawa a few days after the first study session with the class. She’d been waiting for Midoriya when she heard yelling. She’d gone to check just in case but overheard it.

 “You’re failing your ethics class and have two strikes, Bakugou. If you fail your final, you will be put into 1C, not 1B.”

 Bakugou was failing and would be removed if he didn’t pass, and now his entire class, including the boy who’d been insisting he was a good guy, had turned away. It was hard not to feel sorry for him.

 “It’s not on you,” Midoriya told her when Momo confessed what she heard. “I feel sorry for him, too, but it’s his bed.”

 “You feel sorry for him despite him being a bully?” Momo asked. “And for what he says to you sometimes?”

 “Bakugou is a teenager who has never been told no. I feel sorry that his first no, his first setback, is going to be about this,” Midoriya said. “I believe he can be a good hero, I do. I just also think he needs time. UA has connections to hero universities.” Midoriya shrugged, and Momo just had to say it.

 “You’re a good person for wanting him to be a hero,” she said honestly.

 “I don’t know about good,” Midoriya said. “I’m taking some glee in this even if I don’t show it.”

 “You’re a good person. You’re a good hero too, and…” Momo hesitated. “You saved me and the others at the USJ. You stopped Stain. Bakugou tried to form a connection with you, but you stopped it in its tracks without dragging him. If you get some petty revenge, I think you deserve it.”

 “Thanks,” Midoriya said after a moment. I’m thinking about taking the licensing exam soon. I'll be a sidekick and might decide to work with Present Mic or Nezu. He’s offered recently.”

 “Oh! Congrats!” Momo smiled at her friend, trying not to think it could mean they'd have a chance.

 Midoriya didn't like her like that. She didn't.

 “I… there are many reasons why I want to.” Midoriya babbled a little. “It's um…”

 “I…” Momo swallowed and gave a hopeful smile.

 Maybe she did.

(”I am a gay mess,” Izumi told Tenya as the two ran together.

 “And?” he asked. “I already knew that.”

 “Funny. I think Yaoyorozu likes me.”

 “I already knew that too.” Tenya joked, and Izumi nudged him with a pout. Or she tried; he dodged with a laugh.

 “I wanna date her. I'll take the sidekick exam this summer as planned, but now…”

 “Now, you may get a girlfriend later. Uncle Shouta doesn't take sidekicks,” Tenya nodded. “Who will you go with?”

 “Zizi offered. As did Nezu, actually.” Izumi said.

 “Nezu is better professionally, and it removes you fully as a superior to Yaoyorozu. Nezu’s sidekick will be doing Nezu's chores, not marking or teaching.” Tenya said.

 “That's true,” Izumi said. “Wow, I may get a girlfriend soon. You need a boyfriend now.”

 “No thanks. I prefer most of the boys in our class to be friends, and the one I would consider at all is going through things,” Tenya said. “And no girlfriend either for me.”

 “Is it Todoroki?” Izumi asked. “Uncle Sho is saying that he will expel Todoroki to 1C if he refuses to use his fire.” Nothing they were saying seemed to be getting through to him. He was friendly and sat with them to spite his father, but there was a gap. He didn’t want to listen. It reminded her a lot of Dabi when he was first going through the rehab program, needing to get it drilled in that he wasn’t a special snowflake. Others had just as bad lives.

 “I won't say,” Tenya replied.

 That meant yes, and a puzzle for Izumi to consider.)

-0-

 Momo was paired with Shinsou for the finals, and she found that she had to take control of the situation quickly as the boy did not know what to do—working with someone eager to listen and respectful of her felt… nice. Momo smiled at the boy after they finished the exam, having beaten Aizawa sensei with a catapult and a quick insult from Shinsou.

“I think you have officially gained entrance, Shinsou!” Momo said to the boy. Sure, there were the rough parts of his complaints, but he'd gotten over it, working with the other students to learn more.

 “Thanks, Yaoyorozu,” Shinsou said. “Worried about Trash Panda’s bout?” Momo fell silent.

 It had been decided that Midoriya would fight Bakugou and Todoroki herself, as All Might didn't know how to hold back. Momo could only feel fear, knowing that her… almost-girlfriend might be facing those two. Todoroki Momo didn't worry too much about it. But Bakugou?

 He was a worry.

 Still, Momo didn't let it get to her. Instead, they watched the rest of the exams until the final one. She couldn't look away.

 Midoriya led the boys into a trap, jumping around a warehouse-like building. She was cunning and swift as she lured them into Two rooms as the boys had split up. Bakugou was trapped with foam that prevented his Quirk from working while Todoroki was locked in an ice room.

 “This is… Disappointing,” Kaminari said as the timer began running out.

 “It's teamwork for Bakugou and fire for Todoroki,” Iida said after some thought. “We were all tested on our weaknesses. Yaoyorozu with her self esteem so she had to take a leadership role, Shinsou with working together…”

 “With someone I’d assume is a silver spoon asshole,” Shinsou interjected a little bitterly.

 “Yes. Ashido with Kaminari on their intelligence and figuring out more than direct routes… these two were paired up to see if they'd work together and if Todoroki could use fire.”

 “And they failed,” Recovery Girl said as the timer ended.

 Momo watched as Midoriya slumped on the screen, disappointed in the boys.

 Momo felt the same.

 (Izumi didn't stick around when Shouta came to free the boys. Bakugou’s screaming had proven that she should not be there. The yells of cheaters and unfairness lay on her shoulders.

 Had she been unfair? When they split up, she’d quickly taken advantage. Todoroki would need to use his fire to escape the cold room and free Bakugou. That had been her plan the entire time. Everyone agreed to it.

 But had it been unfair? Was it cruel? Did she do the right thing?

 “Well, Bakugou is now in general education until the second-year sports festival, and Todoroki has until the end of summer to use his fire, or he joins Bakugou,” Shouta said, sitting beside her.

 “… I feel guilty,” Izumi admitted.

 “Don’t. You did the right thing.” Shouta told her. “The boys would have failed with All Might, and you only used a scenario we all agreed on.”

 “The Bakugous might not see it that way,” Izumi said.

 “We told them this morning. We laid out our plan, and they agreed. We also told Endeavour, who might not like you but agrees his son needs to use his fire. Izumi, you did well.” Shouta told his niece. She laid her head on his shoulder with a sigh.

 “Thanks,” she signed, not feeling like talking. He hugged her.

 “You’re welcome, kid,” he said softly.

 She still felt guilty. Still felt awful. But… it was good, Izumi thought, that she had helped in some way.

 Hopefully, it would lessen the ache.)

-0-

 While it was revealed all the students would get to go, out of the last exam, only Todoroki would be going to the summer camp, and on his last try. The boy seemed numb and unfocused as he stared at his hands. Momo glanced at him in worry but had to focus on other things.

 Like asking Midoriya to the mall, sure, everyone was going, but Momo actually asked the girl herself. And Midoroya agreed! It was amazing.

 Momo put so much effort into her clothes that day, ensuring her hair was nice and everything. She beamed upon seeing Midoriya- dressed in skater pants and a denim jacket over a band shirt- who flushed upon seeing Momo in a blue dress with her hair down.

 “Hello Midoriya!” Momo said.

 “Hi,” Midoriya hadn't bothered controlling her voice other than making it clear in a while. It sounded so nice, and Momo just kept smiling at the other. “Umm, what did you need to get?”

 “Some new shoes. I can make my own, but I prefer buying them. I may be able to make them, but there's something about an actual company knowing what they're doing…” Momo shrugged as the group all entered the mall.

 Inside, Momo spotted a stall selling Trash Panda mercy, little stuffed figures of the girl beside her or little raccoons poking out of trash cans. Along with that, there were shirts, jackets and more. A familiar space-bunned girl was buying something, but Momo had to point it out, getting the entire class all cheering.

 “Oh god,” Midoriya blushed, covering her face. “Zizi said they would have some stuff up…”

 “It's cute. I'm going to get a raccoon!” Ashido said. Midoriya refused to approach the stall for fear of being recognized, so Momo hung back as they watched the class surround it.

 “I never thought about this until now,” Midoroya said softly. “Me having merch.”

 “Well, you are a hero,” Momo said softly. Midoriya shrugged.

 “I suppose. It's just… strange. I'm a hero. Me, the Quirkless girl who got the shit beaten out of her by her dad. It's… nice.” Midoriya smiled. “I wonder how many Quirkless kids are buying my stuff.”

 “Every single one, I bet,” Momo said as a man came up behind them.

 “Hey, you're from UA, aren’t you?” he asked. Midoriya was turning, elbow going up to block the man’s hand as she shoved Momo out of range before the other girl could blink.

 A look at the man’s face showed who it was. Shigaraki.

 “Oh, you recognized me.” the villain said darkly.

 “Shigaraki, I am placing you-” Midoriya began, but he interrupted her.

 “Why is everyone obsessed with Stain?” he demanded.

 Momo almost fell in shock, but instead, she stayed standing, staring in confusion.

 “What?” Midoriya asked. “Stain?”

 “He's the one talked about! Him and you! What’s so special about a whiny bitch like him?” Shigaraki growled. It was true- Stain dominated most of the reports, but it always mocked him. His ideals were ‘alright,’ but he was saying things everyone already knew, according to Midoriya in an interview. He was ‘just a sociopath desperate to get his name in history books.’

 “He had a goal,” Momo said, and Midoriya shook her head to prevent her from saying more. Sadly, Shigaraki seemed to take it to heart, a gruesome smile on his face.

 “A goal, huh? I can think of some…” he grinned further and then ran right at a civilian. Midoriya had to move, the scarf under her jacket coming out, and all Momo could think was she messed up.

 Again.

(”He got away. I was trying to get civilians out of the way while keeping back.” Izumi told the officer. “Looks like he got his fingers grafted back on. No signs if they work or not.”

 “Understood. Thanks, Trash Panda,” the man said before leaving. Izumi turned to see Yaoyorozu sitting at a table, looking upset.

 “It's not your fault,” Izumi told the girl, approaching the table.

 “I suggested a goal. He's now going to use that, won't he?” Yaoyorozu whimpered.

 “He was always going to do something,” Izumi said as she sat at the table.

 “But I-”

 “Said something dumb to a villain. It happens.” Izumi told Yaoyorozu, who still looked upset. “Know how Toga got caught? I told her she was cute, and she stalked me for a week.”

 “Oh.” Yaoyorozu looked a bit better after that. Izumi hesitated before asking softly,

 “Hey, this… mall thing was a bust. After the camp and my licensing exam, do you want to come back? As an actual date?” Izumi asked. Yaoyorozu smiled at her, eyes shining.

 “Yes. I'd like that.” the girl said. Izumi smiled, reaching out to touch the other’s hand.

 Despite everything, it had been a good day.)

-0-

 A promise of a date made Momo feel like she was floating in the weeks before the training camp. She kept smiling and giggling, which made her friends laugh.

 “You'd think you guys had a make-out session rather than just a promised date,” Uraraka joked as they left the pool. The girl had gotten permission to use it for recreational purposes. Apparently, the guys had decided to rent it the next day for some training, though Kaminari apparently made comments about swimsuits he was told off for. He hadn't meant anything bad, but he did feel awful when it was pointed out how the comments could be seen.

 “I bet she hopes it happens,” Jirou teased. Momo went red and shook her head.

 “I’d rather not talk about it right now,” she said. Tsu nodded and got the other girls off her case as Ashido frowned.

 “You know we don't hang around each other all that much. You four are friends more than us,” she motioned to Hagakure and herself.

 “Well, I just kind of fell into that dynamic,” Uraraka shrugged. “We hang out with Midoriya a lot too.”

 “And I hung out with blasty. Usually against my will, but because I worried for Kiri.” Ashido sighed.

 “And I'm getting over some issues. Midoriya is nice and kind, but a part of my brain mutters that she doesn't deserve to be here,” Hagakure offered. “Blame my parents and me being a bit jealous she got so far when I've always believed that at least I have a Quirk compared to people like her.”

 “Oh,” Momo hadn't even realized Hagakure felt that way until now.

 “You’re good at keeping it to yourself, ribbit,” Tsu said.

 “I’m aware it's a Quirkist thought, even if it's hard to get rid of. So I try to overcome the thoughts before I put my foot in them, you know,” Hagakure said.

 “That’s very mature of you,” Uraraka said as they headed through the school. They passed by other students, such as Hatume, Shinsou, and Toga, who were all in school doing extra work. However, The sound of blasts made them look into a gym to find Bakugou blasting apart dummies. They traded looks.

 The explosive reaction from Bakugou that he had failed was fresh in their minds. He had screamed, threatened and tried to attack Midoriya multiple times. So, the girl tried to leave quickly, but Bakugou seemed to have sensed they were there.

 “Oi!” he shouted. He stomped towards them. “Ponytail! Round face! Frogger! Where the fuck is Deku?”

 “Midoriya is not here; she is with Aizawa-sensei,” Momo said stiffly.

 “Fucking… well, where is HE?” Bakugou snarled. “I’m sick of this game! Haha, real funny pretending I didn’t pass. She’s just pissed I called her out on faking being gay!”

 “Faking being gay?” Uraraka asked. “How the hell did you come to that conclusion?”

 “She has to be. Nothing is working out like it should! I’m supposed to be number one, with everyone just pebbles in my path. I’m supposed to be the best!” he shouted. “She was nothing but my childhood sweetheart! A pebble I overcame, someone who had to realize she needed me to protect her!”

 “You’re crazy,” Ashido said. “You failed the final because you couldn’t work with someone for five minutes, and Todoroki failed for only using half his Quirk. We all know that. You’re just pissed because poor little Bakugou isn’t the great hero his mommy told him he’d be.” she sneered.

 “None of this makes sense!” Bakugou looked desperate, and Momo realized what was happening.

 “It doesn't to you, but it does to everyone else,” she said out loud. “You aren't the top dog of the hero department. You're just like everyone else here, except you assumed you'd be better. And now that the truth is in your face, you can't handle being wrong because it means you're the villain.”

 “I’m not a villain!” Bakugou screamed.

 “You are to Midoriya in a way. You are to the others you bullied. You are to me at least a criminal with your abusive attitude,” Momo responded calmly. “You're no hero, Bakugou. And I doubt anyone wants you to be right now.”

 “I don't,” Ashido snorted. “I barely could stand him even when Kiri brought him around.”

 “Me either.” Tsu shook her head. Uraraka made a face while Hagakure raised her hands. Bakugou just looked at them, genuinely seeing their reactions and only looking lost.

 He didn't understand, Momo knew. He didn't realize what he'd done wrong, not because he didn't think he had done it wrong but because he wasn't being allowed to do it. Double standards had always applied to him, and he'd been happy.

 Yet when the actual consequences came about, he was a little five-year-old boy unable to understand why he was in trouble, so he kept doing the same thing. It was all he knew despite knowing it was wrong.

 Momo looked at the boy and saw what Midoriya saw. Potential if he could get his head out of his ass. She didn't say that, though, knowing in her heart he'd take it as a sign Midoriya was, in fact, bisexual or something.

 That was confusing to her. How he just decided she had to be lying. It seemed less like he was unable to understand the consequences and more like he was rejecting reality, which was worrying…

 Momo walked away from Bakugou before any more conversation could occur, pulling her phone out to text Midoriya. She should know what happened.

 (”Mrs. Bakugou-”

 “I want to hear from her myself!” The woman's loud shriek finally made Izumi snap, coupled with the text she had just received. Izumi stomped out of the office to find the Bakugou adults facing Nezu and Snipe. The two had been trying to calm them down.

 “I want no contact with you,” Izumi said instantly. “I never liked either of you with how you treated my mother and how you ignored any sign my father was a bad person because it benefited you. I am gay, I refuse to even consider a fucking surrogate contract with your son, and I want nothing to do with any of you.”

 “Inko was my best friend-” Mitsuki began, but Izumi snorted.

 “You only bothered with her because she was the only girl too spineless to tell you fuck off. She told me all the stories of your childhood. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and your son is just like you. A brat who doesn't take ‘no, you aren't the best’ as an answer.” Izumi looked to Masaru, whose face was blank. “And you. You consistently put my mother down all her life because you were convinced there had to be something wrong with her for having a Quirkless child. Of course, if it could benefit your son, you were happy to have me around. A strong grandchild was in your future with me, wasn't it?” she sneered.

 “Do not take that tone with us, young lady,” Mitsuki snapped.

 “Don't take that tone with me, Mrs. Bakugou. I'm the apprentice who failed your son despite you both trying to cheat for him. Nezu monitors ALL cell phone usage on campus, as stated in the forms you signed. He knew exactly when you texted Bakugou after we contacted you about the exam.” Izumi held their gaze even as they tried to look away. “You all had the perfect plan. A son who becomes a hero rising from a shitty school. A mother too much like him for some light drama. A girl to be the childhood sweetheart. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if you knew Hisashi was abusive. I'll give that you were unaware he murdered my mother, but I don't doubt you had some plan concocted about Bakugou saving me from my father.”

 Their faces gave it away. Izumi shook her head, turning away. “If you cared for my mother, Mitsuki, I know she would hate you.”

 Izumi left the group to head to the staff room, where Toshinori and Tenya were waiting. She wordlessly sat in her cousin’s lap and hugged him. Tenya hugged back without a word. Izumi buried her face into his neck, holding tight. The two men kept talking, simply letting Izumi seek out the comfort she needed after that moment.

 The door opened a while later, and Shouta came in to sit beside Tenya. “Feeling verbal?” he asked Izumi.

 She shook her head. It had taken everything to sound clear with Mitsuki and Masaru. She looked at two people she remembered who had been part of the hurt, even if they weren't the hurt itself. Now, her tongue felt heavy and odd in her mouth. Like talking with it would cause pain. Along with that, her jaw ached with the familiar sensation that came from overspeaking on bad days. She hugged Tenya tighter.

  She had been scared of how to act around Tenya for the first few months of his presence. At least until that day, he'd gotten into a fistfight with a fellow student who had been mocking Izumi using signs when her mouth wasn't working. Tenya had gotten in so much trouble, but it also led to this: Izumi sitting in his lap to hug him.

 When Tenya needed it, he'd lay his head on her lap, letting her play with his hair. They had gone from awkward people to close-contact cousins reasonably fast. More so when Izumi helped him admit to the abuse from his parents, Tensei took him in, but the guy didn't know how to react to the realization the parents he’d adored could harm their youngest so much. Izumi could understand, though. So could Shouta and Hizashi. Info Dropper, too, but their support had been distant, and Nemuri had been struggling with her demons at the time, her oldest friends finally cutting her off for a while when she crossed a line concerning their new ward.

  Things worked out in the end: Nemuri got help, Info Dropper moved back to Japan to be a ‘divorced couple child Hero,’ spending six months in Canada before going to Japan for the rest of the year, and Tensei got his head on straight. But it built a strong bond between the two teens.

 Izumi squeezed Tenya before pulling away to sign to the men, “I just need a day, I think. I can't lose focus with the exam next month after camp.”

 “No, you can't.” Shouta agreed. “Maybe you shouldn't come…”

 “I want to come. Kouta needs someone who doesn't go on about the duty of a hero around, and I know you'll push too hard with a student and fuck up,” Izumi said, her hands moving quickly.

 “And you want to see Yaoyorozu,” Tenya teased. Izumi pinched him for that, making him pout. “Rude.”

 “How is the young lady?” Toshinori asked with a smirk, making Izumi pout as Shouta laughed.

 They were all mean. Where was Zizi… Actually, no, they'd make it worse. Nevermind.)

-0-

 Momo knew not to expect favouritism from Midoriya or Aizawa, but she did not like being thrown off a cliff.

 “This is fun,” Monoma grumbled as he grabbed Todoroki’s hand to use his Quirk, fire and ice flashing. The dual-haired boy looked annoyed upon seeing that, and Momo wondered what the plan was with him before she had to refocus on the monsters they were facing.

 Getting through the forest took hours, and when they finally made it, they found Midoriya waiting for them while playing a game with a little boy.

 “You guys made it earlier than the Pussycats were betting,” she said upon seeing them. “By about an hour.”

 “That was awful,” Uraraka and Ashido complained.

 “Plus ultra,” Midoriya replied with a grin. There was laughter among the class, and Momo easily fell into line with Midoriya, leading them to an eating area where a tired 1B sat. “They had a different route. ID is just as evil as my uncle.” Midoriya said.

 “Thanks, kid,” the hero said as they approached. A combat vest and a metal mask replaced their usual jacket and face mask. I'm glad I got to terrify my students a little.”

 “What did they do?” Momo asked Midoriya as the hero walked away.

“Paintball gun and kept ahead. Plus, Tiger was acting as an opponent,” Midoriya said. “They're terrifying with a gun.”

 “They are,” Tenya said. “I'm happy they are marrying Tensei, but being related to them is terrifying.”

 The class laughed and headed to eat, Midoriya walking with Momo. The boy was still there and eyeing the taller girl suspiciously.

 “Yaoyorozu, this is Kouta. Kouta, this is my… almost girlfriend Yaoyorozu.” Midoriya introduced them. Momo flushed, pleased upon hearing those words.

 “Almost girlfriend?” the boy asked, squinting at Momo.

 “We can’t date until I become a sidekick,” Midoriya told the boy who scowled. “Kouta…”

 “Heroes are stupid,” he grumbled but didn’t leave. Momo decided not to ignore him but to focus on Midoriya. She was a much better topic to focus on.

(“You ready for this?” Izumi asked Dabi, who scowled.

 “Fuck no,” he grunted. The burned man glared at his hands as he waited in the small room set aside for this moment. Hawks had finally convinced him that Endeavour needed to be called out properly, and Z had also agreed. But Dabi hadn’t wanted to make this move. Even if everyone said he should.

 “You both need closure,” Izumi told the man, who gave her a dirty look she ignored.

 The door opened, and a sullen-looking Todoroki walked in. Aizawa was with him and looked at how Izumi felt.

 Very nervous.

 “What’s going on?” Todoroki asked, glaring a little. Still upset he was failed then. Endeavour had been furious he failed, and while they signed him up for extra lessons, both Izumi and Shouta worried that the hero would take his anger out on the boy. Yet Todoroki had honestly failed. No amount of talking or lessons had gotten through his head. Now, he was paying the price.

 “Endeavour is about to be exposed for abuse,” Dabi said bluntly. “I gave them the info.” Todoroki stared at the man in shock.

 “How… he’s rich. It’s his word against mine.” Todoroki shook his head.

 “I have the backing of Hawks, other heroes and a mercenary who had previously worked as an assassin for Endeavour. He will go down even if we don’t get your testimony.” Dabi said casually.

 “Who are you?” Todoroki stared at the man as Izumi edged her way out of the room, not wanting to be in the front seat of this family drama.

 “Don’t recognize me, little brother?” Dabi said as Izumi left. Shouta joined her, and they hung outside the room, ears open for anything other than the yelling.

 “The Bakugous tried to have me investigated,” Shouta told Izumi casually.

 “What is with all the drama recently,” grumbled the teenager, shaking her head. “The final exam, the mall crap, this and then Bakugous? I’m going insane.”

 “With them, I think it’s a last-ditch effort, so they don’t have to admit they’re wrong. The mall was because Shigaraki is a villain. This is because Dabi needed years of therapy and medication, so his brain chemistry stopped being fucked,” snorted Shouta.

 “I’m pretty sure, as a teacher, you shouldn’t say that.”

 “I’m certain that as the guy who has dealt with Dabi before because he’s friends with you, I can say what I want,” Shouta muttered. There was shouting, and both tensed up before it quieted. “If this doesn’t work, Todoroki is out of the program.”

 “It will work. Either this or something happens where he doesn’t use his fire and gets reamed out,” Izumi shrugged. Are you okay with me dating Yaoyorozu?” Izumi asked.

 “I think I have no say in who you date,” Shouta said. “But I do approve. She’s a good kid.”

 “She’s nice. I told her about Hisashi, and she didn’t treat me differently.” Izumi smiled to herself. “I really like her.”

 “I’m glad. You deserve happiness,” her uncle said, and Izumi smiled up at him, eyes twinkling.

 It was a good day, even with the drama occurring behind them, which wasn’t solved. Todoroki was surprisingly hard-headed, and Dabi could not get it through his skull that all he was doing was hurting himself.

 Izumi sighed, wondering what would break that final barrier.)

-0-

 There was ice everywhere. One of the 1B students had turned into mud, revealing herself as Toga before she launched herself at Midoriya. The two toppled into the forest as gas filled the air. Momo had managed to get gas masks on but couldn’t chase after the two. Then the ice came. Thick walls forced them to run through a maze or break them down.

 Momo could only run with the boy from 1B, Awase, dragging the unconscious bodies of classmates with them. It was terrifying and dangerous and-

 Midoirya was there, kicking Toga away with a snarl. “I knew not to trust you.” Midoriya snapped.

 “Oh, come on, Izu-chan!” Toga whined. “We can be happy together!”

 “Go shit yourself,” Midoriya sneered, and then she tumbled off, still fighting with Toga. Momo looked after the two, longing to follow her, but shook her head.

 Rescue first, combat second. They’d been taught that ages ago. Rescue first, combat second.

 Rescue…

 But the rescue desperately needed Momo would learn a day later, after she’d managed to land a tracker on a Nomu and wake up after falling unconscious, came late.

 Midoriya had been kidnapped.

 And it was all Todoroki’s fault.

(Izumi couldn’t blame the kid. He was technically a bit older than her, but he was a kid despite everything. She couldn’t blame him for being unable to summon the fire he’d suppressed for so long. She really couldn’t.

 She could still be angry, though more so as she sat in a dingy bar glaring at the League of Villains who’d kidnapped her. Toga luckily had been pried off by a woman named Magne, who seemed disturbed by Toga’s antics.

 Good.

 “Jack off with your Quirk active,” she told Shigaraki when he tried to speak to her. “Or suck a boil filled with puss and let it explode in your mouth.”

 “What the fuck?” Shigaraki asked as the green guy- Spinner apparently- snorted. He looked very uncomfortable being there. Given how he was dressed, Izumi pegged him to be a Stain groupie. Even after her loud dressing down of the man, he was still liked for some reason.

 The ice maker was some guy with white hair in a blue coat. He glared at Shigaraki, so Izumi bet there was little love there.

 Mr. Compress, a petty thief she recognized from Nezu’s files, was there, which was baffling. But what was most shocking was the blue-haired woman blowing a bubble with her gum.

 It was Z. Dabi and Hawks’ sort of girlfriend? Their lover? Their hook-up? Izumi didn’t know. The woman looked bored, and Izumi felt angry as she stared at the woman, at least until she blinked rapidly.

 A code. Help was coming. Izumi only felt relief then and settled in to listen to the sales pitch: ‘Hey, so actually, you should join us, and we can give you a Quirk.’

 Boring.)

-0-

 Momo punched Todoroki as soon as she saw him outside the hospital, daring to want to help.

 “This is your fault!” she screamed at him.

 “I know,” he said.

 “You KNOW? You think KNOWING makes it better?” Momo raged. “I don’t care WHY you felt the need to hold back your Quirk, but whatever it was, it was garbage!”

 “My father bought my mother like a broodmare to have me,” Todoroki snapped. The others, who had been eyeing him darkly, paused. “I have faced pain and abuse for years at his hands as he tried to mould me into the perfect hero to surpass All Might. I never wanted to use his fire-”

 “My mother starved me half to death and used to torture me emotionally,” Momo hissed. “We all know Midoriya faced abuse. I bet half of us have similar stories, so don’t dare hide behind your claims as a way of going ‘not my fault.’” Todoroki looked down before looking up.

 “I’m trying not to,” he said. Momo glared, but in the end, they all headed out together. Or at least they tried. Dabi appeared before they got to the train station, along with Hawks. All the students froze.

 “None of you should be here,” said Hawks in a firm tone.

 “How did…” Iida trailed off, looking nervous as he stood with Todoroki, Momo, Kirishima and Uraraka.

 “Yaoyorozu checked out against medical orders, and we checked the find your phone app your brother has,” Hawks told the teen. “We have people in place to rescue Trash Panda, including an undercover agent. You will just get in the way.”

 “But we can’t leave Midoriya!” Momo said.

 “It’s my fault, I-” Todoroki began, but Dabi interrupted him.

 “Fuck that. Look, Shouto, it’s not fully your fault. I was there, too, and my flames burned hotter. I was just too late to melt all the walls so Aizawa could get to the brat,” the scarred man said bluntly. “Should you be using your Quirk? Yes. And I hope this is a damn good lesson on that, having Izumi be kidnapped.”

 “You don’t like me, Touya,” Todoroki said.

 “True, but I have an excuse of borderline personality and anti-social personality disorder going on for why I hate you. Not you being a dumbass about your Quirk,” Dabi said. “Grow the fuck up and stop thinking you’re more important than you are.”

 “All of you go home,” Hawks said. Momo glared at the two, not wanting to obey. But what choice did they have?

 Momo went home to her father, who scolded her and wrapped her up in blankets, letting her watch the news where Info Dropper was acting as UA’s voice, speaking of the situation.

 “Do you think Trash Panda will join the Leauge?” asked one reporter- that blue-skinned woman who seemed to have it out for Midoriya being Quirkless.

 “I think that’s the dumbest thing I ever heard.” ID said bluntly. “I have seen that girl help rehabilitate a man who was almost too far gone. I have seen that girl shoulder a burden with a friend and keep walking. I have seen that girl set her jaw and force herself forward. I have seen that girl learn to speak clearly after a terrible event. That girl has every reason to go villain I know. But she won’t. She is too good to do it, too kind and too strong. She’d rather die first, and to assume otherwise would be to admit you have a set of prejudices that makes you want to think she will.”

 Momo smiled, watching the news. At least until it changed to show a battleground with the green hair of Midoriya running around. Her stomach tightened and Momo could not look away.

(Izumi ducked under a swing from Toga, slamming a smoke bomb filled with Midnight’s gas down before leaping away. Z was shooting at Magne and Spinner, the supplies the mercenary had handed Izumi the first thing she did.

 Izumi appreciated it as she dodged Shigaraki. This would be worse without the supplies. She didn’t know how long Z had been working with the villains, but their shock she changed sides was pretty funny.

 “We could have given you anything!” Shigaraki was screaming.

 “I don’t need a damn Quirk to be complete,” Z snarled and oh, that was a thing of beauty that shot. Shigaraki stumbled back with the wound in his shoulder, Z taking a second to shoot the villain before concentrating on her targets.

 Izumi took advantage to yank out another smoke bomb, dancing away from the fumes while he fell. That was when All for One noticed the other fighting.

 “NO!” he shouted. He would have gone after Izumi if All Might hadn’t intervened, kicking him away. Izumi moved to attack Mr. Compress, focusing on her own fights.

 She would never know that many lives would be saved. She would never know what the future could have been if Shigaraki had escaped. She would never see a war that claimed lives. Never hear an apology half meant from a boy who tormented her once.

 Izumi simply fought.)

-0-

 Midoriya showed up at Momo’s home three weeks after everything. She looked tired but smiled upon seeing the other girl. She held up a license.

 “It’s official. I’m working with Nezu now strictly on heroics. No school stuff.” Midoriya said. Momo smiled and… well…

 They both had been waiting for that kiss.

[rising-volteccers]

*slides over a few coins* Do you have any Friede angst

-shoves the coins into my pocket- Yeah sure I gotcha. Have this that's totally not me self projecting based on HZ018.

Series: Pokemon Horizons

Characters: Professor Friede

--

“What, you're quitting? Why? You're one of the best here!”

“Hey man, I heard you were quitting. You think that's the right call?”

“While I don't really get why you're quitting, I wish you luck for your future endeavors Friede.”

Future endeavors? To be completely honest, Friede didn't have anything lined up. He gave easy answers and pleasant smiles to anyone that asked, slipping out lies as easy as breathing. Gave replies that appeased their hidden curiosity because one of the best researchers in the company quit such a good paying job? Surely it was for something bigger and grander.

All Friede knew was that had he stayed at his job any longer, he'd break.

He didn't know when it started to become wrong. Wasn't this what he wanted to become? Friede recalled a distant memory of his younger years when life felt a lot simpler. Heading to Professor Oak’s laboratory to get his first starter, being one of many children that day who discovered the wonders of Pokemon. Listening in on the Professor’s explanation sowed the seeds that'd later bloom into a burning want to become like his childhood hero.

Friede poured his all into that dream. Regardless of how he struggled with schoolwork, in making friends and getting good grades, he never gave up. Miss Lucca and her kind encouragement further pushed him to make it a reality. He wanted to be the student that proudly told his favorite teacher of his successes.

Friede worked hard for many years, pouring blood, sweat and tears into his education. From earning his bachelor's degree all the way to a PhD, he never gave up even during his lowest lows. It would be all worth it at the end, he told himself.

And he believed it initially. When he got hired to work at a relatively large company, Friede couldn't be happier. At last he could put his knowledge into practice!

(Where did it go wrong?)

He observed Pokemon, taking note of their behavior and analyzed it.

(When did it go wrong?)

Crunched the numbers inside a lab, hunched over his desk and typing away at the computer to store data.

(How did it go wrong?)

Repeating this process with each new project. Pulling all nighters to meet deadlines.

(Why did it go wrong?)

Finding himself becoming less motivated to do research work but forced himself because it was his job. It was what he spent many years achieving.

(What went wrong?)

This was what he wanted to do right? Friede wanted to become a professor so he could learn everything there was about Pokemon? Wasn't this job giving him that opportunity? To study Pokemon and analyze all that data within a lab with its sterilized walls and cold equipment and blank excel sheets and–

(Was… was he wrong? All this time was he…)

Friede had to quit. If he stayed any longer, forced himself to do work that chipped away at his genuine passion for research, he feared losing a fundamental piece of himself to… this. Whatever this was.

(This was burnout. This was discovering that he invested years of his life into something that might not be worth it).

They held a little farewell party for him, wishing him luck over a few rounds of drinks. Friede only drank enough to not be questioned. He didn't want to get drunk, despite how appealing it is to just forget about this for even a little while. Last thing he wanted for his lips to become loose, spilling things he kept hidden.

After that, Friede just… didn't do anything. His internal body clock still kicked him awake for his usual shift, often taking a few seconds to realise that he didn't have work to go to anymore. Instead of making the most out of his day, Friede simply laid back down, staring at the ceiling until he remembered to feed Charizard.

Friede didn't consider what he wanted to do beyond achieving his goal. He thought this was what he'd be doing for the rest of his life. What a foolish notion. Couldn't even last a year before he quit.

As much as he wanted to lie in bed all day, that too got old after a week or so. Friede opted to head out for his usual grocery shop with Charizard. His partner didn't feel like flying, so they simply walked to the market. Not like he could force a Fire-type whose flames were dulled. Like Pokemon like Trainer, huh?

At least during that trip, he came across Ludlow. An unexpected friend he made during his studying years. If he wanted to get away for awhile, away from all the books and expectations and looming deadlines, Friede could go to Ludlow. They'd go out to sea from Porto Marinada to fish all day, and he'd return with a clearer head, as if the sea had cleansed away the gunk weighing him down.

Friede didn't have to say anything. Ludlow took one look at him (with his disheveled hair, unkempt close and dead eyes) before inviting him out to a fishing trip.

A part of him didn't want to. He simply wanted to return back to his apartment and stare at the ceiling, fear of an unknown future paralyzing him. But this was Ludlow, a kind man who didn't have an obligation to spend time with him yet he chose to.

Friede took him up on that offer. Getting fresh air while the pair fished all day made him feel the most alive since he quit. Ludlow continued to invite him on fishing trips, trying his best to have him be more adventurous.

He often declined, giving non committal answers that Ludlow thankfully never pushed. Why should he put effort into something that'd likely not be worth it? Once was enough.

(Deep down, Friede knew those were simply excuses. He simply feared developing a passion that'd fizzle out and die when he realised it wasn't actually for him).

This went on for weeks until one day, Friede received a call from Miss Lucca. She wanted to meet up, and he respected her enough to clean up some before they met at the Treasure Eatery. It was somewhat bittersweet to see her again; she clearly had a future to look forward to, what with her having a child to raise.

Friede kept his answers vague to the somewhat probing questions. Miss Lucca always had the uncanny ability to see him through all the layers he put up. She had something to show him tomorrow, requiring him to wake up pretty early.

He accepted considering he had nothing better to do. What Friede ended up seeing was a Pikachu. He couldn't help but feel disappointed; he knew all that was documented about the species. Why did she want him to see this one in particular?

When Friede saw this small creature soar as high as the clouds, a spark lit up in his heart. For the first time in a long while, he felt excitement.

He missed this feeling, the surge of passion thought lost. Friede grasped onto it with all his might and was rewarded to a sight that showed him there were new horizons for him to explore. He just needed to take the first step again.

Friede did it once.

He could do it again.

[rainy-astrology]

TWICE Jihyo Birth chart analysis

Based on my opinion and observations. Not a professional astrologer. May change later.

I rly hope this shows up lol last time I tried to use gifs, it did not show up in the tags

February 1st, 1997

Guri, SK

12:05 AM

☀️♒️, 🌙♏️, ⬆️♎️

Sun Aquarius in 4th house places a lot of value on family. She is the oldest in her family, so she likely feels very responsible for them and works hard to care for them. If i recall correctly, she feels homesick often

Jupiter and Uranus also sit in 4th house...From my interpretation, she likely has a good relationship with her family, she loves and cares for them deeply. She wants to try her best to make sure they're comfortable as well. The Uranus might be pointing to her childhood as she became a trainee at such a young age and trained for 10 yrs...basically gave up her whole childhood to achieve her dreams

She likes to keep to herself most often (both Aquarius and Scorpio are private tbh). Likely just wants to spend her life in comfort and with those she cares about

Scorpio moon is in fall. Scorpio moons feel intensely and deeply. In the 1st house, she is very expressive and honest about her feelings. It is hard for her to hide her true feelings and thoughts. Sensitive to others emotions

Sun square Moon can indicate inner conflict about herself

Mercury Capricorn in the 3rd is a curious person who wants to learn and expand their knowledge. Tendency to be direct and straightforward. With a Mercury square Ascendant, she can be really opinionated and outspoken - unintentionally intimidates others

Neptune in 3rd kind of plays more into this...she's likely aware of her strong energy and can be a bit self conscious about how she speaks and presents herself

Venus Capricorn in 3rd shows a nice relationship with siblings.

Libra mars in the 12th house is passive and conflict avoidant. All three placements are confused on how to work with each other

Saturn in 5th makes her very particular about self expression

A lot of oppositions to her MC Leo...

MC Leo wants to put on a show, be expressive and open. Idol work is perfect for this; she's in the spotlight and is completely captivating on stage. She's genuinely one of the few idols who really enjoys her work; she always looks like she's having fun on stage. Jihyo is especially well known for her stage presence and fitting expressions.

Jihyo is a very energetic person over all, she likes keeping herself busy

Libra risings are charming and nice people, often beautiful inside and out (esp since most are conventionally attractive). Being a Cardinal sign as well, it gives her natural leadership. She always puts on a confident and competent front

It seems like Jihyo is/was a bit confused about herself... It's like she wants to be her best self and project a good image, while also not wanting to at the same time. She can be self conscious and limit her self expression, so she does not come off as too strong to people. She knows she has strong feelings and opinions that can be a bit intimidating to people. However lately she has seemed to grow more confident in herself and wanting to do/say what she wants

___

Other analysis:

MBTI | Enneagram

___

Masterlist

[cat-esper]

PALADIN | Bela Sarkozy

Solika drew her knees up to her chest and pressed her face into her hands. "I'm sorry," she moaned, her teeth clenched. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have...I got us into this. I shouldn't have let you come." "You didn't let me do anything," Bela said. "I would follow you anywhere, you know that. And this is not your fault." "How is it not?" Solika tugged her hair back hard enough to hurt. "I chose to go against Talkor's orders. I decided to pursue this mission and go to SD-5R9." "And I chose to go too," Bela said. "Because Azraille's my friend. I'm not going to let something bad happen to her just because I might be in a little danger. And I'm hardly going to let you get hurt where I can't patch you up." "They're going to kill us," Solika said. Her breath hitched. "They're going to kill you." That was even worse than death. The knowledge that Bela would be going with her. As much as she feared dying alone, she feared dying with him even more. He didn't deserve any of this. He certainly didn't deserve her friendship if all she was capable of doing was getting him killed. And she definitely didn't deserve a friend like him. "Hey." Bela grabbed her hand before she could rip out her hair. His hand was dry and warm on hers and he looked her in the face. His eyes were a pale blue and serene. "I don't regret following you. You're my best friend in the whole universe and I would do anything for you."

Name: Bela Sarkozy

Birthday: October 1, 1994

Age: 30

Home: Juyn, Vorix; formerly Whitby, England; Earth

Personality Type: ENFJ-A

Bela is just one of many humans taken from Earth as a child during a string of abductions that preceded the laws that were put in place banning the practice. He was one of the lucky ones and instead of ending up in the hands of researchers or slavers, he was taken in by a Vorixi couple who raised him as their own.

Kind and empathetic, Bela fit in well with the Vorixi, who were newly integrated into the "Big Civ" and pacifistic by nature, and he strived to become a doctor. With the support of his childhood friend, Solika, he achieved this dream and after spending a few years practicing medicine at a Temeriani hospital, the two of them took to exploring the stars and searching for a purpose that seemed to elude them.

Falling in with the Paladin Shay seemed to work perfectly as it gave Solika something to fight for and put Bela in a position to heal whoever they managed to save.

Fun Facts:

Bela's human father was Hungarian and his mother was English

Always carries paper and a pencil so he can write down things he doesn't want to forget

Loves puzzles

Genuinely tries to be organized but can't seem to stick to an organizational system and ends up just putting things wherever they will fit

[natasha-in-space]

What are your headcanons for Hyun x Jaehee’s wedding ?

Hmm... Personally, I only ever saw them as very close friends to each other, but it's certainly fun to explore their dynamic a little bit further. So, take my thoughts with a grain of salt, since I don't really pair them in a romantic sense!

Zen respects Jaehee greatly: he states that more than once throughout the game. Her work ethic is more than admirable. But, it isn't just that trait of hers that earned his respect. They're more similar than it may seem at first glance. The way Jaehee tries so hard to carry the weight of the whole world on her shoulders is so painfully familiar to him. They both grew up fending for themselves in this cruel and cold world, having to eventually learn not to rely on anyone else. They both never had a family to call their own. While Jaehee tragically lost her mother due to the horrific accident shortly after living through her father's passing, Zen had to run away from his highly abusive home life and leave his family behind for his own safety. I believe that's partially the reason why Jaehee got so attached Zen in the first place.

Seeing him achieve so much all by himself is so incredibly inspiring to her. They both had a rough upbringing, and observing his career grow and flourish gives her that, maybe one day, she might find the passion of her own.

Zen, on the other hand, finds out about Jaehee's difficult childhood only once they get further into their friendship. She's not one to be open about her struggles with other people. She doesn't want to worry those closest to her... And learning about that vulnerable side of her will make their connection prosper only farther.

Jaehee reminds Zen that he's loved just the way he is. Not for his looks and not for his achievements. He's loved and appreciated for simply being himself and enjoying what he does. Just by being himself he brings so much happiness into the lives of so many people that genuinely want to support him and see him grow. On the other hand, Zen is the one that encourages Jaehee to pursue her dreams without any fear inside her heart. He believes in her. For the first time in her life, someone tells her to choose what she truly wants.

Whether you see them as friends or partners, you can't deny just how important their relationship really is.

Now, if we're speaking about a wedding for them... I don't think it'll be anything grand. They respect each other, and Jaehee is not one for big celebrations, especially when it concerns something so incredibly personal for her. It'll be a small and lovely ceremony with only those closest to them as guests. Absolutely no paparazzi are allowed. By this point, Jaehee has already grown out her hair, so I think she'd prefer a hairstyle that shows off the length of her hair in all its beauty, like a metaphorical representation of her growth. (Off topic, but it's certainly cute to think about Jaehee and Zen sharing their hair care routine with each other!) As for the dress... it'll be elegant yet simple. Something natural that brings out her beauty.

Zen, on the other hand, will go all out for his outfit. Any occasion to dress up is exciting in his eyes and your very own wedding? Well, that's a day you're supposed to remember for the rest of your life, so he should dress accordingly! The ceremony will be peaceful and unrushed. It's a private moment to celebrate just how far they've come in their lives, as well as the treasured connection they've formed with each other over the years.

[cloudydreamy]

Past Lives (2023) - Celine Song

Past Lives is a 2023 Korean movie written and directed by Celine Song. A movie that reaches for all the subtle and inexpressible feelings in a modern relationship, in the intertwined lives of Hae Sung, Nora and Arthur.

The idea of cycle is what I can connect in the movie most. Its the repetition, every 12 years, Hae Sung and Nora meet, linger and break. I have felt this with my life, there is some magic to “12 years”, same people and same things and same places comes back to me every 12 years - Its strange if you are in it!

The movie travels in to metaphysics with “In-Yan” and 8000 layers of attachment from past lives. Nora suggests some intriguing past-life possibilities that they might be say, “birds sitting on the same branch on a particular morning”, “a married couple constantly fighting” etc.. This really elevates the movie and the audience out of mundane.

The subtle and stirring musical bits placed all over the movie is pretty warm. One of the striking staging is of the scene, where childhood Sung and childhod Nora, say good bye to each other and takes different paths. Nora takes a steep slope, depicting her hunger to achieve in literature, while Sung takes a pretty flat path and he remains flat throughout the rest of his life.

There is a common belief that 21st century world is flat and world is just a huge cosmopolitan city. These are the movies which reminds us that it is not. Nora says to Arthur that she feels “more Korean than Korean” when she is with Sung.

Arthur is also trying to learn Korean. Then comes the greatest despair scene of the movie, and Arthur goes,

“You dream in a language which I can’t understand.. Its like there is this whole place inside of you, where I can’t go..”

How many times in our lives we have felt that despair, even with our dearest ones? that there are depths and dreams in the other person which cannot be scooped ever? This movie takes a scoop of that and gives it for a taste.

Arthur was my favorite, the way he subtly expressed his helplessness, the way he asks the genuine questions about fate and chance. At a point, towards the end of movie, he kind of switches to a third person perspective of the situation and he feels happy for being a part of the love story - “I never imagined that I will be part of something like this in my life” .. of course we can interpret this dialogue in both ways.

The final shot of the movie, where Sung leaves in a car to airport, he goes out of the frame and we see rapidly receding background, we feel the time passing moment by moment with all its complications in space. The time, the cycles of time, the time on which our lives are staged!

This movie will linger with me for a while…

Thanks to my friend Surendhar for recommending this movie!

[kaleidoscope-tarot]

Jungkook Future Spouse

Disclaimer: this is for entertainment purposes only.

The Decks: The Rider Tarot: Seven of Cups, Four of Swords, Nine of Pentacles

Archetype Oracle Card: Lover, Monk/Nun, Mother

I’d figure I’d kick of the blog by throwing my two cents into the ring.

This person has a lot of dreams, goals, and fields of interest. Though they may suffer from analysis paralysis. They have a hard time deciding just what exactly they want out of life. Sometimes they’ll be perfectly happy being single for the rest of their life, other times they fantasize about a committed partnership. This might come up a lot, “do I want to this or do I want that. If I got after this then I’ll miss out on that. What do I really want out of life.”

I get the sense it might take a while for them to figure shit out lmao. Well, they want their cake and they want to eat it too. They generally don’t do things impulsively and they want the best for themselves so of course they’re going to carefully consider all options. We’re not looking at another born singer who knew what he wanted from a young age. We’re looking at someone that might take sometime to decide out what their real dreams are.

While it may take them a while to figure things out, once they have a clear goal in mind they’re practical and realistic in their plans. The type of person that can achieve anything they put their mind to. Whenever they get around to putting their mind to it.

They’re not the type to jump straight into an entanglement. They guard their time and commitment very well so they want to evaluate the person before deciding to put the extra energy into a relationship.

This person is very reserved and difficult to get to know on a personal level. they may have a serious case of rbf or at the very least they look categorically uninterested in anything anyone has to say.

They’ve been hurt in the past, intuition tells me this is a childhood wound and not so much a wound from a romantic relationship. Whatever happened they retreated into their own mind to protect themselves. Might have spent a lot of their childhood daydreaming to distract themselves from what was going on.

They’ve been hiding behind their walls for most of their life. They become closed off and distant during difficult times. They tend to shut down in particular bad arguments and suddenly it’s like arguing with a brick wall. The type to put on a brave face and act like nothing bothers them and they don’t care.

Financially independent and that’s how they like it. If they’re not rich than they’re comfortable. They worked hard for their money- they might have some workaholic tendencies here. Don’t worry about them using jk for money, they don’t rely too much on others to support them. They’re fiercely independent and self sufficient to their core. Money and stability are very important to them. They also may like to spoil themselves. Don’t get me wrong they’re very smart with their money. But they know when they can splurge a bit on something nice.

They also enjoy being out in nature. I’m getting they greatly appreciate the beauty in nature. Someone that really does stop and smell the roses. On the cliche walks and picnics in the parks type beat. They’re also an activist, particularly in regards to the environment.

This person has an extraordinary capacity for love. They may not let other people in easily but once someone is in their heart fs will move mountains for them. Like I’m not kidding this persons love is damn near unconditional. In a romantic relationship they’re extremely romantic and passionate.

This love also translates to a love of humanity. Sure, they’re reserved in social settings but they’re a deeply compassionate person. Like I said earlier- they’re an activist. They have such a genuinely kind, nurturing, and sweet side few people get to see. The typical hard coating with a gooey sweet center archetype.

Key words: love, devotion, passion, independence, nature, reserved, withdrawn, daydreamer, patience, practical, smart, stability, noncommittal

Zodiac signs: I get fixed and earth sign vibes. Scorpio, Taurus, Capricorn, and Cancer in particular might have some prominent placements in their chart.

[writernada]

10 Times Yuzuru Hanyu Was Inspiring

Yuzuru Hanyu (26 years old) is a Japanese figure skater. He is a two-time Olympic champion, two- time World champion, Four Continent champion, four times Grand Prix Final champion and five times national champion. He is the only male skater that has achieved a grand slam (won all major competitions in both junior and senior circus). In 2018, he won the People's Honor Award given by the Japanese Prime Minister and became the youngest recipient of this award. He also won the award of the most valuable skater at the International Skating Union Awards for the season 2019-2020. Since his debut in the senior circus in 2011-2012 and until now, Yuzuru's performances have always made a great impact on the audience; allowing him to have the biggest fan base ever in the history of figure skating. His fans are not only from Japan but from all around the world; including other skaters and coaches. The reason behind all of this love is that Yuzuru touches the hearts by performing like an artist, hitting every note, being super passionate about what he does and combining a competitive spirit with a sport soul. On top of all of that, he has an ability to inspire people. His road has never been easy. It is full of injuries, surgeries, illnesses, strong competitors, mistakes and losses. However, he always perserves, pushes through his limits, overcomes adversity and rises in an inspiring way.

Here are the ten times Yuzuru Hanyu was an icon of inspiration:

1- Winning his first medal in the World Championship in 2012 despite having an injury and low stamina.

In his debut in the World championship (senior circus) in 2012, Yuzuru (17) sprained his right ankle during the official practice the day before the short program. His foot swelled up but he decided not to withdraw, taking into account all the effort he has made for this competition and all the people who came here for him (coach, mom and officials). He went ahead and competed. He was ranked seventh in the short program, third in the free program and third overall, winning the bronze medal.

Yuzuru commented on that competition in his autobiography book "Aoi Hono ll":

"Because I was injured the day before the short, I felt that even in that kind of situation 'I landed my quad, I did well’. I felt that I had worked really hard by myself. However, my mother told me, "That is wrong.” Getting injured was my own fault, but there were many people who helped and supported me. That is the reason why I could come to this point. Until about 9 o'clock that night, we were talking about this while having dinner, and in the end, I realized that my thinking was wrong."

Yuzuru was about to get full of himself and let arrogance take over him. However, his mother helped him stay grounded. Thus, he was able to face the free program with a humble attitude. He put out a passionate performance that many people still remember until this day and consider as one of their favorites. During that performance, he tried not to put a lot of pressure on the injured foot so he shifted all the pressure on the other one until it got exhausted and gave up on him. As a result, he fell all of a sudden in the middle of the performance, but he managed to get up right away and perform a great jump right after.

In his autobiography book that was mentioned earlier, Yuzuru talked about this fall and said: "Later, when I watched the videos, I saw that the fall did not take up much time. I was standing up again quickly. But to me, it felt like a long time. When I fell, the feeling was like flying mid-air. Like this (he re-enacts the fall in slow motion), 'ahh, I am stumbling~~’ (laughs). After the fall, I was thinking 'what should I do from here’, many thoughts circled around. Thinking that I won’t make it in time for the next axel jump, I shortened the path by going straight instead of curved. I can jump even a 3A+3A (in practice), so I thought I will be alright. (laughs)”.

One of the most exciting moments during the performance is when Yuzuru shouted out aloud before the choreographic sequence. The shout seemed like a great expression of the emotions of his character (Romeo). It made him look like he was totally into character. However, he clarified that it was unintentional. He said: "I felt like I couldn’t breathe, so I thought, for now just let the breath out. (laughs)"

Yuzuru is known to be suffering from asthma and because of it he had a low stamina at the time. However, even after finding out that the shout wasn't done to express the character's emotions, viewers still find it impactful because it is a genuine expression of Yuzuru's fight against his limits.

That night, Yuzuru made a name for himself internationally. He shed tears of happiness after getting his scores and so did his coach. He also got praised by the winner that night who said: "the one shining the most is Yuzuru".

2-  Breaking a World Record and winning gold in his first participation in the winter Olympic Games.

At the age of 19, Yuzuru participated for the first time in the Olympic Games. Young male skaters like him who participate for the first time usually don't dare to dream about winning. The big scale of the competition gets athletes nervous and shaken, even the great and experienced ones of them. Therefore, the young newcomers usually consider their first participation as an experience to have under their belt while preparing for the next Olympic. However, Yuzuru was determind to win. His choreographer at the time, David Wilson, talked about his intense determination in an interview: "he wrote me an email letter that was so touching. He was like please help me do this because I'm ready. I'll do anything. I will die. I'll do anything to be the Olympic Champion. I don't want to wait until 2018. I want it now and I'll do anything. I'm willing to die for it. Anything you tell me, I'll do it but help me."

David Wilson talking about Yuzuru's determination to win the 2014 Olympics

Yuzuru performed a marvelous short program and came out of the rink saying: "I did it!" to which his coach replied: "you certainly did". He broke the world record in his first participation at the Olympics despite his young age. He did get nervous and made mistakes at the free program. However, what he did in the short program was enough to bring him the gold medal and make him achieve his childhood dream.

Yuzuru (11) saying that his dream is to win the Olympics

Yuzuru performing his short program at the 2014 Olympics:

Other Skaters reacting to Yuzuru's World Record at the Olympics:

The moment when Yuzuru finds out he won the  2014 Olympics:

3- Continuing to compete after a pretty bad collusion with another skater during Cup of China 2014:

In 2014, Yuzuru took part in Cup of China, which is one of the events of the Grand Prix Series. Yuzuru was in second place after the short program and during the 6 minuets warm up before the long program he had an accident. He collided with the Chinese skater Han Yan. They were looking at opposite sides and couldn't see each other until it was too late.

Yuzuru talked about the incident in his autobiography book and said: "My stomach hit the ice (when I fell) and so it felt like I received a body blow. My stomach was hurting so much; I could not breathe nor get up. Then, when I tried standing up, my chin was hurting and bleeding. My head was panicking and I didn’t know exactly where all the pain was coming from."

After a few minutes, Yuzuru stood up on his own despite the arrival of medical helpers. He preferred to exit the rink on his own instead of being carried. Backstage, he was examined and given first aid by American doctors.

The Collusion incident at CoC 2014:

In his biography book, Yuzuru gave some details about what happened backstage after the incident:

"I really gave a lot of trouble to the people around me. They told me ‘Don’t compete’. The doctors also said, 'It is not a concussion, so it is possible to skate but we do not recommend it.’Coach Orser also said, 'Now you don’t need to be a hero. You still have more after this, you still can do a lot as a skater.’But 'it has nothing to do with that. I will skate because I want to go to GP Final.’ I think I might have said that to him in Japanese. I wanted to go to the Final somehow. Here, 5th or 4th place is good enough, I can get 1st place in the next competition, so for now I just want to remain connected. If I compete at GPF, I definitely want to have a second consecutive victory. I also want to win the triple crown again (Worlds, GPF, Nationals). I had those kind of thoughts. Now when I look back I think, 'ah I skated well’."

Yuzuru decided to skate his free program and the people around him respected his decision and allowed him to go. He made sure to meet Han Yan before competing again and they exchanged apologies. After that, Yuzuru showed up in the rink with a bandage on his head and a small band on his chin. He skated his free program bravely after making some changes on the layout to adjust to his condition. He fell on five jumps but did full rotations and got grades for that. He also was able to land some jumps in the latter half of the program, which got him extra points. After the performance, his coach Orser was worried about his feelings if he gets a bad score for falling five times so he was preparing him mentally by saying stuff like: "scores don't matter. What matter is what you did out there" but it turned out Orser had nothing to worry about as Yuzuru received a high score. Yuzuru was so surprised and relieved when he saw his score and he burst into tears after holding on for a long time. He won the silver medal in that event.

Yuzuru performing his free program and receiving his score at CoC 2014:

After the competition, American doctors prepared the massage room to do stitches for Yuzuru. He received 7 stitches on his chin with anesthetics and 3 staples on his head without any anesthetics, which was really painful to him! The next day, he traveled to Japan for a medical examination in a trip that he described as hell. The result of the examination was "head contusion (or bruise), chin contusion, abdominal contusion, left thigh contusion and right ankle sprain’.

For ten days, Yuzuru was unable to walk and the recovery took more time than expected. Every time he finds himself able to walk, he would go to the rink, but once he steps his foot into the rink the pain comes back. He thought that he would never be able to skate again, felt so depressed and wanted to quit skating all together. However, his mother told him "how about just giving it a try anyway? If you skate just a little on the ice every day with the intention of rehabilitation, the situation may change for the better" her response surprised him because she never tried to stop him from quitting in the past whenever he said he wanted to quit. With that new attitude of his mother, Yuzuru became optimistic about being able to skate again, and found the willpower to try and even aim to win at the next competition of the Grand Prix Series, which was NHK.

At NHK, Unfortunately, Yuzuru wasn't able to present great performances and once he finished his free program he thought to himself: "ah, the final is gone!" he thought that all his efforts in Cup of China were for nothing, but luckily, the total of his points combined from the two competitions made him the last qualified skater for the final. Thus, he was able to take part in the final, presented great performnces and won the gold medal after all the struggles he went through.

4- Winning at Nationals 2014 despite bleeding and needing a surgery:

After the short program at the Grand Prix Final, Yuzuru felt some kind of pain in his stomach whenever he stretched or pressed on it. He thought that it must be a damage in the muscle tissue but after the free program, he found something that looks like a Ping Pong ball sticking out beneath his navel. It was so painful to the extent that he couldn't sleep on his flight back to Japan. When he landed, he went to the hospital right away and was told that he might have Urachal Remnant Disorder. He was given some antibiotic and sent home because his condition wasn't bad. However, once he returned home, and got into the shower, his navel burst and started bleeding. He went back to the hospital and it was confirmed that he has Urachal Remnant. He needed to undergo a surgery but he couldn't afford to have it any time soon because the Japanese national competition (All Japan) was a few weeks away. He was determined to attend it so he decided to bear with the pain and delay the surgery. Without telling anybody about his problem, he attended his trainings after wrapping himself with gauze to prevent blood from staining his clothes. That didn't work out well and blood still got to his clothes so when it was time for the competition, he was worried that his costume might get stained. To prevent that from happening, he put a strong tape on top of the gauze, which was painful, but did the job. In this condition, Yuzuru took part in the Japanese national competition, and despite a few mistakes in both of his programs, his endurance of pain didn't go in vain, and he actually won.

Yuzuru commented about this situation in his book by saying: "It was painful to bend forward and backward, but I tried to do whatever I could in that situation. I even did the Ina bauer, but I could not arch back at all. In fact, I also intended to do the biellmann spin! However, when I started the spin, I changed it into an A-line"

Yuzuru performing his free program and putting his hand on his stomach while leaving the ice during All Japan 2014:

5-  Rising from fifth place to first in the World Championships 2017:

At the World Championship in 2017, Yuzuru made some mistakes in the short program that left him sitting in fifth place behind his rivals. The gap between him and the first place was around 11 points. He was so disappointed in himself but didn't give up. He wanted to go practice harder. However, his coaches stopped him from overworking himself and made sure that he takes a good rest and goes through a normal practice. After that, he collected himself, focused, stayed calm and presented one of the greatest performances ever. It was flawless and magnificent. His coach Brian Orser said that he felt privileged to have witnessed this performance. Yuzuru got a very high score that made him scream and left him on the verge of shedding happy tears. His coach Brian Orser was speechless while his other coach Tracy Wilson had her mouth wide open in astonishment. With that, Yuzuru was able to rise from fifth place to first and win the championship.

Yuzuru performing his free program and receiving his score at the WC 2017:

6- Winning the second Olympic title right after being away from the ice for 3 months due to a severe injury:

Before the beginning of the Olympic season, Yuzuru was done with his preparation very early and was all ready to compete. His coach Brian Orser couldn't believe how smoothly things were going and felt a little uneasy about the fact that Yuzuru was ready very early. His worry wasn't pointless because soon enough Yuzuru sustained a severe injury. It happened during the official practice before NHK. Yuzuru was practicing (4Lutz) which was a new jump he has been practicing that season. He landed the jump in a wrong way causing ligament damage to his right ankle. The injury forced him out of competition for the rest of the season.

Yuzuru's fall and injury at NHK 2017:

Yuzuru disappeared and was away from the ice for three months. During that time, he didn't make any T.V appearances or interviews. Thus, nobody knew anything about him and his condition. His participation in the Olympics and the mere ability to perform again became uncertain. A lot of people doubted he would be able to comeback. However, he showed up at Incheon Airport in South Korea surrounded by guards and declared that he was ready to compete and that he believes he has the potential to win more than any other skater. After that, he avoided talking to the press until the end of the competition.

Yuzuru's arrival at Incheon Airport to participate at the 2018 Olympics:

According to his coach, Brian Orser, Yuzuru returned to the ice only six weeks before the Olympics and had to relearn everything and take baby steps to be able to perform again. He was practicing strokes, single and double jumps while watching his training mate and rival, Javier Fernandez, do a full run through of his programs with triples and quads. Yuzuru was able to land triples only three weeks before the Olympics and started landing quads just two weeks before the Olympics.

During the official open practice before the competition, Yuzuru made sure not to reveal his abilities and current condition nor his planned layout. He simply did some strokes and single jumps then left the rink. He chose his layout after studying his rivals and calculating how many points he would potentially need to win. He did his calculations on an app that he developed as part of his studies at the university.

In the short program segment, Yuzuru put out a great performance that was so close to the world record (which he holds). He won first place at this segment. Seeing the results, he felt relieved and assured so he allowed himself to reduce the difficulty of his free program. He was one-step away from winning the Olympics again. He needed to put out another great performance during the free program, and fortunately, that's exactly what he did. He performed a memorable free program filled with emotions, and once he finished, he screamed: "I won. I won!" which was true! He became the first skater to win the Olympics consecutively in 66 years.

Yuzuru's free program at the 2018 Olympics:

The moment that Yuzuru is announced as the winner of the 2018 Olympics:

7- Receiving the gold medal on crutches during Rostelecom Cup 2018:

After winning the Olympics, Yuzuru decided to pay tribute to his role models in figure skating; the Russian legend Evgeny Plushenko and the American Johnny Weir. He chose one of Plushenko's programs as his free program and one of Weir's as his short. He adapted the programs to his own style but still kept some touches from the original ones. Since it was a tribute, he decided to perform his free program in the hometown of his Russian idol and in front of his people. That is why he chose to participate in Rostelecom Cup, which is one of the events of the Grand Prix Series, and is held in Russia. He performed a great short program and everything was going well until he injured his right foot again during the practice before the free program. He was advised to withdraw. However, he absolutely wanted to perform his tribute to the Russian legend, Plushenko, in Russia. He has prepared a lot for this performance and came all the way to Russia to do it so he didn't want all of that to be pointless. He decided to take strong painkillers and perform his free program. He lowered the difficulty of the program and then presented a great performance in front of the Russian crowd that brought him the gold medal. After the performance, he started moving on crutches and admitted that without the painkillers, he wouldn't have been able to skate. He received the gold medal that night on crutches with fans cheering for him and holding up signs that says: "Yuzu we love you from all over the world".

Yuzuru receiving the gold medal on crutches at Rostelecom 2018:

8- Conquering his fears during the season of 2019-2020:

Yuzuru has suffered from a lot of injuries throughout his career. More than once, he thought that he is facing the end of his career because of an injury. Therefore, his main goal during the season of 2019-2020 was to finish the season without injuries. He finished his first two competitions safely and arrived at Japan to participate in NHK, which was his second Grand Prix assignment. Many of his injuries happened in his second GP event and he was conscious about this fact. He was afraid of getting hurt again and was visibly shaking before the beginning of his free program. As a result of his nervousness he missed a combination. However, he pulled himself together and improvised a new combination to recover the points he missed. He thought of the new combination, calculated its points and made sure that it's not repeated all while performing amazingly. Once he came out of the rink, his coach Ghislain gave him a hug and said: "You know what? You conquered your fear!".

Yuzuru shaking before performing his free program at NHK 2019 + full performance:

Yuzuru continued to overcome his fears in the final of the Grand Prix. He was setting in second place after the short program and the gap of points between him and his rival was big. He felt that winning may not be possible this time; nonetheless, he still wanted to do his best and give a respectable performance. He decided to raise the number of quad jumps in his program to five for the first time ever in his career. In addition, he declared that he will bring back the quad Lutz, which is the jump that caused his injury before the 2018 Olympics. It's a jump that he never dared to perform again in competitions since that incident. However, he overcame his fear and performed a flawless quad Lutz during the free program with four other quad jumps in the GPF, challenging not only his fear, but also his stamina that has always been an obstacle for him. He did not win the gold medal, but won his own fight against his fears and limits as well as the hearts and respect of the audience.

Yuzuru performing quad Lutz+ full performance of the free program at GPF2019:

9- Winning the bronze medal in the World Championship 2021 despite an asthma attack and many other hurdles.

During the 2020-2021 season, the whole world was going through struggles because of Corona Virus and Yuzuru was no exception. He had to train on his own in Japan all year long away from his coaches and physical therapist in Canada. He prepared new programs for the season with his choreographers by receiving videos and training accordingly without any supervision. During the season, his hometown was struck by an earthquake twice. The last struck happened right before he traveled to Stockholm to participate in the WC. According to him, the inside of his home was a mess and he couldn't use the train to go to Tokyo and board the plane as planned. As a result, he arrived to Stockholm one day later than planned, thus, he had to change his training plans as well. However, his coach Brian Oreser said that Yuzuru is not the type of athlete who gets phased by such problems and he was right. Yuzuru did perfect run through of his programs during his official practices. He also performed his lively short program very well and won the small gold medal of the segment.

Yuzuru performing his short program at WC 2021:

Yuzuru was all set to win the World Championship for the third time, but something unexpected happened before the free program. He was supposed to start warming up one hour prior the turn of his group (the last group), but he was nowhere to be seen at the venue until it was almost time for the last group to compete. His coach Brian Orser said that he was worried and didn't know where Yuzuru was. He asked the head of the Japanese team but they simply told him: "He is somewhere else". Brian kept on going back and forth between the rink where two of his students were competing and the warm up area where Yuzuru was supposed to be, but Yuzuru did not show up. After Brian's students finished their turn, it was almost time for Yuzuru's group so Brian went to the locker room to see if Yuzuru was there. Usually, Yuzuru would put his skating boots in the locker room before the six-minuets warm up of his group and Brian would come to carry his tissue box, and then they would head to the rink together. However, Brian didn't find Yuzuru in the locker room. Yuzuru was caught on camera sitting on a chair at the warm up area, resting his head on the wall and looking exhausted while taking off his mask impatiently. At that time, the announcement of Keegan Messing's score from the group before the last one, could be heard in the background.

Yuzuru at the warm up area before skating his free program at the WC 2021:

When Brian finally found Yuzuru at the warm up area, he said that he knew something must have happened to him but he didn't ask him about it. Instead, he tried to encourage him by saying energetically: "Let's go!"

Yuzuru showed up at the rink without styling his hair unlike the norm. He made a lot of mistakes in the first part of his free program as if he was not the same person who did a perfect run through one day ago. He said that he suddenly couldn't find his balance but he did try his best. He explained that with every mistake, he tried to at least not fall. Later on, the Russian media reported that the Russian doctor who was accompanying their team at the competition said that Yuzuru has had an asthma attack right before coming to the venue and has asked for his help. Yuzuru never talked to the media about what happened before the free program and why he was late. When he was asked about his asthma he only admitted to feeling a little asthmatic after the free program. Despite all of that, Yuzuru managed to win the bronze medal and contribute in securing three spots to team Japan at the Olympics.

The mystery of what happened to Yuzuru before the free program would have stayed unsolved if it wasn't for the Russian doctor. The reason is that Yuzuru doesn't like to make excuses for himself. He once said in an old interview that he used to make a lot of excuses for himself when he was young but then he realized that real strong skaters don't do that and that he wouldn't learn anything if he keeps on making excuses. He took the renowned Japanese skater Mao Asada as an example when she competed with a bone fracture without uttering a word about it. That must be the reason why he never takes his asthma as an excuse or talks about it.

10- Achieving his childhood dreams one by one:

Since ever Yuzuru was young he declared that he wants to be the Olympic champion and he wants to land a quad Axel. He went on to achieve his Olympic dream in 2014; making history by being the first Japanese male skater to win an Olympic gold medal ever. However, he said that it’s not over yet because the plan in his head is to win the Olympics twice. He kept on improving himself and walking towards his dream while making a lot of sacrifices and overcoming injuries. At the end, he achieved his dream and made history once again by being the first skater in 66 years to win the gold medal at the Olympics consecutively. He then made a statement saying that he feels happy and that this happiness is what he gets in return to the sacrifices he made. After that, he said that he feels freed from the pressure of having to produce results. Thus, he announced that he is going to skate for himself from then on. It was time for him to start focusing on the other dream of his childhood which was the quad Axel. He made it clear that landing it in a competition is his next goal and didn’t allow himself to get swayed by what others are doing or what competitions he is losing. He stayed focused on his goal and is reported to be getting closer to achieving it.  

Yuzuru's path has never been covered with flowers. It was hard and painful most of the time but yuzuru always turns the pain into success and fulfillment with his perseverance, becoming an icon of inspiration to many people. We wish him a lot of happiness and success in the future.

Translation of Yuzuru's book is from:

https://bit.ly/3vSGgBz

[renchinworld]

THE BLIZZARD IN JILIN

Renjun x fem reader 

fluff & angst // word count: 3.2k

This is the story of Renjun’s childhood friend who he left in Jilin when he followed his dreams of becoming an idol.

Now six years have passed, dozens of awards, hundreds of thousands of fans, and a triple million selling album later... he comes back home to see her engaged to another man. 

A blizzard is coming to Jilin and it’s the strongest one China has ever seen. 

___ ___ ___ 

 “I passed the auditions!” Renjun hugged you tightly, shaking you from side to side in joy. “I’m going to Korea!”

“Congratulations.” You smile, tears forming at the sides of your eyes.

Renjun’s dream has always been to be an idol, but your dream was always him. To be with him. 

For him to spill out the words that his eyes never fail to say everytime you catch him staring at you. 

For him to realize that maybe he didn’t give you his coat on cold winter mornings when yours did not make you feel warm enough just because he thought of you as a friend.

For him to tell you that what he truly wants is to just be an ordinary man in Jilin, grow old with you, chill with each other in the warm fireplace as you look back on your lives in old age.  

To leave it all behind and choose you.

But that would be selfish. That would leave Renjun always wondering with what ifs. He would be with you but his heart would be stuck with a dream he never got to achieve. Like an empty vessel of a person you once loved. You can’t bring yourself to do that to him just to make him stay. 

You love him so much to cut off his wings when he wants so badly to fly. 

“Shouldn’t you go home and pack?” You ask with a forced smile. You’re on the verge of crying in front of him. He needs to go before he sees your tears.

“Right!” He jumps. “By the way, you’re the first one I told. I’m gonna prank my family and tell them I didn’t get accepted first hehe. Serves them right for trying to stop me from going.” 

“You meanie.” You chuckled and he smiled. 

“Come on. You know I love them and it’s just for light fun,” Renjun ruffles your hair and you almost tell him not to leave you then. You bite your lower lip to stop yourself and his eyes land on your lips before he clears his throat. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You’re always the first one he told everything to. That was your place in his life. But now, seeing him walking away from you, you realize he no longer belongs only to you and you to him. 

He will be loved by a thousand screaming fans and he will perform for them in return.  He will end your calls at night earlier than usual because he has to meet other girls and boys in the morning for a fansign event. He will eventually stop messaging you as he becomes busy and you’ll wonder if he forgot about you completely.

Renjun will get his wish while you can only dream of yours. 

He will be shining as always. Under the bright, blinding spotlights and the glowing eyes of his many supporters. While you will be at your hometown, staring out at the snowy mountains, reminiscing the days when he looked at you the same way his fans look at him now.

Then you will wake up one day and realize that maybe this is bearable enough. 

Maybe it’s okay to continue on, knowing that in this short life you met the one you’d choose in a hundred lifetimes, but he couldn’t choose you in this one. 

Maybe you’ll finally agree to that arranged marriage your parents have been trying to set you up to. 

And maybe you will change your dream to an actual goal instead of a person who will end up leaving you. Maybe, just maybe… you will forget about Renjun too.

And that’s exactly what you did. Or so you thought.

___

5 YEARS LATER

“Honey, remind your fiancé that we’re having his family over for dinner,” your mom says, poking her head out of the kitchen. “Call him, okay?”

You nodded and proceeded to just text Hendery. This arranged marriage isn’t out of love and you both know it. He’s in love with someone else and you’re not willing to give your heart to him. There’s no reason to call each other over things you can just text.

“He says they’re coming.” You said, walking towards the kitchen and making yourself green tea by settling it over ice and waiting for it to melt. Someone you once loved told you this is the best way to make them.

“You didn’t call him?” Your mother asks, concerned. You shrugged. “He’s a nice boy, sweetheart. You’ve been engaged for years and yet you still--”

“Mom, please,” your smile never reached your eyes. “We’ll be fine.”

“Is it because of Renjun?”

You gulped. The mention of his name felt like the cold air that hits you when you step out of the house. It felt like beautiful smiles fading into the background. Like a thousand dreams that were thrown into the fire but the ashes keep on coming back, smothering you and making it difficult to breathe.

“No.” You said almost immediately. 

“I heard he’s back home, taking a short vacation.” She presses on, concern plastered on her face as she studies your expression. “Have you talked to him yet?”

“He’s probably forgotten about me.” Your heart was clawing at you from the inside. “Let’s stop talking about him, mom. Do you need help?”

“No, honey. I’m almost finished. You should just get ready.” She pats your back and goes back to cooking dinner. 

___

Finished with making yourself look presentable, you went down stairs. 

You stopped halfway when the doorbell rang.

No one rings your house doorbell. Hendery texts you whenever he’s in front of your house. Your father just goes in when he comes home from work every month. 

Only delivery men use that contraption. But it’s night time right now. What delivery company would be on duty at 8 in the evening?

“Sweetheart, open the door for me, okay? I’m setting up the table.” Your mom called out from the dining area. 

Something feels off. What if it’s a murderer? Nah, you’ve been watching too many true crime documentaries.

You looked at the peephole just to be sure. 

You wished it was a murderer instead. 

That would’ve been better for your health than Huang Renjun carrying a bouquet of flowers in front of your doorstep.

“What happened?” Your mom walks towards you. You look back at her, the color in your face gone. “Why aren’t you opening the door?”

She grabs the doorknob but you stop her, shaking your head. You hissed. “Don’t!”

Your mother’s eyebrows furrowed. She peeks in the peephole and sighs before she uses her strength on you and forces the door open despite your struggling.

“Oh look, it’s Jilin’s superstar! Welcome back!” She smiles, genuinely happy to see the boy who made your entire province proud. Asian parents amirite. “Come in, come in. Just in time for dinner.”

“Thank you for your hospitality.” Renjun says as he steps in and pays his respects. His voice was deeper than you last remembered. He was taller, more regal looking and even more handsome. How is that even possible?

Your eyes meet and a million memories flood through your mind. Him hugging you, telling you that he’ll be back soon. Not soon enough. You crying every night until one day you just stopped because you became numb. Not numb enough. Him saying goodbye on the phone one last time before he ghosts you. You cursing him on the top of your lungs and crying in the middle of a storm, wanting to just sink into the snow and freeze outside for years to come.

“Hi,” he says and hands you the flowers. Your eyes flutter, your hands are shaking as you receive it. You don’t know if you should be angry or what. “How are you?”

How are you? You chuckled bitterly. “Great, thanks for asking.”

“Hang his coat, honey. I’ll be in the dining area if you need me.” Your mom says quickly to mask the contempt in your voice and leaves the both of you. If your mother noticed anything, she pretended not to notice. The tension was so thick, it probably suffocated her.

“Won’t you ask me how I’ve been?” He smiles and your throat constricts. You don’t say anything so he sucks a deep breath, continuing. “We’re triple million seller idols now.”

“C-congrats.” You say, forcing yourself to not say more because if you do, you might say things you'll regret. You place the flowers down and he hands you his coat for you to hang. A whiff of his perfume passes. He smells like how a cozy and warm morning would be if it was a scent.

“I’ve missed you. I’m sorry for not reaching out--” You didn’t have enough time to process what he said because your phone suddenly rang in your pocket. He nods, eyes never leaving yours. “Go ahead. Must be an emergency.”

It was Hendery. You picked up. He only calls when it’s really important.

“Yes, Hendery?” Renjun's expression darkens at the mention of Hendery’s name. “A blizzard? Okay, I understand.”

You walk past Renjun and went to the dining area where your mother is. “They can’t come, mom. Can’t drive because the blizzard suddenly worsened.” 

“Oh no,” she pouts, then her expression changes when he sees the man standing behind you. “No worries, we have a guest to help us finish the meal. Don’t we, Renjun?”

“Of course, it’s an honor.” His honey voice from behind surprised you. You didn’t know he followed you. “Careful.”

He caught you in his arms when you almost tripped. You were quick to stand up and remove his hold on you. Your mother just stared amused. You were always too composed and collected, but Renjun brings out a clumsy side to you she’s never seen before.

“It’s a shame her fiancé couldn’t meet her childhood friend.” Your mother sighed when all three of you were seated. You and Renjun sat across from each other while your mom was beside you. “The blizzard really did it this time.”

“Fiancé?” His brows knitted, mouth hanging open, waiting for your mom to say he heard it wrong. 

“Hendery.” You said, not looking at him while taking a bite of the steak. “We’ve been engaged since 2018.” Since you stopped talking to me.

“Ah, of course,” he takes a bite out of his food but his eyes are still glued on you. “Congratulations.”

“They’re to be married next month. So exciting!” Your mom exclaims beside you and brings more food to your plates. “Eat up, babies. You both grew up so fast. You’ll probably have babies of your own soon!”

You cleared your throat, feeling the heat on your face. You probably looked so red right now.

“But…  next month?” He asks again, this time not bothering to cover his distaste of the marriage topic. “Isn’t that too soon?”

You said nothing. Why does he care anyways?

Your mom explains for you that Hendery’s parents have been trying to get you both married since last year but you keep on saying you’re still too young. 

“Right!” Renjun extends a hand to prove his point. “What if she changes her mind?”

He looks at you, trying so hard to steal your glance from the food. You give in and look at him. You almost gasp. This is the first time you’ve ever seen Renjun look this desperate. Not when his parents told him not to go to that audition. Not when he talks about becoming an idol. This was much more intense. Like he was about to do unspeakable things to you if you don’t answer him right now.

“I-I don’t think I’ll change my mind.” You finally say, feeling the heaviness in your chest spread through your body, tingling at the end of your fingers. 

“Of course you won’t.” Renjun leans, shoulders rolling back as he adjusts his posture. He says nothing to you throughout the whole meal. He smiles and humors your mother when she shares more stories but he has never looked at you again.

___

“It’s dangerous for you to leave now,” your mom says, worried. Renjun insisted on going home because their house was within walking distance, but the air was blowing outside at terrifying speeds. “Just stay the night like you always do when you were kids, hmm?”

But we’re not kids anymore. Now, we’re young adults who are totally frustrated with each other. That’s not a good idea. But going outside is evidently much worse.

“You can use her brother’s room.” Your mom laughs from the living room where they both are. Your brother Lucas has rarely visited since he married. “You’ve always been like a son to us anyways, even her brother gets jealous of you sometimes.”

Renjun laughs with her, remembering the good ol’ days. You roll your eyes. 

“Thank you so much. I’ll behave, I promise.”

Your mom turns to look at you. You’re washing the dishes in the kitchen. “She’s always insisting to hand wash instead of using the dishwasher. I taught her well.”

“I’ll help her. Please get some rest.” He smiles warmly at her and walks towards you. You both hear your mother go up the stairs, leaving you and Renjun alone again.

“Next month, really?” He asks, grabbing the plate from your hand.

“We’ve already talked about this over dinner.” You sigh. “Just drop it.”

“Are you even sure you want to marry him? Don’t you like someone else?” His tone carried a meaning behind it. Like he knew. 

What does he even know?!

"I'm marrying him and that's final." You say sternly, your patience drying up. “That would make me happy.”

“Since when did you start lying to yourself?”

The ticking bomb within you explodes. Years of sadness turned into rage and it filled your heaving chest. Your eyes started to water. Renjun settled the plate down when he saw your expression and faced you, apologizing immediately.

“Please don’t marry him.” He suddenly pleads as he kneels down, touching your hands and looking up at you. “Come back to me. Please.”

“What? Why are you so--” you stop to breathe out loudly. Tears began spilling and your heart felt like jumping out. You wanted to shout in his face. Why do you care?! Why are you begging?! What are we?!

But only a fountain of tears followed. Years of practicing what you would say if something like this happened just blurred in your mind. No amount of practice will suffice once your first love comes back and tells you something like this. None.

“I’m so sorry,” Renjun stood up and wiped your tears away. His eyes also started to become teary. “I know I’m not in the position to tell you that but I still did. I also know I’m way too late, but I just want to tell you that I love you. I really, really love you. I tried to forget my feelings because I know it would be difficult for you to end up with someone like me, but I just can’t get you out of my head.

“Every time my group members asked me if I liked someone, I would say no but in the back of my mind all I see is you. Whenever someone sings your favorite song, I would remember how beautiful you looked when we sang it together. Every moment I go up on stage, I always wondered if you’re watching me from somewhere in the crowd. Every winter when it snowed in Seoul, I would think of how the snowflakes fell softly on your hair here in Jilin. I may have left, but my heart stayed with you.

“I’m sorry I stopped talking to you. I knew you liked me back so I thought it would be selfish of me to let you wait for so long because of the path I chose. You didn’t stop me from following my dreams back then despite that. So I thought to myself, ‘she sacrificed for me, but I can’t do the same for her?’ and I decided that I needed to let you go. You deserved to be happy, too.

"I stopped reaching out so you could forget me and finally be happy in someone else’s arms. I was ready to let you go. But when I heard you were getting married next month, I couldn’t bear it. I can’t imagine it. I’d rather die. I’d rather give up on everything than see you walk down the aisle for another man--”

His voice cracks. Head drooping down into yours as he hugs you tightly. As if he let you go now, he would lose you completely. As if he doesn’t squeeze you like this, you will end up continuing with the marriage. 

You looked up at the ceiling, tears flowing and mouth hanging open from his words. Isn’t life funny? For years you were scrambling for answers and in just a mere minute, everything has started coming together.

“Renjun...” You say, your voice low and shaky. “I can’t breathe.”

He loosens his hold on you and looks you in the eyes. His hands cupped your face. “Did you hear me? I said I love you. I said I really, really, really love you.”

“I heard, dumbass.” You cough up a small laugh, the tears won’t stop falling. “I love you too.”

He sighs, relief washing over his face. “Marry me instead?”

“Dude, don’t you think you’re going too fast?” You say, your hands planted on his chest. Eyes puffy. Renjun only found it cute. 

“The last time I stalled, I almost lost you. So I’m going all-in now.” 

“You’re a kpop idol. What am I supposed to do if you're on tour and I need to give birth, hmm?”

"Don't you think you're moving faster than me? I'm just at the marriage part and you're already at pregnancy." He chuckles. "Then again, maybe we can rearrange the order of things…" 

You smacked him on the chest lightly. Who knew he could make dirty jokes like this now?

"You told my mom you would behave."

"Your mom likes me and wants grandchildren. I don't think she'd mind." 

"Shut up." You say with a smile and he kisses you. You didn’t expect him to come in stronger than a blizzard and break down all your defenses. His kiss. His truth. His love for you. Him.

There’s still a lot to be done before you two can be free to love each other without worries. But it doesn’t matter. No matter how challenging it is from here on out, you two will have each other and that's all you need. It would be like this. Always. 

Renjun's kiss deepens and he smiles victoriously as you melt into his arms. A dozen awards and a ton of trophies he received, but none of those comes close to winning your heart.

___

From upstairs, your mom smiles to herself. She heard everything when she went to ask what's taking so long but backed away quietly when she heard you both crying.

"I knew these kids just needed a little push. Oh, oof. We have to cancel that engagement…."

___ ___ ___

a/n: Dude I loved writing this so much I actually didn’t want it to end lmao

[greenhappyseed]

BnHA Ch.318 - Comparisons and parallels

Hey, did you hear Bakugo was back? I kid! Of COURSE everyone on Tumblr heard the collective BKDK screams. :) While the gremlin ex machina is the big news, a lot of other good stuff happened too.

We open the chapter with more Endeavor chitchat. He’s turning out to be a good coordinator, an insightful investigator, and all around worthy of being a top pro…except he’s still a crap father and still doesn’t seem to care about human beings. Even here with Deku, he appears to express concern over Deku’s wellbeing but immediately follows it up with:

Yup, he only cares about Deku as the OFA holder, not the kid who saved him in the war, the kid who used to intern for him, or the kid who’s friends with his kid. Ugh.

Deku swears to Endy that he’s fine because he’s still on his feet, but that’s a pretty poor standard. I mean, he’s wobbling and needs Blackwhip as a literal crutch. The vestiges agree with Endy and start to gang up on Deku, so Deku, in all his tired teenage wisdom, decides to ghost them. Apparently you CAN ghost a vestige, and Fourth is not here for it.

Holy heteromorph discrimination! All the villains we see Deku fighting are heteromorphs (some are even dressed like Spinner). We also see Deku fighting a gigantic shark-headed villain in the water, presumably because Gang Orca and Selkie were busy.

I LOVE the panel of Deku thinking of his family, his teachers, and Eri. This is what he’s fighting to achieve, but Deku’s perceptions (goals?) don’t necessarily line up with reality.

His mom is first (awwww) and she’s cheering for him like she did when he was little. NOT worried, not crying, just pure joy for her hero son, like he fantasized when he was a quirkless boy.

Gran Torino in his hero outfit, smiling and eating — NOT as Deku last saw him in the hospital.

Proud Dadmight with a genuine smile, NOT hero All Might. Also, All Might appears to be wearing his track jacket, not a business suit, so presumably Deku is thinking about a more casual training moment with his mentor. This is an interesting contrast to Gran Torino, who Deku DOES picture as a hero even though Torino handed his cape to Deku in the hospital.

AIZAWA GLARING WITH BOTH EYES AND HIDING HIS MOUTH, because THIS is how Aizawa looks in Deku’s happily ever after. But we all know Aizawa is probably hiding a sly smile under under his capture weapon, right??

Eri, finally smiling freely, because she’s learned how.

Also, it looks like Deku is again fighting heteromorphs at the bottom of this panel, although one of the kids he’s defending appears to have a duck bill, so we have some positive representation too.

Deku says he wants everyone to live their lives in peace and safety so they can smile together. Wow, where have we heard an idealistic kid say that before?

As Deku thinks about the ideal he shares with All Might, he arrives at Kamino, the place where “All Might” ended. Deku nearly collapses and meets his end when he sees a villain called Dictator, who was sent by AFO. Yup, Nagant wasn’t the only one sent by AFO, she just thought she was (and AFO didn’t prep her well — by comparison, Dictator received a full briefing about Deku). But look carefully at how Dictator uses different insults than AFO. He doesn’t call Deku useless or a boy (as both AFO and Nagant did), even though the imagery throughout this chapter points to the “what can you even do?” bit from Chapter 1. Instead, Dictator calls Deku reckless, impatient, and a loner.

“Rampage” in particular, calls back to this AFO/Yoichi exchange during the vestige battle, where AFO decried “rage” as being ruled by emotion and out of control, but Yoichi praised it as a form of passion.

Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but I think AFO is increasingly afraid of Deku. AFO is putting more effort into prepping his assassins, and his pass-through insults are sounding more like the taunts he hurled at All Might. AFO is now referring to All Might as useless and Deku as reckless. If, somehow, we see Dictator in the next chapter, I’m curious if he’ll explode or bust out a second quirk…..He does say taking Deku to AFO will bring him security, so I think AFO explicitly threatened him. All I’m saying is, it’s weird that a villain named Dictator has no mission statement or political end he’s trying to reach. He seems to be acting purely on AFO’s orders or ELSE, which means AFO is getting desperate and doesn’t have time for games. By contrast, AFO persuaded Nagant the boy would stop hero society from collapsing, therefore her goal and AFO’s goal were aligned. Unlike Dictator, she wasn’t aware there was an “or else;” she didn’t know she would explode if she exercised “free will.”

Deku snaps out of his stupor long enough to challenge Dictator to give up AFO’s location. Dictator says if Deku wants a fight, he’ll give him one, which echoes a line from AFO in Kamino:

There’s no more “come quietly if you want to keep your limbs,” it’s straight to “let’s fight!”

FINALLY! We. See. Bakugo! I adore how Deku is piled under bodies, twisting his tired brain around, thinking “I need a strategy,” and Bakugo is just, “VILLAIN GO BOOM!” with a precision blast. He knew exactly how to get the villain while keeping civilians safe. Perfect victory (assuming Dictator is truly done). Also, Bakugo’s “that punk” could apply to either the villain or Deku. :) It’s a nice callback to the final exam when Deku can’t think of a strategy to win against All Might and Bakugo was, “I choose violence against my childhood idol.” Both times, Bakugo’s right — sometimes a little rage is necessary to save and win.

I have thoughts on AFO and the “my body moved without thinking” bits that I’ll post separately. As for my next chapter hopes and dreams:

More Bakugo and UA kids. Plus All Might and Stain. And some LOV love pleeeeease.

Figure out why Second is being sus. He says saving everyone is the right path for Deku (contrary to AFO, who calls Deku’s path “thorny”), and that inaction is not an option for OFA holders. We also know Second believes victory = life and defeat = death, so it makes sense he’d push Deku towards victory no matter the cost. Second also says there’s something that can bolster Deku, which is presumably Bakugo and friends. However, when Bakugo arrives, Second doesn’t look pleased. Assuming he’s standing the same way against his throne chair as he is at the start of the chapter, then in the panel below Second is looking over his LEFT shoulder AWAY from the other vestiges and towards the expanse of the OFA mind realm. (Earlier in the chapter he looks over his RIGHT shoulder to speak to Yoichi and Third.) WHY YOU LOOK AWAY FROM VESTIGE FRIENDS WHEN WHEN BAKUGO APPEARS??? ARE YOU ON THE LOOKOUT FOR AFO TO ARRIVE??

Although the arrival of foreign heroes has been promised for a bit, and I’m ok with some background forces to bulk the hero ranks, I’m not keen on new cannon fodder cameo characters that will show up for 4 chapters and then disappear. A Captain Celebrity appearance would be fun, but let’s be honest, he likely noped out of going to Japan to fight villains gone wild. If Death Arms quit, there’s no way Captain Celebrity would keep going!