#hmmmmmmmmmm uh how abt

[cheswirls]

playing around with an experimental idea of different modern scenarios all tethered together by the theme of ill-fated, star-crossed lovers doomed to their destiny. below is probably the penultimate if not the final in a string of scenes, a taste of happiness closer than others but still out of reach.

i think it would be cool to work backwards?? to start at the last and then transition to the beginning. all varying length, some more brief than others to hammer in the futility. this is????? uhhh idk i am still questioning if this would even be interesting. entirely an idea for now.

this one comes after sabo has decided that he's going to escape fate at all costs, this time. the start is more choppy as i'm rambling to establish what's in my head but it settles out when i get into the scene :) sry in advance

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Even when sabo tries to cut his losses and get away, somehow, ace still finds him

Sabo maps his life around a career in the most remote area of the world so he won’t ever have to see ace again, gets a reputation as “devoted to his work” scientist at base camp that doesn’t like to socialize and usually keeps to himself. After a year, one of the (to him) more senior researchers announces her retirement plan, and more importantly, her replacements. Sabo is surprised they’re getting two new people in return but this is apparently old news. Senior is moving back home to marry astronaut returning from iss, their homecomings coincide and it’s supposed to be really sweet but it just leaves a sour taste in sabo’s mouth that he has to forcefully smile around to make amenities. 

Against all odds, ace is one of the newcomers that joins them after the month is up. Sabo tries to maintain distance despite ace’s friendly attempts and affection, and his coworkers brush aside sabo’s attitude to ace as “his usual, he’s always like that. He likes his samples and specimens more than he does any of us.”

But ace doesn’t back down, and surprises sabo by being fluent in english despite his japanese background. It’s not posh european english like sabo had grown used to, but tinged with an accent that suggests he probably spent some extended time in australia. Sabo pretends to not speak english, knocking ace off guard, but the next time they run into each other, ace says his greeting/question/offer in german.

It’s good german too, which shocks sabo enough into giving a normal answer, if not just a response in general. Ace is pleased by this and tries his luck, keeps going with a nonchalant explanation that his mother’s family was german and he’s picked up enough of it over the years to pass as fluent in conversation. 

Sabo feels his cold exterior thawing. He allows ace’s greetings from then on, sometimes quietly echoes back the sentiments in soft-spoken german. No one else at camp ever knows what the two are saying and they’re not keen to share, but they do notice that easygoing ace has finally worn sabo’s shell until he can squeeze himself inside. 

Slowly, sabo feels himself giving in, unable to resist ace’s pull. He starts teaching ace to read written german as he pens in his research notes for the day, ace squeezing his way onto the bench corner sabo’s sat himself in or worming close to sabo’s side wherever he’s decided to settle down for the evening. At first it’s just the little articles and basic words, but soon sabo is muffling his laughter as ace gets tongue-tied trying to read off some of the more long-winded scientific terms. 

Ace knows a bit of spanish from his father and often converses to the researchers from argentina and chile in their native language, and he’s found a special place in the hearts of the scientists from south africa, norway, sri lanka, and new zealand. He’s a busy body and very sociable, so it’s no surprise that he eventually ends up pulling sabo into the edge of goings-on. 

Though sabo is still keen to keep everyone at a distance, ace becomes the exception. An observation slowly makes its way through camp following ace dragging sabo out (just the two of them) on a much-needed day off. They plant themselves safely in the snow out in the middle of nowhere and stare into the sky through their uv goggles. 

Conversation floats between them, idle and meaningless. It’s sabo that first broaches a personal topic, asking ace why he’d ever want to come out here and what led him to this path. Ace throws the same question back and sabo feels encouraged to answer first, less vaguely than he’d like admitting that he fell in love with the work he’s doing, but also that he wanted somewhere remote to be at to escape the bustle of the world at large.

Ace, like sabo, says that he’d experimentally tried something similar in secondary education and enjoyed it, and that led to a research seminar in aussie that turned into a full summer of him being a temp in a science facility. Eventually he’d fallen down the specific rabbit hole (that he’s concentrated on as his area of focus while in antarctica) and after being an assistant for a while, he got this opportunity.

And, yeah, it was different. He’s used to “the bustle” as sabo put it, used to sprawling metro areas and unceasing noise and unending crowds. Given this chance to come out here was definitely something he’d had to think about, but also . . . found that the decision wasn’t all that hard. He felt compelled to take the offer, like something was calling to him.

Maybe . . . he’d been destined to spend time in the middle of nowhere because it’s where sabo was, because sabo had chosen to remove himself from society. Ace says this as a joke, but the notion makes sabo’s breath catch. He doesn’t fight back when ace’s hand settles into his own. He can’t resist the pull of the universe, and he lacks the desire to do so this time around. He’d tried, hadn’t he? And still, here was ace, worming his way into sabo’s heart. With his wavy surfer hair and bright eyes and the tan that should’ve faded after his first month on the continent. 

So sabo lets ace pull him close and whisper “ich liebe dich” where he knows sabo can hear, and maybe they make out and roll around in the snow as much as their protective gear allows. They come back composed and don’t stay glued at the hip, but sabo smiles more that night over drinks as everyone celebrates the wrap-up to their long-awaited day off than he has the entire rest of the time he’s been at this base camp.

Sabo keeps smiling after that night, which is how others start cluing in. he adopts this relaxed air that becomes saturated whenever he’s in reaching distance of ace. Suddenly it’s not ace making space for himself near sabo, but sabo leaving it for ace. Ace may become slightly more accommodating, just a bit more in tune with sabo’s condition, but it’s not ace bringing an extra cup of hot water when sabo’s been hunched around his notes for long enough. It’s sabo accepting the cup without argument, with a warm smile, and shifting so ace can settle down beside him. 

It comes as a shock more to the other six that sabo isn’t asexual, rather than him and ace being (probably) romantically involved. What had been paraded around as a joke, maybe as a bromance of sorts, or just that ace was sabo’s only friend, settles in as something different entirely as everyone clocks in at different points. The “oh, they’re not buddies, they’re like that”

Some nights, when it’s late enough that sabo is the only one awake and ace’s careful prodding manages to win him over, he’ll let ace pull him from his work and settle him down in ace’s own cot, both pressed close together to stave off the night’s chill. Some nights sabo will let ace pull one of his sleep shirts down over sabo’s head and tries not to bask in the similar sensation of a thousand different lifetimes as he huddles into the soft material. 

Ace knows sabo likes his personal space, so he doesn’t encroach on sabo’s room, nor does he ask sabo to move his current task to ace’s own room. But sometimes, he’ll find himself perched on the edge of sabo’s cot, legs swinging as he quietly bemoans how much longer sabo is going to leave him. He’ll recline onto sabo’s comforter and counter sabo’s short refusal with another long-winded lament on his boyfriend leaving him to get cold.

It’s one of these nights that sabo stops and powers down his monitor and sets his spectacles aside and turns to find ace conked out behind him. While it’s easy enough to rouse ace, it’s hard to resist temptation when ace opens both arms for sabo to fall into instead of moving off the cot to lead sabo to his own room. They end up falling asleep on top of the covers with one of the small lamplights left on overnight. 

The combination of ace’s room being empty when someone comes looking and a light being visible under sabo’s door has an unanswered knock lead to a fellow scientist peeking into sabo’s room to see the two nestled together. (and the only indication to being discovered is a comment about conserving power made that next morning that sabo takes as someone noticing the light he’d left on instead of what ace clocks it as - the two being discovered.)

The only time it becomes obvious that they’ve been found out by a majority of camp is a rare moment when a digital camera is produced and a point is made by the photographer to center in on ace and sabo sat side by side on a couch in the main room and (“say cheese!” ot equivalent). Sabo looks toward the lens in question, not quite caught up in the hubbub like everyone else present, but ace throws an arm around sabo’s shoulders and grins wide, maybe flashes a peace with his other hand that appeases the photographer of the hour. When sabo looks confused by ace’s hold, ace leans close to whisper in sabo’s ear (in german) that they’ve been found out.

Sabo looks rightfully flustered by this, but ace takes it in stride, refusing to release his arm from around sabo, and then having the audacity to grin big and bright when sabo faces him with face just a bit flushed that it’s noticeable, and then another click of the camera draws their attention away, and taken further still when the room erupts into raucous applause with everyone’s eyes on the two of them. 

Everyone is polite about the whole affair, no vulgar jokes or innuendos are made or anything, but it is obvious that the jig is up concerning the two of them and their relationship. Sabo spends the evening with his face covered by both hands, buried in ace’s sharply-defined lats, or nay-high in another glass of champagne from the bottle that’d been smuggled aboard. He becomes more and more mute the longer the night goes on. At the end of it all, the designated photographer calls for attention and asks what the celebration was for, of which only ace has the answer: that same person’s birthday is that day. Sabo is surprised ace remembered such a mundane fact but keeps it to himself.

When asked, ace admits he’d known because said researcher’s passcode to some impt shared machine is their 8-digit date of birth, but after being ragged on, ace names off everyone’s birthdays in turn, surprising them all that he’d bothered to remember. It’s also, to note, the first time any of them learn sabo’s birthday, and that it’d been the same day off he and ace had spend together earlier in the year, at the end of summer.

That next morning, since there’s nothing to hide anymore, those that wake up especially early are greeted to the sight of sabo’s glorious bedhead slumped over the kitchen counter as ace busies himself fixing up a personal hangover cure with what ingredients they had available. Sabo had been on (delivery) duty that week and had been roused unwillingly from bed at an ungodly time of the morning to oversee their shipment of fish being delivered while ace played chaperone. It’s the very first time any of them see sabo in his nightclothes, and probably the only time ever they can claim sabo as “cute”, or his behavior anyway - the sole way he relies on ace but also the way he pouts and how he remains only half-awake with the excuse of his head pounding. His german is so sluggish that no one but ace has any chance of parsing what he’s saying, but before the sun is up too high, ace has fixed sabo’s headache and ushered him back to his room to get ready for the day. The late-risers miss the event entirely, and ace swears those present to secrecy to keep sabo’s dignity intact.

This of course ends in some grandiose way where ace’s time on the continent runs out and he’s set to return home and put his results to use. He stays up late making silly plans with sabo to move somewhere the two have never been to before and work remote, hinged on the notion that their norwegian coworker originated from greenland, and the one from sri lanka is sponsored by and works in tandem with an indian facility. They know in the long run that it’s all far-off fantasies and well-wishes born from their limited time left together.

But then sabo gets an offer. He’s working in a remote multinational camp while reporting all his results to a year-round german station, and it just so happens that one of the station’s new on-boards is interested in sabo’s (area of continent). Sabo has a chance to trade posts with another german scientist, and he jumps on the opportunity. It takes a bit for the transfer to be approved, and in that time, sabo manages to secure a summer-only position that will ensure he’s off-site april through september. 

This is the best he can do on short notice, but it’s enough for now. He can transition until he’s out of antarctica permanently, eventually, but to do that he’ll have to figure out what exactly he wants to do after he leaves. Something he hasn’t bothered to parse his thoughts about, apart from late-night nonsensical talks with ace. Talks that suddenly seem more in reach now more than ever.

At the main station, sabo gets limited access to slow wifi and manages to talk with ace over video call twice. They make plans for sabo to come to australia on ace’s visa while ace is still finalizing the last of his research and transfer to a japanese company. They don’t have to stay in japan, but if they get married in australia (which will ensure the union is recognized in japan), it’ll be easier for sabo to gain citizenship from a spousal visa than it will from a work-related one. 

All of this is hashed out over two limited conversations, with promise that the details can be sorted out in person. Before the last call ends, sabo engrains in his mind ace’s smiling face, waving hands, wishing sabo well and safe travels. He finishes his summer term at the station with enthusiasm and says goodbye to antarctica for a short while after many years of residency without once leaving the surface.

He talks with ace over the phone just before his plane in germany leaves. It’s a long flight with a brief layover, and sabo is too preoccupied finding his next terminal to touch base with ace again. After over half a day, sabo lands at an airport almost dead on his feet even with the nap he got in earlier while among the clouds. He has a travel visa on his person that he’s expected to get changed to a spousal visa as soon as ace was able to book them, but he’s never given the opportunity.

The airport is full of activity as usual, but those not buried in their own world are focused on the same news feed playing over every other screen in sabo’s wing of the building. The focus is a developing story on a certain research facility that caught fire early in the morning. Sabo stops to observe right as a list of the deceased covers the screen. To him, ace’s photo is front and center, almost laughably so.

And so, once more, ace is destined to die while sabo can do nothing to prevent it. Fated for the worst of outcomes, lifetime after lifetime after lifetime. And then the story works backwards, showing glimpses of sabo’s life with ace, each preceding the next, all up until a certain encounter in the jungles of a small island in the east blue. Some lives, sabo will know everything. Then there are lives where he’s blessed to be ignorant up until the very end. Sometimes all he will know is ace, and other times all he’ll have is the faint idea of ace, an impression that only makes itself known when ace presents himself. Sabo never can decide if it’s reincarnation or some twisted form of immortality: All he knows for sure is that the universe will never, ever let him keep ace for long.

[franeridart]

Oh man, I'm just imagining that there's so many close brushes with kiribaku almost realizing or almost being in positions to find out that the other is a vigilante-- an injury and no way to get into contact with Jack or Mina-- a rainstorm washing Kiri's dye away on the job. I think it'd be especially funny if he thought for a minute that Kiri was bleeding but then Kiri is like "UH GOTTA GO ITS NOT BLOOD" and he realizes it's red hair dye

Oh Kirishima sort of already suspects it’s Bakugou - more or less? He’s in the process of starting to suspect it, at least lol for being someone who really doesn’t want to be found out Bakugou’s more carefree in his disguise than Kirishima is (his hair is a pretty obvious giveaway, for example, thought Bakugou relies a lot on the ‘attacking and running’ strategy, so in his mind all he gotta do is just not be seen by anyone at all lol) compared to Kiri he gets bruised and beaten up way more too (Kiri’s hardening makes it easy for him to avoid that in general) - Kiri’s noticing Bakugou’s bruises and his vigilante friend’s bruises match up a whole damn lot, so he’s starting to figure that one out

Bakugou’s a dumbass tho (read: he doesn’t really look at people he isn’t particularly interested in) so for him it’s gonna take a while haha

Anon said: If in vigilantes au Bakugou and jirou are just friends why do they live together and hug like a couple?

They’re best friends, and sometimes when your best friend is going through a real rough heartbreak and he’s in literal tears over it, you might be nice enough to offer your back for him to hide his face in and let him pretend he isn’t currently breaking down on you. Sometimes, you like a person in a platonic way enough to emotionally support them as best as you can when they’re at their lowest. It. Sort of happens between best friends, now and again. You don’t really need to want in someone’s pants to care about them.

They live together cause they started working together as vigilantes when they were in high school, and once they moved up to college they found it a good idea to have someone back home who knew about what they were doing to treat eventual wounds, since they can’t go to the hospital! Also the rent is cheaper this way

Anon said:Can you draw more comics of childhood kiribaku? You’re art is sooo cute 💓

It’s something I’ve regularly kept on going back on for years by now, so sure, it’ll probably happen! And thank you!

Anon said:OH MY GOD. Please tell me you will make an official webcomic of your Vigilante AU. It’s so beautiful, cute and I definitely need more of this. It’s like a drug that I did not know I needed until I read your concept(????). BTW, your art is soooo pretty. Thank you so much for drawing KiriBaku ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Ahhh I’m really happy to hear you like it! For personal reasons I’ve decided that making a cohesive, coherent succession of comics isn’t something I want to do, but I think I’ll draw more of that AU soon enough, snapshots and things like that! I hope that’s good enogh for you~

Anon said:May I request a pissed kiri??

Didn’t I draw that less than 10 posts ago

Anon said:Hey, I rlly admire you! I wish we were friends, you seem rlly nice!!

Thank you!!! The few close friends I have might tell you I’m actually not that great at the whole friends thing, but I appreciate the feeling a lot! :D

Anon said:Were Kirishima’s eyes red in the last panel of the last comic??

Yep :( he really does like Bakugou, after all

Anon said:I saw you answering the other anon and if I may ask, why posting the gem au was a big mistake? Were pol rude with you? If it’s so, I’m sorry abt it

Anon said:You said that posting your SU AU stuff was the biggest mistake you ever made… is it because of something that we, as viewers and worshippers of your KiriBaku (damn, I’ll never stop telling you it’s cute and adorable and it hurts but it’s also sweet), can help NOT doing? Or is there anything we can do?

It’s okay, it just got in the hands of people who don’t particularly like Bakugou, and these people started talking about the AU in less than nice terms, which was honestly pretty ridiculous and made me wonder how people can survive being alive on this earth when they consider Steven Universe sensitive material but either way it brought around in my activities a bunch of people I would have preferred not to interact with ever, and that sort of took the fun out of the AU? Now every time I think about drawing for it those people come back up in my head and I get annoyed all over again, it’s no fun

Anon said:are you still doing the fusion au? id love to see kaminari and shinsou

I’m not, sorry! Though someone did ask about baku and mineta and I’ve been thinking about drawing that horrible monster since then, and I’ve also been wanting to redesign the krbk fusion, so maybe I might get back to it ??? I’ll add shin*kami to the list haha

Anon said:I really like the relationship Jack and Bakugou have, and the angst is nice too! I really like the vigilatne AU! I hope we can see more of it, only if you feel like it of course!

Thank you so much ;;;

Anon said:Silly question. If Kirishima activated his quirk being in water. Would he float like wood, or he’d drown like a rock? >//w//

Oh, I’m pretty sure he’d go down since his quirk makes him into a rock haha

Anon said:I think this is around the eighth anonymous ask I send you, but being a porn-making Tumblr user, it’s better if I don’t go public. I just wanted to say, once again, that I love your KiriBaku, it makes me both ache and feel so warm and fuzzy inside; but right now, the focus is that Bakugou’s crying face against Jack’s back is just so good, expressive and painful. I often hate his guts, but yours I can never hate. And the sheer intensity of that expression, and the environment too… so many feels

Aw, thank you!!! I’m glad I can make you enjoy my fav character, anon :D !!

Anon said:I have a question about the vigilante AU. What’s the relationship between jirou and bakugou? Because they don’t look like just friends

Why don’t they look like just friends tho

Anon said:Hypothetically. How would Bakugou react (or what would he do) if Kirishima stopped showing interest in him?

Are we talking about a specific AU or is this meant for the canon universe? Well, either way I’d say he’d be pretty hurt, but it’s not like he can force Kirishima to like him can he. Ah, in the vigilantes AU he’d probably think it’s for the best even if he’d hurt a lot over it, but in canon and most other AUs I like to think he’d try to fix it somehow? Unless he has other reasons to not act on his feelings for Kirishima… gosh this is a vague question, there are so many possibilities really!

Anon said:🧡Hi Fran! I’m pretty sure you’re the one who introduced this concept to me so I wanted to say thanks! Touch starved Bakugou and super cuddly Bakugou are totally my fave, especially when you have him all curled up with Jirou! Having them be Mina and Kiri level besties makes so much sense and I love you for introducing that thought to me!!!🧡

I’m!!!!!!!!!!! so happy to hear that!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;O;

Anon said:in your vigilante au, Kiri has a scar, does Bakugo ever notice the scar?(curious if it reminds him of Red or nah, love yur art btw~~

When he’s not doing vigilantes work it’s actually hidden by the hair, so Bakugou never noticed! But if he were to notice he’d probably mark it down as a Kiri thing and leave it at that, as I said he’s not the most observant when he’s not particularly interested in someone so he hasn’t really registered it on Red’s face anyway haha

Anon said:I RLLY LOVE YOUR AU!! I haven’t found an AU in this fandom I’m rlly into but THIS IS SOCUTE??? will there be more?

Heck I sure hope so!! Thank you for liking it!!!

Anon said:hey for the anon you were looking for an outrageous ship to draw to test out their theory, try Tokoyami and Link (legend of Zelda link) cuz I just saw cosplayers of them hardcore dancing at dragoncon and I die every time I think about it. You can find a video of it on quirk-registration-office​  

…………………..I’m probably never gonna draw that ngl LMAO BUT this ask made me wanna draw Tokoyami as a Rito so I guess that’s ???? something that might happen instead heck that’s a good concept I should have thought about earlier

Anon said:I absolutely love your art its soon amazing and I really like the vigilantly au but take care of yourself okay

I dunno what I did to make you worry about me but thank you so much for it? I’ll try my best !!!! And thank you for liking my doodles too!!! ;^;

Anon said:Do you know about any fanfics based in your art?? (Idk if that’s grammatically correct sorry 😅)

Hmmmmmmmmmm there are a few but the only one that comes to mind right now is such a funny pair !!! boy ellen’s fics are always so damn amazing, I still can’t believe she wrote for me ;^;