#instead of the word of mouth BS from the fandom that’s generalized to fuck

[bioswear]

Well, at least Phos finally understands they could’ve stopped their fruitless endeavor at any moment (even if it is too late) - at least they also acknowledge that they had accountability in driving people away or perpetuating this cycle of changes in the Gem/Lunarian/Admirabilis life cycles

[punkbakugo]

Does Bakugou actually say fuck? Does he swear at all? If so how much?

this is kind of a tricky question and one i get somewhat often so i’m gonna try to explain this the best that i can.

first off i’m gonna quote a really good article about localization and japanese to english translation i’ve read recently:

Basically, Japanese doesn’t use “swearing” as we do. Instead, Japanese consists of multiple politeness levels, and depending on your social standing between you and the speaker, your intent, and such stuff, you pick from the appropriate politeness level. You talk up to your teachers for example, while a department head at a company will talk down to his subordinates. There are different levels, and one of the lowest levels to talk to someone is the closest equivalent to our swearing.

A quick example of “eat”. Here are a bunch of different levels of telling someone to eat.

Omeshiagari kudasaimase

Omeshiagatte kudasai

Tabete kudasai

Tabete kure

Tabete

Tabero

Kue

The proper word to use depends on who’s talking, who’s being spoken to, what their relationship is, what the intent is, and other context things. By going against what’s proper, you can talk rudely, which is what swearing accomplishes in our language (and other similar languages).

Even words like “kuso” have multiple translations, you could call it the “shit” in one case, while in other case it could be as harmless as “dang it!”. You’d even hear “kuso” in Pokemon anime I’m sure, for example. I know I heard it in Beyblade often enough.

Because all of this is so subjective, swearing in translation can vary pretty crazily depending on the translator. Generally, the more experience, the better the swearing turns out. That’s why with fan translations (particularly anime and manga) you tend to see tons of swearing in what would seem to be kids’ shows or what have you.

Also, because of all this, I really doubt the Japanese rating system takes this politeness level stuff into account, since it occurs everywhere in Japanese entertainment. It’s also not taboo. You don’t want to talk in everyday situations the way they do in entertainment, but you’re not going to go to hell or get your mouth soaped if you use the wrong level.

(and if you have any interest in this kind of thing i’d really recommend reading the whole article sometime. it’s on the localization process of the fan translation of the game Mother 3 and the guy clearly put a lot of thought and care into it which i really appreciate. also i can empathize w/ the level of nitpicking lol. spoiler warning for the first chapter of Mother 3 tho)

so to answer your questions in order: not in a literal sense since there’s no real direct japanese equivalent (other than the actual english word fuck which, no, he doesn’t use lol) so it depends on the translator, he does but i have an issue with how much some translators have him swear, and it once again depends on the translator

to elaborate: bakugou uses ‘kuso’ pretty liberally in ways that i would definitely consider swearing (tho the intensity of it greatly varies) but a lot of what has been translated as swearing isn’t actually that, it’s the way he talks. honestly speaking, i think defaulting to swearing is a lazy way to get across coarse speech patterns but on a theoretical level i don’t have issue with some of bakugou’s coarser speech patterns being translated as him swearing and in fact there are times i myself would translate lines as him swearing if i were localizing instead of directly translating. but it has to be done thoughtfully. so what i have an issue with is how liberal and careless fan translators tend to be about it.

and what i mean by that is they don’t look at the context of what he’s saying, who he’s saying it to, his tone, and how it compares to how he speaks at “baseline”. he’s got different levels. and bakugou’s baseline is impolite, yes, but you also have to keep in mind that that’s kind of the default for a lot of guys in shounen manga (and i’ve said this before but characters in japanese entertainment don’t talk like real people). my friend @tobjo made a post about this the other day that i wholeheartedly agree w/ and like she said, todoroki also speaks pretty impolitely but he’s never translated as saying fuck every two words.

an example of something that sometimes gets translated as swearing is the use of ‘てめェ/temee’ which is literally just a rude way to say ‘you.’ the thing is, bakugou uses it pretty casually so whether or not i find it a valid translation choice to have him swear in the sentence is entirely based on context

this translation, for instance, i think is perfect. it shows that he’s speaking gruffly without being explicit. (well, if i were the one localizing it i would’ve gone with “Hey, kid. You too, go participate.” but y’know. details.) now, this is mangastream which is pretty hit or miss w/ the bakugou localization and there are definitelyparts where i think they overdo it but nothing is as bad as FA which added so much unnecessary bs that i feel like they were just actively trying to be edgy (let’s not forget the time they had shigaraki call magne a transphobic slur for no fucking reason! real cool!)

classy. another casual use of temee where i wouldn’t even put light swearing.

left is FA, right is viz. the original is “てめェらの’個性��知らねぇ 何だ!?” which, if you were to ask me to localize rather than just directly translate, i would translate to something like “I don’t even know what your quirks are! The hell!?” because that’s what feels organic to me here. (and the goal of any good localization should be to a) get the feeling of the original text across accurately and b) make sure dialogue feels organic)

but go through FA translations and you’ll see 394843985 instances of ott swearing and nastiness where bakugou’s not even using coarser language in the original text like the panel where “fuckwipe” came from in the above mentioned ch.117 title where bakugou literally just said “oi” lmao

and some translations like the one mentioned in the above linked post still carry on this tradition of excessive swearing bc FA ingrained it so deeply into the fandom

basically my point is you can absolutely choose to translate bakugou as casually swearing and to what extent is dependent on the person’s taste (and skill level) but translations that are too liberal and excessive with it tend to push an image of him being overly volatile and juvenile rather than just a teen w/ a sailor’s mouth or something of that ilk. it warps his character. no thought or care is put into it and i get the feeling they don’t realize that there are ways to be gruff or even abrasive other than swearing and insults and ways to swear other than saying ‘fuck’ all the time lol (and some people really just do not know what a person that swears a lot actually sounds like)

[ganglylimbs]

Deliver Us In These Trying Times

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Relationships: queer-platonic Bakugou & Midoriya, Bakugou & Class 1-A, Midoriya & Class 1-A, Bakusquad, Dekusquad

Summary: Bakugou and Midoriya co-own a coffee shop near a college campus. They (one more reluctantly than the other) make friends with the students there. 

Or alternatively: A bunch of humans accidentally pack bond with a grumpy angel and a happy demon. 

Warnings: A fuck ton of swearing. The story is third person from Bakugou’s view, so there’s a lot of just referring to people by their hair styles. I tried to make it distinguishable enough that people would know who is who. Also, there is some violence, some light mention of child abuse, and light mentions of an abusive relationship. 

Notes: Written for Writer’s month. Day 3- Prompt: Coffee shop. A coffee shop with a supernatural twist! As a non-coffee drinker and someone who doesn’t visit coffee shops, I tried my best. I hope you enjoy! It took me like a month to write this. 

Words: 12,518

"I need a small Americano," Deku yells out, only half way turning from where he manages the register.

Bakugou scowls, but he gets to work. The kitchen is filled with the scent of coffee and cream. Machines whirl and whine as they work and Bakugou focuses on that instead of the small talk he can hear outside. 

When Bakugou finishes, he stomps out and slams the drink down, not caring as it spills out of the cup. 

"Hey," the customer, a short girl with cropped black hair and large headphones hanging from her neck, says. She scowls at Bakugou and Bakugou scowls back. 

"Pay the fucking man and drink your fucking drink. Or don't. I don't give a shit." Then Bakugou turns on his heel, heading back to the kitchen. 

He doesn't make it back fast. He still hears her huff. "What a jerk off."

Deku laughs. "Ignore Kachaan. He's always like that."

"And he's still allowed to work here?"

"Well...he is one of the owners."

"Seriously? Whose the poor sap that has to run a business with him?" 

Deku laughs again, and the awkwardness of it is palpable to Bakugou. "Oh, well. That would be me." 

"Oh."

"But please, do enjoy your drink. It's amazing, I swear." 

There's a moment's pause. Then a small. "Huh."

Bakugou smirks. Damn right.

                                                          ~

The coffee shop is a small, hidden in the wall kind of thing. Brick walls that are covered in pictures and old movie posters. Jazz music plays over the radio. Bakugo thinks it's supposed to be peaceful but it only pisses him off.

But Deku had nixed heavy metal. Said it scares people off. What the fuck ever. 

                                                          ~

Much to Bakugou's chagrin, Headphones girl comes back. Shame. 

She orders another small Americano. Her friend, a guy with spiky bright dyed hair (and who has a fucking black zigzag on his bangs, what the fuck is that shit?) orders a cafe macchiato. 

Bakugou sniffs. He gives them their orders, flips them off, and stomps back. "Wow. You weren't kidding," the guy says. 

"But try your drink." 

"Huh. He's still an asshole though." 

"Oh totally." 

                                                          ~

People are not Bakugou's forte. That's fucking Deku's job. That's why he mans the front end and Bakugou is in the back. 

That's why Deku smiles wide as their little shop gets more and more customers every day and why Bakugou absolutely hates it. 

The problem is that they live in a college town. Which means most of their customers are snot nosed little brats. 

They come in with their stupidly simple orders and their goddamn complicated orders and they expect Bakugou to be fucking nice and polite to them. 

Deku is fucking living as he talks and interacts and makes fucking friends. Bakugou fucking hates him for it

                                                       ~

There's a guy, with red neon hair fucking spiked up (like an asshole) who orders a cafe mocha every time. And every time Bakugou brings it out, he gives a wide smile and shouts "Thank you."

For some reason this asshole has taken to trying to make Bakugou learn some fucking manners. 

Who the fuck is he? 

Bakugou slams the cup down. The guy frowns. "That's not very manly, Bakugou." 

"I don't care, Shitty Hair."

The guy touches his hair. "Ah, don't say that. My hair is awesome."

"Awesomely bad." 

"Rude." 

"Good. Get out of my shop." 

The guy has the gale to laugh at him. Bakugou scowls and walks away. He comes to a sudden stop though. 

Crawling on the ground is the little rat fucker. A freshman with dark purple hair pulled into multiple buns (what is up with all these stupid hairdos) who has the unfortunate habit of perving on the woman that frequent here. 

Deku usually keeps him in check or has one of the perv's friends keep an eye on him. But Deku is in the back baking treats and the perv has come alone today. 

The little fucker has a camera out and is creeping up to a woman who always wears a high ponytail and her friend with hot pink hair (seriously, he knows this is college, but what the fuck is up with their hair styles???). Both women are standing up, drinking their coffee. Both are wearing skirts.

Bakugou rolls up his sleeve. 

The prick gives a shout, drawing everyone's attention, as Bakugou picks him up and throws him out of the shop.

"Hey," the asshole yells, picking himself up from the ground. "You can't do that."

"I can and I will." Bakugou points at him. "Learn some fucking manners, learn how to be a decent human being, and learn how to not be a fucking creep. Until then, you're banned. 

The little rat opens his mouth, as if he is going to fucking argue with Bakugo. And Bakugou? Well, he has no time for this. 

So he drops his human form. Not a lot. Not enough to get caught by the others. But enough that the creep sees Bakugou's smile become a little more jagged, a little more unnatural, a little more terrifying.

The prick turns around and walks away. Bakugou snorts and then he turns around to stomp back to his kitchen. No one says a word.

Shitty hair gives him a grin. "That was very manly dude." 

"Shut up and drink your goddamn coffee."

                                                             ~

The supernatural isn't exactly unknown. They are just.. forgotten. It's not against their laws for humans to find out, it's just most of the time humans don't pay attention long enough to see. Too busy staring at creaking old houses to notice the old man who died a hundred years ago watering his flowers next door. 

Bakugou is perfectly ok with that. He just wants to run his little shop peacefully and quietly. 

It's about the only thing Deku and he agree on. 

                                                     ~

Deku walks in one morning and his untidy mop of hair is dyed seaweed green. “Uraraka said I would look good with this color,” he says by way of explanation, a blush on his cheeks. 

Bakugou nearly throws him out the window.

                                                      ~

"He wants a fucking what?" Bakugou asks.

"A cappuccino for himself. And a cafe latte for this girl he likes," Deku says. Then he fucking smiles. "And if you could make a heart out of the foam, that would be amazing."

"No. Not only no, but fuck no," Bakugou says. "If he wants to do his little weird human courting ritual, tell him to do it away from my shop. I don't want that lovey dovey shit here." 

"Well, it's also my shop and I think it's cute," Deku says. "Besides, I know you can. Don't be stubborn about this."

Bakugou raises an eyebrow. "Me? Not be stubborn?"

At least Deku has the fucking sense to be ashamed at that. "Ok, poor choice of words. But come on, Kachaan-"

"No."

Deku tilts his head. "Well, I guess if you won't, I can do it." His fingertips crackle with green lightning. 

Bakugou stops in front of his machine, a hand curling possessively over it. "Fuck no. You'll fucking break it. Again." Bakugou glowers as Deku grins back, unashamed in his inability to uses a fucking coffee machine correctly.

Deku's grin widens. "Well, if you won't do it and you won't allow me to do it, I guess they'll have to go somewhere else, where someone more experienced can do it." 

Bakugou tenses. He knows what the nerd is doing, but dammit, is it working. Bakugou shows his teeth. "One time. I make it one time, just to show them I can and then no more." 

Deku gives him a soft smile, to fucking rub it in. "Sure, Kachaan."

                                                          ~

Bakugou makes the best damn foam heart there ever was. He walks out and sees a plain nervous looking man at the counter, twittering his thumbs.

Bakugou does NOT slam the cup down. Instead, he looks nervous boy in the eyes and hisses, "You make sure this gets to her. And fucking confess. I don't want my fucking hard work to go to waste." 

The boy nods, gulping as he carefully takes his drink. Bakugou watches as he walks to an empty table-wow, ok. Not empty. But there is the plainest looking girl that Bakugou has ever seen sitting there. If he hadn't been watching nervous boy, his eyes would have passed over her. 

Well. A plain boy for a plain girl. Perfect. 

She squeals and Bakugou immediately turns tail and heads back into his kitchen. He isn't paid enough to deal with this shit. 

                                                          ~

The boy does not ask for a drawing in a drink again.

The girl has no problem demanding them though. 

Bakugou refuses.

She resorts to bribing, leaving spicy snacks out for him.

Bakugou relents.

He purposefully ignores the way she thanks Deku for the tip.

                                                            ~

Later, he leaves chill pepper in Deku's drink. He shamelessly laughs when Deku spits it out. 

                                                           ~

"Oh man, this math test is going to kill me," Shitty Hair complains. It might be to Bakugou, it might just be in Bakugou's  general direction, it might be to the guy with a wide smile and big elbows sitting next to them who nods along in sympathy. 

Bakugou doesn't actually care enough to form a reply. So he grunts.

"I mean, look at this," Shitty Hair continues, thrusting a packet of papers on the table. "It's bs." 

Bakugou looks at the paper closest to him and snorts.

Shitty Hair points a finger at him. "Don't start." 

"What?" Elbows asks, looking in between them. 

Shitty Hair rolls his eyes. "Apparently, the dude is good at, like, everything." 

"It's because I have this amazing thing called a brain," Bakugou drawls. 

"Oh, shut up," Shitty Hair says. "I have a brain."

"The score on your history midterm proves otherwise." 

"Look, we can't all be crazy smart like you."

Bakugou rolls his eyes, pushing off the counter. "The real difference, Shitty Hair, is that I work hard for my smarts. Quit fucking coasting." 

He goes to refill Elbows' frappuccino. When he gets back, Shitty Hair is frowning down at his papers. 

Elbows gladly accepts the refill. "Do you go to college here?" 

"No."

"Oh. It's just, you look like a college student. And you said you worked hard to learn all the stuff. Did you go to another college?"

Bakugou has to think about it for a second. Then he shrugs. 

Elbows gives him a look. "Come on, dude. You have to give us something." 

"First, I don't have to say shit," Bakugou says. "And second, sure. I guess I went to college." 

"You guess?"

"Yeah." Every so often, Bakugou gets bored enough to sign up for a few classes. The thing is, it's usually years apart. And there have been many colleges. 

Shitty Hair and Elbows look at each other. "Ok, fine. Be cryptid." 

Bakugou scowls. "Just get to work on your reviews." 

"Oh, is that for Mr. Horton's class?" A girl with chubby round cheeks and short brown asks as she passes by. 

"Yeah," Shitty Hair says. 

"I'm studying for that too, actually. Actually, we have a group going on." The girl points to the back, where a man with glasses sits with a girl who has long hair tied in a bow. "And Deku is helping us. He's like, really smart. I’m surprised he’s working at a coffee shop." 

Bakugou is already retreating at the name of the nerd, going back to the kitchen. He messes around, tweaking his recipe for spicy hot chocolate. It burns on his tongue and Bakugou takes deep gulps of it. 

Perfect. 

When he goes out again, he’s surprised to find Shitty Hair still sitting on the counter, silently working on his review. Bakugou side-eyes the nerd table, where Deku is laughing at something Round cheeks says. Bakugou grabs one of the finished papers, looking it over. He ignores the way the Shitty Hair keeps glancing at him. 

Bakugou sits it down. “Number 6 is wrong.” 

Shitty Hair grabs it, eyebrows furrowing. Bakugou points it out. “See. You carried the wrong number.” 

Shitty Hair’s face lights up. “Ah. Thanks.” 

“Tch.” Bakugou looks away. “It’s not hard. Like I said, I at least have a fucking brain.” 

Shitty Hair grins at him. “Yeah you do.” 

                                                           ~

Bakugou steps out on the roof. It's night, the moon is hidden by clouds. A soft breeze ruffles his hair. He lets the door close behind him.

Once he is sure he is completely alone, he takes a deep breath and rolls out his shoulders. His skin shudders, splitting, and then wings rip themselves out of his back. They flutter for a second, trying to right themselves after being kept away for so long.

He takes the time to stretch them, working out all the kinks and smoothing feathers down. He massages the muscles there, flaring his wings as high as he can, touching the sky. Touching heaven.

Then he sits on the edge of the roof, kicking his feet, flapping his wings, and just breathes.

When he walks back inside his apartment, the front door opens. He makes eye contact with Deku. They pass each other, not saying a word.

                                                          ~

“I’m not a big coffee drinker,” The girl who wears the high ponytail, who Bakugou has appropriately dubbed as Ponytail, says. "I actually prefer tea." 

Headphones hums. "Yeah, I can see that. It really fits you." 

Pink Hair perks up. "Oh, maybe we can get them to sell tea here." 

The three turn to Bakugou, who is leaning against the counter. He raises an eyebrow at them. "Hai?" 

Pink Hair immediately bounces over. "Bakugou! We were just talking-"

"I heard. You were being fucking loud about it." 

"Good. Then you know what we want to ask." 

Bakugou tilts his head. "I don't give a shit. It's Deku you have to convince."

Ponytail frowns. "Midoriya?" 

"Yeah. He does all the supplies ordering." Bakugou smirks. "Good luck convincing him though. The nerd hates tea." 

"I wouldn't have expected that." 

Bakugou shrugs. "Deku has poor fucking taste. Does it really surprise you?"

"Wait," Ponytail says. "You like tea?"

"Yeah?"

"I always thought you'd like coffee more."

"Fuck no. I hate fucking coffee." 

The three girls look at each other. It's Pink Hair who speaks up. "But...you own a coffee shop."

"Yeah? So?"

"And you make excellent coffee," Ponytail adds.

Bakugou makes a go on motion. 

Headphones sighs. "Why do you own a coffee shop if you hate coffee?"

"Am I supposed to let my tastes dictate what I do and do not do?" 

"It just seems like a pain in the ass for you," Pink Hair smirks. "Unless...did Midoriya ask you to open a shop?"

Bakugou slams his hands on the counter. "That fucking nerd has nothing to do with what I do." 

Now Headphones is smirking too. "Uh huh. So the two of you opening up a coffee shop, despite you hating both coffee and people, is just because you had an urge one day?" 

"No, it's because I know you stupid college kids are addicted to the fucking stuff and I fucking love money," Bakugou says.

Pink Hair giggles. "You know, Blasty, it's OK to admit you are friends." 

"We are no such things. Dare to utter that shit again and I'm throwing you out." 

                                                          ~

A new customer comes in. His hair is dyed half white, half red.

Now Bakugou knows these fuckwits are doing this shit on purpose. 

He looks around, face impassive before walking towards Bakugou. "Is Midoriya here? I need to return his book." 

"No," Bakugou says.

They stare at each other. Red-White shifts. "Uh, do you know when he will be back?"

"No." 

"Ok. Do you know where he went?"

"No." 

The continue to stare at each other. Neither blinks. "Are you going to order something or just stand there like a dead fish?" Bakugou asks. 

"No," the man says. 

They continue to stare at each other. 

The bell on the door rings. It's Deku, who lights up at seeing them. "Oh, Todoroki! There you are. I was looking for you." 

Red-White turns his back to Bakugou. Bakugou's lips curl at that. "Uraraka told me you work here." 

Bakugou rolls his eyes at them as they continue to talk. Dunce and Elbows walk in next and Bakugou heads to the back to make their usual. While he's back there, Deku pokes his head back. "We need a breve too." 

Bakugou grumbles, but he does his job. 

When he brings out the drinks, he's annoyed to find that the breve is for Red-White. Fuck. And he had actually liked making that drink. 

Red-White's face doesn't change as he drinks. He just continues talking to Deku. Bakugou's fingers twitch, but he turns to Dunce and Elbows instead.

The two are laughing about some party they went to. "I can't believe Mina fucking decimated that keg stand." 

"Dude, she killed it," Dunce says.

"You know who else killed it," Elbows wiggles his eyebrows. "I heard you made out with Jirou." 

Dunce yelps, face going red. "Who told you that?" 

“Mina and Hakugaru saw you two. Said you were too busy sucking face to notice when they entered the room.” 

Dunce groans. “I thought she had locked the door.” 

“Like that would stop Mina. She would have just gotten Shoji or Toyokomi to open it.” 

Dunce runs his fingers down his face, stretching the skin. He notices Bakugou and grins, sensing a new target. “Oh, Bakugou. Where were you, man? You missed out on one heck of a party. Even Deku had come.” 

Bakugou tilts his head. “Hai?” 

“Oh come on, man. I know Kirishima invited you.” 

Bakugou narrows his eyes. He...supposes Kirishima had mentioned something. It doesn’t really matter though. “Parties are not my thing.” 

“What?” The two of them gasp. 

“But,” Elbows’ eyes look Bakugou up and down. “You look like-like-” 

“Like such a partier,” Dunce finishes. He grimaces, holding his hands up as Bakugou turns to glare at him. “No, wait. That sounds wrong. I just mean, you have such a fuck off attitude that I can see you being a rebel. You know, teen drinking and going to all the parties to piss off your parents.” 

Bakugou snorts. “Yes. That sounds like me. A place filled with people, who are out of control, and drinking. Sounds like a fucking good time.” 

“You don’t like drinking?” Elbows asks. 

“Fuck no. It’s horrible tasting.” 

“Yeah, but you don’t drink for the taste. You drink to get wasted,” Dunce says it like that’s supposed to be a fucking argument. 

“And why would I want to do that? I don’t like being out of my senses.” 

Elbows nods. “Yeah, you do have control issues.” 

“Excuse me,” Bakugou turns to him. 

Elbows just fucking smiles at him. “Nothing,” he sings. 

Bakugou flips him off. 

“Well, this means you really do have to go to the next party,” Dunce says. 

“How the fuck does that make sense?” Bakugou asks. 

“Come on, man. All I see you do is work. You need to relax a little.” 

“I relax.” 

“You really don’t, Kachaan,” Deku pipes up as he passes by with a tray of cookies. 

“Fuck off, Deku.” 

Dunce points at Deku. “Come on, man. Midoriya goes all the time.”

“Deku actually fucking likes you people. I couldn’t give two shits.” 

Elbows and Dunce look at each other and nod. “Time to call in the secret weapon.”

“What the fuck-” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Dunce says. Elbows has his phone out and is texting away. 

Bakugou narrows his eyes at them but before he yell some more, he feels someone poke him. He turns around, snarling. It’s Red-White, face still impassive. “I would like another please.” 

Bakugou lips curl far back enough to show off his gums and he stomps to the back. He makes sure to slam utensils around to let them know how pissed he is. 

When he comes back, he shoves it at Red-White. Red-White, the fucking bastard, manages to catch it gracefully. “Thank you,” he says, taking a sip while maintaining eye contact. Bakugou can feel his hackles rising. 

“What?”

“Nothing,” Red-White continues to sip his drink. 

Bakugou can feel his palms heating up. Behind Red-White, Bakugou catches Deku’s eyes, who shakes his head. Bakugou takes a deep breath and turns on his heel. He stalks into the kitchen, pushes out the back door, and into the alleyway. He takes a deep breath, looks up, and his eyes glow red as he silently screams into the sky. 

His palms go yellow, burst of energy popping along the skin. In the distance, he can hear dogs howl and birds screech as they fly away, startled. 

In a few seconds, it all goes away. He takes another deep breath, and walks back inside. He makes a few more drinks for the few customers who had walked inside before daring to go back out. He makes eye contact with Deku again and nods. 

Kirishmia and Pink Hair are part of the group that has shown up. They sit with Elbows and Dunce, talking quietly. They all go silent when Bakugou shows back up. He ignores them for a bit, but, like always, the dumbshits pull him back in. 

“So,” Kirishima begins and Bakugou’s danger sense start tingingling. “There is this excellent cafe that’s around the corner. They make the best burgers-” 

“And holy shit, their milkshakes are amazballs, too,” Pink Hair cuts in. 

“Yeah,” Kirishima eagerly nods. “And the fries?”

“Like heaven,” Elbows says. 

“And you’re telling me all thisssss….because?” Bakugou asks.

“Because we want you to come with us,” Pink Hair says.

“No,” Bakugou immediately says. 

None of them look surprised by this. 

 “Come on, Bakubro,” Kirishima says. 

“Don’t call me that.” 

“It’ll be fun. I promise it’ll be fun.” 

“I don’t care about fun,” Bakugou spits. 

“That is, like, the saddest thing I have ever heard you say,” Mina says. 

Bakugou flips her off. "Look, I don't care what you guys say, I'm not going."

                                                          ~

The cafe is fucking stupid. And fucking small. Bakugou is squashed in the seats, between Kirishima and Pink Hair. They jostle him, elbows digging into his side as they lean all over him. Elbows' fucking long legs keep kicking him, brusing his knees. Dunce's hand movements are all over the place that it's a goddamn miracle he hasn't knocked over any drinks.

Bakugou is in fucking hell. And he should know. He's been there. 

The burgers are greasy, dripping all over his fingers as he tears into it.

"You're delusional, man," Elbows says. 

"No, really. They were absolutely UFO lights," Dunce says, eyes wide. He has ketchup smeared on the right side of his face and his hair seems to almost be standing on end. "They were there for like, five seconds. And they disappeared." 

Kirishima is leaning over the table, eyes glued to Dunce's as he chows down on his own burger. 

Mina grins, leaning back and spreading her arms. Bakugou growls as she bumps his head. "My people, come to take me home."

Elbows shakes his head. "It was 3 in the morning. And you had just gotten done writing that English essay. And you had just had your fourth energy drink."

"You don't know that."

"You had literally just texted me about it." 

Dunce waves him off. "That doesn't matter. Back to the topic. I saw a UFO."

"It wasn't a UFO," Bakugou grumbles. 

Dunce rolls his eyes. "Of course you would think that, fun-killer-"

"It was a fairy," Bakugou continues, munching on his food. 

The table goes quiet. Then…Elbows burst out laughing, followed by Dunce and Pink Hair. Kirishima bumps against him. "Did you make a fucking joke?" There sounds like fucking awe in his voice.

Bakugou just shrugs. Humans always see what they want to see. If the table makes jokes for the rest of the night, mocking the possibility of it being a fairy, then that's on them.

Although...Bakugou does hide a smile into his burger.

                                                     ~

Red-White turns out to be a constant pain in his ass. The fuck is an early riser, one of the first to arrive at the shop. He always stays at least an hour, talking to Deku, and ignoring Bakugou. Unless it’s to demand a coffee. 

Bakugou is going to lose his fucking mind. 

The fuck is there one day, listening silently as Deku yammers away. It’s a Sunday, so the only other customers is a guy with super jacked up arms who, for some goddamn reason, wears a mask over his face. He gives Bakugou a nod when he gets his drink. At least he’s blessedly silent. The other is Headphone girl, nodding along to her music, ignoring everyone else.  

Deku tenses a moment before the door opens. It’s a large, muscular man with a scarred face and a beard. “Shouto,” he says, voice deep. 

Red-White doesn’t turn. Just continues drinking his coffee. Loudly. 

Bakugou leans on the counter, crossing his arms and hips cocked. He raises an eyebrow at Deku. He lifts a hand, pinky raised. Deku gives a minuscule shake of his head and Bakugou nods. 

“Shouto,” the man repeats. “You were supposed to come home today.” 

Red-White still doesn’t respond. 

The man sighs. “I thought we had gotten over this rebellious phase of yours.”

“It’s not a phase,” Red-White finally says. He slowly turns his head. “I truly do hate you.” 

The man snorts. “I don’t give a shit about that. Hate me all you want. But you are still in law school. You are still using my money to pay for college. That means you still have to follow my rules.” 

“I may be in law school, but that has nothing to do with you. I will never be like you.” 

The man smiles widely. “We’ll see. Now come, we are going home to visit your siblings.” He turns, like the conversation is done. 

“No,” Red-White says. He tilts his chin up. “I’m staying at college this week.”

“Ah, studying are you. Well, I suppose I can allow-”

“No,” Red-White cuts in. “I am visiting friends.” He tilts his head towards Deku. Deku does his best to not flinch under the glare the man is giving him. 

The man’s lips curl. “You are wasting valuable time-” 

Deku raises his hand, fingers twisting and turning. Bakugou keeps one eye on the argument still going on and the other on Deku’s hands. When he finishes, Bakugou carefully responds, slightly shaking his head. 

“I spend every day studying,” Red-White spits. “You can’t keep me isolated. I made friends.” 

Deku purses his lips. His fingers start working again. 

“You don’t need friends. Friends hold you back.” 

Green lightning crackles. Deku’s eyes glow. Bakugou cuts his hand across his throat, narrowing his eyes at him. 

“You can’t control me,” Red-White says, deadly serious. “I’m 19. I’m a legal adult. I have my own ideas and make my own decisions.” 

Deku turns to the two and Bakugou growls. His muscles tense, ready to tackle Deku at the first sign of trouble. Deku places a hand down, palm facing Bakugou. Bakugou pauses. 

Red-White is still facing his dad, a rare snarl on his face. His dad is snarling back. Deku steps forward, between the two, smiling. Red-White puts a hand on Deku’s arm, squeezing. Bakugou steps behind them, glaring at the man over their shoulders. 

He sees Deku’s fingers move, green lightning crackling some what. The air sizzles. Bakugou can taste it. It’s smokey on his tongue. “I’m sorry, sir. Is there a problem?” 

The man blinks, shaking his head. He rubs at his eyes, puts his fingers to his head, and huffs. “What? No. No problem.” He looks at Red-White again. “Fucking...fine. Fine. I don’t have time for this. I’m meeting with an important client. If you want to waste your time here, do it.” He turns to leave but looks over his shoulders one last time. “But don’t think for a second that this is over with.” 

With that he leaves. 

Red-White sighs. His hands are shaking, breath coming fast. 

Deku looks at him. Bakugou wrinkles his nose. Deku crosses his fingers and makes a jab down. Bakugou lets out a long sigh. 

Then he moves his fingers. Tiny, tiny explosions pop. 

Red-White takes one last shaky breath. His hands stop trembling. He takes a moment to compose himself before turning to them. “I apologize for that. He wasn’t meant to come here.” 

Deku gives the bastard a wide smile. “No need to say sorry. This is a safe place for you. If you want, we can ban him from the premise.” 

Red-White looks down at his hands. “I will think about it.” 

“Hey.” Deku steps forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. “How about another drink and some food?” 

He leads Red-White to a stool to sit down before heading to the back. Bakugou follows. 

They’re silent as they work. Bakugou finishes the drink and sits it on the counter, turning to lean against the counter as he watches Deku. Deku doesn’t look at him till he gets his muffins in the oven. 

Finally, Deku meets his eyes. “I had to do it.”

“Did you?” 

“Yes. I couldn’t stand by while that happened in my shop.” Deku’s eyes are dark green as he stares down Bakugou. 

Bakugou’s lips curl. “Do you think that was hidden at all? What you did? You fucking stood in front of them. We have fucking witnesses.” 

“None of them are going to remember it. I made sure of it,” Deku says. 

Bakugou slams his hands down on the counter. “That’s not the fucking point.” He turns around, picking up the drink. “If you’re going to do fucking stupid shit, don’t do it in front of me.” 

He walks out, sliding the drink towards Red-White. The dude still looks to be in shock. “Fucking buckle up, you dipshit.” 

Red-White glares at him. “I didn’t ask for your input.” 

“Look, you and your sad excuse for hair need to pull it together. You said you weren’t becoming a lawyer for your dad’s sake, right? Then that means you have a fucking goal in mind. Keep that goal in the forefront and keep your sad shit out of here.” 

With that, Bakugou walks away. 

He avoids the front after that. But he does know that Deku keeps Red-White company for the rest of the day. 

                                                         ~

“You know sign language?” Headphones asks. 

Bakugou tilts his head for a second before he remembers. Fucking Deku might have made their minds fuzzy when it came to what he did to Red-White’s dad, but he wouldn’t have done the same to the minutes leading up to that. He hadn’t realized that they were being watched. 

Bakugou shrugs. “It’s a useful language to know.” 

Headphones nods. She stirs her drink a little. “Pretty useful when you want to talk without someone knowing what you’re saying.” 

Bakugou narrows his eyes at her. “Quit being coy, you fucking suck at it. If you have something to say, then say it. 

Headphones smiles at her. “It’s just good to know that you two have our back if something happens here.” 

                                                     ~

“Dude, I’ve always wanted to learn sign language,” Elbows says. Dunce, Pink Hair, and Kirishima nod, eyes wide and sparkly. “Teach us.” 

“Fuck no,” Bakugou growls. Fuck Headphones for spreading this shit around. 

The boys make whining noises but Pink Hair just tilts her head. She smiles wide, showing off her teeth, and Bakugou instinctively bristles. “You know Midoriya is teaching his friends sign language.” Her eyes slide to the side. 

Bakugou follows, seeing that, in fact that moron is. He breathes hard through his nose. Then he makes a series of hand motions. 

The others follow his motions. Kirishima hesitates. “What did that say?” 

“That you all can fuck off.” Bakugou smirks. “Now, pay fucking attention.” 

                                                       ~

Ponytail is talking to the girl who ties her hair into a bow, both of them staring down at a piece of paper. “I really would love to go,” she says, running a finger down the paper. “They’re my favorite band.” 

Bow Girl shrugs, face blank as always. “Then go.” 

Ponytail sighs. “I can’t. I have an exam the next day. I should stay in my dorm, study and rest.” 

“Exams are important and concerts can always wait. It would completely be your fault if you happened to fail because you didn’t study.” 

Ponytail sighs, slumping. “I know.” 

Deku appears, offering her their drinks (hot tea for Ponytail, Greek frappe for Bow Girl). He looks down at the flyer Ponytail is holding. “Oh, Crimson Sails? I heard they were in town. Are you going to go see them?” 

Ponytail bites her bottom. “...no. I shouldn’t.” 

Deku tilts his head. “Well, why not. They don’t come around very often. This might be your only chance to see them.” 

Bakugou scrunches his nose, mouth full of lightening and skin tingling. He glares at Deku but the bastard ignores him. 

Ponytail blinks, fingers tightening on the poster. “That is true. And I have never been to a concert that wasn’t an orchestra before.” 

Deku’s grin widdens. “Everyone deserves a chance to relax and have fun, you know.” 

Ponytail stares at him. Then she returns his grin. “You’re right. I should go.” 

Deku walks by and Bakugou grumbles. “Really? Here?” 

“Come on, Kaachan,” Deku says. “She’s stressed and she rarely does anything for herself. Besides, it was just a little temptation.” 

                                                         ~

Pink Hair sighs for the fucking millionth time. Bakugou is three seconds away from throwing her out. Instead, he grits out through his teeth “What the fuck is up with you?” 

“You know that presentation I had? The one that’s worth half my grade?” 

Bakugou nods. 

“Well, my computer got a virus and I lost everything. The presentation is due tomorrow and my professor is refusing to allow me an extension.” She stares mournfully down at her drink. “I’m totally going to fail this close.” 

Bakugou grunts. “That fucking sucks.” 

“I know,” she wails. “And I worked so hard on it.” 

She’s silent for a second before mournfully adding, “I was really proud of it, too.” 

Bakugou purses his lips. He grinds his teeth. She continues to stare down at her drink, a cloud over her head. 

Fucking hell, he’s getting soft. 

As casually as he can, he wiggles his fingers, small bursts of light popping along his skin. Then he clears his throat. “It’ll be fine or whatever.”

Pink Hair rolls her eyes. “Jeez, thanks. That’s really comforting to hear.” 

“Comforting words are useless,” Bakugou says. “Only actions get anything done. If you work hard, I’m sure everything will come out ok.”

“I don’t know how hard work is going to fix losing weeks worth of work, but ok.” 

Bakugou leaves her to her mopping. Deku gives him a smile. “What was that about not using powers in the shop?” 

“Shut the fuck up.” 

                                                           ~

Pink Hair is chattering excitedly to Headphones when she comes in. “I still can’t believe that all the files got uncorrupted.” 

Headphones shakes her head. “I can’t believe it either. I took a look at that thing. I thought it was unsavable.” 

“It’s a damn miracle. And I got to shove it in my bitch professor’s face.”  

Bakugou can feel Deku smiling at him. He flips him off without looking.

                                                         ~

There’s this french bastard that comes in every once in a while who thinks he’s a real fucking charmer. Bakugou always rolls his eyes as he flirts with the other customers. It’s sad and Bakugou tells him so. 

Kirishima always gives him a frown and a “Leave him alone, dude.” 

Right now, Smooth Talker is drinking his cafe au lait, looking around as he talks to Deku. 

“I know I’m magnificent but he just makes me feel...unmagnificent,” Smooth Talker says. “Weak. I don’t know how I can talk to him when my tongue starts to trip over itself.” 

“Wow, he must be really special,” Deku says. “You usually have a lot more confidence than this.” 

Smooth Talker sniffs. “I know. It’s so unbecoming of me. But I don’t know how to get over it.” 

Deku hums. “You know what I do when I get nervous?”

“Sweat a lot and start to mumble to yourself?”

“No-well, yes. But I also pause, take a deep breath, and then slap my leg twice. It calms me down enough that I get the courage to ask what I wanted to ask.” 

Smooth Talker looks unconvinced. Deku gives him a wink. “Trust me, it helps. Try it next time,” he suggests, eyes glowing. 

                                                       ~

Bakugou narrows his eyes at the kid at the counter. He’s an early riser kind of dick, which confuses Bakugou because the guy is always dressed head-to-toe in black. 

He also is always wearing some article of clothing that is bird themed. Bakugou calls him Bird Boy. 

Because it’s early and a Monday, Bird Boy is the only one in the shop. Which is a good thing because he’s taking for-fucking-ever to decide what he wants. 

Finally, he decides on a cafe melango. Bird Boy takes a deep inhale of it when he gets it. “A drink made specially to heal the hole in my heart.” 

Bakugou rolls his eyes. “Despite your numerous attempts to change it, we are not one of those lame coffee shops that do fucking poetry. Just take your coffee and go.” 

“Not even your brash attitude can pierce the dark cloud that follows me.” 

“Oh my fuck,” Bakugou says, hands dragging down his face. “Who knew you getting dumped would make you even more of an annoying bastard.” 

“My heart wallows in misery and it sings loud to let others know.” 

“Shut the fuck up,” Bakugou huffs. “Look, you fucker. The girl made you miserable, right?” 

“Correct.” 

“And she made fun of you going to therapy, right?” 

“I was not as fun when I was on my meds, according to her.” 

“You were worse off with her. Fucking look at you. You took a fucking shower. You don’t look like a fucking disaster anymore. You’re even getting fat off of Deku’s fucking cookies.”

Bird Boy looks down at his shirt, touching his stomach. “I suppose I have finally gained back all that weight I lost.” 

“Then why the fuck are you moping? Fuck her.” 

“Alas, my friend. Logic holds no sway over emotions.” 

“Bullshit. Emotions are wild beasts but that doesn’t mean they can’t be tamed or at least managed. Let me guess, you’ve been sitting in the dark, listening to sad fucking songs right?” 

“There is solace in the dark.” 

“Which is fucking great for like a fucking day. And then you need to kick that shit to the curb. Stop fucking wallowing.”

Bird Boy seems to think about this before nodding. “Sound advice. I am surprised, Bakugou. I didn’t expect you to be so intune with your emotions.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Bakugou sneers. “Emotions are my bitch.”  

                                                            ~

“We need a eiskaffee, stat,” Deku says. 

Bakugou, because he knows who the fuck this is for, slams his way through the drink and then makes sure to slam it on the counter. “Here’s your shitty drink,” he says, scrunching his nose to show his distaste. 

“Kachaan,” Deku warns him. 

“Oh it’s fine, Midoriya,” Round Face says, sticking her tongue out at Bakugou. Bakugou flips her off. 

It looks like the whole gang's here, despite Bakugou’s best efforts to run them off. Bakugou blames fucking Deku and his stupid dumb personality. 

Round Face and her gang of nerds sit in the back. They wave at Deku as Bakugou scowls at them. Deku nudges him and Bakugou goes back to the fucking kitchen. There are more orders coming. 

Bakugou brews as he always does, with the same fierceness as he always does. 

“Amazing as always, Blasty,” Pink Hair squeals. Her and the idiots lean on the counter, ignoring the way Bakugou tries to shoo them off. Deku is no fucking help as he’s with the Nerd Squad. Bakugou suspects he wouldn’t be much help either, as the sick fuck gets a kick out of seeing Bakugou suffer. 

“Of fucking course it is,” Bakugou huffs. He tries to swipe the counter down, again, ignoring the way Elbows and Dunce lean on it to jeer at him. 

Kirishima laughs, taking a sip of his cafe mocha. He catches Bakugou’s look of disgust and rolls his eyes. “I don’t get it man. If you hate coffee so much, how are you so good at making it?”  

“I am a man of many talents,” Bakugou tells him, solemnly. The idiots laugh. Like he’s joking. Bakugou shakes his head and hides his smile. 

The bell above the door rings and Bakugou stiffens. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Deku tense too. They make eye contact. Bakugou jerks his head to the kitchen and Deku nods. 

The man who had walked in follows them. 

Bakugou turns sharply on his heel, leaning his hip against one of the counters, and crosses his arms over his chest. Deku twists his hands and bites his lips. 

The man is taller than them, long black hair hanging down around his shoulders. Dead eyes stare at them, huge bags under them making him look tired. The man stands there, hands in his pockets and takes them in. 

“Spit it out already,” Bakugou says. Because the man is Aizawa and if Aizawa is showing up here, something bad is going to happen. 

Aizawa sighs, a long deep suffering sigh, as if they were fucking inconveniencing him. He pushes his hair out and his face, making sure to catch their eyes. “The League is in town.” 

Both Deku and Bakugou still. The League...fuck. 

“What brought them here?” Deku asks. 

“Does it matter?” Bakugou growls. “As if the League ever needs a reason to go somewhere and fuck shit up.” Bakugou’s fingers twitch against his arms. He can already feel the upcoming fight burning through his veins. 

Aizawa sighs again. “Bakugou is right. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that they are here. Which means the two of you need to be on your best behavior until they leave.” He throws a look in Bakugou’s direction. 

Bakugou huffs, looking away. He can feel Deku’s eyes on him as he promises Aizawa that they’ll be good. 

“I already know this is going to end poorly,” Aizawa says running a hand through his hair. “But we just have to make it till they get bored and leave. Now, I need to warn the rest of the community. But first,” he purses his lips. “Coffee? The special kind?”

Bakugou flips him off. Then, using his middle fingers, summons a fire so it dances on the tip. He gets to roasting beans as with it, adding a little spice and cream. Deku floats some cups and utensils towards him, allowing Bakugou to snatch them out of the air.  

Bakugou finishes, handing the cup to Aizawa, who takes a deep inhale. “Nice.” 

Bakugou smirks. “I call it a Cup of Hell.” Because he has a fucking sense of humor. 

Aizawa smirks back. And then he disappears. 

                                                      ~

For the most part, the supernatural community has done pretty well with integrating themselves into the human world. No longer are they the monsters in the woods. Instead, they are accountants and CEOs and daycare workers and coffee shop owners. 

But there are accidents and not so accidents when the supernatural world and the human world collide. Violently. 

Which is where Hunters come in. Special licensed humans (and some non-humans) that have the ability to turn in non-humans to the Council if they cross the line. Very few have the ability to actually kill criminal non-humans on sight. 

The League is not one of those that have the license to do so. But that does not stop them. Any non-human that has the unfortunate luck of catching their eye will at least end up severely bruised with a good chance of ending up found face down on the street three days later. 

The Council has tried to put a stop to them, but the humans have claimed that they can’t do anything, that they took away their license but that does not stop them. 

To have the League turn up in their neighborhood...well. 

They’re fucked. 

                                                       ~

It’s a rainy morning. Bakugou can hear thunder. Lightning strikes. The shop is near empty. The only customers are Round Face, Kirishima, and a woman with blonde hair tied up into two buns, who sips on her coffee in the corner. Round Face leans on one end of the counter, waiting for Deku, who is taking his sweet fucking time in the back, making his special bagels or muffins or what the fuck ever, Bakugou hadn’t been paying attention. 

Kirshima is also leaning on the counter across from Bakugou, yamming away. Bakugou nods along, resting his head on his hands.  It’s slow and he’s bored and at least what Kirishima is saying is entertaining. 

The blonde woman stands up and walks over. She pushes past Kirishima, slips a folded note to Bakugou, winks, and leaves. 

Bakugou doesn’t look at her, just takes the note and puts it in his pocket. 

Kirishima stutters, eyes darting from where the paper used to be before looking back up at Bakugou. Bakugou raises an eyebrow, motioning for Kirishima to continue. After a few seconds, Kirishima does. 

Five minutes later, Deku reamurges, fresh brownies (ah, that was what that sickening sweet smell was then) on a plate. As he passes by, Bakugou takes out the note and wordlessly hands it to Deku. Deku takes it just a wordlessly and pockets it. 

Round Face and Kirishima share looks. 

But they don’t ask. 

                                                         ~

The League isn’t just made up of hateful humans looking to abuse their power. There are a handful of non-humans as well. What their motives are for joining the hate group is unknown for the most part. 

There’s a half-zombie, desperate to destroy anyone who reminds him of his master. A vampire who hates the Blood Pact she’s forced under. A wizard too, though no one knows why he hangs around the freaks. 

But the leader is most definitely a human, a stringy, pastly, wimpy young thing. And he’s not shy about his detest for the supernatural. Bakugou bets it has to do with daddy issues. 

Most non-humans who meet the League don’t make it out of the meeting alive. 

Bakugou has always prided himself on not being like most people. 

                                                       ~

“What if they try it again?” Deku hisses as Bakugou passes him, sliding the cup down. 

“Then they have made a huge mistake,” Bakugou hisses back. Deku gives him a look and Bakugou rolls his eyes. “I’ll be fucking fine. Nothing to worry about.” 

“Worry about what?” Its Elbows who asks, who happened to be passing at the time. 

Bakugou snarls at him. Deku grins. 

“Nothing,” they say. 

                                                         ~

A second warning appears, during the breakfast rush. This time Deku gives it to Bakugou, a hissed “Be careful” slipping through his teeth. 

Bakugou glares at him, pulling Deku in the back. “Don’t tell me what to fucking do.” 

“I just want you to be safe, Kachaan.” 

“I’ll be fine! It’s you who needs to worry.” 

Because as much as it fucking pains Bakugou to admit it, Deku isn’t like most people either. 

                                                       ~

The Idiot begrade is back in full force. And they brought the whole squad. 

Fucking great. 

Bakugou gnashes his teeth, palms going hot. He needs to burn something but hell if he’s going to do that. Especially with everyone fucking looking at him. 

“What?” He finally snaps. 

Dunce and Elbows exchange looks with Pink Hair. Kirishima gives him a grin, though Bakugou can see how frayed around the edges it is. “Nothing. Nothing.” 

Bakugou breathes through his nose, a heavy sound. His only consolation is that Deku is getting the same treatment from the nerds. 

“And you’re sure you are alright?” He hears Four Eyes say. 

“Of course I am guys. Really.” Deku sounds just as frustrated as Bakugou feels. Bakugou grins at that. 

Ponytail clears her throat. “I apologize. I know we appear to be bothering you,” Bakugou knew there was a reason he tolerated her. At least she’s smart. “But we’ve all noticed that you’ve been on edge lately.” 

Just not smart enough. 

“We’re fucking dandy,” Bakugou says. 

Then, because fuck the universe, he tenses. Deku does the same. 

The blonde chick is back. She strolls in the shop, a sharp wide grin in place. “One hot chocolate,” she says, grin growing as Bakugou growls at her. 

Deku tries to step in but Bakugou doesn’t let him. They end up side by side. Staring the girl down. “No hot chocolate.” 

The girl pouts, bottom lip jutting out. “Oh?” 

Deku tries for a grin, though it wobbles. “Sorry, it’s just not the season for it and we don’t have any in the store right now.” 

“Ahh, that’s too bad,” she leans on the counter, eyes twinkling. “I was really looking forward to some.” 

The whole coffee shop has gone silent. 

“Too bad,” Bakugou says, crossing his arms. His heated palms burn against his biceps. He can feel Deku quivering besides him, keeping a grip on his own powers. “Piss off.” 

She chuckles and it’s high pitched and grating to Bakugou’s ears. “Well, that’s not nice.” 

“I’m not a nice person.” 

“That you aren’t.” She slips them two pieces of paper. One to Bakugou, one to Deku. Deku pockets his. Bakugou tears his to pieces. 

The girl frowns. “No, not nice at all.” 

Pink Hair clears her throat. Bakugou frowns at her even as blonde chick turns to look. He makes a gesture, trying to tell her to shut the fuck up but either she doesn’t see him or she ignores him. Which, by the way, what the fuck? 

“What,” Blonde chick sneers and Pink Hair, ever the stupid one, sneers back. 

“I think you should leave.” 

Blonde chick blinks. “What was that?” 

“Uh, I think I was pretty clear. You should go. It’s clear that they don’t want you here.” 

Blonde chick looks her up and down. She licks her lips. “We have a fighter, don’t we. Excellent. But as much as I love this, I don’t believe it’s any of your fucking business.” 

Round Face stands next to Pink Hair, with Ponytail stepping behind them. The others are standing now too, all nervous and sweaty. But still standing.  Round Face crosses her arms. “I don’t think that matters.” 

Blond girl tilts her head. Then she looks over her shoulder. “Interesting round of humans you have here.” 

Deku steps forward. “Toga, leave them out of this.” 

“Why? They don’t seem to want to be left out.” Toga licks her lips. “In fact, they look like they want to play? Huh? Do you?” 

“Toga,” Deku says again. Bakugou raises a hand, eyes glowing. 

Toga looks between them before sniffing. “Fine. If you want to be jerks, be that way. Not like it matters anyway. He’s going to come, whether you like it or not.” Toga starts to walk out the door. Before she leaves, she looks over her shoulder and winks. “I’ll be seeing the rest of you soon. I’m so glad to find new playmates.” 

No one says anything as the door shuts behind her. 

“What the fuck is her problem?” Round Face says. 

“Uraraka,” Deku says, voice quiet. He stands tense, arms down by his side. “You shouldn’t have done that.” 

Round Face stares at him. “Midoriya, what are you saying?”

Deku continues to stare at his feet, voice quiet. “You had no right to butt in.” 

Round Face looks taken aback. “We’re we supposed to just stand aside and watch that?” 

“Izuku is right,” Bakugou says, voice just as quiet. “All of you should have stayed out of it.” 

Everyone seems to suck in a breath. They look at each other. 

Kirishima looks around. “We were just trying to help.” 

“Well you didn’t,” Bakugou says. He...he leans against the counter, suddenly tired. “Izukua, we need to call Aizawa.” 

“I know.” Deku sounds as tired as he does. He doesn’t look at anyone. “Everyone, we’re closing early. I’m sorry but please leave.” 

They’re slow to do so, hesitant as they take their cups and make for the door. 

The Nerd Group and his own brand of idiots are the last to leave. The idiots pull him aside. 

“What’s going on, Blasty?” Pink Hair hisses. “Who was that lady? Who is Aizawa?” 

“Are you in trouble?” Kirishima asks, hands holding tight to his shoulders. His eyes search Bakugou. “Do we need to get the authorities?” 

Dunce and Elbows start talking over each other, each trying to offer a solution. 

And Bakugou...Bakugou just stays silent, taking them all in. 

His eyes meet Deku’s, who is surrounded too. Neither say anything, just keep looking at each other.

                                                         ~

Aizawa is leaning against the counter, staring them down. 

They had finally managed to kick the idiots out. Now, the shop is empty. Dark. Barren. 

Bakugou takes a deep breath.

Deku is staring into space, his body crumpled. 

“You know what you have to do,” Aizawa says. 

Neither reply. 

“The League haven’t been sending messages to anyone else. They’re here for you. Both of you. If you leave, they are sure to follow.” 

Bakugou’s fingers twitch. Deku keeps opening his mouth as if he has something to say and then closes it. 

It’s Bakugou who finally speaks. “What about the humans?” 

Aizawa tilts his head. 

Bakugou looks away. His fingers twitch again. “The ones that always hang out here. The morons pissed off Toga. She’s not going to let that go.” 

“Yes, so we’ve heard,” Aizawa says. He purses his lips. “Don’t worry about that. We have people watching them and will keep them safe, at least until she gets bored.” 

“Do you really have to leave?” Deku asks, voice small. “We just...this territory is ours. Shouldn’t we protect it?” 

Aizawa glares at him. “You can’t protect this territory. You’ll only cause more problems. Leaving is the only option.” 

Deku looks at Bakugou. Bakugou does not look back. Instead, Bakugou looks down, eyebrows furrowing. “And the humans…” he tests out the words in his mouth. “They will be fine? You’re sure of it?” 

“Katsuki-” Deku starts to say. 

“Of course,” Aizawa cuts him off.

Bakugou takes a deep breath. There is a fight in his veins, fire and the need to destroy those that oppose him, who oppose the greater good, clawing at his chest, beating a war path in his heart. 

He thinks about the cafe, that stupid fucking cafe, and the first night he had been forced there. 

Bakugou takes another breath. Then he looks at Deku. Deku deflates, shoulders slumping. Bakugou turns to Aizawa. “Help us pack up?” 

                                                         ~

The coffee shop is no more. Where once there was a hole in the wall, where once the smell of coffee and sweets almost overpowered everything else, where once music and the sound of people talking and screaming could be heard from outside, all of it gone. 

The bricks are closed over the shop’s front. 

Everything is gone. 

                                                       ~

Bakugou has been alone for a long time. Ever since he had been created, born into this world, Bakugou has been different from the other angels. 

He was created to be righteous, to be God’s fury, to strike down evil. He was created to be the best, to expect the best from everyone else. 

Bakugou was created to be alone. 

                                                     ~

Izukua Midoriya was the son of a sheep farmer. His father had died in a war. His mother had been a devout Christian and had passed that along to her son. 

Bakugou, who had been stationed near the city, had heard the boy pray. Every day. Every night. Praying to God to help their family, to give them a plentiful harvest, to allow Midoriya to not be so sick anymore. The boy had never appeared angry when he prayed or desperate. 

To Bakugou, it had all been background noise. Another human doing another prayer. 

Until. One day. Bakugou had bumped into Midoriya as he was making a patrol. 

Midoriya, who was no longer human. 

Midoriya, who had decided to sell his soul to the Demon Lord All Might.  

Bakugou had never been angier in his life. To have someone turn their back on God, someone who had devoted their life to God, now stinking of those demon scum had thrown him into such a fury that Bakugou had acted on his first instinct. 

He attacked. 

Of course, not his best moment. Midoriya might have just received his powers but they were the powers of All Might and fucking Deku is a determined bastard. 

The battle had ended in a draw and Bakugou had left to lick his wounds. 

Somehow, someway, Bakugou and Deku’s fates had been intertwined. 

They continue to meet, they continue to battle. Neither wins. Neither loses. 

Bakugou is still alone. He still fights alone. He still lives alone. 

He is never lonely. 

                                                     ~

Years later, hundreds and thousands of years later, Bakugou runs into Deku and Deku refuses to fight him. 

Oh, Bakugou tries. He tries very hard to fight him. But the nerd just refuses. 

Bakugou keeps running into him and Deku keeps refusing to fight. Sometimes, Deku even shows up just to talk to Bakugou. 

It confuses the fuck out of him. 

Bakugou never talks back. He’ll scream and yell, but like fuck he’ll talk to a loser demon. 

                                                          ~

Years and years and years later, Bakugou stops trying to fight it. 

(He does not fucking accept it, no matter what anyone says, but he does stop fighting it.)

                                                          ~

Deku likes to talk. It’s another fucking annoying trait of his. He’ll talk Bakugou’s fucking ear off. Random fucking stuff too. 

“Did you see what these humans had built?”

“Did you taste this new food? It’s delicious.”

“Come on, you have to come outside with me. Come see this.” 

Bakugou tries his best to ignore him but…

“Do you think the humans know that the stars dream of them?” 

Deku is so fucking annoying…

“Hey, Bakugou, do ever wish you weren’t immortal?” 

And never fucking shuts up…

“Kachaan, do you ever get lonely?” 

Ever. 

                                                         ~

The new town they settle in is isolated, cut off by the forest surrounding them. 

They settle in an apartment, both not sure where to go from here. 

Bakugou feels like his skin is crawling, like he wants to reach under it and scratch that itch. He has paced in every room, across every furniture, has even walked on the ceiling. 

Deku hasn’t moved from his spot on his mattress in 3 days and 12 hours. It’s a good thing they don’t have to eat or Bakugou would have had to shove food down the little shit’s throat. 

Fuck. 

Fuck, what is wrong with them? 

                                                       ~

Eventually, Bakugou kicks Deku’s door down. 

“Come on, nerd. We can’t fucking sit around here all day.” 

Deku doesn’t answer him. 

Bakugou isn’t going to fucking stand for that. 

He picks Deku up, throwing him over his shoulder. Deku gives a shout, fists pounding against Bakugou’s back. Bakugou ignores him. 

He practically throws him outside. The guy who had been walking by at the wrong time startles, turning sideways to look at them with wide eyes. Bakugou ignores him. 

Deku picks himself up from the ground, frowning at Bakugou. 

Bakugou points at him. “We aren’t doing this. I refuse. I am not going to go fucking crazy over some fucking humans. We are getting this out of our system.” 

Deku squares his shoulders. Bakugou can feel the air around them tingle, crackling and spitting. His eyes seem to darken, staring deep into Bakugou. Bakugou can feel his own power rising to meet him, bits of explosions popping along his skin. He growls, mouth opening wide to show all his teeth. 

Deku’s fists clench and Bakugou shifts his stance. 

The two clash, a loud boom echoing around them. Bakugou is thrown into the air, with Deku chasing after him. He snarls, twisting his body around. He throws his hand out, the tip of his fingertips lightening up. 

With a strong push, he throws his power back at Deku. Deku’s body jerks, his arm snapping back in a weird angle. Still, he continues to fly at Bakugou, skin turning black and scaly as he moves. 

Bakugou sticks his other hand out, to the side, and uses his powers to throw himself to the side. His wings itch to come out but Bakugou doesn’t release them. 

He dodges Deku’s punch, lifting his leg up to knee Deku in the side. Deku coughs, but he doesn’t hesitate as he turns, his own leg kicking Bakugou in the face. Bakugou’s head snaps to the side and he growls. 

Grabbing onto Deku’s arm, he flips them, throwing Deku back towards the ground. Deku grabs Bakugou’s shirt and drags him down with him. The wind rushing past them forces tears to well up in Bakugou’s eyes, his skin pulled back as they are pulled down by gravity. 

At the last second, Deku flips them and Bakugou grunts as he smacks into the ground. Around him, the earth crumbles. 

Deku stands above him, panting. Tears are streaming down his face. His arms are partially black and green, scales decorating his skin. His fingers end in claws. He snarls, large canines shining in the light. 

“Stop pretending,” Deku growls, voice gravelly. If the humans had been able to see them, if Bakugou hadn’t put up that veil, they wouldn’t have understood any words. The language was ancient and beyond their understanding. 

“I’m not pretending,” Bakugou says. He stays down, limbs tired. He...he doesn’t want to fight. 

It’s a weird feeling for him. 

“You are,” Deku continues. “You’re trying to move past it and pretending like you don’t care. But you do.” 

Bakugou closes his eyes. “There was nothing we can do.” 

“It was our territory. They were ours to protect. We should have.” 

“The only way to protect them was to leave,” Bakugou says. 

“That’s not true,” Deku screams. His eyes glow green, staring Bakugou down. “We could have fought. We should have fought.” 

Bakugou closes his eyes. “We couldn’t.” 

“Bull. Shit.” Deku falls to his knees, punching Bakugou in the face. 

Bakugou tilts his head to the side, spitting out blood. “We couldn’t.” 

“We should have tried.” Deku is sobbing now, big fat tears falling down his face. Some splashes onto Bakugou’s face. 

Bakugou takes a deep breath. He looks up to the heavens. “I know.” 

                                                     ~

It does not get easier for the two of them. 

They stay in their apartment. 

They can’t decide what business they should open now. 

They wait for the League to catch up to them again. 

                                                    ~

Bakugou steps out of the apartment. He buries his nose in his scarf. The air has a chill to it, enough to make his human cheeks start to redden. Bakugou isn’t that bothered by the cold weather, but he knows that it would look weird to the humans if he wasn’t as bundled as they were. 

That, and Bakugou kind of likes the warmer clothes. 

He just needs to get out of the apartment, away from Deku and the cloud that hangs over them. There’s a pizza place down the street that doesn’t completely suck and so he heads there. 

The town is small. Most of the people he passes just nod at him. They still give him odd looks and a few cross the street to get away from him. Bakugou doesn’t mind. 

He doesn’t want to interact with humans all that much right now. 

Bakugou frowns down at the sidewalk. 

His neck prickles. Casually, he looks behind him. 

A young woman and her boyfriend walk hand in hand, the boyfriend looking into the shops as the girl stares down at her phone. Another man is walking his dog. Two girls are giggling as they drink milkshakes. A group of boys laugh at one’s misfortune. 

Bakugou’s frown deepens, instincts tingling. He turns back around and continues walking. The feeling like he’s being watched does not go away. 

The shitty pizza place is just as shitty as when he last when here. He orders a greasy slice of pepperoni and a water and sits in the corner. Staring down at it. He doesn’t know if he can eat, if he can force himself to eat. 

But he’s not a wimp and so he picks up the slice and takes a bite. 

The door opens and a group of what looks like students enter the shop. Bakugou ignores them, focused more on eating. 

Well. He tries to ignore them. Kind of hard when they huddle around his table, dropping into any nearby chairs. 

Bakugou lifts his head, mouth open, ready to tell them to fuck off. 

It closes when he sees that those motherfucking idiots stare back at him. 

“Hey, Bakubro,” Kirishima says, grin bright and unafraid, like Bakugou wasn’t two seconds away from jumping across the table and strangling him to death. His hair lays flat against his skull, a deep black. He’s wearing more clothes than Bakugou has ever seen him wear, meaning he’s wearing at least a shirt with a jacket over it. 

“What,” Bakugou says, deadly quiet. “The fuck. Are you doing here?” 

“We came to help you,dude.” Ashido says. It’s weird to not see her hair pink. Instead it’s bleach blonde and pulled into a ponytail. She’s wearing all black, with dark, dark eyeliner and black lipstick. 

Sero, who somehow managed to fit his big fucking elebows into a form fitting jacket, smiles widely at him. Kaminari, still looking as stupid as ever, also has black hair, no zigzag in sight. He gives Bakugou a thumbs up. “It totally wasn’t cool of you to just leave us like that, bro. But we forgive you.” 

Bakugou sputters. “You forgive me?You forgive me? You shouldn’t even be here. I-what-how-”

“I got to admit, you pulled a fast one on us,” Kirishima says. “That disappearing act really fucked with my head. I mean, there’s a coffee shop we were going to for like a year and then, bam. There is nothing.” 

“Yeah, seriously. I thought I was losing my god damn mind,” Kaminari says. He gives Bakugou a frown. “Dude, you know I have problems with misremembering stuff like that. That was seriously uncool.” 

“And then we kept seeing these weird people around us.” Bakugou has to hold in his snort. Aizawa might be amazing at stealth but if he brought Hizashi, then there is no way even humans wouldn’t notice that disaster. 

“And that girl, what’d you call her? Toga? Yeah, she attacked Uraraka.” 

Bakugou straightens at that, stomach tightening. “What?” 

“Dude, it’s ok,” Sero reassures him. “She’s fine. This dude with weird long hair and his friend came just in time. They, uh, they explained what was going on.” 

“Kind of had to,” Ashido says. She shivers a little. “The blood thing Toga did was, uh, a little creepy.” 

Bakugou can agree with that. 

He leans back in his chair, crossing his arms, and looking at them. “Ok. So you know everything. That doesn’t explain why you are here.” 

“Oh that’s easy,” Ashido says, smiling wide. “Mr. Aizawa said that the League was after you and you needed help.” 

Bakugou blinks at her. Then he bursts out laughing. “Fucking, are you serious? You think I need help?”

They all look at him. “Yep!” 

Bakugou stares at them. “You fucking think you can help me?” 

“We know we can,” Kirishima says. He leans across the table and grabs Bakugou’s hand. His smile softens. “Look, bro. You don’t have to do this alone.” 

Bakugou stares down at their connected hands. He makes an effort to not set off any explosions. “What do you think a couple of humans are going to do?” 

“Well, there’s always strength in numbers right? Plus, we’ve been reading up on all the ways we can defend ourselves,” Sero says. 

Bakugou scowls, taking back his hand. “Whatever you’ve looked at is bullshit. Go back home, forget all about the damn coffeeshop, live normally.” He stands up, grabbing his things to throw them away. 

The idiots look at each other. Then back at him. “Nope,” they say. 

“What?” Bakugou says. 

“Guess what, Blasty. You’re stuck with us. You’re just going to have to get used to it.” 

Bakugou just looks at them. What. The. Fuck. “You can’t make me hang out with you.” 

“Ok,” Ashido says, the tone in her voice implying that she thought otherwise. “Then we’ll just hang around here till you get over yourself and go back to your shop.” 

Bakugou growls, before turning and stomping out of the shop. Whatever. They’re just being stupid. Humans always get bored and they will leave eventually. He just has to wait. 

The idiots follow him out into the streets and all the way home, talking and laughing with each other. Bakugou does his best to ignore them. 

They follow him to his apartment complex, all the way up the stairs and to his door. Bakugou grits his teeth as he inserts his key, muscles tense as he gets ready to shove them out of the door before they can invade his space.

What he didn’t expect was to have the door open and come face to face with Red-White. 

Bakugou takes a startled step back. Behind him, he can see Round Face, and Four-Eyes, and Bow Hair Girl, all sitting around Deku. Past them, he can see others. Ponytail, Earphones, the Plain Couple, the Masked Dude, and others. 

Bakugou stares back at Kirishima in horror. Kirshimari’s grin is the tiniest bit smug. 

Fuck. No.

                                                        ~

Bakugou has a vow to never kill a human. He attacks evil and demons and will snuff them out of existence. Humans, he leaves to other archangels. He is bound by his very being to not bring any harm to them. 

The next several weeks, he is very, very, very tempted to break that promise. Even the threat of Falling doesn’t deter his desire to slaughter these goddamn idiots. 

They stay. In his goddamn apartment. They brought fucking sleepig bags. 

If Bakugou leaves, the idiot squad follows him. There’s no room left in his apartment and it’s loud. They always demand Bakugou cook for them. He now has to wait to take showers. In his own apartment. 

Deku is living. He’s bouncing around now, cooking sweets with Big Lips, or demonstrating his power to the nerd group. He smiles brightly. Bakugou can hear him late at night, talking to the others. 

Deku is going to be the first to die in the slaughter. Bakugou doesn’t think heaven will mind too much. 

                                                      ~

Kirishima follows him to the store. He bounces, like a puppy, nipping at Bakugou’s heels. 

Bakugou is despeartely trying to ignore him but fucking Shitty Hair doesn’t care. He yammers away. 

Bakugou stands in the back as Kirishima talks about how he passed that one math exam that he had been dreading and how he is looking forward to next semester. Bakugou narrows his eyes every time Kirishima mentions how he’s excited to get some more Bakugou coffee to get him through school. 

Bakugou finally settles on making some caramelized pork for the night when Kirishima falls silent. Then he bumps his shoulder against Bakugou’s. 

“Hey, I’m really happy to see you again.” 

“Tch,” Bakugou grunts, turning away. 

Kirishima sighs. “Midoriya talks to us you know. Tells us about how you two lived.” 

“Deku talks too much,” Bakugou grumbles. 

Kirishima snickers at that. “Maybe. Or maybe you don’t talk enough.” He tilts his head. “You know we won’t leave you alone, right?” 

Bakugou tenses. “You’re a dumbass if you think I care about any of you at all.” 

“Uh huh,” Kirishima says. “So that whole thing where you’ve apparently been pouting about having to leave was a lie?” 

“I had to leave my territory, of fucking course I was mad about it.” 

“Territory? You know, Midoriya said something like that before. So you guys go by territories? Do you mark them?” 

Bakugou turns to look at him, nose scrunching up. “...did you just ask me if I piss on things?” 

Kirishima laughs and it sounds loud in the store. 

                                                       ~

It takes two more weeks for Bakugou to break. 

They are so fucking annoying and Bakugou is pretty sure he’s going bald from all the pulling he’s doing to his poor hair. 

He pulls Deku to the side, into Bakugou’s empty room, and slams him against a wall. “Tell them to leave,” he demands. 

Deku looks back at Bakugou, smile small. “You know, I don’t think they would listen to me if I told them anyway.” 

Bakugou growls before pushing off. “I’m losing my fucking mind.” 

Deku brushes himself off, looking up at Bakugou under his eyelashes. “You know what would get them to stop.” 

Bakugou scowls. “Fuck no.” 

“Why not, Kachaan? They’re here anyways. If the League follows us, they will be in just as much trouble as if we went back home. There’s no point in just uselessly torturing yourself.” 

“I’m not usually torturing myself. I’m being fucking logical. They won’t be in trouble if they just fucking leave.” 

“Or,” Deku says, the little shit sounding smug. “We go home. We prepare. We defeat the League when they come again.” 

“You’ve finally fucking lost your mind,” Bakugou says. 

“I know you’re scared, Kachaan-” 

“What the fuck did you say? I’m not scared of anything. Especially not those fucking losers. You forget, Deku,” Bakugou sneers. “I escaped them once.” 

“And so did I.” Deku’s wide smirk tells Bakugou that he fell right into this one. “We’re the only beings to have escaped them. So why don’t you believe we can take them on?” 

“I’m not fucking discussing this with you anymore,” Bakugou says. He stomps away, slamming open the door. He pauses, taking in the scene. 

Red-White stares back at him, face blank as he films Kaminari and Plain Girl trying to drown hot sauce (Bakugou’s special hot sauce too). They are failing miserably. Ashido, Sero, and Kirishima are losing their minds in the back, while Four Eyes, Ponytail, and Plain Boy desperately try to stop the two. 

Bakugo slowly closes the door and turns to look at Deku. 

Deku shrugs. “Plus, if we go home, they won’t be staying with us anymore.” 

Bakugou packs his bags later that night. 

                                                       ~

Being home isn’t a fucking relief, no matter what Deku says. Bakugou constantly feels like he’s on watch, skin itching. He’ll need to find something to hunt soon or he really will lose it. 

But the coffee shop is back up. Bakugou touches the walls and the old movie posters and pointedly ignores Deku smiling at him. 

Then he scrunches up his sleeves and goes to the kitchen. He needs to make coffee.

[verytamenow]

I don't get it. She's been all "no explanation just reputation" and she pulls this bs? Like I've been DYING over her "idgaf about the media" attitude ever since reputation was announced because we're not getting /anything/ from her, but I respected it because i thought "damn, she got so much hate by the media over the years, no wonder she's done with them" but then she just...?? So much for the "new era". It's not only team klossy who can't seem to get their shit together after all lmao

Funnily enough @princessandsunshine and I were just discussing this while I was bored at work.Note: the following is a truly reaching theory and you probably shouldn’t put much stock in it.reputation has meant we’ve all been focusing on the media and Taylor’s relationship with them as she addresses the narrative assigned to the name Taylor Swift. Even as we watch Taylor address the headlines of the last decade through lyrics and video, we tend to overlook another critical relationship Taylor has and might be clapping back at: her relationship with her label.

It’s been long known that Taylor isn’t the only one with access to her social media accounts. An infamous response of “but y'all cast Lena Dunham” to TaylorNation when the cast list for the Bad Blood music video was leaked pulled back the veil fully, and should have allowed the fandom to acknowledge not every like is Taylor herself. And yet in an era where Taylor has implied there will not be any interviews, more weight has been placed on them than ever as it remains Taylor’s only method of reaching out to us in a social and traditional media blackout.This leads to a few questions. Why the blackout in the first place? Who has the ultimate control? And is everyone on the same team?So far this era has seemed to have a clear path. Taylor reasserting her control of her story, acknowledging all that has been said through clever lyrics and film, and giving hints to the truth for those who care enough to look while saying nothing. “There will be no explanation, only reputation.” Earlier in a truly uncharacteristic move, likes were made from Taylor’s account not only acknowledging her supposed boyfriend, but blatantly confirming someone as the inspiration behind a song for the first time since a snarky 18 year old did an interview with Ellen, telling the story of the last track of her soon to be AOTY winning sophmore LP. The catch? Hours later gossip cop, the well known mouth piece of Tree, shot down any claims that Taylor and Joe Alwyn were in love. This lead to instant questions about what was the truth of the narrative.Cue Kristen and I coming up with a plausible but impossible to prove theory while I sat at my work desk, bored out of my mind. What if what we’re seeing is a battle for control of Taylor Swift™ between Taylor herself and her label.Taylor’s always had unique control for an artist. A benefit of joining a fledgling label her parents could afford to invest in even slightly, and shortly thereafter exploding to superstardom, becoming the crown jewel in their lineup. We’ve all heard the stories: Taylor fought for her first ever single against the advice of experienced label personnel. Taylor doesn’t work with cowriters who try and control her, instead preferring editors to help guide and hone her natural abilities as multiple writing partners have professed in interviews. Taylor is in control of her own touring and merchandise and has access to her social media in a time when many artists do not for reasons of maintaining an image and narrative. Taylor fired her prior PR consultant who had been with her and the label from the beginning and hired her own red haired not-monster outside of the label. Taylor is able to add tracks last minute after the album has been signed off as complete, even from the time of her second album. Her label gives her the time she needs and wants to produce an album, being kept in the dark until she feels it’s time. There are clearly benefits to being the biggest pop star in the world and biggest name on the label roster.But she is still signed to a label and not in complete control. Her fiddle payer was allegedly fired when she proved a threat to Taylor’s heterosexual all-American sweetheart image. She was advised Enchanted sent the wrong image, not signalling a change from adolescent fairytales to a young woman making her voice heard, and so it became Speak Now. She had to fight hard for 1989 to exist as a pop album. A team is known to have access to all her social media. Clearly Taylor isn’t the only one pulling the strings or having a say.So what happens when Taylor presents a plan her label doesn’t like?It’s been long claimed this is Taylor’s last album under her current contract with BMG, with rumored rights to a greatest hits album if they choose. So far there have been no headlines that Taylor has signed another album contract with them. Could this be the last album under the Big Machine label? Surely record companies would be willing to fight for the chance to sign Taylor Swift, an artist projected to sell over three million copies of her sixth album with zero traditional promotion, and offer lucrative terms. Add in a seeming shortage off two fucks to rub together, financial freedom on a scale few can imagine, and you seem to have an ideal situation if the long-rumored closeted pop star wanted to reveal the truth of her sexuality and partners.Big Machine, despite having Taylor Swift in their roster, is firmly rooted in country music and its conservative world. For all the freedom they give Taylor, that doesn’t mean a coming out is something they would support. So we’re left with a dilemma: a pop star wanting to come out with her contract about to expire and a label still pulling the strings for the album release and tour who may not approve. Could we be witnessing a battle between Taylor and her label for control?This era opened with an ending. Taylor wiped out her social media entirely. Twitter? Facebook? Instagram? Her website? Even MySpace? All blacked out and wiped clean of any past narrative. This was followed by a statement implying there would be no promotional interviews for this album. As it currently stands, it appears the only new information will be coming from two magazines available for preorder. This has two effects: Firstly it means the music can speak for itself. So far it has had a lot to say about the media and her so called relationships, along with Taylor herself and just maybe her label too. In only two tracks Taylor has addressed many parts of the public facets of her life. From the various criticisms of her mannerisms to veiled acknowledgements of so called feuds, there is little that even the first releases have not touched on.Second, it cuts off two possible avenues of image manipulation and narrative management. No media interviews cuts off any attempt to allow for questions and topics Taylor is done with and keeps her words from being misinterpreted. The lack of social media provides similar protection for whatever Taylor intends this era to be. After all if she isn’t using her social media then no one else with access can either to promote any other image than what she intends.There is one catch however. Taylor’s tumblr, while also wiped clean, is still in use. What seems to be a generous attempt to keep her fans feeling connected as we adjust to seeing and hearing less from Taylor than we are used to at the beginning of an era might have also become a battleground.More than one tumblr user has noticed the erratic behaviour of the last few days concerning Taylor’s likes. As mentioned previously, we have likes confirming her and Joe as an item and very much in love, reaching nearly a year as a couple and with the actor even confirmed as the inspiration behind the second track. Shortly thereafter we have Tree via Gossip Cop stating that Joe and Taylor are not “crazy in love” and stating no legitimate source is speaking on their relationship, possibly leaving the door open for a full denial of any such romance. It’s possible this is a case of dueling narratives, with parts of Taylor’s team under her label pushing the Jaylor (or jailer, if you will) relationship to keep a heterosexual image and delay or prevent a coming out while Tree, who works directly for Taylor, tries to do damage control.Additionally there was also the matter of there being a number of likes from Taylor’s account during Abigail’s wedding. If anyone expects Swifties to believe that during the wedding of her best friend of over ten years, Taylor decided to pull out her phone and start scrolling through Tumblr……well, we’re mostly not that dim. If this is a case of battle for control, it’s possible this was intentional. A reminder by Taylor that she’s not the only one with access. Perhaps there was a little more truth to the bird in a gilded cage suggested by her first music video of the era.It also draws into question another dueling narrative: PGB. Despite her frankly appalling judgement and tracking of Taylor’s every move she has been the recipient of remarkable attention from Taylor in last era and even now at the beginning of this one. This is quite the contrast to the “END PGB” hidden within the website code while blacked out and Taylor cutting the wing off her own plane in the video. This one user, the mouthpiece of the ultra conservative portion of Taylor’s fan base, seems to have hit the Swiftie lottery. Presents, a personal invite and backstage tour for the 1989 concert at MetLife, and an introduction to fellow scumbag Perez. Perhaps they too were tools used by the label to keep the bird in her cage?After all they seem to be supportive when Taylor stays on brand. However, the moment she removes herself from a certain path, they turn on her to tear her down and bring her back into line. I doubt it’s a coincidence two of the biggest voices of the “Taylor is the ultimate heterosexual” squad happened to get invited to the concert Karlie was attending. Especially when it was the first one after a fan speculated fight in London and featured the gayest speech given during the entire tour, featuring a public and heartfelt “I love you”. In the greatest irony, it was PGB herself who revealed Karlie was going to be there and Taylor was anxiously awaiting her arrival in the “I came straight from Rome” video. I can’t be the only one who remembers the whispers that she’d gotten in trouble for sharing it. But from who? Taylor has always encourage her fans to adore Karlie as much as she does and promote their close bond. Perhaps other parties weren’t as happy to see a reminder of how special Karlie is and to invite speculation as to why her little sister, who Tree should have had no interaction, with was comfortable enough to share a hug with her. More recently, PGB was very quick to reblog the post linking Joe to …Ready For It?, preventing Taylor from unliking it or burying it deeply enough to go unnoticed.While there may be some who would like to keep a certain bird caged and singing, the music video clearly shows she’s out now and judging by her place in the press lineup at the end of the video, she’s got her story to tell.According to one popular and seemingly plausible fan theory, each of the Taylors at the end of the music video represents a track on the album. The first track is represented by birdcage Taylor, who looks done at the end of the video in the face in the face of the pressline. …Ready For It?, the first track on the album, seems to again address her bearding and shade it (but the analysis of it is another post). It clearly defines the roles each of them are forced into and the intention of the bearding, keeping her jailed and tamed.Whether or not there’s any truth to this will depend on what’s to come in the future. Will Taylor speak about her label once the contract is up? I suspect we won’t know the truth of the matter until the album is out and the tour is booked to minimize the possibility of interference. If this is the case though, Big Machine is playing with fire. After all, if Taylor does not sign with them again, there’s nothing to stop Taylor from exposing them along with her sexuality. Firstly, it would it help build sympathy and understanding amongst the general public and her more conservative fans, dodging claims of her lying by giving them another target to blame. After all how could they blame Taylor when she wanted to be honest so badly but wasn’t allowed? Second, it would paint a target on them that might be hard to recover from. Like it or not, when Taylor speaks the world listens. Few who have gone up against her have come out without scars, where as Taylor is well practiced in rising up from the dead. After all, she does it all the time.