#its not your-oboros

[lavendertowerarchives]

There are quite a few buttons, dials, and switches in my mind. I can't reach any of them. They exist only to be tweaked by others, not knowing what they're doing to me. Either that or I just stare at them, wondering what I'd do if I had any control.

The control that others have over me is astounding. It takes very little for someone to completely obliterate the mire I've been wading through simply by talking. I am capable of full 180 degree turns, giving me emotional whiplash so strong I can't remember why I was even depressed in the first place. The lack of memory is a genuine problem: I, too, can't recall what had me googling "wrist anatomy, specifically veins."

It's this alienation from my previous self that prevents me from actually understanding what went wrong. Case in point, I had some (group) project assigned over the weekend, I was told "write some tests, get 30% code coverage." My deadline was tomorrow night. As far as I remember, I was drowning in the sheer stress of having so much to do in such a short timeframe. Barely three hours ago, My prof told the whole class "yknow what. the deadline's friday. good luck." Over the course of the next five seconds, my stress vanished, replacing itself with an actual problem-solving mood, complete with the confidence to ask the prof after class about an issue I had. Where the fuck did that come from? Where the fuck did my previous depression go?

I can't explain to people how sharp these "turns" are. I can't communicate why I thought what I thought yesterday, and I especially can't rationalize it to myself. I lack the tools to frame it better, as well: "yesterday I wanted to fkn die because I had two concurrent assignments. Today I have three and I feel relaxed enough to play games, draw, and write" is as verbose as it gets.

Worst of all, I refuse to tell anyone I know IRL about how "bad" it gets, so the few records I do keep (namely, this entire blog) will never reach their ears. I will not risk getting committed to some hospital. I've seen how much "help" they give. Either I get over it or it doubles down and starts again.

Oh well. That's all I got: "oh well." I can't do shit about it, I've tried, but I can't remember what does, doesn't, or might work. The only constant is "other people help more than I'll ever understand."

i want to exist beyond just this vicious unforgiving cycle of happiness, something happens, and suddenly i want to fold into myself and curl up in a ball and die. and all that feeling can do is linger and pool in my stomach until it eventually bursts out of me in some form. im so tired. i am so incredibly tired of living like this and its so hard. i dont expect anyone to understand and i dont expect anyone to make me feel better because theres nothing anyone can do, which is one of the most heart wrenching truths ive had to accept about my mental health.

what sucks is that when im in therapy im usually completely fine and cant recall how earth shattering my breakdowns feel even if they've happened not very long ago. so i cant get help or advice. i might need to read this directly to her to convey how i feel because i cant properly explain it during sessions.

im just so tired of feeling like im suck in this endless cycle, i feel like a snake eating its own tail (ouroboros 🤓).

just feeling all of this has completely exhausted me but i know i cant sleep until this feeling subsides and i fear it wont. i am in hell. i just want this to be over.

[angie-starz]

I'm reading this new fic named Southern Star by limeflavoredlacroix andr of art <3

Art for chapter 1🫶🏽

[joelletwo]

[video description: a gintama takagin+shouyou amv set to the last half of "punching bag" by the front bottoms, using only scenes and flashbacks from their carnal shoass fight]

unconscionable violence as mutual informed consent therapy

[s0fter-sin]

can you imagine if afo had kept the previous ofa user’s bodies after killing them? imagine the body horror of it all if midoriya had to fight the warped nomu version of nana or one of the others while the vestige of them is frozen in horror in his head

[ohmy-gojo]

my fav fics that you all just HAVE to read (jjk, haikyuu, mha, original fics, mostly fem readers sorry!)

note: these are all from quotev.com and long stories! all fluffy and cute with angst sprinkled on top. no smut!!

O1. jujutsu kaisen

a) for tomorrow's sake by @/lavendersky!! literally so fluffy and cute i might die

b) otherworldly attraction by @/lavendersky again. she just writes so good my fav writer :( this one is a little angsty for u angst hunters

O2. my hero academia

a) changing history by @/summerblack!! mc changes history and this story will change your life (SUPER long omg but so worth reading)

b) the futures keeper by @/summerblack, spin off ver of changing history with aizawa/oboro and others as love interests, you adopt the villains before they turn one

c) leave your mark by @/kikyo851. another banger just read all her mha works you wont regret at all! honorable mention to blue embers(touya x reader) by her its so cute

d) made to destroy by @/lavendersky

O3. haikyuu

a) serve by @/mxtcha !! supa cute fic

b) fly high, baby by @/glaive the dialogues are funny and its slow burn ig (read it loooong ago)

O4. original yandere stories

a) crushed velvet by @/kikyo851 (just read all her stories, this ones just my fav)

b) object of desire by @/summerblack. if i could read it for the first time again I would trust me its tew good

c) its a pain to be a prince by @lavenoor!! genderbent disney princesses (she dont support disney btw) another life changing fic

d) blind date by @/microwaveness. such a silly story ughhhhh has my heart

e) re awakening mishaps by @/shookookies.

f) girlfriend for hire by @/lavendersky

i hope these are not too much (i have so much more, just check my quotev library from @/tesoro) trust me and give them a try they all EAT.

read and gimme feedback yall i have no one to talk ab them 😭

[specialagentlokitty]

Aizawa x reader - all this time

Shouta Aizawa x Reader. Reader went to UA with him, and was practically Oboros sibling, but then he died. After Oboro died, Reader ran away and became a vigilante. One who was violent to the villains who killed their brother. After ten years and Aizawa is a teacher at UA they literally crash into his life again. Before reader left them and Shouta had been pining after each other hard core. Reader crashes into the USJ somehow, and beats the crap out of Tomura. (maybe Tomura ends up being readers brother? bio brother??) and is ready to kill to protect Shouta then fluff. the students live reader. - @nyxiethesimp 💜

You had been tracking the league of villains for a long time, you had been following their every move, targeting anybody they had links with, any other low life petty criminal you would just get rid off.

The heroes couldn’t do their jobs, they were useless.

You wanted justice, the people wanted justice, and you were going to bring them that justice no matter who got in your way.

You knew what they were planning next, so you wasted no time in running to the USJ.

Everybody was panicking, Aizawa was willing to do whatever it took to protect his students no matter the cost, even if it cost him his own life.

He stood no chance against Shigaraki or the Nomu he was fighting, but he wasn’t just going to let his students die at the hands of some villains.

Maybe that’s why nobody heard the loud bang, with all the commotion going on the sound just blended in with everything else.

You rolled over the ground a few times, and you crouched down, the chains you had wrapped around your arms making a rattling and clanging noise.

You crouched, resting your arms on your knees as you looked at the scene in front of you.

“Well if it isn’t the vigilante.” Shigaraki smirked.

You titled your head to the side just slightly.

“Hello justice.” He said.

You didn’t reply, but you did flick your gaze to the man that was pinned under him, your eyes locking with his black ones.

He seemed to be regarding you, and you looked to the students that were hiding from the villains.

“Oh yes, I forgot you know the mighty eraserhead right? Didn’t you go to school together? Oh! I remember you telling me all about him!”

You pushed yourself up, reaching your hands behind your back.

Shigaraki didn’t move, but the nomu stood next to him did, waiting for its orders.

“No love for your baby brother? We used to be so close.” He mocked.

He smirked a little.

“I want your hands to join the others, I have mothers, and fathers, i need you too.”

The nomu ran at you and you easily dodged the attacks, drawing the two swords from your back, the chains rattling as you moved.

You moved from side to side, making no attempt to attack the creature trying to hurt you.

“You were always so cool!” Your little brother gushed.

You swung your sword, slashing it right across the nomu and the wound healed almost instantly.

You were getting a read for the creature, learning how it moved, the attacks it favoured, how fast it was.

You were pin pointing any weak spots that you could find, making a note of them all while you deflected attacks and got in hits of your own.

You heard Aizawa groan in pain, and you glanced over, ducking under the attack that was aimed for you.

You charged for Shigaraki, grabbing him by the throat and you tossed him from Aizawa, placing your hand on the Nomu, sending a series of small pellet like bullets through it.

It stumbled back a little, and you placed your knee onto the heroes back, keeping him pinned to the ground.

Grabbing your swords, you primed one ready and threw it, straight through the head of the nomu and it fell, dropping to the floor.

Then your turned to face shigaraki.

“Why are you protecting them?!” He screamed.

You stayed quiet, and he clenched his jaw.

“You can’t protect them all!”

He ran towards one of the students, and you charged at him, gripping the chains you swung them, hitting him in the back, knocking him to the ground.

You swung the other chain, and he caught it, watching as it disintegrated in his palms and he narrowed his eyes.

“You’re pissing me off. I don’t like it when you piss me off.” He warned.

You stared at him, guiding the students behind you and over to their teacher, and you followed them quietly.

You helped Aizawa on to the back of a green haired student, and you handed your sword to another green haired one, a girl.

“Wait you need that!” One of them protested.

“You’re getting in the way!”

Shigaraki charged at you, wrapping four fingers around your throat, and you stood there staring at them.

“He doesn’t remember you~” he mocked.

He brought his other hand up, tugging at the bandanna that was wrapped around your face.

You didn’t move, you just stood there, eyes boring into that of the hero you once went to school with, were a student with.

His eyes widened a little.

“(Y/N)…” he whispered.

“Oh you remember! Hopefully you remember when you have to bury my dear sibling underground~”

You swung your arm back, slamming your elbow into his ribs, and you spun around, holding your hand out.

Your blood pooled into a sword in your hands and you charged, engaging a full on fight with the well known villain.

His quirk had no effect on your blood, since it wasn’t actually a solid, he couldn’t use his decay on it.

You carried on fighting him, occasionally cutting him, but nothing life threatening, and when his group came to bail him out you just stood there.

You stared at your brother as he left and turned around, making your towards the entrance, you pulled your mask back up and walked over to the students.

They all got ready to fight you, knowing exactly who you were and what you did, but you ignored him, walking to Aizawa.

Rolling up your sleeve, you took the bandages around arm and began to wrap them around his wounds.

“Why’re you helping us?” A student asked nervously.

You glanced at him, but didn’t reply.

You went back to wrapping up the wounds until you ran out of bandages, and you stepped back.

“Don’t.. walk away…” Aizawa grumbled.

You placed a hand on his forehead, patting it a couple of times before you turned around and walked away, making your way back to how you got in.

After that day you went back to what you were doing, having spent a few weeks fixing your chains.

That’s how you ran into Aizawa again, he was on night patrol, and you were looking for villains to beat the daylight out off and you two literally ran right into one another.

You stared at one another for a couple of seconds, and you swung your arm, chains knocking him from his feet.

“(Y/N)!”

You spun around, running back the way you had come from and Aizawa was right behind you.

He followed you up to the top of a building before he managed to catch you with his cloth around his neck.

You couldn’t reach your swords, so you manifested your blood into one.

“Hey! Hey! I’m not here to hurt you!”

Aizawa walked around you, and he stood in front of you, hands raised as he took his scarf back.

“I just want to talk, that’s it. It’s a lot of hassle to chase after you every single time, and I’ve not been told to arrest you.”

You narrowed your eyes a little bit.

“Everybody thought you died (Y/N), after.. well, you know, you just disappeared of the face of the earth. You didn’t even get in contact with anybody.”

He sounded angry, maybe a little disappointed or annoyed, that part you couldn’t tell.

Aizawa sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets, and he gestured to the side with his head.

“Can we talk?”

You gave a single nod of your head.

You knew you weren’t going to be able to outrun him, he was going to keep chasing after you, keeping looking for you and you couldn’t be bothered with that.

You trailed after him, not really interested in anything at all, but you knew where he was taking you.

He was talking you to his apartment, he wasn’t worried about you finding out where he lived, he knew you, knew your profile.

You hated villains, you hated heroes too, but villains even more, so you wouldn’t go around giving his address out to anybody.

He opened the door to let you inside and you stood awkwardly in the hallway, looking at the cat that walked over to him.

He knelt down to scratch the cat, and you just stood there.

“His name is Duke.”

Aizawa stood up, walking into the living room and you followed him, sitting down on the opposite end of the room to him.

He sat on the couch, neither of you speaking for a couple of minutes.

You turned your attention to the cat that was wondering over, and held your hand out, letting him decide if he wanted attention.

“Thank you.”

You looked up at him.

“For helping us. I know heroes aren’t exactly on the top of your list of your favourite people, you didn’t have to help me or my students but you did.”

You shrugged a little bit, looking away from him.

Aizawa sighed slightly.

“Why won’t you talk to me?”

This caught your attention, and Aizawa noticed the way you visibly tensed.

He slowly got up, making his way over and he slowly crouched down in front of you, resting his arms on his knees.

He was the reason you did that, after hanging around with him for so long when you were younger you just picked up some of his habits, some things that he did.

“Why won’t you talk to me? Do you hate me that much? Is it because I’m a hero? Was it something I did? I don’t understand. You haven’t said a single word, you didn’t speak back at the USJ either.”

Aizawa studied you carefully.

“What happened in these years you’ve been gone?”

Aizawa reached out, and you tensed up, slowly turning your head away.

“It’s alright.”

Aizawa slowly reached over, and he pushed your hood down, reaching around the back of your head, untying the bandanna.

He held it there, not removing it yet.

Your eyes locked with his, and you gave a small nod of your head, letting him know that he was alright to go ahead.

He removed it, setting it on the ground and turned his gaze back to you.

Aizawa placed a finger under your chin, tilting it up slightly, looking at your next.

He saw the scars, the same scars he had on his elbow, from Shigaraki, the decay quirk.

“Does it hurt?” He asked.

You shook your head.

Aizawa ran a couple of fingers over the scar lightly, and took a good look at you.

There was a few small scars on your face, but you hadn’t really changed all that much.

“You could’ve been an amazing hero (Y/N)…”

You scowled.

“I know, I know. You blame the heroes for what happened to your brother, you blame the villains and the heroes for what happened to Oboro.”

Aizawa got up, walking over he opened a book and took something out of it, then he grabbed a pad and pen and walked back to you.

He sat down in front of you, setting the pad and pen down first, then he held out the photo, letting you take it.

“I still have this. We found it in your apartment when we tried to find you. Me and Mic.”

You furrowed your brows a little, and Aizawa pointed to the blond haired boy in the photo.

“Hizashi is a hero too, present mic. Still as loud and as obnoxious as ever but we all knew he was never really going to change. Hell, you even called it that he was still going to be the exact same.”

You gave a silent laugh, smiling sadly as you looked at the photo, you and your friends all those years ago.

You had almost forgotten what it was like to be at UA, studying to be a hero, having your whole life ahead of you like that.

“Nezu wants to offer you a deal.”

You looked up at your friend.

“If you agree to come be a teaching assistant with me, all the charges against you were dropped. You want to stop villains, so do we.”

You set the photo down, grabbing the pad and pen and scribbled something down.

‘Not a chance.’

He sighed.

“Just at least come and have a look. You can actually give these kids a view of real life and what it’s like.”

‘I don’t care.’

You stood up, tossed the pad and pen aside.

Making your way back to the door you were stopped by Aizawa calling your name.

“That day I said there was something I wanted to tell you after school.”

You cast a look behind you as you tied the bandanna back around your face.

“I wanted to ask you on a date. Come to UA on Monday, first thing in the morning. If you do I’ll tell you more.”

You left, going back to what you were doing.

Aizawa waited by the gates on Monday morning with Nezu.

“Do you think they’ll show?” Nezu asked.

“I could never predict what they were doing to do, nobody could. That was (Y/N)s job, study someone for a few moments and they knew what every next move would be.”

Nezu nodded slightly.

“Well, perhaps we should consider offering a different incentive. What did you say to encourage them?”

Aizawa glanced down at Nezu.

“Something I knew would get their interest.”

Aizawa gestured to the entrance and Nezu turned to look.

You were stood there with your hands in your pockets.

“Oh you came, how delightful, please come with us.”

You followed them idly.

You had no interested in being there, you were only there because of Aizawa.

You had a long meeting with Nezu, and finally you were allowed to follow Aizawa, and he led you to his classroom.

“I’m sure you all know the vigilante Justice.”

Aizawa pointed to you and the classroom fell quiet.

“ITS YOU!”

“Thank you for saving us!” Someone gushed.

You scowled and moved away from the students who came to ask you a whole bunch of questions.

“Justice can’t speak. Sit down, ask questions one at a time.”

The students complied, and Aizawa handed you some chalk before he laid down behind his desk, closing his eyes.

You looked at him but said nothing to him, you just wrote on the board.

“Do whatever I don’t care.’

“Can we ask questions?” A girl asked.

‘I don’t care. If I don’t like them I won’t answer them.’

They nodded their heads, raising their hands to ask you questions and you answered the ones you felt like answering.

You couldn’t exactly leave, you knew you were being watched.

Aizawa wasn’t actually sleeping, he just wanted to see how you would handle the situation he placed you in.

He was laid on the floor, occasionally looking up at you to see what you were doing, just studying you.

He knew you were waiting to talk to him about you said, and he knew that conversation couldn’t be avoided for much longer.

He avoided it long enough when you were students, then he lost your for years, now he didn’t want to avoid it anymore because he had never stopped thinking about you

[bibibbon]

Do you ever feel like the women of MHA barely matters in the story? Especially the heroes.

Short answer: yes! And this is a problem with a lot of shonen series MHA included which definitely ticks me off.

The thing is there are a lot of female characters yet nothing meaningful or strikingly iconic is done with them. In my opinion the most iconic and well written female character we have in the story is toga himiko (whose also a villain so that goes and adds a bit more to your point) and even with that her character arc is still flawed.

There's so many female characters and so much you could do with them. Class 1A has approximately 6 characters each of them can have interesting character arcs that never get developed. You also have very interesting female villains who don't get much attention compared to their male counterparts. Toga himiko the main female villain has a lot of her character time shared with ochako (which isn't like shigaraki or Dabi) and other female villains don't get much focus on like curious (I miss her) or lady nagant (she had a decent arc flawed but really good) oh and magne gets killed off before we know anything about her!

Heck horikoshi could even focus on the female parents like inko and Rei and give them their independent arcs where they find an identity and become better parents (get a redemption arc).

What about the female heroes who don't get much focus and are there to do one bad ass girl boss thing and leave instead of adding meaning to the story. This happens with star and stripes (the worst plot device character I have ever seen) or miriko. Heck it seems like horikoshi forgets a lot about midnight and she doesn't matter when it comes to the oboro plotline. In the end her death is meaningless and there for cheap tension, Mt lady doesn't get enough focus for her arc to truly hit and I honestly can't name any other female heroes.

Oh wait we have recovery girl whose actions are made a gag and not called out, or we have bubble girl who yikes (poor girl deserves better) or nejire who compared to Mirio and tamaki is an almost nothing character!!

Heck don't get me started on how horikoshi does some very questionable things with his female characters like what was that thing with toruu and drawing her naked?!?! Or having toga running around without clothes in the manga (like hello thats a child!!!) what about the endless mineta gags (its worse since horikoshi admitted to liking mineta and being a bit of a perv) heck we dont even talk about the explicit gore thats used with injured female characters like miriko.

In the end there's definitely more I have missed but gosh this is enough to show that horikoshi hasn't done a good job with the female characters (toga and lady nagant are decent) which is a shame since there was sooo much potential.

(Gosh I would add pictures but honestly I physically can't bring myself to post or search for them)

[mimez-meme]

I love Nemuri. I hate how mischaracterized she is. She's so kind, caring and so many other things. She isn't a pervert, sure she may act weird sometimes but It's worse in the anime then the manga. People always forget that she's lost oboro to. She feels guilt to. We don't even get much on her and how she copes, even horikoshi acts like she didn’t lose oboro. Its implied that oboro even liked her, who knows she could have liked him to, if she did it's like loosing the love of your life. She's been through a lot and l hate how overlooked and downplayed it is. She dies and it isn't even payed attention to. Her friends don't even really Grief her, which is a horrible writing choice. She's such an amazing Character bro and so complexed. She's played to be this PG 18+ hero but it's kinda like a persona if you think About it. It's not the same as present mic but yk. I love her.

[reveriesrequiem]

short writing practice one-shot, with rodydeku and erasercloud sprinkles. keep in mind this is only a hobby, and i am not an experienced writer.

~

wind rustled through izuku's hair as he sipped at his lychee-flavored boba. the sky was a a breathtaking orange-to-pink, and the clouds were in the cumulus formation.

izuku's always liked clouds. it was his little thing. like how denki acts like he hates it, but he actually like being compared to pikachu. yaomomo likes feeling useful. izuku likes clouds. hitoshi likes hugs-but only if its cold.

contrary to popular belief, izuku wasn't actually oblivious. he could see the way momo and kyoka looked at eachother. the way tenya looked to ochako for praise whenever he makes a joke or pop-culture reference.

the way denki always made to include hitoshi in whatever he did. the way aizawa-sensei had a picture on his desk of a blue-haired boy with a smile to rival even the brightest stars, and constantly held onto a necklace that held a ring identical to the one on his finger.

in short, he wasn't oblivious.

he was burst out of his thought process by a shuffling of footsteps behind him. a hand gently placed itself on his shoulder, warm and familiar.

"are you alright, midoriya?" aizawa-sensei's voice, gruff yet full of concern, rang out from behind him. he'd been, admittedly, softer, ever since the war. izuku thinks he, tenya and yaomomo make for great co-parents.

izuku blinked sleepily, "yes, aizawa-sensei. just..thinking about something."

"on the roof?" izuku nodded simply. his teacher huffed in fond irritation.

"..aizawa-sensei?" he started, quietly, a few minutes later. he picks at the label around his boba.

aizawa-sensei grunted.

"have you ever..loved someone that- that you can't have?" izuku's voice quivered, trailing off at the end, nervous.

"..i have."  izuku looked at his teacher, suprised.

"and how do you...deal with that?"

"other than drinking boba on roofs and staring at clouds?" he teased.

izuku tsked.

"this is about your othenan friend, isn't it?" aizawa-sensei deadpanned. izuku blushed and tilted his head in a shy 'yes'.

the black-haired man sighed and sat down next to him. the hand on izuku's shoulder moved to his head and ruffled his hair.

"..i had a friend. in my first year, when i moved to the hero course. i didn't want to be his friend, but i ended up hanging out with him and his group anyway." he could've sworn aizawa smiled. it was a wistful one, one that people would often have when reminiscing.

"he died in my second year."

"oh- i'm sorry – "

"don't apologise, kid. " he buried the lower half of his face in his capture scarf and continued, " i admit, i came to love him. romantically, i mean. but it was too late for it to go anywhere farther than it already was."

"w- what was his name?" izuku asked, gently.

aizawa-sensei hesitated before answering.

"...oboro. his name was oboro. "

izuku's smile was small, but kind, "thank you for sharing this with me, aizawa-sensei." he says, honestly. his teacher blinks, and bashfully pulls up his capture scarf to cover his mouth once more.

"c'mon, kid. let's get you back to the dorms." the gruff man offers his hand. the teen grasps it, laughing as he pulls himself up.

~

"..shota?" oboro had murmured, carding a hand through his boyfriend's hair as he dozed.

"mh?.. he hummed.

"do you think..we're together in every universe?" the blue-haired boy questioned softly. shota cracked an eye open to stare at him, confused.

"what brought this on?" he asks, voice hoarse from sleep. oboro blinks lazily, sky-blue eyelashes fluttering.

his face softened before he answered, "nothing, nothing! just..curious, i guess." he laughs quietly before pecking shota on the cheek.

the red-eyed boy gave a 'hmm' as he looked up at his partner. "i think, that any universe without you is a sad one." he muttered, sleepily. oboro smiled so wide his face must've hurt.

he rained kisses all over shota's face before tucking his face into the crook of his boyfriend's neck, a smitten grin stretching his lips.

shota huffed contentedly and settled down to fall back asleep.

~

[lucidsjournal]

GINTAMA REVIEW

After finishing Gintama: The Very Final, my journey with Gintama has officially come to a close, and I must say it has been an amazing ride. Within this post, I will discuss my overall thoughts and feelings about various aspects of the series.

The Groundworks of Gintama:

First, I wanted to talk about my experience with the comedy episodes because I think they are the heart and soul of Gintama. Though at some points the comedy episodes were underwhelming, they steadily improved and became funnier as the series progressed. Some of the best episodes in Gintama are comedy episodes, many of them being filled with life lessons that can genuinely resonate with your own experiences.

I also think a lot of the comedy episodes are excellent because they lay down the foundation for the series by introducing so many new and interesting characters that you dive into. This is also accompanied by exploring many aspects of their lives and relationships with one another, portraying them as a close-knit, if unconventional, family. Seeing their dynamics play out is a joy to watch and though they may joke around and tease one another, they are always there for each other when it counts. As you grow attached to these characters, the serious arcs become even more impactful. Especially in arcs like Benizakura, Four Devas, Shogun Assassination, and so forth. During arcs like these, the stakes are raised higher than ever and the characters' unity in the face of common threats are deeply moving and satisfying.

Gintama's Mastery in Character Revelation Through Vulnerability and Tragedy:

Gintama has a rather large cast of characters, and despite its size, it manages to gently draw you in and make you care about these characters through these individual and personal moments. A lot of the times the show depicts these characters in a more vulnerable fashion and could even change your perspective on them through further context. A good example could be seen with the character Oboro, who is initially depicted as this intimidating assassin who is loyal to Utsuro. But as the show progresses, more is shown about his character and the tragedy surrounding him. Through the presented flashbacks, it is revealed that Oboro lost everything and was saved by Shouyou, eventually becoming his first student. Later on, when Oboro is assumed to be dead after protecting Shouyou, he comes across Shouyou again. But during this instance, Shouyou is seen with new students at the school that Oboro inspired him to open. It is pictured how abandoned Oboro feels when he sees his former teacher with other students, believing that Shouyou no longer even recognizes him. So essentially, this envy and sense of abandonment he felt is what drives him to betray Shouyou and assist in his capture.

As Oboro's character continues to unfold in his final moments, it becomes clear that his deepest desire is to be with his teacher, Shouyou, and the other students as a sort of family. This scene provides so much more context and depth to Oboro's character in painting the regret and sadness he feels. It is such a tragic underline to his character, which only strengthens his dynamics with the other characters, especially with Takasugi.

This ability to effectively provide substance to these characters, often supported by flashbacks, is something Gintama has done consistently well. This could even be seen as far back as in the Mitsuba Arc. Throughout the Mitsuba Arc, Sougo's character past is explored as well as his relationship with Toshi and the newly introduced character, Mitsuba, Sougo's sister. Up until this arc Sougo is shown to be primarily sadistic and conniving, who seemingly holds a grudge towards Toshi. But throughout this arc, we delve deeper into Sougo's character, revealing a vulnerable side to him as he mourns the passing of his sister, which emotionally impacted me a lot.

What Gintama Means To Me:

So I have rambled for a while on well Gintama is able to explore these characters in an emotionally resonant matter. But what does Gintama mean to me? Well to me, Gintama is fundamentally about finding the will to persevere through any struggle and tragedy we may experience, an idea that is strongly supported by the bonds we form, giving us purpose and the strength to overcome any adversity.

The idea of what it means to live forever is something that is a motif throughout the series, as it demonstrates how people's influence and impact on each other leaves a lasting imprint on their souls. This can be shown within the Yorozuya themselves, where upon meeting Gintoki, Shinpachi is bewildered by him and follows in his footsteps to learn the way of the samurai, and this bond that Shinpachi forms with Gintok is strengthened and immortalized as the series progresses.

Kagura, who initially lived with Gintoki solely because she needed money to go back to her homeworld, realizes how much she has enjoyed her time with Shinpachi and Gintoki. Ultimately staying back with this newfound family of hers. The impact Gintoki had on Kagura could be seen through the fact that she has picked up so many of his mannerisms and habits, such as picking his nose and his sense of humor.

While also referring to Gintoki as her, "earth father" on a couple of occasions.

Kagura and Shinpachi to me, share a sibling-like bond. Shinpachi, is the older, rational brother, while Kagura is the younger more brash sister. These two characters have such different personalities and backgrounds, yet still function as siblings. Much of their personalities clash and lead to frequent bickering and playful jabs as many siblings would. Yet beneath all of that lies a deep affection and willingness to support each other through thick and thin. One of the greatest examples that showcases their bond would of course be in Yoshiwara in Red Arc. In this arc, lies a powerful sequence where Kagura loses herself after seeing Shinpachi being beaten up almost to death, which then leads Shinpachi to having to save her as well by reminding her of the bond they share. It was such a touching moment to me and showcased how strong their relationship has become.

As you can tell, I love seeing the character interactions between the three of these characters. There are so many memorable ones and it only shows how much you become attached to them. The emotional beats never seem to miss and it is something that continues to be strengthened as the show progresses.

Gintoki Sakata, Gintama's Soul:

So I talked about Gintoki a bit previously, but I wanted to talk about him more. This will tie into the previous section in what Gintama means to me because I think Gintoki encapsulates the whole premise of the show best. Through Gintoki, we see how deeply the Yorozuya and the many other characters in the series have impacted him, just as much as he has on them. Not only that but it is revealed in the Red Spider arc that another character had a significant influence on him, his teacher Shouyou.

It becomes clear that Gintoki carries the teachings he learned from Shouyou. When the two first met, Gintoki was merely a child who was thrust into a life of killing by circumstances beyond his control. Gintoki had no clear purpose besides trying to survive by defending himself. As the two grew closer, Shoyou laid the foundation for a much different path for Gintoki, one where he would have a purpose. This sense of purpose would lead Gintoki to use his sword to protect his very soul. What this means is that Shouyou was essentially trying to prevent him from succumbing to emptiness, which would only lead to despair. Shouyou himself struggled with this, as Utsuro, his other personality, greatly encompasses. And despite experiencing the death of Shouyou at his own hands and among other tragedies, Gintoki honored the teachings of Utsuro by finding the will to persevere. He started all over again and found this new sense of purpose in The Yorozuya and the entirety of the Kabuki district, forever living on within all the souls he has touched just as much as those very same souls influenced and saved Gintoki from falling into despair.

He encompasses what Gintama is all about, as someone who is constantly met with adversity. Gintoki continuously fought himself, tying into what Kamui said to Gintoki during the Battle Rakuyo arc, that Gintoki was not fighting Kamui, but was instead fighting something else.

This essentially means that whenever Gintoki is fighting someone, no powerful how they are, he is battling himself- facing his weaknesses, fears, and the prospect of becoming empty. This is exactly what Shouyou had taught him. Instead of running away from his weaknesses, he fights them head-on in battle. By doing so, he is simultaneously protecting the bonds he made with countless characters. These bonds have molded him into the new name he now possesses "Yorozuya Gin-Chan," a name that symbolizes the connections he treasures and fights to defend.

It also contributes to why Gintoki is such an endearing character who is so empathic to others who have lost everything and still can provide them with the hope to keep moving forward and fight against their inner weaknesses, just as Shouyou had taught him. He is one of the most life-affirming characters I have experienced and he has so many moments that moved me, especially times when Gintoki comes in to save the day and provide some wisdom that not only applies to the characters he is talking to, but to us as the viewers. There have not been a lot of characters who have been able to have this level of impact on me, but I am thankful that Gintoki Sakata for being one of them.

To Be Hollow:

Within this section, I wanted to discuss more on Utsuro and Shouyou. To me, Utsuro is one of the most nuanced and compelling antagonists I have seen in anime. Supported by a demanding and engaging presence in the same vein as other phenomenal anime antagonists such as Johan and Dio. Similarly to Gintoki, he also masterfully encompasses the ideas of Gintama. But he serves as the direct contrast to Gintoki. Utsuro is physically immortal due to the Atlanta in his body. He eventually became "empty" or “hollow.” Such that he was exposed to the worst of humanity, and was not able to form meaningful connections and memories much like Gintoki and the others did. Unfortunately, he tragically fell into despair, lacking a clear set purpose apart from destruction.

 The Shouyou personality, on the other hand, represents the hope and humanity that resides in all of us. Despite all of the suffering we have endured we can instead strive to change, and fight against our inner “Utsuro."

And though Shouyou eventually lost, he was still able to save and pave the way for his students. Gintoki himself is the actualization of that hope and so I believe Shouyou was able to reach 'true immortality' by bonding with the students he saved just as much as they saved him. He continues to live on within them. I think this just makes Shouyou/Utsuro's dynamic with Gintoki so much more interesting. Especially considering how it recontextualizes the first time Gintoki and Shouyou met. In essence, Shouyou saw himself in Gintoki and realized how dangerous the path he was taking. So by influencing Gintoki, he was able to prevent another 'him' from being born.

Utsuro's Last Stand

The final confrontation between Gintoki and Utsuro/Takasugi marks one of the best fights I have seen in anime, with an absolutely devastating conclusion for Takasugi. The idea of Utsuro taking hold of Takasugi's body was an amazing twist. It initially places Gintoki into such a fascinating predicament, forcing him to fight the shadow of his mentor in his dying friend's body, Takasugi. This tragically parallels the moment when Gintoki was previously forced to kill Shouyou in order to protect his friends during the Joui War. The recurring motif of true immortality is made clear during this fight and it makes Utsuro's conclusion so much more satisfying. This is supported by the reappearance of Oboro, who despite being dead, is revealed to be inside of Takasugi's body alongside Utsuro. This is because of the promise Takasugi made to Oboro, and though Takasugi briefly knew him, he understood his pain and frustration in wanting to be with the other students. So by honoring Oboro's death and working to fulfill his wish to stop Utsuro, Oboro continues to live on within the body of Takasugi, strengthened by their shared resolve. (I'll touch up on this more in a bit as I discuss Utsuro's conclusion).

The Death and Reincarnation of Takasugi:

So as we know, Gintoki was in a position where he had to fight his mentor and friend, Takasugi. Takasugi is well aware of the burden of having to slay down his mentor and friend on Gintoki, which drives some of the reasons why he inevitably sacrifices himself.

Upon Utsuro's death, we see a stunning sequence where Gintoki and Takasugi are on a boat, with many butterflies and petals surrounding the two of them.

Even though Gintoki knows Takasugi will soon die, Gintoki still clings to this idealized dream, one where Takasugi will still live; explaining that he would have loved to enjoy a drink with him. But this is rejected by Takasugi, who reminds Gintoki that even if he still lives, they would still be fighting against each other as rivals. Gintoki himself is aware of this because before the fantasy appears, he mentions that this was inevitable, that Takasugi had not grown at all. Yet Gintoki still fantasized about this possibility, and it made this sequence so much more tragic for me. Afterward, Takasugi places his hand into the water, dissipating the idealized dream and showing him the true reality before them, that he is going to die. There is nothing Gintoki can do about it. During this sequence, Takasugi reminds Gintoki to keep persevering and maintaining the many relationships he has made. He even states, "There is plenty left to protect with that thing, right" where it briefly pans to Gintoki's sword. This ties into the whole idea of what Gintoki fights for, as recontextualized during the Battle Rakuyo arc as I discussed above. Takasugi's desire for Gintoki to let go of this dream and continue forth in life just makes his sacrifice even more significantly moving to me. Now towards the end of the film, it is revealed that Takasugi was reincarnated.  

Initially, I was not sure how to feel about this because I felt as if it might contradict and diminish the significance of Takasugi's death. Then as I continued to reflect on the scene, I began to see how it incorporates some of the show's messages, while strengthening Takasugi's dynamic with Shouyou. The “reincarnated” version of Takasugi that is shown, is a new version of himself metaphorically, similar to how the Shouyou personality was birthed from Utsuro. Essentially, he was given an opportunity, a second chance to find purpose. This new version of Takasugi that emerged has the possibility of not being blinded by hatred and a desire to destroy. It also helps that Shouyou was the one who bestowed this gift on Takasugi, in hopes that he would truly strive for a new path. Through this interpretation of mine, it feels more rewarding considering Takasugi's sacrifice against Utsuro and I believe it still respects the sequence of Takasugi passing in Gintoki's arms. It also ties into the whole idea that it is never too late to change. Though it may have seemed impossible initially, this could provide hope that Gintoki may one day reunite with Takasugi and fight him anew, but with a Takasugi who is not blinded by his weaknesses.

My Favorite Sequences

When reflecting on my favorite moments in the series, three stand out. The first was Utsuro's final say in Gintama: The Very Finale, which was truly incredible. His speech sums up a good bit of what I have talked about previously up until this point, that being the connections and relationships we form give us meaning and ensure that we will live forever.

This is Utsuro's acceptance of this idea. He initially saw a glimpse of the power of immortal bonds through Gintoki's perseverance during the Silver Soul Arc. But the difference is that he ran away and rejected this idea completely because he still believed his belief in humanity was correct. He could not accept it because he knew it would invalidate his actions up until this point and his very identity perhaps. But Utsuro can no longer run away now and there was no turning back.

In the end, he was proven wrong. He saw how humanity can persevere through impossible odds and these characters embody those ideas so well. Oboro who was dead, was now revealed to be alive in the end, attempting to stop Utsuro. Takasugi who sacrificed himself to not only honor Oboro's wishes but to save Gintoki and what he was protected. Though Takasugi is dying, it is revealed that the bonds he shares with Gintoki are stronger than ever, and though Gintoki will ultimately slay his friend alongside the shadow of his mentor, Gintoki will preserve as he always does. This made Utsuro's plan of hollowing Gintoki by forcing him to slay his mentor and friend useless in the end. It is through these sequences of events that Utsuro finally understood what immortality really was, something he tragically never experienced despite being physically, "immortal." The second is when Gintoki reunites with his teacher, Shouyou. It is a beautifully cathartic sequence that feels like the culmination of what the entire series has been building up to. Watching Gintoki share what he has accomplished and the purpose he found within the Yorozuya was incredibly moving. The Yorozuya, a group that helps people no matter what the issue is, whether it is walking someone’s dog or saving the planet, embodies the essence of what Gintoki has become, the little monster who became human.

This leads seamlessly into my third favorite scene, that being “the skies have cleared up,” which I think brilliantly serves as the Final Say of the series, highlighting how Gintoki has let go of all of his burdens, guilt, and pain, fully embracing a life that has been enriched by the countless relationships he has formed. Beautifully showing the idea that it is never too late, that you can still fight your weaknesses, form meaningful connections, and strive to live a life that is colored by the bonds we create. This scene also compliments the scene with Gintoki and Takasugi on the boat so well, because it shows how Gintoki carried on Takasugi's wishes. Letting go of his pain, essentially being 'rebirthed," paralleling to the rebirth of Takasugi shown in the film. Which will make their reunite all the more beautiful.

So that is everything, for now, it is quite evident that Gintama is a special series to me. It is probably my favorite anime at the moment lol. I really hope you guys enjoyed this. These are just my rough thoughts, I may expand on some of the ideas I have brought up here in the near future :)

[runaaaxoxo]

day one of shiftmas ; christmas caroling

thank you @solstices-dreams for making this !! merry christmas and happy shifting <3

answering this for my main mha dr ﹤im the homeroom teacher of 1a alongside aizawa, and number 4 pro hero ﹥

⇢ ˗ˏˋ one ࿐ྂ say yes to heaven

a cliche and overplayed song, but still simple and one of my favourites! i want my dr to be calm and laidback, and this song embodies the vibes i was going for. (im supposed to be considered 'heaven' over there, aswell, so its fitting)

⇢ ˗ˏˋ two ࿐ྂ mrs magic

i start BAWLING everytime this song plays, as its me and my boyfriends song. this song played the first time we danced together, kisses, watching the sunset, etc and listening to it grounds me in my DR well :D this song also has a feeling to it that i cant explain, its like that nostalgia that is so simple it hurts

⇢ ˗ˏˋ three ࿐ྂ soundtrack for your backseat

i listen to this song when im flying around on patrol, or on my walk to ua ! theres no special meaning or anything behind it, i just liked it a lot in my dr and it stuck with me here

⇢ ˗ˏˋ four ࿐ྂ cooler than me ( ethan fields )

i play this song when thinking back to when i was in ua with oboro, aizawa, hizashi and nemuri! (no oboro doesnt die im not going through that bs) makes me think vividly about that time we tried to start a punk-rock band and miserably failed

⇢ ˗ˏˋ five ࿐ྂ cherry waves

im adding this because nemuri, me and aizawa all lost their shit when they found out that hizashi really liked deftones -- by far one of my favourite memories <3

[tired-teacher-blog]

Characters : Tattoo artist Aizawa/ Florist fem reader

Featuring : Eri/ Hizashi Yamada/ Nemuri Kayama/ Oboro Shirakumo/ Emi Fukukado

Warnings and Genre : Fluff/ Romance/ Smut and Angst in future chapters/ Multi Chaptered Story

Summary : In a desperate attempt to get closer to the tattoo artist dominating every speck of your brain, you decide to pay him a visit one evening as a client seeking his service. This encounter will prove to be the beginning of something much bigger between you two, but will this new found passion be enough to stand against the difficulties your future holds?

Notes : Loosely inspired by this/ Art below is by the wonderful @/ael-draw who gifted me this gorgeous piece.

Masterlist|Second Masterlist|Third Masterlist

Chapter Count : Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7 • Part 8 • Part 9 • Part 10 • Part 11 • Part 12

_ "Eri says hi, we're on our way to school now."

You hold the phone closer to your ear, smiling fondly as he speaks, and picturing them stroll their way there hand in hand while he carries her cute little school bag over his shoulder.

_ "Tell her I miss her." you reply immediately with warmth filling up your heart.

_ "Just her? What about her father?" and you can feel the smirk lacing his words.

_ "Of course I miss you Shouta, very much." you breathe out longingly, wishing you could see him right at this instance.

_ "Me too beautiful, I'll see you tonight." and with that, you both say your goodbyes and hang up your phones.

Hours later, and his voice still plays in your brain like a sweet melody, and that same wide smile still refuses to leave you, only a little bit more until you see him.

Time couldn't possibly go any slower when you're awaiting for the moment to be with him, and you rarely ever do on weekdays due to your conflicting schedules, but fortunately you were able to work something out for today and decided to have dinner together in the studio between his appointments, it's not much, but it's more than you can ask for..

_ "Hello." a delicate voice interrupts your thoughts, and your head immediately snaps towards its source.

_ "Hello ma'am, welcome." oh, she's beautiful.

The clicking of her expensive beige heels pierces the calm and resonates across the walls as she steps inside while uttering amusedly, "what a nice atmosphere you have here."

_ "Thank you ma'am, you are more than welcome to take a look around." you have never seen her before, so perhaps she's here for a visit?

She's truly gorgeous, and elegant too, and you're now wondering what could her story be.

_ "So I want to buy a bouquet but I'm not sure exactly what to get, everything here looks gorgeous." she's taking a tour of the shop while speaking, her eyes study the blooms carefully before shifting her gaze your way.

_ "I'm glad you like what you see," you offer her a genuine smile, "I can help you choose, you see each flower and each rose carries a different meaning, so if you have a message that's hard to convey, you can pick a flower that helps with that."

She blinks a few times while hearing you speak before breaking into laughter, "but isn't that a bit too much to ask of a measly plant?"

Your body tenses up as you did not expect to hear such words from someone who has willingly walked into your shop, but maybe she didn't mean to offend you.

_ "Not at all ma'am, if the person receiving the bouquet is someone who likes flowers, then your message wilI surely come across." your smile is now forced, and your palms are starting to sweat as you strive to remain collected.

_ "I never thought they liked them but maybe I was wrong," her eyes are casting a darkness that you cannot for the life of you decipher, "well then, which one says I'm sorry?" her attention is back to the colorful roses.

_ "White roses or white tulips are the perfect ones for that, they express sincere apologies and seeking forgiveness, offering them to someone signifies the desire to start anew." you gesture towards the flowers you're describing and watch as she approaches them slowly.

_ "Alright then, I'll have ten of each."

_ "Of course ma'am." you quickly run to the blossoms and start cutting them carefully, counting in your head so you wouldn't miscalculate the lady's order.

_ "So how long have you been running this business?"

Her question catch you off guard, and you almost miscount the white blooms in front of you, "oh, I've been here for almost a year," you turn her way for a second as you reply, before returning to the work at hand.

You walk back to your counter with twenty delicate whites in your arms, smiling again at the lady before starting to carefully organize them in a bouquet.

_ "What about you ma'am? Are you here visiting someone? Perhaps the lucky person who will receive these?" you try to soften the mood as you ask.

_ "Yeah, that's why I'm here, I need to clear things up with someone." her voice is monotone and for some reason it's making you a little uncomfortable.

_ "I'm sure everything will go well ma'am, this bouquet will be an ideal ice breaker." even with your unexplained uneasiness, you still give her a warm smile.

_ "You think so? You must have a lot of faith in your flowers then." she scoffs with a role of her eyes that you did not need to witness.

_ "Uhm well.. I do, and I hope I'm right." you have never felt this anxious with a customer before, but you have to remain calm and cheerful regardless.

_ "What a cute tattoo." she exclaims with a nod of her head.

_ "Oh, thank you, yeah it's really dear to me." somehow, for some reason, you've always found solace in your tattoo, and you're almost certain it's the thought of him that brings you comfort rather than the tattoo itself, in any case, it's working yet again.

The woman remains silent after that, and you can almost feel her piercing stare digging holes in your whole body.

_ "Here you go ma'am, it's wrapped and ready, I hope you like it." you carefully pick up the bouquet, mindful of the graceful blooms as you hand them to the woman in front of you.

_ "Thank you." she holds it in one arm and hands you her credit card with the other.

It's almost over, she's almost out of your shop and you're almost breathing easily again.

_ "Thank you for your purchase ma'am and have a nice day." you bow your head slightly while returning her card.

The annoyingly loud click of her heels is finally heading away as she walks towards the door, and you allow yourself to heave a sigh of relief.

_ "Oh by the way, say hi to Shouta for me." and that irked expression she had on since earlier, is now replaced with an amused one as she closes the door after herself.

… What?

Shouta.. Shouta.. , she called him Shouta, not Aizawa like most people do, why? Who is she exactly? How does she know him? Was her coming to your shop intentional?

You feel like a fool, she was obviously mocking you until the very end, and for some reason you know that it isn't over.

Shouta.. who is she to you? Is she a friend? A family member? A client?

Countless questions battle within your brain as you freeze in place for God knows how long..

To be continued..

[red-riot-unbreakable-heart]

Aizawa's First Kiss | Shota Aizawa x Oboro Shirakumo

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Ship: Shota Aizawa x Oboro Shirakumo

Genre: Fluff, Romance, Lemon

My Master List!

Shota Aizawa’s First Kiss

It’s dusk in the city. From a dingy rooftop, Shota watches the golden summer sun slip beneath the jagged horizon line of skyscrapers. Sure, the city is beautiful from up here. But honestly, he wishes he were in the grimy streets below throwing punches at villains. Two weeks into his internship and he’s already starting to feel frustrated, cooped up and useless. The Pro Hero mentor that he and Oboro Shirakumo share has been pleasant enough – giving them tips and teaching them a combat technique or two. But when it comes to practical hero skills, the Pro has been leaving Shota and Oboro to watch from the sidelines as he cleans up the city streets with his sidekicks.

Shota watches as their mentor zigzags through the alleyways below, chasing after a car thief. He balls his hands into tight fists and counts to ten, letting out a deep sigh of irritation. He turns to his friend to remark on how useless he feels but is stunned into silence when he sees the way the sunset’s glow sparkles across Oboro’s gentle features.

There’s no doubt about it - Oboro Shirakumo is an attractive young man. At 18 he’s tall and slight, his face almost impish with its sharp upturned nose and soft cheeks. His puffy silver hair flows around his face, almost weightless. His quirk allows him to create clouds of all shapes and sizes – his hero name “Loud Cloud” is a bit on the nose.

Currently, Oboro sits cross-legged on one of his clouds, eyes closed. He’s floating a few meters off the ground, hands tucked behind his head as he enjoys the last of the sun’s heat. Shota marvels for a moment in his friend’s beauty – the way he just seems to radiate warmth. Oboro’s eyelids flutter open and he looks down at Shota questioningly.

“What’s on your mind, Eraser?” He asks, getting to his feet and letting the cloud dissipate into vapor. Shota shifts on his feet, remembering why he’s in such a sulky mood.

“We’re not learning anything valuable here. Maybe we should ask UA to have us reassigned.” He groans, shoving his hands in his pockets reflexively.

“You’re always so impatient, Shota.” Oboro Shirakumo puts a hand on Aizawa’s shoulder, grinning good-naturedly at his friend. “We’re learning plenty! Also - these things take time. You can’t completely level up and be patrolling the streets in two measly weeks.”

Shota glares at his friend through his peripherals. He shakes off the warm hand that’s causing goose bumps to bloom under his dark hero costume.

Of course he would say something like that. It’s no surprise that Oboro thrives in the agency environment – as an extrovert, he’s naturally good at networking and picking up office culture. Shota’s brooding nature doesn’t quite fit in the bright, window filled agency office in the center of the city. He constantly feels uncomfortable and out of place. The sidekicks try to be nice to him, but he can sense their discomfort as well. No one aside from Oboro seems to know how to interact with Shota and his quiet, gloomy vibe.

Shota finally voices the true thought that’s been nagging at him. “I don’t belong here, Oboro. I should be interning with an underground hero.” Shota tucks his chin into his chest – a childhood habit that’s stuck with him and comes out when he’s brooding. Oboro considers him, a soft smile pulling at his lips.

“Stop sulking, Shota.” Shirakumo says simply, causing a lightening strike of anger to flare up in Shota’s chest. On instinct, his quirk activates and his hair flares up.

“Wow, you are really in a bad mood today, huh?” Oboro looks at him appraisingly, still smiling. He’s not afraid of Shota – he never has been. “Shota. I think it’s important that you learn the basics from a Pro in the spotlight. There are so many lessons here that can easily be applied to underground hero-work. Plus, you’ve gotta make connections with all types of heroes so you can hit people up for team-ups in the future.”

Shota grumples unintelligibly – he knows that Oboro is right. But that doesn’t mean he has to like it. He takes a few deep breaths and deactivates his quirk, his dark hair falling back down to his shoulders.

“You know what your problem is, Shota? You really need to learn how to chill the fuck out.” Oboro activates his quirk and forms a new cloud beneath his feet. It lifts him up a few feet into the air and he rides it like a skateboard around the length of the roof before coming to a stop back at Shota’s side. “For example – instead of being existentially angsty right now, you could be enjoying this beautiful sunset with your best friend. Look at all those golden colors and the way the city sparkles in the light, Shota! It’s a Kodak moment!”

Shota glances to the side and once again is struck by how pretty Oboro’s face is, his silver hair sparkling in the dying light of the sun. Oboro turns back to look him in the eyes and says cheekily “Kinda romantic, don’t ya think?” He winks. Shota’s stomach does a summersault.

He looks away and shakes his head. “You’re annoying.”

“And you’ve got a stick up your ass.” Oboro retorts easily. “Oh look – he caught the car-jacker!” He points down at the sprawling cityscape at their Pro Hero mentor who’s now handcuffing the criminal to a parking meter. “That was fast.”

Their headset comm units crackle to life and one of the Sidekicks sends the pair a quick message. “Eraser Head and Loud Cloud, please hold your positions. There may be another carjacker in the area. Please await further instructions.”

“Ugh. And here I thought we’d be done for the day.” Shota grumbles, watching as the police cars start to pull up to the crime scene, sirens flashing in the dying daylight.

“Looks like we’re stuck here for a bit!” Oboro says cheerfully, watching the scene below with satisfaction. “No civilian casualties – sweet!”

Shota rolls his eyes. “This was a small time car thief, not some big brawler villain. Of course there weren’t casualties.”

“Wow, Shota. You’re a real stick in the mud today.” Oboro turns to fully look him in the face and takes in the bags under Shota’s eyes. No wonder Aizawa is so grumpy! It’s clear his friend isn’t taking care of himself – Shota looks exhausted and disheveled.

“Sho…when was the last time you got a full night’s sleep?” Oboro asks gently, reaching out to place his hand back on Shota’s wiry shoulder.

“Ugh I don’t know. I’m too busy training.” Shota grumbles. He doesn’t shake off Oboro’s hand this time. Now that Oboro’s mentioned it, a little rest doesn’t sound so bad. He thinks longingly of his room at the agency with its blackout curtains and cozy bed. Maybe a break from training would do him some good, clearly his nerves are on the fritz.

“Buddy, I really think you need to take better care of yourself. How are we going to start the best agency in the city if you’re already worn down at age 18?” Oboro says kindly, kneading Shota’s shoulder softly. Shota avoids Oboro’s gaze – it’s too open, too caring. They’ve been friends for almost three full years and he still hasn’t gotten used to that look.

Oboro’s gaze is impossibly soft as he takes in the rest of Shota’s appearance – his eyes roam over Shota’s shoulder length hair, dark as a midnight sky. His hero costume matches his gloomy attitude – a black jumpsuit with dark combat boots. Oboro and Hizashi have often made fun of Shota’s hero costume for looking too emo. But here, on a rooftop in a crime-ridden city, Oboro has to admit that the outfit is pretty intimidating. The jumpsuit is deceiving – it makes Aizawa look skinny and weak. The way the color contrasts against his sallow skin tone makes him look almost frail. But Oboro knows better – Shota is one of the strongest combat fighters in their class. He doesn’t even need to use his quirk to overpower an opponent hand-to-hand combat – he’s that good. Also, he’s a good 6 feet of pure muscle. Oboro’s snuck enough glances in the locker room to know that underneath that drab outfit, Shota is packing a shit ton of muscle mass. His eyes roam across Shota’s trim waist and he longs to move his hands down to grip his thin hips. But no…that would be weird. Best friends don’t grab each other by the waist.

He brings his stare up to the grey capture weapon is wrapped loosely around Aizawa’s neck. This is a new addition to the costume – Shota has been training with the support item for a good two years now, and has only just begun to master it. This is the first time Oboro has seen him wear it in the field, and he has to admit that it looks pretty cool. Shota is just so fucking cool and beautiful that it hurts Oboro sometimes. It makes his heart squeeze in all the worst ways. He feels his pulse quicken as he thinks through a plan that he’s been working to hatch for months now. A plan that can now unfurl itself since Oboro and Shota are completely alone.

He continues to survey Shota thoughtfully. Shota’s face grows a bit hot under the scrutiny; he’s honestly not sure what’s got Oboro so locked in on his costume. It must be the binding clothes – they are a new addition, after all. It must be something more than that, though. Shota has been trained to understand a shift in body language – something is making Shirakumo nervous.

Oboro gulps down his fear – it’s now or never. “You know what you need, Sho? A pick me up!”

“Coffee would be nice.” Shota says hopefully, his angst melting away a bit at the mention of caffeine.

“No, no, not coffee. Something else.” Oboro says teasingly, but now Shota feels extra annoyed at being denied the simple pleasure of caffeine. “Quick, close your eyes!”

“Ughhhh.” Shota lets out a long noise of aggravation but complies. He lets his eyes flutter closed, assuming Oboro is going to do some of his usually hippy dippy guided meditation shit. Not that he minds – he loves the gentle timber of Oboro’s voice as he talks Shota through a calming meditation. It’s something Oboro does often amongst their friend group. His mom is a yoga instructor, and he channels her energy well. If everyone is grouchy he’ll demand they do a quick reset and take them through a 10 minute gratitude meditation. By the end, they are all usually feeling a bit less on edge. Shota lets his mind clear in preparation for Oboro’s upbeat voice to implore him to set an intention.

But there’s only silence.

Shota stands quietly for a moment, eyes closed. He’s trying to be patient as he humors his friend, but his nerves are already so on edge today that he’s getting a little fidgety. Meanwhile, Oboro is trying to pluck up the nerve to carry out his big, beautiful master plan. He takes a step closer to Shota, sweating.

“…Oboro?” Shota asks aloud, waiting for a response. Nothing. Instead, he hears a shuffling of shoes as Oboro scoots closer and closer to him. He almost jumps out of his skin when he feels his friend’s warm hand cup his cheek. Shota’s eyes fly open and he finds himself nose to nose with Shirakumo, their faces just inches apart.

“I’m gonna show you something better than caffeine, Sho.” Oboro whispers, his voice husky as his eyes dart down to Shota’s lips. Shota’s brain is going absolutely haywire and he breathes in sharply. He can’t seem to comprehend that Oboro is so fucking close and touching his face. His hand is so warm and soft against the rough stubble of Shota’s cheek, and his skin smells like mint and fresh baked bread. It’s intoxicating. Shota feels his body leaning in towards Oboro, wanting more of whatever is happening here. Shota wants to melt into him, wants their bodies to slide together and become inseparable. This is not something that friends usually do, is it? He doesn’t fucking care.

Oboro brushes his thumb across Shota’s lower lip. He smiles as he stares at his friend’s irresistibly perfect cupid bow. He licks his own lips before leaning in and closing the distance between them. Shota’s eyes widen as soft, pillowy lips press against his own. He’s never been kissed before, and so he never knew how wonderful it could feel to have his mouth slide and press against someone else’s lips. He feels like there’s an ocean full of stars in his chest, fizzling and popping and threatening to burst out of the spot where his heart lives.

Oboro deepens the kiss, sliding his hand behind Shota’s head and up into his hair. He pulls his friend closer so that their chests touch. Shota winds shaky arms around his friend’s neck and kisses him back with such ferocity it leaves him breathless. For a moment, he wonders if he’s doing it right. But based on the way that Oboro is enthusiastically kissing him back and pulling at the roots of his hair, he figures he must be doing enough right for now.

When they finally break apart, the first stars of the evening are starting to wink down at them from above in the dark city sky. The final rays of the sun have disappeared behind the skyscrapers and the city streets seem to be quiet in the summer haze.

Shota looks up at his friend, his arms still wrapped around Oboro’s neck. He’s feeling shaky and winded, his heart beating far too fast for his liking. He finds he doesn’t feel much like brooding anymore.

Oboro gazes down at him through heavy lashes, his face plastered with a smile of fondness and warmth that Shota has never quite seen before.

Shirakumo is the first to speak. “Sho…I’ve been wanting to do that, like, forever.” He laughs, a bright sound that hangs in the thick summer air and wraps around Shota like a warm blanket.

“…really?” Shota asks, stunned. He can feel his face is flushed but he doesn’t feel the need to hide it.

“Of course! I’ve been wanting to kiss you for literal months!” Oboro says before freeing a hand so he can point at the alleyways below them. “I even asked the sidekicks if they could leave us up here alone for a while, hoping I could gather up the nerve to finally do it.”

Shota freezes at this and then lets out a long groan of irritation. “Oboro. You’re telling me that you purposefully got us assigned to a fake mission? You knew we weren’t going to do any hero work tonight?”

Oboro raises an eyebrow. “Are you complaining?” He dips down and kisses Shota soundly on the lips, eliciting a surprised groan of satisfaction from his friend. He breaks the kiss with a smack of his lips. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

“You’re purposefully inhibiting my education.” Shota says, trying to keep his usual neutral look pasted on his face. He can’t help the way his cheeks are twitching into a grin. “You’re a menace to me, and to society.”

“And don’t you forget it.” Oboro winks and it sends shivers up Shota’s spine.

A sidekick’s voice crackles through their earpieces once again. “Eraser Head and Loud Cloud – we rounded up all the criminals and we’re done for the night. Report back to agency HQ for a debrief. Over and out.”

“Sounds like we need to head out.” Oboro says, with no intention of releasing Shota from his warm embrace.

“Yeah.” Shota says simply, having nothing else important to add. He’s punch drunk on all the kissing and his head is spinning – he can’t make sense of the fact that his best friend might actually like him back.

“Don’t worry.” Oboro says, activating his quirk to summon a large cloud beneath the two of them. “We can take the long way back – I think we have a lot to talk about.”

“Mm.” Shota nods, feeling like an idiot. He’s tongue-tied, not sure how to even begin to start this next conversation. The cloud is cushy and Shota moves apart from Oboro so that it can support his weight. They both get into comfortable sitting positions and Oboro directs the cloud to take them to midtown.

“Or…we can just kiss the whole ride home.” Oboro suggests mischievously, reaching to grab Shota by the binding clothes and pull him roughly back into his arms.

“A better pick me up than caffeine, a hundred times over.” Shota breathes before craning up to meet his friend’s lips.

--------

I hope you enjoyed!!

For more fun and flirty fics, check out my masterlist!

Thanks for reading! 💕 - RedRiotUnbreakableHeart

[nagitosstolenhand]

okay does anyone else find it very icky that immediately after finding out kurogiri is a nomu and a victim of nonconsensual medical experimentation and malpractice. the pros n hpsc ppl immediately transfer him to a hospital for their docters to do nonconsensual medical experimentation on him to try and both see if they can turn them back into oboro and also just to see how the nomus tick. like maybe its cause i am a firm Kurogiri Should Be Allowed To Be Their Own Person And Should Actually Be Allowed Agency In Their Story believer but genuinely even if you think kurogiri is just amnesiac oboro this still feels shady on SO many levels.

also the fact we get NO comment from Mic or Aizawa. ik grief and anguish over the fact your dead highschool friend is an undead villainess butler now but they are the only vector we ever get updates on kurogiri so them never bringing it up just makes it feel like they dont care. let our dead best friends reanimated corpse be poked and prodded by a team of random government doctors. who cares what the actual person made from him says as long as theres some small vain hope they might get their long dead friend back.

this could all be very interesting and explore the hypocrisy of the heros/hpsc and give Mic n Aizawas relationship with kurogiri some genuine depth, but we don't get that because the kurogiri-oboro plot was inserted in for extra angst and an excuse to make aizawa extra pissed at and resentful of shigaraki and was just left there when it was time to chase another big shonen boss fight. i hope they actually manage to address any of this when the kurogiri-mic-aizawa plot actually shows up again but with how things are going. i severely doubt it. and after spinner and dabi i severely doubt they are actually going to find a genuinely satisfying conclusion to this arc. which is honestly just so fucking disappointing.

[solart13]

For an art request can you please draw one of your headcanons?

I’m not entirely sure if this would be considered a headcanon or not but I like the thought that Aizawa is more emotionally open around Mic and that he values him a lot.

[Long wall of text of my thoughts and opinions incoming]

Like, I understand the comedy aspect of Aizawa being somewhat of a dick towards Mic seeing as that is how their dynamic is often portrayed as in the show, i.e. Aizawa being annoyed/putting up with Mic’s shenanigans. Their relationship does get more expanded upon in the Hospital raid arc but even then, Aizawa being more of a fan-favourite because, among other things, he’s part of the main cast gets more fleshed out than Mic despite Oboro having been both of their friend. In the hospital after the raid, Aizawa shows a certain degree of dismissiveness of Mic’s feelings, which yes, I can understand may be because he didn’t want to talk about it and that was his way of coping, but remember that they are alone and it has been shown that he is often more open with his feelings and opinions when it’s just the two of them, not to mention that Mic is now his only surviving friend from back in their days at U.A. At least maybe show the audience Aizawa having some kind of emotional reaction to the fact that Midnight, a close friend of theirs, who has impacted his life a lot, ex. with sending in an application to U.A, has just died.

And like I said, I do understand and actually like the more teasing side of their relationship but what I don’t like is when it’s just Aizawa treating Mic poorly and Mic is depicted as the stupid comic relief when his character is a lot more nuanced.

As previously mentioned, however, Mic is just a side character which means the show and the creator won’t bother making him more complex than necessary (often to further Aizawa’s story) which means that the fanbase who don’t think too much about him as a character will just staple him as the comic relief (which I want to make clear is totally fine because we all have characters we focus on more than others, be it a comfort character or simply just caring for one character more than another).

What I don’t like is when it’s clear that someone favours Aizawa more than Mic in the Erasermic relationship and portrays Mic as “inferior” to Aizawa and bases his character off of his stereotypes (ex. being loud all the time and acting immature) and won’t look past that. Fortunately, I rarely stumble upon this sort of interpretation and I want to once again make it clear that it’s fine if you like one character more in a ship, my point is that I personally dislike when the other character in the relationship isn’t given at least some of that focus and is more like an accessory than anything.

For me with the Erasermic dynamic, I like when a clear balance is shown. I personally am a big fan of Mic and I like breaking his character down to its bare bones and giving him more depth than the source material does…so basically making my own headcanons about him lol. But I also like Aizawa a lot and I guess my guilty pleasure is portraying them in a healthy and equal companionship where Mic isn’t the only one who openly shows his appreciation.

So, uh, yeah. That was a lot lol. Apologies for the long wait, I had an exam a few days ago and finally had some free time to work on the request. I hope the drawing is sufficient and correlates to the wall of text above.

On another note, here’s an extra little headcanon of these two being two of the smartest characters in the show, yet not hesitating to egg each other on when it comes to dumb ideas (I drew this in like 5 seconds and barely put any effort into it lol)

[quirkwizard]

Hey, I love your blog and everything you do, the Duds and Duds are amongst my faves. So I have a question for you, if you want, if there was anything about the storyline of the series you could change, would you and what would it be, like I know Tsukauchi was supposed to be the traitor, he was a spy under All for One’s control I think. And apparently Endeavour was supposed to be killed at the start of Paranormal Liberation War. Not sure if Kurogiri was always going to be Oboro. Have a Good Day

There are plenty of ideas I've had over the years. So for this, I'm discussing the ones most on my mind and I'm dividing this into three categories: removals, additions, and rewrites. And I won't include any that I talked about before extensively, like with the Stars and Stripes or Vigilantes Arc rewrites, or anything I feel deserves its own post to talk about it, like the Mutant Discrimination plotline during the Final War which I have yet to discuss.

For the removal, I would remove a lot of the later story choices with the villains. Specifically, I really wished the Tatartus Villains were more interesting and threatening as a force or used better, Stain and Overhaul especially. Stain gets killed off is one of the biggest missteps in the series for me. I'm honestly really confused why Hori decided to do it that way. And despite Overhaul being such a big bad early on, Kai was reduced to more of a tool to be jerked around by other characters and to get punished for what he did. Which, fair, was pretty objectively evil, and he should be punished, but I don't find the material they give him that interesting. Don't even get me started on everything that happened with him and "Decay".

For an addon, I would have the students train more. Specifically, under teachers and upper-tier pro heroes that could help them expand their Quirks in ways we get to see. While this could help offer some explanation of certain growths and power-ups the other students get, it's more about developing characters. I've talked about before how underdeveloped the teachers are, and that extends to a lot of the pros as well. It could help give more character to the students and their mentors by giving them some interactions, having the students take on certain traits from their mentors, or gaining new techniques inspired by them. Think like Shinso and Aizawa, but with other students and heroes.

Finally, for the rewrite, I would include another arc. Specifically, around the time of the Joint Training, the MLA War, and the Endeavor Agency. While I do think that the series has some time and pacing issues, the worst example of it is around this point, specifically with Tomura. He grows so fast in a single arc, going from dumpster villain to the most dangerous person in Japan. We need some gaps to get us to this point. Putting another arc for the villains where they grow to that point, even if it's a small one, I think would help set it up more. You could even give the hero side some of this extra time as well, giving the other heroes and characters more time to grow and set up everything for later.