#longer chapters though

[thefloatingwriter]

it is not a fix-it if stanley uris is still dead. it is not a fix-it if stanley uris is still dead! IT IS NOT A FIX-IT IF STANLEY URIS IS STILL DEAD!! IT IS NOT A FIX-IT FIC—

[solarstranger]

CHAPTER 1 | I HOPE YOU SEE (RIGHT THROUGH ME)

w.c. 1.2k

tags. minors dni. fem!reader, pro-hero!katsuki, aged-up (23), some cussing (it's not bakugou's internal monologue if there aren't any), suicide-related deaths (see series synopsis for more details), discussions of suicide, canon-typical descriptions of violence

a/n. welcome to another series by yours truly!!!! i know i still have that body swap one in the queue, and while i am planning on working on that, this series' premise just spoke to me and i was emboldened to write it as soon as i could. i'm writing this as i go, though, so the posting schedule is likely gonna be erratic, but i promise i'll try to write this consistently. anyway, i'd absolutely love to hear what you think throughout the process, so please don't be a stranger and talk to me!

links. masterlist, ao3

Somehow, he’s wound up in the emergency room of Musutafu’s highly renowned Central Hospital.

Which, if he had the energy left to really think about it, is not particularly an unusual occurrence. He’s been here—and other similar hospitals—enough to have a general blueprint of the corridors etched in his mind, as well as the basic rules they shared and protocols that were strictly followed. Stuff like how phone calls are prohibited, fatigued doctors specializing in emergency medicine are perpetually present, and how—for a place supposedly and rightfully dubbed with the ‘emergency’ title—the staff sure don’t seem to have a whole lot of sense of urgency.

Although he supposes he’d rather have that than be in a room teeming with frantic energy. Maybe they’re doing it on purpose, actually, for the sake of the patients who get rolled in.

Except right now, he was not a patient.

He was technically not a guardian, either, though the disheveled-looking middle-aged man blatantly staring at him from a few rows up front is most definitely thinking otherwise.

Well, then.

Acutely aware of the unwanted attention, Bakugou shifts uncomfortably in his seat, wincing ever so slightly when the connected metal chairs to his right creak loudly with the motion. It doesn’t help that he’s still in his hero clothes—although he’s aware there’s no point in mulling over it now; after all, he didn’t exactly have the time to do a costume change with all the shit that went down.

Not that he’s exactly sure what that ‘shit’ even was.

It all happened too fast.

One minute, he was walking down his regular patrol route down Shizuoka’s famous tallest bridge—cursing the unbearable summer heat and the dehydration-induced headaches that it brought with it; the next, he was jumping off of it.

He even boosted himself with his quirk to aid gravity in his free fall, but to no avail.

Your body had already collided with the ground by the time he could grab your wrist.

The moments that passed after that are even more of a blur now. He doesn’t know how he did it, but after what seemed like an eternity of merely staring at your limp, bloody body, Bakugou was able to pull out his phone and call 119. The medics arrived shortly after, maybe in a span of five minutes, but to him it felt like more.

It took everything within him not to just haul your body and propel you to the nearest hospital.

Because if someone died under his watch…

“Mr. Dynamight?”

Bakugou startles, looking up from where he was blankly staring at his intertwined, scarred hands. At the sight of a white coat-clad woman, the pro-hero immediately stands up, nodding, turning to face the brunette with his full attention.

“Hi,” the doctor greets, “It’s come to my understanding that you’re the one who called in regarding Patient—” she trails off, looking down at her clipboard to double-check, before saying your name in a question. “Is that right?”

“Yes,” Bakugou rasps roughly, before clearing his throat and trying again. “Uh, yes, doc.”

The doctor nods. “Were you on patrol when you found her?”

Close, the voice in Bakugou’s head retorts without missing a beat. I saw her fucking jump.

Instead of saying all that out loud, however, the ash-blonde only nods wordlessly.

The woman hums. “Okay, then. Well, her parents are still on the way here, and normally we’d let them know first, but given the nature of your involvement and your occupation, I might as well inform you.”

Instantly, Bakugou finds himself bracing for what’s next.

The doctor presses her lips in a thin line.

“I’m sorry,” she starts, shaking her head solemnly. “She didn’t make it.”

Dead on arrival.

You were dead on arrival.

At least, that’s what the doctors told him when he pressed them for more. He couldn’t tell if they were hesitant about divulging further information about you aside from the basics or just simply in the dark themselves, seeing as how they only had your wallet that they found on your person to go from. Either way, Bakugou decided it didn’t matter as soon as an older couple burst through the doors of the emergency room—a good half hour later—whom he immediately identified as your parents.

Needless to say, he hightailed it out of there.

The last thing he needed was to be the unfortunate bearer of bad news, or worse, be recognized as the reason why their daughter is currently lying lifeless in one of the hospital’s private rooms.

After that, he couldn’t remember much of his actions, only that he somehow decided to head to the agency. The entire flight down to his office, he stuck his good ear out for any signs of ringing from his phone, which surprisingly—or unsurprisingly—didn’t come.

Which makes sense.

He’s heard stories before. Exchanged in hushed whispers back in the UA dormitory, and uttered in low voices in the agencies he worked at as a sidekick. About how suicide cases in the country are criminally underreported—not just because of the stigma surrounding the act, but because the police allegedly make it a point to conceal such cases, away from the media’s prying eyes and before it gets blown out of proportion by the public.

Hakamada told him it was most likely to prevent the occurrence of suicide clusters, to which Bakugou scoffed instinctively, granting him a reprimanding look from his mentor.

But really, could anyone blame him?

The idea seemed stupid then.

If he killed himself for whatever reason, he sure didn’t want his death to be treated as some sort of curse, talked about only when people think no one’s watching.

There’s nothing more pitiful than fading away without leaving a single trace, after all.

But now, as he sits in the quiet dark of his agency’s office—the building silent if not for the gentle whirring of his air conditioner—Bakugou finds himself oddly grateful.

Because…

Because.

He wouldn’t know what he’d do if he had to face the press about what just happened.

He’s not sure how long he sat spaced out in his office, but by the time he’s inserting his lone copy of his key into the door knob, it’s already two hours past midnight, and the exhaustion from the day’s events has finally made itself known in the form of muscle aches and a throbbing migraine.

Bakugou doesn’t try to fight the sigh of relief that wracks his body the second he hears the lock click, his movements automatic as he pushes the door open with his side, left hand reaching out in the dark until it lands on and presses against the switch.

As if on cue, light floods the living room slash kitchen of Bakugou’s apartment unit, a sight so mundanely familiar that he doesn’t even blink at first.

Just—drags his aching feet towards the foyer where he toes off his sneakers and drops his duffel bag, which he swears he’ll collect the first thing tomorrow morning.

But then that’s when it happens.

Bakugou barely catches it—the movement at the corner of his eye—but he does.

And when he does—glance to look at it—he blanches.

Because sitting on his sofa is no other than a ghost.

˗ˏˋ while likes are appreciated, they don’t do much on tumblr! if you want to support me and writers in general, reblogs, replies, and tags are the way to go. feel free to drop an ask, too—i’d love to chat. have a nice day! ´ˎ

[buwheal]

Merry (Kris)mas

[blaithnne]

You’re 12 years old the first time your father leaves. You’re 26 years old when he comes back. You’re 6 years old and your parents adore you, you’re 10 years old and they hate each other more. You’re 13 years old and your mother moves you out to the wilderness, packed into the back of her rusty little trabant-six-oh-something. You’re 13 years old and you have a new room, but you miss your old one. You’re 14 years old and you still haven’t gotten your period, your mother says it’s nothing, but you think she's lying. You’re 15 years old when your father comes back, and he loves your sister more than you. You’re 15 years old and you just want him to love you. You’re 15 years old and he tucks you into bed, kisses your forehead, and leaves before you wake up. You’re 16 years old and you know he doesn’t want you, you know he never did. You’re 12 years old and your parents won’t stop fighting, you’re 13 years old and you miss the noise. You’re 12 years old and you want to run away. You’re 12 years old and your father does. You’re 11 years old and you have a crush on the boy next to you at the station, and he hands you a cigarette and makes you feel special. You’re 13 years old when your mother finds out and convinces you to quit. You’re 16 years old when your father asks you to buy him a pack of cigarettes, and he doesn’t come back to smoke them himself. You’re 16 years old and you can’t bring yourself to let them go to waste. You’re 26 years old and you only smoke once a week, but you know you’ll never break the habit now. You’re 12 years old when your father runs away, you decide to do the same. You’re 12 years old when your mother tells you she’s pregnant. You’re 13 years old when your little sister is born, and you can’t believe there was ever a world without her in it. You’re 16 years old and you give her your favourite scarf, you’re 26 years old and she still won’t give it back. You’re 23 years old and you’re back in the city, you have a new room but you miss your old one. You’re 14 years old and you take the train back and forth from Trolberg every weekend on a supply run, you feel important, needed, special. You’re 16 years old when you have your first kiss, 17 years old when you have your first break up. You’re 19 years old when you find out you’ll never have children, you’re 26 years old when you have your first. You’re 23 years old when you meet the love of your life, still 23 the first time she kisses you. You’re 25 years old when you decide you’re going to marry her. You’re 23 years old when you meet the best man at your wedding. You’re 25 years old when you buy your own house, and you don’t miss your old room, you’re not alone in this bed. You’re 23 years old and your girlfriend lives in a van, you’re 26 years old and now she lives with you. You’re 25 years and your little sister’s afraid you’re leaving her, you’re 26 years old and you’ve converted your attic to a bedroom for when she sleeps over. You’re 25 years old when you open a cafe. You’re 25 years old and your mother is your first customer. You’re 26 years old and your son calls you mum. You’re 26 years old and sometimes he calls you dad. You’re 12 years old and you think your life is over, you’re 26 years old and it’s only just begun. You’re 12 years old and your father doesn’t want you. You’re 26 years old and he changes his mind, but you don’t need him anymore. You never really did.

[supervisormeero]

I'd Never Lie to You

Chapters: 3/6 Rating: Explicit, 18+, MDNI, please! Relationships: Syril Karn/Dedra Meero Characters: Syril Karn, Dedra Meero Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Explicit Sexual Content, Emotional Manipulation, Hurt Attempted Comfort, Established Relationship, Angst, Syril Lives, POV Alternating

“Syril,” she whispers. Dedra brings her hand to rest on the side of his face, her thumb stroking lightly at his still-wet cheek. The familiarity of it relaxes her, even despite the context of the moment. Her body remembers the peculiar mechanics of closeness and comfort; these strange gestures she’d only ever bothered to learn for him. This is how things should be. “You’re safe. You’re home.” No one can take you from me again.

-------------------

Third chapter! In the aftermath of his spur-of-the-moment decision, a reeling, agonized Syril prepares for a wedding that might destroy him.

[thetrashthatsmilesback]

One thing that annoys me about boruto is that naruto ended with the confirmation that Sasuke was *right* but that his *methods* weren't the best way to achieve what he wants

Naruto agrees that shinobi society needs to be massively overhauled, he just thinks it can be achieved without mass death or at the cost of Sasuke. Youre not supposed to end Naruto believing that Konoha's system was correct.

You're supposed to leave the manga *knowing that Sasuke's beliefs were correct, it was his methods which weren't the best path forward*

Naruto wants to take the pacifist path of talking and communication, but he doesn't fundamentally disagree with Sasuke.

But then we get to boruto and what do we have? The same system except the villages get along now. Great. So different. Also for some reason Sasuke is willing to die for the sake of Konoha.

You're supposed to end Naruto knowing that sasuke was correct about shinobi society and hoping that Naruto will bring about change even if sasuke doesn't stay (his """redemption""" tour which was unneeded because he was the fucking victim) but boruto shows us a society where nothing has changed

[m1ckeyb3rry]

okay everyone i have finished galactic baseballer and the mario kart event so my pulls are back up to just above 140ish even with my agy e1 side quest…i still have plenty of old events (aka all of them except for cosmic home decor 💀) and story quests to do SO I THINK PHAINON AND SUNDAY MIGHT NOT BE ENTIRELY OUT OF REACH ??

[sunb0ts]

HELLO WELCOME BACK !!! so . how’s deltarune treating you……..

BETA hi!!! so UHHH smiles excitedly sits down next to you hi it has treated me... past tenseee... I feel treated (finished both chapters with friends!!!!) BUT in short it was really good!!!!! in uhhh not short, long(?), SPOILERS BELOW THE. cut because I could word my thoughts better but there's kind of a huge text block below this that's just my after-work rambling before bed :)

it was awesome!!!!! I am very curious and excited for Chapter 5 release, Chapter 4 was heavy so my brain is chugging and full of thoughts. (BOLDING THE NEXT PART BECAUSE I TALK ABOUT CONFLICTING THOUGHTS LATER AND I NEED IT TO BE KNOWN HOW MUCH I STILL!!!! ADORE CHAP. 4) I probably have a decently decisive list of favorite parts from both chapters though (kris and susie friendship!!! I am a massive susie fan so diner scene + church service kris and susie made me so... happy... also kris and asriel lore crumbs, and the themes of nostalgia (also kind of branching off of that, all the things that call back to memory and forgetting) and family with kris. although the way they touched on kris's soul stuff left me conflicted in some ways, in other ways I thought it was done incredibly!! (the snowgrave scene with kris and noelle made me... sick... kris's body language made me :( god......) I also really enjoyed kris's piano playing being used in a lot of the parts regarding their soul, the animated scene of them playing in the dark world was genuinely one of my favorite scenes and awful and amazing and very very tender and sobering for me. and that's just in Chapter 4!! which is a lot, given it wasn't my favorite of the two (and Chapter 4 is so cool!! I adored it still!!! hi toby fox :)...)). I know Chapter 3 was a lot less lore heavy than Chapter 4 and some people prefer it over Chapter 3 because of that, which is totally fair. I think for me the only conflicting feelings I have on it are because it sometimes felt sort of busy, like at some parts it couldn't decide how much it wanted to focus on each given piece of the puzzle. everything we were given was individually super fun and really intriguing, it could just be that some things could have been given more time to simmer, or even really benefitted from more cuts (done with care! of course). I say that with a lot of love for toby fox's storytelling, and also knowing that he made something with so much love and visible care despite pressure from a Very Hyped fanbase of multiple years. I might be wrong, too, but I'm pretty sure Chapter 4 did already go through multiple cuts; toby is an incredible storyteller so I am still hyped, I hope none of my thoughts on this make it seem like I feel otherwise!! it's also worth seeing it in the context of Chapter 4 Was Supposed to Be Between Two Chapter Releases. we were initially going to have Chapter 5 with the two-- and I honestly kind of have a suspicion that Toby sees the cracks of pressure left behind in Chapter 4's final release, too (the chapter list in the updated Spamton Sweepstakes link pictures Chapter 4 as the Smallest out of 345, which is interesting given it is HUGE in terms of lore bulk and production) and I really do care so much about the finished product despite everything. it likely took the most work of the two (THERE ARE MULTIPLE FULL CINEMATIC ANIMATIONS IN CHAPTER 4. JESUS CHRIST) and a busier, heavier Chapter does probably just feel overstimulating given the way it was presented to the audience and where it stands right now.

in less serious news!!!!!

FUNNY BERDLY DIALOGUE... I LOVE SUSIE. I MISSED HER. SO... MUCH..... ALSO NICEPANTS CANON? YAOI? DELTARUNE YAOI? KRIS.... I LOVE KRIS DREEMURR SO MUCH kris piano... DESS!!!!! DESS BEDROOM :(!!!!!!! METTATON DIALOGUE... METTATON DIALOGUE... OH GOD METTATON SAVE ME........ also I can't think about tenna yet something bad will happen to. m;e (positive)

did not appreciate jackenstein battle. but I appreciated. him. still. I am also in love with zapper. the remote. the personified tv remote from tenna chapter from hit deltarune chapter chapter 3. fork found in kitchen. do not ask me about this

[oceanwithouthermoon]

kaido thinks hes kubosais designated third wheel, when actually theyve been trying to worm him into the polycule for months

[o-sunny-day]

Me n my sister when the chapters release…

IM SO EXCITED we play rpg games like this all the time like Omori n Night In The Woods, where we voice the characters and WE DID THAT FOR UNDERTALE BACK IN 2016, SM FUN, THEN DELTARUNE CHAPTER 1-2, AND IM JUST SO EXCITED TO DO THAT AGAIN!!! Cause tbh we’re running out of fun voice acting games….

We trade off who voices who so much cause we love em all BUT i usually do Ralsei, and she does Susie. Then I Noelle, her Berdly, I Toriel, her Asgore and Sans, fun stuff all ‘round

We go to war over who voices Jevil and Spamton HBCDBHDEHNS Oh yeah and she does Lancer, I do everyone else + Lancer when hes talking to his dad, she does Kings stuff. And she also does Queen.

I gotta make a list of things to do when the chapters come out like omfg there are going to be GOOGLE DOCS GALLOR. Notes of my thoughts on specific parts, theories, objectives, MORE NOTES ON MY THOUGHTS like those are fun to look back on after. These were my notes after the finale to Act 1 of Arcane

ahh…good times.

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

MDZS Notes + Analysis — Chapter Two: “Reincarnation”

Three main things stood out to me when rereading this chapter: the theme of status, our intro to WWX, and the information we’re given about his state after death.

…Well, four things, but the other one will get its own post.

The theme of status is immediately introduced* with ‘MXY’’s treatment and the backstory of MXY and his mother, yet again showing just how well MDZS’s ideas are integrated into the text and how well it’s paced! You’re introduced to every important theme so, so early on. Two screenshots are analysed below:

(See: entitlement of the upper classes towards the lower classes, and how this can exist even between members of the ‘same family’; and arguably the idea of debts between a richer family and someone who was 'taken in'. There are a surprising amount of parallels between MXY and WWX, but I'll make my own post about that)

(See: once again, differences in status between members of the same family, and also the worse, and disposable, treatment of one daughter because she was "the daughter of a servant". Now, why does that phrase sound familiar...?)

Also, MXY's mother was sixteen when she attracted JGS's attention... if you somehow needed even more material to hate the guy...

We also get introduced to WWX’s personality(!), which immediately disproves the rumours from last chapter on how he'd cast the world into ruin:

(That's one of the first questions he asks after waking up – I love how he's so concerned about this! It shows us two important things, too: 1) Morality is important to WWX, and 2) Doing immoral things seems to be out of the ordinary for him. Both of these stand in direct contrast to the picture of WWX we were painted earlier!)

(Same thing here, along with showing us some of the (healthy!) pride WWX has – he wouldn't be offended at this if wasn't something he held as important within himself)

(I use this quote again, but here it's once again proving that the vengeful, evil WWX who'd sink the cultivation world into "nothing but chaos and despair" at the first chance he got... very much does not exist.)

(And finally, it's explicitly confirmed here that he's not the type to take exessive revenge and take pleasure in it... at least at this point in time, because. MXY definitely had reason to think this considering Sunshot!WWX, if everyone had been working from the truth. But importantly that isn't who he is now, and isn't who the WWX villified by the cultivation world was – imo that's including Nightless City, we'll get to that when I reach it. But note that actions during the Sunshot campaign aren't even mentioned in the prologue, because, shock, they actually helped the cultivation world win the war! Though that doesn't mean they weren't part of rumours + the WWX hatred mill later.)

Then some non-morality related things:

This is just really funny to me, with how the makeup being badly applied (:o) is enough of an issue to merit a thought – WWX I love you.

And then this way of thinking comes back a few times esp during the earlier chapters, enough to be noted I think.

Confirmation on WWX's status after he died – it's not anything new to point out, but this chapter does give us rare insights into what state he was in during the post-death, pre-rebirth period.

So, he was somewhat conscious, enough to be aware of what he was(n't) doing – seeking vengeance, haunting the living – and was seemingly in control of those actions. However, he was specifically a "wandering ghost" – his soul didn't pass onto the afterlife or "return back to Earth"** like the body-offering spell's caster's would. He was conscious that a long time had passed as well, and this long period of downtime where he could accept + deal with what happened in his first life is what likely allowed him to be so well-adjusted the second time round – even taking into account the remarkably good way he tends to deal with things in general (cue the "forgetting the wound when the pain fades" quote, it summarises WWX's mindset really well)***.

Also, as for resisting the summons from the prologue – I'm wondering how much was due to WWX's experience with resentful energy + general capability (if that affects it..?) allowing him to consciously refuse, how much was due to WWX not being the type to hold onto resentment (so possibly spells targeting ghosts, full of this resentful energy, wouldn't be as affected?), and how much was due to the relative lack of knowledge about how ghosts/resentful energy works compared to WWX. Or, if it was something else. Either way, achieving the impossible, that's WWX for you :D

It is interesting that he hasn't heard a voice in ages despite wandering, too – do ghosts just not hear the same way, or did he deliberately avoid areas with people? I could see both, the second being more likely, especially considering how many people wanted to summon him back for... less than stellar purposes.

Misc:

Poor Mo Xuanyu....

--

*Well, reinforced – in the prologue, one of the things said about WWX is that "if not for the YunmengJiang clan’s adopting and teaching him, he would have been a hobo living on the streets", which is among the insults people throw. So of course, class-affecting-perception is tied to WWX from the very beginnning! But this is the first time it's actually explored, not a throwaway line.

**Though that may be what's literally happening to WWX's soul here – it is wandering around Earth – I don't think that's what this line refers to. There's a very good meta on how different translations handled that line, I really recommend it (tysm @/mxtxfanatic for finding it)!

***It would be very interesting to read a fic where it felt like no time had passed for him since his death, actually! Though the extremely stressful circumstances are gone, it would still be interesting to see a WWX for whom the Siege, Nightless City, Qiongqi Path etc are pretty recent – but only in fic territory, since I'm so, so glad we got the WWX we did in canon. Also, I'd love to see a fic maybe exploring some of his time as a ghost...?

[flying-cat]

People don't want character redemption they want a revenge plot from a story that was never supposed to be about revenge

[thingsthatbleedfic]

k i have like absolutely no time to do this until probably june or some shit like that but i wanted to ask our lovely readers for ideas™

i was thinking of doing more header images for the chapters, like the lighter for chapter 1 or the elevator for chapter 9. i would prefer if it's an inanimate object/doesn't have the characters in it, nice and simple

so far i've got a few suggestions from my co-authors/friends:

ch 3: the 6ft/no diving tiles on the side of the pool

either ch 5 or 6: the EMF detector

ch 11: bullet casings

reply on this post or send in an ask if you have an idea! i'm all ears

EDIT: also please put the chapter you would want to see it on for my sanity!

[parab0mb]

(Finally) read the first chapter of Paranatural :)

[ratatosk777]

I’ve been silently lurking and enjoying every second of the dysfunctional trio au and I come with an important question (forgive me if it was already mentioned somewhere and I Forgor but): did they ever get chompy?? I feel like Mothiva would either love the concept of a potentially violent creature with a little ribbon or abhor it with no in between

they do get Chompy at a point! but I don't have a comic on it yet. I think Mothiva will not like the idea of dragging a potentially dangerous plant monster around, Zasp will be somewhat concerned that it can turn violent. but Leif stated that if they don't keep Chompy, he will leave the team. and Mothiva doesn't want that at all, Leif's magic is too valuable to lose like that

[geesecanon]

next chapter of epistolary will be a in a few days as i am 1) just returning home from travel and 2) have of course gotten sick from travel ergo 3) i have not gotten to look at my beta reader’s notes on the chapter and 4) will probably not have the capacity to do so for another day or two