[Smoke and rubble. That's all there is for a moment, the ominous breath of air drifting in from the demolished wall churning the dark clouds and revealing slow by slow the sheer wreckage around them. Two boys standing in the middle of this ruined room, one glad in a green costume composed of a mother's homemade additions and a support team's work on the jumpsuit she bought for her son, the other clad in a black and orange costume drawn up by his own design and put together by an expert group of designers and hero support group.
The boy in green is falling, costume torn apart and burned from the strains of a vicious battle, smoke drifting from his hair and the sizzle of burned flesh coming from his half-broken arm. Busted from the impact of the boy in black and orange's grenade-shaped gauntlet and powerful explosions. He falls amid the crackle and crunch of ceiling pieced dropping from above, where a massive hole has rent through the ceiling and floors of upper levels. As if an explosion was just forced upward through the building proper. There are other noises, the faint 'crack tack crack' of concrete against a multitude of stones, the yell of a masculine voice echoed through a facemask, one little squishy "plop" of a body clasping onto something big and round above
That boy beaten up, bloodied, weakened, defeated boy hits the ground with a "thud" audible over a new voice coming through the speakers:
"The hero... The hero team... WIIIIIINNNS!!!"
And the other boy, clean, undamaged, strong, victorious... stares into space, eyes bulging and mouth hanging open in a wretched expression of disbelief as All Might, his hero, the man he idolizes the most, yells in triumph over the speaker, announcing to everyone the hero team's win. They win. The boy on the floor... the boy defeated... WINS. Midoriya Izuku, forced to wear the name "Deku" for his perceived uselessness... wins.
And Bakugou Katsuki loses. Amid the smoke and destruction of his own power, standing above a boy he brutalized, in the face of his own assured victory, He. Loses. AGAINST DEKU!! Heart rate rising. Chest pumping with his quickening breath. Blood vessels crawling into the whites of his eyes. Nothing but the broken "ahh" ... "ahh" managing from his slacked jaw. For the first time in his life, with no excuse, with no defense, with nothing but the stark truth, he realizes that he was read like a book, out predicted, out maneuvered, out witted, out determined, and completely lost to Deku--!!
*snap!*
It all starts over again. The smoke, the rubble, the two boys standing off against each other.
Bakugo stands silently by, watching the memory play out. That was him almost a year ago. After he walked into U.A., after he began his first year as a hero in training. The biggest fish in a small town who absolutely despised a boy he knew would amount to nothing, while he dreamed of becoming the world's greatest hero. Seeing the memory from so long ago brings a tumultuous rush of emotions, though they stay off his scowling, impassive face. He's learned so much since then, matured through experiences both amazing and agonizing. Yet this one, his first complete loss against someone he was so convinced as nothing, remains a core moment in his life.
He doesn't look as good as that year-younger boy right now. Sure his costume is similar, but he's missing the gauntlets, his mask is gone, there's blood all over his chest and in the high collar of his jacket, his body aches, the side of his face scorched, one arm completely fucked up in some strange mechanical splint. A little taller, a lot stronger, war-ragged. But it's his memory. A memory slowly being decorated by additional voices. Words. "Pride" says one, another voices "wrath" in turn, "greed" say another, while "envy" whispers in the background... Fucking voices that have no business being here.
Bakugo lifts his hand, braced on the arm that's not splinted, aims for the sky, and- "KABOOM!" -detonates a massive explosion into the air, blasting anything and anyone away from him in a huge concussive force of heat, light, and sound.]
Shut up. I learned that a long time ago. If you think this'll affect me, you can shove it up your ass.
[And turns to face the presence he feels nearby. If they're responsible for this, someone's gonna die...]
001. ▶ ARRIVAL. - Amplitheater.
💥 ❷ ARRIVAL. - Amplitheater
[It's only taken a few of those damn whispers to realize there are people around him with the audacity to fucking judge him based on the single memory repeating over and over in front of him. These bastards! They don't know a single thing about what went into that memory or was going on in his life during-!!
*Pop!* In a split second, all of that burst, rent away like a bubble on the tip of a needle. No time for protest, no time for a shout of surprise, only a sudden deluge of cold water sweeping over him. Caught in the rush momentarily, he strikes out with his arms and legs, fighting to regain balance and control of himself. Not only are they content to sit back and deliver judgement on his memory, but they think drowning him afterwards is the best idea?! Bakugo forces his innate panic to calm, limbs stopping, floating with his mouth tight shut. He focuses on two things: light and buoyancy. Which way is the brighter light? Which was is his body naturally drifting towards?
... and why the fuck can he no longer feel his legs? Water rushes past his head as he jerks his chin down, kicking what are supposed to be his legs forward. Only to stare at the flash of orange and green fins and tail. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?! It's one thing to dig into his head and put his memories on screen to view; it's another to transform his body into a goddamn merman! The worst part is, he can already tell this isn't a dream. It's too real, too long, too present.
Which also means... he can probably breathe underwater now, a fact that Bakugo has to fight his natural instincts to prove correct. Luckily for him, the assumption is sound and he takes a few seconds to adjust his breathing and motions. It's not hard to adapt the technique of dolphin swim kicks to the normal motion of swimming with a tail. Which leaves him more or less calmer (still angry) and viewing the watery world around him.
With a lot more of those damn bubbles floating around. Are there people in each of those? How many ended up here? The questions don't have time for answer when another bubble bursts and the occupant inside is dumped right out in to the same state he was in. Tch- He's gonna murder whoever's behind this.]
Hey! [Whoa, his voice carries in the water. Bakugo pitches forward, swimming towards the newcomer.] Stop thrashing! Hold your breath and I'll get you to the surface.
[You know, provided they also don't turn into a finned fiend...]
💥 001. ▶ ARRIVAL. *click for dropdown*
001. ▶ ARRIVAL. - Memory Lane.
💥 ❶ ARRIVAL. - Memory Lane
[Smoke and rubble. That's all there is for a moment, the ominous breath of air drifting in from the demolished wall churning the dark clouds and revealing slow by slow the sheer wreckage around them. Two boys standing in the middle of this ruined room, one glad in a green costume composed of a mother's homemade additions and a support team's work on the jumpsuit she bought for her son, the other clad in a black and orange costume drawn up by his own design and put together by an expert group of designers and hero support group.
The boy in green is falling, costume torn apart and burned from the strains of a vicious battle, smoke drifting from his hair and the sizzle of burned flesh coming from his half-broken arm. Busted from the impact of the boy in black and orange's grenade-shaped gauntlet and powerful explosions. He falls amid the crackle and crunch of ceiling pieced dropping from above, where a massive hole has rent through the ceiling and floors of upper levels. As if an explosion was just forced upward through the building proper. There are other noises, the faint 'crack tack crack' of concrete against a multitude of stones, the yell of a masculine voice echoed through a facemask, one little squishy "plop" of a body clasping onto something big and round above
That boy beaten up, bloodied, weakened, defeated boy hits the ground with a "thud" audible over a new voice coming through the speakers:
"The hero... The hero team... WIIIIIINNNS!!!"
And the other boy, clean, undamaged, strong, victorious... stares into space, eyes bulging and mouth hanging open in a wretched expression of disbelief as All Might, his hero, the man he idolizes the most, yells in triumph over the speaker, announcing to everyone the hero team's win. They win. The boy on the floor... the boy defeated... WINS. Midoriya Izuku, forced to wear the name "Deku" for his perceived uselessness... wins.
And Bakugou Katsuki loses. Amid the smoke and destruction of his own power, standing above a boy he brutalized, in the face of his own assured victory, He. Loses. AGAINST DEKU!! Heart rate rising. Chest pumping with his quickening breath. Blood vessels crawling into the whites of his eyes. Nothing but the broken "ahh" ... "ahh" managing from his slacked jaw. For the first time in his life, with no excuse, with no defense, with nothing but the stark truth, he realizes that he was read like a book, out predicted, out maneuvered, out witted, out determined, and completely lost to Deku--!!
*snap!*
It all starts over again. The smoke, the rubble, the two boys standing off against each other.
Bakugo stands silently by, watching the memory play out. That was him almost a year ago. After he walked into U.A., after he began his first year as a hero in training. The biggest fish in a small town who absolutely despised a boy he knew would amount to nothing, while he dreamed of becoming the world's greatest hero. Seeing the memory from so long ago brings a tumultuous rush of emotions, though they stay off his scowling, impassive face. He's learned so much since then, matured through experiences both amazing and agonizing. Yet this one, his first complete loss against someone he was so convinced as nothing, remains a core moment in his life.
He doesn't look as good as that year-younger boy right now. Sure his costume is similar, but he's missing the gauntlets, his mask is gone, there's blood all over his chest and in the high collar of his jacket, his body aches, the side of his face scorched, one arm completely fucked up in some strange mechanical splint. A little taller, a lot stronger, war-ragged. But it's his memory. A memory slowly being decorated by additional voices. Words. "Pride" says one, another voices "wrath" in turn, "greed" say another, while "envy" whispers in the background... Fucking voices that have no business being here.
Bakugo lifts his hand, braced on the arm that's not splinted, aims for the sky, and- "KABOOM!" -detonates a massive explosion into the air, blasting anything and anyone away from him in a huge concussive force of heat, light, and sound.]
Shut up. I learned that a long time ago. If you think this'll affect me, you can shove it up your ass.
[And turns to face the presence he feels nearby. If they're responsible for this, someone's gonna die...]
001. ▶ ARRIVAL. - Amplitheater.
💥 ❷ ARRIVAL. - Amplitheater
[It's only taken a few of those damn whispers to realize there are people around him with the audacity to fucking judge him based on the single memory repeating over and over in front of him. These bastards! They don't know a single thing about what went into that memory or was going on in his life during-!!
*Pop!* In a split second, all of that burst, rent away like a bubble on the tip of a needle. No time for protest, no time for a shout of surprise, only a sudden deluge of cold water sweeping over him. Caught in the rush momentarily, he strikes out with his arms and legs, fighting to regain balance and control of himself. Not only are they content to sit back and deliver judgement on his memory, but they think drowning him afterwards is the best idea?! Bakugo forces his innate panic to calm, limbs stopping, floating with his mouth tight shut. He focuses on two things: light and buoyancy. Which way is the brighter light? Which was is his body naturally drifting towards?
... and why the fuck can he no longer feel his legs? Water rushes past his head as he jerks his chin down, kicking what are supposed to be his legs forward. Only to stare at the flash of orange and green fins and tail. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?! It's one thing to dig into his head and put his memories on screen to view; it's another to transform his body into a goddamn merman! The worst part is, he can already tell this isn't a dream. It's too real, too long, too present.
Which also means... he can probably breathe underwater now, a fact that Bakugo has to fight his natural instincts to prove correct. Luckily for him, the assumption is sound and he takes a few seconds to adjust his breathing and motions. It's not hard to adapt the technique of dolphin swim kicks to the normal motion of swimming with a tail. Which leaves him more or less calmer (still angry) and viewing the watery world around him.
With a lot more of those damn bubbles floating around. Are there people in each of those? How many ended up here? The questions don't have time for answer when another bubble bursts and the occupant inside is dumped right out in to the same state he was in. Tch- He's gonna murder whoever's behind this.]
Hey! [Whoa, his voice carries in the water. Bakugo pitches forward, swimming towards the newcomer.] Stop thrashing! Hold your breath and I'll get you to the surface.
[You know, provided they also don't turn into a finned fiend...]