"Hey, uh, Izu? A little help here?"
Mina, Izuku had learned over time, was the kind of person who was difficult to predict.
When he was with her, he never knew what to expect. It was honestly one of the reasons that he liked her as much as he did. She was hyperactive as she was energetic, and sometimes that did lead her to bouts of silliness. She was a fun loving person who absolutely took every single opportunity that was presented to her to tease the ever loving hell out of her easily flustered boyfriend. She was quick witted and, in spite of what her grades would suggest to the contrary, she was actually very smart when she put her mind to it.
Along with all of these traits of hers, she was honestly one of the sweetest people Izuku had ever met in his life.
He was never bored when he was with her. Always, there was something new and exciting that got her worked up and enthusiastic. It was like infectious, and just her being the way that she was made Izuku take in his surroundings with more eagerness. This unpredictability, this hyperactivity, made just being with her exciting. It made doing anything with her interesting. For all the fluster and embarrassment that she made him experience - And it was a gargantuan amount - He loved getting to spend time with her. The dorms were, in that respect, one of the best things about Yuuei. He got to live near her. See her every single day. And he loved that.
On top of that, Mina understood the sort of person that he was. She knew that he wasn't the kind of person who could just be social, every second of every day, and that he liked to have some time to himself every now and then. So he could think, study, train, or do whatever it was he need to do. So she would entertain herself. She had plenty of friends to interact with. Kirishima, Uraraka, Tsuyu, they all generally kept her out of trouble.
Today though - First thing in the morning, no less... Was a bit different.
It was Christmas Eve. Different to most days of the year, especially for Japan. A time that was culturally to be spent with loved ones - Particularly significant others. Izuku had a gift lined up for Mina he was certain that she was going to adore. He'd managed to scrape together enough money to import it from the United States.
Even though the thing was practically ancient at this point, he'd somehow managed to find one of the original vintage Alien posters, the ones that were used to advertise the movie when it came out, long before Quirks evolved. Expensive, especially when one considered what he was going for was a highly sought after item for those who were into the retro Sci-fi horror scene like Mina was.
He also had something else for her that he'd had purchased a long time ago when he found it. It made him think of Mina, so he'd just impulsively bought it. It wasn't much of an issue. With the money that he was did receive from internships and odd jobs for his acts of Heroism. This was a few months ago, and he'd been waiting since to present it to her.
... Though right now, she wasn't exactly in much of a position to accept anything. Or do much of anything else, actually.
Izuku just looked at his pink girlfriend, a mixture of both absolute confusion beyond what words could express, confusion at how she had even managed to accomplish this, and amusement at the entire situation. He wasn't alone either in his just downright ajar amazement at what he was looking at.
"Oh, hey, Midoriya. Good, you're here." An outright ear to ear grin was etched onto Kirishima's lips as he turned toward the corridor the green haired boy had just walked out of and frozen in the middle of. His sharpened teeth began to show as he found more and more humor in the situation as it developed.
"Mina... How?... I... How the..." The words just would not come. Exasperation and a need to try to stifle the laughs that were making their way from his chest left him unable to say anything. He wasn't normally one to laugh at someone else's misfortune... But this was just incredible.
And incredibly Mina.
"You can thank Kiri for this." The pink said, shooting a look towards her old middle schoolmate, and firing off a sarcastic remark his way. "If he could hold up a set of lights for fifteen seconds, I wouldn't've ended up like this."
"I mean, it was your idea in the first place, Ashido."
In what was probably the funniest sight Izuku had seen all year, Mina had somehow managed to get her horns wrapped around and stuck in some of the Christmas lights that she had been attempting to hang along the top corner of the main living space. This had involved going behind the television that was kept in the room, so that she could add a hanger to the left corner. She, and presumably the Hardening Quirk user, had moved said television onto the ground, so Mina could use it as an elevation platform. Somehow, after doing this, she'd slipped and then managed to catch herself on the table, using her feet to stop her from just dropping and hanging from her horns outright.
Amusingly, these lights were on and flashing various colors. Luckily the wires were specifically made to ground electricity, and had a guarantee to be effective, as the company claimed that they hired people with appropriate Quirks to ensure this promise, so unless one was cut open, there was no rest of electrocution. Her back was pressed firmly against the wall, and one hand was trying to rapidly untangle the occasionally blinking and changing lights, whilst the other also clung to the wall to try and support herself.
The right corner had a hanger in it, so presumably this whole mess had started, or at least been triggered by the lights Kirishima had been hanging up coming loose. Perhaps he'd dropped them accidentally, or maybe Mina had tugged on them too hand and yanked them out of his hands, or maybe the hanger was just loose. What exactly had occurred was unclear.
Though the result was hilarious, even if it didn't seem to be so much for the acidic girl.
"Help? Izu?" The girls black eyes seemed to dully reflect the various colors that the lights were making. Her hand seemed to be fighting to undo some of the wires that were wrapped more towards the base of the horn, and, by extension, her curly pink hair. "Please?"
Once a small sigh and a chuckle had left his lips, the freckled boy briskly made his way over towards his distressed girlfriend. He began by pushing the television stand towards the wall, so Mina could stand on it comfortably, and so he could climb onto it him himself, to try to help her untangle the various lights from her person.
"Well, you two enjoy yourselves." Kirishima shoveled his hands into his pockets and turn heel, taking a few steps to leave the room as his friends continued to struggle. "I'll leave you to it."
"Wait, are you not gonna help me out here?! You're supposed to be helping me put up the decorations! Some Horn Buddy you turned out to be!" Humor, exasperation, and a hint of annoyance all mixed into one another with Mina's voice, which manifested itself in a high pitched manner more than anything else.
Another grin made its way onto Kirishima's lips, seen when he turned his head to look at the curly haired couple as he walked. "It's Midoriya's job to look after you these days, and besides, I'd end up getting in the way of untangling the wires anyways. It's a day for you two, remember." With that, he offered a wave to them both, and was off, retreating behind the walls of the corridor, off to who knew where.
And just like that, Izuku and Mina were on their own.
The former trying to untangle the many, many electronic wires from around the latters extruding horns.
Threading one of the wires through a knot that it had somehow made, Izuku had to look at his girlfriend with yet another mixture of amusement and bewilderment.
"Really, Mina, how did you manage to get into this?..."
"Be quiet." The horned girl pouted, tugging at one of the wires wrapped around the other horn. "Not my fault."
Izuku smiled gently. "Of course not."
"It wasn't!"
More able to allow himself to joke and to be open and free spirited whenever he was around his girlfriend, mostly due to her influence, Izuku threw a few jokes and sarcastic, witty remarks towards the hyperactive girl. Since the pair of them had begun dating, just under half a year ago, the shy boy had managed to become far more open and able to withstand, as well as dish out, the many various witticisms and wise cracks that she could. It was one of the many things that had influenced him from the quirky person in front of him.
They influenced one another. Bounced off one another. And made one another better.
Just more reasons that Izuku loved her like he did.
He managed to untangle a bunch more of the wires around where her horn hooped back, and unhooked them from the top of the horn. "What were you even doing? I mean, obviously you were putting up decorations... But I thought that you said you didn't want to bother."
The vast majority of the student body had gone home over the holidays. Several of their classmates, as it turned out, had loved ones outside of Yuuei that they wanted to spend the time with. Those who did have relationships within Yuuei had taken the opportunity to spend the season introducing themselves to one another's families. And some just took the chance to go home to spend time with relatives, and to get away from the dorms for a while.
Only five people actually remained in the dorms : Izuku, Mina, Kirishima, Bakugou, and Todoroki. Bakugou had simply wanted to stay to train, Todoroki claimed not to have anyone outside his mother that he wanted to visit, and Kirishima said he chose to remain simply so his friends who were sticking around didn't get lonely.
Mina had chosen to stay for the simplest of reasons - She wanted to spend this season with Izuku. There had been quite a heated discussion Izuku hadn't been able to help but overhear between his girlfriend and her large family, though she had, in the end, come out on top. There was no way Izuku could go home after hearing that argument, and hear how much she had wanted to spend this time of the year with him. Even if he hadn't wanted to, he would have chosen to stay around anyway. For her.
He was glad that she wanted to stay here with him though. That simple fact had made him happy.
At the same time though, Izuku was confused as to the decorations. It was due to the small number of people that were in the dorms that they had all collectively agreed to forego festive decorations. There just wasn't a point when Izuku and Mina were the only ones who would benefit from it in any way.
With a sheepish smile, Mina looked at her still working boyfriend. "I... Kinda wanted to surprise you." She admitted. "Kirishima and Todorki were in on it. Bakugou... Well A, I couldn't care less what he thought, and B, he didn't care either way, so... I was gonna try and hang up a buncha stuff!... Only..." She pulled some of the wires off of her extremities, and then help them up in front of her eyes. Next, she pointed to her horns, the only wires that were still tangled now being in her leftmost one. "...This... Happened."
Thought and care had gone into what Mina had been trying to do - Izuku recognized this. She had a love for organizing surprises for people, especially for her boyfriend. She always thought about him and the things that he'd like, or the things that she knew he'd enjoy... Or would embarrass him, so she could tease his flustered face.
But she always thought about it. She always considered what he'd like, what she could do for him, and how to make him smile and blush. It was obvious in everything she did.
And Izuku appreciated it, an incredible amount.
"Sorry it got kinda... Ruined." The black eyed girl sighed, a wonky smile on her lips as she spoke. One final pull, and Izuku managed to get rid of the last of the trapped wires around Mina's horns, finally freeing her of her brightly lit entrapment. Rubbing the base of the bone's where they went into her skull, she let out a long sigh. "Aaah, that's so much better. Thanks, Izu!"
Before the Acid Quirk user could throw her hands up into the air and wrap her arms around the green eyes boy in thanks, she was stopped by Izuku, whom prevented her from doing so.
Stopping her by him planting a gently kiss on her forehead.
Gentle, soft, and filled with nothing else but genuine affection. Her gesture was small, and she probably didn't think a whole lot of it, or that it would mean something to him. She did it with him in mind, but she was probably half expecting him to be unimpressed, or simply just embarrassed. Neither things occurred, he was just happy.
Happy to have a girlfriend who thought about him and the nice things, even if they were at the end of the day, purely symbolic, she could do for him. It just meant a lot to know that she thought about him.
After all, that was the point of the season. To think about others.
This time, it was Mina's turn to blush gently. Her cheeks heated up into a slightly darker shade of lilac, as they did thanks to her skin pigments, and with wide open eyes, looked at Izuku when he brought his head back down to be level with her. Her left hand went up and touched the spot his lips had been on just a few seconds ago, which only enhanced her cheeks warming speed. As per usual though, her smile was still there, etched into her lips like it was permanently there. "Wh... What was that for?"
"Just... Thank you." He smiled in response. "Thanks for thinking of me."
Mina smiled and her cheeks slowly returned to her natural shade. Her smile became more natural and, to Izuku's mind, one of the prettiest of any other smile that she had in her arsenal.
"Any time, you dope."
What exactly was it about Mina that Izuku liked?
In all the time he'd been dating her, he hadn't quite pinpointed it down. It was a mixture of things, really. A lot of things that he truly admired, more than anything else.
Her Quirk was powerful, and she herself was athletic. Despite the general consensus that she wasn't exactly great academically - Well, it was true her grades weren't great by any stretch of the imagination - She proved to be intelligent when she had the right tutor, and had the information presented to her in a way she could understand. She showed that she had the capacity to succeed. The potential to be a Hero. And a Hero she would be. One of the best Heroes of the next generation, Izuku had no doubt at all. She was going to be an amazing Hero.
Friendly, social, kind and Heroic in all aspects. She was attending Yuuei for all the right reasons. She wanted to help people with her power. And with a power like hers, she had to be careful. She had to be smart, and she had to train hard. And she tried her best, and she was making progress. She wasn't just giving up like so many might have done.
Like Izuku almost did.
She inspired people. Even if it wasn't intentional. Kirishima told his Quirk inheriting friend about the respect and admiration he held for her. How she had shown bravery in the face of absolute terror. How she had saved people, when she could have run away. It was why he was happy for the two of them. And why he held both of them in such high regard. At least according to him.
Bravery. Altruism. Determination. Beauty. Intelligence. Not to mention that she was cute. Unique.
Her mutations made her beautiful. Izuku still wasn't sure where she inherited her mutations from. Certainly not from her direct family since neither of her parents, nor any of her siblings possessed them.
But he was glad she had them. He loved them all.
All of these things, all these individual facts that he could list off about her, reasons why he loved her...
He felt that he was missing something though. Just that one thing that made him happy that he was with her, above all else.
With a small giggle in her voice, Mina jumped down from the stand they had been stood on this entire time, and began to bounce up and down lightly on her tiptoes, pumping her hands up and down with excitement and energy, and showing off her trademarked Ashido ear to ear smile. "C'mon, it's gift exchanging time!"
"I thought you wanted to put up the decorations?"
"As a surprise. It's kinda spoiled now though. We can put them up later on if you wanna." Her pink hands both clasped themselves around Izuku's scarred right one, and tugged at him. "C'mon! I wanna show you what I got for you!"
"Y - You're gonna make me fall!"
"Then get down and let's go!" One of the hyperactive girls fists flew into the air and started waving around rapidly as she continued to try to more or less drag Izuku down with the other one. Holding herself back was never a strong point of hers, especially when she got herself excited. Her green haired boyfriend had to wonder what it was she'd gotten him, and how long she'd had it planned for her to be this worked up.
Plus, he would confess - He was curious to see what it was that Mina had gotten him. Her excitement had gotten him interested.
Agreeing to her request, he jumped down, and the pair of them separated to their respective rooms. Mina ran to hers to grab what it was that she'd gotten for him, while Izuku quickly made his way to his room, made his bed to be at least presentable, and then retrieved his Alien poster for her, stored in a cylindrical container made of cardboard, which the All For One Inheritor had wrapped up once again in a single layer of wrapping paper.
He also moved the second gift slightly more towards the edge of the underneath of his bed, and then sat just in front of it so when Mina came through the door, she wouldn't be able to see the small box that was the size of his palm.
She'd like her Alien poster. He was beyond certain of that. And he was excited to showing it to her. It was a coin flip between where she was going to end up putting it - Right over her bed frame, or the wall opposing her bed. Either way, she'd set it up so she saw it first thing in a morning.
Mina could be sentimental when she wanted to be. She'd worn a scarf Izuku had bought her in the winter for a multitude of weeks before allowing it to be washed, simply because Izuku had been the one to buy it for her, so he didn't doubt her sentimentality would kick in here.
Also Alien was, in her words, badass. She loved the retro theme of the creature and would love this, no doubt.
The second gift was... A bit more questionable. He had gotten it not so much because he was confident that she would enjoy it, but rather because it was something that he thought she should have. It reminded him of her more than anything else, and that was where the main fondness of the object had come from. That didn't mean that it would necessarily suit her though, or if she would like it. There were quite a few things that he was unsure of.
Namely, the biggest issue was that he wasn't sure how Mina was with jewelry.
It took her only about a minute and a half to run down to the bottom floor of the dorms, get into her room, grab her gift for Izuku, and then run back up all three flights of stairs to get back to Izuku's room. Upon entering Izuku's field of view, he noticed that she had a Christmas hat on around her left horn. When she entered the room, she did so with her hands firmly behind her back.
Clutching onto whatever gift she had gotten for the boy.
Unwrapped. Somehow Izuku wasn't surprised.
Mina took a couple of steps into the room, and then closed the door with her foot. She then made her way towards where Izuku was sat, and did so herself, opposing him, her trademark grin on her face the entire time. She seemed to be just bubbling with excitement, bouncing her legs very gently up and down.
"You wanna go first, Izu?"
"S - Sure." Izuku nodded. It was best that he went first anyway. He was no doubt overthinking things, but he didn't want to risk overwhelming her by shoving two gifts into her at once.
He could go first. Then Mina. Then he could surprise her with his second gift.
His left hand slid underneath his bed-frame just a couple inches, and grabbed hold of the decorated cylinder, and handed it over to her. "H - Here." He said, holding his arms at full extended length. "I - I hope that you'll enjoy it."
Taking the gift into her hands, she gave Izuku a soft smile before undid the top of the cylinder's containers, and took a peek into the present. There was no way that she was able to actually see any of the details of what was inside, but she quickly realized there wasn't anything particularly fragile within the package, so she simply tipped it upside down, and allowed whatever was inside it to drop.
It fell to the ground rather unceremoniously, and Mina scooped it up quickly from the floor. A moment of confinement hit her face before she unraveled the A3 piece of paper in her hands. Many things from the late twentieth century were lost during the appearance of Quirks, which made what Mina found herself looking at to be all the more amazing. Prints existed, sure.
But this one was genuine. The reason she knew?
It had the original actor's - The lead actor, anyway - Autograph written within the top right. It was scribbled in gold marker pen against a mostly black background, various green lines and curves making the creation of a spacesuit and one of the creatures from the franchise. It even contained all the movie tag lines, and the list of the original actors within the film along the bottom, once again, all in bright green. How this thing had survived for so long was honestly beyond Izuku and Mina both.
Yet here it was. Authentic, in prime condition, and original.
... Regardless though, there wasn't a huge amount of reaction from Mina for a few seconds, which certainly did cause Izuku an equal number of seconds of distress. Was she unimpressed, or did she just not like it? He could already feel dread entering his system. Would a more traditional gift have been better?
"I uh... I remembered you saying you liked that sort of thing... So... " He gulped, thinking of what words best to explain himself with. "I - It's a genuine original... F - From America... I... Thought maybe you could frame it. So i-it'll be better preserved. We could go find someplace later today if you like - "
"Holy crap, Izu!" With the poster not Mina's eyes anymore, Izuku saw that they were suddenly beginning to sparkle, even though they were mostly black. Her lips had separated, her jaw ajar, and everything about her entire body excitedly jumping up and down. "How did you even get this?! This is awesome! You're awesome! I love it!"
Her unusual reaction had caught Izuku off guard for a few moments, though he was able to smile after his initial surprise. What had made her pause like that? Maybe it was shock that she just realized she was now the proud owner of something well over at least three hundred years old, that belonged to her favorite movie franchise in her favorite genre.
She couldn't be happier. It had just taken her body a few seconds to retrieve the signals from her brain by the looks of things.
All Izuku could do was smile. "I... I'm glad you like it."
"I love it! Thank you!" Mina's smile kept growing and growing brighter and brighter. "Oh! Close your eyes!"
Izuku blinked.
"Your present! I kinda couldn't figure out how to wrap it up, so you gotta close your eyes."
"O-Oh." That made sense.
Again, he wasn't exactly surprised that she hadn't managed to figure out how to wrap up the present she'd gotten him, with finesse being something she wasn't acutely known for. Izuku closed his eyes though, at her request, so he would at least feel some of the aspect of surprise when he opened them up. It would at least be sort of like opening a present.
That was his guess as to why Mina was asking him to do this, anyway.
Blackness was his world for a few moments, his hands turned upwards and waiting for whatever gift his girlfriend had acquired for him to be placed within his palms. He didn't really know what to expect. What it was that Mina could think to give him. There wasn't anything in particular that he wanted, or had specifically asked for, or even hinted at. Were he being honest, he was just excited to spend a day like this alongside Mina. He didn't need anything else.
Although, that said, when he felt something distinctly plastic feeling hitting his skin, he did become even more curious.
"Alright then Izu! Open up!"
Cautiously and slowly, his left eye opened first, on scouting duty, to look at whatever Mina had placed in his hands and make sure that it wasn't, like he half suspected, the first part of some kind of elaborate joke. His cautiousness was misplaced however, as there was simply no need to be so concerned. As it turned out, Mina really had just gone out of her way to present him with a gift that she was confident that he would enjoy.
And enjoy he certainly did.
He found himself suddenly looking at a six inch All Might figurine, designed to look the same as the number one Pro Hero did. The unique thing about this figure was that it was made to his True Form, when the last the remnants of One For All had burned out. Even as the scrawny, weak, and in his own words, pitiful form, the entire nation still adored him like he was just starting out again. No one thought any less of the amazing Hero, a fact that did make Izuku smile.
Nothing about this weak formed figurine even suggested that anyone honestly thought that his mentor was weak. The figure was frozen in place, with a smile still etched onto its plastic face, and the closed fists on its hips as it struck a dynamic pose to mimic the famous Hero, though it could never be as impactful as seeing the real thing in person. The very stance that Izuku wanted to one day be worthy of making himself. Better yet, it was designed to be within his Golden Age costumes, one of the rarer outfits that he ever wore - Complete with the cape for it and everything.
Along the cape, he noticed something else as well.
The Pro Heroes signature. It was scribbled on, almost like it had been done in a hurry, possibly due to more pressing matters at the time. That, or it was just a writing style. More than likely the latter. Underneath it was Izuku's name, in equally scribbled, yet smaller writing, making out to whom the figurine was to be signed to.
"All Might kinda seemed weirded out when I asked him to do this, but I told him it was a gift from me to you, he seemed to be on board." Mina grinned, having to catch her chuckles in her right cheek before they escaped her. "I know how much you admire him."
While he already had an enormous amount of All Might memorabilia, he certainly wasn't opposed to anything new in this regard - Especially if it was something new like this.
"Thank you so much Mina."
Mina just smiled. "You're welcome! Not as awesome as what you got me though. I feel kinda bad."
"I - I... I actually have something else for you."
The horned girl's eyes widened slightly. She blinked a couple of times, and then tilted it slightly to the side.
She was very clearly taken aback. "W - Wait, seriously? You, you didn't need to do something like that, you know."
"I found it a while ago... I - It made me think of you, so..." He then reached behind him, for the small box behind him. He scooped it up from the ground into his hands, and brought it in front of him.
The box was plain, and not at all anything even vaguely special. It was about as plain white as one could possibly get. No markings or patterns whatsoever, the only indicator that it could even be opened was the line that went around the entire thing, splitting it into two evenly shaped rectangles, which rested on hinges at the back.
At face value, it didn't look like much at all. When the acidic girl took it into her hands, she actually made a point to shake it next to her ear, to see what sort of noise that it made. More than anything, she was just confused, unsure as to what it was that her boyfriend had gotten her.
When she opened it though, she was greeted with something that she hadn't been expecting. Not in the least.
Inside said box, was the gem of a necklace, wrapped within a metallic love heart that encased the prettier jewel, adding focus to it. The small sequence of tiny chain hooks and the likes were made of the same metal that encased the jewel, connecting everything together.
The jewel's influence, and why it made Izuku think of his highly mutated girlfriend was easily observable.
Black amethyst. More accurately, dark purple, but it looked so close to black it practically was void of color. In the center, either topaz or gold. Which is was, Izuku was absolutely clueless to. He knew nothing about minerals and jewels, or anything of the sort like that.
All he knew was that it looked like Mina's eyes - Black sclera, and golden irises. An unmistakable combination that he wouldn't be able to avoid the comparison to even if he tried, or had wanted to. Mina's eyes were beautiful. He adored them.
A necklace that just happened to remind him of them? He had to buy it.
He wasn't one for items like that though... So Mina having it made sense.
And it looked like she quickly understood how it had influenced Izuku, judging by her stunned expression, and rapid looking back and forth between the item she now held in her hands, and her blushing boyfriend.
She didn't say anything. Really, what was there to say?
It was amazing.
She loved it.
Words though?
They weren't going to cut it.
"Hey, Izu?" Mina looked towards him, with a small, soft, smile on her lips.
"Y - Yes?"
Without saying anything else, Mina raised her right hand, and took off the small Christmas hat off of her left horn. Underneath, a small piece of greenery was attached to her horn, hanging off gently around the hook off. In keeping with what was apparently todays theme, she had wrapped up her extrusion in something else, though this one, she'd planned on getting herself caught up in anyway.
Mistletoe.
"Thank you." She said, hopping just next to him, sitting on her knees so she towered over him, now grinning slyly from one side of her lips. "Happy Holidays."
Izuku knew that look, and all he could do was smile back and resign himself to what was certain to be an... Entertaining morning. And then night.
That was the one big thing that he loved about her.
Not her looks. Not her personality. Not her kindness, and not their compatibility, though he loved them all.
No, what he loved about her?
He loved that she loved him. And that he could make her happy. And how he got to spend all this time with her.
She herself was what he loved about her. That was really all there was to it.
"Happy Holidays, Mina." Were the final words that escaped his lips before they were slammed into by Mina's own, and weren't released for a long, long while.
Gaaaaaaahhh. this should'a been up yesterday in line with Japanese customs... But I hope this'll still do for a Christmas release.
I do apologize for it being late, and for if it seems sort of rushed of haphazard - I'm currently in Canada with my girlfriend spending the holidays here. (It's bloody frozen. Legitimately -36. Help.) So I've been a lot slower on writing and drawing than I otherwise would have liked. I'm hoping that you all won't mind any errors, at least right now. I'll fix any I find once I go through it a bit. One-shot's aren't generally my thing, but this was kinda fun.
Quick list of thank yous - Thanks to TheOneHoyle for pretty much giving the go ahead to use his drawings for the story cover, (At least I hope this still counts) DominoMag's for helping me flesh this out and giving me the story title, the Discord group - too many to name you all - for generally being hectic and hilarious even when ya'll''re a pain sometimes, and for the gift they all collectively got me - Seriously any of you reading this, you all are awesome. Then thanks to my Patrons for helping me stick around - Hopefully I'll be better at communication in 2018. Tumblr followers for generally helping me get a good feel for getting back into my writing groove and for being awesome to interact with, and above all, anyone reading this, just for coming to check out my madness.
Hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you all next year. See ya!