04.11.2022
Ha, I bet none pf you expected me this early in the day! But here I am, for I am the Absolute Madman who decided not to fall asleep after coming home from a 12h long night shift and just finished my first monster of the day, let's go! And by let's go I mean to the comments!:
n1ght4ury20 - Ha, funny you mention Izuku having kids. I'mma give a little spoiler here - me and a certain guy over on Ao3 (absolute fuckin' legend, I love him) had a very interesting conversation on this topic and whilst no one is gonna get pregnant in this fic there is a chance for a kid. No, not Eri.
Freddielebron - I gotta keep her 'accidental' voyeurism goin' so that she can eventually snap from the accumulation of unfullfilled sexual urges!
FireSharingan359 - Thank you!
Now before I let you addicts have your weekly dose of Stranded let me tell you something - you might want to read the A/N at the end, cause I'd like to ask you guys some stuff about the future of this and potentially another fic, but first enjoy the chapter! Enjoy it!:
A very important date was approaching. It was very important because it would mark a full year from when Izuku first appeared in the jungle that was now taken over by the cold wind blowing. It would also mark six full months from when Mina dropped in alongside one of the supply drops and started off this whole craziness that led to them forming a harem with the sole male member of their group at its center. Although that last part might soon come into question as surprising feelings begin bubbling inside the girls, but let's not jump the gun just yet.
The thing that we should focus on first was Momo's current project - the majestic forge that turned out to be a lot grander than the last one and in turn would require a bit more materials than they thought. Still, Izuku was not one to complain, especially when he liked doing what was asked of him. It was mostly thanks to this that they made as much progress as they did, because he was the one that made sure that the bricks didn't stop comin' and they didn't stop comin', unfortunately they weren't fed to the rules or hit the ground running, but sure as hell made for a fine building material.
Honestly, at this point Momo was pretty sure that Izuku would actually work slower with proper tools. He survived half a year with just a spear and a crude hatchet, so he definitely had an aptitude for making due with what he had.
Speaking of making due with what you have - Momo was hard at work, trying to come up with a way to melt down the element ore that they gathered some time ago. She tried everything from normal firewood through charcoal all the way to regular coal that she managed to find a tiny amount of. Nothing worked. The fire was hot, don't get her wrong, but nowhere near what thermite could produce.
Momo was well aware that she didn't have to make the shovel anymore as Izuku was more than capable of producing bricks like there was no tomorrow with just his bare hands, but she vowed to do it and she was not going to back off now! Besides, it'd be a total waste to just leave all this Element ore lying around. Although there wasn't much she could do if she wasn't even able to extract the Element from the ore…
"I wish I could just dig a hellevator straight down and find a hellforge inside a tower made from obsidian bricks whilst fending off imps and giant skeleton worms…" Momo grumbled to herself as she voiced her weirdly detailed thoughts.
Fortunately there wasn't anyone around at the time so they won't start saying that she was going crazy or something. Because she wasn't! At least she didn't think she was.
The group of five fell into a comfy routine, one that made sure they had enough food to fill their bellies, but also left them with some free time in the evening which they usually spent around a campfire, sharing stories, jokes and laughs to keep their morale high. Everything was nice and peaceful. And just when they started thinking that maybe everything will be alright IT happened…
The Fire Nation attacked!- Ah, fuck, wait, wrong script.
What I meant to say was that the weather started getting funky once again.
As with all things and drastic changes it began innocently enough. It was basically unnoticeable at first. They only noticed the change when they started waking up with their faces flushed with warmth that had nothing to do with sneaky night-time touchy-feely activities and everything to do with the world around them. Momo, Mina and Izuku had already survived something similar so they quickly deduced what was going on - a heat wave had struck their area.
Their theory was sound and basically bulletproof at the moment, but all that changed when they stepped outside and felt none of the heat that they expected to feel during a heat wave. What they got instead was a refreshing breeze that cooled down their bodies in no time at all. And there was almost no difference between staying in the sunlight and hiding in the shade. They expected the twin suns to become deadly lasers, ready to evaporate any and all liquids within their bodies, but that wasn't the case.
They thought that maybe they only imagined being so hot in the morning, but when they returned to the camp to turn in for the day they could very much feel the heat as soon as they stepped one foot inside the cave.
It didn't deter them from sleeping for too long however, because the only other alternative was sleeping outside, where the temperature was considerably lower and if they had to choose then they'd gladly take the heat. Especially after having to deal with that eternal blizzard for so long. They soon found out however that facing that strange heat was not going to be that easy, as it didn't like being ignored and demanded to be acknowledged by them. Before they could even fall asleep properly they decided to forego the blankets that they used to protect themselves from the nightly chills rolling into their cave from the outside and only then this mysterious phenomenon subsided a bit, seemingly pleased with having made an impact on the people that dared to challenge it. It was a bit weird falling asleep without any covers, but in the end they were able to catch some shut-eye without any further issues.
One of them also didn't have trouble waking up in the morning. You probably figured out who it was so let's skip the drama and get to the spicy bit.
Kyouka may have been stripped of her Quirk but her hearing was still better than that of any of her friends. That's why she couldn't simply ignore the sloppy sucking noises that she was assaulted by early in the morning.
"They've got some nerve to be making out while all of us are in the bed with them…" Kyouka thought to herself groggily as she carefully wiped the last remnants of drowsiness from her eyes. "If I remember correctly Mina was cuddling Green on the other side, so it's probably them sucking each other's faces." Kyouka deduced like a true detective and then propped herself on one elbow to check if she was right.
She was not, in fact, right. She was very much wrong. And learned this very quickly when she saw that Izuku's lips were currently sealed tightly, he was even biting his upper lip lightly, and the rest of his face was twisted into a strange mix of discomfort and bliss. The pieces of the puzzle fell quickly in place as her eyes traveled down his body and she eventually ended up staring at a mop of hair that was constantly bobbing up and down. Kyouka considered herself quite astute, but it still took her groggy mind about three seconds to connect the dots and come to a dreadful conclusion.
"Tooru is sucking his morning wood! And I can't even touch myself!" She lamented mentally and focused all of her available willpower towards controlling her urges.
It was a very horny start to a very normal day.
The exact same scenario - I'm talking about the anomalous temperature and not Izuku getting his dick sucked first thing in the morning - kept repeating itself each night, so they decided to stop bothering with the covers as they already got used to sleeping without them. It didn't make the heat go away, but it stopped it from rising every time they went to sleep so that was something. Still it'd have been better if they could at least locate the source of this heat, but due to how strange and clear-cut the area of this effect was, they were almost tempted to instantly classify it as just another anomaly like the cold wind that was blowing only jagged lines across the snow, never smooth ones.
However, as they were about to discover, a breakthrough in that specific case - I'm talking about the heat, not the cold wind blowing jagged lines across the snow - was just around the corner and all they had to do was lean against the wall and wait patiently to be enlightened.
Or rather scorched. Again.
"Yikes!" Mina suddenly exclaimed one evening.
Everyone's heads instantly turned in her direction with mostly confused expressions as they watched her massage her ample and jiggly rear. Izuku - being the caring boyfriend that he was - was the first one to walk up and check up on the pink-skinned girl.
"What's wrong?" He asked as he approached and could've sworn that the air around him was getting just a tad warmer with each step he took.
"I burned myself on those rocks!" She answered and pointed her finger towards the spot she leaned against just a moment ago.
"Why do I feel like I've seen this exact same scenario before?" Momo wondered quietly as she watched Izuku examine the wall that Mina accused of scorching her.
"Damn, that's probably the second hottest Rock in the world…" Izuku mused to himself. "Still leagues behind Dwayne but that's still an achievement."
Izuku proceeded to carefully prod the rocky wall with his hands, quickly finding out that it was only a certain part of it that was so heated up that it could burn someone. Thankfully it wasn't a very big area so they could probably avoid it without any problems. They also wouldn't have to avoid it if it wasn't there, so Izuku reached for his trusty Salvaged Icepick and did what he does best - introduced the pointy end of his tool to the hardy rock wall with great vigor and persistence.
"Yeah, I've definitely seen this all before…" Momo concluded, though still couldn't remember when exactly she watched all of this play out in the past.
Izuku's first couple of strikes didn't seem to impress his opponent at all as it kept displaying only stone cold indifference, but the poker face became flawed once the first slabs of stone started falling off of the wall. This only spurred Izuku to apply greater force to each and every one of his strikes. The girls meanwhile didn't exactly understand what was going on, but still decided to cheer him on like a personal cheerleading squad. Some were understandably more verbal than others, but all four eventually expressed their faith in him.
The words of encouragement coming from behind gave him enough strength to keep going to town on the solid rock that dared to cross his path without even moving. His efforts bore fruit soon enough, as after one particularly nasty swing a big chunk of the wall fell enough and a stream of superheated steam shot out of nowhere all of a sudden. Thankfully Izuku had some remnants of his Danger Sense which allowed him to dodge the initial blast and avoid becoming steamed beef.
The girls too took a step or two back so as not to tempt fate if the steam suddenly became sentient and lashed out at them in the form of a dragon - a really strange worry to have, especially as a group - and the five waited for the outburst to subside. Once the pressure differential evened out and the steam stopped shooting out of the wall they noticed that there was now a small hole in the stone, exactly where Izuku struck last. The greenette didn't waste a second and immediately got to work on enlarging the hole. It was certainly easier since he now knew how thick the stone layer was and could quickly identify vulnerable spots. This way he managed to decimate the remaining obstacle and in a matter of minutes cleared a decently sized entrance.
To their surprise there was a corridor there, leading deeper into the mountain and heading steadily downward. They also noticed a faint light at the end of the otherwise pitch black tunnel.
"Do you guys feel it?" Tooru suddenly spoke up.
They were about to ask her what she meant but in a rare hivemind moment they all flinched at the same time and immediately understood what she was talking about. A very warm breeze hit their skin as they leaned into the corridor, meaning that there had to be a source of heat somewhere along the tunnel, maybe even at the very end. That'd also explain the steam that they released and which continued to trickle into their cave and then out into the open.
"I guess we have no choice but to go and check it out." Izuku stated and took a couple of steps into the darkness. "Damn, it's so dark I can't even see my hands!" He yelled out to the girls and then they heard the sound of loose stones being kicked. "And as if that wasn't enough there is stuff lying on the ground!"
"Come back, we'll light the campfire and make a torch or something!" Tooru shouted after him and then they heard his footsteps coming towards them.
"Torch… torch… a torch…" Momo mused to herself whilst stroking her chin in a thoughtful manner before having an eureka moment and quickly running off to somewhere only to return a few seconds later with a weird wooden tube in her hands.
"What's that?" Kyouka asked and in turn brought attention towards Momo.
"It's a flashlight!" The raven-haired beauty proclaimed proudly.
The girls were not that impressed however and Mina was quick to point out an obvious flaw in the otherwise excellent and useful item.
"Momo, sweetie, we don't have any batteries." She said, thinking that maybe Momo had finally lost the last remnants of her sanity and went completely crazy. "Besides, even if we did I'm pretty sure that what you're holding right now is just a hollowed out stick with some glass taped to one end."
If Momo was deterred by the words she didn't show it. She didn't have to however as this time she was right and was about to prove it.
"It's not a normal flashlight!" Momo stated. "It's powered by the colorful crystals that grow inside our old base!" She explained and to prove her point slid a small chunk of pinky amethyst into a hole on the side of the wooden tube and a beam of pinkish light shot out of the glass covered end of the flashlight.
Rest of the girls, and Izuku who made it back in the meantime, immediately started clapping at the display. Momo soaked up the well-deserved praise before handing the flashlight over to Izuku who now could safely explore the secret passage and learn what mysteries were hidden right in their new home.
Volcano. There was a fucking volcano right beneath their base. Of course. Why wouldn't there be a volcano directly underneath their bed? It's not like it's dangerous or something, right? It's not like it's gonna suddenly erupt in the middle of the night and turn them into Pompei 2.0, right?
Truth be told, they were overreacting a bit. I mean, who wouldn't overreact when they learned that there was a giant magma pool beneath your de facto home? The pool itself was also very calm and didn't seem volatile at all, so maybe it wasn't a volcano but just a pocket of magma? Well, whatever the case, volcano sounded more badass so Mina eventually bullied everyone into using the term 'volcano' even if it was an exaggeration.
Once they cooled their heads down - and the rest of their bodies - they began a discussion regarding this unexpected discovery.
Having a pool of magma underneath your bed didn't sound like a very good thing, but if this really wasn't a volcano, then they had basically nothing to worry about. Even better, they could easily use the natural heat of the magma to heat their home in case the cold wind decided to start blowing jagged lines across the snow at their new place. They could also use the magma to boil water or even cook stuff if they managed to get their hands on some ingredients besides berries.
But whilst both of those ideas were pretty good and sensible they were also incredibly boring and baseline. Thankfully Momo - being the slightly insane genius that she's become not that long ago - was already on the case and even had her first proposal thought out.
"I want a hellforge…" She mumbled whilst the others brainstormed amongst themselves.
"Did you say something?" Tooru asked and they turned to face Momo.
"Let's build the forge here! I'm sure that the magma will be enough to liquify anything and everything we might ever need to melt down! Plus it'd allow me to continue working through the night if I had to finish something up! Can we do it? Please? Pretty please?" Momo pulled out her token bubbly act and her four companions melted on the spot. How could anyone say 'no' to such a display of cuteness?! I mean, look at those fists brought up to her lips and that spark in her eyes! Look at it!
"Okay, I guess we can move the forge indoors." Izuku spoke up and Momo squealed in excitement. "What are we going to do with the partially built one though?" He wondered out loud.
They already had built about a third of the structure in the spot next to the river and it's not like they could just reuse those bricks since they used quite a bit of limestone mortar to bind it all together and Izuku doubted they'd be able to dismantle it without destroying most of the bricks.
"Oh, let's just leave it as it is! I'm sure we'll figure something out in the future!" Momo dismissed with a tiny shrug, still filled with nothing but joy as she already began picturing how the hellforge was going to look once they built it.
Despite being a literal genius, Momo had the ability to act like a total airhead from time to time, but it's not like any of them complained about it since it was super cute and mostly amusing. It just made you want to protect her at all costs whenever her brain cells would stop responding. She was too precious for this world. Well, she was actually too precious for their world. You know, the one that they used to live in before waking up in whatever this was.
I'm rambling, so let's just get to the building montage!
Izuku and Momo were traversing the snowy plains which used to be a part of their old domain with eager spirits and high hopes. They were currently on their way to their lookout to await the next delivery of supplies that was bound to arrive tonight.
Last week they actually received a pair of tongs which arrived just on time as the construction of their hellforge as Momo insisted on calling it was almost completed. Sadly they still lacked a crucible or a vessel with enough thermal resistance to withstand the metal-melting heat, but they had high hopes for this week's batch of supplies.
After all, it seemed that fortune just kept smiling their way.
I'm pretty sure that all of you already know that the last sentence is a bit ominous so I'm not gonna adrdess that elephant at all. It's not like we're in a warehouse filled to the brim with ancient chinese pottery or something.
What I will address instead is this - I started taking this writing thing seriously only a couple of months ago, and can proudly say that I've been pumping out weekly chapters ever since, but since this year is coming to an end I'd like to take things a step higher. I'm already preparing some smaller ideas for christmass, but right now I'd like to ask you one thing - Would you rather have two chapters of Stranded per week or is the current weekly dosage just enough and you'd like to have a second fic running at the same time?
This is only a preliminary vote so I can't provide almost any details, but one thing that I can say is that second fic would one hundred percent have only a simple pairing of a monogamous Izuku, so no harems, love triangles and other geometry.
Write your answer in the comments if you want to influence the outcome, but by no means feel obliged to do so. I understand that there might be many amongst you (there's over a thousand of you afterall (Jesus fuck that's a big number)) that just want to go with the flow and will be content with either option. Nothing wrong with that, totally respect it.
Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed todays chapter! Have a great day and I'll catch y'all next Friday with another dose of Stranded!