🦋 Kage | BNHA-sona

"Those who are willing to give up freedom for security will end up with neither"

🦋 TRIVIA
- baggy, tired eyes (although dark & red parts are natural markings)
- pointy ears
- optional suspenders & feather necklace for casual outfit
- always wears piercing, sometimes changes earrings, but his fav is blue glowing vial one
- sometimes wears necklace with Hawks' feather
- always covers right arm & neck (because of burn scars that remind him about the past)
- sh scars on stomach & right thigh, also always covers them
- scars on left forearm were made during one mission, these are the only ones he's showing without being ashamed
- he's bi, but generally prefers more masculine expressions

🦋 QUIRK: tiger moth (火取蛾 - hitoriga - arctia caja) - can do almost anything that tiger moths can do
- good eyesight in the dark, is able to detect even low light levels; white & reflective pupils  (don't put bright flashlight directly into his eyes, or he'll get brain error, like moths helplessly flying near the lamps, because they have no idea, where they are)
- antennae help to orient in space & are very sensitive to even small movements (like a slight gust of wind or vibration);
this is one of the factors that allows him to move well at heights (he likes to sit on the trees & make observations from there) or irregular terrain
- is able to produce small amounts of liquid toxins in defense (this is more of like an unconditioned reflex than an intentional action); they're not very harmful, but irritate the skin, which most often causes itching and, as a result, distraction;
in his hero outfit, he has gloves with which he learns to produce the toxin on command & in larger amount; all he has to do is touch his opponent's skin with them (they're made of permeable material that supports toxins' production)
- hero outfit additionally consists of cape with wings used for gliding (they work similarly to Genshin windgliders/skydiving suit/flying squirrels' membrane - they have stiffened edges, can be grabbed with hands & unfolded) + holster on the leg for flip knife & telescopic baton (mainly for self-defense)
- since tiger moths can survive a lot & have evolved to discourage opponents to not get eaten, Kage is physically resistant to unfavorable conditions & diseases (but sadly he's totally not resistant to mental problems)

Quirk's limitations:
- is totally not adapted to day-life (poor eyesight in the light places, easily overstimulated in the day); it's disruptive when most events or important meetings take place during the day & even though he could finally return to his natural way of functioning after school, there are still days when he has to be active for some reason
- he has a strong defense reflex, which is why he still can produce toxins when scared/shocked; can accidentally touch a person who's nearby &   whom he didn't want to hurt (he's doing his best to control that reflex, but it still sometimes happens, so just in case he wears gloves most of the time)
- to be able to create more toxins, has to eat herbs that contain specific chemicals (like pasqueflower, anemones, gypsy flower - these are not recommended to normal people, but Kage's body is adapted to digest them); they're not very tasty and not always easy to find; he can of course order special pills containing them in some pharmacies, but it's... well, expensive

🦋 BACKSTORY
Childhood:
Early childhood was rather peaceful, although he doesn't remember much of these years. Hell began when his quirk developed more. His father was quite an active pro-hero, and he wanted his child to also have some powerful ability, preferably similar to his - he himself was able to control liquid substances, which gives a lot of possibilities in combat and in almost any environment. However, when he realized that his son is just a moth, he began to have more and more aggression problems. He was generally choleric, but now it was even more visible. Kage doesn't have many memories of his mother, probably because she was rarely at home, and as Kage entered his teens, she decided to leave the family. Kage was angry at her then and wanted to leave with her, although he no longer really remembers this feeling. 
At the beginning it was mainly frequent complaining and lack of adequate support from his father, but after Kage's mother left, he also transferred his additional frustration to his son. Worse things started to happen - locking the house at night, sometimes beating, forcing him to care about the house, because at least there he could be useful. Kage didn't really know if they have any other family, he was isolated by his father except when he was at school, but there he wasn't really active anyway. That weird, quiet child always in black oversized hoodies, even if it was sunny weather.
The worst thing happened when Kage was around 13 years old.

wip

UA times:
"Currently I can't really complain, after so many years I could finally return to living at night, but ohhh, I had to struggle for quite a bit to get to that point... There wasn't any other way to get hero license than to join U.A. and that obviously means attending to lessons & trainings. Which are during the day, of course... I was almost always tired, was falling asleep during lessons and to survive somehow I had to learn how to use polyphasic sleep schedule. It means that instead of sleeping for a longer time at nights, I was taking shorter naps. It wasn't the best for me, but still better than forcing myself to sleep only at night. How do people do that? No idea."

"I wasn't the type of socially engaged person and in hindsight I think it wasn't just a matter of introversion, but also of tiredness. It was hard to focus on building relationships and participating in social life when I was almost always overstimulated and wanted to cut myself off from everything. One day I'll get myself a sound-light-everythingproof room, and I'll finally get a good sleep. Because yeaaah, although now I sleep according to my natural circadian cycle, it is during the day, it also means that I can hear the sounds of other people's activities from behind the walls. I guess that's the fate of those who live inversely...
When I can, I wear headphones, but of course it's not always advisable or comfortable. Have you ever tried sleeping with headphones on? I don't recommend. Neither to you nor to the headphones. And earplugs feel heccin weird, so don't even say a word about them..."

Hero job:
"Although I've got my license some time ago, I still don't feel like a real hero.  At least not like the most heroes I know or observe. Of course these can be just deceptive appearances, but they look so passionate about their job, like they're threatening it like a mission & something they truly love. I, on the other hand, don't feel like I'm that empathetic & devoted, but still want to help in making the world a safer place. I just have different reasons, my own, more egoistic ones. I don't think it should hurt anyone if the effect is still profitable for both sides - people get help, world is a lil better & I have opportunities to train, check my limits, gain experience etc..... Sometimes even get satisfaction that I was able to do more than before or to improve my tactics. I just feel more confident when I know that I can handle certain situations, and to be sure about that, I simply must experience them - like a true empiricist."

🦋 INSPIRATIONS
- Kage - shade
- Tekari - shine
- Erebi - the erebidae are a family of moths (& tiger moths belong to that family)
- 10.11. - World Science Day for Peace and Development