#Deku is coming in the next chapter!

[curiousochako]

Just like how Ochaco was able to reach out to Izuku during the vigilante arc and fight for him to come back into UA. It’s really nice to see this scene being paralleled here where this time it will be Deku who will try to reach out to Ochaco (who is suppressing her own feelings for the sake of trying to make other smile). They both seem to struggle with trying to put the feelings of others before themselves. Whether if you ship these to or not you can’t deny how much they care for each other.

[dekusleftsock]

I think that there’s a fundamental misunderstanding of what exactly is…happening with Izuku’s character. Specifically in regards to chapter 425.

I’m glad that a lot more people generally recognize that Izuku is not a character that can be read at a surface level, given that he’s both a repressed person with built up emotion of basically everything and also a very glaringly HUGELY unreliable narrator, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with the ways I’ve seen this most recent chapter spoken about.

I see posts, comments, etc with ideas like “Izuku don’t suppress your emotions! Open up with people! It’ll be okay I promise!” When that’s fundamentally not what is happening here.

There’s always always ALWAYS been a distinct difference in character throughout horikoshi’s writing when he is showing that a character is:

A—Avoiding emotions, thoughts, ideas less than ideal for them. Not opening up when they probably should about their problems given that they’ve been handed the space to do so. Just genuinely not acknowledging, feeling, or expressing emotions that they don’t want.

B—Reflecting on the ways they feel about the world, themselves, or other people given their new perspective on a situation. Not outright reaching out to others to talk about these problems/feelings, but instead waiting until the moment they feel they have the most confidence to do so with their new outlook on their own life.

And genuinely, guys, to grab your BkDk attention rn, this is the exact reason why Ochako’s reflection on her feelings for Izuku and thereafter decision to pull away from them WAS NEVER GOING TO END IN OCHAKO EXPLODING WITH HER LOVE FOR HIM.

This was another common interpretation I saw of Ochako and Izuocha for a long time. That because she pushed these feelings away, they were somehow going to explode in this unbelievable way and she would “get the boy” because of it. That her arc would surround accepting her romantic feelings and that she can’t just push away how she feels for a career.

But yk. That didn’t happen. At all. Nowhere close even.

The same kind of goes for Katsuki, allmight, etc. They all had moments in their arc where it was spent genuinely reflecting, and the only reason we as the audience never connected it in the same ways we do ochako or Izuku was ALWAYS BECAUSE the narrative showed their inner thoughts while doing so (mostly because Allmight’s arc after losing OFA and Katsuki’s arc on what it means to be a hero were so intrinsically tied, both starting at the same time and ending at the same time during the final war. And because they were so tied this caused their own reflections, development, and thought process to be broadcasted to us frequently throughout their arcs… to each other. They also somewhat shared aspects with Izuku, but these were cherry picked more often than not, like dvk2 for example).

To us Katsuki never seemed to be.. idk, suppressing his anger in any way because we were always told what he was doing and why (side note: this is why I’ve always thought arguments against Katsuki were so weird, bc unlike characters like endeavor or Ochako he wasn’t like… hiding who he was and how he was changing. Ever. Like the audience knows at all times past basically season 3 what Katsuki is thinking and doing. Like how do you watch this happen, stare me dead in the eye, and tell me how much of a terrible and awful teenage boy he is. Like damn I didn’t think we were this dumb. This is also my theory as to why he’s most popular, his arc is very… in your face if that makes sense). Katsuki’s entire mini arc on reflecting his mistakes and his childhood and his future is spent TELLING YOU that it’s what he’s doing. (I’m referring mostly to the endeavor internship arc, the provisional license exam makeup, and basically everything in the war arc related to him leading up to bakugou Katsuki rising here)

And see, Horikoshi will stare you dead in the eye, tell you “this girl has taken into consideration that she doesn’t want to waste her time training her career focusing on a boy because he kinda caught her fancy”, and y’all will still say that this will explode in her face.

Y’all this is a series about learning how to manage emotions, maturity in relationship to one’s emotions, how to feel an emotion, but in a way that is helpful. Horikoshi isn’t telling you “go buck wild, feel everything all the time and always express it”, in fact he explores why you DONT do that! Through Toga or Shigaraki, they show how grief and anger can genuinely consume you. But he also shows why you shouldn’t just put everything in a box to never look at or acknowledge, or why you shouldn’t just let your grief destroy the world around you, or pretending that some emotions simply don’t exist.

I can’t say this enough, so let me say it now, mha is about the extremes of your psyche. That you should control something, but not too much. Everything can be harmful. Everything can be good.

Izuku is not controlling too much, he’s expressing just enough.

I LOVE shaming this dickhead at all times in all my posts. I love saying he’s an ignorant dipshit with a weird amount of distaste for a girl who just confessed to him. I’ve joked that chapter 348 is basically an entire chapter spent on Izuku calling Himiko a mean dyke. And yet I also believe he’s doing nothing WRONG here.

In fact, I’ll even say that this moment right here?

ISNT EVEN IZUKU DOING THE SOCIALLY APPROPRIATE THING ABOUT IT! But he’s still TRYING to reach out to someone he thinks MIGHT be able to understand. (And frankly, this moment is far deeper than what it’s being made out to be, to me it reads more like an unrequited friendship that Izuku both desires and has thought of them to have, while simultaneously showing the distance Ochako has successfully wedged between them for her own sake. Maybe it was always there though, maybe in weird, miscommunicated Horikoshi fashion, this is a representation of how Ochako always read all those “fun friend hangouts” as a little more than that, and without those feelings the friendship never really held any substance to her in the first place. Where Izuku saw his first real friend at UA, she saw little more than acquaintance)

Simultaneously, Izuku is genuinely reflecting on what it means for the world to change, to be a hero, to live after loss—and trying and failing to gain the connection he desires from individuals who can not and will not afford him that.

Izuku is ready for the world to change, a few select characters are also ready for the world to change (mirio, for example), but not nearly enough are. So maybe I’ll have to take this back if I’m proven wrong and I accidentally looked into this far past what everyone else did for no reason, but I genuinely believe with moments like this

And this

Aand this

That Izuku has come forward with that aspect of his character development. He’s reflecting on his new beliefs, not repressing his emotions for them.

[pikahlua]

MHA Chapter 430 spoilers translations

This week’s initial tentative super rough/literal translations under the cut.

1 もう壊したよ… もうこわしたよ… mou kowashita yo... It's already been destroyed...

2 それは明日のおまえら次第だな それはあしたのおまえらしだいだな sore wa ashita no omaera shidai da na That depends on what you people decide to do tomorrow. (Note: This is a flashback to chapters 423 and 424.)

3 人は ひとは hito wa People

4 生まれながらに平等じゃない うまれながらにびょうどうじゃない umare nagara ni byoudou ja nai are not born equal. (Note: This line is a reference to chapter 1.)

tagline 月日が流れーー つきひがながれーー tsukihi ga nagare-- The days pass by--

5 僕らは一人一人形が違って ぼくらはひとりひとりかたちがちがって bokura wa hitori hitori katachi ga chigatte Each of us is different in form,

sign 職員室 しょくいんしつ shokuin-shitsu Staff Room

6 それ故に他者を思う それゆえにたしゃをおもう sore yue ni tasha wo omou and therefore we think of others.

7 形の違うその身と心を かたちのちがうそのみとこころを katachi no chigau sono mi to kokoro wo The differences in our forms [are in both] the body and mind.

8 だからこそ他へ馳せ だからこそほかへはせ dakara koso hoka e hase That's precisely why we go a different [direction]

9 交点を探す こうてんをさがす kouten wo sagasu to search for points of intersection.

10 緑谷兄ちゃん みどりやにいちゃん Midoriya-niichan "Midoriya-niichan*," (*Note: "Niichan" is a title given to young men or an "older brother," whether related in reality or just as a term of endearment.)

11 デク先生！午後の実技ってどこに集まっとけばいい？ デクせんせい！ごごのじつぎってどこにあつまっとけばいい？ DEKU-sensei! gogo no jitsugi tte doko ni atsumattokeba ii? "Deku-sensei! Where should we gather for afternoon practical training?"

12 これが齢17歳にして知った これがよわい17さいにしてしった kore ga yowai 17sai ni shite shitta That's the hard truth I learned at age 17,

13 バス停前USJの行き方も兼ねてるから バスていまえユーエスジェーのいきかたもかねてるから BASUtei-mae YUU ESU JEE no ikikata mo kaneteru kara "In front of the bus stop, since it also serves as the way to go to the USJ."

14 社会の現実。 しゃかいのげんじつ。 shakai no genjitsu. the reality of society.

1 あの日たしかに聞こえた あのひたしかにきこえた ano hi tashika ni kikoeta That day, I definitely heard them,

2 励ましと祈りの声は はげましといのりのこえは hagemashi to inori no kore wa the voices of encouragement and prayer.

3 今も僕を奮い立たせてくれる。 いまもぼくをふるいたたせてくれる。 ima mo boku wo furui tatasete kureru. They still inspire me.

4 誰かに思いを馳せる事がヒーローへの一歩だとしたら だれかにおもいをはせることがヒーローへのいっぽだとしたら dareka ni omoi wo haseru koto ga HIIROO e no ippo da to shitara If thinking of others is a step towards [becoming a] hero,

5 あの日　誰もが最高のヒーローだった。 あのひ　だれもがさいこうのヒーローだった。 ano hi daremo ga saikou no HIIROO datta. then that day, everyone were all the greatest heroes.

6 不相応な夢を叶えて貰った ふそうおうなゆめをかなえてもらった fusouou na yume wo kanaete moratta I had an undeserved dream come true for me.

7 考える前に動いてしまった事で始まった僕の物語は かんがえるまえにうごいてしまったことではじまったぼくのものがたりは kangaeru mae ni ugoite shimatta koto de hajimatta boku no monogatari wa As for my story, which began when I moved before I could think,

book title 敵連合 ヴィランれんごう VIRAN rengou The League of Villains

1 OFAの残り火と共に幕を閉じていく。 ワン・フォー・オールののこりびとともにまくをとじていく。 WAN FOO OORU no nokoribi to tomo ni maku wo tojite iku. the curtain has started to close on it along with the embers of One For All.

2 じゃあ jaa Well then,

3 何でまだコレを書いてるかって？ なんでまだコレをかいてるかって？ nande mada KORE wo kaiteru ka tte? why am I still writing this, you ask?

4 だってまだ datte mada Because, there's still

5 ページ��続いているからね ページはつづいているからね PEEJI wa tsudzuite iru kara ne the pages that are continuing. (Note: Contextually, this would read as "There are still pages left to fill.")

1 ８年後 ８ねんご 8nengo 8 years later

2 諸君もいよいよ受験生だ‼︎ しょくんもいよいよじゅけんせいだ‼︎ shokun mo iyoiyo jukensei da!! "All of you are finally [entering the school year when you will take] entrance exams!!"

3 来週までに進路希望を提出する事‼︎ らいしゅうまでにしんろきぼうをていしゅつすること‼︎ raishuu made ni shinro kibou wo teishutsu suru koto!! "By next week, submit your career aspirations!!"

4 俺ぁヒーロー科！雄英だな！ おれぁヒーロー科！ゆうえいだな！ orea HIIROO-ka! yuuei da na! "Mine's the hero course! At UA!"

5 今アツイのはサポートアイテムだよ！ いまアツイのはサポートアイテムだよ！ ima ATSUI no wa SAPOOTO AITEMU da yo! "Support items are what's hot right now!"

6 絶対「ライトリーラボ」のメンバーになるンだ！ ぜったい「ライトリーラボ」のメンバーになるンだ！ zettai 「RAITORII RABO」 no MENBAA ni naruNda! "I'll definitely become a member of the Lightly Lab!"

7-8 あの大天才発目明さんが所属するサポートアイテムデザイン事務所！ あのだいてんさいはつめめいさんがしょぞくするサポートアイテムデザインじむしょ！ ano daitensai Hatsume Mei-san ga shozoku suru SAPOOTO AITEMU DEZAIN jimusho! "The support item design office that super-genius Mei Hatsume-san belongs to!"

9 僕は吉田竜ドクターみたいに ぼくはよしだりゅうドクターみたいに boku wa Yoshida-ryuu DOKUTAA mitai ni "I [wanna be] like Doctor Ryuu Yoshida"

10 回復不可能な人をも治せるような医師になる…必ずな かいふくふかのうなひとをもなおせるようないしになる…かならずな kaifuku fukanou na hito wo mo naoseru you na ishi ni naru...kanarazu na "and become a doctor who can cure even those who cannot recover...definitely."

11 私は5年前に"サイバ・ウォー"で伝説をつくったGeL Inc.に入りたい！ わたしは5ねんまえに"サイバ・ウォー"ででんせつをつくったジーエルインクにはいりたい！ watashi wa 5nenmae ni "SAIBA・WOO" de densetsu wo tsukutta JII ERU INKU ni hairitai! "I want to join GeL Inc., which created a legend with 'Cyber War' five years ago!"

12 プログラミング！パリキャリかっこいいの！ PUROGURAMINGU! PARI KYARI kakko ii no! "Programming! Paris and Cali are so cool!"

1 え⁉︎おまえもヒーロー志望なのかよ⁉︎ え⁉︎おまえもヒーローしぼうなのかよ⁉︎ e!? omae mo HIIROO shibou nanoka yo!? "Eh!? You also aspire to be a hero!?"

2 うわあ見るなよ！ うわあみるなよ！ uwaa miruna yo! "Waah don't look!"

3 おまえの"個性"はさすがにムズくね!⁉︎ おまえの"こせい"はさすがにムズくね!⁉︎ omae no "kosei" wa sasuga ni MUZUku ne!!? "But surely that'll be difficult with your quirk!!?"

4 ダイ！ "Dai!" DAI!

5 それは…わからんでしょ…！ sore wa...wakaran desho...! "That's...you don't know...!"

6 ただでさえ敵発生率も減少傾向で ただでさえヴィランはっせいりつもげんしょうけいこうで tada de sae VIRAN hasseiritsu mo genshou keikou de "Even in the most opportune times, the incidence rate of villains is on the decline,"

7 ヒーローも数絞られてきてンだぜ⁉︎ ヒーローもかずしぼられてきてンだぜ⁉︎ HIIROO mo kazu shiborarete kiteNda ze!? "and the number of heroes has been narrowed down too, right!?"

8 ごっからは真に強ェ奴だけがヒーローになる時代だぜ！ ごっからはしんにつえェやつだけがヒーローになるじだいだぜ！ gokkara wa shin ni tsueE yatsu dake ga HIIROO ni naru jidai da ze! "It's an era when only truly strong guys become heroes!"

9 みんな変わっちゃった みんなかわっちゃった minna kawachatta Everyone has changed.

10 ガキの頃は口を揃えて ガキのころはくちをそろえて GAKI no koro wa kuchi wo soroete When I was a kid, everyone would say it in unison.

11-12 オールマイトやエンデヴァー　ベストジーニスト　デク　大・爆・殺・神ダイナマイト‼︎ショートみたいになりたいって　デク　だい・ばく・さっ・しんダイナマイト‼︎ショートみたいになりたいって OORU MAITO ya ENDEVAA BESUTO JIINISUTO DEKU daibakusasshin DAINAMAITO!! SHOOTO mitai ni naritai tte They'd all say 'I wanna be like All Might or Endeavor, Best Jeanist, Deku, Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight!! Like Shouto!'

13 わかってる wakatteru I get it.

14 僕だけがガキのまま ぼくだけがガキのまま boku dake ga GAKI no mama I'm the only one who stayed like a kid.

15 だから不安になった時はいつもここに来る だからふあんになったときはいつもここにくる dakara fuan ni natta toki wa itsumo koko ni kuru That's why, when I feel anxious, I always come here.

1 ダイくん一年生がんばれそう？ ダイくんいちねんせいがんばれそう？ DAI-kun ichinensei ganbaresou? Ready to try your best as a first-year, Dai-kun?

2 うん un Uh-huh! (Note: These two lines are a flashback back to chapter 258.)

3 デビュー以降目覚ましい活躍を見せるテンタコル デビューいこうめざましいかつやくをみせるテンタコル DEBYUU ikou mezamashii katsuyaku wo miseru TENTAKORU "Since his debut, Tentacole has shown us remarkable service."

4 僻地などで未だ見られる形質差別由来の事件に尽力し平和的に解決してきたその功績と影響をたたえ へきちなどでいまだみられるけいしつさべつゆらいのじけんにじんりょくしへいわてきにかいけつしてきたそのこうせきとえいきょうをたたえ hekichi nado de ima da mirareru keishitsu sabetsu yurai no jiken ni jinryoku shi heiwateki ni kaiketsu shite kita sono kouseki to eikyou wo tatae "In recognition of his achievements and influence in peacefully resolving incidents stemming from trait discrimination that still occur in remote areas,"

5 イマムラ平和賞が授与されました！ イマムラへいわしょうがじゅよされました！ IMAMURA heiwashou ga juyo saremashita! "the Imamura Peace Prize has been awarded!"

6 この賞は8年前蜂起した彼らへ このしょうは8ねんまえほうきしたかれらへ kono shou wa 8nenmae houki shita karera e "This award goes those who rose up 8 years ago."

7 俺は彼らの決意の上に立っているに過ぎないです おれはかれらのけついのうえにたっているにすぎないです ore wa karera no ketsui no ue ni tatte iru ni suginai desu "I am doing nothing more than standing atop their resolve."

1 続いてはチームアップニュース つづいてはチームアップニュース tsudzuite wa CHIIMUAPPU NYUUSU "Continuing on, in team-up news,"

2 インゲニウムフロッピー・クリエティそしてウラビティが全国の小学校を巡っています インゲニウムフロッピー・クリエティそしてウラビティがぜんこくのしょうがっこうをめぐっています INGENIUMU FUROPPI・KURIETI soshite URABITI ga zenkoku no shougakkou wo megutte imasu "Ingenium, Froppy, Creati, and Uravity are patrolling at elementary schools all over the country."

3 敵発生率の減少に伴い活動の幅を広げる"ヒーロー"たちその中でもーー ヴィランはっせいりつのげんしょうにともないかつどうのはばをひろげる"ヒーロー"たちそのなかでもーー VIRAN hasseiritsu no genshou ni tomonai katsudou no haba wo hirogeru "HIIROO"-tachi sono naka demo-- "Even among the heroes whose scopes of activities are expanding with the decrease in the villain incidence rate,"

4 ウラビティの打ち出した"個性"カウンセリング拡張計画は今最も必要不可欠な活動と言われています ウラビティのうちだした"こせい"カウンセリングかくちょうけいかくはいまもっともひつようふかけつなかつどうといわれています URABITI no uchidashita "kosei" KAUNSERINGU kakushou keikaku wa ima motto mo hitsuyou fukaketsu na katsudou to iwarete imasu "The quirk counseling expansion plan launched by Uravity is said to be the most essential activity right now."

5 おい緑谷これ見たか？ おいみどりやこれみたか？ oi Midoriya kore mita ka? "Hey Midoriya, have you seen this?"

6 おまえの幼なじみまたチャート落とすぞこりゃ おまえのおさななじみまたチャートおとすぞこりゃ omae no osananajimi mata CHAATO otosu zo korya "Your childhood friend is gonna drop in the charts again with this."

7 かっちゃん… Kacchan... "Kacchan..."

8 なんでこんな近くにおンだてめェ‼︎ なんでこんなちかくにおンだてめェ‼︎ nande konna chikaku ni oNda temeE!! "Why are you this close to me, bastard!!"

9 ひっ‼︎ hi!! "Eep!!"

10 見せ物じゃねンだ死にてーのか‼︎ みせものじゃねンだしにてーのか‼︎ misemono ja neNda shinitee no ka!! "I ain't some spectacle, do you wanna die!!"

11 先生かっちゃん矯正しようと励んでましたよね せんせいかっちゃんきょうせいしようとはげんでましたよね sensei Kacchan kyousei shiyou to wa hagendemashita yo ne "Sensei, you were trying so hard to correct Kacchan, huh."

12 轟とはこれでだいぶ水あけられそうだなあ とどろきとはこれでだいぶみずあけられそうだなあ Todoroki to wa kore de daibu mizu akeraresou da naa "Looks like this'll widen the gap between him and Todoroki."

1 連日連夜事件に駆けつける れんじつれんやじけんにかけつける renjitsu ren'ya jiken ni kaketsukeru "He rushes to incidents day and night."

2 ぎこちないけど分け隔てないファンサ ぎこちないけどわけへだてないファンサ gikochinai kedo wakehedatenai FANSA "He's awkward, but he gives equal attention to all his fans*." (*Note: Literally this says "He does fan service," but the meaning here is more like what we see with Hawks and Endeavor in Kyushu where that little kid wanted Hawks' autograph and that one Endeavor fan was upset when Endeavor offered to shake his hand. THAT'S the kind of fan service this refers to.)

3 最近じゃエンデヴァーの息子だなんだって言われることも少なくなったそうだ さいきんじゃエンデヴァーのむすこだなんだっていわれることもすくなくなったそうだ saikin ja ENDEVAA no musuko da nanda tte iwareru koto mo sukunaku natta sou da "Recently it seems like people don't often mention that he's Endeavor's son."

4 シンリンカムイ・Mt.レディを抜いて シンリンカムイ・マウントレディをぬいて SHINRIN KAMUI・MAUNTO REDI wo nuite "He'll overtake Kamui Woods and Mount Lady,"

5 一気にトップの通形先輩と並ぶ勢い いっきにトップのとおがたせんぱいとならぶいきおい ikki ni TOPPU no Toogata-senpai to narabu ikioi "then right away he'll have the momentum to match Toogata-senpai at the top."

6 物間くんや骨抜くんもすごいし ものまくんやほねぬきくんもすごいし Monoma-kun ya Honenuki-kun mo sugoi shi "Monoma-kun and Honenuki-kun are also amazing,"

7 先輩もこないだ「コエー！」って笑ってましたよ せんぱいもこないだ「コエー！」ってわらってましたよ senpai mo konai da 「KOEE!」 tte warattemashita yo "and senpai* was also laughing and [calling them] 'Scaryyy!' the other day." (*Note: I think he's referring to Mirio here.)

8 ……さびしいか ......sabishii ka "......You lonely?"

9 …… "......"

10 でも demo "But"

11 昔　不和先輩が先生と話してて むかし　ふわせんぱいがせんせいとはなしてて mukashi Fuwa-senpai ga sensei to hanashitete "long ago, Fuwa-senpai was talking with you, Sensei,"

12 その時思ったんです そのときおもったんです sono toki omottandesu "and that's when I thought,"

13 "無個性"には戻るけど経験を活かして誰かを励ませるなら "むこせい"にはもどるけどけいけんをいかしてだれかをはげませるなら "mukosei" ni wa modoru kedo keiken wo ikashite dareka wo hagemaseru nara "I'll return to being quirkless, but if I can make use of my experience and encourage someone,"

14 それはとてもかっこいいかもなって sore wa totemo kakko ii kamo natte "that might be really cool."

15 かっこいいですかね　今僕 かっこいいですかね　いまぼく kakko ii desu ka ne ima boku "Aren't I cool now?"

16 もう少し生徒に厳しくした方がいいな もうすこしせいとにきびしくしたほうがいいな mou sukoshi seito ni kibishiku shita hou ga ii na "It'd be better if you were a little more strict with the students."

17 大事なことだぞ だいじなことだぞ daiji na koto da zo "It's important."

18 この現代でウチに入って来れるような奴は このげんだいでウチにはいってこれるようなやつは kono gendai de UCHI ni haitte koreru you na yatsu wa "In this modern age, those who can get into [UA]"

19 将���ヒーロー確約されているようなもんだからな しょうらいヒーローかくやくされているようなもんだからな shourai HIIROO kakuyaku sarete iru you na mon da kara na "are guaranteed to be future heroes."

20 増長しないように俺たちが厳しくしないといけないんだわかるか ぞうちょうしないようにおれたちがきびしくしないといけないんだわかるか zouchou shinai you ni ore-tachi ga kibishiku shinai to ikenainda wakaru ka "We have to be strict now to prevent them from growing arrogant, do you understand?"

21 先生けっこうやさしかったけどな せんせいけっこうやさしかったけどな sensei kekkou yasashikatta kedo na "Sensei, you were pretty kind though."

1 社会に出てからは しゃかいにでてからは shakai ni dete kara wa After entering society,

2 休みも合わないし集まる機会もなかなか作れない やすみもあわないしあつまるきかいもなかなかつくれない yasumi mo awanai shi atsumaru kikai mo nakanaka tsukurenai we don't have enough time off, and we can't easily make opportunities to get together.

3 男性からの支持圧倒的 だんせいからのしじあっとうてき dansei kara no shiji attouteki "With overwhelming support from men,"

4 漢！烈怒頼雄斗の意外なオリジンに迫ります おとこ！レッドライオットのいがいなオリジンにせまります otoko! REDDO RAIOTTO no igai na ORIJIN ni semarimasu "chivalry*! The surprising origin of Red Riot approaches!" (*Note: Or, depending on how you like to translate Kirishima's favorite word, "Manliness!")

5 レッドだ！ REDDO da! "It's Red!"

6 アンブれいかぶる！ ANBUreikaburu! "Unbreakable!"

7 あっ a "Ah!"

8 皆の活躍を見るのはとても嬉しい みんなのかつやくをみるのはとてもうれしい minna no katsuyaku wo miru no wa totemo ureshii I'm very happy to see everyone in action*. (*Note: This word also refers to one's activities, their service, their successes and contributions, etc.)

9 学生の頃を思い出すとよくここに来る がくせいのころをおもいだすとよくここにくる gakusei no koro wo omoidasu to yoku koko ni kuru When I recall my days as a student, I often come here.

1 いだっ‼︎ ida!! "Ow!!"

2 ひゃん hyan "Oof!"

3 あっぶねーありがとござます！ abbunee arigato gozamasu! "That was dangerous, thank you very much!"

4 デ… DE... "De..."

5 え…デク⁉︎緑谷‼︎出久⁉︎ え…デク⁉︎みどりや‼︎いずく⁉︎ e...DEKU!? Midoriya!! Izuku!? "Eh...Deku!? Izuku Midoriya!?"

6 うわあ⁉︎実在してるんだあうわあ うわあ⁉︎じつざいしてるんだあうわあ uwaa!? jitsuzai shiterundaa uwaa "Waah!? You really exist, wow!"

7 そっか sokka "I see."

8 受験生かあ じゅけんせいかあ jukensei kaa "[You'll be taking] entrance exams, huh?"

9 …時代が急激に変わってって…僕みたいな …じだいがきゅうげきにかわってって…ぼくみたいな ...jidai ga kyuugeki ni kawatte tte...boku mitai na "...They say times are rapidly changing...it seems like that to me."

10 同級生に比べてめちゃ弱い"個性"はついていけなくなっちゃった どうきゅうせいにくらべてめちゃよわい"こせい"はついていけなくなっちゃった doukyuusei ni kurabete mecha yowai "kosei" wa tsuite ikenaku nachatta "Compared to my classmates, with my very weak quirk, I can't keep up."

11 だからここに来てオールマイト像に聞くんです だからここにきてオールマイトぞうにきくんです dakara koko ni kite OORU MAITO zou ni kikundesu "That's why I came here and asked the All Might statue."

1-2 僕もあなたたちのようなヒーローになれますかーーーって… ぼくもあなたたちのようなヒーローになれますかーーーって… boku mo anata-tachi no you na HIIROO ni naremasu ka---tte... "I asked, can I also become a hero like you guys...?"

3 "僕もオールマイトのように"ーーー "ぼくもオールマイトのように"ーーー "boku mo OORU MAITO no you ni"--- Just like me with All Might---

4 髪の皿みたいなモノを投てきする"個性"か かみのさらみたいなモノをとうてきする"こせい"か kami no sara mitai na MONO wo touteki suru "kosei" ka "A quirk that throws things that look like plates from one's hair, huh?"

5 髪由来なら峰田くんの応用で全然いけると思うなあ重ねることで強度も上がるし大きさも変わってたよね？汎用性あるよ かみゆらいならみねたくんのおうようでぜんぜんいけるとおもうなあかさねることできょうどもあがるしおおきさもかわってたよね？はんようせいあるよ kami yurai nara Mineta-kun no ouyou de zenzen ikeru to omou naa kasaneru koto de kyoudo mo agaru shi ookisa mo kawatteta yo ne? han'yousei aru yo "If it comes from hair, I think you can absolutely use Mineta-kun's application. By piling them up, their strength increases and their size changes, right? It's versatile!" (Note: This text bubble is surrounded by the "mutter" sound effect often used for Izuku's mumbling.)

6 コワ‼︎いけど何これ励まされてる⁉︎ コワ‼︎いけどなにこれはげまされてる⁉︎ KOWA!! ikedo nani kore hagemasareteru!? "Creepy!! But also why is this encouraging!?"

7 夢をを叶えた後は ゆめをかなえたあとは yume wo kanaeta ato wa After fulfilling [my own] dream,

8 大丈夫 だいじ���うぶ daijoubu "It's all right,"

9 だって君はさっき手を差し伸べようとしたじゃないか だってきみはさっきてをさしのべようとしたじゃないか datte kimi wa sakki te wo sashinobe you to shita ja nai ka "because back there, you tried to reach out your hand, didn't you?"

10 夢を与えていく番だ ゆめをあたえていくばんだ yume wo ataete iku ban da it's [my] turn to offer dreams.

1 君はヒーローになれるよ きみはヒーローになれるよ kimi wa HIIROO ni nareru yo "You can become a hero!"

1 頑張れ少年！ がんばれしょうねん！ ganbare shounen! "Do your best, young man!"

2 さびしくないと言ったらウソになるけど さびしくないといったらウソになるけど sabishikunai to ittara USO ni naru kedo If I said I wasn't lonely, I'd be lying, but

3 こんな風に誰かを励ませるならーー こんなふうにだれかをはげませるならーー konna fuu ni dareka wo hagemaseru nara-- if I can encourage someone like this--

4-5 これは僕たちが最高のヒーローになった物語 これはぼくたちがさいこうのヒーローになったものがたり kore wa boku-tachi ga saikou no HIIROO ni natta monogatari This is the story of how we became the greatest heroes.

text in hand 完 かん kan Complete

1 遅かったじゃないか少年‼︎ おそかったじゃないかしょうねん‼︎ osokatta ja nai ka shounen!! "You're late, young man!!"

2 仰ってくれたら空港まで迎えに行ったのに！ おっしゃってくれたらくうこうまでむかえにいったのに！ osshatte kuretara kuukou made mukae ni itta noni! "If you had told me, I would have gone to pick you up from the airport!"

3 サプライズプレゼントしたくてね SAPURAIZU PUREZENTO shitakute ne "I want to give you a surprise present."

4 タペストウリーですか⁉︎ TAPESUTOURII desu ka!? "Is it a tapestry!?"

5 8年前私とAFOの戦いで取れたデータが 8ねんまえわたしとオール・フォー・ワンのたたかいでとれたデータが 8nenmae watashi to OORU FOO WAN no tatakai de toreta DEETA ga "The data obtained during the battle between me and All For One 8 years ago"

6 なんかすごい可能性を広げるモノだったそうだ！ なんかすごいかのうせいをひろげるモノだったそうだ！ nanka sugoi kanousei wo hirogeru MONO datta sou da! "seems like it's something that opens up a lot of possibilities!"

7 "個性"の深化と共に "こせい"のしんかとともに "kosei" no shinka to tomo ni "With the strengthening of quirks,"

8 技術もまた深化していく ぎじゅつもまたしんかしていく gijutsu mo mata shinka shite iku "technology also strengthens."

9 マルチに個性を使いこなした君で更なるデータを取りたい！ マルチにこせいをつかいこなしたきみでさらなるデータをとりたい！ MARUCHI ni kosei wo tsukaikonashita kimi de saranaru DEETA wo toritai! "I want to collect even more data from you as you have mastered using multiple quirks!"

10 え　でもこんな高いモノ… え　でもこんなたかいモノ… e demo konna takai MONO... "Eh? But such an expensive thing..."

11 こいつは海外の友と発目少女の協力 こいつはかいがいのともとはつめしょうじょのきょうりょく koitsu wa kaigai no tomo to Hatsume-shoujo no kyouryoku "This one is from cooperation between my friend overseas and Young Hatsume,"

12 そして爆豪少年中心にかつてのA組が共同出資したモノだ そしてばくごうしょうねんちゅうしんにかつてのエーぐみがきょうどうしゅっししたモノだ soshite Bakugou-shounen chuushin ni katsute no EE-gumi ga kyoudou shusshi shita MONO da "and it is something that the former Class A jointly invested in with Young Bakugou at the heart of it."

13 バレてるぜ BAREteru ze "You've been found out."

14 まだ身体が動いちまうんだろ まだからだがうごいちまうんだろ mada karada ga ugoichimaundaro "Your body is still moving."

1 肝に銘じておきな きもにめいじておきな kimo ni meijite oki na "Take this to heart."

2-3 これも君自身が勝ち取った力だ‼︎ これもきみじしんがかちとったちからだ‼︎ kore mo kimi jishin ga kachitotta chikara da!! "You've earned this power fair and square, too!!" (Note: The above three lines are a reference to chapter 2.)

4 皆といつまでも みんなといつまでも minna to itsumademo WIth everyone, forever...

5 来い こい koi "Come [on],"

6 デク DEKU "Deku." (Note: If you want to get REALLY sentimental, just know that together speech bubbles #5 & #6 make grammatically the exact opposite phrase of what Katsuki said to Izuku in the woods at summer training camp before he disappeared in the portal, which gets translated in English as "Stay back, Deku.")

1 前よりは"暇"って感じかな…！ まえよりは"ひま"ってかんじかな…！ mae yori wa "hima" tte kanji ka na...! "It feels like we've got more free time than before...!"

2 星戦道路で崖崩れ交通マヒってます せいせんどうろでがけくずれこうつうマヒってます seisen douro de gake kuzure koutsuu MAHIttemasu "A landslide on Seisen* Road is paralyzing traffic." (*Note: This road's name means literally "Star Wars" in Japanese.)

3 ヒーロー出動お願いします！ ヒーローしゅつどうおねがいします！ HIIROO shutsudou onegai shimasu! "Please dispatch heroes!"

4 いつまでも itsumademo ...forever,

tagline 1 No.430　僕のヒーローアカデミア　堀越耕平 ナンバー430　ぼくのヒーローアカデミア　ほりこしこうへい NANBAA 430 boku no HIIROO AKADEMIA Horikoshi Kouhei No. 430 My Hero Academia Kouhei Horikoshi

tagline 2 長きに渡るご愛読心よりありがとうございました‼︎堀越先生の次回作にご期待下さい‼︎最終42巻は12月4日（水）発売予定です!!! ながきにわたるごあいどくこころよりありがとうございました‼︎ほりこしせんせいのじかいさくにごきたいください‼︎さいしゅう42かんは12がつ4か（すい）はつばいよていです!!! nagaki ni wataru goaidoku kokoro yori arigatou gozaimashita!! Horikoshi-sensei no jikaisaku ni gokitai kudasai!! saishuu 42kan wa 12gatsu 4ka (sui) hatsubai yotei desu!!! A long-time favorite, thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts!! Please stay tuned for Horikoshi-sensei's next work!! The final 42nd volume is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 4th!!!

5 手を差し伸べ続ける物語 てをさしのべつづけるものがたり te wo sashinobe tsudzukeru monogatari this is the story of how we keep reaching out our hands.

[angel-sweets666]

stuck together chapter II

Barbarian bakugo x princess! Reader

Your parents arranged you to the brash and rude prince of the barbarians to save their own skin.

Warnings: suicide of a character, death and dead bodies (flash backs or nightmares) mentions of war, threats of execution. Wet dreams (smut) talks of impregnating, thoughts of breeding. Slight breeding kink, swearing, slight time skip

first chap here

A/n just wanna warn yous deku is not a good person in this AU, think of like a bad ruler. Someone who acts nice and then executed like a bunch of people. A hypocrite

Bakugo tapped his index finger against the wooden table, his eyebrows furrowing. Clear frustration on his face. Staring up at the map then at the two guards before him, a blonde and a redhead. Both large men with equally frustrated looks on the faces.

“well what do you think we do?” Denki asks, staring at his two other companions “that lands too rugged, not good.” Kirishima rubs his chin in deep thought. “You idiots! It’s obvious here!” “Too close to the monoma kingdom, he’ll obliterate it the moment he sees it.” Kirishima interrupts bakugo, trying to knock some sense into the prince. The electric blonde looks back over the map, staring at the multiple empty lands. Most of which were once war grounds.

“we could… go here!” He points to a green patch, several kilometres long and wide. It be perfect, If only it wasn’t where bakugo fought in a bloody war.

flash back

bakugo heaves as he looks to his left over his shoulder, dead bodies. He looks forward. More dead bodies, most of which were of todorokis soilders. “Stand down Bakugo. Your gonna loose!” A tall red headed man booms out, standing next to a once alive horse, now dead and laying down. “No…. I won’t….” Bakugo straightens his back and grabs his sword. Letting out a loud war cry (scream) before lunging at the huge red headed man, his act of bravery to avenge his men who were now cold bloody and dead on the floor. Leaving their wives, children, siblings and parents behind just to fight in this war for him.

back to now

Bakugo snapped out of his flash back , placing a gentle hand on the large burn mark on his side, a scar from a brutal war. The scar now healed over and nothing but scar tissue. "Todoroki battlegrounds, can’t do the plan there " he mumbled to Denki and Kirishima. Neither of them had been at the war; they were still in training at the time. If only katsuki could’ve just trained at that time, he was only 18 where the first war he fought in happened

Denki rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. Like everything is Todoroki battlegrounds! It's taken your family, what, seventy years just to get Flamoria to back off? This whole continent is practically Todoroki battlegrounds!"

Bakugo glared at him but couldn't entirely disagree. "There. Still battlegrounds, but fifty nine year-old battlegrounds," he said, pointing to a large plain of land in the distance. The expanse was unclaimed by any kingdom, a constant reminder of the war's devastation.

. “Are you sure bakubro?” Kirishima asks, his pupils turning to slits. A feature almost all purebred dragons have. “It’s fine shitty scales.” Bakugo grumbled as he looks to Denki “huh?! Oh yeah.. it’s uh.. very green!” Denki stuttered, nodding his head “good, here’s final” he takes a pen and circled the large land. Chucking the pen back onto the wooden table “there, done.” Bakugo said as he arose from his chair and began walking out the room, kirishima quickly rolling up the map and grabbing it before scrambling to keep up with the two blondes

You heard the sounds of heavy footsteps echoing through the stone hallway outside your chambers. Curious and slightly annoyed, you peeked out the door to see three men you knew all too well: Kirishima, Bakugo, and Denki. Their boots clomped loudly against the floor, disrupting the quiet.

Frustration bubbled up as you leaned against the doorframe, placing your weight on one hip. "Can you three keep it down?" you shouted, your voice sharp.

Bakugo spun around, his expression already irritated. "What are you on about, woman?!" he yelled back, clearly not in the mood for any complaints.

"Can't a girl sleep?" you retorted, your tone matching his.

Denki and Kirishima scrambled to get on their knees and apologize, "We’re sorry, your highness! We didn’t mean to wake you!" They looked so apologetic and sweet that you couldn't help but smile. "It’s alright, hons. I’m yelling at Bakugo," you reassured them. Sometimes you wondered, "Why can’t Kirishima or Denki be the future king? Then I’d marry them," because they were such sweethearts.

Bakugo grumbled, "You’re not my mother."

"No, but I’m your future wife. Close enough," you teased, unknowing to bakugos already bad mood. You didn’t know that when he had nightmares or reminders of war he got angry and sometimes… physical

His eyes darkened with rage. "Excuse me? I am the future king, and you will not speak to me like that unless you want to end up in the dungeon with your head hacked off! His voice boomed as he got close to your face, causing you to back up in fear.

"Kat…Katsuki?"

"WHAT?!" he roared, his voice filled with venom, making your heart race.

You backed up again, trembling. "S-sorry…" you stammered, scrambling to get back into your chambers, your heart pounding in your chest.

“way harsh man she was only teasing..” kirishima mumbled “I don’t give a fuck she needs to learn her place.” Bakugo spits back, his flared up anger bubbling to a cool. Beginning to walk up the hall again, yanking the map from kirishimas hands and storming away. The two boys looked shocked! Bakugo was always so calm with women, rude? Sure, very. He made fun of and were rude with women, but never yelled at them. Same goes for children and the elderly. what was going on??

bakugo walked up the halls to his bedroom chambers, trying to take deep breaths. “Bakubro what’s going on man?” Kirishima asks “yeah! Ever since we thought of the plan you’ve been acting all funny!” “IM NOT ACTING FUNNY!” Bakugo yelled in response “You just threatened to execute *name* by hacking off her head.”

bakugo sighed “just..! Leave me alone. I’ll see you idiots later” bakugo walked into his chambers and slammed the door in his guards face. “Who put a stick up his ass?” Denki mumbled as the two marched to their posts outside the palace.

You sat in your room, shocked at what had just happened. How could bakugo just threaten you like that? He was rude to you, ignored you ect but never threatened you! You slowly sat down on your bed, staring off into nothing. The way he yelled at you, they were right when they said he was terrifying. You thought you two were warming up to eachother, clearly not.

you laid down in bed and tried to go to sleep, but you were very shaken up from the incident it took you a while to fall asleep. The way Katsuki looked at you like you were nothing more than a block in his way just shook you to the core. Bakugo on the other hand was completely fine! As if he didn't just threaten to kill you. He was sleeping soundly in his bed of furs.

however as time went on and the clock ticked to early in the morning, katsukis once peaceful sleep became that of a nightmare.

nightmare

bakugo heaved on the ground, a todoroki soilder standing over him menacingly. One that was particularly short. He clicked his tongue as he crouched down over bakugo “I thought you were strong? Didn’t you kill lord Izuku? That’s what they all said, you stabbed him right in the chest. Cold blooded killer you are.” He harrassed bakugo, an attempt to scare him “I didn’t fucking kill him he killed himself.” He spat back, unable to move due to the blade of the soilder right near his neck under his jaw. “ then howd they find him with YOUR blade in his chest and you gone?” The soilder asked “I- left him alone for five god damn minutes!” Flash backs of the day Izuku was interrogated and tortured by members of bakugos court, the screams of his once childhood friend turned mortal enemy rang in his ears. In a desperate attempt to escape the torture he stabbed himself with katsukis sword with scary aim

right in the dead centre of his chest.

back in real word

katsuki shot up in a cold sweat, panicking. These nightmares had been getting worse and worse, he knew izuku deserved it! But the boy was once his child hood friend, and an ally to his kingdom. Only for when he took over to put his kingdom in insane amounts of debt, poverty and famine. He was a horrible person as he got older, bakugo had to do something! The man got up, wiping up remaining sweat from his body with a rag. Taking a walk down the hallway, he paused by your chamber doors. you.

the woman who seemed to get in his way constantly.

he felt bad for you, he knew you had no choice in this. You couldn’t control if you were to be married off or not. Neither did he. He bit back his pride, knocking on your bedroom door loud enough to wake you up.

The sound of fur sheets rustling filled his ears, followed by your soft voice. "Come in…"

Katsuki opened the door and saw you in your nightgown, snuggled up in bed. "It’s me," he grumbled in a low voice.

"Oh… Baku—"

"Call me Katsuki," he interrupted, his response shocking you.

"Okay… Katsuki."

The blonde sat by your sleepy form awkwardly. "Sorry about today… I shouldn’t have gone off at you. I won't hack off your head, dumbass," he apologized, a rare occurrence.

You blinked in surprise. "Holy shit, did pigs learn to fly?"

Bakugo scoffed. "No, I'm apologizing."

"So… yes, they have. Okay… I accept your apology," you said, a small smile tugging at your lips.

Bakugo breaths a sigh of relief “you better” he grumbled out “I am! I’ve accepted the apology!” You sat up, staring up at him. Bakugo looked over you, checking you out for a second. A slight blush going over his cheeks but you would never see that in the darkness. You cleared your throat “so… Uhm… when’s the wedding?” You asked to try and strike up a conversation. “When was your gown fitted?” Katsuki asked “2 weeks ago..?” “Then in two weeks.” He replied calmly

“your voice is pretty when your calm..”

“hah?!”

“your voice, your always so loud and gruff…it’s pretty when your calm.” You compliment him

“Oh shut up.“

you giggle “you should get some rest, it’s late.

“early.”

“huh?”

katsuki looked at you “it’s early, it’s 1 am.” His face seemed almost like he was mocking you. “Right… yeah… early…”

katsuki stood from your bed “g’ night..” he makes his way to the door and walks out, closing the large wooden door behind him.

that visit of his was strange and oddly comforting, a late night apology from katsuki? What did kirishima do to make him do that?! You laid back down onto the mattress of your bed, staring up at your roof.

The way he walked in shirtless, he was so handsome you’ll give him that.

sleepily your eyes fluttered to a close and you soon drifted off, having a much opposite dream from katsukis.

your dream

your face was pressed into the pillows by a big hand, the feeling of hips slapping against yours being the second thing you feel.

the first thing would be the monster sized cock sliding in and out of your pussy.

katsuki grabbed your hips and pushed you down on his cock harder

“cmon you can handle… hah… it. How else am I supposed to get that heir huh? I need to.. fuck! Fill you up with a baby first to get a baby…just a little longer…” he grumbles into your neck, biting down onto skin before you feel a hot sticky fluid rush into your womb. Doing just as he said he would do to you.

hopefully one day 🙏

a/n I WONDER WHAT “the plan” ISSSSS. it is shorter but it builds up to what’s gonna happen trust the process🙏

tag list:

@literallyjusta-reader. @augustraine @audreykins45 @i-simp-for-mha-men @applepi25 @gabby-ha @@luv444lay @sillyemanusz @thecutienadq @chimeily @thephantomkid6-66 @mutsu422 @alligator-person @nottherealslimshady @therealsatorugojo

[codenamesazanka]

My prediction on what was Scissors-kun's deal ended up being pretty correct: he was indeed abused - horrifically so, being tied up and locked away - and then abandoned by his family during the war because of his quirk. Except Horikoshi actually exceeded my expectations and revealed that it wasn't because of behavioral issues (not that it would've justified it! Never. but I was imagining a parallel to Toga), it was only because his quirk was a random mutation, and also his family sewn his mouth shut.

Because thing is. The set up for something like this was here all along. I predicted it based on things that were already happening in the story. Continued fear of 'abnormal' quirks; horrific domestic violence enacted due to this; Heroes never catching wind of this because this was from a family that weren't consider 'Villains', so this was Scissors-kun's normal. And this normal broke and the dark secret got revealed only because something extraordinary happened - the country collapsed. Scissors-kun family left him, so he was able to escape.

But... none of this is apparently going to be addressed. The happy ending is Scissors-kun being found and helped, instead of any widespread, far-reaching, systemic change that would prevent shit like this. No, 'but it's obviously going to be addressed off-screen' doesn't count. The story brought up on-page and explicitly that quirk discrimination is a thing, that abusive quirk counseling/treatment is a thing, that abuse and abandonment of children is a thing. I expect the solutions to be on-page and explicit as well, and not just 'if I reach out when it's not my business, then...!'

(Also. it is their fucking business. They're government employees. Their job is to save people and guarantee the welfare of all citizens. it is very much their business.)

I'm not upset that Scissors-kun isn't Shigaraki; never really expected that in the first place. Shigaraki died. Deku fucking failed. I've come to terms with it. I'm not upset that Shigaraki wasn't saved, but this kid was; not even in the meta-, story-, character-sense, because, fine, he's replacement goldfish Tenko, but I'll take the 'we'll do better next time', it's a good thing this kid gets saved, it's what Shigaraki would've wanted, it's what the League fought to destroy for. It's even good that The Old Lady has become a better person.

What baffles me is that this save occurs pretty much because of nothing except the purported 'What Deku Showed The World That Day (When He Killed A Man)'. This save isn't because Heroes and civilians have more awareness of victims. This save isn't because society is promising to stop quirk discrimination. This save isn't because Ochako learns of Toga's abusive parents and so sets out to tackle this issue of quirk-related domestic violence. This save isn't because Deku has lead a new movement to stop bystander inaction. (Moreover, about 'bystander inaction' - Scissors-kun lists 5 other people outside his immediate family of Dad/Mom/Sis who knew about him... and did nothing. His uncle, his aunt, his grandparents, his great-grandfather - if they didn't directly help sew Scissors-kun mouth shut, they still turned a blind eye and never alerted authorities. (Tenko explicitly states this as one of the factors that led to him lashing out, but I guess the story forgot about it long ago, so. Even with the memories sharing of Chapter 417 and 418, Deku never sees this.))

As I said above, none of the issues that lead to Scissors-kun being in the circumstances he was in has been addressed.

This save isn't because any random civilian has decided to help - because any rando can and should help! This isn't even because Old Lady came to the guilt-ridden conclusion herself to do better.

This save is because Old Lady, carrying the burden of guilt, watched Deku kill the kid she didn't save all those years ago (tho she doesn't know it) and is apparently inspired by this act of "I can't help but do something" to finally take action (as helpfully narrated by Hawks). It's not because civilians have done any deep thinking about the rot that permeates their culture; it's because Deku was a hard-working murderer on TV. There were dozens of other people on the street. Real change should've been a whole crowd of people seeing Scissors-kun and wanting to help - someone giving him a blanket or offering him shoes while another calls for an ambulance???

But whatever. I just want to state this: the first thing that truly saved Scissors-kun was Shigaraki's destruction. Without it, his family would've stayed in that house and kept him locked up. It's really only because of Shigaraki's destruction that Scissors-kun even got the opportunity to find freedom and get his hand held.

[sugarlywhispers]

ex!b.katsuki x reader ; m.izuku x reader — bakugou cheats on his gf, with midoriya's girlfriend.

☆– warnings; ANGST. mention and description of panic attacks, swear words, cheating (bakugou to reader; uraraka to midoriya), description of a fight. But it ends in fluff~ c;

☆–a.n; honestly, i don't know if i'm going to add another chapter... i still have a bit more of ideas for this, but i don't know ._.

in the meantime, i hope you liked this new part! <3

also, i hope ya'll have a wonderful beggining of 2024!!! may this new year bring lots of good thing for everyone, lots of love and adventures, new amazing things and wonderful people to your lives!

love ya'll so much, wish you all ALL the good things life can bring; no more tears, except happy ones. <3

A few weeks go by, and Midoriya and you keep in touch, texting almost everyday. Talking about random stuff, important stuff, whatever the mood is. But it's mostly cute, random stuff, getting to know each other kind of feeling. It's funny how you both have been around each other for so long and did not actually know one another. 

The texting was cute. Like a picture he sends one afternoon, when his shift is calm and almost finished, when the sun is setting, taken from up high in a building. A beautiful sunset picture that you use as a lock screen wallpaper on your phone. Or that one selfie he sent when he shared patrols with Hero Shoto; you remember thinking how cute he looked posing next to the hot and cold Hero, with two fingers of one of his hands pulled up on a peace sign. Or a picture of a little puppy Hero Deku found on a rainy morning shift. He took it to the closest vet so they could help the little animal, and you find that so fucking heroic it makes your heart jump from the cuteness.

"I wonder… who has you smiling like that? Oh , I know… Mister Greeny," Mineta mocks, his eyebrows shaking up and down suggestively.

"Shut up," you bark and hit him on the upper arm strongly. He simply laughs.

Three months pass faster than you actually realize. You're better, you feel better. You haven't had a single panic attack since Midoriya Izuku entered your life. Which is good… it means good.

He is good.

Since that first Friday you grabbed coffee together, you both decided to make it your day. Each and every Friday morning, Izuku and you would go to grab coffee at that same shop you went to the first time; then he would walk you home as the gentleman he is.

It's Friday and you're waiting for him, it's a bit late already, but you know he is coming. He had a night patrol but he insisted to not break the new tradition - his words. You found it cute, so you didn't protest.

But now you're worried, because it's almost 30 minutes since you have been waiting and he hasn't come yet. Then it becomes 40, 45, 50 minutes. You feel your neck itchy, but you try to ignore it, looking at your phone. Waiting for a notification, waiting for Mid‐ Izuku to contact you. But nothing.

It's already been 1.10 hours long and no sign of him. You sigh and decide to go home, it's been more than an hour already. Probably he had something coming up at the last minute, or he simply forgot. He probably had a rough night and he didn't have time to meet you. You're not as important as his job, obviously.

You grab your things and exit the place, the kind girl behind the counter smiles sadly at you and waves her hand as goodbye. You smile, or at least try, in her direction and leave the coffee shop.

You feel itchy all over. This… This is… weird . Why are you feeling like this? You have no right to feel… disappointed, hurt . He's a Hero. He's freaking Number One, pro hero Deku. His job will always come first. But you can't help it. It's like…

You're not my priority, Y/N. Understand that you'll never be. I have to concentrate in my job if want to fucking be Number one.

You haven't heard his voice in your head for a long time now. And hearing it again is… painful. Hurting. Choking .

Every sound around you feels a hundred times louder as you walk, every light blinds you and you don't realize you're bumping into almost everyone around. The pressure on your neck is getting stronger and you can't breathe. You can't think. Your vision is turning black, like that night at the ramen shop with Mineta. A panic attack . You're having one in the middle of the street. How embarrassing . How pathetic . 

You want the blackness to finally evolve you, and don't let go.

And then you see it, you feel it. Green eyes and strong hands grabbing your shoulders. You know those green eyes, you have seen them before. He's moving his mouth but you can't hear his voice. He looks worried; why is he worried? You feel rough hands that grab your face as softly as he can, and they are cold. You aren't used to the cold, but you like it. It's refreshing.

"...hear me? Y/N, please breathe, okay? Breathe with me," his voice is comforting, so you follow him, you breathe with him. "That's it… You're okay. We are okay."

The sight around you starts to clear, the blackness dissipates and you see clearly. His face is the first thing your eyes find. You know him. "Izuku?"

" Yes! Yes, it's me… Hi, love," he smiles relieved. You look around realizing you're in the middle of a circle, with him. People are watching, some worried, some annoyed. Embarrassing .

You realize then that Izuku's hands are around your face, holding you with no intention of letting go. "Izuku…"

He blinks, realizing then probably your surroundings and nods. "Yes, come one, let's go…"

Izuku helps you stand, his arm surrounding your waist pulling your weight on him so he helps you walk. Everyone starts clapping, clearly recognizing hero Deku even in his civilian clothes.

He walks you to your apartment in silence. Until you walk into the building, "There's no elevator?"

"No, it's been broken since before I got here," you know your voice sounds throaty, and the expression on his face says it worries him.

He sighs looking at the long stairs ahead. He knows you live on the fourth floor. "Okay, then," he says before picking you up, bridal style.

"Izuku! I can walk!"

"No, you can't. You have been putting your weight on me the whole way here."

"Still, I…"

"Shut up. Let me help," his tone it's so authoritative you have no other option than to do that. Shut up and let him help, because you know you wouldn't be able to climb those stairs up on your own even if you tried.

On the way up, you can't avoid watching him. He looks… angry . You have never seen him like that, or better said, you have never experienced his anger, you have seen him angry on the TV, fighting villains.

"I'm sorry," you say, and he stops midway, his eyes traveling to your face.

"You're apologizing for having a panic attack?" He's frowning, his tone incredulous, but serious. It makes tingles run your body.

"I'm… Yes, it's embarrassing ," you feel your voice crack a bit, and you hate that.

"Y/N, it's not embarrassing. It's a trauma response. And it's okay to go through it. But you need to heal…"

You look away from his face, tears already burning your eyes. You can't help but hear his voice again.

Having panic attacks in public is embarrassing, Y/N. You have to control them. Don't be fucking weak.

" He said… he said they were embarrassing."

You know you shouldn't be saying this to Izuku, but you said it even before you could actually think it.

" Who said-…" Izuku stops mid sentence. Takes a deep, deep breath, and continues climbing the stairs in silence. You don't dare look up. He's so tense and angry, you don't really have the courage to witness that right now.

When you arrive at the fourth floor you signal him which one is your apartment. And even when you are in front of the door, he doesn't put you on the ground. He stands there, waiting patiently, as you search for the key card on your bag and when the door is open he enters with you in his arms. He of course takes his shoes off at the entrance and walks inside.

He doesn't say anything as he sits you over the small couch and sits next to you, his arm touching yours and taking almost all the space around you. His smell is around and you like it.

His face is even closer to yours when he asks, worried, "When were you going to tell me you have panic attacks?"

"I… I don't want to bother anyone with them." You tell the truth. You can't lie to him.

"That's what he told you? That they are a bother?" You simply shrug, not really wanting to answer. "Y/N, I'm not angry or feel like this is a bother. I'm worried, you need help."

"I am going to therapy. I've been going since I'm five, Izuku. I had a handle on them, they weren't recurrent until…"

"Until he left you," he finishes for you, slightly shaking his head and you nod.

Izuku sighs, standing up and you watch him. Is he going away? Is he embarrassed and going away, deciding not to involve or do anything with your broken self?

"Do you mind if I make us both tea?"

You shake your head rapidly in answer. He smiles and walks towards the kitchen. You follow his every move, being a small apartment it's easy to do it.

Izuku is… staying . For tea. He's not leaving. He's not leaving you alone after a panic attack. Like Mineta. But he's your best friend, Mineta has always been there; like you have been there for him even after the war he had to be part of at such a young age and he tried to push you away. Izuku doesn't have that obligation. Izuku… is your friend? Well, that's how you like to think of him since you got to know him this past months. But the category of best friend was not there for him yet. You were just getting to know each other. So, why is he here? Why does he stay?

"It's ready," he suddenly says, sitting back next to you with the two mugs of tea. He gives you one and you accept it a bit startled.

The sudden smell of lemon with honey tea that invades your nose as you bring it closer to drink immediately relaxes you. You smile after taking a sip.

You look back at him and he's watching intently at you, like he's waiting for your reaction.

"You remembered," you say and you really want to cry now.

He smiles, a hand flying to the back of his head to scratch it nervously, "You said it was your favorite."

You did. On a text message, when the topic was favorite drinks . But the fact that he remembered that you said it, it is… overwhelming.

Silence again. On your part it's more relaxed, but you can feel him a bit anxious. You decide to give him space, time to say whatever it is that it's inside his mind.

Until he does.

"You're not the only one… struggling still… with all that happened." He says as he sets his mug on the little coffee table in front of you. It's very small, mostly for decoration. Only space for the two mugs you're using at the moment. Izuku then lays his elbows over his knees, fingers fidgeting in the middle clearly showing his nervousness. "I have nightmares. Very bad ones, since the war. Uraraka used to help a lot, she was always there for me when I needed her."

This is the first time he talks about her this willingly, so you just keep silent and give him the space he needs to say whatever he wants.

"I was finally getting better… and then… she wasn't there anymore…"

"The nightmares came back?" He simply nods. You can't help yourself but to direct your hand towards his shoulder in a form of comfort, which he accepts with a small smile.

"I guess… we are two broken people, trying to pick up the pieces left. Aren't we?"

His eyes shine with tears he refuses to set free, probably also what your own looked like. He smiles sadly at you, before patting your hand that still holds his shoulder.

You both stay in silence for a little while before Izuku breaks the silence again.

"I'm sorry about today. I had…" He sighs. "I had a discussion with a partner."

Partner? You know Izuku doesn't have many partners. One is Hero Shoto, who also is his best friend. You doubt he had a discussion with him, you couldn't actually see Shoto in a heated discussion at all. And the other one is… Oh .

"What did he do now?" You don't even have to mention his name. You and Izuku know who you're talking about.

The green-haired man rolls his eyes. "We have been civil. For the sake of everybody around us. And if I'm being honest, we work well together. In fights, we understand each other perfectly. So we decided to just be professional and not bring up anything that happened."

You know this. Izuku had already told you this once, when he called you on his lunch break to talk to you about a cute little butterfly that he would send you the picture of when he was less busy and you heard Bakugou's voice on the back calling for Izuku. They had been on a mission together.

"Until…" Izuku continues, "Until this morning, when he decided to bring up our Friday morning's coffee."

" What?! " You frown. How did he know? Nobody knew, besides Mineta and probably Shoto on Izuku's side. Nobody else knew… unless…

"Paparazzis discovered us. I don't know how. I'm always careful when meeting you. I take a lot of turns and I disguise myself the best I can so they don't recognize me. But they found out." He sighs, a hand sliding his green and black curls back. "They released an article yesterday. About us."

Izuku takes out his phone, searching for something before showing it to you.

NEWLY BACHELOR, NUMBER ONE PRO HERO DEKU, FOUNDS NEW SWEETHEART?

Yes, my readers, this is apparently what it looks like. A young, pretty lady like this caught the attention of the Symbol of Hope quite fast, if you ask for my humble opinion.

We don't have much information about her, sadly. Only that this lady has our favorite Pro Hero on her clutches... Look at the way he looks at her in the following pictures!

Isn't it cute? Let me be honest, as a fan of Deku myself, I can't avoid feeling a bit heartbroken, but I also think that this man deserves all the happiness anyone can give him. Don't you agree? And after that sudden break up with Pro Hero Uravity that caught everyone by surprise, makes me think… Does this lady have anything to do with it? Did she catch Pro Hero Deku's heart from before, causing the break up? Mmm, so many questions, readers, that we don't have the answers yet! But no mind, we will try our best to find them! Be patient, and in the meantime, show a bit of support for our favorite Number One Hero.

You feel like vomiting. Your picture, clear as day, has never been on the front page of a magazine. Bakugou has always protected his privacy so meticulously, and that included you. The media and his fans knew he had a relationship, but he never let anyone get a glimpse of it.

And here you are now, on the front page of Go-zzip Hero magazine, the picture showing you sitting in front of Izuku in that coffee shop, talking so close to his face it practically looks like you're kissing. Oh, shit . You do that? You actually speak that close to him??

You swallow thickly, looking back up at Izuku.

"I am so sorry, Izuku, I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't know. None of us did. But I'm sorry I wasn't more careful…"

"Don't be silly. This is not your fault."

"Yours either."

You both smile shyly at each other. This is… chaotic. Being involved with him is… OH, SHIT.

"What? What is it?" He asks as he sees your eyes open wide in fear.

"Your fans are gonna kill me..."

"No, they aren't…"

"Yes, they are! Oh my God!" You stand, after putting your mug over the table next to his, a bit wobbly on the legs which makes him react fast to hold you if you fall, but you don't. You start walking one way to the other of your small living room. "I'm so food for the fishes… they are going to kill me!"

Izuku chuckles. "No, they aren't, Y/N…"

"Don't laugh! Yes, they are! Especially after what that journalist said! They even hinted that probably I was the reason you broke up with Uraraka!"

"Which is not true. I'll call my manager and PR team and ask for an interview with the magazine and clarify this. You don't have anything to worry about. Neither does Mineta. I'll clarify that we are just friends…"

That makes you freeze in place, frowning. "Mineta? What does he have to do with this?"

Izuku frowns too, looking confused at you. "Aren't you… Isn't he… Aren't you dating ?"

"WHAT?!" By Izuku's flinching, you realize you raised your tone a bit louder than you intended. "Sorry…Mineta is my best friend, Izuku. He's like a brother to me."

Izuku looks so confused, "But… But you always speak about him. He cooks for you, he is… he is here almost everyday for you, and he did all that stuff to piss off Bakugou for you, like a…"

"Like a brother would." You smile. "I do think that somehow our souls are connected, because I know I could leave apart from anyone, except him . He's that annoying sticky thing you get used to living with and don't want to unstick, because if you do something will miss. Because he's my brother. I wouldn't be able to live without his annoying ass." Izuku laughs with you. You walk back to sitting next to him as silence comes back. Then, you keep talking, "Mineta has been there when I had no one. Even when we were five years old and my parents died in a car accident, provoked by a hero-villain fight." Deku tenses, but keeps his attention on you. "We used to play heroes when we were kids and fantasize about how we were going to be Number One. Both of us, together. And then the accident happened. I was left alone. I didn't have much family around, only my old great-grandma that was barely suitable to raise a child. So I was given to the state. I went to an orphanage."

You don't know why you're baring your soul to Izuku like this. This was a painful, very intimate part of your history nobody knew but Mineta. Not even Bakugou knew. He never insisted for you to tell him. He simply accepted that you were Mineta's best friend, end of sentence. He never questioned anything. Now you wonder if that was a good or a bad thing.

"That's when your panic attacks began?" He asks a bit timidly. You nod.

"It happened that same day, when I was given the news about their deaths. A kind lady had been there with me, explaining what it all meant. She was kind, but she didn't have much experience. Imagine walking into a room as a kid where your parents are lying dead in two stretchers and being told these are your parents and you're not gonna see them anymore ." Izuku flinches again, a chill clearly running down his back. "A few hours later, I had my first panic attack. I lost consciousness for almost an hour. It was the longest one I ever had and doctors were worried not enough oxygen had gone to my brain, considering that even when I woke up I wasn't talking to anyone."

"Until Mineta and Auntie Asiki came to see me at the hospital. The second Mineta lay down next to me in the hospital bed, I started crying, and he held me. We were kids, not knowing anything about life, and he still understood that I needed him. Auntie Asiki offered to bring me home with her and Mineta, but the forms to the orphanage had already been filled and accepted. It would take a lot of money, lawyers and procedures to let her, a single mother, take my custody. And while her heart and intentions were hugely appreciated for even thinking about it, it was impossible."

"I didn't know Mineta's mom was a single mother." Izuku frowns, probably guilting himself about it, because of everything they, as class A, had been through their years at UA.

"He doesn't like speaking about it. He really has to trust you to tell you about it."

Izuku nods, instantly respecting that decision. He then scratches his neck again. 

"So, you and him are not…"

You chuckle. "Not even if he was the last man on Earth." Izuku laughs too.

" Ouch , that wounds me so deep, bun," Mineta's voice is heard from the entrance as he walks inside your apartment.

Shit , you haven't heard him at all. The worry on your face is visible, because you have been talking about him, about his private life, and you hadn't consulted him before. You feel so bad, so worried he'll get mad at you.  

Mineta sees you and simply shrugs, "It's okay, bun, I trust Midoriya." He then winks at you and you feel the worry disappear completely.

"Thank you, Mineta. I promise I won't speak about it to anyone."

"It's okay," Mineta answers Izuku, pulling his thumb up in his direction. You smile watching their interaction. "I'm not here though to have this conversation." Your best friend gets closer to where you are, a worried expression on his face. "I was told you had another one, in the middle of the street.." You sigh, looking down at your hands that lay in your lap. "Was it because of him again?"

You nod and Mineta is the one who sighs this time.

"About Bakugou?" Izuku asks then, frowning.

You nod again. "My therapist is helping, but yes, they appear after I remember something, random things he once had said to me."

"Why it doesn't fucking surprise me…" Izuku barks as he stands from the couch and walks, just like you had moments ago. Mineta opens his eyes wide, watching amused at Izuku's reaction.

"He's such a fucking jerk… But we already knew that, didn't we?" 

Izuku immediately agrees with Mineta.

"I should have punched him harder," Izuku's comment makes you choke on the tea you were about to swallow.

"You what?!" Both you and Mineta speak at the same time. You look worried about the whole situation, the discussion clearly hadn't been a simple one if there had been fists involved. Mineta looks like a kid given the awaited present on his birthday.

"What really happened, Izuku?" You ask, worry clear on your tone.

"He saw the article, clearly. I came back from night patrol and was changing in the locker rooms, the whole night shift was there preparing to go home at the same time the morning shift was getting ready to start their patrols. And he started making comments about you and me, about how I apparently like his leftovers, about how you are a gold digger and now went for me."

"He did not fucking say that!" Mineta stands up, ready to beat some ass, Bakugou's, specifically.

"He did! I couldn't not do anything. I tried to be civil and only told him to stop talking about us, that he didn't know anything. And I told him to stop playing the victim, because he was none. The only victims in this story are you and me," Izuku looks at you like he's assuring you, "They don't have the right to even comment on this." 

"Hell yeah, Midoriya!" Mineta cheers, raising his hand for Izuku to high five him, and the green-haired does, animated. You shake your head trying to hold your smile back. "What did corn-head say then?"

Izuku laughs at Mineta's nickname for Bakugou, bumping his fist again with the man in agreement.

You roll your eyes. Jesus , men are such idiots with nicknames. 

"He then said that… I don't know if I should repeat it…" Izuku and Mineta both look at you, Mineta already intuitively knows.

"He talked… he talked about our sex life, didn't he?" You ask after a minute of silence.

Izuku nods.

"Tell me you did punch him hard though…" Mineta is fuming, you can see the smoke coming out his ears, metaphorically. 

"Of course I did. Twice, before someone pushed me away."

"Well done, man." Mineta high fives Izuku again.

"You shouldn't… you didn't have to…"

"I won't let him or anybody speak about you that way, Y/N. Now that I know all you've been through, I won't even give them a chance to."

You move before you think, again. One second you're seated on the couch, and the next you're hugging Izuku. Arms around his neck strongly, as your face hides in your arm and his shoulder. It takes him a second, but he reacts by hugging back, strong arms surrounding your waist as delicately as he can, but also firm and securely.

You heard Mineta walk out of the living room towards the kitchen to entertain himself with anything.

And you feel… safe . You feel so safe in Izuku's arms, it's so comforting and nice.

You feel him take a deep breath over your head, as if your smell was comforting to him. You like that idea. That at least in something so insignificant like your smell, he finds comfort and peace. Relax and ease.

"Thank you, Izuku," you whisper only for him to listen.

He shakes his head, "You have nothing to thank me for."

"I do, though. Not only for those punches," you say backing away just a bit so you can see his face. He smiles proudly at the mention of the punches. "But because you helped me with my panic attacks… Twice."

"Twice?" He asks confusedly, but you nod.

"The first Friday we went to have a coffee, remember?" He nods, "I was waiting, and because it was my first time out of my apartment without Mineta I was feeling overwhelmed and… and then you appeared at the door. And all I felt was relief… I felt safe with you there, so it stopped even before it began."

You are looking at his eyes, and you can see the emotion in them as you speak. He then rests his forehead on yours and takes a deep breath, clearly pushing his emotion back in so he can speak.

"I'll be there for you… I want to be there for you, if you want me…"

"I want you," you immediately answer, "I want you to be here."

"Then I will."

"I also want to be there for you," you scratch the back of his head softly, as he bites his bottom lip, taking a deep breath. He looks like he's trying to control himself from doing something then and there, and that makes you smile.

"I want you . I want you to be there too." He repeats your exact same words, making you feel tingles all over your body as you feel his fingertips caress lightly, timidly, the bit of skin showing at your waist.

"Then I will."

You feel him moving, his nose caressing yours in a cute manner. Slowly getting closer, lips barely touching and…

"Sorry to be a cockblock, but your phone is ringing, Midoriya."

The bubble is popped , so you both back away, clearing your throats and fixing your clothes out of nervousness.

"Oh, yeah, ummm…" Izuku walks back towards the kitchen to search for his phone. "It's Shoto. He's probably heard already about the fight this morning. I should pick this." You nod, signaling to your room for his privacy and he thanks you as he walks there.

Your eyes follow him until the door is closed, and then they go towards the kitchen, where Mineta is standing, hip against the counter and a bowl of snacks in his hands he found somewhere, eating them slowly as he looks at you accusatory. A knowing smirk in his face.

"Shut up."

"I didn't say anything… yet."

You roll your eyes. "Spit it out." You walk towards him, picking some of the snacks on the bowl and eating.

"I have nothing to say, Y/N."

That's impossible, he always has something to say. 

"Or should I call you Ms. Midoriya from now on?" 

Ah, there it is.

You punch him in the arm and he laughs out loud.

PART I - PART II - PART III

[angels-fantasy]

Top Secret Fiction Ch. 6

The Confrontation

Katsuki Bakugou x Reader

Description: After meeting the one and only pro hero Dynamight on a dating app, you two begin to see each other. Because of the dangers that come with his hero work, you both promise to be completely honest with each other from the beginning; though you can't help but keep one big secret from him.

You write fan fiction, mostly about him.

Chapter Details: deku makes an appearance here heheh. bakugou lowkey might like fanfics? but only if they're about him. scary confrontation 😟 reader is a bit sad and confused :(

Word Count: 1.4k

previous chapter

As soon as Bakugou got home, he opened his computer and looked up 'Bakugou x Reader'. What came up was a ton of links to different websites, one of the top ones being HeroFiction.Com.

Clicking on it, he scrolled through the sight and found many other original stories about different pro heroes.

While doing this, he learned that this was called fan fiction, which he'd heard about before, but he never paid attention to it because he didn't care.

Keeping the website open, he leaned back and wondered, were you writing fan fiction about him? You must've been, based on your notes. Did you write for other pro heroes, or just him?

A small part of him hoped you only wrote for him.

He sighed and rubbed his hands down his face, trying to think about what the hell he was going to do about this. Clearly, this was something you didn't want to tell him, meaning you kept it a secret.

And he hates secrets, but for some reason, this didn't feel too bad. He was almost... flattered, in a way. He was also curious and he just wanted to know more. But how would he even bring this up to you?

Deciding he'd need help with understanding this website, he called someone he trusted.

"Hey Deku. You know what fan fiction is, right?"

Blushing, Izuku replied with "Why are you asking me that Kacchan?!"

"Because I know you used to write that shit back in high school!" He explained, "Just tell me what you know about this site called 'HeroFiction.com.'"

A lightbulb went off in Izuku's head, "Oh yeah I recognize that name! It's basically a website for pro hero fanfiction. I've seen a few good ones actually-"

"Yeah okay, thanks." Katsuki said, cutting off his friend.

It was time for him to do more of his own research, specifically on this website.

...

When you woke up the next morning, you found yourself in your bed wondering how you got there.

Did I fall asleep? You wondered.

You cringed at the thought of Bakugou seeing you asleep and hoped you didn't do anything embarrassing.

Rubbing your eyes, you grabbed your phone from the nightstand and saw a text from Bakugou letting you know he had left after putting you in your bed.

You smiled at his thoughtfulness and texted him back a thank you, and an apology for falling asleep while he was over.

After tossing your phone down onto the bed next to you, you stretched and blinked away any leftover sleep.

As you were stretching your legs you felt your foot hit something softly. Wondering what it was, you sat up and looked at the foot of your bed, eyes widening when you realized it was your notebook.

But this wasn't just any notebook- this one had all of your notes for fics you were planning on writing.

You thought about how Bakugou brought you into your bedroom, and your heart sank to your stomach when you realized he probably saw your notebook.

"Noooo!" You cried and placed your hands over your eyes. "Kill me now..."

You prayed to any higher power out there that he didn't read anything.

...

Your prayers clearly didn't reach anyone because a few hours after waking up, you got a text from Bakugou that said, "Can we talk? ASAP."

Biting your nail nervously, you texted back "Sure" and asked when and where he'd want to meet up.

Quickly texting back, he told you he'd meet you at a cafe near your neighborhood in a few hours.

A little while later as you got ready to meet up with him you felt like you were going to cough up your stomach and die from your nerves.

You didn't want to accept it, but deep down you knew he figured out your secret. It was already terrifying trying to keep what you did in your free time a secret, but now that the person you wrote about knew, was even more terrifying!

It seemed as though your frantic thoughts made time go by even faster than usual, and it was now time for you to leave so you could make it to the cafe on time.

Taking a deep breath and patting your face, you stepped out of your apartment and began to head to the cafe.

...

As Bakugou sat at the cafe in the outdoor dining area, he tapped his foot anxiously as he awaited your arrival.

After his phone call with Deku and doing his own research (which just consisted of reading other fan fictions he came across), he came to the conclusion that he would accept this hobby of yours, if you were honest about it when he confronted you.

Since he had browsed the website a bit, he came across some stories that were actually decent (but also others that were very, very questionable and he really hoped you didn't write anything like that. ESPECIALLY not a story with him and that damn Deku).

He'd never admit it, but it boosted his ego a bit to know that you wrote about him, and he definitely wanted to read some of your stuff. He wanted to know if it was as good as some of the other ones he has read.

Suddenly, he saw your figure walking towards him and he was snapped out of his thoughts. He sat up straighter and placed his elbows against the table, leaning forward.

You sat down across from him silently with a shy look on your face. "So..." You said softly, "You wanted to talk?"

He cleared his throat, "Yeah. I'll just get to the point..." He said, before hesitating to say, "That night I was at your place, I saw your notebook-"

You grimaced, knowing exactly what he was talking about, and placed your hands over your face in embarrassment. "I'm sorry." You said.

Letting out a deep breath, you uncovered your face and continued to speak while looking down at your lap. "I knew this would come up eventually, I just didn't think it'd be so soon..."

Bakugou scoffed, "So when were you gonna tell me? Never?"

You frowned at his tone, "No! It's just not an easy topic to talk about Bakugou. It's embarrassing and I wasn't just going to say 'Hey Bakugou, did you know I've been writing fan fiction about you for three years?'"

He blinked. He could understand where you were coming from. In fact, he'd probably be more weirded out if you had told him that easily. But, even though you were honest now, it still doesn't shake his uneasiness about you keeping a secret from him.

Sure, it wasn't a huge, life threatening secret, but it was still something you kept from him. He liked honesty, especially in a relationship and it's something he valued heavily. A part of him felt like he should've known about this sooner, since it was about him for gods sake!

He sighed. "Before you go assuming things, I'm not mad at ya, okay?" He said, "I just... I think I need time to think about this alright? A few days at most."

You furrowed your eyebrows subconsciously, making your eyes look big and puppy like. Well damn, how was he supposed to stay away from you when you gave him that look?

"Okay." You spoke sadly, "I understand. I shouldn't have kept that from you, so again, I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "'S fine."

You rubbed your sweaty palms on your legs and stood up. "I'll give you time now, alright? Just, call or text me whenever you're ready." You said and gave him a small wave before walking back in the direction you came from.

As you made your way back, you thought about your talk with Bakugou.

If you wanted to keep seeing him, maybe you would have to stop writing. You were starting to really like Bakugou, and you didn't want a silly hobby to get in the way of a potentially serious relationship with him.

You felt your eyes tear up. It was hard to think about giving up writing. You had made friends through your writing, your own little community online. It was great! But realistically, could you keep this up forever?

That same night, you posted on your page.

Hi everyone. I've decided to take a break from writing for a while. I'm not sure how long it will be, but I will still leave everything here for you to read.

Thank you, xo.

authors note

HIII omg im so sorry i haven't updated this fic in a while 🥹 this chapter was actually really fun to write and omg writing readers thoughts at the end lowkey made me sad!! how do you feel about it? pls lmk!!

love ya!

tag list: @doumadono @54fangirl @andysdrafts @dagger-dragger @lovra974 @l4rsun1vrrse @emmab3mma @littlkittenfan @tatiquichi @cloudxluv @seonne @shonen-brainrot @the2ndl @gold24fish @cxp1d @rv19 @gina329

(those in pink couldn't be tagged)

[itsnothingofinterest]

The implication that society at large hasn't learned a thing from its Original Sin (Shigaraki's backstory) is making me ill... Between this and Touya/Dabi's ending, I feel like I'm reading the ending of a tragedy from an Outsider POV or the bad ending path in some video game and being told to Suck It Up Buttercup, because this is a Good Ending Actually!! I've never felt more insulted reading the ending of a story...

Oh same here; a part of me is even beginning to wonder that you might be on to something labeling the whole story a tragedy. The more closely you look into things, the more it looks like every aspect of this ending is a tragedy underneath a thin veneer of “well things are happy and the day is saved now.” I’m almost suspecting if it’s on purpose.

Dabi was beaten, and now Touya is stuck in cenobite cosplay in prison as he lives out the rest of his single digit days letting his abuser talk at him while the rest of the Todorokis wait to hear that the eldest son has died once again.

Anyone considering that the next AFO or Tomura could be out there is taking the exact opposite approach from correct; saying they need to not be sympathetic and instead close their hearts to such a person to better persecute them, driving such folk to villainy faster.

We don't know what happened to Toga but the faces we've seen on Uraraka these past few chapters do not fill me with hope.

We started out with a 4-digit, maybe even 5-digit hero figure when this all started, and the only solution we’ve seen anyone think of (and only as a joke) is to fill the streets with more heroes. Otherwise you can’t fix this; Deku’s talk with AM and Taukauchi ends concluding that you can’t prevent these tragedies.

That sucks when the end of humanity is coming sometime in the next century; just far enough away that no one cares, just close enough that no one can stop it. And though a cure was developed, Deku smashed it to dust and scattered it to the winds alongside the guy he vowed to save; and when the end comes, likely no one will know that Tomura could have prevented this.

It feels poetic how much this reflects hero society as a whole, how much it repeats everything Tomura said in real time. All this present tragedy and future disaster swept under the rug of “but the big bad villain is dead, smashed to pieces by the next symbol, the day is saved, isn’t it?” I once thought MHA was supposed to be optimistic. It has not turned out that way. But it might turn around my opinion on Hori’s writing if that turned out to be on purpose.

...But that might be too much to hope for.

[jujutsukgojo]

The Baby Project: Chapter Five

izuku midoriya x reader, minor hitoshi shinsou x reader

1, 2, 3, 4

Summary: On July 15th, the flavor of the day is strawberry shortcake.

tw: fluff, slight angst (?)

The old camera sits nicely in your hands. Having polaroids seems more personal and shows Noa’s development in a better way. You attach the photos to your monthly reports to make up for Kaibara’s pathetic effort. Why you care about that you don't know, but you do. Everyone knows about it. Snipe was there to witness it. Yet, wanting to prove to him that Noa is strong without Kaibara, feels needed.

Maybe it is also your way to make you feel better. About everything, really. The case has been going great and your arguments have been thoroughly studied and practiced. It will still be a while before you can go in front of everyone, but you’ll make do. So, there’s no reason to even think about Kaibara unless it involves revenge.

  As for right now, you’re capturing the moment of Izuku and Noa matching outfits. Both of their smiles match and are wide from happiness. Noa is wearing his Deku jacket and some green pants with red shoes to match. Izuku is wearing his hero outfit without the gear. 

Although Noa still bears a striking resemblance to you, he shares some similarities to Izuku. It is getting harder to say that Noa shares something with his dad other than the last name. 

This project is insane. You can only hope you won’t go crazy. If it happens, you hope not to take Izuku down with you. He makes the frustration and pain you feel everyday go away bit by bit. Even when you hurt him, he hangs on. Does he know how sweet he is? How in a short amount of time have you come to really like him?

Both him and Noa’s grins are cheesy.  “Alright, we’re keeping this one.” The picture comes out of the camera and onto the pinboard next to your dresser’s wall. Both of their arms are flexing and their stances are fit for a hero’s poster board. Although you usually give the pictures to Snipe, you’ll keep this one. After the conference with Hawks, it may be all you have of Izuku and his little moments with you.

“Here, Noa!” Izuku grabs the camera and turns it to you. The bright flash catches you by surprise. You grab Noa. “Wait, Noa wasn’t in that one.”

  “I know. This is for me.” He whispers it to himself. You had to strain to hear it. Finally, he takes a picture of both you and Noa. “Cheese!”

  How do you take all of this in? How is any of this supposed to make sense? Noa’s warmth feels so real. He’s fleshy and his heart is beating a steady rhythm. Izuku’s here like he wants to be and like he’s comfortable. This project has messed with us all. It’ll get worse from here.

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

“Ok, what about this though? They can say that they don’t owe anything if it aligns with the curriculum.”

“How does this assignment pertain to us? None of the authority figures have explained what this is even for. It’s not for us . This isn’t in our curriculum, it’s theirs.” You talk and move your hands at the same time. You go to the classmate who spoke, Akane. A blonde haired girl with completely black eyes. Her iris, pupil, and sclera are all ink black. 

“I’m writing that down.” Riko says. Benio stops highlighting. “She says that every day.”

“Yeah, but not with passion.”

In your hand is an old law book. When heroes first started, they altered the laws to fit a growing society with various powers. Order needed to be established, not just for the people, but for the ones who can do things no one else could. Rules that even the big wigs have to uphold.

“Okay, let’s continue. In section eight, there is a passage, right? About justice for mankind in the form of free speech.”

“That doesn’t apply…” Ema whispers as she gently moves a stroller back and forth, calming someone else’s doll.

“Free speech is what wasn’t given to us at the start of this project. Our concerns that we tried to raise went completely ignored, which goes against the text.” 

You ask Benio to hand over his book that he is recklessly highlighting. “In layman’s terms here, we have a right to say shit if it harms our wellbeing. Since it is a danger to us, we have the right to say no and they have to take that into consideration, which they haven’t.”

She writes all of that down. You put the book on the table and she highlights it. Sakura walks to the table. “Okay, what about this one? It’s a tricky little bitch. If the decision is for the good of the school, these rules are overridden."

Sakura, who is just the social media director, hands you the new U.A. rulebook. It’s slim and isn’t creased in the slightest. You doubt anyone has seriously looked into it. You look at it as she holds it out with her hand. You suck in your lips and think. 

“How is this project for the good of the school? And why exactly would that matter? They’re heroes, not politicians. How can they sacrifice lives for the sake of us being practice dummies? The students can be used for practice in a rescue exercise in a controlled environment and there must not be any harm. This,” You gesture at the room and the dolls.

“Can’t be used since it’s harming and endangering us, and no one is being saved. It isn't an assignment or for practice. This is abuse of authority. Besides, it’s an emotional project for them. Because of Todoroki who is still here.”

“There you go again.” Benio puts the highlighter down. “You can’t blame him for his father and brother's sins.”

“No, what I can blame him for is being the cause of this thing. This may have been their idea, but it is him that is endangering us all. This project is emotional,” you point to Sakura’s book. “And it is against the rules. It’s all based on Todoroki. It’s for him without thinking of the consequences. They can't use the excuse that this is for the good of the school. Lives are at stake."

"No one here is dying, love."

"Our hearts are. Our mental, emotional, and physical health is taking a hit, too. They're failing us." 

Ema waves her hands around, letting go of the stroller’s handle. “Wait, wait, wait. Hawks cared for Twice-”

“Good for us!”

“Or bad. He may think this project is a good thing to prevent someone like Twice, who he considered a victim of circumstance. What are you going to say?”

  You remain silent for a minute. They all look at you. “It’s redundant. What they’re doing is creating Twice. All it takes is one bad day to drive a man mad. How many have we had? If they want to prevent another League, they need to care for the people right in front of them. It only takes a day to ruin someone.”

Sakura gets on her phone and has a smirk on her pretty face. You yawn as another book opens. The clock seems slower but tells the right time. Determined to intake everything you can and rebut your friend’s practice arguments, you ignore your headache and drowsiness. 

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

The lids of your eyes are unbelievably heavy. Your body is swaying as you hold Noa’s hand. Noa yaps happily and stumbles from time to time. You’re patient and help him along as best you can.

  You try not to think of the heaviness of your backpack that is filled with textbooks, on your shoulder is Noa’s diaper bag and in your hand is Noa. If you pay attention to it, these aches that are settling into your muscles and all the way to your bones, will stay. Maybe you need a coffee. A nice coffee and probably a snack for Noa. A vending machine, a beautiful machine that has glorious food and coffee, is against the wall to your left. You slowly head to it with a tired smile on your face. Someone gets in front of it and enters their money. You wait patiently behind him. Right as he moves out of the way and your smile gets wider until it is snuffed out when you see a robot baby face down next to the machine. 

"What is that?" 

The guy sipping a coffee hums and follows your eyes to the baby. "Mm, that's my project."

"Have you lost your mind? Pick it up!" His tired eyes widened. "I'm serious!" You bend down to pick it up, withholding a groan. Carefully, you turn it over and see that it has his eyes and fluffy purple hair. Its tummy rumbles, vibrating your arm. "Are you kidding me? Have you even fed it?"

"Listen-"

"No, no! Where's the bottle?" He pats himself then pulls a bottle out of his back pocket. Mei's face hasn't lit up to show that it's expired. You snatch it from his hand and put it in the baby's mouth. Greedily, they suck on it, not letting a drop spill. "What is wrong with you? God, heroes are so fucking lazy."

"Wait a min-"

"Shut up," You don't know why you're doing this. This project in your arms is not your responsibility. You kick his shin, barely making him wince. “Look, I don’t know you-” You put the baby in his arms. He drops his canned coffee on the ground as he scrambles to hold him. “But I do know that you will do better. You are going to take responsibility and raise it and not rely on strangers to do it.”

You cut him off right when you see his mouth open. “Do you rely on your partners in the field? Risk their lives for your failures?” He stops and stares. “If not, then don’t do it to us. Raise it. And if you do rely on everyone, then you have no business trying to be a hero.” As parting gift, you kick him again. He doesn’t try to dodge this time. You turn and leave, no longer thirsty for a coffee.

 Noa squeezes your hand. His brows cinch together in worry. You sigh and give a small smile, hoping to ease him. All you want is to sleep and get Noa to take a nap, God willing. Noa’s eyes don’t leave yours. You yawn again and unintentionally slow down. Your body isn’t moving as well as you want it to. In the distance you hear the purple haired baby cry.

Unfortunately, that confident front is just what it is: a front. A facade, a lie if you will. Because when you face your door, you’re barely hanging on. Everything is heavy, it weighs a million pounds. Noa goes inside first and heads to his toys. Immediately, you fall onto your bed and sleep, forgetting your meds.

Right as you can smell the intense scent of lavender and see the purple mist swirl around, your shoulders are grabbed roughly. “(Y/n), love, wake up!” You flinch at the contact. “What’s wrong? Dearie, what's wrong?"

You look up and see Izuku with furrowed brows and worry in his green eyes. They dart along your figure. “Huh?”

“I asked what’s wrong? I wasn’t able to contact you, so I got worried.” You look at the clock and see that it is almost bedtime. You’ve missed dinner and valuable time doing whatever Noa won’t allow you to do.

Crap, Noa hasn’t eaten.  

“Noa-”

“I’ll take care of it, okay?” He looks you over and settles back on your eyes. “You don’t look so good, I’ll handle it. Just rest.”

You reach for your meds and take them. You don’t miss how he stares at you. Without thinking about it, you hit the pillow with your eyes closed, already asleep. Whether you were working or not, you crashing was bound to happen. It’s been a long time since you’ve gotten to sleep, to actually rest. What once weighed a million pounds is fading away with the drift of peaceful sleep. 

-

Hours later, you wake up surprised. Next to you is Noa, of course. But behind him is a hero with green curls who is laying on his side, dead asleep. His arm wrapped around you while Noa snuggles closer to you. Your face is on fire. Not only is he in your room again, he’s in your bed. Next to you. There’s a boy in your room sleeping on your bed with you. 

  You stretch and wiggle out of his hold he tightens it at first then lets go. Groaning, you look at the time. It’s morning now, still dark out but enough to at least get breakfast going. Quietly, you close the door and head downstairs to the kitchen. On the way, you try to come up with some explanation about the boy in your room.

A boy.

In your room, on your bed. In the elevator, you squeeze your head then cover your mouth to hold in the squeal. You instead do it in your hand. “Izuku’s in my bed!” 

You slept together in an innocent way. “Oh my God.”  What is this stupid giddiness? This is embarrassing! He’s going to do something like the walk of shame or whatever. What will everyone say when Izuku comes down with his morning voice, and his curls-

“ Lord, help.” You stop the elevator and shake your head. You’re a pervert for the thoughts going through your head because not a single one of them are innocent.

 Taking a deep breath, you press the button for it to go down. You need to stop having teenage hormones and focus on the fact that Noa needs food. So does Izuku. Izuku…what if he doesn’t like it? You could be cooking something, and he won’t like it or he’s allergic! Actually, you’d prefer for him to be allergic than not like the food. 

The door opens and you try to calmly walk out. You take a deep breath and run to the kitchen. “Plain oatmeal is safe, right? He can doctor it up himself and I’ll be in the clear. Yeah.” You don’t really want to do that. It’s stupid, the entire thing. There’s this stupid feeling of wanting to impress him. 

He’s a guest, right? You’d be a bad hostess. Who knows? Maybe he’d like it and want to stay or something.  

You’re a degenerate.

You smack your cheeks. “Okay, let’s get started then.” 

-

An hour or so later, the sun is peeking out now. You look around and see another deviant. A horrible villain that has no place to be near you. “Hello, (Y/n).”

Fucking Benio. He stands there with a plate and a bowl ready for you and on the counter is a mug of coffee that was set for Izuku. Unfortunately, Benio obviously claimed it. “No.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

  He shakes his head. “I wasn’t going to say anything but,” He sets his dishes on the counter. Benio leans on it and gestures to the food. “Alas, it seems I must.”

“Excuse me?”

“Telling Snipe that Deku is in your bed.” You gasp and toss a strip of bacon at him. How the fuck did he know that? “Hey, he’s the birthday boy. Who am I to judge what his present is.”

“It is not li-wait, birthday boy? Today’s his birthday?”

“Yeah, it’s July 15th. What? You didn’t know?” You shake your head no. “He didn’t say anything about it.”

“And you let him in your room anyway. The shame.”

You scoff. “Really? Like you haven’t fooled around? Besides, he fell asleep there. He was playing with Noa and just fell asleep. I was making breakfast for the little butthead and thought I’d be nice.”

“You haven’t been nice since you were one. When you turned two it went downhill.” You roll your eyes. “Fuck, you’re still in your terrible twos.”

 You finally take his plate and put some food on it. “Make sure Kobeni eats.”

 You turn to load the boys’ plates. Noa’s is a little different since he’s young. Rather than having a fried egg like Izuku, you scrambled his and put rice on his little purple plate. Maybe you should’ve called Ken. You can cook just fine on your own, though having Ken’s advice would probably have made it better.

  Benio places a mug on the tray and the boys’ dishes on it. “I was just playing. Even if something did happen, I wouldn’t have said anything.” 

You side eye him and grab the tray. You tap your fingers on the counter and raise your brow at him. “You’ve been talking to Yaoyorozu a lot?”

“Somewhat. She’s still barely doing anything but it’s progress. She thinks being friends or something is a start so she talks a lot. I don’t know. I’m still having trouble trusting her.”

  You rub your neck. “I don’t blame you. I don’t trust what’s-his-name either nor will I ever.” He can’t be redeemed in the slightest. A villain attack could happen and you wouldn’t have him save you. You’d rather die.

  “Mm, this is a good thing, my secret double agent.” 

“You’re evil and I love it,” He stretches for his bones to give a relieving crack. “It’s a good idea anyway. Especially when a certain someone wants to pay you a visit.”

“Who?” Benio waves and thanks you for the food, ignoring your questions of who wants to talk to you.

--

It’s a hassle to get the heavy tray upstairs and even harder to open your door. You set the tray on the ground and open it to find Noa standing. “Mmm, go.”

Izuku pops up from his slumber. “He’s saying sentences!” He tumbles out of your bed, bringing your blankets with him. “Where’s my phone?!”

“I don’t think you brought it. And that wasn't a sentence.” Izuku still pats around, totally oblivious to what you just said. “Mm, papa."

“He’s talking again! Where’s my damn phone?!”

You try to get his attention and tell him that his hair is standing straight up on one side and drool is crusted on the other side of his face. He doesn’t look like the Izuku you imagined downstairs. Right now he looks goofy with red lines on his face and sand in his eyes. “The camera’s right-”

“Camera, a camera!” He takes a quick step to your desk where the camera lies and stubs his toe. 

Oh my God. 

Noa walks to you and hugs your legs. “Ma-”

Is he trying to say mama? Is it finally happening?

“Izuku get the fucking camera!” Now there’s a reason to celebrate. Noa stares into your eyes with what looks to be wonder. With a smile he says, “No.”

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

“Say thank you, mommy!” Izuku helps Noa eat. 

“No.”

Fucking brat. “He doesn’t need to be fed anymore, Izuku.”

He ignores you and cuts Noa’s eggs with a fork. “I know, I know. These are big pieces though.” 

“Of scrambled eggs?”

“Anything can happen!” You watch as they eat. Izuku suddenly stops before he gives Noa another bite. He studies your figure all the way down to your lap. They flicker back up to your eyes. “Where’s yours?”

It took him a whole seven minutes and thirty-three seconds to realize you don’t have one. 

You don’t want to tell on Benio. “Oh? There was only enough-” Izuku then shoves a piece of his egg in your mouth. Noa laughs and takes it upon himself to join in on feeding his mom who he insists doesn’t have that title . He grabs some of his food and shoves it in your mouth. 

When should you ask what he wants for his birthday? It wouldn’t be weird for you to give him something, of course. He did sleep in here, on your bed. With you. And is still here. With you.

  Swallowing your food, you say, “I heard it’s your birthday.”

He puts some rice in your mouth. “Yeah.”

You mess with the bottom of your shirt. “Is there anything you want to do? Because we could have a party, the three of us.”

“Well-”

Your door is knocked on with even taps. Izuku gets up to answer it while looking down at the floor. Benio is there with his arms crossed. At first, Izuku doesn’t realize the implication that this could have until Benio grins. Izuku waves his hands around.

“Ah! I-I-um, I can explain why I’m here before-”

“Aye, she already said. And it’s no secret you’re here anyway since you jumped into her window like that.”

  You take a bite from Noa’s eggs. “You came in through the window?”

Izuku turns red and stutters. “I couldn’t get a hold of you! I thought something might've been wrong-”

“Oh my God.”

“Anyway,” Benio stops and coos at Noa who instantly recognizes his uncle. “Deku’s needed in the hero course.” 

Izuku slumps and turns around. “Noa, sugars!” He squats with his arms wide. Noa goes over and gives his papa a kiss. On Izuku’s freckled face is a smile that seems forced. A facade to cover whatever he feels and is not planning on telling.

“(Y/n), I’ll see you soon.” 

There is something off about him looking back at you when he leaves by jumping out the window. His eyes lacked the sparkle they usually have. Well, you and Noa will have to change that. 

Noa whines for his papa at first, his little feet pad to the window that you launch yourself at to close it. To stop him from losing his shit, you give an offer that you are sure will make a mess. “Wanna bake a cake for papa?”

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

“Alright Bubba, where should we start?” The recipe isn't complicated. The only thing that might foil it is Noa.

He stretches to give you an egg. You grab it from him before he drops it. “Come here, little boy.” You pull the kiddie chair up that you snatched from the commons. With the help of Noa’s ‘big boy muscles’, you set it next to the counter for him to stand on. You’d prefer he’d sit though.

He excitedly bounces and gets on top of the seat. “You’re already so strong, y’know that?” It’s true. He’s only one, but everyone that sees him would swear he was two. He’s beyond advanced. If he doesn’t officially turn two soon, then you’ll have to take him to Mei because he’s broken.

 Despite being incredibly advanced, he is struggling with calling you mom, mama, or mommy or anything that is remotely similar to a mother’s name. All you get is no and eyes that hold a gleam that is too suspicious to be innocent. No matter, there is no reason to worry. He is a year old, not five.

  You put the wet ingredients first with the help of mini man. Before he can mix everything too harshly, you guide his hand. Suddenly, you hear footsteps outside of the kitchen. You know for a fact that no one is supposed to be here since everyone had plans.

You mess with Noa’s hair. “Stay here, okay?” He nods and keeps stirring slowly. “I already know you’re gonna fuck with shit.” You say under your breath as you exit.

  There he is. The purple haired deadbeat bitch. You clench your fists until you see the baby. “I’m not taking care of it for you.” You say. His eyes catch yours. He stupidly grins, showing his perfect white teeth. “Wouldn’t dream of it. You gave him heartburn last time he saw you.”

“And you make me itch.”

He takes a step forward and deeply inhales. “Well, you-” The two of you stop when you smell something burning. You take off into the kitchen with what’s his face right behind you. On the stove is a fire with Noa’s hand on the knob. He leans to it and keeps adjusting the degree. He’s in awe of the orange light that doesn’t resemble the candlelight that he’s used to.

  You run towards him until purple hair snatches you up with one arm around your waist. “Back up!” 

  He grabs Noa and hands him to you. He turns the stove off, but it doesn't help. Purple hair lays eyes on the fire extinguisher that is protected by a metal cage with a glass window. Finally, a white substance calms the flames until they’re nothing. It evaporates completely, leaving no trace of a fire or the substance that has been manufactured by a quirk. Your hand is protectively on Noa’s head who has yet to cry. 

  “What were you thinking?!” The man scolds. You can’t remember his name right now, not when your adrenaline is like this. “Leave us alone!”

“No! I think you two have been left alone enough!” Sick of him you go up and push him away. You point to the exit. “ Leave! This wouldn't have happened if it weren't for you!”

 He scoffs. “Yeah, blame me princess. That’d get you far.”

“Dumbass, it’s your fault. You come in here and distract me and now look. How am I supposed to finish this?”

He looks around. “What the hell were you doing other than a terrible job?”

 Your eyes practically bulge out of your sockets. “You ass-”

“What the hell is it?”

“I was making a chocolate cake.” You say as if you’re stating the obvious. He raises a purple brow. “For what?” Your eyes go to the floor. You didn't think that anyone would question why you’re doing this. It’s no one’s business! Yet, you explain anyway. “It’s Izuku’s birthday.” 

  There is a silence that neither of you break for a minute, then he inhales. “Izuku’s favorite cake isn't chocolate.”

Oh. “ Who’s to say I want to make his favorite?” That was dumb.  His smile and eyes are knowing and arrogant. “So, you want to disappoint him?”

“...No.” You are starting to hate yourself. He gets a little closer. You notice that black jumpsuit fits him baggily and the fishnets he has on his forearm are snug. It’s an odd costume, one you wonder if he took inspiration from a comic book villain mixed with his teacher, Eraserhead. Minus the clown boots, of course.

 He sucks in his lips and looks around. “I could tell you.” You strum your fingers along the counter. Rather than showing anything, you decide to come off as nonchalant. “Okay.”

“Only if you tell me happy birthday, too.” You scoff in disbelief. “Pardon?”

“My birthday was two weeks ago, and no one was this sweet.” What the fuck. Surely, he has friends up the ass. He’s in the hero course and was impressive in the Sports Festival. Plus, he knows Izuku. They must be friends, and no way would Izuku not celebrate a friend’s birthday.

You put your hand on your hip. “This isn't for you.”

“Trust me, I don't want it after seeing you in the kitchen.” He gestures behind him at the stove. Noa giggles. “That wasn't me, that was him!” You point to the little brat. 

“Mhm, sure princess.”

You take a deep breath. You’re going to ignore that and not tell him that you literally worked in a restaurant. “Just tell me his favorite.”

He tilts his head with an expectant expression. Under your breath with clenched teeth, you say, “Happy birthday.” He hums and answers simply, “Strawberry shortcake.”

 “Thank you. You're dismissed.” You turn to the bowl on the counter. Luckily, the extinguisher didn't get in the mixture. On top of that, you already started with the right ingredients and Ema has been on a strawberry kick, so that's covered. Other than the fire, it's going well.

You side eye the purple menace who is still standing next to you. Slowly, you stir the contents in the mixing bowl. “What’d you come here for anyway?” You see that he doesn’t have his baby. You give a short laugh. He sucks his teeth. “What’cha laughing about?”

“Hmph, you dare judge me about leaving my kid alone when you don’t have yours.” He shrugs at you. “It’s on the couch. I don’t know what to do with it, to be honest.”

 You slam the items down. “Have you even tried? Or are you expecting us to do it for you? Ugh, I’ve had it with you heroes.”

“Says the person making a cake for one.” You close your eyes. You don’t like him. 

“Whatever. What did you come here for?” You stop and turn to him. He looks down for a moment then answers, “I wanted to thank you for snapping me out of it.”

Whatever face you’re making must say a lot because he chuckles a little and rubs the back of his neck. “I, uh, wasn’t doing what I needed to and you kicked me into gear. So, thanks. I can’t promise I’ll be good at it, but I’ll try my hand.”

This is unexpected. A total turnaround from the arrogant son of a bitch he showed you two seconds ago. Now, he looks his age; a shy boy in his late teens who is turning his pride in for reality. Seeing it makes you feel a subtle happiness inside your chest. Not because you're proud of him but out of total spite. Earlier, Benio said that someone wanted to talk to you. This guy is obviously who he meant.

 “You’re welcome that I was kind enough to point out how useless you are. Now leave.”

Rather than finding anger or embarrassment in what you said, he chuckles. "I can’t even stay and watch?” 

“No.”

“How about to judge?”

“No.” 

  The more he stays and watches your every move, the more your hands shake. You pause your movements longer than you want to with every whisk as you feel his gaze on you. “Can you please stop?”

“I’m just watching.” Without looking at him you know he has a smug face that needs a good slap. “You’re making me nervous.”

He hums and moves his hand to pluck a strawberry. “Alright, how about this. I go on the couch and mess with the kid-”

“Kids. Yours is in there too.”

“Okay, kids, and you can make your cake, eh?” You groan then say yes. A sigh of relief leaves your lips when he leaves. You don’t really know his name and it is most likely vice versa, yet he acts like he knows you. 

“Whatever.” You wash the strawberries, getting ready to cut them. You hear Noa blow a raspberry as he speeds towards you. “Where’s the purple guy?” You whisper. Around the corner, you see him on the couch waving at you. “What’re you doing?”

“He wants to cook with you. I’ll stay in here while you two bond.”

“Mhm, take this time to bond with yours.”

You duck back in and continue with Noa. Surprisingly, he’s pretty good at it. However, he’s a robot so why wouldn’t he be? You deeply inhale and look at Noa, reminding yourself that he isn’t real despite this warmness towards him. Every cheer you give him when he correctly places something, or when you take the cakes out of the oven and let them cool and he bounces so cutely, you have to be reminded that he’s not your son.

  He’s fake. Even now when you two are coloring with Hitoshi Shinsou, and he scribbles circles, he isn’t your son. So, stop feeling this. Hitoshi is talking to a machine right now, not a child with your nose and mouth. The faces he makes that resemble yours aren't real. None of this is real. 

“This belongs on the fridge of fame.” You take Noa’s art and show Hitoshi. He goes along with it and claps. “Absolutely.”

The bell on your phone rings. “I’ll be back.” You get up and go to the kitchen again. The two boys follow you, leaving the baby on the couch. You wished they stayed so you can continue reminding yourself of that fact. No matter how precious Noa and this moment is, none of it is real. This moment is bound to stay with you, even though it is beautifully cursed. 

  The cakes are cooled down and you begin to assemble everything with shaky hands. Noa, of course, keeps dipping his finger in the whip cream and Hitoshi lingers around to do the same. Since he’s grown, those long fingers of his get smacked every time. 

 Your phone dings at an inopportune time. Your fingers are covered with strawberry juice and cream. “Um-”

“I got it.” He opens it and on the screen is Izuku. “Izuku?”

“Ooh, you two are on a first name basis already?”

“Shinsou? You’re there?” Izuku calls out. Hitoshi is holding the camera facing away from him, so Izuku has a full view of you. “Yeah, Hitoshi’s here.”

“You remember my name, princess?” 

“Now I do. You weren’t on my radar, babygirl.” He huffs and Izuku clears his throat. “Anyway, if you’re done Shinsou. (Y/n), I won’t be able to-” 

“Deku! Come on!” In the corner you see pink cheeks and brown hair. She’s quick and tugs on Izuku. “Turn off the phone!”

“In a minute Ocha-uh, Uraraka. It’s (Y/n).” She hums. “You can talk to her later, Deku. It’s your birthday!”

  Your breath is caught in your throat. You don't like this. This jealous and angry feeling in your chest. “I-I’ll talk to yo- okay. I’m coming. Give Noa my lov-” The phone hangs up.

 You take a deep breath and suck on your teeth. Your eyes go up to Hitoshi’s purple gaze. You have only known this guy for a hot minute, and so far, he has shown you how rude he is. Hitoshi’s judgment and mockery is something to be expected. Instead of being met with a mocking expression, it is blank.

  “If it makes you feel better, he’s going on a mission today.” 

“Why would that make me feel better?” Him eating his favorite cake that you and Noa made would be better. Him being here for the decorations Noa made out of construction paper and his scribbles would’ve been great. 

  “Because of his bad luck,” You side eye him, looking away from Noa’s increasing close space to the cake. It spells trouble but the boy who is supposed to eat it isn’t coming. “You seem to be into that sort of thing,” You smile a little. “Into pettiness. Maybe even vengeance.”

You are. He hit it right on the money. “Yep.” 

As he chuckles, you realize that he has a bit of a sultry voice. Although, you can’t tell if it is natural or if he’s doing it on purpose. Either way, hearing it, being near him like this, is making your face unintentionally warm. His fluffy, wild, purple hair stands in all directions, his tired eyes at first seem dull but his white pupils expanding tell otherwise; especially since he’s been here messing with you. 

  Hitoshi Shinsou is an enigma that is most likely hiding in plain sight. His reasoning may not even be complex. This could all be a joke.

“Figured.” He sucks his teeth and his purple eyes trail to you with a suspicious gleam in them. Noa shouts a loud ‘ hey’. 

You are saved from those weird thoughts by the sound of a robot. You go out of the kitchen and into the living room and see Hitoshi’s baby’s eyes fading. “Um, Hitoshi!”

  He runs to you and puts his hand on your arm. “Wh-oh, that.” You groan and smack his hand. “Will you take care of-wait, what’s his name?”

“I don’t remember. My partner was the one that named him.” What the hell? You groan and rub your eyes. You know that his project shouldn’t be a concern of yours. This robot has nothing to do with you. Yet looking at its eyes becoming lifeless is tugging at your heart. “His name is now…” A face appears in your mind. It’s familiar and sorely missed.

“Kenji.” 

“Alright, Kenji Shinsou,” Hearing the name of the man you miss the most causes your heart to clench. You clear your throat and say, “You should take care of him. This is your grade, too.”

He rubs the back of his neck. “I, uh, don’t really know how.”

“Are you kidding me. So, this is why you're here. For me to take care of it.” You don’t even ask for legitimacy because you already know that heroes are totally dumb, rude, and useless. You were an idiot to find him somewhat kind. 

“I wasn’t raised around young kids like this. I changed him and fed him already. I don't know what else to do.”  You put your hands on your hips. “What if a baby needed help-”

“That's why I'm thanking you! Because you're right. I'm not going to lie though. I really don't know what to do.”

  You sigh. “This isn't my responsibility.” This project is a problem. Not just for your rights or physical wellbeing, but your emotions. As time goes on, you notice how hateful and angry you’re becoming while your maternal instincts are increasing. Even now with this doll that isn’t yours you feel protective. Is this hero taking advantage of it? Can you even see anything straight anymore?

“You don't have to help and I'm not asking. Honest to God, this is just a coincidence.” You hate this project. They're not real babies yet your heart is sad for it. The cursed heart strings tug for this dying machine.

“When did you do that?”

“At six.” You look at the clock. “It’s literally six o’clock. When?”

He rolls his eyes. “This morning. It’s a robo-” There’s a spike of panic, causing you to interrupt him. “Hush,” You gesture for him to sit next to you. “Check his diaper, first.”

  He goes to take his bottoms off. You mutter, “At least you dressed him.” Hitoshi scoffs and replies snarkily. “I’m new to this, not an idiot. Unlike some people.”

“Excuse me?” 

“Hm?” Y’know what, screw it. You were about to warn him what happens with little boys when the parent isn’t prepared, but screw it. Let him learn the hard way. You smile at Hitoshi who finally undoes Kenji’s diaper. Nothing. Nada. This boy doesn’t pee on him. 

  Your eye twitches. Hitoshi looks at you worriedly. “He didn’t do anything. Think he’s hungry?”

Through clenched teeth, you confirm that it’s most likely what’s wrong. “Do you even have a bottle?”

“Obviously. It’s right in there. Midoriya gave me a whole speech after I mentioned you in passing as the bossy princess who kicked me.”

 You laugh and place your hand on your chest. “Bossy? Me?” 

“I love how you don’t deny the princess part.” 

You shrug. “Because it’s true.”

He places the bottle in Little Ken’s mouth. The baby slurps the milk happily, slowly gaining color to his cheeks and light in his artificial eyes. It matches Hitoshi but he also strangely looks familiar. You can’t place it though. 

  “See? That’s all you have to do. Babies aren’t hard. It’s those little boogers that are a pain.” You point to Noa who is biting a crayon. “Spit that out right now.” His spit dribbles to the table as he follows your direction.

“Okay, now what?” Hitoshi takes the bottle from Little Ken. You point lazily to the baby. “Now you burp him. Easy peasy, just pat his back.” 

Hitoshi does so, careful not to hit so hard. Every once in a while he looks at you to see if he’s doing it right. 

“Why did you come if the party's still going on other than manipulating me? Be straight with me.” 

After Little Ken burps and spits up, Hitoshi gives what you think may actually be an honest answer. “I heard you were here so I wanted to see you. I wanted to thank you for reminding me that heroes have a job that includes more than public heroism.” He gazes into your eyes. “We have to save hearts, too. My partner isn’t participating at all. That doesn’t mean I don’t have too,” 

This project is breaking hearts, yours included. Not just because of dead beats, but the impending conclusion of the project, of Noa. So, what is he talking about? Heroes haven’t saved a single person here. 

“This project isn’t fair. There must be a reason and as a future pro, I have to walk with you. It isn’t right to leave you guys by yourself since I’m carrying the same burden.”

He cradles Kenji like a new dad. “Honest to God, I didn't come here for your help. I thought I was doing alright. Now that I see it,” He shrugs and purses his lips. “It is more than that.”

  So, he wants to suffer too? Before you can say anything snarky, you see the slightest shade of pink on the tips of his ears. There must be more to his answer to gain that color. An elusive answer that most likely won’t come up. Either way, you can appreciate his participation. It does soothe you to see that it isn’t just general studies that are working hard, there are some hero students with common sense. Maybe he’s giving you a little hope that you wanted to see.

Even if it is literally the bare minimum. 

Little Ken falls asleep quicker than Noa ever did. While his child is sleeping peacefully, your little monster bounces around, tired and fighting the urge to sleep. You try to calm him and get him to be quiet, lest he wakes up the baby. Today must’ve been exciting for him since he got to bake a cake.

  The cake! You stand up from the couch. "The cake! Wait,” You look down at Hitoshi who looks curious. “Um, do you want some?”

It’s Izuku’s cake but since he isn’t coming, why waste it? Besides, another birthday boy is here doing the bare minimum as a dad. 

“Only if you sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me.” He wiggles his eyebrows, earning a laugh from you. “Whatever. I’ll bring it.” Noa follows you with his arms up. Carefully placing the cake on a tray with plates and forks, you carry it to birthday boy number two. 

  You set the tray down and give him a slice. He goes to take a bite but you stop him by placing your hand on his. “Hold on, okay? Gimme a sec.”

You get up and turn off the main lights in favor of the lamp on the table next to him. A shadow of a smile graces his lips. It isn’t a smirk or something mischievous, it’s genuine. It tells of something subtly sweet. 

  Walking to him, you sing happy birthday in a soft voice. Noa looks in wonder at you as you come near. 

  “Happy birthday, to you!” 

He raises his eyebrows and pretends to blow out a candle. Little Kenji still rests and is now alive which makes you strangely content. This image is serene for some reason.

Hitoshi moans as he eats the cake. “Y’know, for someone who burns things, you can make a hell out of a cake.” 

Bastard.

Noa licks some of the whipped cream. Before you can retort with a snap, Hitoshi’s phone rings. He sighs and unlocks it. “Mhm, on my way.”

“Duty calls, kitten. I’ll be taking this-”

“Nope.” You snatch the plate from his hand. “You need to be able to hold Kenji.”

  Hitoshi glares then fades away and adopts amusement. He grabs Kenji and holds him awkwardly. You’re disappointed in yourself and how you caved and helped this bastard when you should’ve kicked him harder. The project is messing with you. Although you know you shouldn’t have helped, you couldn’t fight it. The baby was losing its life and parental instincts took over. 

A deeper part of you whispers in your ear when you look at the cake again. The cream has little streaks on it from Noa’s tongue and Hitoshi’s finger. Some of the strawberries have been plucked off and eaten. The one who was supposed to eat this isn’t here. Spending time with Hitoshi and letting him have a slice was some form of payback against the man with green hair.

“Thank you…for everything. I promise I will be the best single father you’ve ever seen.” 

 “You better be.”

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

You turn on cartoons for Noa who is still waiting for Izuku. He’s adamant that his papa will come tonight. You sit and wait with Noa and have least managed to convince him to eat something other than snacks. 

 After a while, the tv gets blurry and your yawn is deep enough to let the water in your eyes not be ignored. You blink rapidly and try to get rid of the sleep that presses on you like a blanket that wants to tuck you in. Unable to fight it any longer, your eyes close.

“You’re still up?” You gasp and sit up from the couch. Noa pops his head up and runs to Izuku who is in his hero suit with sweat is on his forehead and dust on his shoulders. He gives Noa a quick hug. You side eye him and bounce your crossed leg. “Papa will be right back, okay?”

  He stands and comes closer to you. “I’ll be right back, I swear.” He runs out, leaving a rush of wind behind. You clear your throat. “Happy now?”

Noa giggles as he dances and bounces in happiness. After rubbing your eyes, you go to clean up Noa’s mess. The bits of construction paper and macaroni litter the area. The brat tries to grab it all from you with a big frown on his face. “This is trash, honeybun. You can’t play with it.”

He presses his face to your legs and growls. That ‘ferocious’ noise he emitted from his chest turns to cries. “Noa, baby, all of this is trash. See? Over there are your toys.” Noa shakes his head and says no. 

“I’m back! Noa, what’s wrong?”

The baby walks to Izuku with tears streaming down his face. He lays it on thick for Izuku. You roll your eyes and continue to pick up the trash. “You don’t have to clean everything up now. Just wait until he goes to sleep.”

  “He has toys and paper over there. I need to clean this up.” You hear him sigh and say your name. You throw the junk away and walk back to the boys. Izuku pats Noa’s back. “You didn’t have to do that.”

You take a deep breath. “Don’t do this. You can’t be soft on him like that.” In the corner of your eye, you see the plates that hold bits of cake and strawberries. Grabbing the paper dishes, you head to the trash can in the kitchen. Izuku follows you with tentative steps. “What’s that?”

“Your cake that you missed.” You toss the plates away. “Is that why you’re mad?”

“Why would I be mad?” There are small steps diagonal from you getting close to your space. He is silent for a minute then in a quiet voice he asks, “Can I try it? I’d like to spend my birthday with you, if you’ll let me.”

“You already celebrated your birthday, remember?”

“I’d like to do it with you.”

  “I don’t have candles.”

“I don’t need them.”

 You nod and tell him to go sit down in the dining room. You suck in your lips to try and stop the smile. The rest of the cake isn’t pretty at all and you probably should’ve stored it rather than leave it out for a few hours. Its quality most likely went down. No matter, this is what he gets.

  You grab the last sets of plates and forks. In the dining room, Izuku waits patiently while Noa is clapping when he sees you come in. Izuku’s eyes light up and mimic Noa’s. Even with the cake not looking the best, that ball in your gut that spiked horribly with insecurity disappears. 

“It’s your favorite so-”

“What?”

You shrug, trying to appear casual about knowing that. “I- uh, Noa and I- made your favorite cake. It’s not much. It was prettier earlier.”

  He looks confused with his head to the side. “Chocola-never mind! I love it!”

  You set a plate in front of him. “What were you about to say?”

“N-nothing!”

“Izuku?” 

Hesitantly, he answers you. “Chocolate’s my favorite. B-but trust me, I’ll love this.” Your mouth drops. Hitoshi fucking Shinsou.

Hitoshi wanted to take a slice with him and he’s the one who gave you that fake ass information. You’d bet your left titty that strawberry shortcake is his favorite. Your hands start to shake thinking of the snake.

  “I like everything you make…” Those words stop your hands. His kind eyes are enough to settle you down. “We still have one more thing to do.”

Just like you did before, you sing happy birthday. This time, Noa joins with his own version. Izuku, with the help of Noa, blows out the imaginary candles. You take a picture of the boys on your phone. Both have goofy and cheerful smiles despite the cake mishap. 

  After one picture a ding and glow in Noa’s belly signal growth. Your breath hitches as you see a boy that once looked identical to you, gain Izuku’s undeniable features. His face and eye shape is definitely from Izuku. Noa’s smile now matches the fluffy green haired hero. Your son’s skin that matched yours morphs into an even blend from both of you.

 Noa genuinely looks like the two of you. Before, the similarities between them could have been argued. Now? Not a chance. 

  For the first and probably final time, you have reached a conclusion with Izuku. Despite your pettiness and you being a prideful, ornery, angry, brat, you come to realize that his kindness blows that away. It is a gentle and welcomed breeze that calms you. He went to his friends and a mission for his birthday but came back to you and Noa. You finally accept that Izuku is his dad. This isn’t to spit at Kaibara’s face. You now understand that it is reality.

 You take another photo then switch to video for a special reason. “Izuku, can Noa share a birthday with you?” 

He stares as if he didn’t hear you. Then he grins like a light is glowing inside. His green eyes shine with joyful wetness from the tears that want to come out. This is not happiness, a temporary thing that can be frayed, but joy. “ Yes! ” He picks his son up and spins around. “Hear that Bud? It’s our birthday today!”

Noa laughs with him. You record all of this, including Noa’s real sentences about birthdays and his papa. How you made the cake with him and something about heroes. All the while Izuku’s eyes are watering at his present and Noa’s immediate development.

 You will keep this one for yourself and tell Snipe to kiss your ass.

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

As you eat Hitoshi’s favorite cake that happens to be sliced on a plate courtesy of his friend Izuku, you decide to bring up his names for you. It is something that you noticed and is becoming more frequent. With playful squinted eyes, you tease, “You’ve been calling me names, Deku.”

He swallows his bite of cake and furrows his brows. A bit of whip cream is on his face and the juice from a ripe strawberry is on his lips. He says it isn't his favorite cake but he sure is slamming down on it. 

“I’ve never called you a name.” 

“You call me ‘dearest’. Why?” He shrugs. “Because it fits.”

 That makes you instinctively touch your cheeks with your hands. You are sure he noticed if his small smile and the light pink flush across the apple of his cheeks and nose is anything to go by. 

It fits you. He thinks you are his dearest. It is his birthday today, yet this feels like a gift to you.

Happy birthday, Izuku and Noa.

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

You stop reading your book when you notice that there hasn’t been a sound other than even breathing. The two boys sleep on your bed, exhausted from the fun they had. Izuku’s face is covered with scribbly lines from the washable and some permanent marker. Noa still has his macaroni jewelry on him and a construction paper crown. He lays peacefully on Izuku’s chest. His little body dinged a short lullaby to signal that he is asleep.

  You watch contently in your new chair that Izuku took upon himself to get for you. When he gifted it to you a few days ago, you didn’t point out that it is too big to fit in your room. Nevertheless, it’s perfect for this view and the relaxed ambiance. Your dim flower light on your desk shines as best it can and Noa’s hero light cube swings colors around. It’s peaceful. Beautiful, even.

  Taking a deep breath, you continue to read the story. It isn’t a thick book at all and yet is rich with the story. In a soft voice, you tell the story of the greatest love there ever was.

“The dancing princess was distraught at the news of the fate of Ernest Appleseed. She vowed to never love again, to never sing or dance. Her feet will be forever planted on the ground with her beloved Ernie. 

Years later, when she had grown from a little bud to a blossoming young woman, Honeycomb accidentally caught the eye of the arrogant King Pumpernickel,” Your eyelids begin to get heavy. Before you can read another sentence, you drift to sleep and into the meadow, just like the book describes. Several of the book’s symbolic flowers, four leaf clovers all around, and plush, green, grass underneath you grows underneath you. 

Suddenly, Izuku makes a quick jolt in his sleep. You can hear him groan and squirm. You are too tired to stop your eyelids. As you settle, your quirk activates, not on its own, but by you. 

--

 You walk the mystical purple lane that smells of lavender, a calming scent. With one more step into the darkness, the creaking sound of a door echoes behind you. In the overwhelming darkness, you see the shape of his current dream. It is oddly shaped and glowing red. It pumps like a steady heart with a strange deep bass.

You try to knock on its fleshy surface without being sucked into its gooey softness. From what you can feel, the inside isn’t hollow at all. Without delay, you lay out your own dream. The purple mist encompasses his shell, his imagination line. You press against it for it to harden to Izuku’s shape in an attempt to crack it open. You give up on forcibly dominating him from the outside.

With clenched fists, your hand goes inside the gross red figure. The slime on it stains your body and nightwear like sticky blood. In no time, you are inside with a harsh suck. 

You land on the cracked, dry ground. There is a thunderous dust cloud that heads towards the masses. Flames burn it from above with a scaly white hand. The hand puts itself on the greystone castle. Underneath is tremendous pressure that cracks its walls. You watch the hand grow black claws, leaving embers in its wake. 

Although you weren’t there, this reads of a memory everyone in the world has. The secondary image of the wars that had raged against the world. They have always been something no one wanted to envision or experience. Now, you are here in what looks to be a warped first hand experience.

You want to rip this terror to shreds. To wipe away the horrors that Izuku is facing.  

 Green light surrounds him as he raises his fist to fight. “Izuku?” His world freezes. Even the air stills, the cracks in the ground stop growing and the glare in his eyes start to fade when they slowly look into yours. Your hand releases a purple film that spreads like weeds on the ground. It overtakes the cracks bit by bit.

You step on its rigged surface. “Don’t! You’ll-” Nothing happens to you or the healthy and plush grass grows underneath it. His chest heaves as he looks you up and down. Even Shigaraki looks confused, at least from what you can see. 

  He turns to you running faster than a bullet. Shigaraki’s hand now comes to you. Izuku, despite his speed, goes into slow motion. Your heart breaks at the pain he’s feeling. You extend your hand to meet Shigaraki’s to stop the decay. 

“Don’t you trust me, Izuku?”

 Tomura’s hand is covered in swirling purple until the flowers from the book sprout from his flesh. Tomura jerks away from you, sending his elongated hand back to him. Izuku looks you up and down when he grabs you. It goes dark for a second, just one second for you to see the symbolic and most cherished flower of the book blossom before you. Seven silky petals bloom surround a smaller bud that begins to separate and shows many more. The flower is thick yet delicate and beautiful. Once the flower matures, the darkness begins to fade. 

He holds your hands in his. “Do you trust me?” 

“Please, you have to ru-”

“Do you trust me to make you happy?”

He’s fast with his answer. “Yes.” He presses his forehead to yours. “I’m scared, (Y/n). I can’t protect anyone,” He taps his head against you twice. “You’ll fall-”

  You touch his cheek. “ Trust me . Hold my hand.”

He closes his eyes. The purple mist thins and glows to a sharp ray that shoots up to the sky. Slowly, the shiny violet color encompasses the form of the dream. It spreads along the land, casing over every crevice. Meadows and beautiful trees plant along what used to be destroyed homes and people. Cars that were wrecked are now healthy horses and caved streets of pavement are now dirt paths and cobblestone. In the far north is still the threat of his nightmare. Tomura still reigns as a king with All For One hovering over him shaped like a dragon. His nightmare is still here, blended with your dream. You look down to see that you’re even wearing what Honeycomb would wear, and Izuku matches Ernie. 

  Outside the purple layer, the shell of your dream, is the surface of his. It formed into a ruthlessly beating heart that you slowly break from the inside. It shatters and leaves glowing red shards all over until some fade into black dust, while the rest solidify into the ground.

“What-”

“I will hold your hand. Just take it and trust me and mine.”

  This dream is a whirlwind of twists and turns as he fights villains with a sword, not once killing anyone. Despite the brightness he has daily, you now know that he suffers from the guilt. You can’t take the source of the dream away, but right now, you’re holding his hand by being inside with him. A hand to hold is what he needed tonight.

-

The dream is coming to an end, you think. He holds your hands when he helps you down from the majestic white horse. His loose white shirt has dust on the sleeves and dirt on his green vest yet you don’t mind when you grab onto him. The sword he used to defeat Shigaraki and All For One who was painted as a dragon, is secured on his hip. In contrast to his nightmare of his supposed weakness, he grasped and used the sword to symbolically hold onto the strength he believes he lost and never had to begin with.

  With beautiful twisted trees that grow flowers that wish to hang above the two of you, the picture is like the storybook you read to him. The book that you made sure to envision for a sweet dream. 

You didn’t think he’d complete it himself. You didn’t finish the book since he fell asleep. So, as his warm hands encase yours, he leans in slowly. If you were awake, you wouldn’t have believed he would kiss you. That he succeeded in gaining one of the five legendary kisses described in the book. 

 He cradles your jaw and kisses you softly. Your eyes are wide, not expecting it. Your heart is beating fast. Out of instinct you want to pull away. The urge leaves when you question why you’re fighting it.

You throw your arms around his neck and kiss him back. The birds sing a beautiful harmony as a tear streams down your face. Yes, it is a dream. But it is one for the ages. He may not remember you using your quirk and that’s fine. He may not even remember this dream and that’s okay, too! What matters is that he defeated the dragon in an epic battle with a sword he forged himself and took the king down without killing him.

  What will secretly stay in your heart is the joy you feel. That he, on his own, is dreaming of kissing and saving you of all people. 

“You’re haunting me, aren’t you beloved?” He whispers on your lips. His green eyes are slightly open and look into yours with great fondness. “As long as it’s you, do what you please.”

  One arm goes around your waist and the other to your head. Your leg pops up and the sun begins to set. 

Happy birthday, Izuku Midoriya.

taglist:

@candiiee, @moodyhuesworld, @4ishere, @dinorawrss, @js-favnanadoongi @luvrluvrr @imas1mpp, @bigchungusdrinksspritecranberry,

[helga-grinduil]

It's so weird to me that a lot of Shigaraki/LOV fans somehow overlooked and didn't get the fact that chapter 237 was all about AFO convincing Tenko that he has an innate desire to destroy and kill due to his quirk, and that this is why society would never save or accept someone like him (but he would). That THIS is why he believes that he wanted to kill his family, since he must've had that impluse when he destroyed them.

'It's more ReDestro/MLA stuff' - oh, I wonder who could ReDestro possibly be a parallel to? A child who was brainwashed into being a future cult leader and was raised to be the next coming of a great villain of old?

Forget ReDestro, think about ERI. ERI, who is the most blatant, clearest, closest parallel to Shigaraki a character can get. Remember why exactly it was so hard to rescue her? Why Deku and Mirio had to convince her that she deserved to be saved? Because Overhaul taught her that her quirk was cursed, and she was cursed for being born with that quirk.

[manicpixieyandere]

The League of Villains

Society and Quirks

So we just finished binging all of MHA and read the remaining chapters of the manga. And damn we did not expect the League of Villains to be some of our favorite characters to ever grace this Earth! But it's kinda unfortunate the franchise the ended up in. Let's talk about that!

First let's start by talking about the LoV and what quirks represented for them. In MHA it's quite common for quirks to be used as allegories for different kinds of marginalization.

Heteromorphs like Spinner are a representation of racism.

Toga's quirk is a representation of how she loves someone and how society deems that love "wrong". Toga is shown to love both boys and girls. People beg her to "just be normal". She is obviously queer.

Dabi's body was not made to deal with his own quirk. This reads as being born disabled. He also has the common disabled experience of being told to forget his dreams and aspirations.

Twice's double quirk and the trauma that came from it lead to him developing dissociative identity disorder.

Some in the LoV were also marginalized / had a rough start without anything to do with their quirks.

Magne is a trans woman.

Mr. Compress comes from a family lineage of criminals.

Shigaraki is a League of Legends player.

(No but seriously this poor kid was abused and manipulated his whole life).

Speaking of which a lot of the LoV were abused and / or neglected as children. Most of the shit Shigaraki went through was due to All For One, but it's not like his bio dad was stellar either. We all know Endeavor gets the worst dad of the year award for how he raised Toya, but Dabi also got the AFO manipulation to a degree as well. Toga's parents were neglectful and verbally abusive.

All of this is to say; The LoV members clearly had a rough life. But they found a family in each other! They all cared for each other in their own way! Twice and Toga were very close and would take care of each other. Dabi burns down Toga's childhood home. Spinner and Shigaraki bond over video games and were genuine friends. Compress takes care of everyone and saves them. Everyone is sad when Magne and Twice die.

All of this leads to this beautiful line from Shigaraki:

He wanted to be their hero. He wanted to destroy the world not just for his own urges, but to make the world a better place for his friends, for the LoV. But did he succeed, even a little bit?

Wellll... The hero society that doomed them all is still going well and thriving. The most change to come out of their mission was a bigger focus on quirk counseling. This is definitely important but it is not the only thing that needed to change. And it only changed because of ONE PERSON. The ONE person who showed empathy for Toga. Ochaco is the one to implement this change, but she is only one person. She cannot change the entire world on her own.

This is where we just can't get past the clear biases in the writing of MHA. The villains are not treated fairly. For example the heroes get off scott free with practically EVERYTHING. Bakugo dies? Just kidding! Oh the condition for him coming back to life was now Edgeshot has to die? Nah he's fine too. Deku had an entire arc about wanting to save Shigaraki when no one else agreed, only for him to kill him in the end. And after killing him it's not like he implemented changes to help prevent whoever the next Shigaraki is gonna be. The cycle will continue until changes are made.

So as you can see there is clear favoritism in the writing. And that is something that tends to be an issue whenever you have a plot device such as quirks that represent marginalization and you have villains who are trying to fight their oppressors. Let's look at a few examples!

For animation fans an example that leaves a bitter taste in our mouth is The Dragon Prince's dark magic. Dark magic is something that is seen as corrupt but also explained to be a way for humans to have magic to fight their oppressors as they were seen as less than since they had no magic. But dark magic is also used as an allegory for drugs and addiction, so it gets messy.

For the superhero fans let's look at The Boys. Supes are a complete mess. You have them representing conservatives and cops in an "all supes are bastards way" while also having them as a marginalized race in danger of being genocided. You can't have both.

Both of these examples show messy allegories in fantasy where rising against your oppressors is painted as wrong and the marginalized are also seen in a negative light due to some other component of their fantasy (drugs and cops respectively). MHA falls into the same trap with its villains. They're fighting their oppressors. They are oppressed due to their quirks just being who they are, but those quirks also lead to violent murderous urges (decay and transform most of all). It ends up creating a scenario where you teach the audience that it's bad to rise against your oppressors, it's bad to want change.

So what could they have done differently? Without completely redoing the quirk fantasy, the simplest answer would be to REDO THE SYSTEM! They hinted many times in the series it needed to change somehow and just never did. Normal civilians even wanted it changed, not just the villains! But it just doesn't change. They needed to put more focus on that push not just from the villains but from the innocent civilians as well to prove it's something that needed to change. But it never will. It's fiction and the book is closed.

But just because it's fictional doesn't mean it doesn't represent real world events. The story teaches negative things about marginalization and how we should never make a stand. It's like telling all the women right now in America to not be angry their anatomy and rights are being taken away from them. It's telling those women to love the man who is doing this to them. It's telling queer people to just accept they can't get married or transition anymore. It's telling us there is nothing to be done. But remember that isn't true! If you keep fighting things could change. It unfortunately may not be in your lifetime, but at least we can try to make things better for the future generations so no one has to hurt like the LoV did, like real people do today.

[nikkichama]

BNHA Fic Recs

After Naruto I want to share my favorite BNHA fics.

Warning:Not Bakugo friendly!!

TodoIzu:

Lies of the Beautiful People by sakura_whiskey One shot

Suicidal Midoriya Izuku / Todoroki Shouto is a Sweetheart!

Shoto always wondered how Izuku Midoriya was so happy all the time.

Setting Fire To Plushies Is Not A Solution To Jealousy by TheNarator (G) One-shot ♥♥♥

Izuku found the best hero merch ever: a giant plushie of his husband Shouto! Shouto, on the other hand, is less than enthused by the toy, or how much attention Izuku is giving it.

Something needs to be done about Chibi-Shouchan.

Like, Comment and Romance by xSkyll (T) 9/9 chapter ♥♥♥

Quirkless Midoriya/Pro Hero Todoroki/Underground Hero Shinsou

In the hero community, it’s common for popular heroes to have merchandise for sale. Amongst these items are a few staples: t-shirts, figurines, and, of course, replicas of their costumes. This is where Deku, a well-known YouTuber, comes into play. Deku’s Hero Analysis is a series where the host, Deku, dresses up in official pro hero costumes, then does an analysis of each hero and reviews some of their merchandise. Joining him is Hito-nyan, the sarcastic cameraman who never shows his face and loves to push Deku’s buttons. And watching them is pro hero Todoroki Shouto, who absolutely, without a doubt, does not have a crush on Deku. Except actually he does, which is fine, because it turns out they have a friend in common and getting to meet the adorable YouTube star is more likely to happen than he ever would have dreamed.

Sequel: Like,Comment and Propose

It's Me or the Dog by TellMeYellMe (M) One shot♥♥

Fluff/Todoroki Shouto is a Dork/Implied Sexual Content

As much as Shouto wants to answer his boyfriend, he can’t. Not when he sits face to face with his opponent. Forget destructive villains and long hours of overtime at the office, the being that Shouto is staring at is clearly his most difficult opponent yet.

Or, Shouto faces off against his attention stealing dog, tentacles are talked about, and Izuku is a blushing mess.

One Reason Why by QuasiCanon (G) One shot ♥♥

No Quirks/Established Relationship

Tododeku Week Day 3 - Jealousy

The jumbotron above lights up with the kiss cam, drawing Izuku’s attention away from the game. Faces come and go- Izuku doesn’t really pay attention, too caught up in Ochako and Shouto’s argument. And then, the kiss cam shows him.

It'd Been So Long by fromthedepthsofinsanity (M) One-shot ♥♥

Bottom Midoriya/Top Todoroki/Established Relationship/Pro heroes

Izuku and Shouto finally have a moment alone together. No work. No crisis. No interruptions.

Experimental by StratsWrites, whiskeyandspite (E) One shot ♥♥

Dominant Shouto/Submissive Izuku/Biological Dom,sub/Proper BDSM Etiquette/Spanking/Rough Sex/Aftercare

“Todoroki-san,” Izuku laughed that shaky little laugh of his and mussed the hair at the back of his head. “You… do you… you really think it’ll… be alright if we… do that?”

“We’re both frustrated,” Shouto reasoned. “It’s in our best interests, in the end. I trust you.”

“I trust you too,” Izuku said quickly. “Of course I do. We’re teammates. And I’d like to think we’re friends, too?”

T.G.I.W.Y. by Spidermonkeyyy (M) One shot ♥♥

College/University/5+1 things/Implied Sexual Content/Developing Relationship

5 times Izuku wakes up next to Todoroki Shouto after getting absolutely wasted, and the one time he doesn't.

or: a tddk college hook-up/fwb AU with none of the actual smut, none of the angsty pining and all of the fluffy feelings!

Kokoronashi by gravitates (T) 2/2 chapter ♥♥♥

Bakugo centric/Feelings Realization/Weddings

This is a story about love and forgiveness.

I'm not Yours by AgarJelly (T) One shot ♥♥♥

One-sided BKDK/Fluff and Angst

‘Has Kacchan been acting weird to you?’ Izuku turned his head from where it was resting on Shoto’s stomach and watched as the latter lowered his manga.

‘To me? No.’ He raised an eyebrow, scratching his nose absentmindedly. ‘To you? Yes, definitely.’

Do not touch by y0mgii (G) One shot ♥♥

Established Relationship/Todoroki is a little shit/Dorks in Love/Fluff and Humor

The day Shoto realized Izuku had a nice butt was simultaneously the best and worst day of his life.

Nineteen Pairs of Hands by ReadingToMusic (T) One shot ♥♥

Moving On/Characters are Pro heroes/POV Alternating

While graduating from UA, Katsuki swears he can feel his classmates and the friendship that comes with them dragging him down and away from his dream; the number one hero spot. He makes the executive decision to cut everyone off until he's climbed the ranks, convinced they'll all understand because of his motivation.

Shouto never thought he'd stand a chance with Izuku, even as close as they are, because of Bakugou. When Bakugou ghosts the class and Izuku doesn't chase him, instead choosing to accept that he's unwanted by his childhood friend and moving on with his life, Shouto realises his chances might not be as slim as he thinks.

Loser/Forsaker,Mover,Shaker by jukoist (T) 9/9 chapters

Emotional Hurt,comfort/Bakugo Katsuki Redemption/Truth Quirk/Bakugo faces Consequences

Midoriya gets hit by a truth Quirk, and his past relationship with Bakugou comes to light. Midoriya learns what it means to have people on his side; Bakugou learns what it means to face his mistakes head on. Dredging up the past is dirty, and painful, but it’s necessary if you want to heal.

AKA Protective 1-A, Hurt Midoriya, and Bakugou/Consequences.

ShinDeku:

Being A Bisaster (And Winning) by lilredpandacub One shot ♥♥

Getting Together/5+1 things/Shinsou centric

When Hitoshi finally got into the Hero course, he had thought he had considered all the outcomes, all the possible future obstacles that may hinder him. He had not taken into consideration one Midoriya Izuku and the boys ability to send Hitoshi's heart flying and his brain blue-screening at the best of times. Maybe he could try to turn the tables just this once?

Of Bad Decisions and Alcohol by unfinishedIdeas (T) One shot ♥♥

Bakugo faces consequences/Underage drinking/One-sided BKDK

Giving teenagers alcohol is a bad idea. Anyone who's watched a movie about high school kids knows this.

But for some reason, Aizawa likes his kids just enough to let them get away with sneaking in alcohol for a party. They're graduating in a few weeks anyway. It's their chance to be wild kids before they're sucked into hero society.

Of course, it's still teenagers and alcohol. It goes mostly fine.

a knight in a high school uniform by Shadowtravelingtitans (G) One shot ♥♥♥

Shinsou saves Midoriya with his brand new muscles multiple times but the hero fanboy thinks it's too good to be true.

But My Youth is Fleeting by prettyboydotexe (E) 8/8 chapters ♥♥

No Quirks/Summer Camp/Midoriya and Tomura are siblings/Aged-up characters/Slow Burn

“Why not ask to switch with Kaminari?” Neito asked once he swallowed his bite of food, fork waving delicate circles as he spoke. “I’m pretty sure he’s already pissed off Shinso anyways.” “Because Izu’s a bottom, he doesn’t switch,” Mei quipped without looking up. Izuku whined high in his throat. “That’s a good idea, though. Kaminari sleeps like the dead, and he’s got that whole will-they won't-they thing going on with Sero. He’d probably be down.”

Sweater Paws by I_have_lost_control_of_my_life (G) One shot ♥♥♥

Sharing Clothes/Pining Shinsou/No Quirks/Childhood Friends/Size Difference/Friends to Lovers

Izuku is too pretty, and Hitoshi is a disaster who's in love with his best friend.

Rated M by TheKirkwallChampion (M) One shot ♥♥

College,University/No Quirks/Humor/Secret Relationship

Shinso makes a dire mistake when failing to turn off his gaming headset after a release date day with his friends. Now Mina and all of Shinso’s other friends are able to hear what's happening between him and a mystery man they had no idea existed.

revenge is a dish best served during spring by Shookspeare (E) One shot ♥♥

Fluff and Crack and Smut/5+1 things/Top Shinsou/Bottom Midoriya/Whipped Shinsou/Established Relationship/No Quirks

Five times Hitoshi's and Izuku's cats interrupt their private time, and one time that Izuku has simply had enough.

really,a voice is what does it? by Shadowtravelingtitans (T) One shot ♥♥

Pre-Relationship/Canon Divergence

Izuku has a kink awakening when Shinsou calls Bakugou an ass for, well, being an ass and Uraraka finds his new found crush to be an immense source of amusement. Iida just wants to make sure everyone is following the rules.

Specific Type by MoonlitDawn (G) One shot ♥♥♥

Married Aizawa and Mic/Shinsou is in Class 1-A

"No loud blonds." Well, he said no loud blonds, nothing about the same type of sunshine person as the specific loud blond his dad was making fun of.

It was that, rare type of sunshine person that was oddly specific.

Oh well.

Dog Days by DogsInMyMind (T) One shot ♥♥♥

Twins Shinsou/Established Relationship/Fluff/Meet the Family

Hitoshi wasn't really hiding anything about his family but he wasn't particularly open about them either. Turns out not bringing his boyfriend home to meet them sooner was coming back to bite him in the ass.

Or alternatively: Hitoshi has a twin and he's kind of a jackass.

Written for ShinDeku Week 2018 [Day Three- Past]

Two Words For A Kiss by Dodadae (G) One shot ♥♥♥

Dating/Truth or Dare/Dork Midoriya/Shinsou is in Class 1-A

Hitoshi doesn't notice how Bakugou's little group suddenly goes quiet, because Izuku scrunches up his nose in that cute way he does sometimes and reaches up to hook a hand around Hitoshi's neck, before pulling him down for a kiss. He lets go after a second, but Hitoshi blinks down at him.

Izuku sees the look he's giving him, and pouts, "What?"

"What-" Hitoshi struggles to find the words, "That was... sudden."

ShinDekuTodo

Heroich and Other Things That Don't Require Superpowers by The Narator (T) 47/47 chapters ♥♥♥

Quirkless Midoriya/Gen Ed Midoriya/Analyst Midoriya/Fix-It/Slow Burn/Hurt comfort/Dadzawa/Dadmic/Bakugo faces consequences/Polyamory

Izuku doesn't have a quirk. That's the long and short of it. After being told his whole life he can't be a hero, General Education at UA is the best he can hope for, right? Wrong. Dead Wrong. So super wrong that his best friend from Gen Ed, all of Class 1A and a whole mess of Pro Heroes are going to prove to him how wrong he is. Izuku has the makings of a hero, and his lack of a quirk only throws those qualities into starker relief. After all, who wants to be as strong as All Might when you can be the cleverest hero in the business?

DabiDeku:

Everything About Him was Warm by Soundsoftherain (G) One shot ♥♥♥

Alternate Universe/Villain Midoriya/Domestic Fluff/Izuku is 19 Dabi is 20/Long term Relationship

Izuku spends a lazy Saturday morning with his boyfriend.

Stitches and Kisses by FilthyRiddle (G) One shot ♥♥

Villain Midoriya/Protective Dabi/Quirkless Midoriya/Domestic Fluff

They may both be villains, but that doesn’t mean they don’t care for one another.

You Said You'd Meet Me There by littlewonderlandgirl (G) One shot ♥♥

No Quirks/Musician Dabi/Teacher Midoriya/Stranges to Lovers

In the excitement of his ex wanting to get back together, Katsuki forgets all about the date he had planned with Izuku. Thankfully, a knight in tattooed armor rescues him from total embarrassment,

No Pairs:

What Practical? by IncompleteSentanc (G) One shot ♥

Good Teacher Aizawa/All Might Critical/Bakugou faces consequences

When All Might comes to him to report an injury during a practical in the very first week of school, Aizawa has one glaring question. What practical?

Trust by Violet_Rose_Of_Darkness (T) One shot ♥♥

What-if/Fix-it/Bakugou faces consequences

All Might makes a different call when he finds Bakugou and Midoriya fighting. AU

Freudian Slip by halfyon (G) One shot ♥♥

Fluff and Angst/Hurt Comfort/5+1 things

Izuku’s lack of a dad finally catches up to him.

OR: The four times Izuku accidentally calls Aizawa 'dad' and the one time that it isn't accidental.

The Boy Who Called Wolf by halfyon (G) One shot ♥

Fluff and Angst/Dadzawa/5+1 things 3+1 actually

Shouta hates answering phone calls and Midoriya doesn’t seem to understand the warning ‘do not ever call me unless it’s an absolute emergency’.

AKA: Three times Izuku calls Aizawa for mostly inane reasons and the one time Shouta doesn't pick up when it really matters.

When Realities Collide by LowlyWriter (T) 13/13 chapters ♥♥♥

Alternate Reality/Emotional Hurt/Bakugou faces consequences/Dadzawa/Implied Referenced Suicide/Hero Student Midoriya/Villain Midoriya

Shota sneers at the teenager across from him. His defense raises like the hairs on the back of his neck as he glares steadily, ready and waiting for whatever will come from this encounter. He narrows his gaze when the teen shifts; just the thought of sharing this rooftop with Japan's most notorious villain makes his skin prickle. “Deku.”

“Y-yes!” the teenager cries out in relief, taking a small step towards Shota, “I’m Deku! I’m so g-glad you—”

“Deku,” Shota growls darkly, flicking out his capture weapon hastily to snag the villain before he can make his move. He's quick to tug it taut, leaving no room for Deku to escape. “You’re under arrest.”

“I-I’m what?! W-wait!”

[sakubabypowa734]

🚨 BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA CHAPTER 423 SPOILERS ALERT! 🚨

Class 1-A is always here to cheer their comrade!

I KNEW IT! I knew it was impossible to Bakugou to not helping Deku just once again during this finale! If we saw Uraraka, even if she wasn't able to help Deku but can encouraging him, we need to see Bakugou! And it is the case!

Kurogiri called Aizawa and Yamada by their name. Shirakumo remembers them but he tells them that he has to be by Shigaraki' side. He really devoted himself for Shigaraki.

This help is important but it breaks his friends' heart...

AFO vs OFA!

One last punch! I KNEW IT TOO! Deku and Tenko will be both to end up AFO! Happy to see for the last time, OFA predecessors helping again.

Shigaraki is decayed... he asks Deku to tell to Spinner that he fight until the end. I am gonna cry! Shigaraki disappears!... Does that mean that Tenko will never come back?...

Everything finally end! AFO disappears in ashes. Deku flies in the blue shiny sky! Who will catch him when he is falling?

Bakugou did a lot of amazing jobs to help Deku until the very end, so...

MIDORIYA HISASHI! DO SOMETHING FOR ONCE TO YOUR SON!!!! SHOW YOURSELF!!!! WHERE ARE YOU AFTER ALL THIS TIME?????

Break next week!

[explodo-smash]

Tenko and Kacchan - Shigaraki and Bakugou as two misunderstood children

Now that we’re in the vestige/memory mindscape for MHA's ending, and Izuku and Shigaraki are sharing memories, this is an analysis I wrote about the connections between Shigaraki and Bakugou, and how I believe Katsuki’s role in this finale will be as another vital mirror for Shigaraki to look at.

[Can also be found on twitter]

Shigaraki and Bakugou have both been denoted uniquely with some similar words/traits:

Overt Childishness/Childlike behavior

Short fuses/tempers

Arrogance

An abundance of power/strength - In general having gross/unappealing personalities etc.

This makes sense.

Because in the original ending where Dk/Bk come together to defeat Shigaraki (as laid out by Heroes Rising) - it’s fair to say the original plan was an story where Izuku and Katsuki alone embodied what society needed as the new foundation for change.

This obviously isn’t the case now, but theoretically it seems like the plan was to make Shigaraki too far gone. His ideals mixed with an enjoyment of destruction.

However, in an ending where he is not, and we’re not getting out of this situation without him being saved, the goals for a new foundation are the same with a different outlook - just the same players.

Shigaraki is seeking to be understood, first and foremost. And he is at the point where he genuinely believes no one can, even if they seek to - however it’s funny because equivalently he severely misunderstands Izuku and Kacchan in his pursuits to be seen.

It’s worth noting that timeline wise - immediately following Deku/Kacchan vs All Might, we transition into the formation of the League of Villains, where Shigaraki is contemplating his interest in Izuku.

He leaves to then go experiment with this interest with the mall, where Izuku disappoints but also inspires him to keep going.

Prior to this, he had left the Toga and Dabi hanging with an answer about whether or not he would accept them, and upon being told again the reason he is not being seen he is not understood, upon being told he has no ideals, his next plan of action was to get Bakugou.

To me, it means something that Shigaraki sought Bakugou out where the other characters had to come to him. Back when these chapters were released, there was a genuine belief amongst readers that Katsuki would fold and join the villains.

This assumption was being made by both Shigaraki, the reporters in the story, and the readers at large despite nothing about Katsuki indicating this but his personality - Shigaraki just happened to make the same mistake readers were making.

When Shigaraki looked at Izuku, he just saw another hero with lofty ideals who was not interested in putting that action to practice with things he did not understand.

However when Shigaraki looked at Bakugou, he saw someone he resonated with being suppressed, forced to change who he is, and unprotected by society at large. Remember, prior to the sports festival the only other thing Katsuki was known for was the sludge villain incident.

And even now, he looks to Bakugou as a mirror of himself, even when AFO was trying to suppress him, the things that started to wake Tenko up were things people said/did on behalf of Katsuki, seeing all the pro heroes work so hard to protect someone already gone.

If I were to give a tentative soft take on the early read, Shigaraki’s failure at being understood by Izuku and Katsuki despite seeking them out (and with the original ending put into context) it seems like the original idea was perhaps that sometimes death is another way of saving, and that Katsuki and Izuku were the main symbolic proof that society can be better when you understand one another.

Now that is clearly being challenged and slightly inverted.

Katsuki/Izuku are still serving the purpose of being the proof and evidence of what change and understanding can do, but now it’s just not as insular.

To me, it’s not a coincidence OFA was borne in the helm of a misunderstanding. Yoichi, the one outcast, suppressed, and unprotected, is still reached out to by Kudou - because he looks like someone who needed saving.

Furthermore, Kudou is the first person to sacrifice himself in the bid to save Shigaraki, betting everything on Izuku who he only grew to understand more after seeing his relationship to himself and Katsuki. Kudou and Shigaraki had similar ideas about him.

Katsuki is consistently the thread that leads to understanding Izuku.

And so while in a lot of ways I do think Shigaraki is going to be able to see Izuku’s childhood and empathize with his own treatment in society, I do think it’d be easy to write it off as Izuku just being a better person than he is, causing him to doubling down anyways.

However, Katsuki is evidence that your origins can be treacherous. You can be a horrible, simple, and destructive child, and still come out of it loved. Katsuki is the strongest evidence everyone has that Izuku isn’t bluffing, both Izuku's persistent and Katsuki's growth.

The biggest difference between Katsuki and Shigaraki is that Katsuki was blessed to have kept love in his life despite everything, and his ideals are predicated on this.

Tenko got to experience this only for a blip in time before being left behind and groomed. Izuku in all his craziness is presenting the opportunity for Tenko to remember it’s possible for him to have love in his life as well without taking the world down with him.

He just can’t do that without seeing the clearest example of that dedication in action with one of the first characters he'd managed to resonate with.

[kuyenshino]

About Deku not getting as much recognition as the others by the people and why he seems so composed about anything ( this can change the next chapters), Horikoshi wrote this comment about "Deku" back in his Dark Hero arc:

The poem in question, Ame ni mo Makezu, written by the japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa:

Also, I recommend the post The Uselessness of Midoriya Izuku go and check it!

An extra note of the poem related to Deku:

"The part of

Higashi ni byouki no kodomo areba itte kannjo shiteyari nishi ni tukareta haha areba itte sono ina no taba wo oi

("If there is a sick child in the east, I go and take care of it. If there is a tired mother in the west, I go and take the bunch of the rice instead")

and Minna ni dekunobo to yobare homeraremosezu kunimo sarezu

("I am called a wooden doll by everyone and not praised or dropped")

was presumed the spirit of the Lotus Sutra’s Sadaparibu Bodhisattva." (*)

A bit about the Lotus Sutra (this is of course a simplification):

"The Lotus Sutra teaches that all people can attain Buddhahood, just as they are, in this lifetime. A person only needs to follow the bodhisattva path: taking compassionate action for others, based on the recognition that true happiness for yourself is impossible while others suffer. Studying and teaching others about the Lotus Sutra makes sure that the sutra will be transmitted into the future, contributing to the peace and happiness of all for generations to come." (**)

Izuku's character is inspired by a poem based in a current/teaching of Buddhism, and I get its too complex for a manga like this, but at the same time, I really REALLY wish Horikoshi would had go deeper into this concept because we all would understand Izuku's character better.

As I said at the beginning, maybe in the few remaining chapters of the manga, it will be shown that Izuku is recognized somehow, but he will probably never be recognized at the level of others because his character represents the pure ideal of the hero.

[codenamesazanka]

more Deku bashing, if you'll forgive me

Seeing lots of shocked tweets and posts that Deku seems so cold and distant about Shigaraki dying in front of him; that Deku doesn't seem to care much at all; that Deku isn't devastated he wasn't able to save that little boy.

I have to point out that Deku never cared in the first place. He really didn't! It's why he needed to see The Crying Child to feel any bit of empathy for Shigaraki, and why ever since then, he only yammers on about saving the Crying Child and only the little boy. He never gave a shit about the Shigaraki in front of him. Never treated Shigaraki like someone real to engage with. That Shigaraki is unforgivable; and it was impossible to have ever bring the Crying Child into reality because the Crying Child was a memory, it happened 15 years in the past that cannot be changed, so all Deku can do is comfort the Crying Child then beat the shit out of Shigaraki.

I mean, just look at the imagery and the word choices:

Are those the words and expressions of someone who's trying to be careful about not hurting Shigaraki? Actually trying to help someone in pain? I remember when people were excited that Danger Sense would tell Shigaraki that Deku doesn't want to hurt him - turns out nah. He was so ready to make Shigaraki throw up blood.

Deku never tried to talk to Shigaraki. He never asked any questions during the whole time they were fighting. Mirio asked a question and got a response; but Deku? Nothing. Even in the memory-realm, when Shigaraki via memory-villains ask Deku what his plan was, Deku just shouted 'No!' and that was that.

When Deku said 'Somewhere inside of you is a person' he literally meant that. Inside of Shigaraki is the Crying Child, who is the actual person. Did he catch Shigaraki saying 'Spinner will be looking forward to this' and think, 'huh, Shigaraki has someone he cares about, I think? Then he wouldn't want to destroy Spinner, would he?' No. The fan-translation got everyone's hopes up that Deku wants to 'shred the rug' of societal failures, but the official translation was correct - Deku wanted to pry the lid off Shigaraki's trauma, accusing Shigaraki of repressing himself.

If he cared about Shigaraki at all, he would've protested when Gran told him he might have to kill Shigaraki. Instead:

He would've opposed the construction of something called a SKY COFFIN DEATH ARENA. He would've spoken up when Heroes talked strategy about how AFO is the better opponent to fight, implying that it's better if AFO had taken over Shigaraki, despite Shigaraki being the victim of AFO here.

Even when he ends up saving Tenko from Decaying the Shimuras, he's utterly lackluster there. Tenko's in tears, saying that he must have wanted to kill his family, he was born with a quirk like Decay, who could ever validate his existence the way he is??? And Deku's response? "Well. Holding my hand might make you feel better. So here." Saying something like, 'No, you're a child! It's not your fault!' or 'Your quirk isn't meant for harm, it can be useful too' or 'It's okay. You're not an evil existence' seems obvious, but Deku doesn't.

and really, all this has been obvious since the Mall Encounter in Chapter 69. Remember when Shigaraki point blank told him that All Might's smile is stupid because he acts like there's no one he can't save? And it's clearly full of resentment? And Deku picked up on this, which is why next chapter he asks All Might if it's true there are times where All Might couldn't save someone.

But once Tsukauchi said, don't worry about it, Deku did just that. When he does think about it one time, it's this absolutely nothing of a reflection

"I guess we just have to agree to disagree!" Come on. And this kid has a 'drive to save that eclipses all common understanding'??? for real?????

Deku has never given a crap about Shigaraki or Villains. Honestly, him wanting to save that sad little boy might as well be just Horikoshi putting lines in his mouth to move the story along.

If Deku really did care, I think he would've wanted to save the entire person that is Shigaraki. The Crying Child is a phantom - Shigaraki is real and solid and there. The Crying Child is innocent and easy to care about because it's a cute baby and it's openly weepy; saving hand-monster junji ito twink Shigaraki who laughs and talks about destroying everything Deku loves would've been an actual challenge. But clearly we couldn't have that because even the Crying Child was too far gone for Deku to save.