#Shouto x his theories

[lyraofthecross]

Shouto, with 30 hours of no sleep: I have… a theory(TM)

Midoriya, with 47 hours of no sleep: Go on

Shouto: My father…. Has actually been in love with All Might this whole time. The whole taking the number one spot and their rivalry: it’s all been very bad negging

Midoriya: Holy shit, I think you are into something

Shinsou, with 52 hours of no sleep: Its all making sense now

[dira333]

The Soulmate Theory - Todoroki Shouto x Reader

I welcome you to my probably last-ever Soulmate fic. As much as I love reading this trope, it's gotten harder and harder to write. I hope you like it. This is for @shoulmate

Trope: You share your Soulmate's pain.

Soulmates used to be a thing. 

A long, long time ago, way before the first ever Quirk was documented, Soulmate bonds were just as common as Quirks are nowadays.

Your grandmother used to be fascinated by it, told you stories about her grandmother who was convinced she shared a soulmate bond even though not one case had been documented in the last hundred years before her.

It’s only natural, you’d say, that you didn’t realize you had one. After all, why would you think that?

-

Pain has always been part of your life.

Your wrists hurt and your legs hurt and your back hurts and your stomach hurts… all the time. The doctors cannot find anything, some even accuse you of pretending for attention. You’d gladly trade all that attention against a pain-free day.

Your Quirk’s Telekinesis and you’re so glad about it, because how else would you be able to move that pen and write that notes when your hands hurt like this?

You’re getting better at it too, threading a needle or picking up the last grain of rice with your thoughts alone. 

-

A dull ache has settled behind your left eye after what has been the most intense pain flare you’ve ever had. All you want to do is rest. 

But your mind is reeling, craving an outlet for all the thoughts inside your head.

Your restless eyes find some fabric in the corner of the room. Soon enough a few needles are working their magic, a creation coming to life before your eyes.

You might not be able to walk around most days, but at least you can still create outfits you’d love to flaunt in.

-

Years later

-

“Can you take over my student?” Kameko asks, “He wants a completely new costume.”

“What year?”

“First year. And his old one wasn’t even destroyed.”

“So? Maybe he found something out about himself.”

She huffs. “Please? I still have to finish Amajiki’s new design and you know how anxious he gets.”

“Yeah, no problem. Can you take another first year off my plate then? His name is Midoriya and he ripped it in half, it seems.”

“Oh yeah, give it to me.”

Someone clears their throat. You look up from your work into a set of heterochromatic eyes, one blue, one grey.

“Yes?” You ask. “How can I help you?”

“I’m here for my new Costume.”

“Are you Midoriya?” You point at the green fabric on your desk, or rather what’s left of the costume.”

“No, I’m Todoroki Shouto.”

“Ah,” Kameko doesn’t even look guilty at being caught. “You’re with her then. Do you need the think tank?” She points at the cubicle where you can go and plan outfits.

Todoroki looks like he isn’t quite sure, so you carefully slide off your chair and shuffle over.

“Come, come,” you wave at him, “It’s never wrong to brainstorm.”

“Are you hurt?” He asks and has the decency not to point at how you clearly favor your left leg. 

“Not more than usual,” you try to joke and though he looks a little confused, he doesn’t ask more questions.

.

Todoroki is a quiet individual. He’s not shy, that you perceive immediately, but he makes sure to check if he’s allowed to speak before he opens his mouth.

He’s also insanely pretty, the red, rough skin over his left eye giving him even more appeal. But he’s also one year younger than you, so you keep those thoughts locked away in the back of your head.

“If you want to change the design, we can do that, no problem.” You remind him when you’ve finally found something he seems almost happy with.

“I don’t want to cause you more work.”

“If you don’t cause me any work I’d have nothing to do,” you joke and he looks at you quietly for a while. You wonder if he’s ruminating over your joke or waiting for you to talk on and sadly, you’re more than likely to ramble in a confusing silence.

You gesture, somehow now talking about the importance of fresh orange juice for the human body, a topic you didn’t even know you could talk about beforehand when your hand connects harshly with the door behind you. Your wrist catches the doorknob and the pain is immediate, sharp and cool, like you’d imagine being stabbed with an icicle would feel like.

Todoroki hisses behind you and you’d compliment him on the empathy if it wouldn’t hurt like that.

When you turn, hand pressed against your chest, he’s cradling his own hand before dropping it. “Musclespasm,” he explains quietly, offering you a hand that is covered in ice. “Do you want me to cool it? It helps.”

-

“I’d like to add some more details to my costume,” Todoroki approaches you with a Bento Box in hand.

You nod, unable to speak for a moment as you focus your Quirk on a particularly tough seam.

“No problem, as I said. What’s it about?”

“Could we use the think tank?”

You turn to check but it’s clearly occupied.

“Sadly not. Is it more complicated then?” You nod at the Bento Box. “Do you think it will keep us occupied during lunch break?”

“No, this is…” Todoroki hesitates for a second before holding it out to you. “It’s just something I wanted to give you. My sister made these.”

 You open it with curious fingers to reveal twelve perfectly shaped cookies.

“That’s lovely, but why me?”

His cheeks turn pink and his lips curl into an adorable pout before he eventually talks.

“I mentioned that I was pleased with the changes and she told me to say thank you.”

“Aww,” you coo. “Your older sister then?”

“Yes,” the pout exaggerates, “I would have said thank you without her intervening.”

“Of course you’d have.” - “But my cookies didn’t turn out good.”

You both speak at the same time, or rather you accidentally interrupted him and he still talked on.

You stare at him now, mouth agape as you process his words.

“You made cookies for me?”

“Yes,” Todoroki nods, “I wanted to say thank you.”

“It’s my job.”

“I still want to say thank you.”

“Next time,” you joke, not quite realizing what you’re saying until it has left your lips and your brain has caught on, “just bring me the Cookies you made. It’s the thought that counts.”

He stares at you with wide eyes for what feels like eternity before a soft pink blush blooms on his cheeks.

You hide your own face in the box of Cookies, hope that he won’t hear the thunderous beating of your heart over the noise of you eating one.

They’re delicious. Of course they are.

-

You don’t know how or when or even why, but clearly, there’s a friendship growing between you and Todoroki Shouto. He’s stopped claiming he’s only dropping in for new additions to his costumes and in turn you’ve tried quite a few of his food creations, each one of them worse than the last.

But he’s cute and honest and real about it and you couldn’t do better if you tried anyway.

Your pain, however, doesn’t stop just because you’ve found work you enjoy or friends to spend your time with.

There are days where you cannot get out of bed. Days where strong painkillers allow you to get to school only for everything to go past you because those painkillers leave you loopy and tired, falling asleep over some costume in the early afternoon hours.

At least you’re not in the Hero Course, you think on the worst days, because you’ve seen the bruises Training leaves on Shouto’s arms and legs.

That’s before you realize that Training is the least of all his problems.

-

Third Year

“How are you?” You ask, because what else do you ask your Crush Slash Good Friend you haven’t seen in months?

Shouto’s got new scars, he’s grown, and he’s fought in a war while you were bedridden from pain, your mother scared out of her depths that you’d die in an attack, unable to move.

But you survived and so did he and if you can believe what you’ve heard on the news, he’s found out some things about his family too.

“Tired,” he admits, dragging a hand through his hair, “I missed you.”

You wonder how hard it was for him to admit that. 

 “Think tank?” You ask, slipping off your chair when he nods.

The last few days have been painless and even though you’re anxious about what’s to come after that, you can’t help but enjoy it.

When the door closes after him, you realize just how small that cubicle really is. 

Or maybe it’s just that Shouto doesn’t step away like he used to do, staying so close to you that you could count every single one of his long lashes if you wanted to.

“Can I hug you?” He asks and you nod, unable to say anything, even less when he pulls you in.

He’s tall and strong, cool on one side and warm on the other and your face nuzzles into his neck like it was meant to be like that anyway.

You don’t speak for a while, just hold each other in the semi-privacy this room provides.

“I want to take care of you,” Shouto whispers at some point. “Can I?”

Somehow it doesn’t surprise anyone that you two end up dating.

-

Your third year is almost painless.

Sure, there are frequent days where you’re sore for no reason whatsoever, but that is nothing against the blinding pain that had tied you to a bed for weeks before. 

Sometimes, Shouto pouts about that. He thinks it’s his job as your boyfriend to look after you and what good is he for if you don’t need looking after?

His friends tell you that he’s less reckless now - as if he’d ever been - making sure to keep himself safe because you need him.

You’ve met his sister, one of his older brothers and his mother, all of them nice, though maybe a bit distanced. 

Emotional vulnerability doesn’t seem to come easy to them.

Shouto, however, likes to talk about his feelings in depth. And he wants to know how you’re feeling too, listening with wide eyes as you explain.

Should it be weird that you’re dating someone younger than you? If so, you’re doing it wrong. 

-

The first(?) hint

“Do we need anything from the store?” You ask, phone crammed between your ear and shoulder as you grab your stuff from the passenger seat.

“I was going to get the groceries,” Shouto huffs on the other side of the call and you can see it, how he pouts at the thought that you’re doing it instead of him.

“I was already on my way. You can do the laundry.”

“I hate doing the laundry,” he groans and you giggle. “I know. I’m going to help you with it, don’t worry.”

“I could cook,” he offers and you giggle again, opening the door to step out. “As much as I love you, Shouto, I don’t love your cooking.”

“Fine,” he says, sounding exactly like a child that didn’t get its way, “But we do face-masks while doing the laundry.”

“Of course. I’ll call you back later, okay? I need both hands for shopping.”

“Sure. I’ll buy you more headphones in the meantime.”

There are a few more teasing remarks, a last “I love you” and then you shove your phone back in your purse and turn to where you think the shopping carts are located.

You don’t see the step in front of you before it’s too late and then you’re tumbling through the air. It happens slowly and then all at once and you’re not really sure what hurt first and what hurts the most. 

For a moment you’re just lying there, face down on the pavement, trying not to puke, collecting your thoughts as if they scattered on your floor just like your open purse.

Your phone starts ringing and that seems the most manageable task so you pick it up from right in front of you and press it against your ear.

“Yes?” You ask.

“Love, are you okay?” Shouto sounds worried.

“No, I just tripped and fell,” you pick your head up from the asphalt and squint at your stuff in front of you, “in the middle of the parking lot.”

“Just after you hung up I felt a lot of pain and I just… I knew it was you.” 

-

It keeps happening after that.

It doesn’t help that you’re clumsy, but maybe that’s for the best now, as you try and figure out this weird coincidence.

If you hurt yourself, Shouto feels the pain.

If Shouto hurts himself, you feel the pain. 

It’s only after he almost gets buried by a collapsing building that you actually tell a Doctor. Or rather Midoriya unloads all the Data he has collected on the poor, unassuming Recovery Girl.

The most likely answer, as strange as it might sound, is the Soulmate Theory.

“Since you’re the first documented case in hundreds of years we don’t have anything to prove this theory. But I’m quite positive that more cases will follow.”

You blink back at her, not quite understanding. Shouto’s left hand, one of the few places of his that are not covered in bandages, squeezes yours.

“You know what that means, right?” He asks.

“Yeah. We’re most definitely never going to break up.”

His eyes widen in a way you’ve grown familiar with. No matter how long you’ve been dating, you still seem to be able to surprise him.

“No,” he presses out weakly, “I meant… That all the pain you went through as a child and teenager, that was me. It’s my fault.”

You lean down to press a kiss to the little spot above his eyebrows that has come away unscathed.

“I’m not saying it was nice, but if I could take at least a little bit of the pain you went through, I’d say it was worth it.”

-

You’re pretty sure Shouto would disagree, but in your eyes Soulmates are not quite as fancy as they’re made out to be.

After all, you found him on your own, didn’t you?

[random-mha-thoughts]

Observant (Todoroki x Reader)

Pairing: Todoroki x fem!Reader

Genre: Fluff, College AU

Word Count: 2,562

Summary: In which Shouto moves to the library to study, but it’s more than the quiet atmosphere keeping him coming back.

Tags: @yamichxn @liviitehe @cyanide9602

*Btw it's been a while since I updated my taglist and everyone's usernames I have are from like 2 years ago, so if you wanna be on it shoot me an ask/DM and I'll update it

A/N: Ok maybe I lied and this took longer to write than a week, but it's a lot longer than I thought it would be!

While I liked this idea in theory, once I wrote it I wasn't as big a fan as I thought. *sigh* The life of a writer... Always hating what you put out...

I hope you guys like it, it's more in Shouto's POV than the reader's which is different for me. I think it's pretty cute, and that's what matters.

-----

Shouto needed a change.  Studying inside an empty classroom or in his dorm room alone wasn’t productive anymore; more often than not, he’s started spacing out or having to reread entire pages of his notes.  It also didn’t necessarily help that his roommate this year caused so much of a ruckus every day - the roommate tended to have loud company over frequently, or he would stumble into the room in the wee hours of the night when Shouto was still studying - that Shouto's normally abundant patience had run out and he didn't want to sour their relationship by confronting him (Also read: he had no more fucks to give and it was getting on his last nerve).

Finding a replacement study space was the best decision he’d ever made.

Izuku took him to one of the school library’s quiet floors, the place he tends to study after class.  The floor looked cozy; among the endless rows of library books, there were rows of desks pushed against a wall covered in windows.  A wider clearing in the middle of the entire floor had a few larger tables to seat about six to eight students.  On the other side of the rows of desks were locked rooms that groups can request to reserve for a few hours.

Izuku couldn’t stand the typical absolute quiet on this floor, so he tended to reserve one of the rooms with a classmate after a long day of classes; the extra privacy was an added bonus.  Iida couldn’t make it, so the freckled fellow was grateful to Shouto for tagging along.  The duo settled into a room with concrete white walls and a simple table, a large plane of plexiglass the only view into the rest of the library.

Shouto didn’t care about the room almost feeling like a prison; there was enough natural lighting from a double window, it was minimalistic, and he was in the presence of a friend if he needed someone to talk to when he took small breaks.  He figured even if Izuku didn’t come with him every day, he could sit at one of the desks in the middle of the room with his earbuds in for a few hours.  A completely focused section of the library with no distractions, just what he wanted.

Until some movement caught the corner of his eye through the plexiglass and made him do a double-take.

A girl with hair reaching past her shoulder blades approaches one of the nearby bookshelves, the white sleeves of her shirt folded up to her elbows and a burgundy skirt sitting just above her knees.  The outfit alone earned a small glance from him, but what made him stare curiously was her actions.  She moved a few heavy tomes aside, revealing a much smaller one hidden behind them.  She plucked it from its place, opened up to a bookmarked page, and proceeded to twist the “bookmark” into her hair, making a neat bun near her nape, before walking away.

Shouto couldn’t help gawking at her receding figure.  She not only hid a book in a secret hiding spot, but she used her hair stick - or fork, or pin, he was too far to tell exactly what it was - as a bookmark when she was done reading for the day.  He’s heard of Fuyumi using everything but an actual bookmark to hold her place, but he’s never actually seen another person with such a habit.  It made sense, one would want to pin their long hair out of their face to read - Fuyumi says she keeps her hair on the short side because long hair is a hassle to control - and Shouto acknowledges how clever she is.  But then how does she spend the rest of her day with her hair down?  Doesn’t it get it in the way the rest of the day?  Going outside with the wind kicking around?  Eating with her hair all over the place?  Catching it on her backpack or her jacket?  Maybe he was getting ahead of himself and this was a one-time thing, she just happened to not have a bookmark and the only thing on hand was her accessory and something was better than simply folding the page down.

Shouto realized he’d spent a whole 5 minutes ruminating about this mysterious girl and her hair and her reading habits.  He’d just found a new distraction, and he wasn’t mad at it.

After a few hours of homework and studying with Izuku in the locked room, Shouto noticed the girl walking slowly back to the same bookshelf, nose buried in the pages, bun still in place.  The boy silently chuckled to himself as she stood completely still for a few beats, he figured she was just finishing up a chapter.

He suddenly stops short and his eyes widen.

In one swift motion, she pulled the stick from her bun and, as if in slow motion, the silky strands were freed, falling past her shoulders as she shook it out.  It was more satisfying seeing it all fall down after she meticulously pinned it up.  And of course, it just looked pretty.

In doing so, her glance catches him from her periphery.  His heart stopped as he quickly turned back to his laptop screen, already holding his breath.  He’s not a creep, he told himself as his face heats up, his mind was just bored and his eyes wandered and he just so happened to catch activity happening.  Simple.  It’s not like he wanted to see her do it again.

Izuku stretches his arms over his head.  “Yikes, I didn’t notice how late it was.  Wanna break for the night and come back tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

~*~

Shouto has come to expect the usual schedule of events: He would settle into the study room with his study partner and unpack as he waits for the girl to come retrieve her book.  He would watch as she’d expertly weave the stick in her hair, give a cute little head shake to make sure it was strong enough to hold, and then disappear into the library to read her book.  A few hours into his work, he’d wait for her to come back to her book hiding spot.  The most satisfying part of his day would be watching her pull the stick out of her hair and letting that cascade of silky hair fall past her shoulders.  He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of that.  On his way out one day, he snuck a peek at what book she was reading and inspected her hair stick.  It was a simple enough design, thin and gold colored with a leaf pattern at the very end of it.

Sure, it sounds creepy to an outsider.  But he’s not a stalker, he’s just a creature of habit.

Or, that’s what he tried to tell himself whenever he would accidentally meet her eyes and have to turn his head quickly.  Which has happened more times than he’d like to admit in a 3 week span.

“What’s IcyHot looking at so intently?”  Katsuki’s gruff voice alerts Shouto out of his trance one afternoon as he waits for the mystery girl to appear at the end of the day as usual.  “You’ve been looking over there all day.”

Shouto tears his eyes away from the bookshelf, clearing his throat and staring at his screen.  “Nothing, I thought I saw something.”

Katsuki and Izuku’s eyes darted to where Shouto was looking to find the girl retrieving her book as usual.  A smug look spreads across the blond’s face as he leans back in his chair.  “Ohh, I see.  You’re watching the pretty girl.”

Shouto clamps his mouth shut, not wanting to give the boy the satisfaction of being right.

“You like her, right?”

“No!”  Damnit.  “She just happens to be here every day too.”  He can’t stop the heat rising to his cheeks.

“Well she’s coming over here, be ready.”

As soon as Shouto’s heart lurches, there’s a soft knock at the door.  Shouto glances around to Izuku and then Katsuki, who’s smirking.  “Go on, answer it.  She’s not looking for us.”

Shouto wants nothing more than to punch his smug face, but he hurries over to the room door to open it.  He stiffens up when he sees the girl standing right in front of him.

Up close, she has a slightly rounded face, her black-framed glasses framing cat eyes and long eyelashes.  Her mouth was slightly agape for a split second before stiffly closing it to compose herself and stand up straighter.  “Um, hi.  I hope I’m not bothering you.”

Shouto closes the door behind him.  “No, not at all.”  He shoves a hand in his pocket to try looking casual while his heart flutters at being close enough to someone he’s been watching from a distance.

“I actually wanted to ask you a favor.”  She pushes her glasses up on her face nervously.  “Do you mind hiding this somewhere in your study room?”  She’s clutching her book to her chest, the dark cover contrasting against her white sweater.

Shouto’s eyes couldn’t help taking a quick glance down; the dark book cover contrasts against her white sweater tucked into her black plaid mini skirt ending just above her knees, the rest of her legs covered by sheer black tights and ending in a pair of black boots with a low heel.

“I usually hide it behind one of the sections of books no one reads,” she continues, pivoting a bit to point, letting Shouto glance down quickly to the black plaid mini skirt, sheer tights, and black heeled boots before she turns back around.  “But I figured someone might move it one day.  And I just happen to notice that you’re in this room every day at the same time, I can count on it being in the same place…”  She tucks a hair behind her ear and Shouto nearly melts at the way her voice trails off sheepishly.

Shouto reaches out to take the book she’s offering to him.  “Yeah, I’ll keep it here in the room.  It should be locked overnight.”

She clasps her hands in front of her and smiles at him.  “Thank you!  I’ll come back to get it tomorrow, promise.”

Shouto dazedly smiles back at her.  “Sure…  See you tomorrow, then.”

She gives him a little bow and walks away from him, letting him get a whiff of her fruity-floral perfume.  He stands there a moment to watch her, containing his excitement before collecting himself and ducking back into the room.  He realized his palms were sweaty when he sat back down and wanted to study the book cover.

He feels eyes on him, only to meet Katsuki’s shit-eating grin and Izuku’s eager smile.

The blond is the first to break the silence.  “Well?  What did she want?”

Shouto plays back the conversation in his head.  “She gave me her book to keep in the room overnight.”  She happens to notice me here… Shouto thinks, Every day…  Just like I notice her here every day…  “She must think I’m a stalker or something,” he mumbles.

“Oh my god.”  Katsuki facepalms.  “It means she likes you, you idiot!  She just wanted an excuse to talk to you!”

The clueless boy blinks, causing the blonde to groan.  “Why else would she come up to you specifically and not Deku?”

Izuku gives his childhood friend a hard look.  “I agree with Kacchan, she looked shy to talk to you.  Maybe you should do something nice for her and ask her out?”

When the pieces finally click in place, Shouto’s face turns brighter red than his hair at the prospect of the girl possibly being interested in him too.

“IcyHot’s got such a huge crush!” Katsuki guffaws, hitting the table.

~*~

“Thanks for taking care of my book again,” the girl smiles.

Shouto’s already racing heart squeezes as their fingers just barely brush during the exchange, rubbing the back of his neck.  It’s a regular occurrence, but the gesture never fails to fluster him.  “N-No problem.  I know it’s important to you.”  He coughs.  “I actually read a little bit of it this time.”  He thinks she stiffens up for a moment.  “I apologize if I was intruding!” he says quickly.

“N-No, it’s fine!”  She clutches the book to her chest tightly with both hands, managing a nervous chuckle.  “How far did you get?”

“Just the first three chapters, I didn’t get too far.”  Her nervous behavior makes Shouto sweat.  Did he cross a line?  She must think he’s indecent now if she didn’t before.

“Oh.”  She visibly relaxes.  “Sorry, I didn’t think you’d look.  I thought it looked too…girly for you to be interested.”

“I figured you’re reading it so intensely, it must be good.  I was just curious, I’m sorry.”  He feels his face heat up in shame again.  He keeps glancing at the book, not knowing if he should find some way to take it back from her or not; only adrenaline had let him go through with his plan.

The girl realizes the book feels thicker in her hands, the split created by her bookmark now a small hole.  Her fingers reach inside and open up to that page, eyes widening.

She plucks out a thin golden stick with a burgundy flower at the head, a matching chain tassel with a gem at the end hanging off of it.  “What’s this?”

The boy’s throat is parched and his heartbeat almost deafens him.  “I know how much you like using these sticks to tie up your hair, and you tend to wear reds and burgundy a lot.  I wanted to give you a nicer looking one that matches.”

Shouto almost wants the ground to open up and swallow him whole when she stares up at him wordlessly.  The girl finally smiles warmly.  “It’s really pretty, thank you, I love it!”

The boy lets out a held breath, the cold fear slightly leaving him.  “Oh good, I’m glad.”

She hands him the book to hold as she wraps her hair up and places the stick in the bun.  Shouto’s chest fills with pride as she turns her head to show him.  “How does it look?”

“Stunning,” he blurts out and his eyes immediately widen at his unintentional candor, earning a giggle out of her.  He hangs onto the wondrous sound and the way her warm eyes bore into him.  “Would you grab dinner with me later?”

She slightly tilts her head at him with a smile, sending more warmth through him.  “I’d love to.”

Shouto smiles back, his whole body relaxing and his heart full.  “Great!  See you later, then.”

The girl reaches both her hands to gently retrieve her book, allowing more contact to linger between them as she shyly keeps their eyes locked.  “See you then.”

As she walks away, the burgundy tassel swaying side to side, Shouto leans back against the door for a moment and smiles to himself.  He feels lighter now, looking forward to his date.  As he turns to go back inside the room, he briefly wonders if he should learn how to use one of those hair sticks; maybe he’ll get the chance to weave his fingers through her silky hair and place it himself.  He’ll get the chance to pull it out, eventually.

[rarepears]

In Reincarnated Vader X Todoroki Enji AU, somehow, I think that with Anakin and Enji's personalities, Shouto may also end up inheriting Anakin's terrible flirting skills. Like, if Shouto ever does end up courting anyone or specifically Izuku, what would he say? Would he also talk about sand or some inane thing as he compares Izuku to that?

You say that like canon!Shouto doesn't already make inane comments and comparison with his whole conspiracy theory making brain XD

[More in the #Reincarnated Vader X Todoroki Enji AU]

[thatforgottenbasilisk]

links and descriptions under the cut

PROPAGANDA IN MY INBOX IS ACTIVELY ENCOURAGED

Jonathan Sims Is Dead In The End-

The Magnus Archives

last updated february 28, 2023 on a major cliffhanger

time travel attempted fix-it fic where Sasha is (and was) the Archivist, the original timeline was absolutely nothing like the original TMA, jon is doomed, many people die despite the genre, and the ending is pretty fuckin tragic anyway. but hey! tim x sasha!

Closed Doors-

My Hero Academia/The Magnus Archives Crossover

last updated november 30, 2023

in which todoroki rei's maiden name is lukas, natsuo and shouto are following in her lonely footsteps, touya's a contract killer, eraserhead is falling to Something, mina and tsuyu have a feud that's inscrutable to everyone else, kirishima seems like he knows something about shouto, and fuyumi got the conspiracy theory genes

One Loop at a Time-

My Hero Academia

last updated august 27, 2023 on its first chapter

in which midoriya dies and finds himself in a time loop. overestimates himself and the role that luck has had in his life beyond this point, and dies again pretty quick. this time kacchan's in the loop too.

in love i've always been a mercenary-

My Hero Academia

last updated november 25, 2022 (no thats not a typo) on its first chapter

in which gran torino dramatically announces that hes "divorcing" all for one by giving shimura nana some "potentially devastating" information on him and his network. he later has to move in with her for protection because surprise! no sane criminal is picking the side that isn't all for one's in the divorce! can you imagine! (something is amiss here, nana can feel it, but she's just being jaded. right?)

[gentrychild]

not who originally asked but i'm always down for chaos and tomfoolery (re: Ascendant!AfO following Izuku to the Todorokis' home)

X

When a strange white-haired-man greets the Todoroki siblings and Izuku (who is a de facto Todoroki sibling by then), everyone assumes that he is Endeavor's not so secret boyfriend. But the strange man is cooking them bacon (in a pan and not on a Todosibling skin like Touya and Shouto do) so they don't mind him. It takes Izuku three cups of coffee to realize it's actually All for One and that he might be here for all the quirks he stole.

All Might is warned about this and barges into Endeavor's home with a fun but AFO is gone. Every time he visits (with more and more improbable weapons), AFO is nowhere to be found but there are proofs of his existence everywhere, such as the apron with Symbol of Evil written on it.

Natsuo has a conspiracy theory about his dad's new boyfriend being a ghost.

Enji isn't aware of the strange white-haired-man living under his roof and every time one of his children comments about his so-called boyfriend, he nods and plays along because he is just happy his children are willingly talking to him.

The only reason why Izuku isn't moving in with Toshi is because AFO made it clear he would follow him there and Izuku loves his dadmight too much to make him live with AFO.

It's eventually revealed that when Izuku yanked so many quirks so brutally from AFO, he kinda bruised his quirk factor so AFO can't take quirks without a lot of pain right now. Hence why he is so low key.

This is truly a reverse Anyone as Izuku is running after AFO trying to hug him while AFO is running because he knows Izuku will drain him of all of his quirks.

[adventureofthedancinggirl]

This is primarily a fandom blog, currently focused on BNHA, previously active in BBC Sherlock.

Here you'll find fandom things, headcanons, rambling about fics (and writing in general), occasional meta & translations, as well as other miscellaneous things I find interesting. (See the index below if you're looking for my old posts.)

Writing updates are tagged: dancing girl writes.

AdventureOfTheDancingGirl on AO3.

@/dancinggirl221b on x & bsky

Sideblogs:

@seeyouafter a collection of my thoughts and various ephemera related to my ongoing tdbk epistolary fic "See You After"

@ordinaryoffensivemagic various content related to the manga/anime 葬送のフリーレン (Sousou no Frieren)

Notes and helpful tags:

Asks are open if you want to chat. Give me an excuse to talk about my writing notes or headcanons if you want to make my day. Anon is usually on but be kind. There is a real human on the other side of the screen.

Replies are tagged as dancing girl asks. If you want to say hi but don't know what to say, feel free to check out the ask games tag.

🏷️Tag Index:

I have a comprehensive tag index that I finally updated but these are the tags that I'm using most often these days:

💜Personal Tags:

dancing girl rambles - random thoughts, generally not fandom related

dancing girl writes - tag for my fics and general thoughts on writing (previous tags: my writing - this one has mostly Sherlock stuff, writing updates)

also: see you after fic, sya writing log

dancing girl's reblog themes - sometimes I go down a rabbit hole and reblog a bunch of related posts. It's a fun time.

🩵General writing & fandom stuff

on writing, writing reference, fandom life, AO3 tips, tumblr tips

💚BNHA Content

dancing girl’s bnha thoughts - includes my personal reactions, headcanons, misc. thoughts related to bnha

bnha fanfic - includes my fics and others I recommend

I use the tag bnha for all my hero academia related reblogs. spoilers are tagged bnha manga spoilers

Chapter reactions/thoughts are tagged with the chapter number as bnha xxx,  see also: bnha meta (not all meta is mine)

images: bnha manga, bnha anime, bnha art (for my favorite bnha fanart)

Multi-ship, but TDBK is my OTP. (that being said, a lot of my reblogs with "ship" tags are purely for organization purposes and many can be viewed as platonic.)

I just want a happy todofam au so I made a tag for it (other favorite AUs: fantasy au, winter au, childhood friends au)

The ladies of this series don't get enough love so I like to highlight them with the tag bnha girls

Todoroki Shouto tags: shouto loves cats, sleepy shouto, todofam, shouto art, shoutocat, strawberry shouto-cake, shouto birthday

Bakugou Katsuki tags: dynamy, sleepy katsuki, katsuki comfort, bakugou family

Other commonly used character tags: class 1a, origin trio, remedial squad, dadzawa, eri-chan (If you're searching for someone specific I generally just tag the character’s name as it shows up in AO3’s tagging system) 

misc collections: 2023 bnha xmas sketch

💛BBC Sherlock

Main tags: sherlock, johnlock

Sherlock Fic Recs - Mostly BBC Sherlock universe. Most of my own Sherlock fics are under the My Writing tag

BBC Sherlock: sherlock meta, series 4 theories (also: season 4 theories), sherlock parallels, mirrors

Original Canon: acd canon, AStudyInCanonBookClub, acd parallels, sherlock analysis

see tag index for additional tags and other fandoms

🧡Misc. Tags (not fandom)

mental health, reminders, encouragement

otterly adorable, cute animals, beautiful things, reasons to smile

bookish things, reading log, quotes

💭Random Facts:

I share my birthday with Dabi and Burnin'

My username is a play on the Sherlock Holmes story "Adventure of the Dancing Men".

Even though I'm not active in the Sherlock fandom anymore, I decided to keep the same username because dancing is part of my IRL identity and I didn't want to keep track of a separate account. Also, Mina is my dancing (alien) queen so the name still works.

[amesstm]

studying with them

✨Bakugo✨ is a mean tutor, I’m sorry. He’ll absolutely roast you alive if you get over half of the questions wrong. “Hah?! How did you pass class with these grades?!” He’s smart but ruthless. Funnily enough, he’s still soft with you because you’re sat on his lap with his chin resting on your shoulder. “Alright, by the time I’m done with you, you’ll be able to calculate series in your sleep!” But when you finally get everything correct, it’s SO rewarding. Your boyfriend looks exceedingly pleased with himself and he hugs you from behind. “Good job. You finally did it. Now we can go on our dates like usual.”

✨Shouto✨ is very patient with you. He explains all of your errors and mistakes like a professor - a very boring one. Admittedly, his dull tone has made you doze off more than once. But the best parts are when you take breaks and his sister gives you two snacks. You’ve probably gained a pound from the amount of mochi she feeds you two. “Hm, maybe if we have the snacks at the end of the session you’ll be able to focus more…” Suddenly you’re able to argue with him in perfect broken English.

✨Deku✨ has the amazing ability to make you more confused than you initially were when you arrived. He spouts on and on and on about theories and random historians that developed the techniques or ideas. “Did you know that Aristotle- Y/N, are you paying attention?” Crap, was that drool on the corner of your mouth? “Oh, uhhh might’ve missed the past few minutes but I finished the worksheet.” He sheepishly laughs and scratches the back of his head, “Sorry, I’ll look over it for you.”

✨Kirishima✨ isn’t helping you; you’re helping him. It’s not that he’s a bad student, but that he lacks the will to apply himself and is a bad test taker. “So x equals 9?” After realizing how well he responds to constructive feedback, you smile. “Yes! You got that right!” He lets out a tired sigh, “Then why are my grades so low?” Poor baby looks like he wants to cry. You’ve never seen him in such low spirits so he must take this seriously. “You’re just a bad test taker. Try to relax, get sleep, and don’t stress too much!” Your advice really helps him out, so he treats you to a nice date.

✨Denki✨ is a clueless and helpless soul every time you two study together. Let’s face it, you’ve probably gotten dumber through spending time with him. “Why is English so stupidly hard?! Their, there, they’re. They sound the same!” You honestly have a hard time understanding the complex nature of the language, too. So, you both decide to watch Disney movies in only English. The best part is that you’ve both started to understand it more; the worst part is that Denki now also knows the songs in English.

✨Iida✨ has been waiting for this moment. Honestly, he’s been fantasizing about studying with you because he loves the aesthetic. The possibility of you having trouble and then him needing to lean in? And then you bumping heads and laughing together?? Yeah, he’s a nerd through and through. So don’t be surprised when you ask him for help that he exclaims “Yes! I have a weekly schedule planned out” and then the library is booked for only you two.

©amesstm on tumblr // pls do not plagiarize, steal, or repost my content w/o permission!! BUT likes & reblogs are highly appreciated :)

[andypantsx3]

so yesterday when you posted about Class 1-A vs The Curse of Rule 34 i immediately read it and i loved it and so i read a few of their other fics and loved them and so i was wondering if you have any more fic recs that you’d like to share? it could be reader insert, oc or neither tbh i just trust your judgement in fics so i’m sure anything you recommend will be great! (also i love your writing so much i stumbled upon it multiple times in a03 and then tumblr just to realize it was yours before i decided to follow you (i tend to be really picky on who i follow idk why) because i went through your masterlist an read everything and then re-read everything)

Ahhh hello my love, I am honored by your follow!! You're literally so sweet and I can't tell you how much it means to me that I made the cut lol. Please don't feel pressure though, I'm always happy with just an occasional visit too!!

I definitely recommend anything in my fic recs tag - the fics I recommend here on tumblr are generally character x reader or character x OC and they range from smutty to fluffy lol.

My guilty pleasure though, and the majority of my fave fics are gen or ship fics!! I actually hardly ever read x reader fic--absolutely no idea why I am this way--but if you're up for some gen or ship fic, I'm happy to rec a couple others.

I'm not sure what you're into at the moment but I will give you some of my faves!!

Don't Ask Don't Tell by Ms_Chunks Bakugou/Uraraka. I probably don’t even need to describe this one since this is the flagship Kacchako fic lol. But Bakugou and Uraraka explore the compatibility of their quirks and create a pair combat style, and fall in love along the way. I fucking love the way the author uses the chemistry of their quirks to parallel the compatibility of their personalities, and Uraraka is such a bad ass in this one ughghgh I love it.

who lives, who dies, who tells your story by aloneintherain Todoroki/Midoriya, though mostly gen. Examines Toshinori’s life post-retirement and the exploits of class 1-A post-graduation, through narrative and social media blurbs. I’ve never read anything that manages to be so bittersweet, so hopeful, and so funny all at once.

Thanks for Saving Me by Esselle Todoroki/Midoriya. This is a pro hero Shouto/quirkless science nerd Deku fic that is one of my all time faves. This is the type of shit my fics wish they were doing. This author is out here peddling the slightly-sugar-daddy-but-also-slightly-a-little-bit-of-a-shit Shouto agenda and it is absolute perfection. I routinely reread for comfort.

Slow to Start (But Quick to Burn) by mousapelli Kirishima/Bakugou. It's an ABO AU where omega Bakugou slowly figures out how to manage his relationship to alpha Kirishima, while Kirishima is predictably kind, patient, and understanding. This fic is totally stuffed full of domesticity--lounging around doing laundry and homework together, baking together, and napping together. Actually my all-time fave comfort fic, I have read this probably a million times.

journey to the past by aloneintherain Gen fic. A time travel fic where the members of Class 1-A go back in time to protect Izuku during the various stages of his life, as villains with a time travel quirk attempt to target the future number one hero while he's still a kid. It's so good and sweet and heartfelt and lovely and the author does an amazing job exploring Izuku's relationship with several of the major characters.

And probably a fic rec closest to the Rule 34 rec would be:

A Demolition Boy & his Cryptid BF by kewltie Bakugou/Midoriya. This is a social media fic similar in style to Class 1-A vs The Curse of Rule 34--it’s a youtuber AU where bkdk are youtubers in different genres, and the internet has a conspiracy theory that they’re together. Another really good send up of fandom and fandom culture, and another one of my faves.

I hope at least one of these is something you're in the mood for!! And please send some of your faves my way!! I'm a slow reader but literally always open to more recs!! 💕💕💕

[todomitoukei]

Japanese vs. English Dabi - A 290 Comparison

Dabi is Touya.

This is something we’ve all known for a long time, but today marks the one-year anniversary of everyone’s favorite theory being officially confirmed in the manga. So what better time to revisit this incredible reveal than today?

I’ve been asked about the line of his name reveal as well as his speech to Endeavor, which is why this post is going to focus on that, but I won’t be talking about the broadcast (maybe one day) since those are two separate speeches and it would get too confusing to have both in one post. And let’s be real, his speech to Endeavor is a lot more fun and you’re about to see the many many reasons why this is even more entertaining in Japanese than in the English translation.

「おーういたいたこっから見るとどいつも小っさくてお！？焦凍もいンのかこりゃいいや！」

「おーう ; oooh 」-> Oooh

「いたいた ; ita ita 」-> there you are

「こっから ; kokkara 」-> from here (casual version of ここから)

「見る ; miru 」-> to see; to look

「と ; to 」-> when

「どいつも ; doitsumo 」-> everybody*

「小っさくて ; chiissakute 」-> small

「お ; o 」-> Oh

「焦凍 ; shouto 」-> Shouto

「も ; mo 」-> also; too

「いン ; in 」-> to be (casual version of いる)

「のか ; noka 」-> question marker particle seeking an explanation

「こりゃ ; korya 」-> this (casual version of これは)

「いい ; ii 」-> good

「や ; ya 」-> sentence ending particle; shows reluctant acceptance

=”Oooh, there you are. When you look from here, everyone (derogatory) is s-maaall- Oh!? Shouto is here too, isn’t he? Whatever!”

To start things off, you’re gonna see a lot of "(casual version of X)" in this. Technically, everything in this speech is casual, but some words are just extra casual.

Doitsumo is the ruder version of daremo meaning everyone. This word has a negative nuance, though, so it often gets translated as “bastard” or similar.

Chiissakute would normally be chiisakute. The っ creates the so-called glottal stop, meaning there is a small pause, with the sound coming before being almost cut off. Here, Dabi uses the っ for emphasis to show that everyone is really, really small, maybe even ant-sized. Additionally, the standard form of the word is actually chiisai. Replacing the last i with kute turns it into an adverb which is done either to list things or connect it to another sentence or word. But then the “Oh!?” follows, so once he notices Shouto there, he essentially stops mid-sentence and changes the topic to acknowledge his younger brother’s presence.

Notice the n in いン (the “n in in” what a great string of words) is written in katakana? You can’t exactly italicize words in Japanese so that’s when writing words in one of the other three writing systems that are being used comes in really handy. While it doesn’t change the meaning, it shows that he’s emphasizing the word. So yes, he used three different ways to emphasize words here, keeping everyone on edge. Maybe Endeavor can’t be proud, but Compress sure is proud of this incredible entertainer!

Ya is a particle at the end of a sentence that often attaches to ii, like in this sentence. It shows indifference or reluctant acceptance, so kind of the opposite of what his facial expression would lead you to believe, basically him sarcastically saying “Shouto, it’s great that you’re here” when in reality it’s more of a “Urgh, I guess, if you have to be here…” which I was actually surprised about cause I figured he really was excited to get to see both Endeavor’s and Shouto’s reaction, but I guess this means that his dance really was only for Endeavor’s eyes and Shouto’s present was indifferent to him at best cries in youngest sibling.

Next, we get Endeavor’s one line during this whole speech:

「荼毘！！！」

「荼毘 ; dabi 」-> Dabi

= “Dabi!!!”

【T/L: Dabi means Dabi】

And back to Dabi:

「酷えなア。。。そんな名前で呼ばないでよ。。。」

「酷え ; hidee 」-> cruel; heartless; harsh (casual version of 酷い)

「なア ; naa 」-> sentence ending particle; used to seek confirmation

「そんな ; sonna 」-> such

「名前 ; namae 」-> name

「で ; de 」-> by; with

「呼ばないで ; yobanaide 」-> don’t call

「よ ; yo 」-> emphasis particle

= “Cruel, isn’t it… don’t call me by such a name…”

As you may have noticed in the very first sentence we looked at, there are a lot of casual versions Dabi uses, and he continues doing so here, as you can see with changing the hidoi into hidee. This isn’t just a casual way of saying the word cruel, but notice how it’s also changing the oi sound into an elongated e sound, which is once again done for emphasis.

And the emphasis doesn’t stop there - in the standard form, naa is actually just na. But you can elongate it to really dwell on what you’re saying. Additionally, the a at the end of なア is once again in katakana instead of hiragana for emphasis. So here, Dabi wants Endeavor to know that it is really, extremely, absolutely, undeniably, painfully cruel to be calling him “Dabi” there. How dare he!? Anyway, imagine not loving this absolute drama king! Couldn’t be me.

Another thing worth looking at is the yobanaide, as there are different ways to tell someone to do/not do something in Japanese. The polite way of asking someone to (not) do something is to conjugate the verb to its te-form and then add -kudasai, so in this case, the polite way to request Endeavor not to call him Dabi would be to say “yobanaide kudasai” - however, the kudasai can be dropped in casual speech. While this might not be surprising, the reason I’m bringing it up is that there is also a command form in Japanese, which isn’t really a thing in English. So while in English, “Don’t call me by such a name” could have multiple tones to it from begging to commanding, in Japanese there is a clear difference. Here, he’s basically just requesting for Endeavor to not call him Dabi. Which, of course, to Endeavor would seem strange. Why shouldn’t he call him Dabi when that is his name? What else should he call him if not that? Well, that’s when we get to everyone’s favorite part of this chapter - the reveal!

「燈矢って立派な名前があるんだから」

「燈矢 ; touya 」-> Touya

「って ; tte 」-> quotation particle

「立派な ; rippa na 」-> splendid

「名前 ; namae 」-> name

「が ; ga 」-> subject marker

「ある ; aru 」-> to be

「ん ; n 」-> explanatory particle

「だから ; dakara 」-> because; therefore

= “Because I have the splendid name ‘Touya’.”

First things first, this seems like an incomplete sentence in English. Keep in mind this sentence is basically connected to the preceding sentence of “don’t call me Dabi.” In Japanese, you would also usually have that sentence come first - start with the cause and then proceed with the effect. But you can switch it around like here for suspension. After all, the alternative order of “Because I have the splendid name ‘Touya’, don’t call me Dabi.” would have nowhere near the same effect, while “Don’t call me Dabi” and then pausing as he turns his hair white gives Endeavor and the others at least a few seconds of going through the possible reasons why they shouldn’t be calling him by the name he’s known for until everyone is finally hit with the one reason no one (in the bnha universe) would’ve been able to foresee: Dabi is Touya Todoroki.

「顔はこんななっちまったが。。。身内なら気付いてくれると思ったんだけどなぁ」

「顔 ; kao 」-> face

「は ; wa 」-> topic marker particle

「こんな ; konna 」-> like this

「なっちまった ; nacchimitta 」-> to have become fully/regrettably (なる+しまう)

「が ; ga 」-> but

「身内 ; miuchi 」-> relatives; one’s family

「なら ; nara 」-> if

「気付いてくれる ; kidzuitekureru 」-> to recognize for the speaker

「と思った ; to omotta 」-> thought

「んだ ; nda 」-> explanatory particle

「けど ; kedo 」-> however

「なぁ ; naa 」-> used to say something emotionally when looking back on the past

= “My face has completely/regrettably become like this, but… I had thought if it’s my family, they would recognize me, however...”

The shimau - or in this case chimatta - addition to a verb expresses that something happened fully, unintentionally, or regrettably. While this may sound like him being insecure, it kinda goes with his dramatic performance here overall, almost as if he went “Oh, what a shame!! Look what has become of me! Oh! What a tragedy!” or something similar to that.

The kureru at the end of kidzuitekureru is used to say that something was done for the speaker. So in a very literal translation this would be “doing me the favor of recognizing me” - so adding to the list of things Endeavor failed to do as a parent for his kid, recognizing him now goes on the list, too! Father of the year, we love to see it<3

Finally, this may sound like an incomplete sentence, ending it with kedo, but you can actually use this at the end of the sentence to express your emotions better. In this case, it shows his frustration/disappointment of not having been recognized by his own father.

「でも俺は忘れなかった言われなくてもずうっとおまえを見ていた」

「でも ; demo 」-> but

「俺 ; ore 」-> I

「は ; wa 」-> topic marker particle

「忘れなかった ; wasurenakatta 」-> didn’t forget

「言われなくても ; iwarenakute 」-> even if someone isn’t told

「ずうっと ; zuutto」-> continuously; all along

「おまえ ; omae 」-> you

「を ; o 」-> direct object marker

「見ていた ; miteita 」-> have been watching

= “But I didn’t forget. Even though you weren’t told, I’ve been watching you continuously.”

The zuutto is usually just spelled as ずっと (zutto), so with a small pause between the zu and the to without the additional u. But here, Dabi elongates the u sound first. Emphasis, once again. I’m beginning to wonder how long it took him beforehand to decide how to emphasize each word best. Either way, it really highlights the fact that this continuous watching has been going on for a long, looong time.

「皆が皆清廉潔白であれとは言わないおまえだけだ」

「皆が皆 ; minna ga minna 」-> every single one; everybody

「清廉潔白 ; seirenkeppaku 」-> to be upright and cleanhanded; selfless and pure, without greed

「であれ ; de are 」-> should

「とは ; to wa」-> adds emphasis to the prior word/phrase

「言わない ; iwanai 」-> don’t say

「おまえ ; omae 」-> you

「だけ ; dake 」-> only

「だ ; da 」-> be

= “I’m not saying everybody should be selfless and pure. Only you.”

The term seirenkeppaku refers to someone selfless with a pure heart and without greed. And while it’s great if people are that way, it’s okay to not be that way 100% of the time. However, considering Endeavor has pretty much only ever been the exact opposite of seirenkeppaku, Dabi just really needs him to finally be that way because anything else wouldn’t help Dabi (or the rest of the Todofam for that matter). Anyway, I think these are some wise words we should all live by: only Endeavor needs to be selfless, the rest of us can go wild.

I also still find it incredible that, despite Dabi being the one saying this and the fact he’s talking to and about Endeavor, the panel shows Shouto. This is the first time he gets advice from his big bro! How adorable! But also I think that that whole call-out is an important thing for Shouto to hear, especially since the public started to approve more of Endeavor as the Number One so he's even more surrounded with people praising the person that caused so much pain in Shouto's life.

「事前に録画しておいた俺の身の上話が今全国の電波とネットを走ってる！」

「事前 ; jizen 」-> prior; beforehand; in advance

「に ; ni 」-> at

「録画しておいた ; rokuba shiteoita 」-> prepared a video recording in advance (録画する+ておく)

「俺 ; ore 」-> I

「の ; no 」-> possessive particle; similar to an apostrophe

「身の上話 ; mi no uebanashi 」-> life story; personal narrative; story of one’s life

「が ; ga 」-> subject marker particle

「今 ; ima 」-> now

「全国 ; zenkoku 」-> the whole country

「の ; no 」-> possessive particle; similar to an apostrophe

「電波 ; denpa 」-> radio wave

「と ; to 」-> and

「ネット ; netto 」-> internet

「を ; o 」-> direct object marker

「走ってる ; hasshiteru 」-> spreading

= “I prepared a video recording of my life story in advance that is now spreading across the whole country’s radio waves and internet!”

When he says internet, do you guys think he made his own little website or did he upload it to, I don’t know, YouTube? Twitch? I mean it’s probably similar to the Stain video, which constantly got taken down and then reuploaded by random people again, but the idea of Dabi having his own website/social media account is immensely funny to me. Just imagine if the LOV suddenly received one of those YouTube plaques because Dabi got thousands and thousands of subscribers.

「いけねえなんだか愉しくなってきた！！」

「いけねえ ; ikenee 」-> oops; no good; bad (casual version of 行かない)

「なんだか ; nandaka 」-> a little; somewhat

「愉しなくなってきた ; tanoshikunattekita 」-> have come to enjoy (愉い+なる+てくる)

= “Oopsie, I’ve come to somewhat enjoy it!!”

A couple of things to note about the tanoshikunattekita. First of all, the kanji used here is not the common way to write tanoshii, that would be 楽しい. In fact, if you look up tanoshii in a dictionary, you’re most likely not even going to find it written with the kanji Horikoshi used here. After doing some research, apparently, this kanji is more commonly found in novels and self-help books (remember when Touya asked his mom if she read some enlightening books? Guess he’s read them, too lol).

Anyway, this way of writing tanoshii generally refers to joy due to a clear mind free of anxiety, as well as referring to a joy that comes from your own thoughts and feelings. So here, Dabi is referring to the joy he gets from his plan finally coming to fruition. I mean, waiting ten years to get back at Endeavor - talk about patience! So much like the rest of us that had been anticipating his reveal finally taking place, Dabi is having an absolute blast here.

「どうしたらおまえが苦しむか人生を踏み躙れるか。。。あの日以来ずうううううううっと考えた！」

「どうしたら ; doushitara 」-> how can one do something

「おまえ ; omae 」->you

「が ; ga 」-> subject marker particle

「苦しむ ; kurushimu 」-> to suffer

「か ; ka 」-> question marker particle

「人生 ; jinsei 」-> life

「を ; o 」-> direct object marker

「踏み躙れる ; fuminijireru 」-> can crush with a foot; can trample underfoot

「か ; ka 」-> question marker particle

「あの ; ano 」-> that

「日 ; hi 」-> day

「以来 ; irai 」-> since

「ずうううううううっと ; zuuuuuuuutto 」-> continuuuuuuuuously

「考えた ; kangaeta 」-> thought about

= “How can I make you suffer? How can I trample on your life? ...I have been continuuuuuuuuously thinking about it since that day.”

I don’t think I need to point out that the zutto is emphasized here. Anyway, the English official translation didn’t bother in the slightest to translate this (or any of the other words he emphasized) so it really doesn’t become notable just how dramatic he really is here.

「自分が何故存在するのか分からなくて毎日夏くんに泣いて縋ってた事知らねぇだろ」

「自分 ; jibun 」-> myself; I

「が ; ga 」-> subject marker particle

「何故 ; naze 」-> why

「存在する sonzai suru 」-> to exist

「のか ; noka 」-> question marker particle seeking an explanation

「分からなくて ; wakaranakute 」-> don't understand

「毎日 ; mainichi 」-> every day

「夏くん ; natsukun 」-> Natsu-kun

「に ; ni 」-> to

「泣いて ; naite 」-> to cry

「縋ってた ; sugatteta 」-> was clinging to; was hanging onto; was relying on; was depending on

「事 ; koto 」-> nominalizes the preceding sentence

「知らねぇ ; shiranee 」-> don't know (casual of 知らない)

「だろ ; daro 」-> probably

= “You probably don’t know that I was crying and clinging to Natsu-kun every day because I didn’t know why I existed.”

In order to combine two sentences in Japanese, you put the verb that’s at the end of the first sentence into its te-form. While this can be simply used for that purpose or to list several things, it can also be used to mean that the second sentence is a result of the first sentence. So here, as a result of Touya questioning the reason for his existence, he always went to Natsuo for support.

Sugaru, meaning to cling, is just one way to say that you rely on someone else. However, this word has a negative connotation in that it specifically means you’re relying on someone else because you cannot help yourself. It's the same word used to say 藁にも縋る - wara nimo sugaru (lit. to grasp at straws) meaning even if something couldn't possibly help, this is better than nothing. With that, Dabi is showing that he fully understands that going to his little 8-year-old brother for help wasn't a proper solution, and yet it was better than the alternative, which was to bottle all his emotions up instead, possibly turning himself into an empty shell in the process since none of the adults responsible for him ever gave him actual help (trying something and then giving up after it doesn’t work because “well, at least I tried my best” is not, in fact, enough).

「最初はおまえの人形の焦凍が大成した頃に焦凍を殺そうと思ってた！でも期せずしておまえがNo.1に繰り上がって俺は！おまえを幸せにしてやりたくなった」

「最初 ; saisho 」-> at first; in the beginning

「は ; wa 」-> topic marker particle

「おまえ ; omae 」-> you

「の ; no 」-> possessive particle; similar to an apostrophe

「人形 ; ningyou 」-> doll; puppet

「の ; no 」-> possessive particle; similar to an apostrophe

「焦凍 ; shouto 」-> Shouto

「が ; ga 」-> subject marker particle

「大成した ; taisei shita 」-> completed; accomplished

「頃 ; koro 」-> time; around; when

「に ; ni 」-> at

「焦凍 ; shouto 」-> Shouto

「を ; o 」-> direct object marker

「殺そう ; korosou 」-> will kill

「と思ってた ; to omotteta 」-> was thinking

「でも ; demo 」-> but

「期せずして ; kisezushite 」-> unexpectedly; accidentally; by chance

「おまえ ; omae 」-> you

「�� ; ga 」-> subject marker particle

「Ｎｏ１ ; nanbaa wan 」-> Number 1

「に ; ni 」-> to

「繰り上がって ; kuriagatte 」-> to move up in rank

「俺 ; ore 」-> I

「は ; wa 」->topic marker particle

「おまえ ; omae 」-> you

「を ; o 」-> direct object marker

「幸せにしてやりたくなった ; shiawase ni shiteyaritakunatta 」-> wanted to make you happy

= “At first when your doll Shouto was completed, I thought I’d kill Shouto! But, unexpectedly, you moved up to Number One, and I! Wanted to bring you happiness.”

Korosou is the volitional form of korosu. This form is usually used to say “let’s do~” in order to suggest plans to someone but when speaking about your own solo plans, it shows your will to do something. So it’s not like “I’m thinking of maybe, possibly killing him” but instead it’s far more determined. Which makes sense, for the drama, since it wouldn’t sell as well to just write it off as a fleeting thought. In a way, it’s him saying “I was dead set on killing Shouto!” to shock the audience before revealing that he has actually changed his plans since.

The ~teyaritakunatta means that Dabi wants to do this for Endeavor. However, this ~teyaru is a rude form that you would only use to someone you don’t respect and can additionally show you’re trying to mess with their situation (we’ll see this a couple of lines below again). In other words, while “I wanted to make you happy” sounds nice in theory, it’s said with absolutely zero respect and with an ulterior motive, obviously so considering Dabi wanted to see Endeavor succeed for once so that his downfall would be so much worse.

「九州では死んじまわねえか肝を冷やした！『星のしもべ』や『エンディング』を誘導して次々おまえにあてがった！！」

「九州 ; kyuushuu 」-> Kyushu

「では ; dewa 」-> in

「死んじまわねえ ; shinjimawanee 」-> don’t drop dead (しぬ+neg. casual てしまう)

「か ; ka 」-> question marker particle

「肝を冷やした ; kimo o hiyashita 」-> was struck with terror; was scared to death; was terrified

「星のしもべ ; hoshi no shimobe 」-> Starservant

「や ; ya 」-> and

「エンディング ; endingu 」-> Ending

「を ; o 」-> direct object marker

「誘導して ; yuudou shite 」-> to guide; to lead

「次々; tsugitsugi 」-> in succession; one by one

「おまえ ; omae 」-> you

「に ; ni 」-> to

「あてがった ; ategatta 」-> allotted with; supplied with; applied to

= “Won’t he drop dead in Kyushu? I was scared to death! I had led Starservant and Ending and one by one gave them right to you.“

Shinjimae is actually an insult meaning “drop dead” (lit. it is the command form of the verb to die + shimau meaning doing something completely so you’re essentially commanding someone to fully die), though it’s not exactly used as an insult here. Instead, it’s more to show that he’s not worried about his sweet papa passing away (I could have phrased this worse, just so you know, be grateful), but man would it fuck up his revenge plans should the old man drop dead.

Ategatta can be used in the sense of assigning someone something without them asking for it, like giving a kid a toy or assigning someone a job. So without Endeavor asking for Starservant and Ending to appear, Dabi decided to send them his way.

「念願のNo.1はさぞや気分が重かったろ！？世間からの賞賛に心が洗われただろう！？」

「念願 ; nengan 」-> one’s heart’s desire; one’s dearest wish

「の ; no 」-> possessive particle; similar to an apostrophe

「Ｎｏ１ ; nanbaa wan 」-> number one

「は ; wa 」-> topic marker particle

「さぞや ; sazoya 」-> surely; certainly

「気分 ; kibun 」-> feeling; mood

「が ; ga 」-> subject marker particle

「重かったろ ; omokattaro 」-> was probably heavy (重かった+だろ)

「世間 ; seken 」-> world

「から ; kara 」-> from

「の ; no 」-> possessive particle; similar to an apostrophe

「賞賛 ; shousan 」-> praise; admiration

「に ; ni 」-> by

「心が洗われた ; kokoro ga awareta 」-> to feel refreshed; to feel soothed

「だろう ; darou 」-> probably

= “Your biggest wish of Number One, it surely felt heavy, right?! You probably felt soothed by the admiration from the world!?”

‘What? The Chicken Soup For The Soul line isn’t the proper translation?’ I hear you say in shock. Indeed, he doesn’t say that at all (although I guess the meaning is kinda the same). Dabi sure has a funny way of performing his speech, but there are better ways to show that than by inserting weird English expressions.

「子どもたちに向き合う時間は“家族の絆”を感じさせただろう！！？」

「子どもたち ; kodomotachi 」-> children

「に ; ni 」-> to

「向き合う ; mukiau 」-> to face

「時間 ; jikan 」-> time

「は ; wa 」-> topic marker particle

「家族 ; kazoku 」-> family

「の ; no 」-> possessive particle; similar to an apostrophe

「絆 ; kizuna 」-> bond

「を ; o 」-> direct object marker

「感じさせた ; kanjisaseta 」-> made to feel

「だろう ; darou 」-> probably

= “The time you faced your kids made you feel the “bond of family”, right!!?”

You might have noticed it already, but aside from finding all kinds of ways to emphasize words, Dabi also loves to end his sentences with darou. This word is pretty much used when you want confirmation from the person you’re speaking to. And him ending several sentences in a row that way is him trying to get inside Endeavor’s head, kinda like the bad cop in an interrogation constantly pressing the person being interrogated with questions in hopes of the pressure eventually pushing down on them in order to get a confession.

「未来に目を向けていれば正しくあれると思っただろう！！？知らねエようだから教えてやるよ！！！」

「未来 ; mirai 」-> future

「に ; ni 」-> to

「目を向けていれば ; me o muketeireba 」-> if you shift your attention

「正しくあれる ; tadashikuareru 」-> to be able to exist correctly/proper (正しい+ある)

「と思った ; to omotta 」-> thought

「だろう ; darou 」-> probably

「知らねエ ; shiranee 」-> don’t comprehend (casual of 知らない)

「ようだ ; you da 」-> seeming/appearing to be

「から ; kara 」-> therefore

「教えてやる ; oshieteyaru 」-> I will teach you

「よ ; yo 」-> emphasis particle

= “You probably thought ‘if I shift my attention to the future, I’m able to exist correctly’!!? I will tell you, since you seem to not comprehend!!!”

Tadashikuareru consists of the words tadashii (correct; right) and aru (to exist) with the latter being in the potential form. The areru part can be used to show that there is more of a conscious effort to be a certain way. Instead of just being more right, he is consciously being that way (or at least he thinks he can be that way).

Once again, we have Dabi emphasize a word, shiranee, by having it in its casual form and with the e at the end written in katakana.

The oshieteyaru is one of those constructions that mean one person is doing something for someone else as we’ve already seen a few lines ago. But remember that Japanese is all about social hierarchy, especially when considering how to talk to others. So the standard way to have the speaker say they will do X for the listener would be to use ~teageru. ~teyaru, as used here, on the other hand, would only be used when speaking to someone who is inferior to you and often to say that you’re doing something to stand in their way/mess with their situation. In other words: negative respect from Dabi to Endeavor. He's not about to teach him something to do him a favor but to give him a much needed, traumatizing, life lesson

Now for the final part. The last sentence is something I actually already translated last year when the chapter came out, in fact, it was my first translation post! So now we’re really coming full circle here.

「過去は消えないザ！！自業自得だぜさァ一緒に堕ちよう轟炎司！！地獄(こっち)で息子(おれ)と踊ろうぜ！！！」

「過去 ; kako 」-> history

「は ; wa 」-> topic marker particle

「消えない ; kienai 」-> doesn’t disappear; doesn’t go away

「ザ ; za 」-> emphasis particle

「自業自得 ; jigoujitoku」-> paying for one’s mistakes; reap what you sow

「だ ; da 」-> be

「ぜ ; ze 」-> emphasis particle

「さァ ; saa 」-> emphasis particle

「一緒に ; issho ni 」-> together

「堕ちよう ; ochiyou 」-> let’s fall down; let’s descend

「地獄 ; jigoku 」-> hell

「こっち ; kocchi 」-> here

「で ; de 」-> in

「息子 ; musuko 」-> son

「おれ ; ore 」-> I

「と ; to 」-> with

「踊ろう ; odorou 」-> let’s dance

「ぜ ; ze 」-> emphasis particle

= “The past doesn’t go away!! You reap what you sow. Well, let’s fall together, Enji Todoroki!! You shall dance with me here!!!”

That za is one of many sentence ending particles that really just add a bit of emphasis and emotion to the sentence, however, normally this particle is written as sa. Changing it into za adds even more emphasis. And, of course, this is written in katakana to - you guessed it - add emphasis! Are you tired of the word emphasis? Well... that’s not the end of Dabi adding emphasis (but don’t worry, we’re almost done) -

shortly after, we have the saa written with katakana at the end for emphasis to really bring attention to what he says next.

The ze sentence ending, which we see twice here, obviously also adds emphasis, but with a sort of inviting, yet commanding, tone, which makes sense considering he is, in fact, inviting Endeavor to something.

Ochiyou is not written with the standard kanji here (that would be 落ちる). When the word is written with the kanji used here, it’s specifically referring to more of a metaphorical falling and generally to say there has been a moral failing and loss as a result of it. So while a lot of people are reading this to mean “let’s die together” it’s far deeper than that. They’ve been already corrupting themselves and created a lot of loss (no, this isn’t about Dabi’s infamous 30+ victims, but rather the fact that he created an entire villain persona and had his family believe that he died all so that he could avenge his kid self - he’s not wrong in doing so, but there are undeniably many losses because of this both in his and his family members’ lives).

As you may have noticed there are two words in the last sentence where I added something in brackets. Those are the furigana, which are used to tell you how to read the kanji. However, in writing sometimes those furigana don’t match how those kanji are actually read. This is done when one character says one thing but means something different. When this happens, the furigana represent what the character says, while the kanji represent what is actually meant.

This means that Dabi doesn’t actually say this iconic line of dancing in hell out loud, but it is the true meaning behind his words.

The son / I part itself is obvious: Dabi is Touya and thus Endeavor’s son, making these two words synonymous. So why bother with the two versions? The reason that Dabi says ‘I’ but means ‘son’ is to underline the fact that this isn’t the villain Dabi inviting the hero Endeavor to face him; it’s Touya inviting his father. In other words: it’s personal.

What about the hell / here part, then? Dabi says ‘here’ - referring to the battlefield around them. His invitation isn’t for later; he wants to do this right here, right now and with the broadcast showing at the same time, the dance has essentially already begun, anyway. But does ‘hell’ as the true meaning refer to the battlefield, too? Should it just be to emphasize the scene around them? It could also be that Dabi already sees the world and life as hell and now he’s simply going to share it with Endeavor. How sweet of him!

If we take the two parts together, it could also imply that Touya is in hell, either in the sense that his upbringing was hell or because he metaphorically died as a result of Endeavor’s obsession. And now, that very same obsession is going to be Endeavor’s own downfall. Having someone decide Touya wasn’t good enough and thus being tossed aside and replaced by someone else was hell for him, and now it’s Touya’s turn to decide Endeavor isn’t good enough and has to say goodbye to his future as hero. Unfortunately, one year later, Endeavor still hasn’t faced any real consequences and is, in fact, still the Number One Hero.

And this concludes our revisiting of the iconic Touya reveal! I think the main takeaway is that in the original Japanese version, Dabi is a lot more dramatic by emphasizing words wherever and however possible, repeating words to make Endeavor sweat, and just the way he speaks, of course, and it all comes together to an epic performance, which, unfortunately, doesn’t have that full effect in the English translation despite the fact that a lot of it could’ve been included.

Even after one year, I think this part of the story was done so well and is such a fun read that really shows what kind of character Dabi is and just how funny his presence and this particular appearance are.

Anyway, this was probably another long read so thanks for reading if you’ve made it this far, and hopefully, you have an even better idea of Dabi now. I guess the conclusion of this whole post is that, if Dabi had to be summarized in one word, it would be:

✨emphasis✨

[myherowritings]

PART 4. HOW THE RICH SUCK THEIR OWN DICKS

SUMMARY. Todoroki Shouto was a wealthy, young CEO who inherited his father’s enterprise. You were a barista at a local cafe who wouldn’t mind some extra cash. One day, Shouto came in during an early morning shift and tipped you such a large sum of money, you were certain it had to have been an accident. To your surprise and complete pleasure: It was not.

PAIRING. ceo!todoroki shouto x barista!reader

WORD COUNT. 2.9k

GENRE. ceo/barista au, fluff, eventual smut

WARNINGS. enji makes an appearance bleh, enji being classist, enji...ew, okay i swear most of the chapter is shouto and y/n being cute though 

A/N. ngl i have genshin brainrot real bad at the moment but i still have motivation for ceo!shouto and ceo!shouto only u.u there are only 7 parts to this series so we’re at the halfway mark already AHHH i hope u enjoy reading and lmk what u think!! :3 xx sof

SERIES MASTERLIST

© myherowritings — all rights reserved. reposting, modifying, copying, or translating of any kind is not allowed. do not read my writing as asmr. do not plagiarize.

Shouto’s day went from good to bad faster than it took to pull an espresso. 

It started off with a good morning text from you and having a brief, but pleasant, interaction at your work. Actually, the past few weeks have been going along a similar routine that he found himself settling into all too comfortably. You even upheld your promise of stealing him away one weekend to walk around the park, get food, and just have time to relax and be happy for once. 

Getting to be in your presence almost daily became so normalized in his life that even some of his employees heard about the cute barista with the best pastries. Yet, although he saw you often, he found himself wanting to talk to you more and more.

But for now, Shouto told himself to settle with starting the mornings off with you. They were the best mornings he’s had in a while and he didn’t want to sound ungrateful. 

Today, however, went sour fast after he heard his father was coming up to the top floor for a meeting with him. He didn’t find the idea of Enji visiting to be the most abhorrent thing, but the moment his father opened his mouth, Shouto quickly took that back. 

As expected, his father reminded him about the annual charity gala Todoroki Enterprises was expected to attend. Handfuls of galas ran through the year, but the once hosted by Naruhata Industries under the guise of raising money and awareness for the charities of choice.

In theory, a charity gala ball sounded humanitarian and a way for the upper class to give back, but in reality, most of the funds collected didn’t go to the actual charities, instead they went to paying for the venue, live bands, entertainment, the most expensive catering, decorations, and more. What presented itself as a charitable event in the eyes of the public was really a way rich people could flaunt their wealth and feel good about themselves for doing absolutely nothing to benefit society. A way for the rich to suck their own dicks, if you would. 

Shouto absolutely hated it. 

It was also a press opportunity and, in his father’s eyes, a way to gain public favor for the Todoroki business. Today, Enji attempted to tell him that bringing a date that fit the mold of high society was the best way for him to establish rapport through media coverage. Apparently, the image news outlets have placed on Shouto were either a heartbreaker and playboy with no care for other’s emotions, or a monotonous stoic who seemed like a robot with no care for other’s emotions.

In either cases, there seemed to be a theme of Shouto not caring for others. 

He sighed. 

“You can’t keep that image, Shouto,” said Enji with his arms folded across his chest. “If the media sees you with someone—a nice girl with a good upbringing—then your likeability will increase tenfold. If there’s no one you like, I’ll have to set up a date for you.”

For a while, he was torn between telling his dad to fuck off and trying to do as he said to keep peace within the family. But then, an image of you popped into his head.

“Actually, there is someone I like.” 

Enji narrowed his eyes. “Oh? An educated girl with wealthy parents?”

“There’s someone I like,” he simply repeated, the tone in his voice growing cold. 

He didn’t know anything about your upbringing or family nor did he exactly care. Shouto didn’t want to bring a date to the dumb gala, but if he had to, he would want it to be you. Only if you agreed, of course. But if you weren’t willing, then he had to face the facts that his father would most likely force a date of his own choosing upon Shouto. 

“That’s good you like someone, son,” Enji said through his teeth, “but we have to make sure it’s not some sort of...loose woman. That’d be even worse publicity—”

“I like someone and if you really cared about my happiness like you said you did, that’d be enough.”

There was a tense silence in the air. Shouto didn’t have enough fingers to count the number of times Enji had told him and his siblings that he would try to be a better dad. A caring dad who only wanted what was best for his children. A better husband for Rei. A better example for the public. The first few times, Shouto believed it. But Enji said the same things over and over again with no lasting change and Shouto was just fed up. 

After hearing the same lie told to him over and over again, it seemed to lose its weight. He seemed to lose his hope in his father ever changing.

Still, Shouto had to deal with him for as long as he lived. That much he knew as a son living in this society. 

But he hoped Enji at least had enough guilt to let him have this.

“Fine.”

Shouto blinked in surprise. 

Enji stated, “If you think your date can help your public image and not be a complete embarrassment to the business, you can bring them.”

That was the closest thing to approval Shouto would get today. He nodded and listened along to whatever else his father had to say, the only thing actually on his mind was thinking about how he would ask you out on a date to some stuffy gala. And hope that you’d say yes.

— ✩ —

“Wait, so, let me get this straight— You’re the CEO of Todoroki Enterprises and even after almost two months of knowing you, I had no clue?”

He inclined his head, looking solemn. “Yes, I’m sorry. Are you upset with me for not telling you sooner?” 

Initial shock aside, you couldn’t say that you were too surprised at the revelation. You knew Shouto was wealthy and probably in some high-up position in the business industry, but you never knew to what extent. A CEO? That had to be the highest rank in a company! And a company as well known as Todoroki Enterprises? 

The thought made you a little nervous. The guy you slowly befriended over the course of short cafe visits and silly texts was Mr. Todoroki? Or worse— The guy you stole away from doing work for a whole weekend was someone as busy as a CEO? You internally groaned. That had to be against laws of the universe or something. 

“I’m not upset, no,” you said with a shake of your head. “I just...can’t believe it I guess.” Eyes widening, you were quick to amend your words. “Well, I can believe it. You seem very intelligent and well-put together and, uh, rich! But I guess I just didn’t think a CEO would be so funny and kind.” You winced. “Oh no, is that mean to say?”

“I don’t think it’s mean.” He shrugged. “You’re right to say most people in this field aren’t known for their delightful temperaments.” 

You absentmindedly drummed your finger against your thigh, trying to process this new information. “So you’re Todoroki Shouto...and you want me to be your date to the Naruhata Charity Ball?” 

“Yeah. I know it’s a huge favor to ask, and I promise you can say no if you choose,” said Shouto in earnest. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to agree.” 

With a hum, you stretched your legs out under the table before crossing one over the other again. It was a Saturday afternoon where you had no work and Shouto managed to escape from his for a few hours of the day. You took him to your favorite ice cream place nearby and the two of you ate at a dining area outside the establishment. 

Just a mundane day as two friends hanging out with each other where you found out one of those friends was the chief executive officer of a billion dollar business headquartered in Japan. 

Totally normal, everyday occurrences, obviously. 

“And you need a date for this event?” you asked. In all honesty, you would be more than happy if Shouto asked you out on a date. He was fun and you enjoyed getting to know him. But these particular circumstances made you a tad bit more nervous.

“I normally wouldn’t need to bring one, but my father insists it’d help my public image and in turn the image of the company.” With a pinched look on his face, he took a bite of his ice cream. “In other words I bring a date or he picks one for me.” 

You weren’t the most caught up on super rich people drama, but it was almost infamous how estranged the Todoroki family was. Again, you didn’t know much but you did know enough to say that Todoroki Enji seemed like a Class A asshole. If you could help Shouto out with his weird dilemma, you saw no reason not to. 

“So this charita gala is like where they have those live auctions and silent auctions and get tipsy on fancy wine and champagne for hours right?”

He tilted his head to the side. “Yeah. Have you attended one?” 

“Not quite,” you said with a sheepish smile. “I’ve volunteered at one in school though. As one of those runners? It was fun. I got a bunch of those tiny complimentary candies!” Your mouth watered at the memory. “What kind of drug were in those candies? I’ve never had candy so good before!”

“The tiny, circular candies with the excessively big wrapper? The fruity ones?”

You shot up in your seat, excited he knew what you were talking about. “Yes! That’s the one!” 

The corners of his mouth quirked upwards. “I always see those at these types of events.”

“So… The candy will be there at the gala you want me to accompany you to?” 

“Most likely.”

“Can I take a bunch of those from candies there…?” you asked with an optimistic grin.

“I’ll be your accomplice in sneaking them out.”

“It’s a date!” you said before Shouto could get another word out. 

You’d be reunited with those yummy, fancy candies you’ve been separated from for far too long. What other reason did you need to agree? 

With a determined look on your face, you held your hand out for Shouto to shake to seal the deal. 

He blinked. “Wait. Did you want to discuss it some more? Maybe have a few days to think it through? I’m grateful, of course, but I don’t want you regretting anything.”

“No. I won’t regret it. I’d do anything to taste those candies again.”

Shouto looked unsure what to say. “Isn’t there some parable warning people not to be bribed by candy?”

“Not to take candy from a baby?”

“No. Not that one.”

“That’s the only one I know.”

“Never mind then.” 

The two of you exchanged confused looks before letting out fits of laughter. You weren’t sure if either of you knew exactly what the other was laughing at, but the moment was an enjoyable one nonetheless. 

“Yet another reason to bring me to that fancy event— I’ll make sure you’re entertained all the way through,” you playfully bragged, smoothing down the front of your shirt. 

“The event will definitely be more bearable with you there.” He licked a small bit of his ice cream from his pink spoon, making a sound of approval. “But you can change your mind about coming at any time, Y/N.”

“I won’t,” you said, holding a pinky out. “Pinky promise.”

With what seemed like a bashful expression on his face, Shouto extended his own pinky to interlock yours. You sealed it with a kiss and a heart, like you were a kid again. 

“Now, am I supposed to be in love with you at the gala?” you asked nonchalantly, finishing off your last bite of ice cream. He offered you a spoonful of his and you tried not to grow too flustered at Shouto feeding you his dessert. You murmured a quiet, “Thanks.”

He gave you a small smile. “You’re welcome. As for being in love… I don’t think that’s necessary. Just pretend you like being around me, I think.”

Under the table, you nudged his shoe with yours, pulling a face. “I don’t have to pretend about that, silly.” 

“Ah, well,” he paused, offering you another spoonful of ice cream, “I don’t either.”

“I’m glad.” Then, “Is this strawberry? I was never a big strawberry ice cream fan but for some reason this tastes so good.” 

You ignored the nagging voice in your head that said maybe it wasn’t so much the ice cream flavor but who you were enjoying it with. 

The two of you finished his dessert in peace and after cleaning up the area with a napkin, Shouto turned to you with an intent look on his face.

“Before the gala, would you mind if I talk you shopping so you could pick out what to wear?” he asked. “I would pay of course— It’s the least I could do to say thank you.”

You shook your head. “You don’t have to thank me! You’re my friend and I want to help.” You thought about it for a moment. “And get the candy.”

“Anything for the candy.”

“Exactly,” you said in complete seriousness. “But I wouldn’t mind going shopping with you. You could help me decide what to wear! I’m not exactly sure how to dress for an event as fancy as this.”

“You could wear anything to the event and still look amazing.” His words were ones of flattery but his tone sounded completely genuine. 

Heat rose to your cheeks at the compliment. “Look who’s talking— You’re practically runway ready no matter what time of day.”

“I’ve never walked a runway before.”

You stifled a laugh at his literal interpretation of your words. Cute. “Me neither.”

He looked confused at why you were grinning, but it still brought a smile to his own lips.

By now the sun had begun to set and Shouto was walking you to the train to see you off before you went home.

“Can I pick you up next weekend in the morning?” he said. “So we can get your outfit for the gala?”

“Sure! I’ll text you my address.” 

He nodded in contentment. “And again, you don’t have to worry about any costs.”

“Is this why my friends have called you a sugar daddy?” you teased, bumping your shoulder against his as you walked down the street, side-by-side. “But thank you. Shopping will be fun— We can even match colors!” 

“Mn.” He looked between the both of you, as if trying to picture what colors would complement each other. 

You crossed the sidewalk in a comfortable silence, enjoying the scenery by Shouto’s side. A few times, you even felt his knuckles brush against yours and you had the undeniable urge to hold his hand. Would that be weird? you asked yourself before deciding against it. 

Just because he asked you to be his date for the Naruhata Charity Ball didn’t mean he actually liked you, right? It was just a favor from a friend to a friend.

Something about that though made your stomach unsettled. Maybe part of you wanted it to be a real date— Wanted this to be a real date. 

“So I won’t be seeing you tomorrow,” you said after a moment’s silence, trying not to look too dejected. 

You knew he’d still text good morning and good night and ask you random things throughout the day (all of which you found really endearing, by the way), but it was still different from seeing him in person. Even though your time together in the morning was small, they still were enough to make your day. The thought of your waking hours being so entwined made you nervous, but for some reason it didn’t bother you as much as you thought it would. In fact, it was sort of...nice. 

“I’ll see you Monday morning, right?” you asked hopefully, though you were already fairly certain of the answer.

Shouto nodded. “Of course. It’s already marked on my calendar.”

“Ever the flatterer, hmm?” 

“Not flattery, just the truth.” He pulled his phone out and showed you his (rather packed) calendar app. To your surprise, a little reminder that said ‘See Y/N :)’ was marked on his Monday schedule. 

Unable to stop the beam from spreading across your lips, you hid your face in your hands. Gosh— Did he have to be so cute? He was making it harder and harder to only like him as a friend. And even now, you weren’t sure if you liked him only as a friend.

But you pushed those thoughts away.

That was something to deal with at a later time.

When you reached the train station you normally took home, you turned to Shouto, giving him a big hug. He was tall and warm. You could feel his lean muscles through his button-down shirt as you rested your head against his chest and arms around his waist. 

“Thanks for today,” you mumbled. “I’ll see you again soon.”

After a pause, he gave you a hug back, hands rubbing hesitant circles on your back in a way that made you smile. “Text me when you get home safe,” he said as you both reluctantly released each other from an embrace.

“I will,” you promised. “You do the same! Later, Shouto!” 

And with that, you waved goodbye and boarded the train, unable to shake the unwavering grin on your face all the way home.

a/n: when shouto started feeding y/n spoonfuls of his ice cream i cried (Ｔ▽Ｔ) that’s so cUTE OF HIM LIKE PLS SIR STOP BEFORE I FALL MORE IN LOVE WITH U !! >:O he’s such a sweetheart ahhhh,, i hope all the fluff made up for the brief appearance of endeavor ಠ╭╮ಠ  FHDJKF 

what to expect in the next part:

shopping for the gala time !! 

y/n struggles with their fEeLiNGs~ part 2

oh my, y/n has to try on dresses? oh my, it’d be a shame if they needed help putting it on :o *fake gasp* 

yeah things get just a lil steamy but shh

[softxsuki]

Might I request a Shouto x reader drabble/fic with the reader being a big bookworm who sometimes gets lost in whatever she/they are reading. Not much can pull her from the story, but upon talking to Shoto about it she reveals she sometimes imagines the romantic leads as the pair of them.

Todoroki with Reader Who Imagines Them as the Romantic Leads in Their Books

Pairing: Todoroki x Gn!Reader

Warnings: None :)

Genre: Fluff

Post-Type: Drabble

Word Count: 710

Summary: In which you find yourself captivated by the books that you read. One conversation with your boyfriend, Shoto, reveals that you imagine yourselves as the romantic leads of your novels. 

[A/N: Hello anon! Thank you so much for this request, I actually had a fun time writing it! I hope you all enjoy! <3]

“Whatcha reading?” a voice makes you jolt, causing the book in your hands to fumble a bit.

You look up startled to see your boyfriend, Shouto hovering over your shoulder. You clutch your chest in shock, still trying to calm down from hearing his sudden voice.

“Jeez babe, you scared the life out of me. And I’m just reading this new romance novel I bought a few days ago,” you answer, marking your page and closing the book up before placing it on the bed beside you.

“Huh? How come? I was making a lot of noise when I came in. Even called your name a few times,” he scratches his head in thought, wondering how you weren’t able to hear him.

“Really? Guess I was too into my book to hear, sorry Shoto.”

“No, it’s okay. But I’m just curious as to why you get so pulled into a book whenever you’re reading. Do they have magic or something that doesn’t let you look away once you start? Or maybe the maker of the book has a quirk that draws your attention in...hmm” he questions again, genuinely curious as he rambles on about the endless possibilities. 

He shuffles slightly on the bed by your side, getting more comfortable as he continues to ponder the thought over Insert conspiracy theory Todoroki. You give him a small smile, loving the way he got investing in things like this, as you shift to face him.

“Actually…” you trail off, wondering if you were really about to confess as to why your books always captured all your undivided attention, “It’s kind of embarrassing to say to be honest.”

He stops rambling to himself and looks at you with another confused expression.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed, but I won’t force you to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, I do want to tell you!” you hurriedly say in case he feels like you don’t want to share this part of yourself with him, “I just don’t want to scare you off.”

“You won’t,” he smiles at you reassuringly, “Nothing about you or what you do could ever scare me off.”

He reaches over and ever so slightly ruffles your hair, sending you into a blushing frenzy. You turn away from him, and take a deep breath before explaining.

“Well, I kinda sorta imagine you and I as the romantic leads of the books that I read,” you mutter, feeling embarrassed now that it was out in the open.

Now he’s the one that moves closer to you as he gently turns you around to face him.

“What's wrong with that?” he blinks, “I think it’s...cute.”

“Shoto!” you half scream in embarrassment, throwing your face into your pillow.

“Though I’m curious,” he continues on, rolling over you so he can see your face again, “Is there something the characters do that I don’t? Is that why you imagine us as them?”

Your face pops back up, and you find yourself face to face with the half and half hair colored man, “Of course not! I love you and our relationship exactly the way it it,” you assure him, “I just happen to think about you a lot and love you so much that I kind of automatically can’t help but to insert us into my books.”

He nods, understandingly once again, thinking quietly over your words.

“Interesting. Oh, and I love you too,” he tells you with a soft kiss to the top of your head, “Can I see? I want to imagine us as the characters too.”

He was now invested in experiencing something that you enjoyed so he could learn more about you, himself. You’re taken aback by his words, not expecting him to want to do the same, but you agree anyway, flattered that your boyfriend wanted to try something you like to do.

You pass him the book and he squeezes himself behind you while having you lay between his legs with the book opened in front of you both.

“Let’s read each other’s parts out loud,” he instructs.

And that’s exactly what you do. You both spend the rest of the afternoon reading out loud, reenacting a few scenes together, something that would become the new norm between you. 

REQUESTS ARE OPEN :D

Posted: 10/26/2021

[myriadismx]

Your Call | Part II

Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x Fem! Reader

Word Count: 7176

Summary: As the only daughter from an affluent family, Y/N must fulfill a role inside the golden cage she escapes from at every opportunity. But as an enthralling and mysterious boy comes into her life, she's about to discover there's no escaping her true self.

Warnings: Explicit sexual content, feral behavior and incest.

Author's Note: Thanks to @lavenders-fandom-elixirs for her tips on how to write animalistic smut! Writing sex is not my forte, but I did my best to follow your advice, dear! Thanks a lot again for your help!

Katsuki stood closet behind you in a protective stance upon hearing Shouto's confirmation of his amorous intentions. You didn't know if to feel betrayed because Shouto had approached you with a hidden agenda in mind, or to focus on preventing Katsuki from shifting and reducing him to shreds due to his jealousy.

"I do intend to court, Y/N," Shouto directed his gaze at you. "That is, if she is alright with it."

You weren't used to having your wishes heard and respected. Your other suitors would often be too forceful, with their advances, bordering on disrespect. While Shouto had been sneaky, he was honest once pushed into a corner.

"Shouto, I..." You cleared your throat, feeling your cheeks burn. "I don't think we could be ideally matched."

You wanted to politely turn him down and express your hopes that your friendship would remain intact. He deserved to know you already loved someone else and couldn't accept his proposal.

Shouto, however, interpreted your words as insecurity because of your lack of a nobiliary title and less than impressive dowry. "People tell me often that I could marry into the imperial family if I so wanted it. But I intend to love my bride and earn her heart before marrying her, if possible."

He held your hands between his, looking at you in earnest. "You are a wonderful lady. I'm confident my feelings for you are strong to make of our union a successful and lasting one. But, what about yours?"

"She's taken." Katsuki interjected before you could give Shouto your reply.

It didn't go unnoticed for Shouto that Katsuki's arms had enveloped you and his hardened gaze was challenging him to give a step closer and take on the maiden he was fiercely guarding.

"As far as I know,  Y/N isn't engaged to anyone."

"Don't play dumb! You know she'll never feel the same as you!"

"Katsuki, Shouto asked for my opinion. Please don't go around making decisions for myself." You chided him, pulling yourself apart from his hold.

You didn't mean to make him feel less important or to humiliate him, but it was a surprise to Katsuki to hear you make a statement that would call into question the depth of the connection you had, especially in front of Shouto.

But Katsuki was a factual man that went for truths instead of sticking to theories, and while you were loving and close to him, that didn't mean you loved him in the exact same way he loved you. He wasn't sure anymore if he could keep you from willingly becoming part of a world that would never be kind to you. 

He silently backed away, and you turned, sensing his drastic shift in his mood. It was only for a split-second, but you saw Katsuki make a face that you never wanted him to make ever again.

It was the face of betrayal. 

He believed you had betrayed him.

Katsuki ran off, deciding he wasn't going to stay behind to watch you accept another man's affections. Though he could always eliminate his competition, there was no point in doing it if you decided to cement a mating bond with another. Things didn't work that way for him. 

"Go." Shouto gently encouraged you. "You want to go after him, so you should. I will send you my proposal another time, and hope you will accept it. But," he took your hand and placed a kiss over it. "There won't be any hard feelings if you refuse me as well."

The sight of your warm-hearted smile as you thanked him and ran after Katsuki was one that Shouto would never forget. He couldn't think of any other but you to become his wife; but if giving up on you meant he could be blessed with the beauty of your smile, then perhaps he wouldn't mind doing it.

It wasn't surprising that Katsuki decided to go into the forest instead of returning home. You had gotten faster over the years, but it was very difficult to catch up to the fleeing nahual with your shoes. Your agility increased when you removed them, but Katsuki was nowhere to be seen.

He thought he could mislead you if he jumped from one tree to another and stayed hidden in the thick green canopy until you decided to give up and return home. But after returning to the same spot he was for the third time, calling for him, Katsuki jumped down just inches away from you and spooked you. 

"I knew you were here! You do smell...!"

"What does that mixed bastard mean to you?" He asked you and swallowed hard. "Do you intend to accept his proposal?"

You felt the hurt in his voice. Katsuki was assertive and dominant, but this was the first time he showed vulnerability, and it was because of you. 

You were taking too long to give him an answer and he was losing his mind. "Do you?!"

Both of you knew he was being petty, but Katsuki's pride prevented him from admitting his outburst was centered around his deep rooted fear of losing you.

You had been raised to be a good daughter, an ideal wife, and accept the match that best suited your family's interests. But you also had a willful personality that emerged when you truly wanted something. In the end, he was uncertain if you would choose your partner based on those principles or your own wishes. 

"Katsuki," you held his face and turned it so he would look at you. "He could never have the heart I decided long ago that would be yours."

His chest burned with renewed passion. He leaned his face closer and smirked. There was no way you could be lying to him, and his jealousy dissipated. "Yeah?" 

You also reduced the distance between your faces until your lips brushed. "Yes."

He placed a hand on the back of your head and locked your lips in a kiss. His lips were surprisingly soft and warm, and his teeth softly nipped at your lower lip, making you gasp. Katsuki slipped his tongue into your mouth, and a groan came from the depths of his throat as you curled your tongue against his. 

You wrapped your arms over his shoulders, and he pulled you closer against his body. He was as hot as a furnace, slowly warming you and making your stomach flutter with contentment. 

You pulled apart first with half-lidded eyes and a soft smile. He placed another peck on your lips and also looked at you with genuine affection. 

Instead of returning home, the two of you went deeper into the woods until you reached the waterfall where you met. You didn't remember at what point you stopped being ashamed to undress in front of him; you only thought about having fun swimming with Katsuki like you did as children. You also weren't afraid of being seen by someone when you ran in the nude ahead of him in a tag game. Feeling his burning gaze on your skin provoked a myriad of feelings that you couldn’t describe, but agitated you and caused your heart to race furiously.

Katsuki pounced on you and rolled over a few times until you collided at the foot of a tree. You laughed, accepting that you had lost the game, and he smirked because this time he had a harder time catching you but still managed to do it. As you caught your breath and felt the heat emanating from Katsuki's body, those nameless feelings returned with a vengeance, and you kissed him again. 

A wave of desire took over your senses and you actively sought to prolong the kiss. Because of your strict upbringing, you were more temperate with your emotions but you could feel as strongly as Katsuki did. You couldn't explain why you felt the need to claim, to let Katsuki take you and cement a bond that not even death would break. 

When you opened your eyes and they saw Katsuki's crimson orbes, you were brought out of your stupor and remembered that you were still naked. Your modesty forced you to pull apart from him and look for your dress to cover yourself. 

"S-sorry, Katsuki," You muttered, looking down. "I don't know what happened to me, I..."

In an instant, Katsuki grabbed your shoulders and forced you to lie underneath him as he placed himself between your legs. His cold nose brushed your neck and he inhaled deeply, enjoying your scent, which had changed drastically from when you were children and he innocently sniffed you at night. It was a rich and magical scent custom-made for him with the purpose of reminding him of his ultimate goal.

To breed you.

He positioned his lips over your pulse, slowly brushing it with his tongue, and tasting the arousal that perspirated from your skin. His hot breath and the grazing of his teeth betwen the valley of your breasts elicited a intense feeling of sensuality down your stomach. When he took one of your nipples into his mouth and flickered his tongue over it, you gasped, but did nothing to stop him. 

Seeing that you were reacting positively to him, Katsuki’s other hand cupped your other breast and his fingers expertly tweaked your nipple, ripping off a little moan from your lips. You placed one of your hands above his head while the other grabbed his shoulder, clenching on both as the pleasure increased.

Then he went down further, pressing kisses and small bites on your stomach, and your eyes looked down to watch him more closely. In sync with you, his scarlet gaze looked up at you, bewitching and dark with lust. Your mind felt slightly foggy, but you were aware of what was happening and you wanted it.

“My father told me that I’d only feel complete once I found my mate and claimed her.” He spoke heatedly as he kissed your lower belly and his nails dug into the fat of your hips. “I think we’ve both waited long enough, haven't we?”

You nodded and smiled in complicity with him. Your mother had explained to you that sex was an ordeal to be endured and was supposed to happen only between a married couple. But you had to disagree with her, because you were enjoying Katsuki’s ministrations and your feelings for him went beyond the laws of men.

His teeth nipped at your inner thighs, leaving many little bites that were for his eyes only. You felt a hot liquid seep from between your legs like nectar from a flower, which Katsuki licked with a long stroke that made your body jerk in surprise. He ran his tongue over his own lips, enjoying the taste he had of you and digging for more. He parted your folds with his tongue, moving it wildly in a zigzag pattern until it reached your swollen clit, which he pressed. It ripped a loud wail from you, followed by many more high-pitched gasps. 

“Fuck , Katsuki!” Your back arched violently and your thighs trembled, barely able to stop them from crushing his head. “Oh! ”

He couldn’t help but smirk. It was so strange to hear you cuss― but he didn’t dislike it at all. If anything, it egged him on to try harder to make you lose your mind. Your juices mixed with the saliva from his watering mouth, and the feeling of his lips around your clit sparked a fire in your gut. 

Katsuki grumbled at how much he was enjoying you. The tremors of his sounds made your gut snap with a pleasure so intense that you screamed with a grin and your toes curled. Your limbs went rigid and then loosened like soba noodles, but your aching cunt craved for more. For another kind of stimulation. 

It was arousing to watch Katsuki lick his lips. His eyes didn't break contact with yours as he pushed two fingers inside of you and arched them just slightly, pressing softly. At first you thought he was looking for another way to pleasure you, until curiosity made you look down.

Your eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Katsuki's cock, angry red, and fully erect. He snorted at your reaction, and smeared your slick on himself with a few strokes. Your mouth salivated and your pussy throbbed, but it was also quite intimidating to look at. 

"Like what you see, princess?" He teased you. "What you're so scared for?."

"I-I'm not scared!" You hated how wimpy you just sounded and he arched an eyebrow, making your cheeks burn with embarrassment. "Just nervous. Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Katsuki reached out for your waist and pulled you towards him; he had an arrogant smirk that you couldn't help but love. "I always know what I'm doing."

He kissed you once again, giving you a taste of yourself. His left palm caressed your belly and hooked one of your legs above his hip, while his other hand slipped again two of his thick and calloused fingers between your folds.

They moved gently at first, but your own hips desperately ground against his much-welcome hand, not liking his slow ministrations. Katsuki assaulted your neck with more kisses and bites, as he teased you further until near madness. You gasped, feeling like you were nearing the edge, until he stopped and pulled out his fingers, making you whine in protest. 

"I want you so much, Y/N," he purred as he lined himself up on your warm entrance and teasingly nudged at your slit.  "Just as much as you want me. I can tell."

"I do, Katsuki. More than anyone else."

You trusted him, but when he lined up himself on your entrance and started to push inside of you and the pleasurable haze you were in was replaced with a pain you had never felt before, you weren't so sure anymore you wanted him. Katsuki stopped for a moment when he heard you whine in protest, and grabbed your thighs before sheathing himself all the way inside with a hard snap of his hips.  

You shrieked loudly and dug your nails into his skin hard. Katsuki groaned angrily but refused to pull out, and wasn't enthused when you moved your legs and pushed him to forcibly remove him. He grabbed you by the wrists and thrusted in you a couple of times until you tried to bite his arm.

"It hurts!" You growled, pussy clamping down in an attempt to keep him out. Katsuki was very strong, but you were determined and pried him off you.  

“Stop!” he roared when you tried to slip away from him. In an instant, Katsuki held you by the shoulders and pressed you face down against the ground. He quickly lowered himself above you and bit your shoulder, making you gasp, but also submit yourself to him when you felt it.

The grip his teeth had on you was vicious, and his palm held you by the chin to keep your head in place. You tearfully side-glanced at him as he guided his cock inside of you again, and looked straight into his carmine eyes that exerted dominance. Katsuki remained still for a moment and you writhed in discomfort, biting your lower lip.  No words were exchanged, but he sensed your distress and held your hand to intertwine his fingers with yours, which you clenched on tightly.

His violent dominance of you took you aback, but it was oddly satisfying at the same time. It fulfilled a primal desire to find someone strong, and assertive that could protect you and make you feel desired and beautiful. Katsuki possessed all those qualities and could've had any mate he wanted, and yet he decided you also met his criteria for his ideal partner. But with him, it was more than just physical attraction; with him you felt a spiritual connection that would kill you if it was ever broken.

Katsuki felt your muscles slightly relax underneath him and moved his hips in you once to gauge your reaction. This time your body cooperated to ease his penetration with more slick, and your walls enveloped him softly. He thrusted again slowly, and his teeth released you. His tongue gently licked your blood and tickled you. 

Your soft whimpers egged him on, and Katsuki held your hips to ram his cock in you with more strength until he picked up a steady pace and hit a soft, pleasurable spot inside of you. Your obscene moans in combination with the sounds of your hips colliding created a lewd and intimate show that would make anyone blush and be unable to look away. 

For Katsuki, this was a whole new experience too. Your core squeezed him like a vice, and had him whimper in your neck. A thin layer of sweat gave his skin a light sheen. When you turned to look at him, your body thrummed in pleasure upon looking at the hazy, fucked-out look in his eyes. 

But you weren't satisfied with that. Katsuki had always been the one to lead you as children; he wanted you for himself, and was quick in claiming you. There was nothing wrong with that; only him was allowed to do it. 

Yet he didn't say anything about you marking him as yours. Possessiveness gnawed at your chest. Was he contemplating taking another mate besides you? What if other women tried to take him away from you because he was unmarked? 

The thought of another woman taking what was yours made your veins burn with jealousy. Katsuki couldn't get away with thinking he could always keep you under his thumb. 

You tried to crawl away, and he pushed your shoulders to the ground. He was inhumanly strong, but you stubbornly squirmed under his hold and put up quite a good fight. 

"Keep it down," he grunted. "I'm not done yet."

What an arrogant prick. 

Katsuki was totally taken aback when you rose up with such force that he was out of you and fell backwards on the dirt. He was bewildered that you spurned him once again, but you straddled him and held his shoulders before he could think of subduing you again.

His distaste changed into a cocky grin when he quickly caught on your intentions and held your waist, running his fingers down your hips. Of course he had been inconsiderate to not think about your needs too. Katsuki liked the gleam of desire in your eyes as you raised your hips and impaled yourself on his cock. He watched intently how it disappeared between your supple thighs, making a wet noise and glistening with your arousal. 

"Who would've thought the froufrou lady was such a feral little thing?" He mocked you.

"Got a problem with that?"

Katsuki raised his hand and spanked you hard. "No, unless you're all bark and no bite." 

You started to rock back and forth in his lap, grinding down in a silent dance that expressed your gentle but passionate longing for him. Katsuki was good at keeping himself grounded, but he hissed when your nails sunk on his taut skin and traced marks that reached his chest. 

Not content with that, you placed your palm over his cheek to turn his face and expose his neck. You licked your lips in hunger when you perceived his veins palpitating under his skin. In a similar fashion as he did earlier, your lips spread kisses on his neck and collarbone, sucking here and there, taking your sweet time tasting his salty and musky skin.

The metallic taste of his blood overwhelmed your tongue, but far from being repulsive, it drove you into a maddening frenzy that pushed you to bite deeper. Now you bore the same marks that would remind you of the moment you chose to be each other's soulmate. 

"Yeah, I deserved that." He grumbled, holding back the urge to pull you away. "But I wish you were like this with them too."

Katsuki was referring to your docility around your parents, and he hoped that after this, you'd finally grow some backbone. He knew you were stronger than you believed yourself to be.

His arms reached your shoulder blades and kept you pressed against him, shushing you when you were about to say something in protest. Without pulling out, he straightened his back and kept you nestled over his strong thighs. You swayed your hips, but his arm wrapped around your waist to keep you still and placed your head above his broad shoulder. 

You listened to him making wet sounds and tried to understand in vain why he enjoyed torturing you like this and depriving you of what you two wanted, until you felt his saliva-coated fingers tease your exposed bundle of nerves as he reared all the way back and crashed down into you. 

Against your expectations, Katsuki was taking his sweet time pushing himself against you and lovingly kissed your ear, deliberately breathing heavily against it. He was too slow for your liking, but the building pressure between your legs was returning to you and your hips rolled to meet each of his thrusts. The increasing rub of his fingers made your thighs spasm and your toes curl.

"Fuck, you're squeezing the life out of me," he moaned, caressing your back and sucking your neck some more, adorning it with lovely red blooming marks. "Just the way I like it."

"Katsuki~" You whimpered, biting at your lips again. "Don't let me go...!"

When your gasps shortened and Katsuki felt your back arch against him as another rush of ecstasy coursed through you, he grabbed you by the hair and bit your jaw. You cried out his name and ran your nails down his back, causing him to growl, and his cock twitched inside of you, but not quite cumming yet.

"I don't want to give you up to anyone," he spoke through desperate kisses. "I knew from the day I saw you that you and I belonged to each other." 

Your eyes parted slightly to look at him, finding a murderous gleam in his gaze that yoi has never seen before. It was intimidating and exhilarating at the same time. You knew that he was going to stay true to his word when he explicitly confessed that he was willing to kill for you. For his mate. 

"I'll destroy anything and anyone that stands in our way." 

Katsuki dropped you on your back and hooked your legs over his shoulders, parting you wide open for him to plunge deeper. Leaning forward, he roughly pressed his lips over yours, and purred into them, thrusting hard one, two, three times, soon spreading his kisses on the crook of your neck.

"I'm going to fill you up," a lick and bite on your ear, made you moan softly "So you'll always remember who you are mated to."

You had already been driven to the edge twice, but your greedy cunt pulsed around him, begging for his seed. Katsuki didn't want to stop fucking you, but he was unable to hold himself back any longer. He ravished you so deep and hard into you that his aching balls mercilessly spanked the curve of your ass and knocked the breath out of you. 

Then, Katsuki tensed and his hips became more frantic. "Shit, I'm close..." He breathed throatily. 

His words were a command for your body to build up pleasure so you could erupt with him and welcome the coveted gift he was more than happy to provide. You held him close with trembling arms; your eyes rolled back and drool began to leak out of your mouth. With a loud, final wail you saw stars, all the colors in the world, and something inside of you stirred beyond your comprehension, as if you had been freed. 

His hips came to a stop as he released a horrid, feral roar that scared the living lights out of nearby wildlife that had been minding their own business and ignoring your first coupling. His cock throbbed and you  succumbed to slumber upon feeling warm and thick spurts fill your womb, barely managing to see Katsuki's panting lips curl up in a tender smile.

You didn't come out of your lustful haze until you felt a cold shiver on your back. Katsuki's arm protectively held your body close to his chest, but he squirmed when you pulled off from him just a bit. Your body was sore, and you felt a bit of pain from between your legs, but the reminder of your earlier activities brought a grin on your face. 

If this is what making love was like, then you could get easily addicted to it as long as it was with Katsuki. 

It was still dark, but the sky above you was beginning to clear, which meant you had been sleeping ever since the afternoon prior. 

You were in so much trouble. 

"Katsuki, wake up! We fell asleep!" You could already hear your mother worrying herself sick with thoughts of your failure to return. Plus, even if Katsuki had been taken in by your parents as your bodyguard, that wasn't enough to spare him from a severe punishment. 

Katsuki didn't seem too worried about it, though. He calmly streched his body, and you saw the scratches on his back with wide eyes. They looked deeper than you imagined, a few of them had dried blood around them, and you looked down at your nails. Your hands were small and soft, but you couldn't explain how you were capable of inflicting those marks. They looked very painful, but Katsuki was undaunted by them. 

"You don't need to return there." He kissed your mating mark. "You belong here with me, not with them."

"I can't do that to them," you cupped his face between your hands and kissed him happily. "It's going to be alright. My parents love me and they will give their consent for us to be married. My father can adopt you as his heir! You're good at running the family business!"

Katsuki patted your head, but he wasn't as optimistic as you were. He knew better than to expect something positive of them would be a terrible mistake. But for now, he chose to preserve the joy in your face a little bit longer. 

Much to your relief, Shouto had sent your parents a note explaining to them you almost had been knocked over by a horse and fainted from the shock, so you were brought to an inn, but he had an urgent business trip and he couldn't keep you company. But you were in Katsuki's capable hands and it'd be up to him and the doctor when to bring you home. 

It was an absurd story, but it apparently worked as you weren't further questioned over your disheveled appearance, though they did criticize Shouto for not accompanying you home himself and offer you water and a maid to at least help you comb your hair. 

For now, it was best not to push your luck and leave your request to marry Katsuki for another time. 

Despite his intentions to do so, Shouto didn't pursue you anymore and never offered a proposal to your parents. Your ritual of passion with Katsuki repeated itself almost on a daily basis, and you always looked forward to having him all for yourself, coming to enjoy his roughness and how soft he became afterwards.  

They provided an excellent distraction from Count Todoroki's undesirable attention. His wife passed away a year ago, and six months later he began to send you very expensive gifts to ingratiate himself with you since he was interested in marrying you. Your parents were extremely pleased and approved of his attempts to court you, eagerly awaiting the day you’d accept him as a husband. 

You had managed to avoid a possible engagement so far, but the excuses to avoid marriage were running out. Becoming Shouto's wife was something to joke about when you were children, but the thought of having to marry the Count frightened you.

Your new suitor was not only old enough to be your father, but he was known to be an uncompromising man with both his dealings and his family.

It was an open secret that Lady Rei had been extremely unhappy around him, and that he had disinherited two of his children for not meeting his expectations. His heir, Touya, led a dissolute life full of failures that culminated in his suicide, and it was rumored it was because he had a scandalous affair with his sister; while Natsuo wanted nothing to do with his father's title or businesses, and he eloped with a maid to become a doctor. Fuyumi entered a Buddhist convent after Touya's death, probably to pray for his soul and atone for his unnatural lust. Shouto was now his sole heir and had proven to be an adequate one, but Enji felt he needed to sire more children, just in case he turned out to be a failure too, or had an early demise.

Plus, having Enji around made you sick to your stomach. When he made it clear to you of his intentions to marry you while taking a walk in the garden, he implied that he had been fascinated by you for a long time. He hadn't done anything about it back then because he was married and because you were too young. But now that those obstacles were no longer a problem, he wasn't going to give up until you were his wife.

Katsuki, on the other hand, grew more restless by the day. A terrible jealousy gnawed at his entrails every time he heard the name of Enji Todoroki or perceived his scent on your shoulder when he placed his hand over it or your hands when he kissed them. He felt the need to make love to you, to make it clear that you were already his. Being an ordinary human, there was no way Enji could perceive the essence of Katsuki in you or see the bite marks on your skin without endangering his life, as you doubted that your father or Enji would let Katsuki go unharmed if they found out that he had already claimed you for himself.

“You shouldn’t be afraid.” Katsuki tried to reassure you “I could get rid of them before they even blink.”

The bloodlust in his carmine eyes didn’t help put down your restlessness. Although he was given an education, food, clothes and a roof over his head, Katsuki wasn’t the least grateful to your parents for it, and you knew why.

Behind those commodities were years of mistreatment from your mother; the condescendency from your father, and the hypocrisy of everyone else. Katsuki was a prideful and honest man, and he merely tolerated everyone for your sake, but he reached his breaking point. 

“I don’t want you to do that, Katsuki.” 

“If they keep interfering, I won’t stop at nothing.” he threatened.  

“They’re my family!”

“I’m your family !” He snapped, and you cowered. “They brought you into this world to use you as a bargaining chip! They don’t give a shit about you!” he was growing frustrated with your hesitation, but regretted his choice of words as soon as he saw tears well in your eyes. 

You were stunned and silent after hearing that. You didn’t expect to hear such harsh words from the one you loved the most. It was true that your mother hadn’t been as affectionate for years now, and that your father preferred to immerse himself in his business than listen to you talk about your wants and needs.

Perhaps Katsuki was right, and your parents had long ceased to care about you, and their only interest in you resided in how you could be of use to them. Proof of that was how enthusiastic they were about your potential match and insistence in seeing things under a more positive light. 

Katsuki tried to reach for you to take you in his arms, but you slapped his hand and ran out into the garden. At times like this, snuggling up next to Jaga made you feel at peace and safe. But when you did so and didn't get a single lick on your forehead as usual, you looked at Jaga and immediately knew something was wrong with him.

Jaga had always been a mellow jaguar who only grew restless when your parents were around. But now it looked very downcast, and its eyes lacked the playful gleam they used to have, and its fur was dull. When you stroked its back the way it liked, you only got a grunt in response.

You heard Katsuki's footsteps approaching, but you didn't bother to think of hiding from him. Your anger had been replaced by great concern for Jaga's health. If it was sick, there was no way you could heal it and you were very distressed to lose it.

Just from seeing the sorrow in your gaze and the sorry state the jaguar was in, Katsuki knew that the moment he had been dreading for years had arrived.

"Do you think he's sick?" You asked while Katsuki stroked Jaga’s head.

"His heart broke a long time ago, sooner or later this was going to happen," he stated impassively, as if he had known it all this time. "The love and care you've given him all these years prolonged his life, but he can't take it anymore."

Hearing this, your own heart broke and cried your heart out. Although Katsuki remained collected, it hurt him as much as it did you, perhaps more because besides Jaga's early death, watching you to be so unhappy killed him inside. But he didn't have time to let himself get carried away by grief, because once Jaga breathed his last, it would be time to put an end to everything he had been enduring for so many years.

After crying all afternoon and communicating the sad news to your parents, you couldn't help but believe that the words that Katsuki had told you were true. Instead of receiving an ounce of sympathy at the impending loss of your friend, both of them were indifferent; they even seemed relieved. Jaga had long since ceased to fascinate your father, while your mother had never been fond of him and couldn’t care less if he died. 

“You two are so unfair…” you mumbled under your breath, barely able to hold back your tears. 

“Now, Y/N, everybody has to die at some point.” your mother tried to change the subject and smiled. “Instead of thinking about something so depressing, we could work on something together to thank the Count for the kimono he gave you.”

Just listening to her callous frivolity made you drop the cutlery noisily and retreat to your bedroom. Katsuki stayed with them a moment longer to keep up appearances, but he too was disgusted by the attitude of his employers towards someone they had held against his will.

When it was finally time to sleep, Katsuki brought you a warm drink that he had prepared himself and was hopeful that you would welcome him into your bed. Not that he was expecting to after your argument earlier. 

Katsuki was alright with it, but you were his priority. He didn't want you to have anxious feelings that could disturb your sleep. 

“You don’t have to do this, Katsuki,” you said, without taking your sight from the new moon. “You’re not meant to serve me.”

“I want to do it,” he placed the cup aside and held you by the waist, sinking his nose into your neck. “Are you still mad at me?”

You shook your head and reached out to stroke his head, which he took as an encouragement to softly nibble on your skin. Even if he had thrown you off with his outburst, in the end, he was right and you couldn’t stay cross at him for that. You sighed in pleasure when his hand slipped over your cleavage and cupped your breast.

“Wait, no,” you stopped Katsuki when he started removing your yukata. “My parents are too alert and might hear us.”

“Right, you’re too loud and cry a lot.” He teased you.

“Hah? Like you don’t make the animals flee when you finish!” 

Both of you stared at each other with surprised looks and he chuckled at the same time as you snorted. He ruffled your hair and handed you the sleeping draught. It was a recipe from his own design that he made exclusively for you to help you relax, and it worked wonders.

Your mother once made Katsuki prepare some for her, but she angrily spat it out, arguing that it tasted like rust and swamp water. But you didn’t believe her because to you it had a slightly herbal taste yet it was sweetened with something you couldn’t identify that seduced your taste buds and put you in a pleasant trance; definitely it wasn’t either sugar or honey.

Although Katsuki’s brew helped you sleep soundly, sometimes you considered skipping it because you always had the same dream every time you drank it. 

Your surroundings were dark and peaceful. At times; the clouds would part to allow the full moon to cast its silver light. Your body was held against a bigger and comforting source of heat that lovingly spoke to you. Your vision was too blurry, but you saw your mother smiling down at you and wiping your face clean often. 

“My precious girl, I love you so much…” she said, nuzzling her nose against yours. 

Then it all turned dark again and felt a tight hold on you as droplets of warm liquid fell on your resting face. Without warning, you were jostled around and you cried out in protest. Whichever force that was doing that to you wasn’t kind, but there was nothing you could do to fight it. Soon, foreign, louder and more desperate cries joined yours, and you responded to them in turn. 

Fearful pants hit your face with each bump, until a horrid roar, quite similar to Jaga’s shush you for good. And then, a very loud thunder sound put an end to the brusque movements and the cacophony that frightened you. Yet, you didn’t feel at ease after that, even when your mother’s voice rocked you and attempted to lull you. 

Sometimes you woke up trembling and shedding silent tears, but Katsuki was always there to hold you and reassure you. The warmth of his naked chest and his protective hold was enough to prevent your cries, and make your awakening way sweeter. 

But that day wasn't meant to be a pleasant one for you.

The sky was cloudy and still dark, like when it was meant to rain or snow. The space next to you was empty and cold, which meant that Katsuki had woken up many hours ago, or had left as soon as you drifted to sleep. You were allowed to sleep in for another three hours, but without a reason to stay under the blankets, you got dressed and decided to go see Jaga. 

To your shock, you found the chain broken, and Jaga was nowhere to be seen.  

Since the workers were doing their duties without concerning themselves with the threat of a loose jaguar, you figured that Katsuki was behind Jaga’s disappearance. Nobody had to guide you to them; you knew your lover too well and knew where to find him. 

By the time you made it to the top of the waterfall, it had already started to rain, but you didn’t care once you spotted Katsuki. He was kneeling behind the naked body of a man you didn’t know, but upon sight, you held your breath quickly realizing he was dead. 

The man bore a slight resemblance to Katsuki with his unruly hair, although it was brown instead of blonde. He probably hadn’t been much older than your father, but his face bore the marks of a person worn out by years of suffering; yet he had a peaceful expression. 

You had never seen that man before, but his passing aggravated you. It was confusing. You had no idea why it upsetted you so much, but deep down, you somehow knew why. 

“His name was Masaru, not Jaga,” Katsuki finally said. “He was my father, and asked me to bring him here and bury him next to where he buried my mother.” 

“Why didn't you tell me he was your father?” You asked, feeling remorseful.

Katsuki turned around and cupped your cheek. “Because you were precious to him and wanted to stay by your side until the very end.”

Katsuki’s confession made you scream in grief. All these years you held his father captive and never stopped to think more and find the reason why Katsuki held a special connection to your unusual choice of a friend. You didn’t have to imagine how Katsuki must have been feeling at the moment because you felt exactly the same.

“Let’s bury him together,” you suggested, once the last droplets of rain had washed out your tears and hysteria. “Please?” 

“I was about to suggest it.” He kissed your temple and pointed at a half-dug hole on your left. 

Neither of you thought of bringing a shovel, but Katsuki said that among his race, using your hands to dig a grave was more meaningful than using tools. You didn’t mind ruining your dress and nails doing it, and didn’t feel tired at all once you were done. 

After stroking Masaru’s face and kissing his forehead, you helped Katsuki place his body on the grave and buried him. Katsuki explained to you that it wasn’t customary for his race to put gravestones or make funeral pyres, as the act of burying the body in the forest helped the spirit become one with it. Nonetheless, Katsuki allowed you to make a flower crown to place it over Masaru’s grave. 

Once the ordeal was over, you took your time comforting each other from your mutual sorrow. When you returned to the estate it was already getting dark, and your parents raised their eyebrows at your state of disarray. In a surprising act of mercy, they saw the heartbreak on your face and were aware of “Jaga’s” absence, so they chose to leave you be for now. 

After all, they needed time to prepare you for the plans they made for your future and that of their clan. 

Taglist: @riotsragdoll @ofallthingsnasty @ajaviary @spn-obession

[rarepears]

Anyway, i believ that the kids between the 2(enji and go gun hee) would be strong. Since the kids would be born with mana, and go gun could potentially train them so they don't rely solely on their quirk, touya could be way stronger, and possibly could have another future instead of being a villain

Also consider this, shouto after training on the daily with go gun hee(which for me would be a 1000 times better than training with endeavor) introducing deku to go gun, to see if his old man could train deku

And i would suggest that if go gun got married to enji, would he be a stay at home husband or maybe he actually be an active member of society and build a dojo, where he teach citizens and low class heroes so they can also have some sense in martial arts

Or maybe one of the todo siblings like natsuo or fuyumi, and using go gun knowledge and making a dojo instead of going to college, anyhow many ideas

Also smut:considering the fact that both of them have a high stamina, imagine how long would be the intercourse between the 2, and how much would it go inside enji, probably enough to make a pond of it

My first reaction was, well an A ranked hunter's son was the world's weakest E ranked hunter so genetics evidently doesn't do much in determining one's mana capacity (if that's the right word).

And then I remembered that Go Gun Hee certainly doesn't know that Sung Jinwoo's reawakening is due to outside factors (ahem architect and the shadow monarch)... so yeah, that is indeed a logical conclusion for Go Gun Hee and Enji to be working off of. They just happen to be lucky that the kids seem to be proving their theory.

Go Gun Hee is TRYING to be a stay-at-home husband to enjoy that retirement life he never did get to enjoy in his original life. But he's a man who likes to be busy (and is maybe someone who likes being in control and leading change so... he ends up starting a company. Again. And it grows to a few thousands employees because of course it does. This is Go Gun Hee we are talking about, former CEO to a giantass company and head of KHA.)

---

It would be hilarious if Enji would look through the internet and read random stupid AF articles that are like "TOP 5 SEX POSITIONS FOR GETTING PREGNANT FASTER" and then he goes to his husband like "hey, I want to try this new sex position out".

Go Gun Hee simply thinks that Enji is adventurous and curious about all things sex. He doesn't say anything about the latex underwear with the built in dildo that Enji wore practically nonstop for a week to keep himself plugged full of cum... he just grabbed Enji and pushed him onto another flat surface for another round  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

[#endeavor x go gun hee (solo leveling) AU]

[makeste]

BnHA and the three-act structure

a.k.a. “looking at the big picture of the BnHA manga”; a.a.k.a. “why BnHA is ending in 60 chapters”, and/or “why Horikoshi’s writing is, dare I say it, actually pretty solid.”

regarding that last part, please note that I wrote this post a few days ago -- i.e. before I read chapter 329 -- and so I would now like to amend that last part to, “Horikoshi’s writing for approximately 73% of his characters is, dare I say it, actually pretty solid.” as for the other 27%, we will not speak of that for now, but he knows he is on thin ice. you leave S&S alone, you heel. we only just got her. please don’t do this to me.

anyway but back to our main topic. so the three-act structure, if you’re not familiar with it, basically goes like this:

Act I - Setup (Exposition, Inciting Incident, Plot Point One)

Act II - Confrontation (Rising Action, Midpoint, Plot Point Two)

Act III - Resolution (Pre Climax, Climax, Denouement)

it’s most often referenced in the context of screenwriting, because the guy who popularized it wrote a bunch of books about that, but it really applies to almost any kind of story. there are other kinds of dramatic structures out there, in theory, but in practice they’re all different ways of describing the same thing, and I think the vast majority of narratives wind up following some variation of this structure whether intentionally or not. and today I want to talk about how it applies to BnHA, and what it tells us about how Horikoshi is planning to end the story.

so I guess we’ll start by breaking down the story of BnHA act by act, starting with:

Act I - Setup

Wikipedia actually has the best summary I could find on how a first act is structured, so I’m just gonna straight up steal it from them:

The first act, or opening narration, is usually used for exposition, to establish the main characters, their relationships, and the world they live in. Later in the first act, a dynamic incident occurs, known as the inciting incident, or catalyst, that confronts the main character (the protagonist). The protagonist’s attempts to deal with this incident lead to a second and more dramatic situation, known as the first plot point, which (a) signals the end of the first act, (b) ensures life will never be the same again for the protagonist and (c) raises a dramatic question that will be answered in the climax of the film. The dramatic question should be framed in terms of the protagonist’s call to action, (Will X recover the diamond? Will Y get the girl? Will Z capture the killer?).

one thing this breakdown doesn’t mention is the length of this act -- typically about 20 to 25% of the total story. I think that’s important to establish, just as reminder of the kind of scale we’re dealing with, because that really helps in narrowing down which arcs BnHA’s first act is comprised of. for example, I think some people, if they were put on the spot without any time to think about it, might instinctively say that BnHA’s first act is only about 20 chapters long, from the start of the story up through USJ. but if that was the case, it would mean that the first act in BnHA only takes up about 6% of the story. so that kind of signals that we need to broaden our scope a little.

here’s my conclusion: the first act of BnHA actually runs for 97 chapters, all the way through to the end of Kamino. here’s how that breaks down.

first, the exposition takes place throughout the entire first act. these arcs contain the bulk of BnHA’s worldbuilding, and this is also when we’re introduced to the majority of the characters, and gradually learn about their backstories and motivations. you’ll note that some of the characters, such as Shouto, don’t really get fleshed out until the Sports Festival or later. and in a similar vein, some of the most important worldbuilding -- particularly regarding OFA and AFO -- doesn’t really get expanded on until chapter 59. and one of the manga’s core themes -- win to save, and save to win -- doesn’t really start to take shape until Bakugou’s origin chapter, more than a year into the series. so yeah, when you consider those kinds of details, it’s clear that all of these early story arcs are part of one big first act.

in contrast to this, the inciting incident does happen very early on in the series, and is very easy to identify. it is, of course, when Deku receives OFA from All Might, which launches him on his journey to become the greatest hero. this is the moment that changes our protagonist’s whole life, and sets up the rest of the story to follow. it is very clearly defined, and doesn’t really need more explanation on my part.

lastly, we have the first plot point, which bridges the gap between acts one and two, and raises the main dramatic question of the story. for BnHA, this point occurs when All Might finally loses his power for good at Kamino. this is the “no turning back” point for Deku, when the full reality of being All Might’s chosen heir finally hits him. it also marks a turning point in the world of the story, as the country is left struggling to find a new way forward without the Symbol of Peace. and it sets the clock slowly ticking towards the inevitable future confrontation between Tomura and Deku which will eventually form the climax of the story.

so that’s act one! we’ve established our plot and our characters, and introduced the main questions which will eventually need to be answered. how will Deku become the greatest hero? what will happen when he finally has to confront Tomura -- and possibly AFO? stay tuned.

Act II - Confrontation

the second act is nearly always the longest, usually comprising at least 50% of the story as a whole. this part of the story is characterized by rising action -- events in the plot that create more conflict for the characters, and build things up toward the climax. this part of the story also tends to be the least structured, and often contains the bulk of the story’s character development, because the purpose of the second act is to gradually bring the characters from point A to point B in terms of preparing them for the final act.

BnHA’s second act is comprised of the Provisional Exam arc all the way up through the War arc. it’s more than twice as long as the first act -- 209 chapters in all. this is when Deku’s hero studies really begin to intensify in the aftermath of Kamino. the kids get their provisional licenses, and have their first experiences with actual hero work during the Basement and Endeavor Agency arcs. there is also a ton of character development, particularly for Deku and Bakugou as they finally start to turn their relationship around, beginning with DvK2. the kids mature a ton and steadily grow stronger, both physically and emotionally. at the same time, however, this act raises the stakes with the ever-worsening villain situation. Deku and his classmates aren’t the only ones getting stronger -- Tomura is also coming into his own, and the League of Villains is becoming a true force to be reckoned with.

the midpoint of the second act is usually some big twist that happens right around the middle of the story that makes things even more complicated for the protagonist. for BnHA, I think that midpoint occurs with the awakening of the SIXQUIRKS during the Joint Training arc. not only does this give Deku a significant new hurdle to clear in his quest to master OFA, but it also deepens the mystery of OFA and its connection to AFO. this is something that will clearly be very important to the story’s climax, and it does occur right around what I believe to be the midpoint of the story, with the Vestiges first appearing in chapter 193, and Deku unlocking Blackwhip about 20 chapters later.

and of course, the second plot point, which marks the conclusion of act two, is the War arc, during which Tomura, AFO, and the LoV finally seem to get the upper hand. the second plot point is very often when the conflict starts to reach its peak, and things are almost at their worst. the protagonist is confronted with the reality of the final challenge that lies ahead, and has to step up to the plate. in much the same way that plot point I bridges the gap between the first and second acts, plot point II bridges the gap between the second and third, and sets the stage for the final confrontation between the protagonist and their main obstacle. in this instance, the War arc brings Deku face to face with AFO for the first time, and forces him to fully step into his role as the ninth heir of OFA, whether he feels ready for it or not.

Act III - Resolution

and so that brings us to the third and final act of the series. and this of course is why I made this post to begin with, because I wanted to analyze the story in this context, and use what we know about narrative structure to try and predict what we can.

so first of all, let’s talk about length, because that’s been the big topic of controversy over the past week or so. Horikoshi recently revealed that he originally planned for the final act of BnHA to be about five volumes, which naturally sent ripples of panic rushing through the fandom. however, Horikoshi also added that he “isn’t so sure” about that now, which led to many fans speculating that the series could easily continue for another hundred chapters or more.

as for me, I fall somewhere in between! first of all, I think we are about to enter the final battle, that much is clear (and no, I’m not expecting any fake-outs, as I can’t see any narrative purpose for that). and I agree that five volumes -- or three, if he was including the first two volumes of the Dekuangst arc in that estimate -- is not going to be enough time to wrap the story up conclusively. on the other hand, ten volumes feels like way too much time, and I don’t think his estimate would have been that far off. so for me, I’m going with 60 more chapters in all, both because that feels like the right length for a final battle which surpasses the War arc in scope, and because it would bring the total length of the series to about 390 chapters total. which is exactly in line with the three act structure, as it would mean the three acts were divided as follows:

Act I - 25% (97 out of 390 chapters)

Act II - 54% (209 out of 390 chapters)

Act III - 21% (83 out of 390 chapters)

this seems just about right to me. 400 chapters happens to be my ideal length for the series anyway, and has been my prediction for quite some time now. so this is right in that ballpark, and I for one would be very satisfied.

so moving on now to our other predictions, as far as breaking down the final act into parts, it usually goes like this:

pre-climax - this is exactly what it sounds like; that last lingering part of the story where everything is building up toward that final confrontation. oftentimes this is the part where the protagonist reaches their lowest point, and starts to doubt whether they can really succeed. the pre-climax can also sometimes overlap with the actual climax, depending on whether you define “climax” as being the final conflict in general, or as a specific moment during the final conflict when things reach peak intensity.

climax - the most important part of the story, where the protagonist faces their main conflict and decides their fate.

denouement - basically, the resolution of the main conflict.

so as far as BnHA goes, it’s clear to me that the DAA was essentially the pre-climax. this is the build-up to the final battle, during which the dramatic intensity gets ramped up to 21, and Deku has a bit of a breakdown, but ultimately bounces back with the help of his friends. pretty straightforward, I think.

so what’s left, then, is essentially just the climax and the denouement. meaning that as I mentioned earlier, we are almost certainly heading into the final battle now, for better or worse. there may be a few more chapters of pre-climax, depending on what things Horikoshi prefers to resolve (ETA: or make much, much worse) beforehand. but I think we’ve reached the point where almost all of the dangling plot threads that are left (U.A. Traitor, all of the mysterious Vestige stuff, and whatever the fuck is actually going on with OFA and AFO) are ones that Horikoshi is saving for either the climax, or the denouement.

it’s also worth noting that we should be expecting the writing in this last part of the series to feel a bit different from the writing in act two, and that contrary to popular opinion, this isn’t necessarily a mark of bad storytelling. each of the three acts serves a different purpose and has different goals to achieve. the first act was all about exposition, so it was naturally slower-paced, as the conflict isn’t supposed to feel heavy yet at that stage. the second act, by contrast, featured intensifying conflict, and so we got treated to some relatively darker arcs such as MVA, which wouldn’t have really fit in during act one. Horikoshi also focused a lot more on the character development than the plot at times, which I know many fans preferred. and it was also the least planned-out of the three acts, which was both an advantage and disadvantage, as it gave Horikoshi more freedom to roam and explore, but also occasionally seemed to leave him floundering a bit.

as for the third act, for starters the pacing is naturally going to speed up in comparison to the first two acts, because the third act is all about ramping up the intensity until we hit the climax. it’s also shorter than the second act, so that makes it feel faster paced as well. and it’s easily going to be the heaviest of the three acts, because the pre-climax is by nature the darkest part of the entire story. and so if any of these things don’t appeal to you, you’re probably going to be less engaged with the third act. and if you’re expecting more of the same based on the first two acts, those expectations are going to be impossible to meet. that’s just how it is. for a lot of people, myself included, the first two acts of a story are the parts they like best for exactly these reasons.

but everything has to end at some point, and BnHA is no exception. and in spite of my sadness (and it’s hard to tell which of the 5 stages of grief I’m currently at, because Denial and Acceptance sometimes seem remarkably similar lol), I’m also very excited to see just how the story will end. in the same way that there are things you can do in the first and second acts that you can’t do in the third, there are things you can do in the third act which are impossible in the first and second. we’ll finally get answers to all of the story’s mysteries. we’re getting all these huge, impactful developments like everyone finding out about OFA, and Bakugou finally apologizing to Deku. all of the things that Horikoshi was saving for the grand finale are finally going to be on the menu soon, and that is awesome. I want to see the final Clash of Todorokis! I want to see the U.A. Traitor reveal and resolution! I want to see Tomura turn the tables on AFO! and most of all, I want to see Bakugou and Deku -- because make no mistake, they will be at the center of this, just as Horikoshi originally planned for them to be -- resolve their conflict at long last, and face their destinies together.

I want to see Horikoshi, who is the biggest and most methodical superhero fanboy I’ve ever encountered, get to write his dream battle, and make his statement on what a true hero is. I want to see what this man, with his hodgepodge of Western and Eastern cultural influences, so many of which mirror my own to an almost unrealistic degree, brings to the table for his finale. I want to see him put the exclamation point on his magnum opus while his heart is still in it. I think he’s pushing himself to rush towards that point more than anyone else is pushing him, tbh. it’s in Jump’s interest to have the series run for as long as possible, so this idea that his editors are forcing him to rush feels off to me if I’m being honest. I think it’s Horikoshi himself, and I think it’s because he has a clear image of the ending in his head right now, and so he’s just trying to reach that point while it’s still clear, and before he burns out. and while the fruits of that urgency might be less than perfect, I respect what he’s trying to do, and I think that once the climax finally gets into full swing, and we get to the moments that really count, he’s going to deliver.

anyway, so thus ends my rant. if anyone’s interested btw, here’s a link to the little thingy I made in Excel which I’ve been using as a reference for the arc and act lengths and statistics. it doesn’t include chapter 329, because 329 is one of those annoying chapters that starts a new arc and thus throws all of the calculations off, but otherwise it’s up to date. anyway, so that’s all, and I don’t really have a cool or snappy way of ending this extremely long post, so I’m just gonna. ... ...... yeah.

[gentrychild]

About Shouto recruiting the racoon that breaks into his house to look for Touya: How Dabi didn’t stop to stop to meditate about a theory when they arrived to Dagobah beach and saw freaking All Might training the kid that owns the hellhound that have terrorized him?

Sorry I have no respect for the comma. You can breath now.

X

Shouto was the only one to see All Might and his secret lovechild. All Dabi saw was Shouto being distracted and he ran like hell before checking what had his baby brother's attention.