#and hawks while he's at it

[justatalkingface]

Do you also think that the image of the crying child impoverishes the story ?

The fact that the MC wants to save that crying child inside "his" villain bothers me. It is a form of infantilization which seems to only benefit to the heroic figure and prevents the villain from being a great villain. The past symbolized by the crying child echoes to the MC's own past and is adressed to our nostalgic feeling, the reader remembering Izuku who cried in chapter 1 when he was told that he cannot be a hero. Izuku will enable Tomura/Tenko to act like a hero too by making him side with him, but what do we do with the villain Tomura Shigaraki himself ? What about the feeling of awe ?

Same for Dabi : the crying child is always inside him (little Toya appears when Shoto "beats" Dabi, he wore the same clothes he wore while he waited for his dad who never came), but it is only significative for Enji : it means that he has to atone for his sins by being there for his child. Endeavor isn't even scared when he sees the horrific and alarming state of Dabi, he just has to be the dad who didn't come to see his little boy who was always crying (where is the tension between life and death?)

So... instead of being fascinating threats who force a society (in which the individuals define their own self by the nature of their quirk) to face its most harmful consequences, the villains' infantilization turn them into tools so that the heroic figure can shine by saving an innocent child. It's just what I think, and in general I find it quite problematic that this symbol of the crying child seems to mean - in the story - that one can be saved only on condition of crying, but it's another issue

Oh yeah.

I've said it before, but my biggest frustration with Shigaraki's story (once they finally started it properly, anyways) is the way they pivoted from his fascinating growth as a villain for that.

For so much of the story, Shigaraki stagnated, being built up, theoretically, as the future ultimate villain, but shown as this ineffectual man-child too incompetent to really be a threat for Izuku the way he was supposed to be. Then, finally, he actually, genuinely starts to grow as a villain, as a threat. He suprasses his fading mentor, mirroring Izuku again with how he took on All Might's torch, only twisted villainously with Shigaraki actively rejecting his old mentor for his old views.

Then AFO just... turned it around on him, after Shigaraki explictly rejects/destroys his influence/presence in his mind, and it's capped off by Deku, the MC, seeing the crying child.

The last couple of arcs before that had all had a major focus in building up Shigaraki, like I said, not only as a villain and a threat, but as a character in his own right, finally showing his independent ability to stand on his own as a threat, and just like that Hori destroyed all that work like a child toppling a tower of blocks.

Suddenly, Shigaraki wasn't a threat, wasn't a man out to destroy the world, wasn't Izuku's equal and opposite. All of a sudden, Tenko was just a crying little boy, helpless to do anything to stop Mean Old AFO from using his body to perform his dastardly deeds. It turned him, as you said, into a victim, against all his development, against everything Hori had been building towards.

It was part of a shift Hori had thrown at us suddenly, taking the story from a story of shades of grey to simple black and white: Izuku, Deku, was good, simply, primitively good, without any other motive or characterization than native goodness. AFO, who throughout the entire story had been a mystery turducken hinting at depth and excitement, suddenly was revealed to be perhaps the most one dimensional character in the story, who was evil... just because.

And Shigaraki turned into nothing more than a victim, sadly abused, too helpless to actually do anything to decide his own fate, and thus being viable to save. And yes, I know that Hori did another turns table twist on us, and Shigaraki has suddenly revealed to be the 'true villain' yet again, but since one-dimensional Deku keeps insisting he needs to be saved, it's only a matter of time before Shigaraki is revealed to only be Tenko, only a victim, once again, and everybody's hate will be reserved only for AFO, thus robbing Shigaraki of all the agency he had been building up throughout the series, taking away the depth and serious of all the crimes he has committed, of all the lives he has killed, because he's no longer allowed to be responsible for them.

And it's almost worse what's happening to Dabi, for all that Shigarki's change is far more sudden and drastic on the face of it.

You see, I'm angry at Shigaraki because Hori did this sudden U-turn and undid all the work he did on the man; Shigaraki's story could have been spun as a, 'poor brainwashed sap' kind of thing, is the problem, but Hori decided to build him up as the villain ascendant in his own right instead. Then, suddenly, he switched it almost violently into the role of victim out of nowhere and ruining all Shigaraki's hard fought growth. Shigaraki spent almost his entire life under AFO's thumb, ignorant of so much of the real world, so isolated that he didn't even know how to be a real person, which made his actual choice to be a villain so big, and Hori taking that away from him so shitty.

Dabi, though? Before the story had even started, Dabi had already made his choice. Shigaraki stumbled there blindly, while Dabi walked there with eyes wide open. He blames Endeavour, but he doesn't excuse himself, he doesn't say he should be rescued; he admits freely that he is a terrible person, a villain, a monster, even. Dabi has no illusions about who or what he is. He doesn't want to go back. He doesn't want to be saved.

And the fact the story is going through so much to set him up to be saved, no matter what he actually thinks about, is honestly tragic.

Dabi is, fundamentally, Endeavour's wrong doing made manifest, the monument to his sins. He's the dark mirror to Shoto's story, if Izuku hadn't saved him, the twisted reflection of Hawks; all of these characters and more are orbiting around Endeavour, and all of them sinking as the SSS Endeavour's Original Story sinks into the sea, dragging them down with it.

It gets even worse because if Hori infantilizes Dabi like he did Shigaraki, like he's shaping up to do... who is he going to blame? The entire point of doing that is throw the blame, the karmic burden of what that person has done, onto someone else to make to make them seem better. It makes sense for Shigaraki because AFO is bad, is supposed to be, and there was a way that could have made sense awhile ago, but Dabi? If Dabi's crimes were going to be blamed on someone else, it would naturally be Endeavour (even though Dabi's firmly insistent that he's doing this of his own will), but Hori has made it clear he doesn't want to blame Endeavour for anything. So who is going to take the blame so Shoto can have soba with his big brother, without having to subject anyone to any complicated questions of things like, 'should Shoto forgive him?', or 'does Shoto's insistence on saving his brother just because he's his brother actually damage his growth and/or make the world they live in worse?' or anything like that?

AFO, I guess. He's already been randomly inserted into Debi's back story, so that's the natural option, to blame AFO for what Dabi did just like they're trying to blame him for what Shigaraki did. That way Endeavour can be redeemed without issue, Dabi can be 'saved', somehow, and Shoto can have that soba at last.

Sigh. Hori's sudden and almost bizarre insistence in trying to redeem all the fan favorites instead of just letting them be bad people is one of the biggest flaws of the story, and turning them into pure, helpless children is just an insult to them, as characters and as people.

[reds-skull]

Had the passing thought "what if Gaz had long hair" a few days ago and I just had to draw it

(Actually obsessed with 'hawked Gaz...)

[beybuniki]

i think dabi and hawks start talking about more than the league after hawks makes it a thing to send dabi silly images. Dabi gets it after the 3rd one (this has been in my drafts for a month happy yaoi friday)

[fraternum-momentum]

more hands + faces: dol edition

[windlullaby-arts]

Birdman doodles

[bishicat]

tired old man reads the morning paper

[moodyvoid]

You and Hawks meet as teenagers. You have an incredible quirk. He knows the HPSC would jump at the chance to train you directly— which is exactly why he doesn’t want you anywhere near them, so he keeps that part of his life a secret from you.

You both grow close. He sees you every chance he gets. You become his escape from his real life.

The HPSC finds out about you, and your quirk, and ends up recruiting you.

You grow resentment towards him.

His guilt makes him regret ever meeting you.

You’re both profoundly in love with each other.

[reineydraws]

had to draw this to understand the way i feel about him now that the manga's ended. 🥲 on that note: if you like hawks and his ending, maybe don't read my tags lol. it's not bashing (imo) but they're not v nice. 😅

bg + unobstructed pose under the cut!

his expression's a lil different 'cuz i only changed the merged layer, all the lighting effects already flattened onto it. 💀 alas.

[fungus-no69]

Little things on defiant pc (you/your pronouns) ft. Gn Bailey, Harper, Remy and Wren

pc bites a lot, Bailey typical human trafficking, pc is implied to have been attacked by/visited the wolves, mentions of Harper's medical malpractice, amab Harper???? (dick jokes), mention of the wolf tf in Remy's, mention of pc in prison in Wren's, pc is joked to (possibly) have rabies, pc is feral in general

Bailey

You're a little terror.

You're fucking impossible to wrangle. If Bailey does manage to force you into restraints and sell you somehow while you're still kicking and screaming like you're being murdered you show up again within an hour or two.

They sold you to a party of rich people why are you covered in twigs and fur??? Why do you have (wolf)shrooms?????

Half considers putting a bounty on your head. Might.

Daydreams about the day you finally pay them

Harper

Harper is fighting for their life over here- you're showing up after passing out, being sent to the asylum every now and again, get them riled up and just escape???? Kissing them while your hands wander to their-

Oh.

Oh.

You sneaky little shit.

Yeah sure, Harper can just..... not creep on you but they can't help it! :( you're so cute!!!!! So what if they get a bit close or stick their fingers in your mouth to test your gag reflex? (you bite them so hard it breaks the skin and they have to get their rabies shots)

They are not a masochist. Ignore the boner.

Always half hard and ready to go with you I'm sorry.

Remy

You get taken to the Underground farm and tell Remy to go suck a fat one

You get muzzled for that. Also the whole biting thing you've got going on I guess.

With the wolf tf they are going to try and turn you into cattle without letting you out with the others. They know you probably won't eat the cows but they're not taking any more chances here. You've already made sure that half of the staff needs vaccinations against several infections and diseases (advised by Harper, who seems all too acquainted with you and your 'habits')

Why can't you eat grass normally....

What the fuck do you mean you befriended the horses. You can't even get along with people- oh you escaped.

When they see you working with Alex they damn near have an aneurysm. They just smile at you, strained. Why must you torment them like this.

Wren

Please stop eating the blackjack cards

It's literally that image like 'the smart kid wondering how he's losing to me : me eating the pieces when he's not looking' yk the one except neither of you are winning because you're fucking eating the cards.

You guys meet up in the prison so much to the point that they're not even surprised anymore.

More shocked you got caught.

It would USUALLY be concerning how horny they get over you but it's Wren so yeah.

Expect to be teased and egged on

[moonsvillain]

hotwings au where hawks is a vampire, dabi is a human, and they meet through the vampire equivalent of doordash.

dabi shows up at his door, scruffy and woozy (guy who's been doing this as a full time job and is not coping with the blood loss very well)

hawks is (rightfully) concerned and is ready to cancel his order but dabi immediately disagrees because "that'll fuck up my ratings sooo bad dude don't be an asshole"

hawks: "???"

dabi: "i really need this job man"

hawks kinda shrugs and asks if dabi's up to anything for the next few hours and dabi doesn't have anything going on so hawks invites him in and immediately sits this guy down on his couch to feed him and let him rest for at least four hours so he's not indirectly accused of manslaughter

one must imagine the disposition of an alley cat encountering canned food for the first time: internal battle of mistrust versus yummy treats

dabi goes down kicking and screaming

(the day he goes over to hawks' place it's raining so hard you can barely see and all dabi has is a cheap plastic poncho. hawks' place has heating—he very 'reluctantly' curls up on the couch)

hawks is probably the worst cook on earth but when he tells dabi this, he refuses to let hawks order food for him; dabi would literally rather die than subject another minimum wage worker to the storm outside just to come to this rich asshole's home

which ends up with dabi in hawks' kitchen, making himself a meal

(which, he probably wouldn't usually do this, but the blood loss is kind of getting to him. dabi's decision making has slowly trickled down to the average level it is when he gets drunk)

when he's fed and warm and hawks has forced him to watch two animated movies dabi could not give less of a shit about he finally turns to dabi like

"ok i know we're having a great time but also i really need to eat something. like. you. preferably."

dabi shrugs and offers up his arm, getting progressively more sleepy while hawks finishes his meal before falling asleep pressed against hawks' side

wakes up the next morning with a blanket pulled over him, cheek pressed to a throw pillow with a littleee bit of drool staining the fabric under him

sits up and looks around, armed only with blurry memories of the night before

("did i... sleep with this guy...!?!??!?")

finds a note on the table and unfolds it, trying to figure out what the hell is going on

(lovedddd hanging w u yesterday :P off at work feel free 2 make urself breakfast before u go. U should know where everything is. tip on the counter 4 u. xoxo hawks)

dabi, slightly mortified at the implication he rooted around in this guy's kitchen when he was out of it yesterday finds the tip

it's literally, like, $500 dollars

dabi scribbles down his phone number and sticks it on the fridge with a magnet

(half because he really needed that money and is pleasantly surprised that he got rent money a week earlier than he was expecting)

(half because he might not remember yesterday entirely, but he remembers feeling safe and warm and being addicted to that rare sensation)

hawks is very happy when he gets home, even if dabi isn't there, when he finds his little gift on the fridge

[blusandbirds]

thinking about how when demetri recreated the binary brothers dance for moon and aisha, he didnt even do one of his own moves but instead it was something eli did

[hawktims]

I spent most of my life waiting for God to love me. And then I realized the only thing that matters is that I love God. It's the same with you. I have loved you my whole life. I have never loved anyone but you. You were my great, consuming love. Not everyone gets that. I did.

Fellow Travelers (2023) + Mentions of 'love'

[luuxxart]

leaks from the anime post bnha 430……. #REAL #NOTFAKE

[sonknuxadow]

LOVE LOSES !!!!!!!!!!!!

[teapetal44]

The state of the league of villains during act 3 is so sad man. Compress literally gave his ass for the league, got arrested and nobody gaf. Twice’s demise amounted to nothing, nobody cared. The whole discrimination arc Spinner was involved in was a mess. Suddenly Hori decided he cared about realism in his story so Toga dropped like a fly from a simple blood transfusion. Dabi is forced to sit and listen to Endeavor whine and yap about how sad he is about being an abusive pos, all the while nobody actually cares and he never got any real repercussions besides his family being (justifyingly) mean to him. Shigaraki was sidelined for a boring villain and was stripped off all his autonomy and agency.

[takami-takami]

For His Pleasure.

kinktober day 1: love bites.

includes— hawks x reader. minors dni. smut.

warnings— gn!reader. keigo is such a good boy. slight masochism. marking. 

More often than not, a canvas takes the form of the flesh when it comes to Keigo Takami. 

Your breath fogs back against your lips when you're this close to the piercable skin of his neck. You dip down, fangs bared, and he cranes his neck so far back it could just about snap. A carnivorous, masochistic ringing in his mind won't let him forget how he wants nothing more than to expose the entire surface to you— to only you, vulnerable and ripe to be marked like a nametag signed into the flesh. 

Panting below you is a man who tends to hold little back. You've come to expect him in the raw. Frankly, you prefer it that way. It's advantageous to your relationship in every sense, pulling you closer together as you weave through challenges with ease, armed with communication as the hot knife that slices through the thick of conflict. 

But in the bedroom, that communicative nature of his translates quite nicely into behavior that is oh so responsive.

With his hands propped behind him to keep his body stable, you straddle him and mark his skin; and Keigo has never sounded as pliable as he does now. 

"This here," you whisper, tracing a finger from the center of his chin down his bobbing Adam's apple. "This is mine, baby." 

It is. You swear you catch the sweetest coo of agreement bubbling in his throat as you work on his flesh, his nape bared further by the way he lets his head fall back slack. Golden tufts are splayed against bare shoulders, cascading over the curvature of muscles formed to carry fierce wings. It brushes against his bare skin with each labored breath, and his head dips back like a strawberry in melted chocolate, decadent in its indulgence. 

Inside, he invites you, and you're willing to crawl.

Sticking up in wild tufts, you could count the mussed strands of hair poking in every direction atop his head. Memories depicting how you played with and pulled them flash in your mind's eye, reminding you of how the soft texture felt running like water through the valleys between your fingers.

You discovered it pretty early on in your relationship: the pretty boy likes his hair pulled. It's an activity that soothes him, the controlled sparks of pain pulling a lopsided smile as he spills the prettiest moans. 

"More— Harder,” he begs. “Please, angel, gimme more."

Keigo doesn't want to look perfect. He wants to look taken. He wants to look loved. 

Most nights, he studies your work like a ritual. He stands before the bathroom mirror after you've finished each masterpiece, admiring the blooming bruises that burst forth in shades of red and violet for longer than he probably should. Barely suppressing a giddy smile, Keigo simply walks past the comb on the counter without a second thought, opting to keep the mess that is his hair intact before he returns to bed— before he returns to you.

Yeah, he definitely prefers this look to the one suggested by his hairstylist.

For as selfless as Hawks is at his core, gluttony is a language Keigo speaks fluently when he allows himself to; when it's safe to, when it doesn't affect his work, when he can sink his teeth into the concentrated comfort and moan like a goddamn whore once it bursts in his mouth. 

Concentrated methods of comfort... It's an amicable way to describe a vice.

It keeps him sane. 

You noticed it first with food; with the way he glues his eyes shut and sighs, chewing agonizingly slow with his eyes rolled back, letting the flavors burst atop his palette. He only allows the delicacy to be swallowed down his throat after every bit of pleasure has been milked to the fullest. 

It's even more apparent in his slouch when he sinks into the scalding burn that fills his porcelain tub after work. You’ve taken the pleasure of watching him sink alongside you, submerged down to the nose as the heat melts the crackling neurons that sing in his brain. It's evident in the way he throws his head back and sucks his teeth at the patter of the showerhead against his back, how his breathing slows to panting groans the moment he turns the knob as hot as it will go. 

And here in the sanctity of your bed, Keigo sits poised, the picture of blissed out debauchery. His eyes haven't peeked open in some time; if that and the labored rise and fall of his chest is any indication, he's fallen too far down to pleasure to be reasoned with. 

Good. 

You like a man you can bend.

"You're so good to me." Another moan slips out at a nip against his jaw. His pleasure-drunk smile never wavers, even when he raises one hand to paw at the bend of your hips. Like this, he can slide his calloused hands along the divots imprinted by his teeth, ghosting against each bruise with a glint of conquest in his eyes. 

With each mark sucked into his skin, a plethora of sounds grace your ears: hisses, whimpers, outright and unabashed moans. 

"Gonna show me off, baby?" The ghost of his stolen air creaks when he speaks. His word choice is an attempt to sound cocky, you’re sure, but an unmistakable whine laces that breathless tone. 

Still running his mouth even as he squirms, you appraise. You roll your eyes; but you can't find it in you to judge when he sounds this happy. 

Rosy cheeks and a toothy grin; this is what Keigo wears when he's experiencing true happiness. In the solace of your bed, his customer service façade drops to the floor alongside his clothes to reveal his innermost sunshine you've come to adore. 

"Mark me up and show 'em. All of this s'yours."

He arches his back, bowing off the bed in a manner more reminiscent of a feline than a bird; and you can’t help but dive into him, feeding off his indulgence once more. 

…

There's a pep in his step when he swipes his ID card with a flourish at the front desk this morning. 

Keigo flips a kick and a stutter with the rhythm of his walk, coat flaring with his little spin as he swings open his office door. When the people around him snap their necks to gawk, their head-turning stares are simply met with a dopey smile and a wave.

Your relationship going public was the best thing to ever happen to him. 

Some commission executive glares down her nose at his neck, glasses glinting a reflection of the light in Keigo’s eyes. 

I know, right, he wants to say, lovesick and claimed at last.