#he needs to wrap up the fighting Dabi thing though

[pocketramblr]

No i am not joking, according to Endeavor Dabi being near death allowed him to awaken a whole new ability and he now has ice coming out of his chest.

[takami-takami]

Anew.

includes— hawks x reader. angst. hurt/comfort. minors dni.

warnings— gn!reader. loss of wings and regrowth. nightmares. keigo tends to your wounds. blood description.

You lose your wings for the first time. It does not feel like the first time, but Keigo is there to patch your wounds. Keigo is always there to patch your wounds.

Keigo knew a thing or two about sprouting new feathers from the flesh of one's back. The splintering of new appendages, raw and awakened for the first time like freshly-birthed infants from the womb.

He cared for your seraphic wings. Preened them like his own quirk, cleaned them as if they were sewn to his own back.

Taught you how to care for them, too. 

Taught you for the first time the truth, that they grow back. Soothed your worries that they never would.

Taught you how the ache means it's working. Means there's feathers bubbling anew, waiting to burst forth from the flesh. 

Keigo sat with you in the living room at three in the morning. You had screamed yourself awake again that night, the whimpering in your sleep morphed to aching, pained howls. Like night terrors, the sting of it. Night terrors that didn't stop when you awoke.

You knelt on the floor with Keigo at your back on the couch. The room was silent and dim, save for the distant crackling of the fireplace. Your eyes remained locked forward, watching the burning pyre stoke itself to life, swallowing more oxygen to burn. The light of it flickered like fireflies in shades of warm amber and cold red, blinking awake and asleep.

The color red bubbled in tiny dots around the growth site of your new wings. Keigo said nothing as he dabbed cotton rounds designed for skincare against the blood. You both slept at your place last night, so he didn't have access to the usual supplies he tended to patch his own feathers up with. He would make do.

Keigo's wings were in relatively good shape that day; a little stubbier than usual, still recovering from being seared to the base from a fight with Dabi.

The white of the cotton soaked up your red. You didn't wince, but Keigo hummed an appreciative sound for your bravery regardless. 

"How many times have you lost yours," you whispered. 

The question was meek. Tentative. Keigo didn't wince, but you placed an appreciative hand on his knee for his bravery regardless.

"Mm. Lost count a long time ago, dove," he said, and shifted to rummage through your first aid kit for antibiotic ointment. 

At that, you stiffened, causing Keigo to halt in his verbal tracks to clarify.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing— not to me, at least," he continued, squeezing a dollop onto his thumb to apply to your wound. "Kinda reminds me that they can still grow back, in a way. Like I'm challenging the big, bad mother hen that's nature, ya' know?"

You suppressed a snort, barely able to hold back a smile. 

"You would say that," you chided.

"Oh, whatever do you mean?"

You rolled your eyes. "That. Anyone ever tell you that you're more like a puppy than a bird?"

"If you count as anyone, then yes, dove. You're special, though." Keigo pulled back, getting a better look at his handiwork. "Stretch them out for me, 'kay? Need to see how far they're coming along."

With painstaking effort, you complied. 

Judging by the pleased hum, your wings must have been coming along quite nicely— not that you'd know the difference, of course.

You've never healed before.

"Keigo?"

"Mm?"

"Does it ever stop hurting?"

He paused.

You were worth so much more. You were worth so much more than this and it splintered Keigo's heart, made him want to clutch you to his chest. And so he did, kneeling down behind you and wrapping his arms around your center.

You felt his chin move slightly atop your head when he spoke.

"It does. And then it hurts again, but you're stronger." A kiss on your hair. "And then it stops, and then it starts again, and every time it tries to swallow you, but you get bigger and bigger." A kiss to your temple. "Until the hurt can't fit you inside it anymore. And you wonder why you were ever so scared to feel it in the first place."

Your eyes burned more than your back. They burned more than the cinder of your fireplace.

"And I love you," Keigo added. "And you're going to be okay. I swear to God, dove, you're going to be okay."

"You promise," you asked, leaning into the warmth that enveloped your heart.

"I swear on my wings."

[quirkwizard]

Battle Report: A Retrospective on the Final War Arc

The Final War Arc is finally over. It's been a wild ride. And while I had my issues with it, I ultimately think was a good arc. I think it may go somewhere in the 7/10 to 8/10 range for my tier list of arcs. Who knows though. With all of that done though, I wanted to take a chance to look back on this arc and talk about what's transpired. Now, is this a little premature? Kind of. At the time of writing and posting this, the epilogue is still going on. The series has not ended and any of my complaints may be null and void after all of this is over. However, the arc is massive. It's eighty chapters long with dozens of plotlines and characters all mashing up against one another. I want to take the time out of focus on everything that has happened and leave the epilogue to it's own post.

And with that context, it is a lot to cover. Even if it's not the epilogue, it's still everything from chapter 343 to 423. So this post is going to be more disjointed, stream of conscious writing about my thoughts on specific parts of the arc that are worth talking about instead of doing some deep dive on the whole thing. Sure, I think the civilian stuff with Eri and everyone else in the bunker is nice in it's own way and I think how the pilots are used is hilarious, but that isn't enough for me to talk about. If you want me to discuss something in particular or expand on something here, I may talk about it later or add it to the post. With all of that being cleared up, my retrospective on the finale of the Final War Arc.

Shoto vs Dabi: This is the first fight of the arc, and we are definitely starting strong. I've already gushed about how much I enjoy this bit ever since it happened, so I will keep this brief. Of course, seeing Dabi back and all of his spiteful glory is great. Though, if we're being honest, the real start is Shoto and his new Super Move. The Phospher reveal is such a cool power-up for Shoto, and it works great in so many ways. It's a unique and clever way to counteract Dabi's firepower without just trying to overpower him. And it all leads to this beautiful and distinct art of flowing ice. It's so cool. And the best part is that it acts as the perfect cap to his character arc of trying to define himself, combining the two halves of himself into a combination that is completely his own. That's not even getting into the numerous references to phosphor, giving this even more depth.

All For One vs Endeavor: In spite of having a lot of focus, I don't have a lot to say about the forest fight. It's a lot of the same stuff as the Tomura fight, though not as egregious. I will say that I think Enji's bits in this arc are rather underrated. Having Enji fight All For One is a good way to wrap up that part of this character, finally growing past his own insecurities relating to Izuku and All Might while still achieving something that would make him worthy of being the top pro. The flashback about his father dying saving someone adds so much context to who Endeavor is as a person, and I'm really glad we got it. And having Endeavor burn away the past version of himself is such a cool image and a good moment for his character. Honestly, I think Enji continues his hot streak as one of the best written characters in this story.

Tomura vs Everyone: I didn't much care for this part. It felt very repetitive. Characters attack Tomura. It doesn't do anything. Tomura starts monologuing. Repeat. They couldn't do anything to Tomura, but as Hori has shown, he's reluctant to kill off named characters. It's why, despite getting ragdolled, none of them died. It didn't feel like the threat of death was looming over any of them, making this big battle feel relatively low-stakes. So we're stuck in this cycle of Tomura beating all of them up for dozens of chapters, only for neither side to really get anywhere. It feels like we're stalling. That Hori simply needed Izuku out of the picture to delay the final fight for him and Tomura. Which, sure, I get, but he could have at least made what was happening with Tomura more interesting. What's worse is that this is so much time spent with AFO Tomura. A character who isn't nearly as interesting as some of his parts and is a watered-down version of both.

Spinner's Assault: This is by far the worst part of the entire finale. Let's ignore the politics and message and how they may or may not apply to the real world. This mini-arc is focused on Koda, Shoji, and Spinner. All characters I like to varying degrees, but none feel like they have earned this kind of focus. The whole mutant discrimination plotline feels woefully underdeveloped, so having it be the center point of this part feels jarring. And saying it only happens outside the city is such a handwave. Not only does that make no sense, as bigotry can happen just as much, if not more, in metro areas, but it has little showing within the world. Hori, if you wanted to set this up, maybe you should have actually had some major focus on stories out of the city. So having so much time dedicated to it just feels wasteful and frustrating. I could go on a longer rant, but I will save it for another time.

Bakugou's "Death": What a waste. Come on now, did any of you really think Bakugou died here? Or would stay dead? And having his resurrection tied to his clustered sweat feels like a slap in the face of Edgeshot. The guy who reduced himself to a thin string just to save Bakugou's life. On that note, having Edgeshot be the one to save Bakugou feels… out of place. Edgeshot is a pretty minor character with no connection to Bakugou. Many figured that this sudden change would lead to some boost for Bakugou, but it didn't. So why Edgeshot? Why couldn't Best Jeanist be the one to do it, the one that is more important to both Bakugou and the audience? And this doesn't feel like a major change for Bakugou. If you have your character die and come, there should be some greater change to them or how they act, but it doesn't. At least, nothing as major as a death and resurrection should have. The biggest effect it has is on Tomura, bringing him out of the control of All For One, and Izuku, showing that he wouldn't lose control and break again. Once again, Bakugou's grievous injury is more important to the characters around him.

Rewound All For One: One of the more controversial parts of the arc. Is it a reach for Garaki to make the drug? Kind of. Is it annoying to still have All For One around? To a degree. Does it lead to some frustrating moments like All For One not unleashing his biggest area-clearing attack to start with when he knows he's on a time limit? Yes. However, I ultimately feel as though this does more good for the story than bad. By giving All For One this timer, it gives him a more definitive weakness to exploit and a ticking counter in the form of his body degenerating. And by keeping him around, it gives him a chance to go against Endeavor, Toshinori, and Bakugou. That way, they're completing their own arcs without feeling like any of their efforts are wasted or overstepping each other's time in the ring with All For One.

Dabi's Quirk: This is going to be a more personal annoyance, but I'm really frustrated with how Hori handled Dabi's Quirk. First off, him instantly using Shoto's technique against him is such nonsense. You're telling me that seeing it is enough for him to replicate it with no training?And him suddenly making ice for himself also makes zero sense. He hasn't shown anything like that before, and nothing about his power implies that he could. And don't tell me it's literally Rei's Quirks, but that makes even less sense. I could explain that as an evolution of his ice resistance, but that's more me trying to make sense of it. Could you justify it as being Shoto's sibling and their powers having similar mechanics and traits? Sure, but a lot of it comes across more as a convivence to keep Dabi's corpse moving. At least his design is cool.

Wasted Students: While the manga actually does a good job of distributing attention, there are some students that I feel were shafted. A special mention goes to Sero, Ojiro, and Sato, whom Hori pretty obviously just shoved together to get them out of the way. The ones I'm thinking about are Iida and Momo. Momo was one of the 1-A characters who had some arc, so having her be relegated to a living printer feels wasteful. However, I can at least forgive this a little. Her moment was during the PLF War, and her position makes sense. But shoot, Tenya was done dirty in this arc. He doesn't have any really cool moments of his own and very little in the way of character moments. I thought he was going to have something done with Stain, but no. Most of his time in this arc is spent supporting Shoto, quite literally in the case of the Ice Jet maneuver. Wait, why was he even fighting Dabi? Tenya himself admits he's a bad match for this, so why was he there? 

Shiketsu Students: This is one of the few moments in the arc that actually surprised me, and it's a welcome surprise at that. As someone who thought that the Shiketsu students were interesting but underdeveloped, it was cool seeing them act as reinforcements. What was even a better surprise was Camie's "Glamour" trick with the fake Hawks. That has got to be the funniest movement in this entire arc, bar none. Of the three, Inasa gets the most focus, and I think he does pretty well with it. While I do like his soft cap on his arc with the Todoroki's, reflecting his growth as well as their own, I really enjoy how much he just shuts All For One down this arc. All For One is trying to do these big speeches and one-liners, and Inasa is out here yelling him down like any other two-bit criminal. It's equal parts hilarious and awesome.

Tokoyami:  On the flip side of my statement about students, I think Tokoyami is really good in this arc. Tokoyami is one of the less prominent characters in terms of development and actual emotional moments to support him. The arc did a good job of giving him some kind of arc for his character. About how he sees his powers and how hard they are to control. And I'm going to be totally transparent here, I just think full-power Dark Shadow is really cool. There isn't anything deep or nuanced here. Seeing this giant shadow mecha loom over the whole battlefield and make All For One go pale is super sick. It's not just all action and character, either. He probably had one of the best reactions to anything ever in the whole series when illusion Hawks "died". So in spite of my issues with the other students, at least Tokoyami was done well.

The Big Three: Yeah, I didn't really care for what was happening with a lot of the Big Three. They ultimately fall into the same issues as everyone else in the UA Battle Zone that I talked about before. And while their massive railgun attack was cool on paper, it all amounted to nothing. It all feels like such pointless fluff to tide the user's over. It's not even like they have anything interesting going on character-wise, either. Mirio is easily the biggest victim of this. Ever since Mirio got his Quirk back, he hasn't really been given any chance to act outside of the costume or really be his own character. Seriously, the biggest moment he has is him acting as the butt of the joke in order to distract Tomura so Izuku can get in. Was there really no better way to do that? And as much as I want to remember him for other stuff he did, like yelling at Izuku, there really isn't anything else that sticks out.

Gearshift: Again, a more personal gripe, but one that bugs me a lot. I really don't like "Gearshift" as a power. Like "Fa Jin", it doesn't feel like it expands on any of Izuku's capabilities, only doubling down on what is already there. Unlike "Fa Jin", this had way more potential that went unused. Being able to alter the speed of an object or person is such an interesting concept. And for all of the hype surrounding it, it doesn't feel like it's used to its full potential. Really? We couldn't think of a better Quirk for him. Or at least come up with something more interesting for this one to do? All it's used for is to give a power boost to Izuku and make him go faster. The only time it's used to do anything else is when he uses it to speed up Bakugou. Why couldn't we get more stuff like that? Or at least maybe giving it a chance to interact with Izuku's other quirks for combinations?

Gigantomachia Battle: I like this well enough. As much as the reappearance of what's his face frustrates me, that's more of a carryover from my problems with Midnight's death and not the fault of this arc. It's a good follow-up for the brief arc with Mina and I like how much her new move ties into their growth with its name. Plus, it gave Shinso a cool moment that felt natural without stepping on anyone else's toes. I will say that I'm pretty confused at the sudden turn with Gigantomachia, who only really seems mournful over what All For One did once. And the one time he did, it seemed more regretful that someone as pathetic as Tomura was the successor. Otherwise, he just seemed like a loyal thug without much personality.

Todorokis vs Dabi: For the dramatic resolution of the Todoroki family storyline, I find myself having very little say about it. It's good. I really like seeing the feral, demented version of Dabi who is barely held together. Enji's lines about people watching him and taking responsibility become twisted with Dabi's view of him and his actions. I like the monologue Shoto gives as he's flying to stop Dabi. I guess my issue is that the rest of it doesn't stand out as much to me. And the actual resolution doesn't feel any different from the way Shoto fought him. It came across like the earlier fight with him was just there to keep him occupied so Enji could fight All For One and didn't serve any real purpose for the characters. That there needed to be this resolution for everyone else in the Todoroki family and for Dabi as well, but doing it like this lessens some of the punch. 

Uraraka vs Toga: One of my favorite parts of the arc. This entire section was such a dark horse for me, someone who didn't put a lot of stock in the Uraraka and Toga storyline. It shocked me how invested I was in the fight. Just seeing how hard Uraraka fights is so enthralling to watch, going through so much to help Toga. And this is one of the few points in the series where Awakenings work, with an Awakening that actually feels earned and relevant to the character at that. All because she wanted to help and connect with Toga in order to save her. And if Toga did die here, I wouldn't mind because I think it fits. She was able to live and die as her own person, making her own choices. All in all, it's a highlight of the arc and a great capstone for both of the characters.

Aoyama's Section: Why does Aoyama have so much focus on him? I don't dislike Aoyama, and I'm glad one of the more minor characters is getting attention in a way that feels relevant to who they are. I just don't think he really needed this much space to himself, having his own battlefield and major villain to fight, with little to no other focus on other characters. Having him stand up against All For One felt like more than enough of a final beat for his character arc. It was him acting in spite of his fears, facing down the scariest person in the entire series. Hagakure's presence bugs me here as well, since it just reeks of convivence. And man, giving out yet another Awakening? Were these not supposed to be rare? It's yet another example of an Awakening that barely feels any different from before and doesn't feel earned.

Toshinori Yagi vs All For One: Unlike a lot of fans, I wasn't as bothered by this part. On paper, Toshinori fighting All For One with a massive mecha suit kind of flies in the face of one of the core ideas of the series. That people without Quirks cannot be heroes. However, the story makes it clear that this is something that cannot stand up against All For One, requires all the resources of his decades of hero work, has decades of experience as the top hero, and he's only doing as well because he's fighting All For One because he's acting irrationally. My only reservation is that All Might is using parts inspired by the students. While I think these are cool, it seems like this is supposed to be his big moment as a teacher. And... I guess the story wants us to believe that. I don't know. It feels like Hori hasn't really put in enough work to have this be a satisfying payoff. He only really has two or so scenes involving the other students outside of Izuku. I believe he's a proper mentor to Izuku, sure, but as a real teacher for the whole class? Not really. Don't get me wrong, the idea and execution of it were fine, but the set-up needed more legwork.

Stain's "Moment": Yeah, this is something I can't forgive. Stain is such a major figure in My Hero Academia, both in and out of universe. He's the guy who changed the whole trajectory of the story and brought a whole new level of respect for the story. Hori brings him back to restore Toshinori's motivation and give them plans for All For One. And then he comes in for a big moment in the final fight. Only to be ragdolled, having accomplished nothing. There was no final moment of sacrifice, no heroic last stand. Just slapped aside and exploded. Not only does All For One's escaping feel like a mass convenience, just so happening to have a Quirk to push all the blood out of his body, but it's so disappointing for Stain. It feels like an afterthought. Like Hori remembered that Stain was around and threw him in to die. He doesn't even get a moment in the ghost realm. Come on, Hori. If you went through the trouble of having his Quirk stolen, why not do something more with it?

All For One's Backstory: Yeah, I still think this part of the story is hilarious. This is so over the top and dark that it comes full circle into being funny again. All For One's backstory feels like some edgy teenager fanfiction. Like he was born to a drug-addled mother, literally drained the life out of her to the point she died. He was nearly eaten by rats at birth, he was the real first Quirk user, he's been killing people since he was four years old. It was to the point that I thought All For One was lying about it to make himself seem cooler or more inhuman than he really was. But no, we're actually supposed to believe all of this and take it seriously. I really have to wonder what Hori was thinking with this. Is it supposed to show All For One as evil to the core? But doesn't that go against the idea that it's nurture over nature? Or maybe it's to show that the worst circumstances made the worst evil? Okay, then why is All For One so unapologetically evil, supposedly even before he was born?

Bakugou vs All For One: I find myself having very little to say about any of this. It's a big-ole fight scene with Bakugou and All For One. It doesn't feel like it really completes anything from Bakugou arc outside of his hang-up with All For One and All Might retiring. Yeah, I'm glad it got tied up and that Bakugou got to save Toshinori, but it hasn't felt all that relevant to his overall arc. Maybe I'm downplaying this a lot more than I should, but that's just how I see it. The only major hangup I have is with the whole "people wanting it bad enough changed the future for All Might." I chose to interpret this as more metaphorical than literal. Like everything that's motivating Bakugou is pushing him forward, or that all of the steps everyone took up to this point defied fate. Otherwise, we are getting into some stuff the series never talks about and never explains. At least this fight gave us the "Bakugou deals bonus damage to children" meme.

Dream Hawks: Okay, this isn't so much a real problem, but I feel like this is a big missed opportunity: why isn't Stain the one getting the vestiges to rebel? You know, the guy who had such focus and determination that he was able to ward off an entire squad of top heroes from attacking him with sheer force of will. The guy who ironically sparked a whole villain renaissance with his words about the rot at the core of the world of heroes. It'd give his death some purpose and give him one final amazing scene against All For One, giving him a chance to redeem himself after all the problems he caused the world with his dogma. Ironically, he'd be dying a hero and stopping one of the biggest threats to the world. But sure, give another scene to Hawks. It's not like he's been already been a heavy focus of the arc.

Izuku vs Tomura: We've been waiting for this fight for a while, and it did not disappoint me. Not only is the part where we finally get Tomura back, immediately making this fight far more enjoyable, but the fight itself is so cool. You can feel the struggle, exhaustion, and desperation in each of Izuku's panels. We get to see more of feral Izuku. Who doesn't want to see more of feral Izuku? What's better is that we actually get Izuku using some interesting strategies against Tomura, like pushing up the rocks to stop the spread of "Decay" while using it as cover to perform a counter attack. And having this be topped off with the sacrifice of "One For All" makes this all feel that much more harrowing of an experience, with Izuku piece and piece of himself just at a chance of victory. It's one of the few final fights of a series where I was actually worried about the main character.

Shared Dreamspace: This might just be my favorite moment in the whole arc. We get all the shared visions as our two protagonists begin to understand each other more. And for all of this talking, it never once tries to excuse Tomura for what he did. Even Tomura talks about how he doesn't regret what he's doing or why he's destroying everything. He's doing it all for himself and the League. And while Izuku can understand this, he can't condone it, and it doesn't excuse what Tomura did. It's a good way for both sides to get their points across in order to get some kind of resolution without feeling like it's breaking either of them. It's all about understanding and learning from each other, which is what this conflict has been all about. It's all so well done and pretty much exactly how I imagined a confrontation like this would go down between these two.

All For One's Return: Is it kind of frustrating that All For One has returned yet again? Sure. I can understand people getting sick and tired of him, now more than ever. However, I think it's explained well enough not to bother me, and ultimately, the only way for the story to have its cake and eat it as well. It's a clean way to remove Tomura from the story without having to dirty Izuku's hands. Tomura has made it pretty clear that he has zero intention of ever stopping, and redemption was not on the table for him. It also gives Izuku a final fight against All For One, who, while not as personal to Izuku, is the biggest evil in the series. On top of that, it fits with the idea of everyone coming together to be the greatest hero by getting their licks in on All For One. It's what the story has been pushing for the whole time: One For All fighting back against All For One.

Oboro, Aizawa, and Yamada: As much as I wanted to get excited about this part, it did feel woefully undercooked. Oboro's condition and Aizawa and Present Mic's reaction to it feel pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. They only get one chapter to hash things out, and it feels very rushed. Which is odd because it has some of the biggest impact on the arc itself, with Kurogiri teleporting everyone around and being the lynchpin in the two major paradigm shifts in the arc. It's Spinner's whole motivation for attacking the hospital, it removed Aizawa from the playing field at UA, and it ends up sending all of the doubles from the island to the fight in the forest. What we got was nice, especially Kurogiri saying he wants Tomura back when they are all fighting All For One, but sadly, it wasn't enough.

The Final Run-Up: Look, I am the biggest sucker for moments like this. Izuku is still standing in spite of losing both arms. Then everyone is coming out of the portals to the final fight, all firing out their attacks to go down. It's like Endgame, but actually thematically relevant to everyone coming together to beat the greatest threat to the world. And the part where all the good guys are helping the protagonist forward just so they can deliver that final blow. I can't help but feel hyped up as each of the other students and heroes fight back against All For One. We get All For One going out like a total punk. And we can share a final vision between Tomura and Izuku. I cannot say anything analytical or in-depth about this. I just think it hits all these different sweet spots in me while still ending things on a good note, and it brings me so much joy.

[arvandus]

Broken Dreams and Whispered Things

Dabi x GN!Reader

Warnings: SFW, hurt/comfort, centers around Dabi's birthday

WC: 1228

AUTHOR'S NOTE: WHILE THIS FIC IS SFW, MY BLOG AND OVERALL CONTENT IS NOT. AS SUCH, MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS DNI AND DO NOT FOLLOW ME OR YOU WILL BE BLOCKED.

-

You noticed that Dabi always became withdrawn in January. At first, you assumed it was the residual funk of the holiday season, a time meant for family.  Everyone in the League became rather glum around that time of year, whether they liked to admit it or not.

But for Dabi, it was different. In the beginning, you let it go. Your relationship with him was new, young... if it could even be called a relationship at all.  It was more like a silent agreement between two lonely people where each day was wrought with unpredictability and danger.

But that was before.  Now, time had passed, and you knew him better.  You knew that his dark cloud grew heavier in the middle of the month, and that there was always one day where he would leave the hideout completely, and not return until the next day.  He never said he was leaving, never said where he was going; but you could tell it was a solitude that he demanded, and so you respected it.

That day was today, now.  January 18th.  You weren’t entirely sure of its significance, although you had your suspicions.  Either way, you knew that inquiring about it was entirely off limits.

In the beginning, you had ignored it because it was what he wanted.  After this day passes, you knew his mood would improve, and he’d be back to his usual snarky self.

But now, this time, his self-imposed isolation left a twist in your gut that you couldn’t shake.  It wasn’t that you demanded him to open up to you, or that you felt cut out from his heart.  You were perfectly okay being alone by yourself during this time, and you never questioned whether he’d return to you.

But it was about the obvious pain that followed him like a cloud, haunted by ghosts that he refused to put names to.

He was gone now, and the hours ticked by as the afternoon gave way to twilight.  Twilight gave way to night.  It was a cloudy, dark and bitter cold.  Snow coated the world in silence, as if to keep Dabi’s secrets buried.

You couldn’t sleep. It was more than that, though... you wouldn’t sleep.  This time, no matter how late he returned, you felt the need to be there to greet him. You couldn’t explain why exactly, but you knew, that this time, it was what he would need.

He finally returned in the dark early hours of morning.  Midnight had come and long since gone, and you stayed up, although by this point you were laying in bed, bundled with the covers drawn tight and your arms wrapped around his pillow as you comforted yourself with the scent of him.

He didn’t know you were awake at first... you’d set your phone down, the screen going black as soon as you’d heard the doorknob twist.  Your heart had pounded nervously, unsure if your decision was a right one, and you waited, your mind ruminating.

He came in silently, setting down his belongings on the nightstand carefully as if he didn’t want to disturb.  You felt the mattress dip as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“You’re still awake,” he commented.

You opened your eyes and stared at him in the darkness.  “How did you know?”

“Your breathing is different.”

You sat up, your cover blown.  You positioned yourself behind him and wrapped your arms around his waist, your chin on his shoulder.

“I’m glad your back,” you said.

He smelled smokey, his skin hotter than usual. You knew he’d used his quirk. His hand came up and covered yours, strong fingers with calloused tips wrapped around your soft skin.

Dabi didn’t say anything at first, your words taking time to filter through his defenses.  It was different from how he usually responded... denying your comments of affection, brushing them off with barbed, self-deprecating jokes.  But this time, the sarcasm didn’t come, the fight gone from his tired body.

He didn’t pull away, didn’t speak, and so neither did you. This time, you waited, an open space for him decide his next move.

Time seemed to slow as you hugged him and he let you.

Finally, he spoke, his voice quiet.

“It was my birthday.”

Your arms tightened around him in acknowledgement. You planted a kiss to his broad shoulder. “I had a feeling.  Happy birthday.”

“It’s over now.”

“The sun’s not up yet, so it still counts.”

Dabi gave a dry laugh but didn’t protest.

It took you three heartbeats to ask your question.

“Where do you go?”

“Nowhere.” His response was automatic and you knew he was lying.  You wondered how many times he’d practiced answering that question by himself, waiting for the day you’d ask it.  You fell silent, acknowledging his resistance, allowing it to fill the space until his muscles relaxed again.

When Dabi did speak again, he spoke the truth.

“I went to see my family.”

You inhaled in surprise, and he corrected.

“From a distance.”

You rested your cheek against his shoulder blade; he never did like eye contact when he talked about anything serious, especially about himself.  And this was far more than he’d ever given you before.

“What did you see?” you asked softly.

“They visited my grave; lit the incense at my alter at the house.”

He swallowed, and you knew that was the most you would get.  The details of what he saw, of how his family mourned him, would be locked away, kept private only for himself.

Silence fell again, minutes passing.

Finally, Dabi took a deep breath and let it out on shaky lungs.  “It’s ironic, ain’t it?”

“What is?” you asked.

“That they love me more now that I’m gone.”

His words cut you deep and you forced back the tears that stung your eyes. If he knew they were there then he’d pull away, the vulnerable intimacy of the moment coming to an abrupt halt.  Anger boiled within your veins, but you forced that down too. After all, Dabi had enough anger in him to last three lifetimes; you didn’t need to add to it.

“Death is like that, I suppose...” you whispered.  “It makes people reflect on what they took for granted.”

“It’s bullshit.”

Your arms tightened around him in agreement.

Silence again.

Finally, once you had sensed his anger mellowed, you loosened your arms and adjusted your position until you were sitting next to him, your body facing his as he stayed rooted to the edge of the bed. You took his cheek in your hand and turned his face towards you.  His eyes stared back, grey in the dark. His lashes damp, and if the light were on, you knew his eyes would look bloodshot.

“What do you want, Dabi? What do you need?”

Dabi stared at you for a long moment, his hand absently coming up to cover yours.

When he spoke, his voice was hoarse, broken like ice cracking beneath the weight of his sadness.

“I want you to call me Touya.” His jaw tensed, the muscle twitching beneath your palm.  “And I need you to stay.”

Your chest tightened and you leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips.  His hand tightened over yours, his lips reciprocating.

You pulled away just enough to look into his eyes.

“Always,” you promised.

[4ngeldusstt]

S T A Y

A/N: had this on my drafts and decided to finish it somehow, enjoy!! <3

Word count: 982

Warnings: angst, kidnapping(?, suggestive.

Being a student in the UA was good, you were in your third and last year, one of the top three best heroes in your promotion, you had your provisional hero license and been working with Hawks in his agency for a year now.

Something was going down, the League of Villains was active again and Hawks made sure to keep you updated with all the information there was even though you were still a student, you worked your way into the Pro Hero world and gained their trust enough for them to count on you in important missions like this.

“Hey Y/H/N, we gotta get going.” Hawks told you as you both got into Best Jeanist’s sports car. “Endeavor is fighting with some of the members of the LOV in some abandoned headquarters, we have to offer support.” They updated you so you would be prepared, you were going to fight against members of the league, but nothing would prepare you for who you were actually going to fight against.

As we got closer to the location you saw the so familiar blue flames escaping out of the building’s broken windows making you curse under your breath, you knew this was going to happen sooner or later, you knew that you at some point would have to fight against your now ex boyfriend that you were still so much in love with, and he knew too.

When we arrived there it was Shigaraki, Twice, Spinner, Mr.Compress and Dabi. As the fight went on any of them had the guts to harm you, they were your friends at one point and still cared for you even if you were not a part of them anymore. You were never a member of the LOV officially, you where just a hero in love with a villain and you spent time with them and they grew to like you.

During that time you realized that they were not bad people, society made you believe that villains equal to bad but they were in fact actually really caring they just had different goals to yours, you learned their stories and background what lead them to be where they are and do what they’re doing, you as an empath had a lot of respect for them and understood their situations, despite the fact that you were a pro hero they didn’t hesitate to listen to you and take you in and welcomed you with kindness. They still had hatred for heroes, you didn’t want to change their vision after all, but you were the exception to them.

You used your quirk against Shigaraki trying not to rise suspicions amongst your comrades. Missing on purpose so you didn’t injure him, remembering all those hours you spent with him playing video games and when he listened to you without complaining as you vented and cried every time you argued with Dabi.

Kurogiri opened a portal out of nowhere meaning they where going to retreat already as more heros made their appearance in the situation. “Y/H/N! Be careful!” You heard Hawks yell in your direction as you felt a hand wrapping around your throat pushing you to the portal without hurting you, only for a deep voice to pull you off of the trance you didnt realize you where in “you’re coming with me baby, I ain’t letting you go that easy this time.” Somehow you felt safe. “I still love you.” Your voice coming out as a bare whisper “and I never stoped loving you princess.” The concerned faces of the pro heros as the LOV took you with them was the last thing you saw before all turned into darkness.

You woke up in a so familiar room that belonged to the boy that was now sitting on the end of the bed, his back facing you. “Why did you do that?” Your voice came out softer than you wanted it to be “The time we where apart fucked me up y/n, I know we agreed to break up but I can’t handle to be away from you, I need you with me.” You were quiet, so he kept talking “So, Shigaraki and I came up with a plan.”

You didn’t know what to feel, you were feeling nothing and everything all at once “Basically kidnapping me.” You said rolling your eyes at his words “Yeah, the plan worked though, you are here with me and these shitty heros won’t suspect from you bettaying them, they just think we kiddnapped you.” He finished the sentence with a proud smile, “But they will be looking for me, they will find me and try to take me back Toya, and you know that.” a hint of sadness could be perceived in your tone, you were the only one that he allowed to call him by his actual name, hearing it come out of your lips again made chills run down his spine, he took seat closer to you, still not locking eyes with you “I know baby, but when the time comes it will be up to you if you want to leave with them or.. stay with me.” His hand was now resting on your thigh, looking down at his own feet not being able to even look at you.

By the time you realized you where sitting on his lap, your arms resting around his shoulders as your lips connected with his, his arms instinctively wrapping around your waist holding you as close to him as he could. "No one will take me away from you.” You whispered feeling him grin against your lips “that’s my girl.” He said in the deep voice that you so much loved making you shift in your favorite seat, feeling his hand forcefully grab your ass as a response. “You’re gonna be the death of me.” He whispered as he devoured you neck.

[kywaslost]

I Told You So - Dabi

A/N: I’ll admit this is not my best work, but it’s something. 

Prompt/s Used: Person A got into a fight, even though person B told them not to do it, but person B still takes care of them afterwards. / Did it hurt?

You should have listened to your boyfriend when he said you were going to regret it. You knew deep down he was right, but you were so enraged and didn’t want to take it out on Dabi, so you went picking a fight with a few street rats. It was a low blow, and you knew that, but Dabi was out for the evening and you needed to release built up anger.

So here you were, limping back to the LoV hideout, bruises and scrapes covering your body. Blood dripped from a cut on your eyebrow into your eye, and you rubbed at it as you pulled open the door to the main entrance. The room was dimly lit by moonlight sneaking in past curtains, and it smelled musty. You sniffed as you limped into the room.

“Y/N?” You looked up to see Dabi standing in the hall, giving you a knowing look. You immediately knew he was going to make fun of you and say ‘I told you so’. However, his brows furrowed slightly with worry. “Come here.” He reached out, wrapping an arm around you so you could lean against him. Dabi led you to his private bathroom, gently lifting you to sit on the countertop. 

The villain smirked at you. “Did it hurt?”

You responded by flipping him off, then kicking him gently when he bent down to rummage through the cabinet for a first-aid kit. “Like hell.”

“Was it worth it?”

“Totally.”

Dabi stands with the first-aid kit in hand, beginning by wiping the blood from your face and tending to the cut on your forehead first. The antiseptic burns, causing you to wince slightly. “Don’t be a baby,” Dabi said quietly, dressing the wound before moving on to the much smaller cuts on your arms and legs. When he was done, he pressed a quick kiss to your lips before tossing the first-aid kit aside and picking you up. You let him, resting your head on his shoulder. Dabi carried you to his room and tossed you into the bed.

You giggled, sliding under the covers as Dabi flopped down beside you. He wrapped an arm around your waist and slid his other one under your head. You snuggled up to him, enjoying his warmth. Within minutes you were fast asleep. The last thing you remember hearing before falling asleep was a soft, “I told you so.”

[satancopilotsmytardis]

Slipping Under

Pairing: Shigadabi

Rating: E

Contents: Rape/Non-con, Octopus!Shigaraki, Panther!Dabi, shifter AU, no quirks AU, non-human genitalia, tentacle dicks, tentacle rape, oviposition, paralytics, mindbreak/Stockholm Syndrome, drowning, physical abuse, threats of violence, double penetration, orgasm delay/denial, prostate milking, loss of virginity, forced feminization, face fucking, cum swallowing, creampie, breeding kink (no mpreg), infertility, egg birth, dacryphilia, multiple orgasms, anal gaping, praise kink, captor/captive romance, twisted and fluffy feelings, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat

You can also read on AO3 here!

Word Count: 14859

The forest burning was not his fault. He was given an entire mountain range to patrol on his own, and the fact that the small group of mortal warriors had even made it to him was evidence that someone else was not doing their job. But when the torch fell, when the brush caught before Dabi could stop it in favor of making sure there were no survivors to bring back to the edge of their civilization, he had expected to die a hero. His father had him treated, but only to bring him to trial for failure to uphold his duties. He was stripped of his clan, renamed for the fire that had destroyed so much of the mountainside, and exiled. 

Six months since then, six months of pain and wandering. Six months since he could shift fully, sleep comfortably, fill his stomach. And Dabi is tired. When he finds a river he can fish he nearly sobs his relief. Chasing down prey has been nearly impossible with his skin still stapled together, but fishing, that is waiting and striking once. He finds a place along the bank, drinks deeply, and then waits. 

///

For three days he is able to feed himself, sleeping in the tall plants, trying to give his exhausted body the time it needs to heal. He doesn't see any other shifters, though other animals come to drink from the river. None that pose him any threat though and he is determined to stay here until he is able to shift again. 

On the forth day as he watches the water move languidly, he sees a faint shadow much further down the river. He sniffs, turning his attention to it. Another panther? He can't smell it if it is. Maybe a larger fish? He starts to move carefully in that direction. He'll stay on the bank, but he would like to know if something has come to invade his little place of peace. He isn't sure if he's prepared for a fight, but he can try. He doesn't see the shadow anymore, but as he goes along the bank he notices that the water gets much deeper. He can't see the bottom anymore, a darker blue here that he thinks means it's likely deep enough to dive into.

Deeper enough that he imagines larger fish will probably be able to swim through this area and his stomach growls. The smaller ones he's been able to catch are good, but he would love to get something large enough to put a stone in his gut, something to fill him so that he can go and fins a tree to sleep in for the rest of the day. That would be possibly the best thing that could happen today. He lingers on the bank and waits. 

The sun is just starting to dye the land in shades of golden light when he sees a bigger shadow moving beneath the water. He can't tell what kind of fish it is, but he doesn't care, it's large enough that he knows it will be a good meal. He moves up to the very edge of the bank, ready to catch it as it moves closer to the surface, and Dabi realizes that the long shape might actually be an eel or a snake. He starts to retreat, but movement catches his attention out of the corner of his eye and terror spikes through his veins. 

The octopusfolk had tucked his torso and other limbs up against the crevasse of rock along the embankment, and as Dabi moves in so close to the edge of the water, he strikes. Dabi tries to move, he tries to scratch out at him with his claws, but there are too many limbs wrapping like mortal steel shackles around his limbs, his neck, his waist, and before he can even let out a yowl, he is being pulled into the river. 

He tries to thrash as the water rushes into his nose and over his eyes, managing to only get a bit of it uncomfortably into his throat from his surprise before he holds his breath as best he can as panic surges through him. He opens his mouth to snap at the limbs holding him, but that just makes the tentacle tighten so sharply around his neck that the blood flow is crushed as surely as his breath would have been, making dark spots bloom across his vision. He tries again anyway. This creature will either drown him or break his neck if he doesn't fight back. The tentacles wrench his arms behind his back at a hard angle that nearly make him cry out. He's dizzy from the pain more so than the loss of oxygen so far. 

It takes him a second through that haze to realize that they are moving through the murky water. The octopus is swimming upstream, far past where Dabi has ever traveled before. Dragging him back to his den to eat, he guesses and tries to pull out of the impossibly tight embrace again. If anything that only makes his lungs ache more, the pressure building and building like he's burning again as his his chest starves for air. He fights the crushing darkness that is moving in along the edges of his eyes, the screaming terror in his mind, the tight grip on his limbs. He survived alone when so many humans came to destroy their home. He survived being burned and exiled from his community, surely there is a way for him to survive this. 

As the water finally fills his mouth again and his vision goes dark, he thinks that will be his last thought before he dies.

///

He wakes up, drenched, his throat and nose burning, and on a different embankment. He coughs, trying to clear that horrible ache from his throat and chest, and tries to get his limbs under him. His whole body feels weak, and his limbs ache sharply from being restrained, but he manages to push himself up from the stones and sand and take in his surroundings. He's... in a mountain? Maybe? He's not certain. He just knows that he's surrounded on all sides by tall stone walls, tapering up to about a hundred feet until he can see the sky above. All around him, in maybe eighty feet of space, brush and only a single large tree growing up towards the light, sits around the semicircular pool of water that must lead from the river into this grotto or sorts. 

He starts to push himself off of the ground and away from the water, not eager to go near that for the moment as he tries to shake the terror of drowning. Not a moment too soon as the octopus's head breaches the slight ripples of the pond. Long white hair drips across his face, and in the water around his shoulders. There's a strange texture around his lips and eyes which shine as bright as blood, set into a pale face. Scars litter his face, over one eye, slashed across his lip, and spilling down to the bare bits of his shoulders that Dabi can see above the water. 

His throat is still aching, but he bares his teeth and tries to growl anyway. The sound rattles out of him shakily, and the octopus doesn't look intimidated in the slightest. 

"You were fishing my river." 

"It's a river, no one owns it." He snaps right back. The creature's voice isn't any deeper than his own, but there's a raspy quality to it that makes his fur stand on end. His teeth are more needle-like as his mouth opens around his words, but they're still sharp. Definitely could take a chunk out of him and it's a miracle that he hadn't tried that already. 

"This is my river, hadn't you noticed that no other creatures came to drink in it, or fish nearby? Have you ever even seen a bird fly overhead?" 

Dabi bristles. No. He had been grateful for that at the time, so nervous about getting into a fight while he was still healing, that he had just taken it as a rare stroke of good luck. "...I'm not from here." 

"Clearly. But that doesn't excuse theft. I have killed every creature who dared be as bold as you." The octopus's head tilts slightly. "But you've made this mistake at an interesting time, so I'll offer you a choice: I can kill you, like I have all of the others, or you will remain here for... four months. You will be mine for that time and I will care for you, and assist you in leaving this place when that time is finished." 

"Why the fuck would I agree to any of that and not just kill you?" 

"Because even if you were to get the upper hand in a fight against me," and Dabi bristles as the creature's eyes drag over him to find the scars and sutures keeping his skin in place. "You won't be able to escape. No land-born creature has ever been able to hold their breath long enough to find the entrance to this grotto, and the walls are too sheer for any to climb. Even if you killed me, you would starve or drown alone in here." His voice is too calm and even, too sure. It makes Dabi's skin crawl and a hollowness fill his gut. 

"...Why are those the only two options? I didn't know the river was your territory. I know now. You could just let me leave and I won't ever fish it again." 

"And what would stop you from thinking that maybe, some other time, that you could get away with just a sip, just a bite, here or there? Surely you could manage that, since I cannot possibly monitor the entire length of it at all times. No. Those who violate my territory die. You are being given one exception." 

"...There's nothing to eat here." 

"I will feed you." 

Dabi looks up at the top of the cavern again, at the single tree that grows up towards that light, at the water that is so deep, even only a yard and a half from the bank he's on, that he cannot see the octopus's dark limbs beneath the surface.

"...Four months?"

"Four months. You will belong to me, panther." And there is a warning in that tone, but it was the same warning that came with the knowledge he will die here otherwise even if he refuses.

"...Fine." 

"Come here." The octopus swims along the bank, further along the curve of it and Dabi hesitantly stands and follows him. 

He's lead to a place that might be a bed or sorts for the creature. It's a pool of water, made by building up rocks to dam in about a foot of water, moss grown in thick layers over the bottom and up the sides where the sand does not touch. The octopus pulls himself into it and Dabi realizes that he's even larger than he thought he was, his tentacles easily as long as Dabi himself is tall. His arms and chest are also heavily scared with his fingers ending in wicked black talons that curve off of his nailbeds. Dabi has not often felt disconcerted around other predators, but this creature makes an instinctive fear shudder down his spine. Seafolk don't normally make their homes this far inland, and his alien form makes something in him want to run very, very far away as quickly as possible. 

"What should I call you?" He doesn't even know if seafolk have names like theirs. 

"It's rude to ask for a name without offering one yourself. Though I'm not certain why I'm surprised given you had no qualms about stealing from me." 

"I didn't know," he snaps, his cheeks going hot with his frustration and shame. The octopus looks entirely unimpressed and unmoved by the outburst. "...Dabi." 

"For now, all you need to know is that I am your master, and you can address me as such." 

"Fuck you." He would never say that his mouth gets him out of trouble nearly half as often as it gets him into it, but he knows before the last syllable has even left his lips that he should not have said the first. 

The octopus bares his teeth with an angry chitter, three of those long, inky tentacles reaching out and lashing tight around his ankles, his waist, a wrist, and yanking. He can't even try to dig his heels into the bank because he is startlingly certain that if he did his arm would get dislocated in the process. His center of gravity shifts sharply, and he's torn from the bank and into the pool, his feet splash in and Dabi's pulse spikes sharply with his fear as he tumbles, terrified that he will fall back and crack his head open on some of the rocks built up around the edge, but there are more tentacles, around his chest, catching his other wrist, wrapping tight around his throat, the skin slick and cold like a fish. His back hits soft algae, and then the creature is right in his face, those bright red eyes furious and his teeth bared. Dabi tries to growl right back, but the sound is shaky even to his own ears as his arms are pined beneath him painfully and the weight of this creature over him, the sharpness of his talons as he is free to scratch them over Dabi's scalp as he knots one hand roughly into the tangle of his hair between his ears and pulls hard enough that Dabi knows some of his hair must be torn out, make his display much more frightening. 

"You are going to learn your place if you want to survive this." 

"Fuck, let go!"

"You do not make demands of me, kitten." Dabi lets out a feline yowl as the hand pulls harder, as the tentacles wrench his limbs to sharper angles and put pain on his joints that threatens to break them, that threaten to pull his skin free of the sutures.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" It's an old panic, an ingrained one from living with his father who's temper could turn on a dime and where submission, apologies, pleading, were sometimes the only way that the pain of the beatings, or at least the duration of them would lessen. "I'm sorry--Master! Please!" It's a panic that makes his already aching chest feel like it's going to collapse in on itself. Spirits of the earth, what did he submit himself to? 

"That's better, if you manage to be good, then I'll let you eat tonight before you sleep." 

Dabi whimpers as his hair is let go of, but his limbs aren't released. The octopus is just moving his hands to catch his waist, forcing him onto his stomach, making sure that his chin is resting just barely above the waterline in the pool, an achingly uncomfortable scrap of safety between breath and being dragged just low enough to drown in the shallowest part of the water. He holds still, his tail flicking with his agitation, but he doesn't dare say a word after just two put him in this position. 

"Much better, kitten." One of his hands moves along Dabi's back, sharp claws a bare prickle against his skin as he finds the seam that cuts across his back. "You're already so damaged," The words sting almost as sharply as the tight grip holding both of his wrist tight to the small of his back do. "If I'm not careful you'll break before I even make proper use of you. That would be a shame, but I think I will remember to be careful if you remember to behave. Do you think that sounds fair, kitten?" The words are soft and light compared to his anger, but that tone of threat is still laced through each one. 

"Yes, Master." His voice is thin with his fear. 

"That's a good girl." 

Dabi flinches, and then winces as the tentacles holding his limbs tighten a little more. "I--I'm not a girl," He vaguely knows that seafolk can be strange when it comes to their genders and sex, but he didn't know it was so different that the octopus would mistake him for--

"You will be for me, at least until my mating season is over." A new sound in the octopus's voice, something lower and rumbling almost like a purr, as his hands move to the fabric slung around Dabi's waist. It's just a strip of cloth, just the bare minimum for modesty, but nothing that would impede him if he shifted fully, if he still could when his skin is so damaged. Now it's pushed up and Dabi tries to twist away, only for his body to be pulled down, the other hand pushing his face into the water and holding him there. His whole body wants to thrash harder, but Dabi holds his breath and forces himself still. The creature keeps him there as he tears the fabric from around his waist and palms his ass, holds him under until Dabi's lungs are burning for the second time today, and only lets go of his head when he feels his body starting to give aborted little twitches to be free. 

As soon as he can, Dabi pulls his head up and gasps for breath, trying to get enough to take away the dark spots that are flickering across his vision. But even desperately trying to suck in as much air as he can, Dabi can't ignore one of those icy, slick appendages slipping between his cheeks as a hand grabs one and holds him open for it, talons biting stinging pricks into his skin. 

"Don't--" 

"You don't tell me what to do, kitten, or do you need another reminder so soon?" 

Dabi whimpers, "Please," 

"Better," the octopus drags the tip of his tentacle over Dabi's hole, the feeling of it sharply unpleasant, so cold and strangely slick with something that certainly feels thicker than the water he thought was giving it the texture. He's never had someone touch him there, always far too busy with his duties to pursue a mate of any gender, but he understand what this means. Why the octopus would bother to give him an option of living in the first place. "Since this is the first time," Dabi's gut is hollow with his terror, his helplessness as he is held prone beneath this creature. "You can plead all you want, kitten. You can beg me to stop, tell me if it hurts, and as long as you don't move away, or try to use those sharp teeth or claws, then I'll let you. But if you misbehave, I'm going to break your arms and jaw. Am I clear?" He punctuates the question by bringing the fine tip of his tentacle to his hole and prodding harshly at the tight ring of muscles, trying to force them open as Dabi's whole body only goes even tighter with his fear. 

He can't help it when his response is as much a sob as it is words, "Yes, Master." 

"Good girl." 

The tears burn and ache as they slip across his cheeks and Dabi is even more sharply confused because the sand turns red where they drip off of his face. It takes him a moment to realize, "I'm bleeding." 

The octopus chuffs. "I've barely touched you, don't be so dramatic. But you will if you don't relax for me." The tentacle presses more firmly against his center, the tip is so thin that it manages to press just inside and Dabi yelps. 

"N-No! My, my face. There's blood, please!" He doesn't know what exactly he's hoping for. If the creature is willing to mate him after breaking his limbs, he doubts bleeding will really make it stop. But the octopus does growl lowly in his throat before easing up on his body a bit. Enough so that Dabi can turn his face back a bit to him. 

The annoyance on the monster's face turns to some amount of surprise, an alien-sounding chitter slipping out of his throat as his free hand moves to catch some of the tears, the blood, slipping down his cheeks. "Oh, kitten, I think your eyes are as damaged as the rest of you." His thumb strokes up beneath his eye, talon dangerously close to the soft organ and Dabi whimpers. 

The temptation to bite his wrist is enormous, but he restrains himself with another soft sob. A broken jaw is a death sentence, a slow and painful one by starvation, and if not that, without healers, if he did manage to survive, he may never hunt for himself again, would never be able to adequately defend himself either. It would be a half life of him barely limping along until hunger or a worse predator or human killed him. He's already broken, he can't imagine being that. 

"It's alright, they're still such a pretty color." And the tone is a little more gentle than it was before. But the thought of a possible reprieve is barely a flicker on the edge of his mind before the tentacle starts to stroke just inside of him. Dabi shakes his head weakly, words caught in his throat. "It will feel good if you let it, kitten." Not even the barest flicker of mercy in his tone, or his actions as he starts to rub more insistently just inside, trying to work his muscles open. 

The appendage is slick, slicker than it was even before, even through the water that is up to his waist as his body is moved to the creature's preferences, though he allows is head to stay above the pool this time. The slickness drips inside of him, spreading that wetness around and Dabi whimpers as he feels his muscles starting to tingle. It's a strange sensation, not numb, not painful, not even just the pressure of having something trying to get inside. It's something he's never felt before and it makes his tail flick and his breathing hitch. 

The octopus sees his moving tail and curls a hand around the base, stroking his thumb over where his fur meets his skin and Dabi yelps, his whole body jolting in the tight grip. "Don't, please!" Terror in his throat as he thinks the appendage is going to be torn away. But the hand just tightens and strokes, somewhere else Dabi hasn't ever had a touch before and he's shuddering and whimpering as his muscles loosen involuntarily because that... feels good. He whimpers again as the tentacle takes that split second of reprieve to push in deeper, easily two inches inside of him now, and the taper starts to thicken. And that motion forces the muscles even wider, the tentacle stronger than his body, holding him open as the octopus chitters low in his ear as he leans in to lick away the bloody tears still slipping down his cheeks. 

"That's it baby girl, open up for me." 

Another thin sob slips from his throat as the tentacle moves deeper, stroking inside of him and it's so chilled against his burning insides that he can feel each movement of it, each flickering press of suckers inside of him as it rubs and crooks. That tingling that was going through him starts to spread through his legs, up his abdomen and into his tail. It's with another fearful cry that Dabi realizes that he can't move at all from the waist down, even if he can still feel the tentacles moving over his skin. 

"I--I can't--" 

"Already? Good." Dabi yowls as with that confirmation, the tentacles go from restraining his legs to spreading them open wider, one thick coil of his limb going beneath his pelvis and pulling him up a bit more so that he's presenting for the other and ready to be mounted. Dabi bites his lip hard to keep from crying out as shame spills through his body, but that doesn't mean that the octopus can't feel it himself. "Oh, kitten, you like it this much?" As the tentacle moves more deliberately under his pelvis, moves so that it can cup his half-hard cock and balls between his suckers. 

Dabi shakes his head weakly, words failing him, but there's no hiding away from the sour pleasure that's starting to stoke through him as one sucker presses to his head like a fluttering mouth and starts to kiss and pull at him there. He whimpers, wanting to squirm away, but he can't move at all, even as the tentacles that were restraining his arms let go as well, their grip not needed anymore as whatever the octopus has done to make his muscles weak spreads through the rest of his body. 

The octopus hums and fucks his tentacle deeper into his body, thickening the length of it until Dabi's muscles are burning with the stretch, and it puts a pressure on something inside of him. Something that makes pleasure jolt along his nerves and makes his cock thicken the rest of the way as a broken moan bubbles out of his throat. "That's it, baby girl. I told you it would feel good. Can't even pretend you don't want it anymore." He murmurs, words cut through with a constant chittering purr. His mouth galls to the back of Dabi's neck, pressing soft kisses there as he strokes his cock and his insides so firmly in the same move. It feels good and Dabi is sick to his stomach with that. 

"No, please, I don't, please, stop, please," he pleads with another sob, trying to fight away the paralytic that is holding him down. 

"You don't want it?" He fucks into him again roughly, making sure to seal a sucker over that spot inside of him and giving a hard pull that nearly makes Dabi's vision white out as he screams as his cock aches from how blinding that burst of pleasure is. "This doesn't feel good, baby? You don't want to cum with my cocks inside of you?" 

It's hard to focus as a sweat breaks out across his body as he is rendered so helpless beneath the creature. He can barely manage it, but his muscles move just enough for the slightest shake of his head as he cries. 

"Alright, kitten, you won't then." And the tentacle beneath his pelvis shifts. The thinnest part of it, another joining, reach between his legs and wrap firmly around the base of his cock and his balls, not quite causing pain, but applying a choking pressure to him there that he's never felt before. The tentacle inside him retreats, slithering out of him and coiling wetly against his thigh so that he can move a hand to his ass instead. His thumb strokes around his rim, humiliating Dabi with how wide he can feel that he's been stretched. "There, just wide enough to fit, and so much easier than I was expecting. I didn't even have to break you." 

There's shifting in the water that he hates, that fills him with fear as the monster presumably readies his cock to push inside. Dabi strains his vision, trying to see over his shoulder, one cheek pressed firmly to the sand, and watches with horror as two new tentacles crawl out from underneath the spill of the others. These are different, both as stark white as his hair, and neither having suckers until about halfway along their lengths, but one has a wider, diamond-shaped head that curves inwards slightly like a spoon, and the other has a more bulbous tip. And they're both huge. The same size as the rest of his tentacles. He hears the octopus groan softly as they come out from beneath him, dripping and rubbing against one another before they start to reach for him like the others have. 

"Stop, please! Please, they won't fit--!" He cries out as his tail is tugged on as the octopus gives him a warning snarl. "Please, Master, please don't," he corrects with a sob, even though he knows the words are falling on deaf ears. The diamond-shaped head presses against him first, drenching his hole with its slick as it dips just inside before pulling out, until there is so much slick that Dabi can feel it rolling down his balls. "Master," he sounds breathless, his eyes burning with tears, his face hot with his humiliation, and a horrible ache making itself know in his cock as the head starts to push all the way inside, the widest part of it making him stretch again. It's not painful. Dabi wishes it were painful. He doesn't want the pleasure that spills along his spine as the cock pulses and shifts, feeding itself inch-by-inch inside of his limp body. 

He brings it as deep as he had the first tentacle before he pulls it all the way back out in one smooth movement that has Dabi's mouth filling with blood as he bites into his lower lip to keep the sounds of his unwanted pleasure behind his teeth. The octopus fucks it into him again, trusting his slick has made him more than wet enough for it, and manages to do so, pushing in even deeper and making Dabi see stars again. The loud moan that echoes against the cavern walls is met with a cruel laugh and Dabi wishes he'd chosen death. 

"My pretty, broken kitten," he chitters, hands stroking over his skin as he keeps fucking him on the first cock. "Just needs her pussy stuffed full to turn into such a sweet little thing." He feels the more bulbus head starting to stroke at his rim too, "Don't worry, baby girl, you're going to be full for days." 

Days? Terror tries to fight its way through the pleasure. Can octopuses mate for days at a time? He'll die. He really will die if the creature-- Dabi keens his distress as the diamond head pulls all the way out so that both of his cocks can push inside together. The pressure is blinding and radiates sharply to his cock and balls as the tentacles there tighten their hold, as Dabi realizes with a sob, that he would have cum if not for their choking presence. He hears the octopus starting to click in the back of his throat, breathy sounds that he thinks are the creature's own pleasure as he starts to slowly work both of his cocks deeper inside of Dabi's body. He doesn't pull them back nearly as far again, only enough to work more slick inside of him as it drips all over his skin, and then goes deeper. 

Dabi is scared he's going to push in so deep that he'll be able to feel him in his throat, but something inside of him, some invisible tightening before he reaches too deep inside, keeps the octopus from pushing all the way into his guts. It's still sensation there that he's never felt before, pressure and an awareness inside of him that is dizzying. 

"Breathe, kitten, you're alright. You're doing such a good job, you just need to keep breathing for me, baby girl." Only realizes as his hand strokes his hair between his ears that he's hyperventilating. He rubs and strokes inside at that place, his cocks rubbing against each other, along Dabi's walls, faster, more insistently, and he hears the octopus's breath go a little rougher with his pleasure. He realizes then that he must be getting close.

"Don't, too full, please--" he sobs weakly, but looses any other words as he feels one of the cocks twitch more irregularly, and then he's getting even fuller, soaking wet, as the octopus starts to cum. Dabi mewls, bloody tears dripping down his face because it's so much, too much. 

But not enough for him to not notice the solid bump that is suddenly pressing at his rim. Wider than the other tentacles, inside of it, and pushing insistently against the muscles. Dabi didn't think he could be stretched any wider, but the bump pushes and his muscles are helpless to do anything but open wider or tear. The slickness and toxin do their work of forcing him to accept the bulge, and it feels so solid as it moves down the length of one of the tentacles, until it's pressing against that tight spot deep inside of him too, adding more inside that makes him whimper. The solid thing seems to slip free of his tentacle and before Dabi can even think to ask what he's doing, another is pressing at his rim. 

Three more slip inside of him, each squeezing a mixture of the octopus's slick and cum out of his aching hole, and Dabi is sure that he would be writhing if his body weren't paralyzed. As it is, "Please, Master, please," He begs weakly, eyes puffy from crying and dizzy from how full he is and how badly his cock hurts as more and more of the round things are pushed inside. 

"What is it baby girl? Not full enough yet? Don't worry, kitten, I have plenty of more eggs for you." Eggs? That's what he's putting inside of him? Dabi tries to move, to thrash away, but the toxins keep him still and weeping against the sand as a fifth pushes past his rim, the cocks are having to draw a little further out of him with each new one, he whimpers loudly as he does the pressure against that special place inside of him is too much and there's a burning, aching pleasure-pain that's radiating from there to his balls. A sharp heat that is so noticeable against the cool slide of the tentacles holding him tight as it travels along the length of his dick. Dabi cries out in humiliation as he feels something starting to pour out of his cock, burning hot and releasing a little bit of that pressure as a sixth egg stretches past his sore hole. It's a shaky, embarrassing pleasure, and he can't even look between his legs as something thinner than his cum, but thicker than urine spills out of him in a constant stream. So hot and so much, that the octopus notices as it runs all along the dark coils of his tentacles. 

He chitters with his amusement. "Oh, kitten, like being filled up so much you squirted? Even after all of that whining?" He chitters contentedly as he nuzzles into his neck, pressing a kiss to his skin, and releasing one of the tentacles tight around his shaft so that the liquid can pour out of him faster and the tentacle can make it feel even better as it strokes him, milking each drop out as it does. Then he moves the parts of his cocks still inside him experimentally. "Hmm, I think you have room for one more, don't you?" Dabi sobs. 

"N-no, please," 

"Two then." 

Dabi learns the lesson even without the threat on the edge of his voice. "Two, Master." He agrees, scared of being torn open around a third, or nature abound, a fourth. It's a fresh humiliation that as the final two eggs are pushed inside, he doesn't stop... squirting until the octopus fully draws his tentacles out and starts to knead at his hole, coaxing the muscles closed around the mess that keeps threatening to drip out. 

"There, baby. You did such a good job. Going to make the perfect incubator for me, aren't you?" The octopus picks him up, rolling him onto his back when he thinks that he can, and Dabi can't help but whimper because he's so full still, and he can feel the eggs rubbing and moving inside of him. Can see himself then, and the thin milky cum that has spilled all over the tentacles that were around him and across his stomach and thighs. And his stomach, it's not as flat as it was before. Not bulging, even though he thinks it should be from how full he feels, but certainly a bit bloated like he's eaten a sizable meal. The octopus puts a clawed hand there, pressing softly and Dabi mewls in humiliation as the pressure makes more of the creature's cum leak out from his achy hole. 

The creature chuckles. "Why don't you nap for a while, kitten? I'm sure you're tired. You were so well-behaved, I'll go find something for you to eat." Leans up and presses a kiss to the tip of his nose with a mocking sweetness. "And when I come back, if you've misbehaved, or tried to take any of my eggs out, then I'll pump your stomach full of them as well. Understand?" 

"...Yes, Master." He doesn't know if he'll need to break his jaw to open is mouth wide enough to accept the tentacle, and he doesn't want to find out. 

"Good girl." He lifts him easily, getting him onto the bank properly, and laying him down so that he's not in the water or at risk of drowning if he somehow shifts before getting full control of his limbs back. The octopus then slips back out of his bed, moving three of the stones so that the dirty water from their mating can spill back into the wider pool and be refreshed with a cleaner flow from the river. Then he disappears under the waves again, and once he's gone. Dabi lets his body be wracked with deep, wrenching sobs. 

///

The feeling came back to his body after an hour or so, but Dabi couldn't really bring himself to move, terrified that any movement might make the eggs inside of him shift and slip out of his sore hole, cum still slowly leaking out of him and creating a puddle in the sand. After another hour, the sun had started to set and the octopus returned with a large fish of a breed that Dabi hadn't ever seen, and instructed him to eat. He hadn't wanted to, sick to his stomach from what had happened before, but too scared to disobey. 

With his stomach full, the exhaustion from his body had finally overtaken him, and he fell asleep as the creature watched him from his pool. 

///

When he wakes the next day, it's because he's whimpering. A hazy warmth has spread through his limbs and made them tingle and even just shifting the slightest bit has him shoving his knuckles between his teeth because... he's hard. The eggs inside of him have moved in his sleep, settle against that spot inside, and his cock is straining up against his stomach, must have been for a while because he's smeared with his pre and feels so achingly close. He lets out a yelp when hands catch him around his biceps as the octopus pulls himself out of his pool with a yawn. 

"Oh kitten, that didn't last long. Even less compatible than I thought. Come here." He locks an arm around his chest before Dabi can try and claw at him, and pulls him into his embrace, a few of his tentacles catch around his thighs and spread them open. Dabi squeaks, feeling the weight of one of the eggs against his hole,

"W-wait--" and desperately not wanting to be punished the way he was threatened the night before. 

"Shh," one of his tentacles comes up to his hole and rubs around it gently, prodding lightly at his center as he hums softly. "Looks like they're ready to come out, kitten. Stay still and let me help." One of the appendages moves to wrap around his cock and balls again, putting that choking pressure in him from root to tip like he had the day before and Dabi lets out a low, feline whine. "You said you didn't want to cum, baby girl. So now you won't. Maybe if you're good for me until the next clutch, you'll earn a reward." 

The tentacle prods around his hole like it had before, but this time, he can't try to keep his muscles tense even if he wanted to, and just a few passes has the octopus's cum pouring out of him, pushing one of the eggs right up against his rim, and Dabi doesn't think he's imagining that they feel... bigger than they were yesterday. His cock twitches in the confines of the tentacles, a shaky, foreign pleasure making his whole body tremble in the monster's arms. The tip slips inside of him, pulling his hole wider as the creature's other hand goes and presses on that slight bloat low on his stomach and the reaction is instantaneous. Dabi lets out a loud moan as the egg squeezes itself out of his hole, that burst of relief at the slight lessening of the ache inside of him making his cock throb and pleasure surge through him. 

"There," one of the unoccupied tentacles moves between his legs and brings up the egg from the sand, moving to swish it through the water to clean it before the octopus brings it up and offers it to Dabi. It's a little bit larger than his fist, and the color of amethyst, perfectly round and almost gelatinous looking. It feels squishy in his palms when he hesitantly opens them to accept it, and it's warm from... his body in his hands. The octopus presses a kiss to his temple, "Now let's get out the others." 

It's an achingly long process, lasting until the sun is high overhead, as the tentacle works its way inside of him and slowly coaxes the eggs close enough to his hole that he can manage to push them out, each one feeling so massive as he does and putting an exhausting strain on his muscles. He's not even paralyzed today, but he couldn't try to swipe at or bite the other creature if he wanted to, not when he feels absolutely hollowed out  around the slow emptiness that's building inside of him and how badly his cock is aching, flushed so dark and not allowed to cum. By the fifth egg, Dabi is crying again, hitching little gasps and sobs around tiny pitiful mewls as he's made to... give birth to this monster's eggs. His tentacle pushes in deeper to catch the next egg and Dabi nearly claws at his arm with his free hand, other being forced to hold the clutch as they're pulled from him, as his pleasure spikes white-hot in his veins. 

"Master," The word slips out on a loud moan, his back arching against the creature's chest as his hips jump and rock, angling down to try and chase that feeling. 

He can feel the other's chest rumbling with those chittering purrs again as he pulls the next egg closer, and the next after that, each subsequent one making sure to drag over that special place that strips back the horror of what is being done to him and leaves Dabi writhing with his pleasure. He can't stop moaning and whimpering each time an egg slips free he's emptier, and that hollowness is so sharply uncomfortable. When the last one slips free and he is left empty, Dabi gives a rougher sob, shaking his head weakly. He-- he needs more. Even with the choked pressure of his cock, he we so, so close to that thinner pleasure that he felt yesterday when he'd-- when he'd squirted for the monster. He would take anything to have relief after enduring this all for so long, and his throat is so thick, his stomach a sickened knot, as he begs, 

"Please, Master, please," just for any hope of relief. 

"I'm going to enjoy keeping you just like this, kitten." He purrs, but he does feed a tentacle back inside of Dabi's gaping hole and start to rub against that place. It feels swollen and achy, but so good, and fresh tears stream across his cheeks as Dabi's mouth falls open around his moans as that burning pleasure builds inside of him again. Builds higher and higher, until he feels it along his length, and gets to watch this time as a fresh bead of pre joins the mess already all over his stomach before the drop becomes a stream and it just starts to pour out of him in a constant flow until he's soaked again with the fluid, little moans and relieved sobs slipping from his throat as he's finally, finally allowed relief for the first time since he woke. 

By the time his cock stops dripping, Dabi's body is a mess again. The octopus's slick and cum all down his thighs, his own across his stomach, his face dripping with his bloody tears, and his whole body drenched in sweat. He can't do anything other than slump bonelessly against the monster's chest, so tired that all he wants to do is sleep again. Another soft kiss gets pressed to his temple before the tentacles pull away from his skin and the octopus is shifting him to lay down back against the sand. 

"You did a very good job, baby girl." The monster praises as he starts to gently take each of the eggs from his arms. "Rest up. When you're tight again, it will be time to give you the next clutch." 

He's so exhausted that even the sharper spike of fear that goes through him then isn't enough to force his limbs into movement, as he lays aching in the sand.

///

It takes two days before the creature thinks that he's ready to take more of the eggs, and again he's held down, paralyzed, and fucked full of the eggs and his cum. And again, the next day he's cradled in his arms until the very last one has been pushed out of his body. It's a horrible, exhausting cycle that leaves Dabi weaker than he could have ever imagined being, especially as the burns continue to try to heal across his body. But the exhaustion is not nearly as deep as he pretends that it is as he waits for the octopus to leave again to patrol his territory after the eggs have been removed again. The creature takes those with him, as he did after the first time, and Dabi doesn't know if he's storing them deep in the pool until they hatch or if he's hiding them away because Dabi is more than tempted to crush every single one to ensure that no other monsters like that one are born. He tests how weak his legs are and then is careful as he goes over to the pool. The creature helped him bathe after he hid away the first clutch, and he doubts that it will look suspicious if he is in the water when he returns if he comes back and finds him in it. Dabi hopes he won't though. 

He slips into the water, deepening his breaths slowly until he's taken in as much oxygen as he can, and then starting to swim down. His eyes try to adjust to the dark as he swims down and then holds still, feeling the current in the water and then moving into it. The current has to be where the river flows, and he is bound and determined to swim out. But the pool is deep. Far deeper than he thought it was. He tries swimming towards the hardest current, but the water gets so dark that he can't see anymore, and his chest aches sharply. He's forced to try to return to the surface to suck in deep gasps of air, and when his lungs are full, he tries twice more. Each time he gets no closer to finding the exit through the water.

When he cannot stand to experience that disappointment anymore, he gets out of the water and begins to move around the modest chamber. The walls are sheer to the top, with very few places to hold onto, and too tough for his claws to pierce to afford him any leverage to climb, and there are no other cracks or crevasses in the dirt or stone for him to get through. He brings a stone from the shore and tries to chip it against the rocks, but the sound is horrendously loud, and the rock in his hand chips faster than the wall. He tries to dig at the earth, but the cavern walls are set in deep to the ground, and he cannot find the edge. With all of his other options explored, he moves to the center of the cavern and to the tree. 

Climbing this, at least, is easy. He has been climbing trees all his life and he has no trouble getting up high into the bows and branches. But when he is at the very top, he confirms what he assumed from below. The tree is the highest vantage point in the cavern, but the top of it, that little hole of daylight that streams through, is still nearly sixty feet above him. With the tree nowhere close to any of the walls, Dabi can't even risk leaping from it and trying to grab onto the rock and attempt to claw his way up. He can just sit, a little ways off of the ground. 

It's not until the creature returns with a collection of fish that he realizes that he has never seen him properly on the land. The octopus glances around the enclosure for a moment before looking up to find Dabi in the tree. 

"Get down from there and come eat." 

Dabi finds his nerve. "No." 

The octopus pauses setting his catch on the edge of the bank and looks up at him. "Dabi, if you don't come down from there right now, I am going to break your leg." 

"I've already laid your clutch, twice. That is more than enough compensation for fishing your river. Let me go." 

"No. You agreed to four months as mine." 

"As a prisoner, not as a-- a hatchery!" 

"Would you rather be dead than my mate for a few months?" The creature hisses back, his limbs whipping through the water with his agitation. Dabi's throat goes tight. He doesn't want either. "Fine. You can starve up there until you're ready to come down." And he gathers up the fish and disappears back into the water, leaving Dabi trapped and alone again. 

///

He stays in the tree all of the next day, constantly searching the water for even a flicker of movement from the octopus, but he can't find any. His stomach is achingly hollow by the time the sun sets that night with no sign of him. 

By the second day, Dabi knows things are going to be much worse. He didn't think this through. He should have brought some water up with him however he could, because his thirst is a constant agony sitting on the edge of his mind and his lips dry and parched. If he doesn't drink something in the next day or so, he won't have to worry about living long enough to starve slowly because he'll die of thirst first. He won't even last out the week without water. He holds out for another half a day, watching the water for any movement with his thirst growing so intense that he's afraid that he'll pass out before he can even reach the bank. Maybe he can run down and get some to drink quickly and then run back to the tree before the creature notices?

He is shaky and weak as he climbs back down, limbs stinging with pins and needles from holding himself in only a few positions for days, but he manages to get down to the base of the tree and stays there for a long moment. Until he thinks he can move to the edge without stumbling. He approaches carefully and quietly, already on all fours just in case he has to run, searching for that dark and light shape of the other creature beneath the waves. He cups his hands into the pool and drinks deeply, meaning to only take one or two before trying to find a stone or leaf to bring more back inland with him, but the first one doesn't nearly quench the thirst that has been building in him for so many days, and he has to take a second. 

He only sees the flash of black just before it breaks the surface of the water, grabbing at him far more quickly than he can rear back. Dabi yowls as his wrist is caught and he's yanked off-balance, tumbling into the water with a loud splash, and accidentally sucking in a lungful of water. Panic seizes him and he tries to thrash against the hold, snapping his teeth towards the whipping tentacles before a hand catches his jaw and wrenches it shut as his arms are caught and locked into place against his torso as he is dragged through the water again. Back towards the small pool. He tries to fight even harder, but just like the first time, the limbs hold him in a vice as he's pulled along to the creature's will. 

Dabi sputters and gasps for breath through his nose, when he is all but thrown into the smaller pool, back hitting the stones hard enough to bruise, and head landing in the sand that must be through sheer luck, because he knows this creature does not have an ounce of mercy in it. His jaw is still being held tightly in place so he can't snap at him again and Dabi tries to squirm out of his grasp, fear soaking his veins again. He's going to break his jaw! He knows his eyes must be as wide and terrified as the octopus's are furious as he barres his teeth in a snarl as his body looms over Dabi's everywhere he isn't holding him tight. 

"I warned you." 

He moves his hand away from his jaw though, his eyes and limbs shifting down to one of Dabi's legs-- "No! Don't!" He thrashes, trying to kick out at the other man, his tail flicking and fur standing on end as his pulse pounds impossibly loud in his ears. 

The octopus snarls again, sinking his claws into his thigh and forcing him still. "If you don't stop moving I won't give you a clean break. I'll force the bones up through your skin and let them get infected and then watch as you die of blood poisoning or have to chew off your own limb." 

Dabi doesn't even have the chance to let that horror settle in his mind before the octopus coils a tentacle around the top and bottom part of his right calf and then wrenches it with sharp, decisive pressure. The crack that fills the cavern is so loud for a moment. It's all he can hear. All he knows. And then the agony comes. A scream tears through his throat, tears springing to his eyes as his leg pules with his pain as the tentacles more again, jerking the broken limb back into place and squeezing. He hears the broken bone grind against itself, feels it as the agony spikes so sharply his vision goes black, and then snaps back into place. He sobs, his stomach churning from the pain, but he doesn't vomit, not the way he hadn't been able to stop when he had first woken up from burning. This is not as bad, his panicked mine tries to tell him. This doesn't hurt as badly as that. But it still hurts too much. 

The octopus chitters irritable as he sobs, letting go of him so that he can swim over to a patch of reeds and snap off two of the thicker stems before moving back over to him, finding his wrap and tearing it easily into a few strips of fabric. He brakes the reeds to the lengths he wants, grinding the sharp edges against the stones until they're not so jagged, and then places them on either side of his broken leg, the skin already gone purple around the break and swollen badly. He ties the splints into place tightly enough that he shouldn't be able to jar the bone out of place, each little tug at the dressing making Dabi's breath hitch on fresh pain. 

"There. Now if you behave, that should heal well enough. If you put pressure on it, if you move it around too much, I can't guarantee you'll ever walk again." He says it so matter-of-factly. Like he wasn't the one to just put him through such sharp and decisive violence. Dabi is still sobbing softly as he moves up his body again, hands coming to wipe away the mixture of blood and tears across his cheeks. "And you tried to bite me." 

He knows what's coming next and his heart leaps into his throat, "Master, wait, please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" 

The octopus's expression is unmoved, his fingers shifting to the edges of his jaw and starting to press in harder. "If I let you break the rules without punishing you, you won't ever learn." 

"Master, please, I won't ever do it again, I promise! I'll be good, I won't disobey, please don't, please." 

The creature hums, bringing two fingers to Dabi's lips, while his other hand moves to hold his chin firmly in place. He presses his fingertips to his lips, the claws barely pricking at his skin and two more fat tears slip over Dabi's cheeks as he instructs, "Prove it. Open." 

He's never heard the keen that he lets out now, a sharp animal sound that is so full of his fear and pain that he thinks he sounds like he's dying. But he still parts his lips with another sob. The fingers press in and settle against his tongue, his skin cool and tasting of the river. And they stay there. Through the hazy fog of fear and pain, Dabi realizes that the monster is waiting for something. Hesitantly he closes his lips softly around the appendages, moving his tongue lightly across the pads of his fingers. When he's not hurt again, when some of the anger seems to leave the creature in a soft sigh, Dabi tries to focus on the movement of his tongue. He licks along them, between them, letting them push in a little deeper and being careful not to let his teeth come anywhere near his skin. 

The octopus pulls them out, tracing them around his lips again, smearing his spit across his skin. "One more chance, kitten. You are going to open your mouth wide and I am going to fill up your throat." Fresh fear saturates his skin. "And if you so much as twitch to close your mouth, I will pull out ever one of your teeth and embed them into your cock. Am I clear?" 

"Yes, Master." His voice is shaking as badly as he is, each little movement putting fresh pain in his broken limb. He doesn't want this monster's cock, either of them or, spirits forbid, both of them, in his mouth, but being mutilated further is beyond what he can even comprehend coping with now. Not when the adrenaline and pain are so heavy on his nerves. He's still so thirsty. He hasn't eaten for days. He doesn't know if he'll even survive the slightest other cruelty that the octopus could press into his skin, and he doesn't want to find out. 

Dabi opens his mouth, doing his best to relax his jaw. "Good girl." 

He still presses three knuckles between his molars so that he would have some resistance trying to bite down. Probably enough, as weak as he is right now with hunger, pain, and dehydration, to be able to pull his cock out of his mouth before he could bite it off. He wouldn't dare, and he thinks that the other creature can see it on his face because he shifts, letting his cocks unfurl from beneath his other tentacles. It's the one with the diamond-shaped head that moves to his mouth and Dabi fights back his nausea as it moves along his lips in the same pattern as his fingers before it starts to push into his mouth. 

He keeps his tongue flat as the appendage slithers over it, tasting more strongly than the skin of his hands. There's a bitterness to the flesh here that seems to come with the slickness that spreads over his tongue and puts that tingling sensation through him again. That's almost a relief. He can't even feel his burns when the octopus has dosed him so heavily with his toxins, and Dabi is desperate for the relief from the pain. He rubs his tongue along the shape of him. He's pushed inside with the curve down, so it's easy for him to press his tongue up along it, conforming into that shape, and rubbing. The skin is very smooth and soft against his tongue, so he can immediately feel the slit at the center and figures that must be like the one on his own cock, circling it with his tongue and getting rewarded for it by more of that bitterness seeping out over his tastebuds. He swallows it away, desperate to bring that numbness deeper into his body. 

"So eager, kitten?" But there's the start of those low, satisfied chitters starting to make their way out of his throat. He glances up at the other creature, and quickly drops his gaze again, and when that is still too much, he closes his eyes entirely. He doesn't know what to do with that softly satisfied look on the monster's face and he lets him feed his cock deeper into his mouth. He presses to the very back of his tongue and hesitates, like he's waiting for something, Dabi is half waiting for his throat to seize up and try to force it out, but the toxins are doing their work, and his soon his jaw and tongue are completely slack as well, a mixture of drool and slick starting to drip down his chin and onto his chest. 

The octopus pushes the head of his cock into his throat and Dabi whines softly as the intrusion makes him stretch there in a way he never has before, but the sound can't survive for long because he moves deeper. The air is abruptly choked off as his cock forces its way deep into his throat, his master moaning softly as the inherent tightness of such a small channel is forced to open up to take him, letting them both feel every inch of the involuntary constriction even as he stays unable to fight it. The fingers come out from between his teeth and that hand moves to instead cup the back of his head to keep him tilted at the angle he wants as he pulls back so that Dabi can suck a breath in through his nose, before he fucks back into his throat just as languidly. 

It's by the third or fourth movement that Dabi feels his other cock starting to prod at his hole, and he realizes that he's not in pain anymore. It doesn't hurt when that bulbus head stretches him open and pushes inside either. Dabi can hardly make sense of it, when the tentacle goes so deep inside that he swears that he can feel it in his chest, but as it pulls out again so that he can breathe, his head is light and floaty no matter how many breaths he tries to take in. Oh. And he's hard again. Always gets hard no matter how much this monster hurts him, like his body is aching for any contact that doesn't come with more pain. He doesn't care. Doesn't want to think about it. He lets himself float and be used, breathing when he's allowed and not even whimpering when Master sees his hard cock and tightens his tentacles around him again to force him to squirt instead of orgasm. It doesn't matter. At least that feels a little good. He would take any thin amount of pleasure if it just promises him the absence of pain. 

He's so far gone that when the tentacle in his mouth twitches irregularly he hardly registers it. Not until it's pulling back from his throat to just inside his mouth and there's a sharply salty flood of warm fluid so copious in volume that it pushed back into his throat, and fills his mouth to the point of it overflowing down his chin as his master chitters with his pleasure. One of his other tentacles coils tightly around his base as his cock twitches again and just saves Dabi from being completely drowned in the cum as his cock pulls out of his mouth and his hand quickly shuts Dabi's jaw and forces his head back, coaxing him to swallow. He doesn't have a choice if he wants to clear his throat enough to breathe and he swallows away his seed before that tentacle is moving back to join the other inside of him, just barely getting the head in before he lets go of his base and spills the rest of it deep inside of him. That seems to be the cue that his second one needs to open and for the first egg to start moving down the length to his hole. But it's not one, it's two bumps, he can feel them distinctly, two pushing his rim wide. They are barely inside before more are pushing in. He can't even keep count, his head lulling back against the sand limply. Days since he laid his last clutch inside of him. Maybe there are more then there should be? It feels like more, but he doesn't have the energy to count to think about it. All he knows is that he gets full enough again to put that constant pressure against that special place again, and his cock twitches before he's making a mess all over himself again. 

And then darkness rushes in on his vision. 

///

He wakes up, cold, but sweating, his mouth thick and a horrible stiffness across most of his body except for his leg which is on fire again, he's certain, from how badly it is hurting. He whimpers, clutching onto--

"Careful, kitten. I don't want to have to punish you again." Realizes a second too late that he's been curled up against the octopus's chest, and that he's holding onto him. He lets go as quickly as he can, but he can't move at all with how weak and feverish his body feels. His master reaches with one of his tentacles and draws half of a shell out of the water, filling it in the bigger pool, and bringing it to Dabi's lips. "Drink." It's still so dark out, deep into the night he guesses, as he parts his lips and drinks the contents greedily, desperate to chase away at least one of the physical discomforts that is plaguing him. The octopus gives him two more, without complaint before setting the shell aside again and bringing a tentacle out of the water. Dabi watches it kink and coil around itself until it is dripping thickly with its slick. 

He doesn't need to be told to open this time, desperate for that numbness again if it takes away the pain. The tentacle smears the slick over his lips and tongue and Dabi laps it up desperately until there's nothing left. It takes him an achingly long time to realize that the octopus is stroking his hair gently as he does, murmuring praise against his temple. 

"That's it, baby girl. You're being so good for me. Wish you hadn't made me punish you before you could behave." 

His mouth is starting to tingle as that numbness spreads, but he barely manages to slurr, "'m sorry, M'st'r." 

"Shh, I know you are, kitten. And I know you won't ever do it again. Go back to sleep, sweetheart, you know that the eggs will need to come out in the morning." 

Dabi whimpers, the pain in his leg had been so intense he hadn't even felt the fullness sitting inside of him, but now he's taking notice again. The other creature wraps him back up, letting Dabi tuck his face into his throat like he doesn't have even the faintest worry that Dabi will tear it out. He's right not to. He's too terrified of what a failed attempt would bring on him to even contemplate it, even if he were able to move normally right now. Instead he closes his eyes and notices for the first time the scent of salt and a storm that comes off of the other creature's skin and closes his eyes. 

///

Extracting the eggs is beyond exhausting with his leg broken and pulling his focus at ever second until the creature gives him another dose of his toxins, but that does mean that Dabi can't tighten his muscles at all to help push them out. Instead the octopus has to push two more tentacles inside of him, stretching him open so wide that they come out in a flood of his cum and making it take half the day before the toxins wear off and he's not allowed any more for the pain until he stops gaping. The octopus shifts up onto the sand with him, sitting so that Dabi can see the gills on his neck and sides close up as he presumably uses his lungs instead. He builds Dabi a bed just off of his little pool out of some of the grass that grows all along the bank and uses a stone and a mound of wet sand to make a place where he can elevate his leg. Then he chitters at him softly, stroking his sweat-damp hair back from his forehead. 

"You need to eat. Are you thirsty?" 

Hesitantly he nods. 

The octopus returns with the shell and lets him drink until his thirst is sated, then fills it up one more time and balances it in the sand within arm's reach. "I'll be back in a few hours, kitten. Try to rest." 

It's a fitful rest with the pain surging through him any time he shifts that limb even the slightest bit. But he stays put for hours until the octopus returns with three otters. It's not something that Dabi has ever eaten often, but he doesn't care, tearing into the flesh ravenously, grateful that the water was able to stretch his stomach and ready him to receive food again after so many days without. The octopus watches him eat patiently, letting him have his fill until anymore would make him sick, and then taking away the bloody remains and cleaning him up gently and allowing him another dose of his numbing slick. 

And so the routine goes for three more breedings. 

///

It's after the fourth, when Dabi has gotten all of the eggs out, and is slumped against the creature's chest, crying again, as his hair is stroked so sweetly, he realizes that the pain in his leg wasn't so intense today. That he was able to get the eggs out without needing the extra tentacles and the slick. He presses a kiss to his temple and then starts to gather the eggs up again. Dabi catches his arm, making sure his claws are fully retracted before he does, to pause him. 

"What is it, baby girl? Are you hurting?" 

He shakes his head weakly. Not hurting, just exhausted. "When will they hatch?" He wants to know, has to. How many more of these monster is he helping to put into the world. 

"Oh, precious," a hand shifting to cup his cheek and his thumb carefully wiping away a track of blood and red eyes search his. "You're not compatible." His voice is soft. "They won't ever hatch." 

That... should be a relief. He should be glad to know that all of these horrid things that are being forced inside of him won't ever take a breath, but it pulls sharply at his own instincts. Wild panthers don't stay together to have litters, but in his village it's different. They mate for life, they stay together through litters and raise their cubs together. His stomach feels strangely hollow knowing that, like everything else, he has failed to even be a mate, no matter how forced these matings have been. "I'm sorry." His voice even smaller, the sharp press of fresh blood beading up behind his eyes. 

"It's alright, kitten." His master reassures him, wiping away the tears as they slip across his cheeks again. "I knew that before I made my offer. I don't want for offspring. I am more than happy to just have a warm body rid myself of them this season." He curls a hand around the back of Dabi's neck and kisses his forehead before starting to extract himself with his eggs. Dabi doesn't let go of his arm, though the grip is so weak the other creature could if he wanted. 

"What do you do with them?" 

"I take them downstream and use them to set traps. They make good bait. And I crush the ones I don't use." His head tilts slightly to the side. "Does that upset you?" 

It takes Dabi a long time to answer, and when he does, it's hardly an answer at all. "I... don't know." 

His master pressed another kiss to his forehead before extracting himself completely this time. "That's alright, kitten. You don't have to. I'll take care of everything so long as you keep being so sweet for me. Why don't I help you clean up before I go? That will make you feel better." 

The tone doesn't leave any room for argument, and by the time Dabi is no long drenched in cum, slick, and sweat, and settled back down with his leg elevated again, he does feel better. "Thank you, Master." 

"You're welcome, baby. Take a nap, you need your rest to heal." 

He figures that he's probably right about that too and settles in and closes his eyes. 

///

It's easier when he's not fighting back each day. Dabi loses track of how many clutches, how many days, it has been before he doesn't bother anymore. His master will take care of him so long as he behaves. 

///

Time passes and his leg only hurts if it's jarred wrong. His master still takes care of him, always making sure to bring him large meals to help with his recovery, re-splinting it and washing the bandages for him, helping him to get clean and moving him around when he needs to. And they... sleep close now. Originally, he thinks it was just so that Master could give him his slick at night when he woke from the pain, but as it ebbs to a more manageable state, there isn't a reason for the octopus to have carved out a new section of the bank so that his torso could recline against the sand at night while his lower half could stay in the water. And Dabi didn't need to sleep perpendicular to him on the bank, curling up with his ear pressed against his chest, listening to the strange sound of his heart and the soft long pauses between when his lungs breathe for him and when his gills do. No reason for those sounds to become comforting. 

No reason for him to be moaning and rocking back desperately as his cocks move inside of him. His body is more used to being able to take him now, not needing as much of his slick to accept them inside, sometimes just needing enough to get him wet, rather than the messy gush of it that it took at the start. And when he's relaxed enough to take him without so much, the toxin just makes him tingly, soothing the barest bits of his pain, and leaving his limbs sluggish, but mostly within his control. It still doesn't mean he should have his hands against his back, holding on tight as the octopus's mouth moves along his throat as they move together. But it feels good. It always feels good and it's been five days since his last clutch. He hadn't dared ask why, but by the third day Dabi had been getting hard intermittently and squirming, desperate for the stimulation his body had grown so used to. 

"Master," he moans, tightening his thighs around his hips. His broken leg is held carefully in one of his tentacles, the suckers pressing soft, fluttering kisses against the skin far above the sensitive injury, his other wrapped as tightly around him as he can, like that will somehow get him closer, when their bodies are already pressed together everywhere it matters. 

"That's it, precious, let me hear how much you like having your pretty cunt fucked." Moves the rounder head of the egg laying cock against that spot-- his prostate-- and presses hard enough that Dabi yowls, stars bursting behind his eyes and his claws jumping out involuntarily as his hands clutch at his master's back. He hears him hiss out a pained breath, but the movements don't stop inside of him and Dabi realizes what he's done with a horrified cry, trying to force the claws away and his limbs to cooperate and move away. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Master, please, I'm sorry, it was an acciden--" his fearful sputtering's are cut off as the octopus leans in and covers his mouth with his own. Dabi freezes beneath him. Kissing him. The other creature is kissing him. In all of this time, he has never kissed his lips before. His mouth is rough against his own, split skin and old scars, but Dabi doesn't care. Takes his hands away form his back so he can't misbehave again and tangles them in his thick mane of hair instead as he surrenders his mouth to him the same as his body with another loud moan. The octopus licks into his mouth, along his tongue, behind his teeth, and it's a new wave of sensations that pair with the perfect movement inside of his body and Dabi realizes that he is achingly close to the edge. 

But there's no tentacles holding him tight now to choke away his orgasm. He's not allowed. He twists his fae away, breaking the kiss, but Master just starts to kiss across his cheek and down his jaw instead. "M-Master, close, please," Doesn't even know if he's begging for the pressure or to cum. It doesn't matter. His master will decide what he needs. 

The octopus catches his chin between his claws and pulls him back into another kiss, breathing between in the small spaces between where their lips meet, "Show me, precious. Show me how beautiful you look when you cum, Dabi." 

Didn't know his pleasure could be any sharper, but it surges so hotly through his veins. "Master!" He hasn't felt an orgasm since, since, spirits, before he burned. Feeling that abrupt, overwhelming pulse of it, has his claws out again, but safely tangled in his master's hair, his head thrown back on his moan, and as his balls tighten and his cock throbs, ecstasy along ever inch of it, and cum, real cum, not the thin milk he's normally allowed, is striped over his stomach, up his chest, ejected so forcefully it splatters his chin. His muscles tighten around his master's cocks, and that has them twitching. It drags out his orgasm impossibly long as he starts to cum inside of him, as the eggs start to push past his rim one by one until he's full. 

When he slumps bonelessly against the sand this time, trembling and mewling softly, it doesn't have anything to do with the toxin. he just can't move because he's soaking in every lingering pleasure as his master fills him with his clutch. This always takes some time, and this time, he leans over him and keeps pressing soft kisses along his skin. Over his cheeks, down to his chin where he licks away Dabi's release, along his neck where he sucks and nibbles at his skin as Dabi's tail tangles itself up around one of his tentacles, trying to keep him close like he's going anywhere at all. Master catches it at its base and starts to rub and stroke there, knows that makes him as hot as when he has his tentacles rubbing and pressing their suckers along his cock, and before he's even finished filling him with his clutch, Dabi is hard again. 

"Show me again, baby girl." And a tentacle does move to wrap around him, not squeezing and choking him this time, but stroking and kissing. moving with a fluid slowness that makes Dabi's pleasure build again, slower and sweeter that before. He's helpless to do anything other than what the other creature wants, and by the time he's cum again he's full, but empty of his mater's cocks, and absolutely exhausted against the sand. 

Even though his leg is much better than it used to be, the octopus still takes care of him, washing the filth away from his skin. When he gets to his hands and presses on his palms to get his claws to push out again, Dabi sees the blood and remembers, fear flickering through him as his master guides his hand to the water and starts to clean it away. 

"...I'm so sorry, Master. I didn't mean to."

The octopus presses a kiss to his palm. "I know, precious. It was an accident." He presses his palm against his cheek and looks up at Dabi, red eyes soft and warm. "And it won't happen again?" 

"No, Master." He promises, bracing for the pain, tears already burning at the edges of his eyes. 

Master kisses his knuckles again and finishes cleaning away the blood. "Good. If it does, we'll have to file them all away." And he moves onto the other hand, giving the same careful cleaning to that one as well. 

But he doesn't break his arms. He just holds him close in his as they settle in for the night and after a few long, quiet moments, Dabi chances peeking up at him. His master looks back at him, waiting. Dabi timidly leans up and presses a soft kiss to his lips. A hand moves to the back of his neck, holding him there to make it firmer, but not filled with the heat from before. 

And then he holds him the same way Dabi has grown used to, his hand petting through his hair, until the heaviness of sleep comes for him again. 

///

The next day he lays the clutch and Master holds him as he does, stroking his cock and telling him how well he's doing the whole time. And each word might as well be sweetened with nectar, because those and the pressure of the eggs moving inside of him, out of him, is enough to bring him off three times before he's finished with the last one. 

His master dotes on him even more afterwards, cleaning him up and then departing with the eggs, and coming back not too long later with two very large fish that he is able to gorge himself on before he curls up to catch the last of the warm sun on a stone by the water, his hand dangling into it so that his tentacles can brush against his fingers lightly. A cool reassurance that the other is still close by. 

Two more days pass after that, and without needing so much of the toxin to loosen himself, he doesn't take nearly as long to close either. So when he knows he is tight again and won't risk the eggs or his master's seed spilling out of him entirely, he noses at his neck, licking just below his gills, and waking him from his nap. He chitters softly, a hand moving to tangle in his hair and pull him in for a proper kiss and Dabi is careful of his leg as he moves in as close as he can as he opens his mouth to get more. 

The kiss is slow and lazy, and over far too soon as the other creature parts with an amused chuff. "What is it, kitten?" 

"I'm ready for your clutch, Master," he breathes, his face going hot. Never had to ask for it before. 

"Is that so?" And he definitely sounds amused as he says it, leaning back in to give him another kiss. This one sends a curl of arousal heating up along Dabi's veins and he mewls softly with his pleasure. But his tentacles don't curl around him, don't draw him closer or into the position he wants. He just parts and presses another kiss to his forehead before he sighs softly. "I don't have another clutch for you, baby girl." 

Dabi's brow furrows. "What?" He always has before. 

"It's the end of the season, precious. Four months, tomorrow, technically. I'll take you out of here then." 

That news should be a relief, he knows that. He should be happy to be free. Everything that happened here, even the things that felt good, were a different kind of pain. He should be horrified that he was so far gone that he didn't notice how long had passed. Scared of being set free when his leg is still healing, even if he can put just a bit of weight on it again now. But there's a kind of hollowness that's sitting behind his ribs instead. "Oh." 

The octopus's hand shifts to his cheek and strokes over his skin. It's still patchwork. The metal sutures are permanent, even after all this time, necessary to hold his skin in place and guaranteeing that he won't ever shift completely again. Ruined skin, broken leg. He's not sure he'll survive a week alone. "Or," Dabi's ears perk slightly. "I can give you another choice, kitten." 

He hasn't had to make a decision in months, but he nods, his tail flicking behind him with his agitation. He's gotten so used to his master deciding for him, but he can manage this, he's certain. 

"I can let you leave tomorrow. I'll bring back into the jungle and I will even let you fish my river until you're healed since I broke you so badly after you agreed to stay. Or, we can stay just like this, and I'll tell you my name, precious." 

He knows which he's supposed to choose, what he would have without hesitation at the start of this. Still knows a trap when he hears it, because the octopus didn't say when the second would end but-- "Your name?" 

"Is that what you want, Dabi? To stay here? To be mine?" The curl of heat in his voice is a temptation and he feels powerless against it. 

"You'll take care of me? You... won't hurt me again?" 

"I'll take care of you, baby girl. And I won't ever hurt you again, so long as you follow the rules." 

"What's your name?" The words leave him breathlessly. 

The hand wraps around the back of his neck again and pulls him into a hot kiss, his extra limbs moving the way he's come to expect, being careful with his leg as he pulls him in closer and shifts so that he can lay him against the riverbank. Dabi mewls again, legs opening to make room for him as his tentacles crawl over his body, finding every place that stokes his need higher. 

Has nearly forgotten the question when his master pulls back just far enough to breathe the answer between their lips. "Tomura Shigaraki." 

"Tomura," he tries the name on his tongue and it tastes sweet. Tomura kisses it out of his mouth, as his cocks move to rub along his hole and get him wet. He moans softly into the kiss, rocking back for more. "I thought--" 

"With the right stimulation," he murmurs, his lips against his jaw as a tentacle pressed up between his legs and begins to stroke his hardening cock. "I can lay all year. So you won't ever have to be empty. Doesn't that sound nice, love?" 

Dabi whimpers, melting into the touches with a delirious nod as that word rings around in his head. He doesn't know if he's ever been loved before. Certainly not the way that Tomura loves him. He can't care about anything else as his cocks start to press inside. He would give anything to keep being loved like this. 

Thanks for reading!

[tortured-writers-parttime-poets]

[dumbass quirkless UA teacher izuku au]

just found this absolute gem in my notes app please guys i need more fics like this

dumbass quirkless UA teacher izuku au

dont let the dumbassery fool you, he's actually a genius. oh, also in this his hair started going white at 9, was fully white by 11. 

he lives in a shitty apartment on the edge of a red zone. he was kicked out at 12 years old because the rent wasnt paid, and hasnt seen his mother since he was 10. he has multiple phDs in social work, quirk counseling, psychology, and analysis. he also hacked the HPSC's and police's files of him to add in a teaching phD. and he's graduated high school digitally, though he's still 14. 

nedzu found him when he applied for the entrance exam and convinced him to be a teacher because he was overqualified to be a student. he teaches Analysis and Psychology, or A&P for short. 

he had 1A first. when he walked into the classroom he was wearing a plain black medical mask, a 'women love me fish fear me' hat, an oversized hello kitty sweater with aroace and agender pride pins, dark green cargo pants and one (1) hot pink croc with some dinosaur clips on it. oh, and black socks. he also had in one gold contact and one purple contact, which was revealed when he lifted his bangs to give iida a blank stare.

katsuki, who already knew(theyre friends in this), had to sit there and not laugh when izuku smack talked iida, introduced himself as Mr. Hands, presented their first assignment in the most fucked up confusing wording possible, threw glitter on them, then left through a vent in the ceiling. 

right before he made his exit tho, he turned to shouto and said 'oh by the way ur legal guardian is hawks and has been since u were five but neither of u knew until now but he should be here for when the end of day bell goes to pick u up,' then sent the poor kid a thumbs up, threw extra glitter (DINOSAUR glitter) on him and left. 

then shoto promptly burst into tears while  staring into space. katsuki collected both of their shit, tried to brush the worst of the glitter out of shoto's hair, then walked to the teachers lounge with shoto following him absentmindedly. 

oh, have i mentioned he was taught to fight by stain and eraserhead? seperately, of course. at the usj he promptly shoots off two of tomura's fingers, one on each hand, then him and eraser proceed to absolutely decimate the remaining villains, though eraser does more capture than killing. they wrap it up in record time, and still have plenty of time to go through each of the rescue activities. 

also in this chisaki is actually a good dad and isnt using eri for experiments, he's also kind of izuku's dad. him and nedzu actually somewhat get along and bond over their parental experiences. oh shit wait i didnt elaborate on nedzu yet-

nedzu and izuku are very close, the former considering the latter to be his son/kit. they often meet up in his office to chat, play chess, analyze things, etc. nedzu convinced izuku to move onto the ua grounds, then gave him the nicest apartment possible without it being too big, and gives him high paychecks, insisting it's because he's young and deserves/needs it.

the rest of the staff also have a somewhat familial bond, especially aizawa, snipe and recovery girl, but he fucking despises all might and doesnt bother to hide it. 

him and hawks are pretty close too, after everything with shoto. he's already got dabi figured out, and checks in with him consistently to make sure he isnt starving or in need of medical assistance, but hasnt told anyone out of respect. he does  however eventually convince him to tell hawks, so they start dating and live together. 

he got dabi excused of any and every crime he was accused of, though he was never convicted, and between him, hawks and nedzu manager to get him surgery for his scars so he is no longer a walking open wound. dabi and hawks now both have rights to shoto and thr kid does actually begrudging consider them father figures. 

he also figured aoyama out immediately and they made a plan to get him out, which involved aoyama requesting a meeting with AFO, izuku following him, AFO taking the quirk back and izuku shooting AFO, killing him. the blond is still a UA student and now izuku's personal student, plus part of their group. (katsuki, shoto, hitoshi, mei, and now yuuga)

once AFO is dead, he takes in tomura (and by extension kurogiri) meanwhile stain takes toga and spinner under his wing. despite tomura being like 6 years older he tends to think of izuku as his dad, though he only accidentally voiced it once and got so embarrassed he hasnt since. nedzu is just fucking ecstatic he has a grandkit.

the staff (-ass might) all take tomura under their wing pretty quickly, and after a bit so does 1A. 

each day izuku shows up in increasingly preposterous outfits and no one is willing to say anything for fear of losing a limb or two. the second day it was an oversized black t-shirt that says 'FUCK ENDEAVOR' in bold white text, long hot pink fuzzy paw gloves that go up to the ends of the sleeves, neon pink sweat pants tucked into chunky black platform boots with pink spikes, the same black mask and one of those bunny hats with the paws where if you squeeze them the ears go up. when he entered the building nedzu's cackling could be heard from outside his door. iida almost had a seizure. katsuki almost broke a rib holding his laughter. 

on the third day he showed up in a hooded skin tight sleeveless black turtleneck crop top  that said 'the birds work for bourgeoisie' is white font, baggy black cargo pants, forest green platform boots with heels, a matching green utility belt, the usual black mask, and elbow length black leather gloves. a lot of students realized some things about themselves that day. 

Aizawa sighed loudly when he showed up in a rainbow tie dye t-shirt with '"ur moms a hoe" ? bitch im an orphan' on it in boxy black text. then sighed again when he saw the pink fingerless gloves and heart glasses

[epickiya722]

REACTIONS TO EPISODE 20 - ASSASSIN

The usual! Jokes, me having feelings, there's some pictures, questions... all that!

LAST EPISODE'S REACTIONS

I really want to fight these people!! LEAVE HER ALONE!!

Again, how I adore Izuku "Deku" Midoriya!! Coming to her rescue!

"It's her fault to dress up like that and wander around. People can get the wrong idea." Hm. Why does that sound so familiar?! FUCK YOU, MAN!!!!

Maybe it's me, but she is too cute!!! Like!!! Shes crying and everything and I just want to hug her and protect her!!

Dad... I mean All Might handing him the lunch... WRAPPED IN BUNNIES!!! MY HEART CAN'T HANDLE THIS!!! 😭💚🐇

AAAAAAWWWW!!!

Hey, Banjo!

IZUKU, STOP BEING SO CUTE!!!! 💚

"Please, my hero." Okay, for real, what is up with the OFA users and my feelings?

They just... okay who put these two in time out?

Banjo never not made me laugh. 🤣

YOICHI'S SMILE!!! 💚💚

THE 3RD IS SPEAKING, SHUSH!!!

THE 2ND IS SPEAKING, SHUSH!!!

I still can't believe they went to kill him and instead rescue him.

OMG, THEY GIVING US THE RESCUE SCENE!!!

... you held hands... and thus OFA started... what kind of romantic...

Nah, for real, if that's when OFA transferred it makes sense when you think about it. When it began at Yoichi and 2nd, it was weak. By the time it reached Izuku, it was so strong that it needed not only a quirkless person to handle it, but DNA from the previous user to be consumed. Over time OFA, became stronger and adaptable to the point it's almost like a sentient being with the OFA Users inhabiting its core... I need to make this a separate post...

I love the OFA Users! Looking like a rainbow! But why Nana had to be pink?

I'm joking, I actually like the shade on her!!! BUT THAT PURPLE ON EN!!! I LOVE PURPLE!!! 💜💜💜

Endeavor standing behind that pillar like that!!! 🤣

The 2nd telling Izuku things will get faster *laughs in manga reader* and Izuku biting in his food all seriously determined. Not intentional, but that is both funny and cute.

"You were the cause of everything." And Endeavor just agrees. That's hilarious. But... it was a team effort! 😃 Clap it up for Endeavor for Dabi, AFO for just being AFO, the Doctor for being very disrespectful by MESSING WITH CORPSES, Kotaro for being a crap dad...

The civilians telling the heroes to leave and they're doing just that... like they're leaving!!!

Best Jeanist catching the stuff thrown at them though.

Okay, I don't get the civilians. They're mad at the heroes for not showing up and yet when they do show up to help they're mad!! MAKE UP YOUR MIND!!

Izuku Midoriya bet not become a target... *sighs in manga reader* I hate the civilians...

"I can't let Deku carry any more burdens." 😶 This is Izuku you're talking about here.

He is so pretty.

Why they even put that man on life support?!

Gotta feel sorry for Tomura. AFO really just have been using him the whole time.

"He is obsessed with his younger brother." I mean, look at that face!! Yoichi is just so kind and pretty! I would want to protect him, too! The difference is I'm not gonna lock him in a vault and be a creep about it. I'm glad the 2nd & 3rd broke him out!!

"A lack of humanity." Yep

Again, I'm telling you, Deku is being like All Might was. Without meaning to. YOU SEE WHAT NIGHTEYE MEANT?!

Oh shit, did she just shoot his phone and a bomb at All Might! DISRESPECTFUL!!

Lady Nagant!!! Wait a fucking minute!!! HER HAIR ARE HER BULLETS?! WHAT THE HELL?!

"I'll let you keep all your limbs." Lady, he doesn't even take of his limbs like that. Your threats are so empty.

Oh, she's gorgeous!

Hey, Overhaul, how was prison?

OH SHIT THEY GOT SNIPE ON TV!!!

"I should have left him behind." Why didn't you?

I forget how damn big AFO is. Him and All Might just make everyone look like ants.

Except for that fox lady and some other folks.

I love how she just interrupts AFO. Not a lot of people have the balls, but she got brash ones.

"He was a victim..." ERI WAS THE VICTIM!! Of course, AFO wouldn't care about that because he doesn't give a damn about anyone!

He gave her Air Walk, oh nice.

And the next episode continues with the fight!!!

[pleathewrites]

bellow the fire into my deadened lungs

chapter 4 excerpt — bakugou fights dabi as retribution for kidnapping him read full story here

“My crimes, for one. I don’t care what punishments you give me for my other crimes, but I already told you I want that angry kid to decide my punishment for kidnapping him.”

“Bakugou,” Eraserhead sighs, “It’s unorthodox.”

“Well, no shit. This whole fuckin’ thing is,” Touya is only slightly apprehensive, “So, what’d he say?”

[ When Aizawa-sensei asks Bakugou what he wants for retribution, Shouto is eavesdropping, and they all know it.

“I want to fight him,” Bakugo had answered.

Their entire class finds out when Shouto confronts Bakugou in the dorms.

“You’ll kill him.” 

Bakugou rolls his eyes, “Your lousy ass brother asked me what he wanted as penance, or whatever — fuck off Half ‘n Half.”  ]

Keigo won’t stop fidgeting when he walks Touya to the police gym. His limbs are calm but his feathers won’t stop sharpening at the edges. 

“Don’t interfere,” Touya tells him as he watches the kid — Bakugou — warming up, proper tape wrapped around his wrists and everything.

“And what if he kills you?” 

Touya looks up at Keigo, and tells those golden honey eyes, “Then, he kills me.” 

“Dabi, no — ” 

Touya cups the back of his neck, “Kei, please,” He presses a soft kiss on the hero’s cheek, and tries to communicate how much he needs this with his eyes alone, “Please.”

Keigo’s always been good at reading his eyes, even though the hero doesn’t claim it. Keigo will rant on and on about how ‘mysterious’ Touya can be, but in the end, he is the one who backs out of Touya’s way with his own crystallized mask put into place.

Every step towards Bakugou feels like a fate signed in blood.

They fight with quirk suppressors. Touya is a long-range fighter with only dirty moves tucked under his belt, and Bakugou knows that. The second Erasehead gives the go-ahead, Bakugou pounces on Touya in the blink of an eye, and even if Touya was planning on fighting back, Bakugou leaves no opening.

He beats the shit out of Touya.

For both the longest and shortest minute of his life, Touya is in a world of pain — but that’s okay, because Touya knows pain, welcomes it in like an old friend. He wouldn’t be alive to tell his sordid tales if he didn’t know how to take a bit of agony. 

The problem is when a drop of something akin to salt water falls into his heaving mouth. He’s pulled forward like an outgrown ragdoll by the collar of his shirt, and his body registers he’s no longer being pummeled into. 

The relief never comes because, like this, he gets a clear view of Bakugou’s face through his — now — good eye. 

The kid’s face is angry, it doesn’t take a genius to see that — but it’s angry in all the wrong ways. Bakugou’s face is wet, broiled red with tears and thick snot creeping into the seam of his snarl. There’s blood on the knuckles of his pulled-back fist, dripping down worryingly white palms, and when he reels his elbow backward, Touya catches how the quirk-cancelling bracelet around it has been broken.

“Should we see how fucking fireproof you are?”

Touya closes his eyes and thinks, maybe, this is the right way to go. Not out of selfish revenge, but instead to give the one he hurt some peace of mind that he will no longer walk in the shadows at the corner of his bed.

And then, Bakugou stops. 

(At the corner of his eye, Katsuki catches a hint of red, and the only thing that fills his head is, “I’m here for you, man, I’ll always be here for you. Whenever you feel like this, when it gets too much, just know that you can come to me… come to me…. come to me, cometomecometome — ” )

Touya falls back with a dull thud to the mat and opens his eyes to Bakugou standing over him. 

“Apologize.”

It’s almost quiet enough to blend in with the ringing in Touya’s ears. 

“Wha — ” 

“If you’re really — If-I-I need to know!” The kid exclaims, his bloodied hands open and fireless, “I need to know if someone like you — if you can actually feel remorse, and want to be,” Lethal hands grab at his blond spikes, and Bakugou looks like he’s about to have a panic attack with how heavy he’s panting, “Better — fuck! I need to know — ” 

Touya’s scrambling at the mat before he thinks better of it, ripped staples be damned, and gets himself on his knees, “I’m sorry,” He looks up, and hopes Bakugou can see it on his swollen and stitched-up face, “I’m sorry, I’m so — I’m so fuckin’ sorry,” And he bows his head, words coming out with no way to stop, “I’m sorry, I should’ve never — you’re just a kid, and I took advantage,” He presses his forehead harder into the mat, “And I’m so sick with it, please, please, Gods — I’m so sorry, Bakugou.” 

A deep thud vibrating off his head makes Touya look up, and his heart breaks at the sight of Bakugou on his knees.

Touya gapes, and wants nothing more for the kid to stand back up.

Instead, Bakugou whispers, “I’m sorry, too…” and he starts to cry.

Bakugou’s voice is on the edge of something too-much like the despair Touya lugged around for the past decade, high and throaty, holding himself like his own hands are the only comfort he’s ever been given, “I’m, fuck — so angry, I’m so angry, all the time, and all I do is hurt people, and all I can ever do is be fuckin’ sorry. I — You-you were right about me, and — ” 

And Touya finally realizes his death is not the answer. He realizes his death will only add to the haunting weight of everything he has put this child through, realizes that death won’t call to an aching prayer, and it won’t stop the monsters Dabi had let loose into this child’s — this child’s — self-built sanctuary of a mind.

Touya darts forward, “No!” His own injuries scream and protest, but they are the last thing on his mind as he grabs bloodied hands to keep self-loathing nails from digging more self-inflicted punishment, “No, no, Bakugou, I was wrong — ”

Disbelieving eyes in the saddest shade of red stun Touya silent, “No, you weren’t,” Bakugou’s voice is just short of a whine, a wounded sound that Touya wants so badly to stop, “I’m just like you…” 

Touya can sense the guards closing in, “Hey, look at me,” and prays he won’t be tackled.

He tries to be as slow, and as gentle as possible, when he brings his hand to Bakugou’s head, “Look at me. I forgive you, okay? I forgive you. You’re doing your best, and that’s all that should be expected from you, okay?”  

Bakugou looks at him like he doesn’t understand, like he doesn’t want to believe the man he beat bloody and blue would spare him any words at all. 

Touya pushes, “You’re nothing like me, kid. You could have killed me just now, ‘n I would’ve let you. But unlike me, you knew when to stop,” Bakugou starts to shake his head, and it jostles the staples that stick out crudely from Touya’s wrist in a way where he has to suppress a wince, “Hey — no, you stopped. You are not a bad guy, and I’m so, so sorry for ever saying you were.”

Bakugou sniffles and Touya hopes with everything inside of him that this world will finally comprehend how much of a child this young hero really is.

The hand Touya grips in his own squeezes slightly, as if shy he’ll pull away.

He only grips back tighter, “People hurt us — I hurt you. The people who were supposed to keep you safe, they are the ones who failed, not you. You…” The straw blond of Bakugou’s hair through Touya’s fingers reminds him of Toga so much, “You deserve a helluva lot better than what you got, kid. Hey,” He calls back when Bakugou begins to look down, “Don’t carry this with you, okay? Okay?”

And finally, Bakugou weakly nods.  

When Touya lets go, Bakugou wipes a forearm across his wet nose and stands up to tell his teacher, “I’m done. I wanna go home,” And before he and Eraserhead walk through the exit, he asks his teacher, “Please send Recovery Girl to heal him, Sensei,” 

Eraserhead nods, murmuring something Touya is too far away to hear.

The minute they’re gone, Keigo runs to Touya’s side along with the medical team to tend to his new wounds, “Are you okay?” He asks Touya, runs the tips of his gloved fingers over Touya’s swollen eye, and Touya shakes his head with a weak smile.

‘I don’t know.’

read full story here

my other works

[konohamaru-sensei]

was bored at work today, wrote some drabbels at the request of and for friends. ( Hawks x OC/ Kakashi x OC / Dabi x OC / Shibi X OC / Kakashi x Zabuza / Fatgum x OC / Kakashi x OC returns)

+++

Yue & Dabi- Write about your ship bathing or swimming together. for @foolishk

When he stands in the doorway, he is full of dirt. Top to bottom, all over him, as if he bathed in mud. Yue ruffles her nose: “What happened to you?”

There are many things she has willingly and unwillingly learned about the man formally known as Todoroki Touya, but one thing is always certain: He only talks if he can’t help it otherwise. So a grunted: “Was attacked by some dude with mud”, is probably all she’ll ever get out of him.

And by “attacked” he probably means that he did the attacking, but she is willing to let that slide. If she started questioning her morals now, she’d never get anywhere.

“You need a bath”, she says and sounds a little like a disappointed mother. He doesn’t like those because the water burns on his exposed skin. There is nothing to be done about it though. His blue eyes stare directly at her and she adds quickly: “I’m going to take care of you.”

His face softens at that declaration and she wants to jump and kiss him right there for how beautiful he can be, but she holds herself back. First, the bathroom.

With a deep sigh Dabi follows her into her tiny bathroom and once again she is thankful that he is smaller than his slender body makes it look like. There isn’t much space in here, especially if she wants to get in too. They’d have to move close together to fit. Not that she minds really. Without exchanging a word he sits down on the little stool in the shower, not complaining when Yue turns on the water to wash out his hair. When she looks down to him, he has his eyes closed, face in a relaxed position. He can look so sweet sometimes that she fully forgets how dangerous of a criminal he is.

As soon as the bathtub is filled she stops the shower. “Time to get in there,” Yue orders. He gets up from the stool, hovering for a moment right before her face, ice blue eyes staring into hers. Just when she thinks he’ll kiss her he turns his head away and climbs into the tub. Her heart is at her throat.

Dabi hisses as the hot water touches his skin from all sides. He hunches over, arms slung around his legs like he is a little child again. Yue picks a sponge from her shelves and climbs into the tub behind him, making sure to avoid his most delicate skin as she wraps his legs around him.

“I’m going to softly clean your back now,” she explains as if he is a coma patient that she is tasked to clean. “The sponge is very soft and I will be careful. Tell me if it hurts.” Why she adds that fact, she doesn’t know. He won’t tell her anyway. That’s the problem with the man formally known as Touya, he doesn’t talk about his pain. It got him in this whole mess in the first place.

Carefully, as if the man in front of her could fall apart at any moment, she runs the sponge over his back, going slower the more exposed skin she finds. He has new burns over his shoulders, which probably goes back to the fight with whatever put him in so much mud. He looks so vulnerable like this, half his back exposed to the elements. Yue wants to protect him, when in truth she should be protected from him.

“Can I turn around?” he ask suddenly and Yue looks up. “Oh, sure, if you want to, I can clean your front…”

Dabi gets up, Yue looks away to avoid looking at what is between his naked legs. Not that she has never seen it before, but it still feels kind of odd. He sits down in front of her, legs wrapped around her body now. They seem somehow closer in this way, even tough they sit at about the same distance as they did before. The difference is that Dabi can now directly look in her face and somehow that makes her nervous.

She continues working with the sponge, now over the top of his chest and his arms. She can feel the weight of the blue eyes watching as she is working and tries not to show how it makes her feel. He always has that stare that she’d never seen with anyone else. A look that should scare her, but doesn’t. Not always at least.

“Thank you.”

Yue looks up in surprise. Dabi is still staring at her, but his face almost looks like it is smiling. “N-no problem”, she replies, stopping herself just short from saying that she loves doing stuff like this for him.

He moves his face closer to hers, almost like he is now going in for the kiss, but then just drops his head down on her shoulder, as if it is too heavy for him to carry it himself.

What a mess this boy is, she thinks, and can’t help herself from pressing a kiss into the white hair.

[melanincholysworld]

Reunited.

(Not a big mha fan, I love the Todoroki family. So here we go.)

The battle had ended, and the Todoroki family was in shambles despite being reunited. The eldest son, Touya, who had become Dabi, was finally incarcerated for his crimes. The family couldn't feel any sense of true happiness. Touya had come back into their lives, but he wasn't the same, and now, once again, they had lost him forever.

"I hate you, Dad! And our family!" Those words were burnt into endeavor's mind. Everything was his fault. His ambition had destroyed his wife's sanity. It permanently scarred all 4 of his children. But he didn't want forgiveness. He just wanted to atone for his crimes.

But there was one thing the family had anticipated at all. Touya had become a father. A female villain with a quirk involving a scorpion stinger. Capable of shooting talks of projectiles at enemies. She hadn't been involved in the last fight as she was too heavily pregnant. She tried to resist but she was ultimately arrested and thrown into incarceration. She gave birth there to a beautiful baby girl. The woman was an orphan. She had no family. So there is only one place for the baby to go. Her only request was that Touya got to see his daughter one time before she was taken away forever.

Her request was granted and the baby was brought to see her father. He was held in and a cell that could disable his powers looking through the glass at his daughter. His eyes were blank, lifeless almost. All he had to say was one sentence. "Jiyu. That's her name. Freedom."

He had nothing to say to his parents or his siblings. So they just left what could they say to him after all? Now, the Todorokis sat in their home. Sitting in a circle around the baby. Enji stood in the garden. He couldn't bring himself to be in the room with the rest of his family. Before all he could think about was looking at his family sitting happily at a table eating. He wasn't there, and that was the way it needed to be for them to be happy. "She's so cute!" Fuyumi exclaimed. Poking her niece's chubby cheeks. Shoto looked at Jiyu, and a small smile broke on his face. Rei looked so happy to hold her granddaughter. She had a little piece of Touya here with her. She lifted her up into the air. A small tail came from around the baby's back. It resembled her mother's. "Uh oh, looks like she has her mom's quirk." Natsuo pointed out. Shoto reached up towards the tail, and it wrapped around his finger instinctively. "Weird, it's like prehensile." He said. "Oh boy, the terrible twos are not gonna be fun." Fuyumi said, hands on her sides. "I don't think we have to worry about that. She's a pretty calm baby." Natsuo replied. "Yeah, she won't be a big cry baby like you were." Fuyumi remarked. "Hey, come on, I wasn't that bad!" He shot back. "But anyway, I'm glad to have you back home, mom. It's been way too long." Natsuo said to his mother. "It's good to be back." She looked down at Jiyu. "I've missed so much. I feel like now I can fill this home with happy memories."

"Where's your father?" She asked. "He's out in the garden," Shoto said. In that moment, everything that had happened over the past 20 or so years came flooding back to Rei. When she first met Enji, the birth of Touya, Fuyumi, and Natsuo. Touya's burns. Shoto's birth. The first slap. The day she snapped.

But she couldn't live in the past forever. She had confronted her demons, and now all she could do was move forward. Though she would never forget, and she would do everything in her power to make everything right. She handed Jiyu to Shoto.

"Dad." Shoto said approaching Enji from behind. "Huh? What is it, Shoto?" He asked. Mom wants you to hold her." Shoto said, having his little niece in his arms. Enji was nervous, he wasn't sure if he was ready. He had failed as a father he had failed as a husband, how could he be a good grandfather? " I know what you're thinking. But it's not too late, you can still do right by someone in your life." Enji nervous outstretched his hands and Shoto handed him Jiyu. She cooed and wriggled in his arms. Enji looked at her soft face. She reminded him so much of Touya. He thought back to those moments when Touya tried to show off his quirk to him. The smile on his face. Begging for approval. But things were going to be different now, Jiyu would never have to beg for his attention, his love. Rei and the rest of her children watched from the patio. Tears swelled in her eyes. "I'm going to be there for her. I'm going to support however I can. Whether she wants to be a hero or a doctor or a lawyer, whatever she wants to be. I'll help make it possible." Just then, Jiyu shot him a look. A fierce firey stare. "I guess we know the answer to that." Shoto remarked.

Just then, Rei burst into tears. "She's just like Touya was when he was a baby!" He practically tore Jiyu out of Enji's arms and snuggled up with her grandbaby. Rubbing her cheek against hers. "....mom?" Shoto said nervously.

The face Jiyu made:

[redwingedwolves]

By this point I'm convinced that my brain just doesn't comprehend the passage of time before 9PM.

Prompt List

12th Feb - 💞"Just a few of my favorite things...": What are some things you love about your F/O? What are some things they love about you? Gushing and rambling encouraged!💞

Keigo

I love Keigo's smile. And I'm not talking the smug flirtatious one he puts on for the public, I mean his real, genuine smile. The one he does when he thinks no one is looking. The soft, content one when he's relaxed and just enjoying life.

I love Keigo's humor. He never fails to be able to make me smile. It doesn't matter if I'm feeling down or he's just in a playful mood I'm always guaranteed to laugh at least once when he's around.

I love Keigo's wings. For as strong and powerful as they are, they are also very delicate. Each feather is capable of being a deadly weapon and yet when he wraps them around me they are as soft and gentle as silk.

I love Keigo's drive. His work ethic can be, troubling at times the way in which he throws himself into it, but I would never fault him for his desire to be a good Hero. His wants and needs to make the world safer for those in it make me admire him all the more.

I love Keigo's eyes. One could argue that the most expressive part of Keigo is his wings but I beg to differ. It's his eyes. He can hide behind a solid mask of indifference all he likes but one look in his eyes I know exactly what he's feeling at any time. The way in which they light up with he's happy, sparkle when excited, and waver when sad. They can be dark as midnight or as bright as the sun, but either way they are beautiful.

I could sit here and list thousands of things and still never run out of things that I love about him. Because, to put it simply? I love all of him, equally. There's not a single thing about him I like more than the rest because all of these seperate things make a whole him. And I love all of Keigo.

Dabi

I love Dabi's voice. Warm and inviting, deep and soothing. He might be rough with his wording, but the smooth timbre in which he speaks is enough to make me melt.

I love Dabi's hands. Rough and yet smooth, hard and yet gentle. When he holds my hands in his, I'm reminded of all things he's had to do, all the things he's been through. I'm reminded of the hardships he's faced and the fact that he made it out the other side. Maybe not entirely unscathed, but whole.

I love Dabi's attitude. Witty and crass, sarcastic and wholy unamused. Dabi's biting tongue is enough to drive most people away but it just draws me in that much more. Playful banter is more fun with someone who fights back and fight back Dabi does.

I love Dabi's strength. And not just his physical strength, though that is nice too. Dabi has been through so much and had to put up with even more. It's no wonder he's a Villain, but even so, he's never really let that break him. Not completely. He uses that as the driving force that pushes him forward and I admire that about him.

Like with Keigo the list of things I love about Dabi are near endless, but seeing as I've not been with him as long as I have Keigo I'm still learning new things to love about him everyday. And like with Keigo, I could list every little thing I love, but it's easier to just say I love all of them. I love everything about him because I love him. And that's enough.

[valleyrunearchives]

Binary

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Fandom: Boku No Hero Academia/My Hero Academia Pairings: Aizawa Shouta/Yamada Hizashi Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Chapter 36/?

“Binary code is a series of zeroes and ones strung together in a specific sequence. On paper, it’s useless. Annoying. Worthless. But put that same string of zeroes and ones into a computer, and suddenly it’s a language far more complex than the human mind can comprehend. I was the same way. The world decided I wasn’t good enough in the physical plane, so I went digital. That’s why I chose the name Binary. And you should be very,” He smirks at the underground hero on the screen, “Very afraid of the reach I have here. Aizawa Shouta.”

Or

Midoriya Izuku is tired of the world treating him like nothing. So he decides to becoming a hacker to show the world that nothing can be anything.

Featuring Midoriya Izuku as the Genius Hacker Aizawa Shouta as the problem child wrangler Yamada Hizashi as the moral support to his husband Tsukauchi Naomasa as the man who needs a long vacation PLEASE Shinsou Hitoshi as the intentionally adopted one Toga Himiko as the unintentionally adopted one Dabi as the really didn’t want to be adopted one but he guesses this is his life now and Nedzu as the Rat God of UA

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Izuku sits quietly in his hospital bed. That’s not to say he’s alone in this room. His brothers and sister are all there as well. Hitoshi is sitting on his right side, watching a cat video. Himiko is on his left, napping against the side of his bed with her head resting on her arms. Dabi is sitting in a chair across the room, not talking and doing what seems to be a bit of meditation. Izuku can imagine the amount of stress he was put under to get yet another call from the school about him being injured. He supposes it was probably worse this time since it was from a villain attack and not just training. Hawks and Miruko are here too. Apparently when Dabi got the call while he was at work, the two pro’s insisted on coming with him to see Izuku and Hitoshi. Hitoshi was completely fine aside from a couple of scrapes, bruises, and some mild quirk exhaustion. 

He, himself, was suffering a few battle wounds and a broken ankle. 

Now granted the broken ankle wasn’t the fault of villains. It was his own fault for deciding to try and land on his feet when Asui (Tsu, as she kept insisting) jumped from the ship in the aptly named shipwreck zone with him and Hitoshi wrapped in her tongue and Izuku decided it was taking too long for them to land. Which was, obviously, very stupid of him.

The reason he’s sitting so quietly though is because he’s doing his best to recall everything about what happened at the USJ. He wasn’t claiming memory loss. Of course he wasn’t. There were a couple of gaps during the fighting parts of it all. Probably because he was running on pure adrenaline and survival instinct. But no, that wasn’t what he was trying to recall.

He knows, almost for certain, that it started on the bus ride to the USJ.

___

He hadn’t really been paying attention once the bus ride started. He was mostly tapping away at his phone, thankfully hidden just from sight thanks to Hitoshi’s slightly larger form. He thinks the others were talking about their families and home lives. At least that was the topic when Tsu inevitably asked him, “What about your parents, Midoriya-kero?”

His head shot up from staring at his phone, “What? What about them?”

“What are your parents like, Midori?” Mina took over, “I bet they’re, like, super great! I mean they let you go to hero school even though you're quirkless! Not that that’s a bad thing! I just mean that they must be super supportive!”

“Oh,” He gets what they mean now and turns his gaze back to his phone before nonchalantly replying, “Yeah, no. I don’t have parents.”

He swears he hears Aizawa-sensei choke in shock for a second (Little did he know that the man was choking by how nonchalantly Izuku was saying it… Like how someone says their fridge was out of milk…) before the entire bus erupts in questions. One sticks out as the majority; What does he mean by that? He huffs a quick sigh through his nose before explaining, “Look. Dad left when it came to light that I would never have a quirk and mom stopped caring after about a year. I basically raised myself from the time I was six years old since, according to mom, I could now ‘drag a stool over and reach the stove’ to cook for myself. When I was ten I filed with the courts that, as a quirkless child, I was safer by myself than with a foster home or orphanage that couldn’t be monitored twenty-four seven for discrimination against me, won, and have basically been American emancipated since then. It’s been no different for me than the rest of my life.” 

“How do you… pay for things? Like a place to live or food to eat?” Sero asks.

His ability to play the stock market... But Izuku isn’t going to tell them that. “Government stipend,” He lies. 

“Wait… But you said Shinsou is your adopted brother. And that Toga and Dabi are your adopted siblings too. When did that happen?” Hagakure asks, a gloved finger resting on what Izuku guesses is her chin. 

“A little over a year ago?” he says with uncertainty, glancing at Hitoshi for some help. Hitoshi nods, “Yeah. I think we’re at like, fourteen months of living together now?” The purple haired teen throws a thumb up to point at Izuku, “This one found me on the streets after a bullying session and basically adopted me on the spot. Himi and Dabi came about a month later. We’re all in the same ‘technically American emancipated’ situation as him. Well, except for Dabi since he’s an adult.”

The rest of the class sits in shocked silence. That’s when it happens.

“You were right. He’s perfect,” a man’s voice says.

Izuku jolts at the sound of it and looks around. That wasn’t the voice of any of his classmates, for sure. Hitoshi notices and asks him what’s up. He doesn’t hear the voice again so he shakes his head, both in response to Hitoshi’s question and to clear his head, and chalks it up to some kind of hallucination. Exhaustion related? Maybe he should go to bed earlier tonight just in case…

___

That voice. That’s the reason he’s reanalyzing everything that happened that day. Where did it come from? Who was it? And what did it mean? Who was right? Who was perfect for what?

That’s not even the strangest part. The strangest part was that the voice came back. Except there were more of them. He remembers being so excited about being in the USJ as Thirteen was explaining what they would be doing. Then the voice came again.

“Here they come. Be careful, kid,” The voice was the same male voice as before.

It had jolted him out of his excitement and inadvertently caused him to focus on the center of the large facility where an inky purple substance was slowly spreading. He called attention to it with a shout of his teacher’s name and that’s when all hell had broken loose. 

It was nothing short of insanity. 

The black inky substance turned out to be a portal that villains started pouring out of. Aizawa managed to convince Iida to get out of the building to run back to the main campus for help once it was clear to their teachers that sending out an SOS wasn’t working. Izuku had suspected it was some kind of electronic interference from a quirk of some kind which would later turn out to be correct. Aizawa then raced off into the fray even though Izuku tried to dissuade him. Regardless of if hero’s aren’t one trick ponies or not, Izuku knew that he would struggle to take down everyone. Especially if he didn’t know what all the quirks that the villains had. And it just got worse after he was gone. Thirteen had been attacked by the villain that made the portals. Kirishima had managed to subdue him for a few moments before losing focus and his hold of him. The explanation the guy had made no sense either. They were there to kill All Might?! Izuku might not like the guy but that seems like a terrible plan. What did they expect would happen? Also, didn’t they know that All Might was put on leave from teaching at UA?! 

It was then that he realized that the guy who came through the warp portal was the same one that he saw at UA when the gate was disintegrated. 

He shouts this out to Aizawa in the plaza who gives him a barely perceptible nod in understanding. That was the last thing he was able to relay to their teacher before the warp portal guy sent them all away to different sections of the USJ at the command of the, he guesses, main guy. (Also side note, why was he covered in severed hands?? What the fuck??)

He remembers being dropped in water and swimming away from the various villains that were lying in wait in said water. He remembers being picked up by Tsu’s tongue and set on the ship’s deck with a soaking wet Hitoshi coughing a few feet away. He remembers the realization that the villains didn’t know anything about the students they were attacking, as they dropped Tsu who has a frog quirk in a watery zone compared to someone like Ojiro, who’s tail would cause a bit of extra weight when swimming if he hadn’t trained for it specifically. 

With a bit of finagling, they managed to trick all the villains in the water to fall under Hitoshi’s brainwashing. That’s when the jump from Tsu with him and Hitoshi as tongue passengers (Okay, no that sounds weird now that Izuku is thinking about it) occurred. It was also when he broke off from them to land awkwardly on his foot in an attempt to land faster. 

“Oooh,” He hears a hissed voice near him, it’s a different voice from before, “That had to hurt…”

“EN!” This time the voice that he hears is female. Which is even stranger. 

He ignores it though and sprints for the back wall of the massive dome-like structure. When Hitoshi asks where he's going, he relays a quick plan to find the inner processes of the place. He knows for a fact that it has to be a room along the back wall based on the size and area of the whole thing. He’s also certain that their interference quirk is somewhere in there, needing access to the whole place in order to hit such a wide range.

His foot really hurts from sprinting but it's a dull pain in all comparison to the torment he got from bullies when he was younger.

The voices he was hearing continued to make quips here and there. They were actually quite helpful all things considered since they would tell him whenever a villain was getting too close or even what they were doing so Izuku could counteract it. When he busts into the control room, he’s well prepared for the villain on the other side. It helps that the villain wasn’t prepared for a kid to bust in on him. Izuku is quick to subdue him thanks to both quick thinking and help from the voices. He connects CATRA to the control panel for the entire USJ and, in mere moments, he’s in complete control of everything in the whole building. He uses it to his advantage; Helping his classmates subdue villains or escape as well as helping Aizawa gain some extra ground against everyone he was up against. 

He wants to scream as the hand villain guy manages to distract Aizawa enough into blinking and proceeds to grab onto his arm with all five fingers. And Aizawa’s arm starts to disintegrate. 

Aizawa does manage to throw him off and gain some distance from him but it does little to settle Izuku’s nerves. It does help that Hitoshi decides to try and intervene with a quirk-filled question at hand guy. It works but Izuku is still going to throttle him later. Aizawa probably is too based on the look the man shoots his brother. Good news though is that the big monster that was apparently brought in by the villains collapses in a heap, like a puppet whose strings have been cut. Izuku doesn’t think it’s dead, just inactive due to its master being down for the count. 

Izuku manages to get the electrical lockdown lifted just as the rest of the teachers get to the USJ. Warp villain manages to grab hand villain with a quick word to Aizawa before both are through a portal a second later. He stifles a snort as Aizawa yells at Snipe-sensei to, “put a bullet in this thing's brain, please!” Snipe does as he’s requested and puts the behemoth down. Izuku doesn’t really like the idea of killing but that thing is an exception he’s gladly willing to make. 

As the rest of the teachers are gathering up the villains and taking stock for all the students that have now reconvened at the center, Izuku leaves the control room after slipping his phone back into his pocket. Just in time as well as Midnight-sensei starts frantically looking around and calling for him. 

“I’m here, Midnight-sensei!” he calls back as he stumbles his way down the stairs to the center, “I’m okay. My ankle is probably sprained though.”

She sighs in relief at the sight of him. Hitoshi, the traitor that he is, glares in his direction as he informs their teachers, “Don’t believe him. He jumped while we were in the air getting out of the shipwreck zone. I guarantee you it’s broken, not sprained.”

___

His comment is what results in him being loaded up in the back of an ambulance (pouting the entire time because really, Hitoshi?! He was fine!) for monitoring and to get proper healing for said ankle. Hitoshi rides in the ambulance with him (quietly only after smacking his shoulder for trying to play off his injuries as nothing but a sprain) as he needs to be checked for quirk exhaustion anyway. Himiko joins them later after a ride to the hospital from Vlad-sensei. Dabi is last to arrive, with Mirko and Hawks, after he receives a call from the school. 

Izuku didn’t hear the voices after that at all. He’s still not sure what they were or who they were. Or where they came from. Something to ponder more later, he guesses. For now he’ll just rest and focus on getting out of here as soon as possible. 

“Oh good! Everyone’s here who needs to be!” Everyone jumps at the sound of the voice from the doorway. 

Izuku blinks at the stoat standing in the doorway, “Principal-san. How can we help you?”

The grin Nedzu gives is not comforting in the slightest, “I have something important to speak to you about. You and your family, Midoriya-kun.”

Or maybe not…

[thequietmanno1]

Thelreads, MHA 267, Replies Part 1

1) “Alright, still a bit shaken up from the experience that was that chapter I read this afternoon, but I can do it, time to return to the main series! Alright, last time we-

we-

oh, I remember what happened last time.”- Probably not the chapter of levity and wholesomeness you were hoping for after that scene from Vigilantes, huh? Sorry to say, but with events being as they are in both series, SpyXFamily’s your best bet to counter the bleakness. 2) “Also, hello Mirko, nice seeing you again, good to see that arm you ripped off is doing well.”- If there is one thing Horikoshi does well, it’s writing good female characters. Mirko wouldn’t be mind-controlled into going on a murder spree by some flimsy little parasite, she’d rip that shit out herself and do it on her own time. 3) “Oh, hello there Hawks, good to see you`re getting up to speed with the chapter already. Geez, I sure hope you don`t need to face any fire-using villain after killing their friend or something.”- Well, now we know that Dabi never really considered Twice or any of the league his actual allies in the same way they thought about each other, so … 4) “Good one Hawks. How do you survive fire? Easy answer, I kill them before they can use it. Flawless logic there”-Which underscores the disadvantage hawks has against Dabi, because for once, Dabi’s the one striking first, attacking Hawks before he can retaliate and using whatever advantage he can get to weaken the hero, focused only on killing him, nothing else. He’s not even that deeply upset by Jin’s passing, judging by his warped smile there, so long as he gets to kill a top hero like Hawks – and furthermore, he’s clearly savouring his suffering for personal enjoyment, rather than any kind of pragmatic reasoning. Hawks can’t fight him off, can’t distract him, and can’t escape from him- if not for Tokoyami showing up, he’d have been killed despite all his skills, becase Dabi’s extremely focused on ending the hero’s life for his own unclear motivations, not for the sake of the league or anybody else. 5) “And now back to the the fan-favorite Uber F(at), delivering our kids to where they need to be. I can see Kaminari, Tokoyami, Skelly face and Mushroom satan. Good thing this is a high capacity vehicle.”- Shock-absorbent and comfy foam padding – perfect for transporting teenagers around your ongoing warzone. 6) “You kids were the frontline because your quirks were perfect to wreak havoc around and get them all scattered. Now the pros can just pick up their target, and it`s exactly like Fat said, throwing thunders or making mushrooms grow around would easily end up causing some friendly fire.”- I do appreciate that whilst the kids were involved in the attack, they were never intended t fight up-close with the enemy. They were the long-range artillery, supposed to confuse, disorientate and incapacitate the villains from a safe distance before the experienced pros handled them up close, and now that’s done, they’re being moved to a safe location whilst the fighting wraps up. The heroes might need every advantage they can get, but they’re not gonna force a bunch of kids to fight psychotic murderers up close…though not much can be done if said kids choose to fight the villains themselves… 7) “You and me both Kaminari. Now, tell me Tokoyami, what does your bird eyes see? Is it Hawks charred body hanging from a window?”- Well, zipping around the back of the building with what scant feathers remain for him to use, but close enough.  (MHA ch 266) 8) “The heroes outside are just like “the fuck they doing up there?””- Well, at least one hero trainee was…. 9) “OH RIGHT, BACK TO THIS PARTICULAR MOMENT.

SURE. FUCK YOU HORIKOSHI, NOW PLEASE PROCEED WITH THE PAIN.”-  Whilst Hawks’ pain was clearly on display, Dabi’s contradictory attitude and mannerisms derailed any emotional impact in his ‘grief’ and apparent sorrow over Twice’s loss, and just raised more questons and theories for the fans. How does he know Hawks’ name? Is he really not caring about the League, or just putting on a façade that he doesn’t care to handle the loss, pretending Twice was an asset and nothing else to him, to protect himself from any emotional investment? He seemed to be somewhat chummy with Twice just prior to him rushing out the door, giving him a high-five and some encouraging words, only to backtrack on that the instant his body hit the ground. Is his warped smile really because his face is too damaged to do anything but put on a rictus grin when he wants to scowl or cry, or is he actually somehow happy that Hawks killed Twice and dirtied his hands? If so, what could he possibly have gained over losing such a valuable asset that would be worth it, beside bringing hawks dowm from his position as a ‘pure’ defender of justice and heroism? 10) “OH OKAY. YEAH, I MEAN, IT WAS TO BE EXPECTED THAT HAWKS GOT CAUGHT ON THE CROSS FIRE, BUT JESUS I THINK THAT WAS ALL OF HIS FEATHERS”- He basically managed to lethally stab Jin in the back by rushing at him through the fire, so if anything he’s lucky that it’s his back that’s ablaze and not his front- at least that way he can still see where he’s going to try and escape the psychotic maniac out for his blood now. 11) “oh- That`s… That`s definitely not the expression I was expecting to be honest. Sure, Dabi has all that burned flesh on him, but even so, this expression… And I see that there`s steam coming out of his eyes, it looks like his tears are boiling, but there`s also steam coming from his mouth and neck, so it`s probably that he`s just overheating.”-There was a lot of discourse about this when the chapter first came out, people trying to decide whether Dabi really didn’t care about Twice at all as a person and why he’d be happy he was dead if so, or if he was just putting on a brave front before Hawks, acting like he didn’t care to pretend to himself the loss of somebody he might have considered a friend wasn’t painful. The fact that he apparently seems to be trying to act grief-stricken at first further muddied it – was he just trying to make Hawks suffer from guilt more, or was that a genuine outburst that he tried to cover up by pretending he didn’t actually care at all, Psyche, gotcha? 12) “Alright, the tear situation was solved, but, what the fuck dude

that- that actually was a bit worse than what I said on the last chapter. He really didn`t gave a fuck for Twice as a person, he`s sad because with him dead they lost one of their super weapons.

what the fuck dabi”- He could be lying about this to an enemy, or he could be being actually honest for once with a man he plans to kill in the most emotionally and physically painful way he can- Dabi’s true adganda and plans for joining the league have never really been clear, just that he put them first before anything else and that he truly believes his personal goals have the best chance to come to fruition as long as he’s under their banner. 13) “Okay horikoshi, I get it already, Dabi is a sick fuck that cared less for Twice than the guy that just murdered him, fine, don`t need to twist the knife any longer,”-  He doesn’t, but Dabi sure as hell wants to. Whatever his motivations, hurting Hawks both physically and psychologically is giving him life right now, and he’s on cloud 9. 14) “Huh… It could be that Dabi was also part of the program that Hawks was part of, but if that was the case, you`d expect Hawks to at least remember someone with a similar quirk.

This all seems fishy, there`s something strange going on.”- Dabi knows too much about Hawks’ real past, and by extension, this means that he knew Hawks was a trained spy and infiltrator that was most likely working on behalf of the heroes to track down the league. Yet, he not only brought him in and vetted for him after Hawks passed his ‘test’, he seemingly did nothing to stop Hawks gathering intel for this strike, despite that undermining the villains’ chances of succeeding in their ‘war’ with the heroes. If Dabi knew that their organisation had such a capable infiltrator, why did he let his attack go ahead, implicitly betraying his allies against the heroes despite opposing them himself?

(MHA ch 266)

15) “Is that what you`re worried about Hawks? You`re a pro hero, a governmental agent, and they had all the resources in the country, how  the fuck do you think he got your name smart guy? Was it the super hacker on their team? Or the dozens of other hackers that he employs?

We`ll never fucking know I suppose.”-

It’s not just that he knows his name, but that Hawks gave it up so long ago. He’s a kid when the commission erased his past like the MIB, and buried the truth in the black archives of their bureaucratic system. Yet this distinctive, unknown villain who suddenly appeared one day out of nowhere somehow knows about him, and the parts of Hawks’ past that are supposed to be off-limits to everybody. And if he knew that, he knew what he was up to the entire time, but did nothing about it. So why? What’s his goal, and why is he working against both the heroes and the villains for his own purposes? @thelreads

[greatwyrmgold]

Yeah. My Hero Academia has a lot of potential as a setting, a lot of its characters have potential, both on the hero side and especially on the villain side, and yet...in the end, so little of the potential is realized, because the series keeps going for the standard answer.

The villains, with a couple of exceptions (Gentle Criminal), aren't allowed to stay sympathetic. Spinner is the big example here. Heteromorphs face discrimination, and that's why he became a villain...but we don't see any evidence of this discrimination anywhere except Spinner saying it exists, and he doesn't do anything about it except beat up good guys and innocents on the orders of an obvious monster. He comes off as more of a monster than a Magneto.

The heroes aren't allowed to stay unheroic if they're given any significant screentime. Poster boy here is Endeavor. He's an abusive dad, he realizes he was wrong, saves Natsuo from a supervillain, and...that's about it. Endeavor's redeemed now, apparently. He barely interacts with his family after that arc, and Natsuo's the only one who didn't accept him with open arms even though he's done basically nothing to try and fix the damage he did or indicate that he's truly changed. Oh, except Dabi, who is the bad guy because he's trying to destroy Endeavor's reputation...? Oh, and he's randomly killing people, that too. Good thing he's kicking the dog so we know he's wrong.

Worst of all, the heroic institutions aren't allowed to be wrong, even though they obviously are. Early on, the series made a point that institutional heroism was rotten in this world; it empowers glory hounds like Endeavor and Mount Lady, while marginalizing people without straightforwardly heroic Quirks (Shinso, Toga, Gentle, and of course quirkless Izuku). The problems are starting to become clear to people; that's why the Hero-Killer became such an icon. And the only thing holding it together is All-Might; once his strength and altruism leave the hero community, nobody is both willing and able to take his place. This isn't a game theory; it's in the text, straightforward, clearly intended.

And yet, the main characters want nothing more than to prop up the failing system. They don't have any suggestions for how to reform or replace it. The characters who want to change or destroy this rotten, corrupt system are portrayed as villains, or at best as misguided civilians who still need the heroes to rescue them. I started noticing this defensive streak rising in the writing back in 2020, when the BLM protests were going on, which made the civilians criticizing heroes like Endeavor hit a particular note in me. That's part of what made me start to turn on MHA.

But also...by that point, it was clear the story was wrapping up. School's out, the villains are up, it's basically just building anticipation and laying groundwork for the final climax. And there was a lot of stuff that felt set-up that wasn't, and seemed unlikely to, ever pay off. Maybe Ochaco would get a proper chance to shine, maybe some of the League would have their legitimate points recognized and acted on...more likely Ochaco and Toga would have one last designated girl-fight, wholesome junior waifu against depraved bisexual weirdo (who was forced to mask her 'true self' because her parents didn't want people to think she was weird, which is muddied by the fact that her true self needs to drink people's blood, but that's because Horikoshi wrote her that way).

I want to say something about how the series's female characters in general are treated—how they're given more dignity and than many of MHA's peers, but still less than their male counterparts, rarely getting more than one awesome moment and often not even getting that—but I can't think of anything vaguely original to say, and I should stop rambling and try to tie this together somehow.

Any one of the boring, standard choices would be fine on its own. Izuku getting powers, letting him escape his Quirkless status before the story really starts? That's the inciting incident, whatever. Endeavor gets accepted by his family despite not having nearly enough of an arc to feel like he's been reformed? He's just a side character, this lets Todoroki have a happy ending. A couple villains are written to have valid criticisms of the world, which end up getting ignored? Yeah, there are a lot of characters, some are gonna be duds. The structural problems in this world's foundation go largely unaddressed? This is a story about superheroes, not social workers.

But all of them in totality...they start forming a pattern. A series that wants to make a big deal about critiquing its genre and tropes, but which doesn't follow through on any of these critiques. In the end, everything can be solved within the constraints of typical shonen battle manga tropes. Friendship, hard work, and punching the bad man in the face are all it takes to save the day.

I want to hear ur full thoughts about bnha 😭 I was just thinking last night about how much I hate when ppl compare bakugou to sasuke

Can't give full thoughts because hate stems mostly from one mentally deranged individual basing their worth off this insipid series I haven't watched/read in years but the valid elements of my hate stem from bnha's baffling and consistent inability to serve narratively satisfying conclusions, which balances with its equally consistent ability to introduce unique or compelling worldbuilding only to do fuck all with it. Bakugou's treatment as The Sasuke when that is very obviously not who he is ties into that.

It tells you of this world altering event that would have disrupted society on every level but doesn't elaborate. It takes what could easily have been a figurative dream - to be the #1 hero - but gestures at this being a literal, concrete accomplishment that has more to do with marketing than anything else. You might think this would be interesting but since it never elaborates you're left confused over what metrics and qualifications could possibly allow Endeavor as the #2 hero, especially when the executive suits agree he's not #1 material. It introduces quirks that might inspire the thought "maybe I'm overthinking this, but wouldn't this initiate Racism 2.0? Forever? Not as a side note of history?" Later they have a kkk for quirkists drop for ONE PAGE and never mention them again.

Bakugou is recurring star re: setting up character traits and story building only to do absolutely nothing with it. Over and over again.

Child bakugou is shown to keep deku around to bully and fuck with him. The only person who thinks they're friends is deku. There's a compelling dynamic you could pull from that but the actual narrative acts like they're normal rivals. As if the story itself is ignoring their dialogue

Teen bakugou is teen bakugou. There is a very good reason BPDBakugou urls were a thing. Unfortunately the narrative treats this like normal hotheaded shounen behavior.

Teen bakugou genuinely believes that the path to being the #1 hero is a measure of who is physically strongest and no one in this fucking school of heroes corrects him. Nobody says actually a hero is someone who saves innocent lives. He almost murders another kid in front of thousands of spectators for not knowing her place. If this was a commentary on the fascistic nature of a superhero universe...gosh that would be interesting, wouldn't it? If only.

Going back to frustrating conclusions, after bakago gets kidnapped, the media does call the school out for apparently not doing a damn thing after the attempted murder event. All Might has to bow on tv in apology. Humiliating for him sure but like a) WHY DIDN'T YOU DO ANYTHING and b) you might think this would affect how the school approaches teaching from now on. lol.

My memories of the anime and manga have faded into each other and i don't care enough ensure accuracy. Season 1 ends with a strong, emotional scene where backup acknowledges deku as a potential threat. You know these words are difficult, excruciating for him to say out loud. It's cathartic, it sows the seeds of character growth, it shows emotional depth in him beyond anger. For maybe the first time, rivalry feels organic, grounded in how these characters have engaged with each other. I watched this scene and asked how could anyone hate Baku? He wouldn't have this scene if they planned to keep him emotionally stunted with no payoff.

Lol. Kek, even.

When bakugou gets kidnapped by villains who are trying to convince him to join them and this is right after the tournament in which he tried to murder a weaker person for refusing to give up, there's like two options for this kind of shounen: either the professional adult villains successfully persuade a 15yo libertarian with a god complex that evil is more conducive to his dream of being the strongest OR somehow, whether it's the power of friendship or he figures it out himself, bakugou realizes his entire framework for heroics must be flawed if villains assumed he was a perfect target. That's it. Those are your options.

...but not when you're bnha, king of pointless subversions! Instead the villains are, just, bizarrely, ludicrously incompetent, denying bakugou any shot at agency for his "choice." They don't even try to persuade him so much as they kidnap him and ask him if maybe he'd like to join them?! Idk if you knew this but while most people don't enjoy being kidnapped, bakugou has a specific trauma that makes him extra hostile to those who make him feel helpless and like, idk, if I were stalking a kid for several months, I think I would pick up on that and incorporate it into the game plan? The point is that because they had no fucking plan beyond this, there's no plot tension, no gravity, no meaning to his rejection. If I ask you to do my homework and you say no so I piss on your face, are you changing your mind (don't answer)???? He rejects them not out of disgust for their goals, not fearful recognition of himself, not even because he's dead set on becoming the strongest HERO period. He doesn't become evil because they pissed on him first.

Inevitably the story shifts into bakugou redemption mode but since he never willfully makes the right choice, it's like, you know what it's like? Almost every enemies-to-lovers I've tried to read. Full offense to those who like it, you guys give 5 stars to stories that give the most irritating, hateable love interest with zero reason for anyone to deal with them and then at some point you'll just "okay, that's enough, now they love each other :)" Why? Nothing changed? It went from one-sided harassment to one-sided harassment (they kiss occasionally now). Minus the romance, that's what they do with bakugou like i guess we just accept he's a for real hero who still believes weaker people deserve death. Okay.

Don't even get me started on todoroki