#the toga is exactly like I imagined it

[historical-kitten]

THANK YOU FOR WRITING “KINGDOMS OF” ITS AMAZING I LOVE IT 💖💖💖💖💖💖

TAKE THIS HUMBLE OFFERING

“Its just so, habdismsbsinshxjdndhcjdnxhcu”

- Me describing “Kingdoms of” to my friends

(Art is mine no reposting to anywhere else)

AWWWWWW. This is BEAUTIFUL! 💜💜💜💜 Thank you so so much!!!

[d1s1ntegrated]

Imagine Shigaraki with shy bookworm reader, who just hides her face blushes behind a book when she feels like he’s nearby?🤭

bookworm (nsfw)

shigaraki x shy!reader oneshot

summary: shigaraki catches you reading a verrryyyy dirty novella, and makes those chapters feel real.

btw this wasnt proofread, sorry if there are some minor mistakes!

cw: dirty talk, p/v, rough sex, overstimulation, corruption kink, slight breeding kink?, oral (fem rec), groping, shiggy is a hugeeee perv, mean shiggy, shy reader, missionary, teasing, dacryphilia, begging, minimal use of y/n, degradation, slight book abuse (sorry! but its for the plot)

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

"what are you doing?" shigaraki's voice cuts through the paragraph you were halfway through, causing you to jump. you slide your bookmark slowly between the pages.

"just reading" you answer him softly, and he scoffs.

"tch, again?" he rolls his eyes, "are you gonna do anything else today?"

you shake your head, reopening to the page you left off on. "probably not. it just got good" you retort, and refocus your eyes onto the dramatic scene. you look up at him over the top of the book- he's perched up on the arm of the old couch, picking at the already-ripped hangnails on his calloused hands. you watch him secretly for a few seconds before you plant your nose back into the book again, sighing contentedly. he suddenly interrupts you again by sliding down the arm and plopping down onto the worn seat. he audibly sighs and groans, and you tilt your head at him.

"is something wrong, shigaraki?" you ask innocently, and he huffs.

"tch. no. i'll leave you be" he slinks off the couch and heads over to the bar. you watch as he runs his slender fingers through his baby blue hair, and smile to yourself. he throws himself onto a barstool dramatically and you giggle lightly, but catch yourself.

"you know" he starts from across the room, "if you spent half as much time with the league as you do reading, you might actually learn something useful" he says matter-of-factly, and you bite your lip, fighting the urge to say something back.

its not that you weren't involved with the leagues missions- you were their perfect alibi. a small bookshop owner who just so happened to settle into the wrong part of town. it wasn't your fault the league found you useful, and it certainly wasn't your fault that their bribe was far too good to pass up. keep the shop, and you, out of chaos's way, and they use your place as not only a hideout, but a resource for information.

over the past few months playing pretend with them, you actually grew comfortable with the villains. toga came to the shop regularly with magne to read every trashy romance novel and gossip with you about boys. kurogiri would pop in and out on the premise of "needing information per tomura's request", and twice and spinner both enjoyed the comic section from time to time. you didn't see much of dabi, but when you did, he'd flit through the horror section, then secretly the romance section, ultimately to leave without a word, with a few books tucked under his coat. you acted like you didn't notice, because after a week or so, they'd return to their spots on the shelves. the only one you didn't see regularly was shigaraki.

shigaraki avoided seeing you as much as possible, and you subconsciously did the same. he liked to stay in his secluded hideaway, left to his own devices (literally, his devices. aka his PC). but when you started living at their base because your lease ended, and you didn't have the money to renew it AND keep the bookshop running (undercover work is hard, y'know!), you realized fast why exactly you didn't like coming face to face with tomura.

not only was he kind of an asshole, not to mention competitive, with a sharp and venomous tongue, he was so, so hot. his scars decorated his face like little strokes of paint on a canvas. his angular nose and carmine eyes were placed so perfectly on his pale skin. his thin lips dragging upwards into a predatory grin whenever he spoke of all things horrid. withal, the little birthmark just below those lips, that you found yourself fantasizing about kissing from time to time. just to see what it'd be like, of course. pure curiosity, nothing more. overall, the man was a picture-perfect portrait of your worst nightmare antagonist from the books you loved so much.

you weren't afraid of him per se, but you damn sure were intimidated. so you kept your head low, and your voice down around him. you were typically the quiet type, but something about him made you silent. as if one wrong word would cause him to turn and grip you tightly with all five fingers, turning you to nothing more than a fleeting memory.

he got off on your timidity. he looked at you like a helpless bunny, and he was the big scary wolf. you'd never admit it, but you got off on it equally the same. so when he'd approach you, you'd shove your face further into the pages of your book, as if getting closer to the words would save you from his vermillion gaze.

"i'm sorry, shigaraki. i just figured the further i stay away from the league's...well, anything, it would be safer for us overall." you masterfully answer him as to not provoke him. he stands from his seat and cracks his knuckles, dragging out his next reply.

"that doesn't mean you have to be completely oblivious to the world around you." he slowly approaches the back of the couch, and you feel yourself heat up at the proximity. he leans over the couch slightly to get closer, and you instinctively raise the book to cover everything up to your eyes. you blink at him and he smirks.

"what are you reading, anyways?" he snatches the book from your hands with three fingers and flips through it, eyes widening at the passage he lands on. he raises his eyebrows and you sink into yourself, covering your face with the sleeves of your oversized jumper.

"please," you croak out, "can i have it back?". your pleading sends a devilish smile to creep onto his face, and he shoves the book back into your hands.

"i didn't know our perfect little y/n was so, so filthy" he draws your name out with a teasing tone.

your face flushes and he chuckles.

"and here i thought you were the spitting image of innocence. seems as though i thought wrong for once" his face is inches from yours, his fingers tapping against the back of the couch. you can smell the combination of redbull and musky cologne on him, he's so close. you inhale sharply, breath hitching in your chest as he saunters around, swinging himself back over onto the unoccupied seat of the couch.

you don't answer as he asks another tantalizing question, causing him to lean over onto your legs, repeating it.

"i said," he raises his eyes to meet yours, "why'd you turn so quiet all of a sudden?"

you shake your head and look up at him, hovering over you.

"i'm always quiet..." you reply shakily, and he laughs.

"you're so pitiful, y/n, you know that?" he snakes a hand up to your thigh, drumming four fingers against the exposed skin under your shorts.

you nod and try to ignore him best as possible by reopening the book. this makes him even bolder, as he pinches your thigh, between thumb and forefinger, causing you to gasp out from behind the novel.

"don't act like i didn't see what you were reading there, slut." his voice is lower now, and his words slice through the core of your stomach and send pangs of heat through you. you giggle nervously as he creeps further, covering your very obvious desire with chapter 32 of your now clearly smutty book. he chuckles and drags his fingers under your sweater, tucking his ring finger down as not to hurt you. he trails up, underneath the hem of your bra, and forcefully pinches at one of your already-puffy nipples. you stifle a moan as you feel your core liquify, and he groans at the contact of your soft flesh on his cold, rough fingers. he pushes himself on top of you, your legs automatically spreading open for him as he drives his still-clothed hips down to meet yours. the friction alone drives you both wild, and he growls.

"you ever read any books where the villain gets the girl?" he asks, his voice thick with lust. you don't answer, but peer at him over the top of the book again and nod.

"is this one of them?" he flicks the back of the book and you jump, but nod again.

he hums passionately at your reaction and answer. then, without warning, he grips onto the hem of your shorts with all five fingers, sending them off of you into a pile of dust. your eyes widen, and you frown slightly. at least they were old, and already kind of ready to be replaced. he laughs and undoes the button of his jeans, yanking his pants and boxers down with them. you watch as his cock springs free, taken aback by the sheer size of it. it's not huge, but it's lengthy still, with a pretty dusty rose tint to the tip. it glistens with precum already, and he strokes it with three fingers as he watches you squirm, body clearly acting faster than your mind.

he grinds his dick down between your legs, brushing against the soft cotton of your underwear. he exhales sharply at the contact, and you bite your lip, feeling your wetness pressed against the material.

he pushed the seam of your panties to the side and dips a slender finger inside of you, and you gasp. he curls it, massaging one of your spots before promptly removing the finger and placing it into his mouth, sucking your essence off his finger with a slick pop, moaning.

"fuck, you taste better than i expected" he grumbles, and you whimper out a "hmm?"

"i don't know why i expected you to taste like paper or somethin'" he snickers and lowers his head down to your heat, licking your clit lazily. you moan out loud this time, with breathy little pants as his tongue dips into you. where he learned this, you're unsure, but his devouring sends your head back against the arm of the couch, unable to stifle your desperation anymore. he shoves a finger back inside while his mouth licks and nips at your swollen clit, and you feel yourself cresting towards orgasm. your eyes flutter shut as the tension inside of you builds, further and further, driving you insane. you whimper at his rapid movements, and the tight strings inside of you snap suddenly, sending white-hot currents to ripple through you. you clench tightly around his finger and he laps up your cum greedily, groaning at your collapse.

"i'm gonna show you why it's so important to pay attention to the outside world, baby" he whispers in your ear as he positions his cock to your opening. you nod and he presses the tip in slowly, emitting a small gasp from the both of you. he shudders as he slips it in, feeling you already clenched around his length.

he yanks the book from your hands, uncovering your face. he tosses the book to the floor and wraps four fingers around your neck gently.

"need you to pay attention to me baby, those words aren't gonna fuck you like i will" he thrusts into you hard, disallowing you to adjust fully. he pulls out and you breathe deeply, but he doesn't wait. he shoves it back in forcefully, the tip smacking against your cervix. you groan out in a mix of pleasure and pain, and he tightens the grasp on your neck slightly.

"look so good like this, slut, taking the big villains cock like this" he grumbles out into your ear, and you melt into a pool of desire. his words are enough to send you, but you hold back, craving more of him. he begins rutting into you rhythmically, slamming into your core with soft "slaps". he brings his hand off your neck to grab your face, pressing his cracked lips to yours. he shoves his tongue into your mouth and you taste yourself, sending a shiver down your spine. his moans tangle with yours as he picks up speed, and you feel as he sequentially grinds against your clit, the soft hair creating friction on your sensitive spot. you whimper at the contact and he bites on your lower lip.

"tell me how much you like this, filthy whore. tell me how badly you want my vile seed inside of you." he growls against your lips and you shiver again.

"i, shigaraki, please, i need it" you stutter out, and he groans.

"you're so pathetic. you want me to ruin you, huh?" he ends the question with a hard thrust, a shockwave of pain coursing through you. you nod and he continues, "what a depraved thing you are. you sit in front of me every fucking day and tease me, you know that?" he snarls.

"yes, i'm sorry, shigaraki, i'm sorry for being so filthy" you cry out, and he sends a swift slap to your thigh.

"don't apologize. i don't need an apology. i want to hear you beg." he sneers.

"please, shigaraki, please" you follow his orders dutifully, and he smiles wide.

"please what, wicked baby?" he thrusts into you hard and fast, his breathing staggering.

"please, let me cum, please, i need it, i need you to break me" you admit with tears rolling down your cheeks. he growls again and smacks your thigh again, digging four fingers into the pliable flesh again.

"break you? oh no, slut. i'm going to make it so that even the gods will turn their backs to you. you're mine, and by that, you're just as sick as i am now" he snaps, his voice a raspy and heavy breath. you clench tightly around him, his cock stretching you painfully still as you feel every ounce of purity in you dissipate. your moans and cries permeate the air with a sharpness that the whole city could hear, and you shatter forcefully around him, wrapping your arms around him and pulling him closer as your hips buck up, riding up to the intensity of the orgasm with a rushed mantra of "fucks, please's, and yes's." your own voice shocks you as the peak hits you, causing you to shout his name out with offensive indulgence.

"fuck, tomu, oh fuckfuckfuck, tomura" his name spills from your lips like honey, and he fractures inside of you at the sound. he pushes himself as deep as he can, hissing as he spills inside of you. the heat seeps through your entire body, feeling the stickiness coating your walls deeply. he twitches inside of you as he crashes down from his own orgasm, and sucks in air sharply as he pulls out slowly. the pain immediately hits you, choking a sharp cry out of you.

he hovers over you still, nipping at your neck. you sob out from overstimulation as he pumps his cum inside you more with a finger again for a few seconds before pulling it out.

"had to make sure it was really in there" he whispers, and you huff weakly.

"so?" he asks quietly, growling next to your ear, "was it comparable to your shitty book?" he teases. you nod and glance at the book strewn on the floor.

"better than." your voice is strained from the screaming, and he chuckles. you reach down and grab the title off the floor, shoving it into his hands, and on instinct he grabs hold of it with only a few fingers. you shake your head and motion with your hands.

"get rid of it." you say dismissively, and he gives you a confused look.

"it was only a placeholder for you anyways" you shrug, and with a snicker, he wraps his hands fully around the book as it crumbles to dust in his hands.

"does this mean you're done with the reading?" he asks snarkily, and you shake your head.

"no, it just means i'm done trying to compare you to a few chapters."

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

eeeenjoy! i went kinda hard with this one ngl. i lowkey really wanted a reason to write a little out of my usual loser!shiggy style, and something took over me for this.

thank you as always for the request <3

[moodyvoid]

Okay SO! Imagine if like the LoV members were getting their mugshots taken. What pose do you think they'd do? Could you make a scenario on that. If you don't take requests, it's just an idea.

The League of Villains getting their mugshots taken.

Mr. Compress, posing with his cane.

Cop: “Could you take off the mask?”

Mr. Compress: “Oh, certainly.”

Mr. Compress taking off the white mask to reveal the second mask.

Cop: “… could you take off the other mask?”

Mr. Compress: “What next? My hat???”

Cop: “Well, actually, yes.”

Mr. Compress: “This is an outrage.”

Cop: “The cane has to go too.”

Mr. Compress: “Try and take it from me.”

—

Toga, standing in front of the camera.

Toga: “Wait!”

Toga, fixing her hair.

Cop: “…”

Toga: “Okay… wait!”

Toga, pulling lipgloss out of her pocket.

Cop: “Was she not searched?”

Toga, putting the lipgloss away.

Toga: “Okay, okay, I’m ready.”

Cop, going to take the photo.

Toga: “Wait!”

Cop: “Enough! Stand still.”

Toga, standing still.

Cop, snapping the photo.

Toga, throwing up a peace sign and smiling at the last second.

Cop, sighing.

—

Twice, standing there with his mask on.

Cop: “You have to remove the mask.”

Twice: “But I’ll split.”

Cop: “You’ll what?— Nevermind, just take it off, I’ll make it quick.”

Twice takes off the mask.

Cop, snapping the photo, Twice smiling a big cheesy grin.

Cop: “… No smiling. Go again.”

Twice: “Please hurry. I’m going to split.”

Cop: “You’re fine. Look at the camera.”

Cop, snapping the photo again.

Cop, sighing: “You blinked. Go again.”

Twice: “I’m splitting!”

Cop: “No you’re not, stand still.”

Cop snaps the photo, pausing as multiple Twice’s are in the photo. He looks back up and the room is full of Twice doubles.

Twice: “I told you!”

Cop, turning to his partner: “I don’t have to take a picture of all of them, do I?”

—

Spinner and Tomura standing in front of the camera.

Cop: “I only need one of you.”

Tomura: “Spinner’s camera shy, so we’re taking our mugshot together.”

Cop: “No, you can’t do that.”

Tomura: “I wasn’t asking.”

Cop: “That’s not how it works here.”

Spinner: “Sounds like someone doesn’t have any friends.”

Tomura: “I bet you have to play Call of Duty with bots. Friendless cuck.”

Cop, holding back tears: “Maybe some people just enjoy playing with bots.”

—

Dabi, glaring at the camera.

Cop, about to take the picture.

Dabi, holding up his middle finger.

Cop: “I’m not taking your picture like that.”

Dabi: “I’m not putting it down and I’m not exactly in a rush to go to prison, so we can do this all night.”

Cop, grumbling: “Asshole.”

Cop, snapping the photo.

Dabi, taking out his own phone and taking a picture of the cop.

Cop: “What are you doing?”

Dabi: “Making sure I kill the right guy later. See you then.”

Cop, terrified.

[redphlox]

the fact is izuku managed to save tenkos soul his body was too far gone due to what afo done to him and the damage in his mind lets be real here if toga and tenko had lived they would have been put in prison for their tragic pasts don't change the people they killed and the fact their identities were well known

Look dude - come closer, come sit down next to me. Lets talk.

I'm not sure how to explain that this is a fantasy story. That means that it doesn't have to reflect our current world 1:1, which has flawed systems. Storied aren't biographies. You can tell the difference between reality and fantasy, yes? I hope so. If your mom let you borrow her phone so that you can get on Tumblr to talk to me, then maybe you can have her explain if you're still confused by the time I'm through with you.

If you're using this argument for why the villains who were humanized by the author had to die cruel deaths in a story that preached about giving people Second Chances, then I'm led to believe that you also believe that Bakugo surviving his exploded heart was realistic. And that's completely unrealistic, just in case you're not sure.

There were a lot of unrealistic aspects to this story, including the part about people having superhuman abilities like creating explosions from their palms and making things float. Those abilities aren't real either, just in case you are confused. You might have picked up this story and thought it was an autobiography or a history textbook, so I advise that you ask your mom to take you to the library and talk to a librarian about the differences between literary genres.

Now - hold on to your seat, this is why I had you sit down; this next part is going to be really perplexing to you if you believe quirks are real - stories are usually used with the purpose of conveying a message, of exploring our Humanity and to experience of some kind of catharsis or emotion using our imaginations. You know the story about The three little pigs? That are also unrealistic, but it serves a purpose - it teaches little kids about perseverance and working hard. The first two little pigs didn't want to put in the effort to make a solid house, so they paid for it in the end with their lives. Do we live in the world where wolves literally come knocking on our doors trying to eat us? No, but we do live in a world where it's important to persevere and work hard. Disney's The Little Mermaid also isn't real, because Mermaids Don't exist, but it dealt with very real human experiences that we all deal with such as feeling out of place in the world, our identity, etc.

So, you can see that authors use fantasy stories to explore very real human emotions, social issues, what have you. BNHA starts off like that too. The very first words are exactly, "people are not all born equal", and it goes on to tell the story of a teen who's basically considered disabled because he's different. He's bullied, discriminated against, and he deals with very real human experiences such as disregarding authority to go after a friend he really cares about because he felt it was the right heroic thing to do, experiencing death (Night eye, Midnight), dealing with abusive parents (Endeavor) and comforting abuse victims (Shouto, Eri.)

These characters are not real, but they go through very real human experiences. These are real world issues.

You're still following me, right? Characters and stories aren't real, but their issues usually reflect real life issues.

All right. Not that we've established that stories often and talk about real world problems that we experience in everyday life, let's talk about how authors can approach these topics. It's all about using different Tools in your writing to convey your message.

Let's go back to my example with the Three Little Pigs. The moral of the story, the message, the theme, is that hard work pays off. If you slack off, you're possibly putting yourself in danger. But what if the last little pig's house had fallen down anyway despite his hard work? What if the wolf had eaten him anyway? Then the moral of the story is no longer that hard work pays off. The moral of the story is that no matter how hard you work, sometimes things just don't work out the way you imagined or planned.

Okay - so, which one of these morals is more realistic? That your hard work always pays off, or that sometimes, no matter how hard you work, you fail? I'm not sure where you are in life, but it's the second one. It's true. Sometimes no matter how hard you work, life fucks you in the ass without prep. People go to college with the aspirations of becoming medical doctors and can't get into med school no matter how many straight As, perfect grades they get. They worked hard, yet they didn't achieve what they wanted. Many families have a two income household but still can't make ends meet because of unexpected expenses such as medical bills, car accidents, deaths etc. You could be the world's most safe driver and still die in a car accident because of someone else's negligent driving.

That's the harsh reality of life. Does that mean that the moral of the Three Little Pigs story is wrong? No. It's a story and it teaches a really important lesson about resilience and survival. In a perfect world in that story, hard work always pays off. That's comforting to adults and helps little kids understand the importance of persevering and working hard. Those are good qualities to have.

Sometimes a storys themes and messages don't align with the readers personal views of the world but that doesn't mean the writing is bad. You could even have a moral disagreement with the themes presented in a story but have the writing still be good writing. For example, I personally don't agree that hard work always pays off. But in reference to The Three Little Pig, when it's a story for little kids, I agree that the writing fits. If I were the author of The Three Little pigs, I would make the theme be, "it's always good to work hard, but if your dreams don't come true then that's okay." I would write a story about all the pains of working hard and meeting failure but then overcoming it and being happy anyway in the face of failure. The story's theme would be resilience, not about hard work always paying off.

But the Three Little Pigs isn't like I just decribed, so do I think it's bad writing? No, because the theme of the story matches the conclusion .

This is where My Hero Academia fails. The beginning of the story, all the messages about giving people Second Chances , fall flat. It presented a highly nuanced issue that's very real to the world we're living in about reforming criminals and getting to the core of understanding criminal behavior. The story presented itself like it would address this issue with societal change... and instead it gave us superficial change such as holding hands with victims who appear to be blameless and morally pure like Eri and that new mysterious crying boy who is literally nameless.

The issue with that is that it's really naive. A lot of times, people who break the law, people in need - mentally ill people, the sick, the poor aren't perfect victims. I work in a hospital and a lot of the people who seek treatment REFUSE to heed the doctor's medical opinion. Does that mean that they deserve to die? No. Does that mean I should give up on them? No, I'm going to educate.

Following the logic of BNHA though, you would give up on these people. The suicidal person who's about to jump off the bridge? Well, if they don't take your hand willingly, then why should you keep trying to save them? The crying boy at the end is only saved because he took the grandma's hand. What if he had pushed her away? If he had, the story's logic says that he deserves whatever is coming to him. And of course this is a more nuanced topic than I'm portraying it to be - victims and people in need also have a role in helping themselves, but this story makes it seem like they get only one chance and they're doomed if they don't take it. Which is literally a message that the story presents through Endeavor and Gentle and La Brava: people deserve second chances. But only specific people, according to the story. It teaches you that not all people are born equal. Which is literally what the story set out to disprove.

Do you see how the math isn't mathing?

[sanjoongie]

ȶɦɛ ʄɨռǟʟ ɖǟʏ օʄ ʄǟȶɛ

🍷my submission for the Permevent for @cultofdionysusnet

🍷Pairing: Jung Wooyoung x Reader (f), side character Choi Jongho

🍷Genre: smut

🍷Au: cult au, party au

🍷Trope: god/worshipper, (slight e2l with Jongho)

🍷Rating: 18+, MDNI

🍷Word Count: 3,067

🍷Warnings: Drinking! (it is the cult of dionysus after all). The reader and wooyoung do not get drunk. there is NO drunk sex without consent. mentions of toys (m), usage of toys (f), masturbation (jongho is the object of desire for this), exhibitionism, public sex, voyeurism, shower sex, 69, slight manhandling

🍷Summary: During your initiation into the cult of dionysus, you find your rival Jongho there. You also find Wooyoung, the host aka Dionysus. Who knows what kind of debauchery you could get into?

🍷Author's note: This is my final submission for a cultofdionysusnet event. Today is my last day as a founding admin and member of the net. Once upon a time, a net rejected me because of my age. Rie and Ki came together with myself so that we could make a net that had no age cap. Although I will no longer be a part of the net, I will always appreciate what was done for me. I wish my members a muse filled writing life. This is my final sign off as admin Atropos Topaz 💞🍷

🍷divider provided by @cafekitsune

It had taken you years, a few books, and a signing tour but you had finally made it: you were an initiate to the Cult of Dionysus. The prestigious club, extremely elusive and exclusive, had only the most established creatives of our current decade as members. And now that included you.

You had received a burgundy and gold invitation at your abode one night and you squealed loudly. It had simply a location on the card, which was a vineyard in Greece. You even bought a white toga-like dress to wear to the function. You could only imagine the debauched devilry that this gathering was going to include. Besides, being able to rub elbows with some of the most elite minds, of course.

You had heard rumors, who hadn't? In your line of profession, there were always whispers of the best of the best being tapped for a club and then their star shooting even further in their respective profession. Last year, you had been jealous when another author had a huge publishing house offer them a contract, only to find out it was because of their connections with the Cult of Dionysus.

Now it was your turn to shine bright and get everything your greedy heart desired.

What you had not expected, when you arrived at the function and were given a bag of liquid by a gold-painted, naked server, was to be walking down an aisle of the vineyard with a… dildo. You slung the wineskin around your shoulder as if it was a purse with a strap and entered the backyard of the villa that hosted the vineyard.

“Bacchanalia has been banned since 186 BC but that has never stopped our people from indulging despite society trying to restrict us.”

The current ‘Dionysus’, as the host of the current Bacchanalia was so fondly called, was Jung Wooyoung. The famous playwright, dressed in all black like he was rebelling against the white attire of the remainder of the members, swung his arms out open as he spoke.

“That is exactly why we still retain some of our predecessors' rituals,” Wooyoung paused for dramatic effect. “Like the phallic procession.”

Excited murmurs rippled through the crowd. Wooyoung grinned in excitement, “How could we be the Cult of Dionysus without the orgies, right my friends?”

Some more hoots came from the crowd in response.

More gold-painted servers came around with a tray of dildos. You were about to pick up a tentacled one when another hand grabbed it. You went to glare at the owner of said hand and sighed.

“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Jongho drawled.

Choi Jongho, another author, and your direct competition, was the last person you wanted to see here. “How about we pretend to not know each other.”

Jongho snorted. “Fine by me.”

You instead grabbed a bright neon blue dildo from the tray. Goddamn Choi Jongho.

“We will begin the phallic procession and it will be followed by a drinking contest amongst our initiates. The wineskin that you have been given upon entering will be what you will be chugging down.” Wooyoung chuckled deeply at the next part. “Whoever loses the drinking contest will be giving us a private showing of their talents with their chosen dildo. We all remember San’s performance last year, right?”

Choi San, a well-known new age poet, looked down at the ground and dug his toe in the ground. Imagery of the sharp eyes and even sharper cheek boned man bouncing on a dildo in front of a crowd raced through your mind. You had to chase it away, so you could focus back on Wooyoung and what he was saying.

“If all our initiates would please make their way to the vineyard, we can begin the procession, initiates last.”

You thought you might feel weird holding a dildo by its base with your hand bracing it and your other hand wrapped around it, but there was something about the solidarity and silence of the almost ritual-like moment that changed your mind. The stars in the sky shone brightly. Grapes hung heavy from the vines. You truly felt like you were becoming an initiate of the cult of old; as if you truly stepped from the vineyard and would find yourself in Ancient Greece.

You were a member of this illustrious group now and you planned on drinking up every moment, no pun intended.

At the end of the vineyard, the current members were all gathered in a rough semicircle that closed when all the initiates finished their procession. The initiates and yourself stood in a line.

Wooyoung clapped to get everyone’s attention, standing at the apex of the circle of people. “You can put your phallic instruments down and let the drinking game begin.”

Servers placed trays in front of you, so as to not dirty up the dildos, and then everyone took the wineskins in their hands. You unpopped the cork and looked down the line on either side of you. Jongho was a few people down from you and he was already smirking. The man could drink his weight in alcohol and still hold his own, so he knew he wasn’t going to lose.

What you didn’t think he understood was that to lose this game was to win. Clearly all the members had been impressed by San’s performance last year. You knew this because the poet had had an amazing year after his initiation to the cult. You had originally thought it was just because of his entrance to the cult but you were sure now it was because of what he did during his initiation that gained him so much prestige.

So you had made a decision: you were deliberately going to lose the game.

“Ready?” Wooyoung announced with a gleam in his eye, holding his hand up like he was one of those girls signalling to go for a car race. “Drink!”

You held the wineskin up to your lips and swallowed dry. You let a little wine spill down your cheeks. But as other initiates finished theirs, the crowd hollering in triumph, at last you were the final initiate.

“Ah,” Wooyoung said with mock chagrin. “It seems another creative mind of the written word has lost the drinking game. You’re carrying on a tradition, it seems.”

You attempted to look deflated and Wooyoung clapped you on the back. “I’m sure you’ll put on a great show,” he said loudly before leaning in and whispering in your ear. “I’ll be watching.”

Once again, a gold-painted server came with a soft blanket. They laid out the blanket for you in the middle of the loose circle of members, the initiates blending into said circle. They offered you your dildo and then melted back into the shadows as they had been doing the entire evening.

Your stage was set, it was just up to you to live up to the performance now.

Luckily, it wasn’t hard for you to get wet and excited with a crowd. Your exhibitionism had gotten you into trouble plenty when you were in your wild and youthful phase, but the kink had never expired as you got older.

The second part that made this a little bit easier and little bit sexier, was imagining someone who you despised fucking you good. So when you moved to your knees, pulled up your toga-like dress, pulled aside your panties and pushed the head of the dildo along your already-wet folds, and moaned in pleasure, you slowly opened your eyes to make eye contact with none other than Choi Jongho.

And the man, for the first time since you’ve been aware of his existence, looked away first.

You imagined Jongho would drink in the way you reacted to him. Dragging his cockhead through your folds, circling your clit, making you beg for him to penetrate you. You played the dildo against your body, imagining the smirking, golden author above you. He may be your rival but he certainly was an atractive mother fucker.

You yanked one side of your dress to reveal one of your breasts and immediately pinched your nipple between your forefinger and thumb. You yanked it and twisted it, sure Jongho would want you to make as many pretty noises as you could for him. Jongho would be rough but accurate in his pleasure with you, presumably of course.

Finally, you sank down on the electric blue dildo. You were so wet that it barely went in with resistance but you did let out a pathetic whine as you were filled. You arched your back as you took the dildo to the hilt. You didn’t leave any time, eager for the pleasure that was being offered, both imaginary and real.

“That’s it, take me in your eager hole,” Imaginary Jongho hissed in your ear quietly.

You moaned and bounced eagerly on the dildo. You didn’t dare open your eyes again, in case you broke the pleasure bubble you were living in currently. But you did hope everyone’s eyes were on you.

Because of the situation, or perhaps due to the scenario playing on in your head, it wasn’t long as the dildo rubbed the spongy spot inside of you and you came undone for everyone in the loose circle around you. You cried out, throwing your head back, and riding that dildo for all it was worth.

With your head tilted back, panting, you were unsure if you had enough energy to even open your eyes.

Then you felt something touch your lips, and on instinct, you opened them up. Cold, pure water entered your lips, and you hummed in contentment.

When you at last opened your eyes wearily, you saw that it was Wooyoung that was gifting you with water. His own eyes were dark and trained solely on your face.

“You did well.”

A shiver shot down your spine at the praise. You could tell that was Wooyoung’s intent by the half-smirk that graced his lips.

He offered you a hand and you gratefully took it. Wooyoung draped his cloak over you, covering your body.

“Trying to outdo San’s performance, I see,” Wooyoung teased you.

You followed him as the rest of the members of the cult dispersed amongst the outdoor set up. Some were already in compromising positions, and even though you yourself had just performed, you avoided watching what was going on. The less inner circle secrets you knew, the less you had to lie about.

“Can I escort you to the villa? There are several bathrooms that you could clean yourself up in.”

Wooyoung was offering for you to become less dirty but somehow the cadence in his tone let you know he was only thinking of more dirty scenarios.

“I would be honored by the honorary Dionysus,” You smiled happily.

Wooyoung waved away your statement with mock humility. “Oh, please.”

Nonetheless, Wooyoung guided you with subtle pushes on the small of your back until you both made your way back through the vineyard. Your legs were a wee bit wobbly but you were sure the trek would be worth it.

It seemed a few others had the same idea. You spotted Yeosang, the famous cellist, in a dark corner, someone sucking on the sensitive skin of his neck. Mingi the oil painting specialist was filming himself fucking someone. Hongjoong, a newly risen sculptor, was admiring someone’s curves and skin with his hands. So much for not knowing what was going on with the inner circle.

Wooyoung finally brought you to a lavish bathroom, the stand up shower having multiple heads on different walls.

After completely ditching his clothing, Wooyoung stepped inside, putting the water on. He adjusted the temperature and offered you a hand in. You eagerly pushed your toga dress off, along with Wooyoung’s cloak, and stepped into the warm water with the bronze god.

You weren’t sure exactly when Wooyoung had assumed the mantle of the host of the party, but when there seemed to be a fuzzy, golden line that covered his skin, you knew something was different.

“You need not be afraid,” Wooyoung grinned, full of boyish amusement.

You gasped in delight when you saw that his eyes were the most wonderfully deep burgundy color of a dark, red wine. “Wooyoung?”

“You are the chosen initiate to first receive his Gift,” Wooyoung raised an attractive eyebrow. “Do you accept it?”

You immediately knelt beneath the rain shower head, water falling around you, head bowed. “With your pleasure, I would receive the blessing of the Muse.”

Wooyoung cupped your chin and pushed up, to signal for you to rise.

“So it shall be,” he whispered seductively against your lips and then pressed them together.

You felt a thrill, a buzz, a jolt of energy travel through you. You squealed in surprise and glee. Wooyoung tossed his head back and cackled, a full belly laugh full of excitement. “I knew we chose right.”

Wooyoung held your head between both his hands, kissing you in the shower. You wrapped a leg around his hip. Wooyoung’s full erect cock pressed between your legs and you whimpered at the interaction.

Without breaking the kiss, Wooyoung gently played his cockhead against your folds, just like you had guided the blue dildo to do earlier. You appreciated the kindness of Wooyoung, for you had played with yourself quite roughly and were now sensitive and puffy down below.

“I bet you taste sweeter than any of the wine we offer,” Wooyoung said in a throaty voice.

You put a firm hand on Wooyoung’s muscled shoulder. “You will not be tasting me without allowing me to return the favor.”

That’s how you found the two of you on the warm tiles of the shower, Wooyoung on his back and you hovering over his glorious body. Your mouth played along the side of Wooyoung’s cock, until you came to the peak, and then encompassed his cock in your mouth. The heaviness on your tongue was like heaven. Wooyoung’s hands tugged on your legs, maneuvering for you to sit even further down on his face, so that his tongue could swirl around your clit.

Wooyoung called for a halt suddenly, strong, veined hands wrapping around your wrists before you could make him spill his seed inside of your mouth.

“I will not do you a disservice,” Wooyoung growled.

You watched on with curiosity as he switched your positions, allowing him to manhandle you until you were below him on the sweaty tiles. The water continued to flow, making the entire bathroom fill with steam. Wooyoung’s elbows held his body above you. His hair clung to his face, making you want to reach up and push his hair out of his face.

Wooyoung once again held onto your wrist. He gripped the both of them in his hand and held your hands against your chest. Wooyoung’s head dipped between your head and shoulder, to lick and kiss up your neck. “If I don’t deliver my gift, I will simply go crazy.”

You bucked your hips upwards. “Please, Wooyoung. I’m ready.”

Wooyoung, as if he had done it a million times, pulled back his hips and easily slid into you. The slide of his cock inside of you made you moan wantonly. You weren’t sure if it was because he was possessed by Dionysus himself, the god of wine and pleasure, but everything felt SO good. Every drag of his cock, every thrust of his hips against yours, spoke of your nerves alighting.

Wooyoung’s whines and moans against your skin were like music to your ears. He sounded desperate and delicious at the same time. “So good,” he moaned as he picked up the pace.

Neither of you were drunk on wine, but the both of you seemed to be drunk off each other. Your hips continued to rise upwards in order to meet Wooyoung’s thrusts. Wooyoung sounded pussy drunk off you, whimpering about how warm and wet and good your pussy was for him.

“Soon, please let it be soon, I’m--” Your words were swallowed by Wooyoung’s kisses. His lips were wet, from both the moisture in the air and his spit.

All you were left with were your own cries crescendoing into a cacophony of pleasure as your climax escalated. When your climax hit you, it was like you saw stars. You floated in a feeling of pure bliss, your pussy lips clenching along Wooyoung’s length as you rode out your pleasure.

You opened your eyes to find Wooyoung watching you carefully. “And now, for the pièce de résistance.”

If you thought your climax was the cherry on top, you had been sorely mistaken. Wooyoung’s thrusts were choppy and sloppy but it wasn’t too long before he came inside of you. You could feel his cum fill you up, swirling around in your insides, but it was more than that. It felt warm, it felt powerful and then you gasped when your own skin lit up with the soft golden light that had been filling Wooyoung.

Even though Wooyoung’s nose was scrunched up from his climax, he still gasped his final words, performing as Dionysus’ proxy. “The muse will be with you for only a few days, so use it wisely. I look forward to reading what you come up with.”

And then he collapsed on top of you.

You laughed, giddy and full of excitement. You had just had probably the best sex of your life AND you were about to write your next great novel?

Wooyoung followed with his sweet laughter twinkling in the air, albeit sounding a little tired.

“Perhaps my novel might do so well that Seonghwa will want to direct a movie based on it!” You thought out loud, stars in your eyes already. You should use your Cult of Dionysus connections well, after all.

Wooyoung raised his head, the look on his face of pure betrayal. “No no no, he’d ruin it. Let me write a Broadway play for you. That would do it much better justice.” Wooyoung momentarily got a cocky look on his face. “Besides, that would give you an excuse to be in the theatre to watch its opening night with yours truly.”

The night was far from completed, but you already won over the cult, Wooyoung, and a god himself. Things could only go up from here.

[scary-grace]

Enough to Go By (Chapter 19) - a Shigaraki x f!Reader fic

Your best friend vanished on the same night his family was murdered, and even though the world forgot about him, you never did. When a chance encounter brings you back into contact with Shimura Tenko, you'll do anything to make sure you don't lose him again. Keep his secrets? Sure. Aid the League of Villains? Of course. Sacrifice everything? You would - but as the battle between the League of Villains and hero society unfolds, it becomes clear that everything is far more than you or anyone else imagined it would be. (cross-posted to Ao3)

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Chapter 19

“I still don’t get it,” Twice says. “What happened?”

You could ask the same question, and you have. You and the rest of the League are in Tomura’s hospital room, trying to piece together the chain of events that occurred in Deika City, and you can’t agree on anything. Everybody has gaps in their timeline, things they weren’t there for or were unconscious during or simply disagree on, as you and Dabi discover when you mention that you shot at his opponent to disorient them and he insists that he didn’t need any fucking help. “Why do we need to know what happened at all?” Tomura asks. He’s awake but fairly high on painkillers, and you can tell that all he wants is for everybody to shut up so he can go back to sleep. “We won. That’s it.”

“It almost wasn’t a win,” Spinner says. You and he are in agreement on that, at least. “If it wasn’t for Saintess’s quirk –”

“I can’t believe you have a quirk now!” Toga hugs you, then winces. “Ow. It’s the perfect quirk for you! Don’t you like it?”

“Spinner’s right. Our strategy was shit,” Dabi says. “We got split up. If we hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been stuck handling the ice bitch on my own.”

“You weren’t on your own,” Compress points out. “Saintess and I assisted you.”

“Fuck off.”

“I agree with Spinner. And with Dabi.” You add the last part only grudgingly. “We took way too much damage. That might not have happened if we’d stuck together.”

“We sort of stuck together!” Twice says. “I stuck us together with my ultimate attack! I’m calling it ‘Sad Man’s Parade’, because I was sad when I did it. But I’m not sad now!”

“We couldn’t have won without you,” Tomura says. Twice is pretty obviously beaming behind his mask. “All of you were important to the victory. But –”

He tries to sit up, grimaces. You slide one hand behind his back to support him while you adjust the bed, but then he leans against you instead of leaning back. You’re not exactly going to push him away, and he doesn’t speak up again. “But like I said,” Spinner says, filling in, “you’d have been dead if Saintess didn’t have a quirk.”

“And if she didn’t love you so much,” Toga says, elbowing you in the ribs until you wince. “I’m so glad you have a love quirk, too!”

You’re not sure you’d classify your quirk or Toga’s as a love quirk. You’re not sure how you’d classify your quirk, period, but you don’t hate having it. You’re grateful that you have it. Grateful doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Nobody’s looked into your quirk very much, except for someone whose quirk lets them detect quirks who confirmed that you have one, and so far all that’s changed is that the members of the MLA are much nicer to you than they would have been otherwise. Re-Destro in particular is a fan of yours – he admires loyalty, he says, and the fact that you took the time to help him too doesn’t hurt. For your part, you hate him. You’re not going to forget what he did to Tomura, and you know he’s only treating you well because you didn’t turn out to be quirkless after all, but you keep that under wraps. Even with your quirk, in most situations, your other skills still matter more.

But not in this one. In this one, with Tomura in a hospital bed and your quirk somehow helping him heal, your quirk is the only thing that matters.

“The doctor is coming here,” Compress says. He’s the only person who survived the fight with his earpiece intact – Tomura, Twice, Spinner, and Toga all lost theirs, Dabi claims he lost his but probably torched it instead, and you winged yours at the floor and crushed it midway through one of Tomura’s surgeries because the doctor wouldn’t shut up about your quirk. “He wants to discuss next steps, and to investigate Saintess’s quirk for himself.”

“Next steps for what? We don’t need him anymore.”

That comes from Tomura, and it’s a surprise to everybody. “What is that supposed to mean?” Dabi asks. “He’s the one who makes the Nomus.”

“We’ve got an army. We don’t need them.” Tomura’s refusing to open his eyes, and you’d believe he’s falling asleep if you couldn’t feel how tense he is. “We don’t need his money, either, and Gigantomachia follows me now. He can go to hell.”

“We should hear him out, at least. Don’t you think?” Compress ventures. “More power couldn’t hurt.”

“Yeah, if he can give us more stuff, we should take it,” Spinner agrees, glancing warily between you and Tomura – like this might be your idea, instead of right now being the first time you’ve heard anything about it. “Let’s hear him out.”

“Whatever.” Tomura finally quits leaning against you and flops back against the bed. “Did you all figure out what happened yet?”

Compress turns back to the whiteboard you’ve all been using to create a timeline – or timelines. There are seven markers, seven different colors of ink. One for each of you. “At the start of the rest period, we received the threat from the Meta Liberation Army, as well as the news that they’d kidnapped Giran. Shigaraki, you came up with the plan to use the MLA against Gigantomachia, and the doctor transported all of us –”

“Almost all of us,” Toga corrects, patting your arm lightly.

“Almost all of us to the outskirts of Deika City,” Compress continues. “We enter the city, split up, and engage the MLA sources. Toga and Twice are initially fighting alone, while Dabi and I and Spinner and Shigaraki proceed separately. Dabi and I meet resistance in the form of Geten – ”

“Ice bitch.”

“If you must,” Compress says, and Twice snorts. “Spinner and Shigaraki also meet resistance, but for the time being, they make progress. And at some point while all of us are fighting, the doctor transports Saintess to the outskirts of the city and sends her in to support us.”

Spinner looks confused. “Wait, was that before or after the Sad Man’s Parade?”

“Before,” you say. “I took a few shots at the – um, Ice Bitch –”

“You fucking didn’t.”

“I missed,” you say. “Then I chased after Spinner and Tomura, and that was when the Sad Man’s Parade happened. One of Twice’s clones caught me.”

“Really?” Twice asks. “What happened to it?”

“It tried to take me out of the city,” you say. “I – sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Twice says magnanimously. He reaches across Tomura’s hospital bed to pat your arm. “Anyway, that was after I rescued Toga –”

“Which was after I beat the one they sent after me,” Toga says. “I used Ochako’s blood – and if I love somebody enough, I can use their quirk, too! I love having a love quirk!”

She’s hugging you again. Compress is making a few edits to the timelines to accurately mark the Sad Man’s Parade. “Toga’s injuries remove her from the fight. Twice sends clones to aid Spinner and Shigaraki, and Saintess pursues them as well. Shigaraki, and the clones head to the tower where Re-Destro and Skeptic are waiting for them, but Spinner is held up, and Saintess aids him.”

“By murking a guy,” Spinner says. He still looks surprised. “It was nuts.”

“So you finally got your hands dirty,” Dabi remarks. He gives you an appraising look. “Took you long enough. Compress. Put it on the timeline.”

“As what?”

Dabi’s smirking. “Baby’s first kill.”

“Fuck off,” Tomura mutters. He hasn’t opened his eyes. “Twice cloned me, Dabi, and Compress and sent the clones ahead to the tower to draw fire and rescue Giran. I brought the tower down when I got there. Then I beat Re-Destro and took over his army. That’s it.”

“We’re missing a few things,” Compress says, and Tomura snarls under his breath. “Gigantomachia’s arrival, for one. He drew the remaining MLA members’ attention quite successfully and prevented them from assisting Re-Destro against you. You also received some backup from your sidekick during the fight.”

“I didn’t do very much,” you say. “I was there, I guess. Once Tomura’s quirk awakened he didn’t need backup from anyone.”

Compress makes a few adjustments to the timelines. “There. Are we all in agreement?” It’s quiet for a second. “I think we can agree that some errors were made.”

“We had two seconds to plan,” Tomura says. “It could have been worse.”

Spinner gives him an incredulous look. “How?”

“I’m tired,” Tomura says, instead of answering. “Get out. Figure out what went wrong and how to fix it if you want, but do it somewhere else.”

He’s in a bad mood, worse than he’s been since he woke up, and you’re not sure why. Nobody else seems concerned as to why, either – instead they get up and head for the door, Compress carrying the whiteboard and all the markers. As the door shuts behind them, you can hear them discussing lunch. Specifically, what fancy food they’re going to order on Re-Destro’s dime. Most of them have been having real meals only sporadically. Whatever they choose, you hope they order the entire menu.

But Tomura hasn’t said if he wants you to stay. You try to get to your feet, but Tomura catches your sleeve between the two remaining fingers on his left hand and pulls lightly. Lightly is all he can manage right now. “Not you.”

“Okay.” You sit down at the edge of the bed again. “I just wanted to check.”

“Never you.” Tomura pulls weakly at your sleeve again. “Closer.”

“I don’t think closer will make any difference with my quirk.”

Tomura gives you a look. It’s obscured a bit by the bandages on his face, but it’s unmistakably irritated. “It’s not for your quirk,” he says. “I need to touch my girlfriend.”

“But not your sidekick.”

“Shut up.” Tomura yanks at your sleeve a third time. “Come here.”

You kick off your shoes and settle into the limited space available on the bed, kicking yourself for hesitating for even a second. You shouldn’t give Tomura a hard time. He’s been through hell. But you weren’t giving him a hard time on purpose, you don’t think. You’ve got your own reasons. They’re stupid, but you have them.

And even when he’s doped up on painkillers, Tenko can guess them, because he knows you better than anyone. “It’s not for your quirk,” he says. He’s grimacing as he shuffles on the bed, trying to get closer and comfortable at the same time. “Don’t be stupid. I love you. Nothing’s changed.”

“Everything’s changed.” You close your eyes.

“Not us.” Tenko sounds sure. He’s never anything but sure when it comes to the two of you, and it’s sort of a relief. “Never us.”

“Okay.” You turn your head to kiss his shoulder lightly. It’s one of the only places on his body that’s not bandaged. “I love you, too. Get some rest.”

The two of you are quiet, but you know Tenko isn’t asleep, and you haven’t slept in days yourself. You should be able to sleep, but you can’t, and if neither of you are asleep, you have questions. “Why don’t you want the doctor’s help anymore?”

“I don’t need it.”

“That’s not the only reason,” you say. Tenko makes a dissatisfied sound. “Tell me.”

“He betrayed me.” Tenko’s voice is cold, furious, even through a layer of narcotics. “I told him to keep you away. I said I didn’t want you anywhere near it. He sent you right into the middle of it with a gun –”

“I got the gun on my own,” you say. “I’ve been practicing.”

“You should never have been there.” Tenko’s heart is beating faster. You set your hand on his chest, over his heart, as if you can slow it down on your own. “There’s no point to it if you die.”

Your stomach lurches. “Don’t say that.”

“You say it all the time,” Tenko says. “You said you don’t want to be in the new world unless I’m in it with you. How is what I said any different?”

It’s not. You want it to be, but it’s not – it’s just a different phrasing of the same sentiment. You let it stand. “I needed to be there,” you say. “If I hadn’t been, you’d have died.”

“He didn’t send you in there for me.” Tenko twists awkwardly, trying to get closer to you. “He was trying to wake up your quirk.”

You’d guessed, sort of. Based on all the yammering he was doing while you were trying to keep your quirk active during Tenko’s surgeries, this outcome is the one he was hoping for when he sent you into the middle of the fight between the League of Villains and the Meta Liberation Army. The League got four quirk awakenings for the price of one battle with the clash in Deika City – Toga’s ability to use the quirks of those she changes into, Twice’s ability to create infinite clones, Tenko’s ability to spread Decay like a virus, and your ability to keep Tenko alive. The doctor must be thrilled. No wonder he’s coming here.

“He betrayed me,” Tenko says again. “I don’t want him anywhere near us. If he comes here I’ll – damn it –”

He hisses with pain. How long has it been since his last painkiller dose? You sit up and nudge the pain-relief button within Tenko’s reach. He shakes his head. “I don’t need it.”

“You need to sleep. It’ll be harder to sleep if you’re in pain.” You look him over, taking in the awful things that have been done to him, and feel another awkward, terrible stab of gratitude for your quirk. Your greatest fear is losing him again, but your quirk made sure you wouldn’t have to. “If you won’t do it for you, for me? I won’t sleep well if I know you’re hurting.”

“Do you even sleep anymore?” Tenko somehow manages to look skeptical. “You look like hell. Pretty. But like hell.”

You sit there with that for a second. “I think that’s the first time you’ve ever called me pretty.”

“I said it before. When we were kids.” Tenko presses the pain-relief button three times in a row. “You can’t say it’s just the meds talking.”

You weren’t going to say that. You settle in next to Tenko again, wrapping your arms gingerly around him to avoid any more thrashing around on his part. “Get some rest, okay?”

“Tell me about it.”

“Hmm?”

“The new world.” Tenko’s voice is fuzzy already. “Your stories are always better than mine.”

The new world isn’t just a story. You almost correct him before you remember that the two of you are living in one of your childhood stories right now, that you’ve taken it and made it real. Maybe this is how you’ll convince Tenko, how you’ll make him see what you see, make him follow you. There are worse ways to do it. A lot of them.

“The new world,” you start. “Okay. If it’s a totally blank slate – all the cities and everything are gone – we’ll need somewhere to live, first of all. And humans are social creatures. We survive by helping each other. That’s how it’s supposed to be in this world, but it isn’t, so in the new world, that’s how we’ll do things. We’ll need somewhere to live, and we’ll need people we want to live near, so we can work together and start to build something new.”

“What if I don’t get rid of everything?”

You were hoping he’d say that. “Then we’ll find somewhere to fix up.”

Tenko’s voice is blurry with sleep and painkillers, but you can still hear the concern. “I don’t know how to fix things.”

“That’s okay.” You kiss his shoulder and huddle close to him. “I love you. And I do.”

It takes a few more days for the question of your quirk to come up in earnest, a few more days of Tenko healing markedly faster than he should be healing, a few more days of you barely leaving his side. When you do leave, it’s not by choice – it happens when four days without sleep catch up to you and you pass out in the middle of a strategy discussion being held in Tomura’s hospital room. And when you leave, you don’t go far. You wake up in a dark, quiet room in clean clothes and on a soft bed, with an IV taped down to the back of your hand.

You sit up so fast that your head spins, but you still manage to rip the needle out. In the darkness, someone tsks at you. “Fluids, my dear. You’re in dire need of rehydration.”

The doctor. “Where’s Tomura?” you demand.

“In his hospital room, asleep,” the doctor says. “It’s an ideal time to conduct some tests of your quirk – namely, whether distance is a factor in its efficacy.”

Oh. “How much distance?”

“Currently, the opposite end of the hospital,” the doctor says. “I’ve spoken to Shigaraki’s doctors, to Twice and Spinner, to Re-Destro, and to the medics who were in the helicopter with you. I’ve also conducted research into your family tree. Shall I tell you what I’ve already learned about your quirk?”

You want to tell him that you don’t care about your quirk, but you can’t say that – not when your quirk is part of the reason Tomura’s still alive. And you have to find out what your quirk can actually do. “Yes.”

“I fault myself, truly, for not guessing sooner,” the doctor says, instead of saying anything useful. Your eyes are adjusting to the darkness, and you can see him bustling around, outlined in the glow from three computer screens. “I looked into your immediate family, but there was another family member – one whose quirk also broke late, and one whose quirk is directly tied to the biochemical reaction we call love. Your cousin, Aiba Manami, also known as La Brava. I understand you visited her in jail the day of the battle. Did you discuss your quirk?”

“No,” you say. The doctor tsks again. “We didn’t. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Mm, I suppose you’re right – based on the video from the visitation room, neither of you discussed quirks directly.” The doctor taps something on one of the screens, and it brightens suddenly, but his body blocks your view. “But it’s clear to me that your cousin guessed the mechanism by which your quirk functions, if nothing else. It’s why she prevented you from saying the words until – what was it that she said? Until it counts. You certainly did that. However –”

A machine beeps in the darkness. The doctor talks over it. “Circumstantial evidence suggests that neither the repetition of the statement in the presence of the object of your affection nor your proximity to the object of your affection affects the functioning of your quirk.”

That’s a lot of words at once, and although you were following for a while, you’re starting to get dizzy. “Say again?”

“Thus far, your quirk differs from your cousin’s in two important capacities,” the doctor says. “The first is the effect. While your cousin’s quirk provides a significant boost to the speed and power of her loved one, your quirk provides a slight acceleration of your loved one’s natural healing abilities.”

“How slight?”

“On a day to day basis, unnoticeable,” the doctor says. “The more significant the damage is, the more obvious the accelerated healing becomes. Which leads me to the second difference between your cousin’s quirk and yours: Duration. While La Brava’s quirk lasts for a discrete period of time, and can be activated only once per day, it would seem that your quirk, once activated, does not switch off.”

“That’s how it works in my side of the family,” you say. The doctor looks at you. The light from the screens reflects off his glasses, rendering him completely opaque. “Your quirk is active from when you’re born until you learn to –”

You trail off. “The biochemical reaction known as love isn’t something that can be switched on and off,” the doctor says. “I separated you from Shigaraki four hours ago. Those who were in the meeting you collapsed during were able to confirm that you had not told Shigaraki you loved him since the meeting began two hours previously. That makes six hours without the trigger phrase, four hours of which you spent physically separated from him, and during that time, the accelerated healing has not faltered.”

“So it doesn’t matter if I’m physically with him, or if I’ve said it recently,” you say slowly. “The first time I said it was all it needed. And it’ll stay active –”

“Unless your feelings for Shigaraki change. And I suspect they won’t,” the doctor says. He chuckles quietly. “You’ve been loyal to him for most of your life, after all. Why stop now?”

Even confused as you are, the jolt of foreboding knocks the air out of your lungs. “I don’t understand.”

“Don’t play coy, dear. That act worked when you were a civilian, but now no one will believe you’re that naive.” The doctor bends to investigate something on one of the screens. “It took me a while to piece it together, of course – it seems your perceived quirklessness clouded my vision, too – but once I looked into your background, it became clear. You are perhaps the last remaining person who knew Shigaraki Tomura before he became Shigaraki Tomura. Tell me – did you doubt yourself at all upon learning what he had become?”

What, not who. The doctor doesn’t see Tomura as a person, not the way you do, and now he’s waiting for your answer about something he clearly doesn’t understand. “No,” you say. You were doomed from the moment you saw him again. His return disrupted your life the same as his disappearance did, only this time, he’s with you. You were never going to let him go. “Never.”

“Remarkable,” the doctor says. You can see that he’s smiling. “Every Symbol of Fear needs one servant who’s loyal above all others, who serves him above all others, who does something for him that no one else could. Shigaraki’s master has me. Shigaraki has you.”

The idea of an equivalence between you and the doctor makes your skin crawl, the same as the idea that Tomura and his master are the same. They aren’t. You knew him before. They aren’t the same at all. “What could you do for Tomura’s master that no one else can?”

“Why, keep him alive, of course!”

“You have a healing quirk?”

“Precision of language. If I had a healing quirk, do you think I’d be a doctor?” The doctor clucks his tongue. It’s almost as irritating as the tsking. “No, my quirk is called Life-force. It allows the wielder to live twice an ordinary human lifespan. I offered this quirk to him, along with my service, and he accepted. The quirk I have currently is a copy of the original. I’d copy yours, but – mm. The emotional component makes it fairly useless to anyone other than yourself.”

Even when you have a quirk, you can’t escape being called useless. You grit your teeth. “We’ll need to conduct some further tests, but those can wait until Shigaraki has healed completely,” the doctor says. “In the meantime, we’ll need a name for your quirk. Initially, I thought that Devotion might be appropriate –”

“Does it need a name?” you interrupt. “All that matters is what it does.”

“But Shigaraki has many devoted followers,” the doctor says, ignoring you. “For loyalty like yours, something a little stronger is needed. I’ll think of something. Have a look at this.”

You get slowly to your feet, fighting dizziness, and come to peer at the screens. “This is a computer simulation of the natural course of Shigaraki’s injuries – what would have happened without the application of your quirk. Dire, isn’t it?”

Dire doesn’t begin to cover it. You see the same things unfold that the medic predicted. ATC, a rapid increase in internal bleeding, the slowing of his heart, the ceasing of his brain function as it’s deprived of blood and oxygen. Death within minutes. The doctor restarts the simulation, then runs a second one alongside it. This one, you recognize. It’s the same starting point, with your quirk added to the picture. No ATC. No deprivation of oxygen to the brain. His heart rate and breathing are unstable, courtesy of the damage, but as the simulation cycles through each successive scan, you can see the lacerations to his organs healing. You can see your quirk in action, keeping Tomura alive, long after the other simulation’s gone dark.

“That’s what your quirk is capable of, with nothing but Shigaraki’s natural healing factor to work with,” the doctor says. “I think we can all do better than that, don’t you?”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will,” the doctor says. Something on the screen beeps. “Ah, Shigaraki is awake –and it appears he’s very unhappy with me. Best hurry along, dear. I’ll be in touch.”

You get lost on your way back to Tomura’s room, but a nurse points you in the right direction, and you get back in the middle of Spinner and Compress trying desperately to get Tomura to sit down – or at least to use his crutches if he’s going to tear off looking for you. Spinner spots you first, and it’s clear he’s relieved. “She’s back,” he says. “She’s fine. The doctor didn’t do anything to her.”

Tomura looks you up and down, not relieved yet. “What happened to your hand?”

“He put an IV in for fluids. I took it out when I woke up.” You might need to ask somebody to put in another one. You are really dehydrated. And hungry. And tired. “Everything’s fine. Get back in bed.

“If he thinks he can just kidnap you –”

“I took a nap for a few hours and he told me some more about my quirk,” you say. “That’s it.”

Tomura finally stops trying to stand up and walk. He sprawls back out in the bed, broken leg hanging off in a position that looks agonizing until you nudge past Spinner and lift it back onto the bed. He looks up at you. “What did he say about your quirk?”

“It’s sort of like my cousin’s,” you say. “In how it activates, anyway. It does something different – it makes you heal faster instead of powering you up – and the effect isn’t as pronounced as hers is.”

“Doesn’t your cousin’s quirk have a time limit?” Spinner asks. “What’s the time limit on yours?”

“It, um – it looks like there isn’t one,” you say awkwardly. “Once it switches on, it doesn’t switch off.”

“Weird,” Spinner says after a second. “Emitter-type quirks don’t usually stay on all the time.”

You wouldn’t know. You don’t think about quirks a lot – but Tomura does, and he’s got a weird look on his face. “What’s it costing you?”

“Hmm?”

“Your cousin’s quirk doesn’t cost her anything. The physical cost comes from the person she’s powering up,” Tomura says. “Most healing quirks use the energy of the person who’s being healed, which is why they have limits. Yours didn’t cost me or I would have died. What’s it costing you?”

“Not anything,” you say. “I don’t feel any different than usual.”

You don’t. Really. You’ve asked yourself the question – you remember Spinner saying something forever ago about how healing quirks take tons of mana – but you can’t think of anything that’s changed. You haven’t been able to sleep, sure, but you’ve been having problems with sleeping ever since Kamino. The issues you can think of can all be attributed to other things. If healing Tomura was draining your energy, wouldn’t you have been exhausted way before you passed out in a strategy session? “I don’t think there’s a cost to it,” you say again, settling down on the edge of Tomura’s bed. You’ve barely moved from this spot in days. “Did I miss anything from that meeting?”

“Nah, it broke up when you passed out,” Spinner says. “Honestly, we all thought you faked it to get us out of there. It was just Skeptic and what’s-his-name complaining that we aren’t committed enough to the cause.”

“Even if I didn’t fake it, I’m glad it helped,” you say. “They really had a whole meeting just to tell you guys you aren’t liberating hard enough?”

“No shit we aren’t. Their cause is bullshit. They want the same thing the heroes want, except with them on top.” It must have been a while since Tomura hit the pain-relief button. He’s in a really bad mood again. “The whole thing’s coming down. That includes them if they get in my way.”

“Maybe keep that part quiet for now,” you suggest. Spinner snorts. “This is just the same plan from before, right? Letting your enemies destroy each other and finishing the job when they’re too tired to keep fighting.”

Now that you think about it, that’s sort of Tomura’s MO – keeping to the shadows while his enemies duke it out, then stepping in to deal the final blow and stealing whatever they were fighting for. He did it with Stain, stealing Stain’s reputation to burnish the League’s after Stain showed up the heroes and was captured. He did it again with Overhaul and the heroes, and again with Gigantomachia and the MLA. It’s the right strategy for that kind of fight, one where you know you don’t have the brute force to win, but it’s not a strategy someone with a quirk as powerful as Tomura’s would jump to. Even after battling Gigantomachia for two months and defeating Re-Destro, Tomura still doesn’t fight like a supervillain. He fights like he’s quirkless. Just like you do. Just like you did.

You don’t see a problem with it. Spinner looks like he does. “We shouldn’t keep using the same plan.”

“We’ll keep using it as long as it keeps working,” Tomura says. He glances up at you, half a smirk on his face. “Just like your dumb jokes.”

“That was our old strategy,” you say, straightfaced. “If you can’t beat them, make them unfuckable instead.”

Tomura laughs, then grimaces as the motion strains his stitches. You haven’t heard him laugh in a while, and you feel better instantly – but at the same time, you’re conscious of Spinner staring, shocked. Has he really never heard Tomura laugh before? Is the difference between the person you love and the person the rest of the League knows really that big? No, you decide, they just aren’t used to him yet. And they’ve got a little time to get used to him. He’s who they’ll be living with in the new world, and although you’re closer to it than you’ve ever been, it’s still a long way away.

But you can help with the getting-used-to-it thing. “I mean, our track record is incredible,” you say. “We started off with All Might – hook a scarecrow up with a skeleton, and that’s what the whole society of potential All Might fuckers have to cope with now –”

Tomura is wheezing now. “And you’d think we couldn’t top that, but we’re not quitters,” you continue. That gets Spinner. He laughs a little bit, so you turn up the heat. “Plus Ultra, right? Overhaul was already pretty unfuckable, so the fact that we made it even worse really says something about our skills. And now we’ve got these guys, who – I’m sorry. Do we really think Skeptic gets laid?”

You have a feeling Skeptic is watching this from any one of his five million security cameras, but he already hates you for killing the other MLA lieutenant, so it doesn’t matter. The fact that Spinner and Tomura are both laughing now matters more, and you hear Compress chuckle quietly behind his mask. “I’d say our record’s perfect,” you finish. “The real question is where we go from here. Who do we have left?”

“Endeavor,” Spinner says. “But I don’t think he needs our help.”

Now you’re cackling – cackling, and thinking of Hirono, who one hundred percent thought Endeavor was fuckable. Hirono, who you miss. Just like you miss your friends. Just like part of you will always miss your boring, safe, normal life. “So we’re out of people to turn unfuckable,” Tomura decides. “I guess we just have to build the new world.”

The leap in logic is way too much for you. You burst out laughing, doubled over in a way that makes your bruised ribs ache, tears streaming down your face, and you try your hardest to imagine a new world. One that’s not like this one. One that’s full of things you like, just like Toga wants it to be. One where people like you and Spinner don’t have to be scared. One where people aren’t thrown away, one where the presence of heroes doesn’t give everyone else the ability to turn a blind eye to people who are being hurt in ways that can’t be solved by punching someone in the face. One where you and Tomura can be together, where there’s nothing left that he wants to destroy.

It’s a good world. A dream worth fighting for. But for the moment, while your new friends laugh and you struggle not to cry for the friends you lost, all you can think about is what’s already been left behind.

[shadowed-dancer]

I feel like Horikoshi wrote the main plots to this epilogue before writing the actual story because so many of these moments are amazing and are exactly what I'd have wanted as a conclusion to this series

Themes/moments I like are:

Call back and new meaning to the whole "People are not born equal" intro

Uraraka being inspired by Toga and expanding quirk counselling

Kids moving away from wanting to be "heroes" and instead be people who just... are heroic

La Brava and Gentle owning a company together (and I see wedding rings!)

Hatsume being successful

Shoto no longer being called "Endeavor's son" and instead being a hero in his own right

Deku wanting to help people even without a quirk (that's how the whole series started, after all)

Deku encouraging someone that they can be a hero the same way All Might did for him

Bakugo making it so Deku can be a quirkless hero as opposed to his attitude towards him in middle school (can you say growth?)

Deku seeing Shigaraki's ghost(?) to show he never forgot him

The tragic part is that the buildup to some of these are so poorly written (or non-existent) that these otherwise wonderful conclusions feel... flat. They don't feel earned.

It feels like Horikoshi knew where he wanted to go but wasn't sure how to get there, so rather than write a path from one moment to another, the final war arc jumped from point to point, laid the bare minimum setup, and now little moments of this epilogue are built on a shaky foundation.

Overall thoughts: Great chapter in isolation if you imagine proper setup prior to this. But we didn't get that, and it is something the finale will have to deal with

Also where is Hisashi Midoriya???

[class1akids]

The way toga grief towards losing jin was sidelined and how uraraka never really comfort toga about jin was kinda weird to me

Yeah - this is why I'm not as big a fan of that fight as the whole fandom seems to be.

The PLF war confrontation between Toga and Ochako centered on the question of "who gets save by the heroes?" mirroring Ochako's question of "who saves the heroes". And then the answer Ochako gives "girl, even if that's what pleases you, you can't just go around killing people and expect no consequences" (which is valid, but is not exactly a response to Toga's question) pushes Toga further into grief.

Then Toga makes another attempt - this time with Deku and asks "what you want to do with me" and Deku's response "I can't imagine being like you - hurting the ones you claim to love" further escalates Toga.

And I think here the fight shifts away a bit from Toga's grief and more towards validating her own way of being. Or rather in a way, the two is conflated into the same: Jin got killed because his quirk was judged too dangerous and he wouldn't back down.

So I guess Ochako's attempts to understand her make Toga feel like a "person" who is not just to be stopped, but also seen as a human being. But in the end, Ochako is just one person and her calling Toga's smile pretty will not solve all the systemic issues around toxic quirk counselling, the way dangerous quirks are treated from childhood, the pressure to conform, the lack of mental care for people like Jin, the way the marginalized or poor are treated, families that disown their "difficult children". And I think the outcome of the fight recognizes that as Toga stays suicidal and says that the world as is doesn't work for her but the destruction doesn't make her happy either.

So even if Toga is "saved", she feels like her only option is to die and Ochako is clearly not happy with this outcome (btw, I still think Toga will live). There is no alternative for them, because Toga and Ochako are just two "normal teenage girls" with limited tools and the world they live in doesn't foster that understanding. Ochako reached and saved Toga's soul on a personal level, but in the grand scheme of things, nothing changed (yet).

I feel like this is maybe the outcome of all 3 fights - Toga's, Toya's and Tenko's "inner child" all got a moment of acceptance / relief they needed, but in the end, a bunch of teenagers reaching out in empathy can only go so far if the systemic issues have not been addressed.

And if Hori puts some effort into these issues in the epilogue - it can tie together quite well. Toga's and Uraraka's story can touch the heart of people to start to think about quirk discrimination and it could inspire people with the real power (like Hawks for example, if he becomes like the head of HPSC) to make changes to crucial aspects of how society works with buy-in from the public opinion.

I definitely feel like the narrative would let both the LoV Trio and the Savior squad down if everything stayed the same. But if the villains' issues become something the hero kids deeply care about on a broader level, their efforts can ignite a change. Then something good can come out of the confrontations, something important that can reach a new common ground between "destruction" and "bringing it all back".

[dailytogachako]

So I found this around, can I ask for Toga/Ochako?

♥ Send a ship and I'll give you who:

- Gives nose/forehead kisses

- Gets jealous the most

- Picks the other up from the bar when they’re too drunk to drive

- Takes care of on sick days

- Drags the other person out into the water on beach day

- Gives unprompted massages

- Drives/rides shotgun

- Brings the other lunch at work

- Has the better parental relationship

- Tries to start role-playing in bed

- Embarrassingly drunk dancer

- Still cries watching Titanic

- Firmly believes in couples costumes

- Breaks the expensive gift rule during Christmas

- Makes the other eat breakfast

- Remembers anniversaries

- Brings up having kids

omg hii anon!!! sorry it took me so long to respond 😞😞

to be honest I didn't really understand the question, is it a trend? like, say who would do this or that? I interpreted that way so i will do it that way, sorry if I got it wrong 💔

1- gives nose/forehead kisses

Definitely Uraraka! she always kisses toga's forehead and nose to show that she loves and cares for her. She does this every day before going to work.

2- Gets jealous the most

Okay, it would definitely be Toga. Himiko's jealousy is not exactly possessive, but rather insecure jealousy. She's afraid that Ochako will find someone better and "less weird" and end up leaving her. Even when Uraraka's assurances that this won't happen, she still has insecurities about it which ends up resulting in jealousy of anyone she doesn't know and talks to Uraraka.

3- Picks the other up from the bar when they're too drunk to drive

I thought a lot and came to the conclusion that Himiko doesn't like alcohol. She seems to be someone who likes sweet drinks, and despite having sweet alcoholic drinks she avoids them because she believes she doesn't need alcohol to have fun. But there are exceptions, and in these exceptions Ochako always goes to look for her little girlfriend in the bar. Himiko does the same for her, but she doesn't know how to drive 😭😭 so she gets a ride from one of her friends to drop her off at Uraraka's apartment

4- takes care of on sick days

BOTH YOUR HONOR!!!

I can perfectly imagine Ochako taking care of a sick and spoiled Himiko and I can also imagine Himiko taking care of a very stubborn Ochako.

Uraraka HATES hospitals so she does everything to avoid them, so she's always ends up accepting Toga to take care of her despite being extremely stubborn and swearing that "I can take care of myself"

5- Drags the other person out into the water on beach day

Himiko! She doesn't see the point of a beach day without going into the water, so she drags Ochako with her and always ends up forgetting to put on sunscreen. One time she ended up all burned and was mumbling for hours because her skin hurt 💔😞 Uraraka never let her forget again

6- gives unprompted messages

THIS IS SO HIMIKO CODED

She likes to text her girlfriend about ANYTHING even though she knows Ochako won't respond right away. She uses kamojis (mainly the ":333") and sends Uraraka a lot of pictures of herself or little things about her day and Uraraka LOVES IT. If Toga ever stopped texting about everything, she would definitely find it weird

7- Drives/rides shotgun

As I said before: I'm pretty sure Himiko doesn't know how to drive, at least not yet. So she always gets rides from her girlfriend to go places. After all, Ochako knows how to drive (in my head...) And if Himiko were to ever drive, it would be a motorcycle!!!

8- brings the other lunch at work

BOTH!!! but one detail: toga doesn't know how to cook very well, so it's always a surprise if the food is going to be half-burnt or raw. Her specialty is making sweets, but she doesn't only live on sweets, so she trains a lot to cook something delicious and healthy for ochako. She always stares at Uraraka while they're eat together just to make sure that it's really tasty...

And when the food isn't good, ochako goes out to buy them something to eat. Money has always been something that Uraraka lacks in her life, so when she spends it on food for herself and her girlfriend, she just feels so happy and fulfilled. It's something important to her. Is a way of saying that she cares about Himiko and that she's happy that she can buy something for both of them.

9- Has the better parental relationship

Uraraka

I don't think I need to elaborate much...

10- tries to start role-playing in bed

I didn't quite understand the question 😭😭 that would be like something obscene right?

Honestly, I don't think Himiko would do that. She's certainly not innocent, but she's a little too shy and ashamed to try something. Especially something like RPG. I believe that in the beginning she would be very embarrassed and insecure, she wouldn't know what to do and would be more lost than ochako (who is also embarrassed and insecure).

And after talking and spending a lot of time together, they would stop being so embarrassed and insecure and could try new things. I don't think RPG would be one of them, because in RPG you need to make a character and Himiko wants Ochako and only her. Just like Ochako wants Toga and only that.

(sorry for giving such a vanilla answer 😭😭)

11- embarrassingly drunk dancer

HIMIKOOOOOO

She doesn't do sexy dances or anything like that, she just DANCES!!! and she doesn't know how to dance, so it ends up becoming somewhat embarrassing. She has a lot of fun doing this and doesn't care about people's looks... EXCEPT ONE, she only cares about one... (ochako looks at her as if she were the most precious thing in the world while she dances macarena with denki and kirishima).

12- still cries watching Titanic

*sigh*... himiko—

13- firmly believes in couple costumes

TOGA! She loves couples costumes and always has some creative idea of what to wear with Ochako on Halloween or other events. She seems very happy organizing everything, so Ochako doesn't even try to stop her. Himiko knows what she's doing and she's more than happy to follow in her footsteps.

(I didn't quite understand the question but I hope I answered it coherently) (english is not my first language)

14- breaks the expansive gift rule during christmas

I CAN'T STOP SAY HIMIKO

She would be so nervous and wanting to please that she spent all her money buying something that everyone would like 💔💔😭 she wanted them to like her and have a good impression

15- makes the other eat breakfast

BOTH

Ochako is always concerned that Himiko is eating well and Himiko always uses Ochako as a guinea pig to see if her cooking skills are improving 🙏🙏

16- remembers anniversaries

Hi....mi....ko 👹

She's the type of person who enjoys celebrating other people's birthdays more than her own. She always writes down everyone's birthday on her calendar and tries to give them a gift on that day. Unlike Ochako who always ends up forgetting and getting super nervous when she realizes it's a close friend's birthday

17- brings up having kids

It may sound crazy (or not), but it would be Himiko. She would try to talk about this with Uraraka to get out the feeling of thinking she would be a terrible mother, only for Ochako to assure her that she would be one of the best mothers. I don't think they would have children any time soon, but they would definitely have a pet and take care of it as if it were a child.

Himiko would buy him clothes and Ochako would very reluctantly let him sleep in them despite the fact that they shed a lot of hair...

[itsnothingofinterest]

I actually find it funny when people will say the heroes need to kill more villains instead of arresting them when, from where I'm looking, every instance of the heroes killing a villain(s) has led to some consequence that would've been avoided had they just been taken in alive. (Which evidence has often shown them quite capable of doing.)

Lady Nagant was made to kill loads of people, driving her crazy and leading her to kill her boss and deprive the hero side of one of it's best. Her case feels like a big reason why killing on the regular would be incompatible with the rest of the hero shtick; 'cause it turns out people with lots of blood on their hands have trouble using them to then shake the hands of children.

People say All Might should've killed AFO; but you can tell both from All Might's dialogue in Kamino & from how AFO regrew his head that that's exactly how their first fight ~7 years ago ended. AFO's brains met the pavement that day. And I can only assume this allowed his body to be easily recovered & revived, letting him lay low for the next 6 years to mould Tomura into a successor and orchestrate a good portion of the conflicts we've seen in this series. Just saying, that sounds much harder to do from Tartarus. And at least the heroes knew when he broke out of jail way faster then when he broke out of the grip of death. Heck, it could easily be argued he only broke out of jail thanks to that 6 years of set-up.

Oh and where to start with Hawks killing Twice? Maybe how it enraged Toga & Dabi to make them more crazy & dangerous, maybe how it affected people's trust in heroes? Oh but the big one has to be how leaving Twice as a corpse let his blood be collected for Toga to get a parade off anyway; one the heroes were unprepared for too, which distracted a lot of the pros meant to keep AFO in Gunga. All of which could've been avoided if Hawks had just taken Twice in alive. (Which I must reiterate he easily could have done; I mean his quirk was shown pretty easily countering a Parade.) The heroes wouldn't have had to deal with a Parade in this war at all if Twice was sitting pretty in a jail cell next to Compress & Geten.

I can't help but think those last two cases could be a surprisingly common occurrence too if heroes killed as much as some readers say they should. Like, could you imagine if every dangerous villain in Japan's history was killed and then just dumped somewhere for a guy like Dr. Garaki to get his hands on them the same way he got Shirakumo?

So anyway, between the mental health issues it causes, combined with how villains keep finding ways to perform necromancy; I'm just not seeing a lot of evidence that things go well for the heroes when they kill villains, or that they'd go much better if the heroes were kill-happy soldiers of the war on villainy all the time.

[honeykawa]

Safe

pairing: dabi x reader

genre: fluff, hurt/comfort

warnings: reader injuries, cursing

word count: 1.0k

summary: you hadnt expected to get jumped that night but being the resident healer for the lov did have its quirks. you somehow made your way back to the bar before passing out but your comrades werent exactly sure on how to help since you were the one who typically took care of the healing. even after the storm passes and youre sure to be okay, a new one starts to brew with one question in mind: whos going to tell dabi?

you stumbled around outside holding onto your waist along with staggered breathing. you had been confronted by a couple of heroes who recognized you as someone who works closely with the league and as dabis partner since he tends to burn himself a lot. you wouldnt say you were a villain like the others. all you did was heal those in the organization whenever they needed it. your quirk allowed you to heal others so long as you took all the pain but it didnt really work as well on yourself. you could only imagine the amount of blood youve lost at this point, you dont even know how you got away from those heroes.

you finally got to the hideout and all eyes were on you as you entered the bar. “please…help” you instantly fell over and passed out as soon as you saw your comrades, you trusted that they would get you where you needed to be.

toga was the first one to get to your fallen body. usually blood wasnt a sight she feared but seeing you bloodied was terrifying to her. youd saved her so many times, listened to her whenever she needed someone to vent to. kurogiri tried to push everyone out of the way and immediately started to assign jobs to people. but how do you heal the healer?

twice was instructed to quickly bring you to the back room and lay you in a bed while kurogiri called garaki to make an emergency visit. they did what they could to apply immediate first aid until garaki could get there but the amount of blood terrified all of them.

garaki did what he could and you were passed out the entire time so that made it easier for him to apply stitches. “luckily, their quirk does let them heal a little faster than others so all the major bleeding had stopped by the time i got here. they should be fine when they wake up but don’t let them use their quirk until theyre healed. anymore strain on their body could probably kill them.”

garaki left and now the lov had another issue on their hands.

who was going to tell dabi?

everyone knew dabi was more than overprotective of you. he tried to accompany you everywhere and this only intensified when you started dating. the only reason he wasnt with you tonight was because he was on a different mission with compress elsewhere.

“nose goes”

everyone quickly touched their nose except for twice who hadnt realized what was happening until it was too late.

“fuck”

———————

your head was pounding as your eyes slowly opened. the sun was trickling in through the windows which was the only source of light in the room.

you tried to look around to see if you could make out any shapes in the room you were in as you tried to get up. your head was pounding and your body felt stiff.

“i wouldnt move too much if i were you.”

you look over to see dabi sitting in a chair in the corner. he gets up to walk over to you and handed you some painkillers from the table next to you, followed by some water. you took both out of his hands and thank him quietly as he sat on the side of your bed.

“doll, youve been out for a few days. what the fuck happened?”

he reached for you hand and gently squeezed it. a slight tremble could be felt coming from him. the night he got back twice was waiting for him to deliver the news on what happened. dabi felt his heart stop in that moment, like his entire world was shattering around him. even more so when he finally got to see your still body laying in the bed, the only sign of life being the small rise and fall of your chest. he didnt freak out like everyone thought he would have. no. he was still. he didnt know what to do or how to fix this. he couldnt. and the uncertainty and lack of control was absolutely terrifying.

you gave his hand a small squeeze back before telling him your story. “i was ganged up on by some heroes as i was walking back. i hadnt seen them in the area before so i wasnt expecting to run into them.” you felt some tears rising up. you didnt know why you were crying, maybe it was a delayed reaction as to what happened or maybe it was because you felt so helpless in the moment, only escaping due to dumb luck.

“im sorry, dabi. im sorry for worrying you, im sorry i cant defend myself…im sorry im so useless” dabi could feel his heart breaking. he immediately used his other hand to wipe your tears away from you face.

“sunshine, you are far from useless. youre so capable of things that i cant ever dream of. all i can do is destroy, but you? you have healed so many of us. fuck anyone thats made you feel like that.”

you nodded your head in his hand and he leaned down to kiss you. it was soft and gentle, it made you feel safe. when he pulled away, it felt all too soon. but the atmosphere quickly changed.

“im going to need you to tell me something, doll.” his voice was cold and sent a shiver down your back.

dabi pushed some of your hair back and gently held your face in his hand.

“who did this to you?”

he needed names. he wasnt one to let anyone fuck with those he loved. whoever decided to hurt you better be ready to have the favor returned to them tenfold. you were kind, gentle, and would rather take pain for yourself than let anyone else be hurt. you didnt deserve this. it almost broke dabi seeing you laying unconscious, bandaged beyond recognition. he was going to avenge you. he was going to make them pay.

[amazingmsme]

Restless ‘Til We Reach Home

Anywhere I’d Follow You (ch. 1)

AN: happy underworld saga release day! Literally the day we’ve all been waiting for! This fic is my pride & joy rn so I hope y’all like it! Be sure to buckle in cause you’re in for one hell of a ride! The underworld saga is literally everything I could’ve imagined & more, & it makes this chapter hit so much harder. & I wouldn’t have it any other way 💗

Edit: omg I can’t believe I forgot to add the ghost!polites playlist that I so lovingly created! My sincere apologies to anyone who read it without the intended listening experience

Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 3.5 Ch. 4 Ch. 5

Polites woke alone in the darkness. Or at least, he thought he was alone, until he felt a body shift next to him. The sky above was an inky black, completely devoid of stars. It didn't feel right.

He jolted upright, the ground underneath him rocking with his movement. No, it wasn't the ground, it was wood. He was on a small boat, and the bodies around him were his fellow soldiers. Most still remained unconscious.

"Odysseus!" he called out, but received no answer. "Eurylochus!" His voice echoed down the approaching canyon, bouncing back until it met his ears.

"Shhhh," a husky voice sounded from above. Polites startled and looked up, seeing a cloaked man standing at the back of the boat. His face was concealed by the hood pulled over its head, the only discernible feature being two bony hands peeking out from his sleeves. They clutched onto an oar, thrusting the boat further on its journey.

Polites crawled to the edge of the boat and leaned out, and he was greeted by perhaps the most beautiful sight. They were floating on a glowing river, the water a brilliant blue green. It was as he was staring into the ethereal water that he realized why the sky had no stars: they'd all fallen in the river.

The awestruck smile fell flat when he took a good look at his surroundings.

Everywhere he looked was gray and rocky and completely devoid of life. He heard people moaning in the distance and could see them trudging along in mindless huddles. Small fights broke out amongst them, and Polites could see fires burn in the distance.

He had to be dreaming, he was sure of it! He pinched his arm as hard as he could until he yelped from the pain. When he didn't wake up, he reached his hands into the water, splashing his face repeatedly.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up, wake up!" he yelled each time the cool water hit his skin. His vision blurred as the water dripped down his face and his eyes filled with tears. His shoulders shook as he sobbed, leaning over the edge of the boat. He could feel when they hit the shore, but he didn't budge, even as everyone else filed out.

The ripples around the boat began to calm, and soon enough the surface of the water was as smooth as glass. His eyes met his reflection and he jerked back, rocking the boat slightly. Hesitantly, he leaned back over the glowing water to get a closer look. Ripples sent minor shockwaves through his reflection, slowing until it showed a clear picture.

A choked gasp escaped his throat as he clamped a hand over his mouth. He looked up at the ferryman, who nodded solemnly. The tears he'd been holding back finally rolled down past his cheeks.

His head hung low as he cried, and he could feel each tear drip from his nose or chin. When he opened his eyes again, he saw tiny dots of red on his toga. Hesitantly, he reached up to wipe the tears from his face. When he pulled away, his hands were stained red.

He thrusted his hands in the water, scrubbing furiously to rid them of the blood. The stream before him turned a pale pink before the current carried it away.

Polites knew exactly where he was.

At first he tried to lay low, but he had always been outgoing and friendly, even to those who weren't so friendly back. But it quickly became clear that down here, no one wanted to talk to him. Or so it would seem.

Polites got into the habit of exploring the underworld every day. There was nothing to do but wander aimlessly or work, and Polites much preferred the former. It was while on one of these walks that he spotted a young woman kneeling by the riverbank. At first he thought nothing of it, but the closer he got, he could hear her quiet sobs and sniffles.

He approached cautiously, waving when he felt he was close enough to warrant a greeting. "Well hello there!" he said in a chipper voice, offering a shy grin. She looked up at the stranger before her, yelping and falling back onto her hands. He was quick to put her at ease.

"Hey hey, it's okay! I'm nice, I was just crushed by a cyclops," he explained his appearance, aiming for humor. The girl's lips twitched in a fleeting smile.

"Oh! Um, I'm sorry..." she apologized, and he waved a hand dismissively.

"Why? You have something to do with it?" he joked, smiling when she giggled, shaking her head.

"Noho..."

"Then you have nothing to apologize for!" He turned to her, holding his hand out to her. "I'm Polites." She studied him, chewing her lip before she accepted it.

"Eurydice."

"Ah, what a lovely name for a lovely woman," he complimented. Her smile was tainted with sadness. "I'm sorry, are you alright?" he asked gently. She shook her head, plastering on a fake smile.

"I'm in Hades, why wouldn't I be fine?" she tried to joke like he'd done moments before, but it fell flat.

"You know, if you need to get something off your chest, I'm all ears. I was practically the sole shoulder to cry on for 600 men." His tone made it impossible for Eurydice to discern whether or not he was being serious. Finally, she decided, "Yeah right."

"No really! Well, obviously not all of them took me up on my offer, but I'm a great listener," he offered with a warm, genuine smile. She let out an amused huff.

"I know it sounds stupid, but... I really thought I was gonna bust outta here." Polites placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I don't think it's stupid at all. I mean, we all want out-"

"No, you don't get it!" she spun around to face him, tears in her eyes. Polites held his hands up in surrender on reflex, his entire body tense. Eurydice heaved a sigh, burying her face in her hands. "I was so close..."

Polites was almost afraid to ask, but, "C-close to what?"

Eurydice looked up with wide, tearful eyes as she stared longingly out into the distance. She spoke breathily as her mind began to wander, "Freedom."

Polites couldn't believe what he was hearing. He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Wait, you mean you were trying to leave? How?" he asked desperately, the wounds on his face and body starting to bleed.

"I wasn't on my own. Orpheus came for me."

"Orpheus?" he questioned.

"I died on our wedding day..." she answered, trailing off as she stared at the ground. "And he risked everything to come save me. We could've made it out and we'd both be happy. Start a family..." she took a grounding breath, drying her eyes. "I never did get to hear how his song turned out."

Polites perked up slightly. "Oh, he's a musician?" he asked. She smiled as she remembered her love.

"Mhm. Said he was gonna write a song to fix what's wrong with the world," she said, amusement clear in her tone. "Guess he hasn't finished it yet."

"Well, sounds like he's got his work cut out for him. I can't imagine it'll be easy for him, without you," he said softly. A sob caught in Eurydice's throat as she looked away, closing her eyes softly.

"Don't. Please."

"Sorry," he immediately apologized, feeling rather guilty.

"It's fine. It's not like it's your fault or anything."

Polites looked at her, mouth slightly agape as he tried to decipher whether she was teasing him as he'd done earlier, or if it was sheer coincidence. The subtle twitch of her lips was all he needed to know. He barked out a laugh, bumping their shoulders together.

"Well would you look at that! Looks like someone's getting their sense of humor back!" he praised, making her roll her eyes.

"Never left," she lied. Her gaze locked on the Palace of Hades, and Polites followed her line of sight.

"He had something to do with it, didn't he?"

Eurydice took a shaky breath and nodded. "Yeah."

"They usually do. Even when you don't think so... They do."

~~~

Life in Hades is not what Polites expected.

For one, he didn't know where the crumbling rubble ended and the new scaffolding began. Every day it seemed, the underworld would change ever so slightly. Buildings and complex machinery were all being built before his very eyes. It was nothing like Polites had ever seen.

Slowly, copper and iron replaced stonework as buildings all but erected themselves, and horseless chariots carted material to various work sites. The grand palace in the center of the underworld has all but doubled in size in the short time he's been here. And jutting out from the southern east corner, stood an imposing factory spitting black smoke. It felt... wrong. Almost as if Hades had tried to tuck it away out of sight, only for his greed to force it to grow until the rocks could conceal it no longer.

He said he was doing this for them; that he was creating a greater home for their eternity. So then, why was he turning the air thick with smog? Why must the tortured souls carry the burden of his progress?

Nothing was right anymore. Then again, nothing had been right for a long time.

~~~

Polites never thought he'd grow used to the underworld, but with Eurydice, he found a flow. They steered clear of the mindless work convoys, with their bowl shaped helmets and tools in hand. They marched along packed gravel roads in uniform lines, singing in a low, menacing chant.

They didn't stray far from the riverbanks, and when they did, chose to walk through rolling fields of nothing but dead grass and dirt. They found solace in the few crumbling ruins that have yet to undergo renovations.

Shriveled vines choked out the grand archway the pair sat under, but not even the resilience of nature could last under a God's iron grip. Polites closed his eyes, trying to picture the lush foliage that swallowed the rubble of a once ancient building. When he opened his eyes, he was met with the disappointing reality of thick, dry vines sprawling over crumbling stone as if caught in a wooden spiderweb.

"You ever made a flower crown?"

The question came out of nowhere, catching him off guard. If asked, he would deny the way he had jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Um, n-no, I can't say I have."

When Polites didn't elaborate, Eurydice continued. "My sisters and I used to pick flowers in the meadow behind our house and we'd spend hours weaving crowns and necklaces while we talked." She smiled at the fond, distant memory. Polites smiled back.

"That sounds really lovely," he assured. He saw the longing in her eyes, could feel the ache in her heart. If only he could ease that pain...

"It was. I think you'd really like it. Heh, too bad I can't teach you."

"Yeah, that's too bad," he lamented in agreement before an idea struck him. "Or, you know... we could still try," he suggested, holding up a handful of dry vines and twigs. Eurydice's face lit up with a smile as bright as the sun.

"Really? You mean that?"

"Well, I mean, I'm sure yours turned out much better than whatever we can make down here, but-" his rambling was cut off when Eurydice slammed into him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck in a grateful hug.

~~~

Polites had lost track of how long he'd been there, though he was grateful for Eurydice's company. It was the single source of comfort since he'd awoken in the underworld, the one reminder that there was once a time when things were good.

They would walk along the riverbanks, sharing stories from their lives. Eurydice once said that Orpheus would've liked Polites, and he swelled with pride. The feeling would've been mutual, he assured.

He can't help but to picture his friends meeting this lively young spirit, ripped from the Earth too soon. He thinks they'd like her too.

There were no days and nights here; everything ran together in one big screaming haze. At times, Polites thought they were the only souls down here who weren't screaming...

He missed being alive. He missed his friends, missed the way the sun warmed his skin, the way the sea would taste on the air, the way the wind would whip through his hair. He missed food, and feeling hungry, or tired. He missed the way he could feel his heart race in his chest when Odysseus would put himself in harms way, only to come out unscathed.

He always came out unscathed, no matter the challenge.

He was walking alone, trying to clear his head when he heard his name being called. "Polites! Polites!"

He turned to see Eurydice running towards him, feet pounding against the rocky shore. He met her halfway, picking up on her sense of urgency.

"Eurydice! Is everything alri-"

"There's a ship," she rushed out breathlessly. His eyes went wide and he scanned the horizon.

"Of course, the ferryman brings people-"

"No, I mean a real, living ship!" she emphasized with a playful punch to his shoulder. He smirked down at her, bumping their hips together.

"You know ships aren't really alive," he teased, tilting his head back to laugh at his own joke. She rolled her eyes, snatching the bandana from around his head. His hands flew up a second too late as he turned to face her. "Hey!"

She giggled, waving the bandana out of reach. "I'm being serious!" she insisted through a smile. He snorted, snatching the cloth from her grasp playfully.

"Yeah, that's why you stole my bandana," he taunted, shooting her a grin.

"You weren't listening! Just look!" she pointed in the distance. Polites looked up to humor her and gasped when he saw a large ship creeping up the river. It was much closer to them now. He took a step away from the bank.

Eurydice smirked, looking at him from the corner of her eye. "You believe me now?" He nodded wordlessly, mouth gaping open in shock.

They stood like that, just frozen in awe watching it get closer. The figures aboard the ship were now visible, and Polites shaded his eyes, squinting up at the deck. Did he really see what he thought he saw? Was that really...

"Steady as she goes men!" A figure paced around the deck, barking orders and securing the ship. Polites would know that voice anywhere.

"Odysseus?" he asked, barely aware he said the name aloud. Eurydice gasped and snapped her head to look at him.

"Odysseus? Like, like your Odysseus?" she asked frantically. Polites looked back at the ship for some other kind of proof, spotting Eurylochus at the wheel.

"Yes, I'm sure. Look, there's Eurylochus," he said, pointing at his friend.

She turned to him with an expression on her face that he hadn't seen since the day they first met.

"You have to go."

His head snapped down to look at her, "What?"

"They came here looking for you! I mean, why else would they come all the way here?" she asked, clutching to the fabric of his toga. "You're important to them, Polites. You're the missing piece, they need you," she pleaded.

The ship was right in front of them now, Odysseus clutching the rail of the ship with a horrified look. When his eyes landed on Polites, he froze, all the color quickly draining from his face. He turned away abruptly.

"I-I don't know Eurydice. That doesn't really seem like- I'm sure there's gotta be another reason!" He wasn't sure why or how they were here, but he had a hard time believing it would be for him. It would hurt too much, getting his hopes up like that.

"A reason to go through the underworld?" she asked incredulously. Her expression softened, and she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "They've missed you."

A sob caught in his throat. "Yeah, I miss them too."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

He turned to her, tears in his eyes. "B-but what about you? You can't come, and I can't leave you!" he said, gripping onto her hands for dear life. "Y-you'd be alone again, I can't do that!"

"Shh, hey, hey, look at me," she said in a soothing voice, but Polites could see the tears shining in her eyes. "Don't think of it like that, okay? You're doing this for me." She squeezed his hands so hard, her knuckles were turning white. Funny, how even their spirits react like they still have blood.

He closed his eyes and shook his head, but a soft hand cupping his face brought him back to reality. "Hades only made sure I couldn't get out, just to spite our love. He won't notice if you escape, I promise," she reassured. He placed a hand atop hers, still shaking his head.

"You can't promise that-"

"Maybe, but I can try. Please Polites," she was practically begging at this point. "One of us has to see the sun again."

A sob shuttered through his body and he surged forward, grabbing her in a tight hug- their last hug. Maybe the last hug he'd ever be able to actually feel.

"I don't want to leave you," he muttered into her hair. He could feel her tears begin to fall down his arm like raindrops.

"Me either, but you have to. It's your only chance." She held on for a few more seconds before allowing herself to slip away.

"Goodbye Eurydice. Thank you for... everything."

"Farewell Polites. I know you'll keep them safe."

He nodded to her before turning towards the ship, marching along the shore. He got about halfway before her sweet voice called out to him.

"Polites, wait!" He stopped in his tracks, turning just in time to catch her in his arms. Her hands carded through thick black hair as she squeezed him tight. She kissed his cheek, pulling away to whisper in his ear, "If you ever come across Orpheus, please tell him I'm okay."

"Of course. You have my word," he promised.

When Eurydice pulled away, a small amount of blood was smeared on her lips and cheek. Polites decided not to dwell on what that meant.

~~~

Polites jogged along the riverbank until he caught back up with the ship. He waded into the water, trying to figure out how to get back on the ship. He saw a rope nearby and grabbed ahold, climbing up. The rope swayed with the ship as if it were weightless, making it more difficult to ascend.

The rope slapped against the side of the ship, sending Polites hurling through the hull of the ship and into the lower deck. His body tumbled and hit a few crates, causing them to come crashing down.

"Oh no no no!" he muttered, trying to restack them, only for his hands to phase right through.

On the deck above, Odysseus heard the commotion and ordered one of his men to investigate as he continued to warn the others to stay on guard.

He trudged below deck, not expecting what awaited him.

Polites yelped when he heard a clatter behind him, turning to see one of the soldiers standing in the doorway, his sword laying on the ground before him. He opened his mouth to speak, but the man turned on his heels and scrambled up the stairs.

"Captain!"

Odysseus immediately ran to the soldier's aid, hand on the hilt of his sword. "What was it?"

"I-it was Polites, Sir..."

The captain bristled at the name, turning his back on the man.

"Impossible."

"But I'm telling you, he was right there!"

Odysseus sighed, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Listen to me, brother. This place is not to be trusted, okay? Nothing that you see or hear is to be trusted. Those were Circe's words. Got that?"

The man nodded, though he was clearly still shaken up. Odysseus sighed once more.

"Come on. Why don't you show me where he was," he said, deciding it might be a good idea to help put both their minds at ease.

Odysseus crept down the stairs carefully, eyes scanning the shadows for any intruders.

"Hello? Anyone down here?" He was met with silence. He didn't know how tense he was until his fears were put at ease. It was empty.

"The boxes must've fallen on their own, it's been a little bumpy. Let's go," he ordered, picking up the discarded sword and holding it out for the man to take.

Meanwhile, Polites was crouched behind a barrel on the upper deck, watching what few soldiers remained. They all looked so different, but none more than Odysseus. He watched as his friend marched up the stairs to resume his task of guiding the ship.

But... his directions didn't sound right. The way Odysseus was leading them would pass by two guardians, and more would surely die. Odysseus didn't know his way around here like he did, to no fault of his own. But Polites couldn't let that happen.

He made sure no one was looking when he crept from his hiding spot.

He stood behind Eurylochus, hesitant to speak. But the fork in the river was approaching.

"Actually, you're gonna wanna take a right," he said from behind. Eurylochus jumped at the unexpected voice, turning to face him. His face morphed in terror as he saw the man before him.

"CAPTA-mmm!"

"Shhh!" Polites shushed, slapping a hand over his friend's mouth. Eurylochus tried to shove him away, only for his hands to phase through his attacker's arm. His eyes were wide with fear as he fumbled for his sword, still trying to steer the ship through the narrow waterway. "It's me! You have to trust me!"

"I don't think so."

Polites turned to see the tip of a sword pointed at him, the eyes of Odysseus staring him down with a vengeance.

"Captain, I-"

"SHUT UP!" he yelled, taking a step closer. Polites let go of Eurylochus, shying away behind him. "Now who are you really?" he all but growled.

Polites furrowed his brow in confusion. "Do... do you not recognize me?" he asked weakly. Odysseus let out a low, sadistic chuckle, and it was hard to believe this was his beloved friend.

"Ohoho I know who you want us to think it is! But we've been through enough, I know a trap when I see one. So I'm only asking one more time." He pressed the blade to where his throat would be. "Who. Are. You."

"Odysseus, it really is me! W-why don't you believe me?" he asked helplessly, realizing his sword wasn't the only one trained towards him.

"Why should I?"

"B-because I'm trying to help you!" he insisted. There was a long stretch of silence before Odysseus answered.

"I don't believe you."

Odysseus reared back, preparing to strike. Polites panicked, he didn't know where else to go, where to hide. On instinct he clutched onto Eurylochus for protection.

He opened his eyes, and Eurylochus was gone. No, that wasn't right... he could still hear him. He sounded... scared.

"Captain... help me," his hand raised on its own towards Odysseus. No, that wasn't his hand...

The soldiers had cowered back when Polites disappeared; they were all clearly on edge.

"Eurylochus?" Odysseus asked carefully.

"He's here."

Polites had to speak up, he had to make them listen.

"Please, I'm just trying to help." He spoke with a double voice. "I know a better way. Please... you have to trust me. I'm- I'm not a god, or whatever you think I am," he pleaded. "I'm me."

Odysseus glared at him, lips curled in a sneer. A tense silence fell over them as the seconds ticked by.

"Fine." He stepped back and lowered his sword. "As you were." When no one moved, he repeated himself in a harsher tone. "As you were!" They immediately broke up and returned to their posts, keeping an eye on their new passenger.

"Are... you gonna stand there the whole time?" he asked carefully.

"Yup," Odysseus answered, popping the p. "Are you gonna hide the whole time?" he countered.

Polites took a breath to ground himself. By the Gods, it felt good to breathe again... But this wasn't his body. These weren't his lungs…

"That depends. Are you gonna pull your sword on me again?" he asked.

"Only if you try anything." That was as good an answer as any, he supposed. Polites sighed, stepping out of his friend's body.

Eurylochus gasped as he regained full control of his limbs. He lurched forward, using the steering wheel for support. He glared at the spectral intruder.

"What did you do to me?" he demanded. Polites held his hands up in surrender. "I-I don't know! I was scared, I panicked!"

Eurylochus glared down at him, getting in his personal space to get his point across. "Don't do it again." A gentle hand on his shoulder snapped him out of it.

"Eurylochus, why not get some rest? Feel free to use my quarters," Odysseus offered. Eurylochus nodded in thanks, but not once did he take his eyes off Polites.

Odysseus was steering now, his mind elsewhere as he thought of what the prophet Tiresias had foretold.

"There is a world where I help you get home, but that's not a world I know..."

"You're gonna want to hang left, there's some larger rocks.

"I see a man who gets to make it home alive, but it's no longer you."

"Captain?"

Odysseus didn't like who he was becoming, but each challenged left him more broken than the last, and the mosaic he was creating of himself was more of an abomination.

"Captain watch out!"

Odysseus shook himself out of it, cutting the wheel to avoid the boulders. Polites watched him carefully, waiting for his friend to thank him and smile like he used to.

That moment never came.

Polites crossed his arms and huffed, "You're welcome."

Odysseus clenched his jaw. The imposter's tone was light and teasing, and so much like the friend he knew. But the underworld was nothing but lies and deceit, danger lurking around every corner. He was sure the man before him was nothing more than a farce.

"Just stop pretending," he sighed in defeat.

"Come again?" Polites asked, cocking his head. Odysseus tensed at the disgusting cracking sound the movement made.

"Nothing. Just- no more talking until we're safe."

We. Polites smiled as he stood next to his friend, just like old times. It never occurred to him that he wasn't meant to be included in that statement.

"Okay Captain."

Polites remained by his side, offering directions whenever they're needed. He doesn't dare speak beyond that, knowing how testy his friend can be when he's trying to focus. Not to mention he seemed like he was in a bad mood to begin with.

He had no idea.

"Alright, it shouldn't be much farther. Just go straight through there," Polites guided, pointing towards a cave on the horizon. The smallest amount of sunlight shimmered through.

"Everyone! Full speed ahead!" Odysseus yelled across the ship, men scurrying about the deck.

Odysseus kept his eyes trained on their destination as he spoke. "Thank you... You can go now."

"Oh! Right, you're- you're busy. We can talk later," Polites said, backing away. "I should probably go apologize to Eurylochus." He turned to make his leave, but Odysseus stood guarding his path.

"Stay away from him," he threatened, face shrouded by long, matted hair and hidden behind a thick beard. His once warm gaze turned black as he trained his weapon at Polites for a second time.

If he were still alive, his heart would be pounding right out of his chest.

"Odysseus? You're scaring me," Polites said, looking him up and down.

"AND YOU'RE SCARING EVERYONE!" he screamed, surging forward. Polites is taller than him, even when he's not floating, but Odysseus's presence towers over him.

"Wha-what?" he breathed out, backing himself against the rail. Odysseus kept him trapped there for a few more seconds before turning away. Polites spared a glance and saw every pair of eyes resting solely on him, hushed whispers floating about as hands hovered over their own weapons. He looked back at his captain with wide, fearful eyes.

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to..."

Odysseus ignored him, not so much as a glance his way. And that hurt.

"Odysseus?"

"Don't call me that," he snarled, finally looking over his shoulder. Polites couldn't help but snicker.

"Don't call you by your name? Okay, Captain," he teased, hoping to catch a glimpse of that brilliant smile.

"Knock it off! You're not as funny as you think you are," Odysseus snapped, making him pout.

"Ouch. You know, my new friend Eurydice thought I was hilarious. She-"

"I don't care."

Polites felt his phantom heart sink at those words. Odysseus had never spoken to him like that before...

"Oh. O-okay. I'll just, um, I'll go."

"Good riddance."

Polites tried to stifle the hurt gasp he let out, biting his quivering lip. He just wanted to disappear. He didn't want to be here, but he didn't know where to go. After a moment, Odysseus chanced a glance over his shoulder and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Finally. Thought he'd never leave." Polites felt tears well in his eyes despite his confusion. He was still here, what did he mean? He reached a hand up to rub his tired face, only to freeze. He couldn't see himself. To test his theory, he raced down to the middle of the deck and stood there, but no one paid him any mind. He got his wish. They got their wish.

He disappeared.

Polites felt himself sink through the floorboards, but didn't care enough to stop it before he plopped down below deck. He landed flat on his back, not bothering to get up. What would even be the point?

Finally, he sat up before drifting into a standing position.

~~~

Eurylochus couldn't sleep. How the hell did Odysseus expect him to rest after all that? His mind was reeling, and in all honesty, he was completely and utterly confused.

Trust nothing in the underworld.

Circe's instructions. More importantly, Captain's instructions. Up until now, he thought that was to be believed. Everything down here was a wicked and cruel trick. And yet, this vision of Polites had seemed so real. More than that, it felt real. He had no idea what it did to him, but in the moments he was possessed, he knew what it was thinking: what it was feeling. And it was scared, hurt and confused: like a wild animal backed into a corner. But nowhere could he feel any kind of ill will towards any of them. And that scared Eurylochus just as much as it perplexed him.

He gave up on sleep and decided to go back to the upper deck. He navigated the narrow halls and froze in his tracks when he came upon the transparent image of his fallen friend.

"Eurylochus!" Polites startled, standing up a little straighter when he noticed him.

Said man recoiled as he was addressed, and watched him with a careful eye, his hand hovering over his weapon.

"Please don't," he said, cowering back towards the shadows. "I just want to apologize for earlier. I-I didn't mean to do... that."

He was met with nothing but silence.

"Eurylochus? Say something," he pleaded. He noticed the way Eurylochus stared at the ground instead of him.

"You're not really him, are you?" he asked skeptically. Pilotes felt his shoulders sag in defeat.

"You too?"

Eurylochus dared to meet his gaze. The expression he wore was that of skepticism and a hope long lost.

"I'm not convinced yet." As he walked past, he paused at Polites's side. "So convince me."

His words caused a smile to break out across his face as he turned to his friend. Eurylochus looked shocked before his expression melted into something softer.

"That's a start, I guess." He abruptly continued on his way, not wanting to linger with their friend's spirit. Polites was left alone in the dark, his thoughts serving as his only company.

He didn't emerge from the lower deck until he was sure they were well out of the underworld.

[redphlox]

Are you feeling about Touya? I can't imagine Horikoshi it would be way too cruel, especially since him and Shouto need to eat soba together.

Feeling hopeful. I know the general consensus in the Dabi fandom right now is fear and despondency but when I look at the overall picture of the story, Touya dying doesn't make any sense and there's a lot of setup for him to survive.

The random guard/whoever saying Touya is heading toward a slow death means nothing to me. Not when Ujiko, the brilliant (but evil) doctor who saved Touya from certain death on Sekoto Peak, was wrong about Dabi's body not surviving a month after he woke up from the coma. The core of Touya's character is literally about survival and determination, going above and beyond to exceed expectations to live and be seen. I also feel that there might be something within Touya that allows him to survive, which is how he has any fire resistance at all. He was crying actual real tears this chapter instead of blood, which hints that his body is healing. I've seen other people theorize that Shouto's Phosphor has healing properties, which is promising and more in line with the stories' themes and messages than Touya dying again.

Overall, the tone of the Todoroki family arc is positive and hopeful. Yes, Fuyumi quit her teaching position, but one of the students' parents helped her find another one. This means that not only does this one parent believe in her, but so does this new employer. And those kindergarteners that Shouto connected with during the remedial license Arc have been supporting him this entire time. These instances show that society is changing their attitude towards the relatives of those who commit crimes and are willing to accept the Todorokis back into society and are literally cheering for them. This doesn't change the fact that some people will definitely hate them, but it's not all doom and gloom. And the soba thing - what a way to connect to someone who was born to replace you! That's a deep connection right there, and that's good. The story has focused a lot on connections and how life-saving and important those can be. Dying would rip that connection and go against the themes

Also, I feel like the Todoroki family would be much more worried and emotionally wrecked if they thought Touya was actually dying. Endeavor keeps talking to Touya about the future and visiting him. Unless all of them are in denial about what is happening, then why would they torture themselves talking about something that can't happen? All these conversations they want to have etc etc. It would be cruel, and Horikoshi is a sensitive guy. I don't think he could write something like that, and it doesn't fit what he's written so far.

To go further than Touya, I wouldn't be surprised if we see Toga and Spinner also on their deathbeds currently too, tbh. I'm thinking that mysterious new character (who is Tenko, no doubt), saved by his regeneration quirk, may help them. There's set up for it via Kurogiri telling Shigaraki his friends are waiting for him, and not to mention Shigaraki's always been the hero of the lov. He might not have saved them emotionally like the hero kids did, but he can save them physically. I'm not sure how exactly it'll all happen but I think they will all be okay in the end.

I know some readers have a different, more critical/negative opinion than I do, and that's fine. Ever since Shigiraki died, I've been saying that it's going to get worse before it gets better and that we're not going to see a resolution to that soon, and that's all been happening. I hate this saying, but, it's not over till the fat lady sings. I'm just going to keep on reading. I keep telling my friends this over and over again but it's kind of like reading the last Harry Potter (author is dead to me) book and stopping/rage quitting when Harry is killed by Voldemort in the forest. Keep reading. The story is not over yet, and a lot can change for the better. Let Horikoshi tell his story.

[seaskate]

After the War

[Ignoring recent chapters because I want to and like ti imagine that everyone gets out of the war with quirks and most limbs intact]

The League of Villains get away after the war, none of them are exactly whole or intact, but they’re together and the heroes know that, even if no one can find them. The people wait with bated breath for another attack as the heroes search restlessly for them. But then a week turns into, turns into a month, turns into three, and suddenly the people are starting to rebuild the cities that had been destroyed, quirks being used more freely to help with the effort.

The heroes searching turns up nothing but rumors. If the League were in any of the places that they looked, then they were long gone by the time that they got there.

It’s the beginning of Class 1-A’s third year before that changes.

Three villains are brought into the classroom under Aizawa's watchful eye, quirk cancelling cuffs on their wrists. The class instantly goes still as they recognize the people before them, more than one carrying scars from the war, all of them having lost someone during it.

A villain rehab program, their teacher said. The new commission thought that it would be better for the leaders of the losing side of the war to be welcomed among them than shut away and causing a revolt from those that had followed them and their ideals.

Izuku was assigned to watch over them, the most capable to handle any of the three outside of the teachers themselves. He had fought them before after all.

Tomura Shigaraki, Dabi, and Himiko Toga.

A lot of the class think that they'll kill each other before the year is out, except when Izuku walks up to them to give them a tour of the school he calls Shigaraki he calls him Tomura and the villain calls him Izuku.

Toga loops her arm through Izuku's when they leave the room and the fire and decay users share a smirk as they follow.

Most were willing to forget that occurce, even with all the brows that it had raised. Shigaraki and Izuku had fought enough that back then that they wouldn't be the first heroes and villains to switch to given names, and both Toga and Izuku were very friendly people, it would only have been a matter of time before she touched him in some way.

They were willing to forget about it until they saw it happen again.

The former Leauge had been in the school for some time, the older members working as TAs with battle training, when they saw Izuku with the villains like that again.

Izuku had said that he was going to train in one of the gyms for a while and the three villains went with him, none of them allowed to be too far from the hero student. The others didnt think too much of it, but Mina has always been a curious one and decided to follow after a little while, the self proclaimed dekusquad coming too.

None of them were prepared for what they saw.

"Someone acknowledged by Stain should know how to fight with a blade," a voice said, it only took them a moment to see that it was Spinner.

The former villain had a wooden katana in his hand, holding it with ease as Izuku did the same. They watched as the pair spun around one another, moving like water as they traded blows with the false blades.

It looked almost like dance. One could forget that they were fighting, but couldnt forget how many it would take to get to this point.

The hero students left with contemplative looks on their faces as the former villains cheered when Izuku disarmed Spinner, the blade clattering across the matted floor.

They didn’t get an answer for another few weeks.

Music met the students of Class 3-A as they walked into the dorms, only Izuku missing from their numbers as the teen had to stay at the school to keep an eye on the reforming villains. Mr. Aizawa had offered to do so for him so that he could go with the others to the mall, but he had brushed it aside and said that he would stay and update his notebooks. He’d been working with Mei and Recovery Girl for weeks on some inventions that would reduce the impact that too strong quirks had on bodies that were not quite meant to handle them. They’d all known that the scars on his hands and arms were part of where the idea had come from, though that the former villains had some influence as well.

They had expected to possibly come back to the sounds of video games and Spinner’s screams as he fought against Shigaraki, but not music and too familiar laughter.

Izuku held out his hand to Himiko, the older of the two of them taking it as she spun the boy, leading the dance since Izuku didn’t know how to outside of fighting it seemed. They looked happy together, dancing with one another. It was still a surprise though for each of their given names to fall freely from the other’s lips, a sense of familiarity there as they did so. As if doing so was something that they did everyday.

The hero students didn’t notice until then that Izuku never called the villains by anything when they were around.

Shigaraki was the next victim that Izuku held his hand out to as the music changed. The class expected his first name to be used as well. They were surprised once more when it was not.

“Come on, what’s an older brother for but to crumble to the whims of their younger sibling?” Izuku asked, hand still outstretched.

“Brat,” was the former villain’s response as he took the hand and Izuku unflinchingly held it in his own as they danced with one another in a fashion similar to the previous, though the hero student lead this time.

The word brother rung in all of their ears as if they had been too close to one of Katsuki’s explosions during training.

“Izu,” the last of the villains said, holding out his hand to the younger this time.

“Touya,” he said as he took it and let himself be drawn away as Himiko took his previous place. Seeing this was the last straw for the hero students though.

“What the fuck is this?” Katsuki asked as he stormed further into the room, drawing attention to the lot of them and blatantly ignoring Tenya’s reprimand about his language.

The students almost missed Toga’s own curse as she handed over a reasonable amount of Yen to Izuku, Dabi and Shigaraki following suit.

“Should have known better than to bet against you,” the blood user muttered, though she was still heard in the quiet room as the One For All user slipped the money into his pocket before looking at the class.

It was then that he started a shortened story of how he’d found the year before when secretly going out on his own to look. He said that he and Tomura had fought within their connected quirks and killed All For One together within the bridge between them when the man had tried to take control of the older man’s body once more. They had leanred during the fight that the villain was Izuku’s father, making him and Tomura brothers in a sense. Izuku had never been one to leave anyone in need stranded, especially not those that had been hurt in a way that he had been too in middle school, so he helped the villains get back on their feet as the city itself rebuilt, and the group began to scheme.

The way that the villain group had gone about change last time - a strong arm method - hadn’t worked as they clearly had hoped that it would, but this time they agreed to work legally from inside the reforming that was already being changed after the events of the war. This was why they had allowed themselves to be caught at the beginning of the school year, Izuku had brokered a deal with Nezu who had in turn made one with what was left of the police.

None of this had been a secret with the staff after the deal had been made, but Izuku had wanted to see how long it would take the class to discover the full extent of the project. He’d guessed three months, the other villains had opted for much longer than that.

“Any other crimes you want to mention?” Denki asked with disbelief when they were done and Izuku grinned like the devil.

“Tenya, Shoto, and I tried to kill Stain in Hosu once.”

[electricbathsalt]

(from kainagant) psst what are your extensive headcanons/thoughts on hero!overhaul au? i'd love to hear what you think he'd be like as a hero.

I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED!! Idk why I didn’t talk about this sooner—it’s like I have to be prompted on a topic before I remember “oh yeah, I actually have thoughts on this matter, that I can speak out loud!!” 💀 also, I apologize in advance for how long this is. I’m basically summarizing the entirety of this AU in my mind, and it’s like. The longest-standing AU for Chisaki I have.

Anyway, first things first—he got taken away from the Hassaikai when he was young (like, maybe eleven or twelve?) and gets plopped in a Youth Recovery & Rehabilitation Center, which he was extremely pissed about at first, but his eyes kinda opened over the years as he learned more and more about how families and such are actually supposed to function, and how abnormal his entire life actually was up to that point.

Basically; he gets a stable, safe environment and therapy!! Yay!

By the time he reaches fifteen-sixteen, him going into hero school kinda just. Happened. He initially just wanted to shadow Recovery Girl, but they ended up making him take the entrance exam, and well… he passed with flying colors and all of a sudden he was a 1-A student. Luckily, that means instead of simply shadowing Recovery Girl, he gets to work as her official assistant! Cool, right.

And oh boy, does he learn a lot under her tutelage. Namely bedside manner. I imagine Chisaki who got away from the yakuza and had therapy wouldn’t be as blatant an asshole (obviously), but he would still be a bit lost on social norms and also honest/blunt to a fault. He doesn’t understand “putting things gently”, or “softening the blow”, and so Recovery Girl works to teach him when, where, and how he can be “nicer” to people/which situations require delicacy. She grows unexpectedly fond of him and actually finds his unwavering honesty refreshing because she knows he isn’t malicious and is simply stating exactly what he thinks. You just have to get used to his straightforwardness and he becomes rather endearing.

Recovery Girl also discovers that he’s actually capable of extreme kindness. Turns out when you coax him into telling you what’s on his mind, sometimes he’ll really surprise you with how much he cares, even if he himself doesn’t realize it, either (Without Pops and with therapy, Chisaki slowly grew back into caring about others. It took a lot of work, but without anyone weaponizing kindness against him, he felt he could allow himself to slowly feel it again (this is because doesn’t canon slightly imply Chisaki used to be kind like Eri with how he’s sort of like her if she never got saved? What if the way he escaped AFO’s facility was because he finally threw away caring about others and that was the difference between her and him? The fact Eri never got pushed to that point because she was rescued?))

Now, about his hero training. With his quirk-training, there’s not a lot to say/do. I’d say his quirk-training would involve a lot of “make this into this, as quickly as possible”. Basically, training him to be as precise and fast with his quirk usage as they can get him. I’d like to imagine that with training, they push him into being able to manipulate matter in all sorts of different ways, on the fly. He’s trained a lot in using environment to his advantage and whatnot. And maybe also one day, he ends up gaining the ability to use his quirk in areas other than his hands. Dunno.

For physical-training, I think they would heavily concentrate on making him extremely agile. Because hear me out—imagine Toga’s quirk awakening fight scene where she turns into Uraraka and sprints through all those people and takes them out. Imagine if Chisaki was able to move like that. He’d be fucking terrifying. They’d probably also want him to be extremely agile just on the front of being able to hit his hands against surfaces from as many positions as possible.

He absolutely would carry around things like painkillers and anesthesia like you said. Also hear me out, he’d carry around small bags of scraps that he’d then Overhaul to seal people’s wounds, since if the wound is big enough, he’d need some sort of substitute material to close it without sacrificing other parts of the person’s body.

He’d also sometimes work with the support course. He knows a lot about the human body and how quirks function, not to mention his quirk itself would be very useful in creating support items.

He’d get dragged into a lot of search-and-rescue missions because he’s literally perfect for those.

Pops eventually manages to get back into contact with Chisaki—to ask him to take a look at the girl he’s recently in possession of since her quirk is a dangerous mutation, and he’s such a fancy-pants doctor/support hero and quirk expert nowadays. Chisaki goes (he’s panicking internally from the moment he hears Pops’ voice over the phone to the moment he’s standing in front of the girl herself). He asks to take Eri for a couple days to run some tests. He never brings her back. He obtained full-custody of her via spilling every damn thing he’d ever learned and been through under the Shie Hassaikai.

(Seeing her sitting so lifelessly at that table, waiting to be prodded at like some sort of science experiment, reminded him of himself so much that it had been physically painful. The decision to ask to take her for only a while and then go back on his word was a rash one. It’s also one he doesn’t regret even slightly)

Huge advocate for quirkless people, and brings lots of awareness to quirk experimentation, since he’d been a victim of it himself.

And yes, becomes one of UA’s now multiple official on-site medical professionals. (They switch out as necessary)

So basically, he’s an extremely busy guy who never gets a moment’s rest thanks to the many… energetic people in his life (all the UA students give him migraines galore. Don’t even get him started on his coworkers), he’s slightly (very) terrifying, and SURPRISE! It’s good parent!chisaki AU as well, because I’m not leaving Eri to rot in Pops’ care.

I also play around with the idea of him never getting separated from his bio parents and becoming a hero from there, which mostly impacts his personality versus the actual stream of events that happen.

If there’s any further questions or if you wanted to know about anything specific, ask me and I’ll be happy to answer!! (Goes for anyone who may or may not be reading this)

[ofmermaidstories]

some bnha thoughts, on this sunny monday morning (or lunchtime, by the time i finish typing sdlkfjdlsk):

💥 got walloped with a return of the post-362 grief, with the latest episode of the anime lmao. unfortunately this means i am currently in my feelies, so thank u for bearing with me as i cycle through them in the form of shitposting. 🥹

💥 speaking of the anime, i’m sad they didn’t adapt one of my favourite panels from 360, where bakugou (or shiggy? it’s never really stated, but tbh i’ve always kinda assumed it’s shiggy imagining it LOL, maybe they both are? a joint moment of horror/delight where everyone knows exactly what’s about to happen 🥹) are imagining bakugou being torn apart by shiggy’s gross giant maggot fingers sdlkjlsdjflksdjf. i mean, i get why bones didn’t adapt it (bc they’re cheapskates and and also bc it is a show for children LMFAOOOO) but it’s a really cool example of how hard hori’s art can go, and also what im chalking up as his secret wish to write a horror story lmaoooo.

🪱🧵 i am biting my nails the closer we get to the end of the manga. chapter 428 was fun—bakugou and todoroki hiding behind iida as iida gently berates their newfound fangirls was so cute, lmao. also the revelation that edgeshot is slowly… regenerating? is….. interesting. i’m disappointed that hori didn’t kill him for a couple of reasons: the first one is my most selfish, and it’s bc i planned on edgeshot being dead for my halloween fic lmfao, now i gotta rework that whole angle. 💀😪 but the second reason is more pressing and that’s bc hori is a COWARD who NEVER kills off ANYONE that has INTERESTING CONSEQUENCES. and also bc he only likes killing off girls 💀 (we’ll circle back to this point). idk, i mean, for as much as i act like the grim reaper and whinge about mha not being depressing enough (lmao), the story that hori’s been writing has always been like, pretty easy to understand. hope connection blah blah blah (i say that lovingly).

HOWEVER,

💚🍵🩸 there are a few deaths i’ve always kinda expected, in the series, with the top of that list being shiggy and dabi. i was like, hopeful toga wouldn’t die, mostly bc i wanted hori to prove me wrong with his GIRL MURDERER AGENDA, but. 💀 cue the clown music, ig. and hey, maybe toga isn’t dead—maybe she’s just in a coma or in prison and ochako’s being emo bc she wants the world to see toga as a teenage girl and not a blood-sucking murdering psycho, and i HOPE that’s the case!!! i do!!!! like, are you seriously going to tell me dabi is somehow still alive (for now, anyways. do NOT come for me, that man got deep fried in the deepest oil vats of McHell!!!!) but toga gets the chop? 😒 like i actually fully expect tenko to come stumbling back (literally!!!) so you cannot tell me you save the dustpile AND the deepfriend mctodo just to axe the blood sucker!!!!! let them all live if ur gonna be a coward about it, hori!!!!! this is what i mean about interesting consequences. 😔 the only consequence we’re getting so far is deku and ochako both kinda 🫤🥺😦ing their way into a confession LOL. i’m being mean—i think the next chapter will be them both confronting their guilt over like, not being able to “save” their villains, and that if we do get a confession of feelies it’ll be something like ochako saying, “i like you deku, and/but i want to be a great hero too, to save people like toga in the future”. 🥹 maybe??? guess we’ll see. 🥺

🌇💀 my pet theory for the vaguely-tenko shaped rando that’s stumbling through the rumble is that it is indeed tenko, and that deku will somehow find him to help him and that’s how deku will get his powers back. and if he doesn’t and hori ends the series with deku being quirkless i will actually, and i mean this very sincerely, stop writing fanfic LMFAOOOO. ok im maybe like, half joking. 😒 but i have never been a fan of the quirkless deku ending and now im getting scared that’s what we’re gonna get!!!!! 😦 in one of his latest interviews, hori mentions something about wanting to strip away labels from people (characters) to see the human underneath them? soooo i guess we’ll just have to trust in him and these next two (TWO) chapters. 🥹

for all my whinging i do like bnha lmao. i whinge because i like it, and tbh i probably wouldn’t change a thing of it. 🥺 all the frustrating gaps—like those perceived consequences i keep getting worked up over the lack of—are what makes it fun to write and read fic for. 🥹 and it’s been fun watching the characters change!!! i was in a bookstore, yesterday, picking up a copy of volume 38 and the girl at the counter and i started talking about the series—the pros and cons of binging it vs keeping up weekly, the change in bakugou’s character and how reading over fics with him and his older characterisation can be kinda hard, now. how scary it was that it’s coming to an end!!! she and i have talked before—when i was buying volume 36 lmao—about whether bakugou could be canonically read as queer vs asexual, and like, idk any other series that has such a mainstream reach that you could have these outside conversations with other people in your day to day, outside of a twitter or tumblr sphere! that’s the power of my hero. and im glad to be here for the ride. and no matter how it ends, it’ll be fun, and worth it. 🥹