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dsnzfb · 3 months ago

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A Flair for the Dramatic

Axolotl/Lotus, cold/flu, M/M, ~2.9K

Axo gets the flu and a subsequent fever. He struggles to deal with it, and it's now Lotus's problem.

“Loooooo…”

This had been a frequent calling from Axo recently, and if it was anyone else, Lotus would have snapped at them to shut up and leave him alone.

But it wasn’t anyone else.

This was Axolotl.

Axo, with the strength of a bear and constitution of an ox, was usually the picture of health. Yet here he was, bundled up in bed with the flu, and here Lotus was, tending to his every need.

Fevers hit Axo hard, and this was no exception.

“You should be more careful,” Lotus had told him before he came down with it, “You meet a lot of people, yet you haven’t had your seasonal vaccine.”

Axo’d brushed him off and explained that he didn’t have time with the bakery’s opening hours. Not to mention he’d never gotten the flu before, so he’d be fine!

“I- I have t-to… ggh… haa… aahh… h-hhaaa… Hhhi-iih-iiih… HhiiIITSHHhhoOO!! Hhg-hhIITSSHHIEWW!! N-nn…” The Icelandic man pulled the covers around him tighter with a pathetic whimper, body trembling as he struggled to feel anything but freezing cold.

“…Bless you, Ax. I could say ‘I told you so’, you know.” Lotus offered up a tissue from the almost-empty box next to Axo, thumb tracing the back of his friend’s hand as they touched. He was too warm.

Luckily, he’d had his own flu shot the moment it became available to him.

“T-T-This-” the larger man blew his nose productively, ears feeling like they were going to pop from the pressure in his sinuses, “This sucks… I don’t like it, Lo… I don’t get sick like this… Ever. My body hurts… My muscles are screaming at me… A-and my skin aches, it’s… It’s so sensitive, and I’m sweating, but I’m so cold… My nose keeps running, but whenever I try to sniffle, or wipe it with a tissue, o-or blow, it makes me sneeze…”

Lotus sighed. This really was his own fault, but Axo wasn’t used to taking care of himself when he got sick like this.

He wasn’t the mother hen sort himself - that was more Rose’s deal. But seeing his friend like this, drowning in misery, it made his chest twist up in uncomfortable knots - he couldn’t bring himself to leave Axo to deal with this alone. The accountant would hole himself up and away when sick himself, but when it came to Axolotl? He couldn’t deny it, he was weak for that man.

“That’ll be the fever, and… Well, everything else that comes with the flu. Mm…” He hummed, “I don’t recall ever seeing you get an injection. Even when we were at school together, though we got called in separately for them, I suppose. But still…”

While Lotus’ brows furrowed during his reminiscing, Axo avoided his gaze and stared down at the corner of the blanket he was fidgeting with. He was usually happy to talk about times past, so the silence was unusual.

Well, silence bar a sniffle, and then growing hitches.

“H-hhei-hh…iiih… H-hhah…”

“Ax, tissue.”

“H-hhaa…aahh… Hhaaiih-!” The sick man pulled a tissue out from the nearby box just in time, despite his ample warnings, “hhaAIIMPFFH!!! IITsshHHIEWh!! Iish-TSSHHHIIieww!! N-nngh… Haahnn….”

Lotus blessed him softly. “Poor thing. It’s hit you hard, mm?”

“Mmb…” Axo nodded, eyes teary from sneezing and cheeks radiating heat. Embarrassment? Maybe. Fever? Absolutely.

Stepping close, the pink-haired man traced a soothing hand down Axo’s arm, pausing at a wince, and then continuing.

“You don’t have to tell me the details. But did you? Have your flu vaccines back then?”

As if shamefully, Axo slowly shook his head, strawberry blond hair cascading around his face and catching the light, seemingly glowing in the sun’s final rays of the day through his window. The British man found it hard to be mad at him, even a little.

“Never went. Snf-! HHnngh-aaah- a-ah… hhuaa’ttSHHHhew!! -ktsSHHIEW! Nngguh… I, um… I got the… Necessary ones… But… Y-you’re going to think I’m pathetic, Lo…”

“Go on.”

“I cried, every time… I was so scared… It hurts, I don’t know how people can do it… I, um- t-they had to hold me still for the important ones… I think I would have run away if they didn’t.”

“I don’t think that’s pathetic. So you have a phobia, is that right? I think it’s very brave that you got them. But you really should have your seasonal one. I’ll come with you next time. I’ll hold your hand. Hold your head, so you can’t see it. Then we can get, I don’t know, ice cream afterwards, or something. Or a hot meal, if the weather’s shite.”

Axo stared up at him, eyes wide.

Lotus fidgeted.

“…Say something, would you? I’m dreadful at this sort of thing.”

“A-Ah, sorry. I, uh… Thank you… You don’t have to do that. Nobody’s ever offered. It’s usually alone, just… Me and them… And they have the- the thing, and…”

Axo started to choke up just thinking about it, helped along by his fevered, highly emotional state. Goosebumps ran up his arms, a shudder running through his body despite the thick blankets currently cocooning him.

The pink-haired man’s expression instantly turned to worry, clearly unequipped to deal with a very upset, very sick Axo dealing with vivid memories of phobia-triggering events on top of a raging fever, “Shh. It’s okay. Don’t cry. Think of something else. Sorry for bringing it up, I didn’t know you were scared. You can go back to whining about how miserable you feel, or telling me a nonsensical fever-induced recipe idea for the bakery. H-How about that pesto-filled turtle bread you mentioned earlier today?”

A single laugh broke through Axo’s tears at Lotus’s attempt at helping, making him snort and send mess down his face. With a sympathetic smirk, the Brit cleaned him up easily, with the patience one might expect from a mother, or a nurse, or a long-term roommate-turned-boyfriend-turned-friends-with-benefits.

“You’re so silly, Ax. You always have been.”

“P-Pathetic…”

“Nonsense. You’re scared and unwell.” He threw the tissues away, then put the back of a hand on Axo’s cheek, then his forehead, then the nape of his neck.

“Still too warm. Can you take some medicine for me? Need to get that fever down, and I’m not strong enough to carry you into the bath.”

Axo didn’t understand what Lotus was saying, not figuring out what a bath had to do with him having a fever, or why he’d need to be carried to it. His confusion distracted him from the bulk of his upset, luckily enough.

“Ok…ay?? Are you, um- h-hold… Hold ohhhn… Are you s-s-suuh… Suuu…. Uuhh-iiIIhh…!! S-sure- that you’re n…naah…ah… No-ooht- s-sic-ck-kktSHHiiIIEW!! Hh-aaah-hTTSHHHIIEWw!!”

Lotus tore his gaze away from the tickly, hitchy, very sneezy man, cheeks warming alarmingly as he mumbled, “…Again with the nonsense… Barely able to tell what you’re saying… I’m certain, Ax. I’ve had my thing this year. I can’t catch it.”

Axo appreciated Lotus not mentioning the name of the object that brought him to tears, though he didn’t have much time to dwell on it before his sensitive nose twitched again.

“S-seeh-… Serious…ly…? It’s like… T-thuh-… The slightest breeze… Or… What’s i-iih-iiit… A hair trigger…? G-gonna- gonna s-sneeze agaaiih… Again, Lo…” The Icelandic man sounded slightly annoyed at just how easily his red, sore nose was set off at the moment, yet he still had to build up so much to his fits. He wished he could get them over with, like someone else he knew.

Cheeks now starting to feel like they were radiating heat, Lotus continued to look away from his friend as the dramatic buildups shot through him, pretending there was something particularly interesting on a nearby shelf that required his immediate attention. Well, Axo clearly hadn’t dusted in a bit. May as well busy himself with a little cleaning.

The breathy hitches continued for longer than he expected, and he ended up glancing at the larger man, only to find him just as he imagined – no, feared – from that sound.

The blond’s chapped nose was running freely down his face as he hitched, bridge scrunching up in irritation, lips curling at the itch the mess brought on. His eyes were shut tight, hot tear tracks shining down his equally fevered cheeks.

Shit, Lotus wouldn’t be able to control himself if this kept up.

“…L…Looooo… Lo… S-stuck… It’s… I cad’t-hheh-!! S-Sdeeehze-!! H-heh-eehiih!! Oh by god-!” Axo begged, attempting to open his eyes and look over at his friend, “He…elppp…“

Help?

Help how?

Was he kidding with this?

Lotus discreetly pinched himself - ow - and found that he wasn’t, indeed, dreaming. With a sigh, he took a seat beside Axo. More ‘traditional’ methods of inducing a sneeze felt like cartoonish fantasies, like pepper, a feather, or anything like that. Out of the question. He couldn’t dare use the rolled up tissue method - what if Axo asked how he knew about it? Allergies? As far as he was aware, he didn’t have any aside from certain perfumes, of which he had none here. Pollen gave him no trouble, he was fine around Cactus’s cat, dust did little more than make him cough when around too much, plus the fact that he just cleaned, Ax owned a dog… A clothes tag? Where the hell would he get one of those right now?

He couldn’t touch his nose. No way. That’s…. That’s far too intimate for this situation. Ignoring the fact that they’d already done unmentionable things to each other over the course of their ‘friendship’, of course. Axo’s kinks were normal, Lotus couldn’t admit or allude to a particularly uncommon one like this. Especially not right now. He didn’t want to be seen as taking advantage, or enjoying Axo’s suffering. He just wanted him to feel better - if anything, this kink was getting in the way.

Lotus let out another sigh, not having given an answer yet. The poor flu-ridden guy was completely stuck, despite his nose being so sensitive at the moment. What was it he said? A slight breeze would set him o-

Oh.

That could work.

“Look at me, Ax.” The accountant guided Axolotl’s face with a careful hand on his cheek. He took in his visage - so unabashedly tickly, so sick, it made his heart ache.

Axo sniffed hard, trying to be not such a mess in front of Lotus, though was now hitching in his general direction regardless. Lotus pursed his lips slightly and blew.

“Ggh-?! L-Lo, what- h-hah- t-that- that tickles- I’m… I… I-iih-…!! I’m g-gonna-…!! Gonna… snhh-… Snee-eeeh-eeiIISSHHhIiew!!! Ee-eehii-hiitTSSHHUue!!! S…Sdeeze…! Hhi-iih-hhiTTSHHiieeew!! AahTSSHIEW! E-eh-eeh..!!” The Icelandic man held a tissue in front of his face, sneezing at it rather than into it, and Lotus was belatedly incredibly grateful that he didn’t have a problem with needles. He didn’t wanna catch this, and with Axo being this bad at covering in the midst of an overwhelming fit like this, he would have been doomed.

Axo’s breaths paused, teetering on the edge of another tickle, so Lotus blew again.

“Hh-hhhdt-!! HhdTSSHHIEW!! AASHhEEUUHh!! AasSSHHhh-aaht’SSHHEWW!! O-ohhh…. Ndgh… S-scuse be… I, ub… Did’t bead to sdeeze that buch… Thadk you, Lo…”

Lotus felt like he was on fire, heart leaping to his throat as he choked out a blessing.

“I, uh… N-no problem. Glad I could help. Bless you. A thousand times.”

Axo blew his nose into the now-damp tissue, ears popping from the pressure. And of course, because he hadn’t tortured Lotus quite enough yet, he kept talking.

“I didn’t know the flu could be so sneezy, Lo… I always thought of it as, um… Like a bad fever and a cough, and… Stuff like that, but… This is just– it’s like a bajillion feathers all up in my nose, all dancing and swirling around, all covered in- in p-pepper…”

Lotus turned around with the mumbled excuse of ‘I’m getting you medicine.’ and stiffly walked off as Axo muffled another harsh sneeze into the tissue. Apparently just talking about it was enough to set him off now.

Ax really had no idea what the hell he was doing to him, so he couldn’t exactly blame him for this, but Lotus was being driven absolutely insane right now. Okay, medicine. Medicine… Hopefully it would help the poor guy start to feel a bit better, and knock him out long enough for the Brit to regain his composure.

After a few minutes of rummaging, he found a packet of cold & flu medication, blissfully unopened, and brought it to Axo, who was still rambling to himself about who-knows-what. (He knew what.)

“Sneezing so much is making my chest hurt, not from, um- not from the lungs, but the muscles, it’s so much movement, and I already ache…” He whined, eyes blinking open when Lotus nudged his hand and placed the small cylindrical pills on his palm.

“Take these.”

“W-wh- did you teleport? You were just here, and now you have those-”

“Hush. Just take them. Here’s your water.”

“….Thank you, Lo.” Axo swallowed the pills with a wince, chased them with his drink, then smiled at him, “I’m so lucky to have you. Thanks for looking after me.”

Looking away pointedly so that Axo hopefully wouldn’t notice the blush on his cheeks, Lotus replied. “….D-Don’t be a sap. You’d do the same for me. You have done the same for me.”

“I know, but… I don't know how bad I'd be if you weren't here. I'd be drowning in my mountain of tissues, probably… I don't think I've sneezed this much in my entire life.”

With a sigh, the Brit took a seat on Axo's bed. He still refused to look at the other man, but spoke regardless, “That department store about a year ago. The perfume section, when it was the only way to get to the men's clothes.”

Axo blinked, then smiled in recognition, “Oh, yeah! I'd completely forgotten about that! Wow, your memory is amazing. Yeah, I sneezed loads… I had to buy a new shirt, ‘cause all the perfume made… made me… my chesthh! Hhah… hhapTShhyuuUUuh!! Mm, bless me. Just thinking about that stuff… sneezing that much in public broke my shirt buttons, somehow…”

‘Somehow’, as if his chest wasn't absurdly huge and struggled to fit in shirts on a good day.

“I could barely breathe… it's a good thing you used your shirt and chest like a filter for my poor nose, the perfume was so unrelenting…”

Lotus was starting to regret mentioning that event.

“I'm sorry for sneezing on you then… and now, too. It's not on purpose, they just… they take over, so it's… it's hard to control… ohgod- I have to sneeze again, Lo… hhah… hha-aaAAHH…!! HhaPTSSHYIEWWwwwh! HhatSHOOoooh! Hhah-ahh-AH! AAHTSHIIEWWwwh!! Mmnh… goodness, bless me.”

“You ran out of blessings. I have a limited amount to give, and you’ve had them all.”

“Awww…” the Icelandic man pouted dramatically, his drippy nose only serving to accentuate how pathetic he currently sounded, “How can I get more?”

Lotus placed a hand on Axo’s, thumb tracing the back of his hand intimately, “There’ll be more by the time you wake up. So, can you guess what I’m going to suggest you do?”

“Take a nap?”

“Good job.”

“...I am pretty tired, but I feel like… like… hhah… hhaiIH…! HHIih… hhiPPTSHHYEEWwwh!! …Like I’ve done nothing but sleep. And sneeze.”

The Brit pushed him back slowly onto his pillow, “That’s because you have to recover. Your fever’s still not down. I’ll be here, okay? I’m not reading you a story, though.”

“Could you, um… Tell me about work? I’m not calling numbers boring, but they do always relax me…”

“Yes, because they were so riveting that you didn’t need my help with the bakery’s finances in the first place, hm? Well, if you insist. It’s coming up to tax season, so I’ve been busy with them. There’s a lot to say. But aren’t you lucky that I’ve been on top of everything for you? Truly, there’s an inane amount of forms to fill in. This week’s turnover will likely be lower than previous weeks, thanks to all this.” he motioned to his sick companion.

Axo gave a tired sigh, a smile growing on his face. He loved Lotus’s voice. He always had.

“But you’ve been doing well otherwise, profits are exceeding expectations despite the current climate. Going to those events with those booths, getting catering jobs, all of it helps.” Lotus couldn’t help but enjoy himself as he then started to rattle off stats, percentage returns, and costs. He didn’t often have someone willing to listen to him talk about work, and while it wasn’t ideal that it was being used as a bedtime story, he didn’t really mind.

“-and if we don’t want the IRS on our asses, I’ll be needing to fill in all those-”

A snore interrupted him. Lotus turned to look at the other man, relieved to see him sleeping peacefully. Finally.

“Mm, you weren’t kidding. But I think they do a little more than just relax you. No wonder you struggled. You probably fell asleep at your desk… Don’t think I’ll ever forget you were doing all your finances on paper, silly thing. You sleep well, and feel better in the morning, okay? That’s an order. A threat, perhaps.”

Lotus gave the feverish man’s hand a squeeze, three unspoken words hanging heavy in the air.

‘I love you, Axo. One day, I’ll be able to tell you properly.’

#snz fic #dye ocs #dye oc axo #dye oc lotus #rly should make tags for the other two whoops #every day i learn something new #is this the first fic ive posted about these two??? oh my god #ive had them as long as ive had cac and rose #anyway axo is an icelandic baker with big boobie hes very gentle but so very tall #lotus is very matter of fact hes a bit of a bitch #honestly hes just sick of everyone fluffing up words when they could just say what they mean #hes roses cousin he works at the flower shop part time and helps axo out with accounting on the side #hes actually an accountant fr but he doesnt want to do big business stuff he wants to help his family and friends and make a few dollars-#-extra come tax season lol #if i got the jargon wrong im sorry im not american but they all live in the us <3 #well. like. an idealised version of it where they can all have their own places to live and money isnt a hugely scary factor #anyway ill shut up now if u have any qs about these two pls give them to me i would love to yap #OH SHIT THIS WAS ORIGINALLY MADE AS A RESPONSE TO AN ASK

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unfortunatelyilikebnha · 5 months ago

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The best tdmd moments/things (to me; vaguely but not entirely chronological) (also I haven’t read the manga in ages and I’ve only - recently at least - rewatched bits and pieces so some of this is paraphrased while some of it I went back through to get exact quotes and NO I’m not going to do that for all of them it would take too long) (readmore bc it’s a lot):

- “As the crowd shouted, trying to make Sero feel better, Todoroki took a moment to melt his opponent from the ice prison he’d created. For some reason, in that moment, he looked very sad to me.” Ok so this is not the sports festival moment everyone talks about but it LIVES in my head ABSOLUTELY RENT FREE. It’s like, we know Todoroki’s been watching Midoriya for a while, mostly due to his obvious connection with All Might, but in this moment, while everyone is focusing on Sero, Midoriya is Watching Todoroki Back. He Sees Him.

- MIDORIYA TELLING ENDEAVOR THAT HE IS NOT ALL MIGHT AND SHOUTO IS NOT HIM. Midoriya is freeeeeaked tf out bc endvr is intimidating + he’s worried he’ll discover the secret of OFA but the SECOND endvr starts talking like an asshole, Midoriya SHUTS THAT SHIT DOWN. Again, Midoriya has had like ONE conversation with Todoroki and actively Really Wants To Get Away From Endeavor, but he just gets so mad about the way that Endeavor’s talking that he pauses his retreat to correct him and I think that’s beautiful.

- One of Todoroki’s episodes/chapters being titled “The boy born with everything” and how you could easily contrast Midoriya as “The boy born with nothing” (I could not find a definitive answer on whether canon actually calls him that but like). The juxtaposition of their opposite struggles and the underlying understanding that underneath it all they are really not that different. That they have both suffered, and are both trying to make the most of a power with a difficult legacy. (This brings me to the next point because -)

- “It’s your power, isn’t it?”/“It’s yours! Your quirk, not his!” Yeah. I don’t even have to explain this one I think, everyone knows it’s THE tddk moment. I’ll forever die on the hill that Todoroki should’ve found out about OFA sooner and we should’ve had a direct reversal while Midoriya was still struggling with thinking of OFA as his quirk instead of All Might’s and Todoroki repeats Midoriya’s words right back at him. I mean, Horikoshi LOVES to do that (see: repetition of “body moved without thinking”, “meddling when you aren’t asked to is the essence of being a hero”, “that’s what friends are for, right?” etc) the setup was RIGHT THERE, like taking my shipping goggles or whatever off for a second I think it would’ve been a great addition to the story regardless bc it’s an example of how Midoriya has helped other people AND a reminder that he has not quite conceptualized the advice he gives others for himself! Even without that though, we see how important this moment was to Todoroki literally throughout the rest of his arc, to the point that

- “Midoriya, this is my power. Thank you.” IF WE DIDNT GET TDRK TELLING MDYA THAT OFA WAS HIS QUIRK, AT LEAST WE GOT THIS. MY GOD. I was trying to go mostly chronologically, but since we’re talking about a follow-up to “It’s your power, isn’t it?” I HAD to mention this scene next. It’s a really lovely moment because 1) it’s an acknowledgement of how much Todoroki’s grown (which he did on his own! Midoriya reminded him of why he wanted to become a hero in the first place, and he had a lot of support from friends (& teachers/family) but TODOROKI decided to put in the work to become the kind of hero he wanted to be!) and 2) it’s a reminder to Midoriya that he has made a positive impact and helped the people around him, which I think he’s probably struggling with since this is like. Soon after his dropout arc iirc. (Also: it’s a cool new super move that Todoroki developed himself to try to create a better future for his family!! Which, setting aside how beautiful it is that Todoroki has crafted his fire into something that won’t hurt, is also fun bc Midoriya loves quirks and gets to nerd out over Todoroki’s cool new move lol)

- TODOROKI SHOWING UP TO THE STAIN FIGHT. Todoroki has been friends with Midoriya for like a week and gets a location pin with no other context and IMMEDIATELY deduces that 1) Midoriya’s not the kind of guy to randomly drop his location so 2) he must be in danger, and 3) IMMEDIATELY TELLS ENDEAVOR HE’S GOING TO CHECK OUT THE LOCATION AND TO BRING BACKUP TO THERE AFTER HE’S DONE FIGHTING BC HE THINKS HIS FRIEND’S IN TROUBLE. When he actually shows up the first thing he says is something like “Midoriya you should include more details at a time like this. It took me a while to figure out what you meant and I could’ve been too late” but we literally see in the flashback that he figured this all out in like 2 seconds and IMMEDIATELY came to support Midoriya AND SECURED BACKUP. Every person in Midoriya’s phone received the location pin and expressed various levels of curiosity/concern about it in hindsight but Todoroki figured it out right away and immediately came to help (this isn’t a knock on the rest of 1a btw iirc the rest of them weren’t even in Hosu so there’s not anything they really could’ve done about it besides report it - which iirc Kirishima did -, it’s just that Todoroki WAS in Hosu and DID figure it out so he immediately went to help and it was that simple for him). Todoroki also just like. Instantly accepts that ok, Midoriya and Iida were fighting a serial killer, Guess He’s Also Fighting A Serial Killer Now. ALL THIS FOR HIS FRIEND OF A WEEK. This is one of the core tenets of tddkism to me: they are as ride-or-die as they come. Also notable: Midoriya is not generally in the habit of asking for help. The fact that he did, knowing nothing might come of it, AND TODOROKI SHOWED UP EXACTLY WHEN HE NEEDED HIM??? Can we acknowledge how much that probably meant to Midoriya. Also the start of tdiimd as a trio, which this post isn’t really about, but I can’t completely leave Iida out when talking abt the stain fight that’d be fucked up :(

- “We’ll protect them together”. Yes ik, another Stain fight moment, but I believe this line deserves its own point because, again, Todoroki has been Midoriya’s friend for like a week. Immediately prior to Todoroki saying this, he tells Midoriya that his plan is risky. It’s one thing to recognize Midoriya’s text as a call for help and run to be his backup, it’s another thing to let Midoriya take the strategic lead when he’s already injured and the plan itself could be dangerous. But Todoroki puts his trust in Midoriya and says they’ll protect them together, showing his confidence in Midoriya’s strategic prowess AND battle planning ability.

- “You’re a kind person, Todoroki”. Ok I’ll get this out of the way: I have issues with how the writing of this chapter could be read as implying that being a kind person automatically means you have to forgive the person who hurt you. Ik Midoriya tells Todoroki that it’s ok not to forgive Endvr if he doesn’t want to, but the way he follows it up with the fact that he’s a kind person and the assumption that he wants to forgive Endvr...aren’t my favorite. I think it kind of makes sense for Midoriya to think like this given his own experiences (and also. Midoriya is 15, some of his wording is gonna be a little bit awkward sometimes, so I don’t think that’s the only possible interpretation of what he said), but I wish that if that was the intention, there’d be a moment later on where this view was challenged and Midoriya really internalized that you can be kind and still not forgive someone who’s hurt you. THAT BEING SAID, of all the things that Todoroki is called on a regular basis, and of all the qualities Todoroki associates with himself, I don’t think “kind” is necessarily one of them. “Kindness” was not exactly a virtue that Endeavor seemed to prioritize instilling in him (and though Rei probably would’ve, she WAS absent for much of Shouto’s childhood), and he spent so much time building his walls and striving to defy his dad that it’s not something people tend to immediately pinpoint about him. Todoroki really IS kind though, and Midoriya recognizes that AND makes it a point to tell him. For Todoroki, who has worked on himself quite a lot, and just invited friends to his house probably for the first time ever + gone through a tense family dinner in front of them, I think that probably meant a lot (and his expression in that panel is so cute. Ough).

- “Thank you for being Shouto’s friend”. I think the fact that Fuyumi recognized how meaningful their friendship was and thanked Izuku for it was so significant for both of them, like neither of them, as far as we know, HAD a lot of friends prior to attending UA so the acknowledgement that it is a big deal that they befriended each other is special <3

- Tdrk catching Mdya (and bkg and endvr but this ain’t about them) during the first war arc. He doesn’t know shit about OFA at this point but he followed Midoriya to the front lines anyways.

- Todoroki tucking Midoriya in in 327 and putting a hand on his shoulder in 32…8? 9? Fuck if I know I haven’t read the manga in ages. Anyways. These are both tiny moments but I’m grouping them together bc they really show how Todoroki is there for Midoriya, in the way that he’s always noticing things about him, that he’s RELIABLE, he WANTS to be there for Midoriya like Midoriya was there for Todoroki and that manifests both in following him into terrifying fights and in the small gestures of support. Todoroki NOTICES when something’s wrong, and when he has the necessary context he steps up to help.

Bonus mentions:

- the “are you all might’s secret love child or something?” convo in its entirety. Between the Todoroki Family Trauma Dump, Midoriya sympathizing with Todoroki and realizing that despite how different their lives have been, they’re very similar, the beginning of Midoriya’s desire to help Todoroki, and the beginning of Midoriya really Seeing Todoroki, it sets the groundwork for the start of something beautiful

- AFO: “pay close attention to them, tomura shigaraki. These two could prove to be formidable obstacles to you one day”. / AM: “they may have more in common than they realize. They both have such an intense vibe about them.” The fact that both AFO and AM comment on the tdmd sports festival match leads me to believe that originally their relationship (in the original story I’m talking about the platonic sense but read this any way you will since. This IS a post abt why I ship them) was supposed to be more central to the plot, in this essay I will - (<- ramblings of a crazy person but like!!! Both AM and AFO!! And you’re telling me it didn’t mean anything??? Come on!!)

- Also “you’re helping your opponent. You’re a fool.” Their matching maniacal grins after Midoriya prompts Todoroki to use his fire. Todoroki’s softer smile and little tear. Mdya’s “Amazing…”. Them immediately deciding to go full force regardless if it kills them (IMPORTANT FACT ABOUT THEM IS THAT THEY’RE INSANE <3). “Midoriya…thank you.” (OUGHHHHHHHHH 😭😭😭)

- MDYA YELLING “DONT GIVE UP” DURING THE TDRK/BKG MATCH AND FOR A BRIEF MOMENT TODOROKI STARTS USING HIS FIRE AGAIN. Ik he ultimately doesn’t end up using his fire, but that makes SENSE, you can’t process all that trauma immediately, it takes time!! The fact that for a moment, Midoriya’s voice was enough to allow him to use his fire so soon after his life-altering revelation in the tdmd match is so important to me though :( (and the fact that Midoriya’s willing to 1) root for Todoroki and 2) root for him loud enough that both Todoroki and Bkg can hear,,, ohh tdmd are so special to me)

- their little convo at the training camp. “You have a habit of sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong” lol (paraphrased). Underrated tdmd thing is that they’re willing to tell it to each other straight. But also, the genuinely good advice of “words themselves aren’t enough, actions are also needed to get through to someone” (again, paraphrased) (reminder of how Mdya helped Tdrk!! W/ words AND actions!! And now he’s helping Mdya help Kota!)

- “I don’t know, I think heroes cry when they need to probably” - acknowledges Mdya’s crying as a positive trait bc when he’s not crying it means he’s repressing things, also serves as a reminder that heroes are people too (a similar sentiment to Uraraka’s “who will save the heroes when they need saving?”). Serves to remind Mdya that his crying doesn’t make him less of a hero + it’s ok to feel things. Also Tdiimd.

- “You can’t even cry”/“Let us share that burden together” (this is like. Veeeery paraphrased I’m sorry I don’t have access to the chapter and I’m too lazy to rewatch). The whole class said very meaningful things to try to get Midoriya to come back, but even though he wasn’t ultimately the one to fully get through to him (SHOUTOUT TO IIDA ILY IIDA THIS POST ISNT ABOUT HIM EITHER BUT JUST KNOW I CANT WATCH THAT SCENE WITHOUT TEARING UP THEY R SO DEAR TO ME) Todoroki’s is one of my favorites bc sure maybe he doesn’t understand what it’s like to have no quirk and then suddenly have a quirk that’s actually seven quirks and have a pretty much all-powerful supervillain hunting him down but he DOES understand the burden of trying to shoulder the crushing legacy of a top hero, and here he reaches out to Midoriya once more reminding him that his tears are a good thing and offering to share the burden and help Midoriya like Midoriya’s helped him.

- Light novel moments: Mdya teaching Tdrk how to make AM origami and Tdrk sending it to Rei, Tdrk going to return Mdyas pencil and admiring Mdyas AM figure and Mdya trying to give it to him bc he has another one but Tdrk refuses bc he doesn’t want to damage it so he suggests he just come visit it instead (I haven’t read the light novels but I’ve seen these excerpts and I love them dearly) (these are just all really cute it’s nice to see what they’re like outside of doing hero stuff)

- Todoroki’s “Midoriya Sense” (yes this is a fandom joke based on like the stain incident + noticing smth was up during the “heroes cry too” incident + Todoroki asking abt him before the cultural festival etc but it IS genuinely very sweet that Todoroki is always looking out for Midoriya and trying his best to help when he can)

- TODOROKI TELLING MIDORIYA TO REMOVE THE BATTERIES FROM HIS PHONE SO THE GOVERNMENT COULDNT TRACK HIM WHILE HE WAS ON THE RUN BC HE WAS A MURDER SUSPECT. Now I haven’t watched the third movie so I may be wrong about the details but it was VERY funny of Tdrk to be like “did you kill people??? Never mind that actually here’s how to avoid the government” (paraphrased for comedic effect)

-“Midoriya and the others” (cute, something Shouto says…several times lmao) (Izuku has also said “Todoroki and the others” at least once (in the first movie) but I’m not aware of it being a recurring phrase like “Midoriya and the others”)

#this is so varied in quality I’m sorry lmao. but I wrote this at like 4 am and I don’t feel like editing it #(…that much. I edited it a little bit)#tododeku #todomido #tddk #todoroki shouto #midoriya izuku #‘Julia this is basically every time they interacted’ well yes!!#its 2025. I’m barely even into bnha anymore. but I’m still insane about them.#also this post isn’t about iida BUT IT COULD BE. I COULD PUT HIM IN HERE TOO. TDIIMD MY BELOVED.#it killed me a little to not mention him that much bc this post is abt tdmd as a ship bc they r my. sighs. otp.#(I’m almost 23 years old it feels so dumb to use that word and yet)#(edit: oh shit I am 23 I left this in the drafts too long)#but tdiimd both as a ship and the hosu trio friendship is sooooooo important to me tdiimd are sooooooo important to each other #both bc they care abt each other as people and have been through a lot together and in how they’ve affected each other’s growth #(see: Tdrk inspiring iida to ‘be the hero you want to be’ after Mdya inspired him to do the same #& iida being the one to catch Mdya during the vigilante arc w/ help from Tdrk + 1a & repeating the ‘that’s what friends are for’ line)#(and don’t get me started on the iida/mdya/uraraka trio & how canonically important to each other they are.#or the shouchako friendship that exists mostly in my head. bc this post is about tdmd.)#(but it’s also important to me that you know Iida and Uraraka are so important to Midoriya and Todoroki and each other as well okay? okay??#sorry I have chronic ‘have to yap in the tags’ disease.#anyways to me tdmd is about:#1) the ways they parallel and contrast each other #2) their deep understanding of each other in a way that imo no other character really has #(and the ways that they DON’T understand each other despite all their similarities)#3) their ride-or-die nature that manifests in both grand dramatic gestures and tiny moments of support #oh yeah and how well they work together as a hero team is pretty cool too #anyways we’re freeing this from the drafts idc #I just need yall to know that I never moved on and likely never will

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