#but it has always been obvious to me that he (dabi) doesn’t BLAME shouto

[shibaraki]

popping in to say i read the first part of little fires + i love where it's going so far. the idea isn't smth i've rlly seen before w this fandom, so it's super intriguing to read. but also - i love how you write touya. his internal voice feels very fitting, especially for the alternate reality ver of him + as always, i really really look forward to seeing what comes next <3

AHH hello my love thank you so much for giving it a read (๑>ᴗ<๑) I’m having a lot of fun! and it’s a relief to know you think his voice fits cause I was fretting a bit about that. dabi and touya are v different yet they are still the same. I thought it important that I stay true to my image of him while still applying it to different circumstances. this ver. of touya does not know the things that dabi knows yet, and what he DOES know he has never truly accepted. so I think I may have set myself up for a lot of pain lmao!!!

I appreciate you and your support more than words can say!! ily and hope you’re having a good start to your week bb <3

[haleigh-sloth]

Yeah sorry about the ask I kind of lost my head for a minute there but it's not fair on you or others to send asks like that. I wasn't upset at Deku saving Aoyama as I was about the class' reactions and then we had last week with Shouto now calling Touya Dabi instead. It just feels that Hori is going backwards with a lot of these characters except Deku and maybe Uraraka, she did have that moment where she was thinking of Toga. But how do you do it? How do you stay so confident?

The class’s reaction is exactly what it should be. Several of them got seriously injured, one got kidnapped, and several almost died because of the traitor. They’re not gonna all suddenly be on board with accepting and forgiving villains. They’re supposed to feel shock, hurt, and betrayal. Idk why people expected anything other than that from everyone all of a sudden. There’s a main character for a reason. You don’t have to like the MC or like the way the MC is written, but for the MC to be given the pedestal of “always kind and forgiving” is not surprising and shouldn’t be at this point. Like that’s literally how it’s been since chapter 1.

And look, I get the frustration. But honestly Midoriya hasn’t thought of Shigaraki in a while either. He’s still kissing All Might’s ass and he isn’t shifting his outlook on hero society that we can see. Which is an important change for him to make for his arc, but we haven’t seen it yet.

Which ties into what I said here about Shouto calling his brother “Dabi”. Also, I forgot to note in that post that Rei ALSO called Touya “Dabi”. This isn’t done on accident. It’s the family trying to separate Dabi and Touya, which isn’t the way to go about it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to be addressed. Shouto has shown that he can back track. He wanted to handle Touya alone, but then he decided to work with Endeavor. He called Touya by his name at first, but as time went on decided that separating Touya from Dabi is what he needs to do to “handle” Touya. Backtracking in his way of addressing the situation is different than backtracking on his entire perspective of the situation, which we haven’t seen happen. So nothing to worry about.

He’s not going backwards, he’s showing internal struggle. Do I think we deserve to see Shouto’s inner thoughts more often than just a panel every five chapters or so? Yes. But don’t blame Deku for eating up Shouto’s arc, blame Endeavor for that. Who shouldn’t have had this prominent of an arc imo.

For Toga we haven’t even gotten ANY dialogue on saving Toga. None. The panel is all we got. And before that it was um, like 50+ chapters prior when it was first solidified that her and Ochacko’s storylines are tied together.

Clearly Hori’s focus is not on what it really should be, because it still feels stagnant at times (despite the fact that it’s picked up significantly), but if this whole traitor plot has shown us anything, it’s shown us that Hori follows up on his shit.

So many people had thought that the traitor plot had been dropped (intentionally dropped, not forgotten). I literally thought that myself, but then it wasn’t. And then, an annoying bait and switch was unnecessary, but it actually solidified that Hori REALLY follows up on his foreshadowing. Aoyama was “so obvious” that everybody thought there was no way it could be him. But then it was.

So what does this tell you? If Hori foreshadows or hints at something, he’s gonna do it. Yes there are a few retcons on the table that I’m waiting to see how they play out, but those are not rooted in the villains’ endgames so much as they are the specific characters being retconned (Endeavor, All Might, Hox—none of whose endgames affect the villain endgames).

So I’m calm because I see nothing that tells me I need to worry. Shouto isn’t the first family member to call Touya Dabi. I understand he had it and changed it and that’s bothersome, but it’s really no more vague or no less obvious than Toga and Ochacko’s fate together. Midoriya and Shigaraki’s plot is just painfully in your face obvious because it’s not one-sided for them two. The other two kid:villain duos don’t get that privilege, but that doesn’t mean they’re not gonna get the same ending. They all have foreshadowing of being saved and getting a happy ending, so I’m not worried.

[petri808]

Request: TodoMomo; Momo comforting/trying to reassure Shouto after the whole Dabi reveal

Alrighty, I whipped this up before bed cause I almost forgot about it lol. But warning, since it’s based off a canon event (Dabis reveal) I stuck to canon personality as much as possible, so it comes off as more matter of fact (no crying or emotional outbursts, etc). Todoroki is portrayed as a more traditional Japanese male, even his dorm room’s aesthetic is based on it, so I keep to that view.

They were all extremely exhausted, physically broken and mentally drained by the time the battle had ended, but the Todoroki family suffered the brunt of psychological torture through this whole villain campaign. Several pro heroes were out of commission, including two of their best friends Izuku and Katsuki. The students did their best despite it all, to support their teachers and mentors, especially Aizawa.

The heat of battle had made the ramifications of Dabi’s reveal much easier to push aside at the time. Shouto knew he needed to act quickly with so many of the others stricken down in order to keep the league from gaining back any leverage. But in the still of the night, after the other student had gone to bed, Shouto fell to the demons of his past, and the brother he once mourned. He laid back on his bed with his arms behind his head, staring at the dark ceiling.

After the battle, he’d briefly confronted his father about Touya, because there was a part of him that blamed Enji for the man his brother had become. He knew from his own upbringing just how far the elder was willing to go in order to create his perfect child. They’d all become victims to Enji’s determination in one way or another. His mother Rei had a nervous break down. His siblings Natsuo and Fuyumi physically unscathed, but left emotionally behind. He himself was pushed to his limits, constantly begrudged by the man to exceed his expectations.

What was his older brother’s childhood like? Was it close to his own? Touya’s quirk had the potential to exceed Enji’s and that must have excited the elder male. Shouto could assume that Touya was probably pushed to the same extent as he’d been, and groomed on the same grandiose mentality that their father lived by. Could part of his brothers psychotic personality been created... by their father’s pressure, and warped into who they now knew as the villain Dabi?

No child should have gone through what any of them had. Rei didn’t deserve to be stuck in a loveless marriage just for her quirk. Psychological abuse can be worse than physical, especially on an already fragile or developing mind. Shouto realized he had been lucky in a way. Having his other siblings and mother around was just enough to protect him when he needed it the most from Enji. Touya never had that luxury. He was left in the hands of a tyrannical father and a weaker mother with no one else to run to. It was a recipe for disaster.

But that wasn’t what upset Shouto. He may not condone what his brother had become, but he could understand what may have driven him to it. No, what really pissed him off was fine, Touya wanted to hate their father, get in line. Touya wanted to be mad at him for being the golden child, pointless since he never asked to be born this way. But no one makes their mother suffer like that! Rei didn’t deserve anymore pain after spending years of what amounted to a domestic violence situation.

Shouto turned to the sound of a quiet knock on his door. It was 11 pm and he’d assumed everyone was asleep by now or at least heading there, so who could it be? While he wasn’t really interested in company, it would be rude not to answer it. He got out of bed and opened the door to find Momo standing there in her pajamas.

“How may I help you Yaoyorozu?”

She averted her eyes nervously to the ground as her fingers fidgeted in her clasped hands. “I’m sorry to bother you this late, but I noticed how quiet you’ve become since we returned to UA and I wondered if you might need someone to talk to. I-I’ll understand if you don’t want to, I was just worried...”

Momo stopped short of stating the obvious elephant in the room and Shouto didn’t blame her. They were all still processing the fact his older brother was not just a villain, but a powerful one with the league. He was truly grateful that all of his friends were being supportive of him and his family. “That’s really kind of you Yaoyorozu, but I don’t know if I’m ready to talk about it yet.”

“Okay,” she bowed along with the word, “I understand. Good night Todoroki.” Momo turned to leave, then stopped midway. “I can’t even imagine what must be going through your mind, but it’s always better to talk about things instead of holding it in. And when you’re ready, I’d be honored to listen.” She partially bowed a second time and left the room.

Shouto took a moment to process Momo’s words before quietly calling after her to stop and motioned for her to return. He lead her back in and gestured at the zabuton cushions to sit down. “I appreciate the gesture, all of you have been such a support for my family and I, but I think it best that I say up front, I’m not angry because I found out Touya is Dabi.” Momo tilted her head in confusion, so he continued. “I’m sure that sounds odd, but it’s not the reason I’ve been quiet.”

“It doesn’t bother you that he’s a villain?”

“Of course, I’m not happy about it, but you see,” he sighed, “our father— The world sees Endeavor as this amazing hero, but behind closed doors he’s not a nice person. Growing up, I used to wonder if he cared about family at all or was it always about image and power. He only married my mother for her quirk.”

“Wow... I’m so sorry, Todoroki, I had no idea.”

“I could be angry at Touya until I tried to put myself in his shoes... what it must have been like growing up. My brother’s personality was a lot like my dads according to my sister and mother, but perhaps it became twisted and warped by the brutal training our father put us through.”

“So, what is upsetting you? I can sense there’s something bothering you.”

“I don’t care if Touya is angry with our father, he has every right to be. But to do what he did, and upsetting our mother, for that... for that I’m furious with him. He probably blames her just as much as our father, but she doesn’t deserve it.”

“Todoroki,” Momo tentatively reached out and placed her hand over the hand he had perched on one of his thighs. “That’s really amazing that you can sympathize with your brother, I don’t know if I could so easily after everything he’s done. But what will you do now about it?”

Again Shouto sighed, “I still love him. He’ll always be my brother, but there’s no questions in my mind that Touya must be stopped. He’s done too many bad things at this point and must be locked away where can no longer hurt anyone else.”

“Are you sure you’re really okay with that? Knowing he’ll hate you even more for it?”

“I was too young to really know my brother, so— yes. I need to protect my mother from any more pain, and if that includes stopping my own blood, then so be it.”

Momo smiled, “it sounds like you’ve made up your mind, and I think it’s the right decision.”

Shouto paused for a second. While he had thought a lot about what he would do, it never felt solidified, doubts always lingered about whether or not he could go through with it. But strangely now, after saying it out loud, his choice did feel much easier to acknowledge. It wasn’t an easy one, and frankly it was wholly unfair that he has been put into this situation.

“Thank you, Yaoyorozu. You were right, it did feel better to talk it out.”

Momo patted his hand. “I’m glad I was able to assist.” She then stood up to leave. “If you need to talk more, just let me know. We’ll always be here for you.”

He smiled for the first time in days. “Good night, Yaoyorozu.”

“Good night, Todoroki.”