#let dabi be unsaved

[justatalkingface]

Can I vent one thing? I kind hate the hipocrisy of some (a big number here) fans on regards Izu and Endeavour.

Like it goes more or less like this:

Fans:😒look at Izu defending Endeavour even through Dabi told how abusive he is.

Me: what you want Izu to do punch Endeavour and praise Dabi? A fucking villain who killed and has no remorse?

The hipocrisy here is how they blame Izu for "siding with an abuser" but Shot befriend BK is cute.

Following that logic, they should hate Shoto too as he is Bk's friends...somehow. BK for all his many flaws, I say this, he is honest in his hate for Izu. Never tried to mask.

As for the other ask I sent and yoy answer. Look, Hori just hates Izu and at this point is just easier to say he is a bad writer (feels lazy but I swear this is the easiest and real explanation here) we dont know why Izu wants to be a hero or anything about his family. His complex of martyr makes no sense (does AM have the same thing? It also makes no sense ....bc we know 0 about AM)

There is so much cognitive dissonance baked into Bakugou and how much people love him, there really is; he hits Izuku and there are Bakugou fans that basiclly say Izuku should thank him for the privilege.

Relatedly, a lot of people apparently find him attractive which... I don't get. But hot people do get away with a lot more than unattractive people, so I could see some unconscious biases on the fact that they think he looks hot, and is therefore more tolerable than if he looked like Mineta but acted like he does in canon.

To be fair, a lot of it is ultimately on Hori himself and the writing; no matter how bad I find his character arc at times, Endeavour's abuse and behaviour was never treated like a joke. Brushed over, sure, but it was never funny. Meanwhile, we passed a point in the story, long before Endeavour's redemption kicked in, and suddenly every abusive thing that Bakugou had been doing, bad things which were Serious Problems he was supposed to deal with, was nothing but a joke, even while Endeavour was still on and off being given shit for being an abuser; it's annoying, but I don't find it surprising people don't take Bakugou's behavior seriously if the story itself doesn't.

Meanwhile, while people's interest in Izuku has died to some extent because of how bad his writing got, I've seen people saying (and I'm not completely disagreeing with them) that Dabi has been carrying a lot of Post War, with all the focus on him and his tragic backstory being something that's actually interesting, and how much character he's allowed to have compared to everyone else, which, ironically enough, is probably enough to make him a more sympathetic victim to a lot of people over Izuku, who isn't even allowed to think about his past abuse with how much his traumatic backstory is being suppressed by the writing.

Granted, it feels like a lot of that was altered to make Endeavour (and Dabi) more tolerable to the readers, and while Dabi is supposed to be a villain with sympathetic origins, some people forget he's very much an unsympathetic person at this point, by his own design, and that would probably be insulted by some of the nicer takes on him.

Ultimately, what Endeavour did was worse than Bakugou, yeah, and I see people say that for why Bakugou is more defensible, but it's not a matter of degree; Endeavour doing shitty things doesn't excuse Bakugou doing shitty things, though there's also the fact that abusive fathers are more universally loathed than bullies, especially with all the extra stuff going on with Bakugou to try and mitigate him.

On the other thing....

Izuku is easy. Izuku wants to be a hero because: societal brainwashing about the heroic system as a whole making the system popular to the people, wanting to help people, and wanting acceptance from others. Being a hero, for him, is wrapped up with all three of those causes.

On All Might... Well. It's been awhile, but back when All Might was allowed to be a character, it was pointed out multiple times that Izuku is, in fact, exactly like All Might (seriously, if we look at what we know about Young!All Might, and it sounds like he's basically taller, more muscular, and to some degree more confident Izuku from the start of the story. He's basiclly Izuku if Izuku never had Bakugou in his life, constantly knocking him down, and maybe had an extra foot or two in height), and while Izuku liked being like his idol, everyone else in the know was worried because All Might went exactly down this road Izuku's going down.

That is to say, All Might is now a lonely old man, scarred and broken, without a life of his own, and the fact he's still alive means this is the good ending for him, compared to him getting himself killed.

(looks at the newer manga chapters meaningfully)

The Izuku and All Might self-destruction parallels is something that came up within the first couple of chapters; it was a very deliberate choice, and it seemed clear, at some point, that All Might was supposed to help Izuku be better than him, temper his natural martyr tendencies, and not get himself killed or horribly maimed, a process that would help the both of them grow past these tendencies.

And yes, we know little about All Might, but after a certain point his development stopped and... in all honesty, as much as Hori seems to hate Izuku, he seems to hate All Might just as much, if not more (or at least All Might isn't mandated to be strong and victorious, anyways, in ways that give Izuku some protections). All Might took this scrawny little boy to the beach and over the course of a summer bulked him up to the point where he could host OFA; he's not this horribly incompetent person that the later parts of the story seem to want us to see him as.

And yet, the more he's developed the more Hori just adds flaw upon flaw to the poor man, starting with being completely incapable of helping Izuku in pretty much any way all of a sudden ('clench your butt' my ass) and turning more and more pathetic over time as his powers waned, and he never got to grow as a character to filled the void in his characterization.

Presumably, mixed with the part where he was meant to teach Izuku... literally anything, All Might's backstory (beyond being basiclly tall Izuku, anyways) was probably going to be organically expanded on over time as their mentor and mentee based relationship developed, but that never happened, and so we have a character whose defining traits are largely having super powers, who no longer has those super powers.

[sugarakis-p2]

Shigaraki's Muse ch 26

Sweet Ember is Shigaraki’s darling while being Dabi’s ex and carrying his baby, Baku is in the mix all unsaved…alright and action!

The Terror is making the rounds, testing Shigaraki and Bakugou in the most torturous ways he can think of. Because he is the Terror and that's how he do. Meanwhile poor Ember is terrified she might not even be human anymore, what if her and the baby are both Nomu? Kai reassures her she isn't. But he's not the most sanest person to be taking the word of.

Warning: Dream Non/Con w AFO. Shigaraki in Ember's body gets NSFW. Shiggy about to bang himself. cussing, drug ref, Other fun stuff, trauma and angst.

Chapter 25

Chapter 26: We get it!

Bakugou is dying.

He knew it as he lay on the bathroom floor of the steaming room, hydrating and trying to sweat. The hot shower running full blast. The loud grumbling of his stomach mixed with the running water. The only thing he had a lot of was water.

"Shuddup," he snarled at his abs. He missed his dad's cooking. He missed Ember's cooking. Fuck, he missed his family and Ember. Losing weight and getting weaker, he has been thinking about her more and more. The things she said. He starts to have regrets. Over Deku, over his parents, over Ember. He wonders if she thinks of him, "I would like that."

Moister runs from his eyes. Lying to himself that he was crying and why. Ember was such a pain in the ass. She infuriated him but grounded him with nauseating girly emotions he found weak. Then the next moment, she was fiery and playful. He never thought he would be with anyone. Much less an old hag. He worked on being solo and pushing people away.

He will be the number one hero, and he is going to start by saving Ember. He shuffled to the vent with the towels and gloves coated in his sweat. This was the last chance. He wouldn't even have tried this unless he was desperate.

"Not fair. Ember, you are gorgeous…. for an old hag," he mumbles. Then chuckles because he can see her face in his imagination. Scrunching in annoyance then laughing at him. Infuriating woman, but it was good for a short time, and a deep ache settled in him. He sighs. Shaking his head, "I might tell you that you are right one day. It's one thing to save people. It's another to desire to truly save someone. I get it now. Fuck it. I'll whisper it to you if I ever get to hold you again. I know you hate it when I yell at you."  

He groaned. Without Ember, it became hazardous. It was getting harder to find it since the lamp was dimming. He only turns it on after counting paces to be sure he's under the opening on the ceiling. The oxygen is too rich.

He clenched the towels between his teeth. The explosions from his hands propel him up to the janky damaged tunnel. He was crawling when he finally hit the wall. Not much farther, and he will be in the empty space he felt when Ember disappeared.

He bumped into the barrier, reaching out to grope for the breezy hole in the dark. He stuffed it with his sweat-soaked towels placing gloves along the way. He holds onto the ledge, letting himself dangle before doing the reckless thing.

Igniting the glove, a chain reaction blows him back, bouncing off walls and slamming to the ground. It's hard to breathe, and he hears a rumble above him. Great, the whole place might fall on him. He would welcome it at this point, writhing and curling into himself. His left hand hurts. His ribs and ears hurt.  

He gropes for the lamp, cursing at the sting in his hand, feeling warm liquid trickling down to his elbow as he holds it up. He remembers all of Ember's first aid talk. She would prattle on about it during horror movies. He wonders if she even knew she was doing it. He found the lamp, relieved to see the dust moving as the air filters still worked. See, he told her he wouldn't blow up the air system.

"FUCK! You cursed me, Ember!" he swears. He was explosion-proof but not shrapnel-proof. His two middle fingers are broken and mangled. A large metal shard jutting out between them. Blood welling around it. He tries to get up back through the hole, but he's too weak. Instead, he heads to the emergency first aid. Hell holding his arm up was getting exhausting. He stumbles along, opening boxes and finding what he needs. Setting everything out in order.

He was quick, but he almost fainted at the sudden dip in blood pressure even then. He refused to, though. Searching through the boxes for what Ember called the good stuff. When he opened the box, he almost cried. Written on the top inner flap was a note.

Ember, stay out of the drugs! Have some chocolate instead. -Love Tomura

It was an entire box of fudge brownie bars with almond shavings. Baku was so excited he stuffed five in his mouth before considering slowing down and looking in the other boxes. There were drugs, but he didn't trust them. He knew about the lollipops and found some of them, considering them safe enough. He had found two more boxes of chocolate and gathered that up to rest and hydrate. Junky Ember had saved him.

He flops down into a fitful sleep. Hugging the pillow that still had Ember's faint lingering scent. In his dreams, he's older. The number one hero. Ember is his wife and waits for him to get home. She always makes too much food for him. Passed out on the couch, the kids snuck into the living room to sleep with her. He gathers them up quietly and gently. Cyprus wakes up, complains he is old enough to go to bed himself and he's not his real dad.

They get into an argument that wakes up the whole house, then eat and laugh together, like a family. He tucks them in for real and Ember slips into something uncomfortable and cute. He immediately throws her down on the bed to get her out of the outfit and between her legs.

"Gross! How old are you? How many boyfriends does she have? I get Ember is pretty, but this is just pathetic. Can't you find someone your own age?" A man with a thick unknown accent, handsome sharp features and graying hair, in a black and white tuxedo, questions. The man holds up some strappy leather things, "This is more of what she would wear fucko."

"Who the fuck are you?" Bakugou asks with a threatening rumble.

"Freeze. Stay right there," the man says. Baku can't move. He's struggling to move, and he can't, "I want to get a good look at you. Dig around a bit to see if you are what I need. Go ahead and fuck my daughter. That will be funny. What does a shitty little virgin goody two shoes like you know about fucking a woman? Rhetorical question, cause the answer is always nothing."

"Daughter? Are you the Terror?" Baku asks. The man pokes around the room and then slow claps.

"You are quick for a shitheel. Give you that. So, this is all you want to do with my daughter? Huh? Tie her down and keep her trapped with a bunch of brats?" He asked.

"I'm going to save her. What she does after that is her choice. But if she ever decides to choose me, I will cherish and take care of her," Bakugou answers carefully. Ember talked about this guy, often waking up crying because he wasn't visiting her. She called him the Master of dreams and nightmares.

"Ooooh, listen to this one. Did you read that off a cover of a romance novel? Let's just put that to the test," Terror says. He snaps his fingers. The man is gone.

Bakugou is now in Tartarus prison, sitting in front of a sobbing Ember with thick glass between them. Strapped to a chair, guns pointed at her head.

"They took him away. I didn't even get to hold him. They just took him. How is this being saved? You lied to me! I just want to die. I just want to die!" She screams, thrashing in the seat. Alarms go off, and a barrier goes up, preventing him from seeing her. He kicks at it screaming himself. Guns swivel his way. He calms down to think. It's just a dream. A voice interrupts his thoughts.

"Maybe. But it has real consequences. See," one of the turrets puts a single shot through his calf. He grits his teeth at the painful burning sensation spreading up his leg, "Think of it less of a dream and more of a test, cum smear."

Ember wept in her own nightmare. The doctor was too excited and ambitious. She now has four quirks in her. She doesn't know what they do. She knows that they are all passive, and he's using her as an emergency quirk pack. So, it's the special quirks that will always be needed.

She whimpers when Kai nuzzles her.

"Ember, it's going to be all right. I convinced him to stop at six. You won't be a nomu. I fixed it so you will be you. Like all diseases, they can be manipulated," he comforted. Her stomach revolted, and she lunged for the bucket.

Legion held her gently while she heaved. Spitting out the last of the bile coating her mouth. Tears and snot dribbling down her face. Her throat ached, her head throbbed, and it was hard to breathe. Legion shoved tissue in her hand.

She wiped her face and tossed it in the bucket. Legion spilt off to get rid of the mess. Kai used his pointy chin to encourage her to lay back down. She flops back down in the bed, and he snuggles with her. The armless prick was very clingy.

"I can't handle anymore. Do me a favor and shut up about it. I don't know if my child will be human or alive after this," She says.

"Your little parasite is strong," Kai says with a fake smile. Her golden eyes stare at him then she sighs. Looking away. He had regressed but was getting better little by little. She doesn't know what he was like before, but she can't imagine him in charge of anyone like this.

"Enough sweet talk Kai. Time for bed," she says, patting on the shoulder with the arm he is lying on.

"You've been meaner lately. You at least used to lie to me about seeing pops again. Now you are harsh and blunt," Kai whined softly.

"I get mean when I'm in constant pain and misery. I need to get away from here," she states. Kai considers this. He kissed her cheek, and she jerked from him in shock.

"What the fuck? Don't be weird. Weirder," she hisses. Wiping her cheek in disgust.

"If I can give you what you need, will you take me to see pops? Will you stop talking about leaving me?" he asks. She rolled her eyes in the dark. This fucking guy. She had one that intruded in her life, another that was an attention whore, another that tried to control her every movement, and then this one that needed a mommy. Recently, the pile of men in her life has been of less than stellar quality.

"Sure," she replied. Expecting nothing from his words. Like a timid child giving his first one, he tried kissing again, light pecks up her neck. She shuddered, her body confused if it was in disgust or pleasure, perhaps a mix, "Stop, or I will have Legion drag you to your own bed. I'm not in the mood to be teased."

"I'm not teasing," he grumbles. Ember shoots him a dirty look, and he tries to nuzzle against her neck, "I'm trying. But I have never been with a woman because of my anxiety about germs. I don't feel that way with you."

"You only feel that way because you think you need me. Once I am obsolete, you will toss me aside," she says. He laughed.

"I must be off if you think I will let go of what is mine," he said. That made her shudder in nostalgia for Shigaraki. Kai had sounded for a moment of his old self, and it reminded her of her toxic want of her obsessive Shigaraki.

"I'm not yours, and I'm not in the mood after being experimented on by you and the doctor," she hisses. Rolling away from him. Disgusted, she couldn't at least relieve herself. Truly frustrated that Kai made her wet. He wrapped a leg over her hip. She could feel his face burying in her hair, his hot breath fanning over the back of her neck. Another tremble against him pulled a smile as they drifted together. He will get the experiments to stop.  

"Were you fucking him? Did you seduce Master like a little slut!" Shigaraki screamed in his own face. The Terror had done this or something like this to him every night. Making him relive his worst moments as Ember. He mentally struggled but forced his authentic voice to be heard.

"This isn't fair. I wasn't a saint, but there were good moments too. I think you just want to fuck your daughter," he growled out in Ember's sweet voice. He watched his own face lift suddenly as if distracted. Then he watched himself giggle.

"Sorry, it gets difficult when managing many dreams. You were saying something lewd and stupid, fuckwit? First off, I prefer men, but I partake in women, and my baby girl is my most precious. But for some reason, you think I'm actually in this grotesque body, and even if I was, I could manipulate everything I, and you see. I wouldn't need you if I wanted to do that," he smiles. Leaning in close, he inhales and lets out a quivering sigh, grossing out Shigaraki that was forced under him.

His large hard cock pressed against her belly, straddling her as his hips bucked a little. He always thought Ember was making excuses and exaggerating about his dick size hurting and being too much. Sweetly stroking his ego. Now he knows he was a prick whenever he didn't bother to prep.

"I was never this cruel," he lies. His double laughs.

"Who are you trying to fool? My little girl has a hard time hiding anything from me. I've seen what you've done. I'm not a mind reader. I am a mind watcher, and I have seen your dark desires. If you could keep her attention and still have her love, you would do worse. Let's explore some of those together, shall we?" He rasps. Snapping his fingers.

He is running through alleyways. The bottom of his feet aches as Ember's bare feet connect with every pebble or broken glass. He knows his body will do what it wants without him, so he takes a moment to think. Scenes change when the Terror snaps his fingers. He needs to use that somehow. Ember darts into traffic, screaming for help.

She grabs several people walking by, begging for help. They look at her disheveled appearance and shun her. One guy almost shoved them back into traffic. This was starting to trigger bad memories for him. While in her body, he was having a hard time separating himself. Feeling all her emotions welling up, all the physical pain and pleasure mixing and overwhelming.  

"Please, why won't any of you bastards help me!" they screamed.

"Don't mind my wife. She has mental issues. I'll be taking her home now," his twin rasped.

"He's not my husband! If I could kill you all," he screamed, separate from Ember. He wonders how Terror can force him to say and feel things that are not him. He hated how he was a pawn in the Terrors game, "This was a fantasy. I never did it! It's not fair!"

He wasn't afraid of the fucking. It was the public humiliation and rejection, then the removal of his legs. When he first had Ember, she was trying to escape, and he wanted her broken permanently of that habit. This fantasy was part of how he was broken, so he figured it would work on her. He did not want to relive this. He did not want to do this to Ember any longer.

He looked at his twin he believes is the Terror. His face twisting into a ghoulish manic mask of pure joy. He hates the way Terror makes him look. There must be a way to use Ember's quirk. She puked up hot lava fire. His past was bubbling up, interfering with his current task so he pushed them aside. Slamming the back of their hand in his twin's face. He forces Ember to run.

"Hey, that nut job just assaulted her husband!" someone shouted. No one intervened, but they froze in place and turned, causing him issues because the Ember he is in would not shove people. She will not hurt innocent people. So damn annoying. They don't deserve your mercy. Can't you see that?

"I can see," she stated. That is new. Ember had answered him, "It is the job of the strong to protect the weak because the weak have their own gifts."

He didn't see the Terror pursuing. But of course, he wouldn't. There is nothing more terrifying than knowing he will pop up but not knowing when. How do I stop the Terror? He mentally asked Ember. But this time, no answer. He wonders why that was different. Then the pieces of the puzzle snapped into place.

That was something she had told him. She can't answer what he doesn't know. Ember was a talker, so it's in there even if he can't remember directly.

How do I active your quirk to create fire? He wondered. Testing his theory.

"Absorb enough to feel like you will puke," she answered. Yes! He can clear this level. He didn't know how to do martial arts, but Ember did.

She kicked open the door, chefs shouting and threatening, he ignored them. He turned a stove up full blast. He mentally was hesitant to climb in, but not Ember. She sighed with relief as the flames engulfed them. He didn't know this, but it made sense. She had to hold her breath for her quirk since fire ate oxygen. You must eat it. Do you breathe while swallowing? Her voice scolded. He ate it. It had a strange flavor, but the sensation was magnificent.

He didn't remember her telling him how pleasant the sensation of flames licking her flesh is, but is was pleasant; it sent shivers up their spine. Fuck if he could get wet, he would be. The tingle between their legs felt great too. It quickly disappeared when the stove shut off and his twin's long fingers wrapped around their arm. Dragging them out and throwing them on a hood of a car.

"Don't even have to decay your clothes. That's nice," Shigaraki's twin graveled calmly.  

 "You just want to fuck your daughter!" he shouted. His control over her body is failing as his twin pins their arms above their head. Her emotions flooded his brain, and she whimpered when his twin lined up his cock. The hard-leaking monster to her tight little hole.

The people around either watched with perverted interest or disgusting indifference. The stress. The lack of humanity when there were humans everywhere. He was remembering. Paths in his brain felt like they are on fire. Quit half-assing it. Show it all to me! Of course he only caught glimpses. The hate and fear twisted in his full gut, and he spewed flames.  

His twin is in flames. He grabbed his twin's wrist and yanked him to the car. Opening the door, slamming his arm, pinned in the door, repeatedly stomping his flaming arm. His twin giggled.

"Nice try, twizzledick. But I have two hands," Shigaraki's twin lifted his right hand and snapped his fingers. Now he was sitting on Master's lap. Utterly terrified, trembling in a disgusting frilly dress Ember would never wear, Master's hand slowly gliding up his inner thigh.

Gaining control is so much harder when it is something that happened. That was another rule. This quirk was so complicated and powerful. Ember begged Master not to do this, tears spilling, staining the horrid bright pink. She hates this.

"You are so pretty when you cry. This is for your own good. I'm helping you train; you need to please Shigaraki for a long time," Master whispered before lightly biting her ear, sending a thrill down his spine.

"I love him. I can make him happy without training," Ember wailed. It was half true. It is hard to hold onto lovey-dovey feelings for a guy who threatens to kill you and leaves you vulnerable with Master. Shigaraki felt something twisting that had nothing to do with Ember's emotions.

He felt guilt. He didn't get to dwell on it because Master's fingers were violating their pussy. Roughly plunging his fingers in and out of them. Master uses a quirk to expand his flesh in her, rubbing over her g-spot with a lewd squelching. Ember moans and cries in pain when she can't take anymore.

Master was talking, and when Master talked, he listened. There is power in the knowledge he can gain. Although he did not know what he could gain from this.

"Such a tight little pussy. Do you like how big Shigaraki is? Do you feel full? Come here and sit on my lap. It's playtime, Ms. Ember," he said.

"Please no, Master. These sessions make me feel bad," Master smiled and expanded his flesh, locking his fingers in her. Dragging them to his lap by their trapped cunt. She whimpered and followed, sitting in his lap like she was ordered to.

Wrapping a heavy arm around her middle, pulling his fingers out, quickly replacing the emptiness with his cock. They scream, fail, and cry. Master had control over his body and didn't have to move much to cause an intense deep bucking sensation. Their body felt too warm, their head spinning. What was this feeling? Ember was confused by being too warm.  

"See, take this knowledge with you. But never say where you got it from. Shigaraki will be able to make you feel this good too," Master said, grazing his teeth at the nape of their neck. Why was Master calling him Shigaraki? Ember moans, still crying but no longer resisting, shudders of rapture travel up their spine.  Master never calls him Shigaraki. He calls him Tomura, "Shigaraki demands complete loyalty. If he were to find out about this, his heart would break."

"Then no more." Ember pants as Master's other hand circles their clit. Rage roils when he figures out why. Because Master is referring to himself as well. Ember leans back, squeezing her eyes shut, her skin warm. Her insides boiling and tickling like when she swallows hot water. Master tweaking her hard nipple. A burning inferno builds as the frills of her dress bounce.

"I can't do that. I've already gone too far, and I have my reasons. Trust in me like Tomura. The more aligned we are, the better," he growled. Sounding pleased as he increased the pace of his fingers, pyre in them about to erupt.

"So good," She moans. Ember's stray thought hurts. He hated this hated all of this.

"Better than Tomura?" he asks. She responds with a breathy yes. Ember, you fucking pig whore! He felt a twitch of control, "Don't worry, with this training, Tomura being a fast learner, he will be just as good in the future. I promise."

What kind of fucking promise is that? I hate both of you!

He has almost wrestled control when they erupt in mind-blowing ecstasy, making them scream and their back arched. Fuck! Her entire body tenses and pulses with pleasure. Racking her with licking flames inside, leaving her a wet mess on Master's lap.

"I will never speak of this to anyone. My body betrayed me," she pants. Then sobs, soul-crushing tears that hurt their gut. 

Why didn't you tell me?

One of you would have killed Ember, or you would have been killed, replaced, heartbroken. Haven't we both been through enough? Ember answers. No. He answers.  

"There, there, Ms. Ember. As I said, it's all for your own good," he consoles. 

Own good! Own good! You bastard. My poor Ember was corrupted and was smothered under you!

"I should have done more. Protected her instead of trying to control her," Tomura Shigaraki mumbled. Master froze. The Terror appeared in front of him. Snapping his fingers. The world changed to inky blackness.

"What was that?" The Terror asked, smiling. Shigaraki was himself. He grits his teeth.

"Fuck you, Terror. You're not her daddy. I'm her daddy, so fuck off," he rasps. The Terror smile drops.

"You don't know what it means to be a father. If you did, you wouldn't be dicking around like a shitwad. But I feel a change in the air. You want me, little fuck face? I'm in Deika City. Come find me, and I will tell you where to find my daughter," the Terror says.

"Now, who is dicking around! Just tell me where she is, and I will rescue her!" Shigaraki snarls.

"You don't have the power I have. Not yet anyway. Besides, I have to show you. If you want to be daddy, come take it from me. See you in your dreams shit-twat," The Terror says. Snapping his fingers. Shigaraki jolts awake, gulping for air. This was new. Terror never ended a session early.

"Shigaraki, another nightmare?" Mustard asked.

"No shit. At least I know where Ember got her dirty mouth from. Need to work on pace game," he mumbles, scratching his itchy eyes.

"What?" Toga asked.

"We're heading to Deika City. Pack up. We're going now," he orders. Mr. compress pulls out his GPS. The doctor won't help in this area. Shigaraki is getting his damn wife back, and he'll protect her from any hero or villainous scum that tries to touch her.

"Did  you get me the ingredients?" Ember asks. Mhm, he mumbles with his mouth full. Kai opens his mouth and drops the bottle in her hand.

"If you are having trouble sleeping, I can mix you something better than that," Kai offers.

"No need. Say I want you to practice with your feet," Ember suggests. She guides him to a low table and sets down several large crayons. Setting out pieces of paper. Ember goes to mix the sleeping potion when she feels a snag on her shirt. She looks down to see Kai has her shirt by the teeth. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Yer meh hends. Yer goen to stey, wight?" Kai mumbles around her shirt. Ember's honeyed eyes are filled with sadness. Running her fingers through his hair. It has gotten longer and looks lovely on him.  

“Vous êtes beaucoup d'ennuis. I'm going to try. But in the meantime, for my sake, practice with your feet. Become a little self-sufficient. When Cyprus is born, I will have my hands full. I know you can help me out," she encourages. He looks crestfallen. Repeating feet. She leaves him to it. Mixing ingredients for a sleep bomb. She stops when she sees her reflection. Is her hair greying?

Her thoughts are interrupted by Kai manically laughing. She looks and goes over to check on him.

"No wonder he called you his muse. When I get us out, I'm keeping you and taking Erie back. Germs and all," he said with a manic smile. It made her skin crawl, but she indulged him.

"Ok," she said quietly. She thought he was getting better, if she can, she will take him with her. 

Chapter 27

[autumn-foxfire]

They can try ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but no matter how many people uplift the kids for succeeding where Hawks failed, idgaf. Everything happens because Hori wants it to, the characters themselves have no unique ability. Hawks himself can fuck right off about his lack of character during that conference, like yea fine I do think there were other words he could've used but that's all guesswork if even that would've done anything since if Toga ain't budging then I doubt Twice would've easily in time before Dabi

(Cont.) Which brings me to what I'm *blinks rapidly in disbelief* about. Toga deadass thinks, and I quote "you think heroes and those they protect are the only ones who count as real people" girl what. Because it sounds to me your idea of "real people" comes with a long list of demands you think you need to be granted. Literally nobody is dehumanizing you in this chapter. Heroes have literally protected and provided med aid for villains before. You're out here throwing an angsty tantrum just bc

(Cont.) Deku said he doesn't want to hurt someone he loves? I sure hope this is Hori saying Toga sucks 🙄 because her whining about how IzuOcha is treating her like her parents had BETTER NOT be turned around as an apology from them for not giving her the answer she wants to hear. Terrible sympathy grab if that's what this is because girl 😔✋ I am majorly against child abuse and what happened to so many characters in this series, but fuck it. Your parents were right. You CAN'T live like this.

(Cont.) Twice and Dabi have influenced her so much. Doubling down like this + "I wanted to talk about love together!" = "Let's fly free together!" and "The world rejected me, so I reject the world" = Dabi's edgy theatre kid monologue. I'm sorry if this all sounds rude, that's not my intended tone at all! But I'm just flabbergasted, get out of here with that! IzuOcha's are wrong there, Toga does not look sad at all. Maybe Hori will have the guts to make her unsaved because I can't see otherwise.

l don't blame you for feeling this way because any sympathy I've had for Toga has just up and died these past few frustrating chapters.

She really is pulling a tantrum because she's not getting what she wants. She doesn't want it any other way, if it's not her way then she doesn't care and doesn't want to listen.

I don't know why Hori keeps having these characters become even worse versions of themselves and yet just a couple of chapters ago had his students hopeful about reaching out to them. Is he trying to get them to a situation like with Twice but this time they're able to "succeed" because they're better?

I'm just disappointed for so many characters involved...

[ignitification]

I'm glad we could handle this respectfully.

Two questions

Do you think Endeavor will Die in the Future,Like Dabi Kills him?or will he stay alive throughout?

Also I feel like and hope him and Rei Should get a divorce.She should'nt be with someone who's hurt her Physically and psychologically.I think them not being married would be very healthy for them

And In response,People can change but I haven't seen the villians wanna change since they believe they're in the right.you have to want change in order to change.Shigaraki,Toga,Dabi and All for one have shown no signs of wanting to change.this is all my opinion but like They honestly don't wanna change since they believe,due to their pasts,that they're doing the right thing.Dabi has Murdered 30 innocent people,Toga is literally a wanted Serial Who drinks blood like Juice,and Shigaraki Murdered many heroes and ordered his Minions to destroy everything.

Imo,that doesn't look like wanting to change.

I feel like they work well as villians So Horikoshi probably won't redeem them But again I can't predict the future so I'm getting ahead of myself 😅sorry for wasting your time

It was just my two sense

Plus we need to fix hero society but they're doing it in a cruel and hypocritical way

I'd like to address the three points you made in three different sections:

Endeavour probability of staying alive (of which I already talked here, so it will be short)

Rei's involvment with Todoroki Enji

The Three Villains (the three mains) not wanting to change (on which I already hinted at here and here)

Trigger warning: mentions of suicide; violence; self-harm.

1.) Endeavour’s course of life (and action)

To be honest, I think this is the easiest point to address and I’ll refrain from going over and over again the same point. My answer, as before, is no. I do not think that Enji is going to die (refer to the linked before post for a more in depth analysis of why). However, on the question whether Enji Todoroki will still be alive at the end of the manga, I think the answer might be different. I utterly think that where the manga is going so far foreshadows a lot of pain to come. And I’ll let Horikoshi do whatever he plans, but my spider-senses tell me that even if he does survive, Endeavour is unlikely to get a happy ending (or at least a canonically happy one). He will be hold responsible of his actions, and that is the most important thing. As long as he gets on the right path, everything could happen. Especially considering the events of Ch. 300, which might be interpreted as a first step on regaining the real narrative of what went down (and which might be even more cruel than we think) , so this means we are getting at the root of the problem. 

2.) Rei’s involvement in Enji’s life

This, on the contrary, is the most delicate point of the post. Rei is introduced as a 'weak' and heavily mentally abused character. She is confined in a hospital and she seems to be closed in her own world so much she does not notice time passing and stares out of the window trying to make sense of the world. Which, on one hand, I think is very fitting for her, but at the same time I am included to think that this is the furthest thing from what Rei' character is supposed to be.

Rei Todoroki is a victim. But she is not weak. She made her mistakes (of which she is aware of and feels guilty about, but that's for another time because Shouto's scar - mental and facial - is a whole lot deal to unpack) and she had way too much time to think. Shouto never held it against her and now, he, together with Natsuo and Fuyumi helped her to regain the confidence she knows Enji took from her. He closed her off in a hospital to prederve her health, but instead he just took off years of her life from her children and viceversa.

However, I am not sure whether Enji and Rei are still married or separated or divorced or whatever. It seems like on paper they are still together, but there is a rift in their relationship.

I mean, look at this panel: Rei is behind her children, looking at Endeavour like the douchebag he is, and telling him promptly that, this, is not about him and that however he might feel, he is not the victim or the one who needs to be forgiven.

I, personally, have never thought much of her character, besides of her being sick, in hospital and trying not to relapse so hard.

The first time we see her, she looks lifeless. They looks listless. And I can't stress that enough, it is not that she did not try to fight it. But accepting that the trauma happened in the first time is a stress for her mental health. But instead of getting worse, Shouto and her family's presence revitalizes her.

Which beings me to the point made in the last panel. She knows that in his shallow way, Endeavour tried to tell her that he is still there, and while he does not want to impose his presence, he will still wait for her when she wants to.

Funny thing, is that we discover is that she does not want him back. She is done with everything that happened and she is ready to take the reigns of her life back. And in order to do that she needs to wash their dirty landry. And she does not care of how this might affect Endeavour, but instead she wants justice, truth and not tears and excuses.

Rei ia going to fight to have her way. Be it out of Endeavour 's life or inside the life of Touya, time only will tell.

And finally point 3.) The Big Three Villains' on change and saviours

I am very hard trying to get through to everyone out there while I say that change is something that comes to you regardless of whether you want it or not. Shigaraki, Dabi and Toga do not recognise that they might be able to change, and that they might be saved. In their minds, fairly, they do not have to change in order to be eligible for salvation. I already stressed this in my other answers, they should not change in order for them to ‘deserve’ being saved. Maybe they do not even want it. But if the chance presents itself, of them being offered a hand, would they dare to take it? Probably not. And this is not because they are happily wasting their time to kill and fuck around, no. It’s because it’s a mechanism ingrained into their minds: Dabi escaped home after he abused and neglected, Shigaraki accidentally killed his family and then was left to himself, and Toga was deemed weird and creepy and just cast aside as trash. Do you see a pattern here? If yes, well congratulations. It’s a quirk-based society, and since their quirks somehow became synonym to their worth, these individuals were deemed not worthy or villains from the get-go and they just choose to embrace whatever life threw at them, instead of just letting go. And let me tell you, that in their cases, letting go would mean die. They all, in some degree, suffer from auto-destructive and self-harm tendencies, which should be telling enough. And if it not, just think about why people behave this way. Why do people feel the need to destroy themselves? They do because they feel like the pain inside them feels a tiny bit lighter if they externate. Shigaraki told Izuku that as this failed society refused and never forgave him, he won’t forgive anyone in return. He does not care about his crimes because apart from those crimes he commits for a reason, he has nothing else going on. He does not have a family to go home to. He does not have a home. He does not have anything apart from the League, his memories hunting him and the eternal stigma of society labelling him as unsavable.

So excuse me very much when I say that they do not want to change and they might be right. Nothing changed, and nothing changes now. The only hope they have to be redeemed, it’s not for the heroes to forget their crimes, and to enjoy further destruction but to understand that the only way someone can help you is if believe in them. Dabi does not think he deserves to be saved. Toga had hopes which were destroyed right after Hawks killed Twice. Shigaraki put everything on the stake because the kid never knew how to genuinely smile. Let us for a moment think what would have happened to Eri if she did not get saved. It’s not hard after all: the kids of the League are all examples of what happens then.

It’s not because they change that they need to be saved. They need to be saved because they need to change. 

[bbq-hawks-wings]

Really long ask - Part 1: Hi, sorry for this long rant, but I just wanted to vent since I saw this latest story posted on AO3 and I am restraining myself on commenting on their story so I'm just letting my anger out here about it and other issues regarding fan-depiction of Hawks. It's vaguely related to your post on how DabiHawks or Dabi+Hawks stories make it all about Dabi and always made Hawks out to be the one who starts the problems in their relationship or is the one trying to get Dabi's

Content warning: passing mention of r*pe in a fanfiction.

LOOOONG post under the cut.

(Cont.)

Dabi's attentions when it's canon that it's the complete opposite. This latest story that came up in my feed was about Hawks "harassing" Dabi (who apparently has a backstory of r*pe) and Twice helps Dabi works out his feelings. Among the hoards of tags condemning Hawks, they decided to use "Hawks is very uncool in this fic heads up" so that's another one to add to my filters. I think I also have to block the "Dabi Needs a Hug" tags too bc he's always woobified like heck. 

I really want to read stories where Hawks interacts with Twice since they have a bond/drama with each other, but people have been adding Dabi and either making it seem like Hawks has been gaslighting Dabi in their "relationship" or with Twice. I can acknowledge stories where Hawks feels guilty for what he had to do or Twice being anger/betrayed over Hawks' actions since that is actually what happened; but I will not stand for Dabi claiming Hawks took advantage of Twice or Twice and Dabi having feelings for each other with Hawks in the way bc Dabi is a) the one who let Hawks in b) knew Twice is gullible and c) used Twice as bait. Even in the stories that are cute/causal+funny, Hawks is always the one who gets threatened with fire, harsh insults, or guilted into compliance but the seriousness of the first 2 are always brushed off and the third kinda makes me want it that Hawks doesn't have friends bc most people write him as a bad friend who only cares about his own problems (especially the ones that write Hawks like a celebrity/night club person). 

On writing Dabi, his issues always take priority over everything else, his family loves him, and the lov is always chill with him. He's usually written as the fun asshole/caretaker (bc of his big brother status or ablity to cook). Those factors aren't bad by itself, but it's extremely irritating when the writers/artists can give that level of care to Dabi, but just reduce Hawks to a meme who is a workaholic for the government/scared of punishment & not bc he really cares about the people he saves/helps. It's not like I hate the DabiHawks pairing, but the majority of the content (esp the recent ones), are frustrating to read & Hawks' character is usually written in bad out of character extremes. I am really mystified that I'm praying for canon content rather than fanmade most of the time.

Phew! After the back and forth it looks like we got to the end of that! (Or did we?! *Dun dun DUUUUN*) If not, though, feel free to keep the asks rolling. Lol Foxy and I are usually pretty happy to receive as many asks as people want to send even if it takes us a while, individually, to get to it. Now to finally address what you sent.

I find myself in a weird place when it comes to OOC fanfic because on the one hand people can write whatever they want, and I don’t really have a place to criticize them; but also when they blatantly and willingly misinterpret a character so they have grounds to bash on them it also leaves me acutely uncomfortable. I don’t think I’d call it “problematic” as much as a squick? Like, if they’re willing to blow past all the obvious proof to the contrary about their claims of a fictional character just because they hate them, then are they willing to do the same thing to a real person? Usually, those kinds of thoughts are pointlessly extreme, but we know those who unironically and/or unapologeticly call fans of the heroes “bootlickers” so... It’s like, ooc vent fics are also fine; and if you want to rewrite a character to fit the narrative scheme you’ve set up that’s cool as long as its tagged (“ooc [character]” or something) and/or just mention in the a/n that they knowingly and willingly mischaracterized them for the sake of the fic. Just. Don’t. Claim. It’s. Canon.

And speaking of canon, as much as I’m sure Horikoshi knew Hawks and Dabi were going to end up shipped I think it’s obvious that he never was going to canonically write them ending up together, yet here comes the “canon must validate my headcanon” crowd calling him a bad writer because the author had some bigger narrative goal in mind than having two pretty anime boys kissing.

And the worst part to me is, I feel there’s a distinct slice of the DabiHawks crowd missing out on some of the possibilities of this ship by intentionally mischaracterizing them. Like, the aesthetic equal/opposite draw of the ship is phenomenal as it is and I don’t even ship them, but I can see a wide range of possible fics based solely on the principle that they are canonically incompatible!

At the end of the day, Dabi is a dime-a-dozen edgelord - that pain in the butt OC that so many newbie D&D players make that they think is so deep and dark and mature, but is about as cookie-cutter as they come. It’s not that this kind of character is unsalvageable or a hopeless Gary Stu character, just that they don’t often come across as compelling in and of themselves or that they need more than just selfish hatred to carry them through a series. Two kinds of edgelords that can be done well are the “Out of the Ashes” edgelord and “I’ll Pull You Into Hell With Me” edgelord. The first kind recognizes there’s more to life than their sad backstory and getting even and thus choose to aspire to more noble causes - think Joel from The Last of Us. The second recognizes they’re actively doing wrong and come to embrace it - being more concerned with getting what they want than taking the moral high ground - think Frank Castle, aka the Punisher - and even these darker, “unsaveable” kinds of edgelord antiheroes can have redeeming qualities such as meeting and helping a young hopeful and telling them, “I know I’m on the road to hell, so if you want to save yourself you’d better not follow me.”

Dabi actually has what he needs to become the second type right now (assuming he’s Touya) and could even evolve into the first not unlike Kratos from God of War, but that potential can’t be fully recognized until you admit that he’s fundamentally self-centered and a bad person as-is. He may have the tragic backstory complete with justifiable hate at his genuinely abusive father, but rather than using that as fuel to see that never happen to anyone else like it did him - he just wants to get even. He burns people alive, knowing well he’s participating in the same destruction that his father committed to make him what he is now. He doesn’t recognize any of the merits of hero society and is only concerned with burning it to ash. He could use what happened to his family to incite compassion in his heart and take others under his wing, but instead he uses people as a mean to his own ends. He isn’t even proper grimdark - he’s just your run of the mill egotistical megalomaniac with a punk aesthetic.

And that’s still a good character in the grand scheme of things, maybe just not alone! Moreso, it’s a good villain and EVEN BETTER when you put him next to Hawks who is at his core:

Fundamentally Hopepunk!

Hopepunk is about being good and kind as an act of rebellion against a cruel and unfair world no matter how bleak it gets or how badly you’re beaten down. Despite his own cruel past, Hawks still has a heart to help others for no other reason than to help them, he constantly changes the odds to save as many people as he can when he’d be given a pass for letting the cards fall where they will, and not only is his aim to “help others” but to make sure that there’ll never be need for heroes again. He’s an active rebel against the system fighting with kindness and goodness, fervently looking and listening for the next opportunity to do good.

In agreement with you, Hawks and Twice are interesting to explore because while Twice is an optimist looking to make the world a better place, he’s still a step or two removed from Hawks’ worldview because Twice refuses to let go of the “family” he found for himself while Hawks is willing to sacrifice himself for others. That dynamic is so interesting, and it’s what made them so initially compatible and subsequently heartbreaking in canon.

And it’s such a disappointment to see this unwaveringly earnest character reduced to “shitty fratboy” so often. For a lot of people newer to his character I can understand the confusion, but there really isn’t an excuse if you’ve been reading the series, and the possibilities for fics with this canon personality are just so much more interesting to explore, especially with Dabi as his sort-of opposite.

For DabiHawks to work well, you have to recognize that something has to give in either of them. Some of the juiciest, most angsty content is when you have two characters grow close together over commonalities only to be reminded that despite everything else they share, that One Thing will always keep them from truly being able to see eye-to-eye. Either Dabi has to grow past his hatred and relearn compassion and empathy, or Hawks has to lose grip of that hopeful vision he has and fall into despair. Both options are good to explore, but both require the acknowledgement that Dabi’s view of the world is fundamentally bleak and selfish, especially compared to Hawks’. For a supposed revolutionary out to change the world for the better whose a diamond in the rough with a heart of gold, that’s not exactly on-brand; and at the end of the day the issue is that some are unwilling to admit that what they wanted Dabi to be is likely not going to happen and they love that fake version Dabi more than they love what Hawks actually stands for which is why Hawks always gets the shaft in the end.

I still personally hold a bit of a grudge against the DaiHawks ship as a whole purely because, as you said, Dabi always seems to take priority over Hawks instead of letting the two build a dynamic together. Hawks is always the one who has to give, and the torture porn some have made him go through to “make the ship work” is downright disturbing to me. Even at its height DabiHawks content completely flooded the Hawks character tags on Tumblr with some of the same problems that have persisted to this day such as emphasizing their aesthetic as opposed to their dynamic and rampant mischaracterization.

Anyway, that’s my long-winded response. What do you think, @autumn-foxfire?

[class1akids]

Where Deku should draw the line at is it as high as AFO? If AFO also had sad past like abuse and human experimentation does he need saving too? But he is "unsavable". Endeavor cannot be "saved" also unlike Hawks but both will have to face some consequence after this right? 🚦

I’m not sure I get your point completely right. 

I don’t think Deku has any obligation to try to save AFO or even Shigaraki for that matter, but it’s really a question of the situation. Save in what sense? To not kill them when he can? To reach out a hand when they fall to their death? To try to save their souls? 

I mean there could be so many situations. If you look at Hawks, he first tried to save Twice by trying to talk to him, then he saved him from Dabi’s fire, but finally he chose to kill him - I don’t think because he thought Twice was unsavable in general, but because the risk of letting him go and cause more destruction was too high to accept. 

But I also think that generally the code of heroes not to kill is not so much a reflection on the redeemability of the villains, but more on the dangers for society as a whole of allowing individuals with unimaginable powers to start playing judge - jury - executioner. There needs to be also some limit on heroes. 

[peachlume]

dabi spoilerish blabber

i’ve been rereading some bnha chapters i like after the recent chapters and i have some general doubts...

we who are updated with the manga know now that kurogiri was created from shirakumo’s body, and it’s not only him inside of it, hence the difficulty in bringing his consciousness to the surface. After realizing this fact we started speculating that touya might have met the same fate, but thinking now there are some details that gets me thinking that might not be it:

first, he, unlike kurogiri, wasn’t with the villains since the beginning. He and toga both went looking for shigaraki after the Stain incident, and scalated from there: 

he also never did say his real name to anybody, not even the league, even now. So from this we already know that he is holding info about him that the league still does not know, together with his real motive. 

This already makes it quite hard for him to be a modified human like kurogiri, unless he was part of OFA’s plan since the beginning and got separated in order for shigaraki to acquire more responsibility in thinking he had a say in who fights by his side and who doesn’t. But let’s say he is a modified human, what then? 

why would he, unlike kurogiri and the other noumus, have some very obviously personal motivations? This panel above makes it clearer that his motives are related to who he really is — “have you never stopped to think about how their families feel?” — the part of him the league doesn’t know about.

Also, his animosity towards endeavor is very very targeted, both by the fact that he was clearly affected after their almost-fight and the way he spoke enji’s (and shouto’s) name. He made sure to call him “todoroki enji”:

very personal and human in contrast to kurogiri’s general behavior, no? Also very one sided considering modified humans are made from different people.

well, fast forward some time, and now we also have the knowledge that in the todoroki family’s eyes, todoroki touya is dead. How did he die? We still have no idea. What the narrative implies is that there was an accident or an attack of some sort and endeavor failed to save him. 

but that makes me wonder... did endeavor really fail to save him or did touya purposefully make himself “unsaveable”? Did touya use that opportunity to completely sever his ties with his own family? 

don’t you think it’s weird that we had a todoroki family little arc but nothing about touya’s accident was revealed? It’s almost like.... it’s being saved for something else...?

what i think is that touya either somehow managed to survive and grew up thinking that he was abandoned/some other horrible thing OR he used his accident to escape and grew thinking about getting his own revenge until the opportunity revealed itself in the shape of Stain’s will. 

so for now:

no, i don’t think dabi is a modified human like kurogiri

most likely his past and touya’s backstory will be revealed in his final fight against chunky boy endeavor

my brain cells burn 

[justatalkingface]

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

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

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

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

Oh yeah.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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