#sorry costume symbolism is a beloved niche of meta to me so. i get into it

[pocketramblr]

Okay wait i love how you fixed the shoe thing bc the concept of that was always insane to me but i also liked some of what people were doing with it so i was really conflicted. Is there some other way that izuku might be able to deduct that shigaraki used to be quirkless maybe? Bc i always loved that part of it even if i thought the journey to get there was ridiculous

The conflicted feelings are so real like it would be a fun connection if it was real and obviously fic writers can do whatever they want but also. That's a Nike high top and a Converse low top they're literally already fun foils of each other- opposite styles and competing manufactures despite the vibe, same color, and being made of similar materials... just like the people wearing them... without adding something that isn't there... Anyway

Yeah I think there's other ways to get Izuku to deduce Shigaraki was quirkless! Especially once he knows about AfO because if there's no record of any quirk like decay on the registration (which UA teachers say there isn't) and he knows Shigaraki is working for a very old villain who can take and give quirks? OF COURSE he's going to at least consider the possibility that decay was given by AfO. Now, how do we get him to then think that Shigaraki was quirkless before that?

Well, we can just extend the conversation in the mall- Izuku already asked about AfO, so maybe when he's asking Shigaraki about his motive compared to Stain, he also asks why he's working for AfO - did he trade something to get decay? Shigaraki would probably be a bit thrown, and then hurry to say that decay is his own quirk, and then maybe Izuku could see how Shigaraki could easily be treated badly and have to turn to AfO with that quirk but... His answer was kind of suspicious, wasn't it? And honestly, he didn't sound completely sure of it? Like he was about to say he doesn't remember before he changed his mind? And then Izuku can stew on that idea for a while, try to see what it was, before maybe extrapolating from the league messing with Overhaul that maybe he's got more hangups about it, isn't sure. Or maybe Shigaraki says something about the quirk in front of Bakugo, who brings it up to Izuku after. (Or there could be a whole ripple/domino effect from the changed conversation, and Izuku and Shigaraki have different interactions that get him different clues) Maybe he starts really thinking, maybe he brings it up to All Might.

And All Might knows Shigaraki used to be Tenko, so I'm sure he went back to see when Tenko was presumed dead, how he didn't have a quirk registered at all, and Toshi knew Nana's quirk was float, and Gran knew her husband's, so they could probably figure out between them that it's way more likely AfO gave Tenko the quirk when he'd been previously quirkless.

And yeah I think that could have a fun effect when Izuku suspects it just as Tomura is beginning to realize there's something Weird going on there... That's really really fun