Sorry If I’m Being A Party Pooper But Because Rabies Is Apparently The New Joke On Here ??? Please

#healingtime

🌟🌙

“Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream, make him the cutest that I’ve ever seen”

the illusion of free will

people say shigaraki is responsible for the deaths he caused, and while i don’t completely deny that, it’s way more complicated than just “free will.” what people miss is that he was groomed from the age of five, when he was at his most vulnerable until he finally broke free from afo’s grasp. afo deliberately took him in at a point where he was completely dependent on others for guidance, then shaped him into the perfect successor.

to shigaraki, his master wasn’t just a villain, he was his savior, the only one who “understood” him, the only one who gave him a sense of purpose after the world abandoned him. and that’s exactly how manipulation works. afo didn’t just take him in, he rewired his entire mind, fed him lies, reinforced his hatred, and conditioned him to believe that destruction was his only salvation. shigaraki never had a chance to form his own worldview because afo made sure to mold it for him.

look at shigaraki’s reaction when he was separated from afo, it wasn’t just anger, it was pure desperation. that’s the reaction of someone who has been so deeply conditioned that he doesn’t know how to function outside of his abuser’s influence. shigaraki was entirely dependent on afo, and when you’re raised under constant manipulation, you don’t suddenly “wake up” and realize you’ve been controlled your whole life.

it doesn’t work that way. when he saw all might trying to save bakugo while attacking the league, he felt betrayed by the world all over again. to him, it was proof that heroes will never save people like him. but that idea wasn’t his, it was something afo planted in his mind for years, reinforcing it over and over until shigaraki believed it as an absolute truth. so when afo was no longer there, what was left? nothing but the doctrine his master forced onto him. if he wasn’t groomed, if he wasn’t brainwashed into thinking destruction was his only option, then he would have taken another path. but that was never an option for him because he never had the freedom to choose in the first place. as afo himself admitted, shigaraki never had free will. none of his choices were ever his own.

compare this to dabi and toga. they were abused, but they never had an outside force controlling them like afo did with shigaraki. they became villains on their own terms, dabi out of revenge, toga out of rejection from society. but shigaraki? his entire ideology was forced onto him. if afo had gotten to shoto instead, then shoto would have ended up just like shigaraki.

and here’s the worst part; nobody in the story even questions it. if horikoshi wanted us to humanize the villains, then he should have given them a humanizing death, something that forced people to acknowledge what they went through and how they ended up like this. but instead, nobody even stops to ask why afo had to groom a child into being his successor. nobody wonders why japan’s greatest villain was so reliant on manipulating a mentally ill, traumatized young man into doing his bidding. they just see shigaraki as a monster.

shigaraki never had a choice, but the world acts like he did.

𝐀 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑

𖤐 synopsis: it’s tomura’s birthday! so what better way than to celebrate it with him?

𖤐 trigger warnings: fluff!

𖤐 pairing: shigaraki tomura x gender neutral! reader

The soft glow of your phone illuminated your face as you checked the time once more: 11:47 PM, April 3rd. In just thirteen minutes, it would officially be Shigaraki Tomura's birthday. You smiled to yourself, knowing he probably didn't expect anyone to remember—least of all you, considering how your relationship had begun.

Your mind drifted back to your first encounter with the League of Villains' leader. It wasn't exactly a meet-cute; more like a collision of worlds that neither of you had anticipated. Yet somehow, against all odds, a connection had formed between you—tentative at first, then undeniable as time went on.

Shigaraki was asleep in the next room. You had convinced him to let you stay over tonight with some flimsy excuse about apartment renovations, hiding your true intentions. The cake was hidden in the back of his refrigerator, a small vanilla affair with minimal decoration—anything too elaborate would have aroused his suspicion. The gift, wrapped in simple black paper, was tucked away in your overnight bag.

The minutes ticked by. 11:55 PM.

You slipped out of the guest room and padded quietly to the kitchen. The hideout was silent except for the occasional creak of the old building settling. You removed the cake from its hiding spot and placed a single candle in the center. No need for twenty-something candles; Shigaraki wouldn't appreciate the fire hazard anyway.

11:59 PM.

Heart pounding, you lit the candle and carefully made your way to his bedroom door. You balanced the cake in one hand and knocked softly with the other.

"What?" His voice came through the door, alert despite the hour. Of course he wasn't asleep. When did Shigaraki ever sleep properly?

"Can I come in?" you called softly.

A pause, then: "Fine."

You pushed open the door with your foot to find him sitting up in bed, the harsh light of a gaming console illuminating his face. His pale blue hair was messier than usual, falling haphazardly around his face. His red eyes widened slightly at the sight of you holding the cake.

"Happy birthday," you said, smiling as the digital clock on his nightstand clicked over to 12:00 AM.

He stared at you, then at the cake, his expression unreadable. "How did you know?"

You entered the room fully, setting the cake down on his desk. "I have my sources," you replied with a mysterious smile. In truth, you had overheard Kurogiri mentioning it to Dabi weeks ago and had been planning this moment ever since.

"You didn't have to do this," he muttered, but you noticed he didn't take his eyes off the cake.

"I wanted to." You sat on the edge of his bed. "Make a wish?"

Shigaraki scoffed, but he set aside his console and moved to the desk. "Wishes are for children."

"Humor me?"

He gave you a look that might have been intimidating to anyone else, but you'd grown accustomed to his attempts to appear disinterested. With an exaggerated sigh, he leaned forward and blew out the candle in one quick breath.

"What did you wish for?" you asked.

"If I tell you, it won't come true," he replied sarcastically, but there was a hint of amusement in his voice. "Isn't that how the superstition goes?"

You laughed and retrieved your gift from your bag. "Here. It's not much, but..."

Shigaraki took the package with surprising gentleness. His fingers worked carefully at the wrapping paper, methodically removing it without tearing it—so different from his usual destructive tendencies. Inside was a custom controller for his favorite gaming system, matte black with hand-painted details that matched his aesthetic.

"I noticed your current one was getting worn out," you explained when he didn't immediately respond. "And I added some modifications that should improve the response time for those games you like."

He turned the controller over in his hands, examining it from every angle. "You made this?"

You nodded, suddenly feeling nervous. "Do you like it?"

Instead of answering, he set the controller down carefully and looked at you with an intensity that made your breath catch. "Why do you do this?"

"Do what?"

"Care." The word seemed to cost him something to say. "About me. About my birthday. About any of this."

You moved closer to him, brave in the quiet darkness of the early morning. "Because you matter to me, Tomura. Because everyone deserves to be remembered on their birthday."

"Even villains?" There was a challenge in his voice, but also vulnerability that he rarely allowed anyone to hear.

"Especially you." You reached for his hand, interlacing your fingers with his. "The world might see Shigaraki Tomura, leader of the League of Villains. But I see you."

Something shifted in his expression then, the hardness momentarily giving way to something softer, more human. He squeezed your hand gently.

"Thank you," he said, the words coming out slightly stiff, as if he wasn't used to saying them—which he probably wasn't.

You smiled and reached for the cake. "Now, do you want to eat this, or should I have gone with the ice cream option instead?"

He gave you one of his rare, genuine half-smiles. "Cake is fine. But only because you went to the trouble."

As you cut slices for both of you, you caught him looking at you with an expression you couldn't quite decipher—something between wonder and confusion, as if he couldn't quite believe you were really there, celebrating his birthday with him at midnight.

"What?" you asked, handing him a slice.

"Nothing," he said, taking the cake. Then, more quietly: "Just... no one's done this for me in a long time."

Your heart ached at the implication. How many birthdays had he spent alone? How many years had passed without anyone marking the occasion?

"Well," you said, keeping your tone light despite the emotion welling in your chest, "get used to it. I plan on celebrating many more birthdays with you."

His eyes met yours, searching for any sign of insincerity. Finding none, he nodded once, a barely perceptible movement.

"I might not hate that," he admitted, which from Shigaraki was practically a declaration of affection.

You ate cake together in comfortable silence, the soft glow of his desk lamp casting long shadows across the room. Outside, the world continued to turn, heroes and villains alike sleeping through the first hours of April 4th, unaware of this quiet moment between you and the man society had deemed irredeemable.

But you knew better. Here, in this space you'd created together, he wasn't the villain from the news reports. He was just Tomura, eating birthday cake at midnight, occasionally glancing at you as if to reassure himself you were still there.

Later, as dawn approached and you both grew tired, you found yourself curled against his side, his arm tentatively around your shoulders as you watched him play with his new controller.

"Best birthday?" you asked sleepily.

He was quiet for so long you thought he might not answer. Then, so softly you almost missed it:

"Yes."

And as you drifted off to sleep beside him, you knew that whatever tomorrow held—whatever plans the League had, whatever conflicts awaited—you had given Shigaraki Tomura this one perfect moment. A birthday to remember.

mutuals: @haikyuubby @https-bakugo @va-3 @kitkat13001 @lotusstarr @shigarakislaughter

© 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐙𝐃𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐒 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 —

I wanna see this ver of shigaraki shirtless. I like his abs and all… but skinny, slutty waisted shigaraki.. it just does smth for me I can’t explain

I see a lot of ppl saying shigaraki would be chubby, and I like the idea, but in canon I feel he would be real skinny. He doesn’t take care of himself and seems the type to not be bothered to eat unless he has to.

it's practically taboo to still talk about covid but god i wish we could acknowledge the worldwide trauma it's clearly still causing in people. like, it's flat out just. not "polite" to talk about how a mass deadly event might, JUST MIGHT, emotionally affect us a little bit. how an airborne invisible-to-the-eye thing can just BE anywhere now. how abandoned we still feel by our respective governments. how we've lost family, friends, either to death or misinformation and cults, which they cling to because they're ALSO afraid but often refuse to admit it because it'd mean admitting covid is real and ongoing. we just. can't talk about it i guess.

'on the street' @ Le Gala des Pièces Jaunes 2025

I like how teens are too young to figure out their sexuality unless its heterosexual

i think we as a community need to be done using terms like “bottom” and “pillow princess” negatively, even as a joke, because it’s not a joke anymore in so many spaces. I saw a young lesbian earnestly ask what a pillow princess is in a queer forum and all of the answers were negative, every single one. i’m so tired of people calling real people and fictional characters bottoms as an insult—again, usually as a joke—and it’s so common in fandom. why are you labeling characters bottoms as a method of mocking them? genuinely ask yourself why a queer character or person receiving sex is so funny to you and why the punchline is that it’s somehow demeaning to receive acts of queer sex and consider the many layers of homophobia and even misogyny that have built the foundations of that seemingly harmless joke.

once i beat the depression and the burnout and the anxiety and the loneliness and the exhaustion and the guilt and the awkwardness and the apathy and the low income and the chronic illness and the impatience and the vulnerability and the creative block and the capitalism and the cruelty THEN you'll see