Spinaraki Week 4 Day 7: All

Spinaraki Week 4 Day 7: All

Who Tells Your Story and How Does It End?

It’s the day of Spinner’s final book signing, just one more day of meeting and greeting the people who were touched by his work, and then he’ll have served his sentence and be considered a free man (with all his royalties to boot). But before he can start the next chapter of his life, he’ll have to reflect on what he gained and lost with his final fan.

Another fan walking up, another round of awkward yet meaningful back-and-forth about how much the book and its story means to the both of them, another autograph with a personalized note, and another “farewell and good luck”.

This had been Shuichi Iguchi’s Sisyphean routine for the past couple years. Ever since his account of the villains who he called friends was miraculously allowed to be published for the masses to read, his life had become a seemingly endless parade of book tours, seminars, speeches, and charity events all in the name of making sure no one got left behind or fell through the cracks like the League of Villains had. It was tough work for him, he didn’t think he could ever truly feel comfortable under a spotlight or on a podium, but it was worth it.

It was worth it to see just how many people whose hearts he had touched with his story, from people who were shaken out of their apathy after seeing what the villains went through to make them who they were, to people who had gone through similar circumstances themselves and got the courage to take action after reading his book. Some people were inspired to go into politics and law to fix the system, others were motivated to simply change their behavior to be more empathetic and reach out to those who looked like they needed help.

It was funny, Shuichi thought, that he out of everyone had inherited Tomura’s dream, that he had been the one who finally spun that dream into reality, and did so by putting his own spin on it. It was funny, in a bittersweet sort of way.

Today was going to bring a break in that routine though. Today was the final day of his sentence. True, he got off a bit easier compared to what he feared would happen, but three years of time in a mental health facility followed by five years of book related “community service” under the watchful eye of the rehabilitation program created in the wake of the war was still quite a lot to go through. And after this final book signing event was over, he could take his book royalties and walk out into the world without any further consequence. He could consider himself a free man.

The fans came, they were greeted, they laughed, they cried, they commiserated, they praised, they got their books signed, they left. Over and over until finally there was only one guest left.

The guest had shoulder length black hair that was half up in a bun even messier than Himiko’s had been, and Shuichi could tell it was dyed by the lighter roots. He was wearing a decent enough suit and a heavy coat on over that, with a flu mask covering his mouth. Still, the outfit did nothing to hide the vibes of anxiety this guy was exuding in spades.

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Shuichi greeted him, “Who should I make this autograph out to?”

“Hmm, oh no name don’t put a name I’m… not sure what my name is,” the guest physically winced at his own unconvincing excuse.

“Ok, I’ll address it to ‘schmoopy’. That’s your name now.”

Schmoopy looked bewildered but also a bit amused, so Shuichi gave himself an internal pat on the back for getting the guest to chill.

“I have questions.”

Shuichi looked up from the book he was signing, “What kind of questions?”

“Several.”

“…Ok, shoot.”

“The parts with Tomura Shigaraki read like a love story. Was that intentional?”

Shuichi was glad he was already finished with signing the book, because he knew he would’ve accidentally destroyed the autograph if he’d been asked this in the middle of it.

“Well, not at first.”

Schmoopy’s raised eyebrow indicated he was surprised that Shuichi didn’t deny the claim, so he began to explain.

“When I first started trying to write this story, I had actually intended it to be this grand immortalization of Tomura’s philosophy on how ‘hero society needs to be demolished in order to reject it the same way it rejects those who can’t fit into the roles it needs’. So like Destro’s Manifesto Part 2: Electric Boogaloo. Of course that’s not what came out, because that was a terrible idea and I couldn’t write that if I tried. What I found much easier to write about was just the story of our journey together. How we all met, when and how we became friends, what fights we got into and who we lost along the way, how we fought back and what we gained out of it. Writing about my friends helped me process everything, let me reminisce on the time we spent together but also grieve their passing. And well, that’s how I ended up realizing what story genre my bond with Tomura would’ve matched the best.”

“A romance?” probed Schmoopy.

“Yeah,” Shuichi replied fondly before continuing, “It wasn’t until I was able to lay it all on paper that I understood what direction our relationship was heading. Our first time playing video games, how quickly we became attached to each other within the following weeks, the emptiness I felt and how Tomura’s response was to quickly empathize with me, my promise to support him, his eagerness to show me he was worth supporting, the lengths each of us went through to make the other’s dream come true,” here Shuichi’s voice wobbled before he steadied himself, “and how he dedicated his final words to me. Each individual moment was precious on its own, but altogether it became an obvious love story. I didn’t set out to write a romance, I just happened to have found one after it had already ended.”

“I’m sorry,” Schmoopy consoled.

“It’s okay,” Shuichi placated, “With how I grew up I thought I’d never be loved at all. It’s not the best outcome, but I’m glad to know that someone loved me truly, and loved me as much as I loved them in return.”

Schmoopy paused for a moment, and Shuichi wondered if he’d said too much, but the guest pressed on with another question.

“Ok, next one. Considering everything that happened, from meeting the league, befriending and falling in love with Tomura, and knowing the tragic ending of it all… would you do it again?”

“Yes. I mean hypothetically speaking, if I got thrown back in time to the moment I first met my friends and I could use what I know now to affect the outcome, then I absolutely would. I’d bond with them sooner, take more detours for side missions that didn’t add much to our progress but were fun to do anyway. I’d make more time to just hang out with Tomura and enjoy that time together, maybe figure out my feelings for him sooner. Maybe I’d even be able to convince Tomura not to get the sketchy surgery that caused everything to go downhill, to ease himself into getting more power. Who knows how society would’ve turned out if that was the route we took. But, even if I couldn’t change anything, I’d still do it all again. After all, it’s just even more time I would get to spend with the people who mattered to me the most, and with the guy who loved me best.”

Schmoopy’s mouth quivered and his eyes got watery, quite emotionally touched by that answer. “Sorry,” he apologized as he wiped his sleeve across his face, “got stuff in my eye.”

“Is it tears?”

“Oh shut up”, he snorted while continuing to vigorously rub the mess off of his face, his mask getting pushed around from how hard he was scrubbing, “I’ve got one final question.”

“Sure, take your time…” Shuichi said, then promptly became speechless as Schmoopy dropped his arm. The coat sleeve was covered in make up and the face mask had fallen off.

Schmoopy’s face was covered in golden cracks -no wait, they were healed over scars- making him look like a kintsugi masterpiece.

Schmoopy’s scars were most prominent around his eyes, but the largest two were almost identical scratches on his right eye and left lip.

Schmoopy also had a mole below the right side of his mouth and red eyes that shined with determination.

Schmoopy was Tomura Shigaraki, the love of his life.

“Final question. Now that your sentence is over and the statute of limitations of my crimes passed, would you maybe want to run away with me?”

As they sprinted hand-in-hand out of the building and blended into the crowd to start their next chapter together, Spinner giddily started planning out how he’d write the epilogue he’d have to add to his book the next time it got republished.

EXCUSE ME???

Guys. They're in a fucking date

Spinaraki Week 4 Day 5: Cutscene

Counting Scales Instead of Stars

Memories flash and recollections crash as Deku and Shigaraki fight, their experiences unwittingly shared as extensions of One for All's vestige world. One memory in particular brings the conflict to a halt.

“Sometimes when I’m trying to calm down, I’ll count your scales,” Tomura Shigaraki blurted.

“You do?” asked Spinner.

“Yeah,” Tomura Shigaraki replied.

Well, the Tomura Shigaraki in this memory he meant, not the actual one who was watching the scene too. Izuku was still trying to wrap his head around the dual memory-sharing shenanigans that had taken over this battle, but unlike many of the other scenes from Shigaraki’s life, this memory seemed to truly put the fight on hold.

“I’m the kind of guy who tends to get stuck on what makes me upset,” Memory Shigaraki explained to Spinner, “The second something goes wrong or I have to deal with some rage-inducing bullshit, I can’t stop thinking about it even after it’s over and done with. I’d bet good money on it starting with Master’s insistence that I hold all my negative emotions and experiences close to my heart.”

“The fuck kind of advice it that?” Memory Spinner remarked, and Izuku had to agree with him on that point. If that’s how Shigaraki was raised, then it was no wonder he became a walking “ball of hate”, and Izuku feared about what else All For One filled his head with.

“Kept me alive and kicking out of pure spite when I was younger at least,” Memory Shigaraki placated, as if that made it any better, “But yeah, not as useful when trying to manage other people just as messed up as I am.”

“I know the league is weird, but hey!” Memory Spinner reacted, pretending to be more offended than he actually was.

Memory Shigaraki let Spinner have his fun before he got back to the topic at hand, and Izuku couldn’t help but notice the difference between the maniacal smile Shigaraki always wore in battle and the small yet warm one on his face in this memory.

“Kurogiri used to encourage me to count floorboards or snack wrappers when I’d get in a really bad mood, called it ‘grounding’ or something. And I guess at some point after leaving the old bar I found myself counting your scales instead.”

“Well, does it help?” Spinner probed.

“I’d say so,” Memory Shigaraki gladly answered. “The number of floorboards and trash was finite, but I haven’t been able to finish counting your scales. The fact that their iridescence can be easily distracting when they reflect whatever light source is around helps too, makes me lose count ‘cause I get sidetracked while committing the sight to memory.”

Memory Spinner blushed at that but didn’t turn away, leaving Izuku to question if it meant Shigaraki eliciting that kind of response from Spinner was a regular occurrence.

“… Is my body really that nice to look at?”

“I think you’re a nice sight in general. So, I guess what I mean to say is that I could look at you forever.”

Well shoot, now Izuku was blushing in second-hand embarrassment.

“Thanks,” Spinner beamed, “You’re nice to look at too.”

“Objectively wrong but okay.”

Izuku watched the two lean into each other as they burst into laughter, the joyful sounds slowly fading away along with the scene.

“I was still trying to count all of them you know,” Tomura broke the silence. The hero turned to look at him, the real Tomura, taking in the fond expression on his face... only to watch in alarm as it changed into one of remorse. It was all he could do to not breakdown with Tomura as a cascade of all the tears he’d never cried dripped down his face.

“I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t regret much, but fuck… I really wish I found the time to find out the total. I wasn’t finished counting them. I wasn’t finished.”

Spinaraki Week 4 Day 2: Enough & Load

Can I Be Enough?

Determination can go a long way, but even then a body needs to rest. So when Shigaraki's body finally forces a shutdown in the middle of fighting the monster that is Gigantomachia, can Spinner pick up the slack?

“Does you have are being stupid?”

Even with Gigantomachia beginning to recover from the boulder dropped on his head, Spinner couldn’t help but pause at Shigaraki’s question. “…What?” he asked as he regained his bearings and disembarked said boulder before Machia could try swatting him.

Shigaraki attempted to repeat his earlier question, “Is you are stupid be?” By now Spinner had reach Shigaraki’s side and judging by how far back his eyes were rolled into his head Shigaraki was not doing great.

“Are you seriously trying to call me stupid when you can’t string a coherent sentence together?”, Spinner exclaimed. “The plan worked didn’t it,” Toga yelled as she joined the two, panting somewhat from the aerobics she had to do to keep Machia distracted, “Now we know that the big guy gets briefly stunned by surprise boulders to the head!”

“Almost pancake danger!” Shigaraki hollered.

“It’s Machia, everything’s dangerous!” Spinner shot back. “Look, save the lecture for after your next three-hour nap, you sleep deprived dingus!”

Shigaraki took far too long to process what Spinner said, but responded with a simple flash of the peace out sign… then immediately face-planted the forest floor.

Rushing over, Spinner flipped his leader over to listen for a pulse as Toga checked his breathing.

“Oh thank fuck he’s not dead!” Spinner sighed in temporary relief.

“I’m surprised he was able to stay awake this long,” Toga fretfully commented, “but at least Dabi owes me money now.”

“Screw money! He can’t fight like this, we need backup! Where’re the others?”

“They should be finishing up their break!”

“Call them! Call them now!”

“There’s no service here!”

“Are you kidding me?! Find a hotspot!”

“I think service is better closer to the towns!”

“Then go!”

“Hold on I can buy you some time!”

Toga grabbed Shigaraki’s face and quickly licked off as much blood as she could, transforming into him as she gave Spinner one last bit of advice, “You’ve got five minutes before I change back, scatter!” With that, she started booking it down the mountain with Machia in pursuit, only slightly thrown off by Himiko’s evasive vanishing technique.

Refusing to waste any more time, Spinner quickly picked up his unconscious leader and maneuvered him onto his back, then yanked his scarf from around his neck to tie it around their waists, securing Shigaraki in a makeshift piggyback ride. As he began to run, Spinner ripped two pieces of fabric from his mask and tied them to Shigaraki’s pinkies to prevent any accidental decaying, knowing that he couldn’t keep his leader from getting killed by Machia if he himself died in the process.

‘He’s lighter than I thought he’d be,’ Spinner observed as he leaped over fallen logs.

‘I could’ve sworn he built some muscle while fighting Rockjaw McGee the past two months,’ he ruminated as he felt the ground rumbling as Machia pivoted to close in the gap he worked so hard to build.

‘Am I doing enough to help him?’ he questioned as he dodged the stones being chucked at him from afar.

‘Am I not carrying my fair share of the load?’ he pondered as he scaled a cliff face and cleared the edge just before Machia ran straight into it.

‘If I could just get a stab in, or maybe yeet another rock at his eye, would that be enough?’ he deliberated as he launched himself from tree branch to tree branch, with Machia swatting at the parts of the forest canopy where Shigaraki’s scent was but never landing a hit.

‘Fuck if I could just make this fight a little bit easier for Shigaraki once he wakes up, I wouldn’t feel so damn useless!’ he berated himself, Machia’s roaring engulfing all the sounds of the wilderness yet still unable to drown out Spinner’s own self-loathing.

It felt like days had passed, but was likely only a few hours after Shigaraki collapsed that Gigantomachia reached his 48-hour limit and ended his pursuit to bury himself into the ground for his nap. Every muscle in Spinner’s body was sore, but he had just enough strength to climb back down the cedar tree he had perched in, careful to make sure Shigaraki didn’t slip out now that the chase was over. He startled and moved to shield his leader when he heard the nearby rustling of foliage getting trampled, then relaxed as Toga burst through the bushes.

“We’re here,” cried Toga, with Mr. Compress and Twice hot on her tail, “Are you okay? Did you get squished?”

“We survived,” Spinner panted, shuffling over to the rest of his group, “barely, but we did.”

“Thank goodness you’re both okay.” Twice cried with joy, “We ran all the way up for nothing?!”

“Well look on the bright side,” Mr. Compress stated as he took in the mound where Machia had settled in for his nap. “Now that we’re here early we have more time to plan our next 48-hour match.”

“Shouldn’t we wait until Shigaraki wakes back up?” Spinner questioned. “Too late… ‘m up,” slurred a voice from behind him, and Spinner lowered down to let his newly awoken leader off his back. “What’d I miss?”

“You ate shit on the forest floor so Spinner outmaneuvered Machia while carrying your dead weight like a sack of potatoes!” Toga gleefully explained.

“Shit,” Shigaraki panicked, “did you die?!”

“Does he look dead to you?” Toga deadpanned.

“I mean did my quirk injure you?” Shigaraki clarified, checking Spinner over for cracks anyway.

“No I’m fine,” Spinner reassured him, “Just exhausted and frustrated that I couldn’t do any more than run away and try not to get us killed. I didn’t even get a single hit on Machia except that boulder.”

“Who cares if you didn’t land a meaningful blow? I don’t!” Shigaraki exclaimed, taking a second to face Spinner completely before continuing. “In the face of a man the size of a literal mountain, you held him off and kept me alive with only your physical abilities and intuition. In my book that’s more than enough. You’re enough, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise because I will fight them.”

Spinner really hoped Toga stayed silent because he knew he was flushed pink and if she chose now to start getting mushy, he would surely combust and undo all the progress he made in prolonging his friend’s lifespan.

Немного грусти подкину вам.

Spinner: "Damn... I've ruined everything. Shigaraki... I miss you..."

In the bonus book given out for the 4th MHA movie, there's a Q&A section, and one of the questions pertains to Shigaraki!

Q: What kind of video games does Shigaraki play?

Horikoshi: He used to be into PvP but if he was taunted or got frustrated with teammates, he would break the monitor. So AFO suggested he play a different type of game. He seems to enjoy simulation games now.

from this thread!