deernet | 1-800-BUGGELOO | video

[ Green = Midoriya | Blue = Murderbot | None = Locals ]

Beasts can be people. I had to see if there was a person in there. That's why I used a Moon Drop on the Bugge.

Waste of a Moon Drop... Just kill it like we all do, Deku. [ The voice comes from a grizzled Hunter with their hand on their hilt. ]

[ Midoriya isn't filming this. He and a group of farmers are the subject of this onlooker's stream. A few Hunters are interspersed with them, identifiable by the badges that match Midoriya's own. They know him by his Hero name, Deku. His green Hero gear is lightly stained with his own warmblood. He's bruised and exhausted, but anyone familiar with him knows that he'd be much more injured if he actually came off worse in a fight. ]

If there's a chance I can save someone without killing, I have to try.

These are my crops! The blood of the Bugge enriches them, don't you understand? I have to feed my children! [ A farmer brandishes their harvesting sickle. ]

I--I'm sorry. If you need help, I--Please, let me help. There has to be another way. There are other ways to make the soil better, just--we can figure this out together--

[ Several people in the crowd push forward, and Midoriya flinches with a step back in time with them. He can feel several stabs of alarm in his head. It evokes multiple memories of a group of people ganging up on him, and he's not good at using words to defend himself. He wants nothing more than to wrap his arms around his head and not look at them, but these are people he wants to protect. He has to face them. ]

Congratulations, you are being streamed live to DeerNet. Don't do anything you'd regret.

[ The voice is flat and even, near emotionless but with a slight edge to it. If anyone looks at their relic, it is streaming with a one second delay. ]

[ OOC: replies will come from Murderbot and Midoriya ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Ah. There it is. The fear of death and killing. What a petty, stupid concept to be afraid of. Either you live, or you die and eventually everything dies. He had been trolling earlier, now? Alright, they could have some serious talk now that he can't posture.]

Wouldn't you? There's no guarantee we go back to normal, either.

You ask that like I'd lay down and let you. You've got to work to kill me when I'm not hitting enrage. Would you even have the balls to try? After what I saw, you're being sent straight back to the lobby.

[ I'm trying to save him. Midoriya said this of Shigaraki, and now he is staring at the base of an insurmountable mountain. Does Shigaraki even want to hear it from him? Midoriya thinks about what Gran Torino said to him in Central Hospital, and he struggles with it to this day, but he also knows it is a situation that has no room for hesitation or doubt, whatever decision he makes in whatever hypothetical context the future gives him.

It's a long enough time later that one might think he's ignoring Shigaraki. Mostly he's too preoccupied with the people in front of him to switch to video properly. What he has to say requires it, as face-to-face as he can get. When he does show his face in the shaded green of nearby Trenchwood, it is solemn, which is no surprise given the subject. What is different is something he only acquired after trying to track down Shigaraki: the pale, chill, steady quality to his gaze as his eyes set aside their wideness and their light. ]

Aiming for capture instead of kill is more difficult. Takes more time and control of one's Quirk. The Bugge didn't get the chance to make their wishes known. But you have. I asked you so I could make sure.

If I can't find a way to capture and change you back, I'll do it. Don't worry about putting that decision on anyone else. I can make the call.

[The time between it doesn't bother him in the least, in fact he's not expecting a reply. He never does when it comes to heroes. He's watching it a few times and it takes him a while to reply in kind, but it's at least meeting eye to eye with the video. His eyebrows are pulled together and whatever dark place he's decided is home right now, that's where he is.

The Bugge is of no more consequence. So what if it takes 'more time and control'? That sounds like 'waste of time' to him. But the point of this is hearing Deku say he would go through with it. Shigaraki is studying this look on Deku's face.]

I said kill me, not attempt to shit all. I'm not in control of that body anymore and I never want that. Do it so I don't have to listen to Dabi lord it over my head that he's better than me at my worst or look at Toga in the face being creepy as shit about all the blood. If you're serious, do it before they do.

[Except his voice lacks the actual venom when he's speaking about Toga and Dabi. Would they do it? In a heartbeat. Would he want them to? Dabi could handle it, but Shigaraki wouldn't want that if he could help it. Toga could handle herself, but might hesitate at the wrong time.]

No one will be upset that you did it and anyone that is? Show them this if I'm not there to speak for myself.

[ I'm not in control of that body.

He remembers seeing Shigaraki struggling in the clutches of All For One. Shigaraki hated that. It sparked the inexorable feeling in Midoriya of wanting to save him. He still wants to save him. But he has to acknowledge the feelings of the person he wants to save. His compassion for Shigaraki eclipses law, which doesn't matter here anyway, and even sense.

He should not be making a promise like this to his mortal enemy. Perhaps Midoriya will change his mind. He'd be stupid not to account for that possibility. Perhaps circumstances will turn against them, and killing will not be in the spirit of what either of them want. But what he's experienced at home and here drives him. Midoriya takes his promises seriously, and he makes them with his full heart and without hesitation.

Shigaraki implies the possibility that the other members of his crew would be upset about him being killed. Honor among thieves, or perhaps... true friendship. In this world, upon arriving, all they have is each other. The Heroes could say the same. ]

Okay, [ he says quietly, barely audible like the rustle of dying leaves. ] I don't want someone else to have to do it.

Edited 2022-09-29 08:52 (UTC)

[The one thing, the one good thing about being brought to these places was no longer having to be under control of someone else. He had only had a small taste of it. Enough to know that he didn't like it and that he was losing the battle for control.

Whatever comes, comes, and Shigaraki knows full well that it'll be his own fault if he loses that battle. Especially with the resolve that he's not sure he could've seen on Izuku's face if he had to guess what the outcome of this conversation would have been. A nod of his head and Shigaraki moves himself to lean back in the shot and relax in whatever specifically 'good enough' place he'd found that night.]

Then don't let them.

[One hand runs the length of his hair up to a certain point on the side of his head. A sidelong look at the screen.]

What about you? What do you want?

Edited 2022-09-29 12:26 (UTC)

[ He didn't expect to be asked in turn. Part of him wonders if it might be some kind of trick. But Shigaraki was sincere and firm about his own wishes. Midoriya doesn't think about his own, because he's not in the habit of thinking about himself, but he does think of how his friends would feel if this happened to him, and also what he'd ask of them--or rather, what they would insist on acting upon. They've teamed up to save one of their number before. ]

I can't stop the people I care about from going after me. [ He's tried. ] Depends on the circumstances, if the city's in danger, what resources are available... There's a few people I'd trust with making the call, but as for who would decide quickly...

[ There are plenty of people who would try to save him if they saw a chance. Out of those, there are also some who would recognize his wish not to get bystanders killed and put him down if it was necessary. (Midoriya is more protective of others' lives than his own.) Precious few have both the fortitude and the experience to recognize this quickly and take action without hesitation, all the while knowing his mind--including his bullshit.

There may be more who are as yet untested, possessed of both a desire to protect him and a sight not eclipsed by this, but there is one he is sure of. ]

I'd want people to follow Kacchan's lead. He'd know what to do right away.

1-800-BUGGELOO | video | un: rin

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private | video | mha spoilers for canonpoint | :''''')

Private; Text>Video | Same spoilers + talk of murder/death

Private; Video | Same spoilers + talk of murder/death

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the cws will continue until morale improves