‘ history repeats itself ’
poetry starters — richard siken, crush / ac.
shouto is no stranger to the sentiment. they say it all the time, that people grow up to be like their parents. this is a phrase that haunts him. an every day ghost, living in all reflective surfaces. the likeness of their father in them has already scarred him— has scarred them both— and as if there need be another constant reminder, now their father bares a scar as well.
he wonders, fleetingly, if the turquoise eye(s) that plague them both still see similarities, despite the differences bodies and time has made. what have they grown blind to?
the delivery of the words offer no clarification. what history is in reference, shouto hasn’t the slightest idea.
are all todoroki’s destined to anger and insatiable ambitions? are they all destined to bring forth pain upon their future families? is shouto destined to fall into the shadow of victory, constantly reaching for the back of someone else’s? is he, whomever he is now that barely resembles the face in shouto’s memories, destined to be the exact opposite of his father with all the same trappings?
really, it doesn’t have to be personal; this stranger across from him could mean anything. that midoriya izuku will rise into the place all might left for him and that all for one will pass the torch to shigaraki tomura.
maybe it is only what it is— a commentary on how some things ( maybe even most things ), like time, are circular.
shouto does not allow himself enough time to decipher what the words mean— there will be time for over-analyzing that when they are done here. even then, there is no promise that he’ll be able to decide on one meaning conclusively.
a shake of his head rejects the hopelessness that those three words sprout in his chest.
“ no, ” he says, simple, knowing there is more to it than that. after all, it is true: the failings of humanity tend to allow for mistakes to happen over and over again, never really learning— but shouto refuses to be one of them.
he thinks of midoriya and bakugou, of all might and the hero endeavor, of touya and and himself, and furthers, stubbornly, “ not always. that’s enough for me to keep moving forward. ”
