Bonus Trivia: The Dabi, Part 2:
The Tango of Dabi and Hawks

*ch291 spoilers + some speculation ahead

MVA flashback in Garaki's lab:
Dabi talks about a potential new ally and says he's not down to fight Machia. Lots of "recruiting" talk up to now. Street thugs didn't impress Dabi, but Hawks did....Who found whom? Did Dabi strike Hawks as being gullible...?

Garaki asks Dabi to test out a High-End. There's precedent! Dabi was given the chainsaw Nomu during the forest attack (programmed to obey him).
He *knows* Hood is a deadly, superior specimen; doesn't bother informing Hawks.

-LoV is struggling to tame Machia in ~October, before the Hero Billboard Charts
-Billboard Charts happen-Dabi was already talking to Hawks.
-Dabi takes Hood down to Fukuoka (Hawks' home), but what's the exact nature of the agreement?

Dabi *didn't* ask Hawks to bring Endeavor. He expected a lesser hero companion. Any combo less than Endeavor + Hawks would've been murdered by Hood, and Dabi had to know that. Or, Hood would kill lesser-hero and Hawks would barely survive long enough for Dabi to call Hood off.

What would each get out of this?
Dabi gets to test Hood for Garaki, kill a hero, and make Hawks eat some shit.
Not personal for Hawks. Just gov't orders/overall desire for peace/free time. He's trying to gain access to LoV. Has to prove himself, maybe with a sacrificial lamb

But Hawks implicitly violates their agreement by bringing Endeavor. Maybe he suspects Hood will actually be a challenge and isn't taking chances? Or doesn't think about it either way, since Hawks does *not know the Endy-Dabi connection yet (not until black speech bubble at villa)

So Hawks and Endeavor are parading around Fukuoka on their way to lunch. Hawks beats the exhibitionist, does some good deeds. All it takes is a social media post or two to alert Dabi that Hawks brought Endeavor on the playdate. Daddy's in town and Dabi now has a decision to make!

1+2 vs. Hood at the isolated factory? Boring. Probably an easy win for them, w/no civilians to protect. Less media attention.
Dabi does the calculus and decides to release Hood a day earlier than planned. It homes in on 1+2 in the middle of the city (more damage and casualties)

Dabi still assumes they can win (doesn't want them to die yet) but underestimates Hood a little. His blood ran cold when things were looking touch-and-go.Endeavor winning ends up playing to Dabi's advantage. People didn't even like Endeavor before this! His merch didn't sell!

When they pull it off, Dabi can't resist showing up himself (attempt to collect Hood's body and have a drama moment). Would he have killed them if not for Mirko? Probably not. "Blood ran cold," remember? Or maybe, roast Hawks, leave Endy alive for future disgrace?

On the whole, Dabi is genuinely glad they won (allows him to keep scheming, and he loves scheming) but trusts do-gooder Hawks even less now. A real double-agent would've let some people die, maybe?

Hawks is working with less info, but here's his process:-takes Endy to lunch to talk about Nomu sightings (fake news?). This is setup for hypothetical next day: "Oh no, good chum! Remember those rumors? Well, there are reports of a nasty Nomu at the factory!"
-Hood shows up early

-Hawks does all in his power to avoid casualties. Can't stand the thought of his malarkey causing dead civilians.
-Obviously mad at Dabi for the curveball; has no idea that his choice to bring Endeavor is to blame! (Post black speech bubble, does Hawks do the math in his head?)

Dabi gives Hawks another "chance," wants him to kill a hero. Hawks hopes to impress by body-bagging the next highest ranked dude. Dabi sees the body and says good enough, whatever. Still waiting for a flashback where Hawks convinces Jeanist to go into hiding.

Dabi doesn't trust Hawks and doesn't necessarily believe Jeanist is dead, but lets Hawks into PLF anyway! Eager to give Hawks rope to hang himself and keep him close.

But Hawks never gets a face-to-face with Tomura and is burdened with spy cams/mics/bad coffee.

Endeavor vs. Hood: Rumble in Kyushu wasn't planned by Dabi, but it worked out great, so why not try again? Dabi works some magic, and...
Starservant probably makes the news and boosts Endeavor's stats a little.
Ending...was beaten by the boys. Dabi almost got Natsuo killed!

Dabi probably knew Hawks would dupe Twice and get the message out about doomsday, even if no one else did. He didn't care. Dabi doesn't give a shit about Tomura or PLF taking over, but a big war between heroes and villains is the ideal stage for his dance.

When the heroes raid the villa and villains start panicking, Dabi is cool as a cuke. He's not surprised? Or, at least, not so caught off guard that he can't improvise on the fly (his prerecorded autobiography is already on a USB stick or uploaded to Yo-Tube but set to private)

(intermission b/c of thread limit)

"Get started early"
This was always his plan, once Tomura was at 100%. Tomura would destroy, Dabi would dance atop the ruins and show his powerpoint.
The heroes just moved up the timetable; this didn't phase Dabi.

Did Dabi genuinely try to save Twice, or was that all for show? I lean towards the latter.
Maybe he holds back a little, and he has a camera ready to catch Hawks doing some murderin'. Once that's done, Hawks has served his purpose, and he would've been roasted if not for Tokoyami

All the pieces are in place.
Skeptic broadcasts the autobio, which disgraces Number One.
Public sees Number Two committing murder.
Number Three might be dead, but even if not, the top two are still taken to task.

Dabi's plan was very Endeavor-centric, but he went to a good deal of trouble to thoroughly fuck Hawks over too! He cares about shattering the hero worship delusion.
And he worked this whole agenda completely alone (allies be damned), except for last-minute Geek Squad support.

Juxtaposition:
-Dabi (trained like a child soldier, abuse victim turned bad person) is son of Enji (feared hero, bad person)
-Hawks (full-on child soldier, popular hero, morally gray) is son of Daddy Takami (bad person, foiled by bad person)

Sins of the father.

When Dabi sees Hawks, he probably feels:
-envy/resentment (why is HE lauded when I can't even live in a society?)
-superiority (he drank the Kool-Aid! he's a tool of the system! Unlike me, obviously)
-inferiority (we were both trained to be elite heroes but I couldn't slice it)

PS/ spoiler bump!

PS2/ spoiler bump2!