#AFO: I mean you do it why is it odd when I try it?

[kitsunesfandomtime]

Garaki: -panicking because AFO getting married- Sir! What happens when Inko finds out who you really are?

AFO: -rolling his eyes- She will never find out. That's the point of lying.

[thr0wnawayy]

Hello! Been really enjoying your MHA takes especially the aftermath, it had me thinking but what if Hawks and the HC were responsible were for wiping out Izuku's record in the Final War. We know there was people recording Izuku's battle with Tomura but yet people not knowing about Izuku and acting like he is some mysterious legend just didn't sit right with me. But if they knew, OFA was going to disappear and there would be no Symbol of Peace in the short term until Mirio arrived (bleh). Then it would make sense why Hawks and company would delete this stuff for any number of reasons. It would be this weird sort of propaganda where the collective is glorified. While still retaining the status quo until they can find a stronger Symbol because I refuse to take seriously Mirio being number 1 cause his quirk is overrated.

This would help explain why Izuku's role in the war is essentially erased and no one seems to have remembered him despite being the deciding factor, but his depression/guilt means he doesn't care to talk about. It would be overwhelming for Izuku because the propaganda would only assert that his role was meaningless despite it being the contrary. Of course, it doesn't help that nobody does anything to help lift Izuku from his mental problems.

What your saying is absolutely plausible, however there are a few things that conflict with your theory.

No one really knew about OFA in the first place. This is a massive fuck up on Hori's part, as "canonically" only 3 people really know about OFA (5, if you count sheild and Melissa)

The fact is, the general public isn't really aware of what OFA was. To their knowledge Izuku might have been one of AFO's science projects or something of the sort, which could have created problems in trying to reestablish "order".

Thus the Commission thought it best for OFA to just fade into the background and that meant nipping every bud related to it. Including Midoriya.

You see, All Might is covered. He's made a name for himself and even though there was panic after his retirement, he's still one of the only people capable of standing firm. That alone grants him a level of protection and support networks that Midoriya clearly lacks.

The second issue is that the idea of a symbol is so ingrained with All Might (or rather the idea of AM) that OFA is connected to that by proxy.

The Commission needs a hero that doesn't exist anymore, because in a post Liberation War Japan? They can't exist.

Not when people have been exposed to how rotten the current system is underneath and no 'new coat of paint' will ever be enough to change that, no matter how fanciful the lie.

Midoriya by his very nature (and failings) as a hero, cannot become 'the greatest' in this world, because what once passed for the greatest turned out to be a human trafficking piece of shit, who was killed by his victim's own hand.

Izuku's record wasn't so much wiped, as much as he just gave up. He went so went so far off course that he wound up in a worse position than when he started and dragged everyone with him in the process.

The reality is a culture built on "out of sight, out of mind" when it comes to crime. MHA's Japan does this, but far, far worse and that isn't sustainable. Not when you have massive critics like Japan does.

Japan is in a free fall, Toshinori is one of those people, hopefully I'll get around to writing that mini chapter fully.

Hawks doesn't have the brains to lead. As seen in the U.N Meeting, he's a horrible politician (being a child soldier will do that). He's used to taking orders and polishing the boots of whomever is giving them, not sitting down and discussing how they (the nations) can use their power to make the world a better place.

As for the Hero Boards, due to the lack of participation, they fluctuate violently every term due to the smaller voting pool. Mirio's rank is only semi-consistant, with him constantly switching to number one and number three every odd poll showcase.

The portion of the public that still look up to heroes see him as a model person, but not a model hero. As they look for a hero that will never come.

The truth is there cannot be another All Might in the same way there can never be another AFO (Pre Kamio ofc). They were titans of their time, only able to exist because of the circumstances unique to their times.

There's a saying that is often misquoted

"The survival of the fittest"

This is an incomplete version of the phrase, the correct version is: "The survival of the fittest to adapt"

That is what evolution is, an arms race.

There will never truly be another All Might, there may never be another League Of Villains. But it doesn't matter, because some way, somehow.

The pieces will slot into place and then the real fun can begin. So long as their are those who slip through the cracks. So long as the current society stands.

There will always be that child that everyone can see, but choose to ignore.

They can lie to themselves, have them put on a happy face, shunt them to fitting into the current "mold" and then go home and wash their hands of responsibility because "I did my part".

It won't make them any less guilty.

It won't make those children any less adaptable.

[bicheetopuff]

Hi @nemovanilla ! This is in reference to one of the tags on this post.

Sorry for taking a while to elaborate. I was gonna just explain in a reply but realized the way I explain things is always longer than it needs to be so I figured I respond in its own post. So anyways…

Contents:

I: Nighteye’s unwillingness to admit when he’s wrong

II: Deku’s unwillingness to just accept fate

III: The power of willpower and conviction

IV: Changing fate

V: Conclusion

I: Nighteye’s unwillingness to admit when he’s wrong

So if you’ve followed me for a while, you already know I don’t like Nighteye that much. However, I’ll admit that overtime I realized that I really wasn’t supposed to like him.

He’s overly cynical and critical of Deku despite the fact that he’s just a teenager. A major part of his character is that once he had something in mind, he’d run with it. His word is law to him and it annoyed the shit out of me. But you can’t really blame him because that’s the nature of his quirk. As All Might said, his foresight has never been wrong.

Once he had set in his mind that All Might was going to die, and needed a successor to pass OFA to (despite it not being his decision) he found Mirio and just clung to him. He even admits to himself on his death bed that he only initially took in Mirio for the sake of convincing All Might to make him his successor.

Because of that, he refused to have faith in Deku as All Mights successor and it took him all the up to the day he died to see what All Mights saw in Deku. It was the first time someone had ever proven him wrong.

II: Deku’s unwillingness to just accept fate

Since chapter one, Deku has proved time and time again that he refuses to accept circumstances that he deems unfair no matter how unrealistic his success would be. For example:

-Saving Katsuki from the sludge villain. He had no way of defending himself yet he still ran to save him when no one else would, influencing All Mights actions. If Izuku hadn’t done anything, everyone probably just would’ve stood by idly while watching a middle schooler die.

-Saving Uraraka from the one pointers at the entrance exam. While Uraraka most likely wouldn’t have died cuz she had the means to save herself, Deku still forced himself to do something about it, regardless of being too scared to move just a moment before.

-Convincing Todoroki to take control of his own fate at the sports festival by using both his left and right side.

-Hunting down Iida before he could kill Stain and somehow beating him despite most pros failing to do so.

Saving Kota from Muscular, Katsuki from AFO, Eri from Chisaki, the list goes on. But all of that to say that despite odds being against him in all of these circumstances, he persevered out of pure stubbornness and his unwavering conviction to save as many people as he can.

So, when All Might explained to Deku that he was destined to die, the first thing Deku did was try to figure out how he can change that. Initially it sounds like grief ridden denial but it later takes on a new meaning.

(I find this entire conversation almost ironic. All Might accepts that his fate has already been decided and Deku rebuttals by saying that he’ll be by his side to change said fate. But, throughout the entire final arc, Deku hasn’t even spoken to All Might. He was by someone else’s side (figuratively) changing All Mights fate.)

III: The power of willpower and conviction

So, in the Hassaikai raid:

This is when we start to realize the true meaning of Nighteyes character. The entire point of his character is to be proven wrong (in my opinion).

He represents the expectation of typical shonen tropes and he actively tries to enforce those stereotypes ever since he’s introduced in the story with beliefs similar to “the strongest heroes successor should already slightly stronger than the average person with light hair and light eyes,” hence why he clung to Mirio so much. Mirio fits the “my power is a curse but I’m admirable because I worked really hard to control it” trope and while one can argue that Deku fits this trope too, I don’t think he does. Deku has never viewed OFA as cursed. He’s always considered it a blessing. Controlling OFA took less than a hundred chapters and he was never looked down upon for it.

Oh and don’t forget “the mentors untimely death to further character development for the mc.” If anything, Katsuki took over that one. (Can katsuki be considered a mentor, technically? Since Deku always looked up to him so much and learned from him more than he learned from anyone else? This is a genuine question, pls help)

Those are major ingredients for the shonen formula and, according to Nighteye, that’s fate. Things that are destined to happen in a shonen manga because that’s what always happens in a shonen manga.

By his and most shonen readers standards, Mirio, Katsuki, or Todoroki should’ve been the mc to declare your run of the mill shonen comic book. But they’re not. Fate was changed and stereotypes were pushed already by Deku’s mere existence. He’s fought his whole life against people who didn’t believe in him and Nighteye was no different.

He had to continue proving his haters wrong and being told that he can’t do something furthers his willpower to help people no matter the cost (not that that’s entirely healthy but, you know.)

People that know Deku have seen time and time again that he reaches his goals no matter how steep the hill might be. He never ceases to surprise people (I think Uraraka said something similar at some point but I can’t remember when) so the people around him that know him on the surface, have faith in him.

And according to Nighteye, that’s all they needed.

IV: Changing Fate

Nighteyes foresight changed because Deku and co. refused to lay down and accept fate so, they fought it instead. And won. Deku proved to Nighteye that All Mights fate could be changed.

Skipping ahead to the final war arc, All Might is fighting that villain that was destined to follow through on All Mights unspeakably gruesome death. He starts looking back on his life as he waits for it to happen. People watching the broadcast just accepted that he was about to die.

However…

Remember what was said about faith? Yeah Izuku holds a lot of that in Katsuki. As for a character, other than Izuku (and Dabi but this ain’t about him), with enough will and conviction to change his own fate in order to change his mentors? I can’t think of anyone else but Katsuki.

(The panel of Eraserhead at the press conference after Katsuki was kidnapped was supposed to go here but I ran out of space so I’ll just give the quote: “Any lapse in his behavior is my failing. Still… he behaved that way at the sports festival because he has such strong convictions and ideals… more than anyone, he pursues the title of top hero with everything he’s got. If the villains have mistaken that for a weakness… then their thought process is indeed superficial.”)

Thus, Nighteye’s foresight was changed.

Izuku proved that All Mights fate could be changed, and Katsuki was the one who changed it.

V: Conclusion

This post probably could’ve been a lot shorter and summed up in only a few paragraphs but, where’s the fun in that? I honestly really wanted to talk about it in depth because I find this part of the narrative so poetic and beautiful.

In the Hassaikai arc, everyone had to believe in Deku. In this arc, all Katsuki needed was for Deku to believe in him. Making Deku’s faith in Katsuki just as strong as everyone’s faith in him.

It just kinda reminds me how bnha is really just a parody of shonen manga, calling out really dumb tropes time and time again by referencing western superhero media that’s been pushing away these same tropes for decades now.

Anyways, I hope this is a good enough elaboration lmao. If I keep typing, this post will end up being too long.

[donkeys-waffles]

Okay, listen I'm not all that convinced AFO is completely gone. And let's put DFO aside for a moment. His and Yoichi's story feels uncomplete, there are certain elements that were given the time to be graced on but never really elaborated on. Like for example, that possibility that certain elements of AFO's backstory were fabricated to accomplish a certain message.

It's very easy to read over his backstory and gather the idea that he was born evil. But after a deeper look, it's very clear that was the purpose. We are meant to believe AFO is evil because that's what he wants us to believe, that's what he sees in himself. I feel bittersweet towards his supposed 'end'. Because I hate how Bakugou delivered that end, for one. But on one hand I enjoy how he mentioned needing Yoichi, it starts with denial and ends with recognition. And even if this a hot take, I think it's a beautiful, emotional end to such a messed-up individual.

However, I have a weird feeling about two things. First, I'd like to say, one thing I've noticed in writing is if something is brought up randomly, it'll generally come back to bite you later. Nothing is left unsaid, otherwise you have plot holes.

I found it interesting how it's mentioned AFO wasn't able to use his last trick up his sleeve, without any elaboration as to what that would have been. And I would say this was done on purpose, maybe just used as another example of every dream he wasn't able to accomplish before he died. But bringing light to this does nothing to strengthen the impact of his death on the narrative. Another interesting detail was Yoichi's wish. His dream of AFO being the kindest quirk in the world, which I can see being used to cause a reaction in the reader, as if trying to make them feel some heartache for such a bastard. But even with that reasoning, that sentence in the end feels so empty. unfulfilling, and almost lack-luster. It seems odd to be brought up and this could be bias, but I feel like that sentence had more importance than just literary cannon fodder.

We know AFO's main goal, make everyone love him like Yoichi, and his midterm goal was to steal his brother back through OFA. Makes sense.

But I still have questions. I understand why he took Tomura, to get a strong enough host to steal OFA, makes sense. But how does leaving Gigantomachia in the mountains have anything to do with such a goal? For what? Retirement? What did that achieve, wouldn't it better if he kept him around? If he was planning on moving his consciousness to Tomua later, then keeping him around would be better, right? Afterall, he'd be able to meet the child and possibly have a better understanding of the situation. Gigantomachia is an incredibly strong asset (look how he took down SO many heroes in the first war); he could have possibly even used him as backup during his fight with All Might.

And why keep OFA at a distance when his entire goal is to steal said quirk? I'm referring to that one panel in Vigilantes. Thats the entire opposite of his entire 200-year-old goal.

And that whole thing with his copy of rewind... This man is 200 years old, with an extremely strong villain empire, who has earned the respect of a genius scientist... You don't achieve any of those things by being stupid. And now I'm not normally one for completely trusting the MHA Wiki, but I can't blame them for giving him a 6/5 intelligence. He's a genius, and is spectacular with quirk analysis, it's his thing ya feel me. But it does show his lack of self-preservation, which is against what he's supposed to be angry at All Might for.

All Might took his health and his empire; we know he didn't really care about his empire as much from Spinner. (I mean lack of self-preservation because he's using a quirk that will eventually rewind him out of existence, whether he transfers his quirk to Tomura entirely or not. There's a possibility that it won't work, he failed to take complete control the first time remember. Is that what this supposed 'trick up his sleeve' was supposed to remedy? This is the same man that gave himself immortality, the same man that ran away from All Might for years, the same man that has shown to rely on the strength of others instead of dealing wounds himself. And might I add the same man that is supposed to be angry about his health being diminished. Afterall if not his health or his empire what could he possibly be angry at All Might for that's so special, so unique compared to his predecessors?)

This brings me to my last point. Since when the hell did this bitch care about THE CHILDREN! This man literally stole quirks from children, killed thousands, and turned a crap tone into braindead nomu. And he's angry on behalf of the children. Are we ever going to get an explanation for that?

Like I would understand if he killed the children that he apparently gave heroic ideals to. Like Ha! You will pay for passing on your ideals to children by watching me steal their quirks and kill them. But that's not what he means, or he would've stolen Tokoyami's quirk, killed Jiro instead of leaving her with a broken eardrum, and blasted Izuku away with deadly force instead of holding back in the first war. We have no answers for such behavior from a man known for exhibiting zero humanity (and making that behavior his ENTIRE personality.) Need I remind you this man stole Tomura (possibly gave him the quirk that killed his entire family,) and groomed him just to possess him later alright. He also turned Tsubasa into a nomu for shits and giggles, which we have never talked about once! Tsubasa, need I remind, was a small child and was the Doctor's grandson (which you'd think give him immunity to this kind of sick shit but apparently not.)

There are so many questions left unanswered, many of which Yoichi himself can't even answer. Like with all their human experimentation they do on a daily basis, the clone theory wouldn't really surprise me. It would make a lot of sense for his character as well. And even if that theory doesn't pan out, the vestige behind the locked door (which is entirely separate rant honestly,) or even Tomura's AFO vestige maybe. Though I feel if Izuku really saves Tomura in this war, then we might never hear much of anything from that vestige. Especially since their first priority would be to cancel it out as soon as possible. A lot of people bring up how the story is almost over, and they are probably right. But the end date was supposed to be 2022 originally, right? Then it was moved to 2023, now it's 2024-2025. Like yeah it is almost over, but there's still story that needs wrapping up clearly because that deadline has been pushed back multiple times. Too many times to make it a valid counterclaim anymore. Either way, I don't think we are in the clear of the Demon King's superiority complex anytime soon.

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

>They are really following the “saving child shigaraki” path 💀

No? Well, yes, but Deku seeing what happened to Tenko and talking to Tenko was always going to happen, it doesn't mean that only child Tenko gets saved lol. Tenko is Shigaraki's origin, his core, his genuine ideas, his honne (true feelings and desires). Of course Deku has to understand and save Tenko to save adult!Tenko, lol. Nobody seemed to complain when child!Ochako was talking to child!Himiko and etc., so what's up with some people's attitude now? 😭

I think the fandom is a bit paranoid because they really fear some theories.

I sometimes entertain those theories just to fuck around and create what ifs. It's a mere childplay. "Oh what if the school burned today and we all graduated earlier" type of mindset. The odds of it happening are non-existent, but c'mon. Unless you plan to burn the school yourself or you know someone will try, the odds are almost zero.

"but somewhere in the world a school burned—"

Sure, some mangas decide to end things the worst way possible only to cause shock, to fuck with fans, for money, sometimes simply because they don't understand their own stories. Even the big mangas is subjected to that. The author can go bananas for whatever reason and give you a terrible ending.

From my perspective, Horikoshi has rarely lost sight of the story he wants to tell. If he opens a plotline, he takes care to close it later. We got our traitor, we got the resolution with the Todorokis, we got AFO, class 1B, the villain comebacks...

Even when there were moments I knew Horikoshi went a little on the tangent (like Stars and Stripes) he was quick to return to the main issue. In bnha, to get an answer for your question you only have to wait for the manga to explain it— or in some cases, check the spin-off. If the answer is not in bnha itself, it normally is in the Vigilantes manga.

When someone asks me "Hey Shan, do you think that is possible?" the correct answer is always yes, because as long as the story is not over anything can happen. Objectively speaking, yes, it is as possible as anything else. As long as you're alive a lightning strike can hit you. A shark can bite you. An alien can come for you. The odds are there.

Now, is it probable?

No, not much.

Turning Tomura into a child to erase his crimes and resolve Deku's role within the plot is not only the lazy route, but also a disservice to the story. People don't resurrect out of nowhere in bnha. Limbs don't grow again. This is a story where the consequences are permanent. Even saving Mirio had a cost. There are only a few characters that can magically heal and their participation is soo little, it's almost as if they weren't there.

Each story has rules. You don't care about the real life rules or your own law code or whatever; you care about the inner rules of that story.

So far, Horikoshi has taken care of not breaking the inner rules of bnha. Why would he do so now?

Another bnha trait is that it doesn't stay stagnant on a plotline that is interesting yet irrelevant to the main story. It also doesn't hurry the story if it needs to go down a certain path. It will happen on its own time, after the events that need to happen had happened too. Example: saving Tomura has been a whole process. If Horikoshi were to turn Tomura into a child, why would he show all that he has shown us?

That's 'cause Horikoshi is explaining Deku's choice of saving Tomura. I know the trend of separating Tomura from Tenko, but it's absurd. They are one and the same. The kid is the adult and vice versa. You save the kid version, you save the adult one too. In order to save the adult one, you need to save the kid first. And if you went all the way to save that person, why would you want to erase all of it and turn them into a child again?

Isn't the story about how Deku giving little Tenko a chance? Isn't the story about Deku telling others they can do the impossible? Didn't Nighteye say that Deku could change the future and now we see him also changing the past, if only to allow the present to be a little more bearable? Livable?

I'll say this here: the theory that dictates that the heroes will turn the villains into kids to save them and the villains will stay like that has absolutely no foundation within the story.

If it happens, it's bad writing.

Horikoshi uses the kid images as symbolism. It is meant to represent the core of a person. It's the part of them that would never change, the part of them that dictates their dreams and goals, what they hate and love, who they are. It's the most basic of their forms, their essence, their soul if you want to speak on those terms.

Heroes are meant to connect with those parts of a human in order to save them, because the job of a hero is not only saving the body, but the human as a whole. To preserve hope, to heal past wounds and give people a reason to smile. To help people laugh as a kid again, to bring back their wonder and their innocence, to fight the apathy and the cynical part of themselves.

Bnha is fantasy. People have powers. The dead can communicate with the living. Of course that the heroes can talk with the childhood versions of the people to heal their past traumas.

Easy as that.

I can't say for sure if the villains will live or die. I only have my opinion (they'll live), but I am not the author. Horikoshi can have an epiphany tomorrow and kill everyone in the story with a meteor. Idk.

I can only say that Horikoshi has presented a cohesive and coherent writing, one that follows the lines it dictates to their natural conclusion. If things stay like that, there's no need to fear none of the crazy theories circulating the fandom. At the end of the day that's all they are, theories.

[sapphic-agent]

Here my new ask. Its about Shiggy!

I always will love the dream sequence and I do think it was better in the manga but is odd how Shig is saying "I forgive you Hana" and wake up to destroy everything and everyone.

I know people can feel more than one emotion. "I love Susan but I fear her" sure sure but Shig's only time ever saying those words of forgiviness ...should mean smth.

Yet...it doesn't.

Also...when in the dream sequel Shig kills his dad again...I dont see him happy about, he seems shocked and sad.

1) is Shig an unreliable narrator? To me, yes. But Hori wont explore this.

2) if afo was forcing those memories...for what reason? It was crucial for Shig to suffer and be mad forever? Does afo feed on hate? Bc I swear the amount of things Afo has done in canon towards Shig should have made Shig resent the fuck out of him

3) the ghost of his family try to save him(kotaro, who fandom sees as a monster while still cheering for Endy tries to do smth) and failed....what Izu can do here? Ge barely knows Shig.

4)Shig wake up serve cunt (that scene was cool. I give him that) and....as you said before is shallow. The dream sequence meant nothing, his family meant nothing to him. Actually his emotions meant nothing for the damn story.

5) afo made bold assumptions that Shig would still be his brainless pawn...and only works bc Hori says so. In true, Shig should have dessert him a long time ago (shig got shoot on the ua invasion. Shig got the hands of his parents and afo laughs)

It was such a cool sequence...it seems it would go somewhere but is hollow. Ita just a waste. Even more as he says he wont forgive anyone (while I get Izu saying "I wont forgive you" this line works way better for bk or aizawa. Feels strangely personal for a man Izu interacted 2 times only and shig canonically has Izu on his mind, knows he is quirkless and likes quirkless stuff never try to contact Izu)

1. Shigaraki is indeed an unreliable narrator! I forgot which user brought it up, but his narration and the actions taken by his younger self don't align. He says that he wanted to and reveled in killing his family, but the expression on his face through it all is broken. He doesn't look happy or gleeful, he looks horrified and desperate. Even with his awful father, he's shown reaching out for him and only changes when his father hits him. AFO's conditioning affected him in ways he doesn't understand, he's trapped by the undisputable (to him) fact that he's a villain who craves destruction

2. AFO is a master manipulator. He doesn't feed on hate, he feeds on how vulnerable and usable Shigaraki becomes when fueled by that hate. You'll notice he never scolds Shigaraki for his temper. He knows if Shigaraki stays petulant and full of anger, AFO can use it against him later. Shigaraki has started to realize that he's being manipulated, but it's overshadowed by the box AFO's forced him into

3. See, this is why we needed more interaction between Izuku and Shigaraki than we got. Other than the mall scene they barely interacted before the war. I've always said that Shigaraki was Izuku's parallel. They're two sides of the same coin. Izuku doesn't understand Shigaraki, he said so himself at the mall. You can't save someone you don't understand long-term. There should have been a scene- any kind of scene- where they're stuck together, can't attack one another, and forced to talk. Even if they can't (and shouldn't) come to an agreement, they still would have a better understanding of one another

4. Hori is too focused on making Shigaraki narrow minded and hellbent on destruction to give him any other emotion

5. Yeah... The lack of agency Hori forced on Shigaraki after just giving him agency wasn't the best. He isn't someone who's weak-willed. He's insanely stubborn and resilient

[grimalkinmessor]

Please, share your take on hanahaki afofa?

(I can't believe we have two (platonic) afofa hanaki fics on ao3. It's so weird it happened twice)

I'VE READ BOTH OF THOSE FICS AND I LOVE THEM!!

Honestly the idea of platonic Hanahaki fascinates me because it's even worse, could you imagine? (Actually given we're all here on tumblr.com I don't think many of us have to imagine lmao). BUT COULD YOU IMAGINE—family hits you so much harder when they don't love you, because they're the ones that are supposed to. Family is supposed to love you unconditionally, and when they don't, that shit is devastating. Imagine being six years old and suddenly spitting up flowers for reasons you can't understand. It turns the "should I tell them" on its head because unlike romantic Hanahaki, when it's your family you're owed an explanation as to why they don't love you. It's that tasty, tasty angst 🤌

ANYWAY—ROMANCE. AFOFA.

It's actually odd for me to think about, but the way I imagine AFOFA, neither would get Hanahaki. Yoichi never gives up his love for his brother, even after everything that happens between them. Call it Stockholm Syndrome, poor judgement, whatever you want—Yoichi can't get rid of his love for Takashi no matter how hard he tries. And of course, All For One is never letting go of his love for Yoichi, so while All For One would never get Hanahaki, neither would Yoichi.

However if we go the "Hanahaki is caused by a psychological perception of a lack of requited love", then honestly? My bets are on All For One catching it.

Because Yoichi gets chased so ardently!! So relentlessly!! Every time AFO turns around he's telling Yoichi how much he loves him. Even if AFO's love is painful and dangerous, Yoichi doesn't have space to doubt that his brother does that care for him more than he cares for anyone else in the world. He's always made that very clear. There being something deeply, deeply wrong with All For One doesn't mean he's incapable of love—it just means he's incapable of showing it in a healthy way. (Alexa play I Know That He Loves Me by Autoheart—)

But for how I see AFOFA, there's plenty of space for All For One to feel as if his love isn't reciprocated. The first one being that, he'd obviously see any affection from Yoichi as platonic until Yoichi told him/displayed otherwise, and platonic love isn't a substitute for romantic love; at least not where Hanahaki is concerned. Or, as a second trigger, after Yoichi finds out about his dirty dealings and starts trying to pull away from him, All For One would see that as a lack of love. Yoichi refusing him touch and comfort, denouncing everything his brother has ever done for him, and generally telling All For One that what he's doing is wrong and that Yoichi won't stand beside him as long as he continues to do evil things (which All For One would hear as Yoichi calling him evil, as Yoichi attempting to break their bond and cut him off completely forever)—all of that would compound in AFO's head and it'd be a stronger trigger than the first.

And the best (worst) thing here would be that Hanahaki can't kill All For One! :D He'd never get it removed, obviously, because you'd faster find a way to kill him than tear his teeth out of Yoichi, but without Yoichi near him to convince himself that he can make Yoichi love him again (even though Yoichi actually never stopped), he'd have to deal with Hanahaki for the rest of his very long life 💖

I'd have to pick a very pretty, very thorny flower for him to cough up forever :3

[quirkwizard]

Do you think we’ll get an All For One: Origin chapter before the series ends? Or no? I can sorta see it both ways. On one hand it doesn’t really matter and we know enough about his backstory, but it also seems odd if we don’t get anything on AFO and Yoichi’s childhood in the era when Quirks first emerged.

I'm of two minds about it. On the one hand, I don't think that he really needs any more of his backstory revealed. He's someone who wants to be an evil overload and has the means to do it. What more do you really need? For all of his theatrics, he's a very simple character, and we already got a pretty well laid-out idea of who he was and why he did what he did from the flashbacks. So if you were to do it, what could you add? If anything, it risks going the same route as the recent All Might: Origin chapter. It expanded on what came before, but it didn't really add anything new. Maybe it could show us why he went from having a childhood dream of being a demon king to being the shadow emperor of Japan, because I'd really like to know how he mentally got from A to B on that one. Like was there some event that prompted this or what? Otherwise, I struggle to think of what could be added to him without reinforcing what we already know, ruining what little mystique he had left, or, in the worst-case scenario, trying to make him sympathetic.

Now, I think you could make something out of it if you merely refocused on what it was about. Instead of being about the origin of All For One himself, you use it to fill in the blanks about his story between then and now. Less of an origin story and more of a recap. There is a lot of history that we simply don't know or that has never been expanded upon. All For One is old enough and has a wide enough scope that you could cover a lot of history with him, and I think he could have an interesting perspective on what is happening around him. For example, we could get him to meet some of his associates, like Doctor Garaki and Gigantomachia. Maybe we could have him watching and meeting Tomura like what was implied with Tomura's flashback. Out of all of them, I think the one I would want the most is the full context of the deaths of Youichi and the Second User. There is so much that we don't know about what went down with that whole event, and I'd like to be given something on that before the series ends. In fact, these events could be framed around the deaths of the various "One For All" users, with certain events happening around the time of their deaths.

[kitsunefyuu]

Do you believe dad for one will become canon? If so, how sure are you from a scale from 1-10. I don't think there's enough introspection of Izuku's thought's on his father for it. I won't deny there is a slight possiblity happening, but it's small.

It kind of funny, I feel like I'm told a lot about how Izuku doesn't think of his dad. To me that's honestly a nonfactor since if AFO is his dad then that means when Izuku was nine years old he 'left' over seas more permanently.

I don't know about you but most kids kind of get a feeling of being abandoned. Meaning most likely Izuku feels abandoned maybe even assumes it because he is quirkiness. Which can also create a disconnect between him and his father. So would end up not acknowledging him.

What I'm trying to say is, this doesn't prove anything. Since he can also not think about his dad if was just an ordinary guy, someone special, or just dead/not around. It why I use other ideas for why it CAN or it CAN'T be DFO besides you know, Izuku acknowledging his existence.

Like the structure of the house seeming more fitting for someone a LOT taller then Inko and Izuku. Or Inko odd behavior and apology along with Horikoshi mentioning how whenever draws her just feels bad. Implying he doing something that makes him guilty when she seems perfectly fine if a bit stressed by her son.

Reason I might DOUBT dad for one Theory would just be for things like how can it fit into the story? It can end up being a contrast to all the heroic dads or neutral dads. It can show even the most evilest people can have love someone. It can also explain why he felt so personally PISSED by All Might when it was implied he literally allowed him to dismantle his empire before the brain squish.

Since prior if was Dad for One he would be focused more on family then anything. Also why was the winged kid targeted to be nomufied? That something Horikoshi admit was the Nomu and is VERY MUCH connected to Izuku childhood while being bullied yet it never brought up.

Other doubts, Again it be for story reasons and it just being too difficult to implement. Even with the set up who is to say has time and could end up being a plot line that left hanging.

But you asked for a scale 9/10. The 1 is because of the last point as I'm having trouble with Horikoshi's pacing. I've seen stories that reach their finish line, start rushing and just abandoning all plot threads. So if it happens we won't even SEE if Izuku has a dad or anything at all despite Horikoshi promising he's important in a interview.

Hope this answers your question~

[thequietmanno1]

Thelreads, Vigilantes 76, Replies Part 1

1) “But I am excited to see how he`s gonna solve that problem, so, let`s get started with Chapter 76: Deadly Weapon.

Oh we finally gonna give Koichi an actual gun?”- Koichi: I am the Gun! Hell, If I learn how to refine this trick, I’ll be the whole damn arsenal! 2) “No Koichi, that is what we like to call “The Knuckle Cave”, it has been a considerable time since we last saw it to be honest. I do hope Knuckles left the fun toys around, we definitely need to let someone like Soga have a gun, right?”- Sadly, Soga being the ostensible leader and ‘planner’ of this group means that he has the functioning braincell, and is thus conscious of a little something called ‘gun safety’. Rap and Muyo though, those guys have even odds of an accident during this training montage, or whenever they try to actually use these guns in the field. 3) “Okay, now where`s the locker with the fun toys? Koichi may have a built-in gun but his is too weak, we need to give him a shotgun and let him go wild.”- Turns out, it’s only weak because he’s been intentionally setting his bullets to ‘stun’ this whole time. The amount of times you realise Koichi could have blown holes in his opponents like a human drive-by shooting… 4) “Now, you know, he could`ve said that in the letter to be honest. What else did he “say” that wasn’t included in that? His bank account? His Netflix account? The name of that hero that was his friend? So many things we still don`t know.”- I wouldn’t put it past him to have a few secret accounts with stashed funds should things go haywire down the line, and apparently, he left Soga with the master key access to it all. Like it or lump it, Soga is now Koichi’s ‘guy in the chair’ with all the support gear and awareness of where the necessary essentials for vigilantism come from. 5) “Yeah, our old papa was in on some serious shit, wasn’t he? Funny, because you figuring out how much deep into hunting for his daughter he was, how much he kept from you guys even though you trusted him above all else, it would be the perfect place to have a broken pedestal.”- Well, it’s not like Koichi was unaware that Knuckle had a shit-ton of secrets he kept from him – he even got to see a little bit of it with his ‘civilian identity’ trick for his mom. It’s just that, unlike Izuku and his issues with All Might hiding the past of OFA and All For One until he found out some other way, Koichi never really cared about that stuff. He knew Knuckle had some stuff he wanted to handle himself, and he valued the lessons that he did leave him with. Just because he’s finding out that Knuckle had a lot more behind his seemingly-brash actions doesn’t meant that Knuckle didn’t leave him with some valuable lessons he wouldn’t have picked up from somebody else. (Vigilantes ch 3)

6) “And the database of active drug users that Knuckleduster Sr. and knuckleduster Jr. are setting up is starting to grow, they need the info, they need to make the connections. I’m hoping for a board with pictures and strings at some point.”-Wish Granted.

7) “He was keeping tabs on his actions as well, he needed to be sure when something was his fault or if it could be signs of a trigger-user going rampage. I`m surprised that he never came back to take down this, after Tamao was safe, or at least to give the keys to Koichi.

Like, for real, he didn’t knew that the Queen was still out there, he thought he killed the parasite, why did he handed it to Soga? “- The queen was just a pawn, and he wanted to try and stop the masters moving her around the chessboard, or at least figure out enough of what the game was to upset it. But the things about AFO’s machinations is that they’re labyrinthine. Even if he’s not directly involved with this trigger experimentation himself, and it’s just a sub-set of his overall Machiavellian schemes, he’s still set events up so that they’re able to escape scrutiny unless ones knows what to look for, and in the unlikely event that this particular game is exposed, he can just drop the whole thing and escape with the benefits of the research, leaving the overseers to bear the brunt of the heroes’ assault. Maybe he planned to get enough info out of Nomura to follow the clues to figure out enough of a picture of what AFO’s goals were, but in any case, he knew taking the Queen and his twisted counterpart down wouldn’t really inconvenience the real target of his hunt. And given AFO’s implied spy network and ability to know things he shouldn’t, leaving the keys to his operation to a 2-bit hoodlum he barely has a relationship with rather than his direct successor limits the chances of somebody coming along and trashing this small base and resources before Koichi has need of them. That said, I was impressed by Koichi’s insight here. It’s not to Izuku’s level, and mainly aided by his insight into his master, but he dissects this wall of information and what it means quite quickly, including down to when Knuckle stopped updating it. Taking his hero antics more seriously seems to have increased Koichi’s intelligence. We can only hope one day he gets close to Knuckle’s level, aided by his Quirk’s true capabilities as a fallback option for when his own planning falls short. 8) “That`s good to know, we are well-aware that Pop was a very important member of the team, both with reconnaissance and directing civilians out of harm`s way, but I like to see that knuckles knew of her importance.”-Having lost his original power, Knuckle had to make full use of every available resource and tactic available to him, even the ones that didn’t directly allow him to put his fist into evil’s face. “9) Now, I do wonder how you came to that conclusion Koichi. The part about jumping could be sort of inferred from the drawings, but how are you sure they aren’t faster?”- It seems that his insight into Knuckles is allowing him to pick up on subtle clues in the drawings that we can’t see, or it could be that Knuckles secretly educated him somewhat on his preferred tactics and mentality through on-field experience, meaning he’s understanding the drawings because he knows how Knuckles would usually react to a target, and what would force him to alter his strategy accordingly. Soga might be the one running this show at the moment, but when Koichi gets the confidence to start making his own plan of attack, he might surprise himself by how good he’ll be at it.

10) “Alright, Anti-Air artillery it is then. I`m sure Knuckle has a Flak gun laying around here somewhere.”- Wouldn’t you know it, we have a guy with both flight and blasting capability right here, who doesn’t even need to be encumbered by a heavy weapon to fulfil the same function.

11) “Alright, I`m just being an ass now, we`ve not even got to see what the plan is actually going to be, those are just the main components of said plan.”- Like building a house, you build a plan of attack by sketching out the solid foundations to make it feasible, then add on realistic details and costs involved until it becomes a possibility in reality

12) “ Also, what you mean by tests? Koichi knows how to shot a gun, he already killed before, unfortunately it was off-screen during the timeskip, what a shame we skipped it, but then again, it wasn`t even important anyway”- Yeah, he does know how to shoot to kill, but thanks to Pop getting it into his head that was not the preferred tactic to deal with criminals, he’s gotta brush up on his beginner’s skill with that, then rapidly improve that to a passable level for a life-or-death shootout.

13) “Anyway, are we going to go over his powers again, in case someone forgot what they were due to the timeskip? That`s good, it might give a general idea of how much he improved during

the two years we haven`t seen him being a vigilante

and all that”- That, and also to help Koichi face the self-limitations he’d unconsciously placed on himself, Just like his mom making him forget he could fly, Koichi’s actual true potential is vastly more flexible and powerful that he put into practice, and with these guys pushing him further beyond than he’s gone before, we’re finally at a point where we can see what Koichi would be like as a hero in a life-or-death situation.

14) “Huh. That seems considerably faster than he was before we jumped ahead. Sure, he was already a human bullet, but I think he surpassed the likes of Tensei by a considerable margin.”- Kinda? It’s a bit unclear, but Tensei would likely have the edge in a short-range sprint down a straight line, with faster base acceleration and longer running times that Koichi can keep up, But Koichi has tigher handling of his power and has gradually been improving the speed he can move himself at for longer periods- and that’s not even counting his jumping and climbing abilities for vertical movements as well. @thelreads

[greenhappyseed]

BnHA Ch.348 leak reactions - 100% TOGA TIME!!

I’m amused by the discourse over the opening narration because narration in BnHA has always been wildly inconsistent. Sometimes it’s Future!Izuku, sometimes it’s Current!Izuku, but it can also be an omniscient narrator or Bakugo, Uraraka, Spinner, Hawks, etc. (I think these are the characters that have narrated at some point? Maybe also Shiggy?)

Without seeing the official translation and full context, I suspect it’s an omniscient narrator telling us about Izuku’s internal panic at realizing Toga actually loves him and he never noticed. Like a year ago he talked to a girl for the first time, and then talked to a girl on the phone for the first time. Now a girl loves him? Nerdy him? Worse, he knows it’s 100% true and not a battle tactic (thanks Danger Sense!) and he was oblivious the whole time???

Toga ASKS for Izuku’s blood!! Yes girl, consent!! Seriously, that’s a big step for her. She’s trying so hard. She also mentions the middle school boy she killed, so we can close that loop.

Izuku says no, “lovers” should hold hands, go to amusement parks, and share crepes. OKAY. First, IIRC Toga used the word “lover” in the last chapter, even if it got translated to “boyfriend” in English, so if Izuku is imitating her language, that’s pretty cool. Second, his response doesn’t sound like a realistic idea of love AT ALL. It sounds like the shojo word vomit you’d expect when you ask a clueless 16 year old dude about romance. Izuku doesn’t have a model of a functional adult love in his life (at best he has Maseru and Mitsuki) and has no idea.

Meanwhile, Toga knows exactly what love means for her. It’s odd and violent, maybe, and definitely not sustainable in its current form, but she knows what she wants — to become who she loves by drinking their blood. It’s the heroes who don’t know what they want, which is precisely why she asks.

Izuku says he understands Toga because he wanted to become like All Might, the assumption being he loves and admires All Might. (I can practically hear Tsu rolling her eyes and saying “Fanboy.”) But then Izuku spells out the difference: He doesn’t want to hurt the people he admires, whereas Toga needs to. Commence fighting, because Toga’s tired of hearing everyone tell her she can’t show her love her way. She even asked Izuku nicely and he responded the same as other heroes.

Ochako says Toga’s been on her mind and Toga pulls an AFO move, saying only Izuku’s been on her mind. That ploy pissed off Bakugo in the war, freaked out Izuku post-Nagant with the “your turn” bit, and now we’ll see how Ochako reacts!

Toga attacks and cuts Ochako right after saying she hoped they’d understand each other since they’re similar. Hmmm, so if Toga is making Ochako bleed, then that means Toga might still love Ochako too, despite saying Izuku’s been her focus.

Tsu attacks back and saves the day by reminding everyone of their proper roles in the plan. She regretted moping after the forest raid and not helping her friends in Kamino, so it’s nice to see her jump into the fray and use her bluntness to her advantage.

Tsu also says Toga was sent to an island to counter her unpredictability…but Izuku’s gonna float off to UA, and Toga now has some of Ochako’s blood…so will Toga try to go alongside him? Will Toga and Ochako come to an understanding and go together?

Narrative-wise, I really dig how Toga says she loves Izuku, yet grabs him and begs him to stay. Tsu and Ochako care deeply about their friend and refuse to let Izuku be a lone superhero, yet Tsu tells Izuku to release Blackwhip and Ochako tells him to leave.

I hope Horikoshi is going to do a bit more than have Ochako pull a “if you love someone, let them go.” Or like, “You’re right Toga, we are the same. I do love Izuku. But if I ever want him to be my boyfriend, I can’t think about it now. Right now I’ve got let him stop Shigaraki, otherwise the world we love will decay and nobody will ever smile again.”

I want to see Ochako emphasize how much Toga’s smile and happiness matters. Ochako got so many chapters to defend Izuku and I want her to bring that to Toga. Izuku has helped Toga-as-Ochako, and Ochako has helped Toga-as-Izuku. But now I want Ochako to help Toga-as-Toga. It’s just devastating to hear Toga talk about how the simple act of loving others makes living too hard.

[pocketramblr]

Hello my deer Pocket! I was wondering if there was an AU of yours for wish you would like to share headcanons? (If there is nothing don't force yourself.)

Yeah have a vampire au collection:

- Nemuri is a rokurokubi, Sushi is a bakeneko. They're clanless, but manage a buisness for supernatural enchantments.

- There's a difference between born-vampires and dhampir. Yoichi is a born-vampire so he's always been undead. Sorahiko is a dhampir, which means he'll live a human life, but imediately turn vampire when he dies without anyone biting him.

- it's considered very taboo to bite a dhampir and try to turn them while still in their human life.

- AfO wanted a cure for vampirism so he could turn Yoichi human, then bite him and re-turn him undead, so he'd have more control over him as a scion. This obviously failed but like yikes right

- Ibarra is a hunter. She befriended Shinsou before he was turned, and initially suspected him of being a vampire, but he tested as human. He's really hoping she won't think to do another test a few years later to double check. (She won't, that would look like doubting the divine.) (He also knows she would hold being right about vampires existing when he didn't believe her initially over his head. She would.)

- there's always a slight risk of turning a human not working, though many factors influence it. That's part of why Izuku's still human, even if his odds are good they're better when he's an adult... And humans have their own power

[obsessive-dumpling]

so, you stated you wanted someoned to discuss chapters, well I AM HERE to talk about 362( or any other cjapter you'd like)

Amazing! I love it! Where should we begin? I'll give you some initial thoughts but feel free to redirect.

From the start my focus was on Tamaki. Horikoshi did that well. Because at the end of 361, I started to fear that HE would be the one to die in 362. I don't know how or why but I feel like the readers were meant to FEEL death coming. And it did. Just not how we expected it. Not to say I wanted Tamaki to die, because I didn't, but I also didn't want THIS. Either way. When Shigaraki calls out, "USE YOUR HEADS!" We immediately see Bakugo respond. And we knew he would, right? Because he had started really observing and reading Shiggys moves and muttering like Izuku in 361. This is when my stomach began to sink. The focus of the chapter had changed. It was no longer about Tamaki and the big three but instead about Bakugo. Namely, about Bakugo and what he thought Izuku would do in this situation. As he re-approaches the battle he says that "Gotta win...right Izuku...?" This hesitation feels telling, but I'm not exactly sure what of. Is this referencing Izuku's unhealthy self sacrificial nature OR is this referencing his and Izuku's fight during their test battle with All Might where Izuku yelled at him for saying he'd "rather lose than work with Deku". Because those are definitely two very different paths to walk. Honestly I could get stuck here all day so I'll push on. Next we see the results of his channeling of Izuku's habits as he figures out the pattern in Shiggys moves. We also see that his explosions have taken a new shape. I actually got super super hung up on this IMMEDIATELY because to me they remind me of what Izuku and Bakugo looked like through "Search" the quirk that AFO took from Ragdoll. I'm specifically referencing when they were trying to lead AFO/Shiggy away from the city during the first battle of the war. I don't know why but I can't stop thinking about that. Of course what happens next is a narrator returns to explain what's happening with Bakugo and it is safe to assume that this is Izuku. He is the narrator of the story and it has rarely NOT been him. To me, this was not a good sign. Bakugo is having a quirk awakening, and the mood has shifted almost to reluctance. This is odd because Izuku is both obsessed with quirks and obsessed with Katsuki. And then... Bakugo takes back the narrative. It was at this moment that I was repeating "no, no, no, no!"

"So, Izuku...can I...still catch up to you?"

I felt like I had been punched in the gut. And with a light in his eyes that reflects his changed explosion....I don't even really know what to say about that without my soul shattering. So, this is where Shiggy/AFO (we aren't quite sure which is having this vision of Second) panics and connects the Second with Katsuki. Which I mean, we all wanted, but not like this! At this snap, we already see that "explosion" in Katsuki's eye dimming, AND THEN- *snap* welcome to vestige world. We all knew here right? He looks so stress free. The most stress free we have probably ever seen him. He uses his pretty face instead of his gremlin face the e n t i r e time! Especially when remembering [seemingly] the last time him and Izuku were happy and laughing together. Ugh. And then....and then everyones heart breaks as his bursts...freeze frame as the big three can do absolutely nothing to stop The Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight's death. As if we aren't suffering enough, we see that his last move put him almost on par with All Might from the beginning of the manga. We have his mom, thinking and speaking of him, as he dies. Jeanist on the brink, Monoma on the phone (sidenote: I haven't seen anyone talk about this but HE IS ON THE PHONE! Which means someone else- OUTSIDE OF THE PRESENT COMPANY- KNOW what is happening), Miriko trying her fucking best but not being fast enough, Mirio breaking and of course, to really drive it home, Aizawa losing one of his precious kids. We end on this tragically beautiful, double spread piece of him sprawled and bloody. With our only smidge of hope being that the light in his eye, dim yet not extinguished is still present.

Now. What do we want to address? 😭

[ripplestitchskein]

Bakugou’s behavior right before he dies is still so fucking suspicious and weird??

Right after AFO grabs him is when Bakugou gets the weird light in his eyes. Like his iris goes white, and at first I was “oh, like he’s just upset that he said that about being Izuku’s shadow”.

But then he completely ignores Jeanist when he’s trying to sew up his arm up and says “..Right” like he’s answering someone else. He seemed distracted, not defeated.

And he repeats that, “Right” in the next issue before he tells Jeanist to take care of everyone, not like he’s psyching himself up but like he’s coming to terms with something or replying to something, but like it also clearly states that he didn’t know his cluster attack was going to do that to his body, soooo wtf is that about? It seems very out of character. That’s what’s sat wrong with me this whole fucking time. Why would he say that if he didn’t know this was gonna happen?

It just seemed like he’s talking to someone, and it’s right after AFO grabs him and we’ve already established that All Might couldn’t communicate with the vestiges either until he was touching Midoriya in the hospital. And then we have this panel of 2nd user right after that when AFO starts talking about how angry he is.

And also he’s like talking to the All Might vestige and again he starts off with “Oh right,” like he’s mid conversation and continues to tell him about the card.

A few issues back the vestiges were talking to each other and plotting to do something to help Midoriya and I was like “that’s odd, how are you gonna do something to help him externally, you are literally in his head”.

It’s all fucking strange. Like if Bakugou was truly going to go out with a weird side effect of his quirk (which, fucking lame way to go imo, like wtf) it should have been during a moment of like regular Bakugou high intensity and then he like falls down, not having a peaceful moment where he calmly walks back into battle and fires off explosions without a peep, like he knew what was gonna happen even though the text tells us very explicitly he didn’t?

I just don’t get it. And it seems hella suspect. There’s shenanigans afoot.

I mean maybe I’m wrong and just being a deluded stan or whatever, but it just doesn’t add for me and it never has. It’s incongruent with the story so far, it’s a very meaningless death for a very important character especially considering how impactful he’s been throughout, and it’s a death that in no way suits the character themself. It’s like if he died right before battle from like, tetanus or something. It’s hardly better than an offscreen death of a major character. He didn’t save anyone. He didn’t change anything. He didn’t have an ironic death or a particularly emotional one. Like it’s emotional for us because we’re attached to him and he’s fucking dead but if another character we weren’t as attached to died in that exact same way where a little box of text had to explain why they died we’d be like “well that was anticlimactic, wtf why were we shown this?”

Even after reading the entire text straight through from beginning to end I think it’s even fucking more suspect now than I did when I just had the one issue and the synopsis. If the point of the death is that sometimes deaths are pointless and meaningless in a war or whatever or like pushing yourself too hard can lead right this than as a writer I have to question why would you put in that much time and effort developing a character like BK when you could use literally anyone else and get the same messaging across.

[hamliet]

I feel like people confuse heroes with what we know here in America as cops lol

What’s so wrong with Hawks killing Twice is that he’s claiming to be a hero. Heroes don’t kill. And people keep comparing them to real life cops who kill when they deem it’s necessary, or whatever.

Now don’t get me wrong I don’t think cops should kill either, but that’s a different discussion. But the bottom line is you can’t call yourself a hero if you can’t find a way to save people without killing someone else, and Hawks is doing just that, and the other “heroes” are allowing it, which in my opinion makes them not *true* heroes.

Why people insist on forcing cop values onto fictional heroes is beyoooond me.

So I got this ask like two months ago (at least; it might’ve been longer) and wrote out a response, but decided not to post it because it is a complex answer. With the diskhorse now revived and rearing its ugly head, I decided to refine a bit of this and post my thoughts. 

I don’t think a distinction between cops and heroes is really important, since as far as we have seen in BNHA... we aren’t really sure of the distinction, plus at least for me as an American, I can’t comment on Japan’s system (and there’s a major racism factor in the US).

We have seen heroes willing to kill in the manga (I mean, they were all trying to kill Tomura), though. This fits with this chapter’s (314) indication of a highly corrupt system. 

I also completely agree with you: in general (look extreme situations exist, but BNHA thus far isn’t in one; it will likely have one towards the end with AFO) if you can’t find a way to save a life without it coming at the cost of another, that isn’t something heroic to be celebrated, and that’s a cheap-ass view of justice (also as a personal value). It’s a tragedy, not something to be admired or inspired by or to aim for, all of which are generally responses to heroism as a concept (within our world and within BNHA). 

This idea--that killing is not heroic--is also reflected in the story for the most part: from chapter one, we are told a hero saves. We can thus conclude that someone who does not save is probably not intended to be seen as heroic in that moment (which is not the same as condemning them as a monster who cannot change). That is clearly a value of the story, so to uphold this, Twice’s death (since this is the scenario wherein this tends to be discussed) has to be wrong, thematically speaking. 

On the correlation of cops/heroes... it is complicated.

In general, I think it’s poor analysis to directly correlate fiction (especially when the work is from another culture than one’s own) to real current events, and particularly when they are so raw, real, and painful. At the same time, I also get that it’s impossible for brains not to make connections and see familiar circumstances in them. However, this doesn’t mean that 1=1 but instead is a blurry reflection in a mirror: the arguments and logic are not entirely removed from the real world, even if not intended to be 1=1 equivalents (by equivalents I mean direct representations of a particular real life event/concept). Even if the author does not intend the reflection, it can still exist and be picked up on by readers, or by the fandom in their respective contexts/cultures. This is not “wrong” of fans; we.all do this.

So, to return to how Twice’s death is analyzed within the specific context of fandom, I’m reluctant to equate it to the real world, while at the same time indeed finding it almost impossible not to shiver at the way the arguments used by hero stans mimic rhetoric from the real world. Personally, I do find it disturbing how many people come to my inbox and make the same exact arguments as “blue lives matter” folks. Of course it is fictional and therefore different, but it can trigger things especially given the current events in the US, where I live. I’m unsettled by said argument even with contextual and cultural changes taken into account, because on a “personal value” level, the arguments are just flat invalid, rooted in a very shallow understanding of justice, and prone to the whims of injustice. Additionally, many of the asks I’ve gotten do indeed draw on the real world “well it’s okay for real world cops/soldiers/etc” directly, which is partially why I think I’ve responded heatedly before, and why I think other meta writers have done the same. 

That does not mean these fans inherently have a certain point of view (many don’t); I’m just saying that the similarities in arguments specifically around the morality of using lethal force against a potential criminal is hella yikes for me personally, and I know I’m not alone in this (and also know that people closer to these issues than myself might feel differently too; there are no monoliths). Anyways, I wish more hero fans would acknowledge this when justifying Twice’s death. It’s fair to discuss it within the realm of the series’ portrayal of morality, and the story has been odd with the framing around Twice’s death: the narrative hasn’t called Hawks out (yet), while also portraying Hawks unequivocally as in the wrong during the actual murder (look at the panels again. Horikoshi drew them that way for a reason). 

But people often revert to real world justice arguments to vindicate Hawks, and... maybe don’t? 

Is Hawks brainwashed? To an extent, yes. He’s not more or less culpable than Dabi or Shigaraki just because the law gives him a license to kill. We can discuss ideological motives and how they impact the degree to which a character will be held responsible in a story because, of course, it is not the real world and is for a message, but that’s for another day. He needs a chance to free himself, but you can’t say that he did not do something wrong by killing Twice. That doesn’t make him a monster.

Anyways I think the fandom ought to be more sensitive and self-aware of the arguments we are making, and where they come from. 

[queerenteen]

The character development that Bakugo Katsuki got just, hits me sometimes? It’s just so beautifully done that I have to stop whatever I’m doing (like my trig homework) and appreciate it.

I always keep coming back to this one line from chp 285 which just seals the deal for me. 

I mean every single thing in that chapter, or even the entire war arc is amazing but this one line just completely redefines him.

“Even if One for All is a cursed power--” 

The next few panels show how he thinks that the people (All Might and Deku) make the power heroic.

(also bakugo’s expression in that last panel just kills me)

But, is that something that Bakugo at the beginning of the manga would have thought?

The one who believed that victory and strength were the ultimate goals, who was completely willing to sacrifice everything for the perfect win, and got into UA with the highest villain score but zero hero points?

Who believed that a powerful quirk was the indication of the strongest hero?

Logically, OFA is the strongest quirk in their world.

Sure, you can argue and say that AFO which gives the user multiple quirks or Todoroki’s Half Hot-Half Cold which are powerful and balanced, or even Bakugo’s explosions or Momo’s Creation could take that title.

But speaking from a biological perspective (my stem nerd side just jumped up and down with glee), the passing of OFA is what makes it so powerful.

The combining of the original (and incredibly powerful) quirk with those of several other heroes, with increase in variation and deepening of the quirk’s power (the quirk singularity theory) which all cumulated within Deku, makes it an awe-some power.

Even Shigaraki/AFO almost levels an entire city trying to take away OFA.

The combination of super-strength, super-speed and even affecting of air pressure from the original power stock-piling quirk with blackwhip for restrainment and offence, float and even danger sense (four of the seven existing OFA quirks that we have seen so far) is absolutely unstoppable.

But it also tears the user apart.

Bakugo Katsuki, who would do anything for total victory, to be the absolute best that there could be, calls the most powerful quirk a curse because of what it does to Deku.

While pro heroes like Manual are in awe of the power (also why is Rock Lock the only one questioning why a teenager is the one fighting, get it together adults), Bakugo is in absolute panic because Deku is wrecking himself with OFA.

If that complete shift in mentality isn’t peak character development, I don’t know what is.

{also sidenote: how do I think this shift affects the dynamic between Deku and Bakugo? 

Well, the way they are now is so at odds to how they began: they are probably one of the, if not the most important people in each others lives.

This is illustrated heavily by Bakugo’s sacrifice and how Deku becomes absolutely feral when AFO insults that sacrifice; and how they are the ones that the other asks about first--the top priority.

Do I think that this is leaning towards the romantic side of the pairing?

I would like to hope so, because having not one, but two of the main charcaters be top pro heroes and also queer would mean so much to me; because people do tend to assume that one cannot be queer and also a hero (as shown in the media, most hero stories are so heteronormative it’s painful). I mean, you can like people of the same gender and still fight good.

But as someone who’s best friend is probably the most important person in my life, I know that platonic relationships can be as, if not more impactful than romantic ones.

Saying that, do I still think that they’re queer (for each other)?

Yeah. I love my bestie, but I don’t look at her the way Bakugo and Deku look at each other.}

(take note of the dramatic lighting, the briefest of ‘touches’ and the reaction--it’s like some shit out of regency novel)

(The first time I read the last panel I proceeded to gape in shock, almost trip over myself and fall flat on my face getting out of bed so i could grab my phone from my desk and call my best friend and then do the vocal equivalent of a keysmash for five minutes. This picture is picked up from a screenshot i sent to her in an email with the title: the gayest thing i have laid my eyes on.)