#CRYING OVER TOUYA IS A PERSONALITY TRAIT

[inkykeiji]

Idk if this is a silly question but is there ever a point or situation where touya-nii isnt so jealous and possessive to where she’s allowed friends? or it doesnt matter cause hes borderline sociopath

hi anon!

tw: abusive relationships, toxic relationships

to answer your question: nope! the raging jealousy and possession/possessiveness are kind of like two of his core traits when it comes to her. i talk about touya’s need for control + power a lot and this is heavily connected to that. he desires control over every single aspect of her life. to him, he literally cannot fathom why she’d ever need friends when she has him and natsuo (this sentiment in particular comes from his antisocial personality disorder (sociopathy) which mostly inhibits him from forming and understanding meaningful relationships. natsuo, his mother, and his reader are technically exceptions to the rule, but as i’ve said before, his ‘love’ for them is twisted and thorny and toxic).

this is also an abuse tactic, whether touya is actively aware of it or not, to keep her beneath his thumb completely and entirely. a lot of abusers will slowly and almost systematically cut their victim off from any support lines (friends and family) so they become trapped and completely reliant on their abuser. the last thing touya would want is some ‘outsider’ looking in and possibly putting ‘ideas’ in his precious brainwashed baby’s brain. thus, if she were to desperately need a friend and beg and cry and plead for it, after being unreasonably offended by it all, the only way touya would allow it to happen would be through supervised visits (and probably a thoroughly vetted ‘friend’).

in this respect, bmb reader would actually be a good candidate, because she is in an abusive and toxic relationship as well, and she is less likely to raise as many alarm bells as someone who isn’t in their position would. granted, bmb reader is a brat and has more freedoms than tnii reader does, and she’d definitely be critical of touya (her and touya would not get along) but not to the point to be a real threat to him.

it is definitely cute, in a twisted sort of way, to think about the two of them getting together and having sleepovers and doing homework together and giggling over the phone late at night etc etc all the things bffs do, and it would probably be good for the both of them to lean on each other and have one another there for support and to talk to about their situations. to have someone who, in some capacity, understands. it would be nice for tnii reader to have a friend, honestly. bmb reader not only has that freedom (at least for surface level uni friends) but she also has dabi to lean on, too. tnii reader is entirely alone; it isn’t like natsuo is ever on her side. it is honestly very tragic, and very heartbreaking, when you think about it.

[klonoadreams]

No matter who gives Sawyer the hug- it's ABSOLUTELY going to have a lasting effect afterwards

Cheren? Doesn't know what to do and cautiously tries being nicer

Bianca? Doesn't get it, but cries anyway or just pats her back with a huge smile like "everything's okay!"

Mama? Fits in arms perfectly, follow Mama around a bit, Mama doesn't quite get it

Hilbert? Absolutely caught off-guard with the melting on him-

Ghetsis can get beat off with a stick

Poor Sawyer, even SHE'S confused over her own reaction, which makes someone like Bianca, who would be crying too as she smiles back with a "it's gonna be okay" LIKE.... ghrlkjglkf

Cheren would be like the worst one to handle it, since my own personal headcanon that ties into his actual personality traits is that he REALLY hates how blunt he can be at times, especially when it hurts others (like Bianca)... (but that's also me being a filthy Cheren/Bianca shipper, but honestly, they're cute - they really balance each other out)

He definitely WOULD try to be nicer, in his own way. Like... buys Sawyer a drink, and just stands by her as she sips at it. Very awkward silence, he's just adjusting his glasses, hoping Bianca shows up soon because HE WANTS TO CRY. WHY IS THIS SO HARD.

Even Mama finds something familiar about Sawyer, and while she doesn't get it, she's always willing to support any of her son's friends.

Touya/Hilbert himself, DEFINITELY surprised, but he has this caring side to him, brought on by his Oshawott being the one that often got left behind when trainers went to get their starter Pokemon. She's a shy little gal that's just as emotional and happy to be with him. Sawyer reminds him of her, and so he just...PROTECTIVE MODE.

Ghetsis fuck off challenge

I like to think that N would also have a similar reaction, because he's not USED to human interaction like THIS. Even with Anthea and Concordia, it STILL fucks him up. Because this is someone new, someone...kinda strange.

But also someone who's just like him who has suffered. Anthea and Concordia have also suffered, yes, but they also know more and more means having to keep hush hush over things that Ghetsis could punish them for.

N has more leeway due to his innocence and naivety, but not Anthea and Concordia, so they're just...not as willing as to expose N to the realities that he's been kept from.

(it's not their fault, can you blame them????)

Meeting up with Sawyer is good for N, despite the trauma bonding and the many "oh"

Touya/Hilbert is gonna have to physically beat up SO many people (he will legitimately forego Pokemon battles if push to punch people out - he's done it to the Team Plasma Grunt that kicked the Munna that Bianca decided to catch)

once the truth comes out, you can expect him to have to nearly punch a hole in a wall, because how else would you react to ALL of that???

And seeing it all firsthand???

AND THEN AT N???

Aka, he's every emotion I felt when I reached that part in the game and walked into N's room, just that music box, and the toys...his own little world, knowing only hurt Pokemon, and being raised the way he was, so he could be used.

[sunagitsunee]

TODOROKI TOUYA IS FUCKING PRECIOUS IM GONNA SOB SO BAD ENJI WHY DID YOY RUIN THIS

[whileyoureinschoolidothisallday]

WIP INTRODUCTION: “Bury My Ashes at Sea” -Hero!Dabi x Support!MC AU

He closed his eyes. Every now and then, when your voice was steady enough, you’d hum for him. It was perfect. Calm. Still. He let himself savor the moment. 

It was what he came here for, after all. 

It was why he could put Dabi away and let Touya pretend he was still alive for a little while. All those on death row got a final request, and this was his. You, propped up with pillows, sitting against your headboard. Him, laying his head flat in your lap, the tips of his fingers trailing back and forth across your leg he was using like a pillow. Your hands caressing his face. 

The silence of paradise is only broken by the sound of your sniffling. You’d stopped actively crying a few minutes ago, but it was only a matter of time before you started up again. You’d been off and on throughout the night. A twinge of bitterness struck his chest every time he heard the hitch of your breath. Of course, he meets the one person who wanted him to stay, begged him to stay, after he was already dead and ruined. After there was nothing to be done.

“Man. Whoever’s running things up there’s got a sick sense of humor, don’t they?” He grinned, lifting a hand to wipe your remaining tears. His hand lingered on your cheekbones. “Wish I could’ve met you when things were different.”

A watery smile lifted your lips. “Me too.”

“You would’ve been a menace to the old man as a kid.”

“Oh, I would’ve never let him know peace,” you said with a laugh. “I’ll bully your shitty parent if you bully mine.”

“Deal.”

The two of you laughed. Again, it was both paradise and purgatory. Like touching his fingers to yours behind a wall of glass. You were right there. He had you. But the world he always craved was just out of reach. 

He pressed a soft peck to your inner thigh. 

“Love you, doll,” he whispered against your skin. He wasn’t sure if he actually did. He was still clinging to the idea that love was supposed to make him feel some kind of different. Everything felt as numb as always. 

But if he could love anything, he'd want it to be you.

You made a half-laugh, half-choking sound. The air stilled with another wave of your grief. He closed his eyes again. You hated people seeing you cry. A trait probably learned from the same person who taught you to keep your sorrow so silent. The trembling of your breath was the only give away. 

You turned your gaze away from him, your voice strained with tears. “That’s a bastard move finally saying that now.” 

“Yeah. Sorry.” He gave you a half-smile and wiped more tears from your face. “I’ll haunt you to make up for it. How’s that?”

“How romantic.”

He kept gently catching your tears until you placed your hand over his. You leaned into his touch and caught his eyes. Time slowed, and you both stayed like that awhile, until eventually you leaned down, and he lifted his head to meet your lips with his. 

When you pulled away, your eyes were as soft and sad as the kiss.

“I love you too.”

That was the last time Dabi would ever see you.

The only reason he showed up was to say goodbye. You’ve been broken up for awhile, but who else would he call for his last visit?

In the end, he didn’t want you to forget him.

Now there was nothing else left to do but wait for AFO to call them to war. But instead of the usual fixations, his mind keeps coming back to the last thing you talked about.

What if he had met you before?

What if you grew up together, instead of meeting halfway into each other’s lives?

What if you had a Quirk? And instead of burning, you went to U.A together?

Most importantly, when things inevitably went to hell...

What if you became a Villain with him?

He can’t shake the idea. So with nothing else better to do, he indulges the fantasy.

And he names you...

Hex.

— — — —

Fic Name: “Bury My Ashes at Sea” (aka the hex!fic =D)

Genre: Dabi x Fem!MC, Black!MC, Disabled!MC (uses a wheelchair and is overall Chronically Ill), Support!MC (MC designs and creates a special suit for Touya’s flames), MC has a BadLuck!Witchcraft Quirk, Kid Touya is very Obsessive, Possessive, and a general Unwell Child, but he is also very sweet and lovesick, MC is lowkey just as fucked up as Touya, Developed MC/MC Is Not A Blank Slate

Rating: 16+ (Swearing, potential passive drug use mentions from the real world, makeouts, heavy petting, and plenty of mentions of sex in the real world, but nothing explicit as of right now. I’ll be doing side pieces to this though and some of them for sure will be 18+!)

Themes/Content: Childhood Friends to Lovers, Established Relationship (in the Real World), Villain Couple, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Mutual Pining, Doomed Fate, What If!fic, A Little Pinch of Yandere Vibes For Flavor

Warnings: Canon Typical Parental Abuse, Canon Typical Violence, but also Emotional Gaslighting and Lots of General Gaslighting from MC’s Parent, Eldest Daughter Syndrome, Ableism and Ableism in the form of Quirk Discrimination, Depictions and Mentions of Hospital Stays, Mentions of and Depictions of Bullying, Frequent References to Death, Corpses, Ghosts, and other Death Imagery, Depersonalization and Disassociation Implications, Depictions of Anxiety and PTSD, Emotional Breakdowns, Lots of Self-Hate, Some Stalking Once Touya Becomes Dabi, and again, Possessiveness, Obsessiveness, and slight Yandere vibes (Touya threatens to burn people for MC a lot, MC threatens to curse Endeavor and is...very devoted to Touya we’ll say lol)

Status: First draft--Chapters from Age 13-15 are finished, Age 16 + High School Life + Sports Festival + Age 17 are drafted, and everything else is outlined (I am writing this out of order)

Current Word Count: 11,615

Author Notes: HEY I’M OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCING THE HEX FIC! =D 

This concept spawned because I started watching Fire Force, and then I made myself really irritated thinking about how both Rei and Enji quit on Touya so quickly because “His body wasn’t compatible with his Quirk” when we A. See the main fucking character of MHA have that exact problem and because he is given SUPPORT ITEMS and PROPER TRAINING he’s still being a hero, and B. The Todorokis have more money than God and still didn’t even consider the idea that maybe Touya would be fine with some adaptations, and C. THEY COULD’VE JUST MADE HIM!!!!! A SUIT!!!!!!!!!! All of those things together activated the Disability Angst in me and out of spite I came up with an idea for the suit, put it in context with some selfship stuff I was already plotting, and went wild from there.

Basically, there are a lot of disability discussions in the manga already, but I am Taking It There lol. Also, I’m never getting both Black AND Disabled MCs for my blorbos unless I do it myself, so I’m doing it myself!!!!

I was really inspired by @phen0l​ and her fic “Higher than the Mountain, Deeper Than The Sea” (which you should seriously read btw!!!!!!), specifically her depictions of Dabi’s sense of reality being really unstable by interjecting the past in the narrative text. 

Since this is a fantasy Dabi is entertaining himself (*cough* coping *cough*) with, and VERY much revolving around his wants and desires only, every now and then the narration will be interrupted with red crossed out text revealing dialogue from MC and his relationship in reality. Most of the time it’s his consciousness snitching that ‘Sir, that is not at all what happened’ lol

See if you can piece together how the relationship actually is based off the Snitch Texts. Especially the differences between Hex and Real!MC lol.

If you’d like to be tagged in any other Hex!fic content, including the fic itself of course, send me an ask or let me know in the tags or replies and I’ll add you to the list!

Taglist: @decayish​

[roses-bel-air-darling]

Dabi's Astrology Placements

I wanted to do this post in a long time but I had my work study job and my college courses. Now I have time to get this completed before I go back for my summer courses. So here we go.

Note: It is not complete as I don't know if his whole personality will change. But I am going on his actions as Dabi. Also to the poor anon i've kept waiting on for this post. I am so sorry.

Surprisingly, for someone who's character is related to fire, I see that some of his placements are water given his emotional nature. But that still doesn't mean he doesn't have any fire placements given his sass and energetic self when he was a baby. Before endeavor... look what you did.

Rising Sun: Scorpio

Traits: Strong presence, Determined, Strong Willed, Observant, Mysterious, Quiet, Alluring, Secretive, and Intuitive.

His rising sun is definitely in Scorpio without a doubt, Scorpio risings are known to have strong presence that usually has an intimidating aura of someone not to be pushed around. Another physical trait of people having this placement is their intense big eyes. Which sees through anyone’s exteriors, Scorpio risings sees your true intentions/personality just by meeting you. Literally staring into your soul, given in the placement, Scorpio risings tend to observing their surroundings and individuals. In this case is true for Dabi, as the time with the league kidnapping bakugo, Dabi just stared at him, knowing full well, that Bakugo wasn’t going to join the league. It is the same with Hawks, He knew right away that the hero was lying all along and was just using the league to infiltrate them and his fight with Geten, analyzing his weaknesses.

Sun in Capricorn

Traits: Ambitious, Hard Working, Responsible, Determined, Dependable, Serious, and Stubborn

Given his birthday, Dabi is obviously his sun sign, I know some anime's give random birthdays to their characters and some don’t match their given astrology sign. And just by reading these traits, do I really need to say more? He displayed these traits from his childhood to his time with the league. Capricorns take their responsibilities seriously and want to make their goals and ambitions to happen, As a child, he worked himself to the bone trying to get his father’s attention and love and to see that he was worthy of his love. With the league, he cooperates with them as much he complains at first, he gets the job done and risk his life for the group, and his ultimate goal of revenge against endeavor for failing to be a father and the abuse he suffered from him during his childhood. During the forest training arc with the ambush of the league, having to go back to the hideout, Dabi wanted to make sure they weren't leaving without Bakugo. During his fight against Geten, Dabi was determined to be the one to win and was a bit stubborn that he was certain over the fact he had him.

Moon sign in… Scorpio/Pisces/Cancer?

While the rising sun represents your exterior and first impressions. The moon sign represents your emotions, instincts, and your inner you. Despite his words of ‘not caring’ and putting a front of his 'emotionless' demeanor. He's a very emotional character whose actions contradict his words, evident in his childhood to adulthood. Having a moon in the water placements, the main traits are emotional, sensitive, empathic, caring, and intuitive. Since childhood Touya was an emotional and sensitive child, crying easily when being rejected in his own home by his family and crying when his emotions get the best of him. Yearning for his siblings and mother to understand his pain. In adulthood, due to his trauma from being burned alive and the abuse he suffered from his father. Dabi suppresses his emotions to avoid another fiery outburst to happen again, thus makes him avoiding to connect to the members of the league. As his fire is connected to his emotions. The more he feels the more powerful his fire becomes. Twice's death proved that Dabi still has that side to him as his flames temperature was rising. And he suppressed himself from crying in front of the enemy with his maniac smile and steam from his eye area. And the moment he remembers his family from being hurt of not be recognized in the nomu fight and his reveal to shouto and endeavor, it sounded sarcastic but he was still hurt and remembering his past and his family. Which makes me believe that his moon sign is in the water placements.

Facts: Earth signs (mainly Capricorns) hides their emotions very well but having water placements can pretty much be difficult for them.

Water risings tend to have a lot of trauma, especially in the realm of emotions due to the water houses falling on the cusps of air/earth signs.

Given this as his placements despite his other signs in his chart. Don't! I repeat don't take advantage of his emotional side. He will cut you off and not look back. But if someone so happens to get close, he will cherish you, be sensitive to your needs if he's healed emotionally and mentally and shown how to connect to people in a healthy way. As much as people like to think he's abusive or toxic to his partners due to his 'personality'. It's going to be the complete opposite. He will be distant at first but given his observant nature he will notice your changed behavior and your likes and dislikes and how you are feeling. As he took twice's feelings over his mistake of bringing overhaul and got big sis mag killed and with hawks betraying seriously. He knew twice was going to feel terrible and said that it wasn't his fault. So he will know how you will feel.

This took so long! I wanted to make sure I tried to stay in touch with his character. I couldn't figure out his mars, venus, and other signs in his chart. But I'll one day do a part 2 of this, once I get down to it.

[thyandrawrites]

I haven’t cried since my tear ducts got burned

or: The good of the many vs the existence of the Others: aka what the foiling between Dabi, Hawks and Shigaraki tells us about hero society’s bias on victimhood

Alright, so I’ve been seeing a lot of confusion and unrest in the fandom ever since 267 dropped and Dabi claimed that he doesn’t care about the League, so I decided I’d wear my meta hat and go over the reasons why we’re not meant to take his words to heart there. 

It’s not just that he was lying or that he was being sarcastic. It’s deeper than that, and it touches a few thematic points of bnha as a whole, so it’s worth exploring past the very obvious reading, which is that he’s grieving and he’s angry and he’s not in his right mind. I’ll also go over the shift in his agenda, and the symbolic reason behind his inability to cry. So, without further ado, let’s delve into it. (under a cut for length)

1. Hawks and Dabi are foils. Two sides of the same coin. 

Alright, so a few people might’ve forgotten this detail, with everything that’s happening right now. It’s understandable. So allow me to remind you about this very important key for reading both their actions. 

Foiling is a technique that writers use to draw parallels between two characters. Sometimes those parallels are perfect overlappings, sometimes they work as sharp contrasts between the two. This is used to highlight certain sides of said characters, be it personality traits or mentality / goals / ethics.

So, Dabi and Hawks are foils. How so?

Both are light haired little kids who were completely helpless to change their fate. Both were raised in environments where the choice of what to do with their future was taken away from them by the authority figures in their lives. Both were trained since a very young age, and both were only valued for the heroic potential of their quirks. These are the things that overlap. But there’s also things that position them on two very opposite sides of the same spectrum. While Touya “died” and got free, Keigo remained in his cage. While Touya willingly gave up his name and formed a new identity that gave him meaning, Keigo was forced to give up his and was handed a new identity that depersonalized him. So when Dabi became an agent of societal change, Hawks became the very tool that’s charged with the goal of upkeeping the status quo. 

So, they’re two sides of the same coin. What does this tell us about them, and why is it important now? 

Hawks’ narration informs us that he “doesn’t let sentiment trip him up” in order to carry out his goal. He fully believes this, to the point that it’s only when Dabi reminds him of his civilian persona, the identity he was made to leave behind, that Hawks finally goes for the kill. 

The intent here is clear. Up until this point, Hawks was toeing the line between his own personal wishes and his duty as a hero. We see the two sides of him battle each other. He selfishly wants to capture Jin alive, and tries everything in his power to incapacitate him so that he doesn’t have to kill him. Something that’s worth mentioning here again is that here Jin serves as a physical narrative tool to show us Hawks’ personal wishes. Jin is everything Hawks is not allowed to be by the Hpsc. Jin is free. Jin can relax and “sit back with a nice cold one”. Jin has friends. Jin is valued not for how useful he is to his comrades, but as a person. Jin is what Hawks would be if he wasn’t made to become a hero. However, “Takami Keigo” is no more. Takami Keigo is not allowed to exist, because he gave up that identity, and his duty here is to be The Winged Hero Hawks. 

So, as my friend Linkspooky pointed out in her own meta lately, when Hawks goes for the kill, Hawks is not only a victim screwing up another victim, he’s also making the conscious choice to perpetuate the system - and in doing so, he’s also killing his old identity and the part of himself that wants things in order to be who he needs to be for the job. Because the greater good is more important than his personal wishes. 

How does this relate to Dabi? Well. There is a clear parallelism at play here: just like Hawks tells himself he doesn’t let himself be tripped up by sentiments in order to carry out his goal, Dabi is pretending he hasn’t grown attached to the League because he’s only there to carry out his ultimate revenge against hero society and his dad. 

Both are characters who left something behind in order to be who they needed to be. Hawks, his real self, with all his wishes attached. Dabi, his family and everything else that can distract him from his revenge. 

Just like Hawks, Dabi is not a very upfront character. Both characters repress and compartmentalize a lot, but they just express this in two opposite ways. Dabi by projecting his own self-hatred onto his dad, and Hawks by constantly punishing himself instead and by throwing away the key of his own cage. One's hatred is directed outwards and the other inwards but they're the same feelings of inadequacy, because they are foils. 

Both of them are aware that their methods are wrong on a purely ethical level, but they push that self-awareness to the back of their minds, because their objectives are noble in theory. Hawks is sacrificing himself to take down the league even if it makes him a scummy hero, so that there can be a real peace and heroes can have leisure time. And Dabi is constantly burning his own body to take down fake heroes, even if he had to make his family mourn him to gain freedom, so that there can be a society with no heroes, a place where corruption doesn't exist anymore. Both mindset are flawed, and both are trying to cure a disease by working on the symptoms rather than the causes. And both repress and compartmentalize the things that get in the way of achieving those goals. 

So on the one hand, you have Hawks killing the part of himself he sees reflected in Twice, and punishing himself for wanting things by cutting  short the life of the only person who saw him as a human being and not a tool. On the other hand, you have Dabi insisting that he doesn’t give a shit about the people around him, both allies and enemies, even if caring too much about the family he left behind is exactly the reason why he went crazy. He also keeps inflicting his same fate by burning people to a crisp, subconsciously mimicking the violence and lack of tolerance for weakness or “unworthiness” he was brought up with, in a way essentially punishing the people who remind him of his weak, defenseless past self. 

2. Dabi cannot cry since he “died” because hero society didn't allow him to be a victim. 

So. Dabi being unable to cry can, of course, be just read literally. He bears the scars for it, and it makes sense that he got out of the incident with a few disabilities. However, given the context where we are first informed of it, this serves also as symbolic commentary. 

There is a certain theme at play in bnha. The people we get to witness Deku saving are always little children crying and begging for help. First, Bakugou during the sludge villain incident. Deku only jumps into action when he recognizes him and sees the frustrated, terrified tears in his eyes. 

He later even tells him that the reason he couldn't wait for the right hero to come to the rescue was exactly that: he thought Bakugou had the face of someone who was begging for help. 

From then on, this theme is repeated. We see Kouta crying and hiding behind Deku when the threat of Muscular, the man who killed his parents, comes up. We see Deku refuse to let go a terrified, glossy-eyed Eri and almost screw up the whole operation, and we later see Deku reach out a hand for a sobbing Eri who's desperate to be given a better option than succumb to her abuser.

Crying as a visual narrative tool for invoking help from the heroes is very much a theme in bnha. And it's always small children who do it. Because when a hero sees a small child crying, how can they turn down their help? We are told that this is exactly what heroics boils down to. 

However, we are also told that there are kids who don't get saved. Children that hero society overlooks, and who later end up falling through the cracks. Todoroki Touya was one of them. 

The fact that two of the main villains in bnha, Shigaraki and Dabi, share eerily similar backstories that unequivocally point out the flaws of the Hero system is not coincidental. Both were left to fend off on their own against their respective abusers, both were overlooked by the heroes who should've come to their help when they were small kids crying and begging for help, and both ended up as the main protagonists of their respective tragedies as a result of the heroes’ negligence. 

We are told that Shimura Tenko lived in a neighborhood that was overflowing with heroes. Yet, no one saw the signs of the abuse he lived through daily at the hands of his father. No one was there to prevent the horrible consequences of his quirk activating for the first time. And most importantly, no one was there to offer him shelter and emotional stability in the aftermath of losing all his closest relatives in a blood bath that is on par with a scene straight out of a war zone. Worse yet, adults saw the signs of ptsd on little Tenko's face when he was left to roam the streets in search of a helping hand, and still left him vulnerable to Afo's kidnapping because they counted on heroes to show up. Eventually. They saw a clearly distressed child and didn't even make sure he was looked after while they waited for the heroes to be less busy. The reason why Tenko was kidnapped by Afo and later became a murderer is intentional negligence by the heroes. 

This is a repeated theme in bnha. 

Remember when Bakugou was left to fend off the Sludge villain for minutes on end, even as he was literally being choked and fought to stay conscious, and all the heroes on the scene stood there, unmoving, just waiting for someone else to handle it? 

In a world where there is a surplus of heroes and not enough villains to justify it, it's only normal that heroes lose sight of what heroics should actually be about - putting your life on the line and doing the scary thing that would scare away everyone else, but could potentially save lives - and instead regard heroics as a purely transactional job, an intersection between demand and supply that needs to meet certain criteria in order to unlock the heroes’ help. 

We know that Hori wants us to pick up on this theme because it's presented over and over. The fact that heroics as a whole, as a profession and as an ideal, has been corrupted so deeply, is stated as part of bnha’s worldbuilding. 

It's thanks to this fundamental fallacy, this fundamental negligence, that things like the public’s ignorance of Endeavor's domestic violence can be explained away. 

Shigaraki tells us what’s the psychological mechanism at play here. “Heroes will come to rescue me,” says Deku, someone who has blind faith in hero society. “No they will not. Look at how many fucks they give about you,” says Shigaraki, someone who literally has been in that same position. Waiting for heroes to notice his distress. And was left alone.

I’ve seen people brush Shigaraki and his rightful claims off by virtue of the fact that Shigaraki is a ruthless killer. But it’s exactly because Shigaraki wasn’t born as one, that his words hold meaning. Shigaraki here works as a signifier of just how people fall through the cracks in the first place: because everyone, including heroes, feel too comfortable in their own bubbles. In an age where heroes are constantly patrolling the streets, or punching up bad guys at every corner, or smiling back at you on tv show or maxi digital screens in the middle of town, no one expects evil to lurk out in the open. Sitting at a mall, holding a deadly hand on Deku’s throat. Because All Might’s catchy phrase “I am here” made them constantly feel protected. Watched over. This way they can walk by Shigaraki and Deku and not notice a single thing wrong. They can turn a blind eye because they were taught that someone else is handling it, that someone else is watching. 

But we know that’s not true. Otherwise cases like Shigaraki’s wouldn’t exist.

So. If civilians are turning a blind eye, and heroes are busy watching civilians and villains, who is keeping watch on the heroes? 

This kind of fallacy is exactly how Todoroki Enji could get away with domestic abuse without anyone noticing for more than 22 years. No one, including heroes, ever bothers questioning why Todoroki, a flame user, has a burn scar on his face. No one questions why Todoroki has a very obvious grudge against his (hero) dad, despite being his pupil. Despite having every reason to look up to him as a role model. No one questions that Enji might not be a good dad, not even after they witness the obvious, not even hidden tension between father and son. All Might even obliviously asks him for parenting advice once. And wait for it, it gets better. Rei’s room at the hospital she’s been locked up in for the past ten years has a plaque on the door that reads Mrs. Todoroki. Right there in plain sight for everyone to see. Yet no one ever questions it. Todoroki Touya died young, very likely as a result of Enji's actions and choices, and to this day, even though Enji openly admits to his culpability, even if his own children still can't forgive him for it, he has yet to be held accountable for it by the public at large. The public who a few months ago, back in december, crowned him the number one hero and symbolic heir of All Might, the person who can beat up bad guys and keep everyone (but his own son) safe. 

If no one expects Endeavor to be an abuser, it goes without saying that no one recognizes Touya’s status as a victim, too. By denying his victimhood, they also deny him his right to be a crying child begging to be saved. They doomed him to die alone instead, and be snuffed out by his own fire. While his father walked away without any legal consequence, and was free to finally reach the goal he abused his kid for, becoming number one. 

So. Dabi cannot cry - both literally and symbolically - ever since his tear ducts burned up when he “died”. This is when the thematic transformation began. By “dying”, he also stopped being a victim altogether. He became one of the punishers instead. An adult who cannot cry, and who turns on the evils that wronged him and left him to deal with his demons alone. Aka corrupt heroes. Like Endeavor. Like Hawks. 

The fact that Dabi cannot cry, but also refuses to show sadness when Hawks murders his friend in front of him, is relevant as more than a simple statement about his disabilities. It’s also a symbolic way for Hori to make a point on a deeper level. 

I talked in point 1 about how Hawks is a violent tool put there to guard the continued existence of the current status quo. In this post here I explained why more in detail. But basically: when he takes Jin down, Hawks dehumanizes him. He refuses to listen to Jin’s words, refuses to see him as person and understand his point of view. When Jin begs and tries to reason with him that the league is what gave him a home and understanding, that the league is not the faceless monster Hawks thinks they are, Hawks shoots the clones down with his feathers. 

What we can take away from this is pretty straightforward. Hawks the hero cannot empathize with villains, because empathizing means seeing his own share of responsibilities. It means accepting that hero society is not as righteous as he claims it to be, and if he starts thinking of it that way, he cannot be a tool for the system anymore. He’d lose his entire remaining sense of identity. So what he does instead is sticking to self-absolution. Intentional negligence. He refuses to see Jin’s begging and crying, and keeps holding a sword to his throat. Comply, or I’ll have to kill you. Because Jin’s personal feelings don’t matter, in the grand scheme of things. 

By trying to force Jin to reintegrate with the society that casted him out and sent him spiraling, without acknowledging that hero society did those things to him, Hawks is pushing for a reading of this whole affair that justifies his own actions - but not Jin’s. What Hawks is saying is that villains are people who choose to be monsters. They are not victims. Jin is the only good egg, because he is a good man, uncorrupted, but if he resists him, if he doesn’t wanna be wiped clean by the heroes “justice” then Jin also becomes a subversive element that needs to be taken down. See what’s happening? Jin’s victimhood can be entirely stripped away from him the moment it inconveniences the upkeep of the status quo. 

So when Dabi cannot cry in front of Hawks - Hawks who once again, is a symbol of the hero society he’s defending - it’s not just because he’s physically unable to. But also because hero society didn’t let him stay a victim, either, and instead stripped that helplessness away from him, painted him as an unfeeling, bloodthirsty monster, until Dabi eventually became one. 

3. It’s the Heroes’ fault / There are no real Heroes

Once again, Hori is intentionally drawing a parallel between Dabi and Shigaraki here. 

There is Dabi who cannot cry to express his grief and there is Shigaraki who cannot mourn because he’s wearing the hands of his victims on his body. 

There are two kids who weren’t rescued when they needed heroes the most, and there are two kids who end up hating heroics as a whole as a result of being left behind. Shigaraki hates All Might’s “I am here” catchphrase because All Might wasn’t there to save him. Dabi hates the rhetoric that heroes rescue people, because even heroes who are famous for being the types to rescue others, arbitrarily decide to label people like him and Twice as ruthless monsters that need to be taken down. 

Those smiles are a rebellion in their own right. They refuse to comply to the expectations of hero society. Hawks’ words when he faults Dabi for not showing sadness show once again how much he dehumanizes him. He literally just killed Dabi’s friend, and five seconds later he bitches to Dabi for not mourning according to easily understandable standards. 

What they end up embracing is instead a violent form of lashing out. While it’s certainly true that both their narratives address the flaws of the hero system and directly call out on screen the consequences of those flaws, the consequences Dabi and Shigaraki embody, it’s also true that neither one of them is actively looking for social revolution. It’s quite the opposite. What they’re seeking out is the violent destruction of the status quo. 

Shigaraki wants to destroy everything he doesn’t like (with the sole exception of the things his friends like). Dabi wants to rid the world of heroes. 

I waited for the official scans to check because they’re usually more reliable in terms of nuance, and Dabi says “there are no true heroes”. There is a significant shift in Dabi’s agenda here - or there seems to be, according to Caleb’s translation. Before this arc, Dabi’s vengeance was fully directed at fake heroes. The corrupt kind. The heroes “riddled with holes” according to a different past translation. Back then, Dabi’s words sounded more like the vendetta you’d expect from a guy who had a grudge against a single person. As a matter of fact, I did write several posts myself about how I thought (and still think) that back then Stain’s ideology was just a front for him. it gave him a good reason to go after his dad, but that was it. I don’t think he was doing it for a bigger goal other than killing Endeavor, not even for his family, because if societal change was really what he wanted… well, he could’ve easily destroyed hero society by revealing his identity forever ago. 

I’ve said this before, but Dabi is a character who relishes in having the upper hand over his opponents. He shows this by shouting out their full names in front of them, showcasing that he knows something that the other doesn’t. Dabi is a character who is purposefully and consistently shown to hold his trump card close to his chest, because he is aware that it gives him an advantage. Dabi knows his own weaknesses all too well. He knows he cannot overpower his enemies by relying on brute strength alone - it’s why he often only barges into a fight when he either has an easy way out or a clear advantage. He did this with Hawks too, waiting until Hawks was “tripped up by his personal feelings” to catch him off guard and gain the (momentary) upper hand. His awareness of his own weaknesses is exactly what makes him rely on his smarts and on strategy. 

Right now, Dabi is quite literally the most dangerous character in bnha. The information he keeps to himself is so powerful it could undo hero society. He could  destroy the status quo any moment if he were to reveal that the number one is a violent domestic abuser who killed him, and that similarly the number two hero is also a murderer who not only killed a villain on the job (something we were expressly told heroes aren’t supposed to do), but also sacrificed the beloved Best Jeanist, a fellow “good guy”. 

Yet, he never before now made use of that information. Had he wanted to truly expose the hero system for a violent police state that uses armed oppression of dissent by design to upkeep its privilege, he could’ve easily done that ages ago. All he’d have to do was gain notoriety as a villain and then tell the League who he was. Yet, he kept that card close to his chest because he presumably only wanted to reveal it in his showdown with his father. 

Until now. 

This is a pivotal change for his character. 

When he says “there are no real heroes” he is denying that there can be good heroes, the ones who aren’t fake, ones that actually do save people. He’s saying that everyone is the same. They’re all corrupt, because they all work to preserve a system that lets people like Jin die. People like Todoroki Touya die. And I mean. He’s right. 

This is a Dabi who just went through the shock of seeing Hawks kill someone. And with this I don’t mean that Dabi trusted him. We know he didn’t buy that Hawks was a villain sympathizer from the start. He knew Hawks only wanted in as a spy. We don’t know why he let him join, possibly just to exploit him, but I also think Dabi did seriously not see this coming. 

Before this plot twist, it can be noted that Dabi’s way of interacting with Hawks aligns perfectly with how he addresses other pro heroes, not fellow villains. With the league, he’s rude, dismissive, he insults them plenty. When he is talking to Hawks, though, he’s chatty, jeering, smiling. He taunts Hawks by telling him Hawks saves people like all heroes are supposed to do instead of proving to Dabi that he is actual villain material. 

Dabi thought Hawks was a hero through and through, and didn’t trust him as a result, exactly because Hawks was the type of heroes who always made sure to save everyone. 

When Dabi attacked Hawks from his blind spot, he was counting on Hawks to get Jin out of the way. This wasn’t him just being careless with the league’s lives. This was him getting an accurate if partial reading of Hawks. Hawks was trained to always prioritize saving people. What Dabi does not expect is for Hawks to be trained to be little else but a tool. 

It’s only when Hawks gets unmasked as another fake hero, just like his dad, keeping a front of moral rectitude only to hide the skeletons in his closet, that Dabi finally shifts. He no longer wants to rid society of fake heroes. He wants to rid it of heroes altogether. This way, he basically aligns himself with Shigaraki’s agenda. Much like him, he’s not preaching for selective cleansing or societal change. Hawks’ life doesn’t matter to him anymore. No one else’s life matters to him anymore. He wants the indiscriminate destruction of the status quo, and he positions himself as the first domino piece to set off that chain reaction. Sure, he might think that a factory reset might eventually lead to a change, to a better society emerging from the ashes of the corrupt one, but for the moment, his goal aligns with Shigaraki’s. It’s destructive, not constructive. 

Hawks, like the society he represents, denied Dabi his victimhood and then doomed the whole league to die by choosing not to save the one guy who was arguably the least villainous of them all. 

Dabi responds by finally embracing his role as a destabilizer. He reveals his trump card, his real name, and relishes in the final upper hand he has over Hawks.

Shigaraki said: “The king has returned”. 

Dabi says: “You should’ve kept both eyes on me.” 

Both are destroyers, and both have legit reasons to turn against hero society. 

4. Dabi wasn’t there when Magne died.

We finally reach the last point! 

Magne’s death, bloody and graphic as it was, served the narrative purpose of finally cementing the league as a unit, fighting together for the same goal. It also served the purpose of letting Shigaraki grow into the leader he is today. Someone who doesn’t let his friends behind, and someone who makes his enemies pay for hurting his comrades. 

The point of interest here is that Dabi was absent during her death. This was significant plot-wise, because removing Dabi from that gorey sight, and from the emotional bonding amongst the League that followed, Horikoshi meant to draw him apart from them, to make him go off on his own on occasions, to show us that he had a different goal that Shigaraki didn’t share. 

This time, the reverse is happening. When Twice, the core of league, is killed in a gorey bloodbath by an external agent coming there to disrupt the League’s unity, Dabi is the only person present to witness it. 

My guess is that this was not done by chance. It’s Dabi’s turn to let the loss of a comrade make him grow. Possibly grow closer to the league, too, and finally share his goal with Shigaraki. But it’s definitely his screentime. Quite likely also Tomura’s, given the huge amount of narrative foiling between them I just went over, as well as the fact that Shigaraki has been markedly absent from all the action so far. 

Predictions? I don’t dare making any yet. It’s a bit too soon to delve my toes in the theory pot anyway. But whatever is the direction Hori intends to take this… with this amount of foiling at play... there’s one thing I can say for sure. It’s gonna be even more intense from now on. 

[ignitification]

you know I'm seeing a design pattern in Dabi dabi wears blacks clothes as an adult and he wears little clothing as a child i feel like Dabi wearing dark clothes is a sort of regection and rebellion. he has mulitple pearcing it makes me think it means something in consertive japan societys having multiple peiarceings is forwned upoun i feel like it would symbolize another of dabi's inner rebellion against endevor and the very society that allowed an abusive man to be a hero

Hey anon. I agree with you on the Design Pattern about Dabi, but at the same time I am not entirely sure of whether it does apply to his development and rebellion as you think it does. 

Dabi’s colour scheme is focused on the contrast between dark and light, and in particular Blue, Red and the Purple that comes up when you mix them (however, White is also a huge influence on him). Which (as you can find here and here) is somehow the baseline of his personality traits, ambitions and fears, trauma and dreams, mixing up and spitting out a broken individual, who cannot cry, nor does feel pain (because, as for pain goes, being burned alive is the most painful experience someone might have, therefore, after that I think that Dabi can be easily entered in the Top 3 of BNHA character who can resist pain, with the other two being Shigaraki and Izuku). To these characteristics we can add the fact that Dabi’s personality is as straightforward as it is manipulative and somehow off-putting. He is very careless in a certain way, but at the same time he is calculating and smart enough to survive for years after being burned to death. The fact is, Touya Todoroki and Dabi are his contrasting personalities, and even if Touya died during that fire when he 13, he still lives in the whiteness of Dabi’s hair (I think he started dyeing his hair not only for a practical reason to actually go unnoticed, but as well to forget his older counterpart and start a new beginning, while letting go of everything but his hate and resentment) and in the burns covering his body. This can be also said for the piercings adorning his whole body: after all he metal pins himself to get his burned skin together with the one still unblemished, which represent, in my opinion, the will to keep together himself and his feelings (the same as Twice did with his mask) and also to physically separate the signs of the neglect he received as a child, from the skin which is untouched and still represents his innocence. The point then comes on, why have so many piercings on his face, while all the things that can be expressed through them are already in fact there by means on his metal pins and burns and his dyed hair? I feel that this might be related with how Dabi actually kept his identity secret for all those years. Don’t take me wrong, I do think that the piercings were also someone a way to show and punishing himself, reminding himself that the pain he felt will somehow never go away, and that the fact that him getting out of that hill alive in spite on what he thought his family might have felt towards his death (and on this, there might be a whole other rant about how Touya thought that his family might have felt relief, instead of grief after his ‘passing’) is a sign of him rebelling of his father’s opinion of his being a mistake. However, while the piercing can be frowned upon this very conservative and unmoving society which has characterised  BNHA til now - I do not think they represent his rebellion, or at least not only. After all, Dabi wants to be considered a mistake of this society, destroy and create a new one where the notion of hero is completely different. So, his piercing might be symbolic in a way that represents the abolition of an old society and the creation of a new, more evolved one yes. Because after all, his whole life has been dedicated to being noticed by his father, who refused him - and to show him that this is him, this is who Endeavour made Touya in: a man with burns all over his body, the will to destroy everything, and the certainty that metal all over his body would be a safe proof way to distract whoever might make way too many questions until it was time.

[linkspooky]

Like some kind of “Man-Child”

Shigaraki is constantly compared to a child by the other characters around him. Whether it’s the staff at UA calling him a manchild, Ujiko saying he’s a twenty year old brat who has accomplished nothing with his life, or Spinner saying he chases his dreams like a child, Shigaraki’s immaturity and underdeveloped psyche is something constantly commented upon others. 

There are two questions to ask now. One, why did Shigaraki turn out this way, and two what does it mean for his character and future growth? 

1. An Immature Manchild, A Worthless Twenty-Something, The Trash of Society. 

Shigaraki is constantly described by others as acting like a child. In most cases it’s used to insult and demean him, and also to point out his lack of any real tangible goal. 

However, Shigaraki’s childish tendencies, his egocentrism, his lack of ability to see the consequences for his actions, and his emotional instability are not a reflection of whether he is a good or bad person, it’s a reflection of his upbringing. This is an important point I want to make before we continu, the hero system uses all of the signs that Shigaraki shows up legitimate mental illness to dehumanize him and make him out to be a “dangerous psycho” rather than to show him any real sympathy. 

All Might’s analyses him at length and comes to the conclusion not that this is an unstable person who shows clear signs of mental illness, but rather that the signs of mental illness he shows makes him a bad person. All of these traits that Shigaraki shows are used constantly by his enemies, heroes and villains alike to unperson him. 

Once again, Shigaraki acting like a child is not a reflection of whether or not he’s a good or bad person. It’s a product of trauma and his upbringing. Heroes seem to be under the impression that a good person would simply not suffer or react negatively to any trauma. Shigaraki doesn’t grow up not because he doesn’t want to grow up and wants to remain an immature manchild forever, it’s because he was raised deliberately. 

Developmental psychology is a scientific approach which aims to explain growth, change and consistency though the lifespan. ... Developmental psychologists study a wide range of theoretical areas, such as biological, social, emotion, and cognitive processes. 

Shigaraki was raised in an environment where he could not healthily develop into an adult. 

A child’s behaviour is an outward manifestation of inner stability and security. It is a lens through which the family physician can observe the development of the child throughout his or her life. All types of abuse are damaging to children—physically, emotionally, and psychologically—and can cause long-term difficulties with behaviour and mental health development.

Seeing the world from other people’s points of view. Thinking about the consequences of your actions. Processing your emotions and stress in healthy ways. These are all things children learn in the process of growing into adults. However, it’s a learned behavior not a natural one. The idea that people, children, are either born good or bad and will develop based on some internal qualities of goodness or badness is patently false. Children who receive no adult supervision growing up just turn feral and have no ego at all. The ego, or rather identity is something both heavily influenced by the interactions with the adults that raise them and interactions with members of the same peer group.

Shigaraki, raised in a basement with entirely selective and controlled interactions with others that were always underneath AFO’s direct supervision and his thumb, who probably did not even get that much freedom until the UA attack is just barely one step above a feral child who has no adult supervision at all. 

These three behaviors: 

Lack of Empathy.

Cannot View the Consequences of his Actions

Cannot handle emotions, setbacks and stress 

They’re all explainable by specific manipulations that AFO introduced to him as a child. “Shigaraki feels no guilt for what he does” said by almost every hero who interacts with him, but this is completely incorrect. The truth is Shigaraki is constantly made to feel guilty. 

He hates himself, and constantly holds back his quirk because he still feels guilt for what happened to his family due to the accidental activation of his quirk. 

He accepts the entirety of the blame for what happened for his family, and therefore views himself as a monster. This is what Shigaraki unconsciously believes and accepts, that he deserves to constantly be punished and tormented without relief for what he did for his family and that he can’t be saved. 

These are not the actions of a person who feels no guilt. However, at the same time Shigaraki is seeking some relief from his suffering, he wants to be saved even though he believes he doesn’t deserve it. Therefore, AFO manipulates him into believing he doesn’t have to feel guilty for destroying the people he wants to destroy. This is literally the exact tactic that Chisaki used on Eri. 

Tenko is constantly made to feel guilty for what he did to his family, and because of that he’s dependent on what AFO told him would make him feel better. Just like Chisaki convincing Eri that it was her fault that people who tried to save her died made her return to Chisaki.

Shigaraki doesn’t show any emotional maturity because he can’t. Being surrounded by your peers, being in a healthy environment, being taught lessons by the adults around you these are all things you learn growing up. We are shown constant signs that Shigaraki’s childhood was constantly barren. He was raised in a room that was entirely blank. 

AFO controlled everything about his life. He didn’t even give him toys or books until he started murdering people, and we see that same room several years later almost completely unchanged from the way it was when he was a kid. 

Shigaraki’s entire world was that one room. It’s even remarked that he wasn’t allowed to attend any kind of school. 

Shigaraki was raised to have his entire world revolve around AFO’s desires for him. Shigaraki even acknowledges that he doesn’t even really want to accomplish AFO’s dream and knows it won’t satisfy him. It’s something that’s forced down his throat, but also what Shigaraki views as his only path forward. Shigaraki as a person doesn’t exist outside of AFO’s goals for him because he wasn’t raised or nurtured to be a person just a thing that wants destruction. 

And, the reason Shigaraki continues to follow down the path set by him by All for One is a rather childish one too. This is once again where Shigaraki’s foiling with Chisaki is illustrative of his character. 

This is how Shigaraki reacts when forcibly separated from AFO. Crying and begging like a child ripped away from their parent, completely helpless without him. AFO doesn’t act like a parent at all, but for Shigaraki he’s the closest possible thing. Shigaraki still believes that he owes AFO for saving him all those years back. 

Shigaraki and Chisaki are the core of their beings are propelled by this idea that they need to repay their father figures for taking them in. They have this childish desire to make their father figures happy and please them, that’s just as true to their nature as their destructive impulses. So, they act like they were shaped to be. Chisaki acts like the perfect Yakuza member, and Shigaraki as the perfect symbol of destruction. They are both desperately trying to be what their parents want them to be. 

Shigaraki can’t handle any setbacks or stress, because he is constantly stressed. He was raised to feel nauseatingly sick of himself all of the time. 

Eri can’t act like a normal child because even after removed from Chisaki’s influence, the emotoinal wounds Chisaki left on her don’t magically go away. It’s not about being a good or bad child, it’s about being trapped in a certain unhealthy way of thinking. 

Shigaraki’s not entitled and emotionally immature. He’s emotionally stunted, and deliberately raised that way. If you could say he was raised at all. His captor had no interest in him as a person. He exists to be a pet revenge project against All Might, to turn Shimura Nana’s descendant into an unstable little bomb that explodes and takes out All Might with him. 

The person who raised him constantly threw him into danger with no regard for his well being. He expected Stain to try to kill Tomura when they met and stopped Kurogiri for interfereing for his safety. He expected All Might to beat the shit out of him and for the UA attack to fail. This goes back all the way to the beginning. 

He exposed Shigaraki to dangerous people who would beat him up, insult him, and belittle him. People that deliberately reminded Shigaraki of his abuser. 

So he would be constantly made to feel unsafe and unstable. Shigaraki has no emotional stability because he was constantly raised in an unstable environment, it’s not hard to remain sane in that environment, it’s downright impossible. 

2. Children can Grow Up

This is a theme we’ve seen repeat itself three times. A child is murdered and has their name taken away by their paternal abusers, and they make it into adulthood (despite symbolically dying as a child) with entirely different names and identities. Takami Keigo grows up into Hawks, Touya grows up into Dabi, Shimura becomes Shigaraki. However, all three of them as adults are malformed and still clinging onto the hurt feelings that they held as a child. Shigaraki and Dabi literally both look like corpses, and Hawks has literally no personality or name outside of being a hero. 

It’s not a reflection of who they are as people, it’s a reflection that they were not raised to be people. However, Shigaraki is constantly remarked on as a child capable of growing up. 

Spinner, Shigaraki’s friend sees the good side of his childishness. He is someone who late in life, is still learning and developing empathy. We see him change over the course of the story. Shigaraki who claims that he doesn’t care about anything besides destruction, also specifically states that he won’t destroy his companions hopes and dreams. 

Shigaraki who is presented as a person who is entirely devoid of empathy, is shown being able to deal with somebody like Twice perfectly. Not only does he listen to Twice’s demands that they rescue Giran. 

He also knows how to make Twice listen, and then carefully places his mask back on again to calm him down afterwards. He deals with him like a person and is accomodating of his quirks. 

Shigaraki makes it deliberately a point that he’s not okay with someone else playing around with Twice’s feelings. 

He also tells Twice to make saving Giran and protecting him a priority when he plans on finishing Rikiya himself. 

All of this consideration for the feelings of an individual. Shigaraki’s empathy has grown and developed to the point where he can imagine the feelings of other people outside himself. Now compare this to the way Hawks deals with Twice. Shigaraki finds trampling all over the feelings of Twice as unforgivable, whereas Hawks brags to Twice’s face how easy it was to deceive him. He belittles him and rubs salt in the wound. 

Hawks can only accept Twice as a good person. It’s Shigaraki who gives a home to those who have no other home, the outcasts, the bad people that heroes would never save. 

Shigaraki who understood how important Twice’s feelings for his friends are, built his entire plan against the MLA around saving Giran, and Twice’s own desires to want to help his friend Giran and pay him back for giving him a place to belong. Hawks literally goes out of his way to single out Twice as the only one he can save and not extend the same helping hand to his friends. Shigaraki recognizes Twice’s feelings for his friends, Hawks goes out of his way to trample on the friends that Twice finds so precious. 

Hawks wants to save Twice but doesn’t understand him as a person. Shigaraki has created a place where people like Spinner, Toga, Compress, Twice, Dabi are all accepted and valued as people. Shigaraki’s childishness is both a good and bad thing. It shows that even after all of this trauma, the core of who Shigaraki is has not changed. 

He is still the kid who deliberately plays with the kids on the playground who get left out. Who states that he specifically wants to be a hero because there were kids who were left out of being played. And who wanted to be a hero even when he knew his father would severely disapprove of it and kept that dream in his heart. 

Shigaraki is still Shimura Tenko. He’s not the child who wanted to be a hero, or the child who wanted to destroy to make the pain go away, he’s both at the same time and that’s where his complexity comes from. Shigaraki like anybody else is capable of good and bad, but what’s especially important about his arc is that we’ve been shown that when removed from underneath the thumb of his abusers, and surroudned by his found family in the league Shigaraki gets better and is able to begin seeing the emotions and feelings of other people outside of him, and becomes a more empathic person. He is a child yes, but also a child capable of growing up. 

It’s also important to remember his arc. When Shigaraki is fighting for the league he always succeeds (against the Yakuza, against MLA). He only ever fails, and relapses (such as his current failure in the hero war arc raid) when he believes that he has to follow the dream laid out for him by AFO. It’s almost as if Shigaraki was intended from the start to shake off AFO’s influence of him and eventually grow into his own person. Shigaraki is a child waiting to grow up, he’s still Shimura Tenko, and he should be allowed that chance to grow past his abuse. He might never become a hero but by the end of the story he deserves to be his own person, not AFO’s thing. 

[rhetorical-ink]

BNHA Chapters 298 - 302: "JUST WATCH ME." [MANGA SPOILERS]

Horikoshi really loves family drama, doesn't he?

I'm not complaining; while we meme the Keeping Up with the Todoroki's and joke whether Deku is the actual protagonist or not at this point (remember, he joked Shoto was more like a typical Shonen MC), Horikoshi does an excellent job with using the Todoroki family to represent themes of forgiveness, retribution, abuse, and how the family of a hero functions in the "ranked" hero society of BNHA, and how it can and does have negative implications.

There's been a lot of posts about the Todorokis, but one thing that stands out to me is that phrase above. "Just watch me."

The idea of how Endeavor, Shoto, Dabi, and the Todorokis are "seen" is something Horikoshi has done with intriguing implications...and is interestingly tying Hawks to as well in all this.

SHOTO:

I like that Chapter 298 starts with this shot of how Shoto has "seen" his father. There is SO much on this page to unpack: How Horikoshi frames the side of Shoto's scar with Endeavor and his scar instead, how Shoto only sees his father's back while he's on hero duty, and can't see the face of his father, and then, conveniently -- how Hawks is in this page as well. That's not a mistake or random coincidence on Horikoshi's part.

And in comes Dabi to complicate the situation (in true, "extra" Dabi fashion). Shoto makes the connection that Dabi is how Shoto viewed himself, full of rage and hatred -- until he met someone like Deku, who helped him see past all of that. I like that we at least get a tie-in to our main character of the series. Pat yourself on the back, Horikoshi.

It's also interesting to note the text that Dabi's "been watching" -- again, Just Watch Me -- the family this entire time, waiting to strike; even sending villains to attack the Todoroki family and actively try to dismantle it.

If anything, Dabi only strengthened Shoto's resolve to aid Endeavor. Shoto saw first-hand just how rattled his father became when confronted by Touya's existence. He even called Endeavor "dad" for the first time. He realized that Dabi was who Shoto could have become -- it's a neat parallel to the High End Endeavor fought; Enji related that Nomu to a "possible future" that could have happened to him. Shoto is viewing Dabi the same way.

By the end of Chapter 302, we get Shoto reaching out to offer his hand in helping Endeavor confront and stop his brother from hurting more people. However, notice Shoto still cannot face his father directly; his eyes aren't meeting the sobbing ones of Endeavor. He can't "just watch" his father yet. But it's a nice callback to him telling Deku that "even heroes cry sometimes," and that he doesn't think of Enji as less of a hero for crying.

DABI AND ENDEAVOR:

Dabi is shown in these chapters to be looking over his new burns; you can see in how Horikoshi shades them in how they've grown on his body. I put Dabi and Endeavor together in this section because both are quite similar. Notice, too, on this page that Dabi is asking his family to "take a real good look at me..." Just Watch Me, again.

Endeavor is not meant in these chapters to get off free for his actions; the abuse he administers and his descent into obsession are on full display for us the audience to see. But so is the descent of Touya as well. Of course, Touya is a product of his environment and genetics, as he says himself he inherits a lot of his personality traits and power from his father, which is intriguing because he's quite self-loathing about it in expressing his hatred toward "Enji Todoroki," whom (like Shoto) he can't "see" as his father, now.

It's worth noting these two pages back-to-back and Horikoshi does an amazing job conveying emotions in just the eyes of these characters, with hardly any dialogue:

Innocence in Natsu and Shoto, the growing cold apathy in Touya, the obsession and desperation in Endeavor, how All Might is portayed as emotionless with his eyes blacked out, Rei's fear and hopelessness in the situation of it all, and then finally the very notion of Dabi crying.

That when Dabi gets emotional, he can't stop crying.

Horikoshi tying the one thing that allows Dabi to show emotion be the one thing he forcibly removes is masterful. I predict by the end of this series Dabi having streams of blood running down his face in place of tears, and I'm not sure I'm ready for it.

And then, there's this page:

The "Look at me" panel here is basically a parallel of Endeavor's "Just Watch Me" from the top of this and it gives me chills. Horikoshi tries to put in little pumpkin-headed baby Shoto for levity, but the damage is done. This is truly the moment that Dabi is born. The proceeding chapters are just more on his development.

It's an interesting symbolic contrast: Endeavor's "Just Watch Me" was his first phrase as the #1 hero, a status he had always dreamed of -- while Touya's "Look at Me" is his first phrase as a villain, a status created from his dreams being crushed.

And for one final moment where Horikoshi utilizes that "look at me" moment with the Todoroki family, there's these moments from Chapter 302:

The usage of light, shadows, and how the characters are "looking" is again, masterful. Rei barely being able to look Enji in the face -- except to call him out on running away from the problem -- Endeavor's face either being in shadows or turned away from Shoto and the others, alienating himself; Shoto wide-eyed and facing the situation with innocence; Touya, originally with his face not shown to the camera -- we finally see that while playing with his siblings, he was indeed watching Endeavor and Shoto. That he's always been watching, as Shoto noted previously.

HAWKS:

And then there's the honorary member of the Todoroki family, Hawks, who conveniently slides himself into the drama throughout these chapters. When Hawks was introduced, it was alongside Endeavor as the new #1 hero, and it was revealed at the time (during the Nomu fight) that Hawks had also "always been watching Endeavor." The difference is he was watching Endeavor fail to become the #1 hero, despite all his years of trying; whereas Shoto and Touya watched Endeavor fail as a father for several years, and seemingly not trying. Fun parallels, right?

But that's not the only parallel Hawks has with the Todoroki's and the symbolism of "sight." If you look in Chapter 299, you'll notice that despite the seemingly clairvoyant eyes that Hawk's mother has; a trait that Hawks inherits through his feathers, she never directly looks at Hawks (until a moment below) and like Endeavor, Hawk's father has his back to his family most of the time.

In fact, the only time the mother actually "looks" at Hawks is when she tells him that his abusive father was arrested by Endeavor. Notice the way that Endeavor, the hero, is shown looking at Hawks in this moment:

Hawks has always been an interesting and engaging foil to Dabi -- it's poetic; the son of the villain becoming a hero as the son of the hero becomes a villain. No wonder Hot Wings is such a great ship, right?

But the way Hawks "sees" Endeavor is different than Shoto and the others. I do find it interesting that Hawks asks Endeavor if he gave Shoto the scar on his face, and doesn't seem horrified by Endeavor's acts. Maybe that's because he's blinded by the "hero" version of Endeavor that he used to cope through his own abuse as a child? If so, the concept of being "blinded" while watching is an intriguing concept.

In any case, Hawks is serving a a bridge between the Hero Endeavor and the father Enji and connecting those two personas together alongside the Todorokis, specifically Shoto. The phrase "Just Watch Me" is going to become even more important now that all eyes are literally on Endeavor and his next move as the #1 hero.

I'm curious at this point how Endeavor, Hawks, the Todorokis, and Best Jeanist (who is just a proxy in all this denim drama) will respond to the demand for a statement. I'm sure Horikoshi is going to put a positive spin on it for the sake of our heroes...and it's going to drive Dabi even more insane.

But more insanity and pain? That's Horikoshi's style, right?

[prismatales]

Reminiscence

Word count: 1.8k

Bingo slot: Fireflies

Pairings: None (Sibling bonding! Touya x Reader)

Tags/Warnings: Fluff, slight angst, slight mention of injuries.

Synopsis: Touya takes his little sister on an adventure to see the "fairies".

This is my first entry for @bnhabookclub's bingo event! Special thanks to @pixxiesdust, @honeytama and @samanthaa-leanne for beta reading this for me!

There are things Touya dislikes in the world. But if there's something he absolutely despises with a strength nearly as powerful as his flames, is when his father's actions end up hurting someone in his family.

Like right now, for example, as he holds his crying sister in his arms. Poor little Y/N can't seem to stop weeping after the constant mistreatment of their father. The man's harsh attitude eventually took a toll on the little girl. All because she turned out to be quirkless, or as he deems her, "Just another failure".

Touya's glaring at nothing in particular as he thinks about the old man. His self-restraint is challenged when he has to hold back the anger to evade lashing out at the man they have the misfortune of calling "father."

But right now, his main focus is calming down the little girl, crying in his arms while he's sitting on his futon at the same time he tries to console her.

"Shhh, It's okay y/n."

He may not admit it, but out of all his siblings, she has to be his favorite sister. After all, she's the only one out of their brothers and sister who shares the most traits with him. 

Growing up, Touya came to despise his appearance. Every time he looked at his reflection in the mirror, the sight of that crimson hair and those teal colored eyes always made him feel alienated from Natsuo and Fuyumi. 

After all, they only had some slight streaks of red hair, unlike Touya, who's whole head sported the same red locks of hair as him.

So, when his mother gave birth to a healthy pair of twins, and he saw the little boy who's left side of his head had the same hair color as him, as well as the little girl, who's hair was completely engulfed in the same shade of red as him. Touya almost wanted to cry in the spot, and that loneliness in his heart stopped soon after that.

He actually cried, but if you ask him, he'll always say otherwise.

His eyes wander around his room in search of a distraction, and something catches Touya's attention. The calendar at the top of his desk, with the current date circled down in a fine line of bright red marker. It gives the teenager a great idea, one, that would most likely calm down his little sister instantly.

"Hey, Y/N." She sniffs weakly, wiping away the teardrops rolling down her face with her tiny hand, before looking up at her big brother. "Did you know that there's a place nearby, where you can see fairies?" 

As soon as he mentions the magical creatures, her eyes instantly light up, wide open in wonder as she looks at him with pure innocence in her eyes. 

"Really?" she asks her brother, who smiles in relief upon seeing her reaction. Touya nods eagerly, playing along to distract her from the past events.

"Yes! But they only appear if you're a strong person! Are you strong, y/n?" He pokes her in the nose with his index finger, and she can't help closing her eyes in surprise. Squeals erupt from her throat by her brother's antics, and he struggles to fight back a chuckle.

"I am strong!" she shouts, still rubbing the small tears away from her puffy face.

"Strong enough to stop crying?" he asks her with vigor, and his attempts to cheer her up work when she sniffles one more time, before nodding at him with a fierce pout, the sight nearly makes Touya clutch his heart, amused by the little rascal pretending to be brave.

"Yeah!" 

"Good! Then go get ready, 'cause I'm taking you to see the fairies!"

She gasps loudly, nodding rapidly at her brother before dashing out of his room with hurried steps, and once the sound of her footsteps disappear in the distance, Touya lets out a relieved sigh, before bursting into a wholehearted laugh at her enthusiasm.

He stands up from his futon in a hurry, and begins preparing everything he'll need for their small trip. 

......

"Are we there yet?" 

In one hand, Touya holds on to his sister's tiny hand as they walk together. In the other hand, he's holding the strap of a messenger bag hanging over his shoulder, careful not to graze the bandages wrapped all the way up from the wrist to the shoulder.

"Patience y/n, we're almost there." 

The sunset fills the surroundings in gorgeous hues of pinks and purples, and if it wasn't for his current motivation, Touya would have stopped in the middle of the bridge to stare at the bright, glimmering reflection in the water for hours. 

"Give me a minute, y/n." Rummaging through his bag, Touya pulls out a camera. He starts taking pictures of the sunset reflecting in the water below the bridge, capturing the aesthetically pleasing scenario before him. He takes a look at the final result, and after humming in approval, he puts the camera back into his bag, before taking his sister’s hand to continue walking.

The closer they get to their destination, the sky begins to change colors again, until nothing but blue shades fill the sky.

"Here we are!" Touya stopped in front of a small, empty playground, and y/n quickly began looking around, waiting for the "fairies" to come out any moment now. This time, her brother couldn't hold back his laughter.

"This is only the gateway, come on. The fairies are waiting."

At the other side of the playground, there's a small trail leading into a forest. Touya takes her sister along with him along the rows of trees, and the deeper they go, the darker it seems to get around them. 

Until Touya finds the place he was looking for, a small lake deep inside the forest, surrounded by bushes and lilies all around it.

"Isn't it pretty y/n?" he asks his little sister, who won't stop looking at her surroundings, admiring the scenario before her. Right as she's about to question her brother, the teenager crouches down in front of her, and points at a spot in front of them.

That's when she sees the small dots of light start to appear all around the forest, illuminating everything around them with their gentle light.

"Look, the fairies are here!"

But the little girl becomes awfully quiet, and for a minute Touya begins to worry. Until she turns to look at him with the most awestruck look he's ever seen on her tiny face, and starts pointing at the shining creatures flying cheerfully all around them.

"F-Fairies are real! Touya, they're real!"

She's already running off to look at a spot in the grass, where these fairies seem to be having a good time.

While y/n is distracted by the fairies, Touya sits down on the grass, watching the lake's surface where the lights seem to dance happily.

"Touya look!" She quickly approaches her brother, and in her tiny hands, there's a small light in her palm,  without a single worry in their miniature soul.

"I guess the fairies like you. Do you know what that means?" 

She tilts her head in curiosity, before shaking it softly.

"It means you're one of them now!" Touya yells excitedly, and that brings a bright smile to the face of the little girl standing in front of him.

"I'm a fairy?!" She bounces on her spot, careful not to hurt her little friend resting in the palms of her hands.

"Even better than a fairy." He ruffles her hair reassuringly, turning her hair into a wild mess of red locks. "You're a firefly!"

"Firefly?" She looks back at the little bug, sitting nonchalantly in its place, before looking back at her brother, smiling at him one more time. "I'm a firefly!"

She happily runs back to the bushes, where she releases her friend back in place. More lights begin surrounding the lake. And Touya smiles at the child's antics before he starts looking through his bag again, and pulls out his camera before taking pictures all over the place. 

y/n is too distracted by another handful of fireflies, to notice her brother taking a picture of her. As he looks at the final result, the small screen displays the current hour, and Touya can't help wincing once he realizes they've been in the lake for a longer time than he thought.

A small, contagious yawn catches his attention, and he watches as y/n it's starting to doze off. 

"Come on firefly, it's time to go back home." Touya puts the camera back in his bag, before helping his sister crawl on his back. Her tired eyes look back at the lake, and the small dots of light still dancing around eagerly.

"Hey, Touya?" She's struggling to fight back her drowsiness, and manages to ask her brother a question before her eyes begin to close, and she slowly falls asleep on his shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Can we...Can we bring Shouto along next time?" 

Touya can't help but grimace, knowing that with their father around, it would be impossible to take their little brother along, but he doesn't have the courage to tell y/n the truth, and with a deep breath, he answers.

"...Of course we can."

As Touya passes by the same bridge from before, he can feel his sister's body go limp on his back, sleep overtaking her tiny body. But even with the slight pain coursing through his bandaged arm, he can't bring himself to move her from the place. At least, not until they're finally back home.

The house is dead silent once he comes inside, and with a careful pace, he takes y/n to her room. Tucking her into the futon before walking back to his own room, where he pulls the camera out of his bag and on top of a shelf, and lets himself faceplant on his own bed with a slight bounce.

..........

"Come on Shouto, this way!" Shouto tries to keep up with his sister, but she just keeps walking with an excited spring on her step as she guides him through the forest, eager to take him to this place she's been talking about for weeks now.

"Are you sure we should be out here this late?" He can't help being amused by her enthusiasm. This is the first time he's seen her this excited after they started spending more time with each other.

"It's fine, trust me!" She stops in her steps before turning to both sides of the forest, and with a triumphant "aha!" she starts walking to the right side of the forest.

"I used to come here with Touya, and I've always wanted to show you this place! You're going to love it, trust me!" 

@bnha-ra @bnhabookclub @gallickingun @godtieruwu @hanniejji @mysticalite @savagetrickster @shoobirino @songsforbnha @sugacookiies @t-amajiki @unbreakableeiji @undead0relived @wesparklebitchu

[ghostlycreatoruniverse]

This is not Dabi’s end yet: Touya and Anakin Skywalker

In last days I read that Dabi is basically over: he’s narrative purpose is fulfilled and now he could even go out with a bang in a blaze of glory.

I partially agree with this: we finally got to see part of his backstory and who he really is and now that Dabi considers himself satisfied he hasn’t much left to do. So he might as well... die here.

On the other hand this would reduce consistently Todorokis drama. In fact the role of an hero is to save and to win; as things are now, Dabi is ready to kill and thus Shoto hasn’t much choice in the matter.

Instead if Dabi were to survive Shoto will have to face the brutal dilemma with his own family. Dabi is a villain and has to be put down somehow, but they are brothers after all; can he really kill his own brother despite it all? Or maybe it’s worthy trying to incapacitate and save him?

Because this is the very core of being an hero. Doing the right choice. Being an icon. As matter of fact this ideology is brought up by Stain into the extreme: many heroes during this arc went for a kill, while All Might despite how he felt hadn’t even tried to kill All for One nor he demanded it. he even felt guilty towards Shigaraki and was desperate about him.

Having Dabi dying now would mean that Shoto has no choice in the process (Dabi has the upper hand, if he wants to kill he can as he likes; and he will) and the only reasonable outcome would be for him to go all along. That would mean legitimate defence and the Todorokis will end their purpose. Instead having him sticking around would mean for Shoto to go and face his family in the try of choose what to do when he will meet up with Dabi again.

This is something that was already seen in a very known franchise: Star Wars.

It’s common knowledge that Horikoshi loves Star Wars and in general and My hero academia contains lots of reference to it.

Even Touya’s old jumpsuit had a logo that resemble Rebel Alliance’s one. So I started to think about it, being a huge nerd of Star Wars myself.

All for One’s helmet greatly remind of Darth Vader’s; however his role is much closer to Senator Palpatin aka the Emperor. In fact Palestine sired many heirs like Darth Maul (The Phantom’s Menace), count Dooku/ Darth Tyranus (Attack of the clones) and the most known Anakin Skywalker, later known as Darth Vader.

I don’t think a precise parallel can be done, but it was specified that Darth Maul was kind of adopted and groomed by Darth Sidious/ Palpatine from a very young age. And we can even see that Palpatine baptise someone with their Sith name. So we can expect that Shigaraki Tomura’s birth wasn’t that different than Darth Maul’s.

Back to Dabi instead, his Star Wars parallel is tied to one of the most iconic identity revelation in the cinema history: Dart Vader telling Luke he is his father.

As I mentioned, you can see the Rebel alliance’s symbol on Touya jumpsuit; and in fact the Rebel Alliance was founded by three senators, Padmè being one of them. From day one, Skywalker’s family was a disaster, with a father who tried to killed the mother feeling betrayed by her and the two twins being separated for many years, until they grew up. Much like Todorokis family, Skywalkers are really messed up .

However maybe many of you might not know that Darth Vader’s identity wasn’t defined as Anakin from day one. In fact after the huge success of Star Wars (later renamed “A new Hope”)Lucas decided to write a sequel. For this purpose he hired a novelist, Brackett, and thus the second movie , The empire strikes back back, was written. Brackett chose ti described Anakin as a good father and a phantom who could aid and teach his son Luke. However she died before speaking to Lucas about this and he, without a script , had to do it all alone. This is the firsttime the concept of Darth Vader and Anakin being the same person was introduced.

This means that in the first movie, Darth Vader and Anakin were two totally different characters. Then suddenly they merged into one in the second movie.

This was a smart choice but it was brought by fate and thus created a great plot hole on how Anakin turned into Darth Vader, while he had already been described as a just and honourable Jedi.

Star Wars fans finally had an answer with the third movie , the Return of the Jedi, thanks to Obi Wan Kenobi’s ghost.

Later on, a complete story was given on-screen with the three following movies (The Phantom’s menace, Attack of the clones and The revenge of the Sith) in which the all story of Anakin was told from A to Z.

The point is.... Star Wars fandom was fine with being told Darth Vader was Luke’s father all along without any further explanation and totally out of the blue.

And this went on for many years until the Regenge of the Sith (2005).

Dabi’s revelation is similar to Darth Vader’s. Both the villains were towering above the hero, while the other were weakened. Both reveals were welcomed with total shock and denial by the hero. And in both cases Endeavor and Luke went numb and weren’t able to react anymore. Even Dabi’s clothing resembles Vader’s dark clothes, and beware Dabi and Tomura are the only villains who dress mainly in black (Toga and Spinner have colourful outfits, Magne was very casual, Compress is still very colourful and his black is rather an elegantblack and not a I’m-so-evil-black, while Twice has an half black half grey costume).

Another similarity both Touya and Anakin shared is how they died and how they alias were born: in fact while Touya’s death is still surrounded by mystery but overall is linked to Endeavor; Anakin was defeated and horribly mutilated by Obi Wan. More specifically Obi Wan cut off Anakin’s legs and one arm but more interesting, they were near a magma river in a vulcanic planet called Mustafar, the same name Horikoshi used for My Hero Academia’s main city. Being near such a burning river, Anakin’s body took fire and he basically burnt alive.

The last dialogue between Obi Wan and Anakin is very important too.

Obi Wan is almost crying, yelling that Anaking was supposed to be the chosen one, the one who would heave ended siths, not joining them, and who would have put balance in the Force. While fighting Obi Wan even said Anakin he was “his greatest failure”.

Obi Wan is a much beloved Jedi, but it’s obvious that, like Endeavor, he poured onto Anakin all of his hope for a legacy he couldnt conquer. Much like Enji, Obi Wan was a father figure for Anakin and a great mentor he respect a lot. It was Palpatine the one who put distance between Obi Wan and Skywalker with the intent of conquering the boy and never make him fulfill the prophecy.

In the same comparison, Touya is clearly Anakin. In the same dialogue he tells Obi Wan he will die and that to him Sith aren’t pure evil... Jedis are. Finally when Obi Wan beart him he yells murderous scream; “I hate you!”. With a murderous light in his eyes, much like Touya was totally crazy about the idea of killing Endeavor.

Many other traits of Sith and villain could be compared randomly, especially because Darth Vader was one of the main villain and most iconic character in Star Wars whole Dabi is and will be important but not as Tomura will be.

However if this comparison stand strong then few things might be speculated about Dabi.

The first is that we miss an important part of his background and we might have all of it much later then we could expect, quite like it happened with Darth Vader. And Star Wars fans got his full backstory after he died, so wether Dabi survive or not , this might be completely irrelevant. His story can go on.

The second one, Darth Vader was corrupted by the Emperor. He has a darkness inside of him, but Palpatine definitely broke him for good. Similarly, he was the one who cured Vader. I aspect someone at least cured Touya creating Dabi at the very least.

The third one is... that Darth Vader redeemed himself. At the very last, when the emperor is torturing Luke, finally Anakin makes his come back and kills the Sith to protect his son. While doing this, his armour is compromise and he will soon die. Later on we have the certainty of his redemption because Anakin take part to the feast for the fall of the empire as a ghost in Obi Wan’s and Yoda’s company. If Dabi will follow a similar path the only way out/ redemption for him probably will be similar and maybe he could save Shoto in one last change of heart before his own death.

Before anyone would comment about Dabi being a psychopath who never will do this, I’ll remind you that Darth Vader was a solid tyrant for approximately 20 years, he systematically killed all his fellow Jedis and Padawans, he cut Luke’s hand off, capture his own daughter Leia, killed his own beloved mentor and friend Obi Wan, he was about to smothering his beloved wife Padmé, he annihilated a planet or two and was building a massive weapon of destruction called “Black Death”. Twice. I’m confident Vader killed much more people than what Dabi could possibly had and eventually will do. And he was way more messed than Dabi was, still he got his redemption.

If he could make it, even Dabi eventually can.

[kakakakashi]

I’ve never... watched Golden Girls, but I know I should lmao. So... I don’t think that he is maybe reacting that way, but my guess (I am on like 195 now lol so I’m not at all done but just spewing my own garbage rn) is that he is kind of “masking” to be what he thinks he has to be. I work in an office & I kinda do that so that everyone likes me. 😕 gonna word vomit in a 2nd request because I have a character limit lmaoooo 🍡🍡

Okay PT 2 of 🍡Rants lmao. Hawks is also the opposite of what I go for! Like I love a funny guy, but Aizawa in both looks & personality is exactly my type. My bf even has long dark messy hair, facial hair, is constantly grumpy, tired and pretty quiet lol. But I fckn love Hawks. I love the way he just... is such a dick to Endeavor. Like Endeavor is a douche and he is MAD SCARY. Like if I met him irl I’d cry frfr. Okay I think I am good now lol thanks for listening

Meh, you don’t have to watch it if you don’t want to. It’s a funny show, though! It’s one of my favorites ever. 

Oh, you’re 100% right about Hawks, though, especially because of how the Commission groomed him to be their shiny little doll & nothing else. I think that that’s part of why some women relate to him so much. It reminds me of how the marvel fandom loves Bucky so much. It’s the same concept of being stripped of everything you know in order to be a perfect tool for others. Hawks then develops a dependency on his mask & uses it to hide, so he doesn’t hurt as much or rock the boat.

I feel that. Okay, so like… Hawks & Endeavor… *sigh* I’ll continue under the cut.

This is the one aspect of his character that makes me just… I don’t think I could ever truly respect Hawks in reality because of this. He’s canonically admired Endeavor since he was a wee little chick. I get that. That’s not what upsets me. What bothers me is that… as he grows up… and after he learns about Endeavor… he still admires and respects him… the same as when he was a kid…

Like, it’s canon that Hawks knows about Touya. It’s canon that he knows about Shoto. He probably knows about Rei. If he knows about Rei, he probably also has some idea of Natsuo and Fuyumi given certain circumstances. (I’ll leave it at that to keep this spoiler free for you.) However, Hawks still thinks Endeavor is just the coolest. It’s obvious he seeks his approval and desires to work with his own personal hero. Now, when I learned that the information had no impact on his pristine image of Enji, I was like “Alright, well we’re having chicken for dinner. Shoto, you want chicken with your cold soba? Never mind. Tastes like motherfuckin RAT!”

I literally felt so betrayed, I wrote a whole angsty Dabi x Reader x Hawks thing that was just basically me calling the both of them out for their shit despite loving the both of them because nobody talks about how they have some p sucky traits. 

I just can’t excuse that from Hawks. Like, knowing what I do about Hawks, I would never trust him as a hero. I can’t be sure if he’d save me if/when I needed him, but that’s a whole other rant about how I think he’d dismiss me. My point is that Hawks is the character he’s supposed to be, a “false hero” who Stain would hate, even under his mask. Also, it is an accurate portrayal of how heroes who are supposed to protect people don’t always protect you like they’re supposed to, and it’s a lot more common than most people realize. You know?

Also, tag yourself. I’d see Endeavor, call him a bitch to his face, call him every name in the book, punch him in the face, spit on him, and tell him to get out of my face & go to hell. (Although, I do love AUs where he’s a good dad & not a piece of shit who frequently beats his family. Also, he’s beefy & the thirst is real.) (He still canonically a shitstain, tho.) Also, the “Endeavor redemption arc” bullshit is stupid, and it shouldn’t be a thing. He’s not actually trying to do better to make up for what he did, he’s trying to do better for his own personal gain. He’s still using certain abuse tactics & it makes me so angry. 

I’m always here for canon Endeavor hate.

Also AU Endeavor love.

Anyway, rant over. Golden Girls is a good show. 

[myhorribleidea]

all might wife/family hc's

for my own personal pleasure

also ages are probably off so let's just call this non Canon compliant

(tw: straight people behaviour; implied but not explicit rape/murder; ya know that thing where all the characters get married and have kids way too young? that's this.)

▪︎toshinori met his wife shortly before graduating ua. they were engaged when they went to America for toshinori's hero work, married by the time they came back

▪︎her quirk is shape-shifting. she can move the cells in her body forward or backward to simulate changing into different ages, and can copy the appearance of traits of anyone she sees (excluding mutant quirks). she's not a hero.

▪︎Mrs. might found out she was pregnant about a week before they moved back to Japan. she waited until they were settled in and he was working to tell him. she figures out that she can use her quirk on the baby, since they're connected via the umbilical cord. she's able to speed up the pregnancy by a few months with no damage to her or the baby.

▪︎its a girl they name Nana. she's born in june, with curly blond hair and green eyes. she loves to bake and trains on a swim team. her quirk manifests when she's 4, shape-shifting like her mom, except it can include mutant quirks.

▪︎shortly after Nana is born, Mrs. might realizes that since she can have such short pregnancies, if she has several children they can be closer in age. toshinori is so loving with Nana, she wants a boy to see if he'd be like toshi.

▪︎mrs might has her 2nd child, kana. she's a platinum blonde, and has green eyes. her quirk is telekinesis, she uses it for flight more than anything. she meets Touya todoroki at a hero's gala; shes smitten at age 5.

▪︎twins, Kaito and Yuka. Kaito has light brown hair, and a quirk that gives him higher stamina. he runs track and can jump higher than most. his sister, yuka, blonde with blue eyes, has the ability to absorb the energies around her and see things like heat or radiation. its most useful, though, for speaking to the energy from the souls of the dead.

▪︎narumi is born 8 months later. blonde with blue eyes, she looks like toshinori more than her siblings. she loves her brother Kaito best, and her quirk gives her the ability to change other physical appearance, but is limited to eye and hair color.

▪︎toshinori gets the call in the middle of the night, 1 year after narumi is born. its gran torino, Nana shimura's son and his family were reported missing by friends. toshinori agrees to go looking for them.

▪︎in the market the next week, Mrs. might is holding the twins hands while they walk around and Nana is ahead looking at apples for a snack. Yuka sees a little boy with blue hair; he's having a nosebleed but keeps trying to wipe it away without touching himself. Mrs might helps him, and carefully puts Kaito's gloves on his hands and holds tenko's hand while she brings him to his new home.

▪︎tenko yagi is four. he has his little sister, narumi. narumi changes his eyes from red to blue on accident, but he won't let her change them back. kana floats around him and tugs his hair, but tenko keeps her from floating off. he rough houses with Kaito, while wearing special gloves his new mom made him. Yuka and tenko are each other's favourites, and she helps him speak to his grandmother Nana. the younger Nana, loves her new brother, and likes to change her own appearance to look more like him when the family goes out. he meets touya todoroki when he comes over to play with kana, and tells Mrs. might that the red haired boy is his new best friend.

▪︎toshinori is the number one hero when the triplets are born. nori, hana, and Izumi are all blonde, with grey eyes and identical shape-shifting quirks. nori is shyer than his sisters, but adores nana, who's 9 and in love with the 3 already. hana and Izumi are inseparable, but prefer toshinori to anyone else in the family.

▪︎they decide they're done with children when rei todoroki scars her youngest son. mrs. might and toshinori whisper about taking touya, but enji todoroki says rei is in a mental hospital and Touya todoroki isn't allowed to come to the house anymore.

▪︎tenko wants to be a hero. Yuka wants to sleep, but Kaito and tenko can only talk about ua and hero charts well into the early morning.

▪︎Nana is 15 and attending ua when she meets taishiro toyomitsu. she decides her hero name will be sunrise, he decides on fatgum. she invites him over for dinner and toshinori tells nana he approves of taishiro. theyre the most popular couple to gossip about at ua for 2 months, but they couldn't be happier.

▪︎kana is 14 and touya todoroki is 15, her best friend, and nothing more. she's a tomboy and runs around in the woods behind her house with him. he burns their names into a tree and tells kana that if he's ever gone, she can find him right at that tree. a year later, touya todoroki is dead and kana wishes she could say goodbye, but Yuka can't hear his voice and she hears everyone's.

▪︎ tenko and the twins are 13 and neither tenko or Kaito quirks are quite enough for them to get into ua. Kaito is crushed, and finds solace in his sports. tenko and yuka are the best of friends, but Yuka has the constant voices of the dead ringing in her ear and can't help but hate them.

▪︎narumi is 12 and plays with the iida boys a lot. tenya is nearly 4 years younger than her; tensei is a year older. doesn't stop her from thinking he's the most gentlemanly boy she's ever met. she tells her mother tensei is going to be her first kiss. narumi is right.

▪︎nori, hana, and Izumi are 8 and never are at peace with each other. its always a competition, but they wouldn't have it any other way. nori and hana want to be hero's, and toshinori thinks that they'll make it. Izumi is a daredevil at heart, and loves danger. mrs might worries, but Izumi doesn't care.

▪︎Nana is 19, the hero sunrise, and taishiro, the hero fatgum, just asked her to marry him. she says yes. the wedding is in October, and All might and his wife couldn't be happier for their children.

▪︎kana is 18 and swears that she'll never love again after touya. she meets a black haired boy with scars who knows her name already, and cries in his arms because she missed him so much she thought she would die. dabi holds her and cries because he forgot what this felt like.

▪︎tenko, yuka, and Kaito are 17 and and excited. tenko has completed his training as an emergency rescuer and is a hero, just not pro. Yuka speaks to the dead and helps widows die while hearing their husband's words. Kaito is an Olympic swimmer, and taking home golds yearly.

▪︎tenko meets natsuo todoroki at a hero gala, and cries with his mother alone in the kitchen because it's okay if he wants natsuo in more ways than one.

▪︎natsuo wants to be a doctor and tenko scratches himself. natsuo wants to help. they kiss over bottles of scar ointments and packages of gauze. tenko cries again because he knows it'll be okay if he has natsuo.

▪︎narumi is 16 and tensei iida was her first kiss. he's been her first for a lot of things. she was home alone and he came over to keep her company, and he told her he loved her. narumi yagi is 16 and the pregnancy test just came back positive.

▪︎nori and hana are 12 and set to be heroes. nori wants to specialize in under cover work and hana wants to specialize in hand to hand combat. Izumi is a triplet, the youngest, and not a hero. she acts out and tries dangerous things to get toshinori and mrs mights attention, but its impossible with Nana's wedding and narumi's pregnancy.

▪︎Izumi is 13 and she was walking home from school. hana and nori are off training for ua, so Izumi is alone today. all might hasen't kept his family a secret. Izumi's face is recognized by some day drinking criminals. she's dragged behind a building and into an alley before they destroy her.

▪︎toshinori has just returned home from work when yuka screams. Yuka hears the dead but not usually this loudly. Izumi has a ripped shirt and is missing her underwear, and yuka is the only one who can see what they did to her until toshinori finds her body dead and missing its clothes.

▪︎Nana is 22. she is married to fatgum, and just buried her sister. she stands in front of a mirror with her mother and tries to tell if her body can handle the twins growing inside it.

▪︎kana is 21 and touya todoroki isn't dead. they visit rei todoroki in the hospital to say goodbye before leaving the country. kana says goodbye to her mother and father and moves into their old apartment in America from before they even thought about having Nana. touya todoroki worries about losing his mind like his mother if he ever sees enji's red hair on his childrens head and kana tells him they'll adopt someday, but for now they have mountains to climb and towers to build and they'll do it together.

▪︎Kaito is a 20 year old popular athlete and finds solace in his audience. Yuka hears her sister's voice and keeps living. they support tenko when he takes his next step.

▪︎tenko yagi asks natsuo todoroki to marry him. natsuo is ecstatic that he can finally leave endeavor in his past. tenko and natsuo yagi live in the city by natsuo's college and tenko saves people. natsuo holds tenko at night when he can only see his first family and his second older sister in their graves. tenko lets natsuo cry into his shirt when natsuo's hate becomes so strong and he knows he cant do anything.. its okay if they have each other.

▪︎narumi is 17 and tensei iida holds her hands the entire time she's in labor. he's a hero now, and says he'll marry her as soon as they're old enough. he's not lying. their daughter miyu iida has dark hair and blue eyes. when all might holds his granddaughter he thinks she looks like Nana shimura.

▪︎nori and hana are 14 and regret everything. they're triplets, and correct anyone who says different.

▪︎hana meets a blonde boy who's as competitive as her and she rough houses with katsuki until they're out of breath and they can only stare at each other. he walks her home and kisses her and she let's him because he smells like caramel and it's comforting.

▪︎nori sobs alone consumed with thoughts of Izumi. he meets a boy who can help him feel nothing. all he has to do is answer a question. its not the healthiest coping method but shinsuo needs to know he's not a villan and nori needs to feel better. so shinsuo helps nori and nori loves hitoshi.

▪︎toshinori is 47 and he's buried his daughter and watched the others grow up. his wife starts making a quilt for their grand daughter miyu.

▪︎all might needs an heir and none of his children want to be it. Izuku has the same eyes as Izumi so maybe that's why he picks him. izuku meets the others and knows he can trust them. miyu holds izuku's hand while she walks and izuku thinks that she'll make a great heir when she's older. life is good.

[ghostlycreatoruniverse]

A PEEK INTO DABI’S MIND - part 2

How Touya turned into Dabi: was it really Enji’s fault?

Let’s be honest: Enji Todoroki isn’t gonna to gain the father prize of the year anytime soon. However pretty much everyone on the web agreed that it was his fault if Dabi turned out like this. My main point that it’s not the case.

Why?

We saw Enji’s side of the story, and someone think his flashback might be biased. However I think this is not the case.

Todorokis aren’t the main protagonists: inserting a biased narrative means that at some point the reader would get to know the truth (as it happened with Itachi in Naruto). It would take too long to develop all of this, thus we must believe that pretty much whatever each Todoroki remember about their family issues has happened at some point, exactly how it has been told. Which means that the issue it’s not wether it happened but rather when.

Enji was truly enamoured with his firstborn. He thought he could really be a better person for him. This means Enji was aware of his flaws in his youth and he really put everything on Touya’s shoulder. However this must have come with pride: he was happy and most likely Touya too, as we saw in the flashback. Touya was smiling and really impatient to train with his father.

Besides if you take a further look Touya never denied Enji’s flashback. He mentioned abused and being “discard”. In fact he said Enji forced Rei to marry him, he “created” Touya and later on he rejected him. Then he said he finally reasoned success with his “puppet, Shoto”.

That means Touya was boosted and overconfident with being the pride of his father. Enji’s flashback then must be true: Touya really wanted to train and learn flashfire. However the problem kicked in when he started to suffer from his flames. Of course such a kid couldn’t be an hero. So what Enji remembers happen somewhere in between “Touya’s birth” and “Shoto’s birth”.

Touya left a great hole in which Enji good memories could be place.

This is consistent though the whole flashbacks we have. Touya mentioned being discarded and that Enji beaten his brother Shoto.

And you can this even in Shoto’s memories: Enji said it was a shame Touya has a weak constitution.

This means that Touya went from being the heir, the masterpiece the most loved son to... nothing. He felt terrible, rejected to the point that the whole identity he had as a child (the future number one hero ) is now shattered and lost forever. That’s when Touya’s existential drama happened as described by himself.

Someone would call it depression; however I disagree. One of the important piece of ourselves it’s our identity. Identity is exactly who we are and it’s build by few pieces all merged together:

Self identity : who we think we are, how we define ourselves

Social identity: what our roles in society are according to us and to the external environment.

What Enji did was shattering Touya’s identity: he thought of himself as very strong and capable; and he was the most beloved son, the one who would have become an hero. Now everything is gone and all of this was given to Shoto, leaving him with a deep identity crisis.

Yes, what Enji did is cruel. But still it can’t be is fault. How do I know ?

Touya’s siblings are the answer.

Now, we get to the first psychological concept: attachment theory. This theory states about how you interiorise your relationship with your primary caregiver (who usually is the mother); then you build a concept of operative interior model and basically you’ll reflect it unconsciously into any relationship you will have, both friendship and romance. The are 4 models roughly, and a specific one that usually kicks in the case of parental abuse towards the child or the other partner if the child witnesses. I’ll have you know now that Todoroki’s sibling don’t seems develop this one.

Second concept I wanna introduce it resilience. Basically it’s a trait/ability we have to face and cope with stressful events. Being in part an ability we can enhance it, but being it in part a personality trait, resilience can change from on subject to another. Imagine a super stressful events, as a war; some soldiers are fine , others develop PTSD; why. Resilience can be one of the many answer.

Third concept is protector factors. Those are some random happenings in one’s life which are positive and reduce the risk to develop illnesses/ risky behaviour and such. For example , if you live in a very bad neighbourhood with violence, gun, poverty and drugs you might not become a criminal because you have a good family that shelter you from it.

I gave you simple example but as you can realised the topic is much more complex.

Back to the siblings, we can see that each of them have a very cold behaviour in their own unique way. The most regular however is Fuyumi.

My guess is that Enji was so focused on Touya that this sheltered Fuyumi by Enji’s flaws, functioning as a protector factor. That would explain why she has a very positive conception of family: she had more or less a normal father and a normal mother. That made her interiorised an overall good interior model. In fact she’s confident her brothers cares about her , as much as her parents and she seeks the loving family she had back then in her youth. I suspect that by nature Fuyumi is the most resilient sibling out of all of them.

Let’s go to Natsuo and Shoto now. Both of them are close the concept of avoidant interior model. This can be more evident with Earlyroki, as Sero calls him: he didn’t want any friends at all and constantly pushed away everyone. Midoriya was a life changing condition because avoidant personality are stuck with the idea that “nobody’s cares” about them. In fact in the experienc called “Strange situation”, which study the reactor of the baby, the baby has to be left alone by the mother momentarily. According the paradigma this is enough of a trigger to cause a behaviour, such burying and wanting the mom to be back. Avoidant children never makes a fuss over their mother to be gone and even if a stranger appears, the let him console them of play with them (something that shouldn’t happen). Similarly aren’t particularly that the mother is back.

I most of cases these people had parents that for one reason or another never were that loving or were perceived as distant. Basically when they were children they didn’t know whom to go to when they were hurt and push it though any difficult (in which difficult can even mean “I need to wear my shoes”) by themselves.

Shoto’s situation is slighter better than Natsuo’s just because his mother Rei was that person he knew he was loved by. The teapot accident ruined their relationship cause Shoto thought he lacked said love and avoided all of it. When he finally built again his relationship with his mother, both in his mind and in reality, he finally can see people can love and care for him.

However Natsuo has no one. This is evident because in Japan you come of age at 21 but he already lives alone. Fuyumi even remarked that Natsuo barely call now. This means he’s so used to do stuff by himself that he doesn’t even share with his siblings he has a girlfriend. He doesn’t feel the urge to. Besides he admits that he barely even know Shoto. This is on Natsuo: in fact Shoto was younger , it was him who was supposed to fill the gap, but he never did (instead Fuyumi always asks her brothers what they are up to, with little answer of them). That’s probably because he has interiorised no one cared, thus he never tried.

Now let’s go to Touya. He’s the hardest , but by any mean I think he developed a greater bond with his father than with his mother.

Yes: I think Touya legitimately loved Enji and he still does (but I’ll get to it later).

However when he was discarded and went through crisis the good model he had thanks to Enji (like Fuyumi’s ) was gone and contrary to Shoto he had no caregiver to go and cry to if he had a better bond with his dad. Let’s add that Rei was Shoto’s protector factor which saved him by being like his brother Natsuo, and that he couldn’t turn to Fuyumi because her relationship with their father was stable at the time. He turned to the only one left and the only one who could understand: Natsuo.

For someone like Natsuo it was like to be seen, and to be existing. He consoled his desperate brother , and thus he was loved and seen by at least someone. In that case Touya’s pain function as a factor for Natsuo cause he had someone to take care of.

In fact all of the three of them picked very caring and dedicated job to help and nurture others: teacher, medicine and well being graduate and being an hero.

I lowkey think that this happened cause Enji relies greatly on Touya , so he never properly built a relationship with his mother (he didn’t hate her of course, but his dad was much more important). Since Enji had no ambition over Fuyumi, she had both her parents. However Natsuo was born when most likely Touya showed sign of not being able to stand his quirk. Being Natsuo white haired he was discarded pretty soon: that’s why. Natsuo had barely no relationship with his father, and instead had his mother. Same goes for Shoto.

Why I’m sure Enji’s abuse couldn’t have turned Touya into Dabi?

Because as much as all siblings are messed up , they are all highly functional. Yes , their condition ain’t of the best, but they manage to go on in their lives, especially Natsuo, whose situation is the worst. That means that as much as Enji was a terrible father, what severely destroyed Touya was something else.

Besides, Enji loved Touya. He kept all of this belonging and he’s seen praying at his altar. I won’t go on lots on this point, but he really felt connected to his firstborn and his death pushed Enji on denial and kept ignoring ”his responsibilities” as he said. I suspect that Enji wasn’t able to cope with Touya’s death and fell into a deep denial, basically acting like Touya never existed to avoid pain.

Which, if you think about it, makes Enji’s situation even more tragic. He was a bad father and that caused Touya’s death. So he stopped to be a father entirely. And neglect his children.

Lastly, I’d like to consider the insane amount of expectation eastern parents are said to have about their children. This can be seen in many media and it has turned into a meme when it comes to Asian and school grades. This means Enji was inclined to be a rough and way too rigid father who hold way to high standards. Basically he probably perceived himself as a severe dad (in fact Fuyumi and Natsuo reaches outstanding Results after all) but the reality he’s was basically in the verge of being an abuser. I still say on the verge cause we never knew how consistent his behaviour were after Touya’s death. And keep in mind the Omiai still exists in Japan. He married Rei, but thanks of the flowers we knew he cared about her; and in fact he have her hospitalised, in a culture in which mental illness are extremely stigmatised. A divorce couldn’t have done much better.

Moreover I’ve read plenty of cases of women far more abused that what Rei possibly went though. I consider a 10 years hospitalisation... very unlikely. In fact abused women tend to have a sudden improve after the abuser is taken away, what they are troubled with is starting their live over again. I suspect that he’s , Enji did awful things to her, but that in the end they liked each other just enough to get marry (Flowers and Rein wanting more than one kid) and that behind Rei’s hospitalisation there’s something worse about her, as depression. She had four kids so post- partum syndrome which later got worse isn’t off the table, as well as a severe breakdown after Touya‘a death.

All of this consideration said, Touya’s mind was in a pinch but it wasn’t beyond salvation from his despair and didn’t prevent him to build a good life like Natsuo did.

So... what did he go though for real?