#Heteromorphic Zoo​

[toxicmetalzine]

Heteromorphic Zoo

Out Now! Canada's HETEROMORPHIC ZOO Unleashes "New World" EP and "Ritual of Fidelity" Music Video! Watch the music video here: https://toxicmetalzine.com/post/out-now-c

[quirkwizard]

I've been getting a lot of asks about the various futures of the characters in this setting, specifically Class 1-A. So I thought it'd be fun to mix them all up together and toss in some headcanons about the various students in the future. And yes, I will change some of the hero names and titles to what I believe are better versions. Because I like to think that someone from the Management Course got to these kids before they went public.

The Fresh-Picked Hero, Vineyard: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Defense Popular Product: Sticky purple orb toys that you can throw around.

Mineta eventually grew to a more decent of a hero. He learned to properly apply himself rather than coasting on what little talent he had and worked to put on a brave face when fighting villains. He was hoping his growth would improve his image with the ladies. It did not.

The Super Sweet Hero, Sugar Ray: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A line of sweets designed and endorsed by Sato himself.

In spite of his brutish power and appearance, Sato found himself loved among old folks and housewives that loved the recipes he came up with. He'd always spare his treats with anyone he helped in his hero work, always brightening the spirits of anyone he came across.

The Taping Hero, Cellophane: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A brand of tape supposedly based on Sero's own tape.

While never the most popular or successful hero, Sero was always the most approachable one of the class, remaining down to Earth in spite of his past and lifestyle. This ended up making him more of the "working man's hero", finding fans in blue-collar workers. His power may have played a part in this.

The Fighting Hero, Martial: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A line of fur coats inspired by his tail and costume.

Ojiro was never going to be a popular hero, yet found a hardcore audience in niche communities. He would go on to found several dojos that would help young heroes learn how to apply themselves as marital artists, with or without their Quirks, and would accept many of them as his sidekicks.

The Unseen Heroine, Ultraviolet: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A shoe line inspired by the ones from her costume.

In spite of the massive controversy when she appeared on the hero scene because of her power, Hagkaure has taken to stealth-focused hero work well. Still, she tries to gain as much attention as possible as not to be left in the background. Surprisingly, this does not interfere with her work since no one ever sees it coming.

The Petting Hero, Anima Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: A playset featuring various animals Koda works with, including little information cards on them.

While Koda had a role in the Heteromorphic moment, he found himself far more preoccupied with animal protection and conversation, working to endorse several zoos and sanctuaries. The once shy boy found his voice in sharing his love of animals. He remains popular with young children.

The Tentacle Hero, Sixth Sense: Rank: 50s to 60s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A mask and headpiece set resembling Shoji's costume.

True to his word, Shoji helped foster and repair the relations with the Heteromorphs. He worked tirelessly as the public face of the movement and as the hero who would help deal with cases of Heteromorph related crimes. In time, Shoji started to feel like he didn't needed to hide his scars.

The Illustrious Hero, Rayonnant: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A clothing line heavily inspired by his own fabulous wardrobe and costume.

In spite of his flashy looks and grandiose persona, Aoyama was always one of the more empathic heroes. He would always help encourage "lost causes", becoming an icon and true hero for those that felt alone and afraid. He wanted to make sure they all grew to shine as bright as he did.

The Astonishing Hero, Paradigm: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A toy version of his masks that distorts your voice.

Preferring to stay away from the limelight, both for himself and his Quirk, Shinso made a valuable underground hero for the world at large. He's been immensely helpful in deescalating dangerous situations and assisting police in doing wet work to gather evidence. In spite of that, he never once felt like a villain.

The Stun Gun Hero, Chargebolt: Rank: 70s to 80s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A toy version of his disk launcher and glasses

While not as lazy as he was in his youth, Denki still takes a laid back attitude to hero work and tends to treat it more like celebrity work. Less out of any selfish desire and more that he's surprisingly good at that part of it, especially with teenagers. Still does little electrical shows and short circuits himself sometimes at the request of fans.

The Hearing Heroine, Treblemaker: Rank: 20s to 30s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: Various musical equipment themed after her, especially headphones and musical toys.

After her injury, Jiro focused less on hero work as a whole. While she still went out and landed her ear when she was needed, she instead used it as a platform to prop up her music to a resounding success. She'd often use her music and concerts to help raise money and attention to disaster areas she had worked in. Eri has been and always will be her biggest fan.

The Alien Heroine, Pinky: Rank: 10s to 20s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: Various health and beauty products, especially skin care ones.

It's been said by her fans that Mina was built to be a hero. And they'd be right. Between her flashy power and friendly personality, she quickly gained a following and shot up the ranks. She remains a fan favorite among the crowds, earning the fan name of Alien Queen. Tends to gossip a lot about her fellow heroes and causes undue drama.

The Sturdy Hero, Red Riot: Rank: 20s to 30s Specialization: Defense Popular Product: As much as Kirishima wants it to be his workout equipment and videos, it's his hair care products.

Kirishima became a noble and courageous hero, always being the first to run into whatever danger was in his way. In spite of his simple ability, his overall brand helped him garner the attention he deserved. He became an icon for young men around the state, inspiring them to be brave, to improve, and to protect the ones they love.

The Everything Hero, Refine: Rank: 5s-15s Specialization: Support Popular Product: A junior chemistry set that actually taught quite a bit about chemistry.

While never at the front of any one operation, Momo's plays a pivotal role in organizing and planning many operations, both big and small, and is considered the resident "mastermind" among the heroes. When she isn't doing that, she is assisting Uraraka, helping to provide the resources for needed to help those who can't afford the needed support equipment.

The Jet-Black Hero, Tsukuyomi: Rank: 10s to 20s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: Various plushies designed after Dark Shadow

In the shadows of the night, this dark hero would strike out giving all villains a true terror for the dark beast inside him. Yes, Tokoyami is still a massive dork. His own phrase of "Revelry in the Dark" became his catchphrase in the public eye, especially among his massive chunibyo fan base, much to his embarrassment. He thinks he could have come up with something cooler.

Rainy Season Hero: Froppy Rank: 100s-150s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: A collection of Froppy themed water accessories, like goggles and water guns.

Tsuyu still patrols the coastline with her sidekicks, the Tadpoles, searching for anyone in need. While her niche work keeps her from the limelight, she is still extremely popular with small children. This is helpful whenever she helps Uraraka with her Quirk Counseling endeavors, helping to educate younger children on the matter.

The Turbo Hero, Ingenium Rank: 10s to 20s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: An Ingenium themed car for the action figure to drive around, much to Iida's confusion.

As Tenya grew older, he began to mellow out more, becoming more like the man Tensei was than the man Tenya thought he was. Still, he holds himself and his sidekicks to the high standards of the Ingeium family name. Hopes to instill those values in the younger generation and works extensively with Uraraka with her efforts in Quirk Counseling.

The Lighthearted Heroine, Uraravity Rank: 20s to 30s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: A series of space themed toys based around a space mission storyline her brand did.

Uraraka went on to participate in and champion the act of Quirk Counseling. She helped to push for the implementation and personalization of the process across many schools. She wanted to make sure that no one would feel hatred for the Quirk and would regularly go around to help teach kids to understand and accept their Quirks.

Great Explosion Murder God, Dynamight: Rank: 5s-15s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: Toys inspired by his bracers that light up and shoot out plastic darts.

Ever the firecracker, Bakugou remains a solo hero through and through. He fails at having any real media presence and is well known for his tumultuous relationship with the press. Still, he remains one of the most impressive heroes in terms of incidents solved and time spent patrolling. Tends to take in "troubled kids" and whip them into shape as his sidekicks.

The Thermal Hero, Shoto Rank: 5s-15s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A limited edition model based off of his first costume.

Shoto became the pro hero he was always meant to be, moving on from the shadow of his family. However, in spite of his time and dedication, his public image keeps him from the higher rankings. He still cannot talk to people to save his life, and the awkward interviews are legendary in the hero fan community. Still manages to rank high among the "Hottest Heroes" listing.

The Greatest Hero, Deku: Rank: ??? Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A short-lived action figure from his time as a hero. It is considered a high-value item that any fan would kill for.

Deku's time away has led to endless speculation on what happened to him and why he left. However, with his big splash back on the hero scene, he's made huge waves in the hero world and is fully expected to shoot up the ranks. Many fans watch on in excitement to see what will come next of the young hero. Though for him, he's still eager to help teach his adoring students.

[codenamesazanka]

rereading Oumagadoki Zoo oneshot!

Unfortunately, because I am this tweet:

I will drawing comparisons of it to bnha. specifically, Shigaraki and the League, because the parallels are pretty obvious.

If you haven't heard of the oneshot Oumagadoki Zoo before, it's one of Horikoshi's earlier works, a oneshot that became his first serialized manga. Premise of both the manga and the oneshot is the same: Aoi Hana, a high school girl, applies to work at a zoo, only to discover too late the zoo is a magical one where the animals can turn into humans, while the zoo director, Shiina, is a human cursed to look like a rabbit-man; she then gets dragged along into crazy adventure as the director attempts to break his curse.

The oneshot is much less zany-comedic in tone, with Shiina a more serious and ambitious character and leader, but still deeply caring for his friends, who are all outcasts animals he helped. I've compared Serialized Manga Shiina with Shigaraki before; but I've always found Oneshot Shiina to be even more similar, especially with later series Shigaraki.

In the oneshot, the first mission we see Shiina and his team go on is to rescue a talking alligator that's been captured and smuggled by people wearing skull-masks. Obviously these guys are not the good guys. They acknowledge that the talking alligator might as well be considered a person, but are still keeping him caged and ready to be sell him.

So I always wondered if they were the basis of the bnha's CRC - skull-mask wearing criminals who looks down on Spinner, a person whose quirk make him looks like a lizard. But this time they're even more evil.

In the manga, it's due to Shiina's cursed magic powers that allows the animals to turn into human form; in the oneshot, however, the animals are born with magical energies that transforms them into human form - and Shiina is only someone who finds and gathers them in order to harvest their magical energy to break his curse.

If this sounds kinda selfish, it is - which Shiina acknowledges. Shiina didn't save the talking alligator out of the goodness of his heart - he needed the alligator's magical energy, and says so bluntly.

But when Hana accuses Shiina of using the animals to his own ends, Uwabami, a snake woman, says no, all the animals are here of their own free will.

The explanation Uwabami then gives Hana about why they stay with Shiina, why they follow him, actually mirrors Spinner's last dialogue with Deku on bnha a lot:

Uwabami describes the animals that have magical energy as beings whose forms have bent away from normal and turned 'grotesque'. In Japanese, the word she uses is 'igyou', which is the same word used to describe people like Spinner - translated as 'heteromorphs' in MHA. Uwabami implies that these 'grotesque' animals had suffered, had stood out with negative consequences, and that was how Shiina was able to find them. Similarly, Spinner says that he was oppressed for being a heteromorph, for having a quirk that altered his appearance.

The context is of course different, but I think the underlying feeling is still the same. Uwabami explains Shiina and the animals' situations are similar, that in helping Shiina break his curse, the issue of the animals' magical grotesque forms may also be solved as well. Shiina's mission aligns with their desires as well. In Spinner's case, Shigaraki told the League that he'll destroy everything, which at first also seemed like it was his specific dream; but within that destruction is also promised the changes and goals each of the League wants - Shigaraki represented him.

For the animals of Shiina's zoo, they were never able to fit in, they were unneeded and unwanted - and yet Shiina would still consider them comrade and friends, and gathered them together. Much like Shigaraki did for the League: he gave someone like Spinner a dream, a chance to be someone. Gave a bunch of strays, the dregs of society, a place to be.

So both Shiina and Shigaraki - leaders loved and respected by their friends so much that those friends - Uwabami and Spinner - are both willing to so straightforwardly spill out their hearts and feelings to near strangers.

anyways, I recommend the oneshot a lot. Read here at mangadex.

[multifictostalker]

💕 S/I Introduction Post💕

Olive [MHA]

Picrew by Ayase

Universe: MHA/BNHA

Name: Olive [Last name TBD]

Gender: Bigender, Transmasculine

Pronouns: She/him

Sexuality: Abrosexual, Secondary Abrosexual

Species: Cishuman, Transanimal, Transheteromorph, Speciesfluid

Dynamic: CisOmega

Hero Name: Ollie

-Literally her nickname

-Ollie is a common name for dogs!

-Took longer to decide than Bakugo… oops!

Quirk: Transformation

-Can transform into any animal she has touched over a certain period of time

-During childhood he could only turn into a golden lab because she had a golden lab who she touched often

-As of the UA entrance exam she could transform into any animal she’d touched within the last 30 days. Her transformations last up to 4 hours, but drain his energy. She made monthly trips to the zoo, but could only transform into animals she was allowed to pet.

-Upon being accepted into UA he was allowed strictly supervised petting of more dangerous animals such as lions, wolves, etc. for his training.

- As the school year progressed, her touch duration and transformation times increased. By the first term’s end she is able to transform into any animal she has touched in the last 6 months for at most 12 hours before needing to rest.

-By her work studies she is able to transform into heteromorph versions of animals, mixes of different animals, and can increase in size and strength with focus.

School: UA Highschool

-Class 1A

-American transfer student

-Seat #19

Personality:

-Very shy. Kinda of a hermit in middle school.

-Lacks a lot of the social skills required to be a hero. He requires a lot of help from teachers in that aspect.

-Very awkward, often stumbling over her words. Also clumsy as hell (trips over nothing often)

-Carries plushies with her

-Prefers rescue work to fighting

-One of those “obvious omegas.” Pretty cisdynamic and traditional personally, but also very accepting of queerdynamic folk

-In general progressive

Misc/Fun Facts:

-Rare disabled hero! Her acceptance into UA was celebrated in the disabled community. Became a big role model for physically disabled people, people with social anxiety, and neurodivergent people.

-Does a lot more stuff with Make A Wish and similar organizations than other heroes.

RELATIONSHIPS

Partner: Kaminari

Friends: Kaminari, Ashindo, Sero, Kirishima, Asui, Jiro, Ida, Aoyama, Koda, Midoriya, Yaoyorozu, Bakugo, Uraraka

Pack: Bakugo’s Pack (Bakugo, Kaminari, Kirishima, Ashido, Sero, Jiro)

Denki Kaminari:

-OLB, WLM, MLM

-Straight-presenting queer couple

-They were sorta introduced through Ashido

-They are very different in personality but clicked surprisingly well

-One of the first things Kaminari says to Olive: “So like can you turn into pikachu?”

-They are both pretty flirty!

-Kaminari and Ashido are the only ones allowed in Olive’s nest

-Kaminari drags Olive pretty much everywhere

-Olive will sometimes sit on his shoulder when she doesn’t feel like walking

Mina Ashido:

-Have a very “extrovert adopting introvert” kinda relationship

-Literally squealed when she saw cat!Olive for the first time

-Forcefully drags Olive to social events and into conversations

-Allowed in Olive’s nest

-Cat person who loves their shapeshifting cat friend to bits

Eijiro Kirishima:

-They get along fine! Don’t have too much of a relationship outside of the friend group and that’s fine w/ them

-*Average Kiri shouting* “Ah!” “Sorry I didn’t mean up scare you!” “It’s okay! 😅”

-Olive totally thinks Kirishima is cool

Kyoka Jiro:

-Olive totally lovvesss hearing Jiro play/sing

-Olive thinks Jiro is cool asf

-They get along pretty well as the two token introverts of Bakugo’s Pack

Katuski Bakugo:

-They aren’t really that close

-Olive is kinda scared of Bakugo, no matter how much Kirishima assures her he’s actually pretty nice

-Fears him as a person, but trusts him as a pack leader

-Bakugo: *does literally anything*

Olive: *Hides behind Ashido/Kaminari*

Momo Yaoyorozu:

-Totally tutors Olive

-They aren’t that close but tbh Olive would trust her with his life

Koji Koda:

-The two quietest people in class AND they both have animal quirks. They totally bond over those things

-Hang out a lot actually! They go on little platonic cafe dates and Koda takes Olive for walks through the park!

-Koda: “Come here, little animals and let my friend touch you!” (Totally helps Olive w/ getting animals for her quirk.)

-Like coloring together!

-Koda lets Olive in his nest :3

Tenya Ida:

-Totally nerd out together over things

-Cheetah!Olive is the only one in class who can come close to Ida in a race

Izuku Midoriya:

-“I know I’m in Bakugo’s pack now but you should know that I still don’t approve of how he treats you!”

-Honestly kinda intimidated by Midoriya’s insane pain tolerance

EVENTS

Entrance Exam Score: 25 villain points, 20 rescue points, rank ~15 (?)

Quirk Apprehension Rank: 11th (between Uraraka and Koda)

Battle Trail: Team C with Yaoyorozu

USJ Incident: With Midoriya and Asui

Sports Festival:

-Obstacle Race: 16th (between Shoji and Yaoyoroza)

-Calvary Battle: 4th (On team Midoriya with Midoriya, Uraraka, and Tokoyami)

-Tournament: Out first round. Beaten by Ida

Internship: Mirko

First Term Final Exam: Loss (Olive & Kaminari vs Principal Nezu)

I-Island: Went with Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, and Jiro

Hero License Exam: Pass

Work Studies: Ryukyu

Shie Hassaikai Raid: Ryukyu Squad

Joint Training Battle Team: Round 5 (Midoriya, Ashido, Uraraka)

Work Studies #2: Ryukyu

Paranormal Liberation War: Villa Backup Team

Final War: Central Hospital Team

[infraredmag]

Out Now! Canada’s HETEROMORPHIC ZOO Unleashes “New World” EP and “Ritual of Fidelity” Music Video

NEWS RELEASE Montreal, QC – October 11, 2024 Out Now! Canada’s HETEROMORPHIC ZOO Unleashes “New World” EP and “Ritual of Fidelity” Music Video Produced by Chris Wiseman (Shadow of Intent, Currents), Mixed and Mastered by Christian Donaldson (Cryptopsy) Left: Jon Power (Bass), Center front: Megan Ash (Violin), Center back: Ray Heberer (Guitar, live vocals), Right: Bryce Butler (Drums) Photo…

[stillness-in-green]

!! I didn’t consider the possibility ‘they didn’t get it from either parent actually’ as an option! Very good point that Shouto could have gotten it from TV since we see him watching with Rei and by himself. Media can shape a child’s view of certain peoples from early on. (Like variety shows…). And now that you bring it up, we might even see people saying heteromorphic things in front a teenage Touya when we get to his missing flashback. But also, you’d think there’d be more heteromorphs on the streets too so Touya would have to hang around places and people that are absent of such company. I still like the idea that either parent could be responsible because it adds a certain realism and it’d be a good way to show how prejudice can be learned from family but this third option is also satisfying to me. And there’s the 4th option that it could start from either/both parents and reinforced by other environmental factors.

And honestly, I think a formerly heteromorphobic!Shouto would only add more to the story. Especially if he started changing after he got checked by his friends for that mutt comment. I’d like to think that Iida was taught by his family that such things are wrong. I have no idea with Midoriya. Shouto and Tokoyami are shown to be friends too so I wonder if anything ever went down between these two? Like you I don’t think it’ll be touched up on again. I just think it’d be good character development and worldbuilding.

Yeah, I think you could easily write it such that Shouto picked it up from all the TV and Touya from the streets. In fact, one thing I found early in my evidence gathering is a dude from the USJ attack who specifically identifies himself as a heteromorphic type (igyou-gata); it clearly isn’t such a completely terrible word that no one would ever use it for themselves. All the same, it wouldn’t surprise me if people on the street or in the more criminal/forced into criminality bracket are freer with that kind of language than people from more “polite” society.

But probably the most likely thing is the 4th option, that it’s a societal mélange that some people have the opportunity and the desire to train themselves out of, and some people don’t. That kind of thing is why I don’t hold that it’s some huge character-slandering sin to assume the pattern is real and intended; it takes a lot of work to unlearn the things your cultural upbring has taught you, and it’s work that you may not even know you have to do until someone tells you!

In that regard, I think Iida and Midoriya saying something about it would bank on them understanding that it’s a bad thing to say. Midoriya, I’m fairly skeptical of; he’s been listening to Bakugou say that kind of thing all his life, so I’m not at all confident that he knows better, or that he’s the sort to push that confrontation even if he does. Iida is absolutely the type to give someone a lecture over it, and he at least is a heteromorph in the technical sense, though I don’t think he’s ever referred to himself as such—possibly because, as you say, his family’s been in the spotlight long enough to know what kinds of language you do and don’t use.

As to Tokoyami, there is, I gather, a portion in one of the School Briefs light novels where Iida, Kaminari, Mineta and Tokoyami go to a zoo and have a Very Special Episode in which a lost little girl has to learn to not be afraid of Tokoyami because he looks like a bird and she’s scared of birds. The dialogue is very direct about Tokoyami not being a bird just because his quirk makes him look like one, and the narration includes some resigned forbearance from Tokoyami about the appearance he was born with not being something he can do anything about.

I’m so-so on treating things like School Briefs and Team-Up Missions as canon, not least because they often come across to me as very watered-down and cutesy in ways that main canon and Vigilantes are not. Like they’re mainly marketed on the appeal of the school kids, and the school kids can’t be challenged or grow as people in supplementary material, obviously, so even the stories that threaten to be more nuanced usually have very pat, very safe resolutions, because the tone of those spin-offs is intended to be light and wholesome.* See e.g. the team-up with Mirko involving someone Mirko’s tagged as a Villain who’s actually just lost control of their quirk, the story that threatens to reveal Midoriya’s Darkest Secret, and, of course, the aforementioned story where the boys have a good hearty laugh about how silly it is assume that Tokoyami would behave like a bird just because he looks like one.

Disclaimer: This is just from what I see of School Briefs and TUM in the course of existing in the fandom, of course. I don't go out of my way to track them down in detail, but I’m sure there are some exceptions and better material within them as well, especially for stuff that is smaller-scale and more intimate, like the School Briefs story about Shouto and Natsuo trying to make soba together. It’s just the ones that tempt me with worldbuilding and then turn it into a joke or a too-easily-resolved misunderstanding that get on my bad side.

Anyway, it is a pseudo-canonical callout about not equating people with animal appearances as animals, albeit aimed at a small cute child and not e.g. their teenage classmate who could stand to hear that message himself! (Or their teenage classmate who could stand to hear that he's not responsible for what his appearance makes people think of him, for that matter.) So at least that's something.

Thanks for the ask/reply!

---

* When they’re not using the sexual assault of teenage boys as grist for a haha wacky hijinks running gag, anyway.

[snakeassassins]

Rabbit Dad Theory: A Weapon to Surpass Dad for One

okay so. I know that the theory about local big bad of the series being the protagonist’s father , but I’m pretty sure the real reason that midoriya’s dad hasn’t shown up in the plot is because he’s a rabbit

no really

[ WARNING: LONG post under the cut ]

Part 1: Rabbit Motifs

To get this party started properly, let’s begin with a bunch of the rabbit symbolism regarding Midoriya himself.

The most notable of which being that his hero costume is literally him dressing up as a rabbit

His freckles are even stylized to look like little rabbit whiskers. fuckin naruto kinnie

It bleeds into his fighting style too

Two big innovations he has that aren’t based on previous users of one for all

are hopping from place to place

and his big, rabbit-like kicks.

(which would also go a ways to explain why the plot thought Midoriya having legs was a big deal)

A lot of this goes into his characterization as well. The most notable bit being how much the first chapter of bnha parallels the story of the moon rabbit.

(Sometimes referred to as the jade rabbit which. Green)

Anyway, the story goes that a rabbit, along with a bunch of other animals (it varies depending on region) decided to gather food for the full moon as an offering, believing that the best one will bring a reward from the gods.

All of the animals bring plentiful amounts of food, sans the rabbit, who brings only grass.

Eventually, a starving old man comes along.

The other animals have food to give him, but refuse to do so to meet their own ends.

The rabbit, sympathizing with the old man,throws itself into a fire he was kindling so that he can be fed.

The old man, touched by the rabbit’s actions, reveals himself to be a god and saves it.

In honor of the rabbits deeds, the god imprints his image on the moon, bestowing special gifts to him.

Along with this there are a number of other mild rabbity traits tho.

Such as his skittishness.

Not to mention his general resourcefulness.

The show regularly conflates Midoriya being himself with him looking and acting more and more like a rabbit. This isn’t too hard to understand from a Doylist perspective; Horikoshi blatantly just likes bunnies. (I mean just look at Miruko)

What’s interesting here is that we’ve never been given an in-universe explanation for why midoriya himself identifies this way. In a series that is otherwise really invested in dissecting the ideal versions of themselves that characters want to live up to, the show doesn’t provide any justification for a character motif Midoriya has that is almost as present as all might himself.

Judging from the title of this post, you can probably guess what my reasoning for this choice is.

**Part 2: Hisashi’s Quirk **

“But snake,” you may be asking yourself, “We already know what Hisashi Midoriya’s quirk is. He breathes fire.”

This is true. he probably does. Consider what we know in-universe, though.

Characters with heteromorphic quirks don’t have their physical attributes listed as a part of their quirks if they have a secondary characteristic.

Tokoyami is the most obvious example. He’s a bird person, but his quirk is dark shadow. The fact that he’s a bird man goes unmentioned because as far as anyone is concerned, the shadow monster is his power.

Characters like Spinner have their animal attributes listed as quirks, but that’s only because he can’t do anything a gecko wouldn’t. If he didn’t make his lizard powers his quirk he’d have nothing to put.

If Midoriya’s dad happened to be, say, a rabbit that could breathe fire, the fire quirk would be listed while the rabbit bit went unstated. In fact, in a roundabout way, the fire quirk makes rabbit dad even more plausible.

You see, most of the animal character designs in bnha are actually recycled from an old series horikoshi did called oumagadoki zoo. Mind you this isn’t a knock at horikoshi or anything. A lot of mangaka do this sort of thing. I’m mostly bringing it up because one of the main characters is a rabbit called Shiina

and one of the early gags in the series is him smoking a carrot like a cigar.

This would be very easy to translate to my hero academia’s setting if said character happened to breathe fire.

I should also say for those keeping score at home that I don’t necessarily think Hizashi is a Shiina expy specifically (tbh I kinda imagine him being more like a fluffy spike spiegel). At most I think it’s probably just some design motifs and some VERY loose plot points.

There is also the somewhat mild rebuttal of Midoriya never attempting to do anything rabbit-like while trying to see if he had a quirk, but I think that’s self explanatory. If Izuku was a rabbit he’d notice right away, so of course he didn’t bother checking.

**Part 3: Why He’s Absent **

Of course, another big question that might be on your mind is why he’s not present if that’s the simple truth of his identity. Why have him fail to show himself for what has now been 300 chapters?

I can think of two simple reasons:

1) It’s really funny

Just fuckin. The Mystique of it all. You can’t tell fans a character is going to show up eventually and fail to have them appear without piquing someone’s interest. It’s bound to make fans speculate, especially with the canon dabi twist hanging in the air. Years to imagine what his presence might entail if it was something big enough to be worth planning ahead for.

And then. Boom. Bunny.

Fucking. Hysterical.

2) The themes. Oh god the themes

You might have noticed by now but Horikoshi has a tendency of making like. The Shounen Jump equivalent to that rpg character you make as a joke that then has like. an undeniably tragic life when you’re actually forced to tackle with the implications of your own character building.

I would not be surprised if the Midoriyas ended up falling into that category.

So let’s get into that.

One of the big things that my hero academia attempts to tackle is the concept of normalcy.

Mostly how it’s kinda bullshit and, in many cases, outright harmful.

What makes this bit interesting within the context of Midoriya family is Izuku’s sort of. Artificial Plainness.

He is a character deliberately designed to look as normal as possible. The key word there is look. Basically anyone who’s been following the series long enough to be reading this post knows that the kid often struggles to keep his head down

which also makes it interesting that the only two scenes where Midoriya wears his rabbit cowl are scenes where he is actively questioning the status quo.

Methinks there is some symbolism here.

Which I guess brings us back to square one.

At the end of the day, the concept of Midoriya’s dad being a rabbit is funny because it’s so unexpected. Without him around, the Midoriyas look like a normal family.

But that’s also the kicker.

Without him around, the Midoriyas look like a normal family.

A lot of people are quick to call Izuku’s dad an absentee father, but technically speaking, we don’t quite know that yet. We’ve only been in a position where we don’t see him as the audience.

And, well, when your kid is being bullied for something as banal as being quirkless, you might not want to give society more ammunition to use against him.

It wouldn’t strike me as strange if he just avoided being seen in public with his son to keep him safe in his own way.

They say that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down the most. Under those circumstances, it’s not too hard to understand why the loosest nail might just feel safer wriggling out of the wood altogether.

[lord-momonga]

Good thing you did not rename your guild "Heteromorphic Zoo", otherwise you'd be called Lord Hetero(sexual)

I would sooner leave my name as just Momonga than use a name that embarrassing.