#Horikoshi said here’s more pain

[supernaturalist-sdcj]

MHA CH 385 SPOILERS AHEAD ‼️‼️

Horikoshi really said you guys aren’t sad enough let’s fix that this chapter

AFO is still fighting against Mt. Lady, Hawks and Tokoyami

AFO slices down Mt. Lady and throws an attack towards Tokoyami which Hawks jumps in front of

Tokoyami took a lot of damage still and is lying on the ground in a similar pose to Bakugo

AFO grabs up Hawks by the neck and STEALS HIS QUIRK

AFO flies off after leaving them all seriously injured and Hawks quirkless

Horikoshi really said you can’t have Bakugo back yet but here’s teenage AFO to fuck up your day

[darkcircles4lyfe]

I've given it some thought--

Now, if you've read any of my posts and you've read 430, you know there are a lot of ways it falls short of what I wanted. On the other hand, I can respect an open ending, one where we are allowed and encouraged to dream. All things considered, I'm not satisfied or disappointed, but a secret third thing... bear with me.

For a lot of storylines, I can fill in the blanks how I want.

I'm heartbroken over Himiko's fate, but there's no denying that the lack of camera footage leaves open the possibility of her simply disappearing. Perhaps she is waiting in hiding for the world to change, just like Lady Nagant.

Dr. Yoshida is described as someone who can cure the incurable. That may be referring to Katsuki, but the doctor himself said it's a complete mystery how he survived, all Katsuki's own doing. Maybe he cured someone else in those 8 years... someone like Touya?

Honestly I got nothing on Tenko but who knows. Who knows! Something something OFA connection. Izuku having vestige visions. Idk.

As for the manner in which society is changing, I'm drawn to Shouji's speech: "I'm dedicating the honor to those who joined the uprising eight years ago. All I've done is stand atop the resolve that they demonstrated to the world, nothing more." That at least tells me his earlier judgment of the other heteromorphs "setting them back" was a narrow point of view Shouji was supposed to grow out of, rather than a way of Horikoshi trying to criticize revolutionaries. In general, just because a character says something doesn't mean we're supposed to take it as gospel. That's lit crit 101, people.

Then there's Izuku. Once again I am feeling this pretty close to home. I keep coming back to the fact that the class is 24/25 now and I'm 25, man. On top of that, anyone else who was 14/15 ten years ago when the manga started gets to feel like we've all grown up together. I wanted catharsis for Izuku's trauma so badly. I wanted words. But I can't deny that the way Izuku is shown attempting to make the best of things and be content with a humbler life resonates with me, as painful as it is, as much as I know deep down he's kidding himself. It doesn't surprise me that he kept his walls up all this time and continued to shun his "selfishness."

I almost feel like there's an all-encompassing narrative theme being expressed here, in the fact that Izuku was trying to push past his pain and focus on the next generation, but surprise, his story's not over yet. I think the implied message there is that more can be done in the here and now, and maybe other stories that seem to be over, aren't.

With these things in mind, I can take the ending in stride, even if this is all the more we get from Horikoshi. However. There's one thing that is jolting me out of my peace every time I start to get comfortable here. It's actually related to the storyline that got the most closure.

I've seen a lot of fellow bkdk enjoyers calling their conclusion the best part of the ending, and I agree with that. They got a truly full circle moment, and a way of communicating to the reader that they're together, they have their forever, in a way that is personal to them. It's not "canon" in the way a kiss or a confession is, but I've said it before--this makes sense for them. And Horikoshi also did something legitimately interesting and groundbreaking by not making Ochako confess, not showing her future being tied to the main character as a love interest.

No, the thing that's bugging me is a seemingly small detail: why does Izuku and Katsuki holding hands at the end, of all things, have to be implied? Lots of things about 430 make sense in the context of the interview Horikoshi recently gave where he expressed being content with what he has drawn, and what he has left to the imagination. But not this. You can't convince me he didn't want to draw this. It's a motherfucking story about hands. This is the one thing I was 110% certain would happen. It's been teased for forever. Katsuki clearly wanted it so bad. So many other characters got to hold Izuku's hand in-frame. What the hell. Why.

Idk. I will be thinking about it for the foreseeable future.

[dynamightmite]

you seem optimistic so you think we’re still getting shigaraki back? :( i’m really sad the way hori has handled the izuku tenko plotline as of right now like i just can’t wrap my head around this

I mean, I definitely think it's a possibility. We still don't know exactly what happened to overhaul/decay, and how it may be used in the future. We saw Tenko and Deku touch fists; theoretically there could have been some kind of exchange there, or he could be existing as a vestige in some way.

Then again, (and this is going to piss a lot of people off :')) I kind of... get where Horikoshi is going with it?

BEFORE YOU START BOOING!

I think a lot of the discomfort and hurt from fans comes from the perception that Izuku failed to save Tenko. That, by allowing him to die, the narrative is in fact saying he didn't deserve to be save--that Horikoshi himself doesn't believe Tenko truly deserved it. I have also seen a lot of talk about how it doesn't fit in with the ongoing, overarching themes of the narrative, and (while I'm not saying these people are wrong) I would like to push back on that a little, because I think there is precedence in the story as to why Tenko's death holds up, despite it being terrible.

The culmination of Tenko's arc broaches a crossroad of two major concepts in the story: heroes, and saving, and what both of those ideas mean. And, I think, in Tenko's death, we get and answer to both, and more importantly, an answer to his overall purpose.

What does it mean to save? In BNHA, the concept is a little vague. I've often people ascribe the "total victory" mindset as one of protection, as preventing any tragedy or harm. Through that lens, Tenko's death therefore is an automatic failure--a nonstarter. HE's dead, so he wasn't saved. The end. However, while "saving" might seem like a simple, straight forward concept, I would like to dig a little deeper, because I think what Horikoshi's doing is much more interesting.

Saving (Deku's definition of it, anyway) is a lot closer to freeing than it is to protecting. Which sounds weird, but I'll do my best to explain. I think the two best examples of this particular nuance to his definition are actually in two characters people tend to forget he saved: Shoto and Gentle Criminal.

Because he did save both of them. Not in the really obvious, black-and-white way he saved Eri, no, but he did save them. And both times were... painful, to say the least.

When Deku went after Shoto during the sport's festival, it wasn't, like, nice. He dug his little nerd fingers in where it hurt the worst and dragged out Shoto's biggest fears and insecurities, and then he said GET OVER THEM. Stop letting them control you. Stop letting your father control you. You're your own person, and you get to make your own choices.

He didn't punch Endeavor. He didn't even take pity on Shoto, or say he was sorry. But you know what he did do? Deku cut the leash. AND he damn near killed Shoto (and himself) making sure that Shoto understood that he was free. He gave Shoto back something that he'd been missing, something he was afraid to look in the face; something that Deku picked up, brushed off, and said, "please stop throwing this away, it's important. You're important".

And it works, goddamit.

Gentle is both different and similar. In a similar vein, the way Deku saves Gentle is sort of... not obvious. But I think if you look here:

Gentle isn't a bad person. He's ambitious and a little lax about the law, but he never set out to hurt anybody. But we see over the course of his arc how he gets so tangled up in his own pain and his desperation to be seen that he forgets his own ideals, his own morals. In the face of becoming someone, he loses sight of what matters most to him: just like Deku, Gentle wants to be a hero.

Which, in the end, he is. And Deku's the one who pushes him there.

But what about Tenko? What about the crying child inside him? Why wasn't he saved?

When people talk about child Tenko, they often seem to see him as a symbol of the person that Deku's trying to save. But I think that, just maybe, that's wrong. I think maybe, actually, Deku is trying to save Tenko from that child.

Child Tenko is, in many ways, a symbol of nothing but AFO's power. That is a child stripped of his name, of his original quirk, of his family, of his sense of self. That is a puppet controlled by AFO, without any autonomy of its own. That child is a wound that Tenko cannot escape for as long as AFO still holds any power over him.

That's why this chapter All Might said that maybe Deku did save Tenko, if he no longer saw the child version of him in the vestige realm. Deku did save him. Because Tenko isn't a child anymore, and he isn't AFO's puppet; he's a free man, for the first time in his life.

A free man who chooses to be a hero.

Heroes get talked about a lot in BNHA (duh), but what is the defining quality of a true hero? Someone who wins? Sure. Someone who saves? Yeah, of course. But the actual test of what differentiates a hero from everybody else is their willingness to sacrifice. To give up everything for the greater good. Even if it hurts. Sometimes especially if it hurts. I mean, this has come up a lot through the manga. Deku running in to attack the sludge villain, Mirio giving up his quirk, Eraserhead throwing himself in front of his students, Edgeshot shortening his lifespan to save Bakugo, All Might standing quirkless in front of the greatest evil of his time-- literally the constant refrain from the narrative has been that being willing to sacrifice it all is what makes a hero a hero.

Tenko's final wish from last chapter is gut wrenching, but: he wanted to be a hero for the Villains. The rest of the world can rot for all he cares, but his friends, those disenfranchised, hurt people that everyone else gave up on? Those people who have never been saved, those people who have never been protected... he wants to be their hero. In the face of danger, of certain doom, he is a free man, and he has a choice.

So he makes a sacrifice. His final act is to become a hero. For them.

Cue the sobbing tears.

Additionally, I think it's relevant to point out here how strongly the narrative has advocated for victimhood to be divorced from being a perpetual self-identity. It really emphasizes the power of choosing to rise above your situation and pain to help other people, while also suggesting that your pain does not excuse you from hurting people. You can be a victim and you can be a perpetrator; they are not mutually exclusive. And because of this, after Deku saves Tenko, he does not owe him. He saved Tenko, but he could not keep him alive, and... I don't think that it's about Tenko deserving or not deserving to die. It's just that Tenko had reached a point of no return where his only choices were to die a slave or die free and he broke his shackles. But he was always going to die. Doomed by the narrative, both literally and figuratively. We can argue all day as to what degree of responsibility he holds for his actions as a highly abused, traumatized, often shell of a person. But the point is that at every junction of the story, Tenko (and the story around him) escalated until he was trapped. There wasn't a way out, and it's heartbreaking, and maybe that's the point.

I'm not saying it's fair. I'm certainly not saying you have to like it. But... I don't know. I don't feel like this is some completely out of pocket, off-the-rails end that destroyed all its characters. And who knows! Maybe Tenko will be brought back later. Maybe the epilogue will get progressively worse and I'll hate it. Maybe I'll finally get some sleep and regret writing this at all. I have no idea. Really. But we're all in this together, so these are my thoughts right now :)

[codenamesazanka]

more Deku bashing, if you'll forgive me

Seeing lots of shocked tweets and posts that Deku seems so cold and distant about Shigaraki dying in front of him; that Deku doesn't seem to care much at all; that Deku isn't devastated he wasn't able to save that little boy.

I have to point out that Deku never cared in the first place. He really didn't! It's why he needed to see The Crying Child to feel any bit of empathy for Shigaraki, and why ever since then, he only yammers on about saving the Crying Child and only the little boy. He never gave a shit about the Shigaraki in front of him. Never treated Shigaraki like someone real to engage with. That Shigaraki is unforgivable; and it was impossible to have ever bring the Crying Child into reality because the Crying Child was a memory, it happened 15 years in the past that cannot be changed, so all Deku can do is comfort the Crying Child then beat the shit out of Shigaraki.

I mean, just look at the imagery and the word choices:

Are those the words and expressions of someone who's trying to be careful about not hurting Shigaraki? Actually trying to help someone in pain? I remember when people were excited that Danger Sense would tell Shigaraki that Deku doesn't want to hurt him - turns out nah. He was so ready to make Shigaraki throw up blood.

Deku never tried to talk to Shigaraki. He never asked any questions during the whole time they were fighting. Mirio asked a question and got a response; but Deku? Nothing. Even in the memory-realm, when Shigaraki via memory-villains ask Deku what his plan was, Deku just shouted 'No!' and that was that.

When Deku said 'Somewhere inside of you is a person' he literally meant that. Inside of Shigaraki is the Crying Child, who is the actual person. Did he catch Shigaraki saying 'Spinner will be looking forward to this' and think, 'huh, Shigaraki has someone he cares about, I think? Then he wouldn't want to destroy Spinner, would he?' No. The fan-translation got everyone's hopes up that Deku wants to 'shred the rug' of societal failures, but the official translation was correct - Deku wanted to pry the lid off Shigaraki's trauma, accusing Shigaraki of repressing himself.

If he cared about Shigaraki at all, he would've protested when Gran told him he might have to kill Shigaraki. Instead:

He would've opposed the construction of something called a SKY COFFIN DEATH ARENA. He would've spoken up when Heroes talked strategy about how AFO is the better opponent to fight, implying that it's better if AFO had taken over Shigaraki, despite Shigaraki being the victim of AFO here.

Even when he ends up saving Tenko from Decaying the Shimuras, he's utterly lackluster there. Tenko's in tears, saying that he must have wanted to kill his family, he was born with a quirk like Decay, who could ever validate his existence the way he is??? And Deku's response? "Well. Holding my hand might make you feel better. So here." Saying something like, 'No, you're a child! It's not your fault!' or 'Your quirk isn't meant for harm, it can be useful too' or 'It's okay. You're not an evil existence' seems obvious, but Deku doesn't.

and really, all this has been obvious since the Mall Encounter in Chapter 69. Remember when Shigaraki point blank told him that All Might's smile is stupid because he acts like there's no one he can't save? And it's clearly full of resentment? And Deku picked up on this, which is why next chapter he asks All Might if it's true there are times where All Might couldn't save someone.

But once Tsukauchi said, don't worry about it, Deku did just that. When he does think about it one time, it's this absolutely nothing of a reflection

"I guess we just have to agree to disagree!" Come on. And this kid has a 'drive to save that eclipses all common understanding'??? for real?????

Deku has never given a crap about Shigaraki or Villains. Honestly, him wanting to save that sad little boy might as well be just Horikoshi putting lines in his mouth to move the story along.

If Deku really did care, I think he would've wanted to save the entire person that is Shigaraki. The Crying Child is a phantom - Shigaraki is real and solid and there. The Crying Child is innocent and easy to care about because it's a cute baby and it's openly weepy; saving hand-monster junji ito twink Shigaraki who laughs and talks about destroying everything Deku loves would've been an actual challenge. But clearly we couldn't have that because even the Crying Child was too far gone for Deku to save.

[dekusheroacademia]

Small problem I had with Ochako's ending

I am writing it here because I do not want to update the big "ochako's journey" post I did before.

Okay, in the previous post I already talked about how Ochako's putting aside her feelings is when the major problems I have with her characters start. To summarize, this should lead to two outcomes (more or less): it works very well, it doesn't work. In one outcome we would see Ochako have success as a hero (and the author can add her longing/sadness for the cost of it), in the other we would see her not have success (a "lesson" in "maybe you do not need to put aside your feelings"). Instead: we have none. Because Horikoshi puts aside her, and she loses a lot of screen time.

But I talked about it before, this time I want to talk about the ending.

I truly feel like Ochako was the only character who had an incomplete arc by chapter 430.

Deku ended AFO, "saved" Shigaraki (well, his spirit or something), then lost OFA and became a mentor like AM. Then he went back to being a hero with his suit - it came full circle.

Ochako instead has smaller arcs, but one of her major ones is the one connected to Toga: in the licensing arc, Ochako put aside her feelings for Deku to be more like Deku and focus on being a hero.

This is connected with Ochako's fight with Toga, because what Ochako admires of Toga is how she can smile so openly and is able to openly live as herself and declare what she wants and love.

During chapter 429 we have Deku noticing that Uraraka hides her feelings (pain, in this case) because she prioritizes others:

So these are two parts of the "hide your feelings" arc.

In this chapter she finally expresses her feelings (pain) to Deku and the rest of the class. This could have been an okay conclusion. She was still trying to hide, but when Deku offered help it is Uraraka who openly talks about what she feels.

And even Tsuyu notices that Ochako did not open up:

As I said, this could have been the conclusion of the arc, and it would have been okay. Ochako finally expresses her feelings openly (her pain, in this case), then in the next chapter we get Deku's conclusion and we find out what Uraraka is doing with all of her feelings for Toga/her confrontation with Toga (the quirk counseling).

Now, new chapter: 431. There are two options for Ochako's arc:

Ochako's scenes about her crush for Deku and putting aside her crush was a proxy for how she puts aside her own feelings in general, so it is the same as her putting aside her pain in chapter 429. In this case, her arc is concluded with her sharing her feelings in general (pain in particular). "Hide crush = hide feelings"; "Admiration for Toga = Admiration for someone who express feelings openly"; "Express pain = express feelings, learn not to hide"

Ochako's scenes about her crush for Deku are a very important part of her general "put aside her feelings" arc. In this case we would have "Hide crush = hide feelings in general but also puts aside love"; "Admiration for Toga = Admiration for someone who expresses feelings openly and can also openly declare who she is in love with"; "Express pain = express feelings, but she needs time to be able to express her love for Deku" -> the end of the arc is still needed.

Chapter 431 starts with a kind of sad/desolate setting, with a lonely Ochako (overworked maybe?) thinking about Toga once again, to let us know that we are in the (2) option: Toga's lesson and what Ochako learnt from her is not fully completed.

This is also confirmed by Tamaki remarking that her work must be exhausting so she must get some time for herself. She seems confused, because clearly she does not. (And Ochako also confirms her personal life is put aside for work, and she does not have a lot of time for her).

Ochako says that a month ago (when Deku basically came back to work as a hero) she started to dream Toga again.

Now, this is fine, I liked it. If we are in option (2) it is clear that the story is telling us that Ochako kept aside her love for eight years until she had to see Deku daily once again. While I am not a fan of the idea of a female character holding a love/crush in silence for eight years - I am not here to talk about that, so I will skip it for now.

At this point is where I really hated the chapter (in the context of Ochako's arc).

We move to Deku.

Now:

Deku's arc was over.

Deku never had an arc about his romantic feelings or about not noticing romance.

The romance arc was Ochako's

She had an arc specifically about how she put aside her love for Deku, and then overworked-focused on work - she is still in the middle of the arc

she is also the one who had a revelation from her confrontation with Toga

And yet, Deku steals her ending.

Ochako wants to talk more with Deku, but again, she decides not to. She is walking again. She is not moving towards her goal/end of her arc.

She did not learn Toga's lesson.

It is only because Deku moves towards her that she "agrees" to talking more with him/a romance.

Toga's wish is for Ochako to live as she wants. Ochako admired that Toga could declare her love with an open smile and live as she wants. Ochako hid and is still hiding her feelings for Deku, she is not acting on her wishes and not living as she wants - and yet, she still doesn't.

Instead of having an active Ochako take a step forward and moving towards the goal and growing, we have Deku doing that.

When Ochako put aside her feelings she was acting on her new resolution, we had a monologue of her thoughts too. Now she is passively thrown at Deku by Toga, and listens while blushing - while Deku is the one who declares himself and takes a step forward. Without Deku doing that we know that Ochako would have not expressed her feelings openly.

So what was her arc conclusion? To just wait for a man to make the first step?

This is how I would have changed things a bit:

Kept everything the same until the end of the dinner. Maybe added Ochako's pov earlier, so we can see her at dinner. The problem is that Ochako's mind does not change through the chapter like we see for Deku, she does not realize that Toga's words were true, that they were right, we never see her seeing her friends living their romances/personal lives and thinking "wait..."

The scene of Toga pushing Ochako should have been just after the dinner. Ochako walks away and then she finds her resolution, she realizes she cannot keep living like this (add how many flashbacks as you need, even one of her licesing exam).

And maybe both Ochako and Deku walking towards each other's and declaring their feelings at the same time.

I just really really wanted Ochako to have some agency IN HER OWN CHARACTER ARC.

[delawaredetroit]

As I've said, Aizawa as a character demonstrates the false rationality of emotional men who have rationalized to themselves that all of their decisions/opinions are the most logical and everyone else is irrational/emotional.

What do I mean and why these panels? Torture doesn't work for intelligence. And logically speaking, how much would pain motivate a guy covered head to toe in self-inflicted third degree burns. Regardless of his rationalizations, Aizawa was breaking Dabi's arms here to feel more in control and because he felt afraid.

To be fair, at least Horikoshi didn't reward his actions here, as Aizawa doesn't get anymore useful intelligence than what the League wanted him to know anyway.

[izukusjuicythighs]

bkdk fics i read because was it ever casual

Horikoshi keeps feeding us bkdk crumbs like wtf??at this point they HAVE to be canon bkdk hospital kiss confirmed I was izukus freckle ALSO IM KINDA IN A BLOCK RN whenever I finish a fic my yappin brain always has something to say but rn its real quiet so uh🤡

left me no choice(but to stay here forever)

summary: Izuku learns early on in life that the people he loves will always leave him.

So when Kacchan asks him to be his boyfriend, Izuku kisses him and starts grieving for the inevitable.

words: 6,925

chapters: 3/4(updating)

notes: im quite aware that its a bitchy move to inflict pain on ppl but jm gonna do it anyways lol READ THIS AND WEEP I literally wanted to gorge my heart out and then slap all of my love into izuku idk it evokes complicated feelings??normally hate reading unfinished fics BUT THIS!!gave me a life changing experience within 7000words dammit

be my good luck charm

summary: See, the thing is, Midoriya Izuku had been born with a curse. It’s not a curse that’s particularly visible. He doesn’t have horns, or a tortured face, and it’s not the kind of silly curse like a friend of his had way down south in Diagnor, wherein the girl had been born without the ability to say the word duck. Midoriya Izuku is just extremely unlucky.

(Or the AU in which Izuku's the world's unluckiest traveling merchant, and Katsuki is someone who may be able to help him. For a price, that is.)

words: 6785

chapters: 1/1

notes: cute lil oneshot for yall cuz mha fans r in dire need of fluff rn yknow why🤭 how to date a hottie101 by bkg: set ur crush on fire to show ur undying love(WRITE IT DOWN WRITE IT DOWN)

Barberries and Variegated Knotweeds

summary: The Fight Another Day Agreement is a required legal document for all professional heroes. In the event of a life-threatening injury and the hero and their proxies are unable to respond on their behalf, medical professionals may do whatever it takes to keep the hero alive.

For Izuku, whatever it takes means removing flowers from his lungs, forcing him to forget about the love of his life. The aftermath leaves Izuku bewildered at the sight of a man with spiky blond hair and red eyes the color of Japanese barberries.

words: 19,286

chapters: 4/4

notes: YET ANOTHER HANAHAKI FIC WITH IZUKU WHUMP I just love seeing my favs go through it🤠I've read so many hanahaki fics ud think I'd be used to it but NOPE THIS SHIT HAD ME ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT was ready to downgrade 1 dimension to solve this shitstorm myself

If It's You

summary: “You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kidding me,” Katsuki said. “You did not just ask me—me—to try and date your loser step-brother.”

He wasn’t even going to say Deku’s name out loud. Wasn’t giving him the time of day, even in a conversation about him. That weird awkward virgin was not worth his precious time, and certainly not what Kirishima was suggesting.

“But Bakugouuu,” Kirishima wailed, hanging off Katsuki’s arm with monster meathead jock strength. “My dad said I can’t date if Deku doesn’t date. Do you understand what that means?”

“Less chance of knocking someone up and creating more of you in the world?”

words: 16,863

chapters: 1/1

notes: 10 things I hate about you but make it bkdk I LOVE THIS SHIT angsty dramatic misunderstanding high school aus are my JAM also somewhat gives off from the sidelines vibes so if ur into that defo read

Down the Red Line

summary: His mom is the first person to know about it. She finds out when Izuku asks ( in a very cute three-year-old way) why can’t he see the red line that connected him to Kacchan in the last picture they've taken. The one where they were about to enter Kindergarten on their first day.

"Red line?"

"Yeah, Mamma. This," Little Izuku says, raising his pinky finger to show her the thing tied to it.

Izuku has been able to see the red strings of fate since birth. It's no surprise that his is connected to Katsuki.

words: 7,804

chapters: 1/1

notes: one of my absolute favs since 2021 MAKES ME SO FUKCIN MAD I have to put my phone down and contemplate life for a few mjns while reading it but it's so good??my red string is tied to thjs fic pls

[pikahlua]

Not the same anon, but there was a thread on X summarizing problems with this chapter and how rushed it feels. I think these are pretty valid criticism if I am being honest. [link removed] I really love MHA and I want to enjoy this epilogue, but I really do feel like it is being rushed in some places.

I resubmitted this ask to remove the link. I'm not interested in sending critics flying at someone I disagree with.

The link you provided is for a criticism that is precisely the sort of commentary my blog exists to correct. Why are you guys judging the story based on a bad fan translation??? Is that really what the issue is here? If you're feeling like a chapter is rushed based on Rukasu's rushed summaries or my own disjointed, unnatural-sounding translations or the fan translations that just push along with awkward translations they clearly don't research that well, yeah, I bet it does seem pretty rushed.

Fan translation (left) vs official translation (right)

Some differences are stark and some subtle, but they all lead to totally different readings!

And as for this criticism:

And while I get what Horikoshi was trying to communicate here, the execution is just... Absolutely tone deaf

I don't understand how anyone could say something like they know what the author intended in good faith when they KNOW they're reading a fan translation.

Starting with the 1st page: now, I get Horikoshi is trying to this monologue more for the audience to highlight Uraraka's self sacrificial tendencies similar to Izuku in order to explain her behavior and showcase her flaws. [...] Because, in universe, Uraraka is breaking down with guilt and grief over someone she finally reached/understood sacrificing her life for her, something only SHE knows, and Izuku shows up, ignoring what's going on, and starts "explaining" her flaws and HIS feelings about it all. [...] Now, again, I understand that Hori is trying to communicate to the audience that Izuku has realized Uraraka's flaws and struggles and is deciding to become her support instead.

This reading completely ignores the fact that Ochako doesn't want to open up. Izuku is trying to convince her to! That's what's happening in this scene! He's not "ignoring" what happened with Toga--because he doesn't even know what happened! That's part of why Ochako is so upset!

I've explained before how the western fandom has a bad reading on these so-called self-sacrificial "flaws" Izuku and now ostensibly Ochako have. This is not the first time a character has realized they relied too much on another person's strength and let that person shoulder their burdens alone. All Might acknowledged the same thing with Katsuki after DvK2. I do not think what Izuku is doing here is "explaining her flaws and HIS feelings about it all." My reading of this scene is based on their conversation after she lost to Katsuki in the sports festival. He's saying the same stuff she said to him back to her. He's talking about HIS OWN flaws. He's saying "You are my hero, the way you've been since the beginning is heroic, I admire you, when you're hurting I'll protect you just like you protected me, I won't be a burden by relying on your strength to get you through and letting you handle your pain alone anymore, I'll pull my own weight and be here for you now that you need me, it will be easier to shoulder the pain together." That last part is coming from her UA speech, of course, and I don't know how it could be more relevant to addressing Ochako's pain. "Please open up to me, just like you encouraged me to do." That's what he's saying!

Now, the other criticism this person levies is that using Izuku as a vehicle of exposition is clunky. I don't disagree, but the thing is...this isn't new. This isn't unique to the ending. He's been like this really since chapter 1. I've criticized this before. This isn't a sudden change that makes the ending feel any more rushed than any other part of the story. To focus on this just feels like an attempt by the critic to FIND something to criticize.

I do think there is an emotional reaction at play in the fandom's general response here, but I'm not convinced that the criticism I've been reading actually gets to the heart of what's upsetting people. Something IS upsetting people. Is it BAD WRITING? I'm not sure. In some (not all) cases it seems to be a bad reaction to tragedy or anticlimax. I do also think there are people who have convinced themselves such and such will be addressed, that these two characters will talk about X, etc. etc. and they're panicking that there may not be any space allotted for that in the end, and that's why they feel things are being "rushed." I certainly have some criticisms I could levy at the ending, but I'd like to wait until the ending (the OFFICIAL ending) before I put them on the record.

The thing is, in the end, "what Horikoshi was trying to do" is entirely irrelevant to the final product. If all we do is just argue over what we each think Horikoshi was trying to do, we'll get no where. This was hammered into me in my education, that what an author intended is useless to literary analysis. When I find something in a story that doesn't make sense to me, I take a step back and try to figure out what reading does make it make sense. Sometimes I have to ask others their opinions to puzzle it out. I do appreciate that you sent me this criticism, but I am not yet convinced the fandom has truly identified any concrete issues with the actual writing of the ending as of now. I'm not saying the ending is perfect, just that the problems I see with the ending are very different from what the fandom so far keeps talking about.

[sapphic-agent]

So I was thinking about that anon ask about Eri and the more I ponder it, the more I kind of vibe with villain(ish)!Eri.

Imagine an Eri who wasn't mistreated by Overhaul. Whose life improved once she was taken in by her grandfather. She gets everything she wants and is spoiled rotten by both her grandfather and Chisaki. Maybe she buys into Overhaul's ideals, it was her quirk that killed her father and made her mother resent her, after all. She's manipulated into helping him instead of being outright forced, rewarded with his affection.

(Chisaki tells her that her grandfather is sick, and she believes him without question)

Then Izuku, Mirio, and the heroes come and ruin it all. She doesn't want their help, but they defeat Overhaul and she's given to UA. And she hates it there. She tries to run away, acts out, and pitches a fit every chance she gets. She warms up to Izuku and Mirio because they take the time to get to know her, value her opinion, and don't try to police her behavior. But she absolutely hates being in Aizawa's custody, especially because he can shut off her quirk. She constantly tests Aizawa's patience.

She wants to go home and be with her "Papa" and "Uncle Kai." But then learns that Chisaki hurt her grandfather because he protested against using her for his experiments. And it changes her entire outlook. How could her beloved uncle hurt her grandfather? Kai would never hurt family, he always said that!

Now Eri isn't just angry, she's devastated. She's sad and confused and in pain in a way she doesn't understand. She becomes so subdued that UA (in their infinite wisdom) stop watching her as closely. Big mistake. She runs off, and this time no one's there to stop her.

Only to get picked up by the MLA. They've been watching her since she was taken in by the Yakuza, but they aren't exactly sure what her quirk is. All they know is that it's powerful and want to use it to their advantage. So they try to interrogate her to no avail (Eri, as the granddaughter of a Yakuza boss, has seen real interrogations and is thoroughly unimpressed). They try to coerce her into joining them willingly, which triggers a mental breakdown because it's so similar to how Kai convinced her to help him.

Everyone only wants her for her power. Everyone except-

Izuku and Mirio (without a quirk like a boss) rescue her and it's here that they earn her admiration and adoration. Because she treated them horribly, but they still saved her. They still cared for her. Not for her power, but because she was important to them.

I like Eri in canon fine, but I won't refute that she's one-dimensional. I think something like this would have been really interesting. It not only makes her more layered as a character, it also drives home that every kid is worth saving, not only the sweet, innocent victims. Very good chance for parallels with the LOV.

(But I'm actually glad Horikoshi didn't do this. Girls in anime with complexity aren't treated well, just look at Gabi. Eri would have gotten a lot of hate for being "annoying" or whatever)

I'm thinking of incorporating it into the rewrite somehow.

[epickiya722]

Izuku rejecting an offer to work together with Katsuki, turning his back to him and RUNNING to go after Ochako and her getting literally pushed towards him by the ghost of Toga.

I'm sorry, but, no way i'm reading it wrong. Like. Seriously. They really were just devices for the underdeveloped het ship.

I'm still waiting for the whole chapter to make sense of it, but that is painful.

However, just me, but I do feel like this epilogue is just an amalgamation of fanfic tropes that the team are well aware that people like.

I saw someone say that BakuDeku shippers are wrong about thinking that Horikoshi is pushing IzuOcha for dudebros, but let's be real.

He ain't stupid. I don't know Horikoshi personally, but I know the man ain't stupid or don't have the marketing team telling him what fans are into.

"If that's the case why BakuDeku isn't canon?" Hello, still a Shonen. And also, BakuDeku has already been catered to. Literally, most of the manga is BakuDeku fuel.

Now, I personally don't even think this chapter is a IzuOcha one. At least, not romantically.

Just because Izuku and Ochako agree to see each other more doesn't mean it's romantic. I said it into another post, but I think people forgotten that the class didn't have time to see each other often.

Going back and rereading the manga, I note that Izuku and Ochako barely do have time to actually have a conversation between each other. They have better relationships with other people. Most of the time, Ochako was with Tsu. Right now, they even rocking the same bangs.

Despite all the shipping material, romance ain't the genre I don't think Horikoshi is into writing for. No matter the gender of the characters.

He wasn't expecting MHA to get so popular and to keep it up, he probably decided to play into what the fans want at the advice of his editors.

After 430, certain people made it very clear they were butthurt. So to appease them, here's this epilogue. But it still doesn't mean much because their relationship, in a romantic sense, is underdeveloped. I wouldn't call that a win.

Now I know everyone and their mom is mad at Izuku for rejecting Katsuki's offer to join his agency, but I say this with love... that's ridiculous.

Oh, I know hurtful that Katsuki got rejected like that but when did Izuku or Katsuki ever voiced wanting to have an agency together? I just thought they wanted to be Heroes.

And Izuku just became a Pro Hero. He needs time, hello? To spring that on him, I would reject the offer, too. Izuku has to sit down and work on his schedule between being a teacher and a Pro Hero.

People are acting as if Izuku can't change his mind in the future. Katsuki is great and all, that's my boom boom gremlin right there. But he is not that special that people should expect Izuku to always fall at his feet. At the end of the day, their relationship did get better. They still see each other and who says they need to be in the same agency to fight together?

Are you fucking with me right now?

There's also the fact that Izuku may feel like Katsuki already has done too much for him. The suit is already enough for him. He's not ungrateful.

Izuku is the type of person who finds it hard to accept anything from anybody because he would feel he's taking too much away from someone. You can give him a shirt and he would think it's too much.

And people are hating him for that?

Alright, okay. I never thought Izuku Midoriya would be the most misunderstood protagonist in the year of 2024. Wait, no, why am I surprised? I shouldn't be.

Bakudeku shippers don't get him. IzuOcha shippers don't get him. Izuku fans don't get him. Izuku haters don't get him.

It's like only a selective few do. Which I feel are like two or three people. Within 24 hours, I have unfollowed and blocked people I didn't think I would have to, but here we are.

[totoanime52]

MY THOUGHTS ON THE FINALE OF MY HERO ACADEMIA (LONG, SO BE PREPARED)

So the manga has finally (unofficially) come to an end. With the release of 430's leaks we see how the young heroes have grown over eight years in a timeskip. I'll give my thoughts on the final chapter here before I give my overall thoughts on the series in another post.

First and foremost, I was actually quite happy to see that Horikoshi didn't push pairings into the mix and kept the focus on the characters doing their hero work. As I mentioned on a previous post, I don't like how frequent it is that a series makes the entire last chapter of their story basically dedicated to making sure certain pairings are canon (usually by introducing us to their kids in their own little stories) rather than devoting it to the themes or characters of the world they crafted for years. I often feel like they could have spent more time focusing on an issue or expanding characters more. An example is Naruto: I wanted the last chapter of Naruto to be about our boy's inauguration as Hokage, since that is what the series was pretty much building up to. I would have cried to see Naruto finally take up the mantle of Hokage after seeing how far he has come. Instead, we are pretty much preparing for Boruto's sequel story by being introduced to all the kids and setting up their stories (and you can't imagine my anger when I later found out Naruto canonically missed his inauguration for the sake of a damn joke). Here, we actually focus on how Midoriya is coping with being Quirkless again while still trying to encourage others to follow their own dreams, as well as how the other characters are working in this world. Seeing how Midoriya had originally taken the role of a teacher at UA in this chapter even though he did lose OFA eventually was kind of sweet, especially seeing how some students still admired him (including a now UA student Kota!!). I know that isn't where his story ends, but I'll get to that part in a bit.

We also see how Uraraka is focusing her efforts on changing Quirk counseling to focus more on helping those with different mental states rather than trying to make them conform to 'normality.' Even though I am still not happy with Toga's death, at least Uraraka is trying to make sure that at least one of the major sources of pain in Toga's life cannot harm another child like it did to her.

The fact that the ranking system is still around eight years later is maddening. When it mentioned how Dynamight yelling at a civilian for pushing a camera into his face will cause his rank to drop, I thought three things: 1. Who should give a shit about the rankings anymore?; 2. I wouldn't be happy if someone pushed a camera in my face while I'm working, especially if it involves something that requires focus and can be dangerous; 3. This is Dynamight, they should know his personailty by now so what did they expect to happen? I know Keigo is trying, but as long as that system is in place, it will still make the whole hero career in general more of a competitive popularity contest than a collaborative function.

Finally, we see how Izuku's story reaches it's end, at least on paper: All Might gives him his old hero costume case from school (with 18 right on the front) and tells him that Bakugou and the others from class A (note: it still feels weird not saying 1A anymore) have pooled money in over the past eight years to fund the creation of support items for Izuku so he can officially take up the mantle of the hero Deku again. This time, we see Bakugou hold his hand out to Izuku; turns out he really did mean it when he said he wanted them to keep competing with each other for the rest of their lives (*coughtsunderecough*). As Deku once again adorns his hero suit, he sees what looks like a ghost of Shigaraki Tomura watching him. The last panel of the manga shows the present day Class A students, now officially heroes.

I do like how Izuku remains Quirkless in the end. Despite him now having the means to pick his hero career back up, it doesn't change the fact that One For All is still gone forever. There was no miraculous reawakening of it or anything, but a work-around was found with the use of support items. Deku is now a Quirkless Hero, so perhaps this may help the rest of the 20% in the world that they can still chase their dreams. The fact that Class A dedicated eight years of funds to help Izuku keep his dream is also kind of heartwarming, especially when they were busy with their own lives and work, as well.

As for Shigaraki's ghost, I kind of have mixed feelings about that. I'm happy that Izuku still thinking about him after eight years. Maybe this is a way that Horikoshi is trying to say that his failure to save Shigaraki still haunts him and will continue to haunt him. Maybe it means that Shigaraki will keep watching Deku to see if he will be able to keep that spirit despite the failures behind him and the unknowns ahead of him (like a "Okay, Hero, let's see if you still have the ability to save others even after you couldn't save me" in that sarcastic way). I still wish there was a way that Tomura or any of the main villain trio could have been saved with how it was set up, so this little snippet of him still makes me sad to know that never happened.

Overall, the final chapter was better than I was expecting. While I still have issues with how Horikoshi chose to handle (or in the rankings case, NOT handle) some of the problems in the world of BNHA, I like how he kept the story on Izuku's dream of becoming a hero, something he was sure would never happen in the beginning and, near the end, would never happen again.

The fact that he kept their futures open to our interpretations in terms of where they will take their personal lives is quite nice to see, especially in regards to shipping. I feel like when official pairings are made, especially ones made last minute in stories like many shounen manga, most of the time it invites bragging, people putting others down, or just straight up fights in the fandom (it honestly scares me just how viscous some people can be over a fictional pairing). By keeping it open, at the very least it prevents some of the more extreme parts of the pairing fandom from claiming superiority over others. Anyway, sorry for the tangent at the end, but this is something that always irked me, especially in stories where romance wasn't a main theme.

Sidenote: seeing Eri growing up, smiling, and in a music club with her friends is the most beautiful thing. She's come so far and it's so cute how music became a passion for her after it was the catalyst for giving her back her smile.

[zarathelonewolf]

GACHIAKUTA 117 aka Horikoshi take notes because Follo is being a better side character than most of class A combined*

*excluding Bakugo and Todoroki but that's because the former is a rival/deuteragonist and the latter is an honorary deuteragonist/deuteragonist/I am Hella confused about narrative roles don't talk to me-

Ok, so.

I know this is veeeery early. But STILL.

You cannot do this shit to me Urana! Wtf!

I had the intention of not getting attached to everyone in fear that you would kill most of them off JJK style, but now I am incredibly attached to Follo as well!

Fuck!

Anyway, here are my thoughts on the chapter 117 and the Pain™ it brought me... Because both Follo and Rudo misunderstood each other and now my heart hurts.

Needless of me to say, the biggest surprise I got in this chapter is... not that Enjin is a ladies-man. I mean, with him saying that he "likes a good woman" especially if they're sexy and smarter than him, yeah, I imagined that he would be.

It's nice seeing more of Semiu being serious about the Cleaners' job. She's a tough one, and she's right, Rudo needs to get back to work.

Before I get on my Follo angst situation, I will say that though the misunderstanding between Rudo and Follo and Follo's grief for the loss of his hammer is easily my number 1 surprise, seeing Noerde and the Sileia tribe mentioned again intrigues me as well.

Noerde seems to have been known by Mildretta, who was also a Sileia, it seems... Or at the very least, Mildretta had heard of Noerde from somewhere. Also Mildretta's another tough woman. I was wondering when we'd see more of her and today I got my answer.

Now, unto Follo!

I am tempted to just dump this stuff in your face, but NO.

No. I will not. I must resist my urge to curl into a ball.

We know that Follo has been wanting to become a Giver this whole time. We can see clearly from his memories here that his goal and dream has been cast aside at best and insulted at worst.

His hammer was his chance. He had taken good care of it... Until he offered it to Rudo to break the chest.

Follo himself had made the proposal, but in the moment his hammer broke, he realized that he hadn't really been ready for the possibility of the hammer breaking.

This has probably been eating him up from the inside. His chance of becoming a Giver broke in front of him, and he has been feeling guilty because it's happened due to his own will of helping Rudo.

He wants to take pride in being a supporter. He really does. He thinks that being a supporter is just as important as being a Cleaner, but hasn't being a supporter who supports the Cleaners no matter what deprived him of his treasured hammer?

And also... Rudo has just rejected his offer of an undamaged uniform. This just rubs further salt into the wound.

A "supporter"? Can he even support the Cleaners right? Should he? He wants to be a Giver after all, and what happened due to his diligence to the cause just deprived him of his treasured item that was the key to his aspirations...

What is his place? He is feeling like he cannot be the hero of the story no matter what he does.

Rudo, on the other hand?

Guys, we're talking about "if it's broken, I will still use it until it's truly disintegrated and until then it's not trash" Rudo.

Of course he wouldn't want a new uniform. It got damaged? Not a big deal for him, he can patch it up, he doesn't mind, it's not like it's trash after all.

Nothing is trash to him.

He can't throw it away just because it's damaged.

Of course he said no to Follo's insistence.

And yet Follo probably doesn't understand. Maybe it's also due to the way they seem to have been raised, which is also the reason why I think it has been much harder so far for Follo to awaken a Jinki.

Rudo has had an empty hole inside of him for as long as he can remember, which was filled by his gloves. Follo doesn't really have the same characteristics of Rudo: his body and soul don't crave an object or someone to rely onto as much as Rudo's do. Follo does WANT a Jinki, but not with the same exasperation that makes up Rudo's heart's NEED for a Jinki.

Alternatively, Rudo's been shown as being more versatile, so to speak, compared to Follo. Rudo's soul craves the awakening of pretty much ALL he touches, at least potentially. He can awaken every object that has emotional energy stored inside of it as a Jinki.

Follo cannot do that, it's pretty clear to see. And when he is given a Jinki? Remember what happens? Zodyl may look creepy at times and very intense, but he's spot on when he says that people who try to use a Jinki when they are not the user of the Jinki themselves, or when they are not "empty" enough, they go mad. They are meeting despair derived from the object being away from what they consider a suitable friend, and they are overwhelmed with the feelings of the object. At least from what we can deduce.

"Emptiness" and "trauma", in short, make it much, much easier for someone to bring a Jinki into life. They make it easier for the person's and the Jinki's energies to join in order to reach a balance.

And while Follo's life has been riddled with struggle, I can clearly see that, it WILL take some more time before he gest his own Jinki. It's not that he has no chance of getting one, it's just that he does not have the same constitution as, say, Rudo or Amo or Zodyl, so it will be more difficult.

But maybe this will be the episode, this one misunderstanding, that transforms Follo into someone that an object may feel tempted to, so to speak, complete?

EDIT: ALSO Givers are Givers for their objects. That is to say, one shouldn't become a Giver BECAUSE that way they will gain approval for doing something because they're finally "special" enough to do that thing. Givers simply BECOME. They just BECOME their role, not for a purpose but because of the way they feel and interact with objects in their surroundings.

Again, Follo was probably close to becoming one. So close! He treasured the hammer and took care of it with perseverance. But he did it because otherwise people would be skeptical about him being in the Cleaners. He did it to prove a point... And not necessarily because HE loved the hammer, but because SOMEONE ELSE WHOM HE LOVED had the hammer (see the boy with the lighter hair that says he will become a Giver while holding the hammer? on the fourth page?) and a similar goal.

Follo is not fully living for himself.

[mikeellee]

Hi 👋

You said horikoshi made ochako act worse towards izuku in the later arcs and while I do actually agree with you that hori did sacrifice the friendship between izuku and ochako for the sake of togaocha can you please go into more detail as in to why you think that and how?

Ok, hi @bibibbon

So lets start with this: Hori hates his mc. This is not exaggerating of a fan. This is a fact now.

1) Ochako when meeting Izu and "befriend" him calls him deku. Now. I count her some slack as she thought it was dekiru. But she heard BK not only trying to kill Izu...but calling him deku...and she thought nothing of it. NO, EVEN WHEN I WAS IZUOCHA FAN I DIDNT LIKE IZU AGREED WITH THE NAME DEKU BC OF HER. HE KNOWS HER FOR A DAY AND EVEN IF SHE IS FULL OF GOOD INTENTIONS...IZU SHOULD HATE THE NAME.

2) She calls him plain. Now sure it may not be out of malice (not how many actions of class A1 towards Izu fall into this category) but is an odd comment to make. No, she doesnt need to go "oh my god he is so hot🤤" but call him plain seems....mean. yes Izu was called much worse but here the thing, it doesnt make her comment better.

3) In Sports Festival. "You wont fight quirkless right?" No. I dont believe in quirkless discrimantion but its a bad line here. Does Ochako thinks Izu's quirk is storng and he should use more? Even if his bones break? She never show much consideration on this aspect of his quirk (to be fair, no one in UA does expect blame him) but is a bad comment to make and shows to me how Izu doesn't trust or cant trust fully on her. If he did...he could have shared more of his past. Note how he never talks about his past to anyone.

4) Ochako then gets quirkless fightinf style. This is on Hori to shit on Izu as "girlboss" moment for Ochako...is unwarranted. She never express desire to want to fight quirkless ...Izu would benefit more if he was there...why not make them intern together? Could Ochako have asked if Izu could join? Not blaming her for this...maybe Gunhead would have said no. But is a waste of bonding moment for them.

5) Ochako decides to remain silent on her feelings bc.....it may prevent her from being a hero. Again, this is only with Izu. If a girl was in love with Shoto...it wouldn't be a problem even if the girl is poor.

6) On the fall out of bk vs Izu. She does treat as he is in the wrong (same for Iida. Again....this asshole tried to kill a man) and to me, it cements how Izu may not fully trust her with his pain or just convinced 100% his pain is non important

7) dark Izu era. She doesnt look happy to see him and doesnt respect his wishes at all. She is being guided by bk who is having the time of his life. No one looks happy to see Izu. And they force him to return.

8) She says to Toga, who she had no contact until now, she will be her blood bank. Izu? She doesnt even know the name of his mother.

Izuocha to me is dead even as friendship. Ochako did nothing and what she did for Izu was not great.

[theophagie]

you ever think about how katsuki's feelings of constantly *losing to izuku* have been addressed plenty times and yet - with izuku's feelings on constantly *failing to save katsuki* there's been barely anything. i know he blocks out those specific traumatic moments but like. do you ever just think about it 🧍

Kacchan is much more upfront and vocal about his feelings than many people give him credit for T-T especially since he hasn't just expressed the fear of losing to Deku, but also the fear of losing him. He hasn't directly told him about it, but it is there!! outwardly!!!! He's admitted it to himself, their future best man All Might knows all about it from their talk, as do their classmates from his behavior at the hospital, as does AFO thanks to Ragdoll's Search? (つ﹏<。)

Deku is a little repressed blockhead (and a shitty nerd who's oblivious about these things, lest we forget), but personally even if he hasn't addressed his feelings yet, to me the content that we do have is 💯🔥

I don't have them at hand atm, but pretend that the panels building up to Kacchan's rescue are here too + also insert Horikoshi's interview where he said that it was painful for Deku to give up on being the one to reach out to him (AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-). Everything is much more intriguing exactly because he refuses to face all of this head on imo _(:3 」∠)_

In general I wouldn't say that there isn't much on Deku's part, just that it's harder to have the broader fanbase acknowledge it because many people refuse to accept anything that isn't 100% made clear (and oftentimes not even then, seeing how split the reaction to the whole Closest Person™ thing was, to remain on the topic of their relationship), so it's harder to get everyone to pay attention to these details

[hamliet]

The problem with the villains going free is that we know they have surviving victims and dead victims whose families and friends are furious. I can't see how Horikoshi is going to deal with that without setting it up for the new society to fail if the villains go free because there's just going to be another group of people who feel abandoned and discarded by society, this time by one that prioritized the murderers over their victims. It feels to me like Horikoshi has written himself into a corner by specifically addressing Dabi and Toga's victims.

See this is why I thought it was a bad idea to bring it up when you're not gonna directly deal with it, though I think Hori was like wanting critics to feel heard, which isn't bad, but... writing for detractors does create flaws in themes. Particularly when your story is rather simple, which MHA is (simple stories can be just as powerful thematically as complex ones).

However, I will say that hand-wringing over others in society who feel neglected and how society won't last is a fair degree of projection. The story doesn't have to address it because theoretically, this is the case in the real world whenever any progress is made as well. But the story itself also isn't set up to address it in any way. The victim characters are barely fleshed out compared to the suffering Toga and Touya and Shigaraki have endured. Characters are ideas fleshed out to carry a message of a story. They're not real, so the concept and potential ramifications for society are also not real. This is a chance to explore in fiction what is unlikely to ever happen for the foreseeable future in real life. That said, it's a great idea to explore in a sequel fanfiction or something.

At a certain point, you have to stop the cycle of revenge as well (and prison is revenge when the person poses no further threat) or it just continues and continues. The reality is that like... what would these people want? Dabi's already burned alive, like twice. Toga's bled out, twice. Endeavor's family, including his wife, a mother, and her three innocent children, to lose another person they love again? They can want that, but should they be given it if the villains are genuinely sorry? If so, then shouldn't Endeavor be put down for abusing Touya?

You can't fix the past, but you can prevent more pain in the future. And yes I know that there is more future pain for people who have lost loved ones, and also for villains adjusting to society and dealing with what they've done.

Idk. Punitive justice--it's not great. The reality, though, is that on this earth there is absolutely no way to make right a death, or abuse, or trauma. You can never undo it. There is no true justice here, not ever. And that's something to wrestle with and definitely something I want to see more stories explore, because there's little actual talk about such a complex topic. (Actually, The Brothers Karamazov is one of the best stories for this!)

That said, even when written to detractors, MHA is not that story.

[agentark88]

Think: An Explosive Ending

My Hero Academia Fan Fiction by Agent ARK 88

Disclaimer: The following is a work of fan fiction using characters and settings from My Hero Academia/Boku no Hero Academia created by Kohei Horikoshi. I do not claim any ownership of characters present in this piece that are owned and created by Kohei Horikoshi. I do not own My Hero Academia/Boku no Hero Academia.

Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Warnings: This work contains mild language, blood, and violence.

(Ending 1 of 8)

An Explosive Ending

You couldn’t move. You stared back at a Shigaraki possessed by All for One. In this form, he was beyond your worst nightmares. With a flick of his finger, he could disintegrate you. All your fears came rushing back. You quivered in fear.

“Out of the way,” All for One said. He lifted Shigaraki’s hand, and your chest tightened.

No. Please no. It was all you could do not to collapse to the ground, holding yourself. Please stop. Stop hurting people.

Shigaraki’s outstretched hand wavered. Your hands moved to your head, clutching your mind with your fingertips. You’d used your quirk without your control again. The words in your mind were being streamlined out.

“This can easily be remedied if you just stand aside. You’re wasting my time with such ridiculous pleas,” All for One said. He lifted Shigaraki’s hand again.

You shut your eyes, unable to move out of fear and your malfunctioning quirk. You trembled, resigning yourself to your fate.

An explosion rattled Gigantomachia. A ringing penetrated your ears, and heat washed through you. Wind rushed past you.

“I won’t let you touch her!” Bakugo bellowed. It was a miracle he was still standing. He’d gone unconscious several times since he’d been stabbed in the chest, yet here he was still protecting you. His arm came around you, and he ushered you back, barely standing on his own. “Go, Big Brain. This isn’t your fight. It’s that Damn Nerds’ and my responsibility.”

Bakugo suddenly coughed out blood, and you gasped.

“What are you talking about?! Neither you nor Deku can even stand up straight. How do you expect to stop him like this?” you asked.

“I expect to keep you safe, like I promised,” Katsuki said through clenched teeth. “Now, get out of here. You’re the last person I ever want to get injured,” he murmured.

“I haven’t even…” you trailed off. You hadn’t even gotten to fight Shigaraki. You were too scared to fight him. Just the sight of him dredged up the past. All for One’s presence in his body only made it worse. With Bakugo in front of you now, you realized an even more horrifying reality ahead of you.

“Go,” Bakugo snapped, staggering.

The nightmare. All those weeks, no months, ago you saw him disintegrate in your arms. You watched him turn to ash, felt Katsuki dissipate into the wind.

“Why won’t you just die?” Shigaraki asked. That was his voice, not All for One’s. Had he fought through? He raised his hand again. The air stilled. Spikes of red and black energy raced from his fingertips.

Bakugo shoved you behind him, raising his own palm. Your quirk fired, rushing around you and Katsuki as you realized his explosion wasn’t even going to go off. Was he out of sweat? Did he intend on sacrificing himself for you? The strands of energy pierced through your mind shield but only by a crack, unable to completely break through. You gritted your teeth, fighting through the mind-splitting migraine twisting through your temple.

Bakugo doubled over, another burst of blood coming from his lips. “No, dammit. I need to protect her. Stupid body.” He clutched at his chest. His eyes were shutting on their own.

Your eyes widened as you were struck from behind. You yelped out in pain. Shigaraki had missed everything important, but he had hit your shoulder. Your mind whipped out, taking the quirk energy between two different strands and snapping it. You tried not to look at the damage to your shoulder, but your glittering hero costume was already turning crimson.

You turned your gaze back on Katsuki, and rage lit up his expression. Explosions burst to life in his palms, as he observed the wound that had been inflicted on you while beside him.

“That Bastard will die for that,” he seethed.

“Katsuki, you can’t—”

Bakugo was gone before the next word came out of your mouth. You clutched at your dripping wound, watching in awe as Katsuki unloaded an onslaught of explosions the equivalent to the impact of fifty missiles. The Nomus headed up the hill were even struck by the impressive display, delaying their objective to retrieve their master.

A fog of harsh black and gray smoke clouded the area. Katsuki landed beside you, taking a knee to keep conscious and wheezing ferally beside you. Shigaraki emerged from the smoke, unharmed. His posture had changed again. All for One had taken back control.

“I’ve had just about enough of your interferences, Katsuki Bakugo.” All for One cracked his neck. “I will finish what my successor started.”

Bakugo continued to push you back as All for One got closer. Katsuki was practically falling into you. At this point, Katsuki didn’t even have the power to speak. All for One would kill him if he got his hands on him. All for One reached Shigaraki’s hand out to place it on Bakugo, and your quirk snapped.

Your quirk launched at the villain, hitting his hand with such force that it broke Shigaraki’s wrist. You screamed as you felt the strand of your mind decay from being touched. But, your self-survivalist quirk had already detached the strand so it wouldn’t destroy your mind along with it. Another part of your mind snapped over the shattered area in your brain. Pain resurfaced again. Bakugo grabbed for you. You shivered in his arms.

The Nomus finally made it up the hill, streaming past both of you with one task in mind. They grabbed Shigaraki, retreating. Katsuki moved from you to pursue him, but he didn’t make it far. He collapsed beside you. You weakly put out your hand to touch him, ensure that he was still alive. Then, you passed out.

…

When you woke up, Heart of Hearts informed you that days had passed. Still, you had been considered one of the luckier ones. Deku and Bakugo hadn’t woken up yet, both recovering from severe injuries.

You stayed by Katsuki’s side as long as they would let you. His entire chest was bandaged. There were hundreds of tiny wires and machines hooked up to him. You’d oftentimes bring him spicy food: chips, noodle cups, and chocolate. The pile was getting extensive beside his bed. You had even bought a small orange bear for him. You were holding the small stuffed animal in your lap now, watching Bakugo continue to sleep and wondering if his eyes would ever open.

“I’m sorry,” you said, clutching the bear closer to your chest. ��If I wasn’t so scared to fight, maybe you’d already be awake.” You leaned forward, frowning. “You know that you don’t have to always protect me, right? I know I’m a mess, and I’m clumsy, but…” You teared up, waiting for his grouchy response, but he remained unconscious. “I don’t know what to do without you, Katsuki.” You sniffled, wiping your nose with the back of your hand.

You wondered what he’d say to you now, probably something about using a tissue, or he’d tell you to throw out all that junk food you’d bought him. You turned the orange bear around, holding it out and looking down at its unmoving content expression. Would he even like this?

You set the bear to the side, almost knocking over the other small gifts when you set him atop them. You placed your face in your hands, letting out the tears that seemed to stream endlessly these days. Inconsolable had been the best word to describe your demeanor. Without Katsuki, you felt so alone.

“Anna?”

You froze, fingers coming away from your face as if you’d heard a ghost. “Katsuki?”

Bakugo blinked at you, already shifting restlessly in his hospital bed. He winced, putting a hand to his chest when he tried to get up.

“D-Don’t move,” you stuttered out. “You’ve been in a coma. You were unconscious for weeks.”

Bakugo’s eyes widened. “Weeks?” he asked. He gritted his teeth.

You nodded your head, already blubbering again. You relentlessly wiped away the tears. “I was so scared you weren’t going to wake up,” you murmured. You leapt up from your chair, throwing your arms around him.

Katsuki grunted from the impact but managed to hold you all the same. “Don’t cry,” he grumbled, placing his hand softly on the back of your head. “I told you that I’ll always be there to protect you. I can’t really do that if I’m freaking dead, now can I?”

You shook your head no, trying to avoid pressing on any of his injuries. He stroked your hair, clicking his tongue. He pressed a kiss to your forehead, and you blushed. You didn’t dare pull away, in fear that you might lose him again.

Katsuki patiently waited until you stopped crying, then his hand paused atop your head. You felt him turn.

“What the hell is all that crap?” he asked.

You chuckled, nuzzling into him. “I might have gone a little overboard bringing you gifts.”

“A little is an understatement…” he trailed off, and you turned your gaze up to him.

“What?” you asked.

“The bear. What’s his name?”

You looked at him in confusion.

“You bought me a bear. Don’t tell me that you didn’t even give it a name.” He rolled his eyes, reaching his hand out toward it.

You took the hint and grabbed it, bringing it over to him. He took it, setting it beside him.

“Y-you like him?” you asked in surprise.

“Of course, I like him. You got him for me. Besides, at least he’s not crappy for my health. And, he’s my favorite color,” Bakugo said.

You wiggled your eyebrows mischievously, while thinking about giving the bear a name. You bounced up and down in place out of excitement. “What about Bakubear?”

“Hell no,” Katsuki snapped. “He needs a badass name.”

You put your finger to your chin. “What about Sidekick Explosion Murder Bear?”

“Now, that’s a name for a bear.” Bakugo squeezed the bear with one hand a little too hard. Its tiny body could hardly stand on its own.

You and Bakugo suddenly looked up at each other. His gaze softened.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said gently.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” you said back.

There was a long pause. Katsuki shifted again. His ears grew crimson in color. “I hope you know that I love you.”

Your eyes widened. You blushed just as hard, clearing your throat and finding it difficult to look back up at him. “I-I love you too.”

…Eight Years Later…

“Do we really have to stay the whole time?” Katsuki grumbled, loosening his bowtie for the fifth time that night. “I don’t want to sit here and lose to that Damn Nerd again.”

Your husband, Katsuki Bakugo, had been working so hard to achieve his dream of becoming the number one hero, but with Pro Heroes like Deku, it’s been sort of difficult for him to gain traction in his popularity. Overall, Katsuki had grown so much since the two of you graduated from U.A.. With a little PR training, he had started to treat his fans with a little less hostility, but you always felt like it was a part of his charm.

“I’ve got a good feeling about this one,” you said, leaning forward in your chair. You were being honest. Recently, Katsuki’s ratings had skyrocketed. The two of you had been out on patrol more often together, and you were able to keep him pretty calm around his fans. Meanwhile, he had also made some major breakthroughs with villain arrests. His entire sector had been crime free for weeks now.

Katsuki’s eyes scanned you over. You were wearing a long orange sparkly dress in support of him for the hero rankings today. His mother had graciously allowed you to wear one of her designs. Unfortunately, it was a little too suggestive for your liking. There was a rather large slit up the side and the back was exposed. You were trying to be very careful with how you sat, but your leg kept slipping out of the fold. You fixed the fabric again, and Katsuki’s hand fell onto yours.

“Anna, you look stunning. You don’t need to be so self-conscious,” he murmured under his breath.

You gulped, trying to hide your flushed cheeks from him. “Thank you. It’s a little too revealing in my opinion, but I’m thankful that I could wear something so fancy for the occasion. It was nice of your mom to let me borrow it.”

Katsuki sighed. “Can’t believe you went to her for an outfit. Makes me think you don’t like when I surprise you.” He crossed his arms, staring up at the stage. They were droning on and on about what the Pro Heroes had been able to accomplish, and some speeches were going on far longer than they should have been. Katsuki had checked out by the sixth person called.

“It’s an honor to be invited at least,” you said, shrugging and staring at his bored expression. “At least you know you made it in the top ten.” You were trying your best to stay positive. He deserved to be at the top. He shouldn’t always be so hard on himself.

Katsuki shrugged, gazing back at you. “I’d much rather spend this time off of patrol with you… alone… at the house…” He smirked at you, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

You rolled your eyes at him, blushing. “Sure, I’d rather be cuddling up and watching a movie than here too, but you have to be a little excited to find out the results.”

“What does it matter?” He put his head down on the table over his arm. He reached out and held your hand with his free one. “I’m always second anyway. Come on. We can slip out unnoticed if we go now.”

“You’re not going to go to the stage? Won’t that mess up the ceremony?”

Katsuki clicked his tongue. “Like I care if I mess up some stuffy ceremony.”

Your gaze shifted, and you caught sight of Deku making his way up to the stage. Wait, what number had they called?

“Come on. Let’s play hooky together,” Katsuki said.

“Wait…” you said, attention shifting up to the front.

“…and the number one Pro Hero this year is Katsuki Bakugo!” the announcer bellowed.

Your eyes widened, and you jumped up in excitement. Katsuki stared at you in confusion. He mustn’t have even heard the announcement. You gripped his arm, and his eyebrows furrowed.

“You did it, Katsuki.” You pulled him up from his chair, pressing a kiss to his cheek and encouraging him to go to the stage.

He was still confused even as the rest of the room was cheering him on.

“The hell?” he asked.

“You’re number one, Katsuki,” you said, grinning.

“Congratulations, Bakubro. Better get to the stage before someone else swoops in and takes your spot,” Red Riot said, clapping his old pal on the back.

“I did it?” Katsuki asked incredulously. He started to put together what had actually happened. Then, he put on a smirk. “Of course, I did it. Those damn Extras don’t have anything on me.”

Your smile wavered as your husband made his way to the stage. You hoped for his ranking’s sake that he would keep to the PR script, but you really wanted him to just be himself and enjoy the moment. Regardless, his speech would most likely have his explosive flare to it. He’d worked so hard, and you were so proud. You were sure his PR team members were already wringing their hands in worry backstage.

Katsuki took the mic with a sardonic grin. The room grew quiet as he was about to speak. “It’s about time,” he started. He cleared his throat, looking at you in the crowd. “I’d like to start out by thanking you for the support you’ve given me and my agency. I wouldn’t be standing here today without you…”

Well, at least he remembered his script, but it didn’t really feel authentically him.

“…Anna. My beautiful, thoughtful, and intelligent wife is the reason I’m standing here in front of all of you, today. Without her getting me through these boring ass functions, I would never have been standing here.” He gestured out to you in the crowd, and you swore your glasses were fogging up from heated embarrassment. Now, it was definitely more on brand for him, unpredictable and outspoken. Katsuki chuckled. “Can’t say that I didn’t know it would happen eventually. I knew I’d be number one.”

Katsuki tossed the mic behind him, and the host looked shocked and confused. Katsuki then proceeded to give Deku the middle finger, sticking his tongue out at him. Deku simply gave him an awkward smile, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Katsuki made a beeline for where you were standing, wading through the astonished crowd. When Katsuki reached you, he gave you a long breathtaking kiss. You blinked up at him in a daze.

“That was certainly a speech,” you said. “I’m not sure PR would approve.”

“There’s only one person I’ve got to worry about for approval, and it sure as hell aren’t those nerds. I didn’t get to be number one by doing what the PR team wanted me to do.” He stroked your cheek with his thumb. His gaze softened. “Now, let’s go home. I’ve got a whole year to celebrate my victory, and I don’t intend to spend it in this monkey suit around these Extras.”