#or The Dabi Precedent

[gemstarstarlight]

If I have learned anything in life, it’s that the Single Handsome Boy who does Bad Things will be adored.

Regardless of morality or level of Bad Things.

I think I want to call it The Ted Bundy Precedent.

[kurgy]

Have you read the MHA leaks yet?

i was only reading this series for the conclusion to Dabi's story which we got and it was horrible so nah

[stillness-in-green]

Chapter 423 Thoughts: Further Reading

I'm going to try to clear out some inbox/message/AO3 comment backlog in the next week, but in the meantime, having gotten my own post up on the chapter, I also want to share some posts from others that are in a similar vein as my own thoughts, or that I otherwise find worthwhile.

From @codenamesazanka: 

Nal has been doing a lot of post-writing and ask-answering since the leaks first dropped, and it’s all on-point, but there are a few posts I want to specifically link to:

Firstly, this post on how the U.A. kids in general and Deku specifically have, despite fans’ expectations, long been underprepared to truly acknowledge and address the structural problems of the system they’re upholding, as well as how Deku bears that out in the Edgy Deku arc.

Secondly, this post is on how the warning signs for this ending have been there all along offers a good concise rundown of some key places where, if Deku had ever cared about Shigaraki Tomura as a person (rather than just the Crying Child as a metaphorical construct), we should have seen him acting differently than he did. 

Thirdly and fourthly, these two posts talk about the Japanese BNHA fandom’s response to the chapter.  I think it’s interesting and worthwhile to consider the target audience/native culture’s response to a work when possible—there’s a lot you can learn about a story and its author’s intentions by knowing how the story’s audience is receiving it!  It can tell you about the audience the story is written for, what the values infusing the story are understood to be, whether those values align with the values of the audience, whether the author is trying to be populist or challenging, and so forth.

The culture gap between Horikoshi and his Western/U.S.ian audience can result in a lot of crossed wires, and checking how the Japanese BNHA fandom is reacting to the story can clarify some of that confusion.  It is, of course, up to the individual to decide how much to mitigate one’s own response to the story in light of that culture gap; I don’t think any creator is owed unquestioning carte blanche just because they’re from a culture with different popular values.  I certainly wouldn’t want someone in Japan watching, for example, Top Gun: Maverick and concluding that it’s beyond criticism because the fetishization of military hardware is just American culture!  Having at least some grasp on the author’s personal context is thus helpful in balancing open-mindedness and critical thinking when analyzing/critiquing a work.

(So, just to be clear, I understand the cultural context of Deku "saving Shigaraki's heart" being considered a worthwhile victory even in the absence of saving his *checks notes* life. I just disagree in the strongest possible terms.)

For good measure, have another post about the disparity between how destructive Deku’s focus on the Crying Child is to any chance Hero Society has to improve in the future.     

From @itsnothingofinterest: 

This reblog of an older post discussing the increasing power of quirks over the generations and how that problem would logically intersect with the precedents Deku sets here.  Bleak stuff!      

From @class1akids: 

First, this post runs through some of the fans’ desperate attempts to second-guess Shigaraki dying here but explains the various ways each would be in some fashion unsatisfying, because there’s no solution that doesn’t ruin some key aspect of the story.

Second, this very short post raises a very good point—one I hadn’t considered!—about how Shouto may not have talked as much to Dabi as Ochaco did to Toga, but Shouto’s always valued actions over words, and his actions indicate loud and clear how much he wanted to save Dabi.  And in ways that thematically tie into his arc about how he perceives and defines his quirk, no less!  It’s not about Chapter 423, as such, but it’s a very instructional contrast between Deku and Shouto, the latter of whom was actually trying to both stop and save the Villain he was fighting, the former of whom…was not.     

From @linkspooky: 

Spooky’s got a pair of posts contrasting BNHA with Yu-Gi-Oh GX, both of which are very long and very worth reading.  I don’t know if they were always intended to be companion posts—the first one was posted last month, and the second less than 48 hours after the leaks landed—but they function well in that capacity now.

The Supreme King Judai vs. Dark Deku: How To Do a Dark Deconstruction of your Shonen Hero! is an arc comparison post between the titular arcs and discusses in detail the way GX’s Judai and BNHA’s Deku are put through the paces of a dark hero arc, and why Judai’s works and Deku’s doesn’t.  What it boils down is that GX is willing to let Judai make the bad decisions his prior characterization always foreshadowed that he would make, leading him to fail, horribly, in consequential, lasting ways that paint him as being very much in the wrong.  BNHA, conversely, has the characterization foreshadowing but is unwilling to the point of open terror of letting Deku fail or be wrong in ways that will actually do lasting damage to him, his friends, or his relationships.  This is the same core problem the overarching series faces, and thus, while not about Chapter 423 itself, this piece is an excellent preface for the next one.

Shigaraki Vs. Yubel: How To Save Your Villain deals with the total collapse of BNHA as a story due to the way it fails to recognize Deku killing Shigaraki as a failure of its main character’s personal arc.  In comparison to GX’s resolution of Judai and Yubel’s relationship, It describes the story BNHA seemed to be promising us it would tell in its endgame, then discusses how that story is fundamentally broken by its actual depiction of Deku’s actions wrt Shigaraki and the other Villains Deku faces.  I particularly enjoy the breakdown of why the language of “forgiveness” thrown around by Deku and Ochaco is so wrong-headed and off-base.

A handful of pithy witticisms and bleak humor:

At least we’ll always have Spinaraki.

Imagine the story we’d have gotten if Deku had walked out into the hallway and thrown it into the nearest trashcan.

This would have been a lot less work than the concert, admit it.

[poppy5991]

I’m in the mood for some meta so…

Dabi vs Shoto: The cost of perpetuating generational trauma

I want to muse on these two characters a bit as foils to one another. Let’s put their relationships with Enji and Rei aside for a moment because in my opinion: their decision to forgive their parents or not is actually irrelevant to the thematic arc.

Dabi:

Ok, so let’s say that Dabi is a representation of the consequences of continuing cycles of trauma. He is holding on to his father’s anger and has continued the family’s maladaptive coping mechanisms of pursuing a goal without caring who it might hurt. In his case, that goal is revenge.

And by pursuing that goal/refusing to let go of negative feelings, he may well kill himself. And this isn’t about valid anger towards his parents, it’s about the fact that he has so much internalized anger and feelings of inadequacy that it has become self-harming. And additionally, it’s going to hurt other people. It harms the random citizens who get hurt in his revenge attempts, it hurts his siblings, and it even hurts other members of the LOV who rely/look up to him (I’m thinking specifically of Toga who is presented with the choice to break out of similar patterns).

Dabi doesn’t have to forgive. But it is his responsibility to heal and stop perpetuating the violence/trauma that he experienced on other people.

Shoto:

Unlike Dabi, we see Shoto’s arc shift early on. He also carries his father’s anger and harmful dedication to a goal (I’ll only use my ice quirk even if it’s harmful to me/gets me injured. I want to prove that I’m good enough. -See some parallels here?)

(And in my opinion, the fear of never being enough/only loved when useful is something reflected in both Enji and Rei’s backgrounds that gets passed down to the kids as an unhealthy precedent.)

But with the “It’s your own power!” arc, Shoto gives up a lot of his anger and decides to forge his own path. We don’t know if he will land on forgiveness for both of them, but he gains enough empathy for his parents to realize “Yeah, this family’s way of coping is built on trauma and I don’t want to continue on that path.”

He’s a cycle breaker and his decision has positive repercussions for the whole family. It also has positive impacts on his friends (Iida and Deku) who later face similar dilemmas.

So the brothers make an interesting foil for one another with respect to these decisions.

[dawn-moths]

hiiii me again🦅🦅 idk if requests are closed or nah but can i get 15 and 35 w dabi in a hc way?? tysm!!!

hello! i’ve already done 15 but i’d be happy to do something with #35 for you :)

prompt: 'your problem is my problem'

character: dabi/touya (boku no hero academia)

words: 500+

content warning: no warnings apply!

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

♡ Dabi usually seems pretty indifferent towards most things, even his own issues and inconveniences, but the moment you have a problem, that gets completely flipped on its head.

♡ He finds you upset one day, having tried to hastily dry your tears with the edge of your sleeve the moment he enters the space you thought would be private, a few lingering sniffles interjecting your insistences of “I’m fine” and “Don’t worry about it, everything’s ok.”

♡ You try to play it off but he won’t let you, pressing to know what’s caused you to end up in such a state. You’re surprised at first when he actually seems concerned, looking at you like you’re fragile, broken, something to be put back together by his scorched, scarred hands. You wonder if he’s even aware he’s doing it— looking at you like that, hands hovering slightly outreached as if he’s ready to catch you if you fall— but you feel you can trust him so you allow yourself to lean into this unexpected tenderness.

♡ And you tell him. You tell him about the last little thing that had sent you over the edge as well as everything else that had preceded it, how old memories you’d thought you’d long abandoned always found new ways to come crawling back to haunt you.

♡ He understands. God, he understands more than he’s willing to admit. And it’s because he’s been there, knows he’ll be back there some time in the future, that he finds himself so invested in what you’re currently going through.

♡ “I’ll get over it,” you still try to brush it off in the end, after you’d cried all over again, let him wrap his spindly arms around you and listened to the steady drum of his heart as your head rested against his chest, body heat radiating through the thin, worn out material of his old white t-shirt. “I don’t want you to worry about it, it’s not even that big of a—”

♡ “Your problem is my problem,” he interrupts, his raspy, cigarette kissed voice a mere mutter under his breath only loud enough for you to hear, like it’s some kind of secret, this rare kindness he’s showing you, despite the fact you two are alone here. “Don’t ever think you have to deal with this stuff on your own.”

♡ You look into his eyes, all that sapphire swimming with what you can only recognize as genuine care. So you finally find it in you to smile as you say back to him, “Fine, but only if it’s a two way street.”

♡ Dabi tries to suppress the nervous grin that’s forming on his mismatched lips, the expression going crooked and awkward as the dimmed light catches on the flash of a canine tooth. He’s not quite sure what to say, for one because he’s never really opened up to anyone before, is secretly terrified to try, and two, because now you’re gazing upon him like he’s someone who actually deserves kindness, deserves love.

♡ “Your problem is my problem,” you repeat, extending your little pinkie finger out to him. “It’s a promise.”

♡ As he interlocks his pinkie with yours, he knows it’s more than a promise. It’s a vow.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

from this prompt list. requests are now closed, thank you to everyone who participated 💕

[princess-of-the-corner]

Amnesia!Dabi: Twice (and assorted random thoughts)

I like to imagine that Jin ALSO ends up living with the Todorokis, or at least under their protection. Hell, maybe he stays at U.A.. Maybe Magne comes out of hiding to give them a hand. Who knows. But, like. Like, the Hero Commission absolutely want to throw him in jail. Like. A Hero Student got kidnapped. All Might has retired. The LoV is still at large. The recent upheaval - Kamino, the Togas trial, Toya, maybe a few information leaks - have really hit their public image. They are probably suffering a drop in public trust, and need a win (or a scapegoat). And like. I imagine they give it their best shot.

However:

1) By the time the HC get wind of it, Jin is at U.A., being treated by Recovery Girl. On paper, Jin has “surrendered” to U.A., just like Himiko and Dabi did, an incident the HC largely let U.A. handle independently. Like, did they want to get involved? Oh absolutely. But one of those villains was Endeavour’s kid, the other was a malnourished fifteen-year-old, they know to pick their battles. However, it’s created a pretty obvious precedent that U.A. can use.

2) Their big argument would be that Jin’s Quirk, combined with mental instability, makes him highly dangerous. Well, guess what, his Quirk is GONE. And they can’t claim ignorance, because there’s a pretty recent precedent for that too - Ragdoll. Her medical records probably shows her Quirk factor being damaged or something, and Jin matches (or might even be WORSE). They also could have Monoma try to copy Jin’s Quirk, to prove its really gone, cause he can’t copy what isn’t there. 

3) They still try to make an argument for mental instability. However, with U.A. in the way, they’d definitely need to take this to court, get a proper ruling on Jin’s mental health, prove that he’s a danger to others. Not only is he NOT a danger to anyone right now (except himself) the Hero Commission wants to avoid that as much as possible. Why?

Himiko’s trial.

Cause this is happening right in the middle of the Togas fighting U.A. about Himiko. And that Trial is making all kinds of waves. Like, I imagine part of the reason Dabi went public with his identity as Toya Todoroki, got himself declared “not dead”, was so he could testify in court. Like, yes, he probably could have as Dabi, but it’s most likely EASIER as Toya, if that makes sense? So not only is the public getting “Pro Hero Phoenix Rises From The Ashes!” they’re also getting “Toya Todoroki to testify in upcoming abuse case”. There’s media attention on what would otherwise be swept under the rug. It’s getting a LOT of publicity, and I imagine that the Hero Commission aren’t coming out looking too hot. Why?

So I mentioned some info leaks, right? I like to imagine that the mission Toya went on where he “died” wasn’t just any old mission. It was issued by the Hero Commission. Now, do I think anyone in the HC was part of AfO’s plan to yoink Toya? No idea, but not the point. Those info leaks were about that mission, so now everyone KNOWS that the HC sent Toya on the mission where he “died”. They also have the follow up stuff, which when looked at all together, seems pretty sketchy? Like, why this decision? Why send him alone? Why these heroes, they wouldn’t be great for search and rescue? Why only this long of a search? Hold up, is this autopsy dated the day BEFORE? Shit like that.

(Now, besides the autopsy, I imagine most of it at the time could be explained by “Enji is panicking, grabbing whoever is closest, and not really thinking straight”, but looked back on by the public who don’t have context, it seems REALLY SUSPICIOUS.)

So, there’s all of THAT, but I also imagine that the HC did, at some point, try to get an … “interview”, with Himiko. Like, to ask her about the League. I imagine Himiko, wanting desperately to please the Todorokis (they’re all heroes, if she cooperates, will they keep her?) says sure, she’ll do it.

It goes REALLY FUCKING BAD.

I don’t know who they send to ask questions, but whoever it is, is used to dealing with hardened criminals, not emotionally damaged teens. The “interview”*cough*interrogation*cough* ends with Himiko in a panic attack, Dabi ready to burn a motherfucker to death, and Enji ready to help him. The HC back off so fast they leave tire tracks, and are trying their best to mitigate the situation. Only maybe, perhaps. Himiko’s parents are just rich enough, just influential enough, to know some people in the HC. To find out about the interview.

WHICH THEY DECIDE TO BRING UP IN COURT TO PROVE THEIR DAUGHTER IS A CRIMINAL - I MEAN, THE HC THOUGHT SO, RIGHT?

The Hero Commission is scrambling to fix this, and to do that, they need a win. Or a scapegoat. But they also realize that it’s 50/50 whether taking Jin to court would even work for them right now. So, eventually, they back off, and Jin moves into the Todoroki spare room.

(Please note, all of this is just random thoughts, not sure how well any of this would work?)

*And now, for something, completely different*

So, in the manga, they state that (at least physically) Magne hasn’t transitioned yet. Just … hasn’t been in a place, financially or socially to do that yet, was the impression I got? I like to think that Magne, after leaving the LoV, still in some of her “fuck this shit” phase, decides you know what? I am stuck in a weird place, have no idea what I’m going to do with my life, but I want to be happy. Now’s the time to transition. When she shows up properly at the end to help fuck shit up, Katsuki takes one good look at her, and goes “oh. THAT’S what I want”.

*

If Miruko is already dating, or at least friends, with Fuyumi, what if that’s how Hawks gets pulled in to the Dabi/Toya thing? I like to headcanon that the two are pretty good friends (youngest proheroes, both have animal Quirks, both get a lot of shit from similar places), so when Miruko needs another Pro, she calls him, like, “K, I need your help, but you can’t ask any questions, you can’t tell ANYONE, and aren’t allowed to arrest anyone.”

-

Hell yeah hell yeah HELL YEAH

I just LOVE the Commission being hoist by their own petard.

We can also end up with some bonus info reveals when Dabi eventually remembers The Thing™. Because the Commission tried to cover that up and then cut their involvement when they realized it was a lost cause even though the problem technically continues.

Swinging to the Hawks and Miruko thing:

I think they both got dragged in differently because like. They’re friends but also the social circle is a circle if that makes sense? Like yeah they might’ve told each other, but Hawks got involved because he’s on the list of Heroes that Enji trusts to deal with this sort of thing. (And also in a more personal way Enji was slightly projecting and seeing Hawks as another kid, so  it’s like ‘ah yes tell the family he’s also family’. The Dabi situation quickly turns this into a ‘the only reason I’m not filing adoption papers is because he’s a future in-law now’)

But also Hawks and Miruko get along great and definitely talk about many things.

[ailelie]

Let's say Natsuo has a girlfriend who can see probabilities for the questions she considers. She has to tie each question to things she sees physically (e.g., not through video) and can't involve herself.

So, like, if she's choosing between two shops next to each other, she cannot ask herself which shop is more likely to meet her needs or make her happy. She can think which shop is more likely to have happy customers that day. She can include herself to the extent of "and how do the probabilities change if I get involved?"

She has downplayed her quirk her entire life (ever since her older sister was taken in by the Hero Commission and never came home. At her sister's memorial she asked how likely it was each person there was responsible for the events leading to her death. The culprits were clear). The Commission tried to take her, but they think her numbers are meaningless.

She works for a law firm now. She isn't a lawyer--that would draw too much attention--but she has the training and she is a very capable paralegal maybe (or PA if she wants to be super low key). She meets clients in private and goes to jury selection and then shares her notes with her bosses afterward. They win cases.

She also uses her power to manipulate them slowly to building precedents that can be used against the Commission.

Then, one night, she's watching the news with Natsuo and Dabi shows on screen. And Natsuo tells her the truth: Dabi is his brother and his dad is an abusive and neglectful asshole for all that he claims to be better now. Natsuo is also angry with his brother because he cannot support the villains, but that puts him on his dad's side by default and he refuses to support his dad, too.

She thinks about this and then looks at Natsuo and thinks how likely is Natsuo's happiness if I do nothing? And if I act?

The numbers convince her and, later the next week, she tracks down Dabi (it is rather easy when you can survey a group of people and figure out with a glance who is most likely to have information and which tactics will make them most likely to talk--she knows exactly how powerful her quirk is and that's why she tells no one).

She finds Dabi and she tells him if he kills Endeavor he creates a martyr. Then she asks if he wouldn't rather destroy him instead.

She creates him a backstory (so many clients know she's the one they truly owe and so many lawyers credit their success to her; she has many favors she can pull). He was with the Hero Commission in a long-term undercover op, but his handler was killed and the Commission did not save him. Another hero was sent, but not told about Dabi's role. No one Dabi has escalated recently; he's trying to get out of the life.

(Dabi finds this ridiculous, but agrees so that his sperm donor goes down. And also maybe so that he can finally date Hawks).

Then, his past wiped newly clean, Dabi, excuse me, Touya starts telling his story. The girlfriend keeps working in the background to ensure he talks with the people who will agree or sympathize. She asks favors to get Endeavor looked into. (This is the first step, finally, in her grand plan against the Hero Commission and, honestly, it may help to have some villains on her side when that all goes down).

She also forces Touya to reconnect with Natsuo because she does want her boyfriend happy.

And Endeavor's reputation is shredded in the press. It becomes an entire avalanche and no one, except her future brother-in-law knows she tossed that first pebble.

(Sure, she asked favors, but she always couched the favor as having been asked for something herself. People just think she's being a good assistant, not that she's the mastermind).

[kharmii]

It’s always entertaining to me when people constantly bring up Canon to certain topics in fandom but then they turn around and completely disregard the Canon and create a random headcanon that is canon "Because I say so."

Like transing up characters that are canonically normal. Or create ships with characters that have s/os canonically.

Honestly I’m someone that usually sticks with Canon unless it’s something that is not sitting right with me. Like Ingo‘s unsolved displacement. But I also don’t go around telling people what to do and how to treat the characters and canon.

Honestly if it’s built up properly I can get behind non canon stuff but I rarely see these. It’s usually just "they are that and do this because I say so"

Fandom can be fun but also a living nightmare depending on how you treat and interact with canon and the fans.

In the end everyone is free to do what they want, just don’t be a jerk to others about it. (And I‘m sorry so many are a jerk to you for your opinions)

Thought of a couple of rants I haven't covered yet. How about when people take something canon from an anime from another country and interpret it in a (smarmy obnoxious fckn miserable left-wing Marxist) Western cultural kind of way? -Or because people won't let it go, they'll interpret the Himuras from My Hero Academia (family of Shoto's mom and Geten) as being incestuous based on one vague line in a manga? You try to explain the Himuras are Japanese and not Pakistani, so the idea of them marrying first cousins isn't that likely.

Side note: I enjoy being into My Hero Academia because I've encountered so many interesting analyses from people interested in and studying Japanese culture. I'm getting some of the context that we Westerners aren't getting, such as how Endeavor is looked upon more favorably in Asian countries and the context to why that is.

-Or another fandom fail that's mildly irritating is when people take people who are obviously villains and make them virtuous. I get it if you feel sorry for them, -like in the case of Dabi and Shigaraki- but the fact that they've mass murdered people makes them irredeemable in my opinion.

Okay, one last thing about Geten and I'll drop it for now. People say that ReDestro saaaaaaved him from a life where he'd be forced to marry his cousin, but last time I checked, he was facing either death row in Tartarus or a lifetime of misery in a tiny, cramped cell with both his arms and legs confined.

Worst case scenario....Geten is literally engaged to his first cousin in an arranged marriage. That's a thousand times better than being radicalized into a terrorist cult and ending up a mass murderer in prison. Srsly people......

As for Ingo, it used to bug the crap out of me that people would head canon he'd be brought to Hisui via Ultrabeast when the obvious reason was Volo's sky rift. It still annoyed me even when that concept art came out saying he was in Hisui 'XX' years, which a lot of people thought to mean twenty years. That would make Ultrabeast Theory make more sense if his arrival preceded Volo's rift, but then again, one of the clan members mentioned that a rift had opened up years before, and that could have been the one Ingo arrived from. I wish we'd get more lore on that whole deal.

Honestly if it’s built up properly, I can get behind non canon stuff, but I rarely see these. It’s usually just "they are that and do this because I say so"

I'm OCD enough to stick with canon, but since I'm into so many side characters with vague backstories, it gives me a lot of leeway to be creative. Again....why is it that people be all "incestuous relationships aren't in character for X character" but nobody ever says, "werewolf bullshit isn't in character either". In fact, everybody is overly respectful and permissive toward the grossest ass furry bs, like I've yet to see anybody but me take the piss when it comes to Omegaverse, even though it's the most obviously exploitable fetish for comedy and trolling. Seriously, males have wombs routed into their asses, but they have to get c-sections to give birth because semen can go in but babies cannot be shat out for some odd reason. Maybe because the size of an infant would cause a massive perforation of the colon?

Then again, a/b/o is trans coded, and those people take themselves so damn seriously. They want to sound edgy and cool with all this monster fucking, like get it? I'm the monster for being trans! I'm the werewolf! I'm the hunted persecuted dragon that everybody hates!

Not true. At best, the 'monster fuckers' are sad little Shigarakis who had evil adults exploiting them when they were young and impressionable, and the evil bastards did things to their bodies they had no business doing. Yep, they're like Shigarakis, except fat. -Fat and hairy. It's no wonder werewolves have to be in every damn thing. There should be a rule about it, like how Rule 34 is "If it exists, there is porn of it". There should be a Rule XX like "If it exists, there's a werewolf version of it".

Everybody is free to do what they want, and I'll try not to be a jerk about it, but incest arguments will always lead to the argument it should be socially acceptable to bag on every stupid fetish and trend on Tumblr. -And again, use that block button. I sure do. I block and report as spam every stupid 'evacuate the Palestinians' charity whether it's legit or not (so stop pm-ing me Mohammed Bot). We have people in serious trouble in this country. Why would I give money to help people from a culture that sees me as a second class citizen? Go pan handle around the college aged suckers.

[lesinquietes]

More of The Boy AU (Sonder) ☺️ I hope to have it out sometime this week!

This is an excerpt of reader meeting with Rei and Enji for an interview.

Sonder Teaser I

Tw; a bit of misogyny / Yandere!Dabi x AFAB!Reader

Published here.

—

“While you’re here, you’ll need to follow a strict set of rules.” Enji’s rich turquoise orbs ensnare you for the umpteenth time. “Are you capable of obeying, Miss (l/n)?”

“I am.”

You decide that Enji is using a peculiar vocabulary. He’s incredibly well-spoken, but it’s like he doesn’t know when to use the correct words in a sentence. You hope he understands that you’re able to obey his house rules — nothing more.

“Then your temperament is calm.”

You wouldn’t describe yourself that way. Inside, you’re ten tidal waves accumulating to drown a small planet. Your head is a tornado, intent on tearing through a series of countries. Your body is a world war.

“Yes.”

“Excellent.”

The retired officer glances down at his notes. He flips through to the page before it and reads for a bit. You watch him carefully, as does Rei.

“Do you have any questions for us?”

You have an infinite number. This was the most outlandish interview you’ve ever attended. If you didn’t need the opportunity, you would have removed yourself when they started asking about your birthing history.

“What would my daily duties be?”

You find one inquiry that takes precedence over the others, though. They were elusive about childcare before. They can’t be, now.

“You would cook, clean, and tend to the gardens.” Rei informs you. “Your primary concern is to follow the rules and keep Touya happy.”

[deusvervewrites]

I feel like Quirk Awakenings are a cop-out to bring powercreep, but I think we have the concept of Quirk Awakenings wrong as there are three different types but all use the same term.

The first type is the natural progression of continual Quirk usage, allowing the Quirk to keep breaking new boundaries as the user gains further understanding of their own Quirk. This is less of a power creep as it seems realistic that a continued use of the Quirk would allow the user's body to adjust and the Quirk gets built like a muscle. I'm not sure why this type of progression is called a Quirk Awakening when it's just a personal and natural development of a Quirk.

The second type is the user having a near-death experience. I have no doubt that if someone is nearing death, their body goes into a fight-or flight mode that brings in an adrenaline rush that would allow them to survive, much like how IRL people in similar conditions would display superhuman strength because they or someone they love are about to die without help. The Quirk would be improved greatly as a side-effect, though this might hint that there is a mystery science of Quirks and how they developed in the first place. It makes perfect sense why this is a true Quirk Awakening.

The third type is just because. Honestly, this just makes the character a lot stronger so that the stakes are higher. There is a difference between having a personal growth an having a better understanding of oneself and they're just stronger just because. Although I don't doubt though that a mental wall will restrict the true potential of the user's Quirk because they don't believe that they can do it until they break the mental barrier down.

Generally I find that terms like 'power creep' or 'overpowered' that originate in game balance don't usually properly describe the issues the person actually wants to address.

I don't remember this first one ever being called an awakening. This was the point of the Forest Training Camp and they explicitly compare it to muscle growth.

This second one is the one I refer to as a Quirk Awakening.

The only example of this third one I can think of is Shigaraki, and honestly this was what set the precedent of him pulling new powers out of his ass, but the Villains randomly getting stronger without much preamble was already an issue by the time Decay decided that it had conduction. At least that one had the foreshadowing from the flashback showing that it used to be able to do that.

I feel like the actual issue you're having is not that characters are growing stronger, but how the Villains can do so rapidly with minimal to no setup beforehand. Dabi has done this twice in the current arc, and Shigaraki fucking decided he can grow infinite hands without using a Quirk because fuck you. The problem here isn't just the artificial escalation of the stakes (MHA has done that elsewhere too, looking at you 'OFA kills Quirked people so it's All Up To Midoriya'), the problem is that these power-ups are complete asspulls.

[thyandrawrites]

Scarless aus are just so so disgusting and I am very worried that hori is going to get rid of dabis scars at least…. It’s scary how ignorant so many fans are about burns scars…

I rarely shy away from dishing out criticism when I think it's due, but I actually disagree in this particular case! I have faith that Horikoshi won't get rid of the villains' scars altogether. So far, there has been no precedent for that, and I see no reason for him to suddenly change direction.

In my opinion, Horikoshi's portrayal of scars is pretty tasteful. For one, he's the only mangaka off the top of my head that depicts such a huge portion of the cast with them. I can't think of any other manga, or battle shonen in particular, that does it to quite the same extent. Bnha has not only a lot of scarred characters, a lot of which are main leads, but for all of them those scars are also permanent. In battle shounen, injuries are typically temporary, and the characters—especially the main ones—normally heal from them after some time. This doesn't happen in bnha. It would've been fairly easy for Horikoshi to introduce a quirk that acts as magic healing™ that removes any traces that an injury was even there, and yet, most of the time when characters sport serious wounds, they don't walk away as good as new. Scars aren't simply thrown in there for rep points, either, because in a few cases they impact the writing itself. Think of Deku having to switch to kicking to avoid further harming his already strained arms, for example.

But there are cases of magic healing, someone might object. There's Shigaraki's regen quirk and Eri's rewind. Except, both times we've seen them in action, they didn't remove scars altogether. In Shigaraki's case, his regen returned him to the state he was in right before Endvr melted the skin off his bones, but it didn't erase the cuts over his eye and mouth, nor did it make his skin baby smooth. And when Eri rewound Deku in Chisaki's arc, she didn't return his arms to a state that nullified the damage he'd already done by breaking them over and over, she just healed him long enough to cancel out the injuries sustained during that fight itself.

and while we might argue that Eri might eventually be used as a tool to remove the narrative consequences of this arc, with particular regards to injuries, I'm fairly skeptical that any work she might do would return them to being scarless. As I just explained, so far the precedent is healing the damage sustained recently. But Hori has never healed a character 100% before.

So far, the two times Eri used Rewind to heal someone, she was able to do so because Erasure stopped it for her. And while it's true that with external help, maybe from Monoma, she could do it again for the villains, I think she's written as incapable of stopping her quirk for a reason. Those limitations were put there to remind us how volatile and risky the process still is. In both cases, she never rewound a lot of time. Only minutes in Deku's case and a handful of months in Mirio's. To rewind Dabi or Shigaraki she'd have to go back years, and I don't think she has the control to avoid the age regression, quite yet. Since I don't see the villain being de-aged fitting anywhere in the story (because this is still a coming-of-age tale), I am very very skeptical of how likely this scenario is.

I think Horikoshi is sensible enough to know better than to erase scars. He has given no indication to make us think he perceives them as inherently villainous, either. The portion of scarred heroes and scarred villains is evenly distributed imho, and in neither case do the characters become "lesser" because of their injuries. I mean, think of Dabi and how his whole arc turns on its head the (false) notion that his scars are his major weakness. Think of what Deku's scars mean to him, and think of Iida willingly choosing not to undergo surgery for his arm after Stain's arc to remind himself of his values and his dedication never to betray them again.

In my experience, whenever the topic of scars erasure comes up, it's always in fandom spaces more than in the canon text. I think that part of it is due to the reader's ingnorance of the implications of certain headcanons/theories. As I said, battle shounen typically isn't the best at portraying permanent injuries, and I think that influences a lot of reader's expectations regarding the eventual wrapping up of the story.

As for scarless AUs, though, particularly hero AUs that only diverge from canon because of the scarless designs of the villains, that's a much dicier topic. I won't make blanket statements about the intentions of the creators behind them, but I personally find them distasteful.

[itsnothingofinterest]

Do you really think this isn't going to be the final arc? I don't know how much table turning there is gonna be before deku talks no jutsus shigaraki into helping him beat up afo, I could see seeing the mina and kiri fights but I don't know if it's gonna be a huge oh no the villains are gonna win swing since we just got one from the kurogiri twice dump and are currently in the middle of the crackback from the heroes arriving here.

Thinking about it, yeah I am. As for why: well, it’s a few things.(Warning, this gets quite a bit ranty.)

Power-sclaing wise, it’s just a terrible final arc because the heroes are so much stronger than their opponents that there’s been no stakes since the villains were ambushed. Just jumping off what you say here; the closest thing we’ve had to a “the villains might win” swing was Kugoriri & Toga’s parade combo, which lasted 2 minutes and then got beat by one hero, because duh, that’s how just outmatched the villains have been this whole arc.

And on a related note, Deku or Tomura hardly need each others help to beat up AFO; either could 1v1 him and smash his face into the pavement easy. What does a 2v1 with the strongest people in the world on the same side even look like? I actually think AFO may not even leave the mountains if this is the final arc; because if his defeat isn’t in service of Tomura surpassing him, then getting wrecked for good by Tokoyami, Jirou, Shinsou, and everyone else he called an extra is probably the more fitting end for him.

So from a Shonen spectacle angle, this arc’s doing terribly as a finale because victory was tension-lessly assured from minute one.

But there’s also the emotional and narrative angles; how many dangling plot elements are there and how ready are the addressed plot threads to be properly resolved. And the answers to those are “more than there probably should be” and “not very, unless things suddenly become very rushed”.

But just focusing on what’s most pressing to me (this is already long); a lot of the inciting issues in hero society are not set to be addressed by the next generation, most kids aren’t even thinking about that while staring their foil villains in the face, any other attempts at ‘talk no justu’-esque communication have been falling though entirely, and the kids just don’t look ready to resolve they or their foils’ arcs. The only exception to any of that is Shoji, who came up with a total non-solution to prejudice that I feel would be a great start to an arc foiling Spinner, but a terrible finish. If that’s the precedent set for how these issues are getting resolved, then it’s shame how doomed class 1A feels to repeat their predecessors’ failures.

Overall, the arc feels to me like the kids are still learning. Deku, Shoto, & Uraraka are still learning Tomura, Dabi, & Toga’s deals; which makes sense when they only just realized to ask last arc. I really feel they’re all being set up more to finally get a clue then to resolve things here and now, as they're lacking the knowledge, tools, and development for that. And I’ll be honest; supposing for a moment Hori decided to end the war at chapter 400, I do not think 18 chapters would be enough time for the important kids' to gain that development even if it was entirely dedicated to them. (Not without rushing things so, as I said I was worried about, hero society goes unaddressed and loops back to where we are now in a few decades). But it would be enough time to get everyone going in the right direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(As an aside, did your ask somehow get edited? I have a copy of the original and it includes at the end of this ask: "...in the middle of the crackback from the heroes arriving here.I get your point. I'm just too used to shonen manga where the inverse ninja rule is heavily implemented. I don't really view the the mobs of bodies being thrown at the problem on either side as more than a way to get characters we haven't seen much show off and get their moment in the final arc."

Which I also answered. But for some reason is gone from the text box. Spooky.)

Never mind.

[transhawks]

Just finished a school essay and am going to bed, but because I love chatting, for you I'll get some points down and return if I get any more ^_^ So re: cat quirk Dabi and the mortifying ordeal of being a furry

When Touya was younger, he loved Warriors (as in the cat book series) it was a guilty pleasure of his he only confessed to Natsuo about. One time when him and Fuyumi were really little and thus unlikely to remember as they got older (or so he thought) he got them to roleplay the series with him

That did not mean he wanted to suddenly sprout a long tail and little fuzzy, twitchy ears. His childhood dream of joining Thunder Clan and defeating Shouto and becoming Clan Leader came true, but at what cost. Dabi cared about his inner child yes, but that's because he wanted Touya to get his revenge, not fucking this!

He could justify naming himself Firestar. Will he? Hell no. Endless cat related nicknames by the League. Endless attempts by Toga and Twice to pet his tail and ears. Kurogiri really thinks of him and Shigaraki as a possum and mangy alley cat going at each other.

Spinner is faced with a dilemma. Sleep near Dabi during the cold winters or fight his lizard brain not wanted to be eaten by Nyabi. They are at a standstill because cats can't safely eat lizards, despite hunting them, but Spinner is still intimidated by those fangs and sharp claws. Never mind the fact that Toucat doesn't have much paw power behind those swiped because his cat form couldn't have the grace to give him animal themed super strength, his body is still physically weak, he's just now a feline on fire.

This story comes to a swift conclusion of Dabi gently scooting Spinner away from him and thus leading to the discovery that Tou-meow's toe beans are the softest ever. Now the entire League wants to hold Dabi's paws and rub his toe beans on their cheeks. If Kurogiri wasn't a Nomu, he'd be giving Dabi a promotion for his outstanding ability to calm down Tomura. Resident Therapy Arsonist Cat: Mon-Chan Jr.

AFO's ingenious way of giving Touya Todoroki a phoenix quirk. Truly Mr. AFO, your reputable intelligence and generosity precedes you. What are your secrets? "Lol, I just thought it'd be funny." - Claims Rising Demon Lord of the New Century. It's fine, this won't stop Dabi from showing how much of a....fur-midable foe he can be :P

Picture this. You wake up after a 3 year coma to a furry body and someone in a sunflower costume goes pspspspsps while waving cat nip at you saying your body and flames won't be what they used to be, that it's "un-fur-tunate" but purr-haps Tounya would be willing to join their new fur real happy family? Put him back in the coma thanks. (Cat-tatonic...)

So turns out Dabi didn't just need to shave nor was he stuck in a particularly well designed costume nor could he just burn the fur off unless if he wanted to be a cat and looking like a shaved sheep. Dammit. Back to the revenge drawing board. Maybe he could claw Enji's face off.

First thing's first though: Do Not Call Him A Purr-ty kitty, he WILL eviscerate you. Or "Hey Dabi!" "...?" "Do you want us to add a litter box for you in the bathroom?" *hissing noises* (But kudos for wanting to be inclusive.) "Sounds like Dabi's feeling a little hiss-terical today!" *hissing intensifies*

Poor Dabs is trying so hard to get Enji's attention, but here people are looking past the fire quirk and calling him "the Anti-Pussycat."

THE PAST NEVER FUR-GETS, COME DANCE WITH YOUR SON IN HELL!!! IT'S YOUR PAW-ER!!! ARE YOU KITTEN ME?!?! WHAT'S WITH THAT CAT-TITUDE!! ALAS I WAS THE IN-FUR-IOR CREATION AND TOSSED ASIDE. WELL HEROES? CAN YOU PREVENT THIS COMING CAT-TASTROPHE BY OUR PAWS??? THAT FACE YOU'RE MAKING IS LIKE MEW-SIC TO MY EARS. YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND THE MEWSERY I FELT EVERYDAY ASKING WHY I WAS BORN, DID YOU THINK IF YOU LOOKED FUR-WARD TO THE FUTURE YOU COULD BE BETTER? I CAN TELL YOU'RE AT A PAWS FOR WORDS- lmao ok I'll stop.

Touya-kun is tail-ented for sure...and it's the tail's end of your life, Todoroki Enji 😼 Dabi's lazy cat lounging on window sills going up by 100% very flexible, gymnastic ahem, meowtastic boy. Seeing this guy coming at how is significantly more horrifying when it's a smirking cat leaping for you, claws extended like every single photo ever of a cat leaping towards their frozen in shock owner, photos caught moments before disaster. He is so ready to reach his full potential as a local menace and push mugs off the table, like Tomura's wine glasses that's probably apple juice in season 1.

You've heard of Bird Sighting Tags on twitter for Hawks, now get ready for a whole hashtag dedicated to Dabi. Real Nyabi hunters know the best alleys he likes to lurk in. Somewhere out there, someone thinks Dabi is a flaming cat god from Egyptian lore, Anubis maybe?

Nine Lives Touya probs gave the League a scare a few times. I wonder if he knows what life he's on. If he's scared he counted wrong and when he finally burns himself up with Endeavor, what if he comes back again?

"I may have a bit more fur on me than last time, but I'm still your son! "Midoriya, do you think my old man cheated on mom with some lady with a cat quirk?" ALRIGHT GOODNIGHT DON'T LET CAT TOUYA BITE-

please put Nyabi's speech on a shirt.

[dabistits]

i’ve tuned out of bnha completely but this newest chap broke through to get my attention (you’re the only bnha blog i still follow!! 🫡 tlov remains unmatched!) does this mean toga’s been like. caught? is she going to prison or being rehabilitated or whatever???

Anon I'm so happy for your escape, I'm watching you swim away from the piers in the sunset

It's likely that Toga is caught/subdued (I say likely because Dabi got a part 2 to his fight) but no one really knows what the ultimate fate of the LOV is going to be. No one's committed to saying what will happen to them or presenting any kind of plan, and I guess hori wouldn't want to reveal it either way, so🤷 I will say that the only "solution" we have any established precedence for is prison, so if they do rehabilitation or something else it would be totally new for the bnha world.

[ao3feed-izuku-midoriya]

Auspex: Jack of All Trades

Auspex: Jack of all Trades by Pinrows

In a world where you are told you are nothing, why not be everything? --- Izuku's phone was buzzing.

The Augury: Breaking Precedence, This Shadow Group Takes to the Streets as a Vigilante Community

Dear gods, what had he gotten himself into?

Words: 2981, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: Multi

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Inko, Dabi | Todoroki Touya, Original Characters, Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Original Child Character(s), Kirishima Eijirou, Ashido Mina, Gigantomachia, Tsukauchi Naomasa, Shinsou Hitoshi, Todoroki Shouto

Relationships: Midoriya Inko & Midoriya Izuku

Additional Tags: Quirkless Midoriya Izuku, Quirkless Discrimination, Vigilante Midoriya Izuku, Smart Midoriya Izuku, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku-centric, Informant Midoriya Izuku, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Not Beta Read

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44958736

[haleigh-sloth]

Can you please explain the TogaTwice clones for me? When they first showed up I thought they were all Twice with his personality, but the leaks seem to indicate that they're just Togas transformed into Twices. But why then is only the original Toga having a breakdown and showing her emotions? If they're all Toga's then wouldn't they all feel the same way? And what about the Dabi and Tomura clones? Are they also Togas? If so then why's there an AFO clone there? She's never given the indication that she "loves" AFO, so it wouldn't be expected that she could use his quirk(s).

I'm answering 3 separate asks in this post, starting with this one.

Okay so I'm a little confused because I'm not sure why anyone thought Twice was legit back from the dead. It's always been Toga.

Now, looking at when it was Twice using his quirk, the clones he created of the LOV in Kamino and MVA all had the quirks and personalities of who he cloned. It's the same premise here. When Toga transforms into Twice, she is still Toga. But when she uses Twice's quirk and clones Twice--just as Twice cloned the LOV--she is using Twice's quirk the way he did, creating clones with the personality of who the clone is of. So yes, when we first saw the clones appear, it was Twice's personality. But that doesn't mean it was TWICE. It's still TOGA.

They're carrying out what she wished for before forming all those clones. But Twice's clones acted on their own accord, they weren't all affected by the original's emotions. The clones are parroting what she last said "annihilate all heroes" because, well, even with Twice's personality, they are still her. In MVA and Kamino the clones are all acting on the same objective. So this isn't unexplained.

Yes the Touya and Tomura clones are also technically Toga. We didn't see it this chapter but even if they had Tomura's and Touya's personalities, they'd still just be coming from Toga. Because it's still not Twice, it's Toga.

Why is AFO there? Well, she's just cloning them? There was never a precedent set that she had to love people to just clone them? She just needs their measurements. The stuff with the quirks of Tomura and Touya not being used will be answered down below.

Idk where romantic feelings were mentioned as a necessity. Toga doesn't specify romantic love. The only time I think it's safe to say was explicitly romantic attraction was her middle school crush. Every thing else since then has been Toga expressing her admiration and envy of people as "love" (i.e. wanting to BE them in order to reject herself).

NOW you're asking a really good question, what does her love even mean! I think if you're trying to find a strongly defined boundary, you might have a hard time doing that. Because we have two facts:

She can use Ochacko's quirk

She can use Twice's quirk

I don't think I need to explain how different their relationships are though, right? So CAN you put a boundary on what Toga explicitly means when she uses the word "love" to describe her feelings? I'm having a hard time doing it myself, but I think there are constrictions within her definition of the word.

The thing is, there is a common denominator between her relationship with Twice and with Ochacko.

Acceptance.

Twice accepted her with open arms. Twice embraced who she was openly, celebrated her existence. There's a reason her relationship with Twice was emphasized over her relationships with the rest of the LOV. Twice--the only one during MVA who was shown giving his all to save her, while the rest of the LOV were either heading toward Giran or fighting elsewhere. Twice who openly expressed concern over where she was. The way their relationship is shown to be innocently childish in comparison to the rest of the LOV members.

On Ochacko--taking it back to Kamino where she immediately found some sort of relation to Ocha to try to bond over in a very imposing, boundary-crossing way. And ever since that one interaction Toga has craved her acceptance and chased after it if she got the opportunity to.

During MVA when she's being reminded of her past and how she was outcasted by friends and family, she awakens her quirk and is able to channel Ochacko's zero gravity. In that moment it was Toga unreliably narrating her very unconvincing reassurance that she's not miserable or sad, that her normal is exactly what she wants (when it's literally not lol). The ironic part of that timing is THAT is when she is able to channel Ochacko's quirk and use it--Ochacko the girl she related to, wants to be friends with, wants acceptance from, wants understanding from. Ochacko who isn't a villain on the run, has friends who love her.

Twice was that friend who loved her. In a sense, Twice simulated what Toga wanted from Ochacko (who represents society as a whole for Toga's arc). Twice was a stand in, but the life the LOV is living is not what Toga wants.

And I think what's most important is the fact that Toga said she tried to use Tomura's and Touya's quirks before the battle by transforming into them, and it didn't work. Emphasizing the difference and meaning behind her relationship with Twice, and then Ochacko.

So idk if there is any one definition for Toga to use the word love in any situation, but based on what we know from the manga it seems like her "love" means "acceptance", because that's the one thing her relationship with Twice (where she has acceptance) has in common with her relationship with Ochacko (where she desperately wants acceptance).

Ding ding ding!!!!

Left this last tidbit for down here

"Healthy relationships"--yep. I think that's what it's boiling down to.

Toga--much like Tomura and Touya!--hates herself which is why she escapes her reality by transforming into other people. She's strongly connected to the people she feels she has something to relate over. With Twice it was wanting and giving acceptance. With Ochacko it's her innocent crush she relates to, and because she relates to her she feels that Ochacko would/should be accepting of her. So she chases after it.

The issue is that Toga IS misguided in how she acts on her feelings because uhhh yeah you can't drink people's blood and stuff, not cool.

But we already know she can chill out her blood lust if she isn't being forced to pretend she doesn't have feelings lol. Her quirk reacts to her emotions (just like Touya and Tomura!) and when she's suffering inside, she snaps on the outside.

Not being able to use Touya's and Tomura's quirks is because there's a lack of relation between her and them two. There's nothing she relates to them over. She doesn't want to destroy everything like Tomura, she doesn't want to die like Touya. There's a serious disconnect in that way.

Twice wanted acceptance and he felt like he had it, she wants acceptance and she is still trying to get it. They related to each other in that way.