#see also toya and shoto and endeavor

[siflshonen]

Practice what you preach, Izuku! He's his own man, you egoist!

[connorntofficial]

me and my cousin spent 10 hours straight talking abt the Todoroki siblings the other day and these drawings are all the result of that🙏 had to draw them being normal siblings!!! so imagine this is an au where Rei and Endeavor get a divorce right after Shoto is born and Toya gets mood stabilizers and therapy

Toya is still so competitive and gets so mad when he doesnt win at everything! especially with superiority complex he has😭when playing games the other three know that if he isnt winning hes going to flip the board and accuse them of cheating! they know its going to happen!

Toya lives to make his siblings lives harder! but in this au instead of it being. murder. its just him taking any opportunity to embarrass his siblings! they go into stores and he SO LOUDLY will say "oh my god Fuyumi are you stealing😨" HIS SIBLINGS HATE IT!!! Fuyumi is the main person he embarrasses though because she reacts the most!

also these two playing hide and seek^_^ Shoto would hide with Natsuo and Natsuo would get so mad and tell him to find his own spot! and they would bicker and both get caught first.

other hcs is that Shotos siblings would say they are gonna play hide and seek with him and he would go hide and the rest just. wouldnt😭he would be hiding for like 45 minutes and they would never come to find him! and he would get so upset😭😭

when Toya starts driving his siblings would all make him so stressed when he would be driving! pointing out every cop they see, scream if he accidentally goes through a red light, freak out wayyy too much if he accidentally goes up on a curb. all that. HE HATES IT!!! once he got more comfortable driving he started driving poorly intentionally, just to freak out his siblings. like swerving the car randomly, harshly breaking, letting go of the wheel for multiple seconds😭just to startle them.

if any of the kids did Christmas concerts the other three would always cheer ABSURDLY loud just to embarrass them! Shoto wouldnt get embarrassed, he would fully stop singing and wave at his family in the crowd. Natsuo would get extremely embarrassed and would pretend he doesnt notice them, he would yell at them afterwards. Fuyumi would get embarrassed and try to keep her composure but would be laughing and lose focus ! Toya would get embarrassed like Natsuo, trying to stay focused on what hes doing so he doesnt mess up. he would be very very annoyed in the moment but would forget about it afterwards i think.

when any of his younger siblings have good Toya will always ask for a bite and take the most absurdly huge bite ever😨even if his siblings say no! he asks as just a formality i guess. even if he has the same food or even worse, if its a food he hates😭he will still take a bite just to be mean! but if any of his siblings ask for a bite of his food he will either refuse or, if its in some kind of a wrapper, he will only unwrap the smallest bit so they can only take the smallest bite ever. and even then he will say they took too much!

i have a million other ideas and thoughts but i dont want this post to be too long‼️

[redphlox]

How long do you think Dabi survived for in the tube? I’m regards to Natsuo’s character, do you think he got the chance to reconcile with Touya despite the Ending incident? How do you think that went down?

One thing I will credit to the ending of MHA, the fact they still have Touya’s shrine (wonder if they still have kid Touya’s picture or if it’s a different one) considering Shoto prays to it. They never forgot about him, and they never seemed to blame him either saying they would always be there (Fuyumi and Rei said anyway.) Although I hope he didn’t die in the tube and was able to hug them one last time. The idea that Dabi is probably the only villain to be remembered by his family/have a grave while Toga and everyone else were abandoned is low key heartbreaking. But the whole ending for the LOV is LOL

I think maybe Toya survived a couple of weeks or months. Not too long, of course. Let the man escape this cruel world.

I like to think that Natsuo reconciled with his brother. The story emphasized that they had a strong bond and implied that Toya was a main source of emotional support and comfort to Natsuo during a time when he felt abandoned and rejected by both parents, as Endeavor was focus on his career and abusing his family, and Rei's energy was focused on protecting Shouto from Endeavor and her own mental health was deteriorating. I'm sure Natsuo had a lot of anger and confusion about Touya's actions as a villain, but I believe they got closure.

It would be nice if the author had confirmed this in some way, seeing as he put so much emphasis on the relationship, but... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it's just another writing failure that didn't need to crash and burn but did anyway.

I also hope Touya didn't die in that tube by himself. Hopefully he was able to be held as he died or something. Especially since this second death was supposed to fix the first way he died (alone, unseen), but again, who knows! A major plotline of the story being so open-ended that readers get no closure and no satisfaction from the story... that's what we were left with.

I agree. It's truly all laughable. Shigaraki and Toga will only be remembered by Spinner and their respective hero kids, and neither party has a complete picture of the villains' stories. We're not shown that Spinner learned about his best friend's childhood abuse, and we're not shown if Ochako knew about the quirk counseling and all the childhood trauma that Toga went through. And it's not like Spinner will be let out of prison to make a grave or altar for them. Lol. Despite Deku saying he'll never forget Shigaraki, we're never shown that he's thinking about him or is moved by him in any way besides that "do your best" flashback which wasn't even in context to what Shigiraki would have wanted. Lol. And yeah, Ochako's quirk counseling program was inspired by Toga to prevent more kids from suffering her same fate, but it would be much more impactful if she actually shared this with the public and TALKED about Toga to the public. But no, let's keep Toga's dying heroic action on the down low so that people's perception of her is not challenged and she remains a heinous humanless villain in the annals of history. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It's just all one giant superficial, forced ending that feels hollow and disingenuous.

Chapter 431 at least redeemed Shouto's ending for me and gave me some closure on Touya... reassurance that he's remembered and considered even in death, loved and seen unconditionally, which is exactly what Touya wanted after he died on Sekoto Peak.

[todomitoukei]

Why do you believe Toya won't die? He's basically a burnt corpse that can no longer move and barely talk. Horikoshi's writing could be changed to emphasize how the family can now fully move on from Toya and Endeavor and it was a Greek Tragedy on Endeavor's end while hopeful for Shoto.

This is not a Greek tragedy, it's a Japanese shounen manga that focuses on kids becoming heroes.

"He's basically a burnt corpse" isn't it just lovely then that a fantasy story about people who have varying superpowers could so easily fix that?

I'm sorry you guys have never read stories where people look like they are beyond saving or actually dead, only to come back just fine because the author said so.

The only tragic part is the fandom being so dead set on the villains dying somehow being a satisfying conclusion rather than the tragic part of this only being that such a conclusion would be poor writing.

The themes of the story have been uplifting, focusing on the fact that people can get better in the right environment and if given a second chance.

"The family can now fully move on from Touya" and that is shown where? I see nothing but people being hopeful for a future where they can talk to him after ten years of being separated from him. The family does not want to move on from him. They want to talk to him, want to come see him. They had ten years to move on from him and couldn't, so suggesting that finding out that instead of dying before, he had been alive and physically and mentally suffering this entire time, is somehow the magic ingredient that was missing from their ability to move on is beyond me.

It is also unclear to me how it would be "hopeful" for Shouto to know he was able to prolong someone's life by a few weeks and have that person find closure before death like that somehow is the mark of a successful hero. He wants a relationship with his brother - wants to get to know him, have soba with him, hang out with him. That has been his goal since being a kid and wouldn't it be nice if he could get that?

Touya has been surviving a lot and as said before, if Horikoshi had wanted him dead, he could have done so at the end of the war instead of keeping him alive so that his dad can tell him he's retiring.

If you want to worry and tell yourself Touya and the rest of the lov are dying, I won't stop you but this idea is simply not supported by the story and with only 4 more chapters left, some of you should maybe just wait it out silently instead of spreading fear and holding on to this tragic mindset the same way Touya has been holding on to life.

[justatalkingface]

I find Endeavor giving up on Toya once he found out that his son's quirk (Blueflame) was self-destructive to be, not only out-of-character, but incredibly stupid.

Endeavor is loaded, he bought Rei. Why not buy Toya special support gear costume with cooling? Aoyama's belt, Mirio's suit, and f*cking Mecha Might basically suggest that support gear can do anything as long as the plot demands it.

Besides that, has Endeavor literally never heard of endurance training? That's literally the only type of training Class 1A does most of the time. Just have Rei on standby if anything goes wrong. It's not like being a human cooler would be the most degrading thing she's suffered.

It's like the first time Aizawa criticized Deku for injuring himself with One for All. Did they try thinking of solutions before trying to get them to give up ?

Also, it's kind of messed that Toya's inability fulfill Endeavor's goals is because Rei, the bought mother. It could've easily been Endeavor's fault, like his intense training at a young age ruined Toya's developing body.

OK, you see, the thing is you're thinking about this logically. Like, Endeavor has been many things, but 'rational' isn't one of them. Deeply toxic and twisted, on the other hand?

You need to think like someone desperate to prove themselves, filled with about eight superiority and inferiority complexes, and yet so resigned to his own inferiority that he ended up needing to make someone else to do it for him. The fact that Toya hurt himself? It meant he was weak. That's it. He was weak for being unable to use his powers safely.

And the second he was weak, he was no longer useful, because he could no longer beat All Might.

(Nevermind, of course, that there was nothing he could do to make someone able to beat All Might, because All Might and All For One are both setting breaking hacks that single handedly break the balance of power. Even a super Shoto with the blue flames of Dabi and, like, absolute zero ice, perfectly balanced and able to withstand his own power, would get casually bitchslapped by All Might. That's how overwhelmingly broken he is.)

Beyond that, it's worth pointing out that, 1, Mecha Might is, again, setting breaking bullshit, even in the bullshit casually tinkertech setting that is MHA, and that 2, while Quirk training is a thing (presumably that's how Dabi was able to be as high functioning as he was with his... well, entire everything, that he grinded with his Quirk until he was able to work beyond the pain), there are limits without Awakenings... and let's be honest, Awakenings are just how Hori tried to explain people's various power ups to try and keep them relevent in the ever increasing clusterfuck of his story. No amount of training would make it so that Toya would not burn himself; training like that increases limits, but it doesn't change how the Quirk works.

There's basiclly no reason, in setting, for someone not to suit themselves entirely in support tech to be a purely tech driven hero, beyond institutional culture that is built around people's Quirks. I can't even say it's expensive, because hell, Mei just pulls them out on the regular, and there's every reason to think she was making them even before she actually got into UA, instead of somehow learning to make them within a week or two of getting into school.

The fact that support tech is so damn underused is almost criminal, especially for people with more limited abilities; can you imagine if Kirashima, with his hardening, was given some kind of ranged tool? An air blast or something?

You're also ignoring all his complexes in implying that, 1, Rei could do anything, when literally she only exists to be a breeder, and I don't think he's ever shown imagining her able to do... anything helpful.

And, most importantly, 2: Endeavor always blames everyone but himself. Always. Even in the 'canon' (I have opinions on the sheer level of retcon there) version of events, with how soft that is on Endeavor, Endeavor sets up Toya to have a psychotic break. He isolates him, orients his entire life around one thing (surpassing All Might) and then takes away the very foundation he built his life on, before basiclly ignoring him and never trying to fix him afterwords; of course the kid is messed up! Yet, all this time, he looks back, and all he can think is, 'I couldn't stop him! Toya was so driven, Toya wouldn't stop hurting himself, Toya wouldn't listen to me!'

Toya, Toya, Toya. Everything wrong with Dabi's story was blamed on Toya, even though he was an actual child and Endeavor was the one with all the control in the family; his recollection of things was so warped you could see how it contracted with literally everyone's experience of events... Of course he was going to blame Rei over himself! Rei is the person he bought, and he's the top hero, rich and famous! Nothing is ever his fault!

(Also, I have opinions on Aizawa, and they're overwhelmingly negative. The fact that Aizawa wanted to ditch Izuku first thing is a result of his overwhelming biases and prejudices..... exactly like Endeavor. MHA has this thing of making massively biased authority figures that are obviously so and then going through fire to protect them from their own actions.)

[jubileemon]

In Defense of Rei Todoroki

I think Rei Todoroki deserved some empathy in light of the difficult circumstances she faced within her family, thanks to Endeavor.

Endeavor and his wife Rei didn't have a happy relationship, given how he only married her in order to produce a child strong enough to surpass All Might and she was absolutely aware of that.

Rei endured years of emotional and physical abuse from her husband, as he was more driven by his ambition to surpass All Might. Despite her attempts to protect her children, the intense pressure from her husband's actions within the household took a toll on her mental well-being. While the series portrays Endeavor's abuse as a contributor to her mental state, it's important to note that victims of abuse may find it difficult to escape such situations.

Rei's repeated exposure to Enji's dominance and abuse likely fostered a belief that she couldn't change her circumstances, leading to a passive acceptance of her situation. Victims of abuse can internalize their suffering in real life, sometimes making it challenging for them to break free. Rei's mental state serves as a portrayal of the devastating impact of an abusive environment on an individual's well-being.

We know that Rei deeply loves all her children and wishes to protect them. However, Enji's overwhelming control and abusive behavior render her powerless.

Knowing this, it doesn't take much to infer that he likely forced her to bear his children, just like how he pushed her into a loveless marriage. It gets worse when you realize how Todoroki has three older siblings... 🔥💀❄️

While the series has mentioned Quirk marriages before, it is truly sobering to actually see it firsthand as it's clear this is a marriage of convenience. Rei is marrying Endeavor for the sake of her family name and Endeavor just wants an heir to help surpass All Might.

We also see Endeavor wailing on Rei for letting Toya train while the young Shoto steps up to his mother's defense. All the while, Natsuo and Fuyumi huddle together in fear. It was a truly explicit and heartbreaking example of domestic abuse. She isn't as outright abusive as Enji is and genuinely loves her children. But as she herself admits later on, she didn't do more than she could've done to stop Enji's mistreatment of their children.

The look on Enji's face when Rei says that he's not a hero and is running away from his problems. He looks like he wants to hit her for talking back at him like that, but he knows she's right. She tried her best to be a good mother, but despite her strong disapproval, she was powerless to stop Enji from abusing and neglecting their kids. Whenever she attempted to protect Shoto from his father's brutal training, Enji inflicted physical consequences.

Due to her own worsening mental state, she prioritise protecting Shoto from Endeavor, as Shoto is the one to be in direct physical harm. This made her unintentionally neglect her other children in the process, especially Toya.

Their marriage was shown to have a power imbalance. Enji’s horrible actions created an environment where Rei feels unable to assert herself. Over time, this repeated subjugation leads to passiveness and compliance. Enji’s horrid behavior likely instills a pervasive fear in Rei, making her reluctant to stand up to him. The threat of retaliation or escalation of abuse often paralyzes victims, preventing them from acting against their abuser.

When Rei, crying out in fear and despair, tells she couldn’t stop Toya, Enji, with a straight-up demonic face, yells at her that Toya’s officially her problem and demands her to stop him. This causes images of Enji and Toya’s hatred-filled faces to flash before Rei’s eyes, causing her to snap and attack Shoto when she experiences a mental breakdown and inadvertently harms her youngest son by pouring boiling water on his face.

She was a broken woman at the start of the story, given her loveless marriage with Endeavor, the abuse they went through under his roof, as well as her breaking point where she scalded Shoto with boiling water. Later down the story, it was also revealed how she was hospitalized initially for hurting Shoto, but then she learned about Toya's apparent death in her hospital. Her condition went from bad to worst that she had to be kept there for years.

The icing on the cake? Not only did her family sold her off, but they eagerly sold her off for the financial benefits. Her life has been a wreck from the start. 😭

[mikeellee]

I guess this is a hot take on my part considering most the fandom seems to think the opposite but... I think Dabi didn't deserve to be a hero, no matter how bad of a parents Enji and Rei were.

My reasoning behind this is simple: Dabi (or Touya) always was an extremely selfish individual and never show any sign of wanting to be a hero for noble reason, he never go beyond his fixated mentallity of "this is what I was born for and dad will love me because of it".

It's quite what this scene tries to show:

Touya's reason to be a hero can be sumed as "me, me, me, me and dad" he doesn't want to be one because is a noble thing to do and he could help people. For him being a hero is just the easy way to get all the attention from Enji he thinks he deserves, which is also implied he wants more than anyone else, that possibly includes think his brothers don't deserve Enji as much as he does.

Kinda of ironic for a supposed Stain fanboy to be a selfish asshole who never shows any real heroic desire. Like hell even other villains show to have more noble qualities than Dabi, even Shigaraki of all persons seemed more genuine when he was a child wanting to be a hero just because it is correct.

Dabi is also a great contrast to Shoto, who was forced into being a hero but learned that he could be something better than what his father expects from him.

And no one can say Rei didn't at least tried equally to be a good guide for both of them, isn't like she made a difference on that.

Well that was a little rank from my part, but need to say it as for years was a pretty annoying seeing the same idea floating everywhere about "Dabi could've been the greatest hero if it wasn't for Endeavor".

But for me the question isn't about he could, more like "he should?"

Hi @nyc3

First off, let's address the elephant in the room, everyone in MHA who wants to he a hero wants fame...(Ofc izu won't get bc fuck you Izu) My point is, hero IS a job and it's natural to want to he recognized and praised for your good job. I know bc I do like when my boss compliment on my job and ...its SMTH really smaller considering what heroes do in MHA.

I also want to say...many kids would want to be a hero for the attractive reasons such as fame and money, no one would be so selfless. Izu was, but hori says fuck him. Izu is someone who helps others selfless and is punished for that. (He wanted to be part of a group, and never will be. He is the forever odd duck, you know, some retelling of Cinderella are sort mean bc carry the message "don't marry above your station" and that's not the core of the story. Its a sentiment I see on Izu's story. "Don't try to be what you can't")

I think is normal, considering the situation, for Toya wanting to be a hero for selfish reasons. He is a kid in a toxic environment...his dad is not a hero for pure reasons either.

Could he have change? Maybe. That would require Endy to be a parent and same for Rei. Its unfair to expect Toya to move on from his dream-smth he was created for- just bc his quirk is not perfect.

Seeing a parallel with Endy and Inko here. Both parents did nothing for their kids but hurt them...through in different ways.

As for dabi, he wants revenge which is a selfish goal but is also a very understandable one.

Could he have became a hero as dabi? Maybe. The vigilantes are a grey area that isn't explored much.

I don't like when people suggest Izu or dabi to be vigilantes as if that would be the biggest catch. They could work as such but god that would come with many hurdles. Especially for Izu, and again, what any of them would do as a vigilantes? Beat up bad guys???

Isnt that what villains and heroes do?

[hall-of-the-pyromancer]

Once again, Tumblr fandom never ceases to amaze me with the lack of reading comprehension regarding Endeavor. Let’s count the ways

“Endeavor failed at another thing. He’s gonna get people killed because he apparently drew Touya to civilians”

Did people seriously forget that Endeavor was trying to lure Touya away from people so he wouldn’t burn anything? He just learned that Touya was gonna explode in a matter of minutes. Also its like people keep overlooking that Endeavor has this uncanny coincidence to be near the point of exhaustion and passing out when he encounters Touya. He just came out of a battle with AFO that took his arm and part of his torso. He had no way of taking him farther away.

“Endeavor still doesn’t care about Touya”

Man is not throwing hands with his own son, he’s pleading for him to turn off his flames so he doesn’t blow himself and everyone up nearby.

“Touya was the perfect child all along. Endeavor failed again”

Did people miss this? Endeavor knows he didn’t awaken here. He’s about to die and the ice trait manifested like so. Endeavor’s horrified that Touya had ice powers all along but he could only do so by being pushed to near death. That’s pure irony.

“He still hasn’t accepted responsibility for what he’s done”

Fucking perfect. Endeavor, no matter if he fumbled here or there during his arc, knows he fucked up. He never once tries to blame any of his victims for what he did despite people thinking he’s like abusers out there who try to gaslight, deflect, etc. No, fuck you. Man here is accepting that the shit going down is his fault. Idc if you hate him, man here has my respect for accepting that the consequences are hitting him here and he doesn’t turn away. If you still think he’s the same hate-filled man from the Sports Festival I’m sorry but you don’t accept character growth it seems.

“He’s taking the coward’s way out”

My “friend”, did you miss the part where he’s 800m away from the other heros and who knows how far away from nearby cities? He has no method of cooling his son off. Shoto’s not here and he has no way to reach Rei, Fuyumi, or Natsuo who might have a way to cool off Toya. All he knew, he’s effectively alone here about to see his son turn into Hiroshima 2.0. He’s willing to die with his son all while making sure no one gets killed. How is that him being a “coward” and not shouldering responsibility? If he was truly a coward, he’d say fuck everyone and fly away while Touya blows up. This is him being a father right here.

And finally Rei...

Do people seriously think she’s willing to only save one of these 2? The same woman who while still being in the psych ward said that she knows her husband is changing and knows he wants to make amends. The same woman who went to her injured husband and not only told him to stop pitying himself but also gave him the strength to not quit and get back out there to save their son and civilians. Why do people still have this headcanon that she wants her formerly abusive husband to die? She wants Enji and Touya both to live.

I swear, every week on here it's like the takes for Enji just tank and tank so hard its not even funny anymore. Its sad. 

[palesweetscherryblossom]

So I have a question for you as a Mha critical and probably a person that knows the Manga better than me. Because I woke up at 3am and I had a thought dinging around my head like the DVD logo.

Could there be a redemption for Dabi if he got to kill/defeat Endeavor?

That question started a train of thoughts that I would like to share and be judged upon by the critical community, either deeming me a feverish lunatic or a genius.

As far as I know myself, most of the anger or hate Dabi carries in him is directed towards false heroes or, better said, one false hero. Endeavor. He has an especially big hate for his father for not deeming his worthy, disgarding him later, and getting Shoto. We see that he wanted to apologize to his family when he woke up in the orphanage, this whole thing works based on that a bit. That he hates Endavor the most but hates his family less.

Basically, the idea would be that he got to fight his abuser and ended up winning. (Ideally killing him because I feel like that man would deserve it to be killed by the one he regarded useless. Very funny) and like after the fight, he, of course, is exhausted. It has also let go of some anger and hate. Storing anger and also not letting yourself feel feelings is bad and makes you unstable and easier to misinterpret feelings. So a huge portion of anger would be out leaving room for satisfaction and perhaps some mania like happiness.

Then some good heroes could swoop in and catch him. Not kill him because they are good heroes and want to save people and not kill them. And there would be a little0 fight, but ultimately, Dabi would be caught. I am not sure whether he would put up much of a fight anyway because the main reason he became the way he was is gone.

And them they could like put a quirk stopping bracelet on him and all and put him in a prison/mental health institute. Because he still has killed people and needs to stand up for that but then again Endeavor as a shit bag. And there he would get therapy and also his family would visit. And that is important.

First would be Natsuo because I feel like he would have the least hate towards his brother for killing their father, and he also had the closest bond to him prior to him being obducted and stuffed into the orphanage. So they would meet, and due to their shared hate, Natsuo might even give him credits for killing the man they both hate. Something like "Good job, Toya, I am glad that man is gone. He has ruined our family," and so on along with a heartfelt apology. The next would probably be Fuyumi because she is one hell of a pacifist and people pleaser (from what I remember), and she would want to play happy family again. And so she goes to him and apologizes and all that. She wouldn't give him praise for killing Endeavor.

I feel like only Natsuo and maybe maybe Shoto (very short and very much a "huh, guess you did it" type of praise would be given. [I don't know whether Rei would come before or after Fuyumi because she probably feels obligated to mourn for her husband and do fumeral shit, no matter how shitty he was. So she probably wouldn't be the first to show up even if she misses her eldest]

So now his healing journey comes because he managed to bring down the biggest hate in him and let that anger out. Of course, it could also happen that once the Pandora box is open, he directs his anger at everything and his hate because he never learned how to deal with emotions in a healthy way. And if you let your anger control too often and too much, you get issues and can no longer deal with the anger correctly. Something something about our brain being stupid and choosing the "easy" but wrong way.

And maybe a few years he would be let go and a given house arrest. There, we would be able to learn again to properly interact with his world again. Family stuff.

Now comes the fun part to me, we know that there is some sort of celebrity culture with the heroes. And if I know one thing from tabloid, then that the people crave drama. They want the dirty laundery of the gerona, they want the sex-scandals and the abuse allegations and the drug rumors. So I feel like he would get a side gig as a journalist for those tabloids under a different name. Exposing false heroes and writing articles about their abuse with photo evidence and video evidence. And he would be smart about it because he has the big brain energy. (This is mostly my personal thinking. This can be as wrong to canon as it is)

I think the Toga redemption is the easiest because she already has a great bond with a hero, aka Uravity. And Ochaco wants to save her as well. So she probably would go to a mental hospital as well [idk about jail because she was underage and all when she committed most crimes, but I feel like she would get just a few years]. There, Ochaco would visit her and talk about the hero stuff she does and Jada Jada they become really good friends, and Ochaco helps to bail her out so that she can live a more normal life. And like if she needs blood, they can just go to a blood bank and get some. So yeah, it's a pretty easy redemption if she manages to survive.

Next is Tomura. My thoughts are that he is basically non-redemption material until the fact that AFO admits to controlling everything in his life and that he never had his own choice. That he had always been a pawn/NPC/replaceable.

For his redemption to work, he first needs to survive, which means the hero Deku should be Izuku, like aka saving everyone no matter what. Which I would love for him to do since he would turn into the ultimate hero for that, and he derves that title.

This also only works if Tomura plays the main part in defeating his abuser aka Quirk Satan. Izuku can help him defeat AFO, but he needs to deal the final blow himself in an act of rebellion and freedom. His very first own choice.

After that battle, he first needs to go to the hospital but then jail along with a therapist. I feel like he would need a whole circle or therapist to hold hands and dance around him like a fire tower for him to get rid of all the years under Quirk Satan.

But it could be easier by 2 things, in my opinion. His connection it the League. He may not have been the best leader and a shitty one at worst, but I feel like he would still be somewhat happy to see them again. Because they are basically the only people that had been around him beside Quirk Satan. So the first would obviously be Spinner. And they would play some L.O.V. together and all. I don't know who will be next, but I feel like if he and Dabi would meet again under these circumstances, that man could give him some advice. I feel like Dabi knows a bit since he burnt down Toga's home to help her. But they could parallel one another yet again.

The second, in my opinion most important part, is a change in mind/ideology/goals. We know he is nihilistic, so I thought he could go through the same journey as me. Because nihilism almost killed both of us, he now needs to adapt a new life philosophy: Absurdism (it worked for me, and I feel like it could work for him as well) Basically: life has no meaning but so what? That only means you can life as free as you want and do everything you want. Your actions won't matter in the long run of the universe? So what, you are free to do whatever you want and to live happy because in the long run of the universe it doesn't matter.

So the first choice, aka Killing Quirk Satan, would lead up to other choices that are his first choices he makes that will be his alone to take. Maybe his Master never allowed him to play competitive games, so now he plays them as much as he wants. Or his Master never allowed him to cry, so now he finally does (it was weird anyway to know Tomura doesn't cry at all even if his name means mourning).

Of course, he is going to be in jail for quite a while since he doesn't have any family to bail him out of anywhere to go to get house arrest. But maybe Izuku visits him as well as he is Izuku's villain after all.

My personal utopia would be them sitting at a table and eating good food again while each talk about the non villany stuff they achieved. Dabi about how he exposed false heroes and Spinner wanting to join the newspaper, which is now serious. [Maybe either could work in politics as well but mostly Spinner to help remove the corrupt system and bring diversity and remove stigmata] and Toga could rant about her newest college crush and how she finally finished her education. Compress could talk about a magic show he has planned, and Tomura could talk about all the free choices he made aka, stuff AFO never allowed him to do and how good he is at taking care of himself. [Because AFO definitely neglected him to make him weaker to his manipulation and all]

So, Mha criticals, am I cooking, or has the fever cooked every viable thought in my brain?

It’s honestly a slippery slope when it comes to this discussion. In my personal opinion, I don’t think that Dabi would be capable of redemption because he still caused harm to people that didn’t have anything to do with his main goal.

He killed many innocent civilians, went after UA, caused intense harm to children, dragged Toga back into the war and roped Shoto into stuff that didn’t concern him. Same with Toga, Twice, Shigaraki and etc. They’ve had sad lives but they still did massive damage and harm to people around them. Which is why I can’t help but give a side eye whenever the fandom says they’re in the right.

Personally, I think that keeping the villains not redeemed teaches a lesson that not everyone gets a happy ending and that in order for society to change, we need to face the harsh realities of the villains’ stories.

But I’m all for Enji dying, that would’ve been amazing.

Idk, fellow critics, what do you think

[aheckinmess]

We Need a Little Christmas

(Part 2 of The Snowball Effect)

Read on AO3.

Tags: Enji Todoroki, Endeavor, Reader, Endeavor x Reader, Enji Todoroki x Reader, Christmas Special, We Need a Little Christmas, Making Christmas Cards, Christmas Cheer, This One's Short, But Still Cute, Looking at the Todoroki Family All Happy Together, Happy Todoroki Family, Merry Christmas, I'm Half Asleep Writing This

Word Count: 661 words

Summary: When your Christmas cards finally get delivered, Toya brings them in so you can look over the Todoroki family Christmas photo.

Playlist: The Snowball Effect

December 2

“Mom, the Christmas cards came in.” Toya grunts, tossing the package on the dining table. A moment later, you hear the fridge door open and he rummages through its contents.

“Thank you, Toya.” You focus on chopping vegetables and wait for the rice cooker to beep. “Do you know if your brothers are still with your father?”

“Yeah. I just came back from the park early because I didn’t feel like hanging around. My Christmas present for Dad was supposed to be in today, but your cards were the only thing in the mail.” He huffs. 

“Aww, I’m sorry, honey. What did you get him?”

“It’s the latest ultimate edition of Hero Hub. So we can study it together and work on some new moves!” Toya bounces on the soles of his feet as he munches on a spicy cucumber. “What did you get him?”

“Oh, you know, the typical workout gear, the new edition of his favorite book series, that sort of thing.” You throw the newly cooked rice into a wok with your veggies. “Especially the workout gear. He burnt through one of his last pairs the other week.”

“Hehe, he does that a lot, doesn’t he?” Toya’s array of red and white waves bristle as he moves closer to you. “Is that all you got ��im?”

“No, Toya, but I want some of it to be a surprise for him.” 

“C’mooonnn, Mom…” He bats those pretty blue eyes at you - eyes he inherited from his father and naturally makes you sigh.

“No, Toya. I want everyone to be surprised by this. Well, Fuyumi and Natsuo might not be impressed, but I know you will. It’ll make your excitement all that much sweeter.”

“Is it a hero thing?!” 

“Yes, it’s a hero thing.”

“YES!” Toya whoops, pumping his fist in the air before you fill a large bowl with fried rice and vegetables. 

“You can make a plate if you’d like, Toya. I’m going to see if I can’t get started on making a list for Christmas cards.” You turn off the burner.

In the dining room, you sit on the cushion while fighting with the package to open. Eventually, you dig through the plastic and open the box inside, a smile lighting up on your face as the pristine image of your happy family twinkles back at you.

“What do you think?” You ask, turning to show Toya the picture.

It takes him a moment as he makes a bowl of rice, before he leans in and shrugs.

“I guess we look nice.” He grumbles.

“I’ll take that as a compliment from you.”

“Christmas cards have come in?” Enji’s visage alights in the door, before four sets of footsteps tear through the entryway and into the kitchen.

Looking up gives you the welcome sight of Enji in a rare moment of softness. Anger and annoyance don’t crease his skin. A smile even tickles the edges of his lips while he gazes upon you. 

“Want to see, Enchan? You look quite handsome, if I do say so myself.” 

He takes the glossy card from your hand. Does he also see the tell-tale smirk tattooed into Toya’s expression? Or maybe he recognizes the way Natsuo fails to hide his smile for the camera? There’s no doubting the hope glittering on Fuyumi and Shoto’s face as they both huddle around Tenko, who looks irritated by the attention.

And finally, there’s you and Enji. Joy dresses you up nicely at the idea of having your family altogether for a Christmas picture. But Enji? Enji stands tall and proud of his family, his home, his reason for living – despite the neutral expression veiling it.

“It’s lovely.” He gives you a kiss on the cheek as he hands it back.

“Christmas looks good on the Todorokis, doesn’t it?” You coo, fondling the scruff growing in on his chin.

“It does. I think this world could use more of this sort of cheer.”

Day 3

Credit to @saradika-graphics for the holiday banner! Thank you so much!

[sapphic-agent]

Ooh, we're talking about Rei? Alright, here we go!

The Todoroki family arc WAS one of the greater aspects of MHA. Keyword: was. It was great until Horikoshi decides to redeem Endeavor. The same man who practically bought his wife. The same man who neglected his three other children, Fuyumi was parentified, neglected Toya and Natso, Toya had constant breaks of his neglect, made a 5-year-old Shoto THROW UP from training so hard, physically and emotionally abused the shit out of his wife where she was on the verge of a mental breakdown everyday. Like, it's so disgusting, honestly. It's a slap in the fact to all of their trauma. Like Endeavor had YEARS to change, but randomly wants to change??? Like dude gave zero shits that Toya "DIED" via from his mental breakdown of his flames and carried on like nothing fucking happened. Also, I just wanna say people who also villainize Fuyumi can also get a big fuck you. Fuyumi just wanted a normal ass family and pushed all of her feelings in her traditional, sexist household. People react to trauma in different ways. Sure, Fuyumi doesn't always handle things the greatest, but the girl was made to look over her siblings at a young ass age. The problem with redeeming Endeavor is that, there's just somethings you can't say sorry for or fucking atone for. Buying your wife, neglecting all three of your kids, physically abusing your youngest son, physically and emotionally abusing your wife then locking her away from her children for 10 years is just not grounds to redeem someone. I thought MHA was good because Shoto saying fuck you to his dad and not forgiving was so refreshing but then paints Natsuo as the bad guy for not forgiving him, and having Shoto consider forgiving his father within one FUCKING YEAR after YEARS of abuse is just baffling to me. Ik Horikoshi is shit on writing women, but, I want to know what Rei is like outside of her dynamic of being a mom. I wanna know what her true personality is, because her abuse doesn't define her. I wanna also know more about Fuyumi because it's clear to me her parentification even carried over into adult, and even with her teaching elementary kids. Fuyumi also deserves to be pissed off at Endeavor. Shoto, Natsuo, and Dabi have shown them being PISSED at Endeavor, and they have EVERY right to. I just wanna see Fuyumi growing out of her parentification Endeavor clearly put her through.

fuck endeavor and his big toe looking ass People can change, yes. But not abusers who do the most godawful things to their family and don't atone for it. Fuck Endeavor.

Well said, anon👏🏾

I agree that the Todoroki past was a really good aspect of the MHA world before they redeemed Endeavor. It was a great aspect of world-building and it was refreshing seeing a character that wasn't begging for their abusive parent's love or acceptance. Then, 4/5 of his victims decided to rally around him and support him for the mess he created...

Why.

I'm actually really glad you brought up Fuyumi because I agree. She wasn't only neglected, she was parentified. And this wasn't something that happened when Touya died or Rei was committed, via the Touya flashback her parentification started at least around the time Natsu was born. She wants a normal family because it's the only way she knows how to cope with that childhood trauma (yes, parentification is traumatic). Yes, she doesn't go about it in a great way but we need to stop expecting victims to react perfectly. Nastu and Shoto made the choice to play nice to make her happy, she didn't force or demand them to.

Fuyumi, overall, deserves more agency. It would have been great for both her and Rei to be something outside of their trauma and supporting their abuser. They also deserve to be angry.

(I've noticed that Hori doesn't really make women in his story angry. I mean, Mirko sometimes but that's more her gag than anything. They all either cry or when they're being "strong" he just gives them this face 😐 (I'm not exaggerating: Rei, Momo, Inko, Uraraka, etc.) I mean, I don't expect a shonen mamgaka to know how to write feminine rage well, but MHA is just pathetic when it comes to this)

Hori got me fucked up for the way he treats Natsu. He's the only one able to see last the trauma/abuse (probably because he was the most removed from it) to be able to make healthy choices and create boundaries. Yet Hori over here wants to paint him in a negative light for calling out Endeavor repeatedly. It's the same thing with people who criticize Bakugou; they're made out to be in the wrong (Monoma, the pros, the journalists, etc.) even though what they're saying is completely valid.

I would also like to point out that Endeavor only changed once he got what he wanted. Not when his son died because of him. If he was going to really change, don't you think it should have been when his actions resulted in dire consequences?

[princess-of-the-corner]

I wonder how Enji would react to the "Endeavor adopts reader" fics. Because I'm sure he's flattered that someone out there thinks he's a good father figure. But like, he knows better.

Oh God wait. How do his KIDS react to those kinds of fics? Are they annoyed by the inconsistencies about their fic counterparts? This is hilarious to think about.

Honestly by this point Enji is kinda in the frame of mind of like. He's had enough encounters with the kids he low-key adopts (Hawks, Burnin) where it's like 'god I am not a good father figure PLEASE raise your standards!' that he kinda realizes that most people who see him as a father figure really are looking for the bare minimum 'adult man who cares about me unconditionally' because they don't have that in their lives.

So yeah he realizes that the kids writing this shit are probably in bad situations and that he might not be the /best/ father but he's still better than what some people have. (For the record: these ones aren't the fics getting dunked on. It's other fics).

His actual kids have mixed feelings on this whole thing because of the whole 'oh well people have it worse so is my trauma really /that/ valid?' thing but no, no. What happened to them was still very bad and they have every right to be fucked up about it and they have every right to not forgive their father and the only reason they do is because he's worked to fix things and cleared up any miscommunications that had made things worse. But yeah being forced to confront the fact that even at his worst, Enji was better than what some people had? Kinda sucks so they don't think about it too often.

Now! As for thoughts on actual characterization!

It's kinda funny because characterization on some of them depends on when it was written? Like.

While people /know/ that Endeavor has a wife and kids, and there's been some pictures in the media when they're out together and such, none of them are really in the media enough for anyone to glean info into their personalities.

But this is CC so we get Toya becoming a Hero, so as he is in the media more people get a better grasp on his personality. Same with Shoto later down the line. Rei also gets her own publicity re: the vtuber thing so people get more of her as well. But this happens at different times so depending on when the fic is written people would have different grasps on them. Meanwhile, Fuyumi and Natsuo are pretty unknown and everyone's just gotta make up their personalities and interests.

And as this is Fandom™, you KNOW there's going to be common interpretations of them that got popular and are 'basically canon'.

that said, a lot of what is being written is from. Ya know. Wish fulfillment from teens in shitty homelives wanting to be magically whisked away. So often their fictional counterparts are going to be portrayed as good people who are comforting to the new addition and are also part of the 'wanting a support system' thing, though tweaked to the specific needs of the child writing this. At /worst/ you might have fics of the kids being younger and 'upset that daddy's not paying attention to them anymore' but fics where the kids are like 10+ would have them more chill.

THAT SAID

Rei gets a kick out of reading the Endeavor x Reader fics just to see how they deal with her existence. Is it an affair? Do they kill her off? Do they make her some raging bitch that he divorces? Do they go full Reba? It's funniest when they just don't address her at all.

[thelreads]

oh dear god- you know, that was what we believed happened, but considering that little flashback, it doesn't seem like that was the case. The abuse only came after Shoto was born, which means it must be around the time Toya died.

...

Oh no, don't tell me Endeavor became a monster because he pushed Toya to his death

Oh yeah, you guys also need to see this. The Family drama is being broadcast.

oh boy, the number 2 is definitely gonna be dragged through the mud there. And he deserves it for what he did, that there's no doubt, but the rest of his family doesn't, and boy are they gonna go through a lot.

[h0estar]

catching up to bnha (contains spoilers for chapter 362)

BAKUGO REALLY DIED I'M GOING TO COMBUST

i saw the spoilers years ago, and let me tell you, i was livid. some MHA fans are genuinely incapable of having basic human decency and think it's edgy to just post whatever on social media. WITHOUT WARNING. tumblr gets a pass because at least it has spoiler tags, even if i follow them anyway, lmao. but, i was definitely going through it! dark days, man.

you see, i would've absolutely grieved this moment had i read this weekly. i would've cried, despaired, and cried some more. i would've been absolutely devastated. but because i knew it was coming, all i could do was stare in shock. heartbroken? definitely. but the emotional impact was definitely lessened. rip to the feels i could've had.

ANYWAY

i know he's alright 🙄

and this "death" feels like a slap in the face to Bakugo's entire character arc. i mean what was the point of him working his hardest to be number one? to have his goals on full display for the readers time and time again? to have other characters rooting for him? to display his determination and drive? to develop his character so well? it would be a huge waste to just throw him away as a plot device for another one of izuku's rage-fueled power-ups. he's more than that :(

i mean, sure... his heart exploded or whatever... and i mean yeah sure there was a bit of flashback. but he's had a such a great development, it'd make no sense to just take him out so early in the game. right? RIGHT?!?!!!!

also, not to mention the multiple death scares this mf had. therefore, i am definitely not buying it 🙄 (even if it looks real this time but whatever!!!! i know he's alright!! he's alive and well. i know it because of the spoilers, okay? i think. i dont know. was that him? crazy. i think it was. maybe. i hope? hahhahhdaidjkssk)

anyway, i'd have to brace myself for the next volume. this volume was hell on earth with toya vs shoto, endeavor vs afo, shigaraki in the sky, etc. i sense pain, pain, and more gut wrenching pain in the next volumes so @h0estar, be prepared.

honorable mention to horikoshi's art. i love love love love bnha's art style so much. see, as much as i love the anime, i'm always a sucker for some godtier manga art because you can see the artist's improvement and emotion in his works. horikoshi is so passionate about the details and i love how he goes beyond (plus ultra?!) with his works, considering this is a weekly shonen. in all his years, his work's quality never deteriorated 👏🏻 it's one of the reasons why i'm a manga > anime girlie for MHA. note that i'm not artist so i could be yapping about things i don't understand, but i'm sure you get me! ha ahaha

[siflshonen]

I absolutely love your Todoroki Fam meta. I have a deeper appreciation of Endeavor and Rei now. You just made me love Touya/Dabi more. The privileges and burdens of a first child in Asian household are complicated to say the least. It's a truth that stings and your analysis just made me thankful how easier I got it with my family despite being on the traditional/conservative side.

But! What really intrigued me the most was the part about Hawks wanting to sort of replace Touya/Dabi in the family. I thought I'm the only one who saw them in that way. Looking forward to see more of your analysis about it.

I’m glad you enjoyed it and it offered some more insight. I’m only an outsider, so I can only really comment on what I’ve read or observed rather than offer personal experience.

As for Hawks, hmm… I get the sense that he doesn’t necessarily want to “replace” as in “take” an existing role from Dabi, but he DOES want to be a son of Endeavor, if that makes sense. I think he’d consider “replacing” Toya if the opportunity came about, but I always got the sense that there was a sort of, like, purity about his fantasy related to how it existed in a vacuum.

We’ll see if the manga explores this more.

Honestly, I think that in a more perfect world where everyone knew about Keigo’s admiration of Endeavor and Toya wasn’t crispy-cremated and a murderer, Keigo would be happy sharing the eldest son role with Dabi if that were an option. It’s Dabi - specifically, Toya - who would not be able to do that in such a scenario. I think Hawks’ behavior and opinion on Shoto is an indicator of how he would feel if Toya was still acting as first son.

I think Keigo does and would have dark thoughts about replacing his “opposition”, but I also think he’s sort of the Izuku to Dabi’s Bakugo about this in that his envy does not obviously or constantly win out when he makes his decisions and takes action. Doesn’t erase its existence, though.

[nyc3]

Your ask really inspired me to think on a different au. A parallel and relationship between Izu (boy or girl. I tend go with girl bc I love Fem Izu) and Toya.

Let me explain the idea.

Toya IS from a big rich family, has money and fame. Lots of fame. Ofc his dream to be a hero stems in being daddy's good boy/throphy and nothing else. He is a kid and is selfish.

His father is the #2 of all Japan and that IS a big deal. Endy is not happy bc he wants the #1 even if he has all the perks AM has (or more as AM doesn't have a family)

Then enters Izu. He is the son/daughter (will go as daughter) of the disgraced hero Inko. Maybe Inko committed a mistake and let a big villain escape or the hero work wasn't kind to her....either way, she retired earlier and has Izuchan. Izuchan wants to be a hero to clean her mother's name.

People never forget Inko's mistake. Not for a moment...and that took a toll on her. Izuchan wants to be a hero and fix it...so her mother can be in peace. Its selfless.

And well comes the clashing.

Toya has fame and money and while he can play the game...he also is tired if this life. His father wasn't pleased with Toya. Sure, thanks to gadgets he can use his fire...but Endy wants more....and thus Borns Shoto and now Shoto is Endy's pet project.

Toya gets disillusioned by the hero industry.

Then he sees Izuchan who...is genuine in her passion.

People wouldn't care for a nobody...but Toya does.

A genuine hero is what he was searching for.

On her end, Izumi got the attention of one of the most richest and famous heroes of all Japan. What she will do? Can she still be a hero?

(she has a quirk here, maybe a low level telekinesis. Yes. I'm giving her a quirk bc it makes sense...I don't think quirkless should be heroes at the same breath I do see how quirks don't make you invencible)

Its a contrast of ideas.

Izu wants to clean her mother's name

Toya wants to stain his father's name.

FUCK THIS IS MUCH BETTER. I love my mind sometimes.

(this does give me a vibe of Gojohime and I do like the ship)

In AUs where Midoriya has a quirk since born I like it be an average/decent form of pyrokinesis like he could probably have based on the quirks of his parents.

I guess Midoriya in this case would he on pair with Burnin in terms of overall performance, with the only difference he would spit the flames from the mouth first and being able to bend them once they're outside. It looks cool in my head at least.

...

Since you're playing with the Gojo syndrome dynamic, how Shoto should be in this AU aside of being the dreamed offspring of Enji?

Because I'm kinda tired of the same vanilla personality for Shoto where he's just a clueless dummy because of no social interactions covered by an emo mask.

Rather than that I like to imagine a version of Shoto in which he got a god complex like Gojo, because technically his quirk is divine and all the power and fame carried by Endeavor's name (and also being part of the Himura clan) makes Shoto develop this mentallity of being the superior to everyone else. Perhaps at some point he would came to the conclusion he's way superior to his dad and doesn't need take advices from "just the number 2" anymore.

And to me it's fun to think on Shoto as the villain for Dabi and Midoriya, but rather than be a edgelord like canon Dabi, villain Shoto probably would copy the style and mannerisms of A.M as a way to mock both Enji and Midoriya because of their admiration/jaleosity for the guy.