#shomura tenko

[itsnothingofinterest]

So I think the main takeaway we all got from the last chapter, besides 'are they really doing the AFO gave Tenko decay thing,' is wondering what Eri's running off to do. Some think she'll be used to restore OFA and/or undo all Deku's damage to bring him back to full power. Others are thinking/worrying she'll be used to unsatisfyingly turn Tomura back into a 5 year old with no memory of killing his family so Deku can circumvent both Tomura's traumas & his criticisms towards hero society.

But I don't really like either of those ideas (not even the healing Deku thing at this time, it'd undo too many of his sacrifices); so me personally, I think she's going to reintroduce the rooftop trio back into the plotline. I mean with the entire League besides Tomura dealt with, they're basically the only dangling plot-thread left in this arc besides the big final fight.

What she'd do I'm not entirely sure. I don't really like the idea of her reverting Kurogiri into his past self that's most convenient to the heroes anymore than her doing that to Tomura. I guess she could heal Aizawa's injuries to let him properly use his quirk again though, that could be cool.

But I think the possibility that most appeals to me is, instead of introducing her for her quirk, instead uses her for an emotional beat for Aizawa. A big part of the Shirakumo plot (as I've interpreted it at least) has been Aizawa & Mic being too focused on their high school years with Shirakumo, enshrining that time to represent what they believe Kurogiri should be like. Mic at once point is even prepared to kill Kurogiri if he's not got enough Shirakumo in him so he can't taint Aizawa's memory of him.

So Eri coming in for an emotional moment with Aizawa, maybe to heal him or maybe just to ask he stay standing in that hero way, could disrupt that narrative; and for the better I think. Remind him that the past is one thing, but he's got responsibilities in the present, a kid he's taking care of.

And if I am so lucky, that might just cause Kurogiri/Shirakumo to come to a similar realization. Aizawa & especially Mic might have some opinions on the arrangement, but the fact is that for the past 15-ish years, their friends has been looking after a kid who's currently in danger. And while catching up has been nice, saving Tomura Shigaraki from that danger probably takes precedence over some high school friends. Sad to say, they've all grown up to take on responsibilities in conflict with each other; and if there's any resolution to that, it's probably found in the present or looking forward, not staying stuck in the past.

[fansandanime]

Quick sketch before bed of a fusion of Shigaraki and Aizawa I dub as Shigazawa

[itsnothingofinterest]

So I’m still not the biggest fan of the Dad for One theory in the world, but a while back I gave one reason I think it could be kind neat. (Namely fun & cleaver potential wordplay.) And to do something fun while we have a week off, I thought I’d share a 2nd reason I’ve come up with why I think DFO might be interesting, especially right now. It would give a connection between Deku & AFO in Shigaraki’s eyes, which would make things harder for Deku.

See as we know, Shigaraki has recently escaped AFO’s direct control and rejected his wishes, and is now running off of the feelings of Tenko Shomura. But that’s still a problem for Deku because Tenko sees hero society as one big Shimura household; both its cause and its reflection. In turn, though he hasn’t said as much yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if he saw connections between his own abusers and the abusers of hero society. Like he sees All Might, All For One, Endeavor, Hawks, Star and Stripe, & Kotaro Shimura as pees in a pod. Which would mean Deku’s job to get through to him would be to prove he’s not in that pod. Deku’s no abuser, irresponsible hypocrite, or corrupt cop in the making; so Tenko can trust him, yeah?

And how hard could proving his character really be?

Well, that’s where the DFO reveal could come into play; to make things so much worse just like everything AFO touches. Right now, while the idea of Deku sharing the same faults as All Might would be pretty hard to shake off; the boy having much in common, personality wise, with AFO sounds ridiculous. Any kind of accusation like that would quickly fall flat and proving he’s better would be trivially easy. But if it turns out Deku is AFO’s son? Oh that could easily legitimize Shigaraki, in his own mind, to see Deku as the worst of both worlds between All Might & AFO.

Which is bad for Deku, but great storytelling, because it’d give him another hurdle to overcome. And I am all for Deku having to put his all into this; so I say throw every obstacle you can his way and make saving Tomura his hardest-won victory ever.