#If I'm feeling very focused I will try to type out a transcript later

[inkylizard]

Last year, in my dad's paperwork, I found this photocopy of a letter to my maternal grandmother, from a friend in Romania. She had presumably given a copy to my dad because of its historical significance: the letter is dated "22 Dec '89 - 22 Jan '90 - one month from the revolution!" It describes her life under the Ceaucescu regime, the things she had never been able to tell; and details its fall.

When I found it, I thought it was an interesting thing, and that I should share it. But I balked, I guess, at publicizing someone else's private letter; it's not so historical that the writer might not still be alive.

Now, It feels not just historically notable, but painfully, critically relevant. It's long, and it's not all politically pertinent - there's a bit about me and my cousins being adorable - but it's an all or nothing kind of read.

"Very few people fought to stop the wrong activity of that criminal Ceaucescu. If every important person in state didn't agree to report only lies concerning the economy (industry and agriculture) Romania would have been the same rich country, worthy of her brave past. Instead of truth it was easier to die thousands of people in order to regain our dignity, to have a better and a new life? For this reason we shall never be forgiven by the next generations. Will this revolution wash the shame?"

I hope you will read it. Thank you, Ela.

[haptronym]

TLDR: There's some hints within the beginning of cannon that makes it feel like quirklessness was handled differently than later. I think compairing the first episode of BNHA to a sports anime introduction where the MC is short downplays what happened. Cannon feels inconsistent within itself with some topics, quirklessness feeling like a topic that keeps getting surface level touched and then dropped on its head for no reason. BNHA writing just feels weird sometimes. 20 percent of the world's population does not equal 20 percent of Japan's population. Society discriminating against some quirks or lack of ability to accommodate them does not point away from potential quirkless discrimination.

With your "fanon vs canon" with quirkless discrimination, I have some additional topics to bring up.

Heavy disclaimer I stopped watching the anime at some point (they could cover some things within the anime I have not seen but I did stop within the last season so not too bad) and I don't keep up with other BNHA media (I have not read the other manga or seen the movies). I also haven't watched this show in a while but I did try to go back and rewatch stuff that was relevant/read information on it. I almost didn't post this whole thing because I'm not caught up on everything, and don't really plan to be, but I typed it all up so I figure might as well, just feel free to point anything out where I might be missing knowledge from that's relevant or just haven't seen it.

First, just going to say I honestly don't think being quirkless is that big of a deal when it comes to heroics, I don't think it'd be that big of a "handicap". Second:

"Midoriya? You're kidding, right? There's no way you're getting into the hero course without a quirk!" And Midoriya responds back with, "Well, actually they got rid of that rule."

This implies that schools could directly reject someone into job positions/schools based on their quirkless status. Its not just discouraged but there was a rule outright banning quirkless individuals.

The sub is more ambiguous, saying, "There's no way you can get into U.A. just by studying!" To which the response by Midoroya is the same. I could see some people still reaching the same conclusion that's more clear in the dub while others over look it.

Funimation dub and Crunchyroll sub as those where readily available to me. I most likely watched first in sub but I know I watched the dub of the first episode at some point a while after and have been using english transcripts that seem to use the english dub instead of the english subs to go back over facts of the series. I think I still reached the same conclusion that quirkless people seem to have lackluster protection laws due to that single line the first time I watched in the sub given the, "They got rid of that rule!" feels like it points explicitly towards Midoriya's quirklessness still.

I was always under the impression from watching that very first episode, that schools could just straight up reject quirkless people due to their quirklessness which sets a far more grim view of the laws and protections around quirkless people in universe. It was unclear if it was because of demands made by quirkless groups or of U.A.'s own accord that the rule was lifted, meaning other schools and areas could very well do the same if so.

I do think the first episode introduction to how Izuku is treated is way more harsh then most if not all sports anime drama. Take another anime I've seen, Haikyuu, with pretty much the exact same proposed plot but its volleyball and all he gets is silly comments or people going "You're a middle blocker?" or some disbelief. I'm sure its the same for other shows with that same plot; the main character is not going to have explosions used on him, physically beat up, his stuff thrown out of windows, completely isolated, and more through out his entire life just because they're short and want to go into a height focused game. I think it's a bit of a stretch personally to compile the two together and just does the opposite of what the fanon does sometimes - plays down the first introduction of the behavior Izuku faces instead of upscaling it.

Also, it's twenty percent of the world's population as far as I can find, not Japan's. I figure there's higher concentrations of quirkless people in different areas (as is such with real life traits) and that Japan's population is quite low (for 1 in 5 people with quirklessness being a major identifier for the main character, we only get two more that are born quirkless). Twenty percent of the global population doesn't exactly mean twenty percent where Izuku is. As far as we can tell, it really doesn't seem that way in canon, that everyone knows a quirkless person personally like the statistics would suggest.

To also address the thing about how society handles quirks: it just comes down to what society views as the 'average person' I'd think within the BNHA world. People who do not fit this will garner unjust attention, be it from "inconvenient" quirks (the shown gigantism quirks about housing in the example), "villainous" quirks (Shinsou), or quirklessness. While most quirkless people may not need extra accommodations (as societies are always slow on those, as shown in the manga) they are still viewed as...let's say "non-default". Society will always expect you to be this "default" that they find normal. While yes, some people may discriminated towards for their quirks, I feel this doesn't make much of a point towards if quirkless people are also discriminated against or not and I am unsure where comparing the two groups comes in. Having some illogical superpower is expected and people specifically dislike when someone's is inconvenient or has negative connotations to them - these are two points that can very well exist side by side. Society within BNHA just seems like (from my view on the cannon, as an anime only watcher up to a point) you must be the right type of quirked to be accepted full heartedly, but you must still be quirked. It's also shown that the quirk license requirement really isn't taken all that seriously within the show (Bakugou uses his multiple times and so do some of his middle school "pals", Izuku's classmates in middle school in general, kid's in kindergarden aren't chastised for playing with their quirks when they first come in, Inko can be seen using her's, and I'm sure there's more examples not coming to mind) - it seems people only stop turning a "blind eye" if you are abusing the power, being a vigilante with it, or are using it extremely disruptively within the anime. Small, daily use seems to be acceptable as far as we can see from the anime canon. Which isn't to say there's still some stuff you could go in on for this law, it is a potential debate about in the BNHA universe but overall I don't get the impression from the anime that its some huge deal if you use your quirk without a license unless its the previously mentioned factors.

To move onto the one organization in the 3rd BNHA movie, as stated before, I haven't watched the movies but honestly it isn't the first time some villain's reasoning has been a bit...oddly chosen? In BNHA, especially in accordance to quirklessness. There was also another plot point about making people quirkless (though also to sell the ""cure"" to said thing to the hero side) but it was...about bringing back the Yakuza? Kinda also felt like a loss in opportunity to me. With the other signs in the anime at the beginning, it feels less like quirklessness isn't something that's looked down on but more so weird writing choices. Which I know doesn't factor in too much for the canon v fanon because if the canon handles it weird, it just handles it weird, but I think it really just continues to highlight It seems to be a reoccurring thing. Though they do have a different context it seems like, with the 3rd movie group more so looking up to quirklessness, but still...

I don't think that it was ever said quirklessness will disappear (correct me if I'm wrong, just that I couldn't find it saying this anywhere), just that the numbers are decreasing each generation. It could potentially stop its decline and flatten out after the whole quirk thing settles. Also, people don't need really need a reason to not make discriminatory laws if they can - they will most likely do it anyway.

With the Vestiges, Toshinori was quirkless, could very well be that with them being exposed to it before. Also they would've all come from era's where quirklessness was even more prevalent potentially, especially the older ones.

Melissa having differing experiences just shows that the experience with quirklessness Izuku had isn't universal but that doesn't mean Izuku's experience is an outlier (and neither does Izuku's experience mean that Melissa's is an outlier, just that we've been given only two examples of how quirkless people are affected by their quirklessness). Places or people can be more accepting or less accepting. Aoyama I'm going to skip because honestly there doesn't seem to be much there to go off of.

Bakugou. I'm skipping him in regards to typing out a big text wall like this seems to have become because Deku V. Kacchan makes me tired to watch (I do not like it) but I will say I honestly don't find Bakugou's reaction weird in this sense. It doesn't seem unusual he wouldn't just try to understand it since he respects All Might, wants to know why this man he's admired since four years old picked Izuku, and Izuku isn't quirkless anymore, meaning one of his main issues with Izuku was ""fixed"". Again, I don't really like it but its just how it is (or how I read it, personally).

I just figured these might also be important notes for the fanon vs canon discussion - along with just some of my own opinions and thoughts on some matters brought up. I'm unsure what the manga says but over all I just think canon is very wishy washy with a lot of its topics, quirklessness very much included. While some people do push it a lot farther than whats shown in cannon, I do think cannon has a bit more to it then the whole "there's nothing there really, expect for a feeling of othering, and Izuku was an anomaly". I wouldn't really call it a "tragic curse" since that makes me uncomfortable but yeah. This got a lot longer then it meant to and I was only planning on pointing out the whole "quirkless got blocked from school's" but this happened. As I said before, feel free to point out anything I may of missed or messed up.

I wrote most of this up before the second discussion post and: Quirklessness is not "the norm", having a "normal quirk" is, as far as I read from the series (people are assumed to be quirked until told otherwise). The norm for BNHA characters is a person with no extra toe joint. It's catered to what people prefer with quirked people - quirkless people just happen to fall near there.

I also very much agree with the other anon that it seems there was some author tom-fuckery. The whole series kinda points towards everyone just accepting heroes can't be heroes without quirks...even our two quirkless main protagonists and the main crux of the whole story plot that kick starts everything we know (Izuku gets a quirk because he needs one to be a hero). It doesn't really feel like that'll be challenged, even if it would be a good thing.

I do get what you're saying though, that you're just comparing the two to show how the canon handles things differently. No matter if the author just doesn't want to address it, that still means in canon it wasn't addressed.

I personally, when writing about quirklessness, do not frame it as anything specific but draw from general real life examples that I think could "realistically" happen to those who are quirkless because that makes more sense to me and just gives me a basis to work off. It's fictional and has different context than what actual real life stuff has.

(the post under discussion)

Thank you so much for your thoughtful additions and clarifications. I don't have time to respond to every single point you made, but here are some thoughts:

1) I completely agree that Quirklessness is handled very weirdly and unevenly in the show. They spent the first two episodes building it up as a HUGE emotionally charged plot element, and then almost completely dropped it thematically. Why?? The 20% number is also very strange. 1 out of 5 people are Quirkless, but Izuku is the only Quirkless kid in his class? And it's not like they dropped in a throwaway line about the 20% number 200 chapters ago and forgot about it; the 20% statistic and the shot of Izuku's class happen in the exact same (first) chapter. This is why I speculate that perhaps it's skewed very far towards the older generation. We don't see a lot of grandpas in this show; maybe that's where all the Quirklessness is hiding.

2) Regarding hero schools and their requirements… I don't really find their rule against Quirkless people to be something unfairly discriminatory. Almost all specialized schools that prepare people for dangerous jobs, like firemen, policemen, military, etc have physical requisites you must meet in order to be admitted. This is for the safety of the people being trained and the safety of the public. And again: in this world, "hero" is not just a generic term for a cool dude. It is a very specific job/legal category that was created to let people use their Quirks. Hero schools specifically exist to help people learn how to use their Quirks to fight, so I don't think it's unreasonable at all for them to screen out people who don't have Quirks. Now, is it kind of unfair that heroes as a profession get so many legal perks and so much attention? For sure. If this society had Quirkless policemen kitted out in badass costumes, flying around with jetpack support items and getting on the covers of magazines, then maybe it would feel a little more equal. I can understand the feeling of discrimination, there.

Once again, thanks for the great points. I highly recommend checking out the Vigilantes spin-off manga if this kind of societal inequality/worldbuilding interests you… it gets into some fascinating discussion about how Quirkless vigilantes have certain freedoms that Heroes don't because they're not bound by Hero laws and regulations.

[gostaks]

Hey Alan! I just saw a post about different types of allistics on my dash... one of them was "The 'Ally'™". I'm allistic and I want to know how I can be a good ally, so I thought I'd ask about certain things mentioned in the post so i can avoid doing them! What are person first language and functioning labels and what can I do as an allistic to be an actual ally (not an “Ally"™)? Thanks so much!

okay, first of all, I’m going to assume that you meant [this post]. If not, sorry. Second, I’m not going to get this perfect. I’m viewing this as a bit of a first draft, which (note to self) I will edit at some point.

definitions: person-first language is “person with autism” as opposed to “autistic person”. Please use “autistic person”. I dealt with functioning labels later in this disorganized hell-post. 

So here’s my stab at allistic ally 101

1) You follow the same rules as if you were an ally for any other group: [Here’s a pretty good ally 101 article], but it’s not the end-all-be-all. Keep listening to autistic voices, and if we contradict the rules hold our voices higher. 

Also, above all, rule #1 of allyship is don’t be a shithead–come to conversations with the intention to listen and learn first and treat us like human beings (this is particularly critical with disability rights)

2) Our voices are the important ones: this is important with being an ally to any group, but autistic people often struggle to communicate or express ourselves. Be patient. Ask people how they’d like to communicate and be prepared to be a bit flexible.

Some autistic people use AAC (Alternative or Assistive Communication), and their voices matter just as much as verbal people’s. You don’t have to learn ASL or anything, but don’t assume that because someone’s not communicating verbally they’re less intelligent or competent. And, even if someone can’t communicate using language (or communicate at all) don’t assume that they don’t have thoughts, feelings, and needs.

3) Nothing about us without us: knowing an autistic person doesn’t make you an expert on autism. BEING an autistic person makes you an expert on autism. If you see anything claiming to help autistic people that doesn’t prominently feature Actual Autistic People, don’t support it (unless Actual Autistic People are telling you to support it, see #2)

This goes double for any charitable organization focused on autism which leads me into point number 4 (also from here on out things are a bit smaller-scope, that doesn’t make them less important):

4) Autism Speaks is trash: [and] [here] [are] [some] [sources] 

If you want to support charities try ASAN and The Autism Women’s Network

5) Please don’t try to “cure” us: I’m dealing with some internalized ableism with this one, so let me turn you over to Anya Ustaszewski who in [this article] writes:

My autism is part of who I am. It is not something “extra” that can be taken away from me to suit the agenda of an intolerant society. My abilities, challenges and perception of the world all go hand in hand. If I were to be “cured” of my autism, the person that I am would cease to exist.

so yeah cure = bad, acceptance and accommodation = good

6) Celebrate the things that make autistics unique: lately, tumblr has gotten a lot more stim-positive, but stimming isn’t solely a pretty, paint-mixing or slime video (in fact, stimboards are rarely tagged and can overstimulate the SHIT out of me). 

A lot of time, stimming is viewed as ugly, distracting, loud, disgusting, or socially unacceptable. Support your local autistics, don’t expect people to stop stimming and try not to stare or comment (many autistic people have to work very hard to reclaim stimming after childhoods of expecting to suppress it entirely).

Also, try your best to support different cognitive styles and processing issues. Try to keep your websites accessible, provide image transcripts, try not to make posts that are entirely text in images (like screenshots of twitter posts), and help to subtitle videos if you can. <- these things also help d/Deaf people and anyone who accesses the internet via a screenreader

7) steer clear of stereotypes: I’m not rain man or that dude on the big bang theory or your cousin’s dentist’s sister’s younger brother’s son. The ‘idiot savant’ stereotype is almost never true and puts unreasonable expectations on autistic people. Also, not all of us are good at math or science, have incredible memories, etc. Fitting or not fitting stereotypes don’t change the fact that every autistic person is human and deserves rights and respect.

8) functioning labels are fake: never listen to anyone who describes autism as “high” or “low functioning”. Every autistic person has struggles, and putting labels on functioning basically sorts people into “can be ignored” and “subhuman”. [here’s about a million posts about why they suck because if I put it all here this post would be five times as long]

9) ABA is trash: this is trigger territory for a huge number of autistic people, so [here] and I’m not going to say anything else just take my word on this one

10) If it has puzzle pieces on it, run: if you’re looking to see if a group is okay, look for the rainbow infinity sign. The puzzle piece is a huge red flag. Please don’t support anything with puzzle pieces on it. Please. I’m begging you.

Okay that was WAAY longer than I meant it to get, sorry. Also, I’ve missed a bunch of things, but I’ve been working on this for an hour and I don’t have the energy to add more. I’ll throw this in #actuallyautistic and hopefully someone else can add anything important I missed.