#its what horikoshi would approve of

[mettywiththenotes]

(Yeah I couldn't think of an example for the top one. Just use your imagination ig srry)

Sometimes when I try to picture Tomura in the future, I find that I don't really have a concrete idea of what he'd look like. Cuz I LOVE long haired Tomura but I also love the idea of it being short again as to symbolize starting over

I'm wondering if there are others who struggle to settle on this lol

[pikahlua]

Hi there! I'm sorry if this is not a typical analysis type of question.

So, I have a lot of feelings regarding MHA right now, but more specifically, the treatment of the LOV. I liked them as characters, honest, but I dare not talk about them publicly because

1. I feel like I'll anger people regarding my views and seem "narrow-minded" about the characters cause I don't understand their trauma, or I'm looking at things only in black and white, etc.

2. I speed read the story and started half of the way, so I wasn't there at the beginning, Manga wise. I started with the anime first, and so I'm worried I couldn't fully grasp the League's motives and intentions or that I'll be missing something essential to how I should interpret everything. If I'm not absolutely enraged and offended by the author handled them in the end, then I must not be very smart... those are the vibes I get from some of the blogs around here.

But enough about my worries. I'm curious to know how you feel about the villains? And if you could change their ending, what would you have done differently? Just anything that isn't death.

Protip: Avoid those blogs lol.

Whether or not MHA's ending means one thing or another, whether or not its ending is "clean" or "problematic," the fact of the matter is that divergent opinions exist. Works exist that contain stories that some people will find distasteful, and these works must be allowed to exist. Trying to understand them is not the same as approving of every single moral implication of any possible reading in them. I think it's far more powerful and impressive to sit with confusing and possibly uncomfortable pieces of media to then ponder and discuss regardless. Anyone who jumps on you to demand you read something their way and not take the time to consider it yourself is not participating in analysis. They are trying to pressure others into conformity. It's a power grab.

I don't know what I would have done differently for the villains because it really depends on the themes. I could take all sorts of different directions with them. There is one thing I particularly like about this ending, and that's how Horikoshi doesn't come out and imply anything like "I know what will solve all the world's problems!" Because he doesn't know anything about that. He can't. He's just a dude. It's asinine to think he'd have all the answers to life like that, and that's what makes elements of this ending realistic. Maybe it's less satisfying this way, but it's also more honest, and I do appreciate that.

I can say that I have plans to go with a more ambiguous ending for some of these villain characters in my own writing. I think there's something fun to ambiguity and open-endedness. It allows for anyone to weave in their own themes and interpretations as they consider what's been left unsaid.

[funkyhanji]

In Our Flesh, In Our Blood [English | BNHA]

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia (@Horikoshi Kohei) Character(s): Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Mitsuki Pairing(s): Bakudeku/KatsuDeku/IzuKatsu Rating: E Word count: 3,578 CWs: Fantasy, Omega Verse, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Bakugou Katsuki, Alpha Midoriya Izuku, Age Difference, Dubious Consent, Master/Slave, Master/Pet, Pet Play, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Oral Sex, Anal Sex, Vaginal Sex, Knotting, Barebacking, Begging, Top Bakugou Katsuki, Bottom Bakugou Katsuki, Power Bottom Bakugou Katsuki, Dominant Bakugou Katsuki, Submissive Midoriya Izuku, some internalized issues about being an Omega, Scent Kink, Shota, intersex omega, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat

Summary: - Estrus is such an annoying biological phenomena for Katsuki. He wishes he could do without it, though he knows it's part of being a healthy Omega. He doesn't mind sex, on the contrary; what he despises is the frankly ridiculous amount of slick he produces and how hot he gets. Oh, and the Alpha which are sent to his room during his monthly cycle. -

Sweat runs down Katsuki's body, collecting in every dip and crease; small pools of mouth-watering sweetness glistening on his alabaster skin. It's brought forth by the fire crackling inside the twin marble hearths, strategically placed at opposite sides of the spacious room — their warmth vital in keeping the still-present winter chill from crawling in past the thick stone walls —, as well as by his current physical state.

«… Fuck...»

The expletive leaves him in a hoarse exhale, one of many he's said in the past few hours, or days, really. Estrus is such an annoying biological phenomena for Katsuki. He wishes he could do without it, though he knows it's part of being a healthy Omega. He doesn't mind sex, on the contrary; what he despises is the frankly ridiculous amount of slick he produces and how hot he gets. Oh, and the Alpha which are sent to his room during his monthly cycle.

Month after month, since his first Heat at the age of twelve, he's visited by Alpha males or females or something in between. They would approach him in his own private space during a delicate time, hoping to help him through it or trying to force themselves on him. All of them candidates chosen by Katsuki's parents — the King and Queen —, who are adamant he gives the throne an heir before he's given the crown. Of pure royal blood or not didn't seem to matter.

Katsuki rejected all of them.

He would rather deal with his Estrus on his own, than give up control over his own body to some entitled Alpha who thinks they can mate and claim him.

«Shit… nnh…!»

That's exactly why he's presently drenched in sweat and slick, kneeling on his luxurious bed of soaked linens and furs, as he slowly gyrates his hips on a custom-made fake cock. It's the second wave of need of the day, on the third day of his new cycle. The remains of a late breakfast are forgotten on the round table nearest to the heath next to the bedroom's door, the servants wisely postponing its retrieval for their own sake. This is the point of his Estrus in which he begins to get impatient, explosive, territorial; the point in which it's dangerous to barge in his room uninvited or unannounced. Everyone in the castle knows, some have heeded the warnings while some have learned first-hand, the hard way.

«Ah…!»

Katsuki runs his hands through his hair — wild, spiky, ash-blond —, pulling on it, humming in approval at the tiny sparks of pleasure feeding off his craving. His hands sliding down his neck; he circles the protrusions there, his scent glands hot to the touch and pumping out oil which mixes with his sweat. Digging his nails in them makes him moan, makes his cock throb and his cunt tighten up around the toy he's fucking himself onto. It feels great. It doesn't matter if Katsuki's friends keep telling him how an Alpha biting a main gland is guaranteed to be the best orgasmic experience for an Omega in Heat.

It's the height of bliss.

He knows that. He's also aware of how such an act involves claiming, however temporary, and Katsuki is not about that.

«KATSUKI! What the fuck you think you're doing?!»

The richly-carved double doors dividing his inner bedroom from the anteroom slam open, the heavy wood cracking against the stone wall with a thunderous noise.

Appearing in the threshold is none other than Bakugou Mitsuki, the Queen and Katsuki's mother — one of the only two people who would dare barge in on him at this time; the other being his father the King —. Her bright red, fur-lined cloak whisks about her back in her brisk walk and abrupt halt. Her long, blonde hair inelegantly sticks out of what had been an artfully-made braid. Her crimson eyes are incandescent coals of fury.

«What d'ya think 'm doin', hah?» Katsuki responds brazenly, unaffected by the sudden presence as well as the accusation. He sounds barely winded despite being at the height of his Estrus.

His mother is also uncaring of his state, too used to see him naked, flushed and dripping. She snarls his way, plump lips pulling back to show her teeth. «Why was your pet outside your quarters?!» she demands. «And in this state! He's in Rut!»

She yanks on a chain with a sharp tug of her wrist, hauling a lump of dead-weight forward to crumple on the floor at her feet. The heap of shivering flesh is whimpering, barely able to lift his head from the polished stone to fix glassy green eyes at Katsuki.

«M-Master...» he whines, scrambling to kneel and bow, his forehead touching the floor. «I-I-I'm s-sorry…! Please—» he chokes on a sob but doesn't try to continue talking.

«You have some nerve, Deku...» Katsuki says, not bothering to stop his ministrations nor outright acknowledge his mother. «You know you deserved it.» His own crimson eyes flash dangerously, fixed on the shivering form asking for forgiveness.

His thighs and hips continue to work him over his toy tirelessly, teasing himself, bringing himself closer and closer to orgasm. He changes angle, just a tiny bit, enough for his inner sweet spot to feel some much needed friction. His hands don't still either, rather they roam his toned body, damp with sweat and smelling of delicious caramel. He gives a couple of lazy strokes to his flushed cock, the precum joining the mess of fluids pooling in the furs under him. He moans out a curse, unrestrained.

Deku flinches, noisily inhales his scent, which permeates every corner of the room, shudders.

Katsuki smirks, cruel.

The Queen clicks her tongue, irritated. «Whatever, I don't care what you do with him, but don't leave him out unchecked,» she says turning on her heel. «And don't waste a Rut, you're an Omega, Katsuki, you need an heir.»

«No, you need one, old hag.» Katsuki barks out a laugh when Mitsuki pauses mid step at the remark, but doesn't deny the statement before stalking off in a flurry of rich fabrics and bitterness.

His mother gone, he's left alone with Deku.

The 'pet' is a slave boy eight winters younger than him; the Queen had bought him for Katsuki after his last… mishap — if the severing of an unwanted, knot-ready cock via very sharp teeth and the consequent death of such cock-owner can be called a mishap — with a previous royal-born Alpha. It wasn't a reward, more of a last-ditch effort in trying to make him bear a child to continue the Bakugou line.

( «If you refuse to submit and mate with anyone of our choosing, then fine,» Mitsuki had said, an aura of tired anger about her as she sat on her throne. «Take this slave and train him to your liking.» )

Katsuki now stares at Deku. The slave's still curled up on the floor and careful not to lift his eyes, though all his other senses are clearly attuned to Katsuki's cycle. There's an obvious flush spreading along his upper body and beads of sweat catching the flickering light from the hearth closest to him. The boy's huffing is loud, no doubt he's breathing in Katsuki's pheromones through parted lips; his sniveling is equally as loud but Katsuki quite likes the sound of it. The looks of it.

«Look at me, Deku,» Katsuki orders. He stills his hips, groaning at the satisfying feeling of being full at his own conditions even if it meant enduring the annoyance of his Estrus on his own.

Deku's watery eyes snap up, dilated pupils growing to further eat away at verdant green as he's given permission to bask in the sight of his Master's nudity and enticing appearance. «M… Master...» he whines.

Katsuki smirks, pride and ego singing in his veins at the venerated look. Yes, you know your place. You're mine. «Did you learn your lesson, you filthy mutt?» He growls, so unlike a common Omega. «Next time you try to fuck me, I'll wring your neck.»

Deku cowers back and Katsuki thinks if the tail stuck up his ass was real, it'd be curved between his legs in fear — the image alone sends a thrill along Katsuki's spine nonetheless —. The boy nods, words lost in his dread of further reproach. Despite it, he's still abundantly erect; his cock an angry red verging on purple, precum leaking down the length the same as Deku's tears do down his freckled, blushing face.

How cute, Katsuki purrs at such a delicious picture; his pussy and cock both delight in it. He unconsciously grinds down on the fake knotted length; it's doused in his juices and just this side of not quite enough, not when he has his own — trained, however at times misbehaving — living, breathing plaything standing at the ready a few steps away.

«Come here, mongrel,» Katsuki says. One hand abandoning the teasing of a puffy, dark pink nipple to beckon Deku forward.

Deku crawls forward on all fours. His youthful cock hanging between his legs, heavy and oozing and restricted by a handcrafted dark-green leather band engraved by magic symbols sealed around it. The boy chokes on a sob as it sways with each movement. He halts, limbs shaking, hips lowering to brush the lush carpet in search of quick, momentary relief.

He freezes when Katsuki snarls in a warning to cut it out.

Katsuki bets it hurts, after two days of being denied the bliss of cumming, during a Rut and in the vicinity of an Omega in Heat above all. He licks his lips, more turned on by the minute, his burnt-sugar scent thickening until it overpowers Deku's peppermint-musk one. He looks down upon the Alpha boy's pathetic figure. The slave has crossed the distance; he's now kneeling next to the large bed and wordlessly handing Katsuki the chain connected to the collar around his throat.

«Good puppy.» Katsuki is magnanimous enough to praise him. He takes the chain and gives it a firm tug, smirking when Deku yelps and tumbles forward. «Say, Deku, are you sure you learned the lesson, mh?» He asks, a cutting edge to his voice; a threat hiding behind his smile.

Deku whimpers, but faces him head on. «Y-yes Mas-Master… I'm sorry, I, I won't d-do it again… please-» his big green eyes stare up at Katsuki, his hands fisting the furs to keep them from visibly trembling- «forgive me! P-please let me hel— l-let me be of use to you, Master!»

Katsuki raises an eyebrow at the choice of words. Smart boy, he thinks, keeping a careful handle on his mask of indifference. «We'll see about that.»

Katsuki raises on his hunches, the hand not holding Deku's leash gingerly slips the leather toy out of his dripping cunt. He sits down among the wet furs. He sighs at the emptiness and his walls clench on nothing, but it's fine, he can wait awhile; the thought of playing with his pet will entertain him until he couldn't wait anymore. He dangles the fake cock in Deku's face. Katsuki openly laughs at him when he flushes a darker pink, his eyes going hazy and his tongue lolling out like a actual dog at the strong smell of Katsuki's slick, his Estrus pheromones.

«Yeah, ya like that, huh Deku?» Katsuki mocks him. He distends one leg toward Deku, sensually curling the heel of his foot behind the slave's nape; he draws him close to his throbbing groin. «My scent.»

The prize any notable Alpha in this corner of the continent dreams of having for themselves.

He is of royal standing. Young, unblemished, fertile, primed to be bred.

Yet this pitiful and somewhat plain-looking boy is one of the three people who's ever been allowed so close to his womb. One of the three people whose seed has ever been welcomed in the innermost part of Katsuki's body. Katsuki rejoys in knowing that; in the wonderful sense of retribution.

«Yes...» Deku mewls, neck straining to get closer to Katsuki's wet center. Mouth parted, tongue out, huffing against the tantalizing plump folds. «Master's… scent…! Omega.»

Katsuki hums, a shiver running up his nerves as he feels the breath fan over him. He pulls on the chain linked to Deku's collar — a lovely piece of work, really. Top quality leather of a beautiful dark green, to match the boy's cock band, and white; four decorated silver hoops and a ring at the front where the chain is latched; small rubies studded all around —, taking the boy by surprise when his nose ends up smacking against the base of Katsuki's cock and his mouth right against his swollen clit.

Deku moans, wanton and overwhelmed by the closeness to the bitter-sweet smell of his owner.

«Suck,  ya dirty mutt.» Katsuki's order hardly leaves his mouth before Deku's following through with it.

The boy's tongue is on him in an instant, swiping at his pussy from bottom to top, licking up his juices and visibly shuddering in pleasure at the taste — the first he's had in weeks —. He pauses for only a moment to savor it, then he gets to work in earnest. Deku's lips and tongue trace his folds, sucking on them and lightly brushing them with his teeth, so well trained on what his Master likes.

«Fuck! Yeah, Deku!» Katsuki rewards him with a loud groan, head thrown back.

He yanks on the chain still in his hand, legs spreading more as he pushes his hips forward to smother the Alpha slave with his cunt. Deku whines into him, lips enveloping Katsuki's sensitive clit; he flicks it, grinds the tip of his tongue to it just right to make Katsuki's legs twitch and come to wrap around his neck. He feels small hands rest low on his thighs, thumbs gently caressing and kneading his skin, smearing his slick and inching closer to its source.

«Damn— ah!— it…! Yeah, yeah there!» Katsuki moans. Deku's mouth moves lower, tongue slipping inside Katsuki's sopping wet pussy, folds pulled apart with aide from his fingers. «Shit!»

Deku responds in kind, keening in hunger, vibrations from his sounds sending jolts of pleasure up Katsuki's spine. His nether regions both throbbing, yearning in need for more. The fever from his Estrus has reached mind-numbing heights; a part of his brain wants him to beg to be filled, so bad tears build up in the corners of his crimson eyes. He growls, pushing back the weak Omega voice in him and tensing.

«Off,» Katsuki rasps Deku's way, rage turning his voice to gravel. The boy doesn't seem to hear him through his Rut-addled mind and it serves to anger him further. «I said OFF!»

Katsuki snarls, wrenching Deku away from his groin and hauling him on the bed with a powerful tug, uncaring of the boy's pained cry. He settles over the back of Deku's legs and pulls on the chain, the slave's flushed upper body lifts from the slick-soaked furs.

«So… sor… ry, Mas-Master…!» Deku wheezes, scrambling to use his arms to ease the pressure on his windpipe. «I-I'm s-sorry! Please!»

Katsuki's panting hard, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he stares wildly at the Alpha below him. Yes, that's how it should be, he thinks, a sharp grin slashing across his mouth, menacing and cruel. «Present,» he orders.

«I— w-what…?»

«You want me to snap your pathetic neck, slave?»

Deku gasps, shaking and trying to twist around to look at Katsuki. «No, no! Please, I'm sorry!»

«Then Present-» Katsuki pulls on the leash, the collar tightening- «Alpha.» There's clear mocking in his tone as he weaves his free hand into the soft, green fur of the plug stuffed in Deku's ass.

The boy's momentary silence is interrupted by his struggle to breathe. «Y… yes, Master...» he says at last, knowing he doesn't really have another choice.

Katsuki relents his hold and raises on his knees to allow Deku to move into position. He keeps his stare fixed on his personal pet; he privately admires the sensual curve of Deku's spine, his chest down and face buried amidst the bedding smelling of Omega in Heat, his ass in the air with his fake tail quivering and hanging between his legs.

Katsuki licks his lips, pleased at the sight.

He takes the plug out of the boy's hole, humming at how puffy and used it looks already, ready to be pounded by an Omega's cock. Katsuki curls his hand around his own rock hard one, strokes himself slow, dips down to his gushing cunt to gather liberal amounts of slick with which he lubricates the length.

«Say it,» he growls low, cock teasingly circling Deku's asshole and smearing fluids over it.

Deku sniffles into the furs. «Mas… Master, pl-please… fu-fuck me…!»

«Again.»

«Please, Mast-Master! Please, please fuck me!» Deku pleads, voice nasal and muffled.

«Mmh, that's better. There's my baby bitch,» Katsuki laughs.

He doesn't give Deku a chance to utter anything else. Katsuki's rearing his hips back and mounting the boy immediately after; he slams into Deku's hole with no care about tenderness or preparation, only the wetness from his slick and precum and the stretch provided by the plug prevent either of their flesh to tear and bleed. Deku screams anyway, fists clutching the bed but staying put nonetheless — as per his training —. Katsuki's cock rams in and out of the Alpha slave's hole in harsh snapping of hips and nails digging into scarred skin. He hovers over Deku's arched body; his strong scent of burned sugar overshadows the peppermint-musk, his weight keeps Deku firmly into position.

Katsuki mutters degrading insults and mocking sweet nothings into Deku's blushing ears, voice gravelly and rough.

«How d'ya like it… being fucked by an Omega, huh?» he says, teeth skimming Deku's nape just below the collar. «I'll breed ya— nggh!— why don't ya give me pups mh? You're my dog after all…!»

«Please! Aaah!» Deku mewls and cries. «No I— I can't, I— gghaah!— Mas-Master…! Please!» Tries to shake his head, to say he can't be impregnated since he's an Alpha, yet he rocks back onto Katsuki's length with as much vigor and need as Katsuki while he fucks into him.

«Gonna... fill you up Deku! Fuck, fuck—» Katsuki straightens up to grip Deku's sides in a vice, hips smacking loud and wet at a quicker pace, getting closer to release. «Fuuuck! Nnngh!!» His cock throbs as he empties inside the boy's ass; his pussy clenches on nothing.

Deku weeps and moans into the bedding, his whole body wrecked with tremors. Katsuki knows how desperate he must be, how miserable. He pulls out of the boy after regaining his breath — no knot to worry about, after all —, toying with the cum oozing out of Deku's hole, pushing in back in with his fingers. He grins darkly, locating the Alpha's sweet spot and tormenting it with the pads of his fore- and middle fingers.

He laughs when Deku wails.

Shifting on the bed, Katsuki gets off of the boy to kick him on his back and sit on his trembling thighs. He looks down at the slobbering, messy, flushed face; eyes puffy, teary and red-rimmed; scarred hands grasping at his decorated collar. He looks down at the dangerously engorged cock, he raises an eyebrow at the dark color.

«D'you wanna cum, Deku? Mmh?» he taunts. «I know it hurts… doesn't it?»

Deku nods furiously, so wrung out he can't even form proper words. «… -ease! I beg… y-you Mas'er…! Pl… se… plea… se!»

Katsuki pretends to consider it, shuffling forward until he's rubbing his obscenely dripping pussy over Deku's cock, teasing his clit and his hole with the leaking tip. The Alpha below him screams a broken sob, his hips futilely thrusting upward.

«Please! Ple...ase…! Oh, I— I'm begging, ple-please!! Master…! Lemme c-cum!! Pleasepleaseplease!!»

«You beg so nicely, Deku,» Katsuki praises at last, a light caress over the boy's bitten-raw lips and warm, freckled cheek.

Still hovering over Deku's length, he reaches backward, fingers brushing the magic-infused lock of the leather band at the base. He channels a tiny amount of power into it at the same time as he lowers himself onto Deku's cock.

A load of cum is immediately released inside Katsuki along with an animalistic howl, Deku's eyes rolling back into his skull.

Katsuki moans, undeterred by the feeling of cum escaping. He bounces and grinds on Deku's length, still rock hard and shooting rope after rope of seed inside him. The young Alpha's knot is swollen, taunting Katsuki's rim; as always, some part of him refuses to let it in, to let it seal them together.

«Shit! Shit, fu-fuck…!» he curses, too hot, too turned on and too far along in his cycle for this bullshit. «Aah, damn it!»

Katsuki scrambles to yank Deku up to a sitting position using the chain. He pops the collar open, letting it fall between their bodies; his eyes fall to the claiming bites on Deku's glands. Mark. Mark him again. He's yours. He sinks down fully on the knot at the same time as his teeth pierce Deku's right gland, tasting blood and smelling a fresh wave of peppermint-musk.

They both groan and whine, finally locked together as one after days of mutual torture. The unbearable fever inside Katsuki quells, even as his cunt is pumped full of cum.

Katsuki thinks he wouldn't even mind if he got pregnant this time.

[thyandrawrites]

oh this is intresting

I wonder what exactly makes him "reliant on enji" 🤔. If the point is for him to figure out his identity separate from his father in a similar way shouto did, then him relying on enji for his character arc would go against that right? I'm also interested in how the scenario you presented with enji dying in the first war would play out. How would it affect the character arcs of the rest of the family?

Ok, I kind of walked into that one, didn't I? Alright, I'm gonna try my best to explain my feelings, tho they're probably going to be more jumbled and less thought-out than my meta (hence why I left that part to the tags, more as an inside-voice). I hope this makes sense.

When I say that Hori wrote Touya's as "reliant on Enji", I mean exactly this, that Hori purposefully wrote Touya's backstory so that Enji would have to play a role in thematically solving all the loose ends. While most of the role of actually saving Touya will fall on Shouto's shoulders, there are plot threads that only Enji can address, because Shouto simply isn't Touya's father and had no role in his birth (which is one of Touya's character hangups that needs addressing). And I think this is by design; Horikoshi wants Enji to be likeable at the end of this, so he's staging things to make Enji get an opportunity to prove himself.

While Shouto can restore Touya's hope and thus push him into an exploration of his identity and boundaries, what Shouto can't do is being accountable for staging Touya's birth as a business transaction. That's a responsibility that falls on Enji's shoulders, one that he has yet to fully acknowledge. Him and Rei both do.

And while I agree that Touya's eventual self-worth shouldn't be based on whether or not his father loves him or approves of him, what I meant is that Hori is using Dabi as a plot device to redeem Enji, instead of centering the writing of Touya's arc around the idea of healing and doing what's best for Touya.

Does that make sense? Idk. It's just the feeling I get. For a couple of arcs now "doing right by Touya" took the backseat and doesn't seem to be the direction Hori's going for.

As for why I said I wish Endvr had died in the war arc... I think Endvr kinda forces the plot to rotate around him, to accommodate for his stagnancy by sacrificing other character's arcs, and it only makes the story worse in the long run.

I could've seen Enji dying in the war arc if Hori wanted to write a story not focused on catering to Enji's pride but instead on the healing of the todofam without him. In that light, though, Dabi's backstory would've needed some reworking. Obviously, if Dabi killed him he couldn't get the closure I was talking about above. But it could've still been a viable path if Hori wrote the todofam plot from the pov of doing justice to the victims for the abuse they suffered. If Dabi had been allowed to kill Enji, then Hori could've framed it as a narrative where abuse isn't excused, where the consequences of society refusing to hold Enji accountable are not swept under the rug, but cause the fall of a corrupt idol and show everyone that this ideal of heroism simply isn't sustainable. It could've been a condamnation of the mentality that protects the status quo over its innocent victims, and it could've given Dabi room to redefine himself as someone who doesn't need Enji's approval to be worth something (if only it was written right).

But that's not something that works with the current set up; it's nothing more than an AU, or a wish of mine that will never see the light of day I guess. Ultimately, Hori's not aiming to write anything poignant about abuse. This is just a feels-good story about how hope and intent can move mountains and pave the way to a better future

[justatalkingface]

i still think its insane that horikoshi wrote two characters with CLEAR parallels like Bakugou and Endeavour, never made the comparison, and had Shouto inexplicably become friends with the former despite the fact that 1) They had barely, if ever, interacted before *checks notes* the remedial exams arc and 2) Shouto should see the clear parallels with his father and abuser and want nothing to do with bakugou

So, there's two big things with the New 'Trio'. FIrst off, this trio was built off of, not friendship, but as being colleagues, work teammates. The Izuku, Shoto, and Bakugou dynamic is a thing because the three of them kept working together, as heavy hitters and as part of the Endeavour redemption arc, as opposed to the Original Trio which was literally just Izuku's friend group.

The second is its bullshit and, as I've said before, it's the Duo of Izuku and Shoto, and then Bakugou is there too for reasons.

To the first point: if the friendship angle was the reason why the new Trio exists, then instead of replacing it, Shoto would have been absorbed into the Izuku, Ochaco and Iida dynamic that already existed. The friendship wasn't replaced, though, it was just... made less important. There's even a nod to it when 1A 'retrieves' Izuku, after all. But by that point in time, it was more important that the characters on screen could hit harder rather than have a good relationship, and so 1A, who largely had less useful Quirks for direct combat, started to be side lined, and only those who could survive in the power levels version of the setting remained story viable.

On the second point... here's the thing: the 'new trio' ended up being a thing because, well, it was part of Hori desperately trying to touch up Endeavour's image, and make us all believe that Bakugou was still relevant. Them being there, working for him, shows up that he's grown, and better, and if Shoto is there clearly things are good, right? It's a way to show us, the audience, how much better he is, and that clearly we should all stop hating him now.

Shoto was there because he was Endeavour redemption arc, back then.

Izuku is there because he was tied to Shoto and his family issues from the beginning, before the story stopped focusing on that connection as much, and also as the main character he needed mentoring by the current Number One, which is more tact approval of how legit Endeavour is.

Bakugou is literally there for no other reason than to try and make him important. Endeavour taking Shoto as intern the second time was focused around him trying to make up with his son, and Izuku was his moral support. Bakugou isn't his friend. Doesn't act like it. Actively talks about how he doesn't care about what Endeavour did, and only knows about it all because he eavesdropped on that conversation way back in as set up to help shoehorn him in now.

But the thing is, you're right: there's no reason for them to be friends. They don't match personality wise, Bakugou channels the worse elements of his father, and he just... kind of hates people who don't fall in line behind him.

Unlike the Post War Arc, though, Hori actually thought about how he'd make plot points work. Or 'work'. So, License Exams, he made Shoto fail by... having him constantly harassed throughout the exam by a character who, by everything we can see, literally only exists to act antagonistically for this exam, just like his entire school was to UA, and constantly act like an asshole during it before realizing at the that he needed to get his head out of his ass, then never being mentioned ever again, because otherwise Shoto would have passed.

Bakugou, of course, fails by failing to have basic empathy, or even the ability to fake it for his own gain (and still has that one exam victim have a moment where he's like, 'DID HE SEE THROUGH MY ACT TO SEE I WAS ONLY 'LIGHTLY INJURED'?! HOW BRILLIANT IS HE?!?!' before common sense was reasserted and he marked him down for yelling at a victim. You know, like we see him do later; good job learning, Bakugou!).

(As a side note, this is the start of Hori nerfing Shoto to make Bakugou seem better: when before, in the Sports Festival, the story was implying that Shoto was better than Bakugou, and he only lost to him because of his trauma (ignoring how Bakugou's Quirk actually works and cold being the perfect counter to him, of course, but whatever, Bakugou needs his hollow win to bitch over, rather than bitching over losing), the way the story shows all this doesn't actually blame Inasa all that much for constantly antagonizing Shoto, which gives the impression that Bakugou now 'matches' Shoto, which. Just. Totally works, when one loses to sabotage and the other just can't dial down his assholishness.

Later, when they have the Joint Training Arc, Shoto randomly flails and flubs throughout it, while Bakugou critics him, showing how smart he is compared to Shoto when it comes to fighting, before guiding his team expertly to victory (with comments to go on about how they're the perfect team!) against a recommended student, stomping them to show off how great he is, thus 'surpassing' Shoto and ending Shoto's relevance as powerful character in his own right. Notice that, from then on, Shoto is only really important in combat in things focusing on the Endeavour and Dabi storylines.)

This forces them to spend time together, and acts as a potential start to their 'friendship', and after that, every once and awhile there'll be scenes of them hanging out to tell us, the audience, that this friendship is totally real, honest!

All of this work is so that, when Endeavour's Shoto's story started becoming the focus, it would be easier for us to accept Bakugou being a part of it. And why is he a part of it? Why does he need to be Shoto's friend now?

He's the fan favorite. Hori just.... shoves him into every scene he possibly can, no matter how well he fits, because either A, he likes him, B, Bakugou sells for some reason, or C, both. So we get things like Bakugou in the Todoroki house, completely ignoring the seriousness of the situation to just do his own thing, or Shoto spending time with someone embodying the the worst parts of his father. The fact that Bakugou is 'in' so many important situations just helps sell how important he is, and his 'growth', even when he never seems to show any constant improvements beyond the first couple of chapters.

Bakugou's and Shoto's 'friendship', in other words, just like his 'importance' to Izuku, were just one of the many ways characters were sacrificed to the cause of hyping up Bakugou.

[agentark88]

Think: A Bittersweet Ending

My Hero Academia Fan Fiction by Agent ARK 88

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

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

Warnings: This work contains blood and violence.

(Ending 8 of 8)

A Bittersweet Ending

You knew what you had to do to stop this, stop All for One. You knew what All for One wanted more than anything else. He wanted to win. He wanted power. You lifted your hand when All for One’s words left Shigaraki’s mouth.

“You’ve chosen death. I’m afraid I’ve overestimated you. It will be a shame to lose such a powerful quirk with your demise—”

“The shame is you didn’t realize how powerful it was sooner,” you bit back. You didn’t know where that courage came from, maybe it was the idea that this would be protecting your friends, that your sacrifice was bigger than you.

Shigaraki’s fingers twitched, cutting All for One off may not have been the wisest thing to do. You felt the wave of rage hit you, watched Shigaraki lift his hand in your direction.

“Insolent child.” Dark crimson and black energy shot out from Shigaraki’s fingers, coming at you from all directions.

Your mind shield was already up, protecting you from all angles. All for One’s quirk cracked against the surface. You shot out another shield, stopping the oncoming Nomus. Your quirk buzzed in approval. You weren’t sure what ancient or primitive power was at work here, but it understood your objective: Give All for One your quirk. Let your quirk thrive in a new host, rather than be destroyed in this one.

Cracks. You could practically hear your skull breaking from the strain. That was the intention. Use your quirk to its limit. Get it to the point that not even All for One could keep it under wraps, especially not in an incomplete host body. All for One spoke of consequences, but he would understand them after you were done.

Blood dripped from your nose. Wind whipped through your hair. The grasp on your quirk was the strongest it had ever been. You were giving it full power to fight.

A bloody nose is like a broken bone. The words echoed in your mind, and you held firm. You would break every bone in your body if it meant your classmates would live.

“I’m stronger than you, more powerful than you,” you said, hoping your words did not come out shakily. “If you have any hope of escaping, you will have to deal with me first. I can read every thought you have, anticipate every outcome. I can keep you here as long as it takes. I’ll keep you here until every hero in Japan is outside this forcefield if I have to.”

Breaking, your mind was breaking. You felt each strand of your quirk twist and crack under the weight of the attack from every Nomu, felt the sharp points of All for One’s quirk scrape against your shield.

“You’ve trapped yourself in here with me? Unwise indeed. You dare waste my time further?” All for One questioned. “What game are you playing at? Surely you don’t believe you could win.”

You forced a smile. “I know I can.” Break. You needed to break every facet of your quirk, let it lose control in every sense of the word. Give it to him broken; let him see the power he could have and then give it over. You let every thought in Japan flood your mind, kept your forcefields up at full strength.

Shigaraki’s struggle came into view. He was fighting, fighting for possession of his body again. All for One was using him for this body. You pulled out of his mind as to not get grabbed as you had been before.

The energy continued to scrape at your shields as soon as one spike broke through, you used your mind to shove it back out.

“My patience is wearing thin, child,” All for One snarled.

“Then, end this. If you’re so powerful, then break through.” You were absolutely terrified. No amount of confidence that you’ve perceived in your existence could have matched the words spilling recklessly from your lips.

The Nomus beat relentlessly on the larger field that you made. At this point, the bubble had started to crackle with blue energy, becoming visible. The heroes that could still move, were fighting the Nomus back as best they could as you stayed within the forcefield you’d created yourself.

The air whipped harder around you. Each coiled knot of control was beginning to unravel. The wind rushed through Shigaraki, his hair blowing back. All for One sent a different quirk at you. This one rippled and sizzled through your barrier. The radio-wave quirk had more effect on your mind than physical attacks, but you stood firm.

“You misjudged me. Now, I will show you the consequences of your assumptions,” you said boldly. You lifted your hand ahead of you, and the air seemed to suspend at your will. You caught rubble with strands of your mind, whipping it directly at All for One so fast he had little time to counteract it with his own quirks.

“Such confidence from a young hero. What would happen if I stripped you of the very thing that you hoped to defeat me with?” All for One asked. He took a step toward you, lifting his hand again.

Do it. Take my quirk. Your words did not reach past the minds and thoughts you were taking in. Break it. Burn it to the ground. Let him have what you’ve struggled with your entire life.

The wind picked up, blowing the man sideways. He had to consciously keep himself upright. Your feet left the ground. Your power fully unleashed, finally allowing you the ability of flight.

“Perhaps I have been too quick to judge you. I find your quirk much more appealing now that I know that there is so much power within it,” All for One spouted greedily. “I think I will take it for myself, for my successor.”

A wave of attacks hit your mind field all at once, beating it down. Quirk after quirk stabbed at your resistance. Piece by piece your mind was being peeled. All for One placed Shigaraki’s hand onto the outer shield. Cracks, graying brittle cracks crackled up the side of the field and then your mind. You shrieked as something ancient and powerful was being ripped apart. You fell to your knees, forcibly putting all of your energy into outputting your quirk, holding that shield up against the Nomus, giving All for One the chance to receive the gift he so desperately wanted to take from you.

You heard Shoto scream out your name, begging you to let him help. You were too pained to make out his exact words. Shinso… you heard him yelling too, felt his hand beating against the same forcefield you were using to keep the monsters out.

A cold dry palm pressed into your forehead. You looked up with tearful eyes, seeing red energy illuminate your vision, but you forced a smile. The final piece of your mind cracked like a fragile egg. The tip of your head felt like it was being chipped away, like it was decaying, and you put all of your final bits of energy into trying to protect yourself from being disintegrated.

Stop fighting! you mustered the final two words, blasting it into every single mind around you, mimicking Shigaraki’s voice. The same gravelly tone you so fearfully remembered. The Nomus would stop because they knew no different. To them, your mental words were Shigaraki’s. The Nomus would wait until your final sacrificial act was complete.

The corrupt and broken quirk left your body, filtering into Shigaraki’s. You gave it up willingly, knowing the ticking timebomb that you’d given away. You knew realization had struck the man before you, when his fingers quaked near your temple. You watched as he crumpled to the floor, a mind shattered. Not one mind, but two.

You fell back, pain replaced by darkness. You’d done it. You’d saved everyone, except yourself.

 …Ten Years Later…Perspective: Shoto Todoroki…

 Shoto stared at the little shop entrance, frozen in fear. It had been ten years since that day, ten years since Shigaraki and All for One had been defeated. He’d passed this shop every year for the past five years it had been open, but he never had the courage to actually go inside.

The outer trim of the small bakery and sweets shop was light blue with a glitter finish, outshining all of the gray business buildings beside it. The sign was made up of bold dark blue letters, spelling out the words “Chocolate Sharks.”

Shoto felt out of place here in his hero costume. He’d shot up the ranks, pouring himself into his hero work after the incident, after Anna Kokoro lost all of her memories. He couldn’t seem to forgive himself. He kept questioning what he could have done differently so the outcome hadn’t been the loss of such a brilliant hero. Even when Shoto reached number one, he felt empty, like something was missing. It was her. It was always her.

Shoto stared absently downward. If he stood outside the bakery any longer, he’d surely cause a scene. Perhaps, he wasn’t actually ready to go inside, to face her. The adults had told all of class 1-A to give her time, to not push her too soon. Her mind had been so fragile, so broken by the time she reached the hospital. It was a whole year before anyone was allowed to even see her, and it was mainly Mr. Aizawa and her parents that could speak with her. She remembered no one, not even Ochaco Uraraka, her best friend since she was far younger than she was during the accident. She was officially removed from U.A. shortly after, quirkless and lost to everything that she had accomplished. All of Anna’s classmates were told by U.A. faculty, doctors, and the police not to interact with her in case it could cause more damage to her mind, but that was such a long time ago, it didn’t matter anymore.

A silver bell rang ahead of Shoto. He let out a small gasp, meeting the hazel eyes of the young woman in front of him. She’d bent down to retrieve a small cup of weeds that had been left outside her door, yellow heads bobbing up and down with the over-filled cup.

“Oh, excuse me. Did you want to come in?” Anna asked. She smiled warmly in Shoto’s direction, and he suddenly remembered the comfort that she used to bring him. “There are freshly baked cookies. I’m sure hero work makes a man such as yourself hungry.” She propped the door open with her arm, and Shoto instinctually grabbed it out of courteousness.

The sweet and deep chocolate aroma hit him first, making even his mouth water. He never cared much for sweets, but the smell was so enticing he felt inclined to enter. Anna gave him another smile, her nose crinkling just a bit and her eyes twinkling like they’d always done before. She adjusted her glasses before moving back into the small bakery.

Anna moved back behind the counter, waiting for Shoto to step inside. He lingered at the door like a vampire needing an invitation. Patient as ever, Anna didn’t seem to mind his hesitancy.

"You’re welcome in. If you just want to take a seat, be my guest. You don’t need to order anything if you don’t want to. If sweets and pastries are not to your liking, would you like some tea?” she asked.

Shoto cleared his throat, taking one shaky step over the wooden floor. The place was cute, decorated with oversized food items, like strawberry chairs and cake designed tables with a cherry centerpiece. The place was clean, spotless. There was not a single finger smudge on the display glass. Shoto crossed the room slowly, his eyes surveying every item in the shop. Anna went on tiptoe to replace a set of weeds on one of her higher shelves behind the counter.

Shoto jolted back when she began to speak again, was surprised to hear her voice.

“There’s a man that leaves these outside my door every week. I think he’s a Pro Hero too. I’ve told him not to do it because I worry that I’ll forget they’re out there one day. He told me not to worry about it, and it’s more of a tradition anyway. I wonder if he knew the previous owner of this building. I’ve tried to ask him before, but… he seems like a rather private individual.” Anna tilted her head to the side, wiping absently at the front of her apron covered in sharks. “She must have been a very lucky lady for a hero to be so dedicated to dropping off flowers for her every week like that. Although I’m sure most women wouldn’t be as appreciative to receive common dandelions, I find they’re rather pretty. I take them in so that they will last longer. Besides, a little yellow never hurt a room.” Her voice twinkled like a morning windchime.

Anna leaned up over the counter, glancing between Shoto and the goods within the display case. “So, what brings you all the way out here to my little old shop?” she asks.

“Me?”

Anna giggled. “Of course, you. Sure, I have some Pro Hero regulars, but I haven’t seen you come in before.” She glanced away, stepping back from the counter and fidgeting with her hands. “I do have to admit something to you though…” she trailed off, blushing bashfully.

Shoto gulped. Admit something to him? He had no idea what that could be. Had she actually remembered him, their past together? Hope filled his chest. She tugged absently at her messy braid, some flour had managed to get on the end of it, and she quickly brushed it off.

“What is it?” he asked eagerly.

Anna’s blush deepened in color. “It’s sort of embarrassing, and I hope you won’t take offense to this.” She fixed the front of her apron. “I’m actually a huge fan. I see you on television all the time, and I know it’s silly because I’m quirkless, but I had always wanted to be a hero like you are. You’re truly an inspiration to me, especially since we both have a scar…” she trailed off again, looking away. She slowly lifted a portion of her bangs out of the way to show the scar made of partially cracked skin near her temple, where Shigaraki had tried to decay her. A streak of white was permanently fixed in her hair as well.

“Oh,” his voice dropped a little in disappointment. Shoto had forgotten about the scar on her forehead. He could barely see it when he walked in. Guilt ripped the next words out of his mouth.

“I didn’t mean to say something to make you uncomfortable.” She covered her scar back up. “I just wanted to tell you. I guess that was selfish of me.” She gave a small self-deprecating laugh that made Shoto’s heart break for her. “Believe it or not, I used to have a quirk, even went to U.A., but I don’t have any memory of it myself. You might have even seen me in the hallway because you went there too, right? It’s kind of ridiculous to think someone like you would have known someone like me though—”

“I always noticed you,” Shoto blurted.

Anna blinked at him in confusion. “What?” she asked. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Ah.” Shoto pressed his lips together. He may have said too much. Would it be bad to discuss the past with her now? Could it damage her mind even this far from the incident? He didn’t want to take that chance. “I would have always noticed you if I’d seen you,” he corrected. “Maybe we were in different classes.” He hated lying to her. He hated himself for lying to her.

Anna blushed again. “I’m sure you’re just flattering me.” She waved her hand. “It’s certainly appreciated, but you don’t have to be nice to me out of kindness.”

Shoto’s shoulders dropped. He tried to cover it up by looking over the pastries inside the display case again. Coming here was a mistake. He missed her too much. He wanted so desperately to tell her everything.

“Anything catch your eye?” Anna asked. “One pastry on the house for new customers.” She smiled again.

Shoto remembered baking with Anna. He remembered how much of a disaster he was in the kitchen too. He considered buying everything, but he didn’t want to scare her. He had the money for it, but he also didn’t want all of her hard work to go to waste either. There were only so many people at his agency that would consider eating sugar.

“The chocolate chip cookies,” he said, deciding upon the very item he had worked with her to make so many years ago. “And, a chocolate ganache cake. Make those three cakes.” He would eat them himself if no one else at the office would. He’d eat them until he couldn’t stomach it, just for her.

“Of course. How many cookies?” she asked, already packing the cakes in cardboard boxes with the shark logo on the top.

“All of the chocolate chip cookies please,” he said. That should be enough. Not too much, not too little. It wouldn’t seem like he was overdoing it.

“All of them?” she squeaked out. “Are you sure? I mean, I’m not questioning how many cookies you can eat Mr. Shoto, but—”

“Just Shoto is fine,” he corrected smoothly. Of course that wasn’t a normal amount. What was he thinking? He wished he were better at these kinds of situations, but his social interactions with the public had only gone so far. Maybe, he should have just gotten one.

“Shoto, there are over four hundred chocolate chip cookies here,” she said, scanning over the amount lined up within the case.

“Seems like a fair amount for my hero agency. I wouldn’t want to leave out any of the hardworking sidekicks after all,” Shoto said, trying to come back from what he had perceived as a blunder.

“If you’re certain, then I will pack them up neatly for you right away. If you would excuse me, there are some more boxes in the back," Anna said.

Shoto relaxed, fighting the urge to slam his palm to his forehead. This little detour was far more difficult than he had expected. His eyes floated up toward the register. Out in front of it was a purple cat with a swinging paw. A small button necklace was looped around its porcelain neck. Shoto narrowed his eyes at the object. It didn’t seem to go with the rest of the shop, and Shoto suspected who the lucky statue cat had come from. Perhaps, Shoto wasn’t the only one trying to see Anna again.

“Just enough boxes!” Anna called cheerfully as she came back up to the front. “I hope you’ll be able to carry them all by yourself,” she murmured, counting each cookie as she placed them into the open box.

The entryway bell chimed, and Shoto tensed. Anna poked her head up from what she was doing to greet the new customer.

“Welcome to Chocolate Sharks! Ah, Red Riot. It’s so nice to see you again!” Anna said. “I’ll be right with you after I serve this other patient customer.”

Shoto’s eyes widened. Kirishima came here? Shoto was beginning to feel foolish. Had he been the only one too scared to reach out after the incident? Did she know everyone else?

“No worries, Princess. I’m on break. Take your time.”

Anna looked momentarily distracted from counting. She pouted. “You shouldn’t be calling me such a familiar nickname, Red Riot. People will get the wrong idea about us. You’re my loyal customer. I don’t like spreading rumors.”

“Sorry, Princess. It’s just a force of habit,” Kirishima said.

So, she didn’t know him? Or, didn’t know the old him at least. Shoto risked a glance back toward the Pro Hero. Kirishima’s crimson gaze was already scanning him.

“First time here?” Kirishima asked knowingly.

Shoto’s muscles coiled. He nodded in shame. Kirishima patted him on the shoulder.

“It’s alright man. I get it,” he whispered. “We all missed her. It takes some people longer than others to heal.”

Shoto clenched his jaw. He wasn’t the one that needed to heal. Anna had sacrificed her dreams to become a hero for ultimate peace in Japan, and she didn’t even know she’d been a hero. She had no idea that she made the sacrifice either. She was the one who needed to heal, deserved to heal. Shoto was ashamed of himself for not trying to find her, talk to her, sooner.

“You better not be harassing my new customer,” Anna said, continuing to count the cookies.

Kirishima put his hands up in defense. “I would never! What kind of a loyal customer would I be if I scared off all of your business?” Kirishima asked.

“Uh huh,” Anna said suspiciously.

Once she finished wrapping the last box with twine, she hauled the lot of them over to the register. She slowly input all of the items, hesitating with some numbers, most likely being held back by residual damage from the decay to her head all those years ago. She read out the total, and Shoto readily handed over his card. Once the transaction was complete, Anna gave Shoto a final smile.

“Thank you for coming to Chocolate Sharks. I hope to see you again.”

“You will,” Shoto said. He wanted to tell her he should have come sooner, but he didn’t have the heart. “Thank you for such a warm welcome.”

“Any time,” Anna said almost breathlessly. “It was nice meeting you.”

Shoto paused with the boxes in hand. He wanted to blurt out all of his feelings then and there. He’d put so much work into distracting himself from her that during this small moment of peace, it was killing him to even look at her. All of the past memories he’d spent with her came flooding back all at once. He wished things had ended up differently. He wished that they could have been together. He waited far too long to come and see her. He would not make that mistake again.

“Thank you,” he repeated. The sadness was clear in his tone.

Anna’s smile faltered. Shoto turned away from her, shouldering open the door. He left, wishing that he’d visited sooner. He promised himself that he would come back every week, if only just to check up on her. He hoped their next meeting would not end with so many bittersweet memories.

[songbirdsingingthings]

You and Your Everything - Shouto Todoroki x Reader

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to Kohei Horikoshi

MHA Masterlist - Main Masterlist

WARNINGS: Your parents being the absolute worst, a few minor curse words, a lil angsty

Requested by Anonymous:

HI i love your writing and i saw that your requests were open? i was wondering if you could do like a shoto x reader but instead y/ns parents are like the opposite of shoto and endeavor? like for an example how shoto wants nothing to do with his dad and and all y/n wants to do is please her parents or make them happy since they never pay attention to her like that? both house holds are still toxic but i feel like thatd be an interesting dynamic

A/N: This was so interesting and cool to write! Obviously, the subject matter was much angstier and sadder than a lot of the stuff I have written, but I found writing this, like, entire paragraph of dialogue of Shouto (you’ll know it when you see it) to be so entirely incredible. I just kept on writing. Thank you so much for this awesome rec!

Word Count: 1.8K

“You’ve reached the voicemail of Kana Y/L/N. Please leave a message. BEEP”

“Hi Mom, it’s me again. Just calling to remind you that third years are allowed to reserve a box for their parents in the Sports Festival arena! I saved one for you and Dad in the front row, which are the best seats in the whole place. The Festival takes place tomorrow, as I told you guys about three months ago so you could put it on your calendars. I’m, uh, looking forward to seeing you again! Love you, bye!” Pressing the red circle that represented an “end call” button, you heaved a sigh and looked through your recent calls. Nine recent calls that your mother had missed within the last three days. Ten that your father had. They’re just busy, you tell yourself, trying to ease your mind. They’re just busy right now, but they had said that they’d come. They’ll come. Your thoughts had consumed you to such a point you didn’t even register the little nudges to your side.

“.../N? Y/N?” You blinked quickly to rid your consciousness of its prior dilemma and turn your head to the side. With heterochromatic eyes blinking fondly at you matched with a slight frown of concern, your boyfriend prompts the same question that had earlier feel upon deaf ears. “Y/N, I was asking if you are alright. You seemed a little… not here when I asked you just a minute ago.” Shouto’s voice, like always, is level, however little hints of emotion always tend to slip in between the cracks of his pronunciations. Like now, for instance, you hear the traces of worry cling onto his words.

“Oh, sorry, I was just leaving a voicemail.” You say simply. The sentence that left your mouth would seem normal to any person that you were friendly with. However, Shouto knew the implications. His shoulders seemed to tense as he took your hand. You squeeze his hand to reassure him. “Don’t worry Sho, they’re just really busy people. I’m sure they definitely carved time out of their schedules to come and watch me. I just need to make sure I get into the tournament round so I don’t waste their time.” You say, laughing a little dryly. Shouto doesn’t smile at the joke you made at your own expense.

“I just don’t get it.” He says, which makes your smile drop into a frown. “Why do you try so hard for them.” Your spine straightens at his words and your grip on his hand loosens. “Y/N, they’re awful people-”

“They’re my parents and I want to make them proud.” You say swiftly, a slight grimace on your face. Silence settles between the two of you, that is, until you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket. Jumping up immediately and grabbing your phone, you take a glance at the caller ID. Your heart sinks as you see it’s a random telemarketer, and click decline call. You look back to your boyfriend, which was a mistake, because his eyes pooled with pity. Not feeling quite right in the space you were in, you grab your school bag and stuff your phone the furthest down it would go. “I’m going to go freshen up before dinner.” You decide, nodding towards Shouto and walking away a bit.

“Do you want me to come with you?” His suggestion on a normal basis would make your face flush and your heart beat a bit faster, however today you just wanted to be alone for a bit.

“No, it’s okay,  I’ll see you at dinner.” You say quickly.

“Y/N.” His grip came softly around your wrist, tugging you back a bit to face him. “I’m… I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I just love you,” he said those last two words a bit softer than the others, “and I want to see you happy.” Butterflies took flight in the pit of your stomach as you held Shouto’s gaze, his heartfelt and earnest words weighing heavily within your heart. Your frown wobbles into a smile as you lean in to place a quick kiss to his cheek.

“I know.”

“Did you see me out there?!” You cheer, careening down the arena hallway towards where Shouto was waiting with open arms. You leapt directly into them and was quickly picked up and spun around in a little circle.

“I did, you were incredible.” Shouto gushes, his cheek squished against yours. You laughed joyously as you felt his arms squeeze you closer to him, your heart racing with both leftover adrenaline from your second round tournament match and the feeling of love from your boyfriend. However, your laughter and the embrace you were tucked into died down when you heard the faint clearing of a throat, causing both of you to turn towards the sound. If you were looking into a mirror, you’re sure you would see your eyes grow to the size of saucers and your jaw dropping just a tad at the sight before you. There, standing about ten paces away, were your parents. Your mother, with her hair tied back in an uncomfortable looking bun with her freshly pressed pencil skirt and matching career jacket. Your father at her side, his suit and pants looking as sharp as ever. And the expressions they held…

“M-mother? Father? You two made it?” You stammer out, dumbfounded at their appearance. “But I, uh, didn’t see either of you in the stands.” You admit, earning a nonchalant expression from both parents.

“Well, with that lackluster performance that you executed, did you really think we would want to show our faces? It’s bad enough our colleagues know of you and all your little failures that you like to categorize as triumphs. Honestly, you really thought that we would want to be on camera for the entire world to see?” Your mother’s bored tone and biting words struck you hard. You felt your spine straighten and your hands stick to your side as you bit the inside of your cheek.

“But… I won.” You said, so soft that the sound of someone’s heartbeat could overpower it. If your gaze wasn’t stuck to your parents’ forms, you would have seen Shouto’s eyebrows narrow, awaiting for the oncoming onslaught.

“Good Lord, you want to call that a win? It makes me wonder how you ever got into this school or passed any physical examination in your class.” Your father’s tone, just as bored and apathetic as your mother’s, sent trembles down your spine. You clenched your fists and jaw to try and prevent crying. But, of course, it was of no use. The tears trickled their way, one by one, down your cheek like raindrops on a car window.

“And you’re crying now. Fantastic.” Your mother retorts, turning her to your father now. “I told you we should have sent her directly to the Hero Public Safety Commission. Would’ve toughened her up in no time-”

“CAN’T YOU SEE SHE’S UPSET?!” You almost didn’t recognize his voice. The soft spoken, pensive Shouto Todoroki that you knew to be your boyfriend rarely got upset. When he did, it was almost always in the middle of a battle or fight, just as he was about to use a special move. But this time, it was pure rage and anger that clung onto his words. Your parents, now sprouting an expression of slight surprise turned their attention to the seething red-and-white haired boy at your side. “All she ever does is work to make you happy. Day and night, twenty-four seven, it’s for you. And now here you come, strutting back into her life with some agenda on how she should fight and how much of a so-called failure she is?! Well screw that! You don’t get to have an opinion when it comes to her! She has been trying to get a hold of both of you for months on end and getting no more than the same damn message from your voicemails, telling her that you’re too busy for her!” Shouto’s face was red now. His fists were balled up and the tiniest flecks of flames were flaking from his left side. “And then, you’re now finally here, and you come with this holier-than-thou attitude! Y/N L//N, your daughter, is the most incredible and capable person I have met in my entire life. The fact that a person like her can rise like a phoenix from the ashes that is your attitudes and parenting styles is a miracle, because in every way, shape and form, she will forever be a marvel. To me, to our classmates, and to the entire world. I just can’t wait to see the look on your sorry asses when the time comes for her to give her thank you speech after becoming the number one hero, and you don’t hear either of your names mentioned once.” The silence is deafening after Shouto finishes speaking. You feel your whole body trembling and can recognize that there are tears falling down past your cheeks, but nothing else. Nothing else, until that constricting feeling that you felt bound to you to your parents’ approval starts to loosen the moment Shouto takes your hand in his. 

“Let’s go.” Your words, merely more than a whisper, is all it takes for Shouto to wrap and arm around your waist as he marches past your dumbstruck parents, towards a private room. The second Shouto clicks the lock shut, you let yourself break down. Sobs racked your body as you clung onto his shirt, his arm, and his love. “They’re supposed to be my parents. How… I can’t even do anything.” You hiccup into his tear-stained gym uniform, the one identical to yours (without the blotches of tears).

“Hey, shh, you’re okay. You’re fine.” Shouto says, his reassuring words grounding you. “You will get through this whole… mess, okay? I know you can. All you need to do is take it one day at a time.” You nod into his chest and let your head lie there as the tears finally started to cease from falling.

“You, uh, probably have to get ready for your match, right?” You sniff, moving one of your hands up to your face to rub at your nose.

“I’m fine here.” Shouto says, wrapping his arms around you. “Y/N, you really were incredible out there. Do not let them make you think otherwise.” You nod again as you feel Shouto begin to play lightly with your hair. “You are enough. More than, in fact. They might think otherwise, but I don’t. I love you, and your smile, and your everything.” You were too fried emotionally to say anything back, but Shouto knew. He knew that it would take time to finally break from your parents’ psychological hold over you and that he would always be there at your side.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 309: Gotta Go My Own Way

Previously on BnHA: Muscular was all “well if it isn’t the protagonist on his solo journey of self-discovery, for some reason I’m unironically glad I get to fight you!” Deku was all “hey Muscular before I finish kicking your ass would you please take a moment to answer these two survey questions? Question one, do you regret being a total piece of shit? And question two, if you could do anything at all in the world other than being a total piece of shit, would you?” Muscular was all, “pfft, no and no.” Deku was all, “thanks buddy, your feedback helps make me a better hero, here’s a coupon for fifteen percent off your next ass-whooping.” Then he whooped his ass.

Today on BnHA: Deku is all “what up All Might can you believe you’ve been here this entire time?” All Might is all “I sure can since that’s literally my catch phrase, anyway how are your magic movie 1 gauntlets holding up?” Deku is all “they’re holding up fine, how are Hawks, Endeavor, and Best Jeanist doing?” Hawks, Endeavor, and Best Jeanist are all “we, your fellow co-conspirators, are also doing fine, thanks for asking!” Flashback!Deku is all “anyway so I secretly have All Might’s quirk and the most dangerous people in the world are after me, so sorry mom but that’s why I’m dropping out of school.” Inko is all “I CAN’T ACCEPT THAT” while totally accepting it. All Might is all “I GUESS WE’LL JUST HAVE TO GO ALONG WITH IT SINCE I DON’T FEEL LIKE TRYING TO STOP HIM.” Hawks, Jeanist, and Endeavor, as previously mentioned, are all “yeah that sounds like a good plan”, and Gran is all “see ya kid, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” So basically everyone in the entire world has suddenly teamed up with Deku to defeat AFO, except for the one person whose entire foreshadowed endgame is “teaming up with Deku to defeat AFO.” O Kacchan where art thou.

dear tumblr image limit: okay look. you don’t like me, and I don’t like you. but just as an experiment, I’m gonna try writing this recap with as few images as possible and we’ll see how it goes

(ETA: spoilers for how it went: it didn’t, lol.)

oh my god WHY ARE WE OPENING WITH MORE KETSUBUTSU ACADEMY KIDS.ffs we’d better at least finally get some Ms. Joke content out of this

(ETA: seriously who do I have to bribe.)

so these two KB kids who no one cares about are watching Deku leap away from the scene after dispatching Muscular. but more importantly wtf is this chapter title omg. “I can’t stay being a child” so that’s how it is huh. we’re gonna have feels and we’re going to like them. well then

oh my god he’s hauling Muscular away dhfksklfkh okay this is gonna have to be our first image because I can’t fucking help myself. look at this

just. Deku is so tiny and he’s carting away this massive unconscious lump of a man like it’s nothing why is this so funny to me. it’s like when people buy furniture, and they don’t want to pay extra for delivery and so they’re like, “I can definitely fit this king-sized mattress in the back of my compact sedan if I fold the fucking seat down, idk.” and they refuse to be talked out of it, and the next thing you know you’re watching them drive home with their open trunk door haphazardly tied down with bungee cords, and somehow it fucking works. because it turns out the compact sedan has super strength

anyway for SOME REASON now Horikoshi is all “have fun with that Deku, meanwhile we now return you to your regularly scheduled SHINDOU CONTENT” whyyyyyy

look at this. we’re really using up a whole fucking entire page on everyone arguing over who gets the honor of carrying Shindou

love how the civilians are all, “shit lol is this actually our fault?? quick, how do we play this off all casual like we were the reasonable parties here all along”

turns out all it took to finally get them to listen was making them watch while a kid got his insides ground into a pulp because of their stupidity!! what a heartwarming conclusion to this little standoff

anyways THANK GOD we’re cutting back to Deku now!! well actually we’re cutting back to Muscular who is being dropped off at the police precinct, good bye and good riddance lol

so Deku’s leaving him there and bounding away and okjdlSKFJLKJDSL OH MY GOD

no fucking way. no fucking way this little jaunt is All Might-sanctioned and approved. are you serious?? then who else is in on this?? what the hell is going on

so All Might is just WAITING FOR HIM IN AN ALLEY FFF WHO ARE YOU, JIM GORDON. or would Alfred be a better analogy here?? but like, Alfred if he ditched the suit for a moto jacket and shades

this new ensemble of All Might’s may or may not severely impact my ability to take this forthcoming conversation seriously; please stand by

also, quite the spectacular landing there, Deku. seriously lol what was that

“HOW ARE YOUR LIMBS” “THANKS TO YOU THEY’RE COMPLETELY FINE” I’M SORRY WHAT

LOL WHAT. “THANKS TO THE POWER OF THESE MAGIC GLOVES” OH I SEE THAT EXPLAINS IT

are these the same gauntlets from the first movie, then? well that’s all well and good, except that now there’s going to be more Deku Discourse than fucking ever lol. so if it’s all the same to you guys, I’m gonna once again go ahead and declare this week’s post a discourse-free zone, at least when it comes to the specific discourse of Deku’s merits as a MC, and the impact that him kicking ass and having working arms has on said merits. this has been something of a low mental energy week for me, so I’d rather reserve the energy I do have for more fun topics, such as All Might’s bitchin’ leather jacket

anyway so All Might’s saying that the gauntlets will help reinforce Deku’s arms, but they can’t withstand OFA at 100%. so basically it’s a support item designed to maintain the status quo lol. we’re basically in the same situation we were before, arm-capability-wise

homg All Might’s getting a call. time to see who else is in on Operation: Deku Alone?? or not so alone for that matter

omg

HI HAWKS, WHERE ARE YOUR WINGS

(ETA: seriously are they really gone for good?? why would he even be back on active duty then?? does he have his own American ex-boyfriend who can hook him up with exclusive support items?? dammit Horikoshi we want answers.)

looks like Jeanist and Endeavor are teaming up as well, just like they said they would. I would gladly follow this trio around all day long tbh

is this the same giant villain from the very first chapter??

looks like it to me, and it would tie in with that callback from the end of chapter 306. we all thought that was Muscular, but maybe it was this guy, and Deku left these three to deal with him while he ran off to take Muscular down

oh my god now Deku is running off again just like that

kids these days

ffffff I have not had nearly enough sleep to follow along with whatever tf Hawks is talking about here sob

like, is he trying to say that All Might is keeping Deku’s whereabouts unknown to anyone except for him?? in order to keep him safe?? but Hawks is pointing out that that’s a bad strategy and probably won’t do shit against AFO and it’s better if he lets Deku work with the rest of them?

(ETA: so @hanashimas​’ translation makes a lot more sense -- it’s not All Might who’s being overprotective, but Deku. in other words he’s trying not to drag All Might into his battles. and in addition Hawks is saying that their strategy is to take the offensive and go after AFO themselves rather than wait for him to come to them. which I’m not too sure about myself, but that’s another topic for another day.)

btw I can’t help thinking how much better this entire conversation would be if All Might was still wearing his sunglasses. put them back on my dude. it’s not too late. embrace your inner badass

DKLJSLDKFJL FLASHBACK ALERT, FUCKING FINALLY

“turns out, we were just trying to scare you straight. fuck lot of good that did though lol”

also what is this. one true love: the hospital bed. is that a scanlator joke or is Horikoshi actually that funny omg

SKLJDFLJLK

ITSA ME!! omg I love this hospital so much. though it’s sure not helping me in my quest to try and keep this post below ten images. I’m already up to eleven haha r.i.p. to me if tumblr doesn’t get its shit together

whaaaaaat, so he’s saying that Deku’s injuries were external (i.e. Tomura beating the shit out of him) rather than internal this time?? whaaaaat. excuse me but that’s some bullshit lmao. believe me, I was there

okay now he’s going on to explain that Deku’s “internal structure” seems to have been protected from the inside and out, and the corresponding panel seems to be implying that using Blackwhip as a brace paid off. huh

and also that his body is just stronger now?? so I guess he’s better able to withstand the quirk after an additional year of training?? I’M NOT SURE IF I BUY ANY OF THIS LOL but I’m willing to suspend my disbelief

OH MY GOD RED ALERT, INKO IS ASKING ALL MIGHT TO EXPLAIN WTAF DEKU’S QUIRK IS, IS IT FINALLY THAT TIME OMGGGG

SO HE’S EXPLAINING IT TO HER OFF-SCREEN, AND INKO IS JUST LIKE

I GUESS THAT’S FAIR LOL. IT’S TRUE INKO I’M SO SORRY, YOUR SON IS A PROGATONIST R.I.P.

AHHKKJH DEKU ANGST IS IT FINALLY THAT TIME OMGGGGGG

what is this soft pop beat that’s suddenly being pumped in over the speakers. I’VE GOT TO MOVE ON~ AND BE WHO~ I~ AM~~~, I JUST DON’T BELONG HERE, I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAAAAAAAND. also, follow-up question, when is Kacchan finally going to come back so he can jump in with the “WHAT ABOUT US~~~” bridge, huh. come the fuck on, Horikoshi

lmao All Might jesus christ

but given that it’s a stupid-ass decision...

anyway, yes!! finally that sweet, sweet “I don’t want to put anyone else in danger” angst!!

mmm that’s good angst Brent. Kacchan with center panel honors as usual, you love to see it. anyways though who do I have to yell at to get Deku a goddamn HUG around here seriously

so Inko is of course reacting with panic, and sensibly saying that she doesn’t approve of Deku’s “RUN AWAY AND FIGHT THE BAD GUYS ALL ON MY OWN, DON’T WORRY MOM I’LL JUST GET STRONGER, EASY AS PIE, IT’S A FOOLPROOF STRATEGY” plan

son of a bitch this manipulative green asshole is really gonna sit here and smile fondly at his mom and try to convince her that he’s Not A Little Kid Anymore. the hell you’re not mister

y'all are really just gonna sit there and let him talk you into this?? surely it can’t be that easy??

OH MY GOD

THE FEELS oh my god oh my god. BUT ALSO YOU’RE SERIOUSLY JUST GOING TO COLLAPSE INTO HIS ARMS SOBBING AND LET HIM DO WHATEVER THE FUCK HE WANTS LKJLJLFK. WHERE ARE ALL THE STRICT PARENTS AT?? AIZAWA, GANG ORCA, MITSUKI, SOMEONE PLEASE COME AND TELL DEKU TO SIT HIS ASS THE FUCK DOWN. NOW LISTEN HERE YOUNG MAN!!

“EVEN IF I TRY TO STOP YOU YOU’LL STILL LEAVE” WELL SURE, IF BY “TRY TO STOP HIM” YOU MEAN POLITELY TRY TO TALK HIM OUT OF IT FOR THREE SECONDS. HE’S SIXTEEN WTF WHEN DID HE BECOME THE BOSS OF YOU ALL. SOMEONE NEEDS TO COME AND TELL HIM HE’S GROUNDED

anyway sob so that’s the story of how Deku talked his parents into letting him drop out of school, and even convinced All Might to be his own personal Guy In The Chair. holy shit. this kid really went and rolled a nat 20 and the rest of them had no choice but to fold without argument

meanwhile here’s a panel of Best Jeanist trying to braid his phone into his hair just cuz

I’m dying to know which part of his language he considers to be crude here. you literally didn’t even use a contraction my guy

so now flashback!Deku is talking to Gran in the dark, and Gran is all “can you believe I’m not fucking dead yet lol that’s too funny. anyway, you sure I can’t interest you in killing Tomura after all?? no?? okay then here’s my cape.” truly a heartwarming scene

I’m kind of torn here tbh. on the one hand, my adhd ass wasn’t all that interested in sitting down and having an extended scene between these two when there’s so much else that I want to get to. but on the other hand, even I can admit that cramming this entire reunion into a single page seems just a BIT rushed. idk. like maybe someone can let Horikoshi know it’s a marathon and not a race. Deku didn’t even get any dialogue here, some of us want to know his thoughts!! but anyway

AND JUST LIKE THAT?!

how did all four of them let him con them into this. I literally just watched it happen and I still can’t figure out how. “I GUESS THIS SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT IS OUR LEADER NOW” ffflfjf. when Aizawa finds out he’s gonna go apeshit. AND DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON BAKUGOU KATSUKI, WHO I HAVE BEEN ASSURED DOES IN FACT STILL EXIST. WHAT ABOUT USSSSS, WHAT ABOUT EVERYTHING WE’VE BEEN THROUGH. WHAT ABOUT TRUST???! YOU KNOW I NEVER WANTED TO HURT YOUUUUU

btw lol don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying this, and I’m honestly glad Deku’s not alone because that would suck for him! but that said, Hawks and Jeanist have lost any credibility they might have once had as far as being The Responsible Ones, and as for All Might and Endeavor, fucking hell lol. everyone just deposited all of their fucks in a bank somewhere for safekeeping and decided to never look back. godspeed you mad lads

[hamliet]

What Does It Mean to Save?

I keep seeing it said that Deku, Ochaco, and Shouto will “save” Shigaraki, Himiko, and Dabi, but that there will be no redemption and/or no survival for them. I’m truly not trying to vague these posts and everyone is entitled to their opinion, but literary criticism is fundamentally responsive so I’m writing this anyways.

I personally think that’s not BNHA’s definition of saving nor of redemption. So here, have a deep dive into literary tropes related to redemption, genre, and character arcs as they pertain to BNHA and the question of: what does it mean to save Shigaraki, Touya, and Himiko?

Before we begin, let me say that while we might be personally uncomfortable with redemption (there’s a redemption arc in BNHA I am personally quite uncomfortable with), that doesn’t inherently mean the narrative won’t go there. The key principle I’m operating on here is BNHA’s message that heroes save people. It’s held up as the highest ideal. 

So let’s talk redemption in BNHA-verse. With this guy, whose redemption arc I dislike in principle but accept as part of the story so don’t come for me stans and/or antis. I’m analyzing because it shows us what redemption means in BNHA-verse, whether or not that is satisfying to you personally as it fits/does not fit with your own morality/philosophy.

If Endeavor can be redeemed and live, and he’s Bakugou’s negative foil, I highly doubt Shigaraki and Deku as well as Touya and Shouto and Ochaco and Himiko will be any different. Why? Because Enji is an adult character. The others--well, Himiko’s age we don’t know, but we do know that Shigaraki and Dabi are technically adults. But does the story consider them adults?

(It doesn’t.)

Child-coded characters are generally more likely to survive a redemption, which I’ll explain more later. First I have to define what I mean by child-coding, because I DO NOT mean this in the way it’s often (mis)used in fandom wank. Child-coding is a real thing, but it is not done to infantilize and it has nothing to do with shipping.

Child coding frames the character as a child for a few narrative purposes to convey a story’s theme or purpose. For example, if it’s a coming of age story coding a character as a child even if they legally are not emphasizes their journey to an understanding of self-actualization, or a true understanding of self with self-awareness and an understanding of self-value. An example of an adult coded as a child is The Kite Runner, wherein Amir is a legal adult for half the story, even married for fifteen years so we’re talking 30s-40s, but he does not truly become an adult until he returns to his homeland and takes responsibility for a childhood sin. In Attack on Titan, the main characters are now nineteen, but are still struggling to take responsibility as adults and have only started doing so now that their mentors/parental figures have started dying.

Along those lines, in any kind of story, you can code a character as a child of someone, regardless of biological relationship, to convey the type of relationship they have (usually a mentor one). For an example of this, see Bungo Stray Dogs’ Dazai and Akutagawa. Despite their two year age difference, Dazai recruited him to the mafia, abandoned him, and Akutagawa desperately seeks his approval. Usually in these stories a character will “overcome” their parental figure. This can be done through overcoming their need for the parental figure’s approval in stories where the parental figure is kindly (such as in Harry Potter, when in the final book Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave the Weasleys to find the Horcruxes despite Mrs. Weasley’s please) or through like, killing/stopping/leaving the parental figure when they are abusive (see fairy tales like Rapunzel and Cinderella). The parental link to self-actualization is because it is childlike (and a part of actual psychology that is reflected in literature) to see yourself as a part of your parent; self-actualized person would see yourself as a distinct person from your parent, but also acknowledge the ways in which they’ve shaped you.

So, how do you code a character as a child? BNHA isn’t subtle about it, because Horikoshi seldom is subtle about anything. The villain trio are all coded as children.

Shigaraki Tomura:

Who cannot achieve self-actualization so long as AFO has access to his body, as he’s literally trying to possess him. He’s trying, but it’s not gonna work because Shigaraki can’t keep AFO and become an adult at the same time. It’s a choice the narrative is setting up: your dream of destroying, or your freedom? (To get the latter, he’ll probably have to destroy AFO).

Todoroki Touya, who is repeatedly emphasized as a small child when compared to his siblings, and yes, I know he’s now tall. Specifically he’s spotlighted as the child of Endeavor:

And he’s the least self-actualized one in a lot of ways, contradicting himself constantly. I’m not Endeavor, DUH! But these are Endeavor’s flames! He’s gonna have to choose one or the other, because the tragic irony is that the more he takes out his rage on those around him, the more like Endeavor he becomes.

And Toga Himiko (who might well literally be a legal child), who is actually the most self-actualized one thus far, because she rejects Curious’s child insistence (Curious holds her in a Pieta pose, based on Michelangelo’s statue wherein Mary holds a deceased Christ):

She’s still got, like, a way to go though:

Because Himiko also wants to be like the people she loves to the point where she loses her own identity in them, which is er, not self-actualization. So she’ll have to choose whether or not she really wants to be like the people she loves or whether she wants to live her own way, which she herself tells us how that would end (death):

Deku said it himself: it’s good to focus on what someone is doing now. And look, I have issues with this statement and how it’s framed. I’ve talked about it at length and it was doomed to fail because Shouto himself told us long ago that it was annoying to hear a righteous speech by a stranger when you hadn’t gone through the same, plus Endeavor kinda failed by choosing being a hero over a dad here. But, the principle is that if the past doesn’t preclude Endeavor from seeking a better self, why would it preclude three characters coded as children, one of whom is literally somewhat the product of Endeavor’s sins? BNHA doesn’t think the past keeps someone from a better future. 

So what about Dabi’s counterpoint, which is indeed valid? Well, redemption doesn’t mean the past forgets, either. It’s complicated and nuanced, and we can debate how well Horikoshi strikes this nuance (it’s got its flaws), and admittedly I don’t know how this will go down in the future. But it is asking Endeavor: how do you redeem yourself to the people you’ve hurt? And we have Endeavor asking this question to Touya’s shrine. I mean, the foreshadowing is obvious. Endeavor has to redeem himself by trying to save Touya. However, it will still probably come down to Shouto to save Touya.

For our three villains, it’s a little harder to predict... well, sort of. For Shigaraki it’s extremely obvious: he has to help take down AFO. Dabi probably has to do something to help his family (siblings probably), but it’s vague. Toga needs help and not condemnation, but presumably she’ll help Ochaco with something.

So, is this redemption? I’d define it as redemption in the eyes of the narrative. To address what makes a redemption is another essay unto itself, but if we bring in the oft-compared Star Wars example: did Darth Vader get a redemption? Did Ben Solo? Everyone says yes to both. However, only Luke witnesses Vader’s redemption, and only Rey Ben Solo’s. So the rest of the galaxy? Doesn’t think so. When I say they’ll be redeemed, I’m defining it as their role in the eyes of the narrative, not whether or not society will accept them or even whether their victims will forgive them (of note, in canonical novels, Leia never forgave Darth Vader despite learning he was her father and obviously knowing Luke’s account of his redemption was true).

So, redemption in a narrative doesn’t mean all of society has to forgive and accept them. Dabi has still like, murdered 30 people--many of whom were thugs, but he himself acknowledges they didn’t deserve to die. Additionally, he himself also acknowledges that the families left behind--their feelings matter:

But why does that mean they have to die? Why even does it mean they have to languish in prison forever? (If there’s even a safe prison at the end of BNHA which I kinda have doubts about.) Heroes have also killed: see Hawks as Exhibit A. In fact, some people want revenge on the heroes precisely because they arrested or killed their loved ones (jail isn’t held up as a rehabilitative place in BNHA’s world. In most countries it isn’t in real life, either, but again that’s for another essay). So why don’t the League’s feelings on Twice’s death matter just as much as the feelings of unnamed and unseen (and thereby less important narratively) characters?

Additionally, regarding death... the villains routinely get called on their death wishes. Himiko’s determination to decide how/when she dies is called out because this is right  before Twice overcomes his trauma to save her, and the next arc they appear in is when Twice dies trying to save her again. Dabi’s suicide wish keeps him from getting close to others, and it keeps getting thwarted. Shigaraki’s obsession with destruction and death is clearly not a good thing, and his rejection of his family’s desire for them to join him in death this past arc is growth.

In other words: what Dabi said and what Snatch said about families and how they feel matter for the villains too. The villains are their own weird found family (Dabi as the deadbeat prodigal brother of both his families). Their deaths--Magne’s and Twice’s thus far, and I’m not ruling out further deaths in the future--affect the others. People’s feelings on losing loved ones matter. The villains are people, as Himiko said herself this arc:

Their feelings about each other matter:

How would Touya dying affect the Todorokis? At least they saved him spiritually, I guess, but that’s absolutely lame narratively, and if you have Enji eventually do a sacrifice to save Dabi (pretty likely, even if I personally think Enji will survive said sacrifice) then what’s the point of Dabi dying? How would Himiko dying affect society? As a martyr like Curious wanted her to be, even a redeemed one? A tragic warning story? What even is the point of Ochaco saving her if that’s the case? If Shigaraki dies, well, who would mourn besides Deku? How would Shigaraki dying affect the surviving members of the league? He just couldn’t be saved physically? 

It’s not impossible some of this happens, but it doesn’t seem like great writing, especially with panels like, oh, these that show us BNHA’s perspective on death:

Sacrificing something is a type of death that occurs in stories; this should happen in a redemption arc, which is why I’ve been saying Enji needs to sacrifice his hero reputation to help save Touya and even then it’ll still be Shouto imo who does the saving. But physical death?

If you want further analysis of the latter two panels and how they relate to the ending, see here.

We already have another villain who will definitely die redemptively (Kurogiri--an adult coded character--because he’s already, like, dead), and Spinner and Mr. Compress aren’t coded as kids so I hold them with anxiety towards the end. But again, this isn’t me being ageist or saying this is the way things ought to be in fiction or real life: it’s me looking at writing tropes and saying that child-coded characters tend to survive their redemptions. See: Zuko. Why? Because the death of children or child-coded characters is a tragedy. When a child-coded character dies redemptively it doesn’t feel like a happy ending and if framed as such, it’s often criticized for bad writing (see: Ben Solo). Curious even called this out in her fight with Himiko. I would hope Horikoshi doesn’t end the story being like yeah Curious was right that’s the best use of Himiko’s/Dabi’s/Shigaraki’s arcs:

Additionally, as for the believability of a character getting a new chance after so much destruction and murder... well, it’s kinda a thing in shonen and even in seinen? For better or for worse, it’s a thing. We have Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z and Kaneki Ken in Tokyo Ghoul (Kaneki, by the way, is absolutely an inspiration for Shigaraki). We can debate how well-written these redemptions are (I personally have been quite critical of Kaneki’s despite wanting it to happen narratively), but it can be done. BNHA’s Japan especially isn’t as harsh a world as Tokyo Ghoul’s Japan, so it would make even more sense for something like Kaneki’s ending.

The reality is that the cycle of revenge via hurting people and then leaving hurting families and loved ones has to stop somewhere. Someone has to be the bigger person and step up and be like “naw.” That’s heroic. That’s brave. That’s sacrificial itself. Justice itself doesn’t really exist in its purest form without mercy.

There’s another genre-reason I don’t see death or jail as likely (I could see, like, maybe a mental health ward like Rei’s? But it’s too soon to speculate).

If saving is considered a good thing for the story, if it’s truly the highest ideal, then saving someone should be rewarded by the narrative. The characters who save should have a positive result to show us this a good thing.

This is why it doesn’t work for the heroes’ end journey to be accepting that some people cannot be saved. The notion of just accepting that you cannot do something, you cannot save everyone, you cannot, cannot, cannot, is called out as a flaw of society. Determination, on the other hand, is rewarded.

We see it with Deku as well as with Mirio.

So, what if they save them and the redeemed characters then go on to sacrifice themselves in their redemption and die (come to the same end)? If saving changes absolutely nothing for the saved person, if it’s too late for the saved from themselves to change and/or do anything that matters besides die, then the narrative theme of saving as important is left unemphasized at best and undermined at worst. Simple intrinsic knowledge that the kids “did the right thing” doesn’t cut it for a story with so much focus on physical saving when the kids are already doing the right thing; moral struggles about whether to choose to be good aren’t really Deku, Ochaco, or Shouto’s arcs. It works for Aizawa’s arc with Kurogiri, but not for the kiddos. If BNHA was more of a philosophical/spiritual text, that would indeed make sense, but it is not. Genre-wise, BNHA is a fantastical superhero optimistic story, not a gritty real-world set drama.

[phantomrose96]

New BNHA, new liveblog, 0 miles today because the gyms are all closed. this is weird for me.

REALLY loving each and every one of the hand-wavy reasons Horikoshi gives for “fuck it i just wanted Aizawa (or maybe Mirio?) to adopt a kid”

Aizawa: “Look, the hospital kicked her out, her parents are MIA, her grandpa’s in a coma, and it’s not like Mirio is doing anything right now.” Mirio: “Haha yeah :DD”

“We worked for like 15 episodes to steal her, you think we’d just, what, give her BACK? Finders fucking keepers, Midoriya.”

Sometimes a family is an out-of-commission 18 year old, a really tired teacher, a traumatized little girl, and the ugliest godDAMN sweater on the planet

Dats gay

I really like the Wild Wild Pussycats casual clothes???

Their whole aesthetic is Your Three Lesbian Aunts And One Gay Uncle Visiting For Thanksgiving

Kota has... Deku’s Shoes... thats real fucking cute

SPEAKING of cute: Ragdoll is an absolute gem and I wish there was more of her in the Training Camp arc she’s a real cutie

I’m glad we’re finally learning how rankings work, considering the very concept of the ranking system has been absolutely core to the series since Day 1. Like 90-something episodes in and Horikoshi is finally like “oh i should explain how that works”

I’m a big fan of how, whenever something Thematically Relevant to Todoroki is said, they just have to pan to his blank face, because it’s not like he’d ever. you know. participate in the conversation. not his style. we only get the Meaningful Panning Shot.

Is that

Is that a

Is that a washing machine?

Is the #8 hero a washing machine?

Never mind

Wait is THAT man just named Crust?? Poor bastard is the #6 hero and his hero name is crust.

Like I KNOW it’s a japanese show and they can’t know all the impli--but i mean, but i

“Most Underappreciated Part of a Pizza Hero: Crust”

oh HELL YEAH

OH HELL YEAH

also btw i really like Edgeshot’s voice. especially during the Kamino arc. it’s like, hypnotically chill

its him... finally... the bastard of lore.... i’ve heard whispers of this fucker

oh like he’s an ASSHOLE-ASSHOLE

“Who are you trying to make happy with that statement? Stain?” O H SO like he’s an A S S H O L E

Mirko: “You’re an asshole. ...I LIKE that” 

how quick i am to stan two separate characters within 30 seconds of meeting them

what arrogance. what audacity. what flippant fucking disregard. i’d like TWELVE of him please.

Hawks: -speaks- Me:

you know whats great? you know whats fantastic? his whole wing motif. because it doesn’t matter that Endeavor’s like 6′5″, Hawks can still float above him and condescend to him 

hes looking down his fucking nose at this man. ICONIC.

Hawks: “Just so everyone knows, I have a higher approval rating than Endeavor, and I have more fans, and my hair is way better than his. Anyway, you wanted to microphone, Bitch Boi?”

REALLY vibing with Hawks’ sarcasti-clapping of Endeavor’s speech to a completely silent audience

ASJSAHJAS, AN ICON. #1 HERO OF MY HEART, HAWKS

“Shame” as a quirk is a hilarious concept. And also how do you discover this? “Little Timmy’s fly was open at school and he promptly took out a wall”

and Hawks just fucking DECKS him from behind. LOVE the bait and switch of Shame-Man being important.

Endeavor: “Is he... is he dead?” Hawks: “Hot pot!! :DD”

The stupidest looking dog. i LOVE it

Just jumping in front of a truck for NO narrative reason other to have Hawks’ feathers save it

while hawks is STILL TALKING ABOUT FOOD

I MEAN BITCH SAME, BITCH RELATABLE, BUT LIKE

CHEEKY. love his stupid bits of English.

the autograph signing scene was basically just the Talent Show episode of Spongebob where Squidward and Spongebob do exactly the same thing, Spongebob being met with uproarious applause and Squidward being met with dead silence.

me buying shit in a craft store i cannot possibly need nor use, but it was shiny and only $5

Hawks calls Tokoyami “Tsukuyomi”?? am i missing something there or did he straight up get the name wrong?

Hawks: “I tried to scout your son but turns out he’s a failure. Runs in the family? :D”

85% of the reason I’m loving Hawks is because he’s JUST here to make Endeavor’s life harder, and that’s something I support every day of the week.

Hawks: “I just want to complain about how nothing happened today and then go to bed”

That one’s not a joke thats a direct fucking quote and WOW BITCH SAME

Endeavor: “how do you know about these Nomu rumors?” Hawks: “I’m a nosy bitch who loves gossip and can’t mind my own business? How would I not know about this???”

I understand this is a serious and dramatic screenshot, but also I’m too caught up in the notion that - when experiencing some strong emotion - Todo can’t help but just Light Himself A Little On Fire

Deku: “Good morning Todoroki! Are you ready for our English test today? :D” Shouto: -catches fire- Shouto: “...Our what”

Lunchrush: “Hey there, what can I get you?” Shouto: “The cold soba” Lunchrush: “All out of cold soba, sorry” Shouto: -catches fire- “That’s fine. Just the ramen then.”

Endeavor: “Hey.. son... Shouto... I’ve been thinking... With all the steps I’ve made to be a better hero, don’t you think maybe it’s time you forgive me?” Shouto: -actively on fire. 100% encased in flame- “Let me think about it.”

[adminbryantsaki]

Tick Tock

(Hello there, I’m back with the Bnharem’s collab. This month is a Soulmate’s AU. I picked Aizawa. And decided to throw Hizashi at him then throw them into a closet to see what the results are. I hope you enjoy what I put together for you all. I don’t own Shouta Aizawa/ Eraserhead or Hizashi Yamada/ Present Mic. Horikoshi Kohei does. Here is where you can read all the other stories and art done for this collab. And here is my own master list. The banner was made by @nocturnalazura. If this isn’t your cup of tea, blend of spices, or brew of coffee, move on.)

Tw: ABO, mentioning of a heat/rut cycle, mentioning of male pregnancy, slightly abusive household.

Wc: 3,683

Aizawa stared at the timer on his forearm. It read about a week left before he would meet his soulmate. He had the entrance exam to U.A in a week. Would he meet his soulmate then? He didn’t know and at the moment he didn’t really care. He heard his dad call him to come down for breakfast before he sent him off to go training. He didn’t want to go training. He wanted to lay in bed and not have anything to do and not have to go anywhere.

“Shouta! Time for breakfast!” His dad called from the base of the stairs. He groaned and slid out of his bed and stumbled into the bathroom to get changed and help his brain wake up a bit before he had to face his father. He looked at the little bright green and red moon on the underside of his left wrist. He was glad that it was still there. He noticed some music notes appear on his arm like on a music sheet. He was a little confused by it but waved it off as something his soulmate doing. He finished getting dressed and pulled on a hoodie to hide the writing on his arm. He walked downstairs where his family was sitting having breakfast.

“Good morning, Shouta. Did you sleep well?” His mom asked as he sat down at the table. “I slept fine.” He spoke as he served himself some eggs and miso soup. He ate in silence before his father lowered his newspaper and addressed him. “Son, did you see that other boy in your dreams again?” He asked with a hint of venom in his voice that his son’s soulmate was another male. Shouta remained silent and looked at the moon tattoo on the inside of his wrist.

“Well? Did you or not? Answer when you’re spoken to, Shouta.” His father said harshly.

“Yes, I saw him again. I see him every night, dad. You need to get used to the fact that my soulmate is another guy!” Shouta retorted.

“Finish your food and get to training. You have to be ready for your entrance exam into U.A.” His father spoke. Shouta remained silent and ate his breakfast. He finished quickly and put his dishes into the sink before he went downstairs and began to warm up. He focused on the days counting down to when he would meet his soulmate and he could get to be free from his family.

§§§§§

Across town, Hizashi was walking down the street to a café that he liked to spend his time after school. He would mostly do his studying there or write out a script for a potential talk show he wanted to have one day. He also likes to draw so he would take his sketchbook and doodle as he thought of ideas for the talk show. He was waiting for his drink since the café’s policy was that you needed to buy something off of their menu to be able to hang out there. Hizashi didn’t have the best relationship with his parents and he seemed like a quiet kid. This was all because of his quirk. His quirk was connected to his voice, and he had a hard time controlling it. He came out of the womb with his quirk in effect. His parents were wary of him growing up and being frustrated or angry. That’s when his voice would get out of control and people within range of him would get injured. He hated hurting people that he cared about so unless he was in his room or their basement that his parents had soundproofed, he remained quiet and hardly spoke in case his quirk activated. He doodled music notes on his arm, not knowing that his soulmate was seeing them. A waitress came over with his drink and he silently thanked them and covered the mark on his neck as he received his drink. The mark that he covered was the Greek letter Alpha. He didn’t want anyone to think that he or his soulmate was an Alpha. He took a sip of his drink and pulled his sketchbook out along with his pencil. He closed his eyes and began to draw.

§§§§§

After Shouta warmed up, he decided to go on a run. This helped him think and clear his mind after his dad upset him.

When his tattoo appeared on his wrist when he was about 10, he was confused and showed his parents. They told him that the moon meant his partner would be a Luna. He was lucky that his soulmate was a Luna as they were rare in the world. His father was just as confused as he was and asked what a Luna was as he had never heard of one. His father took him to a doctor to have it explained. The doctor explained that a Luna was like an Alpha but they were able to conceive and have a litter like some Betas and Omegas did. His dad let out a sigh of relief that day that his son would be able to produce an heir. What if he didn’t want kids? What would happen then? Shouta tried to shake the thoughts out of his mind as he ran around the block again before he went inside. He grabbed his wallet and left the house saying that he would be back by dinner. He walked to his favorite park where several cats he knew hung out there. He went to the swing set and sat lazily on one of the swings before an orange tabby cat came up to him and brushed up against his leg. He reached down and petted its head and smiled. “You’re lucky to be free and not be tied down by a stupid quirk and a greedy father.” He spoke. The cat meowed and sat down. He slid down from the swing and scratched the cat’s head which he got meows of approval. He stayed there with the cat for a little while before he got hungry. He went to the sandwich shop down the road that he had gone to before, unaware of the cat now following him. He entered the shop and noticed the cat trying to sneak in. He knelt down and addressed the cat. “You have to wait out here, baby. I’ll bring something out for you.” He told the cat. They stayed and he went inside. He came back out a few minutes later with a fish sandwich that he shared with the cat. He then walked around town just to kill time before it grew dark. That’s when he began to head home. He walked through the front door and went up to his room just before his mom called him down to wash up. He washed his hands then helped set the table and helped his mom bring food to the table before he sat down. His dad was either down in the den or at work. He hardly was around, and when he was, he would say something rude to either him or his mom. He thanked his mom for working so hard and served himself some of the food. He ate in silence before his mom spoke to him. “How was your day out, Shouta?” She asked as they ate. “It was good. I met a new cat in the park. They followed me to the sandwich shop and I fed them part of tuna sandwich before I just walked around town.” He said in a neutral tone before he took a drink of tea.

“That sounds like an eventful day.” She responded. Shouta nodded and finished his food. He put his plate in the sink before he went up to his room. He grabbed a washable marker and wrote something on his arm to his soulmate. “Hey. How was your day today?” He wrote. On Hizashi’s end, the words appeared on his forearm and he frantically looked around his general area to find some kind of pen or marker to respond. He found a marker and wrote back. “It was fine. Spent some time at a Café drawing. How was yours?” He responded. “My dad still doesn’t like that you’re a guy and that we see each other in our dreams every night.” “Don’t listen to him. We can be happy together when we meet. How long does your timer say?”

Aizawa pushed his sleeve up to see the timer now saying six days. “Six days and change. So, we meet sometime in the next week. I have the entrance exam to U.A. what about you?”

“I’m applying to go there too! I hope we both get in.”

“Me too. I’m going to try and get some sleep. I’ll see you in my dreams.”

“Ok. Sleep well, Shouta. I’ll be there soon.”

He smiled and got changed for bed. He then slid under his covers and closed his eyes. He went to the dreamscape where he typically saw Hizashi. He went about laying in a field of flowers where he would stay until Hizashi joined him. He looked up at the sky and saw that it was filled was with stars. He gazed at them for what felt like hours until he felt someone slide next to him. He looked over and saw Hizashi laying next to him. He smiled softly and held his hand.

“I missed you,” Aizawa spoke quietly. “I missed you too,” Hizashi responded. “Can we just lay here quietly?” He asked. The blonde nodded and he propped himself up on his elbow and ran his fingers through Aizawa’s hair. Shouta hummed and leaned into his touch. Hizashi rubbed circles on the base of his soulmate’s skull which earned him a satisfied groan. He stopped and pulled away as he was afraid that he had hurt him even in their dream realm. Shouta looked up at him confused. “Why’d you stop?” He asked. “I thought I hurt you.” “You didn’t, it felt good. Keep going, please.” Shouta told him. Hizashi sat up and crossed his legs in a sitting position. Shouta shifted so his head rested in his partner’s lap. Hizashi massaged his head until he dozed off and woke back up thanks to his alarm going off. He groaned and held his head. Waking up from the dreamscape like that usually left him in a bad mood and he had a headache. He looked at his phone and saw that it was Saturday. He could sleep in today. He slid back under the covers and went back to the dreamscape. He was lucky to find Hizashi still there looking a little bummed out. “Sorry about that, my alarm went off. I can sleep in today. That means we have more time together.” Shouta said with a soft smile. His partner grinned and hugged him. They laid out on the grass and relaxed. “When we meet in real life, can you do the head massaging thing on me?”

“Of course. I can’t wait to meet you.” He told him and ran his fingers through his soulmate’s hair. He hummed and eventually laid down next to him and held his hand.

“Goodnight, Shouta. I hope you have a good day.” He said before he closed his eyes. Shouta closed his eyes too and woke up to his alarm waking him up. He opened his eyes and pulled his blanket a little tighter before he got out of bed and packed a couple things before, he sneaked out his window and went down the street. He sat down on a bench while he waited for a bus. He pushed his sleeve up and grabbed a marker before he wrote something out on his arm. “I don’t think I can wait six days. I want to meet you now.”

“Aren’t we supposed to wait? What’s going on? Why do you want to rush your timer? Is it something with your dad again?”

“I’m tired of the routine. I want to meet you and spend time with you. It’s getting too hard to not be able to touch you and hold you close.” He wrote back and held his head in his hands. “I’d come to meet you but I have my last music class today. I’m sorry Shouta.” He wrote back. Shouta looked up as the bus pulled up. He got on and paid his fare. He didn’t care where he was going. He just wanted to be away from his parents and his house. He sat in the back of the bus and leaned back. He watched as a few more people boarded the bus and the bus began to drive off. He looked out the window and watched the buildings and landmarks go by. He rode on the bus for a couple of hours before he got off at the mall and spent the rest of the day there. He did catch the bus home knowing he would be scolded for leaving the house without a word. He snuck back into the house only to find his father sitting at the table.

“Shouta. Where have you been today?” He heard his father ask. “Out. I needed to get away from here.” He responded. “You could’ve at least checked in and told us you were alright. You had both me and your mother worried sick.” “I can understand why mom would be worried. But why you? Was it because I didn’t come down and have you give me some kind of training schedule that would take up my whole day? I just want to be a normal kid.” He spoke. “You aren’t normal, Shouta. You have a wonderful gift. Your mother and I want the best for you.” His father said. “Did you ever think that I want this? That I want to have to wear an eyepatch for weeks on end until I can control my quirk out of one eye? I’m tired of it! I want to have breaks! I want to be able to go out and have fun either on my own or be able to actually make friends, did you ever think of that? Do you even listen to my teachers when they’ve told you that I haven’t been able to make friends at school because they only want to be friends with me because of my quirk and that’s it!” He let out. “Go to your room.” His father said. “I plan to!” Shouta yelled before storming to his room and slamming the door shut. He changed into nightclothes and flopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling until he fell asleep and went into the dreamscape. He met again with Hizashi that night and he told him what had gone on between him and his dad earlier that evening. Hizashi listened and played with his soulmate’s hair as he talked.

“We have what? Five more days until we see each other? We can make it through this, Sho. Don’t worry. “Hizashi spoke and smiled. Shouta sighed and relaxed with his head in the blonde’s lap.

“I’ll do my best not to. I’m just glad we get to see each other every night… I have a question. If we weren’t soulmates... do you think we would be friends?” Shouta asked.

“Yeah! I think we would.” Hizashi responded and kissed his forehead. Shouta gave him a soft smile before drifting back to sleep.

§§§§§

The next five days went by quickly and soon it was the morning of the exam. Shouta grabbed his gym bag and ran downstairs to eat some breakfast before his mom would drop him off at the gate of U.A. He glanced down at his arm and the timer said about half an hour. He was excited and his dad could sense it. “What are you so excited about today?” He asked. “I’m excited for the exam dad,” Shouta responded as he ate his cereal.

“There’s something else. Are you going to meet your soulmate?” He asked. Shouta froze and looked up at him. “How did you know?” He asked. “I was the same way before I met your mother. Good luck on the exam son, I hope you make a good first encounter with your soulmate.” He spoke. Shouta thanked him and his mom drove him up to the gate. Shouta got out and checked his timer again. Only twenty more minutes before he would run into Hizashi. He felt butterflies in his stomach as he was both nervous and excited at the same time. He also had the feeling of wanting to puke his breakfast up. “Good luck, Honey. I’ll be back when the exam is over. Just text me and I’ll be here.” His mom said. He nodded and walked into the school. He was led to the gymnasium where they were given the introduction and rules to the exam. He swore he could feel his soulmate in the room. He pushed his sleeve back again and only fifteen minutes remained. He grabbed a pen and wrote something. “Where are you? I swear I can feel you in the room with me.”

“I don’t think I can see you. It's too dark in here. What training ground are you on?”

Shouta checked the little card he received when he was registered.

“I’m in B, what about you?”

“I’m in the same one. I guess we will see each other out there then?”

“Yeah. I’ve been waiting my whole life for this.”

“Me too.”

The instructions were given out and all of the students were told to get changed into whatever they were going to wear for the exam. Shouta got changed into his workout clothes and a basic form of a kind of scarf he used in his training to capture villains. He practically ran to the fake city where his soulmate, himself, and a few hundred other hopeful students were hoping to get into this school. He arrived along with a few others and looked around the small group trying to spot the blonde hair of his soulmate. He checked his timer again and only five minutes remained. He groaned and watched as other kids like himself arrived. He watched his timer count down and reach the last thirty seconds before he squatted down and watched the numbers tick down to zero. Someone was standing over him and he knew that the person standing behind him was his soulmate. His eyes widened and he stood up. “Hizashi?”

“Hi, Shouta. It’s nice to finally meet you in person.” He spoke.

Shouta slowly turned around and saw his face. He raised his hands shakily and cupped his face. He didn’t care if people were watching them. He let his bottled-up emotions pour out and hug his soulmate. “Hey, hey. I’m glad we could finally meet too. The exam is gonna start soon. “I know I just never thought I’d get to meet you, even if the timer ran out.” He told him. He pulled away and held Hizashi’s hands and looked into his eyes. He felt a weight lifted off his shoulders.

“You ready to go get into U.A.?” Shouta asked.

“You bet. Let’s do this!” Hizashi responded. §§§§§

After the exam was over, they were told that they would get letters in the mail in a few weeks as to if they got into the school or not. The pair were leaving the school when Shouta’s stomach growled. “Do you want to grab some lunch? I know a good place around here.” Hizashi suggested. “Sure. Let me text my mom.” Shouta responded as he pulled his phone out and told his mom that he was going to get some food with Hizashi and she responded wishing them to have a good time. They held hands going down the mountain and to a café where they got some food. They sat down in the café and talked for a bit. Shouta looked intensely at his soulmate. “Do you have a symbol somewhere on your body? I have a red and green crescent moon on my wrist. I’m guessing it means that you’re a Luna?” He asked.

“Yeah. I got a little ‘a’ on my neck. I was told that it means you’re an Alpha. I was told when I hit puberty and my dynamic manifested was that I’m a Luna. I don’t know if you looked it up or not but it’s a variant of an Alpha.” He explained. Shouta looked a little confused and leaned back. “So, you’re like me. But not?” “I have both a rut and a heat. So, in the future, I can have kids if we ever want any.” He spoke. Shouta blushed hard and hid his face. He then ate his food. Then they spent the rest of the day together. Shouta even got to spend the night at Hizashi’s place that night.

A few weeks later they both got their acceptance letters into U.A. The both of them celebrated by having a sleepover and then getting supplies that they would need in class. The day of them going to U.A. inched closer as they grew more in love. Shouta did spend one heat cycle with Hizashi before school started and he marked him. The mark appeared as a simple cat head.

They walked into school hand in hand. They were in for one hell of a life together.

The end.

[rosezure]

Todoroki Family - My Opinion

MANGA SPOILERS FOR BNHA/MHA ahead!

CW: parental neglect and abuse, anxiety, therapy, Touya Todoroki/Dabi, Enji Todoroki/Endeavor, spoilers, swearing (please remind me if I forgot anything).

Disclaimer: All of the information on the Todoroki family dynamics is based on my interpretation of what’s been (so far) revealed through the anime and manga. These are all just opinions, you are free to agree or disagree respectfully. I do not wish to invalidate anyone’s opinion. Family dynamics have always been a very sensitive and triggering subject to me, so I hope that you respect that if you wish to discuss this with me.I would like to give my own two cents on the Todoroki family situation. As someone that has dealt with abuse and neglect in a (slightly) similar way my whole life, this story hits very close to home. I will try to be as thorough and objective as possible. But, feel free to call me out (respectfully) if there is anything ambiguous or if problematic. Thank you.

I am going to focus on Touya/Dabi and Enji’s story. I do not know enough to talk about Rei’s role in all of this, so I will not mention her. But, I might update this as new chapters come out.

I will talk about Dabi’s early years by referring to him as Touya since that was his identity at the time. Any comments about him as an adult will be referring to him as Dabi.

I was a psychology student for about two years, and when we learned about child development, here is what I gathered:

When you are a child, all you want is to be loved, to be safe. This is essential to a child, as it is what develops them into a healthy and independent adult. And, this is especially important concerning parents or guardians. Effective parenting practices ensure that the child will have a better chance at developing according to their age and needs. This will grant the kids skills that they will use and perfect as they grow up. In other words, children that are well-taken care of have a higher chance of being strong, healthy, and emotionally developed adults.

When a parent or guardian is ignorant of how they can impact their child’s growth, it has many negative effects. In Touya’s case, Enji Todoroki was clueless. This does not mean Enji should not be held responsible just because he was ignorant. Enji knew he was not being the best parent, but he did not know how exactly. And, at the time he was blinded by his greed and ambition, so he would not have been paying attention to that. Even so, (personally) I do not think parents are afforded the luxury of ignoring their bad parenting if they are made aware of it. They are responsible for another human’s life and growth. They should be held accountable if the child develops issues and hurts themselves or even others.

With that being said, Enji Todoroki was a horrible but clueless parent. From what I have understood from the manga and the anime, at first, he had no idea why Shoto was so "rebellious" (in his opinion). He also seemed to not understand Natsuo and Fuyumi. So I am led to believe that he was, at the time, oblivious to how much he negatively impacted Touya. 

Touya just wanted his father’s affection. If that meant grueling training and preparing to become a hero to defeat All Might, then so be it. It was the attention and affection he knew. He was not led to believe otherwise. Touya's sole positive interactions came from him showing he could fulfill his father’s sick dream. In a child’s mind, that was the only way to secure parental love and approval: To train as hard as possible and become what his father so desperately wished for.

Then his hair started turning white. He started getting injured because of his quirk. His only source of positive attention, his only hope for affection, was killing him. And it had to be stopped. I am sure in Touya’s mind, this meant he would not be loved anymore. 

And then Enji stopped training him. Natsuo was born. Shoto was born. And Touya felt that his source of love was directed to that baby. The baby that Enji saw as a success. Enji made Touya feel like a failure, a broken toy. And he was being replaced by a newer, shinier one: His brother.

When he tries to attack Shoto, he is trying to take back his place. Touya was trying to gain back his father’s love and attention.

Enji wanted to prevent Touya from hurting himself more. But he failed to communicate that. Instead, his words made it seem like his plan was foiled. Touya wasn’t enough, so Enji’s chance of using him to end All Might vanished. Touya wasn’t what Enji needed anymore.

Touya’s world didn’t collapse all at once. It didn’t even crack all at once. From what I understood, it was a collection of hairline fractures that never healed. It was a dislocated shoulder that was never put back in its place and was left to hang. It was a pounding headache that only grew more and more painful over time. 

When Dabi was born, Touya had been buried in bruises, paper cuts, minor broken bones, chronic illnesses. Touya was killed by exhaustion and pain. He didn’t die at one point, he was dying all along. 

As someone who suffers from chronic issues, I know that the somatization of symptoms and other sources of pain can turn a simple illness into something much more serious. Think of it as a butterfly effect, but all inside one person: Every single negative experience, from both outer and inner sources, all summed and turned into one massive festering wound. 

Touya’s mind was a living open wound, it seems.

So Dabi was born. To seal the wound shut. Clean it? No. Protect it? Maybe.

But this particular type of wound (the psychological, emotional one) if left untreated can become infected. And infected wounds are harder and more painful to clean and treat. 

Dabi’s mind is a bandaid over an infected wound. It seems objectively okay, maybe even sane. But he’s clearly in pain. He’s not in his right mind. His decisions all stem from the pure rage and anger of a child that was abandoned. 

What chapter 300 brought was the perspective of a child that just wanted to be loved. That's all he wanted. And the only love he knew was when Enji Todoroki trained with him, no matter how gruesome and painful it must've been.

I'm gonna briefly and superficially compare his situation to mine. Of course, I didn’t suffer half of the pain he did, and I won't go into any detail as to not trigger myself. But, I only got attention when I was either extremely sick or I was needed as a trophy child of some sort. Even then, if I was ill, the attention I got was so I could get well soon and go back to being "useful". I was an extension of them, at best. But I still craved their attention. I still do in a way to this very day. It's not something that just goes away once you realize how toxic and abusive it is.

No matter how much pain I’m in, no matter how love-starved I am, I still want their approval. Inside me, there’s still a scared child, crying out for her parents to love her. That child is now my responsibility. I have to give her love, nurture her so she can grow with me.

Does that make sense?

I have no idea how Dabi is feeling. And I don’t think we’ll ever truly know. He is fictional, after all, and there’s no telling if Horikoshi will be delving into that.

But maybe Touya is still inside Dabi, crying, screaming to be loved. And Dabi is trying his best to tend to that child, but he never truly grew up to know how to take care of another being. Dabi doesn’t know how to take care of himself emotionally. 

I’m learning because I, thankfully, have access to therapy. But it hurts. It hurts to realize the ones that were meant to take care of you, didn’t. It hurts to look into yourself and see a shaking, teary-eyed child begging for crumbs of love.

Now, with the whole "redemption" thing being debated, here's my own personal opinion. You don't have to agree, and I'm not asking you to. Again, this is just how I view it. As a survivor, I'd be relieved to see my parents try. The damage is done, true. I'll never regain my childhood. I'll never have what people with different, better, parents have. The past can't be reversed. And I'm seeing it repeat itself with my little brother. But, if there's a minimal chance that my parents can own up to what they did, that they open themselves up to changing their behavior and learning, then maybe we can build something new.

Build. Not rebuild. The foundation of our past relationship was rotten from the beginning. A new one must be built. A new foundation must be developed if we ever hope to make something of our relationship.

If the Todorokis, really want to reconcile, reconnect, rebuild, then they must start from scratch. If Enji Todoroki wants that, he’s gonna have to start from zero, from nothing. And I'm not entirely sure if Endeavor is doing that, but he is trying, somehow. We don't know for sure if he even has the emotional skills to do so. We can't say for sure that he's got what it takes to man up, own up and learn. But, he seems to be trying.

And that's something I've accepted I'll never have.

So if there's at least a 1% chance that he is truly trying, that Enji wants to redeem himself, then let him. Let their family try and heal together if that's what they want.

I'm not sure about the Japanese culture when it comes to family. But where I come from, a family is an important base of our personal and social development, to the point that reconciliation more often than not is the best route.

Still, I know it's not for everyone. So I respect you if you believe he doesn't deserve a chance. I understand if you say Enji Todoroki should be kept far away from his family. You're right, and you're valid.

But, please, please, if the author decides that he redeems himself and does try his best to start a new relationship with his family, let him. Let them heal. Together. Let them try and make up for the lost time in the best way in the present. Let them rebuild.

I know I'd give anything to rebuild my family.

Let Touya be healed and put Dabi to rest. Touya needs to be loved, he needs to be taken care of like he never was as a child. Dabi needs to be told he tried. He needs to be told he did what he could. 

But Dabi is also an adult now. He’s got legal responsibilities. The pain and devastation he’s caused and helped cause can’t be overlooked. He needs help, but he also had to be held accountable. 

Touya/Dabi needs to face himself and start over. He needs to face the man he’s become and at the same time take care of the child he wasn’t able to be. 

If the Todoroki family is reconciled, I dearly hope he gets to be a part of this new book. Not a new chapter, they need to throw that whole book away and start a new one. And, if possible, I’d love to see someone like me get the ending I won’t be getting. 

I hope this made some sense at least. Again, if anything is unclear, ambiguous, or problematic, let me know and I’ll do my best to correct or remove the bad parts. If you’ve read this far, thank you. If you share a similar experience, I’m sorry, and I’m here for you. 

[trulyhumblenarcissist]

Thoughts about OFA and AFO

DEKU'S ROLE

After reading the official translation of chapter 304, things started to settle a lil bit better. My thoughts about Deku being the perfect vessel for OFA are still not positive, because I don't really see the need to impose this element on the narration. Yes, it's interesting to note that Deku is going to be the last user of OFA, but Horikoshi could've made this a fact even without transforming him into the perfect wielder by definition. OFA is a deeply problematic power after all... It literally sucks the life out of its user and requires a lot of training to be employed without risks. It was cultivated with the sole purpose of defeating AFO, which is coincidentally responsible of its creation. A power birthed by the personification of evil, that can easily kill its owner and carries multiple personalities within itself. I don't really see what's so beautiful or desirable about it. It's almost a parasitic entity that wants to destroy its swore enemy at all costs. OFA is more of a burden than a blessing, it even forced the fourth to live in hiding (he was already an ermit, but he had to make sure AFO didn't find him so he completely left all civilization) and literally cracked his body until he died of old age at 40!

So, I think it's perfectly legit to wish for the end of OFA's legacy. If Deku defeats AFO, there's no need for such an insanely powerful weapon to exist. Once it extinguishes its purpose, it has to disappear, because it's too dangerous and too difficult too control.

I find a wasted opportunity stating that Deku will be that last user only because he was born quirkless. It'd have been way more interesting if Deku himself understood the implications of such power and by his own free will decided to put an end to this cycle of violence.

The premise of the main fight in my hero academia is basically a feud between brothers, a family affair, that has been blown out of proportion by the mere existence of quirks/super powers. Two people didn't get along and literally made the whole japan their playground... It's not fair for all the generations that got involved and apparently Deku is the symbol of the "new" that needs to adjust the "old" way of things. However, if Deku is still so linked to the past, mainly because he has multiple past users within his consciousness that constantly tell him what to do, I don't really see how he's going to take his own path, to actually embrace his own agency. Nana's request to kill Shigaraki is probably a way to show us (the readers) where Deku wants to take all this. He's not capable of just go and kill Shigaraki and he also apparently decided to "save" him. So, I think the point will be to "kill Shigaraki Tomura" while "saving Tenko Shimura". I don't know if Deku, as he is right now, can accomplish such a thing, but we'll see.

SHIGARAKI AND AFO

There are still a lot of things that cannot be easily explained, especially if we think about Shigaraki and AFO's encounter.

Is it really plausible that AFO just happened to find Nana's nephew wandering the streets after he killed his whole family? Isn't it too convenient that AFO managed to get his hands on the perfect child to exploit and manipulate, a child with the most useful family background and trauma? Even if I think it's possible this is another parallel between Deku and Shigaraki, as they apparently are just born for their respective role and have been chosen by faith, I still don't see how AFO's actions can be ruled as a simple struck of luck. He's canonically a master manipulator after all, and he had to chose the next vessel for not only his power, but his concience too.

So I think he knew Nana abandoned her son. He observed the family for a long time and he probably had something to do with the sudden awakening of Tenko's power. The boy was five, a little older than any child with a manifesting quirk and this fact alone is suspicious. I will not be surprised if AFO actually gave him his power (remember the suit-guy who accompanied Tenko home?) and stirred the pot waiting for the tragedy to unfold.

At this point in the story Shigaraki is already not so fond of his master anymore. He knows he has been used and he doesn't like this situation at all. He wants to be free and in control of his own actions, but he knows his body is still recovering and he can't do much to oppose AFO's will. I wonder what would happen if Shigaraki knew AFO was partially responsible of his past suffering... That would probably be the drop that breaks the camel back for their struggling relationship.

This could lead to a team up between heros and villains to defeat AFO, but still Deku has to deal with Shigaraki himself too, sooner or later.

THE VESSELS

Everyone is speculating about 2nd and 3rd user, aka the time out boys. Some theories intrigue me more than others, but I want to say this right now: if the time travel bullshit turns out to be true and the two guys are actually Bakugou and Kirishima from the future I will seriously drop this manga. Time travel is tricky to deal with per se, but if you try to trivialize it to make it suitable for a shonen manga which is already full to the brim, it's basically the recipe for a disaster. I will not talk about this, but there is one theory that picked my interest:

All Might said OFA cannot be taken by force, but it can be given without the consent of the receiving part.

So what if the 2nd user gave the power to the 3rd without his approval, condemning him to a life of running and fighting against an insuperable evil force?

This could explain why they are facing the wall and aren't partecipating to the meeting. The 2nd is shunned by the others for his actions and the 3rd just doesn't want to have anything to do with OFA and AFO. He couldn't chose in life, but he can chose now not to take part to this.

Another possibility I think could be fun is:

What if one of the anonymous vestiges (probably the bakugou look alike) is a fragment of AFO's consciousness?

We know AFO gave the stockpiling quirk to his brother and we also know AFO's quirk is the capability of taking and landing quirks as he sees fit. When Tomura got the original AFO quirk, his master's personality came with it. I know it might be far fetched, but since AFO gave his brother the stockpiling quirk, it's possible a fragment of his own personality came with it.

This is actually the hypothesis that convince me more:

One of the vestiges might be the residual personality of the stockpiling quirk original owner

Presumably AFO took the stockpiling quirk from someone else... So when he gave it to his brother, the consciousness of its past user was left attached to it.

So that's everything from now. Feel free to interact, I'm all about conspiracy theories and confrontation

[collisiondiscourse]

Bakugou and Deku's teamwork is definitely an example of "stronger than the sum of its parts". I think they were always destined to be unstoppable when together.

ur right and u should say it!! people dont talk enough about how much they are quite literally more powerful together. BNHA has shown us MANY many times that they are so much more powerful when they fight as one, the best example i can think of being heroes rising. Although the movie itself isnt canon, its been approved and overseen by horikoshi, pointing to signs that say that if that situation DID theoretically happen in canon, it would go down exactly like that and prove that bakugou and deku can achieve great things when they fight side by side. (whats more is that that kind of dynamic between them existed even BEFORE they mended their relationship and became friends again. i wonder how itll look like when theyve trained together and finally understand each other?)

[dreamersleeps]

So, as someone whose father is very similar to Endeavor, I've never understood the notion that Horikoshi is trying to whitewash or excuse his abuse by giving him a character arc. Abusers are awful people, but it's not often that they're one-dimensional villains. Nobody ever talks about how confusing it is when your abuser wakes up and sees the damage they've caused, much less when they clumsily try to make ammends. It seems fans would rather it all be simple, when it's anything but in reality

/2 Are there ways it can be handled better? Of course. But a writer making an effort to explore the complexities of abuse through all its angels is far from abuse apology. It’s much more respectful (imo) to treat the situation like the confusing, complicated mess it is in reality, rather than reduce it to some simple cartoonishly evil bullshit that either limits the survivors of his abuse to being lifelong victims, or enables the continued abuse perpetuated by a former victim (i.e., Dabi)

Hello, I’d like to thank you for sharing your thoughts and opinions. I was actually surprised to open up Tumblr to see your messages in my inbox. I spent the past couple of days sitting on and thinking about it. I’m not sure if you were asking for my thoughts and opinions, but I’ve finally sat down and written my response. It’s late at night so I apologize if there are any statements below that are poorly worded or expressed. 

As you express, it’s a very complicated topic as a whole, because Endeavor, or Todoroki Enji is a complicated character. 

I can not and will not claim that I understand abuse like those who have experienced it. Additionally, It’s not in my place to tell people how to feel or think. However in response to what you shared, I will give some of my thoughts as a reader and fan of BNHA on the topics surrounding Endeavor. (Btw to the anon: some of what I have to say below will be my general opinions about the topic as a whole.)

When I try to write meta and other analysis pieces, I try my best to go back to the manga and base my analysis and arguments on the (official) translations instead of my opinions and thoughts from the beginning. I sometimes have to go back and re-read chapters to remind myself what is “canon” and then try to understand and express my interpretations on the matter. This is not to talk down on those who do not do this: this is just something I do for myself. I am most definitely influenced greatly by what others have to say but I also want to figure out my own interpretation of the story and characters.  

So, as someone whose father is very similar to Endeavor, I’ve never understood the notion that Horikoshi is trying to whitewash or excuse his abuse by giving him a character arc. 

I personally never really saw it as Horikoshi trying to excuse Endeavor’s abuse by giving him a character arc as well. As many others have stated, I don’t see it as a “redemption arc,” because it isn’t. 

I think that we all have to remember the diversity of the fans and readers of this and other fandoms. There are those who can personally relate to or understand what the Todoroki family has gone through, and others who are unable to. Those who are unable to fully understand certain experiences but can sympathize with the characters however even then, this lack of knowledge or exposure to the topic has led to people accidently expressing opinions that hurt or offended others. Additionally, based on what I’ve seen and read on Tumblr, there is quite a wide range of differing viewpoints from those those who can relate to the experiences of the Todoroki family.

Abusers are awful people, but it’s not often that they’re one-dimensional villains. Nobody ever talks about how confusing it is when your abuser wakes up and sees the damage they’ve caused, much less when they clumsily try to make amends. It seems fans would rather it all be simple, when it’s anything but in reality.

Abuse is complex. There is a very wide range of complicated feelings, emotions, thoughts and opinions that surround it. Everyone has a reason as to why they feel or think the way they do. Because we all have had different experiences and reactions to the events of our lives, we can not expect everyone to think similarly. 

Given that BNHA or shounen manga in general is catered towards a younger audience (compared to, lets say seinen manga) and Horikoshi is working with topics that are difficult to read or understand even for adults, I’d argue that part of the discourse may result from that. 

It seems like when we say that we like a certain character, people tend to automatically assume then that we approve of what they stand for and what they’ve done. I first watched the first two seasons of BNHA before I began reading it. I absolutely hated Endeavor in the beginning, however after I caught up in the manga and began to follow the chapter releases each week, ultimately the characters that really pulled me in to the story was Endeavor, Hawks, and Bakugou, arguably some of the most controversial characters of the series. 

Are there ways it could be handled better? Of course. But a writer making an effort to explore the complexities of abuse through all its angles is far from abuse apology. It’s much more respectful (imo) to treat the situation like the confusing, complicated mess it is in reality, rather than reduce it to some simple cartoonishly evil bullshit that either limits the survivors of his abuse to being lifelong victims, or enables the continued abuse perpetuated by a former victim (i.e Dabi) 

What truly drew me in was the complexities that came with their characters. I haven’t personally experienced abuse however I have lived through other experiences to recognize in my own understanding that life is both so negatively and positively complicated, confusing and messy. Some people want to see Endeavor fall, and others hope to see him actually change. These wishes are shaped by what we’ve seen or experienced throughout life. 

We like simple, clear cut, perhaps one dimensional characters because it’s easier to form an opinion about them. It seems like we struggle with characters like Endeavor and others because we are sometimes faced with the contradicting collision of our own thoughts, morals and beliefs with the actions and story of these characters. 

For some reason a lot of my analysis posts have revolved around Endeavor, Hawks, and Dabi and if anyone is interested, I personally believe that as much as we may love a character, whoever it may be, actions should and will be met with consequences. Tragedy does not excuse one’s actions. They may explain one’s actions but we are responsible for and should be held accountable for the consequences that result from it.  

If anyone was thinking it, this all does not mean that I think Horikoshi should be exempt from critique. And as you ask and answer, “Are there ways it could be handled better? Of course.” Additionally as I have written on the top of my blog, 

There will be posts found here that you may not agree with, however different perspectives are what keeps the meta conversation going. 

I think that many of us would prefer it if people would refrain from accusing, insulting or bullying Horikoshi and other fans because of their thoughts and opinions. Although it is understandable that it is difficult when we respond to the story and others emotionally, taking part in these types of activities is not the same as critiquing something. 

Boku no Hero Academia is still an ongoing manga. We get one chapter every one or two weeks at a time and so we only get little snippets of the full story. Based on new info and what we’ve read in past chapters, we make predictions, assumptions and have expectations about the future. However, I think that we all have to remember that the story of Enji, Rei, Touya, Fuyumi, Natsuo and Shouto is not complete yet. We are still in the midst of an unfolding narrative that Horikoshi is working closely with to present his readers. 

[popcorn-hero]

The Tales of the Todorokis

Acknowledging character development and writing character development is not and making excuses for ones crimes.

Disclaimer: I read, I interpret, I express. This is a long post filled with images. Also probably some horrible grammar

Apologizing: Apologizing is  acknowledging ones faults and vowing to never commit the same mistakes. What has happened has happened. Nothing can change the past or the effect it had. What you do now, does not change or erase the past, but it helps guide a path of healing for the future. It can be the start of change and morphing into a better person. BUT, only if that person truly means it.

Apologies is not making an excuse for yourself.

Forgiveness: Forgiveness can be rightfully given, or not. It can be a tricky thing to understand at times. Forgiveness doesn’t remove the pain. Forgiveness doesn’t erase the memories. But for some people, forgiveness is a key to freedom, for inner peace. For other people, forgiveness doesn’t offer them that, and that's fine too.

We are not monoliths, we are individual people, with individual brains, with individual emotions, with experiences that affects us as individuals. Our stories might overlap - they might even be identical, but how we process it may not be.

I don’t like this narrative I’ve been seeing recently in the fandom of Horikoshi being an abuse apologist. I think Horikoshi is challenging us and its working. 

The Tales of the Todoroki’s: Enji, Rei, Touya, Fuyumi, Natsuo, Shoto

6 people

6 perspectives

6 stories

1 truth

Each viewpoint and each experience from everyone is very important in putting the pieces together (yes, even Enji). In fact, I think it was important to have Enjis viewpoint to the situation because it was such a contrast to what we’ve heard and seen from everyone else. In Enjis mind, he truly thought everyone was complaisant. He saw nothing wrong with attempting to live vicariously through his kids. In the same breath he expresses contempt for this children, its also laced with disappointment

He speaks of Rei as though she was consensual, but we know he essentially used her a valuable Mare and hurt her as well.

His treatment of Rei cannot be erased, justified, or forgotten. It happened. We as the audience are suppose to carry that in our minds because we are reading a story about Heroes. This challenges us to understand that heroic actions is not what a hero makes.

There are cops who (most of them tbh) that become cops simply for the power dynamic, not because they desire to protect. A lot of cops abuse their spouse.

 Rei: We are only introduced to her through the lowest point of her life and we have no insight on how Enji acquired her (yeah that sound harsh, but isn’t that what happened) nor her domestic life with him. What we know of her are scenes of her pain, and I think thats relevant enough. She may have had some “good” moments out of her situation, but she was still a mouse trapped in a lions den. Good days do not erase her state. Thats why this panel, was so odd to me 

Because it implies that Rei was complicit in having kids even though we as the audience understand that he basically brought her for that single purpose. Now note, this is coming from Enjs mouth, not hers so I can’t sit her be like “oh yeah she was fine with everything”

To me, this is simply Enjis projection because what was Rei honestly going to do? Say no? But who’s to say that she didn’t want Touya to be lonely? Idk, that panel was too wishy washy for me.

Moving on

She replies to Natsuo by saying that's not true

Its not in his defense like how Natsuo claimed. Rei never states that she forgives him, and we can see she is still on her journey of healing when she mentions shes still a bit scared of him. However, she acknowledges his acts as stepping stone for his own path of atonement.

If she does come to forgive him later in the story, thats her decision (Horikoshi actually lol). If she doesn’t, that her decision. 

Natsuo: 

The only insight from Natsuo is his resentment towards his father with what happened to Touya and the hurt of their mother. It is revealed later that Natsuo was Touya confidant in the house (I’ll get into that when I talk about Touya).

But He doesn’t forgive him....or hes not at that stage yet

When endeavor saves him from the villain, we are able to see Natsuos raw thoughts:

He’s conflicted: He wants to maintain the peace, but he can’t deny how he feels.

Natsuo felt like he had to compromise his feelings, and that shouldn’t be fair. Even thought he is the middle child, I feel like he took on the presence of the big brother and wanted to protect his siblings. But when you have a man like Enji as your father and you know how he is.....standing up to him as a child is terrifying

So when Enji says this

I’m like: DUH! Of course he would feel like that

But I’m taking this scene has Enji recognizing how he made Natsuo feel as a child which showcases. he owns up to the fact that he pushed Touya to the edge.

Yet with all that said, hes not suppose to forget. Hes not suppose to suppress how he feels. And even at his age, that child inside him still hurt and was never offered a chance to properly heal. I know what that feels like.

Natsuo must figure out what he needs to do to find peace - however that may be.

Fuyumi :

We don’t have much insight to Fuyumi and I’m sure  her experience is completely different from her brothers. One, because she was a girl and Enji is misogynistic, I doubt he gave her any type of attention as a father figure especially since she only inherited her moms quirk. I don’t recall  signs of physically abuse on Fuyumi and (Natsuo), but there probably was demeaning behavior at some point. Just being in that environment and seeing their sibling subjected to that, negatively impact her however 

But with Fuyumi, she is trying to move on

I think Fuyumi is on her path of forgiving her father -  thats her choice to make to find peace for her experience.  After expressing her desire  to move on as a family, she ask Shoto how he feels....

Oh my sweet prince Shoto: 

Shoto has a lot of baggage and being one of the main protagonist, we get a more in depth experience on his relationship with is father. I’m not going to go into too much detail because we all know he detested his father. I’m mainly going to focus on this middle ground that I find him at.

In the panels above he mentions having grudges and how it clouds the mind. Thats a toxic feeling to carry with you, especially when you’re trying to be a hero. He recognized that, and he’s been working on fixing that. Even his mother had to forgive herself towards what she did to him.

Shoto is not here to forgive Enji, hes here to forgive himself

What I mean by that is the fact that Shoto experienced self-hate. He hated a part of who was, how he looked, where he came from.  He had no control of his childhood, but he now has control of his future. At the sports festival, that was Shotos first step towards finding his healing. It wasn’t about Enji apologizing to him. It was about him.

And now look at him, he’s more social, more expressive, more powerful once he began to love himself. He got there on his own and with the support of his friends.

It doesn’t change what happened to him, and it doesn’t erase his feelings However, it gave him control over himself.

This is almost the same position Natsuo is in. He hasn’t seen anything (yet) for himself that warrants him to forgive his father. Maybe we will see it in these later chapters... maybe we wont.

Thats his decision

And last: Touya

Touya, touya, touya touya......

I honestly don’t know how to tackle his situation, but shoot me

From this memory (by Enji), Touya appears...enthusiastic. He appeared that he wanted to train with his father. 

And I think this is where things went wrong in his rearing. He was GROOMED .

Enji, being who he was, probably placed the ideas in Touya head of great success, importance, power, fame, ect. These things sound good to a child, and being the only child at the time, he had all his fathers attention. But as he got older and his quirk became incompatible, things started change.

Even before his quirk no longer became compatible for him, Enji still didn't see Touya as his ideal child, but he accepted it. Touya looks to be about 6 here meaning Shoto wasnt born yet or an infant.

 Going by the ages given for Shoto, Fuyumi, and Natsuo I’m going to state that 

Touya was 13 when he staged his death

Fuyumi was 11, Natsuo was 8, and Shoto was 5 and thats when we are introduced into in abuse.

So there is a 8 year window between Touya shift in his relationship with his father and the start of Shoto gaining his quirk.

That is a missing puzzle piece, and I can only speculate what happened in that time period to drive Touya to his mental breaking point and what his father did or, didn’t do for him.

Here, there is more white in his hair and he looks to be maybe 10? And this is when he starts to question his existence.

I can’t say all that Touya went through from the time Shoto was born to his faked death. 

I think Touya suffered from feeling abandoned by his father father, the feelings of being a failure because of these ideals of greatness only to be sideline. That he was just a placeholder like the rest of his sibling and not worthy to work along his fathers side.

I don’t think he faced the same treatment from his father as Shoto did.  I think he became blinded by approval and pushed himself to his limits to compete for Enji attention, He probably developed depression, anxiety, and a lot stressors as he became more and more incompatible with his quirk

And I think thats why there is the hate for Shoto because he feels like he took away his purpose ( which has nothing to do with Shoto but everything to do with Enjis grooming)

We know Touya is absolutely not on the scale of ever forgiving his father for what he did. For him to sit there and watch his father on TV and proclaim to be a hero when he knew what went on behind closed doors, it can drive him towards wanting to retaliate. 

His story showcases damages of a broken child. Where Shouto found liberation, Touya remained bound to the ambers Enji left on his worth and lies on being a hero.

Not everything can be fixed, and once a crack forms, it will continue to spread until it shatters.

In conclusion

The Tale of The Todorokis is not to serve as excusing abuse. Its a showcase of how 1 man can affect the lives of many people in different ways. It is a tale of moving forward, finding peace, and gaining control over your own person. 

Enji knows he can’t snap his figures and all will be well.  Though I think some actions he could have done was to take it upon himself to address the country, come clean,  and maybe retire as a hero, but he’s not a perfect character.

But I’ll take what I can get. Enji knows his place, he knows what he has done.

Happiness to his family is absence

Its there space

And there nothing more better he can do than that.