#so even in a universe were afo technically breaks his brother

[dodecatemoria]

whenever I think about what it would be like if yoichi joined afo, I always end up with the same concept where he eventually caves in after a couple years in the Torture Cube that is the vault (whether he's able to pass on ofa before all that is up for debate) and like. yeah he'll do villian things and murder people but afo generally likes to give him easy, insignificant jobs that any semi competent person can do. so he usually doesn't get to do any real action and is mostly relegated to making sure one of afo's many money laundering businesses are running okay or whatever kind of white collar crime afo has going on. so he constantly feels belittled, sheltered, devoid of purpose, etc., and the vault didn't even completely kill off his morals so there's just this constant pervading sense of guilt with everything he does. no matter what, there's always this nagging sensation of defeat and shame at every waking moment. but he can't even rebel bc at this point he's so afraid of going back to the vault that he'll do anything to stay out, so he's stuck living an intensely miserable life while trapped with his brother lol

[fallenhound]

IZUKU’S SECRET QUIRK THEORY

Right, I have had this spinning in my head for a few weeks now and just had to put it down somewhere.

Disclaimers: This theory is reliant on:

A) Midoriya Hisashi being All for One

B) The toe joint identifier being discovered or a trait of the later generations of quirks users, i.e some first gen users possessing it, a larger amount in the 2nd, and by the 4th gen every quirk user has it.

This is where the theory begins

1) Dependant quirks

The core application of AFO & the First’s quirks are essentially genetic manipulation through transfer, the most important part of this being the process of transfer.

However, the difference between the brothers is that AFO’s quirk is capable of two-way transfer, whereas First’s is only capable of one-way. This difference is what make’s the First’s quirk undetectable in the first place (if the toe-joint connection wasn’t known), whereas AFO (the quirk) was essentially ‘Give and Take’, First’s quirk was only ‘Give’. The problem being that he had no other quirks to give.

Presumably if both brothers are capable of possessing multiple quirks then they share the same tolerance for quirk load - they don’t receive brain damage - and this must be a secondary mutation of their quirks (e.g. Stain’s blood paralysis coming with and extendable tongue and Kouda’s ‘rock-head’ even though his quirk is talking to animals.) that would be present in their descendants.

This is where Izuku being AFO’s some becomes important. If we assume that Dad For One is true, that the toe-joint only became a global mutation in one of the later generations and that Izuku does have a hidden quirk, he would then technically be 2nd gen quirk user, so he could both posses a quirk and have the joint.

My theory on Izuku’s quirk is that it’s something I’ve dubbed ‘Arsenal’ - the power to possess and have full access to multiple quirks. Where his father could take, hold and give, and his uncle could hold and give, Izuku is only capable of holding. A quirk that cannot be activated by itself given that it requires a form of Transfer, but it would explain the following points:

2) The Point of Singularity

First’s speech to Izuku in Ch. 193

The most important part of this speech to me is the “long since passed the point of singularity”, because when you consider the time frame; Izuku has in no way posted OFA long enough to contribute an amount of energy to it that would have ‘long since passed’ the point.

So when we consider this, it was not Izuku who passed the singularity, so why does he have access to the quirks of the previous users. What makes him different?

I theorise that the quirk was always capable of granting its users the quirks of its previous users, but it was missing a key component that would have allowed it to do so. Said component being Arsenal’s ability of full access. Full access is essentially what it sounds like, upon intake of a new quirk it allows total usage of it, though not control. This would explain why Izuku was able to use 100% of OFA immediately after receiving it. The reasons I believe this are:

A) The ‘Limb Explosion’

I view the ‘limb explosion’ warning from All Might as a slight continuity error. That it does cause damage if the quirk is used in an area of the body that is already damaged (AM’s frail arms at Kamino.) but given Izuku having competed his training and it seeming like his body didn’t develope that greatly after the exam, the self-damage aspect of the quirk seems like something the writers choose to include when we’re they want.

Also consider that if OFA is powerful enough that AM with the embers of the quirk can cause a tornado with a punch, how likely is it that OFA users were capable of breaking limbs as early as the Third, and if they were, how many users had access to a healing quirk to repair the damage - I believe it is mentioned in-universe that they are rare, so it’s unlikely that they all had access to one.

I think that it’s mentioned the only way to master control of OFA is to keep using it until your body adapts to no longer breaking - that’s not how biology works. (Case in point: Izuku breaking his fingers to launch air blasts at the sports festival, however when he does this after the overhaul arc it only causes slight pain - this is because when now has access to 20% of OFA, which doesn’t make sense - unless the quirk is sentient and choosing not to Inuit it’s weilder now.)

B) Full Cowling

Full cowling is introduced as a way for Izuku to use his quirk without causing damage to himself, the continuity error here continues on from the ‘limb-explosion’.

Considering that both AM never had a problem with controlling OFA (he wasn’t breaking his bones every time) we could presume this is either due to natural aptitude or because using a larger amount of energy in the quirk takes time and training to access.

Full Cowl was something Izuku created by himself because he had problems with energy output, he wasn’t taugh it by AM. So if we presume that AM and all previous users didn’t have the same problem (they never had to develop their own versions of FC) the question once again becomes what makes Izuku different?

If he does posses a hidden quirk like ‘Arsenal’ which have him ‘full access’, this would explain it. OFA is a reservoir of energy, that is what the quirk does - it stores energy, if we assume that using the quirk is like opening a dam, you begin with a small amount of water being let through and work your way up - this is what the previous users would have to do. The began using a small amount of energy and naturally worked their way up to larger amounts.

However the problem with Izuku is that ‘Arsenal’ gave him 100% off-the-bat - the dam was opened completely, all the water came rushing out. This is what would have caused his energy control problems, because his quirk allows completely usage of any quirk he possesses, not control.

2) The Swelling of the Core

Izuku’s conversation with the 5th in Ch 213

The important part of this conversation is ‘seriously’ (and here is where I sound like an English student). The use of this word suggests surprise. That the core has suddenly (recently) begun to change and this change is what allows access to all the quirks. We as the readers can presume this change has come about due to Izuku gaining possession of the quirk.

Given that Ujiko has also mentioned signs of the Quirk Singularity being noticed as early as the 4th gen, why has no signs of the singularity been noticed by OFA users? Why have they never encountered the vestiges?

So once again, if a change has occurred within OFA in the time it’s been in Izuku’s possession, the questions are ‘Why has it changed?’, ‘What is the change?’ and ‘What make’s Izuku different?