#so i think the giving blood to ochako is the main thing??

[marimeeko]

Out of the death threads, togas case will likely be the easiest to fix so I am not worried.

Like she's giving blood, if she is tended to in a timely matter, by another hero and or medic, she could ALSO recieve a transfusion, they'll give her a cookie and send her off to the recovery bay. (A little more complicated than that but yk).

(Also, how much blood would Ochako even need, she hasn't completely bled out and it's only one major stab wound...I don't think she would need all of Togas blood?? A tad overdramatic maybe??

Same for Ochako, Himiko tended to her, and stitched up her wound, and is currently receiving transfusion. She's in a rough shape now, but she should be fine as well.

Katsuki is a lot more complicated because man's heart got pierced or exploded in his chest. I am still worried but feel like he is too important to perma-die, his relationship arc with Izuku is not finished yet, it would have been such a sad way to die(with him longing so badly to reach Izuku and knowing that at that point he never could and that Izuku wasnt going to be there to save him) and otherwise I feel like I'm just waiting for the plot armor to kick in. But he got tended to right away and hopefully through another heros sacrifice and unconventional technique, he will be functionally fine until a hospital can get a hold of him...but STILL MAN IS BASICALLY GETTING A BRAND NEW EMERGENCY HEART ON THE BATTLE FIELD

Touya... honestly the man is a crisp. He is charred, there isn't even much left of him. If a human being was burnt that badly they wouldn't be talking anymore like touya was, they'd be 100 percent DEAD, unable to move, call out or cry about how much they hate every one. Even Anakin Skywalker is looking at this like "OH. DAMN." IDK what kind of quirk Magic and power of family is keeping him alive at this point, but he is still ALIVE.

If you're gonna tell me that the girl who basically just needs a blood transfusion to replace the blood shes giving is gonna be the one to die, I'd say READ THE ROOM, The context that one guy lost his heart and is getting fixed and one guy is currently in the same state as the lone French fry that got dropped in the bottom of your oven and never got picked out but is still somehow carrying on yelling at his family?

Nahhh

She's gonna be fine

[dekusleftsock]

I think about this sometimes but I personally love that Horikoshi took the Yandere trope, split it in two, and gave one half to Izuku and Himiko.

Like it’s so fascinating how you can just SEE how purposeful Himiko was as a character in hindsight standing next to him.

Himiko is a really interesting subversion of her trope for two reasons:

She hurts people because she loves them, not for isolation or destruction of the competition (gore/blood is love to her, not necessarily a means to love someone)

She’s not possessive. Like at all.

I’ve seen that hc a few times and it always bothers me. Ochako is for sure a possessive character (we saw that with Hatsume around Izuku way back at the sports festival arc), but Himiko? Really?

You mean the girl who had a crush on a boy AND the girl who also had a crush on the same boy? Her?

You mean the girl who doesn’t hurt people who love who she loves, rather actively encouraging it in the first place? That one? Really?

Like it’s such an integral part to her subversion too. It’s what makes her such a weird and fascinating character. Possessiveness is supposed to be whats ugly about love itself, yet her love remains ugly without it. She is ugly because the fundamental ways in which she sees and feels about the world are considered “wrong”, “dangerous”, and “deviant”.

But Izuku… ohhhh Izuku…

He holds this trait like a badge melted to his skin. My man cannot escape these allegations. It’s to the point where it’s honestly a fundamental to his narrative. Izuku does not act nor feel the same without it.

Izuku holds a cutesy nickname that literally every other childhood friend of Katsuki’s has long left behind, saying his real name instead (this is honestly why I’m also uninterested in a scene where Izuku calls him “Katsuki” instead of “Kacchan”, Katsuki doesn’t represent the same things the name Izuku does, imo at least), izuku “give him back to me” midoriya, holds his dead body to his chest on a cover, freaked out on someone either hurting/offending Kacchan.. 3 times(?), keeping big boy ofa secrets…. The list goes on.

So it’s this main reason that I think their characters are just so. Fucking. Intertwined. I’m glad this has become a more common interpretation because there’s just so much that aligns between them.

Both of them call their “special people” with -chan endings, both by their first names, both deemed deviants/irrelevant by society. It’s no wonder Ochako fell in love with Izuku, just like she did toga, they’re fucking freaks. They’re interesting. They’re weird. They’re overly friendly and socially inept and a little beaten down by the world yet have too much passion to stay on the ground. They’re envious of the ones they love (Ochako of her freedom to be a normal girl, Katsuki for his raw power and harnessed skill), and I guess I just wanted to make this post because I adore how it’s all done.

I LOVE how the yandere trope is used as societal commentary here. Not necessarily as a way to make the main love interest jealous and feel she must protect the main character, nor for some kinky reason surrounding her character, but because the trope is built off of real, ugly feelings that can and do happen. That love can and is considered truly beautiful in all its forms, especially those of queer people.

So I especially love it because it isn’t just limited to Himiko, but Izuku as well. He may never hurt the ones he loves, but he would hurt for them.

A perfect narrative foil on queer and deviant forms of love. Big fan Horikoshi.

[angy-grrr]

I can't believe Horikoshi decided to parallel togachako with shigaraki and deku, but also with kacchan and izuku, because there are multitudes into their relationship.

Ochahimi has this obvious textual side going on for a long time that its meant to be seen along Shigaraki Tomura and Midoriya Izuku: a hurt villain and a hero who feels the need to stop the pain. Two sides of the same coin. Will they take their hand? How could they reach out? Is there any hope for the rejected? We have different scenes in which its clear Uraraka and Midoriya have this idea of saving someone who is hurt even if they are a villain, the flashbacks of their conversation before the war, but surprisingly Ochako doesn't think of it as much as Izuku in this final battle -clearly stated, is when Himiko is giving her own blood to save her and explaining how she felt like her heart was floating when Uraraka touched her. The flashback reminds us of Izuku talking about how "maybe theres no way to avoid a battle, but I cant ignore what I saw deep inside him".

But Ochako isn't happy even if she got there, even is Toga tells her she made her happy. She's tired, sad, and desperate to stop her when she cant even move.

Its difficult to analyze Izuku's emotions, but once again, we can try to work with what we currently have! As far as we know, Izuku isn't really having that much of a conflict in terms of if he should save Tenko or not -the problem was external. What would the OFA users think? He challenged them by staying true to his inner core, and they accepted him, but we don't see him struggling with the idea of him reaching out to Tenko in itself like Ochako, who actively tried to forget about Himiko.

I interpret his flashbacks to his conversation with Ochako as a reminder of the person behind the villain, because he is also feeling something else: anger. Izuku was really hurt during this battle both physically and, I would argue mostly, mentally. As he himself said, he can't forgive Shigaraki, just try to stop the crying child from hurting, and the reminder of Ochako's own goals and words are a reminder of his own intentions; lets not forget, moments later he took control after seeing Katsuki's dead body, he attacked Shigaraki in ways that would cause severe damage -like in the middle of his chest, causing a hole.

Uraraka doesn't actually try to hurt Toga, but use her martial arts training in order to both dodge and tackle her, so she can hear what she has to say. I re-read the chapters around Katsuki's revival, because I was wondering, "does Izuku remember this before or after he locked eyes with Bakugou?", and the answer is after*. The other time he thought about it was before leaving the togatsuchako battlefield, when Ochako encourages him to not worry and go get Shigaraki.

So, what I mean by this is, Ochako Uraraka and Izuku Midoriya are not the same person, and they don't feel the same way for their main villains, just like Tomura Shigaraki and Himiko Toga don't feel the same for their main heroes, and are not the same. Izuku actually feels resentment and anger for Shigaraki, he cant forgive him, but he also doesn't want to kill and punish like that; he is a savior, if he has to fight he will, but in his heart he knows what he prefers' maintaining peace, and help the ones who are vulnerable. He sees the villain, and he sees the child who grew up abused and sad; he is a sweet boy, ofc he would try to stop the crying somehow. His conflict with him now, Im guessing, is that he doesn't really feel like he actually saved him -after all, he disappeared after the last punch, and he still considered himself the leader of the league who wanted to destroy everything. He gave him his autonomy back and tried his best, but his last words and request feel like a completely different "task" than what he envisioned; it makes him think, about what heroes and villains even mean in their society, and who gets to decide those things. How can he continue with Shigaraki's legacy?

In another hand, Ochako's conflict don't come from her own moral compass, but from what she is supposed to do; before she even saw sadness in her face she thought positive things about her -she has a cute smile, she is really honest with her feelings, and isnt scared to be open with others, and she envies that. She envies the villain Himiko Toga, and relates to her, and feels connected to her. So her pain feels even more personal when it shouldn't; she isnt her family, she is someone who has tried to hurt her and her friends over and over while being so happy about it. She is weird!

Besides the thoughts about society and who helps both heroes and villains, which are really important for her character and goals, the other side of their problem is... the way Ochako was refusing to see and accept her own weirdness. Interacting with Himiko was chaotic, confusing, and left her full of doubts about herself and what she wants, because isnt she even weirder if she wants to be more like her? How can she admit those thoughts out loud? Anyone would agree that behavior is disgusting, but... she can't hate her. She can't try to punch her, or hurt her, and she never was able to no matter how much she tried to convince herself this is the only way.

Her conversation with Izuku opened her mind and heart to start accepting what she truly wants to do to Himiko instead of what she has to do as a hero. What does she want? To stop her. Her hurt. Her tears. To make her happy, and to keep her alive. She wants to see everyone happy, to get peace.

This is why her conflict is both related to Shigaraki and Deku, and Katsuki and Izuku; in one aspect its about morality, heroism, villainy and society as a whole. Himiko will question how things works constantly, and she can't ignore it. And at the same time, there's an emotional side to it; she has multiple confrontations with her, where miscommunication and holding back hurts them both. She pushes herself to be more like others, but it doesn't feel right anymore; Himiko makes her see her own self hatred, and jealousy and care grow more and more. Why can't see just do the right thing to maintain peace?

Just like Izuku was surprised by Katsuki's tears during their second fight, Ochako gets concerned by Himiko's, when she interpreted Uraraka's words as her rejecting her love -and therefore, whole self. Is not until the second war that she even realizes Toga actually loves her in the same way she loves Izuku, being a little clueless herself.

It doesnt sit right with her to do the "normal" thing, because she isn't normal at all; she thinks about making a villain happy, and how lovely her smile is. Her honesty and openness to be unapologetically herself, no matter how much others try to push her down or change her attitude; she hurts others, she knows that's wrong and agrees with that generalized sentiment... but hate her for it? She tries to do it, but it doesn't work. Inside of her heart, she knows what her emotions are telling her, and its not anger.

This is messy, my head hurts, but Im hoping I can write something better and longer in the future. I guess it makes more sense that drawing of Shigaraki, Izuku, Ochako, Himiko and Katsuki all together. I always wondered, if this is about heroism and society, Katsuki shouldn't be there, and if it is about emotions and rivalries, then it would be Tomura.

If you read this far, thank you for your time, and apologies for the confusion the writing could have caused you.

*My internet is going really slow, so im not re-reading all of the chapters after Izuku's arrival in the battlefield, so I cant 100% say this is the very first time he does remember it. Once im able to, or someone checks it for me -wether im right in my statement or not-, I'll edit it to be accurate with the material.

[bibibbon]

I've been thinking about Toga a lot lately and I just came to the conclusion that she should have been Monoma's villain, not Uraraka's.

This is not a diss on Ochako, I love her. But someone, I think it was @doodlegirl1998, pointed out that there were way more similarities between her and Twice. Bonding her and Toga over their love for Izuku was... Shallow on Horikoshi's part.

I could rant for a whole post about how frustrating it is that Uraraka turned off her feelings for Izuku to become a better hero only for her feelings for Izuku to be way more relevant to her being a hero. Horikoshi can't write consistent characterization to save his life

Monoma on the other hand is really similar to Toga. They were both antagonized because of their quirks- albeit Toga more severely- and one thing I've noticed is that Monoma's attachment to 1B is similar to Toga's attachment to the LOV. Monoma loves his class. We don't know a lot about his dynamic with them, but we can presume that it's because he's accepted by them, which is why Toga loves the LOV. It's also why he takes a liking to Shinsou, because he sees Shinsou as someone who went through what he did.

Of course, Monoma wasn't a main character so doing this wouldn't have made sense. But it really got me thinking about who really could have understood Toga and maybe saved her

Hi @sapphic-agent 👋

Yep I do agree that ochakos villain should of been twice as they both have a lot of similarities compared to ochako and toga but I do think that there could be a lot of changes done if something like toga and ochako were to be done again.

I have always thought of monoma and toga as similar and I have seen plenty of fics that talk about how they could be related. Honestly I kinda of dig it if they were cousins or something of the sort but having two strangers being so similar in both quirks, how they were treated and looks honestly says so much.

I do think that if monoma was one of the main characters in 1A his story could of been intertwined with togas and I do think that we would get a much more satisfying story overall instead of what happend with toga and ochako or just the whole togaocha fiasco. Heck making toga monomas villain will forcibly give 1B more screentime and that's something we desperately need in the story so yeah that works.

Also can we talk about how much of a good duo Vlad and toga could of been. Two blood users and we could of gotten from Vlad in general. Also something something about how monoma is incredibly close to Vlad king and how he is one of the teachers who treated him fairly to something something how maybe if given the chance toga could of been rehabilitated with Vlad and monomas help.

In the end the whole toga and ochako thing revolving around izuku in a way is so shallow on hori's part especially when the two characters showed great potential.

[problemswithbooks]

BNHA Ch. 429

So, I guess Toga is dead, and people are losing it.

I get why people liked her--she was actually queer, being pan/bisexual. She was representation for them and that's rare in shonen manga. But here's the thing--she was bad representation at best and insulting at worst. Nor do I think she was made queer because Hori really wanted to represent a queer girl. Himiko was always the author's poorly hidden fetish--she just was. She liked girls as much as boys because Hori wanted to draw a girl touching sexually on another girl. You can see this in how he draws her and Ochako in solo pics together.

I mean, people seem to understand this when it comes to Momo and her outfit being overly sexual or that both Himiko and Hagakure's Quirks either leave them naked or they have to be naked to use them. These are excuses to draw girls in a sexual manner. Himiko being into other girls is the same thing and that's the kindest interpretation.

Given how Himiko acts and her Quirk being heavily coded sexual desire, and therefore her use of it against someone unwilling being sexual assault, it could just being playing into harmful stereotypes of predatory gays.

As a queer person myself I just found Toga insulting. She was designed to be overly sexual and give the male author a female character that he could draw being suggestive with his other female characters. When he did flesh out her character, her backstory was eventually the trope/fear of straight people, that gay people will be so overcome with their lust that they end up sexually assaulting them.

In the end Ochako accepts this part of Toga and says she'll giver her blood forever, but as much as a lot of readers took that that as some deep lesbian confession, for me it really fell flat. Hori never really gave any of the main kids time to actually learn about their villain or show how that changed their minds toward them. Shoto only works because Touya is his brother (even though he admits he barely remembers him). But Ochako goes from not thinking of Toga at all pre-first war, to one thought about her during her speech, to suddenly caring about her so much she--given how Toga's quirk is coded, is willing to essentially fulfill Toga's kink for the rest of their lives.

It's weird and it comes out of nowhere. It's made even stranger because Toga doesn't actually change or show remorse for anything she did, which included personally hunting and murdering people before she joined the LOV. None of the death and destruction she is also partially responsible for is brought up either, something that Ochako was rightfully upset about during the first war when less people and property had been destroyed. Ochako just accepts everything about her suddenly and her past serious crimes are forgotten so they can cuddle and cry.

Am I shocked Toga died--a little. I didn't think Hori would have the guts to kill off a young girl character, especially one that he clearly got a lot of joy drawing in sexy poses. But at the same time, once he killed off Shigaraki and ended Touya's story with his slow death, I'm not surprised he went the same route with Toga.

This isn't Naruto--Hori isn't really kind to characters that do something wrong, especially if they don't try and change. Enji, Bakugo, Hawks, and Aoyama all sort of got punished for what they did. Enji is the worst off, being permanently crippled, missing an arm and burned everywhere. Bakugo's hand is damaged, his heart weaker, plus he feels bad that Izuku lost his Quirk so they can't compete the same way he wanted them to. Aoyama, despite doing way less wrong and even helping his class during the forest raid, still leaves school because he doesn't feel he earned being there yet. Hawks lost his Quirk and even though him running the HPSC could be seen as good for him, Hawks always wanted a break, but now he has one of the most time consuming and stressful jobs out there.

So, if this is what characters who actively did good things and even changed and fought to be better get, what would characters who never changed and never did anything positive for anyone but their friends/themselves get?

Before the last Arc started, when so many people said the LoV were 100% going to be redeemed I had doubts and always thought it wouldn't make sense with how the story presented redemption or treated other non-LoV villains in the past. That if the main LoV did get some happy ending where they were bffs with the main cast it would clash with how other characters had been treated.

That doesn't mean that I think how Shigaraki, Toga, and Touya ended up in the manga was well done. I think their endings fit far better then a last minute redemption would have, but at the same time you can feel how rushed everything has been since the end of the first war arc. Hori was done with this story months if not years ago, yet he was contractually obligated to finish it. Because of that I think he left out as much as possible. As much as I think he's written some pretty obsessive stuff, particularly towards women, I can't really fully blame him cutting corners or the story being shit at the end.

We know Manga authors, particularly those that work with Jump are treated like shit. That they suffer incredibly long hours at times not even getting to go home for days. We've gotten messages for Hori saying he's sick quite a few times. On top of that, weekly story telling is not a great way to tell a cohesive narrative. Ideas probably change week to week or at least month to month and you can't go back and change the last chapter no matter how much you need or want to. Then you remember he also gave a lot of ideas to the people who made the movies, which would also change his plans for how he wanted the main story to go.

The story is bad--it has been for a while, but I think a lot of people put their hopes on their favorite characters getting a happy ending, even when there were signs that probably wasn't going to be the case. I know how much it sucks when a character you love gets a shitty ending (Stain was my fav, but he got an absolute dogshit ending) but at least, knowing what I know about the industry I can't really blame Hori the way I see some other people doing. Criticize it, sure, but saying Hori hates his readers or is horrible writer isn't true. BNHA was popular for a reason--he's great with characters and the beginning of the story had some great pacing. We'll never know, but I wouldn't be surprised if BNHA could have been amazing if Hori had been treated better and the story hadn't needed a chapter every week.

If anything BNHA has taught me how much a story suffers when authors/artists are treated like crap and forced to work past burnout.

[aashi-heartfilia]

BnHA FINAL Prediction#01

Prediction#01

The next chapter starts with Toga finally declaring her villain name and that's the name of the chapter.

Suppose, her name is Bloodlust or Bloody Lily (she is always connected to Spider Lily and blood is the source of her main power)

Either way, this could be another chapter fleshing out Toga as a villain, like we got a glimpse of her childhood and maybe middle school in the previous chapters, so maybe this chapter will show her breaking point.

As someone on Twitter pointed out, she has never killed anyone on screen other than Curious and Co and that was the moment when her quirk evolved.

She didn't kill the bird in her childhood, she didn't kill Ochako or Bakugo in the forest arc, she didn't kill Camie in the Hero Licence exam, she didn't kill Eraser, and we were never shown that she killed that old lady either (in the war arc)

Most people just assumed she did that because of her nature. Then what was the turning point? We're never shown, but this chapter maybe and maybe that could lead to Ochako understanding her better and coming up with a solution with next chapters focusing on her story.

It goes with the current arc:

Chapter 391: The world that Rejected

Chapter 392: Villain Name

Chapter 393: Bloody Lily

Chapter 394: The world that accepted (Ochako's side of story, to balance things)

Chapter 395: Ochako Uraraka: ORIGINS

Chapter 396: Ochako Uraraka: RISING

Chapter 397: THE URAVITY OF DREAMS AND HOPES

Chapter 398: The two young girls (final conclusion to TOGACHAKO battle)

Chapter 399: Aftermath of TOGACHAKO battle

Chapter 400: Deku vs Shigaraki starts...

.

So, if everything goes well I'm expecting at least 7 more chapters for the TogaChako storyline because unlike other characters whose character arcs were very sorted and full-fledged from the beginning (Shouto, Bakugo and Iida) Horikoshi was saving this battle for the last. We don't know what Ochako will possibly do to reach out to Toga.

No honey, that's not good enough.

Plus we don't know much about Ochako either, like Toga said "Ochako had an easy life because rules were made for people like her and she didn't need to deal with a single inconvenience" but we know that's far from the truth.

Ochako had a rough life, her family was poor, she didn't eat her meals to save money. She got into a hero school on her own merit. She became a hero, only to give her parents a proper life.

She saw her friends crying, teacher dying (midnight) and Ochako is a hero who wants to see everyone smile, and that includes Toga (the little girl whom the world rejected).

But if she really wants to become the Uravity of her dreams, we need a solid foundation to back it up! Like how Iida wanted to be Ingenium: The hero who will dash to grab the hand of a lost child or Shouto: who wanted to be a reassuring hero like All Might.

If we want all of this to happen, we need at least 7 back to back chapters!! And that too of at least 15 pages each, since there is still so much we don't know about them.

Plus the Twice Sad Man's Death Parade! Man if that came to a halt in less than 2 chapters, I am going on a rampage!! This death parade is going on for 20+ chapters now!! No way, it can be stopped in just 2 chapters!! Plus, I need a convincing answer as to how this parade will end. How can a single person such as OCHAKO put a stop to this entire army of clones.

Can Toga dying solve this issue? No, I don't think so.

The goal is to save her, not kill her.

But can toga control her clones?

We don't know that either. So at least 7 more chapters.

Plus we can have our main Deku vs Shigaraki from chapter 400 onwards to 420. Remember, we still have All Might vs AFO and other battles remaining? So maybe the narrative can shift to that too.

All Might vs AFO can contain glimpses of other battles too that are going on followed by a finale with All Might losing and going to Shigaraki. Then Deku vs Shigaraki, where Bakugo wakes up and they both defeat AFO Shigaraki together, Heroes Rising style putting an end to the story.

Conclusion:

TOGACHAKO battle: ch 390 to 399

All Might vs AFO: ch 400 to 405

Deku vs Shigaraki: ch 405 to 420

(Here is little Deku for world peace)

~Thanks for reading

Cheers! Sunshine

[anti-katsuki-lounge]

I don't see any benefit for Midoriya being dragged in ochako vs toga fight. Imo the entire time narrative in that segment treats him as weak, incompetent. Like this the guy with the legendary OP quirk which covers, strength, speed and ups all his stats and is supposed to be the going toe to toe with Shigi and yet struggles with fcking Toga.

Also when he leaves Tsuyu says to ochako that Izu can't segregate things and if he was still there he would focus on listening to Toga rather than completing the task. I call this BS also the same Tsuyu along with Ochako miserably failed to subdue Toga and what was Ochako's plan? Talk things with Toga instead of fighting and she went after toga to reason with her. The very thing Tsuyu criticized izuku about and tried to glorify herself and Toga.

Tsuyu has no agency to disrespect and judge izuku when she along with her partner couldn't get the job done.l and got destroyed.

Imo Izuku shouldn't have been dragged into their fight. It was unnecessary. It's always hyping other characters by degrading the MC.

I'm not even gonna talk about 2nd user AKA Bakuhoe wannabe. He's another prick and goes on and on about how izuku shouldn't worry about his classmates and should blindly trust their abilities even though said classmates didn't do shit even once to give him the trust and reassurance..

Admittedly I haven’t paid much attention to the second user 😂. The past users are kinda just there for me, only existing to move the plot forwards. As such, I can’t really give much thought about the second user.

Now I will say that Himiko’s quirk is arguably one of the strongest in the series. However no one knew that she had Twice’s blood on her so as far as everyone was concerned, Izuku should’ve quickly stomped her. I 100% agree that for some reason the narrative treats Izuku as incompetent despite his massive feats. Fighting Muscular twice and winning both times, fighting Lady Nagant and winning despite being exhausted, nearly killing Tomura during the War Arc with only Black Whip and base OFA, etc. The narrative is allergic to putting respect on Izuku’s name. I do think it’s true that he’d try talking to Himiko, but he’d quickly run off after remembering the main goal. Izuku wants to save everyone, but until now, that hasn’t even remotely affected his abilities as a hero.

[yamchaisawesome]

So a while back I was talking about a quirkless Deku’s fighting style. Now I have a strong urge to talk about everyone else in his class in this AU. This will mostly be story changes but in some characters’ cases there will be entire personality overhauls.

Yuga Aoyama: We’re keeping the whole (Redacted) thing but now he’s even more conflicted about it as he sees Izuku do well without a quirk.

Mina Ashido: She is literally the exact same. No complaints. Love her to death.

Tsuyu Asui: She’s good.

Tenya Iida: Stain actually manages to get away in this AU and acts as a wild card for the rest of the series, working with whoever best suits his ideals in the moment. Tenya still wants to murder him in cold blood but attempts to hide that fact from everyone who would get in his way.

Ochako Uraraka: keep her pretty much the same pre sports festival. After her fight with bakugo, she realises that being a rescue hero still often requires confrontation. Instead of just going for martial arts like the manga, she realises that the main issue was that she couldn’t get close to bakugo without being blasted. The solution? A giant fuckoff suit of armor with holes for her fingertips replaces her original hero outfit. Her quirk’s endurance is trained so that she can stop the extra weight from impeding her movement. Also just involve her more. I miss her.

Mashirao Ojiro: Him and Izuku are actually pretty close since Ojiro considers his quirk underwhelming and has been bullied in the past for it.

Denki Kaminari: As we’re changing Mineta entirely, he will no longer be his accomplice in his pervy schemes. Instead; we shall take Brock from Pokémon’s gimmick and have him flirt (poorly) with most new women he meets, then either get interrupted or promptly rejected. This is a recurring thing with hagakure.

Eijirou Kirishima: Same as canon. It’s hard to improve on perfection.

Koji Koda: I genuinely don’t know what to do with him.

Rikido Sato: Same as Koji.

Mezo Shoji: emo.

Kyoka Jiro: also emo. They’re besties with shoji. Also has a crush on Momo but refuses to tell her.

Hanta Sero: Tape boy acts as class clown and is izuku’s study buddy. They compare how he uses his quirk to Deku’s support items and vice versa.

Fumikage Tokoyami: Goth. Jiro and him have a bitter rivalry but will band together if someone says they’re both goth or emo to correct them (sometimes violently).

Shoto Todoroki: Same as canon- though he could have another running gag of doing things exclusively to piss off his dad.

Toru Hagakure: Sweet and Bubbly with a gag of being considered the hottest girl at school. Think Lucy from OG Dracula pre vampirism. Also for peace of mind, we’re giving her a hair suit like Mirio. She’s a high schooler come on guys.

Katsuki Bakugo: He’s the exact same at the start but his arc is a bit different. The longer he stays at UA, the more his strength based worldview starts to crumble. The character most involved in this arc of his is endeavor. Bakugo starts to quickly notice how the number 2 hero, while solving more crimes, is still only the number 2 hero because of his lack of friendliness and cooperation. After he stops being an ableist piece of shit, he’s still an asshole. Like he’s still very angry all of the time but he cares a lot about his friends and stops other people from acting like he did.

Minoru Mineta: He is very different. First of all he’s a strategist above all else, using his quirk in interesting ways like setting traps and attaching them to ropes to pull people away from danger. Secondly, he still has a perverted side, but is way less of a creep about it. He’s respectful and normal about women, if a bit awkward and bashful. When Deku first enters his dorm he’s genuinely shocked to see the absurd amount of hentai he has under his bed. Finally he’s one of Deku’s best friends. It’s funny and they both share a love of heroes, tactical minds, and a history of bullying.

Momo Yaoyurozu: Better costume obviously (hair suit like Mirio or something) but also just More Of Her. Come on. She’s great and underutilized.

[a-path-diverged-in-the-woods]

Welcome to "My Hero Academia: A Path Diverged in the Woods". This is a living choose your own adventure story featuring Uraraka Ochako. The adventure starts when Ochako meets Toga in the forest at Summer Camp. How will this meeting change this time around? Will they be enemies, rivals, friends or more? You decide.

There will be a poll below the cut at the bottom of each main post. Read the section and vote how you see best. When the poll finishes, new fiction will be posted based on the results of the poll. Each poll will be based on a decision Ochako is facing in the moment. The answers may not always be obvious. Further information is available pinned to this blog.

Now enjoy this tale of two girls, a hero and a villain, meeting again across an interrogation table. Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 available here.

Chapter 5: Spill My Guts (They Look So Beautiful)

Ochako didn’t hesitate to make her deal with Toga, but she had to pause to think of what to say next. She didn’t really know where to start. Maybe agreeing had been hasty. The most important information was getting Bakugo’s location, but could she get something like that out of Toga without building trust? She decided to start more personal. Maybe that would do the trick? She tried not to think about the voice in her head that was more interested in learning about the villain than the answers the police needed.

“What do you want to know from me?” asked Ochako. Maybe Toga would give her a place to start.

A wide smile. “Surprise me.”

Toga was playing with her. Teasing her. It was clear to Ochako that she had little power in this relationship. Maybe she could change that? “Please work with me here,” said Ochako. “I saved you from falling. Doesn’t that count for something?”

The villain’s expression twisted into a sneer. “You’re the one who put me in danger,” said Toga. “I wouldn’t have been falling to my death if you hadn’t brought me into the air. Then dropped me.”

“You scratched me,” replied Ochako. “It’s not like it’s easy to maintain my Quirk in situations like that.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have put us in that situation,” yelled Toga. A pause. A deep breath. A solemn expression. “I was scared it was about to end.”

“I was scared too,” said Ochako. Toga was refusing to look at her, but she kept her gaze on the other girl. “I just wanted to protect my friend. To save my friends. I needed to get you away from them and I wasn’t thinking. It wasn’t really heroic of me to put you in that situation, but I’m glad I saved you. Being fast enough to catch you, and keeping you safe in the air, it was the first time I’ve really felt like a hero.”

A pause. A whisper. Ochako wasn’t sure she heard the response properly. “It was the first time I’ve felt saved.” Then, the broad smile returned, and Toga seemed like herself again. “What would you like to know?

Ochako frowned. “Don’t I need to tell you something you want to know?”

“I said interesting,” said Toga. “Now ask the question or I’ll invalidate your answer.”

“No need,” said Ochako quickly. She wracked her brain for a suitable question. Without really thinking, she asked the first thing that came to mind. “Why did you target me in the forest?”

A look of surprise. “That’s your first question?” A mocking smile. “I assumed a selfless hero like you would ask a different question.”

“I get three,” said Ochako. “And I’d like to know the reason. Was it on purpose or an accident?”

“A happy accident,” replied Toga. “I did ignore some other pairs before you walked by, but you’d caught my eye in the sports Festival. I thought it would be fun to say hello.”

“You watched that?”

“I really liked your fight. You were beat up and beaten down. But you kept going forward despite knowing you couldn’t win.” A manic look grew on Toga’s face. “The cuts. The bruises. The blood. It was all so cute. That moment after your plan failed, the look of despair as Bakugo destroyed your chance at winning, that was the best. And then you tried to keep going. That moment you took a step forward had my heart in my throat. Then you fell on your face, and I fell in love.”

“I’m surprised I left such an impression on you,” said Ochako. She couldn’t really imagine what Toga meant when describing her reaction to Ochako’s humiliating defeat. It had been the lowest moment of her life. She’d been so close and failed. If Deku had been in her place, he would’ve kept going past the wounds. And won. She admired that about him.

“Oh yes,” Toga leaned forward on the table as close to Ochako as she could. Ochako fought the urge to lean away. The proximity wasn’t enough to be dangerous, but it was disconcerting. “I wanted to know what made you tick. What kept you going?”

“You want to know why I’m a hero?” asked Ochako.

Toga nodded. “What makes you want to go out and rough up people like me?”

“I don’t want to do that,” said Ochako, shaking her head. “I admire rescue heroes like Thirteen. To use my Quirk to help others.”

“How selfless.”

Ochako shook her head. “It’s not that at all.” She paused. She’d admitted her reason for becoming a hero to her friends only recently. Was she really about to tell a villain? Toga’s golden eyes studied her, and she shallowed past a lump in her throat before continuing. “I mentioned before that my parents are poor. I want to become a pro hero to make money. Either by completing rescue missions or being licensed to use my Quirk to help my father’s construction company. It’s not selfless, it’s as selfish as could be. So many of my friends just want to help people. But I need. No, I want, money. That’s my reason to become a hero.”

“You don’t know what it means to be selfish, do you?” asked Toga. “To want to do something for yourself and only yourself. To ignore other people’s wants and desires, their wishes and get to live as your true self. I really don’t understand you.”

Ochako was confused. Because Toga’s words were said harshly, like a condemnation, but her expression was soft. A small smile, not wide and toothy like usual rested on her face. She didn’t seem aware of it either. She wondered what type of life led to becoming a villain. Someone like the girl in front of her. Could they really not understand each other?

“Why did you become a villain?” asked Ochako.

“You want to know me so bad that you’re going to use your second question on that?”

“Yes.”

A pause. “I just want to live my life free from rules and restrictions. To live as I desire and am. No more someone dictating that I can’t be me. To live free like Stain. To cut open this stagnant hero-based society that made me suffer. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

“I don’t think so,” said Ochako, shaking her head. “Heroes help and protect people.”

A frown. “That’s just a delusion,” said Toga. “They didn’t help me when I was suffering. And they didn’t help you or your family when you were hungry, did they? Would a just society allow kids like us to starve? To be unable to use our Quirks, a part of our beings?”

Ochako wanted to argue. To say that being a villain was Toga’s choice, not society. No one had made her commit crimes. It was just bad luck that Ochako needed to occasionally go without food and her parents without rest. Right? She fought back the urge though. Would fighting accomplish anything? Probably not. It might convince the villain to stop talking to her. She couldn’t have that. She still had one more question to ask after all.

“Heroes like Deku will change things,” said Ochako. “If things are broken like you and Stain say, then we’ll just need to do better and fix them. To make it so that everyone can smile.”

“But people like Bakugo will become heroes as well,” replied Toga. “Do you think someone like that, who is just like a villain, would be able to make things better?”

“I…,” Ochako was unsure how to respond. It wasn’t like she was the biggest fan of Bakugo after all. The boy was cruel and not what she thought of as heroic. But…, “Deku believes in him as a hero. That means I think he can be a hero as well.”

Those golden eyes drilled into her soul. Unblinking. “How is Izuku doing? Last I saw he was bloody and barely able to move. It was a cute look, don’t you think?”

“I think he looks better now that he’s healed completely,” replied Ochako. “He’ll be discharged from the hospital soon.”

“Has he given up on rescuing Bakugo?”

Ochako shook her head. “Of course not.” She glanced over to detective Tsukauchi. “If the police and pros don’t rescue him, Deku will. That’s just the type of person he is.” Ochako leaned forward on the table and locked gazes with Toga. “That’s why we need to know where they’re keeping Bakugo. I don’t want Deku to be put in danger. Please, help us rescue him.”

“What if I want to see Izuku rush back into danger and get beaten until beautiful blood flows?”

“Then I think we’re done here,” said Ochako. Standing up. She was tired. She was annoyed. But more importantly she was desperate. Something about talking to Toga brought about a strange yearning. She knew the villain too well, while still knowing nothing about her. If Toga turned and walked out on her right now, she’d call to have her come back. She was hoping that feeling was mutual.

“Wait,” said Toga. Ochako paused but didn’t turn back to face the other girl. She couldn’t hide the smile on her face if she did. “I’ll tell you where they probably took him.”

Ochako turned back, not bothering to hide her excitement. “You will?”

A nod. “I will. You told me about some interesting things after all. Our main hideout was a bar in Kamino Ward. If they didn’t hide a different dingy dive bar from me and move hideouts, then they’re there.”

Ochako glanced back at detective Tsukauchi. His expression was stoic and neither he nor the guards moved to take out something to take notes. Ochako trusted they knew what to do as she sat back down. “What’s the address?” Toga told her. She felt her heart soaring as she repeated it to herself several times. “Thank you so much. You’ve helped to save Bakugo.”

“I was just answering a question,” replied Toga, leaning back in her chair. “It’s not like I’m really friends with any of those people really. We just met.”

“Speaking up is the first step to being a hero, isn’t it?” asked Ochako.

Toga looked taken aback by that comment. A large, fake smile covered her face. “No one like me could ever become a hero. Don’t even bother.” A pause. Then almost under her breath. “I’m just happy to see you smile…”

“Bringing smiles to people is what it means to be a hero,” said Ochako, a childhood memory resurfacing. She remembered her parents smiling as a hero defeated a villain. How beautiful to her they seemed. How beautiful all the people around her looked. Then the moment the hero smiled back while tired and about to collapse but buoyed by the cheers of the crowd, her heart had soared. “You asked why I wanted to be a hero. But I think bringing smiles to my parents’ faces, and those I save, is part of it too. I know it’s childish, but people just look so beautiful when smiling.”

“Smiles can be faked. I think people look the cutest when at their limit,” replied Toga. “Their lifeblood spilling out a beautiful crimson.”

“Maybe there is something to admire about that,” said Ochako. “But I’d rather people have honest smiles that they can’t help instead of hurt and sadness.”

“Does blood need to be sad? It’s inside of all of us, after all.”

Ochako considered that. “I guess not. As a child I saw a hero cut and beaten after defeating a villain. But the crowd smiled and cheered, and he smiled back. Why can’t everything just be like that?”

A pause. “The world is too cruel for that to ever be true.”

“Then we should change that.”

“You don’t approve of how I’m trying to do that.”

“Then let’s do it without making people bleed!”

“Blood is how we prove we’re alive,” yelled Toga, her smile slipping. “A world without blood is one I can’t live in.” Toga’s eyes narrowed and locked on Ochako’s. “I want to see the blood of the ones I love. To consume it. To become them. If the world rejects that, then it rejects me. I was hoping you’d understand Ochako, since you share the same scent of love as me.”

“I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to understand,” said Ochako, frustrated. She’d felt so close, but Toga had visibly closed off. “Could you help me to?”

Toga turned away. “That’s all your questions. I’m tired.”

“Okay then,” said Ochako, slowly standing. Toga made no moves. “I don’t know if I liked talking to you, but it was interesting.” She paused. Then, “could we talk again?”

“I don’t know anything else you want to know,” replied Toga. “Once sweet Izuku has saved Bakugo, our relationship is over.”

“I guess,” said Ochako, turning. She walked away from the interrogation table and detective Tsukauchi opened the door for her. She couldn’t help turning back for one last look as she exited. The guards had closed in and were grabbing Toga to move her, but she wasn’t looking at them. She was looking at Ochako. Her expression one of longing. For what, Ochako didn’t know.

“Good work in there,” said detective Tsukauchi as he brought Ochako back into his office. He gestured to a couch and Ochako collapsed on it. Her legs giving out as all energy drained from her body. She was exhausted. “Toga Himiko has confirmed our suspicion on the location of Bakugo Katsuki. That means we’re right on track.”

Ochako looked at him in surprise. “You knew where he was?”

“We thought we knew where their hideout was,” said the detective. He flashed a sheepish smile. “This just means we can be even surer. Always important in this business. It also means Toga Himiko was probably telling the truth in that room. At least for the most part. Not that I understood what she was talking about most of the time. Once we’ve rescued your classmate and captured the League of Villains, I’ll see about investigating her backstory.”

“I don’t understand how someone could think and talk like her,” said Ochako.

“It’s probably better that you don’t,” said the detective. He checked his watch. “I’ve got somewhere to be. Feel free to rest here as long as you need. You did great. I’m looking forward to working with you when you go pro.”

Then he was gone. Ochako reclined on the couch, just breathing in and out. It was like she’d run a marathon. Her heart was only just calming down in her chest. She closed her eyes but all she could see was Toga’s soft smile. Opening them she took out her phone and prepared to text Deku the address. As the adrenaline from facing a villain faded Ochako felt the urge to do something. To be with someone. She considered her options.

[ochasuyu]

my take on the end of mha

this was a rant i did on discord that i'm reposting here. it'll probably be too long so uhhh. reblogs i guess. :3

i think that a lot of what 430 suffers from is classic shonen jump problems, honestly. horikoshi developed such a rich cast of characters that 5 chapters after the end of the war was never going to be enough to give them all satisfying conclusions, which sucks but isn't really his fault given what little i know of serialization (people were saying that 5 chapters is already quite long for a sj epilogue, so like… yeah)

the final chapter holds up pretty well as to what i was expecting, honestly. a timeskip had to happen given that so many of the themes of mha revolve around the idea of societal change, and you can't show that in a week after the end of the war. i think that the conclusion that the students got largely makes sense — i wish that dabi's death had been a little bit more conclusive, but i thought that his wrap-up was pretty good; he spent the rest of his days after the war being watched over by his family, especially endeavor, so he succeeded in his goal of getting endeavor to watch him. shouto may not have saved him physically, but frankly that was never a possibility given how dabi treated his own body throughout the series. he certainly saved him mentally, and i think that's kinda present throughout the other main villain wrap-ups

i think that the ochako vs toga arc was the one that was best concluded; toga could've lived, but she made the decision to reverse the role she'd been playing and give up her own blood to the girl she loved so ochako could live, instead of taking the blood of someone else. it wasn't a decision that ochako made for her (like it was with dabi vs shouto & midoriya vs shigaraki), instead toga's death IS proof that ochako DID save her mentally, and toga viewed her own death as freedom in a way.

^^ and then post-timeskip, we see ochako having taken that sacrifice and turning it into something good, with her quirk counseling program. out of all the deaths, toga's made the most sense to me, especially given that it wasn't swept under the rug narratively. the actions that ochako is making as an adult prove that toga's death didn't go in vain, and that ochako has adopted toga's wish of making the world an easier place to live in.

then there's midoriya vs shigaraki, which. i understand the narrative decisions behind it, considering they'd been setting up the idea that sometimes you have to kill people to save them (gran torino said that verbatim to midoriya) for a WHILE, but it still felt unsatisfactory to me. the general premise was that while shigaraki tomura was too far gone to save, shimura tenko wasn't, and midoriya saved/freed him? it was all kinda jumbled to me, though. not to mention the fact that there was this whole realization that all for one kidnapped shiggy, forced an altered quirk onto him, and then raised him, but shigaraki never actually learned that iirc? it was weird & i think that while shigaraki dying isn't an issue in itself, the way that the story handled it was. midoriya's only real reflection on it is one wordless panel where we see shigaraki's ghost? which is also very open-ended as like. we don't know if that's midoriya's imagination, or if shigaraki became a vestige in one for all, or what?

i have a whole TIRADE of thoughts on how poorly midoriya was handled as his own character later on, especially considering he's supposed to be narrating the series. there's a decent few bits of dialogue that feel robotic, as if his character became more of a voice for horikoshi to tell things to the readers instead of a character within the story. i've had problems for a while with how little introspection we get from midoriya, honestly, and how much guesswork we have to do as to what he's thinking / feeling / whatever considering he's not only the main character but also LITERALLY NARRATING the story

[ignitification]

What are your expectations and\or hopes on how the rest of BNHA's current arc is gonna go?

By current arc I’m going to assume that you mean this war arc - possibly the ‘final arc’ of the story; and more than hopes (at this point, the only real hope I have is for the villains’ redemptions to be handled throughout in a detailed manner) and expectations (because let’s be honest, my expectations are all likely to fall through), I have things I would like to see addressed that in my opinion would give more nuance to the story and give Hori back a little of the dignity he started losing in the last arcs (some chapters were plainly terrible).

Playing a little bit on foresight, I’d say that two are the things we are very likely to see in this arc (on which I hope HK will not disappoint): 

The Villains’ Resolution/Redemption, or better yet, the talk between the main trio and their hero counterparts, in this order: Toga, Dabi, Shigaraki. It might seem obvious (because the main, last and most dramatic and difficult part will likely go to the main characters - in this case Midoriya and Shigaraki, while the most prone to even listen to her counterpart is Toga), but in here are factored two different variables: Toga has Twice’s blood, which she will almost certainly end up using as a way to counter Hawks (currently with Endeavour, but likely to have an encounter with Dabi as well) - from which we can deduct that or Toga is going to have time on her hands after talking to Ochako (which seems unlikely) or that before that, the heroes and the villain will be going to be shuffled around a bit, mainly because of lacking support in certain areas or another events (my guess is there are going to be a lot of evolutions in terms of Quirks, leading to many of the current active pro Quirk-users to either lose their own or to evolve past their own capacity to manage the quirk - a bit similar to what we see happening to Shigaraki in this chapter with his hands); and AfO’s consciousness is still mingled with Tomura’s, and that will be a hard bundle to dissect (people with whom I discussed this with know on what my hypothesis on how this one is going to go, but I am ready to throw it around just yet, just know that Eri will probably be involved).

Change in BNHA Quirk-Supremacy Society. Well, I am probably the biggest advocate of ‘BNHA’s real villain is its rotten and elite society’, which is why I am also surreptitiously waiting for Horikoshi to finally address on how exactly he plans to implement the ripple presented by Midoriya’s change in perspective about the villains and their reasons, on a bigger scale. Certainly, saving the villains is a first step for it, but it is also not nearly enough: the public at large is distrustful at best of the villains, and disillusioned about the heroes, therefore things will not be certainly going back to the status quo, but there have not been steady steps made so that a change could be implemented (Dabi’s broadcast could have been an extremely good basis for that to happen, but it feels as if after the Hospital Arc it has been forgotten, so I am hoping for this point to be picked up again when Shouto will reach out to Touya for the umpteenth time, until he accepts and we will likely get to see Touya’s missing years and Dabi’s birth). In this perspective, this process will be slow and will have a steady pace (and also the point which makes me assume that we are going to get a time skip during the last chapters of the manga, in which we are shown the spoils of war and how society has adapted to a new truth: that there is ugliness in it, and there will always be people who are affected by it more than others). 

Now, both of these are very broad and vague, but I think that at this point, everything will either go down very quick, or what is going down will just be a build-up for the last leg of the manga (Shigaraki and Midoriya VS AfO), and as I already extensively talked on what I would like to see in the finale, I am going to repeat myself. Furthermore, we have still three points which have not been addressed by the narrative that might slightly change the course of the finale: All Might’s prophecy (I said this many times, but All Might will be one of the characters to go during this arc), Nii-Sama Quirk (looking forward to see the backstory in the Vestiges of him and Yoichi’s encounter and memories) and Midoriya’s paternal ties (is AfO his dad in the end?). For the rest, I think the bed has been made and one way or another, (we and) Horikoshi will have to lie in it.

[dekusleftsock]

I am begging you and every other MHA fan to raise your standards cause Kohei gave everyone a yuri couple only to immediately kill one off.

…how many times has horikoshi faked deaths in this series. Because it’s A LOT. Afo, allmight, izuku losing his arm, bakugou, touya, Ochako literally last chapter, like… the story isn’t done yet my dude.

BUT HEY IF YOU WANNA ACTUALLY CRITIQUE HORIKOSHIS WRITING THEN IM ALL FOR IT HAHA

So how do I think horikoshi has seriously failed mha… hmm…

1: her

Her entire character. Well, not entire character. She GOT a lot of screen time and development don’t get me wrong, especially later in the series, and yes I love the fact that bakugou and dekus relationship was more prioritized than Izuku and Ochakos, but does that mean he prioritized her character? No! Nope! NADDA! Ochako is repeatedly sidelined throughout the story, and is also somehow excluded from a lot of arcs that SERIOUSLY RELATE TO HER CHARACTER.

Imagine if ochako was a part of the stain arc at all. She joined for selfish reasons like iida, he has a blood quirk like toga (which could’ve EASILY been foreshadowing to her not being freaked out by blood like most people), could’ve been a great way to show some nuance to her character….

And yet… AND YET…

That brings me to mistake number 2: Shoto Todoroki

Do I think shoto’s character is written badly or wrong? No! Of course I don’t! The entirety of the todoroki storyline, especially with its connection to hawks and the dirty parts of heroics, is really really good! I think it’s one of the most well handled abusive families in all of fiction. It understands EVERYONE in the family, and horikoshi is still able to show so much character and development in just a few scenes, like Natsuo or Rei.

So what IS my problem?

The fact that Ochako, her story, her CHARACTER AS A WHOLE… becomes sidelined due to horikoshi’s choice to prioritize his character over her’s. Again, it’s a great story and I wish he could balance both of them in mha, but he COULDNT, and he made the choice to sacrifice a woman’s character over a man’s.

Though I will say, a note on how ochako could’ve been in the stain arc: toga as a concept was created later and for ochako specifically, so it does kind of make sense as to why she wasn’t involved. Plans change and writers change, their ideas for their characters and what direction they go will ALWAYS change, and sadly you can’t predict that you won’t change a character or it’s direction at any point. It sucks! But that’s how a lot of these really long manga’s go. They have to write and then draw it pretty fucking fast.

And tbh I don’t really know what id do in horikoshi’s shoes with ochako and shoto! But it is definitely a critique we can acknowledge. It would take some seriously extraordinary writing skills to be able to balance, what, 3 deuteragonists? Katsuki, Ochako, AND Todoroki? Especially since one of those characters has a very complex trauma storyline that involves like five other characters? I honestly wouldn’t know what to do in his shoes!

I just wish he had picked the woman out of the two of them, but I think everyone knows that his manga wouldn’t be half as popular were he to have made it focus on two guys and a girl, instead of three guys, one of which is conventionally attractive and has major main character energy.

Anyway number 3: the overhaul arc

Ugh I have such mixed opinions on this arc. On one hand it has some really interesting storylines… when they’re on their own.

From what I understand, horikoshi did this arc because he wanted to try his hands at a longer arc and he had never really done that before. And while it’s great and very obvious he learned things from this arc, it just… takes up so much god damn space and gives us absolutely nothing long term.

Like yeah it makes a few points, like how high schoolers shouldn’t be involved in all of this and kinda sets up the ending rn where the actual adult heroes are sacrificing themselves for the next generation (ex: the guy that I forget the name of who’s now bakugous heart, allmight for deku, midnight for Mina/all the other kids, Mount lady, Aizawa for deku and all the other kids, Mirko for bakugou, etc etc), where as villains sacrifice the next generation for THEMSELVES (ex: afo and shigaraki, overhaul and eri, the gun arm girl for deku, also afo for dabi, etc etc) which is really good to do!

It’s just. Yk. Done by basically every other arc.

AIZAWA REPEATEDLY SHOWS THIS, ALLMIGHT REPEATEDLY SHOWS THIS, ENDEAVOR REPEATEDLY SHOWS THIS. Like it’s the entirety of Mount ladies arc, learning to be a hero and sacrifice for the next generation. Sacrifice and the fact that we forget 1-A are high schoolers is constantly shoved down our fucking throats; we don’t need this arc that takes so god damn long, only adds more characters that aren’t that important, TAKES AWAY FROM YOUR MAIN CAST OTHER THAN DEKU AND ALLMIGHT, JUST for it to tell you explicitly that “kids shouldn’t be fighting the battles of the previous generation, but they have to”. It just. Ugh.

There’s so much time in that arc fucking WASTED on nighteye or mirio’s character. Do I think the big three are really interesting? Of course! The contrast between mirio to deku is fascinating! It really shows how much deku can’t become allmight.

But you know. We talked about that a season ago mha. Yk. When he learns to use kicks instead of punches. Or yk. Gran Torino’s entire arc surrounds that. Everything about deku is nothing like allmight. That’s the entirety of their characters together. It’s repeatedly shown to be dekus biggest insecurity. He’s not allmight. YOU DIDNY NEED THIS ARC TO TELL YOU THAT AGAIN.

It’s like, everything that matters in this arc has already been shouting at you throughout the entire show, and everything else is never really used again outside of a mention here or there. It’s REALLY CLEAR Horikoshi was just doing this arc to try doing a long arc, not thinking about the long term of said arc.

Hmmm what else is there to complain about…

Eh, I guess the fan service? Which is, yk, in every other shonen anime/manga out there. Sometimes with people far younger than anyone in mha.

Ugh it’s like people like you just want me to be screaming “horikoshi did this! Horikoshi did that!” Every five seconds. I read the manga, I’ve talked about these flaws before on my account. Sorry if I… enjoy the manga???? Wait… omg!

It’s almost like I’m an mha account and it says RIGHT HERE IN MY BIO! Crazy!

Like seriously, what was your point? You were mad at drawings on a screen and someone enjoying that story and just… wanted to make someone’s day worse?

Did you expect me to heave over and be like “yes master anon! Toga is the worst written character in mha and horikoshi is a bad writer!” He’s a capable writer who understands his audience more than people give him credit for.

EVERY story has flaws. Every. Single. One. And because mha is literally everywhere and the fandom can get annoying because, it’s literally everywhere, I can understand getting annoyed sometimes. But you can’t sit here and expect me to solely focus on how bad horikoshi’s writing is because you’re mad at one thing. Toga SHOULD be selfless for ochako, sorry that it means thinking that she’s going to die???? What do you want from me?

I don’t have to “raise my standards” because horikoshi uses a lot of subtext and symbolism. I have other gay media I watch or read.

But like every single lgbtq movement that’s ever happened, it takes BABY STEPS. There aren’t many, if any, gay shonens out there, and if mha wants to be the first one it has to play by the rules. It has to make you think this is every other heterosexual shonen ever.

Shojo didn’t just become gay, it had to have shows like sailor moon censor a lesbian couple to be “cousins” so that other shows could exist. Madoka had to be at least semi subtle about its queer coding.

That whole meme where it shows one show saying “x show walked so that y show could run”, yeah that’s how every gay genre was made. Horror didn’t just become gay, it had to have community and relatability build up over the years, along with those new gay writers remembering where they came from, who paved the way.

My point being: I don’t give a shit if you think horikoshi is an awful writer who you think I can’t criticize. However I DO KNOW that if toga and ochako fully get together you’ll NEVER be able to avoid mha. And that thought makes me smile so much more than just the fact that they’re canon.

[angy-grrr]

thoughts:

Himiko Toga never chose a villain name because she has always been the monster and demon for others, internalizing it. But also because she isnt trying to be someone else, but proudly show herself and her love -AFO exploited this to reaffirm the previous, so she never even realized she could give her blood for others.

Ochako Uraraka's goal and arc isn't finished until we see a few main points: "who will save heroes?" A discussion about heroism and saving, and I wouldnt be too surprised if saving villains also come up here as a developed version of the first. They are all people, and that's what matters over their assigned roles. "Himiko Toga". Where is she? Ochako's arc can't be finished until we see or hear what ended up happening. "What does she feel about it all?" She needs a resolution and express her feelings, and with the hiding she has done recently I cant help but wonder even more about Himiko's state, as she is the person who makes Ochako feel safe enough to talk about her thoughts. And lastly"You like him, dont you?" What will happen with her love for Izuku? Is she going to hide it, confess, talk about it more with Himiko? I still think about "the reveal" during her fight with her, and her hair covering her whole face... It could be because she "needs" to tell and show her whole face to Izuku*. I would prefer it another way tho

*She said she admires Himiko for being able to say her feelings and love who she does with her whole face, if I remember correctly, while remembering an Izuku who is looking somewhere (someone?) else smiling. I believe its important that she doesnt have her face shown there, but we still dont have a clear reason why. Is she just not able to show that love to Himiko because she hasn't shown Izuku first? Is it because she no longer feels it? In the next panel she says shes now going to stop her, we can see her face, and her mouth is covered in blood. Is it because their battle was never about him? Because she is ashamed of those feelings? Because she doesn't want to engage in them?

With chapter 425 taking us by surprise because of her first interaction with Midoriya after the war, I prefer to think she has her hair covering her face because she still can't be honestly herself with him. Partially? Yes completely, but she can't tell him her feelings like with Himiko.

I hope she expresses her feelings to the class, to her parents, her friends, the civilians... but I really don't think a confession to him and him only would solve anything.

She doesn't want or can't chase him and his feelings like with Himiko; Izuku is acting weird, upset about many things, and she doesn't see that, im sure she would have tried to help if she actually knew. Even tho she looks around to find a crying Himiko, she doesn't try to do the same now, and in fact rejects it; she decided her feelings are not for him or others to see, at least at the moment.

So how does Hori plan to change this in such little time? Is Izuku going to chase after her, when thats what he has always done with everything he wants? Doesn't he deserve to be chased back? Doesnt she deserve the right to decide how much of herself she wants to reveal to him? Or mourn the loss in her own terms, in case Toga's dead or she thinks she is?

With her feelings for both Midoriya and Toga she has tried to put heroism first, focus only on that; with the first one because she fails at her goals and just blindly imitates him without finding herself, and the second one because she shouldn't feel that way and questions herself over those quite frequently.

I have no idea if Horikoshi plans to make her put her feelings first for him over heroism like she did with her -risking it and acting against what a hero "should" do so they can both just be Himiko Toga and Ochako Uraraka.

I have no idea, but it would make me so sad if he did.

EDIT:

In chapter 424 we see Shoto first in the hospital, when the narration explains things cant be as simple as Deku thought as a kid. Then Ochako appears, with her arm over her stomach probably thinking about her fight. It can't end so easily, and I wouldnt be surprised if chapter 427 or 428 was about them.

Fun thought: what if Himiko is the one about to see Spinner? jkjkjk. It could be cute tho.

[silverynight]

The haunting

<----Previous

Chapter 2

Bakugo doesn't come back the next day, but it's alright, it's not like Izuku was expecting to see him anyway.

Instead Ochako comes back with prince Todoroki; Izuku can already hear Mina and other people that work there staring in awe because of how handsome he is.

They're right, he's breathtaking and that mysterious attitude only makes him look even more attractive for some reason. However, Izuku feels bad when he watches as the prince chooses a table in the corner of the room, hidden in shadows as Ochako approaches the counter.

"Is he alright?" Izuku can't help but ask.

The vampire sighs, but doesn't look in Todoroki's direction.

"It's a really long story, but basically he hates his father and thinks everyone is afraid of him as well because of what his father has done."

"I bet he just needs a little bit of good blood to feel better," a girl next to them says. She works with them, but only on weekends because she has to go to college. "He needs a drink directly from the source."

Ochako shakes her head.

"Don't waste your time, listen he–"

Of course, the girl doesn't listen and even though Izuku is curious, someone is already calling out for him to make another drink.

The next thing he knows is that the girl comes back with tears in her eyes, Izuku's protective nature makes him jump over the counter to check on her.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

The girl shakes her head. Next to him, Izuku hears people and supernatural creatures wolf whistling and commenting on how thick his thighs are. He rolls his eyes, this is exactly the main reason why he always stays behind the counter.

"He didn't," Mina cuts in, looking amused. "He probably just hurt her pride."

"He doesn't want my blood!" The girl sobs again.

"It's nothing personal," Ochako assures her. "He doesn't want anyone's blood. Thinks that would make him like his father."

At that moment, Izuku makes a decision. He makes one of the special drinks Ochako likes so much and walks directly to Todoroki's table.

The vampire's mismatched eyes roam all over him once before looking away.

"I'm not going to drink from you either," he says; Izuku likes his voice, it's deep and calm.

"I'm glad otherwise I'd have to give this to someone else instead," he puts a glass in front of him, filled with a purple liquid; it's supposed to look blue, but synthetic blood always changes the color of the drinks.

Todoroki looks back at him, surprised. Then, something like embarrassment shines in his eyes.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to assume," he looks at the glass but doesn't touch it. "I didn't ask for this."

"I know," Izuku grins kindly. "But I thought you needed it."

The vampire looks up again, although this time there's something different written on his features.

Izuku turns around to go when the prince's voice stops him.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?"

"Why would I be?" Izuku narrows his eyes in confusion, turning around again. "You have done nothing to me or to anyone for that matter."

"My father..."

"You are not your father," Izuku cuts him off, regretting being rude for a moment. "Besides, I'm not afraid of your father either. I just don't like him."

At that, a soft smile curls up the corners of Todoroki's lips, a smile that reaches even his eyes. Izuku looks away, glad he doesn't do that often because the vampire looks more attractive when he does that.

"I'm Todoroki Shoto," he introduces himself, prompting Izuku to look back.

"Midoriya Izuku."

"Thank you, Midoriya."

***

Ochako has her hands on both his shoulders and is looking at him like he's done something incredible.

"What did you say to him?" She asks, still in shock. "I saw him smile at you."

"He did, but I'm sure he was just being nice... I mean it's like when we have to–"

"He never smiles."

Izuku is sure she's being overdramatic because he's convinced he's not the only person that has made him smile.

It can't be.

"I told him I didn't like his father."

Ochako chuckles, ruffling Izuku's hair affectionately.

"Stop making all the hot guys fall for you!" Mina complains.

"I was just being kind," Izuku retorts, purposely ignoring her last comment.

He goes back to work as Ochako and Mina keep talking about that for a couple of minutes. When they suddenly shut up, Izuku is so surprised he moves a little to check on them when he realizes Todoroki has walked all the way towards the counter.

"I liked it," he says, putting an empty glass in front of him. "Could you make me another, please?"

Izuku beams at him, prompting Todoroki to look away as he shyly scratches his pale cheek.

"Of course, Todoroki! Please have a seat," Izuku says, looking up, realizing the vampire is way taller than he initially thought. He's probably a little bit taller than Bakugo.

"Sit next to me, prince!" Ochako offers.

"I told you not to call me that, Uraraka."

"Fine, just Todoroki then," she gives in and proceeds to introduce Mina.

Izuku watches happily as Todoroki starts relaxing around them.

***

Todoroki keeps coming; he doesn't sit on the back like used to but at the counter and he often talks about what he has to deal with as the prince of vampires.

Izuku is always interested in everything he says; sometimes he doesn't even fight the temptation and take out his notebook to write some of it down. Todoroki doesn't seem to mind.

Then, as Izuku leans over the counter to take notes on vampire etiquette, he notices Todoroki looking around before getting closer to him.

"I've seen some of the people that work here offering their blood to vampires," Todoroki mumbles, staring at Izuku almost shyly.

"Yes, our boss allow us to do that to make extra money," the green haired human says absentmindedly, before finally putting his notebook away.

"Do you do that?" Todoroki asks, mismatched eyes meeting Izuku's. "Do you let vampires bite you? And if that's the case how much do you charge?"

Since Todoroki has always said he's not interested in drinking real blood from its source, Izuku supposes he's just asking out of curiosity.

"No... I've never done that," he mumbles, feeling a little bit flustered. "I don't do that."

"Oh. Alright," Todoroki nods looking down at his drink; Izuku thinks he imagines the way his face shadows with disappointment.

For some reason, the silence that follows is a little bit awkward so Izuku is glad when another customer starts demanding a drink.

"Izuku!"

He can't help but grin as he turns around to face Kirishima and Mina blows a kiss in his direction.

"Hi! Do you want the usual?" Izuku asks, noticing Todoroki looking from one to the other.

"Yes, but I actually came here because–Oh! Prince Todoroki! It's a pleasure to see you here." It's obvious that's more a shock than anything else to see the vampire in that bar, but Kirishima doesn't say that out loud.

"He's a regular now," Mina cuts in, winking at them. It seems to amuse her for some reason.

"I like the company," Todoroki admits, looking up at Izuku.

"Of course you do..." Mina chuckles as Kirishima narrows his eyes for a moment.

"Anyway! I came to tell you Katsuki has tried to come back, but hasn't been able to," Kirishima then smiles with amusement. "I think he'll kill someone if he has to spend one more day away from... this place."

Izuku frowns in confusion at the werewolf.

"I didn't know he liked this bar so much," he mumbles, still feeling a little bit lost. "Didn't he say this was a shitty place?"

"Oh, trust me, honey," Mina says from behind Izuku. "It's not the place he likes."

"Is Bakugo having problems at the border?" Todoroki cuts in, surprising Izuku, he usually doesn't participate in other people's conversations unless he's addressed directly.

"No, the leader of another clan challenged him," Kirishima chuckles. "And now Katsuki has to lead even more werewolves because our clans merged after the fight."

Which means he won, Izuku thinks, eyes opening wide; despite himself he's really impressed.

Looking around and noticing there are not many customers in the bar at the moment, Izuku jumps over the counter and takes out his notebook.

"How strong Kacchan is?"

"No."

"You don't know?" Izuku narrows his eyes at Kirishima in confusion.

"I do know," the redhead says. "I just can't tell you. I can't answer any of your questions, Katsuki wants to tell you himself, when he comes back."

Izuku pouts.

"That's not fair!"

Kirishima chuckles as he ruffles Izuku's hair affectionately.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon. He's desperate already."

"Well, tell him to hurry up," Izuku says, still irritated. He doesn't like when he doesn't get answers. "I have so many questions to ask."

Kirishima lights up at that for some reason.

"I'll let him know!" He grins. "He's going to be so happy when I tell him you've missed him!"

"I didn't say that," Izuku mumbles, having a hard time picturing Bakugo happy.

"Uraraka mentioned you're curious about our people too," Todoroki says suddenly, prompting Izuku to turn around; the vampire is standing right in front of him, making even more obvious their height difference. Izuku has to look up to meet his eyes. "You can ask me anything."

"Really? Anything?" Izuku beams right before blushing to the tips of his ears. "Even about... your fangs?"

The last thing comes out in a whisper because he's feeling shy; Ochako explained to him a while ago that talking about someone's fangs is something intimate and that's why he's stopped himself from asking about it even though he's really curious.

"It's alright if it's you," Todoroki assures, smiling softly at him. Then he leans forward to whisper in his ear: "Do you want to see them?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, no... Katsuki is going to murder somebody," Kirishima mumbles with concern, but Izuku doesn't seem to hear him.

***

Next---->

Patreon

[problemswithbooks]

God can hori be any more heavy handed with the "DONT YOU WANT TO BE NORMAL NORMAL NORMAL" bestie, shes drinking other kids blood, thats not just "not normal". This weird retcon thing is annoying, Idk why hed bother putting her backstory in when he didnt give much of a shit about it 😭

The thing is, I actually don't think trying to say Toga's blood drinking is normal is necessarily bad or something that can't be done well. Quirks are a major part of the world and the story overall--it's not that far fetched that blood drinking might be a normal thing a person with a Quirk would want to do. If people can accept people that can make explosions which could also be dangerous to kids and people (and very much was for Izuku) then it's not a huge stretch to accept that blood drinking for Toga is normal and she should be accepted as such.

The issue is that Hori didn't really make that the issue. I don't think he really sees it himself given how he wrote Mineta, but Toga's main problem and why shes not accepted is a matter of consent not because she's seen as a creep.

This is why her backstory doesn't work very well, besides the fact it's way to late and very short. Yes, her parents freak out about her Quirk and obsession with blood. The problem is that they don't freak out for zero reason and are the only ones who reject her.

No child should be drinking the blood of birds. Whether she killed it or not, birds carry many diseases and parasites harmful to people. Her father shouldn't have hit her (because, I guess he did even though it's poorly conveyed), but the shock given what she's doing is understandable. Especially if they think she killed it (which is weird, and suggests she might have done something they found disturbing before this or were bad parents regardless of her Quirk).

Then they yell at her because she's biting her finger bloody. That's self harm and something you would want to send a child to therapy for. Sure, the counselor didn't help, but it's not like they can give Toga what she wants.

That's hammered home when they yell at her again when she drinks another kids blood. Hori messes up and doesn't show us what happens so we don't know if she hurt this other kid, or if they were scared of her or if they were fine with it.

Just giving us a look at her parents reaction doesn't give us any idea how she was seen by her peers. Because of that it's hard to make the case that she was only rejected for her Quirk alone, rather then her actions. In fact the only time we see other students they say she was popular and well liked until she attacked a boy in the class.

Given how young she looks when her parents yell at her for sucking another kids blood, and the fact she fled school after she attacked her crush, it appears these were separate events. If that was the case people in her school might have already heard about her sucking a kids blood earlier, and clearly not cared. In the very least we have to assume they knew her Quirk involved blood because Hori doesn't make any suggestion that it was hidden.

And that's why the theme of acceptance and Toga being normal because blood drinking is a part of her falls flat. No one ever said shit about her Quirk ever, except for her parents in sparse flashbacks. Ochako never thinks her blood drinking is gross nor do any of the the other Heroes or class 1A students. Hell, Tenya doesn't even bad mouth Stain for drinking blood even though he hated the guy so much he wanted him dead. This doesn't make it seem like the world rejected her for her Quirk.

No, the entire problem is that Toga doesn't understand consent or boundaries. We never see her ever ask anyone, even as a kid if she can drink their blood (that would have been a better scene then her drinking birds blood imho) and get rejected and told off and bullied/ostracized for her desire. Which if that did happen would explain why she never asks again and feels no one will accept her.

And, you could blame her parents and the therapist for this, but I'd just wager Hori doesn't really grasp that consent is the issue here. Mainly because Ochako never addresses it in anyway, even though she does bring up Toga's crimes. She offers her blood to Toga for life, but does not say that difference between Toga drinking her blood as opposed to anyone else's is because she is giving permission.

In the end Toga doesn't learn anything and just gets what she wanted given to her. Maybe Hori will address this next chapter but it really should have been brought up sooner. That or he should have had Toga actually not be accepted what-so-ever and shunned by all her peers for her Quirk even before she attacked her crush.

And this is part of the reason I really don't like the queer reading of the chapter is because by doing so it is suggesting that queer people are dangerous. If we read Toga's blood drinking as the same as kissing--which she seems to say (though her expression while drinking blood suggests something more...problematic) then she has been going around kissing people against their will to fulfill her own needs. If we read this as queer, is the story not saying that repressed gay people will sexually harass people because they can't understand consent when they inevitably snap?

I'm not saying this was or is Hori's intent. I think it's pretty clear he just didn't see how big an issue of consent there was with Toga and her Quirk. He wanted it to be all about how she wasn't accepted as normal, but didn't put in the work of showcasing that well. He has a lousy track record with female characters getting way less attention and with his rush to finish on top of that, Ochako and Toga got screwed with a half baked climax. Unfortunately that's also left it with less then great implications if you think about it for a coupe of minutes.

[transhawks]

Drawn to Battle

How the hero Miruko is a Blood Knight (Part 1)

The new vigilantes (which I again remind everyone is canon) gives some really interesting Miruko characterization that also really kind of fits a pattern, but one most fanon depictions of her ignore? 

She’s always been super quick to fight first, ask questions later, but the darker aspects of this were kind pushed aside as “yes! spunky hot girl! She’s kind of like Katsuki.” 

And yet I always felt this comparison was a bit.. lacking. Katsuki likes to fight, yes, and his conception of heroism has to do with victory, but there’s not there sheer need for violence for the thrill of it. And until the last vigilantes chapter we had scant characterization for Miruko that hinted it might be that for her, but nothing concrete.

That’s changed. The fact she’s being introduced in Vigilantes at the same time we see a flashback of Rappa, years ago, is pretty spot on to what now seems to be crucial to her personality. 

This is Miruko as a high school student in a trip to Osaka. She’s wearing a touristy type of hat, but it’s her. Her friends in high school apparently call her ‘Ruko’.

Anyway, notice the way she specifically says ‘scent’. It’s portrayed as animalistic, almost, her love of fighting. Which is line with how Horikoshi often makes her seem in the main manga.

In this scene Miruko, by scent, has tracked down an underground illegal fight ring simply by her quirk. Mind you, she’s still a hero student on a trip. She might have a provisional license but this is definitely something the 1A kids would have been scolded for. 

Miruko’s excitement, though, centers around the possibility of fighting. It’s fun to her, and she recognizes that through actual blood and sweat. Let’s look at the main manga for a moment; she was relieved, happy even that she could crush the noumus. That it was okay to kill since she didn’t have to hold back like she did for normal villains.

Team Up gave us a very clear repeat of this: Miruko’s praising Katsuki’s violent approach (and Deku and Ochako of course are a little perplexed by this), and her gung-ho attitude to fighting first, not asking questions. In line with her thinking that teaming up is cowardly, and that she stated her intent has always been to ‘beating up villains who scheme’, one wonders what her motivation is to be a hero.

We’ve come across lots of different heroes motivated by many different things. Some out of a need for glory and a feel that they are the best (Endeavor), some out of wanting to be a symbol to a broken society (Toshinori), some out of a need for fame (Uwabami, even Mt. Lady). We’re told glory and money are often the motivations in a conversation between Hawks and the Hunter Commission.

So, what is Miruko’s?

Let’s get back to Vigilantes. The most recent chapter as of writing this has a flashback to several years in the storyline, and given Rumi is around twenty six or twenty seven in the manga, and is also of the birth month group where she would have likely been the youngest in her class, it’s safe to say this was likely ten years ago as of the current manga storyline.

Rumi is shown on a school trip to Osaka with her classmates from a hero school in Hiroshima. 

At the same time we see Knuckleduster, still a hero and undercover, going head to head with Rappa in an illegal underground quirk ring. Rappa as everyone will recall was all about fighting. That’s his motivation; the fight itself. He wants to go head to head, he’s all about fist to fist and even gets a little put out about Knuckleduster using a knife.

He is what we call a Blood Knight character:

Fighting is everything to the Blood Knight. He lives for it. It's not winning or losing, morality, the motives of his allies, or even the glory that drives this guy so much as it is the opportunity for a good fight. (Tv tropes)

Why does this matter? Characters are rarely introduced without some sort of narrative in mind. Vigilantes is a prequel manga that has given us the backstories of heroes before (Aizawa, Mic, and Midnight’s, or All Might’s being the main examples, or even Ingenium Sr.) so it’s clearly Miruko’s turn. And setting in a minor detail in canon (remember Rappa talks about illegal quirk fighting rings to Fat Gum) means that there needs to be a connection.

It’s too early to tell since Vigilantes has just started this arc with Miruko, but I think what’s happening is that we’re going to see just what Miruko stands for. And there’s a likelihood that she’s being pitted against Rappa (narratively for now) because she is very much like Rappa.

We’ve been told constantly that heroes and villains are part of the same coin. So, what is the difference between Miruko’s need to fight and Rappa’s? What’s the difference between two people who seem to live for the thrill of fighting first and foremost, with no need for allies and such? Maybe it’s just that Miruko got labeled a hero and Rappa a villain.