#there's also one other (and only one other) objectively correct way for bnha to go

[codenamesazanka]

the objectively correct way for bnha to have gone was Spinner as protag. I'm not biased. It's just the truth.

So I have an AU where Spinner is the Ninth OFA Protagonist. Here is my initial post and idea. Here is snippets from it in my draft and scrapes collection.

And here is more:

-

[When the other Heroes and police are disinterested in learning about the Villains as people, Shuuichi starts his own investigation. That means he swallows the bad taste in his mouth and goes to ask Hawks for the research he had on the League.]

“Don’t bother with the mother,” Hawks tells him. “She killed herself after Kamino. The father is in Iwate. Well— that’s where I found him five months ago. Might have moved, though, cuz, you know,” Hawks shrugs, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise, “the whole collapsed state situation.”

[…]

Toga Himiko. Specialized Quirk Counseling from age 3 to 8. 

Shuuichi remembers quirk counseling. It was just the school’s general one, the session at the beginning of every school year in elementary school, but… He hated those agonizing 45 minutes when he was shuffled into a room with a woman who looked at him and found something wrong with every inch of his body. 

You don’t need special shoes. Just file down the claws on your feet. File down the claws on your hands too. Too bad we can’t do anything about that hair… When you’re at school, don’t lick your eyes. Don’t eat bugs. Oh, you don’t do that? Well, just remember it. Don’t frown. It makes your face look… rude. 

And the most important rule of all, don’t touch anyone. 

Flipping through the report, Shuuichi skims each page. Regulating appearance (facial)… to learn appropriate expressions of affection… cognition/behavioral modification: utilize system of rewards and punishments… 

He stops several pages in, attention caught by a sentence circled with red ink. 

H. said father told her she was ‘not human’ again - !!! Call child welfare? Reason: Discipline, in response to problem behavior. Talked with parents - avoid using harsh language. 

Shuuichi stares at the words until they are no longer recognizable as words. Just strange lines on paper, no meaning, an indecipherable alien code. Something only a lunatic can read and understand and agree with. 

[...]

“She’s not an evil psychopath.” Those two days he spent at the hideout, Toga called him ‘Shuuichi-kun’. When he snapped at her to stop, she giggled a little, but switched to using ‘Spinner-kun’. She asked him about Uraraka, wanted to know if she was doing good at school, if she hadn’t been too upset at losing in the Sports Festival semi-finals (and wasn’t she brave? And cute? All battered and bleeding from her nose—). 

Ask him, and Shuuichi will not hesitate to admit that he thinks Toga Himiko is weird. But no more than the weirder of the UA kids. He even wants to say she seems to be less of a brat than some of them too, but it’s really only Bakugou and Monoma that come to mind.

Which actually does prove his point. If her own parents hadn’t yelled in her face that they didn’t want her… if the counselor had gone ahead and called the welfare office… 

“She’s not a bad person,” Shuuichi says. 

Hawks says nothing, only rubbing his chin in thought. 

It’s proof of a cruel universe, Shuuichi thinks, that anyone else he says this to, everyone he has said this to, they’d kick him out of the room. They’d want him to get psychologically evaluated. The one person who would take that statement and actually let it sit in their mind? Hawks, who tried what Shuuichi was doing and failed in the most gruesome way possible. The Bad Ending right in front of Shuuichi as he’s trying to find any other ending. 

“She’s not a bad person,” Hawks repeats. “Sure. We’ll go with that. You’ve come up with a plan for stopping her yet?” 

“She—” Shuuichi clenches his jaw, like if he bites down hard enough, the pressure will force his idea to become comprehensive and articulate. “Toga Himiko was trying to talk to Uraraka and Asui. She wanted to talk. About…” He grasps for the points he tried to pull out of Uraraka’s confused report of Toga’s incoherent questions. “…consequences, or whatever. If we could just get her to come back and talk— discuss what she wants, make a deal, something we can both agree to…”

“Are we talking about reasonable requests here? Or does anything go?” Hawks asks. “If she’s asking to bathe in blood, I don’t think that’s gonna fly…” 

Shuuichi slams a hand onto the table. “I’m serious here!”  

“Hey, easy,” Hawks puts his hands up. “So am I. It’s a serious question. Let’s say we want her to surrender, we’re willing to make a concession or two. Fine, okay.” His eyes flicker to meet Shuuichi’s gaze directly. “But there’s a limit to what Heroes can allow, you know, and still call themselves Heroes.” 

Sometimes, Hawks brings up moments he had with Tokoyami, often the times when the kid tries out being mysterious or cryptically wise, but ends up being adorable (Hawks’ word). Wedging unexpected words into sentences to hint at— something; being vague to mask and enhance something totally ordinary. Kids, amirite?

When Hawks does it, Shuuichi wants to shake him. That Hawks does not use ‘we’ when he talks about Heroes and limits does not escape Shuuichi’s notice. Whether it was on purpose or not, whatever it says about how Hawks sees himself - Shuuichi can’t give a crap. He wants to tell Hawks that he doesn’t get to exclude himself from the group, whatever the reason. So he was a spy and assassin and the HSPC’s attack dog, and he did unheroic things. He’s still a Hero, ranking Number 2 in the public eye. Nagant revealed to Shuuichi that regular Heroes are only able to stand and smile because the HPSC had her lined up corpses underneath their feet. If Hawks was an essential gear that made the engine run, he’s part of the whole machine. And the machine is all too happy to get Shuuichi to kill Shigaraki as well. 

He doesn’t say it, though, because honestly, Shuuichi wishes he could do just that - stop calling himself a Hero. Lately, he has been thinking of himself as the last ditch anti-AFO plan. He’s the just vessel for One For All. He’s the guy who found Excalibur on the ground instead of properly pulling it out from the stone. 

He’s not a Hero, but he’s still a Hero. So he’s here. 

“What did Bubaigawara ask for?” Shuuichi asks instead. 

Bubaigawara Jin, who could smoke through his mask. Who protested when Hikiishi– Magne scrunched up her nose at that and asked him to go outside, but immediately dunked his cigarette into his glass of beer. Who then loudly told everyone smoking was bad, so keep those lungs healthy. Bubaigawara did everything he was told by anyone in the League, eager to prove to his new boss and co-workers that he was useful. Everything except– 

Showing Shuuichi that phone picture of the kids, even though Shigaraki had forbidden any contact or information. It was before the night of the raid, when everyone allowed themselves to be friendly because they thought Shuuichi was going to take Shigaraki’s offer and join the League, but the kindness of his help existed; was real. 

Out of everyone in the League, Shuuichi would’ve picked Bubaigawara out to be the one most easy to convince to surrender. His pre-League crimes were just a string of robberies for the means to pursue the good life. Dabi might have manipulated the footage, but Bubaigawara undeniably had tears in his eyes, desperate to run back to his comrades. He cared about people; that trait hadn’t been totally exhausted yet.  

When Hawks’ expression stays the usual blasé, but his eyes mildly take on that steady soldier gaze, Shuuichi feels a pseudo-Danger Sense spike through his mind. He was a decent guy, Hawks had said. I think he really was a good person. 

Before Hawks can say anything, Shuuichi gets his accusation out first. “You said you talked to him.”

“That’s ‘cause I did–”

“You said you gave him the chance to surrender.” Shuuichi can feel his claws piercing into the sofa leather underneath him. “You said you told him you’ll help him. You got him to trust you and you offered him an out, you were going to help him, and he said no. Then you had no choice when Dabi attacked and he ran, he was going to use his quirk, so you–” Shuuichi swallows. “You killed him.” 

“...I had to, at the time. There was no other option.” Hawks looks somber and sincere, and it might have convinced Shuuichi if Hawks would just drop that fucking look in his eyes. “But I liked Bubaigawara–.” 

“I don’t care if you liked him!” Shuuichi seethes. “You liked him, I liked him, his multiple personalities liked him! It doesn’t matter. This isn’t about liking. You said you talked to him. Did you?” 

And suddenly, it’s full soldier mode. 

“I talked to him,” Hawks says, much more curt. “I said I didn’t want to fight him. I asked him to come quietly. I said I’ll help him start over after his sentence.” 

“Was that what he wanted? Was that the ‘reasonable request’?” 

The pause before he replies is the real answer, even as Hawks says, “It’s more than what I am ever supposed to do.”

“You didn’t ask,” Shuuichi translates for him. “Why are you even here? For a good laugh? Dumbass wants to talk to the Villains and, what? You want to see–” 

“Bubaigawara said he’d trade his soul for the League’s happiness.” Hawks says. Shuuichi twitches at the voice that’s without the usual Fukuoka accent and with not a single variation in tone. “He was too loyal. He would’ve done anything they told him to do. What Bubaigawara Jin wanted was for the League to be happy.” 

With exaggerated movements, Hawks glances at him, then looks over the papers on the table, all the files on each member of the League, files Hawks himself put together. “Do you see the problem, Iguchi? There was no deal to be made there. It was impossible, even before taking into account that this is the League.” 

He was a decent guy, Hawks said. I think he really was a good person. He was a decent guy. I think he really was a good person. He was–

The words play in a loop in Shuuichi’s head. It overwhelms everything else, stopping him from having to go forward and follow the cascade of connections. He would let this go on infinitely, if the words didn’t also bring with them a distant but increasingly encroaching grief.

Bubaigawara, who showed him how the kids were doing, against his boss’ orders, and Shuuichi can still remember that moment when he saw the picture of Bakugou and Tokoyami, tied up but looking enraged (Bakugou) and exasperated (Tokoyami), undoubtedly alive and literally kicking. The moment fear unclenched its icy hold on his heart; the immensity of relief numbing him, having pushed out of his body every other sensation. He just barely remembers glimpsing a thumbs up at the corner of his vision and hearing ‘now stop being naughty’ from far, far away.

What did Bubaigawara want? For the League to be happy. For people he cared about to be happy. A completely reasonable request, now unreasonable. A most basic and common and straight up corny thing, happiness, made impossible through distortions that Shuuichi knows must have existed to twist Bubaigawara’s life into a wreck, but he cannot see them nor understand what and how and why. He cannot right them, no matter how much he wants to. 

“You liked him, and you killed him,” Shuuichi says. “You liked him, because at heart he’s a good person, actually a good person, and you killed him.” 

“Iguchi–” 

“If you really did like him,” Shuuichi says. “If you really did think he was a good person, you would’ve tried every single thing you could’ve done to not kill him. To not let him die.” A dizzying rage burst from his chest. “You would’ve saved him. That’s the fucking job.” 

[...]

For all that Shuuichi is unsympathetic to Hawks’ quiet angsting about his dirty hands and wings, he recognizes that it really comes from a place of fear. It comes from the future, the one where he ends up killing Shigaraki and then it’s his turn to be forced to live with his dirty self. Though if he’s lucky, he dies of old age at 35 and takes One For All with him. Plus, he has his tried and true method of withdrawing from life. He spent fifteen years emptying himself of all thought and emotions and life; what’s another fifteen?

It’s tempting to retreat back to old habits. It’s easy to do. Shuuichi can give up and stop thinking about any of this. He listens to his order and follows the war plan to go kill Toga, kill Shigaraki, kill All For One. He has permission, he has all of Japan and the world backing him up. He’ll finally be doing his job: defeating bad guys and protecting good people. 

He won’t be just somebody, he’ll be the Hero that slayed the Demon Lord. His greatest fantasy come to life.

[...]

“So the League has to die because this world has thrown them to the wolves? They gotta die because they see no future for themselves in this world, but wanting to live, they’ve decided to make a new one? You know that’s who they really are. You knew that was who Bubaigawara truly was.” Shuuichi is now all but yelling. “They aren’t monsters. They’re not evil. They’re just people. Just because they— It shouldn’t matter what they’ve done. They’re people. And Heroes save people, don't they!?” 

Hawks’ eyes are hard. The look of a parent watching a child throw a tantrum and refusing to budge. “Iguchi. How about you consider this. The people back in your hometown - they aren’t monsters; probably aren’t bad people either. Not usually. Not to their friends and family—”

By the time Shuuichi’s head’s clear enough, he already had Hawks by the collar and pinned to the wall. Hawks looks neither surprised nor offended about this. He allowed this. Shuuichi wants to punch him. 

“What are you trying to say?” Shuuichi’s claws pierce through Hawks’ jacket. “Bastard, what are you trying to say? Don’t you dare…”

“I dare you to consider it, Iguchi.”

“You think I haven’t done that?!” Shuuichi yells. “You think I’ve never tried? I’ve thought about it. I’ve thought about it for years. I know it already! I’ve made myself accept it. I know! I know they’re…”

But he can’t say it out loud. He doesn’t want to. He refuses to. The truth that’s a lie. Shuuichi won’t tell that lie.

“If you had it your way,” Hawks says, even and nearly soft. “You would call every one of them criminals. You would want them punished. You still hold that grudge. Maybe you’ve even thought about taking revenge on the worst of them… haven’t you?”

Shuuichi doesn’t answer. 

Of course he had. Who wouldn’t, if you were powerless and fearful and angry. When you’re small, all you wanted was for them to stop, to leave you alone. Once you’re old enough to grasp the difference between life and death, and the knowledge that this was something you can affect, you realize, you can stop this forever. 

Hawks continues. “What makes them so different from the League that you think the League should be allowed mercy, forgiveness, but not those villagers? That you’ll save Shigaraki, but not your classmates, your village?”

“Save them?” Shuuichi echos. “Save them? Save them from what?”

“What else? From their hatred.”

Shuuichi can’t think. Too many thoughts, too many emotions. He doesn’t want to think. He has no answer. 

Hawks brings his hands to Shuuichi’s own, untangling his claws from the collar. “The League must be stopped, Iguchi.” 

“I know that,” Shuuichi says. Automatic. A phrase spoken so often it’s worn out; empty. As is his next word. But–

Hawks doesn’t let him reach it. “They have to be stopped because they’re dangerous. They’re killers. They’ve killed so many people already, and they’re about to kill a horrific number more.” Then he pushes Shuuichi away. 

“…The people of your hometown, whatever they did, it was wrong. It was not justified. You didn’t deserve the treatment you got. But they’re not killers. They haven’t killed anyone. And they weren’t planning for people to die.”

No, they weren't. 

They didn’t, because the world had moved past saying people like Shuuichi should be drowned at birth. The world had overcome that desire years ago and stopped considering it a reasonable opinion. Who cares that the last massacre was only 30 years ago, when Shuuichi’s parents were alive, middle school students who walked quickly to and from school, careful not to stay outside any longer then they had to but still knowing that won’t protect them from being attacked on someone’s moody whim and left to die in the dirt? Who cares that half of those who did the advocating for purges got to pass away in old age on a soft bed? Because those kinds of people are no longer a threat. The children they raised aren’t killers, have never set fire to homes or stabbed a pitchfork through someone. And the children those children raised would never even consider that, because they knew it would be too extreme, too much - too inconvenient to them. They don’t want anyone to die. 

They only made Shuuichi wish he was dead. Wish he hadn’t been born. Sometimes Shuuichi even wished that whenever they opened their mouth or thought up a silly prank, they would stop and instead just pick up a bat and beat the shit out of him, because then the hurt he felt would be physical, visible on his body as undeniable evidence, as a most truthful witness with the most vivid memory, the damage calculable and convertible to consequences. And maybe when the broken bones heal and the bruises fade, the pain would go with it, instead of burrowing into his heart and staying in that hollowed space. 

(He was naive back then. That the scars would only mark him as victim and not as potential danger - because what scars did not hurt? What scars did not become a reminder of pain and injustice and the seeds of resentment? Until he saw what was underneath Shoji’s mask, he hadn’t realize–) 

His heart is ragged with holes. 

One of Hawks’ numerous abilities is apparently mind-reading, because he gently told Shuuichi, “You’re still alive.”

Am I? Shuuichi wants to ask. 

But he is. That is true. Shuuichi survived. He had enough strength to not succumb; he had enough cowardice to stay. Whichever it was, they didn’t manage to kill him. They’re not murderers, not like the League. And even if he did end up dead…

What’s worse? Destruction in an instant, or destruction spread over the years, eroding the control he had over his life and moving his arm to point the knife at himself? Destruction attributable to one person, a tangible individual being, and easy to lock away; or destruction that everyone partakes in, that saturates the very air? They all breathe it in and exhale it out, the damage spread so evenly no one was innocent, but neither were they guilty in any real way, solid and mattering. When calling for someone to take responsibility, there is no one to answer. Blood on their hands but only specks, and if everyone has to have that drop of blood on their hands, then that’s just a normal part of life.

(There’s blood on him too.) 

Bugs in his school lunches; face pushed into mud - lizards crawl on the ground. His classmates giggled and teased each other. Their bullying was an exotic vacation - Oh my god, you’re so mean! - (They knew it was wrong to do, they knew) - a thrill to try out. Pesticides sprayed at him, farming hoes brandished - no pests on my land. All those adults with disgust in their eyes, then dancing amusement when he had to comply. 

(And then everyone else - eyes darting away, lips pressed into a thin line, silence for a shield - ignore it, just ignore it. A lecture, a lesson. You can handle it. You have to accept it. It will make you stronger.)

But it wasn’t like they did anything truly horrible. They knew not to cross that boundary (though sometimes—just a foot over the line, but always taken back quickly - they would never go that far). It’s not like they held him down and forced salt into his eyes and down his throat. It’s not like they caged and starved him. They didn’t hurt him like their grandfathers would’ve. He’s alive, because they aren’t bad people. 

They are good people.

They laughed and loved and worked hard and wanted only happy lives. A whole community. Good people. 

For so long, Shuuichi had wanted to see evidence of their evil, to know they were cruel and sadistic and hurt everyone they came into contact with. He wanted so badly for them to be sociopaths and manipulative toxic ghouls, and one day, surely, they would see comeuppance, and justice would arrive, because otherwise, anything otherwise—

—it would mean a good person thought he deserved his hurt. 

A good person didn’t care about him. A good person can hurt him and still consider themselves kind and compassionate. In them was no divergence from good behavior - it was their normal and mundane. And so it had to be his normal too. 

If they’re good, and they felt his suffering was okay; if they’re good and they tormented him and ignored him, and they go on to have happy lives because they are good people, then what does that make him?

In this world, good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people. This is the world he’s fighting to preserve. Most of it has done nothing that would deserve destruction and death. They truly haven’t. Not guilty. Free to go. Return things back to what they were before.

[...]

Hawks says, “We’ll change things after this.”

A change out of fear. A grudging change that was not optional, because the consequences of their society’s failures were no longer tolerable or ignorable. A change that put no blame on themselves, seen as a concession to the disagreeable elements of society to placate them, to tame them. Years later, when the change has saturated the culture, history will not remember this as a concession. It will remember this as a historical success, a change people chose to progress, to become a better world.

The League won’t get to be a part of this. They are never to experience even a second of that better world they forced everyone to create, never to experience a normal that didn’t hurt. They should’ve swallow down their pain and make do. They should’ve accepted the way the world was. If they had wanted things to change, they should’ve done it in a better way. Support the Heroes that do so much good at their expense. Make nice with the people that emptied their heart. Let everyone else have that golden peace, even as their own peace shrivels up and crumbles. 

Because good things happen to good people; and bad things happen to bad people.

[anti-katsuki-lounge]

At first I thought the reason that I didn't like Bakugou was his deeply grating and aggressive attitude problem. The fact that he suicide bated someone in his introduction and we are all supposed to forget that didn't help.

But then I started and finished all of dragon ball z. Vegeta is so much worse that Bakugou objectively. Bakugou is just a middle school bully with delusions of grandeur. Vegeta is a planet destroying war criminal. Even in terms of attitude problems Vegeta has Bakugou beat. Vegeta's pride puts Bakugou's inferiority/superiority issues to shame.

And yet despite all of this I really really like Vegeta as a character. He was great every time he was on screen and I enjoyed his slow redemption arc.

Why is that?

I think the issue is in the goals of the respective series. Dragon ball is about being stronger and improving yourself. Bnha is about becoming heros.

It really grates at me that Bakugou's goal is going to be a hero. Which is essentially, and idol that has the power to arrest people. That's a lot of authority to give bully. It's especially grating that Bakugou never seems to realize just how far out of reach his goal is, not because of his lack of power, but because he sucks as a person. He has yet to become a decent person let alone be revered as a hero.

Vegeta meanwhile wants to get stronger and beat Goku. A clear objective that he is constantly working towards and always comes just short of achieving. I honestly can't help but root for that bastard.

There is also a stark difference between how they are treated by the other characters and narrative.

Vegeta is tolerated by most of the cast because they have far bigger problems and need all the fighters they can get. Also over half of the Z fighters have tried to kill Goku at one point or another and few of them have a strict sense of justice. So it doesn't feel weird that they are friends/allies. Vegeta simply put doesn't warp the characters around him.

Bakugou meanwhile is surrounded by heroes and hero students. And all on them are cool with him despite him nearly murdering Izuku in the battle trials. His shitty attitude doesn't prevent him from making friends when it realistically would. Bakugou warps the narrative around him.

Their redemption arcs are handled differently too.

Bakugou's main (and only) victim is the protagonist and that's the only thing that keeps him relevant to the plot. It's not crazy for me to expect an apology and a proper reflection on what he has done a lot sooner than chapter 322. Even after this he keeps being a jerk. The manga is going to be finished soon. This is taking far to long.

Vegeta's redemption takes far longer than Bakugou's. Yet it doesn't feel like it takes forever. Maybe this is because Vegeta actually contributes to the plot in other ways. Such as, his constant quest to get stronger, everything related to Freiza, and his relationships to his new family on earth. His sacrifice remains iconic too. I really really doubt Bakugou's will be.

Characters have a habit of saying that Bakugou has changed while he hasn't. Vegeta meanwhile says that he achieved super sainin because his heart is pure, pure evil! Which is a neat difference.

Vegeta is a better character for me because, he doesn't warp the characters around him, the narrative doesn't say he's changed until he actually changed, and he has interesting stuff going on outside his relationship with the protagonist.

So yeah. I guess all character archetypes can be enjoyable and it really does all depend on the writer.

All of this. There are characters who’ve done far worse than Katsuki. Vegeta and Zuko are perhaps the two most popular characters that come to mind. The difference is that their egos are constantly knocked down, they face actual trials, experience loss due to their actions, and ultimately denounce their old ways and aim to correct their wrongs. Katsuki’s ego is never knocked in any logical way, he never has his faults thrown at his face, never had to face conflict, and is treated as being some amazing person by the narrative.

[1moreff-creator]

DRDT Characters’ Quirks and Roles (BNHA AU)

I made a typo one time calling Hope’s Peak “UA”, so now I have to course correct. In other words, here’s the quirks (essentially superpowers for the uninformed) I think the DRDT cast would have if they were in BNHA, and what roles they would play in the story! Well, this was originally just going to be quirks, but I got carried away and now I have a whole AU. How did this happen.

Get ready for somewhat clear favoritism, especially 1-B supremacy.

Btw, I know DRDT characters are older than high schoolers, but I’m still making them first years so they can fit better in the narrative. And pretend hero course classes have a different number of students allowed. Oh, and I will use first names for DRDT characters and last names for BNHA characters, don’t @ me.

(This is way longer than it should be)

Xander: Rebel Heart

(He can’t stand to do nothing)

Whenever he perceives something he deems an injustice, his eye(s) begins glowing and his strength grows exponentially! Over time, he’s learnt to activate it on command by simply remembering injustices he’s seen. (Credit to @accirax for the idea! Tagging them 'cause they said they wanted to read this if I ever made it)

However, if he loses his temper too much, his body will begin using hysteric strength, which can damage his muscles and bones. Not to the extent of Midoriya, but still pretty bad.

UA Hero Course student, class 1-A. He did not like the stunt Aizawa pulled in the quirk apprehension test. Keep away from Bakugo at all costs. He constantly clashes with people like Iida and Yaoyorozu on ideals, and loves to argue. His enthusiasm does draw in people like Kirishima, Ashido, etc. He's essentially an honorary member of the Bakusquad, but Bakugo and him avoid each other a bit too much for Xander to truly be a member.

He originally joined UA just to ‘fight the bad guys’ and save people, but quickly gets convinced the Hero System is in desperate need for reform, and wants to revolutionize it from within. Over the course of the year(s), he adds people to his cause to completely overhaul the system.

Hero name: Revolution

(Thus starts the trend of me being bad at names)

Charles: Atomic Rearrangement

(Weakness is to be conquered, not ignored)

By touching an object, he can remove electrons, protons and neutrons from its atoms to change its chemical makeup, as well as rearrange the object’s molecular structure! He can later use the removed particles to create small electric shocks, or add them to another object and change its chemical makeup.

(I don’t think that’s how this would work, but pretend with me)

Common tricks include creating carbon-only weapons from the oxygen in the air, though he prefers creating carbon alloys with oxygen and stuff from his hero costume; reducing oxygen to hydrogen and blowing it up with a shock, a la Bakugo (he has to be careful, since he doesn’t have as much blast resistance as the other); vaporizing walls, weapons and armor by reducing their components to noble gasses; among others.

However, his quirk takes a toll on his mind, simply due to the effort of keeping track of the sheer number of particles he manipulates. He can generally fight without much focus, but he gets sloppy after too much use and can even lose the ability to speak for a while. He has lapses in memory when he really overdoes it. It’s a bit like Kaminari, but toned way down, and also, he resents the comparison.

UA Hero Course student, class 1-A. He began with an elitist attitude, only considering a few of his classmates to have have truly heroic quirks. He’s quickly humbled as his hemophobia becomes a problem since the very first time Midoriya uses his quirk. He has to work hard to be able to fight when blood’s involved, but he learns quickly. He gets better over time, in part thanks to his hero costume’s goggles blocking out the red color of blood to help him, but he still prefers his fights as bloodless as possible.

He ends up becoming quite well-liked after that bad first impression. Kaminari and Ashido constantly bother and prank him, but he's still first choice when they struggle with Chemistry. Todoroki and him enjoy just sorta existing near each other. Yaoyorozu and him regularly talk about chemicals no one but them even knows how to pronounce.

1-B and 1-A have a much closer relation in this AU (you'll see why), but the amount of time Charles spends with 1-B is still surprising. Until you realize Whit is in 1-B, and then it makes more sense.

Hero Name: Elemental

(I swear these get better)

Ace: Cavalry

(An unsure jockey will always move forward, but it will be the horse who chooses the path)

(Disclaimer: I know nothing about jockeying)

If he puts his legs over any object, in the same way one would put their legs over a horse, the object will begin flying forwards or backwards (he chooses) at great speeds, like a horse! Or, perhaps more accurately, a witch’s broom. Ace prefers horses for the explanation because as scary as they are, they’re less scary than witches.

His main trick involves jumping and bending his knees, which will trick his quirk into activating on his pants. As soon as he does, his speed will instantly increase to that of a good horse’s top speed, but given enough space to accelerate, he can even rival Hawks. This allows him to quickly and erratically reposition himself in battle, and kicking while flying at these speeds is his most usual form of attack. This leads to an extremely unorthodox, yet weirdly effective fighting style, where Ace constantly swings back and forth in the battlefield, kicking like a wild horse.

(I am not good at coming up with quirks)

UA Hero Course student, class 1-B. But you think he wants to be a hero? Fuck no! That’s scary! But it’s what everyone told him he’d be good at, and he doesn’t want to disappoint them. He hates fighting and especially practicing, which is what makes his actual ability so strange.

He’s really good at both fighting and rescue, despite never wanting to practice for either. He even managed to grab everyone’s headbands during the cavalry battle of the first year Sports Fest, and kept them until the end! That one was awkward. The organizers had to make a tie-breaker game on the fly; 5 people from class A made it through, alongside Shinso, and the rest of the final 16 was all class 1-B, since Ace’s group was just people from his class.

The Common Sense Kings constantly bother him, he's fun to prank. Regularly receives Kendo neck chops. Monoma doesn't like Ace's quirk all that much, and Ace takes that as a point of pride. He will get punched by Kamakiri one day.

Deathly terrified by Pony Tsunotori.

Hero Name: Blowout

(I swear that's a real jockeying term)

Arei: Bowling Queen

(Because that’s what heroes do)

When she touches any object below a certain weight limit with her left hand, she can change its shape to match the size and shape of a bowling ball. She can additionally throw this ball with extreme strength and precision. Doesn’t work on things in direct contact with a person (read: clothes). She carries small marbles on her hero costume to expand into a bowling ball size and destroy her enemies. No real drawback, her arm just gets tired from throwing too much shit.

UA Hero Course student, class 1-B. She goes through a similar arc as she does in the killing game, but with Kendo comforting her instead of David when she breaks down at Eden’s niceness. She does actually get the chance to make it up to her, and she promises to buy support gear from her and only her for as long as she’s a hero. It’s the best support gear out there anyways (according to Arei, at least), so if anyone has any problems with it, they can eat a bowling ball.

Apart from that, she gets along with class B once she becomes nicer. Tokage and her in particular are a menace together. They also occassionally go bowling as a class, and she destroys everyone.

Hero Name: Strikeout

(I hope I’m not fucking up the bowling terminology and this isn’t bad. It just sounds better than ‘striker’ or something)

Rose: Photographic Memory

(An eye for details)

She can perfectly remember everything she’s ever seen, down to the most minute detail, and notice even extremely minor shifts in how things look!

UA Support Course student, class 1-H. She is the early warning system for Hatsume’s explosions (when she’s paying attention, anyways), since she can spot any malfunctions pretty much instantly. Her quirk incidentally allows her to perfectly visualize the things she wants to make, and her artistic abilities let her make incredible sketches. Only issue is she’s a bit of a perfectionist, and absentminded as always, but she’s one of the best students in the Support Course first year.

Eden's her friend, and usually drags her along to talk to the Hero Course. Rose likes hanging out with them, but is usually exhausted after spending too much time there. Rose, Todoroki and Kodai understand each other on a fundamental level, no need to speak.

Support Codename: Photographic Forger

(Get it? Forging like metal and copying art? What? What do you mean support codenames aren’t a thing?)

Hu: Metamorphosis

(Yearning for change; let the future always be brighter than the past)

At will, she can transform parts of her body into those of a giant butterfly. However, she becomes extremely tired if she uses the quirk too much.

+She can manifest large butterfly wings made of pure energy (they go through clothes because I said so). By default, they're neon green, but she can change their color at will, which can be useful for visual communication, among other applications. She can fly with these wings, and with training, she can choose to either fly straight and effectively, or fly with the erratic turbulence butterflies usually do, to make her movements harder to predict.

+She can manifest an extra set of arms under her standard two. These are also made of energy and can go through clothes (can you tell I have a grudge on certain women's quirks), but they always have a neon green outline and are see-through. Obviously useful.

+She can manifest compound eyes over her regular ones, though it's advised she closes her human baseline eyes before doing so. This grants her a 360ª field of vision, and the ability to see UV light.

+She can manifest antennae, granting her extra sensory abilities, mainly in smell and the ability to feel nearby disturbances in the air.

UA Hero Course student, class 1-A. She gets on extremely well with Yaoyorozu, Shoji, Tokoyami, and basically anyone else in that class who doesn’t shout all the time (so like three people), but she’s nice to everyone for the most part. Zither playing is a hobby, but she's obviously extremely good at it, and thus she was part of the Culture Festival band.

Hero Name: Lepidoptera

(I know that’s boring, but it sounds cool)

Eden: Clockwork

(Take your time; you will hear the clock chime again)

She can alter the flow of time on any inanimate object she touches, but only one object can be affected at a time! This effectively means she can slow down or speed up anything. However, whatever effect she applies, the opposite applies to her: she slows down when she speeds something up, and speeds up when she slows something down. She can’t fully reverse time. The gears in her eyes turn when she uses her quirk.

She typically uses Clockwork to test out support gear, slowing them down to observe how they work and what issues they may have, or speeding them up to see how they react to prolonged use.

UA Support Course student, class 1-H. Hatsume worries her sometimes, but they have a ‘blast’ (or several) designing support items together! Their energy cannot be contained when they’re in the mood. Eden establishes a great relationship with Arei after a tumultuous start, but she also gets along well with several Hero Course first years and of course Rose and Levi.

Support Codename: Hourglass

Nico: Mammalian Encyclopedia

(In the end, we are naught but animals)

They can change parts of their body (but never their entire body) to match any mammal they’re aware of! Well, except other primates for some reason. However, their mental faculties and instincts change to more closely match those of the species they transform into, so it’s generally recommended they stick to highly intelligent and non-aggressive species. Their favorites are felines of any kind, however. Also, they get permanent cat ears and whiskers, even if they completely change their head to match another animal.

Their main weapon is using bear paws and jaguar teeth; you sort of don’t need much more than that usually, and those two are intelligent enough to where Nico can suppress predatory instincts from the jaguar. However, their repertoire is immense; horses for kicks, lynx for vision, bats for echolocation and flight, cheetahs for speed (though they have to be particularly careful not to destroy their energy reserves), the list goes on.

UA Hero Course student, class 1-A. They instantly got along with Koda for obvious reasons, and quite quickly got adopted into the 'quiet kid' club. Great friends with Hu, of course. In fact, she helped them figure out how to fly as a bat, since they always struggled with that. Bats aren't very smart.

They hate water, a lot, but they’re actually one of the best in sea rescues alongside Asui. The orca may just be their best transformation, even though since they can’t do full body and always end up looking more like a mermaid. Still, echolocation, strength, speed and practically unimpaired mind make them the only real threat to Asui in water exercises. They also have hippos for lower water level floods, but they’re… dumber. And way too aggressive to be viable for long.

Actually, aggressiveness is a real use. They never go too far with classmates, but they have gotten quite close to killing quite a few villains. The rumors they even tried to kill 1-B student Ace at one point don’t help them.

Sometimes gets the urge to eat Nedzu. Nedzu is slightly scared.

Hero Name: Fauna

Whit: Cupid’s Arrow

(A match made in heaven)

By kissing the air, he can choose to shoot an arrow made of energy, its tip shaped like a heart and leaving a heart shaped trail. When two arrows impact two different targets (be it objects or people), they will be attracted to one another as if pulled by a magnetic force. The effect will wear off when the targets touch, and they will be immune to Cupid’s Arrow for a few seconds after. Overuse of this quirk can lead to acute heartaches and arrhythmia, and may have permanently damaged Whit’s cardiovascular system there is nothing Whit’s classmates have to worry about, he’s perfectly fine :)

UA Hero Course student, class 1-B. One of the driving forces for the two classes being closer than in canon BNHA. They still love to bother Charles the most, but when he’s not around, Monoma, Kuroiro, Shiozaki, Ace, among others, are great targets for puns and teasing. Whit is dubbed a Common Sense King alongside Awase, Tsuburaba, Kaibara and Rin.

Whit may or may not have a cousin with a quirk which magnetizes people based on gender. This cousin may or may not have disappeared a few years before Whit got to UA. Magne from the League of Villains may or may not have had a cousin with a quirk related to shooting heart-tipped arrows by blowing kisses. The Summer Camp attack may or may not have gotten awkward when Magne and Whit met.

Hero Name: Cupid

J: Lights Show

(The brightest lights cast the darkest shadows)

She can perfectly control photons in a radius around her! Sounds simple, but she’s essentially a walking flash-bang, smoke screen, flare system, etc. However, she mostly fights by concentrating light at her fingertips and launching lasers intense enough to create small explosions where they strike; and perhaps even more impressively, by manipulating photons to act as particles for long enough to work as solid matter. Weapons of pure light are one thing, but her mobility and defense thanks to light platforms and shields is impressive.

UA Hero Course Recommendation student, class 1-A (they get three recommendation students per class because I said so). She was recommended by her mom, pro hero Mariabella Rosales, but she hides this from her classmates as long as possible. Yaoyorozu and Todoroki knew, but didn’t say anything until the Sports Festival, where her true name was called out in front of everyone, and all eyes where on her.

Despite her quirk and lineage, she actually wants to go underground. She likes Aizawa pretty much instantly, even after the quirk apprehension fiasco. The same way canon J doesn’t like egocentric actors, BNHA AU J hates flashy heroes. She even has a grudge against All Might, though it slowly goes away as she spends more time around him. Her and Todoroki get along from shared Endeavor hate, though.

She is one of the people most on board with Xander’s idea of revolution of the system, since she’s seen the flaws firsthand. Lots of political drama ends up having her orbiting around, but always just out of the public eye.

Hero Name: J

(She doesn’t see a point of making it more complicated than that, since she’ll be underground and all that)

Veronika: Living Nightmare

(But is it selfish to have fun?)

She can cause people in a certain, mid-range radius around her to hallucinate vividly. Auditory hallucinations are the least energy consuming for her to do, but visual and olfactory aren’t exactly difficult either. Her eyes swirl wildly as she uses her quirk (think trial 1 Komaeda reveal), and her vision even becomes blurry if she puts in a lot of effort at once.

If she doesn’t concentrate, the hallucinations default to horrifying effects such as harsh whispers, large shadows, monsters, bright eyes, darkness, blood, death, etc. If she actually tries, she can fine tune them to be extremely effective. Sounds of opponent teammates shouting for help, “cloning” herself to confuse her opponent, temporarily blinding them with quick flashes of nothing but black, not to mention what she can do if she learns any trauma her opponent may have.

When her quirk awakens, she can even induce tactile hallucinations, though they take much, much more effort than the others. However, it’s worth it; she can make her opponents hallucinate being burned alive, frozen to death, electrocuted, stabbed, all of which they could actually feel. Fighting Veronika becomes nearly impossible without inhuman pain tolerance or a quirk to help resist her tactile hallucinations.

Overuse causes migraines first, but quickly causes her eyes to bleed and for her to cough up blood. Veronika has ridiculously high pain tolerance in this universe, though, so she can fight effectively even while in excruciating pain. But her quirk has… another drawback.

You see, her quirk causes her to hallucinate as well, if she doesn’t use it for a while. This gets especially bad when she’s bored. She despises boredom so much, her body instinctively gives itself horrible hallucinations just to entertain itself. But, these hallucinations can be so vivid, Veronika can act irrationally when afflicted by them.

Had she gotten help early in her life, she really could have lived normally. Her hallucinations would have been manageable, and she may have been just another horror-obsessed girl.

The problem is, she didn’t get the help she needed. Mental health protection systems in the BNHA universe are notoriously lacking. So… you know Toga’s backstory? That the lack of systemic support for her led her to lose control and murder a classmate? Veronika ended up doing something similar to her, if not worse. I’ll let you imagine the details.

The point is, after she broke definitively, society certainly wouldn’t accept her back, so she ran away and became and outcast… until she found Stain’s ideals interesting.

Yep! In this AU, Veronika ends up as a member of the League of Villains! Not because of her condition, mind you, but because it wasn’t treated properly. You didn’t think all these people would be on the heroes’ side, did you?

Well, if you were worried about Veronika’s quirk being overpowered, there’s your explanation. LoV members tend to get stronger quirks to balance out their lower numbers.

Besties with Toga and Twice, naturally. They bond over the systemic failures which led them to where they are. Toga... realistically may end up developing a crush once she sees Veronika crying and coughing blood after using her quirk. It may be reciprocated.

She always analyses the League’s trauma, as expected, and it seriously pisses Dabi off. Although he’s lowkey scared she’s eventually going to find out his identity. She receives the most disintegration threats from Shigaraki, and she wears that as a badge of honor. Spinner is scared of her. Guess who forces the League to watch horror movie marathons?

She had never intentionally killed before joining the League, which causes her to hesitate with it in her first few missions. But after the Meta Liberation arc, when her quirk awakens, she gets rid of the hesitation. Keep in mind, she's much stronger than she looks. She also briefly joined the Haissaikai when Toga and Twice were sent there too, which made the raid a lot more horrifying than it originally was.

Hero Villain Name: Phobia

David: Starry-Eyed

(A beacon of hope)

His pupils turn into stars when he smiles. :)

UA General Education student, class 1-C. He’s the most famous person in the class, as he still creates his motivational speeches in this universe. After all, his quirk is pretty inoffensive, all things considered. Teruko doesn’t like him, and Shinso thinks there’s something off about him as well, but everyone else in his class adores him.

Although he didn’t make it past the race in the Sports Festival, it did make the Hero Course notice him, and a few of the students there, such as Xander, recognized him. He hangs out with the Hero Course a lot after that, and they love him there. Kirishima, Tetsutetsu, Kaminari, Midoriya, Hagakure, Fukidashi, Shoda, and more; all big fans of his speeches.

Overall, he just lives a pretty standard life.

Hero Name: N/A

…

But you don’t really believe all that, do you?

David: Starstruck

(An abyss of despair)

His pupils turn into stars when he smiles. If someone looks him in the eyes while his quirk is active, they will believe anything he says with absolutely no question, as long as it doesn’t contradict their core beliefs too much. Admittedly, that limitation is so vague, not even David has any idea where the limit actually is, but he works around it. The afflicted person must be using both their eyes when looking at David’s for the quirk to work, but Starstruck can even fool other quirks such as Lie Detector. (Credit to @accirax for the idea!)

The reason his quirk is officially listed under ‘Starry-eyed’ is that he fooled the quirk registry people into thinking his quirk really was nothing more than his pupils turning into stars. He originally did it so people wouldn’t be scared of him, but now it’s a good way to cover his… less than legal practices.

Key member of the Meta Liberation Army, later Paranormal Liberation Front. He plays a similar role to Trumpet, an important public figure who secretly helps the MLA. Officially, he helps because he wants people to reach their “full potential”, motivational speaker and all that. His real motivations are unknown, but some speculate he simply wants to be as famous and appreciated as possible, and to do that he needs to be able to reveal what his quirk really is without much backlash, thus he needs Meta Liberation. So he just wants people's love.

(Please, it's so hard to figure out David's motivations-)

He was not present during the MLA-LoV war, however, as his position as an UA alum was deemed too important to risk just for a little bit of backup in a war the MLA was sure to win anyways. When that doesn’t happen, David tries to talk to the League members now in the PLF, but they’re never allowed to see eye to eye for some reason.

(Unbeknownst to him, All for One had been interested in his quirk since it got originally diagnosed, before he made the consultants change it. The eyeless AfO quickly realized he had no use for Starstruck, but David was deemed enough of a threat for the big bad to tell Kurogiri and Shigaraki about the quirk)

David tries to manipulate as many people as he can in Gen Ed, and is annoyed because Shinso and Teruko don't seem to be affected by Starstruck for some reason. He suspects Shinso's quirk gives him a natural resistance to brainwashing-like quirks, but he can't figure out why Teruko is unaffected.

(Turns out, it's actually Teruko's prosopagnosia fucking with the quirk)

However, his ideals are shaken by UA, more specifically, Xander. See, because Xander only has one eye, he’s immune to Starstruck, yet he still likes David. And the way he speaks of his ideals, with such unshakable conviction…

Well. Let’s say if Xander’s revolution ever needs a man in the PLF, someone might be willing to help.

MLA Codename: Megaphone

Min: A+

(Mistakes are meant to be corrected)

She can instantly spot any mistakes anyone in her sight makes, and her quirk also warns her whenever something she’s about to do is a mistake. However, for something to be considered a mistake, she must be able to properly explain why it’s a mistake, meaning she has needed to study a ridiculous amount of battle theory for her quirk to activate in any given fight. To accommodate for the overwhelming amount of information she receives at any given moment, her mind also processes information significantly faster than the average.

(Does this quirk make any sense? No? I don’t care)

As her quirk isn’t physical, she relies on more basic weapons and fighting styles. She is regretfully not allowed a gun yet (even though her quirk says it’s a mistake not to let her have it), but she does have a powerful and compact paintball gun for now. She’s surprisingly effective with it, seeing as she literally cannot miss (her quirk warns her when she would, and she adjusts). Other weapons include a taser, hyper density seals (inspired by Nighteye), grappling gun, retractable baton, and a switchblade she keeps hidden in a pen.

Don’t let her simple fighting style deceive you, though. If there is a single flaw in your strategy, she will exploit it to the maximum. If you attack her and leave a way to dodge, she will. There is no easy way to fool her or distract her, as she makes no mistakes (usually). However, forcing her into a situation where she has to make a mistake (all options are bad), she can be quickly overwhelmed and frozen in indecision.

UA Hero Course recommendation student, class 1-B. No one knows who recommended her, and she’s weirdly tight-lipped about it. Todoroki suspects it was Nedzu (no one believes him, but he may have a point). She’s one of the main reasons classes A and B have such a good relationship, as she deemed it a mistake to antagonize each other. That said, with her as a tutor, class B tends to massively outperform class A, as all their mistakes are quickly corrected.

Elected class rep originally, but she deemed it a mistake to let anyone but Kendo take the position, so Min is the vice-rep. She gets along with everyone in her class, but particularly likes to talk about dinosaurs with Tokage, philosophy with Shiozaki and Yanagi, mushrooms with Komori, literature with Shishida and Kuroiro, and especially insects with Kamakiri and Yanagi again. She’s very knowledgeable.

Min has a secret, however. Although she usually acts as if her quirk is all-knowing, that’s only because doubting her quirk is deemed a mistake… by her quirk. Because of that, most people don’t question it either. However, Min herself doubts her quirk in more complex topics such as the Hero system, and even disagrees with it at times. Her quirk is weirdly obsessed with the status quo, and Min suspects that’s where it gets a lot of things wrong.

However, publicly she never defies her quirk, which makes her clash with Xander pretty much constantly. He’s the only one who absolutely does not trust A+ on anything but the most objective facts. Min sort of admires that, even though it usually ends in Xander doing stupid things she had warned him were stupid in the first place.

(Other times, though, Min finds herself correcting the mistakes in Xander’s arguments not to prove him wrong, but to make the arguments stronger. Maybe they agree on more than they realize)

Hero Name: Straight Ace

Arturo: Perfectionist

(Imperfection isn’t ugliness; some have yet to learn this)

By closing one of his eyes, Arturo can immediately spot imperfections. His left eye spots aesthetic imperfections, his right practical imperfections. One of them is significantly more useful for combat, I’ll let you guess which one. This applies to both objects and people; with his right eye, he can spot both structural weak points in buildings and things like robots, as well as weak areas of a person’s body, quirk or fighting style. This does not require previous knowledge, which actually makes it a powerful aid for A+. Arturo finds the weaknesses, Min knows how to exploit them.

Like Min, his fighting style is quite basic, but centered around intelligence. He also carries a taser and a short-range sharp weapon on the form of a scalpel (no one but him knows why the hell he chose a scalpel), but he prefers to use long range weapons so as to not risk disfigurement in combat as much. Guns aren’t elegant enough for him, so he has a wrist mounted crossbow he uses to shoot specialized arrows, equipped with a laser pointer to shoot precisely. It seems somewhat inoffensive, until you remember he knows exactly where to shoot to make it hurt as much as possible.

(Listen, I didn’t know what to do with him, alright? This is the best I got)

UA Hero Course student, class 1-B. After all, since Min helped tone down the class rivalry and Monoma is actually normal, class B needed a few more mentally unstable people. Arturo considers heroism (read: fame and glory) inherently beautiful, but he still thinks all his classmates are ugly as sin. Yaoyorozu and J post-reveal he would consider beautiful, but, well, I put him in class B for a reason.

Apart from that, he considers a few of his teachers as “beautiful people”, namely Midnight, Present Mic, and All Might. Yes, even after the Kamino fight. All Might just has that effect on people. Other examples are Edgeshot, Miruko, Ryukyu, Hawks, the list goes on.

You may be wondering how his idea of conventional beauty interacts with heteromorphic transformations. The answer’s simple: even people who greatly diverge from the human baseline can be beautiful, though most are no prettier than the average. Kamui Woods is an example of someone Arturo considers beautiful, for instance.

In fact, the most aesthetically perfect person Arturo knows is Wash. No, you don’t get to ask.

Naturally, most of his classmates dislike or straight up hate him at first, but it smooths out over the course of the year. Mainly because Kendo is just too insistent on everyone getting along, and Arturo has enough self-preservation instinct not to mess with her. Also, Tokage and Honenuki have enough connections with the hero world that he decides to put up with them, ugly as they are.

Shiozaki still periodically warns him he’ll go to hell, but he doesn’t really care. The Common Sense Kings constantly fuck with him because he gives great reactions. He also has a surprising amount of medical knowledge, which proves extremely useful, enough so that a lot of his classmates are able to put up with him when Min’s not around.

This medical knowledge also inspires Yanagi to show him movies like ‘Human Centipede’. Because Veronika isn’t here, but he still can’t escape the horror fanatics.

Oh, yeah, Veronika. They meet in Summer Camp, and she almost kills him, but hesitates and doesn't. She haunts his dreams after that, but something about her makes him want to… save her. Or something. I like Verturo, okay? Even though Toga might kill that ship.

Hero Name: Utopia

(That good enough? Not really, but we’re going with it)

Levi: Thread Weaver

(Weaving a protective net, so that no one has to suffer)

He can control threads and fibers near him with immaculate precision! However, they move rather slowly, and the quirk has a strict limit on how much material can be affected at a time. Essentially Best Jeanist’s Fiber Master, except weaker but more precise. No relation to the hero, though.

He can use this quirk to interweave regular fabric with protective fibers far more effectively than any other human or any machine could, making the hero costumes he designs particularly sturdy and durable.

UA Support Course student, class 1-H. His mysterious, dark past is the reason he didn’t pursue heroism, although he still wanted to protect people. With his quirk, he decided the best way to protect others would be by protecting the heroes with essentially armored costumes.

People originally went to him just to reinforce their costumes, but Levi is still the Ultimate Personal Stylist. That means he has better fashion sense than anyone in UA, especially the Hero Course students. Word of his skill quickly spreads, and soon he becomes the consultant for practically all things hero costumes. If you want a gadget or complex mechanical item, you can ask Hatsume or Eden or Rose, but for costumes, you go to this guy.

No matter how good someone’s costume is, not only can Levi reinforce it, but also give advice on how to make it look better. Sometimes he simply reassured the customer their costume is excellent, as was the case with Komori, Kaminari, Kendo, among others. Other times, they aren’t that interested in aesthetics, such was the case of Tokoyami, Kuroiro, Jirou and J. Occasionally, people take his good-natured advice as a personal insult, like Bakugo, Kamakiri and Ace (though Ace still listens, at least). And every now and then…

Every now and then, Levi wants to strangle whoever the hell approved some of these costumes. This king will give Momo and Toru actually decent costumes, you will not stop him.

Support Codename: Needle and Thread

Teruko: Desperate Misfortune

(She makes everything worse)

A passive, reality bending ability, which causes exceedingly unlikely events to constantly occur around her. It follows seven core axioms.

The events originated from this quirk will always be considered extremely bad luck by the user. This can range from simply making Teruko prone to paper cuts all the way to seriously endangering her life.

The quirk acts on individual instances. Once an incident occurs as a result of this quirk, another unlucky event won’t happen until an indeterminate amount of time has passed.

The effects of this quirk cannot be predicted. It does not follow a proper logic, so no amount of analysis will be able to prepare for it. Even other quirks like Foresight are unable to see its effects ahead of time.

The quirk is pervasive and affects everyone around Teruko. In other words, when she’s around, unfortunate events can happen to everyone in the general area.

It comes without warning. An unfortunate event can happen without Teruko noticing, leading to a seeming “stacking” of bad luck. For example, if she gets invited to a summer camp that’s about to be attacked by villains, the invitation itself may be considered bad luck, opening the possibility of further misfortune happening after the attack begins without interfering with axiom 2.

The quirk is immutable, and cannot be interacted with. It cannot be erased, destroyed, rewound out of existence, taken, given away, copied, analyzed, among many other things.

Teruko Tawaki cannot die, no matter what. Upon being put in a perilous situation, all other axioms will be nullified until Teruko’s life is no longer at risk. Instead, her fortune will swing the other way, and the universe itself will tilt on its axis to keep her alive. Lightning, earthquakes, whirlwinds, meteorite strikes, spontaneous combustion of anyone attacking her, the list goes on. Unlikely, even outright impossible events will happen simultaneously until Teruko’s continued survival is guaranteed. In these situations, her luck is simply divine.

UA General Studies Course student, class 1-C. Teruko, a hero, with her luck? Yeah, no chance. However, that doesn’t mean she escapes the plot. She somehow manages to be at the USJ and Summer Camp incidents, hell, she was visiting Kamino the day of All Might’s retirement and almost got killed by All for One. She was kidnapped by the yakuza at one point, and was about to be killed by them. Guess when Nighteye conveniently found a guy who he could Foresight the Shie Haissaikai’s location out of. She cannot escape her protagonist role, evidently.

Incidentally, that means she ends up hanging out with the Hero Course more than Gen Ed, since she manages to be in the middle of every traumatic thing that happens to them. Min’s A+ doesn’t see it as a mistake to hang out with her, meaning the students of 1-A and 1-B are the only people who feel comfortable having her around.

(Teruko doesn’t say it, but she very much thinks A+ is wrong about her. She blames axiom 6 for not letting her quirk be properly analyzed by Min’s)

They mostly interact once the dorms are formed, and they get to spend the days together. However, it’s usually better to keep her away from Bakugo and Todoroki, since they’re essentially walking fire hazards together. Midoriya is fascinated by her quirk, since it’s nothing like anything he’d ever seen before. Shiozaki thinks demons are at fault and has tried to exorcise her, repeatedly. Kuroiro and Yanagi are convinced it’s a curse, and want to study it. Among other hijinks. Teruko would never admit it, but she’s really happy when she’s around the Hero Course (and there isn’t a villain attack going on).

Gen Ed mostly stay away from her, unfortunately. They don’t have Min’s quirk to assure them it’s alright to hang out with Teruko. One of the only exceptions is Shinso. They have a similar sense of humor and bond over “villain quirk” related trauma, and Shinso isn’t too bothered by the bad luck. As stated previously, Teruko is also immune to David’s Starstruck due to her prosopagnosia, so she doesn’t trust how easily everyone seems to adore the guy.

Hero Name: N/A

And that’s it! The main cast is covered!

…

…

…

We’re missing someone, aren’t we?

Mai: Blooming Hope

(She makes everything better)

(I ain’t slick, but I try to be)

She can make every plant around her grow exponentially in size, simply by raising her left arm. The plant’s shape and characteristics can be altered, so Mai can, for example, make grass grow into a field of vines, barberries and poison ivy. She can then reverse the effects, leaving the plants exactly as they were. The tattoo on her left arm is a mutation, and glows when she uses her quirk. She can also make flowers grow out of this tattoo, and then turn them into any useful plant she desires.

Although it may seems similar to Shiozaki’s quirk, Mai’s range is far lower and the strength of the vines she can create is much weaker. However, the versatility of being able to use more than just vines balances it out.

Particularly effective in grassy or mossy environments. Overuse will lead to severe dehydration, and in a worst case scenario, small, non-toxic plants may grow inside her body and cause all sorts of issues.

UA Hero Course student, class 1-A. She gets along with absolutely everyone, Bakugo doesn’t even shout at her after a while. Elected class rep, with Yaoyorozu as vice-rep. The other main reason classes A and B are closer than in canon, as she likes to spend time with everyone she can. She wants the best for everyone, and she’s deeply involved in whatever Xander’s plans for revolution are. Although she usually just makes compromises between Min and him for the actual planning phases.

Since she forgives everyone, she wants to save the League of Villains just as much as their victims. She is the model of what a perfect hero is meant to be.

Had Midoriya not existed, she would have received One for All.

…

She didn’t foresee the consequences.

Hero Name: Flora

(After she chose the name, Nico asked if they could match. Of course, Mai said yes)

Now that we've covered all the students, I did a recount and found something interesting. 5 DRDT characters went to 1-B, and 6 went to 1-A. You could acommodate this by having 26 student classes and adding someone to 1-B... or you can make 25 student classes and kick someone out of 1-A. And if you know BNHA fanfic, you know who's getting kicked out (hint: Mineta). I see this as an absolute win!

...

wait

M-MonoTV?!: High Fidelity

(Am I a bear, a cat, a TV? Well, I’m actually a dog!)

MonoTV is actually a dog which was experimented on. Humans gave him a quirk which changed his appearance and made him as smart as a normal person, but no more. He’s from the same laboratory as Nedzu, and resents the principal for escaping without him.

He starts out as a petty criminal, but no matter what the police and heroes try, he always escapes prison. He usually causes a major breach when he does, so they don’t want to send him to Tartarus until they understand what the hell he does to escape.

His crimes grow with time, but the heroes are never too worried, since he’s too incompetent to really be a threat. Some examples of his crimes include:

He let a sludge villain out of prison the day Midoriya met All Might.

He broke the UA gate early in the year.

He robbed a store the day of the USJ incident, slowing down All Might and running down his three hours of hero work.

He was spotted talking to Stain before he attacked Native, presumably telling the villain the location of the hero.

He introduced Giran to a blood obsessed girl, a man with severe burn wounds, and a girl with a hallucination quirk.

Overhaul was spotted following him right before he met Twice.

He helped La Brava hack into UA the day of the Culture Festival.

He watched Endeavor fight a Nomu right after becoming Number One.

He helped the MLA kidnap Giran.

And more...

(You get the idea, right?)

Villain Name: MonoTV

—————-—————-—————-—————-—————-—————-----

And there we go! God, I was just supposed to do quirks, how did I end up writing so much? Anyways, that’s the basis of my DRDT-BNHA crossover AU. I don’t know whether or not I’ll return to it, seeing as I actually had quite a bit of fun writing this. If you made it this far, that’s impressive! You get the honorary badge of being quirky. Take care!

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

>They are really following the “saving child shigaraki” path 💀

No? Well, yes, but Deku seeing what happened to Tenko and talking to Tenko was always going to happen, it doesn't mean that only child Tenko gets saved lol. Tenko is Shigaraki's origin, his core, his genuine ideas, his honne (true feelings and desires). Of course Deku has to understand and save Tenko to save adult!Tenko, lol. Nobody seemed to complain when child!Ochako was talking to child!Himiko and etc., so what's up with some people's attitude now? 😭

I think the fandom is a bit paranoid because they really fear some theories.

I sometimes entertain those theories just to fuck around and create what ifs. It's a mere childplay. "Oh what if the school burned today and we all graduated earlier" type of mindset. The odds of it happening are non-existent, but c'mon. Unless you plan to burn the school yourself or you know someone will try, the odds are almost zero.

"but somewhere in the world a school burned—"

Sure, some mangas decide to end things the worst way possible only to cause shock, to fuck with fans, for money, sometimes simply because they don't understand their own stories. Even the big mangas is subjected to that. The author can go bananas for whatever reason and give you a terrible ending.

From my perspective, Horikoshi has rarely lost sight of the story he wants to tell. If he opens a plotline, he takes care to close it later. We got our traitor, we got the resolution with the Todorokis, we got AFO, class 1B, the villain comebacks...

Even when there were moments I knew Horikoshi went a little on the tangent (like Stars and Stripes) he was quick to return to the main issue. In bnha, to get an answer for your question you only have to wait for the manga to explain it— or in some cases, check the spin-off. If the answer is not in bnha itself, it normally is in the Vigilantes manga.

When someone asks me "Hey Shan, do you think that is possible?" the correct answer is always yes, because as long as the story is not over anything can happen. Objectively speaking, yes, it is as possible as anything else. As long as you're alive a lightning strike can hit you. A shark can bite you. An alien can come for you. The odds are there.

Now, is it probable?

No, not much.

Turning Tomura into a child to erase his crimes and resolve Deku's role within the plot is not only the lazy route, but also a disservice to the story. People don't resurrect out of nowhere in bnha. Limbs don't grow again. This is a story where the consequences are permanent. Even saving Mirio had a cost. There are only a few characters that can magically heal and their participation is soo little, it's almost as if they weren't there.

Each story has rules. You don't care about the real life rules or your own law code or whatever; you care about the inner rules of that story.

So far, Horikoshi has taken care of not breaking the inner rules of bnha. Why would he do so now?

Another bnha trait is that it doesn't stay stagnant on a plotline that is interesting yet irrelevant to the main story. It also doesn't hurry the story if it needs to go down a certain path. It will happen on its own time, after the events that need to happen had happened too. Example: saving Tomura has been a whole process. If Horikoshi were to turn Tomura into a child, why would he show all that he has shown us?

That's 'cause Horikoshi is explaining Deku's choice of saving Tomura. I know the trend of separating Tomura from Tenko, but it's absurd. They are one and the same. The kid is the adult and vice versa. You save the kid version, you save the adult one too. In order to save the adult one, you need to save the kid first. And if you went all the way to save that person, why would you want to erase all of it and turn them into a child again?

Isn't the story about how Deku giving little Tenko a chance? Isn't the story about Deku telling others they can do the impossible? Didn't Nighteye say that Deku could change the future and now we see him also changing the past, if only to allow the present to be a little more bearable? Livable?

I'll say this here: the theory that dictates that the heroes will turn the villains into kids to save them and the villains will stay like that has absolutely no foundation within the story.

If it happens, it's bad writing.

Horikoshi uses the kid images as symbolism. It is meant to represent the core of a person. It's the part of them that would never change, the part of them that dictates their dreams and goals, what they hate and love, who they are. It's the most basic of their forms, their essence, their soul if you want to speak on those terms.

Heroes are meant to connect with those parts of a human in order to save them, because the job of a hero is not only saving the body, but the human as a whole. To preserve hope, to heal past wounds and give people a reason to smile. To help people laugh as a kid again, to bring back their wonder and their innocence, to fight the apathy and the cynical part of themselves.

Bnha is fantasy. People have powers. The dead can communicate with the living. Of course that the heroes can talk with the childhood versions of the people to heal their past traumas.

Easy as that.

I can't say for sure if the villains will live or die. I only have my opinion (they'll live), but I am not the author. Horikoshi can have an epiphany tomorrow and kill everyone in the story with a meteor. Idk.

I can only say that Horikoshi has presented a cohesive and coherent writing, one that follows the lines it dictates to their natural conclusion. If things stay like that, there's no need to fear none of the crazy theories circulating the fandom. At the end of the day that's all they are, theories.

[emile-hides]

Crybaby imagines

I can’t find any BNHA X Reader blogs with their requests open, so heck it. Make the content you want to see in the world.

MHA Blonde boys react to reader crying (for various reasons)

Characters: All Might, Present Mic, Fatgum, Aoyama, Ojiro, Kaminari, Bakugo, Honenuki, Monoma, Mirio

All Might

1-A is an amazing bunch

It sort of just all hit you like a truck, really

How much 1-A had grown, how much they’d overcame

You’re not even entirely sure what sparked the thought process

But once it stared, you couldn’t stop

You were just so?? Proud??? Amazed???

Suddenly you were crying at your desk in the teacher’s lounge

Quiet, heavy tears

Your co-workers took notice, but it was Toshinori who approched your first asking what was wrong

You hadn’t even noticed you were crying

When you get into the why he’s all ears

He sits next to you and is soon joining in on the kid’s progress

He talks mostly about Bakugo and Midoriya, you go on about Asui and Koda

It turns to laughing and quietly bullying the kids for a moment as you two enjoy some of the sillier memories

Soon Toshinori, too, has tears in his eyes

He sobs more than you did

He’s just so proud of these kids!!

You feel like an old married couple talking about their 30-something kids living far from home

Kind of silly considering they’re all 15 and currently in class right down the hall

You two have to go see them during lunch break

Present Mic

Crying in Solidarity

You stood with Hizashi in front of a grave of a kid you never knew on an overcast day

He’d normally make a comment about the weather matching the mood but...

Not now

His fists were clenched, and though his smile stood strong and his glasses hid his eyes

They couldn’t catch his tears

You held his hand in silence and pretended not to notice the falling of his facade 

It happens very seldom

He was shaking, you could hear his breath hitch hard despite his attempts to remain calm

You didn’t know this Shirokumo kid, you’d never met him, you couldn’t pick him out in a crowd if you had to

You didn’t even know who he was to Hizashi

But you knew it tore him up inside that he was buried here

You knew he kept his emotions well contained for everything else but him

You pulled Hizashi a bit closer, letting him lean onto you as tears began to run down your cheeks

The two of you stood in silence and cried on this, an overcast day

The weather really did match your mood.

Fatgum

Crying in relief

The hospital door opened with a loud slam

You didn’t really mean to slam it so hard but now wasn’t the time to go apologizing to inanimate objects for being a little rough

Your voice shrilled even louder than the door the name of the patient laying on the bed in the center of the room

Taishiro looked up with a face of ‘Oh shit’ which was the correct face to have

You were mad for all of the time it took to yell about how worried you were

FIRST OF ALL he didn’t even call to tell you he was in the hospital, you got that information from Tamaki

Second, you barely even know what HAPPENED to land him here

And THIRD,

Nope. Anger’s gone. Evaporated like a puddle in mid July.

Taishiro had sat up in his bed with a nervous smile, peppering in the nicknames and speaking in the gentle voice as he reached out to console you

Just seeing him sit up, his arms bandaged lightly around the wrist

It all just came crashing in

He was fine. 

Tears over flowed as you cried a bit louder than you had yelled previously

Hiccuping and gasping out how worried you were and how mad you still wanted to be

Taishiro just laughed an apology as he hugged you, thankful for your concern

He promised to call next time

You found yourself yelling at him to never do this again

Aoyama

Crying on command

Acting was something you had mastered

More or less anyway

You dove head first into a role and you were damn good at it

But everyone has weaknesses

You’d locked yourself in Aoyama’s room, going over lines and choreography for some little play in the park you two had signed up for

Now you sat on his floor as he painted your nails, glaring daggers into the script

You had to cry. 

It seemed so easy. Think of something sad and cry over it on stage. Simply.

and yet your eyes remained dry, your stage make-up perfect

Aoyama had been couching you, weeping all sorts of tears for your amusment

It wasn’t helping

You turned your glare to Aoyama, who was completely enthralled in drawing tiny art pieces into your nails

God he was bright

....bright.....

You looked directly up at the light on the ceiling and stared

Your eyes wide you forced yourself not to blink

It hurts

And it worked

You looked back to Aoyama with tears streaming down your face and searing pain in your retina

He applauded your dedication

Ojiro

It’s all just a lot

You weren’t really sure when it all became so much

But everything you’d been working at and training for suddenly weighed more than you could bare

You found yourself in the middle of the UA empty halls, flat on the ground on your stomach

Tripping was the breaking point

The straw that broke the camel’s back, as they say

You just started sobbing

When you heard footsteps coming you just kind of... wiggled out of the way

Pressing yourself to the wall you just continued to cry to yourself, curled in a ball, expecting the other person to just pass you by

Instead a soft white handkerchief gently pressed to your cheek, followed by a quiet “Are you okay?”

You were not okay.

Ojiro sat himself beside you as you wiped your face, continuing to sob

You didn’t offer an explanation, he didn’t ask for one

He sat in the hall quietly with you, his tail giving the occasional swish to brush your cheek of tears

The silence gave to time to catch your breath, and realize class probably started a long time ago

When you got up to be on your way, he joined you

He didn’t offer to walk you where you needed to go, he simply did

His quiet wave, his silent smile, his patient glances at you

It all made everything feel just a bit lighter

The next time you’d see Ojiro in the halls, he’d smile at you

And he’d be delighted if you could smile back

Kaminari

Crying from shock

It was just a little zap to the hip, a little bee sting

He’d been doing it to everyone in class, learned it from some stupid tiktok

When it was your turn to get stung, you let out the loudest yelp in the class

He laughed at first, proudly proclaiming how he’d gotten you

Until you whipped to him with fury in your eyes, along with tears

His panicked “Shit, wait, I’m sorry” fell on deaf ears as you quickly gave him a return jab in the hip

Without the actual shock part it probably wasn’t as painful

So you did it a few more times for good measure

Then he jabbed you again

And it was on

Jabs to the hip turned to jabs to the gut, armpit, neck, even right dead center in his chest

You were both in pain and sure to be covered in bruises when Iida finally separated you two

It was hard to see with the tears swelling in both your eyes

But when Denki made direct eye contact with you before giving a glance to Iida, you knew

You nodded, an evil smirk crossing your face

The two of you took your index and middle fingers, driving them quickly and roughly into the class rep’s hips simultaneously

His yelp had the entire class laughing

It then also had the entire class in study hall for the rest of break

Bakugo

He’s just kind of a dick

Standing outside of class 1-A you felt as though your heart was beating in your throat

When the door opened you jumped out of your skin as a green haired boy came out at full speed

He managed to stop on a dime before slamming into you though

You choked out the courage to ask him if Katsuki Bakugo was in class

The kid before you stared in shock before turning around and calling for a “Kacchan”, telling him someone was here to see him

You glanced in the door and watched as several people pried the man you wanted to see from his seat, shoving him forcefully to the door

They all then slammed the door behind him, keeping the green haired kid who seemed in a rush to leave trapped inside

He barked a what at you that made you reconsider all your choices

Still. You swallowed all your courage, and said what you came here to say.

You confessed your feelings to Bakugo, bravely. 

He stared at you with a face of utter confusion, and it managed to catch you a bit off guard

He looked like he didn’t know how to respond

Which he, of course, didn’t.

So he responded the only way he really knows how

Anger.

“WHO THE HELL EVEN ARE YOU?!”

He called you some background extra. What gave you even the slightest though he’d want to be with some nobody he didn’t even know the name of

Within seconds of his screaming the 1-A doors slammed open yet again

The group who’d peeled Bakugo from his seat before jumped from the room and began wrestling him into submission, berating him for his treatment of you

But you were inclined to agree with him

You told them it was fine. He was right, you were just some nobody

You couldn’t stop your voice from shaking, tears streaming from your eyes as you gripped tightly at your shirt

Not knowing really what else to do, you turned and ran away

It was well over a few hours later, and you were still crying alone in the court yard

You flinched at the sound of footsteps approaching you. You closed your eyes and planned to make a run for it somewhere else to avoid bothering anyone

“Hey, dumbass,” a hand placed on your forehead, pulling you back to lean on the person behind you, “You could do a lot better than an ass like me.”

You glanced at Bakugo, who was looking far into the distance, his ears red

You cried and apologized. He didn’t say much else, but his hand remained on you, keeping you in place

You found yourself invited out more, running around with Bakugo and his friends, being rowdy and dumb as teens should be

Your crush on Katsuki Bakugo soon became a distant memory as he grew to be one of your closest friends

Honenuki

Yawning

You flopped dramatically onto the common room couch and let out the loudest, most drawn out sigh you could muster

This act of pure drama drew the attention of Juzo Honenuki, who simply chuckled at your antics

You stretched like a cat across the couch, reaching for him lazily with one hand, you swatted at the book he’d been comfortably reading

He gave another chuckle and inquired what you were after

You answered with an equally dramatic and drawn out yawn, bringing tears to your eyes as you again stretched to him

You then closed your eyes and snuggled into a couch pillow

Honenuki’s hand stretched across the couches and found itself on your head, giving gentle pets back and forth

Once he found himself a good stopping point, Honenuki put his bookmark in place and snapped the book closed

He gave a stretch and a yawn before encouraging you to your feet

You lazily tangled your arms around one of his and draped yourself over him

The two of you walked to your separate dorm rooms arm in arm, occasionally letting out more and more exasperated yawns and sleepy giggles

Monoma

Crying from pain

This was... probably your fault?

You remembered running into Awase from class 1-B while going a bit too fast though the halls

Next thing you knew you were in front of him, on your ass, staring up at him upside down

It took a minute for the pain to register, but as soon as it did tears stung your eyes

You couldn’t even really say anything as Awase’s eyes filled with panic when he’d realized what he’d done, quickly dropping your arm and stepping back, probably planning to make a run for it

The is until his blond classmate came up behind him, pressuring him to apologize in a loud, negging tone

When Awase again avoided your eyes, opting to shove his hands in his pockets as he glared at the wall, Monoma dropped to his knees and offered you assistance

The question of “Do you need to go to the nurse?” was accompanied with a handkerchief dabbed at your eyes

Monoma helped you to your feet, apologizing for his classmate, assuring you you were fine and didn’t need to report this to a teacher because you were clearly fine look at you you’re fine

I mean you weren’t bleeding so... Yeah? You were fine.

He sounded like he’d be the one in trouble if you told someone about Awase self defense flipping you over his shoulder

When he offered again to walk you to the nurse, you declined

He was right, you were fine, just a bit sore

You wiped the tears from your eyes and thanked him for his concern as you walked passed him

You also apologized to Awase for bumping into him, though he just huffed a response

You didn’t get very far when you heard quick steps following close behind

Monoma was just checking in to make sure you for sure weren’t going to tell anyone class 1-B’s Awase threw you like a rag doll

He also just figured while he was here he’d ask if there was anything he could do to make up for this incident

Like... buy you lunch sometime.... Or take you out to a nice cafe he knows after school... maybe...?

He just. Didn’t want you to think class B does hit and runs like this on all the pretty students

Mirio

Crying from laughing

Your sides hurt

You gripped onto yourself as you leaned onto Mirio, cackling harder than you had in a while

He was retelling some jokes he’d gone over with Sir Nighteye at his internship today, regaling you, Tamaki, and Nejire with perfect one-liners and horrid puns

You all were laughing far too hard for this late at night

Tears pricked your eyes as you slapped at Mirio’s leg, gasping for breath you begged for a time out

You have the most contagious laugh, Mirio was positive his jokes only ever landed because you laughed at them so easily

When you finally caught your breath you sat up, rubbing giggly tears from your eyes

You gave a glance around the room and found Tamaki doing the same, though his tears were from the yawn he’d just given

All three of you watched Tamaki adorably shifts as he rubbed the tired from his eyes, something he flushed over when he’d finally noticed the attention

Nejire declared that meant bedtime and hopped from her seated position, pulling Tamaki along with her

In a matter of moments she was dragging the tired boy out of the room to their own dorms

You and Mirio chuckled at her antics before you too got up to get going

Mirio offered to walk you to your dorm, which wasn’t far down the hall, but he made such a show of it how could you say no?

Of course he spent the whole walk telling even more terrible jokes that continued to crack you up

By the time you’d gotten to your dorm you were so giggly you couldn’t see straight

Mirio waved as he turned and walked the 5 feet back to his own room

He then turned around and waved again, claiming he already misses you

You giggled at him and returned to your own room

He loved your laugh.

[whxreforsvkvna]

mirage errone pt. 1 || bakugou x reader

genre: Princess!reader x bandit!Bakugo, ft. Bakusquad, quirkless!au

warnings: all bnha characters are above 18+ (unless otherwise mentioned), multi-chapter, minor (and some major) swear words here and there throughout fic thanks to Bakugo

word count: 1.3k

prompts: in which a self-proclaimed good-hearted bandit group kidnaps the wrong princess

next

There were many things that drove you to be against your kingdom’s ruler. He allowed his people to suffer in the throes of hunger whilst he dined on the richest of foods with neighboring authoritative figures. He had raised the tax rates by another two percent at the end of last year, driving many into debt and despair.

There was one thing you despise most of all when it came to the king. Being in the same bloodline as him was enough to make the thought of ceasing her existence seem enticing. Being related to the royal family was one matter, but being the illegitimate daughter of your kingdom’s ruler was another, more forsaken, one.

This title given to you from the moment you were born was like a witch’s curse. You were bound to living behind these colorful, gold-rimmed walls with outsiders not knowing of your very existence.

Yet at this very moment, you couldn’t help but allow the corners of your lips to curl in the smallest of smirks as you witness Princess Bibimi’s current outburst. This had been the pot of gold you had been waiting for in your nineteen years of living in this forsaken palace. If the redness in your sister’s face wasn’t an indication for her rage, then the entirety of her bedraggled appearance made up for it.

“For my twenty-first birthday, I am obtaining a husband?” she scornfully spat out, despite the warning look her mother sent her way. “A husband? From one of our rivaling lands, no less!”

“It’s a proposition that is too beneficial for our country to not proceed with.” The king sighed for the umpteenth time. From your seat near one of the frontal pillars, you could tell he was beginning to form yet another wrinkle upon his whitening brow. “You should be aware of this more than anyone else, Bibimi. You excelled in your political studies.”

You were on the verge of drowning out the remainder of the conversation, seeing as it was going nowhere in favor of your sister. The king’s word was final in every situation he placed himself in, and he had no exceptions, even for his own family.

The princess pointed an accusing finger towards you, “Why can’t you give her away, instead?”

Your breath stilled for a moment, the fire in your sister’s eyes brought a cold shiver in its wake. Nineteen was too young to be married off in the eyes of the royals, and Bibimi was well aware of the advantage the younger had on her.

“Now, now,” His Majesty waved a hand in dismissal, “you know how useless that would be.”

Ah, that’s right. There was one other advantage you had over your sister.

No one in their right mind would want a bastard royal as the next ruler on their throne. This taboo of a situation allowed you to slip away from arranged marriages, and other political affairs.

Clutching tightly at the skirts of her dress, Bibimi begged for her early dismissal from their king. He agreed with little resistance, tiredly shaking his head as he watched her storm off. He looked towards your direction, taking note of you fixing your slouched posture.

“Have you any objections to the upcoming arrangements?”

“None, Your Majesty.��� You replied in a small voice, avoiding his beady stare.

“At least one daughter is happy.” He mused as he waved his hand, signalling for your own dismissal.

You stood from your seat and curtsied before hastily leaving the throne room.

♛♕♛♕

You decided to reside in the privacy of your chambers that night, quizzing yourself with neighboring countries’ former hierarchies. Your time alone was shortly lived when knocking resonated throughout the silence.

“Your Highness, please pardon the intrusion but Princess Bibimi wishes to speak with you.” Your personal maid announced upon opening the door, her face contorted into one of fear as your sister loomed behind her.

Bibimi pushed past the maid and ushered her away from the door only to promptly slam it shut.

“What brings you to this side of the palace, sister?” you greeted her, marking the page of your book before gently shutting it.

“Don’t ‘sister’ me,” she huffed out, elegantly sitting on your vanity’s chair. She pauses for a moment as she picks up one of your many combs to examine its design. “I cannot believe he is doing this.”

Here we go, again. You internally heaved a large sigh.

You stop yourself from correcting her misused address to your father. Instead, you offer a gentle smile, “You’ll have two lands under your disposal once both Kings pass on.”

“I don’t want any of that,” she whined, setting the comb down. Her long lashes fluttered as she feigned a pout, “Not at the cost of my own happiness.”

“I’m sure you will grow to be happy with the Prince,” you offered., only to be taken aback by the harsh scowl directed at you.

“Have you no clue of what’s going on? I’ve just heard the first prince is missing. I’m being wedded to the second eldest. He is merely a man in this situation.” This was also news to you. You wondered if this information was being kept hidden from the public. “If the older one was to suddenly emerge, I will have only one kingdom under my command.” Bibimi went on for a final comment, “The second son is not as handsome as the first, as well. I would have been more content if it were a different situation.”

You felt disgust grip at you upon hearing her words. Rather than replying to the materialistic words, you stayed quiet and continued to listen to her rant.

“For the King’s sake, why couldn’t we have the arrangement with Mirio’s kingdom instead?”

“Prince Mirio Togata?” you echoed.

“Who else, you dimwit.” She snapped, seemingly annoyed. “He’s the only prince I’d willingly bed with.”

“Bibimi!” You gasped, taken aback by the vulgar phrase.

“Oh, shut up. We can’t all be saints in this stupid palace.” She rose from her seat, smoothing out invisible wrinkles on her dress. “I’ll take my leave now as it is no use speaking with you and that fake innocence of yours.”

“Take care,” you weakly called out to her as she stepped out the door.

Mere seconds pass before Bibimi is reeling herself back into your room, slamming the door shut behind her as she looks back at you with widened eyes. The shoutings of guards as they scrambled out in the hallway caught your attention.

“Bibimi? What’s the matter?” you slipped off the bed, stepping towards her. “What’s going on?”

“Stay back.” She hissed, fiddling with the knob’s lock. “There’s an intruder in the castle.”

“What? Will father be okay?”

“Idiot, this is no time to think about that man. Help me find some place to hide.” Bibimi left the door to start pacing around your room, scrutinizing places to hide in or under.

With your fast-thinking, you guided her towards your large wardrobe, “Quick, hide in here.”

You aided her in stepping into the wooden furniture and tried to follow suit but felt her hands press against your shoulders. “No, you can’t come in here! Go somewhere else.”

Her forcefulness sent you to the floor and you watched in a daze as she closed the wardrobe doors, sealing herself fully from the public eye.

You mentally cursed at her, wanting nothing more than to grab her out of there and slap some sense into her. But doing so would waste precious time you needed for hiding away.

You’re in the process of crawling under your bed when arms are pulling you upright and a hand is cascading itself over your eyes to conceal your vision. You’re thrown into panic upon hearing a gruff voice whisper in your ear.

“I’ve got you now, Princess.”

[boysenberrysoda]

Thoughts on 302: The Blame, The Guilt, The Responsibility

Those are three different things, and all of them are addressed in chapter 302 -- who is to blame, who carries guilt, and who should take responsibility when it comes to dealing with Dabi.

The narrative makes it pretty clear that the blame falls on Enji and, to an extent, Rei.

Enji, obviously, because he consciously and explicitly had a son for the sole purpose of living vicariously through him, by placing his own unmet expectations on a child’s shoulders, and then washing his hands of him when his son couldn’t meet those expectations. And then did it again, all while Touya knew he’d been 1) born for a reason, 2) unable to fulfill that reason, 3) replaced.

When confronted with the despair he’d caused his son, Enji’s go-to response was to deny and shift the blame. He’s depicted as being wreathed in shadows, only his furious eyes visible, whenever he does this; he’s clearly in the wrong here. He did have the power to acknowledge and care for his children -- he just refused to see anything beyond competitive pro-heroism, time and time again.

It’s only now that he’s seen what’s become of Touya that he’s finally accepted he could have done something different. That he shouldn’t have, in fact, basically thrown away his children when they proved to not suit his own goals.

Rei, in contrast, doesn’t deny her own agency in the situation. Yes, she was in a terrible position, and must have certainly felt powerless -- but she wasn’t some plastic bag being blown away by the wind all her life. She made choices.

She agreed to a quirk marriage knowing Enji wanted a tool more than a son, thoughts mostly on how to bear a loveless marriage and not, I suspect, on what that would do to her (then-hypothetical) son. As far as we know, she didn’t oppose putting the weight of “be strong enough to beat All Might” on Touya, only objected to replacing him so cruelly when Enji decided he’d never be able to.

That’s as far as blame can be placed on Rei. She did try to help Touya, tried to talk him into living his life for his own sake, and never mind his father’s goals and attention. She just... couldn’t do it.

(tbh I’d still place, like, 85% of the blame on Enji, but listen. We stan responsible parenting. It says good things about Rei that she reflects on her choices and acknowledges mistakes.)

Guilt is a whole other matter.

Now this is my personal opinion, but I don’t think victims are to blame for having mental breakdowns when people who have power over them “get worse”. Guilt is a natural response when you hurt someone, whether you meant to or not. Guilt helps us identify right from wrong; it's not necessarily a bad thing to feel.

However --

(Fuyumi, nooooo-)

Misplaced guilt is just torture.

Neither Fuyumi nor Natsuo (nor Shouto!!!) had any blame in this situation. Fuyumi’s comment especially hurts my heart because this is a child who felt responsible for her parent’s emotional stability, who blames herself for not preventing the emotional outbursts of her caretakers when she was barely a teenager herself.

This is where the difference between guilt and responsibility comes in.

Well, Rei may be right -- if someone you care about has a mental break, you do have a responsibility to help if you can at all help them (this is, again, an opinion, since I know some people would dispute it...) because you love them, and whatever pain they carry you also bear -- but this has nothing to do with Fuyumi’s last statement.

Fuyumi wasn’t expressing familial responsibility, she was expressing misplaced guilt. So was Natsuo, to a degree (though I think he felt more regret than guilt), but Fuyumi’s comment was really out there! She could not have in any way fixed her parent’s problems. And it’s messed up that no one addressed this.

From a narrative perspective, I guess it wouldn’t make sense for someone to address it; it would divert the scene. It’s supposed to be a scene about the Todorokis coming together (and maybe set up something with Hawks and BJ), and any heart-to-hearts should serve this purpose. BNHA, a shonen manga, doesn’t focus on the comfort when it can focus on the action.

But why have Fuyumi say anything at all? Why have her say that?

I am not offering an answer, I am once again questioning Horikoshi’s understanding of the situation, his depiction of child abuse and neglect.

Is he trying to bring realism to story (”this is how a real person would feel, and they likely wouldn’t be corrected”)? Or is he framing the statement as the truth (”Fuyumi is correct in feeling this guilt, so no one is going to address it”)? Is he conflating guilt with blame and responsibility?

(Isn’t analysis fun?)

So to reiterate:

Those who hold the blame are those whose actions led to this happening.

The Todorokis feeling guilty is a natural reaction, if sometimes misplaced.

That they all hold themselves responsible for whatever happens next doesn’t necessarily mean they are at fault for Touya becoming Dabi -- at least, it shouldn’t. Duty to family is, you know, a thing that exists outside of guilt.

Stop shitting on Rei for saying they all have a responsibility. Stop blaming her for the wrong things. Woops.

[makeste]

Have you seen the take that the official VIZ translator is biased? Because I'm still trying to process that, given with the stuff he's gone through with people sending him leaks and being overall disrespectful to him regarding translating (which is not an easy job)

Caleb’s biggest strength as a translator is also arguably his biggest weakness -- he has an excellent grasp not only of Japanese, but of English as well. meaning he’s very adept at translating Japanese dialogue into smooth-flowing, natural-sounding English. this is a different approach than what some fan translators use, because he doesn’t always go with the literal direct translation, e.g. “here’s exactly what this person said, word-for-word.” rather, his approach, which is the one most often used at the professional level, is to approximate what the person said, but in a way that flows naturally in the adapted language. e.g. “here’s how that person would have said this if they had been speaking in English.”

this type of translation has a lot of advantages, the biggest one being that the dialogue often sounds better/crisper/sharper than the somewhat-stilted dialogue often found in more literal translations. another advantage is that if done properly, this type of translation is easier to understand, because rather than trying to to reproduce exact sentences, the translator often strives for more simplicity while still preserving the essence of what the person was saying, and so the resulting dialogue gets the meaning across in a simpler way. one good example that shows how effective this style can be is “Catch-a-Kacchan”, which perfectly captures the playfulness and wordplay involved in the original dialogue by taking the pun that was originally used (see here for an explanation), and translating into something that is unique to the English language, but perfectly captures the spirit of the original. this is the kind of thing that Caleb is very good at, and it’s why he’s a professional.

however, the major flaw inherent to this style of translation is it relies very heavily on the translator’s understanding of what the original author intended to convey. you’re basically taking what they wrote and putting it into your own words. and so if there’s even the slightest difference between what you think Character X was saying, and what the author meant for Character X to say, the resulting translation is going to be off. this means the translator has to be dead-on in their interpretations 100% of the time in order for their translations to be 100% accurate. which basically means that they will never be completely accurate, seeing as that’s impossible.

so this is where the problem really lies, imo. to answer your original question anon, yes I have seen that take, and I do think he’s biased. but not any moreso than anyone else. every single person who reads the manga is biased in some way or other. we think the way that we read and interpret the series is the correct way, and that people who don’t see it that way are wrong. every single person has felt like this at some point or another. we all have our biases; they’re unavoidable, and the best we can do is try to be aware of them and avoid saying “this is objectively the only right way to interpret this” as much as possible.

so the problem isn’t really that Caleb is biased. the problem is that unlike most of us, his biases when left unchecked have a vastly wider reach than just about anyone else’s in the English fandom, because he is the official translator. and unfortunately, Viz’s particular style of translation means that even if Caleb tries his absolute best to be as objective as possible, some of his biases are still inevitably going to seep through anyway, because he’s essentially rewriting dialogue at times, and so his perception of the characters is going to affect that.

I know in recent weeks the discourse on this has mostly been about his translations of certain lines said by Best Jeanist, Dabi, and more recently Deku. but if we go back a bit, I think Bakugou is an even better example of this tbh. Caleb, like many people, wasn’t the biggest fan of him at first (i.e. he thought he was a giant asshole, which to be fair wasn’t exactly wrong), and as a result he was slower to pick up on the hints of his eventual redemption arc. he also didn’t quite grasp the nuances of Bakugou and Deku’s relationship at first. chapter 63 is a good example of this.

compare this to Fallen Angels’ version:

it’s abundantly clear, in the wake of Kacchan vs. Deku 2, that FA got it right here. this is a perfect example of how mastery of the Japanese language can still only get you so far. because Caleb’s understanding of Bakugou and Deku’s relationship was clouded by his biases, he went with words that lined up with his interpretation of them. “disgust” rather than “antipathy”; “inferiority” rather than “pursuit.” and of course, the completely warped Bakugou analysis of “awe, conceit, and rejection” rather than “fear, pride, and denial.” he literally couldn’t conceive of Bakugou fearing Deku in any way, so he went with a totally different word (which to be fair was still one of the possible meanings of the word used, but only rarely as far as I understand). also note the inherent put-down in the use of “conceit” rather than “pride.” and lastly, because he thinks Bakugou hates Deku’s guts, “rejection” rather than “denial.” so yeah. completely dropped the ball on that one lol. thankfully he has improved since then with regards to these two, though.

“wow makeste, you really took an ask about translator discourse and turned it into a post about BakuDeku” I think you mean I took a post about biases and used it to show off my own biases lmao. anyways lol my bad. so yeah, Caleb is biased. however I think it’s unavoidable, and he’s overall an excellent translator in spite of that (and literally anyone else would have the same exact issues, just with a different flavor). I think he does his best to be as accurate as possible, and I also admire that he strives for clarity and accountability by posting translator notes up on his Twitter every week. all in all I’m happy to have him as the translator for BnHA, even if he isn’t always perfect. also, completely unrelated to anything, but y’all should check out the Legend of Zelda town he made in Animal Crossing earlier this year if you’re into Nintendo at all, because dude put some serious work into that shit and it is honestly really cool.

[gamergirlshelby]

Alright so I got very bored so I am attempting to create another writing tool for anyone hoping to write for the bnha oc comeback.

This will go into detail explaining each of the students, and teachers' quirk types, and how each characters' physical form is effected by it.

If any of the original creator's of the characters find any details that need to be corrected please let me know.

Now without further adieu, the writings will be under the read more:

Quirk Types

There are three types of Quirks according to the My Hero Academia wiki, along with one known sub-type. I will be paraphrasing the explanations from the wiki, so if you are interested the full descriptions can be found here.

First there is the Emitter type. The Emitter type allows the user to control "emissions". These emissions are basically external elements that the quirk user can control, whether these elements are external or are created by the quirk user. Where the emissions come from is different depending on the quirk.

Second there is the Transformation type. The Transformation type is a type of quirk can alter the quirk users different features, sometimes enhancing features, sometimes removing or adding features. Transformation type quirks require a lot of concentration to stay active. It is also important to note that transformation types can only effect the user, and no external forces.

Third there is the Mutant type. The Mutant type is one of the few types that could have been awakened since the birth of the quirk user. How Mutant types work is that they give the user a more complex abilities. It is also the most common quirk type to be passed down due to it being caused by a change in genetics. The best example that I can use here is how Tokoyami has a bird like head, but it does not inherently effect how his quirk, Dark Shadow, works. Mutant types also can not be "turned off" or stopped in any way, being forced to always be active.

Then lastly, there is the only known sub-type as of writing this, the Accumulation type. I'm going to use the wiki definition for this type because it is short and simple, so I thought it fit well. "Accumulation-type Quirks are powers that, in order to function properly, require the user accumulate something ahead of time, such as power, energy, mass, or a particular resource. Some such Quirks are One For All, Stress, Rewind, Fa Jin, and Fat Absorption." Nobody in either class seems to have this quirk type, but it is important to bring up since it is one of the more impactful types in the show, since One for All falls into this category.

I will be using colored text to help show what each student and teacher's quirk type, but I will not be coloring the text for quirk types that do not corelate with the characters.

Class 1-X

Osamu Sato (@dantelionwishes)

First off we have Osamu Sato, Class 1-X's homeroom teacher. Sato has an Emitter type, because he is able to create the emission out of his own saliva that can work as a stimulant. But because of issues from Sato's past, he chooses to act as if he is quirkless.

Moa Fuwa (@you-may-call-me-meme)

Moa Fuwa has two quirks, one being her main quirk Pressure Control. According to Moa's bio, Pressure Control, which she inherited from her father, which allows her to move objects over a certain distance , solidify objects, and even strengthen an object's gravitational pull. This quirk can be classified as an Emitter since it does not rely on the user needing to be transformed or on any physical mutations. Next is the quirk that she inherited from her mother, giving her traits that would resemble a sheep. This quirk would be classified as a Mutant due to it inherently being a part of her physical appearance.

Hibiki Manami (@3080-manami-hibiki)

Hibiki's quirk is quite clearly a Mutant type due to it appearing to never be able to turn off, and significantly changing her physical appearance.

Burai Banzai (@buraibanzai)

Burai is actually almost threw me off, so I'm glad I've been reading over the character bios, but Burai actually has a Transformation type quirk. This is because Burai's quirk allows him to transfrom some of his cells into electricity, making it a Transformation type.

Amorette Calhoun (@napstennoji)

Amorette is another tough case, but I think she would be an Emitter type. This is because she is able to control an outside force, being able to increase her opponents dopamine or norepinephrine.

Akihiko Arakan (@captainbaeremy)

Okay, so it is common knowledge that Akihiko does not have a quirk, but I did want to point out that he is still very competent, being able to make it into the Hero Course and passing the practical exam, which for those unfamiliar consists of the possible hero course students of having to beat robots and gain points for the different robots they destroy. So even though Akihiko is quirkless, I would argue he is probably one of the strongest students between classes 1-X and 1-Y combined.

Michiko Watanabe (@residentquirksupport)

Michiko's quirk is an Emitter type, because it is an emission that boosts the quirks of others. Michiko also has a small Mutant being the suits under her eye that would change under her eye depending on how she is feeling.

Makoto Shiba (@dantelionwishes)

Makoto is a bit hard to place because of how it inherently works. I think it is safe to assume that it is not an Emitter type. It is hard to tell if Makoto is primarily a Transformation type or a Mutant type. Makoto is most certainly at least a Mutant type due to her... virtual appearance? I would also argue that their quirk can work as a Transformation type because she is able to transform to get into whatever piece of electronics she would need to get into.

Jiro Yukimura (@zer0-10)

Jiro is very simple to identify, being an Emitter type, due to being able to make the emissions of his slime from his mouth.

Taishiro Watanabe (@angrymemesandicecreams)

Taishiro is also pretty easy to identify, with him being primarily an Emitter type, due to his control over the way time effects someone. Taishiro also has a small Mutant type quirk, being his eyes. I'm not gonna count the black gradient on Taishiro's arms and legs as a part of the mutation, since it seems that it is more connected to the Emitter part of his quirk.

Jetsam Kisa (@jetsam-kisa)

Jetsam is an Emitter type, with the emission being the pollutants from his mouth. Jetsam also has a small Mutant type quirk being the purple pigment to his skin, but I am not 100% sure if this is a side effect from the Emitter part of his quirk or not.

Edit: Thanks to jetsam-kisa for telling me some of the details about Jetsam's Mutant type quirk. How it works is that Jetsam's eyes are able to see shapes in the fog, helping him get through it. Jetsam's mutation is also visually noticeable through the eyes, with Jetsam having a black sclera and an off-white iris and pupil.

Tsutsumi Natsumi (@glitchviper)

Tsutsumi is probably one of the most clear-cut answers. Tsutsumi is a Transformation type, having the whole concept be that she transforms to a form where she is a lot faster and stronger.

Edit: Thanks to glitchviper for pointing this out to me, but Tsutsumi actually also has a Mutant type quirk that overlaps with her Transformation type quirk. Tsutsumi's Mutant type quirk is visible in her "regular form", the mutation being her horns and her yellow eyes. Tsutsumi also has the ability to move through shadows. When Tsutsumi transforms her mutation becomes more prominent, and enhancing her abilities allowing her to manipulate shadows.

Aito Takao (@korissideblog)

Aito is another student that has two quirks because he had inherited both of her parents quirks, and they did not overlap with each other of fuse together, becoming two separate quirks for Aito. Aito's charm is an Emitter type due to it not impacting his physical appearance, and not requiring Aito to transform in order to activate. Aito also has a Mutant type quirk that she inherited from his mother, being her demon like horns and tail.

Edit: I mixed up the specific inheritance details so I fixed that.

Rin Tsukikage (@kamiart)

Rin is an Emitter type, because she absorbs energy from moonlight and uses it as she sees fit.

Edit: Thanks to the-heartbeat-hero for pointing out that Rin would also likely be an Accumulative type since she needs to accumulate the moonlight (which I also briefly brought up in the original version of the bio) in order to use it with her quirk.

Hiroharu Aki (@compoundhero)

Hiroharu is also a little tough to say, but I think his quirk would be identified as a Transformation type. The quirk type is a little hard to identify since Hiroharu does transform, but it could also be argued that the quirk uses emissions. But sense, from my general knowledge, Hiroharu would transform himself, I think it fits more as a Transformation type and not a Emitter type

Kiku Miyagawa (@cryptidanaphafsi)

Kiku's original lore page actually gives a lot of helpful details, making the designation of Kiku's quirk type to be very easy. Kiku's primary quirk, Grim Voice, is an Emitter type. Next is Kiku's smaller Mutant type being her grey skin, white hair, and piercing eyes.

Sumiye Gemu (@smol-hibiscus)

Sumiye is in a weird grey area when it comes to what her quirk type is. This is because she seems to have an Emitter type because she can transport items from games, but she also seems to be a Transformation type because her whole appearance changes each time she goes into a game, so it's hard to give a specific label to her quirk.

Tamashi Yoken (@eldritch-whispers)

Tamashi has an Emitter type quirk because she is able to use his quirk to read other people's emotions, and use their quirk in a way that could effect other's emotions.

Ayume Hikkido (@onibony)

Ayume has an Emitter type quirk, allowing her to convert glucose and blood sugar into special physical candies that can work as barriers or traps.

Edit: Thanks to the-heartbeat-hero for pointing out that Ayume would be an Accumulative type because she would need to accumulate the glucose in order to properly use it to create the barriers and traps.

Carlos Cordova (@pokeracer93)

Carlos has a Mutant type quirk, due to how he has permanent robot features and abilities, that he can not turn off due to how Mutant types commonly effect Mutant type quirk users..

Jimin Kim (@art-is-drawing)

Jimin's quirk type is actually listed in their bio, being a Mutant type quirk, which is shown by Jimin having a lizard-like appearance and abilities.

Class 1-Y

Pro Hero Miss Me (@dantelionwishes)

Ok this is going to need some explaining, but Miss Me is most certainly a Mutant type. I had to do a little bit of research, looking through Miss Me related posts to see how exactly her quirk works, and I think I have a good idea. But from information I learned here, it seems like Miss Me's quirk is actually just a mutation of the average persons instincts and reactions over injuries, allowing her to move fast enough to avoid any injuries that physically attack her.

Boni Mizumi (@flowersinorbs)

Boni is another character with two quirks. First is her primary quirk is an Emitter type, allowing her to create special orbs that can have a large variety of effects. Then is a small Mutant quirk that gives her some demon like features like small horns and a tail.

Momo Neko (@lintulady)

Momo has a small Mutant type quirk that gives her cat ears and a tail, as well as having a Transformation type Quirk that allows her to transform into a cat.

Mao Amai (@greyciees)

Mao has an Emitter type quirk that allows her to change the chemical composition of objects with her saliva.

Konekomaru Yoshino (@you-may-call-me-meme)

Konekomaru has a Mutant type quirk giving him the physical features and abilities of a cat.

Evan Satoru (@no1-horror-hero)

Evan has a Transformation type quirk, allowing him to transform his body into different eldritch-like ways.

Mitsumi Togan (@shinindiamond)

Mitsumi seems to have primarily a Transformation type quirk because of how she is able to transform her skin into a diamond-like substance, but she also appears to have a small Mutant Quirk causing her hair to constantly be made of this substance as well.

Ikuto Maekawa (@the-heartbeat-hero)

Edit: the-heartbeat-hero had brought up some details about Ikuto's quirk that I felt the need to redo his description, and since the-heartbeat-hero is still working out some of the details, I will likely edit this to be more accurate once the details are all set-in-stone. Ikuto has an Emitter type quirk that allows him to slowdown the heartbeat of others, but not himself.

Tokiya Iori (@skiduffle)

Tokiya has an Emitter type quirk due to how they are able to control how he and others are effected by the passage of time.

Yori Hayashi (@beetroot-bot)

Yori has an Emitter type quirk because she is able to transfer their injuries to others as well as transfer other's injuries to herself.

Edit: Alright thanks to beetroot-bot for pointing this out, but Yori stockpiles injuries, so that would make her an Accumulative type.

Kabane Higanbana (@imminent-soup)

Kabane has a Mutant type quirk because of the nature of his physical form being that of a zombie at all times.

Hina Mumei (@plutoeater)

Hina primarily has a Mutant type quirk that gives her physical features that resembles a moth, and an Emitter type that allows her to create a special dust from her wings that can cause dizziness, vomiting, hives, or even just a stuffy nose.

Kiyoko Hagane (@cosmic-goof)

Kiyoko is a Transformation type quirk, allowing her to transform parts of her body using metal she has consumed.

Jaye Rokuto (@zer0-10)

Ok, Jaye is probably the hardest to identify what his quirk type would be. I think the best fit for Jaye is an Emitter type, because although he does in a way "transform" by creating different clones, but because splitting apart while holding objects, living or not, also causes the duplication of those objects, by definition making it not a Transformation type.

Kurumi Yamashita (@nightseeye)

Kurumi is another character with two quirks that do not interact with each other. First is Kurumi's Emitter type quirk, allowing them to control and grow a variety of plants. Second is Kurumi's Mutant type quirk, giving them the look of a skeleton..

Doku Heiwa (@dokuheiwa)

Doku has an Emitter type quirk, which allows her to create poisonous gas and acidic saliva.

Tano Hoshizawa (@zedthebuggy)

Tano has an Emitter type quirk allowing him to create clouds of sparks in the air.

Naga Murasaki (@murasaki-naga)

Naga has a Mutant type quirk, making it so she can can stick to surfaces when activated and stretch parts of her body.

Murasaki Nendo (@genuinefauxthought)

Murasaki has a Mutant type quirk that causes her body to be consistently changing when experiencing pressure.

Hikari Kamino (@dantelionwishes)

Hikari has a Transformation type quirk, which activates when she "dies" changing into what I have been referring to as her Phoenix form, gaining the ability to create fire on her own.

Tsuki Hashimoto (@art-gally)

Tsuki has an Emitter type quirk along with a Mutant type quirk. Tsuki's Mutant type has it so her arms are separated from her body, being able to hover on their own, and these arms, along with her legs, are able to create the emission of strong blasts, like a rocket launcher.

Number of Each Quirk Type

Class 1-X

Emitter: 13

Transformation: 5

Mutant: 11

Accumulative: 2

Class 1-Y

Emitter: 11

Transformation: 5

Mutant: 10

Accumulative: 0

Both Class 1-X and Class 1-Y

Emitter: 24

Transformation: 10

Mutant: 21

Accumulative: 0

[psycoweeb]

Amber/Momo Yaoyorozu

Color Prompt: Amber(Most of this was meant to happen in front of a fire...)

Fluff☁

Warnings: Tooth rotting fluff, cheesy confession, hiking, and my bad writing ❤

Disclaimer: I do not own bnha or any of its characters. Only the story written below.

A/N: I am SO SORRY this took so long! To make a long story short I basically dropped all of my hobbies in order to focus on the last bit of my school semester😅

It's litterly 12am rn so sorry if it seems a bit off at the end (this fic DEFINITELY did not go the way I planned😂I kina like it tho)

~~~•∆•~~~

You tried to keep up as you walked the trail, ducking and dodging branches. 'Why am I here again?' you thought starting to feel your fatigue slowly building.

It was nearing the end of class when Aizawa sensei randomly announced a surprise four day "field trip" that would take place two days later, and it wasn't an option. We ended up rushing to get our parents permission, and pack up.

You were pulled out of your thoughts as you heard Mina groaning loudly. "FINALLY!" The pink haired girl exclaimed sounding relieved. She had good reason to be, Aizawa Sensei had the entire class take a SIX HOUR hike instead of taking the bus up the very obvious road.

You dragged yourself to the clearing along with the rest of the class toward Aizawa sensei, who some how made it up before all of you. And didn't seem the least bit tired??? After giving the class a few hours to rest, thank goodness, Aizawa sensei stood up to speak.

"I'm glad to see you all made it in one piece, however I can't promise you'll leave that way" Everyone internally groaned at this. "starting today we have survival training" He said with a bored expression.

Iida stepped forward, confused by his teachers statment "With all do respect sir, why would we need that type of training? We'll most likely be working as heros in the city, correct?"

"While that may be true" The teacher said turning to him "we don't want other incidents like the USJ. We don't know the extent of their power, therefore we dont know where or how far they can teleport someone. And it was made clear how much you all are lacking in this type of environment at the training camp"

He continued "None of you are used to fighting in a closed off environment with obstacles everywhere you turn, that's what this training camps main objective is, to get you ready for anything. Today we have survival lessons and tomorrow we work on combat, we'll switch off between the days. That means you have two days to learn how to survive in a forest and two days to learn combat in a forest, good luck"

~~•∆(Timeskip by: Momo's delightful tea∆•~~

Everyone sat in silence waiting for their teachers instruction... And by silence I mean bakusqaud was quoting vines while Bakubro yells at them to shut up. (but with more✨𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠✨)

Dekusquad was thinking about random strategies they should use if they were ever ambushed (don't jinx it) while also thinking about what they would eat once they get back.

And the rest of the class are sitting in silence minus some mumbling about cold soba and a few poems.

At some point, in the middle of all this, Midoriya decides it's been long enough. "It seems like Aizawa sensei doesn't have any intention of helping us figure out what to do"

"I do believe it's time that we take charge of the situation." Said Iida "yeah but who?" Kirishima asked quizzically

"What do you mean? " Ojiro inquires

"Who should take charge?" You nodded at his answer

"He has a point" You started "It would be to chaotic if we all 'took charge' of ourselves."

"I vote Iida and Momo!" Hagakure beamed "They aren't the class president and vice president for nothing!" she exclaimed, running over to hug Momo's arm.

"Yeah that sounds good"

"I have no qualms with it"

"Yeah"

"I don't see why not"

"I can get behind that"

Mutual agreeance flowed over the crowd of teens in the form of nods and over exclaimed confirmation.

"Okay then" Momo said, sounding slightly nervous.

"ALL RIGHT THEN" exclaimed Iida unconsciously chopping the air, beginning to bark out a few plans and ideas.

×ו∆Timeskip by: Mina's killer moves∆•××

You walk through the trees, glancing around at the ground every once in awhile to make sure you're not skipping over any decently sized sticks.

"How many do you have so far?" You yelled out, not in any particular direction.

"Not enough" Momo yelled back, obviously preoccupied with finding sticks big enough for the fire you both were tasked with building. And by fire you mean bonfire, I mean, it is meant for about 22 people.

So you were kind of disappointed when you found out Momo couldn't use her quirk to make your jobs easier since sticks were considered living things.

You continued to walk forward until you came across a log with a few decent sized sticks protruding from the sides. You snapped them off the log, deciding what you had combined was enough, you both quickly started heading back the direction you came, hoping to get back before it gets dark.

Now, listen. The camp was generally pretty big. I mean, it IS meant for 21 students plus 1 teacher. That being said... why couldn't you find it?!?

You DID come from this direction... RIGHT???

Or.. Was it that way....oh no

"Whats wrong?" Momo walked a bit closer, noticing your hesitant steps.

"Oh nothin', just got a bit turned around" Your voice got higher, trying, and failing, to brush off her question

"Wait so...we're lost???"

"Hey! I never said 'lost'...but uh" You cleared your throat "Yes"

And that my friend... Is when panic set in. You'll never be able to graduate or even try to beat Bakugo and his damn near perfect grades!

"Um... Y/N"

Forget about being a hero! You can't even save YOUR SELF! FrOm TrEeS!

"Uhh"

I'll never be able tell her

That.. That is when you made the worst mistake of your life, you looked at her.

And saw Momo's confused, borderline sad face. You had been speaking out loud this whole time.

'Well, I was mumbling what are the chances she ACTUALLY understood what I was saying??? Maybe I could play it off?'

"Tell who what?"

'Dang it!'

You thought you were packing before? Ohh you haven't seen anything yet!

This is the WORST time to confess! It's not romantic AT ALL and your covered head to toe in sweat! And now, you either have to confess your undying love for the girl you and been borderline stalking for MONTHS! Or let her go on believing something that MY NOT EVEN BE TRUE!

You took in a sharp breath. "Well" She gestured for you to continue "There's this girl, she's smart, pretty, nice, well tempered, a good leader, and most likely WAY out of my league... " You had started rambling "A-and I kind of have a massive crush on her... "

With every word Momo's face slowly fell until she was completely looking at the ground

"Well, it sounds like you really like her"

"I do" You looked toward the sky dreamily

'Wait.She doesn't think. She couldn't really. Oh no.. '

You stopped dead in your tracks and turned toward your classmate.

There is NO WAY are you letting the classic: mIsuNDErsTAnDInG tRouPE get in the way of you possibly being able to get a date with the girl you've had a crush on for basically the whole school year!

"Momo Yaoyorozu!" You unintentionally shouted with sudden confidence. She jumped in surprise "You are the most amazing person I have had the pleasure of meeting and will no doubt become an even more amazing Hero"

You paused "I don't want to end this year knowing that I had the chance to have someone so beautiful in my life, possibly forever, and passed it up." You grabbed her hands and looked into her eyes, she was blushing... HARD.

You low key felt proud of yourself. "Momo, YOU are the girl I like. Would you please consider becoming my girlfriend?" You could feel her grip on your hands tighten.

"Do you really think I'm all those things?" She mumbled. "Of course" You answered without thinking, a confused look on your face.

"Strong, stubborn, creative," She spoke softly, gaining confidence with every word.

"good looking, encouraging, and always able to calm down a bad situation while still being able to bring energy into a room just by walking in"

"That's what you are to me." She was now looking you in the eyes. A bright smile on her face. "So when you ask me if I would consider being your girlfriend, the answer is, I already have. And there is nothing I want more"

Your eyes we're now glossed over with tears, but you didn't feel embarrassed because you could see that hers were too.

You both started to lean in and closed your eyes. Soon enough your lips met. It was as if time had stopped. As if the universe itself wanted to sit and appreciate the beautiful and unforgettable moment.

Even when you consider everything that happened that you didn't exactly enjoy. Even though you were still lost and BAKUGOU of all people was sent to find you. That was the most memorable and magical night you had ever experienced as a student of UA.

[ofmermaidstories]

Spoilers for the latest chapter of Something!

I'm gonna go ahead and apologize now because this is long; please feel free to ignore my wordy ass, I just have a lot of feelings about a certain someone that showed up in the new chapter lol.

I am still trying to get my shit together enough to write a proper review, but I did want to come yell at you for making the grape boy somewhat likeable, like...

Firstly, how??? Secondly, why?????!?!

Lmao, in all seriousness tho, it's nice to see him have a personality that isn't just "Mmmm, tits" *drools* I like to think that everyone in the series grows up and (mostly) out of the worst of their habits, and while Mineta is still a bit of a lecher here he isn't nearly as offensive/creepy as he comes off in show. In fact he's actually sympathetic in a lot way. The bit about seeing his first dead body before "getting laid" hit different like... He tries to play it off like a joke, but dude has to have just as much PTSD as the rest of them, maybe even more given that he wasn't able to fight back in the same way as someone like Bkg or Deku would be able to with their super powerful offensive quirks. They were all just kids, but they had to face hell full on from jump, and let me stop before I get too in my feelings lol.

In a lot of ways, he reminds of you the boys from school — crude. Taking for granted the safety from being in a pack, unchallenged. Leering at posters, saying off-colour things because no one corrects them.

That's exactly the way I view him, just a crude little thing that refuses to be put in his place for long lol. Still, with his being a hero I would hope that he keeps a cap on it while he's on the job--in fact I'm sure he does; if he didn't I'm sure that Aizawa would've yanked his licence by now, the likes of Deku and Kiri wouldn't continue to associate with him, and that's saying nothing of the shit that would get posted to social mead and such. I feel like the only reason he says what he says to the Reader is b/c she's a little gremlin herself and he knows he's got a bit more leeway, yanno?

The little hangout session that they had at the end of the chapter was weirdly heartwarming?? I want a friend(???) that I can be a surly little shit with and draw on and that will call my bf that's not really my bf but should be my bf because he's (that is Mineta) got more emotional intelligence than me lmao. Never thought I'd see the day when the grape would make for such an excellent wingman--tho I gotta wonder what that text he sent to Deku said. Probably something along the lines of "come get yo girl, she must be bored/lonely af because she asked to hang out with me" followed by "are you ever gonna close the deal or not? or have you already hit it??? >:)" just to give the guy an extra push (or maybe he's got a better sense of self-preservation than what I give him credit for, idk lmfaooo...)

Okay, this is WAY too long, I just had to get it out of my system lol. I loved the new chapter lots and I cannot wait to see how things play out in the next one!!

LOL, oh Puck, i adore you sdlkfjsdlkfjsdlkfj

me being a shit-stirrer/asking myself questions i don’t have answers for under the cut

Cat asked me this question earlier today, actually — why Mineta. And honestly? Part of it is the challenge he represents — like, how do you write him into a fic and mature him up so that he’s at the very least, tolerable, but also keep the backbone of his character (which is being a little degenerate). Like, is it possible? One of the most popular tags on ao3 for mineta minoru is something along the lines of “mineta minoru is replaced with shinsou hitoshi” LOL so…….. why didn’t I just use Shinsou? Or Aoyama or Iida, as Cat suggested? And beyond the part of me that delights in giving myself perceived challenges, there were two stark reasons that stuck out to me, when i was first mulling over his inclusion.

1) the fact that he can draw. it’s literally as simple as that. ever since the BNHA exhibition opened up in Japan and it was revealed that there was a scene in there with a class blackboard and the kids having their little drawing competition — and that Mineta was objectively the most skilled — i was like, “i have to include that”. LOL. it’s like you say, Puck, our Reader is a little gremlin herself — i thought if I was going to write a Reader that could handle interacting with him (ie, be in a position to pay him out) it was going to be this one. I think being in the manga industry and starting out on this journey of creating and drawing a Shonen manga sort of put Reader in this unique position of… being in what seems like a boys’ club? So she’d be used to the male gaze within her field. I follow Horikoshi’s assistant (former assistant?) on twitter and let me tell you, that man is not shy about the things that he likes to draw LOL.

the 2) thing was the philosophy i’ve sort of accidentally given myself LOL and that’s the fact that — as a Bakugou stan, if i’m giving grace to a character who was a literal violent bully then………. i can use my magic powers and hand it around to the other characters, too, LOL. and like, i would argue that with Bakugou it’s different, like we’re currently seeing in the manga how he has grown and learnt and is actively changing, which is the key to any kind of redemption. do i think Mineta will ever undergo that in cannon? absolutely not lmao, i see him as being being Hori’s idea of comedic relief, he’s always going to be a horrible little degen. but i want it for him…… if only to justify why the boys of Class-A collectively ignore his bullshit, for the most part? Like, none of them actively call him out on it?? i think of the time he tried to climb the wall to spy on the girls in the onsen — and how it was literally only Iida scolding him and how it took a child to stop him. Or the one when he found the stupid hole into the girl’s changing room and while the boys all looked grossed out….. Jirou’s the one that point an end to that?????? I saw a TikTok (derogatory) suggesting how like, none of the girls of Class-A would trust Aizawa, as adults, because he didn’t do anything to put an end to Mineta’s bullshit, and it was a devastating suggesting. None of us want to believe that our favourites would be passively okay with this kind of behaviour, right?? Which means……. Mineta’s gotta change LMAO. And if Hori isn’t going to do it then imma borrow him and do it myself. Does it work? I have no idea LMAO i can’t judge anymore, my meter is broken. but i’m gonna work with what i’ve given myself and it either will, or it won’t LMAOOOO kldsfjlksdjflkdj fic is about having fun at the end of the day. :’)

But it’s like you point out, Puck — Mineta is also a child, when these kids get trotted out to their first War. And he’s also not as offensively built as the hard-hitters like Deku and Bakugou and Shouto are. Even if it’s not explored in the manga, that War is going to change them all somehow.

So, my gameplan for Mineta was to grab ahold of the tiny things about him — the talent for drawing, the like one [1] observation he has about the wreckage of the war/pro heroes during the war arc, his tears for Bakugou when B wakes up afterwards and how he tells Deku how cool he was and how much he admires him, in the current Bring Deku Home chapters — and try to envision a sleaze bag who learns that the bullshit he pulls won’t be tolerated, even if he’s still ultimately a skeeze LOL. i mean, he’s never going to drop that er…. appreciation for the female form. and i mean, hey, live your best life King, i’ve distinctly noticed a hand-fetish floating around on this site lately so i’m not gonna be like “NO men can’t like ANYTHING”. But the thing with him being a sleaze and open with his leering is like, he’s actively made the girls of his class uncomfortable with that in the past — how do you write it so that he’s not doing that in a position of power with the women he works with (and saves!), as an adult?? Maturity only goes so far. How much can I bank on the war and the subsequent bullshit they’re gonna face from it on…. transforming him??? It shouldn’t be up to the girls he’s learning with to police him, they’re just children. I have a vague gameplan for it — whether or not it works will be one thing; whether i can naturally shove it into the fic is another, LOL. Guess we’ll see. 🧐

SAYING ALL THAT,,,,, i’m actually really glad you liked (???) the ending scene with him because it’s my favourite LMAO lkdjflkdsjflkdjfkldsjf. 😭😭 Reader is by no means perfect, and she and Mineta both need to start treating each other with more respect, but her bullying of him was fun to write and I like imagining a Mineta who considers himself to be close with Deku (whether or not Deku thinks the same is up for debate) going along with it. i could see this version of Mineta being enough of a shit-stirrer to say something like, “gotta lock that shit down” to Deku LMAO kdfjlkdsjflkdsfjdklsfj and then getting left on a skyscraper somewhere…. RIP short King.

[caramelpoppcorn]

BNHA/MHA season 3 volume 3 Drama CD

Cast: Iida Tenya, Todoroki Shoto, Yaoyorozu Momo

INTRO

IIDA: (00:00) Bakugou was kidnapped by the League of Villains and to rescue him, I, Iida Tenya, along with Midoriya, Kirishima, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, have reached the Kamino district, thanks to Yaoyorozu's detection device. However, we are in a very lively district at night, and people would notice us if they see five teenagers walking. In the worst case, we might even be taken to the police station. Due to these reasons, we decided to go shopping for costumes at the nearby Don Quixote department store.

INTO THE DRAMA

IIDA: (00:42) So, this is the rumored "extremely cheap" discount store, the “Super Cheap Don Quixote”!

TODOROKI: (00:48) Iida, have you been here before?

IIDA: (00:50) No, and you?

TODOROKI: (00:52) No.

YAOYOROZU: (00:53) I have not been here either! Well, let's go into the super cheap Don Quixote department store!

TODOROKI: (00:58) Yaoyorozu, aren't you too excited about this? / Why are you too excited about this?

YAOYOROZU: (01:00) W-no way! What do you mean? This is the first time I've ever experienced something like this, so…

IIDA: (01:06) What?! What?! Look at the volume and sizes of all these products!

TODOROKI: (01:12) There are too many lines. Each row is so crowded that only one person can go through it at a time.

IIDA: (01:17) There are even products up to the ceiling! How could a client get such a high item? Do they even intend to sell these?

TODOROKI: (01:22) Probably not.

YAOYOROZU: (01:25) I heard from Ashido-san that there are kinds of stores that have so many interesting items to look at, and anything that you may be looking for!

TODOROKI: (01:34) What does that mean?

YAOYOROZU: (01:35) To put it simply, it's like playing while shopping!

TODOROKI: (01:39) That sounds annoying / such a drag.

YAOYOROZU: (01:40) As expected of Kirishima and Midoriya, they are able to walk easily through these narrow hallways!

TODOROKI: (01:45) They must be used to these kinds of places.

IIDA: (01:46) T-Todoroki-kun!

TODOROKI: (01:47) What’s the matter, Iida?

IIDA: (01:50) Just look! This 100% real, preservative-free orange juice that I always drink is only 900 yen for six 2-liter bottles! If you calculate it, each liter is only 150 yen each! What kind of price is this?! The catchy phrase of this slogan "Super Cheap" is really true. It is so cheap! I just have to buy it right here and now!

TODOROKI: (02:09) Iida, do you intend to rescue Bakugou while you have 12-liter bottles with you?

IIDA: (02:15) Ah… You are right! I'm sorry. I was distracted by the price of these items!

However, next time I come to this store, I will definitely buy this juice! Don Quixote, Kamino branch... I will remember you!

YAOYOROZU: (02:34) Iida, Todoroki, it seems that the first floor is all food products?

TODOROKI: (02:38) Hey, Kirishima and Midoriya went up the escalators just now.

IIDA: (02:43) If we look at the direction of the floor, the clothes are on the 4th floor! Okay, let's go to the 4th floor!

YAOYOROZU: (02:47) since we're already here, we might as well take a look at floors 2 and 3 too!

TODOROKI: (02:51) Seriously?

YAOYOROZU: (02:52) Ah ... well uh ... maybe we can find things that could help us!

IIDA: (02:58) Oh that makes sense! Let's go through each floor one by one then!

TIME SKIP

TODOROKI: (03:04) We finally then reached the fourth floor, but where is Midoriya and Kirishima? All these products is blocking the view. I can't see where they could be standing.

YAOYOROZU: (03:12) Right, but the makeup section on the 2nd floor was really amazing. There were so many items there, and brands that I had never heard of!

IIDA: (03:19) The interior products of the third floor were also amazing! There were even video games for T.V.! In addition to that, the prices were also much lower than usual.

YAOYOROZU: (03:26) As expected of Don Quixote!

IIDA: (03:28) *sorry I don’t understand what he is talking about* z

TODOROKI: (03:30) You ... Did you just come to buy?

YAOYOROZU and IIDA: (03:33) Uhmm…

TODOROKI: (03:34) why do we even enter this store?

YAOYOROZU: (03:36) To buy costumes for us, of course!

TODOROKI: (03:41) I get it, but

IIDA: (03:43) By the way, Yaoyorozu-kun, have you thought about what kind of costume you would like us to wear?

YAOYOROZU: (03:47) Anything is fine with me.

TODOROKI: (03:49) Anything?

YAOYOROZU: (03:51) Yes! I heard this from Ashido, but Don Quixote has many cosplay items, rather, specific costumes. Like a policeman, a nurse, a flight stewardess, a priestess, or even a magical girl.

IIDA: (04:05) If you wear the disguise of a fantasy concept as a magical girl, wouldn't it be a bit contradictory (to our goal)?

YAOYOROZU: (04:07) there are other options! Little red riding hood, “Urashimatarou”, “Momotarou”, and more!

TODOROKI: (04:13) If we wear these outfits, we will stand out even more.

IIDA: (04:15) Kamino is a very busy shopping district, and it is, also at night. I would like an outfit that fits the scene. but...

TODOROKI: (04:21) I am not very much into the trends these days.

IIDA: (04:23) I must say I am the same.

YAOYOROZU: (04:24) I'm a little familiar with Parisian fashion trends, but

TODOROKI: (04:28) The only one who knows trends among us is Kirishima, right? Let’s just ask him to choose what suits us.

IIDA: (04:35) I agree.

YAOYOROZU: (04:36) I have no objections.

TODOROKI: (04:38) Okay, then I'll find Kirishima and Midoriya and tell them. You wait here.

IIDA: (04:43) Okay, no problem.

YAOYOROZU: (04:44) We will wait here.

IIDA: (04:48) Well then, what should we do while we wait for Kirishima-kun and Midoriya-kun?

YAOYOROZU: (04:53) Since we are in already in Don Quixote, let's take a look at some other products!

IIDA: (04:57) You’re right!

YAOYOROZU: (04:58) Iida, look at this! Three pairs of these shoes for only 300 Yen!

IIDA: (05:02) Look at the towels here! 10 for 200 yen!

YAOYOROZU: (05:04) Why in this world everything is so cheap here? How would they make money with this price?

IIDA: (05:06) Not something relevant to investigate, but whoa! Are all these glasses here only 100 yen?!

YAOYOROZU: (05:10) This skirt here only costs 980 and there is a label that says 70% off too!

IIDA: (05:15) What an incredible store this is, Don Quixote!

YAOYOROZU: (05:17) It really is!

IIDA: (05:18) I’m so glad I came here!

YAOYOROZU: (05:20) Yes, me too!

TODOROKI: (05:21) Have you really forgotten what we came here for?

IIDA: (05:24) Of course not!

YAOYOROZU: (05:26) Yes, not at all!

~~end~~

I'm not fluent in neither Japanese or Spanish. Corrections are very much welcome.

[hey-hamlet]

BNHA AU Ideas: Alleycat Extras and Corrections

Also on AO3

Original AU Post here! 

TL;DR:

A certain reveal in the manga messed up my AU, so I fixed it! It also happened to fix a pretty awkward plot hole no one called me out on before so thats good!

Alley Cat AU: Extras and Reforms

 On the day of the attack, Aizawa was taken by AFO after he took down the rampaging villain. Aizawa had been hurt badly, and AFO had been in the area, so why not, right?

He doesn’t end up becoming replacement Kurogiri because his quirk just refuses to mesh with anything else. Already content with the harm he’s done to UA’s reputation by making the kid vanish, he gets the doctor to move on to other subjects, dumping the kid in an alley sans a good portion of his memories.

He never takes Erasure because he sees it as a weaker version of his own quirk, rather than something all its own. This proves to be a mistake.

 Our Kurogiri stand in ends up being Inko, her Attraction quirk a workable base for a teleportation quirk. Inko’s a prime target too, a single mother with no immediate family or friends other than her young son. They take her, and Izuku is left alone. He eventually ends up in the foster system, bouncing between unremarkable or downright bad homes until he ends up in a house with Hitoshi.

The house is basically taking in kids to get the stipend from the system, then doing the bare minimum to keep them alive. Izuku and Hitoshi, both 10 and tired, run.

They drift for a few weeks before meeting Eri (timelines fumbled so she can be 4 years old at this point). During this time, they hear of a villain slash vigilante that drops out of nowhere to save people, going through the pockets of the aggressors for any cash they may have had. His turf is safe, much safer than anywhere they haven’t been chased out of anyway. They make their way there.

The rest is history.

 Aizawa remembers very little of his past other than his name. He knows he wanted to be a hero. He knows something horrible was done to him. He knows he can’t be a hero anymore. He settles for the next best thing.

His quirk largely is unaffected by the doctor’s experimentation, save a much more pronounced levitation effect on activation, effecting things around him weighing less than 300 grams along with the glowing of his eyes extending to his veins.

He remembers being young, hungry, scared and hurt; heroes chasing him away from populated areas until he learnt the back alleys like his own hands. He knows the heroics system is broken, but something inside him feels like it can be changed, improved from the inside. He has no way of doing this himself. His children can.

But god, if they get hurt, he will tear the system apart with his bare hands.

His memories are much fainter than his feelings, which is why when he feels a heart-crushing pain in his chest when he lays his eyes on a pretty new pair of heroes in his area, he runs. He doesn’t know what it is, but he knows those two are good, kind, special. He looks at them and he thinks home and its something so terrifying for someone who knows nothing but the gaps in his head he avoids them like the plague.

 Midorigiri is the caretaker of Shigiraki Tomura, a kind woman made of a shifting green mist of a mixture of ever-shifting shades. She is short, slim, and impeccably dressed. She lacks any real skill in hand to hand combat, but she is a skilled user of her warp quirk, a quirk that works by pulling whole area’s atom by atom to a new location in a haze of green. It’s not particularly fast but its highly effective, able to teleport not only large amounts of people but objects too.

She has always been motherly, comforting Tomura when he cried, making him food, patching him up after he trained with his Sensei. She is the only positive aspect of his childhood.

She has dreams of a little boy with a bigger smile than she’s ever seen Tomura wear. She doesn’t know who he is, but she thinks she’d like him to meet Tomura. It’d be good for him to have more friends close to his age, particularly one who seems so kind.

 Oboro and Hizashi are changed by Shota’s disappearance. At first, they refuse to believe he’s dead, though that belief is slowly crushed as the weeks wear on.

Oboro’s teaching philosophy focuses on his student’s giving nothing less than their all, feeling that he could have taken things a bit more seriously, and actually been able to help Shota. He also pushes teamwork and cooperation, knowing that two is always better than one because you can’t watch your own back. He will expel anyone he believes isn’t trying their best both to learn and get along with their peers.

Both of them focus more on practicality, losing a lot of the flair the used to have in their fights. Their takedowns become brutal and precise, and above all –

What’s the use of being loud with nothing to balance you out? They change their hero names; Feedback Loop and Cloud Nine.

They do end up starting that agency together, with a little cat tower in the corner, just like Shota wanted. Nemuri visits the day the open. They all cry.

 When Oboro lays eyes on Shota after the USJ, scared and scarred, Hitoshi at his side, demanding to know where Izuku is, he almost has a heart attack. He numbly points them the right way, before calling Hizashi. By the time they have both rushed to Izuku’s room, only Hitoshi and a young girl with equally black hair remain, both sat by Izuku’s beside.

They check the security footage. He is never seen leaving the building, simply vanishing between cameras. Neither of them knows what to think.

Their first thought is that Shota was taken by quirk traffickers. But why did he never come home? Well, Kamino answers part of that question, with the reveal of Midorigiri originally being one Inko Midoriya, and an admission from AFO that the Aizawa kids were failed by him; all 4 of them. Their dad, Shota, the first lost boy, being a failed Nomu. Izuku cries.

“All Might never failed us, you’re the one that hurt us! You took my mother, hurt my siblings, almost destroyed my dad, and you dare blame All Might? The only person other than them that ever cared about me?” Izuku’s smile looks like a snarl, but it's fixed firmly on his face, contrasting the tears dripping down his face. “I won’t let you hurt All Might- you’re never hurting my family ever again!”

Inko gets her happy(ish) ending by the way, ending up living at UA with her son, her son's brother, sister and two almost dads, along with another two slightly less dad-ly dads with most of her memories back. She remains pretty misty, but her eyes shine through now.

[kaleidoscopic-quiddity]

autistic bnha kids

 Midoriya Izuku:

special interests in heroes, quirks, and All Might

particularly encyclopedic knowledge about All Might, can and will infodump at any given opportunity 

stims by rocking back and forth when excited and pulling on his bottom lip when stressed or in deep thought 

covers his face with his arms when flustered because embarrassment gives him too much energy, he’s gotta physically work it out some way!! 

has a habit of ‘cutting to the heart of things’ (as todoroki puts it lol), often doesn’t realise that he may be overstepping his bounds a lil bit 

lowkey echolaila, repeats a lot of All Might’s catchphrases trying to get the right intonation when he’s alone 

mind tends to move much faster than his mouth, hence the muttering and stuttering

over-exaggerated facial expressions that he learnt from All Might cartoons because just ‘naturally picking it up’ is really hard okay?? 

wears the same shoes constantly because they’re a comfort item and also the only ones that aren’t sensory hell to wear 

imitates other people’s mannerisms when he’s unsure how to act (i.e acting like Bakugou when he really wants to win, or basing his hero persona around All Might)

hyper-empathetic, emotionally relates to struggles of anyone who’s more than an acquaintance and often looks to try and solve their problems 

cries a lot because of emotional dysregulation, it seems like a disproportionate response to others but if Midoriya feels he has to cry, he cries 

Todoroki Shouto:

naturally flat/monotone voice, struggles with vocal intonation

also doesn’t really do facial expressions most of the time

zaru soba is a samefood; good texture, taste that isn’t overpowering, just generally his go-to 

quite black and white thinking, either something is correct or it isn’t, struggles to see middle grounds or reconcile other people’s world views with his own

was told off for ‘fidgeting’ as a child, doesn’t really stim all that much now because of it 

has literally no clue when he’s being rude, just speaks whatever’s on his mind 

alexithyma, bad at identifying his own emotions and also doesn’t really care to do so, he just feels however he feels 

can be pretty literal, doesn’t like it when people talk in metaphors, he prefers if they just get straight to the point 

he’s not folding his arms because he’s mad it’s just a comfortable way to stand okay?? 

Asui Tsuyu: 

raptor hands, near-constant and casual stim

her ‘kero kero’s are a vocal stim, she likes to roll the Rs 

very very blunt, says exactly what she thinks and nothing less 

also a very black and white thinker, either it’s good or it’s bad, sees things in actions rather than intents

occasionally lets her tongue hang out, yet another stim 

doesn’t really recognise ‘Asui’ as her name because growing up her parents called her ‘Tsuyu’ of course, that’s why she prefers to be called by her given name 

refers to people as ‘-chan’ because she likes to show that she’d be happy to be friends with them 

also quite a flat voice, over enunciates when asking a question to compensate 

Iida Tenya: 

he’s not meaning to yell he’s just not very good at volume control!! 

very loud hands, grew up with a very supportive environment and was encouraged to stim however he pleased 

likes having rules in any given situation, they give him a model to base his actions off of and a code to fall back on if he’s unsure how to act 

also likes strict routines! if he knows what’s going to happen when it allows him to appropriately prepare for the day ahead 

picked up his vocal mannerisms from his rich family and rich pre-schoolmates from a young age, he’s not trying to sound snobbish it’s just how he talks 

has very little regard for a rule or policy he believes is unjust or useless and is fully willing to go against it 

the more excited he becomes the more he stims, he’s guilty of nearly smacking his classmates sometimes 

very very strong personal sense of justice and right and wrong, he understands that others may view things differently and is okay with that but he’s also lowkey judging them juuuuusssttt a lil bit

got aforementioned sense of justice from Tensei’s hero persona and the Iida family values 

Bakugou Katsuki: 

king of explodokills emotional disregulation   

his own angry out bursts seem fully reasonable to him but others view them as disproportionate to the situation at hand 

very narrow ideals of what ‘victory’ and ‘strength’ are, holds himself and others to unreasonable standards 

special interest in All Might but he’d never admit it 

also has no concept of volume control, but he doesn’t mind yelling all the time 

sure he doesn’t remember people’s names and quirks because he’s an asshole but he’s also just got prosopagnosia (face blindness) 

gives people nicknames based upon defining features so as to remember them; ‘shitty hair’, ‘round cheeks’, ‘raccoon eyes’, etc 

yet another black and white thinker! views most things in absolutes of ‘strong or weak, ‘hero or villain or civilian’, ‘useful or useless’, U.A has expanded his world view a lot 

the small explosions he makes is actually stimming, he likes the popping sound and the physical sensation 

tight clothes are sensory hell and that is a hill he’s willing to die on 

spicy food is the best physical sensation and he literally will not eat bland things its so bad

Hatsume Mei: 

obviously, a special interest in support item design/production 

ADHD as well, can topic-hop like nobody’s business 

thinks ‘outside the box’ in most cases, she doesn’t get why people don’t see thing the way she does (’if you can’t run with your legs why not run with your arms?’) 

incredibly goal oriented, only really acts in ways that serve her goals and sees lots of other things, such as taking breaks or bathing, as counter productive 

not great about social norms regarding physical space, if she needs someone’s measurements for an item she’ll just feel for herself

very ‘up and down’ vocal register, always loud but her intonation shifts a lot 

will info dump about support items to anyone who is or isn’t willing to listen, Power Loader and her classmates indulge her because they’re obviously interested in support items too and she can actually be quite educational if you manage to follow what she’s saying

fully aware that she’s the ‘weird girl’ stereotype and does not care! as long as the big companies are willing to buy her babies!! 

tends to hyperfocus on whatever her current project is and has to be reminded to eat and take bathroom breaks 

Aoyama Yuuga: 

moves his hands a lot in ‘flamboyant’ gestures, is really just stimming as he talks

struggles with holding conversations and making small talk 

limited diet due to his quirk and very adverse to a lot of textures, always eats his own food 

special interest in the French culture

isn’t good with social ques or ‘appropriate parameters’, fully does things intended as nice gestures and doesn’t realise it may come off as odd to others (i.e, leaving a cheese platter on Midoriya’s veranda in the middle of the night) 

cares a lot about his personal presentation and first impressions, he wants to clearly display how sparkly a person he is to others right from the get-go 

Yaoyorozu Momo:

special interest in tea, can tell you all about regional brewing methods and tea leaf grading 

much like Iida, she adopted a very formal manner of speech from her family and peers from a young age

is treated as the ‘autistic savant’ stereotype by many due to her natural intelligence and the complexity of her quirk, it doesn’t bother her per se but she would like it if her hard work got more credit 

mild dyspraxia, she struggles with depth perception and aim, particularly when she’s in high-stress situations

also with reconciling distance to objects, she genuinely didn’t think her bed would take up that much space in her dorm

tends to get lost in the details and patterns of things, isn’t to good at looking at ‘the big picture’ and appears to be slower at decision making because of it 

doesn’t register social cues, slang, pop-culture or similar things all that well, comes off as the ‘naive rich girl’ 

primarily stims by moving her hands around her face when overwhelmed or excited 

another thing she has in common with Iida is that she also values rules quite a lot, she feels as if they give her stable parameters to act within

[Autistic ppl please feel free to add on, allistics can totally rb but no clowning. b@kud3kus & endeavor/mitsuki/overhaul stans dni]

[thequirkdetective]

Investigation 10 (4/9/2020): Ranking 1

As we reach the lofty heights of 10 investigations, and look back on the 4 months this blog has existed, we have decided to begin a new type of post to consolidate all we have learned. Every 10 posts, starting with this one, all of our newfound knowledge will be collected together into an objective, inarguably correct BNHA tier list. The list will be ranked worst to best, with the each quirk/quirk holder being able to reliably beat those below them in a 1 on 1 match, and will expose what the true hero rankings should be.

There are a few rules. 1: This list is based on the quirks, not the characters. It assumes the characters are of equal skill level, and simply evaluates the effects of the quirks in combat. 2: some quirks may be able to defeat other quirks ranked higher than them. However, these are exceptions, not rules, and are usually down to strange interactions between quirk effects. 3: This list only contains quirks that have been investigated in ‘the Quirk Detective’ posts.

Please note: all discrepancies between this list and canon are the fault of lazy script writing, thus all criticisms should be forwarded directly to Kohei Hirokoshi. He must answer to my faultless research and reasoning.

With that out of the way, on to the list!

9: Compress – Atsuhiro Sako

The worst quirk on this list is, surprisingly, the one we last investigated. Although at first it seems rather powerful, it has one drawback that wasn’t covered in the investigation, namely the fact it required contact to activate. This was a rather insignificant feature of the quirk when investigated, but it becomes rather crucial when discussing fighting and overall effectiveness. The problem is that very few quirks on this list require contact, and thus the opponent can be fought from a distance. All the while Atsuhiro will be essentially quirkless and on the defence, only being able to use his quirk to compress incoming attacks (assuming he can react in time). It is true that if he could get into close range the fight would be over rather quickly, but all the other quirks make that incredibly difficult, and assuming two opponents of equal skill this quirk is certain to be the least effective.

8: All for One – All for One

Many of you will be understandably confused about the most notorious and powerful villain in all of BNHA being ranked the second lowest in this list. There is good reason for this, however. The issue is that All for One has multiple quirks, only one of which has been investigated. In future we may do an investigation of all the quirks All for One is known to possess, but that still wouldn’t be complete, since it is impossible to know how many quirks he has but isn’t shown to use. Additionally, this is a ranking of quirks rather than characters. Therefore, our only choice is to assume All for One possesses only his own quirk at the start of the fight. Here we hit the same issue as Atsuhiro Sako – the quirk requires physical contact. Again, if contact was to be achieved the fight would end near instantly as the circumstances flipped on their head, and the previous quirk-user would become quirkless and disoriented.

However, All for One does rank one above Compress because their fight would be slightly different. Since both need contact to use their quirk, they would both move into close quarters. Both quirks would activate at the same time, and All for One would be trapped in a marble. However, at the same time All for One takes Atsuhiro’s quirk, and frees himself from the marble. All for one is now able to use Compress against Atsuhiro, and trap him in one of his own marbles.

7: Frog – Tsuyu Asui

Tsuyu’s quirk is the last to require contact, but has the huge advantage of incredibly toxic mucous. Against any long-range opponent, Asui is more manoeuvrable than Atsuhiro or All for One, and thus has a slight advantage over them. Interestingly, Asui could defeat Mr Compress suing the aforementioned mucous, or in the worst case scenario become trapped in a marble and survive for about a week before she dehydrates, whilst Atsuhiro dies of Batrachotoxin poisoning in less than a day. However, she could not defeat All for One. If she manages to poison him, he could steal her quirk. This gives him her frog-like traits, including resistance to Batrachotoxin, whilst the residual mucous on her skin poisons her since she loses this immunity. The reason she is ranked higher than him is due to the slim possibility of her being able to defeat some of the lower ranking long-ranged opponents due to her impressive manoeuvrability.

6: Acid – Mina Ashido

Our first mid to long range quirk, Mina Ashido’s Acid is not very effective as quirks go. The range is not very substantial, and the quirk requires many hits to do significant damage to a target. It is also more effective at closer ranges, meaning an increased chance for the three quirks above to be used. There also aren’t many tactics that can be used to increase effectiveness, and the best appears to be the simple ‘drench the opponent in as much acid as possible from as far away as possible’.

5: Hardening – Kirishima Eijirou

I can already hear the pedants screaming that this quirk is the actual last one to require contact. To this I respond with further pedantry: this quirk does not require contact between the two individuals, and instead places a quartz barrier between them. This means Kirishima can use his quirk do beat up All for One without getting it stolen. This quirk is especially vulnerable to Compress, and would probably lose to it consistently, but it does offer extensive defensive and offensive capabilities against other quirks, namely the other three already discussed. Asui’s poison needs skin contact, and quartz is a silicate – exceptionally unreactive, and thus immune to Ashido’s acid. However, it does have one large drawback…

4: Electrification – Denki Kaminari

Quartz is sometimes electrically conductive, and in a very interesting way. It is composed of a crystal structure of SiO4 tetrahedra, with a central 2+ Silicon ion and four shared 1− Oxygen ions. Whenever an electrical current is passed across a quartz crystal, the oxygen ions move in one direction and the silicon the other, causing the crystal to deform. The reverse is also true – whenever a quartz crystal is deformed it gains a potential difference across its surface. This is called ‘piezoelectricity’ and is the reason quartz can be used as a timekeeping component electronic clocks and watches. However, this is only a property of certain types of quartz, and all other types are electrically insulating (and a dielectric, but that doesn’t matter for the DC current of Kaminari’s quirk). Sadly this doesn’t have much application to a fight between Kirishima and Kaminari, since the piezoelectric effect is too small to be noticeable on such large scales, but since we know that Kirishima can’t be entirely insulated by the quartz (there have to be gaps to allow movement) Kaminari’s quirk can be used against him. The effects on any enemy within a close enough range are spasms, disorientation, and possible unconsciousness and/or cardiac arrest. However, the effect is quite close range, and not necessarily fatal or long-lasting.

3: Explosion – Katsuki Bakugou

The first of our big 3 is Bakugou, with his ridiculously powerful yet still feasible ‘explosion’ quirk. This can be used at multiple ranges, and causes serious damage to opponents. Assuming he has a proper stance he can fling opponents back by tens of metres. If they land well they’ll just break a few bones, if they don’t then they’ll die. This quirk is incredibly effective during combat for manoeuvring, attacking directly, and creating environmental hazards. It can also force opponents back, meaning there is very little chance for anyone ranked below Bakugou to get within a good range of him. It does have the drawback of limited use, but so do most of these quirks, so it’s not much of a problem.

2: Creation – Momo Yaoyorozu

And here we get to the quirks that are sort of cheating. The top two can create energy or matter on demand by violating the current laws of physics, thus allowing them to theoretically do some pretty nifty stuff like time travel and power every house in the world. Momo’s quirk is second for a few reasons. 1: it takes some time to activate, 2: it rips portions of her skin off, and 3: it can only create objects with cross sections no larger than that of her body. This does allow her to throw nuclear warheads at her opponent, but sadly this pales in comparison to the number 1 quirk.

1: Navel Laser – Yuga Aoyama

Step aside One for All, it is with great pride and disgust that I proclaim Yuga Aoyama the most powerful quirk user yet investigated. The quirk can output a nauseating 28 gigawatts, enough to defeat a foe from orbit. Use a set of mirrors to snipe them from halfway across the globe! Shoot the floor and let the ride an expanding column of superheated gas and plasma! Burn things! The possibilities are endless with this quirk, and usually involve vaporisation of the opponent and tummy aches.

[astreetcarnamedwynn]

bnha rewatch: episodes 10-13, part 1

In which I continue to explore villainy in the BNHA world by analyzing Tomura Shigaraki, his strengths, his weaknesses, his character connections (to All for One, All Might, Midoriya, and Bakugou), and his character design, particularly the significance of all those creepy hands. Prior rewatch analyses can be found by clicking the ‘bnha rewatch’ tag, or by clicking the link to my AO3 account at the top of my Tumblr if it’s easier to read them there.

“Encounter with the Unknown,” “Game Over,” “All Might,” and “In Each of Our Hearts”

Though Shigaraki debuted in the prior episode (“Yeah, Just Do Your Best, Iida!”), using the media as a cover to break into UA for information about All Might, these episodes are his true introduction. So let’s take a look at the character who may (or may not) become the Big Bad of the series.

The first thing that these episodes do is establish that Shigaraki is smart. He doesn’t act without information. The attack on the USJ only occurs after he breaks into UA and knows exactly where All Might is supposed to be (along with who else is supposed to be there with him). Additionally, the attack on All Might only occurs after Shigaraki learns that All Might’s strength is waning, when he can more likely be beaten in other words, and Shigaraki comes with a weapon designed specifically to counter All Might’s abilities (Nomu’s shock absorption to handle the damage dealt by All Might and regeneration to fix what can’t be prevented by the absorption). Furthermore, Shigaraki comes to the USJ with a strategy. He brings a villain who can block all signals coming into and out of the USJ, preventing anyone from calling for help, and he’s the one who told his lackeys not to underestimate the students simply because they are young. Their age does not matter. Their quirks do. Accordingly, Kurogiri separates the kids, sending them to all corners of the USJ, to groups of already gathered villains, to (in theory) make them easier to kill.

If we couldn’t already determine how smart this all is, three characters already associated with intelligence on the show- Midoriya, Momo, and Todoroki- all comment on the smartness of the plan in some way. As Todoroki says, the villains are “fools for trespassing here, but they thought this out, and they must have a concrete objective in mind.” Tsu aligns herself with this group by being the first to realize that the villains must have a way to kill All Might if that is what they came to do, an assertion quickly supported by Midoriya.

Of course, these displays of intelligence by Shigaraki could solely be attributed to All for One, especially since we learn at the end of “In Each of Our Hearts” that the information about All Might’s waning strength came from him. Similarly, All for One and his (as of now) unknown compatriot made the Nomu that Shigaraki uses. However, Shigaraki’s intelligence is on display during the attack as well. He is able to figure out the Aizawa’s quirk efficiency is deteriorating just by observing him, and this allows him to be the only villain (aside from Nomu, who is acting on Shigaraki’s orders) to get close to and hurt Aizawa. Furthermore, from the very first punch that Midoriya throws, Shigaraki is able to figure out that his power is similar to All Might’s and he can theorize about the personal connection between the two: “Are you one of All Might’s disciples?” This observation is not unique to Shigaraki. Tsu makes a similar one about Midoriya and All Might just in these episodes, and (of course) next season Todoroki will make his iconic observation of the obvious connection between the two (“Are you All Might’s secret love child o something?”). But these are characters who have proven their intelligence time and time again, so although the observation is not unique, the fact that Shigaraki can make it says something about his capability.

Shigaraki’s thoughtfulness is reinforced further with his critiques of the government, heroes, and violence. Shigaraki calls out Midoriya for attempting to kill him with his first punch, saying, “What kind of hero does something like that? You think you can get away with being as violent as you want if you say it’s for the sake of others? […] That pisses me off. Why do people get to decide that some violent acts are heroic and others are villainous? Casting judgment on as to what’s good and what’s evil.” He continues, saying to All Might, “You think you’re the symbol of peace? You’re just another government sponsored instrument of violence. And violence always breeds more violence.” All Might wholly dismisses what Shigaraki says, countering with the theory that Shigaraki’s doing this just because he likes it. But the show itself doesn’t support such a blanket dismissal. Society is messed up in BNHA, and it is messed up partly due to All Might. It’s not necessarily his violence that has bred more violence, but more (at least as of right now) his performative, solo heroism that has shaped society’s twisted notions about quirks and heroics. In part, Shigaraki has recognized this rot within society and the causal connection it has to All Might.

This isn’t to say that Shigaraki is wholly correct in his assertions either. He’s ready and willing to kill children after all when he breaks into the USJ. Granted, they’re super-powered heroes in training, but they’re still kids, as All Might points out. Yet Shigaraki is willing to kill them and kill them solely for the purpose of breaking All Might: “Let’s make this hurt.” So his judgment is not without serious flaws. However, he is not simply the crazy, violent hedonist All Might tries to characterize him as being.

It’s intriguing that this is the assertion All Might makes about Shigaraki’s villainy. He reduces the more complex motivation he states to something straightforward and simplistic, casting the former as nothing but a sham: “You’re nothing but a lunatic. Criminals like you- you always try to make your actions sound noble. But admit it. You’re only doing this because you like it.” To this, Shigaraki narrows his eyes and thinks, “He’s got me figured out.” Every time I watch this episode (“All Might”) I’ve found this moment intriguing. Has All Might truly figured Shigaraki out? Was Shigaraki’s philosophizing nothing but a vain attempt at justifying his awful actions? The fact that Shigaraki’s eyes narrow rather than widen makes me think he hasn’t been caught off guard by All Might’s surprisingly accurate assessment, but rather he’s been pissed off by All Might’s presumptuous dismissal. I read “He’s got me figured out” as angry and sarcastic rather than genuine. All Might thinks that Shigaraki is just your average, crazy, mindless villain, but he isn’t.

So why has All Might made such an assertion? Is this a sign of his flawed judgment, that he’s too old and doesn’t understand how villainy is done nowadays? Or was this a performative moment, designed to try to soothe the surrounding kids (Midoriya, Bakugou, Todoroki, and Kirishima)? I think a bit of both. A villain who isn’t just some mindless machine of violence (like the Nomu) would be a lot scarier, yet multiple comments have been made in the show (some by All Might himself) about how old he is. Shigaraki’s new approach to villainy is seen in the simple fact that he doesn’t come to the USJ alone. He comes as part of a team (the League of Villains), he comes ready and willing to work with them, and he laments when Aizawa prevents this from occurring: “[He’s] making it difficult for us to work together or rely on each other’s powers.” This places Shigaraki in a more direct parallel with the next gen heroes, who (aside from Todoroki and Ojiro) all fight in teams. It’s the adults (All Might, Aizawa, and Thirteen) who fight alone.

For all of Shigaraki’s relative positives (not acting rashly but according to an informed, logical plan), he’s still young and thus he’s still learning. He overestimates his position of strength in the attack, foolishly telling All Might what Nomu’s primary quirk is, which allows All Might to best him in the end. Additionally, he becomes EXTREMELY agitated at the first sign of his careful plan going awry and needs Kurogiri to calm him down. He nearly abandons the plan altogether when he learns that Iida escaped Kurogiri and that additional heroes are likely coming. Midoriya comments on this intent, saying how weird it is for Shigaraki to want to retreat at this point. Why put forth so much time and effort into concocting and executing a plan only to abandon it at the first sign of trouble?

You do this when it isn’t your plan.

I love Shigaraki’s design. All those hands. They of course emphasize his quirk, how devastating and deadly his hands can be. However, they also highlight his lack of independence. Shigaraki is not in control of himself. The hands are moving him around like a puppeteer does his puppets. All for One is moving him around like a puppeteer does a puppet. He directly tells Shigaraki at the end of “In Each of Our Hearts” that Shigaraki is his face to the world: “I must remain in the shadows. That is why you must be my face.” Shigaraki’s face is covered by the hand because it is not Shigaraki who is acting here. It’s All for One. Of course you’re going to lack conviction if what you’re doing hasn’t been decided by you.

Such control has devastating consequences on Shigaraki. He’s being held down and restrained by all the hands covering his body. He’s literally being suffocated by the hand on his face. It’s also blocking his ability to see. Sight is a common metaphor for knowledge and understanding in a story: the proverbial light bulb going off over someone’s head when they understand something. Shigaraki’s knowledge and understanding have likely been limited. The proof for this is in how shaken he is when circumstances deviate from the plan. A plan consists of pre-set actions based on already known conditions. Again, the knowledge of those conditions, as well as the actions to do in response to them, were likely given to Shigaraki by All for One. When the plan goes awry, when Shigaraki has to decide for himself what to do, he’s shaken, so he tries to abandon ship. I love the moment when All Might shows he’s not as weak as All for One said he would be. He literally knocks the hand off of Shigaraki’s face and forces him to see the truth.

All this is in contrast to Midoriya. I love the subtle and less subtle ways that the show connects Shigaraki to Midoriya. There is, of course, the bright red shoes, an immediate visual tie between the two. There are other moments, too. Both Shigaraki and Midoriya comment on how the big brawl between Aizawa and all the villain lackeys is not playing to Aizawa’s strengths. Thus they both possess comparable knowledge and intelligence. And then there’s the beautiful sequence when the show shifts from Midoriya’s eyes to All Might to Shigaraki’s eyes. Both Midoriya and Shigaraki have the same awe-struck expression on their face as they look at All Might, though for Midoriya his look is one of reverence while for Shigaraki his is one of hate. Finally, Midoriya and Shigaraki bear similar injuries at the end. Shigaraki has been shot in both arms and both legs. Midoriya has broken both of his legs and one of his arms/hands during the fight.

These connections help to highlight their contrasting trajectories at the end of the season. While Midoriya has had two trial by fire “victories” (first in his battle against Bakugou in “Deku vs. Kacchan” and then here at the USJ), Shigaraki loses. All for One tries to spin the loss as a chance to learn, and it can be. But it isn’t a confidence booster, not in the way that Shigaraki desperately needs. This parallels Bakugou, who has also lost to Midoriya and has had his confidence shaken. The connections between Shigaraki and Bakugou are more subtle at this point. If Midoriya and Shigaraki share red shoes, Bakugou and Shigaraki share red eyes. They both share a fondness for short pants and combative feelings towards Midoriya. And of course, All Might ties all three of them together, though in different ways (Midoriya → saving, Bakugou → winning, Shigaraki→ failing). These connections are why I’m still uncertain as to whether Shigaraki will be the Big Bad by the end. I find it just as likely that Midoriya and/or Bakugou will do as All Might failed to do and “save” Shigaraki as Shigaraki will destroy the hands holding him back and step into the spotlight as a fully independent villain. Recent events in the manga have only deepened my uncertainty regarding Shigaraki’s fate. Whatever the destination, the journey is sure to be an interesting ride.

Next time: while Shigaraki studied his butt off and failed the USJ test, the heroes (most of them) pass with flying colors. An analysis of the lessons they learn, with special emphasis on the four at the main fight: Midoriya, Bakugou, Todoroki, and Kirishima.