#what if izuku's motivations made sense?

[justatalkingface]

Out of curiosity: how you would make the whole "lets save Shig" thing? Bc I do like the idea but god the execution is soo bad. Shig never show any remourse to Izu or heroes, gladly participated in a war (I do say he was just a figurehead as Redestro was the main leader of all this. The villains rally on his name) and still talks about destruction...

Izu is just saving (or trying as hori needs to make this mega hard for some reason) bc of bodyhijack (and the wierd thing "I cant ignore the baby tenko and munchan") out of nowhere.

But lets assume this was foreshadow. Lets assume the goal since day 1 was "Izu sees shig is a good person and wants to be saved"

"Ah so shig needs to be the perfect victim?" No. I dont like fics where Shig is a poor baby who needs cuddle, but there a huge difference in making Shig fight back against those who want to hurt or take him away and...Whatever the fuck Hori did.

So, I ask: if you could write "Izu saves Shig" how would go?

Well, the obvious problem is Izuku needs a connection, a real connection, with Shigaraki. The problem with that problem is to do that, to make heroic Izuku want to save a villainous mass-murderer... that's. That's going to need a lot of work.

To be blunt, the fundamental structure of the pre-War story arc would need to be thrown out, because while it develops both of them as characters (if not as much on Shigaraki as I'd like), it does that separately, and they need to spend a lot more time with literally any interaction at all, to start.

The best way to do it, I think, would to be to have Shigaraki played off against Izuku... like, a lot. Have AFO send him against 1A to, I don't know, claim a win? I know the League, in general, ends up against them, but Shigaraki generally isn't a part of it, which doesn't work for this. Have some confrontations where they fight but actually can't get too far into it, for whatever reason, maybe an arc where one or both of them are imprisoned somewhere, giving them time to talk without two absurdly lethal Quirks constantly going off, and them actually fighting enough before Shigarkai's body gets upgraded to make that connection, without someone dying, is far too unlikely to work as a story.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of Shigaraki getting captured (or, maybe is purposefully captured, in an AFO plan he may or may not be in on, to help develop him more) and then have an arc or two focused around that. Think about it: all the heroes trying to figure out who he is and what he knows (and AFO had all his information removed from the various records, so they can't figure it out), increasing pressure from the Hero Commision to Do Something, which would develop them more, and then at the core of it all, them trying to make Shigaraki talk, but they really can't; he doesn't want to talk to them. Hell, maybe even throw in a few semi-serious torture attempts from the HC end, only for him to laugh it off.

At the end of the day, he'll only actually talk to two people: All Might (to help drop some cryptic hints for later in the arc, and also for him to vent his frustrations; probably something something 'you didn't save me', he has a lot of All Might-based rage after all) and Izuku. Izuku who he connected with on a small level in the mall. Izuku with OFA. Izuku the hero in training who has defied him and lived.

So, as the plot continues on, and the pressure ratchets up, Izuku and Shigaraki are slowly starting to get a handle on each other, their personalities, likes; similarities are starting to be seen, some deliberate parallels are invoked by various people, to them and to others, about the two of them both being successors. Climax starts, HC says, 'Kill him'... and then it comes out.

The backstory. Who Shigaraki is, who he's related to, what happened to his family, all of the stuff from the War Arc, but not as a flashback, but as a conversation, with Shigaraki triumphantly presenting his horror of a life as proof of AFO's, and to some lesser extent (because it's still developing) his own philosophies, while Izuku stares on in horror, and somewhere else, Gran or All Might or someone else finds out the same information, at the same time.

Izuku agrees with part of what he's saying (society needs to change), but rejects the rest, and counters with a point of his own, and then just as the heroes roll up to interrogate/kill him (depending on who sent them), Kurogiri does his thing and whisks him away, either as some too perfect timing, or perhaps more likely, he's been on standby to save Shigaraki if anything was to go wrong the entire time, or maybe he showed up earlier, and he's been waiting for Izuku to leave, but the new people forced the issue for him (depending on the reason Shigaraki is there, of course).

They go their separate ways, both of them brooding over what happened, and as the heroes and as Izuku try to grapple with the revelations, then the War Arc happens, only this time, there's less, 'here's my trauma story' and more communication, Shigaraki challenging Izuku to prove his ideals, maybe, to help explain why so many heroes survived him (looks at Endeavour), or maybe just both of them affirming which side they're on, with Shigaraki more confident in himself than ever, and Izuku declares he'll show him that he's right.

It's only a skeleton of an idea, and it'd need a lot of work (and a firmer plan), but I think it'd be a good start. At the same time, though, I think it helps highlight just how off that whole motivation really was.

[prettynice8]

Can you do a male reader cuckold? (Y/N) & Bakugo are in a relationship, and (y/n) gets railed by Izuku in front of Bakugo? Maybe as revenge for years of bullying? Thank you!

That's so cute

AGED UP! Izuku Midoriya x male reader (Bakugo x male reader)

This guy

Stuff: Cucking (DUH), swearing, smashing, Bakugo is a cuck lol, cheating but make it cute, Izuku is kind of a schemer, smashing, bottom reader, top Izuku, marking, reach around, full nelson.

TW: there is cheating and cucking, Bakugo is a little abusive

Word Count: 2,098

Notes: I kind of hate Bakugo so this is actually quite therapeutic.

Bakugo was a total fucking asshole. He didn't care what people thought, they were all simply extras. He didn't give a single fuck about anyone, except you.

You were practically his whole world. All he thought about now was your bright smile, enchanting eyes, and wonderful body. He was simply obsessed with you.

You were his new motivation for being a hero now, instead of being the best he mostly just cared about protecting you. Though even you never stopped him from being a total asshole to everyone around him, not even his love for you could stop that.

He still bullied Izuku to absolute filth, still calling him Deku and useless and an extra. Telling him to kill himself and just real heinous shit while you tried to get him to stop, which is the main thing Izuku would remember from the harsh bullying... you.

Sure, the words still stung, but the fact that you, Bakugo's own boyfriend, had tried to stop the cruel fighting. The way you would check up on Izuku made his heart swell, the fact that such a beautiful thing cared about him was heart swelling.

Such a shame you're dating a total fucking dick.

It wasn't particularly dramatic to say Izuku was in love with you, and it wasn't particularly dramatic to say everyone knew. The way he stares at you from across the room, the way he always tries to talk or hang out with you as much as possible, and the way he constantly showers you with compliments and favors. He would always just say that you're his friend so why wouldn't he buy you 100 dollars' worth of stuff, that's what friends do.

You never really thought much about it, he's been your friend for so long, before you even started dating Bakugo, so it's normal how Izuku would always stare at you for a little too long, or how his touches were always a little more lingering than necessary, but Bakugo on the other hand.

He fucking hated how obvious Izuku was about his affections, acting as though is feelings for you were merely platonic. He couldn't stand how you would still hang out with him, which caused many fights, just like the one you're having with him right now.

"I don't see the problem." You stated, confused on why Bakugo was still yelling at you for hanging out with Izuku.

"The problem is that you're a fucking idiot who can't see he clearly wants to fuck you!" He yelled, furious at your naivety.

"Friends don't just do the things he does, I've seen the way he looks at you, the way you let him touch you and it just makes me sick!" He shouted out, his frustration ever growing.

"He's been my friend longer than I've dated you, you can't just expect me to drop him because you're insecure." You exclaimed, growing tired of his constant jealousy.

"INSECURE?! You listen here! The problem isn't me being insecure, the problem is that you're a fucking slut who doesn't see the most basic shit in the world, like how he clearly wants to fuck that already used asshole of yours!" Bakugo yelled out, saying anything he can to hurt you, so you'll come to your senses.

You have no words to say to him, you stand there utterly speechless and in shock at his harsh words. Finally, a sound comes out of your mouth, but not an apology like Bakugo had hoped for, but sobs, sobs that get choked out from the tears that are rushing down your face.

Bakugo wants to reach out and hold you, try to comfort you, but his pride and anger are far bigger than his care for your feelings at the moment.

"Of course you're fucking crying, god you're such a little bitch, why do I even bother with you." He said coldly, his pride getting the better of him.

With that you finally storm off from the conversation, after having had enough of his jealous and cruel antics. You run off into the hall of the dorms until accidentally running into a very special someone.

"O-oh god, are you okay y/n?" Izuku asked kindly and with genuine concern, holding you in a tight hug while you cry into his broad chest.

You were still rather speechless, and even if you tried to talk the words would only get choked down by your sobs; so, you stand there crying into the Izuku while he tries desperately to comfort you, running his hand through your hair (or scalp if you're bald and beautiful).

After a few more pets of his hand, you eventually pull away and prepare to speak. "Shit, sorry for making your shirt all gross." You apologized.

"You're fine, I only care about why you were crying." He replied, his concern for you overshadowing any care for his clothes.

"Bakugo is fucking dick, that's what." You stated, your previous sadness having now grown into righteous anger.

After you said that a wave of understanding and pity washed over Izuku's face, but also a hint of... joy.

"Yeah, Kachan can be a little.... rude sometimes." Izuku understated, clearly wanting more to say.

"He's a fucking heart breaker who I want to die." You said coldly, you upset feelings being fully angry at this point.

"Don't say that he's your boyfriend." Izuku stated, though he secretly enjoyed how angry you were getting over Bakugou.

"I just want to hurt him back, like with what he did to me-" You were going to say more until you were suddenly interrupted by Izuku's lips on your own.

You were so stunned that you didn't know what to do, so you just stood there in shock, unable to do anything to be kissed by him. Izuku realizes your stunned expression and pulls away.

"Fuck, sorry, I just thought..." He apologized, looking into your eyes with his own pleading and hoping you won't be too mad.

"Thought what?" you asked, not particularly mad at his actions, just surprised and confused.

"Well, I thought that if you wanted to hurt Bakugo, I have pretty good idea for that." Izuku stated, the gears turning in his head.

"How?" you asked again, your interest officially piqued.

"I was thinking that he gets awfully upset whenever I'm around you, so..." He let on, hoping you'll get the hint.

"So, like, kiss me when he's around." You replied, looking intently at Izuku, with all this mischievous planning of his you're finally realizing how... hot he is.

"I was more so thinking; he walks in on me fucking your brains out." He answered flatly, as one does.

You're face erupts in blush at the thought of having sex with Izuku, not only do you get to piss of Bakugo, but you also get to fuck the guy that's looking hotter by the minute. The nice and timid boy Izuku used to be is seemingly overtaken by this new bold, horny, and incredibly sexy version, not that you're complaining.

"But how do you know he'll walk in on us?" you asked, still a little confused on how the plan is actually going to work.

"Just leave it to me." He said before going back to kissing your lips.

Instead of standing there stunned like the last time, you reciprocate the kiss instantly, wrapping your arms around Izuku's neck, pulling him closer in and deepening the kiss. He responds by picking you up bridal style and leads you both to your room, his master plan already set in motion.

Izuku gently lays you on the bed and goes right back to kissing your lips, in which you open your mouth so his tongue could enter, which he takes instant action at, shoving his tongue into your mouth, exploring every inch.

The kiss is so passionate that you can't get enough, wrapping your legs around his waist, grinding your now hard and clothed dick against his own. He responds to this by doing the same, syncopating the rhythm with your own.

But just grinding isn't near enough, within an instant he strips you both naked, that superhero training being used in ways All Might never thought possible.

With both of you now being completely naked, there was nothing stopping him from putting his achingly hard dick into your readily awaiting ass.

But before he can get to the fun part, he knows he has to do the nice thing and prepare you before just shoving it in like Bakugo did.

He starts by inserting one finger in, slowly pumping it in and out until you're ready for a second one. With two fingers he opens you up more and more, until he's even able to fit 3 in. With that he stops adding more and sticks with fitting three of his fingers inside you.

Once he believes you're ready for the real thing, he takes all three of his fingers and looks into your eyes sweetly.

"You ready?" He asked, knowing that his cock might be a bit difficult to deal with.

"Yeah, I'm so ready." You answered, touched that he asked, something Bakugo never did, and a little worried about having to fit such a fat cock inside you, one that's much bigger than Bakugo's.

With your words he starts putting his massive dick into your evidently tight hole, since he can barely even fit the tip in. He starts laying little kisses all over your face before finally meeting your mouth, which he deeply kisses. This kiss is very different from the previous ones, instead of lust and passion it's all about love and pleasantness, relaxing you enough to where he can fit a little bit more of his cock in.

He starts slowly going in, deeper and deeper until finally he's able to bottom out inside of you, his entire cock filling you up very nicely. Izuku stays like that for a while, waiting for you to fully relax with him inside you. He stares at you awaiting a response, until you finally nod, and with that he is raring to go.

He starts with slow thrusts, wanting your hole to get more acquainted with his cock, but eventually he starts to find a quicker and steady pace.

As he goes faster you moans get louder, his massive cock hitting your prostate with little to no effort. You look up at Izuku and notice how sweetly he's staring back at you, his hands cupping your hips with a bruising grip. His eyes look so kind, even though he's wrecking your insides you can't help but look back at him with the same look.

This all goes out the door though when you hear footsteps coming along, which leads Izuku to forgo the nice thing and just start destroying your asshole.

He rams into you at near inhuman speeds, hitting your prostate hard with every quick thrust, his cock almost splitting you open. He continues this insane pace and power even after the door opens.

As if on cue, Bakugo walks in right as you cum, hard, all over Izuku's chest, Izuku isn't far after, cumming deep inside your hole. After that Izuku picks you up into his lap, facing you towards Bakugo. His cock quickly hits hard again as he slowly picks you up full nelson style and sits you back on his dick, his rough and calloused hand coming to wrap around your newly hard cock, all the while looking Bakugo dead in the eyes.

"Hey, Bakugo." He states, using his real name and not the stupid nickname he would usually use, but that's not the only thing that's changed. His cute smirk is now a devilish grin, and his voice is deep and almost chilling, making you even more horny for the man.

Bakugo does nothing but stand there in utter shock as he watches his boyfriend get used and abused by his worst enemy, this was Izuku's plan all along, since the first time he found out you started dating Bakugo.

He knew Bakugo would be a terrible boyfriend, and he knew you would immediately come to him if you ever had a problem with him, after all he was your best friend, so why wouldn't you. He also knew that you were quite petty and would easily agree to this kind of thing, and of course everything worked out splendidly.

Everything is going exactly as he wanted, not only is Bakugo crying on the floor, but he also gets to make love to the man he's obsessed with, you.

THE END

[sinfulpanda16]

Amazing Classmate

Midoriya, Bakugou, Uraraka, Todoroki x foreigner reader

You are an international student in U.A and meet all of Class 1-A. What are their reactions to seeing you for the first time? How do you guys bond together despite the differences in nationalities?

(n/l) = native language (y/c) = your country

Midoriya

Is fascinated by you

He tries to learn your language by taking notes

When he saw you for the first time, he was starstruck. Your features are so beautiful, and he can't help but to blush a bit when you make eye contact with him. He decides to be a good friend towards you because he didn't want you to feel too different. You two become good friends and when he asks if you can help him learn your native language it made you feel a sense of warmth. You happily agreed, you would tell him 'The Word of the Day' and he would write it down in his notebook.

Izuku waits for you to think of a word. When you finally do you look at him with a smile, "The word of the day is, (random word in your language)."

Midoriya smiles brightly, "Ok! How do you spell that?" he asks getting ready to write in his notebook. You spell it out for him and go on to translate the word in Japanese. You explain to him how you would you use it in a sentence and Midoriya is writing it all down.

It makes you happy that Midoriya is so dedicated to learning your (n/l). He's learned so much from you and is almost able to have a full conversation with you in your mother's tongue. In a way he makes you feel at home.

He does it all because he wants to. He really likes you and where you come from. He likes all of you.

Uraraka

Strives to be more like you

You are so inspirational in her eyes

She walks into the common room and sees you sitting on the couch. She's hasn't been motivated to do much recently and doesn't know why. You have made it clear to all of Class 1-A that you're a safe space and are there for them. Uraraka figures maybe she can talk to you, so she takes a deep breath in and makes her way towards you on the couch.

"Hey (Y/N)" she waves shyly and sits down next to you.

You look from your phone and give her a smile. "Hey what's up?" you ask.

She looks at your eyes and she finds them so beautiful. She can't help but to turn away shyly. "Oh, it's nothing really. I just figured I could use some advice."

You turn off your phone and give her your undivided attention. You allow her to tell you her thoughts and feelings. You listen closely and after she explains everything, she looks at you, "I don't how (Y/N). What should I do?"

You chuckle a bit and begin to answer her question. "Back where I'm from they have a famous saying." Uraraka listens closely. You explain to her a quote your people back at home say a lot. It's something that people tell each other to help them feel better. After you finish explaining you look at her, "It's ok Uraraka. You're human so there's no need to beat yourself up for feeling more tired than usual. I'd recommend going on a walk. That always makes me feel better and productive". You give her a warm smile and say the quote in you language.

She looks at you with her big eyes and then chuckles. "Thanks (Y/N). Thats means a lot. You and your people are really something." she laughs.

You smile, it's true. You're proud of your blood and culture. And Uraraka is also proud of you for that.

Bakugou

Admires you from afar

At first he could've cared less about you, but your just so intriguing

He's sitting in the common room lost in thought and he sees you come out of the elevator. You two make eye contact and you smile brightly. You say, "Hi Bakugou." in your native language. He and all of class 1-A already know the word for Hi in your language because you always say it.

Bakugou just grunts, but that doesn't mean he's not willing to talk with you. You don't mind him and make your way to the kitchen to make yourself something to eat. You been enjoying cold soba ever since Todoroki recommended it to you. He was onto something cuz cold soba hits every time.

Bakugou knew you've been eating a lot of soba cuz of Todoroki and it bothered him. He wasn't sure why, but it did. He calls out for you "Oi! (Y/n)." you look up from what you were doing and look at him. Your eye contact always makes him feel a certain type of way. He can never hold eye contact with you. He looks away and abruptly says the first thing that came to his mind, "Teach me some curse words. You know...in (n/l)."

His request is so random, but you laugh, "Alright".

So that's what you do. You teach him all your favorite curse words in your native language. It makes you laugh because he honestly sounds and looks good cursing in your language.

This helped you two get closer and after you left, he found himself smirking. Just everything about you intrigues him and that includes your culture and language. And you can bet that after that he yells curse words at any extra in your native language.

Shoto

Is respectful to you and your culture

You and him both have your struggles and are always there for each other

You were feeling down and were in your dorm room. You love Japan but just like everyone else who moves countries, you get homesick. You sat at your desk looking at a photo of you and your friends back home. You miss them like hell. Long distance relationships are not easy. You hear a knock at your door and already know its Todoroki cuz of the way he knocks. You call out for him to come in.

He opens your door and walks inside, "Hi (Y/N). Are you busy-" he's caught off guard cuz he can tell something isn't right. He can tell your feeling down.

You raise an eyebrow at him, "Is everything ok?" you ask when he stops speaking mid-sentence.

"I don't know. Is it?" is all Shoto says in his soft voice, and you're taken aback. In all those months Todoroki managed to read you like a book. Honestly, you learned to do the same with him.

You smile softly, "I'm ok Todoroki. I just feel a bit homesick."

He walks towards you, "Oh. You miss (y/c)?" he asks sitting down on your bed. You nod your head and look back at the photo of your friends, "Yeah. I mainly just miss my friends and family. It's been a while since I've seen them in person." you explain.

Todoroki can only imagine what that must feel like. He sometimes misses his family, his mother, even though they're all with him in Japan. He doesn't want you to feel sad, so he suggests doing something to ease your mind.

"(Y/N) me and our friends were going to go to mall together." he reaches to hold your hand, "Please come. I promise it'll make you feel better." he says looking into your eyes.

You smile softly. Although your childhood friends are back in (y/c), that doesn't mean you're all alone here. You have amazing friends like Todoroki and the rest of Class 1-A to be with. You back into his eyes, "Ok. Thanks, Shoto."

He gives you his soft and cute smile, "You're welcome (Y/N)".

[kitthepurplepotato]

Chapter 14 - That’s what friends are for

Summary: Izuku shows his Sweet Pea around his secret lair. Katsuki doesn’t appreciate being ignored.

One loaf of bread was murdered during the making of chapter. Blame Kirishima.

Warnings: Swear words, a lot of kisses

First Chapter Master List

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“I guess, I owe you an explanation.” Izuku sighs, looking anywhere but you, his cheeks tinted pink.

Honestly, you would be happier to just get a kiss, but the state of this “secret lair” is also quite concerning and would probably be nice for it to make some sense to you before you end up calling the mental hospital on the poor guy.

“That would certainly be helpful, Izu.”

The walls all covered with bookshelves on all the sides except the one with the “door”. There is a massive cork board there filled with pictures, newspaper cutouts and official statements from the agency covering up a map of the word. There is also a bigger map just of japan, that one is filled with several printouts, most of them around the Tokyo area but there are a few articles pinned to Rishiri and Wakkanai in the Hokkaido prefecture then another several to Korsakov and Nevelks in Russia.

The bookshelf are half filled with books, mostly of geography, history and other topics that might come in handy for a case and the other half is filled with thousands of notebooks, all looking worn out from the constant use.

There is a massive corner desktop a meter away from the actual corner so there is enough space for Izuku to move around the bookshelves. He could walk circles around the whole place with no problem and knowing how restless Izuku he probably did that a several thousand times already. The left part of the desktop is full of paperwork and the other one has the same single person CCTV setup as the people in his agency. By the look of it he’s been looking at a footage of a harbor before you came here.

“Okay, so…” Izuku takes a deep breath. “These notebooks are the ones I’ve written about the heroes when I was young. I’ve kept up with this hobby so there are also a few new ones there about the current heroes. This place was supposed to be my little geek corner where I can write my silly little notes and geek out over quirks. This… has changed a lot since this case came by. This place was supposed to be my mind palace, a place where I can re-gain my motivation, my strength, to remember my roots. The cork board on the wall is about this case as well. I think I’ve found a connection between Japan and Russia. I saw an unregistered ship on the CCTV leaving the harbor in Russia heading our way, probably full of illegal drugs or props, I don’t really know. I sent my findings over to my team an hour ago. They probably have all of this information anyway but Katsuki asked everyone to leave me out of the work e-mails for the time being and it frustrates me to not know how the case is going…” frustrated tears roll down Izuku’s cheeks. You can’t help but run over to your boyfriend and hug him to soothe his troubled soul.

“You know I understand why you are doing this, right?” You mumble into his ear and Izuku starts sobbing. “You know you should’ve just told me this and I would have understood. Katsuki made a massive mistake by leaving you out of this. I know it came from a good place but he should have known you won’t be able to sleep well without seeing those e-emails, seeing that they are indeed working on the case.”

“I’ll stop, Sweets. I swear this is the last time…” Izuku begs, but there is no reason for him to do so.

“You don’t need to, Izuku. I’m not mad. You just need to take a deep breath. Relax. Then come back here, do your thing for a few hours and once you close that door, leave all the pain behind. I don’t think you working on this case is a bad thing.” You admit. “It doesn’t make your recovery longer and it helps to soothe your soul knowing that you did your part. As I said, I understand. We will talk to Katsuki, okay?”

“That won’t make this place feel less dreadful, though. It’s not… fun to be here anymore and I hate that.” Izuku mumbles with his cheeks red.

“I can help with that.” You give Izuku a cheeky smile and he perks up right away.

“Tell me the plan, boss.”

“Are those papers on your desk important?” You nod towards the massive mess and Izuku looks at you with a confused face. He’s so cute, even with the dried tears dirtying his puffy cheeks.

“Let’s make paper cranes. Whoever does the most wins.” You give Izuku a shit eating grin while he stares at you incredulously.

“That’s your big plan, Sweets?” Izuku finally laughs, the sound loud and airy. Oh how much you missed that laugh.

“You are laughing, aren’t you? So shut the fuck up and get to work.”

Izuku is terrible at this. His fingers are too chunky to make the cranes look neat but he does his best and the frustration on his face is playful, a face of a kid ready for a challenge. It takes him a whole hour to get the hang of it but after that you two manage to clear out the desk almost completely. There are only a few papers left now, and there are at least 30 cranes sitting on the keyboard, most of them made by you but there is a constant smile on Izuku’s face so the pain in your fingers was definitely worth it.

“And now that the desk is almost clean…” You push yourself up to sit down on it, legs sprawled out to make space for Izuku to come between them. “It’s time for the boss to reward his hard-working assistant with some cheeky kisses!”

Izuku snorts. It’s hilarious.

“Oh, office AU? Forbidden love? I love that trope!”

Now it’s your time you laugh like a maniac.

“Oh my god, Izuku, you sound like me, that’s unacceptable!”

“Hey, where’s the respect for the big bad boss?” Izuku uses black whip pull you towards him, tentacles snaking around your waist until there is no space between you two at all.

“Are we actually gonna role play?” You ask between two snickers.

“No, it’s really fucking weird to be honest.” He giggles back and attacks your mouth with so much fervor you barely have time to reciprocate first but after a few seconds you finally kiss back, your legs snaking around his middle to pull him even closer. The kisses get deeper and deeper as the time goes, his tongue dancing with yours and you somehow end up sprawled on the desktop, your neck bent in a really uncomfortable way as you try to keep your posture so he can kiss you deeply. Izuku takes your head in his hand to help with the strain of your neck, and you just kiss and kiss and kiss, devouring the other until Izuku’s stomach makes a growling noise and you both start laughing, completely flushed and lips red.

“Wanna get a home made bento from me so we can share it on the rooftop of our office and share cheeky kisses while eating?”

“I’m quite sure those fanfictions usually end with the secretary being bent over a desk screaming the boss’s name.” Izuku retorts cheekily. You can’t help but laugh out loud again.

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?” You mumble as you pepper small kisses on Izuku’s lips who’s smiling like an idiot, content and happy for once.

“Don’t tell her, she’ll cry.” Izuku help you up with one hand and makes his way towards the exit. “Come on, I’m starving.” Izuku takes your hand and pulls you forward but he only makes a few steps before your back ends up against the hallway wall. Izuku steals a few more passionate kisses, moaning about not being able to use his other hand then walks towards the main exit again then stops after a few meters and kisses you again like he’s trying to make up for the time wasted in the last 7 days. Eventually, you make it to the exit, stumbling out of the hallway in each other’s arms (well, one arm in Izuku’s case. Duh.) but a loud “OI” coming from Izuku’s bed ruins the moment.

Katsuki and Eijirou are sitting on the end of the bed, Eijirou looking smug with a knowing smile on his face while Katsuki blushes like a virgin seeing people making out for the first time.

“I told you there is no reason to freak out, Kats.” Eijirou says loudly, a shit eating grin blooming on his face.

“Why the fuck do they even have phones if they don’t fucking use them?!” Katsuki throws your phone in your face and you barely catch it before it hits you straight in the face. You almost burst out laughing as you read the messages.

Group chat: Deku updates

2 days ago

You: He’s still not talking to me. He looks tired. I don’t think he sleeps properly.

Ei: That does sound like Izuku. Don’t worry. He’ll be back in a few more days. Did he eat?

You: Yeah, a bit.

Katsuki: All good, then.

Today

Katsuki: I’m going to the store, need anything?

Katsuki: That protein shit Deku likes is on sale, want me to buy some?

Katsuki: Oi

Katsuki: Don’t fucking ignore me you punk

Katsuki: I bought 10 bags of it, good luck putting that away, you piece of shit.

Katsuki: Oh, they have a limited edition All Might chocolate, there is only one left!

Katsuki: Oh well, someone bought it and ate it. How sad. *picture of Katsuki biting All Might’s head off.*

Katsuki: WHY ARE YOU NOT RESPONDING YOU FUCKING FREELOADER

Katsuki: DEKU ISN’T RESPONDING EITHER WHAT THE FUCK

Katsuki: I’M COMING OVER AND I’LL SHOVE YOUR STUPID PHONES INTO YOUR ASSES YOU USELESS BUNCH!!!

“So here I was, fucking worrying my ass off about you two, while you were busy fucking in Izuku’s secret room. Peachy. Also, I ate the food on the table. It was fucking cold anyway. Fuck you.”

Izuku actually gawks at that, his stomach making a rumbling noise just a second after.

“What Katsuki is trying to say is that we ate the cold food and made you guys some lovely spicy lentil soup instead as it’s way past breakfast anyway. We went into a cute little bakery on our way and got you guys some fresh bread! It was still hot when we bought it!” Eijirou says with dazzling eyes.

“What Ei is trying to say is that he bought two loaves of fresh bread and ate one of them on the way here. The whole fucking loaf. He just… tore into it like an animal. I think I want to divorce. I’m living with a monster.”

“Says the guy who eats a full ass ghost pepper like it’s a fucking apple.”

“I ship you guys so much.” You mumble out without meaning to and Izuku starts giggling.

“You are such a nerd.”

“I’ve never thought I’ll hear Izuku saying that to anyone. You two really are two peas in a pod.” Eijirou adds on, but Katsuki is done with the small talk and ushers everyone to go to eat.

The soup is amazing and when you bring up the topic about the e-mails, Katsuki is surprisingly understanding.

“If you think that’s okay then… yeah, we can do that.”

And that’s it. A few hours after that Izuku gets his first work e-mail and he almost cries from happiness because his findings were actually right and the guys managed to pinpoint the exact location of their warehouse just an hour after he sent them the e-mail.

Then he actually cries, but this time, from the relief.

“This week was so bad. I missed you much. I’m so tired and so stressed about to future, this fucking cast is so itchy and my butt hurts from all the sitting!” Izuku laughs in the middle of his crying fit, somehow happy about feeling all of those things all at once. “Fuck, I thought being stressed is the worst thing but whatever I’ve been through this week was far worse than anything I’ve ever felt. I was so empty. I swear my soul wasn’t a part of my own body. It was so terrible, Sweets! I would rather get another blast in my chest than go through another week like this!”

“Don’t say that!” You reprimand right away. “Also, whatever it was, it’s over now. You are back. You’ll be fine. 2 more weeks and the cast will be gone, too. Now cuddle the shit out of me, you stupid.” You plop yourself down next to him on the sofa, ready to be loved.

“Kiss attack!” Izuku is back to his normal self, giggling and laughing as he kisses you all over until it’s time to go to bed… And finally, you don’t need to go to bed alone.

“I love you, Sweets.” Izuku mumbles, his face hidden in your neck as per usual. The bed is so warm and comforting you can barely keep yourself from falling asleep in the middle of your answer.

“I love you too, Izu-Izu.”

… next chapter!

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

- Jesus Christ, finally done with the angst! I hated every second! Every single one of it!!!!

- The next chapter might be late, I got hooked on a manga called “signs of affection”. The first few episodes of the anime is out if you guys wanna give it a go! I swear it’s the cutest shit I’ve ever read/watched! So yeah, I binged the whole manga in a few days after I watched the first episode but I got so distracted I haven’t written the new chapter yet so if it’s late, I’m sorry. I also posted all the angst chapters 1-2 days ahead of my usual schedule so… LET ME BREATHE 😂

- I choose Korsakov and Nevelks because they are the “closest” cities to Japan. Just check the map and you will see the vision. It’s not important though, I won’t go into too much details about the case in the future, but I thought it would be nice to have a peek into it!

- While writing this chapter I realized that technically, Izuku would be able to keep himself on top with the help of black whip… Now the only question is; are these two desperate enough to use Black Whip at their first time or do they wait until Izuku’s hand is healed completely and can lean on it? Let me know what you think. 😂

- Eijirou’s terrible way of eating bread was actually inspired by me. 😂 I’m a celiac so I can’t have bread and most of the gluten free breads taste like ass. There was this small bakery a few streets down from my flat, in Budapest, Hungary, and they were selling freshly made GF bread. Me and my friends went over to my flat and I was too hungry so I took the whole bread out of the packaging and literally just tore into it like an animal and stuffed half of the bread into my mouth in one go and my friend almost died. (Mind you, I’m really small, 158 cm and 45 kg 😂) She couldn’t look into my eyes the whole day. I still miss that bread so much that every time my bestie comes over to England I ask her to bring me some haha

- The next chapter will be called Br0cc0liB0i! 😂

- Also, have you seen the new Kirishima x reader ficc I started to post? It’s super fluffy and cute! Check it out! Please!

TL: @garfieldthomas @porusuniverse @stickygumchewer @sixxze @mily-moo @aei-sedai-moiraine @aymasakusa @katsuari @kenzie-deadly @shiviwrites07 @lukerycyja-reblogs @cloroxisadelectabletreat @coffeent @kisskissshutmydoor @bobcar1 @yazminetrahan @cringefan @ronimacaroni77 @thekookiecorner @dangerousluv1 @emperatris-rinaka @shotos-angelic-whore @angelsdemonsmonsters @norvacaine @rei165 @unofficialmuilover @yao-ai @happydragonfrog @eeerreehhh @vinivave

[acedcoffee]

Not a meaningless crush: Ochako's crush on Izuku doesn't have much to do with Izuku at all

- Vague Manga Spoilers

Many people who watch My Hero Academia go through a similar process with Ochako Uraraka’s character: they think she’s the typical Female Lead That Could Be A Love Interest, then grow to like her when some of her motivations are revealed early in Season 1, and then get annoyed by her when the latter half of Season 2 – the Final Exam Arc – puts some focus on her crush on the main character, Izuku Midoriya.

While it seems like shallow and unnecessary fanservice, this crush of her serves an actual purpose in the plot and for her character, but not in the romantic sense. In fact, I'd argue that it doesn’t have much to do with Izuku at all.

Enter Himiko Toga. Here's a comment made by Horikoshi himself:

There's a lot of similaties between them, but here we're going to focus on the crush and romance aspect, to see why Ochako's crush on Izuku was a way to establish her relationship with Toga.

Season 2: Final Exams

The first proper focus we have of Ochako’s crush on Izuku is during the second half of season 2 - first during her final exam, and later in the final episode at the shopping mall.

Toga is also properly introduced to us during these episodes, although we see a glimpses of her (and Dabi) earlier in the Season.

Season 3: The Training Camp

This is where it really starts, as Ochako and Toga meet for the first time.

Tsuyu is also at the scene, and Toga shows an interest in both of then, referring to both of them as “cute”,

But she focuses more on Ochako, saying something along the lines of her sensing that Ochako has a crush on someone, which of course, was shown to us in the earlier episodes.

Tsuyu doesn’t have a crush on anyone, and thus recieves a little less of Toga’s attention.

A major point established about Toga’s character is that when she likes someone, she doesn’t only want to become like that person, but actually become that person.

As shown to us before, Ochako has a pretty high level of respect and admiration towards Izuku.

Toga notices this, and coupled with the crush, she assumes that Ochako also wants to be like Izuku “You want to be the same as the person you like, right?”

At this point, we’ve also learnt that Toga also has a crush on Izuku, and wants to become him.

So, it’s easy to understand that Toga thought Ochako would understand her in regards to this. [this is then confirmed in Chapter 289 and 348]

A conversation: Chapter 342

Toga is a villain that has killed a lot of people, and has no qualms about bringing destruction to the city.

Ochako has fought her a couple times, but only as a hero vs. a villain.

Their conversations [chapter 289] consisted of Ochako saying things that was obvious to her with the way her life has been up until now.

In her conversation with Izuku in chapter 342, she mentions how she realizes now that Toga is just a person too, and that what’s obvious for her doesn’t apply to Toga.

Izuku mentions how he feels the same with Shigaraki and the cying child inside him.

Chapter 394: Ochako vs. Toga

Yes, Ochako explicitely states that she fell in love in Izuku Midoriya.

No, that is not the point of the chapter.

The point is that her love and admiration made her want to be more like him, to see people’s hearts like he does. [re: chapter 342, Izuku trying to save Shigaraki’s heart]

As stated before, Ochako has realized that she hasn’t been trying to see Toga as more than a villain she had to defeat, and now she is reaching out, trying to save Toga’s heart even if it’s too late.

Love and Smiles

“Smiling is why we live our lives”. - Dabi to Toga, Chapter 341

This has always been their thing.

Toga, who has been cast out of society due her “weird” and “creepy” quirk, and the way she shows her love,

Toga, who wants a place where she can exist just the way she is, loving who she loves, and smiling when she wants to

Ochako, whose parents always happily encouraged her and made time for her even when they were struggling with money and tired from work

Ochako, whose eyes were drawn to the smiling citizens when a hero saved someone and defeated a villain, and wanted to be the reason for those smiles

Also reminder that as much as they are made for each other they also exist as characters outside of that

In conclusion,

People who think Ochako is nothing more than a heroine that has a crush on the main character are stupid and have no reading comprehension.

People who say that Ochako’s character “fell off” after the romance was introduced only care to see their bias about female leads proven right have no patience for the actual story.

Her crush is a way to establish her story with Toga.

[ilynemesis]

watching a scary movie with izuku

despite some peoples belief, I imagine izuku to not be that afraid of scary movies. I think he actually enjoys all of the adrenaline and horror from the movies.

“while I was out, I passed by the store and saw the new scream movie was on DVD so I picked it up! we could have a movie night together,” he says with a excited smile.

you silently huff because he has made you watch all five scream movies and you were hoping he didn’t notice they made a sixth one.

“why do they keep making more? please end my suffering,” you say, putting a hand over your heart and sulking.

izuku frowns slightly and begins begging you, “please baby, I know you don’t like scary movies that much but if it gets too scary for you we can turn it off. please?”

you sigh, knowing you’ll regret your answer, “yes, okay, fine, i’ll go make the popcorn.”

izuku smiles and kisses your cheek a million times and races to the living room to set up the movie.

once you and izuku got settled down on the couch he pressed play on the tv and the movie finally started.

“it’s not so bad right?” izuku asks.

you turn your head to him, “the movie just started midoriya.”

after forty minutes you and izuku’s eyes are both glued to the screen, completely disregarding talking to each other and eating popcorn.

“the ghost face is definitely Kirby, she’s suspicious..” izuku guesses. you shake your head, “no, it’s definitely Ethan, he’s acting so innocent it makes him suspicious.”

“either way, people are going to die! I can’t wait!” izuku says, excitingly. you turn your head to him, “wow, what a hero thing to say; can’t believe you’ll be the next number one hero.”

“no, no! this is just fiction, it’s just really exciting seeing how ghost face murders his victims…” izuku says, with a worried expression.

you laugh, “i’m just joking baby, relax.” izuku’s worried eyes relaxes and he holds your hand. twenty minutes go by and the movie is seconds to revealing who the ghost face is…

“ETHAN?? AND THAT RANDOM BEST FRIEND?!” you and izuku scream in unison. you let out a confused yelp, “didn’t she die? this is wack and makes no sense, how do you like this?”

“I think pretending to have killed her was a nice plot twist, we didn’t expect it!” he says with a cute smile showing his dimples. you roll your eyes slightly, but agree with him.

the movie finally ends and you confess to him that it wasn’t that bad, and this one was your favorite. “I knew you’d like it, I’m glad you watched it with me.”

you kiss his cheeks, “even though I liked it I’ll still say the franchise sucks because you look cute arguing.” after saying that you see his cheeks slightly go red.

he softly pulls you down to him which earns him to be on the coach laid down on his back and you on his chest. he plays with your hair, twisting and twirling his fingers in it making you let out a sigh.

“can…. can we watch Sofia the first?” you lean up and ask with a goofy smile on your face. izuku groans playfully and says, “I suppose we can, since you watched scream with me.”

you let out a cute squeal and say “yay!” which makes him smile, and makes him fall even more in love with you then he already was.

————————-

it’s been awhile since I posted, I hope you enjoy this 😔🤘 please send me requests so I have the motivation to write something, anything please. literally just send me a prompt and I’ll do it.

[bibibbon]

What MHA lacks: proper world building

In a series like MHA world building is something that is very important. Sadly, a lot of the world building we have is inconsistent and all over the place.

In my opinion, the world building aspect of MHA was definitely introduced a bit too late and the stuff that we did have in earlier seasons is inconsistent and never really followed through properly. This is stuff like:

Quirkless discrimination - honestly, this one is SO INCONSISTENT that you can argue that it doesn't exist and that Izuku just suffered for the sake of suffering. We have little to no knowledge when it comes to the whole idea of quirklesness and how a quirkless person is treated. Also, Izuku is the only one who has really faced this type of behaviour since we don't see it with characters who were quirkless like mirio, shigaraki, all might and even yuuga.

heteromorphs discrimination - we definitely know this exists but it was only ever introduced and heavily focused on in the final arc. To be honest the plot point itself doesn't make sense as there are many heteromorphs heros and people in society who seem just fine. I think it could work but it definitely needs to be established and built on a whole lot more.

Quirk marriages - I honestly feel like this plot point was just introduced for the sake of the todoroki family and nothing else. I think it was stated that this is an old outdated practice and that it's been made illegal but shouldn't we see other victims of quirk marriages and not just the todoroki family.

Child hero's - this is mainly a focus on both hawks and lady nagant and while I think this is an interesting plot point it definitely should of been built and expanded on a whole lot more. You can argue that it doesn't truly make any sense considering that it was originally stated that Japan was oversaturated by heroes.

The hero safety commission - all we get when it comes to them is that they are bad people who end up getting destroyed at the end and exploit children with powerful quirks. We don't know many things like what's their job? How do they help hero's? What's their relations with the government? What are their motives? Etc etc

The laws and legislations in MHA - see in any other show this wouldn't be needed but considering that this is MHA where heros work for the government as glorified soldiers with costumes then we kind of need a link in laws and legislations in MHA. The most prominent law is the vigilantism one but thats it.

Other stuff like the foster care system or child protective services - honestly, this is one of my major problems with MHA because you're telling me with all of the situations that there are we never see eri have a social worker or something similar like it doesn't make sense. We know orphanages exist but that just about it really.

Crime and the underworld in MHA - this is pretty vague but what I mean by it is the exploration of what really goes on in the underworld which can show things like drug trafficking, quirk trafficking, mafias or gangs ( just like overhauls)

Quirk experimentation - This could of been so much more especially with the stuff that the doctor and overhaul both gave us. How overhaul was right about the origin of quirks and how the doctor has made it possible to pass on quirks and so many other things

Misogyny and sexism - I really don't know if this came by accident but there is a lot of misogyny in MHA literally can be seen in the sports festival and that could of been a great plot point of how unfairly woman are treated in day to day life and the hero industry horikoshi does almost NOTHING about it and just sexualises the characters even more

People and their quirks - it's acknowledged there are people who struggle to control their quirks and it's a problem that hori never explored in his society. Also why is it that only heros get to use their quirks what if you have a quirk suited for your job you should be able to get a permit to use your quirk right?

These are all missed opportunities when it comes to the world building of MHA and it's own society. I must admit that some points are explored but there really isn't much depth to it as it should have and it doesn't help at all that MHA is a series that NEEDS world building for it to work.

[baku-fessionals]

I loved him the moment I saw him, and somehow, years later, I love him even more. His story and character motivations are classic and straightforward, but the complete view of him and the care the story takes to give both cartoonishly obvious and dramatically subtle facets to these things make him special. All the characters in this series are connected, and logically, Izuku or All Might should be at the center, but I get the sense that, based on the themes and experiences shared by the other characters' story arcs and how they mirror one another, the real heart of the series lies with Kacchan instead. I saw part of the anime first, and something about Katsuki stuck out in my mind. When I finally read My Hero Academia for the first time and held what I gleaned from it against the at-the-time loud disapproval and vitriol aimed at Katsuki's character expressed by the western fandom, the dissonance was so striking that it made me dizzy. Katsuki should have been familiar and straightforward to me, but the loudest conventional wisdom painted him as a stranger - but one that I had still decided I loved. Because of that, I shyly and privately made a promise to myself that I would come to understand this character as well as I knew myself. I've spent at least five years doing exactly that, and it is at once the most intuitive thing I have ever done and yet one of the most labor intensive. I have to wonder if Kohei Horikoshi would laugh at me if I told him that I was trying to do such a thing with a character that was not even mine, or if he would be bewildered that I even thought I could do such a thing. Still, I've tried. Right now, Kacchan's sun is reaching its zenith as the manga comes to an end, but once the series ends, I can't help but wonder how the series - and by extension, Katsuki - will be remembered. I know I could never forget him and even if the retrospective of the series ages poorly, I will always think of him as someone who, above all the other things he did, fought tooth and nail to learn what it meant to love others as well as love himself, and broke my heart in watching him struggle with it before putting it back together again when he finally succeeded. I love him and I don't care if his story ultimately becomes dated, out of style, or no longer relatable in the future."

Anonymous Survey Testimonial

Take the Bakugo survey here!

[deathbxnny]

☆《Mha boys dating a civilian!Reader》☆

-----♡

A/N: So uhh... this is self-indulgent and a small cry for help, because I would love to write requests for other fandoms than just hsr and yeah... I just want to write for something else for once and am brain rotting hard, so forgive me- (If you're curious about what other fandoms I'm willing to write for, check my request info!)

Featured characters: Izuku Midoriya, Shoto Todoroki, Katsuki Bakugo

Content: Slight angst if you squint, fluff, established relationships, reader being a civilian, sfw

Reader has no set pronouns!

((Not fully proofread))

-----♡

》Izuku Midoriya

He genuinely appreciates your existence in his life so much. He's always so busy with hero and quirk training, that it can sometimes consume his very existence. Something that starts to become very draining to him over time, despite loving what he does. So being with you is like a much needed break from everything going on in his life.

He can escape the stress and pressure with you, as your life is so much more calm and mundane than his. It doesn't stop you worrying over him though, since you know very well how dangerous his life sometimes can be. But he always reassures you that he'll be fine, that he'll always come back to you after a fight. He tries making time for you and makes sure you know how much he appreciates you during your dates.

You're his second best thing to talk about after Allmight and he genuinely cannot shut up about you either. He loves telling everyone about your normal life. It's comforting and motivates him to do even better at training, so that you can keep your peaceful life and live without any worries. It also makes him glad that you aren't a hero, as he already worries about your safety daily. But there is nothing for you to worry about, as your hero boyfriend will keep you safe no matter what!

-----♡

》Katsuki Bakugo

He's surprised at how fast he fell for you, when it should've been the other way around. Despite the fact that you were a hero or anything, he still felt oddly connected to you, something he thought about often even after months of dating. He didn't get what about you made him so attached, but he doesn't necessarily complain either, surprisingly. Instead, he feels pride in the fact that you appreciate him for all the training and work he does. His ego just inflates even more through you, but you're at least somewhat spared from his arrogance.

He likes that you are just a civilian, mainly due to him being able to show off that way. He likes impressing you and cares about your opinion alot, despite denying it. He's grumpy whenever you ask him to go out, but will show up fully prepared with flowers in hand, as he complains about you interrupting an important training session for this. You ofcourse know that he was willing to drop anything for you anyways, so you never take his words seriously.

He dismisses all of your worries and gets slightly offended. He's strong and powerful, so what are you even worried about? He's unbeatable! Besides, if anything, he should be worried about you. You may be a weakling in his eyes, but you are his weakling and therefore protected better than anyone else in this world.

-----♡

》Shoto Todoroki

Todoroki was unsure of how to be around you at first, especially after he began dating you. He always only knew the life of having to be the perfect hero and therefore didn't really know how to deal with your calm and mundane life. You were such opposites, that it deeply comforted him. You taught him about normal everyday life stuff, something he greatly enjoyed learning about at your side.

Your dates were something he always looked forward to everyday and he made it very clear at that. You gave him a sense of normalcy he missed and for that he was grateful. But that also made him more protective over you, as he didn't want you to ever get hurt. It's the last thing he ever wanted. He is surprised at your constant worry however. Sure, he was the one putting himself in immideate danger all the time. But you were the one he cared about the most.

He takes pride in you, even if you don't have anything special going for you. The fact that you're so kind and normal drew him to you and so he's more than willing to repay his kindness by training hard every day for you. He wants to prove that he is a good boyfriend and hero to you, as you practically motivate him to do something good with his life for once. You're the peaceful light in his dark world and for you, he'd do anything.

-----♡

A/N: Ah I feel much better... honestly, mha request are very much open and so is anything else on my request info list... please spare me and forgive me for going off my usual hsr theme for a little moment. But God... I'm so burnt out, I just wanted to write for something else. So I hope that's fine with you guys. Please let me know, if you don't like it. :((

[pikahlua]

I was wondering your thoughts on my misgivings with the reveal that AFO meddled in Tenko’s life from birth. I’ve been struggling to understand this direction for the story for a long time because it implicates AFO too much. He made Kotarou abuse Tenko, he made Nao give birth to Tenko, he goaded Tenko’s friends to play heroes with him, he put Tenko in the perfect spot to kill those thugs…at this point you can’t even blame anyone else but AFO for how Tenko turned out. I’m really bothered by this because it dampens the whole bystander effect of Tenko’s arc for me. The only way I can see this making sense is if AFO is somehow exaggerating or acting as an unreliable narrator somehow, but I’m not banking on that happening. Please can you help me? Is there some Japanese context I’m missing or something?

Okay well first of all I think you're thinking about this a little too black-and-white. AFO didn't *make* Kotarou abuse Tenko, he encouraged Kotarou's strict mentality indirectly. He certainly didn't MAKE Nao birth Tenko XD The whole point of that reveal was that he said he couldn't do anything too obvious, it all had to be subtle nudges. It was manipulation, but it wasn't coercion. Those characters still had some agency in what occurred, even though all people are influenced by others, they just didn't realize one of the people influencing them had ulterior, nefarious motives.

"at this point you can’t even blame anyone else but AFO for how Tenko turned out" see the thing about this is, Tenko himself BELIEVED he was born this way, not that anyone else was to blame for how he turned out. THAT'S the thing that just got turned on its head. AFO is saying "You weren't born this way, this is how *I* made you. This wasn't random chance at all. You don't have free will, you never made a choice to begin with. I just let you think that."

As far as Japanese context goes, the Japanese are much more communalistic. People have some pretty heavy social pressures. AFO used that social pressure dynamic to influence Tenko's family. There is this concept in Japan called giri which is a social obligation. What sort of giri you owe to others plays a big role in how you behave and whose advice you take and such. It's all predicated on the idea that everyone in this system has good intentions, and AFO as someone who has BAD intentions could exploit that system.

There's only so much we can take away from this right now. Tenko will surely show up with a new conclusion about all this once he's had time to contemplate this revelation. Or maybe Izuku will have an answer to AFO ("Tenko isn't you!") We just have to wait and see.

[justatalkingface]

If we already on Aizawa talk, it’s pretty obvious that Hori wanted to create another kakashi.

But he ultimately failed to understand what made Kakashi so popular, kakashi also wasn’t that much liked in part 1… while Aizawa is worshipped in the fandom as a saint that can’t do anything wrong.

Kakashi regretted everything at the end of part 1 and improved so much by the time of part 2.

Aizawa took 2 wars to apologize to izuku, and even then it was felt half assed.

Fundamentally, I think the thing is that Kakashi is a character that belongs in the Naruto setting. Like. He's a character that makes sense; his motivations make sense, his actions make sense... he fits.

Eraserhead, though, is unironically just all of Kakashi's beats copied onto MHA, but... you know, he's not in ninja land, so a lot of his actions don't make sense? He is a character that exists in MHA, not one that fits in it.

For example: we know Kakashi teaches because he's basically mandated by law, as part of a master apprentice system. Because the village helped raise him as high as it did (along with it being an absolute military dictatorship built around trying to monopolize violence), he's obligated to give back to it by helping raise the next generation.

Moreover, it quickly became apparent that he liked teaching. He may not have been the best at it early on, but the man unironically seemed to have a blast fucking around with teaching them every day, even before he really became attached. Also, he actually taught them things.

Aizawa teaches because he... likes teaching...? *flashes back to every moment where Aizawa basically says, 'Don't you dare child anywhere I can possibly perceive you* along with... peer pressure. Apparently.

He's in a school, where he's expected to teach entire classes of children all day, five days a week... but he seems to hate that?

He's admitted, I think on multiple occasions, that he hasn't taught them anything, (which I agree with, since he generally just exists nearby while the kids teach them damn selves.)

Another notable flaw is Hori fundamentally misunderstands why Kakashi wouldn't shut up about 'underneath the underneath' before Shippuden (where all subtly flew out the window): because the man is a fucking ninja, in a world populated by ninja, dominated by ninja wars, teaching ninja children how to be ninja.

By definition, they're supposed to be paranoid, unhappy little shits that'd sooner kill someone than believe a word they say, because that means they would have better odds of surviving the hellscape that is Naruto.

Aizawa, meanwhile. is teaching heroes. Public figures. And not only that, he's teaching how not to trust badly.

Kakashi's lessons are practical, yet calculated: when he tricks them, it's always light, harmless teasing, or a dead ass serious lesson on, 'if you keep doing this kind of thing some asshole is going to stab you'. Even though he's doing all that, though, there's never a doubt in the kid's minds to trust him if he gets serious because his happy go lucky persona is clearly that: a persona. It's just one more mask he wears, which means Serious Business is clearly separated from Silly Kakashi Fun Time.

Aizawa teaches them... that he's lazy, he hates them, and that he's allergic to the truth. That's... that's it. No matter how much he pretends it's a lesson, it's really just his personality, so the kids have no reason to trust anything he tells them without evidence.

Fundamentally, their trust in him should be so broken that it actually puts them in danger, because there really doesn't seem to be anything he takes seriously, so when he tells them something important.... they say, 'Cite?', instead of acting on what he says, because of all the other times he told them something 'important', and it was 'jUsT a LOgiCaL RUse'.

Unironically, the fact that this man was never fired actually breaks my suspension of disbelief more than the idea of superpowers ever will, and the fact that he's never gotten any of the kids he's 'taught' killed flat out destroys it. I've mentioned it before, but his behavior logically would have gotten some of that class murdered because of how little they trusted him.

All of that combined, I think, is why he's designated The Mouth of Hori, given that 'sacred' role to push whatever message Hori wants to readers to get: because he's not a character in his own right, he's a half assed Naruto character randomly put there to get viewership, so whatever out of nowhere action he does to push Hori's agenda doesn't distract from all the other out of nowhere actions he does to push Hori's agenda.

[haine-kleine]

My thoughts on the ending

The new chapter gave me some food for thought and some hope. Also, I'm writing this post from the perspective of the mysterious man wandering the city being Shigaraki.

One thing that never made much sense to me is Shigaraki Tomura being his preferred name. He was used, manipulated, brainwashed, went through body modifications and even mind-control all by the man who gave him his new name, and shared his own surname with Tenko, essentially adopting him. Shigaraki once his character development kicks in, doesn't exhibit much attachment to AFO, and his trauma bond to him is all but gone in the last arc, where they actively fight for control and are determined to destroy each other. He also doesn't express or ruminate on the regret associated with his happy childhood taken away from him by AFO, the way Dabi ruminates about his own constantly.

It started making sense to me once the story established narrative parallels between Midoriya and the first user of AFO and Shigaraki to OFA, and the Shigaraki twins' past was revealed to us.

Despite the horrible world-destroying actions and manipulations of AFO, his driving motivation, the essence of his character was revealed to be love for his brother. It was rejection by Yoichi that kickstarted his downfall, and in his quest of getting Yoichi back all for himself, he ended up destroying both himself and his brother.

Shigaraki is the same way, but in reverse. He started as a wild force of chaotical destruction going against the current of the hero's society and terrifying Izuku and all of his friends. Their first one-on-one interaction happened with Shigaraki purposefully isolating Deku from his friends and threatening him. He is a brat who throws a fit when the plans don't go his way, he needs Kurogiri to baby him, he attacks Toga and Dabi as soon as they don't immediately accept him as their new leader. This is the Shigaraki we get introduced to, and that's his starting point for growth. And wow, does his character develop beautifully. He takes responsibility, repeatedly and actively chooses to take responsibility simply because he wants to take care of the people by his side. He takes the power he is given, and he develops it into more power, constatly evolving. Both of his stated objectives: to destroy everything that stands against him and to support his teammates' wishes are fullfilled to a degree by the end of this story: he shaked the society to the core, and all remaining teams of LOV are hinted at to be alive, with both Dabi and Toga getting their wishes fullfilled by the end of their respective arcs: to be accepted as she is by the person she loves, and to be heard and aknowledged by his family.

Both of the aforementioned objectives connect Shigaraki and AFO: the desire to be close and protect another and the desire to destroy. The latter leads to both of them being destroyed, and the final moments of AFO show how his decision to commit to destruction took the chance of getting his other objective fulfilled away forever.

But what about Yoichi? He is a hero, a kind, noble and responsible weilder of the All For One ability, that stood up against his villain brother and protected society. How come the narrative leads both of them towards the same end? Unlike AFO, Yoichi doesn't even get to make his feelings known one last time. He's is just gone after the last battle.

Unlike both Shigaraki and AFO, Yoichi doesn't get a chance to exhibit love for another. He is all about responsibility, about the duty, protection, being a hero, and all of that only leads him to his ultimate destruction.

Being a hero is not about love, or sympathy, or helping others. Protection is the duty, but heroes' sympathy demands the victim to fulfill their conditions - to be a perfect victim, otherwise it all boils down to destruction. It's a two-way destruction: the villains get killed, harmed, abandoned, but the heroes also suffer the damage. Almost every single character we've seen in the war arc sustained serious and long-lasting, or permanent damage. That's pretty much the job description: you get to be as violent as you want, but you will get the same violence thrown back at you. You are supposed to give, give and keep on giving pieces of yourself until not even the embers of the memory of you are left. The perfect example of this is All Might - a living husk of a man giving out nothing but empty platitudes, only remembered by his hero name and the hero he used to be. He doesn't get to have an identity outside of his short past as a hero and all he gets for this is a life-long health problems that won't allow him to live for much longer.

To be a hero, you need to inspire hope, to appear to be kind, but being a hero doesn't allow you kidness, just a little amount of it. Everything is stricly controlled so that the civillians remain ignorant of just how wrong the picture-perfect image of the heroes truly is. To be a hero, you need to have the capacity to be cruel. Whether to promise something you can never fulfill, or to leave a teammate behind.

This is why Izuku Midoriya became the greatest hero. He is everything the hero system wants: an enthusiastic and willing bright-eyed hero who will destroy himself to make his quirk as useful to the chosen objective as possible, but is unable to look at anything past his perfect little circle of friends and mentors. He appears to be kind, and will give out motivating speeches for sure, but his words are empty and have nothing but the sinsere incapability to understand anything but his own privileged perspective behind them. He would never be able to save anyone but a perfect harmless victim, and obviously, to him saving Shigaraki Tomura equated to letting him die. He saw a crying little boy inside of the creepy villain he had first met, and decided to save him, except for Midoriya, saving that little boy meant forgetting and ignoring all the bad things he had done as an adult, and keeping the memory of his pure perfect victim child self alive.

He does not even spare the good, or 'better' victims! Aoyama, whom he had come to know as a friend, his classmate, whose parents were held hostage by AFO, who was forced against his will to be AFO's spy and expresses clear regret about it, is not given the slightest bit of empathy by Deku. Just looking at him is the greatest kidness he has to offer, and he does nothing to protect Aoyama afterwards. He is fully fine with Aoyama leaving his class, doesn't think to reach out, even moreso, all of the classmates barely care about Aoyama leaving, and don't take any action to convince him they don't hold what happened to him against his will against him.

This is also why Izuku is so lost and dissatisfied in the epilogue chapters. He didn't suceed in his goal of saving Shigaraki and whatever he tells himself or whatever his friends tell him to make him feel better, will not change that. All Izuku did was punch really hard, and the narrative rewarded him for it by taking his arms away for a chapter, and then taking his quirk, his greatest treasure, the tool that allowed him to become the focal point of this story, away for good. That's the end of the story for him, and to get a new beginning, he needs to learn and change, but the story doesn't have much time to fit that in. Either way, it's a dissatisfying conclusion, but one that makes sense. The first user of OFA loses himself for good, the last user of OFA loses the quirk for good. Both fail to connect with the people the narrative puts them against, and the ultimate choice they have is to connect and empathize or to destroy.

For the LOV it's another story though. All three of the main LOV characters succeed in their stated objectives. Their characters's arcs end in success, not a failure. Toga is finally not rejected by someone she loves, but embraced, and gets verbal confirmation of her affection being reciprocated. Touya is not avoided, ignored or shunned by his parents who feel guilt about what they did to him, and his siblings, who don't understand him. The entire family unites and makes the decision to take responsibility for what they did to him. They aknowledge his pain and his trauma, and they take whatever he throws at them, no matter how hot the flames, because they want to have him back. Even Enji doesn't run away anymore, and takes resposibility for everything he did to Touya, cries and apologizes for not coming to Sekoto peak and preventing everything that followed. Finally, he realizes that being a hero prevents him from having the relationship he desires to have with his family, and for the first time in his life, he chooses family over heroism.

Using these two points for reference, it makes no sense for Shigaraki's arc to end the way Horikoshi is trying to convince us it ended. He can't die because neither his goal to destroy the hero society completely or to protect and take care of his friends in the League was completed sucessfully. If you twist the angle a bit, though, it all starts making perfect sense. The butterfly imagery has been associated with Shigaraki for quite a while, and with Horikoshi being a superb user of visual storytelling, it is there for a reason. Butterflies are reborn from caterpillars and so far, Shigaraki's evolution has not been completed. The body modifications and quirk mutations might have tried to convince us otherwise, but if you look at Shigaraki as a human and not the final boss, all of that was pain, hurt and suffering he stood through and survived. The entire hero society uniting to defeat him alone, the brainwashing and manipulations he had been living in since he was a child, the loss of identity, he had stood through it all and survived. Now that Shigaraki-AFO-the villain had been killed, the rebirth follows. And his remaining objective - to be with the people he treasures, will be fulfilled, granting him peace and contentment.

That's the narrative reward for the villains - getting acceptance, comfort and content, while the heroes struggle to rebuild the remains of the society those same villains destroyed.

[that-spider-fan-over-there]

I said hours ago I thought the title being "Midoriya Izuku: Rising" felt a bit too early but now I think it makes sense. How do I explain, I'll try my best!

I thought about about the other Origin and Rising chapters and I've tried to establish a pattern of all, and I think I have a conclusion.

Shoto's origin: The bond he had with his mother being a tether of what being a hero truly meant to him, with Izuku being the one to remind him he gets to decide what being a hero meant to him- it's his power, what does he want to do with it?

Shoto's rising: The one he wants to have with his family, the desire to find peace with himself, his biological family and the one he has in Class 1-A in the future and being the hero his family had wanted vs. the one they needed at that exact moment.

Katsuki's origin: denying the help from others, especially Izuku, was the thing that held him back. By accepting it, he and Izuku, despite the beating, won.

Katsuki's rising: his willingness to accept help bloomed into a seed of empathy that paid off, and by sacrificing himself he understood why Izuku is willing to help others at his own cost (otherwise the last arc wouldn't even be happening).

Hypothetical on where Hori wanted this one, as despite her lack of these, Hori does consider her part of this group. So if I were to guess:

Ochako's origin: she's shown she has the guts and determination to become a hero, but what holds her back is her own constant comparison to Izuku's power and people connecting her motivations to him.

Ochako's rising: by asserting her agency and power to help others, and accepting she's not defined by what she feels about Izuku, she ends up helping the girl who needed someone willing to understand her.

With that in mind; an Origin chapter is not the beginning of their story, but the antithesis what holds them back, the hubris,the fatal flaw in their own hero's journey vs. who they can become as the story goes, the heroes they've envisioned and more.

Tenko has three origin chapters- Two for Tenko, one for Tomura. But in the pattern, he's yet to receive a Rising one, let alone three: Unless, and I mean unless, Shigaraki Tomura is his Rising chapter, but only the first part. But that's for another time. (And maybe for someone else; I'm not the person to talk about Tenko).

With that, Izuku's.

I was wondering why Izuku's rising chapter happened so soon, when he's just returning to the battlefield- then I've pondered the pattern. I've said I was expecting it to be a multiple-parter; because of Tenko's. But it does make sense why now.

Because since Chapter One, never once Izuku has actually been able to contradict his own goals. In fact, if he tries, narratively, the story actually punished him for it two times; his failure to save the first times led to consequences that follow him in their relevant arcs.

(for clarification if you're curious:

Not helping Eri on their first meeting = Overhaul almost kills multiple of his friends and actually succeeds in killing Sir Nighteye. Mirio temporally loses his Quirk and Izuku wonders if he should even have his own.

Attacking Tomura with clear intent on winning without saving = Aizawa cuts his leg, Gran Torino is in a hospital bed and Katsuki gets stabbed, latter one is the main motivator leading up to the Dark Hero Arc.

Sound good? Good.)

But what makes this Izuku's rising moment? What is the antithesis to "Midoriya Izuku: Origin"? If his convictions are the same as the first chapter, what makes this moment special?

Unlike the first time- this time, everyone supports him. He has friends, fans, allies all over the world. His childhood friend, his idol, his mother. Everyone believes in him. And it's all because Izuku inspired them to take action, even when he had nothing.

Because it wasn't a Quirk that made him a great hero- Toshinori even said so.

It's because he can't ignore he saw someone in need of saving, someone who looked him in them eyes and was asking for help.

And the reality he's living at the age of 16, he's Quirkless. He's standing up to someone who will not be reasoned with. He's at a huge disadvantage. He's the only one who can do it. And maybe has "nothing", but he has everyone, and everyone wants him to do his best. And they'll pave the way, they'll make it easier to carry the burdens he can't carry alone.

This is why it's everyone's thoughts on him, instead of his point of view; his convictions were always clear; it's everyone else's that's changed.

And for that, not only he didn't just become the world's greatest hero: by all accounts, he already was. He already is.

Thank you for reading.

[sapphic-agent]

There's one thing I wanna ask Hori about the narrative that I'm surprised isn't talked about more.

Why weren't any of the characters allowed to question their society and heroes function as a whole?

Because when kids start off with hating heroes (Kota and those brats from the second movie), they're treated to be in the wrong and has to see how great heroes can be.

Which given the context that this is a society that turns a blind eye to it's corruption and how the minority suffers, it just comes across as putting rose tinted glasses on them to keep them away from the truly bad stuff.

Like, I get it with Kota, because his hatred of heroes stems from watching his parents die and believing they chose work over him, and that this hatred could grow into a problem later to where he might end up as a villain.

But at the same time, how come this didn't let Izuku to think about the society that shunned and berated him for being born different from everyone? How come no one else stop and think that this society is on the path to collapsing on itself if nothing is done?

In a story like this, characters should be allowed to question things around them and wonder if there's anything they can do make it more bearable for others, to seek out the change they wanna see so others wouldn't have to suffer like they did.

Kota is a great example, but I raise you Stain and the LOV.

Stain made sense. He went about it in entirely the wrong way, but he was right about false heroes and how much of a problem they were. But he's a murderous psychopath so we're supposed to take his words as out of touch rambling because he attacked Ingenium who was one of the good heroes.

(We're also given no proof. He says heroes are corrupt but we aren't shown why he thinks that and we don't see it beyond Endeavor. Even more reason not to take what he's saying seriously)

Hori could have really sold this by making Tensei perhaps not so virtuous. Maybe he had or started with good intentions but ended up contributing to toxic hero society in some way and Iida was blind to it because he was the big brother he admired. That would have made Tenya's character development hit harder in my opinion. Having Tensei confess this to Tenya would have made the Stain arc even better.

Which brings us to the LOV.

I feel like Hori forgot that Dabi and Toga also joined the LOV because of Stain, not just Spinner. They, on some level, absorbed his words and wanted what he did even if they were also fueled by other motives.

That's why a lot of Dabi's later character doesn't make a whole lot of sense. For those who knew he was Touya, it was implied that he was abused similarly to Shoto and was angry at Endeavor's treatment of his children. And then was inspired by Stain to call out his father as a false hero and take down the system that (indirectly) destroyed his family.

But no, he wants to kill Shoto, doesn't give a shit about Rei or Fuyumi, and almost got Natsu (the brother he was close to and presumably cared about) killed. And all to get back at Endeavor and make him suffer. Dabi's motives were a major let down and it reduces him to a one-dimensional villain, one who only wants to hurt people for the sake of hurting them. There's no hint of the influence Stain apparently had on him.

Toga is the same. She, presumably, admired Stain because of the similarities in their quirks. It's implied she joined the LOV to be with people like her (which is why she- as Camie- asks Izuku what kind of hero he wants to be, she's trying to see if he's one of those people). Who were outcasts and wanted to be able to do what they wanted with no persecution from others. She wanted to be free, even if she had a warped perception about what that meant. But over time, Horikoshi made her a creepy, predatory yandere type (seriously, what the fuck was the point of having her grope Uraraka??) with no depth to her actions.

Both Dabi and Toga never mention Stain or his ideals again. They're just psychopaths who need to be stopped. It dehumanizes them and uses mental illness for further antagonize them.

Spinner is the only one who still attempts to embody Stain's ideals. But of course, he never gets any focus. He's a "coward" who never stands up the the LOV (except when he stopped Magne from killing Izuku) even though he feels guilty about what they do. So most of the time, he isn't portrayed in a way that makes us stop and think. It's all too easy for the audience to dismiss or forget about him.

Anyone who (rightfully) questions or criticizes or openly despises the corrupt society in this universe is portrayed in a negative light. Even if what they're saying is technically right, we throw it away because they're doing something bad.

Really, there's only one character who's the exception. I'm, of course, talking about Lady Nagant.

Listen, me and Hori got beef all day everyday. BUT Nagant is one of the most exceptional characters I've ever seen in anime.

What I love about her is that she's someone who genuinely started out with good intentions and wanted to do the right thing but was torn down by society. It destroyed her from the inside out. The actions she took aren't even that extreme, they make sense considering everything she went through. Her problems with society aren't inane or hypocritical ramblings, she's 100% correct in her assessments because she was an unwilling participant in the corruption.

The problem with Nagant, however, is that she's with us for such a short amount of time that we don't get to take a deep dive here. We don't get to dissect why, exactly, society is so corrupt or find a solution to it.

It sucks because Hori was SO CLOSE to hitting the mark with Nagant. I think introducing her- or someone similar to her (missed opportunity with Hawks)- a lot sooner would have really improved the story

[aussie-the-hedgehog]

My Hero Academia - Chapter 425 Thoughts (Spoilers)

I'm surprised I haven't done a post like this for the previous chapters. It's always healthy to get my thoughts out through posts, so I might look to do it more often! Obviously I left the spoiler tag here, so if you don't want to know what happens, don't click it! Peruse at your own risk.

I was not expecting this chapter to jump so quick back to the academia portion of the series. I was thinking we would get another hospital chapter or two. I guess when Horikoshi said after 424, "We're going back to the title," he really meant it. I'm honestly glad for it given what we got in this chapter. I dearly missed the school shenanigans and character interaction. It hasn't been since before My Villain Academia we've seen it.

It was cool to start with the graduation ceremony involving Mirio, Nejire, and Tamaki. It was delayed because of this war, so it makes sense for Horikoshi to start with this.

The boys of U.A. lamenting Nejire's graduation will never not be funny.

It's cool to see Nejire grow into a social butterfly from not having friends due to her quirk. I do wish more was done with her character. She screams like a Starfire clone and could have had an arc similar to the TT03 iteration.

I enjoyed Mirio's speech. It captures the essence of his character and shows what he desires to do as a pro hero. Honoring Sir Nighteye with his motivations sounds like a good wrap up to his character arc.

I liked seeing Mawata being an outspoken leader in this chapter. I hope we find out what her quirk is before the series ends. I wish she was more fleshed out earlier on in the narrative, but I'm not losing sleep over it.

It's so refreshing to see the kids in class together again (now as 2-A). Like I alluded to before, it's been a very long time since we've seen the "Academia" side to this series. I love how Horikoshi is dedicating a solid amount of time returning to class shenanigans before he ends it.

I love the ending for Aoyama's arc. I had a feeling Tsukauchi would grant him the ability to return to U.A., but the twinkling hero wants to redeem himself on his own terms. For that, I deeply respect him.

Aoyama giving Izuku cheese as a parting gift was too pure. It made me tear up.

Shinso will be Aoyama's replacement! Obviously we knew Shinso would come to the hero course at some point since the end of the joint training arc. We only didn't know which class he would join. It makes sense for him to join 2-A given Aizawa is his mentor. Speaking of that..

Aizawa remaining their homeroom teacher was a great choice. U.A. is still not at normalcy (and may not for a long time). so it makes sense for 2-A to remain under his tutelage.

Mawata makes it clear the upperclassmen of U.A. will play a major role in helping rebuild hero society. It is not a huge surprise given Endeavor lost an arm, Hawks is quirkless, Mirko has one limb left, Jeanist is working through legal trouble, and Edgeshot gave himself to save Bakugo (not sure about Edgeshot's fate atm). U.A. is a beacon of hope for hero society now, so it is up to them to carry the mantel.

Ochako still being flustered by any mention of her speech is adorable (and totally something I would do).

Many are calling out Ochako for hating Izuku's "haircut," but she recognized very quickly it had to be shaved because of the damage he suffered against Shigaraki / All for One. She hopes she sees him with a full head of hair again. I don't see it as teasing or hating on him. Ochako has always been one of the more blunt characters in the series.

Tokoyami's reaction to his new hairdo is amazing.

Izuku's concerned face next to Ochako's laughter screams seeing through her facade. They are best friends. He knows when she's struggling. He can see through that laughter.

Horikoshi is definitely using this as foreshadowing to a conversation where they unleash their feelings on the war. It's obvious from this chapter and the last that they are mentally struggling. I believe this eventual conversation will end in a resolve they will look to change hero society for the better and confess their love for each other.

The mystery character is quite interesting. Is it Tenko? Izuku's father? Someone totally different? We'll have to wait and see.

Shoto is not in a great place either. He looks so exhausted from the panels he's in. At the end we find out why.

Endeavor potentially sitting in front of where Touya is being contained. He has probably visited him every day since he was put in there. He provided Rei with flowers often while she was in the hospital. It doesn't feel too different.

It will be an agonizing wait to see what happens next, but I will patiently wait. I'm very excited to see what Horikoshi does next. My prediction is 426 shows us Touya's fate.

I'm hoping in the ensuing chapters after 426 we get an Izuku and Ochako talk. I've had my anxieties about it not happening. Yet, with the buildup we've had and Ochako confessing her love for him to Toga, I can't help but feel it would be bad writing if it doesn't happen.

Honestly, if I think about it, Ochako is probably intertwining her confession to Izuku with her failure to save Toga since she confessed her feelings to the villain. There is definitely lots of emotional tension there. We'll see what happens!

[nutzgunray-lvt]

Now that I've said my piece about AFO, I thought it would only make sense for me to talk about Shigaraki, as I also don't think I've stated my opinion on him/his characterization & writing.

I really like his backstory and I think he absolutely got dealt a horrible hand: an abusive father + a family that just let it happen and wouldn't stand up for him + a traumatic Quirk awakening + people refusing to help him while living on the streets + years of grooming and manipulation by All For One. All of that is just a recipe for disaster, and I like all of that.

I like how hands on he is as a villain, too. I like how he planned both the USJ and Forest Camp attacks. I like how he's been a heavy hitter in both wars. I like how he's turned his back on redemption and reformation. I can even respect how he came to care for his subordinates and rejects AFO's attempts to possess him and take control of everything.

However, that's all I like about him. Everything else I'm about to say honestly comes down to pure speculation and musings I've had about him. This is also going to be a bit critical of Izuku as well, but not terribly so.

First, Shigaraki's motives make absolutely no sense to me. I know he wants to "destroy everything" or whatever, but why? Does he want to destroy the current system that made it to where the only person who offered him any help when he desperately needed it was Japan's #1 villain? Does he want to destroy everything for the sake of destroying everything? Which is it? And what does he expect to happen once he "destroys everything"? He says he hates Stain because people are listening to him rather than to Shigaraki, but Stain is actually bringing up valid points. As far as we know and up to that point, Shigaraki hasn't. How can he expect people to listen to him if he's just attacking people for the sake of attacking them?

For that matter, he has little to no meaningful connection to Izuku, and the two are supposed to be the main hero and villain. Sure, they have their conversation in the mall, but that's it. They have their fights during the war, but that's it. There's no interaction between the two outside of those instances (why in the name of fuck was Izuku not the one kidnapped? This also would have been such a great time for more interaction), and to me, that makes Izuku's whole "I want to save Shigaraki," thing come off as kind of ridiculous and hollow. Add on the fact that Shigaraki explicitly doesn't want to be saved, and it just makes Izuku look painfully naive.

Furthermore, their conversation in the mall to me is just stupid. It starts off really good when Izuku explains that Stain genuinely believes he's making the world a better place with his actions, and while he doesn't condone what he does, he understands why he does it. That's actually incredibly introspective of Izuku, who then also goes on to say that he doesn't understand what Shigaraki's trying to accomplish, as it seems like he's just destroying things for the sake of destroying them. This could have been a great moment where they delve more into the corruption of heroic society, how society has put people like them at a disadvantage, but no.

Instead, the conversation segways to All Might of all people?

Izuku goes on to say that he can understand Stain... because they both were inspired by All Might. Izuku, I love you to death, but what the fuck was that? I know that you have a pretty black and white view on heroes vs villains, but that was SUCH a swing and a miss.

Then Shigaraki just... takes all of this at face value? He doesn't say he hates All Might because he views him and people like him as the ones upholding the society that put him at such a disadvantage. Instead, he says he hates All Might and everyone else because they live happily and grin happily.

In my opinion, I don't think Horikoshi knows what direction he wants to go with Shigaraki,and it seems he wants to have his cake and eat it too. On the one hand, he wants him to be this tortured soul that Izuku needs to save and redeem, but on the other hand,he also wants him to be this omnicidal villain who rejects redemption when it's presented to him. He gives Shigaraki and Izuku next to no interaction with each other but tries presenting them as having this weirdly deep connection. Which one is it?