final battle | day seven of ofa legacy week

Mha fic ideas #25

‘Perfectly Imperfect’

The universe made a mistake when it created Midoriya Izuku.

Not for the whole quirkless thing, though that had it’s own issues, but because of his face. It was too cute. Too innocent. Too trustworthy…

No matter what he did or what he said, nobody could see him as anything but pure and good. If he cursed it was like the adults hadn’t heard him or they'd think it was another child, like Kacchan. If he stole something, they never asked him to return it. If he pushed a kid into the river, everyone assumed they'd fallen.

And if he threatened to divulge the number 1 hero’s biggest secret to the media?

He got a gentle pat on the head and a fond chuckle.

At first, he thought it must be his quirk. A quirk that involuntarily waived all of his bad deeds to anyone who may witness them. A quick trip to the specialist and he was permanently labeled with the status of ‘quirkless’ and no other way of explaining why he was like this.

He, simply, could do no wrong; and that irritated the hell out of him. He’s lost track of how many villain bases he’s walked into with the intention of being recruited only to end up being gushed and ‘aw’d at until he left.

The only good thing that had come of this ability was Allmights immediate trust. After a few months of training, the man offered him his quirk:

One for All.

Izuku was ecstatic. He could finally test how far his innocent face could take him when he had the ability to level towns and ruin lives with one well placed punch.

Only… He passed out as soon as he’d swallowed the hair and woke up in a strange place with three crumbling walls, surrounded by darkness, and eight (seven and a half?) people standing in front of him.

They didn't look at him like he was perfect.

They looked angry.

And Izuku couldn’t be happier.

I posted this image last night from MHA 412 — with Izuku down on the ground, literally in All Might’s shadow — and HAD to talk about it more. See, Izuku is remembering himself in All Might’s shadow, but that’s not how the scene actually looked. Izuku is the one imagining that shadow. Nobody is thinking or expecting him to be All Might 2.0 except himself.

Way back in Chapter 97, All Might thinks how Izuku WAS walking in his shadow, but isn’t any longer. And that fact excites him — by the time we get to Kamino, All Might doesn’t WANT Izuku in his shadow. However, All Might doesn’t tell this to Izuku.

When Izuku offers OFA to Mirio, All Might doesn’t interrupt OR say anything to Izuku afterwards. He won’t demand that Izuku be like him or keep OFA. (Also notice Mirio saying Izuku would be sad without his quirk.)

All Might is proud when Izuku learns parallel processing from Endeavor and masters Blackwhip, something All Might never had to contend with and that is unique to Izuku. (Also notice the flashback to All Might saying Izuku earned OFA by being heroic.)

But Izuku doesn’t know any of this. What about when All Might DOES talk to Izuku? WELL IT DOESN’T MATTER BECAUSE IZUKU DOESN’T UNDERSTAND! Going back to the ultimate moves lesson, All Might advises Izuku that he’s stuck trying to emulate All Might (which is the same thing Gran Torino told him before). But our big-brained chosen one MC [affectionate] STILL STRUGGLED FIGURING OUT WHAT ALL MIGHT MEANT. It was genuinely hard for Izuku to grasp All Might’s intent.

You’d think this moment would give Izuku a clue, but no. Izuku’s moves continue to be derived from All Might, and he continues to think he’s “not just copying.” It culminates in the Dark Deku/Villain Hunt arc with Bakugo calling Izuku an All Might wannabe, and Izuku telling 1A that they can’t join his fight because they can’t keep up with the likes of him, Nana, All Might, and Shigaraki. Since then, Izuku has promised not to do things on his own, but we haven’t gotten an update on the idolization front.

Izuku’s idolization and imitation of All Might remains strong even after hearing it directly from Gran Torino and All Might and Bakugo and 1A. It’s obvious to everyone, including All Might, but it’s just … not … to Izuku. What’s truly hilarious is that Izuku will talk back to the vestiges — he mouths off to Second and Fourth, and he withstands Nana’s challenge to kill her grandson (twice as of 412!!). Izuku also challenges Tomura, and even All for One. But not All Might.

After everything, Izuku STILL envisions himself in All Might’s shadow from the moment All Might said he could be a hero and offered OFA to him. For all his status and his “triumphs,” Izuku sees himself as a nerd who needs a quirk — who would be sad without a quirk just like Mirio was — and THAT is what Izuku has yet to overcome. Izuku has never heard anyone tell him very bluntly and directly that he CAN be a hero without a quirk. (And that kind of blunt communication is exactly what he needs because, well, he’s a little slow to change his self-perception. Remember when Toga said she liked him?)

Even though Izuku has seen quirkless Mirio protect Eri…and watched Iron Might and practically quirkless Aizawa fighting…and he knows quirkless Ragdoll helped with planning, and La Brava is playing her role as a computer expert (unrelated to her quirk)…Izuku is going to need to hear, plainly and bluntly, that he IS a hero without OFA. He’s BEEN a hero. He earned OFA “fair and square” in the first place BECAUSE he was a hero. If All Might was a madman for fighting quirkless and being willing to sacrifice his life to live his dream, then Izuku will have to be the craziest hero ever to put his quirk, his life, AND his dream on the line. I’m hoping we get some blunt verbal Izuku appreciation from All Might, Bakugo, 1A, and others so Izuku KNOWS, once and for all (ha!) he is a beloved friend and hero without One For All. Then he can go on to save Tomura (and the world).

For my own entertainment I wish the weird man to weird man mental communication in bnha was unhelpful, to the point it showed both Tomura and Deku the most useless but funny (maybe even the small and horrifying) memories they own.

I want to know the silly things. How lame Tomura was at first when he started playing video games. How many times Deku fell on his ass when he was training to control OFA. Want them to realize that they had the same favorite show when they were little kids. I want them to be the loser nerds they both are, for their feelings of inadequacy to mix 'til they can see their reflection in each other.

Mind sharing the big events is cool and all, but it's the little things that made them so similar, at least similar enough to understand where their paths changed along the way.

Deku gets glimpses of Tomura's teenage years and realizes he never ever talked to other people his age except from texting in videogame chats. You could say that Dabi and Toga were his first "friends" in around 15 years... Meanwhile, Tomura gets glimpses of how many times Deku was told to kill himself over the years 'cause he didn't have a quirk, how many times he went home rejected, forgotten, humiliated.

Kid Deku and teen Tomura watching the same All Might video in different pcs in different rooms and sitting on different chairs. Wondering why he was not enough to be saved / wondering when would it be his turn to save people and make them smile. Deku and Tomura walking the streets alone, one of them looking at the wonders of the world in the sky while the other keeps his eyes on the ground to mitigate the hatred of the world flowing in his veins. Deku and Tomura eating alone, researching alone, breaking down on a corner where no one can see it, because there's no one to listen to their burdens and no one to understand their hurt and no one who would see past the superficial, no one who would look at them and say "hey, this kid can do whatever he want to do in life, he was made for greatness!"

Kid Tomura playing with Nomus to not play alone. Kid Deku memorizing random facts in the hope to impress his peers, but they never talk to him. The last time Tomura was hugged at 5 years old. Deku in his almost-vigilante era, cold, lonely and tired of carrying the weight of the world in his shoulders at 17 years old. All the injuries Tomura got used to because he couldn't care less about the pain at that point in time. All the times Deku almost lost an arm trying to prove he belonged at UA with all the other future heroes. The anxiety of sitting in the backyard through the rain, watching how your family is dry and safe inside the house, not you; you have no place among them. The anxiety of a bedroom that no other kid visits, a collection of All Might toys to no one to play with, no one to share your joy or sadness, no one who cares 'bout you besides your mom.

I want them to share the little things, stupid and funny and joyful, depressing and heartbreaking. I want them to share all the moments no one else knows about— to peek behind the curtains that mark them as heroes and villains, but also behind the person they project to their friends and all the people on their side. Like I said before, I know that the big moments are important. It's just that for me, the details make it so much meaningful...

I have decided to make a MHA, Izuku Midoriya centric, fanfiction 101 recommendations, list.

I am but a basic bitch of nerds, but I have opinions and I WILL share them bc I'm incapable of shutting the fuck up.

Anyway this is a list of fic I think any person who reads fanfiction, is a BNHA fan and likes Izuku Midoriya, should read.

(is it actually an excuse to find ppl who like the same shit i do? Maybe.)

So, this list will contain fics that are completed ONLY.

There are a lot of MHA staples that aren't finished yet, and they will get a post of their own.

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Alright disclaimers, PSA, whatever, ALWAYS and I fuckin mean ALWAYS, read the tags and trigger warnings bc I won't lie, some might get a bit dark.

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1. Complicated Creation - Elemental

Easily one of the best fics I've ever read. Great world building based on the Ghibli movie Spirited away. We love to see it. The writing and plot are both breath-taking.

It has quirkless Izuku, spirits, dragons, healing and a sprinkle of a classic trope in the MHA fandom, Dadzawa.

2. Hero Class Civil Warfare - RogueDruid

If you have been in the fandom space for at least a couple of months and have been reading fics, you have, 100% heard of RogueDruid. He has, hands down, some of the most captivating work in the whole of the internet. One of the classics, is HCCW. It has inspired a lot of other fics, which had gone the class War route (hmu if u want reccs). Incredibly well done, the EFFORT that went into this had to be astounding. There isn't a single miss.

Without spoiling too much, the class 1 A and 1 B, have a final exam. The exam in this world, is a war between villain and heros. Izuku is put into the position of the leader of the villains, the Kingpin while his rival, the Paragon, is none other than Katsuki Bakugou. We get a mastermind Izuku, characters from 1 B, that I personally never cared much for, before reading this fic and more.

3. Mastermind: Strategist for Hire by Clouds

Staying in the villain Izuku waters, I present Mastermind. A part of a series called For the want of a nail, that follows different universes in which Izuku stays quirkless. Mastermind is a personal favourite. It's the second installment of the series and has an ongoing sequel. (The series includes Viridian: the green guide, Deku? I think he's some pro, Chet Code: support strategist and two more, which aren't completed yet).

Here, Izuku stays quirkless as he loses any hope left for the hero society. He, unfortunately for the world, is stupidly smart and easily gained a fearsome reputation, for being the best strategist for hire for villains. After realizing the world sucks and he, in fact, doesn't, Izuku becomes a villain the likes héroes have never seen before.

4. The Mystery of Student No.18 by cloud_nine_and_three_quarters

Another author, that has me by the scruff of my goddamm neck. Went for my throat every fuckin time. I will name the other fics later but lemme tell you about this one.

It's the second fic in the list, that has Izuku with OFA. This time though, Izuku stayed true to his self-sacrificing roots and got himself into a coma. While in his lovely sleeping beauty-esk state, OFA keeps giving him energy and thus an once of a lifetime opportunity to become a ghost. Yes you heard that right. He becomes a ghost and lightly haunts his class. The fic is golden, funny and just a little bit sad.

The other three fics, just as good as this one are Canary, Why are we here again? and Displacement.

5. Yesterday upon the stair by PitvViperOfDoom

Keeping with the ghost theme, we have the one and only YUTS. Again, world building is of the charts great. A great quirk and awesome themes with unexpected turns and plots. The gist is, Izuku can see ghosts. This story is one of the rare ones where Nana Shimura (my beloved) plays a bigger role than usual. Definitely chdck out the additional parts of the series though at that point it goes slightly into more crack waters but it's still incredible.

6. [Content] by Teobot

Taking a sharp turn into morally grey vigilante route, we get this great first part of an incredible ongoing series. There are two parts done and the wait is always worth it.

7. Assignment: Personality Swap by BelleAmant

First I wanted to recc their vigilante Izuku fic (Vigil, Ante and their vigilante antics) but I must admit, while a classic, it hasn't been as impactful to the fandom as Personality Swap has been. Both with its incredible humor, bit of angst and quirk fuckery the whole series has been nothing but hits.

8. Another form of power by Jade_Tatsu

Veering directly back into villain Izuku, this one was a breath of fresh air. I once got tired of villain Izuku that was either forced to be a villain or was just a vigilante but darker, so I went on a search and found this. The series All for power, is a 4 part ENTIRELY COMPLETED series, about politician villain Izuku. The first part is told mostly through the eyes of Kurogiri and I swear, it's my favorite of the all.

9. How Seven (7) Dead Heroes Stopped Being Bored by ScottishSunshine

Crack inspired, but more All for one focused that Izuku, but still most things happen because of the Midoriya family so it counts. It's good and fun and an interesting read especially of you're fond of Dad for one.

10. Prodigal by writerllofllworlds

And for the end, let's get our hearts crushed just a little.

An angst filled suspected traitor AU. In my humble opinion, very few have ever truly succeeded in writing a traitor AU, nearly as good as this one. I like it in most part because Izuku goes through hell and back, and I just am like that. It's epic.

Was this list an exuse to talk about fics I like? Yes. But do i feel like everyone who like BNHA should read these?

Abso - fuckin-lutley

I consider it a crime if you don't. Also pls do add your own opinions and if you want more reccs, ask in the comments or dm me or whatever floats your boat Besties.

Kiki the nerd, signing off

I keep seeing people (many smart, cool people I usually agree with) say Izuku would easily kill someone. That though a hero, he can be murderous. And, to be fair, I like this take MUCH better than when people talk about Izuku like he’s an uwu cinnamon roll bottom-as-a-personality. Izuku is tough and strong, and you bet your ass he can be one scary motherfucker.

However.

Izuku’s whole thing is that he wants to save everyone. Everyone including villains. That is central to his character. Remember the first time he throws a smash without breaking his arm? Yeah, that was because he subconsciously held back from using a killing blow on a Nomu that was threatening the life of his friends.

And more recently in the war arc, when the vestiges ask Izuku if he can kill Shigaraki, Izuku says he wants to try and save him. Save The Big Bad. That’s huge, and unless I’m mistaken, pretty unusual for a shonen protagonist. And it’s clearly a big deal to the manga/anime plot, because the “can you kill Shiggy” question is Nana’s test which Izuku passes. Izuku’s drive to save, though it often gets him hurt, is shown as his greatest strength.

Of course, any good hero story must have a few climatic moments in which the hero loses sight of their greatest strength. Oh, you thought I wasn’t gonna make this about bkdk? It’s always about bkdk, babyyy. 😎

The first time Katsuki sacrifices himself to save Izuku is also the first time we see Izuku go completely feral. All rational thought demolished, eyes glowing monstrously, he charges like a rabid animal with, in my opinion, no thoughts of “saving.”

And he almost loses OFA because of it.

[major manga spoilers below]

After that fight, Shigaraki/AFO takes note of Midoriya Izuku’s greatest weakness: Bakugou Katsuki. That’s not my bkdk brainrot talking, that is canon. In the fight currently happening in the manga, Shigaraki singles Katsuki out and tells him the only reason he’s interested in him is that Katsuki is “the closest person to Midoriya Izuku.”

Shigaraki uses Katsuki as bait in the hopes of provoking the feral, irrational side of Izuku that only surfaces for Katsuki. He says he’s making a mangled corpse out of Katsuki as a “present” for Izuku.

Shigaraki/AFO expects Izuku to lose his head when he sees Katsuki’s body, and so do us readers. But as I’ve said before, this story is a hero’s journey, and we must see the hero learn from his past and overcome his weaknesses. We do see Izuku start to lose control, just as Shiggy/AFO wanted, but with the help of Mirio and the vestiges, Izuku manages to control his heart and fight rationally, despite his world (Katsuki) literally ending. Deku is still on his way to becoming the world’s greatest hero by saving to win.

All of this is to say: Midoriya Izuku might have scary dog privileges, but he’s not a killer. He might have been, once, for Katsuki. Only for Katsuki. Overall, Izuku’s aversion to killing, his drive to save, is what makes him my #1 hero.

BNHA 413 - some thoughts

I kind of dislike trying to make Star now somehow important by creating a crack to the "sad child"

I definitely HATE the idea of "Tenko" being an actual innocent ghost child who can be conveniently saved without Deku having a discussion with Tomura and dealing with him directly

I don't mind OFA being passed, but for the love of everything, why can't it be Deku's own initiative? Why does it have to come from Kudou?

My long-term gripe with the vestiges is fully demonstrated in this chapter. These dead people have no dynamic with Deku or with each other. It's just hollow to have "self-sacrifice" from a ghost who was already dead. (With Kudou being this important, I do wonder if the bak-u-go theories were correct, but HK changed his mind.)

I guess we can now predict all the vestiges getting lobbed over to dig Tenko out of the hole. I'm pretty sure at least Nana and All Might will go, because at least they have a connection to the "sad child". and will have some kind of emotional parting from Deku.

I am really really hoping that this fight won't be just won by the vestiges fully cutting out the need for Deku to get through to Tomura. That would make his fight worse than both Toga-Ochako and Dabi vs Todo-fam, which both needed to face their villain in their current reality.

So I'm hoping for one of two things:

Child Tenko is dug out, but he's like Tomura says is not a separate entity, but Tomura himself and to demonstrate that, he'll decay the vestiges. (They have no good narrative role / space, so might as well be sacrificed for some tension and a final test of faith that Deku will keep smashing the lid even when he's lost something he treasures).

Child Tenko crack is a booby trap set up by AFO and the "trump card" he mentioned to lure OFA out. So again, it would be somehow an attempt failing, but at least Tomura would get a chance to talk to Nana and see All Might vestige put everything on the line to try to save his child self that nobody reached out to. And that could prepare the ground for a conversation with Deku.

Every time I see someone say they don't find Midoriya interesting, a piece of me just fades away. I know he doesn't look it, but he's batshit crazy. He is a damn wild card.

EVEN BEFORE OBTAINING OFA.

All Might decided to give OFA after seeing this kid do something crazy (running ahead to save Bakugou from the Sludge Villain... defenseless).

After that, for training, what does Midoriya do?

CLEAN A BEACH!! Keep in mind, he is just a scrawny kid. And then one morning, he just decides "I'm about to do something wild".

He climbs up a pile of trash, and just screams into oblivion with a war cry, shirtless just as the sun is rising.

That's just the beginning!

Kid has punched a robot the size of a building, attempts to fight an obviously dangerous villain with broken bones.

Later during the Sports Festival, he manages to make a new friend with Icy-Hot Princey boy who holds a grudge (I mean rightfully so, but this ain't about him) by breaking his bones and screaming at him and could have got himself killed in doing so. Oh wait! Rewind! Before that, Midoriya goes through an obstacle course race without using his quirk and just being calculating.

AND GETS FIRST PLACE before kids with quirks that can boost their speed!!

After that arc, he faces a whole serial killer!! He gets told not to run off and guess what? He does it anyways!

You know what, let me just list things he is and has done the best way I can because when I say this kid is not what he seems, he is not what he seems.

Doesn't listen, "I do what I want because it's right even though I'll get yelled at for it". Okay, this kid is impulsive sometimes.

Puts up with Bakugou and calls this explosive kid "Kacchan". Who in the hell gives that boom-boom gremlin a cutesy nickname and not once get told to stop using it? Midoriya damn Izuku, that's who.

Wears t-shirts that says other pieces of clothing like "blouse" and "tank top". WHERE DID HE GET THEM?!

Can mimic All Might's face and voice!

Has to be told to keep his emotions in check because they affect OFA, his strongest emotion being anger. And when he's angry, just beg for mercy. Just get on your knees and hope he doesn't break your face or something and embarrasses you. (Muscular got it twice as he deserves!)

Faced an ASSASSIN.

Somehow managed to still move like it's nothing after being shocked by KAMINARI and after that, headbutting through Todoroki's ice wall (by accident). (Class 1A VS Deku fight)

Midoriya is intelligent, he's observant. He's able to work how the function of someone's quirk just by watching. He was able to figure out how Stain's quirk worked and how he's using it. Stain, the Hero Killer.

On that note, he uses his knowledge to incorporate that in his own moves and how he can work with OFA. Midoriya is creative.

Even though he knows the risks, he sometimes pushes his body to the limit and breaks his bones and sometimes still wants to fight despite his body being damaged at that time.

Tried to talk down Dabi the same way as he did with Todoroki and honestly, he deserves some credit for that. It didn't worked, but he tried talking to DABI. Dabi is something else.

There's probably more I missed, but I'm just saying Midoriya Izuku is just more than that sweet round freckled face. And you wouldn't think with that face he would have the body he does. He used to be a scrawny kid. But now? He is a pint-sized powerhouse!

Do not take him lightly. He needs to come with a warning label!

Look, if he's boring to you, fine. I don't care. Didn't write this post to convince you.

I wrote this post to express just how I feel about him.

I know some people are put off by him because "he's the protagonist, he gets a lot of the spotlight".

But that's not stopping me. I mean, Miruko is my number one tied with Midoriya and she shares a lot less focus than he does! To me, a character doesn't have to be minor or a major one to be liked. I look past that role and see their other qualities and in the case of Midoriya, I like his qualities enough for him to be an interesting character to me.

Which is rare for me because my favorites often be the minor characters, characters that don't get as much screen time and aren't as popular. Even for BNHA! A lot of my favorites are characters that haven't spoken in the manga since forever!

(For goodness' sake, I know I'll sound salty for this and I do adore the other characters! The Todoroki's got a whole arc and even an origin to how their whole mess started dating back to when Enji and Rei met! And we still don't know Midoriya’s dad whereabouts! WE KNOW HAWKS' BACKSTORY!! AND WE STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT HISASHI LOOKS LIKE!! Midoriya barely has had focus for how many chapters this whole ongoing war arc now? Just saying, even though there's a lot of characters, let's not act as if Midoriya gets the spotlight all the time.)

That's just me now.

(Don't even reblog and say something like "Okay, I see your point, OP, but I still think he's boring." Or argue why he's boring to you. Don't even come into my inbox with all that. Again, I do not care.)

The worst part about the dark Deku arc in my opinion is the completely mixed messages. By attacking Izuku and criticizing what he did, they said the lives of all the people he saved weren't worth it. That he was stupid for leaving and should have stayed in his ivory tower with them. It wasn't like this guy was just fighting AFO and left school because these fodder children weren't enough. He saved MANY lives and took down numerous, murderous people who would have been left completely unchecked because Japan apparently does not have a military and the police aren't interested in protecting the citizens. Heroes are all that stands between total anarchy it seems, and most of them retired despite a crisis being the best possible time to earn fame and accolades. The civilians are left to fend for themselves with black market support gear they're so incompetent at using that they take themselves out with it and also wreck their own neighborhoods. Yo Shindo would be dead if Izuku stayed at UA. That's a point the narrative ignores. Muscular could have killed hundreds of people, thousands if he felt like it, and who could have stopped him? The man can withstand 100% OFA punches. That giant animal lady? She'd have been brutalized in a hate crime for no good reason. The fodder kids spit on all these actions. This man is out there actually helping people and saving lives, and their answer is to drag him back to their little safe zone where they keep all the civilians. Sure, let's put all our eggs in one basket and create a single point of failure! Why can't they all just join him in hero work? All 20 of them could be kicking ass and taking names. At least then we'd see the hero kids actually helping people for once. Yes, Izuku's lack of self care and mentality was self destructive, but the end result is that people were better off because he did it. He was being stupid for neglecting his own self care, not for leaving. If Izuku behaved the way they wanted him to, Nagant, Dictator, Muscular, and many others would still be in AFO's pocket and ready for deployment. Also, Aoyama was still the traitor and he 100% would have led Izuku into a trap if ordered to. Staying at UA would have created a worse outcome but the story doesn't acknowledge this at all. And it also didn't address Izuku's concerns, like you said. Bakugo dies, and Jiro loses an ear. We know these injuries will of course be reversed because the heroes have access to Eri who is like a senzu bean basically. But they didn't get massive power ups or anything. They just attacked a guy who didn't want to fight them and wouldn't beat them all into the dirt with Black Whip, like he totally and easily could have.

The funniest thing to me is AFO's complete inability to kill anyone. His confirmed kills are previous OFA holders, and this clown show is out here unable to kill literal children. The "Symbol Of Evil", everyone. What's funnier is that he treated Endeavor like an ant back at Kamino. The guy was completely beneath him. But then Endeavor gets buffed to be one of the strongest people in the world inexplicably and is capable of inflicting fatal wounds on AFO. All the training and upgrades in MHA happen off screen. It's the strangest thing how we've got a school setting, but it's the kids themselves doing all the training and inventing of new attacks and breakthroughs. They've got loads of pro hero mentors and a super genius principal who could theoretically give them the most efficient training plans possible and maximize their use of their quirks, but Mina trains with Bakugo and Shoto to perfect her acid. Well, I guess she's right. They're the ones at the forefront of fighting a war for their country, while many other heroes with more training and experience decided to just stay home. Which again, is the oddest thing. Are they hoping Shigaraki won't decay them when he wins? That AFO won't do a hero purge? We don't see them all fleeing Japan on planes or boats or anything. A lot of these people would have a decent amount of money and could leave with all their assets. Just straight up abandon ship. But we hear about them quitting because they don't like being criticized but not what they plan to do after. The cracks show a lot in MHA. It relies on so many contrivances to function. It's not a story that runs on cause and effect. As you said, everything has to go perfectly for things to work right. You mentioned Machia in another post, and it perfectly illustrates things. Imagine if the guy didn't suddenly decide to attack his master and instead he just crushed all these heroes. They have no one capable of defeating him and Momo's stuck at UA acting as a battery (lol) so they don't have a convenient drug to take him out this time. But of course they had the idea to use Gigantomachia against his allies, and of course when he was broken out of Shinso's brainwashing, he actually secretly hated AFO and wanted to fight him. Because the alternative is this being a suicidal, stupid plan and getting everyone killed when AFO frees his friend! The heroes always get to benefit from these unearned victories. They didn't flip Machia. They didn't earn his trust, or speak to him about his trauma and learn his past. They didn't have a heart to heart with him about his motivations and convince him he's more than a tool to be used by a megalomaniac. They didn't show him photos of all the people he crushed and ask him to make amends for what he did and help end the war he was used to start. No, he just gets a new personality with no build up to help stall a guy who can't manage mass fatalities we know he should be capable of, considering he destroyed Kamino VERY quickly. It's just like how Dabi has been shown to be able to turn people into charcoal in seconds with his flames, and also melt metal, but when he burns Hawks, he manages to barely damage his quirk a bit. And then the guy gets support gear so it's functionally like it never happened. The villains are always jokes in this series. Every victory they have is pyrrhic and there's a contrivance that lets the heroes still manage to get one over. This is the first narrative I've seen that's so openly biased for the main characters and doesn't try to hide it.

So the thing is with the Dark Deku arc? In many ways, it's the culmination of everything Hori's set up and left to rot. It's all these threads about heroic society Hori left blowing in the wind.

In other words? It's complicated. It's so so complicated, it's an arc that is all about complicated things, difficult subjects, and problems that don't have easy answers, and Hori treated it like it was a simple topic... but he couldn't even keep that up. It's such a mess, it's not even funny.

Because the thing is? You're right, Izuku did do good things while he wasn't in school. He saved people, many people, and that's something the story didn't acknowledge... at all. Meanwhile, his classmates, for all that they are trained to be heroes, trained to go and fight and protect, are sitting safe at home.

The thing is, though, that they are still children, all of them. Children shouldn't have to risk their lives for other people. They should live their lives, enjoy their youths. This is the moral question.

At the time though, on a logical level, each hero trained is, potentially, hundreds or thousands of people saved in the future; by allowing them to stay safe and grow up, far more people will be saved, theoretically, than if they were to be deployed in the field right now to save people. At the same time, though, Japan is in crisis, heroics as a whole is threatening to collapse under its own weight, and if they sit on their asses rather than help, there may not be a tomorrow for them. This is the logical question.

So morally, logically, which choice is right? Which is wrong? Is there even a right answer? What is the price someone should pay for others? What should a child give up for society? What are you willing to sacrifice to live how you want? What burden are you willing to bear for another's sake?

These are the kinds of questions this arc askes, and it's something you can't just avoid for as serious a topic as this. Personally, I'd say the answer is somewhere between these two points, but every story has its own moral and message it is ultimately saying is right or wrong, and that is eventually proved correct by the story itself. Sometimes it's that the day can be saved, if you just try hard enough, and that friendship is everything. Sometimes it's that the world is bitter and cold, and that only the strong and lucky survive.

Here's the problem MHA is suffering from, what this arc and Izuku ultimately exemplify: what is Hori saying is right? What is the moral or message that is correct here?

Yeah... Hori has no fucking idea. And, I've said this before, the fact he doesn't even seem to know what he wants beyond, 'ACTION! MORE ACTION! EXPLOSIONS! I CAST FIST!' is something that severely damages the overall story telling. It really feels like he doesn't know where things are even going, sometimes.

Ah, AFO. I really, honestly, feel sorry for him. He's just so... pathetic now. He suffers from being made too strong for the setting, and so Hori keeps having to nerf him just to explain why everyone is still alive. Like, really, honest truth? If I was AFO? I would have just, like, poisoned All Might years ago; none of this fair fight nonsense. The second All Might became a viable threat he should have started cheating like the criminal genius he apparently is, and taken advantage of all of the many, many advantages he has, between his Quirks, his resources, and his ruthlessness.

The spin off manga says AFO tried to steal Erasure back when Aizawa was still in training, which... yeah, that makes sense. Then he fails, and then... never tries again. Ever.

Am I the only one who sees the problem here?

I've seen people say that Aizawa, a man employed as a teacher in perhaps one of the most visible schools in existence, is too off the radar for him to find. When, apparently, AFO has his finger in the government, and criminal element, he is unable to... check his tax record to find out where he lives, or to have someone follow him home, or ambush him after he leaves the school he has to go to, or anything like that. Or, hell, just kill him, if Erasure is somehow too hard for him to get.

Oh well, I guess that's too much work for one of the most OP Quirks in the setting, one that can easily counter his All Might problem, or cripple him personally. Better to just ignore it entirely instead; what could go wrong with that?

Remember when AFO bitch slapped just about every top hero, minus All Might, causally? How in the fuck is Endeavour a threat to him now?

Yeah. The thing is, AFO is too strong, plain and simple. Even in a setting where All Might, who changes the weather while holding back exists, much less everyone without OFA. If he was allowed to have a fraction of the brains and fire power that we're told again and again that he has, the story never would have happened, because OFA would have been taken or destroyed generations before All Might even became a thing, before Izuku was even born. But the story is still happening, and people keep successfully beating him, and they need to keep beating, and will continue to until he is finally defeated. Does that make sense? No, but the show must go on.

On all the people not putting their part in... to be fair, we see a more personal version of Shigaraki than almost anyone else, in story. There's a real question of how many people even know what his goals are, much less who would believe it, since it's kind of nuts to say the least. Under that logic, I could see them not thinking it's worth the danger to themselves, though the fact they're willing to just sit there and do nothing when their ultimate fate is up to grabs, when they could actually make a difference, unlike so many other people, is... stupid. But people are often stupid, so to some extent, that is understandable, but you'd think the people who trained themselves to fight every day would be more willing to put their lives on the line... though, that goes back to the 'corrupt heroes' thing Hori keeps dropping.

Really, Machia's entire thing there is so mind numbingly dumb that, even though I made a post about how bad it is, I'm still surprised no one stopped to ask, 'And then what?' when Shinso proposed it. Brainwash is very powerful Quirk, don't get me wrong, but it is not a Quirk that is made for direct slug match like that... but Shinso is too cool to not include, so there we go, I guess! Hori does everything possible to justify him making a big, dramatic contribution to the fight when the smarter, yet absurdly obvious choice is Shinso just telling Machia to walk off to the other end of Japan, cover his ears, and wait there forever so that one of the most dangerous people in the story just doesn't participate in the final fight. But, you know, Post War is about the how COOL it is! For the cliffhangers! And Machia taking a nap, no matter how smart a choice, isn't a DRAMATIC CLIFFHANGER!

And that's the thing, really: so much of the worst choices in MHA (that aren't from long running overarcing problems that come from far earlier in the story, anyways) are about that, cheap drama. Every poor choice that everyone has criticized ultimately boils down to making every chapter DRAMATIC and EXCITING, by making every possible scene look cool, even if it needs to be promptly taken back in the very first panel of the next chapter that follows it, even if it conflicts with things he's said before, even if it makes everyone involved an idiot. Hori has taken the worship of cliffhangers above everything else in MHA, over story, or logic, or characters, or messages,; any and all of it will be sacrificed to the altar of 'does this make the fans want to read the next chapter?'.... which, ironically, makes the fans not want to read the next chapter anymore, because people didn't get into this story because of big hits and dramatic scenes.

And each cliffhanger has built off each other, until we've gotten here, to the point where the story doesn't even make sense anymore, where the most common comment I see reading each chapter is, 'I don't understand what is happening, I guess I'll have to wait for the anime to make it make sense', or, even more damning, 'I don't care anymore'.

The heroes win, and the villains lose, not because of of the choices they've made, or how strong they are, but because reality itself bends over to make it so. And nobody wants to read that.

hello....

what do you think about mha ch 403? i'd love to have a chat with you regarding this coz there are so many things to talk about. and bakugou is back with his plot armor again. please reply

... MMMM!

BOY do I have words for this chapter!

With the biggest question, how the fuck is Bakugou standing and able to keep fighting?

Even though he was getting revived, I was hoping... HOPING that he wouldn't be able to move and be put in a coma. Why?

Because this was supposed to be Izuku's battle.

All throughout the series it's been leading up to this moment where Izuku would be the one to end the OFA AFO feud, the one to bring peace and the ONLY one that can end this madness.

So Bakugou being here and stepping in just RUINS all that buildup! Because once again he's hogging the spotlight to make himself look good and have the stans say "Bakugou and Deku duo team! They were CLEARLY meant to be!"

I just want Izuku to get the final fight for himself and NOT be made into a set piece because at this point, it's not even his show anymore.

It's Bakugou's... and I hate it.

Apparently, Deku has lost all his quirks except the strength part of OFA. (And Maybe Float). God Hori dropped the fucking ball.

I mean it's Complicated™ because like.

On one hand I can understand the narrative choice of having him be Quirkless again. I don't like it ofc, but I can get the intention behind it. He's losing the Quirk by doing the thing that proves himself a Hero regardless of powers: Saving someone and inspiring others to keep fighting.

On the other hand, he still has the strength thing which has a lot of uses even if he's losing cool things like Blackwhip, and I know a good chunk of the fandom complained about him getting more Quirks in the first place.

But on yet another hand(where am I getting all these hands) I also just. Really want to keep him as the overpowered little shit. So I'm hoping that the Quirks come back to him somehow.

I would like to know about your perspective on why he remembered this. From what I get, it's an angsty memory but maybe he's grateful for Uraraka's help with her insight (?

I had to go reread the vs 1A chapters to find the context hehe

No. It’s neither grateful to her or angsty in relation to Kacchan, at least. Izuku is going through his own personal headspins, which I’ll go into.

He was realising he is now in Kacchan’s position and could soon be feeling “the shame” she mentioned from having the entire class go against him to bring him back. If anything, these words affected Izuku in another negative way when he remembered them. The first time made him doubt the use of his own hand to call out to Kacchan. 😔

(This is a bit of an aside, but you know how this story is rife with parallels... yeah... he probably still regrets not grabbing Katsuki with his own hand in Kamino, just like Katsuki regrets not taking his hand when they were bebs. I wouldn’t be surprised if Izuku mentions this to him before the end.)

Izuku’s self esteem is already really bad. So he thinks them doing this is more proof that he’s not a fit successor of OFA. “You’re next” keeps replaying in his head, over and over, the pressure of his fate is weighing him down and destroying his spirit

that’s why he breaks away yelling “It’s I’m not the same as before!” aka someone weak and unreliable that needs babying by them. The angst we see in the above panel is his rejection of the worthlessness he’s always felt inside as a quirkless person and then as a fledgling hero-in-training that couldn’t control his power...

He just wanted to feel useful, to feel needed and to feel worthy of his responsibility. He had no source for receiving self-worth other than continuously defeating villains. This kept him fighting so hard to stay on his feet despite his complete exhaustion that overwhelmed him the moment he acquiesced when Katsuki made him feel cared for, needed and safe.

(Kacchan knew this and knew if anyone could save Izuku’s heart it was him trying to make up for their history, for the way he used to treat Izuku, bc he intuited that it was probably impacting him still.)

It’s not angsty by itself per se, more like his reflective “oh… so this is what she meant that time. But I’m not someone who needs help anymore! I’m the only one who can go against AFO!” (I think her words fed into his angsty feelings towards himself. How he feels not good enough… and I dive into this topic a lot.)

Exact same mental as when he faced Kacchan in DvK2. Vigilante arc Deku was once again trying desperately to prove his value and worthiness. I’d say that’s about 50% of the reason Katsuki didn’t want to call him Deku anymore. He knew every little thing that tells this little green bean he’s not worthless is helpful to the cause. (The other 50% is he loves him, accepts/acknowledges him as his osananajimi and is telling Izuku he wants them to be closer.)

And check this post out if you haven’t, it goes into Kacchan and Izuku’s mental some more :) Hope I could help :D

So I have this amazing fanfic idea, hear me out:

The society is split between heroes, the defenders of justice, and villains, the masters of instilling fear.

Deku is a wicked villain who runs a large corporation, seen by the media as a rich playboy. He nurtures plans to destroy the hero system.

All Might learns that the Hero Association is run by extraordinary people who control the world from the shadows. They founded the Hero Association to turn everyone's admiration for heroes into a religion, so they can hide their crimes and keep people unaware of the true problems that plague the world.

All Might confronts them but tragically dies, falling victim to their evil schemes.

His successor, Lemillion, learns about this and decides to fight against them.

He gets mortally wounded in a battle, and in his last dying breath, passes his quirk to Dynamight.

Katsuki’s quirk merges with OFA and he defeats this villainous organization.

He and his friends become the new Symbols of Hope, while the hero profession takes on a new meaning – it stops being about fame, power and prestige and becomes about upholding honor, virtue and helping those in need first.

Villain Deku had been observing this whole spectacle from the shadows. He flees to another Universe using a time-travel machine, but gets intercepted by heroes and accidentally messes up the controls, waking up in the present Universe of My Hero Academia. There, he’s All Might’s successor, and Dynamight isn’t his archenemy, but a childhood rival instead

The Hero Association isn't controlled by some dark shady group either... Or is it?

Deku has to navigate in this new reality, and this is where the story begins.

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45672259/chapters/114932653

Rambling thoughts about where the the new chapters are headed:

So I'm thinking. With AllMight facing off against AFO, of course the whole prediction from Nighteye is coming back into question; will this be it? Will this be the fight and the death that Nighteye saw for AllMight?

But then I thought of something else to do with the Nighteye/chie-hasaikai arc, and when Nighteye was talking to everyone, he says that Izuku was the one who "changed the future" of his visions of Izuku dying to Overhaul.

Now of course this is going to do with Bakugou and how Bakugou and Deku are always touted as the duality of heroism: Save and Win.

And because I'm throwing my hopes at the wall in the hopes that something sticks and manifests, this also has to do with Bakugou's death plus his eventual revival. (I will never stop holding out hope that he is going to come back soon and still have a real, proper moment of glory that doesn't end in him being sent to the void)

So, let's first start out by establishing that Katsuki has ended up in the presence of All Mights vestige.

And yes maybe that is a hint towards something to do with him being OFA adjacent, but what if instead...(or Maybe also)

It's leading to him reaching All Might?

Specifically, what if it's leading to All Might fighting AFO, AFO breaking through the Hercules battle suit, and All Might sensing that he is in very real danger as Hercules breaks down and loses integrity around him.

AllMight, not regretting a damn thing he has done to get here, thinks to himself if this is it, if this right here is Night Eye's Foresight coming to fruition. We have a moment of anticipation (and likely a cliffhanger ending for a chapter) where we the audience wonders too. And we all freak out again o er yet another death flag.

Then, BAKUOGU arrives on the scene to help All Might out.

Essentially, what if Bakugou is ALSO one who "CHANGES THE FUTURE" that Nighteye envisioned? If this time it's All Might who says that Bakugou changed Nighteyes future?

Once again, the duality of win and save, Deku and Bakugou, a duality that AllMight himself associated with Deku and Bakugou. Also it ties in with the theme of the younger generation doing what the adults could not...change the future. Defeat AFO. Save everyone.

I know Bakugou has nothing to do with Nighteye, but he does have a lot to do with All Might. He has a lot to do with All Mights legacy.

And he also has a lot to do with AFO, since in a way, AFO essentially killed him with the possession/whatever you'd call it of Tomura.

Imagine Katsuki Bakugou coming to help All Might against AFO after AFO had BODIED HIM.

Imagine all of his fucking emotions; saving his mentor/idol, All Might, getting some slap-back at the same evil that literally killed him...and knowing that stopping AFO here with All Might, keeps him from getting to Tomura, and to IZUKU.

Because if that happens, if Izuku is not allowed to work, if AFO intervenes, it's game over, and Izuku will be killed. So Bakugou has to make sure that AFO ENDS HERE. Whether it's by force or by running down the clock.

He has to protect Izuku.

Backing this up, I believe that Bakugou will "revive soon", that is to say, it will be REVEALED how he revives. We are kind of all over the battle field in terms of timelines, so I can see a bit of backtracking once he is revealed to All Might, the way horikoshi has framed interventions by other characters all over the place in this war(example, Gentle and Nagant, Star's pilots)

I'm talking about the pattern I've noticed and expressed before: horikoshi puts a character in mortal danger in their fight, but a character we haven't seen in a while suddenly appears to Uno reverse the calamity about to happen, and then after a dramatic reveal, Horikoshi traces back in that character's timeline to how they came to be in that spot of intervention. How gentle came to assist UA, how Nagant came to snipe at Shigaraki before he can set a hand down to decay.

No matter how it happens I expect horikoshi to do the same for Bakugou.

In this case I would imagine that he is treated, and revived, and there's a period of time where he is allowed to breathe, let his body reacclimate, oxygen restore into his system, and he catches his bearings. Meanwhile, Jeanist and Mirio would be speaking to him, checking his awareness, performing whatever first aid and followup they need.

All the while, info about the progress of the war trickles in, and Bakugou can't help but overhear or even ask about it. Izuku arrived moments ago and has taken Shigaraki to the ground. Aizawa, monoma, and Mic have been portaled by Twice clones and are MIA. Dabi has reignited. Toga of course has erupted into Twice clones, and spread across the battle zones. They hear about AFO and Gigantomachia.

They hear that AFO has broken off and is headed for Tomura and Izukus battle. At this point, Bakugou is breathing steady again but his new heart races at the omen...

Eventually, there is shock among the Heroes as they hear of All Might leaving his post and later reappearing in front of AFO himself, donning Hercules as armor, a move no one saw coming.

Tsukauchi is trying to keep it wrapped up and off the coms because he is scared of everyone losing hope if AM is killed, but it's not enough, La Brava was already broadcasting it and word would spread.

And when he hears all that, Bakugou would stand up, knowing that it's not time for him to give up on the fight. He's still badly beaten of course, but he is alive.

He will go where help is needed, he will go to All Might. He knows that Izuku is fighting Shigaraki below, but he knows, even if he doesn't want Izuku fighting alone, Izuku having to fight on TWO fronts, AFO and an OP Shigaraki with no restraint on his Quirks, would be the worst case scenario.

So it pains him to abandon Izuku, but in order to give Izuku the best chance to work, and survive, he has to make the decision to bolster All Might so that AFO can't make it to Tomura and destroy the whole process.

Not to say other Heroes will not join All Might as well, if there are any left, maybe even Jeanist, the big 3 and miruko will pick themselves up and follow Bakugou. But Bakugou would be the leader.

Maybe something in there also about All Mights stand and Bakugous fighting spirit inspiring a second wind for the heroes?

(I still think in the grand scheme of this, that AFO will still get past, BUT I think that mainly because he is the true Evil of this story, sort of the final boss, and I feel like Tomura may get the final blow against him, whether in a physical, mental capacity or even both? Idk how accurate that might be but as one last Raise the Stakes I think AFO might get past AM and whoever joins him, but I think Bakugou would, again, be close behind. Because he would sooner die again than let Izuku get hurt(boy is ALWAYS dying for Izuku) so that might be how we get a Bakugou and Izuku reunion towards the end.

(If by some miracle they do stop AFO there and he is no longer a concern, I ALSO think that Bakugou would leave the scene to go to Izuku, same reasoning; he doesn't want anything to happen to him, and he will help him if he even can)

Also dialogue somewhere in there about Bakugou wanting AMs autograph or something maybe lol also probably bakugou being a tsundere and calling All Might an old man 🤣

Oh, bonus thought: when Bakugou wakes and is hearing all the news, and specifically about AM, he finds or is given his card back, and in staring at it, Bakugou gets to THINKING (and subsequently deciding to go to AMs aid.) I think the card coming back might be a fun motif.

Anyway that's a big thought dump and I have no idea if it'll actually play out like this at all but it's a fun little theory (and I cling desperately to the idea that Bakugou is not finished yet, that we still have more to come from him, I know he is in bad condition and it might be a big ask BUT he is one of my faves and I enjoy seeing Bakugou content and WOULD LIKE FOR HIM TO TRULY TRIUMPH after losing so much 😭) (and also reunite with Deku to share a moment of GLORY AND TALK ABOUT THEIR FUCKING FEELINGS FOR ONCE 😭😭)

Anyway just some thoughts, take em or leave em

Addendum: Given the new chapter, and that there is now definitely a connection in OFA between real life All Might and Izuku, I am going to say that I feel justified in thinking that we are getting closer to Bakugou reviving and/or converging with OFA.

Since All Mights vestige is currently WITH Bakugou but also....he's calling out to Izuku...and Izuku is sensing him....

Now will Bakugou be spiritually piggy backing the AM vestige to OFA space to see whats going on there before waking? Or will AM vestige disappear and leave Bakugou with a sense of urgency as he wakes up, sensing somehow that AM and by extension, Izuku, needs help?

Since deku lost most of his secondary quirks do you think he'll have more time to take care of shiggy

I'm actually hoping someone would take care of Deku and Deku would take care of himself.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see Deku taking care of Tomura. I'm hoping for it. It's just that Deku is just a teenage kid. He's holding his body together using black whip! In the course of the manga, Deku has suffered so much damage!!!!!

With a bit of luck, Deku would never use this level of power ever again. At barely 17 years old, Deku has more scars and body damage than many veteran pro-heroes. It's okay to push yourself that far when you have a goal, but I want Deku to win and then take better care of himself.

He got everyone worried for him 😟😟😟

Deku will be there to keep Tomura company and to help him as much as he can, that's for sure. He is a hero after all! Tomura's hero, mind you.

It's just that Deku and Tomura need to make their separate lives too. They can walk together, but in separate lines. Everyone in the League of Villains need to form their own personal bonds, they need to start from scratch, find themselves. Deku and Tomura's lives are forever intertwined because of what happened with OFA and AFO. Also, Tomura will need someone to guide him and keep him on the right path, if that answers your question.

Deku shouldn't become a babysitter or devote his entire life to Tomura. We don't want them to end up codependent or something.

I want to see them as friends!

Healthy when separated so they can be healthy together too <3

I have so many theories about how bakugo is gonna come back some how! Like with the 2nds quirk (most likely), shigAFO saying he'll bring him back for ofa, or bakugo coming back out of sheer will power! He hasn't had his big moment yet! He didn't even hurt shigAFO. Shig himself came back from the dead so why cant katsuki? Maybe if izuku can get to young shig and save him, he can save katsuki but shig will most likely die in the end. I really hope the life transfer thing is the 2nds quirk. Like shig or all mights life. Hori said he cant promise to keep all might alive ☹

SPOILERS FOR MHA CHAPTER 362

very interesting theories!!!!!! i hadn't even really thought about it much bc i'm just letting horikoshi do his thing now — clearly i have no idea what's going to happen in the future bc i thought bkg. u know. WOULDN'T DIE but i was very wrong about that

this is probably just me being in my denial stage but i don't think he'll stay dead. i don't know HOW he'll come back yet but it feels ... almost too early for him to die permanently TToTT deku still hasn't even reached shiggy, which means we still have an entire final battle as well as the aftermath to deal with. considering how long the last war arc was, where all characters were fighting at the same time, it just feels weird pacing-wise to keep bkg dead through all this. like u said! he didn't even hurt shiggy really, making this entire fight feel really one-sided, and it feels like ... i dunno, like horikoshi is giving bkg very little credit ^^' i'm not at all saying that bkg would easily body shiggy, but i feel like he'd put up a bigger fight than this LOL

if all might gets sacrificed to bring back bkg though ... HAUGH i will be very sad :( but i guess all might's been hinted to die for whole volumes now, so it wouldn't be as surprising. whatever the case is, i hope he comes back, but i think i will be able to accept him staying dead too :') 'tis the consequences of war. it's just tragic and all considering he's only a high schooler and he finally got to start over with deku :'(