Latest Posts by lemonflavourednerd - Page 2

AFO tried to steal OFA from Banjo and then from En. Both times he couldn’t do it. MHA 419 confirms AFO realized after En that he needed an “iron will” or an emotion stronger than he was capable of in order to steal OFA. That means AFO was looking for someone to groom THE WHOLE TIME Nana held OFA. So did AFO discover she had a son and then target only her husband to pick him off before separating her and Kotaro??? Did she fight AFO thinking she might be able to stop him, when he already had young Kotaro in his clutches?? Oh my god, is that why AFO thanked her for the “wonderful comedy” — Nana thought she was “leaving the rest” to Toshinori but in reality AFO already had a plan to get OFA by “breeding” a successor from Nana’s own son?!?!?!?

tokoyami & dark shadow arguing over homework for @jackdaniel69nice

I’m pretty sure they never show in the anime how they got to class?? But I love the idea that Denki used to show up to UA in his skateboard before they stayed at the dorms, also idk I feel like Bakugo it’s his dad’s baby and he used to take him to class when he wasn’t busy like PLEASE

Symbol of Peace/Symbol of Fear

I've read a lot of callous takes on All Might from fans who are otherwise sympathetic to Tomura (and vice versa)-- which is sad, because I feel these characters are meant to be viewed as two sides of the same coin. It's not much of an exaggeration to say that a good bulk of the story/conflict is built on top of their crumbling bodies. It's also not much of an exaggeration to say that the resolution to this story hinges on them both being allowed to heal.

Toshinori and Tenko are both victims who were repeatedly failed by the adults around them, and are now both adults who are stuck in roles that perpetuate the same cycle that wounded their childhood selves. Their particular traumas regarding identity/loss and how they've been taught to cope with pain (that is to say, not at all) doesn't allow either of them to truly be "complete" people-- instead, they shut away core aspects of themselves and attempt to lose themselves in their respective roles in a futile attempt to run away from their wounded selves. Toshi throws himself into the role of All Might, Tenko throws himself into the role of Shigaraki Tomura-- But Toshi and Tenko still haunt every aspect of this story, and their inability to completely vanish into their alter egos remains a source of pain before it ever becomes a source of strength for them.

One of MHA's biggest messages is about the importance of society's most vulnerable people having access to good social support-- so it's no surprise that Toshi and Tomura's feelings of isolation end up fueling their blind pursuits of peace/destruction. They both gorge themselves on a fantasy they think will fill them, but are never full-- at least, not until they start allowing other people in their lives who can see beyond their respective hero/villain masks and understand that what's behind those masks is someone who desperately needs help.

Brief(ish) Thoughts on the Gravity of Their Designs

"Starvation" is very much the theme of the hour for both characters-- both characters are introduced to the series in severely emaciated, malnourished states. Toshi's true form is literally skin and bones, with his stomach having been ripped from his body by AFO. Tomura is depicted as frequently vomiting from sheer stress and suffers from nearly constant nausea-- during his debut, he's so malnourished that you can literally see the outline of his spinal column. They're both unkempt and unhealthy looking (with Tomura's clothes being visibly tattered/frayed around the collar and shirt/pant cuffs in a particularly infuriating bit of visual story telling-- AFO UR FUCKING LOADED WHY IS HE WEARING RAGS I'LL KILL YOU🗡️🗡️🗡️)

MEANWHILE, AFO himself is depicted as a cannibalistic, gluttonous, greedy monster who gorges himself on the misfortune of others and spares no expense whatsoever when it comes to maintaining his own health-- all while remaining well dressed and well groomed. Hori's art direction is simple but highly effective in how it indicates who the real enemy is, while also indicating that Tomura and Toshinori secretly share a mortal foe with one another.

Less seriously, Toshi & Tomura's muscle forms are both shams lmao.

Nana's Boys-------------------------------

God, Tomura is SUCH a fucking grandma's boy and he doesn't even know it. 😭 😭 😭You too, Toshinori. Hate u both! ❤

For all her flaws and mistakes, Nana still remains a major influence in Tomura and Toshinori's lives-- She is a source of pain for them both, but also serves as a source of strength for Toshinori and a source of deeply repressed hope for Tenko. She is the unbreakable binding thread that connects Toshinori and Tenko together as "family". Nana is also completely inextricable from the origin of both boys:

There's also the ever creeping implication that all the traits Tomura latched onto with AFO actually originated from Nana and Toshinori-- the concept of an inviolable "origin" that defines you, donning an invincible smile that hides your pain/fear, pushing past your limits by remembering why it is you swing your fists. AFO intended for both his "teacher persona" and his lessons to be a dark, twisted mockery of Nana-- but Tomura still "found" Nana in those lessons and then used them to take the first step towards breaking free.

Y e a h.

Nevertheless, Tomura can't bring himself to take the next step towards being saved until someone starts to challenge him a bit more on what his origin actually *IS* . Izuku, that's ur cue.

The Kamino Incident---------------------

mmm cinnamontography......

Kamino and its immediate aftermath is definitely the meat and potatoes of Tomura and Toshi's connection, and the story is STILL reeling from the aftershocks of this arc. AFO gleefully picks up his pen and proceeds to write Tomura and Toshi into a corner they can't escape from on their own, setting the stage for the rest of the series.

It's all but confirmed through AFO's actions and internal dialog that Kamino was a set-up meant to retraumatize Tomura and Toshinori by recreating the worst moments of their lives, while also permanently putting them at odds with each other-- AFO takes himself off the playing board willingly in a way that's deliberately meant to resemble Nana's sacrifice while also ripping Tomura's trauma about not being saved wide open. My guy played the longest con specifically so he could create a hell specifically tailored to these two, then gave them both time to "pick themselves up and dust themselves off" just so he could knock them both down AGAIN in an even MORE spectacularly traumatizing way a few months later. (I am once again encouraging people to reread MHA while actually paying attention to AFO this time and while acknowledging that Tomura and Toshinori are his victims, because the dude's a fucking FANTASTIC villain)

All Might and Tomura both get their "masks" forcibly removed in a way that's meant to humiliate them and expose their pain/humanity, which causes them to both bury themselves even deeper in their hero/villain roles and further away from each other. AFO depends on Toshi's hero mask and role as a "symbol" being the very thing that won't allow Toshi to save Shimura Tenko. Kamino is to Toshi what MVA is to Tomura-- an awful tragedy that shackles both men to their masks, masquerading as a good ol' high-energy shonen beatdown.

AFO: Hey can I copy ur homework lol

Name a bigger "Ohhhhhhh This Bitch (ʘ‿ʘ)" moment

AFO gets a sick pleasure out of masquerading as a savior and turning others into the "villain"-- he has always delighted in dragging others to his level, in bringing the absolute worst outta them, in watching them make all the same decisions *he* would make without him having to force his hand, in stealing the light from their eyes so they look just as dull and unhappy as his, in making others "another him".

Tomura is an obvious example, but Toshi himself is also a victim of AFO's particular brand of perversion (for lack of a better word)-- Kamino has AFO turning Toshi into "another him." All MIght is turned into "the villain" who takes Tomura's beloved master away from him, just as AFO took Nana away from Toshinori. All Might inflicts the same trauma he went through onto Tomura, while AFO takes a bow and proceeds to laugh himself all the way to the bank Tartarus.

(Seriously, tho-- reading "All Might: Rising" and the Kamino arc back-to-back and realizing that AFO's dramatic sacrifice was *literally plagiarized* is probably one of the biggest doses of fridge horror in the entire series-- it immediately throws EVERYTHING about Kamino and AFO's relationship with Tomura into question.)

*enraged chimpanzee shriek* THE WAY HE PRETTY MUCH SAYS EXACTLY WHAT HIS PLAN IS BUT THE PLAN WAS SO FRIGGIN INCONCEIVABLE THAT NO ONE PICKED UP ON IT. FUKX>.

From AFO's perspective, Toshi's rise to power as "The Symbol of Peace" was shaped by his rage and the loss of his beloved master. This blind hatred eventually allowed All Might to corner and "kill" AFO. AFO takes his notes and ultimately sets Kamino up to mirror Nana's sacrifice, turning Toshinori into the figure who fuels Tomura's blind hate-- which kick-starts Tomura's development into "The Symbol of Fear" in earnest. He then spends 90% of his meeting with Toshi in Tartarus talking in bullshit riddles that are ultimately meant to mock Toshi-- He's basically saying "look a little closer buddy, that's you! :)" and then ominously chuckling to himself when Toshinori completely fails to pick up on what he's actually saying.

"wait so all that talk about Tomura growing and developing into a symbol and learning how to use his rage was just AFO being a perverted freak about Toshinori/All Might?" ALWAYS HAS BEEN!

AFO "writes" an "evil" version of All Might he has complete control over, then self-inserts himself into that version of All Might. Oh, and it's also a version of his brother who "willingly" submitted to him and was totally stoked walk the path of evil with him. Oh, and it's also a vessel that has the blood of Shimura Nana running through him, who happens to be the object of AFO's strangely charged derision.

Fellas, Freud would have a fuckin' field day.

>This Action Will Have Consequences.

Toshi's kneejerk reaction in the aftermath of Kamino is to chase after Tomura, to approach him as "Shimura Tenko". His first reaction is to act on his feelings as Toshinori, not as All might. Gran Torino shuts this down immediately, shoving both Toshinori and Tenko back into the hero and villain boxes and refusing to let them remove their "masks." Toshi's fear of Gran Torino is funny, until it isn't-- he buckles immediately and defers to Torino's will like a scolded child.

Gran Torino claiming “It doesn’t matter who he’s related to” in a series where familial relationships are frequently used to humanize its characters is a particularly backhanded way of dehumanizing Tomura (especially since the death of their families was the catalyst that caused both Toshi AND Tomura to start dehumanizing themselves).

Gran Torino immediately brings Toshi's "role" as All Might back up as a means of silencing him. Reading between the lines of this scene, Toshinori is essentially being told that he isn't allowed to take off the hero mask, that he isn't allowed to act on his feelings as Toshinori. Toshi is told that he can no longer act as the symbol of peace, but in the same breath, he's told that he can't ever STOP being the symbol of peace-- it's subtle, but this dissonance is what causes him to start slowly spiraling throughout Acts 2 & 3.

In Kamino's aftermath, Tomura and Toshi are both left feeling hollow and directionless. AFO mostly succeeds in hollowing out Tomura, who spends the beginning of Act 2 as a sullen and depressed mess until he finally snaps during the events of MVA. Toshinori, however, is lucky to have people in his life who begin to fill him up again with little acts of love for who he is outside the "Symbol of Peace" mask.

Toshinori, Rising.

MHA has been about Izuku's growth into someone capable of saving Tomura, but it's also been about Toshinori's growth into someone who can live outside his alter ego and finally become the sort of hero his childhood self wanted to be-- someone who breaks the cycle of grief turning into hatred. Yagi Toshinori WANTED to be the type of hero who could save Shimura Tenko, more anything. And if Hori sticks the landing with Toshinori and Tomura's arcs, then we're going to see some massive pay off in the coming chapters.

The series supports the underlying implication that Toshi's initial impulse to go after Tomura and treat him as Shimura Tenko was the correct one, and that not going after him was ultimately a massive mistake-- and Toshi has gradually been developing into someone who can now act on that impulse without being shouted down or shoved back into a box.

Side note: I feel that people who are insisting that Toshi is gonna die are severely underestimating how important Toshi and Tomura actually are to each other's respective arcs-- Killing Toshi before he gets to meet Tomura again leaves a big part of his arc unfulfilled. It also compromises Tomura's arc and MHA's message about the importance of good social support and family in saving society's most vulnerable people-- Yagi Toshinori becomes a hero that surpasses All Might through helping Tomura, and fulfills his dream about breaking the cycle of grief and hatred. Tomura gains the closure and social support he needs to finally start healing alongside what is basically his only remaining family (on a spiritual level!).

On that note.....

"You're Just Like All Might, Ten-chan."

*gazes pointedly at the SMAAAASH* Oh, Tenko.....

When Tomura/Tenko gets pushed to his mental breaking point during the UA Fortress Battle, he manifests the biggest targets of his grief and anger to "protect" him. Tomura twists his form into a childish interpretation of All Might-- one that exists solely to protect him-- then unleashes several "SMASH"es on the heroes. Tomura betrays himself and his true desires through this form more than any other.

The unstated implication scattered throughout the entirety of MHA is that Tenko has always been waiting for All Might to "finally show up and save him," but All Might never came. It's the core of the tragedy between these two. Tomura's ""hatred"" of All Might is fueled by extreme unprocessed grief, as always-- the same cycle that Toshinori dreamed of breaking when he was a child.

Midoriya Izuku's "Role"

NOTICE: THIS IS A SET. DO NOT SEPARATE. (side note: Tomura touching All Might's screen while delicately raising his pinky to avoid destroying it.... I can see u bitch.)

Izuku is Tomura's hero for the same reason that Izuku is Toshinori's hero. Through Toshinori's relationship with Izuku, he learns that his life always had meaning, that he always had a role outside of being "All Might." He learns that it's okay for him to keep living as Yagi Toshinori, and that his "origin" didn't disappear when he lost One For All-- it's easy to see how Izuku's role in helping Toshi reconcile his identity and heroic origins ultimately bleeds into his arc with Tomura.

Izuku and Tomura learn how to define heroism and villainy through each other. Both boys start off with a vague, poorly-defined goal of wanting to save everyone/destroy everything-- and both goals are equally shallow/unattainable, at first. Thinking about those "goals" too deeply means confronting an aspect of themselves that's still wailing in pain-- they only begin to confront those feelings and the origin that fuels them through their repeat contact with each other.

All Might is the one who gave Tenko and Izuku's idea of heroism its "shape"-- but Tomura is ultimately the one who helps Izuku define his idea of heroism by forcing Izuku to repeatedly examine that definition each time they encounter each other. And Izuku the one Tomura's mind instinctively drifts towards when he thinks about about "some hero"-- he's the one who consistently motivates Tomura to struggle and claw himself back to the surface from the depths of the Demon King role. If "hatred" is what allows AFO to maintain his control over Tomura, then why was Tomura able to wrench back control after Izuku asked for him? Why was he able to resist when AFO attempted to unleash decay at the very beginning of the final war arc? Because there's something other than hatred fueling him right now. Tomura's truth, as always, lies firmly between the lines and under about seven different layers of misdirection (and yes, this is just a purple-prosey way of calling him a fucking tsundere /derog).

what do u guys think they were feeding toshi at the orphanage

Toshinori gets his mask removed, but learns that it's okay for him to live without it and that lesson brings him closer to his origin than he's ever been before. He is finally "reborn" as a fully formed human, not as a symbol. Anyway! *points at Shigaraki Tomura*

Can I be honest here? When I first saw this scene, I was honestly worried for a second that All Might would be a untouchable, a bit arrogant and overly confident guy. Just for a split-second, I thought “Oh no, he’s gonna be one of those untouchable hero-idols again who will only show up in the story whenever there’s a really big fight that the protagonist can’t handle”.

Why I thought that – perhaps because I felt something about his behavior was faked. Perhaps because he just picked up the nearest piece of paper he could find and wrote down his autograph without even being asked for it, probably thinking that everyone would love to have his autograph, anyway.

But gosh, was I wrong. In the mere span of a few minutes, all those worries were shut down.

Untouchable? Invincible? No. All Might is shown to be bleeding and hiding behind a strong façade only a bit later.

Him not showing up in the series apart from important fights? Ha! Since the manga started, All Might has been at Izuku’s side as often as possible. I even miss him when he isn’t there, because I’m just so used to him being close to Izuku (even if it’s just watching from around the corner like a worried dad)

And then, when I rewatched BNHA, I noticed this little scene here:

All Might didn’t just pick the notebook up and write his autograph into it. He really read it first. The book had fallen open during the fight with slime guy, if I remember correctly. He probably caught sight of the sketches of heroes Izuku had done and took a look into it.

He noticed how detailed Izuku’s notes where. He took into consideration how much time the boy had spent gathering all those information about the heroes, and how much love had went into each detail. Knowing Izuku, that fanboy probably even wrote down his thoughts near the notes, little bits and pieces of excited rambling and theories.

All Might didn’t write his autograph into the notebook because he egoistically assumed that it would be what the boy wanted.

He wrote the autograph into the notebook because, after seeing Izuku’s addiction to heroes, his love for everything concerning it, he knew how much this autograph would mean for the boy.

Well done, Horikoshi. You managed to literally pulverize all the clichés concerning shounen-mentors and designed one of the most lovable, dorkiest yet most awesome characters I’ve ever seen. Not to mention what a heartwarming relationship between mentor and student was created here.

Also, what kind of dorky autograph is this, you drew your own eyebrows and eye-shadows under it you utter DORK

the devil is real

and he's not a little red men with horns and a tail

he can be beautiful.

FINALLY YES THANK YOU

also COMPLETELY unrelated but when people talk abt stuff like quirkless vigilante izuku and whether toshi would be for or against it (generally they paint him as against it because it's usually an all might bashing dadzawa fic COUGHS who said that) i feel like people miss the obvious

girl he WAS that quirkless vigilante. anything he'd say about that would come from a place of having tried to BE that quirkless vigilante at FOURTEEN YEARS OLD. not get into ua. not get mentored. toshi's goal was to STOP CRIME with a LEAD PIPE and NO QUIRK

don't ever tell me that he'd be a big meanie who hates the quirkless and the idea of quirkless heroes/vigilantes ever again. get the fuck out of my house. if he's saying something against it thats because he doesn't want anyone else to get hurt!!! he had to get bailed out by nana!!! like!!! use your fucking brain im begging

Just some random sketches :)

midoriya sensei !

salarymen enrichment

He’s the funniest guy ever

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Quirks

This is just me dumping all of my thoughts so bear with me

What are quirks? Like genuinely, what are they? They're genetic, and they influence personality. There are also quirk vestiges which are just the echos of the wielder's consciousness. But what are they really? Sure they are superpowers, they are supposed to be the next step in human evolution. But I have SOOO any more questions!!!

Quirks were an extremely sudden change. They developed and evolved incredibly fast. Seeing as Quirks are a natural development, they would have had to happen via mutation in human genetics. But a development like that, that was this widespread, this diverse, that happened this quickly had to be in the making for years. Since not only babies but teens and kids had been developing quirks right when they started it has to be a few changes that suddenly turned into quirks. But, as I said, quirks are so diverse that it couldn't have been a single, small change. Which brings me to my second question, "How did scientists not notice?" the start of quirks happened somewhere in the 2000s, a few decades after, and maybe even in the 2090s. They have modern tech, and they most likely have ongoing experiments. Why didn't any scientists flag the change? We don't know everything about DNA and which genes do what but we still should've or could've seen the new changes. Did scientists know but didn't publish anything? Did people brush it off as nothing to worry about?

Back to what quirks are. They are genetic, and they can affect personality and are rooted very deeply in the person's consciousness. But how can humans, in a few hundred years, go from us right now to being able to TRANSFORM at will, create things from our bodies, create energy, control things telepathically, and literally make EXPLOSIONS from our hands? The time it took to go from animals to humans took millions of years and in a fraction of the time we managed to actually have SUPERPOWERS, something fictional. They are such a mystery to me. Most magic/power systems have some reasoning. Like its just energy that humans use that just exists in the world. Unlike in comics, quirks are extremely common and diverse and developed FAST, so they aren't your regular abilities.

This brings me a mini theory I have, that quirks were made, or influenced by an outside party. We have always loved and been enamored by fiction. What if someone wanted to bring his favorite comic to reality? What if they were meant to be bioweapons but someone miscalculated? Or does some disease manage to change humanity and take out most of the ones not suited to survive it while possibly strengthening the ones who do? This is just a small thought I had while thinking about quirks.

I'm a science and sci-fi/fiction nerd in case you couldn't tell... but in all seriousness, quirks are very fascinating to me.