something i’ve been turning around in my head for a bit: i think it’s different being disappointed when a character with no clear motivation or set of values takes a turn you personally didn’t want, versus when a character who DOES have a clear, established motivation and values has those aspects abandoned. there were so many people who were upset with the direction hox’s character took, saying it wasn’t right for him and he should’ve stayed with the LOV, but honestly hox betraying them was always a possibility and there was no established characterization that ever implied he wouldn’t side with the heroes. just because there was a lot of fanon and theories about it doesn’t mean hori “took” something from y’all or wrote badly just because you didn’t like it.
there’s more argument to be made that, for example, deku’s characterization is less consistent and the writing might be weaker with him. deku IS someone with more-or-less established motivations and values, who tells off shouto’s abuser early on but in the late series only seems to take a conciliatory approach to the todorokis’ situation. there’s at least a case to be made that deku turned way too much from his earlier stance on the issue and it felt manipulated in order to support the abuser’s redemption.
these two cases are just not the same.
and the other layer for me i guess is what the shounen fight usually represents, not only a physical determination of who’s stronger but also of whose ideology is more legitimate, and it just sucks that dabi loses on both counts, which is. rough. considering how much of his character is built on the pain of being deemed a failure and the narrative just goes “yeah the inferiority is true actually”
no offense but there is no fucking way fuyumi could drop a truth bomb like “yea so natsuo honest to god believes that dad killed our brother” and everyone just reacts calmly like bakugou literally doesn’t even blink an eye he’s just like “ah, that explains it” like uh huh ????? y’all just heard ur friend’s brother died and his other brother thinks it was their father WHOM U ALL KNOW TO BE ABUSIVE who murdered him and all u have to say is oh worm? for real? on god? are u FUCKIN with me!!!!!!!!!!!!! no one is allowed to defend horikoshi’s writing lmao i cannot believe that in a world of superpowers, this is the most unrealistic shit to come out of this entire story so far what the hell!!!!