Akira-fire-art - UwU - Tumblr Blog

Does anyone else have tics whenever they cringe? Like I'll just be chilling the *flashback to that one conversation in highschool * and I start twitching

I can understand ppl not liking stains character (not me tho, love that guy 😌 i too, love and wax poetic about toshi), but im actually surprised that so many people are mad about not only the impact but also the importance of stain in toshinori's arc.. like, idk im sure i fail to pick up on some things as i read the manga, but it makes perfect sense why stain would take on such an important role in saving and helping toshi (in more ways than one). But maybe im just biased ?? Anyway, something something they hate him for being a slut and all the killings something something 

Yeah, what gets me is that post was clearly talking about the people who were directly involved in Toshi's arc about choosing to live and the OP included Bakugo bc he's clearly being set up as the coup de grâce/grand finale to that arc about living. Stain's inclusion as a direct participant in that arc was also obvious-- like, "why is a self-righteous killer being included in Toshi's arc but not my favorite student character?? this is proof that the writing is bad!" is such a wild argument imho, bc it's so obvious to me that Toshi needed to develop a relationship with a villain chara entirely because of this:

"If you think of him as anything more than a villain--" the entirety of Act 2 exists to challenge this mindset, and Act 3 exists to defeat it. Stain plays a crucial role beyond just helping convince Toshi to live and fight for his own (and everyone else's) right to keep living--Toshi's heart is able to heal specifically because he doesn't dismiss Stain or think of him as "nothing more than a villain." His meeting with Stain triggers a subtle but needed change in how Toshi views villains:

Calling Stain's contribution to the final act "pointless" ignores the heart of this story and why Toshinori SPECIFICALLY needed Stain SPECIFICALLY as a catalyst for a certain SPECIFIC change, and it ignores what that change actually means for the greater narrative-- again, people tend to severely underestimate how important Tomura and Toshinori actually are to each other's respective arcs, and those arcs are now converging. Like, I don't want to see ppl feigning surprise when their arcs finally overlap with each other, lmao.

Side note, but Stain being a central catalyst character for both Toshi and Tomura + also being the trigger for Tomura doubling down on his villainy + ALSO being one of the many key triggers that will likely lead to Tomura's salvation feels.... bizarrely fitting?? Without Stain, Tomura never seeks out Izuku at the mall, never meets Toga + Touya + Spinner (ESPECIALLY SPINNER), and remains forever at odds with Toshi due to both men remaining stuck in their respective hero/villain roles and being utterly unable to truly *SEE* each other outside those roles. Stain is literally a load bearing wall lmao ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Bkgo going from "stock bully" to someone who practically has to beg Toshinori and Izuku to take their fucking Lexapro while tears stream down his face is the funniest direction his character arc could have taken, but it’s also the best direction it could've taken.

↑ In Bakugo's case, it's obvious why he has a role in Toshinori's arc about living and it's completely fair to include him in a list of people who are most important and influential to that particular arc. There's no need for explanation and no question about what his role in the upcoming chapters will be.

Also I keep seeing people say that the suicide move was meant to be Toshi's homage to Bakugo when, like... it very clearly wasn't. 💀💀💀 Like, Bakugo does have a right to be upset that Toshi was planning to kill himself just to buy them all a few extra seconds of time against AFO-- but I feel like people kind of....?? Don't understand Bakugo's character development if they seriously think he would yell at or guilt-trip Toshi about it. He didn't yell at Izuku when Izuku hit rock bottom, and he knows that Izuku and Toshi suffer from the same feelings of worthlessness and lack of regard for themselves better than anyone. - - - - - - - - - -

Anyway, I think the real root of the issue is actually less about Stain and more so that people are just mad about All Might lmao. One quarter of the fandom thinks he should've died in Kamino, another quarter thinks he should just die now, another quarter thinks that Iron Might is character assassination, a chunk of folks just don't care, and whatever's left over is the handful of old man enthusiasts who think that it's truly lovely (myself included)-- Iron Might is fully intended to be a love letter to everything Toshinori loves and wants to protect, himself included. Criticize it if you like, but if you can't at least acknowledge that much, then something in your heart is dead.

I also feel like also there's something to be said here abt how fandom approaches older adult characters w mental health problems & who struggle with suicidal ideation vs. how they approach the younger characters-- Like, I've seen a shocking lack of sympathy for Toshi from the same people who are very considerate to characters like Touya and Tomura, and I've seen otherwise kind people calling Toshi a "whiner" for what are obvious symptoms of SEVERE depression. These characters all have wildly different circumstances, yes-- but they all struggle with suicidality that manifests in different ways, and I feel they all deserve a more compassionate, delicate reading into their specific arcs and their respective actions as a result. 

Toshi's arc and his struggles with mental health in particular is something I feel is handled in such a deeply kind way. The story never once disparages Toshi for backsliding, or treats him as selfish or a lost cause for continuing to struggle even though there are so many people supporting him and encouraging him to live. The story is kind, but the fandom isn't, and that's a bit of a tragedy. (and like, this is probably tmi, but I've struggled with my own mental health since middle school and the suicidal ideation really never goes away no matter how well I'm doing in life-- so.... I'm so happy to see a character with similar issues being depicted so kindly in a story, lol.) 

Anyway!

"something something they hate him for being a slut and all the killings something something"

Yeah, they hated him b/c his ass was fat, or whatever those crazy kids are saying these days. <- fully aware that Stain is flat as a board.

how the fuck am i supposed to act like a normal functional human being when The Character exists

so the heteromorph discrimination plotline had seemed to explode into the manga with Chapter 370 when the story switched battles to the site of Central Hospital where Spinner is leading disgruntled heteromorphs to retrieve Kurogiri;

though the story did hint it would be addressed since Chapter 310 when Ordinary Woman (big heteromorph gal) was attacked by civilians because they didn’t like they was she looked;

and the first time we got confirmation that such prejudice exists in the HeroAca world was Chapter 220, when the League massacres a bunch of CRC bigots and Spinner’s backstory was revealed (that he suffered through such discrimination all his life and was finally motivated to do something about suffocating in the pervasive heteromorphobic hostile environment - among other things - when he saw Stain on TV);

but I think the story did well to hint at this issue throughout the manga in the background. I would say the first ever hint we get is all the way in Chapter 5, when Deku arrived on his first day at UA and noticed his classroom door was huge:

Has to be accessible to everyone, he says, and that greatly stood out to me.

Because, see, heteromorphic discrimination isn't just judging people by their looks - which is often the go-to discrimination allegory fiction uses, usually based on the irl social construction of race and the issue of racism; nor is it being prejudiced against people with superpowers, because this is a world where 80% of the population have a superpower and having a quirk is accepted (in fact, not having a quirk is considered strange and unusual); rather, heteromorphic discrimination in the HeroAca World takes elements from, yeah, racism, but also ableism.

In this world, quirks gives people a wide, wide diversity of appearances - different body sizes, shapes, anatomy, functions. And different people have different needs. Someone with a quirk that gives them a tail would need a hole cut into their pants so their tail can go through and they can actually wear the pants. Someone who's really, really tall - whether because they have a giraffe neck quirk or just a big body size quirk - would need buildings to have doors that fit them.

How is this ableism? Well, one big issue in disability rights is accommodation. As wikipedia puts it:

Disability discrimination, which treats non-disabled individuals as the standard of 'normal living', results in public and private places and services, educational settings, and social services that are built to serve 'standard' people, thereby excluding those with various disabilities.

A wheelchair user can't go up steps. An event that communicates only through talking would not allow deaf people to participate fully. A world where only abled-bodied people can travel, can communicate, can exist is one that excludes disabled people, preventing them from being full members of their community, and this is the definition of discrimination.

Heteromorphs and people with body-altering quirks in HeroAca world aren't disabled. However, they do have atypical bodies and sometimes unique requirements to live regularly as anyone else. If this impedes their daily functioning, then they would have what can be classified as an impairment. If that impairment causes them to face a barrier that stops them from interacting with other people and the larger outside world, then it can be classified as a disability.

This fluid nature of what can be classified as an impairment or disability means depending on the situation, an able-bodied person can technically experience barriers similar to what disabled people experience.

This is the social model of disability. That

the origins of disability [are] the mental attitudes and physical structures of society, rather than a medical condition faced by an individual...

the most significant barrier for individuals with disabilities is not the disability itself; rather the most significant barrier is the environment in which a person with a disability must interact. Society disables people, through designing everything to meet the needs of the majority of people who are not disabled.

So, if someone with lots of limbs and appendages can't find clothes that fit them, they cannot go outside without violating public decency laws. If someone who's really big can't fit through a standard door and enter buildings, they're effectively blocked from going to school, public transportation, work, etc. This is best illustrated and pointed out explicitly by Kamayan, a character with a giant mantis quirk:

He's from Vigilantes, but the problem he faces is something Horikoshi has already considered, hence the panel from Chapter 5 above.

In fact, Mt. Lady also faced this problem in Chapter 1, when she is unable to fight a Villain and save Bakugou because she's unable to enter a street:

Luckily for Mt. Lady, her quirk allows her to shrink to normal size. But imagine if she was just big like that always. She would be unable to go anywhere. There probably is a quirk out there that is just that: makes someone big, all the time.

These quirks are individual issues. They can technically be viewed as a personal problem, and if the person is unhappy with their situation, then it's up to them to get it 'fixed'. However, that sort of defeats the purpose of having a quirk and accepting that this world is one where everyone has a quirk and should be allowed to exist as they are. Plus, heteromorphs are a significant portion of society.

Rather than telling people whose quirks makes them super tall to stay home - and this would be exclusion and discrimination - why not just build bigger doors and buildings? UA does this, and they're in the right. However, as Kamayan and Mt. Lady (Big Mode) shows, there are still places that don't do this. As Kamayan notes:

All the way in the beginning of the story in Chapter 5, the issue of accessibility in regards to atypical bodies. Because heteromorphs are people who have atypical bodies, they are most likely to face issues of accommodations. If they do, and they are unable to live well under the current status quo, then yeah, what they go through would be discrimination. Most heteromorphs we see in the series seem to be getting by okay, but it's easy to imagine that they can and have faced barriers because of their body-altering quirks:

Ojiro requires his clothes to be altered. Shoji is apparently unable to wear a coat, and needs a poncho-like garment in cold weather. These aren't big issues because as Ojiro's profile states: "altering clothing have become standard practice at clothing stores", but a store can also easily just refuse to do so. A store can refuse to serve heteromorph customers because they find tailoring annoying. They don't need to hate and insult heteromorphs for it to be discrimination; they just have to not care.

(does it also cause more money, to ask for alterations? Is it something that gives heteromorphs financial issues, if they need different enough accommodations?)

However, often when a minority bring up an issue they face to the majority and suggest addressing it, the apathy can quickly change to annoyance. Actually, any kind of annoyance can mutate into outright disdain and prejudice. In a span of a second, the majority can go from indifferent, maybe even mildly supportive (as long as it doesn't inconvenience them), to hostility with a desire to remind the minority they're different, they're unwanted, they are not quite human, not like the majority.

Chapter 56 shows this attitude exactly. Tsuragamae Kenji is the Chief of Police, but when he suggested something that someone found disagreeable, he is quickly disrespected and called a 'mutt' (in the original Japanese, 「この犬…」 "this dog...").

This would probably be considered a microaggression, calling someone with an animal-heteromorphic-quirk an animal. The first instance of microaggression in the manga is actually in Chapter 6, in which Shoji is asked if he's an 'gorilla' or 'octopus'. This was actually addressed as such in Chapter 371! The next instance is Chapter 21, in which Officer Sansa is subjected to the stereotype of... not being a police dog, I guess?)

They're just microaggression, words that come and go, perhaps, but the attitudes that give microaggression space to exist stem from the same place as anti-acceptance on the level of denying accessibility.

The examples of anti-acceptance so far talked about in this post is relatively minor, and actually just hinted at. However, in Chapter 57, we are given a rather extreme example of body modification in order to fit the 'norm'. In Chapter 57, we meet Daikaku Miyagi, whose appearance is very notable in that one of his horns look like it was cut off. Turns out, that's exactly what happened.

Daikaku Miyagi was praised this deed, as it was considered being considerate of his TV audiences . It's true this is a personal decision, and he can do whatever he feels is best for him, but one has to wonder about why instead of news stations accommodating easily editable visual presentations, the fix is chopping off a healthy body part.

The extra notes that describe his situation calls it 'rejection of Quirks'. In the same chapter, Gran Torino calls the current era "an age of suppression". Rejection, suppression - we are shown that this is a quirk society that hasn't actually embraced and accommodated quirks. Rather, quirk use is banned and a norm is defined that everyone is encouraged to follow. That seems simple enough when your quirk is an emitter that you can just not emit from your body.

So what happens when your quirk *is* your body? Which brings up questions of how heteromorphs live in such a society. Is using an extra appendage quirk use? If you have a full-body heteromorphic quirk and you get in a tussle in the heat of the moment, is that regular assault or is quirk use added onto the charges? People with quirks that gives them a 'scary' heteromorphic appearance - is that why it looks like these kind of people dominate the role of villains? The first Villain the reader ever sees in the manga is a heteromorph (the purse-snatcher). As is the second (Sludge Villain). Most of the crowd of Villains that Shigaraki brings to invade UA seems to be heteromorphs, actually.

One or two heteromorphic villains is just two randos running around. When it becomes a pattern that most Villains in HeroAca seem to be heteromorphs, the 'why' needs to be asked and a cause identified. Is it because they feel suppressed, as Gran Torino says? Rejected because of their appearance and quirks? If being a heteromorph means a higher chance of receiving microaggressions and being excluded from society - pushed to the margins, and left to do questionable things to survive - and a high chances of falling into Villainy, there is probably an societal problem.

All this is in the first 100 chapters. Similar to the development of Villains and the causes of that villany, the issue that heteromorphs face isn't focused on - they're scary looking villains, the issues brought up about Hero Society is vaguely implied. Horikoshi himself said he didn't expand on the Villains much at first on purpose because he wanted them unknowable and scary.

Of course, I would say Heteromorph Discrimination is a subsection within a larger category of Quirk Discrimination. Or maybe in-universe, this can be a type of 'intersectionality'. Toga's backstory in Chapter 227 is the failure of quirk counseling, but as we see in Chapter 370, about 150 chapters after Chapter 227, quirk counseling has also failed heteromorphs because it's 'one size fits all' simply was not equip to deal with the inherent variability of heteromorphic quirks. Meanwhile, the concept of 'kegare' - impurity - that's first introduced by the CRC in Chapter 220 and expanded on in Shouji's backstory recently in Chatper 371, being a base for why heteromorphs are hated in the countryside - that they defile the land and taint others - is also something that can apply to quirks like Shigaraki's and Toga's: decay/death and blood are things that would be considered 'impure' and thus avoided.

In anycase, throughout the manga, we're give subtle, background examples of issues heteromorphs face, like accessibility, dehumanization, making up a higher proportions of villains. Altogether, it pointed to plain discrimination, of which a lifetime of experiencing can wear a person hollow. To quote Shigaraki/Tenko, "it built up...little by little, over time". And then it exploded, but the fuse had been slowly burning for quite a while.

an analysis of Spinner

Chapter 341 of BNHA shows Spinner accepting a role that he doesn’t want, all for the sake of Shigaraki. However, is it really about Shigaraki? No. The problem is that Spinner has identity issues and needs to 'borrow' someone else's purpose. BNHA places a lot of emphasis on finding out who you are, and Spinner is arguably one of the most lost characters in the series. His arc isn't about being a follower, but about finding himself. He's been searching for something worthwhile this whole time, and ironically, being forced to be a "messiah" for heteromorphs could help him find a meaning that's his very own.

Let’s go back to one of his first appearances during the summer camp arc. Spinner introduces himself and says he's here to make his dreams come true - as in, not his own, but Stain's. Spinner is loud and tries to look tough and villainous, but the Pussycat Doll Mandalay sees right through his act. He is easily flustered. It’s obvious he’s putting on a facade to hide the fact that he’s not only inexperienced fighting but that he's also not a seasoned villain. He's acting how he thinks a villain should act. After this incident he's not as showy - that is to say, he's acting like his natural self and not putting up a front anymore.

Later we learn that Stain inspired him to join the cause because he felt empty. Dabi wasn’t entirely wrong to have called Spinner a hollow Stain cosplayer because Spinner did set out to emulate Stain as a way of finding fulfillment in life. He has low self-esteem from years of feeling powerless and being discriminated against. As a result of this, he doesn’t have an understanding of who he is and finds inspiration in others. He adopts their ambitions because it gives him something to live for. He doesn’t see himself as a leader but as a supporter of those who have the power and influence to facilitate change. Stain’s capture is what inspires Spinner to take action, vowing to carry his legacy because Spinner doesn’t have his own ideology - he’s a follower who needs to follow someone else's philosophy of life. Without a leader, without that leader's vision specifically, he feels lost and unsatisfied.

So, Spinner lives his life and makes his decisions based on Stain’s values. In fact, he also does this with Shigaraki later on after MVA, which will be discussed in this meta. Before that switch in idols though, he questions Shigaraki’s choice of stealing a truck and chasing after Overhaul because those actions don’t align with Stain’s ideology of ridding society of false heroes. When the fervor Stain sparked begins to dwindle, Spinner is back to feeling empty and unsatisfied, and he can’t deal with that emptiness anymore.

This is because Spinner doesn’t have any specific wants. He doesn’t even think about what would benefit HIM. He doesn’t have his own original convictions or morals or desires like Dabi, Shigaraki, Twice, and Toga. He's empty, as he says. At the beginning of the MVA arc, Spinner is not entirely happy with where Shigaraki is leading them - they're going nowhere fast in his opinion. The LOV were all squatting in a house together, but no one except Spinner was restless or hopeless because they had their own long-term dreams and goals to push them through. But Spinner was miserable and lackluster without someone else’s vision of the future to look forward to and fight for. While he's confronting Shigaraki about the group's stagnant status, everyone else in the league looks disinterested or bored. They're NOT anticipating Shigaraki's answer because they have their own personal reasons and ambitions. Toga's even yawning.

Spinner later questioned Toga why she’s there if Stain’s influence in the LOV has all but disappeared. She joined because she too was inspired by Stain, right, so what gives? Why isn't she restless like Spinner is? Toga answers that she wants to love and be free. Stain stood up for what he believed in and that resonated with her because she wants to do things to benefit herself, too. This is represented by Toga buying herself a coat with the money she received from the doctor. Her answer doesn't help Spinner though, who just wants to feel a purpose again. Her purpose doesn't resonate with him because it's too personal and he can't relate.

So, he replies in a disgruntled manner and puts on his Stain-inspired mask over his eyes, symbolizing that he's still furthering someone else's dreams instead of making his own. Stain's influence may be gone from the LOV but it still lives on in Spinner. He even closes his eyes to other possibilities - literally, closing his eyes as he dons the mask and accepts his current situation. He does the same thing in 341 when he tells himself he's doing this all for Shigaraki's sake. As in, this is his role, this is what a follower does. A follower comes in and carries on the leader's will in their absence. And right now, Shigaraki is in no position to lead.

And speaking of Shigaraki… During MVA, Spinner realizes that he and Shigaraki are similar in that they both feel hollow and forsaken by the world. Spinner can relate to him in ways he couldn't with Toga. Unlike Spinner, however, Shigaraki has big lofty dreams of destroying everything that hurt him and building something new out of it, which inspired Spinner. As someone who's searching for a purpose, believing in Shigaraki's dream gives Spinner guidance, hope, and something to do, because he couldn't stay at home doing nothing anymore, and hiding out with the LOV was starting to feel too similar to that bleak time in his life. Seeing Shigaraki actually pull through with his promise of an empty horizon is what sealed Spinner's loyalty to Shigaraki.

Shigaraki became his new Stain. It’s not about Shigaraki as a person - yes, he cares about Shigaraki on a personal level too - but mostly he wants to see what Shigaraki can accomplish because Shigaraki is someone who DOES deliver on promises. It’s not a coincidence that Spinner challenges Shigaraki ("where are we going?!") at the same time the doctor challenges Shigaraki to prove himself. It's also not a coincidence that Horikoshi depicted both Machia and Spinner becoming enchanted by Shigaraki’s ability to show them a demolished horizon at the same time that Redestro surrendered and turned over thousands of his followers to Shigaraki. Machia is a loyal servant, almost to the point of being blind, and so are Redestro's followers. There's a reason no one else from the League is there to witness this - they already have their own personal goals, after all. They don't need to borrow a cause.

Spinner unwillingly taking the role of the face of a movement is reminiscent of his attitude about carrying Stain's legacy. He's not doing this to further his own dreams or for his own interests, no. He doesn’t really have tangible dreams or goals. Even though he was discriminated against and hated for being a heteromorph, his goal was never to further heteromorph equality. Spinner's cause was Stain's cause, and Stain's cause didn't involve heteromorphs. Spinner right now is submitting to being a "messiah" for Shigaraki because it's what would further Shigaraki's cause. Helping make someone else's dreams come true makes him feel less hollow and less like a waste of space. All he has to do is do whatever the leader wants, right?

But that's where Spinner is wrong because he doesn't know Shigaraki, not really. None of the League really know each other’s trauma - they haven't sat around and opened up and shared their pasts or their feelings. If they had, they would realize they're all self-destructing. They all have different desires and are being pulled in different directions. Because they haven't had this discussion, Spinner mistakenly believes that the hand Shigaraki carries gives him strength and doesn’t realize it actually triggers trauma and rage, which enables AFO to manipulate Shigaraki.

This is why the framing around Spinner and AFO in 341 is so ominous right now. AFO is using both Shigaraki and Spinner, and it’s easy for Spinner to fall prey to this because he doesn’t have his own convictions. This is apparent during MVA when he admits he jumped on the bandwagon. He says there’s nothing wrong with that, but we know from the citizen’s blind worship of heroes that that’s incorrect. The story has established that there IS something wrong with only being a follower and not questioning the status quo. Stain was to the Spinner what All Might was to the civilians: a symbol of hope. Similarly, Shigaraki is to Spinner what Stain once was. Spinner is being manipulated and used by AFO because he’s Shigaraki’s most loyal - aka blind - follower, like the civilians, like Redestro's followers.

Even when Spinner’s guts tell him to question what’s happening - “you’re not the guy I chose to follow” - all AFO has to do is reassure him that this is what Shigaraki wants and Spinner is complacent again. It's ironic because during the war arc he told Toga to come back to the League because he assumed Shigaraki would want everyone together, but that's not happening right now either. The league is splitting apart. Dabi and Toga seem to want to carry on Twice's sad man's parade while Shigaraki loses more of his autonomy and isn’t even aware of what his comrades are doing.

Basically, Spinner admits to being a follower. He's a vessel borrowing other people's dreams, not someone with their own beliefs. He operates using a "what would Stain/Shigaraki do?" mentality instead of "what do I want?" He latched on to Stain and now he has latched on to Shigaraki, and it's not a good thing because Shigaraki is being used by AFO. This means Spinner is being used too, and he’s not even aware of it because he has no idea what’s going on in Shigaraki’s heart. Spinner is acting on the belief that this is what Shigaraki would want, but what Shigaraki wants (destruction, power) and what Shigaraki needs (a hero) are two different things. I've seen a lot of metas stating that Spinner's remaining arc is going to be focusing on his devotion to Shigaraki. My issue with that is that Spinner's arc can't end with him as a mindless follower that enables AFO to manipulate Shigaraki. Spinner's actions as of now have landed him in a spot where he is further away from being in charge of his own fate, which is exactly how and why he withdrew from the world and felt powerless in the first place.

BUT, luckily, AFO giving Spinner power to influence the protesting heteromorph people will give Spinner a purpose, even if he stopped looking for one because he was borrowing Shigaraki's. This is why, in the debate of whether or not Spinner will die doing something heroic for Shigaraki, I'm of the belief that his story won't end with him staying stagnant and remaining a hollow shell of a person. His story isn't just about being a blind follower for Shigaraki, or Stain, or whoever. There's a lot of setup throughout the story that indicates he is increasingly aware that, on some level, he has choices to make. He keeps mentioning while he narrates that this journey the LOV are on can't be stopped, and it's not framed in a positive manner. The most recent chapter points out that Spinner has been reluctant but has decided to stick with "Shigaraki's" ideals and dreams, and that's not framed positively either. Especially because 'ideals' get brought up so often in BNHA as something you need to have. Spinner needs some ideals of his own if he's going to accomplish something positive. Ideals are how Shigaraki's story got kick-started, it's how Deku's story got kick-started, and Shouto's and Dabi's and even the UA kids' got kickstarted. And it's how Spinner's will get started, too, once he realized he is unknowingly making things worse.

So, him dying does not seem like the right way to end his arc, and neither does continuing to blindly follow Shigaraki, or anyone else for that matter. Like I said before, BNHA places a lot of emphasis on finding out who you are, and Spinner is arguably one of the most lost characters in the series. I feel like Spinner, being one of the four remaining members of the LOV out on the battlefield, has to step into his own identity. Rather than spinning STAIN'S dreams or SHIGARAKI'S into a reality, he needs to spin his OWN dreams into a reality. But before he can do that, he needs to find out what his dreams are, and not latch onto someone else's. Spinner needs to realize that he DOES have the power to facilitate change, starting with using his voice to lead other lost people looking for guidance much like he has been doing.

This brings me to some speculation. I feel like Spinner, who is often paralleled to Stain, will be one of the first ones to realize it’s best to go against AFO and will reach out to the heroes for help. It’ll be a parallel to Aoyama and Stain helping the heroes. Spinner being the bridge between Deku and Shigaraki would mean Spinner finally took action based on HIS OWN ideals and not someone else’s. It would be an autonomous decision - one that ironically goes against the values of the villain leaders he idolizes but will ultimately line up with his newfound ideals and identity.

My Hero Academia, Chapter 370 Thoughts. 

 Admittedly, I was very confused by Shoji’s response to the PLF members legitimate complaints about the discriminations that heteromorphs have suffered with a question that is off topic and tone deaf at the best, and deliberately undermining the legitimate suffering that heteromorphs have endured at the worst. 

But let’s give Shoji the benefit of the doubt as we discuss his argument and point of view underneath the cut. 

Keep reading

The Villains (specifically the Lov) Are Right

Especially about the civilians in Bnha

(2 Part Meta Civilians and Lov) (Warning spoilers and long Meta Post) (Permission given to re-blog)

The Lov, specifically the core League of Villains, don’t owe any consideration, atonement or apologies to the civilians in Bnha. Because since long before the Lov had even become villains, even when they were still children, the civilians decided that they don’t owe them anything at all.

Most people I’ve seen in the fandom say something like “I don’t justify or excuse the villain’s actions.”, when it comes to the destructive/murderous parts of the villain’s deeds, which is very nice and moral of them to say.

But as long as we’re talking about the average Bnha civilian, I definitely justify/excuse the Lov’s actions.

Because the “innocent” people in Bnha are awful.

Keep reading

Hawks didn’t have to kill Twice

Meta: Necessary 1 and Hawks inner conflict 2 (Warning: spoiler Heavy and very Long post, images and writing)

(Sorry for being so late to this topic, this Meta took a long time to make and update with current plot points. Also permission is given to Re-post (not rewrite) this Meta anywhere/any site)

Keep reading

the interconnectedness of various injustices of Hero Society!!!

The Himura resented the upheaval of the pre-quirk social order that caused them to drop in status. They hated the ‘mixing of blood’ - they hated the idea of being tainted with heteromorphs.

Which is the same belief that led to Shoji being attacked for daring to touch someone. The people of his village would rather a child die then be saved by a heteromorph.

All this started because when quirks started appearing, people could not accept this change. They clung to a narrow definition of ‘humanity’ and rejected all those they viewed as not fitting into the standards.

Rejected and considered them inhuman.

And this concept continues to exists, whether as a yakuza looking to ‘cure’ people of these supernatural abilities so he can return humanity to ‘normal’,

or as prison guards looking at their ‘wild beasts’ of inmates with utter disgust.

It’s been more than a century after the emergence of quirks, though, and the definition of humanity has been expanded to include quirks, including even heteromorphic quirks.

However, this also means that to set apart what isn’t ‘human’, new standards had to be created. New lines had to be created…

…and enforced.

There is, of course, logic to why and how and where lines are drawn! That’s just what civilization is. That’s how society functions.

Heroes defend the lines from villains that violate it.

But to the people who don’t make the cut, who are on the other side of the lines for whatever reason, they feel this rejection deeply and sharply.

And so we end up where we are right now.

As Dabi says, “Behold, the limitations of superpowered society.”

MHA Ultra stage - 2nd Musical, the cast:

Bishin Kawasumi as Stain

gonna need saomeone to kiss me on the mouth in the next 24 hours , lest I go ballistic

Bro this new chapter, tbh don't like it at all 😒 like what was the point to Stain even being there?? I thought it'd be a point where All Might starts to get the upper hand after getting wrecked or smth, I don't understand why this was the way to go for Horikoshi. Except to just tie up a loose end in a really disappointing way. Like just about every character with at least some importance that dies has like an emotional moment, we had the togachaco chapters not too long ago, would it kill Horikoshi to give Stain a nice moment????(fuckin hell, all might gets an emotional moment instead) But nah ig, giant blood splatter is the way to go

Blooming from the flesh, Himiko and Ochako, and the bisexual monster

We have seen the comments about her as this predator, perverted being, disgusting, and just straight up the worse villain of them all. A cannibalistic being who can’t and doesn’t want to stop. Himiko has struggled her whole life with those comments too.

This representation of Himiko's self perception is really telling even if we dont have words exploring it, adding a new layer from what looked like another hyper sexual yandere character in a manga meant for cishet boys: she doesn't count as a real girl nor woman for society.

That open and broken womb its a representation of Himiko's inability of being a "proper young woman", and not fulfilling the ultime purpose: giving birth. Creating life, something good. Being something who isn't Death itself - interesting how this "character", Death, is represented with a genderless skeleton while Life is seen as mother, as a beautiful woman, at least right now in the collective memory (if we talk about actual deities and beings in cultures those two concepts are way more complex than this). Death can't be a woman nor a man, it's something that, even tho doesn't cause the harm, people deeply fear, and Himiko also parallels that.

Her favorite fruit tells the same story: pomegranates in Japan in particular are related to fertility and motherhood, and in fact related to the goddess Koshimojin who is worshipped by infertile women to bring them fertility, and the guardian of children. Himiko's innocence never existed for others, her actions equating to violence and sex and, therefore, making her the taboos rather than a person. This deity we are talking about also was originally according to some sources selfish and heartless, who would feed her own numerous children the flesh of other children whom she had abducted and slaughtered (SHE also lived on human flesh).

Fun fact that could just be random and unrelated BUT: Ochako being a witch, with the typical hat even, in the fantasy AU follows this idea too; the most common accusations against witches are about infertility too, or the things that represent the destruction of innocence (natural abortions, death and sickness of children, not being enough food for everyone, changes of weather which destroyed crops, making someone not being able of getting pregnant, etc). Ochako being a witch and Himiko being a monster... I just love that, the monstrous queerness.

She's the monster that can't just be loved by a boy like she's supposed to, she's the monster that can't just be normal; she's the monster meant to attack the innocence of others, Ochako's normality.

(can we talk about Toga being “like a doll” and Deku also being translated as a wooden doll? Mmm I wonder if her conflict with selfishness, wishes, goals and the expectations of others are similar somehow to Izuku’s!) Himiko was adultified the moment her quirk manifested, instead of it being a blessing like for many others, it took her childhood and ability to be loved back, but she doesn't express hate towards it at all; her quirk hasn’t being the sources of her pain. She hates herself, views this abnormality as a deep part of her core existence.

One of the interesting aspects of her character is how, besides being so open about it, loving loudly, and attacking with smiles, her actions and feelings are tied to the very root of her insecurities and self hatred; idk about others, but as a queer person I also feel this way and didnt realize it until very recently. I still appeal to cishet, allosexual, monogamous, and basically anti-queer standards, and the more I try to accept myself as queer without addressing these things, the more I end up feeling conflicted, following the scrips in private, ignoring what I actually want to do or my own interests and standards in order to be in something familiar, something that remembers some sort of innocence I also had took from me. I have criticized before people hating on characters and twisting storylines because of their own experiences, but I can't help but think we are pretty similar in that way, or at least my case can serve to express her own struggles: she wants to be free from society, she wants to run away from home, but she never left in the first place, and just like she has said herself before, the more you try to hide it, the more it consumes you.

It's not that she suddenly becomes more violent after Jin's death and Ochako's rejection, is that she is more and more conflicted with what she feels, what she is seeing, and what others have asked from her since she was a child: her parents called her a monster, and AFO and the heroes are expecting just that. Her ideal life includes her living, her being happy, loving, smiling, being with friends... her ideal life is not about making others’ lives harder, to make the world harder for everyone, just easier. She wants to make a positive change in the world to be happy.

That's the thing, she knows deep inside from the start love is what drives her, but the environment she has been growing in her whole life claims she is hate, claims she needs to become hate for better (with the villains) or for worse (her parents). She expresses still her need for love, but it's not the same; the familiarity of hate, or her being unwanted, and violence as a key... Of course she would end up acting this way, of course she would go against her actual desires.

What we forget about death and life is they are one and the same, and blood is the epitome of it: bleeding represent something negative typically, a danger.

And you can only bleed if you are living.

Just like that, Himiko is also Life itself just as much as she is Death, but not because of her own monstrous quirk or angelic side, it's because she is alive. Getting hurt and feeling happy can become reminders of one being alive -of course keeping in mind we dont want to romanticize anything harmful-, and I believe Himiko is also Ochako's reminder of this: she is her own person, full of complicated feelings, who can choose her own destiny and how to control it and let it flow freely.

Her character has never been about her own hate, but the hate she has received; the natural conclusion people have seeing this kind of storylines is "they became a villain as a response to it", and for Himiko that isnt right. Even tho it hurts, her main goal is living her own life

Ochako has tha opportunity as a normal girl, as a passing girl, but she didnt realize two things before meeting Toga: one, she can choose, and two, she is weird. And that's okay.

Have you ever met someone who was openly queer as a closeted and oblivious child, teen or adult? I mean for the first time ever, the concept being shown with an actual, real person in front of you. They were so strange, you don't understand them. You might even push them away, while at the same time fixate on their existence... That's what togachako feels to me, but with a reciprocated love.

Besides being, from my perspective, the introduction to queer identities, her bisexuality also serves as a link to the whole plot line of heroes and villains being humans after all; let's think a little bit about how bisexual and other identities in that spectrum are considered, seen and treated by the mainstream -and the gaystream.

Pick a side.

I think many people are expecting her to just be one thing and choose between two exclusive options, or the villains, dying for her cause while killing and causing the most destruction, or the heroes, betraying the league and helping the Ochako going against villains, but we all show she chose... both. Himiko helped Ochako, chose her, while keeping her friends in her heart; she does't need to reject neither, and that's part of her internal conflict. She tried to kill Ochako because she represented this binary, but also because she needs to fulfill her given role and she is stopping her from doing so.

I love the head canon of Uraraka being a lesbian, but her as a bisexual gives this dimension to their arc and the general story I think is special: just like Toga she also has felt this conflict between choosing a side between those groups, one being the "correct one" for a girl like her, an option her family and friends expect her to do, and another one she should get away from unless she wants to end up being disgusting. And she... chose both.

But she didn't really. And Toga neither.

Let's see.

Villains and heroes are these two big categories our main characters are labeled into, as a starting point; Himiko never considered those two in her life when considering others, but felt the pain of being labeled as a weirdo and creepy monster thru her whole life. She found a community of villains who supported her, but she saw them as her friends, not the villains, and her own perception was still highly tied into what normality is.

With this I mean society still influenced her, obviously, as it was said before she never left that house of horror completely in her mind and heart. She’s not free, rather she hates herself so much she would much rather be the normality Ochako represents from her perspective —but this vision is fake, an accidentally curated version Uraraka projected of herself in order to also not challenge hero society, as she saw as ideal.

After the war and losing her best friend her perspective shifts, she sees heroes and villains because that's what she is supposed to do... but she doesn't really. She is Himiko Toga, not a villain name but her human one. Still, Ochako's rejection also furthered her conflict as it meant "for me, you are just a monster, love isn't for your kind". Her feelings are not worthy enough in the hero society.

(for context this is after Deku also rejects her). In this scene we can see Himiko recalls the people pointing out her weirdness because she thinks they both reject her for the same reason, because they are normal and she isn’t, when it’s not the case; using her experiences as guidelines for the rest of her life, her trust in “people”, even if it’s honest, can’t compete in this fight for survival as much as her trust in “villains” over “heroes”.

In another hand Ochako clearly is from the hero side, she sees the differences and accepts them with her whole heart believing its the right way of helping people -her understanding of the world is narrow at this point, mainly just wanting to support her parents and, a little later, follow what the good hero should be like, Deku being this example as he would put everyone before him and fight with just the goal of saving in his mind. Meeting Himiko makes her feel strange about this view, because of the huge contradiction of a beautiful smile on a person who is trying to attack you! How can a villain be so cute? Her world breaks more and more, but also her self perception as a girl who needs to change in order to satisfy others' expectations on her role -she tries to be like Deku because she hates her selfishness and he looks so selfless, she tries to do the best for her parents because she feels guilty over their efforts for her and wants to see them happy.

Have you noticed Ochako hasn't expressed special interest in Izuku's happiness, but for Himiko's she tries just to at least see that smile again?

After all of that their perspectives transform into opposites -Himiko sees the differences not out of her heart, but because of the circumstances (ignoring her heart leads to nothing, she still loves people who are heroes, she feels the hurting and desire for revenge but can't let go), Ochako stops seeing the two sides and starts noticing people and acting on it. here Himiko shows how after all the core’s the same: living. Her attacks aren’t even out of wanting to just destroy for the shake of it, it’s about destroying so she can live and, maybe, live the life she’s supposed to have.

I argue they don't choose both sides because they directly refuse to do so —they embrace their selfishness, that concept so many characters have problems with, and create a whole new way. Himiko still hates, Himiko is still ready to go the League's way, but Ochako for her is more important than this division of the world, even if it means she has to be gone.

Ochako puts everyone in danger including herself in order to just get a little close to another girl, but she won't forget the harm caused -the polarization just causes this to get bigger and bigger. What looked like Uraraka’s act of selflessness, a second part of Izuku’s, turns out to be pure selfishness, and Toga’s selfishness translated into an act of selflessness. Not for big causes or anything like that, they don’t have an agenda of their own, they just do it because they care for each other.

They are not a binary you can classify into boxes and put into conflict so they kill each other, no matter how much you try. It's not that they are monsters villains and heroes all at once, they are humans who want to live their lives how they want with the people who make them happy and admire by their side. They are selfish and selfless at the same time, but thats not the point because after all, they are still people, two girls who can find each other in the middle of a whole war and still, filled with hatred and pain and not understanding fully the other's perspective, deciding this person is worthy of their love.

Who is Himiko Toga? Who is this person? A normal girl, with problems understanding and dealing with her desires in relation to others and her own self. And Ochako Uraraka? Have you thought who she is? I think she knows she is just like that, and that Izuku too struggles with the same concepts.

In another meta we will discuss smiles, weirdness and feelings too! See you!

hiya! I figured id make an informational post about the little things ive noticed about being on testosterone that I found weren’t talked about a lot when I was starting my transition and even before when I was doing my research. I think that trans sexual health is an extremely important part of trans peoples lives (and that doesnt necessarily mean sex) seeing as the physical changes that happen during transition are often foreign to us. Sexual health keeps us healthy and comfortable in our bodies, so do your best to stay attentive to your body’s changes! As always, consult your doctor if you feel the need to. These are only tips ive learned from transitioning myself and from my doctor when I asked about certain things.

PATREON

So, I have a big advice post to write, but until I have the spoons, I want to warn everyone now who has legally changed their first name:

Your credit score may be fucked up and you need to:

check *now* that all your financial institutions (credit cards, loans, etc) have your current legal name and update where necessary

check that all 3 credit bureaus, on their respective sites, not via a feed like Credit Karma (so, Trans Union, Equifax, Experian) are collecting that info correctly and generating the right score - you might need to monitor them for a few months if you made any changes in #1

I am about to apply for a mortgage and learned that as of 2 weeks ago:

Experian suddenly thinks I am 2 different people - Legal Name and Dead Name (none of whom have a score)

Equifax has reported my active 25 year old mortgage as closed and deleted one of my older credit cards, hurting my score by 30+ points

Credit scores influence everything from big home/car loans to insurance rates to job and housing applications.

And for whatever reason, the 3 bureaus that have the power to destroy your life are shockingly fragile when it comes to legally changing one's first name.

So, yeah. Once I get this mess cleaned up for myself, I have a big guide in the works if you find yourself in the same predicament. But with the mass trans migration out of oppressive states, odds are there are a lot of newly renamed people who are about to have a nasty shock when applying for new housing.

Take care, folks.

★ ねこ堂 | MHA log2 ☆ ⊳ various (boku no hero academia) ✔ republished w/permission

Not me projecting all my mental health issues, queer identity, and other shit on my confort characters :)

League of Villains from GraffArt's Birthday Pop-Up corner (2020)

Practicing with my chibi style

🚫 don't repost 🚫

this clip has me in hysterics. Tupp going “YOYOYOYOYOYO WAITWAITWAIT I CANT CLIMB THAT FAST” and Rapp just GLIDING effortlessly up the cliff is SENDING ME

to anyone that's been made to feel like they can't talk about their special interests/hyperfixations I'm sorry.

you deserve to have people who will listen to you. you're allowed to be excited and passionate about things. you should be given the time and space to talk about the things you love. you are not a burden for wanting to do so.

i think the way you light up when you talk about the things you love is amazing, and you deserve to surround yourself by people who think the same.

What a gremlim, why he sit like thaa t actually he's not even sitting

I want to fix his posture or smth, he's totally like a foot shorter with how bad it is