#analysis? kinda

People always judge Tony's character is Homecoming because "Hah!! Stark doesn't care about him! He ignored for two months!! He's the worst!"

Can I Start saying that that man right here wasn't in the right mood to mentor a kid right after civil war? He saw his parents die, he saw his friend almost killing him in rage and then had to deal with the breakup of the Avengers and the whole Rhodey's situation. He probably thought it would be better for both to not be in contact, because while Tony wants to heal, he also want Peter to not be like him.

Think about it: After civil war, Tony was a disaster and all of this because he was an Avenger. Of course the man wouldn't want Peter to be like him, not when Tony's life went down hill since the first day as Iron Man. He doesn't want that life for a fifteen years old kid, so he leaves Peter with Happy and everyone is safe.

Not because he doesn't want the kid around, but because he thinks it's the best for the kid to not be around a billionaire with severe anxiety and a little bit narcissistic.

Tony never showed any discomfort around Peter, since their first scene together. He has always been interested in the kid, and was the one one who understood Peter, as Peter said him self in the infinity War novelization.

(I won't start saying how everyone blames Tony for "manipulating" Peter and bringing him into a war. Just know that is incorrect, and Tony would never bring a kid in a war, because that wasn't meant to be a fight. Tony brought Peter so that -his words, not mine- he could web them up if they tried to escape. He never thought about ending up with a broken arm and with Rhodey who can't walk anymore)

Anyway, returning to the subject, I think we can all agree on one thing: Peter is not aware of how Tony actually cares about him. But not because Tony is an asshole and hates him, but because of one reason:

1. Peter in homecoming only wanted to prove himself. He desperately wanted Tony to see the potential in him, so during all the movie he he acted so that Tony could be proud of him, but at the same time when Tony complimented him he didn't even showed gratitude. He was blinded by wanting to show the man what he was worth for that he didn't notice Tony was always proud until the very end.

I don't think the main problem is in fact Tony because as we see, and Peter can't, he actually already invested in Peter's life.

He listens to the voicemails, remembers them and always kept an eye on him, even during his journey to India (TO RECOVER HIM SELF FROM CIVIL WAR Y'ALL).

And can I say something more? Tony isn't afraid to think Peter as his son. Often, in the Fanfics, we always see Tony panics because him and Peter became closer and he's scared how he could be like Howard to the kid. The second part is right, but he would never panic about thinking Peter as his son. Actually, he doesn't mind and already thinks the kid as his responsibility.

It's actually funny and cute how he says "My father never really gave me a lot of support and I'm just trying to break the cycle of shame" because all I see is a man who was neglected and abused by his father, and hated the idea of having a child because of this (remember that scene in IM3 where he flinches at the only thought of having one) until he met Peter. He decided to be better because of him, he wanted to change because of him.

When he says "I sound like my father" my heart broke because no, YOU DON'T YOU SILLY.

These two phrases demonstrate how he's not afraid to tell the kid he sees himself like a father for him. Ofc he's scared because he doesn't want to end up as his own father, but he is ready to be a good role for Peter when he will finally be healed from civil war.

He's not cold, he's not distant towards Peter and even though he's afraid of ruining the kid and his childhood, he already loves him.

Homecoming was a new start for both of them and I believe that in the two years between Infinity war and Homecoming they were not afraid to tell each other how much they cared (again, on their way because even I think it's pretty weird imagining tony saying "I love you you're my son" to Peter or Peter saying "Yes you're my dad adopt me" because that's so out of character).

Every interaction they had in infinity war screamed that. You can clearly see how much the kid is now comfortable with the man, is not shy around him, and is not scared to talk to him; you can also see how Tony has become more protective of Peter. Literally everything he says or does screams "don't touch this kid or I will kill everyone in this room and then my self" (I mean, that's what he did in endgame, no?)

at last, I want to appreciate this scene because it's not appreciated enough:

Strange is literally assuming Tony is Peter's guardian, and the way Tony crosses his arm, assuming this defensive pose to protect him self when he said "I'm confused as to the relationship here" because he wants to know what Strange has to say about them, ready to answer and to kick his ass out of the flying donut if he says something bad about Peter or about their relationship. Or the fact he always has something to answer to Strange, but this time he stays silent and doesn't even try to explain who is Peter when he asks he is his ward because that's his kid and so many other things he doesn't know how to explain.

I don't think Captain "I am the best devil hunterᕦ⁠(⁠ ⁠⊡⁠ ⁠益⁠ ⁠⊡⁠ ⁠)⁠ᕤ" Kishibe would let a random emokid1125 he met in a high-risk mission to basically call him an "old boomer" even as a joke.

I'm certain there's familiarity between them.

That's why Kishibe is sure about Yoshida's ability and competence when it comes to devil hunting, to have the potential to be better than him. Even though this comment also can be seen as chit-chat convos between them to make the situation more relaxed.

(Let's be real the entire casts have been through a lot in this arc in the span of like 4 hours—I also like the interpretation of this scene to be played as distraction for Yoshida because he need to kill a lot of "doll people" in the background to prevent more people turning into another dolls—IMO his character is actually kind of altruistic like Kishibe but it's a topic for another discussion).

That's why they talk more "casually" when there's only them two. They have so much trust in each other to talk about their distrust towards Makima and do commentary to the whole chaotic situations. Octopus Devil also seems okay with Kishibe and that's why it let him sit down on top of it just like Yoshida.

That kind of interractions doesn't make sense if it's truly the first time they met each other. Especially for the latter reasonings.

"They could just be senior/junior then. There's no need for them to be blood related. We had seen Kishibe put trust on his disciples like Himeno, Aki, even Denji and Power. So why it can't be the same case for Yoshida?"

Because Yoshida start his Devil Hunter career as private Devil Hunter, he join Public Safety later on after International Assassin Arc and before part 2. Meanwhile Kishibe is from Public Safety since the start, and one of his job is to train PS's new recruits.

Public Safety and Private DH is a different work environment. It makes no sense for Kishibe to spend time with this random private devil hunter if not because they're already related in some way.

++ Oh, another thing of why them being only senior/junior didn't make sense is because of this.

They talked about school here, very family-type of chit-chat.

Later, Kishibe offers Yoshida a cigarette, then followed by forgetting about his school grade and his age (which sounded very absent father jokes btw, and to make it even better Yoshida didn't laugh at it but rather seems irritated to the point he directly called Kishibe an idiot [馬鹿 baka] LMAO).

If Kishibe and Yoshida really are just senior/junior, Yoshida won't call him by "anta" (which is a ruder version of "anata" that means you) but rather he would call him master like any other of Kishibe's students/subordinate. But nooo, he didn't hold back from showing his rudeness in front of Kishibe. He's such a little btch of a son lol, I love him.

TLDR; Kishibe and Yoshida are so deadbeat dad and his neglected emo son coded❤️ I guarantee you'll have easier times convincing other people about this than otherwise, tbh.

but I think BH needs to lose something that matters to them, I'm talking true loss --- not like losing Bertrand or Eshteross which they mostly didn't care about, or like losing the skyship which they sacrificed willingly, or 'losing' their newfound friends/lovers to a research mission that should've ended at least a month ago.

I could add Laudna to the above list since everyone knew we'd get her back eventually, but at the very least it gave them drive (which gave us one of the coolest battles in the campaign which was worth nothing in the end, hey Delilah...)

But lose something that makes them ache, that shifts their dynamic into life and gives them purpose --- like losing Dorian! like fumbling the Paragon's Call infiltration and losing that battle in Bassuras with three party members down! like dropping a ship on a wizard's head and meaning very little! like 'losing' each other across a communication-less Exandria when you thought victory was within your grasp! like aaaalmost losing a friend to a million pieces for a decision he made!

Thank you for your question, yoshyoshy! Sorry for my late responses.

About why Yoshida would be romantically interested in Denji... honestly I have no basis for that, it just from VIBES and my feelings alone like- In my eyes, they have this weird gay tension that's only shounen mc and his *completely opposite designed* "rival" could have.

HOWEVER when we talk about CSM style of foreshadowing, I think yes, their relationship progression is already hinted since chapter 103 and 104. We, as the readers, just don't know exactly how it will ends up to be. We have the puzzle pieces, but not knowing the bigger picture. It could be platonic, it could be romantic (either one sided or not).

CHAPTER 103 SYMBOLISM

In chapter 103, there's so many details set up for both of them that I will show one by one. May be a reach, but knowing Fujimoto, we can't really predict or ignore anything tbh.

When the crowd cheered for Chainsaw Man, Yoshida saw and interested in Denji only.

Yoshida seems to be more relaxed (leaning in) and comfortable sitting with Denji than Fami (in chapter 122).

There are metaphor using their drinks to showcase their personality. Yoshida is iced coffee: bitter, dark, tired, and more mature-like. Meanwhile Denji is orange juice: sweet, sour, and more childish-like. Both standing next to each other (with height differences too). Which is very cute in my opinion.

Lastly, the famous background scene full of paintings with each different objects and symbols. Which I might try to debunk later on, but it's for another post.

CHAPTER 104 REVISITED

Now we go to the next "foreshadow" chapter, which is my personal favourite because we get teased by the probability of new trio. But we will focus on yoshiden this time.

"I'll stop you by force if I have to." Yeah, he already did. But what interesting about that is, he never *actually* try to hurt Denji. He always try to minimize the impact of his force method and tries to make Denji understand (the problem is, Yoshida is really just that BAD at giving reasonings and excuses).

Yoshida's memory is hinted to be weirdly strong. He remembers so many details even from small talks months ago, talking about Denji and "10.000¥ is 10.000¥"

"If there's anything I can do, I want you to come to me" has the same energy with "It's save through cloth, right?". It's not just a random empty words. It must be relevance in the future, right? RIGHT???

IN MY CONCLUSION

I think that's it. If you think there's more evidence to foreshadow their relationship, feel free to discuss about it! For me personally, their dynamics is very interesting and it would take much more effort to develop them into nothing than something.

I am VERY positive that their relationship would go deeper beyond what we have now. Honestly let's be real, it would be more interesting if their relationship develops romantically. Not only it would break shounen rules, but it also will be a major character development for both Yoshida and Denji. And apparently it suit the subplot we had right now, conforming your real identity. However I don't hate the idea of them being platonically too.

Also their dynamics goes from "haha funny comedic duo with gay jokes sprinkles" to "I could see you for who *you* are, but our traumas and our limited social abilities has shaped us to threaten each other, we understood everything yet we understand nothing (also let's blame the government)" in exactly 30 chapters after their first meeting in part 2, crazy.

Both of them are this FRIENDLESS highschooler boys, as if this fact isn't obvious. After part 1 Denji become lonelier and probably is seen as Chainsaw Man fanboy freak by his peers. And Yoshida clearly isn't interested into making friends because of his job that put him into believing he is in higher position and don't need any emotional attachment in order to 'protect' himself from grief & lost that are very common among Devil Hunters.

However unlike Yoshida, this Denji who actively hunt devil as Chainsaw Man but also actively seek and value relationships is very interesting to him + probably makes Yoshida a little bit jealous and projecting onto him a lil bit too hard too.

Denji is the only fellow teenager that is within his scope of work and also his ally. Yoshida doesn't need to made up an excuses to hang out with him to his higher ups. Yoshida doesn't need to hold himself from being offputting because he believes Denji could understand him anyway. He's more of himself when he's with Denji. The kind of freedom Yoshida needed even if he only thought about it subconsciously.

And about Yoshida in Denji's perspective, he is a very annoying weird individual who claim to be his bodyguard. But Denji still tolerate him because Yoshida never actually try to abuse the hell out of him, in contrary he gives him food, money, and even introduce him to a girl. Yoshida hang out with Denji a lot (off screen), and he said it himself that he want to keep "acting" as his friend too.

Yoshida reject his desperate "tonguing" offer in non consentual situation. He always give Denji choices (even though it's oftentimes stupid) and try to make Denji understand his situations better (even though Yoshida is really suck when it comes to giving reasonings and excuses—we see his examples of shitty excuses in International Assassin and Aquarium Arc, it's nothing new).

Also Yoshida is one person that outwardly tell Denji to stop transforming into Chainsaw Man and live the normal life he had now as a human. Something that would make Denji's past self overjoyed the first time he hear it.... To be validated as he is.

When you think about it, Denji could off-ed Yoshida with his current combat IQ if he really tries to. He could jeopardize Yoshida's mission easily if he wants to by transforming into Chainsaw Man in the more public, open area.

Yoshida could use more violence based method to force Denji into doing what he wants. He could cancel the food orders. He could use Denji's current crush to be bargaining chip rather than letting her go to the hospital. He could stop Denji and Nayuta reuniting and going back home by using his tentacles.

But no, they didn't do any of that.

Because deep down they understand each other and none of them really want to cut this weird developing friendship off. Yeah... you just could feel it from their moments of silence and everything.

No CSM Tuesday effects finally hit me, so today I will propose theories of why *I think* relationship between Yoshida, Denji, and Asa would have significant impact in the future (in short, they will be a some sort of trio).

Source? I have no source. This post absolutely has no valid basis. Just me and my feelings, my own delulus, my own mess. It's all just in my head. And I decided to do an insane amount of reaching and stretching to the point I and my friends start to question my own sanity.

Let's just say... I have contract with Fanfiction Devil. All these theories below are the waste products of my contract (I sold half of my soul and sanity). So I hope you guys didn't take this as leaks or valid predictions or something. This is purely my own madness (even if it doesn't happen, I still have that Fanfiction Devil contract, I could fix them).

So, what are those "YoshiDenAsa trio will happen" theories? Well, allow me to elaborate further then. Please buckle up your seat and prepare your ibuprofens because this journey will be a long and confusing one.

Thank you for your question anon, but nah, things are getting started. We're just 30+ chapters in, anyway.

Also it's not Yoshida who specifically say he will kill Nayuta, but Public Safety (refer to the ACTUAL higher ups). Yoshida is just a messenger, he's there to give Denji warnings and for the sakes of his main mission to protect Denji's "normal" life. It also could be a bluff, but we cannot be sure yet as the politics situation there is heating up.

To add more, notice how he switch between "I" and "We" everytime, that's how you know in which sentence he's actually being honest and has interest in. But, personally he had no control over every situation like at all.

**the differences between Yoshida showing his actual emotion of actually being worried, and want Denji just as Denji vs how he try to act sinister and threatening on behalf of Public Safety, you can see this in previous chapter too