#jiroushin

Tenpou: That was difficult, wasn’t it? No matter how many time I adjusted the proportions of the soy sauce and the pudding, I was not able to distill the soy sauce I’d poured onto the pudding.

Kenren: Make what you like, as long as you don’t upset your stomach. How slovenly it would seem for a Field Marshal to be locked up all day long in the toilet!

Tenpou: No worries! I’ve prepared some stomach medicine.

Kenren: You’d go that far for your cooking experiments? Why not just buy some caviar like normal people? You’re a Field Marshal after all. Your salary should be quite all right, shouldn’t it?

Tenpou: Unfortunately, I’m flat broke because I spend my salary on books. Besides, since I went to great pains to procure this peculiar collection of recipes titled “The Next Adventurer Is You”, there’s a variety of food combinations I’d like to try.

Kenren: Hah, so that’s how it is.

Tenpou: Yes, that’s how it is. All right, here goes. I’m adding lots of fermented squid paste to the yogurt....

Kenren: Hmm, it does not look very appetizing.

Tenpou: Well, you won’t know whether it’s delicious or not unless you try eating it. (eats up the unholy mix)

Kenren: How is it?

Tenpou: It’s... not great. Or rather, if I speak further, it’ll come out–

Kenren: I told you so. Here, wash it down with some water.

Tenpou: Thank you. Ah, I probably used too much yogurt. I’ll try again with less yogurt.

Kenren: Are you still at it?! Quit it already. I mean, why don’t we just have some drinks as usual?

Tenpou: What are you saying? Our drinking party has already begun.

Kenren: It already has? Where are the drinking snacks?

Tenpou: This here is the snack – the fermented squid paste.

Kenren: That’s the paste you’ve just mixed with the yogurt!

Tenpou: Don’t hold back.

Kenren: I’m not holding back!

(Someone knocks on the door.)

Tenpou: Yes?

Konzen: It’s me. I’m coming in.

Tenpou: It’s rare for you to visit at this time of the day, Konzen. What’s the matter?

Konzen: I’m here to return a book I borrowed. Are you two having an evening drink?

Tenpou: Yes, we are. Isn’t it obvious just by looking?

Kenren: It’s because he couldn’t tell just by looking that he had to ask.... Anyway, you’ve come at the right time. Why not have a drink together once in a while, Konzen? Have a seat!

Tenpou: How about some fermented squid paste as well?

Konzen: Is this even edible?

Kenren: Give it a pass. You’ll just upset your stomach otherwise.

Konzen: I know just by looking at it. I don’t need you to tell me that. (sits down)

Tenpou (pours Konzen a drink): There you go – a full glass to begin with.

Konzen (gulps his drink): Actually, aside from returning the book, I came here for some advice.

Kenren: About what? That’s quite rare coming from you.

Konzen: I didn’t think you’d be here too.

Kenren: Two heads are better than one, you know.

Konzen: It’s about Goku.

Tenpou: What about him?

Konzen: Aside from Nataku, there are no kids his age in Heaven. That’s why he’s always playing by himself – how should I put it –

Kenren: Ah, so Daddy is worried that Goku’s feeling lonely.

Konzen: Who’re you calling Daddy?

Tenpou: If that’s the case, why don’t you play with him yourself, Konzen?

Konzen: I tried keeping him company once. The next day, my muscles hurt so much that I could not move.

Kenren: Ah. Well, it’s certainly tough for Konzen to keep up with such an energetic, care-free companion.

Tenpou: Still, a kid’s education is outside of our area of expertise. At times like this, we’ll have to rely on books. Ah, it should be around here–

Kenren: Oi, don’t pull out the books with that much force! They’ll fall down on you again!

Tenpou: I’ll be fine. I’ll just move these out of the way– ah!

(Sound of books falling down.)

Tenpou: Just pretend you didn’t see that.

Konzen: Is it always like that with him?

Kenren: Yeah. It got so extreme that at one point, as soon as I opened the door, books just slid out like an avalanche.

Tenpou: Let me see... I’ve got it. This is the book I was looking for.

Konzen: Hmm? ‘Club Memory’?

Kenren: What sort of book is that?

Tenpou: It’s a popular magazine in the mortal realm filled with useful information about child rearing.

Kenren: Why do you have such a thing in your possession?

Tenpou: Chance favors the prepared mind. [Lit.: Those who are prepared avoid grief.] (flips through the pages and reads out the contents) Children’s games can be categorized into two types: outdoor games and indoor ones. Goku usually prefers outside activities such as climbing trees or playing tag. So how about letting him play indoor games for a change?

Konzen: Indoor games?

Tenpou: Paper folding, cat’s cradle, puzzles– ah, what about something like this? It’s called ‘playing house.’

Kenren: ‘Playing house’? What’s that?

Tenpou: It’s a game that is good for cultivating sensibility in children. It instills vocabulary and teaches them how to use daily items.

Kenren: Eh, it sounds perfect for Goku.

Tenpou: Besides, Goku has hardly played with anyone indoors. I think he will enjoy this.

Kenren: Well, it certainly doesn’t sound like a game for which one would need to use physical strength. How about giving it a try for once?

Konzen: But I don’t know how to play this game.

Tenpou: Don’t worry about that. Since I happen to be off duty tomorrow, I’ll be there to teach you.

Kenren: I don’t have anything planned in particular tomorrow either, so I’ll come along.

Konzen: Fine with me.

Kenren: By the way, what else is in that magazine? It looks very bulky....

Tenpou: Hmm. ‘A Complete Walkthrough for Struggling Mothers,’ ‘How to Compose a Perfect Email Response,’ ‘Methods for Taking Pictures that Will Net a Large Amount of Likes on Your Blog,’ ‘A Compilation of Games in the Park’ – and so forth.

Konzen: You’ve lost me entirely.

Tenpou: No matter in which era, child-rearing is a tough job for mothers, isn’t it?

Kenren: From whose standpoint are you speaking?

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Goku: Hey Konzen, why can’t I go outside to play today?

Konzen: Never mind that. Just shut up and sit down.

Goku: That’s boring! I want to play!

Konzen: You’re noisy! I told you to be quiet and wait, didn’t I?

Goku: Eh?!

(The door opens.)

Kenren: Oh, you’re as lively as ever today. I’m coming in.

Tenpou: Pardon the intrusion.

Goku: Ken nii-chan! Ten-chan!

Konzen: You guys are late!

Kenren: Sorry. It took Tenpou a while to wake up.

Tenpou: My bad for staying up all night yesterday....

Kenren: Didn’t we end our drinking party earlier than usual last night? Ah, could it be that you stayed up reading again?

(Tenpou laughs sheepishly.)

Goku: What’s the matter, you two?

Kenren: We just thought we’d come play with you, Goku.

Goku: Really! What should we play? Baseball? Hide-and-seek?

Tenpou: Baseball and hide-and-seek are fun too, but shall we try a different game today?

Kenren: Together with Konzen too, okay?

Goku: Eh? Konzen too? Really?

Konzen: Yes.

Goku: Yay! So, what are we gonna play?

Tenpou: Let’s play house.

Goku: ‘Play house’? What’s that?

Konzen: All right! Seems like he’s never played it before.

Kenren: Seems so.

Goku: Hey, what’s ‘play house’?

Tenpou: It’s a pretend play, Goku. The players take on the roles of the father, the mother or the children.

Goku: Hmm... I see.

Kenren: Oh, you already understand how it’s played, Goku?

Goku: Not really, but it sounds interesting.

Kenren (chuckles): So you don’t really understand. Well, let’s try it for once, shall we?

Tenpou: Indeed. First, let’s decide on our roles. It’s based on my arbitrary judgment and bias, but Goku should–

Goku: I want to be the Meat Bun Man!

Tenpou: –play the role of the mother.

Goku: I’m the mother?

Tenpou: As for the role of the father, I’ll let Konzen do the honors.

Konzen: Hah? Why me?

Tenpou: Don’t you want to make Goku happy?

(Konzen mumbles unintelligibly.)

Kenren: What about me?

Tenpou: You’ll play the son.

Goku: Ken nii-chan is my son? Then, that means I’m more important than him? Yay!

Kenren (in a low voice): Seriously?

Tenpou: I’ll be the narrator and monitor the progress, okay?

Kenren: Monitor the progress? Aren’t we just going to play as we like based on our assigned roles?

Tenpou: The three of you are beginners at playing house. If you play as you like, you’re unlikely to reach the proper conclusion. ** For this reason, I’ve prepared this.

Konzen: What’s that?

Tenpou: It’s the script. It contains the character descriptions and the storyline I’ve created for today’s game.

Kenren: That’s the reason you stayed up all night....

Tenpou: This time, let’s play by following along this script!

Goku: All right!

Tenpou: Ah, as for you, you don’t have to follow along the script, Goku.

Goku: Eh? Is that okay?

Tenpou: Yes. Since the purpose of playing house is for children to learn various things via practice, please play as you like.

Goku: I don’t really get it, but okay!

Kenren: I guess it’s more fun that way.

Konzen: Indeed.

--------

Tenpou: Once, there was a pretty ordinary family of consisting of a father, a mother and a son. The son’s name was Kenren. However, their happiness did not last long. The father and the mother got divorced. The father got the custody of Kenren. Afterward, the father remarried. The new wife was more than twenty years younger than him. Kenren and his stepmother were not related by blood–

Kenren and Konzen: Hold on for a second!

Tenpou: Yes?

Konzen: Which part of such a scenario is conducive for cultivating sensibility?

Kenren: Doesn’t it sound like some trendy daytime soap? Wouldn’t it be better to just stick to a simpler scenario?

Tenpou: What are you two saying? The fun of playing house depends on how well-crafted the scenario is. By the way, the father works at a brokerage firm. This year is his twentieth year of continuous employment there. A straight-laced veteran.

Kenren: ‘Straight-laced’ does describe Konzen in real life.

Konzen: Oi!

Goku: Hey, what’s the matter? Hurry up and continue!

Tenpou: All right, all right. You two, Goku is getting bored, so I’ll carry on.

(Kenren and Konzen gasp in frustration.)

Tenpou (clears his throat): The stepmother is young but hardworking. She performs the housework all by herself. At the moment, she is doing the laundry.

Goku: Er, laundry? All I have to do is soak the clothes in water and hang them out to dry, right? Eh... there are no clothes here, so would it be fine if I soak these documents instead?

Konzen: How could that be fine, stupid monkey! (hits Goku)

Goku: That hurts! This is DVD!

Tenpou: Close, but not quite right. The correct term is DV – domestic violence, Goku.

Kenren: Where did he pick up such a word?

Goku: Ten-chan taught me a lot of words the other day.

Konzen: You teach him nothing but nonsense.

Tenpou: Uh, according to the script, while Goku is doing the laundry, the son comes home. This is supposed to result in an uneasy tension between the son and the stepmother who are not related by blood.

Kenren: Uneasy tension? What do you intend to make us do here?

Tenpou: I want to show the typical behavior of a child in his rebellious phase. Whatever Goku says to Kenren falls on deaf ears.

Kenren: Why such an unpleasant atmosphere? Why not just have the son and the stepmother get along with each other?

Tenpou: If the stepson and the second wife were to get along, the flow of the story I came up with would end up ruined. (sighs) It can’t be helped. Well then, let’s skip the afternoon scene and go straight to the basic element of playing house: the scene in which the family sit down together for dinner.

Konzen: You should’ve done that from the start!

Tenpou: It appears to be a usual family dinner until the father, Konzen, announces his decision to quit his job.

Kenren and Konzen: Oi!

Goku: Eh? Konzen is quitting his job?

Konzen: Don’t narrate the story as if I’m actually quitting my job! Tenpou!

Tenpou: Since this is our first time playing house, I think it would be better if an incident is to occur.

Kenren: Is playing house really like this?

Goku: So, if Konzen quits, what is going to happen?

Tenpou: There, Konzen. At any rate, please continue playing. Your lines are written in the script.

Konzen: Really! (flips through the pages) “Today, I submitted my letter of resignation at my workplace.”

Kenren: “Hah?”

Goku: Letter of resignation?

Konzen: “I have something else I wish to do. That is why I quit my job. No matter what your objection is at this point in time, my decision will remain unchanged.”

Kenren: “Well, I’ve yet to voice out any complaint, but what is this thing that you wish to do?”

Konzen: “Ra–”

Goku: Ra–?

Konzen: “Ramen restaurant. I’ll open a ramen restaurant.”

(The door opens.)

Kanzeon: That’s the first time I hear of you wanting to open a ramen restaurant.

Konzen: Eeek!

Goku: Ah!

Tenpou: Kanzeon Bosatsu!

Kenren: Another unbelievable turn of the situation....

Kanzeon: What are you four doing gathering around here in silence?

Tenpou: We’re playing house for the sake of cultivating Goku’s sensibility. Konzen is the father, Goku is the mother, Kenren is the son and I’m the narrator. By the way, in the scenario we’re playing, the mother and the son is not related by blood.  

Kenren: We’re not making much progress, though, thanks to the script being full of absurdities.

Kanzeon: Sounds interesting. I’ll join.

Konzen: Hah? What are you saying, shitty hag?

Goku: You’ll play with us? Yay!

Kenren: But... is there any role left?

Tenpou: We could have hir play the former wife.

Kanzeon: Hmm, Konzen’s ex? All right, I’ll take it.

Konzen: I have a bad feeling about this.

Tenpou: Well then, let’s pick up where we left off.

Kenren (clears his throat): “What were you thinking, quitting your job all of a sudden?”

Goku: If we run a ramen restaurant, I can eat as much ramen as I want! I agree with Konzen’s decision!

Kenren: “I object! We’re talking about a guy who doesn’t even cook. No way he would be able to successfully run a ramen restaurant!”

Goku: Oh, it’s true that the ramen Konzen makes is not very delicious....

Konzen: “We can just serve cup instant ramen.”

Goku: Aha, that’s right!

Kenren: “What sort of ramen restaurant would that be?”

Kanzeon: “You guys haven’t changed at all.”

Kenren: “Mo– mother!” (to himself) I had a hard time with this line.... **

Konzen: “You, how dare you show up here!”

Goku: “Welcome!”

Kanzeon: “Once again, you’ve picked a type that is totally different from me.”

Konzen: “After all this time, what is your reason for coming here?”

Kanzeon: “I’ve come here to take Kenren with me.”

Kenren: “Hah?”

Goku: “Never! Ken nii-chan is a precious member of this family. Don’t just take him away as you please!”

Kanzeon: “It’s better for a child to be with his biological mother. Isn’t it, Kenren?”

Kenren: “Actually, I’m fine with the way things are now.”

Goku: “No, no! Ken nii-chan is my child!”

Konzen (sighs and mutters to himself): What’s this farce?

Tenpou: “Wait a minute!”

Kenren: Hah? T–tenpou?

Kanzeon: Who the hell are you?

Tenpou: “How heartless of you, section manager Konzen! You told me I was the only one, but you’re actually married. And not for the first time either!”

Goku: Eh? Eh? What’s going on here? Is Ten-chan also Konzen’s wife?

Kenren: The ex-wife, the current wife and the mistress.... You’ve really come up with a hackneyed scenario straight out of a daytime soap.

Konzen: Er, Tenpou, don’t you think we’ve had enough–

Tenpou: “You deceived me! You’re the worst! I mean, what’s so great about this middle-aged woman here? What a bad taste she has in fashion, too!”

(The door opens.)

Jiroushin: Pardon my intrusion. Is Kanzeon Bosatsu here–

Kanzeon: “What are you going to say next? Don’t think of bragging of your conquest, husband-stealer!”

Tenpou: “You’re the one to talk! Don’t you feel embarrassed wearing such a revealing dress at your age?”

Kanzeon: “Heh. Aren’t you just jealous of my figure?”

Tenpou: “What did you just say? I’m not jealous! My complexion is smoother than yours!”

Kenren: What impressive ad-libs.... (to Konzen) Hey, what are you gonna do, “husband”?

Konzen: Who are you calling “husband”? How would I know?

Jiroushin: Er–

Kanzeon: Ah, Jiroushin. What’s the matter?

Jiroushin: What are you doing?

Kanzeon: Playing house.

Jiroushin: Playing house? What is that? Well, never mind. Kanzeon Bosatsu, you need to return to your office.

Kanzeon: Come on, why not let me stay here for just a bit more–

Jiroushin: I can’t do that! Documents that have passed the deadlines are piling up. If you neglect them any further, we’ll receive complaints from the various departments–

Kanzeon: Tch. It can’t be helped, then. Well, I’ve had my fun killing time, so I’ll go back now. See you guys later.

Goku: Bye-bye!

(The door creaks as Kanzeon and Jiroushin leave.)

Kenren: Uh–

(Konzen sighs.)

Tenpou: That was exciting, wasn’t it?

Kenren: Well, it was exciting indeed, but it wasn’t educational at all, was it?

Konzen: Not at all.

Kenren: Sorry that things turned out like this, Goku. Let’s go play baseball outside, shall we?

Goku: I don’t really understand what has happened, but it’s been a long time since I last got to play with Konzen. Also, I got to play with the two of you too, so it was a lot of fun for me!

Tenpou: Goku....

Kenren: That’s what he said, “Daddy”.

Konzen: Tch.

Goku: Moreover, playing house was fun too.

Tenpou: Was it? Then, let’s redo the scenario for next time.  We’ll go with “The Field Marshall Saw It All: The Hidden Secret Behind the General’s Grand Life”–

Kenren and Konzen: Forget it!

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Least favorite things about him:

Ok we both know he doesn’t get enough screen time, that can’t count as my least favorite thing. Hmm. Can I commit heresy and say that I think his hair looks pretty dumb?

Tbf though, Shinsou’s shortage of appearances is especially difficult because he’s fairly indirect and you can’t take what he says at face value, particularly because he aims to provoke. He’s also appeared almost exclusively in combat situations, so it’s hard to gauge how he behaves in more mundane circumstances (for example, in contrast to Mirio and Tamaki, who are fairly direct and who we see off the battlefield enough to get an overview of Mirio’s good-naturedness and Tamaki’s insecurity). I really dislike this uncertainty.

Other than that, it’s disappointing how, during the cavalry battle, he brainwashed all of his teammates. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Eliminating their brainpower definitely made them a weaker team, and I get the feeling he did it because he wanted to feel like he got to the final round from his own skill and not because he was relying on teammates with heroic quirks (which makes it ironic he taunted Midoriya about Ojiro’s “honor”). But I guess I get it, since he didn’t want to reveal his quirk to anyone and it would have been hard to persuade any of these strangers to team up with him.

Favorite line:

Ch212 – Brainwashing Midoriya to save him from blackwhip.

I just love how like…in the Sports Festival, Shinsou wasn’t trying to fight Midoriya as an equal, he was fighting Midoriya as a bitter underdog with something to prove. Then during this Class A vs B fight, even though Shinsou has inferred that his transfer to the heroics course depends on his performance, he’s happy to battle Midoriya again because he’s proud of how far he’s come. He’s discovered the shounen “let’s fight because we’re friends!” mindset, and I think it’s sweet.

And! There’s also this!

Monoma: “I like you, Shinsou. I really do. In order to survive, you too need to embrace your darker side. We’re much the same.”Shinsou: “No thanks.”

BROTPs:

Aizawa. Aizawa all the way. 90% of the Shinsou-centric fic I read is about a tired son and tired dad. 

I think Shinsou and Ojiro, once they get past the initial animosity, could be good friends. I know I mentioned that during the cavalry battle, I think Shinsou didn’t want to rely on teammates blessed with heroic quirks, he wanted to earn his own way. Similarly, Ojiro quit the Sports Festival precisely because he felt he didn’t earn his spot in the final round (something Shinsou provocatively dismissed as a sign of being a spoiled hero student who can afford to waste opportunities). I definitely have a weak spot for relationships that start off rocky and then, to the surprise of the idiots involved, they’re like wait we’re not that different…we might even be friends…? Anyways, Ojiro probably the number one Class A student I want to see Shinsou interact with more. I’d like to see him be Shinsou’s top critic at first, especially since Ojiro is generally such an easygoing nice guy.

On the other end of the spectrum, I love Monoma as Shinsou’s #1 fan. Their canon interactions cracked me up, and I like the balance Monoma strikes with Shinsou between his extravagant persona who’s all noise versus slipping him some thoughtful, barbed observations. Also like…Monoma emphatically embracing Shinsou as a member of the group is different from what Shinou’s learned to expect from people, so it’s funny to see him struggle with how to react. Shinsou has already said that he’s discarding any concept of good sportsmanship and so on, so I think having Monoma as someone to talk about how to fight dirty without being dirty would be a valuable friendship. …but mostly these two crack me up and I want more.

Okay, though Ojiro is the student in Class A I’m most curious to see Shinsou interact with, there’s also so much potential for humor with Kaminari or Aoyama. Kaminari’s little pep talk was really cute and I’d love to see him follow up on it by trying to befriend Shinsou while Shinsou is secretly pleased, embarrassed that he’s pleased, and unsure what Kaminari wants from him anyways. And Aoyama…LOL. Now, I dunno how these two would become friends, but imagine Aoyama trying to convince Shinsou to do something about his hair, about his eye bags, about his posture, about his dour inflections…meanwhile Shinsou suffers through it with his cool I don’t care attitude, gradually picking up on Aoyama’s hidden side. I can also imagine Aoyama and Shinsou being super passive aggressive to each other, ha.

I feel like Shinsou and Jirou could also get along pretty well, since they’re both pretty low-key. But I also feel like they might get along a little too well…I like pairs with a little more drama and tension. It’s easy to imagine them sitting in companionable silence, Shinsou listening to Jirou’s playlist while Jirou acts like this is no big deal. Or maybe Shinsou notices Jirou’s crush on Yaoyorozu and/or Kaminari, and Jirou is stuck seeking his opinion on matters he’s the opposite of an expert in…

I’d love to see Shinsou be subjected to Nejire’s relentless questioning. “Oh wow, hey! You look really tired! Are you really tired? Or are those shadows under your eyes just a side-effect of your quirk? Hey hey, wait, I recognize you. Aren’t you the brainwasher firstie? What do you say to people to brainwash them? Do you like, swing a pendulum in their face and tell them, ‘You are getting very sleepy’? You could do that to—oh! Can you brainwash yourself? Cuz then you could brainwash yourself to get more sleep! But…if you brainwash yourself, then who’s in control? How do you know you haven’t brainwashed yourself already—”

OTPs:

My favorite Shinsou ship is shiniida! This pic is what first put them on my radar, and the generally cute, funny fanart and fic got me the rest of the way invested. I like how on the surface, the two make an odd match, because you have Iida, who’s so by the book the bylaws are practically printed on his skin, and Shinsou gives a much more defiant, devious impression. But actually, Shinsou is surprisingly pure of heart, and Iida is someone who assumes the best of people, and it would be nice for Shinsou to find someone who implicitly believes he’s a good person. (…this is also something I like about Monoma.) Just the image of Iida fussing over Shinsou, and Shinsou being at a loss for how to deal with someone so well-meaning, respectful, and shameless about expressing his concern for Shinsou’s wellbeing. It’s intrusive but so sincere, I can imagine Shinsou getting pretty flustered.

It’s also interesting because Iida is from such a hero lineage with the sort of heroic quirk Shinsou begrudges for having it easy. I can see him being pretty caught off-guard by how seriously Iida dedicates himself to his dream to be a hero. Iida might have it easy compared to Shinsou, but that sort of determination isn’t something that can be scoffed off.

I also love todoshin, which I talked about here. One thing I didn’t talk about in that post, though, is that both of them in some way consider(ed) their quirks “evil.” Their complex relationships to their quirks are something else they might bond over, plus the fact that they’re both closely tied to the idea of self-determination, and I’m a weak-ass ho for free will as a theme so there you have shipping material galore in my book.

Shinoma is another ship I’ve read. I like this ship since it opens up different avenues of closeness between Shinsou and Monoma than between Shinsou and someone with a “heroic” quirk, but I think they’re more of a brotp for me. Kamishin, too—I like kamishin fluff/comedy, but I wind up gravitating more towards the platonic dynamic.

I haven’t read much shindeku, but it looks cute. I love the scenes where Midoriya greets Shinsou in the hall and Shinsou is too awkward to respond.

NOTPs:

Hmm…not really. Big multishipper here, I’ll ship anything I see nice content for.

Random headcanons:

There’s a fanfic where adult!Shinsou has a cat named Nyazawa, and Aizawa hates being a namesake. I approve heartily.

Though I also get a kick out of imagining that Shinsou likes cats, but he’s allergic.

I love this fic’s idea that Shinsou was once mistaken for Aizawa’s son, and ever since Shinsou has had a running joke where he annoys Aizawa by insolently calling him “dad.”

Shinsou has barely trained his quirk because he needs people to practice on, and, prior to Aizawa’s tutelage, he didn’t have any volunteers and he couldn’t quite find the nerve to ask people to be brainwashed.

Shinsou’s always wondered what it feels like to be brainwashed. Sometime after the Class A vs B training battle, Shinsou asks Monoma to copy his quirk and show him.

Shinsou could have gotten in to a different hero school, in their heroics program instead of entering general studies. I imagine some hero schools, unlike UA, must specialize in less flashy quirks. But Shinsou had enough of a chip in his shoulder that he wouldn’t settle for less than UA, the very best hero school in the country, because he so badly wanted the affirmation and endorsement that he can be a great hero.

Unpopular opinions:

Don’t get me wrong, I love reading fic where Shinsou has a crappy home life, is in foster care, etc. Angsty dadzawa and shinson is always a win. But the vibe I get from canon is that his home life is okay. His flashback sequence showing how people always think the worst of his quirk was sad, but it could’ve been much worse, so I think his life isn’t as terrible as it could be. Whew. (Though…it’s also a shame because he might get more in-story focus if it were bad…)

I like fic where Aizawa is a little harsher on Shinsou than the standard dadzawa fare, usually because he sees himself/Shirakumo in Shinsou, and that’s a good thing, sure, but it’s also an ordeal because it’s painful and difficult to reopen old wounds. This sort of internal conflict is one of the interesting things that differentiates Aizawa’s dynamic with Shinsou from his dynamic with Midoriya or his other students.

…I don’t really like erasermic+shinsou? Idk, Yamada never really feels like he fits into the dadzawa/shinson dynamic. He can be helpful for moving the plot along, but I’m not sure I’ve ever found a fic where I was emotionally invested in his role. Maybe now that there’s more canon content for him, I’ll take more of a liking to this trio.

Songs I associate with him:

I agree with this post that Mad World has a very Shinsou feel to it. I Surrender by Colleen D’Agostino reminds me of him too, since Shinsou seems like someone who tries to be cynical and detached but underneath he can’t help what his heart truly wants.

Favorite pictures of him:

Ch183 – zombie!Shinsou and terrified Kaminari!! I’d love to see Kaminari trying to revenge scare Shinsou.

(And seeing Mineta terrified is a different sort of satisfaction.)

Ch198 – Shinsou’s shock when Monoma ambushes him. He looks so awkward with his hands held stiffly at his sides.

Ch214 – why is he so cute. how did this happen.

Ch216 – This is the moment he loses to Midoriya a second time. I love the mix of emotion on his face.

Ch216 – His face when Aizawa announces Shinsou will almost certainly be approved for transfer