#mystrangers

Well, I think that more than Bakugou, now Deku resembles Shigaraki?

I think the message in these panels is both the same: (also please notice the contrast between Izuku having only the lighter part of his mask showing, while Shigaraki's lower part is dark, and on the contrary Izuku's eyes are pitched in darkness, while Tomura's are very clear) "you can't tell me what to do". And it's a stark message. Both Izuku and Tomura here are dissociating from 'higher loyalties' or higher wills that controlled them until this moment (and for which they are grateful) - and this is the moment where we see both of them refusing to be controlled. Shigaraki refuses AfO, Izuku 'refuses' All Might. They don't need a 'safety net' anymore, but rather they need to make their will known and acknowledged. They want to fight on their own, FOR their own and for their own objectives (which are highly different - because both AfO and AM would like for them to 'step down' and rest, albeit for different reasons). This is their 'independence moment', and it's strikingly both dangerous and chilling, because both lose their compass, and the entire vibe they give off becomes a dreadful aura around them (which is then expressed by the energy/Quirk wires surrounding them). So I'd say you are correct in saying that we see a drastic change in Izuku, but rather than reflecting Bakugou, it reflects Shigaraki (almost alarmingly so).

A thousand dollars question, isn’t it?

Shouto, for better or for worse, has had his own development arc, that has been mostly that of ‘becoming the hero of his family’, in stark contrast to Endeavour, who fails on the family and the hero account (as seen in the last chapter).

As you see portrayed here, Shouto’s theme of breaking through the hate of his family, and the fear of failing at not becoming the way his father is (therefore someone who has made of his mistakes his biggest achievement) is made through the motion of becoming a ‘family hero’ and saving Touya. Perfunctorily, he fulfilled his aim and purpose.

While Touya’s faith and how their relationship will evolve is still under question (not the end result, just the process), I do not think that Shouto will be sidelined when it comes to Touya and the ending of the Todoroki’s family plot line, and not even in the final fight against AfO, as likely Endeavour will be too injured to fight, as he is currently fighting through all his might to fend off AfO or he will just be unable to fight more (interpret that as you wish).

I think that the confrontation between Dabi and Shouto has ended: their values are still at odds, as Touya did not think to get out of it alive, one. And two, he is still stuck on the idea that there is no turning back for him, now and that Shouto’s will to fight him stems from the fact that he is a villain, rather than his brother.

But, Endeavour being sidelined from what is one of the most important confrontations in his life (namely the one between his ‘masterpiece’ and his ‘failure’) is exactly the point; look at the panel down here, Endeavour is accepting his faith as a burden, an obstacle to his sons’ future: he does not want his sins to colour the path of the youth, and therefore he is leaving Shouto to deal with Touya.

He is clearly in want to make amends, but that does not mean that atoning or making it up to Touya will be enough, or will get Shouto on the sideline: Touya and Shouto are foils for a reason, and while Endeavour’s arc is centered around them - as their is around him - they are still independently interwoven with other characters (Touya with Tomura and Toga; Shouto with Midoriya and Bakugou; while Endeavour with Hawks).

I think that generally this fandom has a weird conception of the word ‘saving’ if I’m allowed.

Allow me to present you with this quote:

Man is an animal who has to live in a lie in order to live at all.

Which is why, most of the time, we believe in things that maybe we do consider true, but are just, after all, the internalisation in the lie we lived all along: Dabi has lived in a fake identity after almost burning to death for years, who the hell knows how surviving, and having a huge grudge against the man that abused him and ruined his dream for him - wanting a revenge, which if you look at it, looks just a big excuse not to revel in the feeling of disappointment, hurt and sadness that have been part of Touya all along (he does want revenge, don’t get me wrong, just it is born out of the negative feelings that Touya harboured after being neglected and abused for years and years to no end). This is why, I believed that Dabi, maybe does not want to be saved - not because he cannot be saved, but because he inherently believes in the lie that he cannot. Let’s put it this way: when Touya ‘died’, Dabi was born - but he was born out of a death place, of hurt, of revenge and of the disappointment one can only feel towards a parent in which they believe and that time after time shows how disappointing and frustrating reality is. This is why, once again, I believe that Dabi lives in the past, in a ‘lie’ and he continues doing so, thinking that his time to be saved has been lost long ago, when he was thirteen and burned at Sekoto Peak - and that is the reason why not only Shouto feels so similar to him (living in the resentment, not knowing how to break free of a pattern of steering away from E and what he represents and just failing to do so), but also will be able to reach out to him to show him that not everything is lost and that Touya still lives in him, meaning that there is hope beyond revenge and that things can change, no matter if one acknowledges it or not.

I don't get why this is such a hard concept to understand for the anons saying Aoyama's parents - who were foolishly misguided and naive rather than selfish - should be treated the same as Enji.

The parents were still pretty crap - but they were scared for all of their lives, not afraid of feeling guilty and being made to acknowledge that they were wrong.

My wishes did not change much from the last time that I talked about it, but mainly my wishes for the wrap-up are:

Twice’s Funeral. The League mourning him properly, and saying their goodbyes to him (as well as an apology from Hawks).

Heroes to face the consequences of the vicious cycle they allowed and helped going. An upset of society where heroes do take their own responsibility and are not consider superior or allowed to do certain actions just because they are heroes.

The hero (ranking) system to be abolished. Both to promote another ideal of what a ‘hero’ should be and also to avoid the saturation of heroes in a society where what is needed is human capable of standing their own and knowing how to help each other, rather than only relying on external mythical figures like heroes.

Hawks to have a proper ending. This might seem like a weird wish coming from me (especially because I will never forgive Hawks, nor I will ever like him and his character), but I do hope that Hori stops wasting his character and instead uses him in order to fulfil my prior wish AND to acknowledge how society shapes kids in a way where it is impossible, in the long run, to see themselves as anything else than that. I want for Hawks to be recognised as a victim AND as a perpetrator. I want him to take responsibility for his own persona.

The villains saved. This is also a pretty ‘banal’ wish, but what I am looking forward is less the ‘saving moment’ and more the process which allows for our heroes to admit to themselves that saving the villains is the right thing to do, and to see how the push forward to see their goals realised. Of course I want also the villains to be safe and sound, and not have a gruesome ending - like seeing them thrown in jail or murdered (which I am sure they won’t but this fandom just keeps on insisting). I want the villains to accept themselves and to understand that while they went the wrong way about it (and yet, I still do think it was THE ONLY POSSIBLE WAY) they still moved the first step in order for society to change. They need to accept that sometimes society is wrong, and that it is okay to feel they way they did. It is okay to be angry and sad, and feel beyond salvageable, and still have someone to believe in them and save them. It is okay to be a villain, while yearning to be a hero.

Izuku and Tenko to destroy AfO’s ass.