"Two Lives" in Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life, Li Yiyun | "Ash," Tracy K. Smith | The Oresteia of Aeschylus, trans. Ted Hughes | "The Real Horror in The Haunting of Hill House," Sophie Gilbert | "Reassuring ghosts and haunted houses," Christine Ro | "Home," Warsan Shire | @/tiarnanabhfainni | "Courtney Love Prays To Oregon," Clementine von Radics | Rob Brezsny, quoted in We Were Witches, Ariel Gore | "How'd Your Parents Die Again?," Fatimah Asghar
Toga seems to avoid killing when possible
Especially when it comes to heroes, even select heroes after Twice’s death
(Spoiler warning)(Toga meta and Quirk Theory)
In Bnha Toga Himiko has had multiple chances to personally kill many individuals, including Ochako and Tsuyu but for some reason she never strikes a fatal blow.
I think this adds and plays into the conflict that she’s currently having in recent chapters using Twice’s Quirk, a part of why she’s not able to use it to the fullest extent.
Starting with all the examples of Toga’s avoidance of critical hits:
I wish i could live in my own universe. One where i could control every little thing. I’d make the wind blow at the perfect temperature. I’d make your favorite flowers grow endlessly since you don’t like receiving flowers. I’d make the sunlight hit your eyes at the perfect angle so that the beautiful hazel would be noticeable from miles away. I’d make a world perfect for you, since you’re too perfect for this world.
Once again My Hero Academia continues the trend of making us want to kill parents.
Jesus fucking christ.
My Hero Academia ch. 392 | Stone Butch Blues, Leslie Feinberg | On Being a "Lesbian", Kakefuda Hiroko trans. Indiana Scarlet Brown | Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film, Harry M. Benshoff | Why be Happy When You Could be Normal?, Jeanette Winterson | Disobedience, Naomi Alderman | The Well of Loneliness, Radclyffe Hall | "A Working Definition of the Monstrous," Ryan Dzelzkalns in It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror | Notes of a Crocodile, Qiu Miaojin | "For Friendship, Perhaps," Revolutionary Girl Utena
Well, that was a short chapter (I can almost hear Hori telling himself he’s almost done & to power through these last few chapters); which is kind of a shame because I’m a bit worried Toga’s conclusion isn’t going to get as many chapters as Dabi’s did. It did have some cool scenes too it though.
I liked Toga seeing Dabi’s flames go down and worrying that the heroes may have killed him too. Once again, it is crazy to me that people think Toga’s suicidal when her problem is rooted in almost the opposite; she is desperate to live, but believes (not unreasonably) that the world of heroes is lethally hostile to her and everyone she loves. Seeing Dabi go down, she can only conclude that he’s dead just like Twice. And that’s the problem Uraraka will (hopefully) have to tackle to save her.
Speaking of, I also liked Uraraka rejecting Tsuyu’s theory of Toga not loving the League; it’s a genuine good character moment for her to have sympathized with Toga enough to get inside her head like that. (Even if her idea of Toga’s murderous intent distorting her love sounds a touch BS as to why she can’t become like Shigaraki of all people, but maybe it’ll be explained more next chapter; Toga did seem to cut the explanation off.)
Overall; a short chapter that’s kind of relying on 392 to fill in some gaps, but it has enough going for it in exploring Toga that I think I still like it.
You know it’d be funny if it weren’t so sad how many times the villains are the ones to attempt to open some form of dialogue.
Only for the heroes to respond “No. You hurt people. Shut up.” Or perhaps worse; “I just don’t care.”
We did it. We finally have all the extremely distressed babies
Because everything is happening at the same time, here is Toga's POV of the last chapters:
I think this is why Toga finds Ochako's words so triggering. She's already doubting herself, why her love for Touya and Tomura is not "enough", she's in pain because Touya may be dead and now Ochako is telling her that her love is not "pure enough".
Something I’m finding pretty weird, and maybe a bit frustrating, in the fandom lately is people extrapolating one League member’s problems to exist in the rest as well; especially Dabi’s suicidal ideation as of late.
‘The League are all self-destructive and endanger eachother’ No that’s just Dabi. ‘The villains need to be given a reason to live for’ No that’s just Dabi. Shigaraki already has that. Toga especially already has that. Dabi’s the only one who wants to die.
Seriously, it actually feels silly to see claims that Toga wants to die when she has been telling us about her want to live despite the world being so incompatible to her since about the moment we met her, and fighting tooth and nail for her life for just as long. She could not be more unlike Dabi in this regard. Her entire character motive is to live, and there are people who think she’s suicidal. Okay. I don’t know what to do with that information beside be baffled by it.
And you know, the kinda-funny-but-mostly-just-morbid thing is; the people thinking Toga is suicidal are saying she should just give up & turn herself in to the heroes, because clearly she’s so miserable and hurting just like all of her friends. They frame it as poor, foolishly suicidal Toga finally accepting an outstretched hand for help from Uraraka & the heroes.
But unless Uraraka can successfully convince her the heroes won’t execute her or lock her up for life (something I’m very worried she won’t even try after opening her talk focused on Toga’s own emotions & murderous intent; not to mention how Dabi’s plot ended); Toga still thinks that result will kill her.
(Pictured here: Toga thinking Dabi got that same ‘help’.)
So the idea of turning herself over to her executioners, just so the pain will finally stop…sounds about when I’d start worrying about her acting suicidal, personally.
(To say nothing of the idea that Toga might be right to think this. The heroes may be ill-equipped to provide the hoped-for help, and could be unwilling to provide it if they aren’t. Toga’s already lumped in with Tomura, Dabi, AFO,& Jin to the greater population, including the heroes. And what sway does some barely-2nd-year high schooler have to change that? That, to me, is the big question of this confrontation I’m hoping gets addressed and answered.)
The sheer contrast....
And that's how heroes and villains are born...
guess I’ve got a thing for girls with 5 seconds of screentime
