Based On The Way Touya And Fuyumi Behaved In Their Very Early Years, I've Always Gotten The Impression

Based on the way Touya and Fuyumi behaved in their very early years, I've always gotten the impression the Todoroki family started out with something of a healthy dynamic.

The reason they were born was pretty twisted and Endeavor's ambitions may have made the foundation rotten, but I think they were 'fine' until the genetic disparity with Touya's Quirk was detected. What's sad about that is if Touya didn't have that issue, he and Fuyumi would probably have been the only two siblings. Endeavor wanted Touya for a successor. Rei want Fuyumi so that Touya would have a sibling and they could support each other.

Natsuo and Shouto were born because Endeavor's ambitions meant more to him than his family.

And tragically, Touya and Fuyumi are the only two kids in that family who can remember this happy life. It's why Fuyumi was so desperate to get it back, and in his own warped way, Touya also tried to reclaim it.

Here's the thing that gets me, though:

It is very common and normal for a toddler to prefer one parent over the other. Usually, it's the parent they're the most family with: The one that stays home with and takes care of them.

Remember, to a toddler, everything is new and potentially scary, and that can often include a parent that is not always present: The parent that's working.

In the Todoroki house, Endeavor had his career as a hero, so we have the indication that Rei was the parent who stayed home. In that situation, the probability of Rei being the 'familiar parent' was more likely, so for Touya to prefer his father over his mother shows just how close he was to Endeavor. That probably happened because 1.) we can see Endeavor started training him at a very young age, and 2.) Fuyumi was the new baby and probably needed more attention from their mother, so Touya may have gravitated away from Rei on his own and went to his father instead.

Touya didn't see his father's ambitions for him. He didn't see that he was a successor as opposed to a son. What he, a child, saw and understood was that his father loved him and wanted to spend time with him. After the genetic disparity was detected and that pride and affection disappeared, he didn't know how to cope.

In contrast, Natsuo and Shouto never even saw the family happy. Natsuo was three-four years old when this happened. Fuyumi looks devastated that things aren't her version of normal. Natsuo just looks confused because, again, everything is new to toddlers. This was the normal he grew up with. Touya attacking Shouto might be one of his first memories, so he never stood a chance and that is why he left home the moment he had the opportunity.

It also explains his lack of understanding for Fuyumi's hope for a normal family. Fuyumi's mindset runs as, "We had that once. It's possible to have it again." Which in its own way, expecting things can just return to the way they were is a little disrespectful to her brother that died, and I think Touya's reappearance did shatter her illusion since she never brings up 'being a real family' after Dabi's Dance.

The point is, since Natsuo never saw what Fuyumi and Touya saw, he can't see what she wants to return to, so her decision to forgive their father is one he can't comprehend.

And if Natsuo can't remember the happy family, then there's no way Shouto does because this is what their home looked like by the time he was old enough to start forming concrete memories.

We're looking at two different sets of children, the older pair and the younger pair, who started out with very different childhoods.

where's that masterpost of quotes that have no right going as hard as they do. I'd like to submit "Protagonism is best left to teens and the insane"

Sakura's love Interests

Let's get something straight. Lee and Naruto are not better options for Sakura. This isn't a story about good average joes vs the hot bad boy meanie. Firstly because Lee and Naruto are "nice guys". Not good guys at the start. They both treat Sakura as a love interest to win. They used flattery and coddled her. Lee didn't try to get to know her, he just liked her looks and put her on a pedestal. Naruto put her on a pedestal, and yet wasn't above manipulating her by pretending to be Sasuke. They weren't good guys, they were "nice guys". But because every expected that to be the story, everyone projects onto them as being the good underdogs competing against Sasuke the privileged stuck up jock. Because people had already decided who the characters were, and what the story was going to be about before the story even happened based on their own stereotypes. People "saw" it because that's what they expected to see. And this is literally one of the main themes the show is tackling: Misunderstandings between people based on their illusions vs actual an understanding based on empathy and connection. Naruto and Lee are not good love interests for Sakura. They have good qualities, yes, but to borrow a phrase, "The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters." And this is especially true in the message of Naruto, where even the most evil and narcissistic characters like Danzo are still acknowledged as human. And even heroic characters like Lee and Naruto have flaws and both needed to mature and grow before they were ready for a relationship.

In reality Sasuke isn't, as Lee and Naruto see him, a stuck up privileged jock. He's got talent and good looks, and he is blessed with a kekkei genkai. All true. But he's also an orphan, and alone, who lost all of his relationships very suddenly, and learned that no one can be trusted, and is trying to single handedly restore his clan's honor, and knows his psychotic brother will come back to kill him at some unknown point, and is in general, just dealing with a lot of his own crap. And on top of all this, Sasuke also secretly supports Naruto and cares about him, even if Naruto treats him like crap. Sasuke's life is terrible. His life is so terrible Sasuke would literally choose to die rather than watch Naruto die... and it's not even a question he has to think about.

Sakura is literally the only person who cares about Sasuke as a human being first, not just because he is a good fighter. And from Sasuke's side, unlike Lee and Naruto, Sasuke didn't try to coddle Sakura or manipulate her. He treated her as a person and as a ninja, and he pushed her to be better. He called her out on her privilege of having parents and judgemental attitude of Naruto. He told her she needed to focus more on training. He also did notice her skills and abilities and complimented her on them. And he quickly comes to care about her. And he also would've died to protect her, as he did for Naruto. Sasuke did NOT have platonic feelings for her. He liked her-- but how could he act on his feelings when every time he turned around a new psychopath was trying to kill him? And putting everyone around him in danger? Itachi and Orochimaru and Gaara, and the sound ninjas and Kabuto… Sasuke told her when he left that he did imagine having that life with her, but he couldn't have it. Caring about her meant Sasuke could NOT start a relationship with her because Sasuke is a good person.

But it took Sasuke having a psychotic break and leaving all the best things in his life behind to go to Orochimaru for Naruto to start to realize, "Oh hey, maybe Sasuke has problems too. Maybe he doesn't just exist to be a receptacle for my projections of my fears and insecurities. Maybe he doesn't exist just to be the rival character in MY story. Maybe he has a life and problems of his own. Maybe it was actually just my fear of rejection that led me to create this narrative in my head because it was safer to view Sasuke as an enemy than to try to be friends......" Hmmm.

The fact that people think that the real reason Sasuke "won" Sakura is because of Sasuke's looks means they missed the whole point of the story. Naruto and Lee aren't better love interest because they're unattractive. They don't have to be attractive, they just failed in their own ways. And Sasuke isn't evil just because they are intimidated by him. Naruto and Lee, like many readers, are actually the ones who judged Sasuke without even knowing him. Ironically they're guilty of doing the very things that accuse Sasuke of doing. That's projection. And Sasuke was designed to be a character that others would project on.

some of my favorite little kacchako things

1.Ochako finds Bakugou funny

i just think that’s adorable ok, she finds his temper tantrum against Kaminari hilarious and that’s adorable. she takes complete joy in it an that makes me happy

2. He calls her “Round-Face.”

like. omg. that’s the dumbest insulting nickname i’ve ever seen from him and i love it??? it implies a lot; A. that he’s a huge dork, B. that he thinks her face is round, C. the first thing he could come up with in regards to an insulting nickname for her was “Round-Face” and honestly that’s just so lame i love it

what a fucking dork

(in case anyone is curious, here’s a post about the translation of “Round-Face” vs. “Angel-Face.” long story short, “Round-Face” is the correct translation)

3. Bakugou taking Uraraka seriously

B/C HONESTLY I LOVE THAT HE DOESN’T GO EASY ON HER AT ALL, AND THAT BY DOING SO HE’S SHOWING HER RESPECT AS AN EQUAL. JUST. WHAT A GOOD SCENE 

HE’S TESTING HER. HE’S SEEING WHAT SHE CAN DO. HE’S SHOWING HER RESPECT AND TREATING HER AS AN EQUAL AND WANTS TO SEE WHAT SHE’LL DO AGAINST HIM. AAAHHH JUST WHAT A GOOD SCENE

4. Uraraka thanking Bakugou for taking her seriously, and Bakugou’s surprised expression in response to it

i just love this little interaction ok she thanks him for not letting his guard down. and this just throws him off completely, because he wasn’t expecting that. he just looks so genuinely surprised and caught off guard by it. it’s an expression we’ve never seen on him by this point, and it’s just so interesting to see

5. Bakugou acknowledging that Uraraka nearly took him out

i just….. love that ok. it’s the first time we’ve seen him pushed to that limit, where his hands are pounding from overusing his quirk, and she’s the one who did that, and he’s acknowledging that

6. BAKUGOU USING URARAKA’S NAME

LIKE HE FIRST STARTS USING IT DURING THEIR FIGHT AFTER SHE IMPRESSES HIM WITH HER FINAL ATTACK, AND IT’S A SIGN THAT HE RESPECTS HER. HE STOPS USING THE “ROUND-FACE” NICKNAME AFTER THAT ATTACK, B/C SHE SURPRISED HIM, IMPRESSED HIM, AND AFTERWARDS HE ONLY EVER REFERS TO HER BY NAME

ONLY BY NAME. HE ONLY DOES THIS FOR KIRISHIMA AND ALL MIGHT. EVEN AFTER THEIR FIGHT, HE CONTINUES TO REFER TO HER BY NAME–EVEN WHEN HE’S PISSED OFF AT HER. EVEN IN HIS OWN HEAD, WHERE NO ONE ELSE CAN HEAR HIM. 

HE ONLY USES THE NICKNAME ONCE, AN EVERY SINGLE TIME AFTER HE USES HER NAME.

IT’S HIS OWN PERSONAL FORM OF RESPECT AND IT MEANS THAT HE RESPECTS HER A GREAT DEAL, BECAUSE HE CAN’T BE BOTHERED TO REMEMBER ANYONE’S NAME, NOT EVEN HIS OWN CLASSMATES. IT MEANS HE RESPECTS HER A LOT OK

he uses her name and that makes me happy okay

7. Bakugou’s face after Uraraka falls

okay just look at the previous point where Bakugou is EXTREMELY FUCKING HYPED TO FIGHT HER. she impressed him and he hOLY SHIT HE WANTS TO FIGHT HER MORE, THE REAL FIGHT STARTS NOW…….. except she collapses immediately afterwards. and he’s genuinely surprised.

he was not expecting her to fall. she impressed him, and he respects her now, and godDAMN he was ready to go at it with her again, EXCITED to fight her… only now she’s on the ground because she hit her limit. 

and suddenly he realizes that someone he thinks is amazing has a limit. he’s just so surprised, maybe even slightly worried?? and subdued. someone he wants to fight, someone who impressed him and pushed him has a limit, and he wasn’t expecting that. 

he’s not really sure how to process that, and it made him pause for a moment. and i love that

8. Bakugou reprimanding Izuku for giving Uraraka a dangerous plan

okay so there are actually several reasons here why Bakugou is doing this; A. he thinks Izuku is trying to fuck with him (b/c in Bakugou’s mind, that’s what Izuku is always trying to do), B. he feels like Izuku robbed him of a good fight by giving Uraraka a dangerous plan that pushed her too far, C. he knows Izuku’s written about his powers in his notebook and could easily come up with a counter attack plan from that an given it to Uraraka….

and D. Bakugou is showing concern for Uraraka because he feels like Izuku gave her a dangerous plan. he just saw her collapse in front of his eyes. i’m sure that left an impression on him, and it’s one of the reasons why he’s so angry at Izuku here. because he just fuckng saw her collapse because of (what he thought was) Deku’s shitty plan.

in a very backhanded way, he’s showing concern for her by reprimanding Izuku for this. and i love that

9. Bakugou saying Uraraka isn’t fragile

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME BAKUGOU’S EVER ACKNOWLEDGED ANYONE ELSE IN THE SERIES, IT’S THE FIRST TIME HE EVER DEFENDED ANYONE ELSE. Kaminari is going on about how Uraraka was a fragile weak little girl and Bakugou just refuses that–he reprimands Kaminari and says there was nothing fragile about her.

and this is right after the above scene–where Bakugou finds out that Uraraka came up with that plan all on her own. that she designed that dangerous plan all by herself, and that she pushed herself to her limits by her own fee will. she knew what she was doing an what she was getting into, and she forced him into a corner with her own plan and skills.

it was all her. no one else.

“Where do you see fragile?” indeed

10. Uraraka going to Gunhead because of her fight with Bakugou

i just love that her fight with Bakugou influenced her decision here–she wants to become strong. she doesn’t just wanna focus on rescue because then she’ll end up with tunnel vision, she won’t actually improve at all. no, she wants to be well-rounded and stronger because her fight with Bakugou proved to her that she needs to improve more.

11. she’s just SO GODDAMN CASUAL WITH HIM

like before their fight, she was a little bit scared of him. but afterwards, hooo boy, she fought his fucking ass and faced the worst and lived to tell the tale. now he’s not scary to her at all. nah, she’s just 100% comfortable and casual relaxed around him, and will casually just throw out random comments or observations about him just because.

she just genuinely does not think of him as a threat at all. she’s completely relaxed and has no fear with bringing up uncomfortable topics and confronting him about them, because she’s worried and cares for him (and Izuku).

she has absolutely no fear that he’d ever hurt her, because she’s dealt with the worst during their fight, and everything after that is just child’s play. she’s just so totally cool with him now an it’s great

12. Uraraka genuinely understands Bakugou

like, seriously. she understands him better than anyone else in the series. she’s the only person to ever realize that the reason Bakugou hates Izuku so much is because he’s afraid–no one else has figure that out before. no one bothered to question why. 

but she figured it out. Bakugou is scared of Izuku–he’s terrified. he’s scared of Izuku’s potential and constantly tried to push him down. he’s been scared his whole life. the only reason Izuku and Toshinori found out was because of the Bakugou and Izuku’s fight. because Bakugou finally expressed that in clear terms for them to hear.

Ochako figured it out long before that. (that omake takes place immediately after the midterm exam)

she’s also the only one who thought about how Bakugou would feel about being saved; and she’s right, he would, usually, see being saved as disgraceful. 

every single other time he’s been saved, he’s hated it, denied it, ignored it, etc. (the Sludge incident, Izuku dragging his unconscious body with him during the midterm exam, Bakugou refusing Izuku’s help in the forest, All Might saving him for the first time at Kamino (”I-I didn’t need you, goddammit!!”), etc)

the only reason the second rescue at Kamino worked was because Kirishima and All Might were there.

13. Uraraka being genuinely worried about Bakugou and Izuku’s relationship

like. i just love this. it’s expressed in some of the above images from the omake, too–Uraraka honestly just wants them to be on better terms. she realizes that Bakugou is scared of Izuku, and she knows that their relationship as is isn’t doing either of them any good, and wants to help them have a better relationship.

and interestingly–it seems like she wants this mostly for Bakugou’s sake. she’s more worried about how their relationship seems to be negatively affecting Bakugou, and how Bakugou’s fear of Izuku is hurting him and holding him back.

she’s so genuinely worried about this that she up and confronted Bakugou about it, to his face.

14. she is TOTALLY READY TO FUCKIN’ THROW DOWN

LIKE. AS MENTIONED ABOVE, URARAKA IS COMPLETELY CASUAL WITH BAKUGOU. SHE HAS NO FEAR THAT HE’D HURT HER. BUT THE SECOND HE GETS INTO AN ATTACK STANCE, SHE IMMEDIATELY RESPONDS BACK WITH ONE OF HER OWN. SHE IS 100% READY TO FUCKING GO AND HAS NO FEAR–SHE CAN HANDLE THIS, NO PROBLEM.

SHE ALREADY FOUGHT HIM ONCE AND SHE FUCKIN’ LIVED. SHE CAN HANDLE HIM–AND SHE’S ENTIRELY FUCKING READY TO FIGHT HIM AGAIN SHOULD SHE HAVE TO. NO HESITATION, NO FEAR, JUST THE FIGHT. HE DOESN’T SCARE HER. SHE FOUGHT HIM ONCE AND WILL DO IT AGAIN, GODDAMMIT.

related meta:

A meta about Bakugou and Uraraka’s fight

Uraraka confronts Bakugou about his feelings of fear towards Izuku in the Omake

Why I Ship Kacchako & how I think it would be good for Bakugou and Uraraka’s development

A meta about how Bakugou has feared Izuku and his potential for most of his life

A Meta about how Bakugou takes insults towards himself and towards people he respects/cares for

A meta about why the narrative keeps pushing for Bakugou and Izuku to reconcile and why it would be better for the both of their mental/emotional health

My favorite Bakugou character moments with detailed explanations why

🍅

Here's why I really love Sasuke and Itachi's parents, and why it makes complete sense that he'd want justice for them. Pro all these characters.

There's a lot that can be said about how Mikoto and Fugaku raised Itachi, how the boys got compared to each other, and how more often than not parents get more practice with parenting the more children they have, and so the last child gets to know them at a different parenting skill level...

But.

It really says a lot that Sasuke was able to actually go ahead and ask his mother a very difficult question for a child. It's easy to imagine that it's not the first time he came to her with a tough question, and it shows that she was a safe person for him to talk to.

And I like what she replied, too. I love how calm she was, a lot of parents and caregivers would absolutely take it personally and punish the child for daring to ask such a thing. Not Mikoto. She's listening.

Then she tells Sasuke that it only seems that Fugaku is paying more attention to Itachi because he's older and one day he will inherit his father's position. And more importantly,

Mikoto explains that basically Fugaku is generally sullen and awkward but it doesn't have to mean anything, and when they talk in private, he does talk about Sasuke all the time.

And if mother says that father talks to her about him, it's enough for Sasuke, he doesn't need to hear his father's words with his own ears. He doesn't sit there wondering, well great but what if I had never asked, because that kind of world isn't possible for him. He lives in a world where it is safe to ask his mother such things.

Right after that, Fugaku arrives and they have tea together. Sasuke doesn't feel comfortable asking why exactly his father and Itachi fought, at least not right now, but he does ask about the Sharingan, and says he'll master it one day because he is his son, which makes Mikoto smile:

She's glad to see that Sasuke is already acting like a boy who knows that he's important to his father, who never doubted that. He's acting like this to see if what Mikoto said really is true, and she doesn't take this personally either. She knows that Fugaku will respond in a way that Sasuke will appreciate.

And then the best thing happens.

Sasuke is brave enough now to talk to his father the same way he talked to his mother just earlier. If he wasn't safe to ask stuff like this before, he is now. He responded well to Sasuke's first question, about the Sharingan, and now he's asking something a lot more personal. He doesn't wait for Fugaku to leave so he can ask Mikoto instead.

We're shown that Fugaku is the same as Mikoto in the sense that he doesn't reject Sasuke just for asking such a thing, or even for thinking it, like many parents are capable of doing, he takes his question seriously, he doesn't even always have to be awkward, he trusts his young son with something surprisingly vulnerable:

So in short:

Sasuke: mom, why doesn't dad pay attention to me? also Sasuke: dad, why doesn't my brother pay attention to me?

Basically, even though Sasuke did have some difficulties at home, we see that both his parents were in fact open to communication, and I'm getting the impression that they regret not being able to do better with Itachi. In any case, Sasuke can be confident after this that both his parents care about his feelings, and that he can ask them anything. That if more problems appear they can be solved through communication.

How many children have parents like that?

And who wouldn't want to turn the world upside down to avenge them?

P.S.

I also think that this is what enabled Sasuke's interest in the truth later on, to the point that he would resurrect the previous Hokage to hear it. He's always been a questioner, and it was never frowned upon or rejected, he was loved unconditionally underneath it all, even if it did take, well, a bit of questioning to learn that.

Yeah!! 🍅🥰🤗

I bet they would have been the best in-laws too lol

Dabi really is the representation of the stored rage that eldest daughters carry within themselves…. Rage and anger at being laden with expectations- and when you finally crash under their weight you are thrown aside without any help from the very people who are supposed to be taking care of you

“His suffering will be proof that I existed” what a line. What a fucking line.