Found Family For The Win - Tumblr Posts

I'm glad that you are able to return to doing things you enjoy! I can completely understand how draining it can be not doing them for awhile. I look forward to the zines and wip you're workin on! I was curious if you'd be willin to do a meta on the dynamics that the lov have w/ each other. I'm still tryin to play catch up with the manga, but they have my soul atm. I'm workin on a few wip as well as an LoV au, n' I wanted to know your input. (if u can, THANK U, if not, 100% understandable)

Hey there! Thank you for being so nice :’) I’m glad you’re enjoying the content I put on this blog.

Anyway, to answer your question. Simply put, the League has very deliberate found family dynamics. I think that’s the reason why so many fans warmed up to them once they actually got an arc of their own. Cause they’re not just cruel bad guys, they’re complex and layered individuals fighting for things that we can actually empathize with, and whose struggles that make them grow closer to each other are always portrayed on screen with lots of depth.

Basically, the Lov is set up as a group of outcasts - all the people that don’t fit in hero society or who for one reason or another fell through the cracks. Putting aside guys like Muscular, Moonfish and Mustard, who were all some degree of unsympathetic (and in fact were removed from the core League early on), everyone is pretty much a victim of their circumstances. Not only that, but they also are often part of some kind of marginalized group.

(from here on, I talk about manga events so please keep that in mind if you don’t wanna get spoilers)

Starting from Shigaraki, he was the son of a strictly controlling patriarch first and later became the brainwashed heir to a crime empire. He was gaslighted into believing he exists to destroy and kept away from human touch for all his formative years.

There’s Toga who was called monstrous by her own family, who couldn’t understand her fascination for blood and her wish to explore a part of her identity, her quirk.

There’s Dabi, whose disability brings new focus to the theme of quirk incompatibility with one's body. His backstory has yet to be confirmed, but he also so very clearly holds a grudge against heroes as rescuers, because he wasn’t saved.

There’s Twice who dropped out from school at 16 to work to sustain himself when he lost his family, and who was pushed into villainy by a series of misfortunes ranging from poverty, loneliness, and lack of empathy from the law enforcers who saddled him with an unfair criminal record.

There’s Spinner who was a hikikomori (a shut-in) because the prejudice and hate he suffered as a heteromorph (and as a weak one to boot) made him lose all aspirations in life and fall in a depressive slump.

There’s Magne, a trans woman who experienced discrimination, who became a villain to fight for a world that would accept her for who she was.

There’s Kurogiri who should’ve never ended up the way he did, if only people had paid more attention to youths and how to better pace their development to wait until they were ready to take on dangerous situations.

And there’s Compress… Admittedly we don’t know much about him, but allegedly lost status or wealth, since he pretty much still acts like it.  

The reason behind this wordy introduction is simple. The League is where all these mismatched people found a place to belong, a group of individuals who were equally broken or equally determined to lash out against the establishment that ruined their life and then didn't help them when they most needed it. One thing I find interesting about them is that despite the fact that they did have a goal at the beginning of the story, it has changed and evolved with time, the longer they spent with each other and got challenged by their losses.

Compare all the above with how they evolved:

Shigaraki did become Afo’s heir, but also rejected his will; he chose to be his own master, and to use his new power for his own goals. He also rejected the kind of leadership Afo wanted him to embrace. Shigaraki doesn't lead the Lov like Afo did with his crime network; he's not a puppeteer behind the scenes. He’s always fighting on the frontlines along with the rest of his comrades, and often he’s bearing the brunt of the attack to shield them. Think of how during the highway scene after Chisaki’s arrest, Shigaraki chose to be the distraction, charging the police car (and the only hero there) head on to give the others room to stop the convoy.

At the beginning of the story, Shigaraki was very much a detached sort of leader. He bossed people around and threw fits when things didn’t go according to his plans. He still charged head on, but Afo’s influence on him was clear, because he didn’t think of his comrades as valuable people, only assets to defeat a boss.

That has changed drastically after Magne’s death. That loss made him face the reality that he was still lacking as a leader, and he grew immensely from it. Not only he devised a plan to destroy Chisaki’s empire by exploiting their “alliance”, but he also chose to do so specifically for his comrade’s sakes.

A far cry from the brat who let dozens of low-rank villains get arrested at USJ cause they’d already served the purpose of acting as decoy.

Shigaraki’s character growth is the best one depicted in the manga imho. A lot of his character is defined by his interactions with his peers. He’s like a sponge because he’s constantly absorbing things - both from his allies and from his enemies - and making them his new strengths.

What I find interesting about him is that Afo's gaslighting hasn't undone who he is deep down. Tenko was an aspiring hero and someone who made sure to include all the kids when he played, leaving no one out. Those traits of his show through to this day. A lot of the time, I feel like fans glide through the fact that Shigaraki isn't at all a bossy leader anymore. In fact, he keeps his comrade's wishes and complaints in mind at all times.

I think this misconception came from the fact that when he's challenged by an enemy he dislikes, he always retaliates tenfold until he completely destroys them by taking what matters most to them (he did this with Chisaki by stealing the quirk erasing drug, his life's work, and his hands, the only thing that made him a leader. He also did this with Redestro, dusting the tower that symbolized his power and dominance from above, and stealing his empire & network for himself).

But… with his comrades, he's not like that. We've seen him face insubordination twice so far, and he always took it stride without even getting mad.

When Twice and Toga threatened him after hearing that he planned on continuing the alliance with Chisaki even after Magne's death, Shigaraki replied evenly, with confidence, showing that he had thought of their feelings and this wasn't a rash, detached kind of decision. He had a plan, and he didn't intend on letting Magne's death mean nothing to him. For a character so greatly impacted by loss from a very young age (whose given name literally means "mourning"), you can probably gather why for yourself.

Another insubordination he faces calmly is Spinner's.

He lets him grab his collar and scream at him and he barely blinks. He doesn't make excuses, either. At this point, the Lov was broke and homeless, on the run with nowhere to crash, they'd just lost Kurogiri and any sense of purpose. It's not like Shigaraki acts brilliant and pretends like this was all part of the plan. Or that he urges Spinner to stay with them despite his doubts that they're after a goal anymore. Cause to Shigaraki, the rest of the League is a bunch of people with free wills. He does give them orders as any leader should, but at the end of the day, he's also always allowed them to have goals of their own.

On this topic, here's a post on why he's also cool with Dabi & Toga having separate agendas that don't align with his desire for systemic destruction. You could also argue that this chill and lax attitude towards leadership is also a subconscious way of rejecting Afo’s upbringing. Afo was controlling even when he set things out to make Shigaraki feel like he was taking his own decisions. Shigaraki is pretty much the opposite.

He even changed his own purpose a little (“destroying everything”) to account for Toga’s personal goal (“destroying everything except the things my comrades want to keep”). That’s because Shigaraki is aware that the League is a bunch of people that doesn’t really fit in anywhere else in hero society.

This found family aspect is also shown in a lot of other things. For example, it’s Toga finding true friends who accept her for who she is in the other League members. We are told early on that quirks are just another body function. Yet, hero society found Toga’s to be monstrous and demanded she repress it and forced her to wear a mask of normalcy that ended up only amplifying her desire for violent rebellion.

The thing about treating a kid like a monster all the time, is that at some point that kid is gonna believe you and start acting like one. What is labeled as “Insanity” in her case is just the reflection of the dehumanization that the adults in her life subjected her to.

As pointed out here, Toga is not an unsympathetic, bloodthirsty demon. She’s a layered individual, and she’s the protagonist of the the most empathetic scene of the story. It’s not a coincidence that she only ever shows that more human side when she’s with other lov members, while she is perceived as freaky and crazy by people on the hero side. Because hero society only ever treated her with violence, while the lov gave her a safe space to explore her identity without judgement. As a result, she treats the rest of the lov with kindness and acceptance too. This prompts her character development.

Toga’s character revolves around the theme of connection. As stated above, she never really fit in. She had no friends, and her own family shunned her. What happened then was that she internalized that to have connections, she needs to suppress her identity and take up a new one. She killed her classmate, Saito, in middle school because he was popular, smiling and friendly and she wanted to be like him. People, and children in particular, tend to copy the behaviours they perceive as successful, because emulation is part of a child’s normal process of learning the world. Hers is... an extreme case of emulation that ends up becoming literal because of the way her quirk works.

Without going too deep about it, basically suppression of the self is freedom to her because she can fit in better than when she tries to be “normal” as herself. This is shown in particular when she manifests jealousy towards Ochako as the subject of Deku’s trust. She too wants to be trusted unconditionally like Ochako is. Her character basically boils down to her desire to be close to the person she loves, the person she has a strong connection to.

The lov was the first group of individuals who never tried to mold her into something she wasn’t, and you can see how this impacts the way she forms connections with people. With Twice, she was able to form a meaningful relationship with another person that didn’t revolve around her obsession for blood, and that was full of empathy and companionship.

Now, I could go on and explain how the League is thematically the place that gives belonging and legitimacy to all the lov’s members reasons to resent hero society. I could because there’s so much more to say, particularly in regards to Twice & how Hawks fits in that, but it’s too hot to keep typing this on my pc without any a/c, sorry XD brain melty

The short version is that the lov is deliberately written as a group of outsiders - each in their own light - and each one of them explores a different ramification of the failures of hero society. The bonds that they form with each other then are not just born out of necessity, but often become a rebellion in and of itself. When Hawks then tried to pry them apart by offering Twice the chance of reformation in jail, he also unconsciously repeated the abuse they suffered at the hands of hero society: splitting them apart into “good” and “bad” victims, people who could still be saved and hopeless cases, when the truth is that none of them should’ve become a villain in the first place, if only heroes had been more competent and noticed the cracks of the system sooner. 

Shigaraki’s Family

Shigaraki has to date fought against villains, won, and then taken something from them in his victory. This time however he’s not up against a villain but a bad hero. The lesson Shigaraki is going to learn from Endeavor is exactly as he says: you heroes hurt your own families just to help complete strangers. Family is more important. It’s also what makes him the opposite of Endeavor, Shigaraki always chooses his found family over his own ambitions, whereas Endeavor puts his ambitions to be a hero over his family. MORE UNDER THE CUT.

Keep reading

what you’re fighting for

Spinner’s speech to Toga automatically went to #1 in my top favorite moments from the manga. Thank you, Horikoshi, for proving that ✨The League of Family✨ is valid 💖

Who are your favourite members of the league of villains???

&

Oh no where do I start?!

I really enjoy the dynamic between the league as a whole, it’s why I enjoyed the My Villain Academia arc. But if I had to choose favorites, my top four are Toga, Twice, Spinner, and Shigaraki, with Shigaraki at the top.

I like their backstories (sorry Mr. Compress, you’ll get one eventually) and how they clearly care about each other (Dabi I’m looking at you). Toga and Twice always look out for each other, Spinner is set on supporting Shigaraki however he can, and Shigaraki’s only limit to his destruction are the things his friends like (and it subtly shows that he never truly lost that empathy he had for the people who were left out).

Overall, these guys are my favorites because they’re the ones that manifest the my favorite trope (found family) the most, and I’m excited to see what they do next.

Please notice how both Twice and Toga explain they are not miserable when they think they're about to die. Toga explains it to Curious and Twice explains it to Hawks.

I haven't noticed that but I think that's huge:

The members of the League don't like to pity narrative the heroes have assigned to them. Yes, they are suffering. Yes, they wish they had better stuff and opportunities. But that doesn't mean they can't experience happiness or that they can't be happy with what they have.

They are not miserable.

And by that they mean that even if they are poor and fighting daily for their lives, they don't feel empty or alone. They have dreams, they have friends, they can fall in love, they can laugh and smile for real, they protect the others.

I still can't understand people who don't see how much the League care for each other. They have said it, they have proved it. What else does people want?

I can't. The smile on Toga's face when Jin saved her and the shock and the pain when she realized what was happening. The way Compress stops completely, freezes. The way Jin dies smiling.

Genuinely, fuck everyone who says the League of Villains is not a friend group/family.

They might not be the healthiest one, might be complicated, but there was love and friendship and grief and pain. There was happiness too, a sort they didn't think they could experience again. Loyalty and company, joy and comprehension. Anger amd hurt, there was life. They were alive.

Dead by society, but alive together.

Highlights Summary of the new event in MHUI

The LOV gets a fancy new hideout!

They immediately take out a load bearing wall and cost the PLF hundreds of thousands in property damage. :)

The chaos begins bc Twice made a bunch of clones for the league to beat up spar with– Twice thinks they should be able to mop the floor with their clones because they all powered up during their fight with the MLA (with Compress futilely attempting to point out that Twice’s clones all have the same exact combat ability as the originals), and Spinner is a little mean and asks the clones to just go away (lmao). Clone!Dabi and Clone!Tomura’s feelings get hurt, Clone!Tomura retaliates by decaying part of the PLF villa and Clone!Dabi just starts setting stuff on fire. Completely healthy expressions of sadness as always, boys!

The league eventually defeats their wildin’ clones, but are left with a very-large-very-noticeable-very-on-brand hole in the side of the PLF villa. They decide to do the logical, forthcoming, and responsible thing and hide all evidence of their involvement.

The League: >talk about how good and experienced they are at hiding evidence

>They proceed to get caught immediately.

Rather than own up to anything, they all run away and hide in a dark room. These are the guys that destabilized all of Japan.

Side note: Tomura’s blasé reaction to whatever hijinks the LOV instigate is one of the best things about their group dynamic. Like yeah, Tomura, this might as well happen. they’re having fun so what the fuck ever right. no matter what insane bullshit they get up to, he just hopes it kills him first.

“Are you The League of Morons!?” D… Do you want a serious answer.

They encounter Skeptic, who was apparently just…. Sitting alone in that dark room, monitoring the league through hidden cameras this whole time?? Most of the league is understandably creeped out. Noticeably, Tomura doesn’t have any real reaction to his privacy being invaded by either the LOV (who barged into his room without knocking at the start of the event) or Skeptic (who again, basically admitted to monitoring him in his bedroom through surveillance cameras) at any point during this event— which fits with his lore about growing up under constant video surveillance by AFO. :’)  Let’s give the MHUI devs a round of applause for their canon compliant fridge horror!

Skeptic diverts attention away from his voyeurism by calling the league out for destroying PLF property. ReDestro and Trumpet also appear, much like ineffective chaperones on a middle school field trip, and scold the LOV for their wanton property damage (this is made funnier when you remember that Tomura absolutely cratered the base of their operations like a week ago– ya’ll knew what he was about). Trumpet asks the LOV if any of them are able to use their quirks to fix the damaged wall.

Tomura’s suggestion for fixing the wall? Just destroy the entire villa and rebuild it from scratch (smart). He even offers to lend a hand returning the settings to zero (kind). He gently but firmly emphasizes that the LOV is a team and reminds Trumpet that there is no “I” in anarchy (patient)– Destruction is OUR thing. :)

Trumpet knows a landmine when he sees one and immediately changes the subject from “fixing the wall” to just having the LOV clean up their own damn mess. 

The league spends a good few minutes talking about the best way to clean up the debris and lamenting that the pieces of rubble are too big for Mister C to compress… with all of them casually forgetting that Tomura can just decay the pieces of rubble, until he chimes in at the last minute while seeming kind of offended that they forgot (thanks, Boss!).

Tomura reminds them that he is an honors student in destroying things and that he can totally decay pieces of building with one hand and that if sensei had been here he would have TOTALLY given him a good grade in senseless property damage– >:(

Ujiko appears at the end of the event and spoils the fun immediately with his usual ominous bullshit– because we know it’s not a *real* LOV-centric event unless we’re reminded about the Constant Unspeakable Horrors surrounding Tomura’s whole existence somehow. The end! 

TL;DR: Everyone say thank you to MHUI for continuing to capitalize on the LOV’s potential for whimsical and mildly unhinged hijinks.

Bonus cute LOV found family + shipping crumb stuff under the readmore:

Keep reading

THEY’RE FAMILY YOUR HONOR!!!

How much do I have to pay Horikoshi to write a League of Villains slice of life spinoff series?

I hope we get at least one post-war League group shot before it ends. They deserve to be able to heal together.