#afo meta

[gradelstuff]

AFO's character pages in the Ultra Age fanbook

[silentfanmusings]

All for One and Quirk Origin Theory

Okay, so I have some thoughts on 407 and how it recontextualizes the world of BNHA and Quirk history.

According to the latest chapter, not only are AFO and Yoichi twins, but they're also (possibly) the first with Quirks because they're apparently older than the Glowing Baby. Who society (and the readers) have been told since chapter 1, was the first Quirk user. 

Over 400 chapters later that no longer appears to be the case. Although we also have to account for unreliable narration messing with the order of past events, and I don’t think we can know for certain if the twins or the Glowing Baby were born first since the twins likely have no actual records of their existences anywhere.

But if the twins truly are older and possibly even part of quirk society's origin, then I also wonder about some of the other things stated in 407 and how it seems like people older than AFO have Quirks.

“Meta abilities… also started to present…. in young people going through puberty.”

Which means that a variety of people were developing meta abilities all around the same time, which led to chaos in society due to inadequate research into the meta ability phenomenon that has been ongoing since the Glowing Baby was born, since researchers “hypothesized that a novel disease was to blame.”

In 407, we see some adult soldiers talking about meta people and coming across a young AFO in the streets, mentioning that they should avoid him because he might be a carrier of the meta ability “disease”. Which means that many believed in the early days that meta abilities spread through some sort of contact with someone who was a carrier.

This line of thought actually makes me believe that people older than AFO (who’s still a young child) have gained meta abilities, as mentioned a couple pages earlier.

We can even see a very young AFO apparently stealing Quirks from people he’s defeated or killed, who look a fair bit older than he does.

Which indicates that a variety of young people all over have suddenly developed powers with the disease line of thought being the most widely spread bit of information to create a wall between those with meta powers and those without.

It’s very likely that the original mutagen could have spread from All for One, or the mutagen could have been something that affected AFO and Yoichi’s mother who then passed along the mutation to the twins, since she was clearly showing some signs of a minor meta ability that AFO stole from her when he was born.

Whatever mutagen it was altered the DNA of multiple people - many of them either born with their meta ability or developing them as minors before and during puberty; which makes me hypothesize that the earliest people with meta abilities, all in the same generation, gained it through some sort of environmental factor and they weren’t all born with altered genetics.

Some sort of mutagen altered their DNA, triggering the appearances of unique powers and appearances, and Ch 407’s narrator makes it seem like Quirks began with All for One and his brother.

I wonder if any of this will be confirmed, or if we’re going to be left to theorize about the origins of Quirks and AFO’s possible role as one of the earliest people with meta abilities.

[prince-liest]

Someone wrote a fic on AFO and Hawks having a conversation, it wasn't the fic itself, but it contained that. On quirks, hero politics, and other shady things. I've never been more terrified in my life of these two getting along. Could you already imagine what it'd be like to have them go against each other, two skilled intellectual manipulators? But teaming up???Consider me Spooked.

OML, I never even thought about those two interacting! I feel like you don’t strictly have too much to be spooked by - I think it’s a very neat concept, but I also really don’t think that AFO and Hawks would at any point be truly getting along.

They’re both clever bastards too nosy or intelligent for everyone else’s good, and despite being a hero, a lot of Hawks’s character is centered around his willingness to do things that go against heroic morals and his own morals on the behalf of the Hero Public Safety Commission for what he perceives to be the greater good. This dude isn’t somehow unaware that murder is wrong, he’s just willing to be the guy that does it because he’s convinced it’s necessary to prevent even greater atrocity. AFO, meanwhile, also sees himself as bringing a form of ‘greater good’ to the world in the form of seizing control and instilling order through his campaign for power. They have a lot of similarities in their backgrounds and modus operandi -

At the same, however, I think the way that Hawks presents himself to the League of Villains is pretty representative of how he would present himself to All For One. A good liar tells lies that are based in the truth, and I genuinely believe that Hawks was being incredibly truthful when he spoke to Dabi and Twice about his desires for freedom and peace. His more abstract goals are very in-line with that of AFO and the League. I also think that he’s fully aware that he can have similar goals and wishes without committing to a campaign of genocide, and uses that liberally. He prioritizes what he’s been taught is the ‘greater good’ over what he believes is individually moral and over what he personally wants out of his own life, and his main anxiety isn’t that he’s never going to get some time to chill out but rather that his shoulders aren’t broad enough to carry the weight of the world’s safekeeping. 

The martyr complex is strong with this one.

Anyways, I think that in the end it would be absolutely spectacular to watch AFO and Hawks play the game of political and ideological espionage, but I also think it would end up being an epic mindfuck of double-crossing rather than any legitimate dedication on Hawks’s part because the guy’s too committed to sacrificing himself and everything else he believes in for the one (1) most important ideal that’s been drilled into him.

[bokunometacademia]

AFO’s Weaknesses

All for One is an incredibly powerful quirk (maybe THE most powerful quirk next to OFA). The ability to steal quirks, be able to use those quirks, and the ability to give those quirks away is OP AF.

It’s not surprising that AFO became the most powerful villain with a quirk like that. The possibilities are endless.

But it doesn’t mean that there aren’t any weaknesses.

(In depth look at the possible weaknesses of the quirk AFO and some comparison to OFA. This meta was originally part of another meta that was getting too long and off topic, needless to say there will be manga spoilers below the cut!)

As I already said, AFO can basically do three things: steal, use, and give away quirks. Each one has potential limitations that have been addressed in the manga or have been carefully not discussed at all. I’ll go through as many as I can think of.

Part One: To Steal a Quirk

So we know for sure AFO steals quirks. It doesn’t borrow the power or allow the user to copy it (like Monoma’s quirk). It steals the abilities forever, leaving the original quirk-holder without their quirk.

We know from Ragdoll, that when a quirk is stolen the experience may be traumatic, but ultimately the person can go back to their same personality after a period of time and rest (ch 184).

We also know that AFO can steal quirks relating to mental abilities (Ragdoll’s search), enhancing physical sensations (super hearing and vibration sensing), enhancing physical abilities (super strength and speed), and possibly a variety of other abilities (warp quirk, cybernetic fingernail quirk, etc).

AFO also has a quirk that relates to prolonged life in some way whether that be related to an advanced healing factor, immortality, advanced durability, or any number of other possible quirks is unclear.

We can also assume it can steal quirks relating to external manipulation (Best Jeanist). Even though he didn’t steal Best Jeanist’s quirk he suggested that it was within his ability, it just wouldn’t be useful because it required too much training.

We can also assume that many of the Nomu’s skills were gifted by AFO, meaning that they’re quirks that AFO would have been able to steal. But it’s unclear which quirks the Nomu’s started with and which ones were given.

While there hasn’t been any definitive evidence that there are quirks that AFO can’t steal, I would imagine it’s impossible for AFO to steal quirks that require a physical mutation. Similar to how Aizawa is unable to turn mutation quirks off and uses his scarf and fighting skills to counteract them.

Originally posted by yoshis

The reason this makes sense is because of Aizawa’s limitations. But also because AFO hasn’t stolen a quirk of a person with extra eyes in order to be able to see again and looks entirely like a normal man in a suit. Either he can’t steal mutation quirks or he always gives mutation quirks away (which, again, doesn’t make sense for a guy with no eyes).

The hole in that theory is the Nomu’s have mutation quirks. Either this is from AFO having the ability to transfer mutation quirks, or this is due to the doctor’s quirk, or they’re starting with a person with a mutation quirk and adding other types of quirks to it, or some combination therein.

The pterodactyl Nomu having (at least in part) the mind of Izuku’s childhood friend (ch 56) would suggest that the friend was the starting place that quirks were added to. But the way both the pterodactyl Nomu and the USJ Nomu look different from their original bodies would mean that someone’s quirk is responsible for that physical change whether that be AFO or the doctor’s quirk.

Even so I still think it’s most likely that AFO is unable to steal mutation quirks, and that the mutations in the Nomu are a result of the doctor’s work.

One would assume for One For All to have survived as long as it has, that AFO is unable to for whatever reason steal OFA. Although this has not been confirmed by anything other than its continued existence.

Another possible weakness of how AFO steals quirks is the distance at which a quirk can be stolen. So far in the manga the only character we’ve seen AFO steal a quirk from was Ragdoll and we didn’t get to see the process.

But we have gotten to see one important scene where AFO gifts a quirk:

In this case AFO is putting his hands directly onto the victim’s head and then giving a quirk from there. It would make sense that AFO would have to touch a person to give them a quirk and would have to also touch them to take away a quirk.

It’s also a weakness that AFO cannot sense quirks. He doesn’t realize his brother already had a quirk before gifting a second one (as far as we know). He also takes a minute fighting Best Jeanist before determining that his quirk isn’t useful to steal.

It also may take time to steal a quirk, but I haven’t been able to find any evidence one way or another how long it might take for AFO to steal a quirk, except that we know it takes less than 24 hours (due to how long Ragdoll was kidnapped).

So we know that stealing a quirk:

is permanent (but not permanently debilitating)

that most types of quirks can be stolen (although possibly not mutations)

that they can be stolen from touching a victim (although distance is unclear)

and that they take less than 24 hours to steal (but may possibly take significantly less than that).

Part 2: To Use a Quirk

It’s quite possible there’s a limit to the number of quirks AFO could hold at one time, although it hasn’t been addressed or suggested in any way. However, having a limit could make sense of the reason AFO doesn’t just steal everyone’s power around him, and be another reason for him to have given up a quirk to his brother.

It’s also never been addressed how many quirks AFO can use at a single time, not just hold, but actually use. We have seen him use several quirks at once to make his arm an incredible amount stronger, but there may be a limit.

As we’ve seen from AFO’s fight with Best Jeanist (ch. 89), he’s pretty picky about the quirks he decides to take. He doesn’t want quirks that require a lot of training or experience, because when he takes a quirk he doesn’t automatically get training or experience when he steals it, and neither does anyone he gives a quirk to.

This means that while AFO can steal a wide variety of quirks, he’s looking for quirks that are powerful regardless of training. This is the most clear and obvious weakness of AFO. He takes time (just like everybody else) to master certain quirks, and he doesn’t want to take that time.

(I also really like this impatience quality in AFO from a storytelling perspective, because it puts him as a foil to characters like Mirio who directly stated that his quirk is only strong because he made it strong. It gives a very good life lesson on being a hero/good/talented really requires putting in the work.)

And (mostly just for fun) we can also look at something like Class A and see who’s most at risk of getting their quirk stolen:

Tsuyu Asui, Tenya Iida, Mashirao Ojiro, Mezo Shoji, Kyoka Jiro, Hanta Sero, Toru Hagakure, Minoru Mineta (very unlikely) - powers seem to rely on physical mutations

Momo Yaoyorozu (very unlikely) - powerful quirk but requires the most training of anyone in the class to be able to work, she can only make things that she knows the entirety of the chemical structures (dayum this gurl has to be smart)

Yugo Aoyama (unlikely) - needs mechanical support for quirk to work well, and physical drawback of puking after only a little output

Rikido Sato (maybe) - good strong power even without training, has mental drawbacks, and a requirement to function (eating lots of sugar)

Fumikage Tokoyami (maybe) - it’s unclear how much dark shadow is its own person, it may not listen to a different master, or it may work really well with a villain

Mina Ashido, Koji Koda (likely) - good strong powers, doesn’t require too much control, powers don’t appear to rely on their physical mutations

Ochako Ururuaka, Denki Kaminari, Eijiro Kirishima, Shoto Todoroki, Katsuki Bakugou (most likely) - good strong powers even without training, not too harsh of drawbacks when used within reason

We also know (thank you Bakugou) that all quirks have drawbacks to use them. Sometimes the drawbacks take a physical toll like with Bakugou or Todoroki. Sometimes they take a mental toll like Sato or Kaminari. Sometimes the drawback is about having control over the power like Tokoyami. But it means that AFO must also be getting these drawbacks when he uses other people’s quirks. He should be able to be worn down, but he also probably picks powers that have fewer drawbacks to them. This is also reasoning for why AFO wouldn’t just steal everyone’s quirk around himself.

Using quirks is really where I see OFA at having the advantage over AFO.

AFO may not have had too much trouble defeating OFA users during the first few generations. But with each new iteration of OFA, as it gets passed down user to user, it gets more powerful. They don’t just get the quirks of the previous users, they also get the physical capability of each quirk user added to their own. OFA users get their own quirks amplified, their physical abilities amplified, AND the ability to use previous owner’s quirks.

OFA is limited in the number of quirks based only on how many previous generations there were. Same for how much power it has stockpiled. I went into slightly more depth in how OFA now works with the newest manga info in this meta. From what we can understand the stockpiled power is what can amplify a user’s own quirk and or physical abilities.

Izuku will have to train his own body and skills very hard to be able to use the stockpiled power without breaking himself, as well as to be able to use the previous owners quirks. (As I mentioned this will very neatly make Izuku a foil of AFO, and makes my literary brain quite happy)

Really this means that AFO’s power comes from having access to a larger number of weaker quirks (especially as OFA becomes more powerful generation after generation). Of course AFO could counteract that just by, ya know, training, but what kind of big bad would he be if someone saw him sweating at the gym?

So it’s cool to think that a lot of what the final battle is gonna hinge on isn’t what a person’s quirk is, but how much they’ve trained their quirk to become strong. What makes you a hero isn’t how strong or skilled you are, it’s how much you work towards doing good for both yourself and others. (*sheds a single tear for Mirio)

But I digress.

AFO

May or may not have a limit to number of quirks he can hold and use at any given time (and it may be so many that it won’t become relevant)

Has to train to use quirks that require lots of training (and specifically won’t steal a strong quirk if it requires a lot of training)

Most likely feels aftereffects of the quirks he uses (although he may have other quirks that counteract those effects)

Part 3: The Gift of a Quirk

The only character we’ve seen AFO give a quirk was his brother, where he placed a hand on his head. It’s quite possible that there’s a distance or amount time involved in giving a quirk to someone. We’ve also seen quirks where the more info a user knows about a person the more effective their quirk will work (Toga Himiko). These could all be factors in AFO’s use, although there is little evidence to suggest these factors with the exception of distance required likely being physical touch, and possibly requiring a forehead touch.

Otherwise the important thing to think about in relation to giving a quirk is the effect on the person you’ve given it to.

All Might suggested that giving the quirk may have been to force his younger brother to submit (ch. 59). There’s a possibility with that statement and with the brain-dead Nomu’s and Shigaraki’s demeanor that this means that AFO giving a quirk to someone may mess with their brain in some way.

However that argument is hard to make when you consider that passing on One For All doesn’t seem to mess with people’s brains, and that the most similar comparison would be Ragdoll’s stolen quirk, which didn’t seem to permanently mess up her brain either.

(Although I will say that my theory with the stockpiling quirk gift is that AFO realized that the stockpiling quirk would break his bones and thought that a painful quirk like that would subdue his brother, not realizing or not caring that you could counteract the breaking with a significant amount of training, and as we have established AFO is lazy af)

The existence of the Nomu may suggest a few other possibilities for gifting quirks. They may be made brain dead because AFO fears his underlings becoming too powerful, so he only gifts many numerous quirks to those who are under his complete control (i.e. brain dead Nomus, and a successor he trained and abused from a child age).

AFO gifting quirks may also steadily decrease brain function, or adding quirks may be traumatic enough that each additional quirk added makes a person less functional. In that case the creation of the Nomus would be necessary for AFO to be able to gift numerous quirks to someone else. There’s not really evidence to suggest or deny this, but worth mentioning.

Also worth mentioning that Shigaraki may or may not have ever been gifted a quirk from AFO, but I included him just in case he has.

So the conclusion of gifting quirks is that AFO:

May have to touch a person to gift a quirk, may have to touch them for an undetermined period of time

May cause brain problems when gifting a quirk or multiple quirks, or that most individuals have limitations on how many quirks they can possess

Or none of this could be true

Conclusions:

Basically AFO is super powerful, but is still a quirk that can have limitations or drawbacks just like every quirk we’ve seen. There’s not enough evidence to suggest any limitations conclusively, but there’s enough to question several different facets of AFO.

Woo that got way longer than intended for something so incredibly inconclusive! So have a smiling Izuku to thank you for getting all the way here!

[gradelstuff]

One of the Q&A questions about AFO in the Ultra Age fanbook:

Source

[gradelstuff]

AFO NAME REVEAL?

[bkdkink]

So because I like to torture myself, I have a theory that AFO somehow got to Izuku's dad before getting caught and used his power on him to try to make him a nomu too, but he took to the powers better then most and is still very functioning, and Izuku is going to have to fight him as a kind of last boss and Katsuki is going to help him because this will be one of the hardest fights of him life, physically, mentally, and emotionally.... At least, that's what I think:/

WOW

Youre right you do like to torture yourself im wheezing

No but seriously thats a really cool idea!!!! Angsty af but i like it!! It has the twist people are expecting Hori to do, it has the emotional stuff that Deku experiences which end up igniting new quirks and furthering his development and some baku and deku interaction and team work!!

Just—MWUAH. delicious.