#scissors-kun

[class1akids]

Volume 42 - extras

[codenamesazanka]

With this new mystery person I’ve been people saying a lot of things from it’s tenko to it’s the new afo the kids are gonna stop by preventing him from ever being a villain. Among all that there’s been a fair amount of people saying this is showing hero society is doomed now that shigaraki and the league are gone. My question though is how would shigaraki and the league winning or teaming up with deku and the heroes for the future prevent this? Like what could have actually been done to prevent this? Like tenko says he’s gonna be the hero to the villains but that doesn’t change the problem, he’s still one guy the league members are a finite amount. Even if every single fighter on that battlefield decided hey let’s all work together for a better future, how does that stop people from falling through the cracks? Like short of a totalitarian surveillance state where every single person has a twice clone with them in case something happens there’s still gonna be incidents where no one that can help is around for some reason.

So it's true that as much as I hype up the League and Shigaraki and insist they are right (and they are! to a point), they were indeed less interested in the new world they will be building, and more just interested in tearing down the old world. The world that comes after destruction was at best vague, at worst just pure lawless chaos, a quirk free-for-all. But for them, in their imagining, it would've been a freer world in some aspects, in that the rules and norms they felt trapped in can be destroyed. Heroes as a civil servant/law enforcement job wouldn't exist; they're free to use their quirks; the standards that called them inhuman and crazy and the such and rejected them could be abolished. It's true that it wouldn't have been a better society for everyone - which is why the League and the Villains had to be defeated.

What would've been (and still would be) ideal is the Heroes taking lessons from this - hearing out the League's discontent of the deep structural issues of their current society, and doing something about it. But see - here, its not about Heroes or fighters. It's about change on all levels of society. Change in attitudes and cultural mindset and institutions. You stop people from falling through the cracks by getting rid of the cracks the best you can; by building multiple safety nets above the cracks; and finally by having people who reach into the cracks to pull out those who've still managed to fall in.

A lot of the issues the League went through really could not have been solved by Heroes; did not need to be solved by Heroes, if the proper cultural progress was made and the social support services were available. So like, Toga:

Her parents seemed to have been very concerned about abiding by the prevailing norms of society. This could be because society values conformity and ostracizes those who can't fit into a neat, little box - despite the fact that quirks should've broaden and redefined those boxes, after a whole century since quirks appeared. Change the need and the pressure to conform - educate people to be more tolerant and accommodating - and her parents might have felt less fearful of having a child that wasn't 'normal'. Heck, change the definition of 'normal'.

I've always wondered what exactly a Hero can do about the emotional abuse Toga's parents inflicted on her. For one thing, I doubt they were screaming 'inhuman demon child' at little four-year-old Toga in public at a frequency and volume that would make a Hero take notice. (Remember, they wanted to be seen as a nice, normal, middle-class family. All the abuse was probably kept at home, behind closed doors.) And I wonder if someone did try to intervene, the parents might not have tried to claim it's simply discipline, because after all, Toga has an instinct to drink blood - relying on the Heroes' own understanding of human taboos and preconceived notions of 'villainous' quirks. Plus, no one in this situation is using their quirk - no law is being broken. For this to be addressed, we go back to the point above - education about the definition of 'normal' - as well as a more robust child welfare system.

Quirk counseling! When the lady said Toga had "deviant behavior" and said "Let's get you all reformed, nice and normal" and promised Toga's parents that "we'll be sure to iron it all out", that's her doing her job. A job that the government supports, given how they have general quirk counselings at schools. A job that UA Hero Factory Principal Nedzu probably helped developed in some way, since he's apparently an influential and world-renown expert in 'quirk morality education'. Quirk Counseling Lady is there to give Toga therapy. She was probably incredibly nice and professional about it. She was probably properly following all procedures. There is nothing you can arrest her for. No, the issue is the goal of quirk counseling itself - to make someone 'normal'. And we're back again to point above.

And then there was all the teachers throughout the 9 years of Toga's public school education that could've taken notice of anything wrong at home. Probably should've paid more attention to the bite wounds at Toga's wrists.

Hell, there probably could've been a hotline for Toga to call or a youth center for Toga to go to, if she felt she was struggling and reaching a point of break. Why didn't she go? Maybe because she was afraid she'll be called inhuman, that she'll be turned away. Why does she think that way? See first point above.

She stabbed Saito, but even then, I think the right response could've stopped her from stabbing more people. After the stabbing, Toga went on the run, and she's been fearful ever since that she would be killed by Heroes. Instead of turning herself in, expecting to still be treated as a person and that the justice she’ll receive is appropriate, she figured it was better to throw her lot with Villains and the underworld at 15 years old. She believed that she had a better chance surviving homeless on the streets with harden criminals, than with Heroes and whatever juvie they put her in. I think there's an image issue there that Heroes and police should fix. Yes, criminals should feel guilt and horrible and prison has to be unpleasant in order to be a deterrent to crime, but in the interest of harm reduction, maybe rethink that.

Also maybe if the media didn't go and put her parent calling her a demon child and disowning her on air. Kinda feels like the type of thing that burn bridges and makes her feel she can't return, even if she might have wanted at some point. Who the heck authorized that segment???

This is a lot of speculation, but I don't think it's illogical. I don't think the problem just started when Toga stabbed Saito and a Hero failed to beat her up and arrest her, a 'fighter' that couldn't be there to prevent the incident. I think the problem started when her parents freaked out at seeing her quirk manifest and their first instinct is to slap her and accuse their 3-year-old of catching a bird to kill it and drink it's blood and then proceed to worry about 'my child is not normal!!!', instead of gently taking the bird away, be concerned about germs, and giving her unconditional love but also firm parenting.

Consider the mirror opposite: Iida, who went rogue and tried to get revenge on Stain.

First off, I think UA - Aizawa specifically - failed so badly in it's job as teachers. Iida's brother is attacked and paralyzed by Stain; Stain was last seen in Hosu; Iida wrote on his Internship form he wants to intern at an agency in Hosu (and left it as his only choice in a form that give three choices). That's a giant red flag??? And they let the kid go??? So that's a missing safety net.

Manuel seeing just how obvious it was that Iida was after Stain. He gave him a talking to, which is good, but that was it. Should've ordered the kid home immediately. Second missing safety net.

Iida goes and attacks Stain. This is where Iida starts getting helped. Deku and Todoroki figured out his plan and went to help him, instead of, say, deciding that, 'Wow, he's breaking the rules. Maybe he's not such a good guy after all. Should disassociate myself from such a person if I want a successful school and Hero career.' But they helped, and so Iida and Native aren't dead in a alley - or 'worse': Native dead, but Iida is alive, and part of the responsibility possibly put on him.

Biggest help: The police chief deciding to help out these kids by not pressing charges, by making sure the story is not released to the public, and ensuring that the small number of eyewitnesses stay hush.

His family also didn't disown him or become estranged from him for getting caught up in all this. They love him, so they wouldn't.

I get that Iida is an excellent student and promising Hero student who made an error in judgment when he was caught in whirlwind of emotions regarding his beloved brother, and Toga was less so. (Maybe. She was a year younger and we didn't know her grades and we weren't quite sure the exact sequence of events the led to her stabbing Saito, which was due to her getting caught in the whirlwind of a romantic crush, perhaps her first taste of love after receiving none at home). But had he not had the support he had, he would've kept falling. And where would he have landed then?

You don't need a Twice to prevent these incidents. You don't even need Heroes, exactly. You needed understanding and caring citizens, in a supportive community. Now make it a culture that produces such citizens.

With Mystery Person. We don't know what their deal is, or what their past. But if they are a victim of abuse and confinement from their parents who couldn't handle their quirk, then a Hero saving them is a Hero coming in after the damage has been done. I think the better fix is to stop the damage before it happens - making sure parents never conclude they should be zip-tying their kids as a solution to anything.

Sorry for the long response! And sorry for how pseudo-sociologist it got. Don't trust me on this. It's only my thoughts. Thanks for the ask!

[stillness-in-green]

codenamesazanka mentions you a lot when they talk about the new mystery person. any extra analyzes you want give? do *you* think its Tenko?

I 100% do not think it’s Tenko.  It would raise way too many questions about how he got in some rando’s house, why he had to use scissors to free himself, how or if he was recognized, why he was imprisoned if he wasn’t, why he was imprisoned if he was, and so on and so forth.  I wholly believe that he’s just an expy!Tenko, meant to demonstrate how society has changed.

I suppose the only other analysis I have to offer—and I don’t remember if Nal’s touched on this or not in the time it’s been since I got this ask—is the issue of how an expy!Tenko to save is kind of meaningless as a reflection of how Tenko might have been saved when the story was in such a rush to blame every aspect of him on All For One anyway.

That is, if every problem Shigaraki Tomura posed was actually because of the way AFO “groomed” him, then what does saving Scissors-kun change or prove?  Killing or imprisoning all the Villains in the endgame just proves that the Heroes can’t do shit about helping Villains because they’re “too far gone.”  Saving Scissors-kun before he becomes a Villain is great, sure, and much to be desired, but it doesn’t prove anything about how society has changed in such a way that it could now save any future Tomuras.

Conversely, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Scissors-kun is a Tenko parallel in a different way, and that’s making him be All For One’s fault, somehow, even though AFO is already dead.  He could be from one of the twisted orphanages Ujiko ran, or, for the stronger Tenko parallel, be the child of someone who grew up in one of those orphanages.  And if he was being kept locked in a basement as a result of someone twisted by the seedbed of hatred they grew up in, that ultimately makes the situation All For One’s fault, meaning the story gets to continue to blame all of its setting's problems on one (1) Evil Bad Man, even after that Evil Bad Man has already died.

Really, the whole issue with Scissors-kun as an expy!Tenko, even while I think it is most likely where the story’s going with him, is that he isn’t much of an expy!Tenko if his circumstances have nothing to do with AFO, but it’s still really shitty if they do.  He’d be a much better expy!Toga, but then saving him means the story doesn’t revolve around Deku, and I hardly expect that to start happening now!

Also, for all the talk about him looking like Tenko, I just don’t think he actually does.  The hair color and waviness is one thing, but to me, his eyes are wrong.  Sure, the color/lack of color is right—uninked irises with a black outline—but even accounting for the fact that they’re widened in distress, they’re much too large to be Tomura’s eyes unless he’s lost at least six years in the process of winding up in that house, and the corners of them are pointing at the wrong angles, besides.

Below are some comparison pictures--first of Scissors-kun compared to Tenko, then compared to Tomura:

Note how, whether as a child or as an adult, Shigaraki's eyes always have that upward angle to their outermost point, the shape of the his bottom eyelid sweeping upward in a smooth curve, such that the outer corner rests higher on his face than the inner corner. Conversely, Scissors-kun's eyes come more to a more level, horizontal-facing point, or maybe even a slight downwards-angled droop, such that the outer and inner corners of his eyes seem more level with each other.

To throw a third character into the mix, compare Scissors-kun with both Shigaraki and Re-Destro:

(Note: Shigaraki here has been mirrored for comparison purposes; I used the shot where he and Re-Destro visually face off during the latter's declaration of war.)

Scissors-kun is looking downward in the only shot we have of his face so far, so it's not a perfect comparison, but try to imagine how his eyeshape would look if he were facing directly outward, head held as level as Shigaraki's and RD's are. Do you see how the shape and angles involved would make his eyeshape look more like RD's than Shigaraki's?

Also, there's that funny little arrow point at the end of one of his bangs, the one by his nose that looks more like a baby version of one of Chrono's silly hair arrows than anything we've seen on Shigaraki or Tenko.

So, yeah, I think he is clearly supposed to be reminiscent of Shigaraki/Tenko, presumably for thematic reasons we'll be covering in the last few chapters, but I don't think he is him.

But then, it's only one panel so far, and the very first one at that, on top of the tilted angle. Maybe the resemblance will be more pronounced when he shows up next time. We'll see. Thanks for the ask!

[codenamesazanka]

have only taken a peek at jtwitter so far but a lot of them (at least when compared to western fandom) think that mystery person could be spinner?? I don't think it is but i can't help but wonder how horikoshi would explain that. and just imagine being spinner that scenario. one minute you're passed out on a hospital floor, next minute you're quirkless, tied up in some stranger's house, and unaware that your boyfriend has been dead for two weeks. what a fate

WHAT A FATE. Went immediately from tragic romance in shonen adventure manga to escape-from-captivity (maybe seek revenge, afterwards...?) horror/mystery/thriller movie. What even.

For a few moments on leaks night, I had also thought maybe Mystery Person was Spinner. I was desperate and full of love for my guy. Also Mystery Person just looked so sad and pathetic. I believe - and love - that people think it's Spinner, because the character is so sad looking and also kinda pathetic. Sorta like Spinner during his hikikomori days.

Also maybe because of the hair, kinda. The length and texture of it?

(I had wondered like - why the hair color change? Maybe the pink hair was part of his quirk, so when he lost that, the pink coloring goes too? 😭

@robotlesbianjavert said "turns out being able to climb up walls was due to the heteromorph genetics but NOT the quirk factor. the quirk factor was the hair. and they fucking took it from him. his love interest coding. during pride month too……" 😭)

The theories seem to be:

1) After getting his Scalemail scales removed, Spinner also lost his other quirks/quirk factors. Then he escaped from the hospital. (But got captured...?)

2) Kurogiri managed to teleport Spinner away, and between then and now (two weeks(?) after the war), Spinner somehow managed to lose his quirks/quirk factors.

2.5) Spinner might have been given a quirk-erasing bullet to save him from the brain melting of extra quirks?

(Which might finally explain why that bizarre gun panel is in Chapter 372. @stillness-in-green pointed this out. But opens up a whole other list of questions. Who was holding the gun? Officer Gori? Present Mic? Mic's gloves would fit the hand holding the gun... Why would Heroes have a quirk-erasing bullet? Did they find one, after arresting the Doc, or from the remains of the lab after Jaku? Why use it on Spinner??? Actually, using it on the heteromorphic quirk spokesman kinda makes sense... in an extremely atrocious way—but why on earth not use it on AFO or Shigaraki? etc etc etc)

I don't think Mystery Person is Spinner either! (which, like, WOW. Taking away the heteromorphic quirk from a character who was just involved in a heteromorphic discrimination mini-arc, no matter how badly it was resolved... yikes; and in a story about accepting living in a society full of different quirks (pending any new quirk doomsday theory plot thing) - another ehhhhh) But we have three weeks so we all might as well go insane.

Thanks for the ask!