#and actually that last comic isn't strictly true

[makeste]

[marge simpson noises]

so yeah, I have been doing some thinking about this.

particularly that “I won’t give you a moment to rest” bit.

and also about this:

so as far as the math for that goes, when All Might met Deku in chapter one, he said it had been five years since his battle with AFO. since then, almost exactly two years have passed; All Might’s conversation with Deku on that rooftop took place in April of Deku’s last year of middle school, and as of chapter 296 it is April again (or just about), and we are about to enter Deku’s second year of high school.

now, we don’t know exactly when Nighteye had his vision, but I think it’s a safe bet that their falling-out didn’t happen too long afterward. so it’s reasonable to guess that Nighteye saw that prophecy shortly before All Might’s fateful battle with AFO. which was five years before the start of the manga, and thus almost exactly seven years before the current chapter.

here are some other things to consider:

“I won’t give you a moment to rest” is a VERY smart move on AFO’s part. right now the heroes are all either terribly wounded, or busy assisting with the rescue efforts at Gunga and Jakku. not a single one of the top ten (or probably even the top fifty) heroes is in any kind of fighting condition. there is basically no one around who can stop the Noumus from busting AFO out. AFO has purposely timed it that way; but more than that, Horikoshi has timed it that way, because at the end of the day his characters are only as smart or as stupid as he makes them lol. both the heroes and villains alike have done any number of stupid things during this arc when it was convenient for the story. if Horikoshi wanted an arc where the villains broke out of Tartarus and Deku and the others tried to fend them off, he would have dumbed down AFO, or perhaps just made him so overconfident that he didn’t feel it necessary to wait until the heroes were weakened. but instead, he chose this time around to give us the Smart version of AFO, who has Brain Cells, and who waits until the heroes are all indisposed.

basically what I’m trying to get at here is that Horikoshi wrote Deku and the others out of this arc. actually that’s a much more concise summary that basically sums it all up in one sentence instead of the above long paragraph lol but oh well.

meanwhile, All Might, as we saw earlier in the War arc, is still back at U.A. with Eri (and probably Rat Principal too, I suppose).

as previously mentioned, the rest of the U.A. staff (as well as Naomasa) all appear to be at Gunga or Jakku.

All Might is very much not in a condition to be fighting anyone at this stage. I know there are theories out there that Eri might be able to Rewind him back to a point where he still had his power, but (a) I’m not sure that OFA works like that, and (b) even if it did, judging by the size of Eri’s horn in chapter 276, she’s already used up most if not all of her power on Mirio. so she presumably needs time (and by “time” I mean “up to several months”) before she can recharge enough to be able to do anything that big again.

All Might has just enough of that self-sacrificing, noble-to-a-fault heroic spirit that I could see him foolishly rushing over to Tartarus in an attempt to stop his arch-nemesis from escaping, even if he knows it’s futile. much like the quirkless child he once met who tried to save his childhood friend by throwing a backpack.

and again, just to stress this point, because it’s the one thing that I actually can’t stop thinking about: Deku is currently unconscious. if he knew what was potentially about to go down (like, say, if he had a convenient Sense that warned him whenever Danger was approaching), I have no doubt he would activate every latent quirk left in his body and Float his concussioned drunkass self and his dangly spaghetti-limbs over to Tartarus in two seconds flat, consequences be damned. but he can’t. because thanks to Tomura he is currently down for the count.

when’s the last time Deku spoke to All Might, I wonder. the night before he left for the mission? did he Facetime him enroute to Jakku? did they have a sweet conversation where they were all Father & Son vibes and recklessly tempting the cruelty of fate?? why can I not stop thinking about this.

basically,

would Horikoshi possibly be that cruel? surely not, right? then again, wouldn’t he?? no. but then again. someone please reassure me here lol. oh my god.

#bnha 296 #all might #all for one #midoriya izuku #bnha meta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #long post #and actually that last comic isn't strictly true #I actually have Several Fears to tell the truth #but man if this ain't the most prevalent right now #plus what's all this I keep hearing about horikoshi crying while writing one of the upcoming chapters #no good can come of this basically lol