The closest we can get to achieving a modern version of the "one in twelve people in Asia is descended from Genghis Khan" theory is in the field of yuri and Touhou. A staggering percentage of yuri fiction demonstrates either direct lines of descent from the project (the authors were fans and made Touhou doujins before publishing original work) or indirect ones based on environmental and cultural factors (every popular trope and most niche ones in yuri today were done by ZUN about ten years before it was cool).

Much speculation abounds as to the causes of this captivating phenomenon, but the theory I most support states simply that Gensokyo exists and there's a bunch of yuri youkai puppeteering the scene. The second-most plausible theory is that ZUN hit upon the themes, aesthetics and issues that would most interest a culture of queer authors in the 21st century quite early on and helped directly and indirectly proliferate them via the enormous popularity of his project (this theory has no lesbian Illuminati in it, so I have to dock points).

So basically:

Tohou is for Yuri what Flapjack was, and still is, for Western Animation

UP TO INTERPRETATION MY ASS LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

WE ARE SO BACK WE'VE NEVER BEEN BACKER

People boiling down this entire storyline to nothing more then just "girls fighting over a boy" have always been talking outta their asses

This was never about some love trangle with Deku at the center. While yes, he does matter to their story, by now its very clear:

Toga's and Ochako's conflict, and their charater arcs, are about unconditional love, communication and expressing your feelings instead of supressing them.

Deku, while important to both of them, as the one who gave them a connection in the first place through a shared crush, is literally nowhere to be seen, outside of one panel

And, lets not beat around the bush: This entire fight is also very heavily queer coded. You cannnot tell me that theres nothing gay about Himiko's backstory in the previous chapter, or Ochako's blood pact that essentially reads like a wedding vow...

Will Horikoshi actually commit to this? Am i actually just delusional shipper and Ochako ends up with the MC anyway?

I do not know the answer to those 2 questions, but what i know is this: Togachakos story deserves to be recognized as its own thing, something that doesnt just exist in context of a man they "are fighting over"... becuase thats not what Horikoshi is going for here

Deku is more of an accidental matchmaker, than a potential boyfriend at this point lol

As if we don’t constantly think that’s a possibility. As if that’s not what we have been expecting the very beginning we picked BNHA. As if we aren’t the first ones thinking of ways this can be platonic, or put to the side, or mean nothing.

We do think those things, we don’t need the reminders or “warnings”; but I refuse to keep letting myself down before it even happens in the first place.

Why straight shippers can just be confident, and assume everything, even changing storylines and phrases in order to fulfill their ships, while we can’t? Statistics? The reason I started believing this can happen it’s because BNHA has actively went against the main straight ship in ways that aren’t accidents or just a clueless writer not knowing how to write romance, it’s not simply “oh look this author forgot about the main couple bc of the action focus”, because there’s nothing supporting that relationship but a one sided crush.

Im sure there weren’t any bad intentions with those tags and the reblog, but we don’t need anybody telling us what we should do bc we will get hurt.

People who don’t even read BNHA have seen the chapter and go “this is gay”, people who were casual shippers now see a canonical potential, why do we have to constantly tear the possibilities down bc “oh it’s shonen”.

Things change. There are LGBT+ shonen, including in shonen jump, these topics aren’t always going to be a taboo or impossible thought for this demographic.

I understand the pain behind it, I understand how it can be harmful if you put too much of yourself in them, but the message is not a necessity

The thing about "this is a battle shonen, so its never gonna happen" is that... do yall think that anime will forever be conservative and never have popular mainstream shows with open queer rep? Cuz, you know...

Gundam literally just had a lesbian married couple as the main characters.

We are practically getting a new, popuar queer anime every season (with a small break this cour, unfortunetly), one of them being FUCKING GUNDAM.

Things CAN change for the better... no, it WILL change for the better. Japan's support for gay people is now at an all time high, theres currently an active push for the recognition for same-sex marriage, and this is slowly being reflected in the media produced in japan.

Assuming that heternomativity will last with no end in sight, cuz thats how it used to be, is just playing into the homophobes hands.

Like i said, i have no idea if were gonna be proven right or wrong, and i certainly cant prove Horikoshi's authorial intent, unless he says it himself. But, for now, i just want to revel in this moment, and choose happiness over agonizing "BUT WHAT IF ITS BAIT, OR ACCIDENTAL?!?!?!?"

also, answering @angy-grrr 's remark: i think i was being very sceptical just 2 weeks ago, and posted about? but by now, my brain has been completely rotted by these two. Overall, this arc as a whole made me fall out of love with mha... but then this fight happend, and now i cant stop thinking about TogaChako, like, at all lmao