MHA/BNHA react to For The Want of A Nail by Clouds part 1

All for One was a simple man. He considered himself something of an expert on the subject of human nature, since an intimate knowledge of humanity and its weaknesses had served him well when building his current empire and, despite the rumors and legends surrounding his name, he was still human. As such, he was still susceptible to the same whims that plagued lesser beings, such as boredom, which was what had led to his current frustration.

He took great satisfaction in creating plans and executing them to perfection. In his opinion, a well constructed plan was like a well conducted symphony: all the instruments played their parts with few, if any, mistakes and followed the lead not only of the visible conductor, but of the invisible composer who sat silently as the orchestra mindlessly followed the directions he had given them so that every note was in its proper place at the proper time, just as the composer had envisioned.

It was perfection.

Shigaraki: Oh. Sensei's perspective. Just great.

Toga: If you want to I can stab him when we get back.

Dabi: No, you don't have a death wish, Toga.

Many younger people didn't understand the complexities of symphonies. They lacked the wisdom and maturity that came with age and quickly grew bored and annoyed, then complained about the length of the production as if there was no reason why they should give their valuable attention to anything for longer than a few seconds. They didn't understand that they couldn't possibly comprehend what true boredom was until they had lived over a lifetime.

Kaminari: ...Okay now that I think about it living forever will probably be very boring after a while.

Kaibara: 'Probably'?

He may have started with grand ideals all those centuries ago, but the truth was that half the reason he did the things he did at this point was because of that boredom. After a while, things like books and movies started to blend together as the same tropes were watered down and repeated so many times that they had become almost completely unpalatable, so All for One had been left with no choice but to compose his own entertainment with the world as his orchestra.

Dabi: In other words manipulate everything he can.

A perfect symphony took time, which All for One had in over-abundance. The composer had to find just the right instruments and manipulate each musician in just the right way to create a peice that would be entertaining enough to satisfy him, which meant that much of the fun of the composition was playing the long game to create it. The time invested in the plan made it so much more satisfying when the unwitting and unwilling participants carried it out to perfection. It was enough to give him chills.

Which was what made it so annoying when people got in the way of his plans. Yes, he could easily recover from the loss of the doctor's latest experiment, but it still irked him. According to his composition, Hamasaki's part in the symphony was to cause chaos on his test run so All for One and the doctor could see the results of their experiment. He fulfilled that part of his purpose well, but All for One had hoped to recover their experiment before the police could so that it would be a marvelous surprise when he gifted Tomura with the perfect army of super soldiers.

Shigaraki: The nomu...

Meddling heroes and vigilantes, however, had been... inconvenient. They were like audience members who, instead of sitting quietly as the composer intended, had taken it upon themselves to start playing kazoos in the middle of the third movement. It took what was supposed to be a flawless symphony and gave the entire experience a flavor that was just slightly off. It was grating.

All Might: Kazoos?

Gran Torino: That's not something I ever expected to hear him say...

All for One was nothing, however, if not resilient. As annoying as Hamasaki's capture was, it was nowhere near enough to ruin his symphony. He'd have to keep an eye on those troublesome individuals who had led to this mistake, just in case they started playing their kazoos again, but there was no need to crush them just yet. They were inconsequential in the long view of his perfect symphony.