atalkingrat

[atalkingrat]

Coming out of hiding for this man right heya 🥂🎉

Happy birthday Katsuki Bakugou, our number one hero💥💥💥

[atalkingrat]

Support course! Deku <3

[atalkingrat]

boys being boys

[atalkingrat]

FTS Sketches and Thumbnails dump <3

no idea if I'll ever get to finish them (this is not all of my fts wips) but I'm really happy cause I'm experimenting with composition/background/color palettes that I never use ^^

can you recognize the scenes? haha

[atalkingrat]

Also any content of Kats with his hero dads that he went out and found on his own is good good content

[atalkingrat]

Horikoshi christmas illustration

[atalkingrat]

Concept: a "Secret" setting programmed into Izuku's Suit, that's like a Berzerker mode, or maybe "Dark Deku" mode.

Activates when the suit detects heightened vitals, like heartbeat, oxygen levels, breath, maybe decibels of his voice?

So when Izuku is in his moments of high intensity/anger/rage, basically, when he loses his shit *cough*Katsuki being in danger*cough*, "Dark Deku" mode activates and the suit adapts to protect him further.

Like, extra plates add themselves to his armor, more buffer and aid to joints, there's a sort of "overdrive" effect that makes him faster and more effective. To the outside observer, it looks like this mode makes Izuku more offensive...but in actuality, it's mostly a defensive setting, designed first and foremost to protect Izuku.

The only thing is that it will drain the energy faster and he will have to recover.

It was probably a brainchild of Bakugou and Hatsume, bc on Katsukis end, he knows how insane Izuku can get given certain circumstances, and Hatsume having observed countless videos of Izuku's fighting and noticing that one of Izukus strongest trump cards, his OFA rage, would also end up being a huge risk to a Quirkless hero in a suit. They both would have to agree that in those moments, Izuku would need extra support, bolstering, and protection.

Hatsume would relish in the challenge, and Bakugou would sleep better at night if he knew that Izuku would be safe even if he flew into a rage.

Speaking of the energy of the suit, I think it'd be cool of they programmed it to be sort of self charging, like a hybrid car is. Maybe in some way, Hatsume replicates Fa Jin and doubles it as a kinetic energy generator.

Hori won't tell us more about the suit so I am gonna make up my own lore lmao

[atalkingrat]

all right, fine

let's play ball

that bkdk car conversation is really fucking gay

I made this blog to talk about language because I find it fun and fascinating, so while I'm not thrilled to acknowledge 431 any more than I have to, there's really hilarious shit happening in this scene and the people need to know.

So, the first fucking thing we hear outta Katsuki's mouth is this:

"Jeez, why the hell do I gotta be Deku's private little chauffeur!"

There are a few ways you could translate this. It's an indignant complaint with some rudeness, but comparatively mild for Katsuki. Some people might rephrase this to something more like "why do I gotta drive Deku's ass around" but I'm keeping the original, possessive grammar of デクのアッシー (Deku no asshii) because I think it highlights an important implication.

Sooooo... the word Katsuki uses here アッシー (asshii) is uniquely loaded slang.

Jisho.org

This term originates from Japan's bubble economy era of the late 80s and saw continued use through the 90s. During the economic bubble, the unemployment rate was very low; the related increased presence of women in the workplace led to a cultural perspective that women were gaining social power and financial independence.

From this new social dynamic emerged several terms:

Asshii-kun, Messhii-kun, and Mitsugu-kun.

English Journal, written by University of Kitakyuushuu linguistics professor Anne Crescini

There's also the lesser known Tsunagu-kun, who hooks up electronics for a woman, and Keep-kun, a "backup boyfriend" for when a woman's preferred partner dumps her.

A couple Japanese websites I looked at talked about luxury vehicles gaining in popularity during this time, so Asshii-kun are associated with expensive sports cars, something Katsuki is probably referencing since his car is fancy as fuck!

It's not a well known term anymore, to the point that I saw a number of jpn fans joking about having to look up what it means, haha. Katsuki's dialogue often has interesting, unusual word choices, and of course, reigning queen of up-to-date slang Camie teased him about his delinquent shtick being "out of fashion"!

In that journal article, Crescini explores English terms which roughly convey the same meaning as asshii. I've used google translate here to show you what is written, so let's take a look!

O--oh.

Oh.

fdkjslhsmh;lkshm;

LISTEN I WAS TRYING TO BE FUCKING EMPIRICAL AND SHIT

oh. is that right.

yeah

yeah he is

FYI shiri ni shikarareru of course carries the implication of a man being dominated or bossed around by his wife.

Now, on social media, I saw people (likely in their 40s and 50s) using the term jokingly to describe having to chauffeur someone around for errands. It was mostly men talking about their wives, but there were a couple instances of it being used for friends and family members. It definitely has the energy of "being forced to drive someone around without getting anything in return."

But notice that Katsuki voices this complaint about Izuku specifically, even though Kirishima is also in the car. Like yeah, he yells about Kirishima threatening to scratch his car, but he doesn't fucking call himself Kirishima's asshii!

He could have used a plural "you" pronoun or even pluralized Izuku's name with Deku-tachi to make it "Deku and the people with him," but no, it's "Deku's asshii."

Tell me, Kacchan, when it comes to Izuku, are you hoping to get something in return?

"If somebody'd just said the words 'I wanna surpass Dynamight,' I'd have taken 'em." "You ain't gonna give up teaching?"

date me date me date me fucking do hero work with ME Izuku be a hero with ME

[sigh...]

"Man, you got dumped, huh, Bakugou!!"

Listen. My jaw dropped when I saw Kirishima say this.

Weblio (google translated)

This definition specifies "amorous feelings of being in love" (恋愛感情). I'm not joking when I say I've almost exclusively heard this word used for rejected confessions or couples breaking up.

Japanese Stack Exchange question, "Can フラれて be used in any non-romantic sense?"

The Japanese example sentence describes a business proposal being immediately rejected. The comedy here is inherently tied to the verb being used for romantic rejection, like someone saying "I applied for a promotion, but those fickle hiring managers went and broke my heart."

Even if you aren't literally suggesting romantic love, the association makes it sound over the top and dramatic.

Kirishima is drawing attention to how serious and emotionally invested Katsuki is in making this offer and affectionately teasing him for it. Note that he doesn't just use the simple past tense for this verb (フラれた), which would have sounded direct and not particularly sympathetic. He's using a [verb] + shimau construction (further contracted as slang to "-chimatta") which makes it a "regrettable" outcome, like an "aww man!"

You can add that construction to any verb and it would sound funny/sympathetic, so he could have phrased it differently:

断られちまった ("You got turned down," common word used for all kinds of rejection)

拒められちまった ("You got denied," used for romantic, platonic, and familial relationships)

撥ね付けられちまった ("You got totally rejected," used for when someone coldly or flatly rejects an offer or request)

撃沈しちまった ("You got shot down," uses battleship sinking imagery for failure in daily life, business ventures, romance, hopes and dreams, etc.)

轟沈しちまった ("You got crushed," similar to above, but more severe and instantaneous sinking: instant kill, KO, torpedoed, etc.)

The last few in particular are very dramatic and humorous, so they would work well if Kirishima wanted to joke about the speed or bluntness of Izuku's refusal.

BUT NO.

DUDE USED THE VERB SPECIFICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH ROMANTIC REJECTION, which centers the feelings of heartbreak and disappointment.

He is commiserating with Katsuki for "putting his heart on the line" and getting the cold shoulder, and then he fucking wingmans for Katsuki by spelling it all out to Izuku!!

You can say all you want "it's just lighthearted banter, they're joking!" Sure. You're right, this is a funny scene.

But the joke is that Izuku is a cute girl Katsuki keeps trying (and failing) to woo. That he's taking advantage of Katsuki's feelings for him and stringing him along.

The joke is that Katsuki wants Izuku at his hero agency so bad, the rejection is essentially on the level of getting dumped or having your love confession rejected.

The joke is that Izuku is completely oblivious when it comes to love.

oh interesting doesn't that sound familiar

LITERALLY EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS NERD WOULDN'T NOTICE LOVE IF IT PUNCHED HIM IN THE FACE

'cause Katsuki already tried that one

But I will say, for all Katsuki's complaints, the problem is obviously not a lack of reciprocation. The problem is that Izuku doesn't recognize what Katsuki feels for him. He doesn't get what Katsuki is trying to express to him. He can't answer honestly if he doesn't even understand the question.

The comedic parts of MHA are often wrapped up in important plot points and messages. Sure, it's funny, but why does that mean we're supposed to dismiss it?

Also, Kirishima says this:

"Midoriya sure is dense when it comes to these things."

その辺 (sono hen) is a perfectly ordinary phrase for "that area," "that topic," "in that regard," or "around there," and I wouldn't think anything of it if not for this next bit:

"On that note, what about you guys?"

They are talking about the Class B students who started dating, and Sero uses the same phrase to ask whether Jirou and Kaminari are a couple. Again, this isn't unusual, and if these moments were separated by whole chapters, it would not read as notable in any way. その辺 is a common enough phrase that it's not something you could pin down as a "thematic phrase" or anything like that.

But the repetition struck me. Sero could have said, そういえば (speaking of which, now that you mention it, on that subject), this is a very common sentence starter, but he also could have said things like 付き合ってといえば (speaking of dating) to be more specific.

In this conversation, その辺 is framed as the topic of dating or romance by the preceding remarks. Meanwhile, the "topic" Kirishima suggests Izuku is thickheaded about is only really defined by his own previous comment...

which framed Katsuki's rejection as romantic heartbreak.

anyway

here's the funniest translation of Katsuki's asshii comment I could think of:

"Jeez, why do I gotta be Deku's vehicular bitch boy!"

[atalkingrat]

Request from Twitter/X

Ice skater Bakugou / hockey player Deku !

[atalkingrat]

Ahahahahahaha

NUMBER ONE??????

[atalkingrat]

With the final chapter of Mha being published and canonised (even if it was indirect) I just wanna say that Mha really did dismantle everything it built up for over 430 chapters. Because what was the point of telling your readers that you need to keep your dreams alive, even if your very anatomy renders you incapable of pursuing this dream you must not give up on it. It is what makes you. It it your dream, yours to have and yours to cultivate, even if this dream of yours is a hopeless one, there’ll be a will, stronger than yours, that’ll make this dream a reality. Because when you extend your hand, this dream becomes a shared reality.

Only to end with the bone crushing revelation that adulthood will infect this dream of yours and all your ardour, all your insanity, all these fervent emotions that you harbour for this dream will be reduced, and you’ll be nothing more than a flickering flame on a wax candle that is about to burn out. That is your reality, and you must face it.

[atalkingrat]

New Horikoshi sketch for TUM volume 7

[atalkingrat]

Izuku's weird ass intensity about being a hero and wanting to beat Kacchan was the most interesting part of him. Yeah he was a great person, but a protagonist needs to me more than a good human to be interesting.

I think that's why 431 is like????

So inheriting AMs legacy was just not important? Their lifelong rivalry ended first year high school when they achieved being the greatest heroes who save to win and win to save for FIVE MINUTES? You're saying they went through ALL THAT just to PEAK IN HIGH SCHOOL????????

Like I would understand if Izuku wanted to chill if he was fighting for years and lost his childhood to his heroic fate like Harry Potter, but he literally just lived out all his dreams for ONE YEAR. He wasn't just supposed to he a hero because the world needed one, he was supposed to be a hero because that was what he always wanted.

Sure, his ending is proving that there are many other ways to be a hero, which is great, but instead he's like a full time teacher and casual hero? And heroism is just a cool thing he gets to do? And all the kids he went to school with still maintained their passion? Except for the most passionate of all who's passion seems to have died in highschool, because he was fueled by the need to compete. And through the entire story he learns how to compete in a healthy way that isn't motivated by self-loathing and acted out through abuse. And then his lifelong rival who vowed to surpass him just dips out of the competition after surpassing him for 1 day (even though only Kacchan actually seemed to recognise that because Izuku tends towards extreme modestly).

I am ramble mcramblesen rn sorry - I just wanted to see these boys be interesting and passionate and EXCELLING. Instead one is doing alright for himself and the other is just kind of finding his way and seemingly unsatisfied.

[atalkingrat]

Dissapointed and confused is what I am ????

[atalkingrat]

Oh? Please, Madam

What Izuku rejects is the opportunity to be Katsuki's SIDEKICK. He doesn't reject being a hero or competing with Katsuki. He rejects working FOR/UNDER Katsuki. Which is hilarious because Katsuki accepts (apparently multiple times) showing up as a guest lecturer to help out Izuku's class. Katsuki tells Izuku that "If everyone is special, no one is special," which has the potential for SO MUCH DOUBLE MEANING. But what there is no ambiguity about to me is he's basically telling Izuku "Hey, notice this. I'm treating you special. You're special to me. NOTICE."

It's also implied that Izuku sees Katsuki more regularly than he sees most others from their class, which is emphasized by the previous chapter when Aizawa complains to him about Katsuki's behavior in public affecting his ranking. Katsuki basically tells Izuku he needs to start thinking about himself more, and he also ends their final interaction with a "See ya [later]." Katsuki is NOT talking about Ochako, but Izuku takes some of his advice as the impetus for going to talk to Ochako (specifically they just wanna talk more after the dinner since the dinner is now over and they didn't get to talk). So what was Katsuki thinking of? I personally read his "See ya later" as "You'll figure it out, just go handle what you gotta right now and you can catch up to me later."

Hilariously, Izuku calls Katsuki out for being the one to say "If you don't start thinking a little more highly of yourself, you won't notice the things you should." Izuku's response is basically, "Look who's talking." Again, the potential for double meaning here is painfully obvious. He could be referring to SO MANY THINGS and we're meant to infer what that is. WE GET TO GUESS. Izuku could be saying "You did stuff just as bad as what you're saying," or "You're STILL not noticing something, Kacchan."

And Izuku taking inspiration from Katsuki's words to go talk to Ochako is meaningful in another way--IT MEANS IZUKU LISTENED TO HIM. Katsuki is having an influence on Izuku in a way to improve who he is just like Izuku did for him in high school. Izuku takes Katsuki's advice seriously. NO ONE HAS EVER GOTTEN HIM TO UNDERSTAND THIS LESSON BEFORE NOW. It ends with Izuku and Ochako deciding to talk more, but what it shows us is the beginning of Izuku considering himself more. If Izuku follows Katsuki's advice long enough, he'll end up back in the competition with Katsuki just like Katsuki expects him to. That is just as easy of a conclusion to make from the theme of "inevitability" that Shouto gives us (and that Izuku also takes to heart).

This ending implies that inevitably Izuku's gonna catch up again, basically. Things will continue to change. So yeah, we get a beginning where he and Ochako meet up to talk, but it's just a beginning. It's one night of chatting. They're seeing if something's there now (which kind of implies that there wasn't much there before), but it's left open-ended. And I think it's left open-ended what happens with Ochako on purpose because anyone can read how that ends up however they like. You just have to decide as a reader what's "inevitable" for Izuku Midoriya from this point on. Me? I've decided Izuku is taking Katsuki's advice to treat people who mean more to him better. Ochako is just the beginning. Izuku has other people in his life he needs to show love to as well (because that's what this is, Izuku is learning to show people that they're important to him, that he loves them, because saving people doesn't do that--he saves EVERYONE). And then maybe he'll start to see how the people who love him treat him special too, like guest SPECIAL (same kanji) LECTURER KATSUKI BAKUGOU.

tl;dr there is a lot left open to interpretation and it's probably on purpose, read the chapter however you like, just like we did with the last chapter.

...and my interpretation which is the correct one is that Katsuki tells Izuku, "Here let me show you how to love people, damnit!" to give him the character development everyone has been begging for him to have for years, to realize that saving people doesn't mean they're special to him if he's known for saving everyone ever, so like, maybe go show them you care in OTHER ways, Izuku, and also I'll be waiting right here for you to come show you love me you jackass (and he does, he does come show him that)

[atalkingrat]

People saying they want to leave the fandom but I just wanna get to the bottom of this

[atalkingrat]

Ok postponing my death because the whole chapter isn't out yet and I have fun December plans

Bakugo invited Deku to his hero agency and he refused with a big smile on his face.......and then Kirishima mocked Bakugo and said he got "dumped"......