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i have zero clue how tumblr works but if you also feel very Normal over Deku as well as bkdk and dkbk,,,, u should let me follow u if that is also everything u post about,,,

also i'm ok w some DDD sprinkled in my other beloved manga

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Sweet boy 💔

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teacher deku doodles <3

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Why I don’t dislike TogaChako’s ending as much as I dislike DekuBaku’s:

Is the TogaChako ending bury your gays? ABSOLUTELY. And that is a fact worthy of disappointment and frustration. However, I believe TogaChako’s ending makes literary sense and is perfectly in character, especially for Toga.

Toga has always said she has romantic feelings for Ochako AND Izuku. She wants to talk about Izuku with Ochako. Toga wouldn’t be sad or jealous about Ochako being with Izuku. She’d be (and is?) overjoyed at the idea. I firmly believe she’d love nothing more than to be in a polyamorous triad with them, if given the chance.

Toga’s character arc was about learning that she is lovable, and that the better way to show her love is by caring about other people’s happiness, instead of taking from them. She shows this love by pushing Ochako toward happiness.

Ochako’s feelings for Toga aren’t disrespected by the narrative either. She’s spent 8 years unable to move on with her life without Toga, dedicating herself to helping children like Toga. It takes a hallucination (or visitation?) of Toga telling Ochako she loves her and it’s okay for her to move on for her to consider doing so.

Does it suck that the WLW couple can’t be the happy ending? Yes. But I still find their ending beautiful, in a way, and I think it is completely within character and the theme of their relationship.

But dkbk.

DekuBaku’s ending isn’t just heartbreaking; it doesn’t make sense for the characters and themes of the show.

Izuku’s dream was to be a Pro Hero, like All Might. His underdog passion for that dream is what made many of us fall in love with his character from the start.

Throughout the story, the narrative emphasizes that Izuku’s strength is Katsuki’s weakness, and visa versa. At the turning point in Izuku and Katsuki’s relationship, All Might (DekuBaku’s ultimate mentor) tells them that by combining their strengths, they could be the best heroes together.

I’ve felt this was a main theme of the show: Izuku and Katsuki both represent the best and worst qualities of a hero, and they must learn to complete each other.

Can people grow up and change their dreams? Of course. But it’s not satisfying in a fantastical story like this one, especially when all that change happens during a time skip. Are we supposed to be proud of Izuku for no-longer dreaming of fighting beside Katsuki above all else? How can I, when Katsuki (who has earned his character development like no other) is losing his dream in the process?

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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!"

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"Don't be sad, Kacchan!"

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Kudo: There is one thing [Midoriya] needs.

Me, jokingly: his boyfriend?

Bakugou, not five minutes later:

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Remember how Katsuki was so heartbroken at Izuku losing OFA that he broke down crying???? He was planning to do this with Izuku forever, it was hardwired into his system by that point that they would be chasing each other to the top and beyond, and losing that was like losing a part of himself

He cares so much about Izuku guys. He wants to Izuku to stay with him so badly

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Falling star🌠

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you’re telling me 431 bakugou very transparently paralleled toga in her role of pushing the person she has explicit & constantly referenced ROMANTIC feelings for towards someone else? and I’m supposed to just move past that?

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Why can’t Izuku stay a teacher AND work at Katsuki’s agency? Huh? HUH??? It’s worth a thought, Deku!

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Severe coping. They got married horikoshi told me he was j joshing around

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Horikoshi when I catch you Horikoshi

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I’ve convinced myself and I’m so doing the bkdk fanfic I’ve got in my head which was highly inspired by HTTYD

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The brightness of the Sun will give me just enough

To bury my love in the Moondust

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dreaming of you