#431 was just bad in a lot of ways

[strqwberrymai]

so 431 was… something

[imaginarylungfish]

more 431 thoughts (based on leaks)

i've had more time to mull over 431 and here are some of my thoughts. they aren't as nicely laid out as my previous post on my thoughts on the end of mha (or what i thought was the end) but that's probably because, in all honesty, i was disappointed with 431. alright, here we go:

izuku

I was initially surprised when he decided he'd continue being a teacher and do hero work on the side. It made me think "why the hell did they put so much time and money into that suit of yours then?" but izuku being a teacher also makes a lot of sense given his background of getting ofa, being mentored by all might, and losing ofa. it makes sense that with his observational skills and battle strategy, he would want to help other young students be the best heroes they could be, just like his mentors helped him.

at the same time, i can't help but feel as if there is an unclear message in the end for izuku as a character. i wrote previously that ending with izuku as a quirkless hero would have been a great conclusion to izuku's character arc. having him recognize his inherent worth and heroism rather than something external to himself (like a quirk) would have been a great way to see izuku's growth.

but him ending up working full-time as a teacher (granted, with hero work on the side) also shows growth in that he has accepted what he's good at and found joy there. (how adult of him!) i just think having him also work as a hero on the side is a bit funny. i think there would have been a clearer message if he was either a teacher or a quirkless hero, not both. that's one of my biggest frustrations with 431.

now, onto him rejecting katsuki's offer to join his agency. i mean, this is directly tied into izuku sticking with teaching full time. if we continue with what 431 is implying, it's showing us that izuku is now accepting what he wants and not doing what others want of him (ie. not accepting katsuki's offer to appease katsuki). i think this chapter shows us how izuku has accepted that his high school dream of being a hero wasn't necessarily what his 20-something self wants anymore. he's moving past those old dreams onto something else. and i think that's what disappoints me. mha is fiction, a reprieve from reality for me. and while mha tackled some heavy topics (bullying, child abuse, moral ambiguity, etc.), i expected the ending to be more in line with the upbeat nature the manga first started out with.

i was also surprised that katsuki and izuku's character arcs ended so separately. it seemed like prior to 430, the pair was on track to work together in the future as heroes. i think you can now interpret katsuki's actions in 430 as just mere atonement based on how he acts in 431. but i previously interpreted 430!katsuki as connecting with izuku in a deeper way by giving izuku access to his dream with the suit and calling izuku "deku" to reinforce izuku's innate heroism.

idk, my biggest gripe with izuku's ending now is that there seemed to be bigger and more important themes involving izuku's character (ie. realizing you can be a hero without a quirk) that were never fully fleshed out. now, the only real character growth we see is all confined to 431: izuku is now deciding to put himself first (in going after ochaco).

canon izu/ocha was disappointing to me because of the lack of development throughout the manga. i understand i can view izu/ocha happening now (8 years later) as izuku never taking the time to understand his feelings because he never put himself first until katsuki pointed it out to him in the car in 431, but it just seems really bleh to me. but whatever.

katsuki

i really hated 431 for katsuki. it left a bad taste in my mouth. it seemed like katsuki was just sad and listless.

if i interpret 431 as it is meant to be (or i, at least, think it is meant to be), then it seems like katsuki is realizing/has realized his place in izuku's life (as an acquaintance rather than a close friend). someone on twitter said that izuku rejecting katsuki's offer to join his agency signaled the end of katsuki's atonement. therefore, katsuki is now "free" of the guilt he had for bullying izuku as a kid. and so, when they go separate ways at the end, it is symbolizing that the pair finally are their own people and not toxically connected anymore.

i do think that's what 431 is showing. but i just don't like it lol. i wish it ended on a happier note, like 430. 431 just seems to water down all of katsuki's character growth at the end of the manga. like i said in previous posts, katsuki's whole arc was that he was jealous of izuku's innate heroism so he bullied him, only to realize that katsuki was actually trying to catch up to izuku and not the other way around. i wish 431 showed the result of izuku and katsuki coming together (i don't mean romantically, bakudeku was never going to be canon--just platonically) having healed their respective traumas/insecurities in a hero partnership. that's what i thought 430 was alluding to.

plus, it almost feels as if katsuki's character development went backwards in 431. sure, he's less angry and is actually helping izuku out (with pointing out how izuku treats everyone special, implying he should put himself first and go after ochaco since that is apparently what izuku wants now but can't see it). but katsuki was already on his way with those things in the last few chapters before 430. shouldn't he be even more emotionally developed after 8 years? it was disappointing to see him 15th on the rankings due to his attitude. it just made katsuki seem one-dimensional, as if he was the Angry Character played for laughs.

shoto

i was already satisfied with shoto's ending in 430. 431 only added to my satisfaction. it shows us that shoto is continuing to heal from his trauma and deciding to live life for himself (by going to make bowls and chopsticks in ishikawa). his whole thing was that he was born out of endeavor's selfish desire to surpass all might, so i really loved shoto saying that being a hero is not all that he is. he's shedding more of his father's dreams in favor of his own.

i think it was really beautiful to see that shoto became #2 hero from being a good person. it shows such a contrast between him and endeavor as #2. shoto be healing that generational trauma and we love to see it!

also, he smiled so much this chapter. it was amazing to see! he deserves all the happiness!!

ochaco

i never wrote about ochaco in my last post because she felt flat to me the last few chapters. i didn't feel like there was much content to go off of for her. so i liked how in 431, we see her processing more of what happened for her during the war, specifically her fight with toga, as 429 definitely wasn't enough. (this also makes me a little more upset at the fact we didn't izuku processing any trauma from the war (dude essentially killed shigaraki) but whatever.)

but, then i really don't like how her character is just there to be izuku's love interest in the end. ochaco was so much more than that! from what was going on in the war/the last few chapters, she seemed to be becoming much more her own person vs relying on deku to inform her as a hero like she did at the beginning of the manga.

and this is not to say getting together with someone is total annihilation of yourself as your own person, because we can also argue that ochaco took 8 years to herself to grow as a person before getting together with izuku. but the izu/ocha confession just seemed weak (because of my points above regarding izuku).

i think if there was more development, izu/ocha could have been really good! i liked how in 431 we figuratively see her being pushed by toga to live her life for herself. but the execution was just a bit weird for me. toga was like too involved in the confession but oh well. (if hori knew about togachao then that was just a sick joke lol.)

i understand the shonen formula that the male protag will eventually get together with the first female he blushes at but oi i hate that formula (not only because it's heteronormative but also because it's a bit misogynistic)! i really wish there was more consistent development of izu/ocha's relationship throughout the manga. we see such little investment from izuku (and i get that that reinforces the idea that izuku has always treated everyone as special but a little more internal monologue from izuku's perspective on his feelings for ochaco wouldn't have hurt).

the lack of izuku's interest in ochaco in the manga is partially why i ship bakudeku. izuku just doesn't show much consistent interest in anyone because he is nice to everyone. so, in my opinion, since izuku most consistently showed interest in katsuki, bakudeku made a bit more sense to me than izu/ocha. that doesn't mean i thought bakudeku would be canon (this is queer ship and shonen jump, y'all). it just means izu/ocha felt out of place for me personally.

overall, there were aspects of 431 i liked (seeing aged-up class 1a together again, insight into ochaco's headspace since the war/fight with toga, additions to shoto's character arc) but much that i didn't (katsuki's stagnation as a character, the lack of development in katsuki and izuku's friendship, izuku's weak narrative end, izu/ocha canon after no real development throughout the manga).

i feel like 431 watered down some strong themes mha had going for it, even if they were already a bit weaker after 430. but there were still some really good aspects of 431 (ie. shoto's whole arc) that tied the narrative together nicely.

if we're talking about ships, i was happy with none confirmed in 430. i liked the idea that ochaco had a crush, accepted it, and grew from it/out of it by putting herself first. some may argue that would have been a sad ending just as i see katsuki's lack of integration in izuku's life as sad. but different opinions!

i wanted an open-ended conclusion with ships but whatever! it's just a manga after all! i think us bakudekus have some great canon fodder for fics with 431 (heavy angst ofc lol)

[impur6]

431 BKDK HEADCANNON ‼️

Okay since the epilogue is basically up for interpretation let me tell you my interpretation

My headcannon is that izuku realized that he was in love with katsuki sometime after the war. And the only person who knew or accidentally found out was ochako. She was also going through her own thing with himiko and when she found out what was happening with izuku she was very empathetic.

She acc encouraged izuku to go hang out with katsuki more and try to get to know him better. And her guidance helped.

So after graduation, even though bkdk went on two different paths, they still hung out with each other during lunch breaks and katsuki dropped by his classroom. So izuku just kept falling and falling for him

Now at the 1A dinner, katsuki decided he wanted to confess to him. He also started getting feelings for izuku during the rest of the at UA but felt like they needed to figure out their life first (izuku trying to figure his profession and katsuki focusing on getting his suit made). So he decided that now he got the suit, he can ask the first important question: would he be interested to join his agency?

After that didn’t work out he decided to go for the kill and told him to let people know they’re special to him. Towards the end of it he was gonna admit how special izuku was to him.

Now during Katsuki’s pep talk, izuku was thinking about him. But he was more so focusing on how he realized that he liked him. Which in turn, reminded him of ochako. And he started feeling bad that even though she was there for him and his sexual awakening, he felt like maybe after he figured everything out he left her in the dust cause they both got so busy. He also remembered, they hadn’t even spoken to each other at the dinner.

So he told katsuki like wait on that note, I need to talk to ochako.

Katsuki was obviously stunned and was thought like oh right, it might not be me but acc ochako. So he let him go and just got really angsty.

On the other hand, izuku went to meet up with ochako and was like you wanna hang out more, cause you’re an amazing friend and I want to talk to you more. Ochako was like sure ofc!!

Now after the next few days izuku and ochako hang out more, and katsuki thinks that they’re going out on dates. It kinda messes him up, cause that’s two rejections!! One professionally and the other romantically.

But the truth is that izuku and ochako’s dates are just them catching up and talking about how they been. Purely platonic. And then on their 3rd hangout, izuku tells her that katsuki has been acting weird. He isn’t coming by for lunch or hasn’t been texting. Ochako mentions that he hasn’t been doing well professionally and has been getting a lot of trouble with the media.

So izuku wonders why and notices it started after the 1A dinner. He calls up katsuki and was like hey wanna get dinner today. Katsuki tells him no I’m busy, I have shift at night from 6 pm-3am (he doesn’t he’s just making it up on the go). And izuku figures it cause he memorized his shifts for the next 6 months. But he lets him go and plans to corner him where he’s actually at 6pm. The gym.

So he stops by the gym and asks him oh I thought you had a shift? And katsuki lies and says oh someone said they could cover for him or something. So izuku was like oh then you could join me for dinner now? Katsuki said still no and gave the excuse that he was behind paperwork.

But again, izuku clocked him and said that kirishima told him that katsuki is way ahead of everyone and already finished everything (or something idk roll with it please). Knowing that he couldn’t win, katsuki pushes him and yells at him to leave him alone.

Teen izuku would have backed off and called it quits, but adult izuku doesn’t put up with shit. So while katsuki stalks off to his Porsche (which by the way is like something I’m still tweaking about), izuku grabs his and judo flips him over and tells him he’s not gonna move until he tells him what’s going and why he doesn’t hang out with him anymore.

Katsuki grumbles and yells at him to go ochako since she seems to be more important and special. Izuku gets confused and asks what? why do you think I think she’s special. I never said that?

Katsuki tells him that he knows that they’re dating and whatever and he decided to give him space so they can get together. Izuku is still confused and tells him okay stop playing, what’s actually going on.

Now it’s his turn to be confused and asks izuku are you really not dating her? And he tells him no. Katsukis starts laughing like a maniac, and izukus unsure of what to do so he lets out a few forced giggles until he notices the tears in katsukis eyes and freaks out.

That’s when katsuki finally confesses what he’s been feeling for the past few years and weeks. Izuku starts crying too and confesses about his feelings. He then explains his side of the story and katsuki facepalms himself for worrying and stressing over nothing.

Then both laughed at the circumstance, until izuku gets serious and asks him what does that make us? Katsuki thinks about it and tells him like we can be partners or boyfriend. Or we can be each other’s special someone.

The end :))

[codenamesazanka]

the leaks:

skimming through the entire chapter 431 with my rough translation skills.

Uraraka's Quirk Counseling expansion seems to be her (and Tsuyu) trying to single-handedly screen for problems and child abuse by spending one month at every single (elementary) school/school district? They're helped by volunteer heroes.

She's also helped by Hawks, who negotiating with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and other organizations to provide support to change quirk education.

She is the best hero. 😭😭😭

My worries about quirk counseling have been slightly mollified by this. Slightly. It's geared towards very young children, and we don't see the actual counseling, just Heroes spending time with kids to make sure they're not showing signs of distress, but it's nice to see this tiny glimpse.

Uraraka has dreams about Toga, and wonders if Toga left her blood/quirk/will inside of Uraraka similar to how OFA functioned. Uraraka can't remember the content of the dreams, though, and wonders if Toga is trying to send her a message.

Deku says he's developed a policy to help students develop their quirks. He also goes around to elementary schools and facilities and give lectures, sharing his experiences with young girls and boys.

Shouto has taken up pottery-making classes, after thinking a lot about fate and inevitability and his path

The entire class mobilizes to capture a car thief who may or may not have used his quirk - alert said that if he does just his quirk, it might cause a big accident? idk about this part.

When Deku asks Uraraka out, Uraraka finally remembers her Toga dream, which is Toga telling her that just like how Toga lived as she liked, Uraraka should live as she likes. So Uraraka says yes to going out with Deku.

.☠️☠️☠️.

Laughing so hard because 'go live as you please!' is so Toga! It's Toga's ideal and guiding principle. She clung to being her quirk-influenced, bisexual-love, creepy-smile self, fighting to love and die as herself. She would be happy for Ochako following her heart! But did it have to be the most conventional hetero cutesy romcom shit.

The OFA-esque accumulation of will and power of Toga's quirk and love and ideals............... to encourage Ochako to date Deku.

I don't believe the League is mentioned at all by name except for Toga via Uraraka's dream, and one line from Shouto saying he was praying at Touya's altar (thus confirming that Touya is dead).

AFO is mentioned but in context of young heroes deriving their impressions of heroism from the AFO battle? idk about this part.

Two flashbacks to Shigaraki, from Deku.

First is Deku flashbacking to him inside Tenko's heart, holding Tenko's hands, as he talks about how even if he had OFA, he would still come to want to be a teacher.

(Feel like this is interesting because AFO has always been 'Sensei'/teacher to Shigaraki. In a way it feels like Deku is trying to be a Good Teacher to AFO's Bad Teacher, I guess?)

Second is Deku ruminating on Shouto's talk about 'inevitability' and how he's doing everything he wanted, and he's blessed. He flashes back to Shigaraki's "Really, do your best," which is when he also notices Uraraka laughing and get heart eyes.

So i'm laughing again that even without a dream ghost, Shigaraki's words about destruction also gets used and recontexted to fuel Deku/Ochako.

Did that extra panel of Shigaraki's almost-smile in Chapter 423 come about just to give us this ~*~parallel~*~???

It's pure gold. Villainous creeds (Destroy everything / Live as I please) ultimately used to not even prop up the Heroes doing heroic stuff related to the society that the Villains were rebelling against... but rather to get Deku and Uraraka on a date.

[number1gojoglazer]

Okay, I pretty much just use this tumblr to lurk and look at posts, but I have some genuine issues with the response to 431. I think a lot of things have been really blown out of proportion and I guess I just want to express some of my thoughts. Keep in mind while reading this, this is not an attack on bkdk shippers, I ship them as well, this is just about confusing plot points I see spread and strange responses to character decisions. I would also like to note that it’s okay to be disappointed and upset! A lot of responses and discourse are just confusing to me

1. I am genuinely confused why people are so upset about Deku turning down Bakugou’s offer to join his agency. I understand that they dreamed about it since they were kids, but things change. They still get to be heroes together! Deku just wants to keep teaching since he found out he loves doing that. I’m sure when Deku is doing hero work, he’ll still primarily work with Bakugou just as a hero without an agency. And Bakugou was mostly bummed out, but he understood. I thought this was actually a good moment for both of them as characters. Deku is able to voice what he wants to do, and dreams of his own while Bakugou was able to experience disappointment and negative emotions without blowing up. ALSO when Deku realized Bakugou was inviting him to his agency, he felt bad that he was so happy while turning him down. I think villainizing Deku for this is weird.

2. They are not saying goodbye forever, I am confused by people saying Bakugou is losing him. They literally made plans and said see you later. They clearly spend a lot of time together!

3. I think there’s been a lot of strange things being said about Deku that I just personally find to be somewhat out of touch. I think a lot of the “he rejected Bakugou after everything he did for him? He almost gave up his life for him. He’s so selfish for doing this.” type of comments are upsetting. This is my least favorite part of the response. Deku, or anyone for that matter, doesn’t OWE someone something because they did nice things for them! Relationships with the people you love, platonic or romantic, should NOT be transactional!!!! It paints Bakugou as this weird Nice Guy who is owed romance or affection because of decisions he made. Beyond that, I would like to point out that Deku ALSO almost died for Bakugou. People just ignore it since DEKU DIDN’T HAVE A CHOICE!!!!! OFA basically ripped away his ability to be on the sidelines or stay out of harms way. So people don’t see it as an act of devotion or love since they ALSO just expect that out of him. It makes it seem like it was easy for him to be fighting battles, to see the people around him get hurt while also hurting himself. So I don’t want to hear ANYTHING about how he somehow “owes” him something. It’s ridiculous honestly

4. This point is gonna be pretty unserious. But to me, IzuOcha is only canon if you want it to be. Listen, I’m not oblivious enough to miss the romantic undertones, but also they didn’t do anything that explicitly makes it romantic. Straight people have been ignoring the romantic undertones of gay pairings and saying “um, they’re just friends” for ages, so I’m taking the radical approach of doing that to a m/f pairing /lh. If you want it to be romantic, cool! If you want it to be about reconnecting as friends, cool! At the end of the day the point is to step out and try and reconnect with people after isolating yourself. A few years ago I went through a period of extreme tragedy and shut people out. I didn’t have any big fights or anything, I just stopped responding to texts and stopped showing up at get togethers and eventually things just drifted apart. Now when I see them post on social media or run into them places, I think to myself “do you even know how much I miss talking to you?” so the longing to reconnect with people can be applied to many situations

Anyways, this probably made no sense. I typed it while getting ready for work. Just wanted to get it off my chest I guess. I’m sure people will flame me and say I’m doing insane coping. My response to that is: okay, since when is it a crime to interpret an ending the way you want to interpret it? That’s the fun part about fiction!

[kokosye]

My take on bakudeku, togachako and izuocha (objectively)

I’ve seen a lot of arguments between the bkdk fandom and the izuocha fandom, what is canon? Was it a bad ending? Was it out of character?

Slow down, first of all the real ending is 429, or at least that’s what is completely canon on the mha verse. Aside from that, we can analyse 430 and 431 for funsies, but if you want to just take mha till 429 that’s completely fine, horikoshi just puts an alternative ending out there, like for example the author of death note does (he writes many alternative endings but the only one that is canon is the original manga one, but you can chose whatever you want to as I did)

Horikoshi hasn’t made any ships canon in the official mha verse, nor bakudeku nor izuocha is canon. If you want to take 430 and 431 as endings that’s on you and that’s respectable cause the reader chooses what they want to read.

Now, let’s talk about those two chapters, for the people that want to take them into account. And with the parallels with katsuki, himiko, izuku and ochako. CAUSE THEYRE ALL THE SAME

In 430 we get offered an ending in which izuku becomes fully quirkless again and he finds a place for himself in teaching, he likes his job but he feels like he’s missing something out and that he should also be with his mates being a hero and saving people, which was his lifelong dream.

Katsuki then gifts him a super dupe suit that he has been saving for to allow izuku to reach his dream, izuku then cries his heart out, grateful for what katsuki has done for him.

The chapter ends with all class A being pros with a perfect smiley picture, we get that “closure” between izuku and katsuki but it doesn’t feel entirely right cause we feel like we need a chat between izuku and ochako, who is the most influential character with katsuki and all might for izuku, it feels like something is off. We also don’t get that togachako closure either, it feels bland, somethings missing.

In 431 we get that chat, izuku looks at ochako cause he knows she’s suffering and putting on a smile to distract herself from all the hurting she has inside. She can’t forget himiko after 8 years and izuku knows that because he feels the same with katsuki.

This chapter is super important in both their arcs cause they both let go of what was tying them to the blondes, and believe me, it wasn’t love. Izuku and ochako didn’t love each other either, nor izuku nor katsuki nor himiko nor ochako felt love, but twisted feelings for each other, 431 offers a possibility for both izuocha and bkdk that wasn’t there before.

Katsuki and izuku chased eachother for all of their lives, their resentment was what tied them so closely, they wanted to have what the other one hadn’t. Katsuki wanted to be vulnerable, to relax, to be able to express himself freely without the narcissistic facade. Izuku wanted to be bold, to be active, to express himself without the victim facade. They resented eachother cause the other had what they wanted. That’s why they couldn’t truly hate nor love eachother, they needed to know themselves more, they needed to love themselves before loving eachother.

Happens the exact same way with izuku and ochako. Izuku didn’t actually like ochako, she just was the first person in his life that gave him validation and affection apart from his mentors, a person of his age, more than that, a pretty girl. Of course 15yold izuku is gonna be head over heels with that new feeling but it wasn’t love, it was the need to be loved cause he hated himself.

That’s why we don’t really see izuku actually respecting ochako but idolising her, he thinks she’s cute and nice but he doesn’t see her as a person, not even as an equal. Ochako on the other side sees izuku as superior, again idolising him, she doesn’t see him as equal either, but as superior, infatuation, not love. Izuku wanted the validation he got from ochako, ochako was like katsuki, she wanted to be izuku, but she didn’t actually like izuku.

Nor katsuki nor ochako love izuku. And izuku nor loves katsuki nor ochako. (For now)

Now let’s talk about himiko and ochako.

Himiko and ochako weren’t in love either, their only tie was being infatuated with izuku, admiring him wanting to “become” him. As toga says “you love someone when you want to become them”, but she was wrong. Loving someone is not just admiring them, love is purer.

That quote is not casual, it refers to katsuki and izuku too. It’s saying , dude you can’t love someone till you recognise them for more than what you want for them, loving is selfless, you don’t want something out of someone you just want them, that’s it.

Ochako wanted to find comfort in himiko as she is the only one who fully gets her and that’s why even after 8 years she keeps thinking of her. Izuku wanted validation from katsuki and katsuki from izuku, that’s why 8 years later they’re still trying to chase eachother.

But the cycle finally stops and they break out of their dramas and arcs, as horikoshi stated on his letter. They finally get to be who they are without all of those twisted feelings disguised as love or hate.

Izuku is able to stop chasing katsuki by rejecting his offer to be a sidekick in his agency. He doesn’t want to compete against katsuki anymore he wants katsuki as a person, not as a rival.

Ochako is able to let himiko go and to finally understand herself and maybe who knows, become the person she actually admires, maybe getting to actually know izuku instead of idolising him. Maybe izuku starts to actually see ochako for who she is rather than someone that just validates him.

Maybe now katsuki stops seeking answers in izuku and tries to find them in himself and that allows him to truly love izuku without being selfish.

It’s an open ending nobody knows what might happen. Maybe none of them fall in love or maybe they do, but now they have the possibility to actually truly love.

[transfemhawkeye]

As a disclaimer, I'd recommend waiting until we have the full chapter to make any definitive statements on it. Something, something, leak culture bad.

With that said, though, I have been thinking for the past half hour or so about Izuku rejecting a partnership offer from Bakugo in Chapter 431, and while I'm adhering to my words above regarding that, I do want to push back on the opinion-- which I've seen a lot of people holding-- that doing so is automatically mischaracterization.

BNHA's story centers around Izuku and Bakugo's dynamic, and we see that dynamic shift in such a profound way over the series. We begin the story with Izuku simultaneously idolizing and fearing a boy who, by all appearances, despises him. Katsuki's a bully and an egotist, but like so many bullies and egotists, the way he's acting is a mask. It's a response to fear, and it's a very conventionally masculine one (that's another post, though). Katsuki's scared of Izuku, because even though Izuku is weak, quirkless, below him, Katsuki always feels like Izuku is above him. He's scared of this feeling, and that becomes anger. So he lashes out, keeps Izuku at arm's length, and it doesn't work, because no matter what he does or says, Izuku worships him. That's a very intentional word choice; there is a sort of religious quality to the two's early dynamic, where Katsuki is this unreachable figure who Izuku simultaneously fears and loves, who represents the apex of strength and power in his eyes. This is, to say the least, an extremely unhealthy relationship dynamic, and one which harms both of them.

It's impossible to talk about Izuku and Bakugo's character arcs independently of each other. I would describe them as two sides of a coin; Izuku's arc fundamentally centers around creation, and Bakugo's around destruction. When Izuku arrives at UA, he defines himself by his worship for All Might and Katsuki. Izuku models his costume and his fighting style after All Might, even using the same names for his moves. Simultaneously, he continues to internalize Bakugo's bullying, doubting himself, continuing to idolize Katsuki even as Katsuki's increasing feeling of inferiority spurs him to ramp up the torment. So Izuku's arc is about gaining independence; it's about creating his own identity, about self reliance. He reclaims the derogatory nickname Katsuki uses for him, develops Shoot Style, changes his costume, and starts standing up to Katsuki. Yes, he still admires Katsuki, still cares for him, but crucially, that admiration no longer comes at the cost of his self-respect. It's because of this change that Bakugo is forced to reckon with the root of his aggression. He spends the majority of the series working towards consciously grasping his feelings of inferiority, and a big part of that is confronting his preconceived notions of strength and weakness, and accepting that he can rely on others without being weak. (Again, so much of Bakugo's arc is tied to overcoming toxic masculinity, and I'll definitely need to write about that sometime, too.) The apology he gives to Izuku at the end of the Dark Hero Arc is one of the series' strongest narrative moments, and its a showcase of so much development-- it's a genuine expression of vulnerability, Bakugo dropping his veneer of superiority, something which would be unconscionable to the Katsuki we meet in chapter 1. That Izuku doesn't immediately accept and try to assuage Katsuki's guilt speaks to the development he's undergone, too. Izuku learns to rely on himself, while Bakugo learns to rely on others.

So, after these arcs, with Izuku finally repowered, Bakugo asks him: "Will you join my agency as my partner?" This is the natural conclusion of Bakugo's arc: it shows that he sees Izuku as an equal and he's prepared to rely on him as a partner. And yet, Izuku turns him down. I understand why people would be upset about that, and if he did accept the offer, I wouldn't have a problem with it. But at the same time, we've just talked about how Izuku's story has centered around gaining independence from his idols. At some level, Bakugo is asking Izuku to go back to defining himself by their relationship, and even though it's in a far more equitable way than the hero worship which used to describe their dynamic, it's completely reasonable and in-character for Izuku not to want that. Yes, it's sad, but I think acting as though this is out of character for Izuku basically requires ignoring his character development, and it implies a very simplified understanding of his and Katsuki's dynamic and how it evolves throughout MHA. Bakugo and Izuku have one of my favorite relationships in any media I've watched/read/played/etc. and it's frustrating to see Izuku's part in it essentially be disregarded.

[deadwriter16]

Hello! Just want to say, thanks so much for sharing your fics (especially the BKDK ones). I have read tons of BKDK fics because they are one of my top 5 fav (non-canon) ships ever! And you are one of my favorite author ever for BKDK. There are no ooc in your works, it's like I read novel version of the manga, also all your stories are great!

Now, because BNHA have ended plus we have 'that' epilogue. Can I ask?

- What do you think are Katsuki and Izuku’s greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic?

- What are your favorite (canon) moments of BKDK? What are your favorite headcanons of them?

- Since what moment that you start shipping BKDK? Do you have any fav ships (from any fandom) that the dyanamic remind you of their ship?

Thanks! Sorry if I ask too much, feel free to answer whichever questions that you want....

hi anon! sorry it took me a minute to answer this one, at least it wasnt months like its taken me for other asks lol. finals have been rough

first of all thank u for reading my fics! im so glad u enjoyed them!!

for answering ur questions i have a feeling this is gonna get long, so i'll put a divider here and anyone whos interested can keep reading:

ok so for kacchan and dekus strengths and weaknesses, im gonna do kind of a mix of their IRL strengths and weaknesses and my headcanons for their strengths and weaknesses/things that were kinda implied but never confirmed.

for example, i think bkgs strength is obviously his actual brute strength. he's trained for a long time and he's clearly incredibly strong, i think his dedication and the way he puts his heart and soul into everything he does is what makes him kind of exceptional in a lot of what he does. i think this is pretty canon since we've seen that he's good at a lot of things, class, fighting, the drums, cooking, etc.

i think his weakness is how stubborn he is. he has a really hard time changing his ways and it takes him great strength to do so. and of course we have seen him change his ways, but his arc to become a better person and treat deku better took a lot of time. and even then he's still stubborn; for example he had to take remedial classes for his hero license bc he was bad at rescuing and bc of his bad attitude, and when he's an adult we see that hasn't really changed bc his attitude is causing him to drop in the rankings. which i personally am incredibly bitter about but its canon so whatever. the point is he's incredibly stubborn. and of course his other weakness is izuku.

but in a way, i'd say deku is also his strength bc when he uses izuku as motivation he can achieve a lot more, like changing and becoming a better person etc. but at the same time he would like die for deku and kinda hyperfocus on him which is obviously not great sometimes. however, i do LOVE that this is basically canon now.

izuku's strength is probably his empathy. he's an incredibly empathetic person and he is really good at seeing multiple sides of an issue, especially when it comes to villains, which is why saving them is so important to him. he can see where they're coming from and can understand their feelings, which makes him an even better hero bc hes coming from a place of understanding rather than a place of like, i want to kill you. this also allows him to be a really good friend, because as we've seen multiple times, he's generally good at understanding what they might be feeling and helping them out. he does seem to lose this a bit after the timeskip, but i think a lot of that is just because he's pretty oblivious and also the epilogue is garbage.

izuku's weakness is fairly obviously his altruism, which is funny bc thats generally a good thing, he just has too much of it. as bkg said in 431, he treats everybody like they're special, so nobody is actually special to him. which is actually a banger line and really perfectly describes deku's whole thing. he wants to save everybody. it leads him to disregard himself and his loved ones. biggest example of this is vigilante deku. he leaves bc he thinks its whats best for everyone, but it leaves his whole class devastated and confused.

and ofc, deku usually crashes out the most when smth happens to kacchan. it's the same thing, bkg is his weakness and his strength bc he can't control himself when smth happens to bkg but bkg also inspires him and kinda gave him motivation as a kid to keep trying which is hilarious bc it was the exact opposite of what bkg wanted.

anyway i stand by bkg would die for deku and deku would kill for bkg.

------

ok fav canon moments of bkdk:

"now we can do hero work together, kacchan!"

uraraka: bakugo's the one who bullies you right? / izuku: *sighs dreamily* he's amazing..."

izuku: what would kacchan do? *jumps off a boat* DIEEEEEE

dvk2. all of it. every single bit of it.

idk if heroes rising counts but i LOVE heroes rising

izuku crashing out and unleashing blackwhip bc monoma insulted kacchan

izuku crashing out after bkg gets impaled during the paranormal liberation war, when shigaraki's like wow what a useless sacrifice and izuku's like YOU TAKE THAT BACK

i would say izuku crashing out after bkg died but we were sadly robbed of that bc mirio had to be logical smh

the whole "izuku can i still catch up to you" thing. OW. OW. OW.

any time they ever have like cutesy banter

izuku calling bkg "bakugo" when he asks what bkgs hero name is and bkg being like ???????? u know my last name ???? ???????

when bkg yells at izuku after izuku saves him from the sludge villain and he stomps off with his ugly ass gait and izuku watches him with the most disgustingly lovesick heart eyes on the planet

fav headcanons:

too many to count. i will list a few of the big ones i have

deku is a FREAK about kacchan. huge freak. in every way too. the horny way, the simp way, the possessive way, all of it. he's not like toxic though, he obviously knows how to reel it in and nothing is like insane, but he's a freak abt bkg. and a HUGE simp.

bkg is sad jealous and deku is angry jealous. when bkg is jealous he gets all moody and isolated himself in his room and is like he hates me :( and when deku is jealous he'll like wrap himself around bkg and be like HES MINE GET AWAY like a feral dog or smth

i think this is pretty commonly accepted but ofc bkg being super soft in private and super like aloof in public. he acts like he doesnt care when dekus like hi kacchan :) i love u :) and in public hes like oh fuck off but in private he's the clingy one going ily every five seconds and complaining whenever deku isn't in his lap

im just gonna give these few for now!

----

since what moment did i start shipping bkdk? episode one baby !!!!!

i watched the first ep and texted my friend like is it bad if i ship bakugo and deku and she was like girl i dont watch my hero idk who the fuck these people are but yeah. im one of those bitches who quite literally shipped them since episode one. yeah im toxic who gives a fuck deku was clearly in love and bkg was clearly gunning for that character arc and that was good enough for me. soulmates.

ships with a similar dynamic:

my main one is kyoru from fruits basket, its a super weird comparison but i stand by this. tohru = deku and kyo = bkg. they have a very similar dynamic but a bit calmer, but kyo starts out as a bit of an asshole towards her and struggles to be a better, nicer person, and even then makes mistakes but is an overall good person, and tohru picked him up out of the dump and said he's mine now. also ive talked about this but tohru and deku in my mind have a similar thing where they'll be selfless for everyone except the one person they love. this is canon for tohru and not really canon for deku but i believe it and that makes it canon bc i am horikoshi actually

goddamn that got long but it was fun!! i have to get back to studying now but thank u very much for the asks!!! i hope at least one person enjoys reading all of this

[epickiya722]

Now if I were to say which epilogue was my favorite from least to most favorite so far?

Down at the bottom is Panda's. It's not even because it's about Panda (I'm rather indifferent when it comes to Panda, actually). It's just... okay I'll say it, Yuta having grandkids and being the Gojo clan head is like nothing I care for. Never really cared for the "next generation kids" thing like that. And Yuta coming the head is shocking but didn't excite me.

I'll be honest. I wouldn't have minded Panda getting an epilogue. What I would have liked to see more of is his relationship with Inumaki and Maki as they were always like a trio. Preferably maybe just Inumaki given he didn't have a lot going for him in the story like that compared to everyone else. I would have also liked to see how was Panda coping time after Yaga's death.

Next, would be Ozawa's. But, I actually enjoyed her epilogue. I'll admit I feel a little happy about somewhat right about predicting she'll meet Yuji and they would talk. It was actually nice and given that Yuji is my favorite, it was nice seeing my boy happy and talking about wanting to build a snowman again! And before anyone ask, no, I don't think it's "canon". (I've been through 431 of MHA and I still see that chapter that could be interpreted as platonic.)

If I were to add/or change something, because everything else was fine really, is Yuko having a self-reflection about herself.

In second place, I got to give it to Nobara here. Her mother was teased before and I'm glad we actually did get to see her and Nobara made use of the information Gojo left her (knowing her mother's whereabouts). I'm glad Nobara did get to satisfy some bit of that possible curiosity she had of her mother and yet still didn't play the "forgiveness" card. Even better, the fear on Mamasaki's face satisfying when Grandma Kugisaki showed up.

Still, I wished we had gotten her reuniting with Saori and Fumi, but I liked the epilogue a lot!

That would leave Uraume's in first place for me. I did love seeing their first meeting with Sukuna. It was both a little funny and wholesome. It is so like Sukuna to crush an ice house, need a replacement, come across someone with ice powers and be like "You're my fridge now". Still, shows how much potential he probably did see in Uraume and took them under his wing in his usual bad guy way. He was impressed by the way Uraume prepared meat. Think about how he usually acts impressed by people. Through their fighting skills. Uraume didn't have to fight to show Sukuna something impressive. They managed to do something that made him go "Oh, wow" without fighting.

The epilogue really was everything I could have asked for and more.

☆

Overall, I could wish for more or whatever, but I'm just more happy to have some things to be happy about. Okay, I didn't get this in the manga that I wanted, but I got this which I liked!

That's the thing for me. I may be dissatisfied with something but I do like to focus on the positive. That way I'm still enjoying myself.

There should be a balance. Yes, you can point out whatever you think is a flaw, but at the same time, do also point out what you enjoy.

You can feel how you want to about these epilogues. Right now, my feelings about them are just... they were bonus stories. They were entirely bad, they're not the worst things in the world. That's not to say they're flawless, but they still left me going "oh, well that's nice".

[practically-an-x-man]

🍓🍊🍑

Thank you so much!!

Fruit Emoji Ask Game for Fic Writers

🍓 What’s a fic you’ve written you feel is underrated?

As a whole, I feel like even if my main longfic gets popular, the side pieces I write for the same story/ship tend to fly under the radar. I mean, Catch and Release is my most popular fic, it has 431 kudos and over 13,000 hits, but none of the 5 side pieces I have for it crack 50 hits (HITS, mind you, not kudos). Same story with Bolts and Blasters - over 6,000 hits on the main piece, only a fraction of that on the side pieces.

But in terms of which ship as a whole I think is underrated, I have to say Heartstrings and its associate side pieces. AHS is a pretty big fandom so I'm not sure why the fic has gone so quiet, but Jasper and Kyle are adorable together and I think it's one of my best-written fics! And none of the side pieces have even reached 10 hits, even though most of them are exactly the sort of cute domestic-fluff or hurt/comfort pieces people usually seem to go wild for. Jasper and Kyle deserve so much more love, I think.

🍊 Who’s a character you don’t write for that often, but keep meaning to write for more? (They’re so interesting! But maybe you have trouble pinning them down, or keep getting distracted by another blorbo…)

Harley Quinn for sure! She's one of my favorite characters and I have a few pieces planned for her, but I haven't written as much as I'd like yet. Part of that is just time, I've been balancing way too many writing projects as it is and can't really afford to throw more on the pile right now, and part of it is that the Suicide Squad fics I've already written tend to focus more on the other characters and I haven't had the chance to focus on her as much yet.

🍑 If you could make a connection between your favorite character and another work you care about (whether a crossover/fusion or a wonderfully “pretentious” literary reference) what would it be? How would it work?

I mean, my favorite character is of course Archangel from X-Men, and as for another work I care about... hm... well, one of my favorite books is the Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, and while it doesn't align perfectly, Warren does fall into a similar role of "charismatic, well-off, but slightly mysterious blond guy who seems to be hiding something" that James Harris does in the book. It would be an interesting crossover to see, I think!

I think it could be neat to see how his secret takes form - is he still a mutant, or is he a vampire like in the book? Is he hiding good deeds or bad? There's a lot of fundamental differences between the two characters from that respect, and I think it could be a fun concept to toy around with.

[keii]

wait i havent interacted with mha in years besides seeing a bunch of togachako(?) a little while ago. what even happened in the ending

It's not anything bad bad, but SPOILERS AHEAD-- also also I'm rambling A LOT UHHHHH TLDR: I wished romantic subplots were portrayed better in the MAIN series and I feel like Bakugo's ending was so lack-luster and bittersweet for someone like him... especially being the most popular character in the series. It felt too realistic on portraying the mundane nature of our lives that not everything is spectacular and special and he learned that as an adult. But I also liked the message that we, as humans, don't need to limit ourselves to one thing and we're allowed to grow beyond what we originally pursued/wanted to be.

Rough ending of 430 (which was the first ending): After the final fight between Deku and Shigaraki, Deku loses OFA and becomes quirkless again (eventually bc it fades away.) 8 years passed, the rest of his class moves on to become pro heroes while Deku is a teacher at UA and during those 8 years Bakugo was the lead on this big ass project to fund a totally new, state of the art, AND SUPER EXPENSIVE hero suit for Deku that emulates his previous abilities so that he could be a hero again because Bakugo wants to continue their dreams of competing against each other as heroes. Other 1-A classmates also helped, but majority of it was from Bakugo. And it ends with Bakugo extending his hand out to Deku after he handed him the suit saying "Come." LAKDSJFLASK

I can't fit my whole ass summarization and thoughts/commentary of ch 431 in my tumblr ask unfortunately, but here's the link to some rough translations of the final chapter LOL https://x.com/mikkyae_/status/1863181175570698626 My thoughts on certain parts: There's a class 1-A reunion bc Shoto was celebrating on becoming #2 in the hero ranking. Bakugo gives Kirishima and Deku a ride in his brand new Porsche LOL and Bakugo pretty much asked Deku to join his agency (after turning away EVERYONE else who applied bc he wanted someone to say that they wanted to surpass him) and Deku said "huh? oh... no thanks, I'm a teacher now, so that's what I want to concentrate on, but I'm happy I get to do hero stuff again." And Bakugo told Deku that he should be a bit more selfish and begin to prioritize his needs and wants since he's spent so many years behaving and thinking in a way just for the sake of others. And during this conversation Bakugo just... HE JUST DOESN'T LOOK HAPPY? He told Deku "Because you treat everyone as "special" that means that no one really is special to you because there's nothing to differentiate what they mean to you. You won't realize what you have in front of you if you see everything as the same." (This isn't the exact words but yea.) There was a part at the restaurant where 1-A were catching up with others, talking about how there's so little villains that they think that the world will eventually have no need for heroes like that. And Shoto talks about how he feels about his duty as a hero and because of that he doesn't want him being a "hero" to be the only thing defining him, which is why he wants to begin taking classes on how to make chopsticks and bowls since he loves eating LOL. Which I do like that aspect in this chapter where Horikoshi portrays their adulthood as them becoming their own person instead of revolving everything around being JUST a hero, right? Like yeah they're heroes, but that isn't who they are ENTIRELY. And the LAST thing we see of Bakugo is him sending Deku off and a narration bubble that reiterates Bakugo's words to Deku about how Deku doesn't give special treatment to anyone, so that means no one is special to him, and so Deku uses those words to approach Ochako. I DON'T MIND ROMANCE AND SHIPPING. I consider myself a HUGE fan of romance, but my biggest gripes is that, when a story sidelines the romantic subplot of the SUPPOSED main couple and puts greater emphasis on the MC and heroine's other relationships, this just seems... a disservice to end it where we don't get to see the building of the relationship. Does that make sense? Like I always dislike it when authors end their series on two characters opening up to each other when... I'd rather see that shit happening WITHIN THE SERIES ITSELF. Like why are you making me try and fill in the blanks with the bread crumbs when you yourself could've shown me how great they could've been? And again, Deku's strongest relationship within the series was with Bakugo, and for it to be so... lack-luster... like I don't even care about it in a romantic sense bc I don't ship them like that (but the art I've seen of them is nice HAHA) but IDK IT WAS SO BLAND... LIKE ANOTHER TUESDAY. I mean maybe that's what Horikoshi wanted to portray, the mundane nature of that part of their lives, but that ending for Bakugo just seemed so... sad to me... especially considering how popular of a character he was to his series (I mean let's be real, he's number one in the global popularity poll.) Didn't see him smiling once in there or even a grin IDK LOL HE GOT NO SIDEKICK, DEKU REJECTED HIS OFFER TO JOIN THE AGENCY, DOESN'T BANTER W HIM WHEN THEY'RE DOING HERO STUFF, IDK-- AND THEN TOGA BEING USE AS A PLOT DEVICE TO PUSH OCHAKO TO OPEN UP HER HEART TO DEKU AT THE V END.

Just can't help but think why they never got the chance during those 8 years to talk. I do genuinely love MHA, and I enjoy the message that as we grow older our dreams don't necessarily stay the same and we as humans are ever changing-- It just felt a bit bittersweet in a way? Maybe it's because the portrayal of it kinda takes away the fantasy of how things will be an amazing happy ending. Again, it's like how I felt about Naruto's ending where there were absolute BREAD CRUMBS for Naruto and Hinata's relationship, and then all of a sudden they try to cram and backtrack everything and try to make the feelings make sense in a movie after over a decade of showing me how LITTLE Naruto really interacted with her. Same thing with Sasuke and Sakura, had such little interactions and now you want me to read about their relationship in a light novel??? How are you going to have one of the biggest developments within two important characters in your story IN A SIDE STORY... I just wanna see it IN the actual main stories.

Anyway, my last thoughts, YEAH Deku didn't ask for the suit, but then I feel like Bakugo was expecting a bit... more?? IDK DEKU USED TO LOOK AT BAKUGO AS IF HE WAS A SHINNING LIGHT IN THE HEAVENS, ONLY FOR BAKUGO TO COME TO THE REALIZATION THAT NO ONE WAS EVER REALLY SPECIAL TO DEKU (until Deku decided to take Bakugo's words to pursue Ochako). All those years of Deku chasing after Bakugo and wanting to catch up and as an adult, we get the ending where Deku diverges from that path. LIKE DAMN OK LIKE I GET IT BUT IT'S SO??? IDK WHY BUT IT MADE MY HEART HURT A BIT LMFAO. Idk maybe the ending will grow on me bc I do sometimes like bittersweet stuff... that only makes the fanfics all the much better... BUT I ALSO LIKE THE ESCAPISM AND FANTASY OF PEOPLE ACHIEVING THEIR DREAMS AND BEING HAPPY AND HAVING THE LIFE THEY WORKED SO HARD FOR LMFAOOO

[dashielldeveron]

I’m so glad we’re talking about the 431 redesigns!!! Because as a person who’s drawn them 10000 times I feel like I have insight lolol,, For me the issue with monomas middle part is not the parting but the fact it looks so stiff 😭😭😭😭 like when I draw his hair usually it’s very soft and fluffy and this is,,,,,, not that!!! It looks like if you went up to touch it you’d just feel gel 😔😔😔. But there are a lot of bad hair choices in the new chap, shinsous hair transplant with aizawa to name one…. Bkg and midoriya are exceptions they did not cheat on their hairdressers, I’m looking incredibly respectfully,,, bkg must of traded places with monoma for the price of keeping his hair cut,, What do you think of the other redesigns??? I wish I had actual opinions on the chapter to share but I’ve not been able to find a full translation of it, so until then I can only look and guess at what’s happening

(i have no idea how to feel about shouto, it’s just like slightly too short but it still looks very soft!!! ((Unlike someone we know 💔)))

monoma comes home one day with the new haircut. you reach out to touch his hair, and it crunches. you consider throwing all his gel out the window to prevent this from happening again.

oof, again, i haven't read a translation but have just seen some panels, so these are ~loose~ opinions.

i don't wanna be too negative, esp. bc it's ultimately hori's art and characters, but i will repeat that the more i look at these panels, the more i think he didn't draw them--just in consideration of the author's note translation going around. i think i mostly see it in midoriya--he looks waaaaaay too baby, and not in the way that hori usually draws him as baby. too much in the wide eyes, not enough in the body language, hands, and mouth. anyway. not making accusations, but it would make sense to me if it's true he didn't draw this.

i only have firm opinions on shinsou: bad. evil, even. that man does not look well. he looks fucking ill. he's prob meant to mimic aizawa, but aizawa never looked sick. shinsou looks like he's about to fucking pass out. gaunt, almost. stringy-looking hair and deeeeeeep bags. feels weird when he's been a character with, like, extremely volumnious, fluffy hair who's been training with aizawa to bulk up--we even get that comment about shinsou gaining muscle in the manga. but like. he looks sicker and more emaciated than he did as a student. i feel like shinsou would continue to care for himself, because he wants to be good so badly. "nighthide" isn't a bad hero name!! at the moment, i still prefer "mindjack," but i expect it'll grow on me, like "dynamight" did over "ground zero."

miscellaneous: i'm extremely glad that yaoyorozu's hero costume is a real piece of clothing now. best jeanist's hair is way better, and mirio's design is extremely unsettling.

i don't know how i feel about bakugou and shouto yet!!! i don't think i have any major issues, or anything, but they somehow feel off. i will say that both of them look very Large and Huggable, which is an excellent quality for a man to have. we love big, friendly men (or at least one, friendly man and then another who is soft only for ~you~).

i'm am eagerly anticipating official translations, bc rn i am BAFFLED at all the drama!!! it's v v v distracting from my papers that i should be writing rn; i wish i had more time to think about this!!! i just think these little guys are neat!!!!

[alllinesarebeautiful]

Day 431 Art meditation, 9/25/24, ”Greens Blues, Second Variation”, ‘Tree Ring’ Heart Art

Dear You, 

The journey towards the heart is definitely blue and green murky. This is my new art for this Tree Ring Heart art brand bundle.

I’m so grateful to be with my parents on vacation, and wish the East Coast and West Coast were easier to get to.

I love being in their enormous 3 story + a basement house ….  

I love that there is gentle rain all week …

I love baking an apple pie for our tiny family visit tomorrow.

Love the Amish buggies with horses on a Sunday, a day of worship and “visiting” with neighbors for the Amish …

I love Mom’s garden and cooking and just kind of the simplicity of life here.

I love the way my parents are able to hold the space with me about all the issues in my life where I am holding tension, and trying to get to a peaceful point. We know there are no answers, but answers will come eventually. This is a patience skill I learned from my parents. This is a life of faith, although my parents don’t really see my journey as a faith journey. They just want me to go to church.

I got to see my favorite person on earth, my nephew H, who was a toddler when I moved back to the West Coast, and is now driving and almost 18 … That separation is difficult for me. I ran into these photos of me and him when he was 1. 

I’m no longer completely ashamed of my journey, which has been a harder thing to face when coming home. I see the theme of people we know pitying me. It’s incredible how people can only see the flaws in my life and not all the growth. Or they look at the part of my life that is hard, and not all the projects I’m working on. It’s easier to pity me than to support my art, writing, or store. What does it look like to really love me?

.

But I did hide today. And still a tiny miracle happened. My parents had a guest today - their financial advisor. And I immediately ran up the back staircase like I am 9 years old. This man used to be my financial advisor. He’s also grew up in the inner city, like my siblings and I did, and he’s my age. Except that he did everything right in life. I made this assumption that he’s the last person I want to talk to or see because he has his life completely under control, especially financially.  

When my mother found me and asked me to please show up (!), I came into the living room. (Okay, so I still went down the back stairs so that I could hide my bad knees …)

It turned out to be one of the best conversations I have ever had. I gave him a recap of the last ten years of my life so well that I almost didn’t recognize myself. He asked great questions and was completely present and supportive. His son has his own version of ‘all lines are beautiful’ … We talked about parenting … The supportiveness made me able to talk about things I would probably never tell my parents, and my parents just listened to us with interest. I’m still a foreign language to them, but they do listen now.

I asked for Miracles on this trip, and this was one. I just LOVE when there are inner openings where I don’t expect them to be - beyond the boxes … I think the moral of the story is not to make assumptions about people, that bonding can happen anywhere, and to stay open.

…

Adding new green blue tree-ring Art to my store … 

New stainless steel water bottles, 

wrapping paper (set of 3),

Utility crossbody bags,

And Mural art, in increments of 17”x11”. Here's my store link, if anyone wants to purchase, https://www.alllinesarebeautifulartsoulfully.com/welcome

Lots of love, Anne

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#gratitude #treering #graphicdesign #graphicdesigner #alllinesarebeautiful #artsoulfully #artdrop #design #heartliving #heartartbundles #heartart #art #love #artexpandshearts #light #bethelight #authentic #expandlove #soulfulliving #bethechange #heart #heartspace #color  

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Ⓒ 2024 Anne Hunsicker | All Lines Are Beautiful. All rights reserved.

[jessequinones]

Dragonfire: Sphere of Eternity Review

Holy, hell, I finally read Dragonfire: Sphere of Eternity and I got some thoughts on it.

First of all, no hate for the author, but I wasn’t expecting this book to be as long as it was. I’m actually impressed I finished it within a month. The book, according to Amazon is around 431 pages and it certainly feels like it. Look, I’m a slow reader. At most, I can read maybe three chapters in a day. A book this long, I was fine until page 300 where I just wanted it to end.

In saying that, it’s not a bad book, just kind of...mid. A perfectly fine book to give to a young reader who hasn’t been introduced to a lot of stereotypical tropes but if you have to choose from this or Wings of Fire, go with Wings of Fire.

Dragonfire: Sphere of Eternity, is a classic hero’s journey story, where the main character, Blaze gets forced into an adventure only to discover he’s the chosen one with special cool powers that no one else has and only he can fight off the darkness which threatens to destroy the world. Along with him is the obvious love interest whose main role is being the healer, the goofy side character, and the badass fighter girl who is only there to be a love interest for the goofy side character and doesn’t really do much come to think of it. All of Blaze's friends join him on his adventure for...some reason and they have a jolly old time.

Near the end of the book, the party splits off for no reason, like...you’ve journeyed together and been through so much, this is the point you’re splitting apart? Because it’ll be dangerous? All of you have plot armour, so it’ll be fine, why are you splitting apart at this exact moment? Isn’t this book about friendship or something? Why are you splitting apart now?

Anyway...

Dragonfire has all of your favourite tropes, the fish out of water, I don’t think I’m in love. Just the classical we’re friends trope which later turns into the family trope. You also can’t forget the Hero’s Journey trope, the chosen one trope. You get the point.

While none of these tropes are bad by themselves, the story doesn’t put a unique spin on them so if you read one of them, you already know what to expect in this story.

There’s no urgency in the story. I wasn’t afraid any of the characters weren’t gonna make it. Despite this book being over 400 pages long, they only go to four locations...five if you count a detour to the end goal. The dragon village was cool but it’s very early on in the story, and you don’t spend a lot of time with them. I also forgot if there were any other characters besides Blaze, Risha, Boltock, and Ember. I guess there’s Tarwin, but she’s barely in the story and I forgot about her at one point.

The main villain I didn’t care for. I ended up skipping the climax of the final fight just because I knew Blaze would win and nothing bad would happen, and also because I couldn’t care less for the main villain.

I’ll say this, however, near the beginning, this story was written in a way in which I could’ve seen it being turned into a graphic novel. I thought it had a strong opening and great world-building that I would’ve enjoyed seeing in a graphic novel format.

Also...stop...using...the word...cripple...stop.

In the end, this book isn’t harmful and doesn't break new ground in its storytelling which is fine, not every story needs to be unique. I think this book is a safe bet to give to your children, hopefully, with its length it’ll keep them entertained for a bit and yeah...that’s about it.

[akinformation]

Page 431

person for too long. The body may not hold it and might get sick. The energy is very strong and the doses must be regulated. I was thinking back in 2020, maybe the Spirit showed me that scientists in Cambridge, Oxford and Harvard practice rowing. I think they practice this sport to take care of their bodies, to help with twisting, because their brains are working so viciously that their bodies might deform. And knowing that, they practice rowing to strengthen their backs, to prevent them from twisting. Because these scientists are in contact with the holy Spirit, this Spirit is helping them with their studies to get a Nobel Prize. The Spirit may give them the information but their bodies might deform, do you understand? This is the information I received.

Also I recalled that when the Spirit was in me before, but I didn’t actually know it, I just felt that there were periods when I was open, I was saying that when a person dies, it is like his mind falls asleep. And that’s it. And he is dead. And I would be killed, as if I will not die. I mean, the body will die, but my consciousness, that is really me, it won’t go anywhere. As if I will stay. I was pondering on that. How is it? As if the attention is so strong that even there will be no more body, the attention will stay anyway. So this attention that I was talking about is the Spirit itself. Obviously it doesn’t need the physical shell. But what is interesting is that this Spirit is managing all affairs here on the planet Earth and overall controls everything that exists. And it appears where it is needed. It appeared in many places. There are a lot of mentions about it. Why is it in me now? We can suggest that the Spirit was moving in some people of art and maybe this is the same scenario. And maybe my role is not so serious here. Maybe I just have to be a writer, a real writer who has no thoughts, but just his heart and the Spirit. This is like an inspiration, Inhale. God inhaled in me. As if this Spirit is in me and it turns on when I write. And overall guides me in life. I said before in my other books that there is a power that I don’t belong to myself. And people were telling me, “Alex, but this is bad. This is not a spiritual level and not growth. You can’t belong to something or somebody”. And I was explaining that this is indeed the freedom that people are dreaming about. Real spiritual freedom. When you remove your mind. This force of nature is operating you in a good way. Because when there is the Spirit, you have destiny and everything is destined. You are protected, nothing bad will ever happen to you. You don’t

[wyked-ao3]

Your OC: Tenshi

Tenshi is a 431 year old celestial archangel (still a youngster. Translates to 20 in Earth Realm), son of the sun goddess Amaterasu. One of the powers bestowed upon him during the immaculate conception was the Gift of Raiden—so, he is attuned to lightning. His brothers, the Archangels, were tasked with training Tenshi and honing his righteous power in order to protect the Earth Realm….but the methods of the Seven Archangels were a bit….harsh.

Tenshi, finally growing impatient with his lack of progress, escapes the Heavenly Realms to hide on Earth from his brothers. Donning a mortal disguise, he lands in a futile forest in Japan, hitting just about every branch on the way down (he’s fine). Now, finally a “human,” he is free to explore the Earth Realm, practice his powers in secret, all while trying to maintain a low profile so his brothers don’t fin, catch, and drag him back to the Heavenly Realms

My OC: Amon rún

Amon rún is a 17 year old spirit fae, son of the queen and king of the spirit fae (unnamed as of yet) he was abandoned and left for dead when he had his first vision and only the females in the royal family are supposed to have vision's (he was thirteen) he has excellent control over his powers but he can not change everything that he See's and he has points that are shadows in his visions ;) he has a younger brother who is supposed to inherit the crown since Amon was banished. He is a little naive about some things and jaded about others...but overall sweet,loyal and sarcastic (He has seen a lot of shit even if it was avoided)

Amon was rescued by the pirates aboard deaths redemption and quickly became the navigation specialist due to his powers. He has no interest in ever returning to the fae and is quite hostile when someone mentions it, the crew is equally against it since they adopted him. He may not be high ranking but both the captain and the quarter master listen to what he has to say especially if it is a warning. His powers are not that well known off of the vessel, but everyone knows better than to mess with him less they want to bring down the wrath of the whole crew ... including the cook who usually stays out of the conflict .

Their Interaction:

Amon would probably see tenshi coming and what he was, he would warn the captain about it but overall he would not be to concerned about an angel on board the ship. I think that they would bond over their messed up families and tenshi would end up joining the crew in a unofficial capacity kinda like Amon and Heather (the cook/herbalist/surgeon) who tend to be left out of anything involving fighting or other pirate activity... Amon gets left out since he is clumsy and well not exactly a good pirate... although he is trying to work on that.

Tenshi would probably be baffled by Amon's friend Morana who is a shaman (animism and druidism based with a sprinkle of shamanism) I could definitely see them teaching the other about their different beliefs about nature. Amon would join in on the lessons because as a fae he has a different connection to it than they do and he is connected to the spirit realm just as much as he is to his visions (partially why he is a bad pirate...he's not so good at dealing with the freshly dead... especially if he was the one to kill them ....) so he would definitely add on the fae beliefs and culture that he grew up with. The rest of the crew would be watching the "kids/clueless ones" fondly and with amusement and killing any threat to them.

@the-golden-comet thank you for the open tag :)

@sunglasses-in-the-bentley

+open tag for whoever wants to interact with Amon

✨OC Interaction Tag✨

Thank you @willtheweaver for this tag here ✨

Your OC: Leif

Leif is a senior hunter for Fernstan village. As he spends most of his time out in the forest, he rarely interacts with the other foxes of the village, apart from other hunters and the border guards. His honesty can sometimes cross over to bluntness, and his social interaction can leave a lot to be desired. Some members of the village also go out of their way to avoid interacting with Leif as he is an agnostic. Even with these shortcomings, his skills as a hunter and tracker are impressive, and the village elders have entrusted him with training new hunters and guiding them on their first hunt. He does not play favorites and is considered strict but fair. Although he does not show it, he deeply cares for those under his charge, and will do what he can to ensure their success.

My OC: Tenshi

Tenshi is a 431 year old celestial archangel (still a youngster. Translates to 20 in Earth Realm), son of the sun goddess Amaterasu. One of the powers bestowed upon him during the immaculate conception was the Gift of Raiden—so, he is attuned to lightning. His brothers, the Archangels, were tasked with training Tenshi and honing his righteous power in order to protect the Earth Realm….but the methods of the Seven Archangels were a bit….harsh.

Tenshi, finally growing impatient with his lack of progress, escapes the Heavenly Realms to hide on Earth from his brothers. Donning a mortal disguise, he lands in a futile forest in Japan, hitting just about every branch on the way down (he’s fine). Now, finally a “human,” he is free to explore the Earth Realm, practice his powers in secret, all while trying to maintain a low profile so his brothers don’t find, catch, and drag him back to the Heavenly Realms.

Their Interaction:

Now THIS is an interesting pair indeed! Tenshi, trying to hide his celestial nature, runs into Leif as a mentor hunter in the woods. Tenshi lives in a forest where Shintoistic happenings occur as typical as a Sunday morning, so this checks out. Since Tenshi is used to looking for mentor figures, he would respectfully listen to Leif and regard him as his senior, open to train under his authority. However, I feel Leif would start to get suspicious as soon as Tenshi excels beyond what could be reasonable for a “person” his stature.

Tenshi meanwhile would be panicking because he doesn’t want to be found out. Once he hears that Leif is agnostic, he breathes a sigh of relief: “whew, okay. Good. He won’t suspect me, then. Just play it cool, act normal. Act HUMAN….er…how would a human respond here?✨”

That was fun! I’m leaving the tag +open for anyone wishing to interact with Tenshi some more 💖💫