#I want to read Kota story also..

[annicaax]

claude's MS is out n I feel like screaming. I don't know why I am excited I am not even his fan... Maybe I am just a huge fan of this title and this entire set up...

[sarahjtv]

My Hero Academia Chapter 430 Spoiler Talk: The True End of An Era (Part 1)

This is it, the final chapter of My Hero Academia. A series 10 years in the making has finally ended. It's really insane to think about. This series has done so much good for a lot of people despite the fandom's flaws. MHA was both people's introduction and even reintroduction to manga and anime. It's bittersweet to write about the final chapter, but I will do the best I can to honor the series I love. This is going to be a very long one. Also a lot of screaming.

Now, please, if you want to wait until the official translation releases on Sunday, PLEASE TURN AWAY NOW! Save this post and come back to it on Sunday when everyone has read the chapter. I will be using spoiler hashtags for this, so if you end up spoiling yourself because of my post, that's on you. THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING:

Here we go. We first start off with our Final Color page for the series! It's a gorgeous double-page spread featuring all Class 1-A (Now 2-A) kids that we've grown to know and love throughout the past 10 years including Shinso, Aizawa, and All Might of course. Izuku Midoriya AKA Deku, our beautiful MC who I will miss with all my heart and soul 💚, is leading the page and his friends towards the bright future they all fought so hard for. It's a wonderful way to conclude the series and I will make sure to get a high-quality version of it to use as my computer wallpaper.

The final chapter is titled "My Hero Academia" because of course it is 🥹. This was truly My Hero Academia.

OH FUCK WE GET A TIME SKIP TO THE FUTURE SOMEONE HOLD ME 😭

KOTA IS THE THE UA HERO COURSE AND IZUKU IS HIS TEACHER IT'S SO PERFECT FOR HIM!!!💚😭 I BET MR. AIZAWA AND ALL MIGHT WERE BIG INSPIRATIONS FOR HIM TO TAKE THIS PATH 🥹

IT'S ONLY BEEN 1 PAGE AND THIS CHAPTER HAS ALREADY ENDED ME IT'S SO JOEVER FUCK

BTW, Deku is saying a more optimistic version of the "Not all men are born equal" narration he told us at the beginning of the very first chapter of the series. Very nice way of bringing the story full circle.

Ok, the next 2 pages have a lot of things in them, so I'm going to try to sum it up as best as I can:

Izuku finally came home to see his mother, Inko, at their apartment and she looks happy 💚

All Might is out of his wheelchair and helping old Gran Tarino walk with a cane (how he still survived I have no idea).

All the kids running in their gym clothes in what looks like their second Sports Festival (god, what I'd give to see that in its entirety).

Miriko is very happy with her new prosthetics including one that looks like the Bullet Bill from the Super Mario series.

The kids struggling taking either mid-terms or finals written tests. Bakugo is still using his left arm to write, so I assume his right arm is still barely usable.

Shoji and Kota shaking some prominent mutant's hand I assume from their contributions towards the war.

Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods working together as usual!

Tokoyama meeting up with Hawks.

KOTA AND ERI HOLDING HANDS AND GETTING READY FOR SCHOOL WITH MADALAY'S APPROVAL THAT'S SO FUCKING CUTE 😭❤️🤍

Endeavor being followed around by his sidekicks and Hawks.

Aizawa and Present Mic visiting what I bet is Shirakumo's grave 😢

The fan translator says that the kids finally meet Melissa from the first MHA movie! We don't see her face, but I'll take what they say is truth.

Spinner's book selling and Compress reading it in jail.

Bakugo going through rehab to get his right arm back!

Deku and Ochako spending time in the snow.

OUR KID'S GRADUATION OH MY GOD MOST OF THEM ARE 18 THERE AND THEY'RE OFFICIALLY PRO HEROES I'M SO FUCKING PROUD OF THEM 😭❤️ Interesting though since none of them really look much older except for maybe Iida and Shoto, but it's hard to tell from the scans. And Bakugo and Monoma keep the crazy graduation tradition of blowing things up as their goodbye present to UA!

And finally, we see the embers of One For All slowly fade away in Izuku's hand until there's nothing left...

Oh, god. The time skip takes place 8 YEARS in the future geez. So, if this is 8 years since we left the kids in Class 2-A, they would be about 24-25 years old now damn. We're actually going to see them all grown up that's crazy.

The next page shows us a middle school class very similar to how we saw Deku and Bakugo at the very beginning of the series. The teacher asks them what they want to do in the future and we get to see small glimpses of other characters now such as Hatsume who has her own lab (go, girl!), and LaBrava who seems to own a company with Gentle!

The main kid we focus on in this class is Dai, the young boy with dark blue-ish dotted hair who was looking at the All Might statue in Kamino before the first war started (I don't blame you for forgetting; I had to look him up too). He says he wants to be a hero, but everyone else says that his Quirk is too weak for him to become one. Despite that, he still goes to the All Might statue (which sounds like has been rebuilt) for inspiration. Sound familiar? 🤔

Next we see Shoji accepting a prestigious award for his efforts in resolving mutant prejudice-based incidents! He looks SO BULKY HOLY SHIT DUDE 😳 And his hair got longer to the point of putting it in a ponytail! Also, Koda and the glue Class 1-B kid (I think his name is Bondo or something) are there to congratulate him too! I bet you that Shoji making it to the top 10 in the final popularity poll helped Horikoshi give him a little spotlight and it's a good way of following up on what happened after his bout in the Final War.

Next up, we see Ochako, Tsuyu, Momo, and Iida visiting schools across the country! Ochako has also set up a Quirk Counseling expansion project that's become one of the most essential things in the future society!

Ok:

1: It's hard to tell with Iida, but the girls all look slightly older especially with their hair being a little longer.

2: Their future costumes look great! It's not a 100% match to what we saw in Endeavor's vision, but it's still great! Iida's armor got more detail to them; Tsuyu's frog goggles got gogglier?; Momo is finally coving up her cleavage and showing less exposed skin took you 10 years, but you finally got there, Horikoshi; and Ochako's got updated headwear, the two dots on her outfit are side-by-side instead of on top of each other, and her collar thing looks similar to Deku's hero mask which I know was intentional.

3: Good for Ochako for doing something about Quirk Counseling. Definitely inspired by what happened with Himiko Toga. I hope this means that we won't have another incident like Toga had and that kids are now able to get help with their Quirks as opposed to being villainized. I hope Ochako's making good money out of this too for her family like she originally intended.

We also see a teenage Eri going to her music club with a guitar on her back! She has a normal girl's sailor uniform, so my best guess is that she's either still in middle school (I think she would be 14-15 at this point) or she's not in UA like a lot of us thought. Either way, she wants to pursue music instead of Hero work so I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't go to UA at all. It also looks like her horn did fully grow back, but whether her Rewind Quirk still works the same is up in the air.

And we see that Mr. Aizawa is still working at UA, BUT HE CUT HIS HAIR SHORT 😭 WHY DID YOU CUT HIS BEAUTIFUL, LONG LOCKS, HORIKOSHI??? OF ALL THE PHYSICAL CHANGES YOU GIVE OUR CHARACTERS THIS IS THE MOST DEVASTATING 😭

*BREATHS* But, he shows Deku and us a video of Bakugo SCREAMING AT A CIVILIAN FOR FILMING HIM TOO CLOSELY 😂😭 PLEASE NEVER CHANGE, KATSUKI BAKUGO 🧡 I'm also really glad he still got to be a Pro Hero despite his injuries.

AND NOW WE SEE MY SWEET FAVORITE BOY, SHOTO TODOROKI WHO CUT HIS HAIR A LITTLE SHORTER!!! I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS, I LIKE HIM BETTER WITH SHORT HAIR AND STILL LOOKS LIKE THE BEAUTIFUL PRETTY BOY HE ALWAYS WAS! STAY PRETTY, SHOTO!!! 🩵

Anyway, Shoto patrols day and night and is very nice to his fans! Kind king 👑! He's also become his own man to the public now as he's barley called "Endeavor's Son" anymore. That's a real relief because I know for a fact that that was haunting him for years. Also, there's a chance he'll pass Mt. Lady, Kamui Woods, and even Mirio in the rankings! I'm so proud of my fave! 🩵❄️🔥

GAH! I'm actually hitting a world limit here! I have to make a Part 2!

[delawaredetroit]

Whenever dekus effect on people gets brought up I can't help make comparisons to wall e probably because it's the most overt comparison I can make but anyway that aside dekus effect on people gets brought up a lot but how it's resulted and has been a mixed bag in my eyes it's complicated but it is but what are your opinions on how dekus effect on people has been throughout the story

That's a broad question and would probably require an answer longer than anyone would read. So, I'll give the tldr here. Other than Shigaraki and Bakugou, I don't have significant complaints about Izuku's effect on other characters.

In general, he inspires his classmates to be the best version of themselves. His hardworking and selfless nature inspiring Ochako makes sense. I like that her admiration of Izuku has both negative effects on her character development.

He inspired Iida to become a more compassionate hero through his actions in the entrance exam and the Hero Killer Arc. It was a good example of an arc for a character who naturally leans more selfish but admires true heroism who learns to grow into that role. It's not natural for him, but he puts his all into it anyway. Iida's arc is compelling and should have gotten more focus.

Shouto goes without saying. Izuku was key to his character development. There could have been much more if their underlying conflicts with each other and other characters were actually addressed in the later arcs though...

How he inspired All Might is one of the most compelling character arcs in BNHA. All Might's impact on Izuku however is much more of a mixed bag.

Izuku effect on Kota and Eri makes sense. What kid wouldn't be inspired by someone going that far to save them? In Eri's case, he was the first person to accept her including her quirk as well.

Izuku being able to successfully reach out to Aoyama, Gentle Criminal, and Lady Nagant also works. Aoyama strongly relates to Izuku and his struggles. Gentle Criminal was someone who wanted validation and Izuku (1) is very good at validating people and (2) can understand the sting of failure. Lady Nagant also wanted to believe in heroism (the concept not the industry) and wanted to find a cause she could truly believe in again.

Bakugou and Shigaraki are where things fall apart. Bakugou was certainly inspired to do better because of the guilt he felt towards Izuku and his feelings of inadequacy towards Izuku, but it's to the detriment of Izuku's character arc. For Shigaraki, they were off to a good start in Act One. The mall scene kicked off Shigaraki character arc and there was good buildup in Act Two. They seemed to lose that connection to each other in Act Three though...

[renee-ckstrong]

My Favourite Wrestling Match of all Time

In 2006, a Canadian wrestler became Captivated by a Japanese man for whom standard limitations on human athleticism don't apply. Twelve years later, they had the greatest professional wrestling match of all time.

I'll keep the background explanation brief because there is already a better explanation than I could ever do. Read here if you do not know the story of the Golden Lovers: https://medium.com/we-need-to-talk-about-wrestling/that-one-tweet-thread-about-the-golden-lovers-annotated-e9fc604e3a7f

Now Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi have wrestled each other three times in their lives. And their second match from 2012 is arguably better than their the 2018 match that I am supposed to be looking at. So why would I say that the best match is worse than another one from six years prior. Well the twenty twelve match back in DDT is generational, and the greatest spectacle of athleticism in wrestling ever. The 2018 is far more emotional. With six more years of context they put on a match that made me feel more than any other match.

An important thread in the plotline of their story is this, Kenny Omega has never beaten Kota Ibushi. And because of that there is an unconfirmed insinuation that Kenny Omega can't beat Kota Ibushi. And it was because of this that Kenny grew resentful of how much better Kota was than him, and he turned to the dark side.

Kenny Omega is a fighter who compromised his morals to become the best in the world.

Kota Ibushi is a fighter who ran away from a fight and lost his chance to become the best in the world.

Kenny would join the Bullet Club, which at the time was like a villainous biker gang. He not only joined Bullet Club but he also distracted Kota costing him the top men's singles championship in all of Japan. After this Kota left New Japan Pro Wrestling unable to face the person his boyfriend Kenny was becoming. Kota did have some success in his absence, including but not limited to getting to the final of WWE's Cruiserweight Classic (but it has come out since that the plan was for him to win but the plan was changes when he expressed that he didn't want to sign with WWE). But he wasn't achieving success to the level he perhaps could. Kenny on the other had become THE GUY. The first non-Japanese person to win the annual G1 Climax tournament, won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and had a match against Kazuchika Okada that broke the scales of how good wrestling matches could be.

So that is the state of play going into this match. Kota Ibushi had returned to NJPW after Kenny had taken over the Bullet Club and become the top star in the company. It is during the 28th G1 Climax tournament and these two have been matched up to fight each other. Kenny Omega is the best wrestler in the world right now, so can he beat Kota Ibushi now.

Another important detail is that the two men (in storyline at least, I can't speak for them in real life) are in love. Like genuinely actual queer storytelling, and it's not shit if you can believe it. So they obviously want to win but they don't want to hurt each other. They are worried that they will go to far.

And that's I think the beauty of it. The question of whether Kenny has surpassed Kota or whether he's still unable to beat his boyfriend even after all he's done. And the question of how far they'll go without wanting to do permanent damage to the other. Like their 2012 match is technically more impressive simply because men in their 20s can do feats of athleticism that men in their 30s can't. But that helps build the plot of the G1 match. In their 2012 match they do a disgusting spot where Kenny takes a hurricanrana of the top rope to the floor. In the 2018 match they tease doing it again but both men know that it isn't the kind of thing that either of their bodies can take these days.

It's brilliant. It's really beautiful. And I want to talk about the result of the match but I shan't because I want anyone reading this who hasn't seen it to go watch it. You can probably find it in full somewhere if you search 'omega vs ibushi g1'

So yeah that's my favourite wrestling match. It's pretty cool.

[the-himawari]

A3! Tsukioka Tsumugi - Translation [SSR] MANKAI Feature (3/3)

*Please read disclaimer on blog; default name set as Izumi

---

Izumi: It looks like everyone’s ready.

Tsumugi: I see Tasuku is guest starring again after Franz’s spin-off story.

Tasuku: Apparently there was a scene Minagi wanted to include.

Azuma: As for the story, it takes place before Izumi and Reo met… It shows the period before he moved to that town. I won’t be appearing that much. But I’m looking forward to meeting Tsumugi’s Izumi again for the first time in a while.

Izumi: If you consider your role, Reo shouldn’t want to meet Izumi!

Azuma: Fufu. That’s true.

Tasuku: Alright, shall we start filming soon?

-pause-

Izumi: (It’s a pleasant morning. Izumi is making holy water at the church.)

Izumi: “In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.”

Believer: “Good morning.”

Izumi: “Good morning. What a nice morning we’re having.”

Believer: “Yes, indeed. It feels like the air has become clearer after you came, Izumi-san.”

Izumi: “It’s genetic. I come from a lineage of clergymen who have been doing this job generation after generation, so I wonder if that’s the cause.”

Izumi: (Izumi touches his own earring as he jokingly laughs.)

Believer: “Hm? Is that a habit? Touching your earring, I mean.”

Izumi: “…Perhaps it is.”

-pause-

Izumi: (At nightfall… Izumi goes to work as an exorcist.)

Izumi: “There is only one target to subjugate tonight. The frequency and number of vampires appearing has been decreasing day after day.” “Perhaps—.”

Lower grade vampire: “GWAHH!!”

*dodges a hit, and a light flashes*

Izumi: “Tch! Haa!”

*light flashes*

Lower grade vampire: “Gyahhh!”

Izumi: “A lower grade vampire without an ego? This one must the target I’m aiming to eliminate.” “HA!”

*light flashes*

Vampire: “Eeeek…!!”

Izumi: (The vampire is attacked by Izumi and quickly breathes its last.)

Izumi: “Phew… it’s unresponsive. I wanted to make it suffer more as I killed it though.” “As I thought, the grade of the vampires appearing are getting lower and lower. They’re all useless weaklings.” “I would have to assume the high grade vampires have moved to the next town.”

Izumi: (Izumi’s expression and tone which makes him seem like a completely different person from when he was speaking at the church… brings a shiver down my spine.)

Izumi: “Tonight’s mission ended quickly. I’ll head home now. …Hm?”

Izumi: (All of a sudden, Izumi notices a spurt of blood bursting out. The blood has also splattered onto his earring.)

Izumi: “…This is the worst.”

Izumi: (Izumi looks back over his shoulder at the low grade vampire with a cold stare as it fades away into ashes…)

Izumi: “There will be no morning for the likes of you.”

-pause-

Izumi: (That day, Izumi had a dream. Amidst the blazing flames, he could see the image of a vampire attacking people.)

Reo: “—”

Izumi: “I see… is this vampire my next target?” “I always have this dream after I’ve killed a vampire… It’s like a punishment.” “However, living as an exorcist has been my destiny since I was born." “…It seems I’m a prisoner to blood, just like the vampires…” “Even so, if I wipe them out, I won’t have anymore nightmares, and I’ll be free.” “If I hurry up and kill the vampires…”

-pause-

Izumi: (And so in the morning… Izumi makes holy water in the church.)

Izumi: “By the power of God, please let the vicious devils and evil spirits that roam this world, seeking to harm souls, be struck down to hell. Amen.”

Believer: “Good morning.”

Izumi: “Good morning.”

Believer: “Izumi-san, I heard you're leaving this place. What a shame. Please, stay well.”

Izumi: “Please stay healthy as well. And please be wary of liars.”

Believer: “Fufu. Because they’re devils?”

Izumi: “Indeed. But morning won’t come for devils, so don’t worry.”

Izumi: (Izumi touches his cross earring as he says so.)

Izumi: “…It's just a habit.”

-pause-

Izumi: (Then, in search of Reo, his target, Izumi moves towns and to the apartment complex where Kota lives…)

Kota: “Are you having trouble over there?”

Izumi: “Oh, no… I moved here recently, so I was just taking a stroll around.” “Do you live in this complex?”

Kota: “Yes. The name's Seo.”

Izumi: “I'm Izumi. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Kota: “If there’s anything you don’t understand or that causes you trouble, please let me know anytime.”

Izumi: “Fufu. Thank you. “…You look like a good person, so please be wary of liars.”

-pause-

Tsuzuru: …

Tsumugi: Are you working on your laptop, Tsuzuru-kun?

Tszuru: Oh, Tsukioka-san. I’m actually watching the video of Izumi’s spin-off right now. Seriously, no matter how many times I watch it, I’m blown away by your acting.

Tsumugi: You’re exaggerating. The script you wrote was spectacular after all.

Tsuzuru: It’s a little embarrassing to hear, but I’m glad if you say so. Hold on, is there something wrong with your ear, Tsukioka-san?

Tsumugi: Hm?

Tsuzuru: You’ve been touching your ear the whole time… It’s just like Izumi when he’s thinking about vampires.

Tsumugi: Ah… it looks like I touched it unconsciously. Fufu, I suppose it’s become my habit now too.

---

Izumi: please god, kill all the vampires in the most painful way possible and let them burn in hell 🙏🙏🙏

me:

previous |

[sapphic-agent]

I think the biggest thing I've learnt from the more critical side of MHA is: don't let your favoritism affect your story. I think it's natural that you're gonna like more characters than others. But if it's like noticeable to a point where the audience sees it, it's a big problem. Or if the character is a fan favorite, they'll praise it to sky heaven. The fact that Izuku VS Shigaraki has been oddly side lined so much in favor of Bakugo VS OFA or him rescuing All Might is... weird to me. Like, I get it. He was dead for a year in our time. But... this IS Izuku's story not Bakugo's. Even if Bakugo is a deuteragonist, he's still not the MAIN protagonist. Shouldn't we be shifting more or less to Izuku VS Shigaraki? MHA has been building up their final fight for 8-9 years, and we're oddly all focused on AFO and Bakugo? And for AFO's backstory, I care less for the potato man. Shigaraki is the villain of MHA, not potato man. Such as Izuku is the protagonist of the story, Bakugo isn't. And it's so baffling to me to see MHA twt praise this series to high heaven and just don't oddily notice that Izuku is just oddily fucking quiet through out this fight?? I know he's focused on stopping Shigaraki, but nothing???? Like the Toga and Uraraka and Todoroki Family arcs got all the attention they deserved, so why tf isn't Izuku and Shigaraki?? I understand they were gonna be last, it IS the final battle after all, but it just seems it's gonna go downhill from there.

Plus, how tf is Izuku gonna be able to save Shigaraki?? Izuku is at his witt's end, and Bakugo said he would take care of AFO. Because if it's ACTUALLY Bakugo & Izuku VS Shigaraki. I'll just- I'll be so done. I get the whole "Izuku doesn't have to do everything on his own" but like- Shigaraki literally KILLED Bakugo and got revived from his goddamn blood exploding. (That shit is still funny to me.) like good Lord, can Izuku just have HIS moment??? If all of the cool power ups and cool moments go to Bakugo instead of Izuku, and Bakugo somehow saves the day.

The fucking ending is gonna be ruined by favoritism. Again, this is just an IF. But I felt crazy reading twt's and no one noticing Izuku hasn't said anything of a) Bakugo being brought back to life b) or just reacting to anything. It just seems like Izuku is just there as a device to carry us towards the ending, at this point.

You're right and you should say it.

Mind-boggling how people will look at this shit and still say Horikoshi doesn't favor Bakugou. Like, what? He is 1-v-1-ing the big bad of the series. The villain who killed almost every past OFA user (would also like to add that these are the same users he insulted and looked down on, so if he is the one to finish AFO, that's a slap in the face to every single one of them). The man who incapacitated All Might. The Demon King who's ruled the underbelly of Japan for the past 200 years.

And you mean to tell me that Katsuki Bakugou of all people is his final boss? That's just embarrassing for AFO tbh.

But the fact of the matter is, yeah Izuku's fight with Shigaraki should have been the main event. Instead, it's being treated as a side quest. Hell, it's being treated as less than a side quest as both Uraraka & Toga and the Todorokis & Dabi were given more attention.

It's sad, not only for Izuku but for Shigaraki too. Horikoshi was so close to making him a complex villain, only for all of his character progression from Deika to go down the toilet. He can't be saved because he's been written to be so completely detached from his humanity.

In general, Izuku and Shigaraki should have had more moments together throughout the series. This interaction between them is meaningless because Izuku doesn't understand Shigaraki enough to save him. It's why he's getting frustrated because there's really no feasible way for him to save Tomura. He isn't Eri or Kota who were just kids in danger and who wanted to be rescued.

I hate to say it, but Izuku hasn't had enough development to be able to save Shigaraki. It's not his fault (it's Hori's), but it's true. For him to understand Tomura, he needed to broaden his worldview and Horikoshi hasn't allowed him to do that.

It's an utter disservice to both characters

[sora-fish]

Hey guys, Autism Bob here, more Tangled!PD au!!

This one specifically is going more into Dakota and Vyncents backstory’s cause THEY INTERTWINE!!!! This is Knifekicks btw, so enjoy!!

There are small spoilers for season 2 of PD in here, they are labeled and really aren’t that big at all, but wanted to be more safe then sorry!!

STARTING OFF WITH DAKOTA!!!! In the post before this I kinda went off about his backstory, but here are some details I didn’t mention!!

This is a spoiler!!! -> Dakota Cole isn’t Kota’s OG name in this world either!! Instead, “Cole” was from a comic book Dakota read as a child, just like “Flynn Rider”. The comic books were really the only thing Dakota didn’t have trouble reading, so he found an inspiration in Master Cole- or the hero in the stories. From then on, he used Dakota Cole as a stage name of shorts- or in this case a thief name.

I wanna expand on a point I made in the last post, and kinda more explain why Dakota is ok with stealing in this AU. Well for one, he doesn’t enjoy it. Kota sees it as a need, and frankly it is. Basically living on his own as a kid and teenager, he couldn’t get a stable job to actually get the money to buy food and necessities- so he turned to the one thing he could do to live. That doesn’t mean he likes it- not at all actually. That is why he agrees to steal the crown in the first place. Mark is a bitch of a ruler, letting the crown collect dust for 18 years- and doesn’t even bother to help the people in his kingdom because he’s poured all his resources into finding one person. Dakota hopes the princess comes home safe, but he can’t help but look at every other person Mark has basically left to rot in HIS kingdom.

This is a very vague spoiler (I can’t remember if any of this was mentioned season 1 😭😭) -> That brings me to talk about Vyncent. Without everything happening with the greats, Vyncent actually did follow in his father’s footsteps pretty well. Because of that though, he’s always looking for a challenge. He’s basically the most competent person in the guard, earning him the head of the guard title, but he finds most things boring. Guarding the crown. Walking around town- it’s all busy work when he grew up listening to epic tales of what the greats did- and now he’s stuck guarding a crown all day. Later on in the story, if it goes past the end of the movie (which it probably will, already got thoughts about William after the Tangled plot ends) then I’ll probably experiment with some news coming back about what happened with the greats- but with no Vyncent there- their kinda just fucked? Cue rescue mission probably, PD having to watch Vyncent go through his trauma first hand maybe? Who knows!!!

But with the combined fact that Vyncent is bored by ‘busy’ work at the castle, and Dakota never really being caught- they kinda have a rivals relationship at the moment. Dakota is the one thief Vyncent can’t catch, and it’s finally a challlenge that Vynce needs to keep himself busy. On Dakotas side, it’s a fun chase every single time- something out of the comic books he used to read. With all of the greats gone, the guard isn’t what it used to be, but Dakota also appreciates the challenge. It’s serious business for Vyncent, and just a game to Dakota- but they both have fun in their respective ways.

When Vyncent finds Dakota traveling with Ashe and William, Ashe tries to get them to get along just like in the movie- and it works. Though it mostly is just the promise that as soon as Ashe sees the lanterns, all bets are off and they are back to the chase. That changed by the end obviously- and in contrast to the chase scene in the beginning, Vyncent helps Dakota escape jail and get to the tower.

In short - competitive Knifekicks save me, save me competitive Knifekicks

[nutzgunray-lvt]

How Horikoshi Fails To Portray The Underdog Narrative

(All of this is just my opinion, don't take it at face value as I'm obviously not a writer)

I read an interesting article today, and it made me think of our green haired boi and some of the problems that's been noticed in his characterization:

Izuku is supposed to be the classic underdog that we see rise above all odds and become the number one hero, and I'm not saying that the road there is supposed to be perfect and conflict free. I don't want Izuku to be a Gary Stu that gets a good life handed to him on a silver platter (there's already one in the story).

The problem actually comes from two places; the first one being that Horikoshi has gone on record admitting to liking other characters (the abformentioned Gary Stu) more than Izuku, his MAIN CHARACTER. The second one, I believe comes from a beautiful ask that @theloganator101 submitted to @doodlegirl1998 that said something along the lines of: "I have never seen an author portray their main character as such a loser as Izuku is portrayed in the narrative."

There's a difference between giving your character natural conflict to overcome (i.e. an ACTUAL underdog narrative) and making him a flatout buttmonkey and slapping the 'underdog' label on it. Other animes have done a much better job at this; such as Naruto gradually winning over Konoha with his perseverance and Luffy going from someone on a little row boat to captain of one of the most notorious pirate crews in the world.

The article says that there's seven steps to making an underdog narrative, and I will say that Horikoshi did do a good job at step one: make a character the audience will root for. Izuku is incredibly kind and selfless and also happened to be born Quirkless. He faced relentless bullying for +10 years due to this and wants to become a hero so no one else will suffer like he did growing up.

Step two: portraying the disempowerment, is where things fall apart.

I actually don't mind that Izuku was given One For All by All Might, but I do mind how his past Quirklessness is never properly addressed after this. We don't see him wondering if his new friends would actually be his friends if he were still Quirkless. We don't see him aknowledging that despite receiving a Quirk, the bullying he's gone through hasn't stopped. We don't even see him wondering if he still would have been bullied had he always had a Quirk. We don't see his low self-esteem and imposter syndrome properly addressed. We don't see him noticing that even the teachers at UA are letting him be bullied despite having a Quirk now.

This also leads into the opposite problem: we see TOO MUCH disempowerment.

Izuku is struggling to properly use One For All, as it maims him every time he tries to use it. Instead of receiving any proper help for him, he gets criticized for hurting himself, is singled out and has expulsion hanging over his head on the first day of school, and even has the threat of being barred from medical treatment unless he learns how to master One For All without hurting himself. Not once do ANY of these people try giving him any advice or comfort (the only one who does is criticized in narrative for this), but it takes him being on a week long internship to finally learn how to do it.

Does he get any form of acknowledgment for this by those who criticized him and supposedly have his best interests at heart? No. Do they continue to criticize him ever time he slips up? Yes.

The third step: showing the underlying strength of the character, is another one that Horikoshi does a good job at. It's a joke that Izuku's determination should be a Quirk in and itself, and he repeatedly goes the extra mile to make sure that those around him are safe. He tries saving Bakugou from the Sludge Villain. He saves Kota's life from Muscular, helps Ida and Todoroki protect Native from Stain, and makes sure that Eri has a memorable and fun experience at the School Festival.

However, this leads into the problem with how step two is portrayed: this effort is seldom ever praised and only criticized. The Pro-Heroes berate him for trying to save Bakugou (despite them sitting back and doing nothing). He gets in trouble with Hosu's police, despite the fact that Native and Ida would have died had he and Todoroki not intervened. He's threatened with explusion and called a problem child for going to save Bakugou despite the fact that a) the mission was a success and they didn't engage in combat, and b) the mission wasn't even Izuku's idea to begin with. He gets in trouble for fighting Gentle Criminal and La Brava, and his classmates criticize him for "causing trouble" when he abruptly runs off to get candy apple ingredients for Eri (the fourth light novel). No one ever properly sits him down and tells him "you don't have to go the extra mile at your expense. Your kindness is enough." In fact, the only character who praises him for this level of kindness is criticized in and out of universe for it. Any time this red-flag is brought up in universe, it's either ignored, played for laughs, or the blame is unfairly shoved onto someone (usually, the one person in Izuku's corner).

There really is no step four: design a series of challenges and try/fail cycles, because even when Izuku has a 'win', he still gets some sort of set back in order to keep him "humble". There's those I mentioned above, but there's also his Provisional Hero License exam. He passes, but gets suspended from school the VERY SAME DAY because of his fight with Bakugou.

I guess step five: the turning point, would be Izuku learning Full Cowling and Shoot Style, and it does lead him to pass his Provisional License Exam (as well as his attitude). Mastering Black Whip would also be another one.

Step six is the worst one of the bunch in my opinion: show the darkest moment. Izuku leaving UA to protect his classmates and loved ones from All For One and Shigaraki had the potential to be an amazing arc... but it all falls incredibly flat. It tries and fails to properly address Izuku's deteriorating mental and physical state as these Pro-Heroes let him try and draw out All For One and Shigaraki, only to go all Surprised Pikachu Face when he starts pushing himself too hard (All Might at least tried keeping him regularly fed and tried intervening when Izuku struck out away from them).

Class 1A vs Izuku is where this darkest moment makes no sense for me.

Izuku tells them that All For One and Shigaraki are targeting him due to his Quirk. He doesn't want to leave, but he has to for their own protection. All For One now has Ragdoll's Quirk, meaning that he has eyes on Izuku 24/7 now. What's their solution to this? Sending some other teacher or Pro-Hero to try and talk him down? Send his closest friends to try and convince him to come back?

Nope, the entire class rallies behind his bully and literally beats him into submission. They sit by as his bully accuses him of arrogantly trying to be an 'All Might wannabe' (that same bully also tries shoving the blame for Izuku's self sacrificing tendancies onto ALL MIGHT), try guilting him into coming back, and don't once take his point of view into consideration (Ida does have a nice moment with him). On top of all of this, Izuku is later proven RIGHT that they can't keep up with him in this fight. Bakugou's dead, Uraraka is seriously wounded, Tokoyami is seriously wounded, and Jirou has one of her ears cut off. Then everything is solved by an incredibly manipulative "apology" from his bully and a bath! For that matter, the "apology" doesn't even stick!

There's also many minor incidents as well that I couldn't really fit anywhere else: his Quirk Analysis notebooks and mumbling are seen as "creepy" in universe (Endeavor's the only one who takes it seriously), not having any sort of talent or other hobbies outside of being an All Might fanboy.

The story isn't finished, so step seven has yet to be seen, but TL;DR is that Izuku is way more of a punching bag than an underdog, and many of his fans are fed up. Izuku deserves so much more than what he's been given.

[kitsuneheartreviews]

Queer YA graphic novel: "I Felt Myself Slipping" by Ray Nadine

Oooo, interesting! A queer graphic novel where the love interests don't end the book together, and not because they break up or something tragic happens. They just haven't got there yet by the end of the book, and yet the book wraps up nicely. The point of the book isn't romance! It's human connection. Friendship. And thus, you end the book really rooting for the characters to connect deeper in their lives after what we read. A sequel, perhaps?

Kota is a gymnast with great ambitions, and she is super impressed with the new member of her team, Riley. Riley is hard to connect with, partially because she is avoiding people, but also partially because she is Hard of Hearing. Kota, though, wants to make that connection, and so begins attending ASL lessons. Eventually, Riley warms up to Kota, and a large portion of the book becomes them communicating via ASL (we see a few signs, but whole conversations aren't drawn out; instead there's English translations), writing, and spoken English (Riley has a hearing aid).

I've studied ASL (not consistently enough), and love to see it represented in comics. As I said, not everything is drawn, and I do wish we'd seen a few more panels for signs. This story could be really cool to watch as a short TV series.

I'd love to see a volume 2, but the story wraps up pretty nicely. Obstacles are overcome, connections are made, and the characters have grown significantly. It's the lack of mushy that makes me want volume 2, and not loose ends. So, I'll be keeping an eye out, and hope to see more from this artist!

Advanced reader copy provided by the publisher.

[somethingineedtogetoffmychest]

Something tells me shaykota is done.

It’s clear by Shayna’s recent post/stories that she’s struggling and going through something. Especially if you watched her last livestream where she opened up a little bit and was clearly emotional. Some things she said in that stream also make me think this. Like when she said she now has to get a new car since before they’d usually just go places together, someone mentioning something along the lines of her getting a car that’ll help her find love to which she replied with something like “Exactly! I’m tired of being alone and having no one to talk to when I feel like this.” She also said that whatever happened, she’d talk about one day and that we’re going to find out eventually.

Then yesterday, kota posted a story of puppy asking her, “Did you miss me?” Between this and the car thing, i feel like she might’ve moved out.

Of course none of this could be true and I could be dead wrong. I’m just heavily speculating here. Whatever is going on, i really do feel for shayna because feeling alone when you’re down in the dumps really sucks.

I want to end by saying that I’m not usually one to speculate on people’s personal lives, or read into things or even post about it, but this has been weighing on my mind. I feel so weird about it, i made a whole new blog just to make this post. I also don’t know if anyone is even going to see this post tbh.

[heich0e]

wait if you said that you're gonna stop the oopsy baby series 'for now' are you implying that you're gonna continue it at some point in the future or....? 🤨

I've gotten way more asks about this than I expected, and I won't reply to them all to spare your dash (since they mainly address the same things) but in the interest of transparency here are the highlights:

1. Are you going to continue the mini megumi series? /post any other parenthood fics?

I honestly don't know. I was going to add more to this reply but I've just been staring at the screen for like 10 minutes.

2. Why?

A couple of reasons, but if I'm being really honest I saw a lot of mutuals (who I sincerely like and respect, present tense) posting about how much they dislike parenthood/pregnancy fics and how sick they make them feel and it just didn't feel good.

I want to be really really clear that I TRULY and wholeheartedly believe that everyone is entitled to like what they like, and dislike what they dislike. But the problem is that when you express those opinions while disparaging the people whose opinion are different from yours, or if you choose to be vocal about your dislike of something when you see someone enjoying it, it can be really hurtful. It made me feel uncomfortable about continuing the series if I knew people felt that way and I was possibly upsetting them.

3. Is it because of the "exclusionary" ask?

No! This all happened before I received (or at least saw) that ask. And while I do completely and totally understand where that anon was coming from, and I support them 100% in sharing that very valid criticism with me, the fic probably wouldn't have changed because of it—though I would have started putting a tag in the updates alerting readers to the fact that Kota is described at multiple points throughout the story as being identical to Megumi in case it was sensitizing/alienating/in any way offensive to them.

The inspiration for the fic was that a child who is virtually identical to him shows up at his doorstep, and the entire series is predicated on that idea. I should have made that much clearer at the outset and I really apologize for my oversight and to anyone who I hurt by being careless in that way. I have since gone back and edited each instalment to feature a warning about this in the header, and hope that people who will feel excluded by this plot point can make whatever decision feels best for them in regards to engaging with the fic!

4. I don't like you.

Me neither.

5. I love parenthood fics and I think you should keep writing them.

I also like parenthood fics, and I think they're fun to write! And this is coming from someone who isn't even sure they ever want to have kids themselves. But sort of nodding back to point 2, I don't want to post any kind of fic that people who i consider friends begin vocally posting about disliking. Especially because I really don't follow that many people, so when every third post on my dash is dunking on the trope I'm actively posting about, it just makes me feel kind of sad and unwelcome.

This is absolutely NOT intended to be an indirect/vague about those moots, and if you're reading this I hope you know that I mean that from the BOTTOM of my heart. They are JUST as entitled to this space as I am, and I am in no way at all trying to impose myself and my opinions onto them. I just don't know how to filter anti-trope content from my user experience without inadvertently also filtering the content I DO want to see, and if I'm being honest I just don't think it's not worth losing mutuals who I really like over.

I'm saying all of this with nothing but love, and I hope that no one is too upset about it. I'm sorry if you were enjoying the series and now aren't sure about its future. I'm sorry if me expressing the way I was hurt makes you feel bad too. I'm really logging off now for a bit, and I hope you all take care of yourselves!! Be good, sending love, talk soon <3

[nightrae13]

Appreciation Post to Kotaro and Arisa’s friendship bc why not?

Maybe here’s a thought.. I love how in the translated novel I’ve read by ramirei (spoilers ahead and beyond for this now for Heart no Shucho lol), what Kotaro said was what Arisa exactly hoped someone would feel. She wanted her message to reach Karen, but even if it seemed it didn’t to Arisa’s mind, Kotaro never hesitated to tell her it reached him, and that was such a gentle and heartfelt scene to me!! 

Tbh, I believe Kotaro would still do this for Arisa even without Ken telling him. I mean, it’s such a great AriKen story which I LOVE, but Kotaro always showed no hesitation to help her like how he never hesitated to tell her what she’s hoping for, reaching out to her the moment he saw her crying on the rooftop, and handing her a handkerchief when one of their classmates or herself (I don’t know if it was Karen or those in the earlier chapters) spilled something on her materials and Arisa was panicking.

Those who didn’t read the novel don’t know how Arisa went far to even consider to matchmake Koyuki and Natsuki for Kotaro lol (since she realized Koyuki’s a kind soul and thought Yuu’d be fine with his fangirls XD). I know someone thinks that she’s just indebted to him for doing something only her future bf requested (even if I think many would agree Kotaro is not willing to be bossed by anyone, and he dd it bc he knew it was the right thing to do), but I believe Arisa did everything not just out of debt; she genuinely wanted Kotaro, the only friend she had aside from Karen, and the only one who stood by her on those sad times of her life, be happy. 

Paying debt might be a factor at the beginning, but it was genuine friendship nonetheless. Isn’t being determined and genuine in making a person happy and wishing them them the best all throughout your lives considered friendship? Plus, if it was just out of debt, Arisa won’t be the captain of the KotaHina ship like how I believe Haruki co-captains NatsuYuu with Hina (I mean oh boy, Haruki helped Natsuki organized her initial confession lol. His sibling dynamic with Natsuki in the novels are so underrated too). 

Tbh, Arisa rocks being KotaHina’s captain lol. 

--

(haven’t read Daikirai yet since I’m still on MochiAka novel 2, but I just knew there’d be a scene like this, and I love it lol)

--

To conclude this post, I just want to appreciate Kotaro and Arisa’s friendship. I may have never gotten a Kotaro to my Hina, but I deeply appreciate the Kotaros I have in my life to the Arisa in me. Tbh, before Hiyori, Aizo and Yujiro, Arisa and Kotaro showed that male-female friendships could really work without being romantic.  Y’all read Heart no Shucho already if you still haven’t. It’s actually my 3rd fav novel next to Sekoi and Yakimochi no Kotae bc I never expected this friendship would be so wholesome and beautiful to read. I know Hina showed kindness to Arisa and so does Ken in his indirect ways, obviously, (I love AriKen!!) but I feel like many had slipped into their minds that if Kotaro was not present and ready to give her a hand on those times, she probably would have given up before Sena’s words could reach her. Kotaro’s mere presence in her life made her not give up, and that made her so dedicated to give a hand in his times of needs as well.  Her friendship with Karen led to misunderstandings that wouldn’t be cleared until years later in High School, but she found a friend in Kotaro and that’s worth appreciating. Also, I love how Kotaro showed his chaotic side to Arisa on the latter parts of the novel lol. 

It’s also worth noting how right after Hina cried on Koyuki’s departure in middle school, Arisa and Kotaro spent their time together while hoping for a better future.  (like, I always love the chapters before the epilogues lol. It’s the same for Sekoi and Yakimochi no Kotae HAHHA)

y’all, thank you for reading if you survived till the end. I just love them and wanted to share my ramblings to why lol. 

[fallynleaf]

Hello! Love reading stuff you write.

What are your thoughts on axiz reunion? I'm assuming you're caught up.

Also wondering if you're into the idea of them doing a program against Golden Lovers. I believe there could be such delicious dynamics there.

aww, thank you!!

and yes, i have MANY thoughts on the Axiz reunion!!!!! a lot of my thoughts on the team don't seem to be super popular in the main eng fanbase for NOAH, so i've sort of been keeping them to myself... 😅

i did publish a very short fic, though, after their first match back together as a tag team. and i've been thinking about the bodyswap fic again 🥲

most of my wrestling thoughts so far this year are in my wrestling journal, which i guess has sort of replaced giffing for me because it's way less time-intensive, though i'd still like to publish some of this content as gifsets, especially the TJPW story stuff, which as far as i can tell is not getting written about (in English) anywhere else. the wrestling journal itself is unpublishable in its current state because i also use it to bookmark some of my favorite fan photos, and i wouldn't want to republish those. but i do love it when people read it and comment on some of the stuff in there! i'm constantly falling behind on it and getting caught up super last minute, but it has been a rewarding project overall.

as far as Axiz specifically goes, i also created a separate Axiz journal just for tracking stuff related to their 2023 run. so if that team is the main thing you're into and you don't care about 90% of the other wrestling stuff i'm on about, that has all of my current thoughts and observations on them! it also contains various supplemental material, like tweets and stuff from shupro, plus my very rough translations of the material. there's also a long ramble about the third Axiz photobook, Green, and about how it becomes a different book entirely depending on when you read it (pre-betrayal, post-betrayal, post-reunion).

the main reason why i made that document was because: 1) i've gotten spoiled by my own TJPW blog lol and i get frustrated by how hard it is to browse old post-match comments in other companies due to how poorly organized basically all wrestling companies are and how ephemeral this stuff is, and 2) i have some amount of actual Japanese proficiency now that i did not have when i first got into Axiz in 2020. so i've started to prefer experiencing the stories through the original Japanese, and i sometimes get frustrated by the official translations and want to keep track of the Japanese 😅.

i've also been having fun exploring the Japanese side of the fandom and sort of ignoring what's going on on the western side of things. i've been using it as an excuse to do some low-stakes Japanese reading practice without having the pressure to translate for hundreds of other people like i do with TJPW. so far, all of the Axiz comments have been super short (way shorter than i'm used to with TJPW), so it has been a doable side project for me. the translation quality is way lower than my TJPW translations, though, so just a warning about that. i didn't want to bother my translation tag team partner and ask them to check even more of my work, haha, so there might be mistakes in there, though it's certainly not the worst NOAH translations that you will find... 😅

as far as Axiz potentially doing a program against the Golden Lovers goes, anon, i want that so bad 😭. the only thing i want more would be them doing a program with the Magical Sugar Rabbits 🥲. Axiz vs Golden Lovers feels actually legit plausible, though, considering that Kota has expressed interest in working with NOAH, and considering the AEW/NOAH partnership.

also, i do have one bonus meme that is not in the Axiz journal lol. you might need to read the journal for context, though, depending on how closely you've been following this stuff (i'm tuned out of the fandom at large and don't know what has and hasn't been getting talked about).

here it is:

Kenta Kobashi: "Go, take back the time you missed when you were gone!!"

Katsu:

[jecook]

My Hero Academia and Mutual Aid

My Hero Academia continues to fascinate me not just for its fun cast of characters and sweet action scenes, but also for the well-observed commentary on justice.

An anecdote: this morning, my father told me a story about visiting a state park by a lake where many people bring paddleboards, canoes, etc. On his way to the restroom, he ran into a board that someone had left in the hallway, which was strangely darkened so he couldn't see what he was about to run into. His leg was bleeding--not bad enough for stitches but enough that they would need some first aid. He and one of our relatives couldn't find anyone in the lakeside building, so they went to a ranger station. There, the rangers said it wasn't their job to do first aid and they had no ability to give first aid. They informed my father and our relative that the state had sold the right to the lakehouse business to a private company, therefore the park rangers were not responsible for anything there. This of course includes surfboards left in dark hallways and injuries received from them. So my dad and my relative head to the camp store, where they say that he can purchase a first aid kit or he can find a medical center, but that's all they can do. The whole time, my father is annoyed that none of these people extend any help and each claim it isn't their job to help. Meanwhile, our relative keeps defending these people, reminding my father that "well, they're rangers, not emergency medical responders" and such. In the end, my dad was far angrier with the relative for defending these people than those who refused to do anything at all to help him.

If you read MHA, I hope you can see why I find this related. I am reminded of Shigaraki Tomura's origin, wandering the streets looking haggard whilst civilians all assume someone else will help, it isn't their job, that's for the heroes.

I speak from an American perspective. American culture is obsessed with "heroes." We look to police, to EMS, to firefighters, to military service members, veterans, and during the pandemic, "essential workers." We call all these people heroes and look to heroes to help others, to fight crime. So often, it is not our job to help. Yet, more and more lately we encourage mutual aid, we want programs like STAR in Denver, we want to help each other. I think about Uraraka's scene on the wall of UA in chapter 324 and the ending line, "The story of how we all became the greatest heroes," just as the Ordinary Woman and Kota rush to Midoriya's side. We see the beginnings of civilian people just like you and me who can become "heroes."

The messages in MHA can often become muddied under the gigantic cast of characters, issues with how women are (or really, how they are not) represented, and subplots being shortchanged in favor of shonen audiences being appeased, among other things. But I love this story and I love Horikoshi for what I believe shines through: his observation of our society (both in Japan and America and I am sure elsewhere) and his vision of the future. He sees (has seen for a long time) this problem of how we build up the notion of heroes and how we ignore other human beings because it is the job of the heroes we have created, not our own responsibility as neighbors to one another. Horikoshi wants us as readers to see that we need to reach out, we need to be the ones to lend a helping hand, we need to take initiative to help others who we see in trouble. My Hero Academia is a lesson in compassion, one that aligns with how our generation already wants to change our world.

Personally, I am excited to see how this manga ends; I want to see how he envisions this change when all is said and done. Will there be "heroes" anymore? How will regular people act to help others after the events of the story are over? I think about how our world is changing here and now and how it mirrors this story and I won't lie, I hope Horikoshi can show us a bright future. Maybe we will see first responders with the aim to de-escalate and provide care. Maybe we will see volunteer groups that aid others. Or maybe we will just see regular people who see a child alone and offer them love and shelter or who see a man bleeding and offer him some disinfectant and a bandage. Whatever the case, I'll see you all at the end of this manga, whenever that might be.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

Masaaki Mochiuki vs. Mochizuki Jr., Dragongate Aggressive Gate Night 4, July 5, 2024

Sometimes, you just need to bring your two babies to see a man punch in his father right in the jaw only to get a two count. It's an event that unites multiple generations of a family, from the grandparents to the grandchildren.

We've recently explored the youth movement underway in Japanese wrestling companies in 2024, and you can't highlight the trials and tribulations of young, talented wrestlers moving up to become the faces of their company without discussing Dragongate. When Yuki Yoshioka beat KAI to become the Open the Dream Gate Champion back in 2022, I thought it was a great time to jump on the Dragongate bandwagon. There were wrestlers under 30 years old up and down the card, and their faction system makes it easy to find an entry point to their stories. Instead, I felt disconnected and disoriented; on the one hand, I would read high praise for Yoshioka's matches, while on the other hand I personally felt like they were good, not great matches.

I drifted away and tried again when Madoka Kikuta beat Shun Skywalker, who had beaten Yoshioka, to be the 37th Dream Gate Champion. Upon his victory, Kikuta declared that it was now the era of the Reiwa Six and that he would lead the company into the next period of greatness along with Yoshioka, Skywalker, Ben-K, Kota Minoura, and Strong Machine J. Again, the idea invigorated my interest in Dragongate, especially since it felt like there was a lot of potential in Big Boss Shimizu pushing back against the narrative because he was excluded from the Reiwa Six. That story didn't quite develop with the focus I had hoped for, and again I felt the dissonance between high praise for Kikuta's matches and the lack of engagement or passion I was feeling for his work. I walked away from Dragongate again.

All that said, I want to keep giving Dragongate a chance to hook me, so the high praise for Masaaki Mochizuki's first singles match with his son, Mochizuki Jr., caught my attention. At 22 years old, Mochizuki Jr. is a prodigy, and Dragongate carefully paired him with his father's faction, M3K, to give him time to come into his own. Chicks must leave the coop at some point, and Mochizuki Jr. joined GOLD CLASS.

That brings us to Mochizuki Jr. punching his father square in the jaw in the middle of this match only to get a two count from it. Neither son nor father asked for quarter, and none was given. They were generally evenly matched in their striking exchanges, and even though Mochizuki Jr. could get his father down for pinning attempts, Mochizuki would either wisely grab the ropes to break the pin or kick out to deny his son victory. For his part, Mochizuki couldn't keep his son down, even after some brutal kicks to Mochizuki Jr.'s mid-section; the running kick to a prone Mochizuki Jr.'s stomach was delightfully violent.

I didn't mind the double knockout finish; I think it works for the story that match told. Mochizuki Jr. proved himself to be his father's equal, and now he is free to blaze his own path. He proved his mettle against one of the hardest men in Dragongate, and the sight of Mochizuki Jr., bleeding from the mouth and struggling to rise before the ten count, is the enduring image of the match. The draw also gives us the chance for a rematch where Mochizuki Jr. could overcome his father or succumb to him, which could give Mochizuki Jr. an interesting opportunity for further character development.

Since it's a match in isolation, I don't know if this was the ideal entry point to re-engage with Dragongate. However, I am glad that there is good work happening in the company, and it certainly renewed my interest as I consider my wrestling media diet for 2025. The match is free to view on GAORA TV's YouTube page.

[exorcqism]

﹅˚ ⸝⸝ ABOUT EXORCQISM ‧₊˚

synopsis. this section contains this user’s expanded bio

note. im aware i have a small bio on my intro page but i wanna elaborate more on myself so people know and there’s no confusion.

𝒊. 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄 ﾉ 𝐀𝐆𝐄 ﾉ 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐒

my name is dakota. i’m eighteen, my birthday is november 30th and i’m a girl so i use she/her pronouns. i go by kota, ko, or kai

𝒊𝒊. 𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 ﾉ 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄

i’m african american [black] and i was born and raised in brooklyn, ny.

𝒊𝒊𝒊. 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐒 ﾉ 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐒

my favorite colors are purple, black, red. i really like lemon and chocolate cake. chicken alfredo mad good too. i actually like reading..depends on what it is. obviously i like writing (wouldn’t be on this page if i didn’t). drawing, sleeping, nighttime, cherry blossoms, music ofc. i listen to all types of music (except for rock or country) art, cats, snakes, bunnies, my friends AND mutuals, and anything horror.

i hate bugs. like severely. especially spiders. pickles are disgusting. the sound of nails scratching a chalkboard…i cringe so bad omg. and the things i hate the most is being rushed and yelled at

𝒊𝒗. 𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐒

i’m going to college in september (dreading this so badly) i don’t really wanna go but i was forced to.

i’m more introverted than most. i like being by myself tbh. being out in public just not my style—but at the same time i love going to new places.

i actually used to be on wattpad writing but since that app is so dead, i deleted it. then i found out people actually wrote stories on here so i chose to do the same shit.

i’m learning japanese, i know chinese, and german. i know very little spanish because of my friend and my bf who grew up in a hispanic household.

i love jewelry. i have a bunch of necklaces and bracelets and i wear them all everyday. i also want more piercings. i already have both ears and my nose pierced. but other than that, it’s time for a tat