#its been ten years since my last readthrough so its about time to do it again yeah?

[waterlogged-detective]

and now back to video games and thirsting over lord vetinari listening to discworld audiobooks

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 217: The Same as Him

Previously on BnHA: Deku’s team beat Team MonoShin and secured the overall victory for class 1-A. Aizawa was all “hey Deku wtf was that shitshow out there” and Deku answered truthfully but vaguely and said he wasn’t sure. He credited Ochako and Shinsou with saving him, but then Shinsou got all down on himself and said that he only did it because Ochako asked him and because he knew his team would lose if he didn’t act. Aizawa was all “you bonehead, you’re being too hard on yourself” and said that no hero is born truly selfless and that that’s one of the qualities they train to learn. He and Vlad both agreed that Shinsou had more than earned a passing grade, and would most likely be joining the hero course in year 2. The chapter wrapped up with Monoma declaring that he would have won if he’d known ahead of time that Deku’s quirk would turn out to be a “dud.” This led Deku to ponder what exactly occurred when Monoma failed to use his quirk, and it also prompted Aizawa to ask Monoma to come see Eri, most likely to see if he can help her figure out how to control her quirk.

Today on BnHA: All Might, Deku, and Bakugou discuss Deku’s new OFA shenanigans in private. Bakugou points out that there must be some reason why this is happening now, and speculates on the possible connection to All for One. Later that evening, after unsuccessfully trying to draw the quirk out again, Deku heads back to the dorms ominously pondering the relationship between his power and AFO’s. Todoroki walks up to Deku and is all “dude does this make us two-quirks buddies now” and Deku awkwardly makes up some bullshit about it being an offshoot of his original quirk, which Todo buys into hook, line and sinker. The next day the faculty agrees to move Shinsou to the hero course, and Present Mic says the kid reminds him a lot of a young Aizawa. He also namedrops someone called “Shirakumo”, which immediately makes Aizawa go all stiff and hastily exit the conversation. Over at the teacher’s dorms, Monoma copies Eri’s quirk but proclaims it another “dud.” He explains that his power only copies the bare-bones of a quirk, and not any accumulated power stored within said quirk. Eri apologizes for having a “bad quirk” that’s so hard to deal with. Deku reassures her that powers aren’t good or bad and it all depends on how you use them. He realizes this applies to his own power as well, and resolves to master it no matter what.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my mostly-unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’m caught up with the manga now at chapter 225, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

oh my fucking lord

holy shit. it’s Todoroki not using his flames during the sports festival all over again. DAMN IT DEKU YOU’D BETTER FUCKING TAKE ME SERIOUSLY I’LL KILL YOU

that, or they’re both actually trying to see if they can draw the quirk out again. DEKU IS THIS A CONSENSUAL SPAR. OR DO YOU NEED ME TO COME OVER THERE AND GIVE THIS BOY A STERN TALKING-TO

they do seem to be in one of the gyms, so at the very least they were presumably smart enough to get permission this time and probably All Might is there watching them

lol

on the other hand, All Might’s supervision doesn’t always mean much for keeping them in line. he has to learn to assert his authority more

oh good, my concerns were unwarranted

it is indeed consensual! Katsuki’s actually out here trying to help Izuku learn to control his new ability! let’s just stop for a second to repeat that. Katsuki is helping Izuku to get a better handle on his quirk. yes, that Katsuki. and that Izuku

though it seems like he misinterpreted the goal of the exercise a little bit possibly lol. to be fair, in his mind he probably doesn’t understand the need to try and put training wheels on this thing and probably feels like Deku should fucking own that shit

(ETA: and having given it more thought, I’m gonna go ahead and say he’s fucking right, actually. I won’t get super in-depth about this since I’ve already posted about it before, but this shows how much faith Katsuki actually has in Izuku, though. in his mind he doesn’t view the new quirk as a danger, and he seems to be of the opinion that all Izuku needs is more practice using it. what’s more, once Deku starts muttering about how he tried to lock the power away, Katsuki immediately gets frustrated and leaves, declaring the whole thing pointless for the time being. pretty sure this is because he’s already come to the conclusion that Deku will also reach by the end of this chapter -- that it doesn’t matter what the nature of the quirk is; what matters is how you use it. in other words, Deku needs to stop being afraid of it and start embracing it.)

anyways, but the point is that yet again we’re only making forward progress with these two. no regression; no jealousy over Deku powering up yet again. and god but it’s just so, so gratifying to me to not have to go through the whole one-step-forward-two-steps-back thing with these characters. once they learn their lesson, it’s learned. this might be my single favorite thing about BnHA tbh

anyways so let’s continue with this chapter which I’m only one and a half pages into and am already in love with!

so Deku’s looking at his right arm appraisingly and confirming that the quirk isn’t activating

he says its “presence” has complete vanished

and now we’re getting a flashback to what I assume is earlier that afternoon, after the training exercise but before this little get together

and OH MY GOD BUT YOU GUYS

KEEP KACCHAN IN THE LOOP 2K19

DEKU LOOKS SO HAPPY TO HAVE HIM THERE THOUGH. AND LOL DID HE JUST INVITE HIMSELF IN OR WHAT. YOU JUST TRY AND HAVE A MEETING WITHOUT HIM AFTER THAT SHIT YOU JUST PULLED DEKU

All Might says that Katsuki is sharing this secret with them now, after all

AND WHERE WAS THAT ATTITUDE DURING LUNCH EARLIER TODAY, THOUGH. WELL WHATEVER, I FORGIVE YOU NOW ON ACCOUNT OF BEING SO HAPPY I COULD CRY

so Kacchan is asking if All Might knew about the whole black quirk thing

fffffff so would that be the Shouto-looking one in the trenchcoat, then? godfuckingdammit, they really did only give us one female wielder of OFA and then fucking went and killed her ass

Bakugou please share some more bonding moments with All Might and Deku so I can take my mind off of this please

also sure would hope Shimura was unaware of it, otherwise lord only knows what she was thinking not telling you. though you were likely only a year older than these two when she passed away, so maybe she just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. that is, if she takes after you and waits ten million years before telling her successor anything

again, not even a hint of ill will toward Deku for being so amazing. and after all, why would there be? he already sorted out his feelings on that on the night of the provisional exam. he knows what he has to do and he knows what Deku has been tasked with doing. so if anything, Deku getting stronger is only a good thing, because he’s All Might’s chosen successor and so he should fucking get stronger already

and I love that All Might also caught that as soon as the question was answered he didn’t waste time pondering it and immediately went to the next logical step in the deduction process. he is an official member of the Scooby Squad now

and also lmao at “don’t call people trash,” but I wonder if he’ll actually listen though. listen, at this point there is no Bakugou character development that would surprise me. he is crushing it; I wouldn’t put anything past him

Deku says that all Hellboy said was that “the time has come,” but I’m inclined to agree with Katsuki though that there was some sort of external trigger. what was it that triggered his dream last night? and I’m still not convinced it’s a coincidence that Shinsou has had some involvement with Deku both times that this Vestiges shit happened

oh SHIT

FUCKING YESSSSS OH MY GOD

this. this is the kind of shit I’ve been waiting for THIS WHOLE TIME

how many meetings like this have All Might and Deku had together, though? they’ve discussed all kinds of things about One for All, and yet this is the one topic that they’ve never once addressed, aside from all the way back in chapter 59 when All Might first told Deku about OFA’s origins. they’ve just kind of skirted around this shit. and I mean, I understand why; obviously AFO is a huge trigger for All Might in general, and it’s just easier for both of them to pretend like he’s no longer a threat now that he’s safely tucked away in prison

except that both of them know that is some bullshit, though. because unlike Katsuki, these two clods know about Nighteye’s prophecy, for one. and there is a reason why there’s been a fire burning underneath Deku’s feet ever since the end of summer, and it’s not just because of the conversation the three of them had at Ground Beta. he knows. deep down some part of him knows he can’t afford to sit on his hands. there’s been an urgency in the back of his mind for quite some time now

and as for All Might, he’s been to visit AFO in Tartarus and he’s seen for himself what that situation is like. AFO’s total lack of concern over his current predicament, and his gleeful talk about the “machinations” he’d put into place and about how everything was going just like he’d planned. and we saw for ourselves not too long ago that even the guards over at Tartarus are fearful of AFO and he puts them on edge and they don’t appear to be at all confident in their ability to hold him if shit hits the fan

basically what I’m saying is that both All Might and Izuku have been walking on eggshells when it comes to this topic even though the situation is unavoidable. so I’m really fucking glad to see Kacchan bring it up almost immediately because yes!! thank you!

OH MY GOD

KATSUKI IS A DAD FOR ONE THEORIST CONFIRMED. oh you really are my son aren’t you

smdh fucking look at this shit

and there we have it. he was thinking it as well but wasn’t going to say anything about it

two conversations in and I’m already fucking over the moon at Kacchan’s dynamic with the two of them and the refreshing change he brings to their plot pow-wows with his blunt and straightforward approach. I swear to god Katsuki if I could make you my favorite character all over again I would

so now we’re back in the gym, and Katsuki’s arguing with Izuku. “I’m tellin’ ya, you need to feel more like you’re in danger!”

I like how confident he is that he’d still be able to kick Deku’s ass even with the new quirk activated sob

(ETA: and in fairness to Bakugou, @addermoray made a really good point a few days ago about his ability to keep up:

this is an excellent take and I completely agree, actually. doesn’t really matter how many quirks Deku gets if Bakugou’s one single quirk gives him near-unparalleled firepower, speed, and agility. he can already pretty much do it all, and the one thing he is still lacking (experience) he’s gaining more and more of with each passing day. so good on him; the rivalry remains alive and well.)

and truthfully, his theory isn’t wrong. we all know that the next time Deku’s back is really against the wall OFA is gonna do some crazy shit again

meanwhile Deku is looking thoughtful and says that if the quirk really does respond to his feelings, “then, at the time...”

DFLKHSLDKJ YOU DON’T HAVE TO REMIND ME WHAT YOUR FEELINGS WERE AT THE TIME DEKU HOLY SHIT IS THIS CHAPTER REALLY GONNA GO THERE TOO!?

aww damn we’re going in a different direction lol

you need to make up your damn mind son. do you want it or not. how about you imagine yourself unlocking it and having total control of it?

meanwhile Katsuki is fed up and walking away since they’re done with the plot talk and the fighting part and now it’s just Deku standing there pondering

(ETA: and as I said in the earlier edit, it’s clear that right now Deku isn’t on the same page as him as far as mastering this. I’m hoping to see more rival training sessions in the near future now that Deku seems to have come around as of the end of the chapter, though.)

so All Might’s saying they’ll call it a night then, and he’s asking Deku if he’s all right, and then dropping him off at the 1-A dorms

and there is yet another shot of Deku staring at his hand. he’s been doing that a lot lately

but! this time the panel is actually extremely intriguing though!

okay two quick Dad for One things here

Deku staring at his own hand and thinking “All for One’s power” is the most blatant fucking foreshadowing I’ve ever seen though

look at the way his face is lit, half in shadow and half in light. that shit is intentional, make no mistake. Horikoshi knows exactly what he’s doing here. good and evil. light and darkness. the son of AFO and the heir to OFA. I am officially bumping up the likelihood of this theory from 30% all the way to 40%. closing in on fifty-fifty odds now guys

anyway, so believe it or not we’re only five pages into this chapter and already it’s a fave. god I love BnHA’s in-between chapters so fucking much

oh damn

Tetsutetsu what are you doing here in the 1-A dorms

and they’re having a conversation that is just impossible to translate to English free from any innuendos

I feel for poor Turk over there at Mangastream, I really do. he’s just trying his best

out of curiosity I went to go check the Viz translation to see how Caleb handled it, and I gotta give him props

that must have taken some doing

lol so anyway then we get this panel

KiriTetsu is the purest ship in this entire canon and I will fight anyone on that

also, “everyone”, huh

oh wow

lmao Ochako’s seemingly-disembodied head in the bottom right corner weirded me out for a sec, especially with her being right next to Hagakure

and jesus christ Toadette, mere hours ago you nearly killed this dude and now you’re hounding him for photos of Hawks that would more than likely get him in trouble to share even if he did have them. please be more considerate

I ship MomoKendou, and seeing Momo with her hair down is so nice. she so rarely does it. she usually has like an Ariana Grande thing going on

I don’t know what the hell Mina is doing to Mineta there but I support it

(ETA: apparently this is a reference to A Clockwork Orange. as previously stated, I support it.)

is Kacchan eating by himself. by my reckoning there are still 17 other people unaccounted for so probably not. but I don’t see Monoma and I’m wondering if he’s gonna go bother him. I actually wouldn’t mind. it wouldn’t feel right if Monoma didn’t go bother someone

oh shit

A WILD TODODEKU MOMENT APPEARS

(ETA: I was so excited about him coming to interrogate Deku that I completely glossed over the fact that this line confirms that Shouto also officially has two quirks. Viz’s translation confirms this (“I didn’t realize you had two quirks, too.”) so Deku and AFO aren’t the only multi-quirk users running about.)

oh shit, again

gotta say, he’s been getting a lot better at passive-aggressively throwing shade lately. got some good practice in with the recent chats he’s had with his pop

ffffffff Deku is Struggling

quirk deprivation! that’s right! look it up! it’s totally a thing and he definitely didn’t just make it up right here on the spot!

asdflskj

oh like you’re one to talk, Mister “It Took Me Ninety-Four Chapters to Put Two and Two Together Even Though Deku All But Told Me Outright Back in Chapter Eleven”

but yes he is super trusting though sob

Deku says that Shouto was amazing too and he’s gotten a lot better at using his flames

but Shouto says he still has a long way to go

ooooooh

hahaha I’m sure people are going to love this

“please excuse me for a moment, this is a very important text from my estranged son”

and what the fuck is with that laughter though. does. does he just not know how to laugh. because it honestly wouldn’t surprise me. “oh look, the corners of my mouth are turning upward and there are these strange rapid breaths of air bursting erratically from my chest.” should probably go get that checked out, Endeav

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ngl I kinda wish this projector screen was more high tech. you sent fucking hologram acceptance letters to every kid in the school for fuck’s sake

also this better mean he’s gonna be in class A! let Aizawa teach him!

oh shit. well we had BakuDeku, KiriTetsu, and TodoDeku so WHY NOT SOME ERASERMIC AS WELL

-- OKAY HOLD THE FUCK UP

what was that?? we have never seen Aizawa react to a topic like that before. Mic barely gets the name out and Aizawa is suddenly all “please shut up fast now”

also, so Mic calls him by his surname, at least in public. what’s up with that?? BUT MY FANFICS lol

well this Shirakumo had better be revealed in the upcoming arc then, and not dragged out for a hundred chapters as these mysteries so often are. well actually, they’re either dragged out for ages or explained not three chapters later lol. rarely a middle ground with this series

MY BABY GIRLLLLLL

lol that’s right, she had a previous encounter with him and Mirio was not too pleased

cotton-headed ninny muggins

so does Mirio fucking live at the teacher’s dorms for the time being or does he just commute here every day in order to have Mary Poppins adventures with his baby sis

now Aizawa’s walking up and apologizing for calling Deku and Mirio over

(ETA: which in hindsight confirms that Mirio’s not just there 24/7. aww.)

he says he has a request for Monoma, but he didn’t want to traumatize Eri by having the two of them interact unmediated

oh shit

he’s got the horn though lol

so is this a fairly common thing with his quirk, then? strange that some of these quirks he’s able to control with ease mere seconds after acquiring them for the first time, but then with others he can’t do anything at all

ah, he’s explaining it now

so pretty much what I thought. except I wasn’t aware that Eri’s quirk accumulated power too

although wait, that’s probably what the horn is. oh shit, so that means that even though she’s super powerful when she’s all charged up, it takes her months to recharge afterwards. so if she’s not able to decrease the recharge time as she gets older, that’s going to be a really effective limiter for her power then

LMAO

I legit burst out fucking laughing. you almost exploded. sure dodged a bullet there

if he seriously thought that was a possibility, maybe he could have, idk, fucking warned the guy before their match started that his quirk was off-limits for Monoma’s own safety though

(ETA: I guess it just didn’t occur to him that Monoma might try it, what with them thinking he had a 3-quirk limit and him most likely copying his teammates’ quirks instead.)

and now Mirio’s asking why Aizawa wanted Monoma to try and copy it

Aizawa says that he thought if Monoma copied it, they could get a better idea of how it works so it might be easier to control it if it gets out of hand again. “but I guess it won’t be that easy”

Eriiiii

(ETA: holy shit is Monoma elbowing Aizawa for making her tear up?)

IT’S NOT A BAD POWER IT IS A VERY GOOD POWER THAT SOME VERY BAD PEOPLE TRIED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF

and speaking of, the fact that we’re bringing this up again now makes me hope we’re going to segue to the League sometime soon! because as we all recall, Shigaraki Tomura was last seen some 57 chapters ago taking the Quirk-Be-Gone serum from Overhaul’s very overrated and now nonexistent hands. it’s been quite a while since we’ve seen our antagonist, Horikoshi, and the people are getting restless

(ETA: well, then. lol.)

anyway, so Deku is crouching down and telling Eri her power doesn’t just hurt people, and that she saved him

and he’s comparing it to a knife -- it’s dangerous, but you can also use it to make delicious food lol

and he says he thinks her power is wonderful

awwwwwww

DO YOUR BEST ERIIIII

and you too, Deku. I believe in you. the journey’s not gonna be easy, but you can do it kiddo

so that’s it for this chapter. but damn, that was a hell of a lot of content packed within just 13 pages, though. this is definitely an insta-fave for me

(ETA: it’s in my top ten for sure. so much good stuff, oh man.)

[moshthefatyank-blog]

The Great, Green Gyz (pt. 1)

The alarm rang at the same time it did every day, and he was dressed, ready and in the car by 5:43. He wasn't going to work however; today was the first day of a much needed, long-overdue vacation. Highway 10 was as clear as it could be and he sat comfortably at 67 miles per hour, sipping from the plastic tumbler from which he took his daily coffee. He felt good. Very good.

At half past six, his stomach began to rumble. He usually wouldn't eat his first meal until eleven o'clock, when he took his lunch. Breakfast sounded amazing though, specifically Eggs Benedict. Perhaps a side of bacon and large glass of orange juice. About half a mile further, he spotted a billboard for a small, family owned diner, ten miles ahead. He veered to the rightmost lane and clicked the radio's tuner one notch to the right. The speakers played a single note, accompanied by a sharp, snap outside of the vehicle, causing him to jump in his seat. Static followed. He clicked the tuner again. Still static. He frowned and turned off the radio.

The diner sat on the edge of the road immediately after the turnoff. He pulled into the large, dirt and gravel lot and put the car into park. The weathered sign above the entrance read, "Patty's Diner." Realizing how desolate the place looked, he looked around to notice his was the only car around. He shifted into reverse but thought again and stayed where he was. His curiosity got the better of him and he parked it again and killed the engine. He walked up the stone pathway to the diner's entrance and attempted to peer through the dirty windows. The shutters were closed and obscured any view. He tried another.

The front door opened suddenly with a shrill creak. He jumped and a thin, white-haired woman poked her head out from the crack.

"We're open. You're welcome to come in if you like. Coffee just finished brewing."

He felt slightly sheepish and chuckled, "Sorry. It looked like you weren't open."

"Don't get many visitors." She backed out of the entryway, holding the door open for him.

"Thanks," he said, sliding past her.

The diner was dark, lit only by the candles on each table and along the bar, and smelled strongly of freshly brewed coffee. The woman shouted through the opening behind the counter. Some unseen person responded and a light came on in the kitchen, followed by the sound of a large fan. She guided him to the bar where he took a seat on a round stool, and offered him a menu.

“Thanks,” he said, accepting the tri-folded piece of paper.

“Coffee?” she asked.

“Orange juice, please. A big glass of it.”

“Sure thing,” she said, “My name is Mary if you need anything.”

He acknowledged her and began scanning the menu, unable to find Eggs Benedict. Soups and salads were on the front and the inside panels contained all their lunch items. Indeed, breakfast occupied all three segments of the back of the page, but a second readthrough confirmed they did not normally serve what he was looking for. He shrugged, thinking to ask if he could request it specially, and settled on an eggs, potatoes, bacon and sausage scramble as a second option. She returned, carrying a large glass along with a larger decanter, both filled with orange juice, and he folded the menu and set it on the counter in front of him.

“I see you’re ready to order?”

“Yeah,” he responded, “I know it’s not on the menu, but can you guys do an Eggs Benedict?”

She lifted her eyebrows, “Hmm, I don’t see why not. Hey Earl, can you do an Eggs Benedict?”

“Yeah, sure,” a deep, gravelly voice responded from the direction she shouted. He wasn’t sure if it sounded annoyed.

“Seems like it,” she agreed, “Anything else?”

“Could I get a side of bacon, too?” he asked, and remembered to follow up, “Please.”

She smiled, “Sure.”

“Thank you,” he said as politely as possible.

She took the menu and retreated to the kitchen. He could hear them chattering between themselves, but didn’t worry about what they were saying. He suddenly noticed how dark and dank the place looked. Another brief look around the place saw and awful lot of dust. It kind of did look like the place had been abandoned. He dismissed the thought and pulled his phone out of his pocket to occupy himself with a few lost rounds of his favorite time-killer, taking big, frequent gulps of his orange juice.

About ten minutes later, she returned, plates in both hands. She set them down in front of him and his face wrinkled with confusion.

“Something the matter?” she asked.

He looked up at her, the lines in her face seemed darker now for some reason. Her look, more… sinister, for lack of a better word. He looked back down at his plate. One plate had two slices of toast and two small sausage links, and the other had a big pile of hash browns, two sunny-side up eggs and a big, steaming country fried steak. Once more, he looked up to meet her clueless smile.

“No, this looks great!” he said as sincerely as he could.

“Excellent. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Again, she returned to the kitchen and he stared at his food for a moment, feeling rather perplexed. He wasn’t sure if this was a passive aggressive retort for trying to order something off the menu, or if it was a genuine mistake. Weighing the details: her seeming obliviousness, the murmuring between her and the chef, and the fact that he was the only customer here, he decided the switch had to have been intentional, but he couldn’t figure out why. He shrugged and cut into his steak.

To his surprise, it was fantastic. Maybe the best chicken fried steak – no, the best breakfast he ever had. The eggs were cooked perfectly. He soaked up the yolk with a piece of toast. It was great; they must have raised the chickens themselves. The potatoes were fried perfectly as well. No greasy taste, not overly salty. He found himself wolfing down the plates. She returned when he was about halfway through. Her face still smiling, but eerie and distant, like a Stepford wife.

She said, “So, how is everything? Earl fancies himself the best cook in a sixty-mile radius.”

He thought for a second, wondering what else was within sixty miles of here.

She seemed to read his mind, “Course, there isn’t much else around for sixty miles.”

He smirked, “No, it’s fantastic. Really. I don’t know if it’s because I’m not quite used to eating this early in the morning, but really, this is all so good.”

“D’ja hear that, Earl?” she shouted back to the kitchen, “He says it’s the best he’s ever had.”

She came around to his side of the bar and took a seat two stools away from his.

“Where are you going to? Most folks that stop here are just passing through.”

“Uh, acktally,” he finished what was in his mouth and repeated, “Actually, I’m not sure. It’s been about two years since I’ve taken a vacation and I didn’t really have any plans for it. Just got up and got in the car. Figured I would head East.”

“East, huh? That’s nothing but desert for at least three, four hundred miles. Save for the occasional truck stop.”

“That’s fine. I figured I would drive out past Blythe and see what the next town was. I’ve got a week, so I’m more or less just wandering and seeing what appears.”

“Well, if you’re not in a hurry to get out there,” she said, “You ought to check out the cactus nursery. It’s just down the road about fifteen miles.”

He attempted to sound interested, and lost it about three words in, “That sounds really… uh…”

“It’s not just cacti,” she chuckled, “They’ve got loads of interesting things. Hedge mazes, dinosaur statues, odds and ends. An old woman named Dawn maintains the place. She and her husband set it up years ago. Bless his soul. It’s more of an amusement park now than a nursery. Really, it’s kind of the cultural center of Cado Valley.”

She saw his question and answered it before he could ask.

“That’s where you are now.”

“Huh,” he said thoughtfully, “I thought this whole area was unincorporated farm land. Never realized anything was out here.”

A cluttered cactus nursery really didn’t sound like the most thrilling place to be, but he didn’t exactly have plans to go anywhere or see anything specific, so he made up his mind to check it out. At least drive down the road past it. If he couldn’t find it or if it didn’t seem interesting, he would simply turn back, get back on the freeway and keeping heading east again. He finished the last bite of his potatoes and paid for the meal, leaving a twenty-five percent tip. She smiled and waved a goodbye as he reversed over the gravel and back out onto the narrow road.

He headed south for what seemed like at least fifteen miles. She said there would be a rather large sign and to turn right onto the dirt road when he saw it. He continued to drive and look. After about an hour of driving, he pulled over, slightly disheartened. He parked the car and stepped out, one foot still in the vehicle, and looked around. In front of him was just road, going on for as many miles as he could see. Behind him, was the same, the restaurant and the highway having long since vanished. He made a disappointed grunting sound and sat back down in the car, unsure if he wanted to keep going or turn around.

The car sat for several minutes before its driver made a U-turn and began heading the way it came. He drove faster now, not caring to look as hard this time. The road was old and rife with dips and potholes, making the ride bumpy and uncomfortable at this speed. The drive continued for about half an hour longer and he began to feel uneasy. He shook the feeling; he was on a two-lane road and had been driving opposite way of which he came. It was fine, he told himself, just keep driving and he would find the diner and onramp for the freeway again. He just couldn’t believe how far from it he had driven. It seemed downright impossible.

Things went from slightly tiring to utterly worrying when he saw the barricades in the distance. Unable to believe that somebody would have been able to set them up in the amount of time it had been since he let the diner, he drove the rest of the way to the barricades and stopped. Again, he exited the car and stood in the wedge created by the open door. The barricades weren’t just blocking the road. The were marking where the road ended. There was nothing beyond but dirt and weeds for miles.

He quickly whipped his head around and stared back the way he had come. Road. Nothing but road. No restaurant, no freeway, nothing. He turned again to look at the dead end before him. Beyond incredulous, he got back in the car and turned around a second time. He supposed he could have missed whatever sign it was marking the dirt road to turn off to, but that didn’t explain how he could have missed the restaurant and the freeway. It didn’t make any sense; he would have had to pass under a bridge or something, but it had only been desert on both sides of the road. He wondered if he could have accidentally turned onto a separate road on the way back, but that didn’t seem likely. Still, he couldn’t dismiss the possibility. Otherwise, he would have to be totally crazy. He certainly felt crazy.

He drove slowly this time, never getting above twenty-five miles per hour, and looked carefully at either side of the road. Maybe the sign fell or was removed. Trying to find a dirt road in nothing but dirt seemed to be very difficult. Every boulder larger than a bowling ball looked like it could be a marker for a turnoff, but there seemed to be no road beyond it. He drove for two hours like that. Eyes darting back and forth like a paranoid meth head peering through the tiniest crack in their blinds. Now he really felt crazy. He could tell the sun had shifted in the sky and was made all the more uneasy at amount of time that had passed while he was trying to find his way back.

Something appeared in the horizon. It looked erect, seeming to stand above its surroundings. He sped up to close the distance. Finally! Indeed, it was a sign. The sight completely erased the strangeness of never seeing prior landmarks and filled the resulting void with hope and excitement. He turned the car onto the dirt road. It was clearly a road. Not paved like the one he was just stuck on for half a day, but it was obviously tamped to flat, drivable perfection.

He drove happily for quite a while before the thought of where to turn next seeped sickeningly into his consciousness. He looked to the right. Desert. He looked to the left and saw something that raised his spirits. Far in the distance, he saw what seemed to be a very long, concrete brick wall. He looked back to what was in front of him and noticed that in fact, the wall stretched out to beyond the horizon. The woman at the diner didn’t explain how far after the turn off you would have to drive. Then again, she said it was only fifteen miles down the road and he had easily driven over one hundred at this point.

As if in response to the thought, the engine sputtered and shook the car, coming to an abrupt and bumpy halt.

“Nooo, no! No, no, nononononoooo!”

He looked at the gas meter for the first time since he filled his tank that morning. It lay still under the E line. He turned the keys in the ignition. The starter whined, rising and falling in pitch. Nothing. The tank was completely dry. Feeling defeated, he fished his phone out of his pants pocket. He pressed the power button. Dead.

“Of course.”

The phone was old and couldn’t hold a charge for even half a day, so it wasn’t much of a surprise. It didn’t do much to lift his mood, however. He opened the center console to retrieve his charger. The car may have had no gas, but the battery was obviously fine. He plugged one end into the phone and the other into the cigarette lighter. Nothing. He smacked his forehead and turned the keys in the ignition, sending power from the battery. The connection between the phone and the charger sparked, startling him. The phone felt hot. Unbelievably hot. He dropped it onto the seat where it sparked again and suddenly ignited. It burned for a moment, catching the fabric of the seat.

He screamed and jumped out of the car to run around to the other side. The idea was to brush the phone out of the car and onto the ground. Of course, the passenger’s door was locked. He ran around to the other side and was horrified. The driver’s door was locked too. Panicked, he cussed and slammed a fist against the window. He franticly and fruitlessly yanked on the handle, running back and forth, trying both sides. The entire seat was engulfed. Already, the passenger’s door was much too hot to touch.

“What the shit are these seats made out of?” he screamed.

By the time he had the thought to use a rock to break the window, the driver’s seat was aflame. He reached through the window, cutting a long, shallow slit in his arm and unlocked the door. The whole of both seats were now burning and he yanked his shirt off in attempt to beat out the flames. It had no effect. He stood away from it, panting and staring dumbly, watching the fire destroy his vehicle. His emotions had spent the better part of the morning exploring the entire range between aggravated and confused. Now however, he was scared.

The sun was directly above him and beat down on him painfully. With no phone or car, and no idea of where he was, his best idea was to follow the wall in the distance to its inevitable opening and seek help from whomever resided within. He journeyed to it, surprised at how much further it was than it seemed, and was further surprised to find it to be much higher than he initially thought. At least ten feet tall. He stood about ten yards from the wall now and looked in either direction. The thing went on as far as the eye could see in both ways. He took a quarter out of his pocket – change from his earlier meal at the diner – and flipped it. It landed heads up so he turned right and began walking.

After what seemed like hours, though it might have been scarcely thirty minutes, he stopped. He turned to face the wall and looked at it as though it had just told him a wildly outrageous lie. It’s rough, concrete side stared blankly back at him. He approached it and lay one hand flatly against it. Indeed, it was real. He thought for a moment, pondering the possible repercussions and stepped backward until he was about twenty feet from the wall. He ran toward it with every bit of strength his legs had to give and jumped as high as he could. His fingertips just barely grasped the ledge and he hung there for a few seconds before he let himself drop. He worked predominately on a computer for a living, so his soft hands were fairly roughed up from the hang. Again, he put the distance between him and the wall and attempted the jump again. This time, as his fingertips grasped the edge, he scraped his feet against the wall and was able to hoist himself to the top.

His cheer from the success was cut short however, when he flung himself over the wall and realized it wasn’t nearly as wide as he’d expected. He immediately fell the entire ten feet to the ground, directly on his back. The wind was taken from his chest and he gasped, unable to suck in any air. Panicked, he rapidly attempted to inhale until his lungs finally opened and he filled them. He lay there panting for a few moments, unbelieving that any of this was actually happening, and suddenly noticed the sun had moved from its position in the center of the sky. It filled him with a sense of urgency.

He stood and brushed the dirt from his back. There was nothing around. The wall, just the same as the other side, went on in either direction and this side looked as deserted and barren as the other side. The only thing that made sense was to keep walking perpendicular to the wall. He did and the wall shrunk into the distance behind him. It wasn’t long before he noticed something in the horizon. Something black that seemed to create a border between the land and the sky. He picked up his pace, unsure if it was out of curiosity or desperation. As the distance shortened, he was able to make out what looked like a fence. A regular, old chain-link fence with a coat of that spray-on, black rubber. Upon closing the rest of the gap, he looked in either direction to see that the fence, just like the concrete wall, went on indefinitely in either direction. The top of the fence was lined some kind of razor-wire, but it was hardly taller than he was and the gaps in the wire were much wider than his feet were.

He pondered only briefly on what could be on the other side. The land on the other side seemed to go on for just as long as he had already come, if not longer, but it was certainly a better option than going back. He placed each hand so that it was out of the way of any wire, and began slowly walking himself up the fence, fitting his feet into the tiny diamonds made by the linking chains. The real difficulty presented itself in attempting to summit. He dangled at the top, his hands still locked onto the thicker top metal bar, feet stuck into their footholds about a meter lower. The idea here was to hoist himself up very quickly, replace his hands with his feet, and to jump over the spiraling razor-wire, onto the ground on the other side.

He rocked back and forth a couple of times, gaining some momentum for the upward thrust and lifted himself on the third forward tilt. His hands let go of the pole and his torso moved upward as his legs straightened. A tiny, unaccounted-for blade stuck out of the wire and entered his skin, just below the elbow on his right arm. The movement was too fast for him to do anything about it. He felt the skin open. For a split second, he was able to enjoy the victory of standing atop the fence, before the raging pain took over and ruined his balance. He turned as he fell, attempting to grab the pole his feet had slipped from, but instead grabbing a portion of the razor-wire. It slipped through his hand, slicing the skin between his palm and his middle, ring and pinky fingers, nearly severing them.

He screamed as he lay on his back. The blood was coming from his hand and arm at an alarming rate. He wasn’t exactly sure how to make a tourniquet but he removed his over shirt and ripped it in two. The smaller piece was for his hand, while he wrapped the larger portion as tightly as he could around the long gash, going from his elbow and wrapping around almost to his thumb. It seemed to work. The wraps appeared to be slowing the flow. He stood and his head swum. With not only the aspect of losing daylight, but having the very real threat of bleeding out to deal with, he marched.

It was twilight before he found his next obstacle. Between his steadily growing daze and the darkening of the sky, he hadn’t noticed the dip in the land before him. Which very quickly turned into a moat. Or at least, that was what looked like. And of course, like the previous hurdles, appeared to go on indefinitely in either direction. He stopped abruptly, about fifteen feet from it.

“What!” he exclaimed, being far too weathered to consider the impossibility of what he saw, and instead laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of what was in front of him.

Thousands, upon thousands of crocodiles -or alligators; he was never sure which they were- filled the canal. They writhed and squirmed among each other, hardly having any space between them. Snapping and fighting, it seemed to be an all-out war. He would later wonder if that was just all day, every day; a moat filled with creatures killing each other. What are the maintenance costs on something like that? Who removes the dead animals? Are they fed at all or are they cannibals?

At this moment however, the only thing on his mind was, “I’m totally going to die now.”

He edged toward the water and was greeted by three feet of razor sharp jaws. It snapped at him and he jumped back. He thought for a second and settled on what he was to do. Far enough back to be out of the sight of the creatures, he ran with all his might, yelling a mighty, “YAAAAAAAAAHHH” as he did. The first jump went successfully; he landed on the back of one and quickly lifted off before it could respond. He felt like a damn Olympic athlete.

The second landing is where it all went to hell. What he thought was a snout was actually another’s tail, which gave as soon as his weight came down on it. He plunged into the water and immediately felt the beartrap jaws sink into his leg. It pulled him down and in a panic, he yelled, letting out most of his air. Luckily, another noticed this new food in the water and attacked it, freeing his leg. He gasped for air upon breaking the surface and completed a single stroke toward the shore. The second stroke was cut short when his arm was caught in the jaws of another crocodile. It yanked, easily pulling it out of its socket. The motion was to prevent another from stealing its catch. The other caught only air as his legs flew out in front of him. Two others made an attempt for him, and in response, the giant amphibian whipped its head flung him in the opposite direction. He flew through the air, landing hard on the soft sand and immediately scrambled up the shore a few more yards before collapsing.

“Gah,” he gasped.

He rolled over onto his back. The moon was out; he’d been traveling away from it this whole time and hadn’t noticed it. He loved daytime moons. It blurred in and out as he lay there, staring at it. He had forgotten about his injuries and simply enjoyed the cool, summer evening air as it gently grazed his face. When his eyes finally closed tight, he slipped into a much-welcomed darkness.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 214: 4th Popularity Poll and 5th Set Climax

Previously on BnHA: Deku met a Hellboy-looking dude in another one of his One For All Dreams and they had a chat! This friendly yet intimidating fella told Deku that the power that had just exploded out of him was actually the dude’s quirk, Blackwhip. It turns out that OFA hasn’t just been stockpiling physical power; all six of the prior wielder’s quirks are included in the package as well! It’s just that up until now, none of the other wielders has ever been able to access them. Before vanishing back into the dream abyss, Deku’s new friend told him he needed to gain better control of his emotions, as his anger toward Monoma was what triggered Blackwhip’s rampage and made it so difficult to handle. Back in the real world, Deku awakened unharmed thanks to Ochako and Shinsou’s efforts. But since the teachers hadn’t called off the battle yet, Monoma came rushing in to attack, with the rest of Team B not being far behind. Mina and Mineta showed up to battle Yanagi, Shouda, and Kodai (they really need to do something about that number disadvantage), while Ochako battled Monoma and Shinsou got ready to take on Deku. The teachers are still watching btw, but it seems like they want to see how this plays out.

Today on BnHA: The newest popularity poll results are revealed and I have a lot of thoughts. A lot of thoughts. Vlad and All Might question why Aizawa wants to let the kids keep fighting, and Aizawa says it’s cuz they’re all still trying their hardest to win. Mineta saves Mina’s life and then completely ruins it because of course he does, but she takes it in stride and uses him to attack the others by flinging him at high speed to ricochet endlessly off of his grapes in a Gran Torino-esque fashion. Monoma tries to attack Deku with One for All but it doesn’t do anything (fortunately for Monoma), and Ochako then takes him down while Deku goes after Shinsou. Deku by the way is fighting quirkless because he’s worried that if he tries to use OFA right now he’ll lose control and put everyone in danger again. He and Shinsou start tusslin’ and we have a flashback to when Ponytail!Aizawa (omg) was training Shinsou on how to use his capture weapon. Back in the present, Shinsou uses the scarf to send a bunch of heavy pipes crashing down towards Deku. But Deku chooses this moment to make peace with himself and his quirk, and catches the pipes using Blackwhip.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my mostly-unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’m caught up with the manga now at chapter 225, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

how are BnHA’s Jump covers always so epic you guys

Shinsou you better watch out, Deku’s fist is too close for comfort. well you’re the one who wanted to fight him again buddy

all right now let’s check out that character poll

oh, nice

BUT WHERE ARE MY POLL RESULTS. HOLD ON A SECOND, I’M GOING TO THE WIKI TO INVESTIGATE

...okay so apparently the results were actually in chapter 207? but the color spread wasn’t released until this chapter wtf why

okay well let me analyze the color page first, and then I’ll go find and complain about the poll results

BAKUGOU AND DEKU’S SWORDS. okay I’ve seen this image before and I love it so much, and that is of course because it’s a sequel to the color page from chapter 120. and the two of them are now each carrying one half of All Might’s sword. basically this is symbolic confirmation that the two of them together will carry All Might’s legacy forward. this is so important to me you guys. this brings me so much joy and happiness

can we talk about what Hawks is wearing. I thought this was a medieval AU, but he’s looking rather steampunk to me. what, are you too cool for D&D, Hawks? also is that a literal hawk. that you’re holding. for some reason. huh

can we talk about what Todoroki is wearing?? and also what the actual hell is going on with his face? he’s wearing some sort of weird mask. and his outfit looks nothing like it did in the previous AU color spread. was Horikoshi just being extra or is this some indicator of a crazy plotline coming up for him somewhere down the road?

I notice my boy Aizawa is missing from the top ten, which is AN ACTUAL CRIME THAT SHOULD BE REPORTED TO THE POLICE, but! on the other hand! BEST FUCKING JEANIST OH MY GOD. WELCOME BACK BEAUTIFUL PRINCE. PLEASE HEAL UP SOON

loooooool Endeavor being in the top ten must have pissed off lord knows how many people. it would have pissed me off, before the Endeavorhawks arc. but I’m cool with it now. I get it. having him as your favorite doesn’t mean you’re giving a ringing endorsement of all his actions; it just means he’s a compelling character who’s been getting some really good development lately. still absurd that he’d be ranked over Aizawa, but if I’m honest with myself it really should be Jeanist who was bumped down for that. he’s just there because Japan apparently shares the same weird tastes as myself. by the way how fucking strange is it to see Jeanist without any Jeans holy shit is that even allowed

and winding down here, (1) I’m glad to see All Might still in the top ten ranks at least, (2) Iida is a handsome boy and I love how his armor is reminiscent of his Ingenium costume here, and that he’s the one actually riding the dragon (be careful Iida or my idiot son is going to fall right off its head), (3) Kirishima is still as popular as ever I see, and lastly (4) Momo being in the top 10 is giving me life and I hope she gets some more spotlight this year! it was great to see her as the head of her respective Joint Training battle team

okay! so now let me find the list from chapter 207

holy shit, okay so first of all let me just say that apparently this poll received almost 81,000 votes. for comparison, the third poll only received about 36,000

so having said that, it is absolutely astounding that my boy Bakugou came in at number one yet again, with a margin of over 1000 votes. glad to see you being appreciated boyo

and Shouto made it to #2 for the first time! good job hot and cold! the Endeavorhawks arc definitely gave him a boost as well I think. and well deserved!

and my boy Deku at #3, but while the difference between Katsuki and Shouto is only about 1200 votes, the difference between Shouto and Izuku is more than 7,400. basically the top two are in a league of their own here goddamn

and Hawks is all the way at #4! holy shit! more than 4,500 votes between him and Deku, mind, and Kirishima is nipping at his heels less than 200 votes away from him, but still, that’s amazing given how recently he made his debut and how relatively few chapters he’s been in. I expect the number of votes for him to skyrocket in the next poll, assuming we get more of that double agent storyline. Touya -- I mean Dabi -- is probably gonna get a boost too lol

my boy Finest Jeanist on God’s Green Earth is next at 6th, and then MOMO IN 7TH PLACE YAAAAAY GO MOMO

and Endeavor made it to 8th! HOLY SHIT ENDEAVOR YOU FINALLY BEAT ALL MIGHT IN THE APPROVAL RATINGS. THESE TRULY ARE MAD DAYS

Iida beat All Might as well and made it to #9! though only by 100 votes

and All Might is in 10th, and then Aizawa is at 11th. oh Aizawa. you were upstaged by a crotchety old man seeking to make amends for his past sins, and a denim-clad meme who nearly made the ultimate sacrifice against AFO and then proceeded to not be in the manga for 120 chapters and counting. but it’s okay you were never in this for the fame

anyways the rest of the results are listed here, but some quick parting remarks:

Gang Orca came in at 15th, presumably thanks to his EXTRA GUIDANCE

my boy Denki is in 16th place and I want him to keep moving up! go kick Shindou’s ass. how the hell did that tool make it all the way to 14th place

Ojiro is still inexplicably popular to me. he’s a nice guy but you could replace him with a cardboard cutout of himself probably and I bet you it would take some time before anyone noticed something was off

Jirou is at 21st despite her performance in the Band AU arc and that is fucked up, people. WHERE IS THE RESPECT

Shinsou somehow went down despite finally making his reappearance in the series?? I seriously don’t understand how popularity works, at all

Overhaul beat Mirio by 3 votes and while I’m so psyched Mirio did better than the last poll (up to 26th place! these 455 people have impeccable taste), this fact is utterly depressing to me. did these people actually read the arc, for real

NIGHTEYE IS AT 27TH AND I’M SO SAD. not about him being at 27th, because that’s actually pretty good. but just, you know. because once again I am reminded that he’s dead sob

lastly, in the American popularity poll Bakugou received 38,000 fucking votes holy shit. we may not have any fucking clue how to vote for presidents but at least we fucking got something right, goddamn. and Mirio in 9th place. and Aizawa in 6th. you guys are all right, US fandom

anyways that took like 25 years and if I’d known it was going to be this long I would have saved the poll to be its own damn recap lol. but now on to the actual chapter!

lol so Vlad is like ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS, YOU DON’T WANT TO STOP THEM??

Vlad this is just how we do things around here. not all of us can be ~safe~ teachers whose students don’t get attacked and abducted every Wednesday afternoon. some of us like to live on the edge and be super irresponsible because we’re lazy and also because the students will honestly manage to get into trouble regardless of whether we do our jobs or not

and anyways Aizawa says that if Deku’s quirk acts up again he’ll stop it so it’ll be fine

and All Might’s asking Aizawa why

well it’s obviously because he wants to give Shinsou a chance to complete his examination. and maybe he wants to see how the kids deal with this unexpected twist as well. so long as nobody gets hurt, why not

oh my god Aizawa

this man is fighting to reclaim that top 10 spot. never give up. never surrender

so we’re cutting to panels of all 9 battlin’ kids, and he says all of them are still trying to win this battle

because fucking plus ultra, in other words

sob I should be more indignant shouldn’t I. has this school actually made me come around to their way of thinking

nah, it’s only because everything is clearly fine now. had this scene taken place even 90 seconds earlier I would have been all “WHAT ARE YOU DOING, OF COURSE YOU SHOULD STOP THEM”

lol what

he just shows his affection in some very strange ways tbh

anyway so here we go! back to the kiddos! Deku and Shinsou are each holding onto Shinsou’s scarf and staring each other down!

and now Shinsou has GONE FISHIN’

this is beyond hilarious to me. oh my god. Deku you could just let go

but I guess he thought he could out-muscle him. like if anything, he’d be the one pulling Shinsou down to where he is. but instead he’s falling off of the platform where he and Ochako were standing

and Ochako’s running over and she’s all “Deku lost...?! in a power struggle?!”

that makes it sound like Game of Thrones lmao

Deku’s glancing back up at her and says he can’t use his quirk right now because he’s worried about putting everyone in danger again

yeah, that’s probably a good call. at least until you get a handle on your emotions. even ol’ Hellboy was all “much as I love my awesome fucking quirk, it’s been powered up to here and back now so results may vary”

Ochako says that in that case they should retreat and regroup

lol how are you going to fucking retreat. this has already turned into a melee battle, they’ll just follow you

and Deku says that if they retreat now, they’ll lose

ah, good point

this is their chance to capture him, when he’s exposed and his quirk which relies heavily on stealth and surprise has been neutralized

Ochako’s jogging over to him

oh my god

IT’S THE BATTLE HE’S BEEN PREPARING FOR HIS ENTIRE LIFE

oh to see Katsuki’s reaction to this. sigh

oh. but Deku is dotting and he says “not exactly”

what are you up to you mysterious little chia pet

meanwhile ASHIDO MINA IS BEING A TOTAL BADASS AND I’M HERE FOR IT

THIS ACID MAY STING! A BIT!!

(ETA: you know, I made fun at the time, but given all the other shit we’ve seen today, I have to give her credit for at least warning her opponents before attempting to maim them.)

and class B is just doing the same damn thing as before

I’m surprised they’re not trying to go on offense. mind you, it shows that they have a lot of respect for Mina’s offense and they don’t feel like getting pummeled by acid this fine afternoon, which is understandable

oh shit but here we go

MINA YOU BETTER DODGE THAT SHIT, SHOUDA’S QUIRK HAS A LOT OF POTENTIAL TO BE RIDICULOUSLY BROKEN IF HE USES IT RIGHT

...holy shit

QUICK, LET’S ENJOY THIS BEFORE HE SOMEHOW RUINS IT. WHY CAN’T WE LIVE IN THE ALTERNATE UNIVERSE WHERE HORIKOSHI GAVE US A LOVABLE, FUNNY, AND COOL MINETA AND NOT THE HOT GARBAGE PERV THAT WE HAVE TO PUT UP WITH INSTEAD

good job Mineta. how many panels before you say something stupid to enrage us all again

oh shit I scrolled down to the rest of the page and SO FAR SO GOOD?! wow this is like a record

Mineta did something smart and creative and swooped in to save a teammate and didn’t say or do anything perverted to ruin it?? better get me an umbrella cuz I suspect the other shoe will be dropping shortly

(ETA: 3... 2...)

aaaaaaaaaaaand the very first panel on the next page is him being smacked into Mina’s chest as a result of the twin impact, apparently just as planned

well so much for that. he made it a whole five panels though

hey, imagine if Horikoshi had written that scene and then not thrown in that last part in for absolutely no reason. imagine if Mineta was like that all the time. underestimated and mostly overlooked because of his mascot-like appearance and oddball quirk, but impressing us all with surprisingly clutch saves at crucial moments. kind of like the little niche that Aoyama has established for himself. it honestly wouldn’t be that hard to make Mineta an interesting and actually funny character, and the fact that we’re going on five years of the same old shit instead is kinda disheartening

anyways, enough mourning what could have been, I guess. in the meantime Mina is grabbing him and hurling him lmao

and he’s bouncing around like a ping pong ball and class B is trying to avoid getting hit by him

oh my god. he is the special attack

ain’t nobody wanna get hit by that. that’s a smart move

Shouda says he wants to pull back, but they’re kind of surrounded now and it’s hard to come up with a plan in the spur of the moment

all credit to Mina’s astounding creative mind, which has fucking flourished in these last couple of arcs and I hope it continues to do so. she is brilliant

Tsuburaba says Shouda is having to protect the other two because they’re weak at close-range combat? say what now?? how is a telekinesis quirk weak at close-range combat, exactly?? just float some metal shit into the air and wait for Mineta to inevitably ricochet into it and concuss himself and just like that you’re free to take on Mina three against one. even someone as awesome as her would struggle with that

meanwhile, Jirou is wondering why the hell the teachers haven’t stopped the battle yet

and here’s the first we’ve seen of Katsuki since The Thing happened, so yeah you bet I’m posting that shit

he looks openly confused, and not in his normal “I don’t know what’s going on and that pisses me off so Imma make an angry face” way. but in a more overtly “what the fuck” way. not that dissimilar to the way he looked when he was watching All Might battle AFO, but with less panic, thankfully

it definitely says a lot about how far his relationship with Deku has come that this is his reaction, though. confusion and maybe slight concern, rather than anger or jealousy or automatically thinking this is something new Deku had up his sleeve that he was purposely hiding from him. he really has come such a long way since Ground Beta

anyway so here’s Deku and Ochako taking on Monoma

at least someone is using that TK quirk. or is that twin impact that he’s using. well either way, at least he’s doing something and not just standing there

oh look more Monoma monologuing

officially the most dramatic motherfucker who ever lived. but more importantly,

OH MY GOD HE’S GOING TO USE ONE FOR ALL LASKDFLKJSLKDJFLK DON’T DIE MONOMA

why he would attempt to use a quirk that he has seen breaking its original owner’s bones and only MOMENTS AGO causing its owner intense pain as he flailed around out of control is beyond me. he kind of snapped here and got all go big or go home, I guess

Deku I assure you it very much can

now Ochako’s telling Monoma to stop and that it’s dangerous! and she’s charging toward him!

OH MY GOD

HE WAS FUCKING BLUFFING?? HOW

AND OH MY GOD OCHAKO, I STAN YOU SO FUCKING HARD RIGHT NOW THOUGH. IS IT JUST ME OR ARE THE LADIES THE UNDISPUTED MVPS OF THIS FIGHT!? DEKU DOES SHE HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING HERSELF OR WHAT

wow what??

so he was trying to activate it but it wouldn’t work?

well (1) he’s damn lucky it didn’t, and (2) is that because Deku’s technically quirkless? or is it because the nature of OFA makes it so it can’t be copied or passed on to anyone against the owner’s will? that is really convenient if so

(ETA: or (3) he did copy the quirk but not the accumulated power stored within it. oooh I have some thoughts on that. gonna try and take some time this evening to type out that OFA essay.)

Shinsou’s trying to save his partner, but!

oh shit

he looks so caught off guard sob. Deku are you gonna punch him. please be gentle he is still new to this

once again, I submit for your consideration: your MVP

you see Monoma, this is how you take a supposed “supporting character” quirk and elevate it to its max potential

so now Deku’s tackling Shinsou and they’re tumbling onto the ground

Shinsou’s making another attempt to get Deku to talk but our boy is too smart for that shit now. fool him once, shame on you. fool him twice, shame on him. but you still haven’t managed to fool him thrice so it looks like he can be taught!

and Shinsou is again saying he’s not the same as when they last fought

ahhhhhhhh we’re cutting back to the teachers now ARE WE GONNA GET SOME SHINY MENTOR FEELS

YESSSSSSSSSSS

HOWIRHFALSKDLFJL THE PONYTAIL LIVES, MY FRIENDS

oh my god oh my god

mentor feels! All Might you’re not the only one who’s been training kids out in the woods in the wee hours of the morning!

Aizawa is self-taught holy fucking shit this man’s talent is severely underrated

THE PONYTAIL. I NEED TO MENTION IT AGAIN FOR OBVIOUS REASONS

and I don’t think I’ve rambled about this yet, but! now we’re finally getting to see why Aizawa took such a personal interest in Shinsou, and I’ve been waiting and waiting for this and I’m so happy we’re finally getting to it. he sees himself in him. they both have powerful quirks capable of incapacitating even the strongest opponents, but the catch is that those quirks are mental rather than physical. physically they are essentially quirkless, and so if they ever get caught off-guard -- or pitted against giant robot opponents, or opponents who are otherwise immune to their abilities -- they’re at a huge disadvantage

so here’s this kid who’s very much like him, and Aizawa has no obligation to reach out to him, but he does so all the same, because he cares, and if he can help this kid fulfill his dreams and not have to stumble along and make it up as he goes the way he had to, isn’t that worth doing?

Aizawa Shouta let me just once again say that it’s a war crime that you were not ranked in the top ten, and I think we need to conduct a special investigation into these poll results. I’m only seeking justice and the truth

OKAY BUT THIS IS SOME INDIRECT HIGH PRAISE FOR THE ENTIRETY OF CLASS “NOT A SINGLE ONE OF US WAS EXPELLED” 1-A THOUGH AND I CAN’T EVEN DEAL

AND THEN THE FLASHBACKS TO SHINSOU AFTER HIS FIRST BATTLE, AND BEING SO HARD ON HIMSELF. BECAUSE HE WANTS TO LIVE UP TO AIZAWA’S FAITH IN HIM. OH MY GOD I CAN’T, THIS IS SO GOOD THOUGH AND I’M EMOTIONALLY COMPROMISED

so now Shinsou’s shouting again that he’s not the same as he was back then!

and he’s using his capture weapon to bring a bunch of heavy pipes crashing on top of them!

BUT NOW DEKU IS HAVING SOME MENTOR FEELS OF HIS OWN OH GOODNESS

;________; WHY DID THAT MAKE ME TEAR UP, SOMEBODY EXPLAIN

(ETA: I think because it’s a reminder that all of the past wielders of OFA are just as good and pure as All Might in their own ways, and they’ve all been working tirelessly to fight evil this whole time, and it’s like Deku doesn’t have just one mentor, but he has eight now.)

AAAAAHHHHHHHH

LOOK AT HIM USING BLACKWHIP IN THE SAME MANNER AS THE CAPTURE SCARF WEAPON, THOUGH?? DID SHINSOU INSPIRE HIM

(ETA: of course he did. this is Deku, he takes and learns from everyone. I love it.)

AND JUST LOOK AT THIS FUNKY LITTLE SUCCESSOR LIVING UP TO THE FAITH THAT’S BEEN PLACED IN HIM

oh my god. what a damn chapter. this recap is almost 4000 words and it was worth it. I love this arc

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 126: Introduction

Previously on BnHA: We caught up with the villains for a spell and shit was wild. Twice brought in a new guy by the name of Overhaul who apparently has yakuza roots. Tomura’s group was under the impression that he wanted to join them, but Overhaul informed them he had grander intentions -- now that All for One is gone, he intends to make himself the new ruler of the underworld. In other words, he’s a challenger to Tomura’s as-yet-not-very-established throne. Tomura’s group predictably didn’t take to this very well, so Overhaul fucking blew one of them up by way of persuasion. Tomura in turn disintegrated one of Overhaul’s own men because why not, it’s been a while since we had anything really gruesome and shocking in this manga so hey! So in the end it was kind of a draw, and Overhaul left after telling Tomura to give him a call. Back at U.A., Deku and Mirio dropped by to chat with All Might, presumably to set up an internship for Deku.

Today on BnHA: Aizawa announces that the first year students will be allowed to do internships. Deku asks All Might if he can introduce him to his former sidekick, Sir Nighteye. All Might says no, partly because he thinks it’s too dangerous, but mostly because for some reason he thinks it will be awkward. But after some imploring from Deku, he gives in and asks for assistance from Nighteye’s current intern, Mirio. Mirio agrees to introduce Deku to Nighteye. A few days later the two boys travel to his office. Mirio warns Deku that although Nighteye is famous for his stoic demeanor, he actually has a hidden side that prizes humor above all else, and Deku will have to make him laugh in order to win his favor. Deku meets Nighteye and promptly contorts his face into some bizarre All Might impersonation. But Nighteye seems less than impressed.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 155 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

so we’re opening with Aizawa talking about the possibility of the first year students doing internships

he says that the majority of the faculty, including the principal, were like “nah that’s crazy”

(ETA: oh so now y’all care about the safety of your students, huh)

so all the kids are like “what?!” because they were just starting to get really into the idea

also Kaminari is playing with Ojiro’s tail. just cuz it’s there and he can

meanwhile Bakugou is like “HAHA SUCKERS” because he wouldn’t have been able to do the internships anyway lol

(ETA: Bakugou is in like three scenes in this entire arc, and one of them is a flashback. I’m just gonna enjoy this while I can. here’s his obnoxious shit-eating grin.

I MISS YOU SO MUCH YOU LITTLE SHITHEAD)

but now there’s a “however” coming from Aizawa’s direction!

oh snap

sorry Bakugou

you’ll have your license in a few months and then you can go back to Best Jeanist’s agency (PLEASE??!) or wherever else you want to go and you’ll be all caught up in no time

I’m glad the teachers gave it such careful consideration, too. this seems to be an unusual amount of deliberation from a school which until now has mostly stuck with the philosophy of “just throw ‘em right into the deep end and see if they sink or swim”

so now over in the staff room, Deku’s asking All Might if he’ll introduce him to “Sir Nighteye” for an internship

Ectoplasm is in the background thinking about how he wants to go to karaoke. just making a note of that. this man is clearly pent up and he wants to sing some damn Journey songs goddammit

(ETA: this was mentioned in his bio back in the extras for chapter 61. “favorite thing: karaoke.” I’m so curious about this. why does he love it so much. who does he con into going with him. Hounddog and Vlad, probably)

oh shit look at this man not playing any favorites

damn. harsh

he says he’s not doing it just to be mean, and of course not. All Might doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. so why, then

apparently there are three reasons!

reason one, he was one of the teachers that were against it. he thinks it’s too dangerous right now with the recent resurgence of villains

(Midnight’s in the background saying that internships have always been risky, though, and that the school should support the students who still want to go. fuckin’ love Midnight, man)

reason two, he says Deku should strengthen his shoot style first

now Ectoplasm and Cementoss are also chiming in with their two cents, in addition to Midnight (and Thirteen) from the previous panel omg. and All Might’s face loool

IT TAKES A VILLAGE, ALL MIGHT

oh my god

I love this man so much

haha. all of these reasons actually suck though. he’s just feeling overprotective at the end of the day isn’t he. and also that last one. awk

but we all know Deku has been extremely fired up recently, and this appears to be why:

(ETA: “honestly, if Bakugou told you to go jump off a bridge would you do it?” “pshh! no. that’s ridiculous. ...how high a bridge?”

heh. is that too similar to the roof thing to be funny. should I just shut up. whatever I love them)

my god I love their relationship so much

and since they’re in a room filled with other U.A. staffers, all Deku says is “my quirk is very similar to All Might’s” (HINT HINT. WINK WINK), and he thinks that if he works under Nighteye he’ll be favorably compared to All Might

and he’s bowing imploringly and says he needs to become stronger

special attack: Guilt Trip Smash omg

All Might looks to possibly be having a change of heart. but he says he still can’t be the one to give Deku the introduction

he can’t, but...

so I assume this is where Mirio comes in

Mirio is REALLY PSYCHED to have been summoned by All Might himself. such an honor oh goodness

did All Might not have classes with the senior students before? I’d think that would have taken some of the mystery away from it. but hey, maybe he’s just pumped to actually be able to do him a favor

meanwhile Deku is like “I don’t really understand this situation” and Mirio’s like “HAHA ME TOO”

obviously Mirio is Nighteye’s current intern Deku you boob

see

so apparently he’s been his intern for the past year already

Deku’s really impressed by this

All Might’s asking Mirio if he thinks Deku is up to working under Nighteye

oh my god

Mirio is such a good fucking bro

(ETA: the best bro on god’s green earth)

he’s asking why All Might doesn’t just ask him himself though. he says Nighteye would be thrilled to hear from him

...but All Might says he’s too ashamed to show his face? :(

“in the end... things turned out exactly as he forewarned they would”

I don’t like All Might feeling awkward or ashamed about having lost his powers damn it

should I be mad at Nighteye?? idk right now

(ETA: honestly I can’t really be mad at any of them. which is a bit exasperating for me as a reader having nowhere to direct my frustrations, but also that’s some damn good writing though)

anyway so he’s asking Mirio what he thinks of Deku

Mirio is asking Deku what kind of hero he wants to be. ah, this one’s easy!

oh snap what a great fucking answer

ladies and gentleman, our fucking protagonist. the GOAT

and he was unconsciously clenching his fists in determination while saying it

Mirio’s like wow that’s crazy dude

Mirio you’re definitely knocking on my top ten here. I’m not even sure who it is right now honestly. there have been a ton of great new characters recently. ugh it’s hard dammit

(ETA: if you really want to know, the top six are the same as before -- Bakugou, All Might, Izuku, Aizawa, Ochako, and Todoroki -- followed by Momo, Toga, and then yes, this bright-eyed fella. and then idk. Kaminari, Kirishima, Jirou, Best Jeanist, Iida, Mina, and Sero are all vying for that tenth spot. this series has a problem with its characters being too good.

but seriously it’s Best Jeanist)

anyway, he adds that he’d been thinking about it already since their training session earlier

All Might’s looking pensive :/

what’s on your mind dude

he’s flashing back to his meeting with the Rat Principal that we saw a little bit of back in chapter 121. when RP was telling him he had someone in mind who would be a good successor

and naturally it was Mirio

and now All Might’s watching him and Deku, and thinking about how Mirio would have been the successor if he’d never run into the latter

in hindsight we owe quite a lot to that sludge villain, huh. but those are the kind of little fateful coincidences I fucking love in stories like this. so many what-ifs. what if All Might hadn’t chosen that day to come to Deku’s hometown. what if Katsuki hadn’t delayed Deku’s walk home that day by blowing up his notebook. what if Deku hadn’t fucking grabbed onto All Might’s leg like a crazy person and caused him to drop his villain bottle. what if All Might hadn’t already been close to his limit at the time. what if the bottle hadn’t landed exactly where Kacchan was walking with his stupid middle school lackeys. all these little things that came together. I like it, because when you think about it all it feels like destiny

anyway. not only did I go on a nostalgic tangent there, but I also went back and reread the entire first chapter just now whoops. I’m so easily distracted

so now it’s the weekend!

and the other boys are hanging out lazily having breakfast, but meanwhile Deku’s like

meanwhile these two are also up early, and Todoroki is trying to be friends, but Bakugou doesn’t want to be awake yet omg

(ETA: and off they went, never to be seen again)

haha. I love them

I really really really really really love Kaminari’s bedhead

I want to ruffle his hair and never stop. power him up. static quirk. worth it

now Mirio and Deku are arriving at Nighteye’s office

it’s really nice. Deku is intimidated

Mirio’s reminding Deku that Nighteye has very strict standards. but it appears that Deku is already aware

but Mirio says there’s another side to him that he doesn’t show to the media

he says if Deku doesn’t want to get turned away, then he needs to make him laugh at least once. lol what

apparently Night respects humor above everything else. in spite of his stoicism, or maybe because of it

Mirio says all he can do is introduce Deku and then the rest is up to him

well it sure is a good thing Deku is such a naturally funny guy. always crackin’ wise, that Deku. we’re not fucked at all, no sir

now Deku’s asking Mirio why he’s doing this for him. it’s because he’s just a nice guy, Deku!!

damn, he would have been a great successor. Deku is still the best of course. but wow

there’s a page of Nighteye having a weird conversation with some girl named Bubble Girl who’s only wearing about one third of a shirt

he’s chastising her for not having enough enthusiasm or vigor

damn it’s just like Mirio said huh

holy shit he’s hooked her up to some kind of weird bdsm-y tickling machine what the actual fuck

wowwwwwwwwww okay let’s skip right on past this. just. wow

(ETA: I feel like I know way more about Horikoshi’s fetishes than I ever wanted to. this is easily the single most uncomfortable panel in the entire series and I wish it never existed)

so now Deku is being stared down. and having a dramatic moment where he’s intensely thinking about how far he’s come and that he needs to show him some damn humor!!

Deku just show him your collection of t-shirts with weird shit written on them

or. you could try this I guess

this is apparently his All Might face. this is his best shot

he says a sense of humor is the thing he lacks the most. goddamn, it’s true. EXCEPT FOR THE SHIRTS

lol this response

and now Deku is sweating and Mirio’s thinking “it bombed!” but I actually don’t think it did omg. I think he fucking nailed it

(ETA: boy was I wrong on that one)

but this is the end of the chapter. wow

 bonus:

“the quintessential Japanese to All Might’s quintessential American”

I don’t even know what to think. I’m still trying to retroactively erase the tickling machine from existence by sheer willpower alone. but it’s not working dammit

(ETA: it really was not a good introduction. he makes a much better impression in the next chapter coming up.

I also just noticed that he doesn’t have a real name listed here. is it supposed to be a secret?? why

also is this fucker really going to die. fuck Overhaul so goddamn much. this arc is going to give me trust issues from here on out. any character who’s introduced with too much of an OP quirk is on borrowed time. fml)

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 003: Superhero Academy Entrance Exam

Chapter 3 of my not-actually-live liveblog of Boku no Hero Academia! And I have to say, this one is my favorite chapter so far. We’ve got new characters, we’ve got weird video game point challenges, and we’ve got a new crowning moment of awesome for our protagonist! All this, and a guy with the power of jeans. What more could I ask for in life.

Notes: As of posting this I’ve read up through chapter 6 of the manga and watched episodes 1-5 of the anime. My comments (aside from ETAs), however, are from my initial readthrough of the chapter and are unedited. And despite residing here on tumblr where BnHA is a trending tag like every week, I somehow continue to remain almost totally unspoiled (boy that feels like I’m jinxing it).

hey it’s some random speech bubbles just spitting out facts about U.A.! how convenient and helpful

damn, they only accept 1 in 300 people... that’s a 0.33% acceptance rate. I’m pretty sure even Harvard accepts like 5 or 6% of its applicants, so this is... yikes

All Might magnanimously declined the People’ Choice Award lmao

“Best Jeanist.” oh my god. for years I’ve thought Eiichiro Oda was hands-down the best mangaka when it came to creating off-the-wall new characters. but this character’s name is Best Jeanist and he’s wearing a turtleneck denim jacket and has onion hair and I just. I don’t know anymore. my world is shook

what makes it better is the implication that there are other jeanists out there. but he is the best

so much the best that he’s won the best jeanist award eight years running

what is his power?? jeans??

shout out to this other guy Endeavor who I’m completely ignoring because he had the misfortune to be standing next to my homeboy Best Fucking Jeanist

Deku actually went home and took a shower and packed and then got on the subway for a forty-minute ride. holy shit this kid is cool under pressure. probably took a fucking nap on the train too

DID HE EAT THE HAIR??? I ASSUME YES? GODDAMMIT THIS IS BULLSHIT TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED RIGHT NOW

is this the school? I like the trees just chilling out in the entrance lobby there

“there was no time to test out the power All Might had given to me” -- fjkalsjdfj ARE YOU SERIOUS

THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU IDIOTS DO THIS LAST WEEK

YOU COULD HAVE PACKED THE NIGHT BEFORE

THE SHOWER IS FINE, SHOWERS ARE IMPORTANT, BUT YOU COULD HAVE DONE IT FASTER

HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW IF THE HAIR ACTUALLY DID ANYTHING?? YOU SPENT THE PAST 10 MONTHS BUILDING UP TO THIS? YOU WERE CARRYING THAT BALL FOR TEN FUCKING MONTHS ONLY TO DROP IT THREE FUCKING HOURS BEFORE THE EXAM SFKSHLHK I’M FUCKING LOSING IT

I DON’T CARE IF HE’LL OBVIOUSLY BE FINE, I NEED SOMEONE TO GO AND SMACK HIM PLEASE

-- OH LOOK IT’S MY PROBLEMATIC FAVE

HOLY SAVAGE FUCK THAT “IGNORE + WALK PAST” WAS OFF THE FUCKING CHARTS

“ever since that day, Kaachan never tormented me again”

the answer is yes, right? no? are you sure?? damn

wow they still remember the sludge monster and call it the “sludge incident”

here I was thinking this kind of shit happened on the daily in this crazy superheroes&supervillains society, but I guess some incidents are more memorable than others

also it’s nice that he stopped harassing Green Tsuna, but when my previous (I shouldn’t say “previous”, actually... more like “still current”) favorite Gokudera “GOAT” Hayato had his life saved by his protagonist, he not only stopped tormenting him, but he immediately swore his eternal fealty and dedicated his life to serving him, so that’s a pretty high bar. I will give Baku the benefit of the doubt, though

I’m still obviously on board this ship, as evidenced by the fact that Deku thought “I gotta stop flinching instinctively” and I was like “aww they’ll be lovers any day now”

I don’t understand it either

hey hello I’m cracking up in real life here

wow I thought he was gonna fall and that was hilarious, but instead he’s somehow just... floating there? which is somehow even MORE hilarious

HEY A NEW CHARACTER. [takes notes]

WHY ARE YOU SORRY FOR STOPPING HIM IT WAS A NICE THING TO DO

“[SMILES BROADLY] THIS SURE IS NERVE-WRACKING!” HEY I’M SORRY, BEST JEANIST, BUT YOU CAN FUCK RIGHT OFF, THIS IS MY NEW NEW FAVE

HIGH FIVE, GREEN TSUNA. YOU’RE DOING GREAT

“Everybody say hey” this motherfucker better be saying this in fucking English goddamit. (ETA: he is!! yessssssssss)

nobody said hey

“well that’s cool.” nice recovery! gamfuckingbatte you funky boombox man

YEEEEEEAH

nobody said yeah

my god this is a tough crowd. the practical test could just be warming these stone-cold motherfuckers up and it would 100% explain the abysmally low acceptance rate

I love how Deku talks to himself all the fucking time. I want to watch movies with him. we’ll both talk quietly while trying not to annoy people and probably not succeeding.

they’re sitting next to each other oh my god they were roomaaaaates

no but it’s seriously so cute??

there are probably thousands of people there, they didn’t HAVE to sit with each other. (unless seating arrangements are determined by school)

ETA: which they probably are come to think of it. hahaha)

they can’t take the test together though, aw

look at these fucking Mario silhouettes. did Nintendo sign off on these?

is it allowed because they’re blacked out? how fucking sneaky

(ETA: actually in the anime they didn’t make any Mario references at all, which makes me think there actually was a copyright issue)

these rules seem simple enough. actually seems almost too simple. the amount of different quirks they’re dealing with and the lack of guidelines on how not to use them seems to be asking for trouble. but I guess they probably know what they’re doing by now

I thought this was a high school, why is this 40-year-old man here asking questions about the exam

OH SHIT DEKU HE’S CALLING YOU OUT FROM TWENTY FEET AWAY

we would so get kicked out of movies together

now they’re literally referencing Super Mario Bros by name huh

and calling it an “old retro game”... sob

I actually love the pop culture reference so much and hope that more of these follow. this is how people talk in real life. none of that coming across a zombie and not actually calling them “zombies” because that concept somehow doesn’t exist or any of that bullshit. no sir. “you guys know thwomps from Mario? this thing is like a thwomp from Mario”

here we go. this set-up reminds me of Choice from KHR. please dear god don’t actually be like Choice from KHR

yeah, come to think... how big is this school

there’s a guy whose arm bone is sticking waaaaaay out of his elbow and it’s making me so fucking uncomfortable

please go away

THE GIRL IS HERE

AND THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD MAN IS HERE TOO DAMMIT

all these people who don’t even fucking know Deku are still picking on him for some reason. ugh. just more people to show up, Izu. you got this dude

I’m getting strong Hunger Game vibes here

oh damn they sure did run

thd thd thd thd

relax, Deku, I’m sure there are plenty of monsters to go around. plus most of those guys appear to be morons and I’m sure the smiley girl and the forty-year-old man are the only ones in the group who’ll actually pass somehow

oh fucking FINALLY a flashback to him eating the hair!!

he’ll START to feel SOMETHING in A FEW HOURS?!!!

and there he is running off to take a shower as previously established

I am glad he is confirmed as having good personal hygiene, though

“prepare for some real kickback” noooo I’m getting nervous

when you use One for All, clench up your butt

ssshhf this giant fucking robot literally interrupted his flashback right before we got to the good part??

DEKU. CLENCH YOUR BUTTTT

“why can’t I move?” MAYBE YOU CLENCHED TOO TIGHT. SHIT

some bishounen with a crotch laser just appeared out of nowhere and blasted it!

whew

“merci!” you’re welcome, Tuxedo Mask

wow he’s been standing around for four minutes already?? I take back what I said before, Deku. fucking run

everyone else has killed basically all the enemies. fuck why do I feel like he’s about to face a fucking thwomp. how many points were those again

...lmao zero. well shit

these Ender’s Game test-makers have deemed Yuri on Ice over here a “decision maker”

who am I to argue

BAKUGOUUU

YESSS MY ANGRY SON WHOM I’VE ADOPTED FOR REASONS THAT STILL CONFUSE ME HAS GOT THAT .3% ACCEPTANCE RATE LOCKED UP

OH NO IT’S THE YARUKI SWITCH

WHAT’S A YARUKI SWITCH

ah

now feels like a good time to speculate on just how fucking expensive this fucking test is with the giant robots and the entire fucking city built for the sole purpose of being leveled in ten fucking minutes all for the sake of a test which only 1 out of every 300 people will even fucking pass

somewhere out there I hope there are people whose quirks are just “building lots of things really cheaply and effectively”, otherwise this feels like such a waste

haha now everyone is running again but in the opposite direction this time

and so is Deku. NOW he can move, huh

aaaaaand he’s crying again

something better happen or else he’s screwed

oh fuck me, the girl fell, of COURSE it had to be the girl

(ETA: actually upon reflection I think they redeemed this due to two things: (1) tying it back to her not letting him trip and fall earlier, and (2) the fact that she’s not the first person that Deku has had to heroically rescue, and the person who WAS first was not only a guy, but the angry explosive prodigy character. so I’ll give them a pass here)

(ETA 2: after watching it in the anime, a bunch of debris fucking fell on her, so I take back all of my complaining. good show)

AHHHHH HE’S RUNNING BACK TOWARD THE GIANT MONSTER DOING THE HEROIC “I JUST ACTED WITHOUT THINKING” THING AGAIN AHHH

AHHHHHHHH

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

THIS IS THE COOLEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN

HOLY SHIT WAY TO BRING ME BACK DOWN

-- AH?! NOOO WHY IS IT OVER

I’M GONNA GO READ THE NEXT ONE RIGHT NOW

(ETA: and you better believe I did)

BUT FIRST

BONUS:

”I’m glad he came out so unlikable.” HAHA JOKE’S ON YOU

”his face just screams ‘I’m a rotten thief’” LMAO SOB WHY IS HE MY FAVORITE

GOOD CALL CHANGING HIS PERSONALITY THOUGH BECAUSE THIS VERSION NEEDS TO BE PUNCHED IN THE FUCKING FACE:

I HATE HIM

AND THAT’S IT THAT’S THE CHAPTER????

holy fucking shit.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 054: OG!Deku Had a Fucking Taser

Previously on BnHA: Todoroki showed up to help Iida and Deku after getting Deku’s weird message in the group chat. Stain proved frustratingly tough to deal with, even after Deku’s paralysis wore off and he was able to rejoin the fight. Having previously leveled up his inner peace and clarity stats thanks to Deku, Todoroki attempted to impart this same wisdom to Iida, and it looks like it just might have worked.

Today on BnHA: Iida has more sad flashbacks of his brother, and reminds us all that he wants to be a great hero like him. Stain says Iida is selfish and that he’s going to purge society of its fakers who are warping the word “hero.” If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve been listening to this same tune for the past several chapters. Thankfully the characters seem to realize my attention span is reaching its limits, and decide to wrap this up. Todoroki cools down Iida’s legs so he can use Recipro again. Iida kicks Stain in the face at the same time Deku punches him on the other side of his face, and it’s just the therapy I needed.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 126 now (lol I’ve been stuck on the same chapter for the better part of a week), so any ETAs will reflect that.)

there is exactly one cool thing in the vol. 6 bonus features, but that one cool thing is very fucking cool.

I fucking love learning more about this type of character-building process. not sure if this is too tiny to read since I shrunk the image; here’s a link to the vol. 6 extras if anyone wants to take a closer look

it’s fascinating that Deku wasn’t originally planned to have a quirk. honestly, I think Horikoshi’s editor made the right call there. since Deku ended up having to learn how to control his new power, we still got a taste of that “having to solve problems without the use of a quirk” situation early on, but with the added bonus of getting that satisfying sense of progression as his skills with One for All gradually improve

plus, I really love the mythology of One for All so far. and All Might’s bond with Deku is one of my favorite parts of the series, so I’m really glad that was developed as well

(ETA: okay, so just let me gush for a sec. as shitty as this Donald-Trump-is-US-pres timeline is, for the past ten years there has been one thing that still gives me hope for this Berenstain universe that we all ended up in, and that’s the fact that RDJ ended up playing Iron Man in the MCU instead of Tom Cruise. that is, until now. now there are two things, and the second one is that Horikoshi Kouhei’s editor made him give Deku a fucking quirk. because after reading chapter 59, and then the Kamino arc and its aftermath, I can’t imagine this series without One for All and everything that comes along with it. everything about it is so well thought out and impeccably planned, and it just feels epic. it singlehandedly elevates the series from “this is really good, I like this” to “this is fucking great and if the series keeps this up, it can and will stand up there with the best of all time by the end of its run.”

basically what I’m saying is, One for All is good and I like it.)

but it’s still very cool to know that it wasn’t the original plan, meaning there’s some alternate universe where Deku never received a quirk and still went on to take the superhero world by storm through pure shounen guts

OG!Deku carries a fucking taser gun in his bag you guys. OG!Deku didn’t come to play

on to the new volume!

oh dang what’s this. this appears to be the first chapter I’ve read that was scanlated by fans rather than being the official Viz translation. on the one hand, yay and fuck Viz, but on the other hand I was looking forward to seeing the new volume cover lol. should I risk looking it up?

-- OH MY GOD

I’M SO GLAD I LOOKED IT UP!?!

BAKUGOU KATSUKI: ORIGIN

YEESSSSS MY ANGRY SON. NOW THAT TODOROKI AND IIDA HAVE HAD THEIR ANGSTY ARCS, IT’S ALL YOU, BOY

at least I assume. dare I hope. looll

(ETA: holy shit this series played its cards close to the chest when it came to that Kacchan angst. they did not give two fucks about how badly I wanted it! but eventually they did deliver. boy did they ever fucking deliver)

all right, I’m not going to look up any more details about that for now. we’re going into this totally spoiler-free, folks. please look forward to it. yoroshiku onegaishimasu

all right. on to the actual chapter. so the first page is just a rehash of stuff we already saw, i.e. Iida thinking about his brother and how he aspires to be like him, and then Todoroki yelling at him to do exactly that, basically. “set your eyes on the man you want to be”

now Iida is crying again and thinking, “some hero I am,” and he’s realizing how much of a shithead he was being this whole time. okay, good. I don’t hold any of it against you, Iida. you were in a rough place

looks like we’re getting more big bro flashbacks now

oh my god these brothers could not be more different in personality

just like that Tensei has endeared himself to me for life

so he says that it was partly because it runs in the family, and their parents and grandparents were all heroes, so it was natural for him to follow that path as well. but he also just wants to be that guy who helps people out, even with the little things, because he says “that kind of guy is the coolest there is.” which is such a great fucking thing to say, honestly. you never know how the smallest action can have the greatest impact. and even if it doesn’t, those little actions still add up and make the world a better place

basically this dude is the shit and I’m mad Iida already called him as his role model. damn you Iida

and now he’s ruffling small Tenya’s hair and saying that if small Tenya admires him, then he just might be a great hero after all

just look at this fucking smiling guy who loves his little brother so much and just wants to do what he can to make the world better you guys

the world does not deserve him and fuck you Stain for what you fucking did to him

now we’re back in the present and Iida appears to be entering Full Shame mode, and is thinking he’s not worthy compared to Deku and Shouto who have been acting so nobly this whole time

“but nonetheless...!” yeeess Iida, now that you have Seen The Light it’s time for you to snap out of it and join our badass U.A. All-Star Superhero Group boiiii

what the fuck is Todoroki even doing

IS THAT EVEN ALLOWED. WHAT IS THIS KID

OH MY GOD, FUCK

WHERE THE FUCK IS DEKU?? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PLAN OF KEEPING HIS ATTENTION ON YOU?!!

(ETA: so I’ll explain right now that I didn’t realize Deku had been re-paralyzed toward the end of the previous chapter. so there’ll be several more comments to the effect of WHERE’S DEKU!? until I finally fucking realize this. please accept my sincerest apologies)

FINALLY IIDA IS GETTING UP, THE PARALYSIS HAS WORN OFF

USE THE THING IIDA OMG

YESSSSSSS

[PUMPS FIST IN AIR!!]

JESUS CHRIST. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. TODOROKI COULD HAVE FUCKING DIED JUST LIKE THAT HOLY SHIT

IIDA BROKE STAIN’S KATANA! GOD BLESS YOU, NEW AND IMPROVED IIDA 2.0 WITH THE POWER OF SELF-REFLECTION

NOW HE’S MOVING TO KICK STAIN RIGHT IN THE FUCKING HEAD

WHERE THE HELL IS DEKU DURING ALL THIS, DID HE FUCKING DIE OR WHAT

WHAT ARE YOU DOING DEKU. ARE YOU JUST WATCHING?!

Iida is apologizing again for getting the other two involved in something they have nothing to do with. but this time it seems like it’s coming from a more resolved and stable place!

I can’t believe Stain is still out here lecturing about the evils of society instead of fucking booking it now that all three of them are out here gunning for him

he’s literally calling Iida “the cancer of society”

(ETA: Stain’s Annoying Rant Counter: 6)

now Todoroki’s calling him out for being a nutjob and he’s telling Iida to ignore him

Todoroki has been so fucking concerned with Iida’s mental well-being this whole damn time and I love it. what a good boy

but Iida’s agreeing with Stain and says he’s not qualified to bear the title of “hero”

BUT he’s not going to give up either!

Iida is going back and forth so damn much here I can’t fucking keep up. like, I’m glad he’s begun the process of becoming self-actualized now, and it’s great to see Todoroki trying to help others sort through their shit now that he’s more or less dealt with his own. but I also feel like we’ve been covering the same talking points over and over again throughout this entire fight which has now lasted like four chapters. and if I’m being totally honest, it’s starting to get just the slightest bit annoying and repetitive

like, we fucking get it. Stain thinks 99% of heroes are selfish hypocrites. Tenya really looks up to his brother and is justifiably angry about what happened. and at the same time he’s trying to live up to his brother’s name and ideals. and this whole thing is a really personal matter to him. like, we got that three and a half chapters ago. I kinda just want to finish this up already

meanwhile during all of this talking, Todoroki is blasting Stain again because obviously we’re not about to let up now, lol

the other still-paralyzed pro is shouting at Deku and Shouto to run since Stain isn’t after them. I can’t decide if I’m pleased that he’s concerned for their safety over his own, or annoyed at him for assuming that they would or could actually do that

and Todoroki says that Stain’s not giving them any openings to run away

and he’s also noticed that Stain has finally gone on the defensive now. all it took was him being outnumbered 3 to 1, and having his sword broken! wow

tbh I’m amazed he did as well as he did, all things considered. like, he definitely seems to have superhuman speed and agility, and that seems to have been the deciding factor thus far, way more than his actual quirk

(ETA: but unfortunately this is the start of a very annoying pattern of everyone lowkey worshiping the ground Stain walks on. omg Stain-sempai you’re so cool and powerful and charismatic and amazing. we’ll see this reach peak ridiculousness in another two chapters when Stain is simply so cool and riveting and captivating that every single other character winds up frozen in place just listening to him in awe.)

Todoroki is wondering why Stain hasn’t fled yet, given that he’s at an obvious disadvantage now

and he concludes that he is crazy and determined. again, what a great insight that’s already been beaten into our heads like a half dozen times by now

tbh I do like the idea of Stain as a villain, but as of now there’s just not enough to his character for him to hold my interest for such a sustained period of time. we get it, he’s wrong but he thinks he’s right! he’s a fanatic! fucking roger that!!

Iida’s looking at his boots and says his recipro is fried. which is to be expected since that always happens when he uses it, no? idk why he seems surprised

ooh but he seems to have an idea now? he’s asking Todoroki if he can regulate his leg’s temperature

Todo says he’s not used to his left side yet

but Iida doesn’t need the left side! he’s asking Todo to cool down his leg, but just enough so that his exhaust pipes don’t get blocked off

JESUS

okay I’m getting sick of this guy’s attempts to straight up murder Todoroki. I THOUGHT HE WASN’T AFTER HIM?? anyways thank you, Iida

and now Stain’s throwing another fucking knife, holy shit. is he ever gonna run out??

Iida’s shouting at Todoroki to “just do it quick”

just do it Todoroki

is Deku paralyzed again and that’s why he hasn’t done anything this whole time? I guess he must be

okay yeah I just went and looked back at the previous chapter and that’s why. Deku was apologizing to Todoroki and said he got taken out again. I got distracted by Todoroki shouting at Iida like a main character lol

anyway so now he’s recovered a second time. he still seems a little shaky, but with Iida out of commission again and Shouto also injured and not able to defend himself and Iida both, he pretty much has to make a move now

okay looks like Shouto was successfully able to cool down Iida’s engines, but Stain is already in mid-leap heading right for them

IS IIDA FUCKING PULLING THIS SWORD OUT OF HIS OWN ARM WITH HIS OWN FUCKING TEETH

WTF, THIS IS THE MANLIEST FUCKING THING ANYONE’S EVER DONE??

“I’ll give up this arm” WHAT THE FUCK WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

he’s using Recipro again

and now he’s charging toward Stain

and so is Deku!!

omgggggg

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

HOLY SHIT THE FUCKING DOUBLE TEAM YESSSSS

THAT’S THE END OF THE CHAPTER, BUT HOLY SHIT. IF THAT DOESN’T FINALLY KNOCK HIM OUT I’LL BE SO FUCKING PISSED OFF LOL

BONUS:

(I didn’t look up any of the bonus volume pages until after I’d read chapter 62, just FYI. so all of this is ETA stuff from my post-chapter 62 self.)

first, the volume title page is Jirou and Momo being lesbians!

at least, that’s 100% the vibe I’m getting here and no one can convince me otherwise

and now, the actual bonus page:

oh my god his vest automatically applies heating or cooling as needed based on his body heat. why the hell didn’t he have this costume to begin with. he had a weird costume at the start of the series that he wore like once and then never used again. oh well I shouldn’t be complaining about a vast improvement

it’s also nice to see he got himself a costume that wouldn’t immediately catch fire when he does his thing!

utility belt! he should add some wire rope to that thing so he doesn’t have to use easily-breakable dumpster twine the next time he has to apprehend a villain unexpectedly

and his boots have cleats! smart! but that probably makes things more difficult on those occasions when he wants to use his ice for sliding on though

ALL IN ALL, THEY’RE COOL ON HIM DON’T YOU THINK??????! lol

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 007: Costumes and Comforting White Rice

Previously on BnHA: Aizawa had everyone do fitness tests. Turns out superpowered children are very talented. Deku broke his finger.

Today on BnHA: COSTUMES. AND A GUY NAMED LUNCH RUSH

Notes: As always, all comments not prefaced by an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 11 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.

so the title is “costume change”, ooh I’m intrigued

All Might is helpfully rehashing the shit that just went down in the last chapter in case we missed it or weren’t paying attention

basically “Deku fucked up his finger but it was actually somehow the coolest thing ever”

right away Izuku is still crying his gritted-teeth pain!tears, so the unbroken streak continues!

aw Ocha is really happy that he did well and now won’t get expelled

I think Bakugou is broken

[waves a hand in front of his face] you okay there pal. deep breaths. it’s going to be all right

and now he’s fucking launching himself at Deku, presumably with the intent to beat the living shit out of him, oh dear

but teacher’s not having that shit

OH MY GOD AN ACTUAL EXPLANATION FOR THE MAGIC SCARF

YEEES THIS IS HOW WE DO THINGS IN GROWN-UP MANGA! WE EXPLAIN OUR PLOT HOLES LIKE ADULTS

THIS IS SUCH A FUCKING RUSH GUYS

also these panels are hilarious

voop

god bless, the logical explanations for everything just keep on coming. now EH is explaining that the reason he always looks so fucking shake-and-baked is because he has to maintain eye contact in order for his powers to work. I love this, it explains so much. the goggles, the eye drops, the creepy intense staring. and it’s such a good handicap for what would otherwise be an insanely OP quirk

just. thank you jesus. thank you oprah winfrey. thank you tom cruise

do you know, so far I haven’t had a single plot thing to complain about in this entire manga series. (except maybe the whole “surrounding community somehow doesn’t notice the beach cleanup happening right under their noses for ten entire months” thing.) can they possibly keep this up?

“is your finger okay?” “yeah.” NO

HGUMNANAA A FLASHBACKKKKKK A BAKUDEKU FLASHBACK. HOLD ME. I NEED TO SIT DOWN

they’re so cute they’re so fucking cute. Izuku following him around fanboying about quirks. Baku saying Deku’s probably won’t be as cool as his. trampsing along through the woods catching bugs. using the nicknames

and now Baku is FREAKING THE FUCK OUT because he’s been the special one all this time and now Izu finally has a quirk too. like, he seems pissed off, but also strangely threatened. like he’s really nervous that Deku might all of a sudden outshine him. once again, I am speculating if there are possibly secret self-esteem issues. I know it’s too early to be theorizing and I’m just going to look like an idiot but I CAN’T HELP IT. Deku is so good and pure and kind and smart, like he has everything going for him, but because he didn’t have a quirk, Bakugou could always rest assured that he was still better! but now DEKU HAS A FUCKING QUIRK. that’s like the ONE thing he solidly had on him and now the gap is narrowing by the minute. hmm. hmmmmmmmmm

disclaimer, he’s probably just an asshole and I’m projecting character development onto him that doesn’t exist sob I know

BUT MAYBE NOT?????

anyway we’ve apparently seen all we needed to see of these tests, because Deku sums up the rest of it in a couple of summary bubbles. “after this we finished up and I hung in there but it sucked”

yay now the results. which sad son of a bitch gets kicked out I wonder. it’s occurred to me that it might not be anyone and EH might just have been fucking with them, but you never know

HAHAHA

[SLAMS HAND ON TABLE]

NOT TO TOOT MY OWN HORN BUT I CALLED IT AND I’M A FUCKING GENIUS. [drinks a glass of water too fast and chokes]

this motherfucker is such a troll

Izuku appears to be phasing into another dimension from the shock of this news. meanwhile this smug-looking girl with a ponytail standing next to him is all like “I already fucking knew”

you know what, smug ponytail girl, ANYONE can say that AFTER the big reveal. the real MVPs are the ones who saw it coming a whole entire page before it actually happened, so you can shove it okay

and now Eraser Head is saying “we’re done here”? but I want to see the rankings, damn it

(ETA: funny how in the anime he shows the rankings first thing and THEN all the rest of this goes down. somehow he’s an even bigger troll there.)

and he finally takes pity on Izuku and sends him to the nurse’s office. you really shouldn’t need a teacher’s permission to go see the nurse, but I guess it’s the thought that counts

and there we go! rankings. so Izu’s all the way down at the bottom. and surprisingly Bakugou is not quite at the top? AND WHAT’S THIS?

THIS IS A NAME I RECOGNIZE. THAT’S DISCOUNT ZUKO BY GEORGE 8D

please be introduced soon, I’m excited to meet you

no idea who that person is at the very top. but hey good for them

hey guys. guess who ships All Might/Aizawa ever since their rivalish history was established in the previous chapter. [points to self]

so this is good stuff

look at this shade being thrown back and forth. or rather, EH throwing shade and AM struggling to throw it back but he’s too much of a straight arrow for it to really work lmao. “april fool’s day was over a week ago”

also oh shit last year he threw out the whole damn bunch. those guys must have SUCKED

oh my god now All Might is smugly confirming that EH likes Izuku too

hey guys here’s a closeup of All Might’s reaction to this:

you like krabby patties don’t you squidward

my boy Izuku out here accumulating mentors like... something... that accumulates a lot

that’s right, he has TWO whole mentors. what a legend

I got really confused for a second when the following panel said Izu was going home after the first day. even though I know it’s not a boarding school, I somehow tricked myself into thinking it was for a sec

oh hey it’s Iida. he wants to know how Deku’s finger is

lol he didn’t remember being healed last time. thank you for that, information bubble

I’m serious, it’s not essential information but it helps the series to remain consistent with itself, and it shows that the mangaka so far is remembering even minor details like this, and I’m honestly really impressed

Horikoshi Kouhei is the author. just looked it up. I gotta remember that. Good job so far Horikoshi-sensei. also he’s apparently younger than me?? nice to know that some of us millennials are out there crushing it at least

oh snap Recovery Girl cautions him that if he keeps getting hurt he’ll eventually run out of stamina and die. wtf. is “stamina” really a finite resource like that? can’t he just get a good night’s sleep and replenish that shit

I’m genuinely wondering how long him not being able to control his powers is going to be an issue then. I’m starting to think not that long. at first I thought it would be a very slow process, because if he got too strong too quickly it would be bad for the story. but on further reflection, it’s really the other way around. there’s only so many times he can be the only guy without any powers and trying to figure out what to do before that shit gets really old. basically right now he’s TOO nerfed

“I thought Iida was scary but he’s actually just super-serious.” he’s very nice for a 40-year-old trying to hang out with a bunch of teenagers. I’m sure you two will be good friends

Ochako!

Iida’s calling her “Infinity Girl” since she threw the ball so high it registered as “infinity meters” on Aizawa’s scale. I wonder if this name will stick, cuz I like it

haha Ochako doesn’t know Izuku’s actual first name and calls him Deku. he was listed as “Izuku” on the results board, though. you could hardly fail to notice that, since he was in last place. she just wants to call him by the cute nickname. fucking sly move there

hmm apparently he doesn’t like the name Deku? or he’s just trying to play it cool with the Girl He Likes

(ETA: now I know the whole sad story of “Deku” and its various meanings. I wonder just how much work Horikoshi put into selecting this name and its kanji)

like he said, he fucking loves that name

“it’s like the Copernican Revolution” hahaha what. a quick Google search confirms that this was the whole shift from people thinking the sun revolved around the earth to realizing it was the other way around. I completely fail to understand what this has to do with the situation of Deku letting Ocha call him “Deku” because she thinks it’s cute. this metaphor is beyond my fucking grasp

(ETA: I must have been tired or something because it’s obviously just that he’s done a 180 from hating the name to embracing it. still a weird analogy but whatever.)

ohhhhhh here come the feels ready or not

SHIELDS UP. IT’S THE PURE, GENTLE HAPPINESS OF A BLOSSOMING SHOUNEN FRIENDSHIP. THE PROTAGONIST’S FIRST FRIENDS EVER. NO, I MUST BE STRONG, DAMN IT. DAMN ITT

oh what the fresh hell, All Might

first the training!! ten months! grueling!! then the entrance exam!! fighting a bunch of giant robots! not having the slightest clue about how to actually use his brand new powers! then the first day of school!! you think you’re finally safe, but NO we’re going to have a trial that may possibly expel you! but he somehow makes it past that too! surely he’s in the clear NOW, right? he has to be?? but nooo, the SECOND day of school, THAT’S when tHE REAL FUCKING TEST BEGINS, FUCK

WHAT THE FUCK IS THE THIRD DAY GOING TO BE. THE END OF THE WORLD?

lmao Mic teaching them English

lmaaaaao everyone is bored out of their fucking minds except fucking Izuku, that FUCKING NERD

the school chef is a sentient humanoid vacuum cleaner named Lunch Rush

nice try with that gimmick there Lunch Rush, but you’re no Best Fucking Jeanist

“the white rice is comforting, so I go with that!” fucking damn, Deku. maybe try branching out just a little

by the way, Izu is narrating all of this like it’s already an established routine, but isn’t it still just the second day? or was All Might just talking out of his ass before about that “real test”

omg

it’s All Might’s class. don’t tell me this was what he was talking about when he was going on about the “real test” fjksj

PROFESSOR LOCKHART. PROFESSOR GILDEROY LOCKHART IS THAT YOU

yet again they talk about how differently he’s drawn sob I can’t

everyone: [turns and winks at the camera] WE KNOW WE’RE CARTOOOONS

what is this pose

gri gri gri

“today’s activity is [holds up a card that says BATTLE] BATTLE”

UNIFOOOOOOORMS

I MEAN COSTUMES

YEEEES. I’VE SEEN DEKU’S COSTUME IN TUMBLR POSTS. I WANT TO SEE HIM WEAR IT YES PLEASE

HERE WE GO

-- PFFFFFFT

Bakugou looks... I’ll let you know when I stop laughing

Ochako looks like your standard Marvel heroine really but the two little buttons on her chest give it an extra dash of cuteness

Iida looks like a fucking super sentai with that helmet

Yuri on Ice, Mickey Mouse, Kermit the Frog, and Tall Guy with Pterodactyl Arms look fine, I guess

do not fucking tell me the chapter’s going to end before we actually see Izuku

...

the chapter ended before we actually saw Izuku

I’m going to kick you you stupid chapter

there isn’t even a bonus character bio at the end, it’s just a thing about all of Horikoshi’s assistants. good for them, I guess, I know they work fucking hard and they’re doing a good job so far

guess what I’m going to do. “read the next chapter.” yep